"Mamo-chan?" Usagi gasped in disbelief.

It couldn't be real, this had to be another hallucination. Or, had her prayers finally been answered and Mamoru came back to her?

With her eyes still glued to the grounds down below, the man just stood there still and hadn't yet moved; he was waiting for her, she just knew it and without another thought, she ran as fast as she could to greet him before he disappeared.

Saphir checked his watch and saw that there wasn't much time left before his brother would have to start closing down the library so, he made his way to the entrance of the school building rather than waste any more time. Some students began to exit the front doors, not a lot but a few, chatting amongst themselves seemingly to not have a care in the world. The energies he felt off of them as each one passed by gave him such a warm feeling inside that he couldn't help but smile to himself; it was the feeling of freedom.

However, that smile quickly faded when, without warning, someone came charging straight towards him at full speed. Unable to react quickly enough, he received the brunt force of the petite, school girl whom he didn't know, as she ran into his arms and encased him with her own. Her face pressed against his chest and he felt her grip tighten as she started to cry out words that he could hardly make out due to them being muffled by his jacket.

"Mamo-chan I can't believe it's really you, I thought you had forgotten me." Usagi cried.

He looked down at the girl that was clinging to him and the first thing about her that caught his attention were the two, blonde buns holding together the long streams of hair that trailed over her shoulders and down to her back.

The sinking feeling in his gut not only returned, but amplified intensely, with confusion and fear being thrown in as well. Not knowing what to do or say, the only words he was able to muster up were, "What's going on?"

Her face finally raised up to look at his, exposing her blue eyes that were beginning to form droplets of tears on her water line. He couldn't believe nor understand what Sailor Moon was doing here with him but, before another word could be exchanged between them, a voice startled them both.

"Shinjiro!"

Both looked over to see Demande standing outside the front door witnessing the two still locked in what seemed to be a lover's embrace. The shout he gave attracted onlookers from other students who were still loitering around outside the front of the school. He was furious, unable to comprehend what he was looking at with his chest visibly rising and falling while he tried to remain as calm as he would allow himself to.

"Shinjiro?" Usagi questioned out loud.

Her brows furrowed as her gaze went from Demande back to Saphir's. She let go of him and stepped away. Then, she slowly raised her hands up to his sunglasses and when they were removed from his face, she could now see the huge mistake she had just made. The paler shade of skin and his eyes that were not quite the correct shade of blue…it was not Mamoru this man resembled, but rather…

'Saphir?' she thought.

The realization on her face was recognized immediately from Saphir causing him to look over to his brother, giving him a glare that showed that Demande's anger had now transferred over to him. Everything became quite clear now on why his brother took a job here.

"I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone else." Usagi told him as she handed him back his sunglasses. The emotions of hurt, embarrassment and most of all, disappointment could be felt by her all at once.

Putting his anger and jealousy aside, Demande walked over to them, and the closer he got, the more he could see the uncomfortable expressions that read on both of their faces.

"Usagi..?"

"This is your brother?" she asked him.

"Yes.." is all Demande could say.

She paused for a moment and began to feel the all too familiar urge to cry.

"I see…excuse me, I seemed to have left something in the classroom." Usagi turned away and ran back inside the school.

Demande reached out to her but, realized his brother was still standing there in complete silence most likely waiting for an explanation. The other students were still eyeing them as well, watching the drama unfold.

"Saphir, what are you doing here?" he asked him.

Saphir forced out a small laugh while he cocked his head in a different direction. He was amused at how his brother was going to turn this around on him.

He then replied disdainfully, "I was here to come visit you today but, it looks as if I interrupted something. I guess I'll see you at home since it looks like you still have business to take care of."

Demande could feel the evil aura of the Jakokusuishou emitting from him, becoming more intense each second they stood there while Saphir's cold eyes pierced through him like daggers; a look that almost frightened him.

"I-I'll discuss this with you when I return home." Demande told him. For the first time in his entire life, he felt intimidation towards his little brother, the dark energy he felt was rising to dangerous levels and he knew Saphir needed to get out of here before a potential disaster could occur.

Without a word, Saphir turned around and walked off school grounds and all appeared normal again to the surrounding bystanders, as they finally took their attention off of them.

He thought it best to let him cool off first before he would talk about this with him. For now, he needed to check on Usagi and make sure she was okay but, more importantly, find out what just happened between the two.

He didn't know where she could've ran off to so he went through each hallway, glancing at all the rooms he passed by, but with no luck. It's not like he could check the ladies room and all the other rooms were either closed off or occupied with club activities still going on so he went to the last secluded place, she could've gone to.

As he opened the door to the rooftop, he immediately saw her small figure in the distance looking out against the railing. It was a very lonely sight to behold, to say the least. He approached the railing as well and stood next to her even though it went unnoticed, her gaze seemed to be lost in the sun that was making it's way towards the horizon.

"Usagi.." he said to her. "I hope my brother didn't say anything to upset you."

She didn't respond at first but then eventually shook her head slightly.

Not wanting to press her any further since she seemed unwilling to talk right now, he told her, "Well, I can see that you want to be alone right now but, I just wanted to let you know that I apologize for whatever happened and hope everything's alright."

She still didn't answer him and as he looked at her profile one last time, he saw lines of tears fall down her face now, tears that she had probably been holding back this entire time.

He began to turn and walk away so that he could give her, her privacy. Then, he heard a sob escape from her.

"I'm such an idiot." She finally said out loud.

He turned back around.

"I thought it was him, I really thought it was Mamo-chan." She cried even further.

'So that's what it was.' He thought. It irked him a little, that she saw any resemblance of her beloved in his brother, but now wasn't the time to dwell on such a trivial matter.

"Usagi, it was an honest mistake, don't be hard on yourself. There's no need to be embarrassed." He went to stand beside her once again.

"No…it's more than that. I was so happy to see him..thought that he couldn't take being away from me any longer but, I was foolish to think that he hadn't forgotten me.."

"Just because your boyfriend is overseas doesn't mean he forgot about you. You tell me all the time about the letters and phone calls and.." he trailed off when he saw her face darken.

"Oh my god…there weren't any letters and phone calls, were there?" He asked.

"There were, but all were from me. I don't know what's happened. Three months ago, my boyfriend gave me this ring, told me he loved me and that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together before he boarded that plane. I haven't heard from him at all since that day." She sniffled.

"That can't be.." Demande was shocked, the King was many things to him but it was always known that he had a deep devotion to the Queen.

She nodded while the tears poured even heavier down her face, "Every call I make to him I get no answer, every voicemail I leave I receive no call in return, every time I open the mailbox it's always empty…every day. I've kept this a secret for so long from my closest friends and my family. I have to walk around them and pretend like everything's okay, not wanting to concern them because they know how much he means to me, but, at the same time this pain is slowly eating me away inside and I don't know how much longer I can take it." she rubbed her eyes. "I'm so sorry for breaking down like this but, I just had to tell someone."

He placed his hand on her back to comfort her. However, when his fingers met with the warmth of her skin, he was bombarded with several images and scenes that flashed through him instantaneously.

The first, was Usagi pounding on a door violently while screaming, although he couldn't hear what it was she was saying. The next was Usagi curling up on the ground inside what appeared to be a phone booth with her face covered in tears, just like now, cradling herself with her school bag still in hand. Another where Usagi ran into the arms of a man whose face wasn't quite clear to him, only to be pushed away, leaving her alone. The last was of her calling out to someone on a motorcycle that didn't stop for her but instead drove away, followed by her collapsing on the sidewalk as her friends rushed to her aide.

He jerked his hand away immediately and the visions stopped as quickly as they came. He no longer felt overwhelmed by them but, was left confused. She didn't seem to notice, and continued to cry into the palms of her hands, hiding the shame she was feeling.

'Were those her memories I just saw?' he asked himself.

It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before and he didn't seem to have an explanation for it. The montage he witnessed was full of many moments, but, they flew by so quickly that it seemed to be just one big blur, having only a few stick with him. They were sad memories from her past and he knew that the man that was in them, the source of her sadness, had to be him. It just showed that even the king and the queen's relationship wasn't all that it seemed, and was just as fragile as any other. As much as he felt sorry for the hurt she was feeling, a new since of hope dawned on him.

He felt the corners of his mouth raise slightly while thinking of the possibilities that this could lead to.

"I'm so sorry for keeping you here and that I made such a scene in front of your brother." She spoke again, taking her face out of her hands while her back was still turned to him.

He attempted to reach out to her again, hesitating his touch this time. Nothing happened so, he continued it, gently rubbed her back and said, "You don't ever have to apologize with me, in fact I'm the one that's sorry, I had no idea you were going through this."

"I was trying so hard to improve my grades and better myself but, now I see that it's too late. I was never a suitable enough woman for Mamoru and by now he probably already found someone else at Harvard; someone that's actually compatible with him." She could hardly make out in between sobs.

Demande grabbed both her shoulders and turned her towards him. She turned her head away, ashamed of the tears that covered her now red and blotchy face.

"Don't ever think yourself unworthy because you are far from it. I can't speak for your boyfriend, but I'm sure there's some reason for this, for any man would be lucky to have you." He said.

Her eyes now looked up at his, with a fresh tear falling down her cheek. He cupped her cheek with his hand and wiped it away with his thumb and instead of pulling it away afterwards, he let it linger instead, enjoying the feeling of her soft skin beneath it.

"Thank you." She told him. "I don't know what it is, but for some reason I feel like I can trust you." Usagi placed her own hand on his now.

Her eyes were drawing him in, just like they did that first time he saw her as Neo-Queen Serenity, just like that time 2 years ago when he had captured her as Sailor Moon, and in a way, he felt a familiarity to that particular moment. At that time she too was in a vulnerable state, her eyes filled with tears, his hand bringing her face in closer to his wanting nothing more than to press his lips against hers.

Yes, right now that's all he wanted to do. However, it wouldn't be like last time because, back then, she looked at him feeling disgust and hatred but now, she felt absolute trust in him.

Without realizing it, his face began to gravitate towards hers. He couldn't help it, for so long he had wanted to do this. This time it would be different, he tried to convince himself, nothing about this situation was like last time, nothing at all.

'Except' he stopped from going further, only inches away from her lips. 'Just like that time, her head is still filled with thoughts only for him.'

The hand he used to caress her cheek now moved to the back of her head, pushing it into his chest with her face pointing outward. He used his other arm to wrap around her and pressed her against him. He'll get what he wanted all in due time, at the rate the king is damaging her trust for him, she'll be his soon enough. Like all fragile things, it's bound to eventually break and he will be the one to pick up the pieces. For now, he had to just stick to the plan and try to hold back as much as his restraints allowed him to until she was completely willing.

"I will always be here for you if you ever need a shoulder to cry on. You've been carrying this burden for too long and if you need to let it all out, feel free to use me." He whispered in her ear.

At first she wanted to push him away, feeling guilty for being in another man's arms but, it wasn't like that with him, he gave her a comfort that she had desperately needed. Her face buried into his chest as she let her tears flow freely while gripping the sleeve of his jacket and for the first time in three months, felt the sorrow that had built up inside of her begin to slip away.

As much as he wanted to enjoy and savor in the feeling of the warmth of her body against his, too many things plagued his mind that distracted him from it. What were those visions he was seeing? How was he able to see them? And Saphir…how was he possibly going to explain all of this…?

Demande stood outside the door to their apartment; their home, which normally gave him the solace he had only ever received from his throne back on Nemesis, but now, he felt as if he was walking into unfamiliar territory. He had rehearsed on what he was going to tell him over and over in his head and still came up with nothing; there was no excuse he could think of, no alibi to tell, no logical explanation as to why he would almost blow their cover after they had agreed to remain "dead" to everyone who knew of them. He let out a deep breath to prepare himself for what would occur once he crossed over this threshold, however, whatever it will be, he was ready to accept for betraying Saphir's trust.

He opened the door slowly, hearing the loud creak it made, making the situation even more tense than it already was. The lights were turned off, with hardly any sunlight left outside to shine through the windows, making the apartment dark and gloomy.

As Demande set his jacket on the coat hanger, the room lit up unexpectedly, revealing Saphir who was sitting on their living room couch patiently waiting for him this whole time.

"Welcome home, brother." Saphir always said this to him when he returned home from work but the way he said it this time lacked any enthusiasm or emotion.

"Saphir, please let me explain-"

Saphir raised his hand to silence him, "There's no need to explain. On the contrary, seeing that blonde, little twit in the same vicinity as you, was more than enough for me understand everything."

"Look, nothing has to change. I know how the situation looks but, she really doesn't know anything, I promise." Demande pleaded.

"The look in her eyes that she gave me said otherwise. She knows who I am." He retorted.

"She sees the resemblance to your real identity but, I have everything under control." He tried to convince Saphir.

"And what if that's not so? What do you think she will do if she finds out who we really are?" Saphir asked.

"I honestly don't know, but, she's a very kind person, I'm sure if it ever came down to it, she'd understand." Demande said.

Saphir rose to his feet abruptly, "That Bitch banished our ancestors to a desolate wasteland of a planet for simply refusing the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou into their bodies! So let me re-word my original question, just what the hell do you think is going to happen to us if she finds out that we've re-introduced this planet with the Jakokusuishou?!" He yelled furiously.

"Saphir don't raise your voice to me like I'm a child. I've learned in the time I've been here that Sailor moon and the Queen are different people and wouldn't exactly make the same decisions."

He walked towards Demande, "But she will eventually become Neo-Queen Serenity, she will eventually think like her and not too far from now she will become a brutal monarch, exiling anyone who dares to disagree with her methods and as descendants of those people, we are living proof of that! With that simple fact alone, it baffles me that you would want any involvement with her."

Demande stood there in silence.

"I knew that you held her on a pedestal above everyone else but, deep down, I was always afraid that included me and I guess that was true as well. I have been poisoning my body with the Black Crystal for you; I kept up my end of the bargain and avoided Petz, the love of my life, just so we could fulfill this plan while you completely disregarded everything for your own selfish needs." His voiced cracked as he finished his sentence.

Demande looked up at him in confusion, "Petz…You mean the leader of the Spectre Sisters? I had no idea that you loved her…"

"Of course you don't. The Queen is all that consumes your mind and is all that you ever cared about. You could never have guessed that I thought of anyone other than you and that I was my own person besides the loyal, brother-servant role that you had already set in stone for me."

"That's not true, Saphir!" Demande raised his voice.

"That day back then when Wiseman attacked me, she found me after I had ran away from Nemesis and recuperated me enough to give me the strength I needed to go find you." Saphir's anger began to take on a more somber tone. "It was then that I had realized how much I loved her and I promised her that I would return to her to thank her not only for helping me when I needed it the most, but for her showing me that I was capable of such a beautiful feeling."

Demande continued to listen.

"We all know how that day ended and I never was able to thank her." His anger rose again, "All because of you. You're the one who blindly trusted Wiseman ignoring my suspicions about him and allowed him to manipulate you and use your feelings for her against you and now, here we are once again, taking a huge risk and for what? So that you can try to win someone's love that will never be reciprocated!"

The dark energy inside of him begin to spike again just as it did at the school, but this time it was able to fester. It was as if he was being possessed by it.

"Well I'm not going to stick around long enough for you to ruin our lives once again!" he yelled.

Saphir started to walk towards the door, grabbing his jacket roughly.

"Saphir where are you going? You're not in the right state of mind to go out there right now!" Demande pleaded with him as he placed his hand on his shoulder to pull him back.

"Don't touch me!" he yelled back and at the same time, blasted an invisible wave of energy powerful enough to cause Demande to fly across the room. He hit the back wall so hard that the impact of it knocked the breath out of him.

He winced in pain and found that his vision was now blurred but that didn't stop him from trying to keep his brother from leaving and possibly causing danger to himself and others. In his weakened state, he made one last attempt to call Saphir back to him but felt his throat constrict as he tried to say his name. Saphir opened the door and looked back at him one last time before leaving, the look in his eyes were animalistic making him unrecognizable even to his own flesh and blood.

After hearing the door slam, Demande couldn't help but recall that time back on Nemesis where he lost his temper with Saphir for questioning his orders and had used force on him in the same manner as he just did. His head hung low in shame now that he felt what he must have been feeling back then, that powerless feeling, as he let out a soft whisper, "Saphir, I'm so sorry."

Through the still crowded streets, Saphir shoved his way through the busy cross walks, while receiving some angry responses in return but, he didn't care. He only had one destination in mind and wasn't going to waste any more time in doing the one thing he had wanted to do since they came back to Earth.

Then suddenly it hit him that he raised a hand to his brother, something he had never done before or even thought of doing before. All that anger he was feeling earlier started to subside. What had he done?

'What is happening to me?' he asked himself.

The feeling of regret started to wash over him and decided he would apologize to him later but for now he needed to complete the objective he had set out to do before it was too late.

Seeing her building in sight now, the nervousness started to set in and then realized that he hadn't planned on what he do once he saw her. The possibility of her not even living there anymore also crossed his mind but, all he could do for now was try. Across the street from the entrance, he stood on the sidewalk trying to find the courage to cross it and ring that buzzer, but what would he say on the intercom?

'Hi, it's Saphir who you thought was dead this whole time, can you please let me in?'

Now that the opportunity had come, it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be, however, it was now or never. He couldn't let his brother's selfishness prevent him from true happiness anymore. The moment he finally took his first step to cross the street, the street lights began to turn on as the sun was now completely set.

He immediately stopped when he saw a man and a woman begin to exit the front entrance walking arm and arm in a romantic manner. The woman had a smile on her face as she affectionately laid her head on the man's shoulder while her wavy, medium length hair flew freely behind her as did her forest-green colored peacoat. As she stepped under the light that illuminated the front entrance, Saphir could see now the unusual and uncommon hair color the woman had that almost matched the coat she was wearing. There was no mistaking it, it was Petz.