CHAPTER 2
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Mamoru stared after her as she walked away. 'Hate you? Usagi... Ai...' He paused, biting his lip. 'Aishiteru...' He looked down at the sidewalk, and
something caught his eye.'A locket?" He picked it up, and it suddenly started
playing. He smiled brightly. 'I guess I can just return this to her tomorrow-' but
suddenly a better idea hit his mind and he knew this Christmas might actually be a
good one. 
He walked in a lighter mood to his apartment, assured his dreams wouldn't 
plague him tonight. And they didn't... All night he dreamed about Usagi and his wonderful plan for Christmas.
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Usagi woke up feeling terrible. Her throat hurt, her head was hot, her body was freezing. Her fingers were swollen and red, as well as her eyes. 
When she got home, she had cried all night, and had fallen asleep in her wet 
clothes. She immediately changed out of them when she awoke,
and pulled on her nice, warm, pink bunny pajamas. 
She tip-toed down the hall to her mom's room and crept over to her bed and gently woke her. 
"Mommy...I don't feel so good." Ikuko immediately
knew something was wrong if Usagi was up so early, before her. She checked the clock by her bed. 'Good Kami-sama! It's 3 AM!' She sat up and felt Usagi's head. 
"Oh sweetheart what's wrong?" she asked and lead Usagi to the kitchen 
where she proceeded to take her temperature. 
'104°!
"Oh Usa... Does your throat hurt?" Usagi nodded. 
"Are you cold?" She nodded again. Ikuko walked her
back up to her bed and tucked her in. 
"You have the flu, Hon.. get some rest and I'll go get you some medicine
tomorrow. Sleep tight dear." She said, kissing her forehead. 
Usagi didn't fall asleep until 5 AM, and when she was asleep, her sleep 
was plagued by a horrible nightmare. Someone else's nightmare. Something in 
her gut told her whoever's dream this was, they had experienced it for quite 
some time now. She looked around. She was in a hospital room, it was 
completely white, with no flowers or balloons. In a dark corner of the room she 
heard someone cry, a small, soul-wrenching cry of sorrow. 
She turned to find a small bed occupied by an even smaller occupant. He 
had his head in his hands and had a large bandage wrapped around his head. She reached out to touch him, but before she could, she heard a small,
familiar voice behind her.
"Why are you crying?" A little girl, about three years old, asked. Her curly blonde
hair was up in odangoes, and she was dressed in a purple dress. 
Usagi gasped. 'T-That's me!' She recalled all the pictures her mother had 
around the house in photo albums. She stared at the scene before her, all her 
memories came back to her, like she was reading them from an open book. The 
little boy looked up at little Usagi and wiped his eyes.
"I ..." He gulped back the tears in his throat as he looked down at the 
little girl. "I don't remember anything... my mommy and daddy left me all 
alone...." He looked down at her, but for some reason he didn't cry again. 
Little Usagi smiled up at him and smiled.
"Don't cry. Be happy! My mommy had a baby and I'm a sister. I'll be your 
sister too. But you look big, so I'll be your little sister... and we'll play and be friends-"
She was interrupted by a voice in the hallway.
"Usagi! Darling come out! It's time to go!" Her father cried, looking for her. Little Usagi turned back towards the boy. 
"That's my daddy, I gotta go. Here..." She said, suddenly pulling a rose 
out of the bouquet in her hands. 
"Keep this and you'll always remember me forever. Okay?"
she turned and ran to the door. 
"Bye... " She walked a step away then turned around. "Hey, what's your name?" The raven haired little boy smiled down at the rose in his hands.
"I'm..." he paused to think for a minute. "I'm Mamoru." 
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Usagi awoke with a start. 
'Mamoru?!' She thought. 
'That awful nightmare was yours? You were the little boy at the hospital?'
She sat up slowly, her eyes blurry, and her nose a bit stuffy from last night. 
'I guess it was just from crying. I seem to be alright now.' She thought, standing up quickly, only to fall back on her bed tiredly. 
'Oh, guess not. Well, I'll just think about my dream for a minute.' She closed her eyes and the awful nightmare flooded back to her brain. She opened her
now tear filled eyes. 'Oh, Mamo-chan... I'm sorry I broke my promise.'
After she sat a moment longer, thinking about her dream, she got a wonderful idea, but before she could set her master plan into action, her mother arrived with some medicine.
"Usa, you're up. I went to the store as soon as it opened. I just got back. Here..." She offered a spoonful of red liquid and a glass of water. 
"Take this..." Usagi opened her mouth warily and gulped down the awful medicine and quickly drank the water.
"Thanks mommy..." She suddenly had a better plan and decided to get her 
mother involved. "Hey mommy.."
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Mamoru walked happily towards Furuhata Fruit Parlor. The automatic doors slid open and Mamoru walked happily up to Motoki . He smiled. 
"Morning Motoki!" He said and placed his jacket on the counter. Motoki stood in shock a moment, before returning Mamoru's smile full force.
"It's about time! So, who is she?" Motoki asked smiling happily. 
'Mamoru's finally opened up. Oh Kami-sama! I hope it's Usagi-chan. She loves him 
so much, I just know it from the way she looks at him.' Mamoru tried to keep 
from blushing, he really did, but Motoki caught it and patted his shoulder. 
"Way to go man... so, you going to tell me about her?" Mamoru smiled shyly, 
figuring he hadn't much of a chance at hiding it.
"Um well, er... you see.. it's...it's..." he sighed taking a deep breath. 
'Now or never Mamoru... Now or never..'
"I like Usagi-chan.." he whispered. Motoki smiled and patted his shoulder.
"I know, it's a bit obvious... but anyway, I know now... so let's help you get the girl, alright?" Mamoru smiled up at his friend and began to tell him his plan. Suddenly Motoki went pale and gulped, staring straight behind Mamoru, not moving. Mamoru, becoming concerned for his friend, turned around slowly to find four smirking girls. He also turned
pale and immediately felt like dying. 
'Oh no...'
Minako was the first to speak, and since she was the senshi of love, she 
had been planning the perfect plan since she first saw Mamoru and Usagi-chan 
fighting. 
"So Mamoru-kun? Like our little 'odango' do ya?" she smirked when Mamoru's pale face got it's color back, a faint, *FAINT* blush creeping over it before his features turned stone cold, and he glared. Makoto stepped forward quickly, hovering over Mamoru as Minako smirked even more. Mamoru immediately ceased glaring, and sighed, defeated, his shoulders sagging.
"Fine.." he whispered. "I like her, okay?" he looked up quickly, slightly angered that not only Motoki knew, but Minako, Makoto, Ami and Rei as well. 
"I like her! Heck! I even think I could love her if she gave me the chance!!" 
He arose, now standing a inch or two over Makoto and a good foot over the 
rest of the girls. His eyes flared a deep midnight blue. 
"And I have the absolutely perfect plan to win her over on my own, without you girls 
interfering. I know you guys are her best friends, but please! For the love of Kami-sama! Please let me do this on my own!" He said firmly, although Minako could detect the plea he tried to hide in his voice.
Minako smiled, as she felt the warmth of love the man before her was
emitting for her best friend. She smiled genuinely and motioned for Makoto to back
off. "Okay, Mamoru-kun... But if you hurt her I swear I won't hesitate in not 
holding Makoto back. " he smiled gratefully and turned back to Motoki. Minako 
quickly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and sighed when he saw 
Minako's devious smirk. 
"That's right, Romeo... We get to hear your plan too..." and with that the four girls crowded around Mamoru and waited for him to tell his *plan*.
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