Walk With Me
Lillie Bell

Disclaimer: anybody notice doing these is REALLY annoying? Anyway, I don't own the characters. ("You're just a character in a stupid storybook.") :blink: That was weird. :clears throat: And I own the ocean ("Hey, Tasuki, when'd you learn to swim, na no da?" "Oh, yeah, I forgoooooooott, blub, blub, blub.") :blink: Wrong anime ;P

It is happening again. I am dreaming about her and it is always the same dream. My heart will never let me forget her sacrifice, the sacrifice she made not once, but twice. She was my loving, caring princess. Her name was said with the warmth of summer nights and the pitch of a beautiful, whistling note. She was beautiful and doting. I loved her. My Serenity.

It was for this love that she died. Twice. I vaguely remember the second time; it sits like haze in the morning hours, tempting me to look deeper into its white abyss. It taunts me, whispering it will dissipate if I move closer. I step into its white, chilling mist and, after doing so; it envelops me, keeping me inside of its maze. As I fight my way through, the haze shows me none of its secrets. There is a glimpse at what had been, a vague feeling of familiarity and knowledge that is soon squeezed tautly as the mist entwines tighter around me. It is then that I swallow hard, amazed at the prickling of tears just behind my eyes. I had never cried. Since I was a child, I never had. What would make me feel this way?

It was then, after the taunting and teasing of the clouds that my mind became clear and I would see it again. I would see her, Serenity, holding my hand, crying. I felt my body being pressed upon, as if an elephant were sitting on my chest. I looked down and saw that I, in fact, had no chest to speak of. In place of a ribcage and lung, a deep, gaping hole was located. I could feel the cool blood gathering in my hands, the torturous cold racking my body. Somehow, without being present in the minutes before the attack, I knew what had hit me. It was an ice shard, meant for my princess. I had protected her to the last, giving my life for hers.

I reached a shaking hand to her face and wiped away her tears. There was a smear of crimson where I had touched her. Her small hands cupped my face and I tried to smile at her. She tried to smile too, but her red cheeks and wet face were soiled and clammy from the moisture of her tears. I grimaced as a flight of pain scattered throughout my body. I squeezed the small hand within my own as the ache worsened. I was clenching my teeth, feeling the cold, icy grip of death caressing my heart wantonly, when I felt a pair of strong arms envelop me and hold me close to her chest.

Serenity knelt softly. She was not the young girl in sailor uniform I had seen when I first entered into my memory. Her red and blue clothing had changed to a familiar, translucent pearl. The material softly accented her perfect figure radiated a soft glow in the room. For a delirious moment, I was not certain if it was the dress or my angel that shown brighter.

She held me tightly, running her gentle hand through my jet-black hair, down my back and along my legs. As her fingers touched my body, the horrific pain vanished and I was left with a small, numbing feeling. I was hovering between death and life. The hand had stopped trying to jerk my soul from my body and I had stopped trying to live. We both knew it was over. She had ended the pain for both of us.

"Mamo-chan," she whispered softly in my ear. I felt her smile as she amended, "Endymion, I wish we could have had a normal life." She hugged me tightly. "I wish we could have walked through the park and seen the lights of Tokyo. I wish you could have shown me your beautiful planet, Endymion."

I felt my eyes begin to glaze over as she laid me on the cold ground. A fierce cold had begun to seep into my body and I welcomed it. She was smiling sadly down at me, then she bent and kissed my lips. I was slow to understand her smile. My death did not affect her... why? Then the truth hit me and jumped from my place on the last step into death, jumped into life one last time.

"Usako." I gripped her wrist firmly, but said no more. She read in my eyes what I was thinking. What I knew she was planning to do. What I could not allow her to do. Not again.

"Endymion," she breathed softly, kissing my icy cheek, "be patient."

She turned and left without another word. The cruelly cold hand was back and it easily pulled my soul from me. It was trivial to me. My death meant nothing to me as long as she could live. But now, she was going to kill herself. Going to die for my planet and me. The planet that hated her, and the planet she loved.

I woke with a start, cold sweat pouring from my brow soaking my bed linens. I reached for the towel beside my bed and made a good show of scrubbing my face. An uneasy pit had formed in my stomach. It had been the same thing for three months. Nothing but the pain of loss. Loss of memory, loss of life, loss of love; the unending knowledge that I had lost her and a part of myself.

My princess was no longer Serenity, but a young schoolgirl named Tsukino Usagi. She was the image of my angel, with the exception of golden tendrils. My Serenity had had hair the colour of the stars, silver and shining more radiant than any moonlight. Usagi had the same set of dreamy blue eyes, though. When she was away in her imaginary world, her eyes would glaze over and the light blue outlining them would sparkle with a hidden silver. I had witnessed this many times and as it happened again and again, I was even more surprised by it.

Unfortunately, Tsukino Usagi did not have all my princess' attributes. She lacked Serenity's diligence and calm demeanor. However, I knew that Serenity was in fact not a very calm person at all. She was happy and bouncing and impulsive. She was only this way around people she loved, and that made me all the more gracious that I knew her.

Usagi was not as reserved as Serenity, but she had the extreme happiness and cheery attitude. And there were times, more often than not even, that I could see a veil dull the light in Usagi's eyes. I would watch her as she quickly hid all emotion. It was something I had seen my princess do, something I did myself. She was protecting herself, guarding against something that might hurt her. But there were times when I would wonder if Usagi knew what she was protecting herself against.

Now, it seems that if I loved Serenity so much I would try to win the affections of Miss Tsukino, her reincarnated self. It is not that simple to me. As I lay dying in the solitude, in my hazy dream, I remember the soft voice of my Serenity. She is wishing everything could return to normal. Return to the way it had once been. With a flash of red light, I can feel the entire world change. But in that light, in that feeling of sudden rebirth, I feel the death of Serenity seer my heart.

She had died with the wish to be normal, so normal was what it was going to be. Likely, she didn't realize I would remember that I was Endymion, Crown Prince of Earth. It was also likely, had she known of my memories, she would have believed I would know myself as Chiba Mamoru. But I didn't. I only knew that I was Endymion that had lived thousands of years ago.

Now, I lived in Tokyo. I talked a different, foreign yet familiar, language that I automatically knew. I wore strange clothes, strange socks, and strange shoes. I lived in a small room with many other rooms; an apartment. I went to school, though I had been out for years, and understood everything my professors said. I had a job, too. I did something, but I didn't know what. I was Chiba Mamoru, but I wasn't. I lived the life of my reincarnated self as a machine. I knew what to do, but not why or how I was supposed to do it.

Somehow, I knew people. I would see a face in the hall of the university and wave. It was instinct, not knowledge. I would know the names of people I had never seen. I would talk to them and know everything about them, and they knew nothing about me. I had the vague comprehension that whichever incarnation of myself I was, these people would not have known me.

Then there was Motoki-kun. He knew everything about me. Somewhere in the past, I had told him everything. That first day, when I was completely disoriented as to who or where I was, some instinctual presence sent me to Motoki.

We talked for hours, it seemed. He asked all the questions. When I asked him why he was asking, he said that was the way it was. Mamoru never told anyone anything unless he or she asked a few questions first. I found Mamoru to be a very untrusting man, much like myself.

Motoki told me about my life as Mamoru. I learned that I was at the top of my class throughout my life. I was a professed workaholic, laboring over many tasks at once. I knew this to be true, I had always been that way. Motoki said I was normally a cold, inward person. Another item I agreed with. And then he said something I had tried to ignore the entire day that I was Chiba Mamoru. He said that I was alone.

My chin must have hit my chest. No friends, no lovers, no parents. It was something I had been accustomed to in my life as Endymion. It was not something I had expected to carry on into my new life. I was reincarnated into the same solitary, mournful atmosphere from which I had come. It was damn depressing.

I told Motoki everything I knew. He said he knew of my dreams, but not the ones I mentioned. In the others, he said, I had dreamed of a girl in a white dress, standing on a balcony, crying for me. He told me that Mamoru had no idea what the dream meant. But I did, I remembered Serenity's small, defeated cry. I remembered the way her swanlike neck swung back and the most bone-chilling scream erupted from her lips.

It was when the Moon, her kingdom, had been invaded. She had just slipped home from another outing with me on my planet, the kingdom of Earth. A band of the Earth's elite forces gathered and attacked the Moon. I was helpless to stop my princess's assailants by myself. Instead, I rushed for my horse and galloped behind them, intent on preserving my angel's safety. No matter if they were my subjects, my people, my own blood; I would kill all those that harmed her, My Serenity.

I had found her on her balcony, horrified at the masses clashing together before her eyes. Her gentle blue orbs witnessed the most brutal fight I had ever seen. Men were slaughtered like cattle. Neither side was winning or losing, for who wins in a war? Everyone loses something; nothing is gained but personal triumph. A triumph of man over himself, over beast, over the elements. It made me sick.

I called her and her desperate gaze came to my face. I saw her pleading me to end this, though she knew I had as much power over my people as she did her own. On my horse, I was level with her small waist as it was a short balcony. Serenity touched my face softly and I held on to her hand. A single rider broke from the battlefield and charged toward her. I heard the shriek of a cat behind me as I turned my horse and unsheathed my sword.

The man rode onward, though he saw me. I was holding my sword at waist level, moving it so that it glinted in the light. I wanted him to know what he was doing was foolish. Charging a prince, renowned for his fighting abilities, was stupid. There was no chance he could kill me. He was a simple peasant, trained in raising the land, not a sword. He should have been farming with his family, not starting a war.

I held my sword firmly as he neared. I had learned not to think of those whom I attacked. They were attacking me, and so I was responsible for defending myself. But always, always, I had been defending my homeland and my people when I had killed. Was it right that I slaughter my own people? Those that I serve?

I shook my head, my resolve returning. He was charging me, not I him. He was choosing his fate, not I. He was raising his sword, leaving his side exposed, not I. Still, I close my eyes and clenched my teeth as my sword sliced through his soft flesh. He hissed as he fell, and the word seared me more than any other ever would. "Traitor."

I stared at the man on the ground. He could be forty with four kids. What was going to happen to his children? His wife? I was responsible for him. He was my subject and I was his lord. I shared a bond with him that I would with no one else. I loved him without even knowing his name.

It was when I was reflecting on these ideas that a second assault came. I was slow coming from my thoughts and only saw the tip of a sword flying to the left of my body. With a sudden twist and leap, a stamp of pain pressed itself upon me. I smirk now, thinking that I'm very good at being stabbed in the chest.

Serenity's small arms encircled me as I fell. I was in her lap, wrapped in the warmth of her silver hair and slender body. I heard a sharp voice behind her and a flash of purple was at the side of my vision. A young voice of a girl, the same age as my princess, scolded Serenity.

"He started this, don't you see?" she yelled. I could hear the tears in her throat. The tears she was keeping from her face. Somehow, I knew she was in a soft dress of violet velvet. Her bright blue eyes fearful. She cared for my princess as I did. Loved her, even.

"Luna," Serenity said in her soft voice. I felt her chin rest on my head and her hand entangled in the hair at the nape of my neck. Wetness poured down my slumped shoulder. She was crying.

Serenity swallowed audibly before saying in a shaky voice. "You live to protect me, Luna," she said meekly. "I live for him, just as you live for me."

I felt tears stinging the back of my lids. She was an angel, and she was my perfect angel. For an instant I was filled with loving adoration for my princess. A sudden flash of pain made me curl into a ball upon her lap and sense the urgency of reality. No matter how much she loved me, she would not be with me when I died. I was doomed to be alone once more. The thought scared me than anything else. I knew it would be torture without Serenity by my side.

She seemed to feel it, too. She knew the expanse of my sorrow. I had told her about my life. I had never told anyone, but she seemed to make me feel as if I had to tell her. I thought I would burst if I didn't. So, she knew everything. She knew of my parents and siblings death, of the cruelty of my uncle, of the utter loneliness I felt. When I had finished, she had crawled to me where I was lying in the grass, wrapped a slender arm around my neck, and hugged me. She had smiled and kissed me, then blushed at her own impulsiveness. She had softly touched my check, murmuring, "There is no need to be lonely anymore."

"Luna," she said softly, and I had the idea the girl leaned her chiding body forward, afraid to step near me, lest I were to turn and strike her. "Get a horse ready, Luna. We're leaving."

Luna grunted and stood firm. I could feel her protective, sorrowful gaze touching Serenity and I felt the equally hating, malevolent stare as she watched my crumpled body. She was thinking if she should leave us alone. Serenity knew she was too, and cast the girl a decisive glance. I listened as the small sound of shoes vanishing into the hall.

I was listening to the slow, monotonous ticking of the clock. The seconds went by slowly, as if one were the equivalent of an hour. I was watching the pendulum swing from side-to-side, watching it retrace its steps, never halting its movement. Soon, I would not see the pendulum anymore, would not hear the clock tick, and would not see the violet girl. Soon, I would be dead.

Serenity bent her head and caught my lips. I felt the reserve and decision in the flick of her tongue. She held my wounded body tightly with one hand, as the other sought my sword. I felt its weight leave my hip as her arm tipped up. A twist of her arm, twist of her wrist, and she plunged the steel tip into her belly as I fell into a cold mass upon the floor. I heard her scream as she saw my body and felt her pain.

That small cry. How could I forget?

I sat in bed, the wet rag across my lap. I was thinking about the last thing Motoki had mentioned. Usagi hated me.

He tried to explain to me that it was a simple misunderstanding from the start. Usagi had thrown her test paper squared into my nose. I had kindly retorted about her grade, an impressive 30, and that was that. Motoki said we hated each other since then. But, that wasn't true, was it? How could I hate my princess?

I smirked because she was and wasn't my beloved princess. She had the eyes, the demeanor, the hairstyle, but not the attitude. Usagi was a very inwardly drawn person, though she always seemed to tell her friends everything. I could tell in the way her eyes flashed with fear that there were some things she didn't tell them. Some things she kept a secret.

And for some reason, call it intuition, I felt as if I was one of those secrets.

I sighed. I had tried to win her affections for three months. It is difficult to be nice to her, though, when she is so adorable when she's so mad at me that she turns red in the face. Call it cruelty, I call it love.

I smiled. No matter how much I loved to watch Usagi crinkled her nose and stick her tongue out at me, I had to be serious. If I really wanted her to love me, I'd have to act like it. Besides, I reasoned, she's much more attractive when she smiles.

I flipped on the light and grabbed a sketchpad from my nightstand. Yes, I do sleep with my work within five inches of my nose. I already said it: I'm a professed workaholic.

I stared at the yellow pad of paper with blue lines seeming to levitate from the page. I was thinking, and thinking, and thinking... my mind was completely blank.

"C'mon," I said in my native language, "There has to be something."

I don't even know what I'm trying to think of, I thought. There must be some way to show Usako that I can be nice. I smiled. Usako was a little nickname I had for the blonde beauty. It was on the tip of my tongue every time I saw her. I had no clue where it came from, but I assumed Mamoru had made it.

I smiled. It was a comfort to know that my reincarnated self enjoyed the girl's company as much as I. Had he not, I would have had to set his mind straight. Perhaps that was what I was doing now.

I grew silent in my thoughts. There was always a pause at least once a day where I would take five seconds to wonder where my memories of this century were buried. I was skilled in many levels of psychic powers, as was common for Earthen royalty, but I could never distinguish a part of myself that was not I, but Chiba Mamoru. Sometimes I thought that maybe there wasn't a difference.

I sighed and climbed out of bed. None of this was helping get closer to Usako. I stretched, yawned, and slapped on a shirt over my rumpled jeans. I looked at the clock. 4:40am.

I was lured to the park. Normally, when I was having trouble thinking, I would walk by the seashore. The sweet smell of brine, the hiss of the waves, and the soft feel of sand beneath my feet reminded me of my old home. It was comforting. I had spent many nights roaming the beach with Serenity, searching for white and yellow seashells. She had always been enchanted by the ocean, as there was none on the Moon. She would smile at me and hold a conch to her ear as I wrapped an arm around her waist. There were many beautiful memories to be relived as I walked along the shore.

But tonight was different. Tonight there was foreboding, a sense of something just beyond the horizon, just beyond my reach. I began looking at the green benches as I passed them. I was looking, searching, for what? I didn't know.

My pace quickened as my anxiety rose. I was getting close to whatever was drawing me in. There was a pain in my side that wasn't the result of fatigue. I bit my lip and started at a run. I knew this pain, I knew this pursuit. I knew what bench Usagi was sitting on, crying.

I slowed when I neared her hunched form. She was shaking, from her sobbing or the cold, I didn't know. I walked cautiously, not wanting to scare her away from me. Her sweet cheeks were a ruddy red now, her hair tousled and in disarray. It was pulled from its buns and lay in separate strands down her back, around her throat, plastered to her cheeks, arms and legs. Every sob from her sweet, swollen lips hit me like an explosive.

When I was close enough, I reached out a hand and pushed her hair from her face. She shrank at the touch and gasped as she saw me. The blonde began to move away, looking for an escape, but I granted her none. I ran my hand across her cheek, collecting the tears there. I gently stroked her soft face and her tangled hair. I left my hand resting on the nape of her neck, a place I knew Serenity had liked it when she was insecure.

I continued the routine with my other hand and her other cheek. She watched me the entire time, and her eyes only strayed from my own when my other hand clasped around her neck. Then, she breathed in a quick breath and I watched her stormy blue eyes become a haze of shining sapphire.

I wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her into my shoulder. She didn't pull away, instead she nuzzled into me. I hugged her tightly as the tears freely flowed. I would reach up and stroked her cheeks, or kiss her hair, or ran a caring hand down her forearm. I wanted her to know I was there for her, always.

She sniffled and pulled away from me. She looked into my midnight blue eyes and smiled. Usako ran a wavering hand through the thick bush of black hanging in my eyes. "Mamoru-san," she spoke softly and my heart soared. It was the first time she had said the name without any infliction. I couldn't contain my happiness, bending down, touching my forehead to hers, and reveling in a genuine smile. She blushed and I saw a silver glint of an emotion I hadn't seen in thousands of years. "Do you never have time to cut your hair, Mamoru-san?"

I chuckled at her tease. I liked her teasing me. It was better than the bickering, better than the insults, better than the arguments, as much as I liked them. I gently touched my lips to her cheek and felt the instant flutter of her lashes like butterflies against my rough skin. It was almost 5:30 in the morning, and I was beyond a five o'clock shadow.

"I haven't had my hair on my mind, Usako," I whispered into her soft ear and nibbled on her jaw line.

She was startled at the simple gesture. She squirmed from my hold and I reluctantly released her. I didn't want Usagi to think I was going to hold her hostage. Not exactly a great way to get a date. Then again, I didn't want a date. I wanted a lifetime of dates. I wanted the marriage Serenity and I had dreamed about. I wanted Serenity and I wanted Usagi.

Her blue eyes caught mine again. Hers glinted with the power of the moon, though she knew nothing of her heritage. I watched as the silver power floated about her. She didn't know it was there, couldn't feel the presence of herself. I could feel it, though. And every part of my body wanted to be a part of that aura, wanted to be a part of Usagi. Just as Serenity had been a part of me.

She read it, she must have read it. Read the longing, the loving, and the knowledge I was showing in my eyes. My last thoughts had been completely transparent. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to let her know the height of my feelings, but I wanted it this way. I wanted her to know that I was interested, that I was more than interested, that I was in love with her. And now that she knew, she turned and ran.

Two months later showed no change. Usagi and I still fought, but a notch down from the level of hate. She was minutely kinder, though she tried not to look into my eyes. Most of the time, however, she stayed away from me. Serenity preferred ignorance to confrontation and Usagi was the same.

Motoki was watching me stare at Usagi one day at the arcade. I was debating with myself if it had been stupid to let her know what I thought. She was scared. She was only sixteen and I was showing her a world most sixteen-year-olds could only dream about.

But things had been different in our time. When Serenity and I were young, there were more rules to be broken. Was it our fault we disobeyed them all? A little nagging voice of reason told me yes, but I ignored it. I've never been one to listen to reason.

"You're still gone on her?" Motoki set a coffee in front of me.

I nodded, drinking the scalding drink without a thought.

He shook his head sadly, making a clicking sound as he touched his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "She doesn't know what she's got here, Mamoru-kun. If I was a girl and I knew you were as obsessed with me as you are with Usagi-chan, I think I'd faint. I'd go out with you."

"Well, thanks Motoki. Next time I need a date I'll phone you."

Motoki grimaced. "She's really eating at you."

I shrugged by way of reply. I didn't know what to do anymore. On the one hand, I wanted to jostled her until she understood that I loved her and that I didn't want her to be scared of me. On the other, I wanted to wrap her in my arms and kiss her to death. I thought about the times with Serenity. Maybe I would do more than kiss her to death...

Was that what she was afraid of, though? Was she frightened of the idea of going out with a man two years her senior? Certainly two years couldn't make a large difference. Was it the fact that he was in college? At a renowned university? Did she feel as if she were inferior to him? I growled and gripped the coffee mug. There were so many damn questions.

"Er... Mamoru, you pay for the mug if you break it."

I blinked and sighed. Too much anger, hurt, and frustration inside of me, I reasoned. I thanked Motoki for the coffee and decided I'd skip work for the first time in years. I didn't know for certain that it was the first time, but a little birdie told me so.

I slipped off my shoes and walked to the shore. The cool breeze of the ocean enveloped me, caressing my tender muscles, easing my troubled mind. The chilling waves relieved the tension in my feet. I sighed, knowing my body was reacting to my anxiety.

Two months without much of anything. What if that was the way she wanted it? What if Usagi didn't want to be with me in this new life? Serenity had died to preserve her life the way it would have been. Certainly that life would have included me? Serenity loved me, so Usagi had to love me too.

The white caps and blue depths of the ocean were swallowing the sun. I could feel its superficial struggle. It was trying to maintain the day, maintain the light it had grown fond of producing. I was trying to keep my relationship with Usagi. I watched the tip of the sun sprout a blood red rash across the sky. The sun had lost against the powerful ocean. Its resistance had proved futile.

I gritted my teeth, knowing my decision. I was going to leave Usagi alone. Instead of the periodical visits to the arcade, I would study in the library, or work more hours. If Usagi didn't want me in her life, I had to respect that. I silently hoped that I could.

I stood still from my ponderous walk along the shore. Before was a gentle, pearl-white conch shell. Without the presence of a Moon, I had bent to assure myself it was not the tentacles of a jellyfish. My fingers tentatively grasped the frail shell and held it to my ear.

She had smiled at me once, from this same position. Serenity offered the gentle shell and gracefully held it against my ear. "It's beautiful, Endy," she had said softly, her face inches from my own.

I had smiled down on her and wrapped an arm around her waist. I pushed the shell into her small hands. "Keep it, Sere." She had open her mouth to protest, but I quickly silenced her by kissing her sweet lips.I was lying on the sand now, my eyes closed, my mouth in a lazy smile. Though we were from different societies, different worlds, though our love

was forbidden then, it seemed so much easier than now. Now I didn't know if Usagi loved me. I didn't know who I was meant to be in this century. Was I to roam the planet as Endymion, or would I regain my memories?

I smiled sadistically at myself. I was such a fool to believe I could simply forget about Usagi, my Usako. From the first time I had met Serenity I had loved her. As I lie on the beach, I remembered the first time Serenity had come to my planet.

It had been at the darkest night, when any normal person would be asleep. I, however, was busy reading a book of mine. I sat by the small stream along the western end of the castle. The deep forest was all around me and only lessened in the place I occupied: a large, massive rock of granite that jutted from the shore, high into the air above the stream.

I sat at the tip of the rock, my feet dangling. The cool water caressed the very tips of my toes. It was a hot, sticky summer night and I was appropriately attired in a pair of wrinkled trousers. My black shirt was in a heap at the foot of the rock, along with my shoes. I had left my evening cloak inside.

As I turned the page of my book, I heard the incessant bubbling of the stream's laughter change to quiet speculation. My eyes drifted from the page to the stream, to the object of its interest. A young girl jumped five feet into the air when she saw me. Evidently, we were both so hidden it was impossible to see each other until we were within a few paces of one another. I looked into her surprised grey eyes and felt my body go limp. My mouth stood slightly agape. She was the epitome of beauty and I was powerless to stop me eyes from drifting along the curves of her body, accentuated by her flowing dress.

It was then that I noticed her strange hairstyle and colour. I knew instantly that she was from the Moon, our rival nation. I saw comprehension dawn her features as she realized who I was as well. I smiled a secret smile. It was too late to worry about social hierarchy; I had already fallen in love.

And now, in the future, where there was nothing to stop us—no competition, no duty, and no guardians—we couldn't be together. A pain ripped through my soul and left a gaping hole. I felt the brine of the ocean seeping into my eyes, burning the eye sockets so that I had to close them tightly to keep them protected.

"Mamoru," a soft voice said above me. I opened my eyes the see the most heavenly vision. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. Thought I had willed an apparition of Serenity into my vision. I simpered, almost believing she was a mirage. Secretly, I was hoping she had remembered our past. How could she not? I had told her our story thousands of times over, hoping that she would remember. Each time, my exploits proved to be frivolous. She would smile at me, a sad, piteous smile, and shake her head. And I would cringe, wishing my angel would return to me.

"Mamoru," she repeated. Her soft voice was like the gentle caress of a wave upon my face. I smiled at her, my eyes filled with every emotion tossing through me. Her lips moved to a tight smile and I saw her contemplating moving from my gaze. She didn't, however, and I felt a surge of hope flood through my limbs.

"Do you love me, Mamoru-san?" she spoke softly.

"Yes."

Her face distorted and I realized I had answered too fast for her. She hadn't truly been asking if I loved her. There was some other question she wanted answered, and I obviously hadn't cleared her confusion. "I wasn't asking Endymion, Mamoru-san," she knelt beside me. My eyes grew large at the mention of my name, but I said nothing. She nodded at my silence, understanding I was waiting for her full question. "Do you love me, Mamoru-san?"

Looking into her eyes, I understood. It was both Serenity and Usako asking, and their intention was clear. They were afraid that while I loved them as Endymion, my present self might not. They did not deserved to be loved half-heartedly, even I knew that. I smiled at the angel beside me, taking her hand in my own. I silently hoped Mamoru, in his hideout deep within his body, would be released with the words that escaped my mouth. "I love you more than life itself, Usako." And I kissed the palm of her hand.

Usagi's eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around me. I happily returned the hug. Ah! But the sweet bliss of her embrace was short-lived. She giggled at my hurt expressioon when she pulled away from me. "Endy, you silly goose," she teased softly. "I can do much better than that."

She leaned forward and placed her soft, sweet lips on mine. In an instant, memories flooded through us both. I suddenly understood that Usako had the same vague memories of our past as I did of our present. The kiss deepened and suddenly I felt as though I was kissing two people. I loved Serenity and Usako with the same fervor. The girl beneath me felt the same connection and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me closer. I smiled, pulling away from her addictive lips. I kissed below her ear, whispering, "I love you, Princess Odango."

She giggled, hugging me tightly. "I'll never let you go again, Prince Jerk."

Suddenly an idea hit me. "Usako," I said quietly, kissing her slender neck. I felt her smile, and proceeded, "Walk the beach with me?"

"One condition, Endymion," she said softly. I smiled, reliving a game we used to play. I knew her condition and was filled with insurmountable happiness now that I knew I could grant it.

I caught her lips in a quick kiss before laying my forehead on hers. "Anything," I said, reciting my lines perfectly.

She smiled, her eyes twinkling with merriment and fond memories. "Show me your beautiful planet, Endy. Show what makes you so beautiful."

I wrapped my arms around her and whispered, "As you wish, my love." She smiled wonderfully before I kissed her. It was a kiss of three lifetimes. One for the Silver Millennium, one for the year that had been erased, and one for the future. I smiled; holding Usako's gorgeous body beneath me, knowing our future would be a bright one indeed.