Hello Minna! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! I couldn't go on without you. ;-)

Well… there's not so much for me to say so let's continue with the story!

"A champion is someone who gets up, even when they can't."

Natalie Rogers –

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Recap-

"What the…?" he asked as he looked down.

The person lying on the way was bleeding heavily and her long blonde hair formed a halo around her body. Mamoru's heart almost stopped beating as he recognized the unconscious girl.

"Odango!"

End of recap-

While it was raining

Chapter 1

Mamoru rushed to Usagi's side. (AN: She has de-transformed and she's lying on her side. Sorry about the confusion.) He rolled her onto her back and gasped when he realized that her shirt was actually blue and not red, as it had seemed. It was blood!

"God Odango! What happened to you?" He asked on the verge of panicking once he took in the fact that she was knocked out cold.

The rain fell heavily and Mamoru could barely see and he knew that he couldn't take her to the hospital, not in this weather. He wrapped his green jacket around the unconscious girl and almost flew to his apartment.

He laid the girl on his bed trying to ignore the fact that his bed sheets were quickly changing color from dark blue to ruby red. Mamoru grabbed the first aid kit praying that the supplies were enough. He tried to examine the wounds but noticed to his confusion that her shirt was intact without a single rip in it.

"How can…?" A thought struck him that made his mind scream in denial. Had someone torn off her shirt? Fear gripped his heart. He gazed down on the unconscious girl she looked so serene. Had she been raped?

Mamoru shook his head. He knew that many guys found her attractive but they wouldn't go so far, would they? He clenched his hand before trying to clear his thoughts as he carefully removed her shirt.

He gasped in disbelief as he saw the two long slashes on her sides. One of those was enough to cause death. How the hell did she get two? Mamoru was seething. 'I'll kill that bastard who did this,' he thought. 'As soon as Odango wakes up.' He didn't even dare to consider the possibility that she wouldn't open her eyes again.

Mamoru tried stopping the blood but to no avail. He looked the window in desperation only to find that the rain was still pouring down. He knew that the ambulance couldn't get to his apartment, not in this weather.

The floor was littered with bloodied bandages and after half an hour tears of desperation were starting to fill his eyes. She wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. She had suffered enormous blood losses and her wounds weren't showing any signs of stopping.

He had tried calling her friends and family only to find that the phone line was dead. Mamoru paced back and forth in his room trying frantically to find some way to save her. He stopped short when he noticed Usagi's eyes flutter open.

Mamoru ran to her side. Her eyes were only half open and they were uncharacteristically tired.

"How are you feeling?" Mamoru asked urgently even though he knew that it was a stupid question. The girl was dying for God's sake!

She gave him a weary smile. "How do you think?" She asked quietly but Mamoru saw amusement glittering in her eyes.

He was suddenly choking back tears. "You're going to okay Odango. Don't worry."

Usagi just smiled. "No need to try and comfort me baka," she said jokingly. "I know that I'm not going to make it."

Mamoru grabbed her face. "You are going to survive this! You hear me? I'm not letting you go! Just hang in there and I'll contact the hospital as soon as possible. You're not getting rid of me just like that. You're stuck with me! You're not going anywhere!"

Lovely blue eyes looked at him in surprise before they softened. "Aren't you a med-student, Mamoru?"

"Yes I am, and I can tell you that you'll survive." Mamoru said even though the logical half of his mind whispered that she wouldn't make it.

Usagi tried to shake her head but winced as the pain increased, she was too weak to even shake her head. Tears filled her eyes causing Mamoru's heart to shed tears of blood.

"So this is it, huh?" Usagi murmured and sighed. "I knew that this day would come I just wish it didn't have to come so soon," she said softly, more to herself then to Mamoru but he heard it.

"You knew? Why didn't you stop it? Who did this to you? Is it a guy? I swear I'll kill him!" he said vehemently.

Usagi closed her eyes as if shielding herself from the barricade of questions. "No it wasn't a guy. Call it destiny," she said.

Mamoru stared at her in confusion before his eyes softened as he looked at the beautiful girl in front of him. She didn't deserve this. "Who did this to you Usa?" he asked tenderly with tears blurring his eyes.

Usagi's eyes closed again and it took her a few minutes before she managed to open them again. "I got caught in a youma attack, " she said finally. She didn't want to lie but she had to. She couldn't let Mamoru find out her true identity.

"An attack?" Mamoru asked stunned before guilt hit him. If only he had been there, but wait a minute! Wasn't Sailor Moon there? "Where was Sailor Moon?" he asked. "Why didn't she protect you? It's her job to protect the innocent!"

"She tried and she succeeded in killing the monster."

"Then why did she let you go all by yourself? She should have helped you for God's sake!" Mamoru felt like finding Sailor Moon and give her a piece of his mind. How dare she abandon Usagi like that? Usagi's next words caused him to gasp.

"Sailor Moon is dying," Usagi whispered with tears in her eyes.

"What? She can't die! She's Sailor Moon! She's invincible, right?" Mamoru asked unsurely.

"She is dying," Usagi murmured.

She looked up at Mamoru and felt a strange sense of loss as she realized that she would never see him again. "Mamoru, tell my family that I love them for me, ok? And tell my friends that I'm sorry and that I'll miss them."

"You can tell them that yourself as soon as the storm blows over," Mamoru grunted.

"Do you really think I'll survive till then?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Mamoru smiled in relief as he finally managed to stop the blood. "You're going to be okay. I've stopped the blood so you'll be up on your feet in no time."

Usagi's eyes began to droop. 'Oh Mamo-chan,' she thought. 'It's already too late.'

"Mamoru," she said faintly. Her voice was so small that Mamoru had to bend his head forward in order to hear her, just like she planned. His cheek was a few centimeters away from his lips. She closed the distance and Mamoru started as he felt warm, soft lips on his cheek.

He looked at Usagi in surprise who only smiled softly.

"I'll miss you," she said before closing her eyes.

Mamoru stared at her in shock before gripping her shoulders and shaking her desperately. "Wake up Odango! Ha ha, very funny Usagi. You got me okay? Now open your eyes!" he said screaming in the end.

Her pulse was weak, almost non-existent. Mamoru knew that she wouldn't make it. Tears poured down his cheeks. His navy blue eyes darkened to black with pain. She couldn't leave him, not now. She was too joyful, too energetic to ever die.

Their arguments and meetings flashed through his head and he saw her bright eyes that burst into flames every time he teased her. Those eyes were so different from the eyes he had just seen. Those eyes had been dull and tired. They missed the joy and hope she always had. She had given up! That thought shook him. In his mind Usagi had always and would always be the symbol for joy, light, hope and warmth.

Mamoru stared down at the girl. "Fight Odango. Fight your way back to me. Please, I can't survive without you." He said as he tenderly held her hand in his. He would never ever let her go.

Somewhere Usagi stopped and looked back. She was standing in a long tunnel. Ahead she saw light that promised safety and comfort and behind her she saw darkness battling with light. She knew that the place that she had just come from was an unsure place filled with battle and weariness, two things that she was very tired of.

She was leaving that place behind her but a warm and haunting voice whispered a few words that caused her to stop. They were so desperate and they touched her more that anything she had ever heard. Usagi hesitated, which way should she go?

Voilá End of chapter one! I'm so proud. 'lol'

Don't forget to write your opinions, thoughts and everything you could possibly think of! In other words: Review, review and review:D

Till next time then!

Cathy Daine