Monday morning.
Usagi looked around. Trees surrounded her and it was foggy. The forest made no sound. The silence was deafening. Shingo stood in front of her. She spoke. "Why?" He smiled. "This is my destiny." Shaking her head, Usagi said. "I'm not understanding." Shingo placed a hand over his heart, still smiling. "This is where I belong." She shook her head, still confused. "Why?" Her brother remained silent, and she said. "I don't understand. If you will explain it to me..." Shingo said. "This is my destiny." He walked backwards, slowly disappearing into the forest.
It unnerved Usagi how peaceful Shingo was in the dream. Shaking her head, she looked at the clock. "I'm going to be late!" Rushing through her morning routine, she grabbed toast, shoved it in her mouth and ran out the door. When she reached the school gates, she was happy she made it on time and she managed to not run into Mamoru. Today was a good day. She'll ask Naru if she can stay the night Friday. Naru will say yes. She'll sneak out and meet Tuxedo Kamen. Quickly eating the toast, she walked to class.
However, when she entered the building, everyone stared at her and began whispering. She knew they didn't like her and wondered what crap the Queen of Volleyball tried to start this time. Ignoring them, she continued walking. Spotting Naru, she waved "Naru!". Naru smiled, but her friends didn't. As Usagi approached, the friends left. "Is something wrong?" Naru sighed, looking around as the bell rang. "Let's talk on the roof during first break." Usagi nodded as they went to class. She felt uncomfortable as they entered the classroom, all eyes were on her. Even Miss Haruna looked at her differently. Time passed slowly until first break.
On the roof, she asked. "Hey, can I sleepover on Friday night?" Naru didn't smile. Instead, she shook her head. Usagi blinked. "Did something happen?" Naru sighed. "I know you noticed the looks people have been giving you." She nodded. "Yeah, but they never liked me to begin with." Naru said. "I don't know what you did to put yourself on her radar, but the latest rumors are sticking."
Usagi shrugged, trying to pretend it didn't bother her. "I know the things she's been saying." Shaking her head, Naru said. "This isn't the usual stuff, she's claiming you're sleeping around." Usagi shrieked. "What?!" Naru nodded. "Even the people who hate her are believing it." Shaking her head, Usagi said. "I would never do that." Naru said. "I know. I don't believe the lies, but many people do. Including my mother. It's why you can't come over on Friday… or any time."
Blinking, Usagi stared in shock. Naru said. "My mother said you're no longer welcome." Usagi said. "But we can still hang out at the arcade..." Naru shook her head. "No. We can't spend time together anymore." Usagi said. "What about ice skating after school today?" Naru nodded. "I'll see you there, but it will be the last time we hang out. I'm sorry, Usagi, we can't be friends anymore." Naru walked away and once she had entered the stairwell, Usagi clenched her fists, turning her back to the door. Why was this happening? She wanted to cry, but would not give everyone the satisfaction of seeing her in pain.
A few moments later, she heard a voice and turned around, smiling. Makoto said. "I talked with Sailor Venus." Her eyes widened. "You spoke to the Princess?" Makoto said. "She approached me with a plan. The Dark Kingdom usually attacks in the evening, but if they attack after 6pm, then Sailor Moon won't be there. To keep them from finding out Sailor Moon is out of commission after that time, Sailor Venus will disguise as you for those battles. You don't have to worry about arriving to battles after 6pm. If we really need you, we'll contact you."
Usagi slowly nodded. "I won't have to worry about sneaking out since my mom is watching me closely. Though, how did Sailor Venus find you? We don't her civilian identity and she doesn't know ours." Makoto hesitated, she couldn't tell her who Sailor Venus is. "Well... she has been doing this longer than us, so she probably knew when we awakened our powers." She said. "Yeah... it does." Usagi wondered if Sailor Venus, The Princess, knows her civilian identity. If so, has she heard the rumors? Does she believe them? Is that why she's willing to put herself in more danger to keep the real Sailor Moon from joining them in battles?
The bell rang, and she sighed, wishing the day would be over already.
That evening
Rei, Ami, Usagi, Mamoru, and Motoki gathered in front of the Crown Arcade. Rei asked. "Is everyone ready?" They nodded and Motoki looked at Mamoru. "Have you brushed up on your skills?" Usagi was shocked. "Mamoru-baka, good at ice skating? This I've got to see. When did you even learn to skate?" He crossed his arms. "You say that as if you're supposed to know everything about me. I can assure you, you don't." Ami interrupted before they got into a heated argument. "We're supposed to have fun. Although, I am curious where you learned to ice skate." Mamoru said. "When I was around 12, a local rink had a weekend where anyone 13 and under can skate for free. I spent most of that weekend at the rink." Usagi furrowed her brow. What he said seemed familiar. When she was about 9, there was one weekend her family went to an ice rink. Her parents wanted them to learn to skate. Shingo was barely old enough for classes. Rei's voice broke her train of thought. "Well, let's hurry before it gets too late."
They hurried to the rink and found Minako and Makoto already there. Minako said. "Look who's late." Rei crossed her arms. "We are not late." Minako said. "You arrived after I did, that makes you late." Rei said. "No, it doesn't." Ami said. "If we stand out here any longer, we'll all be late and won't be able to skate." They went inside and those who didn't own skates rented a pair. It didn't take long for them to put their skates on, and Naru sat next to Usagi. Makoto and Minako ushered the others to the rink, knowing this was the last time Usagi could hang out with Naru.
Usagi smiled. "Want to try guessing who will fall first?" Naru shook her head. "No. I know I said we can hang out here, but..." she gestured to her two friends. "…they will ditch me if I do. They're my friends and I don't want to lose them." Usagi sighed. "I'm your friend too." Naru remained silent for a moment then said. "We can be friends again once this is over. Once everyone sees these rumors are lies." Naru smiled and Usagi smiled back, saying. "Okay!" Naru got up and walked over to her friends.
Usagi looked down at her skates, her smile falling. Weren't friends supposed to stick by each other? If a person leaves when things get tough, is that person really a friend? Someone sat next to her. Looking up, she noticed most of the people around her had already made their way to the ice. Narrowing her eyes at the man, she said. "What do you want?" Mamoru sighed. "When I mentioned going to an ice rink when I was around 12, you seemed to know what I was talking about."
She nodded. "There was one weekend we went skating. The only reason we went was because it was free for the weekend. We practically lived there during that time." Mamoru nodded. "I spent most of my time there too. What are the chances?" Usagi said. "I doubt we were there at the same time." Her irritation was growing, even though he had done nothing. She was annoyed at Naru, at the "Queen of Volleyball," the people believing the obvious lies, she was angry at everything.
Mamoru sighed and spoke in a softer, more serious tone. "There was a little girl. Blonde hair in pigtails." Usagi started untying her laces. She didn't want to skate anymore. He said. "She was excellent and would have taken the figure skating world by storm if she had competed."
Getting more aggressive with the laces, Usagi said nothing.
"However, her parents never noticed. She had a younger brother, and they were focused on him. While he couldn't be left unattended… they behaved almost as if he were their only child."
Usagi froze. Slowly looking up at him, she said. "You think I could have competed?"
He nodded. "Usagi, you were excellent." Shaking her head, she said. "I have not skated since then." Taking off her skates, she stood. "These aren't fitting right. I have to get another pair." Usagi quickly made her way to the desk and returned the skates. Taking her time walking back, she wondered why Mamoru had to bring that up. Her vision blurred at the memory.
She beamed as she skated to her parents. "Did you see?" Not taking their eyes off Shingo, her mother nodded. "Yes honey, you were great." Usagi said. "It's called the Biellmann Spin." Her father faced her. "Usagi, sweetie, you shouldn't tell stories. Remember what we talked about? You need to be honest." She said. "But I did the Biellmann Spin..." Her mother said. "The Biellmann Spin is very difficult. You have to be very flexible and have good balance to accomplish something like that." Usagi said. "I'll show you." They shook their heads. Her mother said. "Usagi... you can't hog all the attention. You have a little brother who also needs attention. Why don't you practice falling." Her father nodded. "That and moving forward. Start with something simple, okay?" She nodded. "Yes, sir."
She kept walking, not paying attention to where she was going. Suddenly a door she was about to walk by was thrown open, slamming into her. Clutching her nose, she crumpled to the floor. Why? Why do bad things keep happening to her? She wished she could disappear. Maybe the floor would open up and swallow her. Usagi pulled her hand away from her nose and saw blood. Getting up, she needed to go to the bathroom and use the mirror to see how bad it was. First, she looked into the room that the person had stormed out of. It appeared to be the security room, and one monitor had a hole punched in it. She wondered what made someone punch a hole in a monitor. Usagi ran when something began sparking and smoking, but she didn't get far before something in the room exploded, knocking her down.