*L* Besides my attempts to be evil, I'm also well known for my impatience, which includes not 
waiting very long to post more chapters. After that flop of a first part (I KNEW I should have 
made it longer....) this will certainly make up for that. Again I say, ENJOY!



Love is Never Silent 2/?
by Elysia [ely_chan@yahoo.com]
1st season/alternate reality
PG



Nearly an hour had passed since Mamoru left the cafe. The girls had done most of the talking, 
leaving him a lot to think about, his thoughts usually coming back to the way he had treated 
Usagi without knowing why.

Right now, Mamoru was following his instincts, not caring where it led him tonight. Stuffing his 
hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket, he looked up as the frosty autumn air swirled 
around him.

Glancing at his surroundings, Mamoru's face lit up with a grin as he recognized where he was. 
He was facing one of his favorite places, the large stone bridge across the street from Jyuban 
Park, one of his usual spots to sit and gaze out onto the city.

Tonight, however, someone else had beaten him to his spot. It was a place in the wall where 
a large stone had fallen out long ago and made the perfect seat overlooking the river. With 
only the dim street lamp to light his vision, he squinted slightly from his end of the bridge.

Mamoru immediately realized who it was. Funny how he always managed to run into her 
without even trying. He broke into a light jog and was at her side in a matter of minutes. 
"Hey, Odango Atama, don't you think it's past your bedtime?" he grinned, hoping to get one 
of her usual wailing reactions.

He was wrong again. Usagi didn't budge from her position, just stared at the raging river 
beneath her. "What's it to you, Mamoru-san? You never cared before." She glanced at him 
momentarily, then turned away again. "Do you purposely follow me around so you can 
torture me every chance you get?"

Mamoru stared down at the girl nestled between the stones. Something was wrong, really 
wrong. Usagi never acted this way towards him, not even when he had teased her to no 
end. It just wasn't like her. He had reason to believe that it had something to do with 
what the girls told him earlier.

He pulled himself up onto the wall of the bridge, where he could easily look down at her. 
"Usagi-chan," he began, choosing his words carefully, "Minako and the others told me 
something about you after you left the cafe." He sighed softly. "About your brother and all."

She finally looked up into his eyes. "You could have asked me about it instead, you know."

"That's true, but with the way you and I talk, would you really have come right out and 
told me everything?"

Usagi's expression didn't change. "I guess you have a point." Absently playing with one of 
her ponytails, she looked off in the direction of the river again, the dim streetlight illuminating 
her features. "And now I suppose you want to hear the whole story, because there are 
some things even the girls don't know." Stretching her legs, Usagi glanced at her watch 
and stood. "Do you mind if we walk?" Mamoru shook his head and fell into step beside 
Usagi as she began her story.

"I was three when my brother Shingo was born. My parents--especially my father--were 
overjoyed that they finally had a son. Oh, they loved me, of course, but you could see 
the smiles light up their faces when they showed him off to friends and family. That's 
just the way it was for a while.

"Shingo was a naturally happy baby, and I'm sure my parents were content with that, 
cause everyone knows that I wasn't exactly the most quiet or easy to please. There 
were times when I couldn't stand him, but what can you expect from a four-year-old 
who discovers her eight-month-old brother teething on her favorite doll?" Mamoru chuckled 
softly and Usagi giggled too, the first smile out of her all night. "Even though there were 
times I wanted to send him back, I still loved him dearly.

"When Shingo was just over a year old, and I was about to enter my first year of primary 
school, my mother took us both to the doctor to get our shots. Simple thing, really, even 
though I still hate the sight of needles to this day." She sighed deeply. "Everything 
seemed fine when it came to Shingo's turn. A little wailing from him, quiet reassuring from 
my mom and the doctor. We had no clue that our lives were about to change dramatically."

Usagi stopped suddenly and turned around to look at Mamoru, her eyes clouding over 
with doubt. "I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. It's not like you care or anything. 
You'll just use this as something else to tease me about, I'm sure." 

Reaching out and grabbing her arm gently, Mamoru stared down at her. "That's not 
true. I want to know, Usagi-chan. I want to care."

Her eyes widened, and as she searched his deep blue eyes, she found a new emotion 
in them that she never thought possible for Mamoru to possess: compassion. He was 
telling the truth. Maybe he *really* did want to care. His gaze was so intense that she 
had to turn away before he caught sight of the faint blush on her cheeks. "You want 
to hear the rest?" she asked ever so softly.

Removing his hand from her arm, Mamoru brought his hand up, and tilted her chin so she 
was looking him in the eye again. "Please," he replied simply.

Usagi shivered, unsure if it was the autumn breeze blowing through her thin school uniform, 
or her emotions betraying her. Why would Mamoru, of all people, suddenly want to know 
more about her personal life? To her, it seemed that all he lived for was the chance to 
tease her day after day. 

Shoving her mixed emotions aside, Usagi continued walking, staring at the sidewalk as 
she spoke. "We weren't aware of anything peculiar until six months had gone by. Shingo 
began complaining of earaches and he was always getting sick, more so than usual. 
My mother didn't notice he was running a high fever until some time after that."

She stopped and sighed again, and passed a hand over her face to wipe away stray tears. 
"We were too late to reverse the damage. The earaches led to my little brother losing 
most of his hearing. And it's been that way ever since."

She was openly crying now. Mamoru pulled the sobbing girl into his strong embrace, not 
knowing what else to do to comfort her. Usagi buried her face in his shoulder, clinging 
onto his solid frame for support.

After a few moments, she backed away from Mamoru, embarrassed for showing so much 
raw emotion in front of him. "Sorry," she replied, wiping away the last remains of her 
tears, "I promise I don't do that very often." 

Placing a hand on her back to turn her around, Mamoru responded, "Seems to me that 
you don't do it often enough." Usagi looked up at Mamoru with a small smile of 
gratitude, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.

When they finally reached her house, she turned to him and replied, "I guess I should 
thank you for walking me home. It isn't everyday that someone has been willing to 
listen to me talk for so long." Usagi turned back to open her front door, but Mamoru's 
hand on her upper arm stopped her.

"Usagi-chan," he said in a low voice, "I'd like to meet your brother sometime." 

She immediately shook her head no. "I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "How do I know that you'll treat my family with the respect they deserve? 
I hate to say it, but I'm not sure I completely trust you yet. I mean, one night of you 
listening to me without interrupting or calling me by that annoying nickname of yours is 
not exactly enough for me to suddenly accept you into my life." Her gaze softened 
slightly. "You do understand, don't you?"

Mamoru stared down at her, one eyebrow raised in confusion, but then he caught on. 
She was right. After all he had said and done to Usagi in the past, what proof could he 
give to make her believe he all of a sudden wanted to be friends with her now? 

Finally he nodded. "I think I understand, Usagi-chan. Whenever you're ready to let 
me in, I'll be waiting. But you can always talk to me. I've been told I'm a pretty good 
listener."

Scrunching up her nose, Usagi responded, "You mean, like a friend?" 

Mamoru shoved a hand into his pocket and shrugged. "I guess so."

"So if we're friends, then you won't call me names anymore, right?" she replied with 
a hopeful grin. 

A mischievous smile played across Mamoru's face. "That's where you're wrong, 
Odango Atama."

Stamping her foot in frustration, Usagi slugged him lightly in the arm. "C'mon, 
Mamoru-san," she whined, "it's so unfair. Why do you have to be so mean?" 

He laughed out loud. "Now that sounds like the Usagi-chan I know. Good night," 
he called out, as he walked back out to the street, and she slipped inside her 
house.


*****


During the next week, Mamoru tried his best to be patient and wait for Usagi to 
open up to him, but as he discovered, patience wasn't one of those virtues he 
was blessed with. 

It had been a total surprise to Mamoru--shock was the better word for it--that 
Usagi had been keeping this burden all to herself for so long. How on earth did she 
manage it? One moment she was cheerful as ever, and then the next moment, 
she looked as if the world was about to end. He just couldn't understand it. 

Walking into the arcade one afternoon, he called out a quick hello to Motoki, 
then scanned the arcade for a certain odango atama because he had a feeling 
she would be there. Sure enough, there she was, staring adamantly at the video 
screen, intent on getting to the next level.

"So when do I get to meet your family?" he asked as he walked up from behind 
her. She moaned in frustration as she lost the game just before advancing to 
the next level. 

Swiveling around on the stool, Usagi glared at the dark-haired young man staring 
back at her. "Well, for starters, sneaking up like that will get you nowhere, and 
secondly, there are other reasons--which I'd rather not discuss right now--why 
I won't tell you everything. So you might as well give up now, Mamoru-san. 
You're not going to get your way this time." With that, Usagi stood up and 
stormed out of the arcade.

Realizing that this was going to be much harder than he thought at first, Mamoru 
ran after her, determined to find a way to break through the stone wall around 
her heart. 


*****




*grins* so... will Mamoru get what he want? maybe you'll find out... maybe not. 
I'm currently at home right now (the screaming banshees drove me over the edge 
and I couldn't stand it any longer) so Ely's a little grouchy right now. Perhaps 
feedback would cheer her up! ^_~