Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sanctuary ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

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: 9/?
Status: Incomplete

Year Completed: Incomplete

Eyes of pure

Deep azure

Quite unbelievable

The sun's daughter

You've been made

Not to fade

Quite inconceivable

- Sakamoto Maaya & Steve Conte “The Garden of Everything”

When Mamoru woke, he noticed that Usagi wasn’t beside him, and that the spot where she had been lying was cold. He frowned wondering where she had gone. He got up and started towards the living room, but stopped when he felt a chill pass over him. He looked over and saw Usagi sitting, leaning against the railing of the balcony. He quietly walked outside and knelt before her, placing a gentle hand on her arm.

“Are you all right, Usagi-chan?” he asked softly. He was afraid of what might have been going through her mind after what Nephrite had put her through. If only he had some idea of what had been done, he might have been able to come up with some way to assure her that everything was going to be okay.

She looked at him with a weary smile and nodded. “I just needed to clear my head. I didn’t want to wake you.”

He noticed the way that she avoided his eyes as she spoke and frowned. “Usagi-chan… Seriously, are you all right?”

She looked at him once again, this time her eyes were shining with unshed tears. “I- I was just thinking about what Nephrite showed me. He showed me things, images from the Silver Millennium. He… He showed me how the kingdom fell. He showed me how… You… He showed me that you were there, and how you died back then.”

Mamoru was dumbstruck for a moment before sighing. “How can you trust anything that he showed you? He was doing it all just to hurt you.”

Usagi nervously chewed on her lower lip as she tried to think of some way to explain how she felt. “I know that he was showing it to me just to hurt me, but you didn’t see what I did. Some how I knew that every bit of it was real. The memories were all clicking and making sense.”

“Then he might have been doing more than what we had originally thought. He might have been trying to turn you against everything that you stand for. The Dark Kingdom will pull different tactics to try and get rid of any ene-”

“I’d seen it all before…” she said softly. “In dreams… I just never placed the faces before. Well, the face. All I’d had was a name, and now it makes sense.”

Mamoru looked at her thoughtfully before quietly saying, “Endymion.”

Usagi’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at him. She wondered how he knew of the name she had known from the dream, and tried to remember if she had ever said the name in his presence. It was then that she remembered when he had first arrived to rescue her. She vaguely recalled referring to Mamoru as Endymion, and was sure that she had more than likely muttered the name in her sleep.

“You think that I’m him…” Mamoru trailed. “Usagi-chan, whatever happened during the Silver Millennium is-”

“She died for you,” Usagi told him. “You died protecting her, and she k-”

“Killed herself with my sword…” Mamoru said as he remembered back to the dream that had taken place after Usagi had first watched the child die. “I suppose that those are memories, but why would you be having dreams recalling my memories?”

Usagi shrugged. “Maybe our link?” she suggested.

Mamoru sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think so. There is something more to this. If these are truly memories, the only person who should have any recollection of that is the princess.”

“But I’ve seen some very distinct images of the princess in that scene that Nephrite showed me. She had silver hair, and if you haven’t noticed, my hair is not silver.”

“No, but it was when you first started fighting as Sailor Moon. Once Mercury showed up, your hair became blonde in battle. I never really understood why but-”

“Wait a minute. Are you saying that you think that I am the princess?” Usagi questioned. “I’m one of-”

“Her protectors, but you yourself have admitted that you were not cut out for fighting,” he reminded her. “You have to think. What if Luna made a mistake? What if she enlisted you as a senshi without any idea that you could really be-”

“But Luna has insisted time and time again, that we-”

“Must find the princess, I know, but what if her memories have been suppressed just a small bit less than everyone else’s. She knows who the senshi are, but has no clue that she could actually be disguised in the one way no enemy would suspect,” Mamoru suggested. “The princess as a senshi. Who would ever suspect?”

Usagi blinked, wanting so hard to believe him, but not wanting to at the same time. She had never thought of herself as the princess type. Then again, she’d never really acted like all of the princesses from movies or books. She wasn’t graceful, intelligent, elegant, or very pretty.

Mamoru frowned Usagi’s train of thought as she unknowingly voiced her thoughts aloud. He hadn’t known that she thought so lowly of herself. He sighed as he reached out and pressed the tips of his fingers to her lips.

“Whether you see it or not, Usagi-chan, you are like a princess. You put the safety of others before that of yourself. That is the sign of a great ruler, or soon to be ruler. And you may not be book smart, but you are intelligent in your own way. You know how to reach out to people in a way that few can. You‘ve befriended the people who have spent most of their lives by themselves, isolated emotionally,” he said as his hand slowly drifted from her mouth to rest on her cheek. She leaned into his touch, despite the blush that stained her cheeks.

Usagi wasn’t sure how to respond. She’d never heard him speak in suck a manner to her. Tears stung her eyes at the sincerity in his voice as he spoke.

She tried to speak, but before one syllable was uttered, she felt his lips gently brush against her own, before firmly pressing his mouth to hers.

‘Oh, Kami-sama… I died… This… This is too unreal…’ she thought as she felt his tongue run along her lower lip in a silent plea for entrance like a man begging for sanctuary.

Mamoru heard the small blonde whimper and broke the kiss, afraid that he had scared her with his sudden behavior. He didn’t know what had come over him. One moment he was trying to make her see just how possible it was for her to be a princess and the next, he was kissing her like a man dying from thirst. Common sense was telling him that she was most likely too emotionally fragile to be able to handle any sort of overly emotional display from him, and yet, every other part of him, his heart, his soul, each of his senses- hell, his very being, simply could not get enough.

He studied her. He looked at her eyes that were slowly once again drifting open, her lips that looked swollen, and her cheeks that were flushed delicately. ‘She’s beautiful,’ was the only thought that came to his mind.

Usagi on the other hand, couldn’t recall anytime when she had ever felt so complete. She felt as though she had found a part of herself that she had never known was missing. That she and Mamoru were the only ones on the planet, and that the thought wasn’t as bad as she would have once believed it to be.

“Wow…” she whispered softly. She felt his eyes upon her, and looked into their depths for a moment before she forced herself to look away, for fear of being taken in by them completely.

“Usagi-chan, daijobu?” Mamoru asked. “I… I didn’t mean to scare you. I- I don’t know what came over me. I just-”

“Daijobu,” she said softly as she lifted a hand to his mouth to quiet him. “I wasn’t scared. Just surprised. I… I’ve never…” She trailed off as she tried to tell him that the kiss was unlike any other, but felt that those words simply weren’t enough.

Mamoru look confused but a thought soon dawned upon him as he remembered how many times he‘d heard girls in his classes discussing their first kisses and he almost smacked himself. “That wasn’t your fir-”

Usagi smiled and shook her head to quiet him. She remembered the night at the princess’ ball which she and the other senshi had snuck into, and had a very hazy memory of being kissed, but even then, that night didn’t compare. “That wasn’t but you were though.”

Mamoru thought back and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think I-”

“Remember? The girl at the princess’ ball a couple of months ago. I wound up spilling some juice on my dress,” she told him.

“That was you? I almost thought that she was… the princess… How did you manage to change your appearance so much?” he asked.

“Luna gave me a disguise pen. I used it to sneak into the ball to see if the crystal that she had was the ginzuishou. I’ve also used it a few more times, but those are going to be my little secret,” she stated with a proudly mischievous smile that made Mamoru both glad and worried. Glad that her spirits seemed to have lifted a great deal in so short a time, but worried about just what else she had done while using the pen that Luna had given her.

“Wait a minute. What have you done with the pen before?” he asked. “And don’t tell me you’ve only used it on official senshi business.”

“I’ll have you know that it was all senshi business. I’m not just going to go around risking trouble that I wouldn’t be able to get out of without being able to answer some questions about who I am. If not for that people countless people could have been lost to the Dark Kingdom, and I’m too good a sen-”

Mamoru blinked when she stopped, wondering why she had, and almost smiled when he realized that she had more than likely stopped because of the last few words that were escaping her lips.

“I’m a good senshi…” she said as though the words were foreign yet colloquial. She looked down at her hands before looking up at Mamoru with a strangely lost look to them, as though she were trying to see if she were correct in her assumption.

“Better than good,” he told her as he reached out and gently took hold of her hand. “You are Sailor Moon, the senshi who has proven her worth in battle countless times, and even more so if you truly are the princess.”

“Fortunately, that is a fact that you are not going to be privy to finding out,” stated a voice that startled both Mamoru and Usagi as they jumped to their feet.

“Who’s out there?” cried out the young blonde as she instinctively reached up to grasp her broach. “Show yourself now!”

“Gomen nasai, Sailor Moon, but you must get away from him immediately. You’re very life is in danger the longer that you associate yourself with him,” stated the voice as an unfamiliar senshi landed on the balcony railing before them. Usagi was taken back by how the look in the girl’s eyes was one of conflict between loyalty and an emotion that she couldn’t quite place. Something akin to sorrow, but different.

“Another senshi,” murmured Mamoru, snapping Usagi out of her reverie. “Who are you?”

“Your worst nightmare if you do not step away from her, now,” stated yet another unfamiliar voice as another senshi, one clad in green and pink, dropped down behind them.

“That’s enough, Jupiter. They are to be separated, not harmed,” snapped Venus before returning her attention to the two. “I am Sailor Venus, formerly known as Sailor V.”

“Where are Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury?” Usagi questioned as she from one to the other, while her left hand reached back and grasped Mamoru’s.

“They are on the rooftops, ready to come to our aide if necessary,” Jupiter stated, her emerald green eyes watching the two closely, wondering what would happen if the people before her knew what had happened in their past lives.

“It will be more than necessary, if you truly do intend on taking Usagi anywhere against her will. She’s been through enough. Allow her this time to recover,” Mamoru said as he pulled Usagi behind him defensively. Before he could realize what was happening however, Sailor Mars leapt behind him and ripped Usagi from his grasp.

The blonde struggled against the fire senshi’s hold and looked to the recently identified blonde. She had always idolized the girl before her, but never thought about how anything like this could have happened should they ever meet. Shaking her head, she glared at Venus an asked, “Why are you doing this?”

“We’re doing this to protect you, Usagi-chan,” came the soft voice of Mercury as she dropped down beside Jupiter. “We don’t want to see you hurt any further. We do this because we care for you.”

“If you take me from him, you’ll be hurting me,” Usagi pleaded with the blue haired warrior. “I need him as much as I need any of you.”

“Trust us, hi- Sailor Moon; this is for your own good. You will come to see that in time,” Venus countered gently.

“Do you mean I won’t be able to run myself through with-”

“Don’t even say it, Usagi-chan!” snapped Mamoru.

“No, if our guess is right, then they are fighting for a girl who wasn’t strong enough to survive on her own. I’m not going to kill myself if that is what they are so afraid of,” Usagi stated as she felt Mars stiffen behind her, distracting her long enough for the small blonde to escape the hold that she had been put in. She could tell that her words had struck home for Sailor Venus as she looked down.

“Usagi-chan, we are simply doing our duty. We don’t want to see you hurt, and we don’t know where Mamoru’s allegiances lie,” stated Mars

“You may not, but I do,” Usagi said as she look to each of them. She sighed before looking to Venus. “So I take it that Mamoru was right. I am who everyone’s been looking for, aren’t I? I’m the princess.”

Venus slowly nodded. “That is correct. Do you understand why-”

“No. I don’t understand. Everything that I have done in this life should prove that I am not the same girl I was back then,” she stated. “For the princess to have been given the powers of a senshi and be sent out to fight in a war. The very war that she died during in her past life. None of that would make me the same person I was back then.”

“Yes, but the Dark Kingdom might have decided to use him as a means of getting to you. We cannot run that-”

Usagi laughed almost tiredly. “I never thought that I would have to do this. I never thought that I would be able to do this. In all honesty, I never even considered it until now, but since it seems to be true that I’m the princess-”

“Usagi-chan, what are you doing?” Mamoru asked. Usagi turned and smiled at him, placing two fingers to his lips.

“I’m doing what I have to, Mamoru-kun,” she said with a small smile before looking at each of the senshi. “I do not know two of you as well as I know the others, but I expect this to be followed by each of you just the same.” She stopped and took a deep breath as if gathering her thoughts. “As princess of the Silver Millennium, I command each of you to stop this ridiculous… I just command you to stop. I refuse to let anyone keep me from being near who ever I wish.”

Mars’ eyes widened in disbelief. “But Usagi-cha-”

“No, Mars. Since you all seem to be so stuck in the belief that I am the same girl I was in my past life, then I am making sure that I give a command that will be followed. I am your princess, am I not?” Usagi questioned, her eyes pained and yet stern. The look in the blonde’s eyes forced Mars to look away almost ashamedly.

The fire senshi swallowed hard before looking to the others. “She is correct. Our princess has given us an order.”

Venus looked dumbstruck at the way in which everything has gotten turned around. “Princess, you must realize that we do this to protect you. We don’t want to see you in pain, but this is our duty. We swore to the queen in our past lives that you would be protected.”

“And now, the queen is dead…” Usagi said softly. She knew that her words sounded cold, but she had to make sure that there was no chance that her senshi would attempt something of this caliber again. “I am the princess, though the kingdom is gone. I will never become queen, but I am the last in the line. Either give me your word that you won’t interfere in this manner again, or face the idea that you will be going against the order of your… leader.”

Jupiter lowered her head for a moment before lifting her eyes to look at the girl. “You have my word, Sai-”

“Please, call me Usagi. I am more than simply Sailor Moon,” she stated. “And thank you…”

“Kino Makoto, desu,” Jupiter stated with a small bow.

Usagi nodded before looking to the others. Mars and Mercury looked to each other before placing their hands over their hearts and bowing to the blonde. When they both straightened, Mercury said, “You have our word.”

Usagi almost cried at the sight of her two allies before looking to Venus. “What of you? Do I have your word as well, Sailor Venus?”

Venus stood silent for a moment before allowing herself to power down. “As both Sailor Venus and Aino Minako, you have my word. But if any harm ever comes to you, I may be forced to break my vow, but then I have a feeling that goes for all of us.”

Usagi nodded and smiled as tears started to drift down her face. “Arigato, minna.”

Mamoru looked down at the shorter girl and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks as they fell. “Are you all right, Usagi-chan?”

“Hai,” she whispered softly. “I suppose everything’s setting in and it’s really overwhelming.”

“If you want you can lie down in my bed for a while. I want to talk to your senshi in the living room for a bit, if that’s all right,” he told her.

“It’s fine,” she replied. “Girls, be nice to him.”

Jupiter blinked as she powered down, slightly amused by her newly found princess’ words. Rei and Ami both powered down and raised a eyebrow in confusion. Ami for actually being told to be nice, and Rei for being told to be nice to Mamoru.

‘When did they get so close?’ the young miko thought. Shaking her head she smiled. “Is hitting him on the head with a shoe allowed? You do it all the time, so it’s got to be fair game.”

Usagi simply stuck her tongue out at the raven haired girl but smiled nonetheless.

Minako simply watched everything that had occurred as Luna and Artemis hopped down onto the floor of the balcony beside her.

“Couldn’t wait for us, could you?” Artemis questioned grumpily.

“I think violently purple might go well with your eye color , Artemis. What do you think?” she asked, quieting the feline as his female counterpart laughed at his expression of terror.

“Minako-chan, mind filling us in on what has been going on,” Luna questioned as her laughs calmed into giggles and then faded entirely. She waited for the young woman’s reply as she watched Usagi wrap her arms around Mamoru before heading back into the room.

“I’ll do that, Luna,” said Mamoru. “That is if you and the others would join me for a moment in the living room. There are some things that I wish to discuss with each of you.”

Luna looked to Usagi who was making herself comfortable on Mamoru’s bed. “Might I be allowed to stay with Usagi-chan instead. Artemis can inform me of all that is discussed.”

“I suppose that would be all right,” Mamoru said with a nod.

“Arigato,” Luna said before heading over and hopping onto the mattress to curl up next to her young mistress and charge.

The others smiled and followed Mamoru as he headed off of the balcony and through the door of his room.