As threatened, here's the next bit.

A Name on a Stone

by Jessyca Thornbrook

Chapter 2: A Slap In The Face

Later that afternoon, Mamoru's studying was interrupted by the doorbell. He sighed as he got up to answer it--not that he'd turned a page in his physics book in the last half-hour, anyway. He was mad at himself for letting that silly Odango Atama bother him. She was just a kid, after all. He shouldn't have paid attention to anything she said. He was just irritated that he'd bothered speaking to her in the first place. It wasn't that he felt guilty. She was the one being nosy and annoying. He had nothing to feel guilty for.

Right?

He opened the door, ready to assure his best friend that everything was fine, he'd just been stressed out about an exam all week and had snapped at the girl to let off some steam. He froze when his eyes fell on the bedraggled figure that was definitely not Motoki.

Neither of them spoke for they knew not how long. Mamoru felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him--by surprise, no doubt. After all, a dripping wet Odango Atama was definitely not something he'd been expecting to turn up on his doorstep. And she was sopping wet, her long hair plastered to her shoulders, framing her face with a waterfall rather than the usual golden cloud. Not that it mattered what her hair looked like now or at any other time.

For her part, Usagi felt like the bottom had dropped out of her stomach...down to the first floor of the high-rise, or possibly the basement. It was because he'd been so angry the last time she'd seen him. Of course she was nervous about talking to him! But for some bizarre reason she couldn't quite work out, the impression of deep blue eyes lingered in her mind.

He finally pulled a sentence together. "What happened to you?"

"It's raining."

"Oh."

Pause.

Then,

"I, uh--" began Usagi.

"Um, you--" Mamoru started. They both stopped, and Usagi giggled, though a bit nervously. Mamoru smiled slightly, surprising even himself. "Ah--why don't you come in? I'll get you a towel. Or two," he added, looking her over again.

"Thanks," she murmured, blushing a bit as she stepped inside. She looked around tentatively, as if worried she might break something with a mere glance. Mamoru suppressed a grin--something he did more often around her than around anyone else, he reflected absently. Then scowled. Where did that come from?

"I'll be right back," he mumbled. When he returned a few seconds later, she was still standing by the door, hands clasped in front of her, as if to make it clear she wasn't touching anything. Water trickled from the ends of her long pigtails, pooling on the linoleum of the entryway. She had slipped her shoes off and was standing on top of them, unwilling to drip all over his hardwood floor. The black of her shoes had soaked into her white socks in splotches, and the socks themselves were wet through. All in all, she made a rather pathetic figure, but there was something kind of, well, cute--for lack of a better word--in the way she stood there, big blue eyes soaking up every detail of the room--though she was obviously trying not to look like she was snooping.

"Here," he held out one of the big, fluffy bath towels. She accepted it with a grateful smile, which somehow made him feel grateful, too, though he wasn't sure what for. She dried her face and neck, and started squeezing water out of her hair with the towel. As was inevitable, being Usagi and trying to balance on top of her shoes, her equilibrium failed and she started to topple over. Acting fast, Mamoru grabbed her arm just as she turned her head, and smack! he got a sopping pigtail right in the face.

"Ohh!" she yelped when she saw her wet hair plastered across the front of his head. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" He blinked, looking stunned, and dabbed the water from his face with the towel he still held. "I'm so sorry!" she kept apologizing, eyes filling with tears. Now I'm in for it! Why do I always end up hitting him with something? It's no wonder he can't stand me! The tears threatened to overflow.

Then Mamoru did something that shocked the living daylights out of both of them. He laughed. Not very loud or very long, but an honest-to-goodness laugh containing genuine amusement at the situation. Usagi's jaw dropped.

The moment passed, leaving Mamoru feeling strange and embarrassed. He let go of Usagi's arm and took a step back.

"Uh--here, I think there's a better way to do this," he said quickly. He spread his towel out on the floor. "There. You can stand on that."

She did, and the rest of the drying process went much more smoothly, though he still had to steady her once or twice while she was peeling off her socks. Once she was relatively dry, the tense silence stretched out between them again.

Still trying to find a diplomatic way to phrase 'what the heck are you doing here,' Mamoru offered her some tea. She accepted, sitting carefully on the edge of a chair, trying not to leave a water mark and feeling more uncomfortable than she could ever remember feeling before. He handed her the cup and she took a nervous gulp, burning her tongue, as he sat down across from her.

"So," said Mamoru, feeling that something must be said, and having no idea what it should be.

Usagi took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. Time to face the lion in his den. And hope she didn't get eaten. With all the confidence of a small, furry appetizer, she plunged ahead.

"I came to apologize. I'm sorry I teased you, I was just kidding but I should have kept my mouth shut, and I didn't mean to make you mad or hurt your feelings! Gomen nasai!" she stood and bowed, only just managing not to spill her tea. The words tumbled out so fast they were barely comprehensible, but Mamoru caught the general idea.

Dozens of thoughts swirled and crashed through his brain, but one simple concept dominated:

She knows.

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Tune in next time for, you guessed it...chapter three!