*Disclaimer*

I did take some time to read up on PTSD so that when I wrote about it, it would be from a place of facts and not fiction. That being said, reading about it can only give me a limited understanding about this very serious illness. PTSD is different for everyone who has it and treatment differs for everyone. If you are suffering from PTSD, please reach out to friends and family if it's safe and get help.

Chapter 3: Silent Agony

Usagi opened her eyes to find herself once again, on the battlefield as Eternal Sailor Moon. All around her, buildings that stood so proudly in the Tokyo skyline were now broken, piles of unrecognizable rubble that blocked anyone from being able to escape the looming doom. The sky was a terrifying shade of deep purple with black lightening that hurt Usagi's eyes to even look at, but she could not seem to be able to look away. Floating within that terrible sky around her were shining crystals that were slowly floating up into the heavens. Star Seeds. All of them were star seeds of the people of earth, who now laid lifeless among the destruction that was once their home. This wasn't right! Usagi tried to move to help someone, anyone! But found her feet unwilling to move from the spot she stood, like they were stuck in cement. This caused the guardian to begin panicking as she felt like this was only the beginning to something she wouldn't survive. All around her, more star seed floated up to the universe above her. Reaching out as far as her arms would allow her to, she tried to grasp a star seed in the sky to at least save one person from this terrible fate. But no matter how far she reached, they all seemed just out of her grasp, giving her a false sense of hope that is she only could reach a little further, she could get it. Her eyes began to tear up as she desperately tried over and over to grab a star seed to no avail. Soon, she couldn't keep reaching up and allowed her body to fall to her knees on the ground as the tears streamed fast down her cheeks, blurring her vision and causing her to gasp for breath in-between sobs. From distance, she could hear the screams of people that didn't seem too far away. Using all her strength, she forced herself to stand and demanded her feet to move off the spot and move forward. It was a fearful process, but with one last huge tug and a scream that broke from her lips, she was finally able to move her feet. The first steps were painful, like she was stepping on pieces of glass, but soon it dulled into a bearable numb pain and she took off as fast as she could force herself to run.

The city seemed to stand eerily still as she ran down a never-ending street, gasping for air and trying desperately to find someone, anyone still alive.

"Mercury! Mars! Jupiter! Venus!" Usagi screamed hoarsely as she searched and scanned for any of her friends. They had to be here. They were always there with her no matter what was said or done. So where would they now? Why was she alone?

Usagi stopped suddenly and took a sharp right, hoping desperately that she would find something in the different direction. But there was still endless road going nowhere and the building that still stood loomed over her like mocking shadows. Usagi stopped running, her breathes short and shallow and her legs shaking visibly. She was going nowhere and despite how fast or long she ran, nothing changed. It was like she was in a never-ending maze.

"Sailor Moon."

Quickly turning around, a gasp breaks out from her lips and she smiles to the point where her face started to hurt. It was her friends. Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako. All standing there in their fukus looking at her with calm expressions. They were okay. They were still here. Happiness and relief that she was no longer alone spread through her entire body within seconds.

"Mina-san…." She said softly to them, smiling.

Suddenly she felt and heard something fly by her on both sides of her body at , causing her ponytails to fly up from whatever passed by a terrifying speed. All Usagi saw was gold light. Whatever happiness she felt before was replaced with cold fear within a second and before she could even say a word, the gold lights slammed first into Mercury's chest, then Mars's, followed by Jupiter then finally Venus. Each one of then buckled over due to the impact for a moment and then, were surrounded by harsh golden lights ,and the sounds of their painfilled screams were all Usagi could see and hear.

"NO PLEASE!" Usagi screamed as she tried to move again, only to once again to be unable to move her feet. She was trapped and yet nothing held her against her will. She pulled and begged her feet to move, tears streaming down her face, but to no avail. Usagi turned back to her friends screaming in pain and reached out for them, she was so close, and she could feel the heat from the golden light that surrounded them. All of a sudden, the light disappeared, and her friends collapse to the ground, only their star seeds still floating where they stood in their colours.

"No, no no! They need those!" Usagi panicked. She instinctively reached out to grab them for her friends. Just as her fingers were about to graze the seeds, they vanished from thin air and Usagi fell to the ground, pain spreading all over from her impact. She struggled to breathe through her tear, her legs still frozen and trapped and she realized that she failed to save her friends. She looked down, expected to see them fade away, but they didn't. Their body laid there like dolls, they eye lifeless and clouded, and yet they seemed to be staring into Usagi's soul.

"Why didn't you save us?" a disembodied voice called out

Usagi looked around to find the body to the voice, but there was no one besides the bodies of her friends laying with her. A shiver ran up her spine as she slowly looked down. It suddenly hit her that that voice really sounded like Ami.

"You let us die, you selfish brat!"

Now Usagi really felt like she was struggling to breathe. She heard the sound of Rei's voice scream at her, but the teasing that usually came with her words was replaced with loathing.

"I…I tried to…" Usagi weaking argued back

"You didn't try! You stood there doing nothing!"

That was Makoto's. Her kind voice was now stiff and unsympathetic, like when she would talk to people who bullied her. Usagi covered her ears with her hands trying to block out the words she was starting to believe were true, however she couldn't look away from her friends.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Sobbed Usagi pushing her hands hard against her ears.

"It's too late for your stupid apologies!"

The final voice was Minako's. Her voice sounded so foreign to Usagi she barely recognized it. Minako was never one to talk so horribly to anyone. She was always so happy, so optimistic. But Usagi lost all will to fight back against the voices that now seem to be repeating inside her own mind.

"Useless!"

"Brat!"
"Pathetic!"
"Stupid!"

Soon after, Usagi heard something worse when the taunts fell silent. Removing her hands from her ears, she listened as the world in silence. But then a slow rumble could be heard across the air. It was hard to distinguish what it was, until it got louder, and she realized it was the sound of laughter. Not joyous laughter, but a dark laughter that sent shivers down her spine. Because she knew that laugh. She fought that laugh. It came from one of the strongest senshi she knew

Sailor Galaxia

Slowly, Usagi turned her body as much as she could to where the sound was coming from to see Galaxia sitting on her golden thrown, decked out in her golden fuku, and her wrist covered with the metal bracelets that sent her friends to the next life. She didn't understand. She defeated the chaos inside her didn't she? Wasn't Galaxia free from the evil inside her? But when Galaxia opened her hand, she revealed that she held the 4-star seeds that belonged to her friends with a horrible smirk on her lips.

"This is the end of the line Sailor Moon," Galaxia said to her, as she stood up from her throne and slowly walked over to Usagi. Her fight and flight response kicked in and she desperately tried to run but failed to even move. Suddenly, the start seeds that were in her hand turned into a black sword. Smirking, Galaxia eyes went deep red as she lifted the sword to the sky, but her focus never left Usagi's face.

"OGANGO NO!"

A flash of black and blue passed Usagi's eyes as Galaxia let her sword fall. A painful scream rang out though the darkness as the blur fell to the ground. That when Usagi realized what happened. She felt bile rise in her throat as she watched the floor turn crimson red. It was blood. Sailor Star Fighter's blood. Usagi let out a silent scream as she watches Fighter's skin get paler and the pool of blood grow. Another person died because of her. And she did nothing to protect them. She outstretched her arm to touch Fighter, but as her finger touched her fuku, her body disappeared, and all that was left was her senshi uniform tangled in her fingers tripping with blood. Suddenly, time seem to slow at a painful pace and Usagi couldn't do anything to fix it. As Galaxia lifted her sword over her head to attack again, Usagi looked up to the powerful senshi with tears running down her face. She would not run. She would not scream. She would not beg to be spared. Because it was too late now. She was alone and lost everything that was important to her. Her friends, family, loved ones and earth.

"Sayonara, Sailor Moon," Spoke Galaxia and chaos together as they swung the sword onto Usagi at a terrifying speed.

With a desperate gasp for breath, Usagi shot up from her bed. Her legs were tangled up in her comforter, her pajamas were soaked with sweat and stuck to her body in an uncomfortable way and her hair was knotted and tangled from tossing and turning. Her first reaction was to desperately detangle her blanket from her legs as pins and needles spread through them. After struggling for five minutes, her legs were finally freed and she swung them over the edge of get bed and placed them on the cool wooden panel, grounding herself and making sure she was back in reality and not still in a ream As Usagi stared at the wooden floor of her bedroom, she felt something bitter creep up her throat. Quickly, she grabbed her rubbish bin from the side of her bed and placed it on her lap and leaned into it.

"Please don't vomit, please don't vomit." Usagi begged herself as she slightly rocked backwards and forwards in hope it would get rid of the nausea. After what felt like forever, her stomach settled, and she was able to slowly sit up properly. Placing the rubbish bin back on the floor, she carefully stood up, grabbed her towel and quietly ran for the bathroom so she could wash the feeling of sweat off her. Hot water and soap helped erased the unclean feeling off her skin, but it didn't help her forget the nightmare that still lingered in the back of her mind. Once clean, she dried herself off and put on her high school uniform, she walked over to her vanity and cringed when she saw her reflex. She looked worse than she realized. Grabbing her hairbrush off the vanity, she began to make her hair manageable again. Tonight's dream was bad, but at least she didn't throw up like from yesterday nightmare. She turned her head to look at her alarm clock sitting on her bedside table. It read 5:48. With a sigh, Usagi decided she might as well start the day since she was already up

This was her new morning routine. She would be startled awake from a nightmare, fix herself up so no one could tell, and try to make it through each day as best she could. On mornings she isn't scared awake by her own subconscious, it was easier to start the day and pretend all is fine. But those mornings were becoming far less frequent now than they use to be. Usagi knew this wasn't good or healthy, but what could she do? She couldn't talk to anyone professional about it. She couldn't even tell them why she was acting the way she did. She can't say she was Sailor Moon, and her final battle haunts her. They would certify her and crazy and lock her away to never be seen again. She thought about telling the senshi friends about how she was feeling many times before, but she refused to burden them anymore with her problems than she has already done in the past. They actually died protecting her, so who was she to talk about such trivial stuff as nightmares. They had their own lives to live and dreams to pursue.

Then, there was Mamoru. Her boyfriend, future husband and father of Chibi-Usa. King of Crystal Tokyo. For so long, she truly believed that he was in America, that he wasn't writing to her and ignoring her letters. It physically hurt her when she thought back on that time. But the truth was like a knife to the chest. He died before he even left Japan. At the hands of Galaxia. Usagi never forgot the guilt and pain she felt once she learnt of his fate. Which is why she refuse to tell him about the nightmares. In fact, she barely talks about the battle with him at all. He never pushes her to discuss it, being the perfect gentlemen. But even if she did tell him everything, in the back of her mind, she knew he wouldn't be able to fully understand the ordeal she went through. Even the inner and outer senshi had the blessing of not having the images of them dying etched into their minds. So even though she was surrounded by her friends and loved ones, Usagi had this feeling of being alone within her chest she just couldn't get rid of.

Once her hair was sorted, she took another look at her face in the mirror. It has slimmed down this year. All the chubbiness she had as a 14-year-old has completely vanished from her face, leaving her with a mature adult look she like to believe. But then she saw the dark circles under her eyes. With nightmares messing with her mind, they now started to show on her face more clearly. Reaching over her table. She grabbed a bottle of concealer and squeezed a small about on her hand and started to cover them up. Usagi wasn't a make-up person generally. In fact, she always felt rather confident with how she looked when people saw her naturally. But at school a few months back, Minako pointed out that she looked so tired with those bags under her eyes and asked if she was okay. Of course, Usagi just told her she stayed up all night reading her newest manga, which was true, but she did leave out the fact she read through the entire thing to stay awake. She did eventually fall asleep. That night was a particularly terrifying nightmare. But she didn't need to know that. So now concealer was Usagi's new weapon to keep people from asking questions.

Once she was content with how she looked and was certain no one would know about her morning, she turned to look at her little alarm clock. 6:44. Her mother should be up by now, making breakfast. She quietly walked out of the room and descended the stairs until she almost reaches the bottom. Looking into the kitchen, she could see her mother cooking on the stove, humming a tune. Usagi took in a deep breathe, trying to steady her heart so she wouldn't slip up. She made herself smile and took the final step off the stair and entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Mama!" Usagi said brightly as she walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good Morning Usagi," her mother responded kindly, only taking her eyes off the stove for a second to give her a smile. Usagi then took the plates and silverware and started to set the table for her family. Just as she finished, her father walked in, attempting to tie his tie for work but his face showed his true struggle. When he looked up to see Usagi, his struggles were completely forgotten, and a grin graced his face.

"Good morning Usagi!" he greeted her as he placed a kiss on the top of her head as he finally gave up on the tie and made his way to the coffee machine.

"Morning Papa, she answered back as she finished setting her spot, sat down and watched her parents in their morning routine. Seeing this, gave her a moment of storge. To see her mother and father happily going through their morning without a worry. Unaware of what happened over a year ago. When Usagi returned home the night after Galaxia was ridden of her mother and father were sitting in their living room, her mother knitting and her father watching a soccer game on the television. The sliver crystal was able to heal her city and remove the terror that transpired hours before from their minds. Seeing her parents alive and well caused Usagi to run into their arms and happily sob into their arms, hugging then tightly. Of course, her parents were confused to her sudden burst of emotion and asked her why she was acting this way. Despite the fact she wouldn't tell them why, her parents gathered her into their arms and held their eldest child until she finally calmed down. Usagi was so grateful they never tried to ask more and just accepted it as a moment. She would do anything to keep this bliss for them.

While the three of them began to eat breakfast, her younger brother, Shingo, walks into the dining room, phone in his hand and pulling at his middle school uniform collar.

"These collars is choking me to death! Why must we have to wear uniforms in middle school?" Shingo complained as he ungracefully sat down at the table.

"Trust me, it makes it easier in the morning when you have to get ready. Not having to worry about what to wear." Usagi told him as he continued pulling more at his collar in a cartoon type fashion.

"Guess so. At least I make this uniform look so good." Shingo said with an air of vanity that Usagi could help but chuckle at. One of the biggest changes in the Tsukino household since Galaxia was the sibling's relationship. Before it, Shingo and Usagi would always fight with one another and do anything to get under each other's skin, him by mocking her terrible grades, her my mocking his childhood crushes. But after her battle, Usagi found she no longer was annoyed by his antics to get to her anymore. At first, it annoyed Shingo that he couldn't get a rise out of Usagi anymore, until one day, Shingo decided to ask her why she wasn't reacting to his taunts anymore, Usagi Look at her brother with sad eyes and a weak smile. All could do was walk up to him and hug him. She wanted to tell him how losing everything made her appreciate her baby brother. But she remanded silent. No words were exchanged between them, and yet Shingo knew exactly what she was trying to tell him. An understanding was reached that day and from then on, both siblings learned to become friends than rivals.

The family ate and talked about their day plans and how excited they were for Shingo's soccer game this afternoon, while Usagi listen to them talk, smile still on her lips and pushed her food around on her plate. Even though she wasn't sick this morning, the nausea she felt still lingered in the back of her throat, making her lose her appetite for her mothers cooking. All she could stomach was some toast and water, and even that hard for her to take in. She pushed her eggs around to make it look like she eaten some of them. Looking at the clock, it read 7:20.

"I better get going. Don't want to be running late for class." Usagi smiled as she stood up and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Thank you for breakfast mama! It was wonderful!"

Usagi ran back up to her bedroom, went over to her kotatsu and made sure all her notes and textbook were in her bag. Once she was set, she rushed out of her room, quickly put her shoes on and took once last deep breathe before going on with her day.

"I can do this. Just keep smiling and don't let it slip." Usagi mentally told herself.

"I'm going!" Usagi called to the house as she reaches for the door handle.

"Usagi wait!"

She turns around to look at her father standing in the hallway, his arm slightly reaching out to her and his face with an unrecognizable look that left her feeling confused. It seemed like he was trying to figure out what to say to her. Slipping her shoes back off, she walks over to her father and looked up at him. He remains where he stands and stay silent, but from here, she could see his struggle more clearly. But what struggle was he fighting with, she couldn't figure out.

"Papa? Is there something you want to tell me?" she asks calming, but the more he looked at her, the feeling of fear grows in her stomach, turning into knots of discomfort. Her heart began to beat faster than she wants, and the palms of her hands begin to clam up. But then, his face relaxes, and he smiles at her, making the discomfort in Usagi weaken, but not completely vanish. He pulls her lunch from behind his back and places it in her free hand and places another kiss on the top of her head.

"Have a good day sweetie." Is all he says to her.

Usagi looks deep into her fathers eyes, confused by his actions not adding up with his behaviour. This wasn't the first time her father stopped her just as she was about to leave the house and allowed the both of them to stand in the awkward silence between them. But she decided it was probably nothing of importance. Her heart still beat unnaturally fast within her chest, too fast for her comfort. Before she allowed it to get worse by overthinking it, she smiled at her father and slipped her shoes back on her feet.

"I will. Have a good day!" She said back to him as she slipped out the front door and into the fresh air.

Kenji let out a long sigh and covered his face with his hands as he massaged his temple with his fingers to ease the tension. He chickened out. Again. It shouldn't be this hard to talk to his only daughter. She was his little girl, and he her protector. And yet, He knows he has let her down somehow. Usagi has changed. Slowly turning around, he made his way back into the kitchen to see his wife standing at the table, her arms brought into her chests and her biting her nails. She always did this when she was worried or stressed, a habit she had since they first started dating.

"Ikuko?" he called to her gently so to not startle her. She looked up to him and that's when he saw the unshed tears in her eyes.

"She barely touched her food again." She confessed to him as she covered her mouth to avoid making a sobbing sound as her tears fell. He quickly rushed over to Ikuko and embraced her tightly in his arms. Once her face was against his chest, soft sobs echoed from their embrace and Kenji kept his breathing slow to keep his own emotions from boiling over. His wife needed him to be strong now, not breaking down in tears.

They noticed the change with Usagi a few months ago after Kenji was awoken by the sound of Usagi screaming. His fatherly instinct kicked in and he rushed over to his daughter to see what the matter was. She told him she had a bad dream, and she didn't mean to scare him. At first he believes her, nightmares happen to everyone so there was no need to cause a fuss. But after a while, she started to come down in the mornings looking more tired than she did the night before, her skins usual healthy glow was dimming, and her eyes didn't have a shine in them like they once did. It didn't take a genius to guess that her nightmares never stopped. Then, one day after the kids left for school, Ikuko told Kenji that Usagi didn't finishing her breakfast. That was a red flag for the both of them. Usagi's appetite was famous in the Tsukino family. She never left a meal unfinished in her entire life.

So now that Kenji and Ikuko knew what to look for, it was obvious something was going on with their daughter and it was taking its toll on her both mentally and physically. But she wouldn't talk to them. Anytime she was with them, she would always smile and talk upbeat to them and her brother. But it was clear that she was hiding something from them. As time passed, her father noticed her wearing makeup and her mother saw her eat less and less.

"What are we gonna do Kenji?" Ikuko asked him as she looked up from his now damp shirt.

"I wish I knew. All we can do now is be there for her. When she is ready, she'll talk to us." He told her, but it was hard to tell who he was trying to convince. His wife, of himself.

"But it's getting worse!," she cried as her hand clutched his shirt as if it was a lifeline. He slowly placed his hand over hers and helped her release them from their tight grip.

"If we tried to pry in, she will only retreat father away from us than she already has. I want to know what going on as badly as you, believe me. But pushing could make this worse. Please trust me." He begged his wife.

"I do trust you." She softly replied to him.

Fear linger between them as they stayed embraced for a while longer. Both of them needed to know what was happening, and yet feared what answer they would get. If they even got one. But that was up to Usagi.

Warm hair pushed Usagi's hair away from her back as she quietly walked down the streets to her high school. As she walked, her heartbeat was back to a normal comfortable pace and her mind began to slow down. Good. She could pretend to be normal again. Usagi pulled out her phone and started to type a text to her friends that she was on her way over to meet them before school at their usual spot in front of the arcade.

The inner senshi lives have expanded since the battle with Galaxia. Ami was still studying as hard as before, but now she joined the National Student Leadership Conference in the medical and health program. It gave Ami the hands-on experiences and in person training she wants to further her path in becoming a doctor like her mother. It also allowed her to view some of the best medical universities around, which includes her dream school, Kyoto University ,which she has already filled out the applications for, of course. Rei was still a Miko at her grandfather's temple, but now she was training to properly take over as a priestess when her grandfather decides to step down (Rei thinks with the number of scandals he's caused, it'll probably be sooner than later). Despite the fact that learning all of this was taking up a lot of her time now and how she use to say this wasn't going be her future, she ended was loving every second of it and really coming into her own as a true priestess. Makoto now had a part time job as a Kitchen Porter at Sukiyabashi Jiro, a restaurant run by legend Jiro Ono. He saw her cooking after a shift one night and after tasing her food, he took her under his wing and started teacher her all the trick and secret in running a successful restaurant and how to make food an extension of yourself. Makoto's confidence in her cooking at skyrocketed since and has begun planning out what her restaurant will be. Minako finally decided now that peace as finally be achieved on earth, she took up the contract with Takuya Moroboshi to become an idol she always wanted to be. Once her parents agreed, she officially signed the contract and started training with the to make her public debut once she graduated from High School (provided she doesn't fail any classes, which make her start taking her classes more seriously). She took to the training as naturally as being a senshi and kept her friends up to date on all her training. Her new status as a future idol also boosted her popularity at school, with boys now constantly asking her out. Usagi was so happy her friends were all beginning to reach for their dreams, because this was she wanted for them all and they all deserved it.

Suddenly, a loud crash came out of nowhere and Usagi suddenly felt her body go cold and her mind go dark. It was the sound of the black lightening. The image of it covering Tokyo consumed her. Before she realized what she was doing, her body instantly dropped to the ground, letting her bookbag fall to the concreate and her hands immediately went to cover her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that she wouldn't get structed. Another crash came soon after and Usagi could feel tears beginning to break through her lashes and her breathing turned into gasping for air. But the, the sound of kids laughing reached her, breaking her out of her state of mind long enough to open her eyes to look around. It wasn't the black lightening. It was a bunch of middle schoolers from her old school running by her and one of them thought it was funny to strike the empty public garbage pin with a stick. One of the kids saw her ready to cry and shot her a weird look. Quickly wiping her eyes, she grabbed her school bag and stood up, her body still shaking. She felt her face go hot with embarrassment. She tried to continue walking but her body was shaking too much for her and her breathing was too erratic. Her friends couldn't see this. She turned a corner and slid to the ground until she could reach it with her hands. Removing her shoes, she placed her feet against the cold concreate, found a part of the wall to keep her eyes on and waited. Just like this morning, she kept her gaze still and waited. After some time, she felt her body calm down enough for her to stand up without violently shaking. Her breather was not fully back to normal, but she was no long gasping. Good enough. Quickly slipping on her shoes, she began to walk again. When Usagi looked at her phone, she realized she never finished texting her friends and now she had texts from Matoko, Ami, Rei waiting for her.

M: Hey, are you close?

A: Usagi? Did you get lost again?

R: Slowpoke! I can't be late school unlike SOME PEOPLE! Stop making us wait for you!

M: Don't worry about it Usagi, we'll just meet you at school

Letting out a defected sigh, Usagi changed her direction and started to head to her school. She really tried to be on time this time. It didn't matter now. She began to go at a faster pace so at least she wouldn't be late for school and could see her friends for a few moments before the bell. By the time she reached the gates, her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was hard. At the gates, was a tall brunette with a stylish ponytail and a petite blue haired girl talking softly to one another. Makoto and Ami.

"I'm so sorry girls!" cried Usagi as she sprinted the last few steps over to her friends.

"It's okay Usagi-chan. No big deal." Ami smiled over to her as she placed her book back into her school bag.

"I swear I was on my way over…" Usagi started to explain her tardiness until Makoto placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Relax Usagi. We know your mornings are always chaotic and you're always rushed. I mean you're already out of breath." Matoko joked with a smile.

"I guess I just lost track of time. Silly me," Usagi said to them with a bright but fake smile. Then she realized one blonde was missing from their usual school group. "Where is Minako?"

Just as she finished her sentence, a black car pulled up onto the curb and a petite blonde with a red bow glamorously stepped out and flipped her hair over she shoulder. It was Minako!

"Thanks for the lift!" she called to the driver and she closed the door, and the car began to pull away.

"Now that's a way to make an entrance." Commented Makoto with her eyes wide, almost like she is starstruck.

"I know right?! I had some stuff to do in the studio this morning and Moroboshi offered his driver to drop me off at school, so I won't be late! Like an actual star!" Minako squealed as she quickly join her group of friends

"As long as you keep up for grades, you will be a star." Reminded Ami as she checked her watch.

"Oh Ami! Stop being such a mom! Just enjoy the fact that by this time next year, you will be friends with Japan's newest and most popular idol!" Minako stated, pulling an iconic idol pose before her friends as if she expected them to immediately start applauding her. Instead, they began to laugh at her silliness. Minako soon joined them.

As Usagi tried to control her giggle fit thanks to the senshi of love, she took a quick look at her friends. They were relaxed, happy and living the dreams they always wanted to pursue. This is what she fought for. Not only for her friends, but for every one of earth. For them to pursue what they truly love.

What about you?

That thought came out of nowhere. Why would Usagi ever think that?! Of course, she was perusing her dream. She was going to marry Mamoru and become Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo. She wanted this ever since she was 14 and she and Mamoru remembered who they were. Remembered that they loved one another 1000 years ago.

But you are no longer that 14-year-old girl anymore. You've changed.

Before Usagi could allow her brain to dig into that meaning of change and why her own thoughts were going against her, the school bell rang, and everyone started to make their way into the building towards their classrooms. Usagi followed Minako to their homeroom and took their seats just as their teacher showed up. As roll call was taken and class began, Usagi felt herself unable to listen to what he was saying, and her eyes slowly drifted over to an empty desk and chair that was right behind hers. The last student who used it was a very confident, kinda cocky but sincere sailor senshi with terrible fashion.

Her thought were correct, she has changed. But in more ways than her own conscious even realizes.