UsaMamo: 100 Examples of Everyday Love

theme #4: Karma

by a quirky little tune

disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon in any way, shape, or form. Fanfiction is my own version of therapy that I use to deal with this fact...

"I can't believe I just did that," Mamoru mumbled into the crook of his elbow as he hid his head in his folded arms. Motoki gave him a sympathetic pat on the back and refilled his coffee; he would even let this one be on the house, that's how good a friend he was.

"There, there, Mamoru. It wasn't that big of a deal. Most of the high-school crowd comes in later, so it's not like too many people saw you. Don't worry so much about it!"

His best friend lifted his head finally and blinked blearily. "Ugh, I guess you're right. Is my face back to normal yet?"

"It's as red as a tomato," Motoki replied cheerfully, laughing when Mamoru instantly burrowed his face back into his elbow. He raised one hand and tried to shoo Motoki away.

The sliding doors of the Crowne swished open, letting in a fresh breeze and a burst of chatter from a very familiar set of voices. Their conversation revolved around some inane girly topics - the pair of black ballet flats that Rei was returning to Usagi, and the newest chick flick they wanted to go see. Mamoru groaned inwardly, but tried to compose himself so he could greet Odango normally when she made it to the counter. If she ever found out about what had just happened... He shuddered at the very thought.

"Hey Motoki-kun! Can we please have three chocolate milkshakes, one vanilla, and one strawberry?" chirped Minako as she dropped her school bag off in the girls' usual booth.

Mamoru glared at the sandy-haired employee, hoping to drill into his friend's head that Usagi and her friends were. Not. To. Be. Told. Then, he rotated on his stool with his normal grin that he knew most people found charming, but that Usagi found to be absolutely infuriating. "Hello girls, Odango Atama."

Her reaction was immediate and predictable. "Ew, it's you, Mamoru-baka. I'm actually having a good day here, so why don't you stay far, far away so it doesn't get ruined by your sheer presence. I'm thinking the Moon would be far enough away."

He opened his mouth to retort, but the aggravated look on her face dissipated quickly as she moved forward a step. If this wasn't Usagi he was talking about, he would say that she looked concerned about him.

"Hey," she said, brow furrowed, "Are you alright? Your face is kind of red - do you have a fever or something?"

Damn it. Her observation made his face burn up again. Normally, he didn't blush very often, and even when he did, his olive complexion helped to hide most of it. But when he blushed really hard, it made his whole face glow, and the coloring took forever to recede. "I-I'm fine, Odango,"

Usagi frowned. "Really? Because you look even worse than you did a minute ago." Her hand moved to feel his forehead, but before it could make contact, someone called for her attention back at the booth.

"USAGI-CHAN, Umino-kun says he really wants to show you something before he goes to cram school!" Minako called loudly.

She hesitated, obviously thinking that something must be terribly off with him. "Okay, one minute!"

"He says you'll LOVE it," Ami called, unable to keep the curiosity out of her voice.

Usagi sighed exasperatedly. "Just a sec -"

"He says he's already running late, Odango Atama, so get over here! We want to see too!" Rei interrupted loudly.

"Fine!" With a huff, Usagi stomped over to the booth, leaving Mamoru to breathe a little bit easier. That is, until he realized just what that Umino kid was showing them on his smart phone.

"Mamoru-kun, I just washed those floors -"

"Wha - AGHHH!"

WHAM.

"- too late... Jeez, Mamoru-kun, are you okay?!"

The girls weren't even trying to stifle their laughter, and the sound echoed loudly in the arcade. Umino was attempting to explain that he had been hoping to record Usagi's "magnificent entrance" into the arcade (seriously, what?) and had ended up recording Mamoru's full-body klutz attack instead.

Usagi in particular was laughing with obnoxious gusto. She patted Umino on the back for a job well done, but her pats turned more into hard slaps that caused the geeky boy to choke on his own spit. Without even noticing, she stomped back over to his stool with a shark-like grin on her face while the other girls coerced a red-faced Umino to stay and play the video again.

"I can see now that you're very sick," she said with mock solemnity. "Sick with embarrassment, that is!" she giggled.

Mamoru recovered enough to shoot back, "Yeah, it must be contagious. All this time spent hanging out with you, Odango, I must have caught your disease!"

She huffed at the insult, but even that barb couldn't lessen her enjoyment of this turn of events. "Oh, I have to get Umino-kun to send me that video! That way I can watch it whenever I want!" She laughed maniacally. "Maybe we can even get Motoki to play it on some of the TVs in Crowne Café! We could broadcast it at my school - no, at all the schools in Japan!"

The dark-haired man glared at her and silently vowed that he would be phone-ready for her next klutz attack.

Usagi readjusted her bookbag strap and leaned in to whisper smugly, "You know what the best part about all of this is?"

"What," he groaned, trying to drown himself in his own coffee.

"This is an absolutely perfect punishment for you! After countless jokes bout my clumsiness, you fell right on your own stupid face in front of everyone!"

He had run out of coffee. Maybe he could brain himself unconscious on Motoki's countertop?

"This is why you shouldn't be such a jerk to charming young girls, you know! If you are, the world will punish you. It's car - um, ker - CARDIO!"

Mamoru's eyes nearly bugged out of his head and powerful laughter bubbled up from his chest. Figures - even when he felt completely mortified, even when she was the one torturing him, she still had this unique power of making him feel lighter, happier. "You mean KARMA, you ditz," he gasped between peals of laughter.

Now it was her face that turned bright pink. "O-of course, I knew that! Oh, shut up, Mamoru-baka! If you keep this up, I'm sure you'll slip into a puddle of mud on national television. Remember, KERMA."

He didn't bother correcting her a second time as he managed to get his breath back; black shoes wedged into her school bag caught his attention, and he smiled darkly at her. "You want karma, Odango Atama?" Without hesitating, he reached for one of her ballet flats.

Then, without warning, he tossed it gently onto her head.

"Ta-dah! Karma!" The dumbstruck look she gave him made him feel even better. He could see the exact moment things clicked in her brain - he had majorly klutzed out, and she had been hit in the head with a shoe. He crowed, "There, we're even now."

"Ooh, you -!"

Whew, that was a longer one! Let me know what you think - I feel like this might be a scene that I understand in my head well, but not one that I translated well for the readers. If it's unclear, or if the shoe/karma reference is too obscure, I can edit it!

Thanks for all of your support thus far, it's really keeping me happy and motivated. LoveInTheBattleField, Leslie wjack, and Guest, you guys are great, and I really appreciate you taking the time to review. Hope you enjoyed!

Next up - theme #5: Short Skirt (I promise that the next one will actually take place outside the arcade, haha)

All the best,

a quirky little tune