A/N: Enjoy.
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"We'll be friends forever!"
Usagi regretted those words as soon as they left her lips. Just the sight of those midnight blue eyes dimming at her careless statement made her heart feel a heavy pang of guilt.
No, she wasn't as naïve as the other scouts had thought. The blonde knew of Seiya's love for her…
How could she possibly miss it?
It was in his eyes.
In those smiles he always sent her.
In the way he was always there for her.
It hurt her that she couldn't return such an unconditional love. It hurt her that she had to act like she didn't know about his feelings just to avoid any confrontation.
It hurt her that she couldn't say those three words she longed to say to him.
But what was the pain she felt compared to the pain others will feel if she abandoned her destiny for her own selfishness?
She couldn't just leave them, her friends, her kingdom, her future husband… and her future daughter…
So many times she had wished she was selfish, that she wouldn't care about other people and just be with Seiya. The person she loved above all else…
But then…
Seiya loved her because of her selflessness didn't he? He wouldn't love her if she abandoned her destiny. He understood her situation well, almost too well.
It gave her a feeling of happiness and bitterness at the knowledge that he would always love her.
Happiness… because she'll always have his love… because he would always be there…
Bitterness… because she'll always live with the knowledge that someone out there in the galaxy was hurting because of her…
A part of her wanted to shout at him, to command him not to love her anymore. It was a futile expedition. Didn't he see that?
As she stood there, on that roof, every single person who fought for the future, the future she would lead them to, standing beside her.
And Seiya, standing just a few feet across from her…
It seemed as if there was an invisible line between them now. Neither able to cross it.
Were they to be like this for the rest of their lives? Neither touching nor being able to be with each other, but still existing?
Could they live with the knowledge that they never fought for their love, never gave it the chance they should have?
A part of her still wished for Seiya's happiness, even if that meant he would love someone else.
That was why…
"We'll be going then." Taiki said, smiling at them all.
"Good bye." Princess Kakyuu followed Taiki's lead, smiling at the as well.
"Bye-bye." Yaten grinned brightly.
Seiya looked at directly at her, as if communicating a hidden message.
Usagi stared back, unable to put into words how she felt. It was then she felt Mamoru's comforting hand on her shoulder. Glancing at the man beside her, she saw him give her a comforting smile. Ripping her eyes from him, she looked back towards the man before her.
Guilt gripped at her, even more firmly than before as she saw the silent pain in Seiya's eyes.
"Am I not good enough?"
The question echoed through her mind… through her heart… through her soul.
It was said with such sadness, such defeat, and so much hope.
He was asking that same question now, this time, through his eyes. It stared silently at her, intense in the emotions it conveyed.
"You are!!! You are good enough!!!" a part of her screamed in her mind.
Tears clouded her bright blue eyes, but no one seemed to notice. As if time had stopped and they were stuck in a timeless tableau.
It was if it was only the two of them standing a top that roof once again.
The same roof he asked that question…
Oh how she wanted to just walk over to him, just say those words she had been aching to say since that rainy night.
Moments passed and nothing happened.
He was waiting, still waiting. Just for her…
But no words would slip past her lips. She knew it would be best this way.
He would get over it better if he thought she had no feelings for him.
Time started moving once again. The moment passed. So did her opportunity.
She couldn't burden him with the fact that she did love him back, with the fact that they would never be together no matter how hard they tried to battle fate.
He would forget her, and love someone else. He would feel no guilt, because he would be his love was unrequited.
And she would carry on with the knowledge that she let love slip past her fingers.
"Mamoru," Seiya called to the man who stole his Odango's heart, "Take care of her."
Almost identical blue eyes stared back at him solemnly. "I will."
Seiya smiled, as if contented with his answer. He spared her one single glance, before walking towards his comrades, transforming into Sailor Star Fighter.
"Well then, Sayonara." Star Fighter gave them their farewell.
Usagi's heart screamed with pain now. He was leaving… and her resolve was crumbling as well…
She needed to hold this together. Needed to stay strong for the sake of…
Tears slowly started to fall, but no one had seen it. No one, except for Seiya…
"I love you…" she ached to say to him at that moment.
To hell with her destiny!
She can, would, live with forsaking it just to be with this man.
Seiya's eyes tore away from her as he prepared to leave.
Usagi's body was frozen, her brain had shut down. She was unable to think or feel anymore.
All that was going on in her head was: "He's leaving…"
She wanted so desperately at that moment to run, just run at him and wrap her arms around him and never let go, to declare her love to him and live happily ever after.
At that moment she was reminded of Mamoru's hand on her shoulder, it felt heavy, like a chain pulling her down.
Her eyes were glued to Seiya. "Please… Please…"
And after a split second, they were gone. And she saw four shooting stars streak across the dark sky.
"SEIYA!!!" she burst out moments after, surprising everyone who stood there with her.
Usagi fell on her knees, sobbing with force that shook her to the very core.
"I never said… I never said…" she brokenly thought.
Everyone stood silent, watching with heavy hearts as their beloved Moon Princess broke.
Regrets are something everyone must carry. It reminds us of what we could have, should have done in the past.
Everyone has their own regret which is held in higher importance than others.
But I think everyone has to agree, that the worst regret is letting true love slip by.
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"The follies which a man regrets most in his life are those which he didn't commit when he had the opportunity." - Helen Rowland
"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable." -Sydney J. Harris
"It's better to act and to regret / than to regret not to have acted." - Mellin de Saint-Gelais
A/N: Please review!!!