For the One I Love

Chapter Fourteen: The Clothing Store

"Hey Usagi, are you okay? You still got that nasty cold that went around during Christmas?" Usagi blinked and looked up as she felt her friend's warm hand press against her forehead.

"Huh? I'm not sick anymore."

"Hm? Then is it about that rumor that got spread about Mizuno-san?"

"Oh, no. I just..."

"Have a lot on your mind..." Naru sighed as she finished the sentence for her, taking her hand away from Usagi's forehead. "You say that every time I catch you spacing out now, which you've been doing a lot more than usual. What's up?"

"Err..." Usagi hesitated. There were a lot of things on her mind at the moment, none of which she could really tell Naru about, or she didn't really feel like talking about. The Dark Moon Clan seemed to be getting stronger and more active. While the Sailor Senshi were running into Esmeraude more often, they hadn't seen any sign of Sailor Star Fighter since Esmeraude first gave that ominous warning a few days back about the Dark Gate. She seemed to be a Senshi that came and went of her own accord.

To top it all off, Usagi still hadn't been able to properly face Seiya. The thing she'd wished for most to happen had happened, getting back together with Mamoru. Yet she couldn't seem to be able to come out and tell Seiya that. Seiya has been acting odd as well. There was something about the way he smiled at her now that wasn't like his usual self, and he never flirted with her anymore. She almost began to wonder if Seiya somehow knew already, but that only made facing him seem worse for some reason.

"Usaagiii..."

"Huh what?" She jumped at the sound of her own voice. "Naru, you're still here?"

"Of course I'm still here." Naru flicked Usagi's nose. "Honestly. Don't go off into your own world in the middle of someone talking to you. If it's something you can't tell me, just say so."

"Naru..."

"I'm just concerned about you is all."

"Thanks, but, I'll be okay. Promise." Usagi smiled at Naru unconvincingly, getting up from the soft grass where they had been eating lunch. "I'm gonna head home early today, tell Ami and Makoto when they get here that I'll meet them later?"

"What, already?" Naru asked slightly taken aback. "We still have three more classes."

"Chibi-Usa's been home sick, I'm going to go check up on her."

"Isn't your mom home with her- hey!" Usagi waved as she ignored Naru's last remark and hastily walked away. Chibi-Usa, though really at home sick, was just a scapegoat. The more Usagi thought about it, the more she couldn't stand the thought of that sunken Seiya sitting behind her in class. She would see him again on her own terms, or at least that was the plan, until...

"Seiya?" Usagi didn't mean to call to his attention as she stopped, spotting him also about to exit the entrance gates of their school. Seiya turned around, his eyes lighting up in muffled surprise.

"Dumpling..." Usagi didn't say anything back. They stood there in silence, facing one another for what felt like forever, Usagi's heart thumping against her chest. Quiet sounds escaped her mouth as she struggled to find something to say, anything to say, to the man standing before her. Seiya watched as she struggled, his own heart pounding. "You know!" He suddenly said in a cheery voice. "I'm still waiting for an answer, about my official asking." He winked.

"Ah!" His sudden change in attitude caught Usagi off guard, but only for a moment. They were onto the topic Usagi wasn't ready to talk about yet. She remembered their date, and her heart beat even more frantically. Looking at Seiya's smiling face, something inside of her pained, and she couldn't bring herself to tell him that Mamoru was back in her life.