[:::four:::]
"Did you hear that Minako?" Usagi questioned her blond friend. "They are going to get the Starlights. They're bringing back your Yaten." She giggled at the last part.
"It's amazing how this little bit of news can change your whole demeanor." Minako's bright smile twisted into a serious frown. "Mamoru did not seem too happy about the fact of the matter though." Minako and Usagi were talking on their way to Usagi's house. She needed to get a few things since she was going to be staying with the outers.
"What do you mean. I didn't notice anything." Usagi said confused.
"Of course you didn't notice anything, you were on cloud nine when you heard about the Starlights. What happened between Haruka and Mamoru to put them on bad terms?"
"I don't know. They have never really been that buddy buddy before, I guess it's just the tension of the situation."
"Usagi." Minako stopped before they went into Usagi's house. "Please remember Mamoru's feelings when Seiya gets here. Remember that you are with him, just think about how it makes him feel when the three of you are in situations together." Minako was concerned for Usagi, she knew that Mamoru would not appreciate her hanging around Seiya as much as she did last time he was here, and she knew about Mamoru's temper.
"What do you mean?" She knew very well what Minako was talking about, the same jealousy that she felt whenever she used to see Mamoru with other girls before. "I always think about Mamoru's feelings." They made their way into the house and collected her things. Just as she finished explaining to her mom where she was going to be a horn blew outside. It was Haruka and Michiru.
The car ride was silent. They first dropped Minako off before heading home for the night.
"You understand why you couldn't stay at your house alone, right Kitten?" Haruka questioned as she put Usagi's bag down in the room she was to be staying in. She had a look of concern in her eyes.
Usagi looked up at the taller woman. "Yes, I understand. I'm helpless right now, its pathetic."
"That isn't the reason why. Even if you could transform I still would have insisted that you stay with us. I failed at protecting you last time, I won't let it happen again." Haruka gave her a kiss on the forehead and left her alone with that thought.
She was happy that Haruka didn't see her as weak, and she could see that she truly cared for her. Unfortunately Michiru saw this too. She didn't view it the same way that Usagi did though. Michiru had never been the one to be jealous, but now she knew how Haruka felt when she flirted with men. This was different though. Haruka wasn't flirting with another woman, she was falling in love with one. Michiru watched that night as Haruka looked over the sleeping Usagi in the moonlight. She knew that Usagi did not return the feelings that Haruka had for her and that they would be together forever. Forever. Would forever be enough when she was second in her heart?
"Rei said that you two are more than welcome to stay at the temple. She has plenty of room." Mamoru explained nonchalantly to Yaten and Taiki. He didn't want to let them know that they made him uncomfortable. "We will meet you here tomorrow for a meeting." Without even waiting for a response he hopped back in his car and sped off leaving a bewildered Yaten and Taiki behind.
"Why do you think Seiya didn't come?" Yaten questioned the taller man.
"I don't know. My guess would be that it has something to do with Usagi though. We should get some sleep. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day." Yaten agreed with Taiki and they headed in.
Since Ami and Hotaru couldn't transform and knew nothing of senshi business anymore they were not present at the meeting the following day. The situation was explained to Taiki and Yaten. "They can be destroyed, however it takes a great deal of energy that not one senshi alone could provide. Therefore I suggest that we should always stay in groups of at least three." Setsuna explained. She still kept her cool face. "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry about how I've treated you in the past." She directed this comment to Taiki and Yaten. They nodded as to accept the apology.
Haruka got up from her seat and made a straight path to them. "Yes, please accept my apology also." She shook their hands. It wasn't often that Haruka admitted that she was wrong and the two Lights knew this. "I wish you had brought Seiya back with you though, we can use all of the help we can get."
"He had other business to attend to and couldn't make it." Mamoru jumped into the conversation before anyone else could say anything. Taiki and Yaten exchanged glances. They knew that he was lying, but they didn't know why.
"Yaten, Taiki!" Usagi had just arrived with Michiru. She gave the two close hugs. "I missed you guys. How have you been? Where is Seiya?" Her face dropped when she didn't spot him in the bunch.
Taiki didn't want to confront Mamoru's lie so he just went along with it. "He had other business at home and couldn't come. We have been fine and I've missed you too."
"Me too." Yaten actually smiled when he said this. His attitude seemed to change now that he wasn't frustrated with his mission and they had gotten their home world back.
Usagi and the other inners decided to catch up on their friends and went out for lunch. Mamoru however wanted nothing to do with them and did not choose to join them, although he had never received even the slightest inklin that he was invited.
The six of them sat in a corner booth at crown. They all were talking like it was old times. "We have almost completed the resurrection of our planet. You should all come to see it when the battle is over." Taiki explained. The others agreed. His tone took a serious turn. "Do you think Miss Mizuno is going to get her memories back?"
A silence fell over the group. No one knew for sure. "I'm sure she will." Makoto said bringing hope back to their eyes. Minako had been quieter than usual and no one seemed to notice except Yaten. He wondered what she was thinking about as she stared passively out the window. This wasn't like her, he wanted to know what happened.
"Minna look." Minako pointed to a woman outside change into a monks robe just as their previous enemy did. "We should transform." Everyone was up and out of their seats before she could finish.
When they were outside Jupiter blasted the figure with her attack. This again knocked the woman's hood back and revealed as silver skin. The woman turned her attention away from the senshi and gave the woman that she was holding a kiss. The senshi could not attack while she was doing this for fear of hitting the victim. When the cloaked figure let the drained woman fall to the ground Mars and Jupiter rushed her.
They were going to find out what this person knew. The silver skinned woman was quicker though and dodged their attack rather gracefully. "Did you really think you could catch me?" She laughed. "Where do you think the name 'Quick Silver' came from?"
Healer didn't like to be taunted and did not hesitate to fire her attack on the laughing Silver. Silver again dodged the attack. "I thought you were supposed to be the most powerful senshi in the universe? My, my how I've misjudged you." Silver quickly jerked her head to the side and saw Mars flying up behind her. A faint smile crossed her lips and Mars faltered for a second.
"Mars NO!" Usagi cried from the sidelines. She felt helpless, all she could do was just sit there. Silver grabbed Mars' arm as she threw her punch. She spun her around and into her tight hold. Mars struggled to get free.
"Say goodbye Mars." Silver said as she leaned in for her kiss. The other senshi watched in horror as the scene unfolded in front of them seemingly in slow motion.
When Silver released her hold on Mars she fell to the ground, not as Mars but as plain Rei. Usagi ran to her friend's side and held her. Before the others had a chance to fire an attack at Silver she vanished pulling her hood up over her head.
"I couldn't save her. What good am I?" Usagi rocked back and forth as she held Rei in her arms. "I couldn't do anything."
The others had detransformed and were at Rei's temple. Rei was resting in her bedroom. The outers had joined them at the temple along with Mamoru. "Now we are three senshi short. This can't keep up, we can't afford it." Makoto said dryly.
"We were all there and we couldn't do anything about it." Minako said with tears welling up in her eyes. "We failed again." These were the first words that she had spoken in a while. Yaten looked at her with concern.
"Where is Usagi?" Mamoru asked. This question was the first that he had contributed to the meeting. Haruka glared at him, an if looks could kill he would have died a thousand deaths. Taiki and Michiru noticed this glare.
"She is with Rei." Makoto explained as she got up. "I'm going to visit Ami, she is after all still our friend even if she's not a senshi."
"I'll join you. We can still hang out as we were before." Taiki said joining Makoto at the door. The two left and headed towards Ami's apartment building.
Minako got up to go and check on Usagi. She looked through the cracked door and saw her just staring at the sleeping Rei. She pushed the door open and slipped in, she crossed the room to come up behind Usagi. "It's not your fault you know." She whispered in her ear. "You can't blame yourself." Usagi turned around and Minako saw the tears in her eyes.
Yaten was watching this scene from the door that Minako had neglected to close. "I was right there and I couldn't do anything."
"We all were. It's not your fault. Sailor Moon couldn't have done anything that we didn't try." Minako tried to comfort her friend.
"Your right." Usagi agreed with her.
"What happened with Haruka and Mamoru did you ask her?" Minako tried to change the subject.
"No, I didn't get a chance to ask either of them. I heard Haruka and Setsuna talking last night. I couldn't make out the conversation but they appeared to be talking about Mamoru and Haruka's tone was harsh." She recalled the previous night's events.
Minako got up. "Maybe we should ask Setsuna about it and by pass the ugly situation without infuriating either of them more." She suggested. "Come on, it's not good for you to be alone right now." She helped Usagi up and they began to walk to the door.
Yaten didn't want them to know that he had been listening to their conversation, he pretended like he was just walking towards the room. "How is she?" He asked.
"I don't know. She should be waking up sometime tomorrow. That seems to be the trend with the victims." Minako explained.
"I'm going to find Setsuna now. I'll let you know after I've talked to her." Usagi said plainly to Minako as she walked past the two.
"She's really taking this hard." Yaten observed as he watched her walk away.
"It's not just Rei." Minako's eyes were also on the departing Usagi then she shifted her glance to Yaten. "What business did Seiya have to attend to that was so important?" Minako asked.
"I don't know. I think Mamoru is lying. If there was important business that needed attending on Kinkomu all of the Starlights would have known about it." Yaten turned to meet Minako's blue eyes.
"Why would he lie? Do you think Seiya didn't want to come?"
"Are you kidding? Do you think that he would pass up a chance to see Usagi again?!" With Yaten's words came their understanding. They both stood there in silence.
"I can't believe that he would risk our safety because of his petty jealousy." Minako fumed.
Yaten was equally angry. "But I don't understand. Usagi loves Mamoru, they are destined to be together, not Seiya." He watched Minako as a faint smile crossed her lips.
"Are you sure?" She asked. "There is more going on here than Usagi let on to you."
Usagi sat down in the living room. Mamoru had left leaving only herself, Michiru, Haruka and Setsuna. The three of them were having a discussion concerning a strategy to predict when the enemy was going to strike next and how to capture it. Usagi didn't want to interrupt them to pull Setsuna aside so she decided to walk outside.
Once outside she sat quietly on the lawn and looked up at the stars. This was the first chance in a long time that she was given to be alone. She was going to soak up every last instence of it. "Beautiful aren't they." Usagi's eyes grew wide when she heard this voice. She look to her side to find Seiya sitting next to her. She had been so captured by the stars that she didn't realize that one had crept up next to her.
"Seiya." She started as she stared at him. He took his eyes off of the stars and looked at her.
"Did you miss me?" He flashed her his sexy smile.
Usagi didn't say a word only embraced him warmly. "Yes, I did miss you."
"I missed you too, Odango." He said softly as he held her.
"I don't understand?" She pulled back. "Why didn't you come with the others?" The look of confusion spread across her face.
Seiya frowned. "Odango, you can't tell anyone that I'm here."
"Why, everyone will be happy to see you, and we really need your help. They have already taken Saturn and Mercury away from us and today they took Mars." Usagi pleaded with him.
Seiya didn't want to explain the situation to her since he didn't want to turn her against Mamoru. "I'm not supposed to be here. You can't tell anyone, not even Yaten or Taiki. Will you promise me?"
"Yes, I promise. Why aren't you supposed to be here?"
"I'll tell you at a later time." Seiya heard the door slide open from the house behind them. As they looked back to see what it was he took off. When Usagi turned her head back from her view he was no where to be found.
"Kitten are you ready to go home now?" Haruka called from the house. Usagi looked around one last time for a glimpse of Seiya but found none. She pushed herself up off of the grass and headed towards Haruka.
Michiru and Haruka drove home in silence. Setsuna had to attend to matters at the gates of time. Usagi was disappointed that she missed her opportunity to ask her the question that was on her mind. When they got home Michiru began to play her violin outside. She would often play to relieve frustration and she had plenty of that now that Usagi was staying with them.
Haruka and Usagi were sitting in the living room staring at the television. Neither of them were actually paying attention to it but instead each were consumed by their own thoughts. "Haruka?" Usagi broke the silence. "What is going on with you and Mamoru?"
"Nothing. Why do you ask?" Haruka lied.
"I see the way you two act around one another now, what happened?" Usagi sat up from her reclined position.
"Nothing happened. I don't know what you're talking about." She didn't want to tell Usagi about the conversation that her and Setsuna had. She didn't like lying to her but she didn't want to tell her the truth about Mamoru either.
"You know, you're not a very good liar." Usagi put her hands behind her head and looked at the ceiling. Haruka smiled at her gesture.
"What makes you so sure that I'm lying?" Haruka was impressed at Usagi's growing maturity. She wasn't whining or carrying on, she was actually playing Haruka's game. "How are things with Mamoru these days?" She had a hint of irony to her voice.
Usagi was thrown off guard when her question was turned around on her. She didn't know how to answer, but from the look on Haruka's face she already knew. "I don't know."
Haruka didn't expect an answer from her when she asked the question, she was just trying to get the subject off of her. "What do you mean you don't know? Has he done something to you?"
"No, nothing like that." Haruka was relieved slightly of her tension. "Its just not the way it used to be." Usagi's face appeared expressionless as she stared at the ceiling again.
"Has he changed?" Haruka wasn't going to let her off that easily with a half-ass answer.
"No, he hasn't changed." Usagi sighed feeling the pressure of Haruka's stare on her. "I have." She took her glance from the ceiling to see the expression on Haruka's face. She expected to see anger and rage but instead met understanding eyes.
"People change. I watched it happen. I knew this day would come." Haruka gave a comforting smile to her. She got up off of the couch to join Usagi on hers. She wrapped her in a warm embrace reassuring her that everything was going to be alright.
Usagi relaxed in the taller woman's hold. She was warm and inviting. "I don't think you understand." Usagi began.
"Yes, I do. I know the look of jealousy. I watched you fall in love with him. I knew that he was leaving and figured that your feelings wouldn't go anywhere. I thought you would be content going back to Mamoru. When I saw the jealousy that flashed in Mamoru's eyes I knew that you weren't." She brought her face down to bury it in Usagi's hair. Its sweet fragrance captivated her mind.
Michiru was standing across the room, she had come in briefly from playing. As she witnessed the scene in front of her she almost lost her signature cool appearance. "Your not mad at me?" Usagi asked, neither of them noticing Michiru.
"No, I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. Do you know why he isn't here?" Haruka broke her hold on the younger girl and pulled back to look her in the eyes. "When Mamoru and Pluto went to Kinkomu he requested a private audience with Kakyuu. Pluto believes that he told Kakyuu that Fighter's assistance wasn't necessary and left her behind."
"What? Why would he do that? We need all of the help we can get." Usagi had confused anger in her heart.
"Jealousy. Jealousy is a very strong thing. Mamoru obviously feels threatened by Seiya's presence and therefore didn't want him around. This is why you see animosity between Mamoru and myself." Haruka paused to regain her composure which she found slipping away. "I couldn't understand why he would put you and the rest of us in danger because of his jealousy. I just want you to be happy."
Michiru came into their view and joined them on the couch. She sat down putting Usagi between herself and Haruka. "Why are you still with him if you don't love him?" She asked.
Usagi's sad eyes met Michiru's. With one word she could answer her question. "Chibi-Usa." Michiru's hand found it's way to her mouth to try to cover the gasp that was coming out of it. "I don't want to lose her."
Haruka always being as blunt as possible said, "You can't stay with him if that is the only reason."
"I can't think of a better reason to be with him." Usagi's voice rose as she was aware of Haruka's insensitivity towards her future daughter's life. "How can I just forget about her? How can I just let her go?"
"Usagi." Michiru whispered as she reached for the girl. Her hands met her shoulders in a sweet motion she pulled the girl to her chest. "She doesn't mean that. Please, we only want what will make you happy."
Haruka wasn't going to let it go that easily she kept pushing. "So you're going to live the rest of your life with a broken heart and let the one you truly love slip away from you? I can't let you do that ." Fury was blazing in Haruka's eyes. "I won't let you do that."
Usagi broke free from Michiru's embrace and flew to her feet. Haruka shot up equally as fast to tower over the smaller girl. "You can't decide!" She yelled up at her. Michiru was still on the couch, she was powerless over the situation. She knew that Haruka wouldn't back down in this fight but hoped that she would.
Their communicators went off simultaneously. Usagi answered hers. It was Venus. She didn't look well. "What happened?" Usagi asked afraid of the answer.
"We failed again. Maker is gone. We destroyed Silver but we were too late." The sadness filled the air. "We are on our way to your house now." (She was referring to the outer's house.) "We have new information about the enemy."
For now Usagi and Haruka's fight was postponed much to Michiru's relief.
"Did you hear that Minako?" Usagi questioned her blond friend. "They are going to get the Starlights. They're bringing back your Yaten." She giggled at the last part.
"It's amazing how this little bit of news can change your whole demeanor." Minako's bright smile twisted into a serious frown. "Mamoru did not seem too happy about the fact of the matter though." Minako and Usagi were talking on their way to Usagi's house. She needed to get a few things since she was going to be staying with the outers.
"What do you mean. I didn't notice anything." Usagi said confused.
"Of course you didn't notice anything, you were on cloud nine when you heard about the Starlights. What happened between Haruka and Mamoru to put them on bad terms?"
"I don't know. They have never really been that buddy buddy before, I guess it's just the tension of the situation."
"Usagi." Minako stopped before they went into Usagi's house. "Please remember Mamoru's feelings when Seiya gets here. Remember that you are with him, just think about how it makes him feel when the three of you are in situations together." Minako was concerned for Usagi, she knew that Mamoru would not appreciate her hanging around Seiya as much as she did last time he was here, and she knew about Mamoru's temper.
"What do you mean?" She knew very well what Minako was talking about, the same jealousy that she felt whenever she used to see Mamoru with other girls before. "I always think about Mamoru's feelings." They made their way into the house and collected her things. Just as she finished explaining to her mom where she was going to be a horn blew outside. It was Haruka and Michiru.
The car ride was silent. They first dropped Minako off before heading home for the night.
"You understand why you couldn't stay at your house alone, right Kitten?" Haruka questioned as she put Usagi's bag down in the room she was to be staying in. She had a look of concern in her eyes.
Usagi looked up at the taller woman. "Yes, I understand. I'm helpless right now, its pathetic."
"That isn't the reason why. Even if you could transform I still would have insisted that you stay with us. I failed at protecting you last time, I won't let it happen again." Haruka gave her a kiss on the forehead and left her alone with that thought.
She was happy that Haruka didn't see her as weak, and she could see that she truly cared for her. Unfortunately Michiru saw this too. She didn't view it the same way that Usagi did though. Michiru had never been the one to be jealous, but now she knew how Haruka felt when she flirted with men. This was different though. Haruka wasn't flirting with another woman, she was falling in love with one. Michiru watched that night as Haruka looked over the sleeping Usagi in the moonlight. She knew that Usagi did not return the feelings that Haruka had for her and that they would be together forever. Forever. Would forever be enough when she was second in her heart?
"Rei said that you two are more than welcome to stay at the temple. She has plenty of room." Mamoru explained nonchalantly to Yaten and Taiki. He didn't want to let them know that they made him uncomfortable. "We will meet you here tomorrow for a meeting." Without even waiting for a response he hopped back in his car and sped off leaving a bewildered Yaten and Taiki behind.
"Why do you think Seiya didn't come?" Yaten questioned the taller man.
"I don't know. My guess would be that it has something to do with Usagi though. We should get some sleep. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day." Yaten agreed with Taiki and they headed in.
Since Ami and Hotaru couldn't transform and knew nothing of senshi business anymore they were not present at the meeting the following day. The situation was explained to Taiki and Yaten. "They can be destroyed, however it takes a great deal of energy that not one senshi alone could provide. Therefore I suggest that we should always stay in groups of at least three." Setsuna explained. She still kept her cool face. "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry about how I've treated you in the past." She directed this comment to Taiki and Yaten. They nodded as to accept the apology.
Haruka got up from her seat and made a straight path to them. "Yes, please accept my apology also." She shook their hands. It wasn't often that Haruka admitted that she was wrong and the two Lights knew this. "I wish you had brought Seiya back with you though, we can use all of the help we can get."
"He had other business to attend to and couldn't make it." Mamoru jumped into the conversation before anyone else could say anything. Taiki and Yaten exchanged glances. They knew that he was lying, but they didn't know why.
"Yaten, Taiki!" Usagi had just arrived with Michiru. She gave the two close hugs. "I missed you guys. How have you been? Where is Seiya?" Her face dropped when she didn't spot him in the bunch.
Taiki didn't want to confront Mamoru's lie so he just went along with it. "He had other business at home and couldn't come. We have been fine and I've missed you too."
"Me too." Yaten actually smiled when he said this. His attitude seemed to change now that he wasn't frustrated with his mission and they had gotten their home world back.
Usagi and the other inners decided to catch up on their friends and went out for lunch. Mamoru however wanted nothing to do with them and did not choose to join them, although he had never received even the slightest inklin that he was invited.
The six of them sat in a corner booth at crown. They all were talking like it was old times. "We have almost completed the resurrection of our planet. You should all come to see it when the battle is over." Taiki explained. The others agreed. His tone took a serious turn. "Do you think Miss Mizuno is going to get her memories back?"
A silence fell over the group. No one knew for sure. "I'm sure she will." Makoto said bringing hope back to their eyes. Minako had been quieter than usual and no one seemed to notice except Yaten. He wondered what she was thinking about as she stared passively out the window. This wasn't like her, he wanted to know what happened.
"Minna look." Minako pointed to a woman outside change into a monks robe just as their previous enemy did. "We should transform." Everyone was up and out of their seats before she could finish.
When they were outside Jupiter blasted the figure with her attack. This again knocked the woman's hood back and revealed as silver skin. The woman turned her attention away from the senshi and gave the woman that she was holding a kiss. The senshi could not attack while she was doing this for fear of hitting the victim. When the cloaked figure let the drained woman fall to the ground Mars and Jupiter rushed her.
They were going to find out what this person knew. The silver skinned woman was quicker though and dodged their attack rather gracefully. "Did you really think you could catch me?" She laughed. "Where do you think the name 'Quick Silver' came from?"
Healer didn't like to be taunted and did not hesitate to fire her attack on the laughing Silver. Silver again dodged the attack. "I thought you were supposed to be the most powerful senshi in the universe? My, my how I've misjudged you." Silver quickly jerked her head to the side and saw Mars flying up behind her. A faint smile crossed her lips and Mars faltered for a second.
"Mars NO!" Usagi cried from the sidelines. She felt helpless, all she could do was just sit there. Silver grabbed Mars' arm as she threw her punch. She spun her around and into her tight hold. Mars struggled to get free.
"Say goodbye Mars." Silver said as she leaned in for her kiss. The other senshi watched in horror as the scene unfolded in front of them seemingly in slow motion.
When Silver released her hold on Mars she fell to the ground, not as Mars but as plain Rei. Usagi ran to her friend's side and held her. Before the others had a chance to fire an attack at Silver she vanished pulling her hood up over her head.
"I couldn't save her. What good am I?" Usagi rocked back and forth as she held Rei in her arms. "I couldn't do anything."
The others had detransformed and were at Rei's temple. Rei was resting in her bedroom. The outers had joined them at the temple along with Mamoru. "Now we are three senshi short. This can't keep up, we can't afford it." Makoto said dryly.
"We were all there and we couldn't do anything about it." Minako said with tears welling up in her eyes. "We failed again." These were the first words that she had spoken in a while. Yaten looked at her with concern.
"Where is Usagi?" Mamoru asked. This question was the first that he had contributed to the meeting. Haruka glared at him, an if looks could kill he would have died a thousand deaths. Taiki and Michiru noticed this glare.
"She is with Rei." Makoto explained as she got up. "I'm going to visit Ami, she is after all still our friend even if she's not a senshi."
"I'll join you. We can still hang out as we were before." Taiki said joining Makoto at the door. The two left and headed towards Ami's apartment building.
Minako got up to go and check on Usagi. She looked through the cracked door and saw her just staring at the sleeping Rei. She pushed the door open and slipped in, she crossed the room to come up behind Usagi. "It's not your fault you know." She whispered in her ear. "You can't blame yourself." Usagi turned around and Minako saw the tears in her eyes.
Yaten was watching this scene from the door that Minako had neglected to close. "I was right there and I couldn't do anything."
"We all were. It's not your fault. Sailor Moon couldn't have done anything that we didn't try." Minako tried to comfort her friend.
"Your right." Usagi agreed with her.
"What happened with Haruka and Mamoru did you ask her?" Minako tried to change the subject.
"No, I didn't get a chance to ask either of them. I heard Haruka and Setsuna talking last night. I couldn't make out the conversation but they appeared to be talking about Mamoru and Haruka's tone was harsh." She recalled the previous night's events.
Minako got up. "Maybe we should ask Setsuna about it and by pass the ugly situation without infuriating either of them more." She suggested. "Come on, it's not good for you to be alone right now." She helped Usagi up and they began to walk to the door.
Yaten didn't want them to know that he had been listening to their conversation, he pretended like he was just walking towards the room. "How is she?" He asked.
"I don't know. She should be waking up sometime tomorrow. That seems to be the trend with the victims." Minako explained.
"I'm going to find Setsuna now. I'll let you know after I've talked to her." Usagi said plainly to Minako as she walked past the two.
"She's really taking this hard." Yaten observed as he watched her walk away.
"It's not just Rei." Minako's eyes were also on the departing Usagi then she shifted her glance to Yaten. "What business did Seiya have to attend to that was so important?" Minako asked.
"I don't know. I think Mamoru is lying. If there was important business that needed attending on Kinkomu all of the Starlights would have known about it." Yaten turned to meet Minako's blue eyes.
"Why would he lie? Do you think Seiya didn't want to come?"
"Are you kidding? Do you think that he would pass up a chance to see Usagi again?!" With Yaten's words came their understanding. They both stood there in silence.
"I can't believe that he would risk our safety because of his petty jealousy." Minako fumed.
Yaten was equally angry. "But I don't understand. Usagi loves Mamoru, they are destined to be together, not Seiya." He watched Minako as a faint smile crossed her lips.
"Are you sure?" She asked. "There is more going on here than Usagi let on to you."
Usagi sat down in the living room. Mamoru had left leaving only herself, Michiru, Haruka and Setsuna. The three of them were having a discussion concerning a strategy to predict when the enemy was going to strike next and how to capture it. Usagi didn't want to interrupt them to pull Setsuna aside so she decided to walk outside.
Once outside she sat quietly on the lawn and looked up at the stars. This was the first chance in a long time that she was given to be alone. She was going to soak up every last instence of it. "Beautiful aren't they." Usagi's eyes grew wide when she heard this voice. She look to her side to find Seiya sitting next to her. She had been so captured by the stars that she didn't realize that one had crept up next to her.
"Seiya." She started as she stared at him. He took his eyes off of the stars and looked at her.
"Did you miss me?" He flashed her his sexy smile.
Usagi didn't say a word only embraced him warmly. "Yes, I did miss you."
"I missed you too, Odango." He said softly as he held her.
"I don't understand?" She pulled back. "Why didn't you come with the others?" The look of confusion spread across her face.
Seiya frowned. "Odango, you can't tell anyone that I'm here."
"Why, everyone will be happy to see you, and we really need your help. They have already taken Saturn and Mercury away from us and today they took Mars." Usagi pleaded with him.
Seiya didn't want to explain the situation to her since he didn't want to turn her against Mamoru. "I'm not supposed to be here. You can't tell anyone, not even Yaten or Taiki. Will you promise me?"
"Yes, I promise. Why aren't you supposed to be here?"
"I'll tell you at a later time." Seiya heard the door slide open from the house behind them. As they looked back to see what it was he took off. When Usagi turned her head back from her view he was no where to be found.
"Kitten are you ready to go home now?" Haruka called from the house. Usagi looked around one last time for a glimpse of Seiya but found none. She pushed herself up off of the grass and headed towards Haruka.
Michiru and Haruka drove home in silence. Setsuna had to attend to matters at the gates of time. Usagi was disappointed that she missed her opportunity to ask her the question that was on her mind. When they got home Michiru began to play her violin outside. She would often play to relieve frustration and she had plenty of that now that Usagi was staying with them.
Haruka and Usagi were sitting in the living room staring at the television. Neither of them were actually paying attention to it but instead each were consumed by their own thoughts. "Haruka?" Usagi broke the silence. "What is going on with you and Mamoru?"
"Nothing. Why do you ask?" Haruka lied.
"I see the way you two act around one another now, what happened?" Usagi sat up from her reclined position.
"Nothing happened. I don't know what you're talking about." She didn't want to tell Usagi about the conversation that her and Setsuna had. She didn't like lying to her but she didn't want to tell her the truth about Mamoru either.
"You know, you're not a very good liar." Usagi put her hands behind her head and looked at the ceiling. Haruka smiled at her gesture.
"What makes you so sure that I'm lying?" Haruka was impressed at Usagi's growing maturity. She wasn't whining or carrying on, she was actually playing Haruka's game. "How are things with Mamoru these days?" She had a hint of irony to her voice.
Usagi was thrown off guard when her question was turned around on her. She didn't know how to answer, but from the look on Haruka's face she already knew. "I don't know."
Haruka didn't expect an answer from her when she asked the question, she was just trying to get the subject off of her. "What do you mean you don't know? Has he done something to you?"
"No, nothing like that." Haruka was relieved slightly of her tension. "Its just not the way it used to be." Usagi's face appeared expressionless as she stared at the ceiling again.
"Has he changed?" Haruka wasn't going to let her off that easily with a half-ass answer.
"No, he hasn't changed." Usagi sighed feeling the pressure of Haruka's stare on her. "I have." She took her glance from the ceiling to see the expression on Haruka's face. She expected to see anger and rage but instead met understanding eyes.
"People change. I watched it happen. I knew this day would come." Haruka gave a comforting smile to her. She got up off of the couch to join Usagi on hers. She wrapped her in a warm embrace reassuring her that everything was going to be alright.
Usagi relaxed in the taller woman's hold. She was warm and inviting. "I don't think you understand." Usagi began.
"Yes, I do. I know the look of jealousy. I watched you fall in love with him. I knew that he was leaving and figured that your feelings wouldn't go anywhere. I thought you would be content going back to Mamoru. When I saw the jealousy that flashed in Mamoru's eyes I knew that you weren't." She brought her face down to bury it in Usagi's hair. Its sweet fragrance captivated her mind.
Michiru was standing across the room, she had come in briefly from playing. As she witnessed the scene in front of her she almost lost her signature cool appearance. "Your not mad at me?" Usagi asked, neither of them noticing Michiru.
"No, I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. Do you know why he isn't here?" Haruka broke her hold on the younger girl and pulled back to look her in the eyes. "When Mamoru and Pluto went to Kinkomu he requested a private audience with Kakyuu. Pluto believes that he told Kakyuu that Fighter's assistance wasn't necessary and left her behind."
"What? Why would he do that? We need all of the help we can get." Usagi had confused anger in her heart.
"Jealousy. Jealousy is a very strong thing. Mamoru obviously feels threatened by Seiya's presence and therefore didn't want him around. This is why you see animosity between Mamoru and myself." Haruka paused to regain her composure which she found slipping away. "I couldn't understand why he would put you and the rest of us in danger because of his jealousy. I just want you to be happy."
Michiru came into their view and joined them on the couch. She sat down putting Usagi between herself and Haruka. "Why are you still with him if you don't love him?" She asked.
Usagi's sad eyes met Michiru's. With one word she could answer her question. "Chibi-Usa." Michiru's hand found it's way to her mouth to try to cover the gasp that was coming out of it. "I don't want to lose her."
Haruka always being as blunt as possible said, "You can't stay with him if that is the only reason."
"I can't think of a better reason to be with him." Usagi's voice rose as she was aware of Haruka's insensitivity towards her future daughter's life. "How can I just forget about her? How can I just let her go?"
"Usagi." Michiru whispered as she reached for the girl. Her hands met her shoulders in a sweet motion she pulled the girl to her chest. "She doesn't mean that. Please, we only want what will make you happy."
Haruka wasn't going to let it go that easily she kept pushing. "So you're going to live the rest of your life with a broken heart and let the one you truly love slip away from you? I can't let you do that ." Fury was blazing in Haruka's eyes. "I won't let you do that."
Usagi broke free from Michiru's embrace and flew to her feet. Haruka shot up equally as fast to tower over the smaller girl. "You can't decide!" She yelled up at her. Michiru was still on the couch, she was powerless over the situation. She knew that Haruka wouldn't back down in this fight but hoped that she would.
Their communicators went off simultaneously. Usagi answered hers. It was Venus. She didn't look well. "What happened?" Usagi asked afraid of the answer.
"We failed again. Maker is gone. We destroyed Silver but we were too late." The sadness filled the air. "We are on our way to your house now." (She was referring to the outer's house.) "We have new information about the enemy."
For now Usagi and Haruka's fight was postponed much to Michiru's relief.
