--Chapter 5-- Five days to midnight

enticer: Come inside we need to talk, the highest among our list is how you came back just days before my wedding

Motoki was laying in his apartment looking at the latest architectural magazine when a knock brought him out of his concentration. He suspected it to be Usagi but as he opened the door the short, tiny blond boomerang wasn't what greeted him. Instead he was faced with fluffy redish brown hair on his doorstep.

"Reika?" Motoki opened his door wider above the old portion of the Crown in disbelieving shock to revel his old girlfriend, the one who had dumped him to move onto better and greater things.

"Toki-chan, I'm back from Africa." She beamed.

"Come inside we need to talk, the highest among our list is how you came back just days before my wedding." Motoki allowed her to enter and shut the door behind them; their conversation was for their ears only.

"Motoki we need to talk." Usagi sat down at the benches at Motoki's new work site. She had something very important to talk to him about.

"Seems everybody's been saying that recently." He mumbled.

"What Motoki?" She asked instantly.

Motoki glanced at her. "I'm afraid I can't go over any last wedding details with you now honey." In fact he had to think things through and her presence was just making him more confused.

"But this is a very important detail." She tried.

"Sorry love, but I've got to go up there." He pointed to the high scaffolding. "And your suppose to be wearing one of these." He handed her a Helmut.

"I love watching you work, but I can only stay a moment before I have to get back to my job." Usagi insisted. "Can you wait to hear me out?"

He really couldn't, listening to her talk about the wedding would drive him into cold feet and he couldn't accomplish that now. "I'm sorry, but that's the price of this job, I wish you understood that." He was being unfair by the look she was giving him; she cared about what he did, and supported his decisions. "I'm sorry love that wasn't truthful I apologize, I'm just stressed out." He gave her a peck on the lips. "I'll talk to you later about it, ok?"

"Not ok." Usagi huffed.

"Wait." Motoki looked at her shocked. "I said I was sorry, don't get mad."

"What mad? I can't talk about it later; I got to catch the next flight to New Zealand to take care of something that's just popped up. It needs my expert touch, I'll only be gone 2 days at the most."

"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked lightly.

"No, what I want to talk to you about takes a discussion, not me just telling you." Usagi looked away. "Forget it, I'll see you after I get back from dress shopping in 4 days."

"You still haven't bought a dress? Our wedding's in a week." He gapped.

"We bough the brides maid dresses, my is just a matter of narrowing down between two." Usagi enlightened.

"Be safe, I love you." Motoki gave her a real kiss this time.

"You too up there." Usagi looked up at the high place he'd be working. "See you in 4 days I guess." She kissed him one last time before sauntering away.

Mamoru a night later was entertaining Amoke in a large ballroom and he had something special going on for the evening.

"Amoke, will you marry me?" He asked smoothly across from the table taking her hand in his as he asked then produced the ring, a large 14k diamond ring.

She squeezed his hand unconsciously. "I'm honored to be the one you finally asked, but no." She stated sadly. "I will not marry you."

"Why not?" Mamoru demanded a reply.

"For one, you don't love me, you are feeling lonely because the girl you do love is no longer yours." Amoke pulled his hand to her.

"That's not true." He tried to pull his hand away, not only away from her but also her lies.

"It is. For the second reason, I don't love you, I thought I wanted this relationship to work out, but in the end I'd rather see it stop." She kissed his knuckles. "You will always hold a dear place in my heart, but I cannot marry you." She opened his hand and rested her cheek in his palm. "I'm still going to the wedding, but not as your date, but as a friend of the bride. This will be good bye Mamoru, that will be the last time I see you even sociably."

"You can't do this to me!" But it was now his pride talking and as soon as the words that would convince her to stay came to his mind, he couldn't get them past his throat. "You're right." He sighed in depression. "What am I going to do? It isn't because I love her, its because I depended on her for so much and now she's leaving me on my own to fend for myself, and I wanted to find a wife to take her place as soon as possible."

Amoke smiled at his denial but said nothing to counteract it. "You will survive, perhaps you just need to find a girl who isn't as perspective as myself. One who will trust you blindly."

"Except I need a feisty spirit to be my girl." He paused. "You sure you won't reconsider?"

She laughingly shook her head. "No that position isn't mine to fill, someday I wish you happiness with the girl of your dreams."

"And I hope you find everything you want in yours."

In 4 days time, Usagi was back in Japan looking at her self in the full-length mirror in the dress she had finally decided on. With the decision of the dress came her decision of forgetting her episode 4 days ago and chalking it up to cold feet. She would go through with this wedding and not fear that it was going to kill her in the end.

It was then that she got a call on her cell phone; she looked to the girl carrying her purse. "Minako, would you please take my phone out and give it to me, and not look at my purse weird. I didn't tell you I have a cell because you would be calling me all the time and its only for emergencies, my job or Motoki."

Minako took the phone out after some digging around in Usagi's purse. "Fine don't trust me, but what if I had an emergency?"

"To you, not being able to find your shoe is an emergency." Usagi stated dryly.

Minako paused in handing it over. "Wait, when did Motoki get your number?" She pouted.

"When he became my fiancé?" Usagi's tone was mocking.

"Oh, ok then. Wait- your fiancé gets your cell number but one of your best friends don't?" She pouted.

Usagi rolled her eyes. "Minako, Motoki is a best friend, my fiancé, he doesn't have a fit over everything and calls every 2 seconds, so yes he gets the number, not you."

Minako handed the phone over, but just as Usagi was about to answer it, it stopped ringing. Usagi closed her eyes and counted to 10. "I guess whoever it was didn't care enough to continue trying."

The phone rang again. "Thank god." Usagi breathed in relief to get away from Minako's annoying comments that didn't usually bug her, but today they did. "Hello?" She answered the phone. "Mamoru-baka, what's the point of calling me twice in one go, is there some type of an emergency?"

"Usagi, your back in Japan?" He questioned his pitch dropping off to be more relaxed.

"Yes." Usagi tried to find something to calm her.

"You didn't call to tell me your back." Mamoru attacked her already fragile control over her budding desire to go running around screaming.

"Mamoru, you know the use of this phone, why didn't you just come and find me instead?" She took a deep breath to relax herself.

"I'm sorry, I was calling every number I could think of to get a hold of you. There'll be a slight change in your wedding reception. Amoke is no longer coming as my date, she'll still be there however, and I'm bringing another girl instead." Mamoru justified his call.

"Oh." Usagi said airily. "So Amoke turned you down did she?"

"No, I just decided not to ask her." Mamoru lied, then hesitated. "Actually I did, but it wasn't meant to be." He confessed, it wasn't right to lie to her.

"You didn't tell her the ring was big and bold like she was did you?" Usagi rotated her skirt a bit to fix how it settled on her. She covered the receiver to talk to the sales woman. "I'll take this one." She whispered.

"Verses what, that it was plain and simple like her? What do you take me for? No, if I was to comment on the ring in comparison to a personality. Lets use you for an example; I would find a moderate to simpler ring because I know how you dislike complications. Then I would find one that sparks the creative vein in you, and how despite the understated qualities both of you possess the subtle beauty mixes with proudly stated. It is all about quality not quantity."

"And what would this mysterious ring look like?" Usagi asked on a breath.

"It would be surrounded by the pearls of the sea, fresh diamonds, amber to show the passion and flames and sapphire to show the cool nature you sometimes possess." Mamoru turned on his charm once again. It didn't matter to him that in 3 days his best friends would be getting married, to him Usagi was always Usagi, and she was a force to be reckoned with only by intense flirtation.

"Oh." Usagi felt faint again. "Perhaps you should try that next time with the girl of your dreams instead of what you obviously did. Good bye Mamoru-baka." She hung up without hearing his reply.

Usagi handed back the phone to Minako. "Hey, why does Mamoru have your number?" She complained.

"Because Minako, I would have thought that was obvious." What Minako that was obvious Usagi didn't know, but Usagi continued before Minako could state what she thought. "Mamoru dated me a lot, he's a best friend, and he doesn't have a fit over anything unless it's an emergency or he's telling me about a change in plans."

With shopping for the dress done, she only had to see Motoki tonight, but she canceled that after calling him at home saying she was so tired that she just had to crash or else he'd get a sleep deprived wife before the wedding was even over. He had laughed and wished her a good night and that he'd be around tomorrow.

The next day, Motoki met up with Usagi for lunch with her bride's maids. "We need to talk." He said after greeting her with a kiss.

"Sounds serious." Usagi teased. "All right, we'll talk after lunch." Usagi placed her hand over his. "Is it serious?" She asked after he still seemed to be thinking.

"What? Oh, it can wait." Motoki smiled at her. "So how was your trip?"

"It was work related." But her pride of her job was still in her voice. "I never thought I would like this thing, but after years of psychology I'm actually making a difference in the world. This trip was amazing; I went to go see how the powhiri worked and how it was set up so long ago. I learn all these different societies and I can work within that and help them to take a different look on things because I understand all these different cultures and sometimes I'm there to help smooth rifts between different cultures."

"Sounds marvelous." Motoki leaned in. "It is such a you thing to do. I knew even when you were 13 you'd end up helping others because you're such a kind and considerate soul." He trailed the side of her face. "Such beauty on the inside leaks to the surface, you are really gorgeous, did you know that?"

"You flatter me." Usagi blushed. "Thank you. You're pretty great looking yourself. I recognized what was in you when I was 13 too." Usagi pulled him the last inch and captured his lips in a kiss.

After lunch Usagi and Motoki got up to go find a private place to chat, but the girls denied them the opportunity. "Come on Usagi! We gave you all lunch time together to be alone." Makoto reasoned.

"Do you know how hard that is for us?" Ami teased.

"Besides, it isn't like you won't be having lots of alone time once you get married." Minako raised her eyebrows in suggestion.

Rei hit Minako over the head. "Sorry Usagi, but 4 to 2, you loose, we've got to get some last minute details down with you."

Usagi looked at Motoki apologetically. "Go." He smiled and pushed her in their direction. "What I had to say isn't important enough to interrupt social time. We'll talk tomorrow."

But the next day never happened, the girls barred his path every step of the way saying it wasn't good luck to see the bride until the wedding. Besides he had to set up the groundwork so his crews could go for at least a week without him.