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Disclaimer: Sailormoon and all its characters do not belong to me. Any resemblance to any other story is coincidental and not intentional.
This story happened after the senshi defeated Beryl and deviates from the original version. It is a continuation of my other story, Failure.
I'm sorry that my flashbacks are quite long but I'm trying to skip from one time to a different time, so flashbacks are quite important. I'll try not to repeat that much of previous chapters but it is sometimes necessary to refer back to previous chapters.
CHAPTER TEN – WAITING FOR ARRIVAL
At the Airport
"Come on! Come on!" Usagi said as she hopped from one foot to the other, unable to stand still. She and Motoki was in front of the gate Mamoru was supposed to be exiting from. "How long 'til Mamo-chan gets here?"
Motoki smiled at the eager girl next to him. She had pulled him all the way from the car as soon as they had arrived into the airport car park and had not stopped chatting ever since. "Mamoru-kun won't come out that soon, Usagi-chan. He has to go through customs, remember?"
Usagi blushed. "Oh." She remembered how she had to go through the checks when she came back from America. They had reprimanded her for bringing in a stash of chocolate. But how was she to know that dairy products were not welcomed?
She shook her head. "I'm sure Mamo-chan will be one of the first people out. He knows that I will be here to pick him up." Usagi smiled brightly at her friend.
Flash back
"Mamo-chan!" Usagi shrieked into the phone piece. She jumped up and down happily as the operator put her call through to Mamoru's apartment.
"Usagi?" A voice asked on the other side of the line.
"Oh, Mamo-chan! I finally caught you! I can't believe it!" she cheered inside the phone booth situated outside the Crown Arcade.
On the other side of the world, Mamoru sat quietly waiting for his girlfriend to stop cheering. He knew that Usagi would keep on going until she was out of breath.
Suddenly, he heard a, "Hey Odango Atama, quit that won't you? Can't you see Mamoru-kun is waiting to talk?" in the background. He grinned, Mamoru immediately knew it was Rei who was scolding Usagi.
"Hey, Pyro! I'm just happy to hear from Mamo-chan!" Usagi retorted. "You're just jealous you can't talk to him." And although he could not see it, Mamoru knew that Usagi had stuck out her tongue at her friend.
"Hey, Usagi-chan! Time is expensive!" A stern voice reminded Usagi. That was Lita.
"Yes, I've calculated that there is approximately seven point two five minutes left on this calling card, Usagi-san." Another voice added in.
"Time is like a box of chocolates, Usagi. You never know how fast it goes until it's all finished." Mamoru sweatdropped. That had to be Mina bungling another phrase.
"Mina!" Mamoru could hear Lita laughing as she tried to correct her friend. "It's life that is like a box of chocolate."
Next, Mamoru heard a low growl and then Rei barked out, "Usagi! Get back on the phone and tell Mamoru-kun what you called for!"
"Oh, oops!" Usagi finally got back to the phone receiver. "Sorry, Mamo- chan. The girls wanted to be here when I called."
Mamoru softly smiled. It had been too long since he heard Usagi's voice. "It's O.K. Usako."
"And it's so unfair that Daddy won't let me call you from home," Usagi continued. "He says that you're corrupting me and that if I ran up the phone bill once more, he'd personally fly out there with his shotgun."
Once again, Mamoru sweatdropped at the image of Usagi's father, Kenji, flying to America to protect the honour of his family.
"And I told him it wasn't your fault that we talked so long," Usagi went on, "And anyway, I'm sure the guards won't let guns on the plane. It's too dangerous..."
Mamoru tried to interrupt, "Uh...Usako?"
However, Usagi just continued her dialogue, "Then mother reminded him that she had hidden his guns."
"USAGI!" shouted Rei on the other side. It was so loud Mamoru had to pull his phone away from his ear. "Get to the point!"
Without missing a beat, Usagi switched topics, "Oh yeah, Mamo-chan. When is your flight home?"
Mamoru, now embarrassed and surprised at the way his girlfriend could change subject so quickly, replied, "Uh...one week from today, Usako. The plane will be arriving at the Tokyo Airport at 11:30am. Why?"
"Oh, I thought I would meet you there!" Usagi cheerfully answered. Then, just as quickly as she had changed subjects, a loud clap could be heard over the line, "Uh oh... That was supposed to be a secret. Rei is going to kill me!"
Mamoru went from surprised to grinning as he heard the news. "That's great, Usako! I would love it if you were there! And..."
"Odango Atama! Don't tell me you told Chiba-san of the surprise?!" Rei's voice interrupted Mamoru's sentence. "Why can't you keep the secret? Now it won't be a surprise anymore!"
"Uh, sorry, Rei! I couldn't help it! I was too excited!" apologised Usagi.
Mina piped in, "Don't worry Rei," she reassured, "I'm sure there will be plenty of surprises waiting for both of them when they get to his apartment and be just by themselves."
Mamoru blushed furiously at the thought. Sure it was great to see his Usako again but he wasn't about to do THAT. And besides, Usagi was only 16!
"Mina!" Usagi said in reply. "I'm sure Mamo-chan will bring back lots and lots of presents for me, won't you, Mamo-chan?"
Mamoru cleared his throats and shook his head to clear any indecent thoughts from his mind, "Uh, sure, Usako. I'll bring gifts for everyone."
Usagi cheered. "Yeah!!!"
"Uh, Usagi, I don't think Mina was thinking about presents..." Lita quietly said.
"What do you mean?" asked Usagi. "What else would Mina be talking about?" Suddenly, a light dawned on her and silence could be heard over the line. Then, "MINA!"
Grinning sheepishly, Mamoru cleared his throat once again. "Usako. Usako?"
"Usagi-chan! There is only two point five minutes left! Please finish up the conversation!" Ami reminded her.
"Oh yeah!" Usagi's voice came back online. "Hi, Mamo-chan! Anyway, since you know already, I'll be waiting for you when you come out, O.k.?"
Mamoru smiled, "O.K. Usako. I'll be waiting for that. Oh, and who will be driving you?"
"Driving me?" Confusion filled Usagi's voice. "What do you mean by driving? You'll be coming back by plane, right?"
Laughing, Mamoru tried to answer her, "You'll need to get a lift to the airport, Usako. I was planning to take a taxi from the airport home, but since you're coming to meet me, I could catch a ride home back to Tokyo with you."
Realisation dawned over Usagi. "Ohhh...that. I'll arrange something, Mamo- chan, don't worry! Anyway, I have to go now. Ami's signally that there is only fifteen seconds to go. See you next week! I love you!"
"Love you too, Usako" Mamoru quickly added in before the phone hung up on both of them.
End of flashback
"Don't worry Usagi-san. Hey, Usagi-san, the doors are opening. Take a look! Mamoru-kun might be coming out!" Motoki pointed to the double doors sliding open in front of them.
"Yay!!!!" cheered the girl as she watched eagerly to see the familiar face exit. Suddenly her excited face turned to one of surprise. "Mamo-chan?"
What is making Usagi act like this? What has happened to Mamoru? Stay tune for the next chapter – CHAPTER ELEVEN – SURPRISE APPEARANCE