Alrighties! Nope, sorry, this isn't a real chapter. . .it's a side-chapter, sorta. WAIT! Read this first! xD Heh heh, well, I just wanted to write this concerning questions. I know the whole fic has been very vague so far, and as Leah had very kindly put it, "mysterious." ^^

1) No Sailormoon, but yes! You guessed it! There is Cosmos, but she won't make an appearance for quite some time. As for Usagi's true identity, I'm still holding out on explaining that. It'll come, I promise, but I don't want to give anything away right now.

2) Her unusual powers. HRMM, okay, even I don't really know what's up with that, but in this "timeline," magic, demons (which are not youma), witches, psychics, and the such all exist. (Think about how Schwar(t)z came to harbor their own powers. Nobody knows 0.0) I might even add vampires and werewolves. :P So, Usagi may very possibly be a descendent of these mystical creatures. I guess that's the best answer I can give as of now. ^^;;

3) Timeline? I like to call it the TWFT -- Timeline? What Freaking Timeline? Since there is no "Sailormoon," I guess this fic would best described as AU.

4) ;D And yes, a lot of people are going to fall for Usagi and Usagi is going to fall for a lot of people. But, I do tend to have certain biases towards certain people and I'm sure you guys can guess whom. . .which leads to. . .

5) Sorry, I'm not taking votes on pairings. ^^;; No offense to anybody, but I don't really like stories where you vote for pairings. . . I guess it makes me feel like the author isn't really writing with a passion for a certain couple since they'll do whatever the majority wants. I guess if the couples don't matter in the fanfic, then it wouldn't be a big deal, but most of the time, they are romance/(some other genre) fanfics. *scratches her head* -.- Sorry, sorry, that's just the way I feel. I had an ending already for it, but I'm thinking of scrapping that for something else. Whatever that something else is, people will probably hate me for it. *goes into hiding*

6) Schuldich(g) might be out of character. In a way, I do think so, but in another way, I think he's still in character. At first, I portrayed him this way (less of a evil, psychotic, manipulative bastard in most fanfics) because I never really thought he was one to such an extent. But, I was checking on some sites that had really good profiles on Schwar(t)z. I got a deep introspection into Schuldich(g)'s life pre-Schwar(t)z, which mostly came from manga and the drama CDs. Schuldich(g) is duller and less vibrant when he can't assume other people's personalities through their thoughts. And, since he can't get into Usagi's head and he can't hear other voices when she's around, he is much more toned down. As for his lack of manipulation towards her, he can't really because they need her, there's really no point in doing it, and he can't go into her head.

7) *nods nods* OOCness for Usagi. Both yes and no. She isn't as cutesy and she is slightly jaded. She's not a bumbling idiot, but she isn't the smartest, either. She's not clumsy because she can't be. It all has to do with her past (which will be revealed piece by piece). Yet, even despite that, I still feel like she's the same. . .

8) What is Setsuna to her? *thinks* Many things that you will just have to wait to see. :D

9) And yes, kalika55, Uncle Kenshin. xD

I also realized I never thanked any of my reviewers!! You guys are all awesome! I'll give a shout out now! Thanks so much to Leah, Silver Twilight Blood, Firefly-chan, themoonmaiden, OtAkU, dragon-wing3, Hikuyo, Callisto Star, Ace and Avalon Hunter, Senshi's Tenshi, Kage-Shadow-of-Darkness, Usagi Asia Maxwell, Lady Light, kimeno-pebols, kaoru, Dilkara, Mae, dream_fairy, starkitty, ChibiChaos, asuka-chan, Lianna Astarte, and kalika55!

I promise to give longer thanks to you guys in the chapters to come. ^^ So, yep, if you wanna see your name here in bold with a little message, do review! :D

Disclaimer: Don't own :D (I don't know why I'm smiling like that)

Fear Me

Chapter 6 (sorta)

"It's quiet."

I inclined my head to the side inquisitively at his out-of-the-blue comment. It was late and we were mainly hanging out. Schu-kun had been helping me with some of my Advanced Algebra homework. I'm no scholar and when it comes to math, I'd much rather be getting a lobotomy. Turns out Schu-kun was quite the smartie pants with all things that involved numbers. "Quiet?" I echoed softly.

His piercing cat-green eyes never wavered. "I can't hear anything when I'm with you."

I nodded in barely grasped understanding. Because of my shield, I guess. "It's hard when other people's thoughts steal your own."

"No, it's different," he said serenely. "It's almost the same with Crawford, but I can hear other people when I'm with him. His mind is just empty and cold. It's sterile. Yours. . .I can't hear anyone else at all, but it's not cold. I can't hear anything unless I go searching for them. It's not the same."

I dwelled on this new sprig of information that he so willingly gave out. So, I guess his shield was only one-way; he could block others from breaking into his head, but he couldn't stop the flow of thoughts from other people into his.

"Would you like to learn to shield? I could teach you, if you want."

The relaxed atmosphere became a little more tense. He smirked, turning away from me. "I've tried. It doesn't work."

I placed my hands on his face, making sure he was staring straight at me. "Maybe you were doing it wrong. I know how it feels, Schu-kun, when you have all these thoughts going in your head and you don't even know which one is your own. I was still young when I learned to shield, so it hasn't affected me as much, but I do understand how much you can lose yourself at your age. Please let me help."

His face changed in a way that I could only pinpoint as distrust. The way he looked at me sent this block of cold lead to the pit of my stomach.

"What do you get out of it?" His voice was unnervingly cynical.

I gave a short bark of laughter. He thought I wanted something? He was more jaded than I had originally thought. I dropped my hands from his face to rest on his shoulders. "Nothing, Schu-kun. You're my friend and I want to help you because that's what friends do. Do you want to give it a shot or not?"

The scorn in his eyes softened and he nodded. "Sure, why not," he muttered under his breath.

I smiled and leaned forward. "Okay, imagine—"

"That doesn't work. I've tried it."

I rolled my eyes. He was so stubborn. "Let me finish. Imagine yourself."

"Myself?"

"Yep, yourself. You thought I was going to say, 'imagine an empty black void,' huh? No. Imagine yourself and only yourself. Look at yourself in a place you want to be with no one around." His eyes slitted closed. "Good. Now talk to yourself. Hear what you have to say. There's no one else. Just yourself, because without yourself, you have no self."

The tenseness in his jaw eased, face becoming slack as if he was asleep. I inspected his lashes, which were still golden to my eternal surprise. They were long and feathery soft. He was a very beautiful man with a colorful past dyed in shades. I wondered what it exactly was that had chased him through life to get him here in the company of some extraordinary men. I also wondered if he would ever trust me enough one day to tell me.

Languidly, his eyes opened. They glimmered at me like soft sea glass, rounded by the endless pounding waves of an ocean. He smiled like a cat, content. Feeling content myself, I drew back, but he caught my hands in his larger ones and raised them to his mouth. He kissed my knuckles with the barest caresses of his lips. My heart leapt to my throat. I was giddy with delight.

Schu-kun slanted his head next to mine so that our cheeks almost touched.

With lips against my ear, he whispered, "You are an amazing one, Usa-chan."

I wet my lips as he pulled away from me, the lazy, complacent smile still touching his sensual mouth. My heart was beating so loud; I was sure that he could hear it! No one, and I mean no one, had ever made me feel this way before. There had been some boys, long ago, who had admitted to liking me that way, but none of them had made my insides twist and turn with nervousness, or like I was on top of the world, the queen of hearts. But Schu-kun—and I was sure that Schu-kun didn't even like me that way—could do it in a look, a whisper, a kiss.

I knew it was a bad idea, but I have to confess to myself that maybe I was falling for him, the same way I was falling for Nagi-kun and Farfarello. They were all such tortured creatures. Their untouchable charm was irresistible. Brad, however. . .Brad was an entirely different story.

But it wouldn't work. None of it would ever work. It hurt to face reality, because reality didn't care what I wanted. Reality had always been a stinging bitchslap in the face and reality always would be.

I guess Schu-kun caught a handful of my sudden miserable mood because concern fed his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Just tired." The white lie fell easily from my lips. He looked doubtfully at me, but let it go. I smiled faintly at him.

"Sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early." He edged towards the door.

"Okay. Good night, Schu-kun."

He stopped, just outside my room, one hand on the doorjamb. He looked mysterious there and so fitting, half in the darkness of the hallway and half in the light from my room. "Good night, Usa-chan."

*blinks* It's 2:19 AM right now. I've been 20 years old for 2 hours and 19 minutes already!! .!