Normally, Saturday mornings were one of Usagi's favorite moments of the week.

The weekend had just begun, her parents were mostly busy with household issues like shopping or cooking, there were no annoying classes and even the Dark Kingdom seemed to have something like a half day off. At least no youma had ever had the stupid idea of trying to steal people's energy on a Saturday morning.

So Usagi always had plenty of time to either sleep in or do something fun with her friends. Nothing and no one would normally be able to keep her from her beloved pastimes...if it weren't for a Senshi meeting as well as the fact that Usagi was keeping an infinitely important secret from the rest of her Sailor Team! Shortly after waking up, the blonde girl got ready, with the intention of leaving the house as early as possible. She just didn't want to be late again and be the last one at the Hikawa Temple.

Luna had spent the night with Ami to analyze more data about the Imperium Silver Crystal with her, giving Usagi enough time to think about Mamoru and yesterday's events at the Game Crown Center. Thoughtfully she stood in front of the mirror in her room and carefully styled her hair into her typical topknots.

More than disappointment came up in her that it had simply not been possible to talk to him yesterday. All the time she was surrounded by at least two of the four warriors, and later, when she had to go home and said goodbye to Motoki extra loudly, it was Naru who had happily offered to accompany her. Of course, also to discuss the new version of the Sailor V game at length. As much as Usagi enjoyed being surrounded by her friends, yesterday she would have given anything to have just a few minutes to herself.

For him.

For both of them.

Apparently, no one but Usagi had noticed Mamoru at the Crown. Probably he had been quite content with that. Every now and then, while she was sitting with Naru at the game machine, she had risked a fleeting glance at him, but Mamoru seemed to be sitting in the farthest corner of the Crown, deeply sunken in a book, and hadn't paid any attention to her at all.

What an idiot!

On the other hand, he had also made no effort to go to his "girlfriend" Rei, let alone make contact with her in any way. The question burned Usagi meanwhile literally under her fingernails and belonged with the next opportunity to an encounter with Mamoru of course on Top of her list at things, which had to be discussed between them.

Were Rei and he an item or... was he free?

Or had she just imagined it all and had misunderstood the jerk completely? He had formed something like "tomorrow" silently with his lips. Had that been the end of the matter for him and had he therefore stared into his book for hours and let his coffee get cold next to him? Not that she had been watching him the whole time, no, he wasn't that important to her...but Usagi actually knew about her Baka's daily coffee consumption and that he clearly preferred the black brew when it was hot.

And a whole lot more about him, shockingly, she also knew when she thought about it a bit more; she knew his favorite book (Le Petit Prince, he read the little prince in English by the way much to her incomprehension!). She also knew that he would like to study abroad for a year (America would be his first choice, at least he talked to Motoki regularly about his future plans and coincidentally Usagi always sat next to him at Motoki's counter). The man loved to jog (gladly on Saturday mornings when she was just on her way downtown and ran right into him). His secret fondness for dark chocolate had not escaped her (no wonder, he had already eaten away the plain wafer from her beloved chocolate milkshake uncountable times) as well as this weird faible for any kind of tasteless outfits that drove her crazy, first and foremost the grass-green ugly jacket and only just in second place directly behind it the pastel T-shirt in the three atrocious colors eggshell yellow, washed-out purple and eighties mint green.

Of course she knew the jerk like no other in her life.

Blindly she would have recognized him out of millions of people with his jet-black hair, those irresistible blue eyes and that completely toned figure and gladly she would have talked to him today even before the Senshi meeting, assured him that she would keep his secret in any case and... probably told him so much more and asked him... well, just everything she would have put on the table, which had been unspoken between them so far. But it was like a jinx. There was simply no single way to be undisturbed with Mamoru without the whole world immediately becoming suspicious!

She didn't have his phone number, and she couldn't just go back to his apartment like that. She was a fourteen-year-old teenager who might have been protecting the world from the bad guys along with her team, but just showing up at Mamorus apartment like that to an older boy she barely knew officially... or yet somehow had known for a while... but as someone else... and then again he was so... familiar, as if a long, long time ago... grrrrrr no, it just wasn't possible!

Usagi could twist and turn it as she wanted, she had no other choice than to wait for Mamoru to run into her by chance someday. After all, she could rely on that! Countless times he seemed to appear again and again as if from nowhere before her. And in what embarrassing situations he had already experienced her, she wanted to imagine just rather not more exactly. He knew almost her entire collection of brightly colored panties from her, when she - as it was estimated to happen at least ten times a day - tripped over something or slipped on something and so the skirt of her school uniform constantly slipped up to her underwear. Kindly, Mamoru had never really made a remark about this, but always passed over this undeniable fact quite gentlemanly. If she thought about it a little more carefully, this supposed jerk could also be a noble savior... Knight.

Otherwise, however, it had been fight at first sight between them.

During their first chance encounters, her "nemesis" had always been hit by something she had thrown (at him) before; paper balls, shoes even twice, a hamburger. With his absolutely arrogant manner towards her though, he had not otherwise deserved!

After a while, however, it almost seemed as if Mamoru was already lying in wait for her. He was constantly standing around somewhere on the street, for example when she was about to go to a newly opened pet shop, when she was walking through her beloved district (crying or dreaming) or once when she was standing in front of the Crystal Seminar and wanted to give Ami back her floppy disk, he suddenly appeared and greeted her with his unique title, which almost sounded like a familiar and at the same time disagreeable advertising slogan in her ears (ahhh, there's my meatball head!).

As much as he encountered her, he could never have spent time in the university. Impossible!

However, Usagi didn't really realize that Mamoru had managed to penetrate her immediate circle of acquaintances until one evening when he saved Luna before she could be hit by a truck on the street in front of the Crown. It even went so far with their rather peculiar form of relationship when he started giving her useful and honest advice when she was struggling with Narus' crush on Nephrite. Originally, it was Motoki she wanted to ask for advice, but Mamoru was ultimately able to help her with his honest opinion. That he would one day take her so seriously and really help her was something she could never have dreamed of... and it became even more intensive!

If he had been primarily occupied with the affairs in her life until then, Mamoru suddenly and abruptly opened up to Usagi when they were locked in the elevator together. He even told her about his dreams there. He had protected her in the Starlight Tower, motivating her and doing everything in his power to make it to the elevator in time. He had saved her life, when it came right down to it. It had been more than fair that she had then used her magical abilities to get them both out of the impending inferno of flames in the elevator.

So much had happened since they first met... and right now it was time to take their whole complicated relationship with each other to the next level. Usagi sensed that.

Something very powerful had changed between them... and that was far less the fact that they both now knew about their secret identities.

She really longed to see him and talk to him, although she couldn't explain why she suddenly felt such a strong need to consciously want to meet her former nemesis. Her heart had started beating like mad when his eyes had found her at the Crown yesterday. She would have loved to drop everything at that moment, to run up to him and to fall around his neck... and if she had been completely honest with herself, she would have... would have loved to... kiss him?!

"Oh my gosh, what am I thinking!!! After all, this is still Mamoru-baka, isn't it?''

Usagi shook her head vehemently, finally bringing her trademark hairstyle into two neatly twisted up and pinned in the best way possible. Now she was ready for the Senshi meeting. Ready not really, but what did it matter? At the moment her life was even more turned upside down than it already was since Luna had jumped through her open window and told her that from now on she would have to fight against the Dark Forces as Sailor Moon.

She left her room and went down the stairs to the lower floor, where the rest of the Tsukino family was already. Her mother, Ikuko, was up early as usual and was preparing breakfast. Kenji was sitting in his beloved wing chair in the living room, looking up from his newspapers in slight surprise, when Usagi whirled busily through the hallway.

"Where are you off to so early in the morning, Usagi?"

His daughter paused, pointing to the school bag in her right hand, and replied briefly

"Good morning, Dad, I'm going to Naru's now and will spend the day studying and doing a little shopping. I'll be back home in the evening. Don't wait up for me with dinner. Bye."

That was another lie, but she had no choice, Usagi knew that all too well. As much as she always "studied", it unfortunately didn't match her grades at school, so over time she had taken to adding in a few other things like shopping trips with Naru. That would be a little less noticeable to her parents and it was clearly working out really well, riding this strategy of the normal, somewhat lazy and scatterbrained teenager.

"I wonder if others my age also have to constantly tell so many lies to their parents in order to live a semi-normal life?"

she muttered to herself, somewhat perplexed, as she closed the front door behind her.

Kenji left the living room and met his wife in the hallway, who was just poking her head out of the kitchen door in a bit of astonishment. Both of them were quite astonished. What had happened to their Usagi in the last few days? She was like changed! Just a week ago, she wanted to stay in her cozy bed until noon and only get up for dinner, but now Usagi was up unusually early because of study sessions on the weekend!

Ikuko could only call after her daughter in confusion, "Uhh okay, take care of yourself, dear," and then went back to preparing breakfast for the rest of the Tsukino family.

--

Usagi was still tired and deep in thought as she walked through her familiar neighborhood on her way to Hikawa Temple. So she didn't notice when she turned a corner and ran right into someone.

Immediately the impact maneuvered her backwards onto the ground, which she skillfully caught with her rear end. After all, it truly wasn't the first time that she bumped into someone and somehow the whole scene seemed suspiciously familiar to her... of course, instead of pants this morning, she had chosen a skirt to go with her casual t-shirt...but what color were her underpants again today?

"Uh ahhh sorry! I wasn't paying attention to the path!"

she quickly pronounced while her eyes were still guiltily focused on the ground. Blood pumped through her cheeks and she blushed deeply as an all-too-familiar, masculine, perfectly attractive voice with a slightly amused, arrogant undertone answered her

"Yeah, I thought so!"

Strong arms wrapped around Usagi's waist to pick her up from the sidewalk. That beguiling scent of roses, coupled with that unmistakable masculine tart note. If she kept her eyes closed, she could feel very clearly that it was Tuxedo Mask who was holding her there right now. There was really no doubt about it at all. But she had found this familiar warmth not only with Tuxedo Mask. And even if they had always kept a certain distance to each other, Usagi knew in the depths of her heart that there was only one person in this world to whom she felt closer than to anyone else.

Yes, it was Mamoru she was so close to that she wished he would hold her forever and never let go.

Crazy!

Usagi finally opened her eyes, looked up at him, and was directly captivated by his deep blue ocean eyes.

"Mamoru."

It was more of a whisper that escaped her lips, and she almost lost her complete body and self-control.

There he was. Tuxedo Mask. Her savior and protector against the dark forces.

Unmasked. No top hat, no black cape. Her former nemesis who had become the reason for her to breathe in the last few days. So he stood right in front of her in his beautiful, perfect silhouette. In the middle of the sidewalk, they both stood staring into each other's eyes, deeply fascinated by each other. After a while - which probably lasted more than a small eternity - Mamoru continued, while a small, mischievous smile formed on his lips.

"I guess it's fate that we keep running into each other."

All at once, however, his beautiful eyes darkened and the lightness in his gaze vanished to a certain realization. Something in him refused to let go of her. He held her even a little tighter now than before

"I was looking for you. Usagi, we... need to talk."

Usagi's cheeks glowed a rich red at his authoritative words, and his firm grip awakened a longing in her that she hadn't felt before, even in Tuxedo Masks' strong arms. This mixture of the two men she never thought she could have caused a whirlwind of new feelings in her.

'The hero of my dreams.'

Usagi felt herself on the verge of losing control... to become weak. He was so close to her, this man she was just taking in with all her senses.

The loud cawing of two ravens flying over them both finally brought Usagi back to reality. She cleared her throat, and with an apologetic expression on her face, she answered him

"Believe me, I would love to... but unfortunately, I don't have time. There's a Senshi meeting starting at Hikawa Temple in a few minutes, and I can't be late again. I'm... very sorry, Mamoru."

There was a slight disappointment in his eyes that danced along with something in his steady gaze, but which was not really tangible to her at that moment.

"That's okay. You know... I was planning on spending some time in the park. Can you meet me there at the lake later? It... would really be very important."

Usagi could hardly hide her happiness at his suggestion and immediately showed him a big and grateful smile so typical of her

"Sure, I'll try to be done with it as soon as possible so we can finally... talk."

She just couldn't help it, her desire for him was suddenly so strong and even though they both might not have been allowed to... but when she gave in to that strong urge and snuggled against his chest, Usagi immediately felt his strong arms pressing her even closer to him in response to her spontaneous action.

"Mamo-chan," she said softly, "I'll make sure everything turns out all right."

Mamoru was electrified. Completely overwhelmed by her closeness. By her promise. Of feeling her in his arms, of breathing her scent. This so loud, clumsy girl, what he met over and over again in his life and turned it completely upside down, He absolutely could no longer deny that this newly appearing feeling of longing for Usagi was as pleasant for him as his new pet name she had chosen for him. Gently, he released his arms to lift her chin with his right hand so that she could once again look directly into his ocean blue eyes.

"I understand what you mean, and... I trust you."

He smiled openly at her and finally let her go. A quick nod on her part and this fascinating, unique and so enchanting girl was back on her mission

"I trust you, Usako."

For a long time he looked after her, and while softly pronouncing this special name for her, he had admitted to himself that it was no longer the silver crystal he was looking for... but that his heart had found something much more important; the true destiny in the unconditional love for this very special girl.