Usagi's Dilemma

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This story takes place on the Monday following 'Good Intentions'. It begins as just another normal school day for Tsukino Usagi and her friends. But is it?

Part 1 of 2.

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Chapter 1:

"Usagi-chan! Are you awake?"

The sixteen-year-old girl slowly opened her sleep-filled eyes to the sound of insistent thumping against her closed bedroom door. "It's time to get up!" the voice urged.

Yawning, the groggy blonde raised her head from the pillow and frowned, taking a moment to stretch beneath her bunny-patterned sheets before answering her mother's call. "Ok, Mama. I'm awake now."

"You don't want to be late for school again, do you?"

"No Mama. I won't be late this time" Usagi promised half-heartedly. "I'll be down in ten minutes." After a quick shower she reluctantly donned her school fuku and shuffled downstairs to the breakfast table, plopping into her chair with an unhappy scowl. "I really hate Mondays!"

"You wouldn't be feeling nearly as tired if you hadn't stayed out so late last night with Mamoru, dear" her mother reminded her.

"But I had to! Mamo-chan is catching the early train to Nagaoka today. He's being sent there by his university on some kind of stupid field trip" Usagi groaned after a long gulp of orange juice. "Which means I won't see him again until next Saturday! Why is my life so hard?"

"Try to cope as best you can" Tsukino Ikuko chuckled. "Did you finish your weekend homework like you promised your father and me you would?"

"Hai. Well... most of it" her daughter mumbled before nibbling on her toast. "At least I had fun last weekend. A lot more fun than I'll have today, trapped in that boring school, listening to boring old Haruna bore everyone to death all day long. It's worse than being in jail!" She eyed the empty seat across from her. "Where's Shingo?"

"He already left for school, Usagi-chan. Your father has gone to work too. Hurry up now, and don't forget your jacket. It's chilly this morning."

After wolfing down the last of her breakfast, Usagi sighed despairingly at the cruelness of it all, picked up her book bag and shuffled outside, shivering in Tokyo's crisp autumn air. "Stupid school!" Trudging down the sidewalk toward Juuban High, it wasn't long before a familiar voice called out a greeting and Kino Makoto trotted up behind her in a green windbreaker.

"Konnichiwa, Usagi-chan. Nice day."

"Hi Mako-chan. And it's not a nice day! It's a school day which makes it a horrible day! I can't wait to finally graduate from that miserable dump!"

"You mean the Juuban Torture Chamber and House of Perpetual Detentions?" Makoto laughed. "Tell me about it!" The girls continued on, spying Ami walking alone as they approached their school's front gate.

"That's really strange" Usagi murmured. "Ami-chan, wait up!"

The blue-haired teen turned at the gate and smiled at the approaching pair. "Ohayou Usagi-chan. Good morning, Mako-chan."

"You're walking to school by yourself today?" the odango-haired blonde pondered aloud.

"I usually do" Ami replied. "Uh... why do you ask?"

"Where's Ryo? Is he sick?"

"Ryo?" Ami puzzled. "Urawa Ryo?" The faintest of blushes appeared on her pretty face at the mere mention of the boy's name. "I can only assume he's heading to his morning classes just as we are, Usagi-chan" she said as they walked onto the school grounds together. "But at his school in Osaka, of course."

"Osaka?" Usagi halted in her tracks so abruptly that Makoto nearly bumped into her. "Oh, now I get it! Ha Ha! Very funny, Ami-chan! It isn't nice to tease me when I'm still half asleep." She peered curiously at her close friend. "Unless... did you and him have a fight or something last night?"

"A fight? With Ryo?" Ami caught Makoto's eye and the tall brunette silently shrugged her shoulders, appearing as confused as the blue-haired teen was becoming. "Gomen, Usagi-chan. I have no idea what you're referring to" the studious girl replied. "I haven't talked to him in nearly a month."

"Sure you haven't!" Usagi scoffed. "Go ahead, keep right on teasing me if it makes you happy. Next thing I know, Mako-chan will tell me that she hasn't seen Yuji in a whole month either. I may look like I'm sleepwalking, but I'm not that tired!"

"Yuji?" Makoto asked in surprise. "Yuji who?"

"Stop it with the dumb jokes, Mako-chan! Wait, I know! I bet evil Rei put you two up to this, didn't she? Hai, that's what you're doing. Well stop it, because you're both starting to creep me out!"

"I wasn't joking" the taller girl said. "Who's this Yuji you just mentioned, Usagi-chan?"

"Only your-" The ringing bell put a quick end to the girls' conversation and they hurried inside to their home room. Usagi dropped her book bag beside her seat near the back of the class, watching with growing concern as Ami took her usual place at the front of the crowded classroom. The seat beside the blue-haired girl, always occupied by Ami's shy young fiancee, was already taken by another student. "Now that's really weird!" she muttered aloud.

Makoto eased into the chair to the blonde's left, next to a window. "What's weird?"

Usagi pointed toward the front of the class, "Ryo isn't sitting in his usual spot beside Ami. Something really strange is going on."

The brunette chuckled, "Are you sure you're feeling ok, Usagi-chan? Urawa Ryo hasn't attended this school in nearly two years. Not since he and his family moved away."

"Nani?" The blonde's eyes grew wide. "Hang on just a second! Let me see your left hand, Mako-chan. Then I'll know for real if you're pulling my leg or not."

"Uh... sure. Whatever floats your boat."

Makoto wiggled her fingers in front of the blonde and Usagi noticed at once that the brunette's small diamond engagement ring was absent. She shook her head in disbelief, then flopped behind her desk as Sakurada Haruna strode into the room and closed the door behind her. "I must be dreaming! Hai, that's it! Either that, or this is the best practical joke ever!" She raised her voice and exclaimed, "Well, I don't like it! I don't like it at all!"

Her sensei stared down the column of seats at the noisy outburst. "We're all well aware just how much you despise school, Usagi-chan" Haruna sighed. "You'll just have to deal with it until you graduate. Which, considering the mark you achieved on your last exam, could take quite some time." She heard Makoto snickering in the background and added, "The same applies to you, Makoto-chan. I expect much better from the pair of you from this point on. Understood?"

The brunette's grin faded. "Hai, Haruna-sensei."

The classroom door suddenly burst open and an apologetic Aino Minako scurried into the room. "Gomen, Sensei!" she blurted breathlessly. "Silly me, running late again!"

"What was it this time, Minako-chan?" Haruna grumbled. "Did your cat fall asleep on your alarm clock? Oh wait, that was your excuse last Thursday."

"I couldn't decide what to wear today, Haruna-sensei." The bubbly blonde rushed to her seat near Usagi and waved at her friends. "Hi minna!"

"That wasn't a very difficult decision, considering the requirement to wear your school fuku at all times during classes" her teacher pointed out.

"I know, but I have five of them!" Minako giggled. "I couldn't remember which one was for Mondays!"

"But... they're all the same" Haruna muttered.

As their sensei began taking attendance, Usagi whispered across the aisle, "How can you possibly be late for class so often, Minako-chan? At least Mako-chan and I have a good excuse. We don't own a car and have to walk here."

"I don't have a car either, Usagi-chan" the second blonde replied. She swooned, "But I so, so wish I did! Then I could zoom here so fast I'd arrive every day an hour early! On second thought, maybe a minute early!"

"You don't have... a..." Usagi's voice trailed off and she glared at the ceiling. "What on earth is happening with everyone today? Am I going crazy?"

"You want me to answer that?" Makoto grinned. "Honest?"

"Hush, Mako-chan!"

Chapter 2:

"Minna, it should be a lot warmer outside by now. We can eat lunch together over by that tree where we'll have more privacy" Usagi suggested, leading her friends outside through the Juuban High School rear entrance. "That's the place where I first tried your cooking, Mako-chan."

"I remember that day too" the brunette chuckled. "You seemed a little scared of me at first, Usagi-chan. At least you were until you tasted my food."

"Why wouldn't I be scared?" the odango-haired blonde said. "After watching you beat up those three big troublemaking guys I ran into that morning? And all by yourself too!"

"They weren't so tough" Makoto grinned. "All talk and no action. I've met their type plenty of times before."

After they sat together on a low brickwork wall surrounding the large tree and surrounding flowerbed, Ami asked, "Usagi-chan, what was that important thing you needed to talk to us about so urgently? If it's regarding your grades, I'll be happy to give you whatever extra tutoring you need." Though her studious friend smiled as she spoke, Usagi could detect a sense of sadness hidden behind Ami's blue eyes. Or was it... loneliness?

'All the more reason to find out what's really going on around here' Usagi thought. "Arigatou, Ami-chan. But this isn't about schoolwork or my grades. Even though they could really use the extra help! It's about something much more important and personal."

"Ooh, gossip time!" Minako cackled. "Tell me, Usagi-chan, is this about Rei? Because I know a secret about her that I'll tell, but only in trade. You have to tell me a different secret about her first. And it has to be something really juicy!"

"And how are we supposed to know if your secret is the same as ours if we don't tell each other what they are?" Makoto grumbled.

"Hmm... excellent point, Mako-chan!"

"Anyway, I don't approve of gossip, Minako-chan. It isn't very polite and it can even ruin friendships. So stop it."

"You're no fun!" Minako pouted.

"This isn't about Rei" Usagi told the other blonde. "At least... not yet." She hesitated before continuing, still unsure if the entire morning and her friends' supposed lost memories was nothing more than an elaborate prank being played upon her. An urgent call she placed during recess from one of the school's pay phones to Meiou Setsuna's apartment had yielded only a brief recorded message saying that the young woman was out of town for a time, and to please leave a message. 'Out of town!' Usagi had snorted after hanging up. 'With Pluto, that could mean she's anywhere. Maybe even not on the planet!'

Now temporarily away from class and together with her friends, she asked them once more over lunch if the whole thing was a trick. "Minna, before I make a gigantic, huge fool of myself, I'd really appreciate it if you told me if you're playing a joke on me. Mako-chan, you've always been loyal. You wouldn't tease me about this... would you?"

"Honestly Usagi-chan, I still have no idea what you were talking about earlier. Ryo being back here in Tokyo? Some guy named Yuji that I'm supposed to know? What gives?"

"So whats happening today really isn't a joke?"

The brunette solemnly shook her head. "If it is, I'm not in on it."

Usagi gobbled down a sushi roll from the bento box her mother had prepared. "Fine, that's one person off my list. Next is Minako's turn- nani?" A glint of light from inside a nearby bush suddenly caught her eye. "Aha! What's that over there? It looks just like a camera lens, the kind Papa uses!" Usagi grinned in triumph. "I knew this had to be a set-up! Just like on those tv game shows!" Setting her lunch aside, she sprinted over to the bush and spread the branches apart with her hands, finding a familiar boy cringing and peering up at her through thick spectacles.

"Oh oh!"

"Umino-chan!" Usagi yelled. "What are you doing hiding in those bushes with a camera? Are you in on this joke too?"

"Gomen! I can explain, Usagi-chan! I was just taking some candid shots of students for the school newspaper, and I thought this would be a... good... place to..."

"No you weren't!" Usagi hissed back. "You were hiding and taking pictures of girls again! You pervert!"

"Honest! I wasn't!"

"Umino!" the boy heard Kino Makoto growl at him. The brunette jerked her thumb toward the school. "Take that camera and get lost. I'm giving you five seconds." She began to count, "Ichi... ni..."

"H... hai! I was just leaving, Makoto-chan!" He sprang from his hiding place and bolted for the safety of the building, dragging along several leaves and twigs that clung to his wrinkled uniform.

Usagi returned to her seat. "Minna, false alarm. That wasn't at all what I expected. So, Minako-chan. Are you the one behind this? Maybe trying to have a little fun at my expense? That's not very nice!"

"Of course not, silly! Why would I play a trick on you? We're way too close."

"I'm not playing any tricks on you either, Usagi-chan" Ami insisted. "But please do tell me why you keep mentioning Ryo's name."

"Then it's even worse than I thought" the blonde realized. She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Ok. Let me see now... first things first. I need to figure out what everyone does know." Usagi pointed at the glittering brooch pinned to the center of her blouse. "Minako-chan, what's this?"

"It's a beautiful and ancient piece of jewellery, Usagi-chan. And..." the girl glanced around to be sure she wasn't being overheard then whispered, "...it's the thing you use to henshin into Sailor Moon."

"Good! At least I know that part hasn't changed." Greatly relieved, Usagi pressed on. "Minna, listen closely. Something bad has happened since yesterday. Really bad! When I went to bed last night, everything was fine. But when I woke up this morning, it's all different."

"I still don't follow you" Makoto said. "What's different?"

"Your life is different, Mako-chan! And yours too, Ami-chan! And yours, Minako-chan! It's almost like all the things we experienced and all the adventures we had over the last year and a half together never even happened!"

Minako sipped her juice. "You mean like those aliens and their evil cardian thingys? That stuff definitely happened. I know because I was there."

"I wasn't talking about Ali and An. I meant more personal things. Stuff like..." Usagi pointed at her engagement ring. "When did Mamo-chan give me this?"

"At his apartment precisely two months and six days ago, Usagi-chan" Ami promptly answered. "We were all invited there by you and Mamoru the next day to celebrate your engagement with a party."

"No no no! That wasn't at all when he proposed to me!" Usagi groaned. "Doesn't anyone remember? We were staying at the Kumadas' mansion on Okinawa!"

"Okinawa?" Minako exclaimed. "Ohh, lucky you! I always wanted to visit that part of Japan." Her eyes twinkled dreamily. "And lay on that warm beach sand with a tall handsome guy close by my side! And have him rub tanning lotion all over me!" she giggled. "Minna, wouldn't that be the most romantic thing ever?"

"You did exactly that, Minako-chan" Usagi announced. "You and everyone else flew down there with Mamo-chan and me and Rei and Yuuichirou. His parents paid for the trip because they're insanely rich."

The other blonde's brow furrowed. "I was in Okinawa too? With a real live guy? No way!"

Makoto lightly placed the palm of her hand across Usagi's forehead. "I can't feel any signs of fever... maybe it's something you ate that's messing with your mind, Usagi-chan." She chuckled, "Because there's no chance in hell I'd ever fly anywhere in an airplane! That's just crazy talk!"

"Believe it or not, it did happen, Mako-chan!" Usagi retorted. "And you even flew again a little while later when we all went to Hawaii."

"Hawaii?" The brunette looked worriedly at Ami. "Is your mother working today, Ami-chan? I think Usagi needs to see a good doctor. And from the way she's babbling, the sooner the better!"

"Minna, don't be too hasty!" Minako giggled. "I like this new imagination Usagi has! Usagi-chan, tell me more!"

"It's not my imagination!" the flustered odango-haired blonde yelled.

"Perhaps your current condition is related to excessive stress from homework" the blue-haired girl sitting beside her mused. "The school nurse may be able to-"

"I don't need to see any doctor!" Usagi fumed. "Or a nurse either! What I'm telling everyone is the absolute, honest truth! Cross my heart!"

"I don't know" Makoto said, her tone doubtful. "It all sounds so unbelievable. And kinda ridiculous too."

"I haven't even told everyone any of the best parts yet, Mako-chan. Listen, all I know is that something really weird must have happened overnight and now the world is a very different place, at least for us. And I want our old world back! I think you will too, after you hear the rest of what I have to say."

"So... what else is different, Usagi-chan?" Ami asked, her curiosity growing. She raised her sandwich to her lips and took a tiny bite.

"Well Ami-chan, for starters" Usagi replied, "you and Ryo are engaged to be married."

The blue-haired girl immediately choked on her food in mid-swallow and uttered in a strangled wheeze, "Can't... breathe..."

Minako began firmly slapping her on the back. "Cough that stuff up, Ami-chan! Do it for Nurse Minako!"

"Go easy there, 'Nurse Minako'!" Makoto warned. "You're whacking Ami way too hard! Don't bruise the poor girl!"

"Gomen!"

Ami managed to swallow the wayward morsel of food and smiled weakly at her friend. "I'm ok now, I think. Arigatou, Minako-chan."

The blonde beamed, "Another patient rescued! My record is still perfect!"

"Hai. Perfectly awful" Makoto grumbled. "Although I have to admit that the part about Ryo and Ami being engaged isn't too far fetched, I guess. From what I understand they still have a big crush on each other and they both love to study."

"That's the truth!" Usagi tittered. "They study together a whole lot! Hehehe!"

"Um... why is that so funny?" Ami asked. "Studying together is a wonderful way to pass the time."

"I didn't mean studying with books, Ami-chan" Usagi grinned.

"You don't? Then what do you mean, Usagi-chan?"

"Um..." Usagi waved Ami closer and whispered something in her friend's ear. The shy teen's face instantly turned bright crimson and she began to cough uncontrollably.

"Relapse!" Minako gasped, pounding on the girl's back again. "I'll save you, Ami-chan!"

Chapter 3:

After a few more firm slaps, Minako mercifully ceased her thumping on Ami's back. "That should do it, Ami-chan. All better now?"

"I wasn't exactly choking that time" Ami grimaced. "But I'll be ok after I take a moment to catch my breath." Her shimmering blue eyes, now filled with hope and happiness, soon returned to rest on Usagi. "Are you quite sure you aren't making all this up, Usagi-chan? Perhaps it's us other girls who are having the joke played on them."

"Very sure, Ami-chan" her friend reassured her. "You and Urawa Ryo are in a deeply loving, very romantic relationship and you're planning on getting married real soon."

"Oh! Well then..." A bright smile appeared on the blue-haired girl's lips. "That's... simply wonderful!"

"That's all well and good for Ami, but what about Mako-chan and Rei and me?" Minako pressed the other blonde. "Are we in close relationships with guys too?"

"Hai, you all are" Usagi nodded. "Rei has her Yuuichirou, of course, and you and Mako-chan are engaged to two brothers, Minako-chan. Your guy is a year older than Mako-chan's and his name is Ito Taro. Mako-chan, your fiancee's name-"

"Let me guess. His name is Yuji?" the skeptical brunette prompted.

"Hai, that's right. You met him one day over a year ago when we were all going for a walk together. It was down the street from your house a ways, out in the countryside just past Nerima."

"Nerima? I have my own house in the country too?" Makoto puzzled. She shook her head and laughed, "Usagi-chan, I don't know what your mother put in that sushi you're eating, but let me try some. Sounds like powerful stuff!"

"There's nothing wrong with my lunch!" Usagi insisted. "I'm telling the truth, Mako-chan! Why won't you believe me?"

"Maybe because this story of yours is getting stranger and more far-fetched with every word?" Makoto hinted. "So tell me, how did I become a homeowner? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly flush with spare cash."

"There was this really old relative of yours, an aunt or something, and after she kicked the bucket you inherited her house. That's how." Usagi paused long enough to gobble down a bite of her dessert. "See, it all makes perfect sense!"

"Sorry, but I'm still not convinced. My luck hasn't ever been good enough to-"

"Hush, Mako-chan!" Minako impatiently blurted. "That's enough talk about dead houses and silly relatives! I mean silly houses and dead relatives! I want to know more about my guy Taro! Important things! Like... is he good looking?"

"Hai" Usagi nodded. "He is, Minako-chan. But not as handsome as my Mamo-chan, of course." She haughtily stuck her nose in the air. "That would be quite impossible."

"Sure, sure, whatever." The girl with the perpetually-present red bow in her long blonde hair leaned closer. "And is he tall? And in good physical condition? You know, strong and athletic, that kind of thing?"

"Hai, and hai again. But now we need to-"

"Wait, one more!" the excited blonde interrupted. "Does he have a sexy voice?"

Usagi grinned, "You certainly thought so yesterday, Minako-chan."

"And his eyes?"

"Hai. He has eyes."

Minako sat back, clutching her hands over her heart. She swooned, "Minna, I think I'm in love!"

"And not only that" Usagi snickered, "you and Taro spend a whole lot of time studying too, just like Ami and Ryo. Every chance you get, as a matter of fact! And Mako-chan, you and Yuji are nearly as bad." She laughed, "Maybe even worse, when you and him are out hiking!"

The tall brunette fixed a blank stare upon the smiling face beneath twin odango. "I don't get any of this."

"You will!" Usagi snickered. "Trust me."

The second blonde's smile abruptly disappeared. "Nani? Studying? Burying our noses in dusty schoolbooks all day doesn't sound like my idea of fun, Usagi-chan. Especially if there's a man in my life." She frowned, "Is Taro a nerdy bookworm, with thick glasses like Umino's and a disgusting insect collection? There has to be a catch."

Still smiling happily, Ami giggled, "That isn't what Usagi was implying when she mentioned studying, Minako-chan."

"It wasn't, Ami-chan? Then tell me what else that word could possibly mean."

Ami's cheeks reddened but she gestured her friend closer. "Um... I'll try." As she whispered in Minako's ear, the blonde girl's smile grew bigger, her eyes widening further and further.

Ami soon pulled away, adding with a embarrassed blush, "That's what she meant, Minako-chan."

"Ooohhhh!" Minako suddenly sprang to her feet, sending the remnants of her lunch scattering across the walkway. "That settles it! We must fix this problem Usagi is talking about and find our guys as soon as possible! Immediately!" She grinned maniacally at Makoto. "Do you know what Ami just told me, Mako-chan?"

"From her reaction a minute ago and yours just now, I'm pretty sure I can guess" the brunette laughed. "But I still have plenty of doubts about this whole thing. Having a boy in my life who truly loves and cares about me, and inheriting a home in the country near where he lives? It all sounds just a little too... perfect."

"And that's the problem, Mako-chan" Usagi sighed. "It was perfect yesterday, but not now. There must be something we can do to make things just like they were before this horrible day started. But what?"

"Maybe Rei can perform one of her Shinto fire readings and tell us what went wrong in our lives, Usagi-chan" Minako suggested. "She must have the same mixed-up changes in her life as we do. How about we zip straight over to her shrine after classes are done and Mako-chan gets out of detention?"

"Excuse me?" the brunette growled. "I haven't earned a detention yet today! But I came close with Umino, that sneaky little-"

"That's great, Mako-chan!" Minako cheered. "Try to stay on Haruna's good side for the rest of the afternoon! Rei won't mind if we arrive early since we were supposed to be studying at the shrine tonight anyway." She looked at Ami and giggled again. "Studying! Hehehe!"

"Good idea, Minako-chan" Usagi agreed. "We should take your car or Ami's to Hikawa to save even more time."

"I own a car?" both girls simultaneously chorused in shock.

"Oh, that's right!" Usagi groaned. "You probably don't, do you? And Mamo-chan's is too far away. That's another thing that's all messed up today. Ohh! Why did I get out of bed this morning? Stupid, stupid, stupid me! I should have stayed home, ignored Mama's yelling and banging on my bedroom door and slept in instead!"

"Well, I suppose if everyone else is buying into this fantasy of Usagi's, I may as well go along for the ride too" Makoto decided with a wistful sigh. "Tell me more about this Yuji guy I'm supposed to know, Usagi-ch- Aagh! There goes the damned bell!"

"I'll give you all the details about your relationship with Yuji after school, Mako-chan" Usagi replied. "And a whole lot more too, while we walk over to Rei's shrine. We can't take a crowded bus there because other people might hear something they shouldn't."

"Mako-chan, you realize none of us will be able to concentrate on our lessons this afternoon. Not after hearing this big news!" Minako laughed. "I certainly won't be able to!"

"So? What else is new?" the brunette shrugged. She stood and slipped her empty plastic bowl and chopsticks into her lunch bag. "Ok, let's get the rest of the day's drudgery over with."

The girls began walking toward the building but Makoto paused and turned around when she noticed that Ami was not tagging along. She spied the girl still sitting and staring off into the distance with the same dreamy smile on her face.

"Ami-chan? Aren't you coming back to class with us?"

Her question snapped the daydreaming teen out of her unimaginably pleasant fantasy. "Oh! Gomen, Mako-chan! My mind was wandering." Ami hastily gathered up her lunch bag and scurried after her friends, blushing nearly as deeply as before. But her smile remained all through that warm autumn afternoon.

Chapter 4:

Endless hours of mind-numbing tedium later, the four girls emerged from their last class of the day. They quickly merged with the throng of other students streaming through the front gate in their quest for temporary freedom. "I still want to hear all about this Yuji guy, Usagi-chan" Makoto reminded her when they reached the crowded sidewalk. "But let's wait until the herd thins out a bit more."

"I'll tell you a few things now" the blonde promised. "But I'll keep the most personal stuff until we're at Rei's shrine."

"I can't wait to hear more too!" Minako exclaimed. "Minna, just imagine! I, Aino Minako, actually have a love life! With a real, live boyfriend! No, wait! Even better, a fiancee!" She squealed with delight, "Just the thought of it all is making me giddy!"

"So the news hasn't really changed you much" the brunette walking beside her teased. "Unlike Ami over there. She's been even more quiet than usual since lunchtime. And happier than I've seen her in a long time."

"I was just thinking of the... um... possibilities, Mako-chan" the blue-haired girl replied. "If what Usagi has told us so far is entirely accurate, our true lives must be nothing like how we're accustomed to living today. They'll be different in so many wonderful ways."

"And a lot more fun too!" Minako added with a sly wink. She gleefully began skipping along, singing "I'm getting married! Hehe!"

"To someone you don't know and haven't the slightest memory of" Makoto pointed out.

"Don't care!" the blonde bubbled. "Still happy!"

"Minna, I just thought of another stupid problem" Usagi grumbled. "What about Yuuichirou? If he finds out about any of this before we can fix things, it could make life really awkward between him and Rei and her grandfather. We'd better make sure we only tell Rei about it, at least for now."

"You know, I always assumed those two would hook up eventually" Makoto mused. "Yuuichirou absolutely worships Rei-chan."

"I know that, Mako-chan, and for the life of me I could never understand why" Usagi scowled above a low rumble rising from her tummy. "And now I'm getting hungry too! Minna, let's buy some take-out on our way over."

The foursome's brisk pace soon left most of their other schoolmates far behind and Usagi began giving her friends more random snippets about the way she kept insisting things should be. "...and that's when Ryo proposed to you, Ami-chan. On bended knee in the middle of a dance floor of that fancy cruise ship we were sailing around Japan on."

"Ryo actually did that?" The blue-haired girl wiped away a tear of joy. "Oh my goodness!"

"It was very romantic of him. And later on during the cruise, Yuji and Taro popped the question to Mako-chan and Minako." Usagi laughed, "That same night, you even stuck a note on your cabin door to tell us about it, Minako-chan! And evil Rei peeled it off and moved it to Ami's door. So funny!"

Ami suddenly remembered, "A note, Usagi-chan? Did it by chance have a ship named the "Orient Venus" printed at the top? And a drawing of two hearts on it?"

Usagi nodded, "Now that you mention it, it did. And in the middle it said 'we're engaged' or something like that.

Ami continued, blushing as she spoke, "And along the bottom of the note Minako had supposedly written, 'If this ship is rocking, don't bother knocking'?"

Makoto stared at the shamelessly grinning blonde in disbelief. "You would actually stick those words on your cabin door, Minako-chan? In public, for everyone to see? Then again, why should I be surprised?"

"Good guess, Ami-chan!" Usagi congratulated her. "That smart brain of yours scares me sometimes."

"It wasn't a guess at all, Usagi-chan. I found that very note among the keepsakes in my room this morning while I was searching for something else. At the time, I had no idea where it had come from."

"Well now there you go, Mako-chan!" Minako announced. "Proof positive that everything Usagi told us today is true. I know I'm convinced!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Usagi exclaimed. "If you've been living different lives from me, how did that note get into your room, Ami-chan? And if it's there, why am I the only one who remembered it? This doesn't make any sense. Like a picture puzzle with some of the pieces missing. I hate those!"

"Oh, that's so spooky!" Minako gasped.

"This whole thing is getting way too complicated!" the other blonde muttered. "How are we supposed to fix-"

A sudden shrill beep from her Senshi communicator brought the four girls to an abrupt halt.

"That has to be Rei" Makoto said while Usagi fumbled through her bag for the device. "Minna, there could be trouble at the shrine."

"I doubt it" Usagi grumbled. "It's been really quiet in Tokyo lately. More likely she just ran out of coffee or cigarettes or something and expects us to do her shopping for her on our way over there. Well, too bad! We're much too busy to run any stupid errands for Rei today!"

"Gomen, Usagi-chan." Ami asked, "Did I overhear you implying that Rei-chan smokes?"

"Hai, from time to time" Usagi replied while brushing dust and food crumbs from the device. She added as an afterthought while she thumbed her communicator on, "And by the way, you like to smoke too, Ami-chan."

"Me?" the petite blue-haired girl uttered with a gasp of utter astonishment. "I would never do such a thing!"

"No? Well, you do in my world."

"My oh my! Aren't we the sophisticated little lady!" Minako tittered, teasing her shy friend. "What comes next, Ami-chan? Cocktails and caviar after dinner?" She asked the brunette standing watch beside Usagi, "What exactly is caviar, Mako-chan? I heard somewhere that it's crazy expensive."

"Fish eggs cured in salt."

Minako made a sour face. "Ugh! That sounds revolting!"

"It's supposed to be all the rage among rich people and movie stars, Minako-chan." Makoto added.

"It is? In that case, I like it!"

With the communicator in Usagi's grasp now activated, a blurry image gradually formed on its tiny circular screen. The teens crowded around it, but all they could glimpse at first was a thick, swirling purple mist. The picture faded in and out while static crackled from its speaker, and Usagi angrily gave the device a sharp whack with her free hand. "What's the matter with this thing? I can only see fog!"

"Turn up the volume on it, Usagi-chan" Makoto urged. "Maybe we can at least hear something."

"Hai."

Eventually a face appeared in the mist, not that of Hino Rei as they were expecting but of a heavily fatigued and deeply concerned Sailor Pluto.

"Pluto-san!" Usagi blurted with immense relief. "Am I ever glad to see you! I didn't know you could call me on this! Listen, we've got big trouble here and we really need your help!"

The Senshi of Time's reply was garbled and nearly unintelligible amid the multitude of hisses and pops that continued issuing from the communicator. "...Usagi...major problem...malfunction...time gate..."

"Nani? Speak up!"

"...interference...alternate dimension..."

"Ohh, this is hopeless!" Usagi fumed. "Sailor Pluto, can you please repeat what you just said?"

"...anime...overlapping...attempting to undo damage..."

"Aagh! The stupid sound keeps fading away!" Usagi yelled into her communicator, "Say again please!"

"...you must wait until..."

And with those final words the transmission abruptly ended and the screen faded to black.

Makoto shot her friends a worried look. "Looks like Pluto has her hands full with something. And did I just hear her mention anime? What the heck was that all about? And what are we supposed to be waiting for?"

"She appeared to be extremely busy" Ami added, concerned for the older teen's well-being. "And nearly exhausted."

"Minna, forget what I said about stopping for food!" Usagi told the group. "Let's get to the shrine right away!"

. . . . .

It took another ten minutes of brisk walking before the weathered stone steps and first massive red torii gate of the famous old Hikawa Jinja came into view. "Ok, we're nearly there!" Usagi announced. "Let me do the talking for now, and whatever you do, don't say anything to Yuuichirou or Hino-sensei about our problem until we find out what happened. Ok?"

"You're the boss" Makoto nodded. "Gomen, I meant the Queen, Usagi-chan."

"I wish Rei bothered to remember that more often" Usagi smiled appreciatively. "Arigatou, Mako-chan. Hearing it from you means a lot to me."

The teenage girls took the steps two at a time and spotted Yuuichirou sitting nearby when they reached the courtyard. He waved at them from his perch on a wooden stool in the charms booth.

"Good! There aren't many visitors here at the moment" Usagi remarked with relief. She and her friends hurried over to greet the young Shinto apprentice. Ami noticed that the teen looked somewhat different than he had the day before, now clean shaven and with slightly shortened, neatly trimmed hair.

"Konnichiwa, ladies!" Yuuichirou welcomed them with a warm smile. "Can I interest you in an omamori or an ofuda for good luck?"

Usagi stepped up to the window. "Hi, Yuuichirou-chan. Is Rei around? We need to talk to her about something very important."

"My beloved isn't home from school yet, Usagi-chan, but I'm expecting her any minute now." He lowered his voice. "Is there trouble?"

"Uh... nothing too serious, I hope. Wait, did you just call her your beloved?" Usagi exclaimed.

"Hai, that she is, Usagi-chan. The light of my life, the woman of my dreams, my one and only true love." He grinned, "They all apply to my darling Rei."

"So... everything is normal here?"

"Just another day in paradise, Usagi-chan" he chuckled. "How about you?"

"Ooh boy! This complicates everything!"

"Gomen. I don't understand."

"You and Rei are still engaged, right? To be married?"

"We most certainly are" he replied happily, then paused at the sound of a car pulling into the parking lot behind the shrine. "Ah! Sounds like she's back."

The other girls exchanged puzzled glances as they followed Yuuichirou and Usagi toward the rear lot, rounding the corner of the shrine's living quarters just in time to see Rei slip out from behind the wheel of her Mercedes.

Minako's mouth promptly dropped open and she eyed the shiny red convertible with a mixture of complete shock and unbridled jealousy. "Minna! Look at that fancy set of wheels Rei's driving! I didn't even know she had her license!"

The blonde's blue eyes sprung wide to match her gaping mouth as she heard the raven-haired girl coo to her Yuuichirou, "I missed you so much today, lover boy", then watched the couple embrace and commence a lengthy, extremely passionate kiss.

After several seconds of staring at the happy couple, Minako's bookbag slipped from her fingers and dropped to her feet. She began rapidly fanning herself with both hands. "Ohh! Suddenly I feel faint! And hot!"

"Steady, Minako-chan" Makoto murmured, scarcely believing what she herself was seeing. Beside the tall brunette, Ami blushed and politely turned away, only to discreetly peek back at the amorous couple and their lengthy ongoing kiss.

Usagi alone seemed to be taking everything completely in stride, as though Rei driving an expensive car and the intimacy the girls were witnessing was merely business as usual. She waited until the young lovers' moment of shared passion had ended, then hurried up to them.

"Hi, Usagi-chan" Rei greeted her. "Everyone's here early today. What's up?"

"Rei-chan, we have a big problem!"

"Another one? I might have known" the miko sighed. "What is it this time? Did you finally flunk out of school?"

"No." Her blonde friend sounded surprisingly grim. "Something a lot worse."

"What could be worse than..." Rei instantly recognized Usagi's serious tone, then noticed the other girls staring at her with what seemed to be an equal mix of confusion and awe. She retrieved her bookbag from the passenger seat of her car and nodded to the odango-haired girl. "Ok. We'll talk inside."

Chapter 5:

The four girls followed Rei into her home while Yuuichirou reluctantly returned to his duties at the front of the Hikawa Jinja. Setting her bookbag aside, the miko seated herself on the floor at one end of the wooden study table and waited for her friends to take their usual places along both sides. Suddenly Minako seized her left hand, the blonde pulling her fingers closer and gasping at the glittering diamond she wore.

"What a beautiful ring!" her friend exclaimed. "It must have cost a fortune!"

Rei yanked her hand away. "My fiancee can afford the very best for his lady, Minako-chan. Anyway, you've seen it a million times before. And why aren't you wearing yours? Don't tell me you lost it!"

"She doesn't have an engagement ring, Rei-chan" Usagi said. "Neither does Ami or Mako-chan."

"Nani? Of course they do! Unless..." The girl frowned, "Is this the problem, Usagi-chan? Everyone's rings were stolen?"

"Not stolen. They never existed." Usagi quickly explained to the miko what had happened since she awoke that morning.

"So you're telling me that they have absolutely no memory of their lives during last eighteen months or so?"

"But we do have our memories, Rei-chan" Ami corrected her. "I know I can recall nearly every day of my life between the time we were fighting against Beryl's youma and now. But our memories simply don't match those of yours or Usagi's."

"What about Ryo, Ami-chan? What does he have to say about this?"

"To be honest, I haven't seen much of him since he moved away" Ami sadly replied. "And that's probably my fault."

"Ryo's family never returned to live in Tokyo again, Rei-chan" Usagi added. "And Mako-chan didn't inherit her house, and she and Minako didn't meet the Ito boys. No engagements or relationships or anything!"

Rei's worried frown grew deeper. "You were right, Usagi-chan. This is a problem. A huge one."

"And the weirdest thing is, you and I still have all our real memories. I can't understand why we do, and the other girls don't."

"Have you tried contacting Setsuna? She's the expert at this sort of thing."

"Sailor Pluto called me on my communicator when we were walking over here, but the connection was so bad, I couldn't understand much. I think she said something about a malfunction in her Time Gate. I think she's trying to fix it."

Rei sat quietly for a time, then said, "Minna, this may be far more serious than we realize. If Pluto can't reverse whatever happened, the other girls could stay the way they are now... perhaps even permanently. And that may affect not only their past, but their futures too."

Minako began to sniffle. "Are you saying there'll be no Taro in my life? Or a Yuji for Mako-chan or Ryo for Ami?"

"That is a distinct possibility" the miko nodded.

"This just won't do!" the blonde blustered, banging the tabletop with her fist. "Ow! I hurt my hand! No matter, I want my Taro back! The boy I love and am going to marry, even if I can't remember anything about him! We can't just sit here! Minna, let's do something!"

"The question still remains regarding how you and Usagi seemingly weren't affected by this event, but we three were, Rei-chan" Ami mused. "Usagi assumes that it occurred sometime overnight while everyone was fast asleep."

"Asleep..." Rei thought in silence for a moment. "Usagi-chan, did you sleep over at Mamoru's apartment last night?"

"How I wish!" the blonde sighed. "Mama made me promise to stay home and catch up on my stupid math homework, so Mamo-chan dropped me off there at around ten. I tried to finish Haruna's assignment, but it was way too hard! So I read manga instead until I got sleepy and then I went to bed."

"And when was that?"

"Um... around midnight, I guess."

"Then when you awoke this morning, the change to our lives must have already occurred" Ami mused. "It did happen while we slept."

"Hai. My alarm clock went off at seven, but I covered it with a pillow and fell asleep again. Then Mama made tons of noise and I got up. What a huge mistake that was!" she grumbled.

Rei gave the blonde a suspicious look. "But you didn't sleep straight through the night, did you Usagi-chan? You probably got out of bed a bunch of times to stuff your face with junk food."

"Only once!" Usagi answered indignantly. "I woke up really hungry and went downstairs and ate a box of cookies. Then I went back to bed."

"A whole box?" Makoto groaned.

"I was starving, Mako-chan!"

"Would you happen to remember what time this occurred, Usagi-chan?" Ami prodded the blonde.

"I don't know exactly, Ami-chan... probably between three and three-thirty, I guess. Anyway, it was really late."

The blue-haired teen asked, "Rei-chan, were you also having a late-night snack at about that time?"

"Most certainly not! I can control my appetite, Ami-chan. Unlike that stomach on legs over there!"

Usagi yelled, "Rei-chan, this is no time to be mean to me!"

"Although..." the miko added after an embarrassed pause, "I was awake during that hour."

Ami's eyebrows raised at this news. "Oh? You were? What were you doing? Were you meditating?"

"Not exactly. My fiancee and I were... uh... being intimate together."

Minako giggled. "She was kissing Yuuichirou again! Smoochy smoochy smoochy!"

Rei blushed, "If you must know, we were making love. Yuuichirou and I do share the same bed, Minako-chan."

"You do?" Minako gasped. "And you did? Rei-chan, I... wow!" She giggled, "So naughty!"

"It isn't naughty in the least!" the raven-haired teen shot back. "Sex between a girl and a boy who love each other as deeply as Yuuichirou and I do is a most wonderful and pleasurable experience, Minako-chan! Anyway, you're hardly one to talk! You and Taro go at it so often... that..." Her voice grew soft. "Oh. I suppose you don't, not now."

Ami suddenly snapped her fingers. "Minna, that must be it! Usagi and Rei weren't affected by whatever caused this change because they were both still awake!"

"I think you're right, Ami-chan" Rei agreed. "That's the only thing Usagi and I had in common last night."

"Then... I wonder if Yuji would remember me if we chanced to meet again" Makoto pondered. "But according to what Usagi told us, he and his brother live far away in Nerima. It would take a long time to get there by bus or train and even longer still to find him. Hours, maybe."

"Hours, Mako-chan? I think not" Rei smiled. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She reached for her purse, removed her car keys and dangled them between her slender fingers. "Minna, it's about time we all go for a little drive in the country."

. . . . .

The girls hurried from the shrine toward the parked Mercedes. "I'm sitting in front!" Usagi insisted, lunging for the door handle.

"No you're not! You're sitting behind where you usually do" Rei sternly told her. "You're a lot less annoying back there."

"Miserable!"

Minako quickly elbowed her way past the other blonde and laid claim to the front passenger seat, leaping into it with glee. "Mine!"

Usagi scowled at her. "Don't be so rude and pushy!"

Minako ignored the insult and exclaimed, "Prepare yourself, my Taro! Because wherever and whoever you are, your goddess and future bride Aino Minako is on her way to find you again... uh, for the first time... or whatever. Anyway, let's get going!"

Makoto and Ami also boarded the convertible, with Usagi complaining loudly as she wedged herself into place between them. "Stupid lumpy middle seat! I hate this spot! Ok, I'm in" she grumbled.

As Rei slid behind the wheel, Ami carefully fastened her safety belt and nervously asked the miko, "Um... I don't mean to be rude, Rei-chan, but... are you quite sure you can drive an automobile? You didn't even own one yesterday. In my yesterday, I mean."

The raven-haired teen gunned the powerful engine to life. "Just watch, Ami-chan." Pulling onto the street, she stepped down hard on the accelerator and her Mercedes leapt forward with a muted roar, pressing her passengers deep into their soft leather seat cushions.

"Wheee!" Minako squealed with delight. "This is a lot more fun than anything I can remember! Go faster, Rei-chan!"

"I will when we reach the highway. There's too much traffic here in town." Rei muttered to herself, 'Not that heavy traffic ever slowed you down, Minako-chan.' She peered through her mirror at the twin spherical odango sticking up behind. "Usagi-chan, exactly how much detail did you give the other girls about their past or their guys?"

"Not a whole lot. I didn't have enough time during lunch, or during the walk to Hikawa either. We were in a hurry, Rei-chan."

"Well you do now. Why don't you prepare them for their reunion, in case Yuji and Taro still retain all their true memories?"

"Hai, good idea!"

"Me! Me! Start with me, Usagi-chan!" Minako pleaded.

"It's Mako-chan's turn first, since going to Nerima was her idea" Usagi decided. She turned to the brunette on her right. "What would you like to know about your fiancee, Mako-chan?"

"Everything!" the taller girl chuckled.

"Everything? Ok!" Usagi giggled evilly. "Ito Yuji is a good-looking, sweet, cute, caring guy who likes gardening and loves you with all of his heart."

"Sounds great so far" Makoto grinned.

The blonde beside her grinned back. "And you told me once in secret that he's fantastic in bed."

"Oh my!" Ami gasped. "Mako-chan!"

Makoto's face instantly flushed a vivid shade of scarlet. "I said that?"

"Hai! You really did" Usagi nodded vigorously. "Anyway, I'm sure you and him will have plenty of time to catch up on that subject later, when you're all alone together. Just like that afternoon in Hawaii when you and Ami and Minako took your guys to a quiet cove. Minako told me that Yuji and you went off hiking by yourselves and you couldn't resist making love-"

"Usagi-chan, stop! That story sounds way too personal!"

"Well, you did say everything, Mako-chan."

"Then... can we talk about his interests instead?" the blushing brunette suggested. "Please?"

"You mean his hobbies and stuff? Sure, I can do that-"

"Too boring!" Minako objected. "I want to hear all the fun sexy parts! Especially about me and Taro! Hehe!"

"Some things never change" Rei muttered, pulling her car onto the westbound expressway ramp.

"Minna, I just thought of something else that's rather important" Ami spoke up. "What if neither of those boys have the slightest idea who we are? They may think we're insane. Perhaps we should phone them at home instead."

"Ami-chan, don't be such a party pooper!" Minako scolded her. "You're ruining my beautiful fantasy!"

"Gomen, Minako-chan" the blue-haired girl meekly replied.

"We'll have the answer to that question soon enough, Ami-chan" Rei promised. "We're finally out of the slow traffic and on the highway. Minna, here we go!" The raven-haired girl pressed her right foot to the floor.

"Oh yes, Rei-chan! Yes!" Minako blurted, squirming in excitement as the car rapidly gained speed. "Harder! Faster! Do it!"

Rei burst out laughing. "Minako-chan, are you sure you don't remember anything about your wild nights with Taro? Because you certainly sound like you do!"

. . . . .