Under a Crystal Moon By Lady Sylver ______________________________________________________________________ Chapter 1 Mamoru waits for Usagi's arrival. "She makes her way past this spot everyday at the same time." He thinks to himself. His heart yells at him not to do what he is about to do. His mind tells him it is the only way to protect his precious Usako. The dreams have finally convinced him that his mind is correct, but his heart still fights against the whole idea. He looks up to see Usagi running toward him. Her hair flies behind her as she runs. From her running, a slight pink tint emphasizes her cheeks. Her bright blue eyes shine with the joy and happiness that live inside of her. Mamoru takes a deep breath as she nears him. His heart starts to ache as he prepares to do his task. Arms fling around him as he continues to prepare himself. He looks down at her and immediately averts his eyes from her. He uses his hands to remove her from him. She looks up at him with her bright eyes. She is confused by his action. "Mamo-chan, is something wrong?" Usagi asks with a slight sound of concern in her voice. "Usagi, we have to talk." He puts a stern tone in his voice. "Usagi?" She whispers in a hurt tone. "Usagi, I can't see you anymore." He pauses as he hears her gasp at what he said. "At first, I thought I loved you, but the more I think about it the more I believe I made the decision out of respect for Serenity and Endymion." "We are Serenity and Endymion." "No, we are not. They died during the Silver Millennium, Usagi. We cannot live in the past." "Mamo-chan, you can't mean this." A rumble of thunder is heard in the background. Usagi jumps forward and throws her arms around him for protection. He removes her arms from around him as the rain begins to fall. "Goodbye, Usagi." He turns and begins to walk away. A tear escapes from his eye. "I'm sorry, Usako." He whispers as he quickly walks away. As he hears her yell he quickens his steps. "No! Mamo-chan, you can't leave me!" She drops to the ground as the tears begin to cascade down her cheeks. All around her, the rain drops start to fall. Each drop brings another until the rain pours down on her. "You can't leave me." She whispers as the flood of rain and tears pour down. ******************************************************************************** Luna sits on the bed and stares out the window. A look of concern is painted onto her face. "Usagi, where are you?" Another bolt of lightening and a rumble of thunder jar her to her feet. "Two hours and she's not home. Something is wrong." Luna thinks to herself. She jumps from the bed and heads toward the window. As she reaches the window, the bedroom door begins to open. Luna's heart leaps for joy that Usagi has finally made it home, but the joy is short lived. Usagi is not the one who enters the room. A small girl with pink hair walks into the room and over to Luna. She scratches Luna's ears as she looks around the room. "Where is Usagi, Luna? It's dinner time." "Meow!" A concerned look crosses Chibi Usa's face. "It's not like Usagi to be late for dinner." Chibi Usa mutters as she walks out of the door. Luna looks out the window onto the rain soaked streets of Tokyo. "Please be okay." She whispers to the world around her. ***************************************************************** Chibi Usa runs down the stairs toward the front door. She grabs her rain boots and rain jacket. Something deep inside tells her something is wrong. As she finishes putting on her rain gear, she heads out the door. A bolt of lightening flashes through the sky followed closely by a rumble of thunder. Chibi Usa trembles with fear. "I hate thunder and lightening, but I have to find Usagi. I know something is wrong." Chibi Usa thinks to herself as she follows Usagi's normal route home. ***************************************************************** Usagi slowly rises to her feet. A shiver runs through her as the cold rains pound down on her. As she begins to walk home she sees a small figure running towards her. A strand of pink hair escapes from under the rain hat. "Chibi Usa." Usagi whispers as she falls to the ground. Chibi Usa runs to Usagi and kneels down beside her. "Usagi, you need to get up." She shakes her friend. Chibi Usa puts her hand on Usagi's forehead, and feels the fever that burns there. "Usagi, please." Chibi Usa begs Usagi. Usagi's eyes slowly flutter open. "Chibi Usa?" Tears begin to flow down her face. "He doesn't love me anymore." She whispers. Chibi Usa looks down at her with sadness. "She's not making sense. I have to get her home." She thinks to herself. "Usagi, we have to get you home." Usagi just lies there and mutters to herself. Chibi Usa shakes her head and begins to look around. In the distance, she can see Raye's temple. "Usagi, I am going to go get help." Chibi Usa stands and begins to run toward the temple. **************************************************************** Raye feels that there is something wrong, but she can't put her finger on it. She goes back to doing her chores when she hers a small voice yelling outside. "Raye, Usagi is in trouble!" Chibi Usa keeps yelling as she approaches the temple. As she gets on the steps of the temple, Raye stands there. "What are you doing out by yourself?" Raye looks down at Chibi Usa. "If you and Usagi are having another fight..." "Raye, Usagi is in trouble. I found her collapsed near the park and she's burning up with fever." A tear runs down Chibi Usa's face. "Show me where." Raye follows as Chibi Usa begins running toward Usagi. When they arrive, they see Makoto and Minako kneeling beside Usagi. As Raye approaches, she can see the concern that is in both of their eyes. Raye kneels down beside Usagi. She places her hand on her forehead and feels the fever that burns there. "We need to get her to the temple." Raye informs the others. Makoto carefully picks Usagi up. "Chibi Usa, were you attacked by a youma." "No." Chibi Usa turns to look at the others. "I was worried when she didn't come home, so I went looking for her." "She's been out in this rain for three hours!" Minako yells. Chibi Usa nods. "She was muttering something about not being loved." Minako, Makoto, and Raye shake their heads as they continue to the temple. ***************************************************************** Usagi slowly opens her eyes and looks around. "Where am I?" As her vision clears a little more she recognizes Raye's room. She slowly stands up, her head still spinning with her fever, and walks toward the bedroom door. She hears the sound of people talking in low voices. She puts her ear to the door and begins to listen. "Some leader we have. She passes out because of a little thunder and lightning." Raye's distinct voice rings out. "Maybe there is something more to it." Ami's says in Usagi's defense. "Yeah, she could have klutzed out and fell." Minako adds with a giggle. "Like you have room to talk, Minako." Makoto points out. "We need a leader that is not going to klutz out every time we turn around. Usagi is not reliable enough." Raye's voice echoes through the room. "So, that's what they think of me." Usagi turns toward the window in the back of the room. She quietly opens the window and squeezes out of it. "I'll show them." "Raye, she maybe a klutz and a crybaby, but she is always there for us." As Ami finishes her defense of Usagi, a crash is heard in the other room. All four people jump to their feet and run toward the room. Minako points toward the bed. "Do you think she overheard us?" "Sometimes I think you are as much an airhead as Usagi!" Raye yells. "Of course she heard us!" "You don't think she'll do something stupid do you?" Makoto asks. The four look at each other and hope she doesn't.