Changing Destiny

Chapter 4

That night while Usagi was getting ready for bed Haruka came into her room and just stood there staring at her. Usagi was by this time becoming uncomfortable but said nothing.

Finally after a few moments of silence Haruka spoke. "You know. You were totally different in our past than you are now." She said softly. Usagi turned to stare at her in surprise. "I mean physically you look the same but." She let her sentence trail on. Usagi took it the wrong way and gave a bitter laugh.

"Yeah I was probably more graceful then to. And I most likely had a brain that actually worked rather than take up space up there" She said gesturing to her head. "Listen. If you came here to criticize me. Just leave!" Usagi sighed when she finished this and slumped down onto her bed. "Cuz there's absolutely nothing that you can tell me now that I haven't been told before."

Haruka stared at Usagi in shock for a moment before heaving a sigh and sat down beside her. Usagi turned her head away from the woman not wanting to see pity.

"Usagi. I didn't mean it that way. I *Sigh* just meant that you were different. More refined and proper then. And we've been watching you for quite some time. It's a nice change to see you so happy and carefree." Haruka looked away. "Times were different back then and there was a lot of pressure on your head. And now you are a normal girl who was thrust into a totally unimaginable position." Usagi turned to look at the woman in wonder.

"So you are my only living family?" She asked as she hesitantly reached out for the woman.
"Yeah. Were the only people with our blood in Japan at the moment" Haruka smiled slightly as Usagi took her hand. "You are my only family. Never think for a moment that I could think bad of you! I've been watching over you since you were little. I love you." She finished showing more emotion than she had ever.

"I think-"Usagi began giving the older girl a quick hug "I think that it's going to take me a while to accept the fact that my parents aren't mine anymore. And I'm not promising anything. But you're right. You are my family. My only family." Usagi looked away. "You know. I thought that the girls were my family. But I guess I was wrong" Usagi turned her head away again. Her heart heavy with the still fresh pain. "And I just can't help but think know that Maybe they were right. They really don't need me. All I do is cause problems."

"Listen to me Usagi! You are not useless. And we all need you. You're very important!" Haruka hissed grabbing a hold of Usagi's shoulders. "Don't you dare listen to what those silly girls say. They don't understand how important you are to us yet!" She was now lightly shaking Usagi.

"You know it's funny. I understand where you're coming from. But I can't help it. I spent two years of my life with these girls and in five seconds I'm an outsider." Usagi said laughing bitterly. Haruka looked on hopelessly. She didn't know what to say to make Usagi think otherwise.

"You know what you have to do now then don't you?" Haruka asked getting up letting an evil smile play on her lips. Usagi looked at her curiously.

"What?" She asked standing up to.

"Prove them wrong. Become the best possible senshi and student you can...rub it in their face" She began laughing evilly and to both their surprise Usagi began giggling also.

"Oops!" She cried out slapping her hand over her mouth. Haruka laughed out loud at the embarrassed expression on her cousin's face. "But it is kind of encouraging. Thanks Haruka" Usagi said smiling with glee as she gave her cousin a hug. Haruka, still laughing, said "No problem Usagi. What is family for?" Before letting herself out.

"How did it go?" Michiru asked as Haruka walked into their room. They had decided to take the largest room because they did, after all, sleep together. Haruka sighed as she sunk into the bed beside Michiru, leaning into her as Michiru's arms came around Haruka's shoulders to soothe her.

"I really think were connecting. But the hurt from the girls is deep. It's not going to go away that easy" She answered. Michiru sighed also.

"I sometimes want to kill the girls for what they did to her." She paused and then smiling softly, she tugged Haruka towards the pillows "Come on. We have a long night ahead of us. Get a few hours of shuteye while you can."

Haruka smiled as she lost herself in her lover's eyes before gently tugging her arm away and went to the washroom to change. It would indeed be a long night.

Usagi had been asleep for about 4 hours when the nock came on her bedroom door. Grumbling slightly about not being able to get her beauty sleep as she should have been she trudged to her door and swung it open. There stood four senshi fully transformed, all ready for battle.

"Oh common guys! I only had four hours of sleep" She groaned rubbing her eyes as they caught sight of the clock. "And I have school in the morning."

"It is time for you first lesson of the day Moon" Said Pluto. Usagi sighed as she grabbed her broach and transformed lazily. "Your lessons will be held in an alternate reality that Saturn created all for your training. Its entrance will be located in the attic. Now come we have much to do." Pluto said turning away from moon.

"Man. Being the guardian of time, you wouldn't know the true beauty of a good night's sleep now would you" Moon grumbled as they made their way up to the attic.

"Now all you must do is say 'Ramous' and the portal to our private training grounds will open." Saturn said standing in the corner in front of a huge full length mirror.

"Ramous?" Moon questioned.

"Yeah. That was her twin's name in the past" Said Pluto. "Oh" Moon said softly and walked in front of the window. "Ramous!" She said clearly and jumped back when a black swirling vortex appeared in the mirror. She let out a shriek as she was pushed in from behind. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" She growled getting up off her bottom.

"Now. Your first lesson will be that of defence. If you defence is good, then you shall have no problem doing other attacks." Neptune said sitting down beside Uranus in a corner of the ...what looked like a (think huge gym but oval and the size of roughly 15 football fields) cave. The odd thing about this place was that it was light all over. But there was no source of the light. It was just there. "Each of us is assigned something to teach you. We will all give pointers but there will be one main instructor. I will teach you grace, poise and balance. How to groom yourself to perfection and speak with grace. Uranus will teach you of the ways of the world. What you need to know to succeed in life. Also she and I will be teaching you school and helping you with homework. Saturn with Pluto will teach you how to fight and use magic. Saturn will also teach you the art of healing. And Pluto will teach you the art of time. You are a special senshi. It is not known why but you are able to master our powers. So it shall be."
"Now. I want you to block this attack Moon" Saturn said once Pluto had gone to sit with the other girls. She then raised her glaive and threw a weak attack at moon. Seeing it Moon panicked and froze. Luckily the attack was not that strong so it didn't hurt her too much, but she fell back with a thud.

"NO! NO! You must either jump out of the way or block it. Here this is how" Saturn said going over to Moon and holding up her arms and concentrating her powers to make a shield in front of her. "Look deep inside of you. You want to show the girls you are no less than them? Well concentrate!" Saturn snapped "All right get ready!" She said throwing another attack at her. This time Moon was ready.

***Moon's mind***

'All right Usagi the girls think your useless and so do you. But these girls are here to prove all that wrong. Common!' She thought as she focused inside of her at the light that Saturn had brought forth somehow. Finally as Saturn's attack came closer she groaned, she couldn't see any light like that. But she forced herself by throwing memories of all the times the she had let the girls down. All the times she felt useless. And it came to her. It was quite weak because it was never used before but the light was there. Concentrating hard Usagi pulled the power outwards and mentally shaped it into a crude shield. And the attack hit!.
"AHHHH!" She screamed as part of the attack made it to her by the ends of the shield.

***END MOON MIND****

"WONDERFUL MOON! That is exactly what we were speaking of. Now the attack got through because you did not form the shield right but it was wonderful for a first try!" Saturn came over to congratulate her. Moon beamed even though every bone in her body hurt.

"You know. I really think I stand a chance" She said. The rest of the night was spent like this.

"Good night guys" Usagi said as she slumped onto her bed early the next morning. But instead of being allowed to hunker down into her sheets Haruka came over and pulled her off the bed.
"As your school instructor I have concluded that you will be late for school if you rest your head on that vile pillow!" She said thrusting a mock sword into the air. Usagi growled at her cousin and tried to take a swipe at her but missed miserably. "Don't make me dress you darling" Haruka said with murder in her eyes. Usagi groaned and shooed Haruka out of her room.

Stumbling to her closet she took out her school uniform and went to take a shower.

Twenty minutes later a slightly more awake Usagi came tumbling down the stairs. There at the coffee table sat Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna all sipping coffee. "Hey where's Hotaru?" She demanded as she grabbed a piece of toast.

"Where you should have been fifteen minutes the road to school" Michiru grumbled glaring at Setsuna. Apparently she didn't like missing her beauty sleep either. Usagi smirked and without another word rushed out the door. On the way she ran into Ami and Minako who were also on their way to her school.

"Hey guys!" Usagi called out of habit. The girls looked up for a moment and smiled at her. But as quickly as the smile came it disappeared. For they had remembered that she was nothing to them. Hurt flashed in Usagi's eyes but she quickly covered it with a determined look. ~I'll show them!~ She thought as she began walking faster towards school.

And notice they did for Usagi didn't once fall asleep in class or try to sneak food when she should have been working. And she even tried to answer some questions. Sufficient to say she almost gave the two a heart attack. Usagi couldn't understand why Makoto wasn't in school that day. But she couldn't ask the girls because they wouldn't tell her.

At the end of the day Usagi walked slowly to the Arcade where she usually hung out when school finished. BING BING! Went the cheery doorbells. Usagi looked around for the familiar head of sandy hair of her crush. Not seeing it her shoulders slumped and she walked over to the counter.

"She is rather lonely. Do you not think?" Asked Hotaru as she sat across from the other three girls at that exact moment. In the center of the table was a bubble that showed them Usagi as she was at that exact moment. "Do you think it is time for the prince to come into play?"

"No. First 'he' should. Then the prince. It is too much to risk. She cannot know her true identity until it is time." Setsuna said rubbing her eyes.

"I VOTE ON TELLING HER! SHE NEEDS TO KNOW!" Argued Haruka getting up from the table. "She is not a child and we cannot play with her life as if she were a puppet! Hell she stronger than all of us combined!"

"AND THAT IS EXACTLY!" Began Setsuna losing her cool "WHY WE CANNOT TELL HER ANYTHING. IF THE ENEMY WERE TO FIND OUT THEY COULD CAPTURE HER. AND IN HER WEAK STATE WITH WHAT THE GIRLS DID TO HER THE ENEMY COULD EASILY TURN HER TO THEIR SIDE" She finished with flushed cheeks, eyes sparking with determined anger as she glared at the blond.

"DO you want to risk the life of your cousin? If they turn her she will die." Hotaru said softly.

"We don't know that!" Haruka said "They cannot find out unless she makes it openly known!"

"STOP!" Michiru, who had stayed quiet all this time, spoke up. "Stop this nonsense. The truth is that until we finish training her she will not be able to reach her true potential and if we tell her the truth she could try to commit suicide again."

"My apologies. Michiru is right." Setsuna said sinking back into her chair. "It was hard enough manipulating her into not doing it the first night, if she does try again..."

"We will be helpless to stop it" Finished Haruka.

"Fine then. It is agreed. We will bring 'him' here. At least she will not be so lonely then" Hotaru said in finality. "The prince can wait until she is better trained and gets a hold of herself" Slowly they nodded. All eyes turned back to the bubble.

"HEY USAGI!" Usagi's head shot up as she looked on in relief into the face of her friend Makoto.
"Makoto! Are you all right?" Usagi asked as Makoto sat down on one of the stools.

"Yeah. Just those damn government people were trying to trick me into revealing that I had no parent's again." Makoto said brushing her bangs from her eyes. "But I gave those damn fools a run for their how are you holding out?" She asked her eyes softening as she looked at Usagi with concern.

"I'm all right. I guess. Hey wh-were's Motoki?" She asked changing the subject. She knew it would work because Makoto had a bigger crush than Usagi on him.

"OH. He was helping me with my plan to evade the government. Man he is a great to mention hunky, and sweet and ohhh what a those eyes." She smacked her lips "To die for. Can't you imagine how good he must be in be-"but before she could continue Usagi cut her off.

"Yeah I know Leets. Breath girl Breath" Usagi said chuckling at her friends enthusiasm. But that chuckle turned into a growl when she heard an ever familiar voice behind her say.

"Hey Odango atam!" Usagi knew instinctively who it was.

"MY NAME IS USAGI YOU JERK!" She shouted facing the ebony haired man. The man just smirked "And I really needed to know that why?" He asked before walking right past her not waiting for her answer. Usagi sat back down looked on with hearts in her eyes.

"WOW! He looks just like-"

"Your old boyfriend.I know Makoto. I know" Usagi groaned. The man walked over to Motoki who had magically appeared behind the counter.

"Hey Motoki!" He called.

"Hey Mamoru. You finally took a break from studying?" Motoki asked placing a cup of hot coffee in front of him.

"You know this loser Motoki-onii?" Usagi whined

"Oh hey Usagi! Yeah this is Chiba Mamoru. My best friend" Motoki said smiling at the fuming blond. "What's wrong?" He asked confused. Usagi grumbled something about men in general being pigs and stormed out. "Huh? What was that about?" Motoki asked no one in particular scratching his head.

Usagi was still fuming as she made her way home. Sometime along the way her temper cooled and painful flashes of the inner senshi brought tears to her eyes again.

She imagined herself flying away from all the hurt and pain she had sustained since she became sailor she didn't imagine was stumbling on the most horrific scene she had ever encountered...

"OH MY GOD NO!" She screamed as she looked around in shock.

TBC