Sailor Moon is copyright 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi.

North American Rights for Sailor Moon are owned by

D.I.C.



Rating:  PG-13



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



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  Life  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



Part I - Recovery

Chapter IV - The Beginning





	Usagi looked over at him, a bit surprised.  She

gave him a quick once-over and almost did a double

take.  'He looks kind of like . . .' She let the

thought trail off, mentally shrugging it off.  She

nodded her head in response.



	"You . . . uhh . . . you sing here, don't you?"

The man was obviously trying to engage her into a

conversation.



	"On occasion."



	"Well, I've heard you a couple of times."



	"Mmmm."



	"Umm . . . you're good."



	 "Thanks." She kept her responses automatic and

remote.



	There was a moment of silence.  The man wracked

his brain for something to say.



	"You're missing him, aren't you?"



	Usagi looked at the man sharply.  _Now_, he had

her attention.  "What are you talking about?"



	"The guy you always seem to be singing to.  You

miss him a lot, huh?"



	"Any song I've sung is just a song I've sung,"

she said evenly.  Mamoru was still a sore subject

with her and he always would be.  Of course she was

always singing to him or to her friends, but she

wasn't about to let anyone know what, least of all a

complete stranger!



	"I doubt that," said the man.  He was obviously

very amused that he had gotten Usagi so riled up.



	Now, Usagi was getting pissed.  "Oh, really?

And how would you know that?"



	"You always sing sad songs," he said matter-of-

factly.



	"So?" she said icily.  "I _like_ sad songs."



	The man shrugged his shoulders and turned his

attention towards the stage, avoiding eye contact

with Usagi and disregarding her statement.  He sipped

his coffee and said, "I hear it in your voice. Your

voice is so sad, so soft.  It's longing.  Kind of

reaching out to something that you know isn't there.

Kind of hoping that it is.  I was surprised, to say

the least.  You look so young, and yet you sound so

old."  He paused and looked directly at her.  "And

your eyes.  Your eyes betray you everything you've

just said to me."



	Usagi stared at him, surprise written all over

her face.  'Do I really sound that depressed?  Am I

that easy to read?  After all this time, am I still

THAT hooked on Mamoru?'  These thoughts raced through

her head.



	The man glanced over at her and seemed to sense

her turmoil.  "Hey, I'm sorry if I upset you.  It's

just that . . . I know where you're coming from.

You're not the only one who's ever lost love, you

know."



	"Mmm," was all Usagi could come up with.



	That sat in silence for a few moments.



	"My name's Jiro."



	Usagi looked at him, somewhat surprised.  'Is

he still talking to me?'



	"Oh . . . um, I'm Usagi."



	"Usagi?" the man smirked.  "Doesn't that mean

bunny?"



	"So?  Doesn't Jiro mean 'the second'?"



	"It means 'second male'."



	"Whatever.  So?  What?  You're name's allowed

to have a meaning and mine's not?"



	"I was the second-born.  What's your excuse?"



	Usagi raised her eyebrows.  "My excuse??  Is

there anything wrong with my name???"



	Jiro grinned and held up his hands in

surrender.  "No, of course not."



	"I thought so," said Usagi haughtily, raising

her head in an exaggerated dignified manner.



	They made eye contact.  Usagi covered up her

slight giggling and Jiro let out a few chuckles at

their antics.



	It was silent again.  As friendly as Jiro was,

Usagi was still avoiding new friendships.  She didn't

even have her old ones.



	"I'm new in town.  Was walking by and saw this

place.  Kind of a curious name, so I decided to check

it out," Jiro volunteered the information.



"Do you work here?" he asked.



"Uh, no.  I come here to visit a friend?"



	"That guy?" Jiro pointed to Kai.



	"Yeah."



	"Mmm."



	After a short and uncomfortable silence, Jiro

started talking again.



	"So, do you live here in Tokyo?"



	"Yes.  Where did you move from?"  Usagi decided

she could at least be polite and talk to him.  'I'm

just being polite, not friendly.  There's a

difference.'



	"I moved from Germany a couple weeks ago."



	Another silence.



	"Any particular reason?" Usagi asked.  She

hated those stupid silences.  She wasn't sure what

kept her there; normally, if she wasn't comfortable

with a person right away, she didn't bother talking

to them anymore.  Which was actually all the time,

now a days.



	'Why put in the effort to get back-stabbed

again?' was what she always said.  But this Jiro guy

- there was something about him . .



	"I guess you could say I'm taking a break.  But

I never really was good at taking vacations, so I

decided to do something."  Seeing Usagi's confused

face, he said, "Right I'm traveling because of my job

-"



	"What do you do?  Do you travel everywhere?"

she asked, a little more interested now.



	He smiled.  'Finally!  I have her attention.'



"I'm a photographer.  I -"



	"A photographer!  Like for models and clothing

and stuff?" Usagi interrupted.



	Jiro grinned.  "No, I'm afraid it's nothing

that glamorous.  I actually take pictures of nature

and wildlife.  Taking pictures of nature gives me an

excuse to travel more because I have to go to various

places to get everything.  See, I'm actually a

lawyer, but they kind of ordered me to take a break.

I started suffering from stress and overworking."  He

paused.  "Actually, that's what _they_ said.  _I_

think I'm perfectly fine."  He looked indignant as he

finished the statement.  He smiled lopsidedly and

said, "Photography's always been a passion of mine,

so I decided to spend some time on it."



	"So you won't be staying here for long then?"

A very, very tiny, small part of her was hoping she

could find a friend in this man.



	"Well . . . It's weird.  I'd like to stay.  I

love Tokyo. I didn't think I'd like Tokyo this much,

but I do.  When I was talking to my boss about how

much I was enjoying Tokyo, he said he might know

someone here who would have a job for me, so if I can

get that . . ."



	Usagi smiled her small smile again.  "I'm sure

you'll be able to . . . But what about your family

and your friends?"



	Jiro hesitated again.  "Well . . . the thing

is: I don't really have family over there.  Not too

many friends, either."



	Usagi nodded her head once.  She wasn't one to

pry, especially with her past.  She glanced at her

pager.  "It's getting late.  I have to go.  It was

nice meeting you, Jiro."  She stood up to go and

hesitated before softly saying, "Maybe . . . maybe

I'll see you around again."



	Jiro smiled.  "Maybe."



	Their eyes met and she lifted her hand in a

gesture of a wave.



	He watched as Usagi went up to the blonde at

the counter and gave him a quick hug before walking

through the door.  There was something about that

girl.  He didn't quite know what it was, but there

was something about her.  A feeling that he got.  A

feeling that told him he would definitely be staying

in Tokyo.





~ ~ ~  End  ~ ~ ~





HoNeY

Hnymustd@hotmail.com

2/23/00