A strong kick sounded dully on the hubcap. Raking his fingers angrily through his thick black hair, Mamoru silently cursed his recent string of bad luck. In the last week he had stepped in dog poop on the way into an important meeting with his professor, locked himself out of his apartment, spilled coffee on all of his study notes, and now, he had a flat tire.
Mamoru was not usually superstitious, but he was starting to believe in karma. When he stopped and examined his life, he could see the fairness of it all. After all, as Tuxedo Kamen, he had been relentlessly tailing the Sailor Senshi for months now, stealing any Rainbow Crystals they had been able to obtain. And in his day-to-day life, he had been cold, rude, and sarcastic to many of the people he regularly encountered.
But fair or not, he was getting sick of wondering what unfortunate event would pop up in his day next. Flipping the lock on his driver's side door, he pushed it shut and started walking in the direction of the Crown Parlour. As his feet fell into a smooth rhythm on the sidewalk, he began to form a plan. The next time he had the urge to be rude or cold, he would instead go out of his way to be kind. Showering his fellow humans with kindness would surely tip the scales in his favour, or at least give a brief respite from the wrath of the gods.
Of course, Mamoru's luck being what it was, no sooner had he made this vow than he ran into the most irritating girl he knew. Literally. From the ground at his feet, he heard the high-pitched voice whine, "Watch where you're going, Baka!"
Great, he just had to run into her. Biting his tongue to hold back the usual insults, he grudgingly held out his hand to help her up. "I'm really sorry Oda—Usagi. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," he offered with forced gentleness.
Usagi gaped up at him from the ground, her pale blue eyes unnaturally wide and her mouth agape. Shaking off the shock, she questioned tentatively, "Are you all right Mamoru? You don't seem like yourself today."
"I'm fine!" he snapped tensely. Then shaking his head, he gentled his voice, repeating, "I'm fine. I'm sorry; I think my blood sugar is getting a little low. I'm going to head to the Crown for a snack. Would you like to come with me?"
Staring at him disbelievingly, Usagi pursed her lips, tilted her head, and then reached up, laying a hand on Mamoru's forehead. "No fever," she mused quietly.
"Come on Odango, is it really that rare for me to be nice to you?" he asked in annoyance.
"Actually, yes," she replied honestly. "But you've got me curious now, so I'll go with you."
Mamoru just nodded dumbly and started walking towards the café. His forehead tingled where she had touched him. He even found a small part of him wishing that she would do it again. When they entered the small ice cream parlour minutes later, Mamoru was glad to see that his friend Motoki was not in his usual place behind the counter. Motoki would make a big deal out of this. And it was nothing to make a big deal about. Usagi simply happened to be the person to whom he was the meanest. But as he looked at her innocent smile and bright eyes, he began to wonder why that was so. Her petite hands fiddled with a straw while they waited for their shakes to arrive. So tiny and whisper soft. He found himself longing to feel their touch again.
The conversation was quite one sided. Between sips of her frosty chocolate milkshake, Usagi rambled away, speaking about school and the manga she was currently reading. She talked about homework and detentions and how mean Haruna Sensei was. Mamoru stirred his shake and watched her talk, nodding occasionally, but he was actually formulating another plan.
Casually, he knocked his hand against his milkshake cup, causing it to wobble and then tip over. If he guessed correctly, sweet, innocent Usagi would be quick to help him clean up the mess, and he would probably be able to brush her hand with his own in the process. But what he hadn't counted on was the fact that they had been sitting at the counter with their shakes for nearly half an hour. His nervous stirring had caused his shake to melt completely. Instead of leaving a half-frozen puddle on the counter, the runny shake had instantly poured over the edge and onto his lap. With a sharp gasp, he jumped from the stool, the sugary mess pooling around his feet. At least it was vanilla.
"Oh Mamoru," Usagi cried, jumping to her feet. "Let me help you." Grabbing a handful of napkins, she began to wipe the gooey mess from his legs. As she lifted his pant leg to wipe his shoe, her creamy fingers brushed the skin of his ankle and he smiled. Maybe he didn't have such bad karma after all.