AN: Ask and you shall receive. I didn't plan to do anything with this story after finishing Minako's POV, but one of my reviewers wanted the other half of the story. I'm not sure how well this will turn out, so bear with me, okay? Again, I don't own Sailor Moon or anything Sailor Moon-related. Don't sue me.
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"Damn it, Usako…" I swore. "Why do you keep pushing it? It's killing me to do this to you."
Those stupid dreams had been driving me crazy ever since Chibiusa-chan's arrival. Those flashes had seemed harmless, but progressively got worse. I could never, ever risk my Usako like that.
"What does it all mean?" I wondered, pacing my depressingly empty apartment. She had left in tears the last time she was here. I swore again. "I've got to get out of here for a while or something."
I'll go see Motoki-kun. That should help some. Wait- Usako and her friends are there almost all the time. So much for that idea. I don't want to go through another encounter like the last one.
A knock sounded at the door, distracting me from my thoughts. It's probably just Motoki-kun; not many people come to visit me. If it were Usako or Chibiusa-chan, they'd already be yelling or something.
"Coming!" I shouted. I quickly schooled my features into my usual stoic mask. No need to advertise to Motoki that I wasn't having a good day- or week- or any time at all.
I moved to the entryway and glanced through the peephole. Hmm, didn't see anyone. Motoki-kun must have moved to the side or something.
As I opened the door, I easily noticed the blonde headed my direction. 'Oh, no,' I told myself. 'This can't possibly be good.' I tried to close the door, but the blasted girl jammed her foot between the door and the frame.
"Oh, I don't think so," Minako-chan told me as she slipped in the door. "You and I are going to have a nice chat. You aren't getting rid of me that easily. I have questions and you're going to answer them."
Hide emotions, hide emotions. "I don't want to talk about it, Minako-chan," I told her, very firmly. Something told me she wasn't buying my mask the way most people would.
The confounded girl turned and glared at me. "I don't care if you want to or not. If you'd like I can always call the others to come and MAKE you talk. However," she continued, smiling sweetly, "I'd like to think that isn't necessary. Usagi-chan is in a lot of pain right now, and I want to know why. You really are a baka like Usagi-chan always used to say if you think I believe that you don't love her."
Okay, I REALLY don't want to talk about it now. Minako normally acts the role of a ditzy blonde perfectly, but today you can definitely see why she's the leader of Usako's Senshi. I fixed her with my intimidating stare. It had terrified Zoicite and countless other enemies. For some reason, she didn't seem even slightly phased. This girl can be very hard to understand sometimes.
The next thing I knew, Mina had pushed me into one of the chairs in my living room. The girl's tiny, so I know she wasn't relying on just a normal human's strength to do it. She sat down across the table from me, watching me closely.
"Now spill," the Senshi of Venus ordered. "I'm not leaving here till I get what I came for. I don't believe you don't love Usagi-chan anymore. Want to know why?"
Kami-sama help me if this little slip of a girl has proof. I don't need to be hounded by her or the rest of the Senshi. Their leader was making this hard enough as is.
"Not really," I muttered under my breath in response to her rhetorical question. She fixed me with a heated stare not dissimilar to the one I'd tried to use on her not too long ago. I sighed. "Okay, fine, why?"
"Because of this." Minako appeared to be stirring the air. As she did so, a shining red string appeared. It was tied to my hand and led off to an unknown destination, although I knew exactly who it led to.
"This being?" I asked, pretending I didn't have the faintest idea what the girl was going on about. She didn't seem to be buying it.
"That, baka," she snapped, "would happen to be the Red String of Fate. One of the quirks of my position, or curse, depending on your view. It can be both, really. I can see who fate has linked together. Care to hazard a guess as to who the other end was tied to?" Now the infernal child was smirking at me. I was in so much trouble.
I knew, of course I knew. She recognized it in my face. "Should I care?" I drawled as smoothly as I could. How did she know so quickly? I had counted on it at least taking a while before one of the Senshi said something.
"Should you care? Um, let me think…" She said, lacing her words with a great deal of sarcasm. "YES! Of course you should care! You know who it is, too, don't you, Mamoru-san?"
"Usako," I murmured softly. Oh no, bad, my eyes are tearing up. I don't cry. I will not cry in front of Minako-chan. I will not give myself away that completely!
"Someone that you supposedly don't love anymore, and yet you still call her Usako. That's fascinating, really. Yes, that would be the same string that's attached to Usagi-chan. Maybe you're not such a baka after all. You're hurting, but why are you hurting her? And why on Earth would you call her weak?" Anger was flaring in the little blonde's eyes. It was truly amazing how much she looked like her leader and best friend.
I couldn't take it anymore. I looked away and didn't answer her. The resemblance between her and my Usako was too painful at the moment.
She let the silence hold for about five minutes before trying again. "How is Usagi-chan weak? I had only met her once before that day in Starlight Tower, so I didn't really know her at that point. When you were taken away, she broke down. She doesn't believe she's strong, I know that. It was cold of you to throw that in her face."
I felt cold while she talked about it. The days she was referring to were some of the darkest ones I remembered. Even my life in the orphanage hadn't held as much pain. I still didn't look at Mina, but I heard her moving.
"She didn't know if you were dead or alive, and it seemed like she was dying inside. She didn't laugh or smile. Not knowing what had happened to you was destroying her inside… and then we saw you again. Do you have any idea what it did to her when you tried to take the Ginzuishou from her at the hair salon?"
I looked up at her now. Her head was resting in her hands. Obviously, her memories of that time were almost as painful as my own. Of course, no one can top the pain of betraying their true love, voluntary or no. I stopped resisting the tears and let them flow. It didn't really matter anyway. Usako's pain was so much more important.
"After you left that day," Minako-chan continued, her voice shaking slightly, "she started making plans to bring you back. It was really the only way to get through to her. Your safety was the only thing she was thinking about. She still tried to present her normal self to the world, and we let her, but we all knew her heart wasn't in it. You continued to save her, though, and that confused the rest of the Senshi, including me."
I don't think Minako realized that her voice was shaking. She was too caught up in chastising me. I really can't blame her for it, though. If we had changed positions, I would have chastised myself.
"Once she managed to heal you with the Ginzuishou the first time, we thought she would be all right, but then you were stolen from her yet again. She refused to give up, though, and came up with a plan to try to save you. It didn't work, but she was trying so hard. Finally, everyone regained their memories of the Silver Millennium. I think it might have hurt her worse than ever, remembering so much of your past together. She didn't know how to cope without you for much longer. We got lucky after that and found the entrance to the Dark Kingdom."
The memories of that time are crystal clear. The worst memories I'll ever have, but the ones I can never be rid of. I don't know how Usako could bear to be near me after what I'd done to her. She was far too kind and forgiving for her own good.
"Each of us died for her that day, and you did too. Luna wanted her to leave, to not use the Ginzuishou against Beryl and Metalia." She wouldn't. Usako was an angel that day, sacrificing herself to save my planet. Our planet. "She did anyway, of course, simply because she cared so much about everyone and everything. She was given a way out and didn't take it, yet you called her weak, even knowing what she'd gone through." As if I could ever mean that. Usako radiated strength in her quiet way. She may not put on the outward shows of bravery like the rest of the Senshi, but when it came down to it, there was no way to stop her. "Usagi-chan won, but her final wish was for a normal life for everybody. She wanted all of us to be able to live without fighting and without the burdens of our past."
Minako-chan looks slightly teary. That day had been terrible for all of us. The very thought of losing Usako, our princess and guiding star, was unbearable. I wondered how long she planned on torturing me with my memories. Surely by know she's realized she's absolutely, completely right and that I recognize it too.
"Even after Luna revived us, she was so worried about you. You seemed happy enough, but she missed you dreadfully. She began to know more about Mamoru, not Endymion, and fell in love with you all over again. You, Mamoru, not Endymion." I don't know why the blonde felt the need to emphasize this point. You could never doubt Usako's emotions. I had treated her terribly but she still loved me. You could always see her emotions in her eyes. "She loves you for who you are, not who you used to be. She looked for ways to bring the two of you back together, and if you weren't as close as you had been, you were at least friends. You didn't even remember her but you continued to protect her." As if I could do anything else. I hadn't even known I was Tuxedo Kamen when I started protecting Sailor Moon at the very beginning. I wonder if I ever told them about that. "Remember that day with the Doom Tree? You jumped in front of her, trying to protect her even though you didn't remember your own powers."
Protecting Usako comes as naturally to me as breathing, except from myself. Unfortunately, I generally hurt her far worse than any of the enemies we've faced. I almost wish I could revert to before I regained my memories. Minako was looking at me strangely for a moment. Oh, I've been muttering.
"I think I get the point, Minako-chan. I know Usako isn't weak," I sighed. "I never really thought she was. This has nothing to do with you, though. I'm not going to tell you what you want to know."
"You still protect her, Mamoru-san." Damn the girl for pressing the issue. "Even as you deny her, she knows in her heart that you still care. I think it's the only reason she hasn't entirely let go. Her self-confidence isn't the greatest, though, and it'll get worse if you continue to hurt her like this. I know I can't force you to do the right thing, but for her sake, and yours, I hope you do."
I can't explain, Mina. You're just as likely to ignore the warning in the dreams as she is. I hate doing this, I really, really do. I watched as Minako headed for the door. Thank Kami.
"Minako-chan?" I heard my own voice say. Damn again, what am I doing?
"Hmmm?" she responded noncommittally.
"Why did you tell me all this?" Oh, that's okay. That's a safe question to ask. I won't give myself away any more with that question.
She faced me. There was a strong, passionate determination in her gaze. So much like her leader. "Because even if you already know, I had to make sure. I won't stand by and let you hurt her forever. Keep in mind that if things get much worse the Senshi and I are more than capable of making you regret the way you treat her."
Valid threat. "She wouldn't let you." Usagi never could. It wasn't in her nature to allow people to be hurt on her behalf.
"You're right; she wouldn't," Minako agreed. Wait, I think there's more to it than that. She won't give in that simply. "Usagi-chan has a huge heart, and even as you break it she cares too much to do anything. I didn't say we'd ask her permission though. I have no doubt even Ami-chan would help out, as much as she doesn't believe in abusing her powers as a Senshi. We've seen what happens when you aren't there for her; I just pray it doesn't happen again."
That was definitely a chilling thought. Four pissed off Senshi could do a lot of damage. Mina opened the door. Of course, she had to throw in one last barb.
"Goodbye, Mamoru-san. Hopefully you've learned something from this. You still love her. What will you do if you lose her for good?"
That's a good question, Minako-chan. That's a very, very good question.