standard disclaimers apply: I don't own sailor moon or any of the characters related to it and i don't own the song either, so please don't sue me! Don't find a fault. Find a remedy. - Anonymous Only the heart can change the heart. Friends are never far apart when they're together in the heart. Love doesn't imprison, it sets you free. My love for you - that is my only sin. - William Shakespeare now on with the story . . . enjoy! . . . Twists of Fate: Shattered Dreams "Princess! Is she . . . " "Yes, she is." "Small Lady?" "Her too." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They say that love can overcome anything, but can it really? My whole life I've wanted nothing more than to be loved. When I finally am, I find out that it cannot be . . . it wasn't meant to be. The fates are so cruel to me . . . life has been so unfair to me . . . the one thing I want more than anything, is the one thing I can't have . . . And now I know that I cannot have the one I want . . . the one I love . . . The fates are so cruel! . . . They say that love can overcome anything, but can it really? . . . ~My All~ I am thinking of you In my sleepless solitude tonight If it's wrong to love you Then my heart just won't let me be right 'Cause I've drowned in you And I won't pull through Without you by my side I'd give my all To have just one more night with you I'd risk my life To feel your body next to mine 'Cause I can't go on Living in the memory of our song I'd give my all For your love tonight Baby, can you feel me Imagining I'm looking in your eyes I can see clearly Vividly emblazoned in my mind And yet you're so far Like a distant star I'm wishing on tonight I'd give my all To have just one more night with you I'd risk my life To feel your body next to mine 'Cause I can't go on Living in the memory of our song I'd give my all For your love tonight I'd give my all To have just one more night with you I'd risk my life To feel your body next to mine 'Cause I can't go on Living in the memory of our song I'd give my all For your love tonight Give my all for your love Tonight Mariah Carey - Butterfly Tuxedo Kamen held onto Sailor Moon's body. He was not letting her go. . . he wasn't ready to let her go. He began willing his energy into her tiny body, hoping it would bring her back. The others tried to stop him to no avail. They knew she was dead, her soul had already left. Her face was a pale, almost ghostly white hue. Her lips were no longer pink and warm, but dark blue and cold. Her body was stiff, cold . . . lifeless. "Tuxedo Kamen . . . Mamoru-kun, onegai! Matte! She's gone! Onegai!" they all pleaded. They knew that energy transfer was useless, he was wasting his own energy for no reason. A part of him knew that as well. The other part of him was unable to accept it. They had died at least three times before, so this couldn't be the end. Not yet, it couldn't end like this . . . This was the state Luna, Artimas, and the outer senshi found everyone in. "What happ-USAGI!" Luna screamed running to her ward. Upon reaching Usagi's stiff, lifeless body, she started shaking her, trying to wake her up. When Usagi didn't respond, Luna turned to Tuxedo Kamen and the other senshi, "What happened!? Why isn't she waking up!?" "She's dead," someone answered quietly. The cats and outer senshi gasped in surprise at the shocking news. They then turned to their attention to Pluto, who looked just as dumbstruck as everyone else. There were tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and she was rocking herself back and forth on the ground repeating over and over, "This wasn't supposed to happen! Hime . . . Small Lady . . . This wasn't supposed to happen . . . " "I think it was." All heads turned to Mars. They couldn't believe that she could say such a thing. Yes, Rei and Usagi fought a lot, but deep down everyone knew they loved each other like sisters. "Rei! How could you say such a thing!" exclaimed Venus. "Venus is right! We all know how badly you treated her! You practically hated her!" yelled an accusing Uranus. "Shut up!" Mars yelled back, "I never hated Usa-chan! I love, loved her like a sister! I don't care what any of you think! She knew how much I cared for her, that's all that matters to-" "ENOUGH!" Everyone stared at Saturn with shock. They never knew that she could yell like that. She had tears freely flowing down her cheeks. She lost two very important people in her life, two people she had sworn to protect at all costs . . . Chibi-Usa was her best friend . . . Usagi was like an older sister, a mother even. Someone would pay for taking them away, they would pay dearly. After composing herself for a few moments, she asked Mars in a calmer voice, "Rei, you were saying." "I think Usa knew that this would happen. You see . . . " Flashback . . . "Rei?" "Yeah." "Promise me something." "Usa, this isn't the time or the place." "Please." "Fine, what?" "You'll live." "WHAT!?" "If anything happens, I want you to promise me that you'll go on and help the others, especially Mamo-chan." "Usa, don't talk like that!" "Sorry, but I just have this feeling that something's going to happen . . . Please, promise me that." "Of course, Usa, anything for you." End flashback . . . " . . . that's why I think it was meant to happen. I think she knew." Everyone's tears were once again renewed as Rei shared her account of Usagi's last moments. They all comforted each other, the outers remained with the outers, the inners with the inners, and Tuxedo Kamen still held onto his beloved's body, not fully registering the events that had just transpired. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a darkened portal, lit by a few candles placed on the walls, outlines of two figures could be seen. One of the figures watched the scene with great dismay, telling the other figure, "Another rift has been created between the inners and the outers." "Yes. It has," the other figure responded nonchalantly. Upset by the lack of emotion expressed by her fellow companion, the figure tried to show her companion that the rift is very serious by saying, "Serenity was the only thing that kept them together. Without her . . . without her, they will surely disband and let their hostilities, insecurities, and anger get the better of them." "Probably," the figure replied turning away from the portal. "Nani?! Probably!? Aren't you the least bit concerned?! The fate of the world is in their hands! If they can't get along with each other, then how can they protect the world . . . the universe!?" "Its not my concern," the figure said simply. The other figure just stared in shock and disapproval, and asked, "Don't you care the slightest bit?!" "No. I have done what the fates have ordained me to do. I have done my job. Anything beyond that is none of my concern, and it shouldn't concern you either," the figure said opening another "door" and exiting the portal. 'Isn't our concern! How can you think that?!!' the lone figure thought, 'I have to do something! There has to be a way around this!' She frantically began racking her brain for ideas. She paced the room back and forth a few times before stopping abruptly. An idea popped into her head. She knew just what she had to do in order to make things right again. A smile tugged at her lips and she left the portal quickly, missing three figures watching her from the shadows. As soon as she was gone, the figures came out of their hiding place. "She won't give up," said one. "No, she won't," said another. "What should we do?" the first one asked, "If she interferes now, it will ruin everything we've planned. She has already interfered once by sending the Prince the dream." "We cannot allow her to interfere again. She must be stopped." "Don't worry," the third said confidently, "SHE won't do anything. She doesn't understand the intentions behind our actions, nor was she supposed to." "How can you be so sure that she won't do anything?" "Because I will make sure she doesn't . . . not yet at least . . . it isn't time yet . . . " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luna, Artimas, and Minako set out to erase any memories of Usagi from her family and friends, like she wanted. Haruka helped Hotaru and Michiru helped Setsuna. Mamoru refused to let go of his koishi's body, so he carried her. Rei limped and used Makoto and Ami for support. They walked through the dark and desolate streets of Tokyo. Not a single person could be seen. The bright moon had even disappeared from the night sky, making the streets darker than usual. It was as if the moon shrouded itself in the blackness of some stray clouds as a way of mourning for its loss, for its princess. Upon reaching Mamoru's apartment, everyone but Mamoru sat down. He took Usagi's lifeless body to his bedroom, slamming the door shut. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the occupants in the room. The only sounds heard were that of some crickets singing a sad tune, their way of mourning for their prince's loss. Mamoru's soft cries could be heard in his bedroom. The outer senshi glared at the inner senshi accusingly. The inner senshi glared at the outer senshi accusingly. This went on until Minako and the cats came back. Upon their arrival, Luna softly knocked at Mamoru's door. A few moments later the sound of the bed creaking could be heard. The door opened slowly and Mamoru walked out. His face was red and puffy. His midnight blue eyes turned a darker shade of blue. There were still a few lone tears sliding down his cheeks. He didn't bother to wipe them away though. It didn't matter anymore. He was dead inside. The unbreathing body of his Usako was all the proof he needed. He walked to his favorite leather couch and looked at it longingly before sitting down. This was the very chair he and his Usako had sat in for many hours. They just held each other, kissed each other, whispered sweet nothings to each other . . . but, those days were gone the day he broke up with her, and now, it looked as though they were to never return. He could faintly hear her laughter whenever he tickled her stomach or when his lips nipped her ears. Mamoru didn't have much time to think about it. Once he sat down, all hell broke loose. "This is all YOUR fault!!" yelled an angry senshi of Uranus. "Haruka is right!" agreed Michiru, "YOU couldn't protect her! YOU were SUPPOSED to PROTECT her!" Setsuna finally got her voice and composure back. She too began glaring at the inner senshi, "They are all right! If we were ther-" "But YOU weren't there, were YOU!" spat Makoto as she tried to hold her tears back. Minako wasn't about to be blamed for this. Yes, she blamed herself for not being able to protect her princess, but this attack by the outers was totally uncalled for, "Mako-chan is right! YOU guys are NEVER around when we need help! YOU wait till the last possible moment before even considering helping us!" "I agree," said a sad senshi of Mercury, "How can YOU even call yourselves senshi!?!" Hurt by their words, Setsuna countered, "I should be asking YOU that! How dare YOU, any of YOU, accuse us?! We protected OUR princess time and time again, while all any of YOU did was sit around like lazy-" "US?! How dare YOU accuse US!" yelled Rei, "We were with Usa from day one! We were there from the beginning, through thick and thin! YOU have NO right! YOU only came when YOU felt like it! We embraced our destinies and our duties as senshi, which YOU haven't! YOU sit at the time gate 24/7 and show up when you're bored!" "Rei, you know that isn't true," said Hotaru softly. "What do YOU know!?! You're still a child!" yelled Minako. Hotaru's tears were renewed at Minako's hurtful words. Through her tears, Hotaru managed to ask, "How can YOU say that to me, Minako?" "She's jealous of you, Hotaru," Haruka said, "THEY'RE all jealous of us and OUR relationship with OUR princess." "Me? Jealous of a child! That's absurd!" "I am not a child!" "Whatever." "I think Haruka has it reversed," said Makoto, "we're not jealous, THEY are." Luna and Artimas watched the exchanging of these words with great concern. Usagi's sudden death had brought out the many animosities that had faced the inner and outer senshi since the Silver Millennium. Both sides were jealous of each other and their relationships with Serenity. Serenity and her mother did everything they could to make them realize that there is no need for the jealousy, that Serenity loved them all equally and would do anything for them. But not even she could stop the green-eyed monster that had embedded itself into the senshi. Before anything else could be done, Beryl had attacked and the problem had been left unresolved . . . until now. Luna looked at Artimas through her tear-filled eyes. He looked back at her. No words needed to be spoken between them. They had to keep the senshi together. The world was now in their hands. They didn't want Usagi's death to be in vain . . . they didn't want her to watch over the senshi and see this, this discord and hate . . . they didn't want her to feel guilty for dying. "Minna! Onegai! Matte! Stop, please!" Luna yelled, "Usagi wouldn't want this to happen. She wouldn't want us to fight like this. Please, stop! Onegai!" "Luna's right," agreed Artimas, "we can't fight like this, especially when there's an enemy still out there. We need to work together to defeat the enemy. We need to help each other get through this." "Luna and Artimas are right," Mamoru said quietly. He was staring out of the window at the night sky. It was still pitch black. The moon refused to come out of the darkness and it seemed like more and more black clouds began forming, veiling the sky with a black cloak. The earth and the moon were mourning. They wanted everyone to know about their loss, their pain. Mamoru reluctantly tore his gaze from the window and looked at each one of the senshi. They were all glaring at him. He knew that they blamed him for her death since he had already killed her emotionally. He addressed the senshi anyway, "We cannot go on like this. We're upset by what happened and are letting our anger get the better of us. We should not be angry at each other, rather we-" "WE?!?" yelled Haruka, "there is no WE! YOU and the inners are to blame for this! There is nothing to work out! As far as I'm concerned, I'm through with YOU! The only reason I stayed was for Moon-face. That's it. With her gone, there's no reason for me to stay." With that, Haruka got up and went to the door. She put on her shoes and addressed the rest of the outer senshi, "I'm through with THEM. If you are too, then come with me. There is no longer a need for us to be here." Each outer senshi looked at each other and nodded. They wiped the stray tears out of their eyes and walked to Haruka. The door slammed shut. Mamoru, the cats, and the remaining senshi gaped at the door. They couldn't believe that the outers had just got up and left. "Fine! Go! We don't need YOU. We did just fine without any of YOU! We don't care!" yelled Rei, before bursting out into uncontrollable sobs. Ami, being the closest in proximity to her, hugged her tightly and cried herself. Minako and Makoto started to cry as well. They hugged each other, comforting each other with their tears of pain, sadness, and emptiness. The cats were dumbstruck. This is not what they had in mind when they asked the senshi to put aside their personal feelings towards each other. They felt a feeling of emptiness the moment the outer senshi left. Luna identified it as the feeling of lost hope. Artimas, although agreeing with Luna felt it was something else as well. It was like a scab that would not go away, no matter how much you picked at it, it would not heal. The situation with the senshi was like that, it was something that would take much time and patience to heal. Time. How much time? Will they ever speak to each other? Will they ever talk to each other? Through each passing minute, the silence continued on. Each of the senshi and the guardian cats went into Mamoru's bedroom and bid their fallen leader, their friend, goodbye. They left Mamoru's apartment soon after, agreeing to meet later and discuss Usagi's funeral. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Outer Senshi Hotaru sat in Michiru's lap as Haruka drove away from Mamoru's apartment. Setsuna stared out of the window, still trying to comprehend how this had happened and what it meant for the future, for Crystal Tokyo. She knew that she had to get back to the time gate and sort things out. Usagi's death held many consequences, a lot of them were not very good. Setsuna shivered. She couldn't believe that Usagi was really gone. She had missed her after her death during the Silver Millennium. She had to wait over a thousand years before Usagi was born again. And even after that, she had to wait till it was time to guide Usagi with her destiny. But at least she could watch Usagi grow up from afar. Setsuna remembered watching Usagi grow up from a portal in the time gate. No one said she couldn't watch over her Princess, her sister from the portal. Only once did she disobey her orders to stay away. She recalled that day. It was the day that Usagi was re-born into this world, June 30 . . . Flashback . . . Setsuna sat in her favorite chair. There was nothing to do. She had checked on the time-line and found no rifts or problems. So she relaxed a little. Something she doesn't always get enough time to do. She took out her sketchpad from a sub-pocket in the air and began drawing. It was a hobby she picked up from her little excursions through the various centuries. She began drawing the outline of a person. Not just any person, but her sister and friend, Serenity. It had been so long since she had seen her. The last time she saw Serenity was right before the attack by the Dark Kingdom. She had managed to give Serenity a present for her birthday. It was a dress that Setsuna designed and made by herself. That was the dress that Serenity went to the ball in, the dress that Serenity died in. Setsuna shuddered, but continued drawing. A feeling of uneasiness made her stop what she was doing. She felt like she was being watched and did not like that feeling. She set the pencil down and got up from her chair. With a few quick steps, Setsuna reached her staff. She walked to the center of the room and took a defensive stance. Her garnet eyes scanned the room for any movements. Her eyes fell upon an area of the room that was not well lit. She saw a shadow come out and emerge into a figure. "Don't worry Setsuna," the figure said, "its only me." Setsuna didn't respond, but she lowered her staff a little. The figure continued, "Nice place you have here. It-" "What do you want," Setsuna asked. "Temper, temper. I came here to tell you a bit of good news and you don't even care to hear what it is." Setsuna clutched her staff tighter as she clenched and unclenched her fists. She did not like her emotions to be played like this. The figure standing before her was the one who told her of Serenity's death. The figure would not let her aid Serenity during the battle. To say that Setsuna hated the figure didn't even begin to describe her feelings. "Fine, since you're not being very hospitable, I'll just tell you. But before I do, I'm only doing this because the Fates told me to, no other reason. So don't think that anything has changed between us." "I wouldn't have it any other way," Setsuna replied vehemently. "I was sent here to tell you that SHE will be reborn soon. Her earth mother is pregnant with HER. We have just confirmed that HER soul and spirit are present in the unborn child," with that, the figure left as quietly as it came. Setsuna, however, stood there in shock. She knew that this day would come soon, but she hadn't expected it so soon. She was filled with happiness and excitement. Serenity was going to be reborn! She wanted to celebrate, but realized that she didn't have anyone to celebrate with. 'Wait,' she thought, 'if Serenity is being born now, that means that the outer and inner senshi are already born, so is the prince!' Setsuna uncharacteristically jumped up and down at the thought. She would soon be reunited with her friends. After all the years of solitude, she would finally have those she loved back in her life and it wouldn't be lonely anymore. Setsuna couldn't wait. She transformed into her senshi uniform and practically ran to the time gates. She looked through each and every portal to find Serenity. She had almost given up, but before she did, she found a woman giving birth in a hospital in downtown Tokyo, Japan. The child inside the woman had a strange aura surrounding her. It was a light, a silver light of purity, innocence, hope, love . . . of Serenity. The woman's husband was nowhere to be found. Her husband was stuck in traffic and the woman didn't have anyone else to support her during the delivery. Setsuna smiled and transformed. She then stepped into the portal and ended up outside the double-swing doors of the delivery room. She was dressed in a green-blue uniform. Her green hair was covered by a cap and her face was covered by a white mask. Her hands were gloved with a pair of beige latex gloves. Setsuna pushed the doors open and went to the purple-haired woman. She was covered in sweat and was yelling at the doctors and nurses. Setsuna stroked her hair and took one of her hands into her own. The woman looked at her and smiled. She held onto Setsuna's hands tighter and tighter as the contractions came faster and faster, until finally a baby's cries could be heard. Setsuna had tears in her eyes. She saw two nurses take a small, blonde-haired baby to the other side. One nurse cleaned her up, and the other weighed her and took some blood from her. The one that cleaned her, wrapped the tiny baby into a clean white blanket. She smiled at the mother and handed the baby girl to her. The doctor came over and said, "Congratulations! You are the proud mother of a baby girl." The woman smiled and stared at the baby. She looked at Setsuna with unshed tears and said, "Arigato, whoever you are. I would not have been able to do this without you. Arigato. If there is anything I can do for you, just let me know." "You're welcome. It was nothing," Setsuna responded, "but I have one request." "Hai, what is it?" "Could I hold her?" Rather than answering, the new mother handed the child carefully to her. Setsuna held her and smiled. The baby smiled slightly and wrapped her tiny hand around one of Setsuna's fingers. Only one thought came to her mind as she held the baby . . . this was Serenity . . . End flashback . . . Setsuna wiped the tears from her eyes and turned away from the window. Her gaze wandered to the other occupants in the car. Michiru stoked Hotaru's hair absently, trying her best to comfort the senshi of death. One would think that Hotaru would be used to death and destruction, but in reality, she was not. Deep inside, she was still a human being . . . a child who lost her two best friends to the will of the fates. With her other hand, Michiru reached out and touched Haruka's hand. Their fingers entwined with one another. In its own way, just holding hands was enough to comfort them. Michiru looked at Haruka out of the corner of her eyes. She noticed the mask her soul mate wore . . . a mask that she and Usagi had tried so hard to uncover. When they finally succeeded in unveiling it, she, Usagi, was gone. Michiru shuddered involuntarily. Usagi's death had hurt them both in more ways than one, and it would take a lot of time to heal the open wound in their hearts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inner Senshi The dawning of a new day usually brought with it hope, the rising of the bright sun, blue skies, birds chirping. Today brought none of those things. It only brought sadness and emptiness, nothing more. The moon had already left the atmosphere, but the sun was nowhere to be seen. The earth would not allow the sun to appear, especially since its sister, the moon, lost its princess and its prince lost his soul mate. The earth kept the sky covered with darkness, not even allowing a single bright ray to come through the thick, gray and black clouds. The streets were still quiet. The only people that could be seen were four young girls. They decided that it was too late to go to their homes, so they opted to go to Rei's. The doors to rays room slide open. Makoto carried Rei in and set her on the bed. Ami took out her mini-computer and began an analysis of Rei's injured leg. The sounds of Ami typing away at her keyboard were the only ones heard. Makoto sat down next to Rei and put her arms around her. Minako walked to the bookshelf and stared at the small silver frame. The words "Friends Forever" was engraved into it, creating a border around the frame. Minako could feel her eyes burning and her vision blurring. How she wished that she could relive that day again. It was such a happy day. Most days with Usagi were happy. She was able to brighten even the gloomiest of days with one smile. That's it, a simple smile. Usagi's smile would take away your sorrows while filling you with warmth and love. But, no more. Minako would never see Usagi smile again. Minako fell to the floor and broke down into pain-filled sobs. Her best friend was gone. She would never see her smile again. The others were a little shocked when they heard Minako start crying. Ami had just finished bandaging Rei's leg when they heard Minako. They looked at her and cried as well. Ami dropped her computer and ran to her friend. She hugged her and began rocking back and forth with Minako. Rei and Makoto stayed on the bed and hugged each other. Through her tears Minako was able to say, "She's gone! We'll never see her smile again!" They couldn't say anything. They all knew that it was true. Usagi was dead and they would never see her smile again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luna and Artimas After the senshi left, Luna and Artimas decided to stay with Mamoru. They knew that the senshi had each other for comfort, but Mamoru, Mamoru had no one. He would've gone to Usagi, but with her gone, who was left. Artimas comforted a grief-stricken Luna. No matter what he did or said to her, nothing could fill the empty void in her heart. She had just lost her princess, her friend, and nothing could change that. Through her tears, Luna saw an outline of Mamoru still sitting in the chair. He hadn't moved since the senshi bid their goodbyes. She was worried about him. She knew that he was shutting himself down, closing off any and all emotions he had left. Everything Usagi had done to help him express his emotions was lost. With Usagi gone, Mamoru would not be able to survive. Luna knew that he would be colder than he ever was. She knew that he had given up on life and was now welcoming death. She looked at Artimas. He looked at her and nodded. He knew that they couldn't leave Mamoru by himself. They knew that if they did, he would definitely do something. They shivered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mamoru The very thought of you and I forget to do The little ordinary things that everyone ought to do Mamoru continued to stare out the window. He hadn't moved an inch since he the senshi left. He couldn't think, couldn't move . . . he felt nothing and didn't want to do anything. His life had been taken away from him and this time he wasn't there with her. He reluctantly turned away from the window. He had no more tears left to shed, so the earth decided to cry for him. The rain fell from the dense clouds. As the clouds released them, they fell faster and faster to the ground. The pitter-patter of the hard rain could be heard echoing throughout the empty apartment. He looked at the kitchen and remembered the days when the two of them would have dinner together. I'm living in a kind of daydream I'm happy as a king He, of course would have to make the dinner while she would set the table. But, she was getting better at cooking. Mako's lessons were definitely paying off. He remembered the day he came home from work and found her waiting for him. Actually, she was sleeping in his favorite couch. She looked so adorable . . . And foolish though it may seem To me that's everything Flashback . . . Mamoru walked into the house after a long day at school and an even longer day at work. His muscles were tense and he felt a migraine coming on. He opened the door and closed it shut. He dropped his keys and books on the table while taking off his shoes. Mamoru began loosening his tie when he smelled a familiar scent. The mere idea of you, the longing here for you You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you I see your face in every flower Your eyes in stars above It's just the thought of you The very thought of you, my love Usako. He walked into the living room and noticed his girlfriend curled up on the couch. Her lips were slightly parted and she snored softly. A smile tugged at his lips as he walked towards her. He pushed a few strands from her eyes and began caressing her face. It felt so soft and silky to his hands. He then brought his lips down to her face slowly, inhaling her scent. He lay butterfly kisses all over her face and neck. He could feel her lips smile slightly. Her eyes slowly opened. He stared at them for a few moments. They reflected pure love . . . love for him. It was something he had never seen of felt before he met this angel, his angel. "Mamo-chan?" Instead of answering, his lips claimed her own in a passionate kiss. She gasped but soon gave into the kiss. He managed to move on top of her, so that she was under him. His hands moved up and down her body, as he cradled her into his embrace. His lips never moved from hers. They stopped after a few minutes because of the lack of air and Mamoru's realization that if he didn't then they would end up doing something else. She smiled brightly at him and her eyes revealed a hint of mischief. "Usako, what have you planned?" "Mamo-chan, can't I just smile?" "Hai, you can, demo, I know that there's something more to it, ne?" Usagi pointed to the kitchen counter and pushed him off of her, "C'mon Mamo-chan. I have a surprise for you." Mamoru gulped. She had made more cookies. He followed her anyway. He would follow her anywhere. She handed him a cookie. It was brown around the edges and was shaped like a heart, "Here, Mamo-chan, I give you my heart!" she said giggling. "Arigato," he nervously answered, taking the cookie from her. He brought it slowly to his mouth and bit off a small piece. Then he took another piece of it, it was bigger than the first. By the third bite, he had finished it and grabbed another, "Ne, Usako, these are really good!" "Arigato, I made them for you." "I know. I love them! I guess Mako-chan's lessons are paying off, ne?" "Guess so. Do you really like them?" "Of course. Would I ever lie to you?" "No." End flashback . . . But he did lie to her when he told her that he didn't love her anymore. And now she was gone. The mere idea of you, the longing here for you You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you I see your face in every flower Your eyes in stars above It's just the thought of you The very thought of you, my love Japanese Translations: onegai - please matte - stop hime - princess nani - what koishi - beloved minna - everyone hai - yes demo - but ne - right arigato - thank you the song in the beginning does not belong to me. its called my all, by mariah carey and is on her butterfly cd. the other song is not mine either. its called the very thought of you. its written by ray noble. he also composed the music. it is on sung by various artists including, nat king cole, bing crosby (1934), vaughn monroe (1944), doris day (1950, in the movie, "man with a horn"), little willie john (1961), and rick nelson (1964). wow! that was long! this was supposed to be only three chapters, but since this chapter was so long i might make it into four. hope you enjoyed it! send feedback! onegai?!! ja ne! redrose