Hey everyone. I hope you're all doing fine.
Sorry it took me longer than usual to update this chapter. Life has been very brutal this past couple of weeks.
I hope you like the new chapter. If I have to describe this chapter, I would have to say that I was trying to give you a glimpse of Mamoru's life by focusing on his friends and their relationships with one another. Of course, I didn't abandon Motoki and Usagi's heated argument. There is another cliff hanger waiting for your guys, as usual:D
Tryntee13: LOL, I was directly speaking to you when I brought up the "cliff hanger". Thank you for your kind words. I hope I can live up to them and I sure hope you like this chapter as well. I would love to hear your opinion. Have a great night.
IamCharlotte88: I'm glad that your happy Cheers.
Oloferne: And happy New Year to you. I hope you have had a great start. Let me know your thoughts on the new chapter.
Xoqb: LOL, I call it an evil "present". I hope you enjoy the new update. Cheers.
Guest: Well, you just have to read the new chapter and find out eh? Enjoy.
Glory314: Sorry it took me a while to update. And thank you for your patience. I hope you like the new chapter.
Guest: I'm so glad that you liked my present to you And I'm very honored to have that affect on you (your impatience that is) I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Let me know your thoughts. Have a wonderful night.
Latebuttruefan: First of all, I LOVE YOUR NICKNAME. Did I mention this to you before? Anyways, I'm glad that you see my point about their ages. But I also understand where you're coming from. It has been awhile for me too. Read the new chapter and find out more about Motoki's reaction. Enjoy.
Evil Uncle Bram: LOL I understand your concern about being found out. But really, fanfics are not just for girls. They're stories like any other. So don't be bothered about it at all. I really don't want to be a party pooper! So I won't confirm any of the speculations you had read the new chapter and find out. Cheers.
SMSM92: You know how much I love your long and detailed reviews, it just goes without saying. And since we have been in close contact via pm, I don't want to bore you with my rambling any further Let me know when you get to read the new chapter. Have a wonderful night my friend.
Miss Mango: WOW, "gem"? oh my God, I'm so honored (I'm actually blushing!) Thank you so much for your kind words. I felt so special when I read your review. It made me so happy. Let me know what you think about the new chapter. Have a great day (night?).
Stephie (Guest): I'm not sure why your review doesn't show on the page, but thank you so much for your kind words. Go Canucks; always happy to see a fellow Vancouverite here. Cheers.
PS: This chapter has been edited by the great BrownB.
Enjoy.
There was a time in Toyama Hisa's life when she couldn't understand where she belonged. She always had an awkward relationship with the people around her.
She never fit in with the girls in her class, the whole school actually, and she never managed to befriend anyone outside of the school either.
And until that faithful day two years ago, she never knew what it meant to have someone with a constant presence in her life; and even though she lived with her father, their living conditions were more on paper than anything else. He was never there. Always traveling for his business, always away from home; and she didn't feel connected to him at all.
"You seriously lack some feminine genes you know." He had caught her by surprise, sprawled on the bench in the confined shadow of the cherry tree; one of his legs swinging off the bench, while his green eyes were watching her with amusement. She had just found that secluded gazebo a week ago, and oh how she was glad she had found it. That little sanctuary in the park had become her safe haven for the past week, where she could kick and yell, spat and stare however she wanted to. She could let go of all the anger and hatred she felt in that small space.
A space that was apparently no longer private.
She had met Daiki that day, and even though their initial acquaintance was mainly an angry quarrel from her part and an annoying banter from his, they had managed to stay friends for the past two years.
She had met Mamoru and the others a few days after that.
She was Toyama Hisa, the ultimate tough girl in the whole area, whose knitted eyebrows could easily stir up something dark and unpleasant in her victims' insides; so she was never going to tell her "new" friends that they had become more than just friends to her; that they had in fact became her family. The only real family she had ever known in her life. And there was no way in hell she would let Daiki-baka find out that she would forever be grateful for that fateful afternoon two years ago.
His ego was annoying as it was.
But even though her everyday attitude towards her "new" family was nothing more than frustration, anger and most of the time irritation, in Daiki's case, she was fierce and unmerciful when it came to someone else messing with them.
She could spend days after days, probably weeks after weeks, making fun of Daiki and his baka-ness, but even a tiny suggestive word from anyone else could set her on fire.
And Mamoru...
Well Mamoru was a totally different story.
The first time she had seen him at the loft, where Daiki had basically dragged her to by her short hair, she had hated him with a passionate will. She had found him arrogant, irritating and above all, mysterious.
And she always hated the unknown.
But over the weeks and months that she had spent more time with them, she had found herself investing more of her time and heart into being around them; and there was just something about Mamoru and how he led them as a group that had seemed refreshing...new and heartwarming; almost as if he was the dean of their little society.
And somehow, Hisa had grown to respect him the way he was.
Somewhere along the way, she had found a space with them. And even though she would never say it out loud, their constant presence in her life had saved her from the unknown that she had always hated.
She had found herself.
And therefore, she would never let anyone mess with her family.
So when on that night, hours after her judo practice, she had came around a specific petite blonde standing in the middle of the park, trembling with tears in front of a tall blond who had his head clutched between his hands and his eyes as wide as a saucer, she knew that someone was in fact messing with her family.
She was Tomaya Hisa... and no one messed around with her.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her, while he watched the navel of her throat; the slenderness of her neck as she gazed up to the sky.
Her neck bent downwards and she looked him in the eyes; her golden pigtails fell on her shoulders and he could see the fine hair around her neck being lifted by the gentle breeze.
"Nothing..." she said in a small voice and gave a tiny smile. He smiled up at her, his head rested peacefully on her lap as they enjoyed the fine afternoon weather near the lake.
"Come on, tell me..." he insisted and his smile got bigger as he lifted his right arm and let his knuckles caress her jaw line. She smiled again and leaned into his touch. "It's nothing, honest..." And when she opened her eyes again, all sparkles and glitter, he couldn't help it any longer.
His hand went to the back of her neck, pushing her head down gently, as he lifted his head up, meeting her lips half way.
But that was nearly five weeks ago.
Now, as he looked at her teary face, red nose and puffy eyes through a haze, he couldn't have one coherent thought in his mind, let alone being able to think about what she was thinking about!
That name...
"I would hate it if you lost something precious to you," he had said to him that day at the arcade, and now...
Well now he understood what he had meant.
He was still clutching his head, his eyes probably the size of his childhood Frisbee, and he didn't know what to say.
Chiba Mamoru...
"Motoki?"
He flinched at the sound of her voice, as if someone had shook him from a deep slumber. His mind focused and the image of her standing in front of him became clearer.
She was still crying, but she was no longer sobbing. The tears were falling down her eyes in silence, as if she was mourning a long lost love; a kind of mourning that comes after month and months, years and years of weeping, wailing and bawling; when it becomes a definite that the lost one would never come back; when you finally surrender to the pain.
He wanted so bad to ask her whether he had forced her...he wanted so bad to believe that he had; even if that meant a total mental break down, both for Usagi and also himself.
But he didn't want to believe this...the fact that she had been with him willingly; that she had freely gave herself to him.
"I would hate it if you lost something precious to you."
"Why?" his voice was even foreign to himself. He couldn't recognize that rough and deep tone.
And he watched as more tears fell from her eyes and she bowed her head, finally breaking their eye contact.
He took a step towards her, ready to ask her again; ask her why she had done that...why she had betrayed him like this...and why, oh why did she had to go and break his heart like this?
It all happened so fast.
First, he felt the heaviness of a hand on his forearm. He jolted a little, before turning his head and looking over his shoulder at a tall brunette, who was watching him with a stoic expression on her face.
A familiar stoic face...
"I wouldn't if I were you...," she said nonchalantly as if she was telling him that it was 8:30 pm and the park was fairly quiet.
He stared at her with confusion for a moment; her presence there, and the fact that she was talking to him didn't sink in right away.
He watched her and then she smirked!
An image popped into his mind's eye.
Chiba smirking the same way at him while he was lowering Usagi on a bed...
Motoki felt sick.
"Get your hand off me," he growled from between his teeth, at the same time, he wrenched his arm free of Hisa's touch.
She retrieved her arm but didn't stop smirking at him. From the corner of her eye, she saw the petite blonde taking a step towards the two of them.
"Oh, someone got off the wrong side of the bed today," she said sarcastically and jerked her head to one side, to push away the hair in her eyes.
Her body language, the way she was looking at him and most importantly, that smirk on her face made his pulse jump with anger.
"What the hell do you want?" he spat, before turning his body to face her.
Usagi took in a sharp breath as she took another step towards Motoki; her eyes darting between the two of them.
What was she doing here? And why was she even here, talking to them? Her heart missed a beat; was Mamoru around here too?
Her eyes averted back to the tall brunette, who had just opened her mouth to say something again.
"Now, that's not a nice way to be talking to a lady," she said, her smirk getting bigger when she recognized the annoyance on the blonds' face.
Motoki sneered and shook his head, "I don't see one in front of me,"
"That's not nice either."
"What is it that you want? Say it and leave."
"Tsk,tsk...don't play with fire little boy..."
"What did you call me?" Usagi could hear the madness in Motoki's voice and even though this was the very first time she was seeing him this way, but somehow, she knew it wasn't going to be pretty.
She had to do something; and fast.
"Motoki, come on, maybe..." she went closer to him and touched his forearm attentively, "we should leave..." She felt a pang of sorrow going through her veins when he pulled his arm almost aggressively away from her grasp. He didn't even look at her.
"You know what your problem is?" he was still eyeing Hisa, who was still looking at him with indifference. "You think you're all intimidating," he took another step towards the tall brunette, "when in reality, you're nothing but an outcast." Usagi saw a flash of something unpleasant in Hisa's eyes, but Motoki just kept going. "And I'm not just talking about you; your whole group includes a bunch of wanna-be losers."
Usagi let out a sharp scream when Motoki's form went flying to the ground, diminishing the sound of his own surprised cry out.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Usagi yelled from the top of her lungs, as she
bent on her knees and tried to hold on to Motoki's shoulders.
Motoki was touching his jaw, venom, and hatred apparent in his glare as he looked up at Hisa, who was looking down at him with the same amount of bitterness.
"That's what you get for saying shit apron boy," she said, paying no attention to Usagi's earlier outburst.
"DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID?" Usagi cried out again, her sudden anger and the earlier frustration and fear she had felt was now getting the best of her; and plus, who liked to be ignored that way anyway?
She rose to her feet, putting her body between the brunette and Motoki who was about to stand on his feet.
Hisa's eyes finally met hers and for a moment, they lost their previous poison.
Usagi was now shaking with rage. She fisted her tiny hands and looked up at the taller girl as if to challenge her stare. "Why did you do that?" she asked, voice tight with anger, eyes flashing fire, "You have no right butting in our conversation and turning it into something about you." It was such a long time since she had felt this much frustration; and she didn't like the feeling one bit.
Hisa didn't respond right away; truth to be told, she was slightly taken aback by the blonde's sudden reaction. She had never seen Usagi this mad before. She had always seemed like a push over; a tiny little girl that she always took pleasure in teasing. But now she gazed at her furious blue eyes and she just knew something in her had changed.
"I just saved your tiny ass you know," Hisa finally found her voice, getting over the initial shock of seeing the "Odango Atama" crying out in her face.
Usagi looked at her confused for a moment. "What? Saved me from what, exactly?" she asked. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Motoki was standing on his feet now, and for a moment she feared that he might have a bad reaction to the brunette standing in front of them; she hated the position she was in.
"You're so lucky that I'm not a kind of person who would lash out at a girl," came Motoki's voice, and Usagi looked at him.
A small bruise was already formed on the side of his jaw, and his hair was all messed up and for a moment, he looked weary and tired; Usagi's heart dropped. She had done this to him. It was all her fault.
"Oh yeah?" Hisa hissed back. "Don't worry, I don't think you could take me down even if you tried apron boy." She took a challenging step towards him, but stopped in her attempt when Usagi pushed her body between them once more.
"Stop this!" she yelled. "Both of you!" She looked back and forth between them, "What is wrong with you? Acting this barbaric!" She grabbed Motoki's jacket sleeve and gave a little pull, "Motoki let's go," she demanded, even though it came more as a plea than anything else.
But Motoki didn't budge. His ego was just shattered in pieces by a girl who was incomparable to him in size; even though she might have had her share of training...in God knows what, but still...
"Motoki," Usagi urged again, "let's go..."
"What's wrong apron boy? Hiding behind your girlfriend, ne? How mighty of you..." she folded her arms on her chest and didn't even hide the annoying smirk that had formed on the side of her mouth.
'This is not going great,' Usagi thought to herself, as she looked back at Hisa, who was obviously trying to play with Motoki's head; 'what is wrong with her?' she was confused.
"You really are getting on my last nerve," Motoki said almost nonchalantly as he was about to walk away from her. Tonight had turned out to be one hell of a night.
First he had found out that Usagi was not the person he thought she was; She had actually turned out to be a sl...oh God, he couldn't even bring himself to call her that in his mind. What kind of a man was he? Maybe he deserved to be treated this way and to be cheated on. If he were man enough, his girlfriend wouldn't do this to him in the first place. He looked at Usagi for a moment and his heart did a twist.
How could she do this to him?
"Wow, you really are a pussy aren't you?" The brunette's irritating voice lured his attention back to reality. She was still standing there with her hands folded and the stupid smirk plastered on her face.
And for a moment, he really wished that she was not a "she", or better yet, if she was him, so he could punch him a couple of hundred times.
"You know what?" he said instead, "I am a pussy," he said and Usagi looked at him with wide eyes. "Because if I wasn't..." he looked at the tiny blonde beside him with a frown on his face, before he looked back at the obnoxious brunette in front of him, "I would have been on my way by now to beat the crap out of your precious toy-boy."
A hint of surprise passed Hisa's feature, but like any other time in her life, she managed to put up an indifferent façade. "My boy-toy? And, pray tell, who might that be?" she said with sarcasm, even though she had a pretty good idea who that toy was.
Motoki was no fool; he might have missed the fact that his girlfriend had stabbed him in the back for God knows how many times, but he was not new to the overall game. And even though he was desperate to get away from the brunette, and even more desperate to get away from Usagi, he wasn't about to lose yet another battle. So instead of turning his back and walking away, he smirked; but it was one of those sad smirks and Usagi was able to see right through it.
And she hated herself even more.
"You know exactly whom I'm talking about," he said, still eyeing Hisa, "I can't think of anyone else who would be boy-toy material, but I think Chiba fits the profile effortlessly," he almost hissed out his name and the mere mention of that name, left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"It's funny how you would call him a boy-toy," Hisa said while crossing her arms over her chest and for a split second her eyes glanced at Usagi before settling back on him. "Considering...," and then she smirked back.
Usagi's eyes couldn't get any wider even if she tried. What did she mean by that? And what the hell was that look she just gave her? Had Mamoru...no...no, he couldn't have...but...
"Considering what?" Motoki's voice was sharp and had an apparent edge to it and Usagi had no choice but to avert her eyes back to him. "Go on and finish that sentence, I dare you..." he seethed, and his reaction only served to turn Hisa's half smirk to a full devilish grin.
"Oh I'm scared," she said with fake fright as she made a huge show off her trembling shoulders.
"STOP IT," Usagi's loud scream actually made them both tremble for a mere second before they both turned around and eyed the small blonde who was now shaking with anger.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU TWO?" she screamed again; her tiny hands fisted by her sides. Even the odangos on the top of her head were sticking out with rage. "I HAVE HAD IT! I'M LEAVING!" She turned on her heels and began to walk away. In her rage and frustration, she forgot the fact that Motoki was the one who was supposed to be the angry one; that he was the one who in fact had the right to be furious and disappointed. But she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't just stand in that poisonous atmosphere. She felt like she was suffocating.
She heard hurried footsteps following her. But she didn't halt her pace. She kept going before a hand took a grab of her wrist and she was spun around. She gazed up at Motoki's green orbs as he looked down at her with a frown. "Where are you going?" he asked angrily and when she frowned back at him, his annoyance escalated.
"Where does it look like I'm going?" she asked, still in heat, but her voice had lost its previous tone.
"I don't know, you tell me?" he asked and his frowned deepened.
"I'm going home," she cried and took a deep breath before continuing, "I don't want to be in a middle of this little show you've got going on..."
"SHOW?" His loud bawl made her jump out of her skin. "HOW DARE YOU?" he grabbed both of her shoulders and shook her a little. "How dare you say that to me? This little show wouldn't have happened in the first place if it wasn't for you!" he growled.
Usagi watched him for a second with wonder, but managed to retaliate nonetheless. "How is this my fault? I didn't start a fight with her!"
"No," he cut her off, "you just went ahead and slept with her buddy..." he yelled and Usagi flinched. "giving her," he made an angry gesture with his head, "and probably everyone else in their little gang the right to come to my face!" He took a deep breath and clenched his jaw. The flame in his eyes wouldn't go away and he knew the fire in his heart was also there to stay.
He couldn't look at her anymore...this wasn't his sweet little girlfriend anymore. Even her eyes had lost their previous innocence to him. He couldn't stand it anymore.
So he let go of her shoulders. He bent his head as if gravity was pulling on him, and he held his temples for a moment. Eyes closed, jaw still tense.
Usagi watched him in silence, because really, what was there to say? What could she possibly tell him that would make that struggled look on his face go away?
She raised her hand unsure and reached out to him. The pain on his face was going to kill her.
He noticed her intention and quickly took a step back; putting more distance between the two of them.
Usagi's hand fell beside her.
He looked at her for a moment; no, he couldn't do it anymore.
Usagi watched in horror as he turned around and walked away.
Without saying one word.
She watched his retiring back in a haze. What had she done?
"You..." she heard the brunette's voice, but for some reason, her eyes were glued to the man that was walking away from her.
"You slept with who?"
He eyes suddenly focused and left their sanctuary from where Motoki was headed and were met with fiery brown eyes.
It had been an hour since Mamoru had left the Tsukino residence and was just wondering around. He really didn't know where else to look for her.
It made him frustrated to think that he really didn't know her well enough to know where she could possibly be. He didn't know which "shrine" her mother had referred to, and why Usagi would be there in the first place.
The only option left for him was to just wonder around in hopes to spot her somewhere.
He tried so hard to ignore the tiny voice at the back of his head; the voice that kept bugging him about Usagi's whereabouts.
So to make the voice go away, he had gone to the arcade just to prove to the voice that she wasn't there. And she wasn't; so he was right after all.
But so was he.
'She's probably with him,' the voice laughed, 'it's not like the arcade it's the only place they meet at. They're dating you know...'
And Mamoru's only respond was a throaty growl.
Why would she abandon him like this? Didn't she nod to his request to come and see him tonight? What about what happened between the two of them last night? Didn't it mean anything to her?
His head was going to explode. He couldn't think straight. He had been wondering around aimlessly for hours...
Wait.
Wait a minute. His eyes widened with realization.
What if she had gone to his apartment? What if she was just late...like she usually was whenever he saw her going to school?
'I'm such an idiot...' he thought to himself. And here he was, riding alone at night in hopes to find her walking around the streets of Juuban. What was he thinking?
The bike roared once more as Mamoru sped up towards his apartment.
He always did feel more like home when he was at the loft; even though the place was nothing near a proper "home". He looked around the oval living area, with its limited furniture and lack of color. But there was just something about this space that they all shared together that made it like a haven; and Daiki always found peace in this space one way or another.
He flopped on the couch after setting his beer down on the wooden table. He stretched out his arms and legs and took a deep breath.
He was almost dozing out when he heard the familiar knock on the door. He smiled to himself and decided to ignore the knock as long as he could; he always did find it refreshing to get on her last nerve.
The second knock came and his smile widened. Oh she was probably getting pissed off. By the time the third insistent and hurried knock came, he was already up on his feet. It was weird because even though he could always tell when she was frustrated and how much she was irritated, but there was something about the pounding on the door that made him stride to the door and slide it open in hurry.
Well, at least he was right about one thing.
She seemed pissed...probably more than what he had hoped for.
But then he saw the small frame beside her.
He met Hisa's angry glare again.
They were in for a very long night.
So it was probably wiser for him not to come here at all; he knew himself enough to know that in the state that he was in, watching the annoying arguments between Daiki and Hisa was going to irritate him further. So why had he come?
Was it because of Daiki's vague message on the phone? "You really want to be here," his voice had declared, "like...really, really be here."
Or did a part of him wanted to abandon the solitude of his apartment...his Odango-less apartment and busy his mind with something familiar. Like Daiki's stupid jokes and Hisa's rash reactions to those stupid jokes!
But as he was parking his bike and taking off his helmet, he regretted his decision. He really didn't want to deal with the two of them at all and even though Daiki hadn't mentioned one word about the brunette being at the loft with him, Mamoru knew better than that.
He sighed and ran an agitated hand through his hair. He put his helmet back on and was almost in the process of getting back on the bike...
She wasn't there waiting for him...so what was the point of going back to a lonely apartment? At least, here at the loft, he could hear two other people's voices instead of his own mind.
He walked through the dark hallway, hands buried deep into his pants pockets.
It was strange, but he couldn't hear them from he was at all. Maybe tonight was full of surprises after all. Daiki was probably alone and that's why he had called him.
He raised his arm and did the familiar knock, but didn't bother to wait for someone to open the door; it always remained unlocked whenever they were expecting him.
He slid open the door and went inside. It was strange, but Hisa was actually sitting beside the kitchen island and her gaze was unfamiliar.
Mamoru frowned.
He looked over the couch in the middle of the oval living area...and instantly froze.
There, beside a smirking Daiki at the very end of the couch, sat a familiar figure, who was busy fidgeting with her hands non-stop; her odangos sat perfectly on the top of her head.
She raised her head and met his confused stare. Her eyes were red and puffy and were once again clouded with more tears when she looked at him.
Mamoru's bewildered gaze went back to Daiki and Hisa.
Yes, tonight was definitely full of surprises.
"But then she yelled at me and called me a..." her blue eyes met Hisa's raised eyebrow for a split second before returning to her own hands, "well, something not very nice, and practically dragged me here by my hair," she finished without meeting Mamoru's eyes even once.
She was still sitting on the couch and her tense composure hadn't changed one bit since Mamoru had stepped into the loft.
Mamoru was leaning against the kitchen counter, one water bottle in his hand as he stared at the tiny blonde. He had stayed where he was the whole time she was retelling her encounter with Hisa at the park, mentioning his name in a tiny voice and avoiding eye contact with Mamoru the whole time.
He was dying to walk over to her, grab her by her shoulders and demand to know why she had stood him up, why she was with apron boy, and...why she had been crying.
"I didn't drag her by her hair," Hisa's voice snapped him back into reality and he looked at her. She was still eyeing Usagi with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, you did say that you were going to kick me yelling and screaming if you had to," Usagi's voice was almost like a whisper.
Daiki's chuckle somehow managed to break the intense atmosphere that was poisoning their surroundings. "I can totally picture you doing that..." he stood up from the couch and looked at Hisa with amusement, "the bad violent tiger attacking the tiny rabbit," he chuckled again and ignored the death glare that Hisa was sending his way.
He walked into the kitchen and grabbed another beer from the fridge.
This night had turned extremely interesting. He had hoped for a little bit of entertainment on Hisa's part, but this was beyond anything he had expected.
When he first saw Usagi at the door, he had assumed that Mamoru was probably a few steps behind the two girls. He was surprised and amused at the same time when he learned that Hisa had come around the blonde at the park; with no Mamoru.
"Say Mamoru-kun..." he said with sarcasm, adding the honorific to irritate his black haired friend even more, "how was your night?" His lips quirked in a smirk as he raised the beer to his mouth.
Mamoru did a side-glance at him but didn't say anything. He knew better than to fall into Daiki's trap like this.
"I know how he wants his night to be like," Hisa said nonchalantly and met Daiki's questioning stare and Mamoru's knitted brows.
"What do you mean?" Daiki asked as if it was just the two of them there.
"Let's just say," she smirked, "little Chiba," she did a once over on Mamoru, "mmm, hasn't been alone." Her eyes suddenly lit up with mischievous as she looked over at a confused Usagi and smirked.
"So..." Daiki's nonchalant voice got her attention back, "what else is new?" the blond continued as he took a long slurp of the beer.
"YOU KNEW?" Hisa's loud shriek made the one unprepared occupant of the room to jump out of her skin. The boys seemed less troubled by her sudden reaction; they were used to her unexpected behaviors after all.
"I did," Daiki grinned behind the bottle that was still attached to his mouth, ignorant of the dark look on Mamoru's face. "How did you find out?" One of his eyebrows rose. "Don't tell me he told you, because I won't believe it for one second." He looked over Mamoru and ignored his deadly stare once more.
Hisa chose that moment to rise on her feet and stretch out her arms. "Of course not, have you ever seen the baka say more than two or three words to me?" She closed her eyes and bent her head to the sides a couple of times to let out the stress around her shoulders. She opened her eyes and the mischievous was replaced by an evil pleasure as she looked over Usagi. "She told me," she folded her arms and looked over the room and waited for reactions. Oh this was so fun.
Daiki's breath hitched in his throat and to avoid choking to death, he spat out the liquid in his mouth. "WHAT?" he shouted immediately after, "SHE TOLD YOU?"
"She did," the brunette said, and then pouted her lips and looked at Mamoru with obvious amusement.
Mamoru's face that was previously showing signs of a light blush turned red as he looked at the blonde on the couch. "She doesn't even know what you two idiots are talking about," he hissed and then paced towards the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer for himself.
Usagi's eyes was going back and forth between them and she immediately turned crimson when she heard Mamoru's comment. "I know what they're talking about," she cried suddenly, "I'm not stupid," she crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at Mamoru who was watching her from the kitchen.
"Oh yeah?" he said, putting the beer bottle down on the counter, "what are they talking about then Odango?"
Usagi wasn't having the best night at all. First the encounter with Motoki, and then seeing the tall brunette, then left by Motoki, dragged by the brunette...and now this. She had had it!
She jumped up from the couch in an angry gesture. "US HAVING SEX!" she yelled and immediately clasped her hands over her mouth. She couldn't believe she just said that; and in front of Mamoru's friends no less.
She kept her eyes on Mamoru, who was also looking at her with slightly wide eyes. She dared not to look at the other two, who were obviously looking at her too. For a few, dreadful seconds no one spoke. Hisa and Daiki exchanged pleased looks; Yeah Mamoru, try to get out of this one!
"Well then..." Mamoru's cool voice snapped Usagi out of her muddled mind, "I think I've underestimated your intelligence," he said as he ran a hand through his hair. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, Daiki could have sworn that he saw flames burning in them. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU TELL HER SOMETHING THAT PRIVATE?" he shouted, something that he rarely did and it surprised his friends tremendously; Mamoru never lost his cool, and quite frankly, his composed exterior and nonchalant attitude was always a factor for argue amongst their circle.
Usagi's confused and horrified look was instantly replaced by annoyance and anger; it seemed he always managed to set her whole being on fire, one way or another!
"I DIDN'T TELL HER, SHE OVERHEARD MY CONVERSATION WITH..." she seized her rambling with a hitch in HER throat, her eyes were once wide with discomfort; something that didn't go unnoticed by the tall boy who was only a few feet from her.
His dark blue eyes narrowed. "With?" he questioned; there was just something in his tone that made Daiki nervous. He stepped closer to him since something in the back of his mind told him to. He looked at Hisa who was still sitting on the stool, arms folded against her chest; she seemed so indifferent.
"With who Usagi?" Mamoru asked again as he took a step closer to the blonde. "Mamoru..." Daiki's hissed out his warning; maybe that little teasing show wasn't such a great idea after all!
Usagi took a tiny unsure step back. "Ummm," her voice was only above a whisper, "well..." Were they really going to have this conversation here? In front of his friends?
"Cat got your tongue again?" he was getting frustrated; he took another step closer to her before a hand gripped his forearm. He looked back at Daiki who was watching him with a deep frown. "Calm down man," the blond said; this wasn't the Mamoru he knew; this Mamoru was frustrated and angry and...maybe a little jealous?
"Let go baka..." Mamoru hissed under his breath, "I'm not going to hur..."
"Motoki."
His head was turned towards her hurriedly when she finally spoke. "I told Motoki..." her head was bent and he couldn't see her eyes anymore. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he had heard her alright. He desperately wanted to walk up to her, grab her by her tiny shoulders and demand an explanation; but he was Chiba Mamoru, and being composed was one of his treasured characteristics.
"Told him what?" he asked as he did a little pull and snatched his arm away from Daiki's grasp. When Usagi didn't answer, he shifted his eyes to Hisa. "What it she talking about?"
The brunette was having a great night, if not the best night of her life. First bumping to the Odango, then seeing that stupid look on Daiki's face when he saw them walk in, Mamoru's even more stupid and confused look and now this revelation...
"Hisa?"
She looked up at Mamoru's narrowed eyes. "I don't think I'm the person..."
"Hisa?" Daiki's tense voice trailed her off; he was also looking at her with an unreadable expression and fuck, he always managed to get her do things she didn't want to do.
She let out an irritated sigh. "I think she told him about the two of you...you know," she smirked and winked at Mamoru. "When I saw them he seemed pretty pissed, so I just punched him," she said in that unique Hisa fashion, as if she was talking about her boring school day.
Mamoru's expression turned to one of confusion again. "You punched him?" He glanced at Usagi who was once again sitting on the couch, eye hidden from his stare. "Why did you punch him?"
"Well...he was rude to me for one thing," she stood up and stretched out her arms above her head, going back and forth on her heels, "plus, he was a little...well, angry with her."
Mamoru's body went still. What did she mean by that? In a flashback, he remembered Usagi's tear stained face when he first walked into the loft; she looked like she had been crying a while...
"What did he do?"
His tense and deep voice ran an ugly shiver down Daiki's body; 'this is not good,' he thought to himself.
Hisa looked at their so called leader; the look on his face was familiar to her; she had seen the same look countless times when he had to deal with a...difficulty...around their circle. But this wasn't the same case; this much anger was wrong to be shifted towards a simple arcade worker, 'this isn't good,' she thought to herself.
"I said," he asked again; this time, shifting his enraged eyes back to Usagi, "what did he do?"
There was silence once again, before Usagi's soft sobs echoed through the space, breaking one heart and attacking two more.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon and its fabulous characters in any way. I wish I did. But I don't. All the delightful rights of this wonderful manga/anime and its characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.