AN: Thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

The week went by quickly and Naomi and Usagi walked to and from school together everyday. They usually chatted about random things, but Naomi would often subtly bring up Usagi's problems again. Usagi could now admit to herself that she missed Seiya. She didn't feel as guilty about missing another guy when she has a boyfriend because she has a friend who wouldn't judge her. But all her thoughts ended the same – he would never come back, she loved Mamoru, and she knew she would have Chibi-Usa while living in Crystal Tokyo. She could never give up her love for Mamoru and especially her love for her future daughter.

The day the Starlights were returning had finally arrived. Naomi was having mixed emotions about it. There was no doubt in her mind that she had to do it, but still…it was a huge responsibility, something that a child her age should not have to bear. Her left hand absently glided over the right side of her torso, where the start of her scar would be if she was in her real body. When she realized where her hand was placed, it reminded her of what had happened.

She was hiding with Small Lady, who accidentally sobbed. They heard her and headed in their direction. Miya told Small Lady to be quiet then jumped out herself in order to distract the enemy. She saw a shine reflect off a sword and jumped to a side to dodge it but she was too slow. It caught her deep in her stomach. Her flesh was ripped away, all the way down to her ankle as the sword pulled away. She was left to die.

'I have no time to worry about useless things. I need to focus on the mission. I'm doing this for everyone… for their future. I am a Sailor senshi, I have a mission to complete and I'll do no matter what it takes… ' And with that, she pushed aside all her emotions, focusing solely on how she was to accomplish her goal. The past year of horror had changed her so much that the mission became a sort of… obsession for her.

She had to harden heart, knowing that the only way to save her loved ones was to wait and change their past. And if she ever had the chance, kill the man responsible for all of this. Auntie Pluto was against this idea whenever they secretly met to plan, claiming that the wraiths were always hidden in the shadows to protect him; she would be dead the moment they realized that she wanted to hurt him. This explanation was true, but what Pluto didn't mention to the girl was that she wanted to savage whatever was left of Miya's innocence which included her killing another person. Miya, however young, had already lost the luxury of being innocent. She had been forced to grow up in such circumstances. She watched everyday, as her loved ones were tortured for the wraiths' twisted pleasures, filling the palace halls with their screams. She wanted to help them but she couldn't risk being found. She was forced to watch them lose hope each passing day. It broke her. And she became… obsessed. Obsessed with rescuing everyone, she was willing to do anything...

With reaffirmed determination, she went to pick up Usagi like she did for the past week. As she approached her house, she saw that someone was leaning against her gate also waiting for her. Upon closer inspection, she recognized the midnight-blue haired man with the long ponytail. Holding herself back from hugging him like she use to do, she smiled and calmly spoke to him, "Good morning, are you waiting for Usagi-san too?"

Seiya raised an eyebrow at the stranger, "Yes. Who are you?"

"I'm her friend, Seito Naomi. I just moved here. Pleased to meet you." Before he could say his name, she quickly added, "Oh, are you her boyfriend?" She didn't want to hear his name since she already knew Usagi's boyfriend's name is Mamoru. It would seem suspicious if anyone asked.

"Huh?" he was thrown off by her question. 'How does she not know I am? Why does she think I'm the boyfriend?'

When he hesitated, she quickly said, "Aww how sweet of you to pick up your girlfriend! I'm going to leave to give you lovebirds some time alone. Tell her I left for school already ok?" she winked at him and left.

Seiya just stood looking at her walk away. He didn't know what to think about what just happened. His thoughts were interrupted when his beloved Odango came out.

"Good morning Nao… EH SEIYA!"

"Good morning, O-dan-go" Seiya teased. Even after a year, he realized he still loved her just as much. He was so convinced (when he was back at home) that he had moved on. But when he arrived on Earth, all he wanted to do is to see her. And now seeing her and feeling her light, he knew he was still madly in love with her. "Did you miss me?" he walked closer to her and leaned down to her ear, gently brushing her earlobe as he spoke, "because I missed you." He knew he shouldn't flirt, but he couldn't help it. She was irresistible and he just couldn't stop himself.

She turned bright red. The sight of him, the touch of his lips on her ear, and the tingle from his breath on her neck excited her and she was lost for words. He grinned at how he was affecting her, "I take it you missed me too. But who wouldn't miss such a good-looking guy." He brushed his hair with a pose.

It snapped her back to reality, "Who would want to miss you!?" Usagi pouted and crossed her arms. She would never tell him she missed him a lot after his teasing. She smiled. Simply seeing him made her happy… happier than she'd ever been for the past year. He was her best friend who gave her hope and support when she needed it most and she loved him for that… she loves him as a friend. Or so she believes.

Patting the buns on her head, "Ne, let's go. We're going to be late for school." She nodded and the two walked to school. She forgot about her regular walks to school with Naomi at the sight of Seiya just like he had forgotten to tell her that Naomi had already went to school ahead of them. They were too busy catching up, which included why they were back on Earth.

When they reached their school, he headed to the principal's office and she went to class. She entered class and saw Naomi sitting in class smiling slyly, Usagi quickly ran up to her.

"AH! Sorry Naomi-chan, I forgot to walk with you to school!"

Naomi giggled, "It's ok Usagi-chan. I know you want to spend some time with your boyfriend. He's more handsome than I imagined!"

Usagi stammered while she answered. "Th-That was Seiya. He's just a fr-friend! Eh wait, when did you see him?"

Completely ignoring the first part, "Oh this morning. Guess he forgot to mention it probably because you guys were too… preoccupied…" and she winked at her and smirked.

Blushing, "Mou… what are you talking about Naomi-chan. It wasn't like that… We were just catching up". After a few more teasing from Naomi, Usagi went into greater detail about how she met Seiya and how he was before he left (skipping out all the senshi business). She was glad that Naomi never once judged her for having such a close relationship with another guy when she had a boyfriend. In fact, the girl seemed happy for her. Talking and thinking about Seiya while having someone be happy for her because of it made Usagi feel the comfort that was lacking when she was with her other friends or Mamoru.

Everytime they talked about Seiya, Naomi noticed how happy Usagi had become. She even noticed the twinkle in her eyes; she never noticed it this past week and certainly not when she was Neo Queen Serenity. Yes, the queen was always smiling, but her eyes never twinkled as they are now in Usagi. She had to wonder, 'Did the happy memories of Seiya cause this?'
In the future, she knew that the power of the silver crystal was related to the queen's well-being – the warmth and power it provided when she was truly happy was simply… amazing. Naomi had only felt it once in her lifetime; it was when Small Lady was born. 'If she is happy to the point that her eyes twinkle, how powerful would the Silver Crystal be?' Right now, she could only imagine how much stronger it would feel if Usagi ended up with Seiya… 'Would we have lost if she followed her heart and had Seiya by her side instead?"

Class had started and not surprisingly, the Three Lights was in the girl's class again. There were still lots of screaming from fan girls as the boys were still fairly popular. Seiya looked for a desk near Usagi's. His smile dropped and he sighed ever so gently when he found none. Naomi, who was observing the Light very carefully, noticed Seiya's change in attitude. When he walked past Usagi's desk, she her him whispered, "Guess I won't be able to tease you in class this year Odango" he smiled weakly and headed to the back of the class to sit in an empty spot next to Taiki. Naomi then understood that he wanted a desk close to Usagi. An idea popped into her head and she couldn't wait to execute it.

Yaten saw an empty spot next to Minako, and huffed, "Guess I don't have a choice again" and went to sit down next to her much to her surprise. She squealed and tried to grab his arm when he sat down but he had enough experience to quickly lean back and dodge the oncoming blonde, causing her to fall right on to his lap. She blushed furiously and quickly sat up whilst apologizing; he, on the other hand, placed a hand on his face and shook his head. It seemed as if he was annoyed, but he was really just trying to hide the silly grin on his face.

Taiki, upon entered class, had immediately spotted two empty desks at the back of the class behind Ami and Mako (they sat next to each other). He made haste to take the seat directly behind the resident genius; he leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "I love a challenge". He watched her go bright red and smirked at his handiwork before leaning back to sit comfortably. Although Ami was wondering what he meant by a 'challenge', she was too flustered to ask.

At lunch, Taiki explained how they had arrived early that morning and how he contacted the school about their enrollment. They were able to quickly squeeze them in as the boys already had student files there. The boys were curious about their new friend, Naomi. It was awkward for the group since they really wanted to talk openly and catch up, but Usagi insisted on her coming to lunch today to meet the boys. She wanted her to know them better and feel welcomed in her group.

At the end of the day, Seiya offered to walk Usagi home. This time, she remembered Naomi and said that he could walk both of them home since she felt bad about forgetting Naomi that morning. Usagi didn't realize how disappointed this had made him, but then again, she was always a little dense. Naomi, however, noticed he was disappointed. She really didn't want to be a third-wheel, but she wanted a chance to talk to Seiya alone once they dropped off Usagi. So the three walked, laughing and talking, until they reached Usagi's house. Naomi pretended to get a phone call and walked a little ways away as to give them some privacy, making sure her back was to them.

"I'm really glad I could see you again Odango"

"Me too! I'm so happy you're back!"

"Can I take you out for ice cream tomorrow after school so we could catch up?" he was positively nervous about asking her. But his nervousness quickly dissipated when he saw the huge smile on her face become upon hearing his request. He wasn't entirely sure if she was happy because of the ice cream or because he asked, but he was happy that she was happy.

"I'd love that!"

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow at school then. See you Odango!" he bent down a little, swiftly took her hand and kissed it. He really wanted to give her a proper goodbye kiss, but she had a boyfriend and it would be inappropriate. So he settled for her smooth soft hand. He knew the hand was the safest place since he could pass it off as some sort of European gesture. But he didn't need to use that excuse. He was surprised when she didn't yell at him or even snatch her hand back, letting him continue holding on to it after the kiss. Standing straight again, he saw that she was blushing. She just managed to say a quick "bye" back to him. Neither of them made any indication on moving after that though. Both of them were blushing as they looked into each other's eyes. He was mesmerized by her big bright cerulean blue eyes and she couldn't tear away from his midnight blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight.

Naomi glanced at them. She saw how they were looking at each other and realized that they truly love one another. She smiled at the scene. But the more looked at them, the more frustrated she got. It bothered her that Usagi couldn't just come right out and admit her feelings for the one her heart is screaming for. Yes, Usagi does love Mamoru, but it was so obvious that she loves Seiya more. Pluto had already told Naomi that Usagi had a destiny to follow and that she stayed with Mamoru for Chibi-Usa's sake. But still, Naomi was frustrated about it. 'If only I could tell her the truth…'

She was pulled out of her thoughts as a red sports car pulled up and caught the couple's attention and they jumped apart. A tall man, with black hair and a green blazer stepped out of the car, holding a dozen roses. It was Mamoru. 'Endymion…' Naomi thought. He approached the two and greeted them. As he did, he gave Usagi the roses. He was courteous not to show too much affection in front of Seiya since he knew of his feelings for his girlfriend. Mamoru was a kind man. He knew that Seiya is an important friend to his Usako so he didn't want to do anything to offend him. But Seiya was still upset. The sight of Mamoru reminded him that she had rejected him for her boyfriend. Nevertheless, the two guys were civil with each other and shook hands. Before Mamoru could ask Seiya any questions, Naomi jumped in.

"You must be Chiba-san. I've heard so much about you. Nice to finally meet you! I'm Seito Naomi. I'm in the same class as these two. Seiya-san was just walking us home!" Without another moment to lose, she started to drag Seiya away. Mamoru chuckled slightly and waved to her as the two left. As they were leaving, she heard him talk say to Usagi, "Sorry I couldn't spend a lot of time with you Usako. School has been really busy, but I stopped by to see how you were doing."

Down the road, while walking in silence, Naomi saw out of the corner of her eye that Seiya was frowning, lost in his thoughts. She broke the silence.

"I'm sorry I had to drag you out of there, but you just looked so sad seeing them together." She meant every word she just said.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm glad you did." He stopped walking and bit his lip as he tried to talk again, "I-I just…"

"I know. You're upset because you love her a lot but she has a boyfriend." She was glad to see that she was correct when he nodded. She continued, "I happen to know that she is confused about how she feels about you."

No matter how much he wanted to believe that Usagi had some sort of feeling for him, he had to face the truth, "You're wrong. She has a boyfriend and she just thinks I'm a friend. You must have misunderstood her."

"I said SHE was confused, not me. I talk to her a lot and I can actually see that she is much happier when she talks about you. There's something holding her back from admitting the truth that she feels more than friendship when it comes to you."

He couldn't believe it. 'Could she actually love me? Could I open myself up just to be rejected again?'
Before he could stop himself, he asked, "What's holding her back?"

"Why don't you ask her? I know she'll tell you because she said you guys don't keep secrets." When she saw that he had no response, she admitted, "I'm trying to help you guys get together."

"Why?" he asked abruptly. He was curious why this stranger was willing to help him.

"I know I just met her, but she's my first friend here and I want to see her happy and that means being with you. Her other friends seem to be good friends with Chiba-san too so she thinks they'll judge her about her feelings regarding you. It's starting to make her uncomfortable around them. Since I don't know you or Chiba-san very well, I'm just focused on Usagi-chan's happiness, nothing else." She didn't really think she needed to waste any more time explaining the situation so she just straight to the point, "I know you want to win her heart but I can sense that you don't' like to ask for help. Remember, I'm not doing this for you; I'm doing this for Usagi. And besides, I didn't think you were the type of guy who gives up easily on anything. Are you willing to help me or are you going to give up on your love Seiya-san?"

He stood there speechless. 'This girl is kind of crazy. But I want to believe what she's saying. Maybe with her help, I can win her heart. It does sound promising when someone is willing to help me.'

She had him. She knew how to motivate him, knew which buttons to press. She always had a way to get him to do what she wanted back in the day so she trusted that he would agree with her plans. She didn't mind telling him about trying to set them up because, seeing how stubborn Usagi can be, it might be easier if he knew about it too. She had to admit that even though it was part of her mission, she liked the idea of hanging out with Seiya again. It had always been fun.

"Alright! Let's do this!" his eyes glinted wildly and he grinned at her.

Naomi smiled a real smile and she started talking about what she had in mind.

And so, 'Operation Catch the Bunny' commences.

**Please review**