For Sale
Author: ChibiJ
Rated: PG13
Rating : 
Chapter 4
For Sale
Installment 4
By Chibi J
Edited By Sailor Sista and Lady Artemis
Rated PG
Don't own. Never will. Please don't sue.
I've never felt very affected by something that I have written before. Until now. What started this story in my head will remain a mystery to me even, but where it will end, we shall all find out together.
Thank you for all the reviews. I appreciate you taking the time to read this story.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sunlight filtered in through a pair of white blinds covering the large window in Usagi's room, warming the couple that lay sleeping on the bed.
At some point during the night, Mamoru had wrapped his arms around Usagi. She, in turn, snuggled closer into his embrace. The two seemed very comfortable and probably could have easily slept on until noon.
Unfortunately for them, they wouldn't get that chance.
"I don't think we should do this Rei." Minako whispered to the dark haired female beside her.
"Relax Minako. We're just checking on them." Rei replied quietly as she walked through the hall of the penthouse. "I mean if I didn't show up for breakfast, I hope you would check on me."
Minako nodded her head in agreement. "Still," Minako started again, "We could have at least attempted to call them first."
Rei shrugged her shoulders. In her mind, this was much more fun. After all, she seldom got to make fun of her nearly perfect older brother.
"Let's get Usagi first. She can help us tease Mamoru." Rei suggested. Minako agreed, hoping that her sister would come out of the depression she had been in since she was arrested.
Knocking quietly, but not waiting for a response, Minako opened the door to Usagi's room. With a quick gasp, she jumped back from the doorway and quickly closed the door.
"What?!?" Rei asked, startled by the blonde's behavior. "What did you see?"
Minako covered her mouth, trying to stifle her giggles. This immediately relieved Rei's fear of a suicide.
"Gomen Rei, you just have to see this for yourself." Minako said, still laughing quietly.
Minako stepped out of the way, allowing Rei full access to the door. Although she opened it slowly, she did not quickly close it as Minako had. Instead, she stood there and let a silly grin cover her face.
Minako gasped as Rei took a quiet step forward. "Rei!" Minako hissed. Yet Rei took another step forward. Minako again tried to gain Rei's attention, but it was too late.
With two large steps and a giant leap, Rei jumped onto the bed, smack dab on top of her brother.
"AAAAHHHHH!" screamed the two bodies that had been previously soundly sleeping.
"Morning Usagi and Mamoru!" Rei yelled into their ears, which were still close to each other, as they were still in each other's arms.
Minako still stood at the doorway, a blush covering her cheeks and a hand covering her mouth.
"What's going on?" Usagi asked, uncertainty evident on her face. Being startled awake from her best nights sleep in over a month really left her confused.
"Rei..." Mamoru growled at his sister. Noticing the look on his face, she jumped from the bed, Mamoru glaring menacingly at the trail of dust that she had left.
"I'll just be going now." Minako said with a small smile as she reached for the knob of the door. As the door clicked shut, Mamoru turned to Usagi, slightly loosening his grasp on her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper. She still seemed slightly puzzled, but what happened next left him the confused one.
She started laughing.
Not just a light laughing either. It wasn't a "gee that was funny" laugh, but a stomach clenching, breathe stopping, "going-to-turn-blue-cause-I-can't-stop-laughing" laughing.
"Usagi?"
"Gomen, that was just so funny!" she said, trying to gain control over her laughter. "You should have seen your face!"
"My face? You were the one who looked completely lost!" Mamoru argued back, a smile spreading across his face.
"Oh yeah?" An evil glint crossed Usagi's face. She quickly removed herself fully from his arms and grabbed her pillow.
Thus the first ever "Mamoru and Usagi Pillow War" began.
~*~*~
Living in a building that contains more females than males causes rumors to spread quickly. And, as always, the rumor can never stay the same.
What had started as Rei telling Makoto what she saw and her possible death caused by Mamoru had changed into Mamoru and Usagi sleeping together, to Usagi carrying Mamoru's baby. Of course, the rumor about the baby would explain while Usagi had been in a strange mood.
After having lunch and attempting to extinguish some of the rumors, Usagi and Mamoru decided to retire back to the Penthouse. For some time, the two just sat in a comfortable silence on the balcony, watching the city below them. But for the first time in weeks, Usagi was feeling better. Just then, she realized that she knew nothing about her new owner.
"Mamoru?"
"Yeah Usagi?"
"Why do you do this?" she asked, unable to make full eye contact.
"Usagi?" he said, pronouncing her name in a tone that requested an explanation.
"Why do you do this? All this?" she said, bringing her eyes up to meet his. "Why do you help so many females? How can you help so many?"
Mamoru looked down to his lap where his hands were clenched unconsciously. Sensing his mood, Usagi decided that her curiosity could wait. "Don't worry. You don't have to tell me."
Silence reigned over the two. The sun was lowering in the sky, although it would still be some time before it set.
Still starring out onto the city, Mamoru began to speak.
~*~Flash~*~
"Mom!" yelled a young Mamoru, only thirteen years old, from the top of the stairs.
"Mamoru, I'm going to be late for work." his mother protested. She knew that her only son was concerned about her safety. With the aggression that was going on worldwide, she didn't blame him. But the violence hadn't traveled too close to home yet, so she was still insisting on working.
"Mom, please be careful." Mamoru said as he ran down the stairs to give his mom a hug.
"I will dear. Now I have to go or my patients will get antsy." she said with a smile. "Tell your sisters that I will be home around 5:00pm. Your father will probably be home a bit after that."
"I will." Mamoru replied as his mother walked out the door.
~*~Flash~*~
"She didn't come home that night. Neither did my father. The first attack on this city was on the hospital where they both worked." Mamoru took a break from his story, slowly wiping the tears from the corner of his eye.
"My sisters and I sat at the dinner table until 7:00pm that night. She was over two hours late and I was scared.
"At 8:00 the old lady next door came over with tears in her eyes. She had known that my mom and dad weren't home when she saw the cars gone and us sitting at the table without them. She had to break the news to us.
"The report was that the male protest group bombed the hospital because they would likely be sympathetic and willing to treat injured females."
Here he paused and looked over to his audience of one. Usagi had sat the entire time, simply starring out into nothing. Tears streaked down her face, yet she did nothing to wipe them away.
"Usagi?" Mamoru asked concerned.
"My father was killed when I was five. No reason why, except that he was male." she answered quietly.
"I know." Mamoru simply replied.
A quiet calm settled over the couple as they watched the sun set behind the city. Without a sound, Mamoru stood up and walked over to Usagi. A look of peacefulness was shinning on her face. As Mamoru placed a hand on her shoulder, she let out a gentle sigh.
Without a word, she stood and the two walked into the living room. The clock on the television showed that it was already almost nine o'clock. Although neither had eaten dinner, neither made any move to do anything except to stay in the other's company.
Moving without pause, the couple walked down the hall and into Mamoru's bedroom. Lying beside each other, Mamoru and Usagi wrapped each other in their arms. With a few tears, the two fell asleep.
~*~Dream~*~
Army tanks were driving down the streets of a once peaceful city. Once large and beautiful buildings were knocked down in size or smoking deep black clouds into the air. Trees that had covered the parks were knocked down and once blue ponds were turning various shades of brown.
War had come and it didn't come with happy tidings. One of the few cities worldwide that wanted nothing to do with the war, Tokyo was now covered with the battles between men and women.
Innocent children wept over the bodies of their dead parents. Animals starved to death as their owners never returned home. Babies cried at all hours of the night as the bombs sounded in the air.
Those who were brave tried to protest the war, but neither the men nor women responsible for the attacks were willing to listen. Those who tried to stop the movement of soldiers were seen as the enemy and treated as such. If they were lucky, they were immediately shot. If not, they were treated as badly, if not worse, as the Jews had been in while in concentration camps at the time of Hitler.
~*~
Male soldiers went from door to door. Names were taken and documented into the official records. Women of appropriate age were torn from their families in order to go to camps to retrain them. Some mothers, those that didn't pose a "threat" to the males, were allowed to raise their children, especially if they had sons. Yet other families were torn apart, especially if there were no men in the household.
On opposite sides of town, yet at the exact same time, a knocking came upon two households.
(Mamoru's Dream)
"I am seeking the man of the house." a soldier in a gray uniform and a clipboard demanded in a stern voice.
"There no longer is an adult man in this house." Ikuko, with a young Shingo of three on her hip, responded.
"I'm the man." the little boy responded, causing a laugh from the soldier.
"I'm sure you are." He then turned from Shingo to face Ikuko again. "What party do you belong to?"
"I belong to no party. My husband and I remained as neutral as possible throughout the war. Yet he was shot." Feeling her voice begin to rise, Ikuko took a deep breath to regain control. "All I want is to raise my children as their father would have wanted."
"Well answered." The officer gave a nod of his head. "Names of your children and their ages."
Waiting for the officer to ready his pen, Ikuko responded. "Usagi, 8. Minako, 7. Shingo, 3."
"Thank you. For the time, your family may remain here. Do not take advantage of this situation." The officer nodded his head briefly, more out of respect for the way his mother raised him, and then turned and left.
Ikuko stepped back from the door and closed it before collapsing to the ground. The two blonde girls who had been listening from around the corner ran to their mother.
"Mama, are you alright?" a young Usagi asked, worry evident in her voice.
Ikuko looked up at her girls and gave a sigh of relief. "I am for now."
(Usagi's Dream)
"I am seeking the man of the house." a soldier in a gray uniform and a clipboard demanded in a stern voice.
"I am the man of this house." a young man, only 16 years old, responded.
"Where are your parents?" the officer asked, his curiosity overwhelming.
"They died at the start of the attacks. They worked at the hospital." Mamoru responded, refusing to allow his emotions to take over.
The officer nodded his head and made a note on his clipboard. "My papers indicate that you have two sisters. What of them?"
"Both have died as well. My eldest died two years ago trying to give birth to a child she was left with when raped. My younger sister died in an attack on her all-girls school. You may check the records." Mamoru said in an empty voice.
The officer again nodded his head. He remembered the attack of the all-girls school; he had been part of the assault. As for the elder sister, the rape was most likely true and with the lack of medical facilities, it would be expected that she not survive.
"All right then. Thank you," the officer replied and turned to leave.
Mamoru shut the door and dropped to the floor, his energy spent from holding up the façade.
"Mamoru, is everything okay?" a tall girl of 19 with a two-year-old girl on her hip asked. Beside her stood a young girl of eight.
Mamoru looked up to his sisters and gave a sigh of relief. "It is for now."
~*~End Dream~*~
Opening their eyes slowly, both Mamoru and Usagi found themselves staring into the eyes of the other.
"It was just a dream?" Usagi asked hazily. She shifted slightly, finding herself once again tangled in Mamoru's arms.
"Was it?" Mamoru asked, unsure of what had happened.
"It... I don't know." Dropping her eyes in thought, a realization occurred. "You have two sisters."
Mamoru looked at Usagi strangely. Most knew that he had two sisters. "Yes." he said, nodding his head slowly.
"I didn't know you had an older sister. I thought it was just you and Rei. But last night you said "sisters" and...." Usagi trailed off, thinking of the dream she had.
"And?"
"And she has a baby. You lied to protect her and Rei." Usagi finished, looking deep into Mamoru's eyes for the truth.
"Yes. I lied. I refused to watch her be hauled off to some camp. They would have likely killed her baby, her little girl. My niece." Mamoru felt light tears coming to the back of his eyes at the memory. It had been difficult at best to feed and care for his sisters and niece when people believed that he was the only one in the house.
"You know them both." Mamoru said with a slight smile playing on his lips. It was amusing to him that she had never noticed the family resemblance. The hair color alone should have given away who his sister was.
"I do?" Usagi closed her eyes, trying desperately to think back to the dream. Rei's face was clear, yet the older sister was cloudy. But a small face with bright cheeks shined out at her. "Oh my god! I can't believe I'm so dumb."
"I'd agree, but I'm sure that you would smack me." Mamoru gave a laugh and tried to dodge as a hand did come up and hit him lightly on the shoulder.
"You know, I never thought about it. Setsuna and Hotaru." Usagi said, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. "When I first met them, I..." Usagi cut herself off, blushing.
"You what?"
"I thought that she was your mistress and daughter." Usagi's blush got slightly deeper as Mamoru's laughter filled the room. "Well, Hotaru does look a lot like you. And, well, I suppose I just didn't look close enough at Setsuna."
"Give it a try. Rei looks just like Sets did when she was 18. I wouldn't doubt that in ten years that you won't be able to tell them apart." Mamoru said with a large smile and dreaming eyes. He was very proud of his sisters and all they had struggled through to survive.
"I think I know what you mean." Usagi replied, thinking of Minako and all of the times they had tried to trick people into believing they were each other.
A quiet peace settled over the bedroom as Mamoru and Usagi both reminisced about their families. During the horrid times of the war, family was all that anyone could rely on. And both had come from very strong and caring families.
"Well," Mamoru began, finally deciding to break the peace, "I suppose we ought to rise and shine before more rumors start circulating."
Usagi smiled as they pulled out of each other's arms. Making her way to the door to head towards her room, Usagi turned to Mamoru. "Thank you Mamoru, for everything."
Mamoru nodded his head in understanding. "Your welcome. And thank you too."
~*~*~
"Whistle while you work. Thwusp tswp shpt."
"Usagi." Minako rolled her eyes.
"Okay, so I can't whistle. Give me a different song." Usagi giggled as she continued to clear the breakfast table.
"No!" Minako yelled. Usagi's time with Mamoru had not only made her feel better, it had made her chipper again. Usagi was back to her old self, which could possibly drive a person insane.
"But Minako." Usagi whined. She always loved to pick on her sister. After five years away from her, she had lots of catching up to do. Being the bigger sister does have its advantages.
"No!" Minako tried again. But inside, she knew that it didn't matter. When Usagi was in a good mood, there was no stopping her.
"Fine. Let's see." Usagi tapped her finger on her lower lip in contemplation. "I got it! The hills are alive, with the Sound of Music!" She sang terribly off key.
Not able to take anymore of her goofiness, Minako threw a wash clothe at her. Causing Usagi to throw it back. Causing Minako to make a mad dash. Causing Usagi to chase her. Causing both to trip over their own feet and land in a pile of laughter.
Unfortunately, their laughter didn't cover over the snide comment that a red head on the other side of the room made to another female. "Someone woke up on the right side of the bed."
"You think so?" The other female snickered. Juicy gossip was the best kind.
"Perhaps it wasn't the side of the bed, but who the bed belonged to." The red head giggled. "I know I felt good the morning I rose from that bed." With that said, the two females walked off laughing.
Usagi and Minako's laughter died down to an uncomfortable silence. Not wanting to ask, but desperate to know, Minako asked, "Usagi, did you and Mamoru...."
"No. Nothing," Usagi replied, not needing to hear the entire question. "We just talked. I mean, yeah, we slept next to each other, but not more than that."
Minako breathed a sigh of relief. Although she liked Mamoru and her sister was old enough to make her own decisions, she didn't want to see Usagi do something without thinking it through.
"Minako," Usagi began, her eyes looking at the spot where the two females had been standing, "You don't think that he...."
"No. Definitely not," Minako answered. "There is no way that Mamoru would do anything with that trash."
Usagi nodded her head and let the conversation drop. The two sisters picked themselves up from the ground and continued cleaning up from breakfast. But in the back of her head, a little annoying voice with red hair kept on bragging.
~*~*~
Usagi sat in the living room flipping through channels that night when Mamoru returned from work. After missing two days in a row, he was in desperate need to get to the office. Yet with all his work, he decided that he would get home early.
"Hey. I'm home." Mamoru said with a cheery voice as he entered the living room.
"Hey." Usagi replied less than half-heartedly as she continued to flip the channels.
Concern immediately flooded Mamoru. Although she wasn't depressed, which he was grateful, he felt another emotion coming from her, anger.
"How was your day?" he asked carefully.
"Fine."
"Anything you want to talk about?" He was trying to get more than a one-syllable answer from her, yet it didn't seem that he would be successful.
"Nope."
"Are you sure?" Now he was pushing it, he knew it too. But something was obviously wrong.
His thoughts were confirmed when a rather irate looking Usagi stood from the couch, placed her fists on her hips, and gave him an evil stare. "Who's the red head that lives in 3A?" She asked and her toe started tapping.
Mamoru desperately wanted to laugh at her expression. She looked completely like the jealous housewives of old. "Beryl?"
"Yeah, that's her." Usagi stomped her foot on the carpet. "How did she get here?"
"I-" Mamoru didn't know exactly what to say. He was certain though that Beryl finally met her match. It didn't look like Usagi was going to take anything from her. "She was a friend of a friend of a friend. He asked me to take her in."
"Humph." Usagi plopped down on the couch and crossed her arms in front of her chest. It was a legitimate answer, she knew. In truth, she didn't know why she was so upset with the whole thing. But something just seemed wrong with the idea of Mamoru sleeping with THAT female.
"Usagi?" He moved to sit next to her on the couch. "What happened? Did she say something to you?" He knew that red headed female had a way of always causing trouble.
"She just said something that, ugh, never mind!" She threw her arms up in frustration and stood to pace the room. Inside she felt like she needed to run.
"Please, Usagi, you can talk to me you know. What did she say?" He pleaded with her for the information.
Unable to look him in the eye without picturing Beryl with him, she gave in. "Well, she didn't say, but she implied that you and her, had, well, you know."
Confusion was the first emotion on his face. It was quickly replaced with knowledge. Then came a look of utter disgust, followed by laughter.
"Me and her?" He was laughing so hard that he had to clutch at his stomach. Relief immediately washed over Usagi's face.
"Oh thank God!" she declared in happiness, plopping back down on the couch.
The two sat laughing over the whole idea for several moments before silence claimed them. Sobering, Usagi turned to look at him. "Mamoru, have you ever been with any of the females here?"
Taking in her serious tone, Mamoru turned to her, his face showing nothing but trust. "No, I haven't."
Gulping slightly at her courage, she pressed just a little farther. "Have you been with any female?" she asked, dropping her eyes from his, her cheeks immediately turned pink.
Yet it didn't match the red that was flaming on Mamoru's cheeks. "No."
Usagi, startled by his admittance, shot her head up to look deep in to his eyes, which were closer than before. "Why?" she whispered.
"Because I've been saving myself for someone special." Mamoru said as he moved closer to her, taking her hands into his.
A lump formed into Usagi's throat. "Who?"
He leaned forward, an inch from her face. "You."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And thus ends this installment of For Sale. Tune in next time. *grins, giggles, and skips away*
Anonymous Reader:Censored Email Address
Okay, next chapter (which is half done) has some more WAFF, some more explainations, some TAFF, and...well, I suppose you'll have to wait and see!!