Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
The Second Story

AN: So I was talking Sailor Moon with my friend Midnight, and we were bitching about the general lack of PGSM outers fic. So we decided to write one. Enjoy.

London, Winter, Two Years Ago

Uranus was interesting to fight with, to say the least. She had a much more melee style of fighting than Michiru, who favored mid-range attacking while in senshi form. Pluto did say that they would compliment each other nicely, once both of them were fighting together in the same battles and Michiru had to agree with her that there was a certain ease that came with fighting with Uranus that Michiru had never before experienced. It was like a rush every time she saw the tall blond, and Michiru could barely keep her emotions in check every time Neptune's feeling for her partner welled up.

She had to put a stop to this, it felt as though she was going crazy, trying to prevent the inevitable incident when Uranus would remember who she was in the past life and Michiru would suddenly find herself between a rock and a very hard place. She would not cheat on Haruka, but this whole business with past lives was just awful and made everything far more complicated than Michiru wanted it to be.

Brushing a strand of blue hair out of her eyes, she squinted towards the center of the battle, where Uranus was trying to get off a successful World Shaking against their enemy. It was a large bug-like creature, nearly two stories tall and the size of a small car with at least ten beady eyes pointing in every direction, making a surprise attack next to impossible.

Michiru sent a Deep Submerge into the fray, calling out for Uranus to move then blast the thing as soon as her attack hit. Their strategy works, and the creature goes down, leaving only a few cracked sidewalks and some broken windows as it fades away into nothing.

"Good fight." Uranus said diplomatically, landing beside Michiru and grinning wolfishly. She looked a lot like Haruka when she did that, and Michiru can feel her cheeks burn as she looked away. She didn't want Uranus to see that she was so obviously smitten.

"Yes it was," They do this every battle. First one and then the other would speak in flowery words littered with compliments - then they would part ways, Michiru hurrying home to Haruka and a her seemingly normal life.

"Say, Neptune," Uranus said, her face almost washed out by the setting sun behind her tall frame. Michiru squinted into the bright light, trying to get a clear look at Uranus' face. "Do you remember the past at all?"

Michiru - or rather Neptune - took a step closer to Uranus it took all of Michiru's will-power to keep Neptune from doing something rash like jumping into Uranus' arms and confessing her undying love right then and there. Michiru would not cheat, she was above this, she had to be. She took a deep breath and shrugged, "What do you want to know?"

Uranus looked sheepish for a moment, running her hand through her hair and frowning. "I don't remember anything. Just that I have a mission and that someday I will find happiness with the rest of the senshi."

Michiru nodded. Those were the first memories that came back for her as well, the sense of fulfillment and happiness to be fighting, along with a deep-seeded fear of the dark creatures that they were fighting. They'd been alive at the end of the past life, long after the Princess and her Prince had committed suicide - long after the rest of their companions had perished.

She can still remember the look on the lifeless face of Sailor Mars, the proudest warrior she knew, sprawled not feet away from Venus and the rest of the inner guard. That face gave Michiru nightmares that were nothing like her visions of the impending doom of the world, for it was suddenly so real. The costs of this battle were very real, and Michiru was very afraid of what was going to happen to her, if she wasn't careful.

"The memories are painful," Michiru winced, for she sounded like Pluto, "Are you sure that you really want to know that level of pain and suffering?"

Uranus shrugged, "I guess that they'll come back on their own, right?"

Michiru nodded. "In time. I kept my lover up for months with all my nightmares."

She stopped, looking oddly at Uranus. As a general rule, they did not talk about their home lives while on these missions. There was no point, they weren't friends in the real world, just partners in this fantasy world battle between good and evil. She was interested to see if Uranus would join in the conversation, or simply let it drop, as they usually did in such situations.

The rain that'd been threatening to fall all day starts and they both stand in the near-freezing temperature, completely unfazed. The weather was now very strange looking, like a midsummer's day when the clouds were thick with rain, but the sun still peaked through the clouds to pocket the ground with brilliant golden spots of light. Michiru sighed, they were going to get sick, and this weather was positively awful.

"I don't think that mine would care that much," Uranus said thoughtfully. "We're both so busy these days that I hardly get a chance to see her. This is a big year for her, anyway. Big concert and record deal to collaborate with Aino Minako, international pop-star for the future of the world, of all people."

Michiru stopped cold, her heart ceasing to beat. That was what Haruka called Minako Aino, every time she came up in conversation, like clockwork. No no no, this cannot be good, but she will not allow her brain to go in that direction. There is no way that Uranus could know her somehow in the real world. No way at all.

"Sailor Venus?" Still, Aino Minako is the source of much amusement for Michiru, and she would be damned if she was going to allow another chance to giggle about the lamentable state of Aino Minako's secret identity to slip though her fingers.

Somehow, it was just too funny for Michiru.

"Oh, you noticed that too?" Uranus grinned. "I swear, she was just asking to get caught with some of her song titles and what she sings about."

Michiru can barely contain her laughter, but what she was repressing was the hysterical sort of panicked giggles that she was more worried about escaping her lips. She can't be...

It can't be...

Uranus' grin widened as she leaned back, her arms behind her head in a gesture that Michiru has seen Haruka do more times than she can count. Michiru felt her mouth go dry. She didn't know what to say, but Uranus was more than capable of caring the conversation on by herself. "Yeah, anyway, my girlfriend's not really into that sort of music and neither am I - but I mean, wow. Aino Minako."

"Yes, Aino Minako's a huge name in that industry." Michiru agreed.

Uranus glanced towards the sun, then down at the communicator strapped to her wrist. "Shit," she said. "Look, Neptune, I've got a dinner date that I need to keep. I'll see you next time."

She vanishes quickly, and Michiru couldn't help but call out, "Haruka!" at Uranus' retreating form.