Chapter 9

Minako was sitting on Usagi's bed, watching her blonde-haired bunny bounce up and down in excitement over Makoto's freshly made scones. She had put freshly made cream and jam in the middle of each identical bake and was currently trying hard to keep Usagi's hands off the delicious bites. Minako smiled at her friend's antics and looked around the room. She suddenly shot off the bed to Usagi's vanity. She picked up a corsage that was sitting by the side of a crystal tiara. Usagi looked quickly at her blonde lookalike that had shot over the room. She frowned.

"What is it, Minako-chan?"

"Usagi-chan, where did you buy this corsage?!" Minako's crystal clear bright blue eyes had widened in awe at this beautiful accessory.

Usagi faintly smiled and her eyes glazed over. "I made it," she whispered.

Usagi eventually reached home and slipped her slippers on to go upstairs to her room. She gently lifted the note with the attached rose out of her bag. She inspected the rose more carefully and noticed that the thorns were taken off of the stem. She smiled inwardly at the thought and stared longingly at the flower. She brought the bud, which was slowly opening, to her nose and deeply inhaled. The smell was sweet and endearing which was reminiscent of her encounters with Mamoru.

She leaned over to reach for her drawers and brought out a textiles box which her mother insisted every girl needed. Usagi admired the beauty of the rose and wondered how she could wear it. Then like a light bulb she had an idea. She opened the box and proceeded to take out light pink tinted pearls and wire then found some fake leaves which were shaped as hearts and on closer inspection found she liked what she saw. She breathed hard and thought hard about what her mother had tried to teach her all those years ago. She got out a thimble to protect her fingers. She started to work on her corsage.

After 3 hours, she was done. And after several sharp pricks of the needle and many plasters for her fingers which were now healing, she found she liked what she saw: it was exactly what she wanted. She created a band which would fit around her wrist perfectly and around the band she had sewn the fake little leaves onto it which allowed her to then collect more in the centre. She tied a few pieces of clear wire into the little wreath and attached the pink tinted pearls onto them. She secured the rose onto the corsage as a centre piece. At first, she was concerned it would be too small, but when she had added the flower to finish her work off, she found that as the bud was opening, the rose covered her wrist nicely. The deep red colour of the rose beautifully allowed the pearls to shine above the earthy green leaves.

She admired her finished work and got up to examine the effect it would have with her dress. The pink pearls complimented the pink of the dress perfectly so she was happy. She planned to use the same colour pink pearl clips to pin into her hair. She was determined to ignore the conflict she felt over her feelings for Mamoru. She didn't really understand what had happened between them but all would be clear tomorrow.

"Usagi-chan, earth to Usagi-chan! Are you in there?" Minako looked at Makoto. Makoto simply shrugged. Usagi came to and looked at her two friends. "I'm okay. I guess I spaced out there. When do we get ready anyway?"

The girls shook their heads at the dreamy girl in front of them and flounced off to join the other girls downstairs. Usagi continued to sit there on her bed, twirling a lock of hair around her fingers.

The girls came back up to join Usagi and they got to work on the scones. Minako sat behind Usagi and started curling her long golden locks. As she worked, Rei started to pile them on the top of her head so they fell like a waterfall. The pink tinted pearl clips were pinned to the top of her head and little red roses were pinned around the crown of her golden locks. The tiara was gently placed on the top of her head and Usagi slipped her dress on. The girls completed the look by slipping on snow white sandals and complimentary makeup.

The girls then got themselves ready. Usagi didn't notice that they all had prioritized her and took great care in making her look stunning. Unbeknownst to her, her friends were on cloud nine seeing her being her usual happy self. They knew something had happened between when they last saw her and now because she was positively beaming. It was still a mystery to them as to who she was paired with but they didn't push the subject. For now, they had to pin up their hair, apply makeup and slip on their dresses.

Elsewhere, the guys were sorted and sitting outside on Mamoru's balcony, drinking coffee. "So, who is it you're going with, Motoki-kun? I never asked," Mamoru sweat dropped.

Motoki raised his eyebrows and replied "Reika-chan. Admittedly I've been crushing on her for what feels like forever." He sighed wistfully as he thought of the auburn-haired vixen. Mamoru chuckled and looked at the time.

"Well Motoki-kun, as much as I'd love to drool over a cute lass, I have a little bunny to pick up. Jaa ne," Mamoru waved on his way out.

Mamoru drove to Usagi's house in a sleek Porsche which to him felt more like a security. After... Well, it felt comfortable to drive. He parked outside of Usagi's house 4.15 on the dot and walked up to the door to knock. He knew Usagi's parents were away for the week at a family friend so he felt secure to know that he wouldn't be grilled by her father. He knocked on the door and waited. A raven-haired girl with violet eyes opened the door to him. She observed the young man in front of her and expressionless, let him in. "Usagi-chan, your... partner is here!" she called.

Usagi came down the stairs in a graceful manner, which surprised all who were watching her. She smiled at the ground and then met Mamoru's eyes. He stood gawking at her. He thought he'd stepped into the wrong house because if anyone told him before that his odango atama could be transformed into this goddess, he would have told them to stop talking rubbish. She met him at the bottom of the stairs and smiled at him. She decided to ignore her friends whispering and gesturing to each other. She didn't tell them about him because no one likes a gossip.