Yeah, Makoto kinda helped Chibi-Usa with the baklava…
Usagi slurped her triple chocolate milkshake, complete with whipped crème, chocolate chips, and a maraschino cherry on top. She paused to give a grumbling Yaten her best smile, but he continued to frown at her. Finishing her milkshake, she got up and moved to sit right next to Yaten.
"Thanks Yaten," she said, her voice soft. The silver-haired Light shot her another glare. Usagi shot back a bright smile. "You know, you'd be so much more tolerable if you could be the least bit kind."
"I think buying you a milkshake is kind enough," Yaten replied.
"No, it's not. You didn't give it… from your heart. See. You're all mean and cold about it, like I committed some sort of sin."
"I am not," Yaten protested in his airy manner. Usagi rolled her eyes.
"You were just glaring at me! That means that you gave me the milkshake grudgingly, which means that you didn't want to give it. Kindness comes from giving, not from taking. When one of my friends want something from me, something reasonable, I go out of my way to give it to them. They do the same for me…"
"I have Seiya and Taiki and my princess. They are all I need."
"There's more to life than duty," Usagi smiled, her eyes getting a faraway look to them. "There's so much more. There's love, happiness, want, need, fun. But I'm just being a hypocrite, aren't I? My life is nothing more than a mistake of Destiny. I should never have been chosen for the job. I'm selfish, I'm mean, I'm a klutz and ditz, and I have no worth whatsoever. Me, I have nothing more to life than duty. You have your fame, your singing, and your brothers. You have your princess to live for. I'm living for myself, for the entire universe. You can make a mistake. But anything that I do wrong, everyone will be there to witness it. Everyone scrutinizes what I do correct and incorrect, everyone's just waiting for me to make an error. It's like my life is a TV sitcom."
"You are self-centered, then," Yaten smirked. "You think that everything revolves around you. Your senshi are being put through just as much trouble, and yet, you only pity yourself."
"It's not like that," Usagi replied, turning her eyes away from his lime ones. "I know the senshi are suffering because of this destiny crap. I'm going out of my way to keep them out of the youma fights. There have been a few leftovers from a long time ago. I'm still fighting them at night. No one knows." Usagi turned her head to the side, afraid that Yaten would see her tears. She heard the silvery blond sigh beside her, before taking in a deep breath.
"Usagi, you are their princess, are you not?" Yaten's tone was soft, gentle, unlike his usual snide voice. Usagi turned to look into his eyes, finding concern and sympathy embedded in the emerald eyes. Usagi sighed, leaning her head on his arm.
"I'm not their princess, I'm their burden," was her reply. Yaten shook his head.
"The same ways I serve Kakyuu-hime, your senshi serve you. I don't see my duty as a burden. My princess is kind and treats me like an equal. You treat your senshi even better than my hime treats hers. I don't see how you can be a burden."
"Since when are you so nice and insightful?" Usagi questioned, a smirk upturning her lips as she looked into his jaded orbs. He shrugged, returning his attention to his unfinished soda.
"Just thought I'd cheer you up," he said gruffly. Usagi grinned before giving him a quick hug and bouncing up to her feet.
"Thanks for the milkshake and for cheering me up. I have to go home now. See you later; bye!"
"Bye," was his curt answer, but Usagi just waved and happily left, glad that someone could help her with her daily insecurities.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Rei was pissed. Boy oh boy was she pissed. That little Chibi-baka was annoying her to no end. She stuck up for Usagi as much as she possibly could. It was Usagi who had rescued her from her suicide attempts; it was Usagi who had brought so much hope to her dire world. And Chibi-baka, the supposed heir to Usagi's future kingdom, was hurting Rei's best friend. The raven haired, violet eyed beauty could see it in the way Usagi's eyes would shine with unshed tears and the way her fists clenched unwillingly. It took all she had to keep her from bashing the stupid little gakki.
The little pink haired spore had somehow gotten all the senshi riled up against Usagi for her maltreatment of Chibi-Usa, when in reality, the blonde did nothing. Couldn't they see that Usagi was hurt by their favoritism? Couldn't they see that Usagi deserved all their attention; she deserved to be showered with love and spoiled with presents? After all, if it weren't for her, they would still be the recluse people they once were, angry at the entire world for rejecting them. Usagi had brought them together and gave them hope. She gave everyone hope.
"Grandpa, I'm going out!" Rei shouted, grabbing a dark red jacket and throwing it on top of a white baby tee. Denim cropped pants showed little of her long legs, which ended at red flip flops. Sighing, the raven pulled her hair into a high pony, tying it back with a red hair-tie. She stepped out into the beautiful spring day. The sky was clear and blue and theheavy, yet beautiful scent of perfumed cherry blossoms wafted through the air, carried by the cool breeze. Taking a deep breath in, Rei sighed. Maybe a coffee at a local café would do or perhaps a milkshake at Motoki's. She should discuss this with someone who shares her opinion. But she couldn't figure out who did and who didn't.
Makoto seemed the most infatuated out of all the senshi. The outers didn't really care for the brat though, other than Hotaru. Ami seemed impressed with Chibi-Usa's amount of knowledge and Minako was happy that she found someone who had a rather tasteful sense of fashion and a person to boy hunt with. It wasn't that Usagi was dumb. The blonde knew more about anything than Minako. Usagi didn't apply herself to keep her profile low. Her fashion sense, though not as extravagant as Minako's, was indeed better than most people's. Usagi did go boy hunting, but she already had a boyfriend. Usagi was perceptive of people's feelings and kind, and her smile was beautiful.
But of course the senshi managed to overlook that tiny detail. Rei huffed out in anger, her strides wide and fast. She needed something to calm her down and a chocolate milkshake always did the trick. Argh, she didn't know what she'd do with the senshi! Her anger rose until she was wiping away irate tears. They blinded her, and she had a Usagi moment, managing to crash into a small body. The cry of dismay sounded familiar, and she looked down to find Usagi in a crumpled heap, hair in her face, and struggling to get back up. Rei laughed before offering Usagi a hand, which the blonde readily accepted.
"Hey Odango Atama, what's up?" Rei's gentle voice made the insult sound more like an endearment.
"Nothing, Pyro!" Usagi replied cheerfully, hugging Rei. Rei giggled and hugged her back.
"Aren't you supposed to be at Mamoru's?"
"I decided to cut my trip short."
"Where's Chibi-Usa?"
"I don't know," Usagi's voice cooled and her eyes closed off her emotions. Her voice was curt and angry. Rei sighed softly, a long and sad sigh, before forcing Usagi to look into her amethyst eyes.
"Usagi," Rei's voice was firm and strong. "Whatever happens, you will always be first on my agenda. Not even my soulmate can take your place in my heart. You are more important to me than anything in this world; you mean more to me than that rather bratty daughter of yours. No matter what, just remember that when everyone else turns their back on you, I'll be there. When you fall, I'll catch you. And that's a promise."
"Oh Rei!" Usagi cried out before throwing her arms around the raven haired beauty. Her eyes filled with tears before the hot liquid spilled over and left trails on her cheeks. "You have no idea how much that means to me! I thought that you all wanted Chibi-Usa more than me, and that you didn't love me anymore!"
"I'll love you no matter what."
"I know you will. Well, I need to go home. I'm a half an hour late. Daddy's gonna kill me! Oh yeah, Yaten and the Starlights are back. Yaten's in the Arcade," Usagi switched back to her cheery demeanor and Rei knew it was fake. Her throat grew thick with sorrow as she watched the skipping blonde retreat down the street, all the while humming a cheery tune. Shaking her head, she headed into the arcade, finding Yaten seated at one of the booths. She slid in across from him.
"What did Usagi tell you?" Rei interrogated.
"It's not my place to tell," was Yaten's gruff reply. Rei narrowed her eyes.
"It's my place to know. I am her protector and thus I need to know what's bothering her. Not to mention the fact that I'm her best friend."
Yaten snorted. "Some friend you are. Giving up Usagi's back to take the side of a brat. You all left her unprotected."
"The others did, but I do not fall so easily into traps. My loyalty lies with Usagi."
"Does it now?" Yaten was clearly amused. Rei's eyes flashed angrily at his implied accusation.
"Yes, it does."
"You have an odd way of proving it."
"What do you want me to do, kill the stupid brat?" Rei's voice was at a harsh whisper, her violet eyes a reflection of her fury. How dare the man insult her like that, as if she had hurt Usagi? She protected Usagi from the other senshi's biting comments; she stood up for her when the others put her down. She growled before suddenly standing up. "You know what; I don't have to listen to this arrogant bullshit. Good bye and good day." With that, Rei stormed out of the Crown Arcade, leaving Yaten to his amused musings.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Yaten watched the raven haired woman stomp out, civilians dodging her, scared by the angry and slightly crazed look on her face. He shook his head. He really didn't want to get tangled in this nest of deceit, hatred, and jealousy. He came to Earth for a vacation away from the hustles and bustles of being a senshi, but of course, nothing ever worked out the way he wanted it to. He just hoped that Chibi-Usa would see the light sometime soon. If not, a whole myriad of senshi would turn their back on her. He wanted to help Usagi, he really did. Usagi was kind, sweet, and accepting. What she needed to do was use seduction and jealousy to her advantage. Naive Usagi would know nothing about either subject, except for a little bit of jealousy, perhaps. He'd help her. But how? Yaten sighed. He was thinking too much. It made his head hurt.
Anyways, this chapter was more dedicated to finding out what was going on and focused more on Yaten/Usa/Rei. The next chapter will focus on Mamoru and Usagi's relationship in regards to Chibi-Usa.
I've decided to take a darker path with this fic. Usagi will earn the game of jealousy and seduction! Woo-hoo! I'll still try to keep it as light-hearted as possible, so don't worry, those of you that don't like 'grown-up' stuff. It's ok, I'm like that too. My friends say that I'm naive and innocent... but is anyone, really? Everyone has issues and stuff, everyone suffers in this world, where you're forced to grow up earlier than you should have.
Don't worry Caroline, Usagi ends up with Mamoru in some of my other fics, and she might in this one! Aw, I can't believe you're moving! I'mma miss you!
Thank you all for reviewing and please leave a review for this chapter as well! I'm surprised this lil plot bunny got a regular amount of reviews. Especially considering not many people get that much fandom on this section.