by Alicia Blade
I wanted to post this a week ago but was gone all weekend, so I'm posting slightly off schedule. Which means two stories in two days! Not too shabby of a deal, huh?
This takes place in episode 3: "Mystery of Sleeping Sickness, Defend the Loving Heart of Maidens." You know, the one where Jadeite starts up a radio program, blah blah blah…. Of course, I changed the ending, though. Actually, I changed everything. And of the new stories I've been posting the last few months, I think this is my favorite. So I hope you like it!
Thank you SO much for your reviews!
A HUGE thanks to Stormlight-chan, the best beta-reader a girl could ask for (and a spectacular friend). You rock my face off!
Alicia Blade
"The lucky writer of tonight's love letter will receive a complimentary flower brooch, as could you if your letter is chosen to be read on the air. This lovely Tuesday night, it's going out to Mika from Kyoto."
Usagi sighed dreamily, clutching her pillow to her chest as Jay Daitou, the dreamy-voiced radio DJ, began to read the love letter aloud.
"I want a flower brooch," she whispered to herself. "I want to write a love letter. I want to get a love letter."
Luna rolled her eyes from the foot of the bed. "It's late, Usagi. You have school in the morning."
"I know. Midnight Zero is almost over, then I'll go to sleep."
"My thoughts echo only of you. My heart longs only for you..." Jay drawled.
"Lucky Mika-chan," Usagi said, sighing again, before a beautiful idea struck her. "That's it! I will write a love letter!" she said determinedly, slamming a fist into the other palm.
"Who will you write it for?" Luna asked with mock amusement.
"I don't know, but somebody!" the girl responded, hopping off the bed. She pulled out a stack of paper and a pencil and promptly took to chewing on the eraser, searching her brain for inspiration as Jay's voice drifted soothingly on the air.
"I yearn to hold you. I burn to kiss you."
"Of course!" she squealed. "Motoki-Onii-san! Who else?"
"You know, Usagi, a love letter means nothing if you don't give it to the person you write it for."
"Oh, Luna, shows how much you know. I just want the free brooch. Now hush, you're ruining my concentration."
"I thought you were going to bed."
"Luna! Love cannot be put on hold for such a pesky thing as sleep."
She inhaled a deep breath to clear her thoughts, then put the lead to the paper. "Dear Motoki-Onii-san..." Usagi began, stopped, then furiously scratched out "onii." She cleared her throat and began again. "I think you are..." She looked up at the ceiling, scrolling through her mental thesaurus. "...mmm... sweet." She chewed on her eraser some more. "And cute," she added. Reading over it, she scratched out "cute" and replaced it with "handsome."
Mindlessly, she cupped her face in her hands, balancing the pencil on her upper lip.
"Oh, this will never win!" she growled in frustration, crumpling up the paper and chucking it into the wastebasket.
Again, she stared silently at a blank piece of paper. "Maybe not to Motoki, then. Maybe... oh! Tuxedo Kamen-sama!
"Dear Tuxedo-Kamen-sama, Thank you for saving my life. You're the greatest! Hm..." She chewed on her lip a moment. "P.S. I like your cape."
Clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth, she read the letter again before growling and crumpling it up as well. "Oh, this is awful! I can't even express true love in a letter! No wonder I get such horrible grades in writing!"
Luna giggled quietly. "Usagi-chan, maybe you can't write a love letter because you're not really in love with either of them."
"Oh, what do you know?" she pouted, folding her arms across her chest.
"Thank you, Mika-chan, for sharing this heartfelt and touching love letter. We ask all of our listeners to send in their written proclamations and confessions. And remember, if your letter is read on the air, you'll receive a complimentary flower brooch. This is Jay Daitou with Midnight Zero. Goodnight and sweet dreams." The sooty voice was quickly replaced with the smooth sound of jazz.
Reaching up her paw, Luna clicked off the radio. "Alright, Usagi, it's time for bed now."
Sighing, Usagi set her pencil down on the stack of paper and flicked off the light. "Fine, fine," she yawned, crawling beneath her covers. "I'll have better luck in the morning. Maybe I need some sweet, romantic dreams to wake up my muse, ne?"
Soon, she (and her muse) had drifted off to sleep.
...
"First tests, then shoes, and now you're attacking me with tiara-shaped frisbees?" he drawled, holding her tiara out toward her. "Are you trying to give me a concussion, Odango Atama?"
Her anger flared at the name, but something in his deep, husky voice drowned it out. He slowly removed his sunglasses, allowing her to look up into his stormy blue eyes.
"Well, Odango-chan?"
She gulped. "No... no, I'm not trying to give you a concussion. I just... I just want you to notice me." She blushed, setting the tiara back on her head. She was not dressed as Sailor Moon, though, but rather in her normal school uniform.
"But Odango-chan," he whispered, his fingers reaching beneath her chin to tilt her face up toward his. She gulped, her heart thudding wildly as she noticed his black bangs falling carelessly over his brow. A strong scent of cologne, roses, and salt water met her senses.
"Yes?" she asked, nearly breathless.
"I have noticed you," he muttered, steadily lowering his lips toward hers.
...
Usagi awoke with a startled gasp. She immediately slammed her eyes shut, and buried herself beneath her blankets. "Oh, don't wake up," she muttered desperately, trying to seep back into the dream, but it was too late. He was gone. She groaned in frustration. "And it was just getting good, too. Mmm… Baka-san. Too bad I can't put a real name to your face."
Then, she suddenly thought of Midnight Zero and the love letter and gasped, throwing the blankets off of her. "That's it!" she squealed, darting out of bed, ignoring the annoyed mumbling of an awoken cat.
...
"What on Earth are we listening to?" Mamoru grumbled from the back of Motoki's car.
"Midnight Zero," Reika chirped from the passenger seat.
"What is Midnight Zero?" Motoki asked doubtfully, hanging a right onto Sakura Ave. The three of them had carpooled to a late-night poker game at a friend's house, a weekly Thursday-night event. Though it had been a lot of fun, they were all leaving broke and tired and ready to go home and go to bed. Besides, Reika and Mamoru had morning classes and Motoki was supposed to open the arcade.
"Haven't you heard of it?" Reika asked in surprise. "It's so popular right now. People send in love letters and receive a gift if theirs is read on the air."
"Sounds horrifically sappy," Mamoru moaned.
"Yeah, how about some rock and roll instead?"
"Hey!" exclaimed Reika, slapping Motoki's hand away from the dials. "I like this show. You can both just suck it up and listen. It would do you both good to get more in touch with your romantic side." She glared at Motoki, who quickly flushed and returned his hand to the steering wheel.
Heaving a sigh, Mamoru thunked his head against the window and watched the street lights go by, grateful that he was getting dropped off first.
"Tonight's letter comes from a girl who calls herself 'Usako in Tokyo.' Usako writes,
"Dear Baka-san, "I have dreamt of you every night since the day we met. Though we have only met a few times, and I don't even know your name, I feel strangely drawn to you. I feel as though when I'm looking into your intense blue eyes, the world disappears around me. I feel as though I know you so well, and yet I do not know you at all. I realize to you I am nothing more than a ditzy little girl and I know that you could never possibly feel as strongly toward me as I do toward you, but I can't help feeling this way.
"Every morning, the sun looks a little brighter when I think I might see you. My day goes by a bit quicker in hopes your smile will make an appearance in my life that afternoon. I believe that even if you are so much better than me, so much older and more sophisticated and more mature, I could still, somehow, make you happy. If you would let me in. If you would trust me and show me who you really are. Let me be the one you open up to. I promise to love you better than you have ever been loved before, because this pounding of my heart cannot be a figment of my imagination.
"The redness in my face when you see me is not from anger but from excitement. And when I see your smile, even wickedly taunting as it is, my hopes soar that perhaps you will look at me for once as someone other than simply 'Odango Atama.' It is all I want. For you to notice me, as someone other than your Odango-chan, as someone so much more. I long for you to call me Usako, just once. But I know it will not happen. To you, I will always be Odango Atama, and you will always be Baka-san. Besides, you don't know my name, either.
"But despite all that, and despite all logic, I think I might be in love with you.
"Always,
"Your Usako"
"See, wasn't that sweet?" Reika swooned, staring up at the star-filled sky through the windshield. Motoki grunted in false agreement, but Mamoru barely heard her. His mouth felt dry and sticky as he stared at the glowing radio panel.
"Odango… Atama…?" he whispered to himself, unheard by his friends. "It couldn't be!"
"Thank you for your lovely letter, Usako-chan. We wish you the best of luck with your unrequited love. May Baka-san realize what it is he's missing. With gratitude for your letter, we will be sending you a beautiful flower brooch. Please, we encourage all of our listeners to send in…"
"Mamoru! Hey, are you okay?"
"Huh? What?"
"We're here."
"Oh, right. Um, thanks." He got out of the car and waved goodbye, still hearing the smoky voice of the radio DJ in his head, though it was slowly replaced with the chipper, sweet voice of another.
"I could still, somehow, make you happy….I promise to love you better than you have ever been loved….For you to notice me, as someone other than your Odango-chan, as someone so much more….I think I might be in love with you."
He couldn't help the shaking in his fingers as he searched for his keys and entered his apartment, dark and cold and seemingly much emptier than usual. He dropped the keys on the kitchen counter and walked into his bedroom, flopping himself on top of the bed without bothering to remove his shoes.
"It's impossible. It simply couldn't be her. Why would she…for me? No, there's no way it would be her. No way."
He fell into a disturbed sleep filled with bunnies, poker chips, and the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen.
...
Usagi skipped down the sidewalk, humming a silly little song to herself. It was a beautiful morning. Not only had her love letter been read on the air just last night, but her flower brooch had already been delivered to her doorstep when she woke up. The sun was shining, she wasn't late to school (yet), and her dreams had been filled with his sweet voice, whispering into her ear, "Usako, I love you," again and again. And even though she knew that it was an impossible fantasy, she still had high hopes that she would be seeing him today. She could feel it in her heart.
And, with any luck, maybe she'd see Motoki-Onii-san, too. Although after her fervent attack of love letter inspiration, the Baka had taken first row seating on her list of crushes. She couldn't wait to see him.
"Maybe he'll comment on the new brooch," she giggled, fingering the beautiful purple flower that she had attached to her school bag.
"Oy, Odango Atama!"
The voice made her screech and stumble, and she immediately found herself face down on the pavement. Hopping to her feet, she furiously turned toward the voice, glaring up at the laughing man. "You didn't have to scare me half to death, Baka!"
He only laughed louder, his blue eyes glinting in the morning sun. "Come now, you hadn't collided into anything for at least half a block. We both know it was inevitable."
She clenched her fists, her face growing pink. "Ooh, why are you so mean to me?"
He shrugged. "Easy target."
Usagi huffed her shoulders at the quirky grin on his lips, before her angry expression was suddenly replaced with a huge, shining smile. Mamoru blinked in surprise at the change, his heart fluttering absently.
"Sorry, Baka-san, it doesn't bother me today!" she said cheerfully.
He gulped. 'Baka-san…'
"I'm in a terrific mood and nothing can change that!"
He chuckled at her proud face as it turned up toward the blue sky. "Oh, and why's that, Odango-chan?"
She batted her eyelashes at him, making his heart skip again. "Because it's a beautiful day and I got a new flower brooch this morning!"
He felt something suddenly clog his throat as she mindlessly showed him the purple flower attached to her bag, sparkling in the sunlight. His heartbeat sped up. "Where did you get it?" he asked, trying to appear nonchalant. She didn't seem to notice his hesitation.
"I won it!" she said proudly. "In a writing contest!" With that, she stuck her tongue out at him. "So that should make up for that 30 on the test the other day, ne?" She laughed, but he was barely paying attention anymore.
Was it possible? Had it really been her letter? Did she really… could she really be in love with him? He shook his head. The thought was crazy. Even if she did have feelings for him, certainly they were nothing more than a silly little crush. After all, she barely knew him! Scratch that, she didn't know him at all!
And why did he so badly want to change that?
"Usagi-chan!" he heard a girl scream and turned to see a short red-head barreling down the sidewalk. She instantly clamped onto Odango's arm, her chest heaving as she attempted to catch her breath. "Was it yours?" she asked excitedly, her eyes wide in awe. "Was the letter yours?"
Usagi began twitching nervously, looking from Mamoru to the red-headed girl. "Ano… maybe not now, Naru-chan…"
"Oh! The brooch! It's just like the one Haruna-sensei had!" Naru squealed, seeing the flower. "It was your letter! I knew it! 'Usako in Tokyo,' how kawaii! Demo, who is this Baka-san? It isn't that jerk you mentioned before, is it? The cute college guy that you said you couldn't sta…"
"Oh, look at the time! We're going to be late!" Usagi screeched, instantly pulling Naru away down the sidewalk. "Er… ja, Baka-san!" she yelled over her shoulder.
Allowing herself to be led away, Naru blinked back toward Mamoru, her mouth falling open. "That's him!" he heard her squeal as Usagi harshly attempted to shush her, dragging her off toward their school.
Shaking his head, Mamoru glanced down at his watch and noticed that he was almost late for his class as well. Sighing, he trudged off toward his university. Somewhere along the way, it occurred to him that he never used to come so close to tardiness, but over the last couple of weeks cutting time a bit closer had become the norm. Ever since he'd unconsciously figured out that if he was on that street corner at a certain time of the morning, he might be lucky enough to see a certain odango-haired girl.
That he now knew was named Usagi.
His Usako in Tokyo.
He determined he was probably going crazy.
...
"You are thinking WAY too hard about something," Motoki commented, sliding into the booth across from Mamoru, milkshake in hand. His friend turned his gaze away from the window to look at him, startled at being interrupted in his thoughts.
"Eh?"
"Are you bummed about losing all that money last night?"
Mamoru blinked. "No, not really. It wasn't all that much."
"Then what are you dwelling on over here?"
"Shouldn't you be working?"
Motoki quirked a grin. "I'm on break. So?"
Shrugging, Mamoru stirred a spoon around his cup of tea. "Who says I'm dwelling on anything?"
"It's obvious. I've never seen you in here without your face buried in a book or a newspaper, or at least over playing one of the games. But today you've just been staring out that window. For the past hour."
Mamoru chuckled and took a sip of his drink. "It's nothing."
"You just admitted that IT is something."
"Don't play verbal games with me. You'll lose."
The arcade clerk chuckled. "Come on, tell me. It can't be that bad, whatever it is. After all… for at least half of the aforementioned dwelling period, you were smiling."
Raising an eyebrow, Mamoru turned to look out the window again. Finally, he heaved a long sigh. "It's really nothing important. But…. Well…." He coughed, mindlessly scratching the back of his head. "There's this girl. Who I think has a crush on me."
"And is that good or bad?"
"I don't know."
Laughing, Motoki took a drink of his large vanilla milkshake. "Well why do you think she has a crush on you?"
"Just… a hunch. But, the thing is, she shouldn't have a crush on me! We have nothing in common, I'm much too old for her, she'd be bored out of her mind with a guy like me, and on top of that, I'm not even that nice to her. Actually, I've been pretty mean to her since we met."
"Mean? Mamoru, it's not like you to be mean."
"I know. But… for some reason, I can't help it when I'm around this girl. I just can't help saying these things, even though I don't really mean any of them, you know?"
"Hm…. Kindergarten complex."
"The what complex?"
"Kindergarten. You've never had a serious girlfriend, or even been seriously interested in anyone, so you don't know how to treat a girl when you like her. So, instead of being sweet to her, like you should, you're mean to her. Just like a kindergartener teases the prettiest girl in the class: because it's all he can think to say to her, and the only sure way to make her notice him."
Mamoru blinked, his teacup hanging a centimeter from his lips, before he burst into a series of laughs. "That's absurd! I have no such thing!"
"Oh? Then you don't tease her?"
"No, I DO tease her. It's just… that's not… it has nothing to do with liking her!"
"So you don't like her?"
"Well… I…. I'm not sure. I didn't think so, but after hearing that she liked me… God, I don't know. I shouldn't. She's not my type at all."
"What's she like?"
"Loud, immature, ditzy, doesn't care about school, just wants to spend time with friends, probably shopping or something, I don't know."
"Hm… and let me guess, she's probably incessantly happy, too?"
Mamoru stammered, "Do you know her?"
Laughing, Motoki scooped some whipped cream off the top of his shake. "No. At least, I don't think so. Do I?"
"I'm not sure. I saw her come in here once. Just another patron."
"Ah, well, anyway, I just figured that the kind of girl to draw your attention would have to be incessantly happy. I mean, can you really see yourself with someone as dark and moody as you? You'd both be miserable!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. But… hey, she has not drawn my attention!"
"Oh? Then… what are we talking about exactly?"
"Gah! We are talking about some silly girl who has a silly crush on me, that's all. Besides, I barely know her. We've only met a couple times. She doesn't even know my name."
Motoki sighed, shaking his head. "Mamoru, you have never been one to go ga-ga over a girl. As far as I know, you've never given them a second glance, even when one was continuously throwing herself in front of you, trying to get your attention. So, if this girl, whoever she is and whatever she's done to grab you, makes you feel something, maybe you should go for it. I mean, if she already likes you, what's the harm? Who knows, maybe you'll be able to figure out what's so special about her if you take the time."
"Motoki, you don't get it. It's not what you think."
"Oh? Then how come you've been grinning like a love-sick fool for the last half hour? Ah! Kon'wa, Usagi-chan! Ne, you look exhausted."
Mamoru gasped and turned to see his Odango walking toward their booth, a tired smile on her lips. His heart skipped a beat.
"Kon'wa, Motoki-Onii-san," she mumbled, followed by a huge yawn. Then, her drowsy yet sparkling blue eyes fell on Mamoru and widened momentarily, before she looked back at Motoki. "You two know each other?" she asked, practically collapsing onto the bench beside Mamoru.
"Hai, this is my best friend," Motoki answered. "Since when do YOU two know each other?"
Usagi shrugged, folding her arms onto the table and resting her head in the crook of an elbow. "We don't, really. How funny. You and Baka-san…" She yawned. "…of all people…So sleepy…" Soon, she was snoring quietly, her hair pooling on the red leather bench beside Mamoru.
Mamoru gulped, peeling his gaze away from her to look at his stunned friend.
"Now that's a new one," Motoki said. "She's usually full of energy this time of day—right after school gets out. Maybe she didn't sleep well."
Mamoru frowned, remembering how bubbly she'd been that morning. "I don't know. Something doesn't feel right about this."
"Say, how do you know Usagi, anyway?" Motoki asked, slurping up the last of his shake.
"Er… we've just… run into each other from time to time. We don't really know each other."
"Oh. Small world. Ne, Usagi-chan? Usagi-chan, wake up."He reached across the table, gently stroking her bangs off of her forehead. The simple gesture sent a flurry of envy through Mamoru's stomach and he desperately tried to tie it down again. Inhaling a deep breath, he put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her.
She stirred a bit at the attempts, but did not open her eyes, only continued breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling with each deep breath.
"How odd…" Mamoru mumbled, his eyes falling on her slightly parted pink lips. He gulped unsteadily and quickly turned away.
"Maybe she should go to the doctor or something."
"Nah, she probably just needs to sleep this off, whatever this is."
"Well I don't really think an arcade is the best place for her to do that, do you?"
Mamoru frowned, looking at the girl from the corner of his eye. 'Usako…'
"I'll take her!" he heard a whiny voice above him say and looked up to see a teenage boy with messy brown hair and huge glasses standing by the booth. "Usagi-san can come to my house! I'll take care of her!"
Mamoru frowned. "Who are you?"
"Umino-kun, a classmate and confidante of Tsukino Usagi-san. And hopefully her future…" He blushed. "…dare I say it? The future love of her life!" He stared up dreamily for a moment, before looking down on Mamoru again. "This same thing happened to Haruna-sensei yesterday. She fell asleep right in the middle of class. Can't explain it. They wheeled her out on a gurney, but I've seen confidential reports indicating that the doctors can't do anything for her. So taking Usagi-san to the hospital won't do any good. But she can certainly come home with me!"
A sudden protectiveness welled up inside of Mamoru and before he really knew what he was doing or why, he had wrapped his arms around Usagi. She fell, snoring, against his chest, snuggling into his jacket. "You will do no such thing. Odango Atama can come back to my apartment with me. She can sleep there for awhile."
Motoki blinked at the sudden determination in Mamoru's voice, noting the flashing of his eyes as he glared at Umino, as if the geeky boy posed some sort of a threat. Then, a thought stumbled into his brain. "Odango Atama?" he asked, almost to himself. "Where have I heard that before?"
Mamoru was paying no attention to him, though, as he stood from the booth and scooped the girl into his arms, still not entirely sure what it was he was doing.
"Oh! Usako in Tokyo!" Motoki exclaimed, as if he had just solved all the world's mysteries.
Mamoru blanched, looking down at his best friend. "Something about a Baka-san calling her Odango Atama and something… on that radio show, right, Mamoru?"
"Er… uh… I don't remember. Wasn't paying much attention. Um… ja!"
"Wait!" But Mamoru was already out of the arcade doors, a sleeping Usagi clutched in his arms. "Usako… Usagi… Odango Atama… and Mamoru falling for some young, chipper girl? Naw, it couldn't be.… Could it?"
Ignoring a stunned Umino, Motoki grabbed his empty glass and Mamoru's deserted tea and walked dazedly back to the counter.
...
Mamoru dropped the girl's schoolbag onto the floor before gingerly lying her on the couch. She hummed wistfully a moment before again falling into silent dreaming.
Sitting on his coffee table, Mamoru felt a deep contentment well up inside of him as he watched her, analyzing her full, parted, barely turned-up lips. How her eyelashes caressed the pale, flawless, rouge-tinted cheeks. The way a single curl of angelic, golden hair had escaped the odangos to wisp around her ear and curl along the base of her jaw.
"I could love you better than you have ever been loved."
"It wouldn't be hard," he whispered, thinking about the long, lonely years of his life. Wondering briefly if she could have meant it. He wasn't even sure he knew what love felt like. He wasn't sure he would recognize it even if someone did love him. Or if he could bring himself to love them.
After all, it must only be a silly little crush.
Little middle school girl meets hot college stud.
Typical.
But, the thing that blew his mind about the whole scenario was that she didn't ACT like she had a crush on him. In fact, if it hadn't been for Midnight Zero and that blasted brooch, he'd be none the wiser—and he was darn good at pinpointing an admirer of his. But Usagi never tried to impress him, never flaunted or flirted, never played those stupid games that most girls played. You know, "hard to get" and what not.
She was just Odango.
She didn't take his crap because he was cute.
She wasn't afraid to fight back.
She never pretended to be someone else.
From the first time he'd met her—her and that awful, wonderful test—he'd known her. He'd taken one look at her and felt as though he could time his watch by her, predict her next expression, plan out her days before she could. He just felt that he KNEW her so well.
But, coincidentally, he found her completely unpredictable.
Like going and falling for him. This, he had never expected.
So, despite how much he knew her, he had no idea what to think of her. Try as he might, he couldn't pass her off as some middle school ditz. He couldn't ignore that he knew that she wanted him. But why?
Why why why why why?
Because...
he thought
just a thought
a slim chance
a brief possibility
...he wanted her, too.
There was no denying that after seeing her only a few times, he had begun to long for their next meeting. Her laughter did things to him. The whiff of honey shampoo confounded him. The sparkle of her blue eyes, whether smiling or crying, shook him and scared him and made him want to stare into them for all eternity.
And there was more. There was so much more. The giddiness he had never known before. The anticipation. The hope. The feeling that he got up each morning, got dressed each morning, smiled into the sun each morning, because she was alive. And he might see her.
Perhaps it was more than just a brief possibility.
And now, she was part of his daily routine: her glaring eyes, her cutting insults, her pout, her tears, and, if he was lucky, her smile, her giggle, her ignorant, naive, mindless chatter.
If he could make her even a bigger part of that routine... was it possible for an abundance of joy to kill a man? To add a touch of skin, a little embrace, her words, in her voice...
"I think I might be in love with you."
How long had he been staring at her, the sleeping beauty on his sofa? He felt his eyelids growing heavy. A deep fog settled over his thoughts. How easily he could just snuggle up next to her, hold her, and sleep forever.
Just as he felt himself sinking toward her, a tender sigh, a murmured "Baka..." jolted him to consciousness. He jumped off the coffee table, shaking the drowsy remnants from his mind. "That was weird," he muttered, running a hand through his bangs.
Then, a glowing flash of purple caught his eyes. The flower on Usagi's bag was glowing with an eerie, silver-green light. "What on earth?" As he approached it, he felt the drowsiness begin to return. Backing away, the tendrils of sleep disappeared.
"The brooch! It's just like the one Haruna-sensei had!" "This same thing happened to Haruna-sensei yesterday. She fell asleep right in the middle of class."
A soft yawn behind Mamoru returned him to the much more realistic (or was it?) present and he whirled around to be met with bright, fluttering eyes.
Usagi blinked up at him, caught in the middle of a stretch. "I must still be dreaming," she muttered.
Chuckling, he set the tongs on top of the mantle. "Good morning, Odango."
She glared and sat up. "Don't call me that, Baka."
"Don't you mean Baka-san?"
Scoffing, she looked around the apartment. "Only when I'm in a good mood. Ano... where are we?"
"My apartment. You fell asleep in the arcade. I didn't know where else to take you."
"Oh. That's right. I'd felt so tired all day long."
"It was the brooch."
"Hm?"
"The flower brooch that was on your book bag. It was... well, I know this is going to sound strange... but it was draining your energy. It's what put you to sleep."
She looked down at her bag, gasping to find her brooch missing. "What happened to it?"
"I destroyed it," he said, turning off the fireplace.
"You what? How could you? I loved that brooch!"
He rolled his eyes. "It was zapping your energy! The thing was evil! You should be thanking me!" His agitation fumbled upon seeing her lip tremble, her blue eyes staring at the ashy remains of her pendant.
"But I won it. I never win anything, but I worked really hard, and I won it."
"Oh, come on. How hard could it possibly be to write a love letter?"
"Harder than you think! It took me three... er... how did you know it was a love letter?"
Mamoru felt the beginnings of a blush and turned his head proudly away. "Honestly, who doesn't know about Midnight Zero?" Daring to look at her from the corner of his eye, he saw her face growing steadily paler.
"You... you don't... listen to it, do you?"
He shrugged, appearing far too casual for the topic at hand. "I've heard it once or twice..." His lips quirked. "...Usako."
The last tints of color drained from her face, her eyes growing wide, unblinking, and fearful. "Oh no..." she mouthed, her shoulders beginning to shake uncontrollably.
Mamoru could only watch as the full impact of the realization struck her, wondering how best to tell her that...
He wanted to love her better than she had ever been loved.
Ease into it gently or drop the words like bricks? Look at her intently or peer shyly away? Be within inches of her luscious lips or stay safely on this side of the room?
Mamoru had never done this before.
Usagi, however, didn't give him the chance to decide. The impact of his words finally settled like a boulder at the base of her stomach. All the blood that had left her face returned to it tenfold, and she was not about to sit around and wait for the teasing to begin.
Jumping to her feet, she scooped up her bag and practically flew to the front door. "Well, thanks for taking care of me and destroying the flower and you probably already know this but in case I never see you again..." She paused and turned to look at him, half way out the door. "...you're cute, but that jacket is hideous."
And with the click of the bolt, Mamoru was left alone, insulted, and astounded.
"Just thought you might want to know," he said to the bare sofa after regaining a hair of composure, "I think I might be falling in love with you... Usako."
...
Usagi swiped the tears away with a sleeve as she stepped out of the apartment building. The setting sun cast an orange glow over the city as she slowly made her way down the sidewalk, hugging her bag to her chest.
"He knows," she whispered brokenly. "He knows and now I can never face him ever again. And I've lost any chance with him, not that I ever had one to begin with, and he'll just hold this over my head and taunt me, but if I avoid him I won't even get to see him or hear his voice and on top of everything, my brooch is gone! It was all for nothing! Oh... Baka-san..." She sniffled loudly, staring up at the sky as the first stars began to appear. "You're always going to be Baka-san to me, aren't you?"
"Usagi! Where have you been? I've been searching everywhere for you!"
She turned to see Luna perched on a fence, staring sternly down on her, and sighed. "Nowhere."
"We have an emergency! Midnight Zero is a ploy by the Negaverse! Those flowers are being used to steal the energy of love-struck humans! Sailor Moon has got to put a stop to this!"
"Well why don't you go pester her, then?"
"Usagi!"
She sighed. "Fine, fine! Keep your tail on! Geez." Inhaling a deep breath, she looked one last time at the setting sun before reaching for her transformation locket. "This radio show is proving to be a lot more trouble than it's worth. Moon Prism Power—Make Up!"
...
"Did you hear?" Usagi heard Naru ask to her side, but she didn't raise her head to look at her. Instead, she kept her eyes closed and her face buried in the arms rested on the desk.
"Hm?" she grunted, wishing she could ignore her friend and go to sleep.
"Midnight Zero was a scandal!"
Usagi yawned. "Yeah, I heard."
"It was in the paper this morning," another classmate interjected. "The flower brooches were faulty. Had some kind of poison or something in them. It was really vague."
"Is that what happened to you, Usagi-chan?" Naru asked, her voice lowering to merely a loud whisper. "Is that what made you so tired yesterday?"
Usagi grunted that it was.
"Ne, you aren't still wearing it, are you?" she heard a third voice ask speculatively.
Stretching, and with another yawn, Usagi finally sat up, eyeing the small crowd around her desk groggily. "Of course not. I just didn't sleep well last night."
"Ironic, don't you think?" the second girl—Kiki—asked.
"What happened to your brooch, anyway?" asked Naru.
"I... I got rid of it, of course!" Usagi stuttered, trying to hide the sadness in her face as she absently fingered her (plain once again) book bag.
"Hm, too bad you didn't wait just a couple days to submit your letter," Miko, the final girl, said.
"Yeah, then this whole mess would have been avoided."
The other girls, assuming she was only referring to the sleep attack from the complimentary gift, continued.
"Plus, the prize is a lot better now!"
Her attention caught, Usagi looked up at Kiki in confusion. "Now? You mean they're not going to stop running the program?"
"Of course not! It was a huge success! Except for the whole scandal thing it was the most popular program that station has had in years! Besides, what better than a little 'bad' publicity to boost ratings?"
"But they're changing it a little," Naru pointed out, recalling the newspaper article from that morning. "The producers claim that a beautiful young woman in a strange costume was the one who figured out the scandal and rid them of the offenders, but while she was there, she said, and I quote, 'A love letter means nothing if you don't give it to the person you write it for!'"
Usagi, of course, was quite familiar with the line she'd spoken just last night—and shamelessly plagiarized from Luna. "So what are they changing?"
"Instead of sending the writer a brooch, they're now going to send them and the subject of the letter to a romantic dinner restaurant!"
Usagi thought it over, before sulking back in her chair and grumbling, "Figures. I bet he wouldn't throw a free dinner in the fire." Luckily, no one heard her.
"You know, Usagi-chan, I bet if you asked the radio station, they would send you and 'Baka-san' out for free. After all, their gift did try to kill you. I'd say they owe you," pointed out Miko.
Sighing, Usagi shook her head. "No, that's okay. I could never bring myself to ask him out anyway. He'd just laugh."
The girls all sighed wistfully.
"Well, I, for one, am going to keep trying!" said Naru determinedly. "Anything for a free dinner, right? Usagi, you'll keep listening, won't you? In case I win?"
She smiled up at her friend. "Of course! But... who will you write it for?"
Her friend's gaze instantly clouded over in a moment of contemplation, before she shooed the question away with her hand. "Elementary, elementary. I'll think of someone later. Just keep listening for 'Naru-chan in Juuban!'"
The girls giggled excitedly and took their seats as Haruna entered the room and began class.
...
"Usagi, are you still listening to this mush?" Luna scolded, jumping onto the bed.
Usagi continued to stare up at the ceiling, her hands tucked beneath her pillow as Luna found a comfortable spot between her ankles. "Yeah."
"I thought you'd changed your mind about love letters. I also thought they were going to cancel this show."
"No, but it's different now, Luna. They're encouraging the listeners to share the letters with the people they're written for. Besides, Naru has sent in a different letter every day this week. She's bound to get on it eventually." Frowning, she grumbled curiously to herself, "I don't even know who she's writing them to."
"Hm, and what about the subject of your letter, Usagi-chan? I haven't heard you whine or complain about him, since... well, since you sent in the letter."
She shrugged. "I haven't really seen him."
"Haven't seen him? But you were running into him two or three times a day before!"
"Yeah, well... maybe his schedule changed."
Luna's voice became annoying smug. "I see, Usagi-chan. Writing that letter made you realize some things and now you're embarrassed and trying to avoid him, right?"
"No, Luna, that's not it at all! Hush, it's starting!"
"Good evening and thank you for tuning to Midnight Zero," a deep voice mumbled from her radio. Though the new DJ wasn't quite as sultry as "Jay Daitou" had been, his voice was definitely warmer and even more soothing. In some ways, it reminded her of the Baka, which was another reason she was still addicted to the show. She wouldn't have believed it possible before, but she could feel definite withdrawals from the tauntingly handsome man. In the few short weeks that she'd known him—or, at least, known of him—she'd found a strange comfort and stability in their daily meetings, even if they did only consist of teases and taunts. Lord, but she missed him. Luna was right, of course; she was avoiding him. But what else could she do? After his embarrassing discovery of her concealed emotions, she knew she could never face him again. She could only imagine what he thought of her now. If she was stupid and ditzy before, now she was stupid, ditzy, and pathetically infatuated with him.
She sighed dejectedly.
"Our letter tonight is from a man who calls himself 'Baka in Tokyo.'"
"Hm, not Naru-chan," she whispered to the still midnight air.
"Baka writes,
"Beautiful Usako," Usagi's drowsy eyes instantly snapped open and she turned her head to stare at the radio's digital clock.
"It has been six days since I last saw you and I have found them to be six of the most painful days of my life. Though we met not long ago, I have come to rely on our little exchanges. I have come to depend on crashing into you every day, on seeing your face all pink and flustered, on hearing your eager comebacks to all of the teases I throw at you. Unbeknownst to me, I had begun to live for those moments. I had anticipated what I would say to you, how you would look at me, how the conversation would start, how it would end. I didn't, couldn't understand why; I only know that somewhere along the line, you crawled beneath my skin, under my veins... and, I'm almost afraid to admit, into my heart, as well.
"You told me, indirectly, but still told me, that you could make me happy. But, Usako, you do. Seeing you, knowing you exist, the fact that you speak to me at all, makes me happy. Much happier, more content, than I have ever been. Something about you speaks to me: your innocence, your optimism, your enthusiasm for life. These are things I am unfamiliar with, things I envy in you, things I admire in you. You were wrong when you assumed that I was better than you: that I deserved better. The truth is quite the opposite. I am not as sure as you are that I could make you happy, and having known so little love in my life, I'm not willing to promise I could love you better than your family and friends, or even the many male admirers you certainly already have. "I am willing to promise this, though: I would try. I would try so very, very hard. Because after only six days of being without you, I'm feeling my world and my sanity beginning to slip away from me. It has crumbled apart with the breech you made in my defenses. And now you have become my Usako, in my head and in my heart, and I long for the chance to become something to you. Something so much more. You have sunk me as low as to write a love letter for a nationally broadcast radio program, and I do it willingly, even happily, knowing that it is my best, and perhaps my only, chance of bringing you back into my life. "Please, come back into my life. Whether it's with insults or compliments, I need you to come back. If your confession from before was true, and you still think you might love me, come to Crown tomorrow. I'll be waiting.
"And if my offer is rejected and your avoidance of me continues, then I will close with the words I wish I would have said the first day I met you:
"You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Odangos and all.
"Yours,
"Baka in Tokyo"
Usagi couldn't keep her body from trembling as the digital clock blurred in her vision. "Luna, did you hear that?" she whispered dazedly, but her only response was heavy breathing from the end of the bed. She slowly, shakily reached out and turned off the radio, turning to stare up at the ceiling again as the nighttime shadows cast warm reflections on her walls. She ignored them.
"There's no way. Absolutely no way. And yet..."
"I have come to depend on crashing into you every day... Now you have become my Usako... the chance to become something to you. Something so much more... Odangos and all."
So many of the words her words, and yet not. So many hints: her name, his nickname for her, the relationship, and...
"Crown Arcade," she whispered.
How could she deny it? What were the chances of it not being him?
But gods, what were the chances that it was?
"Baka..." she whispered to the silent air, not sure whether she was referring to him or to herself.
When she finally managed to fall asleep, some hours later, she dreamt only of him, as she had every night for weeks.
...
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Naru squealed at her side, gently pushing her toward the arcade doors.
Usagi braced her feet against the sidewalk, staring wide-eyed at the familiar building. "Wait! I can't! Don't make me!"
"Usagi, what is wrong with you? You're crazy about this guy; he's crazy about you. If you don't go in there, you could lose your chance with him!"
"But... but what if it wasn't his letter?"
"You KNOW it was his letter. When I heard it, I knew it was his letter!"
"But what if it was some joke? What if he doesn't really like me after all?"
Naru growled in frustration. "Would you stop making up excuses? Now, you like the guy, right?"
"Yeah."
"A lot, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then don't you owe it to yourself to go in there and see him? If you don't do this, you could spend the rest of your life wondering 'what if.' You don't want that, do you?"
Usagi sighed. "No."
"Then go!"
"Fine, fine, I'm going," she mumbled, clenching the sides of her skirt up in big fistfuls to keep her hands from shaking as she approached the glass doors. They slid open welcomingly, the sounds of beeps and game music instantly pooling out onto the sidewalk. She gulped and walked inside, Naru on her heels. Her eyes did a quick scan of the arcade and almost instantly fell on his form at a nearby booth, facing her, though he was staring out the window and hadn't yet seen her come in.
Her heart caught in her chest.
His intense blue eyes were gazing out of the window as his hands mindlessly toyed with a mug on the table. His black hair had fallen into his eyes again, slightly more tousled than usual. He wasn't wearing the offending green jacket, but just a plain black sweater that clung just the right amount.
With a squeak, Usagi turned and ducked behind an arcade machine, crouching down on the floor and clasping one hand to her chest to try and steady her heartbeat.
"Usagi, what—"
Reaching up, she grabbed onto Naru's arm and yanked her down beside her. "Quiet, he'll hear you!"
"What are you doing!"
"Hiding, what does it look like?"
"But why?"
"Oh, Naru, there's no way. There's just no way it was him. Or, if it was, there's no way he really meant it. Look at him! He's so... and I'm just so... There's just no way!"
Naru sighed, slumping against the game machine as a few nearby kids turned to give them strange looks that were promptly ignored. "Usagi, there is too a way! There's no reason he shouldn't like you. You're fun and charming and pretty! He's probably just as amazed that YOU like HIM as you are! After all, that is what he said in his letter, isn't it? That he's the one who doesn't deserve you?"
"But that's not true!"
"Usagi! Get a grip! This is the chance of a lifetime!"
"No, I can't," she stammered nervously, burying her face in her hands. "I can't do this."
"Can't do what, Odango?"
She squeaked again, her shoulders becoming tense and rigid at the voice. "Naru-chan?"
"Yeah?" her friend breathed nervously.
"Tell me that was you."
"That was so not me, Usagi-chan."
Usagi whimpered. "That's what I was afraid of." Slowly, she pulled her hands away from her face. Her eyes met with a pair of black suede shoes and the cuffs of khaki pants. Slowly traveling up long legs they saw a black sweater, a strong jaw, and two laughing blue eyes.
"Oh, Baka-san," she whispered nervously. "Fancy meeting you here!" Giggling, she forced herself to stand, using the game machine for support.
Mamoru's hands remained in their pockets, his smile growing as he watched her watching him, a blush creeping into her face. It hadn't truly occurred to him until that moment how much he had really missed her. Her and all of her silly antics. Her and all of her adorable expressions. Her and everything about her.
"Long time, no see," he responded casually.
"Yeah. Um... I see you got rid of the jacket. Good choice. Really, splendid."
He chuckled. "It's at the dry cleaners."
"Oh. Oh, well, with any luck they'll shrink it or burn a hole in it or something, right? Well, Naru-chan and I were just leaving, so if you'll excuse us..."
He grabbed onto her hand as she tried to brush past him, clasping her fingers in a gentle, but firm, grasp. Her face paled, her eyes turning away to avoid him.
"I was hoping we could talk," he whispered, feeling a giddy twisting in his stomach as he touched her, hoping it would go away so that he could think straight... hoping it never, ever went away. He was tired of thinking.
"I'm gonna go get a shake," Naru said from behind Usagi.
Instantly turning to face her friend, not bothering to rid herself of the warm hand covering hers, Usagi tried to silently plead with Naru not to leave her, but the red-head only smiled and winked before retreating to the counter.
Pursing her lips, she once again faced Mamoru, staring up at him through her eyelashes. "Talk? Talk about what?"
"I have something for you."
She gulped. "Yeah?"
"Mmhmm. Two things, actually."
Gaining a bit of confidence, she let herself look at him more fully, regaining some control over her spinning emotions. "Oh, what's that?"
He released her hand and reached into one pocket, pulling out a box about the size of his palm and handing it to her. She took it in shaky hands and carefully pulled off the lid.
Gasping, she felt her heart do a few flips as she stared down on a large, pink rose. Pulling it out of the box, she saw that it was a brooch: smaller than her old one, but much prettier.
"Baka-san..." she whispered, fingering it carefully.
"I checked it over for any faulty mechanics or strange vibes."
She managed to pull her eyes away from the jewelry to be met with a quirky grin.
"I think it's safe," he added.
Her eyelashes fluttered, her lips suddenly broadened to a huge smile. "Oh, thank you! It's lovely! You didn't have to, but... but thank you so much!" She could feel happy tears beginning to creep into their ducts, but quickly blinked them away as she attached the flower to her school bag. This was not the time for waterworks: even the good kind.
"Well, I felt bad about the last one. After all, you did win it, fair and square."
Her heart jumped as he brought up the cause of this whole situation. She raised her eyes to be met with his again, and though a little smile was still curling on his lips, he looked suddenly much more serious.
Sliding the empty jewelry box into her bag, she licked her lips and managed to ask, "What... what was the other thing you had for me?"
Slowly, and she noticed for the first time that he was shaking slightly as well, he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a folded white envelope.
"What is it?" she asked, taking it into her fingers.
"Open it."
Doing as she was commanded, she flipped open the fold and reached inside to find two sheets of paper. Opening the first, she read the first line and felt her head go light.
"Beautiful Usako,
"It has been six days since I last saw you..."
Her blue eyes darted to his, her hopes confirmed. He was watching her steadily, his eyes boring desperately into her, feeling out her reaction. Gulping, she folded the letter again, having no need to know what it said, having it practically memorized after hearing it the first time.
Not knowing what to say, she lowered her gaze and turned to the second piece of paper that had been kept inside the envelope. She almost immediately recognized it as a gift certificate to some restaurant she had never heard of: enough for two people.
"If you'll go with me," he whispered as she stared at it with astonishment.
She had to close her eyes a moment to try and gather her thoughts, to try desperately to pick up the pieces of her crumbling emotions, but even with her eyes closed she could still see him: his blue eyes, his quirky smile. She opened them again and looked up at him, feeling the tears of happiness return and realized that he was waiting for an answer.
Having no idea what to say that could possibly express the overwhelming elation that was flooding every fiber of her at that moment, she instead launched herself into him and tied her arms around his neck.
He gasped, stumbling back at the sudden movement, but his arms instantly found their way around her body, holding her close as she pressed herself against him, her small hands clutching desperately at the back of his sweater.
"I... that must be a yes," he whispered, not bothering to try and hold back the delighted chuckle that spilled out from his lips.
She giggled, looking up at him with huge, watery eyes that held more promises of love and understanding and loyalty than he ever would have thought possible. His knees nearly gave out with the look.
"Of course," she whispered. "Yes, of course!"
"I was hoping you would say that," he laughed, craning down to brush a kiss across her cheek.
But, with startling determination, Usagi cupped her hands around his neck, her fingers burying themselves in his hair, and pulled his lips down onto hers, sufficiently completing the kiss that her dreams never allowed her.
Mamoru's heart skipped as his hands unconsciously grasped onto the material of her shirt, feeling himself falling dazedly against her, the game machine supporting them both. Though the kiss was short and chaste, it left Mamoru shaking and melted with the unbelievable feelings of passion and completion it stirred in him.
His eyes fluttered when she pulled away, a shy and silly smile on her face begging him to kiss her again.
"Usako," he mumbled to no one in particular, his lips close enough that they tickled her cheek when he spoke the name.
"Oh, Baka-san?" she whispered, her breath warm and sweet.
"Huh?" he stammered, the temptation thwarted at her concerned tone and he pulled far enough away to look into her glowing eyes.
"What's your name?" she asked timidly.
He blinked curiously at the question, before an abrupt laugh escaped him. Shaking his head, he mumbled, "You're the silliest girl I know." Ignoring her curiosity, he thoroughly tied her up in his arms and kissed her again.
There would be time for introductions later.