Chapter 45

Controlling his temper was going to be an issue.

This became obvious the moment one of the Masho made some crack about Usagi. The entire room had bristled, and then Minako had smoothed her expression, favoring the Doku Masho with a cheerful smile.

"Talk to Usagi like that again and I'll force feed you that pretty little tiara", she said, still smiling like she and Naaza were best friends. Shuu reached over to give her a high five that she enthusiastically returned.

Things commenced downhill from there.

As if working with Kayura and the Masho wasn't bad enough, the Troopers had been stupid if they'd thought the Senshi hadn't picked up on the animosity between the two groups. And now they had a pack of Senshi that were a lot less open and friendly and a lot more distrustful.

And hostile. Brutally hostile.

They'd never seen the Senshi cold and unfriendly and it was jarring. But Seiji would be lying to himself if he didn't admit at least part of him was cheering Venus on. She was still recovering, but at full strength? Seiji would pay to see Naaza get taken down by a bunch of glowing hearts.

He'd pay good money.

Unfortunately, while he understood the Senshi's…very protective stance around Usagi, the hostility wasn't going to get them very far. The Masho were only going to tolerate so much before they felt the need to try and remind everyone of their superiority. And if things came to blows? Well.

The Troopers might not be starting the fight, but they'd certainly be ending it.

Not a productive way to actually get things done though. Seiji struggled for a way to break into the tense silence that now surrounded them all. Ami saved the day instead.

"So you're saying that one of this…Kaosu's abilities was that he could guide souls? This is on a very big scale. Will that be a problem?" she asked bluntly. It was hard to see even Ami's shy, polite personality with this new edge the Senshi had all taken on.

Kayura seemed to take it in stride, running her hands carefully along the Shakujo that rested on her lap.

"Yes, I believe so. As I said, the combined power of the Jewel and the Shakujo should be able to focus the rebirth," she reassured Mercury. Beside Ami, Rei frowned, looking troubled.

"We're talking about, essentially, the creation of billions of new lives. This process is so different from the last time something like this happened, and I'm a little concerned by how many unknowns there are here," she said. Ami bobbed her head.

Seiji really, really wanted to know what had happened last time. That the Senshi had ever had to do something like this before floored him. Touma had tried asking, however, and they'd all given him a few necessary details, expressions pained. The blue-haired man hadn't had the heart to press for more details.

"Well…" Usagi began, fidgeting in her seat next to Shuu, "The last time this happened, the Cosmos Crystal was able to regenerate everything, right?" she asked tentatively. "I mean…I'm just going to do that again. But…not inside the cauldron. I can do it," she said, her expression determined.

He was torn between wanting to hug her and wanting to ask her what kind of creature she was, exactly. She was discussing this rebirth as if it were planting a garden or cleaning a house. The optimism from the Underworld was back, but it was a little scary to see it being applied to something this serious.

"There's a big difference here," Rei said to her, gesturing emphatically, "And that's that there aren't any actual bodies for these starseeds to return to. And anyways, Usagi, you kind of died to get us all reborn. I don't really want to try that again and just hope it works." Ami nodded again like this was all old information, but Shuu looked alarmed.

"You what?!" he asked Usagi. Usagi made a face at Rei and Ami.

"Um. Those bodies weren't exactly all in great condition for their return last time," she asserted. When they all stared at her, she looked at her toes. "I rebuilt everything before, didn't I?" she muttered under her breath. "I used the Lambda power of the Cosmos Crystal, but the Cosmos Crystal and the Silver Crystal are kind of the same thing. I mean…I'm technically Sailor Cosmos, and she's the one with the Cosmos Crystal."

Seiji felt a headache coming on as he tried to unpack all that information and figure out what it was supposed to mean.

"Excuse me," Touma said curtly.

Oh good, Seiji thought, Touma was going to straighten all this out.

"I haven't heard of Sailor Cosmos, or The Cosmos Crystal, or any Lambda Power. The only Lambda I know about refers to the Cosmological Constant. Why is it you're saying that this Sailor Cosmos is you but not sounding confident about it, and what is the Cosmos Crystal? It's not the Silver Crystal?" he asked.

And what exactly had Usagi rebuilt, Seiji wanted to know. Surely not an entire Universe.

Ami sighed, looking as though she already had a headache that might be getting worse.

"The Lambda power sort of acts like a Cosmological Constant. It ensures that the Universe doesn't become static – that it can continue to cycle through life and death. Sailor Cosmos is the Guardian of the Cosmos. I wasn't around to get the story firsthand, but we have good reason to believe she was a future form of Usagi. When Usagi sacrificed herself to dissolve Chaos in the Cauldron, it triggered the Lambda Power, which resulted in everyone's rebirth. In a nutshell", Ami turned then, fixing Usagi with a steely blue gaze.

"Usagi I don't think this is the same situation. Whatever that thing was, it ate the cauldron. I have no idea what that even means for any of us. The best Chaos could do was try to fuse with it. Somehow, we all still exist, but it's very likely that if we die here, our crystals simply stop existing. We're an anomaly. It's probably going to be the same for everyone we rebirth unless we can ensure we manage to tie the starseeds to this Universe. This is completely out of my realm of knowledge or expertise."

She paused there, looking both irritated and distraught at the same time. And Seiji realized then that if Touma had been getting frustrated with all of this uncertainty, Ami was probably at her wits' end.

"What I can tell you," Ami continued, "Is that we can't rely on the Lambda Power since we don't really know how it would manage a rebirth without a cauldron. The Cosmos Crystal was tied to the cauldron itself, so even if you did have the Cosmos Crystal somehow, we don't even know if it would be effective. We're much better off planning to use the Silver Crystal." She huffed out a breath of air.

"At least we understand the Silver Crystal. Mostly," she added under her breath.

Makoto made a frustrated gesture. "I agree with Ami. It doesn't sound to me like there's a good way to know for sure what will happen, but I don't think we should be trying to tap into anything connected to the Cauldron right now. It just seems like a bad idea. We can figure this out without trying to do what we did last time, Usagi-chan," she pointed out, smiling supportivley at the girl.

Beside her, Touma looked…tense.

Seiji was willing to bet being so far in the dark was probably wearing on Tenku's nerves. It was wearing on his nerves and he hardly understood it. All this talk about death and dying. About the Senshi dying – he didn't like how casual they all seemed to be about it even while they kept dancing around it.

"Well. Based on everything you've explained about your past experiences, I think this will work. I know the uncertainty is scary, but this is our best shot to do this," Nasuti said decisively. Usagi smiled at her gratefully. Ami sighed, typing something on her computer.

She watched the screen for several moments, the light flickering across her face suggesting that she was looking at a lot of information in very quick succession. After a moment, she nodded with finality, closing her eyes and furrowing her brow. She opened them again and fixed Kayura with a surprisingly intense gaze. In that moment, Seiji could see The Senshi of Wisdom.

"I'm going to agree with Usagi and Nasuti. I've run every scan I can possibly think of, six I've programmed specifically for this scenario. I don't like the uncertainty involved, but I can't work anymore stability into these models. At this point, this is our best chance. I don't know what happens the longer a starseed sits outside of both its host and the cauldron that created it, but I don't think it's anything good. I'm going advise us to move forward."

She turned here, and moved her gaze over Rei, Makoto, and Minako, ignoring the small cheer Usagi let out.

Makoto responded first. She shrugged, but her face was determined. "I'm totally behind you," she said. She smiled.

"I'm not happy about the uncertainty either, but…I agree this is the best course of action we have," Rei said next, her face still troubled.

"I'm in," Minako said finally. She gave Usagi a sad but determined smile. "I'm going to do everything I can to help you Usagi-chan. I won't let you down," she assured the woman. Usagi let out a cry and tackled Venus in a hug.

"You're the best Mina-chan!" she gushed, glomming onto the blonde. "You never let me down!"

The comment struck a nerve. Minako jerked as if she'd been slapped, but recovered quickly, hiding the slip as she returned the embrace, squeezing Usagi affectionately.

Yeah.

There went the other part of his unease. She was hurting. He knew she was hurting. He could practically feel her suffering when he was with her, but she refused to acknowledge it. She had single-mindedly focused on the task of physical healing, making leaps and bounds there despite her still fragile condition.

But after the initial volley of vulnerability she'd given him – a product of simply being too exhausted and wounded to do otherwise, he was fairly certain now – she'd hidden behind a blockade of cheer and optimism.

Seiji cared about her. And it hurt him deeply to know that she was trying to shoulder through the agony alone.

Which meant in the near future, they were on a collision course for a very difficult series of conversations. Even if she got angry with him, for her own sake, Seiji was willing to face her wrath.

And watching her smile like that at Naaza earlier told him her wrath was probably considerable.

"So what are we going to need to do to get this going?" Ami asked succinctly, trying to steer them back on track.

Kayura furrowed her brow, staring at the Shakujo. "We'll need a sacred space to perform the rite. Shuten knew of a shrine, built by the ancients. It formerly protected the Jewel," she said. "We'll want to talk a bit more about…how things happened before?" she continued hesitantly.

Ami cleared her throat. "The Galaxy Cauldron was the most powerful star in our Universe – it was responsible for the cycle of life and death for all things," she intoned gravely. "It's a neutral party – creating both light and darkness. It created the Sailor Guardians, but it also created Chaos. And Chaos tried to seize control of it and basically end the Universe."

Hell. He'd thought Arago trying to take over humanity had been bad.

Ami fidgeted, casting a side look at Usagi before continuing.

"The Senshi…weren't around for the end of our battles, so Usagi can probably tell it better, but essentially, in order to defeat Chaos she jumped into the cauldron with it. Chaos dissolved, but Usagi also died. This triggered the Lambda Power, which essentially reset the entire Universe."

Ami fidgeted again as everyone stared at her save the other Senshi, who were all giving Usagi worried looks. Usagi herself was wearing an expression of resolve that Seiji…didn't like.

Touma finally whistled.

"Wow. That's…wow", was all he said.

Seiji agreed. He also felt like that was probably a cliff notes version of what had actually happened. Usagi had jumped into the engine of rebirth for an entire Universe. He couldn't help but stare at her.

She looked normal.

Shuu was staring at her like he wasn't sure who she was, but there was awe in his gaze. Awe and a kind of deep protectiveness that Seiji couldn't help but agree with. If Usagi had truly done those things – if she could actually rebirth billions of souls – was she some kind of goddess?

It didn't matter what she was, he reminded himself. She might carry a vast source of power, but they'd all see how vulnerable that burden could make her, and there was no way the Troopers could stand aside and let her put herself at that sort of risk. He turned back to Ami and Kayura.

"I'm not ok with Usagi taking on a risk like this. You're talking about her dying. There isn't a cauldron here – that we know of – that's just going to reset her. Or any of you", he said. Behind Ami and Rei, Ryo and Shin both nodded in agreement.

Ami made a frustrated face, but it was Rei who spoke quietly.

"We can't use the Cosmos Crystal because there isn't a Cosmos. We can't talk in absolutes about something that's abstract. We can't really rely on what happened last time because we're not repeating it. This is something new, so the risk is unknown", she said.

"We'll be adding the power of the Sailor Crystals to the Silver Crystal's power. We might be able to Sailor Planet our way into getting it done," Minako said with firm cheer. Makoto, Ami, and Rei looked thoughtful. Usagi frowned.

"Not like Galaxia is the first time the Silver Crystal has regenerated stuff", she said pointedly. "I can do this. And anyways, it doesn't matter. I vowed to restore the starseeds in a place they would be safe. I promised Pluto. I'm not breaking that promise, however we have to get it done", she finished firmly.

The Senshi all nodded.

Seiji felt anxiety creep up his spine. He didn't like the phrase however we have to get it done, but the best the Troopers could do at this point was be watchful.

"I think that none of you are figuring in the power of the Jewel or the Shakujo", Nasuti cut in. "We're not only relying on this Silver Crystal – there will be multiple sources of power working together. I'm more concerned with how we do this.

"The Silver Crystal and the Jewel working together should be enough to rebirth these seeds here. This is a passing of energy. We're introducing energy from one universe into another. The crystals will aid with planting the seeds here and guide the process, but it will be two powers working together, as Nasuti suggests. As for the details of the how, we may not know that until we try," Kayura said quietly.

Yeah. Seiji didn't like that either.

He didn't really like any of this, but rebirthing the starseeds had pretty much been the Senshis' sole focus since they'd arrived. If they didn't do this, or even if it didn't go well, Seiji hated to think how the Senshi might deal with the fallout.

They had no choice.

Ami nodded with finality. "All right. When are we going to try?" she asked in a heavy tone. Beside her, Rei sat stiffly, gaze on the ground, mouth pursed in a thin line. She was trying to look neutral and failing. On her other side, Usagi's expression was both hard and optimistic. Behind them, Ryo and Shin looked grim. Seiji was certain he probably mirrored their expressions. Minako and Makoto were giving Usagi those worried looks again, and Touma and Shuu both looked determined for clearly different reasons. Touma's gaze was on Ami, the archer's shrewd expression suggesting Sailor Mercury was about to face sharp interrogation.

And Shuu was about to become Usagi's shadow.

The masho were focused on Kayura, managing to look both bored and suspicious at the same time. Seiji supposed that no one had assessed the risk to the Empress or Kaosu's legacy, but then again, he also assumed that Kayura wouldn't be doing something like this if there was considerable risk to herself or anything else on their side of things.

"Let's wait for the next full moon. That will give us some more time to prepare and feel more…comfortable. I know this is a different moon, but I think it will help," she said decisively. The Senshis' faces softened to varying degrees and they all nodded. Seiji crossed his arms and tried to look meditative.

Inside, he was simply trying to come to terms with the decision the Senshi had just made. Nasuti seemed to be the only one not particularly bothered by anything, but she'd also spent most of her life putting faith in impossible things and insurmountable odds at this point, so that made sense in a strange, sad sort of way.

When they all seemed in agreement, Kayura rose.

"Farewell," she said simply, and she and the masho vanished.

"That's a pretty neat party trick," Makoto said idly. She stretched, rotating her waist back and forth, rubbing at a spot between a shoulder and the column of her neck. Touma brushed her hand aside gently, rubbing instead, casually, as if he'd been doing it forever. Makoto nearly melted. Seiji tried not to be too interested, turning his attention back to the other Senshi and Troopers.

Everyone was stretching and standing, shaking off the tension. Usagi was complaining she was hungry.

Minako had vanished into thin air.

Seiji had a pretty good idea where to look for her.

"Okay Usagi, I'll get dinner going," he heard Makoto say with a small laugh as he exited Nasuti's office. He headed down the hallway and out the back door, narrowing his eyes against the rim of light cast by the setting sun's final rays against the distant hills.

And spotted her almost immediately, seating herself on Nasuti's dock.

Seiji didn't hesitate. He didn't leave her space to brood alone. Not this time. He took firm, quick steps after her. Watching her shoulders tense up when his footsteps echoed against the aging, weathered wood stung, just a little, but he reminded himself that he'd seen this side of her before, and he knew that it was a part of her she tried to keep hidden.

She seemed to think letting her vulnerability show was a sign of weakness.

Seiji approached and sat down beside her, keeping a small amount of distance between them, but not much. He was worried she might try to flee.

It might kill him to force her to face this, but he was going to stand strong. For her.

They sat in silence for a moment, and Seiji tried to gather serenity from the beauty around him. He cleared his throat.

"It's really nice out here. I thought I would enjoy the sunset," she said suddenly, with forced contentment. Seiji nodded, allowing her to lead for the moment.

"The setting here is very tranquil," he said diplomatically. She dipped the toes of one foot in the water, tucking her other leg against her and wrapping her arms around it. She rested her chin on her propped her knee.

"You don't have to worry about me," she said softly, smiling in a way that didn't reach her eyes. Seiji took a discreet breath.

Here it goes, he thought.

"Don't I?" he asked, and then winced. That sounded…rude. Why was he so bad at this when it was Minako, but could do just fine when it came to anyone else? Well...anyone else who wasn't a woman. Predictably, she bristled beside him, but the wrath he was expecting didn't come.

"Of course not," she said with forced cheer. "I'm recovering. I know we can get the starseeds reborn. Everything is going to be just fine." Seiji snorted. She was trying to convince herself that was true, but the statements rang hollow.

"Don't," he said quietly. She twitched her head quickly towards the setting sun again, staring at the dusk that had settled around them peacefully.

"Don't what?" she asked, her tone still friendly but with an underlying edge.

"Don't hide from me," he said quietly, letting some of the sting he was feeling from her withdrawal slide into his tone. She hunched her shoulders, and he braced, waiting for an explosion of temper, a cheerful denial, the next brick in the wall she kept trying to build.

Instead, she pulled her other leg up and buried her face in her knees, curling into herself.

"I have to," she said into her lap.

"You don't," he countered, trying to keep his tone even and soothing.

"You don't understand," she whispered. Seiji frowned. He probably understood a lot more than she gave him credit for, but he reminded himself that this wasn't about him, and it wasn't fair to get upset with her for not just unloading all her troubles between them.

"What don't I understand?" he said in a low voice, trying to keep his frustration from the tone.

"I'm the leader," she said, looking back up, a finality in her expression that he didn't like. He waited, forcing himself to have a patience he didn't feel.

"I'm the leader," she continued quietly. "And I failed. Worse than that, I can't help my team. I can't help anyone," she said so softly he had to lean towards her to get every word. "I let them down. All the people who were counting on me, I let them down. My family. My friends. They're gone, because I failed. How can anyone trust me?"

"Um. That's not how I remember it going down. I'm pretty sure you and Mako-chan are the reason we even have starseeds to rebirth."

Seiji winced, unable to decide if Usagi's timing was genius or very stupid. Minako was probably feeling raw at the moment, and he wasn't sure Usagi was going to help that. Seemingly oblivious to the tension her presence had worked up, the pigtailed woman plopped down on Minako's other side, ignoring the tension riding Venus' shoulders, and leaned on her.

"It was the least I could do, considering," Minako grated, sounding distinctly unfriendly now. A spike of panic speared through him. Seiji had set out to help her heal, and now he was concerned he might have simply deepened the wound.

"Considering what?" Usagi wanted to know. When Minako pressed her lips together, Usagi sighed, leaning back and resting her weight on her hands. She kicked her feet in the water amiably, and Seiji was struck by how young she always appeared.

"Minako. Being a leader doesn't mean taking all the responsibility. None of us think it's all your fault this happened. We're a team," she said, her tone the opposite of accusatory. Minako stiffened further.

"I'm the leader. It's my job to – " Minako began.

"To what?" Rei groused. "Protect all of us? Last time I checked, I was a Senshi too." She zeroed in on the small space Seiji had left between himself and Minako, nudging him aside. Seiji went peaceably, but mostly because he felt like he didn't have a choice. Rei dropped down on Minako's other side, shaking her hair over her shoulder, irritation masking her face. Minako tensed further, but something about her posture told Seiji to just sit back and watch. Quietly, he rose, standing just behind them now.

"We're a team," Usagi repeated insistently, almost as if she needed that to be acknowledged.

"Yes. And being a leader doesn't mean doing everything yourself. We all have different strengths," came Ami's patient voice.

And now it looked like this was turning into an unintentional group huddle. He'd been wary at first, but maybe this was more of what Minako needed. Makoto had approached silently and was standing just behind the group with Ami.

"That's right," she said now with affection. "You can't be everything, Mina-chan. And anyways, that's not why you're the leader."

Minako sniffled. "But I let you down. I'm a terrible leader." She was trying to keep a level tone, but it was clear she desperately wanted them to reassure her.

Rei sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Minako, you dope." She opened her eyes, pinning the blonde with an intense stare. "You don't need to be perfect to be a good leader. We all disappoint each other sometimes. Doesn't mean anything." She turned then, looking out at the water. "And anyways, it's not like I saw anything coming either," she admitted softly.

"I didn't either Minako," Ami added quietly. "I should have tried harder," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. Makoto put a hand on her shoulder.

"Cut it out. You're not a robot. Or a computer," she said sternly. She turned to Rei and Minako. "We can't sit here blaming ourselves anymore. We know what happened, but we owe it to everyone we let down to give them this second chance. We can't do that if we're too busy getting lost thinking about what we did wrong."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, and then Usagi said in a tiny voice, "Why can't you forgive yourselves? It isn't like you didn't try. You…" she broke off, her eyes filling, and like Ami, she wrapped her arms around herself, the gesture protective. "You sacrificed yourselves to save me. You suffered so much. You lost everything, isn't that enough punishment?" she plead softly, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"And I was supposed to be there to pick you back up, and I wasn't. I couldn't save anyone. If anyone let you all down, it was me. The whole reason everyone keeps putting themselves in danger is to protect me…because I'm supposed to be the one that can pull us all out of anything. I can rebuild anything, right? And I couldn't do that. And I…I couldn't bear it if you kept suffering. I couldn't bear it if you could never be happy again. I need you to be happy." Usagi buried her face in her hands, pulled her legs to her chest, and wept.

The reaction from the rest of the group was almost immediate.

Minako didn't gently reach out. She jumped onto Usagi, wrapping her arms around the other blonde and cinching them together with the grip of an octopus, bawling her eyes out. "Usagi-chan!" she wailed. Rei was next, wrapping her arms around the two blondes and collapsing on top of them, surrounding them. Ami and Makoto dropped down next to the huddle, Ami laying her head on Rei and Minako as Makoto wrapped her arms around as many of them as she could reach.

They were all crying, huddled together at the edge of the dock, and now Seiji had no idea what to do, but was contemplating simply backing off the dock and…leaving them to it.

"I was wondering when this would happen," Nasuti said from beside him. Seiji whipped his head around to take her in, startled but immediately relieved to see her.

"You were?" he asked, hoping she could help untangle what the hell had just happened. She nodded, smiling, and wiping at the corner of one eye.

"Oh yes," she said, as if it should be obvious. He waited for her to elaborate. She didn't. Seiji tucked his hands into his pockets and tried to affect a casual posture in the face of so many intense emotions. He felt odd and out of place right now, but Nasuti seemed totally at ease witnessing what Seiji considered a private moment, so he followed her lead.

"What the hell happened out here?" Shuu wanted to know. Seiji shrugged. Nasuti turned, giving Shuu a dirty look, and put a finger to her lips. He lapsed into silence, and now that was three of them standing and staring while the Senshi cried and hugged each other, talking softly to each other through their tears.

Shuu, predictably, couldn't hold still for long, and began to rock on his feet before leaning toward Seiji and Nasuti and stage-whispering "Shin says dinner is ready."

Seiji huffed out air but shook his head. He wasn't interrupting that huddle for anything. If Shuu wanted to risk life and limb, he was welcome to try. Nasuti simply shrugged her shoulders up and kept smiling sentimentally at the Senshi.

"Food?!" Usagi hiccuped then from somewhere beneath the pile of Senshi. They all let out watery laughter and reluctantly began straightening, their small cloud parting and easing into a calm quiet now. Ami stretched, and Makoto hopped up, reaching a hand down to Mercury who took it gratefully and pulled herself up.

"Poor Shin. I kind of just left him in the kitchen on his own," Jupiter said guiltily. Shuu shrugged.

"Ah. Don't worry about him. He likes cooking. He's kind of used to it when we all get together," Kongo said easily.

"Still," Makoto said, biting her lip and putting a hand to her face. "I'd better go see if he needs a hand." She turned then, taking in the rest of the Senshi, and Seiji realized she was gaging their wellbeing before leaving.

"Oh. I'd better get the table set," Nasuti said then. Ami and Rei moved to join her while Usagi flagged Makoto down with a dramatic wave and a yell. Seiji watched the taller woman turn and wait patiently, offering Usagi her elbow and guiding them up the hill while Usagi laid out a non-stop stream of chatter related to how happy she was to have dinner now. Shuu followed them, his expression almost dopey in its bliss, and Seiji tried not to sigh at the sight of it.

He watched the rest of the group make their way back to the house for a moment before turning to see if Minako was ready. He half expected her to still be staring at the water, so he was surprised to find her standing close to him, watching him with a quiet expression he couldn't interpret. Feeling awkward, and unsure of her attitude towards him now, he cleared his throat and offered her a hand.

"Dinner?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

Relief flooded his senses when she smiled softly at him and moved forward without hesitation to take his hand. "Dinner", she agreed. It meant more to him than he'd even realized that she still trusted him, still wanted to be near him.

"Thank you", she said quietly, bringing them parallel and resting her head against his arm. "I know I didn't make it easy on you."

Seiji had to clear his throat again before he could answer her. "It doesn't matter if it's hard or easy. I want to help you," he said simply. She tugged his hand then, pulling him to a stop. He turned to look at her, alarmed to see her eyes had filled again. She swallowed several times, struggling with what she wanted to say.

"You're a special guy, Seiji Date. I'm really lucky to have you around," she whispered. Seiji frowned then, using their connected hands to pull her close. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Maybe a special guy needs an extraordinary woman," he said in a low voice against the crown of her head. "Maybe…I'm the one who's lucky. Let's not question it, right?"

She made a choked noise and flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist with a cry. Seiji held her there, resting a hand on the top of her head as she shook against him, trying to offer comfort though he didn't quite understand what she needed – what was going through her head.

After a moment, she eased. He felt her relax against him. She gave his waist a final squeeze and then pulled away slowly, her eyes on his sweater. "Thank you," she told him in a heartfelt whisper. She reached down, took his hand again shyly, and began towing them toward the house.

Seiji wasn't sure what had just happened between them, but it felt…good. Something in the air around her had eased. He didn't know if it was just her posture, or something deeper – but whatever it was, was telling him that something had changed. For the better.

So Seiji let her lead him into the house, and sent up a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening that this had been the real start to her healing – to the Senshi healing.

He agreed with Usagi there.

They deserved happiness.