The scenes from this chapter are taken from Episode 15 of the PGSM Live Action.
Chapter 7 – BLOOM
"Breaking news. There was a burglary at idol singer Aino Minako's house last night. Stolen from the house were jewelry and some money..."
Aino Minako. Sailor V. Sailor Venus. Princess. That girl seemed to have multiple identities. At that time, I still wondered if she was related to the princess in my dreams.
Perhaps, if I ask Sailor Moon?
I had put a brake to that train of thought. No. I could not keep on finding excuses to see her. Didn't I already decide to stop my feelings for her? I was not going to break my promise to Hina. I could not let this situation continue. Even if it killed me to stay away.
Then, as if I needed another reminder, I had received a call from Uncle Takeda. He and Hina had came back from their overseas trip and were to come home the next day. I was to go over to their house to discuss the formalization of our engagement. Even though we had been privately engaged, we had not announced the news yet.
I had panicked.
The wedding had seemed much closer than ever. I wondered if he was thinking of pushing forward the date. We had agreed to have the wedding after we both came back from our studies in London. Did he change his mind? My fist clenched. I needed to reassure myself.
"The agreement was by graduation time, right?" I almost choked.
Yes.
I let go of the breath I had been holding. I still had time.
Then immediately I had been ashamed. I should not be relieved. Hina deserved better. We were going off to London to study in a few weeks, and I would be leaving Usagi behind anyway. Nothing was going change. I needed to get her out of my head. Out of the blue, I remembered that day in the amusement park. She had seemed to like Motoki. I felt the first prick of jealousy. I ignored it.
Perhaps, if I encourage Motoki a little... the green-eyed monster reared its head again. I stamped it down.
If she is Motoki’s girlfriend, I will have to stop thinking about her that way. Perhaps, in time, as long as I know that she's happy, I would be happy for her as well.
Immediately, I had gone to the Crown to accomplish just that. Yet when Motoki denied anything between them, and stated that Usagi did not feel that way towards him, I could not help the leap of happiness in my heart. I was beginning to realize my total lack of control over that particular organ. And as if things couldn’t get worse, it started doing a little jig when I spotted Usagi coming in with her friends. It had been good to see her healthy and cheerful again, a contrast to the last time I saw her at the Crown.
Fortunately, I had perfected the art of looking cool and uninterested over the years, and did not betray my emotions. My mask was perfectly in place. After she shyly thanked me for carrying her that last time though, I quickly went off before my mask could slip. There was something about her that made me want to throw all caution to the wind and face her with my true self. It was simply insane. As was my feelings for her. Just insane.
**********
I still couldn't help myself though, when I received a call from Usagi’s friend, telling me that Usagi wanted to meet me at the auction house. How did she get my phone number anyway?
More importantly, I wondered what important thing she wanted to tell me. Has she found out about my identity as Tuxedo Kamen? I reasoned to myself that I needed to meet her, in case of that, not because I wanted to see her again.
Sometimes, I really despised my weak will with regards to her.
**********
It turned out to be nothing. A mistake, as Usagi called it. I was disappointed. I had no reason to stay on then. But then, Usagi, with her usual luck, stumbled across the stolen jewelry of Aino Minako. I knew what she was going to do before she even moved and as I had expected, she started to chase after the thieves. I gave an exasperated sigh. I hurried to stop her before she could chase after them. It was not a situation that called for Sailor Moon after all, and how could she, in her normal guise, go up against three ruffians who might be armed? She might be hurt! How was I going to protect her if she persisted on being so careless with her own safety? How was I going to be able to leave for London with a peace of mind?
I had been irrationally angry with her.
She had to learn to leave the dangerous jobs to others. Like the policemen. That was what they were there for.
Unfortunately, the policeman on duty was very dismissive of us. That meant Usagi was not going to be diverted.
"I knew I'd have to do it myself!" She had proclaimed indignantly.
"How?" I sighed, exasperated. I had been resigned to the fact that I was going to have to take charge. I was certainly not having Usagi go her own way and risk getting hurt, or worse.
"Well, transform into Sailor Moon..." she came to a sudden stop, abruptly realizing what she was saying.
My eyes had widened before I quickly put on a cool façade again, feigning ignorance. In my mind though, I was resigned. How typically her.
**********
Executing the plan to get back Aino Minako's jewelry had actually been more exhilarating that I expected. It was, in fact, the most fun I had in ages! I had been so focused on the mission those past months and before that, had spent most of my time on studies that it had been a very long time since I did anything I truly enjoyed.
Being with Usagi had made me feel very much more alive, even reckless for that moment. I had enjoyed every minute, from the smoke bombs to the escape by motorbike, notwithstanding how crazy the whole scheme had been or how unlike my usual serious demeanor.
As our laughter filled the air, Usagi exclaimed, "I bet Minako-chan will be so happy!"
I had to smile. Once again, she was putting others' happiness before hers.
I was despairing of ever finding a reason to lessen my love for her.
Then, a youma had appeared.
Usagi seemed to always find herself in the middle of trouble. We both could not transform in front of each other, and so the situation became dangerous quickly. I made a decision on the spot. Rushing the youma, I propelled it away from Usagi before letting it push me off the railing. I was not going to be hurt much after all, and that left Usagi clear to transform. I had known she could handle a single youma on her own and she did.
In the aftermath, I had found myself in a curiously similar situation of being bandaged by Usagi once again. It was a pink handkerchief, though with rabbits that time.
As I looked upon her face, memorizing her every expression, I knew that I was never going to stop loving her. I treasured every stolen moment with her before reality crashed. Even if I had no right to feel that way about her, it was difficult not to want to spend more time with her when I knew that I was not going to be seeing her after I went abroad. That there would be no more connection between us. At that thought, I had sat up abruptly and walked to my bike. I had decided that I was not going to let myself wallow in misery. I was just going to have to deal with it.
In the meantime, I had at least a little more time with Usagi and I did not intend to waste it.
