Disclaimer: Hello again, everyone. As Rose is... indisposed at the moment, it

seems I will be preforming the disclaimer today. Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi

Naoko, Kodansha and Toei Animation Ltd. All rights reserved, of course. Please

enjoy this installment.

BloodRose:"Mmph!"

(Turn to see Bloody in full Hannibal Lector regalia)

BloodRose: ¬¬ "Mmmph mm m mmpppphh!!!"

Doctor: - "Yes, that's very nice. Buh-bye!"

(Orderlies appear and cart Bloody away)

Doctor: "Enjoy!"

A Star Crossed Lover's Journey

Final Chapter: Remembrance

It was a gloomy day in Jyuuban. Made all the gloomier, thought Usagi, by

the fact that Mamoru was no longer there. She stared blankly at the mist that had

formed on her window in the cool, damp weather and, almost absently, traced her

finger over the glass. She was surprised to see what she had written there when

she glanced back toward the window a moment later.

"Mamo-chan."

Her azure eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed painfully. Silent agony

was painted on her delicate features as she looked sharply away. With a resigned

sigh, Usagi decided to distract herself with some music and her favorite shojou

manga. The exercise proved fruitless twenty minutes later and, frustrated, Usagi's

eyes returned to her window. She stared past the misted glass to the crystal

droplets falling outside, her expression filled with longing.

Ah, remembrance!

Those long forgotten days,

the happiness of yesterday,

forgotten in favor of the pain of this day.

Pain which I am determined to let go,

in favor of the happiness of tomorrow.

Though as I look back on yesterday,

there is one whom I can not let go...

Mamoru sighed as he watched the rain fall beyond his window, his thoughts

lingering on a certain blue eyed bunny back in Japan. He wondered idly if it was

raining there, too. His cobalt orbs lit up when he thought of how her nose would

scrunch up as a raindrop hit it, a small smile touching his lips. That smile soon

filled with pain and died a lonely death when he remembered the last time he had

seen her... It had been raining then, too...

With an effort that was almost physical, Mamoru wrenched his thoughts from the

path they were taking and sighed heavily. He glanced shortly at his computer

screen and pushed his chair away, moving it closer to the window. He couldn't

possibly concentrate on research, now. As he watched the drops cascade past his

window in the gloomy darkness, his already sullen expression grew depressed and

homesick as he realized, no matter how beautiful Manhattan was, it would never

rival the beauty of Jyuuban park. At the though of the park, memories came

unbidden to his sleep deprived, over worked mind, and his tired face filled with

longing.

Oh, remembrance!

How can I ever forget you?

Even through all the pain,

the lies and the cold indifference,

my love for you shines through.

I don't care if you hurt me in the past...

I've already thrown that away!

Yesterday is no longer our concern.

Usagi jumped when thunder crashed, her eyes wide. When the residual

rumbling died away, she sighed yet again and tightened her arms around the

pillow she was hugging. It just so happened the radio had begun playing one of

her favorite songs, and she recalled ruefully just why she liked that song so much;

because, no matter how many times she heard it, it always managed to make her

cry. As memories flooded her melancholy mind, she slowly began to hum along

with "Kimi Sae Ireba", her crystalline eyes slowly giving birth to small droplets of

despair.

But oh, remembrance!

I can't help but remember your words...

How my heart sang when you said you loved me.

Such a bittersweet memory...

I could never be forced to let it go.

Even should the Gods themselves strike me down,

my love for you shall I never renounce.

Even the moon could not comfort this distraught Mamoru when he looked to

its ethereal beauty for cold consolation, for the bunny looked back at him, its

silence reciting verses within his mind. Like a dagger, the memory of when he met

Usagi that fateful April night sent blinding pain through his heart, as did the long-

memorized verses she had recited for him that night, and many nights after.

Mamoru tore his gaze away from the moon abruptly, the bunny suddenly accusing.

In stead, he turned toward his desk, and his eyes fell upon the picture he and

Usagi had taken on their one month anniversary, so long ago. His quaking hand

reached for the delicate silver frame and as he traced his love's fine features with

a trembling finger, his clock radio came on, playing Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To

Miss A Thing". As his eyes narrowed painfully, a salty drop separated itself from

the stormy ocean and fell mournfully to the glass below.

So, remembrance!

Stay with me, through this laughter and tears,

though tomorrow is still long to come.

Let yesterday dry these salty droplets from my soul,

And the sun rise, if only to see my love again.

For it is for him that my soul cries out,

and remembrance is such a sweet agony.

Usagi's fingers caressed the glass as if it were Mamoru's face she were

touching, a small smile gracing her lips. It quickly grew painful as her eyes began

spilling small liquid crystals down her flushed cheeks, each splashing to the glass

below. Her eyes closed painfully as she lowered her head until the silver frame

touched her forehead. It was an identical twin of the one owned by Mamoru; they

had purchased the set specifically for their anniversary picture. Usagi glanced up

at her desk and the tears came faster when her eyes fell upon the familiar black

leather cover of her poetry journal. In an attempt to stem the memories as much as

possible, she turned her attention back toward her window, and in her grief and

agony, she imagined she could see Mamoru looking back at her, disheveled from

over work and lack of sleep, his stormy eyes shining with tears, his unshaven

cheeks wet. Her expression a curious mix of hope and longing, she reached out

and placed one small hand on the glass. As she smiled, her heart jumped to see

Mamoru smile back at her.

Mamoru couldn't keep the smile from his face when he saw his bunny on the

other side of the misty window pane, his eyes alight with mixed joy, pain, love

and, curiously, apprehension. His left hand pressed onto the glass as though he

were touching hers, and his smile grew to see that she still wore the ring he

bought her on her small finger. As he looked into Usagi's sparkling eyes, he was

surprised to see her emotions mirrored his own, with an equal amount of longing

on her shining face. How Mamoru longed to wipe her tears, but he knew there was

no way to reach her. As one, small crystals and drops of the ocean began spilling

forth with renewed fervor as the sky and ocean clashed, the storms within each

combining for a few intense moments. Though it was there, neither was able to

recognize the love in the other's gaze, and though their hearts filled with longing,

their hands fell away.

Usagi was by now exhausted from crying and as her lethargic form slowly

drooped back to her bed, she gripped the ring around the finger of her right hand,

her last thought before sleep claimed her of the joyous day she had received it, her

lips curved into a small smile.

Mamoru's eyes had become too heavy to keep open by this point, his

emotions surfacing at a rate much too rapid for him to hope to stem. Exhaustion

soon claimed him, and he was forced to stumble to his bed. As his lids slowly

hooded his turbulent pools of blue, his hand compulsively gripped something

around his neck hanging on a delicate sliver chain. Memories of the day he had

received it from a smiling goddess fleeting across his burning lids, Mamoru

dropped into a deep sleep, his face peaceful and his smile content, if only for that

moment.

Now, remembrance!

Let sorrow die, the pain cast away,

as yesterday is done so too shall it be.

Let only the sweet memories stay,

for until tomorrow is come,

I shall know only the comfort of remembrance

in love's absence, and so,

all comfort and company shall be thee.

A Star Crossed Lover's Journey: End

BloodRose: "Well, there you have it. That's the end. It's been too long since I've written this story, and as much as it pains me to do it, I've decided it needs to die. I loved this story, I did. But I haven't written a chapter in years. I still have half a chapter, unfinished as it has been for a long time. So I hope you don't blame me for doing this. For you, my readers (what few might remain) I've decided to leave you with this pittance: what would have been the end, had I finished.

I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.

Farewell."

:EXEUNT: