Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for the follows, favorites, and kind comments. It definitely motivates me to continue writing, editing, and updating! You get two updates today - Chapter 4 Part A & Part B. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 4: Forget Me Not, Part A

When Usagi woke up her bed, she was truly shocked. Her head still nestled against her plush white pillows, she glanced at the time and realized that it was almost 8:30am. For the first time in almost two years, she had slept all the way through the night (and then some). She closed her eyes again and smiled with relief. When she breathed in, she could smell the gentle, floral smell of the incense burner on the bedside table.

She opened her eyes and sat up against the large, fluffy pillows. With care, she took the lid off of the small red pot and set it down gently on the nightstand with a soft clink. Her chest felt light and the smile on her face grew wider as her eyes settled on the rolled up piece of paper that wasn't there when she went to bed.

Usagi,

If given the chance, we would do it all over again.

Healer, Maker, Fighter

Usagi wasn't sure why, but that short message brought tears to her eyes and a lump to her throat. Her finger traced every individual signature before closing her eyes, picturing the determined looks on their battered faces as they fought Galaxia. It had taken her so long to realize it, but she felt that she was responsible for what the Starlights had gone through. She was so determined to not use violence against Chaos that Fighter, Maker, and Healer had nearly died protecting her. She knew that Seiya cared for her, but knowing that Taiki and Yaten didn't hold animosity toward her chipped away at some of the guilt that had been surrounding her heart.

When dark hair and a crimson red suit jacket flashed across her mind, she decided it was time to get out of bed. As she pulled clothes from her drawer, she noticed the smell from the burner was strong again, just like it had been this morning. With curious eyes, she crossed the room to check it again, and was happy to see another rolled up note.

There's only one girl I can think of who I'd consider doing a Three Lights reunion for.

I'm so happy that we can communicate! What are you doing today?

Seiya

Usagi smiled softly and grabbed her pen, this time, simply writing on the back of Seiya's note before sending it back. As she and Seiya corresponded back and forth for the next hour, she thought of how it felt like a more intimate version of texting. She loved feeling the weight of the messages in her hand, and she felt that her words — even if they were just small talk — were more sincere when she took the time to write them with a pen, rather then the quickness of a text message. Since Mamoru left for America, she sent the occasional letter, postcard, or care package, but their main way of communicating across the Pacific ocean was by email. It could have just been the magical novelty of the incense burner, but this felt a little more special.

After rolling up her latest message and covering it with the lid to the burner, she reached for her phone and sent a group text to Minako, Makoto, Rei, and Ami stating simply: It works both ways!

Within seconds Minako replied with a string of heart-emojis longer than the message itself.

Yaaaaaaaay! Tell Yaten-kun I miss him!

Good work, Usagi-chan! Wrote Ami.

Makoto's message, "Tell them to visit us soon!" came in a few moments later.

Usagi wasn't surprised that Rei did not respond.

What did surprise her, was a call from Rei later that afternoon. Usagi watched her phone vibrate against the metal table in the courtyard of her college, debating whether to answer. Sometimes the ring of her phone - a request for contact, felt more like a demand on her energy. She fought a mental battle with the part of herself that wanted to avoid, and finally, picked up the phone.

"Usagi-chan," Rei gasped, as if surprised, like she called the wrong person.

"Rei-chan?"

"I didn't expect you to answer."

There was a long pause, where all Usagi could hear was static.

"I spent all morning mediating," Rei began in a hushed voice, as if worried someone would hear, "And I wanted to call you to say that I'm sorry."

This phone call was full of surprises. Usagi's eyebrows rose and her eyes widened. "What?"

"I was harsh yesterday, Usagi-chan. Too harsh." Usagi could imagine that her dark-haired friend's violet eyes were shimmering with tears. "I miss you, Usagi-chan. And I was angry that you only called us together because of Seiya,"

"Not just because of Seiya-"

"Just let me finish, Usagi-chan. I was angry and I took it out on you. And I... don't be upset, Usagi-chan, but I thought of Seiya and how much he loved you,"

"I know-"

"And I just don't want it all to happen again. You might feel vulnerable now that you're alone, and I didn't want him to take advantage of that. Your life is so perfect, Usagi-chan, and I just," she paused, and Usagi did her best to bite her tongue. Her perfect life had been chosen for her, dropped on her lap when she was only fourteen.

"What I mean to say, Usagi-chan, is that I want the best for you, and I'm sorry." Rei's voice was even softer now, struggling to get through the tears, "I don't want to push you away."

"Thank you, Rei-chan." Usagi looked at a few familiar faces filing into the building ahead of her, then looked down at her watch. "It means a lot to me that you called. I know this wasn't easy for you."

There was silence, and Usagi imagined the other woman was smiling.

"When you send your next message, please tell Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki that I miss them too."

As the days passed, Usagi got more into the habit of checking the incense burner when she was at home. She was sensitive to its sweet smell, and sometimes when her mind was quiet, she could feel a soft pulse of warm magic in her chest when a new message arrived. Even if she didn't feel the presence of the message, she found herself doubling back to check the burner on her way to class, or stopping by her apartment in between classes just to make sure she didn't miss anything. As she sat in her usual seat during her weekly Sunday night dinner with her parents and little brother, she found her mind wandering toward the magical object in her room that let her communicate across space.

"You seem tired, honey," Usagi's mother, Ikuko, observed gently as she walked her daughter to her husband's car. Kenji, Usagi's father, made it a point to pick up his daughter up and bring her to dinner. That seemed to be the only way he could keep her from backing out of it. At first, he was offended by how little time Usagi spent with her family. After all, even though his daughter's fiancé promised to take care of her, the Tsukinos still contributed financially so that Usagi wouldn't worry about working while she was in school. When Usagi decided she wanted to go to school so that she could work with children, her family had a meeting and discussed how best to make it work.

"I try really hard to focus, I promise, but sometimes it's hard," Usagi had admitted through tears.

They decided that to give Usagi the best chance, she would only work when school wasn't in session.

When Kenji noticed that he saw even less of his young daughter than he expected, he felt upset. When she skipped her third scheduled family dinner, Kenji called her with a voice soaked in disappointment, telling her that it was time for her to pack up and come home.

"It's not you, dad. I promise," she said. "I'm just so tired from everything," she muttered, sounding defeated. She couldn't share her suffering with her family when there was so many layers to it.

"School can be exhausting, and you're trying so hard," he murmured. That was when they agreed that if Kenji picked her up, she would come.

Usagi smiled gently and nodded, "I've been working hard, Mama."

"I know, dear, and we're so proud of you," Ikuko said before kissing her daughter's forehead.

At first the process of sending a message to Kinmoku felt tiring. She found herself falling into a deep, restful sleep around eight o'clock at night — her mind and body drained from honing the silver crystal's powerful magic. It still felt that way, if she were honest with herself, but she also enjoyed her new connection with the crystal. Visualizing its clean, purifying magic and feeling it wash over her body was a soothing sensation. She felt like she was at peace. She thought of her friend Rei, who spent her time meditating in front of a fire. Usagi had tried meditating with her once, but every sound and itch distracted her, making it feel like wasted time she'd never get back. If it felt like this, she thought, I would have been doing this all along.

Sitting in front of her computer, she clicked and scrolled until she landed on Mamoru's last email to her. They sent brief check-ins back and forth, but she hadn't been able to find the words to explain exactly what her past week had been like.

Usagi started with what she thought would be easy, typing a short paragraph about seeing her family that weekend. They all send their love! she typed. Feeling warmed up, she began to type about the burner, but then stopped suddenly. She stared at the words on her screen for a long, drawn-out moment, and then roughly pressed her finger against the backspace key, holding it down until any mention of the burner, Kinmoku, or Fighter had disappeared.

Instead, she simply said: "Something exciting happened! I can't wait to tell you about it when you visit for Christmas! I'm counting down the days."

She couldn't pinpoint exactly why she didn't want to type it all in an email to Mamoru. I'm not keeping a secret, she said to herself firmly. I'm waiting until a better time. Who knows where this email could end up!

Soon enough, she was distracted by the smell of olives, and Usagi stopped worrying about telling Mamoru.