CHAPTER THREE

Mamoru watched the blonde girl run off in shock. The meatball head was not supposed to look like that.

The first time she had knocked him off his feet in the morning, he had been annoyed. The insistent apologies had just frustrated him further. They had never met before, but watching her bow to him struck him as wrong. A cutting remark escaped before he could catch it. Regret had shoved annoyance aside. He was Mamoru Chiba: valedictorian of his high school, rising university student, valued volunteer at the district hospital and all around nice guy. Biting remarks were not allowed.

When the blonde spitfire stopped her apologizing and insulted him back he was more than surprised. Girls usually turned sappy and pathetic around him. Even Andrew's little sister had never insulted him. The first insult war had left him surprisingly happy as he watched her run for school. When she bounced off him the second day the routine repeated. A true smile followed him around that day instead of a forced polite one. Somehow three minutes a morning trading childish barbs allowed him to relieve his built up stress and relax. He couldn't remember the last time he acted so childish as when he was with the meatball head.

Less than three weeks of the humorous encounters and the blonde disappeared. Three days and he never caught a glimpse of her running for school. Giving up, he decided she had finally adjusted to a new school schedule. He'd have to do without their morning spars. After all, no one could be late everyday, right?

Completely unprepared he found himself crashing to the ground again this morning. He kept the opening remark rather mild. He was too disgustingly grateful to see her again to be truly caustic. Maybe she had been ill?

Her silent bow of apology left him gaping. Where was the yelling, the insults, the burning fire in her eyes as she argued against the injustice in the world for allowing jerks like him to live? Catching her hand stopped the girl's retreat, but he had no idea what to say. Instinctively, he asked is she was okay and got that.

That face. It didn't belong.

His meatball head was filled with more energy than she knew what to do with. He could see it even as she sped down the sidewalk each morning. Then he'd step into her path and watch the emotions run across her face. She would go from embarrassed to righteous fury in a blink of an eye. Just a few weeks and he could tell she was meant to be one of those people that made the world brighter. Even for snobbish jerks like him.

But that face. And her eyes. The blue eyes that glowed with the passion of the moment had been dull with grief. That tired sorrowful smile broke something in him. He wished she had never run into him that morning and that she had stayed a little longer at the same time. The world as he knew it had shattered and he didn't know why.

Walking to the arcade and ordering his coffee was done on autopilot as he tried to solve this new puzzle. Why did it matter so much? The morning wars had been enjoyable, but he hadn't been devastated when the girl stopped running into him. Life went on as usual. But he couldn't get that face out of his mind.

"I don't even know her name," he mumbled.

"Whose name?" Startled, Mamoru looked up at his friend across the bar. "Hey, you doing alright?"

"Of course," he replied. "Why?"

Andrew gestured at the table top. "You've barely touched your coffee, never glanced at the newspaper and all I got was a distracted 'good morning.'" Mamoru looked at his paper in surprise. "So what's wrong?"

Mamoru shook his head. The meatball head wasn't his problem. "Nothing."

"No, no. I'm not buying that." The sandy-blonde man stood across the bar. "It's a girl right? And you don't know her name, right?" With a wide grin his friend leaned back with a theatrical swoon. "Oh to see the day the untouchable Mamoru was struck down. A miracle has come!"

Using the folded newspaper, the dark haired man swatted his friend. "It's not like that," he growled.

"Oh, so it is a girl!" Gleeful, Andrew bent over, invading Mamoru's personal space. "So, what's she like? Would I know her?"

"It's no like that idiot," Mamoru sighed. "She's still in school and I don't have a crush on her." His glare shut Andrew's mouth before another stupid comment could be made. "I don't know her, but she's run me over nearly every morning since the new school year started. The last few days have been accident free, but this morning she was back again." Why was he explaining?
The arcade manager caught his friend irritated tone. "Why don't you take a different route? Or have you tried that and this is one of those scary stalker fan girls?"

"No. She's not a fan girl." The blonde would be horrified at the suggestion. Chuckling he shook his head. "I'm not upset at the run-ins. The girl's just a klutz."

"So what's the problem?" His best friend sounded as confused as Mamoru felt.

"We usually trade insults." He smirked at Andrew's surprised squeak. "She crashed into me on a bad day and when I snapped she snapped back," he explained. The man nodded sagely. If anyone knew of Mamoru's hidden temper, the sandy-blonde did.

"So are you falling for her?" Andrew teased.

"No! Could you stop the teasing for a bit?" When his friend backed off he continued. "We usually insult each other for a few minutes before she runs off to school. This morning was different. She doesn't show for three days and then crashes into me this morning, bows and walks by without saying a word."

"Maybe she's playing hard to get." The man jumped at Mamoru's glare. "Okay, okay. I'll be good. Calm down."

"She's not a fan girl Andrew. The meatball head would laugh in your face if you suggested it to her."

"Meatball head?"

He nodded. "That's what I call her. I don't know her name, remember?"

"Isn't that a bit rude?" Andrew questioned.

Mamoru waved it off. "Don't worry. My name is the insensible jerk."

The manger folded over in laughter. "You sound like your proud of the title," he managed through deep breaths. The college student just continued to smirk as his friend calmed down. "So, you're upset she didn't want to play this morning?" Andrew guessed.

"No. I caught her before she walked away and asked if she was okay…" he trailed off in memory. Another stab of pain hit his chest at the image of her face.

"And?" his friend prompted.

"She just smiled…"

"Smiled? Isn't that a good thing?"

"No," Mamoru disagreed. "It wasn't a good smile. It was a smile you give when the world's gone wrong and nothing feels right, but you'll keep going because you have to."

Andrew whistled. "All that from a smile." Mamoru just nodded and the two let the background noise of the arcade wash over them. "So… what are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" The manger sounded outraged. "You tell me all about this girl and how she must be in pain and you're going to do nothing?"

He sighed. "What do you expect? I barely know her. All I've done is insult her when I do see her. I don't know anything about the meatball head."

"But you know enough to tell she was heartbroken with a single glance," Andrew argued.

"She wears her heart on her sleeve. Anyone could see it."

"I know you Mamoru. It has to be bad if you're this worried. You'll be eaten from the inside out if you don't do something."

"And just what would that be?" The dark-haired man dared his friend for an answer.

"Well… first we need to know who she is so we can find out the problem…" Andrew started. The man had a mission and there would be no stopping him. Mamoru set his head on the bar as the manger thought. "What does she look like? If she's in a local high school I might have seen her."

"Blonde long hair styled in two buns on either side of her head that taper off into ponytails. Can't really miss it." With his head covered by his arms he missed the manager's shock.

"Umm… she wouldn't be in a sailor school uniform, would she?"

Looking up in surprise, he noticed Andrew's worried face. "That's right."

"About this high?" he held up a hand at mid chest.

"That's her," the college student answered.

"Bright blue eyes and a voice that could break glass?" Mamoru didn't like the bit lip of regret on his friend.

"You know her?" A resigned nod from his friend added to his growing panic. "Know her as in seen 'her around the arcade' know her, or know her as in 'I know what's wrong' know her?"

"The second one," Andrew sighed. "You have bad luck my friend."

"Why? What's wrong?" The panic was illogical. Mamoru wanted it gone. What happened to his simple pre-planned life? Andrew set down his cleaning towel and walked around the counter. Each action made the dark-haired man more upset. "Just spit it out Andrew."

Sitting next to his friend, the arcade manager apologized. "Sorry. It's just… I've known Usagi for years."

"Usagi. That's her name?" Andrew nodded. "It fits her. So what's wrong?" Mamoru repeated.

He watched his friend visibly steal himself. "Usagi was best friends with a girl named Naru. They've come in and played in the arcade at least once a week since they were in grade school. Usagi's actually in her last year of junior high, by the way."

"Good to know." He wished the man would just get to it.

"You know about those terrorist that use the nerve gas?"

"Of course. They've only been the biggest threat in the last six months than anything else. Our city is crawling with national and foreign investigators. We get them all the time at the hospital. What does that have to do with meatball head?"

"Think about it. What happened three days ago?" Realization dawned on the college student. He couldn't mean that. "Naru was the daughter of the jewelry shop's owner."

"So her friend died?" Andrew nodded. "That's it?" Wrong question.

"That's it? That's it? Mamoru, you of all people should know what it's like to loose people important to you." He winced at Andrew's accusation, but the sandy-blonde wasn't finished. "Usagi is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She whines a bit and klutzes out a lot, but she has the biggest heart of gold you'll ever find. It doesn't matter who it is, she can cheer up anyone. She's one of those rare people you meet and can never forget. Even you, knowing her for a few weeks, care about her. And you ask 'that's it?'"

His friend gave him no time correct his mistake. "I went to Naru's funeral. Usagi was like a lifeless doll. I never expected her to smile, but she didn't whine or complain or do anything! She just sat there and cried. The entire time. Do you know what it takes to get that girl to sit still?" Mamoru listened to his friend rant. This must have been bothering him for a while. Why hadn't he heard about it until now?

"I was upset when I heard about Naru, but seeing Usagi like that is just wrong. I had no idea how to cheer her. That's her job. I make sure she gets the occasional free ice cream or video game as thanks; make sure she knows she's appreciated. But now… you probably saw right into her heart. Naru was her lifeline. They did everything together. Even her family didn't know as much about Usagi as Naru did."

"Her mother makes sure she eats and does her homework. Her dad keeps the boys from getting too close. Her little brother makes sure she gets her daily amount of harassment. They don't know what her future plans or secret dreams are. Naru would. They can't guess how she thinks or why she acts the way she does. Naru could. Without Naru, Usagi probably feels like her life's been pulled out from underneath her."

Mamoru patted Andrews back as he ran down. A few shuddering breaths told him just how close the man came to breaking down. Once his friend was back in control he spoke. "I didn't mean to say it incredulously. I only wanted to know if there was more." He watched his friend nod in acceptance. "You're giving Usagi too little credit. Sure, I was worried, but there was a reason I could plan to do nothing." Hope blossomed in Andrew's eyes. Why hadn't he noticed the pain there before?

"That face was wrong, I agree. Meatball head wasn't meant to look like that. But you forget. She got up this morning, and was dashing to school. When she crashed into me, we both fell down, but she didn't break down. She stood up and walked on." He let that sink in before continuing. "I didn't know what was wrong, but even with it being as bad as all that, she'll be fine. Maybe not the same, but she's hurt, not broken." Andrew didn't look convinced. "You said it didn't you? I, of all people, should know what it's like."

He nearly laughed at the red flush that took over his friend's face. Accepting the apologies until he had to smack his friend again, Mamoru enjoyed the return to friendly banter. Usagi's sad smile stayed in the back of his mind while he made sure the arcade manager was feeling better. As he left the shop to attend his classes, he tried to convince himself as well as he had Andrew. Why was that meatball head causing him so much pain?

Author's Note: The story kind of wrote itself so I don't know if I'll continue this one or not. Still here for someone to enjoy. Even if they are annoying sometimes, there is a reason Moon Cats were there.