Title: It's In Her Kiss...

Chapter Ten

Author: KissThis

Rating: Pg-13...might change to R in later chapters.

Summary: Takes place about a year after the fight with Galaxia and the leaving of the Starlights. Visions plague Healer, and she desires to return to Earth. And a romance ensues with many obstacles and bumps along the way. Usagi/Yaten

Disclaimer: All Sailormoon paraphernalia belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. The plot, though, was dutifully thought of and recorded by my faithful plot bunnies.

A/N: Omg! That just came out! I've decided to turn this into a full-blown fanfic; complete with a never-before thought of (I think) baddy and an "evil" plot. It's gonna be so cool! Anyway, don't freak out from last chapter! I couldn't just kill Usagi…just read!

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Usagi shuddered but strangely felt no pain. She opened her eyes that she had reflexively squeezed shut when she'd heard the gunshot. A quick glance to the left revealed that she had in fact not been shot, but rather that the bullet hadn't hit her. Instead it had left a faint trail through the sand and buried itself in the dunes.

"That was a warning shot. Next time I won't miss."

Usagi started to rise. Her attacker growled and aimed a kick at her prone stomach. It connected and sent Usagi skidding sideways. The rough sand cut harshly into her skin with the force at which she was ploughed into it.

It was now that Usagi finally had an opportunity to look at her attacker. It was difficult to pinpoint specific features in the dusty moonlight that had descended on them, but it didn't matter. The weak light was enough...

"Uranus?!"

The sandy-haired, sailor senshi of wind took step forward in the sand. The light ocean breeze stirred the golden bows of her fuku and lifted the edge of her navy skirt blending it into the darkness.

"Surprise..."

The small, silver handgun appeared to be held loosely in the older woman's grasp, but the restless fidgeting of Uranus' finger on the trigger offset Usagi. The utter contempt and loathing splashed across her "friend's" face only cut Usagi deeper when Uranus' lips curled into a psychotic snarl.

"It can't be!" Usagi coughed. "What's going on?"

"Your right Sailor Moon. We're not who you see before you."

Two more figures, distinctly female, appeared on either side of the gun-wielding Super Sailor Uranus.

"Mars! Fighter!"

Despite the gun pointed at her Usagi scrambled to her feet and stumbled a few paces through the sand before collapsing to her knees. Fighter kneeled before her and took Usagi's face in her hands. Callused but warm hands wiped the tears from Usagi's splotchy face. Still sobbing Usagi struggled to lift her face to look at one of her closest friends.

"S-Seiya...w-what's going on...?"

"I love you Usagi. I came back for you."

Usagi couldn't think straight.

Everything was so...confusing

"W-what…w-what did you call me?"

"Just tell me you love me and we can be together..." Fighter ran her fingers through Usagi's wet tresses in a soothing and intimate manner.

"You said Usagi...S-Seiya never c-calls me that..." Usagi hiccuped and started to cry again. "You're not her!"

Fighter pulled back to rest on the balls of her feet. She pushed back Usagi's damp bangs that had become plastered to her forehead and rubbed the tears from the corners of her eyes with her thumbs.

"Of course I'm not." If Usagi could have seen through the waves of tears that continued to pour from her eyes she would have seen the strangely dark smile on "Fighter's" face as she rose to her feet.

Fighter brushed sand from her black, enameled fuku, before looking down at the cowering Princess of the Moon. "I'm dead." Usagi's head snapped up and her sobs instantly fell to subdued sniffles. The caring face the woman had adopted, under the façade of Fighter and her emotions, hardened and all traces of kind feelings were nullified.

"You killed me bitch!"

Usagi spit up sand and wiped the gritty substance from mouth. The pain in her side from where "Fighter" had kicked her screamed at her. Fighter danced around in amusement while biting down on her knuckle in a vain attempt to stifle insane giggles. The sick pleasure this woman got from manipulating her mind made Usagi want to vomit.

"That's enough Suki." "Mars" ordered. The one she had called Suki hesitated a moment, but stepped down with a nod of obedience. Mars stepped forward, but from behind her back, Fighter/Suki's appearance wavered under Usagi's azure gaze.

Mars had taken the gun from Uranus, when Suki noticed Usagi's surprised look. "Yuni! We have to go now."

Mars, who Suki had called Yuni, whirled around to face her partner. Suki's appearance wavered again, alerting Yuni to the nature of the situation. "It seems you've gotten a lucky break, Sailor Moon."

"We'll be back, and then I can have my way with you," Suki giggled childishly, "You're my new favorite plaything..."

Now both Yuni and "Uranus" were flickering back and forth in front of Usagi.

"You will pay for your crimes against The Old Code of the Sailor Senshi." Uranus insisted in a gruff tone. "And you'll never know when you'll die..."

"Sleep well tonight, Princess." Suki giggled.

Usagi's fists clenched around the cooling sand. Anger and immense fear rose inside her, but above that something else resurfaced. After years of lying dormant with disuse her super sense of love and justice on the grand scale of Earth flared inside her. Summoning up her strength, both physical and emotional she gave them the trademark glare of Sailor Moon filled with stubbornness and defiance.

"I fear not ghosts, I fear them not!" As an added flair she threw up her arms and flung the sand that she had clutched in her small fists at her flickering attackers. With another laugh from the decidedly insane Suki the trio disappeared leaving Usagi's weak attack of sand to fall back to the shore were it had come from.

Usagi laid in the sand for the longest time thinking if the entire thing had been real or simply a wine induced dream. The thing that troubled her most was the fact that they had said she had committed crimes against the Order all Senshi held Sacred. Only the realization that Yaten was out there somewhere stirred her from her confused stupor and gave her the strength to get to her feet.

Sand stuck to her entire body from being kicked around in it while still dripping wet. Her eyes scanned the still rolling waves of water in search for a sign of Yaten. She figured that the underwater explosion was connected to the strange trio in a deadly way. It was a terrifying thought when she realized that these women that were out to kill her weren't idiots. They weren't amateurs. They had planned the explosion while she was swimming in hopes of killing her then. And when she didn't...they had a back-up plan. They knew what they were doing, and what they were doing was trying to kill her.

It was then that she stumbled over Yaten's half-conscious body sprawled in the sand. Her lower half lay in the shallows with an arm about a piece of driftwood to keep from being pulled back out by the tide. Despite the sand that covered her washed up body, Yaten's skin was icy blue; her lips strained and purple.

The splotchy blue of her skin was freezing to Usagi's touch as she drug Yaten's body from the water. Her pulse was weak but steady and her breathing faint but even. She pulled Yaten into her arms and stumbled up the shifting dunes. Nearing their picnic site Usagi sunk to her knees and dropped Yaten upon the blanket. She wrapped the checkered cloth about Yaten and rubbed it briskly across her skin to bring warmth back to her body.

Usagi didn't stop until Yaten's skin was bright red and she was satisfied that Yaten was no longer in danger of catching hypothermia or pneumonia. Then she tugged Yaten's sweater back on and wrapped her lower body in the picnic blanket.

She did all this on autopilot. Her mind had retreated somewhere distant to mull over the recent happenings. Only Yaten's well-being kept her from sinking into despair that came with the realization that evil had risen once again. She mentally berated herself for allowing herself to believe that all evil and chaos had been defeated. How naïve she had been...

Laying Yaten in the back of her car she climbed into the front and started up the engine, while racking her brain. As she speed down the streets of Juuban the water dried on her skin leaving salty residues mixed with streaks of sand. Too rattled to think of anything but Yaten's health she had left her clothes lying on the beach. With her damp hair waving in the breeze and slapping across her face she hardly noticed the stares she was getting driving around town in her underwear. Her brain started working again and she thought she remembered something about a party at Rei's.

Making a wild U-Turn in the middle of the street she pressed down harder on the gas and raced to the Hikawa Shrine.

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The screeching of tires was heard over the din of the music, but the women paid it no heed, until there was a loud and demanding pounding on the door. It was Hotaru who stopped dancing and bounding over to the door slid it open.

The music was immediately shut off at Hotaru's scream. There were no words uttered as Usagi walked into the room on unsteady feet; Yaten held protectively in her arms.

"Ami..." She whispered. "Ami!" This time her voice was louder and more urgent. "Help me..."

The blue-haired woman pushed through the shocked group of bodies to her distraught friend. Together they lowered Yaten's wrapped body to the couch and Ami began checking her vital signs and ordering the others about.

"Makoto! I'll need a bath drawn. Make it HOT." The brunette nodded brusquely and disappeared into the bathroom.

"Rei, find some blankets for Usagi before she catches a cold." Usagi's head snapped up as the raven-haired miko passed her. Instinctively, she backed away.

"Setsuna, you'll have to find some dry clothes for them." Setsuna started to leave the room, but Usagi grabbed her arm.

"No, I need you." She managed through teeth that were starting to chatter.

"Michiru." The aqua-haired woman nodded and glided from the room in the direction of Rei's bedroom. Usagi took a shivering position beside the couch as Ami worked. She laced her fingers through Yaten's limp and cold ones.

A hand touched Usagi's shoulder, "What happened?"

Usagi's terrified scream grabbed everyone's attention. The blonde scrambled backwards from Seiya's hurt form, and backed herself into a corner. She futilely tried to wedge herself deeper into the crevice between the two walls. "Leave me alone!" She hissed.

"What's wrong Odango?" Seiya asked dropping slowly to her knees.

"Y-you called me…O-Odango!" Usagi flung herself at Seiya and tackled her to the ground. Seiya was stiff with shock at Usagi's seemingly wild "mood swings" while the blonde continued the sob into her tank top. Finally she allowed her arms to wrap around the petite woman's back and rub it soothingly.

When Usagi was finally able to lift her head from its makeshift bed of Seiya's shirt it was to look up at her friend's concerned faces through puffy red eyes.

"Your Highness?" Setsuna prompted.

Usagi sat up from where she and Seiya had been sprawled. She wiped her eyes free of sand, salt, and tears before glancing over at Yaten's semi-conscious body on the couch.

"It's time for the Senshi to come out of retirement..."

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R & R!

It's a bit confusing right now I know, but more things will be explained in the next chapter. Please stay with me here, AND review! No one did the last chapter and it made me feel all empty inside! I could hardly right this chapter without that fuzzy and warm inspiration, so you better review this one so the next will be super good!

KissThis