Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sanctuary ❯ Chapter 2

Title: Sanctuary
Author: Maetel
Email: maemaechan@yahoo.com
URL: N/A
Rating: M 15+
Summary: When Sailor Moon witnesses the death of an innocent, Usagi ends up turning to Mamoru in her darkest hour. Minor alterations have been made on the timeline so that Mamoru knows who he is, while Nephrite is around.
Chapters: 2/?
Status: Incomplete
Year Completed: Incomplete

Free me before I slip away
Heal me, wake me from this day
Can somebody help me
Somebody help me

Now I'm not a hero, no
With the weight of the world on my soul
These images burn in my eyes
They're burning me up inside
- Full Blown Rose “Somebody Help Me”

Sailor Moon raced to the fight scene and saw as Mars was thrown aside by the latest youma as it slid along the ground towards Mercury. The blonde was almost disgusted when she saw that the creature was composed mostly of what looked like yet dirt. It’s arms were dripping onto the ground as it edged towards the blue haired water senshi.

Gathering her courage, the blonde took a few steps before calling out, distracting the youma long enough for Mercury to hurriedly move away from it. She went through the motions and gave the same speech as always, giving Mars and Mercury time to prepare their attacks. She finished, striking her final pose as the area became filled with freeing mist and a bolt of red flame ripped through to strike the creature in the back.

“It’s about time you showed up, Odango Atama! Attack now, Sailor Moon!” Mars called out as her attack caused the youma to screech in rage and pain. She watched as the blonde nodded and lifted her tiara from her brow. It wasn’t until she saw the ball of light forming that she saw Nephrite standing behind the late senshi.

“Sailor Moon, move!” called out Mercury, but knew her words came too late as she saw her friend turn and freeze when she saw the ball coming straight at her, but what she didn’t expect was for her friend to not call out in fright, or try to move out of the way. Fortunately, something that had come to be expected did happen. In a flutter of black and red fabric, the leader of the senshi was removed from the line of danger, and the creature that had been standing in front of her was destroyed by the blow.

“Kuso!” exclaimed the auburn haired shitennou as he watched the ashy remains of the youma disintegrate. “Where the hell could he have been hiding?”

“Maybe it’s because he has more of a brain than you do,” snapped Mars. “That or maybe it’s because he wears black instead of that tacky gray thing you call a uniform.”

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Tuxedo Kamen gently settled Sailor Moon on her feet, helping her make sure she had her balance by resting his hands on her arms. “Are you all right, Sailor Moon?” he asked.

The blonde nodded once and said, “As fine as expected, ne? I need to help my friends before Nephrite tries to hurt them.”

“All right. Just give me a moment to distract him, and make sure you have your tiara ready,” he told her.

Sailor Moon nodded as she looked down at the tiara which she still held in her hand. “Arigato,” she murmured as she held the metal decoration in her hand, charging it as much as she could. She looked to him for a moment and asked. “After this… Don’t leave… Onegai… I- They might want to talk after the battle, and I- I d-”

“I’ll be here,” he assured her as he withdrew a rose from his jacket. “You have my word.”

Sailor Moon sighed and looked at him gratefully. “I’m ready.”

“Watch for him to turn around towards me, then attack,” he advised her before he jumped to a nearby tree limb. She looked up at him, and watched as he launched the rose towards the dark haired shitennou. “To attack a planet intent on draining the life energies of its innocent citizens. Tuxedo Kamen cannot allow this.”

Nephrite heard the speech and laughed at the meager attempt made by the tuxedoed man. Her turned and formed another ball of energy in his hand. “I’m sure Beryl-sama will understand my having to use some of the energy to destroy you fools.”

“I’m sure she won’t have to,” cried out Moon before hurling her tiara at Nephrite, willing it not to miss, only to be disappointed when he teleported out of it’s way.

“So the moon brat did show up,” the shitennou noted. “I thought that you would be off crying because of the little boy. That is what you do, isn’t it? Cry for these miserable mortals that you fail to protect?”

Sailor Moon looked at him wide eyed. How could anyone, even a Dark Kingdom warrior, be so cruel? She was used to having people insinuate, and even call her a cry-baby, but to pick at the expense of the life that had been lost… “You- You bastard…” she cried out, wishing that she still had her tiara, only to be surprised a moment later when said weapon struck the man in the back, causing him to cry out in pain before teleporting away.

Tuxedo Kamen dropped from the limb and went to the young heroine as her fellow senshi slowly walked over to the girl. He’d watched her as Nephrite’s words cut into her, and grew worried when she insulted the general. He had never heard such a word escape her mouth, even in battle. “Sailor Moon…” he started, but was completely unsure of what to say. Once again, the way to console the young girl escaped him. Him. The one who always had the right words to say during battle.

Fortunately, though whose fortune he wasn’t sure, Sailor Mercury spoke. “U- Sailor Moon, what was Nephrite talking about when he said those words before he left? Did they have something to do with the battle earlier today?”

Tuxedo Kamen wanted to reprimand the ice senshi for her choice of words, but knew that she didn’t know what had taken place during the earlier battle. He laid a gentle, supporting hand on the young blonde’s arm, letting her know that if she needed, she could draw what strength she needed from him.

“Hey, get away from her!” snapped Mars. Luna had warned each of them too many times about trusting the masked man, and considering Usagi’s present behavior, she didn’t want him influencing her.

“No, Rei-chan,” said Sailor Moon. “I asked for him to be here, should you ask about what happened…”

“Sailor Moon, are you sure it is wise to have said Mars’ name in front of him?” questioned Mercury as she motioned to Tuxedo Kamen.

“He knows who I am, and it won’t be long before he would have put the pieces together and figured out who we all are,” Moon replied with a sigh.

Before she could continue, Mars stepped closer and whispered harshly, “How could you do something like that? We don’t know if he is really our ally or not. What if he’s an enemy who is going to use-”

“He’s not. I just know it, and now, please. I have something that I need to tell you,” she said, her tone telling them that no interruptions would be allowed. “During the battle which took place earlier today… Well, you knew that it was at a school, but I doubt that you’ve heard what had taken place exactly. Rei-chan, you should know that you were right all alon-”

“Usagi-chan, don’t do that to yourself,” Tuxedo Kamen pleaded.

Seeing her chance, Mars’ curiosity got the better of her and she asked, “What was I right about, Sailor Moon?”

“You were right that one day, my ineptitude as a senshi would get someone killed…” the blonde trailed as she forced herself not to cry. She would not allow herself the luxury of such emotional release until she’d told them everything, and so she continued. She told them everything that had happened in almost the exact words she had spoken to Mamoru. All the while, the images were running through her mind as she relived the tragedy.

Tuxedo Kamen could feel her trembling, and wished for nothing more than some way to take away the girl’s pain. He could feel through the link they shared the pain she was going through.

“Oh… Usagi-chan…” whispered Mars quietly. “I-Is that why you ran from us earlier? You were worried that we wouldn’t understand?”

The blonde leader looked down. “It-It’s not that… It’s that, I didn’t think that you would forgive me for… I failed. S-Someone died because I couldn’t keep them safe. I had to run from the enemy just once for someone to lose their life. I had to be stupid enough not to notice that boy…”

Wordlessly, before Tuxedo Kamen could make a move, Sailor Mercury took a few steps forward to wrap her arms around the senshi of the moon in a comforting hug, causing the repressed sobs to rise up in the girl’s throat.

Mars looked over to the masked man with questioning eyes. “Did you…”

He simply nodded and looked to the blonde before going over to talk to the red clad warrior to speak quietly. “She told me before the battle. She was…” He wasn’t sure aside from beating herself up using the very words she had heard from the senshi of fire. “Perhaps you should hold your tongue for a little while. Your words cut her deeper than you know, especially right now.”

“And how would you know that? I say what I do to try and get her to be a better senshi,” snapped the dark haired teen. “It was that sort of accident I was trying to prevent by-”

“By pointing out how you think her worthless as a senshi. I have heard what you say to her during battle. The way you speak to the girl who is supposed to be your leader is… The Dark Kingdom could one day use your arguments as an opportunity to strike against both of you. Is that what you wish. If you wanted her to be better, then you find a way to hel-”

“And how do you think you’re helping? By showing up, moving her out of the way so that her she doesn’t get used to having to move out of the way when there is an-”

“Stop it!” snapped the usually calm senshi of Mercury as she turned away from her friend for a moment to glare at the two. “Sailor Moon does not need to hear you two arguing. I understand that you are both worried about her, but turning on each other is not the correct action to be taking right now.”

While Mars lowered her head in shame, Tuxedo Kamen looked towards the blonde and watched as she allowed her henshin to fade before turning and quietly walking away, after mouthing, “Arigato.”

He then noticed that Mercury was looking at him as though expecting and answer. “Excuse me. Did you ask something?”

Mercury nodded and answered, “I did. I was wondering how you knew who we were? You said that you had talked to Sailor Moon before the battle, but how did you know who she was?”

Tuxedo Kamen nodded, understanding the reason why she had asked. “I did not know who she was when I asked what had happened, nor did she know who I was. She chose to divulge her identity to me when I asked her as to why her demeanor had changed so much. From there I pieced together who the two of you were.”

“Then you mind telling us who you are?” Mars inquired as she placed her hands on her hips and eyed him suspiciously. She didn’t trust him, and the fact that he knew their identities unnerved her. “It is only fair.”

“Whoever said that I was going to be fair about this,” he replied before tipping his hat to the two girls and leaping into the shadows of the trees. Hopefully, he’d bought Usagi enough time to get away from the other senshi, without getting too far. He followed the instincts that usually led him to the young girl, hoping that it worked when she wasn’t transformed, which much to his good fortune, it did. He made sure to revert back to his normal clothing before quickly walking up behind her.

Usagi looked up at him for a moment before lowering her gaze to the ground. “Why are you being so nice? Why aren’t you mak-”

“Because I may be a jerk at times,” he said and laughed softly when she shot him a look. “All right, whenever we talk, I am usually picking on you, but I’m not going to go so low. I’d never do that. No one deserves that sort of treatment, and especially not someone your age, with as much responsibility as what you bear on your shoulders. The fact that you‘ve been doing it this long amazes me.”

Usagi looked up at him with a grateful, albeit, small smile. “Arigato,” she whispered with a soft sniffle. “You’ve got to be thinking that I’m a really big cry-baby by now, aren’t you?” she asked, but was surprised when he didn’t answer, wrapping an arm around her shoulder instead.

Mamoru looked down at her and said, “No. You’re just dealing with what happened today in the only way that you know how. People cope with tragedies in different manners. While others would choose to bottle everything up, you choose to feel.”

The blonde nodded in understanding only to be taken surprised when she felt Mamoru stop. She looked up at him and then to what they were standing in front of. “Why are we in front of the arcade? It’s about to close.”

“I told Motoki that I would let him know when you were safely found, but since there was an attack, I didn’t get a chance, so I thought that he should see you in person. That and I need to get my car. I left it here when everyone was trying to find you, since I didn’t think that you would go far from the arcade.”

“Oh,” she said simply as she was led into the building.

“Oi, Motoki-kun,” called out Mamoru as he looked around for his friend. A moment later, Motoki’s head stuck out of the door of the back room with an alarmed look on his face, which was quickly replaced with a look of relief when he noticed the petite girl by Mamoru’s side.

“Kami, Usagi-chan, you had me so worried when you disappeared,” exclaimed Motoki as he walked from the room over to the girl. “Where were you?”

“The park. There was an attack that held us up,” Mamoru quickly explained. “Fortunately, Sailor Moon was there and took care of everything.”

Motoki nodded. “Anyways, I’m just glad that you found Usagi-chan. Is there anything that either of you want? On the house.” He looked at the two, and was slightly surprised when he heard a soft muttering coming from the blonde as she shook her head.

“Usagi-chan, daijobu?” questioned the fair haired arcade manager.

“I’m ok, Motoki-kun,” she replied. “Just still not feeling one hundred percent since earlier.”

“Motoki-kun, I think I’m just going to drive her home before heading back to my apartment, but real quick, do you have a piece of paper,” Mamoru asked.

“Paper, paper,” said Motoki as he looked around. “I’ve not got any loose sheets of paper, but I do have napkins. Will that work?”

“Yeah, that’s good,” Mamoru quickly answered. “Anyways, I’m going to go ahead and take Usagi home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ja ne, Mamoru-kun. Feel better, Usagi-chan,” Motoki called as the two walked out of the arcade.

As the two walked out to the nearby parking structure, a thought came to Mamoru and he looked at the girl. “Are your parents going to be okay with you coming in this late?” he asked.

Usagi blinked. “Um… I think so. I mean my mom has kicked me out until about this time when I didn’t do good on a test, and I’m not usually getting back from senshi meetings or study sessions until about this time, anyways, so they should be fine.”

Mamoru nodded and stopped when they got to a red sports car. Usagi couldn’t tell what kinda it was since the lot, though lit up, was still relatively dim. She blinked when she started wondering about how Mamoru could afford the car, but decided that it was none of her business. When the door opened from the inside, she jumped about and inch, but felt her heart calm down when Mamoru told her to climb in.

As she climbed in, Mamoru turned on the over head light and quickly jotted something down on the napkin Motoki had given him. When he was done, Mamoru handed the paper to her. “Here, this is my number in case you ever need to talk. Don’t worry about what time it is, just feel free.”

“A-Arigato, Mamoru-san…” she said as she took the paper and placed it in the pocket of her jacket before buckling her seatbelt. “Question… How do you know where I live?”

Mamoru laughed and shook his head. “I hadn’t thought of that. I know the general direction that you come from whenever you ram into me in the morning, but I’m guessing that you are going to have to show me the exact location aren’t you?”

“I thought that you weren’t going to pick on me anymore,” Usagi said, in an almost offended tone.

Mamoru smiled when he heard those words. “I apologize. Old habits di- are hard to break at times. Besides, I like arguing with it. It’s something fun before classes.”

“For you maybe. I’m the one getting most of the insults,” she retorted.

“All right, you have my word that I will try to stop myself from picking on you,” he promised as he started the engine and pulled out of his spot. “Now, if you don’t mind telling me, where do you live?”

Usagi smiled, not even completely registering the expression. She then went about telling him how to get to her street and which house she lived in. She watched as he noted everything, blinking every so often in a manner that resembled the light on Ami‘s mini-computer. His eyes would move around a bit before blinking and returning to their normal positions. At least that was how it looked. She couldn‘t see his left eye very well since there was a piece of hair hanging in front of it that she was itching to push out of the way.

After he pulled out onto the highway, the two sat in silence for a while, which was strangely comfortable, but after a while needed to be broken. “So, Usagi-chan, why don’t you tell me about yourself. I mean, I think I’ve found out your biggest secret, but there’s got to be more to you than being Sailor Moon.”

“Well, aside from the fact that I’ve got a little brother, and that I’m in middle school, there’s not much. A few friends, no boyfriend, and bad grades,” she said with a shrug.

“Now there has to be more to you than that,” he said. “What about that hairstyle? I mean, is there some reason that you always wear it in the same style?”

Usagi blinked in reaction to what he asked. “I don’t know… I mean, I’ve work it like this ever since I was a kid. Considering how long my hair is, it’s a real lifesaver. I’ve just never really liked the idea of getting it cut, so… I guess that’s it.”

Mamoru looked at her for a moment while they stopped at a red light and cocked his head to the side. “Strangely enough, I can’t seem to imagine you with a different hairstyle,” he admitted. “Maybe odangos suit you.”

Usagi shook her head. “How come I’m not sure if I am being insulted, or if I am just being told something odd?”

“Because weird comments are seeming to make you smile,” he replied. “At least what’s been making you smile seems weird for me to be saying. Besides, despite how much I tease you, I don‘t ever want to see you in tears. I hate it when y-girls cry. Call me a typical male, but it makes me excruciatingly uncomfortable.”

Usagi raised an eyebrow and almost laughed at his words. “You? Uncomfortable? Here I thought you could stand anything. I mean you were that horrible green jacket enough, and that thing is enough to send anyone screaming at the idea of wearing it.”

“I like my jacket,” he said and sweat dropped when she stuck her tongue out at him. “Very mature, Odango.”

“Hey, you said that you weren’t going to make fun of me anymore,” Usagi pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“For one, I only said that I would try to not make fun of you, and two, you were the one who was making fun of the jacket.”

“Whatever,” she said before she noticed that they had turned onto her street. “Um… My house is the one coming up on the right.”

Mamoru nodded and pulled up in front of the yellow and blue house. He watched as she slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and looked at the house with a quiet sigh. She moved to open the door as he said, “Hey, you’re going to be ok. Just remember what I told you to do in case you ever needed to talk.”

Usagi nodded. “I will. Thank you, Mamoru-san, for- for everything.”

Mamoru watched her climb out of the car, and as she walked up to her house, hoping that she really would be all right. Once she was inside, he pulled back out onto the road and headed towards his apartment.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There’s chapter two. I hope that it wasn’t too slow. It just takes a while for me to think of something to follow a chapter that I liked as much as the first one, but I wanted end this story with a bit of a happy note, which it will.

Anyways, onto the thanks.

SalrAnime - Thank you so much for saying that. I’d not seen many fics out there where Usagi came face to face with the death of an innocent, so I figure I’d try my hand at it. That and the song mentioned at the beginning of the first chapter just struck me, putting me in the mood to write a fic.

Red-Rose18 - Glad to think that you don’t mind the dark. ^-^ I hope you enjoyed chapter two.

Midnight - Here’s more, just like you asked.

SilverLunarStar - Your question has been answered. Chapter three will be out as soon as possible.

Anyways, I’ll try to have chapter three out sometime before Wednesday, though I’ve never been good with deadlines.