After defeating Nephrite's Youma, Tesuni, Ami notices something is off with Usagi… Set during episode 14.
"I expect Rui will be fine with a night's rest and a little time," said Luna.
"That's good."
"And when she returns to the tennis court she'll be her old self again, not some overaggressive jerk," added Rei.
"Yeah. Right."
"Naru will be pleased. That poor girl, I've lost count of the times she's been caught up in the enemy's plans. The last thing she needs is for her friends to be targeted too."
"Uh-huh."
Ami raised an eyebrow. Usagi didn't seem sleepy, but she was clearly not particularly engaged in the conversation. She had just dealt with a Youma all by herself though. Maybe the pressure of that had gotten to her.
Ami dismissed this idea. Usagi had been fighting the Youma alone even before Ami had met her. Granted, Ami sometimes struggled to believe that given all she knew about her friend. But, logically, there was no reason that fighting solo would've gotten under her skin.
By the time Rei had left for her shrine, Ami's concern had grown.
"Usagi? Is something the matter?"
Usagi stopped walking and turned to Ami. The blunette fixed her friend with the kindest look she could muster, imagining Usagi to be one of her hypothetical future patients. Usagi briefly looked down to Luna before producing something from one of her chest pockets.
So, she hadn't been all by herself.
"Him again huh?" Usagi nodded robotically. Ami decided a little levity might help ease the tension, "Don't you have over a half-dozen of those by now?"
"More than that," muttered Luna.
Usagi's demeanour remained unchanged, although she gripped the contents of her hand a little tighter.
"This time he didn't just save me, we actually fought together."
Ami saw Usagi's eyes light up with the memory and braced herself for the dopey love-struck routine she'd witnessed before. To her surprise, it never came.
"But, towards the end of the fight, something… something weird happened to him. He doubled over like he was hurt, but that monster never even touched him."
Ami could tell Luna was taken aback, but she'd clearly managed to compose herself before Usagi had noticed. "And then?"
"He told me to finish off the Youma. And by the time I had, he'd vanished… I'm just… I'm worried about him."
Luna's eyes narrowed. "You have to remember, Usagi, he's a complete mystery to us. For all we know he could an agent of the enemy."
"No way!" exclaimed Usagi. "How many times has he come to help us? Jadeite almost killed him not too long ago."
"That might've just been a double-bluff, or some kind of struggle within the enemy's ranks. I'm not saying he is our enemy. Just that you shouldn't be so quick to presume he's an ally."
Ami knew that Luna wasn't wrong. Nevertheless, she found the idea a bit of a stretch given their prior experiences. However, she figured the last thing Usagi needed right now was an argument.
"Maybe we should leave this for another night." She noted Usagi and Luna's body language becoming less tense, neither obviously wanting to get into this now.
They carried on silently until it was time for Ami to part company with the pair. Before she left though, Ami placed a consoling hand on Usagi's shoulder. "If he was able to leave on his own, I'm sure he must've been fine."
"You really think so?"
"I do. And I'm hoping to be a doctor remember." Ami hoped the lie hadn't made her blush too obviously.
"Thanks, Ami."
They exchanged a quick hug before going their separate ways. Just before Ami rounded the corner she glimpsed Usagi lifting the contents of her hand to her face.
A/N: Just to let you know I am involved in a discord called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just connect to other fan creators shoot me a PM and I'll send you an invite. All are welcome!