Chapter 11
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AN: Lookie, another new chapter! And in a week no less... 3 in 3 weeks, that's a new record for me, isn't it? At least in the last year or so, right? :)
Usagi disappeared down the 'foreign food' section knowing that it was likely to be free at this time of day. She wasn't supposed to go to the grocery store, she was supposed to meet the person on the end of the line in the wedding chapel but she knew not to follow directions, it was their thing. Someone was already there and turned to her instantly, dark sunglasses and a sloppy hat hid most of her face. "Hi!" Usagi greeted pleasantly with a giant grin on her lips.
The mirror image of her lips pulled down into a frown for a second before engulfing Usagi into a huge hug. "Why the change of plans Usa?" She asked knowing something was wrong instantly.
"We got shot at." Usagi responded lightly.
"What?" There was a hiss that escaped her double's lips, and Usagi nodded. "Who was the target?"
"That's just it, we don't know." Usagi told her twin with a laugh. "Seems we all had done something someone wanted to kill us for."
"Are you going to tell me more, like why?" She demanded.
"No." Usagi said simply. "I can't, it's not fair or legal or whatever."
"They shot at three people all somehow connected. Why'd they shoot at you?"
Usagi couldn't have been shot at because of her hidden job. That was something nobody knew about, not even her sister. "Either they thought I was you or because of my family." A shrug and the Fox knew better than to believe her flippancy but she let it rest for the moment.
The Fox by those who knew her intimately was called Celeste. She pursed her lips as she thought about to handle this, the two of them shared many traits but that wasn't one of them. She'd learned several to get by in her chosen field as top agent and thief. Something Usagi shouldn't have accepted but she did and Celeste was family and she never killed anyone, at least that Usagi knew about, in cold blood.
Usagi glanced behind her fretfully knowing that time was slipping away and Mamoru would be done soon and worried. "That's it, we're switching places for awhile. I want you to get as far away as possible. Do you hear me?" Her hands came onto Usagi's shoulders and her head spun back to her sister. "You're going to go to America or something. I'll take your place here and be in plain sight so they'll take a shot at whoever was the target between you, Mamoru or his grandfather. Either one should have known better than to stick together and go home. This way I can protect them as well as you, because I know you. It's not just enough for you to be safe, is it? You have to protect everyone else as well." Celeste shook her head in wry amusement, for Usagi couldn't really do anything to protect anyone.
"Mamoru's grandfather split off and recommended we do the same but Mamo-chan and I weren't going to part and I live with several girls now and not my family. Though there's a dinner planned for tomorrow at the house." Celeste nodded along storing her words for the advice it was.
"So you're going along with the switch?" She double checked, this was a real life she was infiltrating not a cover and she had to be sure.
"No other choice, besides as you've said, you're the best equipped to protect him and my friends in case they get involved."
"I'm going to visit your family for a little while and sleep there to try and take attention off your friends. I know its unconventional but you've slept over for little to no reason before haven't you since leaving home?"
Usagi nodded, she had, but usually at the insistence of her parents. Someone walked by their aisle and Usagi lowered her voice to a whisper. "Who do you think is the target?"
"Mamoru. Do you have any idea what your pretty boy does?" Usagi shook her head because she really didn't have specifics. "Did you know he was an agent?" This time she had to nod, there was no point keeping secrets, not if she wanted Celeste to protect him. "He's up to par with me. He goes into a city and joins whatever SWAT is going in to bust up a drug ring and then brings them back to Tokyo to be questioned by his agency. He also is in charge of some higher quality stuff like signing off for assassinations and he used to be one as well. Although his record is small there, they were dangerous and he shot with precision. He doesn't end there either, he brings down corrupt firms and gangs."
When Celeste was impressed, Usagi knew she had to be as well, though it annoyed her that he held back again. "So you're saying in a fight, you'd want him on your side? That he's also someone who could have countless people wanting to kill him?"
"If they know who he is." Celeste agreed. "I only knew because you told me his name and I looked for over a year searching for any dirt on him. It's deep but I just found it a few days ago. Why didn't you tell me he was an agent if you knew?"
"Despite being my sister, I couldn't tell you that. Anyways, I just found out today what he really does, just not the extent."
"So the truth comes out." Celeste laughed. "Found out when they were shooting at you?"
Usagi's nose wrinkled. "He said he was going to tell me after the wedding but with how deep he is in it, I bet that was a lie, as was his plan to quit at the end of the year."
"After it was too late to call off the wedding. It'd take months for a divorce or annulment and by then maybe he'd be able to talk you out of it." Celeste surmised.
"No, I don't think he was thinking that way. I think he was waiting for marriage so then I wouldn't have to testify under that spousal protection thing. Besides, I'm not angry he didn't tell me, I was going to wait until after marriage to tell him about you. I'm just angry that he might not quit or be able to, though I believe him when he told me he would. He knows about you by the way, that you exist not that I'm meeting with you now."
"Why would you tell him that?" Celeste rounded on her.
"Because his grandfather was a lucky survivor and knew your face and believed I was you. I had to clear myself to get them to trust me again and get out of there."
"His grandfather's an agent too?" Celeste's eyes for good reason were disbelieving. Usagi nodded. "Great, a family business."
"They work for different agencies. They didn't even know about the other."
Celeste stopped and looked at Usagi. "I know about your own involvement with a separate agency. Your cover isn't as deep as lover boy's. I've known since you've joined, you're not as good at hiding your tracks as you think you are. I know who they're after and thank you for never ratting me out."
"It was never anything I had to think twice about. You're family and I know you too well to think that you'd do something bad just because you could. Besides its easy to not have any hard facts about you when I never know where you are. As for my Yakuza family... if they aren't clean then the agency being on their tail will force them to clean up their business. If they're found out doing dirty business then that's their problem, not mine. I won't hesitate to bring them down." Celeste nodded, she figured as much. That family had caused a lot of issues for Usagi and had been the ones who had actually started her own career. "I also get to do other jobs there that have nothing to do with my family, I survey the information they've gathered and help put it into some semblance of order so they can decide what to do next."
"I can't wait to see your kids." Celeste laughed. "This family business is only going to expand. I bet it will be four generations."
"Thankfully I think it skips a generation. Mamoru's mom was against her father doing it. I'm also going to quit anything but the necessary with them as soon as I start my new job after my honeymoon. I have no interest in being an agent or working three jobs, way too much to do."
"Did I ever tell you I'm going to be there? Wig of course." She winked.
Usagi's phone peeled and she looked at the caller ID, Mamoru, he was probably frantic, she was gone for too long and she should have told him she was going. "Hi, sorry, I went to the bathroom, I couldn't hold it anymore. I'll be back shortly." She nodded and he was angry but she tried to keep him calm, she wasn't in any danger at the moment. She hung up and looked at her sister. "I'm not leaving Japan."
Celeste had figured as much, no matter what she'd suggested. "Here's a phone I just bought. It receives calls and you can call your cell, no one else." She pressed the importance. "Do you understand me? Just you and me on this one."
Usagi nodded. "Where am I going?"
"Tokyo." Usagi raised an eyebrow and Celeste grinned. "You're going to the suburb of Juuban. It's a sweet little community, I've already got a bodyguard in place for you to pretend he's your husband. You'll be there until I say otherwise, got it?" Usagi nodded. "I'm no good at making up Japanese names so you'll go by Serena Hawthshorne, a German, settling down in Japan for work for a few years. It'll be different than Azuba district in the city that you're used to. These people are nicer."
"But my accent? I'm not trained like you are."
"Fake it, now, I've got to go. Hurry let's get to that bathroom and switch clothes." They went into the grocery store's bathroom and gave her sister her purse. Celeste shoved several credit cards with Serena Hawthshorne on the front. Usagi raised an eyebrow at the preparedness. "I've always had it ready in case something happened and I got it moving as you came to meet me and heard your voice."
One last hug, see you soons and stay safe partings Celeste now dressed as Usagi, with the distinctive hairstyle, slipped out the window and intended on getting into the bathroom closest to the train tracks by the same method. Usagi now dressed as Celeste just walked back out into the grocery store and tried to get used to saying the name Serena and pretending it was her own. It seemed odd and couldn't understand why it seemed so familiar.
Usagi was lucky to have a twin which could get all this into motion in a second and take care of everything. She only wished Mamoru had it too then she wouldn't have to worry as much. Celeste thought that Mamoru was the target, Usagi wasn't so sure, she figured it was Akane, though nobody would suspect the gentle artistic dying man as the target. One thing was for sure though, it wasn't her or Celeste as Usagi had lived in Tokyo her entire life and never had an attack against her except for one grieving man had attempted to nab her at a party.
Mamoru blamed her friends for letting anyone get that close to her but they'd stopped it in the end. They didn't have to be with her every second of the day watching out for her, her own bodyguards should have known something was up and stopped him themselves. Usagi never blamed her friends and she tried to convince Mamoru of the same thing. Nobody had known he'd had a vendetta against her family, some yakuza apostle had killed his daughter in a drunken rage and he wanted to take the head's daughter in return.
He'd grabbed her when she was exiting a bathroom and between the loud music and the hand over her mouth her screams weren't heard. She'd fought her way out of his hold but he'd hit her trying to knock her out so he could just carry her out but it just made her dazed rather than unconscious. The girls had noticed she'd taken longer in the bathroom than normal and went to look for her. They stopped him before he managed to get her out the back door.
Usagi had tried to get the story out to Mamoru afterward before he could form his own conclusions but he'd seen the bruise before the words could leave her mouth and he'd done exactly as she suspected. He started yelling at her friends about responsibilities and how someone should always be with her and didn't forgive them even after she defended them.
He also grumbled about her 'supposed' bodyguards and they'd been replaced with guys her age but were less friendly and less able to convince to see her point of view. They did their jobs more effectively. Usagi had preferred the wittier elders she'd had most of her life. They had at least let her go to parties alone. The new ones followed her in and hid in corners and had shoved her into a car when the danger had been minimal and hardly likely to get through the door but they were entirely too sensitive to mild threats. She'd had worse growing up and some of those threats got to her but nothing had gotten through until that party, these lesser threats were nothing.
At least somethings she was able to do alone, like live in her apartment and they lived the floor below her and waited around for her to call them if she was going out and usually there was one or two in the lobby in case she didn't call. Then they'd hang around outside the building she worked in and sat in the back of the classroom rather than bunch around her so if there was pair work the other students wouldn't think she already had partners.
She dryly thanked Mamoru for that move as they got followed on dates now too, to his annoyance. They all worked for her father and Mamoru had cornered him on the shoddy protection job that the elders had done as their family was one of the highest risk for attacks in the country.
Sometimes Usagi wondered if Mamoru would hire bodyguards for their children, and sit in the nursery and follow them into the elementary school and sit in on those classes too. He probably would if he could. The fact he'd left her alone now with people on his trail, trying to kill him confused her as he was so overprotective of her and probably wouldn't let Celeste out of his sight. Even blind spots or corners he'd have to be with her. Usagi couldn't keep the smirk off her face at the thought, that would just be torture for Celeste who was used to slipping in and out of places that nobody thought was possible to get lost in. Mamoru would have his hands filled with her.
Any normal day outside of Tokyo, he wouldn't have thought twice about leaving her to her own devices for awhile. The attack had changed that unfortunately and she'd never get a breath to herself again. He'd be absolutely furious to learn of the switch and that she traveled alone to Tokyo on the slower train that was leaving about a half hour later.
She got a simple text that only read 'ok' and Usagi went out to the cafe near the train tracks and killed time, finding a ticket in her possession for the second train, already bought and paid for by Celeste. She wasn't looking forward to being picked up by her 'husband'. A knot twisted in her chest at the word, and it was then that she recalled that she still wore her engagement ring from Mamoru. He'd wonder where it went and she would have had a pair by now if she really was married. She was surprised Celeste hadn't thought of that, she hadn't because she only noticed the ring now when she caught sight of it, it felt so natural on her finger. She played with it nervously now, she already missed Mamoru. It wasn't an overly big rock, he knew she didn't go for that but he went as big as he could so he could rub it in her mother's face without saying or confirming anything. Usagi let him as her mother had been a jerk and deserved to know that neither would take her abuse.
'Serena' boarded the train, wondering how her sister and fiance were doing and tried not to get jealous of the thought of them touching. All of them were doing this for Usagi and Mamoru, and she knew Celeste wouldn't permit or start any touching that wasn't absolutely necessary. She didn't even want to think about them kissing. Celeste probably wouldn't allow it at all, not wanting it but more importantly it would give her away instantly.
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Mamoru engulfed 'Usagi' in his arms and kissed her forehead the second she left the bathroom. "You had me worried and your response on the phone was so curt. I thought something happened." Celeste forced a smile onto her lips, it was time to act like her twin, the only problem was, she didn't know how Usagi acted with her boyfriend. At least she didn't have to look for him and pick him out of a crowd however she never forgot a face once she'd seen it and she'd seen a picture of him years ago when they first started dating, it was only when they got more serious that she started investigating him. He was lucky he came clean with Usagi first because if he hadn't she would have put an end to this relationship by any method she had to, he was too dangerous to be around Usagi without making her aware of the dangers she'd be in because of him.
"Sorry love, I got caught up in the bathroom when a girl's got to go, she's got to go, you know? Then a girl next to me was having that time of the month issues and I had to help her sort it out." Celeste decided to be the most cliché and lovey-dovey version she could be, as they were going to be married soon and all newlyweds were known for starting that gag worthy show early.
Mamoru narrowed his eyes at that response. Usagi was acting incredibly strange. A lot of it was the same, but the essence of it was different. They were moving towards the train down below the ticketing window.
Celeste caught the movement and pressed herself up against him and laughed, she needed to find the Usagi within her and do a better performance but first she'd try to distract him and get him on that train. Nothing could disrupt her plans. "Oops, did you feel that small jerk? I'm such a klutz." The escalator below them had done no such thing but she hoped he wouldn't notice, or that he believed her. Either way. She hadn't believed until that moment though that they could get any closer, they were packed in like sardines as a massive crowd headed for the same destination. Thankfully they were going to split off towards the different cars soon. The train wasn't going to be in for another few minutes.
The train pulled up just as they reached their boarding location and he followed Usagi onto the train. They'd be back in Tokyo in a few hours and he'd get to the bottom of this then as they went towards their seats. The train started before they got to them and he expected the jerk to throw off her balance and he automatically reached out to steady her but she was steadying herself before he even touched her.
She tossed a thank you over her shoulder and shook her elbow out from his grasp. She continued on her way to their seats and he slid in next to her, putting the armrest up so he could pull her up against his chest. He rested his cheek against the top of her head, she felt slightly stiff in his embrace and felt her work on relaxing completely. She did but if he was anyone else he wouldn't have noticed.
He fully expected her to nap on the way back to the city and let him worry about surveillance, any time she could squeeze a nap in she did. He took in a long whiff of her hair, her smell usually relaxed him some and he was fairly positive the threat wouldn't reach them again until Tokyo. "You smell differently." He commented, grumpy that he hadn't got his Usako smell and he'd said the words without thinking through whether or not he should.
He felt her shift and it was probably supposed to be a shrug. He didn't hear the usual falseness in her voice when she lied so knew she was telling the truth though it seemed implausible that there were two things holding her up in the bathroom. "Some lady was dousing herself in perfume when I walked by, there was so much of it, it probably clung to my hair too."
He kissed the top of her head, accepting it easily. "I'm sorry I've gotten you involved in all of this."
Celeste was burning to just ask him why he thought it was a smart idea to get her involved in the first place and then leave her on her own while he got these tickets. Although Celeste knew it was good for her, she was still angry he'd leave her sister in a crowded building. Better crowded then empty, she reminded herself and Usagi hadn't gone into details on how she had gotten away to the bathroom without his notice. He might have put her in a safe spot, which her sister then abandoned to meet up with her... Still, even if they were after him they could have used Usagi against him.
She must have been quiet for too long because Mamoru sighed. "Say something."
Celeste glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I accept that." A smile was added because Usagi smiled a lot and Mamoru shook his head and pulled away from her, letting it fall back against the seat behind him.
Celeste had the distinct impression that she'd said something wrong. She realized with a start that she didn't know her sister all that well, and not nearly enough to pass as her, especially by someone who knew her so intimately. She could pretend to be anyone she wanted but she never needed to be anyone that already existed and was involved with the person she was deceiving. She'd just do her best and call on all the little things she remembered about her sister.
She leaned against his side, knowing her sister liked to touch if she could and wouldn't hesitate about touching him and sighed. "I'm sorry too. I'm not angry." She rested her head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her and she soaked it in, even if it wasn't meant for her. She enjoyed feeling arms around her, holding her and not trying to kill her or get something from her, just holding. She now understood Usagi's draw to this man, he really did love her, he wasn't even trying to cop a feel, even playfully, he was just as content to hold her as she would be to be held. She hoped they stayed together, she knew how to read people and she read only good things about this man's intentions towards her sister.
When they got back to Tokyo hours later, they left the train-station and headed towards the car park. He halted her with a hand out in front before they got further than the door to the space designed to hold many cars. "I have to allow you a choice now, one of which is something you should do, leave me now and go home to your bodyguards or stay with me through all of this and marry me at the end. Either way its your choice."
"I still want to marry you Mamo-chan, of course I do. Nothing would make me say no to you and there's nothing I want more." Celeste looked at him with as much love as she could muster and had to tap on her feelings for her sister to provide enough to convince him. Mamoru nodded and pulled her in for a kiss and she knew this would either make her case or break it and had no idea how her sister kissed this man.
She felt him tense slightly during it but when he pulled back he was all smiles and wrapped his hand around hers and led her further into the carpark. He dug around into his pocket as they walked and then he was pressing something into her hand. She looked down and saw a set of keys. "You drive, Usagi."
Celeste felt like there was a challenge in there and since she didn't know which car it was hoped that it would tell her with the press of a button. She heard the unlock system from three cars down and breathed a sigh of relief. She went over to the driver's side, thinking in his shoes he'd made the right choice, he should be free to defend them rather than drive because of the two of them he figured she was the least capable of shooting back and Usagi was a decent driver when Celeste had her behind the wheel and they were practicing get-away runs. Celeste would choose Usagi to drive any day over a professional, she had an innate talent at avoiding objects while going fast.
Mamoru went around the bonnet and slid into the left side of the car feeling unease, he had just proved to himself that this was not his Usagi. His Usagi would have said 'What? No Usako? Are you mad at me Mamo-chan?' And when he'd told her to drive she'd have responded back with a cheeky remark about how she got to drive his baby and not just get in like it was an old hat. He glanced at her left hand sitting on the wheel and he wanted to ask about that but knew it would tip his own hand. There wasn't even a mark showing that a ring once sat there, especially as they had just finished summer. He sat back in his seat and looked at her while she waited for him to finish buckling up. "Go ahead, drive home."
The way he'd said it put Celeste on edge, he was testing her again and she couldn't be sure why. Most of the time he seemed oblivious to the fact that she wasn't Usagi and sometimes he got a cold look into his eyes when he gazed at her. Perhaps they weren't so made for each other as she'd originally thought. On top of that she just realized she only knew where the Tsukinos lived, not Usagi's current abode and didn't want to tip her hand further, she only had a few beads left. "You know what... why don't you drive? I'm not feeling up to it." Definitely not a Usagi remark either, especially once she got to sit behind the wheel.
He could give her a few things since they were in an entirely new situation and she might have dropped a few tell-tale Usagi words or actions but there were far too many and too obvious to be anything but a clue. He tried to infuse concern into his next question. "Are you getting a headache?"
She latched onto that and nodded. "Yes, I am getting a headache." Liar, Mamoru thought furiously, she didn't know he knew. "Must have been that woman who spritzed me with the perfume, way too much of it."
Mamoru toyed for a moment in forcing her to drive and revealing his knowledge but in the end switched spots with her, delaying forcing the issue until he had some idea about where the real Usagi was and why this woman was here in her spot. The longer he pretended, perhaps the longer Usagi had. He was very much tempted to deposit her at her parent's house but he'd never get at her again and he needed access. So instead he drove her to the apartment she shared with four other girls.
She had the keys to the apartment as well as everything else that was on Usagi's person when he'd last seen her and let them in. All of her stuff was mostly in boxes, just as his were, thanks to Usagi and they nearly tripped over one that had been open and started before they left.
Ami came out of the kitchen at the noise. "Usa-chan! Thank goodness you're back! You're early!" Mamoru had never seen her so excited before or using so many exclamation points. "Quick Mako-chan has gone ballistic! You need to talk to her, you're the only one good at calming her." Mamoru leaned back to watch what this imposter would do. He knew the girls were strong enough and fast enough to help detain her if it came to that.
"Of course." Celeste smiled at the blue haired girl but didn't know her name. She entered the kitchen and there were three girls in there. Damn! Which one was Mako-chan?
Thankfully she didn't need to work too hard to figure it out. Rei stood up when Celeste entered the room. "She won't tell us what's wrong."
Mina stood as well. "She's made five different types of brownies! Today!" The last girl looked exhausted and now relaxed in her seat. Celeste figured five different brownies was pushing normalcy for her.
She shooed them out of the room and sat across from Mako-chan. "Mako, please, tell me what's wrong. What happened?" She put her hands on top of Mako's.
"Since when do you call me that?" She asked quietly, withdrawing her hands. "You know how I feel about that name."
"I'm sorry, Mako-chan, please, tell me." She looked across the table in the best replication of Usagi as she could do. She was losing another one, damn it!
Makoto sighed and buried her head in her hands. "Oh Usagi, it's horrible!"
Celeste moved next to her and wrapped her arms around Makoto. "It's all right." She soothed. "What happened?"
Makoto pushed her away. "Who are you?" She demanded as she slid her chair back and jumped to her feet. Mamoru and the girls rushed in when they heard a crash and Celeste looked at all of them confused. Most of them had thought perhaps Usagi had dropped something, Mamoru was the only one who thought otherwise. "It's not Usagi, Mamoru! Who did you bring home? Are you even Mamoru?"
Mamoru held up a hand and Makoto stopped her tirade, knowing instantly that it was indeed Mamoru in front of her but it didn't explain why he'd let this imposter into their house.
Celeste stumbled to her feet in a panic. She wasn't concerned about herself but her sister and she had to convince them somehow that she was who she said she was. "I'm Usagi!" She protested. "How could you even think otherwise?"
Mamoru shook his head. "Give it up Fox, I knew for awhile now. Where is Usako?" He demanded.
"I am Usagi!" She objected. "Why won't you believe me?"
"Where's your engagement ring?" He countered and she looked down at her hands in guilt and surprise. How could she have forgotten that?
"I must have lost in somewhere in the confusion. It's always been slightly too big. Must be in the bathroom at the train station."
She got five identical looks of disbelief. The blue haired one stepped forward slightly. "If anything the ring was a tad too tight. She could never get it off, not that she wanted to. What have you done with her?"
Her shoulders sagged and looked at them. "How could you possibly know?" She was directing this one towards Makoto because she had all too sinking of a feeling that she knew how Mamoru confirmed his suspicions and didn't want to let anyone else know about it.
"Nothing you did was true to form of Usagi. While I wouldn't say she's predictable, I'd at least say there are a few things you can count on her to react to the same way every time." Mamoru too was careful with his words, he was disgusted that he had ever touched lips with her.
"You don't feel like her in any sense." Makoto confirmed. "She'd never have called me Mako, Mako-chan yes, Makoto yes, but not Mako and she wouldn't have accepted Usagi. That's only used when Rei's angry or we just say it. Not when I'm feeling down."
"What are our names?" Rei asked before anyone could say a word, Celeste was damned before she even opened her mouth and this was just confirmation to the rest of them.
Celeste knew she should have looked through Usagi's phonebook before coming. She knew she lived with other girls but hadn't been expecting all to be home and to attack her like that. Usagi probably didn't either, otherwise she'd have warned her. "Well you're Rei." Everything she'd heard pointed to that. "She's Makoto." Celeste hooked her thumb behind her to Makoto. "And you two-" Celeste stopped, she had no idea, not even the smallest clue and as she racked her memory she wanted to have Usagi tell her about her friends. She never did, her friends had always been a closed book. The only reason she knew about Mamoru was because her life would forever be linked with his and Celeste had a right to know about her brother-in-law. Celeste took a deep breath and admitted it. She had already marked all the exits when she walked in and now she would either have to use them or diffuse the situation. "All right, you're correct. I'm not Usagi."
"Where is she?" Mamoru demanded again, he hadn't expected all of this to blow up so soon but he should have known her friends would have caught on quickly.
"She's safe." Celeste told him, straightening and dropping the facade. No one would confuse her with Usagi now even though they were wearing the same clothes. She tried to get across to him just how safe her sister was, and that he needn't worry.
"She's not in my sight, so she's not safe. Now where is she?" He asked one more time and his tone conveyed that it'd be the last time he asked nicely.
Celeste frowned at him. "It's because of you that she's in danger in the first place! Besides she's safe where I've hidden her. I'm here to protect you." Her hands slammed onto her hips and it was such a Usagi move that his heart constricted. Sure enough there were traits that were passed onto both siblings besides their looks.
"Now listen to me, we don't know who the attack was aimed at. She could be tracked as a means to get to me and I could be a means to get to my grandfather. I'm the only family he has."
She nodded. "I know, that's why I'm here, in public so I get all the attention and not her. Usagi could also be a means to get at her family. Until we know one way or another its best if Usagi remains where she is, hidden and protected."
Mamoru frowned at the woman. "You can assure me she's safe?"
"The safest." Celeste confirmed. "Now, you girls, please tell me your names!"
"I'm Minako and she's Ami." Minako told the girl, she could hear a slight British accent now and instinctively knew that she could be trusted if Usagi trusted her. It wasn't usually a trait that people would associate with the missing girl but anyone who really knew her knew that her instincts were right. She trusted far too many but because of that trust she was usually rewarded with a strong friendship whereas anyone else would get into trouble for being so naïve. It was uncanny how similar the two girls looked, this Minako and her sister. "What do you plan to do?"
"Draw them out or wait them out. We'll go back to our normal lives and I'll take over Usagi's for awhile. What is her schedule like?"
"Tough." Ami told her. "She always thinks my classes are hard but the facts don't usually change and I don't have to weed my way through several sources and opinions and make out my own truth in time to present it to a large group."
"She's starting a new job soon." Mamoru explained. "She's also graduating school soon. Next week to be exact."
"Hopefully she'll be back by then. Girls I'm going to live with the Tsukinos for the meantime to help draw attention away from here and Mamoru won't come to draw attention either if he's the target. Tomorrow night I'm having dinner with them and I need advice. Today you'll give me all the ins and outs about how I'm to behave."
"I'm going to dinner with you tomorrow." Mamoru stated in a tone that would broke no argument.
Celeste rolled with that knowledge easily. "Of course. I need someone by my side to tell me I'm doing something wrong. Since it's obvious I give myself away otherwise." She joked.
Nobody laughed while Mamoru nodded solemnly and the other girls just looked at her before Minako spoke up. "I see we have a lot of work to do so you can pass."
"I thought that would be a Usagi-type of joke. She's so light-hearted and everything." Celeste looked between the girls and wondered why nobody asked her who she truly was. Mamoru had alluded to her true life but even he didn't know her real name. They just kind of accepted it once she'd admitted that she was lying about who she was. She began to be seriously concerned about who Usagi had around her and their easy acceptance of liars.
She almost forgot what they were talking about when someone responded to her last comment. "It would be, but not in that context. Let's get started, you'll need all the help you can get." Makoto told her dryly and Celeste could see a spark of anger in those green eyes and maybe she wasn't surrounded by chumps like she'd thought.
Makoto was angered at first that someone would take Usagi's place but then disappointment set in at Usagi's absence. Now it gave her an opportunity to forget all her old worries and concentrate on something else in a way that even if Usagi had been here wouldn't have allowed her. "First, what's your real name, Fox?"
So maybe it just took them time to get to the same questions she'd be demanding right away. Celeste smiled back at her and everyone knew she wouldn't tell. "Let's just continue with calling me Usagi so you won't accidentally call me the wrong name when it matters the most. Just so we're all clear on the matter, I'm the real Usagi's twin sister."
The girls nodded excepting that at face value. "Let's get started shall we? Now you need to know Usagi hates her family." Minako began.
"I wouldn't say hates her family." Rei chided, knowing what it was like to really hate a family member. Her father was in Tsukino-san's pocket. "I'd say she more distrusts them than anything else. She can't hate anyone."
"Maybe more like dislike then." Makoto added.
"No." Ami shied away from all their stares. "She just doesn't get along well with her mother. Something happened years ago between them." She supplied.
So Usagi's feelings towards her family were complicated, she could understand that. Their own mother wasn't so stellar and after years of thinking she could help the drug-addict she'd just given up on her and left. Somehow she was still alive though and roaming around England looking for her next score.
"She hates Mamoru." Minako added and then realized Celeste didn't understand what she was talking about. "Usagi's mother." She clarified.
"Thinks he's poor trash." Rei confirmed. "From the south."
"Not good enough for her daughter." This continued throughout the night, someone would start something and two or three others would add to it, each adding their own view on the issues that Usagi would sometimes share with them and what they could recall.
Mamoru stayed quiet the whole time allowing the girls to do all the explaining and never added his own opinion into the mix. He was watching her with an intensity that would disturb her if she wasn't used to it. Eventually he must have been satisfied and snuck out around eleven.
–
July 14, 2000
–
That morning Celeste woke up in Usagi's bed and crashed her pillow onto her face in frustration. She'd deal with those girls later, they were more like twins than Usagi and her had ever been. As far as she knew Usagi and her had never finished each others' sentences. She was not looking forward to dealing with them again so early in the day. She never knew who would be speaking next, at least she'd gotten the general tone from each. Celeste could see why Usagi surrounded herself by these women, they all have vastly different opinions on certain matters but they were united in how they felt about each other.
Celeste was unused to this feeling of peace, she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept the whole night through. Even though she wasn't her sister she felt that they would look out for her. It wasn't expected that she would go back to her apartment and the same went for Mamoru. They'd have to figure something else out after dinner tonight. There was still the possibility that they were after Mamoru's grandfather and not either of them but Celeste wouldn't let her guard down for a moment. She was all too aware of what happened when you did.
She lifted her shirt and looked down at the scar that had healed over, years ago, but was a constant reminder that nobody could really be trusted. She only gave so much power to Usagi but that was because she'd earned it and up to this point had no involvement in her clandestine life. Even this wasn't her fault and it was her duty to not only escape with her life but to protect her sister as well. She had always looked after her sister, this now was a time she had to physically intervene to make sure nothing happened to her twin.
EAN: I'm afraid to inform you all this unfortunate piece of news: my internet is down again and it doesn't seem likely to be back up any time soon. So I'm thinking the earliest you will get updates is in December. I know, I know! But if it comes back up before then, then I'll update at least 1 or 2 stories. In December I will update a chapter for 5 stories or 5 chapters for 2-3 stories... Something to that effect. Promise. And no new stories, that will just be an extra bonus if I do.