Miracle Romance - A Sailor Moon Fanfiction

Chapter 6

Okay, so maybe all this moon power stuff had its perks.

Even though Usagi was still running at a full sprint down the road toward Crown Arcade, she felt... *different* as a high school student; more mature, and even steadier on her feet. The transformation pen had chosen the uniform of Juuban Municipal High School-- the school she would likely be attending in the future anyway-- and if she felt as calm and level-headed then as she did now, she couldn't wait to grow up.

'Okay, Usagi,' she thought to herself. 'The way things ended with Mamo-chan last night was very... suspect. You need to be clear, yet not reveal anything about being Sailor Moon. As much as you want to and as much as that would make things easier, you can't... Luna was very clear when she said that could put him in danger.' He would just think she was a loon, anyway. Despite meeting the talking cat, transforming and being in an actual battle herself, and now changing herself with that pen, she still couldn't believe it all herself.

She wouldn't even *begin* to think about her reaction to Tuxedo Mask right now.

Usagi was winded by the time she reached Crown Arcade. Sure, she didn't slam into anyone or fall over herself on the street, but her more adult lungs were no better than her middle school ones. As she took a few deep breaths to normalize her breathing and fixed her hair outside, she was relieved to see Mamoru through the sliding glass door. She wasn't sure her little lungs could take her anywhere else to look for him.

With one more steadying breath Usagi took another step forward and the hiss of the doors opening announced her arrival. Mamoru, sitting at the back counter, turned as their friend Motoki looked up from the cash register. She didn't need to be of more mature mind to note that Motoki wasn't as happy as usual to see her; Mamoru must have said something to him about what was going on.

'But that's fine!' Usagi thought as she approached them, smiling as she looked at both men. It was understandable he'd want to talk to someone else about last night. It just killed her that it couldn't have been her, since she was the cause of it all.

She realized half of Motoki's reaction to her entering the arcade was confusion at her outfit, since Mamoru's eyes went to her feet and scanned upward until he reached her eyes. "Um, hey, Usagi..." he said, and she noted he still wasn't calling her Usako. His voice was a mix of relief, apprehension, and utter confusion. He let out a small laugh and smiled, melting her heart right there on the spot. "I know you didn't jump a grade and a half and graduate early... let alone be heading to school on a Saturday." He and Motoki shared an amused smile before Mamoru stood, then closed the distance between them in a couple of strides. "So what gives?"

Well... crap. She probably should have thought of all of this and told the pen to transform her into normal street clothes. 'Would any of my moon powers be able to reverse time?' She made a mental note to ask Luna later. "I um... Ami dragged me to an orientation thing at the high school this morning." It was a good excuse and Usagi was proud of herself for coming up with it on the fly. She and Ami weren't close at all-- Ami wasn't close to anyone, really-- but Mamoru had heard her complaining about the blue-haired girl frequently after tests. "She's trying to decide now which school she'll be going to. They were so enamored with her-- because what school wouldn't, right?-- and gave us both uniforms. Aren't they so cute?" She twirled, making the dark blue skirt fan, and he laughed again.

"Yes, it's very nice, and you look great in it. You didn't tell me you were doing that this morning! I'm glad you were there to help out a friend and I hope she inspired you to study a little harder, hm?" Now it was Usagi's turn to smile. He was always pushing her to get better grades and instill more confidence in herself, and this conversation felt so normal. Her middle school self would have used this moment to pretend everything was fine, but her high school self knew that this would only be temporary until last night was explained.

"Can we... talk?" she asked, sliding her hand into his and looking up at him. She shook her head at his horrified expression. "It's not bad! I just want to talk about why I was so weird last night..."

Mamoru looked around, briefly meeting Motoki's gaze at the counter before locking in on a corner by the stairwell. "Sure," he said, letting go of her hand to put a protective arm around her instead.

As they made their way to the corner, Mamoru's scent of roses and sandalwood flooded her nostrils. She inhaled deeply, channeling the comforting smells to give her the confidence to have this conversation. She couldn't tell by the way Mamoru gripped her shoulder that he was apprehensive of what she was about to say.

The corner was dark, lit only by a green exit sign above them, and in a small offshoot from the main room that did a good job muffling the beeps, bloops and shouts from the arcade games and patrons. Mamoru turned her to face him, now placing both hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes. God, she could fall into those sky-blue eyes of his. Even in the dark they were mesmerizing...

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get out any words Mamoru had pulled her into a tight hug. She was quick to return it, slipping her arms under his and bracing her forearms on his back, pressing him against her. Even after her suspicious behavior last night, he was holding her like this. Her heart exploded while the backs of her eyes stung with the threat of tears.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, but she wondered if he could hear it with the background noise and her voice muffled by his chest. He pulled back and she wanted to whimper in protest, but took in a stilted breath instead.

"I'm sorry, too," he replied. At her confused expression, he continued, "I don't know what I said or did that made you suddenly so uncomfortable last night, but I'm sorry I said or did it. Just tell me what it was so I know not to do it again. I'll write a note to your parents, or speak to them in person, whatever you need." She went to protest, but his hands on her shoulders tightened and he said, "I've been replaying last night over and over in my head. One minute you were fine, and the next you weren't. I could tell you were nervous when I first got there, but it got worse... was it something to do with that cat?" She remembered how she'd jumped when he went to pet Luna. Leave it to her Mamo-chan to pick up on things like that... "I will never pet another cat again if it upsets you so much. Or if it was something else, just tell me. I swear to you, I'll fix it." He looked her over again. "You look adorable in that uniform, and I want to do everything I can to continue dating you well after you've begun wearing it for real."

She laughed and looked down at their shoes. "You're sweet, Mamo-chan." She was grateful for her high school disguise, because she would have been bawling without it. As it was that sting behind her eyes had intensified and there was a glaze of tears blurring her vision now. What did she do to deserve this guy? "This is going to sound so dumb," she looked up at him, knowing he would tell her to meet his gaze soon anyway, "but yes, it's about the cat. She just came to the house right before you did yesterday, which is why I was so rattled. She's a nasty little thing, and even scratched me, see?" She held up her palm. "And you know how animals kind of know when you don't like them and make it a point to try and get your attention all the time? There was a lot of that happening. I just felt so stupid about it, but with the stress of you meeting my parents and everything else going on I didn't know how to explain." She raised her hands to rest them gently on his chest. "You were amazing last night, Mamo-chan. My parents love you. Shingo wants to know when you're coming over again so you two can play games together. I was being an idiot, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin the night."

Mamoru listened intently to every word Usagi said. As she spoke, one of his hands trailed from her shoulder, down her arm, and held the wrist of the hand Luna had scratched. When she was done, he gently lifted the hand off his chest and kissed the cuts. Usagi felt her knees go weak. "So I was up all night... because of a cat?" He smirked. "Well now I don't like that thing, either. I'm glad that's all it was, Usako. Thank you for telling me the truth." Relief washed over her at the return of the pet name. He tugged playfully at the bow on her uniform. "I like the confidence this uniform seems to give you. You should probably wear this the next time I'm over for dinner... maybe you won't be so afraid of cats." She crinkled her nose and he laughed as he swung an arm over her shoulder. "Come on... now let me beat you in a few games."

Usagi laughed and playfully swatted him. "You're on. Thanks, Mamo-chan." She didn't know what she did to deserve him, but if being Sailor Moon meant keeping him safe, she would battle until the end.