...

Gazing at people,
Some hand in hand,
Just what I'm going through
They can't understand.

Some try to tell me
Thoughts they cannot defend,
Just what you want to be
You will be in the end,

And I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Oh, how, I love you.

Usagi walked down the street slowly beside Naru and Umino. They were busy talking about the latest gossip, but Usagi could not pay attention to the interesting tidbits of information that were presented to her. Her mind had not found any rest in the past week, and her heart could not feel at peace for even a moment. Naru walked closely beside her and Usagi knew that she had been worried sick over her, but Usagi could not bring herself to tell her about her troubles. In truth, the sight of Naru and Umino together only made Usagi's heart feel an even more acute pain. She had never been jealous of Naru and Umino's relationship since it had begun three years ago, but recently Usagi had noticed how close they were and how Usagi was becoming even more alone. The unsent love letter in her pocket proved just that.

"My mom just had a new alarm system installed in our shop," Usagi attempted to tune into the conversation, but she was only half interested. "She's worried that we might be the next store to be robbed, and with us living there, she is even more stressed." Usagi had missed the earlier parts of the conversation and she didn't understand what Naru meant by "next store".

"Yeah, but if you are robbed, Sailor V will be sure to show up." Umino chipped in. Usagi really wished she had been listening.

"Wait, what about being robbed? Sailor V is back?" Naru looked at Usagi and she stopped walking.

"You haven't been listening this entire time?" Usagi bit her lip.

"Not really," Naru sighed and shook her head.

"A masked man in a tuxedo has been going around breaking into jewelry stores all around Tokyo, he never takes anything though because Sailor V has reappeared to stop him!" Umino said excitedly, he was always in tune with the local gossip, and he knew how much Usagi loved Sailor V.

Naru only looked at Usagi with a quiet stare.

"Are you okay, Usagi-chan?" Usagi nodded. She hated to lie to Naru, but she would have felt silly about telling Naru that she had been writing letters all week to a man she would never see again.

"Yeah, I just haven't been getting enough sleep." Usagi explained. Naru knew there was more, but thankfully she let Usagi have her space, at least for a little while longer.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Usagi nodded, but she knew that this was one time that this wasn't true. Usagi didn't know why, but she had no desire to tell Naru about the ball.

"I know, but this is nothing." Naru watched her for a moment and then she grabbed hold of Umino's arm.

"Umino and I are going to the park, do you want to come?" Usagi thought about it a moment and then shook her head.

"No thanks, I think I'll just go home and get some sleep." By Naru's face Usagi could tell that this was what Naru had expected.

"Okay," She turned to Umino but hesitated. "Are you sure you are alright?" Usagi offered her a bright smile and nodded. Naru allowed herself to start walking away slowly with Umino beside her. "See you tomorrow, Usagi-chan."

Usagi watched her friends leave and once she was alone she took out the love letter and looked it over once more. It was written entirely in hiragana even though Usagi had tried her best to remember the kanji; she just never could master it all.

It was silly anyways. Usagi was never going to send it. Usagi's hand tightened around the letter and then in a fit of frustration she began to tear it up violently. Nothing was going to come out of this, and Usagi would be left all alone forever!

Usagi let all of the pain and hurt come out all at once as she tore the letter to shreds. "You're just a stupid little girl!" Usagi fumed as she tore at it. "You're going to be alone and stupid for the rest of your life!" She let the shreds of paper fly up out of her hands and into the wind. Usagi watched them leave her hands with water in her eyes. She just felt so lost.

Behind her, the pieces blew around a man's shoes.

"Littering is a punishable offense, Odango Atama." At the sound of his voice Usagi froze. Slowly she turned around to face him, but when she saw who it was she felt another surge anger and disappointment.

"You!" Her voice reflected the anger and frustration she was feeling.

"You?" He repeated in confusion, and he seemed shocked by her anger and so informal use of language. The man in the green trail blazer stood there before her and Usagi felt conflicting emotions in her heart. She wanted to scream at him, but at the same time... her heart began to beat faster and Usagi felt a bit happier.

The man leaned down and picked up a few of the bigger pieces of paper and began to look them over. Usagi rushed over to stop him.

"That is not for you!" She said picking them up and she tried to take the others out of his hand. The man laughed as he kept them from her.

"Well they were at my feet," He began to joke but Usagi only reached for them once more.

"Let go of them!" She yelled in anger, He looked at her face and after a few seconds he let go of the papers; letting them blow in the wind once more. The two of them watched them dance in the wind as they scattered across the street. Usagi's breath became more even and her anger began to subside.

"Are you okay, Odango?" The anger flared up once more and she looked up at his face fully planning on yelling at him. As she met his gaze his genuinely concerned eyes stopped her. His eyes were a deep blue and the sight of them made Usagi's heart stop: they were just like the masked man's.

They looked at each other for only a moment, but then the man looked away first. Usagi broke out of her trance and then nodded.

"I'm okay." She said, all emotion in her voice was gone as she thought about how similar their eyes were. The man smiled and began to walk past her.

"Good," He seemed to feel hesitant about leaving her now, but he proceeded to pass her. "See you later, Odango Atama." Usagi watched him leave and she realized that she didn't want him to go. After their first encounter with the test, all they had ever done was fight, but now that Usagi thought back about it, she had always enjoyed it and had looked forward to seeing him again. It was as if they had been drawn together, but they didn't even know each other's names.

"See you." She said softly, but he was already too far away to hear her.

Usagi took the piece of paper in her hands and crumpled it into a tight ball. She had been doing her homework when her hands had begun to write one more letter. It was no use, Usagi knew, to continue writing, but she just couldn't help it. Usagi threw the love letter against the wall and laid back on her bed in frustration. There was no point to it all, she could write a million letters, but she knew that she would never send them. Usagi sighed and she turned over in her bed. The moon was now only half full, but its pale light still caused Usagi to feel nostalgic and her heart to swell with sadness.

"Its no use." She said with a few tears glistening in her eyes. They were living in two completely different worlds. He probably wasn't even thinking about her anymore. He already had found the love of his life, that millionaire's daughter. Usagi sat up and attempted to dry her eyes, but the tears were already spilling over and becoming uncontrollable. Her heart could not be consoled. This love she felt couldn't be real, but it just wouldn't go away.

Usagi hit her fist against the bed. "What is wrong with me?!" She asked through her tears. She sat up against the window sill looking up at the sky, towards the moon and the stars. "Please," She closed her eyes and shook her head trying to clear her head, but it was no use.

Usagi tightened her fists and she looked up to the sky once more.

"Isn't anyone out there to help me?!" She demanded looking straight at the moon. Her next question came out with less anger and more sorrowful. "What am I going to do?" The moon didn't offer her a response and she collapsed onto the window sill with her head laying on her crossed arms as she cried. "Someone, just, please help me!" She sobbed and her heart prayed with all of its might for someone to answer her, and this prayer was stronger than any letter she could have ever written. As Usagi cried with her head down, a soft, pink light streaked across the sky like a shooting star. The light reached the surface of the Earth and from a cloud of pink mist stepped out a black cat with a crescent moon emblem on its forehead.

Usagi was alone as she walked home from school. She had purposely avoided Naru and Umino because she knew that she would not be able to face them when they were together. Usagi just couldn't handle them today; not after her tearful night in solitude.

Her eyes scanned the street anxiously as she walked by the arcade and later when she was walking by the park. She wouldn't have admitted it if confronted, but her heart was searching franticly for the man who referred to her as "Odango Atama." If someone had told her that she would have denied it outright and would have stormed away, but none of the less, that was who she was looking for. She sighed as she entered the park and approached the central fountain. This fountain had always been her favorite spot in the whole city, and it gave her a happy feeling of nostalgia and hope. This is what she needed most of all today, but as she sat down and let the cool water spray her face, it only reminded her of her own tears from the night before.

Usagi sighed as she tried to recapture the moments of happiness she had always felt from coming here, but now it seemed that even this spot was contaminated by her sorrow.

The sun beat down on Usagi as she sat there, but in the distance she could see rolling thunder clouds begining to cover the city. Several couples that had been enjoying the sun and the park walked past Usagi, laughing as they began to make there way towards shelter. Usagi watched their happy faces and only succeeded in torturing herself. She was happy for them all, but the sight of them only reminded her about how lonely she was herself.

Usagi stood up, abandoning the fountain and its false promise of hope, but after taking a few steps she sat back down in order to hide the fact that she was about to cry from those around her. She kept her head looking down to the ground in order to hide her face, but she did not remain unobserved.

"Are you alright?" Usagi slowly looked up to see a man with short blond hair smiling down at her. His arm was wrapped around a woman with beautiful aqua blue hair who looked down at Usagi with a concerned appearance.

"Yes," Usagi's voice broke as she spoke and she wasn't at all convincing. The man's smile faded a little, and the woman crouched down to look Usagi in the eyes.

"It doesn't look like it," She said tilting her head to the side. "You look as if the whole world has come to an end around you." Usagi bit her lip trying not to cry.

"Is it so obvious?" She asked, she had meant to be sarcastic but it sounded like a genuine question. The man laughed and he sat down next to her. He wrapped his arm around Usagi, and Usagi found it strange that she didn't have the urge to pull away from this stranger, but also that she didn't find it strange that this man would wrap his arm around her. In fact, she found it a bit comforting.

"Whatever man has broken your heart, he isn't worth your time." Usagi felt her face begin to burn and she looked to the ground uncertain. The man seemed to be able to read her like an open book. "You'll see it one day, everything will turn out alright without him." Usagi frowned.

"You have someone," Usagi found herself saying. "How can you tell me that it will be alright?" The aqua haired woman opened her mouth to speak and then she closed it, seeming to be defeated.

"Well, its a crime to see a pretty face like yours so serious and sad." The woman finally countered. The man nodded in agreement.

"She is right." Usagi looked up at the man's face, wondering where she had seen it before. "Cheer up! Face the challenges with a smile!" Usagi frowned again and she shrugged his arm off of her as she stood up with her briefcase in hand.

"Thank you, but in this case, that is not possible for me." She took a step forward and began to exit the park without looking back at the familiar couple.

Haruka stood up as the dango-haired girl walked away. There had been a strange shift in the wind as she had touched the girl, but Haruka could not find a way to explain it all. Haruka looked upwards towards the sky.

"The wind has become restless." If Haruka had said this to anyone else, they would have assumed she was discussing the foul weather that was lurking above them. Michiru was different. The aqua-haired woman stepped closer to Haruka as she nodded.

"And the sea as well." Haruka and Michiru both looked back at the girl who was almost out of sight now. "Everything appears to be normal, but..." Michiru did not finish her statement, but Haruka could fill the blanks. The Earth was crying out for help, but they could not find out what was wrong.

Usagi was only halfway home when it began to pour. Usagi didn't even try to make her way to one of the nearby stores or even to one of the many awnings nearby. She only stopped walking and let the rain fall around her. She was stoked through her clothes in a matter of seconds and she allowed herself to break into a new batch of sobs. She was a crybaby at heart, but this feeling she had would have broken anyone.

"Why do I feel so dejected?" Usagi stood facing the ground and her hair had streams of water flowing off of it that splashed onto the ground at her feet. Had one night reduced her so much that she couldn't even get herself out of the rain? If only she hadn't gone to that ball...

Usagi's hands tightened on the handle of her briefcase. Her homework must be getting wet, but Usagi didn't care. It wasn't like she was going to get into a good college anyways. The exams were only a few months away and Usagi's grades had only worsened as the time went by. Usagi's future looked bleak and pointless. "What is even the point?" Usagi sighed and she closed her eyes as the rain beat down heavily upon her. "I shouldn't even go home, there is nothing there for me... there is nothing in this world for me... not without him." Usagi shook these thoughts away, fearful as to where they might lead. Why was she acting like this? She was so confused.

All of a sudden, the rain stopped beating down on her. Usagi opened her eyes and she looked up from the ground. Above her was an orange umbrella and Usagi followed the hand holding it to see a smiling face beaming at her.

"You're going to catch a cold standing out in the rain like that!" The girl had long blond hair and blue eyes just like Usagi, but her hair was pulled back in a big red ribbon. She wore a school uniform different than Usagi, but Usagi was sure that she had seen her somewhere before, but then again, she seemed to be thinking that about everyone nowadays. The girl's face changed as she looked Usagi over. "Are you alright?" Usagi's tears had turned into a simple steady stream, but now Usagi began to sob.

"No," She cried. "Everything is all wrong!" Usagi covered her face with her hands. Usagi knew she shouldn't be crying in front of strangers like this, but she didn't feel like a stranger. Usagi felt a hand grab hold of her shoulder comfortingly and she began to remove her hands from her face.

It was just like when the man at the park had wrapped his arm around Usagi. She should have shaken it off, but instead she found herself comforted by it. As the two girls began to walk on, Usagi found herself spilling her guts out to the umbrella girl. She hadn't been able to tell Naru anything about what was going on in her life, but with her she felt completely comfortable.

"Have you told him how you feel?" Usagi shook her head.

"I don't even know his name or his face!" The girl smiled.

"I bet you do." Usagi began to shake her head again, but the girl raised her hand to stop her protests. "In the deepest and darkest part of your heart, I bet you know his face." For a brief moment Usagi thought about the masked man and then the image of the "Odango" man came into her mind.

"Why him? Just now?" Usagi couldn't make the connection just yet, and the umbrella girl was still speaking.

"You should go back to the mansion and ask for him." The girl said, but Usagi rejected the idea immediately.

"I can't do that! He's engaged!" This time the girl shook her head.

"If you are truly that much in love, you wont find peace until you do!" Usagi crossed her arms and her bottom lip became a pout.

"Have you ever been in love?" Usagi thought she saw something flash in the girl's eyes for a brief moment and she seemed to be uncomfortable with the question.

"I think so... yes." She confirmed with a quick nod at the end of the sentence. "Its all so blurry though." Usagi didn't understand what she meant, nor could she. She stood thinking about what she had said before.

The girl did have a point. Usagi was getting no where just moping around, and maybe she would find some peace in talking with him. On the other hand, it could backfire and she could feel even more restless. Usagi turned to the girl. She was too afraid to face all of this alone.

"Will you come with me?" Usagi watched as the girl appeared surprised and for a moment Usagi was sure she was going to refuse. Usagi wasn't sure why she had asked her in the first place and not Naru. The girl seemed to be thinking and then, to Usagi's surprise she smiled and then nodded.

"Sure." Usagi found herself smiling for the first time in days.

"Great, Arigato!" Usagi embraced her spontaneously and the girl seemed to stiffen for a moment, but then her muscles relaxed. Usagi let her go and she backed off embarrassed. "Sorry." The girl laughed.

"Its okay," She raised her right hand towards Usagi. "I'm Aino Minako." Usagi looked at her hand and then grabbed hold of it. It felt weird to shake her hand, but it wasn't just because Usagi was used to bowing.

"Tsukino Usagi!" The introduction was a bit late, but Usagi hadn't even thought about introduction herself earlier, Minako already felt like an old friend. They continued to walk towards Usagi's house, and when they had reached it they had already came up with their plan.

"You write a letter and I'll come around in the morning. We can drop it off before school." Usagi bit her lip.

"Wake up early?" Minako laughed loudly and Usagi found herself really liking the sound of it.

"You're right. I can't even get myself to school on time on a regular day!" She agreed. "We'll meet up after school then. Do you know where the Game Center Crown is?" Usagi found herself smiling again, her dampened spirits lifting drastically.

"Of coarse!"