Chapter 7
Of Misgivings and Mistakes

It was an exciting day, or at least it should have been.  It 
was Reika's engagement party.  It felt a little wrong celebrating 
when she had such doubts, but Reika figured that the party couldn't 
hurt.  Besides, it was a gift to Motoki.

It was a little of a surprise when Mamoru Chiba offered to host the 
party.  He and his girlfriend Usagi planned everything; all Reika 
had to do was present the two with a guest list.  They were even 
understanding when she called them two days ago to add three to 
her list.  Admittedly, she was a little worried about how it would 
turn out when it was decided it would be at the arcade...and that 
they weren't going to use outside caterers.  Now she realized that 
all of her fears were unfounded.  The arcade actually looked classy 
after all the decorating and Makoto's food was amazing.  'Maybe
I should get her to cook for the wedding too,' Reika smiled to herself.

She looked across the room.  Motoki was surrounded by friends, still 
receiving congratulations.  He looked so happy.  Reika eyes clouded 
briefly. Since he seemed so happy, so sure, she hadn't been able to 
talk to him about her doubts.  Obviously she must have had them for 
awhile.  How else could she have just up and gone to Africa for a 
year?  None of the other couples she knew would have split for that 
long.  She sighed.  She really hated the feelings of doubt and guilt 
she'd been having lately.  And then there were her dreams.

The dreams were getting weirder.  In her dreams she saw all kinds 
of people, even Mamoru in the oddest outfits, one in particular 
that seemed familiar beyond her dreams - she thought she had seen 
it while in Africa - but that wasn't what disturbed her the most.  
What disturbed her was that Motoki was nowhere in these dreams.  
It was like she was dreaming that she was about to marry someone 
else.  What did that mean for her wedding plans today?

As Reika was about to go seek out her best friend so that she 
could talk to someone and ignore these feelings for awhile, she 
noticed that the arcade door opened and in walked May, along 
with two young men.  

Reika crossed the room and greeted her new friend, "May!  I'm glad 
you could make it."

The other woman smiled, "Hey, I couldn't refuse this invitation.  I 
love parties.  And weddings are exciting!"

"And stressful," Reika added.  "These two men with you must be your 
cousins."

"Yes, forgive me for not introducing them sooner.  This is Terry and 
Yusuke."

Reika looked at the two people with May, who looked nothing like her.
"They must really be distant."

"My family is American military," May explained with a shrug.  
"They tend to intermarry a lot."

"It is nice to meet you.  Congratulations on your engagment," 
Terry said as he smiled and handed Reika a dozen roses.  Yusuke 
just stood there, looking very uncomfortable.

"Thank you," Reika smiled.

"As you can see, of my two cousins, Terry was the one that received
'home training'" May laughed.

"Hey!" Yusuke objected.

"So, can we meet the lucky guy?"  Terry asked.

"Um..." Reika looked over her shoulder.  Motoki was still very 
occupied.  "He's completely surrounded at the moment, and I'd hate 
to interrupt."  

"That's okay," May assured her.  "We can meet him later." She looked 
around, "It looks like you've done a lot of work for this party.  
I'm impressed."

"Oh, I can't take credit for that," Reika admitted.  "One of my 
fiance's friends planned this whole thing with his girlfriend.  I 
just had to show up."  Reika shared.

"Think you could get them to plan your whole wedding?" May laughed.

"Don't I wish!" Reika answered.  

Reika probably would have continued if a dark haired young man hadn't
walked up to her just then.  "Reika-san, Motoki sent me to check on 
you.  How are you enjoying the party?"

"It's great.  Thank you so much for doing this for us."

The young man smiled, "You're welcome.  Usagi and Makoto loved 
working on it away.  It was all they could talk about for weeks."  

"Actually, Mamoru," Reika said, stopping him before he could leave, 
"there are some people I'd like you to meet.  Mamoru, this is May and 
her cousins, Terry and Yusuke," Reika began, pointing out the other 
people with her.  "They were my last minute additions to the guest 
list; May has helped me so much since I met her that I couldn't not 
invite her."  Reika said a few other things, but the four people 
around her didn't notice.

May stared at the young man, not really believing her eyes, or 
her luck.  'I found him.  I found the oldest son.  I didn't think 
he'd be here.  Hoped, but didn't think.  I may be able to pull this 
off in less than a week after all.'

Mamoru was also staring at the group in front of him.  None of them
appeared to be from anywhere around Toyko, but two of them looked a 
lot like him, especially the teen on the right, the one introduced as 
Terry.  He remembered Setsuna's warning about strangers, but he 
couldn't help wondering, 'Who are these people, and why do two of 
them look so much like me?'

Terry was staring at the man in front of him, who could almost be 
a mirror image.  Shocked as he was, he uttered one of his thoughts 
aloud, "You have got to be kidding me."  He turned to May, "It's like 
looking into a mirror."

"Or seeing double," that came from Yusuke, who seemed - for once - as 
stunned as everyone else.

May had decided that now that she had met the oldest son, she had 
to keep his interest.  To do that, May decided to play dirty, even 
though her conscience bristled at the idea of the lie she was about 
to tell.  Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly a lie, but she could lead
up to getting a foot in the door with the young man, it didn't really
matter how it happened.  Did it?

What May actually said was, "He does look like he could be family."

"Do you have family in this area?" Reika asked, giving May an opening
she didn't expect.

"Not anymore," May affected a sad sigh.  "But the accident WAS years
ago."

"Accident? What accident?" Mamoru asked as he took the bait.

Similing inwardly, and ignoring the confusion on Terry's face and
the sputtering of Yusuke, May started to create a little fiction.
"I did have family here for awhile.  Mother was never clear on exactly
how they were related, but she did mention how the boy clearly looked
like Mary and Atsuko's kids," May shared, pointing at Terry and 
Yusuke, ignoring their reaction to her use of thier mother's names.
"They were living here but they suddenly stopped communicating with
us.  After a few years one of the family actually tried looking for
them. That's when we learned about the car accident," May shrugged.

After a few beats of silence, May forced herself to laugh arkwardly.
"That was probably more than you wanted to know.  You aren't the
first person to ever look like Terry," she continued. "I'm sorry.  
You probably think I'm a little crazy."  May smiled as she delivered
what she thought might be the thing that tempted Mr. Chiba to ask
the most questions, "Hey, at least you have a funny story to tell 
your parents about the Americans who thought they were related-"  
May stopped as she saw her quarry's face.  "Um...are you 
alright?"

Mamoru said very quietly, "My parents are dead."

"Oh, oh I'm sorry," May contrived to look embarassed and not guilty 
at this statement. "Now I'm verbose and insensitive.  I really am 
sorry; I didn't-"

"They died in a car accident, a long time ago when I was a little 
boy."

Terry touched his arm in sympathy, which he didn't have to fake.
His own recent loss compelled the teen to share with the man who
looked so much like him, "My father was murdered recently.  It 
hurts like hell to lose a parent.  Sometimes the memories just 
haunt you," Terry finished as his voice dropped off.

If anything, Mamoru's eyes got bleaker, "I was in the accident with 
them, but I don't remember anything that happened in the accident 
or before.  If I had known about other family, I wouldn't have known 
to contact them," the young man said quietly.

At this point, May didn't have to fake the tears in her eyes.  
But these weren't the hopeful tears that Mamoru and Reika would 
assume they were; these were tears of guilt. Having no idea herself
what is was like to lose a parent, she was now not happy that she
used that as a ploy.  Even given what she could offer, it wasn't
worth bringing that bleak look into Mamoru Chiba's eyes.  'What have
I done?' she thought to herself.

What she said, hoping to back off of what she started, was "I'm 
really sorry for bringing this up," May started.  "It is obviously 
painful for you. I-" May floundered for a moment.

But Mamoru filled the pause with a question, "Do you...do you have
any pictures of the family you used to have here?"

May could actually answer the question honestly.  "Yes," she
nodded as she recalled a portrait she had of the three royal 
sons.  she had managed to grab it when she was testing out her
powers, thinking it might be useful.  At least it's existance
kept her from lying futher.

Realizing that she needed time, both to backpeddle and to try 
to think of a way to fix the mess she just created, she quickly
redirected the conversation to Reika "Oh, Reika, I'm sorry.  
Here I am, crying and making everyone upset at your party."  She 
turned to Mamoru, "I would be willing to show you the picture later,"  
May offered, "Since you do seem interested, but I think we should
focus on Reika now.  This is her engagement party, after all." 
"
There was a pause for a second, as if to see how the young man 
would react.  After a few moments, Mamoru, looking both shell-shocked 
and hopeful, nodded.  They began to arrange a time and place to 
meet.  And, although Pluto's warning still rang in his hand, Mamoru 
decided he needed answers more.  Answers that Pluto wasn't providing.

*****

As he thanked another person for their well-wishes, a voice next 
to him said, "It's great to see you so happy.  Liking the party 
so far?"

Motoki turned to see Usagi standing next to him, with a pretty 
big smile on her face.  "Yes.  It was really nice of you and 
Mamoru to do this for me and Reika.  And Makoto's cooking is 
amazing."

"I'm glad you're having fun.  And I'm glad I haven't tripped 
in these heels yet.  Of course, I'll also be glad when the arcade 
is back to normal.  I miss playing the Sailor V game."

Motoki laughed, "The more things change the more they stay the 
same.  Still the same Usagi.  Don't ever change."

Usagi's smiled dimmed a little, "I could probably be a little more
mature and sophisicated.  I mean, I'd hate to embarass Mamo- I 
mean, I'd hate to embarass people around me."

Motoki turned to her, "Usagi, you don't embarass any of us, not 
really.  You have the biggest heart in the world and an innocence 
most of us would love to have back.  We all love you, especially 
Mamoru.  Don't worry so," he finished.  Then, after a pause, he 
asked, "Has Mamoru said anything that made you think-"

"No, no."  Usagi reassured the man who was like the older brother 
she never had.  "I just think sometimes that he'd be happier with 
someone who was older and more mature and smarter than I am.  If 
it wasn't for-" she stopped suddenly, remembering to whmo she was 
talking, finishing with, "I just wonder if things had been 
different, if he would have picked me."

"Usagi," Motoki began, "I have never seen Mamoru happier, more in
touch with the world than when he is with you.  Before you he was
so closed off from everyone, including me.  I used to worry about
him a lot.  Yes, when you first met, it wasn't smooth sailing, 
due mostly to Mamoru's hang-ups.  But you saw beyond that and 
hung in there.  He needs you."  The blond smiled, "Someday,
Reika and I will be planning one of these for you, okay?"  At Usagi's
nod, Motoki said, "Why don't we go find your boyfriend and my
fiancee, okay?"

The two began to look around the room for the most important people 
in their lives.  After looking around for a few minutes, Usagi 
spotted Mamoru walking her direction, and she also saw two people 
who looked familar.  Her eyes widened as she recognized the two 
guys she met in the arcade a few days ago leaving the party
with a strange woman.  Remembering Pluto's warning, Usagi made a
mental note to call another senshi meeting and tell them about 
this occurance.  Those two men might be dangerous.

As Mamoru approached them he seemed to force a smile that didn't 
reach his eyes.  Motoki was too happy to notice, but Usagi did and 
wondered what had happened that caused his eyes to be so sad.  
"Hey Motoki.  Finally got away from the crowd of well-wishers?" 
Mamoru asked as he reached the two blonds.

"Hey, there are worst crowds to be caught in.  Speaking of 
well-wishers, have you seen my fiancee, the reason that I'm 
receiving all of these congratulations?"

"Yes," Mamoru replied as he looked back in the direction from
which he had come.  "She was near the door talking with a friend.  
I just left them."

"Great.  Thanks." Motoki said as he left his friends to meet up 
with his fiancee.

After Motoki left, Mamoru finally looked down at Usagi.  He 
was debating with himself about how much to tell her about the 
conversation he just had, when he noticed the look on Usagi's 
face,  "What's wrong, Usako?"

Usagi mentally shook herself.  Maybe she shouldn't burden him 
with her fears just yet; she might be overreacting, after all.
She wasn't even one hundred percent sure those were the same
guys she had met earlier.  She'd just keep an eye on him the 
rest of the night and tell the others about it in the morning, 
after she talked to Luna.  She forced herself to brighten.  
"Nothing, I just missed you," she said as she gave her boyfriend 
a big hug.  And she added to herself, 'And I was worried that 
you'd be taken from me, either by what plans these strangers 
have or by your realization that I may not be what you want.'  
Usagi tightened her hold on her boyfriend, 'After all we been 
through, I'm still very afraid of losing you.'

*****

After wishing Reika well again, May, Terry and Yusuke decided to
leave the party.  Having a meeting set up between May and Mamoru
was enough of an accomplishment that they didn't need to stay.  

They walked along in silence for a few minutes, until May said, 
"Okay, I know you both want to say something about what I did
in there.  So just say it, already.  The silence is deafening."

Terry opened his mouth to comment, but was beaten to the punch
by Yusuke, "You really are a devious bitch, aren't you lady?"

"When I have to be," May acknowledged.  Stopping, she turned to
look at her walking partners, she shared, "I realize that what
I did in there was unethical-"

"And cold-blooded," Terry added.  "He did lose his parents,"
the teen pointed out.

"And a total lie!" Yusuke continued.  "How in the hell did you
even have time to make that all up?!"

"I know, I know!" May shouted back.  Closing her eyes for a second
she took a deep breath, she opened them again and said, "But what
else was I supposed to do?  Tell him the truth? There? We know
he knows some about his life about his life a prince, but does
Reika?"

Terry began to say something else, but May held up her hand to stop
him as she continued, "Beyond that, I still don't know where this
rogue timewalker is.  What is he or she was there and overheard?
What do you think would have happened?"

At this Yusuke looked about to break in, but May cut him off as well,
"And would he have even have believed me?  I mean, the only reason
you came is because I offered you the chance to fight and called
your pride into question,"

"Hey!" Yusuke protested

"And Terry only came because I knew who he was behind the mask and
I used some freakish power in front of him,"

"May-" Terry began.

"Well, did either of you have a better idea about how I'd get a
meeting?" the twenty something demanded of the teens with her.

Terry and Yusuke looked at each other.  After a long pause, Terry
answered, "No."

May nodded and turned and began to walk again.

"But do you really think any good will come out of this?" Terry
asked.

"You do what you have to.  Both of you understand that, I'm sure."

Neither young man having a reply, they followed after May, all 
three with their own misgivings about the earlier conversation.

-to be continued-