Wow… this chapter was difficult to write, and to tell you the truth, I'm not completely happy with it. It wasn't flowing right for me, but I couldn't seem to make it any better, so I gave up. However, I did, just for the fun of it, add some light I/K fluff at the end that I hadn't originally written. :) (Oh, but don't worry, there is also some light S/D fluff too!)

Jabba1: Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later! It was too much fun having them find out to keep it a secret! (Uh… did that make any sense? LoL.)

Henio: Yeah, sorry about how short Chapter Six was! This chapter will for sure be longer (I even added in a scene that I didn't originally write.) ;)

Kairinu: Isn't it amazing how easy it is to pin the blame on siblings! :) I've got to say though, this chapter isn't very suspenseful… it's really just another talkie. Hope it doesn't bore you!

Sadie Joyce Myst Lady: No problem… I love Inuyasha! It's one of the best anime I've seen (although I haven't really seen that many). And yeah, I feel really sorry for Kagome too… the chick just can't catch a break!

You know… the Sailor Pluto thing actually surprised me too. It just popped into my mind one day, and I figured that Pluto was a good device to make Serena believe that she can trust everyone. And besides… some of what Pluto says will be important later on in the story. ;)

I had that screaming match in my head for awhile, and I actually cut it down a bit because I was getting extravagantly mean. The way I figure it is that they were nice to each other for far too long, so when a chance to fight came up they took it and ran with it. They just ran in a painful direction. Now that they blew off some steam, they can be nice. :)

Personally, I prefer Inuyasha, but then again I've always been attracted to the strange ones… but no need to go there! Hee hee…

Mimi: Is that a good "*blink blink*" or a bad "*blink blink*"? ;)

So, on with Chapter Seven! Oh… wait! I know you're used to me doing explanations about the Inuyasha plots, but I'm not going to do the same thing with the Sailor Moon one. I'm going to assume that most people know the basics of how Serena and Darien first became Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Right? If not, complain and I'll redo this chapter.

Okay… now you can read!

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Serena sighed as she raked her hands through her hair. She had let her hair down for the first time in the approximately five days she had been in the Feudal Era, and it felt good to be able to run her hands completely through the tangled mess. Her mind was not really on her hair though, but rather on the argument. She was mentally kicking herself for the harsh words she had said to Darien. She had not meant a word of it. She was not really even too mad at his words anymore either. She had been reflecting on them for the last half hour and had begun to realize how true they rang.

She was interrupted out of her thoughts by the sounds of movement in the bushes. Her eyes shot open and her head snapped to where the sounds had come from. She relaxed when she saw Kagome and Sango coming through the bushes.

"How are you two?" Serena asked with concern in her voice.

"I have some bruised ribs, but that's about it," Kagome said as she and Sango joined Serena in the hot spring.

"Just some cuts and bruises. What ever that demon spit at us wasn't poisonous." Sango added.

And then they looked at Serena, who was aware of the unspoken question. She chose to ignore it.

"And Miroku and Inuyasha?"

"They're fine too." Kagome assured. "Uh… Serena…" she trailed off, not quite sure of what to say.

"Sailor Moon."

"Huh?" Sango asked while Kagome shot her an equally confused look.

"Back there. My… alter ego, I guess you could say. Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice." She said her trademark line with a smile, but it was a half-hearted effort. "That's what I couldn't tell you about, Kagome. What my parents don't know about."

Kagome nodded. "And… uh… Darien?" she asked cautiously.

Serena was mildly surprised. "He didn't tell you anything?"

Both shook their heads. "He checked over Kagome, Miroku and I and then just sat there. He never said anything beyond talking about our wounds."

"We call him Tuxedo Mask."

"Appropriate," Kagome said. Sango ignored the unfamiliar term. She was used to this.

Serena sighed. "He really has saved me countless times. Him and my friends. And his roses are quite deadly, and definitely not pansy. And he isn't a cold hearted asshole. I'm a cold hearted bitch." The regret and pain was evident in her voice.

"Serena! You are not a cold hearted bitch! Sure, you said some hurtful things, but so did he! You were just giving back what you were given.

"No, Kagome. I said some hurtful things, he was just stating the truth."

"What?!" Kagome exclaimed, shocked at what Serena said.

"I'm a pathetic fighter and I leave it up to my friends to weaken our enemies before I step in and finish them off. They get hurt a lot in the process. If I was a better fighter, a stronger fighter… if I wasn't such a crybaby chicken, then my friends wouldn't get hurt so much. I don't know why I'm even the leader, any of my friends would be better. I am… pathetic."

Sango and Kagome could not believe what they were hearing. In the five days they had known Serena they had known her as a bright cherry girl who never let anything get her down. They had never seen this dark, depressed side of her.

"Oh Serena," Kagome said, tears in her eyes for her friend. "You are so wrong about yourself. I may have only seen you fight once, but I can already tell that you are being way too hard on yourself."

"No, no Kagome. I'm not. It's all true."

"Serena! You jumped out and had that demon dead in ten seconds. We were struggling with that demon for a couple of minutes! No, Serena, you are not week, you are not pathetic. You are a strong and capable fighter, and I'm sure you are a great leader. If you weren't your friends wouldn't fight for you, wouldn't even attempt to protect you."

Serena sat quietly for a moment. Finally she broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Thank you Kagome, that makes me feel better. But one act of spontaneous bravery does not make up for all of the times that I let my friends take the brunt of the attacks to protect me." With a sigh she heaved herself out of the water. "I have to apologize to Darien." She gave them a small smile. "And when we're done talking then I'll tell you my story."

The girls nodded. Once they were sure Serena was gone, they turned to each other.

"She has too much weight on her shoulders," Sango said. "She hid that from us well."

Kagome nodded. "She's a good actress. We'll just have to make sure to keep encouraging her. And hopefully Darien takes back what he said."

"I hope so. I think that's the only thing that would help her right now." Sango smiled a little. "What do you want to bet that Darien - Tuxedo Mask - is her mysterious protector that she has a crush on?"

Kagome giggled. "I was thinking the same thing."

They got out of the hot springs, ready to head back to camp.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

As soon as Kagome and Sango left camp to join Serena at the hot springs, Darien sat against a tree with a heavy sigh. He waited for the questioning to begin. It did not take long.

"All right, what the hell was that all about?!" Inuyasha asked, ever the one to get straight to the point.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku chided. "He'll tell us if and when he wants to."

"No, it's all right," Darien said, looking up from his silent thoughts. "Back there, when I was transformed, I was Tuxedo Mask." He saw the confusion on their faces. "I'm named after my outfit. What I wear is called a tuxedo, and then Mask for the mask I wear." They nodded to show they understood. "Tuxedo Mask is my… alter ego, I guess you could say. I become him when… when Sailor Moon - Serena - is in danger." His head fell heavily to his hands. "Shit." He groaned. "I didn't mean what I said to her. She is incredibly powerful, more powerful than anyone can imagine, I think. She has her… moments in battle, but when it comes down to it, she is brave. She often worries about her friends lives before her own, which is why I'm around. I can't help but to protect her. It's like it's my destiny to protect her."

"So I take it that Ser - Sailor Moon is the woman you told us about?" Miroku asked as gently as he could.

Darien nodded. "Yeah. I really need to talk to her when she gets back."

"Until then… roses?" Inuyasha asked in distain. They did not seem to be an appropriate weapon to him.

Darien smiled a little smile, and before Inuyasha knew what was happening a rose was embedded in the trunk of the tree he was leaning against, right about his head.

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled, turning around to see the rose. It was so deeply embedded into the wood that it looked like someone had glued it there.

"How-how did you do that?" Miroku uncharacteristically gaped at Darien.

Darien flicked his wrist and a rose appeared. "I don't have to be Tuxedo Mask to be able to form roses. The transformation does give me more power on top of disguising me though." He twirled the rose in his fingers. "They aren't very good for killing, but they're effective distractions. Usually just enough time for one of the scouts to get a good attack in."

Shippou was about to ask what 'scouts' were, but he was not given a chance because Serena walked into camp just then. Darien got up and they silently walked off together.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Serena and Darien walked until they were out of earshot from most of those in the camp. They knew that Inuyasha could probably still hear them, but they hoped he would respect their privacy.

Darien sat down, leaving against a tree. Serena followed suit, facing him.

"I'm sorry," they said in unison. "No, I am," in unison again. They both smiled a little, but Darien held up his hand to stop Serena from saying anything, so she let him talk.

"I didn't mean a word of it, Serena. You are a competent fighter and very powerful. Your scouts would follow you to the ends of the earth and back not only because you are their leader, but also because they love you and believe in you. That's why they protect you and take hits for you. It has nothing to do with your fighting abilities or your powers." He sighed, but did not break the lock on her gaze that he had held since he had begun talking. "I hope you didn't take anything that I said to heart."

She forced herself to keep looking into his eyes. Not once had she seen a lie flicker there. The truth in his words shone forth for her to see. Still she broke the gaze with a sigh and looked down at her hands. "Thank you, Darien, for taking back what you said, but some of it is true."

"No-" Darien started, but Serena cut him off.

"No!" She returned her eyes to his and their eyes were locked once again. "No, it's true. I do let my scouts get hurt way too often. When we get back... that's going to change. I need to start acting like a leader, or else allow one of the other scouts to take over."

"You balance them though, Serena. You are the natural leader for that group. You lead by not leading, in a sense. Maybe that's not what you planned to do, but that's how it happens. You give the scouts free range to do as they think is best. Any of the other scouts would probably be shouting orders left and right and that would be their downfall. The way you girls work is on instinct and you shouldn't be held down by ridged orders. So you see, Serena, you are the best one to lead the Sailor Scouts."

Serena looked back at Darien, wide-eyed. "I-I never thought of it that way, but I guess it makes sense." Then her eyes narrowed a little. "How often have you watched us fight?" She was mildly satisfied to see him blush.

"Uh-well, I normally just watch until I'm needed." A teasing tone entered his voice. "And then I swoop in and attack with my 'pansy roses'."

Serena did not miss the teasing tone, but still felt the need to apologize. "I didn't really mean that at all. Actually, I love your roses!" A blush graced her cheeks.

"Well, in that case…" Darien flicked his wrist and then handed Serena the rose that had appeared. "For the lady." He grinned at her deepened blush.

"Th-thank you." She brought the rose to her nose and breathed in the sweet smell. Then on impulse she leaned forward and kissed Darien on the cheek. "Thank you for always protecting me." Then she got up and began the walk back to camp, therefore missing another atypical blush from Darien.

"I always will," he replied, getting up as well. It was once again Serena's turn to blush.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

When they returned to camp everyone was eagerly awaiting to hear their stories. Even Inuyasha was, although he tried to hide it.

They each told their stories in turn. Serena went first, only being interrupted once, to explain how her cat could talk. Kagome and Darien were the only ones that had trouble grasping that concept, but they decided to believe her. Darien told his short story right after Serena was finished, and was not interrupted. Once he was done though the questions came. Serena was the first one to ask a question.

"So, you know when I transform?" She was skeptical about this.

"Yeah," Darien said, nodding. "I'm not sure why, but I don't care about the reasons, just as long as it helps to protect you," he winked as he said that, causing Serena to blush yet again.

"Uh, so how many Sailor Scouts are there?" Kagome asked.

Serena shrugged. "There's probably one for each planet. They show up when they're needed."

"How many planets are there?" Miroku asked.

"Nine," Serena answered. "Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Pluto."

Miroku looked surprised. He had known there were other planets, but had no clue there were that many.

"And why are you looking for this 'Moon Princess'?" Kagome asked.

Serena was yet again the one to answer. "Because once we find the silver crystal, she's the only one that can control it. With the power of the silver crystal we will be able to destroy Beryl."

"And this Beryl is your ultimate enemy?" Sango asked.

"Yes," Darien said, "but we can't get close to killing her because she sends her youmas to do the dirty work."

"Sounds familiar." Inuyasha said, and Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippou nodded in agreement.

Serena yawned. "Sorry, but I'm exhausted." She set out her blanket and stretched out. The rest followed her cue, and soon everyone was laying down, trying to get to sleep. All except for Darien. His mind was working hard, and then it clanked to a stop. Serena had never mentioned who the scouts were, and it was bugging him. He knew he should know, and he finally figured it out.

"I've got it!" he said, sitting up. Everyone turned to look at him through blurry eyes. "Opps, sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"Got what?" Serena said, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

"Rei, Ami and Lita."

Everyone but Serena looked confused.

"How did you know?"

"It makes sense. You are always hanging around them, and the beginning of your friendships with them coincide with each scout showing up." Serena nodded. "But it begs the question, are they who they are because they are scouts, or are they scouts because of who they are?"

"Huh?" Serena intelligently answered.

"Think about it. Rei exerts an aura of power and Mars has almost as much power as you do. Lita is incredibly strong and so is Jupiter. Ami is brilliant and Mercury is the brains of the group. So Rei and Mars have power, Lita and Jupiter have strength and Ami and Mercury have intelligence."

Serena thought for a moment before shrugging. "Its the old what came first question, the chicken or the egg? We'll probably never know." She flopped back to her blanket, more than ready to sleep.

"Then what does Serena and Sailor Moon share?" Shippou asked with the innocence of a child.

"Nothing, Shippou, nothing." Serena answered with a heavy sigh.

"Purity." Darien answered. Serena sat back up and looked at Darien. He looked into her eyes. "They both have the purest soul I have ever seen." Serena smiled back thankfully.

"Keh, go to sleep!" Inuyasha said irritably from a tree above the rest of them. They both chuckled but lay back down, and soon everything was peaceful and calm in the camp.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

It was around an hour later when Inuyasha heard a stifled moan coming from Kagome. He looked down to see her sitting up, hugging her ribs. A moment later he was on the ground.

"Why are you awake, wench?" He asked, moving to her side. The softness of his voice betrayed his concern.

"My ribs hurt," she said, stating the obvious. "They hurt too much to lay down to sleep."

Inuyasha sighed and tried to act as if she were an inconvenience. "Come on, and bring your blanket."

Kagome slowly stood up and followed Inuyasha to a tree at the edge of camp. She looked at him with confusion when he sat down and looked up at her. He rolled his eyes and sighed, but then grabbed her wrist and pulled her down into his lap. She let out a surprised squeak.

"Shh." He did not want anyone to wake up and see them like that. They would never hear the end of it. "Now, aren't I little more comfortable than the lying on the ground or leaning against a tree?" he whispered into her ear.

She had to suppress a shiver at the sensation of his breath on her face, but managed to dumbly nod. He gently wrapped his arms around her, making sure not to squeeze her bruises. She hesitantly laid her head on his shoulder and was surprised when he rested his cheek against her head.

"Sleep," he commanded softly.

Kagome let out a contented sigh and snuggled into him as much as her bruises would allow. She slept better that night than she ever had before.