Secret Cupid
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Chapter Nine

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Thursday, February 14th ...St. Valentine's Day

Usagi

Usagi stood on the steps of Mamoru's apartment complex, leaning against a railing and staring down at her toes. It was 6:30 in the morning, and her eyes felt groggy and heavy. She had never gotten up this early before in her entire life… but her Mamo-chan was worth it, she decided. She just HAD to see him first thing and start Valentine's day off right.

She pulled her pink furry coat closer around her, buttoning up the buttons. Her earmuffs tickled her ears, but she knew if she didn't have them, her ears would freeze.

The automatic doors slid open and Mamoru came out, pulling on his winter coat. He blinked in confusion and stopped walking when he saw his girlfriend standing at the front of his building.

"Usako? Is that you?" He rubbed his eyes; he was sure that he was seeing an illusion.

Usagi looked up when she heard his voice, and she squealed, rushing into his arms. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mamo-chan!"

"Uhhh…. isn't it a school day, Usako?"

"Well…yes…"

"And it's 6:30 in the morning?"

"Yeah…so?"

"And you're awake!"

She sighed irritably and pulled away from him. Spinning on her heel, she began to walk away stormily. "Well, fine, then. If you don't want an early morning surprise from your girlfriend who loves you, then I'll just leave."

Mamoru rolled his eyes at her theatrics and went after her, following her down the road. "Usa… Usa, would you stop?"

She stopped, with her back facing him.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "I'm sorry, Usako… it's just a surprise, seeing you here… this early in the morning. I'm always happy to see you, though, and you know that."

She smiled in victory and turned in his arms to face him. "That's good."

He laughed. "Alright, Usako, now you need to get to school… I'll see you tonight?"

She nodded. "Okay. Can I get a kiss?"

He grinned and leaned down to meet her lips with his. "Have a good day, honey."

She giggled and turned, skipping away. "Bye, Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru watched the girl go, shaking his head in disbelief. "She always knows how to amaze me."

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Usagi reached the school and went to her locker, where Ami would usually be standing, reading. She frowned when she didn't see her blue-haired friend.

A few minutes later, Makato came through the front school doors, her nose red from the cold. She saw Usagi and walked up to her. Usagi smiled back, happy to at last be able to stand with someone in the hall instead of being alone.

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Lunch time came, and Usagi rushed into the lunchroom, rushing the front of the line. She piled her plate with food, and got two Valentine's cookies instead of just one.

Finding her friends sitting at their usual table, she went up and sat with them. Makato was unwrapping one of her fabulous home-baked meals, while Ami sat with her face buried in her mathematics homework, no food anywhere around the girl.

Makato looked at the girl. "Where's your lunch, Ami-chan?"

Ami mumbled something, and turned back to her books.

Makato and Usagi shared a glance before turning to their own lunches. Usagi ate fast, jabbering to Makato about her meeting with Mamoru that morning. Makato just listened, nodding every once in a while, a dreamy look in her green eyes.

Usagi glanced over at Ami and noticed the girl was staring off into space, and then she looked at Makato. She grinned. Both were thinking about their dates, she could tell.

She finished her lunch, deciding that thinking about her Mamo-chan was just the thing to make the time pass.

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That afternoon, Usagi walked down the street, looking through her purse, trying to figure how much money she had for a new dress for her date with Mamoru. She was across the street from the arcade, and she saw Minako walking inside, carrying a red rose. She almost went across to see her, but she noticed the girl went immediately to the front and sat down, where Motoki smiled at her.

Usagi grinned and kept on walking. She went to the Tokyo shopping district, where she walked inside her favorite dress shop. She flipped through several racks and found the perfect dress. A shimmering light pink dress with thin diamond beaded straps. She tried it on and found that it fit perfectly, reached down to her knees and hugged her thin figure lightly, but not too much. She left the dressing room and was walking through the racks when Rei suddenly popped up from behind a rack of dresses.

"I could recognize those dumplings anywhere!" The priestess giggled, a happy, dreamy look in her eyes.

Usagi giggled back, and she helped Rei shop for a dress as well. She thought throughout the whole time about all her friends… she had seen the same dreamy look on all their faces.

Ami was so spacey for Ami at lunch. She didn't talk, didn't read her book, and didn't touch her lunch. She just stared off happily at the abyss.

Makato had half-listened to her talking about Mamoru, because the brunette had been staring down at her lunch, with the same happy gleam twinkling in her eyes.

Usagi had seen the cloud-like mood of Minako as the girl had walked into the arcade, especially how the girl seemed to glow completely when she had sat at the front counter with Motoki.

And now Rei, flipping through dresses, seemed to act like she was on cloud nine.

Usagi wondered… was it because of the dates they were so happy, or were there specific guys in their lives already?

Was Secret Cupid really needed for the girls in the first place…?

Usagi shrugged it off. Whatever happened for her friends tonight was great. She hoped the best for all of them, but for herself… she had a date to worry about too.

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After leaving Rei at the temple, Usagi made her way home. She went inside her house and skipped up the stairs, going to her room. Pushing the door open, and pushing aside a ton of clothes that she had littered in the floor, she plopped down on her bed, deciding to read a manga before getting ready for her date.

Her mind restless, she tried, but couldn't seem to get her mind to concentrate on the manga. She pushed it aside and decided she might as well get ready anyways.

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A half-hour later, showered and fully-dressed in her new pink dress, with diamond studs in her ears and her hair piled elegantly on top of her head, Usagi paced back and forth around her room, wondering why in the world people got ready EARLY.

"Arrrrgh!" She screamed. "Who the hell would get ready early? Jeez, what a waste of time!"

She examined herself again in the mirror, fixing her lip gloss again, and turned to her messy room.

Pursing her lips together, she let out a tense sigh. "Well… while I'm waiting I might as well… tidy up a bit." She cringed at the thought. "But there's nothing else to do."

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Fifteen minutes later, Usagi surveyed her room appreciatively, the floor finally visible. She glanced at the clock, and her eyes because wide saucers. "AAARRGGGHHH! Two hours to go!"

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Ikuko, after having taken a leisurely afternoon nap, walked into the kitchen, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. It was sparkling clean, but who….

Who was the strange blonde girl standing at the kitchen counter? Was she… scrubbing?

Ikuko grabbed a wooden spoon and swung it around wildly. "Alright, you! Whoever you are, get out of my house! ….and drop that scrub brush!"

Usagi looked up, astonished. "Mom, it's me!"

The blue-haired woman nearly fell in a faint, but she controlled herself, grasping onto the counter. "Usagi! What… what… what are you DOING?"

"Cleaning. Why?"

"Wha….wha…. what?" Ikuko squeaked, and suddenly couldn't stand it anymore. She pummeled to the floor (the clean, sparkling floor) in a dead faint.

Usagi blinked, walking over to her mother's limp body. "Mom? Mommy? Helloooo?" The blonde shrugged and slowly pulled the woman, dragging her into the living room, where she laid her on the couch.

Then she turned to survey the room. She glanced up at the clock. "An hour. Well… I believe I have just enough time to tackle this baby!" She went to the cleaning closet and pulled out a vacuum cleaner. With a mad laugh, she switched it on. "Look out, dust bunnies! I'm coming for you! BWAHAHAHAHA!"

Ikuko awoke to the racket. Dazedly, she looked around and saw her usually lazy daughter fighting the floor like it was a youma. She put a hand to her head. "Oh, Kami-sama, what have you done to my baby?"

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Mamoru walked up to the front step of the Tsukino household, hearing loud vacuuming noises coming from within. He smiled to himself. 'Mrs. Tsukino, no doubt. How she handles the whole house by herself I'll never know.'

He rang the doorbell, and instantly the vacuum was switched off. Muffled noises, like talking, rattled on for a few minutes, and then Usagi, patting her hair, opened the door with a dazzling smile. "Mamo-chan! Come in! Give me just a minute to grab my purse, and we'll go, okay?"

"Sure, Usako." He smiled back, and stepped inside. Walking into the living room, he saw Ikuko sitting up on the couch, in front of a vacuum.

"Tired from vacuuming, Mrs. Tsukino?" He asked, noting her haggard appearance. He felt badly for the woman. She was so kind, and never asked for any help from anyone…. he rolled his eyes. Not that Usagi would help anyways.

"Errr…. yes, dear. Yes. It's been… quite a…. struggle." She stood up awkwardly and patted Mamoru on the shoulder. "Have a nice time, dear. Take care of Usagi-chan. Yes… well… I'll see you later." She wandered toward the stairs, mumbling to herself.

Usagi passed her on the stairs. "Bye, Mom! Hope you feel better!"

Ikuko waved absent mindedly.

Mamoru frowned when Usagi reached him. "She doesn't feel well and was vacuuming? Honey, you really shouldn't let her do that!"

Usagi laughed nervously and swung her arm over her head to rub the back of her neck. "Yes… well… you… can't stop Mom!" She laughed again. "Well… let's go!" She grabbed her boyfriend's arm and dragged him out of the house.

She sweatdropped as they made their way down her driveway. 'Kami-sama, what got into me? Please don't EVER let me get that bored again! Poor Mom! She thought I was an alien!'

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"So what's the surprise, Mamo-chan?" Usagi squeaked happily, turning in her seat to face her handsome boyfriend.

A smile tugging at his lips, Mamoru kept his eyes on the road and away from Usagi. "You'll see."

Usagi pouted, but turned to look at the road again. She laid her hand over Mamoru's arm, rubbing it up and down his sleeve. "Well, alright. But I've been wondering for weeks what you've got up your sleeve." She picked at a piece of lint that had wandered onto Mamoru's sports coat.

Mamoru gave her a funny look at the lint picking. "You alright, Usako?"

"Of course! I'm great!" She smiled happily at him.

He smiled back, but still looked at her. She… never picked lint of his coat. Ever. She didn't usually CARE about lint.

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Ikuko dragged her husband by the collar toward Usagi's room. "Just look at it, Kenji! Just LOOK!"

"I don't need to look to know that it's a disaster zone, dear! I know you have problems getting Usagi to clean her room, but there's nothing really that I can do about it. Grounding, no manga, no Mamoru, none of it has helped! So can I please get back to my work? I'm two weeks behind on my paperwork, love!"

Ikuko grumbled and shoved open the door, pushing her husband inside. "There's a monster in my baby, I know it! She's… she's…" Ikuko looked wildly about, and whispered. "CLEANING!"

"Uhhh…" Kenji looked around the room, at the impeccably cleaned mirror, dresser, floor, and even… a made bed?

"She hasn't made her bed since she was five!" Ikuko waved wildly about, gesturing towards the stacked manga on her dresser. "Neatly stacked manga! All her clothes in the hamper! And… and…." She looked about again, as if someone was listening. "She vacuumed the living room! And she scrubbed the kitchen counters!"

Kenji blinked several moments.

Then the both of them passed out in Usagi's room.

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At the restaurant, Usagi seemed normal enough. Mamoru couldn't help but watch his love with suspicious eyes, though. She was happy as ever, eating her lobster happily, but…. she was using a napkin. And… she usually never did that.

Mamoru couldn't quite place it, but something (he didn't know what, but something) had overcome his little bunny. She was being particularly picky about how she ate, and… she had inspected the table when they sat down, brushing off her seat.

"Honey, is there something the matter?" Mamoru ventured, watching his girlfriend take a sip of tea.

"Uhhh…" Usagi scrunched her brow. "No, Mamo-chan… why would anything be wrong?"

"You're… so…. neat." Mamoru knew it sounded horrible to say, but she just wasn't being Usagi!

Usagi blinked. "Huh? OH!" She giggled. "oh… well, you know… I got so bored this afternoon waiting for tonight that I started cleaning…. isn't that weird? But yeah… I guess it's kinda gotten to me." She blinked and conked her head with her fist. "Who knows what gets up there sometimes."

"You… started cleaning this afternoon?"

"Yup."

"What… did you clean?"

"Oh, my room, the kitchen, and the living room… well, I vacuumed the living room. I didn't have time to tackle the tables."

Mamoru's jaw dropped open. "It was YOU vacuuming this afternoon?"

Usagi blushed. "Uhh… yeah."

Mamoru blinked in bewilderment.

Usagi cleared her throat. "Uhh… Mamo-chan, why are you looking at me like that?"

No reply.

"Um… honey?"

"Mamo-chan?"

"Sweetie?"

"Muffin?"

CLONK.

Usagi sighed and banged her head down on the table, seeing her darling Mamoru sprawled out on the floor, twitching. "Why do people keep doing that? Can't a girl get bored and clean?"

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"I'm so sorry, Usako… so sorry…"

"Can it, Mamo-chan…"

"But you have to forgive me! I didn't mean anything by it, I was just shocked… you just… don't get how big that it is…"

"I thought I told you to drop it?"

"But… please, Usako."

Usagi huffed a huge breath and turned to her boyfriend, crossing her arms. They stood on the doorstep of her house, Mamoru sheepishly rubbing his head and Usagi giving him an exasperated look.

"Fine." She said.

"You forgive me then?"

"Yeah, yeah." She tapped her foot. "But after this morning and tonight, I have decided that you and I…"

Mamoru's eyes widened. She wasn't about to break up with him, was she?

"…are going to have to get to know each other a bit better. Especially you. I can be surprising sometimes, you know." She turned and started to go into her house. "By the way, as your punishment for today, I get to hit you anytime I want, and you can't say anything about it."

"Sure." He muttered, looking down.

She smiled softly. "Oh, Mamo-chan, lighten up. You know I still love you." She leaned over and kissed him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Sir Faints a Lot." She giggled and went into her house, turning off the outdoor lights and leaving him in the dark.

Mamoru grumbled and made his way down the drive to his car, stumbling in the dark. "Why? Why did I have to pass out?"

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Usagi began to take the clips out of her hair as she headed up the stairs to her bedroom. She frowned when she noticed the open door, and went inside. She gasped, seeing both of her parents sprawled out on the floor, both twitching the same way Mamoru had.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" She yelled.

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End Chapter Nine

I know, I know, a bit different from the other dates, and not much of a date... but anyone else here sick of mushy Mamoru and Usagi dates? Yeah, me too. So this is what you get. Hope ya like.

Btw, I am so not finished with this. Another chapter coming up!