"Good morning, Mamochan."
Mamoru smiled and shook his head. "Afternoon, more like! You slept for the whole journey."
Usagi sat up in her seat and looked around, fully aware of her surroundings now. "Huh? I did?" Her voice had a tone of disappointment in it. She looked back at him, casting her eyes downward as she spoke.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, fingers toying with a lock of the blonde hair that lay spooled in her lap. "I said I'd keep you company for the whole trip."
She looked back up at him, her eyes wide and round as a puppy dog's. Mamoru's heart melted in his chest, and he squeezed her shoulder softly. "Don't worry about it," he replied. He recalled her mumbling during the trip, and asked "What were you dreaming about?"
Usagi thought for a moment before her cheeks blushed cherry red and her eyes retreated to her lap once more. "Oh, nothing much," she said with a private smile. "This and that, you know?"
She seemed to recall something then, and met his eye again. "Oh! Just before you woke me up I was dreaming about cake and juice and dumplings! That probably means I'm hungry, right?" She prodded her stomach, beneath the loose fabric of a pink T-shirt, once or twice with an index finger before nodding sharply, as if an important decision had been made.
"Yep," she said. "I'm definitely hungry."
Mamoru's smile widened at her usual chirpy demeanour and he removed his hand from her shoulder to lean back into his own seat. "Well, let's get checked in, and then we'll get something to eat, okay?" His seatbelt had already been undone, and he reached over to open his door. Usagi nodded and began the arduous process of undoing her own seatbelt, made more difficult than usual as one of her ponytails had become entangled in it.
By the time she'd freed herself and stepped out of the car, Mamoru had opened the trunk and was retrieving their luggage: two suitcases, one notably larger than the other. His face tightened slightly with exertion as he lifted the heavier case, crammed to the brim with Usagi's clothes, shoes and other valuables, seemingly enough for a month. Usagi, however, didn't notice.
Mamoru had parked the car in a small, neat concrete paved parking lot. Only a few of the spaces were currently occupied. Both ends of the lot opened out into a pathway. Behind them was the road leading back to the tunnel they had just entered through. On the other side began a thin cobblestone path that sloped gently upwards, ending at their final destination.
Nestled on a plateau, beneath the tall mountain that glowed a delightful shade of orange in the warm afternoon sun, was a little resort. To the north and east it was walled off by the mountain itself. To the west and south of the small patch of land, there was nothing but the calm blue ocean, stretching out for miles upon miles, as far as the eye could see.
At the end of the cobblestone path, which served as the only entrance and exit to the plateau, stood an impressive glass building, rendered practically invisible due to the sunlight reflecting off of its surface.
In the centre of the area sat a good-sized swimming pool, a few beach chairs laid out beside it. Opposite the pool stood an outdoor tennis court surrounded by a green mesh square, presumably to avoid somebody reclining by the pool being hit in the face by a stray ball. At the far end of the area, closest to the sea, were several log cabins – six, in fact – arranged in three rows of two.
Snuggled behind the mountain as it was, separated from everything but the ocean, it looked like a secret world, a tiny hidden paradise. Usagi's mouth opened wide as she gazed at it, her eyes those of a wondrous child. She turned to Mamoru, who had just finished putting down their cases, and gestured over at the sight excitedly.
"Mamochan! Look!"
Mamoru closed the trunk and walked over to stand beside her, looking up at the same view. "It looks like a great place," he agreed. Usagi nodded vigorously, not turning to look at him, her eyes instead bouncing back and forth between the various sights. "Motoki-oniisan is the best!" she cried enthusiastically. She turned to look up at him then, hastily adding "Except for you, of course!"
Mamoru nodded in agreement. His best friend Motoki, who had served as the best man at their wedding, worked at the Crown Game Centre, an arcade that Usako and her friend Minako-chan spent a great deal of their free time in, and the main depository for their allowances. Motoki's family owned the place, the upper floor of which was the Crown Fruit Parlour, a diner. His younger sister Unazuki-chan worked there, as a waitress.
Somehow, through his dealings with the customers, Motoki had acquired a free pass for three nights' stay at this resort. Shizuka na Wa was the name of the place – The Peaceful Circle. A small, family-run resort, it was generally used by locals and regulars who made reservations to use the facilities at a cheap price, but it did have cabins for couples who wished to stay.
It was a small, private place, and for many that was the attraction – it was a nice way to spend some time away from the stresses of everyday life. It was also a good way to spend time with a loved one, and this was what had prompted Motoki to snap the pass up when it had become available.
After the wedding, they hadn't gone on a honeymoon. They couldn't really afford it, having spent so much on the lavish wedding itself, and Usako's pleas for a fortnight in Hawaii hadn't exactly been within the budget. Besides, married or not, they were still students. Mamoru himself attended a technical school and Usako was still in her first year of high school, which made it difficult to get away.
Summer had arrived now, though, and the high school students were on their break. The timing had been perfect, and so they had decided to gratefully accept the free pass from Motoki and spend a few days here, just the two of them, to make up for the honeymoon they hadn't had.
"I'll race you there!" cried Usagi, before charging off along the stone pathway that led to the entrance. Mamoru called after her, "Wait! The bags!" but she didn't seem to hear him. He sighed and set the alarm on the car, and then picked up both cases and started after his wife.
"I love it!" cried Usagi as she took in the interior of the comfortable cabin.
She was standing in the centre of the main room of the building. The walls were constructed of wooden logs, a rich coffee brown in colour. A large three-piece sofa of a similar colour – Usagi likened it to hot, delicious cocoa – sat facing a modern television set with a VCR hooked up to it. In between the two, before the sofa, was a small coffee table. An impressive stone fireplace took up a good portion of the wall. A bundle of small wooden logs were stacked beside, and an iron poker hung on a hook nearby. A large rug, it's design a tapestry of colour, was stretched out before it.
To Usagi, it seemed a very cosy, and very mature, place to spend a weekend with her husband.
She turned to face him – he was still standing by the doorway, his hands in the pockets of his green jacket – and grinned, her hands clasped together and held against her chest. "I love it!" she said again. "Don't you, Mamochan?"
Nodding, smiling, he stepped into the centre of the room to stand beside her. "Looks like a nice place, indeed," he agreed, placing one hand on her shoulder and giving it an affectionate squeeze. He looked over at the doorway, where the two suitcases stood beside their shoes. "Now, shall we get the bags unpacked? It's always a good idea to get it out of the way first, so you don't have to-"
He stopped as he turned to look at Usagi. It was clear from her facial expression – her eyes half-closed, her lips pursed slightly – that she wasn't listening to a word he was saying. She was waiting to be kissed. The unpacked suitcases swiftly exited his mind and he turned to face her fully, placing his left hand onto her free shoulder. As he leaned forwards, his head moving in a downward arc, she stood up on her tiptoes, and somewhere in the middle, their lips met.
As his eyelids fluttered to a close, a sigh of contentment rose up within him as he tasted her sweet, slightly-parted lips, felt her hot breath inside his mouth. His arms moved from her shoulders to wrap around her, drawing her closer, and her hands reached up, slowly moving across his broad shoulders before locking together. Embracing tightly, their kiss deepened. He could feel the slender shape of her body pressed against his. Her interlocked fingers teased the nape of his neck, toyed with strands of his dark hair.
After a length of time (an hour? A day? A week?) he felt her moist lips recede from his, and he opened his eyes. They met with hers, their gazes mingling. Her cheeks were a balmy shade of pink. "Say, Mamochan," she murmured beguilingly, "shall we check out the bedroom now?"
"Usako!" he exclaimed, surprised at her forwardness, "We only just got here!" Her response to this was to giggle. "Silly Mamochan!" she said in a tone of mock admonishment. Her head moved to the left, to peer past him, towards the doorway. "I meant so we could put the bags in there!"
"I see," said Mamoru, aware that he was being played with. He expected her to say something then, to either continue or finish her teasing, but she didn't speak. They were still holding one another, and before either of them were aware of it, they were kissing again. It came to a more abrupt end this time around, as a loud growling sound was heard from close by. Usagi grinned sheepishly and withdrew herself, taking a step backwards, before rubbing her stomach with both hands. "Excuse me!" she said with a laugh. "I haven't eaten since breakfast!"
Mamoru turned and headed over to
the door, reaching down to pick up both of their suitcases. "We'll
get unpacked," he said as he walked
back towards her, "and then
we'll get something to eat from the restaurant."
When they had entered the resort, the glass building at the end of the cobblestone path had turned out to be the reception. They had checked in, the receptionist a pretty teenage girl with a friendly, helpful smile never more than a half-second from her lips. The building had two stories, and the second story, they were informed, housed a small restaurant. Usagi had been hungry since waking up after the car journey, but they had decided to put the bags in the cabin first, and so had strolled at a leisurely pace along the grounds of the resort towards the cabin area.
There had been much to admire along the way. The grounds were dotted with eye-pleasing features: a wishing well; a round fountain from which two thin jets of water rose and fell; little beds of colourful flowers; ornate benches that afforded a view of the ocean. A chest-high stone wall ran around the perimeter, protecting any careless visitors from the steep drop to the sea below.
They had also glimpsed a few of the resorts' other visitors. A family of four, two adults and two children, had taken up residence in the swimming pool. The children, only young, were splashing about in the shallow end, giggling and shrieking delightedly as their parents watched from nearby. Usagi and Mamoru had smiled at the antics of the children as they passed, and this had caught the attention of the parents. The two couples had exchanged a friendly wave, before the parents went back to watching the children and Usagi and Mamoru had continued on to the cabin.
As they neared the cabin, they had spotted one more person. She'd been sitting by herself on one of the benches overlooking the sea, some distance away. As they were behind her, they couldn't make out her face or clothes. Only her long hair, flame-red in colour, could be seen.
There had been something about her that had made Usagi shudder ever-so-slightly, but she hadn't known what. Perhaps it had been the way the woman had sat motionlessly, staring out at the horizon. Whatever the case, she had forgotten all about her by the time they reached the log cabin and mounted the small flight of wooden steps to the front door.
There were three doors at the far side of the sitting room that took up the bulk of their cabin. One had led to a small, impossibly clean bathroom with a combined bath and shower unit, the second to a toilet.
Usagi opened the final door, to be greeted with the sight of a small but cosy bedroom. A large double bed was central, with a wooden table next to it. An alarm clock and telephone were placed on it. On the opposite side stood a tall wardrobe with a full length mirror fastened to the front.
Usagi purred with appreciation and hopped onto the bed. She practically sank into the mattress, so thick and luxurious were the quilts. She lay on her back for a moment, eyes closed, smiling happily at the comfort. It was like laying on a bed of marshmallow. She opened her eyes as Mamoru entered, suitcases in hand. He put them down on the carpeted floor and leaned down to open the smaller one, his own. Usagi rolled over onto her stomach and crawled to the end of the bed.
"Come lay down!" she said, "it's like laying on a cloud!"
She turned around to face the pillows – piled three high on each side, and looking as plump and soft as she'd ever seen – and gasped as she spotted two small objects, one atop each stack. She knew immediately what they were: complimentary chocolates! She reached out both hands and plucked them up. One was wrapped in red paper, the other in blue, the ends twisted to form a little bow shape.
"Mamochan?" she asked, holding the pair of treats up for him to see. "Which one do you want? Red or blue?"
He shook his head and held up a hand, and then continued to rummage around inside his bag. He was usually more than partial to a piece of chocolate, but she guessed he wasn't in the mood, or didn't want to spoil his appetite, or something silly like that. After a moment, she shrugged.
"Well, all the more for me," she said, opening the first one and popping it into her mouth. It was delicious, sweet and creamy, and she rolled it around her mouth, letting it melt on her tongue, before swallowing it and moving onto the next one.
She had just placed the second chocolate inside her mouth when the room, without any warning at all, was suddenly flooded with pink light. It was concentrated right above her head, and she scrambled backwards to escape it until she reached the end of the bed. In her panic she tumbled right over the edge and landed on her behind on the floor below. The plush carpeting rendered it relatively painless. She stared up at the harsh light, swallowing the chocolate with a loud gulp.
In only a moment Mamoru was by her side, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet, pushing her backwards towards the open door, his arms placed firmly and protectively on her shoulders. They backed out beyond the doorway and then watched as the light intensified. It was almost painful to look at. Above the bed, at the centre of the light, a cloud of pink vapour began to materialise. In the blink of an eye it grew, lengthening like a snake, and began to twirl around and around like a miniature hurricane. Another object came into vision then, this one solid, a long, thin shape. It fell away from the spinning pink cloud and landed on the bed soundlessly. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it ended. The pink cloud dispersed into nothingness and the bright light that filled the room blinked out.
The object on the bed was all that remained of the strange occurrence. It was about the length of Usagi's forearm, perhaps a little longer, and wrapped in colourful paper. Curiosity got the better of her and she stepped past Mamoru and reached out to pick it up.
"Usako, be careful," warned Mamoru, stepping forward to stand beside her again. Usagi regarded the item laying on the bed and shook her head. "It looks like a present," she observed. "I don't think it's dangerous."
"Presents can be dangerous too," he said, his eyes fixed on it. Usagi nodded, recalling her fifteenth birthday. Mamochan had brought her a pair of gorgeous glass slippers, just like the ones in the fairytale, Cinderella. However, unbeknownst to him, the slippers had been booby-trapped by an enemy, and the resulting battle had almost cost both of them their lives.
Cautiously, Usagi reached out to touch the curious object. Her fingers brushed it and she pulled her hand back, half-expecting it to form into a menacing monster, like the slipper had done. But this gift, if indeed that was what it was, didn't morph into a twisted abomination. It remained perfectly still and silent, sitting on the lavish bedspread.
That was all the proof Usagi needed. Before Mamoru could say anything she picked it up with one hand, and with the other she tore the wrapping paper off, to reveal a black box. She set it down on the bed and, glancing at Mamoru for encouragement, which he provided in the form of a slight nod, she pulled the top off.
A delighted gasp escaped her throat as she gazed at the object inside. It was a rose made of sparkling crystal. The head was a deep, glowing red in colour, while the rest of it was clear. Upon the stem were carved dozens of tiny symbols. Leaning closer, Usagi saw that they were crescent-moon shapes. At the end of the stem it widened slightly, ending in a flat edge, presumably to allow it to stand. The soft overhead light in the bedroom shimmered and reflected about inside of it. It was mesmerising.
"Beautiful…" Usagi whispered. Beside her, Mamoru nodded wordlessly, before reaching down to pick it up. He held it in his hands, turning it over, examining it closely. As he admired it, something else caught Usagi's eye. At the bottom of the box was a small white envelope. She retrieved it and opened it carefully, removing the letter that was inside and unfolding it.
The writing on the page looked familiar to her. No kanji had been used, which was a relief. Usagi herself didn't use them, as she always seemed to get them mixed up, or use the wrong number of strokes, and it ended up looking a mess. The large, bold characters used were reminiscent of her own hand, too.
Suddenly, everything fell into place.
"Mamochan!" she exclaimed. "It's from her! I mean, me! I mean… you know!"
Mamoru carefully stood the crystal rose on the bedside table. "What does it say?" he asked.
"'To dearest Usagi-sama, and to charming Mamochan,'" she read. "'I and my husband wish to send you our best regards on your blessed union. That 'Crystal Moon Rose' was a gift given to us long ago, and now we feel it is time for you to receive it. Please treasure it as we have done, and may it give you the strength to stand together no matter what may befall you.'"
She paused. "Is that it?" asked Mamoru.
"'PS. Small Lady, Diana and everybody else sends their love and best wishes,'" she continued.
Mamoru smiled and looked again at the gift. The Crystal Moon Rose, she had called it. He looked around as Usagi spoke again, her eyes still trained on the piece of paper in her hands.
"'PPS. If this has appeared in the wrong cabin, please locate Mr. and Mrs. Chiba and give it to them. Thank-you, and my apologies for the inconvenience."
Mamoru chuckled. She sounded just like Usako. Some things never changed.
"That's it," said Usagi, giving the letter one more scan. At the bottom of the page it was signed "Neo Queen Serenity", and beside the name was a cute little drawing of her smiling face, a jewelled tiara resting between her two blonde odango and a crescent moon shape emblazoned on her forehead.
In an ancient time, when the world had been a single continent, a great kingdom had flourished on the moon. The Silver Millennium, occupied by a benevolent race of long-living beings, who guided the fledgling Earth in its infancy. The ruler of this kingdom had been the kind and gentle Queen Serenity, and her daughter, the beautiful Princess Serenity, had fallen in love with a man of the Earth. Not just an ordinary man, but Prince Endymion of the Earth's Golden Kingdom. Such a union had been strictly forbidden, but they had continued to meet in secret, and their love had blossomed.
However, their tale had ended in tragedy, as a terrible evil had besieged the Earth, turning its inhabitants against the kind folk of the moon. The evil destroyed the pure kingdom that was the Silver Millennium, and killed its inhabitants. The four soldiers that guarded the princess – soldiers that carried the protection of planets – had been killed in their attempts to stop it. Endymion, the only man of the Earth who had not been brainwashed, bravely fought to protect his beloved Serenity, but evil triumphed, and their lives were extinguished in a mere moment.
The noble Queen Serenity had watched as her kingdom fell around her and her daughter, and the rest of her people, were murdered without mercy. Seeing no other way of bringing about peace, she used the full power of the Silver Millennium's holy stone, the 'Maboroshi no Ginzuishou' – the Silver Crystal – and sealed the evil away.
Using the full power of the Ginzuishou had proven fatal, and the Queen had rapidly begun to die. In her final moments, she made a wish that everybody who had been killed – her daughter, brave Endymion, the soldiers that had given their lives, and everybody else – would be able to live again, on the Earth, in a time of peace. The power of the Ginzuishou had granted her this wish, and then she had died, and the universe, for a time, fell silent.
Billions of years later, when life had once again taken up residence on the Earth, her wish had been fulfilled. A young couple, Ikuko and Kenji Tsukino, had been blessed with a daughter, whom they had named Usagi. They would never know it, but beneath her clumsy, occasionally childish exterior, there glowed the same pure heart and shining soul of an ancient princess. The soldiers of the Silver Millennium had been reborn too, as had Prince Endymion, in the form of Mamoru Chiba.
Along with them, the evil that had ended their lives was reborn, and they had been called upon to battle once again, in time recovering their memories of the ancient days. The Ginzuishou had been given to Usagi, who, as the princess of the Silver Millennium, was the rightful heir to the stone. She had used its power, along with her friends, and the evil had been defeated again, this time for good. Peace returned to their lives.
However, that peace had been short-lived.
A peaceful date between Usagi and Mamoru had been interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a little girl, who had fallen from the sky. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to Usagi, and calling herself by the same name, she had taken up residence in the Tsukino household in the guise of Chibiusa, Usagi's cousin.
They had soon discovered that she was from the future – the 30th century, in fact – and had come back to the 20th century to locate the 'Maboroshi no Ginzuishou', to save her mother.
Travelling to the future, they had discovered that her mother was the future incarnation of Usagi, who had been reborn as Neo Queen Serenity and had reclaimed the throne of the Silver Millennium, this time on Earth, in the form of the utopian Crystal Tokyo.
Serenity had been rendered immobile inside a crystal shell to protect her from harm. Her husband, King Endymion, had acted as their guide. Usagi and Chibiusa, together with their friends, had defeated the evil being that wished to destroy both the present and the future along with it, and peace had been restored to Crystal Tokyo.
"That's it," said Usagi, giving the letter one more scan before folding it and placing it back inside the envelope. She walked over to Mamoru, who was again admiring the Crystal Moon Rose, and wrapped an arm around him. Her head rested against his shoulder.
She gazed at the glimmering rose stood on the table for a moment, before turning her head to look up at him. He looked back down at her, and their lips came together once more in a long, tender kiss. Finally, they separated, and Mamoru put a hand to his stomach.
"I'm getting pretty hungry myself," he admitted. "The bags can wait. Let's get something to eat."
"Okay!" grinned Usagi. Her hand wrapped around his and she led him out of the bedroom, stealing one last glance at the beautiful gift that her future self had sent to her. Should I buy her something in return? she pondered as she slipped on her shoes and left the cabin. Neo Queen Serenity was herself, and yet, at the same time, she wasn't. She was the person that Usagi would come to be. The concept began to give her a headache, so she stopped thinking about it.
Really, though, what would Neo Queen Serenity want as a gift?