Thank you for the support, C.Shakespeare, Terra and Zoey89. I'm so close to the end, and more than half of having stuck through the whole challenge is because of all those pretty reviews you've left here and at LJ.

SMOOCH+

DISCLAIMER: Nope!

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061. ADVICE

Usagi watched the older girl suspiciously. Since she'd met The Jerk, she'd learned that not all girls were nice… or sane.

"Hi! You know Chiba-san, right?"

Usagi sighed. "I don't know his number. Or his address. I didn't even know his last name until you girls came around!"

"Easy, girl." The brunette raised her hands. "Wow. You sure are paranoid. No, I'm not into him."

Usagi smiled uncertainly. "You aren't bribing me for advice to befriend him?"

"Nope. I have advice for you: Drop the denial and ask him out."

Usagi sighed, disappointed. Where was sanity when you needed it?

28/03/07

062. RAINBOW

"Take off your jacket."

Mamoru looked at his coffee as if sanity was hidden in there. He almost pinched himself, just in case, but he doubted his dreams included the Odango asking him to disrobe. "Excuse me?"

"Take. Off. Your. Jacket."

Alright. This was happening. "Why?" he ventured out.

Eyeroll. "Because it's ugly, and that rainbow doesn't look good on it."

He followed her finger and discovered that, indeed, a rainbow was shining on his sleeve. "Why didn't you just ask me to leave?" he asked as he shrugged off the jacket.

"Huh?" Usagi blinked. "Weird. Never thought of that."

28/03/07

063. SPRING CLEANING

Unazuki took Usagi's elbow in the middle of the younger girl's tirade at her enemy. As the blonde was dragged off into the changing rooms, Mamoru stood blinking in surprise.

"Girl stuff," Motoki laughed at him.

"Ooooooh! THANK YOU, Unazi-chan!"

Mamoru looked at Motoki interrogatively.

Motoki shrugged. "Unazuki was doing some spring cleaning and found some clothes that, er…." He made a rounding gesture over his chest and hips. "…were too small."

"Oh."

Minutes later Usagi came in, clad in her new clothes.

Motoki gaped.

Mamoru choked.

Unazuki stared at her friend's curves. "When did you grow up this much?!"

28/03/07

064. SECRET

First miracle: The Odango had collided into someone other than him.

Second miracle: It had not been her fault.

She'd been standing at the bus station, happily licking an ice-cream cone, when some guy had dashed round the corner and… crash!

Mamoru rushed to the blonde. "You okay?" She sniffled, looking at the mess of ice-cream on the pavement. Impulsively, Mamoru helped her up. "Come on, I'll buy you a new one."

She eyed him carefully, but the promise of ice-cream was stronger than her distrust.

Third miracle: They were behaving politely to each other.

But nobody needed to know.

28/03/07