OH YES I forgot to say THANK YOU to kyralih because it's basically because of her this fic exists and I didn't give up six times already. Thank you for putting up with my obsessive late-night messages on tumblr, answering my questions, listening to my babbling and fixing ALL MY TYPOS. Because Mamoru knows English but I, apparently, do not.
Someone requested I give the shitennou/reborn names here so:
Zachery - Zoicite
Nate - Nephrite
Kosuke - Kunzite
Jun - Jadeite
Everyone here is much more manga-based than anime-based, but sometimes the anime sneaks in. And it being '97 when the original season 1 took place in '92, the girls are 18/19 now. The boys are between 21 and 25, since they were all reborn at different times.
"Y-you," she stuttered.
Mamoru smiled, a sort of half-smile that Jun had never seen before. "Hi, Usagi."
Nate frowned, glancing at Kosuke, who seemed surprised - which for Kosuke was saying a lot. Nate turned back to the petite blonde, diminutive even beside Jun's shorter frame. Usagi? This was the girl Kosuke had found earlier, the one he was certain was the princess they'd been looking for?
"You're back," she said to Mamoru, her eyebrows knitting together and lips turning downward slightly. "How are you back?"
"How?" Mamoru repeated, sounding a little amused, "what do you mean ho-"
"They just - what? Let you come back to Japan? Just like that?" Usagi shook her head, twin streams of hair whipping back and forth violently to finally settle over one shoulder in a haphazard fashion.
Mamoru's eyes were light as he looked at her. "Yeah. It's not like I was deported, odango atama, I was studying abroad."
Usagi fumed a little, her hands fluttering into the folds of her skirt. "Well, they didn't check with me!"
His smile faded, just a little. "So, if it were up to you-"
"Permaban," she announced, crossing her arms and lifting her face up and away - eyes squeezed shut and nose in the air.
Nate just manged to hid a laugh in a throat-clear. Barely.
"In fact," she continued, "I'm calling immigration as soon as I get home because there has to be some mistake about letting you back without polling all the residents to see if it was okay."
"They did," Mamoru said. "Didn't you get yours?"
She opened one eye and in spite of herself a smile tugged at her mouth. "Never got it."
Mamoru lowered his head until he caught her eye and smiled at her, slowly. "No wonder they said everyone in Tokyo approved of my return. Because Tsukino Usagi's poll got lost in the mail."
Usagi looked at him warmly for a second, then her face suddenly hardened and she shook her head quickly and turned her eyes away from him, looking around the park. "Anyway, whatever. Welcome back, I guess."
Nate noticed Mamoru never once took his eyes off her. "Thanks."
Feeling oddly like he was intruding on something private, Nate spoke up to introduce himself and the others, since Mamoru obviously wasn't going to do it.
"Well, I guess they are letting anyone in the country these days. Me, for example, and Zachery," he pointed him out, "Even Jun, if you can believe it. Nice to meet you, I'm Nate."
"I'm Usagi," she smiled. "I'm sorry I'm really bad at English. I mean I'm taking classes at college but..."
"No worries, we're speaking Japanese aren't we?" Nate smiled. "And this is Kosuke."
She nodded. "I remember you, from the store. How's your girlfriend?"
Kosuke smiled. "I may not have been completely truthful with you, Miss Tsukino. I was merely looking for a gift for a woman I... admire. We aren't together."
Usagi said, "Perhaps expensive jewellery isn't a good gift to give to someone like that. It might be seen as overbearing."
Kosuke smiled at her, thoughtfully. "Do you think so?"
Usagi nodded, "I do."
"Thank you, Miss Tsukino, although you may have talked yourself out of a sale," Kosuke was still smiling politely, but Nate recognized the calculating look in his eyes as Kosuke considered the girl before him.
"So how do you two know each other?" Nate addressed his question to Mamoru, who, like Kosuke, was watching Usagi intensely. Mamoru seemed to be taking her in, every gesture, every smile, every blink and giggle as she talked with Zachery and Kosuke.
Mamoru smirked, still not looking away from Usagi. "She used to throw things at my head."
"No, really though," Nate said.
"Really." he said. "Test papers, shoes... I think once it was a plastic water bottle."
"Empty plastic water bottle," Usagi said. She had taken a sudden interest in the conversation and seemed to be annoyed with where it was going. "And that was an accident."
"Of course."
"And did you tell him, how I know you?" She narrowed her eyes at him and the corners of her lips turned down ever-so-slightly. Usagi turned to Nate and tossed one long pigtail behind her shoulder defiantly. "He used to tease me! About my grades, my hair, my height, my eating habits..."
"But you are so cute when you are mad," he said in a low voice, abruptly interrupting her diatribe.
She froze again, like a deer in headlights - or a rabbit would be more apropos given her name, Nate thought. For a second her lips tugged downwards again and then her whole demeanor changed and she glared up at Mamoru. "Always teasing me! Jeeze, I wish you had stayed in America," she said. "Honestly."
She seemed to wait for a retort, but he had none so she quickly spun on her heel and turned toward Jun.
"You're friends with him?" she said abruptly.
Jun, who'd been distracted the entire time, blinked and said, "Huh? Oh. Yeah. Good friends."
She nodded, shrugged slightly. "Well, that's a deal-breaker, sorry. Thanks for the food, though!" She sounded a little breathless and her smile looked forced all of a sudden.
Usagi turned to Kosuke, Nate and Zachery. "Nice to meet you. Hope you enjoy Japan." She carefully avoided glancing in Mamoru's direction.
With a wave behind her, she said her goodbyes and something about meeting friends, and walked off down the path, anxious to get away.
Nate glanced at Kosuke, but Kosuke was staring at Mamoru, whose face was completely blank as he watched Usagi walk away.
"OH!" Suddenly Usagi was running back to them full-speed, barely catching herself from falling on her face in front of Jun. "I almost forgot! My takoyaki!" She took her plate from him. "'Bye!"
This time she ran.
They didn't have time to regroup, or even glance at each other before another figure stomped up to them with all the fury of a firestorm.
"Look out," Jun said. "She's been watching this whole time." But he didn't have time to finish his sentence before Rei Hino was right in front of them.
"So it's true, the prodigal son has returned," Rei said, frowning. Her dark eyes surveyed the group, giving nothing away. "And not alone."
"It's been a long time," Mamoru said pleasantly, "Nice to see you, Rei."
"Likewise," she said, with dripping politeness, as her eyes glittered at him warningly.
"So, what are you doing back?" Rei asked. "All of a sudden, in the middle of the school year? Things not going well in America? You certainly made a lot of new friends."
"Wow, and I thought you were blunt," Zachery whispered to Nate. Nate elbowed him.
Mamoru shrugged slightly. "I just missed Japan, I guess."
"Japan doesn't want you," Rei said firmly.
"Yet another person who thinks they can speak for the entire country," Kosuke cut in, a slight edge to his voice, "at least Usagi was cute about it."
"What'd you talk about with her anyway?" Rei said, her hands rising to curl at her waist, nails digging into the red lace of her shirt. Her eyes scanned the group, letting them know she expected an answer, from anyone.
"This and that," Zachery finally said, figuring he was the least likely to offend after Kosuke's outburst and Rei's obvious dislike of Mamoru. "She's very sweet. We meant no harm to your friend."
Rei shook her head. "Leave her alone." Her eyes darted to Mamoru's and held his gaze.
"You certainly seem concerned about your friend," Kosuke said. "She's an adult and is certainly free to chat with anyone she likes in a public park." His eyes narrowed as he regarded Rei. "Why are you so protective of her? Why is she so special?"
Rei took a deep, angry breath but before she could open her mouth to retort Mamoru spoke up.
"She's just looking out for her friend," he snapped, turning cold blue eyes to Kosuke, who blinked in surprise. Mamoru's tone returned to normal and he explained. "Rei has a bit of a temper, especially when it comes to Usagi- isn't that right?" He smiled at her and she glared in return. "She's right to worry about her friend running from a group of five strange men in the park, anyway. I'm the only one Rei knows and even then not very well."
Kosuke was frowning deeply and Mamoru didn't seem concerned. "Really, there's no reason to think Rei's reaction is strange if you know her."
Rei was looking at Mamoru suspiciously. "Just - stay away from Usagi," she said, nonplussed.
Mamoru lips twisted up in a sardonic smile, "I'll do my absolute best."
It was as if a string was raised high and taught between them, Nate thought. The tension was palatable. Someone needed to do something, but none of them dared approach the woman who stood so dangerous in front of their prince like she'd burn him alive if she had half the chance.
Then, suddenly, Jun walked up and tapped Rei on the shoulder.
She whirled and looked at him with unabashed, open-mouthed shock.
He held a paper plate out to her, and blinked innocently. "Takoyaki?"
That afternoon found the girls at Rei's shrine, knotted together in an anxious group.
"So, all four of them," Ami confirmed, her fingers drumming on the binding of her book.
"Back in black," Minako said dramatically. At the others' confused looks, she blinked and glanced at Artemis, "Was that not the expression?"
"Well, as it stands," Rei said, "it seems they've found Mamoru. Or maybe he found them."
"I don't care, honestly, about that heartwarming story," Makoto said, "more concerning is what they want with Usagi."
"Do you think they know?" Ami whispered, almost not daring to say it out loud.
Minako's face crumbled for a second, her hands curled into the fabric of her dress. "How could they possibly have found her?"
"It's not like Usagi doesn't put out a very obvious psychic signature," Rei said. "If you know what you are looking for."
"And they would," Ami added.
"So back to what I asked originally," Makoto said, "why do they want Usagi?"
"You heard it yourself last night," Minako said, her face hard and angry. "They want the one who can wield the ginzuishou against the Dark Kingdom. They want Princess Serenity."
"No matter, Minako," Rei put her hand on Minako's arm, calming her. "They can't have her."
"I don't know," Jun said as he and Kosuke stepped onto the elevator in Mamoru's building. "I feel like Mamoru's already pissed at us, don't you?"
"Don't worry," Kosuke said, pulling at his shirt sleeve nonchalantly. "He'll get over it. He always does."
Jun made a face. "I think we should just come out with everything. It's not like we necessarily want anything bad to happen to Seren- I mean, Usagi. Whatever the fuck we are calling her now."
"Just trust me," Kosuke said. "For now, it's best we let things happen naturally."
"Naturally my ass," Jun said. "Like I don't know that you are pulling all of our strings from your penthouse overlooking Tokyo bay. It's fucking creepy, man."
"Hey, am I letting you live with me rent-free in that penthouse overlooking Tokyo bay or aren't I?" Kosuke said, as the elevator opened and they walked out.
"If you keep holding that over my head, I'm moving out," Jun muttered.
"If only," Kosuke said, before knocking on Mamoru's door.
Nate answered. "Yo. He's studying. Like always when he wants to avoid my constant harassment."
"And what have you been harassing him about?" Kosuke said, stepping through the door and taking off his shoes as he eyed Mamoru, who was once again kneeling at the coffee table, books spread out in front of him.
"This and that," Nate said.
"It's been a living hell," Mamoru spoke up, "I'm kicking him out tomorrow. And by kicking him out, I don't mean: 'making him move'. I mean: 'kicking him out of the window. On to the street.'"
Nate sighed dramatically. "See what I put up with?" Then he grinned. "I've been teasing him about that girl, Usagi."
Kosuke gave Nate a dark look. "Have you now?"
"He li-ikes her," Nate said, opening a plastic bottle of green tea and offering one to Kosuke and Jun.
"So this is your insight into the matter?" Kosuke said, raising an eyebrow.
"That, and he wants to make out with her face and touch all on her hair and probably do other things too - buuuut that's usually about when he looks like he wants to punch me so I leave him alone for a while."
"Your self-preservation is matched only by your maturity, Nate," Mamoru called from his place at the coffee table.
"He hasn't denied any of it, though," Nate grinned around the tea bottle as he took another sip.
"Well, it's unsurprising," Kosuke said, taking the tea. "She's the princess after all."
Mamoru's eyes narrowed. "Tsukino Usagi is just a girl from my hometown, Kosuke," he said. "She's not who you think she is."
Kosuke smirked a little, and walked over to stand beside Mamoru, looking out the window. "Sure, sure, I can understand the hesitation to make the connection. After all, she's just a college student parasite single," Kosuke said, "Not even that smart or pretty - and she only got her job because she's friends with the owner's daughter."
He glanced at Mamoru, who hadn't looked up from his book. "Jun even said she's even a boring date. 'Vapid', was that the exact word you used, Jun?"
Jun started shaking his head and raising his hands, "Don't bring me into this-" but Kosuke interrupted him.
"I mean, hell, it was different when she was heir to a kingdom but now? Not even worth a second look in this lifetime."
Mamoru was silent, still staring at his book. His fingers were gripping the pencil like he might break it, but he did not respond to Kosuke's taunts.
"Not to mention, she doesn't seem to care much for you anyway," Kosuke mused, seemingly half to himself, as he peered out the window at the late afternoon shadows. "I mean, to put it lightly. Who would've thought we'd live to see Serenity dislike you?"
"Well, no matter about Serenity's shortcomings in this lifetime," Kosuke said finally, turning from the window. "It's Serenity's power that matters, really."
"Stay away from her," Mamoru said, suddenly, almost making Kosuke jump. Of all the words in his carefully planned speech, it was not this part he expected Mamoru to respond to.
Mamoru stood and faced Kosuke, his hands in fists. "Stop calling her 'Serenity', she's Usagi! She's Usagi and she's a person, not a vessel for a dead princess and the silver crystal you are obsessed with, just stop! Leave her alone and out of your plans! She isn't part of this!"
Kosuke responded smoothly, "How are you to stop us, with you two not even on speaking terms?"
Mamoru stared at Kosuke in fury for a few seconds while his jaw worked and then he threw the pencil down onto the table where it broke in half. "Don't think I don't know exactly what you are doing, you bastard," he said. Then he turned around and stormed out of the apartment.
Kosuke stared at the slammed door with an almost satisfied expression. "Welcome back, Endymion," he murmured.
"You are kind of a bastard," Nate said.
"Maybe," Kosuke said, softly. "But in the end we have to put it right. And if someone's soul must be tarnished in doing so, it may as well be ours."
"Dirty as they are already," Jun said, sadly.
Usagi was just stifling a yawn with her hand when the chime of the Osa-P jewellery store door announced a customer and she hurried to bow and call out a welcome. But when she looked up she blinked in surprise, as Mamoru strode through the doors and walked right up to her. He paused for a moment, seemingly taken aback by her appearance in the charcoal suit jacket and soft white sweater.
"You look - grown up," he finally said.
"Hello, honored customer," Usagi said, with a rather impressive grasp of formal speech, Mamoru thought. "Please look around and let me know if you need anything." She smiled without meeting his eyes.
"Usagi," he said, resting his fingers lightly on the glass case between them, "I came to say I'm sorry. Yesterday you seemed so upset to see me. And it occurred to me that I should apologize for teasing you so much back then, it obviously upset you a lot and, well. We are both older now and perhaps we should start over, try to be friends again."
Usagi had to stop herself from outwardly rolling her eyes at what was clearly a practiced speech that so drastically missed the mark it was almost as if he was deliberately being obtuse. But then she looked at him, the way his lips lifted in that small smile and the way his hair still fell into his dark blue eyes, which looked at her almost ... hopefully. The tightness in Usagi's chest and burning behind her eyes was so familiar it hurt.
"You think I'm upset because of a silly nickname?" Usagi said, keeping her voice down but still somehow speaking with full intensity. Mamoru felt his breath catch when he noticed her eyes were unusually bright, as if with unshed tears.
"Then wh-"
"You left, Mamoru!" she said, her voice was shaking but she was still whispering - although as far as Mamoru could tell they were the only ones in the store. For a second Mamoru wondered if she'd trip some sort of silent alarm, just to get him to leave her alone - she was so agitated.
"You just disappeared on me barely even saying goodbye and then," she paused to swipe at her eyes in annoyance, "you didn't come back after a year. Or a year and a half, or even two years. Everyone said you'd decided to live there and that's fine, that's your choice but - you had no idea how much I missed you."
"Usagi," he reached out, then froze, and curled his fingers back into a fist, lowered his hand to his side. "I'm so sorry."
"You couldn't know," she said, not looking at him. "How could you know? How I felt about you. You had beautiful women falling all over you." She smirked to herself. "But you never even noticed them, and I was just some stupid kid."
Usagi realized she hadn't heard Mamoru breathe in a while and it hit her all at once what she basically admitted to him.
She blinked rapidly, and curled her hands away from his. "I request the customer to please consider a purchase, or find the door in that direction please," she said, speaking again in a normal volume, through shaky lips.
"Usagi-" his voice was strangled.
She shook her head.
"Fine," Mamoru pulled out his wallet and placed a ten thousand yen bill on the glass. "Pick something, anything, ring it up and wrap it. Just talk to me. Please, Usagi."
She blinked at the money without really seeing it.
"We - have watches," she said, automatically, walking slowly toward the back corner of the store. He followed. She paused for a moment looking at the display with a finger to her chin. "Hmmm, I think this one suits you," she reached in and pulled out a smallish silver men's wristwatch and held it up for him to see. "What do you think?" For a second she seemed more cheerful, as she held the box out against his shirt, her head tilted to the side as she considered.
He smiled, "I like it."
"You don't really have to buy something you know," Usagi said, lowering the box again sheepishly.
"I want to," Mamoru said.
Usagi was still flush and a little shy as she nodded and walked swiftly to the register, ringing up the purchase and counting Mamoru's scant change from the expensive purchase. He just watched her: brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, lips moving slightly as she counted out change and documented the purchase in the record book, fingers deftly working the keys on the register. She bit her lip slightly when she set the watch to the correct time, matching it to the pearl white one on her own wrist.
"Wait," Mamoru said, suddenly. "Don't wrap it. I want to wear it out."
Flustered, Usagi looked up like she realized he'd been watching her, and her cheeks colored slightly. "Um, okay." Her brows knitted as she fumbled with the plastic ring holding the watch in place. Finally it fell out into her palm. Then she took a deep breath and looked up.
"Okay," she held it out, "give me your hand." Usagi couldn't help breaking into a smile as he offered his wrist with a boyish half-grin.
Usagi felt her heart twist at how handsome Mamoru still was, after two years. She was supposed to hate him, have forgotten him, not have him come into her part-time job and apologize to her and ask to be friends.
But if they fell into their old ways, gentle teasing and what couldn't be flirting, then maybe it would be comfortable, maybe she could handle it.
She opened the clasp and wound the band around his wrist, resting the pads of her fingers against his pulse- just for a second. Usagi convinced herself she imagined the slight jump in his skin, the response to her touch.
Usagi hated that his skin was so warm. Her treacherous fingers took their time with the clasp of the watch, brushing against his wrist. Even such small contact was addicting and she didn't want to let him go. Under the guise of double checking that it was set to the correct time, she gently turned his hand toward her and pulled the watch face around.
Usagi slid her thumb down the back of his hand, and he suddenly twisted his hand to catch hers. He pushed his thumb into her palm and ran his fingers gently over her knuckles. She raised her eyes to his, realizing too late that her lips were parted and her face was flushed and she was sure - sure - that she could be read like an open book.
Mamoru's eyes were dark, looking at her intensely. He tugged slightly on her hand and she felt the fingertips of his other hand brushing against the side of her face. "Usagi," he barely whispered. She felt his breath on her cheek and realized suddenly how close they had gotten to each other, even over the barrier of the glass counter.
Mamoru was still caressing the side of her face ever-so-slightly, looking at her with those dark, half-lidded eyes, and Usagi was struggling to remember how to speak because she had to say something. For starters, she was pretty sure this sort of behavior at work was frowned upon, if not outright forbidden right in the employee handbook. And there were security cameras everywhere for heaven's sake.
The chime of the door was like a firework and Usagi shot back like a rocket, calling out "welcome customer!" and bowing, suddenly a good three feet from where she had been standing not moments before.
Two middle-aged women greeted her back, and fussed up to her, asking about prices and sales and Usagi was quick to answer them, pushing a wayward strand of blonde hair back behind her ear.
"Thank you for your purchase," she called to Mamoru, and smiled. He gave her a small, tentative smile back and nodded his head quickly. "I'll see you around," she added, before turning back to her current customers.
Mamoru exited the store and leaned back against the side of the building. He groaned, pushing his hair back from his face and hitting his head slightly against the wall. "Goddammit."
The moonlight filtered into Usagi's room late that night, as the young woman tossed and turned in her bed, her face locked in a grimace and hands in fists. Luna shifted from where she was curled at Usagi's feet and padded over to her charge's face, meowing loudly.
"NO!" Usagi screamed, blue eyes flying open and one hand pressed to her chest as she gasped for air.
Luna pushed her head into Usagi's shoulder comfortingly, as the girl pulled her legs into her chest and lowered her head to her knees, choking on the sobs that had started in her sleep.
Fumbling for her cell phone, Usagi squinted at the crystal display that read: 12:01 and bit her lip. Wiping tears and some errant strands of blonde hair from her flushed face she frantically dialed and pressed the phone to her ear.
In a street-level apartment across the neighborhood, an ornate princess phone rang and a manicured hand snaked out from under piles of pink blankets and throw pillows to answer.
"Yeah?"
"Usagi?" Minako said up, pushing her blankets and a disgruntled Artemis to the floor, "I'm fine, I'm fine! Are you okay? What happened? Are you crying?"
"Calm down, Usagi -"
Minako sighed and shut her eyes, pulled the phone down and held it her chest for a moment then lifted it back to her ear. "I'm alive, Usagi. I'm fine, sweetheart. Usagi, darling, I'm perfectly fine."
Artemis jumped up and looked at Minako with sad eyes. 'Again?' he mouthed to her.
'Again,' she mouthed back. "It's okay, Usagi. Go back to sleep."
"I'm alive. It was only a dream."
"Everything will be just fine."
I promise.
A few days later, the Crown Fruits Parlor was fairly empty, just a few couples and students studying over their coffees or sodas, so Mamoru was surprised when someone took the seat right next to him at the counter and pushed his arm a little bit. That is, until he turned and saw a familiar odango hairstyle and bright blue eyes.
"Hey, I hear you speak English now," Usagi said, not bothering with greetings. She had obviously just come from classes, she was carrying a book bag and was dressed causally.
"That's the rumor, is it?"
"So speak some English. I want to hear it." She leaned her cheek on her hand and looked up at him expectantly.
"What do you want me to say?" Mamoru said. "You have to give me something to say."
Usagi wrinkled her nose. "Um... tell me about America. What was it like, what you did there, I don't know, Mamoru, I wouldn't be able to understand you anyway." Usagi pulled her knees up on the stool and raised her eyebrows at him.
Mamoru brushed his fingers through her bangs, and she blinked, slowly, savoring the feeling of his touch.
He spoke then, one sentence, and just as she predicted the words were familiar from class but arranged in a way she couldn't follow. She understood it started with "I" and maybe ended with "everyday" but everything else too quick, too garbled, too foreign for her to grasp.
Usagi frowned, trying to commit the words to memory to look up later.
"I didn't understand," she said.
He smiled. "I know. Study more, odango atama." Mamoru pressed his finger to her nose. She went cross-eyed noticing he was wearing the watch he'd bought from her at Osa-P.
Just then Usagi felt a hand on her arm and she turned to stare in Makoto's moss green eyes. "Hi, Usagi," Makoto said. "Can I go somewhere to talk to you?" The taller girl stood in front of Usagi's stool, pulling the blonde with her hands. "Now?" She sounded irritated, agitated, her cheeks were red and her eyes bright.
"Yes, sure, Mako-chan," Usagi jumped down and looked at her friend in concern, "what's wrong? Are you upset?"
"Angry," Makoto answered, glaring at Mamoru meaningfully.
And then there was the sound of breaking glass and panic.
The youma charged the crowd, people cried out and fainted as it ate their fear, and then it turned toward the three people at the counter, eyes red and burning and hungry and evil.
Usagi forgot how to even scream.
Suddenly, she was pressed against Mamoru's chest and he shouted at Makoto, "You go! I've got her! Just go!"
Makoto apparently didn't feel there was time to argue, and Usagi watched in terror as her friend disappeared into the smoke.
"MAKO-CHAN!"
And suddenly Usagi was pressed against the wall, with Mamoru's arms on either side of her and only his eyes, bright and clear and constant and telling her silently to stay calm: that everything was going to be okay.
Suddenly the smoke cleared and Usagi gasped, and Mamoru turned to see Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus fighting the monster, announcing themselves and their attacks.
It all happened in slow motion to Usagi's eyes. Sailor Venus turning slowly, her beautiful blonde hair flowing out behind her, her almost-sad blue eyes meeting Usagi's for an instant - and then the youma hit her full-on with a blue beam and sent her falling to the ground.
And Usagi screamed.
"V-CHAN!"
And screamed.
"V-CHAN! NO!"
And Mamoru's hand was pressed against her forehead, and his other arm around her waist, desperately holding her back.
Her forehead burned hotter and hotter under Mamoru's hand but he held it there still, not even cringing even though Usagi was sure she had to be burning him.
She felt something well-up inside her, boiling and churning and bursting and glowing and as Jupiter fought the youma to no avail.
"Usagi," Mamoru whispered in her ear, "Try to control it. Try to wield it. Don't let it overtake you."
Usagi raised her hand and opened her lips and murmured a phrase she had never heard before, "Moon... prism... power-"
A beam of light arched from her hand the youma vaporized in an instant.
"V-chan..." Usagi murmured, her eyes fluttering closed as she fell into Mamoru's arms.
I had that dream again. That dream where you died. Minako...
Jupiter and Venus came running up to Mamoru, who removed his hand from Usagi's forehead to reveal a crescent moon symbol, pulsing and shining bright - then fading back away as she remained unconscious in his arms - a normal college student once more.
author's notes: So I thought I'd give a little background about everyone's lives in this 'verse, although some may or may not come up in this story.
Skip if you don't care, read if you want in on this headcanon (well, I guess this is a fic so it's ALL headcanon ha ha):
Zachery and Nate got jobs teaching English just to pay the bills and stay in the country legally (I feel like Zachery speaks something like 5 languages including Russian, French and Japanese). Mamoru transferred back to a medical school in Japan but he's only 22 and not interning yet, Kosuke is very rich thanks to being reborn into one of Tokyo's more influential families - although his parents are never in the country. The oldest of the group at 25, he works on his doctorate in history at Tokyo University- when he feels like it. Jun is still freeloading off Kosuke.
I made a mention of Ami being in medical school which was actually a slip-up - at 18 she should still be in undergrad - but then again, it's AMI. She's probably going to university, double majoring in bio-chem and linguistics and also taking classes at a local medical school and then fighting evil by moonlight. Minako and Usagi are taking classes at the local community college. Makoto is working a few part-time jobs and thinking of saving up for culinary school, and Rei is going to the college attached to T.A Academy (in this 'verse there is one, if there wasn't in the anime/manga. heh.)