Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and TOEI Animation.
Notes: The honorific "obaasama" means "Grandmother". It's very formal with "sama" after it. Grandmother requires Usagi to use it, but Shingo calls her Gran D:
Usagi grips Mamoru's hand as they walk down the street that gives her nightmares. She tries not to hold it too tight, but it's hard. She attempts a deep breath as they approach the large, wrought iron fence with a fancy "T" garnishing the gate.
"It's okay," he says, squeezing her hand. "I'm here."
She nods apprehensively. "Right." She brings her shaky finger to the square, glowing button on an aluminum intercom box on a flat area of the gate.
After 27.5 seconds—she counted—the box on the gate crackles to life, and a "proper" voice—according to Grandmother—comes over the speaker. "Who is it, please?" Atsuko, the maid, asks, as if she couldn't tell by the hidden cameras.
"Tsukino Usagi. I request an audience with your Mistress, Maria-obaasama."
"Who is the man with you?"
"He is my fiance, Chiba Mamoru. I wish to inform Grandmother of our engagement."
After a moment, Atsuko sighs. "Allow me to ask permission of Mistress if she wishes to carry out the meeting. I understand you've come unannounced?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"One moment, please."
"Of course."
The speaker crackles again, and Mamoru snorts. "Is all that for real?"
"Yeah," Usagi says quietly, staring at her feet. "I told you it would be like this. It only gets worse."
Before he can reply, the speaker produces feedback once more. "Sis?!" a frantic Shingo inquires.
"Shingo!" Usagi responds in surprise.
"Shingo-sama, please move aside," Atsuko says in the background. There's more crackling, and then Atsuko comes over once more. "She will see you now. Please wait a moment as the gate opens, and someone will be out presently to escort you."
"Excellent. I thank you sincerely for your assistance."
"Of course. Anything for the late Master's family, God rest his soul." She speaks of Kenji.
"Thank you," Usagi says, and the gate creaks open slowly. The butler, Daisuke, walks down the long walkway, and Usagi wonders briefly about if the Future will hold maids and butlers and riches like what her grandmother bathes in, or if it will be better. Probably better. Just a little something to look forward to, her eternity with the man next to her.
"Miss Usagi," Daisuke says, and winks. "Welcome back."
"Thank you, Daisuke-san. I almost regret to say that I won't be staying, because I miss you, Atsuko-san, and Shingo. I'm so sorry that you have to put up with my grandmother."
"Well, she pays well, so that's all that matters to me. When my shift is over, I'm just glad I can go home to my wife and children. That's all that really matters."
Usagi nods. She understands this well. Nobody puts up with her grandmother unless there's a bit of solace.
"I apologize," Daisuke says to Mamoru. "I don't believe we've met. My name is Fujisaki Daisuke."
"Chiba Mamoru," Mamoru says. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." He takes Daisuke's hand and shakes it firmly. Something flashes in Mamoru's expression, but he quickly composes himself. Not quick enough for Usagi not to catch it. She decides to bring it up later.
Daisuke spins around in one, swift move, and quickly walks back towards the house. "Follow me," he instructs, and so they do.
Once inside, Usagi notices that the place hasn't changed a bit. She sees Atsuko bowing at a proper thirty-degree angle, gripping a silver platter. "This way," Daisuke says, and they follow Daisuke up the first flight of stairs to Grandmother's office. Daisuke knocks twice on the white door. "Mistress? Usagi and guest are here to see you."
"Send in just the girl," Grandmother says, making Usagi's stomach flop.
Usagi swallows, and suddenly, with Mamoru by her side, she feels brave. Brave enough to say something that would mean a beating not long ago. "Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my… 'guest'."
"Are you sure?" Mamoru hisses.
Usagi nods. "I've never been more sure about anything in my whole life than you."
Grandmother snickers. "No. Send in just the girl," she repeats.
"You heard her," Daisuke says, a look on his face that says, 'Are you crazy?'
Usagi swallows, getting her bearings. "No. I'm not going to bow beneath you anymore."
There's rustling in the office. The door swings open, revealing a pissed Maria Tsukino. She grabs Usagi by the shirt collar. "When I give you an order, you listen to me, you hear?" She shakes her as she speaks. "I don't want to hear anymore rebellion from you! Just because you don't live under my roof doesn't mean that you don't follow my rules! I'm still your legal guardian until you turn-"
"Nineteen?!" Usagi shouts back, breaking free of her grandmother's grip. "If you don't recall, that was last year! I'm twenty and free to make my own decisions!"
Usagi watches as Maria shakes, turning from white to red to purple to blue. She swallows. Maybe it was a mistake.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Maria screams, but just as she's about to lunge, Mamoru stops her.
"Whoa, hold on, there, Granny Pat. Now, let's think about this for a second. Let's not do anything we would regret."
Maria turns her death gaze over to Mamoru, who shivers visibly at the sight of it. "And who are you?!" she questions.
Mamoru smiles, which, in spite of the moment, makes Usagi's heart melt. "I'm Chiba Mamoru, and Usagi's my fiancée."
"Fiancée, huh?" she says wildly. "You've made a mistake, boy. This girl brings nothing but trouble. I should know, she lived with me for three years."
"Barely," Usagi says. "The only times we interacted was when you would beat me."
Maria narrows her eyes. "I've grown tired of you."
"Yeah, I'm sick of you, too, wench. That's all I wanted to tell you. Goodbye." And with that, Usagi spins around on her toe and walks down the steps, and Mamoru follows.
"Sis!" Shingo says when she reaches the bottom, and hugs her to his chest. "Are you gonna be okay?" he asks.
"Yeah, of course!" Usagi says. "Is she treating you alright? She's not doing anything bad to you, is she?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Believe it or not, Sis, I can take care of my— Oh, my God, Gran!"
Usagi whips around to see what made Shingo's look of assurance turn to one of horror. Maria collapsed, clutching her chest and moaning. Atsuko and Daisuke are already attending to her.
"Someone call an ambulance!" Atsuko barks.
"On it!" Usagi says, moving to the sitting room. Mamoru follows closely behind.
"Are you sure? I mean, after everything she did to you?"
Usagi looks at him strangely, picking up the phone. "Of course. She's still a human."
Mamoru looks back out to the living room where Shingo and Daisuke together moved Maria. "I'm sorry. I just can't help but feel a bit of a grudge towards that woman. Even in her current state."
Usagi shakes her head. "It's fine. I'm glad you-"
"Hagashiyama Emergency Services, how may I help you?" a nice woman with a Nagoyan accent says, the line finally connected.
"Hello? Yes, I need the Hospital, please."
"Hospital, ma'am?" the lady says to make sure.
"Yes. We need an ambulance. My grandmother just collapsed."
"Alright, hun, you just sit tight, it's on its way."
"Thank you very much, ma'am."
"Y'all take care, alright?"
"Alright, you too- Goodbye."
"Bye-bye, now, hun." Click.
Usagi sighs and hits the "end call" button. She places the phone back in the charger and sits on the sofa. She takes a deep, shaky breath, trying to relax. Mamoru sits next to her and wraps his arm around her shoulder.
"Everything will be okay," he says.
"I shouldn't have yelled at her. I've spent all this time hating her, without even realizing that she has pains and trials just like anybody else." Usagi sniffs and blinks to clear her vision. As mean and pain-inflicting as that woman had been to her, Usagi still cares about her.
Mamoru opens his mouth to speak, but Usagi cuts him off. "Don't say I've done nothing wrong. That's a lie and we both know it."
"That's not what I was gonna say. I was gonna say—"
"Sis!" Shingo interrupts. "Come here!"
Usagi sighs and gets up. "Sorry!" she says, and rushes over to the others.
"I was gonna say, 'I love you'," Mamoru mutters.
Akira's phone buzzes three times, and she rolls her eyes. She reluctantly pulls it out of her pocket to see a text from her brother. She swipes the notification across the screen and reads the text:
"Hey Akira it's Usagi, I just need you to know that we're probably gonna be here a lot longer than we thought. My grandmother collapsed, and so I need to be here for her. Tell Haru-chan and Jose-kun, too."
Akira narrows her eyes. Why does Blondie care to stay for her stupid b'tch-a$$ grandmother, anyway? "Probably because she's not you," Haruko would say. Akira rolls her eyes. "Haru-chi~n!" she calls.
"What?" Haruko calls back from the other side of the small apartment.
"Blondie ain't gonna be in town for longer than we thought! We got the place to ourselves for even longer!"
The quick pad of feet coming down the short hallway suggests Haruko was running to see what Akira's talking about. Sure enough, her head pops around the corner a second later. "What?"
Akira grins. "C'mere," she says. "Read this text."
Haruko takes the phone from her and scans it. "Oh, my God!" she says, her face crinkled with worry. "What the frick are you smiling about?! That's awful!" She throws the phone back at Akira in abhorrence and walks away.
"Aw, c'mon, baby, look at the bright side!" Akira says, chasing after her.
"What?" Haruko says, and turns around. She raises a quizzical eyebrow, daring Akira to give her at least one good silver lining.
Akira moves closer to Haruko, and hugs her. "We can do this all we want and not get any complaints. Eh? Eh?"
"Ugh, you disgust me."
"That's why you love me!"
Haruko pulls back a little to look up at Akira, smiling and raising an eyebrow.
"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that. You know you love me."
"I do," Haruko says, and Akira leans in to kiss her, gently.
"As soon as they make gay marriage legal, I'm gettin' down on one knee, I swear on Gramps' grave," Akira says.
"I'll hold you to it."
"Tsukino?" a man says.
Usagi snaps her head up at the sound of her name. She sees a foreign man in a long, white doctor's coat looking around the small waiting room holding a clipboard. She gets up to speak with the medic. Shingo joins her. "That's us," she says.
"Hello, my name is Jack Shephard, and I'm Miss Tsukino's doctor. We've classified this emergency as a small heart attack. There's nothing to worry about, she should be out of here in a few days."
"Oh, thank God!" Usagi says in relief. "What was the cause?"
"Natural heart problems and stress," the doctor says. "I suggest that she get plenty of sleep and proper nutrition and exercise so this sort of thing doesn't happen again. I'm having my team create a workout and diet plan for her as we speak."
"Can we see her?" Shingo asks.
"No, I'm afraid not at this time. In any case, she's resting. It's very important that she get a proper amount of sleep."
"Right. Thank you," Usagi says sincerely.
With that, the doctor nods and walks off. Usagi sighs. This probably wouldn't have happened if her grandmother didn't hate her so much. She could've avoided this pain if Usagi had never been born.
No! She can't think that! This couldn't have been avoided. Her grandmother has heart troubles. Her father and the doctor said so. It was really only a matter of time. And it's not like it's anything fatal, the doctor even said she'd be out in a few days. Usagi moves back to her chair.
"You wanna go to the cafe?" Mamoru asks.
Usagi sighs. "I guess. Let's go."
As they're walking, they reach an empty hallway. Usagi stops, leaning against the wall, and sinks down to the floor, putting her head in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees.
Mamoru sits next to her and puts his arm around her shoulder and rubs it. "It's not your fault," he says.
"The doctor said it was caused by stress. Right before she collapsed I was screaming at her, and feeling good doing it, too. Now that I think back, she wasn't looking too well."
"She has a big responsibility. It could've been caused by that. You don't know that it was you."
"Stop trying to make me feel better!" she snaps. "Sorry. I just want to be selfish."
Mamoru swallows. He nods and squeezes her shoulder. She buries her head into his chest and lets it all out, sobbing. He rubs her back consolingly, trying to comfort her. He hates seeing her like this, so upset. Maybe he was comforting her so that he would feel better, too, but it's the same. Her goals are his goals. Her pain is his pain. Her desires are his desires.
With a sigh, he settles for this indirect comfort, because at least he can hold her. He wonders if she understands how much he loves her. He wonders if he understands how much she loves him. He wonders about her relationship with her grandmother, or that "Arisa" person that Akira told him about during her "rebellious phase".
Serenity hisses and groans. "Whatchu want, girl?" Jose's ears perk. She must be on the phone, but who's she talking to? She doesn't know too many people in this time. she laughs loudly. "Haha, yeah, he's here! You wanna talk to him? Sorry, sis, that's gonna cost ya!" she sings.
Jose sprints out to the front room. If he's correct, she's using Luna-P to talk to Kousagi. Serenity laughs at his entrance. "Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a knot!" She tosses the toy to Jose, and he flips it to the front.
"Koko?!"
"Jose!" the person in the eye says. Even though the shape is pixelated and silhouetted, he can tell that the girl on the other side is none other than Princess Kousagi of Crystal Tokyo, the love of his life. The TV starts to make the loud booms and crashes of an action-packed Hollywood film, so he moves back to his temporary room.
"How are you?!" he asks once the movie is at a reasonable volume.
She sighs. "I miss you. I think about you all the time. When are you coming home?"
"In about a month, but I swear, if I could, I would leave right away."
Kousagi giggles. "It's like going without chocolate for three and a half years, but right now, we're getting a whiff of it, like a preview."
Jose laughs. "Yeah."
"Why do you have to stay for so much longer? Aren't you done training my mother and Aunt Akira and Haru?"
He swallows. "Yeah, I'm done, but I have to stay for the wedding."
"Wedding?"
"Your parents. If I stay for that long, maybe your dad will like me."
Kousagi laughs. "I hope so. Probably something like," she mocks her dad, "'You protected my wife, and for that I am grateful,' or something."
"Can't exactly say I protected her. I pretended to be an enemy while secretly training her to be stronger and quicker-on-the-draw."
"Whatever. He'll still probably something stupidly 'valiant' or something, and make my mother smile. She'll probably gush over your homecoming, and throw a huge party like she does whenever a hero comes home."
"She's a really nice person, you know."
Kousagi is silent. Finally, she responds in a quiet voice. "Th-That so? I didn't know she was so desirable."
"What? What are you talking about? All I said is that she's a nice person."
"You used to hate her, and now you're saying she's a nice person?"
"Because I know her now! I've spent time with her! I've seen what she's been through! Does that make me an awful person?!"
"Well—" Kousagi huffs. Now he's done it. "I'm sorry, Jose."
"Wait, Koko-!" The eye turns black, and then back to normal. "Dammit!" He groans and gets up. If only he'd kept his stupid mouth shut!
He walks quickly to the front room and throws the toy back at Serenity, who catches it awkwardly, but he doesn't stop. "Whoa, what's up with you? Hey, where you goin'?"
He grabs his hoodie off the coat tree and shoves it over his head. "Out!" he says sharply.
Akira laughs as she kisses Haruko, and Haruko smiles. "I love you," she says.
"I love you more!" Haruko counters.
"Wanna bet?"
Then, her heart stops when she hears keys jangle at the front door, and the teeth run jagged against the lock as it goes in and turns. The door opens. No one's supposed to be back!
"Hello?" a male voice calls. Jose! Akira curses.
Akira and Haruko jump out of bed, and Akira shoves on her pants. She throws her arms into a shirt and quickly buttons it. She moves to the mirror and fixes her hair, and then opens the door, shutting it quietly behind her.
"What're you doing back so soon?" she demands.
Jose smirks. "What, did I interrupt Make-Out time?"
Akira approaches him in four long strides, and before he tries to run, grabs him by the collar. "You have five seconds to start explaining."
He raise an eyebrow. "Or else what?"
"Five!" she shouts.
He snorts. "Answer my question, then I'll decide whether or not I should be afraid."
"Four! You have balls, kid, but that ain't gonna save you!"
"What're you gonna do, kick my ass? I trained you to be able to do that, don't forget!"
"Three! I've been training even harder since you stopped, you retard!"
"Let go of me!"
"Two!"
"What are you gonna do?"
"ONE!" she says with finality.
"Alright, geez! I just got a call from my girlfriend, and now she's mad because I've changed. What do I do?"
"Your girlfriend? How did you-?"
"Usagi and Mamoru-san's daughter, Serenity, brought a sort of phone that can be used to communicate with anybody in existence."
"I see. Well, just call her back and say you're sorry, unless, of course, you're not. Don't tell her bullcrap."
"I don't want her to be mad at me."
"That's not the same as being sorry."
"Well, I'm not sorry. All I said was that Usagi is a good person. Mind you, I used to hate the bubbliness and elegance she has as Queen, because it felt like she thought she was above it all, but now that I know her—"
"Bubbliness and elegance? What the hell?"
"Well, she would throw parties all the time, and be the life of them, but when she would come before people, you know, on TV, or in person, she would just have this superior feeling to her, like she's better than everyone else in the room."
"Uh-huh. I see. And now that you've come to know her, you realize that she's not s'bad after all."
"Yeah."
Akira sighs. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe Haru can help. I'll go get her." She walks down the small hallway and opens the door to her bedroom. "He—"
"I heard," Haruko says, standing up. She sighs.
"I know."
Haruko pushes past her and into the front room. "Just tell her the truth! What you told Akira! I'm sure, if she really loves you, she'll accept it. Anymore questions?"
"Sorry, Solar Flare."
"You'd better be sorry. Goodbye." And with that, Jose leaves.
Haruko stomps back to the bedroom, and Akira follows her. "Do you wanna—"
After Akira comes into the room, Haruko slams the door. She starts unbuttoning Akira's shirt. "You bet your britches I wanna."
Oh-ho, they're so naughty! ;) I love those two. :D Good night!