Family Reunion

Usagi looked around the front room as she walked inside the house. She noticed new furniture and tile, but something seemed depressing about it. It was as if they were trying to erase memories of the past and it reflected the sadness in the house. A tear slipped down her tan cheek as Shingo ran in the house yelling at the top of his lungs. "Mom! Dad! Come quick! You won't believe who walked in the door!"

Mr. and Mrs. Tuskino were looking at an old photo of their family when they heard their son run in excited. They glanced at each other with frowns, wondering what had their, noramlly quiet son, so worked up. He came into the kitchen and grabbed their hands and knew something must have happened, because of the tears on his face and smile from ear to ear. "What's the matter Shingo?" Mrs. Tuskino asked her son.

"Come and see!"

They walked into the living room and nearly fell backwards over some tables at the sight in the living room. She had changed a lot over the years, but they couldn't mistake the look of their baby girl as she stared back with trembling eyes. Usagi was trying to be brave, but they saw the hint of fear in her eyes and realized that this was scaring her badly to face them now and not run away again.

Mrs. Tuskino was the first to recover and with a shaking hand, she walked towards her daugther to touch her hair, then her face. "Usagi?" The word was barely a whisper as she was still thinking that the woman in front of her was a dream and would fade away if she touched her to hard.

"Mom," Usagi said in a tone that was breaking more by the second. She was trying hard not to cry, but her body was revolting against her as she shook viloently.

"Usagi!" Mrs. Tuskino grabbed Usagi in a big hug and started to sob along with her daughter. "Oh my god! You've come back!"

Mr. Tuskino, when he realized that Usagi was in his house, in front of him, ran to his daughter to do a group hug, with Shingo joining in.

They led Usagi to a couch and gave her some tea to let her re-gain some control. "What happened? We looked everywhere for you and thought that the worse had happened. Even your friends didn't give up and kept searching long after the police had given up on you still being alive."

"It's a long story, you guys. Basically I was a coward, hurting and decided to run instead of dealing with my problem. I'm sorry I left mom, dad, Shingo."

"It doesn't matter why you left anymore dear. If you want to tell us, then know that we're going to listen, we just don't want you to leave us like that ever again. If we made you feel unhappy, then I'm sorry. We only wanted what was best for you and the best school in the country."

Usagi smiled a genuine smile for the first time in years and handed her mom the folders for her transfer to the University of Japan. "I have something to show you, but I was afraid to."

Mr. Tuskino took the folder from her daugther and saw report cards of her grades in high school, college and being named the highest ranked student in the country of America. She was a sophmore in college and would be a computer engineer in medical techonolgy. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, but sitting in front of him, was the smartest girl in America, and very possibly Japan. "How come your name is Serena here?"

"That was the name I took while I was in America. I can easily have it changed over later, but right now there are certain people I'm avoiding, and don't wish them to know I'm back yet. I start school in two weeks and will be staying in the dormitories. All expenses are paid for, including meals and books." Shingo's eyes were wide and her mother had passed out. Usagi had grown up over the years and was a very accomplished person already.

Dinner was huge as they ate, talking about what they had done in the last three years, but Usagi still felt a heavy burden in her heart as she saw that everything hadn't been fixed. Her parents were wonderful, but she wondered about the other senshi, especially the outer ones. After the reaction of her parents, she realized she shouldn't have left without writing them a note that she was fine and would return after finding herself. The outer senshi were also not to blame for the conflict between herself and former friends and she needed to see them before she started back to school. More than likely Pluto already knew what happened, but would not mess with the flow of time unless she absolutely had no other choice.

Her room was exactly the way she had left it and she hated the look. Pink and bunnies were not for her any longer and she asked her mother to get her some regular blankets and sheets. The stars and the moon were shining brightly down and she felt a sense of peace and a longing for something she couldn't place her hand on. 'Oh mother. What went so wrong? I wish I had not been a failure that the girls hate me so.'

Sleep soon over came the sad blond sleeping under a figure that smiled at her with warmth and love. "You still have a lot to learn my child. Open your heart. Artemis, protect my darling child for now, but know that you too will one day see the happiness that you seek and long for." Selinity faded away and Usagi whimpered, but never woke up.

The next morning found Usagi up bright and early to do her morning exercises with Artemis. It was cool, nothing like the hot state of Arizona. As she ran, her thoughts were flowing through her mind as her feet touched the pavement. No longer did it bother her to run for long periods of time before she would stop. She remembered to leave a note for her parents saying she would be back after her run. Her mother had told her they would go shopping that afternnoon for some clothes to start college.

An hour later, two exhausted runners stopped to look around. Not much had changed over the last three years and Usagi wondered if the outer senshi were still in town. Going to the phone directory, she looked up Haruka's name and easily found her. They had moved to the really nice part of town. "What are you planning, Usagi?"

"I'm going to pay a visit to the outer senshi. I realized that I never gave them a chance before I ran away and at least need to see if there on my side or not. Maybe I was a little selfish too, but at the time I wasn't thinking straight."

All the old buildings started disappearing, to have several loom up that appeared to be several hundrend thousand yens each. Finally, they came up to a four story house that had a pool and garden in the back, while the front yard had a lawn with lots of green grass. "Wow. They really have it well, don't they Artemis?"

"I'll say."

Usagi was losing her nerve to go and knock on the door, when a young woman walked out. Her hair was shoulder length, black and was on the skinny side. "Hotaru..." The woman looked up and was startled to see someone standing there staring at her. She was about to ask who she was when she saw the white cat on her shoulders. The cresent moon on his forehead was an identity for the cat and she gasped as she ran inside. Usagi's hopes fell and she was about to turn and walk away, when three other women came running out of the house and grabbed her into a hug and pulled her inside.

"Usagi!" Haruka shouted.

"Why did you leave us? We would have gone with you if you had asked."

Setsuna was looking at Usagi and she knew then that the time guardian knew what had happened between her and her former friends, but had said nothing to anyone else about it. "Welcome back Princess. Artemis, thank you for staying by her side when she needed it most."

Haruka and Michuru looked at their friend as if realizing something for the first time. "You knew where she had gone the whole time?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because you didn't ask and Usagi was in no immediate danger. She needed time to think and I knew she would return. Question is, what do you plan on doing now that you've returned?"

"I plan on observing for now and go to college. I'm a sophmore."

"Who are you rooming with?" Haruka asked. "If you want, you can stay here with us instead of the dorms."

"I'll keep that in mind if I find I don't want to be with my room mates. I don't know who they are yet."

"Let's go shopping!" Michuru gleefully said. "We can talk about what you did why you were gone and why you left."

Usagi's face fell a little bit and they all wondered why. "I can't go with you today. I already promised mother that I would go with her to the mall. Can we go tomorrow or something, please?" She thought they would be mad at her, but when she looked up, she saw four smiling faces looking at her and knew that they would never be angry with her.

"Oh kitten, you know that we would do anything for you and if you made a promise, then keep it. We've waited this long to see you again, we can certaintly wait one more day."

Usagi waived good-bye to them and started running back home with the outer senshi looking sadly after her. They were glad she was back, but they didn't like the walls that surrounded the princess.

"I like to know what happened to our kitten!" Haruka shouted.

"She will tell us when she's ready. First she needs to know that we won't hurt her," Setsuna told them.

"Why would she think that?" Hotaru remembered Usagi and hated to see her so unhappy and unsure of where she stood with her friends.

"I bet the inner senshi are responsible for this."

"All will be revealed in time. I have to go back to the time gates."

"Why, what's the matter?"

"Some people I've been watching in the past have disappeared and now I have to find them again. That can take awhile. I hate it when I get suprises from people."

"Artemis, I'm hungry and thirsty. Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure."

Usagi stopped at the arcade she went to every day before she left and looked at how much it had faded. Walking in, Usagi noticed that their still wasn't a lot of people that came in and Motoki was standing behind the counter. He looked up when he saw an unfamiliar face come in and greeted her. "Welcome. Can I help you with something?"

"I can't believe you don't remember a faithful gamer, Motoki."

Motoki blinked and stared at the woman for several minutes trying to remember who she was. It was on the edge of his mind, but he was still having trouble, when he saw a cat behind her feet. "Usagi?"

"So, you do remember?"

"How could I forget? The whole city was frantic looking for you and had assumed the worst. If you didn't die or get kidnapped then where were you all this time?"

"Very, very lost Motoki. It's hard to explain it all now."

Motoki was walking around Usagi getting a good look at her. She was slightly taller, toned very nicely, and her hair had grown out to where she had no bangs and kept her hair in a pony tail. "Wow. I have to admit, with the tan and different hair style, I wouldn't have thought it was you unless you said something. Does your friends know you're back?"

"No and I don't want them to know. They're not my friends anymore Motoki and if you don't mind, can you not tell them or Mamoru?"

"Sure. What would you like to order?"

"A triple sundae, a coke, and some milk for Artemis."

"I thought you had a black cat?"

"I did, but I don't now."

Motoki and Usagi talked for several hours when eight people walked into the arcade that were also new. One looked a little on the green side and like he needed to see a doctor, but Motoki had learned not to point out these things to people. "Can I help you?"

Usagi turned around to get a look at the people, when her whole body stiffened at one person. He was tall, had hair that went in every direction and a smile that said everything. However, she knew not to underestimate his gentle nature, because in his eyes she saw the potential savagery. "He looks like Goku in the history books..." She whispered. He turned to look at her and she blushed somehow getting the feeling he had heard her. 'He was on the other side of the room! How could he have heard me?' His gaze was intense and bore right through her, but he did and said nothing as her eyes remained locked with him.

Artemis, drinking his milk by Usagi, glanced up when he noticed that she had quit talking, eating and paying attention to her food. He saw who she was looking at, but didn't understand why she was blushing bright red. "Meow..." He didn't want to talk in front of these people. Usagi, blinked and looked down to see her friend staring at her and she blushed a brighter shade of red than she was a second ago.

"Usagi," Motoki asked, "Are you ok? You aren't sick are you?"

"No. I'll see you later. Remember what I said and not tell the others I'm back."

"I will."

After she had left, five of the eight walked up to the counter to order some food. "We want 50 hamburgers, milk shakes, fries, ice-cream and anything else you might have."

Motoki thought he was joking, but the expressions on their faces told him they weren't. He quietly took their money and their orders and was hoping the day would end soon. "Give me a few minutes and I'll have your orders out."

"What the hell were you looking at Kakarot?"

"That girl said my name."

"The blond woman. You're imagining things. How the hell would she know who you are?"

"I know what I heard Vegeta and she said I looked like Goku in the history books. She never took her eyes off of me and then went three shades of red and quickly left."

"Well, you are famous, dad. You won the martial arts tournament when you were a teenager, remember. That made the history books, because I read about it in school. There were also mentions of the Z senshi, not their names, against some of our enemies."

"I didn't know that." Kakarot looked where the young woman had gone and wanted to talk to her.

"You haven't been here more than three days, and you're already turning your head at women. You're as bad as that human Yamcha."

"I am not. She struck my interest and if you don't mind, drop it!" The snarl that came from Goku caused his companions to take a step back. They weren't expecting him so agressive suddenly, but his eyes had flared with a hint of red and his tail twitched slightly. He decided he wasn't that hungry and went for a walk.

As he walked down the streets of Tokyo he noticed that the young woman was sitting on a bench across from the shop talking to her cat. Curious, he walked up to her and smiled warmly at her. "Hello."

Usagi was in her own world when a shadow loomed over her. She screamed when he said something, and nearly fell over the bench. He had caught her easily, unaware that he was holding her around the waist possessively. "Thank you. What do you want?"

Kakarot had to admit, that wasn't the sort of thing he expected from her. 'What did I expect?' "I was taking a walk and noticed you sitting here. Was I mistaken or did you say Goku in the arcade?"

If she could have gone any paler, he could have mistaken her for a ghost. "You heard me? I didn't know if that was your name. The guy I was refering to lived a thousand years ago. Excuse me, I have to get home."

As she tried to walk past him, he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him. "Wait! What kind of an answer is that? I said you called out his name, but my name is Kakarot. I use to go by that name, but changed it. Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just curious."

Anger flushed her cheeks and she growled at Kakarot. He forced himself not to smile, strangely attracted to her aggressiveness. "I don't have to answer, nor do I want to. I don't know you and as far as I'm concerned you can go to hell. Now get out of my way so I can go home, before you really manage to tick me off!"

Kakarot raised a brow, but let her go and smiled. 'That girl has a lot of fire in her.' He didn't realize that his body was trembling from excitement and he wanted to continue the converstaion with Usagi. "We'll meet again."

Usagi was fuming as she went home. "The nerve of that guy!" She tried hard to forget about him, but his face kept floating in front of her and realized she may have a problem. 'I don't need this aggravation. He's like everyone else and will only hurt me.' After she had gone shopping with her mother, she started setting up things for school and wondered if things were going to start getting better for her. She was so lonely and longed to have the friends she had at one time, but she quickly dismissed the idea and combed her hair before she went to bed.

Dormitory

Ami, Rei, Makato, and Minako were already set up in their dorm rooms to get ready for their first year of college. They were told that one more student would be joining them from America and waited anxiously for her to appear.

"Did you girls here that we're going to have a girl from America staying with us?" Minako asked her friends.

"Yeah. Hope she's nice." Makoto was always looking for a good sparring partner and now was no different. "Still won't replace Usagi though."

Rei sighed and was laying on her bed, faced away from the other girls deeply depressed. She was the one that started the argument that day in the shrine and never got over the guilt. What kind of senshi was she, if she couldn't even guard the princess of the moon right. All the girls were depressed about the disappearance of Usagi and Luna moped around with sad and old eyes.

Ami was reading ahead for her first few weeks of school so that she wouldn't be falling behind. "The reports that I received from other students and the computer, say that she is the top student in her class and that she was accepted into several different colleges, but chose to come to this one."

"Wow, Ames, you finally have competition!" Makoto cried out.

Ami laughed and smiled at her friends. "I don't mind. It would be good to have someone to compare my notes with and to compete. However, she's already one grade a head of all of us and probably won't see her much. Also, I heard that some other top minds had recently enrolled in the school for the first time this semester. Five men; Kakarot, Vegeta, Trunks, Gohan and Goten had registered into this school with the highest marks you can possibly get on every exam. From what I heard, they breezed through those exams in less than an hour and were eating lunch by noon."

"It doesn't matter," Rei said out of the blue. "What good is all of this without Usagi? The new girl can be as nice as she can be, smart, or even strong, but the fact remains that the princess is no longer with us and it's our fault. Excuse me, but I don't feel like this is a good time to be cheerful." Rei got up from her bed, walked into her room, and shut the door behind her.

A tear slipped down their faces as the painful truth hit home. Rei had become very moody, but the girls stuck by her afraid to let another friend go the way Usagi did. They had to stop the priestess from commiting suicide more than once and they wanted things to be happy again. "Oh, Usagi. Come back to us," Ami begged.

Haruka was racing through town with Usagi and Michuru. They decided to take Usagi to the college themselves and give her a tour of the place. She received her schedule and walked behind her friends when she crashed into someone full force, but instead of him falling backwards she landed on her rear, and cried out in pain.

The person she had run into, leaned over her and had a hint of laughter in his voice. "Try looking next time; it might not be so painful." She looked up and scowled.

"Get out of my way next time."

Kakarot offered her his hand to help her up, but she ignored it and got up on her own. His son Gohan was standing to the side, laughing at his father's attempts fail on someone that didn't want his help. "Hey, I wasn't the one reading a piece of paper while I was walking. I'm sorry if I hurt you, but you need to loosen up."

Haruka was about to step in and help her kitten, when a hand stopped her. Michuru shook her head, "let Usagi handle this. If she needs our help we can step in."

Usagi started to storm off when another laugh made her stop. "Don't forget this or you may get lost, or forget where your classes are."

"What do you specialize in, being a jerk?"

That remark hit home and Usagi thought she may have went to far when the smile left his face and he glared at her. "If I'm not mistaken, I'm not the one being a cold, hearted, bitch. Take a look in the mirror and maybe you'll see what I'm talking about. You fell down and I was being kind enough to help you up, but you ignored my help, stuck your nose in the air at me and now you're blaming me for what was clearly your fault. I'm not angry about you running into me, but I am angry that you are labeling a man before you know anything about him!"

Usagi blanched as each sentence hit home and made her look at herself for the first time in three years. 'Had she become what he said she was?' Haruka circled her waist and growled at Kakarot.

"Look, we have to get going so she can find her classes. Kitten lets go." Usagi looked at Kakarot and his eyes softened when he saw them trembling with hidden tears.

'Maybe I was a little too harsh with her. I can feel the pain and confusion in her.' "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said those things. I tend to be a little insensitive when I'm angry."

"No. You're right. Look, I need to go." She didn't cry like he thought she would, but he could tell that she wanted to. Turning her back she joined the two women with her and walked away, leaving Kakarot in a state of confusion.

"Dad?" Gohan asked him.

Kakarot didn't hear him, his thoughts miles away. At first glance, Usagi appeared to be cold and uncaring. However, after watching her last reaction, he came under the impression there were mental walls surrounding the woman that were so thick that he knew it would take a miracle to break them down. The two women appeared to be very protective of her, but did the woman have anyone she could talk to. She didn't seem to be phased by his masculinity either. What he could remember was women fawning over him in the past and even now, but she didn't. Even, the other Saiya-jins were having problems keeping the unwanted attention of women away from them.

"Dad!" Kakarot shook himself out of his trance and looked at his son.

"What?"

"Are you ok? I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes. If I didn't know better, I would say you're interested in that girl. Forget about her. It's obvious she doesn't or will not ever care about you."

"Why do you say that?" Kakarot quietly asked his son.

Gohan looked at his father to see that his eyes had changed to a lethal expression again. "Nothing dad. Come on. We're suppose to go get our dorm room and class schedules today." He made a mental note to talk to Vegeta about his father's mood swings lately.