Yuugasa Usagi – Chapter 7
Disclaimer: Story – own. Characters – don't own. "But I Do Love You," written by: Diane Warren. Sung by: LeAnn Rimes.
Now that that's settled, on to the story!
~~
"C'mon, Ami. It's been a day; I want to do something! It's not fair that you guys get to swim and I don't." Usagi protested. Ami held her ground, slightly.
"Oh, just let her swim. What harm could it do? There are nine people around her, she won't drown." Minako said, earning her a thankful look from Usagi.
Ami threw up her hands in the universal sign of defeat, "okay, okay. Just be careful."
"I will!" Usagi said as she grabbed her swimsuit and went to the makeshift changing room for the girls that they had made out of four extra blankets. She came back out in her favorite one-piece. It was a navy blue all around, but with white strips going down the sides.
"Everyone ready?" Makoto asked. She loved to take charge when the opportunity showed itself. She started walking even before everyone had answered.
Usagi walked up the log, and checked the water with a long stick she had found. Even as she crouched all the way down, the stick could still go farther. She waved it around to make sure that nothing would be in her way. Standing up and putting the stick behind her, she dropped her towel and prepared for the dive.
"Usagi-chan, careful!" Ami yelled, but Usagi didn't hear here. Either that or she just ignored the girl. She just dived right in. Ami shook her head and sighed before getting in the water herself.
"Hey! Let's play Chicken!" Minako yelled. Everyone stopped and looked at her. The girls knew what it was, but the guys looked a little confused.
"Chicken?" Duo asked.
"Chicken is where you put someone on your shoulders and then try to shove the other people off the shoulders of their partners. It's more fun then it sounds." Makoto explained. All the guys thought about it, save Hiiro, and nodded.
"Okay, now grab a partner." Makoto said. Right when she said it, something came up under her and lifted her from the water. "By the Gods, Duo! Don't scare me like that!" (AN: Lol, Duo holding up Makoto...)
Soon everyone had a partner. Usagi, who was sitting on the shore, watched as they partnered up. 'I wish I could play. But Ami—nah, Ami's a little preoccupied to notice.' Usagi thought as she jumped into the water and swam over to Hiiro.
"Hn?" Hiiro said after she tapped him on the shoulder. She looked at him with pleading eyes. "No."
"Why not?" Usagi asked.
"Because."
"Meanie." She pouted more.
Hiiro sighed, "fine."
"Sugoi!" Usagi cheered as Hiiro boosted her up onto his shoulders. Everyone looked surprised, but then got over it.
"Everyone ready?" Ami asked. They all nodded. "Start, I guess!" She said.
Usagi and Hiiro made their way over to Minako and Quatre. An evil smile played on Usagi's face.
"Usagi-chan, I know that look." Minako said as she tried to push Usagi away. Usagi laughed and shoved Minako, who lost her balance and slid backwards into the water. Minako and Quatre were out.
"Ack!" Usagi yelped as she saw Rei and Wufei coming her and Hiiro. She linked her feet being Hiiro's back, and thrust her hands forward towards Rei. She toppled over when Rei shoved her backwards. Usagi wiped the water out of her eyes when she surfaced.
She swam to shore, along with Hiiro, and sat next to Minako and Quatre. In the end, Makoto and Duo won. Surprise, surprise.
Later, when Usagi had wondered off by herself, she hummed the tune she had sung the other day. 'Why the heck am I humming this song?!' she thought.
"Usagi?" a voice called from behind her.
"Who's there?" she asked, turning in a full three hundred and sixty-degree turn.
"Usagi, where are you?" the voice asked.
"Over here!" she answered.
"Over where?" it replied.
"Here!" she said, rolling her eyes. She turned around to walk towards the voice, or at least where she thought it was. And bumped into something.
"Bumping into things. Another fault." Hiiro said in an amused tone of voice.
"Was that you calling me?" she asked.
"Calling you?" Hiiro questioned.
"Yeah, someone is yelling my name. I thought it was you..." she said.
"Usagi!" the voice yelled again.
"That voice?" Hiiro asked. Usagi just nodded. Trying to figure out if she had ever heard it before or not. She couldn't place it. But it felt familiar.
"Hello?" Usagi yelled again. She looked all around her, but still there was no sign of anyone but Hiiro and herself.
"Tsukino Serenity Usagi!" the voice called again.
Usagi thought for awhile, 'where have I heard this voice before? It's really familiar.'
"Usagi, do you know who it is?" Hiiro asked.
Usagi came out of her thoughts; "it's really familiar. But I can't place it. I know, for sure, that I have heard it before."
"Usagi." The voice said again.
"It's coming from over there." Usagi said as she walked in the direction she had just determined the voice was at. Hiiro just followed behind her. "Hello?" she asked again.
"Hello?" it echoed.
"Who are you?" Usagi asked.
"Usagi." It answered.
Usagi looked puzzled. Was this person just asking for her, or was she—or he—named Usagi? "Your name is Usagi?" she asked glancing back at Hiiro with the same puzzled look.
"Where are you?" it asked.
"I'm over here!" she said. She was getting frustrated not to mention annoyed. "Okay. Whoever the heck you are, show yourself!" Finally, as if by some miracle, Usagi and Hiiro heard footsteps approaching them.
"Usagi?" the voice asked from right in front of them, but hidden by the trees.
"Yes. Come out, we won't hurt you." Usagi said to whomever she was talking to. The person timidly stepped out, her eyes and face placed so that she was looking at the ground. She had a head full of golden blonde hair, just like Usagis. "Who are you?"
"Usagi."
"Er... I'm Usagi. Who are you?" the Moonchild said.
"I am Usagi," the child said, finally lifting her head up. Usagi gasped. How could this person look like her? She knew for a fact that she didn't have a sister, nor twin. Usagi eyed her quizzically, while Usagi-2 walked towards her.
"Where did you come from?" Usagi asked as the girl came towards her.
"I came from you." Usagi-2 replied.
"Nani!?" Usagi exclaimed. What the heck was this girl talking about?
Usagi-2 held her hands out, palms facing Usagi, with her eyes closed. "I am you. You are me." She said.
Usagi felt compelled to put her hands up in a similar fashion as Hiiro looked on extremely confused. Usagi-2 placed her palms against Usagis'.
"What's going on?" Usagi asked as she saw the glowing girl in front of her.
"You are remembering." Usagi-2 replied.
"Remembering?" Usagi questioned. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to remember whatever it is that she was remembering.
Professor Tomoe called Kaolinite, as the Dark Messiah appeared. The ceremony to revive the Messiah of Silence was about to begin. Sailor Moon tried to stop them, but was blocked by Professor Tomoe's force field. The Dark Messiah opened her eyes. An arm of light extended out of her, and reached into Sailor Chibi-Moon's body.
The arm snatched Chibi-Moon's heart crystal through her chest and Chibi-Moon woke up in pain. She looked and saw Hotaru on the throne.
Chibi-Moon was relieved to see that Hotaru was alive, and then fell unconscious again as the arm pulled out her heart crystal. After the crystal was taken, Chibi-Moon lost her transformation, and the crystal slowly floated toward the Messiah of Silence. The Messiah of Silence was about to swallow the crystal.
"Don't!" shouted Sailor Moon. "If you really are Hotaru's father...if you really love Hotaru, you have to stop this!" Sailor Moon hoped that a trace of feeling would still be left in the mad professor.
"Love?" asked the professor coldly, "What is that?"
Hotaru swallowed the pure heart and began to transform. "I am the Messiah of Silence, Mistress 9!"
Uranus and Neptune were shocked. "That's not Sailor Saturn! Hotaru's been turned into a Death Buster!"
Professor Tomoe told Kaolinite that she had done well. Kaolinite was grateful, but Mistress 9 said she was no longer needed. Mistress 9 killed Kaolinite with a bolt of energy.
Mistress 9 and Professor Tomoe left the hall to begin the next stage of their plan, and the top floors of the Mugen building exploded. The seven Senshi took Sailor Chibi-Moon and escaped from Mugen.
Outside the building, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Pluto were waiting for them. Sailor Pluto was shocked. Artemis said the unconscious students had been removed from the building. They all ran back to the house to take care of Chibi-Usa who was slowly dying.
Setsuna entered the living room where the other four girls were waiting, and said that she would return to Mugen Academy with Uranus and Neptune to destroy the enemy. "Have you forgotten that the Messiah is Hotaru?!" demanded the girls. Setsuna said it was the only way to save Small Lady.
Usagi looked at her clone in front of her. "Chibi-Usa..." she whispered. She had blocked that battle and almost everything about it from her mind.
Usagi-2 nodded, "you remember that battle now."
"Hai. I tried... so hard to block that memory. Why did you have to bring it back?" she asked.
"Because the only way to bring someone back is to remember them," and with that Usagi-2 disappeared in a flash of light.
"'The only way to bring someone back is to remember them'? What does that mean?" Usagi questioned to no one in particular. Hiiro placed a hand on the blondes' shoulder and she turned to face him.
"Let's head back." He said. Usagi just nodded, already back in deep thought. What could she have meant? Usagi wouldn't bring Chibi-Usa back. She did not want the child to be alone in the world again. And it wasn't like she could come back. Her "father" was gone.
"Usagi-chan, you look like you've seen a ghost." Makoto stated when they returned.
"No, Mako-chan, not a ghost. I saw Usagi." Usagi replied distractedly.
"You saw yourself?" Minako asked.
"Hai." Usagi said, nodding at the same time. "She... made me remember that fight with Hotaru-chan and Mistress Nine."
All the girls looked at each other then back to Usagi. They all knew how hard she had tried to forget about that day. She hadn't been the same after the day Chibi-Usa died.
"Then she said 'the only way to bring someone back is to remember them'." The blonde informed them.
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Rei. Usagi shrugged.
"I don't know. She left before I could ask her about it. Maybe... no. I just need to think," and with that Usagi walked away from the rest of the group to walk along the shore of the lake.
The only way to bring someone back is to remember.
It floated around Usagis' head, over and over, like a broken record. 'What the heck does that mean? I can't bring Chibi-Usa back, I know that already.' She ran a hand threw her long golden hair. A habit she had picked up when she was in deep thought.
"Usagi no baka!" the small cotton-candy haired child yelled to the taller, golden haired teenager. "You promised you would buy me an ice cream cone!"
Usagi smiled at the younger girl. She knew that Chibi-Usa didn't mean what she had said. "Hai, I did. Let's go." Usagi said as she walked next to the smaller child.
"Arigatoo!" Chibi-Usa exclaimed, then she did something she had never done before: reach up and hold onto Usagis' hand. Usagi just smiled down at the child, who returned it.
Usagi reached a hand up to wipe away a solitary tear that was falling from her crystalline eyes to her cheek. "Chibi-Usa...Usagi...wherever you are, I hope you know that I will always love you. You were a brat sometimes, but that was before you and I knew. You are my daughter, and I will never forget you. Ever." She said to the sky.
With that, the golden haired teen did a one-eighty degree turn and walked back up the shoreline back to camp.
"Daijoobu ka?" Minako immediately asked as soon as she saw the blonde.
Usagi sniffled, "yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked. She knew her eyes were red from crying, but she didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. Minako, for once, got the hint and walked away.
Usagi sat down on her sleeping bag and pulled her knees up to her chest. Resting her chin on her kneecaps, she encircled her legs with her arms. 'Is that what you meant by remembering? I don't know what you meant by that!' Usagi thought. 'Well, this is one interesting camping trip.'
She vaguely noticed Makoto setting down a plate of food in front of her that night. She was still thinking. Wondering. Questioning. Why couldn't she figure it out? It bugged her to her wits end. She just nibbled at her food, not very hungry at the moment.
Soon, Usagi had curled up in her sleeping bag and was quickly falling into a deep, dreamless sleep. She woke up with a start in the middle of the night and looked around.
'Huh? Okay, I know I don't usually wake up in the middle of the night for no reason.' She thought. Shrugging and blaming it on insomnia the Moonchild stood up and walked to the bank of the lake. Sitting in the moonlight, she felt oddly protected by it. Though she knew it wasn't all that odd since she was the Princess of the Moon.
"I don't like to be alone in the night.
I don't like to hear I'm wrong when I'm right.
I don't like to have the rain on my shoes.
But I do love you.
But I do love you.
I don't like to see a sky painted gray.
I don't like when nothing's going my way.
I don't like to be the one with the blues.
But I do love you.
But I do love you."
Usagi sang. Finally she was beginning to find the rest of the lyrics that floated around in her head.
"Love everything about the way you're loving me.
The way you lay your head upon my shoulder when you sleep.
And I love to kiss you in the rain.
I love everything you do, I do.
I don't like to turn on the radio on,
Just to find I've missed my favorite song.
I don't like to be the last with the news.
But I do love you.
But I do love you."
She thought about what to use for the next verse. Then decided on the first two.
"Love everything about the way you're loving me.
The way you lay your heard upon my shoulder when you sleep.
And I love to kiss you in the rain.
I lover everything you do, oh I do.
I don't like to be alone in the night.
I don't like to hear I'm wrong when I'm right.
I don't like to have the rain on my shoes.
But I do love you.
But I do love you.
But I do love you."
Usagi smiled as she finished the song. She could finally write it down and make sure she wouldn't forget it. 'I'm going to have to snag a microphone for my laptop, that way I can sing and edit it.' She thought.
Crouching down and balancing on her tiptoes, she waved the fingertips of her right hand in the water. Circling her hand around, she created tons of little wave ripples. Soon she stopped and just watched as the ripples dissipated. She then leaned back and sat on her bottom and thought. She never noticed someone walking up to her from the camp.
"Usagi?" he asked.
Usagi jumped and turned to face him, "by the Gods! You scared me to death, Hiiro." She exclaimed, but kept her voice low enough.
Hiiro sat down next to her, "what are you doing? It's two in the morning."
"I couldn't sleep..." Usagi replied as she started to hum the song again. It was constantly stuck in her head.
They fell into a comfortable silence as Usagi tilted her head up to the Moon, and Hiiro looked the other way.
"What are you thinking?" she finally asked, looking at him with her pure and innocent eyes.
He looked back to her, "...nothing."
Usagis' face fell, but as quick as it appeared, it disappeared. "Are you sure?" she knew she was right that something wrong when he didn't answer her second question.
Usagi sat there, watching him. He was staring out at the water, like he was in deep thought. But she could see him occasionally glance over at her. "Hiiro?" she asked. Hiiro looked over at her with a questioning look on his face.
"Hn?" he said. Usagi leaned forward, and brushed her lips on his for what seemed like an eternity to her.
"Nothing." She stood up and walked back to her sleeping bag and fell into a peaceful sleep.
Hiiro watched her the whole way until she fell asleep, then he lifted his hand up to his lips. Had she just kissed him? It was so soft, but sweet.
Everyone decided that it was time to head back to "Base Camp" as all the girls liked to call it. Usagi thought it would be a good time to snag someone to take her to a store in town. She figured Quatre because he knew a lot about music.
"Quatre?" Usagi asked when they had gotten back.
Quatre turned and looked at Usagi, "yeah?"
"Do you think you can take me into town? I want to get a microphone for my laptop." She explained.
"Sure, I have the time now, if you want to go." Quatre said. Usagi nodded and then told the girls where she was going and they were off.
"Ugh! Computer stuff is really not my thing. Which one should I get, Quatre?" asked Usagi. They had found a computer store and now the Moonchild was trying to figure out which microphone to get.
"Well, what are you going to use it for?" Quatre asked.
"To record my song, and edit it." She replied. Quatre nodded and then looked at the microphones.
"This one's the best for what you want to do." He said, holding up a small one that she could either hold up, or hook to her laptop screen.
"Cool. I'll get this one then." She said as they walked up to the cashier. "Thanks for the help, Quatre. Now I can really show Rei that I can sing."
"She doesn't think you can?" he said as they walked out of the town towards camp.
"Well... she doesn't think I can. No one has ever heard my songs except for..." she trailed off in her sentence.
"For whom?" Quatre questioned.
"Usagi—Chibi-Usa. She is—was—my daughter. I know this will sound confusing, but she was my future daughter. She came to the past to ask for the Senshi and my help. She...she died. I sang her favorite song for her right before she did."
Quatre and Usagi continued walking in silence, he didn't know what to say, and she didn't want to say anything else.
They got back to camp and Usagi went into her tent immediately to grab her laptop and sit by the lake. She flashed a smile towards the girls so they wouldn't think she was sad or that anything was wrong at all.
"Okay...plug that in there. Install it here..." Usagi mumbled to herself as she installed the microphone and prepared it. Quickly, Usagi opened up Word Document and wrote out the lyrics. Nodding, she held up the microphone, not to close and far enough, from her mouth and pressed record to start singing.
"I don't like to be alone in the night.
I don't like to hear I'm wrong when I'm right.
I don't like to have the rain on my shoes.
But I do love you.
But I do love you.
I don't like to see a sky painted gray.
I don't like when nothing's going my way.
I don't like to be the one with the blues.
But I do love you.
But I do love you.
Love everything about the way you're loving me.
The way you lay your head upon my shoulder when you sleep.
And I love to kiss you in the rain.
I love everything you do, I do.
I don't like to turn on the radio on,
Just to find I've missed my favorite song.
I don't like to be the last with the news.
But I do love you.
But I do love you.
Love everything about the way you're loving me.
The way you lay your heard upon my shoulder when you sleep.
And I love to kiss you in the rain.
I lover everything you do, oh I do.
I don't like to be alone in the night.
I don't like to hear I'm wrong when I'm right.
I don't like to have the rain on my shoes.
But I do love you.
But I do love you.
But I do love you."
She pressed the stop button and then rewound it to hear what she sounded like. 'I really sound like that?! Wow...' she thought as she listened to the song. 'I really like this song. I'm sure Chibi-Usa would too.' Thought the now happier Moonchild.
She went to save. Then went to the edit button so she could name it and dedicate it to her daughter. She added the background music that she had come up with a long time ago. "Cool." She commented to no one but herself.
"Usagi! Come back, we have a surprise for you!" Rei yelled from the camp. Usagi, always loving surprises, saved the new song again and closed the laptop and made her way back to camp.
"What is it Rei-chan?" she asked.
"These." She said as she pulled out a pair of silk blue ballet shoes. Usagi put her laptop down as Rei put the shoes into her hands. They were absolutely beautiful.
"W-where did you get these?" she asked, stunned beyond belief.
"How should I know? They were left on your pack with this note." Rei replied as she handed her friend the still folded note. Usagi opened it up and read it.
Usagi-mama,
I figured that since you like dancing so much you should have the right shoes for it. I hope they are the right size. Love you!
P.S. I'm just fine. Stop worrying.
There was no name at the bottom, there didn't have to be one.
"Who's it from?" Minako asked when she saw the tears start to well up in Usagis eyes. The golden haired girl handed over the note and all the girls crowded around Minako to read it.
"I'm... going to try these out. I'll be back in a while." Usagi said as she walked threw the forest to a clearing she had been using for dancing earlier in her stay.
She slipped off her shoes, and carefully slipped on the slippers. She laced them up, spiraling the ribbons around her leg until she tied them.
Usagi loved the feel of them; they fit just right too. She spun and danced around to the music in her head with one of the happiest smiles on her face ever.
"Usagi..." she heard her name and stopped in mid-spin.
"Yeah?" she asked the smile still plastered on her face. "What's up?"
"Why did you kiss me?" Hiiro asked.
Usagi giggled. "You came all the way out here just to ask me that question?"
"Usagi..." he said again. Hell, she could take a hint; he wanted to really know.
"Because...because I like you. Is that a bad thing?" she asked.
Hiiro was confused. Why would anyone like him? For once, he fumbled for an answer. She had already walked towards him so that she wasn't standing so far from him. "No... It's not a bad thing."
"Good. Cause guess what?" Usagi said.
"What?" he asked a bit warily.
Usagi smiled, "I'm going to do it again." With that she leaned forward and kissed him. To her surprise, he responded by kissing her back. She put her arms around his neck, while she felt his go behind her back. When they broke apart, she put her head against his chest. "Was that a bad thing?"
"Not in my book." Hiiro replied.
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Whew, that's a good place to stop for now. :D You asked for romance, I gave you romance. I don't know yet if I'll bring Chibi-Usa back, nor do I know how many more chapters I will produce for this story. So just sit back, and review. :D Hee-hee. Jaa!
P.S. Tell me if you want Chibi-Usa to come back or not, I'll make a tally for it. And if I get a lot of them, she'll be in the next chapter or the one after that.