Chapter 10
Training

Day 5

"You are an insufferable know it all!" Zoicite yelled suddenly very angry. No matter what he said to the girl, Ami kept giving dozens of reasons why he was wrong. He hated it. He instantly regretted his words when she covered her face with her hands and, sobbing, ran out of the room. "Wait! I'm sorry!" He shouted, running after her. "I didn't mean it!" But she was gone.

He sat down heavily. What they hell had he just done? No matter how hard he tried this morning he hadn't been able to get her to just agree with him. And now he had hurt her.

"I am such an ASS!" he shouted, rubbing his hands over his face. Yes, he was still tired and emotionally drained. But it was no excuse.

"I'll second that motion..." Usagi walked into the room and sat down beside him on the old sofa. "But, I know you didn't mean to make her cry, so I won't murder you... this time!"

"I don't understand myself today. Last night I get my soul back, and today... and then I get to work with her again, and I see in her all the things I loved about her the first time, except now there's more because she's a different person, and I just want her to give me a chance!"

"What was the fight about?" Usagi asked quietly.

"Training. I wanted us to work on combining attacks."

"And what did she say?"

Zoicite huffed out an annoyed breath. "Basically, that we weren't ready because we were tired, because we didn't know each other enough, because I needed to reconnect with my prince, because, because, because... and I got so frustrated I shouted at her."

"Hmm. Did you ever think her only reason is actually because she's scared and confused and needs a little time?" Usagi gave him what Mamoru secretly already called "the look" and he laughed, rubbing his hands over his face again.

"I feel like I'm some sort of creepy stalker. I've been watching her for a while, as Ami and as Sailor Mercury. I've accepted my feelings and I guess I just thought she could accept hers as easily."

"Mamoru says you've been remembering for a while. She hasn't. You know what she's remembering right now don't you?"

Zoicite nodded, all too aware that he had also killed their unborn child. And for the first time, he wept for the little one who's life had never begun.

Usagi sat with him and comforted him for a long time. The others were all taking turns to go to Mamoru's apartment to shower and change, but Zoicite couldn't have cared if they saw him cry.

Ami came into the room then, and Usagi nodded to her to take over.

At 11:09 Usagi dashed into Rei's bedroom.

They had been holding up the meeting, waiting for Rei to come out. The Shittenou had been speaking quietly with Mamoru, but Jadeite kept glancing towards Reis' bedroom worriedly. The three inner Senshi who were already present were studiously ignoring looking at their former husbands. Usagi looked over at Jadeite again and shock and horror washed over her as she remembered a detail about their pasts.

She ran straight to Rei, who was lying on her bed, staring at nothing. "I just remembered honey. I'm so sorry." Rei had been nearly three months pregnant in her former life on the day she was murdered. That pain, the pain of losing a child, had transcended her death and it was a heavy burden.

::Is everything alright with Rei?:: Mamoru sounded worried.

::Yes and no. I don't think I should share because she doesn't want Jadeite to know, and it would be unfair to ask you to hold a secret like this.::

::Is she going to be okay?::

::Yes.:: Usagi decided not to explain too much.

::Then I don't need to know. I'm going to send the girls in to you and take the others to the field to practice until you're ready. Do you want Luna and Artemis?::

::Just Luna please. Take Artemis with you if you don't mind. Rei wasn't the only one affected by this and there may be a bit of crying.::

::Love you Usako.::

::Love you too Mamo-chan.::

Ami ran to the bed as soon as the door was opened. Rei sat up and the two threw themselves into each other's arms, weeping uncontrollably. Makoto and Minako guarded the door and the windows, and Luna jumped lightly into Usagi's lap.

"I'd hoped they wouldn't remember that detail." She murmured.

"You think I could forget my BABY!?" Screeched Ami, throwing a glare at the feline. "It was almost the first thought I had when my memories came back. I was six months pregnant!"

"And Rei was nearly four months gone..." Minako checked out the window again, praying none of the men were close enough to have heard. "I remember... you found out right after he went missing..." Tears of sympathy welled up in her eyes.

"Zoicite wants me to work with him, to fall in love with him again..." Ami stared at Usagi, who nodded in understanding at her inner conflict. "I loved my baby."

"I was so excited to tell Jadeite. I had it planned. We would rescue them, and then I would cook, and we would have a wonderful night together and I would tell him he was going to be a father."

"I want to say something to all of you," Usagi said finally. "First, I would like to remind you that they had been tortured and twisted. That doesn't take back what they've done. It doesn't erase the fear or the pain. But please remember that they can never be turned again. I used a mixture of mine and Mamoru's crystals to encase their souls and protect them. I did the same for you." She sighed.

"So, if any of you ever decides to give your soul mate a second chance, you will never have to worry about that again. It protects you until you make the connection, and then they will be entwined that way for eternity. So, if you decide to mate with them, and it is your decision, you will be bonded even closer than before. The physical act alone cannot do this. It has to be both physical and emotional on both sides." Usagi thought about reminding them of safe sex but decided it could wait until they were ready.

"Now that that's out of the way. Mina look under the dresser and grab the emergency chocolate. Mako, grab the mad-libs. We're going to stop thinking about this for now and go have our meeting."

The girls laughed, and fifteen minutes later they were smiling in earnest. It always helped to have someone like Usagi around. Especially now that she was blushing crimson over her mad-libs, having inadvertently written something about sex on every line.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Asked Kunzite. He was curious about the girls, who were similar, but so different from the women he had once known.

"I asked Usagi not to tell me. She made it sound like it was something we wouldn't actually want to know. Whatever it is, it belongs to them, and not us. Females are... more in touch with emotions, and because of that they have deeper wounds."

"Can you just tell me if Rei is okay?" Jadeite asked. He wasn't so sure he wanted to know what she was upset about, as long as it wasn't him that had upset her.

"Usagi says she will be. She can make anyone smile. I bet you when they get out here they'll be laughing again."

"I hope so," muttered Jadeite.

"Alright... first order of business... chocolate!" Usagi tossed everyone a piece and sat down on the grass beside Mamoru. Apparently that wasn't close enough because he dragged her into his lap, and she had to ignore the occasional distraction as he was apparently VERY HAPPY to be holding her.

"So, I've finished creating new identities, but I have to get all the documentation printed. Mamoru has a building that he has been working on to create a safe place for us to train, receive medical attention, hold meetings, and even live. There are eight apartments, two each on floors three, four, five, and six. Library, pool, etcetera."

"That reminds me..." Mamoru pulled four envelopes out of his sub-space pocket. "This is to get you started. Keep below the monthly budget I've given you. I'll teach all of you how to use them later. Or one of the girls can." He'd had four debit cards made for a joint account created for the Shittenou.

"Also, I expect all of you to go to school. I'd prefer if you started as a high school junior or senior." Usagi looked at each of them, sounding very much like her own mother, though none would dare inform her of that. "I have my reasons for this, but mostly it is because I guessed the best age for you would be 17 or 18 so you could be near Mamoru. And none of you had better start any fights unless it is to protect him!"

Minako snickered. She liked Usagi even better than her former self had liked Serenity. "You go girl!" She whispered with a fist-bump, which made Usagi laugh. Her maternal air disappeared, and a bright happy young girl was seen again.

"Training," reminded Luna after the giggles had died down.

"Mamoru and I thought about it. Each Senshi has at least one power similar to the Shittenou they were paired with last night. We expect you to create joint attacks for each of them." She gave Zoicite a secret smile. We also expect each of us to meditate every night before bed, and every morning before breakfast. Even me," she muttered.

Mamoru took over, "We can't expect Beryl to wait long before she uses new generals and we won't know what she's doing. Usagi came up with the idea of working together to form a group attack, and that's what we are going to do today."

For several hours they worked and trained, and then Usagi took the Shittenou out shopping. The other girls decided their time would be better spent working with Mamoru on a training schedule. Usagi hoped the avoidance phase wouldn't last too long.

"Mamo-chan?" Usagi opened his apartment door a few hours later. "Mamo-chan, I'm here." She had just gotten the Shittenou settled, and Ami had delivered their new identities. It had been a long and busy day.

"Usako, I'm in the shower!" he called out.

"Okay!" she shouted and moved to sit on the couch.

"Join me?"

Usagi went to the bathroom and opened the door. "Only if you have condoms," she told him in as firm a tone as she could manage.

"Uh... yeah I think there are some under the sink." Usagi looked an found a set of condoms that must have been a gag-gift because they were emblazoned with images of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. She laughed in delight and quickly undressed, bringing one of the little squares with her.

She was instantly pulled up against him and thoroughly kissed under the warm spray. "I missed you Usako."

"I missed you too."

She laughed as he grabbed the soap and it fell to the shower floor. But when she bent down to get it she realized it had been a trick, because he kept her bent over and played with her intimately, running his fingers through her slit. She reached back and grabbed him, rubbing him gently.

"I've got you now, my pretty," he said in a fake evil voice. She heard the condom wrapper rip and a moment later he was there, rubbing the tip of his cock up and down, teasing her. All at once he shoved inside and she screamed in pleasure. This she could get used to!

He reached around and rubbed her nipples, and within moments she was panting and screaming for him. His pace increased until she had to hold her hands against the wall, so she didn't slam her head against it. Then they were screaming each other's names in release, and he pulled her up and turned her.

"That was just round one." He promised.

As dusk fell over the Hikawah Shrine the Senshi and Shittenou met in secret. They had decided on this before leaving the meeting earlier in the day. It was important to all of them to ensure the safety of the prince and princess.

"Are we doing the right thing?" Nephrite asked.

"Not sure," Rei was adamant though. "But we're going to do it anyways.

"I agree," Zoicite could never bear to see his prince dead again.

"Alright, so what do we do?" Asked Makoto, turning towards Ami.

"We sit here, in the moonlight, in a circle. We must specify Queen Serenity. She's the only one who can reach them."

And the group formed a circle and sent a prayer into the sky, asking for the aid they knew was needed. A message was returned, a warning to accept each other before it was too late.

Across Tokyo late that night, seven amanojaku were released, and as the sun rose and the moon set, they began their evil work.