Okay, this story requires a little explanation. It's an AU, but I tried to keep most of it pretty close to the anime universe. There's one major change, and some smaller ones that were necessary to support it.

Basically, I was wondering what Mamoru and Usagi would be like if they'd had each other's lives. Not literally—Mamoru hasn't joined the Tsukino family—but in this story he has a family and Usagi doesn't.

Any personality changes in those two characters are intentional, based on how I think they'd be different if they'd had different childhoods. Differences in other characters' personalities will be minimal, and based on the influence of the two main characters. No superhero identities have been changed.

Hope that makes sense! Oh, and I don't own Sailor Moon. Not even in an alternate universe. sigh

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Easy

by Jessca Thornbrook

Chapter 1

She'd never had it easy. She'd been leading a cramped, smothered, frightened existence for as long as she could really remember. Her stomach growled in quiet classrooms, and the other students giggled. Her shoes were too small, her uniform too big, and her bookbag had a broken strap. Her family was a dim memory, growing fainter every day. Blurred images of long-ago happiness couldn't compete with the everyday barrage of noisy, exhausting indifference.

No. It was never easy.

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She was late for school again. The other girls had been clustered in front of the bathroom mirror in the dormitory, blocking all the sinks, so she couldn't get around them without being noticed. Kyoko was there. Kyoko with the scornful mouth, who always made fun of her hair in a voice like a sharp violin. She was doing her makeup right beside the only accessible sink. And Kyoko always noticed everything.

So she waited until they had all left. And now she was going to be late. Again. Haruna-san would be angry, and everyone would look at her when she came in. She ran faster, trying to ignore her pinched toes. She rounded a corner, fingers pushing off against a lamppost to help her make the turn, and ran smack into someone.

She flew back, knocked off her feet, her bag and its contents flying onto the sidewalk. Scrambling around to pick everything up, she barely allowed herself a frightened glance at the person she'd hit, but she was fairly sure it was a guy. Especially when he spoke.

"Hey, you should be more careful," he said, a bit annoyed, before normal human compassion kicked in. She was just a kid, and she seemed pretty freaked out about something. "Are you okay?" he asked, crouching down to help her pick up her papers. She nodded, and her lips moved in the shape of a word that might have been "yes," but no sound escaped.

She had caught a glimpse of his face. He was handsome. Very. She was afraid of him.

Snatching the papers he held out, she stammered a confused mixture of "Arigato-gomen-sumimasen," and slipped past him, walking as quickly as she could, not daring to run for fear of falling down while he was still watching. She had almost reached the corner when he called after her.

"Hey! Usagi-chan!"

She froze. How does he know my name? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him jogging easily toward her. She focused on picking an imaginary speck off the hem of her shirt.

"You missed this one." He held out a wrinkled sheet of paper with her name at the top—her English assignment. She tried to thank him, but before she could force any sound from her throat, he added "Those first three answers are wrong, you know." She could tell from his voice that he was smiling. He was laughing at her.

"I'm late," she mumbled, reaching for the paper. He pulled it back out of reach, jokingly. She grabbed for it again, and he let her take it this time. Without another word, she turned and ran. He watched her go, smiling a little when she stumbled over her own feet.

What a weird girl, he thought to himself. Cute, though. He turned and headed off down the street.

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She was seven minutes late. Haruna-san was worse than usual about it, lecturing her in front of the whole class. She managed not to cry until she was out in the hall by herself, and even then, she couldn't really let herself go. Someone might walk by and see her. So she dug her fingernails into her palms and stared at the floor until it wasn't quite so hard to keep the tears back.

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Inside the classroom, a note made its way up the aisle from a tall, green-eyed girl in the back row to a girl in the front who was paying much closer attention to the teacher than any of the other students. The boy behind her leaned forward and slipped the folded paper under her elbow. She flushed and looked guiltily at the teacher, but Haruna-san was busy writing on the board. The girl unfolded the note carefully in her lap.

Ami-chan,

Rei-chan said shrine today. Don't worry, we'll be done before cram school. M-san meeting us there. Mina-chan maybe, maybe not. Meet at lunch?

Bored to tears,

Mako

P.S. Hey, H-san sure was mean to little what's-her-name, huh? Bad date last night? ;-)

Ami's eyes widened at the last part, and she quickly shoved the note deep into her pocket, shuddering at the thought of what might happen if she was caught with it. Makoto was a danger to herself and others when she was bored!