Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. Shocking isn't it? ::grin::
AN: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews!!!
Ghetto Queen: You're absolutely right. I should change it as a Romance and Humor category ::sighs:: I tried to be serious throughout the story but I guess I'm not strong enough in containing my silly side ::shrugs:: Oh well.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Chapter 3: The Domino Effect
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Usagi was off to a good start this morning. For once she had woken up early, much to the astonishment of her cat Luna. In fact. . . she was so astonished the poor thing screamed in fear and fainted. But not before she uttered, "Aliens! She's been taken over by aliens!"
Usagi huffed, indignant. That wasn't the reaction she had expected from the "responsible can't-do-nothing-wrong" feline.
Then she giggled. Though, she had to admit it was funny. Maybe she should do it more often; however, it occurred to her that sooner or later the shock would wear off and Luna would expect her to do it all the time once she realizes that she was capable of being reliable to do what's expected of her.
Usagi scrunched up her nose, not liking the idea of becoming mature and responsible. "Ugh! I'd rather clean Shingo's under wear than allowing that to happen." She shuddered. And that was saying a lot!!!
The only reason why she was up early this morning was because she was too eager to ask her friends if they wanted to volunteer with her at the hospital. She could barely contain her excitement at the thought of seeing Mamoru today. Even if he has been a real creep lately and calling her 'Odango Atama', she reflected with a scowl, she was still looking forward to seeing him. And deep down, she has been enjoying their banter; it felt like the good old days.
/memories that flow/
The events of yesterday came to mind. Touching her left shoulder, she could still imagine Mamoru's hand pinning her to the wall. She blushed. Thank Kami she had been too angry to notice or her face would have been as red as a tomato!!!
'I can't let Mamoru see how much he still has an affect on me,' she thought determinedly as she put on her school uniform. Otherwise. . . how else is she going to convince him of becoming her friend?
Walking out of her room, she saw Shingo walk right out of his simultaneously. She felt her blood boil when she thought back to what happened the previous day. She wasn't successful in getting her hands on that camera from the little stinker. It may be too early in the morning for an interrogation but she didn't want to wait.
Who knows what he would do with the picture if she waited too long in getting it back?
"Hey dork!" she called out furiously, as she made her way towards him. "I want that camera!"
Looking up, Shingo was shocked to discover his sister towering over him menacingly. But that didn't frighten him--- he was too busy gawking at her in stupefaction to notice.
She was awake?!?!?
It was a hard concept to grasp. He did the only thing he could at the moment.
He fainted.
Usagi's anger shifted to confusion as Shingo fell to the floor.
She frowned. That was the second time that day! She probably scared him with her temper. Next time she'll make sure to tone it down a bit.
Letting out a sigh, she went downstairs to get her breakfast for a change. Seeing her father reading a newspaper and sipping some coffee, she greeted him with a cheery smile and said, "Morning Daddy!"
Kenji slowly brought down the newspaper he was reading, not sure that he heard right, and stared at his wide awake daughter with a stunned expression. "USAGI???"
Splat.
His face met the pancakes on his plate.
Usagi stopped smiling and blinked slowly. 'What the heck is going on?!?!?!?!?' Was it because she was up early? Is that why everyone she came in contact with fainted dead away?
Sighing, she shook her head and headed for the kitchen, knowing that is where she would find her mother. She knew that her mother would handle this better than everyone else.
Entering the kitchen, she saw her mother making another batch of pancakes and drooled. "Mmmm. That looks so good! Can I have some Mom?"
Ikuko stopped stirring the contents in the bowl and set the wooden spoon on the counter. She turned disbelieving eyes onto her daughter. "You're awake. . .?"
"Yep!" Usagi stated proudly. "Aren't you. . ."
Thump.
". . . glad?" she finished with less enthusiasm. She guessed she gave her mother too much credit. It was starting to annoy Usagi how everyone was dropping like flies.
"And it's doing wonders for my self-esteem," she gritted with false cheer. Stepping over her mother's prone form, she grabbed the last pancake on the plate and went to put on her shoes that was laid by the front door and took her schoolbag before walking out of the house. She didn't want to be there when they woke up--- she was embarrassed enough as it is.
As she walked towards her school, she glanced down at her watch to see that she had about forty minutes to spare till school started. After that 'little' episode at her house, she wasn't willing to walk into her school while everyone around her screamed out her name in shock and go thump thump thump on the ground.
She didn't think she would be able to handle it.
So her trek to school switched to the park--- a place that she liked to refer to as 'her sanctuary'. Her face visibly brightened when she saw Mamoru sitting on her bench. It was the perfect place to gaze at the lake and let it work its magic in calming a person's senses.
Instead of shouting out a greeting, she walked over to the bench and plopped down onto it, pretending that she didn't know he was there and stretched her arms over her head.
Mamoru was startled to hear a body smack onto the bench, making it shake slightly and turned to see it was Usagi. "Stalking me now, are we?"
She "eeped" and her head jerked to the side to meet his amused dark blue eyes. "Oh. It's you." she said disdainfully. "It seems I can't find any peace in this stinking city with you taking up residence."
His right brow shot up and without missing a beat said, "Why didn't you know Odango?" Once she shook her head, he leaned forward and felt pleased, even though he shouldn't, when her eyes widened to dramatic proportions. "It's my mission in life to drive you insane."
Usagi didn't know what to say or do. With him so close, she once again felt the need to crush her lips against his. 'Remember Usagi,' she admonished to herself, 'his mission may be to drive you insane. . .' She left out the details on while Mamoru thought he was irritating her, what he was really doing was building the pent-up sexual frustration that was steadily growing within her. 'Yours is to be his friend. Friends ONLY!'
Now that was settled, she had another problem to settle.
How to move away from Mamoru without letting him know that his nearness made her uneasy?
To tell you the truth, there was no way around it. She's just going to have to make a run for it.
Producing a fake yawn, she took a peek at her watch and instantly stood up. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!!!" Picking up her bag from the floor, she waved at him as she was making her exit, all the while saying, "Sorry! As much as I was enjoying our little chit-chat--- I have to go!"
/Bringing you back again/
Mamoru smirked as he glanced at his own watch and without thinking he picked up his school books and went after her. "Wait up Odango! Your school doesn't start for another thirty minutes! Let me walk you, since you're so reluctant to end our conversation so soon." He didn't understand his motives for doing this. Maybe it was because he enjoyed making her life miserable?
He was so E-V-I-L.
Usagi wanted to pulverize him. 'Who does he think he is anyway?' Pause. 'It was my idea to become friends with him in the first place! If anyone is going to be doing the initiating it would be ME!!!!!!!!!!!' (AN: Is anyone else confused? ::sweat drops:: So am I. It's so sad to see a girl's logic—such as Usagi's—to be so screwed up.)
"Look," she began, with an artificial smile, "that's very kind of you, but I'm sure you have to get to school pretty soon too. Thanks for the offer." 'That's wonderful Usagi,' she said to herself, 'show him that you don't care whether he comes or goes.'
Grinning too broadly for Usagi's tastes, Mamoru replied in such a saccharine voice it made her want to vomit. "Awww. . . I didn't know you cared Odango Atama! It gives me such a nice, warm feeling inside."
Without warning, Usagi whacked his shoulder with her book bag. Mamoru immediately distanced himself from her, rubbing the painful bruise that was steadily forming. "What's your problem?! Why the HELL did you hit me!!??" he bellowed uproariously, scaring the poor pedestrians so much that they decided to cross the other side of the street.
"Now that's more like it!" Usagi chirped, giving a skip to her steps as she said it. "There's the mean and nasty Chiba I know!"
Mamoru scowled, which delighted Usagi even more. Anything was better than a sickly sweet talking Mamoru. And perhaps, it was just enough to make him leave her side?
Yeah right!
Mamoru sulked beside her as they made their way towards her school. Coming upon the school gates, she turned towards him and made an attempt to smile at him but it came off looking irritable. "Well, now that we're finally here. I am so relieved to be rid of you." Usagi's eyes widened at her mistake. 'Oops! Did I just say that?' Glancing up at Mamoru and seeing him scowling even more, gave her the indication that she did.
"What did you say?" he asked slowly, his eyes daring her to say it again.
Panicking, she backed away and started running toward the entrance of her school, all the while screaming, "Nothing! Nothing at all!!!" She didn't stop running until she was safely inside her classroom.
Naru was gazing at Usagi in overall shock. 'Usagi?? At school twenty minutes early?! What is the world coming to?' Just as she was about to ask her friend if she was feeling alright, Ms. Haruna glided through the door, swinging her book bag merrily.
"Morning everyone!" she said, clearly in a good mood. "How are you do---" She froze. "Usagi?"
Usagi tried to ignore the impending doom her presence will soon bring and waved smiling.
"Morning Ms. Haruna!"
Clatter! Thump.
Usagi groaned in mortification and slammed her head against her desk.
This is the last time she's coming to class early!!!!
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It was mid-afternoon, something Usagi was most thankful for.
Her and her friends, Ami and Makoto, were making their way to the Cherry Hill Temple for a Senshi meeting. Even though, Usagi was relieved to get away from the gossip and snickers directed towards her whenever she came into a room or walked down the hall, she was still being reminded of the incident with Ms. Haruna.
Usagi would have done anything to slip out of her skin and disappear into the Earth's soil to get away from the nightmare she called "life".
Got that? Anything!
Now, as much as she loved her friends and knew that they would never do anything to hurt her, she wasn't unaware of the battle they were facing with their vocal chords.
Makoto desperately has her lips locked together. However, her struggle to keep silent and not burst into hysterics was making her eyes tear and her face turn into a maroon hue.
Ami, on the other hand, seemed to be doing a better job of controlling her need to laugh. It would have been believable to any observer, had she not been swallowing so much.
It was too much for Usagi to bear. Okay. So maybe it was funny that Ms. Haruna not only fainted but fell on Umino, squishing his frail body beneath hers and forcing all the oxygen from his lungs making him pass out as well. Doesn't make it right for them to laugh at her!
Usagi's brows furrowed. Though, she had to wonder about the dreamy smile on Umino's face. She didn't think she'd be smiling if anyone fell on her. Unless, it was some hunky guy. . . Oh! Oh ewwwww!!!!!!
Thanks to her lovely imagination, her mind has conjured up an icky scene to forever haunt her days whenever she saw Ms. Haruna and Umino.
Does the phrase 'getting close and personal' make it that much clearer?
Hearing the choking sounds Makoto was now emitting, she sighed and stopped walking.
Enough was enough!
She turned to face her friends, forcing them to halt in their steps.
Her patience fleeted when she saw the looks on their faces. Ami wasn't going to make it after all. "Oh just laugh and get it over with already!" she shouted, waving her hands in the air, her book bag swaying dangerously in her grip.
Ami and Makoto opened their mouths to deny Usagi's accusation but a giggle escaped them both. Horrified, they quickly snapped their traitorous mouths shut.
Usagi felt a vein on her forehead start to pulse, putting her in an even fowler mood than before.
Seeing their friend's ever-growing temper, they made an effort to speak.
"HAHAHAHA!"
They shut their mouths back down with a click. Makoto and Ami gazed at each other with wide eyes, wondering what they were going to do about this dilemma. It wasn't right of them to be laughing at their friend and leader.
But could they help it?
NO!
Their defenses crumbling, they turned to each other, hoping the other could help them get a grip on their composure by grabbing onto each other. They took deep breaths and held it.
'They would have made excellent statues,' Usagi grumbled as she observed their still postures.
Finally, she sighed, annoyed. Time isn't on their side and the more they stood here, the more pissed off Rei was going to be when they got to the temple.
All Usagi had to do was lightly poke them and they fell down in a heap. Makoto was the first to break; she couldn't handle the strain of keeping a straight face any longer. She was laughing so hard she was incapable of moving. Ami still stays intact. Her determination to not laugh touched Usagi deeply.
Really it did.
But crawling around on hands and knees, gasping and swallowing lost its effect after five seconds. After awhile, she gave up and joined Makoto.
Actually, if you want to get down to specifics, they sounded worse than a pack of hyenas. Their cries so loud and piercing, it could be heard all over Tokyo, giving everyone an awful earache.
From that day onward, everyone called it the Great Earache Massacre.
Too bad Usagi had a front row seat. It affected her hearing. . . with disastrous results.
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When they had reached the temple, they were greeted with an impatient and wincing Rei. To their astonishment, she didn't yell at Usagi (not that she would have heard her anyway) nor did she give them a lecture about the importance of punctuality. Instead, she ushered them quickly inside the temple.
Upon entering Rei's room, they noticed Minako was already there. Sitting on the floor, she was leaning on her elbows on the table, grimacing every now and then from the pain the mysterious shrieks that struck her ears a few minutes before had given her.
Her face visibly brightened when she noticed them. "Hi minna! I'm so glad you made it!!!" And as quickly as her happiness appeared, concern settled into her expression. "Are you guys alright? Were you out there when it happened?"
"When what happened?" asked Makoto in all seriousness.
Minako sent an incredulous look her way. "Why... when a bunch of screeching banshees filled the air, giving me and everyone else an awful earache--- that's what!"
Startled, Ami and Makoto glanced at each other; their cheeks fusing with color. There was no doubt in their minds what Minako was talking about and it made them want to bow their heads in shame.
Were they really THAT loud?
Usagi, of course, was oblivious to what was being said. The poor thing was in pain, holding her head in her hands.
Rei noticed this right away. She wasn't exactly in the best of moods right now, considering the headache that was steadily forming from the suffering her ears were experiencing. And who else would be the perfect candidate to bring her pain and anger to the surface? She wouldn't dream of allowing her friends to see her whine like a wimp!!!!!!
Rei smirked, crossing her arms. "You know, Odango Atama, you should put a stop to ramming your head against poles--- it isn't healthy," she informed mockingly. She frowned when Usagi didn't jump at the chance to retort or stick her tongue out at her.
This did not bode well with Rei. She needed someone to argue with damnit! And she was going to have that argument one way or the other!! Even if it killed her!
Her voice oozing with sarcasm, she declared, "What's the matter? Can't catch your tongue?"
Not one solitary peep was heard from the blonde-haired girl.
Rei fumed. What is going ON? Has she lost her touch? Was her insults not good enough anymore??? She gulped when a horrifying thought popped into her mind. 'AM I GOING SOFT?!?!?!?' Oh no. . . not her! To Usagi, she was a Pyro! To all the citizens of Tokyo, she was dubbed as the Fire Breathing Dragon!!!
Rei Hino was not GOING SOFT!!!!!!!
She gazed at Usagi with renewed determination. When she opened her mouth, nothing but insults were pouring out of her mouth.
Meanwhile, Minako observed the scene before her with great interest. "Wow," she said in awe, "I've never heard such awful words come out of Rei's poisonous mouth!!! And look at Usagi!" she exclaimed pointing to the blonde who was now gazing up at the ceiling. "I've never seen her so calm! What did she take today? A valium?"
Once again, she had unknowingly made Makoto and Ami's guilt dig deeper into the pit of their stomachs. And for the first time in Ami's life, she wanted to keep her crime a secret. She knew if it ever got out, her and Makoto would never live it down.
Rei, at this point, had—Kami forbid—ran out of insults. The only other option she has now is to bug the hell out of her without words. This, she was sure, would garner a reaction from Usagi.
There was no way the Odango Atama can ignore her now!
The three bystanders cringed at the sight of the villainous glee that took over Rei's face. There's no telling what she was about to do now. Even if they did, there was no way they could prevent it from happening.
Faster than a streak of lightning tearing through the sky, Rei's hands struck with a terrifying swiftness and yanked Usagi's pigtails down till she shrieked out in pain and shock.
"AHHHHHH-OWWWWWWWIIIEEEEEEE!" Then immediately after that she began crying.
Everyone winced. Minako slapped her hands over her ears. "Not again!" she cried out in misery. She didn't know how much more her ears would last this terrible onslaught.
As Rei groaned, her headaches growing sharper by the minute, she started to ask herself why she wanted Usagi's attention in the first place.
"WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Nope. She hadn't a clue why.
"THAT'S ENOUGH ODANGO!"
One answer still remained from Usagi's lips:
"WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"ODANGO, SHUT UP!"
"WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Oh, she was pushing her over the edge alright!!!!!!! And no one should hold her accountable for what she was going to do next. Walking over to the table, she snatched up a chocolate chip cookie among the pile that was sitting on a huge plate, came back to the wailing baby. . .
. . . and stuffed the damn thing into her mouth.
Rei wiped the crumbs from her hands, her grin stretching ear to ear when silence descended the room. The look on Usagi's face was priceless! Her cheeks were round and full like a chipmunk had stuffed a huge acorn in its mouth. But, aside from that, she seemed to her as a bug-eyed Odango who had lost the capacity to use whatever brain cells she had.
Just as Rei had thought that, Usagi slowly chewed the cookie in her mouth, but the shock of what occurred did not leave her eyes.
Ami was the first to recover from her shock and regarded Rei with disapproval. "Rei, that wasn't very nice. First you tug her hair and then you stuff a COOKIE in her mouth? Where's all this violence coming from?"
The girl in question shrugged. "She wouldn't stop wailing." She didn't add anything further to her comment. The word "violence" had reminded Rei why she had called this meeting in the first place. And they would have to start as soon as possible or she was going to be terrorizing Usagi when it has nothing to do with her but---
Rei cleared her throat. "I think we should discuss the problem at hand."
Makoto raised a brow and crossed her arms. "You mean other than the fact that you need anger management?" she retorted, her frown turned down dangerously low. She was not happy with Rei at the moment. Too much has happened to her poor friend today. Makoto winced inwardly. She knew all too well.
Rei ignored her and seated herself on one of the cushions at the table, everyone else, including the miserable Usagi, did the same.
Not wasting any time, she said, "I had a vision last night." Everyone, except Usagi who was busy stuffing her mouth with cookies, leaned toward Rei captivated by the mystery her voice contained.
Seconds passed, impatiently Minako exclaimed, "Well? Out with it already! What did you see?"
Rei's eyes sparked in triumph, much to their confusion.
"Do you want to know?" she asked in a sinister way.
Minako gulped. There was a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. What's wrong with her? What was she so afraid of finding out? She was a Senshi! She had nothing to fear!
Straightening her spine, she nodded her head.
Rei stared at her, gauging her reaction. "Are you sure?"
"Hai!"
"Are you positively sure?"
"HAI!" she thundered. "TELL ME!"
Rei took a deep breath and with a murderous glint in her brown depths said: "You're doom."
Nothing but 'blink blink' was Minako's reaction. "Eh?"
The fiery priestess gave a war cry. "You still haven't paid for what you did yesterday!" She then made an attempt to pounce on the still gaping blonde.
Just as Usagi finished the last cookie, she was startled to see Rei sliding across the table with her hands reaching for Minako's throat. The girl on the receiving end fortunately snapped out of her stupor and crawled desperately out of the way. Rei growled in frustration and chased after the poor girl outside the temple.
Makoto and Ami glanced at each other.
Ami sighed. "Should we go after them and stop Rei from hurting Minako again?"
The brunette shrugged. "What choice do we have?"
"None."
Makoto grinned ruefully at that. "Then we're off to save Dorothy from the Wicked Witch of the East!"
Usagi stared on in confusion as the two before her talked to one another. 'What are they saying?'
She tipped her head to one side, frowning. Her hearing was coming back. But all she could hear was: "blugh ba bu bwah". Whatever the hell that means. Her face darkened when they got up and left.
'They could have asked me to come!!!!' It's the least they could do! They did render her deaf! And laughed in her face!
This day just plain sucks! Ooooh it made her want to scream!!!
'And if that weren't enough,' she thought with a shiver as she caught the sight of black clouds stretching forth across the blue sky and blocking out the sun in the process, 'it's about to rain.'
Usagi groaned and got up. She picked up her book bag and walked swiftly out of the temple. She scrunched up her nose when she felt a raindrop fall onto it and glanced up worriedly. She didn't like the look of those clouds. They now dominated the sky, seeming huge and menacing.
Usagi broke out into a run; more eager than before to get to the safety of her home.
A few minutes later, rain came down hard and fast, beating upon the Earth and its occupants with the force of it. Usagi stopped running and wiped the excess of water from her eyes.
She didn't know how much longer she could go on. Her school uniform was drenched, plastered to her skin. She was tired of running and she was cold.
So very, very cold.
She shrieked when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She gazed up to see that it belonged to the one and only Chiba Mamoru.
Usagi had never been so happy in her life! She was ready to throw her arms around Mamoru to thank him but his angry expression stopped her from doing so.
Her light blue eyes showed the confusion she was feeling. 'What was he so angry about?' She watched his lips begin to move. She only heard snips of it, which left her even more stumped than before.
"Bwah biden you bwasen me?" (AN: For those of you who don't want to be left in the dark like Usagi, here's the translation: "Why didn't you answer me?")
Usagi graciously granted him a blank stare. Well, what else could she have done? Scream "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" or "Eh? SPEAK UP I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" with her hand behind her ear? That would have been totally humiliating!
/hurting me more and more/
Mamoru sighed, exasperated when she didn't answer him back. He might have looked annoyed on the outside, but on the inside he was hurt. She was ignoring him again. He didn't understand her these days. One minute she was ignoring him, the next asking for friendship, followed by abuse (internally he winced feeling his shoulder and legs aching), then she was acting like she couldn't hear him!
'You should talk,' said a voice inside his head, 'she's not the only one giving mixed messages.' He realized his conscience was right. Looking back on the events of today, he remembered when Usagi sat down on the bench, he should have left but instead he bantered and flirted with her. And what's worse, when she got up to leave in a manner that clearly said she wanted to get away from him--- he got up to follow her!
This is from someone who vowed that he would stay away from her so she could be safe????
'You're pathetic,' he sneered quietly to himself. He snapped out of his train of thought when he heard a sneeze. He focused on the shivering girl before him and remembered why he was standing in front of her in the first place. He had been driving in his car heading home when he spotted her. She looked so lost and cold, he couldn't bear to see her like that and immediately parked his car beside her and told her to get in but she didn't seem to hear him.
He had gotten out of his car determined to get her out of this rain and still is. Without giving Usagi any warning he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the car. He was aware that there were other alternatives to getting Usagi in the car. Seeing that she didn't want to be cooperative at the moment, he felt that this was the quickest way to getting her out of the rain.
Much to Mamoru's delight, she didn't resist him; which was fine by him since he couldn't stand to receive anymore hits.
Usagi, in the meantime, didn't know how to react. She should have made a show of not wanting to be near him, to try and push him away, but she couldn't think. The sweet, sharp smell of his cologne that reminded her of roses and spice chased any thought from forming in her mind. His warmth surrounded her, blanketing her body from the freezing rain. She was disappointed when he let go of her, so she could sit in the car.
She wanted to plead to him to hold her close and to never let her go. 'But he did let you go,' her mind whispered. Despite her resolve to be friends with him, the desire to be his one and only was still there.
Usagi didn't know if it will ever go away. Maybe it never will. She was so confused! How does a person make the transition of romantic love to a platonic one?
Unconsciously she sighed out loud.
Mamoru gazed at her from the corner of his eye as he drove. He wondered what was occupying her thoughts. Was it him? Or was she thinking about someone else?
Without realizing it, his hands squeezed the wheel. 'It better not be Motoki!!!' he mused scowling.
His anger was forgotten when Usagi yelled: "Watch out!"
Startled, Mamoru turned his head to gaze at her. "Huh? What did you say?"
Usagi blinked and felt like jumping up and down in joy. She can hear again! Someone summon down the angels have them play their harps!!!
'Which might be sooner than you think,' her mind stated dryly, reminding her of the danger they were facing. She jerked her head forward, shrieked, then pointed frantically in front of her.
Mamoru turned toward the direction of her finger and cursed when he saw some baka running in the middle of the street. He instantly hit the breaks and honked the horn angrily. He stopped when he heard the person wailing in despair while another suddenly appeared screaming: "Let me hurt you and get it over with already! STOP BEING SUCH A WHIMP!"
'Wait one second. . .' he thought gaping. 'Is that Rei?' He now recognized the other one who was apparently Minako. It looked as if she were. . . running for her life?
Usagi shook her head as she stared along with Mamoru and she couldn't help but wonder if Rei was experiencing PMS? She shivered. Rei was always scary when she going through it. She was only too glad that it wasn't her that was on the receiving end this time.
Mamoru drove on after he let Ami and Makoto pass by. He would have asked Usagi what that was all about but he felt that he was better off not knowing.
Finally arriving at Usagi's house, Mamoru stopped the car but didn't cut the engine.
Neither of them said a word.
Usagi was reluctant to leave and unbeknownst to her, Mamoru secretly wanted her to stay.
Gathering her courage, she faced him and felt as if she were struck by a thunderbolt, charging her emotions to the point where the only thing she could feel was a love so strong and pure it made her want to weep. It was the feeling she always had when she gazed at him. It was frightening yet exhilarating all the same.
Letting out a shaky breath, she said, "Thanks for taking me home."
Her heart gave a leap when he smiled at her. The first he's given her since their breakup.
"You're welcome," he replied in a voice so soft it made her shiver.
Grabbing her book bag, she opened the door and got out. Her hand gripping the door, she turned around and tilted her head. It was still pouring but it was more like a sprinkle now.
Mamoru swallowed; his heart racing. His eyes greedily followed the movement of her pigtails sliding across her cheeks, imagining it was his hands caressing them; feeling the smooth, soft skin.
He held onto the wheel to prevent himself from doing just that.
A gentle smile flitted across her face. "The offer still stands you know." She paused. "You will think about it. . . won't you?"
He wanted to tell her 'no' but seeing that she wouldn't take no for an answer, he could tell that she will keep persisting until he says otherwise.
Sighing, he nodded.
Satisfied, she shut the door and walked away.
Usagi was humming under her breath as she walked inside her house, she couldn't help it! She'd finally gotten him to consider the prospect of being friends! Now, all she had to do was ask her friends about volunteering at the hospital. If she wasn't in such a pleasant mood, she would be screaming on a rampage by now.
At least one good thing happened today.
"Usagi?" she heard her mother call. "Is that you?"
"Hai!" Usagi took off her shoes and went to the kitchen. Knowing that's where her mother would be.
"Oh good," Ikuko replied. "I was starting to get worried. The weather was so bad before." She pulled her gaze away from the soup she was making. "Usagi! You're dripping wet! Go upstairs and change into something warm before you catch a cold."
She nodded and walked out of the kitchen. As she was starting up the stairs, her mother added, "Oh and Usagi?"
Usagi sighed. She wanted to get out of these wet clothes so badly. She felt so uncomfortable. "What?"
"Can you go and check up on your sister? She's been in bed all day, stuck with a cold." Without waiting to hear a response from Usagi, she said, "Thank you. You're such a sweet girl."
". . . . . . ."
THUNK.
Usagi had fainted. The rest of her family had earlier on. It was about time she joined in. Wouldn't you say?
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That's it for now. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chappy!!!
Have a wonderful weekend! ::wink:: Bye!