7/30/00
Melody
By: Lelu
Leluh16@yahoo.com
PG
Disclaimer- Sailormoon, in another life, belonged to
me! Before I died, in my other life, I wrote in my will
to give all legal rights to Naoko Takeuchi. However,
when I approached her in this life, she merely
laughed at me, and called me a lunatic. Imagine-
*Me*, a lunatic?! ::runs off to collect garbage::
MWAHAHA!
~
Sweet music beckons to me,
Flowing like honey through the air.
A melody so complex,
And yet so simple.
It is the song of the angels,
But fit for me.
What is this beautiful tune?
The beating of your heart,
Next to mine.*
~
Blond-haired and blue-eyed, Tsukino Usagi walked
down the street, blond pigtails bobbing on her head.
A joyful smile was on her face, as she looked at the
object in her hands; a glass globe, with a beautifully
carved crystalline figure shaped as a dancing
ballerina. She gently shook it and watched as glitter
spiraled around the dancer. Usagi turned it over,
making sure not to drop it, and twisted the knob a
few times, waiting for the lilting tune to play.
Standing still, she listened as the few first notes of
'Waltz of the Flowers' began to play. She closed her
eyes and imagined herself into another world…A
world where she was beautiful, graceful, and
everything she had ever wanted to be. The simple, yet
beautiful, chords of the harp touched the center of her
very being, and she just stood there, a peaceful look
on her face; A look of bliss…
Chiba Mamoru, a stack of books tucked under his
arm, stood in amazement, watching the play of
emotions on Usagi's face. He was standing not but 3
feet away from her, and gazed at her to his heart's
content. Everything about her was perfect, he
thought. And the familiar pull on his heart made him
wish… Shaking his head, he focused his gaze back
onto Usagi, wondering why she was just standing
there with that look of undisguised joy on her face.
And then, he heard it; the tune was carried to him by
the wind, and he suddenly heard himself listening to
a beautiful melody. 'It sounds familiar', he thought.
But it wasn't the music that he was interested in. It
was the golden-haired nymph- and he stopped there.
It was right to call her a nymph, for the music was
drawing him to her, like those sirens had called out to
sailors and made so many ships crash upon their
rocks. And wasn't that exactly what had happened to
Mamoru? She had unknowingly called to him, and
now…he was lost. Sighing, he took in the sight of
her- her face was uplifted, he noted, as though giving
herself to the sun; as if she were allowing the sun to
kiss her lips. And in an instant, for some unexplained
reason, he felt jealous of the sun, for being able to
warm his Usa-ko, to let its beams of gold caress her
skin, and-most importantly- to be able to just touch
her, as he never could. And so he continued to stare
in awe at the most beautiful girl he knew that he
would ever see.
As the music reached its climax, the violins, chimes,
and other instruments were being played, entwined
together, making a beautiful pattern of gold, Usagi
felt someone's eyes upon her, as if they were boring
into her soul without permission. Only one person
could make her feel this way without ever being close
to her: Mamoru. She knew that it was he who was
staring at her so intently, but for the life of her, she
couldn't figure out what he would be watching
her…not when she wanted the privacy of just to 'be'.
To be able to allow her fantasies to play out, to
actually think that Mamoru could actually love her if
she could ever be a dancer like the one she held in
her hands…
Mamoru, who was quite happy with being able to
watch Usagi while she was acting so peacefully, soon
grew tired of being ignored. He wanted to talk to
Usagi- to hear her beautiful voice chime in his ears,
no matter what insults might spew from her lips. He
wanted…He wanted everything and anything that
had to do with Usagi. Slowly, so he wouldn't alert
her, he strolled up to her, and gently grabbed the
beautiful crystal globe…
…just as she made a move, her eyes still closed,
to pull it closer to her…
His hands made a jerky move to pull back, but it was
too late- the crystal ball had been hit, and it was now
wobbling precariously in her hands…tipping towards
the ground. As Usagi opened her eyes in horror, she
watched as her music box went crashing to the
ground…spiraling round and round until it finally hit
the cold hard concrete.
She gasped sharply (AN- Patch…) and shut her eyes,
not being able to watch as her wondrous sphere
finally made contact with the ground. The glass went
flying everywhere, the cold water from the globe
splashing her bare legs.
Mamoru stood in the same position, too shocked to
move. 'Oh god', he thought. 'What have I done?' He
had seen the sadness in her eyes, in her face, before
she had shut her eyes again, not being able to bear
watching…watching… All of his thoughts died when
he heard the small sobs emanating from her mouth.
Slowly, he looked at her. "U...Usagi-chan," he said,
choking on his own voice, "Gomen nasa-"
"Iie. Mamoru."
He physically recoiled from the coldness in her voice.
Her sentence- could it even be called that?- was a
fragment of two words.
She had realized that he was going to apologize- she
was going to talk back…fight his apology with all the
hurt she was feeling. "Mamoru." Her voice was soft,
and she raised teary blue eyes to meet his. "You
think," she whispered, "that you can make everything
better by just apologizing?" She watched numbly as
he took a step forward towards her, and saw the
shock in her eyes when she stepped back. "Don't
come any closer, Mamoru…Otherwise, I might have
to resort to physical actions," she said, greatly
tempted to smack him across the face.
His eyes widened. 'Usa…would hit me…?' "Demo,
Usag-"
"No, Mamoru," she cried out again. "Do you know
what you've just done?" She turned her back to him,
and hugged herself, trying to protect herself from
him. And then she realized what she had to do; turn
back around and face him. And so slowly, she did so.
"Mamoru, do you know," she said, in a voice full of
anguish, "how long it took me to save up for that?
Two months, Mamoru- early May." She closed her
eyes and opened them again, blinking back tears. "I
first saw that globe two and a half months ago," she
said reliving the experience. "I was walking home
from school, and as I walked past a window, a light
caught my attention. I stopped walking, and looked at
what the light had bounced off of." And in a light
girlish voice she added, "It was then I saw it…the
beautiful ballerina spinning around on her little stand-
the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. So I walked
in and picked it up, wanting to know two things: how
much it cost, and what song it played." She glared at
him, eyes shooting violent sparks. "I won't bore you
with how much it did cost, but the song it played…it
was beautiful. And I could see myself in some other
world, where I could be anything I wanted." Usagi
closed her eyes, and in a voice full of self-mocking
she added, "I could actually be beautiful,
Mamoru…Did you know that? When I heard that
music, I felt beautiful."
Mamoru swallowed. He knew that what he had done
was unforgivable- he had torn her dreams apart…He
wanted to make it up to her in any way. But her
words, 'I could actually be beautiful' rung in his
mind and ears. What on earth had made her think that
she wasn't beautiful? 'You, you baka,' an annoying
voice in his mind said. 'Aren't you always the won
that brings her down from her cloud?' How
ironic…he loved her, and yet she could see nothing
of it. Usagi's voice finally cut through the haze in his
mind.
"But then after I finally bought it, you had to come
along, didn't you, Mamoru?" Her voice was icy
again, chilling him to the depths of his soul. "You
had to ruin the one good thing that I would ever
had…the only thing that could take me away from
this world…I just want to know one thing..." She
brought her hand back and struck him against the
cheek, her eyes tearing up.
Mamoru just stood there, fists against his sides. He
didn't react to the stinging pain he felt on his face; it
was nothing compared to what he was feeling in his
heart.
She looked him straight in the eye. "Does it make
you happy to watch me suffer? Does it make you
happy to know that you've brought me back to this
hideous reality?" She stepped away, never breaking
eye contact. "Because what you have just done…I
shall *never* *ever* forgive you for."
And then in a quick move, she threw her bags down
onto the ground in front of him, and ran away to the
arcade…
'Where Motoki would comfort her', were his irony-
filled thoughts. To have her spirits brought down by
him, and to have them raised by his best friend- the
one that she had a crush on. All he knew was that he
had to make everything right again. He loved Usagi,
there was no doubt about that, and the answer to his
problem was so simple: To find another musical
globe identical to the one she had. There was just one
problem:
He had no clue where Usagi had found hers. All he
knew was that it was somewhere along the route she
took from her school to her house. Sighing, he bent
over and picked up the bags that Usagi had thrown at
him.
'Gomen ne, Usa-ko. I'll make everything up to you, I
promise.' ~
"…and then it went crashing to the floor…"
Half an hour later, Usagi was in the arms of the
friendly arcade worker, Furuhata Motoki. She was
telling him every last detail as to what had happened
earlier.
Sighing, Motoki thought to himself, 'You've really
done it this time, Mamoru-kun…How are you going
to get her to forgive you, much less to love you?' He
held her closer to him and stroked her golden-head,
trying to comfort her. "Usagi-chan," he said gently,
"You know that Mamoru didn't mean to do it, right?"
At her snort of disgust, he quickly reprimanded her
with just one word. "Usagi…"
She looked up at him, blue eyes- which were still
filled with tears- filled with uncertainty. "I don't
know, Motoki…I mean…" She collapsed her head on
his chest again, letting his warmth fill the iciness of
her body.
Contrary to the ever-popular idea that she had a crush
on Motoki, every one was dead wrong. Usagi had sat
down with her self-appointed 'onii-san' one day, and
explained to him that she didn't feel anything like
*that* towards him, and he was merely like her older
brother- nothing more than that. She had been
surprised when he had burst out laughing and told her
that he had already known that for a long time.
He absentmindedly began to stroke her hair again,
waiting for her to continue.
"I just don't understand, onii-san," she said slowly. "I
mean…why does Mamoru, who is a 17 year old for
god's sake, always have to pick on me? He acts like a
little kid with me, trying to match my insults with
his- and most of the time, I don't ever start it! It's
really unfair," she said, coming to the end of her
sentence. "He's an upperclassman, ne? So why is he
so mean to me, but nice to all the other girls?" Her
voice dropped again. "Am I really that different to
him?" She heard him chuckle above her, and looked
back up him in surprise- the confusion in her sky-
blue eyes meeting the jollity in his. It would seem- to
any outsider- that they were two lovers, staring into
each other…
Which was why Mamoru had gasped when he had
seen them. Motoki's arms were wrapped tightly
around her waist, and hers around his. They were so
close, that you couldn't see anything behind their
bodies. She was gazing into his eyes, and
.he into hers.
Both Usagi and Motoki heard him gasp, and both of
their heads simultaneously spun to Mamoru, who's
face was pale and uncertain, blue eyes filled with
shock, hurt, and…
'Betrayal?' Usagi thought. 'What for?'
Motoki swallowed, and unwrapped his arms from
Usagi's waist, knowing damn well what Mamoru was
feeling and thinking. 'Dear lord,' he thought wryly,
'I'm not going to live to see the end of the day…' A
look into Mamoru's stormy indigo eyes proved
correct.
Mamoru shook his head. 'I…I don't care,' he told
himself. He walked towards Usagi, who seemed to be
looking at everything but him. "Here, Usagi," he
said, handing her a wrapped package. "I…This is for
you," he blurted out. "Open it when you get
home…please."
She looked up at him in surprise, and then to his
hands where the present was held. 'He has beautiful
hands,' she thought while taking the gift from his
hands. "Umm…" She looked over at Motoki, who
nodded his head in encouragement. "Um, th-thank
you, Mamoru." Usagi darted a look at him, and saw
the affection that he had in his eyes. 'For me…?'
This was getting too weird. "I've got to go home
now. Ja ne!" And Usagi ran out of the arcade, blond
pigtails flying behind her. ~
Mamoru watched her run out the door, and then,
sighed softly while sitting down onto a stool. Burying
his head in his arms, he mumbled, "I'm such a
baka…"
"Damn straight you are, Mamoru!" Came the chipper
voice of Motoki.
Mamoru, suddenly remembering his anger at *the*
embrace, suddenly sprung up and pinned Motoki to
the wall. "And just what the hell were you doing,
hugging Usa-ko so tightly?! I swear to god, Motoki-
," he snarled out, "if I *ever* see you that close to her
again…" He trailed off, letting Motoki get the
picture.
Motoki gulped and put on a shaky smile. "Gomen,
Mamoru-kun! She only needed a hug because she
was so heartbroken over her crystal globe being
broken by a certain baka!"
Mamoru sighed, lowered Motoki to the ground, and
watched as Motoki scampered off behind to
computer, using it as a shield. "I know, I know,"
Mamoru murmured. "I'm so ashamed of what I
did…I mean…" He looked into Motoki's eyes. "She
was just so beautiful standing there…and as corny as
this may sound, the sunlight was playing in her hair
and she just looked….beautiful," he said simply. "I
wanted to talk to her, and so I reached out to take that
musical globe out of her hand…and then she moved,
and it fell onto the ground." Mamoru looked away,
and whispered, "I don't think I'll ever be able to look
at Usa-ko again in the same way…not after seeing
her the way I did today. She seemed so innocent and
young…"
Motoki shook his head. 'Man…Mamoru's a goner.'
"After she left, I felt so bad…I searched for about
twenty minutes or so and then I finally came upon the
little shop where Usa-ko had bought her music box.
So I went in and bought it- lucky me, it was the last
one!" He gave a light chuckle. "But…the thing is,
Motoki…" His voice dropped. "I did something
incredibly stupid.
Motoki glanced at him warily. "Dare I even ask
what?" At Mamoru's deadly look, he amended
himself. "Alright, what is this 'incredibly stupid'
thing that you did?"
"I…" Mamoru sighed. "Before I bough the globe for
Usa-ko, I had the owner of the shop open a little
compartment in the base of the figurine."
Motoki leaned forward. "And…?" he prompted.
"And…I wrote a little note…and had the man put the
note into the base of the globe."
He leaned even more forward, the edge of the counter
digging into his stomach. "What did the note say…?"
"It said…'Usa-ko, Aishiteru. Mamoru.'"
Motoki gasped (half in pain from the counter, half in
shock). "Oh my god…You didn't!"
Mamoru shook his head. "Hai, I did. So if Usagi ever
drops that 'crystal ball' of hers…"
"…the note will be found, and your secret will be
known to her," Motoki finished, a look of awe
spreading across his face. Slowly, he began to
applaud, stopping when Mamoru shot him a look.
"You know, Mamoru, I admire you for doing this.
How you're willing to let your biggest kept secret
come out so easily. I mean, we all know that Usagi's
a klutz, and the chances of her dropping it are…100
out of 1."
Mamoru buried his head in his arms again. "I know,"
he said softly. "Believe me, I know. And the sad
thing is…I'm hoping that she does." ~
When Usagi walked into the house, Ikuko, who had
been waiting for Usagi to arrive home, immediately
asked, "What's that in your hand? What did you buy?
Did a boy give it to you?"
Usagi rolled her eyes. "Well, the original was bought
by me, but the ever-baka Mamoru broke it. But…I
guess that this is a new one. I haven't opened it yet."
Her mother plucked the box out of her hand, eyes
twinkling. "Well, since Mamoru-" Usagi cringed, her
mom was teasing her- "bought it, you won't mind if I
open it for you!"
"Iie!" Usagi grabbed the box, happy when it was
back in her own hands. "Um…I'll be upstairs if you
need me. Ja!" And then she raced up the stairs,
leaving her mother laughing and shaking her head
after her. ~
Usagi gently shut the door after her, and promptly sat
down on the bed, looking curiously at the box. It
didn't look like it contained an explosive…or a
bomb…or anything that could kill her if she opened
it. Slowly, cautiously, she untied the ribbon, tore off
the paper, opened the box, and gasped in delight.
Her spinning ballerina!
'Oh, Mamo-chan,' she thought. 'Thank you so
much…!' She gently wound the golden knob, and
listened as her song came on. She began to twirl
around the room, blue eyes blissfully closed, golden
pigtails swinging behind her, still holding on to the
globe.
"USAGI!" a voice shouted.
Startled, her crystal globe dropped to the hard floor…
…crashing into a hundred tiny little pieces.
Again.
She turned around sharply, eyes shooting fire.
Crying, she said, "Shingo-baka! Look at what you
made me do!" Slowly, she bent to the ground, and
carefully began collecting the pieces of glass.
"Usagi…" The hesitant voice of Shingo said.
"Go away, Shingo," she whispered. "Please…just go
away."
She heard him gently close the door, and her
attention turned back to her broken crystalline
dancer. "Oh…" she whispered. "Oh no…" Closing
her eyes, she sat back against her bed, her head
pounding. "What will I tell him…?" Shaking her
head, she bent forward, and began to pick up the
broken pieces of glass. 'Hey, what's this?' Her
fingers had brushed over a piece of paper that was
neatly wedged into the black base. Brows furrowed,
she neatly plucked it out and unfolded it, her heart
fluttering. And the paper fell back to the floor.
'Usa-ko, Aishiteru. Mamoru.'
Her jaw agape, she picked up the sheet of paper
again.
'Usa-ko, Aishiteru. Mamoru.'
She couldn't believe it…And yet, wasn't that
handwriting on that paper, Mamoru's? But then, he
must've known that she would have dropped it
sooner or later. 'Oh, Mamo-chan', she thought. 'You
love me? Do you truly love me?' She giggled, the
single slip of paper pressed to her heart. 'Tomorrow,
Mamo-chan…Tomorrow, I'll confront you. And
prove to you that I love you, too. ~
Mamoru walked through the garden, ivy spiraling up
around marble pillar columns. Beautiful flowers hung
here and there, most of them a deep violet color.
Walls, masses of flowers peaking through the cracks,
loomed over him, letting just enough heat in to keep
him warm. This was his haven.
A small breeze ruffled his hair, and he smile joyously
to himself. Something special was going to happen
today. He didn't know how he knew, but he just had
a feeling.
"Mamoru!"
Slowly, he stopped walking, and turned as he saw
Usagi, breathless from running, walking towards him.
"Odango?" he questioned, when she was but 2 feet
away from him. "What are you- how did you find
me?" That was a good question. Nobody knew of this
place of his. Nobody but-
"Motoki told me where I could find you," she said,
eyes averted. "I…I needed to talk to you, so I waited
at the Parlor until 12, but when you never showed up,
I just asked Motoki where you were…And so he told
me." She took a look around, gasping at the garden's
beauty. "Sugoi! Mamoru…it's so beautiful here."
Mamoru stared at the picture that Usagi made; large
blue eyes dreamy, her slim body, dressed in a short
white dress that portrayed her innocence, leaned
against one of the walls, and a hand shading her eyes
from the sun.
'Iie, Usa-ko,' he thought. 'You're beautiful…'
Blinking her eyes, she looked at Mamoru, who
seemed to be caught up in looking at…her? Perhaps
now would be the time… She levered herself off the
wall, and walked up to him, gently touching his arm
to bring his mind back from wherever it had been.
"Mamoru," she whispered, noticing how intently his
blue eyes were looking into hers. 'Has it always been
this way?' "I…um…." Suddenly, she lost her nerve,
and the hand inside her pocket clenched around the
slip of paper. 'Maybe this was a joke…' Usagi
thought for what must have been the 100th time since
last night. 'Why would someone like Mamo-chan
love me…? He's so kawaii and could have any other
girl he wanted, so why would he choose me…?'
"Odango?" he whispered.
"Don't call me that," she replied automatically. When
she heard him chuckle, she flushed pink and said,
"Gomen, Mamoru…Um…I'll just be going now."
She hadn't walked two steps when she heard him say,
"Matte, Usagi." Obeying, she turned around, only to
step back when he was standing right in front of her.
"You couldn't have come all the way out here to tell
me 'nothing'!" He smiled gently at her, blue eyes not
mocking for once, making her heart skip a few beats.
"So, what is it that you needed to talk to me about?"
"I…I…" She gathered her courage and pulled out the
slip of paper, watching as his eyes widened in shock.
She handed it over to him. "This," she said firmly.
"This is what I wanted to talk to you about."
Deciding that defensive and joking was the best way
to go, she said, forcing her tone to be light, "That was
pretty funny, Mamoru-kun. To think that you could
ever like me!" Her voice broke, tears filling her eyes.
"I mean…" Voice wavering, she continued. "I mean,
that was a really…good…joke…" She couldn't take
it anymore. Her heart was twisting violently in her
chest as she said these false words.
'I want to tell you how I feel, too, Mamo-chan…But
this is probably all a joke to you…' She tried to
giggle, but it died in her throat. "Anyway,
Mamoru…Congratulations on this joke thing…it
was…really…funny." She turned around, clenching
her fists by her sides, an action not lost on Mamoru's
razor-sharp vision.
'A joke? This is no joke, Usa-ko…' He watched as
her slumped dejected form began to walk out of the
garden, stopping by the beautiful marble water
fountain. 'Usa-ko…' And suddenly, he was next to
her again- listening to the water rush behind them.
"Usagi-chan."
She spun around. "H-hai," she stuttered. He saw how
the tears in her eyes were being forced back by her
rapid blinking. His heart went out to her; she was
trying to act so bravely.
"Um…Usagi…I don't know what you're thinking
right now…but…it wasn't a joke. I love you, Usa-
ko."
Usagi clenched her eyes shut. "Iie, Mamoru…It's not
possible…How could *you* love me?" She turned
her head away, but faced him again. "Do you…do
you really?" she asked, blue eyes shining with hope.
...the paper in his hand dropped to the ground,
and was carried away in the wind…
He took her into his arms, and smiled as she willing
fell into them. "Hai," he admitted. "It's true…But my
question is…" Blue eyes looked pleadingly into hers.
"Could *you* ever love me? After how horrible I've
been to you? The teasing, the taunting…?"
Usagi was in heaven. Pure emotions had shot through
her when he had uttered those words. 'I love you,
Usa-ko.' She knew that he wouldn't joke about his
love now. She had seen the honestly in his eyes, the
uncertainty. His words registered in her mind. 'Could
you ever love me?'
Gently, she pressed a finger to his lips, ceasing his
rambling. "We didn't mean it, Mamo-chan," she said,
delighting when his eyes lit up at her nickname for
him. "We never really meant anything we said
before…And…I do love you, Mamo-chan." Shyly,
she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on
her tippy-toes, her forehead touching his. "I love
you," she whispered. "I-" And her words were cut off
by his lips crushing onto hers.
He moved slowly so he wouldn't frighten her, but he
still noticed how hesitant she was. Regretfully, he
broke off the kiss, and stepped back, watching as
confusion played in her eyes. Chuckling, he pulled
her to him so that her back was pressing into his
chest, and gave her a light kiss on top of her head,
nuzzling his face into her blonde hair.
Digging into one of his pockets, he pulled out yet
another wrapped package. "Here," he whispered.
"This is for you."
Giggling, she replied, "Gee, Mamo-chan! Not even 2
minutes into our confessions, and you already have a
present for me?" Eyes twinkling, she unwrapped the
package, and gasped at what she saw.
A tiny, circular music box, with a violin on top. The
base was white, with intricate gold designs spiraling
around it, forming beautiful golden flowers. Glancing
at Mamoru, who watched her affectionately, her
shaking hands managed to open it. With one pale
hand, she twisted the golden knob, and gasped as she
heard the beginning notes to Pachelbel's Canon in D.
"Oh, Mamo-chan," she whispered. "It's
beautiful…Arigatou…"
Taking the music box from her hands, he set it gently
onto the ground.
Winking at her, he held out a hand to her and asked,
"Care to dance with me?"
Placing her hand in his, she truthfully replied, "I'll
dance with you forever, Mamo-chan."
And late into the night, the Canon still played, the
beautiful song to be matched with the giggling of an
angel, happily dancing in the arms of her lover.
~
* Yes, it is my poem. So there.
AN- Thank you to my betas, MM and Patch. And for
a useless fact: both music boxes do exist, and the 2nd
one that Usagi receives, the one that plays the Canon
in D, I own. It's so pretty!
Remember: sending e-mails are the best way to
compliment an author!
Leluh16@yahoo.com
Melody
By: Lelu
Leluh16@yahoo.com
PG
Disclaimer- Sailormoon, in another life, belonged to
me! Before I died, in my other life, I wrote in my will
to give all legal rights to Naoko Takeuchi. However,
when I approached her in this life, she merely
laughed at me, and called me a lunatic. Imagine-
*Me*, a lunatic?! ::runs off to collect garbage::
MWAHAHA!
~
Sweet music beckons to me,
Flowing like honey through the air.
A melody so complex,
And yet so simple.
It is the song of the angels,
But fit for me.
What is this beautiful tune?
The beating of your heart,
Next to mine.*
~
Blond-haired and blue-eyed, Tsukino Usagi walked
down the street, blond pigtails bobbing on her head.
A joyful smile was on her face, as she looked at the
object in her hands; a glass globe, with a beautifully
carved crystalline figure shaped as a dancing
ballerina. She gently shook it and watched as glitter
spiraled around the dancer. Usagi turned it over,
making sure not to drop it, and twisted the knob a
few times, waiting for the lilting tune to play.
Standing still, she listened as the few first notes of
'Waltz of the Flowers' began to play. She closed her
eyes and imagined herself into another world…A
world where she was beautiful, graceful, and
everything she had ever wanted to be. The simple, yet
beautiful, chords of the harp touched the center of her
very being, and she just stood there, a peaceful look
on her face; A look of bliss…
Chiba Mamoru, a stack of books tucked under his
arm, stood in amazement, watching the play of
emotions on Usagi's face. He was standing not but 3
feet away from her, and gazed at her to his heart's
content. Everything about her was perfect, he
thought. And the familiar pull on his heart made him
wish… Shaking his head, he focused his gaze back
onto Usagi, wondering why she was just standing
there with that look of undisguised joy on her face.
And then, he heard it; the tune was carried to him by
the wind, and he suddenly heard himself listening to
a beautiful melody. 'It sounds familiar', he thought.
But it wasn't the music that he was interested in. It
was the golden-haired nymph- and he stopped there.
It was right to call her a nymph, for the music was
drawing him to her, like those sirens had called out to
sailors and made so many ships crash upon their
rocks. And wasn't that exactly what had happened to
Mamoru? She had unknowingly called to him, and
now…he was lost. Sighing, he took in the sight of
her- her face was uplifted, he noted, as though giving
herself to the sun; as if she were allowing the sun to
kiss her lips. And in an instant, for some unexplained
reason, he felt jealous of the sun, for being able to
warm his Usa-ko, to let its beams of gold caress her
skin, and-most importantly- to be able to just touch
her, as he never could. And so he continued to stare
in awe at the most beautiful girl he knew that he
would ever see.
As the music reached its climax, the violins, chimes,
and other instruments were being played, entwined
together, making a beautiful pattern of gold, Usagi
felt someone's eyes upon her, as if they were boring
into her soul without permission. Only one person
could make her feel this way without ever being close
to her: Mamoru. She knew that it was he who was
staring at her so intently, but for the life of her, she
couldn't figure out what he would be watching
her…not when she wanted the privacy of just to 'be'.
To be able to allow her fantasies to play out, to
actually think that Mamoru could actually love her if
she could ever be a dancer like the one she held in
her hands…
Mamoru, who was quite happy with being able to
watch Usagi while she was acting so peacefully, soon
grew tired of being ignored. He wanted to talk to
Usagi- to hear her beautiful voice chime in his ears,
no matter what insults might spew from her lips. He
wanted…He wanted everything and anything that
had to do with Usagi. Slowly, so he wouldn't alert
her, he strolled up to her, and gently grabbed the
beautiful crystal globe…
…just as she made a move, her eyes still closed,
to pull it closer to her…
His hands made a jerky move to pull back, but it was
too late- the crystal ball had been hit, and it was now
wobbling precariously in her hands…tipping towards
the ground. As Usagi opened her eyes in horror, she
watched as her music box went crashing to the
ground…spiraling round and round until it finally hit
the cold hard concrete.
She gasped sharply (AN- Patch…) and shut her eyes,
not being able to watch as her wondrous sphere
finally made contact with the ground. The glass went
flying everywhere, the cold water from the globe
splashing her bare legs.
Mamoru stood in the same position, too shocked to
move. 'Oh god', he thought. 'What have I done?' He
had seen the sadness in her eyes, in her face, before
she had shut her eyes again, not being able to bear
watching…watching… All of his thoughts died when
he heard the small sobs emanating from her mouth.
Slowly, he looked at her. "U...Usagi-chan," he said,
choking on his own voice, "Gomen nasa-"
"Iie. Mamoru."
He physically recoiled from the coldness in her voice.
Her sentence- could it even be called that?- was a
fragment of two words.
She had realized that he was going to apologize- she
was going to talk back…fight his apology with all the
hurt she was feeling. "Mamoru." Her voice was soft,
and she raised teary blue eyes to meet his. "You
think," she whispered, "that you can make everything
better by just apologizing?" She watched numbly as
he took a step forward towards her, and saw the
shock in her eyes when she stepped back. "Don't
come any closer, Mamoru…Otherwise, I might have
to resort to physical actions," she said, greatly
tempted to smack him across the face.
His eyes widened. 'Usa…would hit me…?' "Demo,
Usag-"
"No, Mamoru," she cried out again. "Do you know
what you've just done?" She turned her back to him,
and hugged herself, trying to protect herself from
him. And then she realized what she had to do; turn
back around and face him. And so slowly, she did so.
"Mamoru, do you know," she said, in a voice full of
anguish, "how long it took me to save up for that?
Two months, Mamoru- early May." She closed her
eyes and opened them again, blinking back tears. "I
first saw that globe two and a half months ago," she
said reliving the experience. "I was walking home
from school, and as I walked past a window, a light
caught my attention. I stopped walking, and looked at
what the light had bounced off of." And in a light
girlish voice she added, "It was then I saw it…the
beautiful ballerina spinning around on her little stand-
the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. So I walked
in and picked it up, wanting to know two things: how
much it cost, and what song it played." She glared at
him, eyes shooting violent sparks. "I won't bore you
with how much it did cost, but the song it played…it
was beautiful. And I could see myself in some other
world, where I could be anything I wanted." Usagi
closed her eyes, and in a voice full of self-mocking
she added, "I could actually be beautiful,
Mamoru…Did you know that? When I heard that
music, I felt beautiful."
Mamoru swallowed. He knew that what he had done
was unforgivable- he had torn her dreams apart…He
wanted to make it up to her in any way. But her
words, 'I could actually be beautiful' rung in his
mind and ears. What on earth had made her think that
she wasn't beautiful? 'You, you baka,' an annoying
voice in his mind said. 'Aren't you always the won
that brings her down from her cloud?' How
ironic…he loved her, and yet she could see nothing
of it. Usagi's voice finally cut through the haze in his
mind.
"But then after I finally bought it, you had to come
along, didn't you, Mamoru?" Her voice was icy
again, chilling him to the depths of his soul. "You
had to ruin the one good thing that I would ever
had…the only thing that could take me away from
this world…I just want to know one thing..." She
brought her hand back and struck him against the
cheek, her eyes tearing up.
Mamoru just stood there, fists against his sides. He
didn't react to the stinging pain he felt on his face; it
was nothing compared to what he was feeling in his
heart.
She looked him straight in the eye. "Does it make
you happy to watch me suffer? Does it make you
happy to know that you've brought me back to this
hideous reality?" She stepped away, never breaking
eye contact. "Because what you have just done…I
shall *never* *ever* forgive you for."
And then in a quick move, she threw her bags down
onto the ground in front of him, and ran away to the
arcade…
'Where Motoki would comfort her', were his irony-
filled thoughts. To have her spirits brought down by
him, and to have them raised by his best friend- the
one that she had a crush on. All he knew was that he
had to make everything right again. He loved Usagi,
there was no doubt about that, and the answer to his
problem was so simple: To find another musical
globe identical to the one she had. There was just one
problem:
He had no clue where Usagi had found hers. All he
knew was that it was somewhere along the route she
took from her school to her house. Sighing, he bent
over and picked up the bags that Usagi had thrown at
him.
'Gomen ne, Usa-ko. I'll make everything up to you, I
promise.' ~
"…and then it went crashing to the floor…"
Half an hour later, Usagi was in the arms of the
friendly arcade worker, Furuhata Motoki. She was
telling him every last detail as to what had happened
earlier.
Sighing, Motoki thought to himself, 'You've really
done it this time, Mamoru-kun…How are you going
to get her to forgive you, much less to love you?' He
held her closer to him and stroked her golden-head,
trying to comfort her. "Usagi-chan," he said gently,
"You know that Mamoru didn't mean to do it, right?"
At her snort of disgust, he quickly reprimanded her
with just one word. "Usagi…"
She looked up at him, blue eyes- which were still
filled with tears- filled with uncertainty. "I don't
know, Motoki…I mean…" She collapsed her head on
his chest again, letting his warmth fill the iciness of
her body.
Contrary to the ever-popular idea that she had a crush
on Motoki, every one was dead wrong. Usagi had sat
down with her self-appointed 'onii-san' one day, and
explained to him that she didn't feel anything like
*that* towards him, and he was merely like her older
brother- nothing more than that. She had been
surprised when he had burst out laughing and told her
that he had already known that for a long time.
He absentmindedly began to stroke her hair again,
waiting for her to continue.
"I just don't understand, onii-san," she said slowly. "I
mean…why does Mamoru, who is a 17 year old for
god's sake, always have to pick on me? He acts like a
little kid with me, trying to match my insults with
his- and most of the time, I don't ever start it! It's
really unfair," she said, coming to the end of her
sentence. "He's an upperclassman, ne? So why is he
so mean to me, but nice to all the other girls?" Her
voice dropped again. "Am I really that different to
him?" She heard him chuckle above her, and looked
back up him in surprise- the confusion in her sky-
blue eyes meeting the jollity in his. It would seem- to
any outsider- that they were two lovers, staring into
each other…
Which was why Mamoru had gasped when he had
seen them. Motoki's arms were wrapped tightly
around her waist, and hers around his. They were so
close, that you couldn't see anything behind their
bodies. She was gazing into his eyes, and
.he into hers.
Both Usagi and Motoki heard him gasp, and both of
their heads simultaneously spun to Mamoru, who's
face was pale and uncertain, blue eyes filled with
shock, hurt, and…
'Betrayal?' Usagi thought. 'What for?'
Motoki swallowed, and unwrapped his arms from
Usagi's waist, knowing damn well what Mamoru was
feeling and thinking. 'Dear lord,' he thought wryly,
'I'm not going to live to see the end of the day…' A
look into Mamoru's stormy indigo eyes proved
correct.
Mamoru shook his head. 'I…I don't care,' he told
himself. He walked towards Usagi, who seemed to be
looking at everything but him. "Here, Usagi," he
said, handing her a wrapped package. "I…This is for
you," he blurted out. "Open it when you get
home…please."
She looked up at him in surprise, and then to his
hands where the present was held. 'He has beautiful
hands,' she thought while taking the gift from his
hands. "Umm…" She looked over at Motoki, who
nodded his head in encouragement. "Um, th-thank
you, Mamoru." Usagi darted a look at him, and saw
the affection that he had in his eyes. 'For me…?'
This was getting too weird. "I've got to go home
now. Ja ne!" And Usagi ran out of the arcade, blond
pigtails flying behind her. ~
Mamoru watched her run out the door, and then,
sighed softly while sitting down onto a stool. Burying
his head in his arms, he mumbled, "I'm such a
baka…"
"Damn straight you are, Mamoru!" Came the chipper
voice of Motoki.
Mamoru, suddenly remembering his anger at *the*
embrace, suddenly sprung up and pinned Motoki to
the wall. "And just what the hell were you doing,
hugging Usa-ko so tightly?! I swear to god, Motoki-
," he snarled out, "if I *ever* see you that close to her
again…" He trailed off, letting Motoki get the
picture.
Motoki gulped and put on a shaky smile. "Gomen,
Mamoru-kun! She only needed a hug because she
was so heartbroken over her crystal globe being
broken by a certain baka!"
Mamoru sighed, lowered Motoki to the ground, and
watched as Motoki scampered off behind to
computer, using it as a shield. "I know, I know,"
Mamoru murmured. "I'm so ashamed of what I
did…I mean…" He looked into Motoki's eyes. "She
was just so beautiful standing there…and as corny as
this may sound, the sunlight was playing in her hair
and she just looked….beautiful," he said simply. "I
wanted to talk to her, and so I reached out to take that
musical globe out of her hand…and then she moved,
and it fell onto the ground." Mamoru looked away,
and whispered, "I don't think I'll ever be able to look
at Usa-ko again in the same way…not after seeing
her the way I did today. She seemed so innocent and
young…"
Motoki shook his head. 'Man…Mamoru's a goner.'
"After she left, I felt so bad…I searched for about
twenty minutes or so and then I finally came upon the
little shop where Usa-ko had bought her music box.
So I went in and bought it- lucky me, it was the last
one!" He gave a light chuckle. "But…the thing is,
Motoki…" His voice dropped. "I did something
incredibly stupid.
Motoki glanced at him warily. "Dare I even ask
what?" At Mamoru's deadly look, he amended
himself. "Alright, what is this 'incredibly stupid'
thing that you did?"
"I…" Mamoru sighed. "Before I bough the globe for
Usa-ko, I had the owner of the shop open a little
compartment in the base of the figurine."
Motoki leaned forward. "And…?" he prompted.
"And…I wrote a little note…and had the man put the
note into the base of the globe."
He leaned even more forward, the edge of the counter
digging into his stomach. "What did the note say…?"
"It said…'Usa-ko, Aishiteru. Mamoru.'"
Motoki gasped (half in pain from the counter, half in
shock). "Oh my god…You didn't!"
Mamoru shook his head. "Hai, I did. So if Usagi ever
drops that 'crystal ball' of hers…"
"…the note will be found, and your secret will be
known to her," Motoki finished, a look of awe
spreading across his face. Slowly, he began to
applaud, stopping when Mamoru shot him a look.
"You know, Mamoru, I admire you for doing this.
How you're willing to let your biggest kept secret
come out so easily. I mean, we all know that Usagi's
a klutz, and the chances of her dropping it are…100
out of 1."
Mamoru buried his head in his arms again. "I know,"
he said softly. "Believe me, I know. And the sad
thing is…I'm hoping that she does." ~
When Usagi walked into the house, Ikuko, who had
been waiting for Usagi to arrive home, immediately
asked, "What's that in your hand? What did you buy?
Did a boy give it to you?"
Usagi rolled her eyes. "Well, the original was bought
by me, but the ever-baka Mamoru broke it. But…I
guess that this is a new one. I haven't opened it yet."
Her mother plucked the box out of her hand, eyes
twinkling. "Well, since Mamoru-" Usagi cringed, her
mom was teasing her- "bought it, you won't mind if I
open it for you!"
"Iie!" Usagi grabbed the box, happy when it was
back in her own hands. "Um…I'll be upstairs if you
need me. Ja!" And then she raced up the stairs,
leaving her mother laughing and shaking her head
after her. ~
Usagi gently shut the door after her, and promptly sat
down on the bed, looking curiously at the box. It
didn't look like it contained an explosive…or a
bomb…or anything that could kill her if she opened
it. Slowly, cautiously, she untied the ribbon, tore off
the paper, opened the box, and gasped in delight.
Her spinning ballerina!
'Oh, Mamo-chan,' she thought. 'Thank you so
much…!' She gently wound the golden knob, and
listened as her song came on. She began to twirl
around the room, blue eyes blissfully closed, golden
pigtails swinging behind her, still holding on to the
globe.
"USAGI!" a voice shouted.
Startled, her crystal globe dropped to the hard floor…
…crashing into a hundred tiny little pieces.
Again.
She turned around sharply, eyes shooting fire.
Crying, she said, "Shingo-baka! Look at what you
made me do!" Slowly, she bent to the ground, and
carefully began collecting the pieces of glass.
"Usagi…" The hesitant voice of Shingo said.
"Go away, Shingo," she whispered. "Please…just go
away."
She heard him gently close the door, and her
attention turned back to her broken crystalline
dancer. "Oh…" she whispered. "Oh no…" Closing
her eyes, she sat back against her bed, her head
pounding. "What will I tell him…?" Shaking her
head, she bent forward, and began to pick up the
broken pieces of glass. 'Hey, what's this?' Her
fingers had brushed over a piece of paper that was
neatly wedged into the black base. Brows furrowed,
she neatly plucked it out and unfolded it, her heart
fluttering. And the paper fell back to the floor.
'Usa-ko, Aishiteru. Mamoru.'
Her jaw agape, she picked up the sheet of paper
again.
'Usa-ko, Aishiteru. Mamoru.'
She couldn't believe it…And yet, wasn't that
handwriting on that paper, Mamoru's? But then, he
must've known that she would have dropped it
sooner or later. 'Oh, Mamo-chan', she thought. 'You
love me? Do you truly love me?' She giggled, the
single slip of paper pressed to her heart. 'Tomorrow,
Mamo-chan…Tomorrow, I'll confront you. And
prove to you that I love you, too. ~
Mamoru walked through the garden, ivy spiraling up
around marble pillar columns. Beautiful flowers hung
here and there, most of them a deep violet color.
Walls, masses of flowers peaking through the cracks,
loomed over him, letting just enough heat in to keep
him warm. This was his haven.
A small breeze ruffled his hair, and he smile joyously
to himself. Something special was going to happen
today. He didn't know how he knew, but he just had
a feeling.
"Mamoru!"
Slowly, he stopped walking, and turned as he saw
Usagi, breathless from running, walking towards him.
"Odango?" he questioned, when she was but 2 feet
away from him. "What are you- how did you find
me?" That was a good question. Nobody knew of this
place of his. Nobody but-
"Motoki told me where I could find you," she said,
eyes averted. "I…I needed to talk to you, so I waited
at the Parlor until 12, but when you never showed up,
I just asked Motoki where you were…And so he told
me." She took a look around, gasping at the garden's
beauty. "Sugoi! Mamoru…it's so beautiful here."
Mamoru stared at the picture that Usagi made; large
blue eyes dreamy, her slim body, dressed in a short
white dress that portrayed her innocence, leaned
against one of the walls, and a hand shading her eyes
from the sun.
'Iie, Usa-ko,' he thought. 'You're beautiful…'
Blinking her eyes, she looked at Mamoru, who
seemed to be caught up in looking at…her? Perhaps
now would be the time… She levered herself off the
wall, and walked up to him, gently touching his arm
to bring his mind back from wherever it had been.
"Mamoru," she whispered, noticing how intently his
blue eyes were looking into hers. 'Has it always been
this way?' "I…um…." Suddenly, she lost her nerve,
and the hand inside her pocket clenched around the
slip of paper. 'Maybe this was a joke…' Usagi
thought for what must have been the 100th time since
last night. 'Why would someone like Mamo-chan
love me…? He's so kawaii and could have any other
girl he wanted, so why would he choose me…?'
"Odango?" he whispered.
"Don't call me that," she replied automatically. When
she heard him chuckle, she flushed pink and said,
"Gomen, Mamoru…Um…I'll just be going now."
She hadn't walked two steps when she heard him say,
"Matte, Usagi." Obeying, she turned around, only to
step back when he was standing right in front of her.
"You couldn't have come all the way out here to tell
me 'nothing'!" He smiled gently at her, blue eyes not
mocking for once, making her heart skip a few beats.
"So, what is it that you needed to talk to me about?"
"I…I…" She gathered her courage and pulled out the
slip of paper, watching as his eyes widened in shock.
She handed it over to him. "This," she said firmly.
"This is what I wanted to talk to you about."
Deciding that defensive and joking was the best way
to go, she said, forcing her tone to be light, "That was
pretty funny, Mamoru-kun. To think that you could
ever like me!" Her voice broke, tears filling her eyes.
"I mean…" Voice wavering, she continued. "I mean,
that was a really…good…joke…" She couldn't take
it anymore. Her heart was twisting violently in her
chest as she said these false words.
'I want to tell you how I feel, too, Mamo-chan…But
this is probably all a joke to you…' She tried to
giggle, but it died in her throat. "Anyway,
Mamoru…Congratulations on this joke thing…it
was…really…funny." She turned around, clenching
her fists by her sides, an action not lost on Mamoru's
razor-sharp vision.
'A joke? This is no joke, Usa-ko…' He watched as
her slumped dejected form began to walk out of the
garden, stopping by the beautiful marble water
fountain. 'Usa-ko…' And suddenly, he was next to
her again- listening to the water rush behind them.
"Usagi-chan."
She spun around. "H-hai," she stuttered. He saw how
the tears in her eyes were being forced back by her
rapid blinking. His heart went out to her; she was
trying to act so bravely.
"Um…Usagi…I don't know what you're thinking
right now…but…it wasn't a joke. I love you, Usa-
ko."
Usagi clenched her eyes shut. "Iie, Mamoru…It's not
possible…How could *you* love me?" She turned
her head away, but faced him again. "Do you…do
you really?" she asked, blue eyes shining with hope.
...the paper in his hand dropped to the ground,
and was carried away in the wind…
He took her into his arms, and smiled as she willing
fell into them. "Hai," he admitted. "It's true…But my
question is…" Blue eyes looked pleadingly into hers.
"Could *you* ever love me? After how horrible I've
been to you? The teasing, the taunting…?"
Usagi was in heaven. Pure emotions had shot through
her when he had uttered those words. 'I love you,
Usa-ko.' She knew that he wouldn't joke about his
love now. She had seen the honestly in his eyes, the
uncertainty. His words registered in her mind. 'Could
you ever love me?'
Gently, she pressed a finger to his lips, ceasing his
rambling. "We didn't mean it, Mamo-chan," she said,
delighting when his eyes lit up at her nickname for
him. "We never really meant anything we said
before…And…I do love you, Mamo-chan." Shyly,
she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on
her tippy-toes, her forehead touching his. "I love
you," she whispered. "I-" And her words were cut off
by his lips crushing onto hers.
He moved slowly so he wouldn't frighten her, but he
still noticed how hesitant she was. Regretfully, he
broke off the kiss, and stepped back, watching as
confusion played in her eyes. Chuckling, he pulled
her to him so that her back was pressing into his
chest, and gave her a light kiss on top of her head,
nuzzling his face into her blonde hair.
Digging into one of his pockets, he pulled out yet
another wrapped package. "Here," he whispered.
"This is for you."
Giggling, she replied, "Gee, Mamo-chan! Not even 2
minutes into our confessions, and you already have a
present for me?" Eyes twinkling, she unwrapped the
package, and gasped at what she saw.
A tiny, circular music box, with a violin on top. The
base was white, with intricate gold designs spiraling
around it, forming beautiful golden flowers. Glancing
at Mamoru, who watched her affectionately, her
shaking hands managed to open it. With one pale
hand, she twisted the golden knob, and gasped as she
heard the beginning notes to Pachelbel's Canon in D.
"Oh, Mamo-chan," she whispered. "It's
beautiful…Arigatou…"
Taking the music box from her hands, he set it gently
onto the ground.
Winking at her, he held out a hand to her and asked,
"Care to dance with me?"
Placing her hand in his, she truthfully replied, "I'll
dance with you forever, Mamo-chan."
And late into the night, the Canon still played, the
beautiful song to be matched with the giggling of an
angel, happily dancing in the arms of her lover.
~
* Yes, it is my poem. So there.
AN- Thank you to my betas, MM and Patch. And for
a useless fact: both music boxes do exist, and the 2nd
one that Usagi receives, the one that plays the Canon
in D, I own. It's so pretty!
Remember: sending e-mails are the best way to
compliment an author!
Leluh16@yahoo.com