fighter64: thanks and yeah she needed it. The girls are around 15-16 in the story, Mamoru is 17 as it is his first year of college, Tyler is about a year or two older than him.
SerenityxEndymion: I know the feeling on bad afternoons so I feel you. Yes they needed to at least touch base with things. But that was going to be it for now. when they really talk its going to be a lot so it'll be its own chapter really. Yes the whole Naru thing, she had to say something but its all good now. the kiss was always going to raise some brows, and the reception has been mixed so I take it that its good since its almost like a team Mamo/tea Tyler thing going on. lol and yes he did state that which she will go into later on with him when they talk again, but that was honestly something I got told back in college when I was 'hanging out' with this guy. We were being friends with benefits, trying to take it to the next level but he told me that particular bit, told me he learned it from his grandmother. I used that as inspiration for Tyler's reasoning. Not taking from it but I've heard several guys tell me that from my college days. I don't agree with it either but it's a mentality some people do have.
Puffgirl1952 the 2nd: she might do more than bitch slap her…you have to see to find out. and yeah, I was so easily able to visualize that happening, I actually laughed a bit. Lol
Joanne Frances Tiano Cajilig: you know it. lol yeah Usagi might see right through a nice front. Lol and yeah I hate that mentality. Like for example I'm still friends with my ex's ex best friend, to this day my dad has issue with me hanging out up there (I haven't in like over a year since its kind far from where I moved to) cause he associates my ex with my friend who's still up there. The guilty by association thing isn't fair and it doesn't matter how many times I call him out on it he still does it. somehow he seems to think that I'll get back together with my dick ex by seeing his ex best friend. I don't agree with the mentality and rarely even talk about said friend cause of my dads viewing on it. I know he just wants what's best for me but sometimes it gets downright insulting to me. a different ype of example but one nonetheless.
Princesakarlita411: oh definitely on both ends and that confrontation is about to happen shortly. Thanks. 😊
Rjzero00: oh she totally is. She's also portrayed as being ridiculed a bit and much more. And no I honestly would have like to see that type of Mamoru. We got to see some of it in the manga and the SMC when he had her handkerchief and smelled it to smell her scent. That was romantic since he was obviously committing her scent to memory. Usagi did it with his I think to, she treasured his pocket watch in the manga and in the anime the star locket that he knew was important but let her have cause he knew on a level it was hers…he didn't know how he knew but he knew. There were more tie in indicators in those two for them compared to the anime. I think had Motoki actually put the moves on Usagi, he would have gotten agitated but he would have thrown a bit of a fit if a kid from her school hit on her and she seemed really taken with him. he is lucky that she's always been dedicated to him. and yeah he would have if she did but not consciously like that. he would have figured this is my ace to get her back to me, and felt that he won the battle but lost the war because of how he did it and may have made so much worse. As for Rei that will be explained coming on, I've already written it out.
LoveInTheBattleField: coming right up.
Guest (1): wow…sorry to hear that. perhaps it was a bit long but I was just trying to get so much out. she's not cheating on Mamoru in this, the kiss thing was something she went through emotion crap on later on. its why the girls talked with her as they did, she did tell Tyler how things are going and obviously she has guilt that she let the kiss happen but there's no regret cause now she also knows how she feels and yes she feels friendly towards him but other than admit that he's attractive nothing else has happened. she knows she needs to figure things out with Mamoru first which is why she sorted things out. I know that's not really an answer but I don't want to give to much more away. 'Non friend things?' you mean about the 'ring on the finger thing'? definitely not portraying Usagi as a weakling or a cheater. Not the intention. This is about growth, strengthening and becoming more than what she was seen as. Underlying all the other stuff that is. She let Tyler near her the way she did cause of how things between her and Mamoru are. He's, right up until the punch, showed no real signs of change or caring about her side of things. It was several months of that. several months of her trying to figure out when he was going to get his head out of his ass to talk to her when she was the one usually making the effort to make everything right between them. this was her saying 'I've always fought for us, now you fight for us'. As for not sure hypocrite fits her description only because of the situations surrounding both at the time of each kiss. I would go into it but that might release some spoilers on upcoming chapters so hopefully I'm not sounding to rude here. not trying to be that way, I always appreciate constructive criticism on my work. Helps to find the plot holes or errors. As for the dragged out POV's sorry on that, I guess I'm getting a little caught up in getting the character development throughout this out so that when it ends, which is going to be coming up here, it will be reasonable on how they all got where they'll be at. Hopefully you'll stick around.
AimlesslyGera: I didn't think of that till you said it. lol as for Tyler believe it or not I heard it a bit in my college days. I actually went out with a guy that told me that. it sounded weird at the time and for him to say that he heard it from his grandmother shocked me.
Jovemako: yeah he is but he is trying, he's just trying in the wrong areas. Like come on, she knows you can make roses out of thin air. So of course she saw through that. I feels possessive of her but because she's been the to always fight for them he didn't really let it show to much, now that HE has to fight for them he's letting it out but in the wrong ways at the moment. He's not used to letting out a bit and learning to use it right. As for the Chibi Usa thing, that will happen later on, don't want to give to much away. 😊
kera69love: oh he's going to get more to.
Marie Kin: oh thank you. Yeah I was afraid it wouldn't but it has. As for Tyler that ring thing, that will be going into more detail later on in the chapters cause he and Usagi do discuss it more in-depth. Plus I did have college guys I dated tell me this so its not completely unheard of. I don't agree with it but yeah. And her feelings for Tyler are more friendship based, and yeah fine there's an attraction but coming from her end of things she's been emotionally fried by Mamoru and is STILL trying to make it work. She still loves him dearly, she's just going through how things have gone down. its why he has to work for her. and while he may not have had feelings for Saori, to purposely avoid talking about the love life of his life to the point where people think she's not real and then to have the nerve to act like its nothing when the supposide love of his life confronts him on it, that can make a girl doubt his true intentions or feelings. She knows he doesn't look at Saori that way but she's been made to feel insecure for a while through his wordless and worded actions. Tyler was making her feel secure in who she was as a woman. Showing her she is desirable. In that area anyways. In confidence, the rest she got from being by herself and separating herself from them all. And I only ever ship Usa/Mamo. Rarely do I even ship Usa/Diamond, and only because he has that obsessive love for her and even then, its usually Usa/Mamo but with Diamond trying to steal her from him, and failing miserably. Glad you do enjoy the Sunday updates though. It's a little nightly ritual of mine.
Veraozao: thank you. 😊
karseneau1: she's just going through some motions right now but the wishy washy wont last long.
SerenityDeath: it'll take more than that to get her though.
Oracle Sybil: yeah I got that impression loud and clear. Makes me curious on how you came by this interesting story. 😊 I can't say to much more without spoiling it for you so hopefully you continue to read.
ShadowQueenGalactica: here you go then.
Guest (2): not sure how to respond to that…here you go for another chapter.
Guest (3): yeah she does but she always wants acknowledgement of her feelings and what's happened and the like. Mamoru is the jealous type but since Usagi was always there for him he didn't really acknowledge that within himself to much or really deal with it and now that its out since HE has to fight for them now, he's trying to navigate how to use it and not act out as he already has. I may have given Tyler a slight bad impression without trying to. he really is an innocent in this that was kind of tossed into the middle of their drama. Yes he likes her but its because he got to know her a bit and genuinely likes her for her. there's no past drama from the moon kingdom, there's no power stuff going on, he just genuinely started to like her for her and that's one of the reasons why she felt the attraction towards him. add all the crap Mamoru did and yeah she can admit to it, but that's really it. you can be in love with the love of your life but feel attraction towards another. Its whether or not you choose to act on it continuously or put that other person in their place and making sure they stay there. If they choose to step out, they get a warning if it continues, extinguish the friendship. That's what I was taught. So there's no advantage being taken, she's cautious around both cause she needs to figure out if Mamoru is going to take this 'fighting for them' seriously, and cause while she feels the attraction towards Tyler she'll never stop being in love with Mamoru. (also side note example here, you can love someone for the rest of your life that will never treat you right, and be with someone else that does treat you right, be happy and all that good stuff, but you can still feel love towards that person that did you wrong, you can't help it you just do cause for that time frame they were all you knew and while you hate that you love them you can't help how you feel.) hopefully that helps explain some of it. sorry if it doesn't. trying not to give to much away here.
No extra's: I can see that, I just baked a cake that was supposed to be done a few days ago cause of my sisters birthday but forgot so I baked it today. Yeah she will find out just not yet. I will promise you he won't turn into Diamond.
Guest (4): I will agree with you there. They definitely did. Agreed with all of what you said to.
OnePersonManyFandoms: yeah I know that its being seen differently, but it is really that, he's from America and I've heard it often here where I'm from when I was in my 20's. you might think differently on Rei when this one and the next few chapters come up.
NikkiBC: Mamoru is becoming desperate to win her back and since he's never really done it before he doesn't know the right way to do it just the way that he hopes will work. He doesn't always make the best decisions and thinks what he's doing is right when really its not. Yes he does want to get back together with her, like back on yes were officially a couple again but its also recently hit him not only how badly things are but how much he misses her in every aspect. He's denied himself and her these passions for so long now its kind of starting to hit him pretty hard. So given the fact that he's now getting desperately emotionally charged to figure out how to get her back, add in the hormones of a teenage male, then add in the fact that she's now friends with a guy who is interested in her, even though she's seeing him just as a friend, not to mention his past self is trying to help him and he's screwing up the advice given, then yeah, he's acting like this and not knowing how to handle himself in the right way. And yes while he's trying to get her back, he's not doing it the right way. He's going about it all wrong and doesn't realize just yet how bad its going. He'll find out soon enough though. I actually almost had her do that but as I visualized the scene she's in her own head, trying to figure out if it would even be a good idea or not so she didn't innitially. And your opinions are fine. As for throwing some candy at her with the flowers, its so not working and that does get discussed later on. its why they're next meeting will be more emotional. I'm trying to avoid it sounding like a ross/Rachel thing and more Usagi/mamoru thing though. And yes Tyler does have a lot in common with her, he does listen to her and he's willing to just stay and be her friend till she speaks and figures things out, he even wanted to make sure that he didn't make her feel uncomfortable. And you will definitely see what will be happening to Rei and Usagi VERY soon.
Guest (5): that will get discussed more in depth after this chapter since its kinda heavy with another character she's been needing to talk to. I don't want to give to much away but that will get discussed. It is his turn to chase her which is why she hasn't been contacting him much at all. Only really responding to his texts when he does try to contact her. as for her being with him regardless, for this that's not the case, its why the girls told her to be happy for her, and not for everyone else. To be friends with Tyler so she can figure out what is going to happen between her and Mamoru since their in this limbo but it wont stay that way for long. The limbo part. As for the strong enough to walk away that does get talked about to, as she debates and knows what she will have to do if things don't change and is willing to do it if that is the case. Like I said I don't want to give to much away. The wooing is him trying but its not doing what he's hoping its doing considering so much. He has to up the level far beyond what he's doing now. regarding the Tyler thing that to will get discussed as they will have some more time spent together as friends.
InuKaglover4ev22: sorry if this review gets long, trying to make sure I hit as many points as possible without giving away to much here. your fine with the late review I'm actually late on a lot of my own reading so I understand. Naru did what she thought at the time was right and once Usagi talked to her about it she realized she was out of line for saying it. and yes she will be feeling that guilt from the kiss for a bit here, and Tyler yeah he genuinely likes her, despite how he's coming off. I've met some guys that were genuinely good guys but by nature they were naturally 'active' guys who took action. Not to say they were pushy but when they found a girl they liked they made the effort and perhaps his effort was to strong but he was being genuine. Its one of the differences Usagi sees between them. his forthcoming versus Mamoru's stoic nature. Yes she's still younger than he is, young than Mamoru to, though that's more of a crappy anime thing since the guys were younger in the manga and SMC, the anime messed their romance over on that one. of course it would be creepy if a 21+ year old guy had the hots for a 14 year old girl, not unheard of but yeah. In this though the guys are younger than the anime portrayed (Mamoru at least since Tyler is made up on my end) Mamoru is like 17 (yes in college but he's also just that smart in the department, not so smart in others) and Tyler is only about 1-2 years older at best so not as far off as portrayed in the anime. Yes Usagi messed up by not saying anything about her and Mamoru which she did apologize for and maintained to be friends. He agreed to this but obviously would like to have more with her. he's just willing to wait for it. the ring thing is something that will get discussed again when she sees him again, though I will say I have had guys that I went to college with tell me this themselves. It shocked me to and while I didn't agree with it, I figured it was possibly due to how they themselves were raised (the guy told me his grandmother told him that) its not unheard of, even if a lot of people don't agree with it. I don't mind you but as I stated this gets discussed later on. As for Usagi, she does care about Tyler but she also is still getting to know him so yes your right to a degree but she's discovering a lot in the getting to know him area and thus needs to figure things out before she can do anything concrete going forward for them both. Tyler for now is a friend, and he's not only aware but will respect that. I was unsure about Minako not telling her at first, but I realized that she's not going to keep it from her indefinitely. Usagi will find out but it needs to be kept form her for now so that she makes a decision that's not based on Chibi Usa. It has to be real cause yes she will always love her future daughter, the crap the brat has put her through, the utter rudeness, the way she was being treated for so long can wear a person down. its worn down people in real life with people that they love. had it been me in this situation in real life where the child that I had treated me that way and then this happened, I would get with the guy, but I'd know it was for the wrong reasons. I'd do it to save the brat child and not because I loved a man that had hurt my heart a few times over. I'd still love him and want it to work out but I'd only be with him to save her. so I was seeing this reasoning from several different angles. I had to work that out carefully cause yes it could be seen as the wrong move to make but in this case it will be rectified later on. as for the punch, Tyler read the situation and when he thought it was the right moment had a move. People read situations differently than others. He read it as 'this girl is great, she likes me as I like her, maybe she can be someone that I can see regularly', and acted, Usagi saw the situation as 'this guy is nice, he actually gets me a bit, I don't have to think about how to act or talk or if I'll embarrass him, I can be me and yeah he's cute in his own way'. Just as a n exampled but yeah, they read the situations differently. She felt as though she could be herself and let go of her inhibitions a bit, he saw her as someone he could potentially date. As for the ring thing, that'll get dived into again later on. as for the accepting destiny thing, that will get discussed to. don't want to give to much away. Again sorry for the long review.
Guest (6): well Minako did threaten (sorta) to bring the wrath of the senshi down on him if he did tell her plus he does want to win her back on his own. They're not going to help him in any form other than to put that in his mindset. She will find out though it just has to be done right. And don't expect Usagi to be so forgiving when she finds out. it is information being held from her about a loved one (even if that loved one is a giant pain in the ass). As for putting her foot down, she has become stronger and that will be evident coming up soon.
26 reviews, really nice, I know there's been back and forth stuff regarding what Tyler said and I did address it in some reviews but I'll put it in here to, I had heard guys tell me that a few times in my college days, and while I didn't agree with it (like Usagi doesn't in here) I respected them to have their own thoughts and opinions (like Usagi is) while still maintaining my own belief that when your in a boyfriend girlfriend relationship you don't get together or date anyone else (like Usagi here is) so to each their own I guess. Hopefully I didn't make Tyler out to be to creepy, that wasn't the plan! Lol this coming chapter will be explosive in its own way so be warning there will be a touch of violence, so let me now what you think! Read and review!
Breaking point ch.19
Usagi POV
I had been dreading this moment to be honest. It wasn't that I hated Rei, not at all. Rei and I had a love hate friendship that wasn't easy to describe but we were still there for one another…at least I thought we were. In battle over time we got better. We worked together better but that didn't mean that things outside of battle improved. I walked up the temple steps but not with my usual gusto.
It was the first time in as long as I can remember that I went up the temple steps slower than ever before. I knew in my gut that we wouldn't get to the issue of Chibi Usa's power for a binding spell today. I knew that. WE had way to much to talk about before we even broached that subject. We had to get this air cleared first. It was only fair to the brat that she got a clean and level-headed miko to do the binding spell on her.
I didn't want our bad chi or whatever to get in the way of it or to mess things up. So, I sighed and marched on up the steps. It was so eerily quiet that not even the crows that roamed here cawed when I approached Rei. She was sweeping up the steps from the few fallen leaves. I swore every time I came here, she was sweeping something up. She stopped before I even said anything and turned around, she seemed obviously miffed.
The air was thick with tension as I spoke, "You have a minute we need to talk?" the tension increased as if she were debating it before she gestured to go inside. It felt like ice was encompassing us both. I debated on making a joke about it but now wasn't the time. I followed without another word. These words did need to be said in private so why make our business known to anyone that could over-hear.
The door that shut behind me after I entered was swift. I debated on taking my shoes off for respect of the temple but I had a feeling that I wouldn't be long, so I didn't bother. Rei brushed past me, almost even nudged me in her steed. I ignored the childish jab as she spoke, "So what did you want to discuss?" her attitude was unwarranted considering where we were right now in our friendship.
She was closed off and I could practically feel her irritation growing as I merely stood there. It made me wonder where we had gone in our friendship for her to be like this. Mine grew now to and I really wondered if we were really going to get the chance to talk everything out. If she was actually going to listen to me or deflect and act out as she usually did. "Something we've been needing to talk about for a while." I began. Hopefully I was wrong, hopefully she'll listen to me as the others did…most of the others. I knew I still had to talk to Luna to.
"If it's the same 'sad, woe is me bit' save it." her voice was clipped. Closed off even. "We have important work to do and I don't need to hear you whining about it." and people tell me I'm stubborn…Rei could try to take the prize on this but I'm NOT backing down. "Just answer me one thing…for now." I concede. Rei crosses her arms and nearly glares at me, "Go on." Like I was taking up her precious time.
It was hurtful to say the least, but I was done with her attitude. "Am I even a friend to you?" it was a simple yet big question to ask. Rei actually balked at me, "Yes were friends but that has nothing to do with this!" her words gave me a small tiny bit of hope for our friendship…but was it enough? "I want to believe you Rei I do, but your actions don't speak of friendship. In fact, there are some days where you remind me of Ann when she and Ail were here." I knew it would piss her off to compare her to an enemy we once had.
Her eye lite up with a burning fire at the comparison. "Are you saying I remind you of the enemy?" I had to get this back on track as Rei was starting to take this out of context, "Before you blow your top listen to me…" I cajoled, "You two weren't so different. Yes, she was an enemy but in the end she became a friendly type of person to us before she left off with Ail to another world." Rei narrowed her eyes at me.
I could tell she wanted to get even with me for my words, yet they were merely the truth, "There was NOTHING she and I had in common you baka!" her near scream scares off some of the crows as she silenced herself from saying anything more at that decibel. Wanting to obviously keep it from her grandfather. I understood that, it's why I wasn't getting irate with her I was merely talking to her.
"I humbly beg to differ." I faced off against her now. I could sense her anger a mile away. So full of anger towards me. I didn't realize I hadn't noticed it before. I had to come to the realization that I spent so long not trusting my own emotions and coming to terms with the truth before saying how I felt that I wasn't able to properly feel out the emotions of my own friends. Rei had a lot of anger stored away.
Yet I had a feeling it wasn't all directed at me. "You had on several occasions defended her even against me, your friend." I had to figure this out, not just for her but for our relationship. Whether it be friends or sisters we still had a relationship as I did with the other girls. I saw Rei balk again and once more defend her, "She only had her brother, or whatever he was to her. She was alone." It bothered me still.
I didn't care that she was defending her since she turned out to be a decent person in the end but to NOT defend me, your initial friend is the problem, "See even now you defend her much like you do with Chibi Usa. There seems to be a common pattern of you defending people who are rude and nasty to me." I called her out on her behavior on the matter. Try to talk your way out of that one…yet I knew she couldn't, and she didn't.
"Why is that?" I asked her as she shrunk back a little bit. I was trying to figure her out on this when it struck me. It was so sudden it was like a light bulb went on in her head. "Is it because they can be rude to me and you can't be so much cause the girls would get on you for it like they used to?" the accusation came out before I could stop it, but it was out there. I didn't want that to be true. I wanted to be wrong…please tell me I'm wrong Rei.
I could tell my words are affecting Rei. She was struggling with something deep down and was unwilling just yet to confront it herself. I had to pull it out of her though. I tried to use my own powers to sense her feelings, but my powers didn't extend outward like that. Not to mention she had to be willing on some level to want to show me what she was feeling. To let me in as her friend and sister.
We fight the toughest, the strongest of enemies. We've fought against the dark kingdom in the negaverse, we've fought against a future enemy that was ultimately so powerful it took all of us AND two silver crystals to destroy it…we are sisters in arms. I should be able to sense my sister, my friend and I couldn't. I could only read what was on her face in those brief moments. I just didn't believe what I was seeing.
Could she really on some level hate me? Why? I got closer to her, trying to yet again be there for her as she seemed to be having an internal crisis. Seemingly forgetting I was there even. She usually didn't leave herself so exposed with her facial mannerisms, which was usually my bit, so I knew this troubled her. However, she wasn't the only one that was troubled though, she wasn't the only one who felt pain.
In fact, she's the one who had caused pain, emotional and mental to me to. Its time she learned it and accepted that. I will accept any fault I have if any in what she feels to, but she needs to accept mine as well. "Rei we all have issues to deal with in life, I don't know what's going on in yours but if you tell me then we can talk and work through this together." My gut told me once I said the words that she would reject it. That she wasn't ready to accept it, that her nature was not wanting to admit to things still.
My gut was right…as usual. I went to touch Rei's arm in comfort as I usually did, and Rei batted me away like I was a virulent disease. Her violet eyes were angrier than they had been previously and all of it was aimed at me, "Don't do that!" the anger was so strong within her I didn't know what to say at first, it was like an energy wave hitting me. "Don't act like you know what it's like to be in MY shoes. You don't." I nearly backed away from the tone she was using but I wasn't going to.
She needed to get this out and so did I, "You have a family! Both here and in the future so DON'T you act like you have an inkling as to how I feel! You don't!" I was definitely shocked though. Her words and her anger stunned me. I couldn't help but ask her, "Is that what's bothering you? Is that why sometimes, more frequently lately than before that you act as you do around me?!"
If this was the case, then I'm sorry but that's something I can't help. I was almost feeling as upset as her but more, so I was feeling sorry that she felt that we as her friends weren't enough to even come close to amounting as a family to her. They all had been to me. I sensed one thing though, without the rest of the girls here she was about to blow her stack on me. Anyone around beware Rei was on the loose…so to speak.
"Am I supposed to feel bad I have a family?" I asked her, because I wasn't going to apologize for having one. I loved my family. They may drive me crazy at times and make me want to throttle them, but I LOVE all of them. Rei glared at me so hard I was pretty sure that if she could I've have been smoldering ash. "I act like I do cause I'm tired of getting stuck cleaning up after your messes you stupid, bratty, self-centered - " I slapped her. Clean across the face. No hesitation and no remorse for it.
I was that pissed off that she was calling me names once more. I was furious and I could tell that Rei was stunned by the hit to. She didn't even touch her face, she almost did, like she couldn't believe it but didn't. Maybe touching it would mean it actually happened and she didn't want to admit to it, but I wasn't sure. Rei looked ready to breathe fire at me for that but right now I was already there. This was over a year's worth of pent up aggravation and anger spilling into one giant fight we were about to have.
Not to mention her cheek was red as hell and outlined form my hand. "I'm getting incredibly sick and tired of hearing you call me names that don't even FIT me!" I snap at her. I could tell she was still shocked by the action taken by me, but I wasn't done. This wasn't done. I did watch with a slight pleased feeling her backed up a half a step. "Especially when it seems you're only calling me names when I begin to call you out on your own issues! Another running theme!" I snapped at her…it was time to stop hiding Rei and face the truth as I did.
It was hard but it was necessary for growth. However, Rei was literally going to try to push this off for as long as possible. Lucky for her…or not…I was just as stubborn. In her act of defiance, she pushed me away from her. It was almost, because I didn't count on her doing that, enough to knock me off balance. Almost. She resembled Ann just a little bit right now, especially in the way she looked as if she were snarling at me.
"I call you what I deem is appropriate to for acting as you do! And don't you dare hit me again!" she snapped. She stepped forward fully intending to slap me back. I saw it coming a mile away though and I had a feeling she thought I MIGHT let her do it as a tit for tat thing, but this wasn't that case. I blocked her hit with such relative ease it shocked her that I did it. I was doing a lot of that today, shocking her that is.
"Like I said I'm tired of you putting me down. I'm your friend. I know we bust on each other from time to time to remind the other we have areas of improvement to be made or even to just poke gently fun once in a while but on truthful subjects. This however is BEYOND that." I snapped back, "I admit I let it go for a while thinking that I deserved it in some way, but I DON'T deserve to be treated like this." I vented a bit.
"I refuse to be the whipping boy you kick around cause you have issues that you choose to deny and avoid talking about and decide to take them out on me rather than deal with them in a healthy fashion." This time I pushed her away from me. She hit the wall of her adjoining room and nearly put a hole in it from the force. She noticed this and pushed herself away from it as she eyed me now.
"Would you rather I bitch slap you like you need to be?! Cause I can do that no problem." Rei demanded as she pushes the sleeves of her robes up as if preparing to fight. I realize she was trying to intimidate me into standing down. Something she's done before and usually someone was there to get her to back down but this time I think it was needed for both of us that there wasn't anyone around. That wasn't happening though. Instead I straightened out my back but prepared to take on a fight if she so wished.
I made sure my voice was as firm as I felt, "You can try." I begin as her nose curls up into a further snarl. It really WASN'T a good look for her. Truthfully not on anyone, not even Mamoru could pull it off without looking a bit like a feral bulldog, but I digress. "But if you do be prepared for a world of pan. Cause there's no one else around this time to stop ME from kicking your ass." I could tell I stunned her.
I was backing myself up and now there was literally no one to stop this actual fight from happening. No one. They were play fights before, the ones we had had. Slap fights that had never fully evolved into anything cause the girls stopped it if it ever started to, but never a full-on fist fight at the angry level we were on. This was real for us both. The shock didn't leave Rei's face but morphed into that of near mockery.
If she thought I couldn't take her she was sadly mistaken. Powers be damned I could so take her on. The goddess of war had NOTHING on the goddess of rebirth. She may be strategic, but I was skill. I knew deep down I'd win, I didn't know how, but I knew. "You think you can take me on?" she asks, as I drop my purse to the floor. It could be used as a weapon either for me or against me, so I didn't want to have any advantage or disadvantage.
This was a fair fight after all. Just fists. However, before I can move as I pushed my purse off to the side Rei comes at me to grapple me into a head lock, "Might want to get your head into the game Moon before you test the fires of Mars on my own turf." I glared up at her as she smirked, "Why don't you try to go at something your actually good at. Like eating or reading my manga!" that pissed me off.
That wasn't my only reason for being over here. I go to try to tell her only to have her talk over me, "You need more practice, that way you can actually keep your head in the game and not in the clouds." Enough was enough, I elbowed Rei hard enough in the side to force her release of me as I lightly slammed my head back into hers forcing her further back. She put her hand to her forehead and nose stunned by the move and the force of the hit.
"Think I'm not in the game?" that was it. She thought by grappling at me for a cheap shot while I wasn't even looking was a good game…she was gonna re-think that fast enough. "I've been in this game LONGER than you have." I could see a small trail of blood starting to come out of her nose…good. Somehow instead of feeling remorse I felt glad she was bleeding a bit, she had it coming after all.
However, I had to retract those words a bit, but not for her. "Besides Minako when she was in England." I amended. "I was the FIRST senshi to get called into duty here. I had to go at it ALONE till Ami THEN you were found." I knew that ruffled her feathers a bit. She seemed to forget that I was the first one called into action…beside Minako in England. She was the technical third senshi found and if I recall correctly Luna even thought for a moment that she was the enemy.
However, I don't think she was willing to admit that just yet even if it was fact. "So don't you dare talk to me about needing practice especially when you were able to call upon memories of being a senshi in the past life and use that to your advantage, I wasn't able to or did you forget about that little detail?" I snapped full on at her. She let out a battle cry that I KNEW anyone within a twenty-foot radius heard.
I knew the moment she lost control of her anger as she rushed me and before I could move out of the way she tackled me to the ground. A few feet between us was not enough to evade another person tackling you. Especially full of rage like that. "You're going to talk to me about memory problems when you're the one who's been failing in most of her classes? Rich talk you dumb - " I slammed the heel of my hand up into Rei's face.
It forced her back enough to get me out from under her as I promise her, "Call me dumb again and SEE what happens!" she knew my promise was a real honest threat that I would carry out if need be. So, she said, "You can't deny what I'm saying though." I arch a brow at her as she thinks she has me while simultaneously trying to avoid touching her now definitely bleeding nose, more blood came out. As if trying to avoid admitting to feeling the pain of getting hit twice in the same place.
I don't care who you are, getting hit in the same place multiple times hurts. "Actually, I can." Rei narrowed her eyes at me, "You see my grades have risen up tremendously over the last year. You just don't pay attention to it, to busy trying to criticize my every move than actually seeing I've made dramatic improvements." I could tell this didn't help as we began to circle each other in the room we were in.
The coffee table for a bit stood between us before we moved to avoid causing it damage. "Yeah it helps when you have both Ami and Mamoru to practically do it for your higher than thou princess self." I could tell she was trying to call me out for issues, but it also tells me something more to. Something about her and how she's feeling about us. "Is that what you think or is that something you tell yourself, so you don't have to face things?" I asked her. It was like I knew how to hit every nail on the head today.
Rei came at me again, her anger making her even more bold in her actions as she tries to attack me. I side-step and as she goes to grab me, I twist her around, bend forward letting her go over my shoulder thus forcing her to flip over my shoulder and fall on her back. She nearly crashed through her own wall as she hit the ground hard. She scrambled to her feet. For a few funny moments she was a pile of flailing limbs. "You've been learning from Makoto." She almost, ALMOST sounds like she admires it.
Yet I could tell she was pissed that I one upped her with more ease than she cared for and that I was still calm abut this matter. She saw that I was keeping my cool and she was the one heaving her breathing out while I was maintaining an air of calm about me. That just pissed her off even more. Its like my calm to her tornado was enraging her even further. She tried to rush me again, closer this time, but I used another technic, not Makoto's but Mamoru's back when he WAS spending time with me.
I flipped her over again and this time she landed on her own coffee table. It barely took her weight, threatening to crack under the pressure that was just exerted on it as she groaned and heaved in breath from the impact. Many times, I had had similar before only with actual enemies throwing us around in our senshi form. Some of us even in our civilian form but WE hadn't done it to one another in this form unless we were training.
This DEFINTELY wasn't training and Rei was DEFNITELY feeling it after I did that. I could tell it knocked the breath from her even as she forced her body to roll off of it to be instinctually on her front again and try to get back up. The coffee table even groaned from the act as once she rolled off of it her weight next to it pushed it over several inches. She looked up at me from her position on the ground.
The anger still there in waves but a bit cooled down now from the force of punishment her body just took…and from me no less. I think she truly had no idea of what I was honestly capable of doing. Enemies were one thing to use our powers on, but this was different. This was something else though. This was pure hand to hand combat. Something that as a senshi of Mars she should technically know more on than me.
However, because of her thinking that I was ill equip to handle myself in a fight WITHOUT using my powers she must have let herself lag thinking that as long as she was a step ahead of me she was better than me…at least in that regard…I hope. Yet in this round, the one where she let her anger sway her, I had bested her with ease. I had given her chances to stop and she didn't take them.
From someone whose former life was NEVER trained to be a soldier to becoming a one in this life at an early age to someone who's former life WAS trained to be a soldier and became one again in this one that HAD to be a hard pill to swallow that I beat her instead of the other way around. Most importantly though, for her to see that I had learn and she'd been so busy being a total bitch she missed the signs all along.
She missed her friend, her sister in arms, her princess…learn from all of them, including her. I had to admit it felt a bit empowering to say the least and yet so sad at the same time. She shouldn't have assumed that I didn't learn anything…it was her downfall today. "I've learned from all of you." I tell her, "Despite your assumptions about me I have learned." I took a step towards her, "I'm quicker than you think." Another step. "Smarter than you believe." I stopped within range so that she could still see me from her position.
"More dedicated than you could understand. I see problems before you realize it and I make hard decisions that you couldn't possibly make. And I do it all the time." I can see that I got to her on some level. A deeper level than I could tell she didn't want to admit to. She hates it so much that I'm right and I can see it so clearly its almost overwhelming to me mentally and emotionally. I can feel it in my heart.
She was my friend, or at least I thought she was. But friends don't do this to one another. Did I make an inaccurate assumption about us in the beginning? Were we really NOT friends when I thought we were, and she just pretended to be okay with it afterwards since we fought together? Or did we become friends afterwards but really in the beginning we weren't, and I still made a false assumption? I must have been thinking on it to long cause before I knew it, she lashed out at me…again.
In her blinding anger she rolled back on to her back and flipped upward to her feet, the coffee table now between us as she kicks it upwards towards me. It nearly catches me off guard. I didn't see her using her own furniture against me. The rectangular table catches my shins and nearly crushed my toes. Thankfully I had backed up enough just in time to avoid any actual damage, I wasn't sure my boots would take the impact.
She leaped over the now overturned piece of furniture and wrangled me into a headlock as I was too busy dodging with my feet from getting crushed. "You'll never be as smart as Ami as quick as Makoto, nor as cunning and stealth as me - " enough! I mentally yelled out as I jumped up and bent my knees, forcing my whole body downward as I curved to the left. The move forced Rei off of her hold on me as I was to low for her to keep the hold up and she lost her momentum in a move that I was sure threw her for a mental loop.
She was then flung over my shoulder and flipped yet again. I could tell the new move stunned her, as she blinked a few times. I could tell she was a bit dazed to. "Oh, shut UP about that BULL already! And you know its BULL to!" I snapped. I could see her anger clear in her eyes as she flips herself back up to her feet again, wobbling this time from the repeated impacts made on her while I had very little damage done to me.
I had to admit I was proud of that. Proud that I was not only outsmarting the fiery priestess in tactical maneuvers, but that she was letting her anger control her moves. I was upset to mind you but thanks to learning from others I wasn't letting my anger control me…I was using it, transferring it to be useful for me and NOT against me. "You wanna talk stealth, or speed, or smarts?" I snipped my voice a tad higher than usual before I forced the octave lower. I hadn't wanted to do this.
Not even it hurt me to even have to get to this point but there was a reason I learned all that I had learned. It wasn't just to cause the enemy pain, it wasn't just to cause damage…no, it was to out -think them on levels they didn't see coming. Rei's assumptions on me were so far off based and now she was gonna find out the hard way why she was so wrong about me…about so much. I gripped the pen tightly as I showed it to her with relative ease.
Encased between my fingers on display for her to see was her transformation stick. I had never seen her more shocked than ever before. I had used her anger to my advantage and while she had been busy trying to put me into headlocks and trying to tackle me, I was busy showing her just how dangerous I could be. I was showing her just how wrong she was and just how badly she misjudged how good I really was.
I could even feel her stick's power, it felt foreign in my hand and yet there was a strength in it that I could sense. I could also feel how ill connected it was to it. it would never work for me for obvious reasons, same reason why the moon stick wand would never work for one of the girls. I knew we could feel the power within since we were fellow senshi BUT we couldn't use or activate it.
They could only, like my wand, be activated by ourselves. The magic in them was tied to the magic within us, our links to our planets and the bloodlines were came from, we couldn't use a stick tied to someone else's magical bloodline. It was one thing to pass the transformation and powers that came with it to a daughter or son but not for someone else for another planet to use it for themselves. The most we could do was collectively, for a good cause, combine our powers together to defeat an enemy.
Either way it felt like it didn't belong to me but understood why I held it now. It was strange to say the least. "Give it back!" Rei yelped out, her anger still there but there was also a sense of fear there to. A bit of dread in her voice. It was almost as if she thought I was going to take it from her. Mind you I have thought about it. It did cross my mind…more than I'd like to admit considering. I looked back and forth from her to the stick.
I wanted her to feel that fear. Even just for a little bit. To see that anger morph into something else. To see her feel regret for her actions and words. To feel something…but this wasn't how I wanted her to understand. I sighed internally. I wanted her to listen to me, not to fear what I MIGHT do to her. Or take from her. I wasn't that kind of person. Not that kind of future ruler…at least I hoped not.
I didn't want my friends to be there out of fear of what I MIGHT do but be there because I cared about them like they did to me. This was more for show…the only way I'd consider taking this from her is if she betrayed me to such an extent that I KNEW in my heart of hearts that she was a danger to everyone and herself. This however was NOT one of those times. "You know Rei I should take this. I should put you on a temporary leave from the senshi. There are so many things I should do, so many things I know you would do…" I tell her.
Making her feel bad I knew, and perhaps a bit angry, but this was necessary. It was also why once I saw that look in her eyes, the one that for the first time showed remorse and actually begged to NOT take it away from her, I dropped the stick to the floor. The thud was deafening as it hit loudly. Neither of us moved after that. Neither of us even breathed loudly. The stick nearly shined on its place on the floor.
Not moving. None of us. It wasn't till Rei shifted to her knees and sat back on them that the tension seemed to shift to. She didn't go to grab her stick. Perhaps she thought I would make another move. That maybe I would attack her back for her attacks against me, I wasn't going to but perhaps she thought I would. "But therein lies the true difference between me and you." She looked at me.
Her eyes trying to harden but the emotions were there. Raw as ever. Like getting her ass handed to her was something she needed to have happen to her. "And it's not cunning or stealth…it's making the hard decisions. Making the right ones and putting you trust and faith into the right people and taking that chance that they won't screw you over for personal petty issues." The emotions stayed true and still within her. I took a small step forward and while she didn't back away, she leaned backwards.
Almost as if in fear…almost. "The real difference between us Rei is that while you see a moment of weakness, I see a moment of strength." She gulped. There were many times where this had happened, in our civilian life and in battle. Where she held such distrust over people she didn't even know and yet criticized me for having faith in them only to find out that they were good people after all, or allies even.
She never truly trusted my instincts. Which means a part of her never truly trusted me. she judged me unfairly based off of my personality and it wasn't fair. She even at one time thought that Mamoru was the enemy along with Luna. She sided with Ann out of sympathy yet didn't side with me when Ann was being a manipulative bitch to get closer to Mamoru. It hurt me to say what I said next, but it was necessary.
"So when you're ready to actually listen let me know, till then, while we are comrades, and while I will always love you as a friend and sister I don't love the person you are right now and that is why for now we are not friends…we are not sisters in arms." I felt the pain of the words as they shocked her as they did even myself. I didn't WANT to do that, didn't want to say it but it was clear that things weren't going to get better till she WANTED them to. I left the temple feeling a bit weak in the knees.
The pain of saying those words, hurt a lot. I trusted her as a friend, as a sister, to be there for me since we met. Our relationship was full of both love and even some misguided anger, but I thought we were still friends in the end. The tears that rolled down my cheeks as I walked down the temple steps weren't for me though. They were for a friendship that I THOUGHT I had with her but turns out I may never have had at all.
Luna POV
I saw my charge leave the temple; her pace was slow as she went down the steps. I myself had been aiming to want to talk to her but after the disastrous conversation that just took place, I knew I needed to talk to Rei first. After Artemis rung me out verbally, I knew I needed to spend some time away from Usagi. Give her a breather, and myself to, to be honest. Plus, once the first two weeks of NOT being around her I knew I had to see what Artemis was talking about. I mean besides the pieces that I couldn't gain from watching over her now.
So instead I watched over her for the weeks that followed. I followed her around and saw how she acted. I saw how responsible she was being about things and even how she was reconnecting with friends she had previously had but had let go of when I told her it was to dangerous to be friends with them as she used to be anymore. She was making it clear that it wasn't as dangerous as I had previously made it out to be.
She was there for them as they were for her. I watched as she enjoyed her time spent as a teenager and saw the wisdom that she had. It reflected in her body language as she acted more maturely and more responsibly than I had previously given her credit for. This became apparent to me when Chibi Usa I found out later on had faked the cold symptoms to get Usagi back under her thumb.
For so long I had ignored Chibi Usa's childish issues as just that childishness. Yet I crashed down on Usagi for so much. I put to much pressure on her and it finally hit me when I watched over her that I didn't need to. not as much as I was anyways. I let my need to try to make the princess I remembered her bring into the girl that was here now, and let that morph into my other need to make her the kind of Queen her mother would be proud of.
Yet I did forget that not even her mother paid attention to all the policies. She bent what she could to protect people she knew were innocent. She even broke legislation from time to time to pull in the Earth as part of the alliance. She knew deep down they could be of value to the silver millennium. Once the alliance had heard about the fact that their royal family held a power golden crystal that could potentially rival the silver one only on a different level, they finally accepted the earth royals into the alliance.
Yet whenever Usagi used her similar instincts I banned them. I was negative towards them and felt that her instincts were off. She was right about her friends, she was right about Mamoru and I somehow slipped into thinking that I was in charge of my charge, when in reality I was only her advisor. She just initially sought my opinion and validation so much I forgot that she was learning the process of being a senshi. I got hung up on my own duties and the memories that had come in were half assed that I ignored the rest.
This was a burden I would have to deal with once we spoke on the matter. I knew firstly however I needed to talk to Rei. I had encouraged her on many occasions, and I regret that now. I had even encouraged Chibi Usa on occasion and that had been a mistake. now Chibi Usa was struggling with just having a power ball inside of her that may or may not last and Artemis had sworn me to secrecy on it towards Usagi as Minako had made the executive decision to NOT have Usagi know till Mamoru had won her back fairly.
She didn't want them to get back together for the sake of their future child. As much as I sought to keep the future royal moon line intact Minako I knew would only do that, and Artemis would only agree to it if this was the best way to do it. Telling Usagi that Chibi Usa was on a limited lifeline here and now would go either one of two ways. It would either get her back to Mamoru but for the wrong reasons making all of this worthless, or she may not even want to have her future daughter back.
That second option scared me the most. Usagi did complain about her frequently. If Mamoru used her as a reason, she would be guilted into coming back to him and that wasn't the way their relationship should work. Even I knew that…well now I did. Artemis and I had spoken once more since then and after careful reflection with him I accepted that I hadn't been acting as the advisor I thought I was…I had failed my charge.
I looked towards the temple determinedly as I walked in. My paws feeling the mats and wood as I came to a stunned Rei still on her knees on the floor. I knew she hadn't sensed my presence yet, her mind to full of confliction as there was a quiet sob that came from her. She was as affected by Usagi's words as Usagi was. This right here was my first step towards making it right with my charge. By being there for her in as many forms as I could…as I should have been from the start…as we all should have been.
My words from that day and hers still haunted me when she took a break from us all. I had unfairly made her feel and think that she was nothing more than an incubator for the next royal moon line that could do as I asked and that's not what I wanted. I had just let my duties become mixed with personal preferences and I would be rectifying that soon enough. "You know she's right." I told her.
Her head shot up to see mine. Her eyes were getting red rimmed, but her sighed response as she looked at me did tell me that she had listened to what Usagi had told her before the fight, during it and afterwards. She did seem shocked though that I agreed with Usagi on the matter and wasn't backing her up. "Yeah…I know. She kicked my ass." She admitted. "I saw. Looks like she's not nearly as incapable of taking care of herself as we both lead ourselves to believe." I tell her as she looks to me.
"Why didn't you stop it?" she asks me, "Because I think you both needed it. as strange as that sounds." Rei nods then admits, "I feel like I really messed up. I didn't want to see it before. I hid it…even from myself…" I nod as I walk towards the stick but don't touch it. "I was the same, then Artemis talked to me. yelled at me really. We both need to listen to her, and I think we forgot not just to do that but how to do that. We are both to blame." I admit my own faults in the matter as she nodded as well.
That's when Rei asked me, "Are you going to talk to her?" I sighed, "I need to, we need to talk, I will try this evening to talk to her and tomorrow when you get your head on straight you need to talk to her." she nodded, as right now she was still emotionally charged. She needed to let what happened here today adjust for her so she could respond better to an exchange with Usagi on another day.
I went to turn around when she asks, "Could she have taken away my transformation stick?" I hated to tell her the truth but she deserved to know. No Queen had removed another's transformation stick before it was unheard of. However, that didn't mean it couldn't happen going forward. "Yes, she cannot undo your powers as those lie within you and are part of who you are but yes, she could have prevented you from further fighting as a senshi." Rei's head went down on that.
In slight anger or in something else I wasn't sure of… "Your very lucky she didn't. I suggest you DON'T give her a reason to re-think her giving you back your wand." I tell her as I kick the wand towards her so she can think about what happened here today as I have been on things for a while now. Never before has a senshi had to have a transformation stick removed from them, I'm only grateful that Usagi didn't start it now.