Today had been a bad day for her. She sighed, her textbook was held close to her chest... She sighed, the day could have been worse... she could be klutzing right now. She had spoken to soon as she tripped over a crack as she tumbled into another person. Her books fell down onto the ground as she muttered, "gomen, gomen." She told the adjacent person as she hurried to pick up the sheets of paper on the ground.

A hand handed her a textbook as she looked up into his eyes.

Blue.

Crystal blue.

Deep crimson crystal blue...

She took a deep breath; her shaky hand took the book. "Thank you..." she whispered, as he nodded, his hands ran through his dark black hair. "Welcome." He told her, as he floated away from her, her eyes never leaving him. 'Oh god he's cute...' she thought, as she shook her head, looking down to the papers that were scattered on the ground. Her eyes caught onto something. The name 'Chiba Mamoru' was on the byline of a paper...

Papers and Textbooks and Chiba Mamoru

By Eternal Angel

Usako9@hotmail.com

http://cherryblossoms.cjb.net/

~~~

Midway towards school, he stopped. He didn't know why, but he felt as if something was missing. Just a little something was gone. He looked inside of his book bag to see what it could be. He flipped through the notebooks and folders that were in his bag.

He then froze.

It was gone.

He looked around in his book bag once more.

It was gone!

His paper, the paper that would determine whether he would pass the (evil) history class or not, gone! His mind wondered on, as he began to retrace his steps mentally...

'I had it in my hand before I...' He paled. Before he bumped into that girl! Oh god, he didn't even know how she looked like. Except that she had crystal blue eyes that are to drown for...

'Wait, get back on task now. Paper, gone...'

He turned back, and ran the direction he had just came from.

~~~

'Chiba Mamoru...' she sighed, the name was so romantic. "Mamoru..." 'Protector...' now, that meaningful name. 'I wonder if he has a girlfriend!' She thought happily, as she powered walk the direction that he had left, hoping she would meet him. Looking more at the paper, she sighed at the topic 'Selenity and Endymion...' "Très romantique!" She exclaimed, speaking one of the little French that she learned from Ami.

Ami was uncertain about what country she should go to for college, United States, France, or Germany. And being her, she decided that she should have a head start and learn all of them just in case. 'I sure envy her smartness.' She passed the arcade, as she waved to Motoki who grinned at her. She continued on, as she began to read the paper within her hand and walk at the same time.

To her surprise, she didn't have a klutz attack.

But to her suspense, she neither saw the dark haired man that went past her.

~~~

Shammit.

The great Chiba Mamoru was losing all his nerve - how can one survive in such stress filled world?

Damn.

He had to find that sheet of paper.

He stood, at the spot he had bumped into that girl-

No papers on the ground (especially twenty three page one that had a blue cover sheet). He sighed. Did the girl pick it up by mistake?

Damn it again.

Today was going to be a long day for him.

~~~

"How tragic..." she mumbled softly, as she could feel tears in her eyes. The report was so touching - she was compelled by the way the man had written such an emotional legend. He seem to take it, and dissect it, pointing all the points of the story, but also adding such deep emotional thoughts that made one see how it greatly relates to the world today.

"A man with great words," she said with a soft sigh. She closed the report, as she looked once more at the cover sheet. Why had she not seen it before?

Underneath the bold letters that formed out 'Chiba Mamoru' were the words 'Azabu University.' That amused her, "Why in the world would a student write their name of their school on the paper?" As strange as it was, it had given her a lead.

Azabu University it was then.

~~~

Halfway around the block, he had finally figured something out.

Why had he not remembered it sooner?

He saved the report on his computer!

Ahh, there was no need to fret with Tsukino- sensei today. He wouldn't be forced to listen to his long lectures of how assignments should be turned in - especially ones that were worth half your grade. Tsukino-sensei didn't like him much, always scolding at him for being, "To smart for your own good. And too cocky too."

He busted out with a grin. If he ran home and took his motorcycle to the university (instead of walking like he usually did) he could make it on time.

He sprinted.

~~~

'Azabu University.'

She stood there, in front of the building that she had grown up wandering in the halls whenever her father had staff meetings - but that had been so long ago! She sighed; she barely remembered where her father's classroom was.

She could hear her father already, his voice seldom and filled with a sigh, "The students there are so cocky. They think they can show me their bank accounts and I'll give them an A? Ha! Forget about it!! And the ones that think they are all hot. All the girls swoon for them - but my little girl is different ne? You'll never fall for guys like that." (Hehehe... he's talking about Mamo-chan.)

She usually would block her father's voice from her head and nod. Her father's taste in boys that were 'perfect-for-his-little-princess' had always been nerdy, bookish types that were less fun to talk to than a brick wall. At least the response was better... ^^

She stood there; mouth agape as halls were bustling with people, as there was a three-way intersection in front of her and stairs that lead to the next three floors. --;;

~~~

It crashed.

Everything was wiped off.

And his essay-

Gone.

It was gone.

His all nighter - ruins.

And the only paper was in the hands of that girl he didn't even know.

"Oh Kami! Why ME?!!" He exclaimed, as felt like throwing the computer across the room. 'Take deep breaths, deep breathes... in, out... in, out...' After breathing an odd fifty three times, he decided that he should go to school and tell Tsukino-sensei what happened and pray that he'll believe him.

"I'm a goner."

~~~

"Umm excuse me--" she asked the girl that went passed her.

The girl continued on walking.

"Umm, someone..."

The people just walked passed her, unseeing.

She took a deep breath, "DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE THE MAIN OFFICE IS???" She yelled out. The people froze and stared at her in surprise. She blushed and squeaked out, "Onegai?" She pouted sweetly.

A group of guys began to surround her, holding her book bag and leading her away, as she thought silently, "I can get use to this."

~~~

"I am going to be force into repeating that class again - another semester with Tsukino-sensei? Someone shoot me." He said darkly, as his speed to school. The red light flashed as he stopped.

"Hey! Chiba-san! Race you to the university!" The person on the left exclaimed to him. He turned and stared at the girl whom looked so much like a guy. Haruka, she was named. The both were in the same class together and hated the class together with such passion.

"Okay." He replied.

Red.

Red.

Green.

Dust.

~~~

Un-believable.

She could not have expected it.

Chiba Mamoru was in her father's class.

She glared at the map that was drawn (quite beautifully) but one of the guys that had mobbed her earlier. Once they heard that she was Tsukino- sensei's daughter, they had stirred away from her, saying that they had to go places. So now, she stood trying to find where N28 was.

She stood, looking to her left, then her right.

There was M on her left side, and O to her right.

What the...?

"Don't these people know the alphabet?" She cursed silently, looking around once again. She looked at the map, it told her to go straight.

It was a fork in the road.

"How do you go straight?!!" She exclaimed bitterly.

Sighing, she began to do ennie, meanie, minnie, moe.

~~~

Haruka had one, (like always), but being a racecar driver, it was fully expected. Haruka whipped out of her car, her essay in her hand as she grinned at Mamoru. "Good ride Mamoru. You almost passed me up...

But I did say almost didn't I?"

Haruka liked to gloat too much.

He sighed. "Yes, yes, its always almost."

She grinned. She looked at her paper, "Where's yours?"

He groaned.

~~~

"Isn't this..."

It was that tree.

That stupid fern tree.

It was the six times she had been there -

Seven, she had corrected.

She had been around here seven times.

Seven times and she still were unable to find where N28 was.

"Damn it."

The fern tree continued to sit there, greeting her another three times.

Where was a map when you needed one?

~~~

"Tsukino-sensei is going to kill you."

She had stated that in a matter-of-factly tone.

"I figured that out already. If only that girl... hey, if I'm lucky she'll return it to me, you know Tsukino-sensei's weirdness... telling us to put the university's name on it."

"Maybe he predicted something like this would happen." Haruka encouraged, as the turned a lane, passing a fern tree and a blond who glared at it angrily and into another door with the letter N labeling it. "Come on... I'm surprise that you went through all that and you aren't late yet... but hey, you always are around an hour early, lingering and flirting with the girls--"

Mamoru glared at her, as the entered the room labeled N28.

~~~

She thought she saw him - that blue-eyed he- devil that this paper belonged to. But a moment later, he had disappeared. She looked around, trying to find where he could be as she noticed something. A third hallway - a door was in front of it, one letter on it.

N. She screamed in frustration.

All this time it was right THERE?!

~~~

"...but you still were unable to..."

Tsukino-sensei's voice zoned in and out for him.

The whole class had done this assignment, leaving him alone to face the consciences.

"..and a college student?!..." He looked to his right, as Haruka gave him a sympathetic look.

"So what is your excuse?"

The class looked at him, as Tsukino-sensei gave him an evil eye.

"I bumped into this girl and she took it on accident."

Tsukino-sensei did not look amused.

~~~

24...

25...

26...

27...

Aha!

28!!

There it was!

She grinned joyfully as she opened the door.

"Chiba-san, I have your paper!"

~~~

Tsukino-sensei was at again, and he would have continued on so much longer if not for the door opening and a blond on the other side.

"Chiba-san, I have your paper."

So someone in heaven really does love me. He thought, as he grinned. She gave him the paper as she turned to Tsukino-sensei. He expected Tsukino- sensei to yell at her, asking, "why are you disrupting my class?" (Which had been done a couple times before), but this time he was silent, staring at the girl in surprise.

"Gomen, but I bumped into him and he left his paper there on accident. I would have gotten it here earlier if I didn't get lost in the school - I spent twenty minutes trying to figure out where N was..." she said innocently to him.

Sitting down in his seat, Mamoru stared at her with interested as she continued to talk to sensei that frowned. "I'm sorry Chiba-san if I did not believe your story, but now that I have proof-"

The whole class gawk.

Tsukino-sensei was actually apologizing?

Was the world really flat?

"Y-your welcome..." he answered in surprise.

But what shocked the rest of them was the fact that the blond bent and kissed the man and said, "Sayonara oto-san."

"Bye Usa..." he smiled to his daughter, who walked out of the room.

Why hadn't Tsukino-sensei ever tell them that his daughter was hot?

Mamoru stood up, "Tsukino-sensei, is it alright if I go and thank your daughter?"

Tsukino nodded reluctantly, as Mamoru handed him the paper and headed out the door.

~~~

He ran after the retreating blond, "Wait up Tsukino-san!" He exclaimed as the girl stopped in surprise and turned around. "Chiba-kun...?"

"Mamoru, call me Mamoru." He said, as she nodded. He strolled next to her, "Thanks for going through all the trouble and giving me the paper."

"It was no trouble (liar, her mind retorted), I mean, it was all my fault."

"But I should thank you anyways... how about a milkshake at Crown Parlor... my treat." Her eyes widen, "Crown Parlor? I love that place!"

He grinned.

He liked her already.

~~~

end

~~~

This was one of my rushed out, spur of the moment things - I don't like it, but I liked it... dunno, send me email about what you think!

*eternal angel