Chapter Two

A few days later, as it was nearing dusk, Usagi was just returning to her apartment building when she stopped to check her mailbox. Normally she only received mundane things like bills and letters related to school, but this time, there was an envelope she did not recognize. There was no postage or address, merely the word "Odango" written on the front. Usagi turned it over to examine the back. Nothing on that side either. She figured it must be from Mamoru, but why would he be writing her an unmarked letter? She decided to open it in her room and made for the stairs.

Inside, Usagi deposited her bag on the floor by her desk and sat down to read the strange letter. As she removed the letter, she immediately caught a whiff of a strong, but familiar scent. As soon as her eyes met the words, Usagi's eyes filled with tears.

Odango,

How are you doing? I hope I haven't startled you too much with this letter. It has been a long time, hasn't it? Everything back home has been going well so far. It turns out that there were some people who managed to escape Galaxia's attack that day. Though we are still working on rebuilding,. Our Princess has been a great inspiration to all of us, especially the refugees from the attack. Taiki and Yaten often speak of you and the others. We miss you. I miss you. There isn't a day that goes by that I wish things could have been different, and we could have been born on the same planet, in the same town. I have enclosed a gift with this letter. It's a flower that has recently begun to grow here on Kinmoku. I thought of you the first time I saw it because it has your light. I named it the Moonflower.

Usagi paused for a moment to feel inside the envelope. Sure enough, her fingers touched the stem and she pulled out a beautiful white flower. Five silken petals of pearly white circled around a bright golden yellow center. Bursts of pink erupted from the inner parts of the petals, closest to the center. The long, slender stem was as soft as velvet and Usagi could do nothing but gaze in awe at the beauty of the plant. Suddenly, the center of the flower began to faintly glow, which slowly began spreading out to the petals, as if reacting to her presence. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Usagi looked at the letter again, realizing there was still a small part left to read.

I hope that you like my gift, and the one to come.

Seiya

Overjoyed with news from Seiya, Usagi gently hugged the letter and the flower. As she set both of them down at her desk, she looked out the window at the darkening sky. The lights of the city drowned out most of the stars. Usagi longed to see him again and hoped that somewhere Seiya was also looking up at the stars with her. At that moment, Usagi saw a shooting star streak across the sky. Usagi gasped and clasped her hands tightly together to make a wish. With her eyes tightly closed, she wished with all her might.

"Please," She thought to herself. "Please let me meet him again."

With a soft sigh, Usagi decided it was nearly time for supper. As she contemplated her options, she heard a gentle knock on the door. Knowing she wasn't expecting guests, she wondered who it could be. Usagi crossed the room and looked out the hole, but saw nothing.

"Weird…" She murmured, and stepped away from the door. As she did so, there was another knock. She looked out again, and still there was nothing. "Stupid little kids…!" She grumbled. "I'll show them!" She growled under her breath and swung the door open with a mighty swing.

She expected to see a bunch of kids running down the hall. Instead, she was greeted by a tall man in a dark suit with black hair tied back in a long pony-tail. He wore a red rose in his breast pocket and smile on his face.

"Odango, hisashiburi da na." Seiya said, grinning widely.

Usagi stared, mouth ajar in shock and unable to say anything but an attempt at stuttering his name. Seiya laughed.

"You'll catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that." He said. "You could at least say he-Oof!"

Seiya did not get to finish his sentence, for Usagi had thrown herself at him in a huge hug, tears streaming down her face. Seiya smiled tenderly and patted her gently on the head.

"Seiya…!" She mumbled into his chest, embracing him tightly.

"Well, are you going to invite me in or what?" He teased, taking her by the shoulders and pulling her away from him gently. Usagi smiled and nodded.

"Please come in!"

Upon entering, Seiya surveyed her apartment. Though it was a modest size, like many Tokyo apartments, it was well-furnished, and he noticed many of the items were a reflection of Usagi's personality. This was especially true of her rabbit motif.

"You live by yourself?" He asked.

He noticed that none of it seemed to belong to Mamoru. Usagi nodded.

"Yep!"

Seiya hoped that this meant she was no longer seeing him.

"You're not seeing that guy anymore?" He asked, trying to hide his eagerness.

Usagi's expression turned sour.

"I am but…things are difficult right now." She explained.

"Why is that every time I see you, he is always making you sad?" Seiya asked, genuinely concerned. He took a step closer to her, sensing that she may start to cry if he pursued the topic.

"He's just really busy right now. He's about to start med school." She replied. She looked for a moment at Seiya and then away. "I'll go make some tea for you."

She said and turned to walk away. Seiya caught her arm, however, and pulled her to him.

"Seiya…" Usagi muttered. Though she felt comforted by his embrace, deep down she was still unsure of her feelings towards him.

"Gomen, Odango." He said as he released her. "It's been so long since we last saw each other, I can't seem to let you go." He smiled at her. Usagi smiled back and instructed him to wait in the living room while she made tea and snacks.

As she brought out the tray, Usagi looked at Seiya, who was examining a picture on a nearby shelf. She set the tray down and went to join him.

"Which one are you looking at?" She asked as she peaked around his shoulder. Among the many photos she had framed on the shelf, Seiya was looking at one of the two of them together the day they had gone to the amusement park. The picture was taken in front of the Ferris wheel, Seiya's arm was wrapped around Usagi's shoulder, and both of them were smiling brightly.

"That's a good one." Seiya commented. "It was a good day until Iron Mouse came

along…"

"But then we kicked her butt!" Usagi said, striking a pose. Seiya laughed.

"That's right!"

Usagi held out a cup of tea to him, which he took and they sat down on the couch.

"So why are you here?" Usagi asked. "I got your letter; you said you were helping to rebuild Kinmoku." She said. Seiya took a sip of tea and looked at her.

"I was. Taiki and Yaten are still there. I'm…on vacation, you could say." He said with a sly smirk.

"Vacation?" Usagi said. "So what are you going to do here?" She asked. Seiya continued to smile.

"Spend time with you of course!"

Usagi blushed slightly and looked down at her cup.

"But the others – Taiki, Yaten, and Princess Kakyuu – they know you're here right?"

She looked at him warily. Seiya faked an affronted look.

"Of course! Though the other two weren't really pleased I was skipping out on work…" He mumbled.

"That sounds like them." Usagi said with a smile. "Where are you staying?"

Seiya laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"That's the thing, I don't really have anywhere to go."

Usagi gasped.

"I'm sure Rei-chan has a room at the temple you can stay in, or Ami-chan has—"

"Actually," He cut her off. "I was hoping I could stay with you." He said softly.

Usagi blushed again and took a quick sip of tea. And another, and another.

"What would Mamoru say? Would he be angry? Then again, it's not like he has been around much anyway. If Seiya is only staying a short time, it wouldn't be a big deal, right?" She thought to herself.

"How long are you planning to stay?" She asked suddenly.

"I don't know yet. Maybe a week?"

He didn't seem to have come to a final decision yet.

Usagi pondered for a moment, considering the pros and cons. On the one hand, having Seiya around for awhile would certainly lift her spirits. And he would also be around to keep her company. On the other hand, if Mamoru did decide to drop by unexpectedly, it might be a seriously awkward situation. "But I'm just helping him out; he has nowhere else to go!" Usagi justified in her mind. "What's the harm in helping out a friend?" She nodded to herself as Seiya looked at her expectantly.

"Alright, you can stay with me. It's not much, and you'll have to sleep on the couch

but—" Usagi's face was suddenly smothered within Seiya's chest as he hugged her tight.

"Thank you, Odango! I promise I'll be no trouble." He released her and smiled up at him. "Though I can't promise I won't try to sneak in to your room from time to time."

He gave her a devilish smirk and Usagi blushed furiously as she gave him a playful smack in the arm. Seiya laughed and tried to shield himself from another swing.

"Alright, alright!" He said, " I'll only go in when you're sleeping."

When Usagi threatened to lock him outside in the hall, Seiya quickly admitted defeat, citing that angry princesses are quite ferocious.

"Now, how about some dinner?" Usagi suggested, realizing it was well past 7 and she had not eaten. "Are you hungry?"

Seiya seemed to remember one of the other senshi saying Usagi's cooking was poor on his first visit to Earth. "Well, it has been awhile, she has probably gotten better by now if that was really the case." He thought to himself." Besides, I am getting a little hungry."

"Food sounds delicious. Especially if it is made by you!" Seiya beamed at her.

"I don't have much right now, so it will be simple, is that okay?" She asked.

Seiya nodded.

"Okay, let me see what I can whip up."

And with that, Usagi headed for the kitchen.