Hello everyone,

I hope you're having a great week, as great as we can all manage these days; and above all, I hope ya'll staying safe and in good health.

So I've written this long one shot AU story for UsaMamo Spring Exchange 2020 led by Uglygreenjacket (Thank you for this amazing exchange) and I'm so glad that I got to write this story for Beautymercurydragon.

Love, I don't know you and I tried my best to create something that you'll enjoy. But I feel so privileged to be writing this story for you. I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Please stay safe everyone. The world is a sad sad place without even one of us missing from it.

Thank you as always to my amazing beta, the great Darkenedhrt101 for her eternal love and support. I love you babe.

Enjoy.

Golak

Rei never knew how to deal with her feelings.

It's not that she didn't have them; quite the contrary actually. She'd always been filled with feelings, most of which, as of late, had been associated with rage and utter disbelief.

Especially when they were aimed at a specific blonde, who wore her soul on her sleeves and allowed the world to judge her with their twisted ethics; this horrible, shitty world they lived in.

And after five years of friendship, countless days of fun and seemingly endless nights of heartaches, she still hadn't accepted Usagi for who she was.

How could she though? When the idiot continuously put herself in dire situations?

"Why are you smiling?" She asked as she stomped forward. "I'm furious with you. Stop smiling like an idiot."

Usagi grinned bigger and draped her arm around the taller girl's shoulders. "Oh, come on Rei-chan. Don't be angry. It's not good for your forehead." She frowned, probably trying to mimic Rei's facial expression and failed miserably, with her stupid grin and the stupid happy aura chained around her like a golden ring.

Rei huffed. "How many times is it now? This is serious Usagi. And I don't think you know just how lucky you are to be alive." She eyed the smaller girls' stitched up chin. "This time was your chin. Next time, it'll be your empty skull."

Usagi touched her chin and winced. The sting stabbed on one specific point and shoot arrows of pain throughout her face. But she'd be dead before she let Rei know that. Something told her that Rei wouldn't have any problem demonstrating just what would happen to her "empty skull" herself right then and there.

"Lighten up a little Rei-chan." She said instead. "It's not like I rode off the road on purpose—"

"No. It wasn't on purpose. But it was inevitable since you don't know shit about riding a motorcycle."

"Well, I mean I know a little—"

"Shit. You know a little shit." Rei hissed as she freed her shoulders from Usagi's grasp. "Listen to me. This is the last time I'm vouching for you." She pursed her lips because Usagi's smirk told her that her friend could see right through her lies.

Because in truth, she knew she would vouch for Usagi over and over again. There was actually nothing that she wouldn't do for that optimistic moron.

She stared at the ugly gauze that was carelessly put on Usagi's chin. That wound would leave an uglier scar on Usagi's perfect skin, and the thought made Rei angrier.

"Whose motorcycle was that, by the way?"

Usagi pouted and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Usagi…" Rei asked with a raised eyebrow. "Was it Haruka-san's?" She narrowed her eyes. "Did she really allow you to jump on her bike and drive on busy streets?"

"I mean, allow is such a strong word—"

"Oh my God." Rei shrieked, not even bothered by all the unpleasant stares she received. "You stole her bike?"

"Another strong word—"

"Fuck…" Rei threw her arms in the air and turned on her heels. "I don't even know what to tell you anymore—"

"Rei-chan, come on. You're throwing this way out of proportion…" Usagi paused. "Or…something like that. I'm not sure. Ami-chan says something like this—"

"I'm leaving."

"But where are you going?" Usagi darted after her. "Come on, Rei-chan," her voice dropped into a flirtatious tone; the one she always used when she wanted to manipulate Rei, or Minako; or Ami-chan. Poor Makoto didn't even stand a chance before Usagi would ever use that tone; She'd run miles for Usagi no matter what.

"Anywhere away from your stupid ass."

"Can I at least buy you lunch?" The tone intensified and Rei's determination wavered. "It's been a while since we had some quality time together Rei-chan." She took Rei's hand and pulled her into a stop. "I really want us to have lunch. Just the two of us, what do you say?" She flashed an innocent smile when Rei finally looked at her.

Damn it. How could she say no to that face? Rei knew her resolve was breaking, and fast. She really wanted to say no, she should say no and show Usagi that her actions had some reaction from her friends at least. She should punish her for her irresponsibility and naivety.

She looked at Usagi's gauze covered chin and tried to forget the panic she'd felt when she had received that phone call from the clinic.

"Hello? Is this Rei Hino? I'm calling you from the National Clinic. We have a young woman here. She's been in a motorcycle accident and—"

"I'm on my way." Rei hadn't even allowed that poor woman to finish her sentence. She didn't have to be told just "who" the young woman was. This wasn't her first rodeo after all.

"I'll buy you a big glass of plum juice after." Usagi wiggled her brows and the smile got bigger.

Well, fuck.

"Thai food and plum juice." Rei groaned with defeat. "And I get to drink your plum juice too."

The blonde shook her head with excitement and laced their fingers together, "We'll buy three."

She's okay. She's fine. That's the important part.

But as Rei was being pulled towards their favorite Thai restaurant and as she listened to Usagi telling her the thrill of the blowing air in her hair and how the speed of the bike matched the beating of her heart, she wondered if Usagi's carelessness had a much deeper emotional darkness than she let on.

Mamoru was willing to sell his soul for a secret passage to the sleeping world where he could crawl into, without anyone noticing.

He was so tired he didn't know how to lift himself up from that chair, let alone drag his aching legs to the car and drive home.

He looked around the library and grimaced at all the heads that'd been hunched over books and eyes that were glued to laptop screens.

It was almost midnight, damn it. How could these people study like this?

Well, you're still here you goon; you're just like the rest of them. He groaned harder at that.

"I'm dying," Kobayashi whispered beside him. "My body is in self-destruction mode."

Mamoru sighed without looking at him. He didn't need someone else's tiredness burdened on him. "You got here two hours ago," he looked at his wristwatch, "one hour and forty minutes ago, to be precise. What are you complaining about?"

"I feel tired just by looking at your damn face." Kobayashi hissed and received a nasty look from the girl who was seated on the opposite end of the table. He mouthed a lame sorry at her and sighed when she rolled her eyes and went back to writing in her notebook.

"Can we go home now?" Kobayashi whined, in a lower voice this time.

"I can't even stand up."

"I think your ass finally gave out. How long have you been sitting here?"

Mamoru rolled his shoulders and slowly moved his head from right to left. Fuck. His ass had already given out, his neck was too.

He stood up and tried to release the tension from his legs. His body was screaming at him. He should've really tried to stand up every once in a while and move his legs; there'd been no proper blood flow in his system for the past, he looked at his wristwatch again, seven hours.

"Come on." Kobayashi gathered his things and Mamoru's and stood. "I'll take you home. You can get your car tomorrow."

Mamoru didn't even put up a fight. He simply nodded and took his messenger bag from his friend.

The ride to his apartment from Keio University's campus was less than 20 minutes and when he finally entered his building, with Kobayashi yelling at him to take it easy and rest, he wanted to weep.

He had spent almost three days straight at the campus. With a round of visits to local clinics and hospitals, and then three back to back finals, he hadn't had the chance to blink an eye, let alone have a good shower. His personal hygiene for the past three days had included haste washes in the gym's shower and one set of change of clothes he had managed to take with him; at least he'd been smart enough to take sufficient number of underwear. He'd watched his classmates wear theirs inside out after the second day and he had to try so hard not to gag at that.

His answering machine was blinking.

"Hey Mamoru-kun, haven't seen you for days. Just wanted to make sure you're fine. Gimme a call." Motoki was a good friend, one that Mamoru really didn't deserve.

"This is a call for Mr. Mamoru Chiba. I'm calling you from Mizuho Financial Group. I believe you have a loan application pending with us. Please give me a call so we can set up a meeting to go over your documents. My number is…"

Great. He'd totally forgotten about that loan. It's a good thing someone else cared enough about his finances when his mind had been in the clouds.

He opened the fridge and took out a water bottle. He was going to be a doctor for crying out, and he still didn't take care of his health.

"Hello, Chiba-san. I just wanted to know if we are still confirmed for Thursday's visit at the campus? Please let me know."

Mamoru brought the water bottle to his mouth and tried to remember who the person on the answering machine was. Her voice was so gentle and the words rolled out of her mouth so softly.

His mind was shutting off and he had a hard time remembering this girl who apparently he had promised to show Keio's campus to.

A blurry image of a cute set of blue eyes and blushing cheeks popped into his head.

Ami Mizuno. This was Ami-chan. He'd promised her a tour of the campus. He looked at the small calendar on his kitchen counter and coughed.

Damn it. Tomorrow was Thursday. And here he was planning a whole day of doing absolutely nothing in his mind. It was his day off, he had the right to wake up past 6:30 am, stroll down to Crown Arcade and have a cup of coffee with Motoki.

Oh well. He should've thought about that before a set of warm blue eyes and an adorable smile could make him abandon his day off routine and spend the day at the campus.

"You don't have a shot with her." Motoki had told him that day after he had enthusiastically promised Ami that he would be "honoured" to show her around. Ami had politely bowed at the two of them and went back to sit with her friends.

"Says you." Mamoru was never cocky; his self-confidence was always bouncing between his own view of himself and what others believed him to have.

"She's shy and quiet—"

"I'm quiet—"

"You're quiet because half the time you don't know how to communicate with people." Motoki nodded at a customer. "She's quiet because her intellect is way too much for most people—"

"Are you calling me stupid?"

Motoki laughed, in that Motoki-like fashion when Mamoru was being stupid.

"All I'm saying is that…" he walked around the bar and took out the little notepad from his apron, "you know what? Why not? Go for it." He took out a pen from the apron as well and Mamoru wondered why he never used the pen that was tucked behind his ear.

"Seriously? What changed?" Mamoru took a sip of his coffee and tried hard not to close his eyes from the heavenly taste. Motoki might've been a bastard who doubted his cleverness, but he knew how to make delicious coffee.

Motoki waved at a new customer walking through the door. "I think you'll get something good out of this." He walked away before Mamoru could ask "what might that be?".

Now, Mamoru turned on the shower faucet full force and allowed the lukewarm water to take away the ache in his body.

He had a tour to give tomorrow. And his sole guest was apparently a genius in the form of a gentle soul.

Usagi woke up with an excruciating pain in her abdomen. It's what had woken her up twice in the middle of the night.

She'd growled at the nasty bruise on the right side of her ribcage. That ugly purple mark hadn't been there yesterday when she was at the clinic. Where the hell had it come from?

She sat up on the bed and groaned. Damn. Her entire body felt like a pile of beat-up garbage; as if she'd had a severe cold and her body had fought those germs until its last breath.

Her cellphone's screen lit up and even though she wasn't ready to face the real world, she knew she had to answer her messages eventually.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Mako-chan's message would've sounded harsher if it wasn't accompanied by three heart emojis, a dozen crying emoji, and a dozen more sad faces.

"Well, did you at least get a sexy scar somewhere?" Typical Minako.

"Usagi-chan, I know how much you love speed. But you really should think about the balance between your weight, the weight of the motorcycle and wind gradient."

Usagi smiled at Ami's message. Oh, how she loved that genius weirdo.

"Usagi-chan. Haruka is not very happy."

Usagi grimaced at Michiru's message and threw the cellphone on the bed. She wasn't ready to face Haruka just yet. The bike was okay, aside from that long scratch on the side panels and the broken front fairing. Haruka wouldn't be mad about those, right? She'd be happy to know that Usagi hadn't actually killed herself and she'd come out of that experience with remediable wounds. Right?

She was supposed to meet Ami for an early study session that morning, even though deep down, the tingle of hijacking Haruka's bike from the mechanic was too delicious to ignore; how longed to ride the busy highway once more.

What was wrong with her? When had she become this adventurous? This, what was the word, fearless?

She gathered her clothes for the day and listened carefully to outside noises. She could hear Shingo's teenage snore from his room. Her parents were probably up and having their second cup of tea in the kitchen. She knew she had to skip breakfast and run out of the house before either of them saw her face. Rei's angry shrieks were one thing, but the disappointment Usagi saw on her parents' face every time she entered the house with a new scar, or an arm casket or a bandage, was a completely different story.

"I'm meeting Ami-chan to study. I'll be home for dinner." She yelled and closed the door behind her before her parents could get a word in.

She took a deep breath.

Who said Tokyo was at its best in the spring? Usagi inhaled the smell of last night's rain, the wet soil, and damp leaves. Who could possibly look at the rainbow of colours on trees and believe that green was the only colour that fit the criteria of beauty?

Usagi loved autumn; sure, she loved summer and not just because she was a summer child, but obviously because, well, no school; but there was just something about the breeze of fall that felt chilly and fresh and consuming on her face.

Ami had told her that she was supposed to go to Keio campus after their study session, "someone's offered to show me around", she'd said. And Usagi, she peeked at her wristwatch, was already half an hour late for the study session. Hell.

She picked up her pace. The pain in her body didn't allow for speed; which was irritating, really. She had had a broken wrist, a fractured ankle and countless other bruises in the past, and none of them had ever made her whole body ache like this.

"Your body will give in someday. It's screaming at you to be more careful, you moron." Rei had all but yelled at her the day before.

Of course, she knew her body was screaming at her. She couldn't have a good night's sleep without a damn pain killer.

She stood beside an elderly woman at the intersection and waited for the pedestrian light to turn green. The air smelt like daisies. It was probably the old woman. With her pristine beige deux piece and white hand-knit hat, she looked like someone who would wear a delicate perfume like that.

The light turned green and before jogging to the other side of the street, Usagi gave the old, nice smelling woman a big smile and her heart melted when the woman smiled back at her with her gorgeous pink lipstick.

Tokyo was a fabulous place to live in.

She'd just turned the corner to Ami's house when a piercing pain shot from her abdomen and momentarily paralyzed her. She faltered on her steps and took a deep breath. Fuck.

It went away as quickly as it came and Usagi started towards Ami's house; slower than before.

She readied herself to face Dr. Mizuno's judgmental glare; Ami's mother never really liked her to hang out with a "rebel" like Usagi and the blonde couldn't blame her. Thank God Dr. Mizuno never really found out who'd talked Ami into taking boxing lessons. And to be fair, it'd been Ami's choice to practice with her; Usagi always rathered to practice with Mako-chan anyways.

She knocked and prayed that Ami would answer the door.

"Hello. Good morning." She bowed quickly when Dr. Mizuno opened the door in elegant flannel pants and a grey cashmere sweater. Her short hair was pushed away from her face and Usagi gulped down hard when she saw the sharp arch of her eyebrow.

She forgot all about the shooting pain in her middle half.

"It's almost noon," Dr. Mizuno said, "I see you have another 'victory' wound." She narrowed her eyes and stepped aside so Usagi could enter the genkan like a tiny bird.

"Um…" Usagi stuttered. Ami-chan's mom was as intimidating as hell.

"Ami-chan is in her room." Dr. Mizuno walked towards the kitchen.

Usagi took her shoes off and tried to take small and silent steps out of the genkan.

"I'll bring a pack of ice for your chin." Dr. Mizuno said, before disappearing into the kitchen.

Usagi thanked her enthusiastically and wondered if there was an ice pack big enough, or magical enough, to heal her wounded heart.

Mamoru smiled politely at the barista and took the coffee cup with caution. The last time his head hurt like this, his hand had done a weird twist on its own and the result had been an ugly coffee stain on his sleeve and a giant burn on his hand. He really didn't want to look like an idiot in front of a genius.

He'd texted Ami the night before and told her where to meet him and from what Motoki had told him, he was sure the girl was going to be super punctual. He looked at the clock on the wall behind the barista; he still had ten minutes to gather his wits.

He'd seen Ami at the arcade a couple of times. Most days, she'd come in with a blonde friend, who threw Motoki flirtatious smirks, and a tall brunette, who was, well, really tall, and sit at the booth near the windows. After a while, another friend would join them; this one wore a different school uniform, private school perhaps, and had an apparent fire in her. She'd paralyzed Mamoru with just one look the first time he had talked to Ami and if her glare could kill, Mamoru was a dead man.

He chose the small table at the far end of the cafe that had a clear view of the entrance. He went through the notes on his cellphone and memorized all the places he wanted to show Ami. She'd told him that she was interested in medical school and so, showing her the faculty was just fitting.

He checked the time and stared at the door. Any minute now Ami would walk through the door.

Any minute.

But the clock ticked and minutes passed and still no Ami.

Mamoru rolled his shoulder and tried to relax. His headache was getting worse. He took a generous sip of the coffee and allowed the bitter taste to calm his nerves.

It was now 20 minutes passed from when they were supposed to meet and still, there was no sign of her whatsoever.

Mamoru was getting cranky. Not only had he been stood up, but he had lost his chance for a leisure day of staying in. Damn it.

He chucked down the remaining coffee and stood up. The pain was pounding against his temples. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

When he opened them, he saw Ami entering the cafe. She was wearing a navy blue dress that rested right on her knees. A delicate white and light blue scarf was neatly bowed on her neck. She looked adorable.

She smiled at Mamoru, then turned and said something to a young blonde who stood behind her.

Mamoru waved awkwardly at Ami. His head was going to explode soon.

The two girls approached him. Ami had a gentle blush on her face, and the girl behind her looked at everything and everyone except for him.

But for some reason, Mamoru's attention was entirely on the blonde as they neared his table. It might've been because of her hair, styled in two buns above her head, or maybe because she had a bruised chin, which looked fresh; or maybe, it was because of how she walked. Mamoru fought hard not to roll his eyes at the girl's shabby attire.

"Chiba-san, hello." Ami bowed deeply. "I'm so sorry we're late." She straightened up and looked at Mamoru. "We...um, we got busy with…"

Mamoru's eyebrows went up when her blush deepened; she was near hyperventilating.

"Oh for crying out…" The other girl, whose name was still a mystery to Mamoru sighed. "This one is never late." She said, gesturing to Ami with her thumb. "It was my fault we're late. I wanted to get my hands on the new edition of my manga." She brought her hand up and dangled a pastel-coloured shopping bag in front of Mamoru.

"Usagi-chan…" Ami pleaded.

"Oh Ami-chan, you make everything so hard." The blonde, Usagi, said good-heartedly with a shrug.

Great. Now his eyes hurt too. Maybe his eyes were the cause of his headache? He should really see an eye doctor.

"Would you like something to drink?" Mamoru asked as a way to intervene. He didn't know what else to say. He felt like a giant goon standing in front of those tiny girls.

"Do they have milkshakes?" The blonde asked enthusiastically before she looked at the small menu on the table. "Yay, they do. A chocolate milkshake for me please."

Mamoru stared at her bewildered. Just who was this girl and what was she doing here? He had never seen her with Ami.

"Usagi-chan…" Ami widened her eyes and Mamoru took pity on her obvious embarrassment.

"What would you like, Ami-san?" He tried to give her his most genuine smile. He felt his eyelids twitching with pain. He probably looked like a creep. Standing there and smiling with twitching eyelids.

"I'm okay." She said and didn't meet his eyes.

"It's really no problem."

"I…" Ami gulped down hard.

"She drinks green tea." The blonde was going through her cellphone and when Mamoru looked at her, she laughed at something she was reading.

Good god, but he had never met someone as...as...as what, exactly? He nodded at Ami and went back to the counter to order them their drinks.

He tried to look at them discreetly. He didn't want to stare openly. Ami was shaking her head vigorously at something the other girl said to her.

The girl, Usagi, damn; why couldn't he just wrap his mind around her name? She was sitting in Mamoru's vacant chair and was showing Ami something on her cell phone and laughing. She laughed like a little child. The sound bubbled up in her throat and came out in high volume. What did the two of them have in common, Mamoru wondered, as he took the small tray from the barista.

"Oh, thank you so much, Chiba-san." Ami looked a little more relaxed.

He placed the tray in the middle of the table and tried not to roll his eyes when Usagi didn't move her things an inch; her attitude was as messy as her looks. Her small white purse and the pastel-coloured shopping bag were sprawled on the table, leaving very little room for anything else. She didn't even look up to say thank you. The little brat.

He looked around to see if he could find an empty chair.

"Oh...am I in your chair?" Usagi stood up before Mamoru could say anything. He saw how her face darkened with pain for a moment before she gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry. Here ya go."

"No, please...I will—"

"Excuse me." She was already asking a middle-aged man if she could borrow the empty chair beside him.

She moved fast and talked faster. Mamoru couldn't focus on what she said and did at all.

She thanked the man in an animated gesture and pulled the chair to their table.

"There now. We can all sit and chat."

Mamoru sat in his old chair and took his coffee from the tray. The smell of fresh coffee invaded his senses and the last few minutes of utter confusion started to vanish.

Ami brought the teacup to her lips and sipped at it delicately, while Usagi slurped down the chocolate milkshake in three giant gulps.

"Oh, I'm Usagi Tsukino by the way."

Mamoru looked up at her with wide eyes, the cup right on his lips.

She was looking at him and smiling, with the straw between her teeth; Mamoru froze for a moment.

Good god, but her eyes smiled too.

"I'm kind of crashing your date with Ami-chan." She said and then laughed when Ami started to cough.

Ami couldn't contain her excitement as she looked at Keio's majestic entrance. She felt intimidated even by standing in front of the old building, with its fine architecture and noble aura. Students strolled around; some of them walked by leisurely, while others stumbled ahead with a telltale frown on their foreheads.

Ami couldn't wait to be one of them soon.

She had tuned out Mamoru's voice the moment they had arrived at the campus. From that moment on, her ears and eyes and her very soul had become one with the school and everything that it represented.

Not that he gave a damn, mind you. It had become clear to her that at some point in the cafe, he had stopped noticing her presence; she had to bite her lip to stop from laughing quite a few times by now.

She had sensed his annoyance the moment she and Usagi had entered the cafe. It was written all over his face. She knew Usagi probably didn't notice and even if she did, she didn't let on. She had become a pro in brushing off people's judgments; Ami wasn't exactly happy about that.

Because, sometimes, she really wanted Usagi to have a dramatic reaction. She wanted her to get angry, or sad and yell and cry; anything that would pull her out of the hole she had voluntarily crawled into after her heart had been broken into a million pieces. "I'm fine." It's what she kept saying to her friends and family and yet, her rash behaviour, her heedless acts and the way she put herself in danger repeatedly screamed otherwise.

So when Ami had noticed Mamoru's irritation, written oh so politely on his face, she wanted Usagi to notice it too and she wanted this moment to be the moment she decided to explode.

Something told her that if Usagi started to throw a fit, Mamoru would meet her halfway; he seemed like a worthy competitor.

What she hadn't been prepared for, however, was to watch Mamoru's irrational impatience turn into something akin to...fascination?

By the time they were ready to leave the cafe, Mamoru had stopped phasing his sentences for Ami's benefit. He had a purpose and his purpose, Ami giggled to herself, was apparently to know everything about Usagi Tsukino.

"So, what did you say happened to your chin?" He asked as the three of them entered the campus.

"I didn't." Usagi's eyes were set on everything and everyone except for Mamoru.

If it were any other situation, Ami would've laughed at Mamoru's eye roll. He didn't push any further though; Ami didn't know him that well, but she had the feeling that that was the kind of guy he was; uptight and reserved. He didn't seem like a guy who would bend over backwards to get to know someone...

"Well...will you tell me now what happened to your chin?"

Ami finally snorted, but like all her other reactions, it resonated a gentle sound and her companions didn't notice.

Usagi was looking up at the sky. She wobbled a bit and Ami had noticed a shock of pain on her face every now and then. It wasn't really something new to any of them, seeing Usagi in physical pain, but it didn't mean that her heart didn't twist every single time that it happened.

"I tripped and fell." Usagi's eyes were still locked on the sky; she didn't see the way Mamoru's eyebrow went up.

"So, you were just walking and tripped on your own two feet?" His sarcastic tone was something that Ami was familiar with. It was the same tone he used on Motoki; the man he called his best friend.

Usagi pursed her lips and only Ami knew how hard she was trying not to snap. "Yes. I'm very careless."

"And a little clumsy, might I add."

Usagi's head whipped around and she finally looked at him. Ami slowed her steps and was ready to jump between them if the situation called for extreme measures.

Usagi might have perfected the art of indifference, but she still had a mal temper when it came to her clumsiness.

So when she took a deep breath and her nostrils flared in that unique way only her tiny nose flared, Ami pushed her arm under hers and bumped their shoulders together.

Mamoru was a nobody. He wasn't their friend and he sure was never going to be one now. So why ruin a perfect day?

"For your information…" Usagi's nostrils flared a little wider than usual, "I walk just fine on my feet…" Her body tensed, "I'm not clumsy. Who the hell are you to say that to me?" She looked away.

Mamoru had a cocky smirk on his face and for a moment, Ami recognized something else in him as well; a sense of belonging, maybe? Whatever it was, it made her do a once over on him.

He sure was easy on the eyes; if he didn't have that stupid smirk on his face right now. And he was becoming a doctor. Ami bit her lower lip and nodded to herself. And he was tall.

She pictured them together; his confidence could really compliment Usagi's natural tenderness—

"And…"

Ami jumped when Usagi shrieked right by her ear.

"I know how to take care of myself—"

"Clearly…"

Ami narrowed her eyes at Mamoru. What was he playing at? Why was he trying to provoke Usagi?

Usagi stopped and pulled Ami to a halt as well.

She was holding both her bag and the pastel-coloured shopping bag in one hand. She freed her arm from Ami's hold and walked up to Mamoru who was watching her with a crooked eyebrow. The stupid smirk was still plastered on his face. She shoved her free hand into his face and went up on her tiptoes. The washed-out t-shirt she'd been wearing rolled up and Ami saw a thin line of her lower back.

She narrowed her eyes.

What the damn hell was that? Was that a bruise?

"You…" Usagi spat; her eyes firing daggers at Mamoru. "...are…" she fisted her hand and took a deep breath.

"I am?" Mamoru's smirk became infuriating. "Yes...I am." He grinned when Usagi came down on her heels and gave him a death glare.

"You are stupid and...and…" She looked at Ami, God only knew whatever for and looked back at Mamoru. "...and I really don't like you."

Mamoru's smirk faltered and his eyes lost mischievousness.

But Ami didn't think Usagi noticed any of those; because she started to scurry away the moment that last word exited her mouth.

Ami watched her go; she furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed how unsteadily Usagi walked. How come she hadn't noticed that before?

"Doesn't she run...kind of...funny?" Mamoru's voice sounded genuine, but that didn't mean that Ami wasn't ready to slap him up the head.

"Well, excuse me if we can't all run with a stick up our…" She cut herself short; because it didn't matter how angry she was, saying a word like that wasn't just something she did in front of a stranger.

Mamoru looked at her with wide eyes and just when Ami thought he was going to walk the other direction, he smiled.

"I do run like that." He said goodheartedly.

Ami looked away and fought down a blush. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She adjusted her purse on her shoulder. "I have to go find my friend."

"If you don't mind…" Mamoru touched her arm, so very gently. "You wanted to see the campus, yes?" He tilted his head to catch Ami's eyes. "Why don't you walk around and entertain yourself. I know you want to see so many things." He smiled when Ami looked at him. "I'll go after your friend."

He scratched the back of his neck and laughed when Ami's eyes widened. "It was my fault that she ran away after all. I would like to apologize. She apparently likes chocolate, yes?"

Ami hadn't seen that coming at all. He kind of looked boyishly innocent when he smiled like that. Maybe, she stared at him when he looked ahead, she was being a little hard on him? He sure knew how to be charming at the arcade with her; maybe he wasn't entirely rude and had a better side as well?

"Yes." She said and when Mamoru looked at her, she smiled. "She likes chocolate very much."

Usagi tried to stifle the whimper that threatened to escape her mouth; she couldn't.

She sat on a bench near a pretty little garden that bloomed with yellow wisteria flowers.

Her pain didn't allow her to appreciate the beauty that was right beside her. It was rare for her not to pay attention to her surroundings; the damn pain was shooting through her body like arrows of fire. What the fuck.

She put down her purse and her pastel-coloured shopping bag on the bench. She wanted to check the bruise and didn't want anyone else to witness.

She gave a happy smile to three girls who were walking by. They all looked so elegant and mature in their pencil skirts. One of them had the most beautiful red hair Usagi had ever seen; the green of her eyes stood in striking contrast with her olive skin. She gave Usagi a polite smile and when her eyebrows went up, Usagi noticed that she'd probably been staring a little too much; she reminded herself to close her jaw.

This school, these walls and all of these people reminded her of what she wasn't; what she couldn't be.

"It doesn't matter what I want; it doesn't fucking matter what the rest of the world wants Usa. What do you want?" Hayate's voice resonated in her mind. "You'll have to learn to rise on your own. No one will give a damn if you fall."

"You give a damn, don't you?" She remembered how she'd pouted at him.

"As long as I'm alive." He'd flicked her nose. "And we both know that's not forever."

Of course, she knew; she might've been a super positive person, who walked through life with a grin on her face, but she wasn't delusional; she obviously knew no one would live forever.

It was just that...she wasn't counting on how fast that time would come.

She didn't go to his funeral and never once did she go to visit him at his grave, and she never learned how to rise on her own. Hayate left this world and took a part of her that was just beginning to mature.

She took a deep breath and tried to block out the sad memories that were crawling up to grab at her heart; too bad there was not much of it left.

Those three elegant girls were far gone and no one was around.

She sat up straight and lifted the side of her washed-out t-shirt.

"You sure walk fast for a tiny person."

Usagi yelped and quickly pulled down her shirt. Her knuckles scraped the bruise and she couldn't help her face from twisting in pain.

"Are you okay?" Mamoru stood a few feet away, with his messenger bag slung over his shoulder and a little white box in his right hand.

Usagi narrowed her eyes at him.

Did he have those thin-rimmed eyeglasses on that whole time? How the fuck had she missed those?

"What do you want?" She didn't even try to sweeten her tone. She didn't owe this man anything.

"I came looking for you." He pushed her stuff to the middle of the bench and sat down on the other end as he did a once over on her.

Did she look paler than earlier? It's not like Mamoru ever paid attention to a woman's makeup or the lack thereof, but he'd noticed the absence of colour on this girl's lips the moment her mouth had latched on to the straw of her chocolate milkshake.

It'd been too damn hard to look away from them, or any other part of her face, from that moment on.

"Well, you found me," Usagi mumbled as she leaned back against the bench. "Here I am." She threw him a side look. "You may return to your mission. Showing Ami-chan the campus."

Mamoru played with the box in his hands. Why was he this nervous? What was this effect this slip of a girl, with weird hair and sloppy clothes, had on him?

"I asked Ami-san to entertain herself. I'm sure she can find her way around." His bag suddenly felt too heavy. He put it beside Usagi's stuff. "And besides, I wanted to find you and…"
That scar on her chin was much longer than he'd thought, now that he looked at her this closely. And it looked fresh. It started from just underneath her bottom lip and it stretched almost to her throat.

And the stitching…

Mamoru gulped down the question that was on the tip of his tongue. Are you sure you just tripped and fell? Were you on super high heels when you fell?

That scar was not a result of a random trip and fall; he was a doctor damn it. He knew a scar caused by an accident when he saw one.

"And?" Usagi crossed her legs.

God, her feet were so small. Mamoru chided himself for staring. If he were to look beyond her tired out shoes, he could almost imagine her slim feet, covered in white little socks.

Did she wear nail polish on her toes? She didn't seem like the kind.

"I wanted to apologize." He finally met her eyes. "I was out of line—"

"You think?"

Mamoru pursed his lips before he would say something he'd regret again. The girl was cute as hell and he was definitely drawn to her, but he was never one to take people's bitterness that lightly.

"I was just trying to be friendly—" He raised his hand and stopped Usagi from interjecting. "Let me finish."

He rolled his shoulders and tried to sit up taller. "I just…" He took a deep breath.

He could feel her eyes on him and for some reason, he felt like he could tell this girl anything.

"Can I be honest?"

"I mean, you haven't been totally shy from the start—"

"I kind of felt annoyed when I saw you walking into the cafe with Ami-san." Fuck. Was that too much? The way Usagi's eyes widened...it was probably too much.

"Annoyed might be too strong," he tried to make amends. "What I mean is, I was expecting Ami-san to meet me alone and I know that's not an excuse, but I've had a brutal headache—"

"You were pissed that I crashed your date with Ami-chan." Usagi jumped in calmly and her nonchalance bothered him; a lot. "I get it. I wouldn't want a third wheel on my first date either."

No. No...no. She got it all wrong. That's not what he meant...at all.

But...what did he mean? Mamoru struggled to find the right words.

"You know what?" Usagi stood up. "I accept your apology. And…" She suddenly looked so determined. Mamoru had to restrain his arms from pulling her close. "I will help you have a fantastic first date with Ami-chan."

Wait...wait...what?

"She's my best friend and I know so many things about her." She threw her purse over her shoulder and pushed the pastel-coloured shopping bag under her arm. "I mean, she might seem quiet and ordinary from the outside, but believe me, she's a genius. She knows about everything. She reads a lot, you know. And she's not just textbook smart. She's like, another level smart." She pushed strands of blonde hair away from her face. "Are you smart, Mamoru?" She sounded a little condescending.

He sat there, dumbfounded and a little irritated. How could he play this all so wrong?

And how the hell did she get it all wrong?

I am smart, he wanted to say. And I know that Ami-san is smart, I've talked to her many times, he wanted to point out. But I don't care if she's beyond this planet genius. My heart just doesn't flip like that when I look at her; it's what he should've said.

But instead, he watched Usagi as she shoved his bag into his arms and hauled him up. He resisted the urge to keep her tiny hand nestled under his arm.

"Come on. Let's go find Ami-chan." Usagi walked ahead of him, even though she didn't know where Ami could've been. "Until then, let me tell you all the things she likes." She dragged her left leg as she went. "And all the things she doesn't like. But I mean…" She looked at Mamoru who'd been busy focusing on her left leg. "There's not much she doesn't like. She has such a big heart. She's really an angel." She did a once over on Mamoru. "Probably too good for you anyways."

Mamoru rolled his eyes heavenward and followed her. "Do you even know where we're going?"

"No…" She stopped and as if the pastel-coloured shopping bag was suddenly too heavy, she shoved it under her other arm. "Where are we going?"

Mamoru sighed. "This way." He didn't even know how the fuck he had become a willing participant in finding Ami-san when he didn't want to find her. He took the damn ugly coloured shopping bag from Usagi and when she was about to walk the other side, he reached out to grab her arm and pull her in the right direction.

He retrieved his hand when Usagi hissed and nursed the side of her body his fingers had barely touched.

"Are you okay?" His professional instinct wanted to pull up her shirt and see what was underneath; he had seen the way her face twisted in pain since the moment they had walked into the cafe.

His hormonal instincts also wanted to pull up her shirt and see what was underneath; for completely different reasons.

His gentleman side, however, screamed at him to keep his distance and allow her to share whatever she was willing to share.

Mamoru sometimes wanted to strangle that gentleman-side.

"I'm...fine…" Usagi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through her mouth.

Her actions were practiced. It told him that either she knew how to deal with pain, or just that she had been down this road before.

She kept breathing in through her nose and exhaling from her mouth, slowly.

"I'm okay." She rolled her shoulders. "Let's go."

She hadn't taken more than two steps when she doubled over, grabbed her midsection and let out a louder hiss..

"Damn...what's wrong? Usagi, where are you hurting?"

Mamoru took her purse and threw her arm around his shoulders.

"Come on. Let's sit here."

She came willingly this time and if it were any other situation, Mamoru would've basked in the feeling of her weight on his body.

He abandoned their stuff on the bench and kneeled in front of her. "Let me see."

"Hey…" Her protest came out weak. But her small fingers didn't allow him to lift up the side of her shirt.

"Usagi...I'm a doctor—"

"Second-year resident…"

"Can you just…" Mamoru rolled his eyes. "Just let me see what's wrong. I promise I'll be careful."

Her fingers loosened their hold on the hem of the shirt.

Mamoru fought down the urge to hiss when he saw that ugly bruise. It looked like a purple pattern on the soft skin of her abdomen.

"You didn't get this from a fall, did you?"

The bruise was big enough to cover the side of her abdomen and disappear beneath the waistband of her pants.

"I had an accident…" Usagi was looking away; either from shyness, or she just didn't want to see the bruise herself.

"Car?"

"Motorcycle…" She took a shattered breath when Mamoru traced the bruise so very carefully. He mumbled a sorry.

"A motorcycle hit you?"

"I was driving one…"

Usagi was somehow convinced that this would come as a surprise to him. Instead, it was her who lifted her eyebrows with confusion when he just nodded and continued attending to her bruise.

"Don't you have something to say?"

Mamoru pulled down her shirt, as gently as he could, and stood up. "What do you think I should say?" He gathered their stuff. "Come on. Let's go to our clinic so I can take care of that."

"I'll go see a doctor later... " She tossed her hair behind her. "We have to find Ami-chan—"

"I am a doctor…" Mamoru didn't even try to hide his irritation. "That bruise needs to be attended to. The stitches on your chin are poorly done and I think your foot is hurting too." He put his arm out so she could lean on him.

"I mean, I could really go to the hospital later…" She took his arm. "They know me. They have my history—"

"History? So I take it you get into accidents a lot then, ha?" He took small steps for her benefit. "Why are you walking so fast? Your foot might be...hey...if you're gonna be like that, I'll just carry you there then."

"What? Are you out of your freaking mind?" Usagi shrieked scandalously. "What if Ami-chan sees us?"

I don't give a damn, can you just let that go? Mamoru knew that he ought to say those words out loud.

But he didn't say anything. He kept taking tiny steps and allowed Usagi to put her whole weight on him.

And even though he cursed himself for even thinking about it, deep down, he wished that the pain doubled, so he would be the only thing that kept her from falling.

"I'm telling you. He seems very...smitten with her." Ami whispered into the cellphone.

"Can't you take any pictures? I wanna see this guy…" Minako whined.

"Minako, we see him all the time at the arcade…" Rei's voice cut through the line. Ami had to pull the cellphone away from her ear.

"Do you think I pay any attention to people I don't care about? Who am I, Mother Teresa—"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"She's nice to everyone and all…"

"That's not…" Ami wanted to intervene, but just then, Mamoru and Usagi disappeared into the campus' clinic. "They went inside. I have to go."

"Ami-chan, take a clear picture of this dude and send it to me right away. You can tell a lot about a man's sexual preference from the way they dress."

"Now you want to know if he's gay or not?"

Ami sighed and questioned her sanity; why had she called them both at the same time?

"I can also tell you about his—"

"Minako…" Rei snapped. Ami could picture her with a pointed nose and unblinking eyes. She always had that expression when she chastised Minako for being too forward.

"I have to go...bye." Ami hung up the phone before either of them could protest.

She shoved the cellphone back into her purse and went inside the clinic. She told herself that she was just checking up on Usagi. That this wasn't stalking or the breach of privacy.

They all knew Usagi never really got over Hayate's death. When she had called them, one by one, and told them that her best friend in the whole world had been in an accident that had left him brain dead, her tone had seemed oddly calm. Usagi didn't cry when Hayate's mother decided to pull the plug on her son and donate his organs. She didn't go to the funeral, instead, she stole her father's car and rode it right into the tree on their street.

She never mentioned him once after he was gone. It's as if a boy named Hayate never existed.

Ami knew that her friend couldn't bear another heartbreak.

Light pink.

That's the first thing Mamoru noticed when Usagi took off her shoe and white little sock. Her toes were covered in light pink nail polish.

He'd taken her into an examination room after he had told the supervisor on call, that the girl was his relative and she just needed her foot checked out. He'd rolled his eyes when Usagi snorted, not once, not twice, but three times while he told that lie.

"Is it broken?" She looked at her foot as if he'd just recommended amputation.

He couldn't contain his laughter.

"Something tells me that you couldn't handle the pain if it was broken."

She huffed, "You have no idea how well I can handle pain...ooooow."

"Yup. Pretty well." He leaned her foot on his knee.

He'd always had gentle hands; at least, that's what his past lovers always said. Practicing medicine and dealing with injuries, trauma and pain, had taught him how to be delicate.

"It's just swollen. It needs an ice pack." He put her foot down and stood up. "I'll get you one. Now, lay back and let me see your bruise."

Usagi hesitated. He was a doctor for crying out...why was she so shy all of a sudden? She wasn't exactly blind to his charm and the way his eyes were fixed on her, never straying to her chest or further down, as she spoke. And if someone asked, she wasn't going to lie and say that she didn't find him handsome, ridiculously so in fact; but perfect hair and dashing smile aside, they had nothing in common; nothing whatsoever. So wasn't it easier to just see him as the professional he was and Ami-chan's potential boyfriend and get this done with?

She laid back and gingerly pulled her shirt up. It rolled higher than she intended. Mamoru saw a glimpse of her white cotton sports bra; who knew sports bra could be this...enticing?

"I'll have to touch the bruise. Let me know if you are in any pain."

God, but his hands were...magic.

Usagi fought down the urge to close her eyes and groan. How could a pompous jerk like him have such a soft touch? She hissed loudly when pain shot through her.

"Is it painful here?" Mamoru softened his pressure. "On a scale of 1 to 10 how much—"

"11…"

Mamoru smiled. She was looking the other way, with closed eyes and a wrinkled forehead and she looked adorable.

"Good news. I don't think there's any bleeding underneath." He lowered her shirt. "I think you might just bruise easily because it looks worse than it really is."

Usagi sat up. "Yeah. I mean, my skin is bad—"

"It's sensitive. It's like a new born's skin. I wouldn't call that bad." He didn't mean it to sound so...suggestive. But then again, he really wanted it to sound suggestive; maybe then she would finally catch up on his intentions?

"Are we done?" Usagi swayed to the side of the bed. "Can we go find Ami-chan now?"

"Hey. Not so fast." Mamoru put his hand on her shoulder and kept her in place. "I still need to look at your chin."

"It's stitched up. What is there to look at?" She put her sock and shoe on. "It'll heal in a week or two."

"Aren't we stubborn?" Mamoru shook his head. "Usagi, those stitches seem loose and if they haven't been properly applied, the injury won't heal and it'll leave a nasty scar on your face." He leaned down and stared at her. "Do you want to have a line…" he traced a finger from the tip of his chin to his throat, "from here to here?"

Usagi blinked at him.

Mamoru crooked an eyebrow. "A long, jagged scar...it'll make you look like a Yakuza girl." He narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer. "A badass. But a Yakuza girl." Was she blushing?

Usagi reminded herself to breathe. God, but this man held the oceans of the whole world in his eyes. Usagi had never seen eyes this...she tried to think over the drumming of her heart...this tantalizingly familiar.

"Well?" Mamoru asked. "What is it going to be?" He straightened up. "Will you let me look at it?"

Usagi stared at the ceiling as Mamoru examined her chin. She tried to think of his hands, so soft and confident, as a doctor's hands; not a man whose eyes bore the deepest secrets of the sea. Not a man whose touch left tingles of need on her skin.

The man who was going to be Ami-chan's boyfriend soon.

Damn it. Usagi hissed and it wasn't entirely because of physical pain.

"Did I hurt you?" Mamoru stilled his movement. The stitches weren't particularly loose, but if he'd been the one doing them, he would've been much more thorough. It would probably leave a faded line on her for the rest of her life. And that face…

Mamoru tried not to growl. Her perfect, new born's skin, shouldn't have to bear a pink line like this. It wouldn't do anything to the thin lines around her mouth when she laughed, he thought, or the way her eyes widened whenever she wanted to bicker with him; it wouldn't do anything to the display of a girl whose name was Usagi. But…

"Are you making a face at me?" Usagi mumbled.

Mamoru cleaned the wound with water and soap and chuckled. "I stuck my tongue out at you, yes." He smiled when Usagi's tongue came out from the other side of her mouth. He could play this game.

"I may have also twitched my eyes at you." He removed his hand from her chin and laughed out loud when she tried to make a funny face at him.

Could he kiss her now? Maybe she'd want to thank him? Could he ask for a kiss then? Would that be weird?

That would be sexual assault you buffoon. Mamoru walked to the little sanitary station to wash his hands. The room was suddenly so hot.

"You'll need to wash it every other day. I can take out the stitches for you when the time comes and...where are you going?"

Usagi was standing beside the door, her stuff dangling off her right shoulder. "I'm all good now. The pain in my foot is gone and I can walk." She didn't look at him. "We can go look for Ami-chan now."

Mamoru fisted the paper tissue in his hand. Was she serious? How does she not get what was happening here?

Maybe it was time to spell it out to her?

"Usagi, listen…" he walked up to her, without retrieving his bag from the chair he had left it on, "I think Ami-chan would be fine on her own. She wanted to see the campus, and that's exactly what she's doing."

Usagi opened the door. "But don't you want to...what the..."

They both stared at Ami, who was standing on the other side of the door looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Usagi had never seen that look of panic, edged with embarrassment, on her face.

"Ami-chan…" She walked outside, "Were you looking for us?"

Ami opened her mouth but closed it without a word. Damn it. How could she possibly put herself in this situation? Why hadn't she moved away from the door when Usagi's voice got that close?

"Did you get bored?" Usagi put her hand on Ami's forearm. "I'm so sorry. We were just coming out to find you. My foot was hurting a little—"

"Your foot was hurting? What, let me see—"

"It's okay. Chiba-san took care of it. He also cleaned my stitches. See…" She raised her chin up. "He also gave me an ice pack for my foot and I'm all good now." Her purse and the ugly shopping bag slipped from her shoulder and got stuck between her armpit.

Mamoru watched the scene with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Maybe he had read her all wrong. Maybe what he had assumed as a teasing pull from her side, had just been her way of shutting him down?

"We were just coming to find you." Usagi looked at him with expectation, and when he just stared back at her, she took a deep breath. "Chiba-san wanted to come and find you—"

"He did?" Ami raised a brow and looked at him.

Damn it. How could she know what was going through his mind and Usagi didn't?

"I didn't." Mamoru had had enough. He didn't know if this was a game for her, or she was genuinely this naive; either way, he was not going down that road.

He grabbed his bag and walked outside. "Usagi, Ami-chan and I were not on a date." He adjusted his bag across his body. "To be honest, a small part of me may have wanted to explore that route." He looked at Ami. "But I know that we'll always be good friends. What do you say, Ami-chan?"

"Very good friends." Maybe she should take that damn picture Minako asked for right now? Mamoru looked so regal, standing tall and confident and laying out his feelings like that. She had never thought of him as a spontaneous person. But, Usagi could have that effect on people, she reflected, and Mamoru wasn't the only one bewitched by her irresistible persona.

"I think I'm going to head home. Will you be alright by yourself?" Mamoru stood beside Usagi, in a way a partner would when they were about to bid farewell to someone.

"I'll be just fine." Ami tried not to laugh at Usagi's complete bewilderment. "I actually just saw one of my cram school classmates. I think I'll join her."

Mamoru nodded. "I'll take you home then. You shouldn't walk on that foot for too long." He took Usagi's stuff from her.

Ami grabbed Usagi's hand. "That's a great idea. Go home and rest Usagi-chan. I'll call you later." She squeezed her friend's hand and fled the scene as fast as she could. If she stood there for one more second, she would've laughed at the way Usagi looked.

She exited the clinic and decided to call her classmate and visit the rest of the campus with her.

But first things first; she took out her cellphone and sent a very important group message.

"Mamoru-san is taking Usagi home." She typed. She thought about the way Mamoru had looked at Usagi just now. The way he had taken her stuff, so natural and unbidden.

Ami deleted the message and retyped. "I think Mamoru-san really likes Usagi-chan." She thought of Usagi's eyes, so desperate and maybe a little sad when she told Ami that Mamoru was looking for her.

She deleted the message and retyped. "I think Mamoru-san's a keeper."

She sent the message and stilled herself for the millions of messages she knew would come.

Usagi had already tried to take her purse and pastel-coloured shopping bag from Mamoru three times.

He looked ridiculous with his own bag and her purse over his shoulder. And the shopping bag…

"Is it just me, or this bag looks...weird?"

Mamoru swung the bag in his hand. "I think the word you're looking for is 'hideous'." He scrunched up his nose as if he'd just smelled something rotten.

Usagi rolled up her eyes. "I can hold it myself."
She reached for the bag. Mamoru brought it up over his head and smirked when Usagi's fingers barely scraped the bottom of it.

"Aren't we a little too small to fight a big guy?"

"Why you—"

"Mamoru-kun…"

The person who'd just yelled after them was now running towards them. Usagi noticed how Mamoru sighed with irritation. She also noticed how he took a step closer to her.

"Mamoru…" Kobayashi stopped in front of them and heaved. "...Kun…" he bent over and put his hands on his knees. "I'm just…" He was still short on breath. "One sec…"

"For God's…" Mamoru shook his head and tapped him on the back a few times. "Your lungs are like a 60-year-olds who's smoked for 40 years."

Kobayashi glared at him from his bent position. His eyes sought out Usagi and the glare immediately changed into an interested stare.

"Well hello." He straightened up and reached out his hand. "I'm Kobayashi. And you are?"

Usagi stuck out her hand and when the guy shook it enthusiastically, she laughed. He was a funny-looking fellow; not at all like Mamoru.

"Usagi Tsukino. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." He lifted a flirty eyebrow at Mamoru. "So, you never told me what you were up to today."

"Is that something we do now?"

"That's something we have to do. Besides…" He smiled at Usagi. "I make you look good; nothing's sexier than a funny best friend. Ain't that right, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi gulped down her laughter and settled for a giggle; this guy was funny. Especially the way he was obviously making Mamoru uncomfortable.

"Say Kobayashi-kun." Mamoru's jaw was set. "I was just going to take Usagi home—"

"Are we on a first name basis and no honorifics? Wow." Kobayashi took a step back and did an up and down on Mamoru. "Mamoru-kun, you never cease to amaze me."

"So we're…" Mamoru barked. "Going to go now—"

"But I still don't know where you guys met…" Kobayashi's eyes were on Usagi now.

She didn't feel nervous around this guy and somehow, he reminded her of Motoki a lot. Oh, how she missed that guy.

But the jerk had made it clear that she wasn't allowed inside the arcade while she did what she did. "I'm not gonna standby and watch you kill yourself." Motoki had said. They had a nasty argument, which had led to Usagi storming off and never going back to the arcade.

And now this guy, he had the same genuine brotherly affection that Usagi had always experienced with Motoki.

"We actually met a few hours ago." Usagi didn't know what had come over her. "And this is not a date by the way. Mamoru was meeting my friend and—"

"She's right; this is not a date." Mamoru took her forearm. "If this was a date, I would've taken her to that Manga Fair at Kobe…" Usagi watched him with an open mouth. "I assume you would've liked that. Yes?"

Usagi looked dumbfounded. Baby hair was sticking out of her buns and alongside her ear. She had a cute little mole right on her neck. She looked adorable. God, he wanted to touch that mole.

"And then, we would've gone to the Mori Art Museum…" He smirked when Usagi's confusion turned into horror, "just so I could see that look on your face."

What was with this girl's eyes? They showed everything so...raw? As if there was no filter on them at all. Someone once told him that eyes were an entrance to someone's soul, and when the eyes were guarded, the soul was protected. And Usagi...she had the most unguarded eyes he'd ever seen.

"Maybe we could go to my friend's arcade then…" He had totally forgotten about Kobayashi, "He makes the best sundae in all of Tokyo—"

"I'm not allowed to go to Motoki-oni-san's arcade…"

Mamoru's eyebrows lifted up to his hairline. "You know Motoki? How come I've never seen you—"

"I'm barred from the arcade." Usagi smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"How come…" And then Mamoru remembered. Motoki's odd behaviour when he'd offered Ami a tour of the campus; how he had smirked at Mamoru and told him that he had no "chance" with the genius whatsoever. And how at the end, he became uncharacteristically supportive and told Mamoru to go for it because he might get something "good" out of it.

Did he know? Did Motoki predict that he'll eventually, somehow, meet Usagi through her friend? That bastard. He knew Mamoru so well.

"Well, I have special powers in that department." Mamoru smiled at Usagi. "And I just declared clemency…" He grinned bigger when Usagi pouted. "Mercy. I declared mercy. So you can go to the arcade whenever you want. In fact…" His hand hovered over the small of her back, without his fingers ever touching her. "We can go there right now. I owe you a chocolaty treat after all. Oh…" He took out the little white box he had abandoned in his bag. "Consider this a downpayment."

"Whatever for?"

"Me being a total jackass—"

"You got that right…"

They both turned to Kobayashi, who'd been standing there, with his arms folded against his chest and a knowing smile on his face. His facial expression reminded Mamoru that he'll have a rather difficult day tomorrow. They had two classes together and Kobayashi was not one who would let go of anything that easily.

"I'll see you tomorrow Kobayashi-kun."

"Aha." The other man nodded with a telltale bling in his eyes. "I will see you tomorrow." He turned to Usagi. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Usagi-chan. And something tells me that…" He winked at Mamoru. "...we'll be seeing more of each other from now on."

"I'll be there in 10 minutes."

"Are you really gonna be here in 10 minutes, or are you trying to rush me again?"

"Does it make any difference in your speed? You'll still be late."

Usagi rolled her eyes, even though he couldn't see her through the phone. "I don't appreciate your tone."

"I don't appreciate your tardiness…" Was he smirking? Usagi could hear a smirk in his tone. "I guess we're even then. It's down to five minutes, Usako."

Usagi hung up the phone and whirled around in her room. Damn it. Why couldn't she ever be organized? She woke up extra early today, she skipped breakfast and settled for a hot chocolate and a handful of Ikuko-mama's mini donuts; she even showered the night before and yet, she was still spinning around, not knowing what to wear.

She wore her black pleated skirt and threw on a pink sweater. She looked at herself in the mirror and leaned closer.

The pink line on her chin was fading away, thanks to Mamoru's healing hands. The man really knew how to attend to an injury; amongst...other things. She felt heat radiating from her face.

Was she blushing? When will she stop doing that? They'd been together for months now. They knew everything about each other. Mamoru knew her better than anyone and with his level of attentiveness, he probably knew her better than herself. Well...he'd seen parts of her that she couldn't possibly see herself…

The heat on her face intensified.

"Ikuko-mama, I'll be home for dinner."

She stepped outside and just then, a light breeze circled around their small garden.

Whoever said that Tokyo was at its best in spring really knew what they were talking about. The air was crisp with light humidity and the green of the garden somehow looked...greener.

She took a deep breath; the air smelt like roses and her heart twisted in that unique way it always did whenever she was meeting Mamoru.

Was it just her, or did her surroundings smell like roses whenever he was near?

She stepped onto the street and froze mid-way.

Mamoru took off the black and grey helmet he had on and smiled at her. "You're late." He stepped off the beast of the motorcycle he'd been sitting on and looked at his wristwatch. "It's well past the 10 minutes I told you. And I just got here." He pulled her close. "Just think how long I had to wait for you if I'd been here on time." He kissed her forehead and leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

"Why?" Usagi spoke before his lips were on hers.

"I'll explain in a sec…" He kissed her full on the lips and Usagi melted against him like she always did.

Who knew a handsome nerd like him could kiss like this? Usagi could feel his passion in every single muscle and vein and pulse in her body.

She kissed him back with equal enthusiasm. She would've used her tongue and teeth and little nips on his lower lip if they hadn't been standing right in the middle of her neighbourhood.

"So today…" Mamoru pulled back a breath away from her lips. "I decided to…" he left a butterfly kiss on her nose. "Turn up the heat a nudge…" he tongued her upper lip. "And since you love speed so much…" He kissed the side of her mouth. Usagi's eyes were still closed; my God but his mouth was magic. "And you promised yourself and the girls and Motoki above else, not to be on a bike again...alone…" He pulled back completely. "I decided to take you for a ride myself."

Usagi finally opened her eyes and lifted a flirtatious eyebrow.

Mamoru laughed and before pulling her towards the bike, he winked. "Don't flatter yourself, Usako."

It felt different, riding a bike behind someone; the speed felt different, the woosh of the wind that blew her long hair behind her felt different.

She touched the pink and white helmet Mamoru had bought for her. "I can't breathe in this." She yelled over the roar of the bike.

"You'll get used to it," Mamoru yelled back.

It felt different to have her knees and arms looping around another body like this. She tightened her hold on Mamoru's waist and sat taller.

All of it felt different...in a much better way.

Usagi took a deep breath and looked around; even the glass of the visor was pink; how cute was that?

"Have I told you?" She yelled again. They came to a stop at a red light.

"Told me what?" Mamoru dropped his hand on hers against his waist.

"How much I love you?"

She knew he was smiling. She could feel it in the way he squeezed her hand and brought it up over his beating heart.

The light turned green and the bike roared once more.

"You have to learn to rise on your own Usa." Hayate's words danced in her head. "No one will give a damn if you fall."

Mamoru gave so much more than a damn. He wouldn't let her fall. She knew that. The whole world around them knew that.

But Hayate had been right and the part of Usagi he had taken with him when he died, was slowly coming back to her; it was maturing and because of that, Usagi was a changed person.

She knew how to rise again; she knew how to lend her hand to someone else as well.

"I think I'm ready." She lifted up her pink visor when they came to another stop.

Mamoru turned his head to the side. He was listening.

"I'm ready to say goodbye to Hayate."

Mamoru nodded. "Hug me tighter." He said, before speeding up towards Aoyama cemetery; her best friend's eternal home.

The wound on her chin was fading away with each passing day; the bruise on her abdomen had long been gone; thanks to Mamoru's healing hands and magical lips.

And Usagi knew that the wound in her heart was not far behind.

The End.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or its characters in any way. All rights are reserved for its amazing creator, Naoko Takeuchi.
I just own the story I tell.