A/N: Here's Chapter 5!! We're halfway through with the story!!

Thanks:

jupiter2005: (laugh) well, I knew that by this chapter some people would want some romance and stuff. I was planning to make this an only-friendship thing, but I just couldn't help it. I love to write romance stories, and only "friendship" annoys me. Thank-you for your review!

SailorMoonForever: Thank-you sooo much! I was really, really touched when I read your review. You are my... well..:p You reviewed for most of my stories, so I guess "Most-accomplished-reviewer" would be a good name, eh? :p It meant a lot coming from you since you may be the only one who has seen my work grow, unless, of course, some other people have, also, and haven't reviewed. So thank-you!

Credits: I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON! But the story is all a creation of my mind!

Summery: Tsukino Usagi, already facing a brutal life of an orphanage, now has to help Chiba Mamoru with his hate for life by attempting to be his friend and helping him see the wonders of love. All this proves to harden when she is a targeted with a sickness she would not reveal to anyone but the doctors. With her life-line reducing dramatically, how can she keep the promise she made to her new friend and herself when death could just as well be around the corner?

To Teach Him To Love

Chapter 5

I opened my eyes slowly, and was shocked to see the blue walls of my room again. Then, all of what had happened yesterday flooded back to me. It literally just hit my mind! It didn't just show me every second of what happened. It came at me all at once.

I sat up in my pink bed, and felt something slide off my stomach. Surprised, I looked down. Mamoru had fallen asleep next to my bed, and his hand was on my stomach before I had so rudely sat up without a notice.

He stirred a wake, blinking sleepily. I had to admit, though, as I looked at Mamoru, he looked just so… innocent. His sleepy face wasn't bothered, nor was it stiff like always. It was loose… It was a face of a child.

That reminded me of the time I had first seen him. I clearly remember thinking that even though he had some manhood in him, he was still an innocent child on the inside, afraid of what the world had bestowed him with.

He rubbed his eyes, and stretched, taking a moment to just sit there and rub his back and massage his right shoulder.

I giggled at him, and that brought him back to the present. His face instantly stiffened.

I frowned. "You know, you looked so cute when you weren't aware I was awake."

"Thanks, meaning now I look like a toad."

"No; meaning that you need to loosen up."

I got up from my bed and went around him. I sat down behind him and began massaging his back and neck.

He moaned once, then turned his body so he was facing me, and lifted me so I was sitting in his lap. His features were warm.

I sighed, content. I just wanted to sit here and stare at such a face… forever.

Mamoru kissed my cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Full," I murmured.

"Full?"

"I went to have dinner yesterday. I think I ate enough to last me a life time."

Mamoru laughed. "Well, I'm glad you ate something."

"You would be."

His right hand traveled up my back, sending pleasant shivers up my spine, and cupped my neck. "I think you need breakfast."

I groaned. "I don't want breakfast."

His face stiffened. I sighed, feeling a disappointment flow through me. I guess he couldn't stay un-stiff for long…. I'm not even sure if un-stiff is a word! Hmm… non-stiff doesn't seem right, either. I'll have to check the dictionary to find that one out.

I put a hand on his cheek, and then I put my other hand on the other cheek. "Do you feel that?"

"Huh?"

"The warmth," I said. "Do you feel it?"

His dark hues widened, and his mouth opened agape. "I…"

"Do you?" I breathed. I needed to know…

"I… I… Usagi, you need food." He turned his face, trying to brush my hands away, but I was not about to give up just yet.

"Mamoru… Do you?"

"Usagi," he moaned.

"Please… you can't always be a cold block. Tell me…. Do you feel the warmth?"

"I do! Is that what you wanted to hear? I do, alright!"

I smiled at him, letting my hands travel down his face and around his neck. "I do, too."

He stared at me, his eyes searching mine. Then, suddenly, he grinned. "You know, you're the first person to get me to admit that."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one-"

"Trust me – you are."

I stared intensely into his eyes, and he stared back. Then, I leaned up and pecked his mouth lightly. He laughed, making me giggle.

Mamoru leaned down into the kiss, deepening it. I responded hungrily. For a moment, I felt the whole world freeze. I felt like I was standing on the sun – the heat that surrounded our bodies was indescribable. Silently, I wondered if he felt the same as I did.

He teased my lower lip, biting at it gently, and then pulled back from the kiss.

"Breakfast..?"

"Fine…"

I got up, feeling his warm arms fall from around me, and instantly missed his heat. I gave him my hand, and he took it, standing up. We walked down the stairs, hand-in-hand, to the dining room. We helped Mrs. Wayne carry the food to the table, and then sat down to eat our share of the cereal.

Mrs. Wayne and Mr. Wayne didn't eat with us today. They said something about eating with the rest of the kids, and left the room.

I took his hand from across the table, intertwining our fingers.

It was quite for a while, but I broke the silence after a few minutes.

"You know, Mamoru, I do not mind if I lose my life."

He frowned. "Why don't you?"

"Well… When I first came here, I was too young to know that this was a place that would hunt me. After a while, when I was 7, I started noticing that kids of all ages would come and go. I wondered why that was, so I asked. That's when I found out the actual truth.

"Every night after that, I beat my mind to its pulp, asking why I was even alive if I was unneeded, and wished that I would die.

"When I met you, I wasn't sure why, but I wanted to be the first one to talk to you. I wanted to know you."

Mamoru began making circles on my hand with his thumb. The breakfast was now forgotten.

"Well… now I know what life really is about. It isn't whether you live or die. It's about the people you love. Whether you believe me or not, you taught me that, and now that I know… I don't mind at all if this disease takes my life."

"But what about me..?"

I frowned. "That's… going to be a problem. I don't want to leave you… I want you to be my one and only, and I want to be with you forever."

"But..?"

"It's not happening. I'm sorry."

He heaved a deep sigh. "I'm going to miss you when you leave me to fend for myself. It seems like whoever I meet and love, they always leave me, doesn't it?"

I shook my head. "I'll promise you one thing, though. I will always, always be looking out for you. I will travel every millimeter of heaven if I have to, but I'll find a way to be with you. Whether I'm going to be a spirit, a ghost, or a devil, I promise you. I will be there, next to you, watching over your life." I grinned. "I'm selfish like that."

"How do you know that you can keep that promise? What if there is no heaven? What if it's only dark?"

"Because… I believe that God exists…"

"And how do you know that?"

"I wish I knew the answer. Look at it this way; if there was no God, then there would be no fate. And if there was no fate, we would not have met."

"What?"

"I'm saying that we were fated for each other."

Mamoru pursed his lips, thinking about that.

"Alright," He said. "I'll be eating carrots from now on."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"So I can improve my vision and see you when you come down from the heavens as an angel."

"But what if I'm not an angel?"

Mamoru tilted his head. "If you're not an angel, then I am not made up of water."

I giggled at that. "What if you aren't, though?"

"Hmm…" his mouth twitched into its lop-sided grin which made my heart melt all over again. "I don't know."

I took another bite out of my cereal, thinking about his words from before.

What if it is dark?

--

I finished off my cereal, and both Mamoru and I cleared the table. As we headed outside, we heard a few kids going downstairs to eat. We smiled at each other.

Hand-in-hand, Mamoru and I made our way to the playground. I spotted the swing-set first, and started pulling him along towards it. He let my hand go, and I ran over to it. I sat down on the highest swing and waited for him to come up to me.

He took his time, hands in his pockets, walking over. When Mamoru reached me, we shared a secret smile amongst one another.

Mamoru walked behind the swing set and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him.

"So, Ms. Tsukino, what would you like to do?"

I pretended to ponder over that. "Hmm… I would like you… to push me!"

I giggled childishly, not expecting him to comply towards my words. But Lords behold, I will never be able to guess what goes on in his head completely and utterly, for he began to push me lightly.

"Whoa!" I whispered, my eyes going wide. I had sat on the swing many times, but I was never able to push myself, for I was always too weak – heck, I'm still weak.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked.

I was about to say yes, but stopped. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

"Usagi..?"

"Mamoru, stop the swing." I breathed.

The swing halted suddenly, and my stomach turned inside out.

I puked.

"Usagi, what's wrong?"

I frowned. I hadn't puked a lot, thank God, but the after-taste was horrid.

"Something… is wrong." I whispered.

"Something's wrong?"

"Yes."

We sat there for a few minutes, wondering silently what was happening. That's when I felt my stomach turn again, and then the pain that had been torturing me for over three weeks now took hold.

I gasped, surprised, and tried to suppress my hands from blocking out my oxygen intake by gripping the metal of the swing roughly.

"Usagi…" Mamoru whispered. His eyes went wide when he realized what was happening. But that was the last thing I saw.

I blacked out again.

--

I opened my eyes with a groan. The taste in my mouth could have easily made me puke all over again, but I didn't think I had any energy for that.

"She's awake!"

That voice… I didn't like it. For some odd reason, I thought that whoever had that tone was most likely to give me bad news. And besides, I felt like I had been listening to it forever. It brought a great annoyance flowing through my body.

I tilted my head to the right and saw the face of my doctor.

What happened?

"Ms. Tsukino, please listen. I'm afraid that we over-looked your life-span. We think that your two months are actually one…"

"What?!"

"Yes. It's eating up more of your life than we had expected."

"No… You're lying! This is all a lie! It's… too fast!"

He really couldn't expect me to believe him… could he? I mean… Where do you hear a doctor tell a patient four days ago that they have two months left to live, and then four days later they state that it's only one month?! This is unreal! I refuse to believe it! I can't believe it!

"You will have to stay in the hospital from now on. We are going to try and find a cure to this, but I doubt that we can at this point."

"No! This is all a trick, isn't it? Right now you're about to burst out laughing at me! I know. There is probably no sickness at all."

I probably sounded like a maniac…but can you really blame me? Right now, you're probably thinking 'huh. This never happens in real life. It's obviously fake… too fake.' But could you imagine living it?! Oh no… Mamoru! What would this do to him!?

"I'm sorry. By the way, there is a boy here for you. Mamoru Chiba, I think his name –"

"What are you doing, than?! Send him in!"

Gee… what kind of a doctor is this guy? First he over-estimates my life, then he doesn't send in the man who this all affects? Hadn't they taught him anything in medical school?

The doctor got up from his chair and went out of the room. I heard him tell Mamoru that I'd like to see him now.

And that annoyed me. Cause I don't want to see him now. I want to see him always.

Mamoru walked in sluggishly. It hurt to see his face twisted in such a painful feature.

"I heard what the doctor said."

"Yea; I did, too."

He smiled briefly at me, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Mamoru, I am so, so sorry-"

"What are you apologizing about? I should be the one apologizing to you."

I patted the spot next to me. He unwillingly came closer to me and sat down.

"You don't know," he whispered, "how painful it is to see you wrapped in all these wires."

"You don't know how painful it is seeing you frown." I countered. "Do you want me to die seeing you all upset?"

He twitched at the word 'die'. I guess I couldn't blame him. This must be as unreal to him as it is to me.

"I guess not," he finally answered.

"I guess?"

"Ok, ok. I know I don't want you to die with your last memoirs of me like this."

"I thought not," I whispered.

So… what would happen now? Would Mamoru start acting like before all over again?

These answers, I dreaded...

TBC

A/N: Please REVIEW! I need your honest thoughts about this story.