Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta!

To my guest reviewer, yes there is more of this story. It looks like it will be 12 chapters.

Mamoru was restless. Usagi seemed to be avoiding the arcade. He wanted to see her. The attacks from the Negaverse had picked up, and he was exhausted. Seeing her brought him so much joy and comfort - he needed her.

He loved her.

He fought that fact for a long time, but he gave into his heart a month ago. In the end, it wasn't the burden he thought it would be. It was a relief. Once he stopped fighting it, he could let go and breathe. He was able to let himself enjoy her company. He found himself smiling a lot for the first time.

And now… now he needed her around, and she was missing—he sighed. He needed a way to figure out how to be around her more.

"Motoki, do you have a minute?" He was going to have to swallow his enormous pride and ask for help.

He set down the glass he was drying and gave his full attention. "Yeah. What do you need, Mamoru?"

"You don't have to pretend not to notice that I have feelings for Usagi anymore." He was guessing on Motoki picking up on his feelings. He worried that he knew before, but now it would be convenient.

"Oh, good. So, are you needing advice on how to ask her out?"

"No. Just be around her more."

He chuckled, "Dating would ensure that."

Mamoru sighed in frustration, "I think I need to be nice to her first. I'm kind of an asshole to her."

"She gives it right back. I think she enjoys it too."

He sighed out and stared at his textbook, "Still, if I want to date her, I should probably figure out how to say kind things to her first. Do you know why she hasn't come in much lately?"

Motoki ran his hand through his hair and sighed, "I'm actually worried about her. I think something is bothering her."

Mamoru looked at him in shock. "You think something's wrong?"

"She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. I've asked her what was wrong, but she won't tell me."

Mamoru stood, "I think Rei's working. I'm going to go and talk to her, and I'll find out what's going on."

To his frustration, Rei was able to confirm what Motoki said, but she didn't know what was going on either.

That night everything went to hell.

He watched as Sailor Moon and the other scouts fought the strongest youma they'd ever gone against. Sailor Moon was magnificent, and she seemed to know where every attack was coming from. He watched her dodge the incredibly sharp arm of the youma constantly over and over again. She drew its attention to her, and the other scouts tried to attack—nothing worked.

Sailor Mercury shouted out that it was vulnerable on its right side, so Sailor Moon launched her tiara at it, and yet right before it made contact and dusted the youma, an arm shot out and pierced all the way through her chest.

He screamed out in horror, and four other voices joined his. He ran to her and held her in his arms as she choked on her own blood.

As she lay dying, she de-transformed, and his personal hell found its home in his life. Usagi was Sailor Moon, and she was—dying. He was losing the one woman that he believed he could ever love. The one woman who he adored.

She smiled up at him, Tuxedo Kamen, and whispered, "Am I being brave?"

He looked at her in shock, "Yes, you're being so brave."

"That's a relief. Thank you for always…saving me. This…wasn't your fault... There was nothing… you could do... I prom-" Her smile slipped off her face, and her eyes went glassy.

Sobs wracked his body as she went lifeless in his arms.

The four Sailor Scouts stood like statues in the middle of the road. Mina asked, "Why aren't you taking her to a doctor?"

"She's dead," Mamoru managed to choke out bitterly.

He then held Usagi's lifeless body to his chest and cried into her hair. Usagi was gone, and he would never see her smile again. She was dead, and he didn't know how to keep living.

And yet he did. He was forced to go on without her, and it was the hardest thing he'd ever done. The worst part of each day was just after he woke up and remembered she was dead. He then had to force himself to get out of bed and keep on living even though he felt dead on the inside.

He got in the habit of ordering a chocolate milkshake at the arcade. He would sip his coffee, and the milkshake would sit, untouched in the empty place beside him. It didn't take long for people to realize that he insisted the seat next to him stay open. It was for Usagi, in memory of her, and at times he felt she was sitting next to him.

It was to the point that as soon as Mamoru walked into the Crown Arcade, Andrew would begin making her milkshake, and he knew it had to be done before Mamoru's coffee was poured.

"I'm worried about you," Andrew said. "It's been six months since she died."

"Six months, one week, and four days," Mamoru corrected. "I don't know what to tell you, Motoki. I'm not okay."

Motoki tried to change the subject. He didn't know what to say once Mamoru admitted he wasn't doing well. It had thrown him off.

"So… how's the fighting going?"

Mamoru sighed, "I've gotten stronger for some reason. It feels like I'm accessing power in me I didn't know I have." He then leaned forward and whispered, "In the last battle, I started to glow."

"Glow?"

"Yeah, a golden color. It was so weird. I was able to dust the youma, though, and it's the first time one of us was able to take one out on our own."

Motoki knew what that meant in Mamoru's head. He was stepping into Usagi's role, and he had to hate that. He didn't like her space filled up at all. He glanced at the perpetually empty chair and the milkshake melting on the counter.