Mandarake is the holy land for the Otaku's that dwell in Shibuya with a mixture of items for both manga and anime fans alike, another benefit being that it is fifteen minutes away from work so the chances of running into a coworker are slim. Usagi grinned at her own oasis away from the office as she arrived at the shop smelling the scent of fresh manga pages and the b.o. of the middle-aged man standing beside her trying to conceal the fact he was purchasing hentai DVDs. It's not as if Usagi was exactly ashamed of being a fan of anime and manga culture, it was more a shame to her with just how much a fan she was. It's difficult to gauge just how others would react to this information at work, she had created this image of a normal girl working a simple office job in order to fund her 'normal' lifestyle. Usagi scoured the shelves of the manga section searching for the new volumes of her list of mangas, with an arm full of new additions she was ready to make her way secretly to the BL section.
She felt in that moment as if she had suddenly run into a tree, staring in shock as her precious babies lay scattered on the floor from the collision. Her brows furrowed together in disappointment she begins to mutter out apologies for not looking where she was going head bowed just staring at the polished black formal shoes of the person standing opposite of her. Oh, god these shoes look too familiar for comfort. Usagi's head snapped upward making contact with said freakishly tall Mamoru Chiba.
There that devil stood headphones in either ear as he slowly crouched down to aid in the recovery of the fallen books without a word uttered. "Are you following me now?" Usagi questioned with a huff as she herself knelt down to pick up her babies, "Hm?" Mamoru questioned with a hum as he removed one bud from his ear a look of nonchalance on his face.
"What are you doing here?" Usagi posed a new question both parties standing now that the books were recovered albeit a bit scuffed but fine nonetheless. Mamoru held up his own purchase and it was evident what kind of otaku this man was, on the cover was a very obvious fan serviced girl. Large breasts, skinny waist, and an innocent expression. Just at the sight of the abnormally large unproportioned breasts, Usagi felt the back pain this poor character must feel.
"I think you and that man would get along just great" Usagi grunted with a hint of disgust pointing over to the middle-aged man that was trying to conceal his lewd purchases as mentioned earlier. Mamoru's eyes shifted over to the man before he let out a simple shrug.
"I am who I am" Mamoru explained eyeing Usagi's BL purchases, such hypocrisy coming from such a small woman. "Have you thought about our date?" Mamoru questioned as he accompanied the blonde over to the register.
"Oh, you mean the nonexistent one? No, I haven't" Usagi spoke, a drastic difference was noted in her kind personality directed to the cashier compared to the perverted tree.
Mamoru chuckled at her snarky reply, "I was going to offer to have dinner with you at the all you could eat next door, my treat" He spoke letting his gaze wander along her features watching as they lit up with his words.
"Okay fine but don't try anything funny perv, just stick with your manga girls" Usagi complied at the promise of free food following Mamoru out.
"Don't tempt me with a good time"
He underestimated her appetite, her plate a mountain high with gyoza currently stuffed in her mouth. "You look like a chipmunk" Mamoru mused watching as she easily inhaled the mass amount of food. It would be off-putting to most people, but Mamoru couldn't help but find it somewhat cute.
"So" Usagi started voice a bit muffled as she still was chewing a bit of the dumpling uncaring of seeming improper, "Why do you like me?" She huffed furrowing her thin brows. It still didn't add up for Usagi, it was a week ago that he confessed a week Usagi spent trying to avoid/ understand the situation with no luck.
With a thought-filled hum, he pondered over when exactly he began to shift his perspective on her. It's not as simple as Motoki would explain it to be, he didn't just wake up one day to find that he had taken a liking to her.
It must've started a few months ago, more particularly it was take your kids to work day. Mamoru grew up in a somewhat large family being the middle child of the five Chiba children. With the firstborn being his older brother Tatsuo, the second being his older sister Misumi and two twin younger siblings a girl named Tomoni and a boy named Tomo. It was safe to say their parents had quite a lot on their plate, with such a hectic household the younger siblings were constantly thrown at their older siblings for 'bonding time' which was a glorified name for peace and quiet for their mother and father.
Take your kids to work day was one of those 'bonding times' that Mamoru was stuck with, "Tomo, Ni bag check" Mamoru commanded adjusting his glasses as he knelt down watching as the five-year-olds opened their miniature backpacks. "color book and markers?" Mamoru questioned, the silent twin Tomo (the only sibling to take after Mamoru) just nodded affirmatively.
"check!" Tomoni eagerly cheered, "Tomo check too".
"lunch bag?"
Another silent nod followed by Tonomi's loud 'check'. Mamoru went down the list quickly checking through their backpacks as oftentimes candy was snuck into the small corners of their bags and Tonomi was hyper enough to last a lifetime. "You little thugs" Mamoru chuckled spotting the little girl's obvious stack of Kikko candies.
As predicted Tomo was a breeze to handle, he kept to himself sitting at an empty desk just scribbling away in his sketchbook. His twin sister on the other hand was raising hell for Mamoru, currently having to stop her from pestering his coworkers (and their children) with her nosiness and constant blabbering. "Kobayashi please keep an eye on the gremlin while I check up on Tomo" Mamoru sighed out stressfully, the other adult volunteering happily since he adored the siblings quite a bit.
"I think Tomo is very talented" A voice praised causing Mamoru to grow a bit worried as Tomo often became anxious when it came to social interactions. The older brother prepared himself to swiftly remove the child from the situation till he heard the quiet voice of Chiba Tomo himself, "Tanks you, Tomo is hungry Usa-chan".
Usagi? As in Tsukino Usagi? There's no way that demon could open up his innocent angel Tomo's shell.
The 182-centimeter man peered over hiding behind a cubicle as his doubts were confirmed, the blonde devil was sat beside a very content-looking Tomo. "Ah, there's little Tomo-Kun" Motoki cooed barging into the conversation with his usual megawatt smile, "Tsukino-san, Konnichiwa" Motoki acknowledged aiding Tomo in setting up his lunch on the empty desk. "Got any cool drawings today To-to?" The manager questioned as he pulled up a chair to join the pair.
The inky-haired boy nodded proudly flipping through his almost filled sketchbook before settling on his newest works, one, in particular, appeared very familiar to Motoki, "He's so talented" Usagi cheered squishing Tomo's rosy cheeks.
"Who's that Tomo?" Motoki asked watching the boy munching on the rice balls packed neatly in his bento, the pictures were quite well done for a five-year-old this was another thing he inherited from Mamoru. At the sight of the manga-like scribbles, he recalled his younger days with a very closed-off Mamoru.
But that's a story for another day.
Tomo looked at the drawing in question, a portrait he had just finished before Motoki had arrived. "I asked him to draw me" Usagi answered with a grin, Tomo once again nodded in agreement his rice-covered lips upturned into an equally goofy grin.
"Usa-chan, Tomo's girlfriend" Tomo answered nonchalantly before returning to his lunch.
Girlfriend? His pure-hearted baby brother has been corrupted by this wolf in sheep's clothing. He wouldn't stand for this!
Mamoru leaped up from his hiding spot the sleeves of his button-up work shirt rolled up, but all words left him once he saw the bright smile Tomo was sporting.
He finished recounting the story, a baffled Usagi sat across from him no longer chewing. "Tomo is your brother, and because I was nice to him you want to date me?" Usagi questioned with a deadpanned expression, that interaction wasn't that big of a deal at least not enough to erect this sudden change from him.
"Tomo doesn't like to talk much, in his class he's often bullied by the other little kids for that reason. It's rare he smiles or even laughs and when I asked why he smiled with you he said 'because she is nice to Tomo', it may sound simple and probably nothing much to you but seeing him smile as he said that-" Mamoru trailed off unable to finish his sentence. "But, that wasn't the only reason" Mamoru shrugged off the somber mood as he continued to eat.
"What was the other reason?" Usagi huffed pointing her chopsticks threateningly at him, she wasn't aware that the cute little boy she had met could be related to such an annoyance.
Mamoru raised his brow a hint of a smirk on his lips, He spoke unable to hide the teasing glint in his eyes "Why are you suddenly so interested? Could it be that you-"
He was shut down quickly Usagi harshly whispering a "No", the waitress stopped by giving the pair a warm smile. She was an elderly lady, the restaurant is run by her and her husband along with their grandsons "What a lively couple" she commented making Usagi sputter out denial after denial. "Such a lovely lady and handsome gentlemen it's a waste, I would be very happy having a granddaughter-in-law like you" The old woman praised already motioning towards her grandsons, "A healthy appetite as well, you know my grandson Hiro is the chef perhaps-" The kind old lady was cut off by Mamoru.
"I'm afraid we are dating" Mamoru apologized for his intrusion in the conversation, his mood significantly dropping at the idea of Usagi seeking out this woman's grandsons. Usagi was actually relieved Mamoru had spoken up, it was uncomfortable being suddenly being pushed to date one of the brothers. "This is my boyfriend Chiba Mamoru" Usagi introduced a cold sweat forming on her face, her jaw clenched as these words made her want to vomit meanwhile Mamoru couldn't help but beam at the word 'boyfriend'.
When the older woman finally dismissed herself Mamoru was still sat beaming, "Don't say another word" Usagi grunted unable to meet his eye contact due to the dark blush on her cheeks.
"If you want to know more about why I like you then go on another date with me, I'll tell you everything Usako" Mamoru said uttering the nickname with a sense of fondness in his tone, "As your boyfriend, I'll do anything you ask".
"Die then" Usagi narrowed her eyes sending him the biggest death glare she could muster up, how dare he call this disastrous night a 'date'.
Mamoru sighed, "I knew it wouldn't be that easy, guess I'll have to tell Motoki-san about your trip to mandarake. More specifically, your purchases" He threatened eyeing her like a predator to its prey.
Needless to say, a date was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Teaser for next chapter;
Tomo isn't very happy his girlfriend was stolen from him, but there turns out there are more than two Chiba men into a certain blonde.
Usagi meets the eldest brother, and he's kind of handsome?