Thank you for reading and reviewing! I don't own Sailor Moon, I'm just borrowing the characters. And too delirious on codeine cough syrup to say much else. Being sick not being sick.

"What are you daydreaming about anyway, Usagi? You've barely touched your milkshake…" Motoki placed his hand to her forehead, frowning lightly. "Nope, no fever…"

She pushed his hand away, rolling her eyes. "Oh hush, Motoki, can't a girl dream in peace?"

"Who is he, Usagi?"

"Who's who?" Mamoru interrupted, sitting down next to her at the counter and reaching out to grab one of her hair buns.

"None of your business," she snapped, sticking her tongue out as he put his hands up in defense. "Hi, Kaidou," she smiled, waving to the blonde who had just sat down on his other side.

"Oh come on," Motoki continued. "Is it someone we know?" He leaned forward to steal a sip from her milkshake while she was busy sticking her tongue out at Mamoru.

"Ha! You guys only wish you were that cool! And stop drinking that! I am a paying customer, I'll have you know," she replied in a snippy tone, glaring when he just laughed in response and stole one of the cherries.

"Paying customer since when?" He challenged, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Usagi, if you're a 'paying customer,'" Kaidou continued, using airquotes to emphasize his point, "Then you owe our good friend Motoki here close to… I'd say give or take three hundred dollars."

"Yeah, Odango, pay up," Mamoru grinned, holding out his hand. She smacked it, rolling her eyes in response.

"Yeah, like you're one to talk, Mamoru. I've been fronting you coffee for years!" Motoki turned back to Usagi, slapping the countertop impatiently. "Alright so who? Come on it's slow today… I'm so bored…" Motoki whined, gesturing around to the empty arcade.

"Fine," she gave in, cashing in on an opportunity to glare at Mamoru before continuing. "Tuxedo Kamen."

Mamoru suddenly choked on his coffee, Kaidou reaching over to whack him soundly on the back. Motoki laughed, slapping his hand down on the countertop.

They were all laughing at her!

"Hmph! How rude. And you three are honestly telling me you don't have crushes on senshi soldiers?" All three of them reddened slightly, her point proven. "Exactly. So stop laughing at me!"

"Okay, okay," Motoki grinned, putting his hands up in defeat. "But come on, who doesn't have a crush on Sailor V?"

Usagi held back a giggle by placing her hand over her lips. Oh, Minako would die if she told her!

"Nope, it's definitely Sailor Mars. Those red high heels…" Kaidou replied, aimlessly swirling his spoon around in his coffee. Usagi could barely keep her mouth closed. He was dating Rei! Could he possibly know…

"What about you, Chiba?" Motoki asked as the raven-haired college student looked up with a bored expression.

"Sailor Moon," he shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

This time Usagi's jaw really did drop. Of all things he could have said that was not something she had expected, and it completely threw her for a loop.

"What are you looking so put out for, odango? Are you harboring a secret crush on me?" He teased her, patting one of her hair buns. Of course she had no idea he was Tuxedo Kamen, but that didn't mean he couldn't tease her about it.

She was still too shocked to come up with a proper comeback. They all stared at her expectantly before she snapped out of it, smacking away his hand.

"As if! You're… you… you're just a big jerk!" Why did she always have to run into him? It seemed like no matter what she did, their paths always crossed somehow. Why him, when he was such a jerk to her?

Her communicator beeped, reminding her of her senshi meeting at Minako's. She gathered up her stuff, waving to Motoki and Kaidou and purposely ignoring Mamoru as she left in a hurry.

"That was kind of abrupt, wasn't it?" Mamoru frowned, staring after her. He exchanged a look with Kaidou who looked equally perplexed.

Motoki just shrugged as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "She does that all the time. I've never really thought much of it. I suppose it could be considered a little strange, but it is Usagi after all."

…

"So how many Sailor Senshi are there, anyway?" Minako asked, stretching out on the floor next to Usagi. Something had been bothering her friend throughout the meeting, and Mina couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She just sensed her irritation.

"Four," Luna said slightly awkwardly. "That we remember, anyway."

"So then what's the problem? There's four of us," Usagi stated as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

Luna slid a turquoise compact with the blue sign of mercury across the floor towards her.

"Mercury?" Rei whispered, frowning. "But that would make us five…"

"It's me, right?" Usagi sighed. "I'm the one you can't account for?"

"If you're not one of the Shitennou, where do you play into all of this?" She remembered Minako's words to Tuxedo Kamen. And his words later, of their destiny's being tied together…

Where did she play into all of this?

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. There were always myths of outer senshi, soldiers who guarded the Princess from afar," Artemis replied matter-of-factly. Mina glared at him for his obvious lack of sensitivity.

"You were awakened for a reason, Usagi," Luna said gently. "Everything involving this mission happens for a reason, nothing is a mistake. Your mission is just as clear as the others, and you have been designated by forces out of our control to lead the senshi. That was no accident."

"Why won't this Princess reveal herself to us? If we knew who she was, we could better protect her," Rei said angrily.

"Because she most likely doesn't even know she's the princess. There's a seal placed on her, protecting her identity from the enemy, just as there was on you before you were all awakened. When we find her that will most likely be when we find the crystal."

Usagi sighed, pressing her hand to her head. This was all becoming so complicated… it was so much easier when it was just her and Minako taking down simple youma with Tuxedo Kamen's help, before all this Moon Princess silver crystal drama.

"A long time ago the Moon Kingdom was attacked, ruined at the hands of the Dark Kingdom. Everyone was sealed away and when we began to awaken, so did the enemy," Artemis continued.

"We can't let the past repeat itself!" Luna interjected firmly. "To prevent the tragedies of the past reoccurring we have to seal away this darkness once and for all!"

The words from her dream rang in her head. We can't let the past repeat itself…

"Usagi?" Mina said quietly, drawing her friend from her thoughts. Everyone else had left, the two of them the only ones remaining on Mina's bedroom floor.

"Hm?"

"You just seem so sad."

"I just… I feel so confused. I feel like I don't know what my place or purpose is. I mean, Luna tells me what my mission is but I feel so disconnected from it all. Like I'm just supposed to blindly follow what she says and hope for the best."

"No, " Mina said firmly, hugging Usagi's shoulders. "You are our leader, and you are my best friend, my other half. I couldn't fight without you at my side, Usagi."

Still unsure, Usagi decided to just stay at Mina's. Going home and letting herself dwell on these thoughts… well it wouldn't do her any good.

She unwound her buns, letting her long silver-blonde hair cascade to the floor around her. Minako picked up her hairbrush, running it gently through Usagi's cornsilk hair.

"I have a feeling, Usagi, that once we find this last soldier things will start unfolding… and eventually everything will make sense." She wound small pink bows through the top of Usagi's hair, tugging the strands gently into place.

"Thanks, Minako. Somehow you make it sound like it's all going to be okay…"

The clearest, deepest blue. Soft eyes, tender hands on her face. They stood in silence, eyes locked on each other. The darkness crept in, slow and cold. He held her against his chest tight, as if this might be the last time…

"I won't live without you…" she breathed, tears sparkling across her thick lashes.

"Don't you dare say that." He placed a finger to her lips as everything went dark.

"This is your last chance! Join me and I'll spare your life. Rule by my side and the Dark Kingdom will be stronger than ever!"

"Never!" he spat, shielding her behind him.

The cruel voice laughed mercilessly. "Very well. Then you will die!"

"Usagi! Usagi please wake up!" Mina's voice pleaded, shaking her shoulders frantically. "Usagi!"

She awoke with a start, tears streaming down her cheeks. She gasped for air, Minako's arms wrapping protectively around her shoulders.

"Usagi, your nose…" Mina gasped as Usagi pressed a hand to it, her fingertips stained red. Her forehead felt as if it were splitting in half, as if she was fighting hard to remember something that wouldn't resurface.

She pressed a handkerchief gingerly against her nose as it bled, tears still flowing freely. She had never felt more confused in her life.

"Mina, who am I? Why do I have these dreams? They're so strange and yet they feel so raw… so real. My heart aches."

Mina nodded, clutching her friend tightly. "I know, Usagi. I know. I can feel… sometimes I feel like our hearts are connected somehow. I feel your pain so strongly."

She lay her head on Minako's shoulder, her blonde friend stroking her hair as she tried to comfort her. Finally Usagi's breath evened, her eyes falling closed in a dreamless sleep. Minako clasped her hands together, staring at the full moon illuminated through her window. "Bring peaceful sleep," she whispered, gently laying Usagi back down on the pillow. She felt so fiercely protective of her, their bond like that of sisters.

Her light-hearted, carefree friend was slowly slipping away, a more serious, jaded Usagi taking her place. It scared her.

…

It was hard to slip back into her useful, cheerful persona with Luna's words constantly ringing through her head.

"Four," Luna said slightly awkwardly. "That we remember, anyway."

"So then what's the problem? There's four of us," Usagi stated as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

Luna slid a compact with the blue sign of mercury across the floor towards her.

"Mercury?" Rei whispered, frowning. "But that would make us five…"

"It's me, right?" Usagi sighed. "I'm the one you can't account for?"

Everyone else had this strong sense of purpose and now hers was conflicted. Usagi sighed, folding her arms on the counter at the arcade and resting her chin on top. And it didn't help that she was always having these strange dreams…

"What happened to you?" She jumped as a voice interrupted her self-destructing train of thought, twirling around in her stool to face the intruder. She floundered as she stared right back into the deep blue eyes of none other than Chiba Mamoru, trying to come up with a quick retort.

"Happened? Nothing happened."

Good one, Usagi.

Silence permeated between the two of them as he continued to stare at her, Usagi feeling more and more like a specimen under a microscope. Why wasn't he insulting her, teasing her, or squeezing her hair? Had the universe completely turned upside down or –

Without warning he grabbed her chin roughly, tilting her head back slightly as he eyed her suspiciously.

If I didn't know any better I'd say he looks almost… concerned? But that's impossible.

"What happened, Odango?" He repeated firmly, leaning his other hand on the counter beside her. They were way too close, his fingers gripping her chin almost… tenderly(?) in his hand. And why was her heart racing so fast… what the hell was going on?

"I told you," she insisted numbly, still unable to wrap her head around what was occurring. "Nothing happened, I'm fine. Why are you being so weird?"

He stiffened, reluctantly letting go of her chin and leaving her skin cold where his fingers had been. Then, without warning, he brushed his thumb gently across her cheek, a teardrop hovering on the pad of his thumb.

"I'm talking about this," he replied quietly as her shoulders tensed. She just stared at him in shock, searching desperately for words that wouldn't form. How strange this day was turning out to be.

"It's nothing," she whispered, forcing herself to pull away from him. A pain she didn't understand flashed across his eyes as he nodded, taking a step back.

"Okay." He straightened up, running a hand through his jet black hair. "I'll see you around, Odango."

With a slight wave to Motoki he turned and left, leaving a dull pain in Usagi's chest that she didn't really understand.