When I Was A Little Girl

Chapter 11

By: Chibi J

Rated: G

Edited by: Sailor Sista

Standard Disclaimers

This is dedicated to all my friends at Aria's Asylum. You have kept me sane during a difficult time in my life. You all provide me with a light and happiness that can never be duplicated. *gets out box of tissues* sorry, I've been in a slightly mushy mood lately.

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I feel strange. As if floating in a large pool of water. I don't feel that I can relax and I am not moving, I'm just floating. I'm surrounded by a current of emotions that are hitting into the sides of my body and often floating over me. It's a very odd and complex feeling.

**Knock Knock**

"Hai!" I yell, sitting up on my bed. I was getting tired of contemplating life anyway. I never got any further than a wandering thought.

"Usagi, may I come in?" Luna asked from just outside my door. It seemed strange that she asked to enter. It had just been accepted that Luna stayed with me. Normally, she would just enter unannounced.

"Hai Luna, come on in." After a moment of brief scratching at the screen, Luna slid the door open. She seemed rather down and since curiosity killed the cat, I wondered what she had been up to.

"What's up Luna, you don't look too happy." I asked, knowing how Luna had a way of taking her time to get to the point.

"Well, Usa, something Mamoru said last night has been bothering me." She replied as she jumped up on the bed next to me. Just yesterday Mamoru confessed to being Tuxedo Kamen and that he knew I was Sailor Moon. We had a meeting with everyone, including Shingo and Grandfather. Everything was brought into the open, leaving poor Mamoru with an overwhelming amount of information to process.

"What did he say?" I asked, not truly remembering him say much of anything except oh and uh-huh.

"He mentioned the moon wand. Actually, he asked if anyone had control of the moon wand yet." Luna said then gave a long pause. I was about to ask her for more information or to explain why this bothered her, when she began to speak again. "The moon wand is a powerful weapon that can kill or heal an enemy. It has always belonged to the most powerful and leader of the Sailor Senshi."

I took a moment to process this thought. Luna had said before that we were the only Sailor Senshi. "Do you still have the moon wand?" She had not given this weapon to any of us yet, perhaps because she didn't have it. Or did she not trust any of us.

"Yes, I have it. I have been waiting to give it to its proper owner." Luna said. She looked up from the bed, where her eyes had been for some time. Staring into my eyes, I noticed that Luna had a look of fear.

"What is it Luna?"

"Usagi, I am afraid to give the moon wand to its owner. With it comes more responsibility and great difficulty. The decision of who should live and who should not is a terrible burden."

"But Luna, I'm sure that as a team, we can work through these kind of problems. Whomever you deem worthy of leader, no matter which of the girls you decide, can live up to your expectations." I assured the fearful feline.

Small tears started to drop from Luna's eyes. I reached out and stroked the back of her head, effectively stopping the tears and causing her to purr. "Luna, I know that this is a difficult choice for you to make, but I believe that the team is ready for a leader. We know that you will make the right choice."

Luna nodded her head in agreement and jumped from the bed. She made her way over to my dresser and pushed the all call button on my communicator that had been sitting next to my alarm clock. Within a moment, all of the Senshi, Mamoru, and Haruka had answered.

"We need to have a meeting tonight, 7:00. Everyone must attend." Luna said briefly and then signed off. She nodded her head at me as a sign of good-bye and left the room.

Once again, I was left with time for just my thoughts and me. This time, however, they circled around my curiosity of whom Luna would name as leader of the Sailor Senshi. My guess was Rei, but I would have to wait to find out.

~*~

"Attention Everyone! Youma at the base of Tokyo Tower!" Ami broadcasted over the communicator. Well, so much for a peaceful day with a nice evening meeting.

"Copy that Mercury, we're on our way." Rei announced into her communicator as she walked down the hall to my room. She stepped into the room and nodded her head in my direction. I gave a quick nod back and we both transformed.

It seems odd that no one ever notices that Sailor Mars and Moon always depart from the shrine. I suppose it's just one of those oddities that superheroes can just be thankful for. I mean, what if Spiderman had to constantly find someplace to change? (Just saw the movie, 4 stars!)

With a quick jump, Luna made it to my shoulder just before Rei and I began to run off to the Tokyo Tower. Unfortunately, we were late in arriving, since we lived the farthest away, and a large amount of damage had already occurred.

"What's up Mercury?" I asked as I approached the battleground.

"It's a lot like the last. Not after energy, just out to cause trouble and destroy the area." Ami replied, entering data into her computer. "It doesn't seem to have a weak spot and Venus and Jupiter are tiring out."

An attack flew past my head and landed into a nearby building. "Well, we need to get this thing under control soon!"

Rei nodded her head in agreement and we began to attack at the same time. Luna had sought cover behind Ami's legs, who continued to analyze the situation.

Sadly, Ami was right. Our attacks were making no real damage to the creature and exhaustion was fast approaching. Minako was almost hit by a stray blast of energy, but Tuxedo Kamen came in and whisked her away. For a moment I felt jealous, but that quickly left as I dodged another energy blast.

"This isn't working!" Makoto shouted as she shot bolt after bolt of thunder at the beast. "We need more power!"

"Sailor Moon!" Luna shouted to me. It appeared that she needed me and I dodged my way over to her.

"Luna, what is it? Are you hurt?" I asked, worried that Luna may have been hit by a stray blast.

However, the feline did a back flip in mid-air. Before I had a chance to complain or be impressed, something fell to the ground.

"Sailor Moon, use this. You will know how it works once you pick it up." Luna instructed.

I looked to the strange object that had fallen to the ground and picked it up. It felt light in my hand and very familiar.

"Luna, what is this?"

"It is the crescent moon wand." She announced simply yet with a regal tone.

"But I thought..."

"Sailor Moon, we will discuss this later. For now, you need to use it to defeat the youma." Luna said with an affirmative tone, letting me know that the discussion was complete. I nodded my head and walked over to where the others were battling. Tuxedo Kamen was throwing roses and the others were taking turns firing attacks. Exhaustion was written on every face.

I stepped up to the youma with the crescent moon wand in my hand. Although my nerves were on fire, I felt a renewal of energy. The blood was pumping through my veins at an accelerated rate. I feared that if I didn't destroy this youma soon and calm down that I would have a heart attack.

Just as Luna said, I knew instantly how to use the wand. Memories of a time long past flashed through my brain so quickly that I couldn't keep track or really even see a straight picture.

I raised the wand high above me and began to trace a circle. I could feel my energy flow out of my body into the invisible circle. The power continued to grow as I moved my arm when, at last, the words spilled from my mouth.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

With a rush, the energy rushed out and slammed into the youma. A brief scream left the youma's mouth and a matching came from my own mouth. I felt a brief moment of pain that faded away as the youma crumbled into dust.

I turned to look at Luna as the other Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen gathered around me. In her eyes I could see guilt. She knew that I would feel the moment of pain when the youma died and felt bad. Ignoring the others around me, I made my way to the feline. I picked her up into my arms and began to stroke her neck.

"It's okay Luna. I will be okay." Luna nodded her head in response to the words I whispered into her ears. I turned, with Luna still in my arms, to meet the eyes of the Senshi. "Perhaps we should have that meeting now." I suggested, much to everyone's agreement.

~*~

"Usagi is the leader of the Sailor Senshi." Luna said it plainly enough, but I don't think that she expected such a reaction.

"WHAT!?" Especially from me. "What do you mean? I'm the leader??"

"Usa, calm down." Rei tried.

"What? No, I don't want to calm down." Like I said, she tried.

"Usa, you are the most powerful." That was Minako.

"But Makoto's powerful too!"

"You were one of the first." Ami.

"So was Rei."

"And you are good at strategizing." Makoto.

"But Ami's better!"

"Okay, this is getting nowhere extremely fast. Usagi, you need to calm down." Luna pleaded with me. Deciding that the others were against me, I turned to the silent voices of the group.

"Haruka, Mamoru, what do you think?" I asked in a calm and collected voice.

Haruka turned to Mamoru and nodded her head. Mamoru smiled back and both turned to look at me again. Then they did something I really didn't expect. They gave me a double thumbs up.

"Ugh! Aren't you going to say anything?" I asked, becoming upset again. Did they think this was a game? They must have, because they both shook their heads no. "Why not?"

"Because no matter what anyone says, you always bite their head off." Haruka said with a grin.

"I DO NOT!" I yelled back. Mamoru and Haruka just grinned at me like a bunch of silly Cheshire cats. "Ugh!" I groaned and threw my hands up in the air.

**CRASH**

"Usagi, you just broke a vase." Rei informed me. I dropped my hands in defeat and turned around quickly. Another crash sounded. "And Minako's cup."

At that moment, Grandfather stuck his head into the room. "Usagi dear, please don't break anything else." And then he disappeared. His brief visit broke my hate streak and caused me to break out laughing.

I gained control of my laughing and looked around the room at a bunch of smiles. "Do you guys really want me as your leader?" I asked, secretly hoping for a bunch of 'NO's'.

"YES!" Seven voices said all at once. My voice caught in my throat. I didn't know how to respond to these people who were putting all their faith and trust into me. So I did what any woman would do, cry.

When my tears subsided, I looked around the room at all of my smiling friends. "Thank you." I whispered, but my simple words had the desired affect. In moments, I was swallowed whole by four pairs of arms squeezing me in a giant embrace.

On the side, I could see Mamoru and Haruka giving their nod of approval. However, I am not one to let things end so easily. I pulled myself from the other girls and ran over to Haruka. Before she had a chance to react, I jumped up and grabbed her into a hug. Although she hesitated a moment, she hugged me back before letting me go.

Then I looked to Mamoru. He had a twinkle in his eyes that nearly had me worried. I grabbed him for a hug and he hugged me back. But what surprised me was when he gave me a gentle kiss on my check. I stepped back from the hug and stared at him. In that brief moment, the stars could have fallen from the sky and the sun exploded and I would not have know.

However, as all things do, my moment had to come to and end. Luna cleared her throat to gain our attention. I turned around to face her and felt a blush crawl up my checks.

"Well, now that we are done with that bit, perhaps we should get down to other business." Luna said in a voice that no one would dare argue with. No one argued, but a series of groans sounded through the room. I decided to sit where I was and found myself sitting between Mamoru and Haruka. However, Haruka didn't scoot closer to me like Mamoru did.

~*~

"Minna please. We only have two more weeks until school resumes." Ami said with a sigh. We had all gathered at the shrine to have a study session at Ami's pleading. She worried that we would quickly fall behind in school if Senshi business kept coming up. Although I agreed somewhat, I wasn't big on studying.

"I'm sorry Ami, I just don't get this." Minako said with a slight whine to her voice. Ami, of course, easily explained the problem. That left our heads spinning and more confused then ever.

Mamoru and Haruka had come over to help the study session along, but found that they preferred to stay away from our constant whining. Ami was beginning to agree and decided to leave us to struggle for a while. She opened her laptop and plugged the phone cord into the wall, obviously checking her e-mail.

"Makoto, can't you make us some more study food?" I asked as my stomach growled.

"No, not until we are done with this math." She replied without looking up from her book.

Behind me I heard Haruka making smart remarks. "They will all starve to death."

Of course I realize that I am not a straight A student, but I'm not the worse student in the world. So, in retaliation, I picked up the dreaded math book and chucked it at Haruka. Now, with my super abilities, you would think that I had some aim, right? Wrong. I ended up hitting Mamoru.

"Hey! I had nothing to do with this." He said as he approached me with the math book.

"Yeah, well, you weren't helping either." I rebutted.

"Oh yeah? You want help?" He said with a sly voice. Unfortunately, this statement was followed by a pair of hands tickling me relentlessly.

Minako, the darling that she is, couldn't let this go. "WAR!!" She yelled and jumped in and tried to tickle Mamoru. Haruka, of course, came to his aid. It was only a moment before Makoto and Rei jumped into the fray. Our giggling was loud and most likely distractive, but Ami continued on her computer. Well, until she suddenly shouted...

"Oh My God!" This, of course, brought the pile of people, of which I was on the bottom, to a halt. Luna chose that exact moment to walk into the room.

"What is it Ami?" Luna asked as she entered the room, paying no attention to the rest of us.

"Look." And Luna did. Her face changed from an expression of curiosity to one of shock.

"Oh my God!" Luna exclaimed.

"That's what I said." Ami replied with a slight giggle.

"Um, what is it?" I asked from the bottom of the pile. Luna finally acknowledged us with a roll of her eyes. She then looked back to Ami who nodded her head.

"There is another Sailor Senshi." Ami replied with a straight face.

"What!" I yelled from the bottom of the pile as I pushed up against all the weight above me. I managed to get out uninjured and looked at the laptop.

"Mysterious warrior saves a women and her young daughter." I read out loud for the others as they untangled themselves from the human mound. "An unidentified woman dressed in a sailor suit rushed in to defend a helpless woman and daughter against a hideous creature. Although others say that it appeared to be a scene for a movie, agencies report that there was no filming scheduled for the day in the park where the attack occurred."

I looked up to met Luna's eyes. "But you said that there were no more Sailor Senshi."

"I never said that." Luna replied. "I said that I only hold the henshin wands for the inner senshi."

"Well who holds the others?" I asked, only to be answered by a swirl of black.

"I do." A women said as she emerged from the black hole. She had long green hair and wore a black sailor suit.

"Sailor Pluto!" Minako said with a gasp of surprise.

"Who?" Rei asked, somewhat speculative.

"I am Sailor Pluto. I am the carrier of the wands for the outer senshi. I also removed Sailor Venus's wand from storage for you Luna."

"Ah, yes, I remember when I felt that. Minako called later that night and we learned that she was a senshi." Luna said with a tone of confidence.

"I had felt it imperative that I awake Venus when I did, much as I have done with Sailor Neptune." Pluto said as she twirled a large staff the shape of a key in her hand. "Now I feel that it is time to bring forth the senshi of Uranus, as she has helped you so much already."

I looked around confused for a moment before it dawned on me who she meant. Haruka also knew it too and walked forward to Sailor Pluto.

"I believe this belongs to you." Pluto said as she handed Haruka a henshin wand. Haruka twirled it in her hand a moment before shouting out...

"Uranus Planet Power, Make-Up!"

And with a swirl of lights, Sailor Uranus stood before us.

"Now, this feels right." She said with a smile before transforming back.

"In time, Sailor Neptune will be joining you, as well as Sailor Saturn, whom you have not heard of yet. But for now, I will bring you another friend to help you on your path to defeat the enemy." Pluto said as she stepped aside.

From behind her, a white cat with a crescent moon on his head, like Luna's, jumped out of the black swirl.

"Artemis!" Luna shouted and ran up to him.

"Luna! It's been far too long!" He shouted and rubbed up against her, as if hugging.

"What about you, Sailor Pluto?" I asked the mysterious woman.

"I am afraid that my duty lies at the gates of time. I must stay there to make sure that no errors occur in the space-time continuum. But if your are in need, I will know and will come to help." She said and stepped back into the black swirl. It quickly enveloped her and disappeared.

"Weird." Makoto said from where she stood by Minako, who nodded her head in agreement. Ami, of course, was busy typing as much information into her Mercury computer as she could. If possible, smoke would have risen from the poor machine.

The rest of us stared down at the newest addition to our group.

"Hello everyone, my name is Artemis. I am an advisor, like Luna." Artemis said with a smile. And from there, the introductions began.

~*~

"I hate school."

"No you don't."

"I hate homework."

"No you don't."

"I hate the cafeteria."

"No you don't."

"Will you stop saying that Rei." I yelled at my beloved cousin. We were on our way to the first day of school again. We were freshmen entering high school. Let the torture begin.

"No, I won't stop until you do. We all know that it is impossible for you to hate, so stop complaining." Rei said with a smirk.

"I don't know where you guys come up with this stuff. I can hate if I want to!" I said with a whine, stomping my foot.

"I don't think so." Another voice said behind me. This, of course, scared me witless, as I didn't expect anyone behind me.

"Ahhhh!"

"Geez Odango, not so loud. There may still be people sleeping." Haruka said with a smile. I glared at her and Mamoru, who was walking beside her.

"First of all, Haruka, everyone should be awake by now. If I have to go to school, then they need to get up. Second, Mamoru, I can hate something. For example, I can say that I hate you for scaring me." I said and stomped off. However, Mamoru wasn't about to let it drop.

"You don't hate me or anyone, not even an enemy. You may dislike me, but not hate. We all know you Usa, you don't hate." Mamoru said as if lecturing.

"Gomen Mamoru-sensei." I said and then saluted him. Haruka and Rei were slightly laughing at the scene.

"Well then Usagi, I think that I will keep you in detention for the improper use of a salute." He said with a wink to Haruka. Who would ever think that those two would become friends and get along so well?

"Make me!" I shouted. However, I quickly realized my error. Mamoru began to chase after me. I let out a small squeal and began to sprint towards the school. We were only a block away, but feared that I would never get to the building. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Makoto and Minako approaching the school. I risked turning and waving to them. Unfortunately, not only did this slow me down some, but provided Mamoru something to grab on to.

We came to a screeching halt right in front of the school, with everyone watching.

"Caught you." Mamoru said, slightly laughing, slightly gasping for air.

"Yeah, but it took you two blocks." I said with a smile.

"Oh, fine, you win." Mamoru consented. Then he flung his arm over my shoulder. I was caught by surprise, but tried not to show it. His arm was light on my shoulder and very warm.

"Let's go meet the others." I suggested with a whisper. I really didn't want to go anywhere. But, to my delight, he didn't let his hand drop from my shoulder.

"Hey Usa, Mamoru. Where are Haruka and Rei?" Minako asked as she stared at us. In my mind I could hear her wondering what was going on between him and I.

"Down the block. We, um, kind of got ahead of them." I said with a laugh as I looked up to Mamoru's equally amused face.

"Uh-huh." Makoto said with a nod. "Let me guess...Mamoru, you said something that Usa didn't agree with and she argued. Then you threatened her and she provoked you more. Am I right?"

With a slight blush on both of our cheeks, we dropped our heads in shame. Our little arguments had become like a ritual. It was fun having someone to goof around with.

"Well, here they come now." Minako pointed out. Rei and Haruka laughed at us for a bit and explained the whole ordeal, causing me to blush more. Then the merciless bell rang, announcing the five-minute warning. We made our way to our first classes. Minako and I had Math and we had to depart from the group first. When we reached our door, Mamoru released his arm from my shoulder, much to my dismay. My shoulders seemed cold without his presence.

"We'll see you at lunch." Mamoru said with a wink. I only hoped that I would make it that long.

~*~

"She's beautiful. A true goddess."

"Who is?" I asked as I approached the others at lunch. I found it amazing that all seven of us had lunch together. I secretly think that Ami hacked into the computer system and worked the schedules out to her liking.

"A girl in our Physics class." Mamoru informed me.

"She's breathtaking. A true classic beauty." Haruka said with stars in her eyes. For a while now, we had all known that Haruka preferred females over males, although she was a she. It was something that we all accepted, though we never talked much about it. After all, she had no girlfriend and seldom talked about other girls in such a way.

"Okay, Haruka's spouting poetry, I'm worried." Rei said as she approached our group. As was our old custom, we found a tree in the school to serve as our dining space for lunch. The noise of the cafeteria was too much and the privacy was lacking.

"She's very pretty, I'll admit. She has green eyes and turquoise hair to her shoulders. I'm not sure what her name is though." Mamoru said plainly. It was obvious that he didn't see the same things that Haruka did.

"Aww, it's so sweet! Haruka's in love!" Minako said with hearts in her eyes. If there was anything that the senshi of Venus stood for, it was love above all else. Although that was a nice thought, she had too much fun trying to play matchmaker.

"Minako..." Haruka said in a warning growl. She crumpled up her lunch bag to use as a weapon if necessary.

"Hey!" I said, trying to interrupt the oncoming battle, "Where's Ami?"

"She had advanced mathematics for nerds last period. She's probably still there trying to finish reading the entire text book." Makoto said, causing us all to laugh.

"Har, har, very funny." Ami said as she approached the group. A girl was following behind her, but I couldn't see her very well.

"Gomen Ami, I was just joking." Makoto apologized.

"I know." Ami said, laughing lightly at Makoto's over-apologetic face. "Everyone, I would like you to meet a new transfer student. She's in my math class."

The girl Ami had been referring to stepped out of Ami's shadow. Ironically, she matched the description that Mamoru had given of the girl that Haruka was enamored with.

"This is Kaiou Michiru. She was overseas in America for the last five years, but she was born her in Juban." As Ami spoke, the seemingly shy girl looked around our group. I noticed that as her eyes met Haruka's, Haruka dropped her eyes with a slight blush grazing her cheeks.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I hope that I get to know you well." She said, sparing one last glance to the blushing Haruka.

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Umm, if you haven't noticed yet, I have taken some liberties with the characters. I'm sure you are thinking: Mamoru and Haruka would never be friends!! But, remember, this is my fan-fic and if you don't like it, don't read it! *starts giggling* He, he, look! I was being mean! *grins* If you don't know me, then you know that I never mean anything to be taken serious. So, don't even think of not reading!

ChibiJ77@yahoo.com