(A/N: Hello Minna! Sorry it has taken so long getting this chapter out. I'm on night shift right now and it has thrown my whole routine off. I've pretty much concluded that night shift is the food for the writer's block monster. Anyways...enjoy.

Disclaimer: If you let me borrow them I promise to give them back! :)

Chapter 8

Usagi

I was floating in a thick mass of blackness. Instead of this disturbing me, the darkness was soothing...comfortable. It was so comfortable, that my mind didn't even question the reason why I was there. My limbs were pleasantly weightless, while the cloudy haze that fogged my mind resisted any rational thoughts from surfacing. It was too soon however, that the black fog lifted, and my mind began to surface.

The first thing that I realized, was that I was lying down on something too soft to be the ground. Next came the pain. I felt it hot and searing throughout my right shoulder and arm. I soon remembered everything that had happened. The memory of it all had me cautiously opening my eyes to assess my situation. The sight that greeted me was a white ceiling. The fear of that white ceiling belonging to a hospital had me glancing around the room shortly after. The room was empty except for a dresser, a bed side table, and the bed, which I easily concluded was the soft thing that I in fact lying on.

The walls were also white, but there was no beeping machines or anything inside that remotely resembled a hospital. It was then that I noticed the sheets that I was lying on were silk, and covering my form was a comfortable thick comforter.

'Okay definitely not the hospital.' If this wasn't a hospital, then I was at somebody's place, but whose? 'Okay think Usagi. The last person who saw you was Tuxedo Kamen.' I tried to imagine the mysterious Tuxedo Kamen having a normal looking place like this, but couldn't. 'His place or not, I could be in serious danger.'

I decided that I would try my luck, and try to escape. I was Sailor Moon...I could totally escape a bed in a strange room. I went to move myself into a sitting position, and that's when I noticed that my right arm was bandaged tightly to my waist, preventing me from moving it. I also noticed that instead of my clothes, I was wearing a rather comfortable robe. 'Is this robe silk too? Well somebody is taking care of me.' I thought. Using only my good arm, I managed to sit up. This took considerable effort, and immediately had me questioning if I could escape like I previously had thought. I was very weak. The white room tilted a bit once I had erected myself.

I glanced over to where the night stand was and saw to my amazement my transformation brooch. Obviously my captor didn't know its importance, or he didn't think of me as a hostage. I liked the later of the two explanations the best, but I didn't want to stay there to test the theories. I leaned over to reach for my brooch, but I never made it. Instead of holding me in place as I grabbed for the brooch, my stupid weak body was unable to accomplish this, and I found myself continuing to fall forward. Gravity took hold of me thwarting my attempt, and soon had me falling out of the bed. I landed with a loud thud, followed by an "Ow!". I was somewhat relieved to have landed on my good arm, and using it, I pushed myself over to my back.

Instead of starring up at the white ceiling like I was expecting, broad shoulders and a familiar mask covered face stared back down at me. I let out a startled yelp, as I tried to push myself up in a futile attempt at eluding him. My body was on full alert with the recognition of my captor, and the only thought on my mind was to get away. He was speaking softly to me, but I wasn't listening to him. I was only listening to my mind screaming at me to escape. Suddenly I stopped in my struggles to leave, which were very poor at best, when what he was saying penetrated through the terror.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." I froze as he continued speaking softly to me. "Your safe here." I glanced up at him and to my surprise saw no signs of anger or abhorrence in his features. Just what appeared to be genuine concern. I relaxed a bit. Being more gentle than I thought was possible, he carefully scooped me off of the floor and lay me back on the bed. Not wanting to be lying down, I tried to sit back up. He just as gently helped me accomplish this and propped a pillow behind my back so that I could remain so. I stared at him like he had grown two heads. He must have noticed my confusion.

"Look..." He started to begin, rubbing the back of his neck in a small sign of nervousness. "I know what you did for me." When I said nothing and continued to stare, he sat down on the bed next to me and grabbed my hand. "I know that you dived in front of that arrow." His statement had me quickly looking away in embarrassment. A gloved hand under my chin quickly brought my gaze back. "I know that you risked your life to save me...even after..." He pulled his hand away with a sigh as his other began to rub the back of his neck again. This had to be the most emotions that I had ever witnessed from him, and it had me watching and listening to him more intently.

"You took an arrow for me even after I said those awful things to you. I just want you to know that I'm in your debt, and that I'm not going to hurt you." I continued to stare at him as I digested what he had said. He seemed genuinely sincere.

'If he wanted to hurt you he wouldn't have been so gentle. And he wouldn't have made sure that you didn't bleed to death.' I thought back to the park, and how I most likely would have if it weren't for him. 'Besides, he knows your identity now.' I cringed a bit at the thought. The senshi were not going to be happy about it. 'That is if I'm ever allowed to leave here.' The thought brought forth the next question.

"What do you plan to do with me?" I timidly asked him. My voice sounded small even to myself, and I blamed it on my body's weakness. He sighed once more before once again grabbing for my hand.

"You're not my prisoner here. You are free to go at any given time. But I recomend that you at least heal a bit first." His words shocked me, and had me sputtering out the next sentence.

"But..you said that you wanted to..."

"I know what I said to you." He interupted me before I could finish. His hand left mine to once again find the back of his neck, the display of emotions enhancing the meaning of his words and wiping away my doubts of them. "I'm sorry I said those things to you. I never would have hurt you. My only intentions were to find my princess." He held out his hand to me. "Maybe we could start over and be friends?" His words had me frozen in place. He had said those words again. The same ones he had used in the park..."My princess". My hand found its way into his as I continued to stare at him. I would have been lying if I said that I didn't feel the warm electrical sensation traveling up my arm through the contact. Minutes seemed to pass before I asked the question that was on my mind.

"What do you want with her?" With this statement he broke our contact.

"With the princess?" I nodded my response. His features quickly turned serious. "So you admit to knowing her?" I hesitated for a second before once again nodding my answer.

"Do you...do you mean her harm?" I couldn't help but ask. I had to know. He sighed as he looked away from me. He stared at the wall for a moment in deep thought. Another sigh escaped his lips before he began to speak.

"Ever since I was a little boy, a woman has appeared in my dreams. I have never seen her face, but my whole being recognizes her as the princess...as my princess. She whispers to me to help her and to find her. I have been searching ever since." His gaze once again found mine and his words were sincere. "I know that I have given you no reason to help me, but I promise you that I mean no harm to her whatsoever, and I only want to find her so that I may protect her. It's what I'm destined to do."

His words shocked me to say the least. I stared at him for a long time while trying to make sense of all the things he just told me. After hearing his story, I was beginning to see him in a whole new light. He had the same dreams as me. 'Tuxedo Kamen could quite possibly be the lost prince I'm looking for.' Everything that added up pointed to the fact that he was. 'Was my prince right in front of me the whole time?' My heart was making an effort to speed up with the excitement of this new information, but my weakened state did not allow it much more than a few hard thumps. Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't really notice when his gaze left mine to land on the brooch beside the bed. A small frown adorned his features.

"What goes inside the brooch?" He turned back towards me, curiosity written on his face. I didn't register the question at first, due to the still raging emotions that his words had caused me. Confusion toned my words.

"Excuse me?" He nervously rubbed his neck again, and vaguely reminded me of a kid that had gotten caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

"I kind of looked inside when it fell out of your clothes, and it looks like there's supposed to be something in it...you didn't loose anything did you?" I remembered then that the crystal that I usually housed inside of it was still inside of my body. He would have seen an empty indention upon opening it. I glanced at him, not knowing what to say. He already knew that I was Sailor Moon. 'But do I trust him with the fact that I am the moon princess as well?' He had more or less called a truce with me.

'Call me crazy, but I actually feel safe and protected here in his presence. And then there is the fact that he's most likely the missing prince.' My heart gave another pathetic sputter again at this thought, making me miss when it was healthy and used to pound against my ribs. The result of the extra work caused a wave of dizziness to wash over me. I slumped back against the pillow for a moment.

"Hey...are you okay? You got really pale." He reached a gloved hand up to rest it on the side of my face, concern highlighting his features. "Maybe I should leave and let you rest." His hand left my cheek to rest on my shoulder as he closely examined me. He pulled his gloves off to check the pulse at my wrist. "Are you in a lot of pain?" My arm was throbbing lightly at that moment, but I knew that if I were try to move it the pain would sear hot and violent through my shoulder and spread through my chest and arm. I knew this from my earlier trip from the bed to the floor, and my first weak struggles to escape my captor.

"It's not too bad so long as I don't try to move it." I informed him. I lifted my head back off of the pillow when the dizziness passed and glanced around the room while he finished up my 'check-up'. "How long was I out?" I asked him, noticing for the first time that it was day light outside.

"Only a few hours. Most people would have been out for days with an injury like that." He commented effectively reminding me that instead of leaving me there to die he saved me, bandaged me up, and took care of me. 'Looks like my sub-concious was right about him all along.' I suddenly had to share this revelation with him. He had shared so much with me already. I grabbed his hand before he could pull it away in order to get his attention.

"I just wanted to tell you that...no matter how many times we had it out, or how many times my fellow senshi told me other wise, I still felt deep down that you were on my side...I always have." My words caused his features to soften. He reached his hand up to softly caress my cheek.

"I AM on your side." He informed me. Then, he stopped his caress and pulled his other hand up to gently cup my face in his hands. This put his face very close to mine, and the proximity had me light headed once again, but in a whole knew way. His features were serious with his next statement. "I promise you that I will never again...EVER...hurt you in any way." His words were toned with thick emotion. We stayed in that position for what seemed like minutes, his thumbs lightly caressing my skin. Suddenly, his face was moving towards mine as his hands brought mine closer to his. Within a breath his lips gently covered mine. The kiss was soft and sweet, but still sent warmth and tingly sensations all over my body, making me temporarily forget the throbbing pain in my shoulder and the weakness.

The back of my mind was screaming that I was indeed kissing Tuxedo Kamen for the first time, while my eyes closed and my lips kissed back. The kiss stayed soft and gentle, and it was too soon that he removed his lips from mine. He rested his forehead against mine, still holding my face in his hands. The embrace was intimate and sweet and was my undoing. I made the decision then and there to trust him. Keeping my eyes closed, I concentrated on the crystal. I pulled it from my body and mentally placed it back inside of the brooch. He must have felt the ripple of power on my skin when I moved the crystal because he released his hold on me and stood up. I opened my eyes to stare up at him.

"Okay." I told him.

"Okay?"

"I know where the princess is." These words seemed to batter him with emotions I was unaware of. I could see his chest begin to rise and fall quickly. He turned to lean his weight against the bedside table. His hands gripped the wood tightly and I thought for a moment that he would break it. One of his hands then reached up to grab at his chest, as if he could grab his heart through it.

"And you can.. take me to her..." His voice was hoarse and his features that weren't hidden by the mask were those of pain. His reaction surprised me, causing me to pause in my revelations.

"Yes." My own voice sounded foreign and small as his reaction caused one of my own. It was as if I could feel his heartbreak tangible in the room. Was he loosing someone in order to gain another? 'Maybe he's not so different from me after all.' My eyes moistened with unshed tears as I thought of my Mamo-chan for a moment. I knew exactly how he felt. I could feel my own heartbreak mirroring his. I took a shaky breath before I held out my hand. The brooch on the night stand levitated a moment in front of Tuxedo Kamen's face before I mentally called it to me. He straightened himself from the table, his features watching me carefully now.

Instead of catching the brooch with my free hand I let it float a few centimeters from my skin. My eyes never left his face as I opened the brooch to let the crystal shine. Despite my internal pain and my unshed tears my voice was surprisingly strong.

"This is the Imperial Silver Crystal...and I am Tsukino Usagi...the reborn Princess of the Moon." If his first reaction surprised me, his next one floored me. HIs shoulders slumped forward as if in relief, and his knees buckled, causing him to collapse onto them on the floor. His mouth was slightly agape as he stared dumbfounded at me, tears leaking from his eyes to appear below his mask. My own tears filled and spilled over as we sat in long silence starring at each other. It wasn't until I closed the brooch in my hand and lowered it into my lap that he spoke. His words were still trimmed with emotion, but of a different nature.

"I've finally found my princess...after all this time. And you were right in front of me the whole time." His words echoed my earlier thoughts and there was no heart ache in his features anymore. Only joy and a sense of wonderment. He made a movement as if to stand up and come to me when a loud crash sounded from the living room. Tuxedo Kamen was on his feet instantly. In less than a heart beat four really pissed off senshi were standing in the doorway.

"Jupiter? Mercury? Venus? Mars? How did you...?"

"Stay away from her you creep!" Jupiter yelled with malice as she scooted closer to my position on the bed, ever ready to spring into action. Tuxedo Kamen seeing this readied himself for an attack.

"You won't keep me from what is mine!" He said as he in turn made a move towards me, readying a rose to throw.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

"NOO!" I screamed as the chains burst out to wrap around Tuxedo Kamen's body and drop him to the floor, his rose falling uselessly to the ground. He tried futilely to fight against them, his gaze pinned on me the entire time. I knew all to well how unbreakable those chains were when wrapped around somebody. I had felt my portion in training. He yelled out with pain and agony as Jupiter scooped me into her arms, and I knew that his cries were not from any physical pain.

"NO! LET ME STAY!" I yelled but to no avail. I was still very weak and could not fight them off. Venus and Mercury stood guard as Jupiter and Mars left the room with me in still in Jupiter's grasp. "You don't understand!" I tried to reason with them. "We can trust him!" Not even hesitating at this, Jupiter continued on, and soon were outside on the roof top. I heard Mercury's distant attack in order to keep Tuxedo Kamen from following as we started to jump from roof top to roof top, distancing ourselves from him. "I have to go back!" Tears were streaming freely down my face now.

"After what he did to you?" Mars snapped as she gestured towards my bandaged shoulder.

"No you don't understand! He saved me! He's the lost prince!" I shouted back at her, but she just let out a sarcastic humph.

"I bet he would tell you anything to find out the whereabouts of the princess. Stop being so naive Usagi!" She yelled. The other two senshi soon joined our position as we continued to leap from building to building. I tried to struggle against Jupiter's hold, but only succeeded in further weakening myself. By time we reached Rei's temple I had exhausted what very little energy that I had physically and emotionally. Jupiter set me on the edge of the bed, and I had barley the strength to sit upright.

The gray dots were making themselves known again in my vision. I saw threw them an angry Mars walking towards me, no doubt wanting the whole story. I tried to tell her that she would have to wait, but I didn't even have the energy to form the words. My body very quickly lost the upright battle and I slumped forward directly into Mars, who was by then standing right in front of me.

"What happened to you Odango-Atama?" She asked as she picked me up to lay me horizontal on the bed. Her voice was surprisingly toned with sympathy and worry despite the anger I had just seen on her features moments before. I tried to give her at least something before I went unconscious again.

"Youma... attacked me..." I grimaced as the memory reminded me of the pain still searing in my arm. My earlier struggles against Jupiter had caused it to hurt with a vengeance.

"Shh." She said as she pulled a blanket over me to make me more comfortable. "You can tell us later. Right now you should heal." I didn't need her permission to do so as my body had already started sliding towards unconsciousness.

"She looks awfully pale." I heard Mercury say before the much needed darkness consumed me once more.

(A/N: Sooooo...whatdya think? Again I'm sorry about the wait, but I was a little bummed because I only received 2 reviews on the last chapter. Not exactly motivational material here guys. And for the record, this is not a Mamoru bashing fic. I just like to write a fantasy world where men are actually capable of sincere emotions...that's all. :P Remember that reviews are a girl's best friend. I hoped you all enjoyed it and the next chapter will most likely be the last. I have some other stories that I'm ready to start after this one, so if your a fan (and I hope that you are) look for more stories to come.)

Twinmoon25