AN 1: Just thought I'd mention, all of these fics are at least ten years old. A lot of heavy revision is being done on most of these stories, so posting will probably be slow. Patience is a virtue.

AN 2: To avoid confusion, allow me to clarify yet again that each one of these chapters is a stand-alone story, originally posted separately on my page. I'm posting the whole collection into a single work for easier viewing, but they are still technically one-shots that are (for the most part) completely unrelated to each other. Most of them deal with the first several months between Usagi and Mamoru and their developing relationship.

AN 3: This little fic was inspired by, of all things, a second grade reading activity paper. When I was a teachers aide, part of my job was copying papers for the teachers, and one of them was a short story with several missing words that the kids were supposed to fill in. The story itself was about two kids who just met and wanted to be friends, so they made kites and tied wishes onto the tail. Both of them wished that the other would be their best friend. I thought it was such an adorable idea, I had to borrow it and write my own version. So, credit goes to whoever came up with the original concept for a children's activity paper. While we're disclaiming, I don't own anything related to Sailor Moon, either. This story was written purely for fun, and it alone belongs to me.

Rated PG

Summary: It's said that if you tie a secret wish onto the tail of a kite, and the wind takes it away, it will come true…

Secret Wishes
by Stormlight

"Guys! I just heard about the neatest thing!" Usagi bounced into the arcade on Friday afternoon, where Ami, Rei, and Makoto were already seated at one of the booths. They all glanced up curiously as she raced toward them, tripping over a stray chair on the way and almost sending a hapless waitress tumbling into a garbage bin. "Sorry!" she called cheerfully as she unceremoniously shoved Rei to the other side of the bench to make more room for herself.

"Hey, watch it!" Rei yelped as she slid completely off and onto the floor. "Seriously, Odango-baka, why don't you ever watch what you're doing? You're a walking disaster!" she growled, hauling herself back onto the bench.

"Yeah, whatever." Usagi waved her off distractedly. "Anyhow, listen. Mama was telling me about this activity she used to do when she was a kid. She said she used to make kites—"

"Oooo, kites. Nobody's ever thought of making those before," Rei cut in snidely, still miffed.

"I'm getting to that, if you'll just shut up and listen." Usagi glared at her, then continued, "Next, she'd write secret wishes on slips of paper, and tie them onto the tail of the kite and fly it. If the wind took the wishes from the kite's tail, they'd come true. She swears it works!"

"That's actually a cute idea," Makoto said, brightening.

"It does … kind of sound like fun," Rei admitted grudgingly, and even logical Ami seemed intrigued by the idea.

"I thought so, too!" Usagi's eyes sparkled as she giggled and whispered behind her hand, "Wouldn't it be fun to make our own kites and write wishes on them? Maybe you could wish for a new boyfriend, right, Mako-chan?"

Makoto blushed a little, but didn't bother to answer; her eyes had been drawn to somebody who had just walked up to their booth, standing behind Usagi. Ami shot her a concerned look, opened her mouth in warning. Before she could get a word out, a deep, patronizing voice cut in, "I think that's probably the silliest thing I've ever heard."

Usagi stiffened, hands clenching into fists on the table. Her cheeks flushed dull pink, even as she scowled. "Nobody asked you, Mamoru-baka," she huffed, not bothering to turn around.

Mamoru chuckled and leaned over the bench, resting his arms on the back of it as he tilted his head down for a better look at Usagi. This brought his face only inches from hers, and she turned her head to fix him with a withering glare, only to end up staring straight into deep, blue eyes. Her breath caught on a choked gasp. Her heart skipped strangely at their close proximity, and the blush crept higher into her cheeks. He didn't seem to notice as he continued, "I'm just pointing out the truth. It was probably just a story. There's no way you can make wishes come true just by writing them out and letting them hang off a kite. It's not logical."

"Of course it's not logical, idiot," she snapped. "They're wishes! And they do so come true! Mama told me it was how she met Papa. She wished to meet him, and the next day, she did!" Mamoru still looked skeptical, but Usagi held up a hand to silence him. "I don't care what you say. Nobody invited you in on this conversation, anyhow, so just leave!"

Mamoru quirked a smile. "Hmm. I bet the reason you want to try this so badly is so you can wish for a boyfriend yourself, right, Odango?" he teased. "You can't get one any other way."

Usagi's face flushed even darker, her eyes snapping blue fire, but before she could say anything, Motoki called from the counter, and Mamoru stood up and turned to leave. "Good luck, Odango," he tossed over his shoulder as he strolled away. "You'll definitely need it!"

"Drop dead!" she hollered, before turning around in her seat and slouching into it with a scowl. Three pairs of eyes fixed intently on her, making her squirm. "What?" she snapped.

"You like him, don't you?" Makoto asked bluntly. Her reply was a resounding thud as Usagi hit the floor, twitching slightly. Makoto blinked down at her as Rei and Ami exchanged amused glances. "Did I say something wrong?"

Sunday morning found the girls sitting around a picnic table in the park, scraps of colorful tissue paper blowing around them in what was turning into a very breezy day. It was a perfect day to fly kites.

"Somebody explain to me why it was such a good idea to try and make these things out here in the wind?" Rei growled as she struggled to hold her kite down and tie the tail onto it at the same time. "Whose stupid idea was this, anyhow?"

"Quit whining. You're starting to sound like me!" Usagi teased as she attached string onto her kite's rods. The rice paper she'd used was a beautiful royal purple with a pale scroll pattern. She had finished her kite the fastest, but she had to admit, it didn't look quite like she'd expected. The sticks holding the shape together were somewhat lopsided, and the form wasn't quite like a diamond so much as a crooked box, but she was sure it would still fly. It would still carry her wishes into the sky so the wind would take them and make them come true.

She fingered the four little slips of pink tissue paper in her pocket, each with a wish written on it. The exact same wish written on each piece. She didn't think it was cheating to wish for the same thing four times over. It was all she actually wanted, after all. Well … aside from getting a passing grade on her next English test, but that wasn't nearly as important as getting a certain black-haired, blue-eyed jerk to like her.

He doesn't even have to like me like me, she thought. That would have been great, but if Mamoru would be just a little nicer to her, maybe be her friend, she could be satisfied with only that. Being just his friend was far from what she really wanted, of course, but she didn't want to jinx herself by asking for too much, too soon. Even wishes had their limits, after all.

"Hey, Odango, are you just gonna sit there all day, or are you gonna fly your kite? This was your idea, remember." Rei gave her friend a sharp jab in the side with her elbow, and Usagi yelped and snapped out of her daydream, glaring briefly at the priestess.

"I'm coming! Don't get your panties in a twist," she grumbled. "Just turn around or something. I don't want you to see my wishes!"

"How come?" Makoto teased. "Don't you want us to see the name of the guy you wrote? I bet I can take three guesses and get it right on the first try. His name begins with 'Mamo' and ends with 'Ru'. Right?"

"H-huh?" Usagi squeaked, eyes wide. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Of course you don't." Ami's aqua eyes twinkled with mischief. "We'll just be over here flying our kites while you tie the name that isn't Mamoru-san's onto yours."

"Guys!" Usagi wailed as Ami skipped away, Rei and Makoto following with knowing little smirks. She sighed—Really, she should have known she'd never be able to hide her crush from those three—and took out her wishes to tie them carefully to the kite's tail. Then she joined her friends and let it go.

To her relief, the kite did fly, even if it spun rather crazily as it ascended into the sky. The wind took it immediately, pulling it higher as she let out more string, and she laughed with delight as it joined the other three kites already there.

The friends exclaimed and laughed as, one by one, their wishes tore loose and spun away. But Usagi was frowning slightly as she watched her own wishes, all of which continued to stubbornly cling to the tail of her kite.

Ami noticed, and gave her friend a cheerful smile. "It'll be fine," she encouraged. "They'll come off eventually."

"Yeah," Usagi agreed softly, her eyes still fixed on the slips of fluttering paper. Her excitement was fading slowly with each passing moment. And when the last scrap of paper flitted from Rei's tail and disappeared, her heart sank entirely. Now all of their wishes had been taken, except hers.

"Maybe you just tied them on too tight," Rei suggested in that gruff manner which meant she was concerned and trying hard not to show it. "Just bring it down and loosen the knots a little."

"I can't." Usagi hung her head. "It doesn't work that way. If I bring it down now, the wishes won't come true. Once the kite's up, it has to stay there until the wishes are taken. If they aren't … they won't be granted."

They exchanged uneasy glances; Usagi sounded on the verge of tears. This was really important to her, and they were slowly coming to realize just how important. Makoto brought down her kite and threw a comforting arm around Usagi's shoulders. "Maybe if you shake the string a little, it'll jar something loose?" she suggested. "Here, like this." She reached out to give the string a couple of sharp yanks.

The kite immediately spun out of control, hurling crazily to earth as they looked on in stricken silence. When it hit the hard ground with a loud crack, Usagi actually shuddered. Makoto gasped, her face paling with horror. "Usagi-chan, I'm so sorry! I was only trying to help! I didn't mean—"

"It's okay, Mako-chan," Usagi interrupted. "I know you didn't mean it." She swallowed as she walked over to her kite, picking up the pieces. The rods holding it together had broken in the middle, and it hung limply in her hands. The wishes were still firmly affixed to its tail. Her face darkened, and she abruptly tossed the kite into a nearby garbage can. Then, forcing a bright smile, she turned to her silent friends and added cheerfully, "It was a silly idea, anyhow. I just thought it would be fun to try. No big deal!"

"Right." Makoto gave a firm nod. "That's right, Usagi-chan! I mean, where would I get the money to buy my own restaurant, anyway? When would I have time to run it? A-and if I want a guy, I can meet Mr. Right on my own. I don't need divine intervention for that!"

"Yes," Ami added. "And I know the only way for me to afford a new computer is to save my money and buy it. It won't simply drop into my lap."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Rei, who blinked back owlishly. "What?" she asked defensively. "No way am I giving away my wishes—Ow!"

Makoto glared as she retracted her elbow.

"Um … that is … Yuuchirou is kind of an idiot, anyway. I can definitely do better than him," the priestess mumbled with a light blush, rubbing her bruised side.

"Ah-hah!" Usagi crowed, turning on Rei and pointing excitedly. "I knew it! You do have a thing for Yuuchirou! Admit it! What did you wish for? Did you wish for him to hold your hand and ask you on a date?"

"Usagi…" Rei growled warningly.

"I know! I bet you wished for him to take you into his arms and kiss the breath out of you!" Usagi continued, oblivious to her friend's growing temper. She threw her arms around herself and proceeded to make loud kissing noises at the air, accompanied by several hilarious faces. Then, hearing the low growl directly behind her, realizing belatedly that her life was in jeopardy, she squealed with laughter and took off running, Rei roaring at her heels.

Makoto and Ami grinned at each other, glad to see Usagi back to normal—Well, as normal as she ever got, anyway—and gathered the supplies and remaining kites before following their friends out of the park.

Unnoticed by any of them, a dark-haired young man approached the abandoned picnic table, noting a few remaining scraps of paper still caught in the splintered wood. Having been passing by, and subsequently overhearing much of their conversation, he now paused beside the garbage can and picked up the broken kite inside. Brow scrunching curiously, he wondered what had been so important to have put such a despondent expression on the little Odango's face. He unfastened one of her wishes from the tail and unfolded it, reading silently as blue eyes slowly grew wide with astonishment.

"Tsukino Usagi wishes for Chiba Mamoru to like her."

Clutching the crumpled paper tightly in his hand, Mamoru gazed after the fleeing girls as a small smile tugged at his lips. Sighing softly, he let his gaze travel upward, watching clouds scud across the brilliant sky.

He had the craziest urge to fly a kite.

Finis

There is actually an entire second part to this story, but while editing, I came to this spot and realized it was just the perfect place to end it. So, I did.

As for the other half, I have no intention of throwing it out. It will instead be getting put into its own story, as a sequel, which may or may not be posted directly after this one. We'll see.