For Your Happiness

Chapter 6

The morning after her discussion with Mamoru, Usagi woke up with a profound sense of emptiness. On a normal morning, she would have slept in for hours before finally dragging herself out of bed and heading to the Crown Arcade to meet the other Sailor Senshi or Mamoru. However, the conversation from the night before had resulted in no sleep at all for Tsukino Usagi and no motivation to go anywhere, do anything, or see anyone. Unfortunately, melancholy and lethargy were not things that people normally associated with the bouncing blonde and so, in order to keep up appearances and not worry the people she loved, Usagi went about the same routine she would have if this had been any other day.

Fifteen minutes later, Usagi was out of bed and dressed for the day, bounding down the stairs with the same enthusiasm she normally had. In the kitchen, she said a quick good morning to her mother as she grabbed a slice of toast. Upon entering the dining room, she greeted Chibi-Usa, Shingo, and her father with a bright, cheerful smile. To all the world, it seemed as though this was just another average day in the life of Tsukino Usagi even though Usagi herself felt as though her life were balanced on a razor's edge… happiness and love on one side with heartbreak and oblivion on the other.

While exchanging the usual sibling banter with Shingo, Usagi took numerous opportunities to glance as Chibi-Usa from the corner of her eye. The pink-haired girl was chatting happily with Usagi's mother, Ikuko, and looked just as she always had. When Mamoru had ended his relationship with Usagi during the invasion of the Black Moon, neither had known that that young girl they were fighting to protect was their future daughter. However, once that fact had been revealed, certain things Mamoru had said during that heart wrenching period of separation had taken on a whole new light. It had been Mamoru's words about not wishing to be with Usagi just because they had been together in a previous lifetime that had caused the often idle gears in Usagi's brain to start turning, eventually leading her toward the revelation that perhaps it was merely her incarnation as Princess Serenity that tied them together.

Before discovering Chibi-Usa's true identity, it would have been simple enough to sever her relationship with Mamoru if he only loved Princess Serenity and no Usagi. However, knowing she had a daughter whose very existence hinged on their relationship made things much more difficult. Usagi probably would have been content to allow fate to take its course, had it not been for something Ami had said after the Black Moon Family had been defeated, "It's strange that Chibi-Usa remained so solid and present while you and Mamoru-san were separated. With the relationship of her future parents in a state of such turmoil, I would have expected her corporeal body to fluctuate with the changing dynamics of your relationship." After making that statement, Ami had dedicated all of her spare time to studying Chibi-Usa with her mini-computer but had been unable to solve the riddle.

It was shortly after hearing the ice-wielding genius' comment that Usagi had finally figured out that Chibi-Usa's existence wasn't threatened by her breaking up with Mamoru because Endymion would eventually rekindle his relationship with Princess Serenity once Usagi's soul was gone. Not one to give up without a fight, Usagi had thrown all her energy into studying the Ginzuisho and its abilities by sneaking into the underground command center at the Crown Arcade in the middle of the night and accessing Queen Serenity's stored consciousness No doubt, Serenity and Endymion knew that both Usagi and Mamoru would be powerless to resist succumbing to their fate once they knew Chibi-Usa's very existence depended on their cooperation.

Unfortunately for Usagi's royal counterpart, there was nothing Usagi hated more than innocents being used as pawns. Usagi may have no choice to accept her fate but there was no way she would allow Mamoru to be robbed of his right to choose his own path. As a result, the Senshi of the Moon had worked tirelessly to find a way to remove Chibi-Usa's existence from being in jeopardy. She had eventually found a solution in the form of having the Ginzuisho create a talisman that would reside inside Chibi-Usa's heart much like Neo-Tokyo's Ginzuisho had done. The talisman would preserve Chibi-Usa's life regardless of any changes in the timeline which would otherwise threaten it. The only downside was that such an attempt had never been made before and, as a result, there was no knowing what might happen to Chibi-Usa's memories if the timeline changed from what she already remembered.

Usagi had eventually come to the conclusion that Chibi-Usa deserved to know what was going on so that, if the time ever came where her memories were in conflict, she would not be taken by surprise or traumatized by the ordeal. "Chibi-Usa, I was wondering if you'd like to spend the day with me today?" Usagi asked quietly. Chibi-Usa looked at the older girl as if she'd grown a second head and Usagi winced. While her relationship with the younger girl had improved since her initial arrival, Usagi had often been reluctant to take Chibi-Usa anywhere with her and often vehemently opposed such suggestions which now, given the circumstances, she greatly regretted. Initially she had avoided Chibi-Usa because she had thought she would have centuries to spend with her in the future. Then, when Usagi had realized the truth, she had feared allowing the little girl to become attached to her. Chibi-Usa wasn't an idiot, she had already noticed differences between the mother she knew and the person who would one day be her mother. Usagi had no doubt that the pink-haired child already loved her and to foster that relationship when it may never be allowed to continue would be too cruel. "I realized that we don't spend enough time together and I thought it might be nice to just have a… girl's day."

Chibi-Usa still looked skeptical but she eventually nodded, "Sure, I'll go get ready."

Usagi nodded and followed Chibi-Usa to the stairs, "Chibi-Usa?"

"Yes?"

"If it's alright with you, I'd like today to just be you and me so, would you mind not asking Luna or Diana to tag along?"

Usagi had expected this request to be met with another skeptical look however, instead, Chibi-Usa smiled and nodded excitedly which caused another pang of guilt to shoot through the older girl, "Sure!"

It was clear Usagi had a lot more to explain to Chibi-Usa than she'd initially thought and she wasn't particularly looking forward to delivering the bad news. Sighing loudly, Usagi slowly replaced her house slippers with her shoes before stepping outside to wait for Chibi-Usa. The sun was bright and the temperature was surprisingly mild, all in all a gorgeous day to be outside. This was the type of day Usagi would have adored once upon a time but today the sunshine and beauty of the day just made her feel worse. How many more days like this would she get to experience before she ceased to exist?