Hey, this is kinda weird. While writing this, I really wanted the reader to be able to get
the shock in Mamoru's mind when he first finds out. But, since this is a better story
from Usagi's POV, I couldn't just SWITCH to Third Person POV and then watch
ominously as our favorite tuxed crusader gets the news. So I threw in a half-assed
interlude from HIS POV. OK, it's not half-assed, but please don't be confused while
reading. I'm not gonna keep going back and forth in the middle of chapters, or even
BETWEEN chapters anymore -- as far as I'm concerned, this is the last we'll see of
his mind (or lack there of). But I wanted to assure the reader that Mamoru isn't as
heartless and cruel as he may appear, nor is he cavalier about the idea of a dissolving
marriage. He just didn't know; he really is JUST that dense. Trying to add a glimmer of
hope in the middle of all the draining depression thus far. ^^ Anywho, enjoy the Interlude!
Oh, and FYI, this counts as a third chapter, so the next one will be Chapter Four.
DISCLAIMER :: Insert here.
slr_europa@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/sailorananke/
AIM :: SeeShelliRun
*****************************************
Need Me – INTERLUDE
By Sailor Europa
"Hai….Hai, I'm going to need those faxed to me as soon as you can manage."
I
muttered into the receiver which was clutched between my cheek and shoulder. I
could
feel it slip precariously from my grasp and in an instant I managed to grab it
before it had
a chance to fall farther. "Right, I'll need them for the depo. tomorrow."
I glanced up unwittingly as a knock sounded behind my door. Without
awaiting
my answer, the door opened, and I helped up my finger, signaling whoever it was
to wait
until I had a chance to free up a minute.
"What? 1AM? Are you insane?" I belted into the phone, sitting upright in
shock.
There was no way in hell I was going to be able to wait until one in the morning
before I
could organize them into my argument schedule! I'd have to wait to see what I
could and
couldn't use, and if they couldn't get here until then….I groaned inwardly. "No,
no, I do
want them. Check that—I *need* them." I rubbed my bloodshot eyes with my fingers
angrily, desperately thinking of the most feasible way out of this mess. "Look,
I'm gonna
have to be out of the office by then, there isn't any way you can get them to me
before
hand?" I cursed his answer, gritting my teeth. "It's imperative to the case,
damn it!"
I shook my head, racking my brain. "OK look, you're going to be working
all day
to get them organized, am I right?" He answered an affirmative. "Then…What if I
have a
runner bring them to me at my apartment? Can that be done? So you won't have to
get to
the office in order to use the fax?" I sighed as be barked about how big an
inconvenience
it would be. "I know, but you've already told me that I'm going to have to waste
precious
hours waiting for your God-forsaken memo's! So we're both screwed! I'm just
trying to
save us both a little time!"
As was the custom, he pissed and moaned as much as possible before giving
in.
He knew that by throwing in the towel on such a big case was ridiculous. He'd be
kicking
himself by the time the verdict was given if I won – anyone connected to our
side would
be a part of the big news, and he wasn't about to let that chance slip by. His
mutterings
trailed off into a plan on action, and I promised I would have my runner at his
door
within thirty minutes of his call that evening. We said an amicable good-bye and
I
breathed a sigh of relief. I was grinning as I turned to my one-man audience who
had
entered just moments before.
"Good show Mamoru. I'd just like to see who you're going to get to run his
way
through town at 9:30 tonight."
"I'm a god around here since I accepted this case, Touya. I could have a
partner
do it in his sweats during rush hour if I wanted to."
He chuckled good-naturedly, and walked further into the room. He clapped
me
firmly on the back and laughed. "Nice to see all that money and sweat didn't go
to waste
in school, Chiba." He pulled up the nearest chair, and then slapped his feet on
top of the
corner of my desk. "I'm assuming you're too busy to have lunch with your old
roommate? Or is it just you're too good for us all now?"
"Nah, I've always been too good for you." I smirked. "But it seems that
until
those papers arrive I'm going to have a couple hours to kill. My whole case
centers
around that information, and I'm at a standstill until I can get my grubby
little hands on
'em."
"Perfect! I had reservations at the Italian place on the corner, but my
meeting was
cancelled. And I'm not about to eat alone." He offered. I nodded an affirmative.
"Great." I answered, patting my stomach. "Best distraction I can think
of."
*****
"Ayashi. Two."
The hostess checked off her list and lead us towards a dimly lit table
near the
corner window and unceremoniously handed us two menus. Touya thanked her before
opening his. We scanned the entrée's and within minutes, had placed our orders
with a
tall, lanky waiter.
"So am I too assume your position is going well, Mamoru? I've heard from
the
water-cooler that you've been working 24/7 lately." He asked, leaning back far
in his
chair. I nodded, unfolding my napkin into my lap.
"Not quite, but damn close. I don't think I've had a free minute to enjoy
in
months. The preparation makes me nuts." I answered, smiling despite my
melancholy
reply. The suicidal plans were almost over; in less than a week I would have my
chance
to shine. I knew it would all be worth it.
"Exactly why I stayed away from Criminal Law. I'll take the domestic side,
thank
you very much." He chuckled from behind his water glass. "My wife would murder
me if
I was away that much."
I shrugged. " Usagi knows how important my career is to me, and she
understands." I saw my companion look away towards the street beyond the window.
He
watched with an intense gaze, fiddling with his cloth napkin absently. My brow
furrowed.
Had I struck a nerve?
"How are things on the home front?" I asked gently, afraid of the answer I
might
get. I leaned back, giving him my full attention, my eyes softer as I lead the
conversation
away from work. He gave me a confused look, and then shrugged.
"Just celebrated 3 years." He leaned in real close then and his eyes grew
wide.
"We're trying to increase the population of our home, in fact." He wiggled his
eyebrows
and I shook my head chuckling.
"And having fun trying, I'll bet."
"What about you and Usagi? Have you talked about having kids at all?" He
shifted the conversation to my marriage, and I paused to think. We were
obviously going
to build a family together, but we hadn't exactly discussed it.
"No, not recently at least." It was my turn to shrug. "But we both would
like to.
Eventually." I tilted my head to the side. "Why?"
"Just curious." He turned his attention back to the street, and blinked
before
looking back at me a moment later. "A pregnancy can really bring two together."
I stared
at him completely dumbfounded.
"I suppose…." I opened my mouth again, but the waiters appeared just then
with
a tray full of steaming dishes, and both our thoughts were averted temporarily.
We dug in
immediately, words ceasing for the moment. I stole a few glances at my curious
companion, and shook my head. He sure was acting strangely, and I wondered if
maybe
something was wrong. Maybe he wanted to talk about something when he invited me
out
to lunch.
We both finished simultaneously and leaned back, grinning happily. As I
exhaled,
I watched Touya's expression turn serious, and he began a diligent glare at the
table cloth
before him. I waited, contemplating what to say next. I was slightly confused;
something
was plaguing him, and he wasn't sharing. However it was obvious that he wanted
to.
"Will we be having any dessert this afternoon?" My neck snapped to the
side as I
faced the waiter who had snuck up on us. Touya's mundane expression changed
automatically and looked to me for a response.
"I'm fine, thanks."
Touya smiled in agreement as the waiter gathered our dishes from the table
and
left us again. The conversation turned to chit-chat and his tone transformed
back to
normal once again. I pushed the paranoia to the back of my mind; maybe I was
analyzing
it too much. Perhaps this case was affecting my thought patterns…
"So how long have you been working on this case?" Touya asked, draining
the
last of his iced tea. I pursed my lips in thought.
"About 2, maybe 3 months." I shrugged, stretching. "Not very long when you
consider we're going to trial in a few weeks." Touya nodded thoughtfully.
"Keeps you busy, I'll bet." He added, absently. "How long do you spend at
the
office each day?" He looked down in an effort to act nonchalant. I watched him
closely.
"On average?"
"I dunno… 12 hours during the day." I responded.
"But you go back at night, ne?" He prodded, leaning in to the table a bit.
I gave
him a suspicious glare and nodded.
"Yeah, sometimes."
He leaned back, apparently satisfied for the mean time. I felt my chest
tighten; I
was utterly confused. The normal patter that ensued between us had turned almost
ugly. I
felt interrogated.
"How does Usagi feel about that?" He asked suddenly, and I looked up and
stared
him straight in the eyes, wondering exactly how my wife had entered the
conversation.
"Why?" I bit out, then checked my tone and retraced my phrase a bit. "I
mean,
why does that matter?" I inquired, semi-rhetorically. I was baffled by his
agenda; the
conversation had been routinely about work and our present cases, and suddenly
personal
life was intertwined. My eyes bore into his; he had to have some motivation
behind this
line of questioning. Otherwise it was completely absurd.
"Just curious, that's all." He shrugged, his stance loosening a bit as it
had before
when I retorted. "I haven't seen you in a while, and I know how things can go
south,
fast…"
"Yeah, but this is far beyond the normal "How's the wife?" crap, Ayashi."
I sat
back up at full attention. "And you keep bringing up the idea families in the
middle of a
discussion I thought had originally been about the case!" My voice rose, and
Touya
began to get uncomfortable. I took a quick look around and found a few other
restaurant's
patrons beginning to eye us, perturbed, and I lowered my voice. I inhaled
deeply, and
then regained my glare. "What the hell is wrong with you today, Touya?"
"Mamoru…." He began. I watched his face fall, and my heart sunk to the
floor as
the mood shifted considerably. I waited impatiently as he chuckled in spite of
his nature
and wrung his face nervously in his massive hands. "I didn't invite you to lunch
to talk
about the case."
"Yeah, no shit." I bit out, and expected to get a mindful look of disdain
from him,
but he simply sighed and stared towards the street beyond that window again. I
narrowed
my eyes at him, feeling my own palms get clammy at the site.
"I know I'm suppose to have an attorney-client privilege, but…. I thought
that…." He trailed off, and I watched him search for the words he wanted to say.
I had
absolutely no idea what he was getting at, at this point, and was about to snap
completely
if he didn't just skip to the point. I clenched my jaw anxiously and exhaled as
loudly as
possible, hoping he could see just how ungrateful I was at him wasting my time.
He
looked up, and I watched the pity just pour from him.
"Mamoru, Usagi filed for divorce yesterday. With me."
*********************************************************
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Does that get old? I hope not. You'll find I do it a lot. It's like a fit of evilness. In fact, here comes another one -
MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I do an EXCELLENT anime villainess cackle. Just ask Ely.
Enjoy? No? Yes? NO?! Well, who asked you anyway. Pffft. See if I send you any Christmas cards.
slr_europa@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/sailorananke/
AIM :: SeeShelliRun
(
geocities.com/slr_europa)