The Truths of Love: Chapter twenty two

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Never have, never will, so please don't sue.

The person paced back and forth in the tiny, one bedroom apartment in which he was staying. The man in front of him shifted uncomfortably, watching his employer as he stalked back and forth.

"You know what you need to do," the person rasped with a deep voice. "What are you sitting there like a fool for? Get on with it!"

Startled, the man jumped to his feet and grabbed his coat, hastening to pull it on over his threadbare sweater.

"And if I do this, you'll pay me sixty thousand dollars, right?" The man murmured with a greasy voice, despite his apparent nervousness.

The person's lip lifted in a sneer and there was a motion as that of a head bobbing up and down.

"Yes, you'll get your money. Now get moving!"

Usagi sighed happily as she trudged her way through the snow, her long blonde hair tied up in a long pony tail, as she strode hand in hand with Mamoru through the park.

"Mm," she breathed out, her breath coming in a soft cloud of fog. "I love the winter time!"

Mamoru laughed slightly, squeezing her hand slightly.

"Oh you do, do you?" he teased. "That's funny. I always thought you hated it. Having to dress up in warm clothes, eat hot food and drink hot cocoa… No, Usako, I never pictured you as one to love winter."

Usagi stuck her tongue out at him, earning a laugh.

"Oh, you know you love me, Mamo-chan," she replied haughtily.

Mamoru grinned.

"Oh, of course, Usagi. Even if you do eat all my food, use all my towels, take all the blankets…"

Usagi turned a bright shade of red.

"I do not eat all your food!" She cried indignantly.

Mamoru smirked and tugged at her hand, pulling her along with him, continuing down the path in the park.

"Sure, love. Whatever you say."

Usagi 'hmphed' but let herself be dragged on.

"Up for some window shopping?" Mamoru asked her as they continued their stroll, heading towards town.

Usagi's eyes lit up and she nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Oh, yes! Let's see if we can find something nice for Ami-chan!"

Two hours later…

Mamoru sighed, trudging down the sidewalk, holding bags of stuff in his hands, looking over at Usagi, also held down with bags of stuff.

"Right, Usako," he teased. "We'll just find something for Ami. And then, of course, you had to get something for Rei, and then something for Makoto, and then for Minako, and how could you pass up those cute pink pants, and the fuzzy socks, with that purple sweatshirt, hmm? Not only do you eat all my food, you spend all my money, too!"

Usagi turned a bright red and shook her head.

"No way, Mamoru! You aren't putting the blame on me! You're the one who asked if I wanted to go window shopping. It's not my fault that I found all those things, and definitely not my fault that you let me buy them."

Mamoru grinned and gently ruffled Usagi's hair.

As they walked, they passed a diamond store, and something inside caught Mamoru's eye.

"Oh!" He murmured softly. "Wait here, Usako, I'll be right back."

Usagi blinked but nodded and leaned back against the store window to wait as Mamoru slipped inside of the store.

Across the way, something in the store window captured her attention. Turning to look in the window for Mamoru, she mouthed that she'd be right back, and quickly walked across the street, looking into the store window.

Usagi never even noticed the small man sneaking up behind her.

"Alright, girlie," he murmured quietly, raising his hand and pressing a gun to her back discreetly. "You're going to come with me and not make any noise, you got it?"

Usagi's eyes widened in terror and her whole body shook as she nodded her head.

The man smiled, and nudged her with the gun.

"Good girl. Now, let's go."

Pressing the gun more firmly against her back, he led her off in the direction of a waiting cab.

Unnoticed by the man, Usagi lightly took her scarf, which was in her pocket, and let it flutter down to the ground in front of the store.

'Please, Mamoru,' she thought to herself, getting into the cab as tears pricked her eyes. 'Please be able to find me!'

Mamoru smiled slightly, humming a soft tune under his breath as he came out of the diamond store, a new bag in hand.

When he'd seen the diamond bunny, his thoughts had turned immediately to Usagi. It would be such a great present for her, he remembered thinking. So, on an impulse, he'd decided to get it for her.

Walking out, a small smile on his face, he looked across the street to where he'd seen Usagi walking, but no one was there. He frowned slightly, looking up and down the sidewalk, his face growing worried.

Suddenly, his heart stopped in his chest. He leaned over and picked up the object that had grabbed his attention, his heart resuming pounding, but louder, harder, and much faster in his chest.

"Usako!" He cried out, looking around frantically.

Grabbing his cell phone, he opened it up, and with shaking fingers, dialed Rei's number.

"Hino residence, Rei speaking," Rei's calm voice came.

"Rei, she's gone," Mamoru murmured into the phone, clutching it so tight his knuckles were white.

"Mamoru? What are you talking about?" Rei asked, her voice puzzled.

"Usagi!" Mamoru nearly shouted. "She's gone! I was with her shopping, and I went into a store to get her something, and she went across the street; I purchased the thing, came out to get her, and she's gone!"

Rei was silent for a moment.

"Relax, Mamoru," she finally said. "Maybe Usagi just went into a different store."

"No, Rei," Mamoru ground out. "Her scarf was on the ground."

Rei's face went white with terror.

"Where are you, Mamoru? I'm coming down. Call the other girls, and get them down there, too. And call Motoki, while you're at it."

"Swarovski's," Mamoru managed to utter out.

"Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes. Don't move, Mamoru!"

"Alright. See you in ten."

True to her word, ten minutes later Rei was down at Swarovski's, stopping an anxious Mamoru from barging off to find Usagi on his own.

"Just wait, Mamoru!" She finally snapped. "Ami, Minako, Makoto, and Motoki will be here in two minutes. Once they get here, we'll split up and look for her. Until then, you'll just have to calm down."

Mamoru threw a glare at the raven haired girl, his eyes flashing with anger.

"If anything happens to her, I swear…" he began.

"What happened? Where's Usagi?" Minako asked as she came running down the sidewalk to stop in front of Mamoru.

Rei managed a smile.

"Alright, Mamoru, less than two minutes," Rei said.

Mamoru looked up, his eyes haunted.

"She's gone. I went into a store to buy something for her, and when I came back out, she was gone. Her scarf was on the ground, and she's just… gone!"

Minako stood, staring at him.

"You left her out here alone!" She shrieked. "You stupid… pathetic… no good…"

"Minako, calm down," Ami said calmly as she joined the group. "I'm sure Mamoru had a good reason for leaving her out here. Right, Mamoru?"

Mamoru stared hard at the ground.

"I just wanted to surprise her," he muttered slightly, reaching into the bag and pulling out the rabbit he'd bought.

Minako's eyes flew open, and her jaw dropped, her eyes beginning to glitter with tears.

"I'm sorry, Mamoru," she murmured. "I'm just… I'm scared for Usagi. What if… what if HE has her?"

Mamoru's eyes flashed.

"And you think I'm not worried about her?" he snapped. "I can't do anything about it! I have no idea where she is, who has her, what's happening to her… I don't know anything… It's driving me crazy!" He burst out.

Ami sighed sympathetically.

"Alright, we need to split up," Minako said decisively. "She can't have gone too far. Makoto and Rei, you two head down towards the radio tower. Motoki and Mamoru, you two head towards the river. And Ami and I will head deeper into town. If anyone finds any clue as to where she is, call the others. If we can't find her… well… we'll meet back at Mamoru's apartment at 6:30. Got it?"

The rest of the group nodded, and with final instructions, they split up, each in their own directions.

'Usako,' Mamoru thought to himself. 'I'm coming for you. One way or another, I will find you. And when I do… there will be hell to pay for whoever took you.'

"Now, don't worry, girly," the man said as he pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket. "You understand, of course. We can't let you know where you're going, so I'm just going to blindfold you for the trip. No hard feelings, eh?"

Usagi glared at the man, but when he once more brandished the gun and pointed at her, she meekly let him tie the make-shift blindfold across her eyes.

"There's a good girl," the man murmured.

Leaning forward, he tapped on the glass separating the back of the cab from the front. When the pane slid open, he whispered something to the driver, and the cab started moving.

"So, little lady, might I inquire as to what your name is?" the man asked, his eyes roaming over her body greedily.

Usagi remained quiet, her face stony.

The man smirked slightly.

"The strong silent type I see," he murmured. "Well, my name is Masaharu. Glad to be of service," he said mockingly.

Still, Usagi said nothing, not even giving him the satisfaction of a reaction.

Masaharu gritted his teeth together, doing his best to stay calm.

'Just remember, you deliver this girl, and you get sixty thousand dollars. All you need to do is put up with this bitch for another five minutes, and you'll get the money. And remember what the guy said… "Don't touch her no more than is strictly necessary, no matter what she says or does." Which is a shame, seeing as it means I can't wring her pretty little neck…'

Sighing, he looked out the window, opting to stay silent for the remainder of the ride to the tower.

Masaharu sighed, his thoughts drifting.

'Of all the places to meet, why there? Can't it have just been back at his apartment once more? What is so significant about the Tokyo tower that he needed me to drag the little bitch all the way out there?'

His gaze shifted to the blonde, who still hadn't said a word. He rolled his eyes and resumed staring sullenly out the window.

Finally they reached their destination, and the cab stopped. Masaharu smiled widely and opened his door, stepping out and walking over to the other side of the car, pulling the door open for Usagi and helping her out.

Usagi grimaced.

'Who does he think he is?' She thought to herself. 'First he kidnaps me, then he blindfolds me, and then he expects me to talk to him like we're old buddies? I think not.'

She glared at where she thought the man was standing, still unable to see, as the blindfold was still on her.

Masaharu smirked slightly and pushed her roughly, forcing her in the direction he wanted to go. There was a pause as we went and pulled a door open, and then she was roughly pushed through the door.

"And now, my dear, we wait for him," Masaharu announced, sitting down on a couch, letting Usagi remain standing. "But don't worry, he shouldn't be long. After all, he was very anxious to get a hold of you, and I don't think he'll want to wait much longer."

"Indeed I won't," a voice came from a doorway, the voice Usagi had been dreading for so long. "So, we meet again, little bunny," the voice drawled. "I must say, I have missed you. And now, you will pay for all the trouble you have caused me."

'Oh please, Mamoru, please find me!' Was Usagi's last thought before darkness consumed her.

Well, there ya go! Chapter 22 is out!

I want to thank all of my reviewers. Especially the ones who give constructive criticism and what not. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK you! That said, I'm off. Please review!