An alternate reality Sailor Moon Romance
by Time Guardian
Chapter 5 - A Past Revisited
The new day turned up earlier than Mamoru had expected. with a groan, he sat into an upright position from the sofa and gazed out of his window at the rising sun. With a groan, he realized that he had fallen asleep on the couch without pulling out the bed from it. The aching protesting muscles in his back told him that he would be regretting that choice for the rest of the day.
However, the smells eminating from his kitchen served to recharge his batteries.
Mamoru got up, stretched, and padded his way into the kitchen where he saw Usagi standing near the stove. She was humming a little tune and cooking up a wonderful breakfast by the smell of it.
Usagi relaxed for the first time since she had lived with Mrs. Chen. She had been on the run for so long, but this past year felt like heaven. She was around people who liked her for who she was and believed her, and she had a beautiful baby girl to love and adore.
She had gotten up early to allow her baby to feed on her milk, then put her down in her crib for an after breakfast snooze. When Usagi walked out into the living room, she noticed that Mamoru was still sound asleep, so she decided to fix them both breakfast.
Humming a little tune, she had the eggs frying and she had just put on some slices of sausage to fry, when she turned around and noticed Mamoru standing there.
"Oh Mamoru-san, I hope you don't mind, but I figured you would be hungry so I fixed us both some breakfast. Why don't you have a seat, and I will serve us."
Mamoru turned and sat down at his dining table and watched her work.
"So, how did you sleep last night Usagi-chan?"
"Pretty well," she replied idly. "Chibi-Usa woke me up once or twice, but she was relativly quiet, and she drank her fill this morning too."
He smiled. "So you did decide on a name for her."
Usagi nodded. "She looks like me in so many ways, and that reminded me of Toya's pet name for me, so I named her Usagi. My precious little girl, my Chibi-Usa. Do you think Toya would have liked it?"
He nodded solemnly. "I think that he would have."
She finished frying the sausage and plated generous servings of both eggs and sausage on two plates, grabbed some utensils from the counter, and brought them to the table.
Mamoru nodded in appreciation. "Thank you Usagi-chan for preparing such a fine breakfast. I actually had you pegged as one who would want a traditional breakfast."
"I have Mrs. Chen to thank for that. I had always had rice and miso soup in the mornings till I went to live with her. She had gone on business trips to the United States before,
so she fell in love with the breakfast foods there. She claimed it was her one and only vice, and taught me how to cook all of those foods properly."
Mamoru grinned. "Actually, I have done some studying there as well. The food is outstanding and can be quite addicting."
"Really? I wish I could go there someday."
Usagi's gaze grew distant.
Mamoru looked at her. "You mean to tell me that you never toured the United States?"
A look of misery came over her as she shook her head. "The tour I was on was due to go worldwide after my wedding."
"I am sorry. Bringing up memories can be painful, and I know you have had your fair share."
Usagi laughed harshly. "Some might say more than, but enough about me for a moment. I have been curious to ask you ever since we arrived, but how can a medical student afford such an extravagant apartment? You have space to move around freely in, you have a seperate bedroom, and everything."
Mamoru stared at his plate. "My father was a medical research scientist. He was in on a couple of different medical studies regarding cancer and AIDS, among numerous others. I grew up in his footsteps, and began my studies as a medical doctor. We were never in need of money: the hospital paid him plenty to stay around. My mother learned quickly that on most evenings she would be entertaining his collegues at our house as dinner guests. I think it ended up being more for bragging rights than anything else. Even the head of the hospital came over often enough to be considered as a friend of the family."
Realization dawned on her. "Superintendant Karuka? You mean the hospital where I stayed at...I didn't mean for you to have to use your connections to see me safe and all. Your parents-"
Mamoru interrupted her. "Usagi-chan, my parents have passed on. They died in a car accident a year after I came to this University. Karuka-san took me under his wing, and with his help, along with an inheritance my parents left me, I have been able to afford school and this apartment. I had not been in touch with him in a while because I wanted to get as far as I could on my own, but he was understanding. Karuka-san always told me that if I needed help, he was only a phone call away."
He got up, cleared the plates from the table, and placed them in the sink.
"Today is one of my lighter days. My classes don't start until the afternoon, and I finished the only paper I had due today."
Usagi got up and went to the sofa.
"That's great. So, what do you want to do until then?"
Mamoru washed the dishes in the sink, then joined Usagi on the sofa.
"Well, it is not safe for you to go outside yet. I was thinking that maybe we could talk about you and your career for a while."
She was taken aback for a moment, till Usagi realized that he was wanting info to help find out who the stalker was. A brief stab of disappointment went through her. "As in who in my life wanted to see me suffer? I wouldn't know. I was so busy making money to pay those greedy bastards on my crew, I was too busy to notice who was trying to stab me in the back."
He threw his hands up in resignation. "Whoa, lets start slow. I know you are bitter and all-"
Usagi sighed. "More than just bitter, actually. I am sorry for taking it out on you, but the frustration is getting to me. Because of all of this, I can't see my parents, I can't do what I love to to do and-"
"Nobody is stopping you from singing, Usagi-chan," he quietly replied, "and you sure have the prisoner's mentality down pat. Oh, you may not be able to perform in front of people for now, but you still can sing."
"You don't understand, Mamoru-san, I-"
He grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. "Then make me understand. You have a child in there that is dependent on you. Your life is no longer totally your own. If you truly want to do what you love once again, then tell me more about your past life. Who surrounded you, who supported you, and even who may have wanted to see you fall. If we can track down this stalker, you name will be cleared, you will be able to perform like you want and make money to support your daughter. That is what you want, right?"
Usagi gulped and nodded as Mamoru released his grip on her.
She started her tale in a quiet, weary voice. "The strangest thing about the start of my career was that it was an American who helped to bankroll the talent competition and in the end he became my agent. His name was Bob Sanderson, but he told me to always call him Bobby-san. He was good to me, told me that he had come to live in Japan due to his TV entertainment company wanting to branch out globally, so he helped to bankroll the competition to find new talent. After I had won the competition, he started booking me at parties and private functions. They were mostly business lunches and dinners, but I also got to perform in one or two ceremonies on occasion. In those days, there was no crew, so I traveled with my microphone. Bobby-san would always rent the services of a local musician and everything was set.
There was one day when Bobby-san booked me into a corporate party for his TV company. He had gone all out, hiring a full band to back me up, and he asked me to sing more songs than normal. I thought it strange, until it was all over.
After my performance, Bobby-san introduced me to Shinjiro Akuma, the head of Titan records. Come to find out, he had been in the audience and was impressed with my performance. We went into a big room and sat down with him. A sheaf of papers was shoved our way. Bobby-san wouldn't let me see them, but he shoved a pen in my hand and told me that if I signed them, I would be able to perform to crowds three times the size I was playing now, and the money would be endless."
"So you signed something without reading it or having your parents present?" Mamoru asked.
"Yeah, hindsight is 20-20 isn't it?" She replied with a wry smile. "However, his promise of fame and fortune did me in. I signed the paper, and thus Aria Aure was born."
"The first thing Bobby-san did was hire a manager for me, and got me into the studio quickly to do an album. My manager had a strange name...lesse, Shiji? umm no...uh it has been so long.
Anyway, after the album was released, my manager organized a country wide tour. He hired backup singers, a band, the works. I almost felt like a princess."
"Really the rest I have already told you. time basically passed and it was fun for a while, but I found that the obligations of being a 'star' to be draining."
"Those threats and messages you told me about, did you manage to keep any of them?" Mamoru asked.
She thought for a moment. "No, but Bobby-san did. I remember going to him about them and I remember him filing them away."
"Where's his office?"
"At the heart of the business district, not far from where you first found me, why?"
Mamoru stood. "That's a bit of a trip to take today, and I would like for you to go with me. We could ask Mrs. Chen to babysit for a while tomorrow while we visit him."
Usagi's gaze became distant. "That would be cool...I guess..."
He touched her on the shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I guess I am a little afraid of what we will find out. I distanced myself from that life because I didn't know who to trust. I figured that one of the people involved with the tour had to have been the stalker, so I decided to shun the whole thing and run. Now you are asking me to fight for my old life again."
"Don't worry, I will be by your side all of the way," he promised. "Besides, I never got a chance to catch your craze the first time around. I want to hear you sing."
Next chapter: Usagi meets up wth her past: Her old manager wants her to sing again, but is it for the right reasons?
Thank you to all who have reviewed so far. Life has dealt me a few cruel turns, but I am feeling confident about everything smoothing out so I can write uninterrupted.
Till Later,
Time Guardian