MoonDragon: Oh my gosh, you guys! I am sooo sad right now! The deadline was yesterday and I FAILED! I lost the bet! Sure, it's over 30,000 words, but it's not complete. -Goes off and cries in a corner trying to control her misery- Don't worry, I'll keep writing. My new goal is for it to be over 100,000 words long, but I'm not making any promises. If you want to cheer me up you can review my story, please. Thanks to all who keep doing that. -smiles-

Unspoken Memories

Chapter 11

A faint and oh-so-familiar scent of roses coated the room that Usagi awakened in. She was lying on her back and fluttered open her eyes groggily. Lazily draped over her body were black satin sheets that felt too comfortable to be real. They formed to her body shape as if it were a warm, layered second skin. She sighed peacefully as the aroma drifted through her nostrils calming her and smiled without realizing it. This was the same scent that Mamoru carried and it was her absolute favorite. There was no better way to wake up… unless he was in the bed holding her tightly to him, but at the time that was impossible.

Stringing together her memory of what happened before she passed out she realized this was not where she used to be. Alert and on edge she sat up and cringed at the strain in her back. It throbbed numbly but she was able to hold the position softly lying back on the pillow for support. It was much better than the wound had previously been, but it was still sore to stretch the muscles. Usagi was positive that with one more healing attempt that she'd be perfectly fine again.

"You shouldn't sit like that, the wound might reopen," a smooth, concerned voice warned from her side. Stiff, she turned her head and softly gasped as Mamoru was sitting there in a chair he must've pulled up to the edge. He held his hands together half-leaning on the bed with such a worried gaze that made it seem like she was the only thing that mattered in the world. This was defiantly not where she had collapsed. Far from it.

"What happened? Why am I here?" she asked hesitantly. The last thing she could recall was Sailor Uranus saying that this war Nokemono started wouldn't end until one side was killed. Her eyes took on a painful gloss and misted over, but the tears didn't fall. She didn't want to bother Mamoru with her sorrow that she couldn't inform him about if he asked for details.

"I'm not sure. I heard my doorbell, opened the door, and you were collapsed on the floor in front of me. Your face was red as you panted, cringing every so often from pain fidgeting in your sleep. I looked around because it seemed impossible that you would walk all the way here and just fall down like that; besides, you were unconscious. At the end of the hall I saw a little girl running away with light pink hair. All I could see was her face for about five seconds before she turned the corner. I didn't bother to call out to the kid because you desperately needed my attention. I'm pretty sure she was the one who brought you here, though." Usagi nodded never taking her eyes away from his.

'It must be that girl again,' she thought. 'Who else has hair like that? This is too confusing. Why, out of all of the people in the world, would she take me specifically to Mamo-chan? The most logical thing to do would be to send me to a hospital, but she took me here instead. I need answers.'

"Mamoru-kun… do you know where she is right now? I really need to talk to her." He shook his head disappointedly.

"Sorry. I haven't seen her since she brought you here two days ago."

"Two days?!" she exclaimed with wide, disbelieving eyes. 'Were my injuries really that bad? Well, they might've been. When I passed out I was still bleeding and landed in glass. But Sailor Chibi Moon was healing me…she must've only gotten the glass out.' "What day is it?"

"Sunday," he replied. "You've been asleep the entire time on my bed. I barely left your side at all, watching, hoping you'd wake up." He blushed realizing what he said and turned away making Usagi giggle. The way he was embarrassed for caring about someone other than himself was adorable. "That-that girl," he said trying to change the subject clearing his throat, "is she your sister or something? She resembled you a bit."

"Um… well…" She hesitated not knowing how to reply. She knew nothing of this mystery girl who came from nowhere. "Not really," Usagi replied thinking back to the child. They did have the same hairstyle, and if she thought back hard enough their faces held a resemblance. They might be cousins or something, but the possibility of that was near zero. "I don't know why she'd bring me here, though." He grinned making the senshi's heart flutter. She bit her bottom lip and reminded herself this was no time to be attracted to him.

"I'm an excellent medical student and pretty well known around here. I even spent a year and a half in America studying. She probably heard of me and figured I could help. I'm glad she did because if she didn't I wouldn't know you were hurt." Usagi blushed and pulled the covers up to hide it bringing the sheets just below eye level. She displayed a secret smile knowing he cared about her, with or without his memories. Maybe it wasn't out of love yet, but that could change.

"Thank you, Mamoru-kun," she mumbled, her voice muffled by the covers. He only nodded with the corners of his lips upturned so slightly it was hard to interpret whether he was grinning or not. "Looks like I missed our study session."

"That's the last thing you should be worrying about in your condition," he scoffed leaning back in his seat. Mamoru then smirked letting out a deep chuckle. "From when we talked before you don't seem like the kind of person to be disappointed about skipping learning." She huffed lowering the covers again with a pout poking her tongue out at him.

"I'm not that big of a delinquent!" she complained. 'OK, that's kind of a lie, but he doesn't need to know that. Besides, I really am disappointed. I was looking forward to it…'

Suddenly, Mamoru got really serious. He brought his clasped hands up to his chin and rested his head on them leaning his elbows on his legs. All joking and fooling around was put aside as he looked her over top to bottom, seemingly imagining everywhere she was wounded under the covers. She felt awkward under his surveillance and knew what he was going to ask next.

"Usagi-san-"

"You can just call me 'Usagi'," she cut in.

"Usagi… what happened? How could you possibly get that injured? Those four slashes on your back… when you were brought here they were so deep that if just a few more layers of skin were gone you'd be able to see your backbone. There were also some shards of glass stuck in you; don't worry, I got them all out. How did you get that way? Did someone attack you?"

The golden haired teen was struck with a dilemma. It wasn't as if she could come out and reveal to him how she had gotten that way. Then again, he did deserve an explanation. Mamoru had tended to her when she was passed out and that was reason enough to tell him her story.'Well, what the heck am I supposed to say? I took away his memories so he could live without knowing about the youmas. I don't want to lie to him… but there's not really another choice, is there?'

"Um… well, I'm just really clumsy, you know? I was running… and ran into a window… and got cut… by the glass…?" She laughed nervously and Mamoru gave her a look.

"You're really bad at lying, do you know that?" he declared looking skeptical. All the teen could do was frown in disappointment. Lying was never one of her strong points. Even if she did excel in doing that sort of thing he'd probably be able to look right through her. "Look, I know we don't know each other very well, but you can trust me. If someone did this to you just say the word and I'll hunt that guy down and drag him to the police."

His eyes held such intensity it made her shiver. He looked absolutely appalled at the idea that someone would try to kill the teen with golden hair. Usagi sighed figuring she could tell him it at least had something to do with the youma attack. That and nothing else. It was normal for stray citizens to sometimes get caught in the crossfire between her and those demons, as much as it pained her to admit.

"OK, did you hear about that youma attack near the shopping district?" He raised an eyebrow not following her words.

"Youma? What is that? You mean that demon-like creature?" The girl mentally slapped herself letting the word slip. Regular people didn't know their proper name was youma. "I heard about it on the news. There was… glass… everywhere…" He put two and two together and got his answer. "You were there then?!" he shouted in disbelief. "But, that was only minutes after you left the arcade! You said you were heading home…" He mused to himself for several minutes leaving the room in silence.

"I had to pass through there to get to where I live," she replied thankfully not having to lie. It really was the direction her parents lived at as well as her apartment.

"I came back to my apartment just a little bit after you left," he thought aloud. "It was maybe a half hour after that when that girl came with you… The time frame fits, I suppose. Why didn't you run away?!

"Well, it just came out of nowhere. I didn't have any time to react as it struck me. Its claws cut through me and I flew back and crashed into a store window," she improvised. It was partially true, just with the major details left out. She looked at Mamoru to see what he thought of it and witness him clench his fist so that the knuckles turned white.

"Where was that super heroine girl that's supposed to take care of them… what's her name, 'Sailor Moon'?! Why wasn't she there?!"

"Hey, Sailor Moon is doing the best that she can!" she replied being more defensive than a normal citizen ought to be. He gave her a look and she elaborated bringing her tone to a quieter pitch. "I mean, she can't always get there on time since the youma appear at any moment. If she didn't show up then I would've been a lot more hurt than I already am."

"And she just left you there near-death?!" he complained angrily. "She didn't try to help you at all? What did she do, show up, impress the onlookers, and leave like a big super star? Some hero!" he spouted in disgust sarcastically.

"No! She just… didn't see me. Yeah! The youma knocked me into a store, so I was inside there when she finally came."

"Didn't she even bother to look around to see if anyone was hurt?"

"She's a pretty busy person, you know! Fighting all by herself… it's probably a huge strain… and burden… probably tiring." A sullen look became her as she smiled falsely assuring him everything was alright. He just shook his head still miffed with a furrowed brow.

"That doesn't matter. She's the one who chose to fight in the first place, so she should take full responsibility if someone gets hurt! If it's that stressful than she should get some help."

"Being a hero takes up most of your free time, I think. Sailor Moon probably doesn't want anyone to waste there life fighting or let someone die in battle. She doesn't want to bother anyone, so she fights alone." Usagi figured she really should be biting her tongue and stop speaking, but she needed someone to talk to. Someone to understand that being a hero is more difficult than some think. Besides, he'd never be able to guess that she was the Sailor Moon they were discussing. The sparkling golden rose by her apartment window made sure of that.

"Well, if she doesn't want anyone to get hurt then that's just all the more reason the gain some allies. No matter how powerful that teenager might be… no matter how precise her magic ability is or how determined she might be… one person alone cannot protect everyone in the world. She'll only be able to protect those that she can see in her sight. Innocent lives will get hurt even more if she takes care of this youma problem by herself… you're proof enough."

He leaned over and stroked her cheek softly as he spoke his last words going up and down repeatedly. His slightly rough hand contrasted with her soft skin, but it was breathtaking as it made her air hitch. She could feel the warmth radiate off of him from the simple gesture as his fingers glided over her face.

Usagi blushed and wondered what had come over him. As far as he was concerned they had met only two days ago. He wasn't openly affectionate unless he was completely comfortable around the person he was with, and a small chat in the arcade wasn't enough to sway his heart like this. Maybe something had happened while she slept and he watched her.

Whatever it was that was behind his actions made her heart skip a beat as he cupped her cheek gazing intently into her navy blue eyes. He was out of his seat by now on his knees and his face was so close she could barely feel his breath on her lips. His thumb stroked her bottom lip as his hooded sapphire eyes locked with hers almost as if he were in a drugged trance. Usagi could hear her heartbeat as if it were echoing off the walls like the base of a slow beat song. She could feel her cheeks flaming up in excitement at what he was about to do and made no move of protest.

A breath's distance away Mamoru seemed to realize the position they were in and pulled back immediately. His cheeks were tinted a heated color as he looked at anything besides her. Neither of them said anything and remained that way for several minutes. Usagi could still hear her heartbeat and placed a hand on her chest as if it would help to slow its rapid pace. True, she was disappointed he pulled back, but it was understandable. From his point of view he would probably imagine this as taking advantage of an injured girl.

"Um… is there anything you want or need?" he questioned trying to make the atmosphere less awkward and move on from what almost happened. He still avoided her gaze probably too embarrassed to. Usagi thought over his offer and ran a hand through her hair finding that it was down and not in its usual buns. It also felt greasy to the touch and her skin felt oily now that she was noticing her appearance.

"Could I take a shower? It's been a while and I feel really gross," she admitted suddenly self conscious about her looks. He could only nod as he stood up from his knees and moved back giving her room to get off the bed. Usagi brushed the covers aside and swung her legs off the edge feeling the carpet under her socks. When she tried to stand up she fell, not used to the weight after so long of resting, and almost hit the floor. Luckily, Mamoru captured her in his arms holding the teen to his chest. "Th-thank you, Mamoru-kun."

"Yeah, no problem," he mumbled letting her go running a hand through his midnight tresses. "Do you want me to wash your clothes while you're in there? If they're not done by the time you get out you can wear my bathrobe, or I could get you something else to wear."

"Yeah, but I'm not giving you my underwear, pervert," she giggled winking. He blushed, but Usagi was relieved to hear him chuckle as well.

"Alright then, just leave your clothes by the door and tell me when I can come in and get them. My robe is in the bathroom closet, you should be able to find it. Can you walk?" She nodded and he led the way to the washroom with her following behind him. Along the way he kept looking over his shoulders giving her a skeptical eye.

ooOoo

After Mamoru heard Usagi give him the signal that it was OK to enter he opened the door and spotted her clothes folded on the counter by the sink. Quickly he grabbed them and exited the room spending as little time as possible in there as he could. He wanted to give her some privacy. He wondered whether or not they'd be dry by the time she got out of the bathroom as he threw them in and started the washer. Girls tended to take a long time so he figured they'd be done by then. Just in case they weren't he went to his drawers and picked something out.

He looked through them for a while having trouble getting something that would fit. 'She's so small and skinny that whatever she wears of mine will be too big.'Finally he pulled out a dark blue shirt that was stuffed in the back of the drawer. It had gotten too small for him a while ago and he hadn't had the chance to throw it out yet. To go with it he chose black shorts since all of his pants would be much too long for her. It was a sports one so it had the white string going along the rim in case she'd have to adjust it to her waist. He folded them and left them on the bed.

Feeling proud of himself and his accomplishment, he went to his kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. Traveling towards the living room he turned on the television and channel surfed until he found the news relaxing on the couch. Although, even though it was on, he paid the TV no mind and lost himself in his thoughts.

'She shouldn't be able to move that well yet,' he mused taking a sip of his drink, careful not to scald his tongue.'There's no way she should've healed that quickly. She shouldn't have been able to even sit and lie back like she was doing without some discomfort.'

He knew full well that wounds as serious as the ones she carried wouldn't heal so quickly in only two days. Sure, he hadn't seen them since he patched her up, but it was still too early. 'And all of the cuts and nicks from the glass are completely healed; no scars or anything. Even the bruises are gone…' He sighed leaning back into his couch. No matter how much he thought about the subject it just didn't make any sense. There was no point to even search for an answer.

He still found it difficult to believe that she got hit in that monster attack. 'Hmm, she called them "youma".' His fist clenched as he thought of Sailor Moon leaving her to suffer like that. 'I'll never forgive her for that. Sure, it must be hard to be a savior, but to leave someone like that dieing on the floor… that's too much…'

Mamoru was at a loss when she showed up outside his apartment door. That same cheery, childish girl was in so much anguish. It was such a complete contrast to the other her in the arcade. He barely left her side even though it did get rather boring just sitting and starring at her. Still, even with all the cuts and marks, Usagi still managed to look beautiful. That made watching her less of a burden and more of a pleasure. Good looks or not, he still would've been by her side.

'She had trouble sleeping,' he remembered absently looking at the screen trying to tell him the weather. 'She whimpered a lot and tears came out through her closed eyes… it was so sad. It actually tore my heart out watching her suffer like that. Usagi would only stop and rest peacefully when I held her hand. The only thing I could think about was that I never wanted to see her that way again.'

Even though she was just a high school student who he didn't even meet a week ago, he found himself caring about the girl when he tended to her. A bundle of protectiveness welled inside his chest wanting to keep her from all harm. He remembered wondering in horror if someone was trying to rape, or worse, kill her and she just barely got out alive. He'd have fantasies of tracking down that thug and beating him up until he was in a worse state than Usagi had been in. He cared so much it was almost scaring him.

'And then I went and almost kissed her while she woke up,' he thought sadly to himself drinking in the last drops of coffee. 'My whole body was screaming "just one kiss won't hurt" and I was so fixed on doing so. If she wasn't so attractive that probably wouldn't of happened. Then I just got so scared that I wouldn't be able to control myself around her. I wonder what she thinks of me now. Usagi has probably already labeled me as a pervert who tried to take advantage of her. I can't believe I almost did that.'

He beat himself up mentally over that incident until he heard the noise that signaled the washer was done a half hour later. He walked from his position to the machine and switched out her clothes into the drier. Mamoru thought it shouldn't take too long to dry but realized it wouldn't be done when Usagi got out of the shower. The running water he could hear from the walls was gone leaving him to believe that she was done. 'Then there was a use for the clothes I picked out after all.'

The girl he had been tending to opened the door letting some steam flow out rising to the ceiling. Her hair was dripping wet, but it looked like she gave some effort into towel-drying it. Briefly he wondered how long it must take to dry such long golden locks. His light blue robe eclipsed her frame somewhat making it seem like a child was wearing it. It appeared as if she were blushing from the heat she came out of, giving her an innocent appearance, and Mamoru gulped trying to control his thoughts.