News spread quickly about what had happened. Kenji, being a reporter, had to cover for it despite how much it hurt him. His boss said it might offer him some closure if he were to look into it, but he clearly didn't see the distress it caused the man.

Ikuko knew her husband needed time before jumping into it at least, but he did as he had to. He could not say no to orders, after all.

Kenji had asked the bystanders that had called to report the fire what they might have seen before or if they had see how the fire had started. They responded and stated that theybwere only walking by when it started to grow. Kenji then went and asked neighbors who were present at the time, but they were asleep and weren't aware until they heard the loud sounds outside. Dead ends there.

Their son, Shingo, was currently recovering successfully in the hospital, but he was currently unable to be questioned and they were worried about informing him of the fate of his sister. Luna stayed with Minako where Artemis took it upon himself to care for her while she also recovered from the bit of smoke she inhaled. Being a magical cat, she was feeling better much sooner than expected.

Luna gave her account of what had happened to the girls after she regained her talking capability. How Usagi woke her up and told her to jump and escape to somewhere safe.

The girls all felt awful. They all spent most of their time at the shrine, not really going to school because they had to comfort each other. They were supposed to protect her properly this time around and they felt like they've failed.

Once the story hit the news stations, some people who knew the girl were sure to express their condolences for the grieving family. Naru dropped by the apartment that they were given for the time being to drop off some flowers, but even she couldn't hold back her tears for long after seeing how emotionally destroyed the two adults were.

Motoki was usually so happy. Then he lost someone he saw as a sister, and she meant more to him than ever. Patrons would look at him and see that he'd smile for customers walking in, but the smile always fell after. Nothing would be the same without one of his frequent customers.

The dirty blond would look for his best friend, but Mamoru never showed in the past few days. It was concerning, so he finally decided to go and look for him. Knowing the stoic man, he went to the apartment building he lived in. Mamoru just had to be there. Once he got to the door, he just knocked a simple knock.

It was quiet for a moment or two before he heard footsteps approaching.

Mamoru looked awful, to say the least. Motoki had never seen the man shed a tear, but his face had dry stains of tears.

"Hey... uh... Toki." His friend looked at him before rubbing his red eyes.

"Wow... I never thought I'd see you in a... mess?" Motoki tried to joke but even he couldn't laugh.

"Yeah... I'm really not myself right now." A broken tone, as if he were on the verge of another spill of tears. "I never got to tell her..."

Motoki hugged his friend, who usually would have objected, but Mamoru just returned it in full. He felt too weak to do otherwise. A burning sensation was around his waist, but he'd ignored it.

"I read Kenji-san's reports... He says you tried to get in..." Motoki looked his friend in the eyes. Mamoru looked to the side.

"I saw it..." He said, giving vague information.

"Saw what...? Did you see who stared it? Or how..." Mamoru cut him off.

"I saw a lot from Usagi's perspective." His friend gave him a look of surprise. "I went to sleep and all of a sudden... I was in her body. I watched as she rushed around to get the cat and her brother out of the house. I watched as she ran back in for her little brooch she always wears... I watched her last moments before things went black..." Mamoru held his head, the tears threatening to fall again. "I think I even felt her..." He couldn't finish.

Motoki was shocked. It was hard to believe for anyone, but Mamoru did confide in him about his alternate persona of Tuxedo Kamen.

For the moment, he knew that he needed to tend to his friend first before anything else. He walked with him into the apartment and had him sit down. "Does Kenji know...?"

"He probably wouldn't want to. I don't think retelling how his daughter lost a fight would make him feel better." Mamoru sighed.

"Plus... The idea is kinda farfetched. I don't want to upset him in any way."

At this point, Motoki had gotten to glance around the room and see that things still had some semblance of order in life. It was just Mamoru himself that was a problem.

Another knock came at the door. Motoki got up and answered the door to see Usagi's parents.

"Oh, hello, Motoki-san. This... actually saves us the trouble of finding you..." Ikuko said with a bit of a smile.

Mamoru heard them mumbling at the door and he just leaned back on his couch, that same burning feeling went from his shoulders to his collarbone, like something was wrapped around him. It was hot, but it wasn't actually burning. The feeling distracted him from Motoki's return.

"Mamoru-san. That was her parents..." Motoki sat next to him. "They came to give the date of her.. well, you know..." He knew to be careful with what he said around Mamoru.

The man next to him just closed his eyes. "Thanks Toki. Just write it on my calendar and I'll be sure to go. I just... can't feel the need to get up right now."

The other man nodded and got up to do the small job before leaving. At least Mamoru was fine for now, though he mentally noted to keep an eye on him.

--

The day of the funeral, Mamoru was sure to get ready and actually look fine. He needed to look to be in order and formal. He wasn't going to go looking like he'd just been crushed by a building and survived.

They had chosen an outdoor area for a venue, which was a really nice spot, no matter the season. The autumn leaves were slowly falling around the area and some of the flowers that were still holding onto life had their petals spread out. Everything was gently being pushed by a soft gust of wind that came by every now and then.

The day was sunny and bright without a single cloud, so it couldn't really be seen as a sad day. It was a perfect day for this, at least, to Usagi's standard, or so everyone assumed.

The Tsukinos preferred that no one wear black because it just didn't feel right. Mamoru showed up in a white shirt and formal khaki pants, Motoki wearing a casual blue shirt and grey pants, and the girls showed up in various colored dresses (that pertained to their alter-egos, of course.)

He held himself together during the time where the family said their words about their bright, loving daughter/sister and her closest friends speaking about how they'd met. Rei couldn't help but call her Odango during her word, which got some laughter from the audience.

Then she paused for a moment and looked Mamoru dead in the eyes, which freaked him out a bit.

"... Oh sorry." Rei forgot she was up. "I just... felt something. You know, fire priestess and all..." She continued on before walking back to her seat, her eyes darting over Mamoru.

It unnerved him to no end.

The girls sat at a table with Motoki, Unazuki, and Mamoru. Things were a little silent as Rei kept giving Mamoru odd looks. Yet, he himself was distracted by something that they couldn't see, but it was hard to say something since most of these people were not exactly the type to start conversations without Usagi.

The burning sensation had become more constant and it was mostly on his right side. It was weird but it didn't bother him much either. If anything, that was the only comfort nowadays, but in a weird way.

"Mamoru." Rei started, startling Mamoru out of his trance. "You wouldn't mind dropping by the shrine some day, would you? It should be soon as well."

It was random, but he nodded. "Sure, I'll be able to drop by. Why?"

"Just... Just makes sure to find me." She didn't look at him and the other girls looked at her, a little skeptical.

"Excuse me." All turned to see Shingo. He held out Usagi's brooch and a rose to Mamoru. "They... found these after going through the house... Papa said I should give these to you. For some reason...? I don't know... He's been really weird lately." The boy was looking away. Mamoru took the objects from Shingo and smiled.

"Well, tell him I really appreciate it." He looked at the brooch and flower that were in tact. It surprised him, but it was a magic rose made to live for a longer timethan a typical rose, but how it survived a fire is a mystery to think on later.

The girls just watched on and they knew that the crystal was in the brooch he held and that they had to get it, but they knew they couldn't convince a man as stubborn as Mamoru to hand it over.

After they all had a nice dinner (Mamoru noted all the foods that he'd overheard the Odango talk about and figured these were her favorite dishes), things started to head for a close as people began leaving.

Motoki and Unazuki left after a while. Ami had to leave a little early because she still felt the need to study for... whatever reason. Minako needed to get back and check on Artemis and Luna to make sure that they were okay. The other girls just needed to get home at a reasonable hour.

Mamoru looked over at the small Tsukino family and contemplated if he should go say goodbye to them or not. He figured that he ought to not do so since he did not know them very well. He just took the brooch and rose into his hands and walked out with a wave.

The burning sensation shifted to his right side on the extra space next to him on the sidewalk.

It was a little worrying how this feeling just kept following him and he began to wonder about what it really was. It's even made him worry if his clothes will catch on fire, but it wasn't hot enough to do so, but it started to bug him.

"I just need to get home and sleep..." He ran a hand through his hair.

Once he finally recahed his apartment, he felt a little relaxed. Socializing with people was never his forte.

His gaze shifted over to his bag on the couch and he couldn't feel the need to study so he could distract himself. He lost someone who meant everything to him and nothing could distract him from that right now.

Sighing, he took the rose and brooch and set them on his dresser. He eyed the objects, knowing that these two were the last few objects he saw Usagi holding.

"How is it that a rose survived that fire?" His eyes narrowed. These two random objects survived but his Usagi didn't. It was a bitter thought. Then another thought struck.

"It was my flower... made of magic... Usagi was only human..." His hands rose to cover his face.

"It was, wasn't it?" His inner voice spat at him.

He had to get to sleep and face tomorrow, but he wasn't sure he could.

--

Mamoru was back to this dream. The mysterious woman who would not show her face to him. No matter how close he got, he'd never see her face.

Something was different this time, however. The closer he got, things began to clear up. The surrounding mist began to move out of his vision for the first time in years.

He looked down to see that held the rose and Usagi's brooch in his hands. The hands of the woman moved over both of his.

The brooch opened to reveal the Silver Crystal.The glow emitting off of it was near blinding, but it died down and he was able to get a better look who was haunting his dreams.

"U-Usagi...? You're...?" Mamoru did not need this right now. He just lost her a week ago and here she was, in his dreams.

She held up the crystal in her other hand while the other moved to be placed on his shoulder. Her smile was soft as she looked at him.

"You found it." He hadn't heard her voice in what felt like forever and it really stung.

"Why are you... suddenly here...?" He asked, the tears burning in his eyes.

"It's not like my time here was done yet... Once you get your memories back, you'll see, Endymion." Her hand moved to wipe his tears.

"See you soon, my prince."

--

Mamoru woke up peacefully. There was heat that spread over his chest and to his left, in the fairly empty space of his bed.

Something was there that has been with him since the incident, and he was not sure as to what it was.

He really needed to focus. Now that he has the Silver Crystal, he needs to figure out how he'll earn his memories. Yet, the burning that was constantly around him was becoming too distracting.

He needed to see Rei as soon as possible.

--

I have no sense of self control. I just have a need to finish this thing with great interest. This is just my mind not thinking about the other big projects I'm supposed to be working on.