Chapter 8: Usagi's Missing
Author's Comments
I finally found enough time to write another chapter. This one isn't any happier than the last, but I promise they will get happier eventually.
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Back at the hospital, upon finding his wife's room empty, Mamoru ran into the elevator. Minako followed after him. It began to descend down to the first floor. As soon as it came to a complete stop and the doors opened, the black haired man made a dash towards the receptionist desk with the blonde following close behind.
"Where is my wife?" he demanded.
"What do you mean?" the receptionist asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"Her room was empty when we arrived," he her.
"Oh," she repiled and then paused for a moment before saying, "Maybe she already left on her own."
"What?" Mamoru screamed.
"Sir please calm down," the receptionist said and then asked, "What does your wife look like?"
Mamoru held his hand out and said, "She's about this high with long blonde hair done up in two pig-tails, and she has blue eyes."
The woman thought for a moment and then told him, "She just walked out of here about seven or eight minutes ago."
"What? Why didn't you stop her?" he asked in a shocked sounding voice.
"I'm sorry sir, but I had no reason to stop her. As I told you earlier, once you filled out those papers she was free to go," the receptionist told him.
The woman behind the desk watched him run out the hospital doors with the blonde on his tail. Once Mamoru made it to the sidewalk he began to look up and down both sides of the street, in hopes of spotting his wife, but Usagi was no where to be found.
Meanwhile in another part of town, Usagi's shoes clacked as she walked aimlessly down the sidewalk. She didn't know how long she had been walking, and she couldn't really care. She didn't even know where she was going and she was barely aware of where she had been since leaving the hospital. Most everything was blurry and out of focus and during the times she was slightly aware of her surroundings she seemed to be cursed with double vision, but she didn't care.
Regarless if it felt like it or not, her body might have been in reality, but her mind was far from it. Her feet were moving at a sluggish speed as her mind was rapidly racing in a world of it's own. Thoughts flooded her head and in one way or another, they were all about the same thing, Chibi-Usa. She was heartbroken. The resurfacing of her memories had been too much for her. Usagi continued her steady pace, walking down the street with an empty expression on her face. Her eyes were blank and she seemed to stare straight through everything she passed. Although the outside of her seemed calm and nearly expressionless, the emotions deep within her were in turmoil.
Usagi stopped as her mind partially drifted back into reality. She looked around her and noticed that her surrounding seemed somewhat familiar. Her eyes came into focus as her gaze drifted to the steps to her right. Slowly she lifted her head upward to the glance at the shrine located at the top of the stairs. She hadn't remembered getting on a bus, but she knew she had to of rode on one to make it this far because some how she had found her way to Rei's temple. It was almost like some unseen force lead her here. Instantly her mind snapped completely into reality as her eyes did moments before. Her feet quickened their speed as she ran up the steps with tears rolling down her face.
As she approached the top of the staircase she tripped. She didn't try preventing it, but freely went with it smiling as her body began to fall towards the ground. As soon as she hit the concrete, the world began to fade around her and she slipped into unconsciousness. She simply welcomed the momentary escape from the pain.
In another part of the temple, two large black crows began squawking frantically as they circled around a black haired woman's head.
"Phobos, Deimos what's wrong?" asked the woman standing below them.
The crows began to fly off towards the front of the shrine. The black haired priestess ran after them while she wondered what could be making them act so strangely.
As the priestess emerged around the corner of the temple she saw a blonde woman lying on the ground in front of the steps. "Usagi!" she yelled as she ran to her friend's side.
Usagi awoke to Rei's voice. Slowly she sat up to meet the black haired woman's eyes, and as she did she noticed she was no longer outside. While she was unconscious her friend must have brought her inside. She was now lying in Rei's bed and her friend sat in a chair beside her.
"Usagi are you alright?" the priestess asked as the blonde sat up.
She didn't respond, and continued staring into her friend's eyes.
"What's wrong Usagi?" Rei asked.
She attempted to speak, but the words didn't manage to make it past her lips.
"Please tell me," her friend pleaded.
Usagi tried to speak again, but only a hoarse and softly spoken "Chibi-Usa" managed to escape her mouth.
"What did you say?" Rei asked her friend.
More tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked down and gently placed her hand on her stomach. Again she repeated, "Chibi-Usa," but it was spoken slightly louder than last time.
As soon as she heard the word leave Usagi's mouth, Rei glanced down to where her friend's hand was and just knew what she had been trying to say. She didn't know how it had happened, but she knew Usagi had remembered everything. Rei looked away and dropped her gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry," she said.
"You knew?" Usagi said as her voice cracked.
The black haired woman nodded and said softly, "Mamoru, Minako, Ami, and Makoto did too."
She couldn't believe her ears. Everyone had known, except the one person who should have. Everyone she had called a friend had just sat there in silence as she continued to torture herself. "Why, why didn't they tell me?" Usagi asked herself as she lay back down and began to sob.
Rei remained quiet and didn't answer the question. Seconds later a tear rolled down her cheek and landed on her lap as she sat there silent and unmoving, listening to her friend cry herself to sleep.
Back at the Tsukino house Mamoru paced in front of the phone hoping that soon he might hear from his wife. He and Minako had searched the neighborhood around the hospital for hours with no sign of Usagi. They didn't think she could have gone too far, but obviously they had been wrong. Mamoru had returned home in hopes of finding his wife there waiting for him, but she wasn't. He stayed there awaiting her call, but it never came. He had been home several hours already and sun had since gone down without the phone ringing once. Minako, who continued the search for Usagi, had yet to even call. It was now obvious to him that she hadn't had much luck in finding his wife and wasn't even sure that she was still looking for her by now. Worry had long since consumed him as he waited to hear from Usagi, and now he was starting to fear the worst.
"Usako, please be alright," he silently wished.