Part V

Sailor Moon began to flutter her eyes. She had been stirring in the bed in the guest room of Rei's temple. Throughout the night Rei had been sitting, waiting, and watching eagerly. She was back, she was really back. Where had she been this whole time? These thoughts and more ran through her head.

"Where am I?" The previously silent figure mumbled as she brought her hand up to touch her forehead.

Rei shifted a bit from her seated position and came up closer on her knees. "It's alright. You're at my house." She answered in a hushed tone of voice.

Sailor Moon's eyes looked to the side to capture Rei in her sights. "Who are you?" She asked.

Rei was thrown off guard by the question. "Usagi. it's me. Rei." She said. How hard had Fighter's attack hit her?

"Oh I'm sorry Rei." Sailor Moon smiled at her. "It's just been so long." She looked down in her lap.

Rei smiled back showing that she understood. "Why don't you detransform now and we'll get you something to eat." In one quick movement she was on her feet and turning to walk out the door.

Sailor Moon smiled back. Once Rei was out of the room she got up and walked around taking in her surroundings. She walked over to the dresser that was pressed up against the far wall. On top of it were pictures. She immediately recognized the black haired girl in most of them to be Rei. Her eyes wandered until they came upon a picture in a frame labeled best buds. It was a picture of Rei and a girl with long blond hair done up in two buns with two long pigtails flowing from either one.

The door opened again suddenly to expose Rei standing in the hallway. "What are you doing?" She asked bewildered carrying a trey with two bowls of rice. "I thought you were going to change?"

"Sorry. I just got caught up looking at the pictures." She said setting the frame she had just been admiring down.

Rei walked up next to her to see what she had found so interesting. "That is a great picture of you and I, ne?" She turned her head to smile at her.

Sailor Moon nodded and detransformed. Usagi stood in front of her friend. Rei had to display a huge smile. It had been so long since she had seen this face.

The two sat down to enjoy their small meal. Rei was impressed that Usagi wasn't eating like a pig as she had before. "When are we going to see the other senshi?" Usagi asked.

Rei was once again stunned to hear her ask this. Usagi had never referred to their friends as senshi unless she was Sailor Moon. "Uh. we can go and see them as soon as we're done eating, I guess."

"Great!" Usagi said as she began inhaling her food in true Usagi style. This was the Usagi she remembered.

@~~~@~~~@

The thumping of the bass resounded through the air. Minako sat quietly on the couch looking hopelessly out the window. She could feel her insides vibrating with every pluck of a string. Yaten had been at this all morning and hadn't even let up for a break. Minako casually turned her head to look in her direction. She was still going at it as furiously as ever and then it happened, she broke a string.

"Damn!" Yaten stopped playing and set the bass down next to the couch and joined Minako. "Gomen." She said as she leaned her arm on the side.

"For what?" Minako asked but she knew that she had been apologizing for calling her over here early this morning and then ignoring her to take her frustrations out on her instrument.

"I just can't figure this out." She said after a sigh. "Why would Fighter have done that?" She picked her head up and showed Minako her puzzled face.

"I don't know either, but you heard her yourself, she doesn't think that's really Sailor Moon." Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

Kakyuu walked in and shot them both a smile. Why was she smiling at a time like this? All of the Earth senshi wanted Fighter's head on a platter they, didn't even seem to want an explanation and she was smiling? "Have you heard from Seiya?" She asked as she set down her bags.

"No, nothing." Yaten replied as she got up.

"Where are you going?" Kakyuu replied. Minako was still sitting on the couch between the two standing opponents.

"I'm going to see Usagi. is there a problem with that?" Yaten asked giving Kakyuu the eye. Minako stood to join her.

Kakyuu shook her head. "No there's no problem with that." She started to walk to the kitchen. "You're just the last person that I would have expected to want to go and see her."

Without another word Yaten and Minako left the apartment and headed for Rei's temple. "Slow down." Minako called from behind.

Yaten had taken up a pretty quickened pace. There must have been something really plaguing her thoughts to exert energy like this.

"Why did you want to go and see Usagi?" Minako asked when she caught up after Yaten had slowed her pace.

"I want to see if I can see what Seiya saw. I have to see if she was right." She said while still looking forward.

"Are you saying that you believe her? You don't think that it's really Usagi?" Minako asked incredulously.

Yaten looked over with a sort of smile. "Of course I believe her. Why wouldn't I? I believe that she really thinks that it isn't Usagi but that doesn't mean that's true. I will always support Seiya but I need proof to defend her."

Minako nodded that she now understood.

@~~~@~~~@

"Who was the senshi that blasted you? Have you found out why?"

"I barely know anything. I was lucky enough to discover my own identity to change into before they got suspicious. I hadn't planned on getting knocked out."

"Well you'd have to keep up the show for a little longer. Do the others believe you?"

"Yes, they seem to. The only one who seems to have a problem with me is Sailor Star Fighter. Perhaps she will be my first target."

"You will not be able to defeat her when she is a senshi, you must find out what her alternate identity is to do so. This is why we are sending you here in the first place."

"Sailor Moon has been gone for so long that it doesn't really matter if I slip up a few times, they'll just think that it's been hard on me and that my mind just isn't what it used to be."

"I wouldn't be too overly confident. Just get back there and continue your mission, you have to find out the real identities of the Sailor Senshi."

@~~~@~~~@

"Are you going to leave me now?"

Mamoru looked over from what he was doing to address the girl. "What are you talking about?"

Ami closed the book she had been reading. "Now that Usagi is back, you're going to leave me."

Mamoru moved closer to her and took her into his arms. "No, I'm not going to leave you. No matter who comes back." He smiled down at her.

"Honto?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes. Her questions seemed to be coming out of nowhere, the room had been silent for a long time before.

"Really."

Ami held him tighter as she smiled. "I just thought that the future being what it was that you two would be together again. She's going to be so lonely." She didn't look up at his face when she said this and it's probably better off that she didn't. The distressed look on his face would have been enough to encourage her to continue her string of questions.

@~~~@~~~@

Seiya sat and looked out the window. What was going on? Was this a new enemy? She looked over at Kenada who also seemed to be in deep thought as he stared motionlessly down at his bills. The silence was peaceful and they both seemed to be benefiting from it, but they knew it had to be broken some time.

"Do you think it could be some one from the future?" Seiya asked remembering the stories he had told her a long time ago.

"No. I don't think so. but that doesn't mean that I'm right." Kenada turned her head to address Seiya.

Seiya got up from her seat by the window and walked over to the small table that Kenada was seated at. "I'm so stupid, I can't even go over there and check out the situation now." She ran her fingers through her hair.

Kenada made no motion to comfort her because she knew that it would have made no difference. "You did what you thought was right. I would have done the same thing if I was you."

These words held little to no comfort for her and she continued on with her worries. Without saying a word to Kenada, Seiya reached for the phone and began to dial. Kenada didn't question who she was calling but instead just sat back and observed. "Hello Kakyuu."

"Seiya? Where are you? Are you alright? What happened?" Kakyuu sounded a bit distressed on the other end.

Seiya laughed a bit. "So you still think of yourself as my mother and guardian huh? I'm fine and I'll give you one wild guess where I am." She laughed again as she looked over at Kenada.

"I believe you Seiya, I just hope you know what you're doing." She had calmed down and put true sincerity in her tone.

"Thank you, it means a lot to me to know that you of all people still believe in me." Seiya sighed and seemed to release a breath she had been holding. "How is everyone else handling this?"

"I don't know where Taiki is and Yaten just left here with Minako to go see 'Usagi'. The Earth senshi are ecstatic about the whole thing and I believe they're all getting together in a little while to see what's all going on." She paused to see if there was going to be any other reaction from the other end. Nothing. "Was that all you needed to know?"

Seiya smiled. "Yes, thank you. You'll keep me posted right?"

"Of course, I'll do anything for you." Kakyuu smiled at the thought of her little Starlight.

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"What are you doing?" Makoto questioned as she walked in the bar. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon the place was still pretty crowded. Cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air as did the smell of alcohol.

"Whahut dwo oo scare?" Taiki slurred incoherently. She was wasted but still showing no signs of slowing down.

Makoto stood tall behind her afraid that she would crash off her stool at anytime. "The answer you're looking for isn't at the bottom of that bottle you know." She put her hands on Taiki shoulders but said her statement with enough force to let her know she was serious.

"Yah, well it twasn't tat the bottom of any of stoes botchles eagerth." The words slurred out of her mouth again while she pointed to the pile of empty bottles next to her.

The bar tender, who had been drying out glasses came over to them. He had gotten tired of refilling her glass every five minutes so he had given her the bottle. A small puddle of spilt liquor, an almost empty bottle and a full shot glass sat on the bar between Taiki and the bar tender. "I think you've had enough." He said.

"You think she's had enough?" Makoto questioned astounded. "Where the hell were you when she got this way, you're just noticing this now!"

"Hey lady, it's not my job to baby sit the people who can't hold their liquor!" He walked away disgusted and didn't see Taiki flip him off.

Makoto quickly grabbed her and supported her out of the bar acting as a human crutch. They weren't going to be able to see Usagi now, Makoto had to take care of the drunk Taiki. "What were you thinking?" Makoto lectured as they headed down the road to in her car.

There was no answer from the passenger seat and when she looked over she noticed that Taiki had passed out. She knew very well why Taiki was in that bar. Everyone could see that she still had feelings for Ami and now with the new news about her and Mamoru she understood the pain she must have been going through. Ami was somewhat cruel in her let down of Taiki but figured that it was the best way to help her start to get over it.

Taiki wasn't really one for talking and it was no surprise that she would seek solace in a drink. Hell Makoto had even done it before. It was hard to be the odd one out and to have no one to turn to and talk to. This was especially hard for Makoto since Usagi had left, she had always been the one who would listen to her no matter what and make her feel better with her innocent views on things. She knew that her and Taiki were in the same boat and perhaps that's why she wasn't mad about having to take care of her.

@~~~@~~~@