CHAPTER 6

Usagi was standing next to the doors in the waiting room, she promised Zhang she wouldn't go outside while he was away on a 'real patient' so she did the next best thing and stood next to the constantly opening and closing doors.

She had trouble dialing the phone with her left hand but achieved her goal when the phone read 'Chiba residence' and it was ringing. She shivered as another artic blast sent it's chilling fingers up her spine.

The phone was picked up but wasn't answered right away as Grandfather Chiba yelled to his grandson. "What time did you say your date with her was?"

"In an hour!" Came Mamoru's harmonic voice although it was a yell it was still music to deprived ears.

"Oh!" Grandfather Chiba realized he still had the phone in his hand and hadn't said a word. "I'm sorry, moshi moshi, is anybody still there?"

"Hi Grand-Chi." It was Usagi's personal nickname for him because she decided that Grandfather Chiba was just too long and he hadn't mucks one stint because he liked the attention.

"Oh hello Usa-chan, I was wondering when I'd hear from you again. I was just talking about you."

"Nothing good I hope."

"Never anything good." He responded in kind. "I hear you have a big date tonight with my grandson, hopefully you'll do something besides con people out of their money."

"You never know. May I speak to Mamoru, Grand-Chi?"

"Sure, sure." He held the phone away and bellowed for Mamoru. "It's your lovely girlfriend."

Usagi blushed on her side of the line, the old man never stopped with his compliments all directed towards her and Mamoru, the rest of the world though wasn't quite so cheered on or supported.

"Usako." The word was the same but the tone was a bit harsher than normal.

"Mamo-chan." She countered with the same one word sentence.

She could hear Mamoru say something to his grandfather about going to talk to her in his room and wasn't to be spied on which the old man had vainly protested. The door clicked shut and Mamoru returned his attention to her. "Why'd you call?"

"I have to cancel our date for tonight." She said with hesitancy in her voice. She wanted to say more but couldn't seem to get the words right.

"Ok. Good bye."

"Good-" The phone clicked off before she could say any more. She swallowed back the tears, Mamoru had seemed so heartless, so unattached like her canceling hadn't meant anything more to him then saving himself the hassle of doing it himself.

Zhang came up to her then and tapped her on the shoulder. "Usa-chan." He frowned at her stricken gaze. "Are you all right?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Come on then, you can tell me about it as I look you over." He guided her through the doors and into another hallway.

Ami watched the two with narrowed eyes, she had done the right thing, she was sure of it. She had however missed an important detail with holding herself at a distance for the last month; she hadn't seen any of Usagi's injuries. Those that was both physical and emotional.

Mamoru hung up impersonally and was surprised at his level of constraint while speaking to her. Once he was sure it was unconnected he slammed the phone down in rage. He quickly undressed from his carefully planned out outfit.

He had thought that by giving her the silent treatment for a week would have her going crazy with guilt and loss that she'd break off whatever she had and try to rekindle the relationship. At that point he was prepared to sway her back to him by seducing her with romance. Except she had bailed, believing whatever else she had was more important to him.

That was fine by him. He didn't need her any more then she apparently needed him. He had been willing to get through this and give it another try but she hadn't, she didn't care. Now he wasn't going to care. He dressed again in his pajamas and strolled out of his bedroom like he owned the place and sank into the couch before the TV and turned it on becoming completely absorbed into the mindless droning upon the screen.

An hour later his grandfather came into the room talking. "Shouldn't you be leaving to go pick Usagi up?" Once he saw what Mamoru was wearing he turned disbelieving. "Why are you ready yet? Why are you wearing pajamas and watching the damn TV when you have a beautiful girl waiting for you?"

"We're not going out tonight, she canceled again." Mamoru moped, oh for all his brave, wise thoughts!

"Ok, why?" Grandpa Chiba questioned.

"We're having problems and apparently she doesn't care." He said sulking and turning up the volume. "Now my show is on."

Grandpa Chiba walked over to the Television and reached behind it and pulled the plug out.

"What was that for?" Mamoru yelled sitting up.

"Saving you from messing up the best relationship you'll ever have." Sr. Chiba told him calmly.

"If you haven't noticed it's out of my hands!" He raged. "Now plug the TV back in!"

"Usagi is the loveliest girl in the world, both inside and out. Whatever it is you did I'm sure she'll forgive you." His grandfather tried to be understanding but he could only see the waste if he didn't get them back together.

"What I did? Why must it be what I did?"

"Usagi did something to you? What? Not being able to go out to dinner with you?" Sr. Chiba demanded.

"Hoku-san, plug back in the TV, please." Mamoru bit out, avoiding the subject.

"No." Chiba Hoku denied his only grandchild's wish, not for the first time, but one of great importance.

"Fine." Mamoru grumbled and rolled off the couch and headed towards his room but Hoku slid in front of him.

"You will tell me what's going on. There's a very nice girl who doesn't deserve this treatment."

"What if she does?" Mamoru countered.

"Then you have to strongly consider whether or not you're willing to give up the relationship. Remember though that you have loved her, you do love her and you probably will love her for a very long time to come. Is it worth the suffering of kicking her out of your life or trying to work through this? If it is then you should fight for her."

Mamoru considered his grandfather and his words for a while before nodding slowly. "I suppose you are right. How do you know so much about it?"

"Your grandmother had been married to another man when I met her." Hoku explained. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll fight for her." Mamoru decided. "By now she'll probably be at the arcade. No matter what goes on during the day she always ends up at the arcade at some point during the day and she hasn't gone yet."

"A regular visitor." Hoku suggested knowingly.

"The only thing she doesn't skip out on." Mamoru said more to himself then his grandfather but he was heard.

"I'm sure there's more to the story then you know." He hinted at a slight chink in Mamoru's reasoning.

"That's right, you met with Ms. Tuskino, how did that go?"

"She's a very nice woman who doesn't know her daughter all that well, the only things she could talk about in any length was when Usagi had been a baby to two and vague impressions afterwards, almost like a stranger telling me what they knew about somebody they only passed daily."

"That's interesting." Mamoru paused in his journey around his grandfather to enter his room. "I wonder why you got that impression, Ms. Tuskino seems very involved with the home, it has a lot of nice touches so she has to have known Usagi more intimately then you've described. Maybe in years past Usagi hasn't had a lot of time to devote to her mother."

"There seemed to be a long time in between." Hoku died off in thought knowing he shouldn't push it.

"I wouldn't know, but there has to be something wrong with that impression then." With that Mamoru disappeared into his room.

Hoku only shook his head, his grandson would learn the truth sooner or later and it would be told through the correct person. For now he could put the bug in his ear and hope for the best.

Mamoru strolled into the arcade and walked up to the busy Motoki. "Hey." Mamoru greeted politely leaning against the counter and surveyed the room.

"Hey Mamoru-kun." Motoki replied with a smile as he swept the floor. "What can I do for you?"

The arcade was on its last legs before deciding to completely clear out and go to bed for the night. "I'm looking for Usako, have you seen her?"

"You just missed her, she was here an hour ago. Looked around and then decided it wasn't worth it, I heard her mutter that, before she waved goodbye and left." Motoki leaned down and scooped up the pile he made. "You know it's funny."

Mamoru turned around and leaned over the counter to look down at Motoki. "What's funny?" He was tempted to say goodbye and look for Usagi elsewhere but he might as well hear out his best friend.

"You're the second person to ask for Usagi tonight and she's usually here longer then she was." Motoki mused.

"Who else was it?" Mamoru asked.

"Shingo, he left as soon as he heard she wasn't here." Motoki hesitated like he was going to say more then decided not to.

"What?" Mamoru questioned.

"I understand that you and Usagi are going through a bit of difficulty." Motoki died off, knowing he had chickened out of what he really wanted to say.

"And so?" Mamoru wondered aloud.

"I can't help but feel sorry about that. Minako and I are in an argument about whether we should interfere or not and I finally compromised and said that I would ask you about it. Why are you torturing Usagi by leaving her in the dark about what your feeling? She's distraught enough already."

"I don't mean to but I had to figure some things out on my own before I could speak calmly to her." Mamoru justified.

"Women like having people talk to them when something's wrong not holding it back until they deal with it calmly. They'd rather fight then be ignored."

"As you've found out with Minako?"

"Yes." Motoki answered bashfully. "I definitely learned from Minako what men shouldn't do and should to keep their girl happy."

"You are so whipped." Mamoru shook his head in amusement.

"No I'm not, she does things to keep me happy and I do things for her, it's a mutually benefiting relationship."

"I suppose." But Mamoru's thoughts were still on Usagi leaving before a guy named Shingo came in looking for her. "I have to go man."

"Bye." Motoki he clasped his hand on Mamoru's shoulder. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do."

"You'd do everything." Mamoru reminded him.

Motoki laughed. "Touché."

"Bye." Mamoru said before leaving.