Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.
Chapter 1 - Just Ordinary Girls
The images of five young females slightly turned to silhouettes as the sun hovered behind them when they were bidding their farewell to Chiba Mamoru. The man tightened his grip around his suitcase after the announcement of his plane boarding, and he fixed his eyes back on a certain blonde among the quintet.
"Usako, is it really alright?" His voice was gentle.
Usagi nodded as she made her movement in order to be closer to the black-haired man. Tears were on the verge of falling and it was still obvious no matter how hard the girl with the odango hairstyle tried to fight it. "Mamo-chan, I will always be waiting for you. I have said it so many times, that I want you to pursue your dream and make it come true"
"I am leaving now, then" A weak smile was carved on Mamoru's face before he pulled his girlfriend for one last embrace. The hug was short, for soon after that he rested his hands on the blonde's shoulders, and leaned his face forward to capture the girl's lips.
Much to the two lovebirds' dislike, their lips had to part ways. Mamoru took the last opportunity to give his best regard to the other four standing behind Usagi.
"Good luck, Mamoru-san. I believe you will succeed in your study!" Makoto said with confidence gracing her smile.
"It really is a wonderful path to be able to make your dream come true. Good luck, Mamoru-san" The blue-haired Ami spoke up.
"True, and don't you worry about Usagi-chan, Mamoru-san!" Minako made her remark as she slapped the meatball-head's shoulder playfully. The others could hear Usagi muttering something like 'here come the unnecessary speeches from Minako-chan'. "I will make sure Usagi-chan does her study well in college and does not come late to class like she did during high school and I'll ensure she always submits her assignments on time!"
"Uhm, Minako-chan, you also did not even complete your own homework and always came late to sch- Uhmf!" The blonde was forced to muteness as Minako laughed off Usagi's unfinished payback.
"Bottom line, you can entrust Usagi with us" Rei opened her mouth, uttering her first words since a while. "Oh and I will try to make sure Usagi doesn't eat too much so by the time you come back you still find her the way she is"
"Rei-chan! What do you mean by 'the way she is'!? I don't even steal your cookies whenever we study at the jinja anymore!" The so-called 'Moon Princess' pointed her index finger at her raven-haired friend in a childish manner.
"Right, of course you don't! You don't steal cookies now, but you steal biscuits and waffles"
"That was only one time!"
"Sure! One time you steal the biscuits, one time for waffle, another one time for another biscuits with different flavor"
"Rei-chan, you're so-"
"Mean! I know you want to say that"
"No, you're more than mean now! You're evil!"
"Are you calling me a youma, Usagi?"
"Yes! You're more evil than a youma!"
"What did you say!?"
The 'bicker master' couple then threw intense glares at each other which, if left unstopped, would likely continue until the princess' boyfriend reached America in the next couple hours. They should call it lucky that the speaker around the room was turned on once again to inform one final call. Rei soon noticed this and turned her attention for one more time to the guy who would be leaving them soon.
"I mean it this time, Mamoru-san. I will protect Usagi like I have always done" She stated; firmness enveloped both her voice and her amethyst eyes.
Mamoru moved his head, showing his approval. He gave each of them one final look. The five sailor senshis that he knew and had always helped had now graduated from high-school, ready for their next stage of education in college. He had not realized until then, of how much the teenagers had grown up to five young ladies and despite the bickering and juvenile acts they still showed every now and then, they all had indeed matured. Rei's serious sentence seconds ago was the proof of that.
"Bye, Usako" He laid his eyes deeply on Usagi, which was returned with the same amount of love and passion, if not less, by his lover. Odango's sapphire, glistening eyeballs were the last things he saw before he turned and showed his back.
Sky was playing with earth, as the next day's weather turned out to be the exact opposite of the preceding day. A girl was spotted running albeit the pouring water from heaven and her soaked t-shirt and short pants. She made her way in the quickest pace possible around the streets of Juban district, until Crown café made its appearance right before her.
The automatic door sled aside and welcomed her to the sight of her three besties sitting conveniently on one of the tables. The blonde Minako was the first to wave at her.
"Why the sudden meeting?" Rei took her seat next to Ami; water droplets were falling from her hair. "And Usagi?"
Minako shook her head. She changed the tone of her face and Rei knew that when the aura of the cheerful senshi of Venus had shifted, it usually meant something was off – something awful was on its way to be delivered.
"We don't want Usagi to know… yet" Makoto had the discussion started.
"Mamoru-san has been away for merely one day, so we think it might be best if we let that sink on her for a while, before telling her this" Ami finished what her brunette friend began.
"Telling her this? Telling her what?" Rei looked back and forth at the three of them, but none answered. "Is there a new enemy coming? C'mon you guys know I don't like this feeling of not being on-the-know"
"Rei-chan, we… have to go, sort of" Makoto blushed on her way of explaining; her fingers were scratching her head. "Well, you know, um… Since high-school is finished now, I was thinking that it would be good if I could take the time to… refresh from studying temporarily. You know that I had wanted to go on this long training on the mountain for a long time. I have never really made use of my time there so…"
"What Makoto is saying is that, with all around us being peaceful, we have the chance to make-up for the time we lost to have our dreams come true" Rei had set her questioning look upon Makoto's long speech before genius Ami drew out everything for her.
"So you're saying, Makoto?" The raven-haired senshi gazed at the brunette; her eyes were motioning for Makoto to say the words herself.
"I am planning to continue that training, at least for a year. Most likely it would be less, or I hope so"
"So there's no need for hesitation then? Spill, Minako-chan, Ami-chan" Rei folded her arms; her glare had begun to make the rest of the group gulp. This fire-senshi friend of them was not completely naked to the future, but there was no doubt that she had the best sense of smelling others' intentions; she was a psychic miko, after all.
"I am… taking a scholarship for medical degree in Canada" The blue-haired girl simply put. Pink tints sprinkled her cheeks as her female besties mouthed 'ooo, scholarship' in unison.
"And I" Minako had her eyes closed fleetingly before she stood up, successfully gaining all attention even though she was to show her best pose just yet. "Aino Minako-" She stopped abruptly there, putting one of her arms in the air. "A Japanese idol from Tokyo who is about to bring new waves of love and beauty to the world!"
There was no need to mention that Rei, Ami, and Makoto had sweat-dropped upon her.
"Uhm, Miss, please do not step on the sofa" A waitress, who apparently had been keeping her eyes on them, gently reminded with a hesitant smile.
The blonde senshi looked down on her feet, with one arm still left dangling above her head. It dawned on her that the café staff did not lie, and she soon drowned herself back to her previous position in irritation yet embarrassment, like a ship sinking into the ocean.
"Sometimes I hardly believe you graduated from high-school already" Rei face-palmed.
Minako shrugged it off along with a chuckle. "Says the so-called grown-up miko who still reads mangas"
"Uhm, Minako-chan, you still haven't said where you're going" The water-senshi put them right back on track, to which Makoto was really grateful for.
"Ah, right!" Minako sucked her strawberry juice; delight was decorating her face as she thought about her upcoming dream-come-true. "You remember that I once joined this star audition, right? However, I postponed going to the next stage because we were… fighting Galaxia back then. After considering it, I am taking the offer from that producer to go to the international competition!"
"Right, I remember. That's the one where Yaten-kun was one of the judges, right? So where are they taking you for this and how long?" Makoto's eyes sparkled; she still found it hard to believe that their halted dreams from before were making its way then.
"Well the international competition is taking place in Australia, for about three months"
"Three months? Gee, they are really going all out for it!" The brunette's lips parted in amusement.
"Yes, but if I can prove them, which I will, that I am the best star out there, then they will shoot my very first music video in… Hawaii!"
"Hawaii!?" Surprise came harmoniously to the faces of the other three.
"That's true. I can't wait for my chance to sit elegantly at the beach as the crews have their break. Then, all the hot male dancers will be surrounding me, offering me foods and drinks or even give me a massage! Oh I can't wait for my idol life to begin!" The senshi of love and beauty flipped her long hair exquisitely.
"M- Massage?" Ami whispered as her cheeks blossomed in reddish color.
"Enough with your imagination, Minako-chan!" The annoyed Rei they had seen a few minutes ago was now apparently back. "I don't care if it's Hawaii or not, medical school and training or whatever. How did you guys come to this decision before even bringing this to the table with me and Usagi?"
"Look, Rei-chan, we didn't mean to-"
"I don't care if it's just me!" The amethyst-eyed girl continued, as if not caring that she had halted Makoto's statement of justification. "How did you guys not think of Usagi? She needs us – our strength and shelter! What if… What if a new foe comes and she's the target, again? And you guys just stated your intentions with no sweat, like it's really as easy as that! I am disappointed with this! I-"
Silence filled in after that, as if letting the fire-senshi to gain her tranquility back. Neither of them wanted to put something to the dead air, feeling afraid to involuntarily hurt each other's hearts. Minako gripped her yellow skirt tightly – so tight that she thought her nails might hurt her palms even through the thin fabric.
"I don't know about you guys, but I didn't arrive at this conclusion without hassles in my head from sunrise to sunset and even beyond" The blonde started. Her voice was barely audible. "I knew I was supposed to consult you guys first, and talk to Usagi, since I am her senshi. I am one of her safeguards and I am more than aware that my top priority is to assure her safety…"
The others had been pretending to concentrate on the table when they slowly noticed the unstable voice of the senshi of Venus.
"But I am also a girl, Rei!" She finally broke out. "I am also just an ordinary young adult who is filled with passions and dreams! All these five years I have been with you four, I have tried to put aside everything in order to be able to fully protect the princess. So I thought that… even just for a year… Even just for a minor portion of my life, I wish I could do what I have wanted to do, too!"
Another silence followed, but not for long as the senshi of Jupiter beamed her apologetic, concerned look towards Rei. "Rei-chan, it's not like we will leave our task just like that. If any new adversary happens to occur, then we all will be more than ready to come back. Besides, my training neighborhood is not very far away from the city, so I can come in a flash should anything happen. Ami-chan should be able to come home frequently for a holiday too, shouldn't you, Ami-chan?"
"That's right, Rei-chan. Our communicators should be with us anywhere we go so we will be updated as soon as possible. That is if those youmas do not give us anymore break"
"I- I am sorry, minna" Rei replied her friends' sorry eyes with the same attitude. The remorse in her eyeballs heightened as she noticed the normally-chirpy Minako was still voiceless. "I am sorry, Minako-chan. Frankly speaking, I am just… afraid. You guys cannot deny the fact that I will be the only one left here. And to think that if something bad really arises, and if it revolves around Usagi, I am scared that I am not… strong enough by myself to… protect her"
"Then call us!" Minako came back to life, locking Rei's gaze with hers. "Call us and we will come back no matter what!"
"Minako-chan…" Rei muttered the name. The two then exchanged reassuring smiles as Rei tried to read the blonde's blue eyes. Their minds brought them back to the memories of good four-years worth of battling enemies, of scars and bruises, and of dying and reliving again. "You know what, Minako-chan? After you finish your debut with them, I must be your next song-writer"
Minako's lips turned up upon the remark. Makoto and Ami joined them as the four shared indefinable feelings through their stares and smiles – the pride of the sailor soldiers.
"You know, Rei-chan?" The senshi of love stole Rei's focus again. "It is because of the fact that you are the one staying here with Usagi, that we could make this decision at last"