Chibi-Usa looked around at her surroundings. She was standing in front of Usagi's house. It was like it had been the last time she had seen the house. She clutched the time key that was around her neck. She smiled.
"Out of my way, Shingo! I'm late!" cried a female voice from inside.
Chibi-Usa stood starring into the driveway. Then like the blow of the wind, a blonde figure ran out of the house.
Chibi-Usa just said there not saying a thing. The The Odango Atama girl was running in full speed and bumped into Chibi-Usa.
"Watch it!" she yelled. She barley gave Chibi-Usa a quick glace before she was off and running again. She suddenlty stopped half way. She stood straight with her back to Chibi-Usa. "Huh?" she turned around to get a good look at the person she ran into.
She starred at the pink, cone haired girl. They starred at each other for the longest time.
Usagi spoke. "Chibi-Usa?"
Chibi-Usa nodded. Usgai opened her arms and Chibi-Usa ran into them.
They stood there for a minute. Usagi pulled away first. "What are you doing here? Your not in trouble again, are you?"
Chibi-Usa shook her head. "I don't belong there."
"Huh?"
"Usagi. I might have been born in the future, but I belong in the past."
"What do you mean?"
Chibi-Usa sighed. "I love you now, not then."
"Wha.. wha.. what?"
"When I was there, I missed it here. When I was here, I didn't miss it there at all."
"How come?"
"The Sailor Scouts arin't like they are now. You all change after the Earth frezzes over." She paused. "You all grew up."
"Oh! Chibi-Usa! But what about your parents?"
"My mom became Sailor Moon again, and when she's Sailor Moon, she's no longer my mom. She's a wana be Usagi."
"Chibi-Usa. I'm sorry." She looked in the direction she had been going. "Come on. I was just about to meet the scouts at the arcade. They'll be just as surprised to see you as I was."
Chibi-Usa smiled. "Ok. Will Mamo-Chan be there?"
***
"Is that...." Makoto swallowed..."Chibi-Usa?"
"Yep! I'm back!" Chibi-Usa ran and gave Mokoto a hug.
"What are you doing here?" Rei asked giving her the next hug.
"Yes. Why aren't you in the future? Ami asked her . Chibi-Usa gave her a hug.
"I missed you all," Chibi-Usa said. She looked around. "Where's Minako?"
"Surprised as it may seem," Rei said, "it's Minako running last today and not Usagi."
"Hey!" Usagi yelled at her. "I'm on time a lot more."
"Sure, Usagi," Chibi-Usa said. "Your rarely on time."
"But...."
"Look!" Chibi-Usa said pointing. "It's Mamo-Chan!" Chibi-Usa ran at full force toward the man walking toward them. "Mamo-Chan!" Chibi-Usa cried as she gave Mamoru a large hug.
Mamoru looked down at the girl then at the scouts. "Who....?" Then he noticed the pink cones. "Chibi-Usa!?"
"Oh, Mamo-Chan. I've missed you the most." Chibi-Usa knew she was lying. She just wanted to get on Usagi's nerves.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"I missed it here. I like it better here then in the future."
"So you just came back? To see us?"
"Yeah."
"How long are you staying?"
"I can only stay five years at the latest." She pouted. "I wish I could stay longer."
"Chibi-Usa. What about your parents?"
Chibi-Usa looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "They are nothing like you, Mamo-Chan. They changed somehow as they grew."
"How so?"
"I can't explain it very well. My mom and dad tried to become Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask again, but it just didn't work out. They are all grown up. Their not suppose to be fighting, but ruling Crystal Tokyo. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask then were nothing like the real thing. They just....changed somehow."
"It'll be ok," Mamoru said. "Everything will work out."
"I'd rather be here with you, then back there."
"Listen to me, Chibi-Usa. I know you love it here, and we all miss you when your gone, but you can't live your life in the past. Sooner or later, your going to run out of the past and have no where to go but into the future. And staying in the past changed everything your mother and your father will experience."
"I know. I just wish you hadn't grown up."
"Then you wouldn't be alive."
"It's just all to confusing!" Chibi-Usa let the tears fall.
"Is that who I think it is?" said a gasping voice behind them.
Chibi-Usa's stopped crying and turned around. There was Minako.
"It is!" Minako laughed. Chibi-Usa gave her hug. "I can't believe your here! You've grown so much."
Chibi-Usa gave a faint smile and looked back at Mamoru. Usagi was now at his side, holding his hand. Her smile grew widder.
She turned back to Minako. "Yeah. I'm hopping to stay for a while."
Her eyes were bloodshot, but Chibi-Usa was happy. She had her friends who cared about her, and a life worth living. The princess life was just to boring. She wanted action out of her friends, and they always gave her that.
"So what are we doing just standing here?" Minako asked no one in patictular. "Lets go to the Fruits Parlour Crown. I'm hungary."
"Good idea," Usagi said. "I havn't eaten since breakfast!."
"Usagi!" Ami yelled. "That was only four hours ago."
"So what? A girl my age gets hungary a lot. Can I help it?" Usagi pulled Mamoru into the Game Centre Crown. The others followed.
Inside they met Furuhata Motoki (Andrew). "Hey Chibi-Usa!" he said. "Your back for the summer?"
"Yep. And maybe even longer," Chibi-Usa said.
"That's great. I get off in twenty minutes. You guys going up to the restraunt?"
"Yeah," Mamoru said. The two of them were best friends. "You going to join us?"
"Sure. When I get off, I'll meet you guys up there." He waved and went to help a customer.
They contined on to the back of the arcade and climbed the stairs up to the restraunt. They found a large table for all of them and sat down.
"So tell us," Makoto said. "What's going on in the future?"
Chibi-Usa swolled and looked at them. "The Sailor Star Lights."
"What!?" Usagi said. "You've met the Star Lights?"
She nodded. "There was a big battle going on."
"Why don't you start from the beginning," Mamoru suggested.
A waiter walked up and took their order before Chibi-Usa told them her tale.
"Seiya came looking for Usagi. He needed Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts. His planet was being attacked by these people called the Atomics'. My mom left the crown to me and went with Seiya to his planet. New scouts arrived befor they left and...."
"New scouts?" Ami asked.
"Yeah. Sailor Nebula, Galaxy, and....," she paused. "Sailor Astroid. Anyway, after they left, someone else came to me. Sailor Sun. I used my crystal to teleport us to Seiya's planet so that Sailor Sun could be united with the other scouts."
"But didn't you have to look over the kingdom?" Minako asked.
"I do. My mom left me in charge. The weired thing is, someone farther into the future knew what was going on. I met ChibiChibi."
"ChibiChibi!?" they all gasped.
"That's what she called herself. I know you all think she's my future daughter, but shes not. She at least explained that much to me."
"She can talk now?" Usagi said confused. Everyone sweatdropped.
"She was my age when I met her," Chibi-Usa said. "How dumb are you?"
"I'm not dumb!"
"Wana make a bet?"
"Yeah. I'm not the litttle kid."
"You sure act like it."
"And you act like a spoled brat, which you are."
"At least I don't have Odango's [meatballs] for brains."
"At least I have brains," Usagi shot back. She settled back as the waiter came and set their food down.
"You two at it all ready?" Motoki said walking up. He sat in a chair next to Makoto.
"They never quit," Makoto said.
"You know what, Mako?" Motoki said. "I agree with you."
"I think I speak for everyone when I say we all agree with you," Rei said.
Everyone nodded except Usagi and Chibi-Usa.
"I could kill you for that remark, Rei-Chan," Usagi said under her breath.
"What was that?" Rei asked.
"Oh, nothing," Usagi said. She started digging in to her ice cream sunday she ordered.
"So how you doing?" Motoki addressed Chibi-Usa.
"Ok, I guess," she said. She dug into her own ice cream sunday.
Motoki laughed. "She has an appitite like Usagi." They all laughed. "They could be mother and daughter if I hadn't known better."
The laughter was immedenty cut.
"Did I say something wrong?" Motoki asked, confused.
"Um, inside joke," Minako said.
"Oh,ok." He looked at Mamoru. "You havn't said anything."
"Well, ok. I guess I should, huh?" He paused. "Who do you think you'll get next year?" He was talking about college.
"Hopefully I get Guestri-San again. I really don' t want Pequite-San."
"Same here."
Usagi looked up at him, startled. "Your going back?"
"I have to, Usgai. I hope you understand."
Tears sprang to he eyes.
"He's right, Usgai," Motoki said to her. "This is one of the best school medical schools in the world."
"But I don't want you to leave me again," Usagi whined.
"Mamo-Chan!" Chibi-Usa cried. "Don't go!"
"I want to stay, I really do," he said. "But this is a once in a life time oppertunity."
Tears were rolling down Usagi's cheeks. Mamoru tilted Usagi's chin up. "Don't worry. I still have three months here. It'll be the same as it was last year." Mamoru kissed her on the lips.
Chibi-Usa was glad to see them kiss. Her parents had never done that in front of her. They were the real thing. Her parents were fakes.
Usagi's tears subsided. She gave a half smile and looked around.
The scouts started laughing. Chibi-Usa just smiled, not joining in the laughter.
"What's wrong, Chibi-Usa?" Usagi asked.
"Nothing." That's when Chibi-Usa realized that she was acting differently then what she would have. She was acting more mature. She was growing up.
We all have to grow up sooner or later. Those were her father's words. And he was right. No matter how hard she tried to get away, she was still going to grow up.
No matter how hard she tried not to cry, the tears came. First in little droplets, then in big drops.
She wanted the past to last for ever, but she knew no matter what time she was in, her body was still going to grow. She wanted everything to be the same as it used to be. But they were older, and so was she. Ske knew things would never be the same again.
"Chibi-Usa!? What's wrong?" Usagi asked.
"I grew up," she said just above a whispear. She jumped up from the table and ran out of the restraunt. She ran down the stairs to the arcade, and went flying out the doors.
She raced down the street until she reached Mayfair Park. She ran out to the dock where she had first met Usagi and Mamoru when she was only six. She stood on the dock looking out into the lake.
"You know you don't belong here," a strange voice said behind her.
Chibi-Usa turned around to see the face her freind and fellow Sailor Scout.
"Hotaru!" This time tears of happiness fell down her cheeks. Hotaru had been one of the few friends she had besides the other scouts.
Chibi-Usa gave her a hug. Hotaru hugged her back then pulled away. "You need to go back, Chibi-Usa."
"I know," she said quitly.
"You figured it out?" she said in a soft loving voice.
Chibi-Usa nodded. "No matter what time I go to, I'm still going to grow. And so will you and the scouts."
Hotaru nodded. "You shouldn't run from your destiny, or you life. Your mother didn't."
"What do you mean?"
Hotaru sighed. "Did they ever tell you about Queen Barel and the Negaforce?"
"Only bits and pieces."
"Do you know how Queen Barel was defeated?"
"Sailor Moon banished her back where she belonged."
"No."
"What?"
"Usagi was afriad to fight Queen Barel. She watched as her friends died, one by one. Her courage to face Queen Barel by herself came from the love of her freinds. The only way she could get to Queen Barel, though, was to kill the one she loved."
"Mamo-Chan!" she gasped.
Hotaru nodded. "Barel retreated and gained even more power then what she had. But because her love was so strong, when Queen Barel attacked her, she became Princess Serentity. The love of her friends is what saved her, and this planet."
"I never heard that version before. But how do you know?"
"I was there watching. They never knew it, but my spirit was watching over them. It wasn't until later that I was reborn back into my body."
"So, your saying the love for my friends is what's keeping me here?"
Hotaru smiled. "Something like that."
"I know they need me there, too."
"Then you should go with them. Full fill your destiny like Princess Serenity did."
Chibi-Usa smiled. "I get it. It was her destiny to defeat Queen Barel, as it is my destiny to stay and help my friends when they need it."
"Your finally understanding. Your finally growing up."
Chibi-Usa's smile grew. "Do me a favor?" Hotaru nodded. "Tell the scouts and Mamo-Chan that I'll miss them and that I'll see them in the future. I have my destiny to complete." Hotaru nodded again. "And tell them that I love them. Especially Usagi."
Hotaru smiled and gave a little nod. "Good bye, Small Lady. I'll see you in the future."
Chibi-Usa pulled the time key out from under her shirt. She raised it in the air. "Crystal Time Key! Take me back to the future! Back just before I left so that I can complete my destiny!"
A light beam of light sprouted from the key and up in the air. Chibi-Usa was lifted into the air. She kept looking at Hataru.
"Chibi-Usa!" came a cry.
Chibi-Usa looked up to see Usagi and Mamoru running toward her.
"Chibi-Usa!" Usgai yelled. Mamoru yelled her name, too.
She just waved to them, then disapeared into the time gate. She was leaving behind her past, and heading toward her future.