Summary: Usagi looks in the mirror on her wedding day and finds Serenity's silver locks dominating her own gold. "It's time," she thinks. And then she finds the courage to make her stand.
The September wind whipped her hair up into a frenzy, wrapping long blonde chains around her arms and throat. She's a mess, from head to toe, starting with her unbound hair and traveling past her tear streaked face and wrinkled clothing to stop at her scuffed up bare feet. Usagi's hurting down to her bones and she's so thankful that she's alone right now to let it out.
The vision of Tokyo is splendid from this view, and with a desperately slow drag of air, another second of her life flies by. She feels stuck and frozen even as the people on the street below go on with their lives. The wind continues to beat at her relentlessly, so much like the personality of it's soldier. Usagi can almost hear Haruka now, "You've gotta wake up, koneko-chan. The world's not gonna wait on you forever, you know."
But if it was that easy to shrug off, then Usagi wouldn't be standing on the rooftop of this building looking like a train wreck. A bitter smile stretches across her face that looks so out of place against her delicate features. As out of place as she feels in this world.
It's ironic, but it was actually easier when all she had to worry about were jealous queens, corrupted princes, twisted circuses, and evil intergalactic sailor soldiers.
Her trembling hands draw her attention, and the glint of the scissors clenched between bone white fingers reminds her of the present. A strand of her hair wraps itself around the blades, and her eyes narrow in on the white strands already losing their golden hue. The colour takes her back, to when she was just Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, lonely and fragile. Usagi's hand lashes out fast to grab one ofthe silvery locks in place. But her blue eyes are unfocused and brimming with memories.
The most important of them being Endymion's dead eyes, glazed over and cold. Her feet are tingling and numbing quickly in the cold, and she unconsciously shifts her weight around.
-Endymion died long ago-, Serenity's voice whispers.
"You're right.", Usagi mumbles back, her voice hoarse from sobbing all night. "I have to make this right." Still her hands trembled around the scissors, and it was nearly physically painful to unwind her long hair from her body and pull it tightly over her shoulder.
-What are you doing?!-, something inside of her asked. It sounded suspiciously like Rei. -You're not thinking rationally right now, Usagi-chan.-, Ami told her matter of factly. -Besides, you haven't even had breakfast yet. How can you even think on an empty stomach?-, Makoto's voice teased gently. -You can still come home, Usagi-chan. Please, come back home?-, even Minako's voice joined them, begging her to rethink things.
Usagi hesitated as the sound of wedding bells rang melodiously in the distance, but then gave a single, resolute shake of her head. "I've waited long enough. Don't you understand, this is my last chance to fix things. It's now or never.", her voice is strong, but her eyes waver back to the mane of her hair she's holding taught over her shoulder. The wind ruffles the ends, and the sunlight shines brightly against
her white-gold locks.
-I'm dead, Usagi-chan. I died next to my beloved.-, Serenity's voice reminds her.
Flexing her numb toes, she feels fresh tears dripping down her face. "I know.", her voice breaks at the end. "This is my last chance, my only chance. I have to make this right.", and she does exactly that. She takes a pair of too-bright scissors to the long hair that has been her only constant between this life and the one before.
*Snip*
Letting loose a deep breath, she watches her silver chains fly away in the wind.
*Snip*
*Snip*
Usagi cuts and trims to the best of her ability, until all that's left of her hair is a mismatched mess that just touches her chin. The gooseflesh on her arms and legs is still there, and the breath in her lungs is the same as before. But she's different now, because she just gave up far more than hair. She gave up her destiny, her fairy tale, and the love of her life. Again, the wedding bells ring nearby.
Despite all this, and the biting cold, she smiles.
Because 'Usagi Tsukino' just gained a chance.