It's karaoke time!

-It's love, love, love, love, love! It's aall about love, love, love, love, loooove! Everything else 
comes out of this, nothing any higher on the list than love! 'Cause after all, it's all about love!-

The countdown is on! One month from today, Steven Curtis Chapman's new CD comes out! 
I pre-ordered WEEKS ago, and I am PSYCHED! A new CD means a new tour. And that means 
one more chance for me to lose my voice after screaming like a howler monkey from the front 
row. God help that man if I ever get my wish of meeting him.

Do I sound like a psycho borderline-stalker fan? I hope so. I try so hard.

I'm sure you all thought you were just gonna click in here to read chapter four. I'll bet none of 
you expected to get a diatribe on my obsession of Christian music. Well, that's one of the joys 
of reading my stories: I throw in glimpses of what my family deals with on a regular basis at no 
extra charge! It's all a part of my campaign to keep all the kiddies in school. Stay in school, 
your sanity won't boycott. I skipped a semester, and look at me. I'm a poster-child.

HAHAHAHA!

Are you scared yet?

DISCLAIMER :: Do not spray into an open flame. May cause slight burning sensation. Large 
quantities of Chiba Mamoru has been linked to cancer in lab rats. Do not ingest.

slr_europa@yahoo.com

http://www.geocities.com/slr_europa/

AIM :: SeeShelliRun


****************************************************
Need Me – Chapter Three
By Sailor Europa



	"Mizuno Ami, please." 
	I tapped my foot impatiently against the cupboards below the counter and stared 
absently towards the living room. The bright noon-day sky illuminated the whole 
apartment via the enormous picture window on the South side of the room. I was glad I 
didn't have to turn any of the lights on; I'd made sure to leave as few loose ends as 
possible. I'd unplugged the blow dryer Mamoru always inevitably left in the socket, 
cleaned the coffee pot, shut off the lamp over his desk. I'd even tidied up a few of the 
papers he'd had scattered. Everything was as it normally was; nothing was out of place. It 
was just how I wanted to leave it. 
	I picked at my flaking nails as I waited for Ami to pick up the extension in the 
hospital. I knew that she was probably impossibly busy, but I need to at least warn her I 
was coming.
	"Moshi moshi?" 
	"Ami!" I stated, startled as my attention snapped up. "It's me." 
	"Usagi? What's wrong?" 
	I paused, wondering how to begin. Whether to barrel into details of what I found 
when I eventually came home that morning, or if I should refuse to tell her any of my 
motives before I had a chance to see her in person. I'd been holding up well, considering 
what I had done just the other day. Everything felt numb, and my exterior was ready to 
crack at the slightest prodding. Expounding on too many variables would shatter it all, 
and I'd already made my decision. I refused to fall apart before it was over and done. 
Once I couldn't go back – then, and only then would I allow myself to crumble. 
	"Um, Ami, I was hoping I could come stay with you for a while…." I stumbled 
over my words, avoiding the issues that I knew she already knew. 
	"What? Usagi, what happened?" She asked. 
	"Ne, Ami, can we please talk about this when I get there?" My voice wavered and 
I cursed my emotions. I felt the boiling begin to fill my chest and I knew I wouldn't be 
able to talk if I kept it up. "I just…." I took a deep breath. "Need somewhere to stay. It 
won't be for long…."
	"Usagi, that isn't what I'm worried about. You know you're always welcome in 
my home." I could hear her hesitate over the phone. "Demo…Usagi…." She sighed. 
"When will you be here?" 
	"My train leaves at 2. I'll be there by 5:30." 
	"All right. I'll be waiting at the station." 
	"Arigatou, Ami-chan." 
	"I hope you know what you're doing, Usagi." 
	She hung up before I had a chance to reply. But as I tried to swallow, I found a 
huge lump blocking my throat and I gave a spiteful laugh as I bent down to pick up my 
suitcase. 
	"I do." I whispered, giving one last look at the apartment I only called home for a 
few short years. "Unfortunately, I do." 

*****

	"Usagi, please tell me what happened." 
	I glanced at Ami to the right of me, and sighed as I leaned my head up against the 
car window. We'd ridden a good 20 minutes in silence. She had waited patiently for me 
to break, but I'd kept my hands clasped firmly on my lap, not willing to budge. 
	"I did it." I whispered finally. Ami kept her eyes on the road before her, but I 
watched her jaw clench in recognition. I kept my eyes on my fingers fidgeting anxiously 
with the slick fabric of my skirt. My forehead knitted in confusion. I hadn't even the 
slightest notion where to begin. 
	"Start at the beginning, Usagi. What happened when you got home yesterday 
morning?" She asked gently. I took a deep breath, still concentrating heavily on the 
patterns of the fabric. 
	"I went home, fully intending to talk things over with Mamoru when he returned." 
My eye line titled up slightly and I watched the plastic lining of the dash with intensity as 
I struggled to remember the scenes that played out. "I found…everything completely in 
order. The bed had been left the same as the night before I left, no discarded clothing, no 
mess, nothing. It was like no one had been there all night." I spoke absently, retelling the 
fairytale as if I hadn't even experienced it firsthand. I recounted each detail with pain 
staking expertise. It all seemed surreal, now over 24 hours later. 
	"He hadn't been there at all?" Ami whispered eventually. I shook my head, 
almost having forgotten where I was. I felt a few oblivious tears spring up, simply out of 
habit. I felt almost no emotion at all as I gave her the blow by blow account, but the tears 
still swam their way to the surface, as if they knew the way without any prodding. 
	"So I collected myself, took a shower and then…." I cocked my head to the side, 
wondering if my meeting with Ayashi-san hadn't simply been some wishful dream. "I 
filed for divorce." I stated simply. 
	Ami gaped at the windshield as if she could see my face in it. I couldn't watch her 
for long and then just returned my gaze to my lap and still twitching fingers. Her mouth 
hung open and I almost spoke just to fill the empty silence that enveloped us now. I knew 
she was shocked; she wanted to slap me, yell at me, cry, anything to knock some sense 
into me. But she held back. I couldn't figure out why. 
	"You…filed? Usagi….You haven't even talked to him yet. Aren't you simply 
making yourself even more anxious than you were before?" 
	"He didn't come home, Ami!" My voice rose, and she took her eyes off her task 
out of pure shock at my outburst and then clammed up. "He didn't call, he didn't leave a 
note, nothing." I pulled my arms around me, feeling the dam begin to burst forth. "He 
knew I was supposed to be coming home, and he didn't call." 
	The tears began again and I leaned my head upon the window and closed my 
eyes, fighting off the memories that flooded my mind. I couldn't seem to reconcile the 
past with the present; they didn't match. Nothing that had happened in the course of the 
last two years made sense. Was it all a game? One I was destined to lose? The night of 
our wedding had felt so full of hope. The day we had made so many promises and it was 
all unraveling right before my eyes. I had grasped at anything, any shred of faith in our 
marriage; our love. But I had initially taken the step that would end it all. I was the one 
who filed, and I would serve him the papers. I knew he wouldn't take the initiative. Hell, 
I wasn't even sure he had ever considered it. 
	Had he ever considered it? My eyes opened slowly and I stared at the landscape 
whirling around me as the question danced in the folds of my mind. I felt my heart 
pummel my chest. Nothing had ever been an indication that he wanted to be separated or 
that he had even thought about it. What would he do when he found out I was gone? I 
shifted uneasily in my seat and adjusted the belt. I'd left a note right on his desk, just to 
be sure he would find it as soon as he got home. Would he be shocked? Would he cry? 
Fall to his knees and just cry as he tried to figure out where and how he'd lost me? 
	It had to surprise him. I couldn't imagine him not being affected by it. I just didn't 
know how at this point. He'd expressed no interest in the divorce himself, thus far. But 
on the flip side, he hadn't seemed too anxious to build the marriage back up, either. 
	"Usagi?"
	I turned my head slowly to look at my companion, and she gave me a sad smile. 
	"I'm sorry." 
	I nodded in agreement, and then closed my eyes to sleep. She didn't need to be 
sorry for anything.

*****

	"Usagi?" 
	My eyes blinked open to find a blurry Ami in front of me, that same sympathetic 
smile plastered on her face. I sighed and yawned as I punched the button on my safety 
belt. She drew back from the car and allowed me to exit onto the tar below. I stretched 
silently; I could feel her eyes on me and I tensed uncomfortably as I turned to face her. 
She had my sparse luggage in her hands and she motioned to the lot across the street. It 
was funny; the last time I had been to her home, I hadn't remembered parking this far 
away. 
	"I'm going to have to return to the hospital to deliver some papers, but I've 
already called ahead and had Marta prepare a room for you, as well as dinner." She said 
loudly over the whirling breeze that whipped behind us as a black sedan passed at break-
neck speed. I glanced back cautiously, marveling at how close it had come to slamming 
right into us. Ami didn't seem to notice, and journeyed farther towards the gate bordering 
her palatial home. "I won't be gone much more than an hour." 
	We stepped onto the sidewalk safely and she turned to give me a stern look. 
	"I plan to talk about this when I get back. I think it'd be a good idea." She stated 
simply, glaring seriously at me. I nodded mutely as she handed me my case and then 
threw her arms around my neck. "Daijobu, Usagi-chan." I gave my bravest smile and 
then turned towards the quarter-mile driveway that lead to the front door. Ami turned 
around and jogged back to her waiting blue Mercury across the street and I sighed 
dejectedly. I wasn't relishing the thought of spending the next hour, lumbering about in 
this stark home. However I knew that my heart was wallowing in secret self-pity, and it 
ached to mourn aloud. Privacy was perhaps the best thing. 

*****

	"Chiba-san?" 
	I glanced up from the book I was struggling to read. Marta, the Mizuno 
household's full-time maid, stood silently at my door, hands clasped in front of her, 
smiling hollowly towards me. I put my book next to me and nodded.
	"You have a phone call in the kitchen." 
	I glanced to my left, where the same ivory princess phone sat, same as the night 
before, and I thought back. Had it rung? Was there more than one line in this house? I 
sighed; that was inevitable. 
	I slipped off the stark white bedspread and shoved my feet into the slippers that 
sat, partially hidden by the mattress skirt, on the cream carpeting. I padded quietly after 
the small, older woman and finally arrived at the cordless phone that lay on the counter 
beside the stove. Marta continued the task of washing the dishes she had left off with, and 
I simply snagged the receiver and walked obliviously to the dinning room. I looked down 
blankly at the item in my hands. Was it Mamoru? I looked at my watch. It was only 5, 
what would he be doing home at this time? 
	My heart pounded and I tentatively pressed the 'talk' button and lifted it up to my 
ear. 
	"Moshi moshi?" 
	"Chiba Usagi?" The voice asked in a business-like tone. My forehead furrowed in 
thought. 
	"Hai?" I replied. My voice must have shown my confusion, because the person on 
the other end chuckled good naturedly. 
	"Gomen, Chiba-san. This is Ayashi-san; We spoke the other day in my office?" 
	I exhaled and let a small smile of relief cross my lips. 
	"Of course. Gomen, Ayashi-san." 
	"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to touch base with you, and ask if it would be 
possible to meet again within the next few days. I hope to have your final papers drawn 
up by Friday." 
	My eyes drifted downwards. Friday. That would mean I could deliver them to 
Mamoru over the weekend. This would be his last rest before he started preparing for his 
first day in court. I knew how important that was to him, and while I could still taste the 
bitterness and sadness, there was a part of me that didn't want to ruin his concentration 
during this crucial period of the case. 
	"That sounds OK." I hesitated. "Will I need to get the signed papers to you by any 
set time? Is there a limit?" 
	"No, not really. There's no rush. However, the sooner we get those in order, the 
sooner we can set a court date, and the sooner the whole ordeal can be over." He replied. 
My stomach plunged. I could hear his tone lighten slightly, and I pictured this gentle man 
giving this same speech hundreds of times a week, to every distraught house-wife who 
came to his office with such difficult plans. Somehow, that fact didn't make me feel 
much better. "I know how hard it can be a when a divorce is drawn out. I simply wish to 
avoid that." 
	I looked down at my lap and watched a few tears stained my skirt. I let out a 
laugh that I'm sure didn't sound nearly as confident as I had intended. "Don't worry. I 
don't think anything can make this any easier on anyone." 
	"I'm sure. I'll give you another call when I have the final draft in my hands, all 
right, Chiba-san?" He asked. 
	"Fine. I'll talk to you soon then."
	"Good-bye."
	I hung up and set the phone on the table cloth and then laid my head next to it and 
sighed. I pulled my arms up under my cheek and just glared at the receiver. I must have 
been extremely out of sorts when I had gone to see Ayashi-san the other day. I couldn't 
even remember telling him where I would be staying, all though it made logical sense. He 
would obviously need to get a hold of me, and I had assumed that I would be at Ami's. I 
closed my eyes mercifully and let a solitary tear cascade down my cheek, eventually 
drifting onto the lace table covering. I was slowly but surely feeling my mind slip from 
my grasp; I was forgetting things now, and I wondered when it would all be gone. When 
would I just stop caring and give everything up?

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

Some of you who have read this already may have noticed that I graciously left out the 
practical joke Chapter Four where I killed off Usagi in the end. It caused a lot of heart-ache, 
pain, depression and hysteria (namely on my part from readers who threatened to maim me), 
so I opted against it. I think I'd like to keep my legs, and I've already hid the frying pans, so 
I'm safe. For now....

That's all I had to say, but somethings missing.... Oh, duh.

MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAAAANNNNNGGSSSSST!

slr_europa@yahoo.com

http://www.geocities.com/sailorananke/

AIM :: SeeShelliRun