Hi, everyone! I'm so sorry for the long wait! You guys wouldn't believe my life right now. It's completely insane and busy and I'm so sorry it's pulled me away from so long! To be completely honest, updating was the last thing on my mind for a long while. But one day, I found myself going through the reviews for this story and the others, and it inspired me completely to make time to write! So thank you all! Without your support and love, this chapter would still be hiding in the dark recesses of my mind! You guys make writing fanfictions fun and I will try my best to make sure the next wait isn't nearly as long as this one was!
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Usagi watched silently as the last group of teens left Crown Arcade, laughing and chattering amongst themselves. She sighed and looked at the clock. She stopped herself before she could process the time. No, not again. Not for the fourth time this hour. Knowing the time at this point would only add to the depressing moment and she didn't need anything else to do that. The almost completely melted wax of the candle and the now cold food of her date did a good job of that already.
She rubbed her eyes of the tears that wanted so desperately to fall. "I won't cry," she whispered to herself. "Not over him. I won't cry."
Motoki came over with another glass of root beer in part of an effort to quell his "little sister". He sighed. "Usagi…"
"He's not coming, is he?" Usagi asked softly. It was a question she already knew the answer to but maybe after hearing it from someone else, it could transform her sadness into rage and give her the energy to go home.
Motoki sighed again. "I…I don't think he is, Usa. It's been four hours."
It didn't work. Instead, his answer only multiplied her sadness by ten. "M-maybe he got caught in the rain… And maybe… He's rushing here now… He wouldn't stand me up… Not on our anniversary…"
Motoki clenched his fists. Mamoru would pay dearly for hurting Usagi like this. There's no way any friend of Usagi's could overlook this when she was on the brink of tears. He looked at Usagi again and he features softened. That was for another day. For now, the sad blonde needed a shoulder to cry on. "Wait here," he said softly. "I'll get my umbrella and walk you home."
Usagi stood and shook her head. "No, don't do that," she said. "You've had the arcade open for me long enough. Besides, I'm not going straight home, so… I'll let myself out. Thanks for dinner, Motoki. It was great."
"Wait," Motoki said. He went to the back and came back a few seconds later with an umbrella. "At least take this."
Usagi managed a smile and accepted the umbrella. "Thank you, Motoki. I really appreciate everything you've done for me." She gave a polite bow and left the Crown Arcade.
Yuri watched the rain storm she created from the safety of the Tsukino guest bedroom. She sighed. By now, her plan would have been successful and she would have stabbed Usagi in the back for the first of many times. She sighed. "I'm so sorry, Usagi," she mumbled under her breath. "It's for my brother's sake…"
"Oblivion," she winced as Beryl's shrill voice echoed in her head. "Oblivion!"
Yuri scowled and glanced to make sure the bedroom door was closed to prevent eavesdroppers. "Yes, yes. I'm here!"
"Oblivion," Beryl said. "This storm. What is the purpose? What is the plan here?"
"You wanted Endymion," Yuri said. "This is phase one. This rain is made of dark energy. I made it specifically to target the prince's signature energy to get him under the dark kingdom's control but the spell isn't perfected yet. It's going to take some time to be able to control the Prince for an extended period of time and to know if it's exactly the Prince being affected. Call this a trial run. I'll have the results of it to report to you by this time tomorrow."
"Very well," Beryl said, seemingly satisfied with Yuri's work. "Continue this plan but I will not accept any failure. Just one, and the life of your brother is in danger."
"I understand, my queen," Yuri said softly. She took a deep breath once Beryl severed the connection. "I hope I'm doing the right thing here…"
Usagi came home about an hour later. She let down her umbrella and took off her shoes before going up to Yuri's room. She knocked on the door. "Tobayoshi-san?" she called
Yuri opened the door. "Yes?"
"I check on your brother," Usagi said softly. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "He's doing just fine. He wanted me to give you this picture to remember him by. He says he misses you."
Yuri took the paper and looked at it with an ache in her throat. "He's always so thoughtful," she said in a shaky voice. "He's such a good kid."
Usagi nodded. "It certainly seems that way. I understand why you care for him so much. You guys are lucky to have each other."
"Yeah," Yuri said. She closed her eyes, unable to withstand so much of Usagi's own thoughtfulness when she was doing so much to sabotage her. She opened them again, trying her best to develop a callousness to the blonde's infinite niceness. "So how was your anniversary date?"
Usagi was silent for a moment before pasting on a smile. "It was great," she lied. "In fact, it couldn't have been better!"
"Really?" Yuri said in surprise. She glanced at the window. Had her rain of darkness fail in such a simple task as keeping him at home. Beryl wouldn't be pleased at all at this rate. She looked back at Usagi. "That's great, Tsukino-san. Well, I have to cut our conversation short but I'm feel really tired…"
Usagi nodded in understanding. "It's getting late. I'll let you get to bed." She gave a parting smile and went to her own bedroom.
In the safety of her room and the door locked closed behind her, Usagi slumped to the floor and sniffled. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, going through every message she could find to explain why Mamoru never showed. She sighed when she found none. No reason and no explanation—not even an apology. She put the phone aside and the tears that threatened to fall all night finally did. "He really stood me up…," she whimpered between tears.
Once Yuri fell asleep, the downpour of darkness stopped and the clouds parted, leaving nothing but a clear sky.
The next morning, Mamoru woke with a yawn. He looked around and frowned, realizing that he was not in his bed, but in the living room next to his mother. The television played the main menu of the movie they were watching in a loop. "I must have fallen asleep during the movie…," he concluded as he stretched.
He frowned when he realized that he didn't remember watching a movie. In fact, the last memory he had was him leaving the apartment to meet with Usagi. What happened between then and now? The last time he had a blackout like this was when he first became Tuxedo Kamen. Why was it happening again?
He looked at his mother and gently shook her awake. "Mom," he said. "Mom, wake up."
Ayaka stirred and yawned as she woke. "Oh, good morning, sweetheart," she said as she rubbed her eyes. "Excuse me. I must have fallen asleep last night. How was your date?"
"Good, I guess," Mamoru replied. "Actually… I don't remember it."
Ayaka sighed and shook her head in slight disappointment. "Didn't I tell you stay away from alcohol? See, this is why."
"I wasn't drinking, Mom," Mamoru insisted. "I just don't remember… Do you remember what time I came home last night?"
Ayaka shook her head. "I must have already been asleep," she said with a shrug. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. Why don't you ask Usagi? I'm sure she'd know."
Mamoru nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll text her to meet me at the arcade and get ready to go." He pulled out his phone as he walked to his bedroom.
Mamoru walked into the Crown Arcade an hour later, a confused look covering his face. "Motoki…," he said as he took his seat usual seat.
Motoki glanced at him but it quickly turned into a glare. He put down the rag he used to clean the counter. "Mamoru," he said callously.
Mamoru groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Great… You're mad at me too? I ask Usako to meet me here and she sent me a message with more choice words than I knew existed… Could one of you please tell me what I did wrong?"
"Gee, I don't know," Motoki said sarcastically. He picked up his rag again and got back to work. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she was waiting here for four hours for her jerk of a boyfriend that never showed up. On their anniversary, no less."
Mamoru's eyes widened. "I never showed up? But… But I remember leaving my apartment…"
"Well, you never came here," Motoki retorted. "And you really broke Usagi's heart. She was devastated."
Mamoru groaned. "No wonder she's so mad… How do I even explain this…? I don't even remember what I was doing, let alone why I never showed. And poor Usako…" He stood. "Never mind the usual coffee, Motoki. I have to find a way to make this right." With that, he ran out of the arcade, desperately searching his mind for a solution to win back his Usako's affection.
Queen Beryl sat on her throne, looking at the four stones of her past general that sat on the floor. With a wave of her hand, she poured dark energy into each stone until they began to change shape. The stones transformed into humans and those four humans immediately dropped into a bow at the evil queen's feet.
"My queen," Kunzite spoke first. "Thank you for your second chance. We will not fail you this time."
"Good," the queen said. "I am assigning you all to a new mission. You are to monitor Sailor Oblivion. Make sure she is behaving and following the rules of our wonderful kingdom. She claims to have a plan but at the end of the day, she's still nothing but a treacherous, filthy human."
"And if she is not, my Queen?" Zoicite asked. "If she truly is a traitor?"
Beryl smirked. "Remind her of what oblivion really looks like. Am I clear?" Each general nodded. Beryl's smirk grew wider. "Excellent. Do not fail me or you will meet a similar fate. You've already spent a year in nothingness. This is your chance to redeem yourself. Ah, and if you find Sailor Moon along the way, feel free to end her."
The general nodded again. Kunzite spoke for the group. "Leave it to us, my queen."
And that's the chapter! Sorry again that it took so long to get out but I really hope you all enjoyed it! Did you love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review! I love your wonderful reviews so be sure to leave lots of them!
That's all for now! On to posting the next chapter of SOMM! Don't forget to check it out!
~Koneko~
