For the One I Love
Chapter Fifteen
"Keys to the Future"
The next morning Seiya stuffed all his belongings into a bag in preparation of leaving with them, but took them all out a minute later. "I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb in this kind of clothing..." He scratched his head thinking, wishing there was a way to send them to himself in the present time. "All that good clothing and money..." He tossed them all into the bag again with great remorse. Donation center it was. He would have to leave his apartment soon if he was going to make it to school on time. He wanted to leave for the Silver Millennium now but he'd promised Usagi he'd come to school the next day, and he wouldn't break a promise to her. He was afraid of seeing her again though, that somehow her smile would make him stay. True, he'd be going back to see her anyway, but there he'd have to start all over again and this Usagi was nearly identical to his now in terms of closeness.
The day was gloomy and grey, nothing at all like the day before. Seiya wasn't quite sure what it was, but something about the sky felt wrong. Like a dark, evil energy was hovering over the Juban district. He'd felt it in the morning when he first woke, and it was becoming even more prominent now. He was sure he'd felt this energy before, the same dark energy that he felt whenever the one's calling themselves the Black Moon Clan appeared. Filled with unease, Seiya was sure he would find Usagi and the rest of her Senshi friends in a frenzy about the dark atmosphere when he arrived, but he didn't. They were calm and collected like any other normal school day. For a moment Seiya felt calmed, until a new unease crept into the pit of his stomach.
"Seiya..." Usagi left Ami and Naru's side and hurried over to him, beaming. He could see it written all over her face, etched into the depths of her great heart melting smile. The smile he knew would make it harder for him to leave. It was relief. Relief Seiya had kept his promise in coming to school. "You came. I... I was afraid-"
"I promised." Seiya smiled back at her. "How long have you been worrying, glancing over at the door waiting for me to walk through it?" Seiya flicked her nose playfully only adding to Usagi's perfuse blush.
"Wh- what?" She asked trying to play it off.
"I knew you couldn't resist this handsome man in front of you!" He teased.
"Hmph! You think too much!" Still blushing, Usagi whirled around towards her desk but paused. "... Seiya..." She spoke in a soft voice, her back still facing him. "... seriously... thank you..."
"Anytime, Dumpling."
The class settled down as Miss. Huruna walked into the room and lessons began. Seiya couldn't concentrate on the blackboard before him, instead he kept daydreaming, staring at the back of Usagi's head and chuckling under his breath whenever she started nodding off. It almost came as a shock when Seiya realized morning lessons were over and it was time for lunch. Usagi swiveled around in her seat. "Food! Finally! Want to eat lunch in here today? The weather's not that great today."
"I noticed." Seiya said glancing out the window. He'd managed to side track himself for the most part, but the feeling that something was off had returned to him right after being seated for class.
"What's everyone got for lunch today?" Naru pulled up a seat, followed by Ami and Umino. Just as Usagi was pulling out her lunch, she heard her voice being called from the classroom door.
"Mako-Chan!" She said in excitement. "Do you want to join us for lunch too?"
"Sorry guys, but I need to borrow Usagi and Ami for a minute." She said walking hurriedly over to them.
"Is something wrong?" Ami asked, noticing the look on Makoto's face.
"Yeah. A white cat's been stalking the outside of my classroom window for a little while, looking desperate."
"Oh!" Ami said suddenly jumping out of her seat. "Sorry, we'll be back. Come on Usagi." Both Ami and Makoto grabbed Usagi and tugged her away ignoring her cries of protest.
"But, my lunch! Wait you guys! What's going on? You forgot my lunch!"
"Uh..." Umino started after them. "Did you understand any of that?"
Naru sighed. "No." She said lazily, opening up her own lunch. "And I don't even try to understand anymore. Guess it's just us thr- Hey!" She shouted after Seiya who fled from his own chair. "Now where are you going?"
"Toilet." He said blandly before turning the corner and disappearing from view.
"Uh, huh. Sure." Naru raised her eyebrows and let out an even deeper sigh. "Eat up Umino!" She said stuffing some squid into his mouth. "It's just us for lunch."
Seiya whizzed around the corner, then darted back the other way as he saw Usagi fly in that direction. If the white cat they called Artemis needed to deliver a message so urgently to them, he knew what it must be about, now confirming his hunch from this morning. Seiya was concerned, the energy hovering in the air was more far spread than he'd ever felt while back in the past.
Usagi flew out a side door and around the building, which led to the front of the school. Seiya quickly followed her course and came to a halt behind some bushes to listen when he saw Makoto, Ami, and Usagi unite with Artemis.
"Artemis, what's wrong?" Makoto asked out of breath.
"Dark Power has taken over Chibi-Usa's school. Everyone's broken out into riots and they're tearing the place apart!"
"What?" Usagi gasped loudly.
"At Chibi-Usa's school?" Makoto asked dumbfounded.
"Anyway, please come quick!" Artemis said.
"I got it!" Ami replied. Just as she had finished speaking, the communicator on her wrist began to beep, and Minako's voice came from it.
"There's been an incident! Come to Juban Park quick!" She said urgently.
"What?" Usagi stepped in closer to Ami and Makoto. "What'll we do? Which place should we go?" She asked.
"We'll go to Juban Park." Ami said. "So, Usagi, take care of Chibi-Usa, okay?"
"Okay."
Ami flipped the communicator closed and took off with Makoto, leaving Usagi and Artemis to head the other way. Seiya cautiously moved from behind the bushes and followed Usagi, staying a safe distance behind her. "Two attacks at one time?" Seiya thought to himself. "Their enemy has definitely changed its tactics. They're getting more serious…"
When she thought no was one looking, Usagi slid between two buildings to transform herself into Sailor Moon. Taking the same opportunity, Seiya also hid and transformed into Sailor Star Fighter. When Usagi reappeared as Sailor Moon, Star Fighter approached her.
"Sailor Moon!"
"Eiyah!" Sailor Moon jumped around clutching at her heart. Artemis looked shocked as well. "S-Sailor Star Fighter? Where did you come from?"
"I was following you." Fighter told her.
"You, followed me? From where?" Sailor Moon asked looking past the Senshi curiously.
"Never mind that. I've felt it all day, something is seriously wrong. I'm going to the school with you to help."
"Ah-" was the only sound Sailor Moon could make. She had been completely taken aback by the sudden appearance of Star Fighter and the amount of information she already seemed to possess.
"Seriously." Artemis protested from near Sailor Moon's ankles. "What motive do you have in helping us? You know so much about us, yet you still refuse to tell us who you are."
Fighter looked from the cat up to Sailor Moon. "Please?" was all she said in response. Artemis shook his head in annoyance at the lack of response to his inquisition. Sailor Moon studied Fighter for a moment before nodding. "It's okay Artemis. This way." She thrust her head forward.
Fighter continued to follow Sailor Moon and Artemis until they reached the elementary school. There was no sign of life anywhere. The lights in the building were off, and there was wreckage everywhere. Suddenly, a desk came crashing through an upper classroom window. Fighter threw her arm out in front of Sailor Moon to stop her from going any farther. "What is going on here?" Sailor Moon's eyes however, were above the broken window to the roof.
"What's that?"
"No way!" Artemis protested. "It wasn't that gigantic just a short time ago."
"What is that thing?" Fighter asked, gawking at the massively large golden figure as it emitted a dark energy. "So this is the source of that horrible feeling that's been floating around in the atmosphere..."
"It's Esmeraude's, but... it's never been like this before. We have to go inside! We have to find Chibi-Usa!"
'This way!" Artemis rushed forward, leading them in.
The inside of the school was worse than how the outside appeared. It was dark and cold, and looked as if no one had used the facility in many years. The windows were broken, doors were off their hinges, and cracks extended from the floors to the ceiling. Frankly, it all gave Sailor Star Fighter the creeps, and she could tell the same was true for Sailor Moon.
Sailor Moon peered around the corner suspiciously, looking out for anyone in the halls. She preceded to hurriedly tiptoe across to a sliding classroom door. Fighter followed, sticking close to the back of her counterpart while keeping a constant watch over her own shoulder. "Chibi-Usa..." Sailor Moon called as she opened the door. "Aren't you here, Chibi-Usa? There's no one here." She opened the door fully and walked in, closing it behind her once everyone was inside.
"That's strange" Artemis replied looking around the small science room himself for a sign of the pink haired girl or Luna, who had been with her.
"Could she have moved?" Fighter asked, not really looking forward to moving amongst the inside of the school any longer.
"I'm not sure."
"Chibi-Usa, it's me, Sailor Moon." Still, there was no response.
"It looks like she must have mo-"
"Sailor Moon?" Sailor Moon and Sailor Star Fighter froze. The voice had come from their right, directly where a skeleton was located. Suddenly, the skeleton started moving toward them. "Sailor Moon!" It cried. Sailor Moon whipped her hands over her head and screamed as the skeleton fell onto her body. She continued screaming only until she realized something warm was hugging the bottom of her body.
"Chibi-Usa..." Sailor Moon said softly.
"So she was hiding." Sailor Moon looked over to Fighter as she said it.
"Were you frightened too?" The blonde asked in amazement. Fighter was gripping her chest and looked as if she was recovering from shock. She was also further back than Sailor Moon had remembered her to be.
"I- Hey!" She shouted. Sailor Moon turned back to Chibi-Usa to hide her grin a little too late. "The feeling of this place is horrible, okay? And you scared me more than anything, what with all your screa-"
"Eiyaahhh!" Sailor Moon screamed again causing Fighter to jump. Even more so when she saw the reason for her scream. A man with long white hair had just taken a swipe at Sailor Moon's head, with half of his torso sticking out through the solid wall. Sailor Moon sprinted out of the classroom and into the hallway, dragging Chibi-Usa by the hand and closely followed by Artemis, Fighter, and Luna.
"Stop. Screaming." Fighter panted, one arm propping herself up against the wall.
"Not. My. Fault!" She panted in return from the floor.
"So, you came, Sailor Moon." The white-haired man chuckled.
"I came, nothing! How dare you do this to the school!" Sailor Moon shouted back, exasperated. "You think it's okay to do this? In the name of the moon, Sailor Moon will-"
"If you have time to say all that nonsense, should you not spend it praying to Buddha?"
"Oh, two of them?" She said in an unhappily small voice. Behind the man with the long white hair appeared who seemed to be his identical twin, except for his darker complexion and purple tinged hair.
"It's okay." Fighter said. "There's two of us too!"
"Die!" The brothers charged, one taking a swipe at the Sailor Senshi while the other one flew into the air to cut them off, trapping them between the two. "You're not getting away!"
"Momo-chan!" Chibi-Usa unexpectedly started screaming, pushing away from Sailor Moon's hold. "Momo-chan! Momo-chan!" Standing next to the man with the purple tinged hair was a small girl holding a mop who looked to be about Chibi-Usa's age. Fighter could only assume she was a friend.
"It's no use." Luna spoke to the girl.
"She's been corrupted by the Dark Power." The other cat chimed in. "It won't matter what you say right now."
"How dare you..." Chibi-Usa directed at the men. "How dare you do this to Momo-chan?" The pink haired girl ran past Sailor Moon, charging at one of the men.
"Ah!" Sailor Moon tried reaching out to catch her.
"Kid!" Fighter tried grabbing at her too. At the same time the man moved to attack, the hallway quickly filled with a heavy mist.
"Bubble Spray!" Sailors Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter had all arrived.
"We're here, just like you asked!" Jupiter said.
"We won't let you have your way anymore!"
"Hmph. If you think you can stop us, try it!" The white-haired man put his hand to his chest and vanished.
"He disappeared?"
"Did he run away?" The Inner Senshi were cautious at the sudden disappearance of him as they jogged over to join Sailor Moon and the rest of them.
"Everyone!" Sailor Moon said happily.
"Sailor Moon, are you all right?" Mercury asked.
"Fighter?"
Mars looked over the twin who remained behind. "Okay, your partner's run away!" She shouted.
"Give it up!" Added Mercury.
The purple haired man chuckled. "Stupid girls." The girl called Momo launched forward swinging the mop in her hands, almost hitting Chibi-Usa who ran forward calling for her friend to stop. Sailor Mars pulled the child out of the way, so Momo swung her mop at Sailor Moon and Venus next.
"Using a child to hide behind!" Fighter said angrily, as she too moved out of the mop's way. No one could use their attacks in these circumstances.
"Watch out!" Everyone heard Jupiter call out, but she should have been paying attention to her back where the other brother re-appeared.
"Die!" A burst of black energy smashed into her, slamming her to the floor screaming in pain. Distracted by their friend's fall, the Senshi were encased in a barrier full of electric force which the other brother had summoned from the palm of his hand. They all shouted out in pain as they were forced to the ground, Sailor Mars trying her best to shield Chibi-Usa from as much of it as she could, but the pink haired girl pushed Mars's arm aside to get to her screaming friend.
"Momo-chan!" Blinding flashes of bright light streamed out from her forehead.
"This energy is..."
"The Rabbit!" The brothers gasped.
"Chibi-Usa!" Sailor Moon screamed.
The light died down and the dark barrier that encased them had faded. Chibi-Usa's friend Momo started to wake, rid of the dark energy that was controlling her. Sailor Star Fighter, along with the other Senshi, stared in wonder at the sudden burst of energy from the girl. They'd all seen it before, but the origin behind it still baffled Fighter, as it seemed to still do for the others.
"Die, Rabbit!" Without warning one of the brothers fired at her. None of the Senshi had time to prepare a counter attack. They reached for the two girls, but before the attack could hit any of them Momo pushed Chibi-Usa out of the way, taking the blow for herself.
With a shrill of anger, Chibi-Usa screamed at the top of her lungs. An energy burst forth from the tiny girl once more, but nothing like any of them had experienced before. It was as if they were caught in the middle of a giant wind storm whilst being blinded by the sun. "How dare you do that to Momo? And my mom?" The strong wind became even stronger, sending the two brothers flying like rag dolls out of the hallway and outside of the school. Slowly, the energy faded, and Chibi-Usa fell unconscious.
"Chibi-Usa!" Venus and Mercury both caught her before she could hit the floor.
"Who knew Chibi-Usa had this kind of power?" Mercury's voice was both concerned and in awe.
"I've only..." Fighter stammered, catching the girls' attention. "I've only ever seen and felt power like that once before..." The girls continued to stare at Fighter, but Fighter stared at Sailor Moon, her expression one of confusion and recognition. Before anything else could be said on the matter, Chibi-Usa awoke.
"Momo-chan..." She said weakly, moving towards her unconscious friend.
"Mercury, Venus, please look after Chibi-Usa! I will never forgive those two!" Sailor Moon spoke determinedly. "We'll head down this way!" Sailor Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Star Fighter took off down the hall towards a flight of stairs, while Mercury, Venus and the cats remained with Chibi-Usa and Momo. Once they were down the stairs, they rounded a corner into another hallway, out a back door into a play yard. "Where did you go?" Sailor Moon looked around with Fighter, Mars, and Jupiter against her back. "Come on out!"
"Die! Die!" The double cries came from directly behind Sailor Moon, and in front of Fighter. Unprepared by their close appearance, Fighter gritted her teeth preparing to take the attack. As she tightened her stance a red rose flashed across her vision, leading her gaze to a masked man standing atop one of the playground toys.
"Turning a sacred place of learning into a battlefield is an unforgivable outrage." Tuxedo Kamen lectured.
"Tuxedo Kamen!" Sailor Moon shouted happily.
"Now, Sailor Moon! Teach them the ABCs of justice!"
"Yes!" She pulled out her scepter and aimed it at the brothers. They panicked and started to disappear into the ground, but Jupiter electrocuted them in place with her spell. "Moon Princess-" Sailor Moon shouted. "Elimination!" The two men screamed and vanished, closely followed by the large statue that was on the rooftop. The dark energy that been hovering over the Juban district all day finally seemed to start vanishing. 'We did it!"
"Damn you! You impudent girls again!" Esmeraude appeared in the sky above them. "Since it's come to this, I'll personally kill you guys myself!" She snapped her fan in half with anger. "Prepare yourselves!" Just as Esmeraude was about to attack, she stopped. She hovered for a second before looking back down at the Senshi. They braced themselves for another battle. "Don't get all excited, thinking you've won! You won't get away so easily if we get serious!" With her usual shriek of laughter, Esmeraude vanished.
"She must have been called away..." Fighter said.
"That's fine by me." Jupiter said relaxing.
"Momo!" Sailor Moon said. "We need to take Momo and Chibi-Usa to get checked."
"We need to find out where everyone is as well." Tuxedo Kamen added.
"This way." Mars pointed in the direction of the school and took off. Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Jupiter quickly took off as well, but Sailor Moon staggered behind when she noticed Sailor Star Fighter starring into the sky, not moving.
"Uh..." Sailor Moon approached the Senshi. "Thank you again, for coming to help. We're going to un-transform and take Chibi-Usa and her friend to get looked at. So uh..."
"I'll help you here and then follow you to the infirmary, to know the girl is alright. And to also…" Fighter looked down into Sailor Moon's eyes trailing off. "I'll stay in the shadows so no one can see me." She added.
"I uh- guess, that would be alright." After agreeing, the both walked off towards the school together.
Once everything was as settled as it could be at the school, the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen untransformed, and headed to get some help for Momo. Chibi-Usa was awake and seemed fine, but quiet, while Momo was still unconscious and slumped over Mamoru's back. Sailor Star Fighter remained transformed and followed from a distance, her mind lost in thought, staring between the girl known as Chibi-Usa and Usagi. If any of them had anything to say about Fighter following them, they said nothing.
Sailor Star Fighter agreed to wait for everyone out of sight, at the top of the building they took Momo into. It wasn't long before she was joined by Mamoru and the two cats.
"Sailor Moon- Usagi- said you were interested to know how the two girls are doing. They're both fine." Mamoru directed at her. "Momo may be staying overnight while Chibi-Usa is free to go home anytime."
"Oh. That's good." Fighter said. There was a brief moment of awkward silence before Luna spoke up.
"Sailor Star Fighter?" She said it gently. "You've helped and protected Sailor Moon many times. You seem to genuinely care, and not be with the enemy-"
"Luna-" Artemis warned. Luna shook her head.
"Artemis, after everything I really don't think she's a threat. However, I still have to wonder, if this is the case why can't you just reveal yourself to us and what your mission is here? Things are starting to get serious, and if you truly are an ally, we need to know everything."
Sailor Star Fighter bit the bottom of her lip, casting her gaze to the side. She had been so close to leaving. She had to leave in order to achieve what she came back in time to prove, but with what she'd just witnessed. "I-'
A door squeaked open behind them, bringing the faces of Usagi, Rei, Ami, Makoto, Minako and Chibi-Usa into the sun's setting light. Usagi walked over and rubbed Mamoru's arm. "Momo's staying overnight like we thought, but that should be it."
"Then, what's the matter?" Mamoru asked noticing the somber look on Usagi's face. She nudged her head in Chibi-Usa's direction who had walked to the edge of the building and wrapped her hands around the iron fence, looking out into the city's sunset. She had remained in a dazed state ever since leaving Momo's bedside.
"Chibi-Usa?" Mamoru asked.
"I will go to the future!" She said abruptly. "I will go to the future and save my mom!"
"What?" Usagi gasped softly. "But how?"
"I'm going to use this key of space-time." The little girl rummaged in her clothing while Sailor Star Fighter could feel her heart give a thump through her own. "I haven't gotten it to work so far, but I think it'll work this time. Please everyone-" The small girl turned. "come with me! Please... please save my mom!"
"A key of space-time?" As Usagi spoke Mamoru walked from her side over to Chibi-Usa and crouched down next to her.
"Let's all go together." He said.
"Let's go, everyone together." Makoto reassured his words.
"We just have to do it."
"I'm coming, too." The rest of the girls chimed in.
"Yes, after all, we won't know what our enemy is truly after unless we go to the future."
"All of you say it so easily, but..." Luna spoke.
"Yeah. I'm sure it'll be quite dangerous." Artemis added.
"What are you saying? Everyone has their hearts set on it already! It's for Chibi-Usa, after all!" Usagi told the cats.
"I'll be going as well." The words came quickly, but without hesitation, from Sailor Star Fighter. For just a little while, her initial plans could wait. Something about all of this had been tugging at her for a while now. The future. Destiny. Usagi's destiny. All of it seemed to be wrapped around this small mysterious child, who seemed able to harness the same power as Sailor Moon, from a place called Crystal Tokyo in the 30th Century. This had to be the moment in time where the Sailor Senshi learned of something important … and Fighter wanted to learn it too.
"What!?" The word came from a mix of voices all with mixed reactions.
Makoto stepped forward. "We appreciate all your help so far but-"
"But we know anything about you!" Rei pushed Makoto aside. "Just because you've bailed us out of trouble many times, we still- ah!"
"That-" Chibi-Usa half shouted. "That's my time key!" The child looked down at her own in disbelief, making sure it was still there. Sailor Star Fighter had pulled out hers, or rather, the one she had stolen from an older Chibi-Usa.
"I'm from the future too." Fighter said. "That's how I know you all already... I know you from my time." Everyone's eyes widened, but the face he sought was Usagi's. Her mouth hung slightly open in disbelief.
"Then..." She started saying.
"No." Fighter cut her off, knowing where her thoughts must be leading her. "I don't know anything about what's going on here. I'm not from the 30th Century like this one," He gestured to Chibi-Usa. "I'm from a time before that, but after this... where we were ally's... and... friends."
"That's a lie!" Chibi-Usa said running up to Fighter. "It's impossible to get these keys! I know because... because I stole this one!" She thrust her key into Fighter's face. "So you must have stolen that one to from P-!"
"OUCH!" In almost perfect unison, both Chibi-Usa and Star Fighter dropped their keys to the ground, grabbing their right hand where a small red mark was visible.
"It burned me again!" Chibi-Usa said startled.
"No... not now..." Fighter said to herself through clenched teeth, fighting back an on-coming headache. She scrunched her eyes together to help the pain when a gentle hand touched her shoulder, forcing her eyes back open to find the owner.
"Please." Usagi's face was close to her own. "I want to trust you. So this time, will you tell us everything?" Fighter looked up into Usagi's calm yet pleading eyes.
"It's true." Star Fighter said. "I did steal the time key." Usagi's face dropped slightly, and Fighter could sense everyone else around her tense." I stole the time key from her, some three years in the future, to come back to you." He gestured over to Chibi-Usa and then looked back to Usagi.
"I- I don't understand." She said.
"Neither do I!" Rei shouted. The rest of the girls nodded.
"Just, who, are you?" Makoto commanded. "What do you mean you came for Usagi?"
"A little over two years from now, Sailor Moon helped me with something. In the process, we became... very close friends. Sadly, I had to return home and leave her behind. But... I couldn't stop thinking about her. Her beauty... her kindness... her smile... I knew she had someone. Her prince. But I couldn't help myself, I went back. I went back to tell her, I was in love with her."
"W-what?" Usagi said quietly. Everyone stared on in silence, not quite knowing how to respond.
"When I told her... when I told you that I was in love with you, I was rejected. I was bitter, and angry, because you never gave me a fair chance. You always... Usagi always, went on about destiny, and how things could never have been different. So, I stole the time key when I learned of its origins, and I vowed in front of everyone that I would come back and prove them wrong. I would come back and prove to everyone, and yourself, that things can change. That I love you…" Sailor Star Fighter made a movement as if to grab Usagi's hand, but instead, she placed it gently upon her own chest and closed her eyes. Usagi moved her arm to shield her eyes from a bright flash of light, but as quickly as she had moved her arms it vanished.
"and that you could have loved me..." The voice that spoke was no longer female, but a slightly deeper male voice… and one Usagi knew well. Slowly, heart racing, breath staggering, Usagi lowered her arm. Her eyes widened as she drew in a sharp intake of breath.
"Seiya…"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"Usagi, don't you think that's enough? You've been out of bed too long." Luna said in accusation for at least the fourth time.
"Really, Luna, I've only been up a little while." Usagi was getting restless being confined to her bed, and began insisting she was well enough to move about for small periods of time. Even then, people would still insist she lean on them when they were around. It seemed the mysterious fever still had some effect on her. While she appreciated her friends' help and concern, it was quite daunting after a while to never be or do anything by herself. Today had been one of those rare moments where she had been left alone, even if only for a few short moments. She knew a handful of her friends would be back soon.
"You're still weak, you know. I just worry." The cat lowered her head sadly onto the bed. Now freshly showered and changed, Usagi wobbled slightly back to her bed and sat down.
"I know Luna." She said, petting the top of the black cat's head. "Thank you." The cat snuggled up next to Usagi's lap and purred.
At the same time there was a quick knock on the door before it opened. Chibi-Usa came in with Rei and Minako next to her. "Dinner should be here in a bit... here's some more water." The pink haired girl handed the glass over to Usagi, who set it down without taking so much as a sip. With how much they were forcing her to drink, she grew wary of it. After setting it down, she turned back to the girl.
"Did you just say dinner should be here soon? I thought you guys went down to find something, and something to cook, nearly an hour ago?"
"Yeah, but everyone just finished arguing over what they wanted, and no one but Makoto ended up wanting to cook. So, pizza." Minako said as she and Rei sat down next to Usagi, who sighed in disbelief over her friends.
"Hey, you changed by yourself?" Rei had the same accusing tone as Luna.
"It was agreed on that I could!" She reminded her friend. "I get tired of lying around all day..." She grumbled.
"I know." Rei said placing a hand on Usagi's lap. "Pretty soon, we'll fix things so you're completely better. Once we get word from the Queen in Crystal Tokyo."
"I wonder what's taking mama and them so long?" Chibi-Usa pondered aloud.
"Time is a difficult thing." Luna stretched. "And this situation is a pretty delicate one."
"Yeah…. I wonder," Usagi mused "how the Queen would feel about all this if she knew…"
"Well, wouldn't you know the answer to that the best?" Minako asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh. Uh, right. Yes." Usagi turned her head down, focusing on petting Luna's head. Not a moment later the doorbell rang.
"That can't be the pizza, we just ordered it." Minako said.
"Probably everyone else finally showing up." Rei got up from the bed and walked across to the door. "I'll go down and see who else is left-" The door flung open, causing Rei to jump out of its way. "What the-? Makoto watch what you're- what's wrong?" Her angry response was cut short when she saw the look on Makoto's face.
"There's someone here to see Usagi." Makoto hastily replied.
"To see Usagi?" Minako asked.
"To see me?" Usagi looked around the room with a quizzical look, then back at Makoto.
"Well, who exactly?" Rei asked, wondering who could cause such an expression on her friend's face. "Wait, is it- is Seiya back-"
"No."
"Then what the heck has gotten you-"
"She says she has a message from him though." Makoto replied. "A message from Seiya."
"What?" The room gasped.
"A message from three years ago."
"Who?" Rei insisted.
"Some woman, named Hitomi."
Authors Note:
Follow me on DeviantArt under my pen name: Kimiski : to see a drawing from the next chapter. Appropriately titled: "Mysteries of Time" after the next chapter. I have a couple other drawings there from this fan-fiction as well as others, written and not written. Enjoy!