Author's Notes: Guys, I'm sorry this was so late. Really. First, on Saturday my brother occupied the computer for the WHOLE DAY, then on Sunday, my computer kept crashing and I lost massive amounts of text. I was so mad, so ANGRY! Ugh! This was supposed to be even bigge, but I couldn't keep you guys waiting. So next chapter should be really small and should come really fast. So, thanks for the reviews and...

Enjoy!

Title: Love So Far Away - Chapter Five
Rating: K+
Author: Sabreen

Love So Far Away - Chapter Five

Four pairs of eyes kept glancing suspiciously from one to another gaze, anticipation and a hint of fear hidden in all of them.

"So, what do we do?" an elegant, but quiet voice, paired up with a couple of black-violet eyes broke the silence.

"What are we supposed to do?"a silent and gentle voice replied, itsdark blue eyesanalyzing the situation.

"Do we tell her?" A usually cheery, but now quietedvoice said, paired up with light blue gaze.

"Right. 'Hey, Usagi-chan! How are you today? You know that you've been at your worst enemy's house for several weeks, as an eight-year-old? ' She'd be perfectly delighted." A pair of green eyes rolled at the comment.

"Great. So, what DO WE DO?" Rei frowned and, folding her arms on her chest, leaned against the red leather of the booth. The rest of the girls shrugged and bowed their gazes to their drinks in thought. Makoto rolled her eyes again and drank the rest of her drink, getting up.

"We keep our mouths shut. She's alive, she's well, she has no clue, and so doesn't the rest of the world. That's the only thing that matters. If we blabber it all out, she'd just get confused and lost. So there, meeting concluded," she said and left the arcade. The other girls looked at her back, wide-eyed.

"She does have a point though," Ami said, finishing her drink.

"Okay, then it's decided. We won't tell her a thing," concluded Rei as Minako and Ami nodded.

Mamoru shut his eyes forcefullyas his stinging back sent another wave of pain down his body as he leaned against his couch. He gasped, until the pain lowered downto just little pricks and small pains here and there. He finally relaxed, gulping. His head fell on the couch, almost by itself.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Mamoru opened his eyes and moved his head to look at the wooden door in confusion. Had he just heard...?

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Now he was sure somebody was at the door. Slowly but surely he got up, feeling another, but this time lighter wave of pain going through his body as he moved his stinging back from the couch. He got to the door, unsure, who was visiting him now? He had called everyone, telling them that he wassick and that he could barely stand.

He unlocked the door and opened them as wide as the little chain boltset on his door allowed. His eyes widened and he gasped in shock, grasping the door knob tightly for a moment.

On the other side he could see a body of a fourteen-year-old girl wearing a school fuku, her face turned away so he could only seethe left side of her face set in a pout. She moved her face to look at his, the pout remaining as she looked at him seeming quite annoyed.

"Odango?" he said, very surprised. But he told himself to get a grip and so he did, fixing an ice-cold expression on his face."What are you doing here?"he said in the same cold voice.

She had expected as much, so she acted as he looked - cold and proud.

"Don't think I came here of my own accord," she spat steel-tipped words in his face.

"Well, fine with me," he said and started to close the door, but a hand on the door stopped him. "Wait," she said scornfully. Sighing, she continued.

"Motoki-onii-san told meto give this to you and make sure you eat everything," she said, her voicea bit quieter and without a hint of contempt in her voice.

He noticed the difference,and was a bit stunned.He didn't know what had caused the sudden change, but he didn't reallymind. He removed the chain and opened the door fully, and she entered.She was looking at his apartment while heclosed the door, and afterthe first shock of how beautiful and big the place was, she cleared her throat.

"Here," she said, reaching out towards him, a plastic box in her hand. Mamoruaccepted awkwardly.

"You have to eateverything right away and under my supervision so I can report to Motoki that you ate it," she mumbled and stared at the floor whle blushing profusely. Her foot went left-right nervously as she was saying it, and Mamoru could feel her uneasiness grow more by the seconds. He smiled for a moment at her cuteness and sighed.

"Ah, Motoki. Always worrying about me way too much. People would think he was my mom or something," he said out loud, smiling in melancholy. He had phoned him earlier that he had a really bad flu and that he can't do anything, so he wouldn't worry. ButMotoki had actuallybelieved him and now is sending him stuff to get better. Usagi giggled a little at the statement, gathering enough courage to look at his face.

She noticed that he had been gazing at her for a while then, with a weird expression that she had never seen on his face. A gentle look of adoration and caring in his suddenly so deep eyes, probably a true face he had never dared to show anyone.

But she liked it. And the fact that he had it while looking at her.

"C'mon," he said, showing her to the living room. "If you already have to supervise me, we can at least do it in a bit more welcome conditions." She nodded and entered the living room. She sat on the loveseat across the couch, which Mamoru sat on, opening the box.

"Mushroom soup."

He hesitated a bit before he started to eat it. He wasn't sick, but a warm soup is always welcome.After a few spoonfuls, he looked at Usagi asher hands weregripping the loveseat. But, she waslooking at him suspiciously, likeshe suspected him to have hidden a precious jewel somewhere in his t-shirt.

"Mamoru-san," she said after he'd looked at her, still keeping that suspicious gaze on him. "You're not sick," she continued matter-of-factly.His eyes widened and he choked amidst a gulp. He coughed really badly, almost losing his breath, and Usagiquickly stepped over the coffee table, preparing to slap him on his back. But, suddenly he was an arm's length away, yelling "Don't!"

His cough had ebbed, and now he was taking in deep gulps of air, standing at the opposite end of the couch.She was looking at him, her lips agape in wonderment, asking herself is she had done anything wrong.

"I... I'm sorry..." she said, hoping it was enough for the thing she had obviously done wrong. Mamoru calmed himself and shook his head lightly.

"You didn't do anything." Usagi lowered her arm to her side, because it was still in the air as she was pushed away by his jump.

She didn't ask why he had jumped away like that, mainly because it seemed quite inappropriate to ask such a question.

"Uh.. I... I'm going to get us a drink..." he said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence, before he went to the kitchen quickly.

Usagi sat on the couch, almost as if her knees had stopped working and she lost her balance. What happened there? He wasn't sick, it was obvious since he had no symptoms whatsoever and by the fact that he choked on his food the second after she hadtold him that. That was clear, except for the fact that she didn't know why he lied to everyone. But, what was really bugging her was the fact that he backed away as soon as she was to touch his back... why? And that startled expre-

'Blood!'

Usagi jumped to the end of the couch as she saw a few dark red spots on the place that Mamoru had occupied awhile ago. Thinking, her gaze wandered around the room and she noticedthe scene, whichshocked her quite a bit. After the initial shock went by, she got closer to study them. Yup, blood for sure. She touched it lightly, and yelped as she felt warm, sticky liquid on her fingers.

Warm blood.

Worried, she looked towards the direction Mamoru went by. She got up, and carefully walked to the kitchen. Peering through the doorway, she saw Mamoru preparing a couple of drinks, being quite distracted. Finally, he stopped as his hands shook too much. He turned his back on her as he put his hands on the kitchen windowsill, looking through the window to try and calm himself.

As he did so, she gasped, horrified. The cloth of hisblue shirton his back was practically soaked in blood, blood that seemed fresh. She heard his painful gasps and sharp intakes of breath as he felt the pain of his back surge through his body.

She felt stinging of tears pricking her eyes, but she didn't let them through, as painful as the scene was. Quietly, she crossed the huge kitchen, and put her hand gently on his shoulder. He felt the touch immediately andgasped, straightening up as she touched a wound and it burned him profusely.

"Odango..." he whispered, knowing the inevitable.

"You... you're hurt..." she said shakily, "...badly..."

A hoarse, painfulchuckle emitted from his lips. "No way," he said, slowly turning to face her. She looked up at his face, her eyes reflecting millions of emotions, worry being the main one.

"You need to... to clean... them," she whispered shakily, as he looked down on her, observing her and every move shemade, every expression that would appear on her small face. The sardonic smile reappeared on his face.

"Let me see you try to reach and clean your back, being careful at it, nontheless."

The remark went unnoticed by her as she rose her determinedgaze to his eyes.

"Then I'll clean it for you," she said matter-of-factly, leaving the kitchen. Mamoru frowned.

"What?"

"Where do you keep thattreatment oilMotoki gave you?" Usagiyelled from the living room.

"Uh... in the left cabinet," he said, finally joining her. She was already putting some oil on a gentle paper tissue, and as soon as she noticed him, she tapped the couch with her hand gently.

"Come sit."He approached her suspiciously.

"Are you sure you can do that?" he asked, sitting on the couch, hesitating.

"Sure," she replied cheerily. "I do that all the time when Shingo falls on his skateboard. Turn your back to me."He moved to the other side of the couch and did as he was told, still a bit reluctant about all of that.

She inhaled sharply as she sawthe blood-soaked shirt again, but this time she recovered quickly.

He closed his eyes and waited forher next move. Suddenly, he felt two little, slender arms encircling him and unbuttoning his shirt. Quickly, he rose his hands and captured hers, daring to squeeze them a tiny bit and continue the job himself. He felt his heartbeat quicken its pace, as he felt het small, tiny hands in his, slowly moving away.

She helped him take off his shirt. They succeeded in it, although it did last for a while as removing the fabric from his hurt back had been a painful thing to do.

"Ouch," Usagi whispered as she saw the wounds, curdled blood all over them. Gulping, she removed the blood with lukewarm water-soaked tissue, trying to be as gentle as she could. Taking into notice the minimal gasps of pain from him, she supposed that she did the job well.

She had no idea.

Mamoru had almost fallen into lethargyas her gentle fingers went over his wounds so softly, making him feel almost no pain whatsoever. He was even feeling like he was in heaven, and a little softhandof a bright-shining angel had been massaging him. He felt so safe, so comfortable, as he had never felt in his life, just by the aura of the gentle girl behind him.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently, preparing to put the oil on his wounds now that she'd cleaned the dried blood and dirt.

"Yeah..." he said with a little smile.

She started to apply the oil to his wounds, and then second that the tissue had touched him, he straightened up and gasped.

"Sorry," she said. "This has alcohol in it, you're going to have to suffer a bit."

"Now you tell me." She giggled.

"So... How did you get this anyway?"

Frightened face of his Usako. Her shivering body in his arms. The scream he had barely heard that had escaped her lips when he had been hit. Her tears that had been racing down her face as though they were running a marathon. Her cold littlehands, clutching his forcefully...

"It's none of your business," he replied coldly. Those memories were the last thing he wanted to think about at that time.

Usagi smiled. It was sad, but a smile nontheless. She stopped putting theoil on, putting the tissue away.She sat on the couch normally, but the upper half of her body was turned to him. Gulping, she put her chin on his shoulder gently, lying a hand on his arm. He tensed, and she felt it, having half a mind to give up, but she didn't. She stayed as she was, as much as she felt awkward like that.

"You're sad and hurt by what's happened, that's why you're so protective, am I not right?" she whispered gently, looking up at his face. Some time had passed, but it was very well worth it.

She noticed changes on his face, as he was reliving what had happened, andhis face turned gentle and sad.

"I was in a youma fight the other day," he gulped. "There was this little girl... unprotected..." he closed his eyes. "She was right in the youma's way, and it attacked her before she could do anything. I couldn't stand to bear it, and I... I ran to protect her. I pushed her out of the way, but it got me."

That wasn't really lying. This was the truth, a rough one, but stillthe truth.

"Oh," Usagi said, finishing up. While he was talking, she had continued applying the oil, and she was now finished.

"All done!" she said cheerily. He smiled.

"Thanks, Usagi-chan." He turned around and faced her, smiling softly. She blushed, but looked up at him, as he got nearer... and nearer...

"I really appreciate this," he whispered hoarsely. "At least once we didn't fight all the time," he added with a smile, Usagi replying him with a giggle.

"At least once you didn't call me Odango Atama," she eyed him warningly. Mamoru laughed, loud and clear, something she had never seen him do.

"Okay, I'd better get a clean shirt," he said, getting up from the couch. "Odango Atama," he yelled impishly from the doorway and ran to his room.

Usagi was walking through the park. She had to be at this house in half an hour for a family reunion, although she had left the house too late andshe'd be there in an hour minimum.Cursing herself and stupid 4 o'clock anime, she rushed down the park, passingby old people and children playing. Suddenly, she saw a park bench, a vandalized one - it had no back. But the bench wasn't the reason for her disbelief and anger boiling in her stomach.

Namely, he sat on the bench, his back turned to her as he sat on it like on a horse. He held a girl in his arms, kissing the breath out of her.

She watched it and couldn't believe. They were making out fiercely, his hands were all over the girl, and her hands had slipped around his neck. She had her fingers tangled in hissilky blackhair, taking fistfulls of it and touching it all over. He suddenly pulled her closer, taking bigger access of her lips and having her in his embrace completely.

She had had enough of that, and her angerstarted to run through her veins, the amount of it becoming larger and larger by the second. How DARE he? After all the things they'd said and done yesterday?

Angry beyond belief, she fleed down the path to the bench the two lovers were occupying.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" she screeched, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him fiercely away from his girlfriend.

A pair of light-brown, scared eyes looked up at her.

Light-brown.

Light-brown, not midnight blue.

"Jeez, kid, who let you out of the mental hospital?" he said quickly, taking his girlfriend's hand and running away from her. She stood there, her eyes wide. What on earth had she just done?

"Don't, don'ttell me you thought that was me," an astonished, mesmerized but rather amusedvoice said behind her. She whisked around, looking into thepair of eyes she had expected to see on that guy who had run away moments ago. She gulped, biting her lip and desperately looking a way out of this.

"I... uh, I... I've got to go!" She ran past him, towards the end of the park, not minding the 'Stay out of Grass!' warning.

"Matte!" Mamoru ran after her. "C'mon, did you?" heteased, running side by side with her.

"I really have to go, I have to be inShinjuku for a family reunionin half an hour!"

"Half an hour? Jeez, you kinda got going late..."

"You think so?" she glared at him sarcastically, which only made him laugh.

"Hey, stop," he said, stopping her."If you're really in a hurry, I know a shortcut through the cemetery which will get you there right on time," hepanted. She bit her lip. If she takes that shortcut, that means that he'd have half an hour to torture her with the little incident. But, if she doesn't take his offer, she'd be really late, which she can't be because her mother told her she'd be grounded for two months if she's late for that.

So shehad no choice.

"Fine," she sighed

"Aww, Odango, why so dull?Most of thegirls would kill to walk half an hour with me," he said, addinghis most charming smile.

"Well, I'm not in that majority," she said, as they were entering the graveyard. Mamoru laughed, from the heart again. "That's just the reason I love you," he said to himself, in reality putting an arm around her and pulling her closer.

"You know I'm only joking, don't you, Usagi-chan?" he said with a smile and ahappy voice.

"Yes, you do," he replied to her little smile and kissed her cheek gently.

------------------

As she was listeningto his chatter (more to his deep voice and chuckles), something caught her eye. They walked further and further, as the image developed in her head, and compared to the one in her head... made a perfect copy.

Suddenly, she stopped.

"It couldn't be... all those years of searching.. It can't be!" she cried out and ran back to the grave.

It was the same as she remembered. Beautiful marble, Beautiful golden kanji, and the book... The same words, lying peacefully on the marble pages of the big book...

A little flower
Had just started to bloom.
Suddenly, a storm came and blew
Tore it away
And why -
It never even knew.

She knelt in front of it, her eyes wide and her lips agape as she went over the cold marble with her shaky fingers. Tears formed in her eyes and they glistened as she read the lines again and again, constantly convincing herself that it wasn't a dream.

"Usagi-chan?" A gentle voice and a hand on her shoulder woke her up from her reverie. She shook her head forcefully as tears ran down her face.

"I can't... I can't go to this thing..." She sobbed. "Not now..." Mamoru nodded seriously.

"C'mon, let's go to my place, we'll tell your parents you twisted your ankle or something. You need to calm down..."

And soon, they were in his apartment. She hadno idea just how they got there, but honestly, she didn't really care. All she could concentrate on was that grave...

When they came, they settled on his couch. Mamoru was sitting on it, and he lay Usagi on his lap, stroking her hair.

"Will you tell me what got you so upset?" he asked, although he knew why. What confused him was the fact that she might remember...

After a bit of hesitation, she nodded.

'God, this feels exactly like she's my little one... My Usako... She was so vulnerable, unprotected, sad... I really do miss you, my little imp...'

"When I was around eight or seven years old, I was at a man's place for some time. I... I don't know just how I got there, why did I leave or exactly how long I was there, but I remember. Glimpses, though. Throughout the years I've been remembering more and more happenings, mainly things that had impressed me quite a bit... There weren't a lot, but the ones I can remember are a bit fuzzy..." She sighed. "Nobody believes me. My parents say it was just a really weird dream, maybe even a series of dreams that have been happening every night... But, smehow, I know it's not true. I can grasp it so vividly, I can remember exactly how I felt, what I was thinking, what I wanted to do... I know it happened."

Mamoru closed his eyes, lettingn his hea fall on the back of the couch. "And the man? What was he like?"

"Oh... Mamo-chan?" She giggled a bit, but even the tiny sound could make his heart warm up. "He... How can I describe him... He was... The most wonderful man in the world. I've never met anyone like him... I'm even afraid to compare him and my father, because he might turn up better than my father," she said, smiling sheepishly to herself.

"I remember one night. It was raining heavily, thunder and lightningwere all over the sky..." She shuddered a bit. "I very afraid of thunderstorms, you know. It woke me up and I couldn't fall asleep again, just couldn't. I remember that I was scared to death, literally shaking with fear...

But then I ran from my bed to his, and... slipped in it," she said, blushing a bit. Mamoru could feel the heat on her cheeks each time his fingertips would brush them when he'd stroke her head.

"It was the warmest sensation, the safest, and most secure. I felt like nothing could ever get me while he held me in his arms, so gently but still firmly. He whispered something in my ear, I can't rememberexactly, but it was certainly sweet and tender, I can remember how it lulled me back to sleep, despite all the thunder and all the rain and all the lightning." Sighing, she braced herself lightly.

"I have never felt safer, before or after that night. Often, when I go to sleep at night and am miserable or really sad because of something that's happened, my only wish is that I'm held in his arms again, so I could feel so happy and safe again. It's hard sometimes,when I realize that it'll never happen, but nobody can ban me from dreaming about it..."

"Yes. Nobody can ban you from dreaming," he whispered.

"There's.. there's a certain memory I'm grateful most for remembering. It... It kind of made the time so special, so important to me, except for the momentwhen he held me in his arms and all the other special moments..." She suddenly became more nervous, and he could feel her heart beating strongly.

"What was it?" he whispered softly, as softly as all those times when he'd talk to his Usako.

Moments of silence passed.

"He gave me my first kiss."

The corners of Mamoru's lips quirked just a bit, widening just a little.

'Oh, yes. And what a kiss it's been.'

"Really?" he asked, as softly as before, this time just a small amount of surprise added.

"Yeah... " she said dreamily. Their talk had lowered downto justsilent whispers. It fitted their mood and their feelings, which were running through their veins fiercely, making them hot and cold in the same time,as they wereboth recalling a very dear memory.

"I can't remember it, though. The actual feeling..." She gulped. "All I know is that... that it was something so strong, so enchanting and incredible... I recall thinking about softness, too. I don't know what was soft, what can be soft, probably his... l-lips. I guess it was because he was experienced in it, and I... I was just a little.. littlegirl." She sighed, a very sad sigh. "It probably meant nothing to him, but for me... It was something heavenly, something I could never forget."

'Neither could I, trust me, Odango.'

"I'm just afraid..." she stopped, pondering if she should go on.

Feeling her hesitation, Mamoru put his hand on her arm, squeezing it just a bit in reassurance. "It's okay, Usagi-chan. It's all right, you can say everything to me."

She bit her lip. "You... you won't make fun of me?"

Mamoru just smiled impishly, and had half a mind toconfirm it and try to convince herthoroughly, but changed his mind.

"No."

Simple is the best.

"Okay... I'm just afraid that... the boys I'll once kiss also won't feel anything. It would mean everything to me, just one little kiss, and they will take it for granted. I... I don't want to turn out weird in front of them or anything, but I feel terrible just thinking how they could care less, and I'd be thinking all night and daydreaming about it all day."

Suddenly, she shut her eyes. "Shouldn't have said that," she murmured. Mamoru stayed serious.

"No, it's okay."

"You... you don't think it's stupid?" she asked, somehow knowing the answer.

"No. A girl has to have devotion for little things in love like kisses or hand-holding, or such, otherwise love would lose its sense if we don't enjoyand appreciate the tiniest things like such. Thruthfully, I expected something like that from you.I'venoticed that you usually appreciate things like that. That's one of the unique and absolutely wonderful things about you."

She smiled widely, squeezing his knee in gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Mamoru-san."

"Of course, Usagi-chan. So... what got you so upset with that grave?"

She frowned a bit.

"Once, Mamo-chan and I went to the cemetery. I don't know why, who died, or when. I just rememberwatching that grave, reading that text on that marble book and feeling such sorrow for the little girl. I can recall feeling his presence next to me, I know he was there with me..." She became tense and more nervous. "I've spent years looking for that grave. Years. Just thinking about all those years of crying at night, hoping I'd find the smallest proofhe exists, all that infinite hope that I'd find it and readit...

And today, seeing that same image I have embroidered in my mind, which I was looking so hard for, I felt... incredible. Because..." She rose from her lying position on his knees, leaning on her hand and looking at the opposite wall, somewhere at the ceiling. "Because it means that he does exist! He does! I still can't believe it... I'm so happy, and confused, and worried, and numb all in one! I don't know what to do!" Mamoru just smiled, put a hand on her shoulder and lay her back on his lap.

"I'm happy above all, though. This means that all those memories are real, and I can enjoy them freely..." Closing her eyes, she sighed contently.

"Well, if you're happy, than I am too." They smiled to each other, and relaxing, they secretly enjoyed each other's presence.

End of Chapter Five -

More to come soon! See ya!

Sabreen