Mamoru

A cool draft floated across my face and its harshness against my skin made me curl into my blanket even more.

This was the first night I had actually managed to find sleep. For the past several nights, all I could hope for was a few moments of rest between the nightmares that crowded my mind. My dreams were rigid and bleak, I could see Usagi's hand slipping out of mine and hear her scream pierce the air. Night after night she came to me, jolting and driving me to near madness. So when I finally had a night of dreamlessness, I welcomed it like an old friend.

A beam of sunlight hit my face but the comfort of my blankets kept my eyes closed. I ran my hand along the sheet on the other side of the bed, probing it with my fingers and longing for a soft swath of skin. Usagi would normally be curled up there alongside me, her quiet breaths beating up and down and her body tucked so innocently in a ball. My stomach lurched and my desire for her bloomed.

I laid there thinking about her and about us, trying to pinpoint the exact moment I went wrong. Then, I drove down the thought, and remembered the softness of her supple body pressed against mine, the heat of her igniting me, our limbs tangled together in the privacy of night. Oh, how I wanted her-in more ways than one. My heart, my mind, my body: They all turned liquid under the sensuous power in her hands. She was a thread, a needle weaving through me, and yet I had decided to pull at an errant string until we unraveled.

My chest heaved. One more minute, I told myself, one more minute of rest, of imagining her next to me, of closing my eyes so tightly that I could go back in time just a few days. It wasn't until I heard what sounded like footsteps that I forced myself to rise. I believed it to be my imagination. My ears were simply hearing sounds that did not exist. But then I finally took stock of my room and noticed that Usagi's brooch was gone. Panic rushed across my skin and my mind was now fully back in the present.

A floorboard creaked underneath the weight of something—of someone—in my living room, and I slowly peeled the blanket off of me. Creeping as quietly as I could, I moved toward my bedroom door and peered outside. There was no one there.

"Hello?" I called out, revealing myself in the door frame.

The stillness in their air seemed artificial. While I couldn't see anything, I could feel something, like someone was watching me. An energy flickered in the room and I tried to follow it, but without being able to see, it seemed like a useless exercise.

As I scanned the room, my eyes immediately shot to the front door: It was ajar.

I wanted to rush toward it, to pull it open as wide as I could and see if anyone was standing in the doorway, but my body went still. Something was pulling me back, cementing my feet to the middle of the room, but my eyes continued to watch and peer at the empty hallway outside. The door pulled only a centimeter, and a regular man with a regular life might've explained it away as the wind, but I knew better.

Someone was here.

"Who's there?" I tried to make my voice sound as powerful as I could. "I know someone is here."

Footsteps beat down the hallway and I jolted forward, whipping my head out first before taking off. Down the hallway there was nothing. I could see no one. Then the elevator button dinged and the doors parted. I was too far away to catch it, but if I sprinted, I knew I might be able to catch a glimpse of who was inside.

I flew down the hallway, desperate to reach the elevator as the doors slowly came together. Before my eyes could see it, I shoved my hand to the metal and tried to wedge it in, but it was too late. All I could see was a small crack between the doors, mere seconds before they shut, and then I saw her.

Usagi.

Her big blue eyes beat back at me, her expression scared and determined. Was I dreaming?

A bead of sweat fell from my brow. It couldn't have been her. There's no way it could've been her. I was hallucinating, I had to be. Why would Usagi come here and not wake me? Why would I have not been able to see her?

Insomnia had done a number on me these past few days, not to mention the fact that I had barely eaten at all, and my body and mind both felt languid. My limbs were heavy and my eyes were still clouded from sleep. It was possible that I had not seen anything at all. Something in me told me, though, that I wasn't dreaming.

Slowly, I waited for the elevator to return, got into the car and inspected it, and continued back down to the lobby. Peering my head out, I could see no one except for Hayato who sat in his chair at the front desk reading a newspaper.

I stepped out and he took notice of me, smiling and putting the paper down.

"Hi Mr. Chiba," he smiled. "How are you today?"

"Fine," I responded curtly. My head swiveled around looking for her—for anyone, really. Some explanation for what I had just seen.

"Are you looking for Usagi?" Hayato asked, sending a bolt of shock down my spine. Usagi. Had he seen her too, or was he just asking because she was constantly here? The look on his face told me that he had. I went numb.

"Yes," I answered carefully. "Have you seen her?"

"She just ran out of here a few moments ago, said something about being late." Hayato's voice was light. I strained and my body locked up, confusion churning in me like the rapids thrashing against a river. I had seen her. My eyes were not playing tricks on me.

"Oh?" I tried to sound unbothered, but I thought Hayato could sense my uneasiness.

"Yes," he said soothingly. "I bet she just didn't want to wake you." He looked at me and took stock of my presence, and it was then I noticed I was wearing nothing but my sleeping pants. While I'm sure Hayato was not offended by my state of dress—a doorman has seen many things, I imagine—I suddenly felt naked in more ways than one.

"Excuse me for a moment," I said as I made my way toward the doors that separated the lobby from the street. I popped outside and searched for any signs of her. Nothing. Throngs of crowds were already beginning to form, people walking to and from their jobs or school, and I couldn't see anyone that even remotely resembled her.

A young couple walked past me and the man let out an angry scoff. Our eyes met, and when they did, he surveyed me up and down, focusing on my bare chest, and he turned his lips into a fierce scowl. The woman with him blushed and averted her eyes, trying not to look at me, and the man tugged on her arm to cross the street.

While I had no issue with nakedness, apparently my state of undress was turning heads.

I had two choices: to run into the street and find her or to go back and strategize. What if what Hayato and I saw was nothing but a phantom? Or a trap set by Dimande? And if I ran out like this—no wallet, no phone, no shirt or shoes—I would be doing myself a disservice.

I hustled back inside and went straight for the elevator.

"Everything alright?" Hayato asked as I waited for the doors to open.

"Yes," I said unconvincingly. "Just fine."

Back in my apartment, I ran right to my room. In my haste to follow whoever had come into my home, I forgot the crystal was gone.

Oh, god. I thought to myself. The crystal was gone. My head started to spin and I fought against the wave of anxiety beating against my stomach. Perhaps it fell behind something, or maybe it rolled under my bed. Frantically I began moving my furniture, but it wasn't there. I rushed into the living room, tearing apart the mess that had accumulated over the past few days, but it was not there either. My fingers went stiff and I fell to my knees.

Someone had been here. I had not dreamed it. And if I hadn't been so distracted by the fact that it was Usagi I saw in the elevator, maybe I would've chased after her despite myself. Once again I had failed. Once again I had put my comforts ahead of doing the right thing.

I rushed back into my bedroom, throwing on a shirt and sliding into a pair of shoes. I grabbed my keys and hustled toward the door, but when I opened it, someone was already standing there.

"Hello, Mamoru."

It had been years since I last saw Setsuna, but she had not changed. She was ageless yet wise. The only real difference was her long green hair was cut short, falling just above her shoulders. It gave her even a look with more authority than she had before.

"Setsuna," I was breathless. "I would love to visit but I have to go."

"I think we need to talk," she put out her hand to stop me from leaving. "It's important."

I shook my head. "No," I said. "I just saw Usagi here, she took the crystal—I need to go find her."

"I know what you think you saw," Setsuna responded. "But I'm not sure that was really Usagi. It was possibly a daemon created by Dimande, and I think we need to strategize before making a move too quickly."

"What do you know?" I asked desperately. "Is she okay?"

Setsuna walked into the apartment and shut the door behind her. Walking over to the window, she crossed her arms and looked outside before turning back to me.

"I'm not sure," she said, disappointment in her voice. "As you know I guard the Door of Time and Space, and as such, I know many of the other otherworldly beings that manage the flow between dimensions."

"Yes," I said. "And?"

"Well," she started. "It's come to my attention that Dimande was pulled from the River of Souls, a place where people drift until they come to their final peace."

I had never heard of this place before. In all my travels across the universe—across dimensions—no one had ever so much as mentioned it to me. Was it possible that a Sailor Scout did not lay claim to that part?

"The gods rule the River, and it has no guardian," Setsuna continued, as if reading my mind. "The people in the River float until they're sorted into their eternal afterlife, which can take a different amount of time for each person. Dimande was still floating in the River, but his brother had made it to the Gates of Hell. Apparently, there are whispers about an evil wizard who was asking about the silver millennium crystal."

"So let me guess," I seethed. "That bastard Dimande made a deal with the wizard and that's why he took Usagi."

"It appears that way," she sighed.

Even saying his name made me want to scream. Everything he had ever done was to take from me and I was sick of him. If I could kill him with my bare hands I would. My fingers ached and I balled them into fists, imagining the satisfying crunch his neck would make underneath them.

"Usagi is with him at a castle in the dimension where the River flows," Setsuna said matter of factly. "I do not think Dimande arrogant enough to send Usagi here herself. There's no way she wouldn't run from him when given the chance. I felt her energy and I tried to give chase, but she was gone before I could find her again, and now all I can feel is a cloud of black. It can't possibly be her, Mamoru, it's a trick—a trap."

I shook my head. Frustrated, I slammed my fists against my kitchen counter. My jaw locked as I ground my teeth and a scream was caught in my throat. How dare he do this? How dare he disrupt us again after all the damage he had already caused. He was an evil, evil man and I wanted to see him suffer.

My blood boiled and I stifled a roaring yell. I roved my hands across the cool granite, letting its iciness dull the fire splitting my body apart. If Setsuna wasn't here, I probably would've punched something.

"So what do we do?" I asked, exasperated. "How do we save her?"

Setsuna let out a sigh and avoided my gaze. She looked out to the window again, studying the clouds as they danced across the morning sky. Her eyes were heavy and tired as if she too was struggling to sleep.

"I've only been to the dimension with the River once," she said wistfully. "A long time ago. It is a dimension we can get to through the Door of Time and Space, but I am not sure what to expect. We must go after her, but if Dimande is working with this wizard, and they now have the crystal, it could be a dangerous situation."

"So what do you propose we do?" I asked.

"We need to gather everyone back here and come up with a plan," she said. "I will go back to the Door of Time and Space and try to pinpoint exactly where she is, and once I know, we will all go together to retrieve her."

Waiting was the right thing to do—I knew that—but I couldn't help but urge Setsuna to rush. Usagi had already been gone for several days, apparently captive in a strange castle in another dimension. Who knew what evil designs he had for her, what terrible treatment she was forced to endure. The love of my life had been ripped from me once again by a man driven by revenge and obsession, and I couldn't let her go one more minute under his devious rule.

But if we did go in headfirst without a plan—without a strategy—it could end tragically for all of us, and saving her would not be possible. She would be trapped in his clutches for the rest of eternity and I could not bring myself to even consider it. He would rule her with a ferociousness, break her sweet innocent soul and taint her for the rest of his life. I could not allow it to happen.

So I nodded my head and reluctantly agreed to Setsuna's plan. She placed a hand on my back and gave me a reassuring look.

"I know it's hard Mamoru," she said softly. "But we can fix this if we do it the right way."

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and continued to nod.

Every minute that passed without her in my arms was slowly killing me, and if I had to wait much longer, I was sure that I would die of a broken heart.