The Middle- Chapter Five

After all settling back into their custom seats, Mamoru gathered Usagi close, needing her support, just as much as she no doubt needed his. She was super close to Motoki as well, they were like brother and sister, so much so, that Mamoru had thought that for ages, before he realized that they were just good friends. After meeting her real brother, he had to question again, whether or not one of them was adopted into the wrong family. Shingo and Usagi weren't nearly as close as Motoki and Usagi were. Mamoru though didn't realize that Usagi had looked on Motoki and his relationship with something akin to jealousy as they got on so well, like they'd known each other forever and were really blood brothers. She had always wanted to be apart of that, but yet was always secluded because of her inability to get along with Mamoru at the time.

And as Naru relayed the story to them, across the cavern, the senshi were having their own meeting, made redundant by the fact that they all lived in the same small space together.

Rei just returned, and they all looked up expectantly as the door opened. "They are with Naru in her house." She managed to explain, although her mood was none-too-happy with being shut out from sight, even for the temporary time.

The other girls though nodded, accepting this, and the fact that despite not having any powers, Naru was as good as one of them. Rei pushed her hair out of her way, it fell back behind her, several inches longer than when she was sixteen. "I can't believe that jerk just took her away."

"She went first, if you remember." Minako remarked off to the side.

Rei glowered at her supposed leader of the senshi. "You know, I liked you better as a half-mute."

Minako raised an eyebrow, her spunk back in place after years of absence. "Just because I didn't say anything, it didn't mean I didn't have opinions."

"Which you wisely kept you yourself. If what you said to the outers was anything to go by."

Minako jumped towards Rei, her hands outstretched, reaching for her 'friend's' neck. Makoto deftly caught Minako in flight and held the two of them apart from turning into a bloody fight.

"You realize these fights aren't quiet?" Ami asked, coming down the steps to look in disapproval at the three girls in the middle of the living room. Somehow the two Makoto was trying to keep peaceful, included her into their little sparing match and now the three of them were rolling around on the ground, each trying to get the others, but ended up instead in a pile of limbs and bruises from their own extremities and not their comrade. "I think we've been living on each other's backs for too long." Ami sighed sadly. "We almost need two houses."

Setsuna snorted from her position in the kitchen, she was cleaning up Makoto's dishes from the meal she'd managed to whip together, never in these twenty-five years had they ever gone without some type of tasty meal. Makoto was just that good. "I think if this house was any larger, then it would cause a vortex in the fabric of the universe and then where would we all be?"

Ami laughed at Setsuna's joke, for the house was so much larger than it looked from the outside, and that was exactly the point, but still, the house at times seemed too small, because they were all, always in it. "I don't know, but I think we should all go for a walk, to other covens." Ami pointedly looked at the three girls who were still sprawled in the middle of the living room, slowly trying to untangle themselves.

Makoto hooked onto the idea and nodded her head. "I think I'll take this one."

Ami shook her head sadly, she knew exactly where Makoto would choose to go. "I don't think that's wise."

"But if we let them wonder around, thinking we don't care, it will be the biggest mistake we've ever made. There's no knowing what will happen." Rei argued, wanting to fight Makoto on location, but somehow Ami had become the leader in this situation. At different times during the last twenty-five years the role shifted between Rei, Ami, Makoto and sometimes Setsuna, who would have had it the whole time if she'd so desired, but hadn't even wanted it, rather to have veto power if the ideas got too crazy.

"Neither of you will bother them." Ami supplied. "They'll come to us when they're ready. Right now, our leader is so disgusted by our behavior that she can't even look at us. If you push her, we might drive a bigger wedge."

"Besides." Setsuna agreed with a smile tilting her usually stoic face. "I think the prince already knows you were following him. It's hard to miss in such a small space, and he's so good at understanding his surroundings. There isn't much of a way to get the drop on him."

"Prince?" Four pairs of eyes turned to Setsuna gapping.

"Ah... I never told you that, did I?"

"No. That would have been helpful, don't you think?" Rei's words were punctuated carefully to clearly express her anger.

Setsuna cleared her throat. "Um... it hadn't mattered until now. He was gone, just as much as she was."

"No wonder you told us the prince was dead when we decided to go look for him a few years back." Minako shook her head, trying to place everything together. "He'd died the same time Usagi did. But neither really did."

"As I had no way of knowing that I figured it was best none of you knew the whole truth, just enough to keep your heads attached to your necks."

"Guys, what do you think Naru is telling them?" Makoto changed the subject, it hadn't mattered if Mamoru was the prince or not, she still wouldn't be taking any orders from him, he wasn't her prince, he was only as powerful and in charge as the rest of them. So he was the Moon Princess's fated loved one, the one she gave her life up for, and wouldn't let a single harm come down on his head. He still was the one that died, causing her to do the same, he was still an unknown and hadn't proven himself to the rest of them, he was still the prince of an era which they didn't remember, and if they could, probably didn't like him back then any better than now. He probably caused a whole lot of issues beyond just dying in the end. She had a feeling she didn't like him then and would be hard press to take anything he said seriously and would have to be ordered by Usagi to follow his suggestions. She wasn't there to see it, but he probably was what caused her to disappear in the first place. And that, put him very low on her opinion pole.

"Probably what we couldn't tell her. What life was really like down here, and about... Motoki." Rei supplied, out of all of the girls, she and Minako were the only ones that had braved to see Motoki after his death, had snuck into the arcade when all the generals and lords were gone, and all the youma minions too, though they wanted to take one down afterwards. She had only gone to see if he really was dead or if he was still there in psyche. He wasn't, and after confirming it with Minako, they left, Minako as per usual during those dark days, didn't say much. It had been an instant change when Usagi disappeared and it had been an instant change again at her return, back to the normal Minako who took her role as leader serious once more. Though she'd lost some of her respect from the others to follow her command due to some serious issues during the years, but they were controlled by forces larger then themselves and so they still followed her orders when she made them, which wasn't very often.

Minako had ordered Rei to go with her, not for company, but to assure herself that Motoki really was completely gone. Minako had gone... because she had to see for herself Motoki's corpse, left for anyone to see and do whatever they pleased to it. She still had feelings for the blond man, feeling that had never been returned, but it wouldn't have worked out anyways, he'd gone to fight, she'd stayed, not doing anything. He'd aged and she didn't, the age gap would have only widened.

"She really shouldn't fill their heads with these horror." Ami muttered, taking a seat on the leather sofa, and Minako came to perch next to her on the arm rest, the sofa had stood the test of time perfectly and was not damaged or soggy at all.

"Like I said earlier, it's best if they are not held in the dark, about anything I guess. It's better if they know everything. The true horrors of our lives will only serve to give them a better understanding of what we have faced, and maybe will allow them to settle into this life easier than without any knowledge. It'll prepare them better for living the lives we live."

"They'll want their own place." Makoto blurted out and crossed her arms over her chest when she got a vexed look from Minako, who was only trying to comfort Ami. "What? It's true. Did you see how close those two have gotten?"

Rei scowled, her thoughts weren't much kinder towards Mamoru than Makoto's, and they echoed the ones that she didn't share after her declaration, but that didn't hinder Rei. "Just because they've gotten use to not having any one else interupt their little twenty-five year honeymoon, I will not allow him to take her away, even if it is a foot away. Walls are too large to compete with my desire to be near her."

"Nobody wants her away from us, Rei." Ami sighed, pushing the blue strands that fell into her eyes away, they hadn't thought about scissors and Ami didn't trust any of them with her short hair, which now curled around her jaw, too long for her.

Minako saw the action and broke Ami's earlier assumption with her tease. "You know, I could take care of that for you? I haven't had to use them in over twenty-five years with anyone else's hair but my own, but I easily pick it up again for you."

Ami's blue eyes widened in fear and she shook her head. "Ah, no, it's ok Mina-chan, I'm quite alright with the way it is. I was actually thinking about growing it out longer."

Minako sighed deeply, clearly disappointed. "Fine, if that's the way you want it."

"Ah- Mina-chan, couldn't help over hearing- but you've been cutting your own hair these last few years?" Rei asked, looking dubiously at the blond's, well, orange-blond's hair.

Minako pulled the long, straight strands over her shoulder and pet them almost as if she had Artemis in her lap. "Yeah, though it doesn't look any different, does it? It usually just lasts a few days, then whenever I transform, it returns to how it would be without my interference."

"Has it been getting any longer after we turned nineteen, at least in body?" Ami questioned, her hair had almost come to a standstill after her body changed, though... it still did grow, fractionally of what it normally had.

"Yep, but it's awhile in between growth-trends."

"That's- nevermind." Ami shook her head, something never changed.

"Lights are out." Makoto interrupted this fascinating discussion on hair. She didn't control it personally, she'd set it on a timer, and even though she didn't have to consciously take care of it, she knew though when they went out or any other changes.

"I've been putting out a damper on the fires as well." Rei's though was controlled, she took care of the fires that weren't in use and took care to leave enough light to gloss the pathways, but not enough to keep anyone awake.

"I hope Usagi will be able to find her way back." Makoto teased lightly, their house was always illuminated inside until the room was deserted and then the lights went out like a light switch. In a way it was to control the population down here to sleep, but at the same time, if they chose to remain awake, then they did so, but with only the campfire light to see by.

"I'm sure Mamoru will have no problems."

Makoto frowned as her joke lost its steam by the response, but she ignored it and went into the kitchen, looking for leftovers and used her powers to reheat it. She threw it to Minako who followed her in, hungry again, as Makoto knew she would be. She always made enough for six senshi, even though there were only five of them now. But the sixth one was the one that hurt to think of as missing and had pretended it was just so they could have leftovers whenever she wasn't around. She was always around, and they saw through her, but they didn't comment on it, taking refuge in the idea that eventually there would be a sixth, to eat the last portion. Now, there might be, but they still didn't allow themselves to hope, it could all be a mirage.

"Why is it still us and them?" Minako managed to ask on a whisper, not letting the senshi still in the living room hear. Makoto though heard and the two of them had always been the closest of the inners, even with the events unfolding as they did, and Makoto becoming bitter, Minako become silent. There was still a special bond between them, perhaps it was because they had always had such similar interests like boys and food and protecting Usagi. Makoto didn't know, but whenever Minako felt the slightest bit of unease about something, she had turned to Makoto when Usagi no longer became available.

"What do you mean, Mina-chan?" They were all close, it wasn't that, but the other two seemed just a slight bit more mature in concern for matters, whereas Makoto was still just ahead of Minako, but at the same time, didn't want to care about the consequences, just wanted to take care of what was at hand. They did things for each other, that the other two hadn't patience for, perhaps it was because their family ties were so different than Rei and Ami's, they had grown up differently and had strongly wanted a family that cared for them. Rei's dad was around for awhile, but he too had died, her grandfather died of natural causes. Rei's relationship with her dad was at best sketchy, he'd sent her to live with her grandfather, when he could no longer look at her. But she'd had a dad and had a grandfather, who it turned out cared for her deeply and given her the support she needed, though she had become more of a tactical mind, not caring about so many personal things as much as how best to win and figuring out the psychology and always consulted the great fire. She was too much of a rational person. Speaking of rational people, Ami was embarrassed to even think about boys without breaking into hives, much less come to a conclusion that she might actually like a boy. Her mother had loved her, and treated her well, but had taught her daughter to behave like a distant doctor, role modeling the same for her as she preached. Her mind was even more tactical than Rei's, and her thoughts were how best to take down something, medical and the right explanation, she didn't go into the emotional if she could help it.

Though that is not to say that either one of them were avoid of emotions, they took it just as hard as the more emotional two, if not harder, unable to reason it out, even though they'd tried. Ami hung on longer, believing against everything her mind told her, against everything that made her Ami, and it turned out, she was right all along. Makoto and Minako had suffered, had grieved, had tried to find their missing link, but knew it was over before anyone else. That didn't stop Makoto, who roomed right next to Minako, from hearing the blond girl's sobs every night, echoing her own silent tears. Makoto had never had family, Usagi had filled that role, and had brought in the others as well, Minako was the closest rendition Makoto had to her fallen leader, and had clasped onto that idea, strengthening their once strong frienship. Minako had family, but they were even worse than Rei's father, they had sent her off to boarding school without a word and hadn't seen her except for breaks, which they'd leave her at home to go on a ski holiday without her in Europe. Minako had enough of that and petitioned for a divorce of sorts from her parents and when they'd protested, she asked instead to be sent to Japan, where she knew she was needed. Her parents gladly did so instead of allowing their daughter to ruin their good reputation. They told everyone she was off learning one of the most difficult languages in the world. She had gained a true friend in Usagi and almost a twin sister in the mix. Two blonds against the world. Her absence had torn a hole in Minako so large, that only the kindness and loneliness echoed in Makoto and had only brought her to rely on the strong, tall girl who had a heart almost as large as the sister she'd lost.

"Usagi and Mamoru." Minako finally responded. "We'd always thought of them as the two that disappeared and now that they're back, they're still separated from us. Us and them, when it should just be us?"

"There's got to be time. Usagi will come around, she always has."

"She's never been so angry with us." Minako disagreed quietly. "Never had a need to."

Makoto latched onto the counter, she didn't want to discuss this part with Minako, she never forgave herself for being such a failure, and how much she failed Usagi was inexcusable. She was always ready for a fight these days because that was the only way to make her feel better, about the fact that she hadn't for Hotaru. It was the only way to make things right. She was ashamed of her actions, she knew they all were, but she felt it more deeply, she was never one to coward away from action. It was only her need to protect her remaining friends that kept her from going out there and taking on every youma she could find before she was brought down. That's why she trained every day, waiting for them to snap out of it and do something about their situation.

Except... she could see it so clearly now, see it in the disappointment of Usagi's eyes, it told her so much more than she ever thought possible. The senshi would have never snapped out of their funk, they had just been too ashamed at themselves to make a move. Trapped in the ever rotating circle of denial and disgust and fear. They were afraid, but she wasn't anymore, no, twenty-five years of this non-living wasn't worth it. Sure she had such strong connection with the other girls but since they were all in such a slump, they weren't able to lift each other's spirits and reclaim that fun atmosphere they'd once shared, the ability to lift each other up in a moment of depression and what had created them to be the most sought after click when they were younger, the sheer joy each had with each other. It was an exclusive club, not because of desire, but necessity, and if it got too big, it wouldn't have been as personal. Makoto knew though that the reason they were like that had just returned, and if she had ever been sad, they all pitched in to make her smile again.

That's what Makoto wanted to do now, find a way to make Usagi smile. Mamoru made her smile. A voice whispered in her head, and she shoved it out. It didn't matter, the senshi needed to become one and whole again, it needed to stop bleeding and heal. It might always have a scar, but hopefully with time, it might lessen in appearance. They at least needed to try.

Makoto realized Minako was still waiting on an answer and she looked over her should her at her friend, and realized that Usagi's presence had taken a lot of weight off of all of their shoulders, and the healing process had already began, it might be slow, but she could already see the marks, and she hadn't even been back long, or with them more than fifteen minutes, only long enough to get pissed at them, but it had somehow helped, her anger. It freed emotions that were trapped for too long with the heavier weight of negative ones. Minako's eyes though sad now, seemed lighter, more joyful and Makoto tossed her a grin. "Don't worry so much Mina-chan, you'll get wrinkles."

Minako froze for a moment, fearing it to be true, before she started to laugh. It was nice to hear her laughter again, it was the first time in many years that one of the senshi didn't just laugh at the sad irony, but this was a pleased laughter, the fact that Minako wouldn't age at all, waylaid the fact that she could possibly get what she feared, wrinkles, of all things!

Makoto started laughing too, the once curse was now a blessing, glad for a change that they couldn't age. Minako's laughter was infectious and had Makoto's laughter just as fulfilling.

There was a knock on the door and everyone froze, there was only one person that it could be, well two, but Naru didn't usually come at night.

"Well answer it!" Minako yelled out of the kitchen at the frozen senshi in the living room when the knock came again, a booming sound, though it was just three gentle raps against the wood. It penetrated each of them, as this next step would determine the outcome they'd been unknowingly waiting for all these long years.

EAN: I'm just horrible, aren't I? Hahaha!