1. c. Classroom
The dim lights of the classroom glowed above, casting a shadow over the dark-haired young man who was placing his final assignment back in his school bag. His face was expressionless as he glanced about the room. He had come to say his last goodbye to this classroom-this world-that had become his home for a brief time. He wouldn't admit to himself, however, that he really wasn't here, in this dreary classroom late in the evening to pick up his last belongings, so much as in hopes of seeing a certain teenager one last time. He thought perhaps he might catch her leaving detention.
She wasn't here, however; that much was certain. Her desk lay nearby, as empty as the others, except for a tiny doodle graffiti-ed on its corner. He smiled. Typical Odango.
He couldn't understand what made her childishness so attractive, and he almost cursed it, for it caused him so much disloyalty, and so much pain. Soon, however, he would be gone, and the pain, he hoped, would finally fade. He could not betray his Princess.
Resolving to bid one last goodbye to her drawing, he stepped forward.
'This is my last moment as Seiya Kou…'
As he paused at her desk, though, his smile distorted itself into a grimace.
Seiya had not been close enough to see before, but now it was apparent that the doodle was more than a mere manifestation of child-like antics; the little chibi (or, rather, Chiba) couple was a small symbol of Usagi's affection—for someone else.
Bile rose in Seiya's throat, but he swallowed it with his own memories of Usagi.
Usagi, shouting and red-faced with anger…
Usagi wailing as she dove for a softball…
Usagi serving him cake with her trademark smile…
For a moment, Seiya was suddenly aware of the ache in his chest, but he forced it away.
'Although it was short,' he murmured softly, 'it was fun.'
He pulled from his pocket the rose it held, and gently laid it over the rightmost of the two characters, leaving only the odangoed one unobscured from view. He imagined she was perhaps even holding it close to her, as if in gratitude for his friendship. But only for his friendship. The little chibi Usagi's eyes remained on her lover, even with him out of sight. Although Kou Seiya would have given anything in that moment for just one piece of Tsukino Usagi's heart, he knew she had none left to give. Whether or not he deserved it, Chiba Mamoru had taken it away long before he had disappeared from Usagi's life.
Did I fool you into thinking it was Mamoru at the beginning? I hope so...
I tried to think of some anime cannon episode in which Mamoru and Usagi are both in a classroom together, and I realized that there really isn't any scene like that (other than a fight in the R series, perhaps). So I decided to try something a bit different. I hope I didn't piss off too many people by bringing up the subject of Seiya, but this was really an exercise for me as a writer more than anything else; I hate Seiya as much as the next Usagi/Mamoru fan, so this was an attempt to be sympathetic toward an arch-enemy, in a sense...