AN: Enjoy this newest chapter!

Chapter VI-Suspicions

Victory this time tasted bittersweet. That much was apparent to all the Senshi; some simply hid it better than others.

Jupiter's stretching shadow towered over the alley, as the tall warrior surveyed the surroundings with an expression of grim satisfaction. Next to her, Mars and Venus gave slight nods of approval, acknowledging the end of a hard battle. Mercury studied the alley through her visor, the blue shade screening the look in her eyes.

Neptune spared a glance towards the scattered shards and broken casings that had just minutes before sheltered precious specimens of a world-famous flower show. For a second, she was enthralled by the desolate view. It now had an odd, tragic beauty to it. The spell broke quickly, and the aqua-haired warrior exchanged a grave look with Uranus.

Sailor Moon wore a distant expression of sadness in her clear blue eyes. Strangely, she felt that, while they had won this fight, they had failed at something vastly more important. Yet any concrete ideas eluded her; her ambivalence was credited only to a vague sensation in her gut.

A small distance from the former battle scene, Chibiusa watched her friends in the aftermath of the fight. Her capacity for empathy had grown considerably, and the child could almost read each of their thoughts on their faces. Relief, regret, doubt—all were etched on their features.

The scene had something vaguely familiar about it.

She furrowed her brow, trying to place it. At first, her memory wouldn't help. Then it hit her.

"We're all here…" the child whispered in awe. "Again…"

Chibiusa thought back at the crisis they had just come through. She had seen the Sailor Team and the Outer Senshi fight together—not frequently, as their goals had seemed to diverge, but often enough. If they had come together again…was it a portent of another crisis?

Almost instinctively, the pink-haired princess turned her eyes to the one person who could offer the answer.

As though mirroring the child's thoughts, Setsuna met her inquiring red eyes at the same moment.

For a second, their gazes locked, one desperately questioning, the other reticent.

And the young woman slowly lowered her eyes, concealing the answer behind her glistening eyelids.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later the same night…

The nightmare came about more frequently now. Always the same ominous sphere of shadows closing in on her. And she was still no closer to finding its meaning. Devoid of her powers as Sailor Pluto, she felt helpless in front of the foreshadowed dangers. And still, she took some solace in knowing no one suspected her predicament. No one would find out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ami-chan! Go to bed already, it's almost two in the morning…"

Her mother's tone held a soft scolding as well as a note of understanding. Mrs. Mizuno knew her daughter's diligence all too well.

"Yes, I will in a moment…" came the answer.

Her mother poked her head through the half-open door.

"Now would be a good time, Ami-chan."

"Right…in a second…"

The blue-haired girl's voice was distant, as she only half-focused on her words. Her entire attention was caught by whatever information she read on the glowing screen of the computer.

"You and I will have a talk, young lady, about the difference between studying hard and losing sleep…" the mother warned, "but right now I want those lights out in ten minutes tops."

Ami nodded.

As soon as the older woman left, she went back to her work. She scrolled impatiently down a page, skimming through the text and glancing at the graphics and drawings.

"The answer has to be here…that's no coincidence…" She checked the computer screen once again, and shook her head in frustration. "I'm going to find out…"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Burrow glistening with beads of sweat, Setsuna stood on the edge of her bed, taking deep breaths to slow down her heartbeat. She then rose to her feet, wincing as the floor creaked under her weight. Careful not to make any more noise, she walked to the window. The promise of another sleepless night weighed down on her already weary mind.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the darkness, Michiru's eyes snapped open. A passing moonray reflected an angered sadness burning in their depths. She lay staring at the ceiling for a long while, listening to Haruka's soft, regular breathing. And all that time, she heard the other sounds in the house, noises that betrayed she was not the only one restless that night.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ami's mother rolled her eyes in silent exasperation as she turned off the lamp on her daughters writing table and passed a stroking hand through the girl's short hair. Perhaps for the first time in a long while, Ami had fallen asleep over the desk, with dissatisfaction still written clearly on her face.

The woman smiled at her sleeping child, thinking of how to move her to bed without waking her.

She reached a hand to turn off the computer. For a short second before the screen went black, she idly examined the data her daughter had been reading.

"I had no idea you were so passionate about astronomy, Ami-chan… maybe we'll watch the eclipse together…"

A few minutes later, when the blue-haired girl slept comfortably in her bed, the mother went out of the room, leaving the door ajar. A ray of light from the hallway fell across the desk, on the pages of the open book that had served as Ami's pillow. Bold letters from the title of a chapter were visible in the dim light.

"The Dynamics of the Solar System"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Morning brought a cool breeze, unusual for a late summer day. Having awakened with the dawn, Michiru sat on the front porch, a light blanket draped over her shoulders to keep off the chill. Her mind wandered back to the recent events, searching a connection that eluded her.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Setsuna's gentle voice floated to her through the nippy morning air.

"I could ask you the same question", Michiru replied, unable to keep a note of bitterness out of her otherwise soft tone.

"I thought I heard Hotaru cry and went to check on her", the other said quickly, betraying an answer prepared beforehand.

"She's asleep."

For a second, neither spoke.

"I love watching her sleep…" Michiru started in a neutral voice, "she looks so peaceful and serene…like she had all the answers and not a care in the world."

"Her new chan—"

"And every time I look in her eyes, I see the utter innocence in them. Like she would never lie… never keep things from me."

Suddenly wary, Setsuna lowered her eyes to Michiru's face, but the other kept her expression carefully dispassionate.

"I feel the same way", she eventually replied, "every time I look at her. I guess…it's natural for parents."

"That's what we are to her now, aren't we…? Parents…"

"Yes…"

For another long moment, they kept silent. Michiru leaned against the wooden stair rail, staring resolutely ahead, while Setsuna stood a couple of paces behind her, lost in her own thoughts.

"I had, last night."

Michiru's words confused the other.

"Had…?"

"Trouble sleeping. You asked first…remember?"

"Michiru…"

For the first time since they had started talking, the aqua-haired woman turned to her friend. Her wide sapphire eyes spoke all the meanings she had hidden in the brief conversation.

"Yes…?"

Setsuna held her gaze for one short second.

"I…I think I'm getting cold. I'll head inside, to fix some breakfast."

She went back inside without waiting for an answer. As she passed Haruka in the hallway, barely aware of the blonde's greeting, the young woman wondered how much longer she could avoid the others' questions.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the way to school, Ami's thoughts drifted back to the information she had discovered—or rather, the one she had not yet discovered. She felt several vital pieces were missing from the puzzle. Keeping her eyes fixed on the pavement, the girl reviewed all the data she had in her mind, hoping for it to make any sense, until…

"Ooof!"

A sudden impact threw her backwards, and she landed unceremoniously on the hard pavement she had so keenly been studying seconds before.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention, are you alright Miss?"

"No, I was the one distracted, I'm sorry…" Ami accepted the proffered hand, and found herself face to face with a lean, dark-haired man. His face was not entirely new to her.

"Here", he handed her the schoolbag she had dropped, "and again, my apologies."

"It's alright."

"Anything else I can do for you, Miss?" the man asked solicitously.

"No, thank you, I'll just head to school now." Ami glanced at her wristwatch. "I've been daydreaming and now I'm almost late…"

The stranger examined her uniform, and a smirk curled his lips. He cocked his head with an expression of amused puzzlement.

"Daydreaming, indeed… kids these days…! I'm not very familiar with this area of Tokyo, but isn't Juban the other way…?"

Ami jumped at his words, for the first time paying attention to her surroundings. A slight brush crept to her cheeks. Lost in thought, she had missed the right turn to school.

"I'll be going now…" she said, embarrassed.

"Well, you're lucky I'm headed the same direction myself", the man replied good-naturedly. "That way I'll make sure you actually get there this time."

"No need to bother, Sir…"

"Nonsense. Let's get going now, or I'll miss my appointment with your principal, Miss…?"

"Mizuno Ami."

He extended a hand and a genial smile.

"Tsumbono Ryou, at your service Miss Mizuno." With a small degree of pride, he noticed her eyes widen in recognition of his name.

"Oh, Tsumbono-sama! I thought you seemed familiar! I've heard so much about you, I'm a great admirer of your work!"

Conversation tied rapidly around the topic of Tsumbono's hybrids. He was quite impressed by Ami's knowledge of his work, and did not hesitate to tell her so. They walked together at a brisk pace, following, at the man's suggestion, a shortcut to school. The road took them past that part of the district where Mugen Academy had once been.

As they walked by the artificial pond left behind by the massive explosion, both fell silent for a second. Ami's mind drifted back to the threat mankind had unknowingly faced a few months before, and all the evil Silence concentrated in that one place.

"Amazing…" the man finally spoke, "how such a tragedy could occur…"

"Oh?"

"I'm still surprised that the major gas leak did not have any other consequences. Just imagine the shockwave an explosion of this magnitude would have created. And it was nothing short of a miracle that no people were killed in the blast." He shook his head, and indicated the deserted surroundings with a wave of his hand. "This could hardly be considered minimal damage, but considering the other effects the explosion could have had…"

"Yes…" Ami agreed in a neutral voice, "everyone was…lucky."

"Surprising how quickly nature tends to heal…can you already see the plant and animal life blooming again in the ruins? In fact, I have harvested several types of seeds from this newly formed ecosystem for…"

Ryou Tsumbono stopped in mid-sentence as he noticed Ami was no longer paying attention. She simply stared at the blue surface of the irregular pool of water. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head. An expression of enthusiasm appeared on the girl's face.

"I knew you were a genius, Tsumbono-sama! Thank you so much!"

Ami's face showed genuine gratitude and joy, so the man could do nothing else than shrug in confusion.

"You're welcome, but what did…"

"I have to leave you now, Sir…I have something to check before school! It was wonderful to meet you, thank you for this conversation!"

The last words were spoken as the girl broke into a run, new determination showing on her face.

"Could this be it...?"

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AN: A cookie for anyone who figures out what Ami could be thinking of;)! The explanation to everything is actually outlined in this chapter, but you'll have to wait for the next ones for details. I hope it's not obvious:)

Thank you for staying with this story! Review ;)!

Myosotis