Guess what? I have an editor. (Katherine, my neighbor from next door. Call her Kat (not Kathy or Kate) Kat. Call her any other name and well, you won't survive until tomorrow.
I'm posting this before I leave for school, so this is a quick author's note.
Ummm...for the disclaimer we have Jupiter.
Makoto: Analla doesn't own Sailor Moon.
Thanks Mako.
You guys enjoy the story.
P.S. Next chapter I PROMISE is the one everyone has been waiting for.
Luna gazed down at the strange form. "If only there were more light, I could see who this is." She stepped closer, bending her head down.
A feeling of urgency awakened Usagi. She glanced to the now familiar balcony and groaned inwardly. "Mercury said this wasn't going to happen again. She turned her head to look at Mamoru.
"I've never seen him slee...."
"LUNA! Don't you dare hurt Mamo-chan." Usagi cried as she yanked Luna away from her unsuspecting victim. Luna had a paw hovering over his face, looking as if she was about to strike.
"I wasn't..." Luna began to defend herself but stopped as she realized that someone was watching them.
Mamoru sat up shaking his head in disbelief. Sitting on his bed was Usagi dressed in bunny pajamas, her cat cradled in her arms. "My dream and nightmare together?" Mamoru thought, "This is impossible."
"Odango," He cried disbelieving. "How did you...?" He stopped at a loss for words.
Usagi's face was ashen. Mamoru had seen her. "How can I explain away THIS?" Usagi asked herself, she clutched Luna tightly to her chest. "You don't see me. You can't see me. I'm invisible." She repeated the mantra to herself.
"It's possible." She thought, vainly hoping for a miracle. "I wished myself here, I should be able to wish myself invisible."
Mamoru continued to stare at Usagi, the shock refused to leave.
"I want to go home." Usagi wailed inwardly. "I just want to go home."
Mamoru reached out a hand to touch his vision, to see if it was real. But all he grasped was empty air.
"We're home" Usagi cried happily as she realized that they were back in her room. She fell back on her bed, flinging her arms open in relief. Luna was unprepared for the sudden movement and was flung several feet away.
"I am never leaving my room again." Usagi thought. "No more roofs, no more balcony, no more Mamo-..." She paused for a moment. "Well Mamo-chan can visit me here." That was definitely the best plan, definitely she thought yawning as she pulled her covers up ready to fall back asleep.
An incensed voice brought her back to reality.
"Where were we?"
Usagi sat up and looked innocently at an irate Luna.
"I...I..." She wanted to say I don't know, but that would be lying. "Besides Luna would be able to tell if I was lying. She always can."
"You called him." Luna paused trying to remember the brief episode. "Mamo-chan, but you don't know anyone by that name."
Suddenly Luna's eyes went wide. "MAMORU!" She yelled deafening Usagi. "What under the name of the moon are you doing transporting yourself to Mamoru's apartment?"
"I should have done more than scratch his back. Next time I see him, he's dead."
Usagi cowered away from the furious feline. "It's not my fault Luna, I didn't want to go there again."
"This has happened BEFORE?!?!"
Usagi looked at Luna and begun wishing herself far away from there. "I'll go back to Mamoru's apartment, I'll even jump a few rooftops. Even a youma" Anything was better then facing Luna in angry kitty mode.
Usagi opened her eyes and sighed. Her wishing hadn't worked. "If I have a power, then I should be able to use it whenever I want." She thought indignantly. Her eyes moved to Luna who had pulled her spare communicator from the top dresser drawer.
"What are you doing?" Usagi asked.
Luna looked up calmly. "I've called a Senshi meeting. It's time we take care of your little problem."
"Makoto will most definitely have to be told. I suppose Rei as well. Together they can keep Usagi away from that ruffian."
Luna looked at Usagi, her eyes betraying the hurt that she felt. "Why didn't you tell me?" Luna asked calmly. "You lied to me, you said you didn't know where you were."
"Downtown Tokyo indeed." She sniffed haughtily, but continued her voice growing more sorrowful. "Do you realize how much I worried about you? Thinking you were dead? While all the time you were snugly resting in his apartment? Why didn't you tell me?"
Usagi groaned as each well-aimed barb hit its mark. When Luna went on a guilt-trip, she went straight for the jugular. Usagi stared up at the moon. She would most definitely rather be back with Mamo-chan.
"She's gone." Mamoru stared disbelieving at the slightly rumpled bedspread. "She had to be here, I saw her. People don't disappear into thin air, it's against the law of physics." But there was no evidence that she had been there, the only explanation was that it had to have been a dream.
Mamoru was about to lay back down, but he felt a sharp stinging on his chest. He stumbled to the bathroom and flipped on the light. Haunted eyes stared back at him, he looked down to the ten bloody furrows that had been carved into his chest.
"I knew she was here." He thought triumphantly as he reached for the hydrogen peroxide. "She was most definitely here." He looked at the brown bottle and gritted his teeth as he swabbed a cottonball. "This will sting a little, but it's better than my back. Anything would be better than telling Motoki I was attacked by that cat again."
After Luna had wounded him, he'd refused to go to the hospital to have someone look at his back. His aloofness came from his secretiveness. He didn't let anyone close enough to find out anything personal about him.
Except Motoki.
Motoki had known about Mamoru's secret identity almost from the start. It was nice having someone to confide in, someone who had a first-aid kit that had every bandage and drug known to man. So when Mamoru was wounded he went to the arcade or Motoki's apartment. Motoki rarely asked questions, just bandaged Mamoru's various abrasions and bruises, and then he'd make no mention of it the next day.
However, this last time...
Mamoru had entered the arcade, trying not to move too much. If his jacket even brushed against his back, it was pure agony. Motoki took one look at his pale friend and gestured towards the back room.
Motoki reached for the first aid kit immediately, he'd recognized the 'I'm injured' look as soon as Mamoru had come into the arcade.
Mamoru removed his jacket sighing in relief as the pain went away. Motoki turned around took one look at his friend's back and dropped the plastic box in shock. "What happened to you?"
In all the time Motoki had known Mamoru, he had never seen an injury quite as bad as this one. Mamoru's shirt looked as if it had been run through a paper shredder. His back was criss-crossed with cuts, as if a tiny whip had been used to lash him.
"Of all the battles I've been in, this is the ONE time he asks what happened." Mamoru thought ironically. "Why couldn't that devil been a youma?"
"Cat." Mamoru explained lying down on the makeshift bed, a table quickly cleared of its contents. Motoki cut away the remainders of Mamoru's shirt. "She attacked me and somehow she-"
"Aaaagggghhh!!!!" Mamoru cried in pain. Motoki only shook his head and continued to apply the alcohol,
"You were saying?" Motoki asked calmly once he was done disinfecting the wounds. They had needed to be cleaned and he wouldn't apologize for it.
Mamoru glared up at his friend. Sometimes, every now and then; Mamoru thought Motoki enjoyed causing him pain. "I wonder how much the Dark Kingdom would pay him. He definitely has the torturer role down."
Mamoru turned his head back to the impromptu bed. "I took some flowers to Usagi as a get well present and her cat attacked me. Somehow she wiggled underneath my jacket and managed to scratch..."
Mamoru stopped as he heard a sound escape his friend's lips. Mamoru turned his head to look. Motoki had fallen to the ground and was laughing.
"You mean to tell me." Motoki was coughing trying to stop the laughs from escaping. "That you...the mighty Tuxedo Kamen...After being attacked by all those youma, you come here and don't say anything, just sit there stoically while I bandage you up. But a little kitty comes after you and it causes more pain and does more damage than a YOUMA!"
"She's NOT a cat." Mamoru insisted. "She's the devil."
Motoki continued laughing.
"I'm not going to hear the end of this one anytime soon." Mamoru thought as he threw the remnants of his shirt in the trash and pulled his jacket back on zipping it up.
Mamoru's back was all bandaged so he left, refusing to be there when Motoki finally stopped laughing.
Usagi sat on her bed looking at the window, it was open to the night breeze, and the Senshi should be arriving soon. Luna's back was turned to her. Luna had listened very calmly to Usagi's explanation, not even complaining when Usagi said she met Tuxedo Kamen. After Usagi was done they both sat in silence waiting for the other Senshi.
Mercury was the first one to arrive.
Usagi flew across the room and threw herself into the startled Senshi's arms nearly knocking them both out the window.
"It happened again." Usagi wailed. "You said it wouldn't happen again."
"YOU KNEW!" Luna accused Ami.
"What wouldn't happen?" Rei had just arrived, her question managed to cut off Luna's tirade.
"Usagi's transported herself to Mamoru's apartment TWICE." Luna informed the senshi of fire.
"TWICE!" Rei shouted shocked. "What are you doing going to my boyfriend's apartment?!?!"
Minako and Makoto arrived to see Rei chasing Usagi around the room.
After everyone was calmed down, Usagi was forced to sit down and explain everything. Luna sat on the dresser glaring at her, so she didn't leave anything out. Well... just a few choice details.
"You saw him in his WHAT?" Rei yelled. "He's MY boyfriend, you should have shut your eyes."
Usagi glanced at Rei and smiled. "If she only knew." Usagi had told them that Mamoru had been dressed in a two-piece pajama set. "That's the one thing I'm keeping to myself. I'll tell them everything else, but not that."
She quickly glossed over the nightmares, refusing to relive those. Also she avoided mentioning the roof incident as much as possible. Thankfully the Senshi focused more on her near death experience then they did her meeting with Tuxedo Kamen.
At the end of the explanation, everyone looked towards Mercury.
Mercury stared at her computer screen and then up at the others.
"I'll need more information." She explained, there were some details that were missing. "Rei, you'll have to get me into his apartment so I can take readings there."
Rei nodded swiftly. "Anything to keep odango away from him. He's my boyfriend, not hers." She muttered under her breath.
"I didn't mean to fall in love with him." Usagi defended herself as soon as she heard Rei's complaint.
Everyone paused and looked at Usagi in shock.
"What?" She looked at the others. "What did I...?" Her face drained of all color as she realized what she'd said.
"Oh no." She whispered as blackness enveloped her and her body slumped to the ground.
Mamoru waited at the corner impatiently. He glanced at his watch for the fifth time.
"Odango's late. Why can't she ever be on time?" He'd been standing there for the past half-hour, usually Usagi came barreling around the corner five minutes after the hour like clockwork. Today she hadn't.
"Where is she?" He began pacing angrily. He wanted to confront her, ask her what had happened. How she'd gotten into his apartment.
His inner musings were abruptly cut off as someone bumped into him.
"Odan...Rei." He quickly changed names as he realized who had bumped into him. "Are you all right?"
Rei looked up into Mamoru's eyes, then she looked away. It was too painful.
"Were you expecting Usagi?"
"What...no...of course not." Mamoru denied as he looked down the street. Where was his blond-headed klutz? "It's just that she's usually the one who bumps into me."
"Of course." Rei said, her voice full of ice. She sighed as she remembered what she had promised Mercury.
"Mamoru, you're taking some physics courses, right?"
"Uh-huh." Mamoru said, absently staring down the street. "She'd better get her soon, before I'm late for school."
"Well, I have a friend. Ami. She's already finished with her math books at school and I was wondering if she could borrow one of yours. We can come by after school today and pick it up."
"Okay." Mamoru said as he looked at Rei, he hadn't even heard half the conversation.
"Great." Rei said surprising Mamoru by kissing him quickly. She ran away, her happiness restored. He'd never invited her to his apartment before. Now he had. "He's mine, Usagi. All mine."
Mamoru cursed as he realized Usagi wasn't coming. He turned around and ran quickly to school.
"Tonight I'll find out what happened. Even if I have to go to her room." He smiled at the thought. Turnabout was fair play after all.
Usagi walked home slowly. The ice cream she had bought did nothing to cheer her up. Her mother had driven her to school. The doctor had told Ikuko to keep Usagi from overextending herself and give her as many liquids as she would eat. This included ice-cream, Popsicles, and milk-shakes. So now Usagi had an unlimited budget to buy as many as she wanted, a thought that would usually have made her do cartwheels down the street. But today she couldn't.
She continued down the street not really paying any attention to where she was going.
SMACK!
"Gomen Nasai." Usagi mumbled and continued on past the obstruction, not even realizing if it was a lamppost or human.
"Usagi." A voice called, causing her to turn around.
"Please, let it be someone else." Unfortunately luck wasn't with her that day.
Mamoru was very quickly closing the space between them.
Usagi yeeped, dropping her ice cream cone. Then she ran away as fast as possible.
Mamoru looked at the quickly receding girl. He wanted to chase after her, but no one could catch up to Usagi if she didn't want them to.
"I wonder how many land speed records she'll be breaking." He could picture it perfectly.
A tearful Usagi staring innocently up at a gruff-looking police officer holding a radar gun.
"I sware officer I thought it was 100, I didn't mean to speed through a 30 mph zone."
He'd go to the Crown she always went there after school.
~~~~
Mamoru returned to his apartment. He hadn't been able to find a trace of Usagi all day. He stepped off the elevator to find Rei standing there, her arms folded, tapping a foot impatiently.
"Mamoru where have you been?" She demanded as soon as she saw him. "We have been waiting for over an hour." She gestured quickly towards Ami who was doing her best to try to blend in with the background.
"Sorry Rei." He apologized, not even knowing what he was apologizing for. With her it was better to mend the damage, then find out what was wrong. "So are you ready to go?" It was a shot in the dark, but the only reason he could think that Rei would come to his apartment, he must've missed a date.
Rei stared up at the ceiling counting slowly to ten asking the heavens why every single male she met was so dense-headed.
"We came by so Ami could borrow your physics book, remember."
"Of course." Mamoru answered unlocking his door, letting the girls precede him into the apartment.
The girls sat down and Mamoru went down the hall to his bedroom. He came back moments later carrying four different physics books. "I'm not sure which course you're in Ami. Why don't you choose from one of these?"
Ami scanned the titles quickly. She already owned three of the books and the newest version of the fourth book. "I'm not sure which one it is, I'll have to look at the problems." Ami sat back down and pretended to search through the book.
"Mamoru." Rei called sweetly. "Would you mind making Ami and me some tea."
Mamoru didn't have much choice because Rei herded him quickly towards the kitchen. As soon as they were gone Ami grabbed the books and went down the hall to Mamoru's room.
She pulled out the computer and scanned the room quickly. The energy readings were remarkable. There were traces of the two teleportations. A senshi transforming. "Sailor Moon." She whispered to herself. There was also something else. The readings indicated another transformation occurring, but the energy readings were too different to be one of the Senshi. Ami also searched through the room looking for anymore clues.
The only interesting thing she found out was that Mamoru didn't even own a two-piece pajama set, only boxers.
Ami blushed slightly as she realized exactly what Usagi had seen. "Why can't I teleport?" She thought wistfully as she went back to the frontroom.
Mamoru and Rei were waiting for her patiently.
Ami blushed, bowing quickly. "Sorry, Mamoru. I didn't mean to go to your room. I just thought to be polite and put back the books I didn't need."
"It's okay Ami." Mamoru said gesturing for her to sit down. "Rei was telling me that Usagi fainted again. Do you think she'll be okay?" The question was asked very innocently, but Ami knew it had been planned.
"She's fine." Ami answered. "Her mother drove her to school today, the doctor doesn't want her exerting herself."
Mamoru nodded and then changed the subject. "She's not avoiding me." He crowed. "After school, she must've been upset about dropping her ice cream cone and ran away so I wouldn't see her cry." He vowed then and there to buy her as many ice cream cones as she wanted. He didn't even notice when the Ami and Rei left.
"Three days!" Mamoru thought as he paced angrily about his room. "THREE DAYS!" That was how long he had been trying to get Usagi alone so they could discuss what had happened. He was beginning to wonder if it had happened. The scratches were beginning to heal and pretty soon, he wouldn't even have that proof.
He'd played cat and mouse with Usagi, but she always managed to avoid him. Her mom was taking her to school, so he didn't see her in the morning. The first day she hadn't had detention, so he'd missed her after school. The next day she had and the third day, he'd been called off to help Sailor Moon fight another youma. Mamoru had nearly killed the youma with his bare hands, by the time he'd returned to the school, Usagi was gone.
She didn't go to the Crown Arcade. She was hiding and Mamoru knew it.
Finally in desperation Mamoru had transformed into Tuxedo Kamen and tried to get into her bedroom when he saw HER.
Luna was sleeping in the windowsill, guarding the entrance to her mistress' domain. Tuxedo Kamen had cursed as he stood vigil over the window, but the baka feline never left.
Rei looked at her watch. Mamoru was late. "Again." She sighed silently. He'd broken their past two dates and she knew why.
"Usagi. I don't know how she did it. I thought those two HATED each other." Minako had pulled Rei aside after the senshi meeting and told Rei what she suspected.
"Soulmates. Those two haven't even been on a date, how can they be Soulmates."
Looking back she realized that Minako was right. During each of their dates Mamoru always steered the conversation around to Usagi. Either 'Odango bumped into me again today.' or something else like that.
"What's wrong, beautiful?" Mamoru asked as he slipped into the booth across from her.
Rei looked up. "I'm surprised he pulled himself off Usagi-detail long enough to come and see me." She thought bitterly.
"We need to talk Mamoru."
Mamoru nodded and then looked at the window. If Usagi came by then he'd see her. He only half-heard what Rei was saying.
"only friends..."
"someone else..."
"still date..."
"Are you even paying attention to me?" Rei snapped angrily. Heavens, she was breaking up with the man. Her heart was being shattered, he could at least have the decency to listen.
Mamoru was about to say yes, but just then Usagi walked through the door.
Tears poured down Rei's face as she stood up to leave Mamoru looked at her. The bits of conversation he'd heard rushed quickly to fit together. They were breaking up and he hadn't even noticed. He grasped her left arm and looked down.
"I'm sorry Rei." He said quietly, acknowledging full blame for the breakup. "I didn't want to make it happen this way. I love her."
Rei's tears cleared for an instant, she knew that Mamoru loved Usagi deeply.
"Just don't hurt her." Rei begged. "Don't hurt her like you've hurt me."
Mamoru nodded.
Rei ran out of the arcade then, she wanted to cry alone.
On the way out, she bumped into Usagi.
Usagi looked at Rei's tears. "What's wrong?" She asked, who had hurt Rei.
"He's all yours." Rei cried as she ran away. "We broke up."
Usagi clutched her milkshake tightly as she swiveled her head and saw exactly who Rei was talking about.
She walked towards him swiftly. "How dare he break up with Rei?" The least she would give him would be a tongue lashing.
Mamoru quickly straightened up as he realized Usagi was coming towards him.
"Finally. She's finally paying attention to me. Now we'll get to talk."
