I just want everyone to know this chapter is being written under duress.
If you don't know what I'm talking about go read the beginning and ending author's notes for Too Many Tests. (While you're there you might as well read the story too.) A girl tries for one small chance at happiness, builds a time ship, but all her ambitions get shot down. (Or blown up in my case)
Life isn't fair sometimes. I would have found some way to get the story back to you guys. Or I could have printed the story in the Crystal Tokyo Gazette. Wouldn't you have been willing to wait a thousand years?
Analla pauses for a moment, waiting for anyone to say yes.
:sighs:
I didn't think so.
Today for the disclaimer we have Sailor Mars.
Rei enters brandishing her anti-evil charms.
"Hi Rei." I call out, but she waves a charm at me threatingly.
"Just hand me the disclaimer and no one gets hurt. I'm only doing this because Serenity ordered me to."
I shut my mouth and hand Rei the disclaimer.
Rei glances at it. "Analla doesn't own Sailor Moon." She pauses for a moment. "Or Sailor Mars." She adds quickly. "Also Analla promises never to have Ami or any of the other Inner Senshi read a disclaimer again, even if Serenity orders them to."
"Hey." I protest. "That's going too far."
Rei holds up a charm. "Do you agree Analla?"
I look at the charm considering for a moment. I don't think I'm evil.
But just to be on the safe side.
I nod.
"Fine." Rei hands me back the disclaimer and then leaves.
That does it. Rei gets the short straw. I was wondering who to give it to anyways.
Usagi groaned as her communicator continued to beep insistently. "Not now, I really don't need this right now." She glanced down to see who was calling her; it was the symbol for Mars. "Rei, couldn't it have been someone else?"
The beeping became shriller. It was a minor modification that Ami had made to Usagi's communicator after she had slept through a battle. The communicator would beep louder and louder until she finally turned it off. Although half the time it was Luna who found the communicator, where it had been flung on the floor from the night before, and turned it off. After that Luna would use her tongue, which was more like a sandstorm then sandpaper, to wake Usagi up.
Usagi pushed the flashing red button, more to stop the noise, then anything else.
"Where's the youma?" She asked tersely cutting Rei off before she could even say anything.
Rei looked at the darkened room and Usagi's face. "Oh," she thought blushing. "I hope I didn't... umm... interrupt anything."
"Usagi, where are you? Mercury checked on you and Mamoru, but said you were both awake."
"I'm in the bathroom." Usagi whispered the wail evident in her voice, not really listening to everything that Rei had said. Usagi didn't care all she wanted at the moment was a sympathetic ear.
"Hey, wait a minute! Me and MAMORU!!! How did they know I was..."
"Mamoru?" Usagi latched onto the name, wondering exactly what was happening. "What do you mean checked on me and Mamoru? How did you know I was here? How did I teleport again? My brooch was halfway across the city."
Rei blanched. "Kami, why did I have to get the short straw? I don't want to be the one to have to explain this."
"Luna had Ami bring the brooch back." Rei explained. "We did it for your own good, because you were having another nightmare. Both Luna and Mako couldn't wake you up. You managed to give Makoto a black eye and you overpowered her in her Senshi form."
Usagi's eyes widened in shock. "That's impossible." She whispered. None of the other Senshi were stronger then Jupiter.
Rei ignored Usagi's comment. "Finally Luna called Ami; it was the only way she could think of for you to avoid hurting yourself. From what they tell me, you teleported before any of them could do anything. We found you at Mamoru's apartment, but you were sleeping so soundly that Luna said we shouldn't disturb you until you woke up on your own. Minako did cover you with a blanket, just so you wouldn't shiver and we brought you Mr. Fufu."
Usagi covered her head with her hands. "Of all the things my FRIENDS could have done. They decide to tuck me in."
"Couldn't you have just carried me home?" Usagi asked quietly, the strain she was feeling beginning to show in her voice.
"And get Mamoru to let go of his death grip? I don't think so." Rei thought back to the brief moment they had tried to free Usagi from Mamoru's arms. It had ended up with Mako collapsed on the floor in pain and Mamoru with even a tighter grip on Usagi.
"We tried." Rei said, "but it was impossible."
Usagi shook her head gently. "Well, I'm awake now. When will you come get me?"
A pained looked crossed Rei's face and she looked quickly away. This was the reason the Senshi had drawn straws.
"We've decided that you can't leave until you and Mamoru talk."
"WHAT?" Usagi shouted. "I hate that baka, I'll escape on my own." She was about to turn the communicator off, but something stopped her. Rei's visage showed a sadness that she had never seen before.
Rei quickly shook her head. "You can't escape. Motoki and Minako are guarding the front door. Makoto is guarding the balcony and Ami says you won't be able to teleport, it requires Luna's presence."
Usagi's eyes widened as every avenue of escape was cut off. Especially the teleport, that was the one way she had planned on escaping.
"We'll let you go as soon as you tell Mamoru you love him."
Usagi didn't even try to respond, she was too stunned. "L...Love him." She finally managed to stutter.
"I don't love him." She denied.
"Then why did you call him Mamo-chan?"
Usagi was shocked. "How did they know? Did they hear me in the hall?"
"Luna." She said quietly. "That cat is dead. I'll tell Artemis what she really thinks about him."
"Also," Rei reminded her. "You admitted you loved him just a few days ago. Remember?"
Just then Mamoru pounded on the door again.
"Good luck Usagi." With that Rei's face faded.
As soon as Rei ended the conversation, she rushed outside and grabbed the nearest object to help relieve her frustrations. Luckily, it was the broom and not one of her ancestor's swords. Rei attacked the nonexistent leaves on the walkway.
"Usagi looked at me as if I was throwing her to the wolves. Well one wolf." She amended. "I only hope that when this is all over she forgives me."
Rei dropped the broom and went back inside to consult the fire.
Mamoru knelt before the door as he tried to look under the crack, all he could see were a pair of dainty feet. "At least she's not trying to crawl out the window." True, his apartment was ten stories up. "But she just might be desperate enough to try it."
He waited patiently, deciding to give her time to get over her fright. She was whispering to herself, but he couldn't make out he words.
Her tone of voice became more frightened. Mamoru stood up and pounded on the door, he couldn't take it any longer. "Are you okay, Usako?" He asked, concern filling his voice.
Tears streamed down Usagi's face. "Just leave me alone." She cried and then her tears became a downpour.
Mamoru listened to her crying and then looked down at the lock. It was the kind you could open with a wire hanger, but he didn't dare go to his room to get one. What if she tried to leave?
"You're not Tuxedo Kamen for nothing." His inner voice chided. Mamoru concentrated and created a steel-tipped rose before proceeding to pick the lock.
Usagi heard a scraping noise and hid behind the shower curtain as the door swung open. She peeked around the edge wondering if she could manage to run around Mamoru.
"HENTAI!!!" She screamed, shocked. She quickly ducked behind the curtain.
Mamoru glanced down at his unclad form, the thought barely registering that he didn't have a stitch on.
"That's what you get for disturbing a guy in bed."
"You wear BOXERS to bed." Usagi countered.
"How do you know that Odango?"
Mamoru sighed when she didn't answer his question. He quickly grabbed a dirty pair of boxers from the hamper and pulled them on. "There, I'm covered. Now let's talk."
Usagi stayed behind her shield not daring to believe him. "Although I could check just to see. One look wouldn't hurt."
{"Shut up."} She told herself. Although the idea was very tempting. "Maybe I should..."
"Usagi, come out right now." Mamoru's voice was filled with determination. "She'd better do it or I won't be responsible for the consequences."
"No way. I'm staying here."
Mamoru strode towards her determination in every step. He'd just run out of patience.
"First she faints on me. Refuses my present. Avoids me for three days. Then pours a milkshake over my head. Now she refuses to talk with me. Enough is enough."
Mamoru gripped the shower curtain and then pulled. The plastic tore as it popped from the rings and the entire curtain fell down. Usagi glared at Mamoru.
Before Usagi could even think, she found herself enfolded in the shower curtain. Mamoru swung her over his shoulder like a sack of grain and then went down the hall towards his bedroom.
"Don't you dare take me to your room, hentai." Usagi protested as she feebly tried to escape.
"Fine." Mamoru said switching directions going to the front room.
Usagi sighed in relief as she realized that Mako and Ami wouldn't be able to see them.
Mamoru plopped Usagi down on the couch and then waited as she tore the plastic sheath off. They stared at each other for a moment. Neither knew what to say.
Usagi fingered the plastic as she tried to come up with a last ditch escape plan. "I wonder if I threw this over his head and ran, how far could I get?"
She looked at Mamoru's determined face.
"Not very far." She admitted to herself as she glanced at the front door. "Especially with Minako and Motoki right outside."
"Hey, when did Motoki become a part of the group?" Her thoughts rambled from one question to another as she desperately tried to avoid Mamoru's eyes.
Mamoru sighed heavily as he followed her gaze to the front door. "Don't even think about it." He said grabbing the plastic from her, balling it up, and throwing it down the hall. "If you manage to escape again, then I will come after you. And this time I won't let your cat or your father stop me. Do you understand?"
Usagi nodded in acquiescence.
"Good." Mamoru thought recognizing the look of defeat. "Now we can finally talk."
"Why did you come here, Usagi?" It was the question he had been desperately trying to ask her for the past three days. He no longer cared how it had happened. He just needed to understand why.
Usagi's eyes widened and tears began to well up. Mamoru scooted to the other end of the couch as he slowly shook his head. "Every time I've been near her lately; she either cries, faints, or runs away."
It was time for Usagi to make a choice. He kept his distance, but spread his arms wide, letting her know that he'd comfort her if she wanted.
"Why I came here?" Usagi repeated the question quietly.
"DO YOU THINK I HAD A CHOICE?" She yelled as she stood up and began pacing nervously. The exhaustions and frustrations of the past week were finally catching up to her, but they combined to give her a boost of hysterical adrenalin-charged energy.
The torrent of tears continued, Usagi stood up and began pacing back and forth. "I didn't do it on purpose." She wailed. "Do you think I want to be stuck with YOU?Believe me, if I had a choice, I would choose anyone else before I choose you."
"Ouch." That shot decided to hit him right in the heart. "I didn't think she hated me THAT much."
"I was supposed to have a NORMAL life. Instead I get handed the twilight zone and I'm expected to just DEAL WITH IT!" Usagi continued, not even realizing what she was saying, what affect she was having on Mamoru.
Her normal life had flown out the window the day she'd received her brooch. "Here Usagi, save the world. Keep secrets from your family. You can't tell anyone, except your friends, and they have to deal with it too; so don't expect any sympathy."
"A normal life, with normal friends. That's all I ever wanted. Instead I get you, nightmares, and whatever monsters fate decides to throw at me."
Mamoru was stunned. "She thinks I'm a monster; I give her nightmares."
Usagi saw the shocked look on Mamoru's face. "What did I say?" She thought trying to remember what her ramblings had been about. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I..."
Tears began to pour down her face as one of the barriers that she'd desperately been struggling to keep from crumbling came crashing down. "I love him." She admitted to herself. "I love him enough that I won't let anything keep him away from me, even the nightmares." She paused. "Especially the nightmares."
She threw herself into Mamoru's open arms and allowed him to comfort her. Mamoru rocked her gently, holding her, whispering reassuring phrases until the tears began to die down.
As the last tear rolled down her face, Mamoru caught it and stared at it in wonder.
Usagi looked at him. "Why are you being so nice to me? You hate me."
"Is that what you think?" Mamoru asked.
"Well, you always tease me."
Mamoru smiled as he thought about all the times he had teased her, how fun it was to watch her react.
"I teased you because that was the only way you would talk to me. The one time I was nice to you; you felt my forehead, murmured something about a fever and wandered away."
He paused for a moment and stared into her eyes. "I love you Usako."
Usagi's eyes widened, Mamoru leaned closer to kiss her, but stopped only a fingerswidth from her lips.
Usagi was trembling. "What is he waiting for? For me to hit him."
She smiled as she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. "I love you Mamo-chan." Mamoru captured her lips and the world fell away as they kissed.
It seemed like minutes, but it was actually hours later that a beeping interrupted the couple.
"I'm going to kill Rei." Usagi thought as Mamoru pulled away and glanced at the wall clock.
"Usako, why do you have your alarm set for six a.m.? Especially on Sunday morning?" He reached for her wrist so he could turn the watch off.
"It's not an alarm." Usagi said trying to pull her wrist away. "My communicator. Oh Kami. Don't let him find out like this."
It was too late. Mamoru managed to capture her wrist, he glanced down at it. "How do you turn it off?" He pushed the flashing blue button and the beeping stopped. Sailor Mercury's face was revealed. "There's a youma near the 2nd street park. Hurry up Jupiter, we need Sailor Moon immediately."
The message ended and then was repeated.
"Why do you have one of the Senshi's communicators?" Mamoru asked confused. "Did you find it on the sidewalk?"
Just then Sailor Jupiter entered the room, carrying Usagi's brooch. "Usagi, we need you now. I found this hidden beneath his pillow. You and Mamoru will have to make out later."
Mamoru's eyes widened as he looked at the communicator and then at the brooch that Jupiter was holding.
He looked at Usagi. "Could it be true? Is she...?"
"Sailor Moon." He whispered.
Usagi nodded swiftly as she took the brooch from Jupiter, stood up, and said "Moon Prism Power, Makeup!"
A dazzling display of lights filled the room as she transformed.
Once it was gone. Mamoru sat staring at her in shock. "My girlfriend is Sailor Moon. The champion of love and justice."
He watched her face, she was looking at him anxiously. He smiled. "I guess we've both been keeping secrets from the other."
He stood up, pulled a rose from the air and transformed into Tuxedo Kamen. "I just found you, I don't think I'll let you go off alone."
Usagi's jaw dropped as she stared at her tuxedo-clad boyfriend. He was halfway down the hall so he didn't hear Jupiter's whispered remark.
"No fair. We have to be naked when we transform and he gets to just change. We don't get to see ANYTHING." The last sentence was indignant. She glanced at Usagi. "He's your boyfriend, don't you care? He just saw you transform, don't you think you should get the same chance?"
Usagi blushed as she remembered what she had seen in the bathroom. "Don't you dare transform in front of him." She whispered and then rushed down the hall.
They both rushed to the balcony, where Tuxedo Kamen was waiting impatiently. "Did you two have to stop and do your makeup?" He asked acidly. "There is a youma we need to fight."
Sailor Moon glanced at the balcony and paled. "I'll... I'll... I'll take the elevator and go by ground." She ignored Tuxedo Kamen's comment, realizing that at the moment that was the only way he could relieve the stress he felt. She was more concerned about the balcony.
Mamoru glanced at Makoto. "I won't drop her."
Jupiter nodded. Mamoru picked Usagi up, not letting her argue as he stepped out onto the balcony and jumped up to the roof. Jupiter followed right behind him.
Sailor Moon hid her head as they jumped for the first time. As they landed safely on the roof, she realized that Tuxedo Kamen could jump higher then she could. She didn't say anything as they went from rooftop to rooftop. They were at the park in minutes.
Once at the park Tuxedo Kamen released Sailor Moon, he kissed her swiftly. "I'll be in the treetops in case you need me." He rushed off and left her and Sailor Jupiter alone.
They glanced at the newest enemy. The youma looked like a giant firework. Its head was a triangular pyramid. And it was holding a bunch of sparklers in its hands. Mercury and Mars had already fallen to the ground injured, and slightly burned. The youma was about to attack them when a chain of hearts wrapped around it and pulled it away.
Jupiter began her attack. "Supreme Thun..."
"No Jupiter!" Mercury cried out. "If you hit it, it'll explode and kill me and Mars. It's full of gunpowder."
Jupiter nodded and used the distraction that Venus was causing to run forward and pick up a Senshi in each arm. She rushed back to Sailor Moon. Usagi stood there looking at her Tiara and then glancing at Mercury. "Will I make it explode?"
Mercury nodded as Jupiter put her down. "Let me hit it first, then you can attack."
Usagi nodded and waited while Ami lifted her arms and called out. "Shine Aqua Illusion!" A stream of water rushed forward and hit the youma, neutralizing the gunpowder.
"Now Sailor Moon." Tuxedo Kamen's voice called from the darkness.
Sailor Moon nodded as she stepped away from her friends. "Moon Tiara Action!" The tiara whizzed through the air and hit the youma in the exact spot that Mercury's attack had. Sparks flew from the youma and it exploded in a pyrotechnic display that was brighter then a grand finale at a Fourth of July celebration.
The Senshi ducked as best they could; however, Sailor Moon was the closest to the exploding youma. A blast came aimed right at Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Kamen saw it coming and quickly pushed her out of the way, absorbing the full brunt of the blast.
Sailor Moon knelt over him, checking for a pulse. It was there, but faint. "No!" She cried, realizing that he wasn't breathing. She bent down covering his lips with her own and breathed life back into him.
His eyes flittered open and he sat up coughing.
"Are you okay?" He gasped, looking at his beloved.
Usagi nodded tears streaming down her face. Mamoru reached a hand up and wiped the tears away. He sat up carefully and wrapped his arms around her shaking form. "I'm okay. Don't worry."
Usagi nodded and then yawned heavily. Mamoru echoed her yawn. They both detransformed and then lay down on the cold ground as sleep claimed them.
The rest of the Senshi were shocked. They had watched as Tuxedo Kamen was hit, now both he and Sailor Moon had fallen to the ground.
Mercury quickly examined them with her computer. "They're both asleep, nothing more." The rest of the Senshi sighed in relief; at least they weren't dead.
"We should probably move them before anyone comes by."
Makoto and Rei nodded and together they picked Mamoru up. Ami and Minako picked up Usagi. The Senshi hurried back to Mamoru's apartment where they left the exhausted couple alone. As soon as they were under the covers, Mamoru reached out a hand, searching for his beloved. Usagi sighed as he pulled her closer to him.
That night they shared the same dream and this time they weren't going to let death win.
