She saw a look of extreme shock cross over his features before it switched to a questioning look with a raised eyebrow. Usagi had started to disentangle herself from the floor when Shingo came the rest of the way down the stairs, stepping on her back as he did so.
"Oh dear, you'll have to excuse my children. They do enjoy being silly," Ikuko said, then turned her back on Mamoru to give both Shingo and Usagi a warning glare. She then smiled as she faced her guest once more.
"Please come in, Chiba-san."
"Please, call me Mamoru," He said as he slipped off his shoes and put on the guest slippers Ikuko had handed him (AN: it's a Japanese thing if u don't already know).
Usagi had finally managed to get off the floor and was straightening out her uniform when her mother said, "Mamoru-san, this is my daughter, Usagi, and my son, Shingo. My husband is still at work unfortunately,"
Mamoru nodded and said, "It's nice to meet you Shingo. Usagi on the other hand, I must say I wasn't expecting to see you here." He smirked at her.
"Hey! Don't smirk at me like that, you're in my house!"
"Usagi, show some courtesy to our guest!" Ikuko half suggested and half commanded. She entered the kitchen and called out to Mamoru to feel right at home in the lounge. Shingo immediately headed in. Mamoru raised an eyebrow at Usagi, teasing her to lead the way.
"I don't like you," Usagi commented before following her brother into the lounge. Mamoru shrugged and followed. For a few moments they sat in silence. Mamoru was looking around the room, Usagi was glaring at him and Shingo was delighting in his sister's discomfort. Mamoru moved to a side table to look at some pictures of Usagi's family trip to Okinawa when she was 10 years old.
"How long has you hair been like that anyway, Odango-otama?" He asked.
"Odango? Oh! I can totally see that!" Shingo yelled out laughing.
"Wait! You've already gotten Rei calling me that, don't spread it anymore!" Usagi yelled. "And besides, you're a guest, you shouldn't be snooping around."
"Hey, I'm not snooping. I'm just looking."
"Well, don't." And with that, Usagi picked up the photographs and put them down in a corner. She then continued to glare evily at Mamoru. He held up his hands in defense and sat down in an armchair. He began fingering a quilt that was on the arm of the chair.
"Don't touch that!" Usagi yelled and snatched it away.
"Whoa! Odango, calm down… So where's your mom gone?"
Usagi didn't answer.
"Are you planning on blinking any time this century?" Mamoru asked.
Usagi got up and walked away. Mamoru instinctively grabbed her arm as she walked passed to stop her going. Before he could say anything she yelled, "I'm just going to check where my mother is!" Mamoru let go of her arm and she continued into the kitchen. Mamoru was left to look around the room some more without the Odango's constant glaring. He inwardly chuckled at how silly she could be. Yet at the same time, she was scary when she was angry. He looked at the small table beside the chair he was in. There were pictures of Usagi and Shingo - their school photos. They were more recent than the others. He couldn't help but notice how nice Usagi's smile was.
"She's getting the pie ready."
Ah, there she was now. The smile was currently replaced with a deep frown.
"Should an Odango be eating pie?" Shingo started clutching his stomach from laughter. Usagi frowned deeper.
"C'mon Odango, frowns don't suit you," Mamoru stated simply. Usagi's frown changed into a look of surprise and a slight blush.
"I hope you like lemon pie, Mamoru-san." Ikuko had just re-entered the room carrying a very delicious looking pie that was still steaming from the oven. Usagi immediately switched her attention from Mamoru to the pie, over which she started drooling (not literally though).
"It looks delicious Ikuko-san."
"Thank you. Usagi, haven't you served the tea yet?"
"What! Why me?"
"Usagi!"
"Fine"
Mamoru smirked. Usagi noticed.
"…"
Ikuko glared at her daughter.
"You're not serious!" Usagi exclaimed. Ikuko nodded. "You want me to serve him!" Ikuko nodded. Mamoru smirked. Without even bothering to try and hide her horror, Usagi picked up the cups and kettle and poured four cups of tea. With a shaking hand she passed it to Mamoru.
"Thank you," he said with an evident sneer in his voice.
Ikuko noticed too and politely said, "So, how do you two know each other?"
"Well, erm, we've uh…" Mamoru began but Usagi cut him off.
"He's friends with Motoki."
"Oh I see. Do you go to the same college as him?"
"Yes, actually, but we don't have any classes together this year."
"Oh, so which college are you at?"
"I'm in my second year at Tozai College."
"What are you studying now?"
"Right now I'm mostly doing physics and genetic engineering." As Usagi watched this exchange between her mother and her enemy, she couldn't help but notice the smile on Mamoru's face as he got into the details about his school subjects. 'He must be really passionate about it. I can't imagine liking school that much.' Suddenly Mamoru noticed her staring and she looked away to hide the slight blush that had crept into her cheeks. She decided to distract herself with another piece of pie. Her mom's lemon pie was her favorite treat.
"I will go get some more tea," Ikuko said standing up and taking the tray with her into the kitchen. Mamoru looked over at Usagi stuffing her face with pie.
"If you keep eating like that you won't be an Odango anymore, you'll turn into a puff pastry." Usagi stuck her tongue out at him and continued eating her pie. Surprisingly enough Mamoru actually started laughing.
"Hey!" Usagi yelled which only made him laugh harder.
"Sheesh." She exclaimed.
"Sorry Odango, I just can't understand how you can be so hyper all the time."
"You said it yourself: frowns don't look good on me. I'm just sticking with what I'm good at." Once again she stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed again. Just then Usagi could feel her pocket communicator vibrating. Usagi excused herself and walked into the bathroom. She took out the communicator.
"What's going on?" She asked Ami, who appeared on the screen.
"Rei felt the presence of a youma; we need you to come to the temple so we can track it down."
"Ok. I'll be there as soon as I can." Hesitation crossed Ami's features for a moment. She knew that with Usagi 'as soon as I can' could mean an hour or more. But Ami realized there was no point in arguing. Usagi would do her best.
"Ok. See you soon," she said. Usagi turned off her communicator and headed back to the lounge. Her mother was back now and was laughing at something Mamoru had just said.
"Mama, I just remembered I need to go to Rei's to pick something up. I'm sorry." And without waiting for a reply she slid on her shoes and headed out the house.
(AN: Thanks so much to yunyin for being my first reader ever! And for submitting such a nice review. It really made my day. Also thanks to Aneue (my sister) for helping me with the editing. Please review people!)
