smooches+ Thank you, Dudly, kawaiigirl275, c.Shakespeare, raye85 and pheobesapphira.

And nope, never heard of that fairytale challenge. Addy please:)

DISCLAIMER: If they were mine… but they are not.

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045. CAPE

Motoki sighed, paying no attention to his friends' regular squabble. Usagi was the first to react. "Motoki-onii-chan? Something wrong?"

"Yesterday Reika told me she found Tuxedo Kamen sexy." Motoki sighed again. "It's the cape, isn't it?"

Mamoru and Usagi blinked, and suddenly both were eager to give Motoki a good reason to convince Reika that Tuxedo was not in the market.

"The cape is really impractical, and heavy!"

"Actually, it's very warm," Usagi muttered. "but…" She tried hard to come up with a fault. "Er… He tripped in it once?"

"He did not!" Mamoru glared. "It was that youma's fault."

22/03/07

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046. TIME

Mamoru thinks of six years lost. Half a childhood, the happier half, and only a vague image of a Princess to make up for them.

Usagi thinks of the last months, of the Negaverse presence. They have almost killed Sailor Moon too many times; if Tuxedo Kamen weren't around….

Mamoru thinks of the last weeks. Midnight attacks, murderous youma and too little to call him back to the real world. There's a reason he always returns to the arcade, you know?

Usagi thinks of the days ahead: Another battle, another test, another fight with Mamoru.

But there's always hope.

Right?

22/03/07

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047. BROKEN GLASS

Why wouldn't she stop? "Usagi!"

"Shhh." She smiled kindly. "You are distracting me."

Mamoru pointed at the floor, willing her to notice the shards of glass and stop. Please stop?

But onward she came. Toward him.

Blood began running down her soles, dyeing the glass in dark red. More out of curiosity than pain, she finally looked down. "Oops," she giggled. "How did I break all of these? I must be more of a klutz than even you would think, huh?"

Mamoru shook his head. "I'd never."

Usagi's eyes suddenly looked sad. "Wouldn't you?"

Mamoru woke up with a start.

22/03/07

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048. ROSEBUD

Motoki chuckled to himself. "Girls will never stop amazing me," he commented.

Mamoru looked up from his text and smiled wryly. "What has the Odango done this time?"

The blond stared at him weirdly. "Actually, I was talking about her friend. Have you met Makoto?" At Mamoru's nod, Motoki continued. "She wears these cute little rosebud studs all the time, and I mean all the time. It's sweet."

Mamoru shrugged, disinterested, and returned to his reading. "What's so surprising?" he mumbled, "The Odango wears pearl earrings all the time. Well, except last Saturday afternoon; those were star-shaped."

Motoki just gaped.

22/03/07