Chapter 5

Hello all! I know it's been forever since I've updated, and that's because I'm having HORRENDOUS writers block (plus the whole computer crashing thing). I know where I want to go with this, but I cannot seem to make the journey without it sucking. This is about the fourth time I've written this chapter because I cannot seem to write one that's truthful enough. I'm still having an issue grasping Haruka as a character, so I apologize and am totally owning up to it. I'm just having serious problems right now with this, as I have been since I last updated. So this is my attempt at a worth-while chapter. (I really wish I could just leave a blank chapter and get to where I wanna go right now). Please bear with me! And I love everyone who is still sticking around for this!

The next week was spent exploring as much of Tokyo as Sarah could manage on her injured leg. Amara took Sarah to restaurants, live theatre, and even movies, Sarah finding herself loving more and more about Japanese culture and all that her birthright homeland had to offer. Amara had even begun to refer to Sarah as Sakara, hoping to get her used to her birth name (they even discussed changing it officially once she returned to school). In return, although with great reluctance, Amara also returned to her own birth name, the fake last name staying in tact. She insisted this was silly, since her own daughter wouldn't refer to her by her first name, but Sakara said that fair was fair and left it at that.

"Sakara, how's it going on your Japanese lesson?" Haruka asked that Friday. She had bought Sakara the Rosetta Stone discs, hoping to speed up Sakara's knowledge of the language. After all, this trip was too long for her to have to play translator constantly.

"Very well, Mama," Sakara responded in Japanese.

Haruka beamed proudly and left her daughter to her lessons. Once the door was closed, Sakara immediately shut off the CD and opened her Facebook. She had been secretly chatting with Kumiko all morning.

Sarah Taylor: Sorry, my mom had just walked in.

Kumiko Toya: It's okay, I know how that goes. So, are you gonna stop by today?

Sarah Taylor: I dunno…I can't think of a good enough excuse to leave.

Kumiko Toya: Umm…tell her something didn't fit right and you wanna return it!

Sarah Taylor: No, that won't work. She'll insist on going with me. Any other ideas?

Kumiko Toya: Sorry, I'm fresh out. Maybe try the truth?

Sakara snorted at that thought. She could already see what her mother's face would look like after hearing that she wanted to return to the temple. There was no way that would work.

Sarah Taylor: That won't work.

Kumiko Toya: That blows, man. Too bad your mom is so ridiculously strict! No offense.

Sarah Taylor: None taken. She just doesn't want me wandering around in a strange place I don't know, I mean we all know what happened the last time I did that. Btw, how is your hand?

Kumiko Toya: Totally fine. I told you, girl, I'm a tough one!

Sarah Taylor: And here I thought I was tough!

"Hey Sakara, I'm gonna run to the store really quickly. The cats are running low on food. Want to come with me?" Haruka called from the living room.

Sakara perked up. Now was her chance! "No thanks, Mom. I still have some of this lesson left," Sakara replied.

"Okay," Haruka replied, now at Sakara's door. "Don't forget to keep the door locked while I'm gone. It should only take a half hour."

Sakara rolled her eyes, hoping that would distract her mother as she stealthily closed her Facebook. "I'm fourteen, not four. I'll be okay."

Haruka kissed Sakara on her forehead. "Be good."

"That goes double for you," Sakara teased in response. She waited patiently until she heard the door shut.

Sarah Taylor: Looks like I've got my opening. I'll be at the shrine soon.

Kumiko Toya: Excellent! I'll see you here!

Sakara closed her computer and set off to write a quick note to her mother, excusing her absence as the want to go to swim. Knowing that her mother avoided pools like the plague (for reasons unknown to her), she knew it was safe enough to buy her at least two hours. She excitedly dressed in a frilly, floral skirt and a gray t-shirt, tying her hair up in her usual ponytail. Grabbing her purse and her silver flats, she excitedly left the hotel and ran her way to the temple, this time being conscious enough to not knock anyone over.

Sakara spied Kumiko first, her brilliant golden hair shining in the sunlight. Sakara was reminded once more that Kumiko's family seemed to be one of means, Kumiko being dressed in a high-end name brand tank top and skirt, a large Coach purse tucked under her arm. Sakara also spied Moriko, dressed just as casually as before in jean Bermuda shorts and a lime green tank top layered over a hot pink one. There was another girl there, this one with wavy light blue hair to her shoulders and bright blue eyes, dressed in a blue quarter sleeve shirt and jean cutoffs. It was this new girl who spied Sakara.

"Hello Sarah," she called out, Moriko and Kumiko turning around.

"Hey Sarah!" Kumiko echoed, running forward to hug the girl. "I'm glad you made it here. I was just about to text you to see where you were." Kumiko indicated to her iPhone before slipping it into her bag. Once more, Sakara felt envious.

"I'm Urawa Chikako," the bluenette said, extending her hand in greeting.

"Taylor Sakara," Sakara replied.

"Sakara?" Moriko and Kumiko echoed.

Sakara blushed. "I'm actually of 100% Japanese heritage. 'Sarah' is more like a nickname."

"And yet you were born in America? Where at?" Chikako asked.

"Florida," Sakara replied.

"Oh, I've been there! It was super hot, though. But I loved Disney World. Do you go there a lot?" Kumiko asked.

Sakara laughed. "Yes, Mom and I live close enough that we get discounted price entry, so we go a few times a year. The fun of it never wears off on you." She then turned to Moriko. "How have you been?" she asked in hesitant Japanese.

"Wow, your Japanese is getting good!" Moriko praised in surprise, although Sakara only caught part of it. "And I've been good."

"That's quite an improvement from earlier this week," Kumiko said.

Sakara laughed. "Well, my mom bought me Rosetta Stone."

Chikako nodded knowingly. "It really is a wonderful way to learn languages."

It was then that a sleek black limo pulled up, three young women exiting. The first two were girls who Sakara did not want to admit to having already met. She hoped that Hotaru would not spoil her cover. Instead, Sakara focused on the pink-haired girl, sensing that she had somehow met her before. Her hair was styled uniquely in two pointed buns ("sort of looks like bunny ears") with the rest flowing to her hips. Then she remembered: she had seen pictures of this girl when she was younger! What had her mother called her? Chibi-Usa? How strange it was to see her suddenly so much older.

"This is Usa-chan, Hotaru-chan, and Michiko-chan. Hotaru and Michiko are sisters. Well, um, adopted sisters," Kumiko introduced. "And this is Sakara. She's from America!"

"Hello," Usa-chan greeted brightly. Michiko echoed her greeting.

Michiko turned around and told the driver to pick them up there in a few hours. Sakara was surprised to see that no one was shocked that the three girls had showed up in a limo, although after having spied the fuss made over Michiko and her mother at the restaurant, Sakara knew it made sense. She briefly wondered what type of jobs their parents had, although she knew it was nothing compared to the royalty they were originally born as.

Usa-chan was dressed in a white sundress and white flats, looking dressed up and casual at the same time. Michiko was dressed in a navy blue dress, complete with black lace trim and quilted black flats. Hotaru was dressed in a pair of dark wash shorts and a flowing dark purple tank top.

Hotaru met Sakara's gaze warmly and waved. Sakara let out of sigh of relief, glad that her cover was not blown. She did not want to deal with the whole 'my mom was once your adoptive mom and friends with all of your moms and then she abandoned you all to have me' conversation. Too awkward for first meetings, she decided.

"Well, shall we get going?" Kumiko asked.

"Yeah, we had best get going before Kohaku-baka finds us here," Moriko said, rolling her eyes.

"Aw, c'mon you guys, we should give her another chance," Hotaru urged.

"Hotaru-chan, you're ridiculous! We've given her countless chances, and she's always failed. There's no changing that she's a total bitch," Kumiko insisted.

"Perhaps we should get moving," Chikako suggested.

Usa-chan nodded. "Yeah, I'm trying to avoid cage-cleaning duties today, so if Mama catches me here, I'm busted. Let's go."

Kumiko looped her arm with Sakara's, the rest of the group moving on. Sakara almost missed the sight of Kohaku standing at the top of the stairs in her miko uniform, an indiscernible expression on her face. Sakara felt sort of bad for leaving behind the girl, but no one else seemed to notice or care.

"So how are you liking Japan?" Chikako asked in English.

"It's been lovely so far. I really like it here," Sakara replied.

"How long are you going to stay?" Chikako asked.

"About three more weeks," Sakara replied.

Kumiko pouted. "Well, that won't do."

"What? Why?" Sakara asked.

"What if we get attached to you? It's not going to be fun having you so far away," Kumiko replied.

"I'm sure I can get my mom to agree to visit again next summer. In the meantime, we have Skype," Sakara suggested.

Kumiko beamed. "Good!"

After an hour of shopping, Sakara was beginning to realize how nice it was to be part of this group of girls. Despite the fact that they had known each other their whole lives and probably had a million inside jokes, they never once made Sakara feel out of place (well, except when they used Japanese she didn't know yet). She was having a blast as the two apparent fashionista's, Kumiko and Michiko, helped everyone pick out the best combinations of outfits while Moriko and Chikako spied the cutest boys for them all to giggle over. Sakara almost felt guilty for having as much fun as she was, knowing that her best friends at home would be hurt to hear she was replacing them so fast. But Sakara could not deny the pull to want to be with these girls, and she did not miss the fact that she seemed to slip into their group so easily.

Sakara was, however, awkward around Hotaru. Although the girl was pleasant to her, Sakara could not help but feel guilty for having altered Hotaru's life the way she had. She was the one who was supposed to be raised by Haruka, not Sakara. It made her want to beg forgiveness, although she knew that that would blow her cover, and probably not make a difference. After all, it wasn't Sakara's fault she had been born, and therefore not her fault that Hotaru had been robbed the family she had been promised. And yet, this did not stop Sakara from feeling guilty.

She did, however, feel quite curious about Usa-chan. She knew that this girl had traveled time more then once and that she would one day be a queen of the universe. Sakara wondered if she was aware of this, or if it was something that they just didn't discuss incase it messed with her head. Sakara wanted to ask Usa-chan if she or Hotaru were able to transform like she had, but knew that that would give away her cover as well. The questions burned on her tongue all day, Sakara having to distract herself constantly when the questions threatened to bubble out.

Instead, Sakara enjoyed her time as best she could. Kumiko was too nice and kept trying to buy her things, but Sakara was adamant that she would get caught if she brought anything home. Instead, Kumiko promised to keep it at her house until Sakara could get away with it at an easier time and bought stuff anyway. When Sakara protested, the others just laughed.

"There's no stopping Kumi-chan when she gets like this," Chikako explained. "Once, I was a just a bit short when trying to purchase a sun dress, so Kumiko offered to help me out. When we left the store, she had bought me three other dresses and two skirts, all without batting an eyelash."

"Don't her parents care how much she spends?" Sakara gasped.

"Minako-san hardly even glances at the credit card bill," Usa-chan chimed in. "Minako-san knows that Kumi-chan likes to buy her friends presents, so who is she to tell her to not be generous? That's a wonderful trait to encourage in your child."

"I guess that's true, but it's still awkward. We've only known each other for a week," Sakara said.

"Stop complaining! I like spending money on my friends, and you're my new friend, so I'm going to spend lots of you," Kumiko insisted. "Now go try these on!"

When Sakara finally got back to the apartment, she was in a great mood. Kumiko had spent way too much on her and she had gotten to bond with all the girls. Her communication with Moriko was still a bit limited, but they still managed to understand each other. Sakara had promised to see them all the next day for lunch.

"Busted," Haruka said the moment Sakara walked into the room.

Good feeling instantly gone.

"What are you talking about?" Sakara asked, trying to play it cool.

"All your bathing suits are in your drawers, and your hair isn't even wet. Where did you go?" Haruka asked, her no-nonsense face on.

Sakara grimaced. Crap, she knew there was something she forgot to do!

"I just went for a walk, Mom," Sakara said. Well, at least it was a half-truth since she did do a lot of walking.

"Do not lie to me," Haruka said in a threatening tone. She walked to stand right in front of her daughter, navy boring hard into navy. "I told you to not see them ever again."

"I want to be their friends. Who doesn't want a pen pal who lives on the other side of the world?" Sakara replied, still attempting to keep her cool.

"Sakara, you know what I mean!" Haruka said.

"You can't stop me! I want to be their friend, and they want to be mine! I can feel it in my soul that I belong with them," Sakara insisted, throwing away her cover and facing the truth.

"You can't!" Haruka snapped.

"Yes I can!" Sakara snapped back.

"I did not raise my daughter to disobey me," Haruka said, shaking her head.

"No, you just raised her on lies," Sakara said with a glare of her own, crossing her arms in defiance.

"Sakara!" Haruka yelled. "You still stop with this attitude and do as I say! You will not go see those girls ever again!"

"Why not? Because you're still too chicken shit to face your ex lover? Get over it, Mom! Put your big girl panties on and just go face it! Then we can all be done with this crap and I can be friends with the people who were meant to be my friends!"

"You weren't ever supposed to be born, so how can you know what you were meant for!"

The silence that followed was filled with enough electricity to power Tokyo. It was only when Sakara realized that her tears would keep coming did she run into her bedroom and slam the door. Consumed with guilt, Haruka followed after her.

"Sakara."

"Go away!"

"I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it."

"I said go away! I do not want to speak to you!"

"Sakara, please, open the door," Haruka pleaded, feeling her own tears rise.

She got no reply except for the sounds of her daughter sobbing into her pillow from the other side of the door.

Haruka went into her own room and simply dropped to the floor. Why had she said that? She knew that she had damaged Sakara, maybe even beyond repair. They had always treated the circumstances of Sakara's birth with extreme caution, and now she had just thrown all of that away and threw into her daughter's face that she was a mistake, one thought away from an abortion. Haruka hated herself.

Sakara was right and she knew it; she was being chicken shit. Why couldn't she just face Michiru and tell her the truth? Was her a senshi or wasn't she? How could she serve the princess in the future, protect her from the dangers that they knew they were to face, if she couldn't do this?

But where should she do it? Not at the apartment, that would be too awkward. Besides, who was to say that Michiru still lived in their old apartment? Perhaps, with the birth of her own daughter and having to raise Hotaru, she had moved somewhere else? Although Hotaru did make it sound like they were still there, Haruka realized. Still, Haruka decided that the apartment was a no. The Crown? While it was neutral territory, it was still too familiar, too awkward. There were too many memories there, too many happy and sad hours spent with the senshi. Finally, Haruka decided on the perfect spot: the park! It was private enough that they would be able to talk freely, but public enough that neither would want to cause a scene. It was familiar, but there weren't many intimate memories attached to it, nothing more then mere fleeting moments. Yes, this would be the place.

But how? Should she ask Hotaru or Setsuna to help? No, Haruka frowned. It wouldn't be fair to get them thrown in the middle, especially if something went sour. A note then. She would go to the apartment, slide a note under the door, and then hope for the best. While she admitted that this was still a sort of cowards way out, she was sure she was making up for it by the amount of danger involved in such an act; after all, she had no idea what anyone's schedule was, so there was a definite possibility that she would run into someone.

Suddenly, Haruka could feel the spark of her old self turn on instantly. She wasn't going to be a coward anymore. She was finally going to face Michiru and get this over with, and she while she would accept any outcome, she knew that she would fight. She would fight for Michiru to understand, to possibly forgive to, to maybe even love her again.

With a smile, Haruka set off to figure out exactly what the note would say.

The next day, Sakara got dressed, fed her cats and herself, and left. Had Haruka not heard the door slam, she never would have known Sakara was even up. Haruka frowned, her heartsick feeling creeping up on her once more. She had to figure out a way to apologize to Sakara, what she had done was beyond terrible. With a sigh, Haruka knew that she could only handle one woman at a time.

Sakara hailed a cab and read off the address as best she could, hoping her accent was at least passable. She rode in silence, still bristling with anger at her mother but excited for the day. Usa-chan had invited the girls over to have lunch and swim in their pool. Sakara simply could not wait to see what kind of house the future ruling family of the universe lived it. Sakara giggled, her giddy feeling rapidly replacing her anger as they got closer. It was like she was visiting a celebrity's house, although none of the neighbors knew that they were living next to a family of celebrities of such high caliber. She watched as the bustling urbanite sites of Tokyo flew by, and the rich and classy district loomed ahead. Humungous houses with perfectly manicured lawns and expensive cars were soon surrounding Sakara, letting her know exactly what type of life the family lead.

When they pulled up to the house, Sakara could see that Kumiko was already there with Hotaru and Michiko. Sakara paid the driver and ran over to meet them.

"You made it!" Kumiko cheered excitedly. "We just got here."

"What the heck do her parents do?" Sakara asked, gaping up at the mansion in front of her. Although she came from a pretty nice neighborhood and she'd seen big houses many times, but this one took the cake. It was a white and beige two-story vision, dotted happily with lace curtains in the windows and colorful flowerboxes under the lower level windows, a bay window off to one side of the house, a white wrap-around porch with tasteful furniture welcoming visitors. The lawn was perfectly green, not a leaf out of place on the shrubs, not a single weed between the perfectly laid stones beneath their feet.

"Well, her dad is this like a world-renowned surgeon. He developed some sort of method for helping reduce the incision without needing a robot or something like that. I dunno, ask Chikako-chan, she'd know. Anyway, he gets paid major bucks. I guess he really wants to be like Chikako's mom and have his own little private practice and help out needy families and stuff like that, but, like, the medical community simply won't allow it because he's like, amazing. As for her mom, she breeds top-rate pet rabbits for celebrities and stuff and refuses to sell to anyone who has any intentions of killing the rabbits for fur or food. Once, when she was just starting, she found out through the grapevine that some super famous German actress was going to skin the rabbit for some lining for her gloves, so she flew straight to Germany and took the rabbit right back! It was so shocking that it made headlines in several countries and totally helped launched the business. On the side, she has a little charity that helps needy families pay their medical bills. She's so amazing," Kumiko rattled off excitedly.

Michiko and Hotaru laughed.

"Sorry, she tends to let her mouth run away with her," Michiko laughed.

"It's alright, I have a friend just like her at home," Sakara replied with a warm smile. She made a mental note to make sure to message Melissa when she got home.

Chikako and Moriko arrived at last and the girls went up to the house.

"Hello girls! It's been too long!" gushed the beautiful blonde who answered the door. Sakara smiled, knowing that this was the Usagi that her mother spoke so fondly of. Sakara was pleased to see that although the woman was an adult, she still sported the unique and cute hairstyle Sakara had seen in all the pictures.

"Who is this?" Usagi asked.

"This is Sakara, our new friend from America," Hotaru introduced.

Usagi beamed and hugged Sakara. "Hello Sakara, welcome to our home!"

Sakara was shocked at first, but soon found that Usagi's warmth was simply too infectious and hugged her back. "Thank you so much, Chiba-san. Your home is gorgeous."

Usagi giggled happily. "Thank you dear." She smiled up at the other girls. "Usa-chan is out back with Chibi-chan. Please mind the rabbits, they're out playing right now!"

"Minna!" Usa-chan exclaimed as the girls came out of the house. She shot up from her pool-side lawn chair and ran to meet her friends. She was dressed in a neon green bikini with a hot pink wrap tied around her waist. "I'm so glad you're all finally here! I was getting super bored. Now hurry and get changed so we can have some fun! I had Mama order us up some super yummy food, so we all need to work up a good appetite."

"Can I play too?" a sweet voice cooed.

The girls turned to see a little girl with hair mimicking her sisters except times two running out of the house. She was already dressed in a pink polka-dot bathing suit with a little skirt around the bottom. Her big blue eyes were so wide and hopeful, they all knew that had no other choice.

"Of course, Chibi-chan," Usa-chan sighed with a smile at her little sister. "I don't suppose either of you brought yours?" she asked, looking at Chikako and Kumiko. They both gave knowing shakes of their heads. Usa-chan sighed again. "Oh well, let's just make sure we don't exclude her too much. You know how much she likes to tattle."

"Chibi-chan?" Sakara whispered to Hotaru. She was hoping she wasn't mishearing the name, because she thought it sounded like the little girl was named Small.

"Her name is Kousagi, but her family all calls her Chibi-chan," Hotaru replied. Sakara's lips formed an 'O' of understanding.

"Well ladies, don't make me wait forever! Go get changed!" Usa-chan said, pointing to the little stylish hut by the pool. The girls went into their individual changing rooms.

"Ugh, Moriko-chan, you're such a show-off!" Usa-chan scoffed when the girls were finally all assembled.

Moriko had just come out of her dressing room and was still adjusting her tiny hot pink bikini top. Each girl immediately looked down at her own chest, Sakara in particular frowning at her lack of filling for her top. Moriko just rolled her hazel eyes.

"Oh stop complaining. You have no idea what the back pain is like," Moriko replied.

Everyone ignored her, feeling no sympathy.

"Well, there's no sense in waiting it out!" Usa-chan announced. She walked to the edge of the deep end of their in-ground pool. Immediately, all the other girls filled in around her. "Chibi-chan, come take my hand honey." Kousagi excitedly walked to take hold of her sister's hand. "One. Two. Three!"

"Someone pass the chips, please!" Chikako cooed, reaching out her hand expectantly.

Michiko relinquished her hold on the chips. "It is so beautiful out today. They said it was a 20% chance of rain; I'm glad they were wrong." She smirked and leaned back, basking in the sunlight.

"I just looked up the weather in London for Thursday! It will be a bit chillier, but still not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for shopping all day!" Kumiko chirped happily. She then blushed and immediately chewed on her lip. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"London?" Sakara repeated as she nibbled on her sandwich.

All the girls, with the exception of Chikako and Moriko, shot Kumiko annoyed glances.

"Um, yeah, we're leaving Thursday to go to London with my mom. She's finally thinking of returning to international film so she's going to London to meet with the producers, and I love London so much because there's lots of shopping, and I pretty much never go anywhere without my entourage of girls, and I'd love it if all my girls could go but Chikako and Moriko can't and I didn't know you when the trip was planned or else I totally would have invited you and I was going to try to avoid mentioning it but I guess I messed up, huh?" Kumiko rambled nervously, finally slowing down at the end. For Sakara's sake, she'd done this in English.

"I have cram school," Chikako explained.

Moriko frowned. "Money issue."

"Even though I'd totally pay for her," Kumiko said.

Moriko sighed. "I will not spend our friendship being in debt to you!"

"I'd never ask you to pay me back! You're my friend, Mori-chan, I want to do nice things for you!" Kumiko pleaded.

"Anyway, we will only be gone for a few days," Michiko cut in.

"I get to go too!" Kousagi announced proudly.

"Someone has to entertain Sachiko," Usa-chan said.

"That sounds like a great trip. I'm sure you'll all have lots of fun," Sakara said brightly.

"You can hang out with us, if you'd like. I'll help you with your Japanese," Chikako offered.

Sakara smiled. "Thanks, I'd like that."

"Hey there girls," a male voice greeted.

Sakara turned and blushed immediately. The man who was walking out of the house was incredibly handsome in that George-Clooney-older-man kind of way, and she knew him instantly to be Mamoru, or the future King Endymion as her mother had told her.

"Hi Daddy!" Usa-chan and Kousagi greeted in happy unison, leaping up from their seats to embrace their father.

"How was work?" Usa-chan asked, noting Mamoru's ragged expression.

"Long. I was hoping to take a dip in the hot tub and relax with your mom, but I can see that the backyard is occupied." He ignored his daughter's twin looks of disgust. "Who is this?"

"This is our new friend, Sakara!" Usa-chan introduced.

"Hello," Sakara waved.

Mamoru returned the wave, however slower it was. He couldn't help but feel something familiar about her. "I will let you girls get back to whatever you were doing. Don't forget sunscreen," he added just before going inside.

Mamoru glanced back outside, staring at Sakara. There was definitely something about her. He sought out a certain black cat lounging on the back of the couch.

"Luna, are you awake?" Mamoru asked.

Luna stirred and looked up lazily at Mamoru. "Mrow?"

"Luna, have you seen the girls?" Mamoru asked.

"Kousagi and Chibi-Usa?" Luna asked.

"No, all the girls," Mamoru explained.

"I was upstairs with Diana earlier, I only just came down here," Luna replied. "Why?"

"They've made a new friend," Mamoru informed her.

Luna just blinked. "Mamoru-san, I regard you very highly, but why did you wake me up from my nap to tell me that? The girls make lots of friends, they're very popular."

Mamoru sighed. "Luna, there is something about her. Please, go have a look and let me know what you think."

Usagi came into the room, having heard the exchange. "What's going on?"

"Usako, didn't you think there was something strange about the new girl?" Mamoru asked.

Usagi thought for a moment then shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't think so. But if you think you feel something, maybe we should look into her?"

"That's what I was trying to get Luna to do," Mamoru replied, gesturing to the still-lounging cat.

"Alright, alright, I'll go," Luna grumbled.

"Careful, Luna, you're starting to sound like me when I was fourteen!" Usagi cooed teasingly.

Luna just glared. "I will be back in a moment."

"What's her deal?" Mamoru asked.

"What else? She's fighting with Artemis, so he's sleeping at Mina's," Usagi replied with a shrug.

Luna made her way out the cat door and to the table.

"Hey Luna!" the girls all greeted happily when Luna jumped on the table. She put on her cat show, meowing and purring happily as the girls greeted her.

Luna quickly located the new girl in question. It hardly took her a moment to realize what she was seeing. Quickly, she jumped off the table and back into the house.

"Hmm, what's with her I wonder?" Usa-chan muttered, staring after the black cat curiously. She shrugged. "Oh well! Someone please pass the sandwiches? I'm starving over here!"

Luna ran to Mamoru and Usagi, eyes wide.

"What is it?" Usagi asked, her body tensing automatically.

"You will never believe who she is."

-End of Chapter!

Not a very good cliffhanger, I know, but guess what the good news is? I already have the next chapter done, and part of the chapter after that! I will shamefully admit that this was done ooooooh, forever ago, and that I honestly just go so wrapped up in the end of my college career and trying to find a job and all that fun stuff that updating really slipped away from me. But I am really hoping to get back into the swing of things with this story because I love it so much and I'd love to get it done soon! Please review, I love all of your support and I always welcome new ideas

-Serenity