THE END! YAY! PART 4, THE *LAST* PART! Wanna know how it
ends? Then READ!
-Lianne (Kcsw1234@aol.com)
*Note: 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, July 1997. 

*Love's Trials*
Part 4

	The hospital room's white walls were brightened by the light
yellow sunshine that shone through the thin white curtains in the
large, overlooking window. There was a sterile feeling to the room, 
smelling of cleanliness and medicine. Usagi sat upright in her wide
bed with her face buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking up
and down with her soft sobbing. A nurse entered the room, keeping
the door partially closed behind her. "Tsukino-san?" she said softly.
	Usagi looked up with her tear-stained face still half buried 
in her hands. "Hai," she sniffed.
	"Your friends are here." The nurse opened the door, and Rei stepped 
in, followed by Minako, Makoto, and Ami. They all had sad smiles 
on their faces. "Hey, Usagi-chan."
	"Hi, minna," Usagi sniffed. "I'm glad you came."
	"How are you feeling, Usagi-chan?" Rei asked gently.
	"Fine," she mumbled as she rubbed her eyes. 
	"Is the food good?" Makoto asked with a smile.
	Usagi turned away. "I haven't really felt like eating. They still...
they still won't let me see Mamo-chan," she said shakily.
	"They told you his condition?" Ami asked quietly.
	Usagi nodded as she sniffed. "They said...they said he's...he's...
in a...coma..." Usagi sniffed again as tears broke free of her eyes
and rolled down her cheeks. She sniffed and wiped them off her
sad face.                                               
	The girls walked over to Usagi. Minako put a hand on her shoulder
as Usagi sniffed again. The smaller girl started to sob again, and 
Minako put her arms around her. Usagi cried brokenly into Minako's 
shoulder. The others watched worriedly.
	After a moment, the nurse, who had been standing near the door, 
walked over to Usagi. "Tsukino-san?" she said quietly. "The doctors
said you're well enough to go see Chiba-san for a little while if 
you'd like. Your friends could go with you."
	Usagi looked up slowly. "I can?" she asked shakily. The woman
nodded. "Can I go now?" She nodded again. Usagi looked at her
friends. "Minna, will you come with me?"
	"Of course we will, Usagi-chan," Minako said gently. She gently 
helped Usagi get up and out of the bed as the others got around them.
Minako led the shaky Usagi to the door as the nurse pointed down
the hall. "He's in room 708, right down the hall."
	Minako nodded. "Arigato." Putting an arm around Usagi as the smaller
girl leaned against her, the five girls slowly made their way down 
the hall until they reached Mamoru's room. Makoto gently pushed open
the door, and Minako helped Usagi inside.
	Mamoru was in the bed, his eyes closed as if in sleep. There were 
several moniters around him, some making quiet beeping noises.
His upper right arm was bandaged, with the shoulder bandaged
heavily. Usagi bit her lip. "Mamo-chan," she whispered as she got
closer to him. Her eyes welled with tears as she took his limp 
hand and stood over him. She reached out gently and brushed 
some of his dark bangs out of his face. A tear dripped from her
face to lose itself in the soft sheets below. Her shoulders shook,
and she suddenly began to cry brokenly. She brought his hand to
her face and rubbed her face against it, feeling his familiar
warmth still within it. She fell to her knees as uncontrollable
sobs racked her small frame. Squeezing his hand and still holding
it close she cried as if her heart were completely broken. 
"MAMO-CHAN!" she cried.
	The girls watched sadly from near the door. They looked at each
other, and they silently agreed Usagi needed to be alone. They
quietly exited and closed the door as Usagi's crying could
still be heard mutedly from within. They stood around outside 
her door. "Poor girl," Makoto muttered. "She's really broken over
this."
	The others nodded and looked to the ground. They were silent
for a moment before Ami said quietly, "Perhaps we should go
visit Yuuichiro?"
	"That's a good idea," Minako said. "The doctors said he was in
room 725. We should see how he's doing."

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

	Yuuichiro put down his fork and made a face. He stuck his 
knife in his mashed potatoes and pulled the entire clump
up. He turned it over and hit it on the side of his tray. It
thudded like a rock. He sighed and put it back on his 
plate. "Whoever said hospital food stinks wasn't foolin'."
Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Rei's voice came
slightly muted from behind it. "Yuuichiro? Can we come
in?"
	Yuuchiro straightened up. <Rei-chan?> he thought. He cleared
his throat and said simply. "Hai. Come on in."
	The door slowly opened, and Rei and the others slowly walked
in. "Hey, there, big guy," Makoto said cheerfully. "How ya doin'?"
	Yuuchiro shrugged. "Fine, I guess. The fire didn't kill me, but
I'm afraid the food will."
	They laughed. After a moment, Yuuichuiro asked quietly, "So,
how's Usagi doing?"
	The girls grew quiet. "She's doing fine," Ami said quietly.
"The doctors said she was lucky to survive, but she's recovering
nicely now. Mamoru's condition is hitting her pretty hard, though."
	Yuuichiro nodded. "How is he?"
	Minako let out a deep breath. "He's pretty bad. He hasn't shown
any signs of getting out of his coma. The doctors are surprised 
he was able to get Usagi out of the house and perform CPR in 
his state. Holding out that long to revive Usagi put him in 
worse condition than if he had passed out right away." She
laughed sadly. "It's almost as if he refused to go under until
he was sure she was alright."
	Yuuichiro nodded. "Hai. What are his injuries?"
	"Smoke inhalation, cracked shoulder, possible back and arm 
injury, internal bleeding, first-degree burns; the works," Makoto
answered. "He was in there a long time, and something heavy 
must have fallen on him inside the house. They don't...they don't
know if he's gonna wake up."
	Everyone looked down and was silent. Minako looked over at Rei.
"Um, Rei, maybe we better leave you and Yuuichiro here alone
for a bit."
	Makoto nodded. "Hai. Maybe you guys'd like to...talk for a bit."
She grinned wolfishly at Rei.
	Rei glared at her. "That'd be fine....Makoto," she said through
clenched teeth. Ami held in a smile. The other three girls left
and Yuuichiro and Rei were alone.
	They both fidgeted and looked around. "So," Rei said after a time.
"The paramedics said you saved 11 little kids from that fire."
	"I guess."
	"You're in the newspaper," Rei added. "Everyone comes to the 
shrine to say they hope you get better soon. You're seen as a
hero. You saved those kids' lives. Grandpa's really proud of you."
	Yuuichiro didn't look at her. "I'm...glad."
	Silence. "Yuuichiro," Rei said quietly. Yuuichiro was surprised.
He had never heard Rei speak his name with such affection
before. She walked over to his bedside. "I just wanted...to
say..." she said hesitantly. "That I...I think that was...really 
brave of you to put your life at risk for those children."
	Yuuichiro looked up at her through his long bangs. "Do you...
really mean that, Rei?"
	She nodded. "Hai. I think you're a hero, too."
	Yuuichiro blushed and looked away. "It means a lot to me...
to hear it from you," he said quietly. He felt her long, cool 
fingers take his chin gently and lift up his face so he would 
look at her. She smiled at him, and brushed some of his dark 
brown bangs out of his eyes affectionately. "You gotta cut
these things, boy. Too bad that fire didn't burn them off more.
I don't know if I'll ever get you to cut them."
	He smiled. "I like them that way."
	"But I want to see your beautiful eyes," she said with a delicate 
smile. Yuuichiro blushed.

***********************  
 
	It had been 10 days, and Mamoru still didn't wake up. The 
doctors had updated his condition to say he had no serious 
injury to his arm or back besides the burns, but his shoulder
was badly cracked and would need a long time to heal. Yuuichiro
had been released a week before, when he had happily gone 
back to the shrine. Usagi had also been given permission to leave,
but she refused to. She stayed day and night at Mamoru's bedside,
sitting in a chair beside the bed and holding his hand. The girls
checked on her every day and brought her special cookies Makoto
had baked, but nothing seemed to cheer up the blond at all. Her 
parents were upset that she refused to come home (especially her
father, who wasn't too fond of Mamoru in the first place), but
the girls managed to explain to them it was a very emotional
time for Usagi, so her mother and father let her stay at the 
hospital, though they checked on her many times a day.
	Usagi held Mamoru's big hand gently in her own. His hand
still felt warm, and the warmth was what she really needed
to remind her that he could one day still wake up. The doctors
had said they had no idea when he would wake up, if he would at all. 
"Mamo-chan," Usagi whispered. "Oh, Mamo-chan please don't leave
me." He looked so peaceful as he slept, his dark bangs hanging
gently over his face and delicately brushing his closed eyes. She 
bit her lip and delicately ran a finger down his face, a tear 
rolling down her cheek. "Oh, Mamo-chan," she whispered. "You're
so beautiful." She brushed her fingers gently over his cheek, and
softly ran her thumb over his temple. "My beautiful Mamo-chan..." 
She started to cry again. She broke down and buried her face on
the side of the bed as tears streamed from her eyes. She grabbed
his shirt weakly with both hands as she rubbed her face in the 
sheets. "Mamo-chan," she cried, "PLEASE don't leave me! I don't 
know how to go on without you! I NEED you! PLEASE!" Her broken
sobs filled the empty room. "I'm so sorry, Mamo-chan," she 
whispered to him. "I...I...avoided you because I wanted...to keep
you from getting hurt. And just look what happened! Oh Mamo-chan,
it's all my fault you're like this! You didn't have to save me! Why
do you always do this! I just want you to be safe! Why can't you
ever think of me after you?!" She cried terribly, weakly pulling 
on his shirt as if in anger. "Mamo-chan," she sobbed as she looked
up at him. "Please. Please wake up. Please don't die." She held his 
hand close to her face again and closed her eyes. "Please..."
	His hand was still. She sobbed softly, her wet tears being rubbed
out by his hand as she held it to her streaming eyes. With both
of her hands holding his, she shed out all her sadness and 
helplessness through her watery blue eyes as tears. 
	Suddenly, she felt a slight movement come from his hand. She 
took a sharp intake of breath and looked up at it, her eyes
quivering. His fingers started to move very slightly.
"Mamo-chan?" she gasped. She put her hands around his 
and watched him. His eyelashes slowly began to part, opening
his eyes a fraction. His head slowly turned to her, his
half-open blue eyes on her face. "Usako?" he whispered.
	Her heart skipped a beat. "MAMO-CHAN!" she screamed. She
threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck,
fresh tears streaming out. "MAMO-CHAN! YOU'RE ALRIGHT! OH,
MAMO-CHAN, YOU'RE ALIVE!" She cried harder than before as he 
weakly looked at her, blinking in slight surprise. He watched 
her a second before putting his non-bandaged arm around 
her gently. Due to the way she had
thrown herself at him when he had waken up, he
was silently thankful she hadn't been on the side of the 
bed where his burnt arm and shoulder were. He put his hand
behind her head and held her comfortingly as she sobbed. "Oh,
Mamo-chan," she choked, "I...I was afraid...you'd never...come
back to me..."
	"It's O.K., Usako," he whispered to her. "Don't cry."
	She brought her head up to look at him. "Mamo-chan," she 
said quickly as she sniffed. "I'm sorry I avoided you. Please
forgive me, I wanted to stay away from you so you'd be safe."
	"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.
	"Well," she sniffed. "I know that...whenever you're with me...
you're in more danger because...enemies are always after me...
because I'm Sailor Moon, so I...thought that you'd be safer if I...
wasn't with you as much...but just look! I put you through all that
and you just got hurt more than ever because you
had to save me." She sobbed into his neck again.
	"Oh, Usako," he said as he held her. His arm was very comforting
around her, and it was something she had missed feeling for  
a long time. "It's not your fault you were stuck in that fire. Nor is it 
your fault if enemies are after you a lot. But you don't need to avoid
me to keep me safe. I know very well what I'm doing when I do
it, and I would gladly die for you any day."
	"NO! No, don't SAY that!" she exclaimed as she turned her head
to him again. "I don't want you to die! I would do ANYTHING to 
keep you safe! I don't CARE if I can't be with you; I don't WANT you
to DIE!"
	"Usako." He took her face in his hand and brought it closer to
his. "The way I live is my choice. I choose to be a protector. I 
choose to put my life after yours if you are in danger. But I will
tell you this - I will NEVER give in easily. I'll fight until the
end of time if I have to. I will NOT die without a fight." He smiled. 
"Why would I want to leave this earth when I would have to leave
you with it?" 
	Usagi pressed her forehead against his, biting her lip as tears 
rolled down her cheeks. "I love you, Mamo-chan," she whispered. 
"Please don't ever leave me. I don't know how I could live a happy
life without you with me."
	He reached up and gently wiped the tears from her face. "Usako,
don't worry so much. We have to live happy times while they're
here, ne? Besides, I want to see your beautiful smile again. 
It's been a while since you smiled for me."
	"I'm so sorry I avoided you all that time." She lowered her 
head. "I should have known it wouldn't work."
	Mamoru smiled. "Y'know, I had a feeling all along that you were
avoiding me for some reason like that. Y'know - for my own
good or something."
	Usagi looked at him curiously. "You did?"
	"Hai."
	"How?"
	He smiled. "You could never look me in the eye. And whenever
you did, I still saw love in your eyes."
	"Really?" He nodded. She gave a shaky smile. "Well, I guess
THAT was a failed plan. Now I know how you felt when you
avoided me because of your dreams." She smirked. "Only 
you were MUCH better at being a jerk about it."
	He laughed. "Yeah. I'm sorry I ever had to put you through
that, Usako. Forgive me?"
	"Only if you forgive me for me doing it to you."
	He stuck out his hand. She shook it, smiling. "Deal,"
he said. "From now on, we stop trying to avoid the other
for their own safety. We know from experience that it
doesn't work."
	She giggled as tears leaked from her eyes. Tears of 
happiness. "Oh, Mamo-chan," she said as she hugged him
again. "I'm just so glad you're O.K. I really thought I was 
going to lose you."
	"I'd never leave you if I didn't have to," he whispered into her
ear.
	She closed her eyes and held him tighter. "I love you,
Mamo-chan."
	"I love you, too." The two sat in silence, They found no 
use for words as they enjoyed the long-awaited comfort
of being in each other's arms. Outside Mamoru's open 
window, a little bird flew by and perched on the sill. It
cocked its head to the side as it watched the two hug in 
silence. It blinked its eyes curiously. Why did the humans
simply sit like that? Didn't they like to do things with each
other? Did loved ones simply sit in each others' arms all day?
What was the enjoyment in that, the little bird wondered.
It hunched its shoulders up briefly, which would be a bird
equivalent of a shrug. It turned around on it's stick-like 
legs, spread its wings out, and took off. It had a lot to learn
about crazy human behavior, the bird thought to itself as it
flew off into the light blue sky over the bustling and
contented afternoon city of Tokyo.

The End

-Well, that's it! Hoped you liked the end, ESPECIALLY parts
3 and 4. I worked REALLY hard to get them in for this week.
I hope the ending was pleasing, and I hope I didn't do a 
crappy job of writing this thing. It'd be a shame, because 
this is one of my favorite fanfic plots. Don't worry, though,
because I have MANY more plots in mind with Usagi and
Mamoru, and it looks like a lot of people want me to do that
series with them as a married couple, so you can expect
that to be coming soon! Updates on when that series will
be coming out and what its title will be can be found for the 
next two weeks or so in the author's notes of Parts 3, 4, and 5
of my other story, "Seiya and Mamoru," which will be finishing up
soon. Anyway, hope you had a good time reading this, and
I hope this story hasn't brought up a violent urge within
anyone so that they would feel the need to hit me with a 
car or anything. I don't know, just maybe my writing 
really angers people. Sayonara for now!
-Lianne