Motoki shared a quick glance with Mamoru. He knew how much his friend cared for Usagi, no matter how much he tried to hide his feelings. But if Mamoru did what Motoki knew he was thinking about... that would mean revealing their secret to Usa, trusting her... Motoki wasn't sure how she would deal with the truth. But the look on Mamoru's face allowed no argument. Reluctantly, Motoki nodded his silent agreement and turned to Minako.
"Call an ambulance." he ordered. Minako turned frightened eyes to her boyfriend before sprinting to the back room's phone. Motoki decided than nobody else in the store could see behind the counter. "It's all clear." he murmured to his best friend.
Mamoru knelt next to Usagi, quickly lifted up her shirt enough to allow easy access to the wound. The warm, deep red blood was flowing quicker now that the fabric of her blouse wasn't hindering it. There was no way an ambulance would get there in time to save her. Mamoru swallowed as his mouth went dry, knowing that he was Usa's only chance. He slipped a hand under her head and whispered to her. "Wake up, Usagi. You have to look at me. Come on, Usa."
Glazed blue eyes fluttered open. "Mamoru?" Usagi murmured. What was going on? She felt so strange... it was like she was drifting away from him, away from the arcade. She looked up and was able to focus on his ocean-blue eyes. Funny, but they seemed darker than usual, and she thought she saw... sadness... overflowing in those eyes. But that couldn't be. Mamoru was never sad. And certainly never sad for *her*. He was too busy teasing her and making her life miserable.
Mamoru left one hand cradling her head, and moved the other until it was over her stomach, palm down and spread. His fingers quickly got slicked with her blood, but he ignored it and looked deep in her eyes. _Think about Usa_ he commanded himself. He had to connect with her quickly. _Her long, beautiful blond hair and funky meatball buns... her bubbling happy personality... The way she thinks food can solve almost any problem... How loyal she is to her friends... her blue eyes that are almost the color of moonlight..._ He smiled, his eyes still locked on Usagi's light blue orbs. _It's weird, but I never noticed that her iris has tiny silver flecks in them... I guess I've never had the chance before to stare into her eyes..._ He closed his eyes as he felt his mind connect with hers.
A rush of images flooded into Mamoru's mind, flashing by so quickly that he barely recognized one before the next had taken its place. As the memories flashed by, Usagi's feelings about each one flashed by as well. _A two layer chocolate cake with the words 'Happy Birthday' scrawled in pink and extreme happiness... A young girl with long blond hair and another with short blue hair and Usagi's feeling of friendship and belonging... a young man with dark hair and blue eyes, Mamoru recognized the younger version of himself, and her feelings of both curiosity and anger, destiny and annoyment..._ there was a few more images of food and her friends before the image show ended. Now that they were connected, Mamoru was able to feel the blood gushing out of her body as if it were his own. Feel her heart beating like it was in his chest, her breath in his lungs. He could feel the bullet in her.
Concentrating, he focused all his energy on disintegrating the molecules of the metal, until it was simply washed out of her body by the blood. Then he turned his attention to the cells of her skin and tissue, willing them to grow together quickly. Her stomach mended, leaving unblemished skin where the wound had been. He opened his eyes and moved his hand from her stomach, breaking the connection. She was healed.
"You're all right now." he smiled as he looked into her non-glazed eyes. She was starting to become aware of her surroundings, but he realized he had forgotten about the blood that had already stained her clothes. He didn't have time to use his powers to make it 'disappear', the sirens were almost here which meant the cops responding to the silent alarm that Motoki had hit during the robbery would be bursting in any second. Desperate for an excuse for the blood, his eyes fell on the large glass full of strawberry syrup sitting near the ledge of the counter. Relieved, he grabbed it and poured the dark red sticky syrup on top of the blood. He looked back into her eyes. She had to understand she couldn't tell anybody what happened! He wrapped her fingers around the now-empty milkshake glass.
"You grabbed the glass when you fell, spilling syrup on yourself. Don't say anything, please." he urged, looking deep into her moonbeam eyes. _Pleasebelievemepleasebelievemepleasebelieveme_ he chanted silently. He might have imagined it, but he thought she nodded slightly.
"Mamoru. They're almost here." Motoki's voice broke through between them. Mamoru looked up, and Motoki nodded towards the back room, and the back door. Slipping past Minako who had just come back in the room in time to hear his lame explanation, he walked out the back door and left before the cops got there.
"Oh dear Kami, are you alright Usa-chan?" Minako exclaimed, rushing over to help her best friend to her feet. "I thought you were shot..."
Usagi managed a weak smile. "I'm fine." she showed her the milkshake glass still clutched in her hand, "I spilled syrup. It just looked like blood."
Motoki wondered if she had any idea what had just happened, but then she glanced over shoulder to the back room, a longing look in her eyes. Moments later the cops arrived, and Motoki was too busy filing the accident report to worry about Usagi.
~~~~~
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Minako asked. It was evening by the time they had been released from the police station after 'questioning', and she was walking Usa to her house. "I could spend the night or something."
Usagi shook her head. "I think I just need some down-time to relax. I'm still kinda buzzed from the experience." Minako frowned, worry clearly shown in her eyes.
"Alright. But if you want you can call me and we can talk, okay?" she finally said.
"Okay." Usagi agreed. "See you in school tomorrow." she said before she walked into her house.
"Yeah." Minako murmured. "See you tomorrow." She turned and walked home, her thoughts troubled and churning in her mind.
~~~~~
A million questions tumbled in her head as she tried to remain calm and sort them out. Did what she thought happen really happen? She vaguely remembered a sharp pain exploding at her waist, and being unable to keep herself from crumpling to the ground. Darkness had danced around her vision, making it hard to see. But she thought he had seen Mamoru lean over her and touch her waist, making the pain go away and healing her. But that was crazy. How could anyone be healed from a gunshot with a touch? But Mamoru's eyes had been pleading with her to keep whatever had happened silent and to tell everyone that the red stuff was only syrup. But what else could it have been? Blood? Usagi shook her head as her thoughts ran around in circles. She was barely able to pay attention when she said goodbye to her best friend.
Most of the lights were off as she opened the front door and stepped inside. Usagi thanked whatever higher power was listening that her parents and little brother were already asleep. She quickly raced upstairs, careful not to trip over anything in the dark. She couldn't *wait* to get out of her sticky and now irrevocably stained school uniform. Good thing she had more than one shirt and skirt. Flipping on the light in the bathroom, she shut the door so that the light wouldn't pour out into the hall and wake up her family. Shedding her clothing and tossing the ruined uniform in the wastebasket, she grabbed a washcloth, intending to use the sink to get most of the syrup off her skin, when she noticed something silvery in the mirror. She froze as she realized what she was seeing.
Over her stomach, only partially revealed by the dried syrup and blood, was what looked like a glittering silver tattoo of a hand. It also looked like it was the same size as Mamoru's hands. And it was positioned right over where she thought she had been shot.
