Time for a new disclaimer… I don't own Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, or Cowboy Bebop Unknown User Normal Unknown User 3 143 2001-10-30T22:21:00Z 2001-10-30T22:25:00Z 4 1604 9143 DellComputerCorporation 76 18 11228 9.3821

Time for a new disclaimer… I don't own Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, or Cowboy Bebop. Why do I include Cowboy Bebop in this disclaimer? True, none of the characters are in the story, but I just had to tell myself (again) that I don't own Cowboy Bebop. I keep forgetting, and thinking I own it. I know, I'm hopeless.

Tides of Darkness

Chapter 9 – Understanding is the Hardest Part

            "I am never going to be able to walk again," Makoto groaned, flopping backwards onto the couch.

            "You are never going to be able to walk? I will never to be able to move again period," Ami retorted, sitting down on the floor. "Oooh, cold stone. This should feel nice against my forehead," she said, leaning her forehead against a marble coffee table leg.

            "Shower. Must take shower," Rei muttered, walking over to the sink and turning on the water, sticking her head under the faucet.

            "Wow," Usagi exclaimed, looking around the room with a grin. "I didn't think you guys would get that tired out."

            "Usagi!! It's your fault!" Minako screeched. "You didn't tell us it would be this hard! Why didn't you tell us??!!"

            "Hey, hey, don't say that. I tried to tell you in the beginning, but I got sidetracked. And then I DID finally say something," Usagi continued, shaking her head and smiling. "And you silly people wouldn't do my instant transmission technique, and… Well, you can't blame me. That's all."

            "Not fair. Not fair," Minako whimpered.

            "Why hello girls! I didn't realize you would be coming!" Bulma rushed into the room, smiling brightly. "How did you all get here? I didn't hear a hover car-"

            An irritable Rei, who stood up from the sink and was patting her face dry, cut off Bulma. "We walked."

            "Oh, that's nice. Did you like the walk over?"

            The only response was a collective facefault, Bulma excluded, of course.

***

            Meanwhile, Usage had slipped off, headed for Trunks room. Pushing the door open slowly, she peered inside and beheld a scene reminiscent of her nocturnal visit. The blankets on the bed were in a rumpled mess, and the only sign that something was underneath them was a lock of lavender hair peeping out. Usagi tiptoed inside, gently shutting the door behind her. How could he have slept through our entrance? We were loud enough!  

            As she stood at the foot of his bed, she decided that the best punishment for his late sleep was a harsh one. Crouching down, she gathered her balance and got ready to spring up.

            "Aieeeee!" Usagi charged, jumping up into the air, and smashing back down onto… an empty bed?

            A thump sounded from the side of the bed, and when Usagi crawled over to investigate, she saw that Trunks had rolled off the bed, taking the blankets with him. And get this – the kid was still asleep!

            "Trunks, your incorrigible. Now did I use that word right? I'm not sure…  O well, I have more important manners to attend to. Such as," and here she paused for a dramatic pause, all the while inching closer to Trunks ear, "BREAKFAST!"

            "Huh? What?" A sleepy Trunks sat straight up, looking around confusedly. "Breakfast? What? Huh? Where?"

            Usagi sat back and smiled. "I thought that would get you up. Now, remember what I told you about the girls?"

            "About their powers?"

            "Yea. Well, I was walking here with them - "

            "You walked here with them? They must hate you now," Trunks joked.

            "ANYWAY," Usagi continued, pretending to ignore what he said, " I was walking here with them and I said something about it, and they owned up. Well, they didn't exactly. I sorta tricked them into giving it away, but all the same, they know I know. And they know that I told you!"

            "They do? They aren't gonna kill me  now, are they? You know, for knowing their secret and all."

            "Of course not! I told them that you were perfectly trustworthy and that you wouldn't tell a soul," Usagi said. "And you won't, right?"

            "Cross my heart. So does this mean that I get to spend some time with them? That one with the black hair was pretty cute…"

            "TRUUUUNKS!"

****

            Back in the living room, each girl had cooled down somewhat, and were now being served milk and cookies by Bulma's mother.

            "Oh my, you all must be so tired after your long walk," she cooed, pouring more milk into Makoto's glass, who happily drank it. "Does anyone want more milk? Cookies?"

            "Me, me!" Usagi chirped, standing in front of Bulma's mother, a big grin plastered on her face.

            "Me too?" Trunks asked, using his puppy eyes for all they were worth.

            "Alright you two, here is the plate," she said, handing them both the plate which was heaped high with cookies. Or rather, WAS heaped high with cookies. Trunks and Usagi finished them off quickly, to say the least.

            "Oh my… it looks like I will have to go bake some more cookies, doesn't it? Now you kids can pour the milk yourselves, right?"

            "Sure!" Usagi and Trunks said in unison.

            "Ok… I'm off to bake now…" She said, turning on her heel and walking into the kitchen.

            "Thanks grandma!" Trunks called out, busy pouring some milk into a glass.

            "Yea thanks!" Usagi added, holding out her glass to be filled. Turning to the coterie of girls on the sofa, she grinned and waved, silently wondering why they were all looking at her with odd expressions on their faces.

            "What's wrong, girls?"

            Once again, the only response was a sprawling facefault.

***

            "So you know now, huh Trunks?"

            "Yea, I guess so…"

            "And you won't ever tell?" Rei continued sweetly, smiling at him.

            "Nope! Course not!"

            "Good!" Rei chirped, before her features turned dark and menacing. "Because, Trunks dear, if you do ever tell, do you know what will happen to you?"

            Trunks opened his mouth to respond, but the question seemed hypothetical, as Rei continued right on. "Do you know what will happen to you? NO, you don't. You don't want to know."

            Rei paused, heightening the dramatic effect. Looking around the group of older girls, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "You all do know what I'm talking about? The… Punishment, the one with a capital 'P'?"

            Immediately catching on, the girls grinned before pasting on expressions equally threatening and dark.

"Yes, the 'Punishment.' I know exactly what you are talking about," Makoto said, grinding her hand in her fist to reinforce the statement. The other girls didn't need to say anything – all they did was start grinning sadistically, aiming everything at Trunks.

            The final result was Trunks getting down on his hands and knees and swearing allegiance to each girl, promising over and over again he would never breathe a word to anyone.

            "Got him wrapped around our collective finger," Ami whispered to Minako, who simply grinned in reply.

***

            "Soooo Usagi, how was school today?" Rei teased, seeing a sulking Usagi walk into the front door.

            "Don't even say the word. All I have to say of school is this – EVIL."

            "Poor girl, what happened?" Rei asked, barely hiding a grin at Usagi's obvious misfortune. "Get detention from Ms. Haruna again?"

            "Ms. Haruna? Who is that?" Usagi asked, becoming confused. "Is there a new teacher?"

            Rei blushed bright red as she realized her slip of the tongue, and began fumbling over an explanation.

            "What Rei means, Usa," Ami stepped in, "Is to ask if you got detention from your teacher. She wanted to know the cause of your late arrival home."

            "Oh, I get it. Yea…" Usagi paused, putting a hand on her head and laughing nervously. "I kinda got detention…"

            "For what, Usagi? What did you do now?" A new voice cut into the conversation.

            "Mom! Ha! Ha… didn't see ya there… errr… well, got homework to do, gotta-"

            "Not so fast, missy. What is all this about detention? You better have a good reason this time!"

            Rei leaned towards Ami and said behind her hand, "See? I knew she had gotten detention before."

            "Err… IwassortadaydreamingboutthingsandIdidn'tknowtheteachercalledme…" Usagi mumbled quickly before running off to her room, only to encounter a grinning Minako and Makoto.

            "What was it you were daydreaming about, Usagi?" Minako asked, a sly grin on her face.

            "Nothing! My mind drifted, that's all!"

            "Drifted to where? Or should I say who, eh Usa?" Makoto elbowed Usagi, her eyes twinkling.

            "Nothing! No one!"

            "It was about Trunks-chaaaaaaaan, wasn't it!!" Minako pestered, uttering a triumphant screech as Usagi blushed and buried her head in a pillow. "I knew it!! Usagi likes Trunks! Usagi likes Trunks!! How kwaii!!!"

            Usagi just groaned, and continued to blush.

***

            "Usagi?" Rei asked sleepily, later that night.

            "Mmmm?" Usagi responded, stretched out on the bed.

            "Do you believe in the afterlife?"

            "Sure, I guess so."

            "So… if you have an afterlife, do you think you had a life before this one?"

            "What are you saying, Rei? That I'm an angel now and living in heaven? I think not," Usagi laughed, her eyes growing heavy with sleep. "Silly."

            "No… I mean, do you think that we had past lives? Do you think you had a life before this one?"

            "Mmmm… maybe."

            "If we had past live, do you think we would have known each other? Do you think that you would have known Trunks? Or Chi-Chi?"

            "Maybe."

            "Do you think you loved someone else?"

            "What, you mean besides Trunls?" Usagi grinned, invisible in the dark. "You know something Rei… I don't think I did. There is always a possiblitiy… but I feel such a connection here, with everyone. Sort of like I have known them before. Me and Trunks… and Gohan… and my mom…"

            "What about us? What about the other girls?" Rei asked quickly.

            Perhaps too quickly. "No. I don't. Not really. No offense, Rei…" Usagi trailed off, wondering why Rei had asked so quickly, with such an odd tone of hope in her voice.

            "Oh… well, you couldn't really be expected to… we did sorta come from no where, huh?" Rei smiled weakly, but her heart wasn't in it. Good thing that Usagi couldn't see.

            "Can I go to sleep now, Rei?" Usagi asked, laughing gently to lessen the harshness of her words.

            "Sure… sure… Wait, one more question, Usagi."

            "Yea?"

            "Do you think… do you think, if you had the chance, that you would go back in time, back to a past life, just for a moment, to see, to experience it?"

            "I – I don't think I would. I don't think I could. Though I might complain about it, I like what I am doing, I like where my life is leading. I don't think I would give it up." Glancing around at the rest of the girls, all sound asleep, Usagi sighed and spoke again. "Can I go to sleep now, Rei? Please?"

            "Yea, sure. I – I just gotta use the bathroom," Rei said haltingly. "Be right back." And with that, Rei got up, making sure her face was turned from Usagi, hoping that the blond girl wouldn't see the tears streaming down her face. Running to the bathroom, and locking the door, she buried her face in the towel and began to cry.

Well all, what do you think? Not a very good ending, but atleast I am getting updates out, ne? Sorry about the long wait…. =) But more is (hopefully) forthcoming!!

Spirit of cosmos

p.s. remember, review! Click the link at the bottom! It come up in a separate window, you can even back out and search for more storie while the window loads! Please!!!