AN: So for those of you that actually bother coming back, I'm sorry this isn't a story that has any degree of consistency in updates. This is just a piece I work on when the mood strikes. My other Sailor Moon story takes more attention. Still, I'm glad you cared enough to take a look. Also, there really isn't too much of a plot in this. It's just talks they have at important points of the storyline.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, just this twisted no-plot chatting story.

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He looked for her the instant he had a Nijizuishou, the moment he knew he was Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Moon's protector. He had to. And she was there, lying facedown in the grass.

"A matter of time," she murmured as he approached. "Always, a matter of time. I knew you would come."

"Are you all right?" he demanded anxiously. "You're not hurt?"

Usagi shook her head as she sat up, smiling faintly. "I'm fine. You saved me in time."

Mamoru rocked back on his heels in shock. "You knew?"

"Of course. I called you protector when we first met."

He paused, unsure. "Serenity?"

"No," she answered. "Serenity is still too weak to speak for herself. She grows stronger as the Nijizuishou appear, but right now she still needs the moon. Sometimes, since I generally speak for both of us, I'll refer to myself doing what she did. In the end, it's still true. You're our protector. You've always been our protector. How are you? I hope your blackouts didn't hurt you too badly."

"You knew about my blackouts? Of course you knew about my blackouts," he answered himself. "You already know all of this, don't you?"

"It seems that so far this life is proceeding normally. The blackouts are common for you, unfortunately. They should end now that you know who you are."

"But do I?" he asked. "Do I really know who I am?"

Her lips twitched. "I suppose I must say it again. It's a matter of time. When that time comes, the truth will be revealed."

"Sometimes I wonder if you enjoy being cryptic," he said grouchily as he sat down at her side.

"It's not intentional," she laughed. "Really. I would tell you, but I don't like to burden others with my trouble."

He studied the Nijizuishou he had just plucked from his pocket. "These things cause so much trouble for being so small."

She glanced at it briefly. "So small, yet so huge. The seven together contain one of the greatest powers of the universe."

He took one last hard look at it, then offered it to her. "I know you need them."

Usagi shook her head with a smile and pushed it back toward him. "Keep it. It doesn't matter who holds the fragments. They will come to me in the end, because they are mine. Besides, the Dark Kingdom thinks that Tuxedo Kamen-sama works against the Senshi. They are safer if I don't keep any we find. Besides, how would I explain it to the others?"

Mamoru shrugged. "You've asked for the Ginzuishou. I want to find it for you."

"When the time comes, it will appear. The fragments mean nothing. I only fight for them to spare their carriers. They did nothing to deserve this. If I wanted, I could gather each Nijizuishou to me with only a thought, sparing them. However, the Dark Kingdom would still attack, and they would be hurt for nothing. In the end, the Nijizuishou do no good without the trigger that will bring them together."

"What trigger?"

Her eyes drifted closed. "I can't say. I wouldn't even if I could, because I always hope it doesn't happen. I'm trying very hard to avoid that."

Mamoru hesitated, but wrapped her into a hug. "I worry about you so much. How can someone so kind deserve this war?"

"I don't know," she answered after a long pause. "I wondered, before. I've even considered begging the Ginzuishou to spare me, but in the end, I wouldn't. I don't like being a warrior, but I would never abandon those that matter to me because I wasn't willing to stand and fight."

"I'll know what's going on eventually, won't I?"

"Of course. It's only a…"

"Matter of time. I know, I know."

"You seem as disgusted with it as I am," Usagi observed.

"It gets wearing," he admitted.

She shrugged delicately. "Do you have any questions regarding what's happened? I'll answer what I can."

"Are you really that klutzy?"

Usagi laughed despite herself. "Pretty much. I get better sometimes but it seems to be something I can't escape, and it's always at its worst when it's most inconvenient. I've tripped in front of youma more time than I can count."

"And then I swoop in and save you?" There was a touch of a merry twinkle in his eye.

"Generally, yeah. Sometimes if you're not there it's one of my Senshi. I love them; they're the best friends ever."

That one stung a little. "Then what am I?"

She glanced at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"If they're your best friends, where do I come in?" Jealousy ate at him though he tried to ignore it.

Her mouth formed a perfect 'O' in understanding. "Do you think I don't like you or something?"

"No." Yes.

"Mamoru…"

He growled and ran one hand over his hair. "Am I just your protector? Is that it? That and the guy you talk to now and again to vent?"

"You have never been 'just' anything. Yes, you're my protector. You're the guy I'll talk to about anything. You know more about me than anyone else, including my family or my Senshi." Her bright eyes locked with his. "I love you. I've always loved you. I will always love you. Is that what you needed to know?"

A wave of emotion crashed into him, and he hardly knew what to think. Finally words formed in his throat. "Do you love me for me, or just because I'm the reincarnation of some guy you loved?" Wrong words.

Fire blazed in her expression as she jumped away. "How can you say that? I fall in love with you in every life, yes, but not because of the past. I love you for you. Maybe someday you'll understand that."

She sprinted away, but he saw a glimmer of tears like tiny diamonds against her cheeks. He also wondered if she was going to run away every time they talked.

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AN: Thanks for reading. This is really just an experiment of mine, but I'm glad people like it. As with anything else I post, I must add that I love hearing what readers have to say, regardless of what it is. Questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, you name it. Till next time!