Hi again! Well, here's Chapter 2…
The first part of this sounds like it's from a totally 
different story, but bear with me, you'll see where I'm 
going with this.

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To Exist…       
Chapter 2
By April Rayne
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    'What am I going to do?'

    'Mom's gonna have a heart attack if she finds out that I failed 
*another* math test. And it's not as if I failed by a lot, it was a 
64!I'm soo dead. But I'm not gonna worry about it now…Guess what? 
Naru-chan and Umino-kun have been going out for 3 months now. Kawaii, 
ne?? ^_^ I wonder what they're doing today. Probably going out for a 
prune shake ^_^'.  The bunny end of the pen moved up and down with 
every thought.
    'Haruna-sensei yelled at me again for falling asleep in class. 
Yeah, yeah, I know, what else is new? Well, it isn't my fault. I 
needed my sleep!' The blond with the odangos smiled. 
    Tsukino Usagi, who normally wouldn't pick up a pen unless someone 
told her to, liked writing in her journal-it was a habit she seemed to 
pick up when she became the Champion of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon.
She could let out her feelings about things that she wasn't sure that 
her friends or family would understand-like the difficulties of 
fighting, the hate, or the fear. One topic that came up a lot were 
her feelings about Tuxedo Kamen, and how he made her confused and 
excited all the time.  Looking at her journal, which she had forgotten
about after Beryl's battle, and found after she regained her 
memories,she noticed another thing about what she wrote. Almost all 
her entries started off with, 'Oooh, that guy makes me so mad!', or 
'If he ever calls me that one more time, I'm gonna…'. And no, those 
weren't about Tuxedo Kamen. Writing about her favorite Mamoru-baka 
helped her to calm down. Besides, trying to vent her anger by wailing 
and fighting with Rei was really doing a number on her throat.
    She had just gotten up from a quick afternoon nap, one she 
desperately needed after meeting up with a certain someone after 
school. 
    'It's funny sometimes,' she wrote, 'Even though I didn't get 
detention today,(did I forget to say Haruna-sensei had a date?) I 
still ended up bumping into him. And I mean *bumping* into him. The 
worst part was, I ran. Didn't even look him in the eye. Usually, I'm 
up for a good fight, but… Today was a little weird. I guess I just 
didn't want to hear him insult me…and probably actually mean it.
    I miss him. I miss him soooo much. He's totally within my reach 
and I can't even bridge the gap. It's killing me. And having my 
memories back doesn't help much. In fact, it makes me think about him 
more than I normally did before I got them back…but even then, I was 
falling for him…^_^'… I'd rather have my memories back than not have 
them at all, because that's all I have left of him right now.
    And I'm so afraid that that will be the *only* things I have left 
of Mamo-chan. Just memories. '

    Usagi looked at her journal entry and put her pen down, turning 
around to lie back on her bed. So many things to think about…Mamoru, 
Tuxedo Kamen, Endymion… Her thoughts on Endymion lingered, as she 
remembered the warmth and love he held for Serenity during the Silver 
Millennium. 'Endymion…I wish I was with you…' She wished quietly that 
things would be the way they were then, with their rendezvous in the 
palace garden, the moonlit walks on Earth where they would stare up at
the stars and share stories with each other.
    Looking up at her ceiling, she began to count the many 
glow-in-the-dark stars she had put there. Her thoughts strayed as she 
remembered how funny it was when she, Rei, Minako, Ami,and Makoto had 
clumped all of them in one corner, and they all had to start over 
again. It brought a bright, if temporary, smile to her face. It had 
felt so nice to hang out with all of them again, to gossip, to laugh, 
even to bicker. 
    But something was missing.
    That something left her with a broken heart.
    

    Total nothingness. A void-dark, deep and never-ending.
    And there was no way out of it.  The vortex was impossible to 
escape,and it was the most severe punishment the Moon Kingdom 
enforced, even with it's peaceful times, and lack of criminals.
    Endymion laughed mockingly to himself as he floated in the vortex 
existence. So, this was his new home…
    'I'm *not* going to enjoy this.'
    He hadn't been given the chance to even say good-bye to his 
family…Heck, he wasn't even given a just trial. 
    It didn't make any sense. Queen Serenity knew of the many meetings 
that the princess and he shared…The guards seemed to be waiting for 
him at his secret garden…
    It was as if the whole thing was planned.
    If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that the Royal 
Moon Family had *no* involvement in what happened. He could feel that 
in his blood.
    He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but the sight of Serenity 
plagued him. Endymion wished more than anything that he could go back, 
just for a moment, to see her, hear her laugh…
    That's when he saw the bright white light, almost like a pinpoint,
against the dark expanse of the void. It pulsed and grew, at first 
little by little, and then by leaps and bounds. It was warm, and 
inviting, but that wasn't what made him move towards it. Maybe he was 
hearing things, but he could have sworn that he heard…

    'Endymion…I wish I was with you…'
    
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    Blinking to block out the tears that threatened to fall, she got 
up and went downstairs. She passed by the eraserboard on her 
refrigerator and wrote a quick note to her family, which was out at 
Shingo's school meeting.
    
    'Needed a breath of fresh air, so I'm gonna walk around for a bit.
Might go to Rei-chan's house or the park for a little while. Should be
back around dinner.
                    Love,
                      Usagi'

    Putting the marker back in its place, she stepped into the 
hallway, and put her shoes on. The door opened to reveal a beautiful 
sunny fall day. A smile found it's way onto her lips and she stepped 
outside. Quickening her pace, she headed straight towards the park, 
and got there in an uneventful 5 minutes-uneventful, that is, until 
*he* showed up. Actually, more like when she bumped into him turning 
the corner *again*.
    
    Today was just *not* turning out to be her day.

    She turned around quickly, and without a word, moved to make a run
for it. Before she could step away, Mamoru grasped her arm gently,but 
with enough force so that she wouldn't try to get away. "Why the rush, 
Odango Atama?"
    She turned around to see the quirky grin on his face that she 
loved to see so much. The tingle shooting up and down her arm from his 
touch was not helping at all. And the glint in his deep blue eyes told 
her that she wasn't going to get away that easily. She gulped. "I 
decided that I didn't need another dose of your stupidity today, 
Mamoru-BAKA." She was surprised that her voice didn't shake, even 
though she was. "So if you'll *kindly* let go-"
    He kept his hold on her arm. "That all depends," he said, looking 
determined to find out something.
    "On…on what?" She gulped again. She turned her head away from him 
to hide from him. 
    He noticed her gesture and saddened. "Just answer three questions 
for me."
    "Eh?" she said, surprised. "Lemme guess? And those three questions 
would be…hmmm…'Why aren't you pigging out on sweets, Odango?' Or, 
'Don't you have some test to fail?' And maybe, 'Odango,shouldn't 
you be wasting your time playing Sailor V games instead of doing your 
homework?' Well, for your information, ba-"
    "I was never going to say that."  Boy, if he wasn't about to do 
what he thought he was about to do, he really would've whipped an even
bigger insult back at her.

    But that wasn't the type of thing you did when you were on the 
verge of telling a girl you were in love with her, was it? 

    He usually wasn't silent after she bit back at him, so she decided
to be the one with the last laugh. "Did you run out of insults? What,
can't take any more time out of your busy schedule to BOTHER me to 
death?"
    He smiled. It was disarming. "Not to death, Odango. You're my 
special sparring partner." he replied casually.
    Usagi would have continued, but his serious tone and the look he 
gave her when she looked up at him told her to do otherwise. 
    And…Mamoru-Baka was still holding on to her arm! Usagi wished that
he'd just let go, cause he was doing dangerous things to her sanity,
especially combined with the way he was looking at her.
    "Odango Atama…" he nearly whispered, almost like an endearment. 
She nearly jumped. "Just hear me out for a second." 
    She sighed, to let out all the air she had been pensively holding.
"Fine. For *one* second."
    He bent down to her ear, and in a volume only the two of them 
could hear, he said, "Odango, why have you been so sad lately?"
    "Eh?" Her eyes widened. Now *that* was unexpected. "What are you 
talking about? You know what, maybe it's just the fact that *you're* 
around. One seconds over-I'll be going now BYE!" she tried to move.
    "Hold it!" 
    Would he just LET GO of her arm?!
    "What?!"
    "You never answered my question."
    "I don't have to!" She couldn't explain it to him. He wouldn't 
understand. He'd probably just laugh. He wasn't being sincere. She 
couldn't think that any feelings from him were truly real, unless he 
somehow remembered…Right now, she felt that getting away would be a 
much easier solution that feeling her heart break. Wrenching her arm 
from out of his grasp, she began to run down the street.
    Right at her heels, he caught up with her and grasped her hand. He 
felt a sudden flash, and stood still. It was the strangest 
feeling-as if he was…misplaced…and couldn't move. 
    "Mamoru-san? Are you all right?"
    "Hai. I'm fine." He gave her that quirky grin again in hopes of 
finding some sort of reconciliation with her.
    Usagi was relieved that he was all right, but she didn't want 
to stay when he continued with his little inquisition. So, with a 
smile and a whispered, "I'm glad you're okay," she took off again, 
straightinto the park.
    Mamoru watched sadly as she disappeared into the thicket of trees.

    Geez, that girl was the most confusing, irritating creature he had 
ever met. But a little challenge in one's life never hurt, right? He 
didn't know when that had hit him, exactly. He couldn't imagine 
sharing his feelings with someone else because, well, the whole idea 
of him falling in love with a whiny, ditzy schoolgirl almost made 
*him* laugh out loud. 
    But it also made him scared, a way he hadn't felt what seemed like 
forever. It was scary for him to think that he was even *capable* of 
feeling this way, where his heart would jump, or he'd look forward to
bumping into her every day. Heck, that quirky grin he always had…it 
was only for his Odango. Even Motoki, his best friend, could sense 
that Mamoru's 'shield' was being broken. He'd always had his 
barriers-the calm cool demeanor he had with everyone, the way he 
avoided anything that had to do with his shady past. But with one 
innocent look from his Odango Atama, she took all of that and 'drop 
kicked it down the driveway'.  
    He needed some time to think. Staring down at his shoes, he walked
back down the street in the direction in which he had come from. 
People moved out of his way because he never bothered to look up. If 
he wasn't in a place where people were around, he would've been pacing 
back and forth down the street. 
    'I never pace,' he told himself..
    'Then what was that you were doing last night?'
    He groaned. He had been thinking of Usagi, that's what. Rolling 
his eyes heavenward, he noticed a slight glint coming from his side. 
Turning to look at the store display window, he froze. This time, it 
was because he had a little idea brewing in his head.
    'Chiba Mamoru…What in the world are you getting yourself into?'his 
rational side argued. Within a heartbeat, he pushed that part of his 
conscience into a corner. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was 
going to make Usagi, and himself, happy. 
    He walked into the open doorway humming a small tune to himself.

-------

    She ran into the deepest parts of the park, trying to stay clear 
of the pathways where he might find her. She noticed that he wasn't 
nearby, and when she came up to a secluded area by the lake,she 
stopped to take a breather.
    That's when she saw him. That shock of black hair, the piercing 
blue eyes, that air of confidence…It was unmistakable.

    Endymion.

End Chapter 2

Feedback? Pleeeeeeeze?
startear42@aol.com 
Disclaimer: This wouldn't be *fan*fiction if I wasn't a fan. Sailor 
Moon belongs to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi-sama and countless 
others...