Disclaimer: I do not own sailor moon

Well, here it is the next chapter of starcrossed, enjoy.


"Oh Mina I feel so refreshed this morning, I don't know what it is but I hope that it continues. I didn't fall asleep once in class, and I actually new most of the answers on the history test." Serena was in a very good mood this morning, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why. aybe it was the fantastic sleep she had, or maybe it was something completely different, either way she felt ecstatic.

"You realize that it's more likely that you did well on the test because we spent five hours helping you prepare last night," responded Ami to her soaring friend. She was a little tiffed that Serena wasn't giving her any credit, but only a little bit.

"Does it really matter Ami, the point is that I did good, and either way, if you haven't noticed, I've been having a fantastic day." Serena's friends couldn't help but notice that today she radiated an undeniable joy and nothing seemed to be able to bring her happiness down.

"Do you guys wanna study at the temple tonight?" Asked Lita. She was slightly out of breath from running to catch up with her friends. "I've got some exciting news but I want to tell everyone at the same time."

"For sure, I'll bet that Rei's grandpa will cook us up something really yummy." As Serena said this her stomach growled loudly for emphasis. Serena's cheeks became the palest pink but she didn't say anything.

"Oh Serena is all you ever think about your stomach?" Asked Mina as she playfully poked at the blonde's belly.

Happily laughing the four girls walked down the street together to meet up with Rei.

***

Princess Kakyuu walked silently through the courtyard. She was attempting to gather her thoughts and prepare herself for what she was about to do. She loved her Starfighter, always had, probably always would, but could never bring herself to act on her feelings. She was scared, not of being rejected, but of Starfighter claiming that she returned the princess's feelings only to please her. Starfighter was loyal beyond all reason and the princess had no doubt that she was capable of confessing an imaginary love. That fear had only become more prominent since they had returned back home from earth.

On earth, while she was captured she knew that Starfighter had fallen in love with the moon princess while she had been playing the role of an idol in hopes of reaching her own princess. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder what would of happened between herself and Starfighter if she and the moon princess had never met, but then she cided herself because she knew as well as anybody else that fate lets everything happen for a reason and she and Starfighter were just not meant to be. It was true that she he wanted nothing more than Starfighter to return her love, but naturally and not forced. IThe situation had only grown worse now; Starfighter's loyalty would result in her losing what could be true love. Kakyuu could never ask her senshi to give up true love and so she had to be strong and do what she knew needed to be done.

The princess took a deep breath and lightly rapped on Starfighter's door. From inside she could just make out the sound of a shower running. She waited a few more minutes before knocking again on the door and this time when no one answered she decided to go inside and wait.

As the princess looked around her senshi's chambers she noticed how bare the room was. She remembered a time when this rrom had been full of colour and life, everywhere you looked there would be plants, Starfighter had always enjoyed the plants of Kinmoku.

It was just as she had turned her aze to the bedroom door that she heard the shower turn off. Just a few moments passed before a woman clothed in only a towel emerged from the room. Seeing Starfighter in only a towel caused a deep red to flood Kakyuu's cheeks, and she quickly averted her eyes.

As Starfighter emerged she was startled to find her princess sitting on the couch, it took only a moment for her to realize why the princess's cheeks were now a deep scarlet. She quickly muttered and apology before dashing back to her bedchambers.

As Starfighter rushed around trying to get dressed she found herself pondering what her princess's business was with her might be. She knew that she had been acting depressed lately and that everybody had noticed, but she had been completing all her duties without fault. The princess should find that satisfactory, and if she didn't find it to her liking she had never even once voiced a complaint, so why now? But if she wasn't here about her performance why was Kakyuu here?

There had once been a time, before the trouble with Galaxia began that the princess had visited her home just to have tea and talk, but such visits had ceased since their return. Starfighter knew it was because of her own attitude and lack of communication, but she still blamed the princess for casting off their friendship so easily, she hadn't even attempted to fight for what they had.

She quickly finished dressing, took a quick peek in the mirror, pulled her hair back into her usual poneytail, and went back to her princess to find out her reason for coming.

"Welcome princess, I apologize for the earlier… uh, situation. I hope that you can forgive me." As she brought up the incident she saw a bit of scarlet return to the princess's cheeks.

"Of course, I am the one who should be forgiven for coming into your chambers unannounced."

Starfighter immediately began shaking her head in objection. "You need not ask for forgiveness, you are welcome to enter my chambers any time you wish, my only duty is to serve you princess."

"No, you have a duty to yourself as well, a duty to let yourself be happy…" Kakyuu had to pause for a moment, she truly believed in was saying and what she was about to do would be hard but in the long run would help them both find happiness.

"No, I only have a duty to you, my own happiness matters not." As she said this she thought of Serena and that she had already given up the one thing that would truly make her happy, her only chance at love.

"Well, if you don't care about your happiness, I'm hear to tell you that I do. I know how bad you've been since we returned, everyone does, and I can't stand to see you this way, so if you want to make me happy try caring about yourself!" Princess Kakyuu could feel tears beginning to form and paused to take a breath and calm down, before one had a chance to fall. "… Starfighter, the most important thing to me other than the safety and happiness of my people is you. I care for you very deeply, in the same way that you care about the moon princess, and I wish to never see you hurting, and that is the reason why I am here."

Starfighter couldn't believe what she was hearing, the princess was admitting that she had feelings for her, how could she possibly have been so dense as not to see it. Thinking back it was quite noticeable that the princess cared for Starfighter, their private visits, shared glances in the halls, how could she not have gotten it, but then she realized it was the same way Serena hadn't gotten it. As her mind was forming all these thoughts she realized that she should say something so she managed to force out. "What is it you plan to do?"

"First I need you to answer one question, I already know the answer so I want you to be completely honest, I just need to hear you say it." Kakyuu saw Starfighter staring at her with confusion in her eyes but she only pushed forward. "Do you love me?"

Starfighter was shocked at the princess's question and after a moment calmly answered, "Of course I do, all of the Starlights love you, all of Kinmoku loves you, why do you feel the need to ask?"

"You know exactly what I mean, please answer my question properly; you will not hurt my feelings." Of course this was a lie, but she had already cried so many times over Starfighter that one more would not make a difference.

It seemed like forever had passed the two by before Starfighter finally gave an answer. "I am truly sorry, my princess, but my heart belongs to another." Starfighter couldn't believe she had denied her princess, before the thought would have never even crossed her mind, before she met Serena, that is. A strange thing love had done to her, it had even broken her devotion to her princess, for never could she pledge her love to someone other than her dumpling. "I pray that you will one day forgive me."

"You need not ask for forgiveness, I am the one who needs to thank you." At this Starfighter glanced up questioningly," I have always known the answer but I needed to hear you say it, if you never told me I would have always wondered 'what if?'." Suddenly Kakyuu's tone turned serious, "Now, on to the problem of your unhappiness here."

Starfighter was still thinking about what a wonderful friend her princess was, and decided that she wanted to do anything she could to cause her no more trouble. "Princess it's alright, I'll be fine."

"No it is not alright, I told you; I care about your happiness and you are most certainly not happy and that makes me sad, that's not what you want is it?" Starfighter couldn't help but let a smile tug at the edges of her mouth upon hearing this. They may never be lovers, but she and the princess would always care for each other. "I can see it in your face right now, you long for earth and the moon princess."

"That may be true, but even if I were to return she has that other man; Darien. She loves him, not me. And besides she fell in love with Seiya the man, not Starfighter the women." That fact had nagged at Starfighter every time she thought back to her princess, even in her own dreams she was only with her dumpling as the human man Seiya.

"If that is the form in which you found love, do you think that maybe perhaps that is the form that you are truly meant to be?" The princess's question was one that she had been thinking about for a while, and something in her mind always seemed to scream 'yes!' whenever she pondered it, it was quite an interesting possibility.

"You mean to say that maybe I am truly a man at heart? How can that be when my senshi form, the form given to me by the stars themselves, is that of a woman?"

"The ways of the universe are not for us to question Starfighter, without you as a senshi it is quite possible that Galaxia may have never been defeated, maybe you were needed in this form in order to aid the moon princess." Starfighter realized that maybe Kakyuu had a point, she and the other starlights had been very active in the fight against Galaxia.

"Alright, say that you are right, I can't return to earth, I am needed her to serve you." Even as she said this she couldn't help but hope that threre was a way for her to return to Earth without betrayong her princess.

"No, you are not; I dismiss you from my service. You are free to do what you choose now." It was at this point that Kakyuu finally couldn't hold her tears back anymore. Through blurry tears she whispered, "Please choose wisely my Starfighter." And then she stoop up and walked out the door without another word.

Starfighter was left there stunned speechless; she was no longer a starlight, and at no betrayel of her own and therefore she had nothing tying her to Kinmoku. Her life was now hers to choose, and she knew exactly the path she wished to take. She wondered out to her balconey and whispered to the heavens; "I will always be in your debt my princess." And took the first step on her new path.

***

"Okay, Lina what's your exciting news?"

"It's Andrew. So you know how he broke up with his girlfriend a couple of weeks ago?" All of her friends nodded yes. "Well yesterday when I was at the arcade he asked me if I wanted to get lunch with him!" All of her friends squealed in delight at this, everyone that is except Rei.

"Rei are you okay you."

Rei didn't respond she just stared of into the distance in a trance. Serena began to wave her hand in front of her friend's face trying to get her to respond, and finally, after a flick to her forehead she snapped out of it. "Rei?"

"I'm fine, it's just that I just felt a big shift in the balance, and I can't figure out if it was good or bad." Said Rei as she glanced up at the starlit sky as she thought to herself 'I hope its not more trouble'.


Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. I got a little swept away by Princess Kakyuu and Starfighter but I really wanted to devlelop their characters and define their relationship. Reviews would be greatly appreciated and I hope to get the next chapter done before monday.