Forgotten Forever by Kihin Ranno

Part Two: Still

One Month Earlier

It was over.

She had fought the good fight and won the battle. She had protected Naru, Artemis, and Luna. She had seen the face of the new enemy, and she had not been paralyzed with fear. Yes, it was all over.

All over for her and her normal life.

Only hours before she had been blissfully unaware of her other life. Since the Dark Kingdom had been defeated and her memory had been erased, Usagi had daydreamed about being a super hero and a princess. She had thought that the life of a hero would be glamorous and exciting, forgetting the details of duty and constant anxiety.

For weeks, her biggest worry had been what she was going to tell her mother when she saw her latest English test. She had cried over stupid things like having to stand out in the hallway with a bucket of water on her head. She had gone around with Naru talking about video games, food, clothes, and the cute new boy at school. What was his name again?

But now she remembered that there were monsters outside of her nightmares.

Sailor Moon, the fourteen year old heroine with a cheery disposition and a double life, shut her eyes. She didn't bother to wipe away the tears that were forming in her eyes. It was as useless as shoveling snow in a blizzard.

"To the old Usagi... bye bye."

That done, Sailor Moon turned to the two guardians, her only companions. Luna ducked her head, not in reverence but in shame. Sailor Moon didn’t miss the two tear drops that fell from the cat’s eyes, staining the pavement.

"Luna," Sailor Moon chided kindly, kneeling and gathering her cat into her arms, "Don't feel guilty about this, please. You did what you had to do. I know that."

The cat nodded, snuggling closer to her charge. Artemis padded closer, his green eyes wide with concern. "You were so happy... I wish--"

"So do I,” Sailor Moon interrupted. “But I understand.”

"Usagi's right," Artemis said hastily. "What's done is done. Sailor Moon is awake now, and we shouldn't despair. We already know our enemy and what they want, which is more than we could say last time. And Usagi's more experienced now. It should be… well, maybe not easier, but less complicated. If that makes sense."

Sailor Moon smiled, setting Luna down. "You sound like Minako." She paused, her eyes lighting up with zeal . "How is she? And Rei? I see Ami and Makoto at school, but I haven't seen the other girls... Actually, I take that back. I have. I pass the shrine a lot, and I see Minako at the mall and the arcade and in the street. I never noticed it before... how I always see them."

Luna chuckled softly, pulling herself together. "I suppose fate really is determined to draw you girls together."

"As for how they are," Artemis began, his whiskers drooping slightly, "I really couldn't say. Rei's crows are... Well, I personally think they're just disagreeable, but Luna thinks they’re being protective of Rei somehow. They won't let us anywhere near the shrine."

Sailor Moon considered this. "They have always been a little strange. So they think you’re going to eat them, or…?"

Luna flicked her tail, her eyes narrowed. "That’s what Artemis thinks, but I think it’s more than that. They're protecting Rei from us, so that we don't drag her into a fight again."

"Oh," Sailor Moon murmured, frowning. She honestly had no idea what to make of that information, though she wondered what the crows would do if she approached. "What about Minako? Artemis?"

Artemis suddenly took an acute interest in a crack in the cement, glaring at it as if it had done him some horrible disservice.

Luna rolled her eyes and spoke for him, ignoring his tail patting her on her hind leg. "Apparently, Minako became indifferent to him. Naturally, her mother saw her apathy and kicked him out."

"She probably hasn't even noticed I'm gone," Artemis muttered angrily. "After all I did for that girl. This is the thanks I get?"

Sailor Moon scratched his head, cooing in as soothing a manner as possible. "There, there. I'm sure she'll feel just awful when she remembers everything."

Suddenly, Sailor Moon straightened, almost leaping to her feet. “Wait, no. You can’t.”

Artemis and Luna blanched, uncomprehending. “Can’t?” Luna asked. “Can’t what?”

“You can’t awaken them,” Sailor Moon insisted.

Artemis arched his back, hissing at the idea. “But we have to! You need allies, and—"

“No, please,” Sailor Moon pleaded, folding her hands in supplication. “I… I want to try and do this by myself. I miss them, I do, but… I want to give them some time. Let them be normal for just a little while longer. Like Artemis said, I’m stronger now. Better. Maybe I can take care of the Earth on my own. At least let me try. Please?”

Luna and Artemis exchanged wary glances. Sailor Moon could tell that they didn’t like this idea. She’d known they wouldn’t. But she also knew Artemis in particular would want to shield Minako for as long as he could, and they both loved the other girls. If they could just focus on that, maybe she had a chance to give the girls some peace.

Luna unsheathed her claws. “I don’t like the idea of you not having any allies, no one to support you.”

Sailor Moon frowned, mulling over the idea in her mind. Then she looked up and saw where they were, noticed the apartment building she’d forgotten she knew of. She glanced up to the floor where she thought he was.

And then she made a very selfish decision.

“So don’t.”

Luna and Artemis followed her gaze. It obviously took them a minute to register its significance to her. When they realized what she meant, their tails drooped.

"Mamoru?" Luna asked softly, turning back to Sailor Moon.

Artemis was equally unconvinced. “Are we sure this a good idea?”

Usagi swallowed, glancing away from them, finding it was difficult to watch them. “I… miss him. Maybe that’s silly. We were never really friends. I’d just decided not to hate him so much when he got taken. But he helped me so much. He’s not a Sailor Senshi, but he’s an ally just the same. And I’d… I’d like to get to know him again. Or for the first time.”

Artemis shook his head. “I don’t—"

"All right," Luna interrupted.

Artemis jumped, shocked. “Luna! We need to think about this!”

“Do we?” Luna asked wearily. “I want to give the girls time, too. Don’t stand there and tell me that you don't love seeing Minako carefree after everything she went through. That’s how I felt about Usagi, how I feel for all of them.

“But I can’t let her be alone either. So why not Mamoru?”

“He doesn’t deserve a rest either?” Artemis bristled.

Sailor Moon flinched.

“How do you suppose Tuxedo Kamen always managed to find us, Artemis?” Luna demanded. “Do you suppose he had a communicator?

“I always had a theory,” Luna continued, “that he was physically compelled to follow Sailor Moon. How else do you explain him always just showing up in the nick of time? He wasn’t awakened to his powers; his powers awakened when she did. Because they’re connected from a past life. How can we be sure the same thing won’t happen this time? Wouldn’t we rather he know what he’s doing? Shouldn’t he be working with us instead of operating independently?”

Artemis leaned away from her, curling in on himself. He frowned, chastened but not invested in the idea. “I guess if you two think this is a good idea… I’ll support it. I just hope we don’t regret this.”

“We won’t,” Sailor Moon said, certain of herself. “I know we won’t.”

Sailor Moon moved forward and scooped both cats up. Once they were secure, she leapt up, soaring above the pavement. She traveled on rooftops as swiftly as she could, ignoring the throbbing ache in her weakened muscles. She reached his building soon enough, and Sailor Moon ascended it by way of the balconies.

Sailor Moon finally paused at one of the top apartments, instinctively releasing Luna and Artemis. She hadn't been counting the floors, but she knew the moment her boot touched the stone that she was in the right place. Just to be sure, she squinted into the blackened apartment. She caught sight of a familiar shape dozing beneath a blanket, black hair falling into his eyes.

“He looks like a little boy,” Sailor Moon murmured, smiling fondly, trailing her fingertips along the windowpane. “Almost… innocent. It’s so strange.”

Artemis shivered against the wind. “How exactly do you plan on getting in anyway?”

Sailor Moon chuckled quietly. She pulled at the window seam, moving the sliding glass door with ease. “I noticed he doesn’t lock his windows when I was here last time.”

Luna frowned. “Why on Earth would he do that?”

“Maybe it’s instinct from being Tuxedo Kamen,” Artemis mused quietly. “Either that or it’s been unlocked since Beryl was around and he hasn’t noticed yet.”

Sailor Moon shushed them, motioning for the cats go in ahead of her. They obeyed, silently moving from the balcony to the carpeted bedroom. Sailor Moon hesitated for a moment, breathing deeply. She wasn’t stupid. She knew this was a gross invasion of privacy, not to mention a technically criminal act. However, she felt sure that he’d forgive her once they awakened his memories.

Finally, she stepped inside, finding that as Sailor Moon she could see much easier in the light of Mamoru’s alarm clock. She hovered over the bed, taking care that her long hair didn’t brush against him. He really did look younger when he was sleeping, free of worries and stress. She chewed on her lips, remembering that she was about to take all of that away from him.

But Luna had said he might wake up anyway, sort of. So that meant that this was better. It was better to let the other Senshi sleep for now. This was the only way to take care of Mamoru.

Even if it meant she’d be accused of being selfish later. Even if it meant her accusers would be right.

“Doesn’t look like we’ll have to worry about him waking up,” Artemis mumbled, flicking his tail towards the bedside table. Sailor Moon narrowed her eyes, struggling to see what Artemis could make out so easily. Eventually, he took pity on her. “It’s a pill bottle, prescription for a sleep aid. And it looks from the dosage that he’s out for good.”

Sailor Moon frowned. She didn’t like that Mamoru was having trouble sleeping. Did that mean he was still having dreams, or was he natural insomniac? “I’ll have to ask him about that.”

“I guess you will,” Luna whispered, her voice small.

Artemis meowed with concern. “Are you sure about this? Will you powers even work on him?”

Luna appeared mildly affronted. “Of course they’ll work,” she snapped, hopping onto the bed. Mamoru grunted and wiggled a little, but he didn’t stir.

“And my first question?” Artemis deadpanned.

Luna’s ear briefly laid flat to her head. “We’re here now.”

Artemis certainly would have pressed her more had Luna not turned her head. Neither he nor Sailor Moon could mistake the sudden shimmer that ran across the crescent on Luna’s brow, and they both fell silent. A moment later, a beam of light shot from the golden moon, impacting with the same place on Mamoru’s face. An unseen wind blew, lifting his bangs away from his skin, and the room filled with rosy colored light.

No symbol appeared on his forehead, but Sailor Moon knew that Luna was now in his mind.

She waited on baited breath, watching Mamoru for signs of distress. She watched his eyebrows grow closer together and his jaw line sharpen. He moaned quietly, and it was all she could do not to grab his hand. Was he in pain? Sailor Moon hadn’t felt anything when Luna had reawakened her memories… except a profound sense of sadness. Of loss. Perhaps Mamoru was experiencing the same thing.

But soon, it would all be different. Mamoru had experienced plenty of horrors as Tuxedo Kamen and Prince Endymion, but there was so much more to his existence than despair. They’d had fun together as Usagi and Mamoru, hadn’t they? She knew he liked teasing her, and maybe she could learn to enjoy it, too. Fighting alongside each other had sometimes been terrifying, but other times it had been exhilarating. She remembered adrenaline pumping through her veins as they ran from enemies, attacked together, survived together. And there was the peace she’d felt when she had finally remembered her past as Princess Serenity. There had been sorrow there, too, but also a sense of completion, finality. Like she’d finally found the missing pieces to a puzzle she hadn’t known she’d lost.

It would be hard. She knew that better than anyone. But she would be there for him every step of the way. He would see why she had to do this. He would agree she made the right decision.

And maybe she would finallyfinallyfinally get the kiss she had denied herself.

“Something’s wrong,” Artemis said, too loudly for Sailor Moon’s taste. She almost clamped a hand on his mouth. “Luna?”

She turned to face her guardian and recoiled in shock. Luna was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, her entire body trembling. Her teeth were bared in concentration, her back arched. Her eyes were so wide.

“Sailor Moon, pull her away.”

She shook her head. “But what if—"

The trembling became more violent. Luna mewled in pain.

“Sailor Moon, now!”

This time, she didn’t waste time. She reached forward and yanked her cat away, pulling so hard that she nearly toppled. She stumbled back onto the balcony, cradling Luna close, Artemis at her heels.

“Luna!” Artemis nearly shouted. “Luna, talk to me! What happened?”

Luna let out another weak meow. Then she looked up at Sailor Moon with those same wide eyes. This time, Sailor Moon didn’t miss the tears.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered weakly. “I don’t know what it is… but it’s like… there’s nothing there.”

Sailor Moon gaped at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… there are no memories I can find. They aren’t there,” Luna shuddered. “Like he’s not even the same person anymore.”

-----

Usagi opened her eyes. It was early – earlier than she normally cared to be awake. Then again, she hadn't been sleeping. She had been too busy remembering that first night she’d reawakened as Sailor Moon, when she’d tried to bring back Mamoru’s memories. Luna’s discovery had made no sense at the time, but now it was perfectly understandable: Mamoru’s memories really hadn’t been there. It had been devastating at the time, but she’d worked through it. And when Tsukikage no Knight told her the truth about his identity, she’d been sure all of the mysteries surrounding Mamoru had been solved.

But how could anyone explain why he didn’t remember now?

She had stayed up the entire night trying to figure it out, once she’d calmed down anyway. She vaguely remembered Rei telling her the news the night before, then holding her while she wept. Usagi's family had arrived soon after, but she hadn't stopped. Not even when her knees gave out and her bratty little brother had embraced her like his life depended on it. Not even when her parents promised everything would be okay.

She wondered what Rei and the others had told her family. Certainly not the truth. Maybe something about Natsumi and Seijuurou? She’d have to ask someone later or else hope no one brought it up. How could she explain to anyone what she was really upset about?

Usagi grunted and turned her back to the window, unable to stare at the bleeding horizon any longer.

He was the only thing that kept her going, or maybe it was better to say Tuxedo Kamen kept Sailor Moon going. Tsukikage no Knight had been an acceptable substitute, but who did she have now? As much as she loved her friends, they weren’t enough. She needed more. Sometimes she hated that about herself and other times she forgave this weakness, but her feelings about it didn’t change anything. She found strength in wanting to impress him. She took comfort when she felt his arms around her. He was why she could hold her hand up high and shout the words without crumbling beneath their weight. In the name of the Moon, I’ll punish you. She couldn’t do that without him.

Usagi wasn’t even sure she could be a normal girl without him anymore, much less a superhero.

Usagi sighed slightly, rubbing red-rimmed eyes. Her mother had suggested staying home that day, but for once, Usagi didn’t want to. She knew she wouldn’t sleep no matter how tired she was, and she couldn’t stand lying there doing nothing anymore. She had to do something, even if it was just go to school as usual. Maybe she could forget about her loss for a little while.

Usagi quietly got up from her bed, making sure not to wake Luna. The cat had sat up with her for hours until Usagi convinced her that she was going to sleep. Luna hadn't made a peep since.

Usagi was careful to show the same consideration to her sleeping family, tip-toeing around the room and shutting her drawers as quietly as possible. Within ten minutes, Usagi was dressed, though she still looked dreadful.

She went downstairs and wandered into the kitchen, debating whether or not she wanted to eat. For once, Usagi didn't have an appetite, but she decided that she had better eat something anyway. She grabbed one of the muffins her mother had prepared several days before and nibbled on it while she packed her lunch.

When she was done, she looked up at the kitchen clock. It was way too early to go to school. But what else could she do?

She walked out of the kitchen, her pink lunch bag dangling from her fingers. She picked up her satchel filled with untouched homework and stepped into her shoes. She opened the door and stepped out into the grey morning.

And she started walking in the opposite direction of the school.

-----

Motoki furiously polished the countertops at the arcade, his eyes anxiously flitting from the clock to the small television he’d secreted under the counter. Predictably, time did not move faster and the news did not become clearer. No news networks knew what was going on, or if they did, they were choosing to withhold the information.

Motoki swore and slapped his palms against the sparkling clean counter. Mamoru had told him he was going to that apartment complex, but Motoki had been on a rare long distance call from Reika all night. He hadn’t heard about the accident until this morning. A quick inquiry with the hospital had reassured him Mamoru was alive if not necessarily well, but that did nothing to erase the heart-stopping minutes he’d spent certain Mamoru was dead.

Motoki stared at the images of the ravaged building and collapsed floors, wondering once again how anyone could have survived that catastrophe.

“Got any super-sized donuts, Motoki?”

He glanced up hurriedly at the familiar voice, about to force himself to be chipper for her sake. Then he got a look at the dark shadows littering her face. He leaned over the counter and gently took her chin in his hand. “Minako! What happened to you?”

“Unless I’m hearing voices, I’m guessing you’re watching the news about it,” Minako murmured. “Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I kind of got a nasty bump there too, so would you mind…?”

“Oh!” Motoki gasped, pulling away. He really wasn’t thinking straight that morning. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t… I mean, I didn’t… But you were there? At the building?”

Minako gestured at her visible bandages. “Not wearing these as a fashion statement.”

“Christ,” Motoki breathed. “I didn’t realize… I mean, I knew Mamoru was there—"

Minako winced.

“He’s okay, right? The hospital told me he was okay.”

“Yes, yes, he’s fine,” Minako assured him, quelling his rising panic. “Sorry, I wasn’t… something was throbbing is all.” She reached into a hidden pocket in her skirt and pulled out a prescription bottle. “Could I get some water to go with that really big donut?”

“Of course! Certainly. Cinnamon twist?”

“Sounds divine.”

“On the house,” Motoki said before she could reach for her purse. “Well, on the house if you tell me what happened.”

Minako glanced away. “I don’t really want to talk about it, Motoki.”

Motoki took a moment to marvel at his lack of social graces that day. “No, you don’t… I just want to know what did that. Nobody will tell me anything, and I can’t get in to see Mamoru until later today. So… you don’t have to tell me much, but anything would help. Please.” He placed the twist and the water in front of her. “It’s on the house either way.”

He expected her to smile at that, even sadly, but her mouth remained in a tense line. Motoki regretted saying anything to her, but on the other hand, he got the feeling he hadn’t made a bit of difference in her mood.

“All of us were there,” she explained softly. “Me, Usagi, and the other girls… and Mamoru, of course. Usagi and Mamoru were there before us; we didn’t get there till later. So they definitely got the worst of it, but I promise, he’s all right. Ami… she snuck into his room until he woke up.”

Motoki blinked, raising both eyebrows. “Ami did that?”

“Her mom works at that hospital, so if she got caught, she wouldn’t have gotten in trouble,” Minako said. “I don’t really know what they talked about. I think Ami just wanted to make sure he was coherent, you know? I think he wound up with a concussion.”

Among other things, Motoki was sure. “What about you girls? I mean… you don’t look great, Minako.”

“You’re lucky I’m not taking that the wrong way,” Minako teased half-heartedly, shaking her bottle of Vicodin. “We all got off lucky compared to Mamoru. Usagi and I don’t have anything specifically wrong, just a bunch of cuts and stuff. Makoto has bruised ribs I think, and Ami sprained her wrist. There’s something wrong with Rei’s ankle, too… I don’t know if she twisted it or sprained it like Ami.” She shrugged. “It could have been worse.”

“No shit,” Motoki muttered, forgetting Minako was only fourteen for a moment. “Should you really be going to school?”

Minako shrugged. “Not sure if I’m going or not. Just wanted to get out of the house. You know.”

Motoki wanted to say that in her position, he wouldn’t have emerged from his bed for anything short of the apocalypse. Something in her tone, however, made him think better of it, and he decided to avoid sticking his foot in his mouth for once.

Minako tore off a piece of her donut and nibbled on it. “Mind if I hang out here for a bit? Not talking about the apartment?”

Motoki smiled softly. “Sure thing.” He paused. “Just… one more question.”

She waited, prepared to indulge him a little more.

“Is it true there was really a giant tree?”

Finally, she almost smiled. “Ask Mamoru about that. He got up close and personal with the Big Bad.”

Motoki shuddered at her flippancy, but agreed nonetheless. After a moment, she went back to her breakfast, and he went back to cleaning. They didn’t say a word, letting the meaningless news reports fill in the silence.

-----

Makoto knew it was Ami’s nature to arrive early to school. Both of them were early birds, and while Ami often put the extra bit of wakefulness towards her studies, Makoto generally preferred to spend time in her apartment, making her home even homier. Still, when Ami walked around the corner and saw Makoto waiting for her at the school gates, she didn’t seem surprised.

“How are you feeling? Your ribs, I mean” Ami asked, forgoing pleasantries. She sounded exhausted, and Makoto wondered if Ami had managed to sleep at all the night before.

“Trying to stay ahead of the pain, like your mom said,” Makoto murmured. “I’m not taking the Vicodin though. It makes me too light-headed.”

Ami smiled grimly. “I know what you mean. I had to cheek it last night when Mama gave it to me.”

Makoto’s eyebrows arched. “Aren’t you full of surprises?”

Ami flushed, shrugging slightly. “Well, in case anything were to happen… I wouldn’t want to be useless.”

“No kidding.” Makoto’s jaw tightened. She didn’t like this conversation, but then what had she expected? She hadn’t wanted to talk to Ami about the weather. In fact, there seemed to be no point it putting it off any longer. It was just like ripping off a bandage. “Have you heard from her at all?”

Ami winced. There was no need to identify who ‘her’ was. “No. Then I’m not sure she would have called me anyway.”

“You more than the rest of us,” Makoto insisted. “After all, you’re the only one who… who actually saw him.”

Ami still looked pained, as if Makoto had pinched an old bruise. “I’m also the bearer of bad news. I’m the one who told her… who told her….”

In reality, it had been Rei who said it, but Makoto doubted saying so would have made much of a difference. She reached out and grabbed Ami’s injured wrist, holding it gently. “She doesn’t blame you. She couldn’t.”

“I know that,” Ami muttered, staring at their hands.

“So why are you acting like she would?”

Ami’s body physically curled away from the question, an evasion without completely fleeing. Makoto kept holding on, taking care not to cause any pain, but making it clear that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“I didn’t do my job,” Ami admitted finally.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m supposed to be the one who knows things.... I read the data and discern the most likely conclusion. Give me a puzzle, and I don’t see the pieces individually. I see them as parts of a whole, and I can put them together to get the picture.”

Makoto hesitated before saying, “You’re losing me, Ami. What does this have to do with—"

“She asked me if he would be okay,” Ami croaked. “I told her that he would be, and I was wrong.”

Makoto exhaled, realizing at last what the issue was. She’d been concerned about Ami’s reaction the day before, or at least she had become anxious when she’d had time to think about it. They were all upset, all of them saddened at the loss of a potential ally, but Ami’s visceral response hadn’t made sense to her. Now it did.

“It’s not your fault,” Makoto informed her brusquely. “You can’t think it is.”

Ami shook her head. “I should have prepared her for the possibility—"

“You honestly think you could have burst that optimistic bubble?” Makoto interrupted. “Minako angsting in a corner didn’t do it; Rei being gentle didn’t do it. What makes you think logic could have penetrated that?”

“Then I shouldn’t have said anything,” Ami maintained. “I should have just said I didn’t know and left it at that.”

“As if she would have let you,” Makoto reasoned. “You’re right. You are the one we depend on to have answers, and that probably isn’t fair. She would have pressed you until you said one way or the other, but it wouldn’t have made a difference. She was sure she’d have him back.”

“I was sure, too,” Ami murmured. “I thought… I thought he’d remember, and I was wrong.”

Makoto smiled, a little pitying. “You can’t be right all the time. That would be too easy.”

“It’s not easy either way, right or wrong.”

Makoto shrugged. “If it was, I’d be the brains instead of the brawn. Trust me, kicking butt is way less complex than what you do. And more fun.”

Ami almost smiled at that. “It can be fun.”

“Says the crazy genius girl,” Makoto teased, gently dropping Ami’s hand.

Ami ignored the jibe, but she looked lighter than she had a moment ago. Makoto felt relieved, and a little proud. Ami wasn’t the only one who saw herself as a problem-solver. Makoto just had access to a different set of puzzles.

“Do you think she’ll come today?” Ami asked.

“No idea,” Makoto yawned. “I only came because I knew you would.”

“Am I that predictable?”

“If the apocalypse were hours away, and you had a test, I would have to physically drag you away,” Makoto deadpanned, preparing to enter the building.

She stopped short when she saw Haruna, Usagi’s teacher. And also Natsumi’s. An’s.

“Do you think she knows?” Ami asked, stepping beside Makoto. “Where they lived? It was all over the news last night.”

Makoto hadn’t turned on the television. “What did they say? Gas explosion?”

“They didn’t even pretend to have an explanation. I think they’re starting to realize that people aren’t believing them, so saying nothing is actually a watchword for… well, our business.”

“As long as they don’t get in the way, I don’t care what they say,” Makoto sighed. “So I guess we have to tell her… something.”

“My mother kept saying it was a miracle we survived,” Ami pointed out. “Even though she didn’t know what happened, not really.”

Makoto frowned. “So what you’re saying is… they didn’t.”

Ami took a deep breath, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Told you it’s not easy if you know the answers.”

Makoto nodded, straightening her skirt. “It’s never easy. No matter what.”

Then they moved forward, matching each other’s stride, and prepared to break the news about the deaths of Natsumi and Seijuurou Ginga.

-----

Mamoru hated hospitals.

Well, that wasn’t precisely true. It wouldn’t have made much sense for a future doctor to hate the place he was most likely to work. But it was true that he hated being a patient in the hospital. He’d spent entirely too much of his childhood lying in bed, being slowly brought back to health after nearly losing his life.

Though on his darker days, he often reflected he’d lost his life anyway. He’d certainly lost his identity, his memories. When the car had gone off the cliff, a little boy had died and another one had been born in his place. He was a manifestation of one of the stories they’d told in the orphanage: a changeling. He had no idea why they’d told that story. It hadn’t been the most appropriate setting, and he couldn’t remember anyone being particularly cheered by it. Oliver Twist had always been far more popular.

Mamoru shook his head, as if trying to knock something loose in his brain. The medication kept making his thoughts swirl into a mishmash of nonsensical emotion. His status as an orphan didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was once again laid up in a hospital bed, a needle protruding from his arm, and pain radiating from the tips of his hair to his bone marrow.

On second thought, Mamoru really did hate hospitals. A private practice was starting to sound better by the minute. Though getting through residency was going to be a trial….

Mamoru banged his head against the pillow, acknowledging that the frustration was futile. “Pathetic.”

"I wouldn’t say that. You know, some of the nurses are saying that you’re the cutest patient they’ve had in a while,” a cheerful voice announced from the doorway. “I don’t know what they see in you.”

Mamoru grinned and turned on his side, wincing with effort. “What? You don’t go for tall, dark, and lacerated?”

“They think it makes you look rugged,” Motoki informed him solemnly. “I disagree. I think it makes you look like shit.”

“Don’t feel the need to pull your punches. Tell me how you really feel,” Mamoru quipped. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the crystal vase Motoki held in his hand, filled to the brim with a dozen red roses. “And what did they say when they saw you bringing me that?”

Motoki shrugged and strode deeper into the room. “There was too much giggling for me to make it out, but I think I heard something about ‘forbidden love.’” He set the vase down on the bedside table and added, “So I imagine now you’re even more desirable.”

“Thanks so much,” Mamoru drawled.

“Anytime,” Motoki answered, his smile just a bit too wide. Motoki was often alarmingly upbeat, but even Mamoru could tell it was taking a lot of effort for him to stay positive. After catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror that morning, Mamoru didn’t blame him.

“Thanks for coming,” Mamoru murmured. “Really.”

“As if you’d have let me hear the end if it if I hadn’t,” Motoki teased. “You’d have come into the arcade every day, sighing dramatically, ordering large chocolate shakes to ease your wounded soul.”

Mamoru coughed. “I think my soul’s the only part of me not wounded.”

“I don’t know. Your pinky looks all right.” Motoki’s smile faded. “Seriously, Mamoru. What happened?”

Mamoru shaded his eyes. “Oh, you know. Usual alien insanity.”

“There’s a rumor about a giant tree.”

“Usual alien insanity and a giant tree.”

Motoki gaped. “Jesus. I can’t believe that’s actually true! You know, the news isn’t saying anything. They just keep saying it was an accident, though they won’t say what kind.”

Mamoru frowned. “What are they saying about… casualties?”

Motoki closed his eyes and recited, “We are very sorry, but we cannot report on whether or not anyone was hurt in this terrible accident. Please forgive us for this, but we cannot release information about that at this time.”

“Glued to the TV I see.”

“Well, yeah,” Motoki snapped, a little put out. “When you hear your best friend was practically eaten by a tree—"

“It didn’t try to eat me.”

“—you kind of want information on what the hell happened to him.”

Mamoru glanced away, chastened. “You were worried about me.”

“When am I not worried about you?” Motoki asked, dropping into a nearby chair. “You’re always ending up in the middle of these things. The virtual reality game center, the Snow White play, those other days that end in ‘day.’”

“Apparently the great evil is attracted to tall, dark, and lacerated.” Suddenly, his stomach twisted in a knot. An had indeed been attracted to him, and that was exactly how he’d landed in the latest particular mess, if not all the others. But the sickness seemed more profound than that, like his body was trying to tell him something.

He choked down a mouthful of bile and waved off Motoki’s latest concern. “It’s nothing. Crappy hospital food.”

“Right,” Motoki answered, clearly unconvinced. “So. You have nothing else to say for yourself?”

“About?”

“About how you always end up in these messes.”

Mamoru arched an eyebrow. “What? Are you suggesting I moonlight as Sailor Moon?”

“Please, like you have the legs for that skirt.”

“Motoki, I am fully prepared to throw up on you if you say anything like that again.”

“I’m going into pediatrics. I’ll have to get used to it some time,” Motoki retorted. “But seriously, you don’t like… go looking for trouble, do you? Because that’s not okay. You realize that’s not okay?”

Mamoru would have laughed if his ribs hadn’t ached so much. “I’m sorry. Are you suggesting I’m some kind of vigilante superhero? Like that weird guy who looked like he’s watched Arabian Nights too many times?”

Motoki frowned. “Yeah, that doesn’t seem like your style. There was a guy with a tuxedo before though.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Wait, are you saying you don’t remember him?”

“No, I’m just asking stupid questions to irritate you. Do I have reason to remember him?”

Motoki scratched his head. “Well, you went after a plushie of him in the crane game a few months ago.”

Mamoru deadpanned, “So your evidence is that you’re stalking me.”

Motoki blushed. “You just don’t normally play the crane game, so I remembered it! Don’t look at me like that.”

“Just wondering if there’s something to that ‘forbidden love’ nonsense the nurses are on about.”

“No way,” Motoki insisted. “Reika and I already talked. If we ever break up, she has first dibs on you.”

Mamoru glared. “I hate you a little bit.”

“Eh, you’re just bitter because you really would look terrible in the Sailor Suit,” Motoki dismissed.

“And you’d fill it out beautifully.”

Motoki shrugged.

“Remind me to hit you later.”

“Noted. But let’s be honest, it’ll be a while before you can take me.”

“Please. I could—" Mamoru cut himself off in a coughing fit. He kept trying to get air, but his throat spasmed again and again, preventing him from taking a full breath. He sensed Motoki hovering and tried to wave him away, but his arms didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Suddenly, Motoki thumped him on the back, hard, shocking him into inhaling sharply. After a minute or so, the coughing more or less subsided.

Once he settled back down, Mamoru turned weakly to Motoki. “Nice. Way to hit the injured guy.”

Motoki sighed, well on his way to fretting. “I didn’t know what else to do! Should they have you on oxygen? Should I tell them to put you on oxygen?”

“Because of course they’ll listen to the best-friend/forbidden lover.”

“I’m serious!” Motoki snapped furiously. “If you’re not breathing well on your own—"

“I’m fine. It’s the first time that’s happened. Honestly.”

Motoki was clearly not convinced. “Well, I’m telling the nurses about it when I leave. Don’t think you can talk me out of it.”

“Fine, fine,” Mamoru said. “But, umm… back to the ‘giant tree’ incident. You said that the news hadn’t said anything. Have you… have you heard from the girls?”

Motoki gave him a knowing look Mamoru was at a loss to interpret. “Actually, yes. Minako stopped by this morning. She was dressed for school, but I bet she was going to ditch. Hope she was anyway. She looked like she’d been on a field trip to hell.”

“What did she say?”

"Not much,” Motoki admitted. “She was… in a bad mood. Which was weird. I’ve never seen her not smiling before. I didn’t really know how to handle it.

“Anyway, it seems Makoto hurt her ribs, and Rei and Ami sprained their ankle and wrist respectively. Minako was vague about her own injuries, but I’m guessing there were some stitches in there.”

Mamoru ignored this missive and fiddled with one of his bandages. “And Usagi?”

Motoki gave him that knowing look again.

“Okay. What is it?”

Motoki shrugged, exaggerating. “You just seem interested in Usagi.”

Mamoru glared. “Motoki. The tree had me in one… branch and Usagi in another. We survived a situation that could have easily killed us both, so yes, I’m interested in how she is.”

Motoki had the grace to look chagrined, but he pressed on. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Mamoru made a note to kick Motoki in addition to punching him. “We are not discussing this again.”

“Oh, did we discuss it before? 'Cause you see, I remember me trying to discuss it with you, and then you brushing me off. Which is not actually how conversation works.”

“As you’ve explained to me,” Mamoru grumbled. “Listen, I know what you’re getting at, and no. No. A thousand times no.”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

“You realize that’s not actually what the quote means, right?”

“Context works.”

Mamoru groaned, pounding his fists against the bed. “Motoki, I mean it. I am not interested in her, not in the way you mean. Now will you please tell me if she’s okay? I’m worried about her, and your evasiveness is not helping.”

Now Motoki looked truly regretful. He glanced away, unable to hold Mamoru’s gaze. Mamoru would have liked to be sorry, but he was in no mood for Motoki to play matchmaker.

“She’s fine,” Motoki assured him quietly. “Minako said she got a good beating and blacked out before the Sailor Senshi showed up, but she’s okay. Not even in the hospital.”

Mamoru grinned appreciatively. “Knew she was tougher than she looks.”

“Oh, is that why you pull her pigtails all the time? To teach her a lesson about her strength of character?”

Apparently, Motoki did not know when to quit. “Okay, fine. Since you have me pinned to a bed and are determined to go here, let me make this clear: I do not, will not, and never have had feelings for Usagi.”

Motoki just stared.

“I don’t! I… All right, she’s cute. I acknowledge that she is cute, but that doesn’t mean I have a crush on her.”

“You pay an awful lot of attention to her for someone who doesn’t have a crush,” Motoki pointed out.

Mamoru scowled to cover up his own confusion at this. Motoki wasn’t wrong; Mamoru did notice Usagi. She was impossible to ignore. Of course, when you considered that she was usually tripping over him or grabbing his arm on the street, he could hardly be blamed for that. Nevertheless, when she walked into the arcade, even if she was silent, Mamoru knew it was her who had come in. She and her friends were the first people he had thought of to replace the actors for the Snow White play. There had been other people he could have asked, and he rationalized that Usagi and the girls were probably the only ones gullible enough to say yes, but still. Usagi was on his mind quite a bit.

“Try and think of it like this,” Mamoru said softly. “It’s like… I really don’t have any romantic attachment. Don’t give me that look. I know you think I’m emotionally retarded, but I’m self-aware enough to know when I like someone that way. Like with Rei… she was a little grating, but there was some kind of a spark there, or I wouldn’t have put up with it. Granted, it led to nothing but…”

“I think you’re looking for a point somewhere in there,” Motoki advised, not unkindly.

“Meds are doing a number on me,” Mamoru explained. “The point is I didn’t just hang around Rei because I was confused. I did like her, just not as much as she liked me. And that’s how I know Usagi and I… we’re not supposed to be like that. I just… I want to watch out for her. Protect her. I’m aware that that sounds weird and ridiculous, but it’s almost like…

“It’s almost like she’s my little sister.”

-----

Luna admitted that she was more than a little protective of her charge. There wasn’t a concrete reason for her to go to the school to check on Usagi, but she definitely wanted to. She remembered Usagi had woken up early to go to school, a worrisome act in and of itself. So around lunch time, Luna made her way to the school grounds and trotted over to the tree Makoto, Ami, and Usagi usually had lunch underneath.

She saw Ami and Makoto. No Usagi.

Luna’s stomach lurched, and she galloped forward, darting around the legs of students flirting and playing Frisbee. She reached the pair shortly, panting furiously.

Both Ami and Makoto were instantly on edge.

“What’s wrong?”

“Has there been an attack?”

Luna ignored them. “Where’s Usagi?”

They both stared at her. Then they looked at each other in confusion.

“Did Usagi ever make it to class?” Makoto questioned. “You hadn’t said.”

“No,” Ami insisted. “I haven’t seen her all day.”

“Are you sure?” Luna pressed, aware that it was a stupid question.

“Luna, I thought Usagi would surely stay home today,” Ami admitted. “Possibly visit Mamoru if she felt up to it. When she didn’t show up, I didn’t think anything of it.”

“But if you’re here,” Makoto murmured, “Usagi didn’t stay home.”

Luna shook her head. “No. She left early. I assumed she couldn’t sleep and hoped to talk to you girls before class. I just came by to make sure everything was all right.”

Ami chewed on her lips nervously. “Where could she have gone if not here?”

“Mamoru?” Makoto asked.

“I doubt it,” Luna dismissed. “You didn’t see her after the hospital. She never seemed to calm down. She got quieter, but not… not better. She’s absolutely shattered that he doesn’t remember. I don’t think she’s ready to face him. It might not have even occurred to her.”

Makoto nodded brusquely. “I’m calling her then.”

She pulled her pink communicator out and pressed in the key to call Usagi. Luna held her breath, waiting to hear Usagi’s staticy voice coming from the speakers. But several seconds passed and nothing happened.

Makoto looked at them both, now just as concerned as Luna. “She’s not answering.”

“Let me try,” Ami offered, though it was clear she doubted the results would be any different. After a few more attempts from each of them, it was clear that for whatever reason, Usagi wasn’t going to answer her communicator.

“That girl!” Luna spat, her back arching. “She must know how worried we all are… to cut off all contact at a time like this.”

Ami worried at her lip more. Luna was sure it would start to bleed soon. “Do you think she’s in danger?”

“Another enemy?” Makoto asked, her enthusiasm for fighting dampened for once.

“I certainly hope not,” Luna answered. Indeed, it hadn’t occurred to her. “I’m more concerned about what Usagi will do on her own.”

Ami and Makoto blanched.

“You don’t think…” Makoto began.

“That she’d hurt herself?” Ami finished, gearing up to a full-fledged panic.

Luna sighed. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve never seen her like this! Even when Mamoru was taken by the Dark Kingdom, she was able to stay positive. It’s like… this was the last straw. I’m sure with time and our support she’d be all right, but if she won’t talk to us—"

Makoto nodded, taking charge in a situation where both Ami and Luna were clearly inept. “I think we should call Minako and Rei. If I know Minako, she didn’t go to school, so she can look around the usual haunts. If Rei’s home, she can look in the fire.”

“Or maybe Usagi would answer Rei,” Ami added helpfully.

“Maybe,” Luna agreed. She turned, glancing over her shoulder. “You girls do that. I’ll start searching on my own. Tell Minako to send Artemis off on his own if he’s with her. I’ll stop by her house to tell him myself just in case. If we work together, we can find her.”

Ami and Makoto bobbed their heads in tandem and then bent over their communicators to call their respective Senshi. Luna took off again like a shot, leaping and clawing her way up a tree near the gate and vaulting over the side. Then she ran through the streets, glancing left and right for a familiar pair of gold pigtails.

Chances were good Luna was overreacting. Usagi might have fallen asleep somewhere or hadn’t heard her communicator. Maybe she was at the movies or in a public place where she couldn’t get to it. There were a hundred reasons why Usagi hadn’t answered.

But Luna always feared the worst and prepared for it. That’s how she kept it from happening.

-----

Rei had been awoken by Ami’s call in the middle of the afternoon. She hadn’t meant to sleep so late – in point of fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept past six in the morning regardless of how late she’d been up fighting the night before. It seemed Yuuichirou and her grandfather had conspired to keep her in bed after the tree incident the day before. But no amount of covering her windows or stealing her alarm clock could keep her asleep once her communicator rang.

Once Ami finished briefing her, Rei tossed the covers off her legs and rose from her futon. She doubted Usagi would be any more likely to answer a call from her, and if she wasn’t capable of answering… Well, Rei knew the fire would be a much simpler way of locating the girl.

Frantic as she was, Rei put weight on her bad ankle out of habit. She swore loudly and regretted it almost immediately. A second later, her door slid open with a bang. Her grandfather was there, scowling, as if he’d been waiting for this.

“Get back in bed.”

Rei rolled her eyes. She didn’t have time for this. “Grandpa, I’m fine.”

“Oh, your ankle is usually the size and color of a bowling ball, is it?”

“The day is almost gone! My chores—"

“Yuuichirou is taking care of them,” he assured her, as if this would alleviate her feigned concerns.

“So then I’ll have to fix everything he’s done wrong.”

“I’ve already done that.”

“Then why did you have him do anything to begin with?” Rei demanded.

Her grandfather sighed. “Anything to keep him from hovering over you. Honestly, he’s like an old woman sometimes.”

Despite her frustration, Rei couldn’t help but smile at that. Yuuichirou could be an idiot, but he did care. He’d been frantic when he finally got the message about Rei’s hospital stay and undoubtedly would have carried her grandfather to the emergency room on his back if it had been faster than his car.

Her grandfather pointed firmly at her bed. “Now get off your feet before you hurt yourself again!”

Rei limped past the smaller priest, gently pushing him from her path. “Fine. I won’t do chores. But I need to eat, don’t I?”

“I can bring you breakfast,” he insisted, stepping in front of her again.

Rei was on the verge of tearing her hair out. “Okay. But at least let me meditate. You know I feel scattered unless I start my day in front of the fire. Granted, the day started without me, but—"

Her grandfather sighed loudly, just to let her know how unhappy he was with this plan. “I suppose you’re right. It’s important for you to maintain your center through meditation.” He turned and toddled away, ostensibly to fetch her breakfast for later. “Kami help us if you were even more bad-tempered!”

Normally, Rei would have snapped at him for that, but she didn’t have time. As soon as he was out of ear shot, Rei half-jogged/half-hopped to the fire room. Sheer luck kept Yuuichirou from finding her, who she was sure would be even more difficult to placate.

Once she reached the sacred fire, she slid the door shut behind her. For a moment, she despaired that one couldn’t actually lock a screen door. Then she stepped farther into the room and knelt before the fire. Although she was in a rush, she knew better than to hurry the process. She began reciting her mantra, getting lost in it and clearing her mind of all extraneous thoughts. She thought only of Usagi, knowing that the fire was unlikely to give her exact coordinates. She just needed to make sure Usagi wasn’t in immediate danger.

“Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, zai, zen. Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, zai, zen. Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, zai, zen.”

Suddenly, her eyes flew open instinctively as she felt the fire lick at her inner sight.

There, within the flames that could not lie, she saw it. A golden crescent moon, the symbol of the ancient monarchy and her missing friend. Then an inverted, black moon superimposed itself over the familiar image. They faded in and out, one dominating the other at all times, the war between them seeming endless.

Then it stopped with dark overshadowing light. The golden crescent tarnished and turned that same cold, empty ebony. A moment later, there were no longer two moons. Just one, as dark and deep as a shadow.

Rei blinked and the vision was gone.

She stared, shaking and drenched in sweat. She had no idea what it meant, couldn’t have known. But she was also certain that it couldn’t be good.

Rei slammed her fists against the floorboards and struggled to her feet. She pulled her communicator from her pajama pants pocket and called her three friends, desperate to tell them what she had seen. It didn’t matter if the fire was telling her of current events of future. They had to find Usagi immediately.

-----

Long after the battle with the Makaiju had ended, long after the building had been abandoned by those that had waged it, the apartment complex that had been the scene of the crime swarmed with activity. The press demanded to know what had happened and were told nothing. The fire department struggled to determine what had happened and could find nothing, and so the press knew nothing either. Men and women in black suits and dark glasses picked through the debris, searching for clues as to what they thought had happened. If they found anything, they didn’t say. They weren’t allowed.

Undoubtedly, hundreds of people picked through the wreckage in the hours since the attack. They searched for more survivors, and found none, but they also found no dead. Although there were reports that two teenagers had been living in the penthouse of an otherwise empty building, they found no trace of them. Later, when people would attempt to track down the Ginga family, who supposedly owned the building, they would uncover a paper trail that led to nowhere, as if they and the brother and sister had never existed.

Finally, the rescue teams determined there was no one to be rescued, the government agents packed up their equipment with their stone faces and closed mouths, and the press moved on to other stories. After hours of constant activity, the building was finally abandoned.

Only then did Tsukino Usagi step out of the shadows.




AUTHOR'S NOTES – 03/27/11

Wow, I did not mean for this to take so long. I actually didn’t think there was that much to do with this chapter. Then I read it and realized how wrong I was. Changing tiny things in the first chapter had larger ramifications in this one. And axing entire scenes in this meant I had to make up for it by writing entirely new ones I wasn’t expecting to need. So yay for ripple effects.

Well, I sincerely hope I don’t run into these problems next chapter. If memory serves, it’ll be a bit tighter than this one was, so hopefully, I can get the revision out before the end of the month. Either way, I apologize, but it looks like this’ll be slower than I thought. :/ I hope you won’t have to wait too long for new material though! I’ll do my best!

Next - Part Three: Unraveling

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