Recap: Rei is helping to organize a festival and she asks Tohno Maya, a fantastic Japanese drum player, to perform in order to make the festival more popular. Maya's pure heart is targeted, and it's not a talisman, but Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars get caught by a Daimohn and are about to get clobbered when - *gasp* - Sailor Chibi Moon appears! And at first her "Pink Sugar Heart Attack" doesn't work, but the Daimohn patiently waits around and then gets zapped by – you guessed it – pink sugar hearts. By then Sailor Moon has freed herself and she destroys the Daimohn. Hooray.

So here's some unadulterated fluff to counteract yesterday's post. Hooray.

Mamoru flipped disinterestedly through TV channels and paused at a low-budget horror film. Zombies, brains, fake-looking blood. His thumb fluttered, about to skip to the next program, but somehow he hesitated, and found himself laughing at the corny acting, the predictable screams, the "don't-open-the-door-you-baka" moments, the gory decapitations. The more guts he saw, the harder he laughed, and it scared him even more than the movie did that he had reason to doubt his sanity once more.

Because there was no doubt about it. The dreams were getting to him. He hugged his knees to his chest and set his chin between them. He knew the earth could not be destroyed; he knew it because he had seen the future. And yet he knew far better than to dismiss his dreams, as painful as they might be; his future self had sent him dreams before for a purpose.

It was a stupid purpose, though. He scowled. Trying to test his love for Usagi – as if he, future or present,didn't know better than anyone that he'd… he'd… do some horrific cliché for her and say it to her face and not care about how cheesy it sounded! Like fly to the moon or travel to hell and back or… he couldn't even think of any other bad lines.

But regardless, someone, somewhere, was trying to tell him… something. That there was impending danger. That the earth could very well be destroyed. That silence could – and very nearly might – come.

And it might come absolutely. He'd never given serious thought to the issue of time travel, but it did pose serious questions as to the role of fate in his life. Was he positively destined to end up the way he saw his future self, or was that simply one of many alternative realities he could live out? Was there truly a potential future in which silence did come, and Crystal Tokyo was never realized?

The earth's heart within him ached.

I am not afraid, he told himself sternly as the heroine onscreen let out a vapid shriek. But it was a lie. More than anything, he wanted to believe he had a destiny. Intellectually, he was too practical to admit it, for that would pose a serious threat to his concept of free will; but the romantic battling inside of him desperately wished that all of this happened for a reason – that he had lost his family, and endured all those years alone, completely alone, and been tortured by those images of his Lady until he could have driven his head through the wall, and already defeated two previous threats to the world all for some greater purpose. He needed a culmination, a climax, some huge mounting explosion of glory that would shine light upon everything that had happened. He needed it.

Or perhaps he was a coward, and only wanted it because he didn't want to suffer.

A knock thudded from his door. Not really in the mood to socialize, he hoped it wasn't Motoki.

"Mamo-chan!"

Usako. Half of him ached for her as soon as he heard her voice, wanting to hold her and hear her tell him that everything would be alright; and the other half cowered in shame and guilt and a desire to be left alone. The two sides battled briefly, and before he knew who had won, he was at the door, unlocking the latch.

Usagi stood there before him, as radiant and cheery as ever, a thousand secrets dancing just behind her sky-colored eyes. "I brought someone to see you," she said, fighting back a brilliant smile.

He looked around in confusion and suddenly a pink streak flew at his legs and clung to him mercilessly. "Mamo-chan!"

His jaw dropped. "Chibiusa?"

Her bright red eyes blazed up at him with all the intensity and adoration he'd missed so dearly. "I came from the future to train as a Sailor Senshi!" she announced.

"Sailor Chibi Moon," Usagi explained softly, her grin now fully captivating her face.

"You've grown," Mamoru announced through the ebbing waves of shock.

"Of course I've grown!" said Chibiusa. "I'm…" She scrunched up her face. "I think Mama said that according to your time, I'm eight."

"Not too big, then," Mamoru said, and scooped her up in his arms, tickling her cheek with his nose. "I missed you so much!"

She giggled and hugged him back. "Me, too! I saved Usagi-baka today, did you know? The Daimohn had her in a drum, and she looked so stupid, but I attacked it." She beamed at him. "I have my own attack."

"Yeah, it's very powerful," said Usagi sarcastically.

Mamoru grinned at Usagi through Chibiusa's hair. "You two have gotten off on the wrong foot once again? Well, I'm glad too many things haven't changed."

"She's not careful at all!" Chibiusa complained. "She just stands there waiting around before she attacks, it's so stupid…"

"How many times do I have to say I can't attack before the Daimohn is weakened?" Usagi growled through gritted teeth, her fists balling at her sides.

Mamoru extended an arm and pulled her into the embrace. "Shut up, you two," he said cheerfully. "Let me enjoy the moment."

"But I'm hungry," Chibiusa whined as Usagi nuzzled into his shoulder. "Mamo-chan, can you make me pancakes?"

"If you convince Usagi to persuade me," he replied, feeling rather cheeky.

Chibiusa gazed at him cross-eyed, one of her nostrils raised in confusion. "What does that mean?"

Usagi's hand slipped up to his neck, and she pulled him down, quickly pressing her lips against his. "I think he means that," she said, her eyes sparkling.

Damn, her smile was gorgeous today. He grinned back at her like he had lost his mind – which, he reminded himself, he probably had.

"Oh, gross." Chibiusa wriggled out of Mamoru's arms and pattered into his apartment. "Come on, Luna-P! We haven't been here forever!" She whirled around. "And I still want pancakes, Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru chuckled as Luna-P zooped after Chibiusa. "I forgot about that thing," he admitted.

Usagi just grabbed onto his arm and they followed after Chibiusa. He felt kind of warm and bubbly. He felt like a walking cliché. And he didn't care, because he wasn't afraid anymore. He didn't need to be.

Meh. So as far as fluff goes, it could have been better. Sorry about that. I'll give it a bit more effort next time.

Thanks for reading!