A/N:

Two chapters in two days! That's got to be some kind of record! (At least for me!)

….

Chapter 2: The Plan

Motoki woke up to incessant pounding on his door. He shook himself awake. Glancing at the clock, it was a quarter after midnight. Reika wasn't due back for another two days and Motoki couldn't imagine anyone else arriving at this time of night. The pounding began again.

"Just a second!" Motoki shouted towards the door as he quickly threw on some clothes before hurrying to the answer it. He opened it quickly.

"Motoki! You have to help me! I think I'm losing my sanity," Mamoru begged.

"You never had anything in that department to lose Mamoru-kun!" Motoki countered with a sleepy smile.

"This is serious!"

"Of course it is," Motoki said soberly. With Mamoru it always was. "Why else would you be here in the middle of night?" he said as he invited his friend in and closed the door.

"Is this about why you've been lying to Usagi-chan?" Motoki asked when they had each taken a seat on Motoki's nodescript brown couch.

"What?" Mamoru asked, obviously taken aback.

"I overheard your phone conversation last Monday. You told her that you were meeting with an advisor during finals week," Motoki said coldly.

"Oh," Mamoru had become as stiff as a board.

Motoki took a deep breath and tried to relax. He needed to set aside some of his own righteous indignation. If he wanted to figure out what was going on he had to be a friend first, and an overprotective big brother second.

"I'm sorry. You came here for help, support, and advice. Not lectures from me."

"It's alright," Mamoru reassured. "I think I'd react with much less patience if I were in your shoes. I don't deserve you as a friend."

Motoki grinned. He was certainly not going to argue with that today. "So… what's up?"

"I'm having dreams again."

Motoki frowned. Mamoru hadn't brought up the dreams in years. Motoki had hoped they had been past all that.

"So Usagi-chan wasn't your princess after all?" he asked.

"No! Usagi is the princess! The dreams are of her dying…"

Motoki gestured for his friend to continue. He had faith that this all would eventually make sense. Mamoru was nothing if not grounded in reality.

"There's a man. He's me Motoki, and he says if I don't stay away from her, she'll die."

"Aren't you being overly dramatic? They're just dreams," Motoki objected.

Mamoru laughed. There was no humor in it.

"They were never just dreams!" Mamoru insisted, running his hand through his hair. Whatever was going on, Mamoru was desperate. A state Motoki had really only ever seen him once before – when Usagi had been kidnapped two years ago.

"Alright Mamoru-kun. Just take it from the beginning," Motoki encouraged.

Mamoru remained silent for quite a long time. Motoki was beginning to doubt he would ever speak.

"What do you know of Tuxedo Kamen?" he finally asked.

"What?" Motoki asked, not following the train of thought. That was quite the change in subject, especially for his friend. Mamoru actively derided the vigilante every chance he got.

"What do you know of Tuxedo Kamen?" he repeated, quite seriously.

"Nothing really. Just that he has taken out more than his fair share of the youmas that seem to plague Tokyo. That, and his fashion sense is impeccable, if a tad impractical for fighting, and he has a strange obsession with roses. You've certainly never been his biggest fan. Why?"

Mamoru held up his hand and a single blood red rose materialized right out of thin air. Motoki's eyes widened at the implications.

He didn't move for a long time – just stared at the impossible rose. His mind was spun and spluttered too fast for Motoki to grasp onto any coherent thought.

"Please say something," Mamoru begged softly.

Motoki's eyes shot from the rose to his friend. The stoic, thick-skinned, normally closed off Chiba Mamoru had never looked so vulnerable, not in all the time Motoki had known him.

He felt incredibly honored to be so trusted. He made himself smile reassuringly at his friend.

"Seriously?" Motoki asked, taking the prickly flower from his friend. "But you have always criticized the vigilantes!" he objected.

Mamoru stared at him flatly. Motoki felt rather slow.

"You mean, all those debates I had to suffer through, where I was ready to strangle you, were just for show?" he demanded, all that frustration had been for absolutely no reason. That Mamoru obviously had agreed with him all along.

"I was trying to protect you," Mamoru admitted. "I never wanted an enemy to come at me through you."

"Does Usagi know?" Motoki asked but before Mamoru could answer, he waved away the question. "Of course she does. She was making excuses for you the other day."

"Excuses?" Mamoru asked.

"When you missed your final, she explained that you had been held up by an accident. She said that you liked helping people." Motoki snorted at the description.

"Hey! I do like helping people!" Mamoru objected.

Motoki rolled his eyes, but did not argue. "So I take it that means there was a youma attack?" he prompted.

Mamoru nodded. "Did she tell you that she was the one under attack?" he asked harshly, visibly grinding his teeth.

"What? No! Is she okay?" Motoki demanded, but then once again answered his own question. "What am I saying? Of course she's okay. She has you!" Motoki waved dramatically at his friend as he leapt to his feet and leaned against the wall.

"How… How did you become… Tuxedo Kamen?" Motoki asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"The dreams," Mamoru explained vaguely, staring at the rose that he had just willed into existence. "The dreams showed me who I was. How to fight. Showed me why the fight was necessary."

Which finally explained why Mamoru had always put so much stock in his dreams. Motoki thought back. Over the years, how many times had Mamoru confided bits and pieces of his impossible world, never able to share completely for fear of putting others in danger. Motoki could only imagine the loneliness that kind of isolation would bring. No wonder his life had changed so dramatically for the better when Usagi entered his life.

"For your princess?" Motoki asked.

Mamoru nodded. "For her, yes. That may have been my personal reason, but the entire earth was in jeopardy and it was my responsibility to protect it."

"Your responsibility? You alone?"

"I've never had to face it alone," he said softly staring into the distance, his eyes unfocused. "Though I would have, had it been necessary."

"The Sailor Senshi!"

Mamoru nodded. "They have demonstrated courage and commitment beyond their years."

Motoki stared at his friend. He had been very careful in the way that he had said that. Motoki was missing something in all of this. Something important.

"Usagi… you said she was your princess… she was the princess for real, you said. She's Sailor Moon!" Motoki realized.

And it fit. How many times had the girl dashed away in the middle of a chocolate shake or a double date without explanation with Mamoru only seconds behind? Motoki swept a hand through his hair. How had he been so oblivious?

Mamoru only nodded again. That this was a secret Motoki was not allowed to share went unsaid. Which begged the question, what was going on now that Mamoru had decided to share this secret with him after all these years?

"So that time when she was kidnapped wasn't an ordinary abduction was it?"

Mamoru shook his head.

"But you got her back!"

He smiled slightly and nodded.

"So what's wrong now? Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon seems like a pretty good match to me."

"The dreams! She dies. Every night! She falls into a chasm and I can't save her. Her body lies broken on the rocks of the earth's core. The man says it's my doing and that she'll die if I don't stay away from her. I can't let that happen Motoki! I can't lose her!"

"And you think they're definitely true?" Motoki questioned feeling very much out of his depth.

"She's being attacked."

"Well, she is Sailor Moon. She's going to end up in a few altercations," Motoki countered.

"No! This is different! She's being targeted specifically."

"Usagi-chan? How do you know?"

"The monsters or spirits that have recently appeared don't go after anyone else. They don't even react to the other Senshi or to me when we attack them directly."

"How's Usagi taking this?"

"She's shaken, but she shrugs it off," Mamoru's hands were clenched into fists on his knees, the only evidence that he was agitated.

"What do these attacks have to do with you?"

"It only seems to happen right after she's been with me."

"What do you mean?"

"The first attack was when she was on her way home after seeing me – you know, that night you were there. That was also the first night I had the dream. Then the second was after breakfast at the arcade. When she kissed me good-bye that morning the nightmare struck again. And then she was attacked."

"I then went five days without seeing her and there wasn't a single attack. She showed up at my place after finals. And I had run out of reasons to be unavailable. The second she took my hand, the vision hit again."

"Mamoru-kun, this could all be a coincidence."

"How can I be sure?" he asked softly.

Motoki reluctantly shrugged. He had no answers.

"I cannot let her die," his friend said brokenly. "Not for real… Not again…"

"Again?"

"In the old dream… In our old life she killed herself. She did it because I was dead. Somehow I was able to see this."

"In your old life?" Motoki wasn't sure he was still following.

"And now, it happens every night Motoki. I'm afraid to go to sleep. I can't face it night after night. I have to stay away. But… but I don't know how to live without her either."

Motoki felt he knew the truth of this better than Mamoru. The boy had been obsessed with this girl before he had ever even met her. And the last two years, were not only the happiest he had ever seen his friend, but also the most balanced.

"You should probably talk to her about all this," Motoki suggested.

"I can't," Mamoru said, shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"Because… she'll choose to die. I can't let her make that choice. I couldn't survive it."

"But then… what will you do? You already said you can't live without her."

"I don't know!" Mamoru's hand raked through his hair once again. "I'll have to make her hate me somehow. Help her to move on… If she's happy… I can live with it," he said. Motoki knew Mamoru was trying to convince himself.

"Mamoru-kun, are you sure?" Motoki was pretty certain that this was a terrible idea. This was a decision that Mamoru was going to regret, probably for the rest of his life – especially if it worked.

"I have to be… So… how do I make her hate me…?"

Motoki sighed painfully, wondering if he should help his friend with this. Mamoru's face fell into his hands. His desperation convinced Motoki. Of course he had to help. If the boy gave up his princess, he'd have no one else to turn to with all of this.

"You cheat on her," Motoki said simply.

This pronouncement was met with silence.

"Can you even do that Mamoru-kun?" Motoki asked. "Because if you do, there's a breach of trust. There's really no going back. Weren't you just talking about meeting her parents? Maybe you should sleep on it for a day or two," Motoki suggested.

"There's no peace for me in sleep," he said bitterly.

…

Mamoru couldn't bring himself to take the extra step Motoki had suggested. He didn't think he could maintain even pretended interest in another girl long enough to pull it off anyway. Maybe if he just kept avoiding her, not returning her calls, not making any appearance at his usual haunts, she'd get the message eventually right?

Another week went by and the dream warning continued to haunt him, driving away whatever sanity he still clung to. He didn't understand why he was still experiencing the nightmare. He had listened! He hadn't seen his rabbit in days. So why did the vision continue to torture his existence night after night?

He sat unshowered and unshaved, leaning against the wall next to the answering machine. The particular space on the floor had somehow become his usual spot. He took a swig of the beer in his hand before hitting play on the machine.

"Four saved messages," the robotic voice reported.

"Hi Mamo-chan! I miss you!" she said brightly. "Give me a call and we'll do something fun to celebrate the end of finals. Love you!"

Beeeeep.

"Mamo-chan? Are you okay? I haven't heard from you in awhile and was getting worried. Please call me when you get the chance."

Beeeeep.

"Mamo-chan?" He could hear the unexpressed hurt in her voice. "Have I done something wrong? Why aren't you calling me back?"

Beeeeep.

"Mamo-chan," she sniffled. "I'm sorry I just barged in the other day. I didn't r-realize you were having a bad day… Whatever… whatever I did… to make you angry... I'm sorry… Please forgive me," she begged through her tears.

"End of messages," the robotic voice finished.

He pushed play again.

"Hi Mamo-chan! I miss you! Give me…

A knock at the door interrupted his self-pitying episode of the afternoon.

"…a call and we'll do something fun to celebrate…"

He forced himself to his feet and opened the door without thinking. Halfway through the action he realized his mistake and prayed that it wasn't Usagi. He couldn't face her – not right now.

"…the end of finals. Love you!"

He breathed a sigh of relief to see Rei standing stoically on the other side already glaring daggers at him.

Beeeeep.

"Mamo-chan? Are you okay? I haven't heard from you in awhile and was getting worried. Please call me when you get the chance."

Beeeeep.

Rei raised her eyebrows as the continued recordings played through.

"End of messages."

He met her glare stubbornly with one of his own, daring her to say something about it. He would love the opportunity to scream at someone. But much to his disappointment, she did not comment.

"You look awful," was the first thing she said. He didn't bother to deem that with a response. He simply moved back into his apartment, leaving the door wide open.

"Usagi sent you," he said taking another sip from the brown bottle. It wasn't a question. She stepped into the main room hesitantly.

"She wants me to make sure you're okay," the dark haired beauty confirmed, "but that's not why I'm here."

"Why then?" he asked emotionlessly.

"I came to threaten you! Unlike Usagi, I know what it means when a guy stops calling."

"Why don't you explain it to her then?" he suggested coldly.

"Mamoru-san!" she scolded. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine!" she spat. "I don't actually care. Call Usagi! And talk to her about it!"

"Thanks for stopping by Hino-san. As you can see, I'm fine."

"Is that really what you want me to tell her?" she asked furiously.

"Tell her what you want."

"Mamoru-baka! You are such a moron! You're going to lose her if you keep this up and I know you'll regret that."

"I didn't realize you ever cared."

"I care about her. This, whatever this is," she waved at him dramatically, "is killing her!"

"She hasn't let go then?" he asked, concern and worry creeping into his voice for the first time.

"Mamoru-san, you're her lover from a past life! You're her soul-mate!"

He winced. This probably meant he was going to have to use Motoki's drastic methods afterall.

"I told her that I couldn't see her right now," he said lamely.

"You also told her you wanted to take her shopping for an omiyage!" she countered angrily.

"She told you that?" he asked, surprised. Then he shook his head. He didn't know why that bit of information startled him. He was the one that played everything close to the chest. Usagi wore her heart on her sleeve confiding everything to all of her friends. It was one of the many things he loved about her. His throat constricted painfully.

"Yes baka! So what is going on?" she demanded.

"Nothing," he said his anger finally flaring to the surface. He advanced aggressively on his univited guest. "I just can't be a slave to some past life anymore. It's not real and it's not fair to either of us."

"I don't believe you," she said not even flinching from his sudden proximity bearing over her.

"I don't really care what you believe Hino-san," he said coldly pulling back away.

"You're timing really sucks! You know she needs you right now with all the attacks."

His timing had been perfect. Usagi hadn't been attacked once since he had decided to stay away. That fact alone was all he needed to maintain his resolve. But he needed to make sure that Usagi didn't get herself killed trying to repair their 'broken' relationship.

Which meant… he had to shatter it completely.

…

"Setsuna-chan!" Mamoru called after his mysterious dark haired classmate.

"Mamoru-kun!" she greeted turning towards him with a genuine smile. "It's been awhile. How are you?"

"I was wondering, if you weren't busy if we might grab some dinner?" he said recklessly.

She glanced down at her watch. "I could meet you at the student union in about twenty minutes. I have to go turn in a paper to Professor Takahashi before the five o'clock deadline."

Mamoru cleared his throat and forced himself to smile. "Setsuna, that's not what I meant. I was asking you out on a date."

She looked up at him startled. Then her violet eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked. "Sweet little young thing that adores you completely?"

"Not anymore," he managed around the lump in his throat. He didn't even look away.

"When did that happen?" she asked urgently, her eyes flashed with fear. Her reaction confused him. Why would she be afraid of a break up? When he looked up, her initial terror had flipped back to her usual dignified self. Maybe he had imagined it.

"Setsuna-chan, I'd rather not talk about it. I was asking you out."

She regarded him for a long moment. He didn't know what he would do if she refused him. Most of the girls he knew were best friends with Usagi. They'd have nothing to do with him. Unless, of course, he told them what was going on. Surely Minako would see eye to eye with him.

But then, he'd be taking part of her support network and one of her best friends from her. That was the very last thing he wanted. Well, next to last thing he wanted.

"Very well," she agreed finally interrupting his thoughts. "But," and she held up an admonishing finger in his face, "I set the rules."

There was absolutely no warmth in her tone. It felt like a business transaction. He forced himself to smile. He thought he would feel relieved at her agreement, but he only felt sick to his stomach. He was doing this for Usako, he reminded himself firmly.

Are you really? Or are you doing it for yourself?

"So… when were you thinking?" she asked.

…

Setsuna brushed through various dresses in her closet. What did you wear on a first date with a man you knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, could not ever love you?

Not that she wanted him to. This date was an exercise in pure reconnaissance. Setsuna had to find out exactly what had happened between her princess and her beloved. The stability of a peaceful future depended on the two of them, though she doubted either of them had even an inkling of their greater destiny, even if they did remember fragments of their past lives. And she couldn't be sure of that, though she had her suspicions.

Setsuna, herself, remembered the past far too well. Queen Serenity had needed her aid to send all the senshi forward into the future, but the cost was that she had had to take the journey the long way. And the long way had taken over six thousand years so far.

Setsuna sighed, feeling her own isolation wrap around her like a familiar cloak. When the inner senshi had come together as friends she had thought that her spiritual exile would finally come to an end, but she knew she had to wait until the outer senshi joined them. She had to be the last to take her place in their court. How she longed for that day.

Setsuna selected a simple black cocktail dress. He wouldn't notice her anyway. She knew better than anyone that he had eyes only for Serenity whatever he said to the contrary.

Once she felt she had made herself presentable for a "first date" she glanced at the clock. She had three minutes. She sighed. She didn't like abusing her powers for personal reasons, however she really didn't want to be late to this meeting. She might miss something important. She called upon the Guardian of Space and Time.

Less than half a minute later she materialized in an alleyway across the street from the restaurant. She strolled in confidently letting her gaze sweep across the room. Mamoru was already there. He caught her eyes and waved for her to join him.

Setsuna took a seat across from her friend, one of her very best, if truth be told, but she doubted he knew that.

"Mamoru-kun, it's good to see you," she said warmly.

"You as well, Setsuna-chan. Thank you for agreeing to join me," his voice contained genuine gratitude, which surprised her.

They chatted about small inconsequential things. It was like preparing for a class presentation. They had common interests and there was plenty to discuss, but they had no chemistry at all, not that she expected them to.

"Mamoru-kun, what are we doing here?" she asked gently with a smile.

Without words he reached forward and took her hand. His inner turmoil struck through her causing an involuntary gasp – his soul was in agony. What on earth had happened? Had the girl left him?

Setsuna simply couldn't see it. Every glance she had stolen of the princess had shown the girl to be completely smitten with her prince.

"You've gone too far Mamoru-baka!" a voice interrupted hotly.

Setsuna looked up to see Hino Rei glaring furiously at her 'date'.

"I knew you were no different than the rest of them! How could you do this?" she accused.

Setsuna glanced back to Mamoru. He had wanted to be caught with another woman. No doubt he had known that Senator Hino was having a fundraising event this evening and that Rei would most likely be in attendance.

"Hino-san, I tolerated your rude intrusion into my apartment," Mamoru said icily. "I will remind you again, that my personal life is none of your business."

"You make it my business when you flaunt your betrayal of my best friend in my face!" she screamed.

The tables around them hushed into a tense silence.

"Mamoru-kun?" Setsuna questioned.

"Setsuna-chan, I'm sorry that you had to witness this," he said rising to his feet and offering her his arm. She took it with an apologetic look towards Rei. She couldn't reveal that she was in complete agreement with the Martian warrior. She had to stay close to Mamoru to find out exactly what had gone so horribly wrong.

…

Mamoru had been expecting her ever since his date with Setsuna had ended, but he had still dreaded her arrival. He knew what she would ask, and even more terribly, he knew what he had to say in response.

And then there would be no going back.

So when there was a soft knock on the door he didn't move. His heart raced in anxious panic and he couldn't breathe. His hands clammed up.

When the knock struck again, he remembered it was Usagi knocking – and that he was doing this to save her. He used the knowledge to calm himself to some semblance of composure. He took one more deep breath before he swung the door open.

"Hello Usagi, I thought after Rei's episode last night that you might show up," he said distantly as if he didn't care.

She stepped hesitantly into his apartment. She did not take off her shoes. The assumption that she would not be staying long said that she already knew what his answer would be. And yet, she had come anyway. He wondered, if in her place, he would have been as strong.

"Is it true?" she asked softly.

He nodded not trusting his own voice.

Her eyes threatened tears, but none fell.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," he said carefully not looking at her face.

"Seeing as you won't ever return my phone calls, I don't see how you expected me to find out at all," she snapped.

He didn't respond. He needed her to be angry with him.

"But… what about Serenity and Endymion?" she asked.

"I am not Endymion," he bit back coldly.

"I see," she said. He was proud of how well she held her composure. He could feel her heart breaking as if it was his own because… it was.

"You deserve to have someone that is sophisticated and smart like you," she continued, her voice small. "I won't bother you anymore. Sorry for making you tolerate me for so long." Her voice cracked and her eyes watered with tears.

His fist clenched at his side in frustration. How could she think that he just tolerated her? He forced himself not to correct her misperception. Wasn't the whole point to get her to hate him?

He averted his gaze for a split second, not wanting her to see his own pain. When he turned back she had turned away back towards the door silently, as meek as a mouse.

He had crushed her. He hated himself more than he ever had for anything. He wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and tell her it wasn't true – none of it. That he loved her more than life itself, but he let her slip away out of his apartment, out of his life.

He took more will power than he had ever brought to bear to not go running after her.

…

Motoki had just arrived at Mamoru's apartment building to drop off some of his missed homework. He soon discovered that the privilege of knowing Mamoru's secret meant a lot more "covering" for his friend. Motoki realized that Mamoru had used him for this exact purpose for years, but now he that he could be open about what was actually going on Mamoru took advantage more often.

Motoki sighed. He supposed it was better than Mamoru just flaking out and leaving him hanging without explanation.

He pushed the up button to call the elevator. The door opened with a gentle chime only to reveal a dazed and very lost looking Usagi.

"Usagi-chan!" he cried in concern pulling her out of the elevator.

"Motoki?" she asked vaguely.

"Usagi-chan, what happened?" he winced the moment the words left his mouth. He had a pretty good idea of what had just happened.

She crumpled to her knees, her face dissolving into tears.

"He doesn't love me anymore…" she whispered in disbelief.

"Why doesn't he love me anymore?" she asked brokenly through her tears.

Motoki didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her it wasn't true, but Mamoru would kill him.

"What did I do wrong?" she asked.

"Usagi, look at me," he said firmly, one hand on each of her shoulders forcing her to look up at him. "You did nothing wrong. Do you hear me? Nothing."

"But then… why?"

"He… He's an idiot," Motoki told her truthfully, enveloping the young girl in his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder, rocking her back and forth and she shook in grief.

"I can't do it Motoki-oniisan. I don't know how to live without him," she sobbed in his shoulder.

Motoki shut his eyes closed against the familiar words. These two were truly made for one another.

"Yes, you can," he encouraged her. "You're one of the strongest, most resilient girls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"You're just saying that," she objected.

He pulled her away just enough so that he could look directly into her eyes. "Usagi, I have never been more serious."

He walked her back to the arcade and showered her in free food and shakes. She forced a smile, but he knew it was only for his benefit. The expression contained none of her usual cheer. He waited with afraid to leave her alone her until Makoto arrived to escort her home. He watched her leave with a heavy heart.

"Mamoru-kun, how could you think anything good could come of this?" he asked no one. He would have to knock some sense into his friend.

…

Motoki pounded on the door furiously. There was no answer, but Motoki knew he was there.

"Mamoru! Open this damned door before I have to break it down!" he yelled.

He reached forward to start his pounding again, when the door flew open. He stumbled forward at the sudden lack of resistance.

"Sheesh Motoki-kun! I was in the shower!"

And this was obviously the case as his friend was only half-dressed and his hair was still dripping wet.

"How can you shower at a time like this?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I just saw Usagi-chan."

Mamoru's whole body tensed.

"How is she?" his friend asked tightly.

"She's heartbroken Mamoru! You can't do this to her!"

"She'll get over it," Mamoru insisted.

"I don't know Mamoru-kun… I don't think she will. You didn't hear her talking just now. I'm really worried."

"You think I want to do this? You don't think this is killing me?" Mamoru raged.

"But you at least had a choice! She has no idea what's going on! You should at least tell her!"

"I can't do that! She wouldn't see sense. I'm doing this to keep her alive! Can't you…" Mamoru stopped talking abruptly. His eyes squeezed shut as if he was in pain. "I have to go."

"What?" If Mamoru thought he was going to get out of this conversation by feigning a headache he had another thing coming.

"She is in danger," his friend explained.

"I know!" Motoki shouted back. "That's what I was saying."

"No," Mamoru countered calmly. "She's under attack."

"What? How do you know?"

Dazzling light enveloped his oldest and closest friend and Motoki was forced to look away. When he turned back, Motoki's jaw dropped. It was one thing to know that your best friend was a superhero and another to witness the transformation.

"I always know," was the crisp reply.

His friend then leapt from the balcony without any hesitation.

"Wow."

…

The masked vigilante dove and swept Sailor Moon aside from what appeared to be a charging rhinoceros. But once it had stampeded past, the creature resembled a monstrous bear from the rear more than anything else.

Just as before, her tiara had no effect. She threw it again anyway. He followed up her strike with a handful of roses. When the creature made another pass he grabbed her and leapt upward.

Despite the situation it felt good to have her in his arms.

The beast vanished into the ether. And he set her down reluctantly and pulled away putting a good half a meter between them.

"You came! I knew you still cared," she announced gleefully.

She dashed back into his midriff, throwing her arms around him.

The edge was only centimeters away. He forced himself to peer over the edge. He intestines writhed painfully and his throat pushed down into his chest. Her crumpled form lay broken on red glowing rocks below unmoving. Her dress glowed red and orange as the edges burned like paper before a candle.

The vision came so strong it left his head swimming. He held himself stiff and gently pried her arms loose.

"Of course I came. I don't want you to die!" he said angrily. "And I don't want the city subjected to youmas! That doesn't mean I want to continue dating."

"But…" she bit her lip as she looked at him mournfully, her eyes watering.

He couldn't stand it. He wanted to comfort her, but he was also furious, furious that she would ever doubt his willingness to fight. Hell, part of him was angry that she would ever doubt his love!

But he needed her to.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said softly.

"I'm not! Not even close to okay Mamo-chan!"

"Please don't call me that," he said coldly moving away. "Stay safe Sailor Moon!" he called as he leapt away once again for what might have been the last time. Hopefully, now that they were broken up, she would have no reason to visit him and this would be the last attack.

…

After a month, Mamoru had settled into an unhappily empty routine. He went through the motions of going to classes and the various odd jobs for temporary or part time work he used to supplement his inheritance. He even let Motoki drag him out on occasion with some of their mutual friends and there were moments where he genuinely enjoyed himself, but they never lasted.

He kept dating Setsuna to maintain appearances. The woman's willingness to put up with his sulleness and complete lack of interest baffled him, but if she could keep acting as a shield to protect his princess he certainly was not going to complain. Sometimes he even enjoyed a good debate with her, but she never made him laugh or appreciate the sunrise. Not the way Usagi could.

Usagi hadn't called him in weeks – not once. He supposed that she had finally gotten it through her head that he wanted nothing to do with her. The thought filled him with icy dread. She also hadn't been attacked since the bear-rhino, so it was worth it. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

He was walking home from class when he turned a corner to see a set of painfully familiar blond odangos. She was deep in conversation with a boy only slightly older than herself. He couldn't help but notice that the lad bore a superficial resemblance to himself with dark hair and broad shoulders.

In that moment Usagi burst into laughter. He was torn with the beauty of the painfully familiar voice and with the rage that it had been another to invoke it. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to walk past them without comment.

He made it an entire three steps before Usagi noticed him with a loud gasp and ran after him.

"Mamo-chan!" she called. He should have just kept walking but he found that couldn't ignore her. He'd have to work on that. Instead he turned around and faced her stoically.

"Usagi, I've asked you not to call me that," he corrected. He prayed that she never stopped.

"Mamo-chan," she said again ignoring his objection. "Seiya-san and I are just friends," she assured him.

The scowl on the other boy's face suggested the stranger wished it were otherwise. And she must have known that. Why else would she feel the need to explain herself to him?

"What do I care?" he said coldly. The sentiment was far from the truth. In reality, he wanted to turn the other boy into a dartboard filled with a very particular set of red roses. "You can do what you want."

"Mamo-chan…"

He turned away quickly before she could notice his hands were balled into fists. He dared not speak another word less she hear the hitch in his throat.

Part of his heart soared that her relationship with this boy was completely platonic. But he knew that eventually there would a time when it wouldn't be. That she would eventually move on…

He had no idea how he would handle that when it happened.

…