Chapter 2: The Plan

Usagi stood outside the Crown Arcade, staring at the opening and closing sliding doors of her once favorite place to spend majority of her free time. Her reflection repeated to appear as people came in and out, some staring at her curiously as to why she hadn't gone in yet as they walked by. She bit her lower lip in anticipation as her heart pounded against her chest over and over again. Anxiety was taking over her body and she couldn't bring her legs to walk through the doors. 'What if he's in there?' kept playing through her head repeatedly as she hesitantly looked forward.

He wouldn't care. He didn't even know her, so what was she so afraid of? He wouldn't even think to look twice at her. The first words that came out of his mouth when he woke up at the hospital after passing out from being revived was, "Who are you?"

It cut like a knife.

She had been torn in half when those words escaped his mouth. Everything she had hoped for came crashing down on her, to the point that she could not breathe and had to leave the hospital. The idea of forcing his memories to jog did cross her mind, but she was informed later on that it would be the worst course of action to take. It may cause hostility in the patient and even push them further away. If they wanted to remember, it would come slowly. That year she stayed back was the hardest one she had to endure. She waited and waited, but he never came around.

Shaking her head, Usagi turned around to leave until a male voice caught her attention.

"Usagi?"

She looked over her shoulder to find a certain brown haired man gawking at her in shock. Instantly she felt a pang of guilt since she didn't tell him that she was coming back. She meekly smiled and responded, "Hi Motoki-kun…"

He scratched the back of his head and asked, "When did you return to Japan? It's been so long! Everyone missed you!" he exasperated before he gave her a tight hug.

Not everyone.

The young girl wrapped her arms around Motoki slowly, sighing in relief. This felt like home. "M…Motoki-kun…" she struggled, "you're hugging me too tightly…"

He instantly let go, laughing awkwardly and apologized to her. He glanced inside the arcade and gestured her to follow him inside. He was still working, but he wanted to talk to her.

"The girls aren't here yet," he said as he passed her a chocolate milkshake. She glanced down and smiled. It had been a while since she had one of these. She took a small sip out of the beverage as Motoki turned around to get out the other orders he had. "Well? How was it abroad?" he asked her while he got his final order out, wiping his hands on his apron.

Usagi filled him in on her adventures in Canada, going from west to east, trying out new foods, what she did in school and how she passed time. She plastered a fake smile on her face in order to convince him how much fun she had while she was gone. The two of them spent a good hour catching up on how everyone was and what they were currently doing in life. However, they avoided talking about Mamoru; no one asked and no one brought anything up. Motoki knew they were no longer together due to the memory loss, but oddly, Mamoru remembered who he was.

He nodded and was about to say something to Usagi until someone walked in, causing him to look at the blonde nervously. Usagi didn't even need to register who it was that was making Motoki so uncomfortable. She looked back and found none other than the one man she dreaded upon seeing. He had one hand combed through his jet black hair while his one arm was wrapped around an unknown female. She had dark brown, curly hair and the kindest eyes Usagi had seen on anyone. Her smile also seemed to light up the room. Mamoru's deep chuckle caught Usagi's attention immediately, her eyes mesmerized upon his face. She could feel the world stop moving around her as if time stood still. The furrow of his brows, the pull of his lips, and the way his eyes lit up all came crashing back to her.

She felt that familiar lump form in her throat as she watched the two make their way over, briefly catching Mamoru's eyes. They lingered on her for a moment, before they focused on Motoki. She was hoping that she had sparked something in him, hoping that he would at least call out to her. She yearned to have some sort of impact or recognition upon him, anything that would indicate everything would be fine. But that wasn't the case. He didn't say anything and continued his conversation with the woman she assumed to be his girlfriend. She glanced down at the girl's hand and inwardly sighed in relief knowing that a ring wasn't placed there. Subconsciously, Usagi looked down at her own hand at the piece of jewelry which adorned her ring finger – the heart shaped engagement ring Mamoru gave her before he left for America. She never took it off. Not once.

"I love you, Usako."

That was the last time she heard those words. She could feel that pressure in her chest building the longer she looked at it, her eyes becoming blurry. She needed to compose herself in front of Motoki. The last thing she needed him to do was worry about her feelings when Mamoru was around. Clearing her throat, Usagi looked up and placed some money on the counter before she mumbled a thank you and got up from her seat. She took one last look at Mamoru, only to find him looking back at her. Breath hitched, she whipped her head around and started to make her way out of the arcade.

"Tell the girls that I say hi please, Motoki-kun. I'll come by again soon," she smiled.

OooooOooooo

A few days had passed since her encounter with Mamoru at the Crown Arcade. She was scoping out some apartments since staying with her parents wasn't such a viable method at her age. The girls hadn't seen Usagi since she returned so they joined in on the apartment hunting, scoping out neighborhoods and going through rental magazines. It seemed to become quite the frustrating experience considering that Usagi didn't seem like she was keen on anything they found.

"Mou…Usagi! Can't you just decide on something?!" Rei grumbled in annoyance. She crossed her arms and stared at the blonde as she waited for a response. She may have missed Usagi, but she definitely didn't miss the girl's indecisiveness. Even the smallest decision such as choosing a flavor of ice cream to eat was one of the toughest life changing decisions Usagi had to face.

Usagi rolled her eyes and waved off her best friend as she checked out the current rental unit they were walking through. It was definitely one of the nicer apartments, but rent was a bit on the high range. She took a final few glances before her shoulders slumped in defeat. Perhaps today wasn't her day.

"Well….there is that one particular location with a decent rental price and a good neighbourhood…" Makoto voiced, peering over the raven haired beauty, pointing at one of the apartment duplexes. She had avoided bringing up the topic considering that a certain someone lived there and Usagi had no knowledge that Mamoru had moved apartments.

Rei looked back at the brunette and narrowed her eyes, shaking her head as if to indicate that wasn't such a good idea. Luckily Usagi didn't hear what Makoto suggested, but the other blonde picked up on it. Immediately Minako was next to her with the magazine in her grasp. She stared at the location for a while before a sly smile appeared on her face. Her eyes sparkled with what someone would recognize as mischief. She pulled Ami into the group and whispered, "Let's do it."

The other three looked at Minako as if she were crazy. Before anyone could protest, she cut them off, "I know, I know. Mamoru doesn't remember Usagi or really has a clue as to who we are asides from 'Motoki's friends', but this may work out to their advantage. I think Mamoru would have a good chance of regaining his memories if he was forced to see Usagi often."

"…Wait…doesn't Mamoru-san have a girlfriend?" Ami whispered, pointing out the obvious.

"So?!" Mina responded, slightly raising her voice. "They aren't even meant to be and we all know that. Come on you guys…let's do it for love? Please."

The other three looked at each other before giving in to Minako's persistence. The trick would be getting Usagi to the apartment and even accepting the rental. Rei peered over at Usagi who was preoccupied by the real estate agent who was aiding them in finding a place and plastered a genuine smile on her face, "Usagi, we think we found something great! But it's a secret and we need to blindfold you."

Usagi looked back at her friends suspiciously. There was no way that Rei would be that nice to her and the worst part of all was the blindfolding segment. But she knew her friends and they were crazy so they would find one way or another to get her to give in. "Fine…but this better not be anything weird."

"Nothing weird!" the three girls chimed together with Ami nodding her head in reassurance.

Upon arrival at the apartment, Minako removed Usagi's blindfold smiled at her friend's reaction. Instantly the girl gasped and fell in love with the entire apartment. She scoped out every room and took in every bit of detail. The neighborhood seemed promising and rent wasn't bad at all. She looked at the real estate agent and grinned, "I'll take it!"

OooOooo

The next day, the girls helped Usagi move in before they went on their separate ways for the day. A few boxes were left outside of the apartment in which Usagi was bringing in by herself. Some were a little heavy, but it was nothing that a little pushing couldn't do. She slid a few boxes in front of the doorway and tried to shove it off to the side before she hauled another one in her hand. It obstructed her view from seeing, but she thought she had a pretty good idea of where everything was until she ran into one of the boxes in the doorway and fell forward. As gravity brought her down, something stopped her and it grabbed her arm while the box toppled down. She looked back and cerulean met dark blue. They held each other's gaze for a moment before he asked her, "Are you okay?"

She stood there frozen with her arm in his hand and stared back at him as if she had seen a ghost. The only words she uttered were, "Mamo-chan."