The war is over and we are beginning (Usagi Tsukino)
| The war is over and we are beginning (Usagi Tsukino) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 15 July 2024 |
| Location: | Hotel in Paris |
| Synopsis: | Usagi Tsukino wakes up the morning after the final battle with Beryl and smiles. |
| Thanks to: | To everyone who let me cameo their character in this cutscene! |
| Cast of Characters: | Usagi Tsukino |
| Tinyplot: | Dark Kingdom Finale |
The morning after the world was saved - that very first morning that they wake in a world without Beryl, without Metallia, for the first time in their new lives -
Usagi Tsukino smiles.
The sunlight falls on her face through the curtains, waking her up all too early, but still, she smiles. Already, she can tell that she's not the first one awake - of course she's not, there's no world, ever, where she's the first to wake - because there are voices drifting through the open door, talking, laughing. Voices she knows, voices she loves - Makoto laughing with Naru, Minako going on and on to Zoisite about shops that they would have to check out while they were here.
It's because the curtains are ever-so-slightly opened that the sunlight's been able to shine on her face, and Usagi stretches in the bed, twisting on her side, knee to her chest, shoulders both pressing to the mattress. It's huge, now that she's in it alone, huge and soft and downy. When she looks to left, she sees Mamoru, dozing off in a sitting up position on the bed next to hers, with Tamaki on his back beside him, snoring with his head propped on Mamoru's thigh.
Her smile warms, to see them.
Last night, they'd piled into their suite, sleepily claiming beds, and Usagi had fallen into one queen-sized bed with Chiyo, while Mamoru fell into the other with Tamaki. It had been too long a night for anyone to worry about boys and girls sharing a bedroom.
Besides, they'd suspected it would be necessary, given the amount of everything that had happened.
Mamoru hadn't slept most of the night - she remembers seeing him hugging Tamaki tight, skin pressed to skin, still awake, when she'd fallen asleep. She'd woken at least three times, gasping with nightmares, and she's pretty he'd sat up after that third one, wanting his back against something solid. They'd sat together, for a while, but she sleep called to her, so Tamaki moved back and she'd gone to bed.
Poor Chiyo-chan had been getting woken up almost as often, with all of Usagi's twitchiness - she's not here, now, but her spot in the bed is still warm, and there's a shower running, and Usagi can guess where she's gone.
She lets her attention drift back to Mamoru.
In the light, he looks better, full-faced and cozy, undertones lit in his dark hair, skin warmed under the softness of morning. In the dark, gasping to wakefulness, he'd been hollow-eyed and sallow, filled to overflowing with memories.
She wonders if she looks better too, wonders if she looks different, on this, the first morning of a world without Beryl. Do her eyes look brighter? Will her smile be warmer?
You weren't supposed to celebrate death, but Usagi's pretty sure even the Buddha would agree that Beryl was an exception to those rules.
Out in the rest of the suite, another door opens, accompanied by the sound of a rolling cart, and then Nephrite's voice speaks, too far to be made out clearly, but sounding pleased and grateful. The scent of food wafts through the air shortly after, the cheese and herbs and fresh-baked bread, and her stomach gurgles, and she laughs to herself, muffling the sound with her hand.
The hotel suite they're in is massive, but even it couldn't fit everyone they'd brought with them to Paris. They hadn't tried to fit everyone, either tried, because their group alone was massive, between the six boys and seven girls.
A thought crosses her mind, the memory of the hotel concierge looking at them and suggesting that the the young ladies and young men might be more comfortable separated, and the way they'd laughed and laughed before Tamaki took out his platinum credit card and started making requests. It had been his idea in the first place, getting hotel rooms and making sure they had a place to stay when it was all over, and coming back from the dead had not changed his opinion on the virtues of a comfortable hotel room at all. Of course something as silly as propriety hadn't been enough to change his position.
The hotel suite Usagi and Mamoru had ended up in was, frankly, massive, with just, so much space. There was a bar, a sitting room, a dining room, a staircase with a chandelier and three bedrooms upstairs, a total of five beds in the whole place, including the pull-out couch, and three bathrooms, one downstairs and two upstairs, one of which had a jacuzzi tub big enough to fit three people.
They'd basically taken up an entire floor of the hotel, with the rooms besides this ridiculous suite, and they'd looked at each other a little nervously, and then they'd settled out who was going to be where.
Usagi wanted to be near Mamoru, of course. Mamoru was keep Tamaki in his sight at all times, and Usagi was keeping Chiyo in her sight at all times, because even having made the miracle, she still couldn't quite believe it. Kazuo was sticking as close to Mamoru as possible without hovering, Makoto wanted to be able to get to her friends if needed, Minako hadn't wanted to be far from her princess, Rei had wanted a quiet space to meditate and think, Ami had wanted to be close but not too close, Nephrite wanted to be within reasonable distance, Zoisite had been flexible because as far as he was concerned, getting into any space was easy -
It had been very, very late (for them. for the people of Paris, it wasn't quite eight o'clock in the evening. For the fighters, it had been nearly four o'clock in the morning, and bed was necessary. Sleep, showers, rest were all anyone wanted.
So they'd sorted themselves out, made sure every Mahou had a place to rest their heads and an idea of where to the find the others, made sure every room had a key and every person a glass of water, all of that.
That was last night, and this is morning, and Usagi revels in - the first morning of a new future, a future where they'll smile and laugh, a future where they'll grow and heal, and yes, a future where they'll fight on, too.
A future without Beryl. A future where their ancient battle is finally over, the past set to rest. A future where they can just... be.
It's not perfect. It's not going to be perfect. It's probably going to suck, like, a lot, some of the time, and it's going to be breathtakingly amazing, other times, and maybe, just maybe, it'll be boring.
Maybe they'll have days full of school, days where she sleeps in an extra five minutes too long and has to run to class, days where Ami-chan scores at the top of the class again, where Mako-chan bakes cookies, where Chiyo-chan regales her with stories about her portal-making beau, and Naru-chan laughs with her Cheeky Kitty.
Days where Usagi and Tamaki and Kazuo will playfully war over scheduling time with Mamoru, and she'll take Mamochan on dates that will inevitably be interrupted, and they'll sigh and laugh and save the day -
It's a future she wants. It's a future she can have, because it's over. They won, and it's over, and nothing else that comes their way will ever change that.
In the bed next to hers, Tamaki turns over and his head slides off Mamoru's thigh with a soft thud. His snoring cuts off, with the change in his breathing, and Mamoru's brow furrows in discontent. Before he can even begin to properly wake, a silent shadow is moving. Usagi stifles a giggle as Kazuo gently lifts Tamaki's head back to its previous position, tugging a blanket over the two of them. He waves at Usagi, pale eyes warm in the morning light, and she waves back.
'There's breakfast,' Kazuo mouths, tilting his head towards the door.
'I know,' Usagi mouths back, and sits up. The Silver Crystal, on its delicate chain, slides around her neck as she moves. It's small again, still a closed bud of crystal, no longer glowing.
She'd given everything she had to that last miracle - everything and more besides, and she had a feeling it will be a long while before she's up to pulling off anything half as wondrous, but that's alright. They have time.
They've got the whole of their lives, spread out before them.
