"Okay ladies, I have a mechanic on the way but I need to take Odango to the hospital, her collarbone doesn't look too good. Uhhh… Ami! Here take my house key, I'll write down my apartment complex name and room number. You girls just wait until the mechanic gets there," Mamoru instructed while ripping a piece of paper out of his bag and scribbling quickly.
Ami accepted the parchment with shaky hands. Her mind was racing, she lightly patted her pocket to make sure her supercomputer was there, it always was but the comfort of feeling it outweighed her inability to contain her excitement. Hopefully while in Mamoru's apartment she could find some clues.
The rest of the girls stared at Mamoru wide-eyed with mouths agape.
"Well, good luck Odango we better get going!" Rei exclaimed while shooing Usagi away.
"Thanks guys," Usagi muttered before following Mamoru down the street.
Once Usagi and Mamoru were out of sight the girls all huddled and squealed.
"Mamoru fucked up!" Rei hollered excitedly.
"Alright, alright let's contain our excitement we're on a time crunch!" Makoto exclaimed.
Mina's immediate response was to peel out her busted up car and speed towards Mamoru's apartment.
"I think you need to save this car for emergencies only," A wide-eyed Ami concluded while squeezing Rei's hand.
"Oh hush, my luck is too good to get in TWO accidents," Minako laughed while barely dodging a mailbox.
"Queen Metalia should've just made Minako a shuttle driver, totally would've helped her world domination scheme," Rei whispered under her breath.
"What was that?" Minako asked with a deadly smile plastered on her face.
"Nothing!" Rei smiled back.
"Alright guys, we're here! What's the room number Ami?" Minako asked blatantly ignoring the feisty fire scout.
"Room. 610," Ami replied. The girls all raced to Mamoru's apartment. Hopefully there would be something related to Tuxedo Kamen there.
Ami opened the front door and let the rest of the girls inside. Mamoru was definitely a clean freak if the pristine condition of his apartment was an indicator. Stark white walls enclosed them while dark mahogany furniture tempted them further.
"Look for roses," Mina instructed while trying to pinpoint his bedroom. This was the most fun she's had being a Sailor Scout so far.
"He has a lot of Van Gogh on his walls," Rei projected before wandering into his study. Everything suddenly felt wrong as she observed the various pictures and bits of memorabilia. His study was friendly but not very warm. He had pictures of him and Motoki, his graduation, and… Usagi.
Rei's hands started to shake, dare she go further?
Oh, she dared.
Rei walked around his desk and ran her fingers along his pictures. The biggest one was of Usagi dressed in her uniform sitting at the bar of the arcade. She was looking away from the camera. Mamoru took it without her even knowing.
Rei frowned, it seemed a little creepy.
Meanwhile, Minako was on a fruitless mission of her own.
She ransacked Mamoru's bedroom with really nothing in mind. Her objective was lost to her as soon as she started invading Mamoru's privacy. She was later found smelling his cologne by a frustrated Ami.
"Please tell me you didn't waste your time too?" Ami asked haughtily.
Ami, sweet smart Ami, also wasted time stuck at Mamoru's bookshelf. She couldn't resist once she saw his collection on natural remedies.
"No! I just got distracted for a little bit," Mina mumbled guiltily.
"Well let's go make sure somebody accomplished something," Ami sighed.
As both girls ventured forth in the house they found themselves severely disappointed.
Makoto was raiding mamoru's kitchen and surrounded by ingredients with a thoughtful glint in her eyes.
"What on Earth are you doing?!" Mina asked.
"Well mamoru has all of the fixings for a Tiramisu so I decided to whip one up!" Makoto replied with arms full of baking equipment.
"Huh, carry on," Mina replied letting her stomach best her judgement.
Ami shook her head but gave up on both girls and went out in search for Rei. Whom she found sitting at Mamoru's desk looking shell shocked.
"Find anything useful?" Ami asked hopefully.
"I found something interesting, come look at this," Rei replied holding up the back end of Usagi's picture frame.
Ami walked around the desk and picked up the picture frame. She gasped immediately.
"You found this in here?" Ami squeaked.
"It was hard to miss… I'm a little concerned, why would Mamoru have this?" Rei asked skeptically.
"He obviously fancies her, I think we figured that out already though," Ami replied not nearly as perturbed as Rei.
"Still though, sneaking pictures and framing them? Seems a little extreme to me, what would Usagi think if she saw this?" Rei asked with a frown.
"Well we're not going to tell her, they need to figure that out on their own, let's go this mission was fruitless," Ami answered in defeat.
Rei nodded and followed Ami out of the study. Both girls made their way back to the kitchen where Mina and Makoto were in a full on conversation about the importance of chocolate in one's day to day life.
A loud knock was heard on Mamoru's door. The mechanic arrived.
Mina ditched the conversation and beelined to the front door. She almost fainted at the beauty before her.
"Hi, I'm Haruka, whose car am I fixing?" Haruka asked with a smirk and a toolbox in hand.
Mina had hearts in her eyes. "That would be me, just me, nobody but me," she replied while shutting the door enough to keep her friends out of site.
"Well lead the way," Haruka replied while motioning for Mina to exit the apartment.
Even though Haruka asked Mina to lead the way, Mina made sure to trail behind until they reached the parking garage. She just couldn't stop admiring how the grey jumpsuit flattered Haruka so much, Mina was in lust.
"Alright so I'm assuming this battered up mess is the one?" Haruka asked while motioning towards Mina's sad little Hyundai.
Mina looked at her shoes and blushed, maybe taking ownership of bad driving wasn't going to earn her points with such a pinnacle of beauty.
Haruka laughed, "Don't be embarrassed, I've injured my share of vehicles."
Mina looked up and smiled, the mirth in Haruka's eyes reinstating her confidence.
"Well can you fix her? She's my baby," Mina asked.
"I can fix anything!" Haruka replied before whistling and popping the hood.
Haruka immediately got to work, she banged out the dents in the back seat doors until all was left was the slimmest indent possible.
Mina watched wide eyed amazed at how skillfully and quickly Haruka worked. Never before had she seen hands so quick and constructive. She started to imagine those hands in other places.
After a scant 20 minutes of work, Haruka packed up her equipment and returned to Mina's side.
"All done!" Haruka smiled.
"That's it? You're done?" Mina asked hiding her disappointment.
"Yes, your car is almost as good as new, I even changed your oil!" Haruka answered.
"In twenty minutes you fixed my door and changed my oil?" Mina asked shocked.
"Well I got a little more done than that, but yes, it's all done. Drive careful kid!" Haruka replied before turning away.
"Wait! What do I owe you?" Mina asked dazed and confused.
"Oh no charge! Mamoru beats cars up so much we have a payment plan," Haruka replied.
Mina frowned, there was no way she was letting such a stud walk away without so much as a phone number. Her mind started brainstorming for ways to make Haruka stay.
"Wait… Do you like cake?" Mina asked.
"Of course I like cake," Haruka replied with a cheesy grin.
"Well my friend Makoto is making a Tiramisu upstairs, why don't you stay?" Mina asked hopefully.
Haruka gave her another big grin, "If you insist Mi'lady."