Part 4
Disclaimers and such in part 1
*************
The Senshi ran over to where Tuxedo Kamen and Usagi were. "Usagi-chan, daijobou?" Mars asked.
Usagi just stared at her.
"What happened to you?" Venus asked. "What's the matter?" Her head was pounding. All she wanted to do was go home and crawl under the covers of her bed.
And take a shower...
"Did that Oceanus guy hurt you? Is that who we blasted away?" Mercury looked ready to kill.
"Enough with the questions, minna." Tuxedo Kamen said. "Let's just get you back home and safe." He kissed her forehead.
Usagi pulled away. She suddenly felt nervous about being next to him even though he was her boyfriend. "Let me go, Mamo-chan..."
"Usako?" Usagi didn't reply, she went straight into Mars' arms.
"Rei-chan, take me home."
"Usagi-chan." Rei hugged her best friend tightly. "Don't worry, we'll take care of you. Do you feel strong enough to teleport?"
Usagi nodded at Rei's question and transformed. "Moon Eternal, Make Up!" She felt the Ginzuishou healing her physically, but emotionally it wouldn't help at all. She still stood there silently, far from Mamoru. Usagi just couldn't bring herself to touch him.
Uranus looked at her worriedly, then said, "Minna, lets go home!"
"Hai!"
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
"Mars Crystal Power!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"
"Venus Crystal Power!"
"Uranus Planet Power!"
"Neptune Planet Power!"
"Pluto Planet Power!"
"Saturn Planet Power!"
"Sailor... TELEPORT!"
~~~~~
The girls arrived at Hikawa Shrine within seconds. Usagi's henshin broke and she sank to her knees in exhaustion. "Usagi-chan!" Everyone ran to her side to see if she was all right.
Usagi jumped back when they all tried to help her up at once. "Usako, daijobou?" Mamoru tried to comfort her.
Her eyes were wide with fear. Mustering as much strength as she could, Usagi got up and ran for her house. Tears were streaming down her face. 'Gomen ne, Mamo-chan... minna...'
"Usagi?" Everyone looked after her, bewildered.
"What happened?" Hotaru asked.
"Maybe she needs to be alone," Minako said.
The girls just nodded in agreement. "Usagi-chan, please be all right," Makoto whispered.
~~~~~
Luna heard the door slam downstairs and knew that Usagi was finally home. She nudged Artemis awake.
Usagi finally reached her home and opened the front door. Noticing no one was there, she slid down the door and began crying uncontrollably.
Luna and Artemis went downstairs to see how Usagi was. "Usagi-chan, daijobou?" Her entire body was shaking with sobs as well as pain from all the abuse. 'Mamo-chan will hate me...'
She barely heard Luna speaking to her. She didn't feel like talking to anyone, but she felt they had the right to know. Looking up, she saw two very concerned faces.
"Usagi-chan?" Luna could see that the girl had been through a huge trauma. Her clothes were messy, and her face and arms had dark bruises everywhere. She looked like she needed to be in a hospital. "Did Oceanus do all this to you?
Usagi shook her head. "It wasn't my fault!" she said, suddenly getting defensive. "Or was it...?"
"What wasn't your fault?" She looked at Artemis. She didn't want to tell him what Kujira had done, or had tried to do.
"Mamo-chan will hate me!"
"Usagi, do you want me to leave?" Artemis asked. He was somewhat sensitive to girls' emotions, after being around Minako so long.
Usagi nodded slowly. "Onegai, Artemis..."
"It's all right, I understand. I'll go over to the temple, and talk to you later." He gave Usagi a half smile. "I hope you feel better soon."
"A-arigatou."
"Don't worry, I understand." He looked over his shoulder at her, worried, then scooted out the door.
Usagi waited until Artemis left, then got up. She had a rough time from being so weak. Finally standing, she headed to the living room. Luna followed her, wondering just what had happened.
"Luna ... if a guy... I mean, if..."
She had no idea how to talk about it because she was so embarrassed. She felt like it was her fault. "Wh-what happens when a guy tries to ... to force himself on you...? How do you ... do you deal with that?"
"NANI?!" Luna was furious. "Did Oceanus try to RAPE you, Usagi-chan? I swear, I'll tear him apart myself..."
"No," Usagi said, trying to keep from crying again. "Kujira did. I was able to heal Oceanus."
Luna sighed. "Did he...did the Senshi get there before..."
She was still shaking. 'Kami, will this feeling ever go away?'
"H-hai."
"Well, that's a good thing, then. You know, Usagi-chan, it's not your fault. Some people are just twisted and evil..."
"Mamo-chan is going hate me!" Usagi cried again.
"No, he's not. He loves you, and if he knew what happened to you, well, he'd go and murder whoever tried that. Why do you think he'd hate you?"
"B-because I couldn't get him off of me... I didn't try hard enough to."
"Usagi-chan, I'm sure you did the best you could...the guy was probably twice your weight and size. It's NOT your fault, you have to remember that!"
"Un..." Usagi wanted to get out of the clothes she was in. "Luna... I'm going to take a shower. I feel..." she trailed off and headed upstairs slowly. She could barely walk up the steps.
"I'm here if you need me!"
"Arigatou, Luna," she whispered.
Usagi stopped in her room and picked up a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt to hide all the bruises. She also grabbed her Star locket. Heading to the bathroom, she shut the door with a sigh. Usagi looked at herself in the mirror. She had a cut on her forehead and a black eye. There were bruises forming all over her arms and legs. A tear slipped down her cheek.
How could anyone be so cruel? Slipping her clothes off, she turned on the shower. Again, Usagi noticed that her hands were shaking. They just didn't want to stop. Climbing into the shower, she winced as the onslaught of water hit her body. Every movement, every motion, every glance in the mirror reminded her of what Kujira had attempted to do. She couldn't stand anymore and her knees gave away. She curled herself into a ball and cried. 'Why me?'
~~~~~
'Poor Usagi-chan...' Luna was sitting outside on the roof.
Mamoru walked up the path to the Tsukino's door. He noticed Luna on the roof lost in thought. "Luna!"
What the poor girl had gone through...nobody should ever have to experience that... "Mamoru-san? Are you here looking for Usagi? I...wouldn't go inside just yet if I were you."
"How is she doing?"
"Well..." Luna took a big breath. "Kujira tried to rape her. She's really shaken right now. I--I don't know if she's ready to talk to you yet." Luna paused for a minute. "It's not you, exactly. She just doesn't really want to be around anyone. She went upstairs to take a shower...maybe you'd better wait for awhile after shower's stopped." As if on cue, Luna heard the water stop. "Still, give her a little while longer."
Mamoru's face became red. "That bastard!" He couldn't believe it! Someone had tried to take advantage of his Usagi. 'What she must be going through.'
Luna jumped down to the sidewalk, beside Mamoru. "It'd be best not to bring it up until she does...I don't know if she's even up for company."
~~~~~
Usagi had just finished getting dressed and gone into her bedroom. Looking outside, she heard a familiar voice. 'Mamo-chan!' His voice was muffled but it sounded angry. He was going to come after her now. "He does hate me!" Usagi gasped.
Luna's ears pricked up as she heard Usagi. "I'll be right back," she told Mamoru. She leaped up to Usagi's window. "He doesn't hate you, he came by to see how you were."
Usagi jumped back in fright. "Luna!"
"Gomen, Usagi-chan. But he came here because he loves you and was worried. I can send him away for now, if you want to be alone."
She thought for a moment. She was scared of him but he deserved a chance to talk to her, especially if what Luna was saying was true. "S-send him up, Luna..."
"All right. Do you want me to stay up here with you?"
"No, that's okay. We should probably talk on our own."
Luna nodded, then jumped back down to Mamoru. "She said she'll talk to you...but don't make any sudden movements or anything. Don't expect her to be too cuddly, either."
"I won't. Arigatou, Luna," Mamoru replied and went inside. He headed up the stairs and knocked on Usagi's door. "Usako?"
"Come in," she said faintly. Usagi was sitting on her bed, facing the window when Mamoru opened the door.
He walked over to stand beside her. "Gomen we didn't get there sooner."
Usagi got up from her bed and went to her bedroom door. In case she felt the need to run. "Mamo-chan, I-I..."
"Hai? I have all the time in the world for you, you know that."
She couldn't find the words she wanted to say. "Gomen nasai!" Usagi cried, sinking to the floor. "Gomen nasai!"
"Usako, you have nothing to apologize for. What that bastard did to you was NOT your fault, and if I had known before, I would've been the one to kill him myself."
She ignored him and continued. "I'll understand if you don't want to marry me..."
"Why would I not want to? I love you so much...nothing can ever change that." He placed a hand gently on her shoulder, trying to not scare her.
"I can't relate to what you're going through, but I'll always be here for you."
This time Usagi didn't move. She could practically feel the love he had for her. 'Maybe I was wrong.' Looking up, Usagi gave him her first real smile since arriving home. "A-arigatou, Mamo-chan."
He smiled back at her. "I'm never going to leave you." Mamoru reached over to hug her.
Usagi suddenly had images of Kujira coming at her. "No!!" she cried out. She jumped up and flew out the door.
"Usako..." Mamoru was startled. "Gomen, I didn't think..."
Usagi ran and ran until her side began to hurt. She noticed she had stopped in front of Hikawa Shrine. She'd be safe there.
Usagi was panting once she made it to the last step. The girl hadn't slept nor ate since before she was taken. Every last bit of energy was ebbing away from her. "Rei-chan..."
Rei looked up from her sweeping, thinking she heard a voice. She looked over to the steps and saw Usagi. "Usagi-chan!" She ran over to her friend, who looked ready to collapse.
"Rei-chan... I'm scared."
"Let's take you inside first." Rei protectively put her arm around her friend.
Usagi was about to say something, but instead, she fainted.
"Usagi!" Rei caught her on the way down. She called for Yuuichirou to help her get Usagi inside. Yuuichirou ran to Rei's side immediately and they carried Usagi to Rei's room.
"Okei, arigatou," Rei said, shooing him out the door once Usagi was on her bed.
Usagi began muttering incoherently. "No ... please no ... stop!"
"Usagi-chan, you're safe." Rei felt Usagi's forehead. She was rather hot. Maybe she was delirious...
"Mamo-chan, help me! No..."
"Usagi-chan?"
"Stop... onegai..."
Rei tried to wake her up. "Daijobou? Can you hear me?" Usagi's only reply was a moan. "Do you want me to get you anything?"
"I just want to die..." she said, barely audible.
"You're safe. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."
Usagi's shot up. "NO!!!"
Rei waved her hand in front of Usagi's face, trying to determine whether she was hallucinating or conscious.
"Don't hurt me, Kujira," Usagi pleaded, staring out in front of her. Rei grabbed Usagi's shoulders gently, not knowing what else to do. "Let me go! Please stop!"
Usagi was trying to get out of this nightmare world. The whole encounter with Kujira just kept repeating itself.
She could hear Rei calling out to her, but couldn't respond. Usagi felt arms grabbing her shoulders gently. Gently... She realized who it must be. "Rei-chan..." Usagi said, blinking. She felt hot, tired, and sore.
"Usagi-chan...maybe you should have a little something to eat, then sleep." Rei was very worried about her friend. "I can call your parents, tell them you're going to spend the night..."
"Un..." was her only reply.
"Do you just want to sleep then? Do you want me to call any of the other Senshi to come over?"
"I-I don't think I can sleep," Usagi said. "I guess I could try to eat something."
"What would you like?"
"Uh... whatever you have is fine."
"I can make curry...or I can order pizza or something."
Usagi went with pizza, even though she knew she probably couldn't keep it down. "Could you call Ami-chan, Mako-chan, and Minako-chan? I have to tell you all something important. I don't want to tell the others just yet, though."
"Nani?"
"Not yet, Rei-chan."
"All right." Rei turned to go order the pizza and call the others.
Usagi sat alone in the room. It used to be filled with laughter. Now that this happened, everyone will pity her. They'll think she'll need protecting every second of the day. Still sore, Usagi lied down and thought of how to tell her friends. Would they shun her? No, Mamo-chan didn't, so why should they? 'Mamo-chan...' She ran away from him. 'Gomen ne, Mamo-chan.'
She was lying on her side facing the wall, when Rei returned. She was crying again. Rei popped back into the room. "Everyone and the pizza are on their..." She trailed off when she saw Usagi crying. "You want me to leave you alone, or do you want me to stay?"
"Stay, onegai..."
"Okei." Rei went and sat beside Usagi on the bed. "You know I'm here for you." Usagi jumped up into Rei's arms, crying uncontrollably. Rei comforted Usagi. "Whatever happened to you with Oceanus wasn't good, I know. But you know it's not going to happen again."
"It-It was Oceanus. I healed him."
"Well, whoever that guy was that we blasted away...He's never going to hurt you again."
Usagi nodded. "But I'm still scared. Rei-chan, I freaked out when Mamo-chan tried to hug me. I ran off. I think I hurt him."
"Usagi-chan...he's probably a bit confused, but I don't think he's hurt. He knows that you've been through a lot...And it takes time to heal from that sort of thing."
Usagi looked up into Rei's eyes. "Gomen nasai..."
"You don't have anything to apologize for." Rei smiled at her.
"Yes I do! I'm a horrible Princess."
"No, you're not! You couldn't help what happened to you!"
"Are you absolutely sure, Rei-chan?" Usagi asked.
"I know for a fact. You didn't ask for them to do that to you...you can't control what other people do, no matter how much you wish you could."
Usagi smiled. "A-arigatou."
"Ne, could you call Mamo-chan for me? I want to see him after I talked to you guys."
Rei nodded. She hugged Usagi, then got up to call him. "I'll be right back!"
As soon as Rei had gone, the girls arrived. "Usagi-chan!" Makoto said, giving her friend a hug. "We were so worried about you."
Minako and Ami gave her hugs as well. "Are you feeling better now?" Ami asked.
"A little," she replied.
Rei returned from making the call and they all sat around the table waiting for Usagi to begin. She started from when she and Mamoru were at the arcade.
"...and th-that's when you all arrived," she finished.