I never thought that I'd end up writing this much…I get a little 
carried away sometimes…:) 
Here's part 5, ready for reading and critiquing! (which includes 
*feedback*…hee hee)

***************
To Exist…
Chapter 5a
By April Rayne 
***************

	"Mamo-chan!" she cried, panicked. Usagi scrambled to his 
side, her eyes filled with tears. "Mamo-chan…" She placed his 
head on her lap and smoothed his bangs back. 
	Endymion stood watching the scene unfold before him. 
Looking at 'Mamo-chan' was like looking at his own reflection. 
He was rooted to his spot, eyes widened, until something between
a sob and a wail escaped from Usagi's lips, and snapped him out
of his trance. He moved and knelt down beside the two, bringing 
his fingers to Mamoru's wrist. "He's okay, he's still breathing,
and his pulse is steady."
	Usagi looked down at Mamoru again, and felt another warm 
tear slide down her cheek. "What happened to him?" She wasn't 
sure exactly what it was, but it had to do with Endymion's 
presence, it just had to.
	Now what was she going to do about it?
	Endymion, taking the initiative in an effort to get over
his shock, placed his hand on Usagi's shoulder. She nodded in 
understanding, and Endymion gathered Mamoru in his arms. 
Following Usagi's lead, Endymion carried him to Mamoru's room. 
After he was placed on the bed, Usagi quickly moved to cover him 
with the sheets.  Endymion slowly moved himself out of the room. 
Usagi needed some time alone.  As she saw his back leave the 
doorway, she gave him a grateful, albeit sad, smile.
	Usagi knelt down beside his bed, and gripped his hand in 
hers.  "Mamoru-baka…" she whispered. "I'm so sorry." She laid 
her head on their joined hands. "I'm so sorry about earlier. I 
didn't want to argue, I didn't want to run away. It just…I don't 
know.I wish I was here for you, earlier." She turned her head to 
get a better view of his face. He looked so peaceful, sleeping 
like that. She put her fingers to his face, gently trailing them 
from his cheek to his chin. He stirred. "Mamo-chan?"
	"Odango…" the word was a whisper on his lips, but she 
heard it loud and clear, and in disbelief. "Mamo-chan?" No 
response. Watching his face, she slowly began to relax…


-----
	It was like watching a movie.

	Nurse Mihoshi walked down the hall with brisk steps, 
tapping her clipboard in time to the rhythm of her moving feet. 
She began to go over her normal "inductee" routine. "Now, as a 
volunteer, it's your job to visit patients and make sure…" she 
trailed off as she turned around to face the newcomer.
	Usagi was gone.
	Walking back down from where they had come, she noticed 
light coming through one of the doors they had passed earlier. 
She opened it to reveal a sleeping head trauma patient, a few 
years older then Usagi herself. Usagi took a rose and placed it 
in a small, empty flower vase. 'Where did the flower come from?' 
the nurse asked herself. 'She didn't have that before.' Usagi 
continued with her own little impromptu routine, making sure the 
patient was tucked in. She knelt beside his bed, taking his hand 
in hers.   Nurse Mihoshi had never seen anything quite like it 
before.            
	"Silly kid," the nurse mumbled to herself with a smile. 
She turned around and closed the door quietly behind her. 
----
	He awoke with a slight ringing in his head, and his eyes 
focused on the warmth to his side. A small, warm hand rested on 
his own. His blue eyes trailed up until they met with the face 
of it's owner. A girl, a few years younger than himself, with 
sparkling blue eyes and blond hair looked right back at him. 
	"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked him quietly. 
	The ringing of her singsong voice made him come to 
attention, and he shook his head, trying to ignore the slight 
pain it brought. "No. No, you didn't."
	"Hi Chiba-san. I'm Tsukino Usagi, a hospital 
volunteer…You were in an accident. Remembering what she had read 
on his information chart, she grasped his hand a little harder, 
and subconsciously began to massage it. 
	"Call me Mamoru." He tried to let the information sink 
in, but for some strange reason, nothing clicked. Nothing this 
girl said about an accident made any sense. His brows furrowed 
in concentration, he gazed at her again. 'Usagi…Rabbit. Well, 
she certainly looks the part,' he thought, his eyes going from 
her blond odangos and back to her eyes. She was beautiful, 
although he'd never admit that to anyone but himself.
	"I hope you're feeling better."
	"I am, thanks." Then temptation hit. "Odango Atama."
	She stopped massaging his hand. "Eh?! Nani?"
	"You mean no one has ever called you that before?" he 
said with a teasing voice.
	Her eyes narrowed. "No! How dare you call me that? I'm 
just here to help you!" She got up in a huff, and stormed off to 
the door. "I hope you feel better *soon*, Chiba-san. Sayonara." 
After she closed to door not so quietly behind her, Mamoru 
sighed. "Sure, Odango."
	To his surprise, the door opened with a 'woosh', and 
Usagi was back inside, he eyes throwing daggers. "I *heard* 
that."
	He felt a chuckle rise in his throat, and before he knew 
it, he was laughing. He was laughing so hard, the pain began to 
fade. And Usagi, blinking in confusion, began to laugh too.
----
	The image faded, and was replaced with a mix of the many 
times she and Mamoru had argued in the hospital over the next 
few days. They were trivial arguments, and ranged from things 
like test corrections to his incessant use of the nickname Odango 
Atama, which he refused to stop using. 
----
	Those images faded as well, and the scene was set again 
in Mamoru's hospital room, except with a suitcase waiting on a 
chair. The lights were off, and Mamoru was siting on the side of 
the bed, dressed to go out. The light was off, and the moving 
shadows of the rain against the window danced around the room. 
Taking one last exasperated look at the clock, he got up and 
left.
----
	It became dark once again, and when another setting came 
into view, Usagi recognized what she saw-herself, running down 
the hospital corridor and swerving into Mamoru's room, finding 
it empty. Nurse Mihoshi, who had followed her to get her to stop 
running, put a hand on her shoulder. "He was just released, and 
went home." Noticing the faraway look on Usagi's face, she added 
softly,"You can go home too, if you want."
	"I…I'll stay."
----
	This time, the picture changed to the Crown Fruit 
Parlor. Motoki was giving a cup of coffee to a man in a green 
blazer, who Usagi immediately realized was Mamoru.
	"You're finally out of there, so what are you so down 
about?"
	Mamoru took his time to answer. "Nothing."
	"Now you don't take forever to answer a question with,
'nothing'. Seriously, tell me what's wrong."
	Mamoru, needing to let everything out, decided to give 
in. "All right. You see, it has to do with-"
	They heard the bell on the door ring, and their eyes 
strayed to the newcomer. Her hair was damp from the rain, 
and she tiredly looked at the counter, next to Mamoru. She 
was in such a daze that she didn't notice him.
	"Usagi-chan, are you okay?"
	"Motoki-onichan, can I have a hot fudge sundae?"
	He smiled. "Sure, I'll be right back."
	Usagi took a straw from the dispenser, and began to 
twirl it in her fingers. 
	"Hey, Odango Atama."
	Her eyes widened at the sound of his voice, and she 
turned to face him, a slight touch of anger on her face. 
"Mamoru-san."
	"You look like a wet mop." His eyes showed a sign of 
regret, but it wasn't one that she noticed. 
	"Do I?"
	"Ever heard of an umbrella? It keeps you sheltere-"
	"I know what it is, I didn't *bring* one. The stupid 
weatherman is *never* right!"
	She was *really* agitated. "Odango, what's wrong?" He 
put his hand tentatively on her shoulder, which made her move a 
little, startled. She faced him again, and opened her mouth to 
say something when Mamoru removed his hand from her shoulder. 
	"Here you go, Usagi-chan," Andrew said with a smile. He 
placed the sundae in front of her, and without thinking, she ate 
all of it in a few good scoops. She put the money on the 
counter, quickly got up, and with a wave and a 'bye', she 
began to walk away. 
	"It was nice to see you again, Odango," Mamoru called 
out as her pace quickened. 
	"I wish I could say the same about you,Mamoru-baka!"
	"I wonder what's-" He looked to Mamoru, who was staring 
at Usagi while taking a sip of coffee. "Oh, *I* see."
	Mamoru choked on his coffee and blushed a bright red.
----
	She raised her head from her position and blinked a 
couple of times to clear her vision. She had fallen asleep…But 
the dream felt so real. It *was* real…All those parts where she 
had been present in, she remembered clearly, but the others…The 
scene at the fruit parlor stood out. 'He was blushing…But it was 
all a dream, right?' She turned to look at him and found a 
contented smile on his sleeping face. 'Impossible…'
	The reality of what had happened dawned on her again, 
and, bending over to give Mamoru a light kiss on his forehead,got
up and walked out of the room.
	
	She never heard him mumble, "Usako…"
*********************************************************************
startear42@aol.com 
Feedback? Even just one word? (as long as it isn't horrible) 
Please?

Disclaimer: This wouldn't be *fan*fiction if I wasn't just a fan. 
Sailor Moon belons to Naoko-sama:)