Here it is everyone, the final chapter. Thanks so much to everyone for taking an interest in this story and reading up to this point. And most of all thank you for all of the support.
Early one evening Rei stood outside a small café, waiting on Chad to show up. The two of them had planned to meet up and hang out for a bit. That night at the party, they had decided to make sure to keep and touch and be friends. Rei had said she had thought it had been a great idea even though she thought it might be hard, but Rei had decided to try it out and get used to it. If things couldn't be back to the way they were before, then at the very least they could stay in touch. She looked down at her attire as she tapped her feet together, getting a little impatient. She had worn light pink overalls and a white shirt, very casual. After all, it wasn't as if they were on a date or anything.
"I hope you weren't waiting long." Rei heard someone say behind her. She turned around to see Chad standing there in a business suit, his tie undone and draped around his shoulders.
Rei smiled a little and said, "Not too long, you're awfully dressed up."
"Yeah…I just came from my dad's office. He's been having me work with him since I've been back." He explained as the two of them started to walk down the street.
"How has that been?" Rei asked.
"Umm, it's been….enlightening." Chad told her.
"What do you mean?" Rei asked curiously.
"Before, I always thought that I'd really hate working for my family's business, but I don't anymore. Now I know for a fact I hate it." Chad explained as the two of them walked in to the small café and grabbed a couple of milkshakes. Rei heard this and started to laugh a bit. Chad looked over at her curiously and asked, "What's so funny?"
"It's just…imagining you in a big business meeting or something like that. It's hysterical." Rei said, trying to keep herself from laughing out of her seat.
"Yeah well…you wouldn't be the first person to laugh at me in that situation." Chad told her, thinking back to the last time he had been forced to go in to a meeting with his father. He had been asleep for most of it, and when he wasn't asleep he apparently said things that he found as being common sense, but everyone else found laughable, literally.
After that, the two of them remained silent for a couple of minutes. Rei could tell there was a feeling of awkwardness between them. She could tell that this was as strange for him as it was for her. She gazed her eyes down at his hands which were resting on the counter. She cleared her throat a bit then asked, "So…when is the wedding?" She had noticed there was no gold band around his finger, not yet.
"Uhh, the day after tomorrow. Seems like everyone is really eager for it." Chad told her, looking away a little. Rei could tell he wasn't too eager to talk about it.
"I hope you won't hold it against me if I don't show up. I don't think your fiancé would be too happy to see me." Rei said, and at this the two of them started to laugh together a little. Rei bit her lip a little when she heard their wedding was coming so close. She tried her best not to admit it, but she was jealous. She couldn't tell him though; she didn't want to cause him any trouble.
"You're probably right about that. After what happened at the party, she…well things were said that I probably shouldn't repeat." Chad told her.
"Yeah…sorry about that." Rei said, even though she wasn't sorry at all.
"Don't worry about it, that party was a real bore before you and Usagi showed up." Chad told her. Once they were done, they decided to just walk around the town for a bit until it started to get late. Chad offered to walk Rei back to the shrine. She refused at first but then said it was alright. They took a short cut through a nearby park.
As they walked around, Rei noticed that this park was a popular place for couples which made her feel a tad embarrassed. She looked up at Chad and noticed he wasn't bothered at all by it; it turned out that Chad didn't know anything about it and just knew that it was a faster way back to the shrine. They walked along the path but then stopped in their tracks when they heard the sound of someone scream out. The two of them ran in the direction of the scream and came across an opening where a young couple were laying unconscious on the ground while a youma flew down from the sky above their heads. Rei eyes widened when she realized it was the same one that had given them the slip before, the one that had been at the restaurant. Rei quickly turned to Chad and said, "Listen! You need to hide and stay out of sight while I take care of that thing."
"But what if you need help?" Chad began, trying to protest but Rei quickly covered his mouth and shook her head.
"This isn't the time to argue. Now hide or get out of here." Rei told him in a whisper. She then called out. "Mars Power Makeup." And transformed in to Sailor Mars.
To get the youma's attention away from its prey, Rei pointed out towards it and called out, "Hey! If you're looking for someone to snack on, try it with me first!" The youma looked up to see the Sailor Scout and let out a loud shriek that made Rei wince, her ears ringing. The youma kept focusing its scream on Rei to the point where she was starting to feel dizzy. She looked up at the last second to see that the youma was diving straight at her from the sky with a long sharp clawed talon posed right at her head. At the last second though Rei felt her body knocked away and to the ground, with Chad on top of her. He had saved her yet again from the youma.
Chad had gotten clawed by the youma on his back, his shirt torn up and he was starting to bleed a bit. He didn't notice any of it though. He looked down at Rei and asked, "Are you okay?"
Rei blushed a bit and then exclaimed, "What's wrong with you, you dummy! I'm the one with powers here, not you!"
"Haven't we gone through this before? I guess I just never learn, huh?" Chad said with a small smile on his face.
Rei looked over his shoulder to see the youma coming down at them once again, so Rei quickly rolled the two of them over and jumped to her feet. "Please, stay out of this! I don't want to see you get hurt." Rei pleaded as she started to dodge the youma's attack and tried to wait for a chance to attack.
Chad slowly rose to his feet and winced in pain from the injury on his back. "And she thinks I want to see her get hurt instead?" He said to himself in a muttered voice.
Finally, Rei was given her chance as the youma flew back up in to the air. She placed her index fingers together and fired a large fireball at the youma. The youma tried to dodge but its wings were set a flame and it fell down to the ground with a loud thud. The youma slowly rose to its feet, looking extremely pissed off. It opened its mouth and Rei could feel it start to build up a lot of energy. It blasted a shock wave at Rei, but Chad once again pushed her out of the way and took the blunt of the attack when sent him flying backwards and in to the trunk of a tree.
Rei clinched her fist in anger and yelled out, "Stop attacking my boyfriend!" She then fired the largest fireball of her life at the youma which enveloped it in flames and left only ashes. Once the youma was destroyed for good, Rei let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't wait to tell the rest of the scouts that it was finally taken care of. She looked back at Chad and said, "You idiot! Quit doing things like that, you're going to get yourself…." Rei paused when she noticed that Chad was laid out on the ground and wasn't moving.
Rei quickly ran over to Chad and knelt down next to him. She was worried that he may have really gotten hurt this time. She sat beside him in the grass and rested his head on her lap, his brown hair feeling soft on her bare legs. She looked down at him with a worried expression on her face. She tried her best to keep tears coming from her eyes and said, "You…you dummy. Now you've really gone and done it! Don't you care about what happens to you?"
Chad groaned a bit and said in a low soft voice, "I just care more about you, Rei. That's all. I don't want to see you hurt. And I'm alright." He smiled a little up at her and slowly sat up.
"And you think I want to see hurt instead? This sort of stuff is normal for me, so you can't just jump in front of me every time I'm in danger." Rei protested.
"I can't help it, I can't bear to see you get hurt. So uhh, what was that you said about me being your boyfriend?" Chad asked curiously, blushing a bit.
"You…you heard that, huh?" Rei said embarrassed, blushing as well. She smiled a bit, hearing him talk about how he wouldn't want to see her hurt. "I…I just meant to say friend, but you're a boy so…you know. I said the wrong thing on accident."
"Oh, of course." Chad said, nodding in agreement. Although he was sort of disappointed about her answer.
"That doesn't matter. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid like that again, alright?" Rei asked.
Chad shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't promise you that. If you're ever in trouble, I want to help you. Even if that means I might die from it. I just can't bear to see you get hurt."
"You jerk. You just love to make things hard, don't you." Rei muttered under her breath and looked away.
"Huh? What was that, Rei?" Chad asked, not hearing what she had said.
"N-nothing. Anyways, I'm just going to head back home for the night." Rei told him then looked down at her outfit and realized that she was still transformed. She looked back quickly and yelled out, "Hey! Look away!"
Chad blushed and did as she said and turned his back towards the trees. Out of his peripheral vision he could see a glow of light and then a few moments later turned back to see Rei back in her normal clothes. "Are you sure that you don't want me to go with you?" Chad asked.
This question made Rei's heart skip but she bit her tongue. "No, I can go back by myself." Rei replied, saying the exact opposite of what she wanted to say.
"Okay. Umm Rei, can I ask you something?" Chad asked her.
"Sure, what is it?" Rei asked, and waited for him to say something.
"Well, it just recently over the past week you've seemed really down about something. You're usually not like that, so is there something bothering you that you're not talking about, Rei?" Chad asked her then added, "Because you know, if you ever want to uhh…talk or anything, I'd be willing to listen. You can tell me anything if you want."
"You…really mean that?" Rei asked him.
"Of course! I mean, I know that I always do a lot of things that make you mad at me and I'm not your favorite person, but I'd love to help you with anything that I can." Chad told her, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Rei looked down for a few moments then cleared her throat and said, "Alright, if you really mean that I can tell you anything, then you're right there is something that's been bugging me. It's been bugging me a lot." Rei paused, fighting with herself inside to continue on. "I've been wanting to say this for way too long. I think you getting married to that girl is a horrible idea and you should come back to the shrine with me."
"That's what's been bothering you, Rei? Umm, but if that's what you've been wanting to say then why didn't you earlier?" Chad asked curiously. It wasn't like Rei to ever hold back or not express herself.
"Why? You really are dense, aren't you? Big dummy." Rei replied, looking away blushing a bit. "I didn't ever want to say anything because I didn't want to seem selfish and jealous. You see…I…I love you!" Rei blurted out.
"You uhh….uh.." Chad stuttered out in shock.
Rei felt as if there was a weight that was lifted from her shoulders so she continued on. "I love you and…when that girl showed up and said she was your wife, your fiancé, I became really jealous. And I was worried, worried that you were going to leave us. I wanted you to stay with me and Grandpa." Rei confessed, her big dark eyes staring up in to his. She slowly started to come back down. She backed away a little bit then added, "But see, now I just really seem like a selfish stupid little girl, don't I?"
"No….Rei…uhh…" Chad began, unsure of exactly what to say.
Rei shook her head, not giving him a chance to speak and said, "I'm sorry, I really am. It wasn't right for me to tell you that, especially when you're about to get married. I just couldn't hold it in anymore, I'm sorry. I need to go now." Rei ran off towards the shrine before she made an even bigger fool out of herself. She always called him an idiot, but she was the stupid one. At least that's what she thought.
Not having anything else to do, Chad walked through the park a little until he reached a small wooden bench to sit on. He leaned against the back and looked up at the starry night sky through his bangs hanging over his face. He couldn't believe that Rei had said she loved him. He had fallen for her the moment they met, but he had never in his wildest dreams would believe that she would ever feel the same about him. He couldn't see what a girl like her could ever see in a guy like him. He sighed and slipped his hand in to his inner coat pocket and pulled out a small diamond ring. It was an heirloom of his family that he was supposed to give to Kasumi. He held it up in front of the sky and slowly rolled it between his thumb and index finger. "Well….what do I do now?" He said to himself as his gaze looked over the small pond that was in the center of the park. There was a full moon out that night which was reflected in the water. He looked at the small ring in his hands for a few more minutes before he held it tightly in the center of his palm. He then looked out and threw it in to the middle of the pond, and watched it fall down in to the darkness.
The next morning Rei slipped on her miko uniform to begin her shrine duties for the day. She figured it was best for her to focus on what she needed to do instead of pouring herself out like she had the night before. But all the same she did feel relieved; at least she had finally said what she wanted to say. What she needed to say. Rei grabbed the broom and went out to the front of the shrine to begin sweeping the walkways and steps clean. She brushed the bottom of the broom across the white walkway. She looked though when she noticed what looked like someone sleeping on the steps of their shrine. Rei quickly frowned, figuring that it was maybe some drunk who had been out drinking all night and had passed out there. She started to march towards the sleeping person and called out in an annoyed voice, "Alright You! It's morning, so get out of here before you start driving visitors away."
The person let out a low groan and looked up. Chad turned his head towards Rei and said, "Oh umm, hey there."
Rei's eyes widened and she quickly ran to his side and helped him up to his feet. She noticed he had a small bag with him as well and asked, "What…what are you doing here?"
"Oh uhh…well you see, Miss. I had heard this shrine was looking for an extra hand, and I don't really have anywhere to go." Chad told him, saying something very similar to the first time they had met. He then dropped to his hands and knees in front of her and bowed deeply, his brow touching the ground. "Please Miss. If you and grandfather, the head of the shrine, would be so kind to take me in, then I promise to work hard no matter what!"
A small smile slowly crept across Rei's lips, a soft shade of pink spreading across her cheeks. She heard a pair of soft footsteps behind her and turned around to see her grandfather coming out. He must have seen and heard the whole thing.
"Is that so? Well my last apprentice did up and leave on me which has left a lot of work around here to be done, along with a spare room. So let's take a look at you." Rei's grandfather said as he raised Chad up and looked him over a few seconds then continued, "Well you're certainly a scruffy and stupid looking one, but you have seem to be an honest one. So I guess I might be willing to take you in and see how you do. What's your name?"
Chad looked up at Rei's grandfather and said, "It's Yuuichirou, but everyone calls me Chad."
"Chad, hm? I told you that you could stay, however I'm not the only one who lives here, so it's not only my decision." Rei's grandfather then looked up at her and asked, "Well Rei, what do you think? You're the only lady that lives here; do you think we should give this boy a chance?"
"…Yeah, I think we should. He seems like a really nice guy." Rei said happily, still smiling. She had also caught the sight of a faint blush on his face from the compliment.
"Well alright then. In that case, would you go show Chad our extra room and help him get settled in? I'll look after things out here for a while." Rei's grandfather told her.
Rei nodded and led Chad in to their home and back in to his old room. She opened the door to his room and stepped inside, waiting for him to come in as well. She decided to play along a little while longer and said, "Here it is, it's not much but I hope you like it."
"Not much? Are you kidding, it's really nice. I like it a lot." Chad said as he stepped inside with his bag slung over his shoulder. He turned back towards Rei and smiled, "I've really missed it."
"Oh? Is your room the only thing you've missed?" Rei asked curiously, a small smile on her face.
"Of course not! I've missed everything. The shrine, your grandfather, and…" He paused and blushed a bit, "And I've missed you most of all, Rei."
Rei looked down at her feet, feeling a little shy now. She didn't understand, she had never felt shy around a guy before so why now? She looked back up at him and replied, "I've missed you too. Both of us have. But…why did you come back?"
"I already told you, I have nowhere else left to go. I wasn't joking back there. I threw out a very valuable family heirloom. Because of that, I have been completely disowned by my family and left homeless." Chad said then started to laugh a little at the situation.
"You dummy! Why did you go and do something like that?" Rei asked.
"I did that so that I could come back to my real life. Rei, I may have been born in to that family and in to that life, but it was never supposed to be my life. I didn't fit in, and I never have. A year ago I left home to try to figure out where I belong and find myself, but instead I found something more amazing than I ever thought I would find. I found you. It wasn't really myself that I was looking for, I was looking for where I really belong. This is where I belong; with you, Rei. There's nowhere else I'd rather be." Chad explained, his big brown eyes staring straight in to her eyes.
Rei remained silent as she listened. She looked down a little, her eyes hidden by her dark bangs. She slowly walked over to the closet and opened it up. She reached inside for something then walked back to Chad. She held up his shrine uniform and looked at him. There was a tender smile on her face and tears in her eyes, "Welcome home, you big dummy."
The next morning, Rei woke up feeling refreshed and happier than ever. She quickly dressed for school then headed in to the kitchen to find Chad cooking breakfast and Grandpa reading over the paper. She smiled at the sight before her. She was so happy to see that things were finally back to normal. "Good morning." She called out in a happy voice.
"Ah, morning Rei." Grandpa said, looking up as he took a drink of coffee.
"Oh…G-good morning Rei!" Chad stuttered shyly before burning himself on the stove which made Grandpa start to laugh a little.
Rei giggled slightly. Ever since she had confessed to Chad, he had become even more shy and klutzy around her. She was worried he might start giving Usagi a run for her money for biggest klutz. Rei ate a quick breakfast and then made her way to school. As she walked up to the gate where some of her classmates were, she heard one of them say to her, "Hey Rei, isn't that the same guy who works at your grandfather's shrine coming this way?"
"I wonder if he's going to make himself look like an idiot again?" One of the other girls chirped in which made the rest laugh.
Rei turned around to see Chad on a bicycle riding quickly towards her, holding something in his hand. Unfortunately for him, he hit a small hole in the sidewalk with the front wheel of the bicycle which sent him flying over the top of the bicycle and came crashing down on to the ground near Rei's feet. The girls behind Rei started to burst out laughing at the sight. Rei simply cringed, that had looked like it hurt. Chad let out a low groan and looked up at Rei and held up a small bento box and said, "You uhh, you forgot your lunch again."
Rei sighed a little and then leaned down to help him up and said, "I swear, you need to watch where you're going more. Are you alright?"
Chad handed her the bento box and nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry about it."
"Good." Rei said then leaned up on the balls of her feet and wrapped one arm around Chad's neck as she leaned up to place a soft tender kiss on his lips. Rei kept her eyes closed and held the kiss for a few moments before slowly pulling back and going back down on to her feet. "Thanks for bringing it to me. I'll see you this afternoon at home so you should head on back before Grandpa needs your for something, okay?"
Chad whole face became red at the kiss. He slowly nodded and said, "Umm uhh…yeah." He then quickly went over to expect his bicycle before he picked it back up and rode back to the shrine.
Rei turned back towards the gate of the school and her classmates, smiling a little. The looks on their faces were priceless; she was glad she had intentionally forgotten her lunch at home, although Chad planting his face in the sidewalk again wasn't a part of the plan. She smiled at the questioning looks on their faces and said, "I have such a sweet boyfriend."
Well, that's the end. It took me pretty much all day and a lot of last night (too many distractions) but I was finally able to finish everything up. I thought I might do a long author's notes section and explain my thoughts and everything that went in to the story, what I was going for, themes, and all that. But I figured that'd be pretty boring and no one would be interested in that stuff. Hopefully the story speaks for itself. To put it simply I really like these two characters. Rei makes for a great lead and I think for male viewers Chad is the most relateable male character in the series, which is ironic since he was made only for the anime.
Thanks again for all of the support and taking an interest in the story, especially since there are so many different Sailor Moon fics out there to choose from. I hope everyone left with that warm fuzzy feeling inside. As always, thank you for reading and leave a review or comment if you wish.