Crystal Tokyo glowed softly in the moonlight. The sun had set a while ago, and this early part of the night was the princess's favorite. The stars seemed to speak to her, to calm her, and with the moon this feeling was tenfold. The bright white sphere looked down on her and on the world, and reassured her. Protected her. She wondered if all the sailor guardians felt this for their planets. From her balcony high up in the palace the sprawling city seemed not unlike the stars; full of twinkling lights and reflective surfaces it felt just as alive and mysterious as the far away planets and galaxies in the night sky.

Lost in these thoughts the princess was unaware of her mother entering the room, gentle as a cloud, until the queen was only steps away. She tried not to look startled as she turned to meet her mother's warm smile.

"Hello, Small Lady," she cooed, joining the princess on the balcony.

"Hello, Mama," she responded, letting her head fall down to her mother's shoulder.

"I suppose I shouldn't call you Small Lady anymore," the queen commented, noting how close their heights had become.

"I don't mind," Lady Serenity muttered, the scent of her mother mingling with that of the cool night air. She felt secure and comfortable in this moment.

Her mother wrapped an arm around her. After a moment, the queen went on.

"You know, we think you might have to go away again," she admitted with a soft sigh.

A complicated slurry of emotions rolled over in the princess's gut. Her mother meant, of course, that the princess must return to a time in earth's past, before Crystal Tokyo. Before this secure and magical place they stood.

The past was almost like a second home to her by now, of course, with the love of her parents and their dearest companions waiting for her, but it still wasn't home. It was perhaps like going to see a dear relative: comfortable and lovely, but after a while you still felt a little homesick, and were very happy to sleep in your own bed again.

"More training?" the princess prompted.

"Not quite," the queen responded. "it seems some star seeds have taken on a new life back in the twenty first century."

"What does that mean?" she asked, lifting her head and turning to look at the queen.

"It means we'd like you to go back and look into it."

"Why can't you?" the princess asked.

Her mother gave her a somewhat confused look.

"I mean, not, like, You-you, but Past-you. Wouldn't you be interested?"

"At this particular point in time the sailor soldiers have… other things on our minds."

The queen was looking out into the distance, and the princess felt something was being left out, but by the time she mustered anywhere near the courage to ask the queen was already turning to leave.

"All I ask is that you think it over," she concluded. "goodnight, Serenity. Sleep well."

"Good night, Mama."

Diana leapt up onto the Princess's shoulder as she headed for the time gate. The princess flinched under the feline's weight; Diana had grown up into a sort of lanky, teenage cat, balancing somewhere between a full-fledged adult and the tiny, young thing she had once been. Sort of like the princess.

The cat watched intently as Lady Usagi fished in her pocket, looking for her time key. She slowed to a stop a foot or two from the time door, looking up at the towering mass of planetary stone.

"What's wrong, Small Lady?" Diana piped up.

"Just taking stock," Usagi assured her, "I have the key, clothes, spending money, the information for the apartment… I think I have everything."

"Do you have your compact?" Diana prompted.

"Of course," Usagi assured her, tapping a jacket pocket. A solid 'tak' sound confirmed that the magical artifact was safely stowed away.

"Then you should go through the door, yes?"

"R-right," Usagi accepted. She took a deep breath, screwed her eyes shut, kept her destination clear in her mind, clutched her key tight in her fist, and stepped through the door.

When she opened her eyes she was standing in the middle of an empty street. Usagi quickly retrieved the information her father had put together for her from her bag; it included information on the exact time period she had traveled back to, and the apartment she'd need to rent. It took her a moment to really get her bearings, both in time and space, but she confirmed the date—smack in the early 21st century, just as planned—and sped off to find the address on her paper.

Her parents had been very clear that she could no longer stay with Usagi-of-the-past, though they'd neglected to go into real detail of why, with so many other necessary preparations. Regardless, they had both insisted that she leave her future mother and the other guardians alone.

Usagi was glad to get through the rental process without much trouble, and was also relieved to find the apartment reasonably furnished. Maybe this wouldn't be too hard, even without her friends and family of the past to lean on.

She managed to pull together a decent dinner (healthy or not) and turned to sleep as the sun set. Diana curled up at the foot of her bed, and she pulled the covers up, fully intending to drift off to sleep. But as she lay in the silent room the emotion cocktail in the pit of her stomach started to grow and spread, creeping into her thoughts.

She was alone now, and the idea nagged at her mind and drilled down into her heart. She pulled the covers up closer, in a vain attempt to subdue the loneliness, but it wasn't really working. Even the warmth of Diana at her feet didn't do too much to reassure her. She loved the cat, but Diana was so naive. Not a whole lot of help for navigating Tokyo of the past.

Unable to lay still with this feeling in the pit of her stomach, Usagi slunk out of bed, careful not to wake the cat. She tugged on her jacket as she stepped toward the window. It had gotten a little colder in the room since night had fallen. She looked out the window, hoping for some kind of reassurance in the lights of the city, or the stars, but the sky was cloudy and the concrete expanses dull. Apparently most people in this area were already asleep.

How did Makoto and her father manage it? Did they feel lonely like this often?

Still seeking familiarity her hand drifted to her pocket, settling around her compact. As she tried to draw comfort from its shape, her license danced around her hand. She pulled the card out of her pocket, and as one hand returned to the compact the other turned the card over. In the light of a streetlight a block away she could just make out her photo, pink hair standing out against the plain background, an expression just short of an actual smile frozen on her face. She looked over her name for the past:

Shizukesa Usagi.

This was who she was until she completed her mission. This was who she was until she could return home.

Her task seemed abstract and daunting.

She looked out the window once more, unseeing, before turning and settling back into her bed, resigned to battling these emotions from under the covers until she could drift off to sleep.

Author's note: This fic takes place in an anime/manga canon hybrid. This is a story I wanted to tell, even though it doesn't necessarily match up with canon timelines, so all this story really sets out to do in terms of timelines is to not contradict itself.