Sorry that I did't post yesterday. My husband took the day off and he hates it when I do anything with my writing when he is home cuse, well lets be honest, I completely ignore him! I realize I owe you guys two chapters. I will post wo tomorrow I promise. I somehow threw my back out so hubby stayed home to take care of me. I am using a wireless keyboard so I don't have to hunch over or whatever. God I feel old! I have changed the format of my writing a bit, thanks to a suggestion from a reviewer. Let me know what you guys think! Here is update one for now.

The Truth About Tragedy

Ch. 9

"While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it." - Samuel Johnson

He gripped her hand tightly in response. When they reached the hallway, light flooded her eyes making her recoil as her eyes adjusted. He stopped and grabbed her chin with his free hand, moving it around in examination. It still stung and burned. She was sure it was red and maybe a little puffy.

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

"Liar. I'm sorry I hurt you."

"It's not your fault."

He slipped her sunglasses off of her head, and back onto her face, "That helps."

It was good that he still held her hand cause with the glasses on she found it hard to see. He maneuvered them around the other guest towards the back yard. She had no clue what time it was or how long she had been asleep but she felt groggy, like her little nap only made her more tired. Mamoru had to practically pull her along. She could make out shadows and faces when they got really close. A bunch of people had left and the house was starting to clear out but it was still a packed house. She could just make out some of the faces as they passed. Some gave her approving smiles while others looked as if they were trying to figure out who Mamoru was. As soon as they made it outside she slipped off her glasses and walked with Mamoru to the bond fire. The girls were still there but they were joined by Yukio and Luna. Mamoru dropped her hand as soon as the group's eyes turned to them but Luna still caught the act.

"Where have you been young lady?"

She opened her drowsy mouth to answer but she was a bit slow.

"She was upstairs asleep. Shingo is asleep too in his room."

She looked up to thank him for what she wasn't sure. It felt like it took all her strength just to turn her head. Again, she was too slow and the conversation took off before she could get a word in.

"Oh, well maybe I should just let him sleep here tonight? Some of our other relatives are planning on staying the night anyways. Usagi, would you be okay alone tonight?"

Again before she could answer.

"We could stay with her." It was Makoto. She meant her and the girls.

"That's sweet of you girls, but it's already so late and it's a school night."

She had never heard her Aunt sound so responsible before. Maybe her taking them in was good for her.

"I'll stay with her. On the couch of course. I have to be there in the morning anyways."

"Oh would you Mamoru? That is just so sweet thank you."

Maybe not. Her father would never let any boy or man sleep in the house, even on the couch. He grabbed her shoulders and shuffled her towards the door. After an endless line of cars along the street, he finally pulled open her door and she slumped into the nice, soft seat. Before he could shut the door, Luna hopped into her lap. He let out a soft chuckle and shut the door. While he came around the front of the car, she noticed that she had on her coat. When did he put it on me? She was so out of it, she didn't even notice! She managed to stay awake the ride home and handed her keys to Mamoru to open the door. Kicking off her shoes, she made her way to the couch and flopped down. Mamoru soon joined her. She was too tired to care about the implications or being embarrassed she as snuggled against him. She felt him stiffen then relax as he put an arm around her. That was the last thing she remembered as she feel into a deep dreamless sleep.

Strange noises woke her and she found herself laying across the couch with a coat covering her. She looked towards the noise to see Mamoru moving around in the kitchen. When she rose, she noticed that she was still in her clothes from last night. The sun was just rising over the horizon, filling the kitchen with a warm orange light. She quietly took a seat at the table, watching the man in front of her. The morning sun reflected off of his dark hair like a halo. He still had on his slacks and white shirt, but it was wrinkled and un-tucked. It was the messiest she had ever seen him. He looked comfortable and beautiful all at the same time.

"So you going to tell me what happened last night?"

He didn't turn and his announcement took her off guard. She must not have been as quiet as she thought she had been. He turned and placed a cup of coffee in front of her. Taking a sip, she noted that it was perfect, just how she liked it. He even knew how she took her coffee. He waited silently for her to spill. Luna was no where in sight to save her or hear her confession.

"Ever since my parents died I've been having nightmares. They are really bad and realistic and sometimes I have a hard time...waking up."

She said it all quickly hoping it wouldn't seem like a big deal. Some thing about Mamoru made it almost impossible for her to lie. It was very irritating. He stared at her, letting her words sink in. Even if it was a big deal, it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it. His face hardened at her words but he didn't say anything. He just turned back to his cooking and that was the last either of them said about it.

Today was her first day at her new job and the girls had almost made her late. They kept pressing her about what was going on between her and Mamoru. If there had been anything to tell, she would, but there was nothing going on. Nothing that she had a grasp on anyways.

Running down the street, she reached the Cafe right on time. The first thing, she was handed her uniform and pointed towards the bathroom. The uniform consisted of a pencil fit black skirt that ended just above her knees, a white button up shirt that was to be tucked in, and a burgundy apron. She rolled the sleeves up to elbows and left the top two buttons undone and walked out to start her day.

The job itself was really quiet simple. She took orders and brought over the food when it was done. There were a few tasks like rolling silverware in napkins and refilling salt but other than that it was painless work. She got tips and a small salary. It was mostly college students so she didn't expect any big tips. She got to be her usual friendly self for pay, so needless to say she loved this job. She stayed till close and walked out with one of her co-workers. She was a college student who needed the money for food and rent. It made Usagi feel a bit bad that she was only working for a car.

"Yeah, well my brother helps out a lot."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah he works near here too. He's picking me up. Do you need a ride?"

"I live way out there."

"It's okay. My brother is super nice. You should meet him!"

Just then a strange car pulled up but the driver wasn't so strange. It was of course Motoki. Small world. Once she recognized the driver she hoped in willingly and listened to the two squabble as they took her home.

Usagi had figured out that the dreams only came late at night so as long as she slept during the day she was safe. This was no easy task though, since she had school and work. She would fall asleep right at day break, then get up and go to school and take a nap before work. She stayed up nights working on homework and studying. She looked like crap but her grades didn't!

Luna must have told the girls her new sleeping habits after she appeared looking ragged a few days in a row. She still hadn't told them about her dreams or the anxiety she got every night at 1:34 a.m. It would just worry them. What could they do anyways? They were just nightmares. The Senshi, none the less, voiced their concerns. Day after day she had to assure them that nothing was wrong, that she was just trying to get ahead in school or that she was too stressed to sleep or that she slept during the day. After a week they gave up and she stopped worrying about the dreams. Her grades were up, work was great, and there hadn't been an attack since before the funeral. All things considered, life was going good.

If only she could get her feelings in check with Mamoru. He was still taking them to school every morning, and with her tips it would be that way up to graduation. He was there every morning for breakfast and at the arcade after school. Thanks to her job, she didn't have to ride home with him but his presents still had an effect on her. He hadn't said much to her since she told him about her dreams, not even to insult her unless she started it. She just wanted everything to go back to the way they were. She wanted to just be a silly klutz, for Shingo to be a nuisance, and for her and Mamoru not to look at each other the way they did. But it was becoming painfully obvious that is was never going to go back to the old.

She sat doing her homework. It was a little after 1 am. She had ear phones on as she worked on a long division problem when a shadow moved across the wall in front of her. She quickly turned towards the window but only saw the trees. A shadow moved again and she walked to her window. Looking out, everything looked normal. Usually she could make out the whole backyard but the clouds hid what was the sliver of moon. Patches of leftover snow still patterned the ground and glowed in the dark. A small breeze shuffled the branches but that was the only movement she saw. She still felt uneasy and creeped out.

She turned to back to her desk and noticed another unusual shadow. It was in the corner of her room, but this shadow almost looked like a person. Taking a quick peek behind her, she saw nothing outside that would make the shape.

Her breath stopped as she realized it wasn't a shadow shaped like a person, it WAS a person. She quickly grabbed her moon wand off her nightstand. She wasn't sure if she could use it in her human form but the enemy didn't know that. The shadow moved and shifted. It was big. The size of a man, a very tall man. She pointing her wand towards it.

"Who are you and what do you want."

The shadow shifted again, not making a sound. It stood there not answering her which both annoyed and unnerved her.

"I will dust you."

The shadow began to move towards her. She was just about to try her luck with the wand when the creature left the shadow of her room and emerged into the light.

"I have a feeling that doesn't work when you are in that form but I didn't want to try my luck."

"Tuxedo Kamen!"

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"What are you doing here?"

"I...I've been watching you."

"Watching me...why?"

"I know you have been having nightmares. You have stopped sleeping at night? They must be worse than you let on."

"How the hell do you know who I am? And where I live?"

"...I've known who you are for a long time Sailor Moon."

He's known? How could he know? Sure I'm the only girl who dons this hairstyle but what are the chance that Tuxedo Kamen knows her in human form?

"Then, the other night, after the battle, you brought me here."

"Yes...Did you tell the other Senshi?"

"NO! I couldn't let them know you know who I am! They still think your the enemy."

"They? So you don't?"

"I don't know. I mean...if you were the enemy, why would you save me. But you don't help the others. Why do you only save me?"

He was very close. The entire conversation he had slowly gotten closer to her. His fingers reached over and sought her hands, taking them slowly into his. The whole movement was done as if she was a doe and he was a hunter trying not to scare off his prey.

"It's not that I don't want to save them, it's just that you are the only one I am meant to save."

Through his gloves, she could feel the warmth of his skin on hers. This was all becoming very real. Pulling her fingers from his, she put some distance between them.

"What does that even mean?! How long exactly have you known who I am?"

He sat down on her bed and removed his top hat and gloves.

"I'm drawn to you. I can't help it. I save you because you are the one that needs it the most anyways. Ever since the first time I saw you I was interested in you. And it's not like you tried hard to keep your identity a secret from me. I've known who you were since the masquerade ball."

"Your drawn to me...? The ball was over a year ago! You waited that long to tell me you know who I am? Not even tell me, just drop me off at my home without a word!"

"Are you mad?"

"I...I don't know."

Some how she had made her way back to the bed and sat next to him. It seemed that she was drawn to him as well. Still in the midst of an inner battle of her feelings towards him, she faced his mask covered eyes.

"Usagi, tell me what is wrong. Why are you not sleeping?"

"...I keep having nightmares, but the nightmares aren't the problem. The problem is that I have a hard time waking up from them. It's like someone is after me, trapping me in them."

He pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She couldn't help but feel a bit of deja va. His movements, his voice, his touch, they all reminded her of Mamoru. The man she was trying desperately not to think about as it is. This was just her brain making up an excuse to think about him. She felt close to Tuxedo Kamen and to Mamoru too? All these years of feeling nothing towards men and all the sudden she was torn between two? It just wasn't fare. She was drawn to both them.

"You know, I was actually a little revealed when I found out at first."

"Who I was? Why?"

He chuckled, "It was driving me crazy, being drawn to two women. Usagi and Sailor Moon."

She knew the feeling. "So am I suppose to figure out who you are now? Or are you just going to tell me?"

She heard his breath hitch at her question and he licked his lips nervously. His hand itched towards his face as if he was going to take off his mask. She could feel her heart beat pick up, he was going to reveal himself to her. But then his hand fell back to the bed with a heavy thump.

"No, not yet. Besides, it would be another secret you had to keep from your friends, and you are already keeping too many."

She released her pent up breath, "Is that your way of telling me I need to be more honest?"

"I think you should tell your friends about your dreams. But only you should decide to tell them that I know your identity."

With that, he rose and hopped out of her now open window. Standing on the trees, he took one last look at her and then vanished.

At least I answered how she got home from the battle! I know many of you were wondering so now you know!