Daydream Believer 2/6
Rated PG



When Mamoru opened his eyes again, he unexpectedly found himself staring at his bland, colorless ceiling. With a sigh, he sat up and untangled himself from the bed sheets, slightly damp with perspiration.

That dream had been too real, too vivid. But could he really call it a dream? He thought he had actually been there, talking to that girl. He felt her form against his, her soft, silky hair slide through his fingers, her upturned face trying her best to berate him...

Mamoru chuckled to himself. The way she had acted was almost as if she had been royalty or something. Even if she had been, why was he mixed up in all of it? He had no place there.

Leaning back against the headboard, he closed his eyes for a moment, letting the early morning sun warm him up. Suddenly, he bolted awake. The last thing he wanted to do was fall asleep again, because he didn't know if he would be taken back to that same dream world. And now that he had met that girl, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to go back...

****

Finally surrendering himself to sleep, Mamoru laid down after a long day. His shift at the hospital lasted nearly nine hours that day, longer than a regular position usually did. He was beginning to wonder if he'd ever get a full-time shift there.

The thought of his haunting dreams eluded him completely as he drifted quickly into a deep sleep. Only when he felt a warm light surround him did Mamoru subconsciously realize that he was being drawn back into the dream world again. He could not avoid it; and so he let himself be pulled in once more.

The gardens were becoming all too common to him, and he didn't waste any time finding the opening in the hedge again. Just as he was about to step through, a soft and slightly familiar voice stopped him.

"You came back."

Mamoru whirled around to face the girl, who he noticed was so much shorter than he. She probably barely came up to his shoulders, if she stood on tiptoe.

"I didn't exactly have a choice," he replied.

The girl cocked her head to the side. "Didn't have a choice? What do you mean by that? Does it have something to do with the light that took you away before?"

He noticed that she was being much kinder than she was the first time. He smiled slightly. "I suppose so. I don't really have any control over it."

"How can you not have any control over where you come and go?" she retorted.

Running a hand through his thick hair, Mamoru sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

He smiled at her boldness. She was probably a feisty little thing when she got the nerve and the opportunity. "Before we get into that, I'd like to know one thing. Where am I?"

She smiled impishly. "That's obvious. You're in the palace gardens." His first instincts had been right after all. But... a palace of what? And where?

As if she could read his mind, she replied, "This is the royal palace of the Moon. And I'd like to know how you got in here too."

Mamoru's eyes widened as she finished his sentence. It couldn't be... no dream could have the power to transport him all the way to the Moon... could it? Suddenly he felt weak in the knees. "It's not possible. Tell me you're not serious."

Her eyes mirrored his, full of concern and worry for him all of a sudden. Pointing to a spot in the sky behind him, she replied softly, "Look there. That should give you all the proof you need."

Slowly Mamoru turned around, dreading what he would find. His eyes widened twice their size as he took in the sight before him. There, hanging in the sky like a bright blue marble, was the only home he had even known, something he never thought he would see from this point of view.

He fell to the soft ground, taking in deep breaths. Last thing he needed was to pass out in the middle of a dream world. "Kami-sama..." he muttered softly under his breath. How in the world had he gotten here? Why was this dream so real? And why was he the one living it?

Suddenly two tiny warm hands slid around one of his arms, and Mamoru looked up to find a pair of concerned blue eyes looking back at him. "Are you all right? You're not sick, are you? Please tell me you'll be all right."

Slowly regaining his strength, he placed his own hand on top of hers, giving her a little reassurance. "I'll be all right, I think. It's not every day that I see my home world hanging in the sky."

The girl's eyes widened and she quickly pulled her hands away, embarrassed to have touched him so intimately when she hardly knew him. "You mean... you're from the Earth? How did you...?"

Mamoru finally stood up again, brushing the dirt from his clothes. "If I knew the answer to that, Princess, I would have told you long ago."

Again, her eyes widened twice their size. "How did you know that I was a Princess?"

A slight grin flickered across his lips. "When you mentioned these were the palace gardens and that I was a commoner, I put two and two together."

"Oh, I see." The girl looked down at her feet, then back up at him, a smile softening her features. "We haven't been properly introduced, have we?" Making a light curtsy, she replied, "I am Serenity, Princess of the Moon Kingdom and future ruler of the Silver Millenium. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Serenity," Mamoru replied softly, letting the name run over his lips like a light whisper. The name certainly suited her, now that he thought about it. He then made an awkward bow in her direction. "Chiba Mamoru. I come from Earth in the 20th century."

Serenity's mouth dropped open. "D-did you say 20th century? That-that would mean you're from... you're from..."

"The future?" he supplied.

She nodded numbly and stood there in shock. Then she did something that surprised Mamoru. She fell into his arms and fainted.

****

Her blue eyes opened groggily, much to the relief of Mamoru. Passing a hand over her face, Serenity sat up, trying to focus on something familiar. "Wh-what happened?"

"You fainted," his deep voice resonated in her ears, "but I caught you before you hit the ground. Are you okay now?"

Serenity blinked and suddenly remembered that she was still in Mamoru's arms. She jumped away from his touch and looked at him curiously. "I think I remember now. I fainted because you said you were from the 20th century, right?"

Mamoru nodded mutely. Her knees began to waver again and he shot out to catch her. "Don't faint on me again, Serenity." Hearing him say her name with his voice combined with the shock was enough to make her waver again. Luckily, she caught herself just before she was about to fall and gave him a small smile. "Thank you for trying to help."

Her smile caught Mamoru off guard. He had never had anyone look at him that way before, much less a girl, and a princess at that. But what was he thinking? This was only a dream, right? If he closed his eyes, it would all disappear again and he would be back in his stuffy apartment, all alone...

On second thought, he was starting to like this dream.

"Mamoru? Are you all right?" Serenity looked at him curiously. He blinked, and shook his mind clear. Looking down on the small girl, he took a moment to take in his surroundings, including the rising Earth just beyond the horizon. "Incredible," he whispered under his breath. It had always been one of his hidden wishes to see the Earth from this point of view. Even if this was all a dream, it was very realistic.

"Isn't the view of the Earth spectacular? I come here nearly every night to see it." Taking hold of his hand, Serenity called out, "I know the best place over here at the edge of the gardens to watch it rise. Come on, I'll show--OOF!" Her shoe got caught on a hidden rock and she fell forward. Instead of hitting the ground, two strong arms caught her in midair. Serenity breathed a sigh of relief and turned around in his arms as Mamoru pulled her back up.

They were so close, closer than she had ever been to him before. Serenity could see straight into his deep blue eyes. Filled with a certain solemnity and a bit of sadness as well, she wanted to know so much more about this handsome stranger who had mysteriously showed up in her garden all of a sudden. But even he didn't know the answer to that.

"Mamoru... I... thank you for coming to my rescue again. You seem to be good at that. Are you sure you're not really a prince in disguise?"

He chuckled deeply. "I assure you, my lady, that I am no prince." He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it in a teasing manner. Serenity immediately felt the blush creep into her cheeks. No man had even caused her to feel this way before... why was he stirring up such feelings inside of her? She hardly even knew him! "Mamoru..." she started to ask him again, but before she could, she noticed a strange light surrounding him and somehow she knew that he was leaving her again.

He was actually disappointed that the light was taking him away this time. If only he could find a way to control it... he wanted to know the princess better. He smiled and his last words to her before he disappeared left her spellbound. "I promise you, we will meet again."