I'm so tired I can't even think straight anymore o_o Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and TOEI Animation, respectively. I've always wanted to say that :D

Notes: I feel like my writing has become weak now that the Kurushimi Co. is gone D: Maybe I've been watching too much Death Note :3 That writing is amazingly dramatic. Light is always one step ahead of his enemies, who are always one step ahead of him… o.o It's hard to understand sometimes, I read a line of the subs, but then I have to go back a little because I'm like, "Wait, what?" My brain had to be on for every single second, or I'll be confused. The ending was very satisfying ;3

Mamoru shuts off the pestering alarm telling him that it's 5 AM and time to go to his first shift. He sighs, sitting up, and glances behind him to see if Usagi had snuck in while he was dead asleep. There's no sign of her, like he figured. She probably slept in her own apartment last night, if she went to sleep at all. Her third shift is a twenty-four hour diner that sometimes makes her work overtime if someone can't make their shift. She's generous that way.

Mamoru stretches and opens his closet to grab his uniform. He knows that now that Chibiusa is here, they don't have to work three jobs, but he hasn't quit yet. His class is about to graduate, so a lot of his other friends in his grade are looking for real jobs, careers, but he knows that it would be pointless for him to, seeing as he'll be King of the World, quite literally, in a short time.

He walks into the hallway and cracks the door to the guest room where Chibiusa sleeps. He smiles at her content expression, and silently closes the door again. He feels very paternal over her, even though she "technically" isn't his daughter yet.

He goes into the kitchen and opens a cabinet. He pulls out a mixer bottle and pours some milk into it. He dumps a scoop of whey protein powder into the bottle and shakes it, walking out the door.

Seiya walks into the Jimmy John's for breakfast at 7 AM. He walks up to the counter and smiles.

"How can I help you?" Mamoru says through his teeth.

"Can I get a number four and a regular soda?"

Mamoru narrows his eyes as he types in the order. "A number four and a regular soda?"

"That's right. Oh, yeah, and since I'm here, I have something to say to you." He hands a few bills to Mamoru, who calculates it and hands him a receipt.

Mamoru raises an eyebrow, but passes the order to the sandwich builder. "Yuki, can you cover for me?" he calls to someone in the back, who groans.

"Fine," someone grumbles, and a blonde girl walks out, tying her hair into a ponytail.

Mamoru walks out from behind the counter, and sighs. "What is it?"

Seiya takes his sandwich from the counter, and fills his cup with Dr. Pepper. "I wanted to…" He sighs, and sits, and Mamoru joins him. "Apologize," he finishes.

Mamoru cocks his head in confusion. "For what?"

"For trying to kiss Usagi. For everything I've done against you. The kiss was…" He sighs. "I'm sorry. It's a Kinmokan custom. I meant nothing by it, and, well, you know, I'm a woman, too. I don't love her that way anymore."

"What about the following events?"

"That was just me being a… b*tch. Sorry, you just made it too easy," he says, smiling. "And, I guess… I was still a little blind to the world as it was. I understand now, though."

Mamoru swallows and furrows his brow. He sighs. "You 'understand'?"

"I understand that she can't love me. I can't love her. We can only be friends."

Mamoru sniffs. "I guess I… accept your apology."

Seiya's eyes widen. "Really? Wow, I didn't expect that…"

Mamoru raises an eyebrow. "What kind of person did you think I was?"

Seiya clears his throat. "Well, to be honest, when she first told me about you, while you were… away, I thought you were a 'normal' guy, so to speak. I thought you hadn't been replying to her letters because you were trying to break it off with her, rather than you being… you know, with Galaxia. I didn't know that you were… who you are. And after I found out who you are, I didn't get much of a chance to talk to you, so I still could only see as that guy, even though I knew it was probably wrong. I want to get to know you better."

"Mamoru, I gotta go, you need to come back," the cute blonde says. "I have an appointment."

Mamoru sighs. "Alright, well, if that's it, then…"

"One more thing," Seiya says. "I heard that you two are getting married soon? Congratulations."

Mamoru smiles. "Thank you. Who told you?"

"Well… Yaten heard it from Minako, so he said."

Mamoru snorts. "Mina's quite the gossip. Well, I have to go. See ya, Seiya."

Seiya smiles. "Later."

As he's about to walk out the door, Mamoru says, "Seiya."

Seiya turns around. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad we had this talk."

Seiya smiles. "Yeah, me too," then turns on his heel and walks out.

~That Afternoon~

Haruko is waiting by the front entrance of the university for Akira to come out. Suddenly, she's grabbed by the arm, and whoever it is sprinting. She gasps in shock. The person turns to look at her, and grins through her shades. Akira. "What are you doing?!" Haruko demands to know.

"We're going on a date!" she answers simply.

Haruko rolls her eyes. "Where?"

"You'll see!"

They finally slow down when they reach a wide building with a large neon sign reading "Viva la Vida". Haruko narrows her eyes. She can hear pulsing dance music come from inside. "A club?"

Akira smiles. "Not just any club. MY club."

Haruko raises an eyebrow, but says nothing as Akira guides her inside, an arm around her shoulders. "Yo, Akira!" a bartender says. "Goin' upstairs?" Then, he catches Haruko's eye, and grins. "Is this the pretty lady you've told us about?" He walks over and holds a hand out to Haruko to shake. "Miyazawa Akio. Most people call me 'Shark'. It's a pleasure." Haruko takes his hand and shakes it.

Akira snorts. "No one calls him 'Shark'. He's just saying that to impress you. Hey, now, you keep your distance. She's with me," she warns, and takes Haruko towards the staircase behind the bar.

Haruko smiles. "Bye, Miyazawa-san."

They reach a door, and Akira sticks a key in the lock, and then pushes it open. When she closes it, all you can hear is the low bass beat and a conversation taking place in another part of the "room" that's more like a deluxe hotel, divided like a house.

"I kid you not; it was this big!"

"Yeah, and so's my-" The man who spoke pauses, and then there's laughter.

"Naw, I swear! It was that big!"

Everyone laughs again, except the man who spoke first, who growls. Akira smiles, and walks over to the doorway where the talking was coming from. Haruko follows quickly behind.

"Ay, look what the cat dragged in!"

"Where ya been, girl?"

Haruko peeks into the room, which turns out to be a kitchenette with a small table in the middle. There are people crowded in the room, three men and a woman, with one man's arm around her shoulder.

"Aw, I see! She couldn't stand it any longer!"

"'I miss my girl!'" one man mocks.

"'She hates me, I know it!'" another chimes in.

The men laugh, and the woman smacks the man with his arm around her in the stomach. He curls up over it, still laughing. The woman stands, and she's a lot taller than she looked sitting down, the same height as Akira. She walks over to Haruko and holds a hand out to her. "Joselyn Correa. You must be Haruko."

Haruko smiles, and takes the woman's hand. "Yes. Does she talk about me?" she wonders.

Joselyn laughs. "The better question is 'What hasn't she said?' I mean, you're almost the only thing on her mind."

"Alright, alright, enough talking about me!" Akira grumbles. "Geez, if I'd known y'all'd give me THIS much grief, I wouldn't have come at all."

Everyone laughs. "Why don't you come join us at the table? Sakura and Kohaku will be coming soon, so grab a chair while they're hot!"

Akira grabs a couple chairs from a stack in the corner and sets them down at the table. Haruko sits at one timidly, her posture perfect. Akira sits in the other, laid back, then laughs. "You don't need to sit like that! It's not St. Agatha's!"

They all laugh with her, and Haruko relaxes. How much do these people know about them?

"These guys are friends. They're cool. Well, except Natsu," she says, and everyone laughs, except for one guy, who frowns.

"Hey!" he says. Is that Natsu? And who're Sakura and Kohaku?

"Haru, the guy right next to you is Yuuki, but you shouldn't talk to him, he's weird." Everyone laughs again, including the man next to her, who blushes.

"You know, Haru-chan," the man with blonde hair and his arm around Joselyn says. "He has a really big crush on Akira!"

Yuuki's face turns bright red. "Do not!" he says defensively. "Sh-Shut up!"

Haruko raises an eyebrow. "Is that so?" she laughs. "Well, I'll have to keep a good grip on her, then."

The blonde one snorts. "Don't worry about it. She'd never fall for a guy like him. Oh, sorry, I never introduced myself!" he realizes. "My name is Fukui Hiroyuki. You can just call me Hiro."

Haruko nods. "Nice to meet you. You know,"-she looks up at Akira-"I don't recall you ever telling me about your friends. Yet, they seem to know me quite well."

"Ooh…" her friends call.

Akira shrugs. "The topic never came up."

Haruko snorts. "Yeah. Try every time I asked where you were before. You always dodged the question."

"Oh-ho!" Hiro says. "She gotcha there, Kiki!"

"'Kiki' huh?" Haruko says, grinning. "That's what they call you? You never let me call you that."

"Yeah, I don't let them do it either. They're just rebels," she says, staring daggers at Hiro, who just laughs.

"Aww, witlle Kiki is gonna thwow a tantwum!"

Akira stands up. "You tryin' to start somethin', Fukui?!"

Hiro stands, too. "Maybe, maybe not!"

"Akira!" Haruko says, but Joselyn just laughs.

"This happens more often than not. Just let them fight it out," she says. Haruko frowns, but says no more, sighing.

"Let's settle this the right way, Chiba!" Hiro says.

Akira grins. "You got it!"

Natsu and Yuuki stand and stretch as Joselyn, Akira, and Hiro move to the front room. "What's going on?" Haruko asks, standing as well.

Natsu grins. "Akira's about to teach Hiro a lesson."

Haruko's face scrunches in confusion. "What's the 'right' way?"

"Arm wrestling!" Yuuki exclaims in excitement. "It's always fun to watch Akira and Hiro battle! She's the only person to ever beat Hiro! He was the champ here before!"

Haruko laughs. That is so Akira! She's glad that Akira wasn't a totally different person while she was with these people. Haruko felt worried that Akira was just putting on a face for her, but she's still the same old Akira.

They move into a room that's empty except for a cushioned table. Akira grins as Haruko walks in. "Watch this," she says.

Haruko smiles. Joselyn sighs as she moves around to the other side of the table. "Alright, we all know the rules, right?" Akira and Hiro nod as they take each other's hands in preparation for battle. "Okay. Three, two, one-" She blows the whistle around her neck, and Akira and Hiro strengthen their grip on each other, but nothing else happens. Haruko can tell there's a struggle, but they're canceling out each other's strength.

Slowly but surely, their hands start moving in Hiro's favor, and he grins. Akira grunts as she exerts more force on his hand. A bead of sweat slips down the side of her face, and a vein pops out on her temple. Haruko bites her lip. She feels so excited, watching them struggle against each other, even though she's never felt interested in this sort of thing before.

"Let's go, Akira!" Natsu cheers.

"You got this, girl!" Yuuki joins in.

"C'mon, Akira!" Haruko calls, and Akira grins. Hiro's arm moves back, little by little.

"That's it, Akira!" Joselyn says.

"Who's side are you on?" Hiro says through his teeth, not taking his eyes off Akira. Even so, his chances of winning spike to a new low as Akira pushes harder in his slight distraction. He bellows in strain, but in the last of his strength, Akira shoves his hand into the pad, and they both fall in exhaustion.

Akira grins, and Haruko runs over to her. "See that? …That's… how it's done…. 'round here." Haruko giggles.

"Next time…" Hiro says. "Chiba… Next time…"

Akira laughs. "'S'what you said… last time… Now look at'cha…"

Hiro groans. "Whatev. Les move around. It's bad to sit."

Akira scoffs. "Baby," she mocks, but gets up nevertheless. Haruko stands, too, and balances Akira as she almost-falls. Akira laughs. "Let's go get some Powerade!" Haruko smiles as she helps Akira move to the small kitchenette they were in before.

"Hey, Akira, Haruko," Joselyn says as they all take their seats.

"Wassup?"

"Yes?"

"Well, next month, the six of us are going to Hokkaido. Wanna come?"

"Why is this the first I'm hearing of this?" Akira asks.

"Well, because you disappeared off the face of the planet and when we decided-"

"See, we were hopin' we'd never have to see you again," Hiro says, grinning. Joselyn smacks his arm, and he grunts. "Eh, too tired."

Akira rolls her eyes, and Haruko smirks. She turns back to Joselyn. "Now, when is it?"

"We were planning on the fourteenth through the twentieth, if that's alright with you."

Akira groans. "See, we've got this wedding-my brother's-on the twenty-first that we gotta go to. There's a bachelorette party on the twentieth, which I guess isn't mandatory, but-"

"We're good friends with the bride," Haruko finishes.

"They know about Usagi."

Joselyn smirks. "Yes, we know about Usagi."

Haruko narrows her eyes. "Akira, what did you tell them about her? Did you say what you think about her, or who she actually is?"

"I may have… uh…"

"She is a very sweet girl. You're giving them a misconception."

"Meh," Akira says, shrugging.

Haruko turns to the others and sighs, shaking her head. "She's a very, very sweet girl, but doesn't really get along with Akira. I know Akira cares about her, she just won't admit it."

"D'aw, Akira!"

"Shut up!"

Usagi pulls the ribbons from her buns as she walks into Mamoru's bedroom, ready to fall asleep. She notices that he is already asleep, and crawls in next to him. She shuts her eyes, and instantly falls asleep.

DERP! I'm a big derp right now D: