Hi, everyone! I'm glad to be updating again! I've picked up this story again, as, I read over it again the other day and just had to continue writing. And no, no, no, I promise that Mamoru is NOT going to end up with Chibiusa. Lol! I covered that in a previous chapter…. I think that's kinda nasty, don't you all? Lol. But I'm not giving you any hints as to what's going to happen. That would just be spoiling it all, wouldn't it? Okay, on to the next chapter!

Oh, someone asked why Setsuna says "I am so sorry, Mamoru" at the end of the last chapter. She was watching the king and queen kiss and felt bad that Mamoru wasn't going to have that, since, you know, his Usagi left.

And I know this is odd… I'm usually a huge Usagi/Mamoru shipper. But I just had to try something different. Believe me; you all won't believe what I have in mind.

Thanks to all my reviewers! You're all fabulous!

You've Always Deserved My Love

Chapter Six

It had been nearly three months since Chibiusa had entered his life again, and as Mamoru soon noticed, she was much different from the small child he had once known. He had found himself watching her earnestly, wondering how such an accomplished young woman could possibly be the small, spoiled child he had once taken care of.

She studied an awful lot, and of that he was proud. He had tried to help teach her to study at a young age. Seeing her curled up in front of the fireplace with a thick textbook in her lap and glasses perched on her nose made him smile with pride.

It also made him frown, though… once he realized that what he was smiling in pride at wasn't his daughter… anymore.

He had stopped crying for his loss of Usako… Usagi. No, he had turned to different means of letting out his anguish. He let it turn to anger, and he found it much easier to converse with the girls in anger rather than sadness.

They were at the apartment constantly. Especially since Chibiusa was around. Minako loved to make frequent calls and drag the young girl out for a shopping trip. She said that she had to teach the girl how to dress in the 21st century. Mamoru had just rolled his eyes and told her that if the younger girl came back with a look that was akin to a prostitute, he would have to savagely kill Minako. Minako had only giggled and made fruitless promises.

Rei was always dropping by for an afternoon "cleansing." She made note every time she entered his apartment that Usagi's bad spirit was making the place seem deadly. So, two times a week she would stop in and walk around for several moments before making a circle of candles in the middle of his living room and sitting cross-legged in the middle of them. She would light them, chant for about five minutes, and then leave.

Mamoru had once had the nerve to ask her about it. "If you're such a powerful priestess, then how come these 'evil spirits of Usagi' haven't left yet?"

Rei had shot him devilish looks and retorted, "It's a long process to rid an ex-lover from a habitation. It takes nearly two months to totally cleanse the space of a spirit who has inhabited a place for over two years! Give it time! I'm working on it." She had let out her breath in a huff, crossed her arms, and left the apartment.

Mamoru had rolled his eyes and went to gather the candles to place in the closet until her next visit.

Ami stopped in to talk to him at least once a week as well. She usually had a good reason, be it a new science exhibit she wanted him to attend with her or a medical seminar from a famous doctor. Since they were both aspiring doctors (he a third year intern; herself a new one), they often went to seminars in hopes of learning new surgical techniques.

The only one of the girls that Mamoru did not see was Makato, but that was understandable. A few weeks after the incident, she had been offered a place in a prestigious culinary arts school in the north of Japan. She had gone, excited and full of hope. It was, after all, her dream to own her own restaurant. Now, with new cooking techniques, she said, she could finally start working on creating it. As soon as she got home, at least.

Of all the people to suddenly show up into their lives, Haruka Ten'oh and Michiru Kaioh had decided to reappear. They gave the excuse that they had been in Germany for some sort of violin thing that Michiru was involved in. Mamoru couldn't remember what it was; he always tuned out Michiru when she started rambling on about violins, as, it bored him immensely. He had glanced at Haruka while the other girl was talking and had noticed how bored she looked as well. It was all well between the two, however; there had been many racetracks in Germany for Haruka to visit.

When the inner senshi had tried to tell the two outer senshi about the recent downfall of Usagi, they had shaken their heads and said they already knew. Setsuna kept them up to date, as always, they said.

Hotaru also reappeared for a short while. She and Chibiusa spent an entire week together, doing absolutely everything that there was to offer young people in Tokyo. But the frail girl had to return to her studies in Rome, and so after her few days at home with her friends and father, she had gone back to the Italian country. The senshi again tried to be the upper hand and explain things to her, but she as well simply said, in her soft voice: "Don't worry, girls… Pluto has already told me."

The three had looked at each other and shrugged. There was no one else to tell, so the matter was to be simply dropped.

Life in Tokyo was changed, to say the least. When a youma appeared, a new Sailor Moon with pink hair would appear on the scene and save the city before leaping off with her fellow senshi and the masked man. People speculated for quite some time about what happened to the blonde one, but, as the days and weeks passed, the gossip died, as did the memory of the blonde Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon had pink hair, they said.

Now, with Chibiusa sitting again in front of the fireplace with a book in her lap and Mamoru sitting in the recliner also reading, it seemed almost as if the world was right again. But, as things usually go, things were not completely right. Mamoru looked up from his book at the fireplace mantel where all those pictures had sat months ago. It was rather empty now, save for a picture of himself with Chibiusa and Hotaru at the city fair weeks ago. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, using the lever to switch it into a leaning position.

Chibiusa tipped her glasses down and noticed him. Closing her books and slipping the glasses off, she sat on the couch adjacent to him. "What's wrong, Mamo-chan?" She queried, giving him a sympathetic look.

He laughed slightly. "Now you are to be my shrink, Chibiusa-chan? First my daughter, then my only companion, and now my shrink?"

"Well, if the shoe fits…"

"Yes, yes…" He sighed. "Well… I just still feel empty. I don't know if I'll ever be able to come to grips that she's gone. It doesn't seem real. It's like I'm living in a horrible nightmare where my life is being ripped apart right before my eyes."

Chibiusa was silent for several moments. She bit her nail and gazed at him for some time before speaking. "Mamo-chan… I don't know what to tell you. I don't know if the pain will ever go away. I talked to Daddy last night and he was worried about you as well. Seeing as he said he couldn't live without Mother. But you're proving that you're a very strong person by not breaking down. It just takes time."

A small smile came over his lips as he sat there. "Yes, time. I know. It's just hard sometimes. I wake in the middle of the night sometimes and… I think that she's there beside me." He opened his eyes and laughed. "Alright, that's enough. This is not something you and I should discuss." He stood and walked into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Chibiusa sighed. "Poor Mamo-chan." She murmured. "I wish I could help him."

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Ami walked down the shopping district streets with Minako, bubbly as usual, by her side. They both swung bags back and forth as they walked. Minako's was filled with a new pair of shoes and a new sparkling dress. Ami's, however, had only a new book.

Minako stopped at a shop window and looked in. "Hey, Ami-chan, look at this."

The blue haired girl walked up and peered in. "What are you looking at?"

"That." The blonde girl pointed to a man's tie with a rose pattern design. "Maybe we should get it for Mamoru-kun. It's got roses on it."

Ami looked at it for a moment longer and then nodded. "Yes, that's a great idea. His birthday is coming up, I remember. It's August 3rd…only two weeks from now."

Minako dashed into the store, yelling behind her, "I saw it first, so it's my present! Hahahaha!"

Ami stood in the street and rolled her eyes. She could easily come up with five hundred gifts to get Mamoru… any medical book would do.

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Rei looked around the temple for the final time. It was spotless, she determined. She wiped her brow and let out a deep breath. She had been cleaning all morning, and it took a lot of work to make the temple look this good.

A giggle, a flash of blonde hair, and a ton of bags suddenly whisked through the door and pummeled the priestess to the ground. She groaned and hit her head repeatedly on the wooden floor. "Why, Mina-chan? Why must you do that? I swear, if there is but a spot on my squeaky clean floor, I will KILL you."

Minako sat up and giggled, looking down at her victim. "I just had to show you all my new stuff, Rei-chan."

Ami walked in, a few bags in her hands as well. "We've been out shopping all morning. We would have invited you, but we knew it was cleaning day."

Rei laughed. "You have learned well not to disturb me. Besides, I went out yesterday with Chibiusa-chan."

Minako pouted. "And you didn't invite me?"

"She had a headache and wanted a calm shopping trip."

Minako crossed her arms and huffed. Ami and Rei rolled their eyes and went into Rei's bedroom. Minako, seeing that she was all alone, sat for a few moments longer before springing up and dashing after them.

Rei was showing Ami a letter when she walked in. "Mako-chan says that she's almost finished with her seminar. In two more weeks, she'll have completed the program. She'll be coming home, finally."

Minako curled up in one of Rei's comfortable chairs and pulled out some of her packages for inspection. "That's awesome. It'll be great having her home again."

Ami nodded in agreement. "I've missed her terribly."

"Yeah. Me, too. I just hope she cooks for us when she gets back." Minako licked her lips.

Rei and Ami rolled their eyes again.

Suddenly, an idea popped in Ami's head. "Hey, Mina-chan… you brought up Mamoru-kun's birthday earlier. Maybe she could cook for his birthday party."

Rei wrinkled her nose. "Mako-chan and Mamoru-kun aren't exactly the best of friends, Ami-chan. She still calls him 'san'."

Ami pursed her lips together. "I'm sure we can talk her into it."

Minako raised her hand. "If not, I can always cook!"

Ami and Rei rolled their eyes again. "NO."

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Chibiusa finished her test quickly, handed it in to her professor, and left the classroom. All the other students gave her dirty looks, as usual. None of them understood how she could be so fast and so brilliant. At first, they thought she just simply wrote her name down and turned it in. But when the first finals came around and scores were posted, it was obvious: She was a genius.

Chibiusa, on the other hand, simply smiled and walked out. 30th century studies were not as lenient as the 21st century. You had to be fast, and that she was. When she had come back to the 21st century, she had instantly enrolled in as many classes as she could at the Azubu Institute of Technology. She had done so at her father's insistence. He had told her that it where had had first attended college before going to medical school, and he was sure that what she learned there would be valuable. She had agreed, only because it would give her something to do. Without something to accomplish, she said, her life seemed worthless.

At first, when she had told the girls and Mamoru this, they had all looked at her as if they didn't know her. She had smiled a knowing smile, realizing they were still used to the small child who would beg for attention and not shut up until she got it. She had grown a lot since then, she realized as she looked back on her life. When she had returned home to her parents, they had instilled in her a sense of reason. She had walked in the streets of Crystal Tokyo with her mother and had listened as the queen pointed out all the good and bad parts of the city. The woman had looked down at her and simply said: "This is yours, Small Lady. You must learn to care for your people, your city, and your world. This is your future."

Those simple words had given her a new reason for being a princess. She had learned it wasn't all about simply being pretty in dresses and getting everything she wanted. To be a real lady like her mother, she learned that she had to be caring, knowledgeable, and in connection with her people. With the guidance of her father, then, she had enrolled in the best of schools and studied with of her heart to achieve all of her dreams. She was going to be a lady like her mother, a genius like her father, and a great ruler some day. Learning, she said, was the key to existence.

She stepped out into the sunshine and looked down at her watch. It was only 10 in the morning, and she had over two hours before she had to meet the girls at the train station where they would pick up Makato. She had taken it much easier now since she had returned to the past, as, it wasn't so fast paced a world and she had time for the simplicities of life. Now, she entered the park and began to stroll at a leisurely pace through the grounds, wandering around aimlessly. Spotting the rose gardens, Mamoru's favorite part of Tokyo Central Park, she walked through the gated entrance and looked around.

Her eyes roamed over the flowers about her for a few minutes, but then her eyes caught something… out of place. Her eyes became serious as she sensed something was terribly wrong. A couple, a blonde woman and an ebony haired man, sat talking and looking at the flowers.

They didn't notice her, so she found herself a bench nearby to them and sat, reaching in her bag and pretending to get a book out and start reading. She could hear every word they said, and it was obvious who it was after only a minute of listening.

"Mother understands why the funeral must be a fast one. I don't want to be spotted here." The woman said. Her hair was short and blonde, her eyes bright blue. Chibiusa took note of her wardrobe: a pink t-shirt and jeans, with black high heeled boots on her feet. That didn't concern her, however. She was drawn to her left hand, where a wedding band sat on her ring finger. Chibiusa's voice caught in her throat.

The man spoke. "That's good. If we come in contact with any of them, though, they may not even recognize you."

"I hope not. I especially don't want to have to see… well, you know."

The man nodded. His hair, long and black, was tied back in a ponytail.

Chibiusa's hands were shaking terribly, causing the book to fall to the ground. She instantly reached down and grabbed it, not noticing that she was staring at it upside down.

"I'll miss him. He was so terribly strict on me… but he was still my dad." The woman sighed. "Come on, let's go. I'm hungry and if I remember, on the west side of the city, there's an awesome sushi restaurant where I'm sure we won't be seen."

They walked out of the park, hand in hand. Chibiusa stood and watched them go, her entire body shaking.

"Usagi." She whispered.

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End Chapter Six