A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story even without the senshi.

I pushed open the door to the apartment that I had somehow come to think of as home. I was exhausted and still a little bit stunned, truth be told. Seiya, Yaten, Taiki, Helios and Chibi-Chibi followed right behind me. I could feel the heat of their stares on my back but I didn't turn around. I walked down the hall and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. It was hard to believe that a day that had begun with meeting with the manager of the Three Lights had devolved into this. I looked into the mirror and grabbed the hem of my dress, pulling it up over my head, wanting nothing than to shower the events of the day away.

The door opened just as I had finished yanking it off. Seiya was standing there. I half-expected for her to back away or get embarrassed because I was just in my bra and panties but she didn't seem to be too affected, and I remembered that right after the battle, while they had been caring for me, she'd probably seen a lot more. I had some vague memories of Seiya dressing me. I wondered if I should be embarrassed. I had a nice body, though, and regardless of how I was starting to feel towards Seiya being naked in front of her or anyone else had never really bothered me. Especially not now, after what had just happened between us.

I looked at her in the mirror and realized that she actually was looking at my body, specifically the scrapes I'd picked up while running away from Rubeus. "It's not as bad as it looks," I said.

"Oh really?" she said, rolling her eyes in a way that meant she wasn't going to believe me one bit. "What were you thinking, Usagi? Don't you know how dangerous that was? If Helios hadn't been there he would have killed you."

"I was thinking that I couldn't just stand idly by and let him do whatever he wanted!" I replied heatedly, spinning around to face her. I was mad, partly because I knew that she was right. It had been foolish on my part to challenge Rubeus without a plan or protection. If the senshi had been there I knew that every one of them would have scolded me repeatedly for what I'd done, and Luna would no doubt have a long lecture ready for me as soon as she heard what had happened. I couldn't help it, though. My first priority had always been and would always be the safety of Earth, not me.

"And if you died who do you think would stop him?" Seiya cried. "I'm not sure whether to be flattered that you think so highly of us or furious because you didn't stop to think about it before you went charging out there. You can't make such rash decisions, not anymore."

"You're right and now I won't have to," I replied. I could still feel the rush of power flowing through me. I clenched my hands into fists. My new tier was strong, stronger than I'd been expecting. I knew it would give Rubeus a run for his money. "Next time that I face him he won't be expecting me to have a weapon. I'll be able to take him off guard."

Seiya gave me a look of complete exasperation. "If you can't act with more regard for your safety I'm not so sure there will be a next time," she declared.

"What?" I stared at her, stunned. "You can't…" I trailed off. Not less than two hours ago, I had stood in the middle of the three Starlights, who had held hands in a loose circle around me. I'd opened up the ginzuishou, my very soul, and accepted whatever they wanted to give me under the guide of Helios's gentle power. I'd felt their pain, their uncertainty, and their sorrow, and in return I knew they had felt all of mine as well as my hope for the future. The ginzuishou had reacted in a furious flash of light and raw magic and I still wasn't sure what had happened. I'd passed out and by the time I woke up Seiya, Yaten and Taiki had been gathered around me and there was a new tier on the ground beside me. Helios had been gone, though Taiki told me he'd said he would return.

I could feel the Starlights now, just the way I used to be able to feel the senshi. If I concentrated hard enough I was certain I would be able to find any of them no matter where they were in the city, regardless of whether they were transformed. I'd accepted them as my new guardians, my senshi, and in turn that meant I really was their princess now. And they had the right to protect me as they saw fit, even if that meant banning me from fighting. I wouldn't give in so easily, of course, but they weren't used to having a princess who regularly fought by their sides.

Gradually, Seiya's angry expression softened as I stood there in silence, struggling to find an appropriate response, and then she sighed. "Odango," she said and words couldn't describe how relieved I was to hear her call me that. It no longer seemed right when Seiya called me anything else. "We're just trying to protect you. You have no idea how much you scared me today. I'm not vain enough to think that we could defeat Rubeus without your help. His power is unlike anything we used to face on Kinmoku. But if it means that you're going to keep risking yourself then we'll do it, because I'm not going to let anything happen to you!"

"Oh Seiya," I said. I wasn't sure who reached out for whom but suddenly I was in her arms and she was holding me so tightly that it hurt but I didn't care. I pressed my face into the curve of her neck and clung to her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to - I honestly wasn't thinking about my tier when I transformed, I swear. It's the first time I have since Galaxia."

"I'm sorry too," she said quietly, her voice muffled because of where it was pressed against my hair. "I didn't come in here to yell at you. But you - god, when we couldn't find you afterwards I thought for sure that we were too late and you were already dead. It was one of the worst moments of my life. I don't want to fail you the way we…" Now she was the one who trailed off but I knew what she was going to say. A rush of sympathy flooded through me and I pulled back so that I could reach up to cup her face.

"Don't say that. It wasn't your fault," I told her. I knew she wouldn't believe me but I had to say it anyway. "Seiya, you didn't know that Princess Kakyuu was going to step forward and protect us all like she did. I know you would have stopped her otherwise if you could have. She was very brave and she died so that we could keep going." I could feel myself getting choked up. Kakyuu had been such a wonderful woman, with a warm shine that called to me. I wished that there had been time for me to get to know her better. "You didn't fail her. It was her choice to make and that's something you couldn't have changed."

There were tears in Seiya's eyes. "I know. It was just like her," she confided. "Even when the hands of Chaos approached our planet she was so determined that she was not going to give up. She wanted to stay and fight until the end. She would have if we hadn't convinced that her death would mean the end of Kinmoku. And in the end it didn't matter anyway."

I held her while she cried, my heart aching with the desire to take away her pain, to take away all of their pain, and it killed me that I was so helpless. I whispered her name and rubbed my hand up and down her back, wishing that there was something I could do. I would have gladly sacrificed myself to bring Kakyuu back but I knew that was impossible. Her starseed was going to be reborn and without it Kakyuu would last only a few minutes before she faded away again, and it would only be cruel to make them live through her death a second time. In this I could do nothing, no matter how much I hated it.

"It did matter," I whispered after several minutes. Seiya had become heavy and I lowered us both to the floor. I knelt and let her lean against me, her head pillowed against my chest, while I stroked her hair. "It did matter, Seiya. Without you all I wouldn't have had the strength to keep going after Galaxia killed my friends." I felt a lump in my throat. "You guys told me that they were always with me no matter what happened and because I believed that I was able to stop Chaos once and for all. I wouldn't want anyone else to feel this way. We stopped him before that could happen."

Her sobs slowed and I knew she was listening to me. I kept going. "I didn't know your princess very well but I do know this. She was a good person. She gave her life to protect you, Yaten and Taiki because she loved you. You were her friends just as much as her guardians and I don't believe for a second that she would have regretted dying to protect you. She died with a smile on her face because you were there, Seiya. And I know that she would be very proud of you for how you've kept going, for how you've protected me. I know this is hard. I know." I blinked and felt a tear run down my cheek. My voice was quivering. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I scared you. I'll try to be a better princess to you."

Seiya actually laughed a little against me. It took me a moment to realize that the shaking of her shoulders wasn't due to her crying. I frowned and she looked up at me, tears still glistening on her cheeks, and smiled. "Gods above, Odango, you're already good to us. I'm not sure how you could be any better. You let us stay here on Earth and even back when you didn't know if we could be trusted you always reached out to us. The only way you could get any better is if you stopped running headlong into battles and I doubt that's going to stop anytime soon."

I smiled too, relieved that she was going to drop the idea of trying to get me to stop fighting. "How about I promise to keep in better contact next time?" I said. I had an idea but I was going to need Luna's help with it, and I didn't want to say anything until I knew whether or not it could be done.

"I'd feel better if you agreed to wait until we were with you but I'll take what I can get." Seiya sat up and ran a hand through her hair, which was messy and coming out of her ponytail. I missed her warmth instantly and was tempted to pull her back against me but I knew better: that would place us both on a path that I knew we were not ready for. "Why don't you take a shower and then we'll do something about your scratches."

"Alright." I stood up and realized that she wasn't intending to leave, still sprawled on the floor. I should have asked her to. But instead I boldly unhooked my bra and dropped my panties and felt a rush of satisfaction on the wide-eyed look on her face when she saw me naked. She was speechless and I liked it, knowing I was having an effect on her. I felt pretty breathless myself as I turned the shower on and got in.

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