Sorry to be late. Here is the long awaited 10th chapter. Thanks for waiting. Also I started taking Japanese, so look for new words. MUWAAHAAHAA!

New People, New Places

Mamoru sat on the plane watching Tokyo fall away below him. He fiddled with the image of Usagi, turning it back and forth, Usagi, Sailormoon, Usagi, Sailormooon.

"Would you mind not doing that," a voice asked. "It's quite distracting to my reading."

"Gomen," Mamoru replied as he shoved the picture backing to his breast pocket. He glanced over at the speaker and stopped speaking.

"What," she asked, "Do I have something in my hair again?" She began to pull at her blue tips.

"You're Jessica Stewart, aren't you? The new American artist?"

"Depends," she cocked an eyebrow at him, "who wants to know?"

"My name is Mamoru Chiba, I'm going to Harvard to study Medicine. I went to your exhibit yesterday, but they said you had already gone."

"Well that's not entirely true. I just never tell anyone I'm there so no one can expect me. Speaking of which, how do you know who I am? No one knows who I am."

"You met one of my friends the other day, Ami Mizuno."

"Oh yes, I remember her. Rather attractive girl, the guy she was with wasn't too bad looking either. But that's not whose picture you were fiddling with, who's that?"

"Oh, that's my girlfriend," he started to pull out the picture and thought better of it.

"Come on now, I already saw the costume, she's into cosplay, right?"

"Sure, cosplay. Sailormoon is her favorite hero," he replied as he took out the picture. "I think it suits her, they have a lot in common. Like how they are both really forgiving and understanding, and never back down from what they believe in. Usagi would rather avoid a fight at all costs, but won't back down from one once it's started. She's very faithful to her friends and would do anything to protect them." He went on and on for hours about Usagi and her friends and some of their antics. Only after she started softly snoring did he realize that Jessica had gone to sleep.

I miss you so much Usako. I wish I didn't have to leave you behind again, but at least this time, you know I will write and call you everyday." Mamoru leaned his seat back and went to sleep.

Mamoru awoke to the sound of a scratching. He was slightly disoriented from being asleep on a plain and didn't yet open his eyes.

"You can go ahead and open your eyes, I know you're awake," Jessica said. "Just don't move, not yet anyway."

"Why can't I move," Mamoru asked as he opened his eyes?

"You can't move because, I asked you nicely and because if you move, you'll ruin the sketch, and I'll have to kick you."

Jessica sketched a few more decisive strokes and put away her pencil. "Ok, you can move now."

Mamoru sat up and leaned over to look at the sketch. It was a picture of him sleeping against the window. But where the window had been closed in reality, it was open w/the sun rising just beyond it. In the suns rays dancing on the window, was an outline of a woman w/wings. The woman was looking in at he dreamer as he lay sleeping w/ a look of longing on her face.

"That's very beautiful," he whispered to Jessica.

"Thank you. Does that mean I have your permission to finish and display this piece when it is finished?"

"Sure, as long as I can see it whenever I want. Not everyone gets to see themselves immortalized."

"We will be arriving at our destination in approximately 30 minutes. Please return all items to their respective places, use the facilities, and return your tray tables and chairs to the upright position. The current weather in New York is 80 degrees and sunny, and the time is 8:45," a voice said over the speaker.

"So, how long are you going to linger in NY? Maybe I could show you around."

"Well my flight to Boston doesn't leave until tomorrow, and I did promise everyone souvenirs. Sounds like a great idea."

"Great, I'll take you to the Empire State Building, Lady Liberty, Central Park, oh, you'll have a blast."

Jessica proceeded to tell him about all the wonders of visiting NY and so on as they landed, picked up their bags, and climbed into a cab.

"But first of course we have to put you up in a hotel for the night. Did they give you a lot of spending money for the night, or just a little?"

"Well they gave me $400 for room and board for the night, is that enough?"

"$400! They gave you more than enough, but that just means you can get better gifts for your friends."

She told the cab driver to take them to the Ramada Hotel. When they got there she and Mamoru checked in and changed to spend the afternoon on the town. They went to Central Park and visited the animals at the Staten Island Zoo. She took him souvenir shopping on the Strip and had dinner at The Times Square Café. Mamoru was amazed by all the sights and sounds of the city and Jessica was glad to show him around. They got to Liberty just as the sun was setting and watched the sun set on the city as the lights came up.

"Wow, this is truly beautiful. Usako would love this view," Mamoru murmured as he watched the lights come up on the city that never sleeps.

"As many times as I've visited this place, it's always great to take a visitor with me. I enjoy seeing it through their eyes. It gives me a whole new perspective on it all. So, tomorrow you fly out to Boston, do you want to meet up for breakfast first?"

"Sure, I'd love to."

Jessica and Mamoru left Liberty Island and went back to the hotel. It was just after 9 and knowing it was after 10am in Tokyo, he knew Usagi would be awake and waiting for him before she started her day.

"Moushi moushi?" a familiar, if sleepy, voice asked on the 2nd ring.

"Ohayo, Ondago. Do you miss me yet?"

"Mamo-chan! How are you, I've missed you so much, tell me everything. How was the flight, how long ago did you get in, what did you buy me, what did you eat, do you miss me too, what are you doing tomorrow, what does your hotel look like, does anyone speak Japanese over there…"

"Usako, slow down, slow down. I'm fine, yes I miss you too…," Mamoru talked to Usagi well into the night about the things he had seen, and the foods he had eaten. After midnight, he finally got off the phone with her, but only after promising to call back the next day when he touched down in Boston.

He showed and started to go to sleep. When he did, he had dreams of Usagi in someone else's arms, holding him, kissing him. He awoke with a start to the phone ringing.

"Hello?" he groaned into the phone.

"Hello," a chipper Jessica chimed into the phone. "This is your 8 am wake up call."

"I didn't order a wake up call. Wait," he bolted up in bed, "did you say 8 am?"

"Yeah, don't worry, it's only 7, but I knew it would get you up."

"I'll be down in a minute, smart ass."

Mamoru got dressed and double checked to see that he had everything. He joined Jessica in the dining room and had a huge breakfast of Belgian waffles smothered in strawberries, eggs and toast.

In the cab on the way to the air port, Jessica gave Mamoru her phone number and aim account name to get in touch if he ever wanted to catch up after he got to school. She let him at the entrance to the airport and took the cab to get her rental car. Mamoru board his flight with relative speed and little difficulty. I just hope my next single serving friend is not so entertaining, he thought to himself as he took his seat. He slept through this flight as the vacant seat next to him seamed to like it that way. He met up with the driver of the school van in the luggage corral and enjoyed some of the scenery on the way up to the school.

When he got to his room it was a little after 12. He could see that his roommate had already made themselves at home in the common room. There was a picture of Naruto on one door, a picture of Nanami on another and Chi on the third. The last door was blank and he made the correct assumption that it was his. He was a little disappointed that he had no bedding and only blinds on the windows, but at least it had a phone and a computer with printer. The items he had sent over the week before all seemed to be accounted for although some of them seemed to have been opened. Deciding that his roomies were probably at lunch, he promptly made up his bed and decided to take a quick nap before they returned.

Mamoru awoke to the sounds of shouting in the common room.

"I'm telling you, Luffy could totally kick Naruto's ass!"

"And I'm telling you, you are wrong! Naruto would only have to use his Kage no Jitsu on Luffy and overwhelm him with his numbers and that is why we are gonna watch Naruto and not One Piece tonight!"

"No! Because Luffy would only have to use the Gattling gun technique and destroy all the clones and then throw Naruto off the ship. End of story, case closed, and turn on my damn One Piece!"

"New guy's up," a third voice chimed in as Mamoru poked his head out the door. He looked out the door to see a young man and woman arguing and a third girl on the couch between the two switching channels on the T.V. as they other two argued.

"O…Ohayo. My name is Mamoru; I'm the new exchange student from Tokyo. Nice to meet you."

"Wow, you're English is really very good," the girl on the couch replied. "I'm Emiko, this bickering pair of monsters is Greg and Gaia, and they're twins. You missed lunch, but you didn't miss much. Have you had the tour yet?"

"She does speak more than one word sentences, it's a miracle," gasped Greg, exaggeration evident in his voice. Emiko responded by punching him in the gut on her way off the couch. When she stood you could see she was no taller than 4 ½ feet.

"Emiko, that's Japanese for blessed isn't it? Are you Japanese?"

"Sort of, my mother is Japanese; my father was an American soldier. He was stationed in Okinawa for 20 years until he hurt himself. We came back stateside when I was 10 and we've been living here ever since."

"That sounds like you've been around a bit. When was the last time you were back in Japan? I can catch you up."

"Really? I haven't been back in a couple of years; can you tell me what Sailormoon has been up to?"

Throughout this exchange, Greg and Gaia watched this exchange in utter shock. Without even thinking about it, the two had slipped into Japanese and the twins were wondering how to join the very animated conversation. Neither of them ever got past first year in Japanese. They watched the two gab on like the best of friends and eventually gave up and went to bed.