*Disclaimer: WAHOO! I have housing. It's soooo pretty. Wood
floors, big windows, great view of San Francisco... ::stares
at screen with stars in her eyes:: *_* Oh yeah, by the way, I
still don't own Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.

Medical Miracle
Chapter 6: Omoide Ga Ippai...
By: The Rose Society
Rating: PG-13
email: EtrlSlrMn@aol.com

	None of the room's occupants noticed when Mamoru slowly
stumbled through the doorway and began to stare at Usagi.
	"What happened then, Usagi-onee-chan?" asked the pink
haired child. "Did you two become best friends?"
	Usagi shook her head sadly. "Iie. The next day, when I
went back to the hospital to pick up my okaa-san, I wanted to
go see the little boy and introduce him to my okaa-san and otou-
san. Demo when I found his room again, his bed was empty.
Crying, I asked my okaa-san's nurse what happened to my onii-san.
He had no clue to what I was saying because, to his knowledge, I
didn't have any older siblings. When I stopped sobbing long
enough to point to the bed, the nurse nodded in sympathy. He
told me that the little boy had left already. I never found
him again."
	"Iie," a deep voice, choked with emotion, said.
Startled, three heads turned toward Mamoru. Ami and Usagi both
gasped. In all the years the two women had known Mamoru, never
had either of them seen his feelings written so clearly. His
blue eyes had darkened with pain and haunting memories. His arms
were at his sides with his fists clenched so tightly that Usagi
noticed his knuckles had turned white.
	"Nani, Chiba-san?" Ami asked, concerned over Mamoru's
outburst and sudden emotional display. "What do you mean, iie?"
	Fighting his emotions down, Mamoru tried to answer Ami's
question. "Iie, Usagi-san. You did find that little boy again."
	Furrowing her brow, Usagi shook her head. "Gomen nasai,
Chiba-san, demo I believe that you are mistaken. I--"
	"You were wearing a little purple dress that day, with
your hair in the exact same style," began Mamoru after taking
a deep calming breath. "The bouquet was so large that you had
a hard time taking out a single rose to give to me. I still
remember how your little face was scrunched in concentration,
your little pink tongue hanging out of a corner, as you
wrestled with the bouquet. It's me, Usagi-san. The little boy
from the hospital."
	Usagi leaned back in her chair in mute disbelief. Racking
her memories, Usagi tried to conjure the image of her onii-san
again. True, both the boy and Mamoru had the same black hair.
But Usagi could not be sure on such little information. Usagi
was all ready to deny Mamoru's claim when Mamoru turned his
chaotic eyes to look into Usagi's own. She gasped as recognition
beat her doubts to a pulp. "Onii-san?" she whispered. Rising from
her chair on shaky legs, Usagi slowly made her way toward Mamoru.
"You ARE the boy from the hospital! I'm so happy to have found you
again." Usagi launched herself into Mamoru's arms, giving him a
lung-popping hug. However, Usagi's happiness quickly turned into
guilt. "Gomen nasai, honto ne gomen nasai. I didn't keep my promise.
I should have looked harder for you. I promised that I would
always be your family. But instead, I left you alone. I lied to
you. Gomen nasai...gomen nasai..."
	Gently, Mamoru unwrapped Usagi's arms and held her away
from his body so he could look into her eyes. "Iie. You kept your
promise Odango Atama. Ano...Usagi-san?" Mamoru glanced at the two
pairs of eyes that were avidly watching the little drama unfold
before them. "Usagi-san, could we go somewhere more private?
Say, my office? I think that we have some catching up to do."
Nodding her head in agreement, Usagi walked out of the little
girl's room. Before Mamoru left, he turned to look at Ami's
bewildered expression and the child's sad one. When the girl
realized that Usagi had left and Mamoru was looking at her, her
sadness melted away and anger quickly replaced it.
	'HOW DARE HE?!' she thought vehemently. 'Usagi-onee-chan
is my friend. She came here to spend time with me. Then all of
a sudden this guy comes waltzing in, trying to take my onee-chan
away. Well, we'll see who will win in the end.'
	Mamoru recognized the sudden glare in the child's eyes.
Somehow, he had just been challenged and now this girl was
determined to make his life miserable. Shaking his head again,
Mamoru turned to look at Ami. "Ami-san. Gomen nasai for stealing
Usagi-san. I believe that you can handle this patient by yourself."
Turning away from the two, Mamoru headed toward his office.
	Ami looked at the young girl in the bed. 'Wow. She looks
furious.' Clearing her throat to get the child's attention, she
attempted to calm the girl down. "That certainly was a surprise."
	"Hai." nodded the girl. 'A very unpleasant one.'

*Meanwhile*

	Usagi waited for Mamoru in front of his office door. Her
head was hung in sadness as she berated herself for breaking her
promise.
	'Baka-Usagi. A child. He was a small child who had just
lost his parents. It seemed as if everyone had abandoned him and
you went ahead and made it worse. How could you? You promised him
to be there for him and you left. I wouldn't be surprised if he
hated me.' Usagi continued to chastise herself, even though Mamoru
had appeared, opened the door to his office, and ushered Usagi
inside. Usagi sat in the chair that Mamoru directed her to as
Mamoru took his seat behind his desk. Both adults were unsure of
how to proceed. As the silence continued, Usagi and Mamoru's
thoughts were running at lightning speed.
	'Tsukino Usagi. She is the tenshi that saved me from Dr.
Hongo. But she's also the golden child from the hospital. How
ironic. I wished so hard in the orphanage that I would see my
golden haired friend again. But when I saw her again, I insulted
her. Was it Fate that caused Usagi's test paper to land on my head?'
Mamoru mentally snorted. 'Fate is a bunch of nonsense. It was mere
coincidence. Still...' Looking up, Mamoru saw that Usagi was on
the verge of tears, still feeling guilty for breaking her promise.
'Kami-sama. She feels so guilty for something that she had
absolutely no control over.'
	'Then talk to her, baka!' yelled the Voice. 'Hold her,
comfort her, kiss her, tell her you lov-'
	Clearing his throat nervously, Mamoru tried to think of the
best thing to say to Usagi. "Ano..." At the sound of his voice,
Usagi's bowed head flew up and Mamoru could see all of her emotions
clearly reflected in her eyes: self-loathing, fear, and remorse.
	"Chiba-san, I know you have every right to hate me. Demo I
hope that you won't object to me continuing my work with Nanami.
Of course I will be sure to stay out of your wa-"
	"Chotto matte, Usagi-san. Why would you think that I hate
you?" interrupted Mamoru.
	Usagi looked back down on the ground. "Chiba-san, how could
you not? You were completely alone when we met. There you were,
feeling betrayed by everyone. Your parents had just abandoned you
to the world. The doctors around you didn't care about you, only
saw you as a burden. No one at the hospital saw you as a person.
They only saw a burden that they would be happy to see shipped off
to the hospital. And there was me. I promised you that I would be
your family. But I never kept my promise. I betrayed you when you
were most vulnerable, Chiba-san." Her voice trailing off, Usagi
wrung her hands in her lap as a stream of tears began to flow
down her face.
	Stunned, Mamoru quickly went to Usagi's side. Holding her
in his warm embrace, Mamoru let Usagi cry for a few moments before
speaking. "Iie, Usagi-san, it is I who betrayed you. Do you know
how much your visit changed my life?" Usagi shook her head, which
was still buried in Mamoru's shoulder. "Usagi-san..." Mamoru took
a deep breath, "...before I met you, I was angry, frightened and
lonely. Even though I had no memory what so ever of my parents,
even though I knew that I must have loved them and they must have
loved me..." Mamoru paused. He had never told anyone of these
feelings, not even Motoki. But one look at the girl in his arms,
Mamoru knew that he could tell Usagi anything and everything.
"...I still blamed them for dying." Mamoru could hear Usagi gasp
when she heard that but Mamoru knew that if he saw the feelings
swimming in her deep blue eyes, he would break down, then and
there. So Mamoru just clasped Usagi to him even tighter than
before. "I hated the doctors, Usagi-san. They patted themselves
on the back for being able to save me. They acted as if I should
be thanking them for saving my life. Even though I am grateful
now, back then I hated them. Hated their smugness, their
assumptions about me. I wanted to die, not live. I wanted to be
with the parents that I had lost every memory of. Without them,
without even a memory of them, what did I have to live for? Those
things that you said, about being abandoned and being thought of
as a burden are true, Usagi-san. Even though you were such a
little girl, you could understand people's feelings perfectly. How
that is possible is beyond me. Demo, you have one thing wrong."
Mamoru began to run his fingers through Usagi's long, silky blond
hair.
	*Sigh* 'So soft...so long...so beautiful...so perfect...'
the Voice sat in the corner with hearts in it's eyes. 'She's so
kawaii. Kiss her NOW!!'
	*BAM* Temporary truce over, Self-Control punched the
Voice in the nose. 'Even though I want to kiss her as well, it's
not the right time.' With a resigned sigh, Self-Control dragged
the Voice's unconscious body off into a dark corner of Mamoru's
mind.
	Her voice muffled from being crushed against Mamoru's
shoulder, Usagi could be barely heard saying, "Nani?"
	A small smile flittered across Mamoru's face. "When my
little golden haired tenshi entered my life, everything changed
in an instant. Within ten minutes, Usagi-san, you chased away
the demons and shadows in my life. You made me want to live
again. Even though I never got to see you again, knowing that
there was someone outside of the orphanage that truly loved
me and accepted me as a part of their family gave me comfort
during those cold and desolate nights. As I watched child after
child get adopted and leave the orphanage, I knew that it didn't
matter. I already had a family with you." And with that, Mamoru
kissed the top of Usagi's head.
	Groaning with both pain and disappointment, the Voice
miraculously reappeared, center stage. 'That was her head, you
baka. THE LIPS!!! I WANTED YOU TO KISS HER ON THE LIPS!!!'
Self-Control merely shook it's head since it's own desire would
have been a kiss on the lips, not the head.
	Finally, sobs having long since subsided, Usagi lifted
her head from Mamoru's wet shoulder only to gently place it near
his neck as she enfolded Mamoru in a warm hug. Mamoru could
feel Usagi's breath on his neck and he suppressed a shudder.
	'She's so close. I've never felt this way before. Only
Usagi-chan has ever been able to make my heart race and my blood
boil. Is this love? Do I finally love someone?' Mamoru thought.
Usagi sighed in Mamoru's embrace. Mamoru could feel her, the way
her chest moved up and down as she breathed raggedly, her
fingers as they lightly gripped his lab coat, the way her hair
caressed his cheek and cascaded against his arm that held her to
him. Every nerve in Mamoru's body was working overtime in order
to store every precious memory in his mind. Never had Mamoru
held another person so closely. At least, never with such a
reaction. But before the wonderful moment could fully process
itself in Mamoru's mind, Usagi pulled away.
	On the verge of tears, the Voice fell to the "ground"
in despair. 'So close...so close and we could have tasted her
sweet kiss. WWWAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!'
	Self-Control, despite it's seemingly uncaring
appearance, was deeply disappointed as well. 'Oh well, almost.'
Covering it's ears due to the Voice's cries, which closely
rivaled Usagi's own wails, Self-Control merely faded into the
background.
	"Arigato, Chiba-san for trying to comfort me. Demo I
saw how you were when we met. If my leaving didn't affect you
negatively, then why were you so cold to everyone? Even now,
you don't let anyone near you." Mamoru stiffened at Usagi's
last question and Usagi immediately grew apologetic. "Gomen
nasai, Chiba-san. I should not be taking such liberties. I
have over stepped my bounds. Please, forgive me." Usagi made
a move as if to stand up and leave Mamoru's office, but with
a gentle tug from Mamoru's arms, Usagi fell back into her
chair.
	"Iie, Usagi-san. I am not mad. You have every right
to ask me that. I was merely caught off guard again by your
amazing ability to read people, demo I suppose I should be
getting used to it now." Mamoru fidgeted as he tried to find
a way to best explain his past behavior to her.
	"Chiba-san, you do not have to tell me anything that
you do not want to. I understand if this is something that
you are not quite ready to share yet." Usagi's slender fingers
slowly lifted Mamoru's chin up so that he would look her in
the eye. "Sometimes even friends can not share everything."
	Mamoru shook his head. "Iie, Usagi-san. It's about
time that I explain my behavior to you. After the whole
hospital ordeal, I was sent to an orphanage. There, none of
the children wanted to play with me because when I came in,
the caretakers had to pay extra attention to my injuries.
They were jealous because time with the caretakers is very
precious to an orphan. So they envied me and shunned me. When
I got better, the caretakers treated me as they did every other
child, but the damage was done. No one wanted to be my friend.
Always, when I tried to join a game, the other children would
walk away, ignoring me. So, I stopped trying to make friends.
I became angry and quiet, keeping to myself most of the time.
It didn't help that none of the adults coming in to adopt a
child never gave me a second look. Once they found out that I
had amnesia, they avoided me like the plague. Some of them
even looked at me as if I was defective." Mamoru looked closely
at Usagi's reaction. But instead of the pity that he expected,
Usagi seemed to be sympathetic and even genuinely distressed
about his plight. She sat in rapt attention in her chair, her
eyes urging Mamoru to continue with his story. Unconsciously,
Mamoru took Usagi's hand in his own, drawing strength from her
kindness.
	"As I got older, the other children had been adopted
and new children came in. Demo by then, I was too hardhearted
to even try to make friends. Some of the older girls began to
try to catch my attention demo I never was nice to them. After
a few tries, they would give up and move on. Nobody knew me as
a person and no one understood my feelings. At least, no one
at the orphanage. Sometimes, during sleepless nights, when I
could see the moon from the window, I would remember you, my
only friend. I often wondered how you were. Were you happy?
Sad? How much had you grown? How were your studies? Were you
happy with your imouto? I would always smile at the moon and
send a special thanks to you, hoping that you knew how much I
liked your gift." Usagi smiled at this as she gave Mamoru's
hand a quick squeeze.
	"I did, Chiba-san. Somehow, I think I knew."
	Mamoru brushed a stray hair from Usagi's face and
tucked it behind her ear. "Mamoru, Usagi-san. Call me Mamoru."
	Usagi giggled. "Only if you call me Usagi-chan,
Mamoru-kun."
	Mamoru beamed. "Hai, Usagi-chan. Where was I? Oh, well
I finally turned 15. By that time, I had a steady job and was
attending Azabu High School. The caretakers, knowing that I
was unadoptable, let me go off on my own early, at my own
insistence. The trust fund set up for me by strangers when they
learned of my situation on television had built up over the
years and I was able to get a comfortable apartment. After a
time, I set up a comfortable routine for myself and life was
uneventful. Until that fateful day when I was struck by a
certain Odango Atama's test paper and yelled at her."
	Usagi blushed. "Gomen nasai, Mamoru-kun. I really
didn't see you there."
	Flashing Usagi his quirky grin to show that he was only
kidding, Mamoru quickly reassured her. "Don't apologize,
Usagi-chan. If you didn't hit me with that test paper, I never
would have found my imouto again."
	Usagi's unoccupied hand found it's way to Mamoru's
cheek. "Then I must tell Haruna-sensei arigato gozaimasu for
that awful test paper."
	At Usagi's touch, Mamoru felt a jolt run through his
body. To Usagi, this was an innocent gesture, meant to show
friendship. Normally, had Mamoru's Self-Control been at 100%,
it would have been an act of friendship to him as well. But
after repeated battles with the Voice and the outpouring of
emotion due to the telling of his childhood to Usagi,
Self-Control was helpless to stop the innocent gesture from
changing Mamoru's life. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Mamoru
knew that he loved this woman in front of him. After 26 years
spent scorning love (ok, only 20 of those he could actually
remember, but still, it was a long time) Mamoru had finally
found the woman he could finally give his heart to.
	'YAY!! GO ME! GO ME! RAH RAH RAH!!!' the Voice
commemorated his victory by doing a celebratory dance. 'First,
the confession, then the kiss, then marriage...'
	Self-Control sighed.
	Then swung his baseball bat. *CRACK*
	And the Voice was out for the count. 'You need to
take baby steps. If you screw up, Usagi just might leave
you forever. She's been hurt, somehow, and adding to that
could destroy any chances that you might have.' Self-Control
said warningly.
	"Ano, Usagi-chan. What about you? Why don't you tell
me what has happened to you during all these years?" Mamoru
queried.
	Abruptly, Usagi took her hand from Mamoru's cheek and
looked at her watch. "Gomen nasai, Mamoru-kun demo I told
Ami-chan that I would meet her for lunch. We've been talking
for almost an hour now." Extracting herself from Mamoru's
grasp, Usagi went toward the door.
	'What did I do now?' thought Mamoru. "Chotto matte,
Usagi-chan. Daijobu?" Mamoru stood and strode toward Usagi,
who had already fled to the door. Putting a hand on her
shoulder, Mamoru gently pressed Usagi for answers. "Doushita
ne? Why did that question scare you?"
	Slowly Usagi turned to face Mamoru. The pain in Usagi's
eyes glinted accusingly at Mamoru. "Gomen nasai Mamoru-kun.
Omoide ga ippai...I can't. You shared with me and it's only
fair that I tell you demo...I just can't. Yurushite kureru?"
	Releasing his hold on her shoulder, Mamoru nodded.
"Hai, Usagi-chan. Gomen nasai. I shouldn't have pushed you.
Are we still friends?" Pain fading, Usagi nodded and smiled
brightly.
	"Zettai, Mamoru-kun. Demo in front of patients, you
are still Chiba-san."
	Mamoru grinned. "Hai, Usagi-chan. And you become
Odango Atama again." Usagi mock-glared. Holding his hands up
in a gesture of surrender, Mamoru backed away from Usagi.
"Hai, hai, Usagi-san." Again, another one of Usagi's trademark
grins was flashed his way. "Mind if I join you two for lunch?"
Mamoru asked as he opened the door for Usagi.
	"I don't mind demo you'll have to ask Ami-chan for
permission. I don't think she'll object though." Both Usagi
and Mamoru stepped out into the corridor.
	Locking his office door, Mamoru offered Usagi his arm.
Stunned for a second, Usagi took the proffered arm after
letting out a small giggle. Thus linked, the couple headed
toward the hospital cafeteria in companionable silence.

Translations:
	ano- um...
	chotto matte- wait a minute
	doushita ne- what's wrong?
	imouto- younger sibling
	omoide ga ippai- so many memories
	yurushite kureru- can you forgive me?
	zettai- absolutely

Author Notes:

	Finals are coming up for us Berkeley folk. Gomen
nasai minna demo I'll be busy during the next three weeks. I
have to study like mad =( I'll try to write when possible so
I might be able to get out the next chapter on time...but
please don't be mad if I can't. Thanks to all the readers out
there that have kept up with my little story =) I love email.
Until the next chapter...

~The moonlight carries the message of love.~
~Tsuki no hikari wa ai no message.~