Chapter Seven – Reconfirmation of Love
"Usagi! Have you finished packing?" Mamoru shouted from the front door.
An unhappy Usagi came out of the bedroom.
"Mamo-chan, are you sure I have to leave?" she asked sullenly.
Mamoru sighed and crossed the room to hold his girlfriend in his arms, "Usagi, you know you have to go home. Your ticket is for today. And by the way, I don't think your father will allow you to stay even a minute longer!" joked Mamoru, trying to make his bunny smile.
Usagi snuggled even deeper into his chest, "But Mamo-chan, I don't want to go! I don't think I can survive this separation for much longer!" She looked up, her blue eyes filled with tears.
Mamoru's heart felt like cracking, he hated seeing his Usako crying. He pressed his hand to her head, urging her towards him once again.
"It's only for another year. You survived it once, you can survive it once again - where is the courageous Sailormoon that I know and love?"
Usagi sniffed. "She's not here, right now, Mamo-chan. It's hard thinking you are here in America while I am stuck in Tokyo, waiting for your return."
"We will still keep in touched, Usagi, like before," Mamoru reassured her.
"I know, Mamo-chan. I know I have to let you have to fulfil your dreams before Crystal Tokyo becomes a reality. It's part of your destiny… But why does it have to hurt so much?" she wailed.
"Oh Usako," sighed Mamoru. Usagi looked up and they kissed sweetly.
"Mamo-chan," Usagi sighed, knowing that her plane was going to leave without her if she did not make a move. "We have to go."
They pulled apart. "Ok, Usako. Do you have everything?"
Usagi looked confused and started to count her items off with her hand. "Hand luggage, luggage, toiletries, souvenirs, umm…." She looked up and smiled. "I think I have everything."
Mamoru smiled back at her. "Great. Let's load up your bags into the car and we'll be on our way!"
In the car
Mamoru started to pull out of the apartment car park while Usagi looked sadly towards the place where she spent a happy week with Mamoru. She knew that it would be another year before she saw him again and wanted to get a clear picture of his home to keep in her memories. She slowly went through each of the apartment's rooms, loving everything that was Mamoru's.
Suddenly she bolted upright. "Stop the car, Mamo-chan!"
Mamoru slammed on the brakes; fear and shock filled his body. "What is it, Usako? What happened? Are you alright?"
Usagi looked at him sheepishly, "I just remembered I forgot something!"
"What did you forget?" he asked while he slowly pulled the car into the Emergency lane.
Usagi blushed furiously. "My plane ticket."
Mamoru sweatdropped. (and fell off his seat, anime style)
Finally on their way to the airport
Mamoru looks over to his girlfriend, who is sitting very quietly, especially for a girl who is usually very bubbly. Concern was written all over his face.
"Usagi?" he asks softly.
"Hmmm?" answers Usagi, not even turning to look at him.
"Usagi?" he asks louder.
"Yes Mamoru?" she answers,
Mamoru waited in silence until Usagi finally turned to look at him.
"Please don't be sad. I can't handle it if you were unhappy all year." Mamoru pleads.
"Oh Mamo-chan. How can I not be sad when we are apart? I feel so empty without you." She swayed side by side quietly.
Not able to withstand the distance the car has put them, Usagi leans as far as she could and took Mamoru's hand closest to her. He looked away from the road for a second and smiled.
"I feel exactly the same, Usako. You are everything to me. My friend, my family, my love."
She took the hand and laid it on her cheek and sighed. "Oh Mamo-chan. I wish we could still stay together. Forever, without being apart."
Mamoru glanced away from the road again, "I wish that too, but you know that isn't possible. Harvard is the best school for medicine and…" he trailed off.
Usagi sighed, "I know"
As she said that, the airport loomed up in front of them, reminding them that Usagi was to be going within the hour.
In the airport, after spending ages looking for a parking space
"Well, this is it, Usako." Mamoru said as they were standing outside the gate of Usagi's flight.
Usagi looked forlorn. "Oh Mamo-chan." She said brokenly.
Mamoru pulled her into her arms for a final hug. As she moved around, Usagi tripped on an invisible rock and threw her arms around him, knocking him over. Mamoru waved his arms around to gather some balance but to no avail. To the surprise of onlookers, Mamoru did not push her away when they landed on the floor with a thud, instead drawing his girlfriend even closer to him on the floor. He bent his head, and whispered, "I will always love you, Usako. Do not ever doubt that."
"Usagi looked up, "And I love you too, Mamo-chan."
They passionately kissed.
In the airplane
Usagi sat in her window seat, looking dejectedly out the window. She hoped she could see Mamoru one more time from the plane. He had promised to be waiting next to his car outside the gate. She hugged herself; she would always treasure the memories they had created while she had been visiting.
She sat up straight as the plane slowly moved nearer to the gates. There! She finally saw Mamoru and he was waving at the plane. Usagi smiled and wave back, knowing that he could not see her but it made her felt better to think that he may have.
Happy for the moment, Usagi leaned back into her seat and prepared herself for the long flight back to Japan.
Back in Japan
Usagi stepped out into the arrival hall, and looked around for her parents. They had promised to pick her up.
"Usagi! Hey, Odango Atama!" someone shouted.
Steamed poured out of Usagi' ears as she turned around to see who it was. And there standing no more than a few metres from her were all her friends and her family, including Shingo, who was the one to call out.
She marched up to the group, concealing her happiness to see them. She placed her hands on her hips and tried to look stern.
"Don't call me that! My name is Usagi!" she demanded Shingo.
Shingo stuck his tongue out at his sister. "I know that!" he said indignantly. "I called you Usagi that first time. But you are still an Odango Atama." And with that, he flicked her trademark hair with his fingers.
Usagi pouted and turned away from him. She saw her parents standing close to each other, with his father's arm around her mother's shoulders. Her heart warmed with the observation. She wanted Mamoru and her to always be like this. She walked up to them and hugged her mother tightly.
"Hi Mom!"
"Usagi. I'm so glad to see you back safely. How was the flight?" she asked
Usagi smiled, "It was long but they provide some great food!"
Rei snickered behind Usagi's back.
Usagi whirled around. "And what is wrong with that?"
"Trust Odango Atama to find out how good the food is!"
"I'll have you know that the trip is a long one! You don't expect me to starve, do you?" frowned Usagi.
Ami interjected with her soothing voice, "Of course we don't, we're just glad you enjoyed the flight."
"Yeah, Usagi, Aren't you glad to see us?" asked Mina.
Usagi faced all the girls. "Of course I did! I missed every one of you!" She held out her hands wide and the five girls gathered for a group hug.
"Uh hmm." Usagi heard a cough from behind her and slowly let go of her friends. She turned sheepishly towards her father.
She looked down. "Hi Dad."
"Hello Usagi, I hope you had a great time there," her father asked.
Usagi looked up and grinned. "Yes I did. Thanks."
Kenji cleared his throat again and looked away. "Well, I hope not TOO much fun. I hope Chiba-san hasn't done anything…" he trailed off as redness crept up his cheeks. He remembered that conversation well.
Flashback
Mamoru sat quietly on the sofa with Shingo on the other side while Usagi and her mother cluttered around in the kitchen. Despite Usagi's shortcomings in the cooking department, she was determined to learn how to cook for him. And that meant she often disappeared into the kitchen with her mother while he was stuck in the living room with a very disgruntled father.
Mamoru cleared his throat and tried not to look too nervous. Kenji sat in the lounge chair in the corner, staring at him. Mamoru could feel those eyes burning into his body and wished Usagi would come out of the kitchen very soon.
"Well, Chiba…" Kenji started.
Mamoru sat up even straighter and looked at him. "Yes, sir?"
"You've been seeing my daughter for quite some time now," asked Kenji.
Mamoru nodded. "Yes, sir."
Kenji cleared his throat nervously and a vein started to be visible around his forehead. "Well, as much as I hate to do this, Usagi's mother has decided that we should have this talk together."
Confused, Mamoru asked, "Talk? About what, sir?"
Once again, Kenji swallowed nervously. "A…ummm… A talk about relations."
"Relations, Dad?" Shingo finally spoke up. "What do you mean? Aren't they already having a relationship?"
Kenji's face flushed. "Well, not exactly that type of relations…."
"Ohhhh…" Mamoru's face blushed as it dawned on him and quickly added, "Rest assured, sir, Usagi and I have NOT been having that type of relation."
"Well, I certainly hope not!" Kenji said sternly. "But my wife believes it is umm… time… to bring this up with you."
"Dad? What do you mean?" interrupted Shingo once again. "I still don't get it. I want to know…" he stopped when both his father and Mamoru turned and glared at him. Suddenly, a light bulb clicked for Shingo and he started laughing. "You mean… you mean… Mamoru and Usagi!!!" He bent over in effort to control his laughter.
Mamoru and Kenji blushed bright red.
"Shingo!" admonished Kenji.
"Hic…Hic…sorry, dad…" Shingo hiccupped as he tried to stop laughing. "But, the notion of…." Shingo started to laugh once more, tears running down his face.
"Shingo!" Kenji repeated. "We are trying to have a serious conversation here. If you can not control yourself, please go to the kitchen and help your mother and sister with the dinner."
Shingo waved his hands around and slowly the laughter grew less. "No! No, I want to stay and hear this. I'll stop laughing, I promise." Shingo giggled.
"Well..uh hmm…Chiba-san.." Kenji began again. "As I was saying before, it's time to have uh…this talk about relations…"
Mamoru was still blushing furiously. "Please, sir, Usagi and I…would never dream of… ummm.. you know…" He looked down at his feet, embarrassed.
Kenji cleared his throat once more. "Don't lie to me, Chiba. I know how young boys are. It's all they can think about, especially when they have a beautiful woman in their arms!"
Shingo burst into laughter again. "Usagi? HA Ha Ha! Beautiful? Ha Ha Ha!!!"
Kenji stared at him angrily and Shingo immediately closed his mouth. This was a conversation not to be missed!
Mamoru started to fidget. "Well, sir, We haven't done any…ummm… you know…" He looked up frantically. "And we're not... planning to…you know…Please believe me!" he pleaded.
This time it was Kenji's turn to look away. "Well, Usagi's mother seem to believe that." Kenji turned to face Mamoru once more, his face now very angry. "But if I catch you doing any inappropriate…things… with my baby girl, I will so…."
Mamoru edged away from the angry man, as far as the sofa would allow him to. He waved his arms about. "No! Sir! We won't! I promise! Usagi is too young for that! And we're not ready…"
Kenji leaned forward from his chair, "You better not be, Chiba, EVER! Or the next thing you will be seeing is my SHOT GUN in your face!"
Mamoru's face contorted in fright. "No!! I promise!"
Then there was a deafening silence as the two men stared at each other, one in fright and the other in anger. Suddenly, the kitchen door opened.
"Dad! Mamo-chan! Shingo! Dinner is ready!" Usagi sang out as she carried a large platter into the dining room. She stopped as she felt the tension in the room. "Dad? Mamo-chan?"
Usagi quickly placed the dish onto the table and walked into the living room. "Dad? Mamo-chan?" she repeated.
Both men turned away from each other.
"Uh... Usako…" Mamoru was the first to speak.
"Why isn't anyone coming to eat?" Ikuko stepped out of the kitchen, also carrying a large plate of vegetables. Like her daughter, she placed the food on the table and turned around to face the others. Ikuko looked around and realised what had just happened. She turned to Kenji. "You had THAT talk already?" Ikuko demanded, her hands at her hips.
Kenji cleared his throat for what seemed like the tenth time that night. "Well, darling… you did say that…" he began.
"Well, I didn't mean, right this minute, today!" Ikuko scolded her husband. "And why was Shingo in the room during this discussion?"
Shingo looked at his mother sheepishly. "Well, mom. You couldn't expect me to miss out on this, did you? It was priceless!"
Usagi, still looking confused as ever, asked, "What discussion? What was so priceless?" She looked at Mamoru who was trying to hide in the sofa but failing very badly because of his large stature. "Mamo-chan? Can anyone explain why there is so much tension in this room?" She looked around once more and when no-one answered her, Usagi burst into tears. "WAH!!! No-one ever tells me anything!"
End of Flashback
Usagi blushed furiously. "Mamo-chan will never do that!"
With a final cough, Kenji motioned towards his daughter's feet where a multitude of bags sat. "Well then, I hope you have all your bags then."
Shingo looked at all the variety and exclaimed, "Wow, Usagi! You only left with a suitcase and you come back with three times that!" He looked up hopefully. "Anything for me?"
"What kind of thing is that to ask your sister?" Usagi asked loudly. "Is that all you can think about? Presents, presents, presents?"
"Children! Don't argue here! Let's get your bags into the car and we can discuss this when we get home," interjected Ikuko.
"Yeah! I can't wait until I get to my own bed!" squealed Usagi.
Rei snickered, "But she spent the week in Mamoru's bed," she whispered to Mina, but still loud enough for Usagi to hear.
Not turning around, Usagi blushed furiously once more.
That's the end of this chapter, sorry for the delay and also for the way the story jumps around - the story was meant to go a bit faster.