He picked her up the next day and she brought her books to his house where his brother was asleep. A purple dog with black eyes wagged his tail at the door. So this is Odango! She's cute.

"Your dog is purple?"

"So is your cat."

"What's his name?"

"Trig." As soon as he heard his name, the dog came forward, wagging his tail as Usagi pet him.

"He's sweet."

"Like me!" Diamond teased. Trig rolled his eyes.

They started working on her homework. After they made it through physics and a month's worth of Earth science, Odango was in need of a break.

"My brain is going to explode with science."

"That would be fun to watch, but I'll miss you Odango."

"Silly but seriously, can we take a break?"

"Crown?"

They went to get a milkshake and of course, the other four senshi were there.

"Usagi. Diamond. What are you two up to?" Lita called to them.

"Just taking a milkshake break. Usagi and I have been studying."

"You're her tutor?" Rei exclaimed.

He shrugged. "I know some stuff."

That wasn't what surprised her. How did her mom meet Diamond?

"And you know Usagi's mom?"

"Yeah, she's nice." Diamond wondered why she had asked but he'd go along with it for now.

While Rei was trying to get to the bottom of this, Minako asked Usagi for a word. "So studying with a tutor last night?"

"I didn't lie. He did tutor me. We did science for hours. Instead of just this test, he retaught me everything we did this year."

"Whoa! Really?"

"Yeah, but then he made me dinner and took me to a movie."

Minako rolled her eyes. "So basically, he's the perfect boyfriend."

"Pretty much."

"Ugh! I so saw him first."

"You're the one who wanted to introduce me to him."

"And I could kick myself for that, but I'm happy for you, really. So how was the movie?"

"It was good. We saw the newest Leonardo Dicaprio movie, the romance and we shared the most amazing kiss during it."

"What was it like?"

"Like he was lava and I was melting into him. It was a bit strange though, he kept poking me."

"Like this?" Minako poked her with her finger.

"No, like he had a weird object in his pocket, like a pipe or something. It kept poking me while I was on his lap and when he kissed me goodnight."

Minako turned pink and laughed. "I doubt he carries a pipe in his pocket."

"Then what was it?"

Minako whispered in her ear.

"Whoa! You think so."

"Yeah."

"Oh, I feel awkward. I hope that didn't hurt him."

"He was fine. He shouldn't try to rush you anyway." Usagi was so innocent.

"He hasn't. He hasn't even mentioned anything like that."

They returned to see Rei grilling Diamond. "So what have you been doing during these 'tutoring sessions'?" She actually did the bunny quotes.

"Well, I threw her on her desk and ravished her and called it human anatomy." He deadpanned and then he laughed. "Oh, I got you good."

"You jerk!"

"Relax. We went over biology, chemistry, some physics, and then ate dinner."

"Our test in on Earth science," Ami pointed out.

"I know, but you can't build a house without a foundation."

Usagi and Minako came back. Usagi sat next to Diamond and he took her hand in his and held it. She blushed. She hadn't told her friends, but he didn't know that. Now, it looks like the secret was out.

"I got you a milkshake, fries and a cheeseburger. Did you want anything else?"

"No that's perfect."

He kissed her quickly, causing her friends' mouths to gape.

"You're dating!" Rei yelped, once she got her voice back.

"Well, I've also been tutoring her in love," he teased.

"Baka," Usagi growled at him, "and yes, he's my boyfriend."

Motoki put down their milkshakes. "Burgers and fries will be right up." So she has a new boyfriend. He seemed like a nice enough guy.

"Since when?" Makoto asked.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ami inquired.

"What?" Rei yelped.

"Our first date was two weeks ago," Usagi said, "and I didn't say anything because …."

"Sometimes it's nice to have a little secret for a while, especially when its something new," Diamond answered for her, making it up as he had told all his friends that Odango was his girlfriend.

Just when Usagi thought the awkward tension was over, mainly because her food had arrived and she was eating it, Mamoru appeared with Chibiusa.

"Mamo-chan, let's race," the girl said as she pulled his hand. His eyes didn't leave Usagi and he noticed Diamond sitting rather close to her. He reluctantly followed Chibiusa.

When he saw Motoki, he asked what the deal was. Motoki looked down. "They're together now."

Mamoru looked and saw Diamond kissing Usagi's cheek. He turned red with anger and balled a fist.

"Chill, she's your ex," Motoki warned, and you dumped her.

"So what are you doing after lunch?" Makoto asked Usagi.

"I still have to study, but I'm free this evening."

"Girls' night?" Ami suggested.

"Yeah, we want to hear your secrets," Makoto added.

She looked at Diamond. "Have fun Odango. I can bother my friends tonight."

"You have friends?" Rei hissed.

"I do. I know I'm unsavory, but I still was able to make friends. Surely, you can relate."

She got pissed.

Usagi snickered. "I haven' t met any of your friends. I haven't even met your brother."

"Well, he's a bum who was still asleep when you got to my house and is probably still asleep. How about you meet my friends next weekend? They wanted to go to some concert. I bet I can get us tickets."

"That would be fun."

Diamond went to the bathroom before taking Usagi back to his place. On the way out, he ran into Mamoru.

"Watch it," the ex-boyfriend hissed.

"Or else what?"

"Excuse me."

"You think you can intimidate me? You have nothing on me, Chiba. You messed up and you lost a great girl. Get over yourself." Diamond walked out without another word. "Ready to go, Odango?"

"Yes. Bye girls. See you tonight!"

Rei couldn't believe she had just replaced Mamoru. "Who does he think he is? He's messing up the future!"

"Calm down Rei," Lita said.

"It's not like he knows about Crystal Tokyo," Ami reminded her.

"But Usagi does. How could she do this?"

"She's so happy," Minako added.

"How did you not know?" Rei questioned. Minako had no answer. "You did know."

"She asked me to keep my mouth shut until she was ready. She needed to have someone she could confide in."

"You should have stopped them."

"How? Did you see their chemistry? She was never like that with Mamoru."

Speaking of the devil, he was eavesdropping on the conversation. Minako thinks Diamond's better for Usagi? No way!

"Like what?"

"Confident. She always seemed to be chasing after Mamoru, like she couldn't keep up. Diamond is on her level. Also, he sounds like he's a great tutor and she needs it."

"I think Usagi needs to figure this out alone," Ami said. "We can't tell her who to date."

"I agree. It's also just dating and she's 15. He didn't propose."

Rei sighed. There wasn't much to do, for now, but this wouldn't be good. How could Usagi be so stupid and fall for that playboy?


By the time Usagi and Diamond got back to his place, Sapphire was awake. He was sitting on the couch, eating a mixing bowl full of cheerios wearing just his boxers. "Sapphire, put on some clothes!"

"What? Why?" He looked up. "Oh crap! You never bring people to the house." Sapphire got up to go put on clothes.

Usagi was chuckling. "He reminds me of my brother."

"I'm sorry," Diamond teased. His younger brother scrambled to put on pants. He didn't bother to look for a shirt. Now to eat his cereal before it got soggy.

He ran down to get his breakfast.

"Well at least you have some clothes on," his brother chided.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly as he put his spoon down. "We usually don't have people over, especially not this early."

"It's 1PM," Usagi told him.

"I'm more of a night owl."

"More like a night manga addict," Diamond added.

"You like manga too!" Usagi was excited to hear that.

"Sailor V is my favorite."

"My friend has all of them, but she never lets me read the new ones. She says I'll mess them up."

"I have the whole collection upstairs," he told her. Minako would get a kick out of this. Diamond's little brother was very cute. He looked like a raven-haired version of Diamond.

"After you finish your practice test," Diamond told his girlfriend.

"Aw!" She had just come from a break, but he had all of the Sailor V manga for her to read. "You're so strict."

"I know. I bought you a manga and lunch. I'm the devil."

"You could be." She reluctantly got to work. Sapphire was more of a last-minute homework doer, so he decided to read comics in his room instead.

After two practice tests, Diamond relented and Usagi went to Sapphire's room to binge on manga. His room was like a library, filled with manga, anime and fan art.

One of them was Sailor V in a bathtub, surrounded by bubbles. "Where did you get this?"

"I painted it," he said.

Usagi was impressed. He was very talented. The painting looked just like her, even though he had never met her. "It's beautiful. I bet she'd love it if she saw it."

"You don't think she'd find it creepy? That's what Diamond said."

"I think she'd be flattered. I would be … I mean if Diamond ever painted me."

"Probably not. If he painted you, it would look like a Picasso."

"Haha!"

Sapphire could easily see how his brother had fallen for his Odango so quickly. She was cute, easily excitable and had this innocence that was just charming.

Diamond looked at the time. If Serena was having a girls' night, she'd have to go home and get ready. He went into Sapphire's room. "When were you supposed to meet your friends?"

"Crud! I forgot. I should get going." She turned to Sapphire. "Thanks for letting me read the new Sailor V."

"Anytime."

Diamond brought his girlfriend home. "Have fun tonight."

You too!" She gave him a kiss, expecting it to be a short one, but then he pulled her in his arms, holding her close as he sucked the air out of her mouth.

"Until we meet again, Odango."


On his way home, Diamond got a phone call. He answered it through the car. "Rubeus, what's going on?"

"Diamond. Where the fuck have you been?"

"I got a new girlfriend."

"Really? Bring her out tonight."

"She's busy tonight, but I'll bring her out next weekend. What's going on tonight?"

"We're playing pool. Esmeralda said she's gonna kick your butt."

"She can try."

"Bring Sapphire with you."

"When are you getting there?"

"Nine."

Usagi scrambled to get ready. She packed pjs, some snacks and her sketchpad. After seeing Sapphire's work, she had an itch to do more work of her own. "You coming Luna?"

"I have plans with Artemis, but maybe next time."

"Have fun." She only got to Rei's about 10 minutes after the other girls.

"So you did decide to show up?" Rei teased.

"I'm almost on time. Besides, this is fun, not work."

Usagi got settled in and then the rapid fire questioning began.

"So what was your first date like?" Makoto asked her.

"Is he a good kisser?" Ami asked

"How many times have you kissed?" Minako asked.

"One at a time," Usagi laughed. "Well, our first date was very nice." She told them about the dinner and the kiss they shared before he took her home. "I felt like I was on fire from the inside out."

"He took you to a four star restaurant for your first date?" Makoto beamed jealously.

"You got a burger and fries there?" Rei questioned.

"That was the best burger of my life!" Usagi had no regrets.

"Tell us about your other dates!"

"Well, he made me dinner last night and we went to a movie."

"He cooks too!" Mako-chan squealed.

"He's really good. He even let me help." Mamoru wanted her to have nothing to do with his kitchen.

"What did you eat?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs."

Rei looked at her. "Anyone could make that. Well, almost anyone."

"But it was the best spaghetti and meatballs I ever had, and he made the sauce from scratch. He said that next time we could make the pasta from scratch too."

"He makes his own pasta too!" Makoto was excited about that.

"He's already taken," Minako teased.

"All of this talk is making me hungry," she complained.

"Who are you, Usagi?" Rei questioned.

"Can we get a pizza?" Usagi asked, realizing she was hungry too.

"I meant I'm hungry for a man."

Usagi blushed. "You're so tawdry."

"How are you not, with that stud for a boyfriend?"

"I just don't …." Usagi was attracted to him, and his kisses made her desperate for more kissing, but she hadn't thought about doing more with him, or at least not consciously.

"Let her take her time," Ami said. "There's no reason to rush."

"You'll know when you're ready." Minako added.

Rei glared at Makoto, why encourage them to get physical.

"I'm ready," Usagi started before she paused, "to order a pizza."

Minako laughed.

Rei threw a pillow at her.

"Me too," Ami added.

They fussed over the toppings and finally decided on a small veggie pizza and a large sausage pizza.

While they waited, the girls shared gossip about the latest drama at their school. Two girls had gotten into a fight over a boy and both ended up with suspensions.

"Diamond, stop playing with your hair, let's go!"

Diamond was actually debating which shirt to wear. He settled on the black one. "I'm ready. Keep your panties on!"

They got in his car and headed for the pool hall.

Sapphire started messing with the radio. "What is with your presets?"

"I never bothered to change them when I got the car."

Sapphire found a jazz station. "Perfect."

By the time they got there, the others had all arrived.

"So you two do live," Esmeralda teased when she saw them.

Diamond had been busy with Usagi and Sapphire wasn't the most outgoing guy. He was fun when he decided to come out, but he often spent his time in his room, reading or working on his art.

"Aw, did you miss me?" Diamond teased back.

"Never!"

"Let's play. Losers buy the snacks."

Esmeralda got to break. She and Rubeus were solids, leaving the two brothers with stripes. They got their first two shots in, but then Rubeus got a scratch.

Sapphire went first, eying the blue stiped ball. He hit the white ball and it went around the blue.

"You missed!" Esmarelda hissed.

It bounced around before it knocked the green striped ball in the pocket. "No I didn't." Sapphire had decided the green was the better choice. He smirked. Now it was Diamond's turn. He went for the orange.

The first match didn't take too long. The brothers took the win.

"We always get stuck buying the snacks," Esmeralda hissed.

"And by we you mean me," Rubeus cracked.

"Maybe you should try playing better," Sapphire teased.

"Maybe you should try not being an ass," Esmeralda retorted.

"I tried, and I can't do it. It might be genetic."

They played another round, this time, Sapphire and Rubeus vs. Diamond and Esmeralda.

Again, Sapphire's team won, but this game was closer. It came down to who got the 8-ball first.

"You're just dead weight aren't you," Sapphire teased the girl.

"You're just dead."

"Oh, you wound me."

"So, Diamond. What's with this girl?"

"Oh, Odango's the best."

"Her name is Odango?"

"Her name is Usagi," Sapphire clarified.

"But she has her hair in these cute little odangos." Diamond could talk about her forever. She was beautiful and sweet, but she had a sharp tongue and a sarcastic sense of humor. "She also loves manga and food. I've never seen a girl so small eat so much."

"Man, you are talking off my ear," Esmeralda complained.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Where is Odango now?" Rubeus asked.

"She had a girls' night with her friends."

"So pillow fights in their underwear and talking about their boyfriends?"

"Pretty much."

"Hot!"

Esmeralda rolled her eyes.

Sapphire had stopped listening during Diamond's monologue on how much he loved Usagi. He started people watching instead, noticing the various kinds of people who appeared in the pool hall from the frat bros who want to think they're good to the amateur players who aspire to go semi pro to the work friends who are gossiping about the one guy in the office they didn't invite.

"Am I right or am I right, Sapphire?" Rubeus asked. When he got no return, he poked the boy's shoulder.

"What?"

"Yo, were you even listening?"

"No, I was people watching. What is it?"

"Girls having a sleepover, what comes to mind?"

"Pillow fights in their underwear, binge eating and gossiping about boys and on a related note, who's a slut."

"What is it with guys and imagining girls having pillow fights in their underwear?" Esmeralda asked.

Neither Rubeus nor Diamond could answer the question. Sapphire, to their surprise, had an answer.

"Well, there's this hope, however how small, that if girls are having a pillow fight, it will transform into a tussling match, which will lead to a hot lesbian kiss."

"Yeah, what he said."

The sole girl in the group sighed. "Boys, they're so weird."

After pizza, movies and gossip in between the movies, Usagi was beat. She didn't even make it to her sleeping bag. She just fell asleep on the couch during the end of the last movie.

As the other guests got ready for bed, Rei put a pillow under Usagi's sleeping head and put a blanket on her. "Sweet dreams Odango," she said before kissing the girl on the forehead.

She was unaware that Minako was watching her every move. The senshi of love quickly put her head down on her pillow before she was seen spying.

Rei went to sleep in her bed, frustrated that the one she wanted was so close and yet so far away. Usagi was always close by, but somehow unavailable. First, she was destined for Mamoru. Now, she's ignoring destiny for Diamond. Curse that playboy! If he could cheat the future, why couldn't Rei? Should she have tried sooner?

She grunted as she pulled her blanked over her head.

Usagi woke up feeling warm and snuggly on the couch. She tried to get out of her blanket and she fell on the floor, making a thud that woke up Minako. Makoto and Ami were already awake. "Ouch!"

"Did you just fall off the couch?" Rei teased as she came back with some tea. "You're such a klutz!"

"It's not my fault my feet got caught in this blanket."

"Next time, I won't give you one."

"I'm sure you won't."

"Is it time for breakfast?" Minako asked sleepily. If not, she wanted to go back to bed.

"It's almost time for lunch," Ami told her. It was 10:30.

"Brunch!" Usagi and Rei said at the same time, then they glared at each other.

After scrambling to get dressed, the girls made it to brunch. Usagi quickly filled her plate with breakfast sausage, pancakes, berries to go on the pancakes, syrup to go on the berries. It was a sweet and meaty mess.

"Are you trying to get diabetes?" Rei questioned as she looked at her plate. Rei's own plate was filled with bacon and eggs and she had a side plate of toast.

"You can't tell me what to do."

The two bickered over their food while the rest of the group shook their head.

"Will they ever grow out of it?" Ami sighed.

Minako knew they wouldn't for a while. Rei was snarky with Usagi to mask her deeper feelings. Only when she could be honest with herself would the two grow out of this.

Eventually, they started eating and talking about their upcoming plans.

"Going anywhere with Diamond?" Makoto asked her.

"He said something about a concert. Saturday, I think."

"What band?"

Usagi shrugged. "I don't think he said. His friends are going too."

"If they're hot, let us know," Minako added, "or better yet, introduce them to us."

After brunch, Usagi started to walk home. She was about half way there when she saw a shadow going around the corner. She quickly transformed and then started to follow it.

The shadow was a youma that quickly turned around. Sailor Moon threw her tiara at it and it exploded. "Finally, a youma I can actually destroy," it had been a while. She was about to transform back when three more youma appeared, blocking her in.

"Crud!"

She again launched her tiara attack, but this time, the youma were not vulnerable to it. She grabbed a trashcan, hurling it at the youma. While they were stunned to see trash flying at them, Sailor Moon ran for it. She only got away for two blocks before they surrounded her again.

"Be ready to be destroyed, Sailor Moon!" The youma charged. Usagi was frozen in fear. Just when she thought it was over, a silver light appeared.

The mysterious man launched himself at the youma, emitting an energy wave that caused them all to disintegrate.

"How do you always find me?" She asked the man before he could disappear.

"I can feel it when the youma are coming. Why they're coming for you, I don't know yet."

Before she could ask what he did know, he disappeared.

Sailor Moon changed back and then walked home.

"How was your sleepover?" Luna asked, curled up on Usagi's desk.

"It was fun, but I got attacked by youma again on the way home?"

"WHAT!"

Usagi explained what happened.

"He can feel the youma coming?"

"That's what he said."

"He must be very powerful."

"He is, which is why I can't figure out how none of us have heard of him before?"

Luna wanted to see this silver man. Maybe it would trigger a memory or something.