Disclaimer:
Don't own Sailor Moon and Trigun. Song "Gotta Get Through This"
belongs to Daniel Bedingfield.
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"If
only I could get through this
I get through this
I gotta get through this
I gotta get through this
I gotta make it, make it, make it through
I'm gotta get through this
I gotta get through this
I gotta take my, take my mind off you..."
"Shut that damn song off, Shingo!" - Usagi banged her fist against the barrier between their rooms, then returned to her bed and lay back, turning her puffy face to the wall.
It had been one week since she defeated Queen Nehelenia; one week and five days since the Senshi saved the city from the Dark Moon Circus; one week, six days, twelve hours and forty-five minutes since Vash went back to his world.
Usagi knew her math.
The blonde sobbed into her pillow.
"Give me just a second and I'll
be all right
Surely one more moment couldn't break my heart
Give me 'til tomorrow then I'll be okay
Just another day and then I'll hold you tight..."
"I said shut the music off! I can't stand this song!"
Chibi-Usa sneaked inside Usagi's room and looked solemnly at Usagi's curled form.
"Usagi, honey! Mamoru is on the phone!" Ikuko screamed from downstairs.
The blonde made a move to get up but fell back on the bed, covering her face with the pillow.
Chibi-Usa stepped outside the room. "Um, Auntie Ikuko? Usagi's in the bathroom!"
Usagi looked gratefully at the small girl. "Thanks, Chibi-Usa... I'll call him back in a second... I'll just..."
Chibi-Usa marched back into Usagi's room and sat next to her on the bed. "What do you want to call him for? To hear one more time how he's going to leave you again? For his stupid college?" Chibi-Usa's face turned a bright shade of pink and she let out a loud wail. "He doesn't care! None of you care! I... I... was gone! I didn't exist!"
Usagi blinked and enveloped the smaller girl in a hug. "How can you say that, Chibi-Usa! I cared! I promised to save everyone and I did!"
Chibi-Usa continued to wail. "Mamo-chan didn't fight back! He just sat there like he didn't recognize me! He gave up! He made me disappear! He didn't care!"
"Chibi-Usa, how can you say that? It wasn't his fault. Mamo-chan was under the spell; Nehelenia did it to him! Don't blame him, blame me!"
Chibi-Usa stopped crying and looked up at Usagi. "Why are you saying this? It certainly wasn't your fault! You saved everyone!"
Usagi was biting her lower lip. "It… it was a punishment... I'm sure of it... I almost lost Mamo-chan, and all of my friends and you, Chibi-Usa... because... because..." Tears rolled down Usagi's face. "Because I dared... to... to lo… like someone else... it's entirely my fault... I'm responsible for all this..."
Chibi-Usa gently wiped the tears off the older girl's face. "Do you miss him, Usagi?"
Usagi pressed her face into her hands, sobbing.
"Me, too," Chibi-Usa said softly, patting Usagi's head.
"When
your love is falling like the rain
I close my eyes and it falls again
When will I get the chance to say I love you
I pretend that you're already mine
Then my heart ain't breaking every time
I look into your eyes
If
only I could get through this
If only I could get through this
If only I could get through this
God, gotta help me get through this"
**************
That dreadful day, Usagi and Chibi-Usa were rudely awakened by the loud noise from Vash's room. When both girls ran into the small bedroom, Haruka and Michiru were already there, and so was the Guardian of Time, who was currently shaking the daylights out of the Humanoid Typhoon from another dimension. Chibi-Usa launched herself onto Sailor Pluto's leg and Usagi was trying to pull Vash away from the furious Senshi.
"Give it back! Give back the Crystal!" - Sailor Pluto was methodically hitting Vash over the head with her staff.
Haruka moved a video camera away from her face and sighed. "Setsuna, give it up, he doesn't have the Crystal, you have to face the facts."
The Guardian of Time tried unsuccessfully to shake the screaming Chibi-Usa off her leg. "But the Eternal Dragon brought me here! It has to be here, in this room!"
Usagi, who was cradling a shaking Vash on the floor, gave her Senshi a dirty look. "He doesn't have it! He wouldn't lie to us!"
Chibi-Usa let go of Setsuna's leg and stared into the nothingness. "Unless it's inside of him..."
"WHAT!" Five pairs of eyes stared at the pink-haired girl.
Chibi-Usa shrugged. "I though about it for a long time. Usagi was able to transform when she was next to Vash, and all the Senshi had an ability to sense him. Face it, people, it's definitely inside of him."
"And you didn't tell anyone?" Vash's voice was dangerously low.
Chibi-Usa blinked and her face flushed a light pink. "I wasn't sure... and... and I didn't want you to leave, Vash-chan... Besides, even if I told you, I still don't know how to get it out..."
"Small Lady," —Setsuna turned Chibi-Usa to face her— "I am very disappointed... but there is nothing we can do now... I can't alter time, so we have to deal with him quickly."
Vash noticed a dangerous look on Setsuna's face and shrieked. "Stay away from me!"
Usagi stood between them and spread her arms wide open. "Setsuna, please, it wasn't his fault! Let's just all sit down and think about it! I'm sure we will find the way to get the Crystal out. Chibi-Usa had her mother's Crystal inside of her during the Dark Moon invasion and everything worked out well in the end. It's going to be okay." The young girl embraced the green-haired woman.
Michiru smiled and took Setsuna by the hand. "De-transform and let's go have some coffee."
Sailor Pluto sighed and let go of her transformation. Usagi shrieked and covered Chibi-Usa's eyes with both hands. Vash's nose started bleeding immediately. Haruka whistled. "Where do you spend YOUR weekends, Setsuna, dear?" The Guardian of Time realized that she was still wearing the pink bunny lingerie that Master Roshi had been so kind to offer her.
**************
Usagi was staring at her hands, forcing her tears not to spill. Vash shifted uncomfortably next to her, his gaze fixed on the kitchen door, where the Outer Senshi were discussing the latest news.
"Uh, Usagi, I was thinking… if we link, maybe you'll be able to recover your Crystal. I can't explain how exactly it's inside of me, but I really don't want to keep it. I feel terrible that I had it all this time…"
Usagi flushed, remembering what happened the last time Vash and she linked, and nervously licked her lips. 'I wonder if he felt the same way when we kissed…' She mentally slapped herself. 'You have Mamo-chan, you idiot! You've betrayed him!'
Tears finally escaped her sad eyes.
Vash interpreted her tears wrong and gently hugged her. "It's okay, Usagi, I'm sure we'll be able to get your Crystal, I just need your help…"
Usagi buried her face in his chest, sniffing. "I feel so selfish, Vash, I should think about the Crystal and my job as a Senshi, protector of Earth. Instead, I'm so terribly sad that when we get the Crystal out you'll have to go back to your world and I'll have to stay here all by myself, thinking about you, and the kiss we shared, missing the way you smell and the way you always seem to understand me and the way you laugh and know what to say to make me feel better about myself and missing your silly faces and your smile that makes me cry and urges me to hold you close and never let you go away…"
Usagi pulled away from the stricken Vash, wiping the tears off her face with shaky hands. "I am so sorry, I wasn't supposed to say that, I'm really sorry… I just can't help it, can't stop myself from feeling the way I do… I hate myself, because I know that I'm hurting Mamo-chan, but I just had to say it…
Vash sighed and gently pulled Usagi's hands away from her face. He softly kissed her flushed cheeks, tasting her salty skin, then pressed his forehead to hers. Pulsating white light surrounded them both. "I'm sorry too, Usagi," Vash whispered, closing his eyes. "I found the only person who will ever love and accept me for who I am and I can't do a damn thing about it. I have to let her go to fulfill her destiny; I have to step aside and be a stranger to her; I have to give up the only chance at happiness I was offered…"
Vash playfully kissed Usagi's nose. "But… I'm glad I met you, Usagi, even if I have to go back. I'll always remember you, this life here, I'll keep it inside of me, as the most wonderful moment in my life, a place where I was safe and warm and understood. Thank you, Usagi…"
Usagi let out a tearful sob and opened her eyes. In front of her face, Vash was holding the Silver Crystal.
Usagi gasped and touched the jewel. "It's real! It's back! My Crystal is back!"
Vash smiled softly at Usagi, then grew serious. "There's something I have to do first, Usagi, before you can use it."
The bewildered girl stared at Vash as he concentrated. Her eyes widened when she sensed what he was about to do.
"No! Vash, no, please, stop it!"
Vash smiled and placed a long finger on Usagi's mouth. "I'll be okay, I promise…"
He closed his eyes and firmly commanded the Crystal to reverse the regenerating process, giving back the jewel all the healing power it used to erase the scars on his body. He winced when he felt the bullet wound on his chest reopen and begin to bleed.
Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna burst into the bedroom upon hearing Usagi's hysterical screaming.
Usagi tore a piece from her nightgown and tried to stop the bleeding.
Haruka lightly smacked Vash upside his head. "Way to go, idiot."
Setsuna, terrified, quietly watched Usagi and Michiru bandage Vash's chest. The Guardian of Time was ashamed of herself for doubting the fighter from another dimension. She felt incredibly sad and wrong. She had never seen her Princess that sad.
Usagi finished placing the last bandage around Vash and helped him get into his shirt. Then she just sat there, occasionally brushing the fallen tears off her hands and knees.
Setsuna's eyes met Vash's. The blond let out a sigh then tried to smile. "Time to go, Setsuna? I'm ready…"
The Guardian of Time opened her mouth, but Haruka suddenly stepped in. "Let them say goodbye, Sets…" Setsuna nodded slightly and allowed herself to be led away, looking with worry at Haruka. The sandy blonde knew something she didn't and Setsuna didn't like it one bit.
**************
Chibi-Usa shifted under the older girl's weight. Usagi was sobbing into Chibi-Usa's lap. "I couldn't even say 'Goodbye'… I just sat there, so miserable and sad and I made him sad and miserable. And then he hugged me and was saying something and was brushing my hair and all I could think of was how much I wanted to kiss him one last time and how would I ever be able to live without him. And I hated myself even more at that moment… And then he left, he didn't know what else to do. And I was standing there pathetic and stupid, a silly girl with a silly crush… I-I am so sorry, Chibi-Usa, I shouldn't be telling you all this… but I can't talk about it to anyone! They won't understand; they'll hate me!
"They can't hate you, baka…" Chibi-Usa dived under Usagi's bed and retrieved a fallen box of tissues. "It happens; one day you wake up and realize that you're in love. You didn't betray anyone. You can't choose whom you fall in love with, it just happens."
Usagi blew her nose in the offered napkin and stared at Chibi-Usa "Wow, you're so smart, I can't believe you're my kid from the future!"
Chibi-Usa smirked and stuck her tongue out at Usagi. "You have some good genes in you, you're not that hopeless, actually. And besides, in the future, kids know a lot of… stuff…."
Usagi nodded and fell back on the pillow. She didn't feel like arguing with Chibi-Usa; if the pink-haired snob felt like owning the world today, it was fine with Usagi, at least for now.
Chibi-Usa snuggled on the bed next to the blonde, pressing her face into Usagi's chest. The little girl felt safe and protected with the older girl, but worries and sadness kept invading her mind.
"Stupid Mamo-chan, why does he have to leave for America? What is he thinking? What if something goes wrong, a new enemy, car crash, even the plane ride might not be safe."
Usagi's battle with Nehelenia proved to Chibi-Usa that anything is possible, and the worst thing: her favorite Senshi, her Puu, was not invincible. The pink-haired girl shivered at the memory of all of the Senshi trapped in the mirrors by Nehelenia. She bit her lower lip and suppressed a sniffle.
"Stupid Puu, stupid Mamo-chan, stupid Senshi, nobody can protect me but Usagi. I wish Vash-chan was my dad, he would never let me disappear!"
Chibi-Usa closed her eyes and failed to notice the bright light coming from the Crystal…
**************
"No…"
Setsuna clasped her suddenly dry throat. She was on the way back from Vash's dimension. Then she felt it… push and shift… and then all went black… the future was changing…
Appearing at the Time Gate, the Guardian of Time realized that the way to Crystal Tokyo was closed. She fell on her knees and banged her fists on the solid door.
"Puu?" – Chibi-Usa blinked when she saw Pluto's face. "I've come back… Mamo-chan left for America, the girls are busy with their new school year, so I've decided to come home."
"Small lady, there's been a disturbance in the time stream… I'm afraid there is no way for you to come back home…"
Suddenly tired and feeling centuries old, Setsuna tried to get up from her kneeling position and almost fell. A strong hand grabbed her arm and helped her to balance her body. Setsuna saw Chibi-Usa go pale, her mouth shaped in a perfect 'O'.
Someone brushed by the Guardian of Time and picked the stricken Chibi-Usa up. "I'll take her to her parents."
The stranger turned around and Setsuna went absolutely still. Daring pale blue eyes stared back at her, perfect thin lips upturned in a slight smirk…
"This is NOT happening…!"
Stay tuned for the sequel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!