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Slowly but surely, incredible though it may seem, life in Tokyo began to return to normal. Eventually the rescue crews became clean-up crews, and private services were held for the people who were either dead or missing in action and presumed to be dead. I held off on going to any of them for as long as possible. I had accepted that my friends were gone, but going to a funeral was too much. Seiya had taken me to where we could officially register their names as missing, but I knew that their bodies would never be found, since they had simply faded out of existence once their starseeds were stolen.

Still, the day came when the citywide memorial service was going to be held, and I woke up that morning with a feeling of dread in my stomach. On Monday most of the schools would be reopening, including mine. I didn't know how I would be able to face going back, knowing all of the memories that waited for me there, but I had no choice. My life couldn't stop just because theirs had ended. That wasn't what any of them would have wanted for me; I knew that much in my heart. It would be up to me to carry on as best I could no matter how hard it would be. I was still in bed, trying to summon the strength to get up and face the inevitable, when the partially open door was nudged open fully.

"Usagi?" It was Taiki's voice.

"I'm awake," I said, closing my eyes in spite of my words. I was getting a little better at letting them out of my sight, though I still much preferred the four of us to be in the same general vicinity and one or all of them still slept with me every night. Yaten had fallen asleep in my bed last night, but the space beside me was empty and cool enough to indicate she'd been gone for some time. I could hear her and Seiya speaking in a low murmur out in the kitchen and that was enough to temporarily set my anxious soul at rest.

Taiki walked into the room, setting a covered hanger on the door handle, and sat down on the edge of my bed. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and she looked tired, but she was smiling. "We've been waiting for you to get up. The service begins at 1:00pm and it's almost noon."

"I know." I glanced up at the ceiling. She wanted me to get up, that much was obvious, but I just couldn't. The thought of seeing the grief in all those faces was horrifying. I wanted to apologize to everyone for not being strong enough to stop Galaxia and Chaos before it had ever gotten this far. How could I stand there and look at an endless list of names that I should have been able to protect? My stomach cramped at the thought.

She studied me for a moment. "They want us to play."

"What?" Her words surprised me enough that I sat up, momentarily forgetting my fear. This was interesting. "What do you mean, they want you to play?"

"Our manager contacted us this morning. Apparently they're interested in having The Three Lights play at the memorial service," she explained.

"What did you say?"

"We haven't given an answer either way. We wanted to talk to you first."

That answer made me pause. I wasn't sure how I felt about them including me in such an important decision. On the one hand, it was nice because it made me feel like they had truly accepted my presence in their lives. On the other hand, it hurt, because a month ago I would've been fortunate to have even known that they were going to playing before the concert began. It was conflicting. "You're not sure you want to do it?" I asked. "You don't have to."

"No, I know. We're considering it. I think it would be very nice if we did, though. Some of those people, they were our fans, and it would be good to give their stars a proper goodbye." Taiki looked down at the blanket. Something twisted in her face and she took a deep breath. "I heard that Misa-chan was among those who went missing during the battle. Her name was on the list for the memorial service."

Oh. My stomach wrenched and I couldn't resist leaning forward and taking her hand so that I could squeeze it gently in an attempt to offer her comfort. I remembered little Misa, the child with the hopeful eyes who had been touched by their music to the point that she had been able to draw a picture of Princess Kakyuu. She'd given Taiki the hope to go on just when it seemed like the war would never end. And now they'd found and lost her and so many other things at the same time. The misery on Taiki's face was blatantly obvious and I wished that I could do something to relieve it. I felt so useless.

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"She was just a little kid," Taiki said, not taking her eyes off of the bed. "She had so many dreams of the things that she would be able to do after her surgery. The hospital was torn apart in the first wave of the attack. I don't think she ever even made it out."

There were no words to describe the writhing misery that was flooding through me. If only I'd stopped Galaxia sooner, if only I'd understood, if only we had been able to prevent the war from breaking out. "Taiki…"

"I just thought you should know," she said quietly.

"Yes, of course, thank you for telling me." I hesitated before tentatively reaching out, not sure that my hug would be welcome. Taiki had always been the one who'd stood apart from us, from me, the most. Even sarcastic Yaten hadn't been as difficult for me to understand. I longed for Ami, who seemed to be able to connect with Taiki easily. She would've known how to make this better.

Taiki looked up at me as though startled by the touch, but I could see from a single look that it was something she was desperately craving. I edged across the bed and wrapped my arm around her, guiding her closer so that she could put her head on my shoulder. She was stiff against me at first, but gradually she started to relax and I felt her hands come to ball up in my shirt. It had been a long time since I'd been able to comfort anyone else. I put my hand on her back and started to slide it up and down, something that I remembered my mother doing for me and which I hoped she'd find soothing.

The Starlights were such a mystery to me sometimes, Taiki especially. I thought it came from her quiet but intense dislike of the Earth and how hard she had worked to make sure that she never found anything to love or care about. It had taken me a long time to understand that she was trying to protect herself from losing anything or anyone else, whether Galaxia won or not. It had taken me longer to get that in some ways she and I were very much the same. Taiki was just better at concealing her pain that I would ever be.

"I'm sorry," I said, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. She was shaking. "I'm so sorry." I didn't say anything else, though there were plenty of words on the tip of my tongue. I just sat there and rocked her back and forth, even when the sleeve of my shirt grew damp.

After a long time she tensed and pulled away to sit up. Her face was streaked with tears but I could see calm in her that hadn't been there before. She looked at me and said, "I didn't mean to do that."

I had to smile. "It's okay. Everyone needs to release sometimes." I remembered the first time I'd ever seen her laugh, when Makoto had been on that cooking show and I'd nearly ruined everything with my klutzy ways and Taiki had just started laughing. Seiya had come up to me afterwards and kissed me on the cheek and said thank you. At the time I'd been confused but now I got it. "You know there's nothing wrong with it. We'll still respect you in the morning."

"It's just… not what I'm used to," she said awkwardly.

"I have to tell you, Taiki, that this situation? None of us are used to it. At all." I didn't know if that helped her or not, but it was the honest truth.

She nodded, looking thoughtful, and stood up. She started to turn to leave and then paused. Without looking at me, she said, "I only came in here to tell you about the offer for us to sing at the memorial service. I really wasn't planning on - "

"Taiki." I got up, too, and stood in front of her. She was so much taller than me. I had to tilt my head back to look up at her, but it meant that she couldn't glance away. "Don't be sorry. If I'm going to be your princess now, that means we share everything, sorrow included. If you need me, I'm here for you, even if you just want to cry in my lap and then walk away without saying a word." I needed to know that she understood I was here, that I could be what they needed when they needed me.

"Our princess…" she repeated and smiled. "You know, I've never thought of you like that. You're so different from…"

"From Princess Kakyuu?" I filled in gently, knowing that's what she had meant. She nodded and sat back down on the bed, like just hearing the name was too much. "There's nothing wrong with that, you know. I'm not here to replace her. I don't think I could if I tried. I just want to be your friend." God, those words were familiar to me. How many times had I said the exact same thing to Haruka and Michiru? I looked away and took a deep breath, working through the inevitable pain that flooded me when I thought about them.

When I turned around, Taiki was watching me, and there was a funny little smile on her face. "You are the strangest person I've ever met," she said wonderingly. "Is there anyone you wouldn't be friends with?"

"Yes," I said immediately, not having to think very hard about who those people might be. Some of the enemies we had faced in the past had won my sympathy in the end, but others didn't deserve compassion. They were cold-hearted and cruel and possessed a genuine desire to inflict pain and suffering. I had learned that those people deserved what they got. "But you and Yaten and Seiya are nothing like them."

She frowned and I knew I'd piqued her curiosity. I smiled at her. "I'll tell you all, someday, what went on here before you came. The sailor senshi and I faced many enemies together. Galaxia was not the first person who threatened to bring Earth to its knees. I suspect she won't be the last." In fact, I knew she wouldn't be. Even if Crystal Tokyo never came to be, eventually someone would come along and try to take over Earth again. It was inevitable.

"You'll have to," Taiki said. She walked over to the door and picked up the clothing she'd been carrying when she walked in. She pulled up the plastic covering with a flourish, revealing a beautiful black dress with a little pink coat that went over it. There was a small white bunny emblazoned on the breast of the coat.

"Is that for me?" I asked in a whisper. I'd been wondering what I would wear to the service.

"Yes. Yaten got it for you. She's amazingly adept at picking out clothing for other people." Taiki handed it to me. "Get dressed and we'll go."

I nodded. "Taiki?"

"Yes?"

"You guys should sing." I tightened my grip on the hanger and looked up into her eyes, hoping that she would see my sincerity. "I want you to."

Her eyes softened and she smiled. "Then we will."


Note: Misa is the child from Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 185: Taiki Sings With Excellence! A Believing Heart Carried By A Song.

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