Chapter 4

"Even in the grave, all is not lost."

― Edgar Allan Poe

Everyone nodded at Mamoru… everyone -and then gave her a curious glance. Probably due to her hand being held tightly by Mamoru as he guided her around. She was doing everything she could to stop herself from feeling giddy about it.

Within minutes, Mamoru had them back at the double metal doors, pulling her around to stand next to him in front of the security panel. He seemed to have no problems with her seeing the code he typed in, but she looked away anyway, causing him to chuckle at her. Those who passed when he did, did a double-take, overly confused at the laughing man.

Mamoru shut the door behind them, and she took in the room this time, having been far too distracted at the first chance. A wall was made up mostly of screens, all in varying sizes. Probably all found wherever they could. Artemis sat at a desk-like screen, touching and controlling the screens before him simultaneously. Luna was fast asleep on the small couch in the room. Taking off her coat, Usagi laid it across the woman -formerly her cat. When she turned around, Mamoru was staring at her again; the look on his face caused Usagi to blush and look away.

She heard Mamoru clear his throat, turning his attention away from her. "How's it looking, Artemis?"

A few taps and the screen changed to a map with a path highlighted. "I think if we take this route, it will only take a few days."

Mamoru was already shaking his head at the plan. "Nope, fifth street is gone."

"Gone?! When did that happen?"

Mamoru glanced back at Usagi as she stepped up next to Artemis, looking at the same screen. "Two weeks ago. A few Youmas went in and tore it up."

"Survivors?"

She looked at the two of them, Mamoru hesitating to answer the man. "A few."

Guilt (that had been in her belly since waking and finding the truth) bubbled up her throat. She tried to cover up her sob with a cough, but she was pretty sure she was unsuccessful.

"Artemis, you should get your wife to bed. Luna should never have made the journey in the first place."

Usagi was silent, watching the stranger pick up her cat and carry Luna without another word out the door. While Usagi leaned against the consol, reeling. "Wow…. wife? I missed a lot, didn't I?" Mamoru said nothing, taking the seat Artemis left open. "What about you? You got a wife stashed somewhere?"

He seemed to bristle under her words, a simple question burning him. "No… no wife."

"Girlfriend?"

Stopping whatever it was he was doing, he turned and looked up at her. "Usagi, if you want to know if I'm single…."

"Ug, as if!" That was precisely what she wanted to know, actually. "I just always figured you as the type to…. not be alone…."

They fell back into their silent staring contest again; this time, she won as he tore his eyes away from hers and back to the screen. "Some things never change, huh?"

"And just what does that mean?!"

He shrugged. "Nothing…"

Turning back to the screen, she decided not to push, knowing there was no point anyway. The map danced before her. She knew enough to recognize that it was Tokyo, even if many of the markers she once knew had changed dramatically. But that was the world outside now.

"What are you doing?" She asked to keep their conversation going.

They both kept their eyes on the screen; neither wanted to look at one another anymore. "I'm trying to plan out the quickest and safest path to get you to Kyoto."

"Kyoto? That's where Ami is…"

"Mercury, yes."

She blanched, watching him out of the corner of her eye. "Mercury?"

His fingers flew over the screen's keyboard, the image changing and soon a video played for her on it. Next, Ami, Rei, and two other girls Usagi didn't recognize stood before the camera. All four of them transformed in the blink of an eye, and she gasped loudly from her shock. Then, the blonde Senshi (in an orange/yellow fuku and a white cat on her) stepped up to the mic.

"Now that we have your attention, we, the Sailor Guardians, have an announcement to make. Sailor Moon… is dead."

The image flickered, changing to show Sailor Moon's limp body in her fuku, covered in blood on the ground. In an instant, it flicked back to the living blonde Senshi.

"I, Sailor Venus, am now the leader of the Sailor Senshi. I want to be clear, we, the Sailor Guardians, will never give up. Not on this city or this world. However, it has become too dangerous for civilians. So we ask those of you who can to get out. A city-wide evacuation is now in place for all of Tokyo and the surrounding cities. Take what you need."

The picture froze; Usagi walked up to the screen to take a closer look. Mercury and Mars stood off to the side, looking downright morose, while Venus and the other guardian she didn't recognize looked determined.

"There are four more; Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, and Uranus… you'll like her." He chuckled softly, but Usagi kept her eyes on her two dear friends; the fear and sadness they felt clear even on the screen. "You will meet Jupiter when we get to Kyoto."

She hung her head, unable to look at Ami's or Rei's sad faces any longer. "When did this air?"

"Four years ago. Your family stayed another month after until I made them leave. Then the air raids started."

"You got them out just in time…." They grew silent, and she released a sad sigh. "Mamoru, Kyoto is miles away. It will take forever with my… limitations."

The screen changed back to a map; Mamoru was highlighting a section. "We will walk to here, ten miles outside of the Minako District. There, Motoki is pretty sure he can get a train going for us the rest of the way…."

"Toki?"

Usagi spun, frowning at Mamoru. But he didn't falter. "Yeah, who knew all those years fixing arcade games would be helpful. He's quite the mechanic…."

"He can't come with me."

"What?"

"None of you can. I have to go by myself."

He stood, rounding the controls to loom over her. "The hell you are."

She just shook her head at him, doing all she could to keep his closeness from affecting her. "Luna was very clear I can't…. you guys are civilians and are needed here!"

"Usagi, we have been planning this for five years! We are not going to just let you walk out of here, into the belly of the beast, alone!"

"I won't be alone. Artemis and Luna will be with me!"

"Luna is pregnant!"

The wind left her sails, feeling so beaten. "What?" He just nodded, silent, and she struggled to hold herself up, Mamoru grabbing her to keep her from hitting the floor. "Kami, I made her walk all night!"

"It's okay; you didn't know. Luna hasn't told anyone."

"You knew! She didn't tell me. Me! Her…. ducking owner!"

He chuckled, either at her disdain for swearing or her childish whining. "Pretty sure Artemis owns her now. And she owns him."

"Don't you find it weird? You know Luna is… was my cat? And now she's a…."

"Human?" She nodded, and he chuckled again. "Yeah, it's really ducking weird, Usa." He still held onto her, not sure if she was stable or just not willing to release her yet. "But, I've had three years to get used to it."

His thumb started to wiggle, making gentle circles on her elbow as he held onto her still. Once she took note of it, he stopped and released her, taking a step back.

"Okay, Mamoru, now is the time you spill it all."

He took another step back, shaking his head. "What are you talking about?"

She took her usual irritated pose, arms crossed over chest, foot-tapping below. "You know exactly what I mean, now spill, Baka!"

Mamoru's eyes went wide, turning to look at Usagi. A second later, once it all sunk in her stance and words, his head went back in a hearty laugh. He didn't bring it back down until he had tears in his eyes, wiping them away as he chuckled.

He was still settling down when the doors to their little hideaway slid open; the woman Saori rushed in. Her eyes danced from Usagi to Mamoru, eyebrows furrowed and confused as she took in what she saw.

"Chiba-san, what is she doing in here?!"

He still wore a broad smile on his face, something that seemed to throw Saori off a bit at the sight of it. "Saori, this is Usagi. She is an….. old friend of mine."

The woman, Saori, gave Usagi a sideways glance, looking her over yet again as if she expected to find something new: something she missed before. "Okay…. but that doesn't explain why she is in here."

Mamoru sobered in an instant. "She is in here because she is a key player in the rebellion. We will be escorting her to Kyoto. Are you in?"

The woman still looked wholly confused. "You're going Chiba-san?" He gave her a nod. "Then, of course, you can count me in. As well as whoever else you need. You know that."

"Good, then I trust you to build a team. We leave after the next air raid."

Saori stood still for a few more seconds, looking Mamoru over even though he had moved on, going back to the screen and pulling the map back up. Usagi caught the woman's glare, holding onto Saori's eyes and trying to offer her a smile. But Saori didn't want it, turning on her heels and leaving them alone again.

The doors slid closed and the breath Usagi didn't realize she was holding wooshed out of her, causing Mamoru to glance up at her and smirk. "Don't worry about her; she is all bark. And she takes a bit to warm up to people."

"She seemed pretty warm to you."

He shrugged, either ignoring her suggestive language or missing it. With Mamoru, she could never tell for sure. "Yeah.. well…. I did save her life… technically."

He was blushing, and she was giggling. "Is there anyone here that doesn't owe you their life?"

"...You…"

Waving him off, she leaned against the consol next to him again. "I'm a special case Mamoru. Besides, I do owe you my life; you saved my family."

They grew silent, Mamoru typing away before pushing back suddenly. "You should really get some rest."

"So should you. What time is it?"

Glancing at the watch on his wrist (noting that it was made of fabric and plastic), he cringed, and she saw it. "One am."

"Mamoru, go to bed. I'm fine. I want to catch up on all I missed."

"And just how do you plan on doing that?"

Leaning over, she got in his face, inches from it, and couldn't help but smile as he tensed from her nearness. But then she pushed the wheeled chair out of her way and stood before the consol. After a bit of typing, trying a few different things, she was able to find news reports from up to six years ago. Then, they stopped, nothing coming up at all for the past two years when Beryl gained a majority of her control, it seemed.

A few moments passed (Usagi engrossed in an article) when the chair hit the back of her legs. She fell to it, glancing up for just a second to see Mamoru give her a smirk and step back. Usagi lost track of him and time after that, watching newsreel after newsreel and reading multiple articles. All on the war that started long before she went to sleep.

In all her musings, she stumbled on an article that was about her. Or rather Sailor Moon and her death. And it was written by her father.

It was a memorial piece, written six months after the attack that supposedly killed her. Even though the Senshi didn't announce her death for another six months, her father theorized that she was dead. He believed in Sailor Moon so much; he knew that there would be no way she would give up or leave without a fight. Her father had every bit of faith in her…. and Usagi had let him down yet again.

She shut the article, pulling up another one. This one talked about the apparent control over Kyoto and how a certain general called Jadeite now took residence in Kiyomizu-dera. Formerly an independent Buddhist shrine located in Eastern Kyoto on Mount Otowa, it was a few miles from the research facility that Ami currently occupied.

How was any of that possible? To be that close to the enemy and work as if nothing was wrong?

"Hey, Mamo…."

She stopped short; Mamoru was asleep on the couch, the one that once held Luna hours ago. Without notice, she found herself standing in front of him, watching him. He was sitting up, his face resting in his palm as he leaned one arm on the arm rest.

Carefully, she pushed and pulled him until he was laid out as best as she could get him. His legs were too long for the couch, awkwardly hanging off the edge. But it was better than the position he was in. Usagi's coat had been left behind by Artemis, flung across the back of the small sofa. Even though it covered very little of him, she still draped it over him as best she could.

His hair was just as bad as her brother's, strands falling over his face as he slept. She gently brushed it away, and only because she knew this was the only time she could get away with it, she bent over and placed a small kiss on his temple—her means of thanking him again.

There was no real way to know the time in this place. No clocks and no windows, being underground, of course.

Her back was sore when she rose from her spot in front of the screens; her eyes burned from the long night of studying. She had never pulled an all-nighter, but she was an adult now and needed to take responsibility for herself and the mess she had created.

A little shaky at first, she walked over to a still slumbering Mamoru and grabbed up his arm. Her eyes were tired, taking her a few moments to adjust so she could read the clock on his arm. Six am.

"Did you rest at all?"

She jumped, still holding his arm; he looked up at her from his spot on the couch. "No..."

Mamoru sighed ruefully, grabbing Usagi's wrist with the hand she held prisoner. Then, sitting up, he pulled her down to sit next to him. As soon as she hit the couch, he got up, pushing Usagi down the rest of the way and placing her coat over her.

"Just… close your eyes. For a few minutes, alright?"

He stepped away, not waiting to see if she listened. She didn't, watching him as he left the room. Now alone, she still didn't move. No way she could sleep; that was not happening, but it did feel good just to rest.

Letting her body sink deeper into the cushions, Usagi pulled her coat up higher on her shoulders, pleasantly surprised to find it now smelled like Mamoru. So she spent the next, whoever knows how long, staring at the dirt ceiling and breathing him in.

When the doors opened again, she was a bit surprised to find her brother walking in. Shingo shook his head at the sight of her: wide awake on the couch. "Did you sleep at all?!" She shook her head at him, and he shook his in return. "Come on. Let's go get some breakfast."

She followed Shingo back to their parents' 'house', once again being led around by the hand and getting strange looks. This was her second day here; one would think these people would have learned to expect her and the people she was with to be here -to be together.

Laughter and loud voices were coming from behind her parents' curtain. Pulling it back as she followed behind Shingo, they found Mamoru sitting at the table, talking with her father while her mother cooked. It was a bit of a strange sight, seeing her father so… friendly with a man that was not family.

But then again, Mamoru had been there for them when Usagi was not.

He was now an adopted member of the family, a thought that mixed in some happiness with her guilt. Guilt for not being there for her family but happy Mamoru was and was welcomed in her family when he seemed not to have any.

At the sight of her, though, he popped up, taking another swig of whatever he was drinking and then going over to her mother in the kitchen to hand off his dirty dishes. "Thank you, Ikuko-san."

Her mother ruffled Mamoru's hair and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "You need a haircut, Mamoru-san!"

"Yes, ma'am."

He gave a quick bow to her mother and father before stepping past Usagi and Shingo and out the door. "What was all that about?" Both her parents looked at her, them the ones confused now. "Did… did I chase out Mamoru or something?"

They both chuckled at Usagi; Shingo placed a hand on her shoulder and ushered her to the table with him. "Nah, I'm sure Mamoru was just late for a shift."

"And there's that word again. What is it you are all doing 'shifts' for?"

Her father rose as she sat, following a similar pattern to Mamoru's exit. "Speaking of which, I need to be going as well."

"Wait, Papa!"

"I'll be back in a few hours, Usagi."

He disappeared, just as Mamoru had, and her mother placed a plate of food before her. "They're just contributing, Sweetheart. And it varies from person to person what they do; depending on their skills."

"What skills does Papa have other than writing?"

Shingo was already halfway through his rice and eggs. "It varies from day to day. Some days, he works in the tunnels, helping dig and expand like the new living quarters we are working on. Other days, he records."

"Records?"

Mom sat down across from her, a cup of steaming liquid in her hand, and it was easy to forget they weren't back in their old home. "Yes, Sweetheart. Recording the events that take place; a historian, to be more exact. It's not that different from his old job, making sure to write down what has happened in an unbiased manner, recording the facts."

"Did he do this for the last two years?" Usagi asked.

"He has been doing it since we came here three years ago."

Usagi wasn't sure what she expected to find; it all pretty much seemed the same. Air raids every two or three days, Youmas patrolling, cities falling to Beryl's control, estimated death tolls, and new arrivals. That was what her father's records consisted of.

And even though her father was a good writer, his bias slipped in now and then, like when he wrote about a massacre. His reports were far more detailed than the ones she found in the computer system. It was almost as if her father…. had been there, seeing the events with his own eyes. And now, she saw them with her own: through his words.

A hand landed heavily on her shoulder, causing her to jump. She looked up to find Toki standing over her, his smile quickly fading as he saw Usagi's face. Even though it was too late, she still wiped the tears away while Toki looked over her shoulder and spied at what she was reading.

But he said nothing; a gloom was covering his face at the words on the page similar to hers. But he quickly shook his head, finding the will to at least put a grin on his face. "Come on, Usagi, I want to show you something."

She was starting to wonder if people would ever stop giving her strange looks. Letting herself be led around by the hand seemed to confuse every single person they ever passed. Or maybe it wasn't that at all; perhaps it was her get-up? Usagi wore the clothes given to her by Mary, but the scarf Luna gave her was still wrapped around her head. Anytime she was in 'public', she had her hair covered. If it was a place accessible to anyone they didn't trust, she had the thing wrapped around her head like a turban, including the 'screen room' as Usagi so lovingly called it now.

The only people who had seen her hair were her family, Toki, Luna, Artemis, and Mamoru. A long list but nothing compared to the number of people she passed daily.

Turning, Toki took her past the mess hall and down a tunnel she had yet to travel. The walls were not as far apart as the others she had seen, making her feel a little claustrophobic again. But Toki gave her hand a slight squeeze, and she relaxed.

After a few short moments, the tunnel opened up to a large room before them. It wasn't as big as the residence hall, but it still stretched quite a ways upward; a little bit of sunlight bled through. There were people everywhere, all of them hard at work. Men and women, picking and digging at the remaining Earth, shaping the walls into the same shape as the other residence hall.

"This is the new housing we told you about. We are going to make it a bit larger than the other one because we need the space."

Several of the workers clumped together, working side by side and talking as they dug. There was a happy air to the room, even with the hard labor they had to commit.

"What is she doing here?"

Usagi turned; Saori, looking her up and down… again. "I'm showing her the new hall."

The woman huffed, a pickax slung over her shoulder. "Is she going to do any work? While she is here anyway?"

"While she is here? She's not going anywhere."

Her father came sauntering up, Mamoru right behind him, the two of them breathing a little heavy and covered in sweat. Hoping to change the subject, she gave her father a small but tight hug, even when he tried to push her away. "Usa, I'm covered in dirt and sweat…."

"I don't care."

He relaxed, finally letting her hug him. Opening her eyes, she found Mamoru standing still behind her father, a small smile on his face as he watched them.

Her father kept one arm around Usagi as she did him, his over her shoulder while hers rested around his ribs. "I will gladly pitch in Saori-san. Just tell me what I can do to help."

Saori huffed, picking the ax up off her shoulder. "Can you even swing this?"

She reached out to take it, but Mamoru snatched it up first, handing it back to Saori with agitation. "She is helping enough already. Her energy is better served… elsewhere."

Saori shrugged off his tone. "Fine, then she can fetch water."

"'Fetch' water?"

"I'll show you."

Mamoru grabbed Usagi's hand and pulled her away before anyone could say another word, including Usagi. She always felt different when Mamoru held her hand in comparison to Toki or Artemis. And not like how she felt when Shingo or her father held her hand either.

Even from Saori, who knew her (sort of), the stares continued and yet gave Usagi strange looks as if she were an alien creature. The only people who spared her the glances were the same ones who pulled her around.

Taking only thirty steps (she counted), the sound of water rushing and spilling filled the silence between her and Mamoru. Soon she stood next to a decent-sized river, cutting into the dirt and flowing dangerously fast to an end she could not see.

Mamoru was grabbing some buckets that sat off to the side, and she glared at him until she had his full attention. "What?"

He was yelling, a bit in anger but primarily to be heard over the loud water. "Why won't you let me help?"

Shaking his head, he turned away from her. "That is not how you are meant to help. You need to conserve your strength."

"I should be helping however I can!" She grabbed his shoulder, pulling her back to face him and she saw it, guilt. "What? What is it?"

He wrenched out of her hold, filling up a bucket. "It's nothing."

"Okay…" She knew Mamoru well enough to know when to push and when not to. Now was not the time. "So… I'm allowed to 'fetch' water but not dig? That is really sexist, Mamoru."

Glancing back at her, she caught the glimmer of humor in his eyes and felt the tension release between them. "That theory holds until you add in the fact that plenty of women dig."

"What am I? Frail and fragile then?"

He was filling another bucket, watching the water swirl as it found its end of the current. "...Yes…" Usagi opened her mouth, ready to yell at him for his assumptions, when he handed Usagi a bucket, heavy with water. She nearly dropped it from the sudden shift in gravity the weight gave her. "Did you know that Ami put this river in here for us?"

He was changing the subject, but he was good at it, picking a topic he knew she wouldn't be able to ignore. "Really?! Ami did this?"

He nodded. "Yep, Ami came from Kyoto to do it. We can use it for clean water and create energy."

He pointed to a small wheel spinning away with wires that led off and through holes in the dirt wall. Usagi looked over the wonder; never would she have guessed it wasn't natural. "You mean, Sailor Mercury did it."

"Does that make a difference?"

He was watching her, eyebrows furrowed. "I guess not. Not anymore."

Both of them carrying two buckets in their hands, they made it two steps from the river when everything started to shake. Catching Usagi off guard, her buckets slipped from her fingers, water spilling all over her feet and ankles. Before she could fully regain herself, the shaking began again, nearly falling backward.

Mamoru grabbed her, pulling her in tight and then pressing both of them to a wall. Dust and dirt were crumbling, sprinkling down from the ceiling, and she could hear the planes as they flew overhead. It was all deafening, nearly covering the sound of the river behind them and the racing of her heart.

Covering her completely, Mamoru made an umbrella with his head and arms, his breath puffing down her nose. Her hands were on his chest, gripping his shirt tightly in her fist. She could feel the wet from his sweat in the thin fabric of his ratty t-shirt. But just like her father, Usagi found she didn't care.

There was a few seconds of silence in between each shudder and Mamoru waited for them to speak. "It's just an air raid; it will pass soon."

"Is it usually this bad?"

"Not sure. Never been in this room during one."

The squeal of the airplanes returned, a rumbling and shaking following shortly after. Mamoru pushed in tighter to Usagi; the ceiling was dropping more pieces on them. Usagi saw it hitting the ground around their feet, her eyes glued to the floor.

It seemed like they had been pressed together like that forever, the bombing lasting far longer than she remembered. It had her emotions going haywire, the scent of Mamoru's salty skin making her heart race while the bombs exploded above, squeezing her stomach with guilt.

Finally, the world fell silent again; the water the only sound other than her heart in her ears. Slowly, Mamoru removed himself from her, his hands pressing into the wall next to her, steadying himself.

"You alright?"

With a nod, she reached up, brushing the remaining dirt and dust from his hair. "Mom's right. You need a haircut."

Standing fully on his own, he pushed her hand away, finishing her job. "I'll add it to the list."

Her head spun, the last conversation she had with Mamoru playing in her head at his words. To Usagi, it felt like it was only a few days ago and she never forgot a conversation with him. But for Mamoru, it was much longer. Had he said it on purpose or was it just a coincidence?

Mamoru had yet to move from her, the two of them still standing a breath away, and the longer he lingered, the less she thought his words were coincidence.

Footsteps raced, Toki, Shingo, and her father rounding the corner at breakneck speed, her Dad at the back of the pack. "Usagi, Mamoru, are you two okay?"

Mamoru, back at the buckets and ready to refill, didn't even look over at them. He was busying himself with collecting water again. Leaving her dazed against the wall. "Yeah, we're fine."

Father collected her, pulling her from the wall. "Usagi, you're shaking. It wasn't that bad, was it?"

It was, but she wasn't shaking because of the bombs. She was watching their feet, Shingo's appearing on the other side of her to assist. "No, it wasn't. I'm fine." She pushed gently at their hands on her. "Would you guys stop fussing over me? I'm fine!"

"You're used to the Celestial stronghold, huh? They don't have it as rough there since we are closer to the center of the city."

She glanced up, catching Mamoru's eyes for a second before he turned away again. "Yeah. I guess you're right, Papa."

"You will get used to it. Don't worry."

She grimaced, tensing and prayed her father didn't notice. "Papa, you guys should get back to work. I don't want to be responsible for you getting in trouble or depriving them of four helpful hands."

One more assurance that she was fine, and they left her and Mamoru to finish bringing in the water, heavy buckets in her hands again. "Cheer up, Usagi; there is a silver lining."

"And that is?"

"Now we can head for Kyoto."