Chapter Four


Usagi could only turn away from the man she had deserted, knowing that his words were true. She closed her tear-filled eyes tightly, hoping to block out the image of this beautiful man behind her. However, the image of his matured face and god-like body was burned into her brain. She couldn't risk looking at him for too long, knowing already that being this close to him could only make her lose what little bit of strength she had left. Now she could only pray that he didn't hear her heart pounding, threatening to beat right out of her chest.

"Usak-...Usa..." She could very nearly hear the internal debate going on inside of the beautiful man. Even though it had been years, she could picture his perfect features twisting as he searched for the right words. Usagi allowed the silence to hang thickly in the air, as she had no intention of speaking yet. Finally, she heard a deep sigh and she opened her bright eyes, waiting to see what he had come up with. She knew what would follow. "Why?"

The control she had established on her emotions was shattered with that simple question. She had practiced this answer over and over in her head, even wrote it down as she looked for the perfect combination of words to express the complex answer to that simple question. But now, when faced with the opportunity to use that answer, she was left speechless. Seeing him in the front of the arcade, seeing his pain moments ago left her without the emotions she had been experiencing for the past three years. And now her heart had reopened to him, whether she allowed it to or not.

She was thrown from her stupor as a hand urgently reached out to her, touching her right arm briefly, before it was retracted. The action was joined by a desperate request, "Please!"

The strength of the cry was enough to jolt Usagi in her spot, her eyes widening at the pitiful sound. She then looked down to the offending arm, feeling a burn lace her skin where his hand had dared to touch. As her eyes stayed downward, focused on the soft white of her blouse, she searched for an answer. "I... We..." Where had that confidence gone? She had worked so hard to create the new Usagi, but she was nowhere to be found when she was needed most. Everything she had gone through, everything she had done to herself was failing. And as she berated herself for her failure, her vision became hazy as her knees began to give out under her.

All she could focus on in the darkness was the hysterical voice of the man she loved as he called for help.

Mamoru sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair, his head in his hands as they rested on his knees. How long had it been, he wondered again. The sights and the smells of the hospital were only adding to his distress as he waited for any news of Usagi. What in the world could be wrong with her? She was perfect.

He could hear the voices of her friends as they whispered nearby. While most of the girls were subtle in their conversation, Rei would often raise her voice to express her disdain.

"Why should he even be here anyway? That asshole didn't care enough about Usa-chan in the past three years, why is he here now? For all we know, he did something in that room to make her faint!"

That was it. Mamoru was willing to put up with her hatred and the comments, but the implication that he didn't care about that angel was too much for him to handle. He quickly stood from the chair, his black jacket falling to the floor from its resting place on the back. The sound of his shoes made a soft thud against the linoleum floor of the hospital hall. The sudden action grabbed the attention of the four girls and the turned from their places to watch his reaction.

"Hino-san, I understand that you are upset with me for leaving so suddenly. Hell, I wouldn't blame you for hating me. But don't ever make assumptions about my feelings toward her." The calm tone of his voice was more threatening than if he had been yelling. "You have no idea what I have gone through in the past three years and you have no idea what happened today. Your accusations aren't helping anything. So for the sake of us all, shut up and wait to hear from the doctor." And with that, Mamoru returned to his seat, resuming the position he had just left.

When Rei returned from her state of shock, she began to yell and Makoto and Minako took her arms to keep her from charging the dark-haired man. "How dare he? Who the hell does he think he is? Let me go, Makoto!"

All of the commotion died, however, as soon as the door in front of them opened. Mamoru's head snapped up in attention as Ikuko Tsukino walked over to the girls she had grown to love as her own. Mamoru could only watch with bated breath as the older, obviously distraught, woman spoke to the girls. Slowly, each of them seemed to collapse in realization and Ami and Minako began to cry. Rei turned to Mamoru swiftly, anger burning in her violet eyes.

"I knew it!" Her voice cracked even through the anger. "I knew it was all your fault!"

"Rei-chan! Rei, stop it!" Ami pleaded through her tears. "Blaming this on him isn't going to make anything better." With that, Rei stalked off in resignation. The rest of the girls soon followed.

Mamoru stood automatically, looking pleadingly at Ikuko, desperate for answers. Slowly, she made her way over to him. As she neared, Mamoru felt as if his heart was going to burst from the anxiety. When the older Tsukino woman reached him, he noticed the tear stains marring her mature features. "Tsukino-san," he began but was quickly interrupted.

"Mamoru-san, please, how many times do I have to tell you? It's Ikuko."

He sighed, "Ikuko-san... Is she alright?"

A sad smile crept onto her painted lips, "She will be OK. She's just sleeping now"

Mamoru let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding and he sat back down as he regained his senses. "But, Mamoru-san, there is something you need to understand..."

At the sudden change in tone, Mamoru turned his head quickly to face her. "Usagi hasn't been," she searched for the right words, "quite the same since you left."

"What do you mean?"

"She..." Mamoru watched as her features fell and Ikuko began to cry again. "Usagi... Usagi has an eating disorder, Mamoru-san."

Even though she continued to speak, Mamoru was unable to focus on her words. An eating disorder? His perfect Usako? How did this happen? How had he not noticed when he saw her? He had been so stunned to see her at all.

"Mamoru-san?" The sound of his name pulled him back to the reality of the situation. "Mamoru-san, listen to me." He nodded his head in affirmation. "I will let you see Usagi. But only because I believe you are the only one that can stop this. I don't blame this one, but I am glad to know that you are back." The tears continued to fall. "Please, Mamoru-san, save my daughter... I don't know what else to do!"

Mamoru stared wide-eyed at the usually exuberant woman. What had she seen in the past three years? And why did she trust him without any hesitation? The look in her eyes told him she needed reassurance. "Ikuko-san, I understand. I promise I will do everything in my power to help her." Even as he made the promise he wondered if he would be able to keep it. How was he supposed to help her if she didn't love him anymore?

Hesitantly, he rose from his chair and moved toward the closed door. He reached out for the handle and turned it, bracing himself for whatever sight he may face. As he entered the room lit by the bright fluorescent bulbs, he focused immediately on the small form on the bed. He moved slowly toward Usagi, but was distracted by the beeping machines and IV tubes surrounding her. As he looked at her again, he noticed that her normally-pale skin lacked any of its usual brightness, her hair didn't shine as he remembered and her cheeks were sunken. Of course she had always been slight, but how had he not noticed that she was even more slim than usual?

"Usako... What happened to you?"

At the sudden interruption to her sleep, Usagi slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the light. As the form next to her begin to take shape, she inhaled deeply. "Mamoru-san? What are you doing here?"

The sound of her voice instantly lifted him and he rushed to her side, kneeling to meet her at a more comfortable level. "You're awake! How are you feeling? Do you want some water?"

She shook her head. "You didn't answer my question."

Mamoru gave a half-smile in response to her stubbornness. "I'm here to make sure you're alright, obviously." His expression turned serious, "You scared me to death, Usa..."

Usagi only gave him a look of nonchalance, "I'm fine, really. Just haven't been feeling very well lately."

Mamoru looked at her intensely, "Usagi, I was worried sick about you."

"Don't be. It was just a fainting spell. When can I get out of here?" She looked around her at the last question, noticing the IV in her arm for the first time.

Mamoru laughed slightly and stood up. "Would you like me to find out for you?" She nodded in response and Mamoru stepped out of the room to find Ikuko, being sure not to go too far. He found her in the same place he left her and she rose to meet him at his appearance. "She's awake. She wants to know when she can leave."

Ikuko let out a breath and smiled in response to her daughter's nature. She moved to go inside the room and Mamoru followed closely behind. The woman went to Mamoru's recently-vacated place beside Usagi's bed and took her daughter's hand. "How are you feeling, Usagi?"

Mamoru stood in front of the bed with his hands in his pockets, watching the exchange.

"I feel fine. Better," was Usagi's response.

Ikuko leaned to give her daughter a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Alright, then I'll go find your doctor." She moved to leave and laid a reassuring hand on Mamoru's arm as she passed him.

Mamoru turned back to the bed to see Usagi attempt to sit up. "Whoa, Usa!" He rushed over to her side and took her shoulders. The action caused Usagi to look up at him in confusion. "Wait for the doctor to get here." He pressed her gently back into the hospital bed.

"Stop making this such a big deal! I only fainted! I'm fine!" she fumed.

"I'm sure you are, but I'd like to hear it from a doctor, too."

As he spoke, Ikuko returned with Ami's mother. Dr. Mizuno had a caring smile on her face as she entered. "Usagi-chan, I'm glad to see that you're awake. I hope you feel rested?" Usagi nodded in affirmation. "Good. Well, I'm going to let you leave very soon if you assure me that you feel better. If not, you can stay under my supervision for the night."

"No, I feel much better," Usagi reaffirmed.

Dr. Mizuno walked closer to her ward, "Alright then. Now, Usagi-chan..." She paused, taking note of another presence in the room. "Oh, may I speak openly with the young man present?" Usagi turned to look at Mamoru and nodded slowly. "Alright. Well, Usagi-chan, I want you to understand that your vitals were incredibly low when you arrived." She looked down at her clipboard, flipping through a few pages as she searched for specifics. "Your blood pressure was extremely low, your blood sugar was low, your samples showed very low levels of iron and magnesium, and your heart rate was very low."

Mamoru looked over to the doctor, his face covered in concern as the severity of of the situation began to show.

"Usagi-chan," Dr. Mizuno's voice began to drop, "I can't force you to enter any sort of rehabilitation program, but I must let you know that it would be very helpful. I worry about you as a patient and as my daughter's best friend."

Usagi allowed a smile to come to her face as she registered to genuine concern in her voice. "I understand, Mizuno-san. I promise to take better care of myself."

"I hope that is the case," Dr. Mizuno replied. "I'm not going to put a feeding tube in you now, Usagi-chan, but I want you to understand that is an option if this problem persists." Usagi nodded. "Alright, well let's see if we can't get you out of here and back home." She placed her clipboard on the side table. "Go ahead and sit up, slowly." She watched as Usagi mimicked her instructions. "Your blood pressure is still quite low, so we will wait until it rises again before we have you stand up. I will return in a few minutes."

She turned to leave and Ikuko excused herself, leaving Mamoru and Usagi alone once again. He walked slowly to her side, watching the monitor to take note of any rise or fall in her blood pressure. "I'm assuming my mother told you." Her voice brought Mamoru's attention back to the sitting Usagi. He only nodded in response, in no hurry to force answers from her. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again, this time her tone seemed more pleading, "Just don't treat me any differently because of it, OK?"

"Never, Usa. I promise." The look he gave her told her that his promise had a deeper meaning. Before she could question it, however, the two older women returned at the tail-end of a conversation. Mamoru cleared his throat and backed away from Usagi to allow Dr. Mizuno better access to her patient.

She checked the monitor again and smiled, "Your blood pressure is beginning to rise again. Young man, if you wouldn't mind helping her stand?" She looked back at a surprised Mamoru and nodded. He moved over to her bedside and cautiously took both of her frail hands in his own, much larger ones. As he closed his hands around hers, he felt a familiar rush of energy surge through him and he looked back up to Usagi to find her wide eyes reflecting his own emotions. Mamoru cleared his throat once again as he set to his task. Slowly, Usagi began to push herself off of the bed before she was in a standing position with his own strength as her support.

"How do you feel, Usagi-chan?" The question from the doctor interrupted her thoughts as she smiled in approval. "Wonderful! It's been quite a day for you. I'm sure you'll be pleased to return home."

Before Usagi could respond, her mother beat her to it. "Actually, Usagi will be staying with Mamoru-san for a while."

Both Usagi and Mamoru turned immediately at this new information and replied in unison, "What?"

End Chapter Four

Wow! What a surprise? I didn't see that coming at all! Sorry dear readers, just a little bit of bad humor from my side of things. Hope you enjoy the little twist! Well, not enjoy it per se, but you know what I mean. I know this chapter didn't deal with Usagi and Mamoru's relationship much like the previous chapters have, but obviously they got a bit sidetracked. Don't worry, the next chapter will bring them back around! And I promise you all it won't take as long to come out as this one did. It's been a bit of a crazy semester! I'm writing this during my spring break, but as soon as I get back spring volleyball season will begin! But that will not take away from the time I dedicate to the story, I promise you. Anywho, if you enjoyed it, you should really let me know! It really does make me happy! And if you didn't enjoy it, I appreciate constructive criticism more than most people. Even if it doesn't make my happy, it at least teaches me something! So, in conclusion, please review!

And for those of you who were unsure of the twist in the last chapter, please recall that I never said that Mamoru broke up with Usagi, only that he left Tokyo. Ah, semantics! They sure are fun to play around with!

Until next time, dear readers!

Love!