Is It Wrong To Thank The Youma?
Chapter Two
Her shoulders aching and her back screaming at her, Usagi finally sighed and stood from the chair at Mamoru's bedside. She had been sitting there for... well, she didn't really know how long, but it had been ages, she knew. She decided she had better take a break from watching over him before she really did make herself go mad with worry.
She stepped outside of the bedroom and pulled the door closed. On the dark carpet floor beside Mamoru's bedroom door, a duffel bag with pink bunnies sat. Ami had come back once more, after the other senshi had left, saying that she had snuck through Usagi's bedroom window and packed her some belongings. Usagi knew that Ami had watched her worriedly before she had left the second time, but the blonde girl really couldn't be bothered to say much of anything, because her mind was so focused on Mamoru. So she had forced herself to nod, hoping that Ami would understand that she really couldn't do anything else.
Now she looked down at the bag in relief, mentally reminding herself to thank Ami for thinking of her needs when she herself most certainly had let the thoughts slip away from her. She was still in her school uniform, and she could really use a shower. But first... she looked up to scan Mamoru's apartment. She was in the living room; she saw a beige couch with two matching, comfortable looking chairs, and... an extremely large television. Well... she pursed her lips. Mamoru was very obviously a typical male.
When they had teleported here earlier, she hadn't really paid any attention to the surroundings. Her only thoughts had been about getting Mamoru into the bed, and she had been hovering around Ami while she treated him ever since. Usagi was, quite frankly, amazed at how helpful she actually was when she was focused enough. Usually she was clumsy with just about everything, but she had followed Ami's instructions with the bandages perfectly. (Somehow, Ami had found everything that they needed in Mamoru's bathroom... but why would Mamoru have so many medical supplies in his apartment? Surely medical students didn't keep a mini hospital under their bathroom sink?) Usagi's hands had shaken terribly the entire time she had been helping with Mamoru's treatment, but she wasn't sure if it was because she was scared, or if it was because she was touching his bare skin. The gashes along his chest were terrible and deep, but once the dried blood was cleared away, she felt a little relief in that he didn't look quite as bad. And she could definitely tell what he looked like when he was perfectly healthy; he was... well....
Usagi paused in her thoughts, leaning against the door. He was... perfect? Yes, that pretty much summed it all up in one single word. Chiba Mamoru was perfect. Strong arms, back, chest... he was the perfect tall and handsome guy that every girl in the world would fall for, and that she would definitely never be with.
She sighed involuntarily, one hand pushing her bangs back from her face. She closed her eyes and pounded her head softly against the door. She was incredibly in love with him. She had been for... oh, she didn't even know how long. Maybe months? Since she had met him? She didn't really know anymore. But seeing him like that, seeing a youma trying to kill him with its bare hands... a powerful youma that no mere man could face without being harmed... it had nearly eaten her alive inside. She was Sailor Moon; she was supposed to protect people from harm, and the man she was in love with... he was the one that got hurt?
"It doesn't make any sense," She whispered to herself, tears brimming up in her crystal blue eyes. She sobbed softly to herself, letting the tears fall. The day had been so horrible; the sun was setting now, and nighttime was coming, and she couldn't be happier that it would be over. But she was terrified for Mamoru, and the nighttime hours scared her. She was going to be here alone, with no one to help her... Ami had said to call her if any need arose, but still she was scared. What if Mamoru woke up, saw her, and ordered her away? He could very well do just that, considering that he absolutely hated her and would be wondering why the hell the stupid high school girl he called Odango Atama was in his apartment.
But the worse option was... what if he didn't wake up?
Usagi shook her odangoed head fiercely and pushed herself away from the door. Dropping to the floor, she grabbed out pajama bottoms, a tank top, and underwear, before heading down the hall in search of Mamoru's bathroom. Finding it, she went in and turned on the shower, finding it impossible not to inspect his things. She smiled to herself at how meticulously neat he was... everything was in perfect order... and oh god, were his soaps and shampoos in alphabetical order? She blinked repeatedly at the bottles arranged on his counter.
"Okay, Mamo-chan, that's a little weird..." She muttered to herself, giggling slightly when she found herself uttering her private nickname for him. She turned the water on and stepped away from the shower to wait for the water to heat up. She stared in the mirror above his sink at her appearance. She was extremely pale, the worry obviously getting to her. She pursed her small, pink lips.
But.. she wasn't technically ugly, was she? Normally, when she wasn't looking like a ghost with messy hair and bloodshot eyes from crying? She thought her eyes were pretty... maybe not as intense a blue as Minako's (she had the prettiest blue eyes Usagi had ever seen) or as unique as Rei's violet orbs... but they were still a pretty, bright blue with dark eyelashes framing them. Her nose was... kinda plain, honestly. It was small, in the middle of her face... it was a nose, what more could she say? She scrunched it in scrutiny. Yeah, it was just a normal nose.
She was extremely short. In fact, she was the shortest of her friends. She envied all of the senshi for their heights. They were all at least two or three inches taller than she was. Usagi's eyes traveled to her bust line. She frowned. And okay, she admitted it. She really, really envied Makoto's frame. She was the envy of all the other girls as well, she knew; She had the perfect bust size, and she was the tallest. How could that be fair?
Usagi sighed and let out of a puff of air, ruffling her bangs in the process. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at her hair. Sure, her hair was always in a strange hairstyle and Mamoru teased the hell out of her for it... but it was kind of necessary? She was Sailor Moon, after all... and besides, she'd worn the hairstyle her whole life. It was like her trademark, honestly. She'd grown her hair out since she was just a small child! It was so long now that when it was undone from the twirls on her head, it trailed to the floor. She turned her head. But maybe Mamoru would see her differently if she changed it. She twinged at the thought of cutting her precious locks, though. Even if Mamoru did tease her about it, her hair was the one thing she absolutely loved about herself.
She felt the steam leaving the shower and sighed, turning away from the mirror and taking her clothes off. Once the hot water hit her skin, she purred in contentment at some sort of comfort finally finding her for the day. She pursed her lips in thought as she stood there. She was in Mamoru's apartment, in Mamoru's shower........ well, this was something she had definitely never seen coming.
She had reacted strongly, to Mamoru's injuries... and she knew all the girls were wondering what on Earth was going on with her. She hadn't exactly been able to confess to them that she was desperately in love with Mamoru... mostly because she was sure they would look at her like she had suddenly grown a duck bill, horse feet, horns, a dog tail, bunny ears.... the list could go on. And partly because she was afraid that if she did confess, even to her friends, then it would actually be out there and not safely tucked away, only in her private thoughts.
She sniffed several of Mamoru's shampoos, settling for the one that smelled the most fruity and least manly. Then she cringed, wondering if he had this one for a girlfriend or something? Did Mamoru have a girlfriend? He'd never brought anyone with him to the arcade, but then again, why would he bring his girlfriend to a stupid kid's arcade? She was pretty sure he only stopped by everyday to see Motoki and get free coffee. Usagi felt her eyes roll at the thought of Mamoru and his coffee. He would have two or three cups in the afternoon sometimes! She felt bad for him... his school must be extremely stressful if he needed that much coffee to keep going.
Unwillingly, Usagi sighed and shut the water off. She took a towel from the little shelf (also meticulously arranged) beside the shower and dried off, wrapping her hair in it and pulling her pajama pants and tank top on.
She went back out into the main room and looked through her bag, hoping Ami had packed her hairbrush. Thankfully, she had, and Usagi pulled the towel off her hair to start brushing it through with the brush while walking back into Mamoru's bedroom. Her heart flipped at the sight of him, still laying so silent and still. But his breaths seemed stronger now, and his chest was moving evenly up and down. Her heart clenched and her breath caught. She sat on the side of the bed, completely skipping over the chair that she had pulled close to the bedside, and looked down at him. He really did just look like he was sleeping.
She felt a blush rise up her neck as she stared at him. He was adorable when he was sleeping, even with the cuts along his face. The gashes along his face were long and deep, and it looked like the youma had just swiped straight down his face. The cuts trailed from his forehead all the way down his neck and further down across his chest. She and Ami hadn't bandaged his face or neck, thinking it would make it even more uncomfortable for him if they had, but she remembered the cuts on the skin of his chest. They crisscrossed, and she could tell that the youma had slashed in several different directions. She shuddered, her thoughts focusing in on the youma's large, taloned fingers. They had looked like they could cause a lot of damage, and to Mamoru, they really had.
"Please be okay," she whispered. Of course, she was pretty sure that he couldn't hear her... so she let herself have one small bit of comfort. "Mamo-chan.." she breathed, reaching her hand out slowly to brush back a piece of soft, black hair that had fallen over his eyes. She imagined his eyes for a moment and smiled. She adored his eyes. They were dark blue... sometimes they were such a dark blue that she thought, when he was upset or angry, that they were black. Unfortunately for her, he often cast angry or upset looks at her. Mostly when they were having one of their arguments... which was almost every day. She sighed and trailed her fingers across his face gently. She stopped and simply rested her hand against the skin of his cheek, avoiding the cuts. It stayed in place, resting against his cool, pale cheek.
She didn't move again for a very long while. Amazingly, Tsukino Usagi forgot about her biggest love next to the man in front of her: food.
Mamoru felt the stone lifting off his chest, the darkness slowly easing away from him... he still couldn't see anything, but it felt so much easier to breathe now, and he took in the air as if he hadn't breathed in weeks. The voices were completely gone now, and it was silent for the longest time. Then, a soft sound echoed through through his ears, and it was one of the voices he had heard before, but yet, he still couldn't make out the words. The voice spoke once more, and he felt something cool and soft touch him. He waited, but no, it didn't move... the soft feeling stayed against his skin, caressing his face softly. Exhaustion overcame him again, and he fell back into a peaceful sleep, the new, soft caress lulling him to sleep.
Usagi snapped out of her reverie when she felt and heard her stomach rumble loudly. Groaning, she pulled her hand away from Mamoru's face unhappily. Looking at him for a moment more, she stood and left the bedroom once again, this time leaving the door open. Padding in her bare feet around his living room, she figured that the wide, open doorway near the front of the apartment was the kitchen, and she was correct. She stepped into the small, clean space and surveyed it. It was exactly the same as his bathroom. Everything was organized and in perfect order. It was all so very... bare... though. She frowned slightly, wondering why Mamoru made everything so very plain? His personality didn't match his apartment at all. Even his living room and bedroom were the same way... no pictures, no paintings, no photos. No decorations. Just efficiency.
"Maybe he doesn't have a girlfriend," she muttered, hoping to herself. "A girlfriend would probably decorate the place..."
She went to the refrigerator, hoping he had food that didn't require any cooking; she really didn't want to burn his apartment down with him and her both in it. Sighing, she saw that his refrigerator was pretty bare, just like the rest of the apartment. There were a few bottles of wine, some cheese, milk, and a few fruits and vegetables that didn't exactly look appetizing to the blonde. She opened the freezer and found nothing except some frozen meats. "Does the man not buy ice cream or frozen dinners?" She grumbled. She started opening his cabinet doors. Finding a box of granola cereal, she shrugged and settled for it, thinking that milk and cereal was the only safe option for her.
Finding a bowl (it was amazingly easy to move around his kitchen and find things; everything was labeled perfectly and so organized!), Usagi poured her cereal and escaped into the living room to eat. She curled up in one of the chairs, not bothering to turn on the television, and began to eat, keeping her ears open to any sounds that might come from the bedroom.
Mamoru frowned to himself when he felt that he was waking up, because the softness that had been there was completely gone. The stone wall on his chest was gone, the darkness was slipping away, and finally... he opened his eyes, finding that he had the energy to finally do so. He blinked several times, forcing himself to keep his eyes open and not sink back down into the exhaustion. Not moving his head, he moved his eyes around, noting that he was in his bedroom.
He frowned to himself; how had he ended up here? He had been... where had he been? He... oh, that was right. He had been walking toward Usagi's school, hoping he would run into her on her way home or to the arcade. Then... something... something had happened... he felt too tired to continue thinking about it, so he stopped. He heard movement and the sound of water running, and he tried to turn his head. A burst of pain surged through his head at the movement, and he cried out, his voice catching into a tortured scream, and he squeezed his eyes shut as the pain rolled over him. It throbbed at his neck, and he wheezed out breaths, his teeth clenched.
The noise he heard completely stopped. Then, less than a minute later, someone was sitting on the bed beside him; a small, delicate frame that barely moved the bed. Something cold pressed against his face and neck, and he shivered, opening his eyes slowly. He nearly choked; his eyes widened and he gasped out.
"O-Odango?!"
The girl above him smiled shyly, rubbing the washcloth gently over his bruised and beaten neck, which had undoubtedly been the cause of his pain when he had turned his head. "Hi Mamo-c—Mamoru-san."
His breathing hiked up a notch; he felt his heart moving incredibly fast, but he couldn't make it stop... what was going on? Why was Usagi in his apartment, why was... he laying here, why couldn't he move, and why... he felt his eyes slipping shut as exhaustion overcame him again. He tried to force them open.
"Oh, no, no, don't do that..." He heard Usagi's soft voice whispering above him, her hands fluttering over him, the cloth moving against his skin. "You really need to rest... really, don't worry... I'll explain everything to you, I promise, but it's really important that you rest and get better, okay?"
His stormy blue eyes opened again and took in her worried face, and he realized with a start that her eyes were filled with tears. "Why are you crying?" he whispered, his eyes half shut.
She laughed, and he felt his heart warm at the sound. One of her hands was gone and he watched with tired eyes as she wiped away the tears that were escaping from her pretty blue eyes. "I'm just so glad that you woke up." Then she reached up and brushed her fingertips against his eyelashes, sweeping his eyes closed. "Go back to sleep," she whispered, her sweet, musical voice soft. He could barely hear her; he was so close to sleep again. "It's okay, Mamo-chan."
Mamo-chan? He wondered for a moment longer, until the exhaustion said hello again and he fell into a deep sleep.
Usagi yawned. She was utterly exhausted, but she really didn't want to leave Mamoru's side for even a moment. What if he woke up again? Tried to move again? She clenched her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut. The scream... hearing his scream of pain; it was quite possibly the most horrible sound in the world, one that shouldn't ever have to exist.
The blonde girl opened her eyes again to look down at Mamoru, who was peacefully sleeping once again, his eyes lightly closed and lips parted slightly as his breath evenly came and went in his chest. She smiled, and she felt her heart grow lighter at seeing him resting, knowing that he would wake up again. She brushed her hand against his cheek again. She was becoming addicted to the motion, but as long as he was sleeping, what did it matter? He hadn't exactly pushed her away when he had been awake, either... but she frowned. That might have been because he was so lost and confused... and because it caused him a great deal of pain to even move.
Usagi yawned again, this time having to take one of her hands to cover the motion. She sighed, because she knew she had to have some rest... especially if she was going to take care of Mamoru when he woke up again.
She glanced across at the empty place in the bed beside him. Did she dare? What would he do if he woke up to see her beside him? She bit her lip, gnawing on it roughly. But the couch didn't exactly look comfortable, and besides, she was just going to sleep. Besides, she would even force herself not to touch him at all. Yes, that was exactly what she would do.
When morning came and Usagi opened her eyes, she thought it was still night outside. Looking beside her, she saw that Mamoru was still sleeping, and she smiled. Blushing, she realized that her hand was entwined in his. How did that happen? She wondered. She shrugged inwardly and sat up, rolling her head around on her shoulders to stretch. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand away from Mamoru's. Standing and walking to the bedroom window, she pushed the simple beige curtain back. She sighed, noting that a soft drizzle was descending from the sky, and that dark clouds were everywhere. It was going to be a rainy, gloomy day.
She turned from the window and looked back at Mamoru. Would he be hungry when he woke up? Would he be better? She bit her lip. She had no experience whatsoever in caring for anyone. Sure, she would help her family members when they were sick, but never had she dealt with anything like this before. She had just helped her mother with chores, or she would make chicken soup (the one and only thing her mother had trusted her enough to make; apparently, the woman had reasoned that even Usagi was capable enough to handle soup from a can).
But Usagi had a feeling that chores and chicken soup weren't going to be much help to Mamoru.
Sighing, she left the bedroom in search of more cereal. One thing was for certain: if she was going to take care of Mamoru, she was going to have to get some better food.
Thankfully, Mamoru was finding it much easier to wake up. It wasn't as stifling or difficult, and when he opened his eyes, the exhaustion wasn't as bad.
He didn't try moving his neck again, but he flexed his fingers. Relieved that he didn't seem completely paralyzed when he was able to close his hands into fists, he tried raising his arms. He hissed, wincing and shutting his eyes, when pain shot up both arms like fire. He dropped his arms and waited for the pain to recede.
"Mamoru-san, please stop that..." He opened his eyes. Usagi, her blue eyes wide and worried, sat at the side of his bed again, staring down at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but he found that he had no idea where to start. The girl gave him a small smile. "You keep hurting yourself. Don't try to move yet, okay?" She bit her lip and turned her head away from him. "I wish Ami-chan was here. I'm sure she'd be much more help to you than I am. She promised she'd come by after school, but until then, you're kinda stuck with me..."
"Odango..." He eyed her warily. "What is going on?" His voice sounded raspy to his ears.
Usagi's face was the only part of her that Mamoru could actually see, but he could tell that she fidgeted a few moments before answering him. "You... you were attacked. Do.. you remember?"
He blinked his eyes slowly once... twice... then he groaned and shut them completely. Memories flooded back into his mind. Something ominous and large swiping at him from behind... being knocked completely off his feet... his head crashing to the ground... blacking out... Usagi was saying something else. He tried to push the memories back to focus on her words.
"—youma was terrifying, it had you in its claws... it had to be the largest thing I've ever seen in my life. It was like a... snake dragon thing... then Sailor Moon and the Sailor Senshi came and killed it, and they entrusted my friends and I in your care..."
Mamoru found his heart racing at the thought of Usagi in the middle of a youma battle with the senshi. "Why were you... why..." Mamoru took a deep breath. Why was it so strenuous just to talk?
"I was on my way home from school when I saw you." She answered his question without him having to complete it. He saw her shoulders rise and fall into a shrug, as if to say "I know you're too tired to really ask me anything proper, so I'm trying here."
"I see." He murmured. He winced when he felt a strong pain in his chest. "How... bad... is it?" He forced himself not to look at Usagi's face. He was terrified to know exactly what that youma had done to him while he had been knocked out. Zoicite was playing dirtier and dirtier... he had a horrible feeling that he had been targeted by the youma. What would have happened if Sailor Moon hadn't saved him?
Usagi let out a pent up breath of air. "It's actually not as bad as we first thought. There was just so much blood..." She rambled off for a second, and he could hear her choke. He winced. She was so young... she should have never seen any of that. For her to see him in this position was terrible in and of itself. "You've lost a lot of blood, but thankfully you seem to be slowly recovering..." She paused. "There are a lot of... gashes... everywhere..."
So that was where all the pain was coming from. "I see."
Usagi was gnawing on her lip. "Are you hungry?"
That was something he hadn't even thought of. "Not really." He stared up at the ceiling wearily. Not being able to move was really starting to bother him.
Usagi nodded slowly. It became extremely quiet for a long period of time while Usagi simply sat and Mamoru stared up at the ceiling, unsure of how to proceed. They were having a civil conversation, in one of the strangest predicaments ever. Mamoru frowned; he couldn't even remember if he and Usagi had really ever had a civil conversation before. It was... a little strange, a little awkward... and, he admitted, a little nice, without all the insults flying...
Mamoru felt Usagi slowly rising from the bed. He blinked and his eyes watched her. She mumbled an apology to him, something along the lines of "bothering you" that he didn't quite catch. Uncomfortably, she shuffled on her feet for a few seconds before heading out of the bedroom. She stopped at the doorway. "I'll... be in here if you need me... I just... you... you should rest. I'll... watch TV... "
He wished that he could turn his head without feeling that terrible pain again, but he really didn't want to risk it. Nodding was probably out of the question as well, but he felt a terrible pain in his chest, and he had a feeling that it wasn't from his injuries. He started to open his mouth to say something, to ask her not to leave, when the door was pulled halfway closed and he knew she was gone.
He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling his pain much more acutely now. Somehow, without her near, it was incredibly worse.
Usagi forced herself not to peek in and check on Mamoru every five seconds. She limited herself to checking on him every two minutes. But she tried very hard not to let him know that she was doing so... how annoyed would he be with that?
Sighing, the girl settled for wandering around the extremely clean, extremely un-decorated apartment in her spare not-checking-on-Mamoru time. TV was out of the question. She would never be able to concentrate on it in her current state.
At first, she found nothing of interest. A living room with absolutely nothing in it except the TV, couch, chairs, and the low wooden table where he probably had tea with guests or... whatever. She shrugged, forcing herself not to think of other girls he might have at the apartment. Then she wandered into the kitchen. Frowning, she exited just as quickly through the second entryway that led into the short hallway. A kitchen with so little food depressed her. The bathroom had already gotten a thorough inspection the night before. Then she noticed a door at the end of the short hallway that was between the kitchen and bathroom doors.
Curious, she went to it and opened it. Peeking in, the first thing she noticed were the walls. They were covered in bookshelves. Amazed, she pushed the door fully open and stepped inside. "Wow," she whispered, blinking rapidly. The room had a desk with a computer pressed against one bare space of wall, but the remaining walls had shelves from top to bottom. Most of the bookshelves were filled with books, but on the bookshelves surrounding the desk, roses of all colors sat in multicolored vases. The girl was too intrigued not to inspect them, so she stepped closer to the shelves and looked at the roses. Her eyes widened. The vases had labels on them. One vase, with a red rose, had a date on it: May 26th. She frowned. It was October. What did the date mean? She looked at some of the other vases. There were random dates on all of the vases.
"Very strange," she muttered, turning away from the shelves. She walked along the other bookshelves for a moment, seeing that they were mostly medical texts and classic literature books that Mamoru probably liked. She ended up at the desk again, and she looked down at it. It was perfectly ordered, just like everything else, but it had a single book out of place. She picked it up. It was leather bound, but it had no title. She frowned and opened it, flipping over a few pages. Then she noticed it was handwritten, with dates at the top of the pages. She blushed and dropped it back on the desk. It was obviously a private notebook of Mamoru's. A journal? She bit her lip and quickly exited the room, feeling like she was definitely spying on him now.
After what seemed like an eternity, Usagi re-entered Mamoru's room and sat on the bed beside him again. He hadn't fallen back asleep, and he felt absolutely miserable, being unable to move or do anything except stare at the ceiling. And oh god, what was going to happen when he had to go to the bathroom...? He winced at the thought and pushed it back in his thoughts.
"Nothing on?" He asked when she sat down.
He saw her frown. She had a thermometer in her hand. "On?"
"You said you were going to watch TV, but I never heard you turn it on." He narrowed his eyes. Well, at least he could do that without eliciting insurmountable pain.
She blushed a pretty shade of pink and cleared her throat. "I didn't really feel like watching TV."
"What did you do?" He asked warily.
"I wandered around your boring kitchen."
"Thanks." He sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Don't you buy food, Mamoru-baka?"
"I eat takeout a lot. I don't really have time for cooking much..." He felt a smile tugging at his lips. "You would inspect my kitchen, Odango. I'm sure whatever food I had is now in your vacuum of a stomach?" He couldn't help himself. Reverting back into their teasing was just so much easier.
She clenched her teeth and tried not to fire back an insult He's in pain, he's in pain, she reminded herself. Remember that you love him, even when he is being an asshole. "Very funny, Mamoru-baka," she managed. Rolling her eyes, she glared at him. "I need to check your temperature. Ami said to at least twice a day."
This would be a moment that he would shrug his shoulders, but he refrained. "Alright." He started to open his mouth, but then he stopped and glared at her when she got close. She blinked and backed away at his angry look.
She looked anxious. "What? What's wrong?"
"Don't do that again."
"Do what?" She scrunched her brow at his intense, vulnerable look.
"Leave me here alone." Muttering, he looked away from her.
Usagi turned bright pink, blinking repeatedly. "W-what?"
"I can't move well, remember? You're kinda my only source of entertainment, Odango." His eyes shifted back to hers with a gleam of sarcasm.
The girl stared at him as if he had grown wings. "You want me around?"
"It's you or the ceiling."
"How flattering." She rolled her eyes. Yes, he was certainly still Mamoru-baka, in pain or not. His asshole side was starting to really show through.
"Sorry..." Suddenly he sounded nervous, and Usagi looked down at him. He was staring up at the ceiling, away from her. His face was red, and not from the cuts. She blinked, watching the different emotions playing across his face. She hadn't really ever seen Mamoru nervous before. He was usually so calmly confident, something that she adored about him. She couldn't help but find the nervousness adorable as well. He peered at her for a long moment, and then he spoke as if he had just made a huge decision. "I should probably refrain from teasing you, shouldn't I?"
Usagi raised both eyebrows. "You're actually offering to be nice to me?"
He narrowed his eyes. "A temporary truce." He stressed on the word 'temporary'. "Just for now. Deal?"
"Alright..." She started. Then she paused. "Wait! Right after this!" Usagi tilted her head from side to side. "Oh, look what I can do."
"Now that was just cruel." He felt his lips tugging into a smile.
"Sorry. I just couldn't resist. Okay, now we can have a truce." She winked at him and leaned down, sticking the thermometer in his mouth when he started to retort.
It was silent as Mamoru sat with the thermometer in his mouth, but Usagi smiled to herself, finding it a lot less awkward than she had before.
It was a few moments later when the electronic thermometer began beeping. Usagi reached over and took it from Mamoru, who sighed in relief and closed his eyes. Usagi glanced out of the corner of her eye at him. He was so pale... even their conversation had seemingly tired him out.
She swallowed a lump in her throat and looked back to the thermometer. She sighed in relief. "Oh good. At least you're not too cold..." It was several degrees under normal, but it had risen from what Ami had told it was the night before. Her Mercury computer was probably a lot more accurate, though. Usagi glanced at Mamoru's bedside alarm clock. It was still early; they had a long afternoon ahead before Ami would come by.
She started to say something else to him, but when she turned her head away from the alarm clock to look at him, she saw that his eyes were closed and his breaths had become slow and even again. She smiled softly, rising from the bed so that he could rest.
Usagi looked up from the TV when someone knocked lightly on the door. She stretched, wondering how long she had been sitting there. She had been staring into space for quite a while, her thoughts mostly involving Mamoru and their recent, strange, and extremely civil truce. She glanced at the TV, wondering how on Earth she had let it end up on infomercials about some sort of rice strainers...
Stretching her limbs as she walked to the door, she opened it to a frazzled looking Motoki, his dark blonde hair sticking out while his khaki pants and white shirt were rumpled. "Motoki-kun," she looked over his attire curiously. "Hi."
The man in front of her blinked repeatedly, rubbed his light green eyes with his fists, blinked some more, and then dropped his jaw. "U-U-Usagi-chan?!"
Usagi let her lips fall into a flat line. "...yes, that's my name, Motoki-kun. Breathe."
"What are you doing here?! You do realize this is Mamoru's apartment, right?" Motoki burst through the door, whipping his head from side to side. "Where is Mamoru?!"
"Calm down, Motoki-kun.." Usagi pleaded, reaching a hand out to try and take Motoki's arm, but the man was moving frantically about the living room, pacing. Usagi dropped her arm and sighed. "Mamoru's in his bedroom, but... no, Motoki-kun! Don't!" She raced after him when he started to rush into Mamoru's room and plowed straight into his back when he stopped, frozen, at the open doorway.
A startled gasp elicited from the blonde man, and he jerked around, grabbing Usagi by the arm and yanking her back out into the living room. Dropping her arm, he stared at her for a long moment, his jaw open wide and a horrified look on his usually happy face. "Oh my god."
Usagi winced and nodded, sitting on the back of the couch and crossing her arms. "I know."
"What... oh god, what happened to him?" His eyes drifted back toward the door. Mamoru was still sleeping, pale as a ghost, in the next room. The startling red of the cuts stood out so terrifyingly against his skin. Motoki cringed, peeling his eyes away from the door.
Usagi sighed and uncrossed her arms, gripping the back of the sofa with both hands. "It was a youma attack."
"A youma?" Motoki's lightly freckled face blanched.
"The senshi killed it," Usagi reassured him. "It had Mamoru-san in its grip. It... hurt him.." She looked up into Motoki's baffled eyes. "The senshi asked me to take care of him."
Motoki nodded numbly. "I... I was... I was just going to talk to him about..." He winced. "Reika and I got in a fight, I haven't slept, but..." He didn't continue. He sighed and shook his head. He strode over to one of the armchairs and sat down, leading his head back in the seat.
"Puts everything in perspective, doesn't it?" Usagi murmured, crossing over to sit on the couch. "I don't think I've ever been more terrified in my life than when I saw him in that youma's hands..."
Motoki's head snapped up and he stared at Usagi with wide eyes. "You were there?"
Usagi nodded, wincing.
"Damn." Motoki leaned up and rested his elbows on his knees. "What can I do? How can I help?" He looked at Usagi with pleading eyes.
Usagi pursed her lips. "Well... there is, um..." She blushed when her stomach growled. "Mamoru-san doesn't exactly buy food."
Motoki blinked for a moment, and then he started laughing lightly. "Alright. I can definitely help out with that."
"Ami-chan is coming by later to check on him." The blonde girl said, biting her lips. "But, um... we're... girls." She looked up at him expectantly. "If we need your help with anything that, uh..."
"Say no more," Motoki chuckled, shaking his head. "I owe Mamoru-kun a lot."
Usagi scrunched her brow. "You do?"
Motoki smiled, nodding. "Ask him sometime." He paused. "I don't get why, though... Usagi-chan, why are you taking care of Mamoru-kun? Wouldn't a hospital be better?"
"The senshi said they didn't want people to panic because of a youma attack."
Motoki pursed his lips. "I see. But... you? I mean... you and Mamoru... surely someone else..." He trailed off, looking at her expectantly.
Usagi sighed and leaned back into the couch, blushing. "Motoki-kun, can I tell you something? You can't tell anyone.... anyone." Motoki nodded, his green eyes widening. Usagi frowned and looked away. "Well... I..."
A strangled sound came from Mamoru's bedroom. Usagi stopped and whipped her head to the side. It happened again, and she jumped to her feet, fear washing over her. She dashed into the bedroom and her eyes sought out Mamoru. She gasped.
He was shaking, his face red and splintered in pain. He gazed at Usagi with terrified eyes, and his body continued to quake. He was halfway sitting up, and even from the doorway, Usagi could see the pulse beating erratically in his throat. He tried to lift an arm, reaching toward her, even though the pain was riping through every part of him. Her heart pulsing wildly, she rushed to him and dropped on the bed, wrapping her fingers through his and holding them tightly.
"Mamoru-san?! Mamoru, hold on... breathe, what's wrong? Breathe, Mamoru, breathe..."
His eyes stared away from her, as if he was seeing something from far away. He took in deep breaths of air. Usagi's eyes swept down his face and stopped at his neck. The cuts were glowing a bright red, and as she watched, they flared brighter and brighter for a few moments before the bright glowing suddenly stopped. Gasping, her other hand flew to her mouth in shock. She had never seen anything like it, but what did it mean?
Finally, as the bright glowing went away, the pain seemed to ease and Mamoru's shaking stopped. He fell back onto the bed in a heap of shivering, cold sweat. "Usagi.." he whispered, his eyes glazed over with weakness. "Usagi.." His eyes closed and he started to shiver.
Usagi reached for his other hand, her arms now on both sides of him. Motoki stood, dumbfounded, in the doorway, shaking slightly in fear at the sight he had just seen.
"Mamoru? Mamoru, are you okay?" She whispered, her voice trembling. With one hand, she sunk her fingers into his hair, pushing the strands back from his sweating face. "Mamoru..."
He continued to shiver, and she pulled the blankets around him higher up. Turning to Motoki, she asked hoarsely, "Could you see if he has any other blankets anywhere? He's freezing."
Motoki nodded numbly and forced himself to enter the room. He started opening drawers in Mamoru's dresser. Finding a thick blanket in the bottom drawer, he pulled it out and stiffly handed it to Usagi, his face pale and eyes wide. Usagi tried to give him a reassuring smile, but even she knew that it came out as a fearful grimace. Standing, she took the blanket and gently laid it over the shivering Mamoru, hoping that his closed eyes meant he was sleeping. His breath was too strained for her to really tell at all.
Sitting down again and resting one hand on Mamoru's other side, Usagi stroked the other quivering hand against his pallid cheek, gnawing in frustration on her lip. Ami couldn't get there soon enough. Something was extremely wrong. What had that youma done to him?
End Chapter Two
