Ami had the next day off, and so did Ryo, so the two decided they'd spend the day together and see more sights. Ami got dressed in a preppy business dress, wanting to look professional but also show she was on break with the pastel colors. Ryo chose a sweater vest and khakis, and after a small breakfast the two were ready to go.

"Want to go to more tourist-y spots? Or the academic ones? For the former we've gotta see some of the old churches," Ryo asked, already getting excited. "Or museums!"

"There's a really nice art museum in town, we could go there," Ami suggested. "Then check out a church? And stop somewhere for lunch,"

"Great idea!"

Due to her job and everyone at his work getting ill, the two tied sickness masks around their faces just in case. Most passersby gave them strange looks until they saw they were Japanese and then just moved on. They walked close to each other but didn't hold hands or anything, arriving at one of the museums.

"I read this is the second-biggest art museum in the whole world!" Ami smiled. The two paid for their tickets and went in, first deciding to check out the exhibit on Ancient Egypt. They knew there was no possible way to see everything in one day so they decided to just see what looked the most interesting to them.

"Look at these jewelry sets. Real gold! You think Aino-san would approve?" Ryo pointed to them under the glass. Ami nodded.

"Maybe if you throw in some orange or green jewels.."

She herself really liked the statues dedicated to the cats they revered, and Ryo had fun looking at an old piece of text he tried to translate.

Next the two went to the exhibit focused on Russian history, and Ami was drawn to the stories of the struggles to build a literate population through schools and libraries over hundreds of years. She moved a bit closer to Ryo.

Many likely found it odd how she married an old crush from junior high, but to her, nobody else really felt as right as him. They exchanged letters occasionally throughout the rest of her schooling career and the moment he graduated he got permission to attend university in Tokyo and Ami jumped at the chance to strengthen their ties. They married a year and a half ago, taking things slow, but Ami knew she wouldn't have had it any other way. She got to be herself around him, especially because he knew her identity.

After they toured the Russian exhibit, the two stopped at a city park filled with statues, some even occupying benches. Ami sat across from one that was an angel, posed with an umbrella.

"Nice day out." Ryo noticed, sitting beside her. She nodded and stared at the people who walked by, picking up bits of their conversations.

Something told her she should've brought her transformation pen.

The place they decided to eat at was a special bakery that not only had sweets but also displays of puppets that reenacted famous scenes of stories. The two sat next to one showing Clara and The Nutcracker dancing with each other. Ryo got a regular chocolate crepe but she got a small stack of pancakes with honey drizzled on top, one of her favorites. They ate quietly, Ami being careful to not drip honey on everything. Ryo got cream around his mouth at one point and Ami couldn't resist laughing a bit as she helped him wipe it off.

"Sorry! I just wasn't expecting that!"

"Payback for that picture of you eating a burger?"

"Why'd you bring that up?!" Ami blushed. She was sure that picture would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Sorry..you just looked very cute like that," He looked down at his food in embarrassment.

Ami blushed more and finished her pancakes, smiling once more at the puppets. Chibiusa would've liked them.

Once the two were back outside, they headed for the nearest church to get their last bit of culture in. The one they came across was golden and gilded, with colorful onion domes on top. Many other people were gathered outside, trying to peek through the stained-glass windows. Ami and Ryo walked in, seeing a session just wrapping up, and remained quietly in the back until they were given permission to look around.

"If only we could take pictures in here..you'd look beautiful in the light." Ryo blushed, and Ami blushed harder.

"I'm not angelic! That's Usagi-chan's thing!" She felt her stomach roil slightly and tapped her chest, wondering if she could hide it for just a bit longer or if she'd have to come clean to Ryo.

But did he already know? And was it such a bad thing?

"Ryo-kun, I need to speak to you," She said firmly. Ryo got an intense expression on his face and nodded, following her outside to a bench. She sat with a hand on her stomach. "Ryo-kun...I'm pregnant."

"I know." He deadpanned.

"I figured you knew already, but let me announce it like a regular person!" Ami pouted. "I'm sorry the surprise was ruined though...I forgot you could see.."

"It's not ruined at all!" He shook his head and took her hands for the first time that day. "I liked hearing it from you."

"Do you know anything else? Like if it's a boy or a girl?" Ami asked softly, but Ryo shook his head.

"Just that it's coming. How long?"

"I started getting sick a week or so ago."

"I'm going to be a father. Oh God, I'm going to be a father!" Ryo gasped in disbelief. "I can't believe it!"

"I'll be with you. And we have the support of the others too. I know they'd all be thrilled to dote over yet another pregnant woman."

They squeezed their hands and headed back to their house, making a light supper of sandwiches together and falling into bed. Usually, they slept apart, their different schedules making it awkward, but that night Ami welcomed his soft embrace under the covers, leaning into it.

She was perfectly satisfied with this life.

/+/

She had work the next day, so she got dressed and after a brief second, slipped her transformation pen into her pocket too, heading to the hospital early and falling right back into her routine. She tidied up several rooms and prescribed new patients their medicine, helped some check out, and worked on some new stuff like more oral rehydration therapy. By the evening, she was tired and collapsed into a chair in the break room, a hand on her head.

"The morning sickness will come any minute now," She grumbled to herself.

"You're sick? How interesting."

Ami's head shot up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, seeing a random summery girl standing there with her hands behind her back.

"I'm sorry, but this is only for employees." She stood up, keeping a hand in her pocket.

The girl just smirked and stuck out her hand, making a long blue snake unroll from her bracelet and grow to be several feet in height, staring down at Ami and hissing. "My name is Hermes, by the way."

Ami was sure her heart stopped at that moment, just for a second. She was the one the others warned her about. She was the one she had to defeat. How did she get there?

"Mercury Crystal Power, Makeup!"

Right as she transformed, she dodged a quick strike from the snake, ducking under the table. "Shine Aqua Illusion!" She called, dousing the snake in a powerful jet of water. The snake flew back and hit a bookshelf, knocking the books off it.

Hermes jumped back and gracefully landed on a shelf, sitting on it with her legs dangling. Mercury took one look at her, then at the snake, then fired the same attack at Hermes.

"What did I do to deserve this?!" She screamed as she hit the wall and collapsed to the floor. She glared up at Mercury.

"Mercury! Aqua Rhapsody!" She threw the attack at the snake, knocking it out, before she stood over Hermes. "Now you have to fight me!"

"I see now we're evenly matched. You must be the smart one too," Hermes very slowly stood up and summoned the snake back on her wrist before she took off running, zooming away. Mercury ran after her, eventually catching up and locking her in a storage closet. She panted.

"You're fast too?" Hermes made notes on a notepad. "Interesting. I hope you'll go easy on me though; I have no powers like yours."

Mercury ignored the statement, thinking it was some sort of trick. How could it not be? Hermes was a trickster god, after all.

"Mercury! Aqua Rhapsody!" She hit Hermes with the water again, knocking her into a shelf. She frowned at the impact and jumped back onto her feet before jumping onto her hands and walking on them to another part of the closet. Mercury hit her again, shoving her into a bunch of brooms that all clattered when they hit the ground.

Why wouldn't Hermes just attack her?

Hermes jumped onto her hands before leaping again and landing right behind Sailor Mercury. Before Mercury could react, Hermes shoved her to the ground and danced away with a laugh.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury threw an attack at her and knocked her down for good, pushing her against the wall. Hermes rubbed at her head, moaning from the pain. "Now, tell me who you are."

Before Hermes could speak, Mercury found herself suddenly engulfed in a warm blue light. She spun around and found herself clothed in a blue version of Eternal Sailor Moon's outfit, with icy blue lipstick.

"I leveled up..." She said in disbelief, looking herself over. "I have a new form now..."

"I'm Hermes," The girl slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position. "Who I am, who we are, doesn't matter. We have our own reason for coming here."

"Are you related to previous enemies we've fought before, like Shadow Galaxia?" Mercury asked.

"I don't know who they are." Hermes sighed. "But that's all you'll get from me," She very slowly stood up and jumped back, disappearing. Mercury knew she'd have to deal with that later, perhaps, but also knew the girls had a long several months ahead of them. Who would be the next to level up?

At that moment, her stomach quit on her, so she grabbed a nearby bucket and threw up into it.

/+/

When she got home, she just embraced Ryo. "It's true, we have a new enemy."

"I suspected as much."

She hugged him tighter. "As much as it hurts me to say it, I think it really is time we go back home. The girls need me."

"Don't you miss them? And home?" Ryo asked.

"Yes, but we have a life here. I'm a respected doctor, your intern work is going great, I love the culture, I'm going to have a baby-!" She said. "I don't want to abandon everything."

"But you won't have to." He lifted her face so he could look in her eyes. She realized she didn't have the heart to tell him that in the future, she was to become nothing more than a blank soldier, dedicated to nothing but guarding. She was sure the Sailor Mercury she saw wasn't a doctor, definitely wasn't married, and sure as heck had no child. Yet she still selfishly wished it could be so.

"Let's start packing. I hope to be back in Tokyo by tomorrow morning." Ami stepped away from him.