Hi guys here's the next installment. This chapter may be a bit slow but it's just an introduction to Mamoru's godfather. He's gonna be a big part of this story.

Note: Amare- Latin word for love, mainly affectionate.

Ok I think that's it. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Me nah own Sailor Moon.

PKPKPKPK

Chapter 3

"What if someone stole her? Or worse what if a car hit her? What if she is dead?"

"I'm sure Luna is fine mama. She probably just decided it's time to move on."

"Well she did show up out of no where. We had her for four years though, how could she just leave?" Ikuko complained. She had just realized that morning that Luna had not been around for a week and had started to get frantic. Usagi couldn't just come out and tell her that Luna had decided that she was leaving because her rightful place was by the Moon Princess's side as her advisor. That Luna wished she could stay and really didn't want to leave, but Serenity had said that it was best for Artemis and her to be with her. So Usagi had tearfully let her go with Luna promising to visit when she could. She definitely couldn't tell her mother that, so she had set about to placate her worries.

"Luna is a cat, mama. She's a free spirit. I figure she stayed at our home longer than any other. She probably found something more interesting."

She watched as her mother moved to one of the cupboard doors and opened it, revealing lots of cans of tuna and cat food.

"What am I going to do with all this tuna? Doesn't your friend Minako have a cat? Maybe she might want this."

"I'll ask her." Usagi got up from the table to get ready to leave the house for school, but was startled when her mother let out a cry. She turned quickly to see what was wrong.

"What if she's pregnant? She might have gone and had her kittens somewhere else. I can't possibly give this away if she comes home with kittens!"

Usagi sighed and rolled her eyes at her little brother who tried to muffle his laughter. At least her mother had come to a happier conclusion. The phone rang bringing her mother out of her musing. She moved over to the table to answer the phone.

"Moshi moshi, Tsukino residence. Ah Jeremiah-san!" she exclaimed. At that point Usagi's father came into the kitchen. On hearing Jeremiah's name his eyes narrowed, and he sat at the table grumbling under his breath.

Usagi smiled, shaking her head and moved over to the sink to put her bowl away before moving over to the stove to pour out some miso soup for her father and placing it in front of him. All the while her blushing mother chatted with Mamoru's godfather.

"Yes of course. It's no problem at all Jeremiah-san. Hold on she's right here." Her mother held the phone out for her to take.

Usagi moved over to her mother and took the phone wishing that she was telekinetic like Mamoru's godfather. That way she could bring the phone to her instead of the other way around.

"Hi Jeremiah-ojisan."

"Usagi, my love, how are you?" a deep, smooth voice came over the line.

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Good. We haven't been able to talk for two weeks. I was wondering if I could pick you up from school today and we can have dinner. Your mother said it was fine."

"Jeremiah-ojisan-" she started, her voice weary. She really didn't want to bring up the events of last Friday again.

"Come now amare, humour me. Pretend I know nothing and just want to spend time with you. I'm sure you could use a neutral person to talk to," he cut in.

"Neutral?" Usagi asked incredulously.

His deep laughter filled her ear and caused her to smile.

"Ok, ok. Someone who isn't Mamoru at least."

Usagi was silent for a few moments. She could use an experienced ear.

"Alright, I'll see you after school."

"Wonderful, I'll see you then."

"Bye."

The line went dead and Usagi turned off the phone. She shook her head slightly and smiled. Xanthis Jeremiah was so meddling. It was obvious he heard what happened and wanted to find out how she was, what she was going to do now and how he could possibly fix it.

"I guess I won't be home for dinner tonight."

"Why not?" her father asked.

"Jeremiah-san is taking her out after school," her mother answered for her as she refilled her husband's bowl.

"So now he's pulling her away from spending time with her family? The next thing he'll be doing is asking her to disown us and go live with him for more than a year this time."

"That'll never happen papa." Usagi said placing the phone on the table and giving her father a kiss on the cheek. "I love you too much. I'll see minna tonight." She moved around the table to pick up her bag pack and headed to the door. She was actually happy to spend the evening with Jeremiah-ojisan. She missed him and their talks together. She just hoped that he didn't show up in the limo.

PKPKPK

"You had to bring the limo." It was the first words out of Usagi's mouth as she sat in the vehicle across from Jeremiah.

"Good evening to you as well amare. And the reason for the limo is that my car is in the shop." The driver moved off from the school entrance, being careful not to drive over any of Usagi's curious schoolmates.

"Sure. Why do you insist on bringing so much attention to me?"

"Why do you insist on hiding from it?" Jeremiah countered. His sky blue eyes danced with mirth and a smirk played at the corner of his mouth causing a smile to break out on Usagi's face.

"You are unbelievable."

"Many women have said that before. Though, I am sure, it was not meant in the context that you mean it," He grinned, and Usagi laughed.

"I've missed you Jeremiah-ojisan," she said still smiling.

"And I you, amare."

Jeremiah pushed his curly, golden hair from his face as he relaxed further into his seat.

"So where would you like to go?"

"You haven't decided?"

"No I was leaving it to you. This is your evening. Anywhere you want to go."

"In that case I've been craving Italian, maybe Bellini's?"

"Bellini's it is." He pressed the intercom button on the panel next to him and instructed the driver on their destination before turning back to her.

"So how is school coming along?"

"It's good. I'm a senior now; so it's exciting. I'm almost done. My only problem is the B- I got on my English oral. Frankly English sucks."

"Should I be offended? I'm British remember? Why is English giving you so much trouble?"

"The vowels are different in English they can have so many different sounds. It's hard to keep them straight."

"How about we speak English for the rest of our time together?"

"Aw come on Jeremiah-ojisan. I thought this evening was going to be fun?"

Jeremiah raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed and finally switched to English.

"My English is fine. I just got nervous about… pronunciation in the oral and it caused me to hesitate. Now can we forget about this and enjoy the rest of the evening without talking about school?"

"Very well," he replied in Japanese.

"Arigato."

After that they continued in quiet conversation about his business and her family until the driver stopped in front of the restaurant and opened the door. There was the usual fussing over Jeremiah when they entered the restaurant, mostly because he owned half the shares in the restaurant and a few others in Tokyo. After they were seated on the balcony and had ordered, Usagi felt Jeremiah watching her closely. She turned from perusing the view to look back at him.

"What?"

"How are you really amare?" he asked her softly.

At his tone Usagi felt all her walls crumble and the strong front that she put up disappeared instantly.

"Horrible," she admitted miserably. "I never thought I would miss being Sailor Moon so much. When I finally got accustomed to the fact that my life would never be normal…"

"Gomen Usagi. If there was someway I could fix this."

Usagi chuckled lightly, "You're always trying to fix things for me Jeremiah-ojisan, but this can't be fixed and you know it. I'll just have to get through this on my own."

Their hors-d'œuvres came and they quieted until the waiter left.

"I am almost glad that you're not Sailor Moon anymore. It never felt right and the way it drained your energy; nothing that is meant for you would make you feel that way."

"Maybe. I just miss fighting I guess," she said taking a bite out of her second slice of bruschetta.

"And this situation with Serenity and Mamoru; how are you handling that?" he asked after he finished off his eggplant rolls.

Usagi swallowed her last mouthful as she looked out over the view thoughtfully. When the waiter came to collect their empty plates and brought back their main courses, Usagi finally answered him.

"Does it matter how I feel about it? Mamoru and I are just friends."

Jeremiah placed his fork down on his plate and watched her sternly, "Do not lie to me Usagi. I know better than anyone how you feel about Endymion. You may be able to fool yourself and your friends with that lie, but you cannot fool me."

"What am I to do Jeremiah-ojisan? She is his destiny; I'm just the girl who happened to be filling in for her until she arrived!" Usagi snapped, fighting to keep her tears from falling.

"You are nobody's substitute; do not ever let me hear you say that again. Destinies can change Usagi, it happens every day."

"You make it sound so easy, but you weren't there! You didn't see the way they looked at each other when he got back his memories. You didn't see the way he held her in his arms." The glasses in front of them began to hum and the cutlery rattled against the plates as the tables shook. To everyone in the restaurant it felt like a small quake and in truth it was the ground was reacting to Usagi's over charged emotions. People began to panic around them.

Jeremiah reached out for her hand. "Center yourself Usagi!"

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She reigned back in her energy and the shaking stopped. Usagi closed her eyes and took another deep breath as the Maitre' d came out to see if they were all right.

"We're fine, thank you Antonio. It was just a tremor." Jeremiah told him graciously. The man left and Usagi finally opened her eyes and they looked normal again. To Jeremiah, however, her eyes looked too bright and his heart sank. She was shutting off her emotions.

"Usagi-"

"Destiny is destiny Jeremiah-ojisan, there's nothing that can be done about it. It doesn't matter anyway; it's not as if Mamoru cares about me like that," she said cutting him off.

Jeremiah sighed mentally; he wished he could tell her how Endymion really felt about her. It would have made this so much easier, but he had made a promise not to say anything and he would keep his promise.

"Maybe if you told him how you-"

"No!" she exclaimed cutting him off again. "I can't, and you have to promise not to either."

Jeremiah sighed again he'd been making a lot of promises lately, and keeping a lot of secrets. These two young people in his care were so stubborn.

"Very well, I promise not to tell him. Although I still think you should say something."

"And I don't, so I guess we're at an impasse."

"You're beginning to sound like me," he chuckled.

"I thought that was a good thing?" she asked, relieved at the change of subject.

Usagi picked up her fork and began to eat the rest of her fettuccini alfredo.

"So now we've talked about my messed up nonexistent love life, what about you Jeremiah-ojisan."

"Me?"

"Yes you. For all the time I've known you, you've never gone out on a date. You haven't even carried an escort to any of the functions or dinners you have to go to."

Something flashed in Jeremiah's eyes but it was too quick for her to realize what it was, his usual grin remained on his face though.

"The business community thinks I'm gay."

"I fail to believe that," she laughed. "You don't give me that vibe. Besides you have all those paintings of the silhouette lady. Mamoru says he caught you staring at them a few times."

"Endymion is awfully nosey. Could I not have just been critiquing them?"

"He said you were lost in thought and had a really depressed look on your face. Who is she Jeremiah-ojisan? You ignored my question when I lived with you when I was thirteen. Is she the reason you don't date?"

Jeremiah rested his fork down on his plate, and pushed the plate away signifying he was finished.

"Yes she is."

"Who is she? Did she die?"

The waiter came to take their plates and their dessert orders before he could answer. When they were alone again he spoke, his voice sounding hollow.

"I would rather not talk about it, amare, if you don't mind."

Usagi opened her mouth to push further but the look in his eyes stopped her. His usually happy ocean blue eyes were now closed off.

Usagi sighed, "Well whoever she is or was I'm sure she wouldn't want you to be unhappy."

"There is no other for me, amare, I've looked and none compare. If this is to be my fate I accept it wholeheartedly. This is why I push you to tell Endymion how you feel, before it's too late."

"I think it already is," Usagi replied.

Their dessert came at that point and the two ate in silence for a while before Jeremiah began chuckling ruefully.

"This is not going as I planned. I was supposed to bring you here to cheer you up and now we're both depressed."

Usagi smiled back, "I'm always happy just being able to talk to you Jeremiah-ojisan"

"That's sweet amare, but let's change the subject why don't we. How is your art going?"

"Not very well; I haven't had a chance to do anything in a long while. Although, with all this free time on my hands I plan to pick it back up."

"You better. You have a natural gift. I need to have something to show at my gallery."

"I'm not that good Jeremiah-ojisan," Usagi laughed.

"Do not underestimate yourself."

"I'll see. How are Sabre and Hunter?" she asked, referring to Jeremiah's two pet wolves.

"They miss you. When will you be coming to visit them?"

"I don't know. I'm taking a break for myself. I don't know how long, but I need to be by myself for a while."

"Is this your way of telling me I won't be seeing you for a while?" he asked. Usagi nodded.

"Ah I see."

"I just need to find myself again. I've kind of lost who I was while I was Sailor Moon."

"I can tell you who you are."

"I know you can, but I need to find that out on my own or not it won't mean anything to me."

Jeremiah smiled, "I suppose that's true. Very well spoken Usagi, you are very wise."

Usagi blushed, "Now I wouldn't go that far."

"While you're finding yourself, try to work on that underestimation of yourself."

Usagi rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

Jeremiah winked and grinned before signalling for the waiter to clear their deserts away and bring the bill.

Once in the limo again they talked about lighter thing such as the wolves and how big they got since she last saw them. When they arrived to Usagi's house Jeremiah stepped out of the vehicle with her and walked her to her door.

"Well amare, arigato for a wonderful evening."

"I should be thanking you. It was your money," she laughed.

"True," Jeremiah chuckled. Before he could say anything more the front door swung open to reveal Usagi's father there glaring at him with her mother rushing around the corner with a disapproving look on her face.

"Kenji I told you not to open the door! Gomen Jeremiah-san my husband seems to have lost his manners."

"It is no problem Ikuko-san. Good evening Tsukino-san," Jeremiah greeted, bowing to the two.

"Xanthis," Kenji said coldly.

Jeremiah held back a smile that was threatening to break out on his face. Kenji had always had a problem with him from the time he and Ikuko had been in college. Kenji had already graduated and was working as a journalist. Jeremiah and Ikuko were in a lot of the same art classes and had become fast friends. When Kenji met him he felt threatened by him not understanding how Ikuko's friendship with what he would term as a 'pretty boy' could be platonic. On Jeremiah's part Ikuko had complained day after day about how she wished Kenji would finally ask her to marry him. So with a little encouragement from Jeremiah they decided to make Kenji feel that he was interested in Ikuko. If the plan went south Jeremiah would come clean and tell Kenji what was going on, but if it worked they would say nothing; Kenji was not the type of man who liked to be tricked into anything. Needless to say the plan worked. Ikuko got her man and a happy life and Jeremiah got a bloody nose and a chance to help a friend who had helped him stave off hordes of girls vying for his attention. Although, once she was engaged he couldn't use her help anymore. Up to this day Kenji did not know what they had done, and despite Ikuko's pleading, he had no intention of letting him know either. He found the man amusing.

"Well I guess it's time I take my leave."

"Don't you want to come in Jeremiah-san, I made some tea," Ikuko offered.

Jeremiah saw Kenji tense and was tempted to accept, but he decided other wise.

"Iie, arigato. I have a lot of work to do at home," he declined. He turned to Usagi giving her a small peck on the forehead.

"I will see you later amare. Don't stay away too long."

Usagi smiled blushing lightly at his affectionate nature. "I'll try."

"Sayonara Ikuko-san, Tsukino-san."

"Sayonara Jeremiah-san." Ikuko answered though her husband just stood glaring.

Jeremiah bowed again and winked at Usagi before turning to leave. When he got back into the limousine he finally allowed himself to laugh. Kenji was truly always entertaining. 'If he only knew,' he thought to himself.

"Home, Jiro," he said to the driver. And he was off.

PKPKPK

The three Tsukinos watched as the limo drove off, before the two women turned on Kenji.

"Tsukino Kenji, why are you so rude?" Ikuko demanded of her husband, who turned to go inside, leaving the women to follow him.

"I don't like that man! First he hangs all over you when you two were in college, now he's all over Usagi."

"Eww papa, that's gross! Jeremiah-ojisan doesn't like me like that. I'm like a daughter to him."

"The daughter he wished he had with your mother," Kenji replied as he sat on the couch. Shingo looked up from the TV at the commotion.

"Kenji!" their mother shrieked, "after everything that man has done for our family. When Usagi needed his help he was willing to take her in and help her. When Shingo was born five months premature he paid for the best doctors to make sure that he survived. I held my peace when you refused to allow him to be the godfather of either one of our children, mostly because Jeremiah-san told me to, but it ends now. That man is a saint, but you've treated him like nothing but dirt. Until you grow up, you're sleeping on the couch!" With that Ikuko spun away and stormed up the stairs to their bedroom and slammed the door. The click of the lock echoed through the house.

Kenji stared stunned at the spot his wife had stormed from. She was never so angry at his attitude toward Xanthis before.

"Ooh dad you really blew it this time," Shingo laughed.

Kenji turned to his son and was about to kick him out the room, but was beat to it.

"Shingo go to your room." Shingo turned to her about to tell her no when the temperature in the room dipped and wind picked up around them. He realized from Usagi's expression that she meant business. He got off the ground grumbling and went up the stairs to his room.

Kenji watched as Usagi settled her emotions back down and the room became warm again. He had to grudgingly admit that Xanthis was good for something.

Usagi sighed, "I'll get some blankets and a pillow," she told him distractedly.

Yes she was upset that her father would be so rude to Jeremiah, but she kept remembering what her father said about him being around her mother a lot in college and she also knew that he would do anything for her mother, all she had to do was ask.

Was her mother the woman in the painting? She would have to find out. And she intended to before she saw Jeremiah again.

PKPKPKPK

Next chapter there will be more Jeremiah and some Mamoru and Serenity. Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please review they always make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and make me want to write.