Since you have all been good little readers and posting reviews, I will post two chapters for you tonight. I hope that this story is coming across as being more about healing than about pain. I really wanted it to be more about romance than pain. There is a fight scene in here that I hope isn't too much for you guys but again I am a bad judge of gore and stuff. I don't think it is any where near the nightmare scenes but if it is, please let me know so I can put up warnings for all the fight scenes as well. I have started another story, and sorry it is not a sequel to TCIAR. I will get to that soon I promise. This one will be all fluff so I hope there are those who like my style enough to venture out of this particular genre and read it as well. If there are those of you who like M stories with hot scenes and you like my writing, check out my first story "The Customer is Always Right". Any ways, here is my update. Enjoy!

The Truth About Tragedy

Ch. 6

"Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes around in another form." – Rumi

Waking for no reason, she found herself in a strange bed in a strange room. Panic set in till she realized she was in her bed at her Aunt's house. The only light was the moon as it trickled into her new bedroom. The naked branches from the trees outside made fearful shapes across the room, something she would have to get use to. Looking at the clock on her bedside table, she saw that it was once again 1:34 am. She kept waking up at the exact same time every night. This also meant that when she went back to sleep, the nightmares would come. A shiver ran up her back at the memory of the two she had already. The nightmares were worse than being sleep deprived. Luna slept soundly on top of her covers. Mamoru must have brought the two of them home. She weighed her options. Either go back to sleep and deal with the horror film that was her dreams or go to school tomorrow exhausted and get detention when she fell asleep in class. The less attention she brought to herself the better tomorrow. She snuggled back into her covers and tried to be brave she sleep claimed her once again.

Her bed began to shake growing more and more fierce as she fought the dream that was trying to claim her. Whispers filled her ear, calling her name sweetly. It was trying to trick her into letting the demons in. She fought back as hard as her subconscious could handle, but she was slowly losing the battle. Hot breath licked at her ear as the whispering got more and more desperate till they became a yell.

"USAGI!"

She almost fell out of the bed taking Yukio with her scaring both of them.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Mamoru and Shingo are downstairs waiting on you. You need to get up and get ready for school."

Much to her disappointment, the snow didn't even cause a delay for school. She quickly threw on a uniform and her hair up in the usual style then clomped downstairs. Mamoru and Shingo were sitting at the table. Shingo was slurping on a bowl of cereal while Mamoru stuck to his usual cup of coffee. His gaze turned to her and the memory of last night flashed before her eyes. How he had been so kind and so...close. She turned away from his stare to hide her burning blush. Grabbing a cup from the pantry, she made herself busy making herself a cup of milk, sugar, and a dash of coffee. A finger flicked one of her buns causing her to turn to berate the offender only to find Mamoru dangerously close to her just like last night. With a big smile on his face, he sincerely looked at her face then her hair.

"Nice to have you back, Dumpling Head."

She blushed again at his closeness and sincerity. Pushing past him towards the table she muttered, "Shut up Mamoru-idiot."

She failed at hiding her smile and her blush and Shingo looked at them like he had missed something.

"What are you doing here anyways jerk?"

"I'm taking you two to school remember?"

"You don't have to do that. We can just take the bus."

Her Aunt appeared from upstairs, "I can't have you guys taking the bus! Who knows what crazy people ride it!"

"Yukio, plenty of people ride the bus. There is nothing wrong with it."

"I would feel a lot better knowing that you two were in Mamoru's capable hands."

Just as she had gotten rid of her blush it returned at the mention of being in Mamoru's hands. Yukio's hand flew to her forehead and with a mocking smile and voice asked, "Are you feeling alright Usa? You look flushed!"

She bucked, removing her Aunt's hand from her as she continued to blush. She looked at Mamoru's masked face, unable to see any of his thoughts. Shingo continued to look at them with a bit of sadness from being left out of the joke as Yukio giggled at her niece's antics. Usagi was starting to think her Aunt had alterior motives to all of this.

"Fine, but I'm getting a job so I can buy a car!"

"As long as it doesn't affect your school work and you can get one, then fine by me."

Shingo started to laugh at the words "affect your school work", which earned him a smack to the back of his head compliments of Usagi.

For the first time since the fifth grade, Usagi was early to school. It was what she needed. She didn't want any attention brought to her and she wanted to start fresh. No more whining, no more bad grades, no more irresponsibility. Her parents always wanted her to become a better version of herself and to honor them, that's exactly what she would do. With the extra time from being early, she quickly finished her homework. She was sure some of it was wrong but it was a start. She avoided eye contact as much as possible, which was a feat in itself since EVERYONE was staring at her like she would implode at any moment. Even Ms. Haruna stared at her, but she had a feeling her's was due more to her lack of tardiness and finished homework. No one really approached her, they seemed more satisfied with watching and talking about her from a distance. Naru and Umino of course came and gave her hug just before lunch. After asking her a few polite questions like "How are you doing?", "How is your brother?", and "When is the funeral?" the couple left to have their lunch. She met the girls in their usual spot for lunch.

"Hey Usagi-chan!" echoed around the group.

She felt safe with them, away from the others. After her spill with Mamoru she felt calmer around them, like she could actually be normal again. Keeping up with the conversation this time, her, Ami,and Makoto had a nice lunch.

"Everyone just keeps staring at me."

The two girls looked up from their food with sympathy. Makoto, the most familiar with the topic, again put her hand on hers.

"That will probably last for a while. What with the circumstances of your parents' death and the media coverage of it. But if any body bothers you, let me know and I will handle it!"

She could really count on her Senshi. They were always there to protect her and she knew she would do anything to protect them. She really hoped that Shingo had some friends who were there for him like they were for her.

The stares continued for the rest of the day, but she made it through without incident. Soon the three of them were walking to the arcade. They had almost reached their destination when Usagi stopped.

"We have a Scout meeting later tonight right? Could you guys do me a favor?"

They both gave her a questioning look.

"I'm suppose to meet Mamoru and Shingo at the arcade after school but there are some things I really need to do. Do you guy think you could just tell them to go without me?"

They looked at each other with worry.

"Usagi-chan, why don't you just tell them yourself?"

"Cause if I did Ami, they would ask all these other questions and then even try to go with me and I really just need to do this by myself. Okay?"

Makoto took Ami's shoulder and turned them both back towards the arcade, "Yeah, sure Usa. We will tell them."

"Thanks. I'll see you guys later tonight."

"At the temple, 7-o-clock. Don't be late or Rei will have your head!"

She left her friends and headed towards the Azubu Juuban business district. She was determined to find a job today. Maybe she couldn't control her new found feeling toward Mamoru but she could avoid him as much as she could. At least till she got a grip on herself. Not many of the shops were hiring. The only places that were sold alcohol so she wasn't old enough to work there. She was about to give up when she happen by a small cafe. It was the kind of place that sold coffee, sandwiches, and pastries. A sign read "Server Wanted" in the front window. Looking in she could see that it was mostly college students scattered out among the chairs, typing away on their laptops. This was something she could handle. She checked her reflection in the glass, straightening her skirt and with a lifted chin, walked in and found the manager.

She was just starting her long trek up the stairs of the temple when the sound of a car screeching behind her stopped her. She turned to see Mamoru slamming his door and hastening up to her. He looked pissed.

"Where have you been?"

"I had some things to do!"

"Yeah? And you couldn't tell me or Shingo about these things you had to do?"

"It was no big deal."

"If it was no big deal then why didn't you at least tell Shingo where you were going?"

"You are making this into a bigger deal than it is."

"Am I? Cause the last time someone from Shingo's family went somewhere without telling him, they didn't come back."

Guilt coursed through her body. For the first time since they had met, they fell into an uncomfortable silence. Part of it was due to her guilt but mostly it was due to his closeness. She could feel his breath on her face, that is how close he had become. There was no denying his words, she had been thoughtless, but even though he was right, for some reason he looked guilty for saying it. Maybe it was the sadness and guilt that was surely displayed on her face or maybe he felt guilty for letting himself get so close to her. If it was the latter, he didn't move to correct himself. She didn't know how long they had been standing like that and she didn't care, but the urge to break the silence grew inside her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about that. I just wanted to go find a job and I didn't want Shingo tagging along. He would just make it harder for me."

His eyes danced from her mouth to her eyes as she spoke but he still didn't put any distance between them. She found herself praying her breath didn't stink but instantly did her best to convince herself that she didn't care.

"Why are you looking for a job?"

"We talked about this this morning, I need to buy a car. You can't keep being our chauffeur."

He wasn't angry, he looked more like he was hurt. This man was really confusing her. Shouldn't he be glad that she was trying to be more responsible? That she was getting him off the hook so he didn't have to keep driving back and forth to carry two kids around?

"Did you find anything?"

Whatever feelings he had on the subject were gone as his mask returned to his lovely features. She wasn't about to deny that he was handsome. At least not to herself, if anyone else asked she would deny it to her death. The mask he wore was more what she was use to, not the collage of emotions he had been showing her lately.

"Nothing is for sure yet. I should know in a few days."

"Okay, well when you are done here you will call me and I will take you home."

It wasn't up for debate. He left before she could make any kind of argument. She finished her trek up to the temple, cursing herself for missing his warmth but swearing it was due to the fact that she was now late.

After getting fussed at by Rei, the Scout meeting continued without incident. They talked about the usual, finding the silver crystal and the princess before the enemy and protecting her. Then of course the meeting turned from Scout to girl talk.

"Come on Ami, you have at least kissed a guy before right?" Makoto teased.

The blue haired beauty blushed in response.

"HA! I knew it!"

"Sh! Keep your voice down Makoto!"

"Sorry, Rei. But you have to admit, it is pretty impressive that Ami has kissed someone."

"Just because I spend most of my time studying instead of chasing boys doesn't mean that I am a complete prude! I kissed Greg."

"I remember my first kiss. It was with my first boyfriend, Justin." A look of content spread over Makoto's face.

With a flushed face Rei added, "Yeah, mine was with my fling last summer."

"Whoa Rei, you waited that long to kiss a guy? Even Ami's was before yours!"

Rei's face got even redder, "Shut up Makoto, some of us consider a kiss to be important and precious."

"Hey, just cause I have had a lot more boyfriends than the rest of you doesn't make me a slut!"

"You said slut, not me..."

She smiled as the girls shared their intimate moments. All three were soon sighing at the memory of their past loves. But then three pairs of eyes were on her expectantly. She shifted uncomfortably under their gazes.

"Usagi-chan, when was your first kiss?"

She looked around the room. Even Luna was waiting for her answer.

"I..haven't..kissed...anyone yet."

"WHAT!" All four faces went wide with shock at her revelation.

Was it really that big of a deal? Okay, so she was 16 and usually you have had a kiss by then. But she had never been interested in anyone like that. Sure she found plenty of boys attractive but none of them ever asked her on a date. The closest thing to a date she had ever been on was the late night walk she took with Mamoru but that was anything but a date. What with being Sailor Moon she found it much harder to be a normal teenager. That included having a boyfriend and going on dates. What if a yoma attacked in the middle of it? What if the enemy found out her identity and attacked her boyfriend? She was risking enough with her family, she didn't feel right putting someone else in that kind of danger. That was one of her main attractions to Tuxedo Kamen. At least he could defend himself if he needed to. The shock had worn off the girls and Luna. Now they stared at her waiting for some kind of explaination.

"I just haven't met someone I care enough for yet."

"Oh Usagi. Your not saving yourself for Tux boy are you?"

Rei said it, dripping with sarcasm. But for the first time Usagi noticed the care in her eyes. Had Rei always hid her true feelings like that? The old Usagi would have thrown a fit at Rei for such callused words.

"I'm not saving myself for any one in particular. It's just, I don't know something inside me has always told me to wait. That I needed to wait for someone."

"For someone?" Makoto gave her a skeptic look.

"I know it sounds strange but my mind has always told me that I was waiting for someone in particular and when the time comes I will know. Until then, I am perfectly happy the way I am."

Just then her phone rang. The girls gave her a look, 'no cell phones during a meeting', but one glance at her screen told her it was her Aunt. She apologized and headed for the porch to take the call in some privacy.

"Hello?"

"Usagi. Where are you and when are you going to be home?"

"Oh, I'm just hanging with the girls. We will be done soon."

"Well, I'm glad you are getting out. Look, since you are there with them I will just go ahead and tell you. Detective Misha called. They are releasing your parents tomorrow. So the funeral will be Sunday. Is that okay?"

"Um..yeah...I'll let the girls know."

"Okay sweetie. I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

She slipped quietly back into the room. The girls' conversation had moved on to their crushes. Ami was blushing furiously, so it was safe to assume she had made the mistake of telling Rei and Makoto her current crush. All eyes soon turned to her and their laughter died out. She must have had a face. Sunday wasn't that far away. Soon she would be saying goodbye to her parents for good. It would all be so final.

"My parents' funeral is going to be Sunday."

She was enveloped in a group hug. She could even feel Luna rubbing and purring against the back of her legs. They squeezed gently but she still found it hard to breath. Being the buzz kill that it was, the meeting was over after that. Promising to keep them updated on the upcoming events, she dialed the number of a certain jerk.

When Mamoru's car pulled up, the girls gave her a look. She escaped before they could ask any questions or tease her, saving her from another wicked blush at least for the day. He didn't say a word as they made their way back to her living quarters. When they finally pulled up to her Aunt's house, he put the car in park but neither of them made a move to do anything else. They both stared ahead at the warm light coming from the house. It was only seven-o-clock but being winter the sun had set over an hour ago. The moon and stars were brighter in the rural area that her Aunt's house belonged to. They were just far enough from the city that a few hundred more stars were visible. She soon found herself staring at her hands as they twisted in her lap.

"The funeral is going to be on Sunday."

She could see out of her peripheral vision that he nodded at her words.

"If you could come...I know Shingo would really like it if you were there."

"...just Shingo?"

It was a simple question, yet for some reason her heart began to race a little. They were friends now right? An it was a very personal event, of course he would want to make sure she wanted him there as well. He probably wanted to make sure that she was okay with her arch nemesis being there.

"Of course. And I want you there too."

It came out as a whisper. What was wrong with her? She made it seem like a big deal that he was there. His hand took one of hers from their twisting and held it in his. The act was so intimate and surprising. Yet when she looked at his face, he had his mask on again. Not a single emotion flashed on his face. She really needed to learn how to do that. Her eyes found his dark blue eyes. They were so deep, she felt a small bit of vertigo just by looking into them.

"Then I will be there."

Her heart began to race again. What the hell was wrong with her?! Sure she had found guys cute before just like she found Mamoru cute. Okay so she thought he was devastatingly handsome but she would never admit that to anyone, not even herself. But even with all those other cute boys that had shown her interest, she never reacted like this. And he wasn't even showing interest like those other boys. He was just being nice. The moment was broken when he released her hand and she quickly entered the house, failing to hide her blush as it reached her neck.

She woke at 1:34 am on the dot a usual. It was like her body was trying to warn her of the impending dreams that would soon engulf her. But she hadn't had a single dream the night before. Maybe her body had just gotten into the habit from the nights before and after her release with Mamoru the dreams had moved on? Had he helped her move on and chase away her nightmares? Before she could test this theory, her communicator went off. Ami's face appeared on the tiny screen.

"Yoma! It's in the Juban-cho Shopping Strip. Hurry!"

Great. All the way downtown. This was going to b a problem. If she was going to be staying with her Aunt, she was going to have to get use to running a lot more. She quickly transformed into her fuku and swiftly bounded out of her window with Luna on her heels.

She found that by using rooftops and trees it wasn't as long of a trip as the one by road. Add in her extra speed and strength given to her by her Sailor powers and she was somehow able to get there in 15 minutes. At some point she even lost Luna. But the 15 minutes it took for her to get there was enough for the other Senshi to get the crap knocked out of them by a very powerful yoma. It was human shaped but bloated and lumpy like a person who weighed over 400 lbs and this also made it hermaphroditic as it's sex was indeterminable. Its skin was a slickly dark green and it had a small shirt and shorts that did nothing to cover it's girth. It looked like it would be a slow and easy target. But by the looks of the other Senshi, it couldn't have been. She turned the coroner in time to see Makoto's lightening leave her hand, bounce off the creature's arm, and fly back towards the Scout.

"JUPITER!"

Her cries went unheard as the attack flew back into her and threw her against a wall. She looked for the other Senshi. Mercury and Mars were both barely conscious and sprawled out against the pavement. She could see from there that they had some bruises and cuts. Making her wonder what damage she couldn't see that kept them down. It didn't look like a single one of their attacks had made it through the yoma's protective skin. She raced up to the scene and the yoma already had her in it's sights. It swung a bloated arm at her with surprising speed, trying to catch her off guard. But the Senshi of the Moon was determined. She needed to save her friends and sisters, she would not let them down too. She flipped over the attack and landed with a little grace, facing the blob. It gave her a sinister grin making her skin crawl. Its voice bubbled in its throat as it called out a threat with it's name.

"So your the one I've been waiting for SlurgaSlurga!"

"That's right. I'm Sailor Moon. Champion of love and Justice. In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"

She jumped high into the air as another limb swung at her at break neck speed. If it landed one of it's attacks on her it would break bone for sure. As she flew into the air, she readied her tiara. With a strong thrust, she hurled it at her opponent. She hoped that its power and her force behind it would be enough to break through the shield. But she was wrong. Her tiara came flying back at her. She moved managing to dodge what would have been a death blow. However, she couldn't dodge it completely. She screamed as hot metal tore through the flesh on the arm. Blood seeped through her gloves as she held a hand against the wound. Taking a peek, she almost threw up at the sight of burned and mangled flesh around the large cut that almost hit bone. She swore under her breath as she heard the clink of metal hitting pavement some distance away from her. Not only was her tiara useless, but it was too far away from her to retrieve it right away. Her opponent let out a garbled laugh and threw another attack her way. She wasn't as graceful this time with her dodge and the creature's arm caught her leg. It was just enough force to cause her to tumble to the ground, bruising and scraping up her body. Pain seared throughout her body. She suddenly felt bad for all the yomas she had killed in the past with her tiara. If just a scratch hurt this bad, she didn't want to imagine how much it hurt when they were dusted by it. The other Senshi let out moans of worry and fear. Begging her to run and save herself. Why was this yoma so much stronger than the others? They should have no problem killing it. The fallen Scout's moans attracted the yoma, who then turned to attack and kill them. Fear spread over her body and her heart rate sped up dramatically. This yoma wasn't here during the day when there would be people around to attack. It wasn't after energy, it was after them. This yoma was specifically sent to kill them. That's why it was so strong. The yoma's arms extended, readying for whatever attack it was going to issue next. She stumbled to her feet, adrenaline taking away her pain. She did the only thing she could think of. The stretched arms of the yoma flew to the fallen solders in the shape of sharp knives. But they never reached them. She flung her body as hard as she could into the yoma taking it down to the pavement with her. As she rolled off its bouncy body, she could feel that her shoulder was dislocated. One arm was cut to hell and the other one was out its socket. She couldn't even use them to push herself off the ground. She was helpless as the yoma stood and glared at her. She breaths were shallow. She had probably bruised a rib as it hurt to breath. The yoma's arms turned to knives again as it closed in on her. She looked over at her friends wide eyes as they struggled to get up and get to her. Her eyes returned to the yoma. It smelled of mold and dirty flesh. She stared it right in the eyes.

"I'm the one you want. Those other girls are nothing. I'm the one with all the power. Kill me and your masters will praise you. Kill me and leave the others or they will kill you."

The yoma pondered her words. Looking at the other solders as if to take her words to heart. Its garbled voice rose from its throat once again.

"Alright, I kill you, I become hero SlurgaSlurga."

It let out a laugh that sounded like it was choking and raised its knives to plunge into her chest. Then, a rose hit the knives, bouncing off, but distracting the creature for a second. She turned as much as she could to see the horrified look on Tuxedo Kamen's half covered face as his attack failed. The yoma laughed again and continued its attack. Before the knife-like hands touched her flesh, a black streak appeared at it's neck and bit fiercely into the bloated green flesh. The yoma let out a howl and scrapped at its neck, trying to free itself from the attack. She called out to Luna just as two arms painfully swept her up. She was being taking away from the fight scene. She pushed against the silky material, trying to release his hold on her. Her blood smeared on his shirt and it looked so foreign. He put her down a few feet away from the site. She howled in pain as he set her on her feet. For the first time, concern and fear as obvious on his face. She didn't have time to think about it as the sound of Luna's howls met her ears.

"Put my shoulder back in!"

"What?"

"It's dislocated. I need you to put it back in."

"Sailor Moon, I think you should sit this out. Do you know how painful that is?"

"It doesn't matter! They are going to die! It's here for us Tuxedo Kamen. It's here to kill the Sailor Senshi!"

He looked at her incredulously for a second. Either he was processing her words or her new found determination. Which ever one it was it worked because he soon moved to place her shoulder back into it's socket. He made her hold on to a near by lamp post and gave her a handkerchief to bite down on.

"Okay..1...2...3!"

With a pop, her vision went white from the pain. She bit down hard on the fabric in her mouth but soon spit it out and raced back to the fight with Tuxedo Kamen on her heels.

Sailor Mars and Jupiter had managed to find their feet. Mercury was in a sitting position with Luna in her lap. The yoma was readying for another attack when Luna caught sight of her. There was a flash of bright light then at her feet was a small crescent moon wand. Luna gave her a nod as she picked it up. Power surged through her and became warm in the wand. Before the creature could land another attack she found the words and moves coming to her automatically. Warm light flooded the small street. She could see the other Senshi regaining their strength and stand. The yoma let out on final scream as it disappeared into the light. The warmth that had once filled her body left quickly as the light dissipated. She felt weak, like all her energy was drained. Slipping into darkness, she waited for the feeling of the hard ground, but it never came. She was able to open her eyes enough to see that she was in Tuxedo Kamen's arms. A small smile was on his lips as he leaned in closer to her face.

"You used too much of your energy, didn't you?"

She closed her eyes again to feel the warmth that returned to her body. It started at her lips. Warm and soft pressing against hers. Then traveled down the rest of her body till it turned her cold body into one of comfort. She moaned in protest when the warmth against her lips left and heard a soft chuckle before she completely slipped into unconsciousness.