A Sailor Moon Fanfiction: The Pledge of the Sun.

Chapter 110

It was a scorching day in the town of Juuban. Usagi and the gang were over at Mamoru's place for their study hall, working hard while having some tea and enjoying the air conditioning in his apartment. As usual, Usagi was procrastinating rather than studying.

"Here I am on a hot summer's afternoon in Mamoru's air-conditioned room drifting off to heavy dream state," the ordango sighed.

Minako then leaned in close, took a deep breath, and yelled in Usagi's ear. "USAGI, WAKE UP! THERE'S NO TIME FOR DAYDREAMING!"

Usagi woke up with a start, her peaceful vibe wholly shattered.

"Come on, Usagi. Get it together," sighed Rei.

"You were the one who asked me to help you and your friends with your studies," said Mamoru. "But I'm starting to get the feeling that you were after my air conditioning."

"Hey, that's not true," objected Rei. "You also make great herbal tea."

Rei then blushed bright red, realizing that she pretty much admitted Mamoru's callout.

"Well, I guess I should take that as a compliment," Mamoru spoke wryly.

"Looks like you got called out, Rei," chuckled Harusuke. "As they say, If the pheasant hadn't chirped, it wouldn't have gotten shot."

"Shut up, Harusuke," Rei huffed.

Minako then took notice of Ami, who was standing over by the bookcase, admiring the books on it while reading one. "What're you doing, Ami?" she wondered.

"You see anything interesting?" asked Mamoru.

"Yes, you have quite the collection of scholarly works, Mamoru," said Ami. "Like 'Basic Dictionary of Ancient Babylonian,' 'Fluid Dynamics and Wave Engineering,' 'Computer Languages and Symbolic Logic,' and even 'World Curries You Can Make Yourself' too. However, there isn't any consistency here. These books are all over the place.

Everyone could only stare at Ami, amazed and a bit exasperated by her fascination.

"Well, while you are right about them being all over, they're all interesting to me," said Mamoru. "I didn't want to limit myself to one field, so I got all sorts of books to make things interesting."

"Wow! That's awesome!" Makoto spoke with admiration. "So you're like a jack-of-all-trades and master of none!"

"Well, I appreciate that Mako, but just so you know, that wasn't exactly a compliment," Mamoru spoke wryly. "Sounds to me that you guys do need to study a bit more."

"I agree," said Harusuke as he held up a book. "So what do you say we stop with the talking and get back to studying? Starting with Japanese?"

Usagi groaned. "But that's my worst subject, Harusuke!" she whined. "You know I'm no good at that!"

"All the more reason to do some brushing up," said Harusuke. "Especially in your case, Usagi."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Usagi seizing her chance, immediately got up and answered the door. Standing there was a smartly dressed gentleman with teal hair and a bushy mustache standing in the doorway when she did.

"S-Sorry, but we've already subscribed to the paper," Usagi said, believing him to be a salesman.

The man took off his hat and smiled warmly. "Kon'nichiwa, ojōsama," he said.

Usagi froze, not understanding a single word he said, but she tried to speak to him, not wanting to be rude. "Um, I no speak, uh, naniwhanese?" she said awkwardly.

The man was puzzled, but then he understood. "Ā naruhodo! Anata wa Nihongo o hanasemasen," he said. "Please, excuse me, miss, but do you know if Mamoru is here by chance?"