UsaMamo: 100 Examples of Everyday Love

theme #3: Hair

by a quirky little tune

disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon in any way, shape or form... as much as I'd like to.

"You're the most pigheaded excuse for a man in the history of the world, Mamoru-baka!"

"Well, you're the laziest creature I've ever had the misfortune of meeting, Odango."

"Ooh, if you call me by that godforsaken name one more time -"

"Which name? Odango Atama? What else could I possibly call a girl with a hairstyle as weird as yours?"

Usagi stomped her foot into the worn linoleum of the Crowne Arcade and possessively gripped the pigtails in question. Her face red, she all but shouted, "Well - well, at least my hair doesn't look like some stupid - dumb - messy oil spill!"

Mamoru's eyebrow rose. "An oil spill?"

Usagi smirked, triumphant. "It's black, messy, and disgusting. No one wants it around them; it can destroy lives."

That raised eyebrow slowly lowered, then began twitching in pure annoyance. "Why, you little brat -"

"Who are YOU calling a BRAT, you jerkface?!"

"Who are YOU calling a jerkface, you crazy ditz?!"

A nervous voice cut into the argument. "Hey, guys. Not that I don't appreciate you putting on the usual afternoon show, but you're actually being louder than normal and scaring some of the customers."

Neither Usagi nor Mamoru broke their stare-off.

"What, you can dish it out, but you can't take it, Oil Spill?" Usagi hissed.

Mamoru snorted. "Hey, I'm no overly sensitive crybaby like someone else I know - I could totally accept your insults if they were even the tiniest bit realistic."

"What do you mean, realistic?" she demanded.

"I mean, O-dan-go, your hair buns actually look like the snack you shove in your mouth all the time. My hair is black, sure, but it's neat and clean and smooth. Your nickname 'Oil Spill' is a total misnomer," he crowed triumphantly.

"Guys -" Neither gave even the slightest indication that they were listening. Or even that they knew he was there. At this point, Motoki threw in his towel, literally, and gave up to attend to the newest customers.

"A mis-what? No, actually, don't care. It is SO a totally accurate description. If I even touched that radioactive mess that you call hair, I'm sure my hand would come away dripping with goop and mud and hair grease, bakaaaaa!"

"Oh really?" he asked, deep blue eyes flashing. He tilted his head obligingly at her. "Wanna bet?"

She shook her fist at him. "Sure! I know I'm right, Mud-Head!"

"Fine, prove it!"

"Oh, I'll prove it!"

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Go on then!"

Some of the vigor left Usagi's clout of righteous anger. "Go on with - what?" she asked, irritated and confused.

He looked at her in disbelief. "Go on with proving your total ridiculous claims that my hair is disgusting." He nudged his head back down. "I dare you."

Those were probably the worst words he could have said to her, Usagi decided as the challenge made her blood boil. She obstinately reached out a rough hand and slid it right into his hair. He jolted a little at the contact, either because she had hurt his scalp with her harsh movement or because he hadn't expected that she would actually go through with it. However, Usagi couldn't pay much attention to his reaction, because the hair under her fingers was smooth as silk - and not in a greasy way. It had a little bit of a natural wave to it, and it was thick enough that it fell naturally without much product in it at all.

It was so soft and fluffy. Now that his head was closer to her eye-level, she could see it had a good sheen to it, showing that it was healthy. The strands were of the darkest midnight coloring she had seen, like something out of a fairytale description of a prince.

Subconsciously, her hand gentled and ruffled through his hair once more; she temporarily forgot that this was the very asset she had been trying to put down, and even forgot whose head she was petting. If it weren't for the noticeable stiffening of the broad shoulders right in front of her face, she might have completely lost herself to the moment.

Instead, she nearly screeched in surprise at her own actions, and backpedaled a good distance away from her nemesis. She may have also clenched her fingers involuntarily as part of her shocked response.

"Ow, shit, Odango, are you trying to rip my hair from my scalp?! Do you hate admitting that you're wrong that much?" Mamoru said through gritted teeth as he straightened up and rubbed at his sore head. He shot a sharp glare at her, not seeming to notice the weird expression on her face.

"I - fine, maybe your hair isn't as awful as I thought, but - but, since it's attached to a head that only thinks mean thoughts, it's still pretty nasty!" she sputtered, sticking out her tongue and whirling away to make a quick escape. Her hand retained the sensation of that nice, dark hair moving through her fingers, but she forced herself to wait until the arcade doors closed after her before rubbing her palm furiously against the pleats of her uniform skirt. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing how much that one touch affected her.

Inside the arcade, a bemused and frustrated Mamoru continued to rub at his head. Man, that girl really riled him up and forced him to have some ridiculous arguments. How exhausting. However, he took a short moment to feel relief that he had bowed his head so low to her. After all, with his face completely directed at the floor, there was no way she could have seen his flustered face as she touched him.

Haha, when I first started brainstorming for this theme, I immediately thought about all of Mamoru's comments on Usagi's hairstyle, his teasing, Odango Atama, etc. But then I was like, "But what if I made this theme about Mamoru's hair instead...?" and the inspiration came so much easier to me!

This is the first instance where cursing is involved. I'm sorry if it offends you, I won't be using it too liberally, but since they are teenagers, I figured it would happen once or twice. This is partly why I rated this story T.

As always, please let me know what you think! Crashing Into the Sea, Little Hera, and LoveInTheBattleField - thank you so much for reviewing, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next one should be in two or so days, we are up to:

theme #4: Karma

All my love!

a quirky little tune