Disclaimer- Kon'nichi wa minna-san! I'd like to introduce myself, my name is Shannon
Rahe and this is my first time ever posting a fanfic online. I do have some other ones
written, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist, not to mention I'm good at procrastinating. In
other words not a good combination. Ok, now you all know the drill, I did not create any
of the Sailormoon characters, like you actually thought I did though. Naoko Takeuchi is
the genius behind Sailormoon. I also don't own any part what so ever of Fushigi Yuugi,
that's Watase Yu's creation and I just put it in as a cute little add in. I really don't expect
to be dragged into court over this but don't sue me anyway, this should be considered one
of the sincerest forms of flattery. Oh and excuse my horrid spelling when it comes up, I
don't have the best spelling (understatement) and it really doesn't help that my spell check
on my computer is broken for some unknown reason. I did use the Japanese names in
this, as I do most of my fanfics and with that I used a few of the simpler Japanese words I
know, so if there is any confusion I'm deeply sorry.  I guess that's about it, hope you guys
will enjoy this fanfic. I know I can probably do better but I still hope you like it. I'll try to
get out some of my other works in progress soon.

Better than Imaginable 
By: Shannon Rahe	
	Usagi Tsukino merrily skipped down the sidewalk, sending her long golden
blonde hair to soar gracefully out behind her, and swinging her small black bookbag,
whose handles she grasped in her right hand, back and forth in time with her steps. She
had, for once miraculously made it to school on time and even more surprisingly had got
a C on that day's Science test. She made a quick mental note to thank Ami later for
pestering her into that study session last Saturday, despite her constant protests and the
repeated complaint that she would much rather eat junk food and read some of her new
manga. That reminded her, she would have to make a special stop at the comic store on
the way home to see if they had yet to receive the new volume of Fushigi Yuugi, she had
been dying to know what would happen.
	She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the tall, ebony haired
man until she slammed into him, sending her bag and all it's contents to scatter onto the
sidewalk. She let out a sigh that became even more exasperated when she recognized the
man standing before her. 
	"Hey Odango-Atama, clumsy like always I see." he stated with a sly smile as he
watched her crouch down to retrieve her belongings. 
	"And Mamoru-san I see that you that you are as annoying as usual." she muttered
not even bothering to look at him as she picked up some of her scattered possessions and
placed them in her bag. Suddenly she heard a sound beside her and turned her head to see
him bending down next to her, a small smirk plastered on his face. He then looked away
from her and reached for a slightly crinkled piece of paper that lay next to his feet.
	"Mamoru-san I neither want or need your help." she angrily stated extending her
arm to grab for the paper but he had already got a hold on it. Their hands lightly touched
each other's; sending a small shiver from her hand all the way up her arm but she quickly
dismissed it. 	"Baka, give me back my paper this instance!" she ordered, trying to take
the paper from him but he kept it away from her grasp and let out a soft laugh at her
feeble attempts to retrieve it. He stood up and glanced down at the paper he held in his
hand.
	"Hmm, a C. Not too bad for an airhead like you, Odango-Atama," he smirked as
she quickly stood up. He held out the hand that grasped the paper towards her and she
glanced skeptically at him. She retrieved the paper from him and as she did their fingers
gently brushed against one another's and Usagi felt the same tiny shiver from prior but
dismissed it just as swiftly as before.	
	"My name is not Odango-Atama! It's Usagi!  And I'll have you know that I studied
very hard for this test and am quite proud of this grade." she calmly stated as she shoved
the paper back into her bag and brushed one of her ponytails over her shoulder. She
glanced over at him and could have sworn she had seen him watching that one small
simple motion but knew she had to be mistaken.
	"You study?" he stared at her in surprise. "I never thought I'd see the day...
Odango-Atama." adding the last part just to anger her. She silently seethed to herself and
swiftly turned away from him and continued her way to the arcade, hoping that if she just
ignored him that he would go away. She wasn't going to let him ruin her day like he had
so many times over.  She had no such luck though because he paced himself right in step
with her.
	"I have to say though that I think it's really very sad that you're actually proud of
this grade. You claim that you studied really hard and you end up with a C, a barely
passing grade. It's pretty pathetic if you ask me," She whirled around and glared at him,
but he could see that her normally cheery baby blue eyes were glistening with the
beginning of tears.
	"Well nobody asked you! I'm sorry if I can't get amazing grades like you, or even
passing grades! Don't you know how I try? I just can't! But I don't need you constantly
pointing it out to me! Everyone else already does that enough already, but at least they
tell me constructively. You on the other hand just use it as another thing to tease me
about, like you haven't found enough flaws in me to tease me about already! I know it all
is true, but I don't need to hear it from you every single day!" She could feel the tears she
had been trying so hard to hold back starting to fall from her eyes.  She swiftly turned and
ran off, not knowing exactly where she was headed but not wanting to give him another
reason to taunt her.
	He stared in shock after her as she tore off, but not before he had seen the tears
beginning to stream down her face. He knew he had gone over the line with his last
comment but he had never expected it to hurt her so deeply, let alone reduce her to tears.
He felt a small tug at his heart and shrugged it off as guilt. He couldn't leave it at this and
though he knew that he was probably the very last person in the world that she'd want to
see right now, he vowed that he'd find her and set things right.
	Usagi sat next to the small pond in the park, her head bowed, and tears streaming
down her already damp face. Her long ponytails rested on the ground and her school
uniform was getting dirty but at this point she could care less.  She sobbed and buried her
face in her hands, but not before a tear rolled off her face and fell silently into the pond,
leaving a tiny ripple in the water. 
	Why was he always able to hurt her so much with his comments how could he
always get to her? Day after day he teased her, and day after day his comments would
affect her. Why..? He must really hate her to say these things day in and day out. The
thought of him hating her made her cry harder, though she didn't exactly know why.  She
tried to stop the tears that were streaming down her face but to no prevail. She eventually
just gave up and sat there, letting herself sob.
	Mamoru walked down the long dirt path that led to the pond in the center of the
park. He had been unable to find Usagi anywhere and was about ready to give up. He let
out a long exasperated sigh and ran his right hand through his thick ebony hair. Why did
he have to go off and say that, what in the hell possessed him to? He had crossed the line,
but from the way she reacted it seemed to him that even what he had before thought of as
carefree teasing was hurting her a lot deeper then he had first believed. He was always
teasing her, though half the time he didn't know why. Just being around her brought out a
side of him that no one else could. He realized now that he actually looked forward to
their daily arguments, just because he would be able to see her. Now though she probably
hated him with a vengeance and would never want to speak to him, though he really
doubted she ever wanted to in the first place, and it tore at his heart. He stopped dead in
his tracks and just stood there for a moment. Why did he really care how she felt about
him? Why would he care what she thought? But he did, he did care and a lot. He stood
there conseplating his realization. He couldn't be... No, there was no way. He shook his
head trying to clear his thoughts, to clear that thought out of his head, but he couldn't. It
wasn't true..Was it? But he knew the answer deep down in his heart; he had slowly but
surely fallen in love with her. He let out a long exasperated sigh; he did love her, why
hadn't he realized it sooner? He didn't want to, he was afraid to and now he had ruined
any strand of a chance he had with her because of what he had said earlier. He began
walking again, a bit more briskly before and with a strong determination.  He had to find
her, to make this right, and to make her feel exactly how he did about her.
	Usagi stared out onto the pond's still clear water, tears gathering in her eyes but
she refused to shed them. She wouldn't cry, especially not over Mamoru but just the
thought of his name though made a single solitary tear roll down her cheek. She quickly
brushed it away and closed her eyes, willing them to cast no more tears. She could feel
them building up under her eyelashes though. She kept repeating to herself that she
wouldn't cry but it was too late, the tears were once again flowing down her face. She
hugged her arms tightly around herself. Why was she reacting like this, why was she
being so babyish? Why did she care if Mamoru thought she was just a dumb, clutzy,
pathetic little fourteen year old? Did she really expect a smart, handsome and
sophisticated man that was four years older then her to fall in love with her? Her eyes
suddenly flew wide open, had she really just thought that? It was a plain fact that he was
handsome but love..?  She gasped softly and covered her mouth with her hand. She
actually wanted Mamoru Chiba to love her? The fact that tears continued to spill down
her face answered her question. She looked up at the darkening sky for a moment.
	"Oh God.. Why? He could and never will feel the same about me." she faintly
whispered, barely audible even to herself, and with that she turned her gaze back to the
lake and lost herself in her sobs. 
	Mamoru continued to walk down the path, knowing that he had almost reached
the pond.  He was getting tired of looking for her only to come up with nothing. It was
getting to be more then he could stand. He could see the sun beginning to set and realized
that if he didn't come across her soon; he had a very little chance at all. 
	"Just like my chances with her now." he muttered bitterly to himself.  The path
finally ended and he looked out at the pond. The sun was slowly beginning to set on the
water, mixing its beautiful aqua blue color with all the colors of the rainbow. He thought
how nice it would be to come down here with his Odango-Atama one day. When he
finally fully realized what he said he let out a soft laugh. He just realized he loved her
today and knew he had little to no chance with her but was already planning a date down
here and calling her his  Odango-Atama? He was just about to let out another little
chuckle when he heard a small indistinguishable sound drifting up from farther over by
the pond.  He turned his gaze over towards where he had heard the sound and there,
sitting over by the very edge of the pond was Usagi. His heart seemed to skip a beat for a
moment at just the sight of her. He was afraid of how she'd react to him but he was
resigned to setting things right. He slowly started to walk over towards her, and then felt
his heart stop entirely as he got closer to her. He realized now that the sound that had
alerted him to her presence had been from her crying, that was evident now as he stepped
closer and could see the sobs racking her frail, petite body. Her gorgeous long ponytails
sat lifelessly in the dirt and her face was buried in her small hands. The sight was enough
to tear at his heart and he let out a small pained gasp knowing full well that he had been
the cause of all this.
	Usagi slowly lifted her head out of her hands at the sudden sound behind her. She
slowly turned her gaze over to where she had heard it come from and was utterly shocked
to see Mamoru standing only a few feet away from her. He noticed that she had seen him
and started to walk closer towards her. No, she couldn't face him, not now..  She swiftly
got to her feet, desperate to get away, to go anywhere as long as she was away from him.
She couldn't stand being near him, knowing how she felt and knowing he'd never feel the
same about her. She turned to run off when she felt a hand clamp around her wrist tightly
but at the same time in a gentle manner. With a deep breath she slowly turned around,
knowing full well who would be there. Mamoru was staring down at her face, seemingly
examing it. Their eyes locked for an instant, and she couldn't help but gaze into his. She
had never noticed how amazing they were, and they held a mixture of emotions, none of
which she could decipher. She felt her face begin to flush and adverted her gaze, finally
turning it towards her feet. 
	"Mamoru-san please let go of my wrist." she said quietly, her gaze on the ground
the whole time.She felt his grip slightly loosen but did not release entirely.
	"Do you promise me that you won't run off again until I say what I have to?" he
asked, almost pleaded. She had never heard his voice sound like that before and it caused
her to lift her gaze up to his face once again. His gorgeous deep blue eyes almost begged
her to stay and all she could do was nod her head yes. He smiled slightly and let go of her
wrist, dropping his hand to his side.  He let out a small sigh and in a low voice began to
apologize, "Usagi, Gomen nasai... I want to apologize for everything... Not only for what
I did today, but for everything else.. I'm really sorry.." He didn't know what else to say, he
couldn't tell her what he felt deep down, not if he wanted to ever be able to face her
again. She slightly shook her head and could feel the tears begin to well up in her eyes.
	"It was all true though, Mamoru-san. Everything you've said has been, every
word.." she trailed off, the tears that she was now shedding making it unable for her to
continue. She quickly turned her face down to the ground, thoroughly embarrassed. He
gazed at her in complete shock; he had expected her to be furious at him, but not this.
She actually had started to believe all of it? Before he could think, his emotions had
taken over and he had his arms wrapped gently around her, pulling her tenderly into a
close embrace. She gasped and through her tear filled eyes gazed at him."Mamoru-san..?"
she inquisited, just barely above a whisper. He slowly reached his hand up and gently
wiped away some of the falling tears from her cheek.
 	" You don't really believe that do you? You're a wonderful kindhearted person
whose simple presence is enough to fill anybody's life up with love. Usagi, you filled my
life up with love. I realize now that I teased you because that was the only way I could
think of to be able to talk to you. I looked forward to going to the arcade everyday just for
that reason. Just to be able to be near you, even if it was just to tease you. And then today
after I went too far and you ran off I realized something. Something that I had been
hiding even from myself."  He paused for a moment and took in a deep breath, he had to
tell her now or he would never be able to.  "Usagi, I think... no, I know.. that I love you. I
love every single thing about you. The way you're always able to cheer people up, how
you'll always try your best to help out anyone. Everything, even down to your little
odangos." He let out a nervous laugh and noticed that somewhere along the lines of his
speech he had shifted his gaze from her. He couldn't bare to look back at her, not until he
was done or he knew that he'd lose what little nerve he had left. He took another deep
breath and continued.
	"Usagi, I do love you, more then I thought I could ever love anyone. You've filled
a part of me that has never been touched. But.. I'd understand if you.. if you don't feel the
same way.. about me.  I mean I did only tease you day in and day out.. so I would
understand. I just..I just wanted to tell you how I feel.."
	He finally looked back over at her and wasn't the least bit surprised to see a
shocked expression on her face. He sighed softly in self-defeat and swiftly let go of her.
"Sayonara, Usagi..." was all he was able to choke out before he turned to leave.
	Usagi was in a state of shock; he actually had just professed his love for her? Her,
a young, clutzy, little highschool girl? She couldn't think straight, she hadn't expected this
at all but the sudden motion of Mamoru letting go of her snapped her back to reality.
Before she knew what was happening he was turning to leave. She couldn't let him, not
now. She opened her mouth to say something in protest but even she was shocked by
what she said next. 
	"Mamo-chan... wait." it was said barely above a whisper but he heard it and
swiftly turned around.
	"What did you just say?" now he was the one with the look of shock plastered on
his face. He locked eyes with her and she knew that she was blushing profusely by the
burning she could feel in her cheeks. She was grateful for the setting sun so that it would
be less noticeable.
	"N..Nothing.." She took a few steps back from him but he just took a few forward
and was quickly only a few inches away. She gazed into his deep blue eyes. God they
were so gorgeous, she felt like she was losing herself in them.
	"Please Usagi, tell me what you said." he said this in a way that was half between
pleading and demanding. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer, him
standing so close was too intoxicating, she just couldn't do it. 
	"I.. I.. called you.. Mamo-chan." she calmly answered him, but her insides felt like
they were anything but calm. Sure he had said he loved her, but calling him Mamo-chan..
that was a different story.. wasn't it? Before any more worries could cross her mind,
Mamoru enveloped her in a sudden embrace, wrapping his arms gently around her waist.
She let out a small gasp, totally surprised by his action.
	"Good, so you won't mind if I call you Usako then." he smiled warmly down at
her, a look of pure happiness on his face.
	"You..you don't mind?" she stared up into his eyes, which instantly revealed the
answer for her. He let out a soft laugh and tenderly pulled her a bit closer.
	"I might mind if you don't." he answered with another warm smile. That was all
she needed to hear, she swiftly wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head
next to his ear.
	"I love you Mamo-chan," she whispered into his ear with a smile. He turned his
head and then their faces were only a few inches apart.
	"And I love you Usako," he brushed a tiny loose strand of her soft golden blond
hair behind her ear and then both seemingly leaned into each other at the same time.
Their lips met softly and gently but slowly the kiss became more passionate, and the love
they felt each other was passed through that one single kiss. 
	After what seemed like forever they broke, both breathless, their faces flushed.
Mamoru turned to where the sun was just finishing to set, watching the colors slowly
blend into the horizon and couldn't help but smile. His wish had turned out much better
then he could have ever imagined.

*~ So what did you think? You can send any comments, constructive criticism, whatever
to Serena1384@aol.com. I love e-mail so don't hesitate to send some and I promise to
write back if you want.  Ja'ne minna-san!~*