Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights to respective owners.

A/N: It's been awhile! 2021 was not my year, then again, was it anyone's year? I haven't posted in over a year, I didn't write that much either, and I wasn't active on Tumblr BUT I am here and posting something so I promised myself that I will not be hard on myself.

Anyway, this is a new story (another active WIP I know) but it's also a very special one. I've had this idea forever (I first opened the document in 2018) and I've slowly been working on it over the years and well, I finally have a finished product. Well, ONE finished chapter at least. I've sparingly mentioned it on Tumblr like years ago as a Mamoru-Cinderella AU story with Crystal Tokyo. Sounds a bit silly but just go with me on this hopefully.

BIG BIG BIG thank you to Tina Century for looking over this and giving suggestions, edits, and just being the BEST human being ever and for giving me hope that this wasn't as bad as I thought.

Well, if you've made it this far ENJOY!

Chapter One: Changes

Even after two months, Naoko, for the life of her, could not memorize the neurology department's floor plan and found herself going in circles at least twice a week.

She scanned every corner of the halls, shot looks to the pager on her hip every few seconds so as to not miss any calls, checked the rooms of his other patients, asked nurses that were passing by-

By the time she reached the end of another hall, Naoko was in full blown panic mode and ready to hook herself up to a monitor to check her blood pressure levels.

She tried to think where he could possibly be. Which stations did he normally stay by? Maybe he was in the bathroom?

Truth be told, she rarely had any interaction with her resident that didn't involve patients, lab tests, medical journals, and any word that ended with -ology.

This was only her second month into her fellowship at the University of Tokyo Hospital, and the other interns never missed a chance to remind her how lucky she was to have been assigned under Dr. Chiba. Some even envied her.

Her mentor was exceptionally….noticeable.

Being tall, broad-shouldered with black, inky hair that fell into dark blue eyes will do that. He was handsome, his face and jaw sharp edges, with a side profile that had nurses and patients alike staring appreciatively at him. Also, being the youngest doctor in the neurology department didn't miss anyone's radar either.

Especially her fellow interns.

She had never eye rolled harder than when they all gathered around her during her lunches and asked nagging questions about him. Repeatedly.

What is he like?

What does he talk to you about?

Is he as brilliant as he seems?

What does he smell like?

Do you get lost in his eyes sometimes?

Is he single?

If only they knew that Dr. Chiba was nothing like what they expected.

He was private, reserved, never rude, but surprisingly gentle in demeanor. He was a stark comparison from the dismissive, condescending, and plain disrespectful residents some of the other interns were working under.

Not once had Dr. Chiba made her feel less than. He always kept the atmosphere a learning experience but never over explained and instead kept challenging her in the best ways. He kept their conversations light, his tone was friendly as he occasionally asked her what she was doing over the weekend, how her cat was (the most embarrassing moment of her life was when her phone had gone off and Dr. Chiba had gotten an eyeful of her precious cat, Yoshi, in a cozy pink sweater as her screensaver), how she was adjusting, and if there was anything she was struggling with. He showed genuine interest and care but he never gave the impression that he was romantically interested which she appreciated to great lengths.

She, however, knew nothing about him.

She had been in his office and had seen absolutely no touch of personality in any aspect of the room. No pictures lined his desk. No personal voicemails were on his office phone. No pretty paperweights. All of the desk organizers and office supplies on his desk all looked generic. No one had ever asked for him or visited him during his shifts. His personal cell phone never had notifications the times she saw him take it out.

She felt it was inappropriate on her part to ask him any personal questions, so she bit her tongue each time a question threatened to bubble up and out of her mouth.

In the last two months, she had seen only a shred of his outside life. A vase of flowers had once appeared in his office when she had gone in to pick up files he had requested while he was attending to a patient. The intense curiosity lit like a fire in her as she stared at the extravagant floral arrangement. A note had been attached. (Yes, it was a huge invasion of privacy for her to look. She was well aware and ashamed.)

Stop overworking yourself and smell the roses for once! - Motoki

That was the first and only piece of his life she had experienced.

Maybe it had been his partner? A friend? A family member?

What was his home life like? What did he do in his freetime? Did he have pets? (Maybe he had a cat and they could have playdates with Yoshi)

She was endlessly fascinated by him and blamed it on the pesky interns.

To his patients, he was kind and warm as a person in this field should be. So gentle, so understanding in a way she wondered about. He had a soft smile that made your stomach flip and, while she never really saw herself romantically attracted to him, Naoko did find herself imagining that small smile that would grace his handsome face.

But, he never really smiled for himself.

She did end up finding him near the elevators, bent over the receptionist's desk. Elbows on the counter, face buried in his hands. He didn't look busy, but she still stood there for nearly 10 minutes deciding on whether to approach him or not.

He looked exhausted, and perhaps that was a sign to leave him be for a little while longer.

However, the patient file that was pressed into her hands reminded her of why she was considering bothering him in the first place.

She saw her hand slightly shake as she touched his shoulder and felt his tiny jump. "Uh Dr. Chiba, are you okay?"

He rolled his shoulder and turned his head to her, and she felt herself fluster under his gaze. His smile was small, friendly, and tired. "I'm fine, Naoko."

(Oh yes, and he has a rich, baritone voice just to put the cherry on top, of course.)

"Okay," she hesitated, still. "I was wondering if you could check in on the patient in room 1307?"

His eyebrows furrowed as he took the medical file she offered. "Himari?"

"Yes, she said she was experiencing some dizziness and nausea."

He nodded, scanning the charts. "All right let's go in."

Naoko followed after him, trying to walk in sync with her superior but found it difficult with the difference in their length of strides. She became even more flustered when he noticed and shortened his strides accordingly.

"When is your shift done?" he asked, eyes still reading the files.

Naoko swallowed hard. "Uh, it was done an hour ago."

He halted right in the hallway and she stopped with him, her mind scrambling to find excuses. "It's totally fine though, I usually do end up working longer anyway and my cat is used to me being home alone-"

"I will see you tomorrow, Naoko," he said with a finality, his eyes soft but firm. "I have not and will not overwork you. Go home."

Considerate. Another word she forgot to mention.

She smiled, wide and appreciative. There were many things she didn't know about Dr. Chiba, but she had witnessed enough of his actions, heard enough of what he said to know who he was.

"Thank you, Dr. Chiba."

Some things really don't change.

Well, things don't really change for him anymore.

It was the same bitter coffee mix in the mornings that stained his mouth and he had to gulp down water to get rid of the leftover grounds. The same elderly bookstore owner with the warm, friendly smile he would say hello to on his walk to work when he walked. The same newspaper he would pick up and read on his commute. The same news podcast he would listen to on his headphones when he rode the train to work.

It was all routine. His whole life was routine, and he never minded it.

Even now, as Mamoru was walking home from his nearly 14-hour shift, he had stayed on his regular route, picking up his late dinner that consisted of chicken in a bucket with an image of a white-bearded, long dead American colonel emblazoned on it.

The last flicks of the sunset glazed over some buildings and abstract structures that shone more than others during these golden hours of the day. Prismatic shapes branched out and cascaded in the sky above him, the play of colors never failing to take his breath away. The peaceful, city silence of cars driving streets over, the sharp cries of children playing at the park he knew was around the corner, the unknown hum that seemed to buzz in the atmosphere. It was comforting, and made him feel connected to his surroundings when, at times, he would find himself detached. Almost like he was floating.

It was a parade of news vans that shot past him on the street, seemingly headed to the downtown courtyard, that broke up the peaceful silence and tethered him back to where he was standing on the sidewalk.

His phone vibrated, snapping his attention away.

BREAKING NEWS: IMPORTANT PRESS CONFERENCE

SCHEDULED FOR 20:00

His eyes flew to the time on top of his screen.

If he picked up the pace, he would just catch the beginning of it.

He jogged the rest of the way, huffing and puffing slightly in the elevator on the ride up to his apartment.

Once inside, he let the bucket of fried chicken drop onto his kitchen counter, neatly tucked his jacket into the closet by his bed, and reached for the T.V. remote next, flipping to the news channel immediately. A red line appeared on the bottom of the screen with the words 'BREAKING NEWS' and the image of a wall of crystal with the city's crest etched into it.

Mamoru planted himself on his couch just as the cacophony of loud voices shouting out questions filtered through the audio and rapid camera flashes appeared on the video feed.

Someone came into sight at the edge of the screen, and his heart jumped to his throat. Fluttering, wishing, expecting even when he tried to push it down and calm his wild pulse.

But then it went down on its own when the speaker came into full view and, while the face was someone he recognized, it wasn't who he had been hoping for.

"Thank you all for attending," she said, voice strong and firm as she braced each side of the podium with her hands. "As it was written in the agenda, we will be discussing various key points of interest including the new reports that have been released and any questions that you all have."

Her eyes scanned the crowd offscreen and she nodded. "Very well. As it is known, the Departments of Education, Public Health, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, and Protection released their yearly reports providing transparency of their research and findings. All reports have been verified and peer-reviewed and were made available to the public."

A voice spoke out. "When can we expect the Department of Environment Protection to release theirs?"

"It should be out by the end of next week. Their research deadlines are different from others."

Another, different voice spoke off camera. "Should we be concerned over the preliminary report the Department of Galactic Relations released yesterday?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Could you be more specific to what you're referring to in that report?"

"While they were conducting energy sweeps of the universe, they got some sort of unusual signal from the edge of the solar system."

"Director Itto and the rest of his team are vigorously analyzing their findings and working hard to keep us all informed of the happenings above us. I have no doubt that they will find any anomalies."

"That is the third occurrence of an inconsistent signal during the sweep."

"I can assure you there is no rise in concern as of right now and if you have additional questions, I can give you the direct phone line to the GR department's office."

A new voice interrupted. "What do you say is floating out there?"

"I am not sure and do not have enough knowledge to answer that question. I do promise our entire team is working on it to get us answers."

"When should that be?"

"Perhaps sooner than later. Director Itto is working with American astronomers currently to understand what they are experiencing. I do not have a concrete date."

The camera flashes continued on as her eyes scanned the crowd that was most likely in front of her.

"If there are no more questions concerning that we shall move on to other topics that you all want to discuss."

A voice began. "How come NQS was not in attendance at the state dinner last week?"

In the first time since starting the press conference, Mamoru saw her react, her eyes flashing as she visibly stiffened. "She was feeling under the weather and decided that it would be better for her to not attend and risk anyone else falling ill."

"I'm asking because that's the sixth time she's been excused from a diplomatic function."

"Well as you can understand her time is very limited and she does have to tend to certain responsibilities. And even with her absence, all events in question went smoothly."

"We have a reputable source that claims that those 'absences' are due to fake illnesses meant for her to get out of attending such functions."

"That is a completely false accusation."

"What about the time that she was spotted out with popstar Eito four months ago even though she was cited to have been attending a council meeting in France at the time?"

"Other officials were at the meeting instead in her place," she bit out, the warning tone in her voice becoming evident. "I can assure you, there have been no issues with these absences in regards to her obligations and duties being fulfilled."

"What about the allegations of-"

"Perhaps caution should be sought when obtaining all of these facts."

"We have very trusted sources."

Her pixelated face hardened with her eyes narrowing towards the reporter that was off-screen. "Well I'm telling you maybe you were given false information, sir."

A small smile played on Mamoru's lips.

Somehow, underneath the perfectly poised, matured face, the opulent garments that hung from her formal clothing, he could still remember and see the wild, fearless friend of Tsukino Usagi who never backed down from any fight, especially when defending the ones she loved.

"With photographic evidence?" the reporter shot back.

"Listen, what she does on her leisure time really isn't anyone's fuc-"

"What she means is it is very rude to throw such assumptions, sir," a new woman quickly stepped into view in front of the podium, black hair pulled into a sleek ponytail. Another familiar face. "Again, there were no issues at these missed events so there is no rise of concern. Also, all sources should be taken under suspicion, sir."

A different reporter spoke up. "Hino, do you have anything to add about the strange behavior of NQS?"

She hesitated for a second. "No comment."

"What about-"

"This press conference has concluded for now and all other questions can be directed towards the public relations and communications office."

Rapid camera flashes filled the screen with a cluster of demanding voices roaring in the background as the two women quickly exited out of frame with the broadcast cutting to a news anchor.

"Live from the palace, that was the quarterly press conference that was again presented by royal officials and former Sailor Senshi, Aino Minako and Hino Rei. This marks the fourth press conference that NQS has missed in the last three months. This behavior has raised many concerns from public officials. We will now go to the discussion room where these concerns will be discussed by the infamous political critic, Tanaka Haruto."

The screen, again, cut to a different room. This one with a large conference table, a man in the middle and several others flanking him in adjoining seats.

"Quite frankly, what kind of operation do they have running in that glass dome? We have a supposed leader that won't even show up to their own meetings and conferences. Their own engagements and duties. I mean really, how exceedingly disorganized and careless does NQS need to get before we all realize that a mistake was made-"

Mamoru flipped the channel, his grip around the remote tight and threatening.

"-cent trip to the Netherlands was proven successful. Footage from the meeting shows NQS and the prime minister laughing together as they took a walk in the prime minister's rose gardens."

And there she was.

Well, it was a recording of her. One that wasn't even particularly recent but his heart still jumped again at seeing her, he still held his breath, and his eyes followed her across the T.V. screen. It was a typical reaction for him now after so long.

The muted video montage showed how she threw her head back, laughing with the older woman as vibrant floral arrangements flanked them left and right. As they continued their conversation, he couldn't help the grin as she enthusiastically gestured with her hands and a myriad of animated expressions passed her face. Her streams of ivory, blonde hair - still set in her iconic, unique style - framed her body and was a stunning contrast against the deep, blue velvet two piece suit she wore.

Then both of the diplomatic officials turned to address the reporters filming them from afar. She waved enthusiastically, a sincere smile stretched across her face. Those same bright, hopeful eyes. So open and immersing that if you looked into them long enough, you would find yourself believing whatever she was saying. That anything was possible, if you just trusted her.

He chuckled in his chest as his amused eyes danced over her digital face, centering his gaze to the one corner of her mouth that had always accumulated with ice cream when she used to so freely dig into Motoki's famous banana split after her school days.

Odango Atama.

The girl he had known since he was sixteen.

The girl he had been in love with since he was sixteen.

"NQS has since reported back to the palace here in Crystal Tokyo-"

And the queen of the world.

"-but has not made a public appearance in nearly three weeks, leaving many to wonder about her whereabouts."

He was wrong.

Some things really do change.

SO I hope you enjoyed it! Like I said, this is an OG fic from way back that I finally decided to pick up soooo I'm nervous lol Let me know what you thought and I have no idea when I'll see you again, but there's always hope I continue with the writing momentum!

P.S. I hope you enjoy the title because this fic has undergone numerous title changes and this one is the one that finally stuck. It is inspired from the OG Cinderella animated movie and the Fairy Godmother says it so I thought it fit the most with the fic!