Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Run Away ❯ Chapter 5

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

FIVE

Nothing happened again for months. The only problems Usagi was having were the obvious boy problems, and this nagging feeling that Usagi was being watched. It had stared on Usagi's way home from the meeting where the others found out who Usagi was. That had been at least four months ago. She, Luna, and Chibi-usa had been on there way home when Usagi felt the eyes. Everyday since then, at different times of the day, she'd feel the eyes watching her. Whenever she turned to see who was watching her, the feeling would leave, and Usagi would feel extremely stupid. Luna and Chibi0usa said that they did feel anything, neither did the other senshi. Chibi-usa asked Mamoru, and he told her that he hadn't felt anything. it would seem whatever was watching her was only after her.
And this was one of those times, and of course, Umino just had to be there. See, Usagi had stared to cultivate her old friendships, including that of her best friend Naru. Unfortunately, when you were friends with Naru, you had to put up with Umino, Whenever and wherever he might show up. Even on the way to get a job application.
"Hey, Rina! Did you see the new Sailor V game at the Arcade?" Umino squeaked. You'd think after four years, the guys voice would change, but no. he was still the very same Umino that Usagi had begun to despise four years ago, when he let his lips fly at the media. Now, that is a scary thought!
"Umino, I'm going to tell you this one last time." Usagi turned and smiled far to sweetly. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her height. He was just a little tall for her and her non-towering four-eleven.
"I don't like you. I do not wish to converse with you. I cannot even stand the sound of your voice. it would be advisable for you not to talk to me. Is that understood, m'lad?"
Umino nodded vigorously.
"Good." Usagi released him, and he back slowly away before running down the street like a madman. usagi chuckled softly. Will he ever learn?
Usagi waited to see if she could sense the feeling again, but she didn't. So she sighed and walked the remaining black to Crown. She arrived to find all the lights out.
That's strange? Matoki called me and told that today would be the best day from me to come pick up an application. Why would he do that if-Oh, my God. They're throwing me a surprise b-day party! Well, let's humor them and play along, eh?
usagi walked up to the door and walked in as is swished out of the way.
"Hello? Matoki?"
"SURPRISE!"
"A surprise birthday party?! Oh, how thoughtful!" Usagi cried, playing the part. Usagi actually really had forgotten that it was Rina's birthday.
"Oh, give it up, Rina." Makoto told her, "You knew we had this planned."
Usagi shook her head. "Um um. I figured it out side just now."
"yeah, sure."
Usagi said hello and thanked everyone who came for a while until she found Matoki. She pulled him aside to a corner of the room. "Whose' idea was this, Mato-chan?"
Matoki smiled and pointed to a somewhat familiar part of the arcade. Siting in the booth where they had had their first date, was the sulked Mamoru. Usagi slowly made her way to him, talking to a few people on the way.
"How does the floor look, Mamoru?"
Mamoru looked up.
"Oh, hi, Rina. How's the, ah...party?" he asked like he wasn't sure if she wanted to talk or rip his head off, and if the were the case, maybe bring the thought of witnesses would prevent her from killing him.
Usagi giggled and sat down across from him. "Well, this certainly brings back memories, does it not?"
Mamoru nodded and smiled.
"Well, this place is a little claustrophobic for me. Wanna go talk?"
"But the party..."
Usagi stood and took his hand. "I have a leering suspicion that you think I'm going to kill you if you find yourself alone with me."
"Well, I know that you're angry with me." He said standing up as well.
"yes, well, that didn't last longer them a few days, but you would never call me, so I couldn't tell you. No, now I'd much rather do...something else, shall we say?"
Mamoru stared at Usagi for a moment. "B-b-but, I thought you said that only guys thought about that!"
Usagi put her forefinger up to her bottom lip and looked at him innocently. "Oh, did I neglect to mention that the girls are just as bad?"
Mamoru laughed quietly. "I do believe you did. But what about your party?"
usagi looked around. "They won't miss me, and if they do..." usagi pointed with her eyes to the blond watching them with great interest. "Matoki knows I'm with you."
"Huh," he said in a short ironic tone, "I think he's been trying to set us up since the day he met Rina."
Usagi pointed to the door and mouthed, we're going out. Matoki smiled and waved.
Usagi and Mamoru weeded there way out of the crowd of teens--young and older--dancing to (oddly enough) Ai No Senshi, one of the many songs that they made for Usagi's TV show.
Mamoru was the first to speak when they were out of the building. "We have gotten way to good at that."
"At what?"
"Getting through a crown."
Usagi snorted, "Yeah, one of many talents."
Mamoru barked a sharp laugh as he led her to his car. "C'mon. This way, I want to show you something."
When usagi resisted a little, Mamoru gave her a little tug.
Usagi looked at him cynically, "You enjoy dragging me around don't you? I mean first down streets and up fire escapes, now up streets and into cars."
"I enjoy do anything with you, Usagi." Mamoru replied with a raised eyebrow and a crooked smile.
Usagi raise her own eyebrow as he ushered her into the passenger side seat, "Forgive me for being cynical, but I don't think I should trust that statement. I think I think I might fear for my maiden head."
"What maiden head?" Mamoru scoffed when he got in the driver's seat. "And that statement is very true."
"You know what I meant!" Usagi crossed her arms as he laughed at her and started the engine.
"Do I?"
"Don't play like you weren't thinking that! I can see when your brains working. What're you up to?"
Mamoru laughed again.
"You'll see, it's not far."
Mamoru didn't say anything else after that, and neither did usagi. She was concentrating on her breath control. Being this close to Him always made her giddy as a school girl. He still got to her in a way that kept her very interested. Of course, that was good for a relationship.
"Here." He said suddenly. usagi looked around. She saw that they were on a beach that seemed very secluded. Mamoru got out of the red mustang and walked around the back to open her door. He held his hand out to usagi. She took it gingerly and he led her down to the water's edge without a single word. He finally released her hand when the water almost ran over their feet.
"Where's here?" She asked breathlessly as he watched the sunset with all it's reds, gold, and pinks.
"My thinking place. I come here when I need to think things out. I found it while I was driving around the day after you left. No one had ever been here, at least, not in a while."
Mamoru sighed and sat on the hood of his car and watched the sunset too. Usagi sat next to him as he continued.
"I need a place to go before I lost it with someone else around. I didn't want to blow up on anyone. I knew, as soon as Matoki found out and found me, he'd try and cheer me up and tell me you did what you have to. I'd know he'd be right, and I wanted someone to be angry with. You were the logical choice.
"The sunsets seemed to cool me off enough to get on with life, cooled me enough to think things through. Cooled me too much, it would seem. Everyone told me I'd become cold-hearted. They wanted to know why, so I gave them the logical answer. I let them think I was still angry with you." Mamoru stopped and looked at usagi, who looked back at him in turn.
"The truth was, I was devastated, Usa-ko. I lost one of the most important people in my life. it was almost like waking up to find my parents dead again, like I had no memory again."
Usagi started as she saw tears in his eyes; Mamoru didn't dry over little things, not that this was little. Usagi felt another pang of guilt as she realized that she was the cause of his pain. She felt the same as wen she'd seen the tears in there eyes the night she left. All of them, crying out in pain as she walked away from them. The one person they all thought would be there until the day they died, and she had left them. Usagi looked away as her own eyes welled up.
"There...there really isn't anything I can say. Nothing I can say or do will change what happened that day. I can say, I'm sorry. I can say, I didn't mean to hurt you, but none of that's really worth much now..."
Mamoru pulled Usagi close and whispered. "It means the world to me, Usa-ko."
Usagi shrank into his embrace and sobbed. Usagi felt Mamoru's tears mingle with her after a little while, and together the wept so many tears that were left unshed for too many years.

It wasn't too long before they'd cried their tears out. By then, the sun had set and the crescent moon was shining brightly among the night sky of stars like the smile of a Cheshire cat. They both were lying on the hood of Mamoru's car with their backs braced by the windshield. usagi lie in the crook of his arm as they looked for the planets among the stars.
"never tough you'd see me cry again, did you?" he asked quietly as they both searched the sky for Polaris.
"Never thought I'd let you see me cry again. I had come back expecting all those pesky little things like feelings to me gone." usagi snuggled closer to Mamoru. "My mistake."
Mamoru chuckled. "Well, one thing's for sure. Your humor has certainly gotten dryer."
"Happens when you need people to stop asking you questions about your past." Usagi switched to the petty voice she used for people who annoyed her. "'What're your parents like? Did you get, like, amnesia or something? how can you not remember? Are you, like, from Japan? If you're from Japan, why did you come to a stupid place like this?' and of course, the lovely, 'Did you, like, know Sailor Moon?'" Usagi laughed ruefully. "Yes, dry humor and fractiousness stopped the questions." usagi perked up. "They also got me into a lot of trouble!"
Mamoru laughed, and pointed to the North Star, "Yeah, that sounds like you. So what's America like?"
Usagi turned her head and eyed him suspiciously, "I couldn't really tell you, I only live in one town." usagi sat up and looked at Mamoru. "Aren't you still going to America for college?"
Mamoru sat up and looked at the sand.
"Mamoru, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not." he told her and stood up and walked to the water again.
"B-but, why?"
"I couldn't leave the others. I'm their protector, after all."
"But, I'm here now. Are you going to call them back and see if they still want you?"
"I...I didn't think about it, no. I guess I could now, but I don't need to. I can go to any college I want to. I don't need to go to NAU."
"Hold up there, bucko. NAU, like Yuma, NAU?!" If she was right, there was something Mamoru wasn't telling her.
"Uh, yeah. How did you now?"
Usagi got of the car and put her hands on her hips, looking at in incredulously.
"Come on, Mamoru. Northern Arizona University? There are only two choices with that one. It's not that hard to figure out, fifty-fifty chance of getting it right." Usagi walked up to him and made him look her in the eyes. "Look, Mamoru. They have got to have a damn good reason to want you there. I live in the town for three years, remember? The college is almost as run down as that town! What are you not telling me?"
Mamoru looked down at Usagi sheepishly; he knew he was caught, "One of the best doctors is there. I sent an essay there as soon as I knew that he was there. He as there because the climate was best for his daughter who has chronic asthma. Well, NAU read my essay and saw my grades and gave me scholarship. He's one of the best doctors because he tries to have a happy relationship with all his patients. It seems to do most of them good."
Usagi raise her left eyebrow, "So, what's stopping you?"
"I don't know." Mamoru shoved his hands into his pockets and toed the sand with his shoe.
"Mamo-chan, I love you, and I want you to be happy. I want you to do what your dreams beckon you to do. You can't let anything or one stand in your way. You going to be a good doctor. Hell, you and Ami-chan could be the best two doctors in the world for all I know! But you have to go after it yourself! It's not going to come to you." Usagi hugged him around his waist. "Please, Mamo-chan, keep your dream alive. Not for me, or Chibi-usa, or anyone else but you." Usagi looked up at Mamoru.
He kissed her before she knew of his intent. usagi lost herself to that kiss; she forgot everything but the kiss. She forgot what she had just said, the day she left, the pain and guilt of leaving. The kiss drove all thoughts from her mind, and for one sweet moment, she felt she might one day be able to forgive herself.

After the kiss...well, things got very interesting, but they desided that Usagi needed to go back to her party. It would be rude to be absent from your own birthday party, after all. So, Mamoru had dropped Usagi off back at the crown with another kiss that kept usagi lingering for long then she had inteded. Finally she did detach her lips from his, with much reluctance, but it was all to the best. Usagi shut the passanger door when she got out and waved him off. She didn't think anything could ruine the way she felt right then, until she got the nagging feeling again, only this time, it was more.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Moon Child, all grown up and back in town."
Usagi whirled ready to fight with one hand tugging lightly at the charm around her neck. A woman walked out of the shadows and stood before Usagi. She had hair so white is was almost transparent, and her eyes were the clear pink of a rose quartz. If it weren't for the hair and eye color, usagi would have pegged for Esmerodo's twin sister. Now that's a scary thought!
"Let, me guess. You're Quartizte?" Usagi asked nonchalontly as she crossed her arms and looked skyward.
She laughed, thatnkfully not that earpiercing laugh. "Oh, and smarter, too. Well, figure this out, Moon Child." A cat appeared in the air suddenly next to Quartzite's head. Quartizte took the cat by the neck and held it in the light for Usagi to see. A very black cat with a blond crescent moon abouve her sunken orange-brown eyes that were dialated far more then they should have been with the light of the street lamp englfing her.
"I have your precious little kitty here, and that idiotic computer geek has taken my word, again, that I would show him the identy of Sailor Moon." She watched to thruth dawn on Usagi. "Yes, that's right, Moon Child. I'm the one who destroyed your life. I'm the one who told him where and when to be and to take his camera with him. Now I suposse you're going to want revenge? Well, there is only one way to do that. So here lies the question. Will you choose to kill me for destorying your life, or will you keep you silly identey? Choose quickly, the Lady of the Night does not like to be kept waiting."
Usagi cooled her thoughts and kept her mind on the here and now. There was no use crying spilled milk as the saying went. There was nothing she could do about the past, and her new life was getting on just fine. The problem now was Luna. Usagi emained the cat and her surroundings. The cat a was five feet away, and with a glance around, Usagi saw that Umino really was there, but besides the party goers in crown, he was the only one. Luckily, she was part of the shadows and no one had seen her face. The only person who would be able to destroy what she had spent a little less then a year creating was Umino, and if Usagi went for Luna, the villainess might kill the cat on the spot. Usagi's fingures hung losely on the crescent moon charm as she tried to think. I'm not going to lose Luna to that hooch, but maybe I can pump for a little information...
"Who's the lady of the night?"
"Tick, tock."
Nope, plan B.
"What's it to be, childlying of the Moon? The cat or the identity?" Qurtzite asked impaciently.
"You actually have to ask? It's not very stratigic to not know your enemy. Moon Crystal Power MAKE UP!" Usagi cried and was instantly lifted into the air by a gale that was strong enough to rip a mans arm off, and gentle to none but her. Her body became trasparent and usagi had to wander, why didn't the bad guys ever go after her when she was morphin? She was vulnarable enough. As ribbons warped around her body, usagi opend her eyes and saw why. Hah! They're always too shocked to do anthing! Usagi's boots and gloves appeard and her accessoeries flashed across her face. When the torrent finally set her down on her feet again, the only thing to be heard was Luna's weezing breath...Or it that coming from Umino?
"I finsished what I came here to do!" Quartizte tossed Luna at usagi's feet and fled. With the black cat sprawled in front of her Usagi could see that the moon cat would survive a little longer without help; her eyes may have been dialated, but she was well enough to tell Usagi to destroy Quartzite without so much as a cough or a gurgle.
So it had been Umino. Well, I'd better take care of this quickly. Luna mabe all right now, but God knows...
"I'll finish you off later, Moon Child!" The woman called over her shoulder.
"Over my cold, dead body!" Usagi shrieked. "Moon Scepter HALATION!" Usagi took as much pleasure destroying this mongrel bitch as she lad that last, but for different reasons. The blast hit Quartzite squarly in the back and sent her screaming in agony. Finally, the torturous scream fadded and there was nothing left of Quartizte but a pile of dust, blowing away on the cool, evening breez. Usagi ran back to Luna and scooped her gently into her arms as she ran for the retreating Umino. Umino was never really fast, but with the injured cat tucked benignly into the crook of Usagi's arm, he certinly gve her a run for her money. Before he got too far away, however, Usagi caught him. SHe took hold of his small portable vidoe camera and hurled it against the wall of the building that Umino had be recording from, and knocked Umino to the ground. Umino tried to stand up, but usagi kncked him down again. She walked to the demolished device and gingerly picked it up. With the samll cat in her arms, Usagi carfully pulled the video cassett out, pulled the end of the tape out and tossed the cassette to the roof ten feet in the air. When it landed and stuck, Usagi gave it a hard tug and the other end of the tape fluttered to the ground. She wound it up with much wrinkling and dropped the mess in Umino's lap. Then she took his collar and pulled his frightful face up just inches away from hers. With the look on his face, you'd thing he thought she was going to kill him! Nah, he ain't worth blodding my hand over.
"I'm going to tell you thin once, Umino. If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I pray you never fall a sleep, because I will be there. In every dream, in every nightmare in every moment, and i will see to it that your life becomes the living hell you turned mine into." she snarled into his face.
"Y-y-y-you w-wouldn't d-d-d-d-d-do t-that!" The little bugger manged to studder out.
Usagi barked a sharp laugh, "Oh, wouldn't I? Care to test that theory?"
Umino got a little more bold. "No, because you're too nice, Usagi!" he spat, literally.
Usagi smiled maliciously and wiped her face with his collar. I don't think he's scared enough.
"Oh, but Rina isn't. You forget Umino, I'm not really Usagi anymore. I'm Rina, and Rina is a bitch from America. I can take so much pleasure out of torturing you, a whore would be disgusted. And there are so many ways to break a person. I'll keep you sain for a long time, Umino, before I let you go mad."
Usagi nearly lost conrtole of her carefully schooled expression of pure hellish delight when she saw him visably pail. Of course, Usagi didn't mean a word of what she was saying, but it would keep him from trying to record her again. It was his blabbing to the press that had her worried, but before she could lose completly to laughter, she took the tape and tossed it down a storm drain while umino ran off. usagi stared wide eyed as she caught a wiff of a rather bitter smell in his wake. I hadn't meant to scare him that bad!
But usagi had something else to do right then. She sweped into the shadows of and alley and layed the now uncounsious Luna down. Usagi made a quick assessment of the lunar cat's injuries. She had lost a lot a blood, more then is healthy, possibly internal bleeding. When usagi opend her eyes, they were so dialated the eyes had no color. Her breathing was short and uneven and sometimes came in shuddering gasps. Usagi closed her eyesand consentrated on her crystal.
"Moon Healing ESCILATION!" A silver light flowed over the black shudder raked body and healed the life threatening hurts, leaving the ones only time could heal properly.
Luna opend her eyes, orange as ever. "U-Usagi-chan?"
"Hey, Wilie-Kit. Don't move too much, 'kay?" Usagi said soothingly. "You still have a few cuts and broken bones that need to heal. Let me demorph and I'll take you home so we can call an emergancy vet."
Luna gave usagi a stricken look.
"Luna, I don't know how to sew skin together or set bones, and I did not stop all that internal bleeding just to have you die because I'm an amiture healer!" usagi scolded the cat.
"How ironic that would be!" Then the cat sobered. "What about Umino?"
Usagi looked at the cat for a moment, then suddenly went into a giggle fit. It was all hysterical because Usagi was running on fumes from all the engery she had just used up, but she finally got herself calmed after a couging fit that sent her into a retching fit. She sighed before she spoke. "I've got him scared witless, but I vaguely certain that he's still going to talk."
"What are you going to do?" Luna asked quietly, not looking at usagi.
"Usagi smiled and caught the weak cat up in her arms. She seemed to have lost more blood then Usagi thought. That's okay. I'll have fun fattening her up again.
"If only you could be in two places at once." Luna whispered, as if to herself.
Usagi's eyes went wide. "Luna! You're a genuis!" Usagi pulled Luna up to her chest and squeezed her.
"Usagi-chan! You're squeezing too hard!" Luna's cried was muffled in Usagi's bow and she quickly pulled the cat up to her face.
"Luna, what do you know about holograms?"

Much to the dismay of Luna--who wanted to help--Chibi-usa and Usagi worked alone to the unholiest of hours. Luna was wrapped in badges from here to Mexico and had a little kitty cast on her back right leg. The vet had tried to insist that a collar be put around Luna's neck to keep her from licking her bandages, but usagi assure him that Luna wouldn't do that. The vet had just shrugged and sent them home with instructions to keep her from moving unless it was for the kitty box.
Of course, as Usagi had expected, Umino called the press first thing and told them who Rina was. Usagi called every TV and radio station in Tokyo and called a press meeting. Hopefully what she was about to pull would put to rest exactly who Rina was.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
Usagi was sitting at the foot of the stairs and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She had sent everyone in her family out to watch the press meeting--they actually hadn't treated her any differently this time when they heard the news--and Luna lie on Usagi's bed, ready. So who would be knocking on Usagi's door?
"The press meeting hasn't started, yet!" Usagi called through the door.
"It's me, Mamoru." came the muffled reply.
Usagi stood and opened the door the tiniest bit.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he hissed with his face close to the door.
Usagi opened it just enough to stick her head past the threshold and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Go and watch the press meeting. Everything will be explained, I promise, and you won't have to save me this time." She kissed him again in the same way and retreated back into the house. "Luna?" Usagi called up the stairs.
"Ready when you are!" the moon cat called back.
Usagi readied herself as she put her hand on the door knob. It felt do like that day four years ago. Usagi felt her eyes sting and shut them tightly against the tears that she couldn't let fall. She didn't have time to break down right now. She could cry after she put an end to this, once and for all.
She opened the door and was nearly blinded with hundreds of flashing lights. Usagi hadn't expected this many people, but then, who wouldn't show up for Sailor Moon? She walked up onto the make-shift platform and forced her heart to slow it's beat. If she didn't do this right now, it would be all over.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am here to put to rest any and all accusations that I am Sailor Moon." Usagi projected her voice clearly and professionally. "I know that I look very much like her and that your..." Usagi didn't quite sneer, "...trusted source told you that I am Sailor Moon, but I refuse to allow what happened to Miss Tsukino four years ago happen to me. So last night, I put in a request to on of her former friends that I would like her to come today and clear up this misunderstanding."
"And here I am."
Every head turned toward the voice on the building next to Usagi's house. It was Usagi, or her hologram. Mamoru snapped his gaze around to usagi, and she closed her eyes slowly to confirm his questioning face.
"Umino is a devious litter lyer that would do anything to get people to think he was cool!"
Usagi now turned toward the holo of her to keep the crown from seeing her grimace. Luna had insisted that usagi talk like that when they were recording the hologram. It show the differences in there personalities Usagi supposed.
"I don't know why he has picked this girl and told lies to the people of Tokyo, but I will not let him get away with it."
usagi nearly gasped as she saw the hologram shimmer, but a quick look at the crown proved that no one else noticed it.
"He had already messed up my life, and I wont let and innocent have my problems unjustly. So now that I have said this, I think that the interview is over!" With that, holo-Usagi turned on her heel and seemed to leap over the the other side of the building.
"Well," Usagi piped cheerfully, "I do believe she is correct. I thank you all for coming." Usagi turned on her heel now and walked into her house, followed by her family. She and Chibi-usa walked up to Usagi's room where the cat waited for them.
"That went very well!" Luna chimed.
Usagi smiled and Chibi-usa scooped he cat carefully into her arms. "I'm taking you up to my room where I can pamper you and get you fat again!"
"I wasn't fat before!"
Chibi-usa laughed and left the room; Usagi closed the door behind her.
"Usa-ko?"
Usagi turned to see Mamoru calmly sitting her window sill like that night when he had come for her to save Makoto from a possessed Matoki's clutches. Usagi, in turn, locked her door.
"So, what did you think?" she asked as she gestured him to come in a close the window.
"Very interesting," he replied sitting on her bed, "but you never used to talk like that."
"I know." Usagi sighed and sat next to him, "Oh, well. It's not like anyone but you and the girls know what Sailor Moon talked like."
Mamoru chuckled, and they stopped talking about the press meeting, the past, or even the future because, Mamoru stopped all words with a single kiss.