Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine. The cheesecake is.
The Year of the Onion
by Jessyca Thornbrook
2. The Cheesecake Fairy
Mamoru was not having a good day. Somehow, he'd done the wrong homework assignment for his sociology class. He could have sworn the professor said to do the even numbered questions from the textbook. Apparently not, since everyone else had done the odd ones.
And as if the zero mark weren't enough, the prof had to call him on it in front of the entire class. "I do not make exceptions or give special consideration to any student, Chiba-san, whether his past grades in my class have been good or not! There is no excuse for inattention!"
As if he'd been asking for special treatment! And if he'd been inattentive, well, it certainly wasn't his fault! It was that wretched girl! That Odango Atama, bothering him with her silly little "secrets" when he had other, more important things to think about.
Thus, he was feeling anything but charitable when she came flying round a corner and smacked into him.
"Honestly, Odango Atama, don't you ever look where you're going?" he snapped, fully expecting her to yell back. It was fine by him if she did—he was in the mood for a fight.
Evidently she wasn't. She grinned up at him. "Well, of course I look where I'm going sometimes. Just not today! Do you look where you're going all the time?" she asked innocently.
"Of course I do. It saves me time apologizing to lampposts," he replied mockingly. She turned a little red, but kept smiling.
"Well, maybe you should start watching where I'm going! That way you can dodge. 'Kay, bye!" With that, she darted around him and took off down the sidewalk. As he stared after her, bemused, she suddenly stopped and spun back around.
"Hey," she shouted, "I almost forgot! Have you figured it out yet?"
"Figured what out?" he responded, knowing full well what she meant.
"What I know about you! I'll give you a hint, if you want," she teased.
Mamoru knew he should just walk away. Just turn and go home. He was almost there. A couple more blocks, and he could immerse himself in the quiet of his solitary apartment and focus on his own life, without the distraction of blond dumpling heads with big blue eyes and bright smiles. Which were NOT cute!
Even as he thought all this, his mouth was betraying him.
"Fine, Odango. Since you obviously want to tell me, I'll humor you." His ego tried to console itself with his sarcastic tone. Unsuccessfully.
She skipped back over to him, glee practically oozing out every pore. Stopping about a foot away, she looked up with an angelic expression into his wary eyes.
"Onions."
"What?"
"Onions," she stated again.
"What about onions?"
"Onions are the clue. Figure it out, genius!" And she was gone in a flash of golden hair and giggles.
Mamoru continued home, feeling foolish. Which is becoming a daily habit, he reflected sourly. All he wanted was to get into his apartment and crash. And possibly pig out on some incredibly unhealthy dessert substance—if there was anything. He groaned, remembering that he'd finished off the double chocolate chocolate chip ice cream last night. He really didn't feel like going to the store...
And he didn't have to. Sitting innocently on his doorstep when he got home was a white box. The shiny red print on its top proclaimed it to be from Sogo department store. Upon opening it, he found the most delicious-looking chocolate cheesecake he'd ever seen. It was smothered in strawberries and syrup, with curly shavings of dark chocolate on top. In short, a masterpiece of the confectionery art.
Tucked into the corner of the box was a note written on pink paper in block letters. It read:
Your smile is sweeter, but this is the best I could do. Enjoy!
Love,
The Cheesecake Fairy
It was the best thing he'd ever eaten.