AN: I wrote this a long time ago for the DGRFA OHC mailing list. It is 8 chapters and completed, but the sequel has long sat on my key drive, waiting to be continued. I've been very busy with real life, gearing up for a new career and now that my path has twisted unexpectedly beneath my feet, I have the time to write again. It is my hope that posting this story here will not only give me the impetus to write again, but will inspire me to continue on with the sequel. It is a story that has been dear to my heart and often in my mind, but does not flow easily to paper. Further, in an odd quirk of fate, my boyfriend (who lovingly bought me a top-of-the-line laptop just for writing purposes) wonders if I can only write on my 1996 Hewlett-Packard desktop that is so old I can't even connect it to the Internet. Anyway, let me know what you think.
Spring was in the air, its cool breeze stirring the cherry and plum blossoms. School bells had rung, releasing all but the unfortunate from their halls. Mizuno Ami didn't have a cram school session that day and Hino Rei had suggested they head over to the park while they waited for their best friend, Tsukino Usagi, to serve her time in detention.
They were dressed in their usual school uniforms, Ami's blue and Rei's red. Having bought some rice dumplings from a vendor, they were nibbling at the pink, white and green balls of sweet dough and chatting about daydreams. Both girls were tired from too many sleepless nights doing senshi duty. But when screams erupted from the nearby children's playground, both girls forgot their weariness and dove behind some bushes to transform.
Power wrapped around the girls, transforming them dramatically. Where only a moment ago average students had stood, now powerful warriors were revealed. They didn't need to look at each other or around them. As one, they leapt over the hedge and several cowering citizens, homing in on the site of the screams.
As they ran, Mars puffed out, "Can we call Moon?"
Mercury checked her watch, the shook her head. "Too early, she won't be out for another 7 minutes."
"Stupid Odango." Mars muttered in annoyance.
They skidded to a halt, still concealed by a few trees. The youma had a child in its claws and a frightened mother was crying in desperation. The youma was tall, ugly, and covered in odd scales that shifted the light into various shades. It was vaguely human, its scales seeming to form a long gown from bust to feet. The scale-less parts of it were a nauseous shade of purple.
Mars burst out, creating a small pyrotechnic effect to announce her arrival. "Release that child, in the name of Mars!" she cried out.
Mercury released a fog that gave the other children ample cover to scamper away. Only the mother and the captive child remained.
"Now can we?" Mars asked in a whisper.
Shaking her head again, Mercury murmured, "Just a few more minutes."
Mars looked worried for a moment, then her face brightened. "Well, it'll serve her right if we take care this one ourselves." Mercury didn't look as certain, but Mars egged her on. As the fog slowly lifted, the two senshi placed themselves directly before the distraught mother.
"Hey, ugly!" Mars taunted. Mercury cast her a disbelieving look. The youma gave her a puzzled one. "Put that kid down, now. How dare you threaten the lives of all these innocent children! In the name of Mars, I will punish you!"
Mercury realized that Mars might be on to something. Youma always stared dumbly at them while they spouted their speeches, so they might be able to buy a few minutes, long enough for her to call Usagi and hopefully have her show up to finish it. Glancing at the watch, she realized she could now call their leader. She pushed the button that allowed the watch to become a communicator while Mars spoke. When Usagi answered, Mercury began her own spiel.
"People come to the park to enjoy the pleasant respite of spring. You have threatened their happiness and peace! I will not allow you to harm this child. In the name of Mercury, I will send you to the winter of evil's just desserts! Mercury Bubbles Blast!" Mercury released the fog directly at the youma, giving Mars the cover she needed to attempt to wrest the child free.
Usagi froze on the sidewalk. Mercury and Mars were in a battle, in the park! Oh, drat Haruna-sensei for giving her detention yet again! Mentally, the small blonde wailed that it wasn't her fault she was kept awake half the night and fell asleep in classes! If only she could tell her grouchy teacher the real reason she was always tired! But the scream of the youma emanating from her watch communicator effectively silenced her laments. Fear for her friends burned within her and she sought out the first available alley. She had to get to the park!
Walking in the opposite direction, vaguely looking forward to the inevitable afternoon collision with Usagi, was Mamoru. Oblivious to the events in the park, the sting in his heart that alerted him to Sailor Moon's fear almost overpowered him. He grabbed at his chest, feeling a bit dizzy, feeling her panic and terror rushing through him. He struggled to hold in the transformation, the resistance to it burning him like fire. He staggered into the nearest alley, almost falling to his knees in the relief of allowing the transformation to overwhelm him.
Usagi had found an alley and just shouted her words when she heard someone enter the alley. Frightened, she knew it was too late to stop her uniform from melting away, to slow the ribbons from bursting out about her, or to dull the pink light radiating from her. But she could twist just enough to see who it was. When her eyes fell on the intruder, her heart jumped clear into her throat.
Once the power blossomed around him, Mamoru felt his senses sharpen. He heard a gasp of surprise and looked up. Pink light, bare legs and red ribbons swirled before his eyes. He couldn't stop his eyes from traveling up that slender body anymore than he could stop the sun from rising. He knew who he had stumbled upon, but nothing could stop him from finding out who she was underneath that tiara. His eyes found her face and it was like a physical blow.
The transformations ended, with Mamoru's physical attributes far more concealed that Usagi's had been. Mamoru was trying to deal with what he now knew. He'd seen just what Usagi's schoolgirl uniform left to his imagination but what her Sailor Moon uniform barely concealed. That was one dilemma. The more ramifying one, however, was that Usagi was Sailor Moon! Not to mention that fact that his cover was blown. Not good, he thought as coherently as possible. Not good.
Usagi's mind was screaming as well. Mamoru? The jerk, the baka? He was Tuxedo Kamen-sama? That was it, she threw her hands up mentally, the world was officially unfair! For some reason, the fact that he knew who she was hadn't yet grasped her mind. The only thing she could think of was that her biggest crush was the guy who constantly ridiculed her and put her down. Her eyes filled with tears. Luckily, another scream burst from her watch, overpowering any other feelings. Her friends were in danger. She moved to push past Tuxedo Kamen.
He caught her, pulling her close to him, willing her to look at him. When she did, he was unprepared for the tears in her eyes or the look of coldness she sent him. Feeling sucker punched, he couldn't stop her from slipping free and racing towards the park. He could only stare after her in shock. She was running away from him! He tightened a gloved fist in frustration, welcoming the cool breeze's distraction. As it chilled him a bit, he remembered the reason they had transformed. There was a battle raging somewhere. He ran after her, blindly following the feeling of her in his mind that somehow unerringly guided him to her.
"About time, Odango!" Mars snapped, when Sailor Moon finally burst onto the scene. But her irritation was cut short when she got a good look at their leader's face. Moon looked devastated, humiliated and angry. A dark shadow suddenly moving in behind Moon gave Mars more questions than answers. She stared at his face, seeing desire, anger and confusion. She could sense conflicting emotions roiling off the two and her concern mounted.
Moon didn't prattle or tell the monster she would never forgive it. She gave it a cursory glance, then sent her tiara speeding into it. The mutated life form gave out a disappointed howl and crumbled into dust. Sailor Moon didn't cheer. She didn't even smile. She turned her back on the pile that had once been a dangerous enemy and glanced at her friends, pointedly ignoring the caped hero.
Mars tried to josh her leader into some semblance of her former self. "Yeah, well, we softened it up for ya, Moon-face." Her worry grew as Moon simply gazed at her.
"You two okay?" she asked, her voice deadly quiet. Mercury and Mars nodded, exchanging confused glances. "Good. Sorry I was late." Moon then turned on her heel and walked off.
Tuxedo Kamen made as if to follow, but Mercury and Mars interfered. "Oh no, you don't pal." Mars pushed him back. "What did you do to her?" she demanded.
Tuxedo Kamen was in no mood for her. He wanted to talk to Usagi and he wanted to talk to her now. "Go home, Rei-san." he told her coldly. Mars went still with utter shock. Mercury squeaked. He took advantage of their distraction to leap away, tailing the storming blonde.
Usagi, still in her alter-ego form as Sailor Moon, kept her anger wrapped about her to keep her sadness at bay. Oh how she had hoped Tuxedo Kamen was Motoki-san. Why did it have to be that horrid Mamoru-baka? She kicked a loose pebble. It just wasn't fair! And why was he following her? Did he have to rub it in? Couldn't he just forget about what he had seen? She could hear his teasing now, demanding to know how the world's biggest crybaby could be a superhero. She didn't even know how she could be a superhero! But she got enough from Rei, she really didn't need it from him, too.
Mamoru had dropped his Tuxedo Kamen transformation as soon as he could. She wasn't trying to escape using her powers, so he figured he didn't need to use his. He trailed after her, and when she finally went into an alley, he smiled. Lurking outside it, feeling like a stalker, but needing to talk to her, he waited for the flash of pink light to fade.
He heard her shuffling her way out of the alley, so he moved to block the entrance. He felt a bit guilty when he saw a trace of fear flash across her face, but when her belligerence set in, he felt he couldn't bear it. He couldn't let this hostile form of interaction continue. "Usagi-chan, I want to talk to you and the girls." It wasn't what he had intended to say, but it was a better plan than what his libido was telling him to do. He wondered what Rei would do to him if she caught him kissing the daylights out of a probably unwilling Usagi in the middle of a dirty alley. Come to think of it, he frowned deeper, he didn't like the idea of Usagi being in an alley, let alone transforming in one. Didn't this girl realize how dangerous that was?
Usagi was stunned. Mamoru had used her real name! And it sounded so good coming from him! She liked the way her name sounded on his lips. Alarmed at her wayward thoughts, she focused in on his face. He wanted to meet with the girls? He must know who they were. It couldn't really be that hard to figure out their identities. She suddenly grew chilled, watching his frown deepen. She knew he was mad, really mad. His eyes were so cold, much colder than usual. She licked her lips, nervously, not noting the way his eyes were drawn to her tongue's movement. "Al-alright." she stuttered. "But, I need to tell them first. Can I," she nearly choked, "call you?"
Mamoru either didn't notice or chose to ignore her awkwardness. He simply jotted the number down and handed it to her. Finding him even more difficult to deal with than she had thought she would, she took the paper, hastily thanked him and made as if to run away. He caught her arm, and she shivered. "Tonight, Usagi-chan." Gulping, the nervous blonde nodded. She sighed audibly when he released her and she ran like a frightened rabbit.
He watched her go, feeling like he'd just lost something precious. "Til tonight, Sailor Moon." he promised.