Sorry, it's a short one! ;) Thanks for reading and following! You all are the best. -Amethyst

CHAPTER 8: TIME DELAY

Across an ocean from his homeland, Mamoru Chiba sat at a small, round table in the well-lit library of his prestigious university. Moments from a bay and a little further from the ocean, he felt lucky that he could do his medical studies in this coastal town. But sometimes, as he thought of a younger woman with bright blonde hair and crystalline blue eyes, he felt lonely. He missed his fiancé, Usagi, who no doubt was at home avoiding her friends and burying herself in her studies. He missed his best friend, Motoki, and their long conversations at the Crown Arcade Bar over cups of steaming black coffee. He also missed his other friends-the family that he had gained over the past few years in Luna, Artemis, and the sailor guardians that he fought side-by-side with.

However, even though it made him feel incredibly guilty at times, he was relieved and grateful that he could finally do something for himself. He didn't have to worry about finding a mysterious crystal, saving the Earth from evil beings, or protecting an innocent princess… all he had to do was study the topic he loved, earn good grades, and earn his next degree. When he thought of his future, he thought of the people he could care for. Sometimes the image of the older Mamoru in a lavender suit invaded his mind. That man would ask him in a smooth, almost teasing voice, "What are you doing all this for? It's not going to matter." He pushed that man, his wife, and the image of a pink-haired little girl away.

"Mamoru, what did you get for number four?"

Looking up from his paper which he realized he hadn't been reading, he was brought back to reality. Sharing his table were the three others that made up his study group. This group of medical students had become casual friends after bonding over something they had in common: they were foreigners in this large country. The student who had startled Mamoru from his thoughts, Sunita, was a beautiful woman with caramel-colored skin and midnight black hair that flowed down her back. Mamoru liked the way she made large, graceful gestures with her hands as she talked, and the way her accent sounded when she spoke English.

"Earth to Mamoru," she joked, smiling.

"Oh, I," he looked down at his practice test, "Bronchiectasis."

"That's what I got too," piped Leo, a man from Finland with golden hair and soft blue eyes. His hair was drawn back tight into a knot behind his head, and when Mamoru took time to look over his features, he could understand why girls at the next table wouldn't stop looking at him.

Sunita nodded before looking down at her text-book, presumably to check on her own answer. The group fell into a lull again, when suddenly, the fourth person at the table-a woman whose attention had been focused on the screen of her laptop—gasped and cried out in Japanese, "Sugooiii!"

"Ayumi, are you okay?" Leo asked seriously.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ayumi said, a soft patch of red tinting her cheeks. Ayumi was a small, petite woman with honey-colored eyes, chestnut-brown hair, and blunt bangs cut just above her eyes. She peered at her study group through the thick mint green glasses that today matched the mint green corduroy jeans she wore. "It's nothing, I'm just being immature."

Sunita raised a curious eyebrow. "Well now I have to know."

"This is going to sound so childish," she murmured.

"We all witnessed Leo win at Star Trek trivia," Sunita laughed, "I think it's okay."

"Well… okay, don't judge me. There's this band at home called The Three Lights. My friends and I were obsessed with them," she gushed.

Something rang inside of Mamoru's brain like a bell.

"That's the group with Seiya Kou?" He asked.

Ayumi's jaw dropped and her eyes lit up with excitement. "You know who I'm talking about?"

Mamoru gave a wry smile. "Yeah, I— I've never listened to them, but my fiancé went to high school with them, and they were kind of a big deal I guess."

"Wait, what? Hold up. Your fiance went to school with the Three Lights? Did you ever meet them?"

Mamoru suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Only once."

"Oh my god, that is cool, Mamoru! I was just reading that Kou Seiya announced a new solo project! I know it's immature, but I am so excited!"

Ayumi's excitement was greeted with smiles and friendly laughter from everyone except Mamoru. The dark-haired man cocked his head, his eyes narrowing as he tried to process what Ayumi was telling him.

"Seiya is in Tokyo?"

Ayumi nodded her head slowly, giving Mamoru an odd look. "I-I guess so. I don't know where else he'd be." She paused, and then added with a playful (and hopeful) wink, "Hey, if your fiancé is still friends with him, you should ask her for the details!"

"I'll have to ask her about it." He answered shortly, his eyes looking down at the notebook in front of him. "I have to go soon, can we focus for a bit?"

"Yeah, I have to be at work in an hour," Leo added.

"Oh, of course," Ayumi murmured, her smile fading quickly as she looked to the notes on her laptop. Mamoru suddenly felt guilty for taking the wind out of her sails.

"I think that's really cool, Ayumi. If I hear anything about Seiya, I'll let you know," he said gently.

Ayumi nodded, giving Mamoru a small smile.

It didn't help him feel any better.

Later that afternoon, when Mamoru found himself entering his on-campus apartment, he was still going over what he learned from Ayumi. I got an email from Usagi this morning, he mused. Why didn't she tell me this?

Once again, he thought about the tan letters he found hidden in her agenda.

He closed the door to his bedroom, so not to be disturbed by the other student sharing the apartment, and went to his computer. It didn't take long for a Google search to confirm what he already suspected:

The announcement that Ayumi read was a little old, and Kou Seiya had been active in Tokyo for over a week now.

He clicked through articles, skimming the words detailing announcements of concerts, new music, and appearances for anything of interest. As he scrolled past pictures of the man, some candid and some perfectly posed, Mamoru felt anxiety-no, annoyance-building in his chest. He pursed his lips and tapped his left hand against the wooden desk, wondering why his fiancé wouldn't think to tell him about this. Did she think I wouldn't find out? He asked himself, baffled. She used to tell me everything.

Wrapped up in his inner thoughts, he almost missed it.

He scrolled back up to re-read a headline.

Pop Star Kou Seiya Sends Message to Mystery Girl During Radio Interview - Click Here to Listen!

Mamoru listened to the short clip with bated breath, but was relieved that it wasn't as bad as he imagined it might be.

"I made a great friend here," Seiya spoke through the speakers. "If she's listening, I want her to meet me at the last spot we saw each other."

He sounds so confident, Mamoru thought. He knew she would hear it. There was no doubt in his mind that Seiya was speaking to Usagi.

Below the audio clip was an article full of speculation about whether or not Seiya was trying to reconnect with an old girlfriend. He tried not to let it bother him, but it did. Quickly, he clicked the X in the corner of the tab, getting rid of any article involving Kou Seiya or Three Lights from his computer screen.

Opening his email inbox, he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about about Seiya and the Three Lights," his message read. "Let's video chat soon." He quickly added a list of times that would work for him.

He scrolled through his contact list until he found the person he was looking for:

Haruka Tenou.