Usagi blinked

:bows repeatedly: I am so sorry that this has taken so long to get out. My computer has been on the fritz, but it has been repaired (and not cheaply I might add). Hopefully, I will be able to become a little more consistent in my updates. However, as an apology, I've spent all weekend putting this chapter together, and I'm posting it immediately so that you guys can read it. Please, don't forget to review. I love you guys so much, your reviews are always so encouraging.

I would like to thank LunarStar Princess Krystal, Ayjah, Moon Bunny777, mystic soldier, Usagi Uchiha Yuy Kudo, and Azera-v for your reviews, and a special thanks to those who have added me to their alerts and favs and C2 communities, I love you all (and I will thank you all properly in my final chapter which may or may not be anytime soon).

As always, I do not own either Sailor Moon or Inuyasha, as much as I would love to own Sesshoumaru, I cannot take the credit for him. :pouts:

Usagi blinked. Looking around her, she saw that she was standing in what appeared to be a study of some sort. Completely unsure of how she ended up here, she decided that the most logical course of action was to determine her whereabouts. The room itself was comfortable done in gold, dark red, and various colors of brown. Bookshelves lined the walls filled with volumes that appeared to be older than she was (and that was saying something considering her years spent working with Destiny). There was a large brown desk sitting in the middle of the room with a rich red chair behind it. A stack of clean white paper sat to the right just behind a bottle of ink and the fanciest set of quills she had ever seen.

To her right, Usagi saw that the only way to enter or leave the room was through a window, and since she definitely didn't remember climbing through a window, confusion as to how she had ended up in her current location still plagued her brain. Deciding the only way to figure out where she was would be to take a look out the window, so she took a few steps and placed her hands on the sill. As soon as the view registered in her sleep fogged mind, a small gasp escaped her lips. Outside, she saw the campsite where she had fallen asleep the previous night; Sesshoumaru was still in his same position. The campfire, her bedroll, her pack, everything, was still in the same place as it had been. Nothing moved, it seemed as if even time had stopped in her absence.

Taking a deep breath, Usagi placed her hands on the latch that held the window shut. Pulling up, Usagi wasn't completely surprised that it didn't even budge. Not a single thing moved; it was as if she hadn't even touched it, much less pulled at it with all of her strength. After trying for a few more minutes, Usagi finally gave up and decided to figure out what this room was.

Turning around to take in the rest of her surroundings; Usagi noted that there were shelves surrounding the entire room. Facing the desk stood a low shelf with two odd items sitting on the top of it. One was a golden globe that portrayed the world as round instead the assumed shape of flat. The globe, instead of using the blues and greens that normally colored maps, the globe was made up of various shades of gold. Also, it was suspended on a golden stand that came up and surrounded it with two golden strips of metal. Each metal length moved separately from the other.

After thoroughly studying the globe, Usagi moved her attention to the other item on the shelf. It was a large hourglass that appeared to have already finished it's time-telling requirement, or more specifically all of the sand was sitting in the bottom of the hourglass. It was very large, and in top form from everything she could tell. The top and the bottom appeared to be made of solid gold. After looking more closely at the glass itself, she realized that it was made of something other than glass. It shone with so many colors that at first she wasn't sure what it could be. Then, it dawned on her, the hourglass was made of gold and diamond, and instead of using sand to tell time, it was gold dust that sat at the bottom of the ancient time-telling device.

So absorbed in her curious observations of the odd items on the shelf, Usagi didn't notice that she was no longer alone in the room. Sitting behind the desk in the previously unoccupied red chair, sat a short man with black hair that fell just above his shoulder. His chin rested on his hand which supported itself on the front of the desk. In front of him sat one of the clear pieces of paper, and in his free hand he held a quill the flowed over the paper. A small, knowing smile graced his somewhat handsome features as he watched the girl before him. As his hand smoothly covered across the paper; it appeared as if the pen scratches were going to come to life. Quickly, and efficiently, he put the finishing touches onto his ink painting. It depicted her look of wonder and awe at the marvelous sights she had never seen before with so much accuracy that it appeared to be the real thing instead of the just a drawing.

However, after finishing his drawing, he placed it on the top of the stack of clean white paper and turned to watch the young girl whose eyes had been so full of fascination that he hadn't been able to resist taking down her likeness. She was still looking carefully into the time-telling device, and suddenly he realized who she was and how she had managed to stumble into his small study. Frowning slightly, he realized that he needed to stop her before things got too far out of hand.

"My dear," he whispered very quietly, but in the silence of the room, it seemed that he had shouted it.

The young girl jumped and turned to find the person who was in the room with her. Seeing the man occupying the previously empty chair, Usagi stared at him for a moment. The only though that was currently able to float through her shocked brain was the wondering notion of how he had gotten in there when there appeared to be no way in or out. But, some part of her brain reasoned, he had probably gotten in the same way that she had, even if Usagi was uncertain how she had managed it.

"Who are you?" she asked, although, on some level, she feared that she already knew the answer to that.

"I am Aviyo," he said, as if that answered all of her questions. Seeing the look of confusion on her face, he decided, with a small chuckle, that she would need a bit more of an explanation. "I am the second guardian of Elysian. I have been placed here to watch for the one who would enter the garden and allow me to finish my duty."

His words confirmed her suspicions, but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. Finally, she said the only thing that she could think of, "I am Princess Serenity, the last of the house of the stars, and the only child to Queen Serenity the one that place you here to guard the entrance into the land of dreams. Dire need has brought me here as darkness yet again approaches to destroy all that is lovely in the world."

Aviyo nodded. Expecting nothing less from Destiny's apprentice, the man behind the desk stood to administer the test of identity. It was imperative that she be of Serenity's bloodline, and words could not be considered as proof. "You have done well to make it to the second test. Proving both the strength of your heart and body, you know must prove that you have the right to take hold of the crystal that will determine the fate of this world. The right to hold this crystal only comes with a blood relation to that maiden, Celeste, who created the crystal. Are your prepared?"

Taking a deep breath, Usagi steeled herself and nodded, "I am ready, what do I need to do?"

Grinning to himself, Aviyo walked up to Usagi and, bending down on one knee, took her right hand in his. Usagi stepped back instinctively, but came up short as the back of her leg hit the wall. Aviyo moved as if he hadn't even noticed her not so subtle retreat. Lifting her right hand in his left hand, he lightly rested his lips against her knuckles. A light glow seemed to be emanating from the point in which his mouth touched the soft skin of the back of her hand. Soon, the glow covered her body.

The light glow grew stronger and stronger until it appeared as if she was floating in flames. Shutting her eyes tightly, Usagi lifted her now completely free hands to cover her eyes trying to block out the light that plagued her even as her eyes were closed.

"My sweet Serenity," a voice called out to her in the in the flow of light. "My dear sweet little girl, it seems you're not so little anymore. I wish things had been different, but they can't be changed now."

"Mother," Usagi questioned, trying to open her eyes and still block out the flood of blinding flames that engulfed her. "Where are you?"

"I am here for now," the voice whispered. "But I will be gone soon. For now, I am here to say, I love my sweetest child. No matter what happens, I always will. Destiny has now taken you from Fate's hand, and things are coming to there conclusion. Be happy my darling, and remember to love those around you, even if it hurts."

The light faded, and Usagi realized that it must have been holding her up as she landed on her knees due to weakness. Taking several deep breaths as if she had just had been through the workout of her life even though the only movement she had made in the last ten minutes was the action of falling to her knees.

"Are you all right, princess?" Aviyo said with concern. He was still in the kneeling position, and his eyes portrayed how worried he was. Having never actually administered the test that he had just given her, Aviyo was slightly surprised by the result. The voice of his queen had really been a major shock since she had been dead for so long that her spirit didn't even reside on this plane any longer.

Usagi blinked at him a few times. Her confusion was visible in every line of her face. "What…" she whispered, "What just happened?"

"You have received, and passed, the second test," Aviyo said in a proud voice as he stood and helped her come to her feet. "I am satisfied that you are the last remaining heir to the house of the stars, daughter of the last queen, her majesty, Serenity Cosmos. You are my future queen, and I bow to you, and only you." The end of this was punctuated by him bowing on one knee with his right hand resting on his other knee while his left fist rested on the ground, showing his loyalty and respect.

"Please!" Usagi exclaimed, kneeling down towards the man bowing in front of him, "Don't bow before me! I may have been royalty once, but that was long ago. There is no reason for you to humble yourself before your equal!"

"My dear princess!" Aviyo exclaimed in surprise as he stood up taking Usagi with him. He placed his hands on her shoulders and his deep green eyes flashed with almost a ferocious determination as they clashed with her deep blue eyes, "You are now and always will be the only one that I is worthy of my loyalty! Being here now proves that you are still royalty, and, for your information, not all of us are gone. As long as you have subjects willing to live and die for you, your kingdom is still in existence. I will always be loyal, and so will the other two test administrators! Be warned, my princess, your next task is very hard."

With those words whispered, Aviyo, the room with the globe and hourglass, the walls and the window showing her where she had fallen asleep, it all disappeared. The shock of suddenly standing about ten feet away from the campsite caused her to freeze. Her gasp was audible as she heard Aviyo's last sentence, "Tomorrow will show the gate of Elysian!"

The shock of everything happening so quick, having completely the second trial, and then an entire room disappearing as if it had never been there, caused Usagi to collapse. Then, her mother's voice floated through her brain as she recalled hearing it for the first time in more years than Usagi cared to remember. Nothing was ever going to be easy for her, could it? But what of Mercury's promise? Could there be a possibility that they had been reborn into this time, or at least one of them. It was very unlikely that all of them would live in the same time again.

Usagi couldn't take it much more, the nightmares, the loss, the hopelessness of her situation. Her mother's death and her friends' constant appearances only serving to remind her of what she had lost. A drop of warm water landed on her hand, the shock of the feeling caused Usagi to look down. What she saw was a teardrop sitting on the back of her hand. It was soon followed by many tears as her emotions finally chose to release themselves whether she liked it or not.

Lifting up her hands, Usagi covered her face as the tears refused to stop. A sob escaped her followed shortly by another and then another until her entire body shook with the sorrow of the weight that she carried. At most times, it was like carrying a tree on her back, but now it felt like the entire world had been hoisted onto her shoulders, and it was just too much. She had to let some of it go or she would collapse under the pressure.

Golden eyes watched the girl sob into the grass. They were confused and a little worried as the owner wondered whether or not he should do something or just ignore the person whose sorrow had awoken him. A voice floated through the air, although Sesshoumaru had the sneaky suspicion that he was the only one who could hear it.

"Please," it whispered, "please help my daughter."

That was all that it said. 'Help my daughter,' what kind of request was that. How was he supposed to help someone he didn't even know, and then the realization that this must be the voice of Usagi's mother who was killed so long ago hit him? What did she want him to do? He wasn't really capable of comfort, and although he had been trying, after the previous day, he was afraid that she would flinch rather than except him.

Snarling slightly at his memory of the earlier events, Sesshoumaru wondered why he was still here if he was nothing but a hindrance, but he wasn't sure that he could abandon the rabbit to face her trials on her own, especially with the earth shattering sobs that were escaping her small form at the moment. This thought drew his attention back to her, and he discovered that the sobs still had yet to cease. This seemed unusual, for when Rin cried like this, they would cease fairly quickly to slumber, but Usagi's weren't.

Before he knew what he was doing, Sesshoumaru was standing over her prone figure. His shadow fell across her form, but blocking the moonlight from her tear streaked face did little to draw her attention to him, so he opted for a more direct approach by reaching down and pulling her to her feet as gently as Sesshoumaru was known to do, which means, of course, she was practically yanked up from the weed infested ground. Her shocked sapphire orbs shone in the moonlight with an extra sheen of tears as they met his emotionless amber orbs. Orbs that appeared to be emotionless, but, as Usagi had a knack for seeing that which isn't visible to all, she could easily perceive that there was a hint of something hidden in the back. If she didn't know better, she might think that he was worried, but that was impossible of course.

Unable to resist the idea of a warm, comforting body to cry against rather than the hard, unfeeling ground, Usagi immediately curled into him and began her crying anew, although the sobs were not as hard as they had been. The shock of her movement had his arms around her waist to carry the bulk of her weight before he realized what was happening. The renewal of her tears had been slightly unexpected, but not completely a surprise.

Pulling her feet off of the ground and carrying her back into the camp circle was much easier than he thought it would be. The fact that she didn't even seem to realize what he was doing was an added bonus. He sat down and moved her into a comfortable position on his lap so that her head was resting in the crook of his neck. Her tears flowed down his skin and soaked into his under tunic, yet they did not cease.

"I'm sorry," Usagi whispered, but she made no move to change her position, "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Hush now, cease this nonsense," Sesshoumaru said in his usual monotonous tone of voice. Usagi curled tighter into him, but didn't repeat her apologies for being such a nuisance.

"I can't take this much more," she whispered. Sesshoumaru had the notion that she wasn't talking so much to him as to her own demons of the night. "Please, leave me alone and give me some rest. I can't take this much more."

Sesshoumaru unconsciously rubbed small, comforting circles across her back, hoping against hope that the motion would cause her sorrow to cease. She cried far too much for him to be completely comfortable with the odd feelings that her tears created. This continued long into the early hours of the morning until her tears seemed to lighten up. At more than one time, Sesshoumaru believed that she fell asleep, but this notion was always dispelled by her releasing yet another noise of sorrow. Usagi did not fall asleep, but her tears lightened into nothing but the occasional sniff. The girl in his arms didn't move from the position that he had placed her in.

Releasing a long sigh, Sesshoumaru realized that he was going to have to talk to her to resolve this issue and relieve the tension that had formed in his chest. "What happened to cause me to wake and find you in tears at two in the morning?"

Usagi's body became stiff with the question. How was she supposed to answer that? How was she supposed to make him see that she had lost everything, and now she couldn't find a reason to fight even though she knew she must? How was she supposed to tell him that this battle would most likely claim her life and leave the ones that she had grown so attached too over the past few weeks alone and without her protection? If she told him anything, he would dismiss her as being weak-willed and he would leave her. That, she was sure, she could not bear.

When she didn't respond after stiffening up, Sesshoumaru said, yet again, "Tell me what causes these tears that seem to never cease. If you keep it to yourself, it will never change."

Usagi sniffled yet again, "It's not one thing, but everything. They're gone; she's gone. Everything, my family, my friends, my kingdom, has been taken away from me. How am I supposed to find the will to fight if I have nothing to fight for?"

Sesshoumaru looked startled. That was a good question. Unlike the demons, those of the star kingdom would only fight for a reason. They never killed with indiscriminately or for the love of battle. From all accounts, they loved life and found its value to be higher than anything. "Perhaps," Sesshoumaru started slowly, clearly thinking out his words before he said them, "your reason to fight may be in front of you even now. Do not throw away a life before you even have the chance to live it. This is the one thing that I've learned over the years."

Usagi released a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. He hadn't dropped her on the ground and said anything like, 'ridiculous girl,' or 'baka onna.' With the release of her tension, she realized the position she was in, sitting on his lap in her pajamas while he wore nothing but his under-tunic. Blushing lightly, Usagi moved to get up while saying, "I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama, I really have been an inconvenience." As she finished this statement, however, she realized that she was still unable to rise from her position. "Please," she said, her confusion very evident in her voice, "allow me to get up so that you can go back to sleep."

When Usagi met his eyes, she saw that he hadn't even heard her last phrase. He appeared to be in a world of his own, staring off into space, and then, suddenly, his arms tightened around her waist. "An," he paused, his eyes finally focusing on her, "inconvenience?"

To say that Usagi was startled would have been a bit of a simplification of her emotions, "Well…yeah," she said as she tried to move yet again, still unable to. It seemed as if his arms had become steel bands holding her into her current position. "I have been a bother since we met, appearing so suddenly, and then the attacks that happened only because I was there. Now I am keeping you up all hours of the night with my petty emotions and hurts. I would say that is an inconvenience."

The sky was lighter now, and soon, the sun would show its face over the hills in the distance, but this was not known to the two beings currently sitting against a tree. They were both so absorbed in their own thoughts that nothing would catch their attention with the soul exception of the other person currently sitting there.

Sesshoumaru had to carefully consider his response to her reasons. This was a delicate subject to speak about, and Sesshoumaru was completely certain that had it been anyone else, he would have accused them of being an inconvenience or a bother, but not Usagi. As a matter of course, it appeared that he was more of an inconvenience and a bother to her than she was to him. He had insisted on her traveling with him, he had followed her when she had very specifically not wanted him too, and this choice had caused him to be used against her. For that, he would never forgive himself, but he would not abandon her when she seemed so weak and frail in the early hours of the day.

"Usagi…" before he could say another word, however, there was a blinding flash of light. Usagi and Sesshoumaru were both on their feet before the flash had receded enough for either to make out the face of the other. Once the flash had gone, Usagi saw that everything she looked at appeared to be made of gold and rainbow reflecting glass.

"Where are we?" Usagi asked, never once letting her guard down.

"You," a voice said from nowhere and everywhere at once, "are in my world, the place of the final test before Elysian's doors can be opened to you. You have now proven your strength of heart and body, also your identity has been verified. Now, little princess, you must prove that you have the strength of will to survive and the strength of mind to prevail over the evil and darkness that threatens your world."

Straightening up, Usagi said in a loud voice, "I am Princess Serenity, daughter of the last Queen of the Stars; I request entrance into the garden of Elysian. If you require a test, let it be given so that I may continue on my way to save those I love!" All appearance of weakness and sorrow had disappeared from her face and body.

Sesshoumaru watched her stand tall against the unbeatable foe. The voice from earlier said, "Then, it shall begin. Save yourself and your companion from the sands of time, and I will open the gate of Elysian."

Usagi didn't realize what he was talking about, but soon, the world shifted, and what appeared to be a pillar of sand began to fall down directly between where she stood and where Sesshoumaru stood. The sand, however, appeared to be shiny, as if it were polished rocks instead of grains of the sand, and then, upon closer inspection, Usagi realized that it was not sand but gold dust. Then, she remembered the hour glass, so that's where she was.

"Sesshoumaru, are you all right," Usagi said as she tried to get around the ever growing pile of gold dust.

"Yes," he said, helping her keep her footing on the easily sliding dust. "How are we going to get out of this?" The question was voiced before he could control his mouth.

"I'm not sure," Usagi said looking around. "There has to be a way. Hmm…I wonder."

Usagi's face took on a look of curious concentration. She appeared to be thinking very hard about something, but what, Sesshoumaru was unsure. Suddenly, her face brightened, "I know where we are!" her words were punctuated by a timely slip of the feet, and she would have fallen face first, but his reactions were quicker than her clumsiness. He caught her around her waist, and held up.

"Where are we?" He asked her out of curiosity more than anything else.

"We are in an hourglass made of diamond and gold," Usagi said as she regained her footing. "I saw it earlier, but I'm not completely sure how we are going to get out of it."

Sesshoumaru contemplated the situation that he now found himself in. How are supposed to get out of a prison that appeared to be made of a substance harder than steel?

Usagi moved to the edge of their current world, and she observed the odd pattern of veins throughout the wall of diamonds. "I wonder…" With those words, Usagi snapped her fingers and said and moved back. "Step back and give me some space," Usagi said to her companion. It was continually becoming harder to wade through the quickly falling gold dust, but Sesshoumaru managed to move away from her.

Taking a deep breath and preparing for the inevitable, Usagi whispered, "Strong as steel, loud as thunder, colder than ice, depths of fire, your mistress calls you out of need, from the sky, through times past, out of the ocean, as cool as death's touch, come and protect the one who pleads!"

The previously nonexistent wind picked up around her, and suddenly, her eyes turned to steel as she said, "Mercury, Mars, come and answer me! Bring the power of ice and fire to destroy the unbreakable!"

The forms of Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars appeared just behind Usagi, both of their faces showing the same steely determination that was reflected on their princess' face. Each of them raised their hands. Mercury went first as her 'Aqua Rhapsody' shot forth and froze the section of diamond that seemed to have the most veins or bubbles in it. Mars' 'Flame Sniper' followed soon, and a crack appeared as the flames diminished, but it was still solid. So, again, Mercury's attack blazed forth, and they took turns firing at the place until it finally shattered under the constant and extreme change of temperature.

With the breaking of the diamond wall, Mercury and Mars both disappeared from sight. "We are always here!" Mars said just before she faded from sight completely. Usagi smiled and then said, "YES! Ami-chan would be so proud of me!" Turning towards Sesshoumaru, she called out, "Let's go!"

However, before either could move, their surroundings melted into something much more beautiful and pleasant to behold. They were both standing on a paved pathway in the middle of a beautiful garden surrounded by every flower known to them, and many that neither had ever seen before. Behind them, on the pathway, stood the most beautiful and intricate fountain that either had ever seen and before them stood a large staircase, and, at the top of the stairs a building with pillars completely surrounding it.

Descending the stairs slowly walked a young boy wearing robes of white and blue. As he reached the bottom, he looked up at Usagi and Sesshoumaru, "I am so glad to finally see you again, my princess. I bid you welcome, prince of the lands of the west and heir to the house of the moon. I am Helios, guardian of Elysian and current protector of both the golden and silver crystals that reside here."

To be continued…