To See Without Eyes: Chapter 4

Written by Elen-Di

Disclaimer: See previous three chapters… I bet you law-suit-happy-people are getting bored by now. :-P

Hello again, people! In this chapter things begin to get a little more interesting… we have the addition of characters and a whole lot of fun stuff comes along with them. So be prepared.

Ahhh I almost forgot! The dedication! Yes, this chapter is dedicated to another awesome writer out there, Ai No Senshi. I love her stories, they are awesome. I definitely recommend them, and she has a lot of 'em. She is a great inspiration.

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"Mom, c'mon! It's been a whole week, and I still have yet to be out of this blasted room!"

Usagi's mother sighed. "Usagi, if I had been positive you were well, I would have let you out of here sooner. As it was, it seemed like the rest did you some good. And I don't think I'm hearing you complaining that you want to go back to school…?"

Usagi groaned. "Erm, Mother? Anything would be nicer than being bored out of my mind, staring at the ceiling for 24 hours a day. Anything includes school."

"Maybe tomorrow, then," her mother consented.

Usagi lay back on her pillow, and stared at the aforementioned ceiling. Closing her eyes, she dozed off, dreaming of crescent moons and bunny rabbits.

--

The sky was a bright blue, and the absence of clouds made Usagi extremely cheerful, despite the early hour. Her mother had deemed her well enough to come to school, and for once, Usagi was grateful. She'd been stuck in her room too long. After Mamoru had dropped her off at her house, she'd explained to her parents that she'd been at Naru's, and then went to bed. When she awoke, however, it was a burning fever and tearing cough. Probably from her icy dip in the bay, Usagi had thought ruefully. She'd been sick for nearly a week, but by Thursday she'd felt reasonably well. Well enough to return to school, as she was now thoroughly sick of her room.

Usagi skipped the remaining way to school, savoring the fresh air and leisurely pace she was allowed, since she wasn't late this time. She made it to her homeroom with five or so minutes to spare. In those spare few minutes, she was ready to chat with Naru (she'd been chat-deprived all week). She was waylaid, however, by a newcomer. Not necessarily waylaid, as it was Usagi who made the decision to stop. Sitting at one of the desks in the far corner sat a slender girl with dark blue hair. She was new, obviously, because Usagi had never seen her before. She wasn't talking to anyone, just sitting with her hands on her lap and her bag next to her on the floor.

Usagi furrowed a brow. It pained her to see someone sitting by themselves, but she really wanted to talk to Naru. She shrugged. She'd talk to Naru later- she knew Naru would want to talk to her about their "sleepover."

"Hey, what's your name?"

Ami turned her head slightly to see a grinning blonde standing in front of her. She shook her head, dazed. "What?"

"What's your name?" Usagi repeated. The girl looked surprised that Usagi was talking to her.

"Mizuno... Mizuno Ami."

"Charmed," chirped Usagi. "My name's Tsukino Usagi. Did you just move here, or something?"

Ami stared at her for a second before replying. "Yah, my mom- she's a doctor- just got a job here at the local hospital."

"Cool," said Usagi. She looked as if she genuinely thought so, Ami mused. "Would you like to eat lunch with my friend Naru and me today?"

"Sure," Ami replied, a small smile gracing her lips. Usagi smiled back. Looks like I've got a new friend, she thought happily.

I can't believe I've made a new friend, thought Ami.

--

"Hey Mamoru! Where ya going so fast?"

Mamoru swiveled around at the sound of the voice. His disbelief showed in his face and tone of voice. "Zoicite!"

His friend laughed good-naturedly. "Yup, it's me. I haven't seen you in ages!" He shook his friend's hand amicably.

Mamoru grinned. "You got that right. I thought you'd disappeared off the face of the Earth!"

The two friends walked together, catching up on all they'd missed. As a sophomore in high school, Zoicite and the three others in their circle had left Japan as exchange students for a year. In that time Mamoru had lost contact with them, but it hadn't been so terrible losing his friends to the world because he had met Usagi the fall of that year – she had been in eighth grade, and he had been a sophomore. You never thought of that as a good thing before now, his brain accused him.

Let it be, his heart advised. Your meeting Usagi was the best thing that ever happened to you.

His brain gave the mental equivalent of a snort, still in denial. Mamoru ignored his organs and focused on the joy welling up inside that meant the return of his friends. Today was turning out to be an especially good day after all.

--

After school Usagi steered Ami to the Crown Parlor/Arcade. Naru had begged off, saying she had a commitment after school. She'd promised to call Usagi later, though, to talk about "their sleepover." Usagi had turned to Ami and asked if she'd ever been to an arcade. To Usagi's astonishment, Ami had not. Ami was promptly being dragged by Usagi towards Crown. Ami was astonished at Usagi's strength, for such a slender person. When she'd told Usagi this, she'd laughed and said, "It's my drive for video games. I haven't been here in a week!"

As Usagi dragged Ami to the Sailor V game, Motoki came up to them. "Hey Usagi, who's your new friend?" He smiled kindly at Ami, who blushed.

"This is Ami," Usagi informed him. "She just moved into town, so I decided she HAD to see Crown Parlor/Arcade. Hey! Maybe we'll have milkshakes after this, or something." She grinned widely.

Motoki laughed. "Have fun, girls. I'm Motoki, by the way," he said to Ami. "It was nice meeting you!"

He walked off, leaving a blushing Ami in his wake. Usagi smiled at her, then pushed her in front of the game. She began explaining the controls when two people walked in: Mamoru and a handsome guy Usagi didn't know. She tried ignoring them, but Mamoru caught her eye.

"Why if it isn't Mamoru-baka," she said to him.

"Well, if it isn't Odango-Atama," he returned, grinning impishly at her. Usagi scowled at him.

"When are you going to stop making fun of my hair?" she asked petulantly.

"When you stop calling me 'baka'," he replied, winking at her then relishing the bright red that flooded her cheeks. He liked this sort of arguing better than before. It wasn't angry, it was almost… flirting? Definitely not, he decided quickly. A little too quickly for the other side of his brain to agree, but Mamoru kicked those thoughts away.

"Zoicite, may I introduce Odango-Atama," he said with a flourish.

"Mamoru, I have a name, you know!" Usagi glared at him.

"Sorry, Zoicite, may I introduce Usagi," he corrected himself. Zoicite grinned at the blushing and feisty teen.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," he said gallantly. Then he saw Ami, coming to stand behind Usagi.

Mamoru saw Usagi's friend coming behind her. "Usagi, won't you introduce your friend to us?"

Usagi grinned at Ami. "Ami, this is Mamoru-baka and his friend Zoicite. Guys, this is Mizuno Ami, a new friend of mine."

Mamoru shook her hand, but then he noticed Zoicite's expression. At the same time, Usagi saw the look Ami was giving Zoicite.

Almost as if they were in a trance, Ami and Zoicite shook hands. Their eyes did not look away from the others'. It was as if it was only them in the room, because they weren't paying any attention whatsoever to Usagi or Mamoru.

Usagi caught Mamoru's eye and grinned covertly behind a hand. "Ah ok then, Ami, we'll be right back. Talk to Zoicite for a few minutes."

Grinning, she grabbed Mamoru's hand and dashed off, dragging him with her.

When they reached the other half of the building, the "Parlor" part, Mamoru stopped her. "And what exactly, was our escape part of?" he asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"Oh come on, Mamoru, how could you not have seen it! He was SO giving her the googley eyes! And she was returning them!"

"Meaning what, Usagi?"

"Meaning…" she waved her hands, trying to make him get it. His quizzical expression did not change. "Meaning," she sighed, "they like each other."

Mamoru groaned. "What nonsense are you spouting now? They barely met each other!"

Usagi scoffed at him. "Maybe they just met each other, but just wait! Once they get to know each other, they'll so fall in love. I can tell! They are SO attracted to each other!"

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure Goddess of Love. When that happens I'll go on a date with you."

Usagi tried to ignore her rapidly thumping heart. "Oh yeah? Is that so, baka?"

"Yah, that's right," he said.

"Fine."

"What?"

"I'll take your bet," said Usagi. "If they end up falling for each other, I'll go out on a date with you." When he looked at her in a weird way, she said hurriedly, "Just to prove to you I'm right!"

Mamoru rolled his eyes again- but he couldn't help remembering the way she'd kissed him on the cheek almost –had it been that long? – a week ago. He almost blushed, but he stopped the heat from coming to his cheeks.

"Ok, so while we're here, why don't we get something to eat?"

"You're ON!" Usagi almost shrieked with glee. "Waiter! I'll have a double cheeseburger, large fries, a large chocolate milkshake, and a slice of that double-decker triple-fudge cake!"

Mamoru groaned. He knew he'd be paying.

--

"Ok, Usagi, you've got a lot of explaining to do," said Naru over the phone.

Usagi grimaced. Naru was her best friend, but she didn't relish the thought of telling her she'd spent the night at a boy's apartment… especially when the guy was Mamoru. And something else told her she wanted to keep this to herself right now. Usagi didn't rightly know why she didn't want to tell Naru about Mamoru, she just… didn't. It was a feeling Usagi couldn't explain, a feeling about Mamoru. "Erm, ok…" she said trying to stall for time, "what exactly do I have to explain?"

Naru sighed. "Well, you can begin by telling me where you were exactly on the night in question."

"Umm… I was at another friend's house."

"Not good enough, Usagi."

"Umm… my dad would kill me if he knew?"

"And that's because…"

"Because…" Usagi was about to say "cause it was a boy's house," but she decided against it last second. "Because… the girl I spent the night with didn't have parents at home, but she really needed me to stay with her. You see," she continued, making up the story as she went, "this girl came to me, all upset and stuff because her boyfriend just broke up with her and she was sobbing helplessly and all that. But her parents weren't home, so I told her I couldn't really come over. But she begged and begged me and finally I agreed to, but I had to figure out some way to make sure my parents didn't find out. So I called you, and asked if we could have our 'sleepover,' cause I figured calming this girl down would take a LONG time."

Usagi finished her story, heart thudding, praying Naru would believe her. Finally she heard Naru's drawn out sigh. "That is something only you would do, Usagi," she sighed. "All right, fair enough. But what's the girl's name? Does she go to our school?"

Usagi gulped, but quietly enough so Naru wouldn't hear it. "Umm… I don't think so. She said her name was Reiko, but I'm guessing – it was hard to understand her 'cause she was hiccupping so badly."

Usagi prayed Naru wouldn't ask anymore. She was relieved when Naru said, "All right. You owe me ice cream, though! Tomorrow, k? It's Sunday, we're free all day."

"Well… all right then. But after mass – you know how my mom gets about that sometimes."

Naru giggled. "Better you than me. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye." Usagi hung up. She stared at the wall, not really seeing it. She had just made up some ridiculous story – lying about something to Naru for the first time in her relationship. She both regretted it and didn't regret it. She wanted to be honest with her best friend, but she really wanted to keep Mamoru to herself for right now… and she didn't know why. Was she embarrassed? About the accidental kiss they'd shared? Just thinking about it brought color to her face. Did she like him? No. She couldn't, they argued too much… But then, what was it about him that drove her insane and made her heart speed up giddily by just thinking about or looking at him?

--

A few days later, Usagi was listening with severe satisfaction to Ami describe her latest encounter with Zoicite. "He's soooo sweet," she was saying giddily. "We're so alike! We both want to be doctors, he's read almost as many books as I have, and…"

Usagi listened, grinning happily. "So, do you like him?" she asked during a lull in Ami's chatter. She could almost feel Ami blush on the other end of the line.

"No!" she said quickly. "I think we're just friends right now… good ones, I hope, but we'll see. Besides, I don't have time to like people like that. We're just good friends, that's all…"

Usagi crossed her eyes in frustration. "Well, ok then. Yes, we'll see, won't we… All right then. Goodnight Ami, and oh! Don't forget to help me cram for that bloody math test during lunch! K, bye."

Usagi hung up, smiling a little. Ami was quiet and shy (a virtual bookworm!) most of the time, but from the two times Usagi had seen them together, Zoicite brought out a more… outgoing girl in Ami. Usagi had brought Ami to the arcade over the weekend, and had been surprised to see Mamoru there, but not surprised to see Zoicite. She and Mamoru had gone off to the Parlor section while leaving Zoicite and Ami in the arcade. Surprisingly, she and Mamoru weren't fighting as much either- although Mamoru did complain about the bill from food Usagi ordered (he always paid for her). Still, she'd offered to pay for it herself and he said "Nah… I might as well do something nice for you once in a while," which had surprised her.

Aah, thought Usagi sleepily. Who knows about that crazy baka… She fell asleep, and dreamed of Mamoru, because her consciousness knew her heart better than anything else.

The next day, Usagi woke up early, but she woke up disoriented. It took her a few seconds to clear her head enough to think straight. She wanted to remember the strange dream she'd had that night… she couldn't remember exactly what it had been about, but she definitely remembered that it had made her feel really happy… really blissful. She had the strange feeling that Mamoru might have been it… but that was just thinking crazy, right? I must be going crazy, if I think I'm falling in love with that cold-hearted baka… she thought. But then again… She paused to reconsider her thoughts, remembering the events of the past weeks and the strange new niceness that surrounded Mamoru. He had been so good to her; he'd even saved her life… why shouldn't she like him, at least a little bit…?

"Usagi, it's 7:30!" a little-brother-voice yelled.

"KAMI-SAMA I'M GOING TO BE SO LATE!" Usagi screamed as she threw on her clothes, grabbed a piece of toast and her book bag, and raced like a whirlwind out the door. Her younger brother, Shingo, sniggered in the kitchen. I should do this EVERYday, since it gets her out of the house so fast… he thought with a smirk. It was, in fact, 7:00. But Usagi didn't know that.

Usagi was running for all she was worth down the street- she could NOT get detention today! She was going to meet up with Ami at the arcade… and probably meet up with Mamoru and Zoicite in the process. Usagi grinned to herself. That wouldn't be so bad, would it…

Suddenly in the middle of a crosswalk, she tripped, sprawling onto the pavement. Her bag flew up and landed her smack on her head. Usagi lay there for a few seconds, stunned. Then she slowly tried to get up.

Beryl glared at the rearview mirror of her car. Ever since she had spotted that little bitch at Mamoru's apartment, and he had refused to go out with her, she'd been in a rage, a long fuming anger that was consistently fed by the embers of her hate and desire. She had wanted Mamoru unlike any other guy she'd ever laid eyes on. She didn't know exactly why she wanted him so bad, but she had the feeling it had more to do than with his gorgeous looks. But let's be frank, he was gorgeous, as she openly knew. So seeing that little blonde sleeping on his couch in his apartment had set her soul on fire. She wanted vengeance, and she wanted it bad. She wanted vengeance on Mamoru because he hated her, and she wanted him.

Beryl was parked on a street that ran through a crosswalk, near the little blonde bitch's house. She had followed Mamoru from a distance when he had dropped the blonde off at her house; she had waited outside of his apartment after storming out. Now she was stalking both of them, waiting to gain her revenge.

Beryl was staring blankly out her windshield when suddenly she did a double take. The blonde was running across the crosswalk in front of her! Then suddenly, she tripped! Beryl smiled maliciously and started up the car. Going beyond the speed limit, she sped towards the unsuspecting Usagi.

Usagi got up slowly, and suddenly realized she heard the loud rumble of a car. She whipped her head around and saw a black car headed towards her. Fast. She froze, unable to move from fear and shock.

--.--.--.--.--.--.--

MUAHAHAHAHAH! This seemed like a good place to end the chapter… laughs evilly and hysterically. Yes, this is a DEFINATE cliffhanger, and we all know how much we love cliffhangers. Heheheh… But don't worry, I really promise I'll update soon. Hope you guys liked it!

Elen-Di