Sailor Moon is copyright 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi.

North American Rights for Sailor Moon are owned by

D.I.C.



Rating:  PG-13





~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*





Part I - Recovery

Chapter VIII - Ponderings





	Usagi sat in her stool, hunched over the

counter for 10 minutes.  She looked up every so often

to stare at some unknown point.  Her eyes would

squint slightly, her mouth would twist in

concentration, and her pen would either tap against

the counter or be twirling within her hand.



	Finally, she sat up and looked over the napkin

several times.  Satisfied, she put it in her back

pocket and felt a little peace settle within her.

She smiled at Kai to show that she was feeling

better; he returned the smile.



	Around 5 o'clock, the entrance door opened.



	She waved as she saw Zared, then Noriko, then

Jiro appear through the door.  Her hand stopped in

mid-air as she saw who was with them.



	It was the man she had run into the day she met

Noriko and Zared.



	She saw that he was almost as tall as Noriko,

at 5'10.  His hair reached a little further than mid-

back.  It was an amazingly light shade of blonde,

glimmering white when it caught the light.  He wore

it loose, unlike the brunette.  Unlike most people

who had hair that color, his skin was rather tanned.

He was well built, carrying an air of authority.



	All four men came over and sat in chairs on

either side of her.



	"Hey Usa," said Jiro, in his off-hand manner.

"This is Kiyoshi."  He gestured to the longhaired

blonde.  Jiro grinned.  "But I hear you guys have

already . . . um . . . run into each other."



	Usagi glared at him and rolled her eyes, as he

and Noriko began snickering.  Zared was trying to

hold in his light chuckles, and Kiyoshi only gave her

a half smile, as if apologizing for the men's

behavior.



	"Hello, Kiyoshi.  I'm Usagi, and I am so very

sorry."



	"Hello, Usagi.  And as I told you before, it's

quite all right.  No harm done."



	"Oh!  I was talking about Jiro befriending

you," Usagi continued innocently.



	Immediately Jiro stopped laughing and said

indignantly, "HEY!"



	The other three males found this hilarious and

all doubled over in laughter.



	When they were done, Zared asked, "Where's

onii-san, Usa?"



	"Oh, he's around her somewhere.  Why?"



	"Just making sure no men will die today for

talking to you," teased Noriko.  Noriko and Zared

were on their way to gaining Kai's trust, but it

would still take some work.



	Usagi only smiled mischievously.  "I guess I

don't have to worry about that; I'm only talking to

you."



	A course of sarcastic "Ha Ha Ha"s came from the

four males.



	Usagi turned into the counter and waved Kai

over when he came into view.  He came over observing

the new blonde and the whole group, actually, warily.



	"What can I get you guys?" he asked.



	The men looked towards Usagi expectantly.



	"What?" she asked confused.



	Kiyoshi answered, "Are you ordering anything?"



	"Oh!" she blushed . . . then grinned.  "Not

used to chivalry anymore.  Been hanging around Jiro

too much."



	"HEY!!" Jiro said, partially offended.



	"Just kidding, Jiro," she said, reaching over

to pinch his cheek.  "You're as sweet as can be."



	"Damn straight!" he more-or-less proclaimed.



	The others rolled their eyes as Usagi ordered a

mocha frap with whipped cream.  Noriko ordered a

mocha frappuccino; Zared an iced coffee; Jiro and

Kiyoshi didn't order anything.



	After Kai had walked away, Usagi turned to

Kiyoshi and began talking to him.



	He was 21.  He attended school at Azabu

Institute of Technology.  He noticed how Usagi's

facial features tightened into a slightly pained look

and how she became pale when he mentioned this.



	He was studying business.  He was staying in an

apartment that was right next to the campus.  He had

met the three men the very same day that he had run

into her.  He had become an unwilling participant in

Jiro's chatter, but had eventually loosened up due to

Zared's interference.



	The men had become friends as they saw each

other often when they came to the café for lunch.

Usagi was not there because she had school.



	The men had just come from the gym, hoping to

catch Usagi and introduce her to Kiyoshi.



	Finally, Usagi noticed Kai looking her way

warily.



	She excused herself hurriedly, setting her half

-finished drink down on the counter.  She went over

to once again reassure Kai that her relationships

with the men were strictly friendships and to go to

the restroom.



	Jiro picked her drink up and took a sip.

"Hmm," he murmured, nodding.  "Pretty good."



	Zared looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"That's Usagi's."



	"Mmm-hmm . . . and?"



	Zared sighed and shook his head.  'Oh well,' he

thought.  'I'm not the one whose gonna get yelled

at.'



	"Want some?" he offered the others.



	Noriko declined and Kiyoshi only laughed.  "I

do not believe you!"



	Jiro just grinned and shrugged.



	"So, what's up with her anyways?" asked

Kiyoshi, his eyes swinging towards the door labeled

'ladies'.



	All three men exchanged confused glances.  Jiro

was the one who spoke.  "What do you mean?"



	"Come on.  A 17-year-old hangs out in a café,

far from home.  We know that because she takes the

bus.  She's still in school.  I'm assuming she has

friends.  You said she used to come almost every day,

and I'm wondering: why?"



	"It is kind of weird," Noriko admitted after a

moment of silence.



	"Kind of?  It's extremely strange.  Don't you

wonder why she's not somewhere where she can be

surrounded by guys her age?  Or people her age at

least.  Don't you wonder why she's working when she

could be at the mall?  And she's not even working!

She's volunteering at the hospital, every day."



	"I wonder why she's so sad," Zared mused

softly.



	The other men looked at him, somewhat

surprised.



	"That too," said Kiyoshi, nodding his head,

once he had recovered.



	"I thought I was the only who noticed it," said

Jiro.



	"Do you think . . . do you think she may be

abused or something at home?"  Noriko said, somewhat

carefully.  "Maybe that's why she's always here;

she's trying to get away."



	Silence.



	Jiro volunteered some words.  "It makes sense.

Have you noticed how she always asks us about our

days and what we're doing?  We don't know much about

her except that she's 17, she has a - and I quote -

'an annoying little spore of a brother', and she

volunteers at the hospital."



	"And that Kai is like a big brother to her,"

said Noriko.



	"And even Kai admits to not knowing much about

her," said Jiro.



	"I don't know.  It doesn't make much sense to

me," said Zared.



	"How so?" asked Kiyoshi, as he, Jiro, and

Noriko leaned in to listen.



	"Well, all of what Jiro and Noriko said is

true.  But look at all the other things.  I doubt the

abuse is physical, because she never tries to hide

bruises.  Most of the time that I've seen her, she's

been wearing short-sleeved shirts.  And she's worn

shorts on various occasions."  He paused to let them

absorb his words and they each nodded, urging him to

continue.



	"As for emotional or mental abuse, I don't

think that's it either.  People who suffer from that

kind of abuse usual put blame of everything on

themselves.  Their self-esteem is almost non-

existent.  Usagi, although sad, does not blame

everything on herself."



	The men were quiet, each in their own thoughts.

After a while, Jiro couldn't stand the silence.



	"You're right, Zared.  She usually blames

everything on me!"



	The men laughed a little and the tension was

broken.



	Jiro continued.  "Seriously, though.  I do

worry about her.  But she always seems to be holding

back from telling us something, or at least me."



	Noriko and Zared nodded.



	Noriko told them, "I was telling her a story

about one of my old friends.  She said, 'Oh, I know

exactly what you mean!  There was this one time that

-'.  And she stopped all of a sudden.  It was odd."



	"So maybe the problems lie within her

friendships," Kiyoshi said, voicing what they were

all thinking.



	"It could always be a guy," said Jiro.  His

thought surprised them all.



	"Nani?" said Noriko.



	"I said it could be a guy," Jiro repeated

impatiently, stirring Usagi's drink and taking a sip

every now and then.



	"We know you said that," interrupted Kiyoshi,

just as Noriko was about to retort something

sarcastic.  "We mean, why do you say that?"



	"Well, you guys weren't here yet and, as far as

I know, she hasn't done it since the day I talked to

her.  But I found out from Kai that she used to come

here a lot and sing or read her own poetry."



	Noriko exclaimed, "She sings?!"



	At the same time, Zared asked, "_She_ writes

poetry?"



	"Yes to both," said Jiro.  "The first time I

was in here, she read this poem.  It was about how

she was missing some guy.  I heard her sing a couple

other times before I approached her.  All the songs

she sang were sad . . . depressing.  When I tried to

ask her about it, she got kind of . . . mad . . . or

defensive.  After that I just dropped it."



	"Whoa," said Kiyoshi.  The others nodded in

agreement.



	They all sat in silence, wondering, pondering,

and worrying over their young friend.



	They pasted smiles on their faces when Usagi

came back.  Jiro quickly placed his, actually her

drink down on the counter.



	"I gotta get outta here, you guys."  She turned

to Kiyoshi.  "It was nice meeting you; maybe we'll

get to talk more next time."



	He nodded in agreement.



	She grabbed her bag and her drink and with a

"Ja ne!" and a wave to Kai, she was gone.





~ ~ ~  End  ~ ~ ~



Author's Notes:



	Hey people!  I know this chapter's a little

tame (or lame, whichever you prefer ^_^ ).  I tried

to make is a little funny, the key word being

_tried_.  It was just to intro Kiyoshi.  You guys

thought that Kai was the one, huh?  Well, it's NOT!

So, HA!  I bet you that I'm the only one laughing

right now, huh?  I bet you guys don't even get the

joke, huh?  And that's why I'm just gonna shut-up

very soon.



	In case your wondering, Kai's just another

Motoki / onii-san figure.  You know, since Usagi

doesn't go to The Arcade anymore because of the whole

drama thing with Mamoru.  Someone who watches out for

her, worries about her, etc, etc, etc.  You guys get

me, right?



	Thanx for reading.  I hope you enjoyed it!



	Take care!  Adieu!



HoNeY

hnymustd@hotmail.com

3/26/00