Untitled Document

Gomen for not getting this chapter out sooner! It's my computers fault! It kept restarting over and over and I think something MAY be wrong with it... It's working now though so here you go! This chapter IS more serious then the others because I was reading Hannibal while working on it and so I did a lot of digging into psyche's. Gomen if it bores you but humor returns next chapter I assure you. Again thanks goes to D-chan and Onnesan. Enjoy and please review.

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Give a Reason

Chapter Nine: The Inner Mind

"AIL?!?!?"

He smiled at her, "Miss me, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi stared at him for a long moment her eyes still wide with shock. "Demo... demo .."

"Hai?" he asked with a smile as he stepped closer to her.

Usagi shook her head, "What about Ann?" She finally asked.

Ail paused something flashing through his eyes. "You needn't worry about her. She's still on Earth chasing that human..."

Usagi took a step backwards as her mind reeled. 'What's HE doing here?' She edged away a bit more her eyes still wide with shock and confusion. 'He could have come through with Puu but what timeline is he from?' She cleared her throat and turned to him. "Ail-"

"Bunny?" Called Duo's concerned voice. He still couldn't hear what was being said but it was obvious she was afraid of the strange man.

Usagi turned, "Duo?" She didn't notice Ail's eyes narrow.

"Usagi-chan, why are you calling me Ail?"

Sudden realization ran through Usagi. 'So he doesn't know I'm Sailormoon yet nor does he know that I know his identity.'

"Gomen, Seijuurou-san."

He shook his head as he studied her his eyes thoughtful. 'This Usagi doesn't seem to be from the same time as mine. She knows my true form and Ann's as well. Additionaly she looks older but that wouldn't explain her hair...' He gently reached out and fingered a strand of the shining white. "When did you get white hair, Usagi-chan?"

Duo scowled. "Hey you! Get your hands off of Bunny!"

Ail turned eyes starting to flash. His eyes started to darken to a dark blue and his ears seemed to grow pointed as his skin slowly turned green. Before he could fully transform into his true form he felt a restraining hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly to see Usagi's pleading eyes. "Don't hurt anyone," she whispered. Ail nodded slightly and returned back to his human form and studied the human as he approached.

"Usagi?" It was the smooth emotionless voice of Hiiro. While Duo had been running straight at the new threat Hiiro had been quietly sneaking around them.

Usagi turned, "Hiiro, where are the others?"

"Securing the area. I think Milardo is coming for you again."

"How would he know where I am?"

Ail who had been listening to the conversation frowned ever so slightly. "Someone's after you, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi sighed, "Why are you here, Ail?"

"I was playing my flute when I saw a flash of your gorgeous face. Though I must admit I was curious about this white hair of yours. Anyway I realized it had to be a portal of some kind and went through."

Usagi frowned, "Demo, if you can get through portals like that then that means..." She frowned, "Iie, I.." She turned, "Stay here, Ail."

He watched her go indigo eyes locked on her figure. "Who are you?" He casually asked the two boys near him.

Duo frowned, "Duo Maxwell. How do you know Bunny?"

Hiiro scowled, "Think about it, Duo. This is the Ail from Usagi's story."

Ail raised an eyebrow. "Usagi-chan, told you about me?"

Hiiro shook his head. He sensed though the boy looked normal he was probably dangerous. "Iie, she only told us your name."

Usagi climbed over the rough surface of the moon and saw Quatre and Trowa holding guns on Wufei. "Nani? What are you two doing?"

Haruka and Seiya looked over from their posts. "You look disturbed, Koneko."

She nodded, "Hai, Ail is here."

"Ail?" Seiya asked. "Who..."

Usagi sighed, "I might as well refresh your memories... Quatre why are you holding a gun on Wufei?"

Quatre smiled at her and pulled his gun away. "No reason, Goddess. Wufei offered to help Trowa and I with a training exercise."

Usagi wondered if she should tell Wufei what Pluto had revealed to her but decided against it. "About Ail... let me start at the beginning. It was after the fight with Metallia and Beryl and my Senshi and I had forgotten everything..."

Ail smiled. The two boys before him were no competition. Usagi would be his and his alone. Of course they were rivals so it would be appropiate for him to learn everything he could. "So are both of you in love with Usagi-chan?"

"I don't know about Perfect Soldier boy over here but I know I love her," Duo answered his indigo eyes flaring with anger.

"Hnn," Hiiro responded.

Duo saw the almost confused expression on Ail's face and grinned. "That's his way of saying no."

Ail seemed to realize something and he looked around himself an eyebrow raised in questioning. "Is there any particular reason why we're on the moon?"

Duo nodded, "Yeah, but before I answer that could I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead..."

"How can you survive without a spacesuit? This IS the moon you know. No gravity, nor oxygen or warmth."

Ail smiled, "So Usagi-chan hasn't told you about me?" He smirked and transformed into his true form. "You see I'm not really human so I don't have the same limitations your pathetic species does."

Duo frowned, "Hey, Usagi is a human too you know."

Ail nodded, "Indeed, but she's the exception not the rule. She is perfection itself."

Duo nodded a sappy grin on his face. "Yeah, Bunny's something else all right..."

Hiiro ignored the two and walked back to where Usagi had gone. The fact that Ail was an alien didn't really bother him. The fact that Ail was after Usagi was what bothered him. He knew he wasn't jealous it was just a mission... Or at least that's what he told himself.

Usagi finished and saw that Seiya and Haruka were frowning. "So it's a past enemy?" Haruka demanded.

Usagi shook her head, "Iie, not exactly. Ail is not really bad..."

Wufei scowled. "Yet, he told that Makaiju to kill you, ne?"

She sighed and leaned her head back, "It's hard to explain. Since the Makaiju had fallen silent and could only give them energy all they had was each other and it didn't help that their earliest memories were of war and death. They had no one to raise them to know any other feelings."

Quatre frowned in concern, "Usagi-san, even if he isn't really evil he's still after you, ne?"

"Usagi."

Usagi turned and saw Hiiro calmly watching her. "Hai?"

"You should get off the moon now. It's dangerous."

Trowa nodded in agreement, "He's right, Usagi-hime. It's too dangerous here if Milardo is indeed coming. You should wait in the shuttle. I'll go get Duo."

Usagi sighed and did as she was told. She was only vaguely aware of Wufei following her. She sat down in her seat and realized Wufei was beside her. She glanced at him her cheeks a bright cherry red and she lowered her eyes. She remembered what Pluto had told her and unconciously her hand went to her stomach.

"What's wrong with you, Onna?"

Usagi closed her eyes, "Nothing..."

Wufei merely snorted, "Baka Onna it's clear there is something wrong. Are you still worried about that other Onna?"

"You mean Chibiusa-chan?" He nodded. Usagi shook her head, "Iie, I know what Haruka-chan said is true. I'm worried about Ail being here though. I'm not sure if he has his flute and cardians or not but if he does we could get into serious trouble. I'm not sure... I'm not sure if I can stop him if he releases them here..."

"Usagi-san?"

Usagi looked up and saw Quatre. "Hai, Quatre?"

"We-"

He was cut off as Ail entered his eyes on her. "You weren't going to leave me where you, Usagi-chan?" He asked dark blue eyes locked on her.

Usagi almost winced. He was in his true form not even attempting to disguise that he was an alien. "Of course not Ail."

He smiled at her his blue hair almost seeming to shine. He sat down on the other side of Usagi much to Wufei's and Quatre's displeasure. "Why are you frowning at me, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi forced her lips into a smile. "Because I'm not used to seeing you in that form."

He nodded and concentrated regaining the honey brown hair and indigo eyes. "Better?"

"Much," Usagi responded with a small smile.

Duo who had just arrived pouted, "No fair! I don't get to sit by Bunny AGAIN?"

"Shut up, Maxwell," Wufei demanded. He ignored Duo's further poutings and silently studied the boy on the other side of Usagi. When that thing had sat down beside her he had felt feelings of protectiveness well inside of him. With great effort however he squashed the emotions. 'Baka onna making me feel like this...'

Seiya, Haruka, Trowa, Hiiro, and Quatre took their seats inside of the shuttle. Hiiro stared at Ail for a long moment. "You're in the wrong seat. Either you or Wufei will have to move."

Wufei nodded understanding the importance of missions to Hiiro. He saw Usagi's eyes on him for a moment before he moved away. There had been something there. She was either hiding something from him or not telling him something important. He took a seat in between Duo and Seiya and decided to corner her later and ask about it.

Hiiro sat beside Usagi. "Where you hurt?"

Usagi shook her head, "Iie, not much."

"What happened to your injuries after the fight with Chibiusa?"

Usagi fought back a yawn. It was true the Ginzuishou had healed her and purged the evil out of her daughter but in doing so it had really drained her. Without answering Hiiro's question she let her eyelids fall and she was soon asleep. Not much later she turned her head slightly and it rested on Hiiro's shoulder. She smiled softly and actually cuddled against it unaware of six pairs of furious eyes locked on Hiiro.

Hiiro ignored them and the girl as he thought. He had almost failed again. If they had come any later it was obvious Usagi would have been dead. 'She's not Ririna so it's not my job to protect her and yet I don't want her to be hurt. It would ruin the team. They all love her and if anything happens the morale would be completely destroyed and we'd be-' his thoughts stopped. 'Iie, they'd be easy pickings for anyone hunting them. Not me I'm the perfect soldier. I don't care about this one girl... no matter how much I want to.'

Duo glared at Hiiro but the Japanese boy didn't seem aware of it. 'Why does HE get to sit by Usagi? It's not like he could protect her if we were attacked or something...' He then turned his glare to Wufei and his normally bright indigo eyes darkened to an almost cobalt blue color. 'And him... so he really DID do that to Bunny. I never thought I'd be competing with Wu-man over a girl but then again I never thought I'd be competing with ALL of the guys over the same girl.' He glanced at Usagi and smiled slightly. 'Even if said girl is a Goddess on Earth. I can't wait until we get back to the mansion. Then I'll have a chance to talk to her alone.'

Seiya watched his odango sleep. He knew that all five of the boys loved her and he understood completely. She was a pure and innocent soul. She always had been and seeing her now he knew she always would be. Though he really didn't like to admit it he knew she really didn't have feelings for him in the past beyond friendship. He saw being with her like this an oppurtunity to change all of that. 'Sleep well, Odango. I have a feeling you'll need it.'

Quatre occasionaly glanced behind him to check on his Goddess but he knew she was safe with Hiiro. He remembered seeing what she had looked like when they arrived on the moon and his heart began to ache. He hadn't been there to protect her. She had been injured and he fully well knew she could have been killed. Hearing the line about what had happened with Wufei had made the young blonde pilot make a decision. He would not let Usagi out of his sight again.

Trowa crossed his arms over his chest as he let his thoughts flow. First of all he realized he had almost lost Usagi. Though he hadn't shown it as much as the other pilots he did care for her and like the others he would lay down his life for her. She was that important to him. 'Like a shining light in a cold dark world,' his mind described.

Usagi slept peacefully having only dreams about her normal life. Dreams of her younger brother; Shingo of her parents and of her friends. Fate seemed to decide to be nice to her and not once did her mind wander to her Senshi years or when she was royalty. She was awoken from her sweet dreams when the shuttle landed on the colony. She opened her eyes to see she was leaning on Hiiro and she blushed slightly.

Ail saw the blush and his eyes narrowed. "Usagi-chan, where are we?" He asked with a dazzling smile though inwardly he was making plans to seriously harm the human that had caused his Usagi to blush.

Usagi yawned slightly her eyes still full of sleep. "We're on colony L4."

"Not on Earth?"

Usagi shook her head rubbing her eyes, "Iie, you're in the future. Things aren't going to be the same."

Ail closed his eyes for a moment. "Demo, the Makaiju isn't here?"

Usagi realized what he meant and her eyes widened. "iie... Demo, without it you can't..."

He nodded slightly and took out a card from his pocket. "Though I do have one Cardian left."

Usagi shook her head, "Don't even think about it, Ail."

He glanced at her and smiled, "Wouldn't dream of it, Usagi-chan."

Usagi sighed. She knew something had to be arranged or he would use his cardians to drain energy out of the people on the colony. At that moment she decided she would talk to Ail later. She had a temporary solution in mind and hoped he would accept it.

"Hey, what are you talking about? All I see is an ugly but harmless card." Duo demanded.

Usagi giggled, "Nothing to worry about, Duo-chan."

Duo grinned at the name, "Come on, Bunny! You promised to help me raid the fridge again."

Usagi smiled, "Alright, Duo. Let's go." She grabbed his hand and raced towards the mansion.

Wufei slowly followed the two. "I'm going to go workout," He announced over his shoulder.

Quatre watched him go. He could handle it if Usagi loved Trowa or Duo but for anything to be between her and Wufei made him furious. He admitted to himself that it hadn't really bothered him until he had found out exactly what Wufei had done to his Goddess.

Seiya frowned slightly, "What does Odango see in him?" He demanded glaring at Wufei's back.

"You think Usagi-chan is attracted to him?" Ail asked with a superior smirk.

Trowa ignored him, "Quatre, I'm going to go check out the mansion and make sure that Milardo isn't around."

Quatre nodded, "All right, Trowa. I'll talk to Rashid and see if they've gotten any news."

Hiiro calmly shadowed Usagi and Duo. He knew that Ail would no doubt find Usagi sooner or later and Hiiro was determined not to fail in his mission to keep her safe. A memory flashed through his mind from the battlle on the moon and his eyes narrowed slightly. He would discuss the matter later with Wufei.

Usagi giggled as her and Duo raced through the mansion. She ran into someone and Duo's arms caught her. "You okay, Bunny?" he asked with a kiss on her cheek.

Usagi blushed slightly and nodded, "Hai, I'm fine, Duo."

"You again... have you decided to stay away from Hiiro?" Ririna demanded hands on her hips.

"Stay away from Hiiro?" Duo asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ririna rolled her eyes at him, "You didn't know she kissed him?"

Duo shook his head. "Not a clue. I don't care though. I know she must have had a reason for it."

Ririna scowled, "You don't really believe that do you? It's obvious what kind of person SHE is."

Duo grinned, "An angel," He answered before taking Usagi's hand and walking away with her leaving a furious and seething Ririna behind.

Usagi glanced at Duo her cheeks two rosey pink blossoms. "Arigato, Duo-chan."

He smiled at her, "I was just telling the truth. You are an angel. I want to know something though..."

Usagi swallowed nervously. 'Here it comes. He's going to ask about Wufei.'

"Do you love any of us?"

Usagi sighed, "The truth is, Duo that I don't even know what love is anymore. I thought I loved Mamoru but if it was all a lie..."

Duo smiled and pulled her close to him gently kissing her. "I'm sure you do know love, Usagi-chan. You're full of it and you make us all love you, even Wu-man and Hiiro. You're incredible."

Usagi sighed, "I feel like a big fake leading you all on. I think..." She paused and shook her head.

"Go on," Duo gently urged.

"I think I may love you all in different ways."

"Tell me some of them."

"I don't think I could...

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. "It's okay, Usagi-chan. I understand if you don't want to talk about it and I don't blame you. It must be hard for you to try to choose."

'Duo... he's so gentle and kind. He's acting like Quatre.' She sighed and leaned against him, "I'm scared, Duo."

"Scared about what?"

'Good question,' Hiiro observed from the shadows. He had bypassed Ririna who was still helplessly lost and had been watching the couple ever since they entered the kitchen.

Usagi sighed, "I'm scared this is all going to be taken away from me. If Ail got here so easily then that means everytime Puu appears that anyone could come through. If I have to fight Chaos again I know I'd die..." She sighed, "... and yet I'd do it in a heartbeat if it meant keeping all of you safe. No matter what happens you're all my friends." She smiled, "Gomen for boring you, Duo-chan."

Duo shook his head a smile on his lips, "Don't be silly, you could never bore me, Bunny," he growled in a slightly husky voice.

Usagi could feel his desire to kiss her and yet he held back. "Duo?"

"Yeah?" He asked as he half closed his eyes.

"I really do care about all of you and I don't want you hating each other because of me. I'm not worth it."

Duo inwardly groaned. "That right there is exactly why we love you. Why I love you..." He leaned down and covered her lips with his in a soft and gentle kiss..

Usagi stayed motionless for a split moment before she slowly kissed back. When Duo attempted to take the kissing to the next level however Usagi shook her head. "Iie, Duo. Gomen, demo I can't."

Duo nodded his indigo eyes slowly unclouding. He ran a hand through her hair as he fought to control his racing pulse. "I'm not going to ask you about Wu-man. I trust you."

Usagi could almost feel her heart breaking at the pure love she saw in his eyes. She leaned her head against him hugging him in such a way that he couldn't see her face. "I'll tell you.... tell you what happened."

Hiiro who had been standing in the shadows straightened a bit. Though he'd never admit it he was just as anxious to find out what had happened. 'You don't care about her,' he calmly informed himself.

"You remmeber when I vanished from talking to Mamoru?" Duo nodded but remainded silent. "After that I appeared in the same dream as Wufei. He talked to me and... if it hadn't been for him I really think I would have done what Mamoru wanted."

Duo frowned and held her closer to him, "Remind me to thank, Wu-man. You don't have to go on, Usagi."

Usagi closed her eyes and nodded. "I don't know why I did it..."

Duo silenced her with a gentle kiss. "It doesn't matter to me. What are you planning to do with Ail? I saw something flash in your eyes that I didn't like."

Hiiro listened emotionlessly. 'So that happened with Wufei in a dream...'

Usagi closed her eyes, "Ail needs energy to live. I was simply going to give him some of mine until-"

Duo shook his head, "No way!"

Usagi sighed, "I figured you'd think as much. You said you trusted me in the matter with Wufei, ne? I'm asking you to trust me here too. I promise I won't do anything life-threatening."

Ail had followed the one known as Hiiro silently and now found himself staring at the couple in front of him in hate. On one hand he was more then pleased that Usagi was willing to give her own energy to him and on the other he was furious that she was in the arms of that human. He started to walk towards the two when the sound of the safety coming off a gun clicked by his head.

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I know not much of a cliff-hanger. Where the Usa/Duo moments TOO sappy? Be honest... As I said the next chapter has humor in it once again so please don't leave because this one was serious! Oh and of course please review.