Taiki left the Great Hall and went to Seiya's room. He knocked a few times and entered, he spotted Seiya sitting in a chair next to the window.

"Seiya, are you okay?" Taiki entered the room cautiously.

Seiya said nothing, as he continued to stare out the window.

"Why did you say that? I know that you love her more then life itself."

"Yeah, I guess I do love her more then life itself." Seiya quietly said. "Therefore, life must not be worth living."

"Don't talk like that! Suicide is never a good thing!" Taiki walked over to where Seiya was sitting and was worried.

"This woman . . . she told me to say it. She told me that the only way to protect her would be to hurt her. And I believed her . . . I can't believe that I actually hurt her." Seiya's voice was monotone.

"What are you talking about? What woman?" Taiki knelt down next to Seiya so he could look at him.

"This woman . . . she came into my room last night and told me that Kimiko was going to try to hurt Usagi." Seiya sighed. "She told me the only thing to do to protect her was to hurt her, even though it looked like the wrong thing. She said that if I did it then she would make everything work out between us."

"Whoa, wait, a *woman* came into your room last night? How?" Taiki was shocked.

"The details don't matter, Taiki. All that matters is that I broke her heart and now I have to marry Kakyuu, and I'm sure that my heart is going to explode from all the pain."

"I'm going to come back in a little bit, okay? I have to go to the bathroom," Taiki lied.

Seiya just grunted at Taiki in response as Taiki left Seiya's room.

Taiki walked into Usagi's room after knocking a few times and getting no response. Usagi was lying on her bed, sobbing.

"Usagi-san?" Taiki shut the door behind him.

Usagi didn't answer, she just continued to cry, her blonde hair was all in disarray and it was spread out all over her bed.

"Usagi?" Taiki walked in and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I knew it was too good to be true, Taiki." Usagi mumbled between sobs.

"But it is true, Usagi-san!" Taiki tried to argue. "What do you mean? He hates me, he never loved me." She sat up and looked at Taiki through her blurry, teary eyes.

"I just talked to him, he told me . . . well, he told me that some woman appeared in his room last night and told him to protect you." Taiki shook his head. "I know it sounds crazy, but he still loves you, if he had said that he loved you to the Queen then she might have had you killed." Taiki sighed.

"They came into my room this morning, and pulled me out of my bed and tied me up, and then they chained me and untied the ropes that they tied me with, even if Seiya doesn't hate me, your Queen does. Why was that necessary?" Usagi sobbed again, she drew her knees up to her chin and cried.

"I wish I could tell you why she did that. But, Usagi, maybe things will work out. Please, just try to be okay, I'll come back in a little while and bring you some food, okay?" Taiki got up and left the crying princess alone.

He shut her door and then leaned up against it. 'Why do I always have to deal with such things?' He shut his violet eyes tightly and a few tears escaped from the corners of his eyes.



"I thought he would never leave." A woman's voice echoed in Usagi's room. Usagi stopped crying and looked up to see a tall woman standing near her bed. Usagi was about to scream when the woman spoke again.

"Serenity-hime, don't be frightened."

Usagi looked at the woman who stood before her with confusion. Her green hair cascaded down her back and it was tied back into one odango at the top of her head. The woman was carrying a staff that had a red orb at the top of it.

"Pluto-san?" Usagi asked, in confusion. "I thought you were dead!" She jumped up and flung her arms around the Senshi of Time.

"Serenity-hime, I missed you so much." She smiled and hugged Usagi back. "No, I am not dead, we need the Senshi of time to live for forever, you know. But . . . all of the other Senshi . . ." Pluto trailed off, sighing. She released Usagi from the hug.

"I know, Pluto-san." Usagi sighed and wiped her eyes. "Will I be able to go back home?"

"Iie, Usagi-san. What WAS Crystal Tokyo has been all but destroyed after the attacks. Oddly enough, the attackers left the Milky Way Galaxy and haven't been heard from since." Pluto sighed. "I suppose that after this, the peace that was SUPPOSED to happen will happen."

"Demo . . . I have no future now, Pluto-san." Usagi fell back down onto her bed. "You must know what happened with Queen Kimiko and Seiya."

"Hai, I do know, and I'm sorry that it turned out this way, but Seiya did what he did from advice from me."

"Nani?" Usagi sat straight up and looked at Sailor Pluto.

"I saw that if Seiya had said that he loved you, then you would have been killed, Princess Serenity or not."

"But couldn't I have used my powers and gotten away?" Usagi let another barrage of tears shake her body.

"Your powers aren't as powerful as they were back home, and The Kimonkians are stronger then you are, here." Pluto sighed. "Usagi, you need to stay in this room until Kakyuu's birthday ball. Admit no one in but Taiki, do you understand?"

"Why?" Usagi looked up at Pluto.

"I cannot tell you, but please, do as I say. I will make sure that things work out if you do, okay?" Pluto smiled gently. "It's time for me to go now, but I'll come back soon." She disappeared in a purple flash of light.

"No, Pluto, stay!" Usagi grabbed for the air as Pluto left. "I'm so alone." Usagi fell back onto her bed and closed her eyes; they ached from so many tears.

Another knock came from Usagi's door, and Taiki came in carrying a food tray.

"I brought you some food, that is . . . if you are hungry." Taiki looked down at the tray in his hands and back at the Golden-haired Princess that sat on the bed.

"I'm a little bit hungry." Usagi crept slowly over to the end of the bed where Taiki held the tray of food.

"Are you . . .?" Taiki tried to ask, but words didn't come out of his mouth.

"Am I what?" Usagi looked up at Taiki.

"Are you really, Princess Serenity?" Taiki squeezed the tray he was holding a little tighter.

"I am, Taiki. If I were someone else then I think I would be better off." Usagi grabbed a piece of food off of the tray and looked at it.

"Then . . . shouldn't you remember me, Usagi-san?" Taiki looked up at her, his violet eyes shining.

"I'm . . . I'm not certain, I used most of my powers to block the memories I had from The Moon, and I don't know if I can ever get them back." Usagi took a bite of the food item, which resembled a piece of toast.

"Hai, I understand." Taiki set the tray down on the bed and started to leave her room.

"Taiki," Usagi called after him.

"Hai, Usagi-san?" Taiki turned back around.

"Can you please stay with me?" She drew her arms around her bare shoulders and shivered slightly. "I'm so very lonely."

"Of course I can stay, Usagi." He smiled a gentle smile and came back into the room and sat on her bed.

"Tell me about your adventures . . ." Usagi started to eat the food that was set before her.

"Well, they aren't very interesting . . ." Taiki started, and Usagi listened intently.

***

Seiya stood on the balcony that overshadowed the garden. He grasped the railing tightly with his hands. 'The last moment we ever had together that we were free . . .' He let a tear slid silently down his face. He thought about the night that he had just sat in Usagi's room. 'It was only last night, but why does it seem like a year ago?' Seiya turned back around and walked down the palace hallways, aimlessly. He suddenly found himself at Yaten's bedroom, and Seiya knocked quietly. A few scuffles were heard and after a few moments, a rather disheveled silver haired prince came to the door, blinking several times as his eyes got used to the dim lights that lit up the hallway.

"What is it, Seiya?" He squinted, he knew he had to get up when he heard the secret knock that only his brothers knew.

"I need to talk." Seiya whispered back.

Yaten rolled his eyes and opened his door wide enough for Seiya to enter. Seiya walked in and turned on Yaten's light as Yaten shut his door.

"Ah!" Yaten shielded his eyes from the bright light that now engulfed his room.

"It's not that bad." Seiya walked over to Yaten's window and stared out into the garden that was outside Yaten's window.

Yaten moaned and sat down on his bed, rubbing his eyes. "What is so important that you have to wake me up in the middle of the night?"

"I . . . I think I'm leaving, Yaten." Seiya kept staring out the window.

"What do you mean, 'you're leaving'?" Yaten's eyes finally adjusted to the light and he stared at Seiya.

"I . . . I have to leave, I have to leave Kinmoku." Seiya sighed, his hands clasped behind him.

"But . . . why?" Yaten stood up and went over to Seiya.

"Well, it's either that or kill myself, and I figured that it would be the tamer of the two."

"But . . . you CAN'T just LEAVE!" Yaten's emerald eyes glimmered with worry. "Besides, Kimiko has almost the entire galaxy in allies, she'll send out a MASSIVE manhunt and she'll drag you back here kicking and screaming."

Seiya was quiet for a moment before his chilling reply came. "I won't come back, regardless of the fact that they had me."

"What . . . what . . . what do you mean?" Yaten's body shook.

"I'll kill myself before I come back to this wretched queen, on this awful planet."

***



[A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, I was visiting my relatives, and I have finals this week. . So. the next chapter will take a little while to bring out. Keep reading!! And don't forget to review!]