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 that the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.
The black cat was tired. It had been running for hours, running from the shadow that continued to pursue it, and its strength had long ago exhausted. Only sheer willpower had sustained it, and now that was fading as well. Racing through alleyways, it climbed buildings, slipped tiny spaces, and leap from roof to roof, but to no avail. The shadow continued to gain ground, and now the cat was completely out of energy. With a final leap, the cat jumped off of the roof it was on, beginning to lose consciousness as it plummeted, expecting to never wake again. The last thing it could recall was a soft voice and warmth before everything faded into darkness...
In reality, Usagi and Saeko had been watching the cat the entire time since they arrived at their second home. In fact, Usagi had been watching this cat for a few days now. It had been scoping out the house for about a week now, and had caught Usagi's attention. She knew immediately that the cat was magical due to the fact it was incapable of approaching the house. Setsuna's magics kept anything with even a hint of magical or spiritual powers (save the girls whom resided there) from coming near the house unless brought in by said girls. Setsuna's magics also kept their powers from being detectable while at either of their homes. Yet nonetheless, the cat managed to notice something, and had been trying for days to get past the barrier and closer to the house.
That's why, when she didn't see the cat when she and Saeko made it to the house, she became curious. So, sitting outside on their back porch, Usagi used one of the powers taught to her to project an image of the cat. Since the meeting with the inner Senshi, she had a suspicion that the cat might have been related to Artemis somehow, but seeing it chased by a shadow youma for hours confirmed that at the very least, she wasn't an enemy.
Probably.
Thus, using her abilities as a support specialist, she gently nudged the cat with her power, leading the small animal back to Setsuna's home. She wasn't sure if the cat had the energy left to make it, but it was worth a shot.
To her delight, it made it, Saeko catching the falling cat in her arms with a warm smile. A smile that quickly turned to a look of horror. "USAGI!"
Usagi simply looked where her mother was pointing, a blank expression on her face. "Oh."
The youma had managed to slip in when Usagi let the barrier down for the cat.
Saeko had seen Ami and Hotaru train before, she had seen them fight against each other to grow stronger, but this was the first time since they were small children that she had been face to face with another youma with neither one of them around. She was scared. Not for herself, but her youngest daughter, whom was not a Senshi like her elder sister. Moving in front of Usagi, she dropped the cat on the child's lap as she stood protectively in front of her. 'I won't allow anything to harm my one of my children!' She was preparing for the worst when suddenly several arrows of light shot past her, striking down the youma, the creature letting loose a piercing cry as it vanished. Dumbstruck, she turned just in time to see the light disappear from Usagi's hands. Noticing the look on her mother's face, Usagi giggled.
"Even I can handle a low level youma like that." She was smiling, but was sweating slightly. "Although, I feel hungry again now. Can we go inside, please?"
"Ah, of course. I'll make you something healthy and simple." Saeko couldn't help but smile at the expression of disgruntlement that came to her daughter's face. "By the way Usagi, why was that cat being chased in the first place? Why would a youma be after an animal?" As she pushed the wheelchair back in the house, still a bit shaken, she couldn't help but wonder.
"I'm sure we will find out later when it wakes up. For now, I think it would be best to I'd rather lay down for a while before everyone else gets here. Can we go into the living room instead?" Usagi spoke softly or rather, more softly than usual. Saeko could tell at a glance that she was suffering from severe fatigue. Setting up the pillows on the couch, she helped her daughter lay down. "Thank you, if it's not too much trouble, could you wake me close to noon before our guests arrive?"
Saeko nodded, noting that immediately fallen asleep before she could hear a response. As she watched over her youngest child, her thoughts were swirling around her head. First and foremost was the fact that there was an entire side of her youngest daughter that she did not know. Of course, she knew her daughter had her secrets, her past being one of them, but this was different. She had no idea that Usagi possessed such destructive powers like her sisters.
While in general Saeko didn't involve herself too much in their Senshi lives, Ami and Hotaru told her all the time about the things that they were learning, what they were training in, what they achieved, etc. However, now that she thought about it, there was very little that she knew about the things that Usagi had been learning while her sister and best friend were training as Senshi. All she had known was that she had been studying things such as ancient languages, etiquette, politics, diplomacy, and such. She had no idea what abilities Usagi had learned to use, and what powers that she had besides the ability to teleport around that all of them seemed capable of.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized just how much she didn't know. While both Ami and Hotaru would animatedly speak of what abilities they would master to everyone, Usagi almost never did. Of course, Ami and Hotaru were aware of some of Usagi's powers, the three of them were a team, after all, and from what she'd heard, her younger daughter was a brilliant support specialist capable of telepathy as well as precognition. However, not even the two of them knew exactly what Usagi was learning from Setsuna, or the extent of her powers. And it was due to one main reason.
Usagi's body was frail.
It was something that, in fact, Saeko herself had noticed first, soon after adopting the small child, even before Setsuna. Being a doctor, she was always aware of the health of her children. As such, she immediately noticed how she began showing increasing symptoms of anemia. However, even after several check-ups, every report stated that, her legs aside, she should have been just fine. So, suspecting that it might have something to do with her powers, she contacted Setsuna. And after Setsuna's special check-up, everyone discovered the reason for her increasing anemia.
Usagi had a very powerful youma sealed within her, and her spirit was constantly using most of her powers keeping it from escaping or harming her. At first, it didn't take much energy, but as time went on, the youma began growing stronger and more energy was expended to keep it at bay. "So that's why I lost my healing ability." Usagi had remarked. When Saeko had asked what she meant, Usagi shook her head and didn't speak on the matter.
As for the youma sealed inside of Usagi, ironically, she was the only one who wasn't too concerned about it. When Saeko asked why, Usagi said that when the princess or the sacred moon crystal was found, then it would be dealt with. And she remained calm and collected, even as the years passed and her strength continued to decline. That's not to say that it didn't infuriate her at times. Due to her power being drained for sealing purposes, Setsuna banned Usagi from using her powers unless it was an emergency. This wouldn't have been too upsetting for Usagi if it hadn't included teleporting.
As soon as Usagi had found out she was capable of teleportation like her sisters, she had a field day. Mastering it to a level that none of the others were capable of, she incorporated it into her daily life, using it to get from room to room and from her home to Setsuna's. She was capable of pin-point accuracy; a common occurrence was for her to teleport from the chair in her kitchen at the Mizuno home to the couch in the living room of the Meioh home. When she was banned from teleporting, she was crushed. And now that Saeko thought about it, so was she. No wonder Usagi never talked about her powers. What was the point if you're not allowed to use them?
And yet, as she watched her daughter sleep on the couch, she could see exactly why that ban was necessary. According to Usagi, the youma she defeated was weak, and yet the result was her almost collapsing right afterward. One thing was for certain: she was going to start keeping a closer eye on her blond daughter.
The musical chime of a bell resounded, shaking Saeko out of her thoughts. Looking at the clock on the wall, she noted that it was only a quarter past eleven. Did someone come early? Deciding to check who it was before waking her daughter, she went to answer the door. When she opened it, she almost gasped in shock. Standing at the entryway was a girl who looked like she could have been Usagi's twin. But this girl's eyes were a brighter shade of blue, her hair was a little darker, and she had a red ribbon tying it back. Saeko was fairly certain she knew who this person was, but still, "Yes?"
"Ah, sorry. Is this the home of Usagi Tsu-, er, Ai-, er, ah forget it, is this Usagi-chan's house!"
Only years of being a doctor kept Saeko from giggling at how nervous the girl was. "Yes it is. And you are? I don't think we've met before."
"This is the first time. My name is Minako Aino. Me and a few other girls are to meet up here with Usagi-chan, Ami-san, and Hotaru-san. I know I'm rather early, but...I-I really just need to see Usagi-chan. I have to see her."
"..." Saeko stared at Minako for a moment as she recalled the previous night's conversation. 'So this is the Aino girl Usagi spoke of.' It was obvious that this girl in front of her was a blood relative of Usagi. "Just a moment. I won't stop you from meeting with her and her sisters, but it will be up to her whether she wants to meet with you alone."
"I understand. Thank you."
"Wait here a moment." Walking back to the living room, Saeko gently shook Usagi awake, "Come on, honey. It's a little early, but someone is here and wants to talk with you before the meeting."
"Mm...someone..? Who is it, mama?" Usagi asked sleepily, straining to wake up.
"A girl who looks very similar to you. Minako Aino."
Usagi shot up, suddenly wide awake. "I should have guessed that she would come early," she muttered before looking up at her mother, "I had wanted to finish our conversation from last night before you met her..."
"I can ask her to wait in the den until the others arrive," Saeko said softly. She could see the nervousness in her daughter's eyes, but Usagi still shook her head.
"No, it's fine, mama. This is something that I have been avoiding for a long time, however, it looks like I can't ignore my past any longer. Besides," She looked at her mother and grinned mischievously, "I'm sure you're dying to know the relationship between Minako and I right?" Her grin faded, turning into a wistful smile, "Although, I'm sure you've probably figured it out already. But I still want to be the one to tell it to you. Can you please go get her, mama?"
Bending down, Saeko took Usagi into a warm embrace. "Usagi, just remember; no matter what you will always be my daughter. There is nothing that will ever stop me from loving you just as much as if I had given birth to you." Usagi simply smiled as Saeko walked back to the front entrance. But if one were to look at her eyes, they would see that her eyes were not smiling at all.
"I would really like to believe that, but someone else said the same thing long ago..."
After a moment, Saeko returned with Minako trailing behind her. The moment the two teens locked eyes, it was as if an eternity was passing before them before Minako slowly walked over, sat down right next to Usagi and pulled her into an extremely tight embrace, crying softly while at the same time berating the younger girl. Finally, she stopped crying but did not let go, "You better tell start talking right now. I've searched everywhere for the past eleven years, and now that I've found you, I'm never letting you go again."
Only Saeko noticed the flash of annoyance that crossed her daughter's face for the briefest of instances. Upon realizing that, indeed, Minako wasn't going to let go of her embrace anytime soon, she shifted so that she was lying against the older girl so she could still see her mother. "First and foremost, I need to introduce you two. Mama, I would like to introduce to you my...sister, and only blood relative that I acknowledge, Minako Aino. Minako, I would like you to my mother, Saeko Mizuno."
"It's nice to meet you, Mizuno-san. I would like to thank you for taking in and looking after Usagi-chan after our family's failure to do so. You have no idea how happy and relieved to see that Usagi-chan is safe and happy."
Saeko nodded, "It's nice to meet you too, Minako-chan. Although I admit, it is a surprise. I've never pried into Usagi's past, and until today had no idea that she had another sister. Although, I do wonder why she never mentioned it before."
"Because I didn't expect for Minako to see through my magic. If not for that, she would have never found me."
Usagi's blunt statement got the both of their attention. At seeing their questioning look, she continued, "After I was taken in by the Mizuno household, Setsuna used her magic to create a ward around me. In essence, it made it so that even if I was standing right in front of a person who knew me before, they wouldn't recognize me and would be unable to see me as anyone other than 'Usagi Mizuno.' That's why I could go anywhere and not have to worry about someone from my past seeing me."
"So wait, you're saying that you could have walked right by me and I would have never noticed?" Minako asked in disbelief.
Usagi nodded, "In fact, I've seen you dozens of times over the past several years. A number of them I happened to be sitting relatively close to you at Crown or a restaurant."
Saeko could see the hurt look on Minako's face as she tried hard not to cry, "...W...why? Why would you do something like that!"
"...After I left the Aino household, I, along with Hotaru-chan, lived on the streets for a long time. A lot of things happened, Minako. Eventually, we stopped trusting and caring for anyone but each other. To be honest, if it weren't for Mama and Sailor Pluto, we would still be on our own, not trusting anyone at all. Even now, after around a decade, there are still very few people that we associate with outside the family."
"But that doesn't explain why-"
"Because I was scared. I didn't want anyone to question me about the past, and I didn't want the past to come back. You know that my childhood was bad, but you don't know halve of the story Minako. I wanted to put all of it behind me, and that included my old family. I didn't have anything against you personally, but seeing you back then meant bringing back memories that I didn't want to ever remember."
The room was quiet for a long time before Minako finally spoke. "...And now? Now that I've found you, will you run away?"
"...No. There's no point, especially with the possibility of you and the other Inner Senshi working alongside Ami-nee and Ho-chan. That alone would make our encountering each other much more likely."
The sound of a chime was resounded throughout the home. Saeko got up, "I almost forgot I was planning on making lunch. I will be in the kitchen if you need me, Usagi."
Usagi nodded, not saying anything, just remaining quiet. Minako did as well. Nothing needed to be said, even thought there was so much left unsaid. For Minako, just being together finally was answer enough as she gazed at the family member that had been gone for so long.
"You should probably let me go now."
"Eh?" The sudden statement from Usagi caught Minako off guard.
"Being able to hold me in your arms like this. I'm surprised that you managed to remain unaffected for almost thirty minutes, but you should stop now."
"Why? We always used to hold each other like this when we were younger. The two of us were always very affectionate! We even kissed!"
"That may be so, however back then our actions would have been simply set aside as childish affection. We're no longer children, and we can't interact the same way anymore. You should know this, but right now you're judgment is being clouded from our being in such close contact."
"That's not true. There is nothing wrong with us being just as close to each other as before. I know what lines not to cross."
Usagi looked at her for a long moment. "Do you truly believe that you can hold yourself back?"
Minako hugged her closer to her, "Of course I do. Why would you even ask me that?"
"...Minako-chan, you're petting." Immediately Minako pushed (very carefully) Usagi away as she moved away, her face a furious red, eyes wide with shock and horror.
"I-Usagi-chan, I didn't-that's-!" Her words were cut short as Usagi gently pushed a finger to her mouth.
"You don't need to apologize. It was something that you did subconsciously through no real fault of your own. Although you should have listened to me when I warned you." Minako just shook her head. Usagi sighed, "Look, Minako. Have you ever noticed how when you go somewhere, people are always around you, like they're vying for your attention? Or had someone try to cop a feel when you're out in public, even more so after you awakened to your Senshi powers?" Minako looked up and frowned, thinking of just that as Usagi continued, "And do you remember when we were little, Miyako would never let us go anywhere out of her sight and how she gave us the 'bad people' talk?"
Minako continued to nod, not quite sure where Usagi was going, but interested in finding out.
"And finally, haven't you noticed how all of the Senshi are really pretty? The reason for all of this is in our blood."
"Our blood?"
"Yes. Minako, all of the Senshi, as well as I, are reborn incarnations of our previous selves, the selves that resided and were born on the planets of the Silver Alliance. Our blood and our beings are not that of Earth. Simply put, our blood, as well as our magical aura, is attractive and much stronger than normal earth humans. Especially yours and mine, Minako. We both have Venusian blood. The people of Venus were known for all being exceptionally beautiful and having a very powerful aura. That said, most Venusian were immune to the aura of other Venusian."
Minako took a moment to let what she just learned sink in. "But, if that's true, then why was I affected like that..?"
Usagi smiled softly, "I told you earlier, that was more because of me. I have more than just Venusian blood in me, Minako. Due to that, and...other...reasons, my aura is much more potent than a normal Venusian. It will take a while of being around me for you to get used to my aura and subconsciously ignore it, just like the other Inner Senshi do yours."
Minako nodded. It made sense, both the explanations and the examples she gave. In fact, it answered some of the questions that she had always wondered to herself. "Usagi-chan, how do you know all of this? It's like you know all about us!"
"Yes, I would like to know the answer to that as well, child." Minako jumped in surprise as a black cat jumped onto the couch between them.
Usagi smiled, "I see that you are awake now. Still, you shouldn't move around too much yet, your body may still be tired. It's a good thing you made it all the way here, though. You were almost youma food."
The cat's body shivered, "I sincerely thank you for your help in saving me. Being eaten by a youma is not the way that I'd prefer to die. But more importantly, who are you? I've been watching you and the others for a while now. It takes powerful magic to be able to put a barrier around a house like the one around this one. And this home is completely filled with it. With the way you spoke earlier I assume that you're not a Senshi. But I can't feel any power aside from your Venusian aura. You're no ordinary person. Just who-myeow!"
Before she could finish her speech, she was tackled by the small white form of Artemis, who promptly began to drag her off into another room. "We're home! And our guests are here as well!" Usagi's face grew into a wide smile as Hotaru and Ami entered the living room, followed by Rei and Makoto.
"Pardon our intrusion!" Rei said as she looked around and then at Usagi. "It's nice to see you again, Usagi-san. If you don't mind me asking, are you wearing contacts? I noticed that the color of your eyes have changed. They're even prettier than before!"
Both Ami and Hotaru were surprised to see the light blush on Usagi's cheeks. Changing the subject, Hotaru looked from back and forth between Usagi and Minako, "U-chan, did you two...talk?"
Usagi nodded, "Yes. Nothing very important, though. We'll talk about it later. Right now, we should all sit down and get started. You all have a lot to talk about, do you not?" After a pointed look from Usagi, Minako got up to join her friends on the couch across from Usagi while Ami and Hotaru moved to sit by the younger girl's side. Minako silently noted how Hotaru's arm naturally encircled Usagi's waist and pulled her closer.
"What do you mean, 'You all', Usagi-chan? you're part of this group as well, aren't you?"
Usagi shook her head, "I told you before, I'm not a Senshi. Neither I or my opinions are important, so you can just ign-"
"'Sagi-chan."
"That is...I'm not actually rather tired. I will most likely sleep while all of you make your plans."
"Are you feeling better?" Rei asked, looking at her with concern. Usagi looked at her questioningly and she continued, "Yesterday, when that youma tried to possess you. Although Sailor Pluto subdued it quickly, I think I can still sense a bit of its darkness within you." Minako and Makoto gasped in shock, while Hotaru, Ami, and Usagi's eyes widened slightly. If Rei, whose spiritual powers were still weak, was capable of feeling the youma within Usagi, that only mean that the darkness within her was growing stronger. Hotaru and Ami glanced at each other in unspoken agreement.
Time was running out faster than they had expected.
Subconsciously, they glanced worryingly at Usagi. Rei noticed this, and continued, "I might be able to help you. I may not seem like it, but I'm actually a priestess at my grandfather's temple. While my spiritual powers aren't very strong yet, my grandfather is very gifted, and is used to dealing with this kind of thing, with all of the youma attacking people in the past. If you'd like, I could ask him to perform a purification ritual to get rid of the left over darkness."
Usagi looked at her for a long while before slowly shaking her head. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that this is something that is beyond your grandfather's capabilities. I don't mean to slight his ability, but this darkness is something that I must deal with as part of my duties." It was a sad smile that was on her face, one that broke the hearts of those who saw it. Hotaru and Ami looked to each other and nodded.
Hotaru leaned forward on the chair, Ami pulling Usagi towards her as Hotaru gazed at the fire Senshi with a very serious look. "Do you truly wish to help Usagi?" Rei nodded and in the background, Makoto and Minako nodded their agreement as well. After a moment, Hotaru spoke again, "As you've probably already guessed, the duty that Ami-nee and I were given is to watch over, protect, and to assist Usagi in her own duties, something that we have always done regardless of it being our duty or not, because we care about her. Us fighting the Dark Kingdom and keeping them at bay is a result of our protecting Usagi. At first, we didn't bother with you all because it was bothersome, and we all had different objectives. However now, some...things have changed."
Ami continued, "Right now, you all are trying to find the princess while fighting the Dark Kingdom, a battle that is getting harder and harder for you. Both of those objectives are things that we are more than capable of assisting you with. In fact, both of those goals coincide with our own."
"What do you mean?" Minako asked as she looked at them questioningly.
"It all comes back to Lady Usagi." Her answer came from her side as Artemis walked back into the room, closely followed by the black cat from earlier. Said black cat walked in front of Usagi and, to the surprise of Minako, Makoto, and Rei, bowed (for a cat). "Lady Usagi, my name is Luna. I apologize for my rude actions earlier. They were made based upon a lack of knowledge, and I beg your forgiveness."
Artemis, who was at least a bit more familiar with Usagi jumped on her lap and licked her face. "I'm sorry too. I'd also like to apologize on behalf of the Senshi for anything rude they might have said or done before now. They may seem rash at times, but they're all good at heart, and always willing to run head first to find their princess. So, please don't take it too personally."
Usagi looked at the two cats for a moment before smiling gently as she motioned for Luna to climb onto her lap. After she had done so, Usagi gently took both of them into her arms, "There is no need to worry, and your apology is more than accepted. Mistakes happen, and nothing good comes from harboring grudges for petty reasons, or at all for that matter."
If they were shocked before, now the three girls were flabbergasted. After a moment, Minako finally managed to speak up. "Artemis, what is going on? What is it that you all know that we don't?"
Artemis looked up at Usagi, who in turn looked over to Ami. Ami nodded and turned to the confused girls, "As you are aware, we were all reborn in this time period for a reason. For you Senshi and us advisers, that reason is to protect our princess and this galaxy, along with help her establish a new kingdom when the time comes. She will do this with the help of the Ginzuishou, also known as the Silver Moon Crystal."
Minako nodded, "Yes, you told us that when we first awoken as Senshi. The crystal is what the queen used to send us to this time, as well seal away the Dark Kingdom. It is a crystal of purity that could only be used by the queen and princess."
"That's mostly correct. As we know, after so long, the Dark Kingdom found a way to escape the seal, and are now operating, trying to find the princess in order to either get or destroy the crystal. However, there are two things that they are not aware of."
"What is it that they don't know?" Makoto asked, a thoughtful look on her face, "It must be important if it's keeping them from finding the princess."
"First, they don't know the princess's actual location. All they know is that she is somewhere here in Japan. Most likely here in Tokyo, seeing as all of the Inner Senshi naturally gathered here. The second thing, and perhaps more importantly, is that they do not know that she doesn't currently possess the crystal."
"What!" Minako gasped, "She doesn't have it? Then, where is it? What happens if the Dark Kingdom finds it first!"
"Minako calm down," Artemis chided, "When the queen sealed the Dark Kingdom, she sealed away their strongest youma within the crystal itself. Then, in order to keep them away from each other, she split the crystal into seven parts and scattered six of them into the future along with us. However, the final and strongest piece wasn't scattered. Instead, it was given to and merged within the one person whom the queen was able to trust with it. This person was the High Moon Priestess, a very powerful young woman whose duty was to watch over and protect the Ginzuishou when it was not being used by the queen. They both knew that the priestess would suffer from having the youma try to take over her spirit, but knew that her powers would be able to counter it for a while. Her duty was to seek out and recover the remaining pieces of the crystal. Knowing that they would be tainted, she would merge the remaining pieces with the Ginzuishou within her and then purify it so that when the time came, the princess would be able to use it to defeat the Dark Kingdom once and for all."
Artemis stopped to let everything he said sink in. Suddenly, Rei's eyes widened in realization, "Of course! No wonder you were capable noticing my psychic abilities! Usagi-san, you're the High Moon Priestess!"
"Wait," Minako said, confusion on her face, "That can't be right. Usagi-chan told me that she had Venusian blood running through her. How can she be the High MoonPriestess?"
Everyone save, including Hotaru and Ami turned to look at Usagi questioningly. "Slowly, she shook her head while holding the cats closer to her, "Unfortunately, just like all of you, I can only remember bits and pieces of my past life. I do not remember how I was chosen, but I do remember being told that when I was born, I was blessed by the goddesses Selene and Aphrodite. I also bare their marks on my body. As a priestess, I was/am in the service of both of them."
"Can I see the marks?" Minako asked excitedly, skepticism forgotten.
Usagi looked hesitant for a moment, "I'll show you later...privately."
"So, what does this mean?" Makoto asked after a moment, "From what you've told us, Usagi-san's job is to recover the full Ginzuishou and purify it, and then return it to the princess. That's why she has that darkness within her. So, where do we Senshi stand in all of this?"
"Actually, that's part of what I still don't know," Luna answered, "According to the chain of command, if both the queen and the princess are not able to take charge or are no longer alive, full authority falls to the High Moon Priestess in their stead until either the queen and princess are able to take charge or a new queen is crowned. However, for some reason, Lady Usagi keep deferring to Ami-san and Hotaru-san. Why is this?"
Usagi sat both cats down as she thought about how to best answer. "...The three of us have been raised by Sailor Pluto almost all of our lives. Ever since we were young, Hotaru and Ami have been trained in the ways of the Senshi, and I in various other ways. While she would not tell us of our past lives in detail, she told us many other things, as well as how we are expected to behave. Sailor Pluto is the overseer of the Senshi as well as the Guardian of Time. She was the one who explained to us what our roles are. She is a mother to us, and we defer to her. Besides that, both Ami and Hotaru are very powerful and wise Senshi. They knew that I was the High Moon Priestess long before I was aware of it, and they have been protecting me and seeking to restore the Ginzuishou for just as long. It it only natural that I defer to them when it comes to Senshi matter. Although, I tend to defer to them for most things in general. They are both very caring." This earned Usagi two very big hugs.
"Besides," She continued, "Sailor Pluto is usually watching the Time Gate so she leaves them in charge. Although I may have the authority, I won't just start telling all of you what to do in regards to your duties. However, in battle, if we are all working together, I do expect all of you to listen to me for the most part. I may be incapable of taking the front lines, but I am a somewhat decent support specialist."
"Ah, so that's why you were watching from the top of that building last time. But, didn't Tuxedo Kamen catch you that time?"
"Rose boy?" Ami scoffed, "'Sagi-chan could have taken care of herself. But then, if she had to, I wouldn't be doing my job."
Minako nodded, "Alright, so if we're going to be working together, what is our first objective? Find the rest of the Ginzuishou, or find the princess? Speaking of which, do you know anything about her?" They looked to Ami and Hotaru, who in turn, looked towards Usagi.
Usagi, now that all eyes were on her just sighed, "Princess Serenity will not reveal herself to all of us until the crystal is purified and can be returned to her. Until then, the less people that know who and where she is, the safer she will be."
The others thought about this, and nodded. "So then, we will be going after the remaining crystal parts, right?"
Usagi nodded, "Both the princess and I appreciate the effort. Although it's always been a part of my current life, I greatly await the time when I can eliminate the youma within my body and purify myself and the Ginzuishou."
Rei suddenly looked very worried as she turned to Usagi, "Usagi-san, if every piece of the crystal has a youma sealed within it, does that mean that you're sealing even more youma within yourself? That's insane! They could tear your soul apart!"
Everyone was surprised to see how worried Rei was. Usually, she was the most composed (when not being hot headed). Smiling gently, Usagi took her hand, as she Rei had moved over to in her fit of worry, "Thank you for being so concerned about me. However, I do not think you need to worry. Yesterday, one of the remaining pieces was returned to me, and while it still held much darkness within, it did not have a youma sealed inside it."
Hotaru nodded at her words, "Do you all remember meeting me last night?" Everyone save Usagi nodded, "Remember that youma that looked like a human? Those are the ones that possess the remaining parts of the crystal. It seems like the crystals were sealed within humans to keep them hidden. However, those humans will eventually become youma once again. That's why I struck that one down and took back the crystal."
The three less experienced Senshi were horrified, "But, they still have human souls! We can't just kill them!"
"That's the quickest and most assured method." Hotaru replied, her eyes hard, "Besides, I have no remorse for the loss of an Earth human. All they to is bring nothing but hatred, pain, and suffering."
Minako shook her head, "We can't do that. There has to be another way. I'm sure if we just took some time to look into it-"
Her words were cut off as Hotaru slammed her hand on the table between them, her eyes lit with anger and disgust. Even with her body hot with emotions, her words were deathly chilled, "Time is a luxury that we don't have. I will not allow Usagi-hime's remaining time to run out just because you want to try and save a few of the Earth humans that have caused us so much harm!" Before anyone could respond, she had teleported out of the room.
"Ah, wait, Ho-chan!" Immediately after, Usagi disappeared as well. The room remained in a stunned silence for a brief moment.
"Well, that went well." Ami remarked dryly.
Minako looked at her with a stricken look, "Ami-san...what did she mean, Usagi's remaining time?"
Ami looked at her incredulously, "Surely you don't think she can just suppress an incredibly powerful within her own body without a price?" Minako and Makoto still looked confused, but Rei's face suddenly began to pale. "Ah, I see at least one of you has figured it out. You see, in order to suppress the youma and the darkness alongside it, Usagi has been using her own magic to do it, ever since she was born on this planet. That means that she has been constantly using her magic since the day she was born at a steady rate. Every day. 24 hours a day."
"How can that be!" Rei gasped, "She'd have to have an unlimited amount of magic to be able to do that all of this time!"
Ami shook her head as she looked up at the ceiling, "All we know is that Usagi never ran out of magic until after she was adopted into our family. That means that her magic had been constantly draining for almost five years before it ran out. I can't even begin to imagine how much magic she truly had at that time."
"What happened when she ran out of magic?"
"Magic is just a special type of energy within our body, and all around us. When a person runs out of magic, it doesn't stop us from using our powers. Instead, a different source of energy is used in the place of our magic until said magic is restored. Life energy."
"Life energy!" Makoto gasped, "That's what the dark kingdom has been trying to gather!"
"That's right. It is a very potent type of energy, much more so than ordinary magic. However, the problem with that is that life energy is used for keeping you alive throughout time. And unlike magic, life energy regenerates very, very slowly. To put it simply, when you use your own life energy, you shorten your own life."
The room was silent as everyone let Ami's words sink in. "So..." Finally, Minako spoke. Her voice was calm, however her fingers were balled into fists so tight that her nails were cutting into her palm, "You're saying that Usagi has been draining her life all of this time..?"
"...That's right. When we first found out, her life was draining at a constant rate. The youma within her had grown much stronger, and it was draining her magic as soon as it would start to replenish. It was Usagi herself that came up with a way to buy time for herself. She found a way to convert life energy into magic at a rate where a little life energy would allow for a great deal of magic. By doing this, she is able to reduce the drain on her life energy."
"But at the same time, it takes more magic to subdue the youma and the darkness so she has to refill her magic more often." Rei spoke softly.
"Exactly. Hotaru-chan and I have been feeding her our own excess magic to delay it, but we can only do so much. And the more crystal parts we collect, the bigger the strain on her until she can purify the whole thing. It's already enough of a strain having to fight the youma within her on a constant basis."
"...How much time does she have left?" Minako asked, in the same quiet voice.
"That's something that only she and Sailor Pluto knows, and they both refuse to talk about it. But it's to the point where she doesn't have much physical energy throughout the day, and the little she does is used up quickly."
The room went silent once again. After a while, a thoughtful Makoto spoke up, "This is just something I was wondering about, but... how is Usagi capable of teleporting around like that? From what Artemis has told us, that requires a lot of energy to use. Shouldn't she try to save up as much energy as she can?"
For the first time that day, Ami had a wondering expression on her face as she answered, "Actually, that's something I've always wondered about as well, but according to her it takes her almost no energy whatsoever for her to teleport around." At the shocked expression on their faces, Ami continued, "According to her, it's part of a result of having mastered it to the degree that she has, which I'll admit it to an amazing degree. She once told me that it takes her more energy to toss a rock than it does for her to teleport. Excuse me for a moment while I go help get ready for lunch."
With that, she left the room, leaving three Inner Senshi deep in thought about the many things that they had learned in just a few short hours...