Hey Minna,
Here's Chapter 3. Sorry it took so long, but I haven't had time between school and work and I need at least 6 hours of sleep each night. (No that time is not negotiable I will not give up my sleep time, so don't even try it.) Thank you to everyone that has reviewed. Especially Lady Aisheteru (she reviewed twice ;->) and also Princess Nat. And a big hooray for Candace who was review #40 and who I decided to include because I didn't think I'd get 40 reviews before Chap. 3 was posted, and she reviewed just as I was about to post it. Candace here's Chap. 3 enjoy.
Anything else? Oh yeah. To the person who e-mailed me and reminded me that I didn't include a disclaimer for Chapter 2, thank you very much. I just needed another reminder that I DON'T OWN SAILOR MOON (there's your disclaimer people.) Actually I did have a very good reason. It was Chiba-Usa's turn to read the disclaimer and it was past her bedtime. You DO NOT want to wake her up after her parents spent all night trying to get her to sleep. (Believe me, it would have been roasted Analla for dinner)
Also since it was Sailor Moon's turn to read the disclaimer, she gets excused. (She's gets even madder if you disturb her sleep.)
Okay peeps, enjoy the story. And if you want to be e-mailed when the next chapter comes out just let me know. (Another reviewer asked about this.) I'll be happy to e-mail you.
Someone was gently prodding Usagi. "Leave me alone, Luna." Usagi mumbled, batting the area where she was being poked. The jabbing continued. Usagi turned her face to the wall and covered herself with her blanket. "Let me have five more minutes, Luna. You promised last night that I could sleep in."
Ikuko glanced down at her enshrouded daughter. "Talking to a cat." She thought worriedly, why under the sun was her daughter making bargains with a feline.
Ikuko had been concerned about Usagi's sore throat; it had sounded very scratchy the night before. She had made her daughter a pot of Obi-san's special tea and brought it upstairs. Ikuko set the tea tray down on Usagi's dresser.
"Usagi, you need to wake up. I brought you something for your throat."
"Lu...MOM!" Usagi sat up surprised. What was her mom doing here? It was still dark outside. Usagi glanced at her clock...
"Oh no!!!" Usagi cringed backing against the wall. "What is the tea tray doing in my room? I am NOT drinking that tea."
Obi-san's tea was infamous in the Tsukino household, Ikuko made it when anyone was ill. She swore that it could cure any illness. The only problem was that its main ingredient was either dirt or cayenne pepper.
"Mama, is Shingo sick?" Lame yeah, but it was the only excuse that Usagi could come up with that sounded semi-plausible to her frightened mind.
"No dear." Ikuko answered pouring a cup of tea. "I made Obi-san's tea for you. Your sore throat didn't sound very good last night."
"Last night." Usagi answered weakly throwing a glance at Luna; that kitty had a LOT of explaining to do. "It wasn't that bad, my throat isn't sore anymore."
Ikuko held the back of her palm to Usagi's forehead. "You still have a slight fever. Drink the tea and then go back to bed."
"Mom." Usagi argued. "I'm not sick. I feel fine enough to go to school."
Ikuko sighed heavily, Usagi was disagreeable and very cranky. A sure sign of sickness.
"Fine dear, you may go to school."
Usagi sighed in relief.
"But you have to have a cup of tea before you leave."
Usagi hung her head in defeat, her mother wasn't going to let her out of the house without her drinking some of the tea. "Maybe I should stay home." She considered it and then shook her head slightly. If she stayed home then she was likely to end up drinking a whole pot instead of one cup.
Ikuko handed the delicate cup to her daughter.
Usagi took it reluctantly trying not to breathe through her nose. The tea smelled like a cross between rotten eggs and a desiccated corpse. Usagi drank a small slip, her stomach reacted violently, her face contorted.
Ikuko watched her daughter's reaction. "Is it too cold?" She asked. "I can pour you another cup.
"No." Usagi managed to say. "It's fine."
Usagi set her cup down on the dresser. She reached for the cat that had been curled against her head during the night and had watched the unfolding scene avidly. Usagi picked Luna up, petted her, and then hugged her closely to her chest.
"You are going to drink that tea, Luna." Usagi whispered very quietly so that her mother couldn't hear. "If you don't, I will tell everyone in Juuban that I'm Sailor Moon."
Luna looked up at Usagi, wondering how serious she was. The look of determination on the heroine's face told Luna that she was very serious. "Oh well, how bad can a cup of tea be?"
Usagi set Luna down in her lap and then took the cup from the dresser.
"Mama, could you open my window slightly. I need some fresh air."
Ikuko nodded turning and taking a few steps towards the window.
Usagi glared at Luna. Luna stood up and dipped her nose in the tea. The taste was, it was horrid. The black cat wished she had hands so she could cover her mouth and pinch her nose. "Do I have to?" Luna whispered, looking up at Usagi.
"Now." The leader of the Senshi commanded. Usagi looked at her mother struggling with the window lock. It had been sticking for the past few nights, a fact that had annoyed Usagi before but now she looked at it as a gift from the gods.
Luna lapped the tea quickly.
"There." Ikuko smiled as she managed to wrestle the window open a few inches. She turned back towards her daughter. Usagi quickly pulled the cup away from Luna and pressed it to her lips, pretending to drink.
"All done." Usagi said setting the cup back on the tea tray.
Ikuko glanced at the cup, it had only a sip or two in it. "I knew you could do it. Lie back down dear and I'll wake you up for school."
Usagi nodded relieved. She yawned heavily as she lay back down and pulled her covers up to her chin. She fell asleep before her mother even left the room.
As soon as the door was shut, Luna started complaining. "I will NEVER drink anything like that again."
Usagi opened one eye looking at her cat. "Mmmhmm." She said sleepily, not truly awake.
Usagi woke up an hour later. "7:30." She looked at her clock indignantly. "I was up most of the night." She complained. "Why won't my body let me sleep in?"
She had tried to get comfortable for the past five minutes, but it was a useless battle. Her body wouldn't let her fall back to sleep.
"Well as long as I'm up." Usagi looked at Luna. "I believe someone owes me an explanation."
"Time to get up Luna." Usagi announced dumping the cat off the bed.
Luna tumbled from the bed landing in a tangle of feet. Her eyes shot open and she glared up at Usagi. "What was that for?" She asked indignantly.
"That was for whatever happened last night to convince my mother I was sick." Usagi knelt down and picked up her guardian. "And you're going to tell me everything that happened."
Usagi put Luna back on the bed and then joined her sitting Indian style.
Luna licked her paw, pretending to be unconcerned with Usagi. "Fine, I'll tell you, but I will never drink that tea again. You can tell the entire world you're Sailor Moon, and I still won't do it."
Usagi nodded her agreement and then sat back to listen.
"I called the Scouts over to help search for you." Luna began, she explained the rest of the story.
At the mention of Rei thinking she had hid under the bed. Usagi grinned wickedly. "If only she knew."
Luna paused . "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
Luna continued. "Then your mother came in..."
"Mina refused a WHAT???" Usagi was offended, she would never turn down a chocolate milkshake. "No wonder Mom thought I was sick."
Luna glared at Usagi. "If you interrupt me again, I won't finish telling you what happened."
Usagi nodded her agreement and composed her face so it looked very serious. "After your mother left, Artemis came back in, he was a bit perturbed that Jupiter through him out the window."
"I can just bet." Usagi thought faking a cough so Luna wouldn't know she was laughing.
Luna glared at Usagi, she couldn't blame Usagi for interrupting because she wasn't talking. She decided to finish quickly. "Well the rest of the Senshi went to search for you and I waited until you came home."
"There." Luna thought satisfied. "I didn't even mention that I spent the rest of the evening wondering what sort of danger she was in. Maybe dead. Only that I was calm, cool, and collected waiting for her return."
Usagi smiled as Luna finished, then she hugged Luna tightly. "Thank you." Usagi whispered, knowing how much Luna had worried about her and how very grateful she was for it. Luna might be a pain sometimes, but she was Usagi's second mother.
Both Luna and Usagi were silent for a few moments.
Then Usagi glanced at the clock. "OH I'M GOING TO BE LATE!!!" Hurricane Usagi dropped Luna and hurried to get ready for school.
"LATE! I'm so late. I get up three hours before I'm supposed to. Drink this awful tea and I'm still...ooomph!"
Usagi had crashed into somebody. Firm hands gripped her forearm to keep her from falling to the ground.
"Gomen nasai." She apologized. "I didn't mean to..." Usagi paused as she glanced at the arms of her captor. "OH NO! Not HIM. Please let there be someone else who owns a jacket like his."
"Watch it Odango Atama. Are you trying to qualify for a marathon? If so you scared everyone away with your wailing."
Usagi looked up into Mamoru's eyes and forgot everything else as she remembered the previous night. Usagi blushed slightly. Mamoru stared back at her hungrily, hypnotized by her gaze. Usagi realized that they weren't saying anything, she also noticed something akin to passion in her Mamo-chan's eyes.
"Did he see me last night?" She wondered, fear creeping into her eyes. "Does he know I'm Sailor Moon? What if he..."
Mamoru tightened his grip as Usagi eyes rolled back and her body went limp.
"What in the world?" Mamoru thought. "Why did she faint?" He swiveled his head looking for a place...
"Perfect." There was a bench a few feet away. He walked to it swiftly and put down his precious bundle, removing his jacket to cushion her head. "She needs a doctor, maybe I should carry..."
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO USAGI?" Makoto yelled running across the street.
She and Ami had met at school and come looking for their leader, not wanting to wait for the Senshi meeting to hear what had happened last night. They had seen Usagi bump into Mamoru. Ami was trying to calm Mako down, but Makoto had seen one thing Ami hadn't. Mako had seen a look of pure fear on Usagi's face. Fear on the face of someone who would face down youmas without pause. Someone who regularly risked her life to make sure that Tokyo was safe.
If Usagi was afraid of someone then she had a very good reason, if it was bad enough to cause her to faint. Makoto wouldn't let anyone hurt her friends, it looked like Mamoru Chiba needed to be taught that lesson.
"I didn't do anything." Mamoru defended himself moving away from the enraged Makoto. Ami finally caught up to Mako, she paused breathing heavily.
"Why did Usagi faint?" She asked calmly, interposing herself between Mamoru and Makoto.
"I don't know." Mamoru brushed back a lock of Usagi's hair. "I was walking along, she bumped into me, and then fainted."
"Yeah right." Mako said, clenching her fists, trying to get around Ami.
"MAKOTO!" Ami said harshly, "I need to examine Usagi and I know you don't want to distract me."
"Fine." Mako snapped, relaxing her hands. She could wait until later when there were no witnesses.
Ami knelt down pushing Mamoru away. He was about to protest, but one look at Makoto convinced him not too.
"Besides," he thought, "Ami's mom is a doctor, so Ami probably knows what to do."
Neither Makoto nor Mamoru said a word as Ami checked Usagi's pulse, her breathing rate, or when she lifted Usagi's eyelid to glance at the pupil.
Ami surreptitiously used her computer to scan Usagi. "She's exhausted. The energy for the teleport came from her, and she wasn't transformed." There was also something else, but there wasn't enough information to determine what it was.
"It's not his fault she fainted Mako." Mako relaxed slightly at this statement.
"It was last night." Ami continued looking at Makoto asking silently if she understood. Mako nodded slightly.
"What happened last night?" Mamoru demanded.
"Nothing." Both senshi answered simultaneously.
"We need to get her home." Ami said trying to distract Mamoru from asking any more questions.
"Fine." Mako said stepping forward to pick Usagi up. She was too late because Mamoru had already retrieved her.
Makoto gripped his arm. "I can take her home."
Mamoru was silent, but his visage clearly said that he would not let her carry Usagi.
Ami sighed. "Between these two I'll be lucky to get Usagi moved three feet."
"You guys it doesn't matter who carries her. Let's just get her home." Ami said this as she began walking away leaving them no choice but to follow.
Makoto watched as Ami walked down the street. As soon as Ami was far enough away, Mako turned to Mamoru.
"Drop her and die."
They managed to get Usagi home without any more threats or shedding of blood, although Mamoru knew that Mako had been shooting daggers at him the entire way there. Ami rang the doorbell and then stepped back.
Ikuko was busy making cookies, she glanced at her husband who was engrossed by his newspaper. Sighing, Ikuko dusted flour from her hands and went to answer the door.
It was two of Usagi's friends and a young man holding....
"USAGI!" She gasped. "What happened? Did she bump her head?"
"She fainted." Ami said coming into the house followed by the others. "We really should put her in bed." Ikuko nodded weakly and pointed towards the stairs. Mamoru pulled Usagi tightly against him and then ascended the stairs.
Kenji looked up from his paper at his wife's scream. When she wanted to she could match Usagi decibel for decibel. He turned and looked towards the entryway, just in time to see a strange man carrying his daughter up the stairs.
Kenji dropped his paper and sprinted up the stairs only to be met by his wife waiting for him at the top.
Ikuko smiled as she looked at her husband. "Kenji I need you to go to the store for a few things."
Ikuko knew how protective her husband could be when it came to Usagi and she was determined that he wouldn't even get a chance to grill the nice boy who had carried their daughter home.
"What about Usagi?" Kenji asked, trying to figure out a way around his wife.
Ikuko walked down the stairs herding Kenji like a lost sheep. "She's fine. Her friends are in there to watch over her. I need you to go get me a few things for when she wakes up." Before Kenji knew it he was on his way to the store with a list in hand and he hadn't even seen another glimpse of that boy.
He slammed the brakes as he looked across the street seeing the perfect store.
A gun shop. Just what he needed.
Ikuko smiled as Kenji pulled away. "One disaster averted." She thought quietly. Now, all she had to do was get Usagi's rescuer out of the house before her husband returned. She went upstairs and entered Usagi's room.
Makoto opened the door for Mamoru. Luna sat up as they entered the room.
"Perfect." Mako thought as soon as she saw Luna. She hurried across the room and picked Luna up.
"What happened?" The black cat whispered.
"That guy frightened Usagi and made her faint."
"WHAT!?" Luna yelled infuriated. Luckily Mamoru didn't notice because he was busy removing Usagi's shoes.
Mamoru gasped in pain stepping backwards as 16 pinpricks dug into his back and held.
"Nani?" He cried as he turned his head to see what was trying to burrow into his back.
"Mako." Ami cried at the same time realizing that Makoto had to have told Luna something for her to behave that way.
"What is going on?" Ikuko demanded as she entered the room. Mamoru was backed into a corner with an enraged Luna stalking him. While Ami had backed Mako into another corner, her expression mirroring Luna's.
"Get this cat away from me." Mamoru dodged Luna's claws. "What does he have? Rabies?"
"No of course not." Ikuko said as she picked Luna up and stroked her calmly. "She," Ikuko emphasized the word. For some reason she wanted the young man to know that Luna was a girl, "Is very possessive of Usagi. I'm sure you understand."
"Yeah right!" Mamoru thought as he glanced at the attack kitty. "She's not possessive, she's Cerberus in disguise." The cat continued to glare at him from Ikuko's arms. "How can a cat look like that?" Luna looked intelligent, her facial features more human then feline. "Maybe Makoto's the devil and she ordered her minion to attack me."
"Sure." Mamoru said realizing that Usagi's mom was expecting an answer.
"Listen, can I come back later when the cat's not around. Just to make sure odan... I mean, Usagi, is okay?"
"Of course." Ikuko nodded smiling. She led Mamoru out the door, threw Luna into the room and shut the door firmly before the cat could even think of escaping.
Luna turned to the two Senshi. Ami still had Makoto cornered, refusing to let her move. Normally Mako could've overpowered Ami and escaped, but something told her that just this once the Senshi of Mercury could probably hold her own despite her diminutive size.
"What did you tell Luna?" Ami demanded.
"She told me that ruffian frightened Usagi and made her faint." Luna informed her.
Ami glared at Mako then turned at looked at Luna. "It wasn't his fault, Usagi fainted because she powered the teleport. She's just exhausted."
A slight moan came from the bed. Everyone looked at Usagi. She was sitting up clutching her head.
Usagi searched her bedroom. "Where's Mamo..." "Wait, wrong question." Her inner voice chided. She quickly changed her question not wanting the others to know that she was concerned about Mamo-chan. "How did I get home?"
Ami went to Usagi's bed and pushed her back down. "You need to rest Usagi, you fainted on the way to school and Mamoru-san carried you home."
"Where is he?" Usagi asked. She couldn't resist the temptation. She had to know where he was.
"He left after Luna attacked him." Makoto said before Ami could answer.
"WHAT?" Usagi sat up scowling at Luna.
"Jupiter told me that he had hurt you." Luna defended herself. "If I had known he was your rescuer I would have treated him differently."
Usagi watched her overprotective friend and a smile came to her face. If Makoto thought anyone was hurting her friends, then she would defend them. She was fiercely loyal. Usagi couldn't be mad at her for that, her heart wouldn't let her. "Luna, Ami. I need to speak with Makoto alone." Luna was about to protest, but Ami picked her up and carried the feline out of the room.
Makoto had moved closer to the bed, her head down. "I'm sorry Usagi." She said sheepishly. "I thought that he had hurt you."
"I know." Usagi answered softly. "It wasn't his fault though. I've been having nightmares lately and this morning reminded me of one. Plus I didn't get very much sleep last night, so I was tired." Makoto nodded. "Will you get my homework for me?"
"Sure." Mako replied eagerly. "I'll get it for all your classes and Ami can help tutor you." Usagi's expression changed at the word tutor, she had only wanted to distract Makoto. It was too late to call her back now, Mako had already left.
Ami came in a few moments later.
"Where's Luna?" Usagi asked.
At this Ami smiled and a giggle escaped. "Your mother locked her in the bathroom, she's not going to let her out until a veterinarian has examined her."
Usagi's eyes went wide, Luna hated going to the vet. "She's not going to forgive Makoto or Mamoru for a very long time."
Ami shook her head and then examined Usagi carefully, she didn't know how she was going to broach this next subject. But it was necessary if she was going to find out what had truly happened to Usagi. Ami had told Makoto a partial lie. Usagi had been drained from the teleport, but that hadn't made her faint, it was something else.
Ami found a chair and sat by Usagi's bedside. She pulled her computer out to monitor Usagi. "Tell me about your nightmares."
Usagi reacted violently. "NO! I don't want to remember them. Everyone dies."
"If you don't tell me what happened, then how can we stop it?"
"YOU MEAN IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN?" Usagi yelled. "Nuhuh!!!" She thought. "There is NO way that I am going to go through that again."
"Will I transport to the same place I did last night?" She asked quietly.
"Probably." Ami answered. "Where did you go?"
"I... it..." Usagi glanced at Ami. "Do you promise not to tell anyone, not even the other senshi or Luna?" "Most especially Luna." Usagi thought. Mamo-chan already had enough bad points. If Luna found out... "Well then Rei would have an eunuch for a boyfriend."
"REI!" Usagi had forgotten all about her, especially that she was Mamo-chan's... "No he... he has to be Mamoru. I can't steal him away. Even if I want to, he probably wouldn't have me anyway."
Ami watched as Usagi face became crestfallen. "I promise not to tell Usagi. Where were you?"
"In Mamoru Chiba's apartment." Usagi muttered hiding her face in her hands.
For once Ami's calm demeanor was shattered. "In Mamoru-san's apartment? Is he the one you dreamt about?"
"WHAT?" Usagi looked up. "No, I dreamt about Tuxedo Kamen." Her voice became dreamy. "He saved me, we danced, and then he turned into my prince."
Ami inputted the data into her computer. "Describe the entire dream to me, from the very beginning."
Usagi paled visibly, her voice shook as she began. "Death! Everyone I loved died..."
It took Usagi over an hour to describe the dream sequence. Her mother had peeked in once during the explanation, but left when she realized she saw her daughter's face. Whatever was happening, Ikuko knew that Usagi had to face it without her help.
By the end tears were pouring down Usagi and Ami's faces. Ami finished entering the information and then let her computer work through all the variables. There was only one possible solution.
"Usagi do you like Mamoru?" Ami blushed. "I mean, do you like him, maybe as much as you do Tuxedo Kamen?"
Usagi wanted to lie and say no, but the little imp in her mind made her admit. "Yeah, kinda."
Ami smiled. "That's your problem. In the very end when you wished to be with Tuxedo Kamen, your brain attempted to make it possible. We don't know all of your powers yet, but I know that you have a lot of potential energy. Your brain converted it into kinetic energy and initiated the teleport. Since you're unaware of Tuxedo Kamen's correct identity your hypothalamus found a substitute."
"Huh..." was all Usagi said. Her eyes had glazed over halfway through Ami's explanation.
"You wished for something to happen and your brain tried to do it, but since you don't know who Tuxedo Kamen is, your brain used Mamoru in his place and sent you to his apartment."
"You mean I'll teleport to that baka's apartment every night unless I find out who Tuxedo Kamen is?" Usagi wailed. Ami nodded. "Life isn't fair." Usagi thought. "It really isn't fair. If I'm going to be granted wishes why can't I have a king-size chocolate milkshake?"
"Is there anything else I need to know?" Usagi grumbled.
"Yes, but we'll need Luna to hear it as well. Except for the first thing, whatever you do, don't think about Tuxedo Kamen or Mamoru before you go to bed."
Usagi moaned as Ami left the room to get Luna.
"So Usagi should constantly wear her communicator, shouldn't transform into Sailor Moon unless absolutely necessary, and I should wake her up every hour and at the first sign of a nightmare." Luna repeated Mercury's instructions.
"That's right Luna. Also you should probably ask Artemis over here so you can each take turns sleeping."
Usagi listened as Ami described the torture session. "What if I can't get back to sleep?" She wailed. "I won't do it."
Luna turned and glared at her charge. "You WILL do it." Luna informed her. "And if you can't get back to sleep then you won't be able to teleport."
Ami had told Luna that Usagi had become so scared from her nightmares that her body had tried to get away from them. Combined with her powers as a Senshi, it became a mini Sailor teleport.
"Fine, but I'm going to go to bed right now."
Ami left and Luna settled down to sleep on Usagi's chest.
Kenji stepped back and examined the newest 'decoration' in the living room. It easily drew the eye and sent exactly the right message. "I should have bought this two years ago when Usagi started... um... blooming."
"KENJI!!!" Ikuko's outraged voice interrupted his reverie. "WHAT is a GUN doing hanging over our fireplace?"
Kenji turned to his wife and smiled as he brought her close and kissed her lightly. "It's not a gun, dear. It's a rifle."
"I don't care what it's called. I refuse to let you have a gun in the house. What if Sammy or Usagi shot themselves?"
"Don't worry. There aren't any bullets. I bought it in case I wanted to go hunting."
Ikuko shook her head at her husband's reasoning. "You don't hunt dear." She reminded him, slightly appeased when he mentioned there wasn't any bullets.
Kenji stared at the rifle and then thought of the young man who had carried his daughter upstairs. The one who had looked much to old for her. The boy that just might hurt her.
"Don't worry. I'll only do it if it's necessary." Ikuko left the room confused by what her husband said. Kenji looked back up at the gun. "It definitely sends the right message."
"Touch my daughter and I'll blow your brains out."
