A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

"So, is there somewhere we can talk in private?" In the dining are of Crown, Minako, Makoto, and Rei stood next the counter a small distance away from Usagi, while Mamoru sat at a table not too far away.

"Right here will be fine." Usagi giggled at the confused looks on the girls' faces before she turned to Motoki, "Motoki-nii, these are the girls we were talking about. Can we clear the store?"

Motoki's face lit in surprise, "They are? Ah, first things first." Stepping out from behind the counter, he whistled and got everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, it's a little earlier than usual, but you guys know the drill. Take it easy, and stay out of trouble tonight."

Just like that, everyone else began to leave immediately, until only Minako's group, Usagi, and Motoki remained.

"What just happened here?" Minako asked, "Did you just kick everyone out?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Motoki replied, now making floats in the back, "It seems that you hadn't noticed before, but every so often, I'll close down earlier than usual, although not this early. During that time, the store's open just for Usagi and her family. But still, I'm surprised that you all are really the Sailor Senshi that we've been hearing about."

The three gasped, "How did you find out about us!"

"We told him." Usagi's simple statement surprised them, the three suddenly turning to her, "Motoki-nii has known about us since the very beginning. He also lets us use Crown whenever we need to, as well as support us as much as he can. And to that matter, We've known your identities for ages. But still, sit down everyone, I'm sure you don't want to stand up the entire time, right?"

The others agreed, and sat down at a table right next to Usagi, except for Rei. Instead of sitting at the table, she instead moved to sit at the counter with Usagi.

"Is it okay if I sit next to you?" She asked Usagi in a soft, kind voice. Usagi studied her for a moment, then nodded, smiling softly.

"Here you go, Usagi-chan! Here, there's floats for all of you as well." Motoki stated as he handed Usagi another float.

"Thank you!" Minako replied after taking one, "So, should we all properly introduce ourselves?"

Ah, the tentative approach, Usagi noted to herself, Well, after what happened last night, it's not surprising that they're tip-toeing around me... "If you don't mind, I would like to wait-ah, here she is."

The air in the room shimmered and distorted slightly, and in a burst of light, Sailor Mercury appeared by Usagi's side, The other girls jumping to their feet as she materialized.

"..." 'Is everything okay, 'Sagi-chan? Have they tried to do anything to you?' She asked mentally, her eyes narrowed as her gaze swept past the others.

Usagi thought back to what Mamoru had done earlier, then shook her head, "We were waiting patiently for you. Would you like a float as well?"

Unfortunately for Usagi, Mercury heard her unspoken thoughts. Her eyes burning brightly, she spun around and made to move towards Mamoru, when a soft hand grabbed her's.

"He meant no harm... probably." Mercury looked at the pleading eyes of Usagi for a moment, then sighed and relented.

"If you say so, I'll let it go... Once. 'Sagi-chan, hold still."

Obeying, Usagi held still as Mercury pushed her forehead against her's.

"Hmm... It's a little lower than where I'd like it to be around. 'Sagi-chan, have you slept at all today?

"I slept for a couple of hours before I came over here."

"Hmm..." Mercury stared Usagi in the eyes, then glared at her, "You were singing again, weren't you?"

"Ah." Usagi couldn't look her straight in the eyes, "...A little. Less than last time, though."

"Motoki-nii, please make a full meal for 'Sagi-chan and I. The usual should be fine."

Motoki laughed as Usagi silently protested, "Ah, the usual, huh? No problem, it'll be out in about twenty minutes. Until then, you guys behave, 'okay?"

After watching him go back into the kitchen, Mercury turned to Usagi, "Have you all been introduced yet?"

"Not yet, we were waiting for you to get here. Want some?"

Taking the float Usagi offered, Mercury powered down, then turned to the others, "I'm sorry for the late arrival. It's nice to meet most of you."

Makoto gasped, "Mizuno-san!"

"Mako-chan, you know her?" Minako asked, surprised.

"Yes, the two of us were in the same class before she transferred out. I had no idea that she was a Senshi as well, though."

Ami nodded, "Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Ami Mizuno, also known as Sailor Mercury, the Senshi of Water and apprentice Guardian of Time and Space."

"And I am Usagi Mizuno. I am a support specialist and a Time and Space Guardian junior apprentice. It is a pleasure to formally meet you."

It's nice to meet you Ami-san, Usagi-san. I am Minako Aino, also know as Sailor Venus, the Senshi of Love and Beauty. And these are my comrades, Makoto Kino, Rei Hino, and Mamoru Chiba."

Makoto nodded, "Nice to meet you, Usagi-san! I'm Makoto, also known as Sailor Jupiter, the Senshi of Thunder. Like I said earlier, Ami-san and I are old classmates."

"Nice to meet the both of you," Rei said, standing up, "I'm Rei, the Senshi of Fire, Sailor Mars. As you noticed, I have a bit of psychic ability."

Now, Mamoru stood up, "I am Mamoru Chiba, also known as Tuxedo Kamen. It's a pleasure to meet you." As he made to move forward, Usagi recoiled and immediately Ami was in front of her, eyes blazing, "Don't come any closer."

Mamoru frowned, but sat back down, "Why am I the only one who is being treated like this?"

"Because it's obvious that she's nervous around you," Rei said, giving him a small frown back, "Please, don't worry about him, we won't let him do anything to you."

"Thank you," Usagi replied as Ami sat back down, "but aren't you going to introduce your little friend as well?"

The four were confused, "Little friend?"

"Usagi giggled, "The one that's hiding in Minako-san's school bag."

At this, there was a gasp as the 'Little friend' jumped out of said bag and onto the table. "Artemis!"

The cat turned to stare hard at Usagi, "How did you know that I was in the bag? Even the others didn't know."

"Just a hunch." Usagi replied with a shrug.

"Speaking of which," Minako said as Artemis continued to stare at Usagi (to Ami's growing dislike), "Usagi-san, are you a Senshi as well? At this point, it seems that there's a lot that we don't know."

Usagi shook her head, "I'm-"

"And the food's done!" She was cut short as Motoki came back, loaded down with plates of food, most of which was vegetables; all of which were very healthy delicacies.

Usagi groaned, but Ami handed her a fork and knife, "Eat. I'll eat a bit of it as well."

Turning to Minako as Usagi (begrudgingly) started on the food, Ami continued, "Usagi is not a Senshi, however, she is a citizen of the Moon Kingdom. Like us, she was reincarnated on Earth, however, she was given a different mission and duty than us Senshi by the former Queen Serenity."

"What mission were you given, Usagi-san?" Rei asked, but Usagi shook her head and didn't reply.

"A special mission..?" Artemis continued to stare at Usagi, but now a spark of realization came to his eyes, "Ah! I understand now!"

"You know what her mission is?" Minako asked, excitedly. However, Artemis, like Usagi, shook his head.

"I can't say. She probably has orders not to speak about it, either. It's probably best to avoid that subject at all."

"Alright then," Rei agreed, "Well then, can you tell us a little about yourselves? How old you are and what schools you attend, for example."

Usagi nodded, "That's fine. I am currently fifteen years old, and I do not attend school. However, Ami-nee attends Al Riviera Academy, along with Ho-chan."

"Riviera? That super prestigious school where you have to have perfect grades and lots of money just to be considered!" Makoto was beyond shocked, "Ami-san, you transferred to that school!"

"Ami shook her head, "I've always attended Riviera. However, at the beginning of the year, I attended Juban High for a couple of months. I was charged with dealing with the youma that had infiltrated the school at the time."

"I never even noticed there was a youma at the school," Makoto gasped, "How long did it take you to get rid of it?"

"The first day." Ami replied simply, which astounded everyone except Usagi and Motoki.

"Wait, the first say of school! Then why did you stay for another month?"

Usagi laughed as Ami's face colored brilliantly, "Because she got to stay at Puu's house with me and Ho-chan while she was attending Juban, so she didn't say anything about killing the youma."

The others began to laugh as well, the tension in the room gradually letting up. As Minako laughed, however, she couldn't help but think that there was something about Usagi that was extremely familiar; as if she should know her better than anyone else. And it was hurting her on the inside that she couldn't figure out what it was.

"The both of you have the same family name," Mamoru noted, "Are you sisters? The two of you don't resemble each other."

The air in the room dropped in temperature for a moment as Ami's eyes narrowed once again. Usagi, however, didn't pay it any mind.

" I was adopted by the Mizuno family when I was four. Since then, Mama and Puu have had joint custody of me, while Puu has full custody of Ho-chan. In fact, -ah."

She went silent as a look from Ami made her pick back up her fork and return to eating.

"Who is 'Puu' and 'Ho-chan'?" Rei asked, watching Usagi slowly eat her food.

Ami sighed, "'Puu' is 'Sagi-chan's nickname for her Guardian and my aunt, Sailor Pluto. 'Ho-chan' is Hotaru, our sister, although you know her as Sailor Saturn."

Now that nagging feeling that Minako had was pulling at her even harder. "Usagi-san, what about you? You said that you don't attend school. What did you mean?"

Usagi shook her head, then took a minute to swallow her food, "Ho-chan and I already graduated from Tokyo University."

"...EH!" That floored everyone except Ami and Motoki. "What-how-when—EH!"

Usagi laughed at their response, "Puu home-schooled Ho-chan and I. We never attended school normally, but her classes were much harder and broader. I currently have degrees in Art, Astronomy, Literature, and Language Arts."

"Are you serious..?" Rei asked, getting back to her feet, "That's just too much to believe!"

"Look at any of the paintings in here." Now, Crown was a very modern game center, but it also had many, MANY paintings hung all around. They were all variously themed, and yet held the same feeling.

Rei walked over to a particular one that caught her eye. "Check the back." Following Usagi's instructions, she flipped over the painting and noticed, a small cursive name and read it out loud.

"Mizusa."

"'Mizusa'?" Minako was confused, but Makoto caught on at once.

"I see. Mizuno Usagi. Nice! Are these the only ones you've painted?"

"No, a lot of them were sold to various people and museums."

"How much were they sold for?" Rei asked curiously.

"Um, I think the last couple I painted sold for about 4 million each. I'm not sure, because Puu usually handles that kind of stuff."

They could only stare in awe at them, the two girls who had more money than all of their families put together.

"But wait," Makoto thought suddenly, "Why do you still attend an academy, Ami-san? Were you not home-schooled as well?"

Ami blushed again, and turned her attention to the food. Usagi answered for her, "Right now, Ami-nee is taking university classes at the academy, and is an intern at Mizuno Hospital. Her main area of focus requires her to actually attend classes. But, enough of that. I'm sure that there are more pressing things that you want to ask, is there not?"

The three girls and Mamoru looked at each other and nodded, Minako taking point, "We would like to work together with you. Right now, we don't have many leads to find our princess. At the same time, the youma are getting stronger really quickly. It's taking all we have just to hold them at bay. Together, however, we can be more than a match for the youma, as well as be able to relay information to each other that we might need. Together, I believe that we can do it!"

Ami gave Usagi a sidelong glance, telling her not to interfere as she turned back to Minako. "As we told you last night, although we are Senshi, our goals are not the same, even if I am also an Inner Senshi. To put it simply, we already have someone that we are sworn to protect, and that is our absolute top priority. For that reason we were awakened, and for that reason we have been in training for over ten years. And if we have to eliminate every youma in the galaxy to protect her, we will. No matter what."

Minako jumped to her feet, "Are you trying to say that protecting that person is more important than looking for our princess! That's insane! And you call yourselves Senshi!"

The words struck Usagi like a hot knife. It was exactly what she herself had thought, but to hear someone else belittle her sisters, and add to it the fact that it was her fault...

"Do not confuse yourselves, Aino-san," Ami replied coolly, "While you have your duties, we also have ours. Your foolishly jumping to conclusions without knowing all the facts shows your inexperience and shortcomings as a leader. And it is precisely this reason that we see no reason to lend you our aid. You're just too immature."

"WHAT! HOW DARE YOU-OWW!" Moving forward angrily, Minako jumped back in pain as Artemis sunk his teeth into her leg.

"Cut it out! Right now, you're proving everything that Ami-san said to be completely true."

"But Artemis!" Minako argued, "Did you just hear her! She just stated that she had no intention of ever looking for the princess, or that she's even loyal to-OWW!"

"You idiot, that's what Ami was talking about! You're jumping to conclusions without knowing the whole story, or even a large part of it! A true leader makes decisions only after learning as much as they possibly can, and assessing the situation!"

"Artemis," Now Makoto joined the conversation, "You sound like you know something that we don't. Can you let us in on it? We can't understand what we don't know. What could possibly be more important than looking for and protecting the princess?"

Artemis sighed, "Sailor Pluto wouldn't awaken the most powerful Senshi of all as well as one of the Princess's guardians for a trivial reason. And Saturn was always the Senshi who was the most loyal and protective of the princess, except perhaps for Mars. There is no way that the both of them would simply abandon their mission of protecting our beloved princess unless it was absolutely necessary. In other words, it means that their mission is so important that it takes priority over everything other duty that they may have. And from the looks of it, it seems that Pluto made a damn good choice of picking Mercury and Saturn to do protect her."

"...Okay, you're right," Minako said, sitting back down, "Now that I think calmly about it, I can understand what you mean. I'm sorry that I jumped to conclusions like that without knowing your situations."

"Why are you apologizing? Everything you said is true, after all."

Surprised, everyone turned to stare at Usagi, and Ami gasped. For as long as they had been family, she had never seen the look that Usagi was displaying on her face right now.

"See? It's just like I've told you, and now the other Senshi just said the same thing! There's no reason to stay by my side! I'm worthless! I'm not a Senshi, and I'm NOT worth protecting! There is no point in protecting me when you have a princess that you could be looking for! Do you understand? Stop protecting me! Stop caring about me! I'm fine by myself- I don't need anyone-"

SLAP.

You could hear a needle drop, it was so silent. Lowering her hand, Ami glared at her younger sister. "I finally understand now. The reason that you still act distant with me and mom sometimes."

Usagi's face began to pale, not daring to meet her elder sibling's eyes as she continued.

"All this time, I've tried to figure it out, and now it all comes together. I can't believe Ho-chan and I didn't realize it sooner."

"Ami-nee, it's not-"

"Shut up, Usagi."

Both Usagi and Motoki gasped. It was the first time Ami had ever used harsh words towards Usagi, even when they were children. It was a testament to how angry Ami was at the moment. The others were at a loss as for what to do. Rei and Makoto were watching Usagi with a worried expression, while Minako and Mamoru were listening intently, albeit for different reasons.

"You know," Ami said softly, "At first, I thought you didn't like living with us; I thought that we were doing something wrong, and that you couldn't make yourself comfortable. That would also explain why you always preferred to stay at Setsuna-san's so much. However, that isn't the reason at all, is it? Because the truth is, it doesn't matter to you which home you're in. And it's that same reason why you don't want us protecting you. It has nothing to do with duty, the princess, or anything else. In reality, you've never even considered yourself part of our family, have you?"

"What are you-"

"Shut up! It's true, isn't it? You've never thought of us as family, and you've never really trusted us, have you? It's been over eleven years, and besides Hotaru, you still don't trust anyone!"

"..." Usagi just sat there, her face hidden behind her long hair.

"Say something!"

"Ami, that's enough, you're goin-"

"Stay out of this, Motoki-nii!"

"...what..."

"Eh..?" Everyone fell silent again at the sound of the voice.

"...So what..?" Her voice was soft, but at the same time it was chilling, striking a sense of fear into everyone's hearts.

Ami could feel it. The power that was beginning to well up inside Usagi. "...'Sagi-chan..?"

"So what if I don't trust anybody? Only a fool would do such a thing." She now raised her face to stare straight at Ami. Her eyes were as cold as ice, her expression impassive. It was as if Ami was looking at a completely different person; one she had never met before.

And it scared her.

"Family? What good is family? They only betray you in the end. They use you as they see fit, and when they have no further use for you, they try to get rid of you themselves. HA! I'd rather be sealed away again than deal with people like them."

And it was that sentence that keyed Ami in to her suspicions. Raising her hand, a blade of ice manifested itself. "This is your only warning. Stop controlling her right now."

Usagi(?) began to laugh, "It took you long enough to realize it! But even so, what are you going to do? I know the truth about this girl, you wouldn't dare strike her down. But I must thank you, AMI. It was you who made it possible for me to take hold of her."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't get it? Your whole speech? It was completely off the mark. All it did was make this girl feel even worse, knowing that the one of the few people she loves has no faith in her. And a person in mental torment is the easiest to take over..."

Ami's eyes widened in realization as the words sunk in. She was completely wrong. That means that she had just shattered her sister's heart mercilessly, and her sister had done nothing to try to defend herself. Some sister Ami was.

"That doesn't matter. You will leave my sister this instant, of suffer the wrath of Mercury."

The false Usagi laughed all the harder, "Sister? Ha! Do you have the right to call this girl 'Sister'? After all, this girl is- AHH!"

Usagi's body fell forward, only to be caught in the arms of the Guardian of Time and Space herself. "It would seem that you all have had a very... taxing conversation."

Ami gasped, a look of relief on her face, "Sailor Pluto!"

Pluto nodded, "Usagi will be fine. She's just very low on energy right now. I've dealt with the youma as well. I would have arrived sooner, but there were some things that needed my attention."

The others were in awe of the Guardian in front of them, the Senshi that outranked everyone of them. As they collected themselves, Artemis moved forward.

"Pluto, it has been a long time! It's good to see that you are well, and as beautiful as ever."

Pluto laughed as she powered down, "Indeed, it has been a while, Artemis. I'm doing fine, as you can see. However, I never thought raising children would be a bigger task than dealing with youma!"

Artemis laughed as well, then became serious, "Setsuna-san, there's something I need to know. Is that girl..?"

Setsuna nodded, her face serious as well, "It is as you've surmised. However, for her sake, there are certain... aspects that she is unaware of, for her sake, as well as the sake of others."

"I understand." Artemis nodded. And then, to the surprise of the Inners, especially Minako, he moved over to Usagi and gently licked her on the cheek. "Poor girl. Out of everyone who was reborn, she's got the most difficult future out of all of us. I almost wish there was another path for her..."

The others could only look on. Artemis was always distant to everybody save Minako. Even then, he almost never showed his true feelings about something like he was right now. Even if the girl in question did look rather similar to Minako.

Similar to Minako..?

It was then that realization lit Minako's eyes. "No... no way...Usagi-chan..?"

Hearing her name brought Usagi back to her senses. "..? What...Puu..? Why are you...Ah. It happened again, didn't it?"

Helping Usagi back onto the chair she had been in, Setsuna smiled softly, "It's alright. It was dealt with quickly, as usual. Besides, I think Ami wants to say something to you."

Tensing up, Usagi turned to Ami, who, hugged her tightly, then pulled away.

"'Sagi-chan... I'm sorry for everything I said. But, you're acting distant again. Just like when you first came to our home. I love you more than you can imagine, but I need to know. Usagi... do you-"

Ami went silent as Usagi's finger touched her lips. "You, Mama, and Puu have been so kind to me. You're always by my side, you always show me how much you love me, and you've never pressured me to tell you about the past before we met. How could I not have fallen in love with all of you?"

Until now, her face radiated with the purest light, one that warmed the hearts of everyone in the room. Then, it turned much more serious. "You know, I remember a bit what happened a moment ago. Not all of what she said was a lie. What that youma said about family, that was how me and Ho-chan truly felt for the longest of time, even after we were adopted."

Ami began to say something, but stopped as Usagi kissed her softly on the cheek. "But that was years ago. I still don't trust people in general. The me from before will never go away. However, I can say, without a shadow of a doubt that I love you, mama, Puu, and Motoki-nii just as much as I love Ho-chan. I trust you all with all of my heart, and I'm glad that you accepted me as your little sister."

And with those words, all of the worries and fears that Ami had melted away. Hugging her sister, she held back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.

"But even so," Usagi continued, "That doesn't change how I feel about everyone protecting me. I'm not worth it."

"Usagi-san." Before Ami could reply, Artemis moved over to her, looking her straight in the eyes. "You need to believe in yourself. I understand your feelings about you and the princess. However, I want you to know just how important you are."

"How important I am..?"

"Yes. Believe me when I say that you are almost, if not just as important as the princess is. While you may not realize it, your duty is something that no one else in the universe is capable of doing. And by protecting you, your sisters are protecting the entire universe, as well as the princess. Besides, you were very special in your past life, as well."

Usagi looked Artemis straight in the eyes, looking for the slightest hint of any kind of lie. "Do you truly mean that?"

"I do." Artemis replied firmly, "It's just as your sisters and Setsuna-san have told you. You yourself know just how difficult your duty is. You also know the stakes of failure better than anyone. So, no more belittling yourself. Hold your head high, and be grateful for the people who willingly protect you, whether you want them to or not, okay? And just so you know, it was the queen herself who designated you for this particular duty, as well as who should be your protectors. Even now she is looking out for both you and the princess."

That was the closure that Usagi needed. Embracing the cat, a small tear fell from her eyes. "Thank you, Artemis. Thank you..."

"Ah," Usagi broke away suddenly, a thought crossing her mind, "By the way...who called me earlier? Huh, what's wrong, Minako-san?"

For quite a while, Minako looked as if she had seen a ghost. Moving slowly, she walked over and pulled Usagi's hand to her cheek. Leaning in slightly, Minako sighed softly as Usagi subconsciously stroked her face.

"It's okay now, Mina-chan," Usagi cooed softly, a warm look on her face. Then, in lightning speed, that look turned to a look of absolute horror and fear. "Oh crap."

"I thought so." Letting go of Usagi's hand, Minako grabbed Usagi's hair, which was flowing freely and began to restyle it. Stepping back, she looked at her now twin-tailed counterpart. "I finally found you. I've been searching for you for eleven years...Usagi Tsukino."

A/N: And there we go! This chapter answers a few questions, and raises several more, especially about Usagi and Minako's past. I'm sure that the more...advent BSSM fans might have an idea where that might be going, but then, even I'm not always positive where it's going, so...

At any rate, we now start to see the what the relationship between Usagi and Ami is like, as well as some of the darker thoughts that may still reside in Usagi's subconscious and Ami's inner feelings. We are also beginning to see how some of the other Senshi, such as Rei, react to Usagi's mere presence.

As always, I wanna know what you think! Tell me where you think the story's going, what you think so far, your impressions of the characters, whatever you feel! And if you want to have a deep conversation about something, PM me. I'll always respond.

Until next time!