Identity - Chapter 3
by TasukiNak (tasukinak@xoommail.com)
Rated : PG
Website : http://members.xoom.com/tasukinak/tasukinak.htm
Standard Disclaimers Apply

I should mention, in this fic, there is no Rei-Mamoru match, and 
Minako/Venus has arrived on the scene a little, er, earlier than
usual! ^_^  Please email!!  

* * * * 

Usagi could barely think; she was dimly aware of his strong arms around
her, pulling her closer to his body, but she could do nothing but 
respond to his ardent kisses.  It was pure heaven, being enfolded in 
his embrace with his lips over hers, and she never wanted to let him go.
There could be no feeling in the world better than this.  She just had 
to be in lo--"USAGI!!!!"
At the sound of the high-pitched shriek, Usagi stumbled back from Mamoru,
shocked out of her emotions.  The abrupt severing from his lips and his 
warmth sent her mind reeling.  But, through her confusion, she recognized 
that voice.  It was Rei.
She looked up at Mamoru for a moment, carefully refusing to let herself
get lost in his gaze again.  He was staring at her with an unreadable.  
expression on his face that engraved itself in her disconcerted mind.  He
was breathing hard, as was she, but Usagi forced herself to calm down
and inhaled deeply to steady herself as an incredulous Rei stormed over
to them, dragging a bugged-eyed Ami, an open-mouthed Minako, and a dumb-
founded Makoto behind her.  
"Wha--"  Rei stood before the still slightly out-of-breath couple, gaping
like a landed fish as she looked from one to the other.  "Usagi, you--" 
She gave up on her search for words to say and simply grabbed Usagi's arm
and dragged her into Crown's, the other girls recovering themselves just 
enough to help Rei out.  Usagi, her face burning, looked back at Mamoru,
offering an apologetic half-grin, but it died at the sight of the dread 
in his eyes.  They stared at each other until Usagi was both pushed and 
pulled into Crown's.  
Only the extra-observant Minako noticed the look that passed between them, 
and she smiled a little to herself.
Her mind was still a clutter as Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minado sat down 
across from her in a booth, looking at her half-questioningly and half-
sternly.  Apparently, though, none seemed to be able to find any words 
as they continued to simply stare at her.  She swallowed, closing her
eyes briefly, determined to regain herself again.
Finally, she had recollected enough of her sanity to hiss at them, 
"Stop looking at me like that, guys!"
Rei found her voice after a moment, and burst out, "What were you DOING,
Usagi??  Are you INSANE??  I thought you hated him!!"
"I *do* hate him!" she insisted, in her desperation blissfully ignorant 
of the protests in her heart.  "*He* was the one who kissed *me*, Rei!  
And keep it down, will you?  I don't want the whole world finding out 
about this!"
"The whole world *already* knows!  He kissed you right in the middle of 
the street practically!" Makoto joined in.
Usagi huffed and scowled at that remark, but as she glanced over at 
Minako, she was horrified to see that her eyes had that faraway look in 
them, and it was obvious that the wheels in that blonde head of hers 
were turning like mad.  
"So, *he* was the one who kissed *you*, right?" she asked slowly, her 
eyes beginning to sparkle wickedly.  She practically jumped from her 
seat, scaring poor dumb-struck Ami half to death, and, leaning over, 
whispered loudly to Usagi, "Mamoru is in love with you!"
Makoto's eyes positively lit up at this, but Usagi simply stared at 
Minako, her eyes wide, the thoughts churning through her mind moving
too quickly and much too numerous to make any sense of them.  And 
she didn't even *want* to make any sense of them.
"And *you* hate *him*, right?"  Minako collapsed back into her seat, 
her chin resting in both hands, gazing rapturously heavenward, 
thrilled with the perfectly marvellous plan she had worked out so well 
within a few seconds.
Usagi nodded dumbly, confused, her mind tossing and turning between 
wondering what Minako was getting at and her swirling brain and the 
mindblowing kiss that had only minutes ago changed her whole world.  
"Well," the blonde began excitedly, "I have a plan."  She paused 
dramatically, then continued.  "You should string him along,
dropping hints to him that you're in love with him too.  Then, 
when he confesses his eternal and undying love to you, you can 
break his heart!  It's the perfect plan for revenge!!"  
Minako looked around a little nervously at the girls' blank faces 
when they didn't respond for a few moments.  "Don't you think it's
perfect?" she added hopefully.
Ami's mouth dropped open, even wider than before.  "Minako! That's so mean!"
"You're the Goddess of *Love* for goodness sake!  How could you 
*think* of such a thing?" Rei demanded harshly.
Minako blushed slightly.  She had ulterior motives, but she 
wasn't about to let them know it.  "Well," she began, searching 
for a liable excuse, "well, Usagi is one of my best friends, 
and of course I have to help her get revenge!"  The truth was, 
Minako had sense that Usagi felt more, much more, for Mamoru 
than what she was letting on, even if Usagi herself didn't 
realize it.  Minako's plan was, by getting the odango-headed
girl to spend more time with Mamoru and *pretend* that she loved
him, would get Usagi to realize her true feelings for the man,
resulting in a happily-ever-after ending for them and a victory 
for her as the Goddess of Love!
After a few more moments of silence, Makoto broke the silence 
animatedly, "I think it's the most genius plot you've ever thought of, Minako!"
"On second though, it *is* rather clever, isn't it?" Rei put in, 
tapping her chin thoughtfully.  
The four girls discussed the pros and cons, eventually getting 
even Ami to agree that it was perfect.  Usagi just sat there, 
only half-listening to the conversation.  She was trying to figure 
out her thoughts.  Part of her didn't want to do something so mean 
to Mamoru, but at the same time the other part of her insisted 
that he deserved it for all he had done to her.  That gave her 
conviction, and she kept building it up, her resolve growing at 
every recollection of every remotely mean thing he had ever done to her.  
"So, Usagi, you gonna do it?" Minako asked eagerly.
Usagi nodded, just as eagerly, and grinned at her friend.  She 
was *definitely* going to do it, and do it so well that Mamoru
would be absolutely devasted when she told him she hated his guts!
He would pay for being so mean to her!
Minako grinned in return, as did the other girls around the table."Perfect!"
* * * * Mamoru lay sprawled across his bed in his apartment, head between
his hands, staring at the ceiling.<What have I done?>
<You kissed her, you nincompoop!>
<I know that!  All too well.  But--she must *hate* me now!  I kissed
her in *public*!><But she kissed you back!>
<I know--oh, I know!>  Mamoru groaned as the memory of that afternoon 
swirled in his head.  <But still . . . her friends saw us!>
<And she smiled at you.><Oh, I love her smile!  She's so gorgeous!>
<Maybe she's in love with you.>
<She can't be!  It's impossible!  She's fourteen!>
<So?  You're only seventeen.  You're both young.  But why should that 
make any difference?>
<Maybe it shouldn't have to, but . . . geez, I'm arguing with *myself*!
What is wrong with me?><You're insane with love for her.>
Mamoru sighed.  <Tell me something I *don'* know.>  He continued to 
stare at the ceiling, somehow finding comfort in finding the little 
shapes formed by the small dots on his ceiling, his hands now folded 
behind his head.  Being in love was, of course, an unexplicably 
wonderful experience, but, at the same time, it was horrible frustrating.
Suddenly, his phone rang loudly, and Mamoru almost jumped.  But instead
of getting up right away, he paused a moment and couldn't help but 
daydream just a bit.  
<What if it's Usagi?  What if she wants to talk to me, or see me?>
He quickly forced those thoughts of his head, deeming them impossible.  
He sprung from the bed and ran to the kitchen as it rang for a second 
time, and grabbed the phone, bringing it to his ear."Hello?""Hi, Mamoru?"
He almost died at the sound of the soft, almost breathless voice that
resounded again and again in his brain.  His throat threatened to close,
drowning in the possibility of it actually being her.  But . . . it 
couldn't possibly be!
"Yes?" he managed to croak out.  Maybe this was just a dream.  Maybe he
fell asleep while he was talking to his concience.  Maybe it was just 
his imagination.  Maybe the phone hadn't actually rung, and he was talking
to a dead line.  Maybe it was Motoki on the other end, his screwy brain 
just playing tricks on himself.  Maybe . . . maybe, just maybe, it really 
was her . . . "Hi, it's Usagi."  
It was her.  Mamoru quickly sat down, feeling his knees wobble slightly.  
He held the phone in a death grip, and he was literally shaking.  
"I was wondering, Mamoru, if you'd like to meet me at Crown's later.  We
need to talk about some things."  
Being on the brink of unconciousness and at the heights of joy, he didn't 
notice that her voice shook, carrying almost as much nervousness as hefelt.
"Uh . . . uh . . . " he stammered.  She wanted to talk to him?!  "Sure!"
He paused a moment, carefully collecting himself.  "When?"
"Um . . . is now okay?""Of course.  Sure, of course.  I'll leave right now."
"Okay.  See you then."
"See you."  Mamoru held the phone in his ear until the line went dead,
his hands trembling.  They were going to meet.  And talk . . . about 
*it* . . . about the kiss.  He was shaking with excitement as he grabbed
his coat and left his apartment.* * * * 
Usagi set the phone back in its cradle with shaking hands, then swiped
her sweaty palms on her jeans as she turned to face her friends.
The four girls were standing there, gaping at her.
"Wow," Makoto finally said in awe, "You really did that well."
"Yeah, Odango Atama.  Never expected you to be able to act that well,"Rei added.
<Thank goodness they don't know that half of that *wasn't* acting!> Usagi
thought as they moved to sit in a booth.
Minako carefully examined Usagi's face, looking for any other emotion
besides the ones the girl was clearly displaying.  She spotted a touch
of nervousness in her eyes, and noticed that she wasn't wholeheartedly
involving herself in Rei and Makoto's discussion, as was expected.<Maybe . . . >
Meanwhile, Usagi was busy trying to reassure herself.  <Of course, I'm 
*supposed* to be nervous!  I mean, he *did* just kiss me, for goodness 
sake!  And, well, it's obvious he likes me, so it's only natural that I
be a little excited and tense, right?  Of course.>
"So, Usagi, what exactly are you planning to do?" Ami asked quietly.  She
didn't really approve of what her friend was doing, but, well, Mamoru *was*
awfully mean to Usagi, and well--it sounded like fun, no matter how 
uncharacteristic it was of her to feel that way.  Besides, Usagi wanted
to do it, so Ami would support her.
"Well, I suppose I'll let him think that I like him, then when he tells me 
that he likes me, I'll tell him I don't feel the same way," Usagi shrugged.
It didn't really sound like much fun the way she had just described it.  In
fact, it really didn't sound like fun at all anymore.
"No!" Makoto argued.  "You can't do it like *that*!  You have to be coy, and 
make him think you like him without saying so."
"Exactly!" Rei chimed in.  "You have to flirt excessively with him for a 
few days and make him fall head over heels for you!  Then, when he declares
his love . . . ""You turn him down flat and break his heart!" Minako finished 
excitedly, while inwardly hoping that Usagi wouldn't.  
Just then she happened to look out the window, and saw Mamoru walking down
the street towards Crown's.
"He's coming!" Minko cried out, and the four girls scampered into the next 
booth, preparing to listen in on the conversation.  Usagi folded her hands
on the table after carefully smoothing her clothing, and as she saw him come
through the glass doors, her heart stopped for a split second, but then went
on three times faster than it had before.  Oh, he was handsome!  Usagi 
almost let out a little sigh as she gazed at him, looking around for her, 
but caught herself just as they locked eyes across the room.  
<Remember what you have to do!> she encouraged herself, plastering on a smile
and forcing herself to keep it up even as waves of nervousness passed over
her body as he walked towards her, a sincere grin on his face.  <Just make him 
believe that you like him.  It can't be that hard . . . >  She nodded mentally, 
gaining confidence.  <This will be a piece of cake!>
He slid into the booth and stared into the beautiful blue eyes of the angel
across from him.  "Hi, Usagi."  Could it be possible she had become even 
more gorgeous since the last time he saw her?  <Stop it!  You're acting like
a lovesick fool!>
<You are a lovesick fool> he reminded himself.  But he managed to shush his
annoying conscience before it became a full-fledged conversation. 
"Hi, Mamoru," she replied softly, making her voice soft and timid, looking
at him from beneath dark eyelashes.  "What I, um, wanted to say to you was 
that I'm really sorry about what happened earlier this afternoon."  She 
paused, waiting for him to answer, not knowing what else to say.  But he 
didn't respond for a few moments, and she started to panic just a little 
bit.  <What if he doesn't buy my act?  What if he doesn't fall for it?  
What if he doesn't fall for me?>
Meanwhile, Mamoru was trying his best to figure out her body language.  She
was rather shy, which was contrary to her character, and that gave him
great hope.  <I just have to play it right . . . >  
"It's all right, Usagi.  But why are you apologizing?  It wasn't your fault;
it was mine.  I should be the one asked you to forgive me."  He was surprised
at himself.  He found it difficult enough to talk honestly and openly with 
Motoki at times, and here he was, easy and casual with her, while his heart
was beating madly inside his chest.  He didn't know how he kept his outer
composure."Oh, Mamoru, don't worry about it!  Anyways, I'm glad that's all done 
with.  I didn't want things to be uncomfortable between us because of that."
"I feel the same way.  I've always wanted to be friends with you, Usagi, and 
when you finally forgave me for teasing you all the time, I was afraid that 
our friendship would be over before it had even begun."  Mamoru wondered how
the heck he was coming up with this stuff. He *never* talked like this!  The 
words simply flowed from his mouth and he had no way to control it.  
<Friends . . . is that all, Mamoru?> Usagi asked mentally.  "Well, I'm glad
it's okay now, anyway."
Mamoru smiled, and Usagi sighed contentedly, resting back in her seat, more
relaxed than before.  It suddenly occured to Mamoru that now seemed a good 
time to tell her about what he knew.  "Usagi, I need to tell you something--"
Her eyes widened and flew to his for a brief second, but her gaze quickly fell
to her hands.  He was going to make his declaration!  But he couldn't, not 
yet!  Usagi's heart began pumping crazily, not only from small panic but from
the thought of hearing him say the words "I love you" to her.  
"You have to know--"
"I wanted to apologize, Mamoru, for my friends' behaviour earlier today," she 
blurted out, interrupting him.  "I thought it was really rude of them.  They
were just really surprised to see us out in the street, kissing, of all things, 
you know, and, uh, well, I just wanted to say sorry for them.  They just 
thought that I, well, that I hated you, and they just didn't expect to see
us kissing out in the middle of the street," she laughed nervously and
loudly, but continued on desperately, "And I just wanted to apologize.  
They were just really rude, and I wanted to say sorry to you for them."  Usagi
was fully aware that she was both blabbing and repeating herself, and that she
actually said the word "kissing" twice, and, oh, she was embarassed!  But she 
couldn't help it!  Just the thought of him declaring his love for her sent her
heart beating three million miles an hour, and she couldn't think of anything
else to say.  She just had to keep him from talking!
He looked at her oddly as she tried to catch her breath, wondering why the
heck she was blabbing like that.  But, he thought, she was really cute when 
she was nervous like that.  He smiled a little to himself, then leaned across 
the table, his face only inches away from hers.  
The words Usagi had been about to say died on her lips, and she couldn't keep 
from staring from his eyes to his mouth and back again.  Oh, she wanted him to 
kiss her.  She wanted him to kiss her, badly.  Her face moved forward slightly, 
subtly offering her lips to him.  Her eyes drifted closed, and she could feel 
his cool breath on her skin.  His lips touched hers in the lightest of kisses,
and Usagi was, for the second time that day, in heaven.
But, suddenly, she remembered the girls sitting in the next booth, and the plan,
and her hatred for him (which, she had to admit, had greatly diminished within 
the last half hour) and she abruptly leaned back, clearing her throat.  Her 
heart thumped madly and her hands trembled as she struggled to regain her 
composure.  She looked up at him shakily and offered an apologetic smile.  
"Sorry," she whispered.
He nodded slightly, then took a deep breath.  He was confused.  Why didn't she
want him to kiss her now?  Obviously she had before, and she looked like she 
wanted him to just now, but for some reason had to pull away.  But why?  Did 
he do something wrong?  What was it?  Poor Mamoru was *very* confused.  
After a long silence, Usagi started to panic. She thought that maybe if she 
didn't seem to like him, he'd lose interest.  She wracked her brain for 
something to say or do that would keep him for doing so.
"Do you want to go out to the movies or something?" she asked quickly and 
breathlessly, as she looked up hopefully into his face.
He just stared at her in surprise for a few moments.  She was asking him out?
Maybe she was just scared, or nervous now that she supposed he knew she 
liked him, or something.  
"Sure, I'd love to, Usagi," he replied calmly, glad he had managed to collect
his wits.  
"How about tomorrow night?"  Usagi's first thought was being alone in a dark
theatre with Mamoru beside her, and the possibilities that presented, and 
her second thought was whether or not she would have her algebra test back 
by then, and whether or not she would be grounded.  Then she suddenly 
remembered why she hated Mamoru so much, and a million controversial 
thoughts flew through her brain.
"That sounds good.  I can, um, pick you up sometime . . . " 
Usagi had to push down the mixture of anger at Mamoru and rage at herself 
for fear of having it show on her face and having the whole plan ruined 
before it hardly began.  "Sure, does seven o'clock sound all right?"
He nodded.  "I have to get going now, though, I need to get to work," he 
said, noticing the time.  He reluctantly rose from the booth.
She was surprised that he was going so soon; she had counted on spending more
time with him.  She stood up to, and smiled up at him.  "Maybe I'll see you
after school tomorrow?"
"I hope so."  He had to resist the urge to bend down and kiss her again, 
but settled on grinning back at her.  She was so much shorter than him, and
her sweet, sweet face gazed up at him, and he loved that look in her eyes.
It almost seemed as if she cared for him too, and he hoped with all his heart
that she did.  
With one final look at her, Mamoru turned, throwing his coat over his shoulder,
and walked out of Crown's, a very happy smile on his handsome face.
Usagi stared after him a moment as her friends climbed out of the booth and 
approached her. 
"I swear, you should be an actress, Usagi!!" Makoto exclaimed, folding her arms
across her chest.  "You'll have him hooked in *no* time!"
Usagi took a deep breath and turned to face them, and put on a cheery smile.
"I certainly hope so, because once he tells me how he feels, that guy is going
to get the dumping of his life!!"

to be continued...

* * * * 

So, how'd you like??  Tell me!!!  I need comments on this story!!!  ^_^ 
7:46:37 PM 1/28/00