Everything he thought he knew and everything he thought he could hold sacred was now tumbling down and unraveling all around him.

He knew who was under that mask, knew from the moment he saw her holding the locket as the missing pieces clinked noisily into place within his racing mind, but that didn't stop his fingers from shakily reaching out. From - achingly slowly - grasping one winged edge and gently pulling it away from her face. The eyes that blinked owlishly up at him, filled with all the same emotions he was currently wrestling with, were unmistakeable.

"Usagi-san," he breathed. "Odango." He wondered how he ever could have been blind to the fact that she was Sailor Moon, even as a part of himself continued to struggle with the idea; to reconcile truth with perception.

He had so many questions.

"Mamoru-san," she choked out in a matching tone of awed disbelief.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one.

But before he could so much as voice a single of the many and tumultuous thoughts careening through his brain, the youma from before came crashing through the bushes, an inhuman roar on its lips.

"Jiiiiiiijiiiiiii!"

"My mask - please -" Sailor Moon... no... Usagi... pled of him suddenly. With one eye still on the impending danger, Mamoru thrust her the aforementioned object while the other hand helped bring her to her feet. She slipped the mask back onto the bridge of her nose and he wondered belatedly how it was possible she was able to be here at all; she was not operating like someone who lacked the ability to see. In fact as he ushered her back out into the courtyard and away from the monster, she didn't stumble once, nor seem to have any need to catch her bearings; gauge her surroundings. It was more than just a renewed confidence... she had to be aided by magical means. His suspicion was proven only mere moments later when she exclaimed,

"Watch out!"

He glanced up just in time to discover a shower of familiar flower petals descending upon them. Sailor Moon was already diving to the side, safely out of the line of fire, so he leapt for the source - Zoisite shouted in surprise as their bodies collided and he began skirmishing with the Dark Kingdom general in midair.

"Supreme Thunder!"

"Fire Soul!"

A dazzling display of greenish lightning and crimson fire rent the sky, colors an even brighter hue than that of the sunset. The simultaneous attacks merged and Mamoru watched as they speared the youma. Jiji howled and lumbered around, weakened by the deluge. Zoisite swore as he too noticed the arrival of the other three Sailor Senshi, but the distraction was his undoing - Mamoru used the precious few seconds of inattention to go for the glint of indigo he'd spied in the general's palm. He jabbed Zoisite's hand with his cane, hard, and the ponytailed blonde let out a strangled noise of pain, hand reflexively shooting open. Mamoru was on the Rainbow Crystal faster than the other could blink. He threw Zoisite a darkly chuckle, flaunting his prize.

"I'll be taking this."

"You'll pay!" Zoisite wailed, yet at current he seemed more concerned with nursing his injured hand as he clutched it uselessly against his chest. The typical non-reaction Mamoru had come to expect from this pansy whenever his pride was wounded. It made him smirk even wider.

"Tuxedo Kamen has the crystal!" a voice suddenly exclaimed, breaking through the sounds of the melee, and Mamoru's gaze snapped over to the group that had gathered protectively around Sailor Moon. Sailor Mercury's index was pointing a damning trajectory, but he only had eyes for Sailor Moon. Usagi was staring at him with a startlingly intense expression; one that was a rather heartbreaking mix of hope and horror. His heart gave an uncomfortable pang and he prayed she would understand his meaning as he bestowed upon her a rather significant look before turning tail and running for the trees.

"Dammit!" Sailor Jupiter cursed as Tuxedo Kamen disappeared into the woods, taking the sixth Rainbow Crystal with him. "Thief!"

And in that moment, Usagi was horribly reminded of the fact that even though Tuxedo Kamen was Chiba Mamoru, that didn't change the fact that only a few days ago he had declared himself the Sailor Senshi's enemy. She bit down a disgusting lump of bile that had risen within her throat, feeling such an overwhelming rush of varying emotions that she just wanted to shut down... to not feel anything at all. But she couldn't afford the luxury -

Jiji was powering back up.

"Kill them! Kill them all and don't fail me like the rest!" Zoisite was ordering waspishly of the creature, but he didn't appear to want to stick around to ensure their demise because he was already vanishing in a haze of swirling pink petals. Probably figuring this battle a lost cause now that the crystal was no longer in his possession.

"I need my wand!" Usagi suddenly remembered, turning on Mercury, a hand outstretched. The blue-haired erudite looked almost hesitant, the dregs of shock still dancing upon her features from when the girls had arrived on scene to find their formerly retired and blind leader taking on a youma sans weaponry or back up. They hadn't had a chance to accost her yet, probably to inquire what in the nine blazing circles of hell she thought she was doing, but it looked like Ami was about ready to start in and Usagi knew now was not the time. Her eyes only softened a fraction as she implored, "Remember, my absence was only going to be temporary until we found a way to get me back into the field. Well, I found a way. My wand, Sailor Mercury!"

Mercury swallowed, eyes flashing quickly upward to Usagi's mask as if already beginning to connect the dots. Then she nodded, and there was the ghost of a smile starting to take form on her face as she reached into her space pocket and retrieved the Crescent Moon Wand. Jiji saw the enticing shine and he lunged.

"Sailor Moon, get us Ojii-chan back!" Mercury cried, tossing the rod at her friend. Weeks of having honed her reflexes had Usagi swiping the stick out of thin air and twisting on a trained foot, aim deadly in its accuracy. She relished the increase in power she felt just holding the wand again - her wand, she amended with a contented quirk of the lips. So much a part of her it felt like an extension to her arm. The vessel for her powers. There was a reason she wielded it with ease while the others suffered for days afterward.

She was the leader.

She was the one with the ability to heal. Her and her alone.

And unlike the last time she faced off a monster with this wand, Usagi felt a fierce certitude in herself and her standing within this group of heroes as she chanted the words that would return their beloved Ojii-chan,

"Moon... Healing... Escalation!"

Coruscating light exploded around them, pulsing outward, encapsulating Jiji. Usagi swore the wand must have been reacting to her newfound confidence, because the show of light and sparkles seemed even brighter than it ever had been before. She fought the urge to shield her eyes, even more so because the gift of sight was too beautiful and fleeting to ever want to look away from.

"Refresh!"

Rei's grandpa crumpled into a heap on the unforgiving pavement. Sailor Mars was by his side almost immediately, cradling the old man's head in her lap. "Oh Ojii-chan," she moaned, dashing away a telltale sheen of wetness upon her cheek.

"He's going to be fine," Mercury assured, in the midst of checking his vitals. While she performed her diagnostics, Jupiter and Usagi each went to Yuichiro and Luna, respectively.

"Yuichiro-san's out cold!" the brawny warrior called from where she crouched beside the shaggy-headed apprentice. "Nasty hit that must've been. I'm surprised you weren't hurt, Rei-chan."

"He jumped in front of me and took the brunt of the attack," Mars answered, with a strange glint in her purple-onyx eyes as she gazed upon his fallen figure. As if seeing him with new perspective. "I woke up not long after. That's when I saw... Usagi."

As one, all eyes swiveled to land upon her, their countenances uncommonly serious. Sailor Mars was, of course, the first to express her sheer surprise and utter perplexion at Usagi's reemergence into the fray.

"What the hell are you doing here, Usagi!? Do you not understand how stupid, reckless and dangerous this is!?"

Ah, and there it was. Usagi shifted Luna's slight weight as she considered taking offense to her friend's tone, but she knew like the cat in her arms before that the question was coming from a place of concern, rather than anger. And besides... her mind was still relatively occupied with other matters.

Namely Chiba Mamoru's face on Tuxedo Kamen, as he sprinted off with the penultimate Rainbow Crystal. He had stared so intently at her... almost as if the look were laden with a hidden message. An invitation to pursuit?

Wisely, she kept her mouth sealed on that little discovery and addressed the topic at hand, but it was with a rather clipped response because no part of her wanted to be here right now defending her decision to reclaim her mantle... not when every part of her wanted to be chasing after Mamoru to reclaim their crystal instead, and perhaps some sense of... understanding? Normalcy?

Her heart ached with confusion and it was the worst feeling.

"I am well aware, Sailor Mars," Usagi replied, once again drawing herself to full height and delving deep within for the same authoritative air she'd donned with Luna earlier. She was finding she rather liked the feeling it gave her... Standing up for herself like this. It was a control over her own destiny that she had been missing ever since the Downtown Debacle... A control she sorely wished she still had over the Tuxedo Kamen situation. "Believe me, I know the dangers," she said, not without irony, as she gestured toward her damaged eyes. "I'm taking every precaution. But thanks to my transformation and this mask - which Luna made for me, by the way - I can see again. Well enough to still be an asset in the battlefield. And face it - you need me, more than ever now. Combining your powers together into the moon wand isn't enough anymore. The Dark Kingdom is upping their game and we have to be at full strength to combat them."

Mars still had her lips pursed, unconvinced - a shadow of worry lurking beneath the prickly facade - but Jupiter was an easier sell. She inclined her head at the unconscious feline Usagi held. "You have Luna's blessing to be out here?"

"She has mine," Usagi answered firmly, and Jupiter blinked in surprise. She stared at Usagi for a heavy second before a cheeky grin crept slowly across her face.

"Well that's good enough for me!" she quipped, with no small measure of pride laced in. She came over and slung an arm around her comrade. "It's so awesome to have you back, Sailor Moon!"

Usagi smiled too, but the joy didn't quite reach her eyes. She tried to inch out from under Jupiter, the urge to speak with Mamoru becoming insatiable, but then Mercury was there with another distraction.

"I actually really love the new mask," she squealed, reaching out to stroke the feathered sides. "It suits you. Could I take a look at the vision-boosting interior design?"

"Later," Usagi promised, side-stepping once again. But she took advantage of the medically skilled guardian's propinquity to deposit Luna into her arms, beseeching, "Listen, Ami-chan, can you monitor Luna for me? I really need to go-"

"Go? But you just-"

"I know, I'm sorry, but it's really important - just watch her, okay? Thank you so much!" Usagi called, already beginning to bolt away. She barely registered the gaping mouths of her fellow Senshi as she raced across the shrine grounds, her magically heightened state lending speed to her legs. It wasn't long at all before she found herself - gasping for breath - upon a rooftop not far from Azabu Apartments. The building was like a towering monster, suddenly more frightening than Jiji or Ochi-Me or any of the other Dark Kingdom youma had ever been, because it signified the coming of confrontation...

When this was all over and she got the answers she was about to demand from him, she would either be with Mamoru, or against him. It was terrifying to think that either way, irrevocable changes were coming their way. That this might very well be the end of their lessons she had begun to cherish so terribly much. The mere suggestion made her want to sink to her knees and cry, but Usagi steeled herself, not wanting to show him that kind of weakness. No, she would go in there all cylinders firing, letting her anger be her fuel so that he would not see how much the unveiling of his secret identity had shocked her, hurt her...

Felt like a betrayal, of all they'd built up and worked toward.

He couldn't be her enemy. He just couldn't, she shook her head with resolute denial. There had to be a reason he told the Senshi that; a reason he needed the crystals besides wanting to be in opposition with them. It made no sense, and if Usagi had learned anything about Mamoru it was that everything in his world had purpose; he was not a flighty person by any means. That was more her modus operandi. Still... this revelation begged the question -

Had she ever truly known him at all?

She grit her teeth and leapt...

About to find out.

To say Mamoru was reeling would be a vast understatement.

Since returning home, he had done little else but pace the length of his small apartment until he was sure he'd worn the carpet down so much, he'd soon tumble through to the neighbors below. He was hardly aware that he still clutched the indigo Rainbow Crystal in one hand, holding it so tightly the jagged points threatened to pierce his skin, but he didn't care. The sting was a preferable distraction to the turmoil that writhed within.

When he first felt the summons for aid, that alert of Sailor Moon in danger, he almost didn't believe it. It had been so long... he'd all but given up on ever experiencing it again. What a jolt, to feel that tug once more, deep within his chest. Her siren call had been unlike anything else... until the day Usagi nearly got trampled in the fun house.

Well... he mused grimly. That solved that mystery, didn't it? He supposed the slight difference probably lay in the fact that she had been untransformed at the time. The closest he could come to describing it would be like... two flavors of the same food. Just with different seasoning. The thought made him want to snort... of course he was equating his bond with Sailor Moon - Tsukino Usagi - with food.

Gods, she was making him crazy.

But... in some ways... she was making his life much much simpler. He stopped his manic pacing, allowing himself a soft smile. He supposed the reasons for his romantic interest in both Sailor Moon and Usagi now could be boiled down to simply noticing shades of the same girl in either persona. He fell in love with her as a whole... he just didn't realize it at the time. Or maybe his subconscious did. Two sides of the same coin... much like himself. Out of all of this mess, that was the only thing that still made complete and utter sense.

He loved her. Tsukino Usagi the girl, Sailor Moon the warrior.

If only everything else could be that black-and-white.

The sudden banging on his balcony door nearly gave Mamoru a heart attack. He spun around only to startle once more at the sight of Sailor Moon, fierce lines in her face, framed in the doorway and by the last golden rays of the setting sun. She looked... positively ethereal, with that backdrop. Like her entire body was aglow. It was an image he wouldn't soon forget. He swallowed thickly and tried to shake the fluttering feeling from his stomach as he went to go let her in. The second the door opened she was upon him, hands on hips, crackling fury in her eyes.

"You have something of ours - I'd like it back!" she declared of him loudly, and he was swiftly transported back to the day of their first lesson, when she lobbed a stuffed donkey at him and threw him out of her bedroom. For such a little blonde, she sure packed a lot of fire.

Mamoru however had an altogether different bone to pick with her. "When - exactly - were you going to tell me you're Sailor Moon?" he demanded, the barest hint of accusation fleshing out his query.

The Moon Senshi gave a barking, non-humorous laugh. "Oh, I don't know... Maybe around the time you were going to tell me you're Tuxedo Kamen!" She punctuated her sassy retort with a poke to his chest.

Mamoru growled in frustration, understanding her point but for some reason unable to shake the frustration that continued to fester. It was something like... like protectiveness. He raked a hand through his dark locks. "It's - it's different for you. The danger you're in is exponentially greater without the benefit of sight... or, can you see? It certainly seemed like it, but then, how - how are you able to...?"

He realized he was starting to ramble, but it was okay because Usagi was basically ignoring him, throwing her hands in the air, apparently still stuck on an earlier statement he'd made that was rubbing her the wrong way. "Why does EVERYONE keep saying that!? Do you all not realize I am perfectly capable of understanding the dangers myself! That I am not some child running around with scissors unsupervised, and I can make intelligent decisions when given the appropriate information!? And anyway! If anyone should be explaining themselves right now, it's YOU! Or was that not what you were implying with your little come hither stare-down after you stole our crystal?"

They were both breathing pretty hard by this point, just glaring each other down, and it was then that Mamoru was suddenly struck by the weirdness of the situation; of having Sailor freaking Moon standing here shouting at him in the middle of his living room. Was this to be his new reality? Because it felt pretty darn surreal right now.

The wind left his sails all at once and Mamoru sighed, parrying an unexpected wave of exhaustion. He didn't want to fight with her. He wanted answers, yes, and to explain himself... but not this way.

"You're right. You're absolutely right. It's just... can- can you at least de-transform before we get into it? It's a little disconcerting with you standing there looking all... you know." He gestured vaguely at her attire, mumbling, "It'd be nice to talk to Usagi-san right now."

She actually had the grace to look apologetic. "I'd... prefer not. At least yet. I want to see your facial expressions and being Sailor Moon is what gives me that ability. Well... that and this new mask." She gave it a shy nudge, seeming to finally have collected herself as she transitioned into an indoor voice. Good. Hopefully the entire complex was still unawares as to their true identities, because he was starting to get worried there. It suddenly made a lot of sense why one of Sailor Moon's hidden talents was amplified sound.

"I wondered about the new look," he smiled tentatively, and she appeared to relax even further at his unconscious offering of peace. "Er... would you like to sit down...?"

It still felt almost inconceivably awkward to be asking Sailor Moon to take a seat on his tired old pea-green couch, but she plopped down upon it in such a classically Usagi-like way that he had to stifle his chuckle, feeling slightly more at ease as he perched himself beside the teen. She herself was smirking at the pile of newspapers still gathering dust on his coffee table.

"Er... about that..."

"I get it now," Usagi said, inclining her head as she fingered the edge of one, the headline blaring in all bold lettering 'Sailor Moon: Alive or Dead?' Her eyes studied the grainy paparazzi shot as she continued, "My public disappearance was far more personal for you than I ever would have imagined. But I suppose you can chuck these now!"

He didn't tell her that that was even less likely than him surrendering over the newest Rainbow Crystal. But he did pick up another thread of conversation, leftover from before. "So you can see because of your transformation?" he prodded, with obvious curiosity. Then screwed up his face. "That's still so crazy to say. Your transformation. Tsukino Usagi, a superheroine!"

Usagi blushed and continued to fiddle with the newspaper. "Yeah. I only just found out yesterday. I hadn't tried transforming until then. I guess I was afraid of what I might discover. Or not discover, as it were. But I had nothing to be afraid of. It's wonderful." She looked up at him and beamed, and Mamoru saw the Usagi he so treasured shining through the baubles and the glamour. It was suddenly as though they were sitting there like old times, having a normal conversation... even if it did involve magic and miraculously returning sight. He gaped.

"So... the mask...?"

"Acts like... kinda like reading glasses? Because my sight as Sailor Moon isn't in color and it's not really the clearest either, but with the mask everything is sharpened. Like right now, I'm getting a really good angle on how your left eyebrow keeps twitching," Usagi pointed out with a giggle. Mamoru self-consciously flattened his fringe.

"Yeah, annoying quirk when I'm overly worked up. So... I just have to know. What gave me away? How did you know it was me?"

He'd always considered himself a good and careful secret keeper, almost overcautiously so. If he had slipped up in some inexplicable way, he wanted to know and rectify it immediately.

What Usagi told him nearly had him on the floor in shock once more. "Gold? Me?" he gasped, flabbergasted. He chanced a glance down himself as if half-expecting to see what she did, but of course, there was nothing there but the shirt he'd worn to the beach. The picture in his head of a glowing golden chest felt ridiculous and cartoonish; he was rather glad he couldn't partake in this oddity.

Usagi was a lot less certain about this than she had been anything else. He got the impression she was sharing this only very reluctantly. "I still don't know for sure what it is, and why I'm seeing it. I think it's related to your healing powers though. Yeah..." she added at his cocked brow, sounding almost smug. "I know what you did for my foot, and my sprained ankle. Even my burnt finger. I didn't exactly figure it out until, well, earlier today - but as soon as I connected the dots it all made sense. You've nothing to be embarrassed about, by the way. I think it's really cool."

She grinned, having no real idea the effect her words had on him; the scope of his insecurity regarding this unexplained and unwanted ability he'd more often than not struggled with throughout his life. It took longer than he deemed necessary to reply, so moved was he by her sentiment; the complete acceptance to be found within the contents of her compliment.

"Thank you," he said quietly. The silence stretched on for another few moments as she looked at him and he looked at her. He suddenly realized they'd reached the end of the 'pleasant' conversation topics, and it was as if neither wanted to cross into less amiable territory just yet. He sighed... bringing the indigo Rainbow Crystal out into the open. With gingerness to bely the rushing staccato of his heart, Mamoru rested it on the seat cushion between them. There it sat, neither touching it, like a physical symbol of the unspoken disparity that currently existed between them. Until Mamoru cleared his throat, deciding then that he would be the first to address the jewelry-sized elephant in the room.

"I know what you Sailor Senshi think of me. I know you all believe me to have... nefarious purposes for trying to collect the Rainbow Crystals for myself," Mamoru said, grimacing as if the connotation left a bad taste on his tongue. Usagi was listening with rapt attention, but she couldn't help softly inserting,

"Not all of us."

She observed the way his eyes flicked up to hers with some modicum of surprise, as if it hadn't occurred to him that perhaps she didn't fall in line with Senshi's anti-Kamen sentiment.

"I realize it's rather supercilious of me to assume I'm not a 'bad guy'. My motivations are entirely selfish, after all. But... I like to think... given the circumstances... Well. I'll let you be the judge, I suppose. That's what you're here for, isn't it? To decide if I'm friend or foe?"

Usagi didn't answer that, but noted the subtle taint of bitterness coloring his tone. He looked out the window, cobalt eyes gaining a faraway glaze. She realized that if she truly wanted to, she could have grabbed the crystal and bolted; maybe even gotten away with it too. But something kept her rooted to the spot. Something even more powerful than simple curiosity, and it had everything to do with the emotions Mamoru's lost little boy expression unwittingly evoked in her.

"You remember how I told you my parents died in a terrible car crash when I was young? And how I really have no memories of my life before that accident? Well... almost every night for the past few months I've dreamed over and over of a woman - a... princess, silly as that sounds - who promises me that if I can collect the Rainbow Crystals for her, she can show me the truth of my past. It was around the same time that I came into awareness of myself as Tuxedo Kamen, and I just know she has something to do with it; that awakening.

"Usagi-san, you've got to understand... there's more to me than I can even fathom myself and... well, it's all I've ever wanted, really. All my life, to know who I am and why I have the strange abilities I do. It's the whole reason I became Tuxedo Kamen. If I don't have the crystals... I have nothing. But if I can gather them for her, for the princess, then maybe... just maybe... I will get the answers I've been so desperately searching for ever since I left the orphanage."

The whole time Mamoru spoke, Usagi tried her best to contain herself, but it was becoming near impossible. Like a dam about to burst. When he at last paused in his story, she seized the opportunity to exclaim, "Wait - a princess? You've been dreaming of the princess?"

"Well, I'm fairly certain she-"

"Don't you see, Mamoru-san!" Usagi in her excitement yelled right over him, a joyous smile overtaking her features. She grabbed up his hand and laughed aloud, the sound tinkling merrily about the apartment. It was the sound of victory. "You're on our side! You're not our enemy! You couldn't be, not if you've been in contact with the princess!"

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here...?"

Mamoru looked hopelessly confused but it didn't deter Usagi in the slightest. "Us Sailor Senshi, we've been looking for the princess! We don't know who she is, yet, but I guess we're supposed to be protecting her. Luna says that when the Rainbow Crystals are combined, they will create the legendary Ginzuishou, birthright of the princess. If she's given you a mission to collect the Rainbow Crystals, then we have the same goals!"

"How do we know the one in my dream is even the same princess?" Mamoru countered, his brows furrowed, sounding oddly put out at having to address this possibility.

"She is. I know it." Usagi's unwavering blue eyes bore deep into Mamoru's, her unshakeable conviction heavy within the gaze. "I have every faith in that. It's the same faith telling me you're not our enemy... you're our ally. We may not have started on the same path... but our end goal is the same. To find the princess. And besides - how many mystical princesses do you think are out there needing Rainbow Crystals, anyway?" Usagi chuckled deprecatingly.

Mamoru still looked uncertain. "Will your Senshi see it that way?" he asked, with rueful inflection.

It was this that finally popped Usagi's ever optimistic bubble. Her face fell as she fully considered the suggestion, and her Senshi's tenable stance on the matter. Would they understand Usagi's trust in Tuxedo Kamen? If they knew he was actually Mamoru?

Then again, that probably wouldn't help his case any, given their - admittedly fractious - history.

"Maybe I'm just some dangerous deviant, trying to pull the wool over your eyes and sucker you into my grand evil ploy," Mamoru mused sardonically, his words strangely ringing a bell. "All this time we've spent together, who knows what I've been doing to slowly manipulate you."

Usagi shook her head, her usual stubbornness welling fierce. "I don't care what they think. They don't know you like I do." Mamoru blinked at her, and his gaze was charged. She could have happily drowned in those piercing depths if she allowed herself to. But Usagi ploughed on, reluctant to lose sight, not when this felt so important. She laid a solid hand upon Mamoru's knee, giving it a squeeze. "You might be right. They probably wouldn't condone a partnership between us. But I know what's in my gut and I believe you truly are doing this so you can figure out the truth of your past. And I want to help you do that. I kinda feel like I owe you that much, after all you've done for me. So... I'm with you. Even if that means..." She let out a shuddering breath, hardly believing what she was about to say next - "Even if it means keeping a secret from my friends."

"I'm not asking you to do that," Mamoru whispered, countenance a tempest of emotion. "You could walk away right now. Pretend this night never happened. Go back to our old lives... You've become so advanced, you hardly need me anymore."

"That's not true," Usagi whispered back, just as intensely. Her fingers dug into his leg in a way that was probably painful, but she hardly noticed.

Mamoru's lip twitched then. "Well... I suppose your combat skills do leave something to be desired."

"Hey - are you insulting my trusty duck-and-run method of fighting!?" Usagi huffed, a glimmer of amusement beginning to shine in her eyes too.

"I'm just saying, for someone who hasn't been on the battlefield in weeks, it shows."

"Chiba Mamoru, you are mean! I-" Usagi blinked, startled to find a hand thrust directly in front of her face. She frowned petulantly from it to Mamoru, suddenly recognizing that it was a hand outstretched in offering.

"You help me get the Rainbow Crystals. I help you learn to fight better?" Mamoru proposed, laying out the terms of the deal. A grin pulled taut the corners of Usagi's cheeks.

"A fair trade," she nodded, giving his hand an enthusiastic shake. Lightness seeped through her whole being, as she realized with nearly unbearable relief that she wasn't about to lose her relationship with Mamoru. It was simply going to take on a new shape... like an onion shedding layers. There was something wistful about that fact, the loss of lessons as she knew them, and yet... his proposition held its own form of excitement.

She was going to get combat training from none other than Tuxedo Kamen himself!

A glance out the window showed Usagi the sun had finally dipped past the horizon. The sky had darkened considerably, its canvas taking on a dusty periwinkle hue. A tiny sliver of moon was risen, drifting in and out of chalky cloud wisps. Her mama was bound to discover Usagi was no longer in her room, and when she did, she was going to fret over her daughter's whereabouts. If the phone calls started, she just hoped the girls would know enough to cover for her. Usagi turned back to Mamoru to find him studying her intently.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, two spots of red materializing high upon his cheekbones, as if caught in the act of something embarrassing. "Just... still trying to come to terms with the fact that it's really you in there, Odango Atama."

"Whatever happened to 'Usako'?" she queried, gazing up at him through the curtain of her bangs. It came out a little shyly, but Mamoru still looked as stricken as if she had just announced herself holder of the next crystal. She decided to take pity on him and change the subject, quickly detouring, "Oh yeah. Um. Earlier... I meant to give you this. Until, you know, the shock and the youma and Zoisite and... well, then it just didn't seem like the right time anymore. But anyway. Here. It's yours."

She passed over the star locket, setting it gently into his lap. He picked it up with almost reverent fingers, eyes wide.

"I never meant to hang onto it as long as I did," Usagi grimaced by way of apology. "But after what happened downtown..."

"It... I can't take this," Mamoru protested weakly, even as his eyes devoured the small object as if it were a priceless artifact that had been lost for years.

"Of course you can. It's yours. I was merely borrowing it," Usagi said obstinately. "Keeping it safe until I found you again."

Mamoru seemed to like the sound of that, because it broke him from his daze. He suddenly pushed it back on her. "Then why don't you keep holding onto it? I know it means something to you. You wore it whenever you were upset."

"But it clearly means something to you too," Usagi insisted, trying to refuse his hands and failing miserably.

"It's fine."

"Tell me."

Mamoru let out a whooshing exhalation of air, a trace of reticence still clinging to his voice as he confessed to her, "It was my mother's, I think. I don't really know for sure though. I've just always had it, long as I can remember. They probably bequeathed it to me when I was discharged from the hospital. Or maybe it was just a kindly gift from a nurse." He shrugged like it was no big deal, all the while Usagi gawked, reeling. And he wanted to leave it with her?

"I can't take this," she told him in a low voice. "Especially not if it might have belonged to your mother. The only piece of her; the only clue to your past you have left."

"I want you to have it," he said firmly.

"Mamoru-san..."

Mamoru shook his head and stood up, heading towards his tiny attached kitchen. "Do you want some tea?" he called out to her, subterfuge if she ever saw it. She frowned down at the locket now back in her possession. No matter what drugs Mamoru was on, there was no way in hell she was going to keep it. Not if it was the potential remaining link to his family.

"N-no, thank you," Usagi replied, using his brief absence to let her eyes dart wildly about the apartment until she spotted the vase of roses from her first visit here. She snuck into the hallway and tucked the star locket beside it, so that he would discover it later, after her departure. Speaking of... "It's actually time I should be going now. Before my mama has a coronary."

"Oh," Mamoru said, looking almost downcast at the news as he wandered out of his kitchen, teapot in hand. Usagi smiled at the domestic sight.

"Raincheck!"

"So... Tomorrow? Same time as usual?" Mamoru offered, the hesitant smile on his face almost boyishly eager.

"Definitely," Usagi agreed with a mirroring smile. She was already out the balcony door and one heeled boot upon the ledge when she suddenly turned back, some undefinable bravery coursing through her veins, perhaps borne of the progress they'd made here today. "Oh, and Mamoru-san? The new nickname? ...I like it."

With a wink, she left him frozen and gobsmacked.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Note: HO. LEE. CRAP! That right there is perhaps the longest chapter I've ever written, in any story. Most I try to cap off around 2000-4000 words, but this little beastie weighs in at well over 6000. I'm PROUD! I half considered cutting it up, especially with all the POV switches, but I didn't want it to lose its emotional impact. SOOOO? What do you all think? Are you intrigued by the direction this is going? I know some may not necessarily be pleased with the idea of Usagi keeping a secret from the Senshi, but I quite liked the whole 'role reversal' of the thing. Initially it was them doing something she wasn't exactly approving of... now the tables have flipped and it's her turn to be the sneaky one ;) What's a story without some drama, eh? So now... Usagi and Mamoru against the world! Will Mamoru learn to control his healing powers? Will Usagi become a better fighter and find out more about this mysterious princess? Will they ever admit their clear attraction for each other!? One last thing... don't forget about that locket yet ;)

GUYS. I AM SOBBING. You went above and beyond ONCE AGAIN in your reviews. Thank you a million times over to following people for their kindhearted words and encouragement: Lmx3108, tryntee13, aldoraspritelette, Sonata IX, AimlesslyGera, Astraearose-silvermoon, masterray5, Tina Century, UltraSenshi, Jwalla1986, Ruk, Guest (x4), Princesakarlita411, RogueAlly, LokiGirl1221, Moon Bunny, chimichurri, lolopptt, mtillm21, Oreo596, karseneau1, smoon4409, Serenity Red Eclipse, phillynz, Rufael, Daire123, MyIndy13, TinkStar87, and lisasailor. My heart is FULL!

Until next chapter,

AngelMoon Girl