Chapter 3 "Twilight" 9:15PM Tokyo, Japan: Juuban district.



Usagi Tsukino gently lifted herself up from the hard stone, and pushed her golden blonde hair from her eyes. It was wet and matted against her skin, and she knew combing it afterwards would be a task. She sighed, turning her tear-weary eyes to the sky, where the rain still fell. Not so hard now, though, for the fiery storm had finally begun to soothe, sending down only a soft, gentle sprinkling. Her blue eyes seemed to have lost much of their shine, their warmth, reflecting only coldness and deep, impenetrable pain. She exhaled, savoring the feel of the forest mist upon her skin, coating her with a million tiny fingertips. It felt so good, this time just after the rain, when the forest began to breathe again, taking in the life the pouring heavens had given it.

She stood, her chin held high and her bearing proud, and she seemed, just once, to actually be that princess of long ago. But it was all an act; here, in this secret place where none could see. None, that is, but a shadowy figure clinging to the impending darkness of night. A shadow, not easily seen and more easily forgotten, watching the hurting girl with an evil malice and an untamed lust. She ran up the path she had come, stumbling with the deep puddles of mud and upraised tree roots, fighting to keep both her balance and to shake that feeling of being watched. Smiling softly to itself, the figure backed into the shadows and disappeared.

* * * *

The childlike delight on Mamoru's face was evident to Usagi, and she found herself getting caught in his excitement and sharing in it. She smiled, catching his ear-to-ear grin as he leaned down towards her, and put a finger to his mouth as he silenced her. She looked up at him, light blue eyes to dark, and allowed him to lead her into the dining room.

Everywhere there was candles; beautiful rose-scented candles, white vanilla- scents, tapers, columns.all lit and casting a romantic glow about the walls and tables. The little German shepherd pup was frolicking about the living room and chewing up Mamoru's favorite novel. Usagi giggled, and Mamoru's face fell. She shook her head, and pointed at the puppy. His expression brightened, and turned irritated at the same time. He took the book from the dog, who cocked her little head as if to say who, me? Shaking his head, he handed the pup a Milkbone, but anyone who's had a puppy knows they want what they're not supposed to have. So, of course, after she had gobbled up the treat, the puppy waddled back into the living room, a black and tan ball of fuzz, and proceeded to gnaw on the leg of his couch.

This, Mamoru hadn't yet noticed, nor had he noticed the little yellow puddle inside one of his slippers, newspaper untouched. His attention was focused solely on Usagi again, as he gently steered her to the table.

Dinner had been good, and Mamoru had gone all-out. Normally he didn't, so wondering why put Usagi on a bit of an edge and made her anxious. It felt good, though, just sitting here with the man she loved without a care in the world. Besides, that is, the black-and-tan pup bent on destruction. She smiled softly. Everything was right in her life; perfect, wonderful. She would even graduate high school this year, and had a music scholarship to a good university in the United States. New York, in fact. No one except Mamoru and those in her choir knew she could sing, and could sing really well. It was one thing she enjoyed and the one thing she felt she was good at. Still, she was shy, and never showed the Senshi. Perhaps one day she and Minako could combine their voices; Mina's crystalline soprano and her own rich alto to be the best duet pair to grace Tokyo. She smiled a bit at her fantasy. To most who knew her, Usagi Tsukino was a talentless, clumsy cry-baby who would spend most her life trying to pass high school. College would be unthinkable to them for her to attain. She didn't think so. After Galaxia, she had realized she needed to pull herself together, that the future was coming and coming soon, and she needed to prepare herself.

So she had taken special after-school sessions with her teachers, concentrated deeply on their lessons, and actually found herself learning. There was no way she'd beat Ami, obviously, but she wasn't failing anymore either. Everything Ami had tried to beat into her since eighth grade was finally becoming clear, and she had passed the college entrance exam and SAT's with a high score. But being as shy as she was, she hadn't shown anyone but her parents and, of course, Mamoru. And he was proud for her, that she had finally found direction and had decided to apply the intelligence he knew she had.

"Usagi," Mamoru said, clearing his throat and meeting her rich azure eyes, "I have something I want to ask...."

For the first time since she had met him, he suddenly seemed unsure of himself, or of what to say. To her, it had always seemed that no matter what, Mamoru would always find the right thing to say, would always have the answer. It seemed that tonight he wasn't quite at ease.

"Mamo-chan?" she asked, wondering what had put him ill at ease.

"Usako," he said, "We've been through so much, and I know I've never said this out loud, I took it for granted and simply assumed..." His gaze clouded and he took a moment before meeting her eyes again. "It's just...after Galaxia, I mean, I almost lost you then, for good...I couldn't bear that, Usako, without knowing...Without having asked you, without having heard you say...." She looked up at him, rapt with attention, her blue eyes filled with love and curiosity.

"Usako," he said again, searching for something in her pupils it seemed, they were so close. "My love. I know I haven't always been the best person, or probably the most worthy of you, and your unending love and devotion, and I regret that, but I try, and I promise you I will stop at nothing to see you safe and happy...What I'm trying to say is this," he said, running a hand through his hair, "Usagi Tsukino, Princess Serenity, would you be my wife?"

Usagi stood there, motionless, for a moment, not quite grasping what had just happened. Her dream, ever since she had met Mamoru and realized she loved him with the very depths of her heart, and been to stand at his side always and to marry him. Here, that was coming true, and she said the first thing that leapt into her mind and heart:

"Yes."

* * * * *

She trudged in, late, to her home in Juuban. Waiting for her from her window was the black Celestial Guardian, Luna, worry evident all over her features. She saw her Princess, but didn't let the princess see her, and leapt off into the trees. Inside the house was her puppy, whom she named Sukie, scratching at the door, begging to be let out. But with the storm, she hadn't, and if the pup could dance she would have been from the urge of nature's call. Since the rain was about gone, Usagi let out the little dog, who ran around in the bushes trying not to get its feet wet. It returned about two minutes later, and followed her mistress into the house.

Tired, wet, and unhappy, Usagi took off her muddy shoes and socks and set them by the door to dry, and walked slowly up the stairs. She undressed, stripping herself down, and took a shower. Afterwards, clean, she decided to be a bad girl and soak in the bath for about an hour. No one else was home, they'd all gone out to eat and had left a note. She had been so late, they'd grown tired of waiting. She was seventeen; if she wanted something, she could get it. After bath, her skin was pink from the heat and her toes and fingers were all wrinkled, but she didn't care. She pulled on some pajamas and flopped down on the bed, and began to go to sleep, but her hand strayed to a necklace around her throat. Hung on the chain was a beautiful diamond ring, with the band a streak of white and yellow gold wrapped together. Golden, and silver. Earth's light, and the Moon's. Her and Mamoru. She almost wept again, but couldn't. She had cried all the tears she could cry, and her sobs were dry.

After their falling-out, she couldn't bear to chunk the beautiful piece of jewelry, couldn't believe that their love that had once been so meaningful as to defy death and reach across time and space could suddenly be so.... meaningless. Surely he couldn't have been so cold as to betray her like that, surely he still loved her...Or was she simply so in love with him she couldn't see?

"Mamo-chan," she whispered into the night, "I love you, and I always will.....Why don't you love me?"

* * * * *