Day two of The Silent War dawned bright and clear, and Mamoru was up and raring to go at the crack of dawn, planning his strategy over a cup of morning coffee. If Usagi had been witness to his somewhat evil expression as he created and discarded various plans of battle, she would have had good cause to become very alarmed. But since Usagi’s idea of getting up early on a Saturday was rising before the crack of three PM, she was still tucked away under the covers dreaming her innocent dreams. Although, to be perfectly honest, those dreams weren’t that innocent at the moment. They centered mostly around her in a leather suit, a whip, and Mamoru begging for mercy at her feet.

It seems Usagi wasn’t the only one who had good cause to be alarmed…

After about three cups of coffee and half a box of sticky buns—hey, Mamoru was a guy, after all, and just because his apartment was terrifyingly immaculate, it did not mean he always kept his internal system in the same condition (a fact that Usagi would be crowing about if she knew)—he grabbed his keys, wallet, and was out the door to seek out a certain odango-headed teenager.

The arcade was unusually deserted for it being nearly one o’clock in the afternoon by the time Mamoru made his way there through the hoards of shoppers and tourists that crowded the sidewalks. He waved to Motoki, found a quiet booth near the back (away from the gaming area) where he had a good view of the doors, and settled himself in for a long wait. Luckily he came prepared, as he opened and began to read a book on advanced biology…his "light" reading.

He’d gotten himself quite absorbed in the fascinating mysteries of the cellular structure of the human body when he heard a familiar laugh that caused his head to jerk up, book immediately forgotten. A sly grin spread across his face at the sight of his Odango and her friend Naru, sharing some joke as they headed unerringly in Motoki’s direction. He rolled his eyes at Usagi’s expression when she caught sight of the manager. What does she see in him? Why can’t Odango just forget about Motoki-san? he thought, feeling the faintest stirring of jealousy and quickly squashing it down. He isn’t the only guy in the arcade! There are others who would die to have her look at them the way she looks at him! Including himself…but he wasn’t ready to go there yet.

He tucked his book under his arm and rose gracefully to his feet, sauntering over to the counter with all the lazy arrogance of a tomcat, and plopped himself down on a stool right next to Usagi. Naru’s eyes widened when she saw him sitting there, and she gave her friend a not-so-subtle nudge in the side that caused her to jump and yelp in surprise. Usagi glared briefly at Naru as she rubbed her bruised ribs before turning her head to see what the problem was. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw him sitting there, and she whipped her head back around and proceeded to ignore him as she asked Motoki for a soda.

Mamoru smirked. Well, they’d see just how long she’d get away with that! "Ohoyo, Naru-chan, Odango," he purred. "Ogenkidesu ka?"

"Er…genki desu," Naru replied with a nervous glance to Usagi. "We just came from the movie theater and saw a really great movie…"

"Who are you talking to, Naru-chan?" Usagi asked curiously, cocking her head to one side. "Motoki’s over there, you know."

Naru sweatdropped. "Eh…never mind," she replied with a nervous giggle.

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "Oi, Odango-baka, how long do you actually think this dumb game is going to last?" he snorted. "We both know you have the attention span of a flea." When she didn’t so much as blink at the comment, he reached out and gently tugged on one silky ponytail. "Is anybody home in there?" he mocked.

Usagi merely yawned. "Naru-chan, have you gotten the next addition of the Fushigi Yuugi manga yet?" she asked. "I’m dying to know what happens!"

"Iie," Naru replied, shaking her head. "But I heard they got a new shipment in at the bookstore!"

"Sugoi!" Usagi squealed. "Let’s go there next then."

Mamoru listened to this exchanged, a little bemused. He had to hand it to her; she certainly was doing a good job of ignoring him, and he was a little annoyed with himself at allowing it to get to him…but he wasn’t just gonna sit there and watch her act as though he was invisible! "I suppose you think you’re pretty clever," he sniffed as he watched her. "Okay, fine, go ahead and ignore me, but if you think it’s gonna bother me not having to put up with you anymore, you can think again!"

Usagi took a sip of her soda. "Say, Naru-chan, have you seen Mamoru-baka lately?" she asked innocently. "I haven’t seen him since Thursday, and it’s awfully quiet around here without his big mouth going off all the time, don’t you think?"

Mamoru’s jaw dropped as Naru gave her friend a wide-eyed glance. "Eh…Usagi-chan, Mamoru’s sitting right beside you," she pointed out, obviously not getting the clue. Well…nobody ever said that Naru was the brightest of people, after all…

"Nani?" Usagi sounded genuinely surprised. She turned around and briefly met Mamoru’s stunned gaze, her eyes filled with a kind of triumph. Then, just as calmly, she turned back again…and laughed. "Very funny, Naru-chan!" she giggled. "There’s nobody sitting there at all!"

"NANI?!" This outburst came from Mamoru, and he could feel his face flushing dangerously red. "Has anybody ever told you that you’re an incredibly rude girl, Odango?!" he snapped. "Really, I thought you were better than that."

"Motoki-san," Usagi called out. "Do you have a fly swatter in here? There’s some annoying little gnat buzzing around my head, and it won’t go away!"

Naru choked on a laugh, and Motoki rolled his eyes and grinned, shaking his head as he walked away, clearly wanting to be left out of it.

Mamoru’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he regarded the smirking girl. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was being openly mocked, and especially by a little slip of a girl! It was humiliating! Naru, upon noticing the dark glare he was giving her friend, said nervously, "Oi, Usagi-chan, are you almost finished? We want to get to the store then, remember, and we still have some videos to watch at my house. We can bake cookies, too!"

"Just be patient, Naru-chan," Usagi replied. "We have all day, you know." Meaning, she was having way too much fun ruffling Mamoru’s feathers to want to leave just yet, even for baking cookies. She didn’t seem to realize how dangerously she was pushing the young man’s temper.

Mamoru sat there seething as he watched Usagi calmly chatting away as though nothing was wrong, and suddenly felt an incredible urge to do something drastic to wipe that smirk off her face. When he saw her reach for her soda, he didn’t even think; just reached across the counter to snatch the glass from her hands, intending to make her mad. Intending to make her look at him, even if only to yell.

At least…that’s what he’d wanted to do.

What actually happened, however, was that in reaching for the same glass their hands inadvertently touched, and Mamoru felt a strange tingle, like an electric shock, race up his arm at the contact. With a stifled gasp, he snatched his hand away, feeling suddenly like he’d just been run over by a truck. Several times. As he pulled back, his hand accidentally hit the glass with enough force to cause it to tip over…spilling its icy contents all over the counter, over the side, and right into Usagi’s lap. She leaped up with a squeal as the cold soda soaked into her light pink skirt, staring at the stain with a kind of horror before snatching some napkins and frantically trying to blot up the mess.

Mamoru just stared in a sort of dazed fascination as the coke continued to drip over the side of the counter and down Usagi’s slender legs. He really hadn’t meant to do that…

"Usagi-chan, what happened?" This came from Motoki, who had hurried back over to them and was now wiping up the mess with a cloth.

Now, Mamoru thought with sudden, grim satisfaction as he watched Usagi’s furious little face. Now she’ll turn on me and yell her head off. Not that it was a good thing, but at least she’d be talking to him. But to his surprise—and also his dismay—Usagi did no such thing.

"Gomen nasai, Motoki-onii-san," she muttered through clenched teeth. "Baka me…I accidentally spilled my coke. Onegai, may I use the back room to dry off a little?"

"Hai, hai, go right ahead," Motoki offered. "There’s a sink back there, if you want to rinse out your skirt a little."

"Arigatou," she replied sweetly, gripping Naru’s hand and practically yanking her to the back room.

Mamoru watched her go, feeling like he was in a dream. Even now…she refused to speak to him, to yell at him like she would have done before; had not deigned to even look in his direction. He suddenly felt very ashamed of himself.

"Mamoru no baka!" Motoki snapped, glaring at his friend. "I don’t believe you! I didn’t think you could be so despicable, dumping her soda onto her lap like that! How immature can you get?!"

Mamoru closed his eyes. And there was the icing on the cake. "Sumanu, Motoki-san," he replied in a very quiet voice. "It was an accident. I only meant to take it from her, but my hand slipped."

Motoki’s expression gentled. "Why don’t you just admit it," he replied. "Not even two days into this, and you’re already going nuts. Why don’t you just apologize and get it over with? Usagi-chan isn’t the type to hold grudges, but she’s pretty stubborn when she wants to be…sorta like another blockhead I know." His grin was wry as he patted Mamoru’s shoulder.

Mamoru grimaced. "I should go now," he muttered. "Got some studying to do."

Motoki sighed and shook his head. "Ne, Mamoru. If that’s the way you’re gonna be about it. But you’re only making things worse for the both of you this way. I hope for both your sakes you come to your senses pretty soon." He turned and, still shaking his head, went off to check up on Usagi.

"That baka!" Usagi seethed as she carefully blotted out the soda from her skirt with a wet towel, perched on the edge of the counter. "That raving lunatic! Shinji nai! Who does he think he is? I swear if I wasn’t so sprung on the guy I’d have knocked his block off the first day we met! Stubborn baka!"

"Why didn’t you just yell at him?" Naru asked curiously. "I know I would have!"

"Cause that’s what he wanted me to do, and I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction," Usagi sniffed, patting her damp skirt dry. "I said I’m not speaking to him until he apologizes, and I’m not, no matter what he does to me!" She sniffled slightly. "Why does he have to be so stubborn, Naru-chan? It’s not like I’m asking him to sign over his soul to me or anything! I just want an apology!" she wailed.

"Which, to him, might as well be the same thing," came Motoki’s humorous response as he walked into the room. "Mamoru doesn’t apologize for anything."

"Even when it’s obvious he’s wrong? Typical," Usagi snorted. "Reminds me of my little brother."

Motoki laughed. "Feeling better now?" he asked kindly.

Usagi sighed and gave him a mournful look. "Why couldn’t I have fallen for someone like you?" she asked sorrowfully. "I mean, I used to have a crush on you, but ever since he entered the picture…well…" She wrinkled her nose in self disgust. "You’re so much nicer! You’d think I’d have better taste than this!"

Motoki laughed self-consciously and smoothed a hand over his hair. "Well…er…of course I like you, Usagi-chan…just not in that way," he replied nervously. "Demo…um…arigatou?"

She giggled at his expression. "I’m not going to bite you," she replied. "Unlike Mamoru-baka, you don’t bring out any of my violent tendencies. Do you know that ever since I met him I contemplate homicide at least twice a month now? Before that…I didn’t even know what the word meant!" She laughed again, and Naru and Motoki both laughed with her, relieved that she was feeling well enough to joke about the situation.

"Just give it some time, Usagi-chan," Motoki told her in a sudden rush of warmth. "He’ll come around. The fact that he acted like such a jackass today tells me he’s feeling more unsettled about this whole thing than he’s willing to admit. I’d give it another few days. If he hasn’t come around by then…well…he doesn’t deserve you in the first place."

Usagi’s face brightened even more. "Arigatou, Motoki-san," she replied happily, hopping down from the counter. "You always know just what to say to make me feel better! Well, thanks for letting me clean up. I think I’m gonna go home and change, and then Naru-chan and I have some serious cookie-baking to do, ne, Naru-chan?"

"Yatta!"

The two girls bid farewell and skipped out the door. As they passed Mamoru, who was still sitting at the counter, gazing toward the back room, Usagi’s expression hardened slightly, and she carefully avoided looking at him, pretending that nothing was wrong. It was perhaps a good thing she didn’t look at him, because, upon seeing the expression of deep pain that passed through his eyes, she surely would have melted on the spot and abandoned her plan.

As it was—no matter how much he silently willed her to look at him and perhaps see the apology in his eyes that his pride refused to allow past his lips—she swept past him all unknowing, like a light summer breeze, and the moment was lost.

Warfare could be such a cruel reality.