BEYOND THE STARS
by ellephedre, translated from italian.
This is the very first story of my Sailor Moon saga. You want to know what happened right after the fifth season, Stars? In here I try to give you answers. This first part is set just after Galaxia's defeat and before the Starlights' goodbye on the school rooftop.
Part one - Reunion/1
Mamoru and his blue eyes looked up. He murmured her name, then Usagi saw him disappear in the same light that had taken the lives of the others. Mamoru, that she loved with all her heart. Mamoru, with whom she would build a future. Mamoru, with whom she would have Chibiusa.
He disappeared like that, in a second.
In fact, he had been gone for months.
All the future she knew, all her life... had long since disappeared.
Shortly before thast, Ami, Makoto, Rei and Minako had fallen. The friends who had accompanied her in every battle - girls with dreams, with a future.
Vanished. Gone.
A strenght she didn't believe she had made her go on, thanks to the help of three warriors from space.
She didn't stop, she didn't give up. She refused to think about what would become of her once she won. After all, she could always lose.
But she survived, she didn't fail. Surrounded by starseeds going back home, she emerged victorious from her battle.
Now I am alone.
Desperate, she almost collapsed.
Then the girls appeared in a circle around her, all of them, to erase her every fear.
In the end he returned too, just like in the dream she had had just a few hours earlier.
But this time everthing was true.
The apartment was empty and dark. The blinds were closed and not a single light gave color to the walls.
Standing on the open door, Mamoru wondered at the space in front of him, finding it lifeless, as extinct as his existence has been in the last few weeks.
He didn't look for the switch with his hand, he went towards the windows. He twirled a squeaky handle, slowly lifting the shutters.
Moonlight infiltrated the room, settling first on the floor, then on the dark green sofa and finally illuminating the opposite wall.
He remained where he was, staring into the living room of his house.
It had never seemed so unnatural to be inside his own apartment.
On the bedside table stood the white lamp he had chosen years ago. He turned it on, needing nothing more than that soft halo. He went behind the television and plugged it back. He powered on the fridge and turned the gas knob, reactivating pressure.
What am I doing?
He couldn't say. He was moving, he was doing something useful.
He headed toward the phone. He hadn't disconnected it to keep the answering machine running. A red light indicated the presence of messages. He imagined their content, feared it. Yet, he pressed the button that would start the voice mail.
There are 5 messages.
Beep.
Message recorded on May 1st.
- Good morning Mr. Chiba, I am calling you from the administration office of J. Hopkins University. As an exchange student, you were supposed to report to us a week ago to collect the materials necessary to formalize the temporary enrolment to our university. You also missed the orientation session.
Please visit our campus offices as soon as possible to provide a U.S. phone number, as this is the only number in our records at this time. I wish you a good day. -
Beep.
Message recorded on May 20th.
- Good morning Chiba-san. I am calling you from the exchange office of the University of Tokyo. J. Hopkins University contacted our offices to inform us that they couldn't find you to complete the necessary formalities on site. Please contact them as soon as possible. If you have any health problems or if you have met any difficulties in leaving for the United States, please let us know quickly. Have a good day. -
Beep.
Message recorded on June 1st.
- Mamoru! Fine, you are busy, but can you spare two minutes to let your friend know that you have arrived and are alive?' - The sound of a laugh. - In a month you have surely found an accommodation. Maybe you have a phone number for me? This way I'll be the one to call you if you don't have time or forget about it. I don't mind, I know you. I just hope you are keeping in touch with Usagi. She seems really depressed these days. Bye!' -
Beep.
Message recorded on July 20th.
- Good morning Chiba-san, I'm calling from the Tokyo University Financial Office. Having noted your non-participation in the exchange program, we remind you that your financial position at the university is to be settled for the next fee, due in September. Have a good day -
Beep.
Message recorded on July 22.
'... ... ...'
A sigh, followed by a hiccup.
Beep.
The answering machine didn't make any other sound.
Mamoru stood, motionless, then pressed the necessary buttons to display the date on the device.
August 3rd.
Three months had passed.
He barely made it to the sofa, collapsed on it.
"Usako."
He hid his face into his hands.
The phone ring woke him up. Daylight came in through the open window.
He got up from the couch, stiff in his limbs. He had fallen asleep without even realizing it.
He picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Mamo-chan..."
Overwhelmed, he trembled. "Usako."
He squeezed the phone, closed his eyelids.
Usako.
The sound of her voice - a delicate echo in his mind - delighted his soul.
He had left her alone for three months.
Words failed him.
He imagined her with the phone against her ear, as devastated as he was behind their silence. Or perhaps she was about to sob? As she had on his voice mail.
His hands began to itch. "Usa, do you want to-"
"Come to you? I am getting out now."
"Yes." He wanted to hold her, touch her.
She had already hung up.
Infused with new life, Mamoru got up to his feet.
Usagi had slept well until just before waking up.
Of the previous evening she still remembered the smiling faces of the girls, their arms tightly wrapped around her in an heartfel hug. She had loved each and every one as she looked at them, then she had thrown herself into the arms of Mamo-chan. She had struggled to breathe, concentrated only on his voice in her ear - so longed for, finally with her again.
Mamoru had wiped away her tears by looking into her eyes, reassuring her.
In his embrace she had become once again a normal girl who couldn't bear the enormity of the losses she had just experienced. In that instant the wings that had grown on her back had disappeared, and she and all of her friends had fallen down for a few meters, almost ending up on the rubble of the pavement below them. She had supported their balance immediately; smiling, she had returned immense and had conforted everyone around her. I am light. She was the kindness that still pervaded her and that her friends had taught her to never forget.
In her mind she had asked for everything in the world to the return to its previous state; before Galaxia, before her distruction. The energy was released from within her soul, powerfully.
Destroyed buildings came back on their feet. Memories of devastation disappeared from the minds of countless people on the planet. Many other things were fixed, but she wouldn't be able to explain how many.
Looking at the Starlights and their princess, who observed her from afar, Usagi was so happy to see them reunited. In Mamoru's arms she had asked for one last gift from the Silver Crystal, her star seed.
I want all of us to go home.
She had reappeared on a soft mattress, in pajamas. With the scent of Mamo-chan still in her nostrils, she had slipped under the covers and fell asleep, safe in her room.
In the morning she had had a single, terrifying nightmare: Mamoru hugging her only to disappear, until he no longer existed.
She woke up with a scream in her throat, her heart a hammer in her chest. For a moment she wanted to cry with despair, then the memories returned to her. She picked up the phone looking for some connection, a proof.
"Usagi?"
Mamoru's voice confirmed a reality that no enemy could erase.
She laid down on the bed, holding the phone against her cheek.
"Usagi..." he said again and she had risen with happiness.
She no longer had to imagine his voice, she no longer had to wait for an answer that never came. Mamoru was there, he had returned. And he had never forgotten her.
I want to see you, I want to hug you, I want to kiss you. You are alive.
"Usa, do you want to..."
"Come to you? I am getting out now."
"Yes."
She hung up and hurried to put on the first things she found - the clothes that rested on the chair.
In the bathroom she took a moment to think and went back to her room, to retrieve a backpack. She filled it with pajamas, slippers and clean underwear - just enough to avoid coming back home for a night. As a spare outfit, she took her school uniform - just so she wouldn't waste time choosing. On the way out of her room, she stopped to look at the magic brooch that lay on the bedside table.
She was still looking at it, wondering whether or not she should wear it.
It was the source of her power, the jewel that allowed her to fight without dying. She had always carried it with her, even when a war had just ended.
"Usagi?"
She looked at Luna. She crouched, to embrace her.
"Hey... it's all right, Usagi."
"I know. I love you."
"I love you too."
Usagi repressed a sob. "Luna... I am going to Mamoru now. I'll return tomorrow."
After a moment, Luna nodded.
Getting back to her feet, Usagi left the room.
Luna observed the open door.
She had not missed the long look that her protégé had thrown at her brooch. The crystal was still there, deliberately ignored.
Luna did not run to bring it to her. It was not necessary for that day.
"Usagi?"
Ikuko stopped her daughter's run to the entrance. What was that sleepyhead doing up at eight o'clock in the morning during summer?
Usagi ran towards her and kissed her on the cheek.
Ikuko's eyes widened.
"Mom, today... I am going on a trip with the girls, okay? We decided only last night. I'll be back tomorrow, don't worry."
"A trip?" For such programs Usagi had to ask for permission first, or at least warn her in advance.
Ikuko didn't scold her: her daughter's serious young face suddenly seemed much more mature than her sixteen years, different from the face of a person she could stop from doing something.
Startled, she nodded.
Usagi returned sweet and childish before her eyes. "Okay, then I'll come back tomorrow afternoon. See you, Mom."
Ikuko watched her daughter disappear beyond the kitchen wall.
Uncertain, she stayed seated, wondering what had happened.
Part one - Reunion/1
N/A: my goal with these scenes was to make you feel the confusion and overwhelming relief that both Usagi and Mamoru felt after coming back from the last battle. Well, she had been the one to fight. He had been simply dead for months and I absolutely wanted to explore how he would react to this knowledge.
In the next chapter, Mamoru is going to ask Usagi why she hadn't tried to contact him in the US. How could she believe that he wouldn't talk to her for so long?
Review with your impressions and increase my enthusiasm in translating the story for you ;)