Sunlight peered through the bedroom curtains, casting a single golden ray over his now scrunching eyes. Mamoru eyed the clock and groaned when he saw the time. It was only 7:30, and it was his day off from work. And it is my birthday. Mamoru didn't care much for his birthday since he never had anyone to share it with. Ever since his parents died and lived in the orphanage, his birthday was not something he gladly celebrated since it reminded him of his loss, so he didn't. The past few years he'd spend some time with Motoki but they did nothing special. This year would be different though. This year he's have Usagi by his side to share the day with. He didn't want anything special other than spend the day with the one he loved. As he looked over to the right, he saw the little blonde sprawled out next to him, her golden locks forming a halo above her head, seeming to be the angel she was. Even in her sleep she appeared to be smiling, that sweet innocent smile he had grown to love over time. He kissed her forehead and left the room to shower. There was no way he was going to be able to fall back asleep with her taking up most of the bed. As he walked out of the bathroom he was surprised to see Usagi sitting in the kitchen, helping herself to the natto, kobachi and miso soup he had left in the fridge.
"Usako, I hope I didn't wake you. Why are you up so early?"
"You didn't, I had some things planned with the girls today and we are going to meet at Hikawa Shrine at 8:00." Usagi said sweetly, stuffing another natto inside her mouth. Mamoru felt a small pang in his chest. He was disappointed that she'd spend the day with her friends rather with him for his birthday. He quickly shrugged it off, she had probably forgotten it was today and made plans due to that. He couldn't really blame her since she had even forgotten Shingo's birthday.
"Okay," He said as he kissed her forehead "But you're going to be late, since it's already 8:00." He chuckled as he watched Usagi jump up from the stool and hurry out to get there as fast as she could.
"I'll see you later Mamo-chan!" She yelled back before the front door shut behind her. Maybe it's better that she's doing something with her friends today, I've got plenty of errands to run today. Starting with cleaning Usako's dishes. Despite still feeling sort of betrayed, he put it to the back of his mind easing it with the thought that Motoki would probably want to hang out later today.
It was a warm and sunny day with the breeze cool enough to keep the sweat from forming. It took Mamoru longer than he expected to unclog the bath drain from Usagi's hairs and decided then and there that he was done being stuck inside doing chores. He was on his way to the park to read the book he got from Motoki last year. He didn't notice the folded pink note next to him on the bench until he wanted to put his book down for a little break.
"Up for a little adventure? Be at Mugen Academy, in Setsuna's lab at 13:00."
Mamoru look at the note, confused for a moment. Who would leave a note like this to meet someone with the time and place? He read the note again and realized the note was meant for him! He checked his watch and saw that it was close to hitting 13:00, so he rushed towards Mugen Academy to blindly start this little adventure composed by notes.
His pants echoed loudly through the empty corridors. He had ran all the way to the academy, up three flights of stairs and down to the end of the corridor to reach Setsuna's lab. Only to find in unoccupied. As he was catching his breath he found a golden star taped to the white board. He knew Setsuna wasn't really into decorating her lab with any sort of decoration so he grabbed it out of curiosity.
"You made it on time! The next adventure takes us to the place where we first met our daughter. Be there at 14:00!"
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. She hadn't forgotten after all and wanted to do something special for him. Although he'd rather have her here and crash his lips on her out of appreciation for this all, he realized that it was close to the rendezvous time the note had given and started jogging down the corridor. Only this time he took the elevator down.
He arrived at the little harbor, barely making it in time. He didn't know what Usagi had planned but it probably included a lot of running around Tokyo. At the end of the dock he found something shiny reflecting the sunlight in his eyes. As he walked over he saw a little golden key with yet, another note attached.
"Your timing is once again impeccable, now make your way over to where cars know no limit, if you get there by 14:45 something fun will happen."
He pondered the words a little longer. He felt like the time periods were getting shorter while the distance was getting bigger. He looked at the key, and realized this is the exact key ChibiUsa had when she first came to present Tokyo. What is this girl planning? The moment he thought about Chibs, he thought about the Outer Senshi's and how they fiercely tried to protect her from harm's way in every battle. Ofcourse! Haruka races cars! That is what she meant with cars having no limit. The smile on his face only grew wider at the realization that this mini adventure actually had something to do with cars.
He had hurried to the previous two locations but he practically sprinted his way over to the circuit, his excitement overtaking any wariness he had before. He made it with some time to spare and while entering the building, he was approached by Haruka's trainer it seemed.
"You must be Chiba Mamoru. Glad to have you, come this way, we have a selection of cars waiting for you to drive."
"Wait, for me.. To-. What? I'm actually going to drive in one?" He stood still, flabbergasted. They let normal people drive in these? How did they arrange this? What did it cost? He was sure he'd have to sell his kidney in order to actually be able to touch one, let alone drive one! After receiving some brief instructions on what and what not to do, he set off to the track with the trainer giving small tips and tricks through the headset he wore underneath the helmet. It was different than driving his own car. Every little turn and movement he made he felt the car react too. He was hesitant on going fast in the beginning, but after hearing some encouragement from the trainer he picked up the pace. He reminded himself to properly thank Usagi and the others for this gift. While he was racing down the track, the girls were inside the office building next to the track, watching Mamoru go in the same circle.
"You surprise me Usagi-chan, I never expected you to pull something like this off." Rei teased her.
"I still feel bad that I made him feel like I had forgotten his birthday this morning, but I'm sure he's enjoying himself now. He's been telling me for months now how jealous he is of Haruka that she's able to drive in those cars and how he'd really like that too." Usagi mentioned with a look of bliss in her eyes. She only wanted him to be happy, and to give him something fun to do since he's always busy with school and work and on top of that saving her from any kind of attack. He rarely does something for himself so this was the least she could do for him.
"Usagi, we need to hurry to OSA-P before they close." Minako urged her. As Usagi glanced back one more time to look at how he was doing, she hurried after Minako to get her gift.
Mamoru had a look of pure ecstasy on his face. He thanked the trainer and made his way outside and found his motorbike there. There was another note attached to the seat
"I'll see you at Fruits Parlor Crown!"
The conclusion of his adventure was getting to an end. He smiled brightly as he zigzagged between the cars to get to the Crown as fast as he could. He was excited to see what she had in store for him there. But when he got there, the Fruits Parlor seemed closed. The lights were off, windows closed. It was suspicious, they're never closed during business hours, especially not on the weekend. A hint of worry flooded him, as he thought back to the note Usagi had left him. She had left the note, she was there, waiting for him and in possible danger. He ran up the steps and luckily pulled the door open with ease. He stormed inside and stopped mid stride as the lights went on and he heard a deafening "Surprise!" being shouted at him. He stood there confused for a moment until he realized that it was for him. The group in front of him, singing happy birthday. The inner Senshi's, the Outer Senshi's, Motoki, Reika, Unazuki, Saori, Kobayashi, Ittou. Even ChibiUsa and the Tsukino's were there. He searched the small group to find his bun head and spotted her towards the bar. He strode over to her and crashed his lips onto hers.
"Thank you." He said, swallowing back the tears of joy forming behind his eyes.
"I haven't even given you my gift yet." Usagi beamed up at him, eager to give it to him. She grabbed a small rectangular box out of her pocket and handed it to him. He opened the lid of the box which revealed a brooch with a chain attached. The main element was a silver rose with a small silver crystal, the chain led to a small moon which resembled her moonstick.
"Do.. Do you like it?" Usagi asked hesitantly. He had been staring at it quietly for the last few minutes, she was worried he didn't like it.
"Yes, I like it. I like it a lot. I love it! I love you, thank you so much." Mamoru exclaimed enthusiastic. He turned towards the rest of the group and thanked them.
Mamoru disliked his birthday because he never had a family to celebrate it with. He knew the moment he woke up his birthday this year would be different. He spent his birthday how he has been wanting to spend it for the last couple of years, surrounded by family.