Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Conflict and Courage ❯ A Broken Heart ( Chapter 1 )

An Unaccepted Love

by Damien Frost

This is a story of love.

I know what you're thinking already, and no, it's not all that mushy `I love you, I love you.' It's not a romp in the bedroom.

It's a story of an unaccepted love.

Is destiny such a powerful force that we are unable to walk in the other direction? Or is destiny nothing more than a suggestion? Is it the most probable path?

Well, all I can say is screw destiny.

This is a story about the bright truth of the heart and the cold truth of life.

They do meet in the middle sometimes.

~

Chapter One: A Broken Heart

~

"Rei-chan!!! Where are you going?"

She stopped mid-stride and sighed. Turning to her grandfather, she plastered on a fake smile. "I'm just going out for a walk. I'll be back in a little while."

"But it's snowing," Grandpa Hino looked at the miko sternly. "Have you finished all your chores?" he relented.

"When have I ever not finished my chores?" Seeing the look in her grandfather's eyes, she smiled sweetly, "Of course, ojiisan."

Shaking his head and smiling he waved her off. "Have fun then."

As Rei turned to leave, she gave a sad smile. `Yeah, right,' she thought.

Hino Rei is something of an extraordinary person. She excels in school, maintains all her duties as a Shinto priestess, and sings quite beautifully. Above all, though, she is sad. She has friends. Some closer than others, but she would give her life for any of them.

And there was one she would give her soul as well.

That is why she is sad.

~

It was Sunday, a day to goof off while dreading the return to school on Monday.

Three years ago, if you would have told any of her friends that Tsukino Usagi would spend an entire Sunday in her room studying, unforced, they would have laughed.

And not just a `ha' laugh. We're talking rolling on the ground, tears streaming from their eyes, struggling to breathe laughing.

But now, on this Sunday, a week before she turns 17, she's lying on her bed poring over a book that would have made her studying seem like a lame joke.

Usagi sighed in frustration as she went over the equation in her head again. She never understood how she had let Ami talk her into taking advanced physics, but somehow here she was. Tomorrow was her mid-term exam, then a week of freedom. She shook her head as she got off her bed.

"Maybe a walk will let me clear my head so I can start thinking again," she smirked. "Not a word Luna," she added as she saw her advisor open her mouth for a quick remark.

"Wouldn't dream of it," she said as she curled up for a nap, smiling as best a cat can.

~

Rei didn't mean to walk to her house. It just, well … happened. Here she was standing in front Usagi's house wondering how she had gotten here.

At the exact moment she decided to leave, the front door opened and an angel with funny hair stepped out.

"Rei-chan! What are you doing here?" she asked the miko as she ran up and gave her a hug.

Her heart stopped. Her heart skipped when Usagi barely touched her, a hug was a guaranteed shut-down. So Rei did what she always did in defense to her desire.

"Come on odango-atama, you're acting like we haven't seen each other in months."

Usagi backed off (consequently, Rei's heart resumed where it had left off) and stuck her tongue out at the miko, then smiled. "Whatever, pyro. So what are you doing here anyway?" Usagi cocked her head as she asked.

What was Rei going to say? `I can't stop thinking about you and I just wanted to see you? I love you so much it hurts and I just felt like telling you? Let's run away together and leave everything behind?' the last thought made her smile.

"I was just kind of wandering and ended up here," she said embarrassed.

Usagi regarded her friend for a moment before deciding her answer was good enough for her. "Well your wandering got you here just in time. I was heading out to clear my head a little." Then, with a sly smile, "Want to head to Crown and get some ice cream? My treat!"

`How can I say no to that?' the miko shook her head. "Do I have a choice in this matter?" she grinned.

Usagi laughed as she grabbed Rei's hand and pulled her along. "Do you ever?" she replied.

~

Now at this point some things should be explained. The two girls that have been centered on are, in fact, reincarnates. A thousand years ago, a kingdom flourished on the moon. One of the girls was the princess of the kingdom, and the other was her guardian. When they were reborn, the memories of their previous life were scrambled and choppy.

They still can't remember the whole story.

In this life, Tsukino Usagi (if you haven't guessed, she's the princess) is deeply in love with Chiba Mamoru. They have traveled to the future and have seen the beautiful kingdom they will rule. She has met a daughter who hasn't been born, and fought against countless evils to protect the world she lives on and the ones she loves.

Through it all, Hino Rei, Sailor Mars, has been at her side.

Against her will, as it often goes, the senshi of the red planet found herself falling in love with her princess.

Heart and soul.

~

While it had not been months since the two girls had seen each other, it had been about three weeks. They sat around the arcade for about two hours catching up on what had been happening in each other's lives.

"So, how's Mamoru-san?" Rei asked, expecting the same answer as always. `Oh, just great, we're madly deeply in love and everything is going absolutely wonderfully.' Rei shuddered involuntarily.

Usagi just shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen him in about two weeks."

Rei's jaw hit the floor. "Two weeks? What happened?" she asked, barely able to hold in her shock.

Rei instantly regretted prying when she noticed the change in her friend. It seemed she grew several years older in an instant, with the weight of the world making itself evident on her shoulders. "Let's go back to my house, I'll tell you on the way," she smiled weakly.

~

Rei didn't want to push where she wasn't welcome, but this was important. "So what happened, Usa?" Rei didn't realize how intimate a name she had just called her friend.

Usagi noticed, though. `Usa, huh?' she smiled a little. `I like that.'

Rei noticed the small smile on Usagi's face and blinked in confusion. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

This broke Usagi out of her reverie. "No, I need to tell someone. And I'd rather tell you than anyone.

"About a month ago I went to Mamoru-san's apartment." Rei took large notice of the formality she used. "I had a doctor's appointment that day, and I decided I could use the rest of the day off from school. So I went over to surprise him." Rei could see where this was going. "I can say he surprised me just as much as I did him," she choked back as she looked up. They had arrived at Usagi's home. "Would you come in?" she turned to Rei with unshed tears.

Rei's heart broke at the sight. "Of course," she whispered.

~

As they took off their jackets and boots Shingo walked into the entranceway. "Hey Rei-san," he greeted the miko. Then he turned to his sister with a somber face.

"The asshole called again," he said simply before walking off to resume his video game.

Usagi froze. `Why won't he just let me figure this out? He's not helping by pushing me,' she thought sadly. She looked up to see Rei looking at her with concern and … something else. Usagi shook her head. `Even if it was, what could I possibly do about it?'

"Let's head up to my room."

~

As she closed her door, Usagi leaned her head against it, tears starting to trail their way down her cheeks. Rei walked up behind her and embraced her. "Shhh … I'm here Usagi-chan. You can tell me everything, and together we'll figure out what to do." Usagi relaxed into Rei's arms. She felt safe and warm.

"Usagi-chan? Are you in there?" Rei's hand waving in front of her face brought Usagi out of her reverie.

"Sorry Rei, I was just thinking," she blushed.

Rei sat on Usagi's bed and looked up at her friend. "So what happened?'

Usagi sighed heavily and picked up Luna, stroking the sleeping cat to calm her nerves.

~

She had been to the doctor for a regular check-up. Her mother told her she didn't have to go back to school that day if she didn't want to.

Usagi took the opportunity to surprise Mamoru with lunch. She stopped by a deli near his apartment and bought a couple sandwiches.

As she walked up the stairs to his apartment she began to have a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. `It's probably just my imagination,' she thought.

She pulled out her spare key and put it into the slot, only to stop. She thought she could hear noises coming from the other side of the door.

`Please just say he's watching TV,' she closed her eyes and hoped.

As she pushed the door open, her worst fears were confirmed. Mamoru was lying on the couch with a girl no older than Usagi lying on top of him. `Well, more like sitting on him,' she thought.

Usagi stood there, jaw clenched, tears forming in her eyes. She waited until one of them noticed her. In the middle of a moan the girl opened her eyes and froze. Mamoru followed her gaze and felt like someone had just shot him.

"Would you mind leaving me and my boyfriend alone for a few minutes?" Usagi asked the girl, her anger barely being kept in check.

"Uh, sure," she responded dumbly.

Usagi waited until she had left before looking at Mamoru. "Put some clothes on, you pig," she spat.

Mamoru looked at her with wide eyes before complying. He had never heard her use such a venomous tone, much less call anyone anything offensive. When he had dressed he sat back down on the couch, looking down at the floor like a little kid that knew they had done something wrong and awaited punishment.

"Who is she?"

"No one."

Usagi's temper flared at his answer. "No one! No one! How stupid do you think I am!? Or was she just some girl you picked up on your way home to satisfy your urges? You couldn't have waited for me, could you? You didn't love me enough to wait one more fucking year!" she screamed at him.

Mamoru looked completely taken aback. No one had ever heard Usagi say anything worse than damn, and even that was rare. "Usa-ko, please, calm down,' he tried, pitifully.

Usagi regarded him coldly. "You have five minutes."

"I met her a few weeks ago at school and we got to know each other. She reminded me so much of you. A great personality…"

"You mean a ditz."

"No!" he cried, half in defense and half in anger of being caught.

"Mamoru-san, what was I to you? Your true love, or a trophy you got for loving me in a past life?" she asked with a sincerity and calmness she did not feel. "When you figure it out, you come talk to me. Until then, I don't want to see you."

With that she turned and walked out.

Waiting outside the door was the girl. Usagi stopped and smiled. "I'm Usagi," she said as she bowed.

The girl was stunned. "M… Ma… Maori…" she bowed, more out of reflex than anything.

"Did you want to go get a cup of coffee or something?" Usagi asked her. still smiling.

~

Rei busted out laughing. "You did not seriously ask her that did you?" she looked at Usagi with amazement.

"Well, she didn't know me, or what she was doing. She wasn't the one that hurt me, so why should I hold a grudge against her?" Usagi shrugged.

Rei sat there stunned, looking at her with a new respect. No matter what anyone had done in the world, they always got a chance to redeem themselves in Usagi's eyes.

"What did she say?" the miko asked, dying to know.

Usagi smiled for the first time since she started telling her story. "She said `no thanks.' I told her if she changes her mind, she can get my number from Mamoru-san."

Rei fell on the ground laughing. "You didn't."

"Course I did."

"So then what happened?"

Usagi's smile fell off her face in an instant.

~

It was two weeks later and Usagi was walking through the mall when she saw him. He was sitting at a table in the mall eating lunch.

With her.

Usagi walked up to them and plastered a smile on her face. "Hey Mamoru-san, Maori-san," she nodded to the girl. Mamoru choked on the hamburger he was eating.

"Hi Usagi-san, how are you?" Maori asked, a little wary.

Usagi smiled sadly. She could tell Maori wasn't a bad person. "I've been better. How are you?"

"I'm doing all right." Both girls saw Mamoru looking at them in horror.

"What? Am I growing a second head or something?" Usagi asked him, looking around for the unwelcome appendage.

"Ummm… no?" he replied, unsure of himself. "Ummm… Usagi-chan? Could I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

Usagi seemed to consider this for a moment before looking at him, a brief flash of anger showing in her eyes. "No."

She then turned to Maori. "I'm happy for you," she said as she bent sown to hug the girl. She then whispered into her ear, "I just hope he treats you better than he did me."

Maori looked away, embarrassed.

Usagi turned to face Mamoru, pain evident in her voice. "I'm glad you've made a decision. I just hope you're happy," she said, sincerely.

~

"… and that was it."

Rei couldn't help but stare at her friend, dumbfounded. `If it were me, I'd be in jail for a double homicide,' she thought.

"You want to know the really bad part, though?" Usagi asked her friend.

Rei only nodded, unable to speak.

"I still love him."

It was then that Rei knew why she had fallen in love with the princess. It was because she could forgive anything, if only you made the effort to repent. She loved everybody and everything, and would never lie. `Yeah, sure she's beautiful,' Rei thought. `But her beauty comes in a distant second to heart.'

"Rei-chan? Hey pyro!" Usagi yelled at her friend.

Rei looked up at her friend, having been shaken from her daydream. "Sorry what was that?"

"I was wondering if it would be all right, if I… well…"

Rei understood immediately, feeling the loneliness emanating from her princess. "You can stay at the temple if you would like, Usagi-chan."

~

A/N

It's been a long time since I've written anything. Also, this is my first time trying to use the honorifics and all that. If I suck at it, just tell me and I'll stop.

Other than that, it's 4 in the morning and this idea just popped into my head. I don't really know where I'll be going with it, but I should have it figured out by the time the next chapter is up.

THANK YOU FOR READING!!!

"Loneliness is not a condition cured with rest. You must seek out the cure, because by doing so, it will unquestionably sneak up behind you." - Anonymous