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Mom looked at us for a long time without saying anything. I could just barely make out her face past the tears and I could see the "no" in her eyes that she didn't know how to say. It was obvious that she was afraid of disappointing me, of what my reaction would be if she told me that I had to stay here. I realized in a sudden flash of insight that she was worried I would leave anyway. I might have been only sixteen and in their eyes a child but at that moment I think my mother recognized something in me that held her tongue when she would have otherwise spoken. And maybe my dad did too, because he was the one who finally broke the silence.

"We've been very concerned about you, Usagi," he said, putting a hand on Mom's shoulder. "It would make your mother and I feel better if you were staying under our roof so that we could know you were safe. But I can understand, in lieu of the current situation, that staying with your friends might make you feel better. You can go for the time being but we're going to discuss this when things get back to normal." He gave me a hard look. "And you have to promise that you will call us every single night to let us know you're alright, no exceptions."

A rush of relief went through me, so hot and heady that I might've crumbled to the floor had it not been for Seiya's arms, which kept me resolutely on my feet. "Thank you," I said, clutching her even tighter, if that was possible. It was just as well that we weren't going to discuss it on a permanent basis at the moment because I didn't know what would happen. "And don't worry; I'll take good care of Chibi-Chibi."

Dad looked puzzled. "Chibi-Chibi? Is that one of your friends?"

I felt Seiya stiffen in surprise, bit his question didn't shock me. Not really. I'd seen this happen before when Chibi-Usa came to stay with me the first time. She had used the Luna Ball to make Mom, Dad and Shingo believe that she was their niece and cousin, and when she'd returned to the future the spell had automatically broken. Returning home the first time I lost her and realizing that my family didn't remember she had ever existed had been extremely hard. This was the same. Whatever mysterious power Chibi-Chibi had used to make them think that she was my little sister must have worn off when Chibi-Chibi faded away during the battle.

"Yes, she's one of my friends," I confirmed wearily. Another reason to stay with Seiya, Yaten and Taiki, then. Chibi-Chibi, if she remained in this world with us, would be my responsibility. I'd have to come up with some explanation for her if I had to move back home.

"Well I'm glad to hear that at least one of them is safe," Dad said, trying for a bit of levity. It wasn't really working but I appreciated the effort, at least.

"Usagi, you have to promise to be careful," Mom said. Her chin was trembling but her eyes were clear and dry. "I don't like this, especially not so soon after we just got you back. If it were up to me you would stay here. And I still think that you belong here with your family, but this seems to be important to you and so I'm willing to let you go as long as you won't get yourself into any trouble."

"I'll do my best," I said. I had the feeling that she would have liked to hug me, but that would've meant letting go of Seiya and I wasn't prepared to do that just yet. My tears had dried and I was speaking reasonably calmly but underneath it all I was shaking, hopefully imperceptible to anyone but Seiya. It had been a much closer call than I liked to consider.

"Will you stay for dessert?" she asked.

"I think it would be best if we got going," Seiya answered for me. "It's getting late and the police don't like people to be out after dark. They say that it's unsafe considering that the roads are still covered in a lot of debris. We wouldn't want to get stuck somewhere on the way back."

It was the best thing she could have said. Mom practically foamed at the mouth at the thought of the two of us being trapped somewhere, and in the space of about ten minutes I was being hugged and kissed repeatedly while she shoved us out the door with instructions to go straight back to the apartment and call once we were there. She put a plate of cake into my hands, gave me one last kiss on the forehead, and then shut the door behind us. I stared blankly down at the cake and wondered if, on the other side of the door, my mother had just collapsed into tears because of me.

"Odango?"

"Thank you," I said before Seiya could say anything else. I looked up from the cake and into her beautiful eyes, a deep, dark blue that reflected worry back at me. "I'm sorry for not talking about it with you first. I don't mean to impose on you guys. I know you probably want to go back to Kinmoku as soon as possible. But I just couldn't stand being there with my family right now." The words felt hollow and tasted horrible. "I'll go back to them soon, I promise, and then you can leave."

"Leave? Where did you get that idea? Do you…" Seiya paused, studying me, and then shook her head. "Okay, we're going to go home and then we're going to talk," she said, taking my hand and tucking it into the curve of her elbow. "We're all going to have a very long talk. Come on."

I fell into step beside her, her thigh brushing against my hip with every step. No one gave us a second look and I wondered if that was strange for her to be out in public and have people completely ignore her instead of fawn like they normally did. They should have recognized her, too. She was disguised as a boy, I knew, with her breasts bound flat, but not in the magical way. Now that Kakyuu was dead they couldn't do that anymore: they were trapped as females. I glanced at her, seized by sudden curiosity. Did they miss being able to live as boys?

"What?" she asked.

"Do you miss being a boy?"

The question surprised her and she was silent for a moment, considering, before she replied. "It was handy, I suppose. No one on Earth would ever have connected us with the Sailor Starlights. It made us feel more comfortable in being able to hide our identities. I didn't mind it so much, and I think Taiki was alright with it, but Yaten had a hard time. She's always been the most feminine out of the three of us and that was difficult for her to get used to. Boys don't really pay much attention to fashion and clothes here on Earth."

I thought about that. "But you have female clothing, too," I pointed out, indicating what I was wearing. A pair of jeans, borrowed from Yaten, and another one of Seiya's shirts. It was too big on me but it was unquestionably a girl's shirt. I could tell from the cut.

"Well, yes. I said it was harder for Yaten but it was still a pain for me and Taiki. Sometimes the mental aspect of it is what you have to get used to." She gave a shrug with one shoulder and smiled impishly. "For a little while there the three of us were girls disguised as boys who dressed as girls in our free time."

I laughed out loud. "I wish I'd seen that."

Seiya stared at me and looked pleased. "That's one of the first times I've heard you really laugh since you got out of bed," she said quietly.

For some reason the comment made me flush. "I guess I haven't had much to laugh about," I answered, squeezing her arm. What I didn't say was that laughing even for a moment had felt surprisingly good. Maybe my life wasn't over after all. I thought about that for the rest of the walk, and Seiya must have realized that I was thinking because she didn't say anything else to distract me until we got there and she had to drop my hand to get the key out of her pocket.

"Your family is very nice. I can tell they love you a lot," she said.

"Yeah, they do," I said quietly. Mom and Dad had always been there for me even when I hadn't really deserved it. I felt a little guilty at abandoning them when they clearly needed me, but for once I had to be selfish and think of myself first. I needed to do this, to be here with the Starlights, for as long as I could. Real life would intrude all too quickly. I looked up and started to say something to her but all words fled my mind. I stared at the shadowy spot in between the two apartment buildings, my heart suddenly pounding.

"Odango? Usagi, what's wrong?" Seiya had the door open. When she saw my face she frowned and took several steps closer to me.

"What? Oh, nothing. I just thought I saw…" I let my voice trail off uncertainly. For a moment I thought I'd seen the iridescent glow of energy formed into balls small enough to be held above the palm of a hand. But now there was nothing, the alley completely dark, and I had the unnerving thought that if someone wanted to watch us it would be all too easy and we would never know. I twisted and took the last few steps to the door, tugging at the handle. "Come on, let's go in."

She was frowning as she unlocked the door again and pulled it open for me to go through first. I felt safer as soon as it was shut, one more barrier between us and the world, but I didn't fully relax until we were back in the apartment and she was sliding the locks into place. I heard the sound of Yaten and Taiki talking and then I was amazed at just how much I relaxed. It was like several knots of tension in my body loosened all at once, making me feel so weak I had to lean against the wall. I was back and all four of us were there and it was, it was okay, just for the time being.

"You alright?" Seiya asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, smiling at her and pushing off of the wall. She gripped my arm and we walked into the living room together. Yaten and Taiki were sitting on the couch. Taiki was reading and Yaten was watching television. Both of them looked up when we came in.

"You're back," Taiki noted, raising an eyebrow.

"Odango decided that she would rather stay with us," Seiya told them, letting go of me. I took that as permission to move closer, and it seemed almost automatic that Yaten and Taiki inched apart, leaving just enough space in between them for me. When I sat down, they were so close that I couldn't move my arms without risking hitting someone and I loved it. Seiya followed me over and knelt down in front of me. I was surrounded on all sides and it made me feel so safe, especially when she leaned against my legs.

"I thought you'd want to be with your family," Yaten said.

I closed my eyes and my hands clenched around the plate of cake that I was still carrying. There would be no better opening than that, I knew. "I am, and I don't want to leave, not ever."

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