Sadly, this one is a bit short. I didn't realize till I went to post it. But I will be sure to post tomorrow to make up for it. The next one will be a bit intense as it will be the funeral. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed. Honestly, I wasn't too sure about this story as it is a bit personal for me. Plus I usually don't like the really sad fics that are all angst-ie. All that I write are stories that if someone else wrote I would read in a heart beat. Even after all the feed back I got back from my first fic, I was still hesitant about this one. If you guys hadn't sent me your votes of confidence, I may not have finished posting this so thank you all from the bottom of my heart. If any of you have a fic that you want me to read, let me know! I would love to show you the same support you have given me. I tend to only read finished fics cause I hate to wait (that's why all my fics are finished before I start posting, including this one) but if you want me to read and review, I will do it no matter how far along it is! Just let me know!

The Truth About Tragedy

Ch. 7

"The pain passes, but the beauty remains." - Pierre Auguste Renoir

She woke in her bed to the soft knocking at her door. Yukio stuck her head in the door to let her know it was time to get up then shut the door quickly behind her. She laid in the bed for a few minutes assessing her body and the night before. The night had been rough, her and the girls almost died. If it hadn't been for the new wand Luna gave her they would surely be...she shook her head of the thought. Luna had given her the wand and they were saved that's what matters. She was sore. Her shoulder and the cut on her arm the most. She looked at the cut to find a foreign cloth wrapped around it. On closer inspection she recognized it as the one that Tuxedo Kamen gave her when he replaced her shoulder. Removing the bandage, she could see a small pink line that was once her deeply cut skin. Any other person would have needed stitches. There were traces of blood on the handkerchief but other than that, no one would know that she could have lost her arm last night. She must have been getting stronger, a wound like that usually took a little longer to heal up to this point. The only issue that plagued her mind at this point was how she got home? The last thing she remembered was dusting the yoma. She sat up to a watchful look from her feline friend.

"What?"

"Are you alright Usagi?"

"I think so. How are the Senshi?"

"They are all perfectly fine. Your power healed them. It was a bit more power than I expected from you to be honest."

"I healed them?!"

"Usagi, what happened after you left?"

"After I left?"

"Yeah. Tuxedo Kamen took off with you before any of us could say a word. I was worried to death till I came back here and saw you asleep in your bed."

Luna found her in her bed? So the Senshi didn't bring her back here? That means...

"Yeah, I woke up and we talked a little. Just about his involvement and all. As usual he didn't say anything. Then I just came back here and went to bed. Sorry I didn't say anything, I was just so tired."

"Are you sure that's what happened?" She gave her a nod and her guardian didn't push it, "Well you did use a lot of energy. Just be careful Usagi. After all we still don't know whose side Tuxedo Kamen is on."

Luna left while she got ready for school. Tuxedo Kamen brought her here. That means that he not only knows who she is but is keeping tabs on her! If he didn't he would have taken her to the wrong house. So he was watching her? Both as Sailor Moon and as Usagi? She hated lying to Luna but she couldn't let on that he had brought her here. She was sure that he was on their side and until Luna and the Senshi saw it her way she would just have to keep this a secret.

Mamoru was waiting at the kitchen table for her when she came down the stairs. Butterflies filled her stomach as soon a she laid eyes on him. It was an annoying reaction that seemed to be happening more and more whenever she was around him. He gave her a small smile which of course led her to blush and turn away as fast as she could. As she sat across from him after she acquired her cup of coffee, she stared at the swirls of white and black as she desperately maintained a new no eye contact rule she had just enforced. Without looking up she heard Shingo stomp down the stairs.

"Dumpling head?! Your up before me? Has the world gone crazy?"

He slapped her on the back right on her recently dislocated and still sore shoulder. She grit her teeth and let out a hiss louder than she would have liked as tears pricked her eyes from the pain. All eyes turned to her from her reaction, then after a beat, Yukio slapped Shingo on the back of the head.

"You are too rough!"

Jumping at his defense, "No, it's not his fault. I fell out of bed last night. Hit my shoulder pretty hard. I guess it's a bit sore."

Everyone looked convinced. All but Mamoru that is. He gave her a concerned look that revealed his lack of belief in her story. She painfully shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to prove it was just a bruise.

"You know me Mamoru, I'm just a big klutz."

She stared him down, not backing down from her explanation to try and get him to back off and he took the hint thankfully. What did it matter if he believed her or not? As long as he didn't press it in front of her family. She could always tell him to screw himself if it was just the two of them. It was a strange thing to say, "You know me..." but they didn't really know each other. Not until recently that is. What did she really know about Mamoru? They use to just tease each other and argue all the time but now he was around all the time. And now he was apparently questioning her excuses. She had always been able to use her klutziness as an excuse for her battle wounds. Was Mamoru going to mess that up for her now?! Sure he had shared his pain with her making a bond that she never had with anyone before. But how many other people knew about his family?

School was the same as it had been yesterday. Hushed whispers and following stares. She once again came on time and turned in her homework. Causing Ms. H to almost faint. Again her homework wasn't perfect but it was a vast improvement to the old Usagi. It earned her a thumbs up from Ami a few seats away. She told the same story to the girls at lunch about her mysterious trip home last night. She tried to remember the details that she had told Luna to keep her story straight.

"So he still wouldn't tell you why he is there every fight?" Ami questioned.

"Nope."

"Well if he wasn't with the enemy, you would think he would defend himself."

"Yeah but that's not proof Makoto."

"We all need to be more careful, especially you Usagi. He seems to have a special interest in you."

"Ha, I just klutz out more than the rest of you guys."

"That's not true Usagi. You did really well last night. You were really brave. Besides, we were losing till you showed up and he didn't help any of us. He only showed up when you were in trouble."

She pondered Ami's words. They must not have heard her sacrifice to the yoma last night otherwise they would be berating her right now. Tuxedo Kamen didn't show to help them while she was on her way? Why wouldn't he? Did that make him a bad guy if he didn't help the other Senshi? Anger bubbled inside her knowing that her friends could have died while her supposed hero just watched. As she walked with her friends to the arcade, nervousness began to take her over for some unknown reason. Why the hell would she be nervous? It's just the damn arcade. When the door dinged its 'hello' she got her answer. Sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee was Chiba Mamoru. It felt weird to use his full name. She had only know it for a short time and this was the first time she even thought about it. He was in the same clothes he had on this morning but she just now took note of it. He had on dark jeans that fit appropriately to him. They weren't too tight and they weren't too lose. On top he had on a dark blue sweater with a v-neck giving a peak on white from the undershirt he had on underneath. His black wool pea coat and gray scarf occupied the stool next to him. Snow hung on his dark brown boots that peaked out from under his jeans She envied the college student for his lack of required uniform. She could still remember when they first met and he was still in high school She was ashamed to admit that even then he looked good in his Azabu High uniform. Not much different from now as he sat at the counter, nursing a cup of coffee, studiously in a book with his glasses perched on his nose. Had she really been paying that much attention to him all this time? Apparently she had been and she somehow never noticed. Ever since he appeared in her life, it was hard not to at least get use to him. She walked up to the counter and gave Motoki her and her friend's orders. Once Motoki left she turned to fully face the dark presences next to her. He didn't even acknowledge her existence. You would think after all they had been though he would at least say hello. She waited, watching him for some kind of response. The only one she got was him shifting uncomfortably under her stare. Motoki placed her order in front of her and gave her a cheerful smile. She returned it but left with a huff to her friends.

Shingo entered a little later. Upon seeing Mamoru he left his friends to chatter endlessly with the statue. As soon as Shingo showed him attention, he came to life. Talking, laughing, and playing with the young boy. Usagi caught the whole scene while her friends continued their prattling about boys and the enemy all mixed together. Her heart sank at the sight. She should be happy that her little brother has someone to look up to and support him but she just felt hurt. She felt stupid, of course he was more talkative with Shingo, his whole involvement with her family was for him. Why did she care anyways. She forced herself to ignore the two and return to the conversation that had shifted back to Senshi talk.

Yukio managed to talk Mamoru into staying for dinner again. Which of course led to Shingo badgering him into video games. This led to Shingo staying up past his bed time and Aunt Yukio carrying him up the stairs and to bed. She sat at the table finishing up her homework that was slowly starting to make sense, when a shadow appeared over her work. She knew it was him. Not because they were the only two down there, but because of the way her heart sped up. He was checking over her homework silently as she pretended not to notice.

"Not bad Dumpling. You actually doing homework now?"

"Yes! Don't act so surprised!" she spat.

"Sorry. I just assumed with those test scores you hit me with that you didn't do homework."

She rose to challenge him, standing a few inches from his face.

"I didn't mean to hit you with those, and you never should have read them!"

"Once you toss them, they are public property." A small smile played on his lips as they assumed there usual spat.

"That doesn't give you the right to torture me jerk!"

"Those grades give anyone the right!"

A throat cleared in the room behind them. They turned to see Aunt Yukio with a smile on her face leaning against the door frame.

"Am I interrupting something."

She pointed at the two of them and they realized just how close they were. Her chest was against his as they both stood in defiantly towards each other. Did they always get this close during their arguments? If they did, she had never noticed before. It would explain the looks her friends gave her. He quickly backed away and ran a hand through his messy hair. She had to physically stop herself from running after him and putting her own hand through his hair. What was wrong with her lately?! Grabbing up his coat, he said his thanks and goodbyes in one sentence and escaped out of the door. If only she could be as lucky as he, wishing she could escape the dancing eyes of her Aunt knowing the taunting that would soon commence.

She woke at 1:34 am again but no dreams followed. It had been almost a week since her last dream, she was starting to relax about them. They must have been her holding her emotions inside, her subconscious' way of telling her to mourn. She fell asleep with confidence every night, even though she still woke at 1:34 every night. After another dreamless sleep, she was ready for the weekend. It was Saturday and she was spending the day at Makoto's with the girls. She had gotten good grades all week, no detention, and would be starting her first job on Monday. Her body had healed from that horrible fight Monday night and there hadn't been an attack since. It had been a pretty good week, even with the awkward moments with Mamoru that left butterflies in her stomach long after he left. She was almost ready for the following day, the funeral. Her spirits dampened at the thought but she refused to let herself get down. Not yet, not today. Today was going to be fun and relaxing. She could hear the radio in the kitchen from her bedroom as the smell of pancakes wafted up to her room. Her Aunt use to always play music in the morning when she cooked. She remembered how in the summers when she would stay the weekend she would bound down the stairs two at a time and join her Aunt's musical number in the small kitchen. It was just the thing she needed to keep her spirits up. Just like she did as a child, she rushed down the stairs to see Shingo at the table and her Aunt at the stove. She broke into song with the radio and her Aunt turned to stare at her. A smile played on both their lips as she danced gracefully to the tune. She grabbed up her brothers hands and pulled him from his chair, making him dance with her. Yukio just watched them as they sang through their laughter and dance moves.

"Come on Auntie! You use to dance with me remember?"

Shingo looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah Mamoru, you should join us too."

Horror. Absolute horror. She had ran down those stairs hundreds of times before and made a fool of herself with her Aunt. But she had never needed to check for others in the house because it had always been the three of them. She found it impossible to move, watching her Aunt's face turn red with laughter. She slowly turned to see Mamoru perched in the door way.

"Wow Dumpling. For such a klutz, you sure know your way around the dance floor."

Without a word she shuffled past him back up to her room and screamed into a pillow.

A few minutes later she re-emerged dressed and ready to go. She had put on a pair of slim fit jeans and some long, black boots over the ends of them. They laced up the front and ended right at her knees. On top she had a long pale pink sweater that ended mid thigh. It had a crew neck and ¾ length sleeves that hung snug to her form. It was soft, warm, and one of her favorites. She threw on a pair of white ear muffs that matched her scarf and gloves and shrugged on her coat. Luna was at her feet, ready to join her when her Aunt called from the kitchen.

"Usa! Aren't you going to eat breakfast first?"

She walked over to the table that sat Shingo, Yukio, and Mamoru and grabbed a single pancake in her hand. Rolling it up with powdered sugar inside she gave Shingo a kiss on his sugary cheek and a quick hug to her Aunt.

"Sorry. I'm running late as it is. Thank you for breakfast! See you later!"

She made her escape with Luna on her shoulder and bolted out the door. She let Luna take some nibbles of her pancake as the two of them made their way to the closest bus station. It had snowed again with a layer of snow so thick Luna didn't have much of a choice but to stay on her shoulder.

"Ug, that was so embarrassing. Why is he always here?"

"He has helped out a lot Usagi, you should be grateful."

"I know I know. But it's getting hard for me to know how to act around him."

"What do you mean Usagi?"

She opened her mouth to speak when a red sports car pulled up next to her.

"Isn't it a bit dangerous? Driving that thing in this kind of weather?"

"The streets have been cleared already Dumpling. Besides, your Aunt asked me to give you a ride."

"Ug, she didn't need to do that. Look, I really appreciate it Mamoru, but I'm sure you have something you would much rather be doing than chauffeur me around."

"All I have to do today is hang out with Motoki. Come on. It's not a problem. I really don't mind."

Since she could no longer feel her nose and the bus stop was still a good mile away, she gave in and got in the car. She didn't say a word when Luna came with her and sat in her lap. The heat soon put the feline to sleep, so she laid purring in her lap.

"Do you go anywhere without that cat?"

"If I do she just follows me. She is quite persistent."

She knew she sounded strange. Some times she forgot that Luna was a bit of a secret. He was eying her suspiciously but he didn't push it. He never seemed to push it. Either he just didn't want to know, didn't care, or, scary thought, already knew. It was probably one of the former. She flipped on the radio without asking and found a song that she liked to some degree. It was one that she use to like before the radio started playing it all the time, killing the song. But it had been a while since she heard it.

"Are you going to perform for me again?"

Her face turned red. Not out of embarrassment but out of anger. She knew that he was going to use that against her. She would never hear the end of it now. But what could she say. There was nothing that would take that moment away from him. She did have fun, even if he ruined it for her. She almost felt normal. The thought brought a smile to her face.

"No, that was a one time performance so I hope you enjoyed it."

"..."

"You know, when we were younger, we would come and stay for a week or the weekend with my Aunt in the summers. She has no husband or children. My mom always hoped having us around would calm Aunt Yukio down. I guess she shouldn't have sent me cause I am just like my Aunt. She use to crank up her radio in the mornings so loud the whole house would shake. That's how she would wake me up. I would be so mad until I came downstairs. She would be dancing all over the place, I couldn't stay mad. All I could do was just start dancing with her. We would sing at the top of our lungs and dance till we were sweating messes. When Shingo was old enough to come with me, I was afraid things would change. But they didn't and Shingo became part of our tradition. I don't know, when I heard her radio this morning I wanted more than anything for it to just be another summer at Aunt Yukio's house. That we were just there for a visit and that everything was normal. So I danced down the stairs."

She stroked Luna's fur and the cat looked up at her at the end of her story. Nothing would be the same. Not anymore. Soon they were in front of Makoto's place and she was ready to hop out but Mamoru stopped her. He grabbed her arm gently and held her in her place. Luna looked a little defensive but calmed when she saw Mamoru's face. He had let his mask fall again showing pure emotions. She couldn't place exactly what emotion he was showing. She had never seen it on his face before, but it was better than his usual mask.

"I think it's good that you had that moment this morning Usagi. Hold on to your good memories, they will never lead you wrong."

His thumb softly stroked her arm making the butterflies fly around like crazy in her belly. Her mouth was hanging open slightly, due to the shock of his kindness. She placed the look on his face. Concern. He cared about her. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. How could she have been so cruel. Of course he cared about her, he wasn't an unfeeling fiend. His hand left her arm and even with her thick coat on, she could feel the chill from it's absence. As soon as his hand left her, his mask returned. Shoving herself and Luna out of the car, she gave a thanks, a goodbye, and slammed the door. As his car disappeared from sight, she watched trying to steady herself on the roller coaster that was her emotions. He was able to put a mask on his face that hid his face better than Tuxedo Kamen's mask. The two of them would be great friends if they ever met. Luna watched her as she tried desperately to collect herself and head up to Makoto's apartment.