Author Note: This is the first time I've ever written anything specifically for Usagi and Mamoru alone (ever since I read 'Soulmates' by Lady I've been a Sens/Shitennou fan all the way!) but I'm actually really looking forward to this one. They have such a great story already. This is very loosely based on the story of Selene and Endymion – hopefully with some interesting twists. Please enjoy.
Starlight
Prince of Bad Luck
There was no doubt about it – he needed a manly movie and he needed it now.
Chiba Mamoru had just experienced possibly the worst day of his life. This morning his Grad professor had asked him to dissect the cadaver with his lab partners, the silent Meioh Setsuna – a woman who hardly ever spoke two words to him; Midorikawa Fiorieiru – a strange young man, who was never-the-less his closest friend at the school; and Sugimoto Beryl – a beautiful woman who was so helpful he sometimes wondered why he bothered to do his homework.
The trouble began when Han-sensei asked everyone to take off their cadaver's right arm. Mamoru had volunteered to wield the saw, trying to be a gentleman. For some reason his insistence on this point greatly annoyed the taciturn Meioh-san who quietly suggested he could 'trust the girls to handle such a difficult job.' He had tried to assure her that he didn't mean anything by it, but Midorikawa, always quick to defend him, started an argument with Meioh-san – into which Sugimoto-san thrust her opinion, helping Midorikawa to blast Meioh for being rude to Mamoru – and all this somehow resulted in the saw going into the wrong arm and ruining the project.
They all received a failing grade for the assignment. Meioh had stalked out of the room in high dungeon, Midorikawa had flicked her off and, after some poorly chosen words on Mamoru's part, had flicked him off as well. Somehow Mamoru ended up walking home with Sugimoto-san who's enthusiastic apologies grated on his nerves until he wanted to scream.
He'd managed to evade Sugimoto-san at a cross walk, tricking her into going home by herself. It wasn't that he wasn't attracted to Sugimoto-san, with her long red hair and womanly figure - who wouldn't be attracted? She was also one of the brightest students in the school, ranked third in the grad department behind Meioh and himself. She was charming, well spoken and considerate - sometimes too considerate - but Mamoru just couldn't become attatched to her. It happened with every woman he'd ever known to have an interest in him. For some reason he could never get interested in them.
He wasn't a naturally open or kind-hearted person, he thought. That wasn't how he saw himself, but he was polite and chivalrous, and he prided himself on those qualities. They were all he had besides his brains - so he had to make the most of his good qualities. And now he was being punished for them!
But that wasn't all.
On the way home he'd received a call from his family lawyer letting him know that the battle for his parents' possessions – which had seemed on the verge of finally being resolved – had started yet again by another supposed will being found; and on top of it all, he'd forgotten to pay his electric bill.
Which was why he needed his manly movie - to remind himself of how the world ought to be. He entered the first shop he found on the unfamiliar street: Motoki's Video Rental.
He slammed the door of the video shop open with a crash, the little bell hanging on it nearly fell off with the force.
"Hey, watch it!" he heard a dismayed, startled voice yell.
He gave a cursory glance to see who the speaker was but the shop was so messy and full of stacks of un-shelved video games, movies and other paraphernalia that he couldn't see anything living in the mess.
He stalked through the aisles looking for his favorite feel good movie – but the clutter was nearly impossible to get through.
"This place is a pig-stye! Don't you ever clean in here?" He called, peeved.
"Hey! What's wrong with you!?" the voice called back, insulted. He looked sharply to his left but still couldn't locate the speaker.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered and continued his search. A whole stack of videos toppled onto his foot.
"Stop destroying the shop!" the voice cried.
"What do you mean, stop destroying it?" He taunted, "It's already a disaster."
"Jerk."
I'm never coming here again.
He looked for five minutes until he found the movie he'd been searching for. He picked it up, blew the dust off of it and discovered that it had a sticker on it that said, "Disc damaged'.
"Is this the only copy that you have?" He called, holding up the DVD – hoping that whoever it was would see it from wherever they were in the junk yard of a shop.
"Yep."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Nope."
"That's it."
He threw the DVD back onto the pile of dust and stalked through the maze until he found the counter.
"Listen – this is the worst shop I've ever seen."
He halted at the sight of the lone employee. Years of watching his tongue and being polite to women flew out the window as he looked into her angry blue eyes.
"That is the weirdest hairstyle I have ever seen."
Her eyes opened wide in shock. One hand went up to the left ball of hair.
"Y-y-you jerk!" she spluttered.
For some reason he felt an intense urge to laugh – he completely forgot about being angry.
"You are pathetic – look at this shop," he cried, "what do you do all day?"
"I work!" she retorted and actually stuck her tongue out at him.
"You have to be too old to do that," he remarked calmly, "and what kind of work is this?"
He picked up a random, fudge stained manga volume and tossed it toward her. She ducked but somehow fell off her chair.
"Ow!" she cried.
He peeked over the counter top at her as she sat on the floor rubbing her knee. She actually had tears in her eyes.
"You're so mean!" she shouted, "First you insulted me and now you push me off my chair!"
"I didn't push you off," he countered, "you fell off by yourself."
"You should at least help me up, or apologize, or something!" she yelled.
He laughed and she got a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"You are the rudest jerk in the world and I hope you fall down a hole." she muttered, her bottom lip trembling.
"Oh, come on," he sighed and leaned over the counter to give her a hand. Her small hand fit snugly in his as he hauled her up.
"You sure are heavier than you look," he remarked.
"I am not!" she blushed, "How could you say that!?"
"Just telling it like it is..." suddenly, a rare moment of sheer inspiration struck.
"Odango-atama."
"What did you say!?" she shrieked.
"Odango-atama," he repeated, trying it out, "I like that, it's perfect for you."
"You...jerk!"
"You're not very creative are you?" he grinned, "But what can one expect from an Odango?"
"Just leave!" she growled, "Before I throw you out."
"I'd like to see you try, chibi-odango-atama," he smirked, but turned on his heel and strode out.
"Thanks for making my day the worst one in history!" she yelled.
"Same to you!" he yelled back.
The bell tinkled merrily as the door shut.
"Oh, I'm sorry Usagi," Mina said, plopping a large bowl of popcorn in her friend's lap. Mako flipped through the collection of movies on the messy shelves beside the t.v.
"It's alright," Usagi sniffed, "That's the last time I'll ever have to deal with that guy."
"He sounds like a winner alright," Mako commented sarcastically. She picked up a DVD and blew the dust off of it.
"Although," she coughed, "he may have a point about your messiness."
"Mako-chan," Usagi whined, "I'm not messy!"
"Yes, you are," a voice came from the kitchen.
Usagi didn't have to turn around to know who had spoken.
"You're as mean as that jerk," she mumbled, "you two would be perfect for each other."
"Usagi," Rei put her hands on her hips, reprovingly, "You know a little cleaning never hurt anyone."
"Stop picking on me!" Usagi insisted, "I've had a hard day."
Mako chuckled, "Alright, come on, let's watch a movie. Since your day was so bad, you get to choose, Usagi."
"Hm," Usagi smiled, "that's easy! Let's watch -"
Everyone, including Ami, chorused with her:
"Romeo and Juliet."
"I hate reading subtitles," Mako remarked.
"I don't understand why you like this movie," Rei murmured, "It has an unhappy ending."
"That's what makes it so romantic!" Mina exclaimed, "Love that was destined to be, but is constantly thwarted. Lovers who are so close and yet can never be together!"
"You make it sound so sad." Usagi wailed as she and Mina embraced each other.
"Well, I think it's romantic, but it isn't my favorite," Mako spoke up, "I'd rather have something with a happier ending – preferably without anyone dying."
"Two teenagers who can't control their hormones," Rei commented, dryly, "and all they had to do was just tell someone what they were up to."
"That's true," Ami agreed, "the plot isn't very original or amazing. But the language Shakespeare used to create the story is considered -"
"Well, what I don't get," Mako barged in, "is why they don't like each other in the beginning."
"They have a feud!" Mina explained, "Their families hate each other."
"Yeah, I know that," Mako answered patiently, "but why?"
Mina, Usagi and Rei blinked, then as one they turned to Ami - perhaps the only person there who had actually read the original English language Shakespearean version.
Ami blushed.
"I don't believe there's anything in the text to suggest -" she began.
"That's exactly what I mean," Mako cut in, "Why doesn't anyone ever tell you why they don't like each other?"
"You're not supposed to ask why," Mina declared, "you're just supposed to focus on the lovers and their story."
"Well, I think it's silly," Mako grumbled, crossing her arms. She pushed the play button and the opening titles flashed on to the screen.
"I'm not arguing," Rei remarked.
"I think what Mina is trying to say," Ami commented, "is that, despite the weaknesses in the plot and the obvious over-simplification of the main characters' conflicts, the true strength of the story lies in the perseverance and dedication of the two lovers as they struggle to remain faithful to each other in the face of extraordinary obstacles and circumstances."
"That's right!" Usagi nodded.
"Do you understand what she said? " Rei asked, suspiciously.
"Yes, I do," Usagi retorted, "I'm not stupid. She said love conquers all and that's the point of the story, even if it doesn't have a creative plot."
"I completely agree." she added.
Rei exchanged a wondering glance with Mako who shrugged.
"Come on, Rei," Mina chuckled, "you know Usagi's got brains. It's motivation that she's lacking."
Rei smiled, wryly.
"Why do you think I constantly try to motivate her?" she replied.
"Oh, that's what you call it," Mina quipped, winking at Usagi.
"Shh! The movie's on," Mako said.
They settled down to watch the beginning.
A small sniffing noise was heard.
"Usagi! You can't be crying already! No one's said anything yet!"
"I can't help it!" Usagi wept, "It's so sad!"
Mamoru sighed, relaxing in his favorite chair and flipped on the t.v.
It was amazing but all the stress he'd felt during the day had somehow magically disappeared after he'd left the hellish video shop. Venting his frustration on that strange girl had been the catharsis he'd needed for so long.
He felt a bit guilty about it, but the shop had been a mess and the girl was obviously a lazy teenager (a cute one, but never-the-less a slob.)
He pressed play on the remote to his DVD player and settled down to enjoy his movie alone. Normally he would have invited Midorikawa, but the young man was hot tempered and hadn't decided to speak to him yet. They weren't close friends - Mamoru had no close friends - but they usually hung out together and it made Mamoru feel rather lonely to watch his favorite movie alone.
He popped a carrot into his mouth - they were much healthier than popcorn - and tried to focus on the movie. He soon fell asleep, however, and in his dreams he relived the scene at the movie store over and over again. Sometimes the girl in the store had Sugimoto-san's face, sometimes she was the actual girl - and once even Meioh-san - but every time that distinct double bunned hair style was the same.