By Meredith Bronwen Malllory
mallorys-girl@cinci.rr.com
AN: This part of the story takes place between season S and SS. I don't know if anything happens in between, so I'm just going to settle for a little peace... until our favorite Princess arrives, of course ;-)
Ps. Thanks again go to my wonderful pre-reader Sakura!
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The sun shone lazily down on the fives figures currently engaged in a volleyball game. Some ways away, the blue ocean crept up to the sandy beach, only to retreat again. Usagi and her friends were enjoying the peace afforded to them at last.
"Look out Minako!" Ami said as she hit the ball back across the net. The blond girl dove for it, but only managed a face full of sand as she tripped over a seashell.
"Minako!" Rei admonished, "You're almost as bad as Usagi-chan!"
"Take it back, Rei!" the odango-ed girl ordered, blue eyes flashing.
"No!" the fiery priestess replied. In a huff, Usagi turned on her heel and marched back over to the blankets where her very handsome boyfriend (an: the author isn't opinionated at all, is she? ;-) sat, nose buried in a text book. Some ways away, Chibi-Usa played in the ocean, hunting for seashells when the tide went out, then scampering away when the waters moved back in. She was safely in sight of both Usagi and Mamoru, who kept a watchful eye on her.
"Mamo-chan," Usagi said, coming up behind her boyfriend and draping her arms about his shoulders. She kissed his ear, effectively distracting him, before she continued, "Please come play with us," she pouted, "The teams are uneven and Rei-chan is SO mean..." The man shut the textbook and closed his eyes. He knew he was fighting a loosing battle, but he wasn't about to admit it.
"Usako," he said warningly. Usagi merely giggled and pressed her lips to the base of his neck. Mamoru groaned, she was working her magic... again.
"Please," Usagi pleaded, crawling into his lap looking up at him with adorable puppy eyes.
"Alright, Usako, alright," he said in defeat, setting the book aside so he could wrap his arms around her. He could see that she expected him to kiss her full on the lips, and he smiled inwardly; turn about was fair play. Waiting until she closed her gorgeous blue eyes, he planted a quick kiss on her nose, then pulled her to her feet.
"Mamo-chan!" the blond rabbit cried in frustration.
"Later," he whispered in her ear, his breath warm on her neck. Usagi practically purred in delight.
"Are you two coming or not?" Rei asked impatiently. Usagi gave her a look of death and hurried over towards the net, dragging her boyfriend with her.
"You can be on our team, Mamoru-san," Makoto offered, gesturing to the side she shared with Minako. Nodding, Mamoru took his spot and prepared to serve to Usagi. As the white ball flew though the air, Usagi dove for it, hands outstretched.
What she expected was a handful of volleyball... what she got was an armload of squirming little girl. A white cloud had appeared in the sky, and the little girl falling through it had been conveniently deposited in Usagi's arms.
"Eek!" Usagi cried, surprised, dropping the child as she fell backwards. Both landed smack dab on their butts. The others stared slack jawed at yet another little girl who had fallen from the sky. The girl climbed to her feet, dusting off her pure white dress, and pulling her ivory hair out of her face. But before anyone could say anything, Chibi-Usa was running at her in a flying tackle/hug that did her mother proud.
"DIA-CHAN!!" the two connected, and the little girl once again found herself on her butt, in the sand, with a lap full of enthusiastic Chibi-Usa. The pink haired girl threw her arms around the stranger and hugged her tight.
"Chibi-Usa," Usagi said, being the first to regain her composure, "Who is this?"
"Gomen, Usagi-chan," Chibi-Usa said as both girls climbed to their feet, "Minna-chan, this is my sister Dia."
"Your...sister?" Mamoru asked in a choked voice. "Uhuh." Usagi and Mamoru exchanged furtive glances, then blushed as the rest of the senshi tried without much success to keep from giggling. Dia, having dusted herself off, marched up to Usagi and offered her hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Usagi-mama," she said sweetly. Usagi's eyes widened as she shook her future daughter's hand. She knew that Chibi-Usa preferred to think of her as a sister, and not her mother's past incarnation. Obviously the sweet little girl who's hand was now clasped in her own didn't have that problem. Usagi found herself smiling, then kneeling to hug Dia.
"It's nice meet you too!" she said. Mamoru watched all this silently, noting that Chibi-Usa actually looked a little jealous. Pulling back, Usagi moved aside, expecting Dia would want to greet Mamoru as well. But the child merely stood there, glaring at the young man. Mamoru found himself uncomfortably nervous under Dia's scrutiny, and looked her straight in her violet eyes. The pure hatred he saw there in almost made him take a step back. Then it was gone, and Dia merely curtsied politely and mumbled something like:
"Konnichiha, Mamoru-san." The senshi were taken aback. After Dia's affectionate greeting for Usagi, they would have thought Mamoru would receive the same...
"Dia-chan, come play in the ocean! It's so fun!" Chibi-Usa said enthusiastically, grabbing hold of her sister's hand and pulling her towards the sea. Dia offered no resistance, and soon both were running towards the water. Usagi shrugged helplessly, and eventually they went back to their game.
The sun rose high in the sky, beating down relentlessly as the group decided to retire to the shade for lunch.
"Dia-chan! Chibi-Usa-chan!" Usagi called as Makoto brought out the picnic basket. Mamoru took his seat beside her, wrapping a possessive arm around his girlfriend and kissing her hair. The children came scampering up from the ocean, stomachs growling. Ducking under one of Usagi's arms, Chibi-Usa took a seat in her lap, eyes wide as Makoto pulled a big cherry pie from the basket. The pink haired child's face fell when she saw Dia, who stood over her, hands on her hips, as if to say, 'excuse me, that's MY seat'. Eyes down cast, the little girl vacated Usagi's lap for a seat beside Ami, allowing Dia to take her place. Mamoru watched all of this with interest, but Usagi seemed not to notice, her eyes fixated on the plate of rolls Minako was passing around.
"Um, so Dia, what brings you here?" Rei asked as she took a roll and passed the rest on.
"Well, Kip's at some big fancy academy, and there's no one to play with, so I came to visit Chibi-Usa," Dia took her thumb out of her mouth long enough to remark. It would seem that being in Usagi's lap made the child very sleepy.
"How long can you stay?" Chibi-Usa asked excitedly.
"Only a couple a days, maybe a week. I don't want to be a problem," Dia said softly.
"Oh it's no problem!" Usagi remarked cheerfully. Everyone, including Mamoru, looked at her strangely. The Champion of Love and justice had never been all that enthusiastic about Chibi-Usa's presence, mostly because she and the little girl always seemed to be fighting for Mamoru's attention.
This was not so with Dia, they could see that as Usagi hugged the child in her arms. Dia for her part seemed happy as a clam, sitting in the blonde girl's lap and munching on a roll.
Eventually the girls went on to talk of other things, but Mamoru found himself unable to concentrate on the conversation flowing around him. Once, Usagi had told him that she sometimes felt hurt that he and Chibi-Usa were so close, and that she felt left out. He'd assured her that Chibi-Usa loved both of them equally, but now he wondered if this was how she felt. Then he glanced down at Dia, only to find her looking up at him, something unreadable in those strange violet eyes. He shivered, and tried to tell himself that it was jealousy making him see things. 'Then why does she make you so nervous?' his intuition asked. Mamoru looked at the child and realized it was true.
Almost immediately, Mamoru had felt the balance of power shift with Dia's presence. Things now felt out of control, not a sensation he was particularly fond of, to say the least. And, as much as he hated to admit it, the fact that Dia was sitting in Usagi's lap made him very uncomfortable. What was more, he felt like he'd met the little girl before... she looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it... "May we be excused, Usagi-mama?" Dia's voice interrupted Mamoru's thoughts, focusing his attention back on the here and now.
"Of course, sweetie," Usagi said, "Have fun!"
"We will," Chibi-Usa declared, climbing to her feet and grabbing her older sister's hand. The two hurried back to the ocean, the hem of Dia's skirt dragging in the water. Usagi watched them play for a minute, before turning back to Ami and continuing their conversation.
The ocean turned a brilliant deep purple as the sun sank into it's depths, signaling the end of a fun day at the beach. Five worn senshi, a prince incarnate and two equally exhausted children made their way up the winding beach road t the parking lot, carrying their things with them. Mamoru, who carried Chibi-Usa on his shoulders, walked with his arm around Usagi, who held Dia's hand. The other hovered near by, laughing and giggling quietly Feeling Dia tug on her hand, Usagi looked down to see the little girl had reached into the folds of her dress to reveal a very pretty seashell, which she held in her cupped hands, offering it to Usagi.
"Is this for me?" the older girl asked.
"Hai," Dia nodded, looking down. Carefully, Usagi took the shell from her, holding it up and admiring it in the light.
"It's very pretty, sweetie," she said at last, "thank you!" Dia smiled happily, looking up at Usagi with unabashed adoration. The older girl bent down and scooped Dia up, carrying the child on her hip. Mamoru watched all this from the corner of his eye, trying to focus on Chibi-Usa as she chattered away.
"Minna-chan," Usagi said suddenly, "I just thought of something, where is Dia going to stay?" The girls all exchanged wondering looks, then all eyes fell on Mamoru expectantly. The young man could feel Dia's eyes on him, and glanced over to see that she was almost begging him not to offer. He would never know exactly what possessed him, for he quickly replied;
"She can stay with me, it's really no problem!" Dia was glaring at him hatefully now, though the others seemed not to notice.
"Are you sure, Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked sweetly. Mamoru flashed her a killer grin, tightening the arm around her waist.
"Don't worry about it, Usako." This caused quite a chain reaction. His girlfriend giggled and blushed a bit, Chibi-Usa's hold around his neck tightened just a little, while Makoto, Ami and Minako got all starry eyed. Rei made a gagging noise and Dia intensified her hateful glare.
"Hey, guys!" Rei said, "Look there's Yuuichirou's car, time to go!"
"Rei-chan," Minako said slyly, "You didn't tell us that Yuuichirou was picking us up."
"Yes, Rei," Makoto winked annoyingly, "Just said a 'friend'."
"Oh, boy, I *knew* this was a bad idea!" Rei exclaimed. Ami came up and put a hand on the fire senshi's arm.
"Oh, don't worry about it Rei," she said reassuringly, "I think it's sweet!" "Oh, not you too, Ami!" Rei sighed in defeat. Yuuichirou managed to stop the car (just barely mind you) and the girls hurried over to load up their things.
"See you in the morning, pumpkin," Usagi told Dia as she gave the child a kiss on the forehead and handed her to Mamoru. Chibi-Usa allowed the older girl to lift her from Mamoru's shoulders and place her on the ground.
"Bye, Usagi-mama," Dia said sweetly, not looking to happy with her present company as she watched Usagi and Chibi-Usa hurry to catch up with the others.
Mamoru watched them go still holding Dia. The little girl began to squirm, and turned to face him. Gasping, Mamoru looked at the child in shock. Earlier, he'd noticed a bruise on her forehead, but now that he saw it up close... it looked like a black moon!
"Please put me down, Mamoru," Dia grumbled angrily. Mamoru complied, setting the child on her feet and offering her his hand. Seemingly disgusted, Dia looked at the offered hand, then stubbornly clasped her own behind her back. 'Okay..'. Mamoru thought, feeling less at ease with the child with each passing moment. Silently they walked towards his car, but Mamoru could feel her eyes on him the whole time.
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He was trying, you had to give him credit for that much. But the child sitting directly across from Mamoru was making *quite* clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. They were sitting at the dinner table, having gotten back from the beach a little less then a half an hour again. Since then, Dia had spoken less than five words to him.
"Is your food alright?" Mamoru asked, trying to fill the silence. Dia looked up at him, then back down at her bowl of noodles.
"Yes, it's fine, thank you," she said, before shoving another spoonful in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. Silence filled the room once more, so intense and complete that Mamoru could hear the ticking of the kitchen clock.
"Did you have fun at the beach today?" he asked.
"Yes, Mamoru-san," Dia replied politely, evenly. Mamoru shook his head, wondering exactly what he'd done to earn the child's acute dislike. He stared at Dia, who stared right back at him, seemingly unshakable.
Or not. It would appear that Dia was not as passive as she painted herself to be. Mamoru watched her as she fidgeted on the couch, her gaze shifting from the window, which showed the darkening sky, and the clock, which read 8:10 p.m. When they first arrived home, the sun had just begun to set, but now, it was almost completely gone, and it had not escaped Mamoru's attention that, the closer it got to being completely dark, the more nervous Dia became.
"Do you want me to close the shades, Dia?" he asked from his place in his favorite chair, textbook in hand.
"I'm fine, thank you," Dia replied politely, once again looking at the clock. It was 8:30 p.m. The man watched as a shudder ran down the girl's frame.
"You don't seem fine," he remarked.
"I'm *fine*, Mamoru-san," Dia said as she shot him daggers of death. Then she promptly shoved her thumb in her mouth and looked at the floor. Ten seconds later, Mamoru caught her looking at the clock again.
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Then fall of night transformed Dia from a passive, cold girl, to a child on the verge of tears. As the last rays of light faded from the sky, the girl became a bundle of nerves, jumping at the slightest noise or shadow. Mamoru decided he'd never seen such a jittery child in all his days. And when he finally closed his physics book and told her it was time for bed, she looked like she was about to have a heart attack. It was obvious that his presence was the only thing keeping her from bursting into tears. As he sent her off to the bathroom with a pair of Chibi-Usa's pj's, Mamoru swore he heard her mumble; "I want my Mama." "Goodnight, Dia," Mamoru said as he tried to tuck the little girl in. She beat him to it, and promptly rolled over. That's when he saw it. Chibi-Usa's pj's where absurdly small on the older child, and the shirt gapped at her belly. But it also afforded Mamoru a view of her back, which, to his shock and dismay, was covered with black blisters and scars. "Dia, who did this to you?"
"Don't know," she said curtly.
"Do your parents know?"
"Yes."
"What's wrong?"
"Don't know."
"Does it hurt?"
"No." Mamoru turned away from the little girl, frustrated with her curt answers and her attitude. What did he ever do to her? When he turned around to close the door, though, his heart melted. There she lay, dwarfed by the cot and the quilts he'd given her too sleep with. She'd pulled the blankets up to her neck and was clutching them with such force that her knuckles turned white. But what tore at Mamoru's heart the most was the fear in her violet eyes... he'd never seen such terror before in his life.
"Dia, are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine, thank you," she lied badly. Shaking his head, Mamoru turned off the light, expecting Dia to at least close her eyes. But she didn't, she stared fixedly at the clock on the opposite wall, wide awake. "Aren't you going to go to bed?" he asked. Dia merely looked at him and shoved her thumb back in her mouth.
"Aren't you a little old to be sucking on your thumb?" Mamoru asked, unable to think of anything else to say. In response, Dia only made exaggerated sucking noises, still starring directly at him. "Goodnight, Dia," he said finally, frustrated. Returning to the kitchen, he glanced at the clock. 9:10 p.m. He contemplated calling Usako, but decided against it, knowing her father would have a fit. Thus he returned to his comfy chair and opened his physics book. The hours flew by as Mamoru absorbed himself in memorizing the text. Only when the kitchen clock rang midnight did he even look up from the page. That's when the screaming started. Frightened, Mamoru rushed down the hall and into Dia's room. He found her thrashing about in bed, her face contorted in pain.
Dia screamed in her sleep, "DON'T KILL HER!!!"