Mamoru

The moment she walked out of the door, I didn't feel sad—I felt anger.

Uncharacteristic anger. I was not an angry person by any means. I liked to think I was kind and empathetic, and that those traits were a few of the many that drove me to a career in medicine. But with each paper I had to write and each test I had to take, I could feel my patience start to slip—and not just with school, with everything and everyone.

And when she left, that frustration bubbled. Not with her—with myself. Clearly, she had come to try and cheer me up, haul me from the piss poor attitude I had subjected myself and everyone else to. I should've just abandoned my school work and let her comfort me in the way she desired.

But of course I didn't.

Usako was right. I was drowning in school and it was affecting our relationship in so many ways. To say I didn't notice it would be a lie. It had been weeks since we last had sex and days since we had really talked about anything meaningful. Her touch had even lost its luster to me. For many years it burned me with an intensity I could not even begin to describe, but now it had deafened to a dull roar echoing against the struggle of mediocrity.

Relationships are strange that way. You can know someone so deeply and love them so much, and yet feel as though there's an ocean between you.

So many years of my life centered around ridding the Earth of evil with her—for her—and adjusting to normalcy was a lot easier for me. That was a wedge that had come between us, and while it wasn't anyone's fault, clearly we weren't coming together to overcome this radical shift. I wanted to forge ahead, to lean into the prospect of being just us, stripped bare of the expectations that come with being superheroes. I could tell Usagi felt lost without that piece of her identity, and yet I did nothing to ease her pain.

I had done this to us—I was pushing her away—and knowing that made my blood boil.

My feet moved to chase after her right away, but I lingered as I stared at the front door. She needed time to think. After what I had done, she deserved time to think. How much time could I give her?

Our arguments had been the same for the past several weeks. I knew she felt stunted in her own life. I told myself that constantly when she brought up getting married. She was obsessed with it since the day we discovered that she was Princess Serenity and I was Prince Endymion, and who could blame her?

Back when Sailor Moon was still fighting crime, the circumstances of our lives—past, present and future—were constantly dangled in front of us. At no point did it feel like we could deviate from the predetermined fates we were subjected to. We loved each other so deeply and purely, and she was my world, but sometimes I wondered whether we were getting in one another's way.

Knowing I felt that way made me feel conflicted. On the one hand, how lucky was I to find the love of my life so young? On the other, though, a kernel of doubt started to take hold. Maybe that's why I started to feel myself unraveling.

I didn't want anyone else now. But could I ever? Could she ever love anyone but me? Nausea gripped my stomach.

I called her cellphone, but she didn't answer. Ten minutes passed, and then another ten, and something in me stirred. It was unlike her to not call me back, or text me to know that she had gotten home. Even with all of our fighting, she knew I was prone to worry. Could she be shutting me out this severely? Was she really that upset? Grabbing my jacket, I rushed out the door.

Our love was stronger than this. I didn't want to break up, and I didn't believe she did either. She said she needed space and I needed to talk to her, to assure her that I didn't want to lose her. If it was my attitude or my negativity holding us back, I would resolve to be better. If she needed to be showered with affection, I would make it rain.

Somehow I would shove down the longing question of "what if?" Somehow I would make her forgive me.

The streetlights illuminated my path as I hurried through the park. Insects buzzed in the thick summer air, and a cool breeze swirled. A few couples lovingly walked hand-in-hand as they soaked in the peaceful quiet. On any other night, I would've slowly walked in-step with the one I love, but tonight there was an urgency in my step. I knew the way from my apartment to Usagi's parents even with my eyes closed, and as I inched closer to it, my heart fluttered faster. What if I lost her? I tried not to think about it.

Unlike most of Tokyo, Juban was sleepy at this time of night. Especially when the monsters stopped coming, it remained this idyllic oasis in a city that thrummed with life and light. Sometimes I found myself forgetting that it had ever been different—that for years it had been terrorized by enemies hellbent on destroying us.

I crested the sidewalk near the Tokyo Tower when I felt an evil energy bubbling in the distance. It had been so long since I had felt anything like it that I almost didn't register what it was. It's darkness was like a beacon leading me right to a concrete clearing on the tower's northside. I hustled over and I could feel the evilness pulsating around me.

And then, as if it were coming at me like a freight train, I was stunned.

Time stood still when I saw it. Usagi was standing there enveloped in a thick, black smoke. Holding onto her was a man who I didn't immediately recognize, but based on the way he was holding her—and based on the way she was pulling from him—I could tell she was in danger. His sick smile looking down at her lit a fire in my belly.

"Usako!" I screamed out to her, but she didn't hear me. My feet pounded the cement and I tried to bridge the gap between us. The closer I got, my view of the man's face became more clear. It was Prince Dimande.

How? Why?

My run turned into an all-out sprint. "Usako!" My voice was becoming hoarse. Only a few feet away, I reached out my hand to grab her and pull her back, but it was too late. Dimande's eyes flickered to mine and an electrifying intensity boiled between us. With a flash of a smile, Dimande and Usagi disappeared completely into the smoke.

I leaned forward and my fingers dragged through the remaining mist. I had been so close. So close.

"No!" I screamed. My foot skidded against the pavement and I lost my balance. Flying forward, I hit the pavement hard. My knee scraped along the rough surface, ripping a small patch of flesh, and my wrists slapped against the ground to break my fall. I tumbled over onto my back and let out a painful groan.

Slowly, I perched myself up on my elbows and surveyed the damage. My pants had ripped and there was blood on my scraped hands and knees, but otherwise I was fine. I stood up and looked around.

My eyes had to be playing tricks on me—I was sure of it. Prince Dimande was dead, had been for several years. But I knew it was him. There was no mistaking those cold eyes.

Where did he take her? Where could they have gone? My mind was racing. My eyes scanned over the area: Maybe there were clues he had inadvertently left behind. A sparkle from a few feet away caught my attention and I rushed over to it. But when I saw what was lying there, I was filled with even more dread.

Usagi's brooch was sitting on the sidewalk somewhat hidden by a shrub. When Dimande attacked her, he must've knocked it out of her hand. Wherever he was taking her, he didn't want to give her the chance to defend herself and the thought infuriated me.

I picked it up. I had touched this very brooch so many times before, but the metal felt like dead weight in my hand. Without this, Usagi was defenseless.

If only I had just gone after her when she first left, she would still be in my arms. Maybe she would've even forgiven my stupidity by now. All that was left of her now was her brooch. Why had I turned my back on her like this?

Salty tears fell from my face. "Usako…" My voice quivered. "Usako, please…"

Wiping my face, I placed the brooch in my pocket. I needed to find a way to save her. There was only one thing I could do now: Assemble the Sailor Scouts.

I broke into a jog toward Usagi's house. Pain seethed from my limbs—still raw after my tumble—but I didn't care. No amount of pain would stop me from getting Usako back to me. The closer I got, the more I hurried. I needed to see Luna.

By the time I got to her parent's house, it was past midnight. Waking everyone up right now would only alarm them, so all I needed to do was get Luna's attention. I prayed she was home.

Beside the house, I found some loose gravel. I picked up a small piece and rubbed it between my fingers. I don't know why I was stalling, but I hesitated. When Luna woke up, she would want to know what happened and why. Luna was more than likely well aware of the problems that plagued Usagi and I as of late-she had to be, as she was Usagi's greatest confidante besides myself. But the thought of telling her how Usagi had come to be in the clutches of Dimande made me flinch.

Would she admonish my behavior? Would she tell me I was stupid for letting a silly fight push Usagi into harm's way? If she did, I undoubtedly deserved it.

I couldn't waste anymore time, though. Ripping the bandaid off sooner than later meant I would be one step closer to bringing her home to me. Softly, I lobbed the stone to the window. It connected and made a soft ting before falling back into the side yard.

It didn't take long for Luna to appear at the window. Hooded with sleepy eyes, she opened the window with her paws and slinked out onto the window ledge.

"Usagi isn't home," Luna yawned.

"I know," I said, trying to hide my worry.

"Is everything alright?" She straightened up and jumped onto the lower roof. Her claws gripped the shingles and she jumped once more, landing perfectly at my feet. Luna looked like a cat, but as long as I had known her, she felt more like a person. I crouched down to meet her gaze and let out a heavy sigh.

"Usagi," My voice cracked. "She's…"

"What's happened, Mamoru?" Luna's brow furrowed. "Where is Usagi?"

"She and I got into an argument." I looked down as I said it. "And she left my apartment to come here, but when I went to go follow her, I saw her...I saw she…"

"Just tell me," Luna urged. I cleared my throat.

"Prince Dimande abducted her."

Confusion bled onto Luna's face and the silence between us was deafening. She cocked her head. "But how?"

"I'm not sure," I shook my head.

"Prince Dimande of the Black Moon Clan?" Luna said. "The one who died years ago?"

"Yes." A dull pain shot through me, partly from the scrapes and bruises but mostly because of the agony I was feeling on the inside.

"And you're sure it was him?"

"I'm sure," I said, a little stronger than I had intended to. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the brooch. Luna's eyes grew wide as she examined it.

"Wait." Fear swelled in her. "She doesn't have the crystal with her? How did she lose it?"

"It was on the ground where she disappeared," I said. "I don't know if she purposefully left it or if she accidentally dropped it."

"She wouldn't go with Dimande without it if she could help it," Luna said. A grave look cascaded across her face. "This is very, very serious."

"I know," I said.

She paced along the ground as she considered what to do. She stopped suddenly and stared up at the moon. It was just a sliver against the black sky, an ominous warning that the light was in danger of being snuffed out. Sadness churned within me.

"I need to call the Sailor Scouts." Luna's voice was strained, yet calm. Everyone was so out of practice, but we needed them.

"Do you think there's enough time?"

"I don't know for sure," she was quiet and serious. "But I do know we need to find her before something terrible happens to her."