Miracle Romance - A Sailor Moon Fanfiction

Chapter 3

Dinner had been going about as well as Mamoru had expected it to go: awkwardly, with Kenji Tsukino barraging him.

The man was an animal, firing off question after question, keeping the younger man on his toes and trying not to get nailed by curveballs Usagi's father tried to throw.

"How old are you, Mamoru?" Kenji asked.

"Seventeen," he responded.

"And you know our little Usagi here is only fourteen?"

"...DAD!"

Usagi's younger brother, Shingo, also enjoyed getting in on the action. "He's got a point, Usagi. He's going to be going to college soon…"

Ah, the fuel to Kenji's fire. "Indeed. Much too old. And what college is that exactly, hm? What do you plan to study?"

"Uh…" Mamoru wasn't sure which question to answer first, but decided skipping the age jab was a wise move. "AIT? The Azabu Institute of Technology?" Why do you sound like you're asking questions? Be confident! "I plan to study medicine. ...Sir."

That seemed to quell Mr. Tsukino, if only a bit. "Medicine, eh? That's a tough field, son." Son! Making headway... "Do you have the grades to get into a program like that?"

"DAD!" Usagi shrieked.

Ikuko reflected her daughter's horror in her own expression. "Now now, Dear. Mamoru is an intelligent, kind young man. I'm sure he will excel at whatever he wants to do. Now how about we let the poor thing enjoy his meal in peace? You've barely allowed him to take a bite."

Ikuko's words seemed to resonate with Kenji and Mamoru was grateful to her for coming to his rescue. The gyuudon had smelled incredible, and the small nibble he'd been able to take so far was even better. Ikuko flashed Mamoru a knowing smile, then tilted her chin toward him as a sign that he would be able to keep eating now.

"...Right. Sorry," Kenji offered, then dipped his chopsticks into his own bowl and scooped a heaping pile of rice and marinated beef into his mouth. "Well done once again, my love," he said after swallowing, obviously trying to repent to his wife for his misbehavior.

That made Mamoru smile. "Yes, Mrs. Tsukino, this is excellent." He smiled across the table at his girlfriend, who blushed and looked down at her food as he continued. "Though I think the onions are really what makes this so tasty."

Usagi let out a small laugh and rubbed at her eyes, still a bit swollen from crying from when she'd cut the vegetables in question. "Mom sure chose the strongest ones," she said, and Mamoru laughed with her.

Ikuko smiled over at Kenji as they all joined in, and Usagi's father's expression finally softened. Mamoru took a few more bites before he spotted a black cat out of the corner of his eye. Usako never mentioned she had any pets…

"Oh, Luna!" Ikuko said, pushing away from the table and scurrying back into the kitchen. "I forgot to give you your dinner, too!"

Usagi looked horrified as the cat meowed in response, then lifted a front paw to begin licking at it.

Her face made Mamoru twitch with unease. "Usako?" he asked in a low voice so as not to distract from the conversation Kenji and Shingo were having.

Usagi jumped. "Wha? Huh? Ah, nothing." She forced a smile. "That cat… I found it outside not too long ago and I didn't know my parents even knew about her, let alone let her inside and… named her."

What's with her tonight? She seemed to be jumpy about everything… "Luna, hm?" He tried to sound as calm and normal as possible, like he hadn't picked up on how anxious she was. This dinner must have been just as stressful for her as it was for him… "I like the name. It means moon, right? Because of the little bald spot on her? Really clever."

Usagi nodded as she kept that forced smile on her lips, then practically jumped out of her skin when Mamoru leaned over to pet the creature. "GAH!" she cried, causing Mamoru to jump and her father and brother to cease their conversation mid-sentence to stare at her. Mamoru's hand never made contact. Usagi let out an uneasy laugh before shaking her head. "We just found her on the street and haven't bathed her yet…" she said softly as she stirred the half-eaten beef dish around her bowl with her chopsticks. She never took a breath at a meal, let alone played with it. "Luna, pssst kitty kitty, go inside with Mama and get dinner!"

Mamoru watched the cat hesitate for a moment, as if contemplating Usagi's words, before deciding Usagi's suggestion was a good one and striding into the kitchen. "She's smart," he offered with a smile, trying to coax a genuine smile in response from her.

Again, he only got a forced one. "Yeah," she said with a weak laugh. "Especially for a stray."

The rest of the evening went without any more rapid fires of interview questions, though Kenji managed to sneak in a few more before they were done with dessert. Usagi had requested her mother make her "world-famous" German chocolate cake, and it did not disappoint. Each bite practically melted in Mamoru's mouth, making it the perfect ending to a successful meet-the-parents night at Usagi's.

Well, if you didn't count Usagi's strange behavior, anyway.

After Mamoru offered to help with the dishes for the third time and was once again passionately refused by Mrs. Tsukino, he thanked them for a lovely evening and Usagi walked him out. He couldn't help but notice she was more than a little enthusiastic to send him on his way, especially after she'd been so clingy earlier before they'd parted so he could get his jacket back at his apartment.

"Usako," he began after she'd practically pushed him out the front gate, "did I do something wrong? I thought that went pretty well, actually…"

"What?" she asked. It was the tenth time that evening she'd used that to stall as he watched her seemingly try to come up with a more reasonable response.

He sighed. Exhausted from the meeting with her parents, he didn't want to deal with this fake Usagi anymore. Not when it was just the two of them now, and she'd never been anything but truthful and natural every time they'd seen each other up until tonight. "If this is about the jacket…"

Usagi shook her head vehemently but kept her eyes peeled on her shoes.

"Or that I told your dad how old I am…"

Again, she shook her head. "He already knew."

He paused, hoping she'd finally offer up what was really bothering her. "Or that the onions made you cry?" Her strange behavior had started even before that, but he wanted to see that genuine Usako smile on her lips. He was alarmed when even that small joke didn't seem to break through to her and she remained stoic, still looking down at her feet like they held all the answers to every secret in the universe.

"Okay…" he said softly. "Well, whenever you feel like sharing, you let me know. Good night, Usagi."

He saw her head snap up and her eyes widen as he spun on his heels and turned away from her, walking off down the street and back toward the train station. Well, at least calling her Usagi instead of Usako seemed to prove she wasn't some weird, lifeless clone of his girlfriend. Still, she didn't chase after or call out for him, even as he was halfway down the block. He paused at the corner for just a moment, not even sure she was still standing outside her front gates but too annoyed with her now to look back himself. "Fine…" he grumbled under his breath, then turned down the road and further increased his distance from the Tsukino residence.