Hello beautiful people,
I hope you've had a great week and are enjoying your time wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
I'm sorry I have been starting my chapters with long, unrelated notes lately. But as I have mentioned before, I don't have too many platforms and so, this place gives me a voice.
As you might know, Canada is grieving the loss of 63 Canadians who lost their lives in a plane crash last week. The pain is double for my community, because out of 176 victims of this tragedy, more than half were of Iranian descent. Today marks the 7th day of their death and I would like to dedicate this chapter to every single one of them, their families and loved ones. So many people have warned me not to advertise what my race is recently and though I am deeply ashamed of my government, I am not going to say the same about my heritage. I have spent my life fighting against injustice and inhumanity that Iran's government is imposing on my people, and I will continue to do so for the rest of my days.
Please pray for the victims of flight PS752 and the families they've left behind and pray for my people, who have been on the streets day and night for the past week, (really, for the past 40 years) and demand justice.
I would like to thank all of you for your continuous support. I couldn't have gone through this past week, planning and writing, if it wasn't for you and the eagerness you have for this story to evolve. A special thank you to DarkenedHrt101, who listens to my crap and heartache and whining at the oddest times. I wouldn't be able to finish this without you girl. Cheers to you.
Krys7: I'm so sorry to hear that you were in the hospital. I hope you feel better now. Let me know how you are. And thank you for your kind words:)
DarkenedHrt101: I just read your review again and I noticed that last week I had warned about the war! Damn this world and damn politics. Every week there's a tragedy happening. Also, I'm so proud of you for writing from the heart this week babe. U know how much I love your story and how much I yearn to read it again and again. Kudos to you and your amazing story:)
Tryntee13: I'm so glad that you eagerly wait for Tuesday updates:) That truly puts a smile on my face. Thank you for your continuous support and let me know what you thought of this chapter.
Kathrick: Thank you for your kind words. FYI, I live in Canada, so I'm safe:) keep everyone else who isn't in your prayers please.
Zanahana: LOL, I love your reviews. Thank you for always deliver such a hyper and happy review. Let me know what you think about this chapter. Next week, will be the last:)
SaturnnFoxx: Thank you:)
Oloferne: I'm so glad your father is out of the hospital. I will keep him in my prayers. I hope this chapter puts a smile on your face my friend:)
Roxypockets1: I'm so glad you got to read the whole story:) Thank you for reading it and leaving me a review. Let me know what you think about this chapter. Cheers.
So, next week's chapter will probably be the last one. I want to give myself some time to heal my soul and to work on my novel. I hope you stick with me until the end:)
Enjoy.
Golak.
The shrine had finally fallen into a peaceful silence and Mamoru couldn't be more grateful.
Who knew getting ready for bed could turn into mayhem when more than two people were involved?
He'd sat, bewildered and, let's face it, a little frightened, as they had tried to manage their sleeping situation.
"I refuse to share my room with anyone besides Usagi, Ami-chan, Makoto-chan, Minako-chan, and Michiru-san…" Rei had announced.
"It would've been much faster if you'd just said who you won't let in your room—"
"...and Setsuna-san…" Rei finished and looked straight at Haruka.
The other woman rolled her eyes and stood up, "Well I refuse to sleep in a prude's room—"
"How dare you…"
"See Rei-chan, even Haruka-san knows you…" Minako was clearly trying to get under Rei's skin.
"Oh yeah? You are on that list now too…"
Mamoru had finally walked out of the room and sat on the wooden stairs. Artemis had joined him, sighing with frustration.
"Are they always like this?" Mamoru leaned back on his elbows and looked up at the sky. The moon was shying behind the clouds.
"They could be worse," the cat replied, "you should see them when they go out shopping.
Makoto had come out to let them know where they could sleep and Mamoru hadn't even tried to hide his annoyance in sharing a room with Haruka Tenoh.
"Just for the record, I hate this arrangement," Haruka pushed back an imaginary strand of blonde hair from her forehead and pinned Luna with a stern look, "but if I must—"
"Yes, you must," who knew Luna had that much charisma and bossiness in her.
"Well okay then…" Haruka stood up and grabbed Michiru's arm, "but where I sleep, Michiru sleeps too."
So, this is how Mamoru had found himself in a rather awkward situation; rigidly sitting on the futon Minako had basically tossed at him, only a few feet away from Haruka and Michiru.
Haruka had placed her futon almost parallel to his, blocking his view from the door and Michiru, "I don't trust you," she told him, "so move, and I'll cut your balls off."
He'd sat on the futon, with his back to the couple beside him and listened to the voices he could hear from Rei's room.
"Mako-chan, can you just move a little?"
"Minako, I swear to God. If you spread your hair on my pillow one more time…"
"Ami-chan sleeps the way she studies...with focus."
"Usagi...can't you control your limbs?"
"I know who'd appreciate her limbs right now…"
"Minako…"
"I have to make a phone call…"
For a little while, all he could hear were Rei's sneers and Minako's giggles. Had Setsuna left the shrine? Or was she just trying to shut her ears against their loudness as well?
From beside him, Mamoru had heard flirtatious giggling, followed by a soft sigh. His ears pricked. He must've been mistaken.
But when the sound repeated, this time a little louder and with Haruka's appreciative growl, he'd jumped up and was out the door in a second.
He'd crashed into a soft body as he did so and if he hadn't been quick enough to reach out and grab her waist, Usagi would've fallen flat on her behind.
"What?"
Usagi looked up at him with wide eyes and just as he thought she might be seeing a ghost behind him, she grabbed his collar and pulled him into the small room a few doors down from where Haruka and Michiru were doing it.
"What the hell did you say to Hiro?" Usagi hissed as soon as she pulled closed the old and rusty sliding door.
Mamoru looked at her and didn't say anything.
"Did you tell him who you are?"
"He'd figured it out himself—"
"What? How's that possible?" she put her hands on her hips; he'd seen that same pose from her so many times before. He could see the faint hue of anger on her cheeks and the way one of her ribbon adorned odangos had come loose. He fought down a smile.
"Stop lying to me Mamoru-baka…"
"Are you really that skeptical in his intellect?"
"What...stop using big, smart-ass words baka…" she sneered and threw her hands up in frustration, "how the hell does he know your identity."
It took him a while to calm her down and tell her what had transpired between him and Hiro earlier that day.
She'd interrupted him every three seconds with little unnecessary questions that he was just getting around to.
"Odango, you really don't have a bone of patience in you—"
"Oh yeah? And you don't have an honest bone in you…"
"How the hell am I not honest? I'm telling you exactly what happened—"
He finally gave in and told her she could believe whatever she wanted, "You know what, this is between you and him; it has nothing to do with me—"
"This has everything to do with you, you bone-head," Usagi shoved her tiny pointer finger into his chest.
"Why? It was your own damn decision to tell him who you are. And who knew he would be this precise and assertive? I'm telling you, he came up to me and flat out said that he knows who I am…"
Usagi pulled herself away from him and knocked something down with her hand in the dark and right onto Mamoru's arm.
"Damn it. What is this place?" Mamoru hissed and nursed his aching shoulder.
"Storage room," Usagi hissed back, "Did you tell him anything else? Anything else about the...past?"
"Didn't you say you've told him everything?"
"I told him everything about me baka. I didn't even tell him who you are."
Mamoru rolled his shoulder back and forth a couple of times; had it been a brick that fell on him? " If you're asking if I told him that I'm your long lost soulmate, your husband—"
"Ex-husband—"
Mamoru smirked, even though she probably couldn't see him, "I'm sorry; I didn't get a memo for our nonexistent divorce—"
"I think your betrayal was cause enough—"
"Damn it Usagi," he finally snapped. He blindly reached out his hands and grabbed the first part of her skin his fingers touched; thank God it had been her forearms. This whole situation, them bantering in a dark storage room was bringing back a lot of memories; with so many of them ending in him pushing her hard against the wall and his cock harder into her slit.
"Haven't we gone through this? I told you what I remember happened and I opened myself up to you...what more do you want from me?"
She tried to pry his hands away but he didn't budge. Because fuck, if she was going to be like this, if she was going to close her ears to his pleas and explanations, he was going to make her hear him.
"I want you to own up to what you did…" she flexed her arms and tried to free herself, but he tightened his hold.
"I did. I owned up to whatever the fuck I remember I did and whatever you told me I did—"
"Then stop screwing with both of our minds. Stop making the whole town sick with your mood swings—"
"Do you think I like having these fucking mood swings?" he let her go and took a step back, "Do you think it's fucking easy for me to see you with him? To feel every time you touch him?"
A pit had finally opened and he felt his feelings rebel against his brain.
"Do you think it's fun for me to feel every time your heartbeat escalates and I know, I just know that you're in his bed?"
He heard her sharp intake of breath but didn't pause, "Do you think I want to feel how you get off? How he touches you and...and…"
He held his tongue just in time; because no matter how much he ached, how much he tried to prune away the ugly jealousy he felt inside, he knew she had every right to be with the man of her choice. He'd done the same thing after all; and no matter how much this weird bond they shared messed with his head and his heart every time Usagi was making love with Hiro, he never wanted to cut it off completely. Because jealousy and hurt and heartbreak be damned; he never wanted to not feel her.
"You know what?" he pushed both hands into his hair and took a deep breath, "I'm done with this," the moon shined a little brighter as he opened the door and it illuminated her against the backdrop of the room, "I'm done with all of this."
He heard her call out his name as he went down the wooden stairs, but he didn't stop.
Tokyo had settled into a tranquil slumber. It buzzed with faint nightly sounds and one by one, the lights were going out; people were getting ready for bed.
On the far west side of the city, two friends had decided to stroll down the street.
"Did you hear something?" One of them asked as he looked at the sky.
"No. What?" the other one followed his lead and looked up with confusion.
The sky turned a bright red colour and grumbled; only once, but the sound had been piercing.
A moment later, the sky turned dark once again.
A creature descended from high up and landed on its bony legs.
It looked around its surroundings and started to walk ahead; stepping right over the dead bodies of those two best friends.
Mamoru leaned his head against the cold tiles of the bath and closed his eyes.
He'd come chest to chest with Minako when he'd left Usagi in that storage room.
He had readied himself to give her a piece of his mind, but surprisingly, she'd only asked him if he wanted to take a bath.
"It might relax you a bit."
He had wanted to go back home and take refuge in his own confinement, knowing that whatever danger might threaten Usagi, he would be by her side in a matter of seconds.
"It's not just about her safety. It's about yours too," Minako had yanked him behind her, "so take the damn bath, relax and try to get some rest."
She pushed him inside the cozy little room behind the main building, "And don't start playing with yourself now. You know some of us are psychics here and can see and feel stuff." She'd closed the door behind her and Mamoru heard her loud laughter.
Minako Aino was seriously crazy.
He allowed the warm water ease the pain on his back and legs. Damn, but taking a bath was an amazing idea; not that he would confess it to that crazy woman.
He put a damp cloth on his forehead and tried to empty his mind of negative thoughts; he focused on his breathing, becoming aware of the humid air around him.
He focused on his body, thinking about all the muscles that needed a good stretch and he tried so hard not to think about the ache in his heart. That was one pain he could never heal.
He heard the faint sound of the door and opened his eyes; he hadn't felt any danger around him and was almost sure that he'd meet Minako's mischievous eyes soon. This was probably one of her stupid jokes.
He leaned up when he saw Usagi standing by the closed door.
"Um…" he said dumbly and she looked away, "I'm kind of taking a bath here, you know...and I'm sans clothes," he sighed when she looked at him again with a frown, "I'm naked…is there something you need?"
He tried to forget his nudity and the vulnerable position he was in; Usagi could take five steps, well maybe six for her, and she'll be standing right over the bath, where he laid bare in warm, lavender-scented water.
She looked away again, "Well...I mean," she stuttered, "I can't go to sleep before…" she pulled at one long strand of hair and huffed in frustration, "I mean, was it true...what you said before?" she still looked away from him and he wasn't sure what she was talking about.
"What I said before?"
"Yeah...you know...about you, feeling my...um," her cheeks turned pink, "feeling my feelings…"
"Uhh…" Mamoru wasn't sure how to answer that; he didn't even know why she had decided to corner him here; in the fucking bath.
"Yeah," he said and then tried to shift in the water; because, fuck, he hadn't noticed her thin pajama bottoms and shirt before; they looked a little big on her, with the collar slightly dropping on her right shoulder; Rei had made such a big fuss in lending her and Ami a piece of comfortable clothing for sleep.
"And when you say you can feel it, what exactly do you mean?" she was fidgeting with the bottom of the shirt, making the drop on her shoulder a little deeper with each pull of her hand.
Damn it.
"I can hear you in my head; when you laugh or sigh...and when you... moan…" he paused when Usagi's head whipped up and her eyes widened, "I mean, very similar to the sounds you make when you're eating ice cream—"
"Baka…"
Mamoru smirked and shifted into a full seated position; the damp cloth on his forehead slid down and dropped with a hushed splashing sound into the water, "I feel your heartbeat; it escalates with the sounds of your moans and then…" he gulped hard and brought his wet hand to his hair.
Usagi's face had turned all red and her breathing was laboured.
"And when you… reach that point, I feel your heartbeat starts to slow…"
Neither of them said anything. Usagi stood by the door and hid her eyes from him and he finally felt the cold that caressed his naked, wet chest.
"Um," he started, "if that's all you wanted to ask—"
It was as if Usagi was pulled out of a slumber; she looked up, startled and turned around and stepped outside.
Mamoru closed his eyes, dropped back against the tub tiles, splashed water around as he went, and groaned. The water was not as warm anymore and the cold he felt inside made him shiver even more.
The drops of water against the sides of the tub didn't allow him to hear the tiny click of the door lock.
He didn't hear her soft footsteps either.
He opened his eyes; his panic soon gave away to confusion as he watched Usagi step into the water and sit on the other side of the tub.
"What the…" he sat up and tried to cover himself as best as he could, "what are you doing?"
She was almost waist-deep into the water, her pajama pants and loose shirt were wet and glued to her like a second skin; the bottoms of her hair were floating around her in dark blonde strands.
"What does it look like?" she said.
Mamoru watched her with a frown, "You do understand that I'm naked...right?"
"So?" she raised a brow; the red hue was still tinted on her cheeks, "it's not like I've never seen you naked before."
He gawked at her.
In a matter of seconds, Mamoru became aware of two things; the first being the speedy rise of his cock and two, Usagi was shifting in her place and leaning towards him.
"Usagi…" he tried to push himself deeper into the back of the tub, "what the hell…"
"Isn't this what you want?" she whispered. Her slim fingers were gripping the sides of the tub as she leaned her upper body towards him, "Isn't this what you dream about every other night?"
It was a futile attempt, trying to pull away from her when his body's reaction to her closeness had always been instantaneous; even back when they'd been cruel nemesis, his body would scream at him for running away.
She was willing and sitting in the fucking tub; the front of her shirt was all wet now, showing off the roundness of her small breasts; the same breasts he'd fondled and kissed countless times in another lifetime; the same ones he saw in his erotic dreams as Mamoru.
Usagi yelped when he pulled her against himself; no words came between them as he stared into her eyes for a moment and then kissed her.
All restraint was cut off as he gripped her waist and tried to mold their bodies together; let her feel the way he reacted to her; let her know what she could do to him.
Water splashed harder against the tiles of the bath as they fought to kiss harder and to grip tighter.
Usagi's knee kept hitting him right there and he flinched in pain. But oh God, it didn't matter which part of her touched it, as long as a part of her was touching it.
"Hold on," he whispered against the side of her mouth.
He stood up and tried not to slip. More water dripped from the side of the tub; he could hear the faint sound of water draining. Air touched his wet body and he shivered. Damn it, but if he could control storms and rain and breezes, surely he could increase the temperature in this fucking bath?
He sat on the side of the tub, flinching at the cold that mocked his ass.
But all thoughts of frozen ass and the cold air fled his mind, as he helped Usagi out of the tub and onto his lap.
He kissed her again.
God, he couldn't stop touching her; and really, her loose wet clothing needed to go. They weren't doing much anyways. He could practically feel every nook and cranny of her body through them, but they still prevented him from feeling her.
"Should we talk about this?" he murmured when she kissed his throat and he tilted his head so she could kiss deeper.
"Do you want to talk," she whispered, "or do you want to feel?"
Feel...feel...he wanted to feel.
He covered her breast with his hand and when she moaned, he pinched her perky nipple through the wet shirt.
Usagi stood up and lifted her shirt over her head; her wet tangled hair got stuck on the way and he helped her with a chuckle.
She straddled him then and he wanted to ask her to lose the pants too; he needed his cock to touch her bare flesh.
She gave him a tiny smile and kissed him.
And the tiny voice inside Mamoru's head that had been whispering something to him from the moment Usagi had slipped into the water, screamed.
This was a dream. He'd probably fallen asleep while he took a bath.
His short-lived happiness bled into the agony that suddenly threatened to swallow him whole.
"This is a dream, isn't it?" he asked, "I'm dreaming?"
"I think...we both are." she pushed back his hair and stared at him.
He couldn't help the sadness that rushed into his veins and into his eyes. God, it'd felt so real. But then again, didn't it always?
"I won't hold back then," he whispered sternly. Because damn it, but if this was all he had if these dreams were all he could ever have with her, he wasn't going to act like a man with morals.
He was going to be a man who'd been away from the woman he loved for years; the man who had missed his wife for centuries.
"You never do." she giggled before her voice was lost into his mouth.
"Touch me…" he begged; she didn't hesitate.
The dance Mamoru knew but all too well started slowly; deliberately; the pulling, the touching, the muffled groans and moans.
He pushed her up from his lap and made her stand up; those pajama pants really needed to go now.
"Undo your hair," he groaned, as he hooked his hands on the waistline of her wet pants and slid it down her legs.
She giggled and took out the ribbons from her hair; a mane of golden hair covered her naked shoulders.
He stood up and pushed both hands into her hair; he massaged her scalp and when she tilted her head up and closed her eyes, he kissed her.
"Can I tell you a secret?" he turned her around and settled her back against his chest; he slid his hand down her chest, over her stomach and right to where he needed it to be. She moaned and leaned her head on his shoulder when he pushed his finger inside.
"Tell me…"
"Sometimes…" he nipped at her ear, "when I wake up from these dreams..." he pumped his finger faster, "and when I finally let myself believe that it was just a dream…" he groaned when she brought her hand back and gripped his cock. He maneuvered them both and pushed her chest against the wall, "I cry."
He took out his finger, she was more than ready now and pushed his cock inside.
Fuck.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Usagi moaned as he pulled out slowly and thrust back inside.
He took his eyes away from where his cock was going in and out of her and looked at the side of her face, "Tell me."
She looked back and right into his eyes, "Me too."
Mamoru's groan was feral and heartbroken and pained all at the same time.
But this was still a dream and there was no way they could hurt each other; at least physically.
So they fucked each other into oblivion. With the need that only one of them had already confessed to in the world beyond sleep.
Rei opened her eyes when she heard a distant rumbling sound.
She rubbed the sleep away from her eyes and focused on the sleeping figures of her friends.
Ami was sleeping on her back; she hadn't moved one inch from the way Rei had seen her sleep earlier.
Makoto slept beside her on her left and was smiling; Rei hoped she was having the best of dreams.
Minako slept while hugging the pillow, with her legs tucked in her stomach and her hair sprawled all over Rei's pillow; she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
She didn't even need to look at Usagi; she could hear her loud snores just fine. Her pillow was tossed aside and she was sleeping with her legs and arms wide open; she must've hit Makoto quite a few times during the night.
Rei frowned when she found Setsuna's futon empty.
Another faint rumbling was heard from outside and Rei tiptoed towards the door.
Setsuna was standing in her thin oversized shirt on the porch and looking at the sky.
"It's coming," She whispered when Rei stood beside her, "and it's coming fast."
Hiro sat up on his bed with a frustrated sigh.
He had tossed and turned for what seemed like hours; he just couldn't go to sleep.
He looked out the window and into the empty street. Everything seemed calm and quiet; so unlike his boiling feelings.
There was no point in imprisoning himself inside his tiny apartment.
He threw on the first things that his hand made contact within the dark. A pair of light grey sweatpants, a darker grey T-shirt and a black hoodie.
He grabbed his keys, his wallet and put on his shoes in the genkan.
As soon as he locked the door behind him, he remembered that he didn't have his ID in his wallet.
I won't go far, he thought.
He pulled his hoodie over his head and walked into the night.
Mamoru's eyes shot open as if someone had shaken him hard.
He closed his eyes and cursed. He was just about to tell Usagi something important; he couldn't remember what it was now. It was as if everything, besides the feel of her and the sounds of her moans, obliterated from his memory the moment he was pulled to reality.
The cold air touched his body and he became aware of his surroundings.
He was still sitting in the tub and the water had turned ice cold.
He stood up and reached out for the small towel Minako had tossed at him earlier.
A rumbling sound reached his ears and he stopped rubbing the towel around his head.
He focused and tried to find the cause of that noise. Something was blocking him and a sense of danger gripped at him.
Now, he could hear faint murmurs from outside. Who was awake at this hour?
He threw his clothes on, damp body and all, and rushed outside.
Before he reached Rei's room, the sliding door to where he was supposed to sleep opened and Haruka's head poked out.
"What the fuck…" she looked at him and then looked inside, "when did you leave?"
"Before I could see the full action," he rolled his eyes. He heard Michiru's faint laughter from inside the room as she came and stood beside Haruka.
"Did you hear that?" Mamoru looked at the sky when a low sound reached his ears.
The three of them met Setsuna, Rei, and Ami in the yard.
"Well, it's nice of you to join us," Rei said in a sarcastic tone.
"We were...busy," Haruka smirked when Rei turned five different shades of red, "I don't know what he was up to."
"He was busy too."
They all looked at Minako who was gliding towards them and yawning.
She stretched her arms above her head and looked at Mamoru, "What? It's true. I couldn't sleep with all those sounds that Usa-chan—"
"Can you just…" Mamoru hissed, "can we just please focus here?"
"Whatever we've been waiting for," Setsuna looked at them one by one, "it's coming. And it's angry."
"Do we even know what it is?" Haruka's eyes were glued to Ami as she typed something fast on her little computer.
"It's alien," The blunette said.
"Well, that's new."
"Minako…"
"I don't get any specific signals from it. It just shows me some strange waves of negative energy."
"I can't figure out what the sound is. Something is blocking my access," Mamoru answered Rei's unasked question.
"The fire didn't show me much either."
They all stood in silence for several minutes as Ami typed away tirelessly.
"Okay…" Minako finally said. A look of determination had settled on her face and her tone didn't have an ounce of sarcasm.
"Whatever this fucker is, we have been preparing for it for a long time," she looked at her Senshi, "we've had two lifetimes of preparation."
"Where is the princess?" Setsuna's facial expression and tone had stayed exactly the same.
"She's probably still sleeping," Rei rolled her eyes, "she can sleep through anything."
"Let her sleep," Michiru touched Haruka's elbow lightly, "she will need all the energy she can get," she paused when Rei, Ami, and Mamoru looked at her with confusion, "if she has to use the Silver Crystal—"
"No…" Minako hissed, "we won't let it get that far. She can't and won't use the Silver Crystal." She said it in a way that didn't leave any room for argument. Michiru simply nodded and kept quiet.
"How much time do we have?" Haruka threw her arm around Michiru's shoulder.
"Not much," Mamoru whispered. He'd been looking at Rei's room since Michiru had mentioned the Silver Crystal. A memory was trying to resurface, but he still couldn't see a clear image.
His skin had started tingling and he knew that something dangerous was headed their way.
In that room, slept the single most important person in the whole galaxy. She had the power to save them all and Mamoru had vowed, a long time ago, that he would protect her with his flesh and blood.
Let them come, he thought. Let them spread their evil for their evil will never prevail.
At the back of his mind, he knew that he had whispered these words to himself once before.
He welcomed Makoto's loud whines as she ran towards them with apologies on her tongue for being late.
He didn't want to remember what had happened the last time he had thought of those words.
Hiro walked inside the little bar he passed every time he'd been on his way to volleyball practice.
He never had the chance to see what lay inside that tiny hole in the wall. The exterior looked like one of those neighborhood bars; the ones that had the same customers every single night and the bartender knew everyone by their given names and knew their drinks and knew just how much they were going to drink that night; because maybe one of them had had a rough day at work or the other was just given a big promotion that would change his life forever.
It wasn't quite how he had envisioned it, but this little place with only three stools at the counter and five more against the wall, looked nothing like a big flashy bar; it was just what he needed tonight.
He sat by the wall and decided to keep to himself. His affable nature usually had him making friends with random people at the most random places.
But tonight he just wanted to be left alone. He looked around the bar. A middle-aged man was sitting at the counter and talking to the bartender. Two other men, maybe in their mid-twenties, were seated only a stool away from him. One of them looked at Hiro nonchalantly right then and looked away.
He probably didn't need to worry about being left alone. He was already alone.
He gestured for the bartender and asked for a single malt scotch.
Neat.
"She really is dead to the world."
"I told you, the hardest part of my day is waking her up."
"Why do you think she's always late to school?"
Usagi moved her arm and tried to find her pillow with closed eyes. She wanted to block their voices.
"She's awake and just pretending to be asleep. I had to endure this for two lifetimes you know."
Damn you, Luna.
"What are you talking about? I was the one who had to wake her every single morning. You know the pain I went through? You know the things I've seen?"
Usagi sat up with a loud shriek, "I'm up...I'm up...I'm up." She stared right into Minako's naughty eyes, "You saw nothing," she thrust her finger into the air, "I always made sure that he'd be gone before sunrise on earth."
Minako laughed and didn't follow through.
Usagi looked around the room, then out the window and frowned, "It's not morning yet. Why the hell are you all awake and chatting over my head?"
Michiru was sitting by her futon and when Usagi looked at her, she smiled; she was really breathtaking. How the hell did she manage to look this magazinly fresh all the time?
"It's time princess," she reached out and grabbed Usagi's hand, "we all need to prepare."
Usagi's eyes widened as she looked around the room once more, "Where's everyone else?"
"Ami-chan figured out where the alien has landed. Setsuna-san, Rei and Chiba-san went there to check it out," Makoto gave her a little smile when Usagi nodded.
She tidied her pajama shirt and stood up. Haruka had been standing on the porch with Artemis and Ami; the latter had her little computer in one hand and was typing something probably too progressed and smart for Usagi's level, non-stop.
Usagi was having the weirdest dream when their whispers had woken her. She'd been walking in a vast land and all she could see was grass; the most striking green she had ever seen and she just walked in a straight line.
She had woken up some time ago during the night, with the force of her pounding heart. She had looked around at her friends who'd been sleeping peacefully.
She had laid there, with her breathing laboured and a telltale wetness between her legs. Damn it. Why the hell did she have to participate eagerly in his dreams? And couldn't he just not jump her bones like that, every time they were in a promising position and place?
She tried not to go down that road because she could pretend with Mamoru, but she could never lie to herself; she didn't hate having sex with him one bit; she hated herself for it.
So many times she had woken up, panting and burning with unsatisfied desire and had moved her hand in between her legs to spread the wetness there and finish the job.
And try as she might, she couldn't picture Hiro while she brought herself high up and pushed over the edge. It was always his face she saw; his godforsaken smile that played in her head as she lay in the aftermath.
Fuck her life, and fuck her for being a telepathic slut.
She looked around at her friends and tried to engrave their faces into her mind. Something evil had fallen into their world and it was up to them to defeat it and unleash its dark energy outside of this planet.
The last big war Usagi had a recollection of, tiny pieces and scraps at least, had taken away all of them from her. But not this time, she vowed; I won't let it, she promised herself.
She tried to picture Setsuna and Rei; I'll be there soon, she thought.
Then, she thought of Mamoru; the boy whose stoic persona had remained a mystery to her for a long time. The masked hero who had stolen her heart at one point and crushed it in an instant with his true identity. The long lost husband, who hadn't even gotten the chance to know that he was going to be a father long enough to burst in happy tears. The soulmate, who had been by her side from the very beginning, fighting, saving and letting her know each second that he was going to be there; that he wasn't going anywhere.
Wait for me, she whispered to him in her mind; wait for me.
"Are you ready?"
She looked at Minako and nodded.
Michiru walked up to Haruka, touched her arm and smiled. Luna jumped over Makoto's shoulder as the brunette walked outside and stood beside Ami.
Usagi followed Minako outside and she remembered that once this was all over and done with, she still needed to face Hiro.
And she didn't know which one she had to dread more.
Hiro chucked down the remaining liquid and walked to the bar.
"I'll have another one." He'd only had his second glass and already, his tongue felt heavy.
"You don't drink scotch like that boy," the middle-aged man by the bar told him, "it's a drink of patience; you sniff it, swirl it in your mouth and take small sips," he brought his own glass to his lips and sniffed, "like this."
Hiro nodded at the bartender, "Are you the alcohol police?" he was drunk enough to no longer care about how he would get home later, but he wasn't drunk enough not to flinch at his own words.
"I'm sorry," he said and sat on a stool by the bar, "I'm just having a difficult night."
"Don't we all," the man shook his head, "my old man had a saying that 'if you see a man alone at a bar after midnight, they're either homeless or spiritless'," he eyed Hiro and leaned forward in his seat, "which one are you boy?"
Hiro took a small sip and held the liquid in his mouth for a second, "You're right," he said, "this is much better," he inhaled deeply, "I'm spiritless I guess," he smiled bitterly, "I mean, not spiritless per-se, I'm just a little lost."
"Aren't we all?"
Hiro looked at him. He had a round face with chubby cheeks and his hair was thinner than a new born's. He had a white shirt on, with the first two buttons open and his jacket was hung on the back of his stool. He looked like every other salaryman who went out drinking after work and sometimes stayed at the bar late.
"I guess we are." Hiro clicked his glass against the man's raised one.
"I lost my daughter."
The smokey liquid got caught somewhere between Hiro's throat and mouth and he coughed hard. He looked at the man; he wasn't ready for him to say something that personal, that sad.
"She was in high school, 14-years-old," he was staring into his half-empty glass, "and she was the loudest teenager you'd ever seen in your life."
An image of Usagi popped into Hiro's mind and he tried to push it away.
"You couldn't get her to sit still for a minute; always had to be running around and doing something. She volunteered for everything and…"
Hiro noticed how the bartender's ears were also focused on the story, though he kept busy with putting away glasses and empty bottles.
"She was the kindest soul…" he gulped down the last bit of his drink and when he just kept staring into his glass and fell silent, Hiro gestured to the bartender to pour him another.
"How did she…" he didn't even know how to finish that sentence. "How did she die", you ask, or maybe, "how did she pass"? Really, what do you say when nature has screwed up so bad that it takes away a child first? Isn't that against all natural laws and shit?
"Car accident…" the man whispered, "The woman that hit her, she took her to a hospital right away and didn't leave her side. But...it was already too late…" he dabbed at his glass twice and thanked Hiro, "the owner of the car, a young woman...she cried and cried and cried. I had to comfort her finally; I couldn't possibly comfort my wife. I didn't know what to say to her."
Hiro stared into his own glass while listening to the man's story and somehow, the pain and anger he was feeling when he had walked through that small door, lessened.
He'd walked in, with the sole purpose of nursing his own broken heart and as it turned out, he had been in the presence of a broken soul.
"I'm sorry for your loss," he whispered into his glass and from the side of his eye, he saw how the man smiled a bitter smile.
Just then, a loud rumbling sound pierced their ears.
"Is it a storm?" the bartender asked as they all looked out the window.
"It's not raining," one of the young men seated by the wall said.
Another sound came and this time, the ground shook underneath them.
"Earthquake…" the bartender screamed and hid under the counter.
Hiro threw a worried look at his new companion. He was still staring into his drink and Hiro doubted if he had even heard the chaos; he was probably running around with his daughter, somewhere much more colourful than here; somewhere much more healed.
So when another screeching sound came and the earth shook harder under their feet, Hiro grabbed hold of the man's arm and pulled him behind the bar and under the counter.
This was no earthquake, he knew. His girlfriend was the city's heroin after all, and one thing he learned from her was that the sound that mother nature makes is completely different than the sound that evil makes.
And this screeching...this was no mother nature.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or its characters in any way. All rights reserved for its amazing creator Naoko Takeuchi. I just own the story I tell.