A/N: Thank you for the comments! Enjoy.

I went to school. What else could I do? Though really, it was pointless for me to have done so because I didn't take in a single thing that any of my teachers said. Most of it passed over my head in a blur. All I really found that I could focus on was Seiya and the fact that the number one topic of conversation was Sailor Moon's identity. Literally, it seemed to be the only thing that anyone was willing to talk about. I heard dozens of different theories being tossed around, ranging from Sailor Moon was an otherworldly being who only appeared when people needed help (sort of true) to Sailor Moon didn't exist at all, she was just a figment of everyone's imaginations (I had no clue where that one came from).

If it hadn't been for the fact that they were all talking about me, I might have thought it amusing. I might have even joined in. As it was, I felt like I was walking around on eggshells. I was convinced that the next person who looked at me might suddenly realize that I was Sailor Moon and turn me in. I'd never felt that way before, and it was not a good feeling. I was very conscious of the fact that I was not the same as everyone else around me. I was different. I was, technically, wanted by the police. It wasn't like I was a criminal, but somehow "wanted for questioning" felt like it came awfully close.

The other thing I noticed was the absence of the other senshi had not been missed, and if I thought the rumors about Sailor Moon were crazy the ones trying to explain their disappearances were truly over the top. It amazed me what people could come up with. During break, I heard one girl trying to convince everyone that the senshi had had a huge fight, and that was why the others weren't around. She said that the senshi had disbanded, and that the others were working to bring down Sailor Moon through the 'weird guy in the sky' because she was such a tyrant. I almost laughed at that, if only because I desperately wished it was the truth. Other people were much closer than they realized, speculating that the senshi had died in the battle and Sailor Moon was the only survivor.

The whole day left me with a tension in my shoulders that I could not get rid of. It was not helped when I walked out of school at the end of the day and saw that the Ayakashi Sisters were waiting for me. After over a year on Earth they were good at blending in, but there was something about them that drew my attention immediately. I stopped when I saw the four of them, wondering if this was a confrontation I really wanted to have. Seiya was just inside the doors talking to a teacher. I could've stepped back inside and got her. But I didn't. I squared my shoulders and walked over to them slowly.

Petz saw me coming first. She straightened up and charged over to me, meeting me halfway. "What is the matter with you?" she demanded, making no effort to keep her voice down. A few students who were heading home turned and looked at us and I winced. "You were supposed to get rid of Rubeus, not make him threaten the whole planet! Why haven't you destroyed him yet? What are you waiting for?"

"First of all, keep your voice down," I said, deliberately keeping my tone calm. It was something that I had learned from Michiru. No matter how angry she got, she always kept her voice low and composed. It usually had the effect of making her sound even more frightening than if she'd been yelling, and it made people pay more attention. "If you want me to be able to stop him, you have to help me keep it a secret from the rest of Tokyo. Second of all, you're acting like I'm taking my time on purpose. Rubeus isn't exactly an easy opponent to beat, you know. It took everything Chibi-Usa and I had to take him down, and he's a lot stronger this time."

"She doesn't mean it that way," Berthier said. By that time, the other three sisters had caught up to us. It was nice of her to say, even if it obviously wasn't true, and I raised an eyebrow. "She's just - worried, that's all. Seeing Rubeus in the sky last night really freaked us all out."

I softened. I couldn't help it. "I know, and I'm sorry. Believe me, it's not like I don't want to get rid of him. If I had my way, he'd be moon dust by now."

Calaveras gave me a knowing look. "He really got under your skin, didn't he?"

"Of course he did. He's threatening to out her to everyone," said Koan, examining her nails idly. "Do you know, I passed by the police station this morning and there was a whole line up of people waiting to give information on Sailor Moon. I even saw the cops bringing in a young girl who was wearing her hair tied up in odango, and she wasn't even blonde."

"They what?" I gasped, stunned, and she nodded.

"I doubt they'll keep her for long. Obviously, since she's not Sailor Moon, they'll have to let her go," she said.

I wasn't so sure about that. Granted most of my experience with the police came from the occasional late night drama I'd caught on television, but I knew what people could do when they were driven to desperation. Yes, that girl probably would be let go at some point. But it was only the beginning of the week. As we got closer to Rubeus's deadline, people would start throwing out more suspicions and more girls would fall under scrutiny. I was suddenly relieved that I no longer wore my hair in odango. It would've been a dead giveaway. And I was sorry that there were so many girls out there who had picked up on the hairstyle after seeing Sailor Moon doing it.

""You have to do something about this," Petz said, watching me closely. "I know you like to think the best of everyone, but let me tell you what's going to happen. It won't just be innocent girls who are suspected of being Sailor Moon. Someone is going to point the finger at you too before long."

"They will not!"

"Oh really? I know that there are people who know who you are. Even if you manage to convince them all to stay silent, you wore your hair in odango for years. God, you even gave your child the same hairstyle. You used to hang out in the company of four girls who match the basic descriptions of the inner senshi, four girls who aren't around anymore and haven't been since the final battle. All it's going to take is one person to put two and two together and realize that when Sailor Moon is around, you weren't. What's going to happen when you get called in for questioning? Are you going to lie to the police?"

I stared at her, sweating. Now that she said it, it sounded so obvious that I couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to me before now. The girls and I hadn't exactly been careful about protecting our identities, trusting in the magic and the fact that no one had ever pushed the issue to protect us. "What are you suggesting that I do?" I asked finally, my voice coming out strangled.

"You have to deal with Rubeus before the deadline," Berthier replied. She made it sound like it would be as easy as flipping a switch. "You don't have to be that worried about it. Rubeus is strong, but I think you're more powerful than he is."

"How would you know? You haven't been around him for months," Koan said.

Berthier scowled. "I know. Unlike you three, I actually paid attention to what he did instead of spending all my time falling all over him." She folded her arms and sniffed. "He talks a big game, but I've been watching the newspapers, keeping track of his appearances. Every time he gets into a fight with Sailor Moon, he's always the one who runs away in the end. If he really thought he could win, he would have by now. But he can't. That's why he's issued this ultimatum. He's hoping to put you into a spot where you have no choice but to give up."

"Wow, Berthier," Calaveras said, sounding impressed. "I had no idea you were paying so much attention."

"One of us had to be," Berthier muttered.

"Odango!"

The familiar voice had me turning before I'd fully registered it. Seiya jogged over to me, frowning when she realized who was standing there with me. Before she could speak, I said, "Seiya, these are the Ayakashi Sisters. Petz, Calaveras, Berthier, and Koan, and girls, this is Kou Seiya, member of the Three Lights."

Koan actually smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Seiya said shortly before looking at me. I read the question in her eyes and smiled weakly, knowing that she was worried.

"It's okay," I said. I'd told them about the Ayakashi Sisters, how the ginzuishou had purged them of the darkness Nemesis and the Death Phantom had flourished in their hearts, but I knew that Seiya and the others didn't trust them. And for good reason: they hadn't seen how different the sisters were now. "They were just telling me that I have to do something about Rubeus soon."

Seiya scowled. "Why don't they do something to help if they're so worried?"

"Like what? We're just normal human beings now," said Petz. There was something in her voice that caught my attention and I turned towards her, realization hitting me hard.

"You're afraid," I breathed. I didn't know why that surprised me so much, but it did. I guess that Petz had always seemed so strong, so unbreakable. All of the sisters did. But now I was looking at them with fresh eyes, and I knew that what I'd said was true. You could see it in the tense way they were standing, in how their eyes wouldn't quite meet mine. Rubeus didn't know that they were still here in Tokyo. He knew that I'd healed them, but unless he had purposely sought them out he wouldn't know their exact location. And I knew that all four of them were terrified that he would find out and want revenge for the fact that they had betrayed him by switching sides and ultimately allowing him to be beaten.

"No, we're not," Petz said, but her voice lacked any real conviction and I knew I was right.

"Yes, you are. But you don't have to be," I told them. I was suddenly possessed with the urge to try and hug them, to stroke their heads and let each woman know that I would do everything I could to protect them. I kept my distance only because I wasn't sure that they would be receptive to that kind of attention.

Petz just shook her head. "Whatever you're going to do, make sure you do it fast," she said.

"Petz, wait -" It was pointless, I knew as soon as I'd spoken. Petz was already turning away, and she was ushering her sisters ahead of her like she thought Rubeus was going to come down from the sky and kill them just for standing near me.

"Odango?" Seiya said.

I turned around and looked at her, still feeling stricken. "I have to kill Rubeus. Now."

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