So I screwed up again XD But I was still in TN so it was hard for me to find time to upload :/ I'm sorry guys. But now I'm not going anywhere for a while so I'll have time to update regularly. I even came to the parking lot of Panera after work to update for you guys because the internet at my house is dead from a storm XD I promise I will be better. I SWEAR!

Anyway, I think that's all for now. Please read, review, and enjoy as always and I WILL see you next week. Love ya!

~SXS

For disclaimer, please see prologue. Thank you!


Mamoru Leaving? Seiya's Feelings? Usagi Thinks About Destiny

I guess I managed to doze off a little because when I opened my eyes again it was 11:00. I had an hour before I had to meet Mamoru so I thought I might give Naru a call, just to see if she would answer. Maybe we could meet later that day.

As I dialed the phone number I wondered if she would even want to talk to me after I hadn't really talked to her for such a long time. The phone rang once. The phone rang twice. The phone rang three times. I hung up. I would try to call her again later.

Instead of moping around my house until it was time to see Mamoru, I decided that I would walk into town. It was an easy way to distract myself for a little while. As I walked, I realized that my feet were leading me to the arcade again.

"Hey, Usagi! Great to see you," Motoki greeted me. "Gonna try and beat your high score?"

"Nah, I think I'll try and set a high score on a different game this time." There was one other game that I used to play with Minako all the time. It was a racing game for two, but I had no one to play with. "Hey, Motoki-kun, are you doing anything right now?"

"Actually, I was just about to take my break. Why?"

"Would you like to race against me?" He smiled and said he would. I paid for the game and we both sat down in the seats next to each other. The game was fast-paced and it got hard to turn at the right moment sometimes. I wound up losing the first time.

"Don't worry, Usagi. You'll get the hang of it. Why don't you try practice mode? I have to get back to work now but tomorrow on my break I'll race you again." Motoki smiled and went back behind the counter to start to cleaning off the glass.

Until 11:45, I stayed in the arcade practicing my driving. I was starting to get the hang of it, but I knew I had to leave. I was very reluctant to go, though. When I was playing the games, I was almost cut off from the real world. I didn't have to worry about my problems. Stepping through the doors of the arcade was like stepping into a safe haven.

I said goodbye to Motoki and made my way to the park. Mamoru was sitting on a bench near the entrance. "Usako!" he called when he saw me. I ran over to him and he gave me a kiss. "You're on time." He sounded surprised.

"I was up early today."

"Anyway, Usako, I wanted to tell you something. It's hard for me to say, but I have to." He fidgeted a little. "Usako..." he finally said. "I'm going to America to complete my studies."

I felt my heart stop, but I giggled. "Th-that's a good one, Mamo-chan." I kept laughing, but Mamoru wasn't joining in. I couldn't believe it. He was really leaving me now?

The tears started to come back again, and I turned and ran away. Mamoru called after me and I could hear him chasing me but I couldn't look at him. I couldn't believe that in the situation we were in he would want to leave me here by myself.

I guess running when you can't see is a bad idea. I was going so fast that I ran right into someone and knocked the both of us over. "Sorry," I mumbled as I tried to get up and keep running but the person wrapped their arms around me.

"It's ok. Shh. Everything's ok." The voice was one that I recognized and I had a flashback of a blackout in a dance club. The person stroked my hair and held me tight. The footsteps that were following me caught up and came to a stop in front of us. "I had a feeling this would happen," my comforter said to the footsteps.

"Usako, please. It's only for the fall semester. My education is important. Please understand," Mamoru begged.

"You think it's that easy?" I whispered into Seiya's shirt. "You think that I can just let you go with a smile, especially now? I understand, Mamoru, that you have to study but you can't do it here?" My body shook with sobs and Seiya rubbed my back.

"I think you should go," Seiya said in an icy tone. I heard Mamoru begin to protest. I couldn't see what was going on, but I was sure that Seiya was giving him sort of look. Mamoru's footsteps faded into the distance.

Seiya stood the both of us up and we walked over to a bench. I was still crying, but not as hard. He sat me on his lap and held me while I cried. I'm not sure how much time passed but eventually, I stopped.

"Feel a little better?" Seiya asked.

"No. I just can't cry anymore." I attempted a smile but failed. "Why does it seem like my life is going downhill?"

"There are always going to be times when things seem at their worst. You just have to keep on going and everything will turn around. The future that you saw, both futures that you saw, aren't set in stone. They can always be changed." That smile of his made me feel better like it always did.

"Thank you so much, Seiya. You've always been there for me. You're the best friend I've ever had." At this, Seiya's expression fell for a moment, then he quickly pushed it away and replaced it with another smile. I could see the flicker of pain still in his eyes. "What did I say?"

He sighed and looked away for a minute. "Odango..." he started quietly. "I have to ask you something important. And before you answer, I need you to think about what I'm asking and think about your answer. Really think. Can you do that?" I thought this was a little weird but I nodded.

Seiya looked at me with his deep blue eyes and I found I was almost incapacitated. His cheeks turned pink. "Odango, do you love me?"

It struck me at first as a pretty obvious question. "Of course I do, Seiya."

"No, no, not like that. Ugh...I would have thought that you would realize by now." He hung his head. That was when I really started to think about the question he was asking.

All those memories of when we first met flooded back into my mind. When we spent his day off together, when he stayed over my house to protect me, when we tried to see each other even though we were forbidden, when we said goodbye backstage at the final concert. One particular moment stood out; saying goodbye on the rooftop.

Seiya stood across from me. Kakkyu Princess was next to him and Taiki and Yaten were next to her. "Odango, I'm glad you got your boyfriend back," Seiya said and smiled.

"It's because of you, Seiya," I said. "It's because of you, Seiya, that I was able to hang on." A light blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Odango...I'll never forget you," he said to me.

"Yes! We'll be friends forever!"

Yaten and Taiki started laughing. Seiya put a hand to his forehead. "Oh, come on!"

I asked everyone what was going on, but they just said I'd never understand. Why was everyone laughing? Why wouldn't I understand?

Then, the other day at Crown's popped into my head when he asked if I knew what it was like to love someone who didn't love you. It was all adding up. Even the song that he wrote and showed me that day.

"Seiya, you...Do you...Are you in love with me?"

Seiya's face turned extremely red. "You didn't know before?"

"So all this time that you were hanging around me it was because you loved me?"

"Well, not at first." He looked up at the sky and the blush refused to leave his face. He smiled. "At first when I met you I was attracted to your shine. It was so much brighter than any other I had ever encountered, even Kakkyu Princess." The red on his cheeks got darker and darker. "But as we spent more and more time together, I really did fall for you.

"You were the only person who didn't treat me like I was some huge celebrity. You saw me for me, and I love that about you. And you're always so sweet and giving and just such a wonderful person. You deserve so much."

It was all happening so fast. Had I always known that Seiya loved me? Some part of me said yes. But why hadn't I acknowledged it until now?

"Seiya, I have to go." I got up from the bench and ran away.

Seiya stared after me, looking crestfallen. I hated to make him feel like I didn't care, but I needed to think. Something had stopped me from consciously admitting that Seiya loved me and I needed to figure that out.

When I finally made it home, I ran up to my room again and I sat in thought. Did I know that Seiya loved me the first time he was on Earth? No, I was pretty sure I didn't. But when he was gone for a while and I had relived those memories, at some point I had figured it out. Why then had I tried to hide it? My heart jumped in my chest. Could it be...No. Was I...

Just then the phone rang. I was scared to pick it up because of who it might be. Either it was Mamoru, Seiya, or one of the girls. I could talk to one of the girls but Mamoru and Seiya I couldn't at the moment.

The answering machine picked up and I screened the call. "Usagi, it's Naru. I saw that you tried to call me earlier and I was just trying to get back to you. Give me a call when you're available." Then she hung up.

Naru calling back was a surprise. Maybe I should call her back right now. She was always good to talk to. I picked up the phone and dialed her number. She picked up on the second ring. "Moshi moshi?"
"Naru-chan!"

"Usagi? Wow! It's so good to hear your voice! How have you been?" Maybe my non-senshi friends didn't hate me after all. They just missed me.

"I've been...ok. How about you?"

"I've been just fine, but I've missed hanging out with you."

"We should go somewhere together right now. What do you say?"

"I'd love to! How about we meet at Crown's?"

"Sure! I can't wait to catch up. See you there?"

"Yeah, see you."

The two of us hung up. I actually smiled genuinely at the thought of seeing my old friend. I ran right out the door and went straight to Crown's. Naru and I met at the door with a huge hug.

"You haven't changed a bit, Usagi." That was true, but Naru had changed. She no longer wore a bow in her hair and it had grown longer, to the middle of her back. It looked like she flat ironed it to get the wave out.

"You look pretty, Naru-chan."
"Thanks." She smiled. "Shall we go in?" We went into the cafe arm in arm and sat at a table. "So what have you been doing lately, Usagi? Face any really tough-" Naru stopped mid-sentence and covered her mouth.

"What were you going to say?" I asked.

"N-nothing. What have you been doing? That's all."

"Well..." Fighting evil people, hanging around with aliens, losing my powers, the usual. "Going to school, hanging out with friends. How about you?"

"Yeah, I've been going to school too. Actually, I'm thinking of doing something in the law enforcement area in the future."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I was inspired by a great hero. She saved me a few times and even though I may not be able to do what she can, I still want to bring justice to the world my own way." I thought she might be talking about Sailor Moon. Naru was the first person I saved as Sailor Moon and it wasn't the last time either.

"That's so cool."

We talked about everything that had gone on in our lives since we had last seen each other. Of course, she had more to tell because I couldn't reveal to her anything that had gone on in my senshi life.

"Usagi, you seem troubled. What is it?" she asked after a time. Naru knew me too well, even if we hadn't spoken in a long while.

"Well, I'm sort of having guy trouble..." I sighed and put my chin on the table. Naru put her hands together and rested her chin on them, indicating for me to continue. "Well, see, I have my Mamo-chan, right? You remember him?" She nodded. "Well, I've always loved Mamo-chan. We're supposed to be together forever. Then there's Seiya..."

"Seiya, as in Seiya Kou of the Three Lights?" Naru's eyes went wide. She have been a fan. I nodded.

"When they first transferred to our school, Seiya and I became very close. We told each other everything and we hung around together all the time. At that time, Mamo-chan was studying in America." Or so we had thought, but I didn't add that. "Then at the end of the school year, Seiya...moved away and Mamo-chan came back.

"But now that the Three Lights have come back, I've found out that Seiya is in love with me too. He asked me if I loved him too, but the truth is I don't know. I love Mamo-chan. That's obvious. But when it comes to Seiya, it's almost like there's a wall in my mind, blocking off something. Sure, I love him as a friend, but if there is anything else I can't tell. That stupid wall is there."

"Usagi, you really have a problem on your hands, and I think I know what you should do." I looked up at her and she smiled. "You need to break down that wall and see if there really are more than just feelings of friendship behind it for Seiya. If there are, and if you feel that it's more prominent than your love for Mamoru, you should go for him!"

This was just what I wanted to do, but I couldn't. If I found out that I loved Seiya more than Mamoru, I'd want to leave my destined relationship. But Naru couldn't understand that because she didn't know about the future.

"Naru-chan...It's too complicated to explain. I can't just leave Mamo-chan. He's my sweet love, my destined love. Plus, there's a really important reason why we have to stay together."

"Are you in an arranged marriage?"

"Something like that...but it's much more complicated than that." Naru looked at me, her eyes sincere.

"Usagi...does it have anything to do with the fact that you're Sailor Moon?" My jaw dropped. How and when did she find that out? Should I play dumb or should I tell her the truth? "I know you're really her. I've known for a while now. You're never both in the same place at the same time, all of the sudden you were always busy, plus the fact that you would run off and two seconds later she would show up. Besides, who else in Tokyo has that hairstyle?" She had me there.

"Alright, fine." I dropped my voice to a whisper. "I am Sailor Moon. And yes, my guy troubles are related to that fact. You remember my cousin, Chibiusa? Well she's actually my daughter from the future. Mamo-chan and I get married and have her. And we rule a kingdom together, but that's a long story to go into. The bottom line is that I can't just abandon my destiny. I don't even know if I want to."

"Does Seiya know that you're Sailor Moon?"

"Hehehe...You're gonna be freaked out when I tell you this. The Three Lights are actually the Sailor Starlights," I explained. "They can transform into girls." Now it was Naru's turn to be shocked. "They came from another planet looking for their lost princess. That's why they became idols. Once they found her, and once the world was at peace, they went back to their home planet, but they came back because we're fighting a new enemy."

"Oh my God. I'll never look at them the same way again. What about all your other friends?"

"They're all Sailor senshi too." I told her who each one was and that Mamoru was Tuxedo Kamen. "It's a tough life sometimes, but someone's gotta do it."

"Wow, Usagi...That's just amazing. So if you don't end up with Mamoru, the whole future is destroyed?"

"Well, not destroyed. More like altered. I'm not sure if Seiya can be the king of the world, and Chibiusa wouldn't exist. I can't do that to her. Besides, that might alter the present time line. After all, Chibiusa has helped us when we sometimes needed it most. If she is never born, she would never come to the past and she would never be Chibi Moon. Anything she would have done would disappear and we might not even be here today."

"I never knew how much depended on one little girl. It's like that old saying, 'If you kill a butterfly in the past, it could change the future.'"

"So I can't do anything."

"You know, Usagi, just because you and Mamoru don't have Chibiusa doesn't mean she won't exist. I mean, you and Seiya can have a kid, name her Chibiusa, and then send her to the past. Nothing will change."

"Possibly, but I still don't know yet. I'm unsure of my feelings right now."

Naru glanced at her watch. The clock on the far wall said that two hours had passed. "Usagi, I should go." She got up and walked over to me. I stood up to hug her goodbye. When we pulled away, she put a hand on my shoulder. "Do what your heart tells you. It seems like you've been bound to destiny for too long. See you around...Sailor Moon," she added quietly. Then she winked and left the restaurant.

I followed after her but she was gone by the time I got outside. It started to rain so I ran home, feebly trying to cover my head. Luna was waiting for me in the doorway.

"Usagi-chan, where have you been? You never told me when you would be back from your date with Mamoru-san and it's been hours. Where were you?" I explained everything that had happened all day as we made our way up to my room. Luna's face changed periodically from part to part of my story. "Goodness...this was some day for you."

"Luna, what should I do?" She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She closed her eyes and paused for a moment.

"Usagi-chan," she finally said. "You need to do what Naru says. Do what your heart tells you." My eyes went wide at what she was suggesting. "You have done so well since we first met. Back then, you were just a young girl, hardly fit to be a senshi. But look at you now. You've grown so much in so many ways. You've earned the right to get something that you really want. If that's to not be with Mamoru-san anymore, well...I think that you should dump him and run into Seiya-kun's arms."

"Luna..."

"Usagi-chan, you've worked hard to let everyone have what they want. Now it's your turn."

I suddenly felt very light, like a burden that I hadn't noticed was there had been lifted. "Oh Luna, thank you! But what about everyone else? Will they be upset that I might want to divert from destiny?"

"They might be. We'll just have to figure that out when the time comes."

~*SMD*~

That night, in the same recurring dream, when I found myself in front of the mirrors of destiny, they weren't mounted in stone anymore. They were trying to stand up without their frames, but were swaying back and forth. When I screamed, a new door opened and a soft red light came from inside. I ran to safety.

When I woke up I decided to meet Mamoru in the airport to see him off. If I didn't I wouldn't get a chance to do what I had decided to do. It would be painful for both of us but I had to. I just hoped that he would understand.


Next chapter in Sailor Moon: Destiny, Usagi meets Mamoru at the airport and performs a difficult task. Then later, the Outer senshi say they haven't heard from Setsuna in a while. Where could she be? And Shinju and Shichigatsu think they have found where the talisman truly is...Find out what happens next Friday in Chapter 7: Talisman Falls into the Wrong Hands; the Senshi's Date with Death. And remember, Destiny is not always set in stone.