Flee to Destiny
By: Bethany
Originally released: 3/2002
Revised: 7/2015

Chapter Five: The Power of Wishes

The light was bright, warm, intense... and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that it came straight from the enemy. Groaning loudly, I reached for the edge of my pillow, pulling it over my head. "Just a little longer.." I begged the sun outside my window. "For the love of all that is good, let me sleep!"

"Demo, Usagi," Rei said, failing to restrain her laughter. "You have been asleep for going on seventeen hours now. I think it may be time to get those lazy bones of yours up."

I peeked outside of my dark seclusion and glared at the black haired priestess. "Then I still need another seven hours to be fully at my best!"

"It's already seven in the evening!" Rei bellowed, standing with her hands on her hips. In an instant the warm covers were jerked off my bed and a cold chill shot up my pajama pant legs. "Ami-chan says that you need to get up and move around a bit; and eat too. Since she happens to be the smartest one of all of us, you're going to listen to her."

"Says who?" I retorted, removing my pillow long enough to stick my tongue out at Rei and grab my blanket. With every intention of going back to sleep, I burrowed deep in the quilt and closed my eyes.

"I say!" Now, I might not be fully awake, but I knew that deep baritone voice definitely didn't exit from Rei's mouth. I started to look up when I was swept off the bed and into a strong set of arms. I squealed with more joy than fright when I realized who had me, even though at my angle the floor did seem a ways down.

Summoning the angriest look I could muster, I lightly hit Mamoru on the shoulder and glared. "I want to sleep." My fake anger was not lost on him, however, as he laughed loudly. In turn this only helped to produce more anger at being awakened and suddenly rather cold instead of under the warm confinements of my quilt.

"It's no good Usa, I know you're not really mad at me," he said down to my pouting face. His laughing blue eyes were filled with more joy that I had ever seen them possess. And, of course, he was right - I wasn't really mad at him. Just the fact that he was alive and holding me this moment made me want to hug his neck.

With this revelation, every memory came crashing back to me. The last time I remembered actually seeing Mamoru, he was laying helpless on shattered glass and in a pool of his own blood. Frantically now, thinking this too may be a dream, I reached up and brushed my hand across his cheek. The small stubble of growth greeted my finger tips as I cupped his face against my palm. The small black hair lightly pricked my hand, sending waves of joy through my body. He's real! my mind screamed. And he's alive!

I felt warm tears of relief flood my eyes, threatening to spill forth and stream down my face. "But how...?" I finally whispered, looking from Mamoru to Rei. "I thought..."

Mamoru sat me down on the bed, sitting beside me to place his arms protectively around my body. It felt better than my quilt to have him hold me, his body heat protecting me from the chill in the room. I wanted to snuggle up to him, but there were too many questions on the tip of my tongue to get caught up in the moment. Questions I had to know the answer to. Instead of trying to explain the situation herself, Rei said she would go get Ami. In mere seconds they were back, followed by Minako, Luna and Artemis.

Minako explained that Makoto had taken Shingo to the store with her to keep his mind off my being asleep so long. Oh, the poor thing, I thought guiltily. He must be worried sick. I made up my mind that as soon as I found out what was going on, I would spend the rest of the evening with Shingo.

Ami waited until she had my attention before once more pulling out her small computer. Silently I wondered if she ever got an ache in her arm from using that small wrist movement so much.

It wasn't too much later than she closed the device shut with a click and smiled warmly at me. "All's well that ends well," she said smartly, sitting down heavily in a chair. "Though you gave us all a fright beyond imagination." She looked anxious, excited even, as she began to tell what had happened. "The power of the Silver Crystal which you hold may have showed it one of its most precious - and dangerous - gifts of all. The gift of life."

Completely dumbfounded, my gaze left Ami to look at Mamoru. So that was how it happened. Somehow, I saved him. My powers granted my wish for him to live, and that was how he had not one small sign that he had ever been hurt.

But on the other hand, what had happened to me when I performed this act of life? Sleeping for seventeen hours wasn't something even I could pull off without a reason. My questioning eyes fell back on Ami, who looked ready to explain, in detail, everything she knew.

For a moment Ami stared in my general direction, though I don't think she was looking at me as much as her thoughts. Finally she blinked, ready to place her explanation into words we would all understand.

"Usagi-chan, you hold a stone that can give life, end pain and evil. This stone, the Silver Crystal, appears to be controlled by your heart, not your mind. I don't believe it was a conscious thought that told the Crystal to heal Mamoru, or you would have remembered it. So, that leaves the subconscious. Your desire to heal, instead of your explicit command. When the Crystal realized that wish, it began releasing power. The shock of the purity of that power was what killed the creature we were fighting, and healed Mamoru. However, this is more dangerous than just returning a human to normal after being attacked." Ami sat back in her chair, gently pressing the tips of her fingers together in silent thought for a moment. When she looked into my eyes again, I felt the dept of her fright. "The amount of power you drew to heal Mamoru killed you. Fortunately, Mamoru seems to be able to enter the lapse that you withdraw to. The seconds between life and death, if you will. In those precious few moments, he was able to seek you out and help you find your way back to us. But you were still not out of the woods, sleeping for seventeen hours was your body's - and the Crystal's - way of restoring itself."

I couldn't remember the last time I blinked. It was all so mind-numbing, this information. I'd been dead. It wasn't almost, close to or even on the verge. I died. I felt my entire body begin to shake with the knowledge before a sob reached my throat, demanding release. "Dead?" I croaked, looking at Mamoru. His arms automatically wrapped around my body, holding me tightly. "I.. died? I was actually dead?" I questioned.

Ami's voice came to me like a doctor with bad news. She didn't want to say it, but knew she had to. "Yes, Usagi-chan, you died. I had no vital signs for almost a full thirty seconds. If it hadn't been for Mamoru..." her voice trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. But in my mind they were said, spoken loud and clear for the entire world to see. I had saved Mamoru's life, and in turn he had saved mine.

It took a few moments for the shock of Ami's words to wear thin. So I had died, I thought. Okay, but I'm fine now, right? So that's all that matters. I rubbed my hands over my face and looked to Luna. She looked as heart sick as I felt. The next words were on the tip of my tongue, but it took forever it seemed to say them. "Was... was that all? There was no other.." I paused, looking for the right word, "..damage done?"

Ami shook her head. "No, not damage. But there was something else - Minako-chan?"

The blonde sitting crossed legged on the floor had a tear stain on her left cheek which she wiped at in vain. Putting on her best smile, she rubbed her hands together like a mad scientist. "Being the Senshi of Love has some most wonderful advantages. Each of us have a gift that is not our powers, granted to us by our protective planets. Ami's is being a genius, Makoto's is her strength and so on. Mine is being able to see soul bonds between people. Whoever said there is a person out there for each of us, was correct. And I can detect those bonds when the mind is at its least protected."

I stared in shock at Minako, who in turn blushed and ran her fingers through her slightly tangled hair. "Let me try it this way... usually we guard our thoughts. Not on purpose, it's just something we normally do without knowing. While Mamoru was speaking to you, both your guards were down and I could see a, eh, well - a soul bond. A love line, so to speak. In other words," I could tell from the way she stood up and grinned that this was her favorite part. "You were meant for each other!"

I blinked, looked at Minako dumbfounded, turned my gaze onto Mamoru - and dashed out of the room so fast I'm sure that no one saw it coming.

My heart raced madly as I darted down the steps, sliding my hands down the railings to prevent myself from falling face forward to the bottom. It didn't matter for the moment that I was on the twelfth floor when I began my descent. All I wanted to do was get away from it all. The stories of death and reincarnation, fairy tales of soul bonds and Princesses. I felt a need to run from the lies my life had turned into. My entire body ached from the toll it had taken from my power drainage, but still I pushed my legs to descend the stairs at break neck speed.

When at last I came to the first floor, I burst out into the sun light and ran down the streets of Tokyo. My side screamed with pain that flooded my entire body, but something pushed me on. I couldn't stop. All the lies. The hours of sitting on my bed with my mother, talking about my wonderful future. Meeting the right man, falling in love - everything I dreamed of, ripped away from me in a split second. Death was a common visitor to my door, lurking just in the shadows of my life, ready to snatch everything at a moment's notice. Dreams... nothing but dim illusions of a small girl with the world at her feet. The small girl that no longer existed.

I realized, as I slowed to a painful walk and attempted to catch my breath, that those dreams shattered the moment I found my parents dead. The pretty paintings that my mother drew for me as a child were all washed away with her death. There was nothing left of that now. I had been pushing myself for weeks to do what they would have wanted, but it was with horror that I realized that perhaps what I was doing isn't what they would have wanted.

Would they have wished for their first born to be risking her life day in and day out? Fight an unseen enemy through its minions, not knowing where Shingo would go if something didn't go in my favor? Would they be proud of me for risking everything to go after the enemy, or be mad at me for putting Shingo through it?

Tears came unbidden to my eyes, but I didn't try to stop them. I yearned for my mother's warm breast to lay my head on. I wanted so badly as to unload my troubles out on a table, and sort through them with my father. Nothing ever seemed as bad when we finished. But those moments were nothing but fading memories, never to be reality again. They were gone.

I rounded a private fence and came upon the beach. The ocean cast out in front of me, giving me a sense of strength as I neared it. Slowly I walked forward, feeling the sand give under my weight and sink down. The waves crashing on the coast was memorizing as I neared them. Something from my memory sparked, a lesson from science class. The waves affecting the Moon; the waves felt as they were affecting me.

This wasn't my worst day, by far, so why did I feel so depressed? Wasn't to be with Mamoru what I had been hoping for? But, a part of me knew, I had been holding back because of the unknown man in my dreams. So hadn't I been leaning towards the unknown instead of sticking with reality anyway? I felt so confused about what I wanted and what my past life insisted I was to have. Maybe it was time to go after my own happiness and not worry about my past so much.

Gently I sat down on the white sand, the ocean a blazing blue inferno before me. Deep and rich in color with hints of sparkle where the sun gently kissed it. The sky turned pink, purple and orange hues so vivid and breathtaking that I couldn't move my eyes from it. There was something about the sun setting on the ocean that radiates such peace and calmness. Something awe inspiring in nature's ending scene of each day.

I picked up a handful of sand, letting it slide trough my fingers and take a brief flight through the air before falling to the Earth. The sands of time, like the sand gently pulled by the wind, must go on. The memories in my heart of my parents can never be taken from me, but I must move on. As the last rays of the sun gently grazed my face, I knew from the bottom of my heart my parents were proud of me. I couldn't explain it, even to myself, it was just a deep knowledge. And it calmed my fears and allowed me to breath easier. I leaned back on my hands, taking in the last seconds of light before the darkness claimed the day. There was barely enough warmth left in the sun rays to kiss my face one last second before it disappeared completely within the gentle waves of the ocean.

"Ready to go home?"

Startled, I looked up and saw the ocean colors reflected in Mamoru's eyes. He knelt down beside me, brushing my hair behind my ear and gently reached over to kiss my forehead. I didn't answer and he sat beside me, watching the night ease across our world and enclose it in darkness.

For a long moment nothing was said, but just under the surface of the silence I could feel something. A yearning to find words. I reached my hand over and grasped Mamoru's. "I'm sorry for running out like that. Sometimes I just feel if I could run away fast enough I can make sense of my life… that's no excuse. It wasn't you I am running from. It's something else. Something to do with my past life as Princess Serenity…"

Mamoru flashed me a quick smile and tightened his grip on my hand. The wind encircled us, playing with the dark strands of Mamoru's hair, causing it to move wildly for a moment. "I…" He stopped, sitting up as if to stress the importance of what he was trying to say. "Usa, I want to tell you something. Something I should have said before, I think." His deep blue eyes fixed on mine, and I felt swept away by the feelings there. If I had ever believed the eyes were the windows to the soul, I believed it now. "Usa, you know I am Tuxedo Kamen. But before that, long ago, I was a Prince."

My breath caught in my throat so I couldn't talk, just stare. Mamoru kept his eyes on me, his hand gripping mine. "I've known this since the first time I laid eyes on you. I've been dreaming of you for years. When I saw you that night, outside the Crown Arcade, I wanted to tell you everything. But I didn't know how much you remembered, I don't want to influence you. Usa, I don't want you to want me just because of our past. I want you to want me, Chiba Mamoru. I just couldn't stay away from you, no matter how much I tried… and it seemed like you were holding back, didn't want me the way I want you."

Without warning, he stood up, bringing me with him. Hand in hand, we walked towards the water and looked out into the darkness. The water lapped up to our feet, taking sand from under us as it returned out to sea. The darkness surrounded us like a blanket, the world took on an unreal quality, only lit by the quarter moon high in the sky and the soft glow behind us that was the city.

"It's strange, ne? How the sky and ocean seem to have no ending or beginning. Just blackness all the way from our feet to the sky above. Beautiful." Mamoru's voice sounded odd, monotone. His eyes flashed heavenwards for a brief moment before locking with my own gaze. "Not nearly as beautiful as you, though."

His voice was now full of sincerity and my heart quicken pace. "The other night, when you...when you saved me. It wasn't just my body you saved, Usako." I felt my face flush with the endearment, but he wouldn't allow me to speak. "A part of me wanted to end the insanity I called my life. But then I heard... I heard a faint whispering, your voice above me. I opened my eyes and blocked out everything but you. Your light, your tears for me, your angelic voice telling me of your love.." One strong arm came around my waist, pulling me closer to his body. His opposite hand sought my chin and raised my lips up nearly to his own. "Usako, I love you. I love your nerve and your bravery. I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I yearned for you before I met you, but I had no idea that you would be more, much more, than I ever dreamed."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he quickly laid his finger over my lips and shook his head. "Your light, Usako, saved me. The darkness that pulled at me had almost won, but when I grasped your hand - it all disappeared. Thank you, Usako. Thank you for loving me." Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. Reaching my hand up, I pulled Mamoru's head towards my own and claimed his lips in a kiss so sweet and pure that the world seemed to tremble beneath us.

More in need of air than to get away, I gently pulled back and laid small butterfly kisses on his lips one at a time. His strong arms pulled me closer to his chest and I found my head just below his broad shoulders. It felt like a warm haven, a peaceful place reserved for me alone.

I wondered what my parents would say about Mamoru. Would they like him? Would my father approve of the man who held his little girl's heart? Somehow, as much as I knew my parents would be proud of me, I knew they would love this man.

Unbidden, a smile crept onto my face. My heart spilled over with the feelings I had, drowning me. But I had no desire to be rescued. This was where I was meant to be. Mamoru wrapped his arm around my shoulder and lead me to his car. After I got in, he ran around to the other side of the car, got in, and we sped off into the night.

The morning sun rose to find me in the bathroom, clutching the toilet as I vomited the last of what little I had ate the night before. Breathing heavily, I stood and soaked a wash cloth with cold water before pressing it to my face. My face was flushed and red as blood and my throat sore. The person in the mirror staring back at me looked horrid - swollen, blood shot eyes and wild hair.

I stumbled back into my bedroom, falling onto the bed and covering up. "Oh Kami," I whispered. "I feel horrible." My stomach still felt like it had jumping beans in it as I fell back into a deep sleep.

Not one hour later, my alarm went off. Groaning, I struggled with the covers for a minute before I managed to get out of their grip, and turned the buzzer off. Lying on my back, I stared at the ceiling. Surprisingly, my stomach felt fine, in fact, I was actually hungry. How weird is that, I thought, shrugging it off. "Get up Shingo, we have to get ready for school."

The blonde haired boy beside me groaned and turned over. "It's too early," he mumbled.

Laughing to myself, I rose and went to shower and dress. As I went out of the bedroom door, I yelled back at my brother: "You better be up when I get out of the shower!"

Of course, when I returned to the bedroom Shingo was sound asleep on the bed, snoring softly. It wasn't really a big surprise, after all, I used to do it to my mom all the time. I grinned to myself as I went over and yanked the covers off his small form. "Tsukino Shingo, you have to the count of five to get off that bed and into the shower. One. Two. Three..."

"Okay! Okay!" Shingo sprang up off the bed and, giving me the evil eye, walked past. I could hear his feet slap against the hardwood floors as he went into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

I laughed to myself, shaking my head. He absolutely couldn't be any more like me. I was never a morning person when mom would get me up for school. And now that I'm in her shoes, it serves me right to get the same treatment from Shingo. "Oh Mom, I hope you're proud of me. I hope I'm doing well by your youngest."

"Usagi-chan?"

Startled, I looked over at the door way and saw Makoto standing in it, looking rather confused. She took a step in, wringing her hands in front of her stomach. I wondered how much she heard, and it wasn't long until I found out.

"Um, ohayo* Mako-chan," I said brightly, although it may have came out a little nervously.

"Eh, Usagi-chan," Makoto started, sitting down on the edge of my bed. "I wasn't ease-dropping or anything... but, well, I came in here to say.. and I just heard..."

A deep sigh left my chest and I sat down beside her. I felt relief and a little nervous about telling the truth to Mako-chan. I didn't want to lose Shingo, but I felt bad about lying. And truth be known, I know I looked bad supposedly having a six-year old at my age anyways. "Shingo is my younger brother," I blurted out in a near whisper. "I didn't want anyone to take him from me since I'm only seventeen years old."

The truth sat in the air between us for a long moment. I wondered what Makoto would think about me telling such a lie to her and everyone else. I was ready to defend myself and my motives when I felt Makoto's arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Usagi-chan. Minna** will understand, and we won't ever let anyone take him away from you."

I smiled and hugged her back. "Thank you, Mako-chan. I'm so glad you aren't mad at me for lying to you."

"Think nothing of it," she insisted. "I can understand why you did it."

"Ewwwwie!" Shingo interrupted, when I was about to tell Makoto more about what had happened. "It's girly mushy stuff!" he exclaimed, giggling.

"Come here you," I laughed, grabbing Shingo up in a loose head lock and scrubbing my fist over his wet hair. I started to pick him up when he let out a squeal of pain that almost made me drop him to the floor. Regaining myself, I set him down and searched his pain-ridden face. "What's wrong?"

When he didn't answer me, I lifted his shirt up where I had grabbed his waist and stared in horror at what I saw. There was a large angry looking bruise on his side, just above the hip. The purple and black where deep in color and stretched at least one inch. "Oh my God, Shingo," I whispered. "What happened? How did you get this?"

"I don't know," he answered quickly, pulling his shirt down and looking away from me.

"Shingo, don't lie to me," I reprimanded, trying to pull his hand from his shirt. "This is a bad bruise, you may have cracked a rib or something. Tell me how this happened!"

Shingo's eyes grew watery when he fastened them to mine. The blue swam with salty tears that threatened to fall down his face. "I don't know, I just woke up with it yesterday. It's just there. Maybe I did it in my sleep?"

Biting my bottom lip, I looked to Makoto with questions burning in my eyes. She looked as worried as me, but pushed it aside like I couldn't. "I'm sure it's nothing big," she lied for Shingo's benefit. "He may have done it playing at school. I used to come home with bruises all the time, and never remember where I got them." She walked over and clasped her hand on Shingo's shoulder. "Shingo-chan, I made you some pancakes. They are in the kitchen, you better go eat them before they get cold."

Shingo sniffed back his tears and smiled at Makoto. "Domo arigato, Mako-chan!"

I watched him run down the hall and towards the kitchen before I turned to Makoto questionably. She picked up a bag off the floor that I hadn't noticed before and handed it to me. "This is your school uniform. If you're going to eat breakfast, you'd better hurry, we don't have much time before the first bell."

"Mako-chan.." I began, but she shook her head.

"When he's not paying attention, have Ami scan it with her computer. She should be able to tell you whether he cracked anything or not, but I'm sure it's nothing more than what it looks like." She smiled at me, all traces of worry gone from her face. It frightened me more than reassured me. "All little boys hurt themselves playing rough with friends," she told me. "Shingo is no different."

I nodded my head, but the memory of the dark purple and blue splotch on Shingo's side was fresh in my mind. And it filled me with worry that I couldn't explain.

I found, despite my fears, that basically all schools were the same; even in different countries. Everyone looked me over from head to toe in my first two classes, trying to size up my character, just as my friends and I used to do to all the new kids. The classes were slightly smaller than those in the U.S. - but otherwise it was no different. My teachers gave me my books, tried to get an idea of where I was at in my last school and gave me assignments accordingly.

After I was seen with Makoto at lunch, most of the girls that seemed a little uneasy with me stopped giving hateful glares. When I asked Makoto about this, she explained that because of her size - not to mention a couple of fights she had been in - most of the stuck up girls stayed away from her and her friends. To this I only laughed and silently was thankful I was on her good side.

Rei was the only one who didn't attend the same school. Ami, Minako and Makoto were in most of my classes. It felt a little strange not having Rei around, but Minako assured me that she was always waiting when the last bell rang. Every afternoon they gathered at her temple to do homework and then to discuss the enemy. When the last bell rang, I was deeply grateful. The day seemed to last forever and my backpack was constantly getting heavier with homework. I wasn't too far behind, but my teachers still gave me a couple of assignments to make sure.

I stood up and moved my head from side to side, waiting for the small pop that would release a bit of the tension that had gathered at my shoulders. Since it had been roughly a month since I had been to school, I had forgotten how tiring it could be just to sit at a desk for so long. My legs longed to walk around even as my eyes begged to close for a short nap. I tried to stuff my last classes' books into my backpack, but failed and ended up carrying them.

"Looks like you have your work cut out for you," Makoto remarked as she held my bag closed so I could zip it. "Don't worry though, Ami-chan will help you with anything you don't understand."

"Surprisingly, I don't think I'm that far behind. I guess I'm lucky, since I was out of school so long with everything that has happened." We walked into the hall where we met up with Minako and Ami. "And one thing's for sure, I don't think I'll have a problem passing the English class I signed up for."

Minako laughed and readjusted her books. "I don't think they should let you take the class since you spoke English more than Japanese all your life."

"Well, I'll have you know," I replied, hoisting my shoulders higher and trying to hold back my laughter to make a reasonable impersonation of our English teacher. "My knowledge of the language can be of great help to the other," here I glared at Minako down the bridge of my nose, just as Himme-Sensei had done earlier, "...lagging students in the class."

We all burst out of the school and into the warm sunlight, filled with laughter. My mind briefly skipped back to my happy laughter with my friends at my old school - and it seemed impossible that such a short time later I could feel that careless again. The only difference was that careless laughter and fun could end at a moments notice now.

Just as we rounded the corner of the school grounds, I spotted Rei leaning against a lamp post; books in arm. She smiled when she seen us and hurried up to stand beside Minako. "It's about time you decided to come out of there!" she bellowed, but her eyes betrayed her act. When we all just rolled our eyes, she grinned and fell into line.

The bus ride from the school to Rei's temple was barely ten minutes. The stone steps leading to the Shinto Priestess' home were beautiful and plentiful. By the time I reached the top step, the bag on my back seemed to have gained twenty pounds. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when I dropped it at my feet and lie back on the soft pillows on the floor around the table. "Time for a nap!" I declared, snuggling into the soft fabric.

"Iie!" a voice rang out. "It's time for tea!"

Blinking, I stared at the paper door as it was slid open and a short man wearing a kimono walked in carrying a tray with a tea pot and cups. His feet were slid into wooden sandals that made small clunking sounds on the floor as he walked. Rei stood up and took the tray from his hands, sitting it down on the table.

"Arigato, Grandpa," Rei smiled, then noticed his eyes on me. "This is a new girl at Juuybun High, Tuskino Usagi."

I stood up and bowed briefly to the old man. His slightly wrinkled brow turned together as he studied my face. Slowly he walked towards me, keeping constant eye contact. "It is a pleasure to be in your presence," he said before bowing once more and going to the door. "If you need anything, Rei, I'll be at with Yuuichirou in the training room."

Rei nodded her head. After he left the room, she sat back down. "That was certainly strange," she noted, sitting her tea cup down. "Grandpa usually only says a quick hello to my friends. It was as if he knew you were a princess or something," she remarked, looking at me in deep thought.

"Well," Minako said finally, breaking the long, uncomfortable silence. "It's not written on her forehead, so I think we're safe." The Princess of Venus slammed her math book down on the table and opened it up. "Oh, Usagi-chan, where is Shingo?"

For a split moment I forgot where my younger brother was, but just as quickly I remembered. "Oh, Mamo-chan is suppose to pick him up at school and take him on a couple of errands with him so I can get started on my homework."

A pin could have dropped and sounded like an atomic bomb after I finished speaking. I blinked, looked around and cleared my throat nervously. "Nani?"

In a high pitched voice, nothing like my own, Rei clasped her hands under her chin and batted her eyes. "Oh, Mamo-chan is suppose to pick him up..." she mocked, bursting out in laughter.

"Mamo-chan?" Minako asked, sliding closer to me and peering at my embarrassed face curiously. "When did you acquire pet names?"

I felt the blood rush to my face, burning like fire on my cheeks and forehead. I will not be embarrassed, I told myself. But I couldn't stop the flush in my cheeks or the way the ground demanded my gaze. "It's just something we started doing, nothing special..." I mumbled.

Ami leaned over her book and smiled at me. "The name Mamo-chan is adorable, I just couldn't imagine you calling Mamoru-san that. It's so... strange. Young Protector," she said in English. "How kawaii!"

"And what, pray tell, does he call you?" Minako asked, still in her rather close position next to me.

"Usako," I whispered, feeling even more blood rush to my face.

"Kawaii!" all four girls chorused, hearts in their eyes.

"Oh brother," I mumbled, burying my face in my arms.

I looked up from the book in my lap and saw Shingo peer out of the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around him. The water droplets on his hair fell down on the floor around him as he dashed into the bedroom and grabbed up his pajamas and then ran back. A few minutes later he came back in the bedroom, a comb in his hands. "Can you brush my hair?" he asked, placing the black comb next to me. "Just like Mamoru-san's?"

"Just like Mamo-chans?" I inquired. "Why do you want to look like Mamo-chan?"

"Because I want to be just like him," he answered seriously. "One day when I'm bigger I'm going to have a car just like him, and an apartment just like him, too!"

It never occurred to me that Shingo needed someone to look up to a male that he admired enough to follow in his footsteps. I smiled at the thought of Shingo growing up with Mamoru's morals and sense of responsibility. I also felt relieved that Shingo approved of Mamoru so much, since I for one didn't want to give him up any time soon.

"So you like Mamo-chan a lot, ne?" Shingo nodded his head yes immediately, giving me the courage to go on with other questions I was wanting to ask. "Does that mean you don't mind me dating him?"

Shingo pondered on this a moment while I combed his hair over just as Mamoru brushed his. One small lock of blonde hair in the back resisted the change and kept sticking up. "I don't mind," he answered carefully. "But he's not going to go away like Dad, is he?"

The comb in my hand dropped to the floor as I pulled Shingo close to me in a hug. I rubbed his back soothingly and rocked him back and forth, assuring him that no one else in his life would leave him the way that our parents did. "Mom and Dad didn't want to leave us Shingo, but they couldn't help it. You understand that, don't you?"

Shingo nodded his head yes and laid back on my shoulder. For a long time I held him, thinking about how hard this must all be for him. My heart felt heavy as I laid him down and brought the covers up to his chin. Please Lord, I prayed silently. Don't let my words be false.

I watched Shingo for a moment before going back to my desk to work on my homework. I had no more sat down when a semi sweet taste filled my mouth. In seconds it was gone, but my stomach seemed to come alive, twitching with pain. The feeling was the same as this morning and I ran for the bathroom, barely lifting the toilet lid before I vomited. Again and again, wave after wave hit my stomach until I couldn't breathe. Finally it subsided, leaving my body weak and my face flushed. I crawled over to the counter where I pulled myself up and looked in the mirror.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked my reflection. Of course, it didn't answer. Weak now, I walked back to my room and crawled into the bed. I don't remember going to sleep, that is how fast it came over me. But the dreams that would come to my head tonight would answer some of my questions - and leave more in their place before dawn broke.

-End Chapter 5.

* "Ohayo" translates to "Good morning"

** "Minna" translates to "Everyone"

Still don't own Sailor Moon. Incase you were wondering.
Thank you guys so much for reviewing, following, favoriting (is this a word?) anyway - thank you so much for reading! I read each review, so if you have questions, I will answer the best I can. If you haven't read the manga or watched Sailor Moon Crystal, head over to and catch up on the awesomeness!

See you in the next chapter where some questions will be answered and some more questions will be brought forth :)

3 Beth