Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Second Chance at Love ❯ A Union That Could Never Be ( Prologue )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A Second Chance At Love
By: Minako-chan
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Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to say Sailor Moon belongs to me,
it doesn't. *shoulders sagging*

Author's Notes: Just a fic inspired by a short Chinese series.
E-mail me! cupid_teacup@hotmail.com ^_^

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*~*PROLOGUE~*~

Laughter filled the air inside the limousine. Wine glasses made
the sounds of "clunk" against one another. One man stood out from
the crowd. His laughter sounded melodious, for from this day forth,
he was the happiest man in the world.

He ran his hands through his hair, his face turning red from the
rising temperature and embarrassment. Two other friends sat with
him, congratulating and joking about what his future held for him.
His best friend glanced at him and sighed silently. 'Shouldn't I
be happy for him?'

The young man fixed his collar and adjusted his almost-perfect
hair once again from the reflection of the tinted glass behind
the driver's head. A smile played on his lips as he glanced at
his reflection.

He was no longer going to be alone.

He closed his eyes and brought the wine glass to his lips, taking
a final sip. Half a glass was enough, for now, he thought.

While he was swallowing, the sound of a horn forced his eyes open.
The driver slammed onto the brakes immediately but was too late.
The three men watched in horror as a truck slid on the road in zig-
zag motion, and headed in their direction.

The wine glass left his hand, the glass shattering onto the floor
of the vehicle, only making a faint sound compared to the tires
screeching and screaming from the driver and his friends.

For him, time slowed and he watched everything in slow motion.
His life played before his eyes as if on a VCR. Mainly her.

HER.

The moment they met, their first date, their first kiss, his
proposal, her acceptance, planning their future together...

And all was lost, and he knew it.

He watched, helpless of the situation, as the truck slammed into
their limousine. Screams, then silence. He lifted his heavy eye-
lids, seeing everything turn from light pink to red.

A tear escaped as he mouthed her name.

His eyelids dropped again as he heard the faint sounds of sirens.
Unable to hold on any longer, he decided to close his eyes. The
image of her slowly faded from his mind and his head fell onto his
best friend's trembling shoulders.

"Hold on, please...hold on..." His best friend called out, looking
around him, realizing the driver was silent as well, his head on
the steering wheel.

The sounds of the sirens grew nearer now, and soon the door was
forced open as the paramedics rushed in.

"One survivor!" A woman cried out to the rest of the team as she
tried to bring out the bodies.

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She sat on the bench, listening to the serene music, trying to calm
her nerves. Glancing at her father's watch, she chewed her perfectly
pink-tinted lip nervously.

Her father looked at her lovingly and wrapped an arm around her white
shoulders, tears evident in his eyes.

"My baby is all grown up." He whispered.

Her mother exchanged proud glances with him and nodded in agreement,
sobbing into a small hankerchief.

"Don't worry, baby, he will be here soon." Her mother whispered.

She fidgeted with her white-gloved fingers, her heart feeling
uneasy. Was it normal to have this type of anxiety? She had heard
countless stories about this type of situation. But, she glanced
at the watch again, why was he half an hour late?

She stared at the cross up at the front, then at the priest, who
smiled at her warmly. Her relatives and friends were already
getting restless.

She tugged at the pearl necklace that had been passed on to her
from her great grandmother, twirling the string around her fingers,
pulling it around her neck nervously.

Then, the string broke, and the pearls fell like tiny raindrops
all around her.

The aching sinking feeling inside her heart grew stronger. She
looked at the cross again and silently prayed.

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He opened his eyes and found a woman bandaging his arms, which
were throbbing.

The woman, seeing he was conscious again, looked at him with sympathy.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Chiba?" She asked as she carefully wrapped
another layer of bandage on his right arm.

Chiba Mamoru's throat felt dry and his voice was hoarse. "How...
how are the others?" He asked, afraid that he already knew the answer.
Tears gathered in his eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir..." She whispered and bit her lip sadly.
Although she had been on the job for years, it was still hard to be
the bearer of such tragic news.

"How long have I been unconscious?" His voice trembled.

"30 minutes..." She replied, unable to meet him in the eyes.

'30 minutes...' he thought, 'she will still be waiting...'

"Am I the only survivor?" He whispered.

The woman could only nod. Mamoru stood up angrily with his fists
tightening, his nails digging into his broken skin. With tears
coursing down his cheeks, he shrugged off the woman's hand from
his arm, and rushed to his best friend's side. Shaking violently
with sobs, he reached into his friend's pocket and took out a
small letter. Then, with aching legs and blurring vision, Mamoru
rushed out of the hospital - to go to her.

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The watch beeped when an hour went by. She played with her
fingers again, feeling that it had been the longest hour she
had ever experienced.

Traffic, perhaps, was holding him back? Her mind raced through a
thousand possibilities.

The crowd was really restless now. Children were crying, tugging
at their little suits and dresses uncomfortably, the older ones
were either sleeping or staring in a distance; her friends sat
around her, giving her comforting words every now and then.

The wide wooden doors opened suddenly with a loud boom. Mamoru
panted in the doorway, his hair messy, his tuxedo torn, and his
whole body was aching with blood stains all over.

She jumped at the loud noise and turned around, a big smile
spreading across her lips. Everyone fell silent and whipped
around, expecting to see the one person they were all waiting
for.

"Where have you been, M---" Her mouth fell open and no sound
came out as her eyes roamed over Mamoru's injured form.

Suddenly the room was deadly silent, the only sound was
Mamoru's panting and the rustling of her veil.

"Usagi..." Her mother stood beside her, worried.

Usagi swallowed hard and furrowed her brows. As if paralyzed,
she continued staring at Mamoru, who was supporting himself
with his hands on the doorframe, the wind blowing behind him.
She looked into his eyes and then at his tear-stained cheeks.
A look of confusion crossed her features.

Mamoru's heart sank at the confused and pained expression on
her face. She was so beautiful, so delicate, so...

He snapped out of his thoughts. She remained standing there,
which made everything so much more painful to him. Slowly,
he took a shaky step forward, stepping onto the polished
floor, his footstep making a loud echo.

"What...what happened?" She choked out the question in a
whisper.

"Usa...Usagi..." Mamoru's voice trembled as his hands settled
onto her shoulders, his blood staining her dress.

"Nani?" She blinked twice, and her unshed tears glistened
in the light.

Mamoru's heart swelled as he studied her for the very first
time since he stepped in. She looked radiant in her gown,
like a perfect doll. Unconsciously his grip on her shoulders
tightened as he inhaled deeply and let it out, trembling.

"There..." He paused, as Usagi leaned forward, anticipating
his answer. "There was...an accident."

A soft gasp was her reaction. Usagi quickly shook Mamoru's
hands off her and peered over his broad shoulders from left
to right frantically.

"Where...where..." She wiped her tears with the back of her
gloved hands, squinting her eyes to see past the doorway.

"Usagi..." Mamoru squeezed her shoulders again, stopping
her. She looked at him with crystalline tears falling.

"Where is he?" Usagi cried. "This is some type of mean joke
that you're playing on me, right? Like all the other pranks
you've pulled on me?"

She waited for his answer, watching his pale features care-
fully, trying so hard to find hope. Mamoru only closed his
eyes.

After a prolonged moment, he opened them again, tears
escaping underneath his dark lashes.

Usagi stepped back, shaking her head from side to side, her
chest rising and falling from her ragged breath. Her own tears
made their way down her powdered doll face. Her eyes widened
in horror at the realization. She knew.

She lifted her dress, shrugged Mamoru's hands off her stained
shoulders and ran past Mamoru through the doorway.

Rushing down the steps, Usagi whimpered when she saw the
limousine that she was supposed to travel in once her wedding
ceremony was over. It was decorated with ribbons and bows on
the outside, and there was a set of figurines at the front, of
a smiling groom and a winking bride.

She tripped then, down the steps, collapsing. Usagi brought
her knees to her chest as she tried to wipe away her tears
with her gloves, only to stain them with her makeup. Behind
her stood Mamoru with his eyes closed, trying to stop his tears
from falling. Usagi's family, relatives and friends stood
behind him in the wide doorway, some unable to look at her at
all and diverted their attention elsewhere.

Usagi looked up, her whole body shaking from her angry tears.

"Motoki, why?" She screamed with grief, her eyes focused on the
figure of the groom on the limousine. Immediately, she lost her
voice and could only choke painfully.

Her anguish cry echoed down the empty streets, along with the
sound of her veil flapping in the wind.

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Stay tuned for Chapter 1: Raindrops

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Author's Notes: Hello! A new fic...hope you liked it! Like I said, it
was inspired by a short Chinese series (TV). It was a tragedy, by the
way...I think you can tell ;) Seems like I've been writing depressing
stuff lately, but don't worry, I don't throw in sad endings unless I
have a reason to (i.e. I was going through a hard time in real life
as I was writing "What Exactly Are We?", hence the original sad
epilogue) Please e-mail me all your comments! I'd love to hear from
you! cupid_teacup@hotmail.com

Special note to Usa-p: Get well soon so you can eat lots, drink lots
(honey of course), and WRITE lots! *grins* And extra big special
thanks for your great suggestions^_^