~Usagi~

The Crown Ice-cream Parlor was bustling with patrons. At 3.30 PM, teenagers dashed in and out of the shop. Usagi, Makoto, Ami, and Minako were sitting at their usual boot. Actually, 'usual' might not be accurate anymore. Lately, they only came here once or twice a month. Still, this booth held fond memories of their days together as Sailor Senshi fighting evil by moonlight.

A mere seconds later, Rei showed up. Usagi half stood up and waved to Rei.

"Rei, over here," Usagi shouted with enthusiasm.

Rei's eyebrows furrowed, putting her index finger to her lips. "Do you have to announce to the entire world? Geez, Usagi. When will you grow up?" Rei smoothed her skirt and sat down.

Usagi pouted. "I worked with kindergarteners, ok? I am forever young."

Ami and Makoto chuckled. Minako smiled at the sight of friendly bantering between Usagi and Rei.

"I'm so happy everyone's here," Usagi said, clapping her hands with joy. She had missed everyone so much, but it was understandable, even she was busy volunteering at the kindergarten.

"I missed you too, Usagi." Minako hugged her sideways. Usagi hardly saw Minako despite them going to the same school.

"It's nice to be here again. We haven't gotten together in like, forever." Makoto said and then took a sip of her rose tea.

"We met last month, Mako-chan," Ami said.

"That's forever! We used to meet every day, remember?" Usagi said, her sapphire eyes shining at everyone.

"Rei, you want hot matcha green tea, right?" Makoto asked.

Rei nodded. Makoto flagged the waitress and ordered for Rei.

"What have you girls been up to?" Usagi asked, all the while, digging into her parfait.

Silence filled the air.

Usagi paused and put down her spoon. The clinking noise was pronounced amid the silence.

"What's the matter, girls? I asked what you've been up to?" Her eyes darted among four friends. Why did they all look confused? Ami looked down at the table. Mako-chan cast a glance out the window. Minako and Rei looked at each other.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Usagi felt a little left out. What's going on here?

Rei placed her palms around her tea mug as if to brace herself before she broke terrible news. This couldn't be good. When Rei showed her serious face, it was always bad news.

"Ami, Minako, Makoto." Rei's voice was solemn. "I assume something happened?"

Three of her dear friends looked at each other.

Rei observed Ami, Minako and Makoto's reactions and said, "I thought so."

The three looked at Rei.

"You too?" Minako finally said something.

"What happened?" Usagi said, bracing herself for bad news. Desperately hope it was not a new enemy.

Ami and Makoto seemed to still get caught in their own thoughts.

"Were you guys talking about something behind my back? Keeping secrets from me?" Usagi pouted.

Ami touched Usagi's shoulder. "Nothing like that" Ami put her hand back on her lap. "It's just… something unexpected happened."

"I can't believe it happened to all of us," Makoto said.

"Not to me!" Usagi yelled, slamming her fists on the table.

"Not surprising though considering they were always together," Rei said.

"Ok, if someone's not telling me what's going on right now, I'm gonna walk away," Usagi said.

"That's hardly a threat, Usagi. I'd be happy if you leave," Rei said.

Now that's Usagi's usual fiery girl. Usagi stuck her tongue out at Rei.

"No. Don't leave, Usagi," Minako said. She looked awkward. Minako looked awkward? That's new.

"I've met Jadeite. And I think you have met the shitennou too, right?" Rei said.

Ami, Makoto, and Minako nodded, simultaneously.

"What?" Usagi yelled.

"Shh, Usagi. Keep quiet," Minako said, putting her finger to her lips.

"Sorry," Usagi lowered her voice. Her face still in shock.

"What do you mean you saw the shitennou?" Usagi whispered.

"I don't know about the rest of you." Rei shot a look at the other three. "But I met a guy looking like Jadeite. He was in school uniform, not the shitennou's military clothes."

"I met Zoicite." Ami shook her head. "No. The guy who looks like Zoicite. We met at the library."

"I saw Nobu, or Nephrite, at the bakery where I work," Makoto said.

"When I had lunch last Saturday with my parents, I met Ken, Kunzite. He's the son of parents' friends."

Usagi gasped. Hands covering her month.

"Oh my god!" Usagi tried to whisper.

After a little bit of thinking, Usagi turned excited.

"This is so awesome!" Usagi said, clapping her hands.

"Huh?" Rei and Ami looked at Usagi.

"Awesome? How?" Rei asked.

"This means you can start over. Start your romance again!" Usagi said, still clapping her hands with excitement.

Makoto and Minako looked hopeful while Ami and Rei still seemed unsure.

"I don't know if they are shitennou, though," Ami said, touching her chin.

"He seemed different, right?" Minako added.

Ami nodded.

"Same for you too?" Rei asked. "Junichi seemed different from Jadeite. Not entirely different, but something's off."

"Ken's not the same as Kunzite either," Minako said. "Still handsome as in the past, but his personality was not the same."

"How do you know his personality? You just met him during dinner with your parents, right?" Makoto asked.

"Actually, I went on a date with him two days ago," Minako said.

"What?" everyone exclaimed at the same time.

"You're dating him?" Usagi asked,

"I don't know. Sort of," Minako said, a little blushing.

"You two moved fast, like in the past," Rei said, smirking at Minako.

Usagi thought she saw a sad smile on Minako. Was there something she didn't know?

"Do you think Mamoru have met them yet?" Ami asked.

"He hasn't said anything to me, so I think not. But if he has met them and didn't tell me, I'd kill him," Usagi said.

"No, you wouldn't," Rei said, shaking her head.

"Maybe not, but I'll punish him." Her face brimming with animated determination.

"We have to ask Mamoru about this. They were his generals after all," Minako said.

"Is Mamoru getting off work soon?" Makoto asked Usagi.

"I think so." Usagi glanced at her bunny watch. "Yeah, actually he should be finishing up by now. I'll text him."

Come to the Parlor. Quick! Huge news! She texted.


10 minutes later, Mamoru arrived at the Parlor. He probably rushed here. His breathing was more rapid than usual, sweats forming along his temples.

Mamoru waved at the girls as he was walking toward their table. He gave Usagi a kiss on the cheek. They tried not to show much public display of affection. Then he sat down beside her.

"What's the huge news, Usagi?"

Usagi looked at the girls, his gaze followed hers.

"What's wrong, everyone?" Mamoru asked. She saw his eyes changed. He must have thought of something bad. "New enemies?"

The four senshi in civilian identities looked at each other.

"No," Ami said, shaking her head.

"Well, it could be. We don't know." Rei crossed her arms.

Minako broke the news. "We met the shitennou."

Mamoru gaped. "That's….That's impossible." Usagi hadn't seen him this disturbed for a long time. Mamoru looked down at the table, his head shaking slightly. His fingers fidgeting. He was usually so calm and collected, but this news must have been a shock.

Ami leaned in. "We should clarify. We met some guys who look like the shitennou. But they are civilians. Students." Ami said.

"Have you met any of them?" Makoto asked.

"No. Not at all." Mamoru shook his head.

"That's interesting," Rei said, rubbing her chin.

"Who are they?" Mamoru asked.

Usagi took the liberty to summarize what they had been discussing for the past 15 minutes. "Ami met Sora, Zoicite at the library. He's a high school student. Rei met Junichi, Jadeite in front of her school. He's a high school student too. Makoto met Nobu, Nephrite at the bakery where she works. He's most likely a college student. Minako met Ken, Kunzite during a dinner with her parents. He goes to the same university as you."

Mamoru looked down at the table again. He's rubbing his forehead. He had that I'm-studying-don't-bother-me look. But today that look was tainted by confusion and worry.

Silence and tension hang among them for a few minutes. The girls didn't dare to voice their thoughts, all waiting for Mamoru to say something.

"They can't be the shitennou." Mamoru finally looked up and broke the silence.

"Are you sure they look exactly like them?" Mamoru asked.

The four girls looked at each other.

"We think so," Minako said.

"But we also feel something different from these guys," Ami said.

"There's no way." Mamoru shook his head.

Usagi laced her arm around Mamoru's. "Why are you so sure? Maybe they were reincarnated like we were. They might not remember the past, but a few years ago we didn't remember either."

Mamoru looked at Usagi and then the four girls. His eyes became intense. "I need to show you something."


Together they walked to Mamoru's apartment. Minako and Ami settled on the sofa. Makoto, Usagi, and Rei sat on the floor around the coffee table.

Mamoru went into his bedroom and came back holding a small mahogany box in his hand. The box was carved with a Golden Kingdom's coat of arms. He sat the box down on the coffee table and open it, revealing four stones shinning inside. The girls fixed their gazes at the precious rocks.

"Minako, could you close the curtain and turn off the lights, please?" Mamoru asked.

Darkness filled the room, only hints of light escaping the foot of the curtain. Makoto bit her lips, her eyes squinting. Minako swallowed the lump in her throat. Ami pressed her lips together and kept tugging her hair behind her ears. Rei's gaze fixed firmly on the stones.

Mamoru sat down cross-legged on the floor, palms resting on his knees. He closed his eyes.

After a few seconds, the four spirits manifested. All the girls audibly gasped. Ami and Minako covered their mouths with their hands. Makoto braced herself against the coffee table, her head shaking in denial. Rei remained still, only her breathing became slightly more rapid.

"Master." The four spirits knelt down and paid respect to their master. Then they noticed the senshi. All four generals' eyes widened. Jadeite's mouth fell open. Nephrite jerked his head back in shock. Kunzite's body visibly tensed. Zoicite gasped in shock. This day was full of surprises.

"Venus," Kunzite uttered. The other three shitennou still remained quiet, but Usagi could tell they were looking at their respective former partners.

Makoto shook her head. "This. This. This's impossible. I saw you at the bakery." Makoto gestured her hand at Nephrite.

"I'm here, Jupiter," Nephrite talked to her.

Makoto tilted her head, examining Nephrite's spirit form. "I don't understand. Makoto kept shaking her head.

"I'm always here. I've never been anywhere else," Nephrite said.

"You've never told me the shitennou are with you?" Usagi asked Mamoru.

"I'm sorry I've kept this from you, Usako," Mamoru said. "But I didn't know how to break it to you. I didn't want you..." He looked at the four senshi. "To worry."

"He wants all of you to move on," Kunzite said, still looking at Minako.

Minako walked over to Kunzite. She extended her hand and tried to touch his spirit form, only to have her hand met with nothing but air. Her face showed considerable disappointment. Kunzite's closed his eyes and sighed. Minako dropped her head, her lips pressed tight.

Rei slowly lifted her eyes to study Jadeite, eyes brimming with tears. Rei rarely showed her vulnerability. Jadeite looked at her with gentleness and longing.

Ami's eyes glued to Zoicite as if she was willing his spirit into a physical form. She's calculating, thinking, reasoning how this happened. She would do it until she realized this could not be explained by reasons. Our lives had always defied logic.

Makoto remained quiet. Too quiet. She still shook her head, not believing her eyes.

Mamoru broke the silence. "This is why I think the guys you met couldn't be shitennou." Mamoru looked back to his generals. "Because they are with me the whole time."

"The whole time? Like since the end of the battle with Metalia?" Usagi asked,

Mamoru nodded.

"They've been with you for four years?" Ami asked.

Mamoru nodded again, averting Ami's gaze.

"You met a guy looking like me?" Zoicite asked Ami.

Ami nodded. "We all did," Minako chimed in

The four generals now looked as confused as their former lovers, looking at each other.

"How similar?" Nephrite tossed the question in the room, not directing toward anyone specifically.

"Physically, exactly like you. Personality, slightly different," Rei said.

"Enemies," Kunzite said.

Silence interrupted the conversation. Everyone seemed to be lost in their thoughts.

"We'll keep an eye out for any sign of them being enemies. Please don't worry," Usagi said, trying to ease the tension.

Kunzite nodded. "Please be careful. If you need any help, we are here."

"I can't keep them out for long," Mamoru said, visibly sweating.

"I've missed you," Ami said to Zoicite. That's something Usagi never thought would hear Ami said to a guy. Zoicite gave her a sad smile.

"So have I," Zoicite said, gaze fixed at Ami.

Rei got up and walked to Jadeite, slowly taking in the sight of him. "I always see you. In my dreams. In my fire." She forced a smile. "You're always with me."

Usagi saw Jadeite swallowed the lump in his throat. Could a spirit do that?

"Same for me. You're always with me. Always." Jadeite reached out his hand to touch her face, but his hand went right through it. But Rei titled her face to lean into his transparent hand anyway.

Mamoru was visibly sweating and exhausted. It must have taken a great deal of energy to bring the shitennou from the stones. Usagi placed her hand on his palm, trying to calm him.

"Be well. My love." Kunzite said to Minako.

"I'll never forget you," Minako said.

Nephrite floated to Makoto and knelt down beside her.

"If you need strength." He pointed his heart. "Just think of me."

Makoto still looked shocked. "I've missed you."

"Me too," Nephrite said, nodding in agreement.

Then the four shitennou went back in line and knelt down before Mamoru. In seconds, they disappeared. The four stones glistering for a second before the sparkles faded, living dull rocks on the velvet cushion of the box.

Observing everyone's reactions, Usagi knew they had a long, long road ahead before their lives would be normal again.


AN.: Thank you everyone so much for reading. Please leave reviews and comments. I love hearing from you all. :)