A/N: A little bit shorter of one today, but I'm hoping to get a second update out this weekend.

Enjoy and review!

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon and all characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.

Mamoru

How could one girl possibly have so many clothes? Both the closet and the dresser were crammed full of outfits in varying shades of pastel and sorbet with no apparent system. There were piles heaped on the floor in every corner, undistinguishable between clean and dirty. I silently thanked the universe that tomorrow was Friday and I really only had to pack a uniform. Whatever else I might have to wear, I wouldn't have to be seen in. I couldn't imagine sorting through the myriad of clothes she owned and attempting to put together an ensemble worthy of Odango's approval.

I located an overnight bag hanging from a hook on the back of the closet door and began to pack. (Does everything she owns have a bunny on it?) The uniform was easy to spot and I folded the blouse and skirt neatly before placing them in the bag. I still needed pajamas. And underwear. Oh, god. Usagi would have my head for combing through her underwear drawer. I could just imagine the look she would give me, eyes on fire and steam spewing from her ears, as she called me a perv yet again. But it had to be done. If I could take this body to the bathroom without indulging my curiosity, I could certainly pack some underwear.

Consciously keeping my breath steady (and my head level), I pulled open the top drawer of her dresser, and, unfortunately, it was everything I was afraid it would be. Bras and panties were scattered and tangled throughout the drawer, a haphazard display of pink and white. Lace, polka dots, and ribbons danced under my fingertips and I struggled not to imagine how each of these items would look hugging Usagi's graceful curves. I had promised her that I would do my best to respect her privacy. So, manning up, or, I guess, womaning up, I selected a modest, matching pair in white cotton. She couldn't get too mad about that, could she? I folded the chosen garments and placed them in the bag atop the uniform. Then I grabbed a pair of socks and threw those in, too.

Pajamas were next. The bottom drawer revealed yet another mess of wrinkled, messy material. After a few minutes of helpless searching, I gave up, deciding to wear something of my own instead. I would probably need to get some regular clothes for the weekend, but without Usagi's help, I was completely lost. We would have to come back together at a later time.

I was just about to leave the bedroom when something on top of the dresser caught my eye. Gleaming in gold and surrounded by precious stones, I recognized was the brooch Usagi wore every day. She was probably missing it. I tossed it into the bag too before turning off the light and closing the door behind me.

The bathroom was much easier to navigate. Of the two toothbrushes, I was confident the pink bunny one was hers and I packed it along with a hairbrush and the various womanly-looking bottles of skin products to the left of the sink. She would have to teach me what to do with them, of course, but she'd probably be grateful that I brought them. As I turned to the shower, the thought I had been brushing aside all day was now inescapable. I would have to shower sooner or later. Going to the bathroom wasn't so big a deal. Sure, there were some guys who would have been excited by female bodily functions, but that didn't exactly get me going. A shower, however, with the warm water rolling down her pearlescent skin, no clothes to act as a barrier between my hands and my thoughts... it was going to be interesting, to say the least. I was sure there would be a discussion about this at some point. I sighed and grabbed the purple bottles in the shower caddy and then headed out of the bathroom, down the stairs.

I found dream mom-I guess she was actually Odango's mom-in the kitchen. She stood in front of the sink, washing dishes, a gentle smile on her face as she noticed me. A plate of cookies sat invitingly on the table and, judging by the smell, they were freshly baked and still warm. Saliva gathered in my mouth at the delectable aroma and I suddenly realized I was starving again. How did this girl live like this?

"Hi honey, how was school? Didn't you have your algebra test today?"

So, her parents were on top of her studies. How did she still manage to do so poorly then? I was more than pleased to provide a satisfactory report, probably for the first time in Usagi's entire school career.

"Actually," I said, setting my bag on the floor and taking a seat at the table, "it went pretty well. I finished first and I'm confident that my answers were all correct."

Her mother dropped the wooden spoon she was washing and a few drops of water jumped to her face as it fell back into the sink. She blinked a few times, struggling to determine a proper reaction for such an unexpected response.

"Really? How did you manage that?" she finally asked, her bewildered eyes twitching slightly, the water droplets sparkling on her cheek.

"I guess I studied hard enough this time." I shrugged and reached for a cookie. The taste was so scrumptious and all-encompassing that I almost didn't register the new presence in the room.

"Sure you did. And I'm about to go drive my new Porsche to dinner with Jennifer Anniston."

A punk kid with dirty blonde hair was standing opposite me, helping himself to a cookie while his tongue protruded rudely from his ruddy little mouth. He must be the owner of the second toothbrush.

"Oh, Shingo, don't tease your sister," the mom scolded, finally wiping the water from her cheek. "You should be proud of Usagi for working so hard."

"I'll believe when I see it," he challenged. "You might have something different to say when she actually brings that test home."

What a little asshole. Usagi really never got a break, did she?

"Shingo!" his mother barked. "Don't you have studying of your own, mister?"

"Nope, already finished," he said, smug, hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his shorts. "I was thinking I might go to the arcade and tell Motoki what a genius Usagi is."

Anger flushed beneath my skin and the cookie I was holding fell to the table in crumbs.

"You might want to shut your mouth before something comes out that you'll regret," I warned, my voice icy and low. Why was this kid getting to me so much?

The boy must not have been used to such threats from his sister. She was probably as ridiculous and hysterical in her fights with him as the ones with me. A flicker of panic flashed in his eyes.

"Whatever," he muttered before grabbing another cookie and heading out the door.

A heavy sigh in the kitchen returned my attention to Usagi's mother.

"I wish you wouldn't fight with your little brother. Can't you two get along?" She had resumed her chore and was now setting a freshly washed plate on the drying mat.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to do better," I said with a modest bow. That was how I had always apologized to foster parents and teachers over the years.

To my surprise, she whirled around, her hands on her hips and a subtle pout on her lips. The resemblance to Odango was uncanny.

"What has gotten into you today?" she demanded, her voice both concerned and unnerved.

"I...don't know. I'm just not feeling...myself...today. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful."

Her features softened and she came over to rest the back of her hand on my forehead. Her touch was warm and gentle, and the feeling spread through my body, warming and soothing me like a cup of coffee on a cold day. I couldn't remember anyone ever touching me with such care before.

"Are you sick, honey? Maybe you should go and lie down for a while." She pressed her hand to my cheek and I leaned into it involuntarily, smiling as I breathed in the faint smell of lilacs on her perfume.

"I'm alright. Actually," I continued, my task returning to my mind, "I'm supposed to spend the night at Rei's so that she can help me study again. I mean, if that's alright with you."

Her hand dropped to her side and she looked at me quizzically. "Is she the one who helped you study for your test today?"

"Yes, that's right. I guess her technique really works for me," I offered.

"Well, alright," she allowed. "But remember not to stay up too late. It's still a school night."

"Of course," I agreed. "Thank you." I stood to leave, but my stomach forced my eyes back to the plate of cookies on the table. "Would it be okay if I brought a few of these over to Rei? To say thank you for helping me," I asked, knowing very well that they would never make it to the shrine in my untrustworthy hands. They would be in this bottomless pit of a stomach before I even got close to my apartment.

"Sure, honey. If she can get my baby girl to pass her classes this year, I'll give her anything she wants. Maybe that new Porsche of Shingo's," she teased lovingly. Then she wrapped a few cookies in a sack and sent me on my way.

With the overnight bag on my shoulder and the cookies in hand, I headed out the door and started toward my apartment.

"Usagi!"

I knew I had heard this voice before, but couldn't immediately match it to its owner. I turned around in search of the woman who had called me, but I saw no one. The stress of today was finally getting to me. Maybe I did need to lie down. At least I would be able to sleep in my own bed tonight. Comforted by the thought, I turned back around to resume my walk.

"Usagi," it called again. "Where are you going?"

Where was that voice coming from? The only person I could see wasn't a person at all. It was just Odango's cat-

"We have a lot to talk about."

Dear lord. It was the cat. The same talking cat as this morning. I had dismissed it before when I thought I was dreaming, but now I knew that I wasn't, and yet, the strange black animal was still talking to me as clear as day, as clearly as a human. I stood frozen, terrified for both my physical well-being and my sanity, and felt the blood run from my face as my heart shuddered to a stop in my chest.

"Usagi? Are you alright?" The cat crept forward, her head lowered as she observed me, and the crescent-shaped whatever-it-was reflecting the afternoon sunlight.

"N-no," I stammered. "I am most certainly not alright."

My heart began pumping blood again and I regained feeling in my limbs. I turned and took off at full speed, putting as much distance between myself and the hallucinatory feline as possible, feet pounding into the pavement and waiting for my brain to catch up.

What the hell was that?

Usagi

I could have made it to the shrine a lot faster if I had taken Mamoru's car, but I figured he wouldn't be too happy about me taking his super expensive sportscar for a joy ride when I didn't even have a license. Dad hadn't taught me how to drive yet. He said he was waiting for me to bring home straight A's before I could be "trusted with such a responsibility." At the time, I had just assumed that would never happen for me. That might change now, though, if I had Genius Boy taking my tests for me. I could be learning to drive in just a few weeks! Well, that is if I ever got back into my own body. I groaned, my feet dragging beneath me as I climbed the way-too-many steps up to Hikawa Shrine. At least with these longs legs, I could take them two at a time. One of the few perks to being stuck in a teenage boy's body.

"Hey, Yuuichirou, how's it going?" I greeted the shaggy-haired boy at the front gate with a smile and a wave. Yuuichirou had always been nice to me. He was one of the few people who didn't pick on me incessantly and I was always happy to see him. Even if he did follow Rei around like a puppy, worshipping at her feet.

"Uh, sorry, do I know you, sir?" he replied. His hair hung low over his eyes, but his scruffy mouth was twisted to the side at my familiar greeting.

Oops. I wasn't me right now, I was Mamoru. And he had never met Mamoru.

"Oh, sorry, no. We haven't officially met, but I've heard a lot about you from Rei," I recovered.

His whole demeanor changed. He straightened up and almost seemed to glow, a smile stretching beneath his stubble.

"Really? Rei talks about me?" he asked, too hopeful.

Crap. I really wasn't very good at this. I wondered if Mamoru-baka was fairing any better than I was.

"Uh, yeah. Sometimes," I shrugged, trying not to say anything I would be in trouble for later with the girl who made literal fire with her bare hands. "Do you know where she is? I actually need to talk to her."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, too. Yuuichirou stiffened, his broad shoulders set in a hard wall and his jaw clenched, Adam's apple bulging as he swallowed.

"What do you want to see her for? She's never mentioned you," he snapped defensively.

Of course, he would think of Mamoru as a threat. Honestly, he probably was. Rei hadn't exactly been hiding her crush on him for the past two years. But Mamoru had also never reciprocated. Even so, it made sense for Yuuichirou to be worried about this tall, dark, and handsome man showing up out of the blue to talk to his beloved shrine maiden.

"It's not like that," I said nervously, raising my palms to show him I meant no harm. "I actually came to talk to her about her friend."

"Oh." He relaxed and shook the mousy hair from his eyes. "She's doing a fire reading. I'll show you to the room."

"No, that's okay," I chirped. "I know the way."

"Uh, okay," he muttered as I walked past him. I was really going to have to do better at being normal. Boy, if that wasn't the truth.

The heels of Mamoru's school shoes clicked faintly along the familiar stone path of the shrine. The air was quiet, with the exception of a few crows fluttering and cawing in the tree across the yard. Walking through a peaceful shrine like this, I could almost pretend I was myself again. That everything was back to being a normal, sixteen-year-old girl. How many times had I followed this same path with my friends? How many conversations had Rei and I shared, protected by the privacy and sacredness of this shrine? I sighed as its gentle power warmed me like a soft embrace. Finally, I reached the door to the Sacred Fire Chamber and knocked.

"Come on in, Usa," Rei called from within the chamber. "I saw you coming."

I pushed the heavy, wooden door ajar and let myself in. The room was dark, the only light emanating from the Sacred Fire, cutting jagged shapes into the shadows and illuminating its maiden with its mystic glow. As many times as I had seen this exact picture before, it always managed to take my breath away. Rei was, in my opinion, the most beautiful of all of us. Her features were perfectly stunning, her black hair gleaming with a violet hue, accentuating her violet eyes. And basked in the ethereal light of the fire, she looked like some otherworldly goddess. Maybe I just had a thing for brunettes.

Slowly she turned, her eyes finding mine, and her lips turned down in surprise.

"Mamoru? What are you doing here?"

Rei's visions were never wrong. She had seen me coming, I was just stumbling around and a different meat suit today.

"I really need to talk to you," I urged, closing the door behind me.

"Sure," she said, her expression something between pleasant surprise utter bewilderment. She rose from her seat before the fire and straightened her robes before joining me near the door. "We can go outside and-"

"Actually," I interrupted, "this is private. Can we go to your room?"

A crimson blush spread across her cheeks and I realized I had said the wrong thing. Again.

"Oh, Mamoru...don't you think that's a little forward?" She cast her eyes to the floor beneath her long lashes as a shy smile played at her lips.

"Rei, it's me. It's Usagi." It was best to just cut to the chase and prevent saying any more stupid things.

"What?" Her smile fell and her eyes returned to mine, full of emotion. "Are you two together now?"

I groaned and ran my hands down my long face. I had been failing miserably all day.

"No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying." I tried again. "I am Usagi. Inside here." I pointed one long finger to the center of my forehead. "I'm inside Mamoru's body. And he's in mine."

"What kind of stupid prank is this?" she crossed her arms, fire igniting her features from the inside now, too.

"It's not a prank, Rei. I'll prove it to you."

I thrust my hand into the pocket of her robes against her protests until my fingers found what they were looking for. I pulled the item out and held it up to her horrified face.

"This is your Henshin stick. You use it to transform into Sailor Mars, Guardian of Love and Passion. And I'm Sailor Moon, Guardian of Love and Justice. And I transform using my-"

My hands instinctively reached for my brooch on my chest, but they came up empty. I wasn't wearing my brooch because I wasn't wearing my uniform. I was wearing Mamoru's.

"Oh no, my brooch." I searched my own pockets uselessly, knowing it wasn't there but checking anyway in my panic. Then I checked my wrist. It was bare. "I don't have my communicator either. What if one of the girls needs me? How I am going to transform?"

Rei had been watching my show with an air of skepticism that was now falling away as my words rang true.

"Usa? Is that really you?" she asked, a spark of recognition in her eyes.

"Yes! Yes, Rei, it's really me!" I clasped her hands in my own, grateful and relieved to have a friend know the truth.

"But how? How did this happen?" She stared at our joined hands quizzically, her black brows creased as she searched for any plausible answer.

"I don't know. I don't know how this happened, but I know we need to fix it before Mamoru finds out who I am. And before things with the enemy get any worse. I feel like we don't have a lot of time."

Rei freed one of her hands and brought a timid finger up to my face. She poked me in the cheek once. Then a second time.

"Huh. Weird." Her eyes glazed over slightly and she extended the rest of her hand along my face. "So this is what he feels like." Her hand traveled up into my hair and she knotted her fingers in the locks, tugging gently. "God, I've always wanted to do that."

"Oh my god, Rei, so not the time!" I could feel my skin hot beneath her intimate touch and I pulled myself away, honestly a little freaked.

Her mouth fell open slightly and she clapped her hands over the blush on her own face. "Oh, god, Usa I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!"

I sighed. "It's okay. I get it."

"I mean, have you touched your hair? It's so soft-"

"Yes, Rei, I've touched it."

Her hands began to wander again, this time landing on my bicep. "How do you not just play with it all day long?" She squeezed my arm absentmindedly. "How do you not just play with yourself-"

"Rei!" I fumed, demanding she return to reality. "We have a bigger problem right now!"

"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry." She withdrew her hands and tucked them under her arms, pinning them in place so they couldn't venture out on their own again. "What should we do? Should we call a meeting?"

I shook my head. "I can't stay long. I have to get back to Mamoru and keep an eye on him. I don't want him talking to anyone, if I can help it." She nodded. "You call the girls without me and have them pick up Luna on their way. See what you guys can come up with and then call me at Mamoru's."

"You're going to his apartment?" Jealousy had crept into her voice and was matched in her eyes.

"It's not like that Rei. You know we can't stand each other. We're just trying to stick together as much as possible so we don't screw up each other's lives."

"Okay," she said with a sigh. "Sorry, I can't help it. I know he doesn't like me that way, anyway." She looked away, embarrassed.

"It's alright," I said hurriedly. My anxiety levels had been on the rise since I realized I was without my brooch and communicator and I needed to get that sorted out as quickly as possible. I didn't have time to be dancing around her feelings. "Just call the girls and see if Ami or Luna have any ideas on how to switch us back."

"Got it."

I turned to leave.

"Wait, Mamo-I mean, Usa," she corrected herself. "Where are you going to stay? I mean, you can't stay with your parents like that." She waved a hand in my general manly direction.

"I know. I'm going to stay at his place."

"And where is he going to stay?"

I really didn't want to answer that. Thankfully, I didn't have to.

"He can stay here, if you guys want," she offered. "I have the extra futon and he looks like you, so it wouldn't be suspicious. And I could keep him occupied for you."

I contemplated that. As much as I needed to keep watch on him, it might be nice to get a break from him at some point. I hadn't considered having someone else watching him for me. "I'm not sure what he would think about that, but it might be a good idea. I'll ask him. Thanks, Rei."

I turned again to leave. And again she stopped me.

"Usa?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you..." she began sheepishly, not meeting my gaze. "I mean, have you seen... Is it..."

"Bye, Rei!"

I slammed the door behind me on my way out.