Lianne again! Hope everyone is having fun reading my stuff while
you SHOULD be doing your homework! Well, if I can write this stuff, no
matter how crappy, and still get MY homework done you should be
able to, too. Again, if anyone isn't satisfied with this story, just 
wait - the end is cool. Not only that, but the second story in this 
series, "Usagi and Mamoru's Love: Surprises" is quite a bit better
than this one. Not to mention some of the OTHER stories that come
later. Not to brag, but I just LOVE some of the plots coming up 
(tee hee!) So just wait! And another thing - next week I think I'm
going to put up (in addition to Part 4 of this story) the first part
of a new story (not a part of this "Usagi and Mamoru's Love"
series) that I started a long time ago called "Surfacings."
It's another Usagi and Mamoru fic, but it's based on the MANGA instead
of the show. It takes place in that time where Usagi and Mamoru 
knew that the other was Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, but before
he was hurt and brought to Queen Beryl. It's a very sweet love story,
but it also has a rather intense and pretty violent plotline (^_^;). So
if you hate really non-action filled plotlines, this
story isn't that ^_- (but hopeless romantics I think you'll absolutely
LOVE this story. I know I do!) And anyone not familiar to the manga, 
don't worry - I'll explain things as best I can in the author's notes. So
look for that story next week. And remember - my e-mail has changed
to eclipse@ntplx.net. Arigato! ^_^
-Lianne (eclipse@ntplx.net)
*Sailor Moon and all its characters are copyright Naoko 
Takeuchi/Kodansha Ltd./Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. and the English 
adaptation is copyright 1995 DIC productions, LP. This story is 
copyright Lianne Sentar, August 1997.	
**DOWN WITH DUB-BASHING!!!

*Usagi and Mamoru's Love: Blossomings*
Part 3

	Mamoru blinked. Had he reached the other side of the portal? 
The darkness made him think that he hadn't. But the floor was
solid beneath his feet, and it was colder than walking through
the portal. The portal had felt fuzzy, like a mist, but the air
here was cool and sharp. A slight wind blew through hollowly,
and he shivered. Not because it was cold, really, but because it
brought an air of unpleasantness with it.
	His blue eyes narrowed as he looked around. The darkness was
thick and heavy, and he could barely make out his surroundings. 
Cavern, stone walls, several levels with dark, unmoving objects
like fat rectangles on some of the higher levels, and some dark 
holes in some of the walls that seemed to be openings. He stepped 
forward slowly and felt his feet scuffle through a few small rocks. 
The ground was hard stone. <A mine,> Mamoru thought. <This place
has got to be an abandoned mine. Great. One of the hardest places
to be at a disadvantage in.> The rectangular objects on the
upper levels were most likely carts, probably with tracks
underneath. He noticed he was still gripping the two lockets tightly
in his hands. He looked at the communicator. He knew that if he used
it Arasei would kill Usagi, but he needed to keep it as a threat.
He closed it and put it into his pocket, putting the golden locket
with the ginzuishou in his other pocket. He looked around again,
not really knowing what to do. He saw no sign of Arasei, Heiko,
or Usagi. <Oh, God,> he prayed silently. <Please let her be alright.> 
	A light flickering for a moment caught his eye. He wondered what 
it was when he suddenly saw it coming straight at him. And realized
what it was. He dove out of the way, rolling across the stone
ground, and whipped his head around, growling. 
	Heiko laughed. Her face was illuminated by the ball of light in her
hands, the dark shadows around her and her evil red eyes flickering
with an extra glow. "Fast, aren't you?" she mocked. "My, my. Now
HOW am I going to manage to defeat you?"
	"Where's Usagi?" Mamoru demanded.
	Heiko laughed again, her white teeth flashing in the small light.
"Demands! I thought you would've learned by now that you are in
NO position to talk." She grinned wickedly. "Especially since that 
bunny of yours could die in an instant."
	Mamoru clenched his fist angrily. "I don't care WHAT you think you
are! You're NOT going to get the ginzuishou and you're NOT going
to hurt Usagi!"
	Heiko shrugged. "Well, believe what you want. But now it's just
you against us. And we've got your rabbit."
	"You do ANYTHING to harm her and I kill you with my bare hands,"
he growled.
	"You never learn, do you?" Heiko immideately threw the ball
of light at Mamoru, which he narrowly dodged. It exploded against
the wall behind him. He threw a rose at her, but she moved out 
of its path. She chuckled as she levitated in the air, her red eyes
glowing in the now-dark cavern like twin lights of evil. "Time to
get a move-on, Chiba," she mocked. "You wanna get back your girl, 
ne?" She put her hands together and formed a large ball of light.
Holding it in her hands like a bowl, she smiled evilly. "Then get
ready to go!" She threw the sphere across the dark cavern like
a ball, where it exploded against the upper wall in the back.
Mamoru's eyes narrowed as he heard rocks start to rumble. Heiko
laughed as she teleported out of the cavern. "Better find a way 
out of this central cave soon," she mocked. "Or else I don't think
your bunny would want to have a pancake for a boyfriend." She
disappeared.
	The explosion had started a cave-in. Mamoru started to run as 
the back wall crumbled down, huge chunks of the rocks rolling off
and to the floor. The rumbling of the rocks was like thunder, and
it was hard for him to focus on where he was going. In the heavy
darkness, he could just barely make out the dark holes in some
of the far walls that looked like openings to other rooms. Some of 
the other walls crumbled around the room, as did the ceiling, and 
rocks began to fall everywhere. Some rocks from the ceiling hit him
on his shoulders and back, leaving cuts and bruises but 
mercifully not being big enough to do any permanent damage. 
A particularly large chunk fell on his arm, and he fell to the
floor. Gritting his teeth and holding his arm, he got up and started
to run again, growing nearer to an opening. A piece of the ceiling 
began to break off, and Mamoru immideately saw that if it fell it
would block the opening out. He bit his lip and dove through the 
opening as the roof caved in and sealed the entrance, the rest of
the cavern soon crumbling to destruction.

**************************

	Makoto walked very slowly, the bag in her hand swaying back and 
forth to her movement. Her face was unreadable. Minako looked
up from the cafe table, smiled, and waved. "Hey, Mako-chan!"
	Makoto looked up and waved unenthusiastically. "Hey, Minako-chan.
Ami and Rei here yet?"
	"No. Daijobu?"
	Makoto shook her head. "Not really." She plopped down at one of the
chairs. "Usagi-chan's upset about something. Don't know what, though."
	"Really?" Minako sat back in the chair, relaxed but attentive. "How
could you tell?"
	"She was crying. Said she'd stay at a friend's house for the weekend,
and didn't tell me why." Makoto sighed.
	"Maybe Naru-chan's?" Minako asked.
	Makoto shrugged. "Maybe."
	Just then, Ami and Rei walked up. "Konnichi wa!" Ami said cheerfully.
"How are you doing?"
	"Fine." Minako said. "But, have you guys...seen Usagi?"
	Rei shook her head. "Not since school today. Why?"
	"Something's upsetting her. Mako-chan saw her crying, and Usagi
said she was gonna stay at a friend's house for the weekend."
	"Oh dear." Ami frowned. "That sounds no good. Usagi doesn't run 
off unless she's really upset."
	"Hai." Rei looked serious. "Maybe we should do something."
	Minako stood up and stretched her arms. "Alright. Kinda didn't
feel like gettin' a burger after hearin' happy little Usagi was crying.
Let's go try to find her."

To be continued...

-I know, very short, gomen nasai, but I have a lot of homework now-a-days
and lots of other things to do so I don't have nearly as much time to write
as in the summer. Besides, I'm working on this plot as I go, so it
takes me longer. It's not like some of my other stories where I
have scenes planned out beforehend; this story I really had no definite
middle for. But I have an end. A very nice end. So stay tuned! 
Probably will be finished in - oh, God, I don't know - three parts?
A little longer than I intended, but I want to lengthen the ending.
That's how nice it is. So keep reading! Arigato! ^_^
-Lianne (eclipse@ntplx.net)