Title: Growing
Author: Aiko 
E-mail: Silver-Usako@webtv.net
Season: All five and beyond
Genere: Romance, Drama
Rating: PG

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  I'm sure that, as fans of Sailormoon, we've all 
read stories of how our favorite 'Odango Atama' and 
'Concieted Jerk' met.  Interestingly enough, they 
are all different.  Oh, sure we all know how they 
really met, but fan-fiction writers have a 
privilage.  This privilage is to change things a 
bit, make them more interesting, different, funny, 
romantic, annoying, what ever.  So, today I am going 
to tell you my version of how Tsukino Usagi and 
Chiba Mamoru met.


  I'd like to say 'thank you VERY much' to Time 
Guardian.  She's my editor.  With out her this story 
would probably sound really weird.  Thanks so much 
Time Guardian!

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Disclaimer:

  "Alright children, time for a pop quiz.  I hope 
you did your home work." Ms. Haruna says as all the 
students groan.  "Alright, now first question: Who 
owns the anime/manga Sailormoon?"  The students 
write down thier answers.  "Last question: Who 
thinks that Tsukino-san will get this quiz correct?" 
Once again the students write down thier answers and 
pass the papers up front.  

  The next day at the bullitian board!  "WHAT, 
Usagi-san is the only one to ace the quiz?!!" A 
series of thumps are heard.

Quiz Answers:

Question 1: Naoko Takeuchi owns the anime/manga 
Sailormoon

Question 2: Nobody but Usagi got the right answer 
here.  She did get ace the quiz! *giggles*

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  It was, in truth, a glorious day, the sky was 
clear, the sun was shining, and Tsukino Usagi
was skipping happily home from school. It was quite 
chilly, as winter had arrived in Tokyo

  'I aced the test, again, but I gotta say, I'm 
really of tired of hiding my true abilities.'  she 
thought to herself.

  Usagi was unique, ever since she was a very young 
child she had these abilities.  It wasn't just 
school work, it was telepathy and telekinisis.  Or 
even stranger, her ability to make things appear 
from thin air.  Something in her had told her to 
hide these abilities, never show them to any 
ordinary person...

  'Ordinary person, could there be others like me, 
other people to whom I could tell these things too.  
People who would understand, and not shun me, or 
think me odd.' she thought to herself as she walked 
home, deep in thought.

  Since she learned of her abilities she purposely 
made herself look bad.  She got bad grades, klutzed 
and ditzed out.  Made her self look and act like a 
dumb blonde.  The only thing she could not hide was 
her caring heart.  It shone through, she simply did 
not have the ability to hurt a person.  

  Truth be told, she was tired of hiding.  Her 
ditzy-ness was little more than a mask, and she 
loathed that mask.  She wanted to help people with 
her abilities, not just keep them hidden, as though 
a person might hide a sore under a band-aid.  
Unconciously she began to hum 'This little light of 
mine.' to herself.

  Now, I suppose you are wondering how she could say 
she aced the test when just a few moments ago I told 
you that she made herself look and act like an 
air-head.  Many years ago she had told her teachers 
that, for personal reasons, she 'needed' people to 
believe that she was a ditz, when in reality she was 
a top student. She told them that her life was 
already overloaded and if people knew she was 
capable of the grades she made, they would expect 
more out of her, and it would be a circut overload. 

  Her teachers understood and respected her wishes.  
During her detention she got her real report cards 
and grades.  She kept all of those important 
documents in a small, locked, box under her bed.  
She kept the key in an inter-dementional pocket that 
she found that she had.  If she hadn't her little, 
rather abhorable, brother, Shingo, was sure to see 
them, and show her parents, then she'd have to 
explain...

  This train of thoughts led her to another song she 
had heard, this one was in English, a country music 
song, who's author she was unsure of, called 
"Welcome to the Earth".  

  "Cause and effect, chain of events, all of this chaos
 makes perfect sense.." she sang to herself. 

  Oh yes, Tsukino Usagi knew English. Fact is she 
spoke many different languages. Her secret dream, 
besides to become a good wife for a loving husband, 
was to be a translator so that maybe she could help 
create peace in the world.  Or at least a small part 
of it.  

  Soon she was home.  She walked in the door and 
kicked off her shoes, her fake test paper in her 
hand, and her real one in her 'pocket'. She was 
sorely tempted to give her mother the real one.  
Alas, she did not though. 

  "Tsukino Serena Usagi!!  (AN: Uh oh, full and 
legal name! She's in trouble!) I've had it up to 
here with these bad grades of yours!!" Ikuko 
screeched gesturing to an inch above her head.  "You 
get to your room, get in some after-school clothes, 
then get your self to your Tutor's!"  she told her 
cringing daughter, pointing up stairs.

  Usagi visibably paled, this wasn't good.  "Tutor? 
What tutor?" she asked, respectfully.  Any kid knows 
not to use any thing but the most respectful voice 
when speaking to an angry parent. 'Or in Mom's case: 
rabid.' 

  "Just get up there and change, I'll give you the 
address when you get back down.  AND HURRY UP!!!" 
Ikuko screeched as Usagi scampered up stairs to 
change. 

  She quickly changed into a pair of jeans (AN: I 
forgot to tell you, it's winter in this first part 
of the story), a pink turtleneck, and a white 
sweater on over that with comfy, thick, socks to complete 
the ensamble.  "It's gonna snow today." she said to herself, even 
though to any one else they would have 
seen it as wonderful, if chilly weather.  Usagi had 
felt the slightly damp wind that came from the 
north, and could almost 'feel' the clouds slowly 
forming thoughout the day.  She knew, however, that 
before her tutoring session was over it would be 
bad. 

  Once downstairs she got the address to her tutors. 
"Chiba Mamoru, 777 Azabu Drive. Apt. 1414." she read 
out loud, just to make sure she got it right.  
"That's right Usagi, please try to understand the 
work." her mother said having chilled out 
considerably.  

  Usagi nodded and smiled sweetly at her mother as 
she walked out, as she put on her shoes she looked 
at her mother. "Mom, perhaps it would be wise to 
have Dad bring in some extra wood." she said as she 
walked out the door. Before she shut the door behind 
her she stuck her head back in and smiled.  "Bye 
Mama!" she chirped and started on her eway.

  While walking there something crossed her mind. 

Why didn't she see this coming, this struk her as 
really strange.  Usually she knew something before 
it happened.  'I have this feeling, something, good 
or bad I do not know, will happen today.' she 
thought to herself.   

  Soon she arrived at the apartment building. 
Looking up at it she frowned. 'Chiba Mamoru 
lives on the 14th floor. So in I go.' she thought to 
herself and rode the elevator to the 14th floor. 

Outside it was already snowing.  


  Back at the Tsukino Residence, at about the same 
time as Usagi entered the elevator Ikuko watched the 
news.  The weather was on. "...forcasts the worst 
blizzard in Tokyo's records.  We advise that you 
stock up on firewood, and stay in unless of extreme 
emergencies..." Ikuko turned the TV off.  "Usagi, 
how did you know?  Usagi!  She's out there!" Ikuko 
realized abruptly.  



  Usagi knocked on door 1414 and waited for 
Chiba-san to open the door.  He soon did.  "Hello, 
can I help you miss?" he asked taking note of her 
really familiar hair style.  'Odango Atama!' the 
thought to his self recognizing her.

  "Yes sir, my name is Tsukino Usagi, my mother 
Tsukino Ikuko arranged for you to be my..tutor." she 
told him, almost choking on that last word as she 
finally recognized the gentleman.  'HIM! 
That..conceited jerk!' she said in her mind forcing 
a smile on her face.  

  Suddenly the smile wasn't so forced as he had on a 
worried look.  "Usagi-san, I really didn't...oh, my 
manners, please come in.  I really didn't think you 
would come today.  What with the weather as it's 
supposed to be." he said.  

  "Okaa-san would not have been pleased if I had 
tried to use the weather as an excuse.  She did not 
know about the coming weather." she explained, 
feeling oddly comfortable around him.  *Usagi, this 
is no ordinary person, you have seen him only twice, 
look how comfortable you feel with him.*  her inner 
voice exclaimed.  'I know, is it possible...he is 
the one, the who I can confide in?' she asked 
herself.  *Possibly, possibly.*  

  "Oh, I see."  he said.  "Well, would you like a 
cup of hot chocolate before we get started?" he 
asked.

  He was strangely delighted to see Usagi's eyes 
light up at the mention of hot chocolate.  "Oh, yes 
please!" she told him.  "Oh, and no need for calling 
me 'Usagi-san'  Usagi or Usagi-chan is fine.' she 
told him, her eyes still bright.  

  Usagi watched him as he fixed thier hot chocolate, 
then blinking, she realized that she had not put her 
test paper in her secret box.  'Perhaps I did know 
of this, unconciously, why else would I have not put 
the paper up?' she asked herself, and quickly used 
her telekinisis to put the paper in her bag. 

  "Ok, Usagi-chan, call me Mamrou if you'd like." he 
told her then went to fix the hot chocolate. 'She 
looks so familiar.  I feel so comfortable with her, 
and I also feel as though she is hiding something.  
Something..important.' the thought to himself. 

  Later on, completely obvlivious to the rapidly 
decreasing conditions of the weather outside, Usagi 
and Mamoru started the tutoring.  Usagi made a 
concious decision to come clean about her real 
grades.


  "So, Usagi-chan, what subject are you lagging 
behind in, so we know where to start? Math?" he 
asked.  She shook her head. "Nope." "English?" 
"Aceing it."  "Kanji?" "Simple stuff." "Literature?" 
"Nuh-uh." "Biology?" "I'm doing 12th grade science, 
history, and government." she told him.  
"Though...chemistry has been giving me fits." she 
finished grinning. 

  "Your mother led me to believe that you were 
failing all your subjects." he hold her honestly. 

  Usagi sighed a little.  "She thinks I am. Every 
body but my teachers think I am, and she explained 
her problem, not completely of course, but the 
school work part of it.

  "Oh, I see.  I'll keep your secret, I have to 
admit though.  I can't help but be quite surprized 
that you are taking chemistry, I never took that 
until the 12th grade."

  "Courses like chemistry are un-official, it's on 
my records, but not on my fake report cards, just my 
real ones."  she explained.  

  "Usagi-chan, what do you want to be, when you get 
out of school?" Mamoru asked, suddenly very curious.

  Usagi blushed, suddenly feeling unsure.  "I want 
to major in government, debate, I want to let people 
see my views on the world, I want to help bring 
peace to warring nations." she whispered, for the 
first time in her life telling any body about her 
most secret dreams.  "But, I'd also like to be a 
good wife to a husband who will love me." she told 
him.  
  

  "Those are wonderful dreams." Mamoru told her 
smiling.  

  "What's your dream Mamo-chan?" she asked, not even 
realizing what she had called him.

  He noticed though and his eyes crincled as he 
smiled.  "Interestingly enough, I've always wanted 
to help bring peace as well, and maybe, if any girl 
would have me, be a devoted husband." he told her 
blushing slightly as a lock of ebony hair fell into 
his eyes.

  Usagi blushed and reached out to brush the lock of 
hair out of his eyes, her warm touch warming his 
entire body. (AN: Get your mind out of the gutter, 
*grins* this is a completely clean story).  They 
looked into each other's eyes. "Mamo-chan.." she 
whispered

  Much to both of their surprises they were slowly 
falling in love.  It scared, overjoyed, humbled, and 
excited both of them.

  "Usako.." he whispered as they both leaned in 
forward and thier lips met in an innocent kiss that 
sent sparks flying though thier system.  

  Small and innocent as the kiss was it had cemented 
a relationship that neither had expected when they 
got up that morning.

  "Do you believe in love at first site?" Usagi 
asked quietly, love clearly shining in her skyblue 
eyes.

  "Before this, I didn't, but now, I believe in it 
with all my heart." he answered just as quietly. All 
the walls that he had built up around his heart and 
soul breaking down.

  Usagi and Mamoru sat there for hours, Chemistry 
not even touching the conversation.  They told of 
thier hopes and dreams, secret fears, and in that 
short amount of time a love that had, though they 
knew it not, been waiting a thousand years to 
rekindle.

  Soon it was getting late.  "Perhaps it's time I 
took you home." Mamoru told her, having no intention 
of letting his Usako walk home in the bad weather. 

  Usagi looked out to the balcony. Already over a 
foot of snow had fallen. "Mamo-chan, I don't think 
it's going to be possible."  she told him.  "Look 
out side Mamo-chan."

  And look out side he did, he stood up his arm 
still around Usagi's waist, having no intention of 
letting her go soon. "There's got to be over a foot 
of snow out there, going out would be suicide." he 
exclaimed. 

  "I know." Usagi said. "Um, well, can I stay with 
you, I can sleep on the couch." she shyly asked.  

  Mamoru looked at her and pasted a serious look on 
his face. "You'll do no such thing!" he told her.

  She looked up at him worriedly. 

  Mamoru's face softened.  "I'll sleep on the 
couch." he finished chuckling a little. 

  "Mamo-chan!" she said giggling.  "It's your 
apartment, you should be able to have your bed." she 
told him. 

  "Nothing doing, I'll be fine on the couch. I sleep 
there half the time any way." he told her and at her 
confused look he elaborated.  "Studying in colledge 
can be exausting." 

  Usagi smiled and kissed his cheek. "Mind if I call 
my mother?  She should know." she asked.

  "Go ahead." he told her kissing her small nose. 

  Usagi giggled and skipped over to the phone picked 
it up, suddenly fear gripped her heart. Mamoru, who 
was watching her, saw her tense up. "Usako?"

  "The line is dead." she said and yelped in fear as 
the electrisity crackled and went out completely.

  "Mamo-chan! I'm scared!" she said, not liking this 
darkness one little bit. 



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End Chapter 1



*dodges flying objects* I know, I know.  It was mean 
of me to end it there. Don't worry though!  I have 
every intention of finishing this story. 


Stay tuned for Chapter 2 of Growing.

Oh, yeah..um..E-mail is good. *hint hint*