Note: Happy Weekend People! Here's the next chapter, so just a reminder that Usagi is not mentally a 14-year-old and so some ideas and thoughts will cross her mind that are more "adult" in nature. Hybris my darling beta did the naming of the chapter again. AS you can see her sense of humour amuses me xD
MAMO X USA WILL HAPPEN EVENTUALLY! THEY ARE JUST NOT READY FOR "FOREVER" RIGHT NOW. So prepare yourselves for some Usa/others and Mamo/others. It'll be brief but it will be here.
Chapter 14: Don't Count Your Chickens
Sky blue met royal blue eyes as they stared at each other in horrified awe and disbelief. He was still looming over her prone body, mesmerized by the depth of emotion in her eyes. He knew those eyes, bright and familiar, they haunted his dreams.
'Usagi.' He thought.
That was Usagi staring up at him. Sure, half of her face was covered, but her eyes and hair, no matter the style, were the same. She was the only girl he had ever met with hair that changed from gold to platinum gold depending on the light. He had spent many a time being distracted by her hair, and could you blame him? She was the only person he knew with such a crazy length and a truly diverse repertoire of hairstyles.
Moving away from her, he managed to get in a sitting position before his body decided to remind him of the many aches and pains he had gained during this fight.
'And isn't that wild? I was in a fight!' He still was having a hard time wrapping his mind around that. Finally, he had an explanation for all those bruises and cuts that would randomly appear after his blackouts; why he was steadily losing weight even though he had been eating properly. Or rather, he had thought he had been eating properly.
'I should have been having more calories…'
His memories of the past were a bit clearer now, after Usagi -or was it Moonlight Knight?- covered his head with that silver light. It seemed Tuxedo Mask didn't know everything that had happened, but what he did know made Mamoru's dreams more coherent.
'I was Prince Endymion, heir to Elysion and next ruler of the earth.' Hence his dreams of being a prince, 'And I was madly in love with the Moon Princess.'
Glancing back to Usagi, he noted she had managed to drag herself up, wobbling and clearly unstable.
'Was I drawn to her because of our past?' Mamoru didn't like how he wasn't sure about that. He had lost so much control over his actions these last few months…Were any of his decisions really his? Or some by-product of a shadow of instincts created from a dying Prince's wish?
'Surely after talking with her, I like her for herself and not because of our past?' Closing his eyes, Mamoru tried to focus on his scattered memories as Endymion.
Images of an innocent looking girl, with wide, naive blue eyes peeking from behind a tree flooded his mind. She really had been so unaware of the dangers of the world and very cute in her curiosity, Mamoru remembered how his past self had been charmed by her lack of guile.
'She's so different from the Usagi-san I know now…' Opening his eyes to see her wobble towards the other side of the roof, Mamoru felt a spike of concern as she leaned on her knees for support. Twitching to get up and help her, he couldn't help but stay seated as she glanced at him sharply; a silent warning that she didn't need any help. Smiling helplessly at her stubbornness, he really couldn't help but compare the two versions. Both were loyal and warm, but this Usagi was far more selective on who got that loyalty. Both loved nature, but while the Princess was curious and innocent in her love Usagi seemed to gain comfort and peace from it.
'Usagi-san…She's more mature and serious than the Princess.'
Letting loose a small sigh of relief, Mamoru was glad that he met this Usagi. While he was certain the Princess' innocent ways would have charmed him, especially since she was so sincere in her feelings, he knew himself too well. He would have eventually gotten frustrated with the lack of equality in their relationship, especially if he felt unable to share his thoughts and opinions on certain things with her.
'Unless my memories of the past influenced me more strongly, an innocent and very naïve Usagi-san would have eventually tested my patience.' Leaning back on his hands, Mamoru looked her over in her Moonlight Knight outfit. Deadly, competent and clever, with a core of kindness and loyalty, Mamoru couldn't help but be impressed that she had grown so much from one life to the next. This Usagi felt more his type in his current life, at the very least Mamoru could claim that. But was that his type because she was that kind of person? Was he doomed to like her regardless of how she was?
He really had to figure out what he felt for Usagi. Before unifying with Tuxedo Mask, he'd thought she was this cool girl who he wanted to be friends with. But now? He had no idea.
"Tuxedo Mask, the other scouts are coming up. You should leave." Her voice sounded exhausted as she made her way closer, eyes red-rimmed with unshed tears as she practically collapsed before him.
"I am so sorry that I couldn't save him." Looking at her fallen form, Mamoru recalled that the one he had been fighting against...the General, the blonde-haired man, Jadeite.
'Brother.' Whipping his head around, he stared at the stone statue of one of the men who had grown up with him. Faint memories of a snarky, diplomatic General; a leader to his armies with a cunning, sharp tongue in the political game.
"Jadeite…" Reaching out, Mamoru wondered if he truly was dead. Feeling Usagi shimmy next to him, her hand reached over his shoulder and seemed to glow silver as she waved her hand over his fallen brother. The statue seemed to glow before disappearing into thin air.
"I've hidden him in my hammerspace pocket- yes, you heard right, I have another dimension for a pocket- and I'll meet you tomorrow at the arcade if you want to chat. Now, go." Her arms trembled as she tried to hide her exhaustion, lifting her chin in defensiveness with a stubborn glint in her eyes.
He sighed, ' This version is so stubborn once she makes up her mind.' Mamoru couldn't help but smile at her actions though. She really was inspiring to see, no matter her form.
"Alright...Usagi-san, thank you. You've saved me in ways I can't begin to explain." She'd given him back his awareness and agency; Mamoru didn't know if he ever would be able to explain the depth of his feelings on this matter.
A startled flush crossed her face as he stared at her gently. Reaching out, he slowly grasped her hand and squeezed it in gratitude, before pulling away and blending into the shadows.
Just in time too, as Mercury and Mars burst in on the roof, followed by that black cat.
'Was that cat always there? Or did she just arrive?'
Continuing his journey home, Mamoru wondered if he should just call in sick tomorrow for school and his placement. He didn't think he'd be able to sleep at all tonight, not with everything swirling into a muddled mess.
'Won't lie, seeing Usagi-san flush like that was...adorable.' She really did make him want to tease her some more if only to see how she would react.
'Man, I need to figure out how I'm feeling about her and all this soon.' Plus he needed to speak to her about all this; how she felt and what they would do next.
Following behind the girls, Luna sighed in relief as she spotted that Usagi still alive. For all that she was irritated with her insubordination, Luna didn't want to lose such a valuable asset.
It had been a hard few weeks, as the girls had struggled to defeat the youma - she should tell Usagi that's what they're called - and the strange corpses had appeared after they were defeating them had not helped morale.
'It seems like out of all the girls; so far, Usagi-san is the most adept at purification. It's preposterous that a meer knight could have this kind of skill. She must have been a Knight-Captain, and considering the depth of her purification skills, one that has the ability to maybe, maybe one day become a Knight-Commander.'
It's impossible that she would be any higher than that. Memories have been slowly pouring into her - and revealing more information on their situation as the weeks had gone by - thus giving Luna a better understanding of how things were back in the Moon Kingdom.
Circling the exhausted girl, Luna inspected her uniform as she tried to find a sign that Tsukino Usagi was a Knight-Captain. Back when the Queen had her personalized army, the Knight-Captain's commanded 10 Knight-Sergeants, each having 10 Knights in their squads, thus giving them a force of 100 Knights to manage.
"Hey, could you please, like, not?" Her face was pale, looking almost marble white in the moonlight and her golden hair was a more platinum gold. Her eyes seemed almost silver as she looked down at Luna, a worn and sad look in her gaze.
'Something about this feels… Familiar.' Ami stepped up next to Luna and scanned the area as Rei seemed to bristle and glare at Usagi, her arms crossed in annoyance.
"Based on my readings it appears that Jadeite was defeated. The enemy will either attack harder, now that we have defeated their General, or delay the next attack as they regroup. We must prepare for both scenarios." Such a smart girl Ami was; Luna was so proud of how she had grown these last few weeks.
Rei seemed to have had enough of holding her tongue, as she flicked her beautiful raven hair over her shoulder, "You're welcome! After all, it wasn't like Ms. Moonlight Knight was going to do anything."
"What are you talking about Mars?" The girl looked fit to collapse. Perhaps she was more out of shape than Luna had previously thought...she'd have to fix that.
"I'm saying that we only defeated the General because of me!" As she placed her palm on her chest to emphasize who was the one who saved them all, Luna wondered if she should interfere with the direction this conversation was going.
"What were you thinking, just standing there and talking to him?! Mercury and I were in serious trouble! Do you have any idea how much I risked trying to get close enough to attack him like that?"
Her poor Scouts, they really should have reworked the plan so one of them would face Jadeite instead of Moonlight Knight.
"...Sorry." Both Rei and Luna paused and stared as Usagi just swayed on her knees, barely able to keep her eyes open. Exchanging a glance with each other, they both worriedly looked at Ami, who had already brought out her goggles to scan the Moonlight Knight.
"...Is she concussed? Moonlight Knight actually apologized…" Rei murmured, all wind gone from her sails as Mercury circled Usagi.
"Her energy levels are dangerously low. We have to get her home, and she needs to rest with no strenuous activity for at least two weeks."
"You mean she's going to be useless for weeks?! Ugh! We can't go on like this! Luna!" Rei turned to stare at her incredulously, hands thrown up in the air in exasperation.
"We'll have another meeting dealing with all this later. First, let's take the girl home and get out of here. Before the civilians wake up and cause us trouble."
Usagi looked up from her daze with such a weak glare, Luna felt like patting her on the head. Such a stubborn child.
"..the...re..port…." She mumbled, causing Luna to prick her ears up and creep closer in curiosity.
"Hm?" She prompted, wondering if Usagi had found out something of importance during her battle with Jadeite.
"..The reporters, are they ...okay?" she repeated, barely able to open her eyes as she began to crash.
"Yes, while some guards and reporters had suffered minor injuries, everyone is well," Ami spoke up, leaning down to throw one of Usagi's arms over her shoulder while Rei did the same on the other side.
"Instead of worrying about others, you should be worrying about yourself." Rei huffed, looking sour as she hauled Usagi away from Ami, "Mercury, make us some cover. The last thing we need is those pesky reporters bothering us."
Lune beamed as she trotted behind her girls; they had adapted so nicely to this lifestyle. Perhaps soon they would be able to level up their purification skills so Usagi doesn't have to be with them very much.
'Perhaps Moon Control will have some advice on what to do with this troublesome child.'
The next day had Usagi wondering if it was worth getting out of bed. Her entire body ached while her head pulsed in agony. Never before had she hated the sun as much as she did at this moment. Peeking out from her covers, Usagi looked at the time on her clock.
'Okay, so, it's 9:50 am. Mamoru probably won't be there till 10:30ish. Which means … I have to get up…' Rolling off her bed, Usagi groaned as she stretched. Last night really had taken everything out of her, not to mention something felt very weak and fragile inside of her.
Placing a hand over her heart, Usagi wondered why that spot where the energy lay felt so weak. Sure, she had maxed it out yesterday but it always refilled pretty quickly.
'...Did I break it? Is that a thing now?' Feeling too tired to care, Usagi sluggishly put on a pair of jeans, an oversized shirt decorated with some random English words, and a giant belt to cinch it at the high waist. Throwing her hair in two pigtail buns, she slapped on some concealer to hide the worst of her bags under her eyes. Nothing special, just very casual.
'He can handle me as I am or not at all.' She thought, hobbling down the stairs and seeing a note pinned on the fridge.
It said that her mother had to go to the hospital with her dad, but no worries; everything was fine. They just wanted to do a check-up since he was involved with a monster attack yesterday night.
'Thank goodness he's okay.' As much of a pain, it was to work with Mercury and Mars, they had been decent in bringing her back home. Like, that hadn't stopped Mars from bitching at her, but at least she didn't dump her in front of her house.
Checking up on Shingo, still asleep with no plans to wake up anytime soon, she headed out down the street and towards what would be a very uncomfortable discussion. Usagi knew that Mamoru was charmed by her; he had a little boy's style of showing it, pulling her pigtails and such.
'Yet, I wonder, will he now start to think we are destined for each other and push for more?' Usagi was very self-aware in that she is a very pretty young girl. Adding in her long blonde hair and blue eyes? Well, let's just say that she has had more than enough of suitors who can't take 'no' for an answer.
Spotting his ugly green jacket - honestly, does the man not have more than one jacket?- Usagi gave a small smile as he turned around and gave her a little wave. He looked fresh as a daisy, with not a single hair out of place. The paleness of his skin betrayed him, otherwise, no one else would notice something was wrong.
I actually really like this guy; we work well together and he has good energy. I just don't want to date him. At least, not right now. I hope he respects that and doesn't make this weird.' Jogging up to him, they exchanged some small talk before Usagi decided to just jump right in and ask to go to his house.
"I just don't feel comfortable having this discussion in public." Looking away as she forced herself to be as honest as possible with this guy, she muttered, "Plus...I trust you."
A soft chuckle caught her attention as he gestured towards his motorcycle. Holding his helmet out at her, Usagi grinned at his sheepish reply.
"Thanks, Usagi-san. I really appreciate that. Shall we?"
"Yeah." Clasping his hand after putting on the helmet, Usagi hoped that whatever happened they would be able to remain friends.
Sitting awkwardly in front of each other, Usagi looked at the beautiful apartment. Now that she wasn't trying to sneak out, she could appreciate the calm tones and comfortable yet tasteful furniture. Sipping her hot cup of coffee, Usagi wondered if she should try to address the issue first or let him bring it up
"Usagi-san...I know we kinda talked about this before when you told me about your dreams," He gently placed his coffee cup down on the saucer as he leaned forward, weaving his fingers together in front of his face as serious, dark blue eyes met her bewildered-looking ones, "So I just want to say this upfront. I like you. I am attracted to you. However…"
Flinching slightly at his words, Usagi braced herself.
"I don't feel comfortable trying anything with you." Bowing his head slightly in apology, Mamoru began to ramble as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, but I just found out that my body kept being hijacked by my past life's dying will, to protect you."
Staring with a flabbergasted look, Usagi watched as he bowed even lower, avoiding her eyes as he talked on and on.
"- and while I would of course help if I'm able, I really want to know that it's my choice and not some echo of the past. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't know if my attraction to you is something healthy. Though I admit I might still look you over once or twice because you are very pretty, I swear I don't want to start anything. I just-"
Usagi watched as he broke off, biting his lips in frustration before looking into her eyes again.
"I don't remember this life's past very well yet, and I'm still trying to figure myself out. I am not ready for forever just yet." Speaking slower, he paused before finishing his final thought, "I don't know yet if what I really want is a relationship with you."
Relieved laughter burst from her lips as she tried to not show how happy she was about all of this.
"I swear I'm not laughing at you Mamoru-san, it's just…" Whipping stray tears from the corner of her eyes, Usagi flashed him a big smile as she tried to get her words together, "I was so worried about our friendship dying a horrible death today because one of us decided to push for a relationship because of 'fate' or something."
Reaching across the coffee table, she gently clasped his hands as she looked into his face.
"I really like you as a person Mamoru, and as a friend. I think we could maybe work out if we started to date, but I'm not comfortable not knowing if it's because of past lives' feelings or fate bullshit. Plus I don't think I'm ready for a serious relationship." Tilting her head to the side, she gave his understanding face a mischievous little smile, "I am still 14 years old after all."
"Yeah. Like I said earlier, fate might decide that we keep meeting, but we can decide what kind of relationship we are going to have."
Staring into each other's relieved smiling faces, Usagi felt like she could burst in happiness. She got to keep her friend, and no extra drama had to occur.
'I can't wait till I tell Naru about all of this.' Usagi slowly pulled away from Mamoru as they leaned back into their couches. Just as she was going to pick up her coffee cup, a surge of energy whirled around them. Her dimensional pocket was acting up as it spat out the Jadeite statue and closed up again.
"...Was that supposed to happen?" Mamoru had stood up during all this commotion, his body in a weird defensive position.
"No...It wasn't." Creeping closer, Usagi wondered why that had happened. Was it actually too big for the dimensional pocket?
Cracks started to appear on the statue; they spread quickly across the surface, further breaking the Jadeite statue apart. Once the whole statue had been covered in cracks, it shattered into a million pieces, leaving behind a very naked young man, looking bewildered as he dazedly blinked at them in shock.
'...Who knew that such a short man, could be so big in other areas?' Usagi wondered, absently hearing Mamoru gasp out the man's name in panic.
So Jadeite is like 5'3 in Sailor Moon Crystal with Usagi being 5'0. So for a guy, he is significantly shorter than Usagi is expecting.
Please let me know of your thoughts, comments, questions or concerns!