I'm so sorry for the delay in this! I had it planned and half written and then I got kinda sick and I've been feeling crappy for weeks and weeks. But finally I'm doing a little better and can write again so here we go.

The final end!

Now I'm a little worried the comedy will fall falt with all this build up (it was unintentional! I meant to have this part out sooner!) but c'est la vie. ;)

Chapter 9: Rabbit of the Moon

Rei sighed and flopped her head into her arms with a groan. "I'm going to kill her."

"Well, that would be an efficient, but ultimately self-defeating plan," Ami said, not looking up from her book.

Minako elbowed Makoto who shot a look back at her and they had a short and intense whispered argument.

"You do it," Minako hissed.

"She'd take it better coming from the leader," Makoto shot back under her breath.

"She's less likely to try to fight you," Minako said, elbowing Makoto again until the brunette sat straight and gave Rei's withering glance a sweatdropping smile.

"Rei, I was thinking... it may be time to admit defeat."

Rei raised an eyebrow. Makoto looked desperately to Minako.

"Yeah, Rei, I mean. Usagi may not have all her memories but she's back hanging out with us, isn't she? None of your... our, I mean our!... plans have worked even a little bit and-"

"What she's trying to say," Ami jumped in before Rei's eyebrow twitch got any more violent. "is it may be best to let Usagi come to terms with everything on her own time."

"Yeah," Minako said, brightly. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained after all-"

"Minako that is the exact opposite of what we are trying to-"

"What?"

"Never mind."

"No, tell me..."

The conversation lifted from the usual hushed tones the girls used while discussing senshi business at Crown, and Rei ignored it.

It was true - every time they tried to get Usagi to remember she brushed it off with a nonchalant manner that infuriated Rei. If Usagi looked upset, or worried, or like she didn't want to remember - that was one thing. And something Rei could certainly understand.

But no, it rather seemed like Usagi was just blissfully ignorant, prancing around Juuban eating crepes and failing tests and tripping on sidewalk cracks, with no idea of who she is.

It really was just starting to piss Rei off.

"Rei," it was Ami's voice that brought Rei back to earth. "What do you think?"

Rei blinked and sighed at the girls all looking at her expectantly. "Fine," she huffed. "I'll let it go."

For now.

It was within the next few days that everyone was over at Rei's, laying on the rug, sitting delicately on the floor, leaning up against the wall, or in Usagi's case, sprawled on her friend's bed reading manga.

"HA HA HA! Oh my god, you guys," Usagi shifted up and bent the volume back to show the page more clearly, "Look at what is happening in this scene there is like a talking cat and this superhero girl and - -"

Suddenly she stopped and the manga fell to the floor as Usagi looked blankly at the wall with a familiar look of dawning comprehension.

"Oh."

"My."

"God."

The celebrations of everyone hugging Usagi and crying out with delight as she was frantically recounting their more memorable escapades at cursed amusement parks and couples cruises, was interrupted with Rei's shout.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Everyone froze mid-hug and turned to look at Rei, who was red-faced and glaring, smoke practically coming out of her ears. "After everything we've done, and everything we've tried," her voice was dangerously calm and Usagi looked at her with almost curious trepidation, "After all that. You remember. From. A PARODY SCENE IN A MANGA?! JUST HOW STUPID ARE YOU I CAN'T-"

"Rei you are so meeeeaaaan!" Usagi wailed.

"I'm mean? I'm mean? Whose the one who has been put through the ringer for the past month-"

"REIII STOPP YELLING AT MEEEE!"

And so their voices echoed throughout the shrine and the other girls just shared looks. "This is gonna be a loooong lifetime." Minako said under her breath.

"Okay, who brought the popcorn!"

"No popcorn!"

"Reeeeeei you can't have a movie without popcorn!"

"I don't need to hear your chewing while the movie is going and then if something scary happens you spit popcorn bits all over the screen."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do no-"

"Hey, Usagi," Makoto sat down on her sofa and picked up the remote, "How about some dango instead? I just picked some up from the sweet shop this afternoon. We'll do popcorn later."

Usagi seemed happy with the replacement and gleefully took the treats from Makoto, who in turn accepted a grateful look from Ami.

"So what movie are we watching?" Minako asked, bouncing next to Usagi on the sofa.

"It was Ami's turn to pick-" the girls stifled groans, "so I think this is a docu-drama about the plight of killer bees."

"Bees?"

"Killer bees, though," Ami said, "I thought you guys would think that was cool."

"If it's a giant killer bee attacking Tokyo, that might be cool."

"Minako, we've probably seen that already, in real life."

"I don't think we ever fought a giant bee."

"Can we veto the movie choice? Makoto, what do you own here?"

"Uh," Makoto flushed. "Just... romances mostly."

Rei and Ami groaned while Minako and Usagi squealed.

Makoto went to dig through her tapes, while Minako rounded on Usagi with a predatory look in her eye.

"So. Speaking of romance."

Usagi looked at Minako around a mouthful of mochi. "Muwha?"

"Diiiiid you talk to Mamoru yet?"

"Yesh, ee uffer day I-"

"Usagi, chew, swallow then talk. Gross."

Gulp. "Yes, the other day I went over to get my locket back..."

"That was the pretense anyway!" Minako said, wagging her eyebrows.

"Uh, sure. The pre-tents. Anyway, he was so happy that I remembered! We-"

"Kissed." Minako wagged her brows again.

"Hugged, Minako. And then we spent a really long time -"

"Making out." Minako's eyebrows were ready to fall off at this point.

"TALKING. MINAKO. GOD. TALKING." Usagi flushed then mumbled, "mostly," under her breath.

"Okay, enough torturing Usagi," Makoto said, before Minako could pounce.

"I found a movie to watch," she said, popping a tape into the VCR.

The girls snuggled together on the sofa as the light flickered across their faces.

For now, Tokyo was at peace.

For now, they had their princess.

For now, everything was right in the world.

"USAGI! Could you chew a little quieter!? You are like a cow."

"REI! That's so meeeaaan! I am NOT a cow!"

"I didn't say you WERE a cow a said you chewed like a cow!"

"How would you even know, when is the last time you heard a cow chew?"
"Just now! When you ate that dango!"

"MEEEAAAAAAAAAANnnnn!"