Was she... Was she crying?
Mamoru blinked into awareness, his whole body full of pain, every limb screaming in protest as he shifted there on the ground. His eyes opened and peering down at him were eyes of the softest blue he'd ever seen, eyes that immediately plummeted him into the blurry memories of a life he had left behind. Visions of a girl with long, flowing hair who called out to him as this girl called to him. "Tuxedo Mask...?" Her soft vocals brought him back again and he could not help himself from reaching up a hand, gingerly touching the curve of her cheek, his fingertips wet with her tears.
"Sailor Moon..." He allowed her to help him into a sitting position, both of them turning as the monster behind them began to cackle. Her eyes widened but she stiffened her spine and rose up to stand, trembling but standing all the same. If she heard him speak, she did not acknowledge his words, but rather remained facing forwards, her wand gripped tightly in her hand.
She was alone.
Fighting alone, it was something she'd forgotten to do now that she had friends and comrades to help her. But, this time she was alone, and this time she had more than just herself to protect. She cast a glance over her shoulder to where Tuxedo Mask remained on the ground behind her, his smoldering eyes dark with worry behind his mask. No, this was not a time to be weak or afraid, this was the time to hold her own and prove once and for all that she was the true leader of the senshi. That she would find and protect the princess with all of her might, because that was her duty. "Stay here," she commanded of the young man then, who looked up at her in surprise, their eyes meeting for the briefest of moments. But then she smiled, all remnants of her tears and fears gone. "I'll protect you, I promise."
He watched as she dashed forward, leaping into the air to dodge a quick attack from the monster ahead of her. The thing growled and lunged at her, narrowly missing her with its razor sharp claws. "Back off!" She cried out as the monster came at her a second time, though this time she had only enough time to raise her wand, close her eyes, and say a silent prayer. The Moon Stick exploded in light, brilliant and pure, burning the monster away in mere seconds, leaving her standing there, wondering what had just happened. But, the threat was now gone, and she could not help but pump a fist into the air, so pleased she was with herself for winning all on her own. Just as she was turning back to Tuxedo Mask, every intention to help him to his feet and get him home, when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Something dark was looming just behind her.
She spun back around just in time to face the evil general, Kunzite appear from what she could only describe as a dark portal. His eyes flashed as they met her own gaze and then he glanced behind her, seeing the masked man there on the ground, defenseless. "I grow weary of your meddling, Sailor Moon." The general growled, his eyes closing for only a moment, before they reopened and dark energy began to gather in his hands. "I grow tired of you and all humans, really," he was still speaking, eyes on the soldier again, who had taken a step or two back, her golden hair dancing in the wind that his power was calling forth. "I grow tired of your constant meddling in the Dark Kingdom's affairs," he glanced to his right, to where his monster had been reduced to nothing more than a pile of ash. A glimmer of something crossed his features and a sharp, malicious smile fell into place upon his lips.
Usagi knew the attack was coming a moment before he released it; but it did not come for her, as she had expected. No, she saw its trail a moment later, and she knew just was Kunzite was doing. Without thinking, Usagi was on the move, racing forwards and managing to, just in the knick of time, throw herself in front of the attack that was aimed straight at Tuxedo Mask. A moment before it hit her, their eyes met, his dark and wide, and she offered him the smallest of smiles... And then it hit. She was thrown forwards as the attack hit her in the small of her back, sending her flying across the ground, her skin scraping against the hard cement. From somewhere, Kunzite was laughing, but only Mamoru would notice the strange look in his eyes, as if he had not expected the young soldier to so willingly sacrifice herself for someone else. He then faded back into the portal from where he had come, leaving the street dark and empty once again.
Mamoru was on the move then, his own injuries suddenly forgotten as he scrambled to reach the fallen senshi. He knelt beside her, gingerly turning her over onto her back, only after his eyes swept over the spot the attack had hit her; the injury looked more like a burn than anything else, and he knew it had to be painful. The rest of her was covered in scrapes now as well, from her body repeatedly rolling across the street, and he could see a bruise beginning to form on her temple. She was moaning softly then, her face contorting with pain as her blue eyes fluttered open. He was hit hard with a memory then, of a time long before then, when a pair of eyes looked at him with that very same look; eyes so full of relief that he was safe. He had seen those eyes before, but when? "Sailor Moon... You're so reckless." He murmured as he helped her into a sitting position. "Why did you do such a thing?"
The pain was beyond anything she had ever before experienced but she felt nothing but relief as she heard Tuxedo Mask's voice speaking to her. That meant he was safe, that meant he had not been harmed. Allowing him to help her sit up, she tried to grin, forcing away the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "Because it's my duty to protect this planet and everyone that lives here." She said simply, lifting her shoulders in a shrug, as if she had not just risked her life to save him. "Besides, you would have done the same for me." She grinned and he returned the smile, rising to his feet and helping her up, his concern returning as she stumbled almost at once, clearly in more pain than she was letting on.
"Let me help you," he said softly and without waiting for a response, he had scooped her into his arms, a familiar sensation coursing through both of their bodies. Almost as if... Almost as if they had been here before. The senshi did not fight him but rather lay her head against his shoulder, allowing him to carry her off into the night. "Tell me where to take you."
Not ten minutes later, he was depositing her into her bedroom, carefully navigating both she and him through her window. Her bedroom was dark and in his drive to ensure she was okay, he did not even bother to look around him. Before he had even laid her down on the bed, he knew she was unconcious, and he worried for her. He pulled the blankets out from under her and pulled them over her slim frame, noticing then the pattern of rabbits and moons on her comforter. Something about that filled him with ease and he could not help but to smile upon the sleeping senshi. But, he knew he had to go. Without another thought, he moved across the room and was gone out the window, disppearing into the night.
[ x x x ]
Mamoru could not help but to notice that he'd not seen her in a few days.
He had grown quite accustomed to seeing the twin-tailed blonde on a regular basis; he had grown used to hearing her shrill voice and her bubbly laughter. He had, in all honesty, grown fond of the girl and how easy it was to annoy her. But, two days had gone by since he'd last seen her, which he found odd. What was even more odd to him was how restless it left him feeling.
But then, on the third day since he'd seen her, Mamoru caught sight of her.
She was sitting by the fountain in the park, alone surprisingly, not even with her little black cat that usually hung around her. There was something a little off about her, that he could tell, even from a distance. She looked lost, staring off into space as if she had something on her mind. What made him approach, he could not really say, but as always something told him to interact with the young woman. His footsteps must have alerted her because she turned at once, catching sight of him. Her nose wrinkled in distaste and suddenly she was herself again, folding her arms over her chest and turning her head the other way. "Oh, it's you," she said disdainly, eyes closed, arms still folded across her chest.
"Don't sound so excited to see me, odango," he said with a chuckle, coming to stand before her, casting her into shadow. "It's been a few days, did you forget your way to the park?" She turned to him then, her blue eyes darkening with her frustration. For a moment he thought she might leap to her feet, jab a finger into his chest all while giving him an earful, but she instead remained where she was sitting, peering up at him with her brows furrowed in irritation.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I've been sick," she replied with a quick roll of her eyes, arms returning to their folded position. Now that she mentioned it, she did look a little pale, perhaps that explained why she was not the spitfire she normally was. In fact, now that Mamoru examined her just a little more closely, he could see that something was indeed off about her today, something more than her just being ill. The wind blew then, pushing the hair away from her face and that was when he saw it, the remnants of a bruise on her temple. He blinked and then the wind ceased and her hair fell back into place, hiding the bruise from his prying eyes. She must have noticed him staring at her because she blushed furiously and turned away again, mumbling something about him being a creep.
"I hope... I hope you're feeling better," he tried to sound nonchalant, but his mind was whirling, his heart racing. It just wasn't possible. He heard approaching footsteps and he turned to see three girls coming their way, her three friends she was so rarely without these days. Even her little black cat was there, perched on the shoulder of the short, blue-haired girl he knew was named Ami. The cat, Luna, lept down and raced ahead, jumping up onto the fountain beside Usagi and crawling onto her lap. Usagi ran a single hand down the entire length of the cat, smiling as her friends approached her. He stepped back, raising a hand in a silent gesture of goodbye, but did not go far. He moved until he was out of their line of sight, but continued to watch, his mind still yet whirling with a hundred different thoughts. The dark haired girl, a priestess he knew her to be, was kneeling before the blonde, saying something he could not hear, her eyes full of concern. Usagi was nodding to whatever it was that she was saying and then the girl rose and another friend stepped forwards. Mamoru watched as the tall brunette helped her up and slung a gentle arm around her, as if hugging her, but Mamoru knew at once what she was doing. She was helping her to walk.
The foursome went by him then, their voices lost to him as he caught sight of the exposed skin on Usagi's back- a wound of some kind covered by bandages. Mamoru could not believe it and in truth, wasn't sure he could believe it. The girls disappeared around a corner, leaving him standing there, lost and unsure.
[ x x x ]
How fiercely they were fighting!
Mamoru watched from his perch upon the streetlamp, waiting for his moment to swoop in, should he be needed. He watched her out of all of them- with her billowing golden hair and determined blue eyes. He had never, not once, not ever, expected the heroine Sailor Moon to be the girl that she was. It didn't make sense. But, there was now no denying it. He knew it was true, that Sailor Moon was this Tsukino Usagi that he bumped into regularly. He still couldn't believe it.
He saw his opening then, a moment before the monster was going to blast the senshi with its attack. His rose touched down, blocking the attack and making the monster shriek in fury. "Now, Sailor Moon!" He called out to her and in a moment the soldier had her wand in hand, reducing the monster to dust now that she had her chance. They stood across from one another now, he looking at her and she at him, her three comrades gathered behind her.
"It's okay guys, go on home." She said, not taking her eyes off of him, not even when Luna jumped onto her shoulder. "You too, Luna," she said softly to the cat who after a moment, jumped down and instead climbed up onto Mercury's shoulder. Though her friends seemed hesitant, they finally turned to go when she cast them a quick glance, her smile encouraging. When they were gone, she turned back to him, her blue eyes aglow in the moonlight. "Thanks for helping us."
"I've been worried about you," he admitted in a rush, feeling the heat rise into his cheeks the moment they had left his lips. She too was blushing, looking shyly down at her feet, shifting beneath his gaze. "That attack... It..." He recalled just how injured she had been that night and of course that day in the park. "You seemed really hurt, is all." He finished finally, giving his head a shake as he tried to find the words to say.
Usagi felt her heart beating fast, faster than it had in all of her life. Why did he make her feel this way? "I'm alright," she replied, reaching a hand up to gingerly touch her temple that still yet ached, even a few days later. Her back was still badly burned from the attack Kunzite had hit her with, but she was on the mend. "You don't have to worry about me." She offered him a quick smile, as if to tell him everything was going to be okay.
"I do worry about you." He said without thinking, the words coming out as if they needed to be said. "That's what calls me to your battles every night." He had never really been able to explain to himself even how he knew where she was or when she needed him.. He just, well, he just knew. But as the days had turned to weeks he had come to realize he worried for her and that was what kept calling him back to her, as if they were strung together by fate. "I'm glad you're doing better," he added then, wondering what she would have said had he called her by her given name. But no, he would not do that, he would not let her know that he knew the truth. Not yet at least. "You should go, your friends will be the ones to worry now."
Tilting her head to the side, Usagi peered closely up at the masked man, wondering what he was thinking about. She could not say why she did what she did next, but she closed the gap between them, embracing him tightly. He stiffened for only a moment, before his arms came around her as well, though gently did he hold her. "Until next time." She said when she pulled back, raising her hand in a sign of goodbye, her smile brilliant as the light from the moon above. "Good night, Tuxedo Mask."
"Good night, Sailor Moon." He watched as she vanished into the night, her scent clinging to him, reminding him again of the girl from his dream. A sweet, familiar scent that he felt he had always known. "Good night, Tsukino Usagi." He turned on his heel then, his tuxedo vanishing, replaced with his civilian clothes from earlier that day. He was gone then, returning home to where he would toss and turn for the entire night, his mind hopelessly stuck on her and wondering if she thought of him too.
Across the city, Usagi too remained awake in her bed, both uncomfortable from her healing injuries and from the man on her mind. She was reminded of a dream whenever she looked into his eyes, a dream of a voice calling out to her a name she could never quite make out. And then warm arms would wrap around her and she felt safe and warm, just as she had when Tuxedo Mask's arms had been around her.
And so, both lay awake well into the night, unaware that both thought of the other, but when both finally drifted off to sleep, it would be the same dream that they dreamed. A dream of a glittering palace, with stars and earth the backdrop. A dream of hushed voices and the sweetest of kisses.
A dream that when they woke, left both wanting so much more.