Act 3. Naru: Moving On
"I'm really worried about her."
Usagi could scarcely spare Ami a glance as they walked along the pavement, their schoolbags clutched in front of their legs and bumping up and down with the rhythm of their steps. This had been something she was avoiding thinking about lately. How could she live with herself? Her friend had been out "sick" for nearly a week, and she had barely even tried to visit her twice. It was simply easier to mentally check out and avoid the entire situation.
The fact that Naru Osaka had lost someone very dear to her was a very large part of what complicated matters. Just because she had no idea Masato Sanjouin was the same person as Nephrite of the Dark Kingdom didn't mean it was easy for Usagi to let the matter go. How could she care for him as if he were a real man? How could he have been an agent of evil, frequently sending monsters after herself and Rei and Ami, her close friends and fellow Sailor Senshi, and Naru never see it, never question why he was so evasive when she would attempt to get closer to him? It boggled her bun-headed brain.
"Me, too," was all she wound up saying as they walked. Then she sighed. "Do you want to come to Crown with me today?"
"The Game Center or Fruits?"
"Either one. Just… to relax for a little while."
Ami didn't exactly look thrilled with the idea. The reason was revealed a second later when she said, "I'm taking an extracurricular math course, hoping to improve my high school placement scores. And I need to study for tomorrow's assignment. Sorry."
"Oh."
"Why don't you go and see her? I'm sure once you do, you'll probably feel a lot better."
Frowning down at her shoes, she sighed and said, "You're right. Just, like… it's hard. He was the Enemy! How are we supposed to forget about that?"
"Believe me, it's hard for me, as well. And for Rei. But I can appreciate that to Naru-san, Nephrite was a completely different person. And maybe… she's the one who was right about him."
"You think so? I mean… I know he seemed really different at the end there, but like, if he's not around to put his money where his mouth is…" She squirmed uncomfortably. It was hard, since she always wanted to see the best in people. But when it came to the enemies of the Moon Kingdom, they had done so much widespread damage to humanity that was it was a lot more of an uphill battle for her to give them any second chances. Even in memoriam.
Ami had stopped walking. Usagi was about to cross the street when she noticed, wobbled for a second, then went down like a tonne of bricks. Rolling her eyes, Ami paced over and helped her up.
"Try not to think of this as being about Nephrite. Think of it as… Naru lost a friend. One you didn't know — considering that none of us knew him the way she did, he may as well be a separate person. Focus on Naru and what she's going through."
Nodding, Usagi looked sufficiently chagrined as she brushed off her knees. "You're right, I guess. I'm… yeah, I'll go over there right now."
"Good. That's the spirit."
"Thanks for the pep talk!" Then she dashed toward a side street that would take her to Naru's apartment.
~ o ~
The room was dark when Usagi creaked open the door. Her mother had let her right in, hoping that she could help figure out why her daughter was "being unreasonable". Considering the only explanation Mrs. Osaka had was that she had an older friend who suddenly passed away and no more details than that, it wasn't that hard to understand why she had little empathy for her grieving daughter.
Second to the darkness, Usagi noticed the smell and her nose wrinkled. It was a little ripe in there. Not bad enough that she needed a gas mask, but she certainly couldn't see herself hanging around for very long. Unless her nose started to get used to it after a while.
"Naruuuu-chaaaan!" she called out cheerfully. This was one of the first times in her life she could remember having to do this as an act; normally, she really was in a good mood, but now she was feigning it for Naru's sake. "It's the weekend! Come play the new Sailor V at the Game Center!"
Her friend's matted red hair turned in her direction very slightly from where she sat curled in on herself, back against the headboard. The blanket was still draped over her knees, though it only looked as if she had sat up from where she was sleeping to put it there. The dark circles under her eyes told a very clear story of sleepless nights and crying. It only took a second for her face to turn away, back to the blinds drawn in front of the window.
"It's a gorgeous day!" Goose-stepping across the room, she pulled the blinds open, ignoring the slight grunt from the bed. Maybe it was a little selfish, but she also threw the window open so the wind could freshen the stale air.
"Ngh…"
Hopping back over to the bed, she sat on the edge of it and smiled at Naru. "Hey, I was also thinking — we're a little young, but maybe we if we went with Ami and Rei, we could all go to Okinawa or something! Wouldn't that be great? Beaches, stuffing ourselves with soba and tonkatsu, sightseeing?"
No response.
"Hmm… maybe we need to wait for the break; a weekend isn't long enough to really have fun. Well, what about going to the movies? Feels like forever since we saw a movie together."
Nothing. Her arms curled a little tighter around her knees, but her expression was just as dead and empty as it had been before. Usagi was trying not to let it affect her; she had sworn going in that her one mission was to cheer her up, and not to let the gloom spread in the other direction. That wasn't going to help anyone.
"Alright, we're going to the Game Center today, at least." No response, but she didn't expect one. So instead of trying to talk to her more, she started pulling her from the bed by the arm. "C'mon, let's go."
"Ugh…" Naru winced, and she was frowning, but she also wasn't fighting her.
Once down the hall, she pushed her into the bathroom and sat her on the toilet while she got the water running. Naru did get up and try to go back to her room once, but Usagi catching her arm was enough to get her to give up that fight instantly. Seemed that actually putting effort into something was even less desirable than being forced to bathe.
"You take care of this, and I'll go find some clean clothes," she ordered once the water was drawn. "And then we'll have a nice day out. Sound good?" No answer, of course. "Faaaabulous! Let's do it!"
Once she was out of the bathroom, having briefly stayed to watch Naru roll her eyes and start peeling off her shirt, Usagi could let her own smile drop. She felt awful. It was harder than she thought, maintaining a facade of cheeriness when all she wanted was to cry for her friend. Even if she didn't understand why she cared so much about the ex-villain, the last thing she wanted was for Naru to be in pain.
When she came back, she was at least satisfied to see her friend in the bath, though she didn't look any better otherwise. Usagi shoved her head underwater, which at least got her limbs flailing, then pulled her back up once her hair was good and damp.
"Usa-chan, what the HELL?!"
"Oh, so you don't have laryngitis?" Usagi laughed easily. "Good! Was kinda worried for a minute there." She received a grunt in response as she began to shampoo her, working the suds up into a lather.
"Shut up."
Shaking her head as she took a washbowl and collected some water, she said, "Sorry, I can't. If you won't say more than five words to me, then I gotta be the one to keep up the whole conversation." No reply, again, so she dumped the water over her head, rinsing away the shampoo. "Feels weird doing this in the tub instead of outside it. So Western."
"Sure."
"Naru… I'm sorry I didn't come by earlier. Just didn't know what to say after you wouldn't talk to me last time." Silence. "Like, I wanted to think of something else to say, but…"
"Don't worry about it."
"Okay. Um… how have you been?" No reply as she handed her a washcloth. Naru only stared at it, so she put the bar of soap in the middle to help prompt her along. It worked; she sighed and started lathering it up. "Okay, um, I'm gonna get out of here. But if you take more than like, fifteen minutes, I'm coming back in to wash your butt for you."
"Usaaaa," she whined out in sheer frustration and annoyance. But finally, she looked over her shoulder at Usagi's expression for a few seconds before casting her teal eyes back down into the water. "Fine."
"Great! See you in a few!"
Once outside the bathroom, she moved off to the kitchen to dry off her arms. She hadn't wanted to hang around in there, since she could tell Naru was about at her wit's end with her.
"Were you able to get through to her?" Naru's mother asked when she followed her in there.
"Not really," Usagi sighed, leaning back against the counter. "But I got her to take a bath? Like, that's better than nothing, right?"
The woman sighed, and somehow even the sigh was elegant. Mayumi Osaka was a lot more glamorous than her daughter, wavy hair always short and sporty, yet perfectly crimped and soft-looking, wearing the jewellery pieces from her own shop that complemented her figure and features best. Usagi always wondered if that was why Naru kept her own sense of style rather simple; when your mother always looked almost too perfect, why try to compete?
"I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong. Yes, I understand this friend's death was a tragedy, but it's been a week now. She should at least be able to go back to school, come to dinner. I've had to leave her food at the door, and sometimes she doesn't even eat it…"
Usagi wasn't sure what to do. How does one go about comforting a grown-up? That was definitely nothing she had ever needed to do before. So she only shrugged and said, "Hey, she yelled at me when I dunked her head underwater to get it wet, so if she's strong enough to yell, I guess she's okay, right?'
"Suppose so. Anyway, thank you for trying." She flashed her a tight smile and moved off to check on her daughter.
~ o ~
Half an hour later, Naru was dressed and in her room, sitting on her desk chair. Usagi had to cajole and prod her a little more to get her ready to leave, but she did it with few vocal complaints. Then they were on their way to Game Center Crown. She thought Naru really looked sweet with her blue-and-white-striped top and her khaki shorts, but she didn't seem to care either way.
"So!" she burst out with a huge smile. "What about a movie later? Like, the newest one from Ghibli? We could… go see that after the Game Center!"
Still nothing, but she was at least putting one foot in front of the other. After a few seconds, Usagi reached over to take her hand and began swinging it back and forth. She was pretty worried that she would fling her arm away, or at least dig her nails in to cause her slight pain, but no such thing occurred. She simply accepted the reality that she was going to be hanging out with her today.
Even if she didn't seem to like it much.
When they got to Crown, they walked into the Game Center with vastly different expressions. Usagi's remained hopeful, but Naru looked dead inside. She was hoping no one else would notice. It didn't take long for her to spot Ami and Rei crowded around a Sailor V machine, and she started leading the both of them over to it.
"Hey!" Ami said immediately, smiling sweetly at Naru. "It's good to see you!" Rei remained focused on her gameplay, of course; she had been bound and determined to get as good at the game as Ami was without even trying. She was already almost as good as Usagi, despite having played it far less.
"Rrrrgh! These stupid monsters are really gonna get it now!" Obviously not improving much today.
"Naru was looking a little pale, so I thought maybe she needed to get out for a while!" Usagi provided, feeling stupid for having to make a weird excuse. But she hoped that would be less weird than if she didn't make one, and Naru just stayed silent.
"Of course, of course." Ami seemed hesitant to pat her arm, but she made herself do it. There wasn't much reaction. "Would she like to play? I've got plenty of spare change…"
"She can hear just fine," Naru sighed, though she didn't look like she wanted to be talking. Even Rei looked up at that, a little concern in her gaze. "Just… don't like talking much right now."
After a brief silence, a horrible noise came from Rei's machine of squealing death. She suddenly whipped around with a muttered "Damn!" and tried to save her last life.
"See? I'm already bringing everybody down just being here. Sorry…"
"What?" Ami gasped, blinking in shock. "Oh, don't worry, you aren't bringing-"
Naru left so fast that Usagi didn't have a chance to snag her first. Barely glancing back at her other friends, she had to dash out afterward and chase her a few blocks before she caught up to her. Plenty of passerby gave startled cries or had to leap out of the way, but she couldn't spare them any concern when all of hers was focused on one person.
"Let me go, Usagi!"
"Why are you running? Come on, Rei didn't really care that she lost that game! We all care a lot more about you than about Sailor V!"
"I don't know why! I'm just…" Her hands came up to pull at her freshly-brushed hair as her eyes screwed down shut. "I don't care about anything anymore! Masato's gone! I couldn't save him, I couldn't… Sailor Moon had to help me, and she couldn't save him, either! And why did I have to fall for him if he was a bad guy? He never was to me, b-but Zoisite said… he used to work with them! Whoever they are! What's wrong with me?!"
They were both quiet for a moment, Naru quivering with the effort of trying to hold in such a huge explosion of some emotion or another that neither of them was sure what it would be. Tears were already pricking at the corners of Usagi's eyes, but she was determined not to be the "big baby" everyone thought she was this time.
"Naru… it's not you, there's… nothing wrong with you, okay? Oh my God, I'm so sorry you thought…"
"There is," she whispered when Usagi didn't finish her sentence right away. "I fell for the wrong guy! Like you kept acting like going out with that Mamoru creep was the worst idea in the world, but Masato was an actual killer! Wasn't he? I m-mean, I know you wouldn't know, but like, if he was friends with those crazy monster people…"
Biting her tongue so she wouldn't give anything away about her secret identity, she slid her arm tightly around Naru's shoulders and pulled her in close. She tried to pull away — actually fought back against the hug, and she felt a few tears spill over at that.
"Naru, I'm not trying to hurt you! C'mon, it's me! We've known each other our whole lives, right? You can just… anything you need to say, or yell at me, o-or whatever, I'm not going anywhere! Okay?"
"But I don't want you to stay! Makes it too hard to… to punish myself f-for ignoring your warnings!"
That took Usagi aback. "Warnings? What do you mean, 'punish'? You don't have to-"
"I remember what you said," she growled through her teeth. "About him being bad, a-and I didn't wanna see it, didn't wanna know anything like that about him because he was so glamorous and strong, handsome, and he was paying attention to me! B-but he was probably just using me…"
"I'm sorry, Naru! I wasn't… I just wanted to protect you, but like, I didn't know for sure he'd turn out to be a jerk, it was just… I mean, an older guy wanting to date a girl our age? Kinda fishy… but that isn't saying you're not worth it! Don't be ridiculous, I know you are!"
"How am I worth it? Me, who's got nothing goin' for her but… well, nothing! Lame hair, lame clothes, decent grades that won't get me in anywhere besides a junior college!"
With a slight laugh, she squeezed Naru a little more. "Like I'll even get in there. Seriously, don't sweat all this right now, okay? We have years before that even happens." Naru pulled to get away from her again, and she let her go this time. But when she felt herself being released, the other girl turned with a bleak expression.
"I'm sorry, Usa-chan. I really am… it's just too soon. My head's not right." Shaking it out, she whispered, "Can I come by tomorrow, maybe? I'll… if I'm not…"
"Yeah," she told her, so that she wouldn't have to keep trying to finish her sentence. "Sure, tomorrow. And Naru?"
"Yeah?"
"Love you. I hope you know that."
The other girl's cheeks began to get back some of their colour as she forced a slight smile. "You're sweet. Lying, but it's sweet. See ya."
"Later."
Even though being accused of lying felt awful, she forced herself not to respond to it. Naru was right; her mental state was the lowest it had ever been. This wasn't the 'real' Naru talking, but it some ways, it was the realest version of her she'd ever seen; her grief was dissolving her tatemae, that public politeness that most people used to hide their honne — their true feelings. But she also knew that the grief was changing her honne, warping it from the way Naru would normally be, her feelings and hopes and dreams. It was literally a broken heart. Only time could heal that, not just Usagi trying to cheer her up.
"Usagi?" When she turned back, she saw Naru was waving from a little further along the street. "You're a great friend! Me, not so much, but you are for sure! Okay?"
"Okay!" she called back. She wanted to argue with her, but had a feeling that would go nowhere fast. Might as well leave it for tomorrow.
~ o ~
She didn't hear from Naru the next day. Luckily, their school was one of the ones that had a five-day schoolweek, so she didn't have to endure staring at Naru's empty seat again. Filling the day with manga-reading and hanging out with the Senshi helped distract her from worrying.
Sunday, she had just about given up on her, as well, but before dinner she heard the doorbell, and then her mother's voice calling for her. Sighing, she put down the Jump she had been flipping through without any true interest and clomped down the stairs to see if maybe Ami had dropped by to tutor her again.
Instead, it was Naru.
"Oh!" she found herself gasping. "What are you doing here?"
"Usagi, don't be rude," her mother muttered out the side of her mouth, one of her eyebrows twitching even as her polite smile remained in place.
"Thank you, Ikuko-san," Naru said with a very formal bow. Even though she was usually quite comfortable calling her "Auntie Ikuko" or "okaasan", since they grew up around each other so much, there was something different about her today. Usagi wasn't sure what it was, but she was wearing nice clothes and makeup, and her behaviour was very stiff. "I was wondering if I might borrow your daughter for the evening?"
The woman laughed, elbowing Usagi very gently. "Would you listen to Naru? She sounds like a boy asking you to dinner." That made Usagi grimace; she was definitely not looking forward to going through that in the future with her parents. Any mention of a boy sniffing around their daughter seemed to effortlessly send her dad into a frenzy.
"Well, I might not be a boy, but I am asking Usa-chan to dinner. To pay her back for trying to cheer me up Friday." Her smile was very shy, and she was still bowing a little, even if she had mostly straightened. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all! I'm just glad to hear that my daughter is doing something other than eating sweets and tormenting Shingo." At the words "doing something", Usagi was already turning to run upstairs and get her purse. That way, she could ignore any further teasing, and the laughter that followed.
Once away from the house, she asked Naru, "You really want to get me food? I mean, I'm not… y'know, I would have done that for you anytime, it's not something you need t-"
"I was a real wreck," she told her right away. "You put up with me, and I appreciate that. It wouldn't be right not to show you somehow instead of just saying 'thanks', so like… yeah, just let me?"
"Okay," she muttered, poking her index fingers into each other nervously. "Maybe just ice cream?"
"No way," she teased, holding up her hand to forestall her. "This is gonna be a big deal! Fancy dinner, then ice cream, and then maybe karaoke! Really wanna make up for lost time, y'know?"
"Cool! I mean, do you wanna go by a payphone and invite Ami? I know Rei would probably just drag us down-"
"Nah. This is about me and you, Usa-chan. Best friends forever."
Something about the way she said that made it feel more important than usual. Her heart squeezed in her chest as she looked at the smile on Naru's face, and felt one growing on her own. "Okay then, that's great, too! An 'old friends' day just for us."
"YES!" she shouted, pumping her fist into the air. "Ain't nobody gonna stop us now!" Usagi giggled, and grabbed her arm so they could skip along down the road.
First, she took Usagi to a nice sushi restaurant. Not that Usagi liked sushi all that much, but she was flattered that Naru wanted to spend her pocket money on her like that. They talked about anime and manga, movies, boys; nothing of consequence. Basically, learning to be around each other again after a week of isolation. It was nice, even if a little strained in the beginning. They were just out of practice.
After that, Naru said they could head straight for the karaoke place and just order some sweets there, which was fine by Usagi. Really, anything her friend wanted at that point, she was more than willing to indulge her; maybe she needed the control. After losing her would-be boyfriend to circumstances she couldn't control, that made total sense.
"Let's go to that one," she said, pointing to a reasonably-priced place. "Their boxes are totally private; I'm not interested in anybody poking their nose in and making fun of my voice."
"But I like your voice!" Usagi reassured her. It earned her a wider smile. "But that's fine by me; I can't afford the higher-end places, either, and the cheap places are so scuzzy."
Giggling, she said, "Told you, I'm paying. Oh — you go in and book us the room." She handed her a decent-sized bill. "I'm gonna pop over there and get something."
Usagi followed her gaze and saw Naru meant a row of vending machines. It was true, there were high prices inside karaoke joints for everything, so if she got a drink or gum or whatever from those machines, it would help them save their money for desserts and more time in the room. "Roger! I won't fail you, sir!"
"You're a loon," she snorted as they split up.
Not long after, they were being shown to their box. Naru had been right, the door only had a small window in it with a curtain on the inside that could be drawn, instead of most of the door being frosted glass, or glass with a large emblem on it. Maybe she was afraid she would have another breakdown, and didn't want to risk the public display.
"Cozy," Usagi giggled as they looked around. For a few seconds, they just took in the room with its semi-comfortable orange couches, the cheerful white wallpaper with the multicoloured dots. Then Naru went to get some of the song catalogues from the tiny bookshelf so they could start flipping through to look for a song to choose.
"How about, um, 'Midnight Taxi'?" she suggested, pointing to the selection. "I love Miho's voice…"
"That one's so sad and gloomy," Usagi grumbled. Then hastily added, "O-oh, but if you want to sing it, I'm sure you'd sound great!"
Shaking her head, she said, "You're right, it's… gloomy. What about 'Mellow'? At least the music's a little more upbeat."
"Uh-huh! Yeah, sing 'Mellow'!"
So Naru did. Usagi wanted to order food, but she decided to just listen to her friend sing. No one would have faulted her for not wanting to do this where anyone else could witness it; her voice was sweet, but she definitely didn't have any kind of future as a pop idol. All the same, Usagi was content just to sit back and watch her friend lose herself in singing along with the lyrics on the screen. Way better that she do that than still be moping around.
Of course, the lyrics were just as lovelorn as those to "Midnight Taxi", but at least they went along with a happier beat. And she knew Naru probably needed the catharsis after everything she had been through with Nephrite.
After that, they discussed sweets, and Usagi sang the theme song to Yuyu Hakusho, which Naru teased her about but she didn't care. In fact, she continued to annoy her with the theme from Ranma ½, and was just about to move on to Hime-chan no Ribbon when Naru forcibly removed the microphone from her hands.
"Boooo!" she called out as she laughed and wrestled it away from her, stocking foot jammed into her neck to keep her away as she cradled the microphone against her chest. "Unfair, unfair! I just want to sing my songs!"
"All you like is stuff from anime!" They only struggled for another moment before Usagi gave up and flopped backward. Then they both had to take a few breaths, Naru giggling as she sat up. "Alright, you can sing it, but I want a turn first, okay?"
Pouting, she added, "Shouldn't have made fun of my songs if you wanted that!" But Naru was already flipping through one of the books, so she turned her attention to the menu. "Hmm… maybe just something small? Or we get this huge sundae, and split it!"
"Yeah, okay," Naru said absentmindedly. "I'm not that hungry after dinner, so whatever you want's fine."
"Or we could eat what you got from the machine. What was it, anyway?"
The smirk that came from Naru was a craftier one than she was expecting in response to a simple question like that. But she understood why when Naru reached into her purse and brought out…
"BEER?!"
"Shhh!" she hissed at her in warning, waving her other hand frantically. "Keep it down, willya?! It's just one!"
"But we're in junior high! I mean, I know nobody's gonna care that much, but I didn't think I'd try anything like that until high school!"
Already cracking open the can, coughing to cover the sound of the perforated metal seal being broken and the hiss of air, Naru set it down on the table and then fixed Usagi with an impatient stare. "Look. I've had a rough few days, and I'm tired of not experiencing anything. Just… don't be some kinda prude, okay? You don't have to have any, but if you rat me out-"
"I wasn't going to, geeze!" Though Usagi still had to keep glancing at the can. True, she had tried sake before once, at some party where her parents were having some, and that had been a few years ago. But it was only one sip; this was an entire can for Naru's little one-and-a-half meters. It seemed like a lot.
"Is this really going to make you uncomfortable?" She glanced at the can, frowning. "Crap, I already opened it…"
"N-no, it's fine," she assured her with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head. "Hey, maybe I'll try it! It's… something we can say we did today!"
After studying Usagi's face for a moment, making sure she was really going to be alright with this, Naru nodded. "Yeah. Just not to our parents." They shared a smile, and she knocked back a huge gulp. Then she made a face and set it down. "Ugh! Oh wow, that tastes weird!"
"Really?" She tried it, and made a similar face. "Eww, it's bitter! I thought it would taste more like Coca-Cola!"
"Why Coca-Cola?"
"Well, it's brown, isn't it?" Naru giggled, and Usagi smiled through her cheeks reddening. "Shut up!"
"Nope! Now all brown drinks are the same to Usagi! Beer is Coke, coffee is Coke!"
"HEY!"
Once they figured out what sweets to order, Naru suddenly had to figure out how to hide the beer. In the end, they just set it next to their bags and threw Naru's gauzy blue cardigan over the top of everything. The attendant who delivered their things never noticed. What they wound up getting was a large sundae, some french fries, a Pocari Sweat and, of course, a Coca-Cola. A little comparison verified that beer was definitely not anything like that.
"Oh, I'm so winded!" Naru breathed out as she flopped back on the couch. She was being a little silly; Usagi knew that it was because for every sip of the beer she'd taken, Naru took five or six. It was a touch disconcerting, but then again she didn't want to pass judgment. After all, she'd never lost a friend like this.
After a second's contemplation, she scooped up one of the last bites of sundae, already melting and gooey, and held the spoon up. "Hey, have some more of this."
"No thanks. I just wanna keep singing! Sing all night!"
"All night?! We didn't pay for that long!"
"So we'll pay more when the phone rings to tell us we gotta get out! C'mon!" She went up to punch in the numbers on the machine again, so she could belt out yet another old idol hit that Usagi barely knew. Even if it was a little annoying dealing with her like this, at least it was entertaining to watch.
After that song, Naru did at least munch on one of the cold fries while finishing off the can of beer. Apropos of nothing, she commented, "It's not so bad, once you get used to it."
"What? Oh, the beer?"
"Uh-huh." She let out a loud belch, then slapped both hands over her mouth, the beer can bouncing across the floor. By the time it came to a rest, she was completely red in the face. "Oh my GOD…"
To fill the following silence, Usagi laughed and patted her back. "It's alright, had to come out sometime!"
"Noooo, I sounded disgusting!" She bowed low, hair brushing Usagi's knee below the hem of her shorts. "Forgive me!"
"Oh, stop," she snorted, pushing at her shoulder. "It's not that big a deal."
Slowly, Naru slumped forward until her face was pushing into the knee below. "Mmm… your skin is so soft. Did you know about that? Well, of course — it's your skin! Just Naru being dumb again."
This left Usagi completely stunned. What the hell was she doing? Of course, she knew it wasn't completely Naru; it was the beer mixing with the grieving process. So eventually, she just petted over her hair and said, "My mom was right; you do act like a boy who wants to show me a good time. Now you're trying to get into my shorts."
"Oooh, somebody has a high opinion of herself," Naru joked, poking her in exactly the wrong spot due to Usagi having mentioned it. Its owner let out a puff of exasperated air. "Squishy!"
Both of her cheeks were blazing by now. "N-Naru, no! Stop that!" Another poke made her tingle all over, so she quickly snatched the wrist of the hand and held it away. "Why are you… I mean, do you need me to get you some water?"
"I'm fiiiiine."
"No, you're not. Like, if we weren't both girls, I'd think you were coming onto me."
One of Naru's shoulders shrugged. "So what if we're both girls?"
"NARU!"
That finally seemed to snap her out of her dazed, drunken rambling. Eyes widening, she sat back, blinking a few times before she stared up at Usagi. "Oh… oh no, that was probably weird, I didn't…" Both of her eyebrows knitted together. "What was I saying? What was I doing?"
"Y-you were getting a little handsy, yeah," she said, trying to laugh it off. Though she could still feel Naru's face against her leg. Not so much the finger going where no one else's finger had gone before; that was too brief and too bizarre for her to be able to hang onto it. Maybe her own mind was hazy from the few sips of beer in her own stomach.
"I'll go," Naru promised as she stood, then wobbled. "Ooh… oh, I'm…"
She began to tip to one side. Having to use her Sailor Moon instincts, Usagi snapped her arms out and managed to grasp Naru's body, then stood and rolled so that she effectively slung her friend into the seat she had just left, laying her across the sofa.
"AH!" she burst out.
"Are you alright?!" she demanded, leaning over her. "Let me get you some water! Yeah, that's-"
"Wait…" A hesitant hand reached up to brush over Usagi's neck. "I… I'm alright… thank you. You're saving me again. How do you do that? How do you always know just what I need?"
The colour rushed back into her cheeks, which must have looked so blotchy given how pale she was just before. Naru was acting even weirder than the "weird" she had already observed in her, but it was still better than a couple of days prior when she had been little better than a zombie. So all she whispered was, "I'm your best friend forever, right? It's my job to… do what I can."
"You'd probably make a great boyfriend. Too bad you ain't a boy."
"I thought you were the boy," she tried for with a slight smile. "Picking me up, wining and dining me. Getting me drunk and alone in a karaoke box."
"Stop it," she giggled softly, though it was still a touch more shy than usual. "I'm just trying to feel something again."
Heart breaking afresh, Usagi whispered, "I'm sorry, Naru. I want to help you feel, help your heart get better, I just… don't know how. But you can't give up, okay?"
Swallowing hard, she nodded that she had heard her. Then she breathed, "Help me feel…"
The kiss was almost a given in retrospect. Drunken and sloppy, and sweet, and frantic, and Usagi didn't know how to stop it. Her hands tried to push Naru back down, but the minute they wrapped around her shoulders, she couldn't do anything other than kiss back, to feel those soft lips sliding all around her own, the bitterness of beer lacing with the sweetness of ice cream. They both moaned at nearly the same moment, apparently deciding it wasn't yet time to break apart even though the voice in the back of Usagi's mind was screaming for her to consider the consequences. All she wanted was to let Naru do all the exploring she wanted.
Maybe they both wanted. Scary as that thought was.
By the time their mouths broke apart, they were on the floor between the sofa and the table, panting and flushed and bearing a light sheen of sweat. All concept of time was gone; it could have been seconds, or half an hour. Naru looked completely dazed, but definitely not displeased if the way her hands were clinging to her back was any indication.
"Usa-chan…" Her bottom lip trembled as their bodies slid over each other slightly, and Usagi felt a tingling that she'd only felt a handful of times before. This was a mistake. They weren't in the right state of mind to make wise decisions, and she was only going to make worse ones.
"Naru, I d-don't… I think we sh-"
"Usagi… m-move!"
Startled, Usagi jumped off of her just in time to stand back and let Naru rush to the trash can. It took her a moment, but she was able to stumble after her and pull back her hair so she could empty the contents of her stomach into the bin, feeling thoroughly chagrined. What she was worried might be a confession of love turned out to be impending vomit.
After they cleaned off Naru's mouth and she downed a little more Pocari to get rid of the taste, they got the call that their time was up. Rather than hanging around and dealing with the potential fallout of what they had just done, especially when they were still alone in a private space, they cleared out of the room, throwing the beer can away once outside. Then Usagi dragged her into a MOS Burger to get something quick and greasy that would hopefully help Naru feel less wobbly, based on advice she'd heard her father telling her little brother — even if it made her mother smack him on the shoulder for telling such a young boy things he shouldn't need to know for many more years.
"Thanks, Usagi-chan," she sighed as she walked, leaning on her shoulder while Usagi supported her around her waist. "I'm so embarrassed… I feel like the worst friend in the world."
"Don't be ridiculous. I know you've had… well, 'a rough week' is kind of an understatement."
"Yeah. But you were right, I gotta remember that I'm still here, and you guys are, too. And… and I'm gonna miss him for a long time, but that doesn't mean I quit living."
"Did I say all that?" she giggled. "Doesn't sound like me, sounds more like Ami or someone."
"You're a lot smarter than you act like you are," she teased, poking Usagi — this time in the stomach, thank goodness. "Anyway… I'm serious, thanks for trying to get me outta my funk."
Giggling, mostly from the poke, she said, "No problem. I mean, I'd say you moved on a little if you're already getting hammered and trying to make out with me!"
Though Usagi was laughing up a storm at that, Naru wasn't. Just smiling and clinging to her friend as they walked. Eventually, she breathed, "Yeah… pretty hilarious."
"Eh? I m-mean, um, not that the idea of it being you is hilarious! Just us, together… two girls, best friends… that's ridiculous. We'll both find men, won't we?"
"Maybe I'm done with men. Maybe now I just want an onee-sama to treat me right." When Usagi made a choking noise, she just squeezed her closer. "Okay, okay, you're right; that's stupid, calling you the older sister."
"Whew."
"I'm taller by a couple centimeters. Pretty sure that makes me the onee-sama."
And while Usagi was still trying to form any thoughts about that whatsoever, having been lulled into a false sense of relief and now trying to figure out where they actually stood, Naru stopped, leaned over and took her lips softly. But it was a much more chaste, brief, sober kiss than before… yet at the same time, even more flustering because it was planned, and purposeful, and patient. In the karaoke, she had been too shocked and slightly buzzed from the sips of beer to even know what to think, but now…
She didn't hate it.
"Anyway, thanks for a great first date," Naru whispered when she pulled away, eyes twinkling and voice rich with amusement. Was she kidding, or was she actually serious?
"I… I'm… we… I… Naru…"
"My thoughts exactly. Goodnight, imouto."
As Usagi watched her go dumbly, then made her own wandering way home, she couldn't help trying to figure out how she had gone from "best friend" to "little sister" in such a short period of time. Or how she had not only let Naru kiss her, but practically have been encouraging it by the end. And she wasn't sure whether or not this was an odd crush, a stupid grief-borne mistake, or something deeper. Something that was forbidden between two women, especially once they were older. A change in her relationship with her oldest friend that she couldn't have seen coming.
But one thing was for sure…
"No more beer!" she wound up telling Luna as she paced frantically around her room that night, watching the poor purple cat scamper out of the way so her tail wouldn't get stepped on. "Ever! Not even a drop, not for my whole life, I'm never having more beer again!"
THE END
[Next: Makoto!]