AN: Not too much to say today. Time to get a peek into Mamo-chan's head. Thank you very much to Yasaboo, Comet Moon, guitarbabe2005, and Meatballheadedprincess14 for continuing to review. Big hugs go out to you! I will note that I hve completed the second chapter in the sequel, my first completed chapter in at least a year! 12-29-06

The senshi's plan was working. It had been over a week since any of them had seen Mamoru or Tuxedo Kamen. Luckily, three nights had been youma-free, so very late at night, three girls in fuku warily slipped out to the park for some training. Luna kept watch, ever ready to warn them of the caped one's approach.

The night after the junk-food binge, Ami had awakened with fresh concerns. True to form, she had quickly drawn up her thoughts on training for all of them, that they might be able to handle youma without Tuxedo Kamen. The only thing nagging her was how Tuxedo Kamen knew when and where the fight was. "If only we had been able to question him more." she lamented.

Rei sniffed. "We are the Sailor Senshi, Ami-chan! We shouldn't need some guy to rescue us. Sooner or later, we will have to fight on our own merits."

Usagi was silent, the knowledge that all of this was her fault weighing heavily on her. Her carelessness, her clumsiness, her lack of battle skills, and even her poor performance at school made her feel inferior to the Fire and Ice Senshi. It was no wonder she was so dependent on the mysterious masked man that miraculously showed up at every battle. She was a liability to her team. Her feelings of inferiority kept her from participating in the discussion about the new training regimen.

That inferiority, over the week, had found release in her training. Though she went home bone-tired and, more often than not, bruised, she felt successful. The fourth night, when a youma made its grand entrance at an outdoor party, Mercury and Mars seemed to share one mind. Fog filled the area only after Mars had sighted her target. Confused, the youma just stood there while Mars scorched it. As the creature hopped about howling, Moon swept into action, sending her tiara on a fatal collision course with the youma, her aim perfect.

It wasn't that Moon wasn't afraid. The youma still frightened her. But another encounter with Tuxedo Kamen scared her more. She couldn't shake the humiliation she felt. The look in Mamoru's eyes when he'd realized she and Usagi were the same person. The way he'd taunted her about his seeing her naked! If she so much as thought about it, her face flamed. Yet, there was more to it. Usagi felt afraid when he said her name. She didn't like the strange way it made her feel. She didn't understand the darkness in his eyes; the emotion in them was intense and unnerving. She hated the fact that his touch made her feel safe and protected when his eyes made her feel frightened and in grave danger. In her mind, in her dreams, Tuxedo Kamen had become a predator and she his prey. And she sensed he was the kind of predator who liked to toy with his prey before devouring them.

If Mamoru could have seen into her fears, into her psyche, he would have been pole-axed. He wasn't exactly having the greatest week of his life. If there was one thing Mamoru craved in his life, it was stability. His life, from the age of six, had been hardly stable. Waking up in a hospital, with no memory and no parents, was his first fully formed memory and it shaped who he was. Life in an orphanage, watching people come and go, children come and go, even staff come and go, he began to feel that life was haphazard. He began to believe that life was like a river. Over time, a river's course changes. What was once the land next to the river is underwater and the previous riverbed is now the bank. The next year, the river has veered in another direction. All the land the river could potentially fill is technically the river, but the water that flows constantly shifts its path and changes the land it touches. Mamoru felt like the floodplain, never knowing when his life would overflow with happiness or despair, or when everything around him would dry up. He hated it!

Once he left the orphanage, Mamoru had built his house upon the rock of stability. Schedules, study and predictability became his religion. He focused his eyes on one goal and strove towards it. Until a blonde ray of sunshine tossed her test paper on his head, that is. At first she was a minor irritation. But shortly after their first encounter, he'd found another blonde, a warrior who cried at her enemies. And he'd found himself clad in a tuxedo, spouting corny lines and giving her advice. Not to mention admiring the view as the senshi grew from one cute girl to three. Around the time the senshi group was growing, the civilian blonde was becoming a very regular annoyance.

It wasn't long before he had incorporated all six of these girls, and his alter ego, into a semblance of stability. He had rendered Usagi harmless by making her predictable. He saw her, he insulted her, she insulted him, the banter escalated til she got mad, she stomped off and he felt pleased. The battles were also fairly predictable. A pain in his chest told him she was in trouble, he transformed, he was guided to her, he distracted the youma from killing her, he told her to attack, she did, she turned to thank him and he disappeared. All very clean and simple.

Until he'd seen both those blondes naked. Oh, how his mind loved to remind him of that. Mamoru bent forward in the arcade, resting his head on his books. Why couldn't he block that image from his mind? Why couldn't he block her from his mind? He didn't want to think of Usagi. He didn't want to be sitting here in the arcade, waiting futilely yet again for her to show up. All week, he hadn't seen any of the girls. Not at the arcade, not on the street, not shopping and not at battles. By the time he showed up at the battles, all he found was a pile of dust. Once, he had arrived in time to see their shadows slipping away. He knew they were avoiding him.

It made sense. It would be what he would have advised her in Ami or Rei's place. As far as they knew, he was an enemy. He didn't even know if he was their enemy. He hoped not. He felt drawn to protect them in battle. Still, he thought with a frown, he didn't really feel drawn to protect her when she was simply Usagi. Okay, yeah, there was that time he rescued her cat. But, well, that was a cat! A helpless, little furball. Usagi . . . she was something else. She got under his skin faster than anyone else he'd ever met. She could infuriate him, though he didn't think she knew it. Even Motoki only knew she bugged him. No one knew just how angry she could make him. Or how hurt, lonely or rejected she could make him feel.

The way she had spoken to him that night on the rooftop still shook him. It unnerved him how deeply her rejection of him had cut. She had just left him standing there, feeling like the loneliest person in the world. She had reminded him how much lonely could hurt. All this week had been a lesson in loneliness. He would never confess how his hopes rose every time the arcade doors swished open, only to crash in disappointment. He would never admit how he couldn't help scanning the crowd for blonde buns. He began to wonder when he would ever see her again.

He needn't have worried so much. Fate, in her own slightly malicious manner, soon brought about another encounter. It was only a week and half since the alley discovery. Only a week and half of fear, anger, worry and sleepless nights for the pair. One was at the end of her tether. The other was a bit out of his head.

Usagi was tired. Nine late nights in a row, two failed tests and a third looming, and the dread of seeing either Rei or her mother had driven Usagi back to her old route home. Trudging past the arcade, she didn't protest when her feet led her into the air-conditioned bastion of Sailor V video games and energizing chocolate milkshakes. Feeling defeated and worn-out, she was oblivious to the cheery greeting from Motoki. But she did sense the haggard stare from Mamoru.

Mamoru was trying to focus on his text. Somehow, microbiology just wasn't as interesting as the arcade door's soft hissing. He had to work very hard not to turn and look to see who had come in, knowing Motoki had been watching him with concern. When Motoki's cheery voice sang out, "Hey, Usagi-chan!" however, nothing could have made him stay still. He spun about, his eyes taking in every detail.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Usagi mentally called herself every kind of idiot. She started backing up, but when Mamoru got up, clearly coming towards her, she decided to cut her losses and run. Not caring what anyone might think, she turned and dodged back out, certain he was on her tail. Which, of course, he was. She didn't actually run away from him, the sidewalks were too crowded. Mamoru stayed close to her, and when he finally got the chance, he reached out and caught her arm, turning her to face him.

"Usagi-chan . . ."

"Let go of me!" she yelled, trying to shake him off.

"Just listen . . ."

"You pervert!" Usagi was really upset now, but she kept her voice low. People ignored them. She refused to look at Mamoru; too afraid she would see contempt and mockery in his eyes. When tugging and twisting didn't free her arm, she opened her mouth to yell.

Mamoru caught her chin. "No. No yelling, Usagi." he warned, his own irritation rising.

Usagi finally looked at him, her eyes filled with anger at his commanding tone. "Don't tell me what to do!" she screamed in his ear.

Mamoru didn't really think. He was just so sick of the fighting, the yelling. Her face was so close. He just leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't a very long kiss, or even a very sweet one. Really just four lips meeting briefly. Still, Usagi jerked away as if stung. Her face flamed, which Mamoru was really beginning to find appealing. He watched her struggle for breath, her arm still caught, their bodies still close. He knew she was going to yell again. And just as the first syllable left her mouth, he kissed her again.

This time, he didn't release her right away. He waited to see if she would relax. Just when he was about to let her go, he felt her lean into him, heard a faint sigh. He held the kiss just a little longer, until he felt her pulled away from him. Angry voices fell on deaf ears as he watched Usagi blink slowly, as if waking up. Mamoru decided he liked this method of shutting Usagi up. Even a beating from Sailor Mars would be worth just one of Usagi's kisses.