It was a chilly afternoon and the sun was about to set within the next half an hour. He had the bouquet of red and white roses in his hand Kousagi had given him for the Snow White play a couple of days ago. They had been standing in a vase in his living room and were about to wither so he decided to use them for another purpose. When Ami told him yesterday that Natsumi and her brother Seijuro were off sick he took the flowers and the next day he headed over to the Juban Odyasseia apartment complex after he departed from work.
He didn't expect to see Usagi standing in front of the building but was fairly happy to meet her. Since his future daughter left he felt this indescribable gap in his life. Parts of his memory might have been coming back step by step but the whole picture was still a blurred mixture of dreams, feelings, thoughts and real experiences. He was not sure how to deal with them properly but he was certain that the blonde Odango claimed the lead in his jumble. Thus, he could only stay patient and hope that he'd be able to remember everything shortly... as Kousagi had mentioned and kind of even promised to him.
"Hey Odango Atama!" He waved over to her cheerfully
The blonde bun head turned around and responded to his greeting with at least the same enthusiasm
"Hi Mamoru, where are you up to?"
He pointed at the apartment complex happily.
She didn't seem to be delighted that he wanted to pay the Ginga siblings a visit and Mamoru wasn't sure if he caught a glimpse of jealousy in Usagis eyes.
"They aren't sick at all! That is rather a lie to skip school. Besides, since when have you been interested in Natsumi anyway?!"
'Why should she be jealous? Usagi is such a wonderful and bubbly person with a big heart for the ones she cares about. She is the prettiest girl I have ever seen as long as she doesn't act like the clumsiest person on earth.'
Instead of complimenting her he retorted mildly
"Natsumi was so kind supporting us with the Snow White play, don't you remember?"
Usagi didn't give up by his argument and with beseeching eyes she emphasized
„Wait, you mustn't go to them. The dome tree is there and could harm you!"
‚What the heck? Is she starting this game with the self drawn pictures by telling fairy tales on the streets of Tokio again?'
„Geez Odango, you do read a lot of science fiction, don't you?!" With a light laughter he continued his mission and headed over to the building. A desperate Usagi followed him. When both entered the elevator and it started to move up, Mamoru narrowed his eyes and frowned
‚Mhm quite a familiar situation somehow.'
He was lost in thoughts when they reached the top floor but collected himself once the doors slid open. A stunned Natsumi was standing in the door frame of her apartment and starred at the bouquet.
„Are they for me?" She spoke in utter disbelief when Mamoru handed the flowers over to her.
„I heard you both were sick, so of course they are for you. Also, a belated thank you for helping us so much with the play." Behind his back Usagi stuck out her head and this time - to her surprise - she received a warm welcome by the ginger haired girl
Natsumi and her brother kindly invited both to coffee and cake. Their behavior, particularly to the blonde Usagi was inordinately friendly. Mamoru knew that Kousagi never got tired of telling him to stay away from the siblings. This situation he was confronted with now made him feel that the pink Odango was probably more than right.
Blatantly Usagi ignored her own forceful warning and was currently quite busy with eating her cheesecake. The ominous evil tree she mentioned before didn't seem to be settled in this apartment though. When he led his eyes wander around in the living room, something else caught Mamorus attention then.
"You have an amazing view from your apartment."
"Ahh well, the view is even nicer once you take a look from the balcony. Seijuro, why don't you show it to Mamoru, anyway?"
He should have known that this was supposed to be a trap but his instincts had been covered together with his memory of his former life. At least this was a reasonable explanation why he stepped out to the balcony together with the groveling brother. After being outside it didn't take long and he heard Usagi screaming excessively.
Without any hesitation Mamoru hurried back and tried to find her. He didn't get far since a gigantic tree had decided to come out of his creepy room and by using its green root tentacles it grew up to a frightening size in an amazing speed so it nearly covered the top of the Juban Odyasseia building.
Then he saw her. One of the tentacles had unwrapped Usagi's waist and held her up in the air. Painfully she shrieked and wasn't able to move. Ever living up to his name, Mamoru ran over to her and tried to rescue his damsel in distress. Without any success. The evil tree had different plans with him and prisoned Mamoru the same way as the blonde teenager.
Giving up had never been an option to him, though. He reached out his hand and shouted
"Usagi, try to give me your hand!"
She did as requested and when their fingertips closed the gap between them, a devilish green elf cut off the connection by kicking her foot against their hands.
‚Okay, this is neither a halluzination nor a dream. This is reality. My cruel and real reality.'
He heard a weird discussion between the two aliens but wasn't able to figure out their intention when an awful pain pervaded his entire body and drained his energy. Within a few seconds everything turned black.
From somewhere far away he heard Usagis voice calling out for him. Unconsciously he tried to lift his hand and reimplemented the connection he got with her when both were captured by the tentacles of the tree. He felt another burst of energy hitting his body which led him to the darkness again.
He didn't know how long it took him to come back but when he finally opened his eyes, he looked into deeply concerned, sky blue eyes he had been searching for since centuries.
"Sailor Moon" he uttered
The girl in the Sailor fuku beamed at him with pleading heartbroken eyes, ready to cry the next moment.
"Mamoru, do you remember? It's me, Princess Serenity...Usagi...Odango Atama."
So unreal but also so clear it made him hardly whispering back
"What? Usagi?"
"You have to remember, Mamoru. Please!" Sailor Moon grabbed his hand and went on with a tearful voice "Back in the days of the Silver Millenium you fought against the Dark Kingdom. You have been there for me and helped me so much. Do you remember the girl who loved you?"
By her spoken words pictures of another world came up in his mind. A world of eternal love and darkness, braveness and destruction. A terminal fight and an inexpressible loss. His world. He could only echo her words in fragments
„The girl. The Silver Millenium."
She took his reply as a positive sign and uttered relieved when tears were running down her face uncontrollably.
„Mamoru, you do remember."
Unfortunately the two green aliens were still there and didn't think of giving him a glimpse of a chance to put his mental pictures into a whole narrative story. When the smaller one was about to fire a salvo, the senshi of the moon shielded Mamoru.
By confessing her unconditional love the second time the burst of dark energy hit her, Mamorus instincts had been fully awakened. So he did the only thing he was supposed to do on this planet. The reason for his reincarnation. He protected her. With everything he had. Once. Twice. Three times he was able to absorb the incredible pain caused by the enemies. The last attack finished off his capabilities and Mamoru fell right into Usagis arms.
In this black status of unconsciousness a light familiar, sad sound - neither been composed in this time, nor onto this planet - reached out for him and his heart. Each tone carried a word he found himself to understand crystal clear now.
It was Moonlight Densetsu. The song he shared with Serenity centuries ago. The former hidden message suddenly became intelligible to him.
Love. It is the key. It is beyond logic. It is beyond power. It connects us, gives us something to hold onto even in times of loss and fear. Out of love we do the impossible, we are willing to sacrifice for the ones we treasure.
"I see, you got its message eventually."
Mamoru turned around and recognized the dark pink bun head teenager standing in front of him. She held the star locket in her hand and smiled at him.
"Kousagi? How come you are here?!"
Mischievously she pulled out her little white cat face ball and replied leisurely
"Well, you know. Artemis T is a quite useful tool and has features you could only dream of." She chuckled but instantly put on a serious face
„I am glad you are about to remember everything now since the missing part of your subconsciousness rejoined with you again. It makes me utterly happy. Thanks for the great time, I enjoyed it a lot."
Before he could reply anything to her, she clapped her hands together in pure excitement and said
"Now it's time to meet the love of your lifes again. I'll see you in the future!"