NVR ment 2 B mun
by zizi luna
PG-13
[author note] this chapter has a different tone than the others. Previous chapters tended to be more depressing and showed the darker side of usagi but in this one (like several I hope to write in the future) the tone is more upbeat and shows a glimpse of a life without diamond in it.
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Chapter 5: Mall express...
The bell rings.
I took my books and headed out where Mamoru was waiting opposite the spot where Diamond always waited for me at.
"Hey," he said. "Thought you might want to go the mall."
I looked around wondering if Rei, Ami, Makoto or Minako might show up somewhere. We usually walked home together but the chances of Makoto showing up were slim. She had a tendency to disappear for several days and come to school with a new set of bruises and scratches running all along her body. Luna told me she kept a watch on her and so did Artemis but to no avail. Vanishing into the shadows wasn't a new skill for Makoto.
"I don't know...."
"Don't worry about your friends," Mamoru said. "I already told them to go on ahead without you."
My first reaction would have been to complain and walk off from this weirdo person but then I backtracked. Mamoru was what people can call "co-worker" and it wasn't a matter whether I liked him or not. It was whether I can get the job done with or without unnecessary problems.
I sighed. Might as well do what he wants and then get him to pay for my ice cream.
"Okay, I'll go."
*^*^*^*^
"Ooooh," I said. "An arcade, bigger than the Crown Arcade. Let's go in!"
Mamoru was off looking at some laptops through the shop window. "You go on ahead. I'll-"
"-oh, you're no fun! Come on, the new virtual Sailor V game is out with cool 3D special effects that make attack combos feel like the real thing! And did you know that all-"
"-okay, okay, I'm coming," Mamoru said tucking his hands into his pockets. "So what's with this game obsession anyway?"
"It's not an obsession," I retorted, "and if you wanna find out what's the craze is about then play it yourself."
Mamoru didn't look too convinced but after watching me play and lose for the fifteenth time, he decided to join in on the virtual world as the 'Kamen Warrior', a new ally in the Sailor V manga series and the secret crush of Sailor V herself.
It was only then, that Mamoru decided to let loose the big grown up facade. We played all kinds of games (his treat, of course).
"Ha," I said loudly, hands on my hips. " I am and always will be the *ultimate* dancing maniac."
Mamoru smiled in his mysterious and knowing manner. "That was just a warm up. It's my turn to pick a song."
Game after game on the dance machine we tied until hours had passed and a crowd huddled to see our nonstop performance. Beads of sweat rolled down my face and the people all around us hogged up all the air but I wasn't about to let up. I would win. *I* was the ultimate dancer.
Then, I slipped. The tragic moment in which all my dreams of becoming the queen of the ultimate stamina test of strength perished. Everything slowed down as I saw the screen flashed red and I fell into Mamoru and we both toppled to the ground. The screen blacked out and flashed 'Failure' across the screen.
"No!" I screamed. "It's not fair!"
The crowd began to disperse disappointed, I imagine, to see us lose in such a pathetic way. I was disappointed too but Mamoru just laughed.
"It's just a game," he said. "Come on, let's do something else."
I blinked as he helped me up to my feet. This was the first time I had seen him laugh let alone smile now that I noticed. It was kind of nice.
As we walked out the arcade, I bumped into a blue-haired girl with a huge purse.
"Ah, Usagi!" Ami said. "What are *you* doing here?"
"Just playing the new Sailor V game," I said.
"And who's this-" Ami stopped as she looked at Mamoru. "It's *you*!"
Mamoru looked confused but just smiled. "Yeah, I'm me."
Ami suddenly jumped and took his hand. "You don't know how much it honors me to meet y-you, *Chiba-sensei*. T-that time when you gave that *marvelous* speech about world hunger really *moved* me. The truth of your words really *called* to me. It's what inspired me to seek a medical profession..."
Mamoru finally understood but it didn't make him look any more comfortable than he was before. Ami moved closer and closer with every word until she was only inches from his face. Then the bag she carried crunched against Mamoru's belly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ami said pulling away from Mamoru's personal space bubble. "It's just such an *honor* to stand in front of the valedictorian of his class. Ah well, I must take my leave but here's my phone number so we can talk sometime about our future and entrance exams. We can even be study buddies since, after all, I'm taking most of your classes anyway. Wouldn't that be *great*?"
Mamoru nodded but moved further from Ami so that now we bumped shoulders
"Usagi, you should stay clear from the 'East side' of the mall if I were you," Ami said.
"Minako's looking for you."
"I'll keep that in mind," I said, recalling all the times in which Minako made me file every single paper she owned, down to movie contracts and credit card bills. Let's say I didn't sleep at all that night.
Ami opened her bag and revealed her treasure. "Fortune cookies!" she said. "When in doubt, Ami's special Mercurian fortune cookies do the trick. Here, have one."
"They're blue," Mamoru said as he inspected one.
"They're have white polka dots," I said.
"Ah, come on, give it a try," Ami said. "They're really good."
She closed her bag and waved good bye. After she was well away from earshot, Mamoru said, "I'm guessing all your friends are just about as crazy as her and Minako."
I thought for a second. "Just about."
*^*^*^*
"You haven't told me why we're here," I said.
"Well, Diamond..."
I sighed. It always boiled down to Diamond. Diamond this, Diamond that. Diamond wants me to go here, wants me to say this, wants me to look for the other. why couldn't Mamoru have kept Diamond's name out and leave it at one spontaneous day at the mall? Why couldn't-
I stopped myself. I was the same way. If I wasn't saying it out loud, it was in my thoughts. I'm going to the mall to avoid a conflicting relationship with my co-worker, I had thought. It was only business-like to spend time with him just like Diamond would like me to do.
"....a dress, you see?"
"What was that again?" I asked.
"You need a dress for Friday night's ball room party," Mamoru said. "I thought it might be a good idea if we both searched for something nice together."
"But I have lots of nice dresses at home," I retorted, knowing that I only had an ice cream cone's worth of money in my school uniform pocket.
"I know but you need something more-"
"-Something more what? You haven't been into my closet or have you?," I pointed out, much to the apparent discomfort of Mamoru. Several people turned heads.
"But don't you wanna buy new clothes?" Mamoru asked.
The ice cream stand was only meters away and the smell of the food wafting from the food court was making my stomach so hungry....
"You're saying that I don't dress good enough for you, huh?"
More heads turned but Mamoru ignored them. "It's not-"
"I see how it is with you," I said, louder than before. "That's why you didn't wanna buy me ice cream."
Mamoru blinked and then smiled. With his arm now wrapped around my shoulders, we headed down to the ice cream stand and I got my napoleon three-scoop ice cream topped with real strawberries, whipped cream, mangos, and pineapples.
"Now will you come with me?" Mamoru asked.
"Why not?" I asked. "Ice cream is good enough for me."
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wow. that. took. me. so. long....
sorry, the real world takes an awful lot of my time.
promise next chapter will be next week.
R&r
[note]~
'Kamen warrior' is made up and so is Ami's fortune cookie craze. Fortune cookies are good for your soul :)
luv,
zizi.