9. shock
a short by
the nat-chan
rated: mamoru may never recover G
disclaimer: only Nat-chan would traumitize Mamoru so.
genre: first season romance
The only thing Mamoru was ever to be truly grateful for that morning was the
fact that he hadn't been holding his coffee when he opened the newspaper.
Everything else was bullocks.
He had sleepily pulled in that morning paper, sat down at the kitchen table
and reached for his coffee when the big, bad, bold, black headline froze every neuron
and collapsed every synapse in his body. He was fairly sure the atoms in his
body simply ceased their vibrating and that his blood froze so severely it reached
absolute zero--the temperature at which all matter freezes as solid as stone.
Splashed across that paper was the headline: TUXEDO KAMEN'S SECRET LOVE!
with the sub headline: His love for Juuban student Tsukino Usagi revealed in our
exclusive interview!
WHAT? his brain managed. He was sure he was still sleeping but pinching,
showering, and finally phoning Motoki confirmed, this nightmare was real.
He finally managed to calm down enough to read the "interview" which claimed
their anonymous columnist had met up with Tuxedo Kamen BY HIS REQUEST
to do a one-on-one interview confessing his love for average citizen and student
Tsukino Usagi!
He read it in numbing disbelief as line after line of his private-most thoughts were
somehow captured and printed for all the world to see. How much he loved her,
how long he had loved her...his hands shook as he read.
In the article "he" claimed to be revealing his feelings to the public to show them
he was a regular person just like them, trying to fight for justice and dealing while
the same emotions and situations as everyone else in Tokyo.
He blew out a breath as he put it down. Were they kidding? He was the farthest
thing from an average person with average feelings! And now they had ruined
his life! This anonymous source had ruined his life! Who was this person? He
looked around his apartment suspiciously. How had they found out? He'd never
breathed a word to another soul alive--especially as Tuxedo Kamen!
No one knew! Least of all Usagi.
Usagi...
He sat up as though he'd been sent an electric shock! USAGI! What would she say
when she saw it? What would she do! What would HE do?
He took off like a shot for the arcade. He had to get there before she did! It was
Saturday, she'd be there to play videogames. He'd hide in a booth and gauge her reaction!
In the arcade, the girls sat at the booth waiting for Usagi as well.
Makoto looked wearily at the article again. "I don't know if this was such
a good idea, Rei."
"Are you kidding?" snapped Rei, regarding her handiwork with admiration.
"It's the best thing to do with our new information!"
Mina nodded vigorously.
Ami put her head in her hands. "This was SO not what I intended when
I told you guys what the computer said!"
"Just wait," said Mina confidently, "Mamoru's going to come wildly
through that door any minute to see what Usagi does!"
Ami and Makoto had already privately conferred on the strangeness of
Rei and Mina hatching a matchmaking scheme together. They were
polar opposites, yet both had had the same first thought when Ami's computer
revealed that Tuxedo Kamen was none other than Chiba Mamoru.
True to form, an extremely agitated, exposed, and rather anguished looking
Chiba Mamoru came in moments later and slinked away to a booth to hide
with his coffee.
Motoki followed him over carrying the paper and eagerly said, "Hey pal,
did you SEE this yet? What a shocker!"
Even Mako couldn't help but laugh at the sound of Mamoru choking on his
coffee.
But then Usagi entered and all conversation came to an abrupt standstill. The girls'
eyes were all riveted to her face and Mamoru had done a 360 in his booth seat so that
his blue eyes peeked over the top at her from his booth in the far corner.
Usagi seemed utterly oblivious and waved to Motoki, whose mouth was hanging open,
and then skipped over to the girls.
"Uhh...Usagi-chan, did you see the paper this morning?" Makoto asked quietly.
Mamoru was slinking from booth to booth now until he was hidden in the one next to theirs, ear pressed eagerly against the vinyl to hear the details.
"Are you kidding?" Usagi said scornfully, "Who wants to read the boring old news?
Except maybe Mamoru-baka!"
"I think today's will interest you," Rei said with smug satisfaction.
Usagi's face lit up, "AIEEEEEEE are they finally making a live-action Sailor V movie?
I knew it!"
Ami put her head in her hands again and Mina passed Usagi the paper, unfolding that
big, bad, black, bold headline for her to read.
Usagi fell silent and took the paper from Mina very slowly as she read.
She was quiet for so long that Rei finally barked, "SAY SOMETHING ODANGO
BRAINS!"
Mamoru, who had been straining his last ear fibre to hear jumped and smashed his shin on the
table, making a pained face but refusing to utter a sound lest he give himself away.
Motoki, watching him, simply shook his head. His interest in Usagi's reaction gave him away
better than even the dazed, happy look on his face after she'd yelled at him had in the past.
"I...I don't understand," Usagi finally said quietly, "He doesn't even know me..."
Mamoru blanched. It was true. As Tuxedo Kamen he really didn't. What on earth was goin on here? His mind finally cleared and that calculating intelligence that made him a straight-A student kicked in.
Whoever was behind this probably knew that...
He was never to finish that thought because Usagi delivered his second, life-altering shock of the day.
"He's only ever met me as Sailor Moon!"
There was a sudden rustle as four hands tried to clap over Usagi's mouth and Rei leapt up, peering over each booth to make sure no one heard. Mamoru had to crawl under the table and hide. Then he stayed there as wave after wave of shock rushed over him. He didn't think he could take much more.
Usagi was Sailor Moon. Usagi was Sailor Moon. It just wouldn't sink in.
It was a while before the rest of the girls as the scouts came to him and after that he got really paranoid and decided Motoki might just look like Jadeite...
It was only Usagi continuing to speak that made him crawl back up into the boothbench to hear more.
"It doesn't make any sense..."
"Who CARES about what sense it makes?" Rei bellowed, "The question is, do you love him back?"
"Well...I mean I did, you know I did, for a while..."
"And now?" Mina asked knowingly, smiling at the four inches of tell-tale green blazer peeping
around the booth next to theirs.
"Now...I can't feel that way anymore for him...you know why...please don't make me say it."
She had gone quite white, eyes still reading that article in shock.
"Uh-un Odango-head!" Rei said. "You were MADLY in love with Tuxedo Kamen, this news should
be a dream come true! Who could you possibly love more than HIM? He's perfect!"
Usagi's voice was getting smaller and smaller.
"Rei-chan please...you already know who...even though it's hopeless I couldn't possibly lead on Tuxedo Kamen knowing my true feelings."
"True feelings for WHO?" Mina prodded.
Mamoru felt his heart crumbling in his chest. She loved someone else. He had to know who. He had to hear the name so that he was utterly destroyed and he could believe it enough to take his shattered feelings away forever.
But then he received his third and final shock of the day and this one finally did him in.
Usagi finally lost her temper and blurted out, "WHY ARE YOU ALL TORTURING ME? YOU ALREADY KNOW IT'S MAMORU-BAKA!"
And his heart instead of crumbling exploded in his chest. He fell out of the booth with a noisy thud as he yelled, "WHAT?"
A trembling, wide-eyed Usagi appeared moments later in his line of sight, staring aghast at him. His own mouth hung open as he stared back.
She looked like her life was over and turned on her heel to run out of the arcade.
Mamoru reacted a long moment later, jumping up and turning to face the four staring girls. He looked to that article sitting on the table and shot Rei a very dark look, "Somehow, someday, I will get you back for this!" he promised.
Then he ran out of the arcade after Usagi.
Usagi who loved him! She loved him! She loved him in every identity!
She hadn't made it far and he overtook her in the park, catching her by the arm and spinning her tearful face around.
"Baka! You heard everything didn't you?" she wailed.
"I did," he told her honestly.
She hung her head as more tears fell, collapsing on the bench she had run to.
"Don't cry," he said gently, then knelt down so that they were eye to eye and tucked a rose in her hand. She gasped as he seemed to summon it from the air. He waited for the meaning of that to sink in before saying quietly, "That article is false. I never did any interview."
Her hands shook as she clutched that rose.
"It was never Tuxedo Kamen that loved you, he never knew who you really were. It was me. I loved you."
Her last sob huffed into a laugh as her expression turned from sadness to joy with that swiftness only she could pull-off.
"Baka," she chided, "you love me too?"
He didn't get in much of a nod before she had thrown herself bodily into his arms. He almost lost his balance but caught her and kissed her instead.
The next morning Rei and Mina sat over steaming drinks in the arcade smugly discussing their victory.
"Mamoru-baka can threaten me all he wants," Rei said recklessly, "It was for his own good!"
Moments later the paper was delivered and Rei's mouth dropped open at the big, bad, black, bold heading that read "SHRINE PRIESTESS DECLARES LOVE FOR STRUGGLING MUSICIAN!" with the sub headline "Hino Rei tells all in our exclusive interview!"