"I'm so sorry that Mamoru treated you that way, Odango." Usagi knew Seiya was lying, but she appreciated the words all the same.

They sat together at a bench overlooking the lake in Inokashira Park. Even though the trails were filled with people and the water was filled with couples paddling in swan boats, no one expected Sieya Kou of the Three Lights to be hanging so casually in such a public area- so they went completely unbothered.

The laughter coming from the couples in the boats grated Usagi's ears. She knew her face was swollen and she looked like a red balloon; she could feel how tight the skin was on her cheeks, and still wet with tears that continued to fall every once in a while.

"Tell me about your concert in Osaka," she said, desperate to talk about anything but Mamo-chan.

Seiya placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. "It was great, actually. The whole music festival was a lot of fun, the food was great, the crowd was into us. The only thing missing was you." He smiled, then stole a glance at her to give her a wink.

Now her cheeks were red for a different reason. How could this stranger from another world make her emotions turn on a dime like that?

He smiled that sexy rockstar smile he always gave her, obviously picking up on her reaction. "Odango, when was the last time you were out on a date? Like a proper, all-fun, no-business, night-on-the-town, real date?" She stared at him blankly while she tried to think back, and her silence made him shake his head. He extended his hand out to her. "Come on. We're resetting that clock right now, and will reset it again tomorrow. And every day after that."

Usagi liked fun. Usagi liked romance. Usagi was into every word Seiya had just used to describe a date. And as soon as she slid her hand into his, they were off.

With Seiya's long hair wrapped up in a bun beneath his hat and sunglasses to cover his startling blue eyes, no one gave him a second glance as they entered Inokashira Park Zoo. "Let's look at a few of the animals quickly," Seiya said with a wide smile as he checked his watch, "and then we have a very important stop to make."

Usagi's sadness lifted at the sight of all the adorable animals. Penguins, foxes, and monkeys were among her top favorites. Though Seiya was a celebrity himself, she laughed as he lost his mind at the sight of the capybaras. "You're completely starstruck!" she said as he tried to reach over and pet one in its enclosure. "And you're going to get us in trouble!" she added with a playful swat.

"Fine, fine. But I have a whole collection of these at home and I've never seen one in real life!" As he drew his hand back over the enclosure wall, he checked his watch again. "It's time. Come on."

Usagi squealed as he led her to an area that read GUINEA PIG PETTING ZOO. "If we can't touch the big ones, at least we can pet the minis," he said with a wink. As soon as the clock hit 1:30, gates in a large pen opened and guinea pigs of all shapes, sizes, and colors flooded into the area, cooing and hopping and begging to be pet. They took turns picking up and exchanging the small animals, and Usagi felt completely at ease as they purred against her in a sweet guinea pig way as she pet their sides. "Yaten told me he planned to take Minako here soon. I'm glad I got to take you first," Seiya said with a wide smile, which she returned in kind.

Their next stop as still within the park: a restaurant that was hidden among the trees and shrubs that defined the park's borders, up on a hill and completely hidden from view unless one knew where to look. "How do you know about these spots?" Usagi asked. "You're not even, you know, from around here?"

Seiya let out a loud laugh. "Perhaps not, but I can read. 25 Romantic Places to Take Your Lover in Tokyo. It's a handy book to have."

Usagi blushed. But it was indeed romantic, and the food was incredible.

The road leading out of the park and toward the train station was filled with boutiques, second-hand shops, cute cafes, and small restaurants. Anywhere she wanted to look, Seiya enthusiastically joined her.

"This is cute," Seiya said, holding up a gray crop top with long bell sleeves in one of the second-hand shops. At first, Usagi was confused about why he would be saying that about a piece of women's clothing, and then it made sense: he transformed into a woman when he became Sailor Star Fighter.

Usagi smiled. "It would look great on you," she said, and meant it. Star Fighter had a killer body; one Usagi had absolutely admired while out on the field.

Seiya lowered the garment in his hands and his eyes grew dark. "Tell me, Odango." He looked around to make sure the shopkeeper was out of earshot, and took a few steps closer to her. Usagi's heart rate kicked up as she stared at him wide-eyed. "Have you ever been with a woman?"

Usagi heated up a degree as she leaned away from him. "I-" Her previous curiosity toward Haruka came to mind. "I-" This wasn't a difficult question to answer, so why was it so hard to choke out? "No, I haven't."

Seiya chuckled and fluffed one of the buns atop her head. "You're too cute. Would you ever want to be?"

"Seiya!" she shouted, and couldn't control her sudden loud, nervous laughter. The shopkeeper leaned back to get a look at them from the register up front, and Seiya quickly hung up the garment and pushed Usagi back toward the entrance of the store. The two giggled all the while.

Seiya didn't press her for an answer outside of the store, and Usagi was grateful for it. In all honesty, even if he did press her on it, she wasn't sure she could answer, because she didn't know. The thought left her flustered.

"Ready to get back off our feet for a little bit?" Seiya said, pointing further up the road toward a Karaoke-Kan, a skyscraper with hundreds of private rooms to sing one's heart out. That did nothing to ease Usagi's flustered heart.

"Ooooh no," Usagi said with her palms up in surrender. "Rei and Ami can agree- you do not want to hear me sing."

Seiya's smile turned devilish. "Oh, but I do," he said, entwining his fingers with hers and towing her toward the front door. Maybe this will make him stop liking me, she thought, despite her not really wanting that. She didn't know where she stood with Mamoru anymore, but if Seiya disengaged from chasing after her, would her feelings toward him change and make her decision easier?

You're enjoying yourself. Stop thinking about worst-case scenarios to make yourself feel better.

They reached their private karaoke room on the sixth floor of the building and began flipping through the song catalogs. "Is it tacky to sing my own stuff?" Seiya asked with a chuckle as he removed his hat and shook out his ponytail. "It could help boost the rankings of our songs."

Usagi snorted. "I've heard you sing those songs a million times... and even though I think they're great, I want to hear you sing something else."

Seiya was beaming. "Okay. And what are you going to sing?"

She sighed. "I have a feeling I'm going to be singing whether I like it or not, so I guess I should go first so I'm not following something amazing." She flipped through and honed in on a song, but she wasn't sure she should sing it. Its lyrics spoke to her, but could she get through it? And was it appropriate to sing in front of Seiya?

He caught her staring at the page and picked up the remote. "Read off the code," he said. "I'll punch it in."

With no other choices, and anxious to get her singing portion of this event over with, she read the code. "Miss you" by m-flo flashed across the screen, and Usagi slowly raised the microphone to her lips.

It was a duet between a man and a woman, arguing about being close but missing one another. She sang both parts:

F: Ooh I'll tell you what this is all about
this is something your money can't buy

M: But (Oh!) I want to want to see your smile
And hear your melody

F: How can I can I is it okay to explain this?
Just spend some time with me

M: I don't have time so please
Maybe if you are serious we gotta be

F: Gotta be? loving and huggin and uh uh
Even though we're together I miss you
Even if I'm near you Boy I miss you
Before I change my feelings
Something has to happen soon

She felt Seiya's gaze on her the entire time she sang, and though she wasn't exactly on pitch, the emotion was there. As the song came to an end, Usagi looked at him from across the table and realized those damned tears had started again.

A new song flashed across the screen, Seiya's choice, as he wordlessly made his way around the table, sat beside her, and grabbed her hand.

In times come and gone
We're searching for love
For we should be strong
As we're staring at the sky

Someday, someday, our souls
will be at peace
The future stars are telling us
It's always shining so bright

How many tears must have fallen
to be honest to ourselves?
When our feelings are expressed right
will our hearts be satisfied?

Despite them not being his own, Seiya sang every lyric from memory as he stared into Usagi's eyes. At some point he'd lowered the microphone onto the table beside them and cupped her cheek instead as his sweet voice filled the room on its own. He is so talented, she thought, and wonderful. And this could be my future, if I wanted it to be.

The thought sent a tremor rocking through her. It felt too right.

No song followed Seiya's choice, but he didn't seem to care. He was too focused on her lips now, staring at them intently as his thumb lightly brushed over the bottom one.

He whispered, "Usagi, tell me what you want, and I will be that for you. Man, woman, pop idol, sailor soldier... I want to be anything you want me to be. I want to do anything you want me to do." He leaned forward as his hand moved into her hair and his lips hovered just above hers. "Do you want me to kiss you now?"

"Yes." The answer required no thought, no hesitation. And just as quickly as she'd answered, his lips were on hers, eager with passion and need. Usagi wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself into him, matching that need with her own.

"I've wanted this for so long," Seiya said between kisses. "Odango, you make me so happy."

And he made her so happy. Guinea pigs, a fancy meal, undivided attention? Usagi felt like she was on top of the world. A girl could get used to this, she thought. Is this what all boyfriends are like? How Mamoru had taken her for granted...

They left Karaoke-Kan hand in hand, and Usagi clung to Seiya with her other arm as soon as they got back onto the street. Night had fallen, and the town was lit with the soft glow of the buildings and traffic lights. "My car is just down there," he said, pointing toward the train station. "I'll take you home. Unless you want to come back to my place?"

Usagi bit her bottom lip and looked away. She wanted to say yes, but out of respect for Mamo-chan and her unstable emotions, decided to have some self control for once. "Home's fine," she said quietly. She looked at the ground, too embarrassed to look up at him as they rounded the corner onto the main road.

Usagi nearly pulled her own arm out of its socket as she continued walking while Seiya stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh my God," he said. "Holy shit."

"What?" She looked up, and he tried to shield her from the large screen on the side of the department store across the street, but it was too late. Usagi stared up, wide-eyed, and immediately began to shake. Her legs turned into jelly, and Seiya was the only thing keeping her upright. He sank them both safely to the ground.

"Maybe it wasn't his," he offered.

She was too numb, too paralyzed to state the contrary. She knew it was his. Mamoru's. The plane. His plane! All she could do was stare up at the news footage of the jumbo jet getting enveloped in a strange golden light over the west coast of Japan, then falling from the sky and plummeting toward the ground. There was no way anyone would have survived the inferno that came next.

She kept reading the headline over and over: NO SURVIVORS IN PLANE CRASH OF USJ FLIGHT 504 FROM NARITA TO BOSTON, MA, USA.

If you like my writing, please consider checking out my original paranormal romance called THE DEMON KNIGHTS SERIES, starting with BOUND TO YOU, due out July 2020! For more details, please google my name to visit my website and sign up for my newsletter, or find me on Facebook or Twitter all as alycaraway.