7 Years Waiting For You

Disclaimer: I am not the great Naoko Takeuchi, I merely admire her work from afar with my little stories. Neither am I any of the talented artists who brought the anime to life.

Summary: The senshi have been fighting together since they discovered their mutual Sailor Senshi abilities when they were only 15 years old. Mamoru has been in college in America since he was 18 and therefore completely missed the whole Sailor Senshi thing. This story begins when they are 22 and 26 respectively and guess who has finally come home to Tokyo.

Rating: Teen

Chapter 1 - Doctor Mizuno

"Congratulations!" screeched Usagi, running over to give Ami a huge hug as the blue-haired girl entered the Crown arcade. "I'm so proud of you! My very own bestest friend got into the very bestest medical school in all of Tokyo! I mean, we all knew it would happen, but still, this is reason to celebrate."

"I don't know about that, I have a long degree ahead of me," replied the beaming Miss Mizuno, who was hanging off the arm of her long-time boyfriend Zoisite. It had been quite a surprise to everyone, except maybe Sailor Venus, when the meek and brainy Ami Mizuno had suddenly started dating the attractive and teasing Zoisite seven years ago. Indeed it shocked no one so much as Sailor Mercury herself.

Mercury smiled thinking about how far she had come since that fateful day she had been convinced she was going to die. In fact she had been dying. Zoisite and Kunzite had captured the inner senshi and had been ordered by Queen Beryl to kill them and seize their rainbow crystals. But in her dying moments a miracle occurred, Zoisite remembered Ami, and their long ago tragic past. In that flash of recognition he had thrown the dark kingdom's rainbow crystals to Sailor Moon and told her to combine them with the senshi's crystals. Miraculously the ginzuishou had formed and Sailor Moon, no the Moon Princess, used it to heal her injured senshi and undo Beryl's mind control of Zoisite and Kunzite.

"So I heard the good news," came Makoto's voice, as she burst into the arcade to join the quickly growing group. The girls had broken the strict senshi 'business only' rule with their communicators and had scheduled an impromptu get together at their old hang out to celebrate Ami's success. In fact Motoki had been kind enough to close the place down to outside customers so they could celebrate in privacy.

Makoto gave Ami a quick hug and then took a seat at the counter beside Usagi. The two girls chatted lightly with Motoki who was busy making banana splits for 'his girls' as he affectionately called them. With good reason too, their patron-ship had helped pay for his business courses.

"Ami!" screeched Minako, as she ran into the arcade, barely pausing to allow the automatic doors to open. "I'm so happy for you!" she screeched as she grabbed her fellow senshi and twirled her around in a unique Minako hug. "My producer was so mad at me for running out on a recording, but I just told him my friends always come first. Of course he's used to that from me. Oh and Kunzite's coming too," babbled the infectiously joyful Minako. "Too bad 'Ruka and Michi couldn't come though. I do want to take Hotaru shopping now that she's old enough to appreciate a good sale but those three always seem to be off on exotic vacations now that things are relatively slow."

Minako stopped talking for a second and looked around the room. "Where are Rei and Jade?" she asked realizing that they were missing more people than she thought they should be.

"They were out house hunting so they will be a few minutes driving back," explained Usagi, though she had an idea it was more than that keeping the couple. They ran so hot and cold she wondered if it was the fight or the making up which was keeping them this time.

"Really? I don't understand those two at all. One moment they can barely stand each other the next they are buying houses together," commented Minako. "And when are they going to tie the knot?" she asked more to herself than anyone else.

"Not everyone loves as you do," observed Zoisite caustically earning him a nudge from Ami. He often wondered how the stoic Kunzite managed to put up with the lively Venusian. But the lovely couple had been married three years and even Minako's sudden popularity as a pop idol didn't seem to hurt their relationship. In fact if anything it had only made them grow closer as it gave Kunzite the perfect opportunity to play the heroic husband by protecting Minako from overzealous fans.

Kunzite, Zoisite, Ami and Minako settled down in a booth and eagerly begin to eat the banana splits that Motoki had prepared for them. The four were enjoying their deserts, as evidenced by much mming and ahhing which was probably also slightly directed towards their gossip about Rei and Jadeite's relationship.

"I just think we built him up too much before we saved him from his icy nap. When Rei thawed him out she expected too much," commented Zoisite and Kunzite agreed with this assessment. "What do you mean?" broke in Minako, "You too were always saying if he wasn't so headstrong and immature he wouldn't have gotten put into eternal sleep in the first place," she reminded them, knowing that the boys couldn't argue with that. "True, but Rei was still expecting him to be her one and only, just like you guys were for us," pointed out Ami, earning her a smug grin from the two shitennou. "And it did take us two whole years to find him too, so all that expectation had to be hard."

Makoto and Usagi remained at the counter while Motoki went to the storage room to get more bananas for the splits. They knew they should go and join their friends but gatherings of the senshi and shitennou were hard for the two girls. Especially considering the subject now being discussed. "Makoto how is your new job going?" Usagi asked lamely, trying to get their thoughts away from the happy and giggling couples at the table next to them.

"Oh, the produce there is really great. Which is nice, because no chef can do justice to her craft with bad produce," replied Makoto dully. Usagi could tell her mind was a million miles away.

"I'm sorry Makoto," whispered Usagi, as she patted her friend on the shoulder.

"How do you mourn someone you never really knew?" Makoto whispered to her friend. If only Nephrite hadn't of... but he had. She had dated several men in the last seven years but none of them had seemed to measure up to the ideal that she didn't even fully remember. It was absurd that she couldn't get over him when she had never known him as anything but her enemy in this lifetime.

"The same way you wait for someone who you don't know and can't find?" replied Usagi wistfully. She looked down at her hands and cursed the name that haunted her in her sleep. 'Endymion!' She hated that name. It was the name of her one great love whom she was supposed to live happily ever after with. The name which was practically worshipped among the shitennou. The one person they liked to remind her about if she even so much as looked at another guy. The one person they never seemed to be able to find.

"Seiya really cared for you, you know?" Makoto stated, suddenly curious about how Usagi had really felt about him. Usagi had never once mentioned Seiya's name after Galaxia's defeat and the Starlights departure, and none of the senshi had been brave enough to broach the subject with her. No doubt the shittenou had though. "I mean, I think that he could have made you happy too. Do you regret that you let him go away?" Makoto had to admit to herself she had been sad when Seiya had left. She hadn't had any feelings for him, but if Usagi had been able to get past her past life then there would be hope for her as well.

Usagi smiled sadly at her friend. She indeed had known the extent of Seiya's feelings and she had felt the same way. But there had always been 'Endymion' between them. This by itself probably would not have been enough to stop Usagi from being with Seiya, if it weren't for the shittennou. Usagi shuddered to herself remembering her first and last kiss with Seiya before he and the other Starlights had gone home. Jadeite and Zoisite had witnessed it and had told Usagi in no simple terms that she was to tell Seiya to go home, that she didn't love him enough for him to stay. "Do you even care if we find Endymion?" Zoisite had yelled at her with rage. Jadeite had merely looked at her with angry and betrayed eyes.

"Rei, so what if I asked if the house had a secret room?" came Jadeite's voice as the couple stormed into the Crown.

"So what? Do you want to declare who we are to the world," she hissed back, while motioning for Jade to stop talking about it. This was after-all Ami's celebration and she would not let her foolish boyfriend ruin it.

"Ami!" said Rei, her tone of voice doing a complete 180 as she smiled at her friend. "I'm so happy for you," she added as she pushed over Minako to make room for herself in the crowded booth. Jadeite pushed equally as hard on Kunzite on the opposite side, but with less successful results as evidenced by the fact that half of his bottom was hanging over the edge of the seat.

Motoki had finished the banana splits for the rest of the gang and Usagi and Makoto helped him carry them to the booth before they pulled stools over to join their friends. "Congrats Ami!" said Motoki, adding his congratulations to those of all of her friends.

"Thank you guys so much," Ami squealed in a very un-Ami-like fashion. Her happiness was hard to contain. She was with her best friends in the whole world celebrating an exciting new part of her life that she had worked so hard towards. And that had not only meant doing well in her studies but also overcoming all the enemies that had tried to break them apart over the years.

"Can I ask you something Miss Mizuno?" piped up Zoisite, nervously breaking through the chatter of his friends who were eagerly digging into their deserts. "I know that it will be a long time before you finish your studies, though four or even ten years is nothing close to a thousand." The whole table that had been alive with the clicking of spoons and good wishes was suddenly dead silent as Zoisite continued. "But if you would do me the honour of agreeing to someday maybe being..." "Oh she will!" burst out Minako who turned three shades of red when all of the table's occupants glared at her. "Well, what I was trying to say," continued a much redder Zoisite, after a glare at Minako and an awkward silence. Why had he done this in public? "Is that if you would agree to be my wife someday you would make me the luckiest man in the world." With that Zoisite gingerly got out of his set and timidly got down on one knee in front of Ami to offer her a beautiful diamond ring cut in the shape of the ginzuishou.

"What she said," laughed Ami, as Zoisite put the ring on her finger and her fellow senshi crowded around her to inspect it with awe. "It's so pretty," cooed Minako while Makoto tried to compliment Ami's ring but ended up saying a hallow, "Congrats." Usagi merely smiled and pulled Ami into another big hug while warning Zoisite that she would take the real ginzuishou to anyone who dare hurt one of her princesses. "I hope you're taking notes," said Rei, reaffirming her current truce with Jade.

While the friends were oohing and ahhing over Ami's ring a knock came from the door of the arcade. "Someone can't read the 'Closed' sign," joked Usagi, looking angrily towards the person who dared try to intrude on their little group's private moment. Even Motoki knew of their secret and it was nice not having to worry about what they said for once.

"I'll tell whoever it is to go away," said Motoki, as he got up and headed to the counter to grab a free ice cream coupon. Motoki didn't like the idea of losing a potential customer. But to the groups chagrin instead of sending the customer on his way they heard a "Hey, sorry guys, but I'm letting him in," from Motoki a few seconds later.

"Oh do you have to?" whined Usagi as Motoki and the other man entered the arcade. She took a sudden dislike to this intruder for some unknown reason. He did look vaguely familiar and Usagi tried to conjure up where she had seen him before. And then it hit her! He was that rude friend of Motoki's who she had accidently ran into once or twice in junior high. It was odd she would remember him so clearly and with so much disdain! But most likely her displeasure had more to do with the pretty ring on her friend's finger. Her great love for her fellow senshi would never allow her to be openly jealous of them, but her loneliness and frustration had to be directed somewhere.

"Sorry about this guys. But this is my best friend Mamoru," introduced Motoki, gesturing at the other man. "He's just got back from America," he added trying to justify letting him in.

"I thought I was your best friend," teased Usagi, though a hint of disdain still lingered in her voice.

"So you've replaced me with a gorgeous blonde?" replied Mamoru, smirking devilishly at Usagi, though his words were directed at Motoki. It had been too long since his high school days when he and Motoki had sat at the counter of the arcade and discussed homework and girls. Not that he had discussed girls or Motoki homework, but they had bonded despite their differences.

"Sorry buddy, she won me over," laughed Motoki. "But come on, sit down with us. We're celebrating because Ami here just got into medical school. And since you've just graduated from med perhaps you can give her some tips."

"Perhaps she can give me some as well. I've been away from Tokyo so long I'm nervous about starting my residency here after being in America," replied Mamoru, happily taking the stool that Motoki had pulled out for him beside the gorgeous blonde. She looked like... but no, he had to put that stupid dream out of his head before it consumed his whole life.

"So why bother coming back?" asked Kunzite, and Motoki glared at him for being so rude to his old friend. Kunzite merely glared back. Couldn't Motoki see that this strange guy was making eyes at Usagi? And if the girl had almost fallen in love with a transexual alien, didn't Motoki know the risk of introducing a handsome doctor?

End Chapter 1

Stay Tuned for Chapter 2 - Double Dates and Old Flames