A New Life

by Serena530

The war is over. Voldemort has finally been defeated, but Harry has lost something precious. Following the words of a lost loved one he makes a major discovery about himself, and sets off on a new path. Warning: Long chapters inside.

8. Senshi Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Sailor Moon or any of their characters, and have no right to them except as a long time fan.

A New Life
Chapter Eight: Senshi Awakening

The day after Mamoru returned from England he resumed his schedule. He went to school, turning in all the homework he had been assigned for his days away, and afterward he went to the Crown cafe to meet up with Usagi.

He sat in the booth they always sat in and began to work on his French homework. He was determined to be completely fluent before the school year ended, which was when he was supposed to be good enough since it was only supposed to take that long.

Aside from gaining the accent and the normal flow of speech instead of slowness and hesitancy. He thought.

He was sure he didn't have that problem. Fleur had approved of his progress when it came to his writing the language, and after speaking to her only days ago she had approved of the way he spoke and his accent as well.

The only thing he would have to worry about once the end of the school year came was what language he would learn next. Maybe Latin to better his spell work or Italian or even Bulgarian to honor Victor Krum.

Maybe I'll get eccentric and try to learn Ancient Egyptian. He thought, and wondered vaguely if it would be easier now that he was learning Ancient Runes.

Mamoru wasn't exactly sure how much time passed as he focused on his homework, but the next thing he knew he was hearing the cafe door open and a familiar voice calling to him.

"Mamoru! You're back!" Usagi exclaimed, not caring that she was stating the obvious in her excitement.

Mamoru looked up to see Usagi walking toward him with bright eyes and a bright smile on her face.

"I said I would be." He said with a grin.

"I know, but still!" She said just before she reached him.

Usagi was so happy to see her friend/crush as she slid into the booth seat opposite him that she wanted to give him a big hug. She wanted to but she didn't, because she knew she had been lucky to get the hug she did when she had boldly hugged him before he had left on his trip.

"Did you enjoy your time with your family and friends?" She asked after she put her school bag down on the seat beside her.

"I did for the most part." Mamoru replied. "I told them that I'm now living here permanently. They were, unsurprisingly, surprised, and some weren't too happy about it."

"They didn't know?" Usagi asked in surprise.

"No. They had thought I was still traveling, and was just staying in Japan for a while." He explained.

Usagi nodded. That answered a question she had had before when he first told her about having decided only after having been here for some months that he would live here permanently.

She'd wondered if those he left behind in England knew he was living here and not just on an extended visit. Now she knew. They hadn't known until his trip back.

Mamoru was going to tell Usagi about ending his friendship with his former closest friends, but decided against it since he wanted to speak to his mind healer first about that situation.

I need to remember to tell her another time. He told himself. He thought the situation might be advice she could use if she ever found herself in a similar situation.

"Still, they were accepting of my decision, and only want me to keep in touch and visit, which I have no problem with." Mamoru said instead. "It was just good to see and speak to them in person."

"I'm glad you got to spend time with them, and that they accepted your decision to live here." Usagi said.

She couldn't imagine how they had felt hearing his news. To find that he wasn't just traveling anymore, but was now living in one of the destinations he had gone to must have been a shock.

"Me too." He agreed. "It wouldn't have stopped me, just as it didn't stop me from leaving in the first place, but it made for a more peaceful leaving."

"That's good." She said as she nodded, although she wondered if some of them had made his first leaving difficult.

"So, I brought back some things for you." Mamoru said as he lifted the bag that was beside him and sat it on the table in front of her. "It's not much, but I thought you might like them."

"Thank you." She said before she reached into the bag and pulled out something soft and squishy. "How cute!" She exclaimed as a tan colored teddy bear appeared. It had brown eyes and was wearing the red, blue, and white flag of Great Britain as a shirt.

"It's so soft!" Usagi said as she hugged it. She knew exactly where it was going. It was going to be living on her bed resting against her pillow; joining the white and lavender rabbit that currently lived there.

She sat the bear on her lap and reached into the bag again and moved her hand around until she came into contact with the only other thing in there. She grabbed it and pulled it out, and gasped to see what it was.

"Oh! Is this the Ferris wheel you told me about?" She asked as she looked at the blue and clear snow globe.

Inside was the image of a Ferris wheel on a blue background with a bridge and a couple of buildings behind it. There were even tiny flags from other countries and some green trees, and at the bottom along the base was the name of the city London.

She shook it and smiled to see snow floating through the liquid.

"Yes. It is." He answered simply.

"Thank you." She said again as she looked at him softly.

"You're welcome." Mamoru said. "Alright, let's start on your English. What have you done while I've been gone?" He asked.

With that Usagi put her gifts back in the bag and put it aside then pulled out her English notes and homework, and began to explain what she had done and what she had to do that day.

Understanding where she was in her studies he helped her with her homework and reviewing her notes, and every other word he spoke was in English to further help her understanding while hearing the language spoken.

When she got confused he paused and let her puzzle it out while giving her hints until she understood the meaning of the word.

All while this was happening he was also working on his own language homework, and would tell Usagi about some of his French notes all while speaking in a mixture of English and Japanese.

He was slightly amused and pleased at himself. Looking back at his time at Hogwarts he could have never seen himself being bilingual let alone helping someone else become so while also working on learning yet another language.

Of course at the time he was more concerned with passing his classes so he could move on to his next year of schooling, and learning enough defensive spells to stay alive.

After they finished their language homework they moved on to their other homework, and worked on that until they agreed to stop. After that they left the cafe and Usagi wasted no time informing Mamoru that she had not forgotten that she was supposed to take him to a music store, and she intended to do that right now.

As they walked along sidewalk after sidewalk Mamoru realized wherever the store was they didn't need to take any buses to get to it since they were passing up bus stops. Altogether, it took about fifteen minutes to reach the store, but it didn't seem long since they chatted about some of the things they had done over the days they were separate the entire time.

The outside of the store looked very simple yet looking at the windows he saw posters of who he guessed were popular singers, groups, and bands.

As soon as they entered the store Mamoru was amazed at how much there was. Looking at the signs closest to him as they moved further in he could see that there were CDs, older vinyl albums, even newer music that was specifically made into vinyl albums, and cassette tapes.

As he looked around and listened to Usagi he began to understand that there were different types of music, and there were so many types of each with different singers and writers that there was always bound to be a song or album that a person could relate to. Some singers apparently also had translations of whole albums, and there were even sections with music from different countries.

With her explanations in mind he began to listen to different types of music since the store had options of sample clips and whole songs. He walked around the store and paused here and there and picked up a pair of headphones sitting there, and put them on before he pressed a button for a particular song.

He listened to many songs in Japanese in different types of genres, and he found he liked them okay before he drifted over to the international section. He sampled Italian opera, English R&B, rock, and rap, American country, and French pop, and a couple of songs that had a mix of two languages in them, but mostly focused on English language songs since it was his first language.

There were many songs he liked or at least they appealed to his ears. He was also surprised at some of the words, or lyrics as a sign said, that made up the songs. Some embarrassed him when he got pass the rhythm and melody enough to pay attention to them, and others relaxed him or reminded him of various situations he had been in with people. Some even reminded him of his time with Ginny.

A foreign beauty so exotic
When she smiled at me, she took my breath away
She's reminiscent of a goddess
It's a shame that we could not communicate
How do I say...

How do I say hello? I just wanna talk to you
How do I say you're beautiful when I can't take my eyes off you?
I don't wanna say the wrong thing, I wanna use the right words to impress you
My baby, how do I say, how do I say
How do I say?(1)

The first thing that came to Mamoru's mind at hearing the lyrics was Usagi's name. Him being in a foreign country, at least as far as his sensibilities were concerned, even though it was his birth country, and her being attractive in various degrees.

First with her long golden hair and its intriguing style, clear blue eyes, soft soothing voice, and then the physical attraction at seeing her in her Sailor Moon persona.

She is definitely an exotic foreign beauty as far as I'm concerned. He thought before he stopped the song and forced his mind away from that train of thought.

He decided to try another song by the same singer since he liked the rhythm and melody of the song even though he didn't like where it took his mind.

I don't really care
How long you've been together with your man
It's just a matter of time
Before I make you mine
I wanna make it clear
So there's no misunderstandings
That I get, what I want
When I want

If I wanted, I could take you from your man
(please believe it)
With my eyes closed, I could have you eating out the palm of my hand
And all your little girlfriends, too
(No you can't, you're a playa, I don't want you)
Yes I can, and I will if I, if I want to
If I, if I want to, baby
If I wanted, I could take you from your man
(please believe it)
With my eyes closed, I could have you eating out the palm of my hand
And all your little girlfriends, too
(No you can't, you're a playa, I don't want you)
Yes I can, and I will if I, if I want to
If I, if I want to, baby(2)

Mamoru's eyebrows rose sharply in surprise at the lyrics. He figured the song must be to inspire confidence, or for those who managed to find themselves with actual experience with such a situation, but he couldn't deny a part of him strangely agreed with the words, which he thought really was strange since he had definitely never been in such a situation and had never felt that type of confidence with girls.

Strange. He thought as he put down the headphones and moved on to another section to sample yet another song. He picked up the headphones and put them on before he pressed the button for a random song.

There is so much a man can tell you
So much he can say
You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?

But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can't be seen?

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey(3)

He liked the song. He didn't know why he liked it. Maybe it was the rhythm and flow of the lyrics, the lyrics themselves, or the melody, but either way he enjoyed the song.

He listened to the sample clip a few more times before he put the headphones down and moved on to another section. He scanned what was available until his eyes caught sight of something that was in another language aside from the English, Japanese, or the French he was learning.

He picked up the headphones near it and put them over his ears before he pressed the button to see what came out.

I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe

La luce che tu hai
I pray we'll find your light

Nel cuore resterà
And hold it in our hearts

A ricordarci che
When stars go out each night

L'eterna stella sei

Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer

Quanta fede c'è
When shadows fill our day

Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Sogniamo un mondo senza più violenza
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace, di fraternità(4)

Mamoru hummed thoughtfully, and pressed the button to repeat the sample. He had never heard Italian before, and he liked the sound of it. He also liked the classical opera sound of it, and imagined he might like going to see an opera because of it.

Maybe Italian will be my next language to learn after all. He considered as he closed his eyes to take in the sound of the language better, and vaguely wondered if it would be possible to learn Italian and Latin at the same time since one descended from the other.

Uasgi put the headphones that she had been wearing down and looked around for Mamoru. The rows and displays of music were only about waist or chest high, aside from the shelves against the walls, so she spotted him fairly quickly. He was standing next to a section in one of the rows just pressing one of the buttons for a song, so she made her way over to him.

"How are you finding things?" She asked as she reached him.

"Good. I think I might have found the next language I want to learn." He admitted as he listened to what remained of the sample.

"Wow. Another one?" She said in surprise, and watched as he smiled slightly and shrugged.

"Yeah." He answered.

Mamoru didn't know why he was suddenly wanting to learn languages. He had learned Japanese because it was the language in his birth country, and because he wanted to understand what people were saying when he came here. Then he had decided to learn French because he was going to take all of the non-magical classes Mahoutokoro had to offer and that included a foreign language class.

Japanese and French I can see myself using since I'm living here and I see Fleur as a sister, but I can't see when I would use Italian or any of the other languages I'm considering learning. He thought.

Well, Bulgarian I can see using if I got in touch with Victor Krum. He thought as the song sample ended.

"Come on, let's see what else there is." He said as he put the headphones down.

"Sure." She replied, still surprised that he wanted to learn another language.

They stepped over to another section and Mamoru scanned the available samples before he picked up the headphones. He put them on and pressed the button for a random song from an album with a woman on the cover.

From this moment, life has begun
From this moment, you are the one
Right beside you is where I belong
From this moment on
From this moment, I have been blessed
I live only for your happiness
And for your love, I'd give my last breath
From this moment on

I give my hand to you with all my heart
I can't wait to live my life with you, can't wait to start
You and I will never be apart
My dreams came true because of you

From this moment, as long as I live
I will love you, I promise you this
There is nothing I wouldn't give
From this moment on(5)

Mamoru closed his eyes and grimaced before he snatched the headphones off his head. The song sounded like it belonged in a wedding or some other romantic situation, and it immediately brought Ginny to his mind.

That was the last thing he wanted right now. It was a nice song, but not an influence his mind needed right now.

"What's wrong?" Usagi asked him with a slight frown as she watched him.

"Nothing." He said as he put the headphones down. "Just a song I don't need to be listening to right now." He added before he stepped away.

Usagi frowned a little more before curiosity got the better of her. She picked up the headphones and put them on before she pressed the button for the sample song he had been listening to.

Immediately she realized it was English so she focused hard on the words to try to understand, and after listening to it four times through she blushed as she finally realized the gist of what the song was about. She could clearly understand why he wouldn't want to listen to such a song.

Mamoru turned and looked back to Usagi to see her with the headphones he had put down on her head, holding them to her ears with her eyes closed, and her face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to understand the song he had heard.

A fond smile unconsciously rose to his face as he gazed at her. He couldn't help thinking she was cute in that moment with how hard she was concentrating.

I wonder if listening to music in English would help her with learning the language. He wondered, switching his thoughts away from her attractiveness as his eyes flicked from her face to the headphones she wore and back again.

He definitely could have used that method instead of sitting in the Japantown plaza back in London or in addition to that since he believed hearing different people speaking about different things had exposed him to a wider range of words.

Would that method actually help me with learning my next language? He wondered as he glanced around toward some of the areas where he had listened to songs.

It very well could. He thought as he looked back to Usagi.

He decided in that moment he would get the music he had liked, and find himself a CD player so he could listen to them.

I'll also have to figure out how to pipe the music into the rooms or a single room of my apartment on command instead of blasting music throughout the apartment just to hear it in a different room than the living room. He thought as he watched Usagi's face. He didn't want to do that, and he didn't want to expose Helios to that assault either.

Usagi opened her eyes and could feel herself redden more as she saw Mamoru watching her with a smile. She was happy about the smile he was directing at her, but didn't want to call attention to it and make it go away.

"What?" She said instead as she took off the headphones.

"Nothing." Mamoru said as he shrugged. "I was just wondering if listening to music in English would help you with learning the language."

"It's possible." She said thoughtfully. "I usually memorize the words to songs I like without even realizing it. I guess it's the melody and the repetitiveness of it, so I could see that working. Especially if it forces me to learn the meaning of the words."

"Okay. We should both keep that in mind then." He said, and she nodded thoughtfully as she followed him as he began to walk off.

"So I've decided I'm going to get the music I liked, and I guess the album they're part of." He informed her as they walked back toward the sections where he had been sampling music. "Did you find anything you wanted?" He asked curiously.

"No. There's nothing I don't already have, and nothing new I heard that I actually want." Usagi said as they paused at a section of music.

"Are you sure?" He asked, glancing to her before he looked back to the section and grabbed the CD that had one of the songs he had liked.

"Yes." She assured him as she nodded.

"Getting these means I'm going to have to get something to listen to them on." He said as they moved toward the next section. "I might as well get a radio while I'm at it."

"Today?" She asked curiously as she watched him pause and look at the music in front of him.

"Yeah. There's no reason to delay." He said as he dragged a finger along the CDs until he found the one that had another song he liked.

"Then we need to hit the mall next. I know just the place that will have what you're looking for." Usagi said cheerfully, happy to help him with this.

"Good. I'm definitely going to need your help finding what I need." Mamoru said as he moved along to another section where he had been sampling music.

The only radio he'd seen up close was one Dudley had gotten for his birthday, Mamoru's birthday to be exact. He'd been made to sit and watch as it was unwrapped by the overweight boy as a gift to him, and cruel punishment to Mamoru for some supposed freakishness he had performed.

After Mamoru finished getting the CDs of the music he had liked they moved around listening to more samples until he ended up with CDs of more singers as well as some classical instrumental music and Italian opera.

Once he bought the CDs they left the store and made their way to the mall, a place he had been shown by both Usagi and Motoki at different times and to different degrees.

An almost thirty minute bus ride later found them at the mall and Usagi guiding Mamoru to the store he needed to find a radio and CD player. As they walked along the second floor of the mall they passed a jewelry store, and Mamoru made a note of the name and location so he could come back later and search it for the silver crystal.

They reached a department store that he had never been inside, and as he followed Usagi through the store he understood there were different sections. A clothing section, split into men's, women's, young adult, and children, shoe section, food section, book section, home section, beauty section, furniture section, toy section, movie and DVD section, and an electronic section.

The electronic section was where Usagi led him and it had everything from TVs to computers to cameras to DVD players to radios.

"Here we are." Usagi said as she gestured toward the row of displayed radios and CD players.

Mamoru looked at each of the devices as he slowly walked along the row, Usagi following curiously, and ultimately decided to get a combined radio CD player so he focused on those devices.

"I like this one." He said as he stopped in front of a black device with gold accents. The main part, the radio CD player part, was in a rounded flat square shape, and it had two large speakers with it as well as a remote control.

"I think it would go well in your living room." Usagi said as she remembered the colors she had seen the one time she had been there.

"Then I'll get it." He said before he leaned down and grabbed one of the boxes of the device underneath the display. It was a bit heavy, but after catching Usagi while she was falling through the air he had no problem with it.

They made their way to the front of the store where the cash registers were, and went to the one with the shortest line. Within minutes he had bought the radio CD player and he and Usagi were headed out of the store. They made their way back through the mall toward the exit, and once outside they headed for the bus stop.

The box Mamoru carried was a bit cumbersome, but he dealt with it knowing that as soon as he parted from Usagi he could shrink it. Or if he couldn't find a place to do it without being seen he could just drop it off at home.

"So are going to go home now?" Usagi asked with a light sigh as they reached the bus stop.

"Yeah. I certainly don't want to carry this around." Mamoru answered as he gestured toward the radio CD player box he had sat on the ground at his feet. "And I definitely don't want to drop it."

"Is it heavy?" She asked as she looked down at the box.

"It is, but nothing I can't manage." He said. "It would just get tiring after a while."

Usagi nodded and sighed sadly that they would be parting ways earlier than usual.

Mamoru smiled slightly, knowing her well enough to know that she didn't want to separate from him yet.

"What do you plan on doing when you get home?" He asked to try to distract her.

"I'll probably finish off my homework, eat a snack, and watch some TV or read a manga." She answered. "What about you?"

"I'll set up this," He said as he gestured to the radio CD player. "and listen to some music while I finish my homework and do some studying. And I'll probably eat at some point. Nothing very interesting." He said with a shrug. Of course practicing his wandless magic would be interesting, but he couldn't tell her that.

"It sounds like we both are going to have a boring evening." Usagi said.

Before Mamoru could say anything the bus came and they got on, paid their fare, and found a two seater seat and sat side by side. He adjusted his school bag and the box on his lap, and looked to Usagi and lightly bumped his shoulder with hers.

"We may have a boring evening but what can we do about it? I'm sure you'll find some way to entertain yourself." He said.

"What about you? You can't entertain yourself?" She asked, and watched him shrug.

"I'll be fine with doing just my homework and listening to music. It's what I've been doing all these months. Well except for the music part. I would usually watch TV. Either way I'll be fine; I'm boring like that." He said.

"You're not boring. You're dedicated to your studies. You can easily go to the movies or..or go do something else, but you choose to stay home and work toward your goal of being a doctor." Usagi said.

She watched him smile with the slight smile she had become used to, and wondered when she would see him smile widely. Perhaps when part of him was no longer so sad inside.

"I have been known for my single-minded focus when I'm passionate about something." Mamoru admitted. "Although, I don't know if that's a good thing." He added, remembering the times he had been focused on something that was dangerous. The Philosopher's Stone being the first of them.

"Maybe sometimes it might not have been a good thing, but I think it's possible those times could have led to good things or important things that wouldn't have happened or you wouldn't have learned about if you hadn't been focused on them in the first place." She said as she idly tapped on her school bag.

"So I think it's a good thing overall, and I admire that about you." She added.

Mamoru hummed thoughtfully as he took in her words. He thought she was right. When he remembered back on his experiences it made sense.

If he hadn't been focused on the Philosopher's Stone he wouldn't have found out when he did that Voldemort was truly still alive and trying to get his body back, and if he hadn't followed the spiders into the forest he wouldn't have met Aragog and learned the truth of Hagrid's innocence when it came to the beast that killed Myrtle.

If he hadn't been focused on eavesdropping on the professors back in the Hogshead who knows when he would have learned that Sirius was his godfather. When he was fifteen he had been focused on a lot of things, but it all ultimately lead to him learning why his parents died and why Voldemort had been after him.

The next year he had been focused on proving that Draco Malfoy was a death eater and trying to contain his feelings for an unavailable Ginny, and ultimately got her as his girlfriend and proved that the blond was in fact a death eater.

Then he'd been focused on finding the Horcruxes and learning about the Deathly Hallows, and that knowledge had helped him when he fought against Voldemort in the final battle.

He especially was glad he had been so focused on the Deathly Hallows. At the time it had been a combination of curiosity, distraction, and urge that had him focused on them.

"I think you're right." Mamoru said as he nodded slowly. "There are things I wouldn't have learned at the time or at all if I hadn't been so focused."

"I also think you might have the same focus for things you're passionate about, and I like that about you." He added. He knew she was certainly focused on her feelings for him, and she was focused on learning the English language.

Usagi smiled and looked down. "Thank you." She said softly.

She wanted to grin, smile widely, and squeal happily at the compliment, but she kept herself composed and quiet. She didn't want to upset him or make him uncomfortable with a display like that. Even though she was certain he knew about her feelings for him, and she had an inkling that he returned them in some way, she was aware that he still felt too much for his lost girlfriend to act on them.

Be patient. Just be his friend, and enjoy that friendship. She told herself before she peeked over at him. And continue to let him know your feelings are still here.

"You're welcome." He replied kindly. "So what are we going to do tomorrow?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Ah! I have an idea, but I'm not sure I'm going to go with it or something else." Usagi said cheerfully. "If I do go with it then I think we're going to have fun."

"Sounds interesting." Mamoru said with a nod. "But I can't know what it is can I?"

"Nope! That would ruin the surprise." She answered with a grin. "Just know that it's something we haven't done yet."

"Ugh! I can't even guess since there's still a lot I haven't done." He said.

"You'll just have to wait and see." She said with a light laugh as he hummed and nodded in agreement. "So is there anything we've done that you want to do again any time soon?"

"I liked roller skating and the wall climbing." Mamoru said. "The amusement park too, but that's different than the other two activities."

"Well I can say that if I decide against what I have planned then I'll go with either the roller skating or wall climbing since I liked those too." Usagi said with a serious nod.

"I can't wait to find out what you're going to decide on." He said.

She smiled but before she could say anything she saw that their stop was coming up. She quickly rang the bell which in turn alerted Mamoru that their stop was coming since he looked around quickly.

The bus arrived at their stop and they stood up and filed off when the doors opened. They moved away from the bus and closer to the building they were in front of and out of the way of foot traffic before they looked to each other.

"I had a good time as usual even if our time was shorter than usual." Mamoru said as he shifted his school bag to his side so it wouldn't be in the way of the box he held.

"Me too." Usagi agreed.

"So I'll see you tomorrow." He half said half asked.

"Yup! Same time same place." She said as she nodded.

"Alright. Stay safe." He said.

"I will. You too." She said.

"I will. Bye." He said.

"Bye." Usagi said before she smiled and turned and began to walk away, not wanting to watch him walk away from her.

Mamoru turned after watching Usagi for a few moments, and began to head in the direction he usually went when he was looking to Apparate home. As he walked he subtly cast a wandless notice-me-not charm on himself, and slipped into a narrow side alley.

He wasted no time shrinking the box down and placed it in his school bag with the CDs he had bought. Then with the charm still surrounding him he Apparated to a spot he had seen near the mall where no one had been standing or walking; mostly because it housed a dumpster.

He walked out of the area and wandlessly cancelled the charm around him, so he would blend among the people walking along the sidewalk.

I wonder what the chances of me finding the silver crystal are. He thought as he walked toward the mall since he intended to head to the jewelry store he had seen earlier.

I haven't had any luck before, but who kn… His thought trailed off as he spotted a shocking sight.

A woman stood next to a young man looking at him sadly. There was nothing surprising there. Two people standing together was normal. She was sad and that was unfortunate, but not anything out of the norm.

What was shocking was that she was not a living breathing flesh and blood person. She was a ghost. She looked like all the ghosts he had gotten used to seeing at Hogwarts; in color yet transparent, and very much a ghost.

It was unexpected and surprising. It was also the first time he had seen a ghost outside of Hogwarts, not counting his use of the Resurrection Stone, and he didn't understand how or why it was happening.

And why is it happening now? I didn't see any ghosts earlier. He thought as he stared at the transparent woman. Or was I just so focused on Usagi and what we were doing that I didn't notice? Or maybe she's just truly the first one I've seen since I can't imagine being so unaware that I would miss something like that.

Mamoru was inclined to believe it was his last thought, because he quite honestly couldn't bring himself to be so unaware of his surroundings. When they walked or were on the bus his eyes were on a swivel, not just to see the sights, but to take in everything going on around him. He couldn't have possibly missed seeing a ghost.

Could this be connected with why Icould see certain ghosts at Hogwarts while others couldn't? He wondered as he walked, coming closer to the ghost in his path.

Of course he was still clueless as to why he could see ghosts that others couldn't at the castle nor why the castle called him Master. So if it was connected he had no idea why any of these things were happening to him.

Suddenly the ghost woman looked directly at him, as if she had sensed him, and curtsied to him. He blinked in surprise and nodded his head as she straightened. She looked back to the young man sadly and he continued on his path and walked pass her.

His eyes flickered to the people along the sidewalk in front of him and across the street to the sidewalk there but he saw no more ghosts.

But I didn't see them right away at Hogwarts either. He reminded himself as he walked.

Mamoru reached the front of the mall and pulled open one of the doors before he stepped inside. He moved toward the escalator and as he rode the moving stairs he idly looked around, and paused as he saw two kids on the ground floor that he had just come from.

They were laughing and running after each other in some type of game of tag completely unnoticed by everyone walking around down there. Suddenly they stopped and looked directly up at him, as if they had sensed his eyes on them, and bowed and curtsied.

He nodded in acknowledgment when they straightened and looked at him, not knowing what else to do, and they smiled and waved before they went back to their playing.

He watched them for a few moments and turned his attention to what was going on in front of him as he reached the top of the escalator.

Could this have anything to do with being the Master of Death and keeper of the Deathly Hallows? He wondered, the idea suddenly occurring to him, as he stepped off the escalator and began to make his way toward the jewelry store.

After all, there had to be something to the whole Master of Death title besides just having the Hallows and being able to say that was what you were.

And I honestly haven't tried to find out since I've been focused on getting settled into life after Hogwarts and Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He thought as he walked, his eyes looking for the store.

Mamoru knew that according to legend the Hallows were supposedly created by Death, and whoever possessed all three artifacts would become the Master of Death.

He could definitely believe that Death had created them. They were too powerful to have been created by some incredibly powerful wizard or witch, even Merlin, but he highly doubted the title Master of Death was literal. Death could not be controlled; it could only be accepted as inevitable.

However, if they were truly created by Death itself then there is a possibility that having all of the Hallows could allow the keeper to come into contact with and speak to Death. He considered as he finally reached the store.

As he entered the store he pushed the thought aside for another time and focused on his task of searching for the silver crystal.

He looked at rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces with diamonds, white gemstones, and clear gemstones. Unfortunately none of them looked like what he imagined the silver crystal to look like. He didn't even get the sense that any of them could be the crystal.

He sighed and turned to leave but stopped suddenly as he caught sight of a necklace. He moved toward it for a better look, and saw that it was a rose gold necklace pendant combination.

The delicate chain was attached to the wings of an outline of a butterfly, inside yet raised as if it was pulling away from the outline was a slightly smaller solid butterfly, and dangling from the bottom of the outlined butterfly from two small delicate chains were tiny diamonds.

It was a pretty necklace and he instantly thought Usagi would like it, but just as quickly he shook the thought from his mind; not wanting his thoughts to go in that direction.

"Can I help you with anything?" A woman asked as she walked over from another counter and looked down at the glass display to see what he was looking at.

"Oh no." Mamoru said as he shook his head. "I was just looking at a necklace that I thought a friend of mine would like."

"Perhaps you should get it for her. I'm sure she would appreciate it." The woman said suggestively, assuming his friend was a girl.

"Oh no. We're not like that for me to be getting her jewelry." He corrected as he waved his hand. Although, he was sure Usagi actually would appreciate it.

"Well, if that ever changes" She said with a knowing smile at his denial. "then know that this necklace isn't going anywhere. It's a signature of our store along with similar pieces."

"That is good to know." He said, trying not to blush and knowing he was failing if the smile on her face said anything. "Thank you." He said before he left the store.

He had to get out of there before that woman talked him into buying that necklace, which would only happen because a part of him actually did want to get it. He didn't need to be doing that. Didn't need to be buying Usagi jewelry. She was not his girlfriend, but even getting it as a friend would give her the wrong idea with the feelings she had for him.

Mamoru internally shook himself and decided to head back to the department store Usagi took him to earlier to distract himself and get a better look around.

He walked around the store leisurely checking out the types of clothes and shoes they had before wandering into the food section. He grabbed a couple of things that looked interesting, and even got a couple of non-magical drinks; mostly juice and soda.

He eventually backtracked through the store and got a hand held basket to carry his items before returning to his browsing. As he passed by the toy section he stopped as he spotted bicycles. Moving into the aisle he looked at the various types curiously.

Having never learned how to ride a bike he had no intention of getting one, but he wondered how long it would take to learn how to ride.

It's bound to be harder than learning how to roller skate. He thought, which made him turn to the other side of the aisle where roller skates in different sizes and styles were displayed.

Mamoru moved toward the skates for men and wondered if he should get a pair. He had only been skating the one time with Usagi, but he had liked it; definitely enough to get his own pair.

I can skate around at the closest park to my apartment as practice. Maybe even from my apartment to the park once I'm comfortable. He thought as he gazed at the different designs of the inline skates the same as the ones he had used at the roller skating rink.

I could even use them as exercise. He thought, and considered in the next moment if he should start some kind of workout regime.

He hadn't worked out since his time on the Quidditch team back in his sixth year. It would help him stay in shape, and likely enhance his reaction time with the fighting he was doing as Tuxedo Kamen.

I can skate, do some exercises, and some running since I'm now really good at that. He thought as he looked at the skates.

I would just need to find the time to do it without sacrificing any of my study time or the time I spend with Usagi. He thought. Maybe I can combine skating and spending time with her. He considered as he reached out and picked up a narrow yet slightly heavy box with the picture of the skates he decided he wanted.

They were all black with four black wheels in a straight line, laced up with black strings, a locking cuff buckle to help further support the ankles, and another adjustable buckle that went around the skate below the ankle.

I guess that's for further stability of the feet inside the skates; to make sure there's no looseness when you're on the move. He thought with a shrug.

Either way, whether that's what it was for or not, he chose to think that's what the second buckle was for, which only made him feel the skates were safer that way. Especially since the description described them as aggressive inline skates.

Moving on from there Mamoru continued browsing around the store, holding his basket of items in one hand and the box of skates in his other arm, and eventually found himself in the electronics section.

He ignored the TVs, radios, and DVD players, but paused at the computers. He wondered if he should invest in one. So far he hadn't needed one for his school work or studies. In fact, he hadn't touched one since he had booked the rental apartment he stayed in when he first came to Japan.

But that doesn't mean I won't eventually need one. He thought as he looked over the different types. So far my senseis have been fine with everyone in my classes handing in written work, but that might change when I reach the next level of my classes. Plus, it could help with keeping my notes more organized.

He shook his head and moved on deciding to wait until he actually needed a computer for school to get one.

However, before he could walk far he came across an aisle that had cameras. There were digital cameras, disposable cameras, instant cameras, and regular film cameras.

Mamoru had never had a camera; had never even thought about the device aside from the irritation of having reporters from the Daily Prophet taking his picture without his consent.

Colin Creevey too for that matter. He thought solemnly, remembering the excitable younger boy always trying to take his picture, and how he didn't survive the war.

Should I get one? He wondered as he looked at the numerous options. Hmm…if I do I can send pictures to everyone back in England. He considered thoughtfully as he looked closer at the types of cameras displayed.

The digital camera by its classification alone sounded like he would need a computer to make the most of it, and he had already decided to hold off on that. Reading more of the information on the displays and boxes confirmed for him that that option wasn't what he wanted.

Instant cameras sounded good, but he didn't think he wanted to deal with holding every picture he took in the moment and risk it getting damaged before he could put it somewhere secure.

Disposable cameras sounded good too since they were a one time use, but he wanted his own personal camera. Still, he would remember them for when he really wanted to take some pictures and didn't have his camera on him.

That left the option of film cameras that used rolls of film that had to be developed to get the pictures once the roll was finished, and reading more of the information on display that sounded like the best option for him. Although, he wondered where he was supposed to go to get the film developed.

Mamoru carefully examined each camera, and ultimately decided on one that was black, since the majority of them were that color, and not heavy with a good zoom lens.

He put his basket and the box with his new skates down and picked up the displayed camera and tried it out. He obviously couldn't take pictures but he looked through the view finder and tinkered with the zoom setting to see how things would look through it.

Once he was satisfied with the options he decided were important he put the camera down, and picked up one of the boxes on the shelf beneath it that held a brand new version of it. He put it in his basket and grabbed a couple of rolls of film, and dropped those in the basket as well before he picked it and his box of skates up.

Oh! Do I need to get a special magical camera to produce moving pictures? He wondered suddenly, pausing as he began to leave the area. How would I get the pictures developed so they're moving? And can I trust whoever would do the developing if I can't do it myself since I'll have to look like Harry Potter in some of them? The thought came quickly after the first.

He looked around thoughtfully at the display of cameras as the questions ran through his mind, and then shrugged as he decided to just go ahead and get the camera he had picked since he could have pictures that didn't move and could have those developed by a stranger without worry.

If I need a separate camera for magical moving pictures I can get that later. He thought as he made his way toward the front of the store and the cash registers.

Mamoru quickly paid for his items and all except the box of roller skates were bagged. He carefully grabbed the bags and box and left the store and made his way through the mall toward the main entrance.

He saw the ghost children he had seen earlier, still playing their game, but he didn't let his eyes linger on them as he came closer to the entrance.

As he walked he adjusted the bags he was holding and subtly cast a wandless notice-me-not charm on himself, and left the mall and made his way back to the spot he had Apparated to come to the mall. He moved around the dumpster and shrunk his purchases and slipped them into his school bag before he removed the charm from himself and willed himself home.

He appeared inside his apartment in front of the door and immediately looked around as he always did.

"Hello Helios." He greeted his mysterious familiar as he stepped toward the living room area. "I've been busy since I left earlier." He added conversationally as he pulled off his school bag and placed it on the couch as he sat down next to it.

As he began to pull out what he bought he told Helios about it all, and explained why he had gotten each item. When he began to speak about his radio CD player he looked over to where his TV was set up and then around the room to see where he could set it up.

As he finished speaking he opened the box and moved over with it to where the TV was, and began to set up the radio CD player on the shelf of the stand just beneath where the TV sat. The speakers he placed on either side of the TV, and as he shifted around to connect them to the radio CD player he suddenly had an idea.

He had wondered earlier if and how he could get music to play in every room or a specific room without having to blast the music from the living room so it could reach every room clearly.

Maybe I can use the concept of how the magical mirror Sirius gave me worked. He considered as he shifted around to connect the speakers to the radio CD player.

He had never used the mirror, but he had figured out exactly how it was supposed to work. Using the same concept should be easier to recreate with what he wanted to do since he only needed the sound and not sound and images if he connected the speakers to the radio CD player with magic.

I could make copies of the speakers and place them in each room, maybe even change the colors to match the room's colors. He thought before he stretched the plug slightly to plug the radio CD player into the electrical wall socket.

I could even make a double of the entire radio CD combo with the speakers for my bedroom. He thought as he pressed the button to turn the device on.

Immediately a random radio station started playing music he wasn't interested in; loudly. He turned the volume down to a reasonable level and changed the stations again and again until he found one that was playing classical instrumental music.

"Hey! We've got music now Helios." Mamoru said as he glanced over his shoulder at his familiar who shifted as he looked right back at him.

With the calming sound of a piano and violin playing he took the food items and drinks he got to the kitchen and put them in their appropriate places. Then he went back to the living room, and grabbed the box with his roller skates in it and went to put it in the hall closet.

As he reached the hallway he stepped toward the closet and glanced down the hallway. His eyes randomly landed on the door to his spell practice room and he paused.

Hmm…I can actually skate in there to get comfortable on my rollerblades until I can find the time to go out to a park. He thought, and made a mental note to keep that idea in mind as he stored the box in the closet.

Mamoru returned to the living room, and pulled all the plastic off the CDs he bought and placed them next to the radio CD player.

With a wave of his hand he vanished all the plastic and the box his radio CD player came out of, and began to focus on the box that contained his new camera. He took it out and attached the lens to the main body of the camera, and put in the batteries that thankfully came with it before he placed it in his lap and began to read the directions.

Once he was sure he understood what each button did and how to put the film in the camera he went ahead and put the film inside and turned the camera on. He watched the little screen show how much space on the film he had and that flash was off.

I don't need it with the lighting in here anyway. He thought as he shifted onto his knees and leaned against the back of the couch as he aimed the camera at Helios and looked through the view finder and zoomed in on his golden figure.

"Smile." He said since his familiar was already looking at him, and pressed the button and heard the shutter signaling the picture had been taken. He pulled the camera away from his face and looked at the little screen and saw that there was one less space on the film.

"I hope that turned out good." He said as he got up and stepped toward the balcony.

He opened the sliding door and aimed the camera as he brought it up to his face. As he looked through the view finder he adjusted the view to try to get a panoramic view and pressed the button once he was satisfied. Pulling the camera away he saw that the number count had gone down by one.

I wonder what a moving picture of that view would look like. He thought before he hummed thoughtfully. He still needed to find out if he needed a magical camera to make moving pictures, and where he could get his film developed.

So let's start with Kototama Market Place, and see if they have a photography store since I don't remember seeing one. He thought as he went and put his camera on the coffee table.

"I'll be back Helios. I'm headed to the market place to see if I can find out how to make moving pictures." He said as he walked over to his slight hallway leading to his apartment door.

Mamoru focused on where he wanted to go and willed himself there disappearing in the next moment only to reappear in the Apparition point inside Kototama Market Place.

He looked around for a few moments before he began to walk and look around to see if there was a photography store he had missed during all of his other visits to the market.

After a few minutes he found a store that was tucked down a side path that he hadn't noticed before even though there was a sign with the names of stores directing traffic that way.

The sign in blocky yet cursive words read Irasuto Shashin satsuei, which sounded like what he needed. The displays in the window also indicated the store was what he was looking for with the color and black and white moving pictures of individuals, couples, family's, and landscapes.

He went inside and looked around for evidence that the store wasn't just a place where they took professional photos. He saw cameras on display, from old fashion to modern, photo albums, picture frames, as well as more pictures displayed on the walls, and more importantly rolls and packages of film.

"Can I help you young man?" A calm slightly raspy masculine voice said, and he turned from the film he was looking at to see an almost elderly man moving behind the main counter.

"Umm…yes. I've never had a camera before and I just got one about half an hour ago, but it occurred to me that I don't know if I need one specifically for moving pictures or even where to get film developed whether they're moving pictures or not." Mamoru explained.

"Ah, well you are definitely in the right place young man." The older man said. "First, you do not need a special camera to create moving pictures. The camera you have is fine. It is the development process that determines if they are moving or not."

"Second, you can have your film developed here, and simply request if you want them to be still or moving or both options."

"Thank you. That's definitely good to know." Mamoru said, especially to know he could get both moving and still pictures in the same place.

But then he or whoever else works here will see me as Harry Potter in some of the pictures. He thought with a slight frown.

"I have a question." He said and watched the older man nod encouragingly. "If I take a picture of myself looking different then I do now will I have to worry about photo me walking out of the frame and returning looking like I do now?" He asked, and watched the man raise an eyebrow.

"I want to send pictures to my friends and family, who are in another country, but they don't know I've changed my appearance and I'm not ready for them to know yet." He explained.

"In that case, you do not have to worry about that issue happening." The older man said as he understood the problem. "Magic is many things, including intelligent, and it will make your image be what you want it to be. It will hold the image you want and not change."

"That's a relief to know. Thank you." Mamoru said. Although, he still worried a little about the people working there learning that he was Harry Potter, and hoped mightily that they didn't react or spread the word about his changed appearance.

"You are welcome young man." The older man said.

"I'll be back when I have film to develop." Mamoru said as he stepped back from the counter.

"Until then." The older man said with a slight wave.

Mamoru waved back before he left the store to head back home. He was going to see what other pictures he could take if any, and then see about making a copy of his new radio CD player and copies of the speakers to put in the various rooms of his apartment.

~HPxXxMC~

The next day found Usagi rushing out the front gate of her school campus to make the familiar journey to the Crown cafe to meet Mamoru. She had already said her goodbyes to Naru, and was anxious to be on her way.

As she power walked away from school she zipped up her white long sleeve hooded sweater. It was a little cool out, but she had worn it more for what she planned to do with Mamoru after her tutoring session.

I hope he likes it. Actually I hope he has fun. She thought, but paused in surprise as she spotted Luna walking on a low wall in front of her.

"Luna?" She said her name in a quiet confused tone as she started walking again, and watched as she glanced back at her before she jumped onto the shoulder of a girl walking up ahead of her.

The girl cried out in surprise and paused as she ducked and tried to see what had landed on her.

"Luna!" Usagi called out, just as surprised as the girl, as she rushed forward. "I'm sorry. I guess Luna likes you." She said as she caught up to the girl, and watched as Luna rubbed against the girl's face and purred.

"She's yours then?" The girl said.

"I guess you can say that. Luna's a free spirit." Usagi said as she looked at the cat that had changed her life. If anything Luna belongs to the Moon Princess. She thought before shaking her head.

"I'm Tsukino Usagi." She said, introducing herself.

"I'm Mizuno Ami." The girl replied.

Usagi recognized her, now that she had heard her name, as the really smart girl that placed first, not just in the school but in the whole country, in the mock exams they had taken recently.

"It's nice to meet you. We'll have to hang out some time." She said with a smile before she looked down the sidewalk in the direction she needed to go. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. I don't want to keep my tutor waiting."

And she really meant that. Mamoru was always already there waiting for her, and she didn't want to make him wait longer than it usually took for her to get to the cafe from school.

"What about Luna?" Ami asked when she saw her new acquaintance begin to step away.

"Oh don't worry. She can hang out with you and get to know you since she clearly likes you." Usagi said. "She knows the way home. After all, I didn't bring her to school with me."

"I'll see you at school tomorrow Ami. Luna I'll see you later." She said before she took off running; wanting to make up the minutes of travel time she had lost.

As she ran her mind went back to that encounter. Luna had clearly jumped on Ami on purpose, so there must be something unique or interesting about her.

Maybe Ami's a senshi. She considered thoughtfully. I remember Luna saying she had found me because she sensed the power in me. Maybe she sensed senshi power in Ami too.

Usagi continued to run and made it to the Crown cafe almost fifteen minutes later. She jogged up the stairs and pulled open the door and stepped inside the slightly warm establishment. Immediately she looked toward her usual seat, and saw her friend/crush sitting in the booth.

"Hi Mamoru!" She greeted him happily in English with a wide smile as she walked toward him.

Mamoru looked up and smiled lightly in surprise as she spoke the foreign language.

"Hey." He greeted in return. "How was school?"

Usagi frowned in concentration, trying to correctly translate his words, and nibbled her lip as she sat down.

"It was okay." She answered, and watched him nod. She smiled at the sign that she had translated correctly.

"How much of our conversation do you want to have in English?" Mamoru asked, switching back to Japanese.

"I don't know." Usagi said with a shrug. "I just decided to greet you in English as I was walking toward you."

"Okay. We'll just mix it up, and you can reply in English if you feel confident enough." He said.

"Okay." She replied in English before she began to take out her homework. "How's your language class going? The French class?" She asked slowly, thinking through her words, as she separated her English homework and notes from the rest.

"It's going well." He answered as he watched her narrow her eyes at him as if that would help her translate his words. He knew it was just to help her concentrate but it amused him a little.

"When I was back in England I took the opportunity to speak to a girl I see as my big sister since she's French. We had a short conversation, and she had no complaints. She said I sounded good so far, and my accent did as well." He explained, and watched her nod slowly as she bit her lip in concentration.

"I guess it's like now, talking to you in English. With her you were able to get real time feedback from someone who grew up in France." Usagi said, and smiled at her success when he nodded.

"Before that we had exchanged letters so I could practice writing and reading in French. I guess I'll continue that until the next time I see her and we talk." He said, and she nodded.

"I guess..that..that's what we are doing with my tutoring." She said as she looked down to her notes.

"Yes. So let's get to that." He said, and watched her hand over her English notes and homework.

Mamoru carefully looked over her notes from her class that day and then scanned the homework before handing them back and gesturing toward her notes.

"Is there anything here that you had trouble understanding?" He asked.

Usagi nodded and began to point to certain words and phrases, and he carefully explained in both English and Japanese while she took notes.

A little over half an hour passed before they were both satisfied that she understood everything that had confused her in her notes then she began on her English homework. A half hour passed before she finished and handed it over to be checked for correctness.

As had happened before Mamoru pointed out what was wrong and helped her understand why it was wrong before helping her fix it.

"How am I doing with the language so far?" Usagi asked in Japanese, wanting to make sure she understood what he was saying.

"You're doing well with speaking and reading, but I can see that writing it out is giving you trouble." Mamoru answered. "It's only giving you trouble because the homework asks for the technical things; such as past tense and present tense words, masculine and feminine words, and words that sound the same but have different meanings and are spelled differently."

"It is confusing." She said as she nodded.

"I thought the same thing when I was learning Japanese. It's an intimidating language to learn." He replied. In fact, he was sure that if he hadn't had magic on his side he likely would never have learned it or it would have taken him ages.

"Well it's a good thing I learned it at birth then." Usagi said as she put her English notes and homework away, so she could focus on the rest of her homework.

"Yeah." He agreed with her. "So I got my radio CD player set up, and it works perfectly." He said, switching back to English as she began to start on her other homework.

"Good." She replied as she looked up from the sheet of paper in front of her. "Where…" She hesitated as she tried to think of the right words to use. "Where did you put it?" She asked, switching back to Japanese with a heavy sigh.

"With my TV. I actually put it under the TV and put the speakers on the sides of the TV." He answered.

Of course she didn't need to know that he had duplicated the entire system and placed it in his bedroom with a color change so it matched his bedding. Or about the speakers he'd duplicated, put in most of the other rooms in his apartment with a color change, and connected to the system in the living room.

"I bet it looks like a nice arrangement." She said as she pictured his living room since that was the only place he had a TV as far as she remembered.

"I like to think so." He said with a small grin before he focused back on his own homework.

The pair tuned out the noise around them as best they could as they worked, but Mamoru made sure to look around every so often to maintain an awareness of his surroundings. He didn't expect to be attacked, but one could never know. Especially with those youma attacking randomly as far as he could tell.

After a while the time they usually stopped working arrived and Usagi eagerly began to pack up her things.

"You're really ready to go aren't you?" Mamoru said as he began to pack his things up more calmly than her since she was practically throwing her things into her bag.

"Yup!" Usagi answered with a grin. "I'm super excited. I hope you like where we're going."

"I'll let you know once we get wherever it is we're going." He said in amusement as he closed his bag.

Usagi just smiled as she slid out of her seat, and he followed and swung the strap of his bag over his head as they headed toward the door.

They made it outside and walked down the stairs and turned in the opposite direction they normally went in. Definitely in a different direction than Mamoru had ever taken to get to or leave the cafe.

"We haven't been this way before." He commented as they walked.

"True." Usagi agreed easily.

"No hints about what's in this direction?" He asked.

"Nope! You'll just have to wait and see." She said with a smile.

Mamoru shook his head and followed her until they reached a bus stop for a bus line he had not taken before. He determined to pay attention to the route and try to see what was around it in case he saw an interesting place he wanted to visit.

"So after we parted yesterday I got a camera." He said as they settled in to wait for the bus.

"Really?!" Usagi said in surprise as she looked to him.

"Yeah. It occurred to me that I didn't have one, and I could send my friends and family pictures if I got one." He said.

"Ah." She said excitedly, and wondered why it had never occurred to her to bring her camera and take a picture of him. Probably because I thought he might not want his picture taken. She thought.

"Did you bring it?" She asked.

"No." He said as he shook his head. "I didn't even think to bring it, but I'll bring it tomorrow in case we fill the need to take some pictures."

"Okay." She said as she nodded. It's probably a good thing he didn't bring it since he likely wouldn't want to have it out in case he fell. He wouldn't want it to break; especially with it being brand new. She thought as she pictured where she was taking him.

Before Usagi could think to say anything more the bus they were waiting for came.

"This is us." She said, glancing at him as the bus approached.

Mamoru nodded and when the bus stopped in front of them they moved toward the front door as it opened and stepped on. They paid the required fare and moved further in for a seat. It was a little crowded but he managed to spot a single seat, so he grabbed Usagi's hand and pulled her toward it.

He gestured for her to sit as they reached it, and once she had, smiling at him softly in thanks that made his stomach flutter, he stood in front of her so no one else would and they could continue to talk.

"Did anything else catch your eye while you were out or did you go home after getting the camera?" Usagi asked as she looked up at him.

"Something else caught my eye." Mamoru answered as he grabbed onto the pole above his head. "I ended up getting a pair of rollerblades on a whim."

"A whim?" She repeated, questioningly yet smiling. He actually got a pair of skates! She thought happily.

"It was a whim because I spotted them and was like 'why not' since I had enjoyed it the time you took me skating." He said with a shrug. "Then as I was staring at the selection of skates, trying to decide which pair I wanted, I thought I could use them as some form of exercise once I'm comfortable on them."

"I have skates at home. Maybe we can go skating together." She said excitedly as she pictured her white and purple rollerblades.

"I wouldn't mind." He said. "Would it happen on a week day or during the weekend?" He asked curiously.

"Oh the weekend definitely." Usagi answered. "We'd want time to skate and not have to worry about when I need to get home, and time to take a break and eat before getting right back to it."

"Would it be at a rink or just out on sidewalks or in a park?" Mamoru asked as he looked out the window.

"I don't know." She said before she tilted her head thoughtfully. "I guess it would depend on how comfortable you are on your skates when it happens."

He nodded. "I guess I should start practicing so I can be ready some weekend." He said.

"Can I ask where you plan on practicing?" She asked curiously.

"In the park closest to my apartment." He answered readily. "I've only looked at it in passing a few times, but there are walking paths and plenty of grass to fall in."

Usagi looked down to hide her amused smile. She was hoping he didn't fall, but she could admit she wanted to be there to see it if he did.

"Maybe we can take pictures once you're comfortable on your skates." She said as she looked back up to him. "Have any of your family or friends been skating?"

"They haven't as far as I know, so I imagine they would enjoy a picture of that." Mamoru answered.

In fact, he was sure that none of them had even heard of roller skates let alone the activity of roller skating. He knew that the Weasley's knew how to ice skate since a few of them had mentioned skating on the pond when it froze over.

Plus, there was skating at Hogwarts during the winter when it got close to Christmas. He thought.

He had never participated since he didn't know how, and he usually found himself doing something else anyway. Either serving detention or trying to figure out some mystery. Even homework had taken that time occasionally.

"Yeah, I really have to start practicing and get comfortable, so we can take those pictures." He said as he scanned the area they were driving through.

"Can I still not know where we're going?" He asked as he looked back down at her.

"Nope." Usagi said with a smile. "We're about halfway there." She added as she looked out the window.

Mamoru sighed and looked back out the window. He spotted a few restaurants and a cozy looking cafe, and made note of where the cafe was so he could come back and check it out another day.

"So how's your family doing?" He asked as he looked back to her, hoping to distract himself for the rest of the ride.

"They're good. At least they were when I saw them this morning." Usagi said as she looked up at him. "My mom is likely at home right now planning what to make for dinner. My dad is probably still at work, and my little brother is probably home unless he went to a friend's house after school."

"Do you get along with your brother?" He asked curiously.

"Yes." She answered instantly. "Well, as well as one can with a younger sibling. We go to different schools. Plus, I'm not cool enough for him to want to be seen with me, and I don't want to deal with his bratty mouth. But he's great when he's not being a pain." She explained and he nodded.

"What does your dad do? I don't think I've asked before." Mamoru said.

"He's a magazine editor." She said as she glanced out the window. "When the article is really important he gets to take the pictures of the people or event." She added.

"So he's also a photographer?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said as she nodded. "At least I think so. He's been the editor for as long as I've known what his job is."

"Maybe he started by selling his photos to the magazine and then started working for them or he started off working for them and moved up in the ranks." He suggested.

"Both of those are possible." She said as she nodded.

"I don't know what my parents did for work. Either set." Mamoru admitted. "In fact, with my adopted parents I don't actually think they worked at all."

"Why not?" Usagi asked curiously.

"My dad's family was wealthy, so it's possible they lived off that after they finished school, so they could figure out what they wanted to do besides be married to each other." He explained, and she nodded.

"Of course, if that was the case, they unfortunately didn't get the chance aside from deciding they wanted me in their lives." He added with a slight grimace; silently cursing Voldemort for believing in the prophecy that likely wouldn't have come into play if he had just ignored it, and Snape as well for telling him about it in the first place.

"How old were your adopted parents when um..they passed?" She asked with a slight frown. The way he said it made it sound like it hadn't been long since they had finished school before they adopted him.

"They were both twenty-one when they died." He answered quietly, and she gasped in surprise.

Mamoru nodded at her reaction. He was only a few years away from being their age. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that they had been mature enough to be married and decide to adopt a baby, all while in the middle of a magical war, but other times he would consider how he felt now and he could understand.

He was eighteen, almost nineteen, and with how he had felt about Ginny he was sure he wouldn't have had a problem being engaged or married to her by the time he was twenty-one.

Although, unlike his mom and dad he wouldn't have even considered having a baby during the war let alone adopting one. That would have been much too dangerous with the way things had been around him.

"Wow." Usagi said as she took in his words. Twenty-one was still a young age even if it was much older than her current age. She couldn't imagine having a baby at that age. Married maybe, but not with a baby.

His parents must have been seriously mature and knew exactly what they wanted. At least when it came to their family if not what they wanted to do for a living. She thought before she looked out the window.

"Oh! Our stop is coming up." She said suddenly before she rang the bell.

She stood up and he helped steady her with a hand on her waist as the bus rocked and swayed over a bump in the road. She flashed him a grateful smile before they moved toward the back door in preparation to get off.

When the bus pulled over and stopped at the bus stop they stepped off with a few other people and moved further onto the sidewalk out of the way of others.

"Where to now?" Mamoru asked as he looked at his companion.

"This way. Come on!" Usagi said cheerfully and began to lead the way down the sidewalk.

He followed at her side as they walked down sidewalk after sidewalk keeping his eyes peeled for where she could possibly be taking him this time. He spotted a few places that looked promising as a place she could be taking him, but on second thought he reconsidered, which was correct since they ended up walking pass those places.

Two turned corners later and they were walking down yet another sidewalk with trees standing at equal distances from each other. The area was surprisingly quiet and he wondered if it was just the time of day or if it was always like that.

Suddenly Usagi slowed to a stop and he stopped at her side as he turned to look at her and away from the trees across the street. She smiled and gestured with her head in front of them.

He turned his head, his eyes already scanning, but stopped as his eyes landed on the white block letters at the entrance of the rather large building they were standing in front of.

Meiji Jingu Gaien Ice Skating Rink. He read as his eyes widened.

"Ice skating." He breathed in surprise as he looked along the length of the building.

It had frosted glass windows along the front side of the building and around the entrance, and looked like it might wrap around one side of the building. There was a tan and aqua green brick like siding along the bottom edge of the building beneath the frosted windows, and wide stairs leading up to the entrance with silver railings.

"So what do you think?" Usagi asked as she watched him, having already seen she had surprised him.

"I'm just as nervous as I was with the roller skating, but I'm still excited to try." Mamoru answered as he pulled his eyes away from the building and looked to her.

"Then let's go have some fun! We definitely deserve it!" She said enthusiastically.

And she truly meant that. She had paid close attention at school all day, and despite her excitement to bring Mamoru to the skating rink she had focused on the English language tutoring he was giving her and her homework. And she had no doubt he had been just as focused at school, probably more, and he had certainly been thorough in his tutoring of her and working on his homework.

Yeah we definitely deserve this fun. She thought with a grin as they continued down the sidewalk toward the entrance to the building.

They entered through the glass door and made their way to the admission and rental counter where Usagi right away insisted on paying. Mamoru shook his head but didn't argue, and was rewarded with a pleased smile.

"Okay which skates do you want to try? Figure skates or hockey?" She asked as she looked from the selection to him and back again.

"What do you recommend?" He asked as he looked at the various skates.

Usagi looked at the skates thoughtfully as she considered which would be best for him; this being his first time.

"The hockey skates." She answered as she looked back to him. "They don't have the toe picks at the front of the blades like the figure skating ones. I fell multiple times when I was first learning, because I kept accidentally using those when I would push forward."

"Hockey it is then." Mamoru said with a slight shrug, trusting her judgment.

Usagi nodded before she dug in her school bag for money. Once she found it she paid the fees, and they were handed skates in their size. Hockey skates for him and figure skates for her since she had learned and grown used to them.

Mamoru rented them a medium sized locker for their school bags and shoes; resisting when Usagi tried to pay for that as well. He just told her she had paid for everything else and this was a small thing.

She just sighed in light resignation and he grabbed the key to the locker and followed her as she led him to wherever they were.

They walked through a doorway and then down a hallway and turned a corner and continued halfway down before they stopped at an open door that was labeled as the locker room. Stepping inside it didn't take long to find the locker with the number that matched the key they had.

Mamoru opened the door and they placed their school bags on the top shelf then they sat on the bench, and took their shoes off and placed them on the bottom before he closed the door securely and pocketed the key.

They then began to pull on their skates and made sure to tie the laces tightly so they were secure and wouldn't be loose on their feet.

"Are you ready?" Usagi asked when she saw that they had both finished tying their laces.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Mamoru answered with a nod, and looked down to the skates on his feet. "We just walk on the blades?" He asked since he had yet to see the skating rink; clearly they had to walk to it.

"Yes." She said as she nodded. "Although, I've seen people who have their own skates, and are concerned about messing up the blades, have protectors over the blades to walk on. I think professional figure skaters wear those whenever they're not on the ice and have their skates on."

"That makes sense." He said as he nodded. He thought he would likely do the same to protect the blades if he had his own pair; especially if his profession relied on those blades being in perfect condition.

With that they stood up and, carefully in Mamoru's case, walked out of the locker room. They continued down the hallway they had come from until they turned a corner and saw a doorway with its double doors wide open.

Usagi led Mamoru through it and he immediately saw the ice rink with a number of people skating. The closer they got the more he could see that there were bold red and blue lines on the ice, and circles in various places.

For hockey; I think. He thought as he looked up and down the rink of ice as they walked. It had been years since he had seen anything involving non-magical sports and even then it would have been only in the peripheral what with the Dursleys keeping him from anything he might enjoy.

Around the rink he could see that there was a clearly labeled heating area where he imagined you could take a break from skating and keep warm before going back out on the ice. Next to that was a separate area for buying food and drinks, which he thought was convenient.

They walked slowly over to the break in the rink to step on the ice, Mamoru taking every available second to look at the ice and the people skating on it with no problems.

"Don't worry." Usagi said as they paused at the opening. "I won't let you fall." She reassured him.

Mamoru nodded and watched her step onto the ice and turn to face him as she held out her hands. He took a steadying breath and cautiously stepped onto the ice as he reached out for one of her hands, but before he could even grab her hand to help steady himself he immediately started slipping.

Usagi as she saw this and quickly grabbed one of his arms as she saw his other skate come forward to try to steady himself on the ice. She slid closer to him and wrapped her arms around him to make sure he stayed upright.

Mamoru instantly wrapped his arms around Usagi's shoulders and was almost leaning all of his weight on her as he found stability. His heart raced at the close call as he came to a stop, and he panted slightly as he stared down at the ice over her shoulder.

"I told you I wouldn't let you fall." Usagi said as she held Mamoru tightly.

She liked having her arms around him, liked being able to do it without it being uncomfortable or hesitant, and she definitely liked the feel of him holding her, clinging to her.

Of course she didn't like that he had nearly fallen; no one likes to fall, especially on cold hard ice, but she wouldn't deny that she was thoroughly enjoying the feel of him holding her.

"Yeah you did." He said as his heartbeat slowed to a normal pace. "Thank you." He said and tightened his hold on her in a hug before he slowly loosened his arms and released her.

Usagi followed his actions and released his waist but held her arms out so he could grab them or her hands. He grabbed her hands and gripped them as they both looked down at his feet.

"Okay, this is going to be just like with roller skating." She told him. "Angle your skates away from each other slightly to the sides. That should keep your feet from sliding backward or forward at the same time."

Mamoru nodded and did just that. He carefully shifted his feet, encased in the skates, until they were angled slightly away from each other, and felt a bit more stable though not as much as he would like.

"Alright. Now I just do like with roller skating and angle one skate forward and push off with the other?" He asked as he looked up from his feet.

"Yeah, but it's going to be slippery so keep that in mind." Usagi said.

"Okay." He said, and took a deep breath as he watched Usagi use the toe pick at the front of the blade on one of her skates and push back slightly. She only moved enough to give him room to get started while keeping their hands linked.

He shifted his left skate until it was facing forward and pushed off with his right skate. He went to do the same with his left skate to keep moving but his right skate slipped sideways somehow.

"Woah!" He cried quietly, his eyes widening as his right leg went stretching to the side as his skate slid.

"I've got you!" Usagi said as she moved forward. She quickly let his hands go and wrapped her arms around his waist as she angled one skate slightly sideways and set the toe pick of her other skate firmly in the ice to help keep her in place.

Mamoru wrapped his arms around Usagi's shoulders for a second time since they had been on the ice. He held on to her as he fought for stability on his skates. He shifted the one he had angled to push off on closer, and slid the one that had gone rouge on him back toward him until he was fully standing upright and not in danger of doing the splits.

"You okay?" Usagi asked as she held him, ignoring the few people skating pass them.

"Yeah. I think." He said as he slowly let her go. She did the same but grabbed one of his hands and moved to his side.

"Ready to try again?" She asked softly.

Mamoru nodded and tightened his grip on her hand before he pushed off one skate like he had before, barely noticing that Usagi had done the same since he was focused on not slipping and keeping his balance.

Thankfully he did not slip and was able to keep upright but he did skid a little and his balance was almost thrown off had Usagi not kept a firm grip on his hand. Still they continued forward in silence, gliding along the ice, until they reached the curve in the rink.

"This is going to be the same as on the roller rink. We'll just angle ourselves so we don't run into the wall." Usagi said, and he nodded.

They both shifted their weight slightly as they continued to skate and made the turn in the curve without fault. They skated a few more feet before they cautiously made the turn in the next curve as well.

"You're doing good." Usagi said once they'd straightened out to continue along the length of the rink on the opposite side from where they started.

"Thanks." Mamoru said with a slight smile as he glanced her way before looking back to where he was going. "I think, just like with roller skating, it's getting easier the longer I go." He added, but remained focus on how he was moving his feet or rather his skates.

"Yeah. After a while you'll stop focusing on what you're doing and find yourself just doing it." She said as she squeezed his hand briefly, happy that she had an excuse to hold it.

"I wonder if that will happen before we leave today." He replied as he continued to focus on pushing off with one skate before switching to the other to keep himself gliding along.

"Hopefully you will so it will be easier next time." She said as she glided along at his side. "That's how it was for me, and has been ever since. Even with the last time I went ice skating."

"When was that?" He asked curiously, wondering how long it had been since she was last on the ice.

"Last year on my birthday. My parents took me and my brother for a little celebration." Usagi said with a smile as she remembered.

"When's your birthday?" Mamoru asked since that was something they had never talked about.

"June 30th." She answered. It was the end of next month and she couldn't wait. She would be closer to his age. "When's yours?" She asked, wondering how long she would be closer to his age, and if she had already missed his birthday.

"August 3rd." He answered. He had almost said July 31st, having been saying it since he had anyone who cared to know, but decided in that moment to tell the day he actually came into the world.

August 3rd. That's only a month after mine. Usagi repeated as she glanced over at him. I have to find something to get for him. Will he celebrate it? She wondered. What did he do for his last birthday?

"What did you do for your last birthday?" She asked, so she could have some kind of idea of what might or could happen this year.

"I had a quiet dinner with a few of the people I see as family." He answered. "Considering the loses we suffered I was surprised they wanted to even do that much. I think they were trying to have some normality, and so something other than grief for a few hours."

Usagi nodded and hummed as she thought about his words. With his birthday being at the beginning of August it would have only been a few months after the death of his girlfriend and her brother, their siblings, since he said the one year anniversary had just passed.

He likely hadn't been interested or cared about his birthday with how he likely would have been feeling. She thought as she bit her lip and continued to push against the ice to glide along.

"Well, I'm glad you weren't alone at that time, and that the day didn't go unnoticed." She said.

"Yeah it was probably good that I wasn't alone, and that they remembered my birthday. Although, I hadn't cared at the time since I didn't particularly feel like celebrating." He said, and she nodded.

"So, do you have anything planned for your birthday?" He asked curiously, wondering if she was going to have a party or not. I'll have to figure out what to get her. He thought with a quiet hum.

"No. I haven't thought about it, but it might depend on what day of the week it falls on to see if I'm going to do anything." She answered. "Hmm…I don't know if my parents will want to do anything though." She added, and he nodded.

"What about you?" She asked curiously.

"I haven't planned anything." He said, and then shrugged. "It'll probably be just like any other day."

Usagi frowned lightly. She didn't like that he appeared ready to treat his birthday like a regular day. She could understand why though. His friends and family were back in England, and as far as she knew he only had her and Motoki here.

Maybe they'll send him gifts, but I don't want him to not celebrate. Maybe I can take him to do something. She thought as she glanced over to him.

"Well if it's like any other day then we'll likely be doing something as usual." She said with a nod.

"I'll look forward to whatever you think up then." He said in slight amusement.

"I'll try not to feel any pressure." She replied with a grin.

From there they began to talk about what food they would have liked to have at their birthday party, which turned into talk of favorite foods, which included deserts. Then they started talking about Mamoru's ability to cook and even bake, and the things he liked to make the most.

Of course Usagi liked to eat and was curious about what he could cook. She vividly remembered the one time he had cooked for her and it was delicious. She wanted to experience that again, and definitely wanted to taste whatever he baked.

"Maybe one of these days instead of going someplace after our studies we can go to my place and I can cook for you." Mamoru suggested as they skated pass the center of the rink where the word 'Jingu' was printed twice on the ice inside a circle.

Usagi blushed as she realized she had said that out loud. "You'd really be willing to do that?" She asked as she peeked over at him, forcing herself not to squeeze his hand in case it made him let go.

"Sure." He said, containing his amusement at the fact that she had spoken out loud without meaning to. "I would have to cook something to eat for myself when dinner time came around anyway." He added with a shrug.

"Then I would really like that." She said shyly, remembering the last time she had been to his apartment. She'd never forget learning about his lost girlfriend, and realizing that he did have feelings for her.

"Then that's what we'll do when the opportunity arrives." He said firmly as he squeezed her hand, and she nodded with a smile as she returned the squeeze.

He squeezed my hand! She squealed internally. And not because he was about to fall. He did it on purpose!

"You're still doing good." Usagi pointed out as they skated along the ice.

"Thanks." Mamoru said as he flashed her a grin. "I've even stopped looking down at my feet."

"Good. That means you're not thinking about skating and just doing it." She said happily.

"Yeah, and it happened sooner than I thought." He said. "I honestly thought it would take a few visits."

"You're a fast learner." She said as they glided along the cold ice, faster skaters passing them by.

"You know I never thought of myself as a fast learner." He said thoughtfully. "But I do learn better through visual examples."

"I think I'm like that too. It's hard for me to keep focused when I'm studying through books by myself. Especially when the subject is boring." Usagi said.

"Yeah I know how that is." Mamoru agreed. "For me it was History. I had the most boring teacher in the world, and barely learned anything. Before I came back from England I got some books I thought were interesting to help fix that."

"What about since you've been here? Do you have that class?" She asked curiously.

"I do, and the teacher I have makes the subject interesting so thankfully I'm focused and learning." He answered.

"I wish I had such luck." She said with a sigh, and felt him squeeze her hand.

"If you want we can add that to our focus during our studies. I think we should be learning the same things since I've only been taking the class for a few months." He said.

"Yeah I would like that." She said as she nodded. Not only would she be getting help with her History homework and studies, but she had another reason to spend time with him. Maybe even more time than usual.

"Then we'll start tomorrow." He said with a serious nod.

Usagi nodded happily and they continued skating and talking for almost another fifteen minutes before they decided to take a break. They moved off the ice and carefully walked to the food area and got a snack to share and drinks before they entered the heating room.

They sat in a small table near the window and talked about nothing important as they enjoyed their drink and snack and watched people skating.

After they finished eating they went back out on the ice. Mamoru was a little wobbly with the transition from floor to ice, but Usagi was there holding his hand just as before to help keep him steady and he regained his balance quickly.

Thirty minutes passed as they skated on the ice trying different speeds for his benefit and trying turns in order to try to skate backward. He liked the speed he was able to hit, but trying to turn the way he wanted to resulted in a few falls before he managed it.

Usagi was there falling with him when she couldn't keep him up and laughing the whole time, which was contagious and had him laughing as they helped each other back onto their skates.

After they finished they left the ice and went back into the locker room. They changed back into their shoes and grabbed their bags before they left the room. They returned the skates and the locker key, and left the building to begin making their way back to the area where they could catch the bus to head home.

"That was fun. Thank you for taking me there, and for giving me that experience." Mamoru said as they walked.

"You're very welcome." Usagi said with a happy smile, pleased that he had a good time.

"We'll have to do that again." He said, and watched her eyes brighten before she began to nod. He knew she was happy he wanted to spend more time with her.

"Definitely!" She agreed, happy that he wanted to do it again, and with her and not just in general.

"So what do you plan on doing when you get home?" He asked curiously.

"I guess I'll finish my homework, and then if I have time I'll work on my English before going to sleep." She said with a shrug. "What about you?"

"I'll probably do the same. Finish my homework and do some studying afterward, and then head to bed." He said. "I guess I can listen to music while I'm at it; something that won't distract me from my studies."

"Hmm..maybe I can do that too. I guess it depends on how much I'm left alone to study." She said thoughtfully.

They arrived at the bus stop just in time to catch the bus they needed and they quickly got on and paid the fare before they found two seats together. This driver drove quicker than the driver they had on their way to the skating rink, and there were even less people getting on and off so the trip back was much quicker than they had expected.

They only had time to chat a little about their time at the skating rink before their stop arrived. They filed off with two other people, and began to walk toward their usual parting area to make their way toward their homes.

As they walked they passed by the Crown arcade and cafe and continued down the sidewalk, swerving around people and passing by the occasional slow walker, until they reached the end of the block.

"Well, this is it." Usagi said with a sigh as she looked down the sidewalk around the corner before looking back to Mamoru.

"Yeah." Mamoru agreed as he nodded. "I had a good time. Thank you again for the experience."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, and that I was able to help you try something new." She replied with a smile.

"I'm sure there'll be more to come." He replied before he put a hand on her shoulder, close enough to her neck that his thumb brushed the skin there. "I'll see you tomorrow. Stay safe."

"I will." She assured him, as was their habit since he began telling her to stay safe. "You stay safe too."

"I will." He said as he nodded and moved his hand away from her shoulder. "Bye for now."

"Bye." She said with a smile and wave before she stepped back and turned to walk away.

~xXx~

Usagi smiled brightly as she walked down the sidewalk and away from where she had parted ways from Mamoru. She wanted to squeal and spin around, but she didn't so she didn't bring attention to herself.

She had had such a good time ice skating, and she was glad she had been able to help Mamoru have another first time experience.

It was even better that he had had a good time at least as far as she could tell even with what he had said. He had been shaky at first just as he was when they had gone rollerskating, but just like then he had quickly got the hang of it and did well.

Also better was the fact that she got to help him again, which meant she got to hold his hands again. She had liked that so much. His hands were of course still large and very warm, and the callouses he had made her wonder what he did to get them. It made her think his arms might be strong. She knew his hands were, because he had a strong grip; gentle but strong.

What would it be like to be held in his arms? Usagi wondered with a sigh.

He had hugged her once before his trip when she had hugged him, and then held her when he was trying to regain his balance on the ice, so she had had a taste of it but not like she wanted.

She wanted him to hold her like she meant something to him, something other than a friend, but she knew she had to be patient. She knew he had feelings for her, so she had to be satisfied with just that knowledge.

He was still grieving for his lost girlfriend, the feelings he had for her were highly likely still very much there, so she couldn't expect him to act on anything he felt for her beyond friendship any time soon.

Well, I can still dream about what I hope he will do. She thought with a sigh.

Like take her into his arms and hold her against his chest, caress her face and neck and not just brush his thumb against her, and kiss her. She had never been kissed before, and she seriously hoped he would be her first.

"Usagi!" She heard a feminine tone call her name, and she looked around and saw Luna running up behind her.

She turned around and knelt down, and scooped her up in her free arm before she turned back around and continued walking.

"What's going on?" Usagi asked quietly as she walked.

"I've found the senshi of Mercury, and I think she might be in danger from a youma." Luna said seriously.

"What?!" Usagi gasped out. "Who is she?" She asked just as quietly as before.

"The girl I was with outside your school." Luna answered.

"Ami? Really?" Usagi said, and Luna nodded.

"I saw the symbol for Mercury glowing on her forehead. I stayed with her after you left, but I had to leave when she had to go to some after school program. I couldn't follow her into the building without being noticed, but even from the outside I sensed something not right inside the building." She explained.

"Okay. Let me find somewhere to transform so you can show me where the building is." Usagi said.

With that said she hurried down the sidewalk and turned the corner, and continued on until she found an alley. Unfortunately there was a dumpster in it, but despite the smell she figured it would give her some cover so she wouldn't be seen transforming.

She put Luna down and unzipped her sweater so she could reach her brooch.

"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" She said as she touched her brooch.

Immediately the golden piece of jewelry started to sparkle and glow as it did every time before, and she closed her eyes as pink light started to surround her. She felt herself being transformed, which was still a strange experience, and when it finished she opened her eyes and saw that she was in her sailor outfit.

Her school bag was gone, in her subspace pocket as Luna had explained, and she was as ready as she was going to be.

"Let's go!" Luna said before she took off running toward the other end of the alley. Usagi followed her, making sure to keep her in her line of sight, her boots pounding on the ground as she ran.

They ran down sidewalk after sidewalk, crossed a couple of streets, and avoided people and cars alike before Luna began to slow and eventually stopped in front of a slightly tall building.

The name outside the building was Crystal Seminar, and according to the sign off to the side of the entrance it was a school that offered entrance exam prep courses for Elementary, Middle, and High School, as well as Private Universities, National Universities, and Medical/Dental Universities.

Usagi looked up the building at the multiple stories, and then to the glass doors that made up the entrance. She didn't want to cause any type of panic if it turned out there was no youma in there, so she figured it was best to change her appearance and see what she could find out

She moved over and stepped into a very narrow alley between the school and another building, and gestured with her hand for her transformation pen. A bright pink pen appeared out of thin air and into the palm of her hand which she quickly grasped.

"What are you doing?" Luna asked.

"I'm disguising myself so I don't potentially cause a panic running around in there looking for a youma that might not be there." Usagi answered.

"Ah, that's a good idea." Luna said, and Usagi nodded before she focused on her pen as she held up level to her face.

"Moon Power, turn me into a doctor!" She said.

Bright pinkish white light flared from the top of the pen and surrounded her, and when it cleared her appearance was completely different.

She felt her short hair sliding against her neck, and brought her fingers up to run lightly through her bangs that were longer and no longer parted in the middle. She looked down at herself, touching the stethoscope around her neck, and blushed at what she was wearing.

What is wrong with that pen?! No doctor would go around wearing this to a hospital or clinic! She thought as she shook her head, and shifted on her feet in embarrassment.

"Come on Luna. Let's get in there." She said, pushing away her embarrassment.

"Right!" Luna said.

They walked calmly out of the alley and to the entrance of the school, and Usagi pulled open one of the glass doors. Walking inside she found herself in an empty hallway with a set of stairs almost immediately to her right.

Luna headed for the stairs so she followed her up calmly, her eyes looking all around to see if she spotted anything or anyone unusual.

Once they reached the second floor Luna continued up the next set of stairs, and Usagi followed after looking to see if anyone was standing in the hallway. No one was, so she didn't worry. At least not yet.

Following Luna as she was she could see that they appeared to be going to the top floor. If Luna was sensing trouble up there then that was where they needed to be; especially if the new senshi was in danger.

Once they reached the top they paused and looked down the quiet empty hallway. No one was standing around outside, and as far as she could tell all the doors were closed. They stepped into the hallway and walked down the hall until Luna stopped at one door.

"Whatever is wrong is in this room." Luna said.

"Okay." Usagi said as she nodded.

She looked through the narrow glass window in the door, and saw a classroom set up with cubicles around what she believed were computers given the number of cables and cords she could see.

She looked at what she could see of the students, which was mostly the top of their heads, then she watched who she believed was the teacher walk down a row. The woman was clearly checking on the students.

But then she stopped behind a girl with blue hair, and Usagi's eyes narrowed. She suspected that might be Ami, and when the girl looked up as the woman spoke it was confirmed that it was Ami.

"The teacher is talking to Ami." She said quietly.

"Does the teacher look like a youma?" Luna asked.

Usagi perused her lips in irritation. If the teacher had looked like a youma she would have called her a youma.

"No." She said quietly instead of allowing her thoughts out. "It's a normal looking woman with short brown hair wearing glasses, a white blouse and a lime green blazer over it."

She watched as Ami looked back to what she had been doing before she looked back to the teacher and spoke, but the woman didn't seem to like whatever she said because she frowned and said something else before she gestured to whatever Ami had been doing.

"The teacher seems to be talking to Ami and doesn't look happy about whatever she's saying in response." Usagi said quietly.

"Sailor Moon." A masculine voice greeted before Luna could reply.

~xXx~

Mamoru watched Usagi for a few moments before he crossed the street and began to walk down the sidewalk.

He hadn't at all expected to go ice skating when he woke up this morning, but after a rocky start he had enjoyed himself and had fun.

And all the while holding Usagi's hand. He thought as he looked for a place to Apparate.

He could admit that he hadn't needed to do it after he had been comfortably maintaining his balance, and definitely not after they had returned to the ice, but he had wanted to and had enjoyed it.

He liked the speed and the effort it took to stay upright and moving forward. He could only imagine what someone really skilled could do. He had never seen professional figure skating or hockey, and he wondered what they looked like.

Maybe I'll see if I can find something about them on TV later; like when I'm taking a break from my studies. He thought.

Beyond that he had managed to learn when Usagi's birthday was. He had less than two months to figure out what to get her.

And it obviously can't be something magical. He told himself as he walked. Maybe I can just cook for her. He considered, and was reminded of his offer to cook for her.

Mamoru figured that would likely happen sometime this week, he doubted she would want to wait long, which meant having her in his apartment for the second time. Of course that brought back memories of telling her about Ginny for the first time, and acknowledging out loud, even if subtly, that Usagi had feelings for him.

He sighed. He had enjoyed holding her hand, but he shouldn't have done it. Just like he shouldn't be offering to cook for her. It was only encouraging her feelings for him, and making his grow more.

As if spending time with her nearly every day isn't doing that. He thought as he rolled his eyes at himself.

He still felt strongly for Ginny though, still missed her, and would have to be content with just Usagi's friendship because he couldn't imagine trying to date her while still loving and missing Ginny.

Mamoru looked around and finally found a spot out of view where he could Apparate. He causally walked to it and looked around once more before he willed himself home.

He disappeared and reappeared inside his apartment in front of his door, and as always he looked to see if his familiar was visible by the balcony but found that he was not. That told him Helios wasn't home.

He knew that for a fact and that he wasn't just in another room, because Helios was always in the living room when he arrived. He only switched rooms when he himself left to spend time in another room.

Mamoru shrugged, figuring Helios would be back when he came back, and headed for his study room. He pulled off his school bag as he stepped inside and placed it on his desk before he left and headed to his bedroom. He took off his jacket and hung it up in the closet before he made his way to the kitchen.

He grabbed a Kyohowine from his refrigerator and sat at the kitchen table and looked at the front page of the newspaper as he opened the bottle.

The day he returned from his trip to England he had gone out to Kototama Market Place, to the newspaper headquarters, and gotten a subscription to the magical newspaper: The Conjuring Inquirer.

He had been reminded when he was talking to Bill, George, Fleur, Molly, and Arthur that he should get the paper if only to make sure his Potter name really wasn't in it. His first copy of the paper had arrived this morning before he left for school, but he was just now getting the chance to really look at it.

While he was getting his subscription he had also taken the time to get a subscription to some Healer magazines since he figured he should see what information they had with his interest in becoming a Healer. Beyond that he wanted to see if they could help him pick his specialty.

He had yet to get any of those in the mail, so he was keeping his eye out for any owls bringing him Healers Weekly, Mediwizards of Japan, Mediwizards Journal, and Magical Medicine.

At school today he had found out the school had a newspaper of their own, The Mahoutokoro Times, so he had gotten the subscription to that just because he thought it was interesting that they had one.

It turns out the newspaper was run by the magical and non-magical teachers with help from older students who received extra credit in their history classes since it taught them to research past and current facts.

The Conjuring Inquirer was a nice looking paper. It was in black and white but there were pops of color here and there. Sometimes in a title, in the majority of the pictures, all of which were moving pictures, and in the little decorations that made the paper more visually appealing.

They of course had the day's date on the paper, the weather forecast for the week, Quidditch scores of the national teams, baseball scores, and scores of a few other sports teams. As he flipped through the paper he saw that they also had an entire sports section of magical and non-magical sports.

There was even an advertisement section for the stores at Kototama Market Place as well as stores that were not in the market place that he had no idea existed. They were similar stores just not located at the market place. Furniture stores, clothing stores, bookstores, jewelry stores, restaurants, and even hotels.

Mamoru looked at the addresses and saw that they were spread throughout the country, which wasn't surprising since Portkey's and Apparition existed. Witches and wizards could reach all of those places regardless of where they lived.

Before he could explore more of the paper he felt a piercing ache rippling through his head. He flinched and brought a hand up to his head as he put the newspaper down and stood from the table.

I need to become Tuxedo Kamen. I need to be in that tuxedo to go help Usagi. He thought, trying to visualize the black tuxedo, cape, and white mask through his pain.

Instantly warm red gold-tinted light surrounded and enveloped him like every time before, and when it cleared he looked down to see that he was dressed in the black tuxedo, white gloves, black and red cape, and felt the black top hat on his head.

Mamoru rushed out of his little kitchen, through the living room, and out onto his balcony. He paused and focused on his senses and felt that he needed to head to his left to get to Usagi.

He narrowed his eyes and willed himself to a far rooftop to his left, and disappeared before reappearing on his target rooftop. His senses were still telling him he needed to go left so he took off at a sprint, wanting to hurry and not leave Usagi facing a youma by herself.

He ran, moving swiftly, across rooftops jumping and leaping from the edge of one to the next. He kept on his path to the left, but after a while he angled toward his right. He jumped off a tall building and fell two stories before he landed on a shorter building next to it.

He traveled for a few minutes, staying on the rooftops rather than descending to the sidewalk, until he sensed that he was close to Usagi. He slowed on the roof of a building and walked to the edge before looking down.

Directly across the street was a building as tall as the one he stood on with glass doors and a somewhat large sign on the side.

As he stared at the building he knew Usagi was inside it, so he looked down and saw there were a few people walking along the sidewalks and cars passing by. He took a breath and tapped into his tuxedo persona instincts, and leapt off the edge of the roof onto a narrow light pole before he pushed off that and landed on the sidewalk in front of the building he needed to enter.

He walked toward the doors, ignoring the startled and surprised gasps of the people who saw him, and idly noted the name displayed on the building was Crystal Seminar. That told him that the building was either a school or simply a place for advanced students to study as a group or do research.

Mamoru pulled the door open and as he stepped into and along the hallway he sensed he needed to head up, so he headed up the stairs instinctively adjusting his feet so he wasn't making noise as he jogged up the steps.

When he reached the end of the stairs, which was also the top floor of the building, he moved into the hallway and immediately saw Usagi and the black cat he saw sometimes with her.

He also saw that she looked different from herself and from her Sailor Moon persona, so he figured she was using her transformation pen like she had before.

His eyes popped open wide, his calm thinking ending, as he took in the outfit she wore in full as he walked toward her.

Her outfit was a soft pink short sleeve mini dress, and she wore white flat shoes on her feet. He guessed the dress was supposed to be a doctor or nurse uniform. The only thing that made it look even remotely like a medical uniform was the style of the collar, the buttons, and the border edge that looked like it was all that was keeping the outfit closed.

Her hair was her same natural hair color, but it was short, stopping just above her shoulders and her bangs were longer and not parted. Her lips were painted pink and she had a stethoscope around her neck.

She looked hot, and he was stunned. The mini outfit was not snug on her, but it clung in a way to show off her curves just as well as her sailor outfit did. He wanted to wrap his arms around her waist and feel some of those curves.

She would actually look even better if her hair was its normal length and in its usual style. He thought as he forced his mind away from her attractiveness.

"Sailor Moon." Mamoru greeted her as he calmly walked toward her.

---

Luna turned around quickly to see Tuxedo Kamen walking calmly toward them, and Sailor Moon simply glanced his way.

"Hey." She greeted quietly before looking back through the window.

"What's going on?" Tuxedo Kamen quietly asked as he moved to look over her shoulder to see beyond the glass in the door. A classroom was revealed with students and a teacher.

"I'm trying to see if a youma is in there." Sailor Moon answered softly.

"Ah. Everyone still looks normal." He said as he looked through the glass.

"Yeah." She replied.

They watched as suddenly the students looked up from what they had been doing, all at once, and looked toward the woman.

"I don't like that." Tuxedo Kamen said.

"Me either." Sailor Moon agreed. "I'm already worried that they're under the youma's control."

"And that there is a youma in there, and it's highly likely that woman." He said.

"Yeah." She replied.

Tuxedo Kamen didn't say anything but he noted the fact that the girl closest to the woman didn't react like the other students. He wondered what was different about her.

Maybe whatever mind control the youma did with the others didn't work on her. He thought as he looked at what he could see of the girl.

They watched as the woman took off her glasses, and then as her expression darkened. Suddenly she grabbed the girl by the back of her head, and shoved her face down.

"That's our cue!" Tuxedo Kamen said quickly as he stepped back to give Usagi some room.

Sailor Moon nodded and stepped away from the door and silently released her disguise. Once she was dressed again in her sailor uniform and boots she opened the door and stepped inside the room.

Tuxedo Kamen was right behind her and moved until he stood at her side. Now that they were inside he saw that the cubicles housed computers, and that girl's face was likely being shoved against the screen.

The students all looked in their direction and their blank faces and even blanker eyes showed they truly were being controlled. He shifted his eyes to survey the room, and saw that even though it was a nice sized room, a size he hadn't seen for a classroom since before he started at Hogwarts, the cubicles took up the majority of it.

There was enough room in the front where he and Usagi stood if he ignored the teacher's desk, and there might be in the very back of the room, but he couldn't tell from where he stood.

The sides of the room between the end cubicles and the walls were narrow, but he supposed he could fight the students one at a time that way, but there was always a chance of being attacked from behind depending on what Usagi decided to do, so he didn't want to chance it.

He gestured with his right hand, where it hung at his side out of view of the woman, and a perfect red rose appeared between his fingers. As he looked at the students, many of them wearing different uniforms, some the same as Usagi's school uniform, he focused on his magic.

Stupefy. He thought as he willed the magic for a Stunning Spell into the rose causing it to glow red and make the petals vibrant.

His eyes shifted to the woman whom he was sure was the youma in disguise, and gestured with his free hand for another rose. He considered using the Blasting Curse, as was becoming usual for him in this persona, and the Severing Charm, a spell he had practiced with in his free time to see if he could contain it into his roses without damaging the flower, but he couldn't decide which until he was absolutely sure the woman was a youma.

After all, there was the off chance that she was just a regular woman, and was being controlled like the students; just worse than them.

Sailor Moon, meanwhile, was staring at Ami and the disguised youma holding her since she had no doubt that the woman was a youma.

How was she going to rescue Ami? Ami who Luna believed was a fellow senshi. With how many students were there they were definitely going to need her help, so she had to get her free from the youma.

How am I going to fight the youma without hurting Ami? She thought with a concerned frown.

She only had her tiara. They were in a nice sized classroom, but it was still smaller than any space she had fought in since becoming a senshi.

What if she missed the youma because she was trying not to hurt Ami or the other students for that matter? What if her tiara got knocked off course and she couldn't get to it? What was she going to do?!

"You are not students in this class." The woman said primly, pulling the girl back from the screen, as she looked at the new comers.

"And you aren't a teacher." Sailor Moon said, wanting to get things going instead of dragging it out. She took off her tiara and charged it until it was a glowing white disk above her fingers heedless of the woman watching her.

"But I am a teacher." The woman countered. "I'm doing my duty to fill these students minds with the knowledge to help them succeed in life."

"What is that knowledge exactly?" Tuxedo Kamen asked, hoping to get some information about the creatures, other than that they were trying to collect human energy, and who was sending them out.

"The knowledge of how to be subservient and obedient to the Dark Kingdom." She said proudly.

Dark Kingdom? Both Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen thought with a frown, and exchanged a confused look before looking back to the woman.

To their dismay and relief her appearance was starting to change. She began to glow even as wind started swirling around her, and in moments her appearance shifted.

She became tall, with red skin, slightly long spiky black hair with a light purple mark on her forehead, black eyes, and spikes stretching out of her shoulders. She wore some kind of black outfit that was sleeveless with no straps. They couldn't tell what the rest looked like since the cubicles blocked the bottom half.

"My students, show these intruders what you have learned." The youma said, her voice deeper and a bit gravelly, before she returned her attention to the disobedient student in her hand.

The students move around in a zombie-like fashion, but they were fast as they began to move away from their seats.

Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon looked at each other before they gestured with their head towards the side of the room they were standing on. They smiled lightly before they moved to take their side of the room since the students were filing out of the rows of cubicles in both directions.

Tuxedo Kamen threw his stunner roses, but was trying to pay attention to Usagi and the girl that the youma still had in its hand.

He saw that Usagi seemed to be doing okay at the moment, hesitantly pushing and hitting those that came at her, so he looked toward the girl. He pulled out another rose but this time he carefully willed the magic for the Severing Charm into the flower.

Diffindo. He thought, and watched the flower begin to glow a light green.

He leapt back to give himself some room from the controlled students, who were trying to crawl over the unconscious students, and carefully aimed, not wanting to hit the captive girl, before he threw the rose at the wrist of the hand the youma was holding the girl with.

He pulled out another rose and filled it with the magic of the stunning spell as he watched the rose hit the youma's wrist and cut right through it.

Sailor Moon frowned in concentration even though she felt dismayed as she did her best to keep the controlled students away from her and getting pass her.

She had no idea how to fight, and she wasn't sure she could even copy what she had seen in movies and on TV. In fact, she knew she couldn't, because she wasn't right now.

It didn't help that she was still holding her tiara, so she only had one hand free to use. She did her best to push and hit if she could. She definitely wasn't hitting hard enough to knock anyone out, but she was causing them to trip when she pushed them back since she was pushing them hard.

As a tall guy stumbled back and fell, taking two others down with him, she looked toward the youma and Ami, and was just in time to see one of Tuxedo's glowing roses hit the youma's wrist of the hand that was holding Ami's head.

Her eyes widened in surprise as it somehow cut through and severed the hand from the arm. Then as the youma screamed she saw an opportunity.

"Get away from it!" She yelled before she threw her tiara hard at the youma's neck.

As she pushed another student she saw her aim had been off a bit and she got the youma in the chest just beneath its neck, and it didn't go through it but blasted it backward into the cubicles behind it.

~xXx~

Ami stared wide eyed and afraid out of her mind as she watched what was happening around her. She couldn't understand why her teacher was attacking her, and just because she didn't want to use the disk that had been provided for them to use.

Then suddenly a woman in a sailor outfit and a masked man in black came into the room like they meant business. She had heard about them from the news, the mysterious fighters, and she wondered if that meant her teacher was one of those responsible for the strange occurrences.

She couldn't see what was going on behind her with her teacher still holding her head, but judging by the looks on the two fighters faces it wasn't anything good. She wasn't sure she wanted to see, especially if this was truly one of those strange occurrences.

The voice behind her, that was different than before though still female, started talking about obedience and subservience and she didn't like that one bit. Then it ordered the students to attack them, and to her shock they did!

She didn't understand why they would do that. What was wrong with them?!

Ami struggled to get free of the tight hand holding her, but wasn't having any luck as she watched the two fighters. Then she watched the masked man throw a rose in her direction, but instead of hitting her as she had briefly feared it hit her teacher judging by the freedom she suddenly felt and the screaming.

The woman in the sailor outfit yelled for her to get away from it, so she dropped to the floor and began to crawl under the cubicle tables toward the front of the room and hopefully out of the line of danger.

As she crawled she heard another scream from her teacher and a crashing sound, but she didn't look back and kept crawling, pushing cables and cords out of the way as she squeezed by.

Once she reached the front she continued halfway to the teacher's desk and stood up. She turned around and gasped, her eyes widening, as she got a look at what must have been her teacher.

She, it, was still a female, but that was where the similarities ended as she saw it climbing to its feet from where it looked like it crashed into the cubicles behind it. Red skin, extremely tall, fangs, and claws.

It looked like something out of a nightmare or a horror movie! Were those the kinds of things the two fighters dealt with during those strange occurrences?! She needed to get out of here!

~xXx~

Luna fully admitted that she was unhappy when Tuxedo Kamen showed up. Sailor Moon had barely reacted, but for her part she had wished mightily that he had stayed away.

How was she supposed to awaken Ami as the senshi of Mercury with him here? He would see and be able to know who Sailor Mercury was. From there it would be easy to figure out Sailor Moon's identity. At least she thought so.

Beyond that her suspicion and wariness of him and his appearances hadn't gone anywhere. Her questions hadn't been answered either. Who was this man? How did he always know where a youma attack was? Why was he helping? What did he want?

She also still hadn't discerned if he was a danger to Sailor Moon or the Moon Princess. Sure he appeared to be helping Sailor Moon, but that could be to lure her into a false sense of security. So she would trust him, and let her guard down.

Once inside the classroom Luna peeked around the doorway inside and saw Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen standing not far away. They were spaced apart enough for her to look between them, and see a woman holding Ami by the back of her head.

This must be why they went in when they did. She thought as she stared at the scene.

She listened closely as they started speaking with the woman she suspected was the youma, and nearly gasped in surprise as the woman revealed who she worked for.

The Dark Kingdom. She thought. Was that their name in the past as well? Who is in charge of them? She wondered.

Then her eyes widened as the youma finally revealed itself. And as it sent the students to attack Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen she slipped into the room, and went and concealed herself behind the teacher's desk and peeked around the side of it.

She watched as Tuxedo Kamen used one of his roses to free Ami, somehow slicing off the youma's hand, and Sailor Moon attack with her tiara right after and send the youma crashing back into the cubicles.

Luna nodded to herself, seeing that Sailor Moon was doing well, and quickly turned her attention to Ami, and saw her crawling on the floor in her direction. When she reached the area in front of the teacher's desk she stood up and looked at the fighting and the youma.

Looking at her back as she was she saw the moment Ami looked toward the door, and decided that she had to go to her now before she left; and despite Tuxedo Kamen's presence.

She stepped out from behind the desk just as Ami dashed toward the door, and quickly ran after her.

"Wait Ami!" Luna called out to her as soon as they both reached the hallway.

---

Ami looked back and slowed as she searched the hallway. The only thing she saw was a black cat coming her way, the same cat that had stayed with her from when she got out of school until she got here to attend her after school class, which she thought was strange. It was the same cat that apparently belonged to her fellow student, Usagi.

"You can't leave." Luna said urgently.

Ami stopped in shock as the cat spoke to her.

"You can talk. You're a talking cat." She said with wide eyes.

"Yes I am." Luna confirmed. "You have to stay and help Sailor Moon."

"Sailor Moon? That's the name of the woman in the sailor outfit?" Ami asked.

"Yes, and you are just like her. You are Sailor Mercury." Luna said.

"What?! Sailor Mercury?! How can I be like that woman, like Sailor Moon? I can't fight!" Ami said incredulously.

"Yes you can." Luna assured her. "All you have to do is transform and you will be able to fight just like Sailor Moon."

"But how?" Ami asked. "I can't just change myself to be like her."

"With this…" Luna said before she leapt up into the air and did a backflip, causing a slight flash of light, before she landed back on the floor and caught an item in her mouth.

"This is your transformation pen." She said after she placed it on the floor and put her paw on it.

Ami slowly stepped forward and knelt down in front of the cat and picked up the pen. It was blue on the bottom half with a gold cap on the top half with the planetary symbol for Mercury engraved within a circle on top of the cap.

"All you have to do is say 'mercury power, make up', and you will become the senshi of Mercury." Luna said.

Ami looked from the pen to the cat and back again with uncertainty. The pen felt right in her hand, but she was still unsure if she could be like Sailor Moon.

"Come on Ami." Luna said urgently. "I won't lie or hide it, it is a serious duty, a serious important responsibility, but you are the only one who can be the senshi of Mercury. You won't be alone. There are three more besides you that need to be found, and Sailor Moon needs your help to find them and to fight the youmas like the one that attacked you."

Ami frowned as she looked back to the pen, but then she heard a feminine cry that sounded like Sailor Moon and she decided if she could help, and had the ability, which she apparently did if the cat was to believed, then she would.

"Mercury Power, Make Up!" She said after she stood up.

Immediately to her surprise blue light flashed and water poured out of the top of the pen, and began to swirl around her as she was lifted off the floor. When the transformation finished she opened her eyes, having closed them for fear of getting water in them, and was completely shocked at what she saw.

She was dressed very similar to Sailor Moon. She had on a skin tight white sleeveless bodysuit, a blue collar with three white stripes on it, a matching blue mini skirt, and a light blue bow on her chest with a blue round circle brooch in the center of it, and a light blue bow on her lower back.

She had white elbow length gloves on with blue cloth attached to the ends, blue knee high boots with a short heel and white along the v-shaped border. She could also feel she had a tiara on her forehead, a choker around her neck, and earrings in her ears.

Another shock was that her lyre brooch was now attached to the v-juncture at her waist just above her skirt, and the light blue on it matched the color of the bows on her chest and lower back.

She noted idly that the blue of her uniform was different from Sailor Moon's. It was a more dark watery blue whereas Sailor Moon's was a vibrant royal blue.

"Go on Sailor Mercury." Luna said. "You'll know what to do once you're in there."

Ami was skeptical, but she nodded and hurried back into the classroom.

~xXx~

Tuxedo Kamen kicked out a foot in front of him and sent the guy walking toward him sprawling backward into the line of students behind him.

He took a breath and looked to the youma and then toward Usagi. The youma was recovering, and Usagi was having trouble keeping up with the controlled students coming her way. He needed to help her and quick, so he gestured with his hand and a perfect rose appeared.

Stupefy. He thought, filling the flower with the magic of the Stunning Spell, causing it to glow a vibrant red, even as he gestured with his free hand for another rose.

Geminio. He thought, carefully adding the Doubling Charm, and threw it at the students in front of Usagi. It doubled and became two glowing roses midflight, and he turned his attention back to the students in front of him.

Confringo. He thought, grimacing as he punched one of the girls in the face, but it didn't stop him from willing the magic of the Blasting Curse into the flower he still held making it glow a fiery orange.

Sailor Moon gasped as two glowing roses hit the students in front of her causing them to collapse on the spot. She looked over to Tuxedo Kamen and saw him hitting a student in front of him while holding a rose that was beginning to glow.

She quickly looked back to the students coming her way, and as she was reaching up for her tiara as it hovered above her she saw something white coming at her rapidly from the direction of the youma. She cried out as she snatched her tiara and dropped to the floor as quickly as possible.

Tuxedo Kamen kicked the girl he had already hit back, so she fell into the guy behind her and looked over to Usagi. His eyes widened as he saw what looked like sheets of paper sticking out of the wall about the height of where her head would have been like knives.

He looked to the youma and quickly threw his glowing rose at it, and watched as it hit it in the stomach area and blasted it back just like it was supposed to.

Sailor Moon got to her feet and looked from the paper sticking out of the wall to the youma and back with wide eyes. She knew those would have cut right into her; maybe even through her.

"You okay?" She heard Tuxedo Kamen ask.

"Yeah. Thanks for the help!" She replied before she turned her attention back to the students still coming her way.

Tuxedo Kamen pulled out two roses, one in each hand, and focused on his magic as he watched the students coming his way.

Stupefy. He thought as he filled them with the magic of the Stunning Spell. They each began to glow red and he carefully added the Doubling Charm to them before he threw first one at the students coming at him and then the other a few seconds behind it.

They both doubled and became two roses midflight. The first set hit two students in front of him, and when they dropped the second set hit two more students.

"Shabon Spray!" Everyone suddenly heard a feminine voice call out loudly, and just as suddenly a cold fog rapidly filled the entire room.

Shit! Tuxedo Kamen cursed as he was instantly blinded from seeing the controlled students, the youma, and Usagi. Plus, whoever spread the fog in the first place!

He decided to abandon dealing with the remaining students on his side and instead get to Usagi. He carefully and quietly moved through the fog, stepping over the students he had rendered unconscious, and followed his senses to her.

He pulled out a rose, wanting to be prepared in case he ran into the youma even though he remembered it being blasted to the back of the room.

After a few long silent moments of hearing scuffs and the sounds of stumbling and falling he spotted Usagi in front of him. He hurried toward her, still keeping quiet, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Sailor Moon jumped and only just muffled a scream as she spun to see who was behind her. She sighed heavily in relief to see Tuxedo Kamen, and she grabbed his arm not wanting to lose him in the fog.

"I'm sorry for startling you." Tuxedo Kamen said, and she shook her head.

"It's okay." She said quietly. "It's just that I can't see anything or anyone; not the students that were in front of me or the youma. I just thought it was best to move away from where I was." She added with a shrug.

"That was good. That way if they tried to attack you based on where you had been you would be safe." He said, happy that she had done that.

Sailor Moon smiled gratefully.

"Do you know who made this fog?" He asked quietly as he looked around as if he could see through it.

"It's probably the new senshi." She answered, and he hummed under his breath.

"Maybe next time they shouldn't use this ability when others, such as us, are around since we can't see through it." Tuxedo Kamen said.

He thought he could probably get rid of it, but he couldn't conceal that bit of magic in a rose, and he didn't want it to be known he could do something like that just yet. Especially with a new fighter around.

"I'll mention it when I get the chance to talk to her since I don't like being unable to see the youma. It's bad enough I'm not the best fighter, I don't need to be further hindered like this." Sailor Moon said quietly.

"You're doing better each time you fight." He reassured her. "Don't worry about it right now. I'll stay close to you."

Sailor Moon nodded gratefully, still grasping his arm, but then sucked in a sharp breath as she saw a large silhouette walking toward them.

Tuxedo Kamen looked over and his eyes widened as he saw the youma, and noticed instantly that even though it was in silhouette he could see its left hand was no longer a hand but shaped like an axe.

"Throw your tiara before it spots us." He whispered in Usagi's ear.

Sailor Moon nodded and aimed for the youma's chest as she threw the glowing disk. It sped through the air and slammed into the youma causing it to scream. After a few long moments the screaming stopped abruptly, and the youma's silhouette crumbled and disappeared from their sight.

"Come on. We should move toward the door and get out of this room." He said.

Sailor Moon nodded, and they turned around and began to move through the fog. Before they reached the door they spotted a woman dressed in a blue and white sailor outfit.

Tuxedo Kamen saw just how similar her outfit was to Usagi's, and knew she must be the new senshi. And now that the youma had been taken care of his mind was free to understand that there would likely be more fighters like Usagi to come.

This is just another piece of the mystery surrounding me. He thought.

"Let's get out of this room." Sailor Moon said as she waved the senshi toward the door.

They continued on their path and breathed a sigh as they stepped out into the hallway and away from the cool fog.

Tuxedo Kamen stood next to Usagi and looked to the new senshi as Usagi had referred to her, which likely meant that that was what she was as well, and glanced down to the black cat before looking back to the senshi.

Now that he was getting a good look at her he could see pass her disguise just like he could with Usagi, and knew that she was the student that the youma had been holding captive.

And judging by the uniform she had been wearing she goes to Usagi's school. They might even know each other for all I know, and if they don't then they likely will after today. He thought before he looked to Usagi.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked her in concern. He didn't know this girl after all.

"I will." Sailor Moon said as she nodded. "Thank you for all your help."

"No problem." He said. "I'm going to go then." He added and she nodded. "I'll see you next time."

"Okay." She said as she waved a little in goodbye.

She watched him until he disappeared down the staircase and then turned her attention back to her new fellow senshi.

"Welcome to the team Sailor Mercury." She said with a welcoming smile.

"Thank you." Sailor Mercury said. "Although, I'm still confused about what I'm supposed to be now."

"We'll have to get together or get on the phone and talk about everything so you can understand." Sailor Moon said.

"Yes." Luna agreed as she stepped forward. "I have the perfect item to help you with that."

She jumped up and did a backflip, causing a slight flash of light just like before, and landed back on the floor and caught two pink items in her mouth.

"These are communicators, so you can talk about Senshi related topics and arrange in person meetings to talk about the same." Luna said after she put the communicators down.

Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury knelt down and picked up one of the pink communicators, and saw that they were small, flat, and rectangular with a few buttons along with a narrow screen along the top and a round one off to the side.

They both thought it looked like a very simple tiny calculator.

"I'll use this to contact you later this evening, so we can figure out a time to meet and talk that won't interfere with our schedules." Sailor Moon said. "I just hope another of these attacks don't happen before we can talk."

"I hope so too." Sailor Mercury agreed as she stood up.

"Alright. Time for us to go." Sailor Moon said before she looked to Luna. "Come on Luna, let's head home." She said as she held out her arms to her.

Sailor Mercury blinked as she realized in that moment that if she was talking to that cat about taking it home then she must be the girl she had met after school; Usagi. She watched her picked up the cat, Luna, gently in her arms before she stood herself.

"If you have anything in that classroom you should get it and leave." She heard Sailor Moon say. "And you should probably release your transformation before you do it so no one in there connects this identity with your normal everyday identity."

"I'll do that." Sailor Mercury said as she nodded. "As soon as I know how."

"You simply will yourself out of it." Luna said.

"You just have to want to be back in your regular clothes." Sailor Moon added.

"Thank you both." Sailor Mercury said as she nodded.

"No problem. I'll talk to you later." Sailor Moon said before she waved and took off at a jog toward the stairs.

Sailor Mercury watched for a moment before she looked around to make sure no one else was in the hallway, since it didn't take much to know that this was supposed to be a secret, before she willed herself back into her school uniform.

Blue light surrounded her and when it cleared she was back in her uniform holding the pink communicator, but her transformation pen was nowhere to be seen.

I hope I don't need to transform again before we can meet and talk, because I don't know where the pen is now. Ami thought as she stepped toward the classroom.

~HPxXxMC~

A couple of days later found Mamoru at Yokohama Garden Institute of Mind Healing after school for his usual appointment to see his therapist. He was escorted to the door to her office and left there with a gentle polite smile.

"Welcome Mr. Chiba. Please close the door behind you." Healer Yuuhi said after he knocked on the open door. "Make yourself comfortable." She added with a gesture toward the couch as she stood from her desk.

Mamoru closed the door before he made his way over to the couch and sat in the middle of it. He watched his therapist walk over and sit in a side chair while resting a notepad on her lap.

"How was your trip?" Healer Yuuhi asked as she lightly toyed with her pen.

"It was good for the most part." He answered.

"That sounds like there was an unpleasant part." She commented.

"There was." He confirmed. "More than one part."

"Then let us start with the unpleasant parts before we speak of the good parts of your trip." Healer Yuuhi said.

"Okay." Mamoru said as he nodded, and then sighed. "The first thing I did when I arrived, you know after I left my stuff at my house, was go see the Minister since he's the one that informed me about the ceremony. I figured it was only right to let him know I got his letter."

"And who is the Minister?" She asked. She knew, but she wanted to hear it from him.

"Shacklebolt Kingsley." He answered instantly. "He was an Auror, as well as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization headed by Dumbledore Albus, before he became the Minister."

"Order of the Phoenix?" She questioned as she wrote down a note to ask about the bitter tone when speaking of Dumbledore Albus.

"A secret group of witches and wizards that opposed Voldemort during both wars." He explained. "You'll hear more about that when we reach the summer before my fifth year."

"Alright." She said as she nodded. "Please continue where I interrupted you."

"It turned out going to see Kingsley was a good thing since I learned he expected me to speak at the ceremony." He said as he shook his head.

"How did you feel about that?" Healer Yuuhi asked.

"Irritated and upset." Mamoru said with a frown. "We weren't close, but he was close enough to me to know I don't like the fame or the spotlight, and here he was trying to put me in the spotlight!"

"He said people expected it, and that they would appreciate it. I knew better though." He continued as he looked at her. "Oh I knew they likely expected it, but I very much doubted they would appreciate it. They're fickle like that. They gave me this fame and want to celebrate me when it's convenient or the popular notion at the time, but when public opinion changes suddenly I'm the convenient scapegoat."

"You know if something like that had happened back when I was in Hogwarts I would have sent the Minister a reply letter letting them know I would attend." He said. "I can just imagine showing up and suddenly being told that I had to give a speech. Almost everyone around me would pressure me into doing it."

"'It's too late to get anyone else'. 'You can do it Harry'. 'You'll know what to say once you start'. 'It'll be good for public moral'. 'It's the right thing to do'." He listed the things he had heard many times before.

"Very few would care how I would feel about having to do something like that. They would disregard my discomfort, my nervousness, my unwillingness to do it." He finished with a disgruntled frown.

His words reminded him uncomfortably of when the DA started. He'd let Hermione pressure him into doing it. He had thought it was a good idea, but he hadn't wanted to be the one leading it. Defense Against the Dark Arts was his favorite subject, but as far as he was concerned he hadn't had any more experience or knowledge than anyone else.

But Harry Potter leading and teaching a secret defense club would draw people whereas no one would come for Hermione Granger doing the same. He thought peevishly.

"Now you would react differently?" Healer Yuuhi asked even though she knew the answer.

"Of course. I'm a stronger person now than I was then." Mamoru answered firmly. "I would have refused. Exactly as I did when Kingsley talked about giving a speech. I didn't go back to perform for them. I went back to remember and pay my respects."

"It is good that you are stronger now." She said seriously. "More importantly it is good that you believe yourself to be stronger now."

"I agree." He said as he nodded. He would not be talked into or pressured into anything detrimental to him ever again.

"What was the next unpleasantness during your trip?" She asked.

"Well, it's not the next but it does involve Kingsley again." He said.

"Alright." She said as she nodded.

"I went to see him before I left as a courtesy; you know, so he wouldn't send me a note wanting to see me only to find that I wasn't in the country anymore." Mamoru began. "When I told him I was leaving he was shocked. He thought I was back for good, and wondered if I wasn't interested in being an Auror like I had been."

"Why would he be shocked at your leaving?" Healer Yuuhi asked.

"Because he was under the impression that I was done traveling when I came back." He answered. "Why I don't know since I never gave a date when I would be done if ever."

"And what does he believe now?" She asked.

"That I'm not done traveling." He said. "I like the man, but the UK's Minister of Magic does not need to know that I've moved out of the country. At least not any time soon. I told those I trust after the ceremony, and they were shock and surprised, but understanding and accepting."

"It's good that they were accepting of you decision." She said as she wrote down a few notes. "And your decision on being an Auror?" She asked as she wrote.

"I told him I wasn't interested; that I had decided against it." Mamoru answered. "He had asked about my interest in that career path before I originally left to travel, and I told him I wasn't interested after what I had been through before the war ended; plus I wasn't in the right frame of mind for it."

"My decision hasn't changed. I don't want spend my life going after dark wizards and law breakers, and I don't want to be tied to the Ministry that treated me the way they did." He explained.

"He asked me if I wouldn't reconsider, and that the department could use my skills; that even after a year they were still understaffed." He said. "It had no effect on me though. My decision was made. Of course, then he tried to ask if I would be a consultant and help out once in a while."

"As you can imagine my answer was no." He said as he shook his head. "Logically I can understand why he wanted me to join the department so bad. Having my name attached could have brought in new recruits, maybe even been a deterrent to some law breakers, but I hate that that was why he wanted me."

"My skills certainly aren't good enough for the department. All I have is my Hogwarts education, a stronger interest in Defense Against the Dark Arts than most my age, and experience facing dark wizards intent on killing me." He said with a frown.

"He essentially wanted to use me to better the Ministry; just like the last two Ministers. The only difference is that I have a friendly relationship with him while I didn't with the others." He said.

"You stood up for yourself and put your best interest ahead of the interest of the British Ministry." She stated.

"Yes! Too many times has my best interest been put aside for either someone else's prejudice, jealousy, revenge, for the magical community, or for someone's greater good." He said angrily. "No one else was going to put my interest first, and now that I'm old enough to do it I'm not going to continue what seemed to be a nasty habit for everyone around me."

A couple of people instantly came to mind when he remembered back. The Dursleys treated him like an unwanted slave instead of a member of the family, because of their hatred of anything not normal according to their definition. He wouldn't be surprised if part of that was Patuina's jealousy of his mom either.

Dumbledore liked to keep information from him supposedly so he could have a childhood, but he had no problem traumatizing him for life with the situations he put him in or refused to get him out of.

Sirius had no problem putting his revenge against Pettigrew first rather than taking care of him and keeping him safe. Nor did he have a problem allowing himself to remain locked up in a toxic environment rather than getting himself somewhere safe to stay, so he could be a godfather and get him out of the toxic environment he was forced to stay in.

And of course his disregard of telling me I was adopted because he thought it didn't matter. He thought a little bitterly.

"And in accordance of your best interest have you decided on a career or thought on it at all?" Healer Yuuhi asked.

"I have actually." Mamoru said as he forced himself to calm down. "I'm going to be a Healer."

"And why did you decide on that path?" She asked as she wrote that answer down.

"Because I like to help people. I figured this way I can do it without having to fight and risk my life, and I thought it would be a good counter to all the death I've seen over the years." He explained.

"That is a good way of thinking. However, you are aware that depending on the specialty you choose you may encounter death?" She asked.

"I am aware." He replied as he nodded.

"Very well. Let us move on." She said. "Were there any other unpleasant situations during your trip?" She asked.

"Yes. After the ceremony, while people were still at the location mingling and such, I was approached by my former closest friends." Mamoru said.

"Weasley Ron and Granger Hermione." Healer Yuuhi stated as she remembered him speaking of them a lot.

"Yes." He confirmed as he nodded. "It was the first time I had seen them since long before I originally left to travel. I had hoped that with the time that had passed Ron wouldn't take his anger out on me, and that Hermione would have mellowed or at least stopped trying to tell me how to live my life."

"Apparently that was wishful thinking. Instead of being greeted civilly, or at all for that matter, I was instead accused of a number of things." He said.

"What were those things?" She asked.

"Well Ron was upset that I didn't invite him to move in with me when I moved out of his family's house. At the time he hadn't seemed to want to leave, and he was directing his anger from his grief at me. Obviously I wouldn't want to live with that; plus I wanted and needed to be on my own." He began.

"Then he was upset about me leaving to go travel without telling him, and leaving the family while everyone was grieving. Then in the next breath he was upset that I didn't take care of their reparations with the goblins." He said.

"The goblins that control the bank?" She asked with a slight frown.

"Yes." He answered.

"Why would he expect you to take care of his repayment with them? What did he do?" She asked.

"The three of us broke into and out of the bank, and caused a lot of damage on our way out. It was just common sense that we would have to make amends if we wanted to be able to access our accounts." He said with a shrug. "That fact was the only reason I made things right with them since what we did was necessary for the war to end."

"Anyway, I paid the amount they wanted as a fine and helped repair the damage to the bank. I felt that since Ron and Hermione were also responsible they should do their part. I wasn't going to do it for them." He said seriously.

"The fact that they hadn't known about it until after I left the country meant that they hadn't been to the bank at all in the months since the end of the war. It wasn't unexpected for Ron since he didn't have his own personal account. Hermione I don't know if she had an account or if she just went to exchange non-magical money for magical money." He explained.

"Either way, they both knew what they had done, and should have been responsible enough to know they needed to go and make things right just like I did. But like I said, Ron didn't have an account so it likely didn't occur to him that he needed to do anything, and I don't know about Hermione. Maybe her mind was elsewhere." He said with a shrug.

"But to answer your first question maybe he expected me to take care of the reparations on my own, because I could afford it or because he thought my name would get us a pass with the goblins. I don't know." He said.

"Before the war ended, any time before then actually, I likely would have done it, just because he was my friend, but I just felt they needed to take responsibility. They shouldn't rely on me for something like that now that we're adults or they would make a habit of it. Ron more than Hermione." He explained.

"I understand, and I believe you did the right thing. You were standing up for yourself, your best interests, and making sure your then friends continued to grow up." Healer Yuuhi said.

"Thanks." Mamoru said, glad she understood. "Anyway, Hermione thought it was irresponsible of me not to have taken care of their portion, and that it was the least I could have done after everything they had done for me."

"After that she went off on a bit of a tangent telling me that she hoped I was back for good, and that I should be there focusing on my education, and talking about everything that happened during the war and getting the help I highly likely needed." He said, irritated as he remembered that encounter.

"But it gets worse! She said I was probably drowning my sorrow in alcohol and women while I was traveling around so I could cope." He added angrily. "I needed to settle down and get my life together before it was too late."

"How did you feel about her accusations of drinking and sleeping around?" She asked with a slight frown as she wrote on her notepad.

"I was shocked and angry. I couldn't believe she believed I was capable of that, and that she thought so little of me to believe I had become not only an alcoholic but a womanizer as well; and with zero evidence of it!" He said angrily.

"Then Ron pipes in before I could say anything, and said I never really cared about his sister if I could go around sleeping with every woman that caught my eye." He added, still angry about that.

Not only was he angry and outraged his former best friend had said that, but he was also angry that he had actually taken Hermione's assumption and treated it as fact. Part of him knew Ron was just used to Hermione always being right, but the other part was not so forgiving.

Hermione was not always right, especially when she was emotionally compromised, and Ron was old enough and should have known her well enough to know that by now.

Hope remained silent as she wrote to finish writing down her thoughts as well as to give the young man time to calm himself. They had yet to reach the part of his life where he gained his girlfriend, but she was aware from previous discussions that Ron's sister had been his girlfriend and that she had passed away during the war.

She was also aware of how very much he had cared for her; still cared for her. It was something she knew they would have to spend more time than usual talking about, because she was a little concerned with the depth of his feelings where it concerned the young woman.

"How did you react to their accusations once you were able to?" She finally asked.

"I ended my friendship with them." Mamoru answered clearly. "I feel almost like they felt I couldn't live my life the way I wanted to or without their instruction and approval. Although, I fully admit that some of their behavior and words could be their issues from the war."

"It's just that I didn't like the way they had been acting toward me in the months before I left, and then when I went back and was confronted by them it was as jarring as the people and reporters who wanted to speak to me and get an autograph as soon as they spotted me." He said.

"Hearing them made me realize that I had found calm and peace away from their demands, accusations, and expectations." He said. "And now that I'm thinking about it those words shouldn't even be connected to people I consider friends; let alone a best friend and another friend nearly as close; people who had known me for seven years."

"Do you regret ending those friendships?" She asked.

"No." Mamoru said firmly. "I'm disappointed that I had to make that decision, but I wouldn't change it. I don't need their current attitudes in my life. I hadn't seen them in months before the ceremony, and they haven't changed. Forgiving them would be going backwards for me since it would allow them to continue to behave toward me the way they had been."

"I understand. You were continuing to look after your best interests, and remove unhealthy relationships from your life." Healer Yuuhi said, and he nodded. "Were there any other unpleasant events?"

"No; thankfully not." He answered.

"Very well. Tell me about the good parts of your trip you feel comfortable relating." She said.

"Seeing my surrogate family was the first good part; especially since none of them knew I was coming." Mamoru said. "After my meeting with Kingsley when I first arrived in England I went to see George first at his shop."

Hope nodded as she wrote that down. She remembered that young man to be one of the Weasley sibling twins, two years older than Mr. Chiba, and a store owner.

"We caught up, and I saw that the store was doing very well. He even revealed that he's expanding to a second location, and considering expanding outside the country too." He said.

"And how do you feel about that?" She asked, their sessions having already reached the point where he had given the twins the startup money for their shop.

"I think it's great. The store has been doing great since it opened, aside from the time during the war, and I think another location would do just as good. I also think expanding to other countries would be good, but he should do a trial run to see how the products would do in the countries he picks before going full speed ahead with the idea." He explained, and she nodded.

"After visiting with him I went to see Bill and Fleur next. Well, after they got off work anyway." He continued with a slight shrug.

Hope nodded as she recalled Bill being the oldest Weasley sibling and Fleur being his French wife.

"It was good seeing them, and they were happy to see me. Pleased that I looked and sounded healthier than I did before I left the country. Then after talking for a bit they brought me over to his parents' house, and we surprised them with my presence." He explained.

"They were happy to see me, and see me looking so well at that. Then just like with the others we talked and caught up a little bit." He said. "After the ceremony me, Bill, Fleur, George, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gathered at Bill and Fleur's house, and I pretty much informed them of what was going on in my life."

"You know, my decision to live in Japan instead of England, my career plan, and my decision to end my friendship with my former friends." He listed.

"These are some of the people who were shocked and surprised, but ultimately accepting of your decision to move." She said, and watched him nod.

"Yes. Mrs. Weasley was emotional about it since she sees me as one of her sons and didn't want me to be so far away." Mamoru said, remembering her sadness at the news. "They were also shocked that I decided to be a Healer since they had thought I would be an Auror as well."

"They were understanding of that decision as well once I explained. Although, George said he thought I could be a teacher as well." He added.

"What did you think about that?" Healer Yuuhi asked curiously.

"I was surprised, but I could understand why he said that." He replied.

"How so?" She asked.

"In my fifth year I taught Defense Against the Dark Arts in secret to a group of trustworthy students." He said. "You'll hear more about it when we reach my fifth year, but let's just say we had a teacher assigned by the Ministry that refused to teach us any defensive spells because the Minister was in denial about Voldemort's return."

"I apparently did well enough for everyone to be confident in protecting themselves or getting away from a threat, and for everyone to do well on their end of year exams." He added.

"Could you see yourself as a teacher?" She asked.

"I could if I put my mind to it, but not a full time teacher. I don't think I have the patience for it. Teaching classes back to back to back, different age groups, immature attitudes, grading papers. It's just too much even thinking about it." He said as he shook his head.

"The group I taught was the same people, once a week for a couple of hours, and the consequences were literally life or death if they didn't learn it. So I think the real-time threat was what spurred me on to keep up with it." He explained, and he watched her nod as she wrote on her notepad.

"Were there any problems with you ending your friendship with the youngest Weasley son considering your closeness to his brothers and parents?" Healer Yuuhi asked.

"No; none at all." Mamoru said as he shook his head. "They understood. They all had seen the confrontation from a distance, so they knew something had happened. They also knew he had a quick temper, and had turned it on me a few times unreasonably during our friendship. Beyond that he has apparently developed a drinking problem, so they weren't surprised that I was done dealing with him."

"Is that a new habit with him?" She asked.

"Yes; since the end of the war. It's probably his way of coping without realizing it." He said as he shook his head.

"He's developed a liking for the taste." She commented.

"So it seems from what his brothers told me." He said, thinking of the irony, at least when it came to Hermione.

She who always told him, at least when she thought it would spur him on, that he was powerful, thought he had become an alcoholic with no evidence to support her statement when her own boyfriend had actually become one and everyone but her knew it.

If he was as powerful as she always said he was then it would be foolish of him to drink like that. Who knows what he would do while under the influence, which is why he didn't drink. Especially now when he had not only his own magic, but the unexpected abilities in his Tuxedo Kamen persona and his responsibility of keeping the Deathly Hallows.

"What else was good about your trip?" Healer Yuuhi asked, moving away from that subject.

"I also got to spend time catching up with my friend Neville." Mamoru said, happy to move away from talk of Ron and Hermione.

Hope nodded, remembering him telling her about his friend and fellow classmate at Hogwarts Longbottom Neville. In the same house as his in school, and his roommate for the six years he was in school.

"I learned that he finished his Auror training and is now a full-fledged Auror. Although, he's not exactly happy with the job. I'm not sure but I think he's going to quit it soon. He said he was going to give it a little while to see how he felt about it." He explained.

"I also told him all about moving here, going to school, and what I planned to do as a career." He added.

"And how did he react to that?" She asked.

"He was surprised that I had chosen to live here, but he understood once I explained it. He, even more than George, knew what I had been through. He had seen more being the quiet observant type. He saw more than most people because of that." He explained.

"He was also surprised about my plan to be a Healer instead of an Auror. After I explained my reasoning he could see it, but admitted he couldn't see me while we were at Hogwarts wanting to be a Healer. Then again I couldn't have seen that either." He admitted.

"On top of that he was surprised that I'm going to school here; magical school anyway." He amended. "He was curious about it and wanted to know how Mahoutokoro was different from Hogwarts, so I explained everything I had learned. After that we just talked about random things."

He wasn't about to mention their short talk about Usagi. He had only told Healer Yuuhi about her being his friend. He wasn't ready to tell her about Usagi's feelings for him or his struggle with his developing feelings for her. He had only told Neville because of the situation and because he was in another country completely away from the situation. He had even told him more than he had told Motoki!

"Aside from spending time with the Weasley's and Neville I took some time to visit with Ginny and my adopted parents." Mamoru revealed, reminded in that moment that he had wanted to find out what happened with his birth parents and where their final resting place was.

After I'm done here I'll try and see what I can find. He thought as he focused his mind on the present.

"How did those visits go?" Healer Yuuhi asked gently.

"With my parents I treated it as pretty much an opportunity to update them on what I had been doing since the last time I had visited them." Mamoru said with a slight shrug.

"With Ginny I was sad and upset, but not nearly as much as I was before I left to travel. I hadn't expected that, but just like with my parents I updated her on what was going on with me since the last time I visited her." He said.

He had been a bit self-conscious doing that since he knew they were all watching and already knew everything. Still, he had told them anyway to let them know he had in no way forgotten them.

"What of your birth parents?" She asked delicately.

"I actually need to find out where they are so I can go visit them." He admitted, even though he knew it was the same with them as it was with Ginny and his adopted parents. They were watching over him as well.

"I'm glad you had good moments to counter the bad ones, and that you are doing well managing your feelings of grief." Healer Yuuhi said. "There is one thing I am curious to know." She added and he nodded.

"You didn't mention the ceremony itself." She said, and he sighed.

"It was okay." Mamoru said with a slight shrug. "I didn't like Kingsley's speech or the speeches of the other ministry officials; they were political and long winded. I just thought a lot was left unsaid."

"Such as?" She asked.

"Well, the main focus was only on the day of the final battle; the end of the war." He said with a light frown. "There was no mention of all the fights, battles, and attacks before then. Of the people who had fought back and been killed or those who had been murdered just because the Death Eaters wanted a bit of fun."

"There was no mention of how the house system at Hogwarts had played a massive role in providing Voldemort with his followers, and how that needed to change and not remain the same just to preserve tradition; a tradition that didn't even work anymore." He continued.

"There was no mention of how peoples prejudices and intense focus on blood purity had allowed them to be manipulated by one who wasn't even pure blood himself. Nor how such thinking needed to seriously change to prevent another dark lord or lady from coming along and wiping out what was left of magical Britain." He explained.

"Nothing of how many of the Death Eaters had been let off the hook after Voldemort killed my parents and supposedly died. How they had lied and given unacceptable excuses that were believed, and were therefore free to rejoin Voldemort and continue killing, torturing, and raping." He continued.

"In addition to that particular point was how there was no mention of the people that had been wrongly accused, and labeled as Death Eaters and thrown into prison without evidence." Mamoru said with a serious frown.

"There was nothing about how that was wrong and how they would make sure laws were changed so it would never happen again." He added.

"There was no mention of how the 'second' war was just a continuation of the last war that had killed so many of my generation's parents and grandparents." He said.

"There was definitely nothing about how many non-magicals had been murdered, tortured, and raped just because they were non-magical and thought of as nonentities. Or that it was a miracle the Statute of Secrecy hadn't been broken, and how they had to make sure another dark lord or lady didn't come into power again and manage to break it." He continued.

"There was also no mention of anyone having any sympathy or empathy for the non-magicals who were caught up in our war. How would they feel if they were living their life without any problems, and suddenly another society's battles and skirmishes came spilling into their path, into their homes, into their society, without explanation?" He said.

"Family, friends, and other loved ones disappeared or killed and their cases, their murders, forever unsolved because no one could ever find the ones responsible because no identifying evidence was left behind or understood if it was left behind, because the culprits were part of an unknown society." He said angrily.

He hadn't realized until that moment how upset he was about all that hadn't been said during the ceremony or addressed in any way since the war ended. Some laws had been removed and some monuments had been put up, but without serious change they were pointless as far as he was concerned.

Many of those biased laws had been brought forward and put into play fast, but when it was time to create new protective laws and laws that would better their society that rapidity couldn't happen.

Part of him understood. They were doing things the right way without bribery, conspiracy or corruption, one would hope, so the process was slower. However, the other part of him thought the process should be faster considering many of the people responsible for the bribery and bad laws had been death eaters and were now dead or in prison.

Those people should have been replaced in the Wizengamot by more liberal minded people. Then again who knew how long it took to replace members.

"I shouldn't be so upset about it though." Mamoru said as he tried to shake off his anger. "I'm sure other countries governments have their share of problems."

"Why do you think you're so angry about it?" Healer Yuuhi asked.

"Because I was unfortunate enough to see and experience that conspiracy and corruption first hand." He answered. "And because I care. I don't think any government should operate that way."

"Well, you have good points, and an interesting way to think about what happened during the war." She said.

"Being raised non-magical gave me a different perspective than those raised in the magical community; at least over there." He replied.

"Would you have given a speech to relay those points to the public at the ceremony?" She asked.

"No." He answered as he shook his head. "For those points to have any real meaning and effect they had to come from someone within the government."

"You don't think you would be listened to." She said, and watched him shake his head.

"The magical community over there is fickle like that." Mamoru said. "Some would believe me because I'm the famous Boy Who Lived, but others who don't want to think about such things would think I'm just a teenager talking about things I don't understand; that I'm traumatized by what I experienced during the war and I'm making things up."

"I understand, and you are likely correct." She replied, and then looked over her notes. "It is good that you were able to speak calmly, if passionately, about the good and bad of your trip and the ceremony."

"I believe you were right to make the trip. Not only to attend the remembrance ceremony but to speak to your family and friends and inform them of your circumstances and decisions." She explained.

"Hearing and seeing their reactions to your appearance and decisions will only help you further in your recovery and healing. Even your visits to those who have departed this world will help in your healing." She continued.

"It's commendable that you care and are passionate about the integrity of the British government and other governments in general, but make sure you don't stress over the problems too much. Right now there doesn't seem to be much you can do, but perhaps in the future you can do something to make a difference." She said kindly.

"Thank you. Although, I doubt it considering the career path I've chosen." Mamoru said with a slight smile.

"You never know. Anything is possible when you put your mind to it." Healer Yuuhi said with a smile.

Mamoru just shrugged. He couldn't see himself going into politics. He thought he would have even less patience for it than he would with teaching.

"I think this will be all for today's session." She said. "I don't want to continue our usual schedule on our journey through your life since I don't want to mar the progress you've made for the particular subjects we addressed today."

"Yes. I think that would be for the best." He agreed.

He didn't want to be distracted from the task he had set for himself, which was to begin looking for his birth parents resting place, by thoughts of other events that had happened in his life.

He was fine with only thinking about what he had talked about in this session. That for some reason he was passionate about governments working the way they should and not being corrupt.

Although, he didn't want to seem cold or callous, he didn't understand why he cared. He could understand his concern about the ministry in England since he had lived there and experienced it first hand, and he supposed he should care about the ministry here since he now lived here, but he didn't understand why he cared about the others around the world.

Admittedly it was a vague care, but it was obviously there, and he felt like it even extended into the non-magical governments.

He also thought he should spend some time thinking about Ron and Hermione, and mourning the loss of those years' long friendships.

"Alright. Same time next week?" Healer Yuuhi asked, wanting to confirm it even though she already knew it.

"Yes." Mamoru said as he stood up. "I'll definitely be here."

"Okay. I'll see you then." She said, and he nodded.

"Bye." He said as he moved toward the door.

"Goodbye Mr. Chiba." She said, and he opened the door and left the room to head back down to the Apparition point.

He remembered how thankful he had been to discover the institute had one, so he didn't have to catch the train there and back every single time he came for his appointment.

Mamoru waved politely to the receptionist as he reached the main floor and stepped toward the Apparition point. She waved back with a kind smile, and he focused on the Apparition point in his apartment and willed himself home.

He disappeared and within the blink of an eye he was standing in front of his door just inside his apartment. Helios was sitting on his perch and looking his way so he greeted him as he walked toward the couch and sat down in the middle with a sigh.

He reached up and pulled his Mokeskin pouch out from under his shirt before he pulled it off over his head. As he was resizing it he heard a familiar flapping sound before Helios landed on his thigh. He smiled as he opened the pouch.

"I'm about to start looking for where my birth parents were laid to rest." He said as he reached in and pulled out the large envelop with his adoption papers and other related information.

"I think it would be only right to visit them since I've done the same for my adopted parents, and as strange as this sounds I don't want them thinking I've forgotten them or that I'm ignoring them. After all, without them I wouldn't exist." He explained.

Of course, he knew it wasn't strange. It was pushed to the back of his mind, but he had in no way forgotten that just like with his adopted parents and Ginny his birth parents were watching him live his life.

Helios hooted softly and he sensed his understanding.

Mamoru closed and shrunk the pouch back down and slipped it safely back over his head. Very much not wanting to leave it lying around even in his own secured apartment since he never knew when he was going to have to leave, and he needed it to be safe with him with what it contained.

He opened the envelope and pulled out the stack of paperwork, and began to carefully look through each piece for any information on what he was looking for.

He grimaced after a bit as he came across two sheets of paper, which turned out to be his birth parents death certificates. That find made him realize just how thorough his mom and dad had been, and gave him confidence that what he was looking for was there.

As he was looking through the papers part of his mind turned to Ron and Hermione, and the ending of his friendship with them.

He still couldn't understand why they had accused him of the things they had.

First being, why Ron thought he would invite him to live with him after he moved out. Yeah they had been best mates, but Ron had seemed fine living at home with his family; especially after the losses they had suffered. Plus, Ron had started being angry with him. He certainly didn't want to live with that. He had dealt with that twice before, during their fourth year and when they were hunting for the Horcruxes, and was uninterested in doing it again.

And the reparations with the goblins still had him shaking his head; especially Hermione saying it was irresponsible of him not to take care of it. What was irresponsible was her not thinking of doing her part herself! That hadn't been some minor school issue. It had been serious!

He supposed with her, even being as smart as she is, it hadn't occurred to her that she needed to go back and make things right. Maybe it was because she didn't have an account or vault with them. That was the only reason he could think of for her not to have been to the bank in those many months after the war.

And as far as he was concerned Ron was lucky the goblins hadn't transferred his misdeeds over to the entire Weasley family, because he knew all of them except maybe Charlie had their own vaults with them. He was sure if the goblins had done that then Ron would have certainly heard something about it very quickly. Especially with Bill and Fleur working at the bank.

He remembered Hermione's words about how it was the least he could have done for them after all they had done for him. Yeah, he should have paid their portion, and done triple the work while they were off in Australia without a word looking for the parents she had obliviated because she didn't want them stopping her from going on the hunt.

And then after that he and Ron could have moved into Grimmauld Place together, snapping at each other, until Hermione finished school and then she moved in with them. Then he would have had to deal with her trying to tell him what to do and how to live his life in his own house!

Mamoru shook his head slightly, uncomfortable with how easily he had been able to imagine that situation.

This drew his thoughts toward how Hermione could just assume he was using alcohol and women to cope with what had happened during the war, and how Ron had very easily taken her word as fact and become more angry with him over it.

She had just spouted that out with no evidence of it. She hadn't even been around him enough to make an educated guess in that direction! It was just outrageous; especially considering Ron was doing at least one of the things she accused him of.

She didn't seem to know about Ron's alcohol use though. Of course she didn't see him very much either, with having been at Hogwarts, but she saw Ron more than she had seen him. He suspected her feelings were causing her to be willfully blind to that new fault in him.

And Ron, as had happened before, had easily and likely happily, considering his anger at him, believed her unfounded words. And seemed to focus on the using women part of her words and ignore the alcohol part altogether, which wasn't surprising given his own alcohol use.

Wouldn't want to draw Hermione's attention and focus on him, and find out what he had been doing. He thought unhappily. That was something he had seen him do before, and heard about him doing with his brothers when it came to their parents.

He just wished that things could have been different with them. They had been good friends while they were in school for the most part, but he guessed growing older and being out of school made him see things differently. Or at least opened his eyes and made him see whereas before he would have ignored or just not seen their behavior for what it was.

And what it was was them seeming to feel like they could treat me however they wanted and I would accept it because that was what they were used to. Maybe they couldn't accept that I've grown up. That I'm no longer the famous little wizard that knew nothing about magic and had never had a friend before. He thought.

Mamoru's thoughts suddenly stopped abruptly as he came across an official looking paper that had the name of a law firm on it, and seemed to be about both sets of parents and his adoption.

Reading more he understood that it was the law firm his birth parents had used, and that the firm seemed to have handled everything legal in regards to his adoption and everything to do with his birth parents. Going by that he figured the listed lawyer had to know something about what happened to his birth parents.

He looked at the phone number and accompanying address of the law firm, and realized there were two sets and that one belonged to a location in London.

I suppose that makes sense considering the name of the firm has 'international' in it. Having an office where the client is located or will be located would be very convenient. He thought reasonably.

He noted the number for the Tokyo office and pulled out his cell phone, something he had taken to keeping on him even if only two people had the number, and dialed the number as he idly looked to Helios, who was still perched on his leg and watching him.

"Good afternoon, this is Taisho and Yoshida International Law Firm. My name is Hanna Chihiro; how may I help you today?" The woman who answered said.

"Does a Yukimura Masako still practice with the firm?" He asked.

"Yes of course Mrs. Yukimura does indeed practice here." Ms. Hanna answered.

"Ah okay. Then I would like to make an appointment to see her if possible." He said.

"That will be no problem at all. We simply need to see where we can fit you into her schedule." Ms. Hanna said. "Can I have your name please?"

"Chiba Mamoru." He answered.

"And your phone number please?" She asked, and he gave both his home and cell number. "Is time of the essence?"

"No, but the matter I want to see her about is delicate." Mamoru replied.

From there they began to go through the closest days and times available, and he eventually picked a day that was the day before his therapy session and a half an hour after he got out of school for the day.

That would give him enough time to get home and change and make his way to the location of the law office.

Which reminds me I have to go find the office so I don't have to search for it the day of and end up late for my appointment. He told himself.

~xXx~

After school Usagi walked with Ami and Luna, who had joined the two girls a block from the school where she had clearly been waiting, as they made their way to Ami's home so they could speak in private.

This was the first chance they had gotten to get together and talk since the day Ami was discovered to be Sailor Mercury and awakened. Between her after school class and Usagi's tutoring with Mamoru then subsequently hanging out with him they just hadn't managed it before that day.

As they walked they talked about their school day and how it went. Even with them going to the same school they didn't have the same class, and they hadn't even seen each other during the lunch hour.

They learned that the school day was the usual for each of them and lunch for Ami had been a quiet affair since she hadn't eaten with anyone. Ami was honest yet embarrassed to admit that she didn't have any friends. Apparently people were intimidated by her intelligence and thought she was arrogant and prideful.

"You're just shy." Usagi said as she shook her head. "You can hang out with me and my friend Naru during lunch."

"She won't mind?" Ami asked as they neared her apartment.

"No." Usagi answered kindly. "I'll introduce you two tomorrow."

"Okay." Ami agreed, already a little nervous at the prospect.

A little more than five minutes passed before they reached a high rise building. Ami led them through the door and into a lobby and Usagi immediately recognized it as an apartment building when she saw the group of mailboxes.

In no time they reached the elevator and took one up to Ami's floor where they walked down a quiet hallway to a specific door. She unlocked it and welcomed them to her home.

"Nice." Usagi side as she followed Ami inside and looked around.

She couldn't help comparing it to Mamoru's apartment since his was the only other one she had experience with. Ami's appeared to be visibly larger just moving along the short hallway from the door into the living room area and seeing it and the kitchen dining area.

She also noted that Ami's living room didn't have a balcony, but it had more windows since the wall was longer.

Following Ami out of the living room and down a hallway she noticed that was bigger as well, more wider, and they entered a room that was clearly a bedroom. The room was large, not as large as Mamoru's bedroom, the floor was covered in blue carpet, and although it didn't have a balcony it had a large window against one wall with white curtains.

The bed had red covers, there was a vanity with a mirror, a brown desk with a computer and various books piled on it, a TV, and phone.

"Make yourself comfortable wherever you like." Ami said before she sat herself in the chair at her desk.

Luna hopped onto the bed and settled at the end, and Usagi plopped herself on the floor in the space between the end of the bed and the desk.

"Usagi, I wanted to ask you earlier if you didn't have your tutoring today?" Luna asked. "You usually go every day or at least every week day."

"Not today. Mamoru, that's the name of my tutor," Usagi said for Ami's benefit. "has one day a week where he has to do something else. Sometimes it's during the time where we would normally be working on my studies, and sometimes he can do it afterward."

"He always lets me know the day before. That's how I knew I would be free for this meeting today." She said. "Tomorrow I'll be meeting him as usual after school."

Luna nodded her understanding, and Ami nodded as well; happy to know that she wasn't the only one focused on her studies.

"Can I ask what he's tutoring you in?" Ami asked curiously.

"Yeah. He's helping me with my English." Usagi answered. "I'm definitely happy with my progress so far." She said proudly.

"Good for you." Ami said. "If..if you want more help I can help as well since I'm fluent." She offered shyly.

"Yeah! That would be great!" Usagi accepted eagerly. "I'm at the point where he's starting to have small conversations with me, and I've started to spontaneously use English when I greet him. So I think having someone else to speak to will help me learn more."

"Now that you two have that decided on how about we start the meeting." Luna said before they could branch off into a different conversation. That could wait until after Ami had been brought up to date.

"First, before we talk about anything, I want to know how to get my transformation pen since it didn't reappear when I released my transformation." Ami said before the feline could continue. "I thought I should know before we talk more in case something happens before we finish talking."

It was something she had been worried about since the fight at her cram school ended. She had hoped fervently since then that no attack by another of those creatures happened.

Beyond that she had wanted her pen as further proof that what happened was real. As it was if it hadn't been for her communicator and Usagi's instant greeting when she saw her the next day she would have thought she had imagined the whole ordeal.

"That's understandable." Usagi said as she nodded.

"It is in your subspace pocket; a personal dimension space to carry items you cannot keep in your clothing pockets and need to have with you at all times." Luna answered. "All you have to do is gesture with your hand and think of wanting your transformation pen and it will appear in your hand. It's as simple as releasing your transformation."

Amy nodded and took a steadying breath before she gestured with her hand and filled her mind with wanting her blue and gold transformation pen. Instantly it appeared in her palm and she wrapped her fingers around it. It looked just as she remembered, blue and gold, and still felt right in her hand.

She then focused on wanting to put it away back in her subspace pocket, and watched it disappear just as quickly as it had appeared. Then she gestured with her hand again as she focused on wanting the pen, and watched it once again appear.

"I have something for you that will help in your duty. There was no opportunity to give it to you before, but I think now is the better time anyway." Luna told Ami before she leapt up into the air and did a backflip.

There was a slight flash of light as she flipped and when she landed back on the bed there was a small blue rectangular item that landed with her.

"This is your super computer." She said as she pushed it forward with a paw.

Ami leaned forward in her chair and picked up the tiny computer. It was about the length of a remote control, and blue with a gold symbol for Mercury on it.

"Don't let its size fool you. It can be used to scan your surroundings and analyze data, which can be very useful in battle, and help you possibly identify weak points in your enemies as well solve very complex and scientific problems." Luna explained.

"Wow." Ami said, her eyes widening with Luna's words.

She opened the device and saw a black screen taking up the entire underside of the lid except for a white border with a gold symbol for Mercury in the bottom right corner. On the lower half was a series of yellow square buttons that clearly looked like a keyboard, a row of five round buttons beneath that, and off to the side was an arrow button and four oblong buttons in a circle that clearly indicated they were up, down, left, right buttons.

"Nice. I'm sure you'll be able to put that to good use." Usagi said as she eyed the little computer. She couldn't imagine whipping that out in the middle of a fight, but maybe Ami would be able to.

"Thanks Luna." Ami said with a smile. "So I can keep all of my senshi items inside this subspace pocket? My transformation pen, communicator, and this minicomputer?" She asked.

"Yes if you want to." Luna answered.

"I've already begun to keep my communicator in there sometimes." Usagi added, and then after a short silence she spoke again. "You have questions." She said kindly as she looked at the other girl.

Ami nodded and took a steadying breath.

"You're Sailor Moon." She said.

"Yup!" Usagi confirmed as she nodded.

"And I'm Sailor Mercury." Ami said.

"That's how it looked to me." Usagi said, and Ami nodded before she looked to Luna.

"How did you know I was Sailor Mercury?" She asked.

"I saw the symbol for Mercury glowing on your forehead." Luna answered.

Usagi frowned lightly as she recalled Luna saying that when she first told her she had found Sailor Mercury.

When she had asked how she would know when she had found a senshi Luna had said she would see their planetary symbol. She also remembered thinking that Luna hadn't seen such a symbol on her, and identified her as a senshi by the power she sensed inside her.

She was curious about the difference now that she had seen an example of Luna finding one of her fellow senshi that way, but she was still reluctant to open up that can of worms and see where it led.

"Okay." Ami said as she nodded. "What are we exactly?" She asked quietly with a light frown.

"You are sailor senshi." Luna answered.

"What is that?" Ami asked.

"A sailor senshi is a female warrior charged with the duty to protect and support the Moon Princess." Luna said.

"Who is this Moon Princess? I've never heard of a royal having that title. And why does she suddenly need protecting?" Ami asked in confusion. "I thought we were only supposed to be dealing with those strange occurrences I've heard about on the news, and the creatures like what my teacher became. At least I assume there are more of them."

Usagi looked to Luna, leaving it to her to explain, and wondered if she would say anything different from when she had explained the situation to her.

"The Moon Princess was the heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom back in the Silver Millennium, and next in line to wield and guard the imperial silver crystal; a very powerful object that could only be used correctly by the royal moon line." Luna answered.

"Because of this she was given five guardian senshi to protect her during her life; Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Mercury." She added.

"How long ago was this Silver Millennium?" Ami asked. "I don't recall ever hearing about such an era."

"I can't exactly be sure since I don't recall all of my memories yet, but I believe it to have been around one thousand to two thousand years ago." Luna said, and watched the young girl frown.

"Why haven't I heard of the Moon Kingdom or its royalty? Why isn't it in the history books?" Ami asked. "If your numbers are right it was after the time of the Ancient Egyptians and possibly during the time of Ancient Rome."

"Is it because it was the Moon and not the Earth? And why are we on the Earth now if we were supposed to guard a princess from the Moon?" She asked with a frown.

"Good questions." Usagi said as she nodded, and looked to Luna since she wanted to know as well.

"First, I could very well be completely wrong about the time frame, and the Silver Millennium could have been long before that. You should be prepared for that possibility." Luna said seriously.

"Second, if I am wrong about the time frame that could very well be why there are no records of that time period." She continued.

"Third, it would not have mattered if it was the Moon or Earth. There had been life on all the planets in the solar system, so the Earth would have had records and artifacts to be found. They just would have pertained to the kingdom on the Earth rather than the Moon." She explained.

"Lastly, I don't know why we're all on the Earth. If I had to guess I would say we were all sent here, us and the beings you are fighting, by someone or something with the power to do it. I would not be surprised if it is the power of the silver crystal that was responsible." Luna said.

Ami and Usagi exchanged a wide eyed look as they both considered how powerful the silver crystal was if it was responsible for sending them all to the Earth. The thought was even more impressive if they had all been dead at the time they were sent, because that meant their souls had been sent.

"Okay, so we're supposed to guard this princess, and fight creatures like the one my teacher became." Ami summarized.

"That creature was a youma, and yes that is exactly what your duty is. The youma are attacking people around the city to collect their life energy. You and Usagi have to prevent that from happening. Not only because it is wrong and people can die, but because one of their potential victims could be the princess." Luna explained.

"In addition to that danger the princess is in further danger because she is the only one who can correctly use and guard the silver crystal. If she, and especially the silver crystal, fall into the wrong hands it could be catastrophic. You have to protect her." She continued seriously.

"Um..can I assume the princess hasn't been found yet?" Ami asked.

"Correct. It is part of your duty to find her." Luna said.

Ami exchanged a look with Usagi, and could tell that she was also concerned about that.

"How are we supposed to find her?" Ami asked.

"You'll have to search. You, Usagi, and your fellow senshi." Luna said seriously.

"Which means we'll have a better chance, small comfort that is, after we find Jupiter, Mars, and Venus." Usagi said with a light sigh. "Luna said before that since we're all here in Tokyo the other senshi and the princess will hopefully be here as well since it would make sense for us all to be gathered in one area. That means we won't have to search the whole planet." She told Ami.

"That's a relief." Ami said since she wouldn't have known how to go about searching the whole world for specific people. "Will the silver crystal be with the princess or will we have to find it as well?"

"I asked the same thing." Usagi commented.

"I'm not sure. It would definitely be good, the best possible outcome, if it was already with her since it is only safe in her hands. However, that also means she would be in more danger, so you should be prepared for that as well as the possibility that they are not together." Luna told them both.

"And if they aren't together? How will we find the silver crystal?" Ami asked.

Usagi nodded as she looked to Luna, having wondered the same thing even if she hadn't asked.

"I am unsure about that." Luna admitted. "I feel like I have the answer in my mind, but I can't grasp it if that makes sense."

"It does make sense." Usagi said as she nodded. "It's with the memories that haven't returned or aren't clear enough in your mind yet. We'll just have to figure it out on our own, hope the princess knows, or wait until you remember."

Ami nodded in agreement.

"If we're supposed to guard and protect the princess what's your role in this Luna?" She asked.

"I am to be an advisor and guide to the Senshi, and when the princess is found I will be her guardian and advisor." Luna answered, and Ami nodded.

"Did we live on the Moon with the princess or did we somehow live on the planet we were senshi of?" Ami asked after a few silent moments of thought.

"We all lived on the Moon with the princess, but you five were born and lived on the planet you are senshi of during your childhood." Luna said, and both Ami and Usagi nodded.

"Since you're remembering the past will the rest of us remember as well?" Ami asked.

"Hopefully yes since you would remember the princess, and that will make it easier to find her." Luna answered, and both Ami and Usagi nodded.

"How are we going to find the other senshi?" Ami asked Usagi.

"I don't know." Usagi said as she shrugged. "Luna found you and told me about it later. The day we met I had no idea you were a senshi, couldn't tell at all, so I don't know how we're supposed to do it without Luna being around."

"The only way I can see that happening is if we start to remember the past, and if we all happened to look exactly as we did in the past." She added thoughtfully.

"She's right." Luna said. "That is the only way if I am not around to immediately identify them. However, if you have a suspicion that a girl or young woman you know or meet could be a senshi then I can come and confirm or deny it."

Ami and Usagi nodded their understanding.

"What about that masked man? Who is he?" Ami asked after a few thoughtful moments.

"His name is Tuxedo Kamen." Usagi answered. "He's been helping during youma attacks since my first fight. He just seems to know when to show up in time to help."

She didn't feel the need to tell them that he sometimes showed up before the fights, and met her on her way to the attack scene.

"I'm concerned about his possible motives, and would prefer you both be careful around him." Luna added firmly.

Ami nodded slowly, seeing nothing wrong with being cautious. Usagi shrugged, not having a problem doing that even if she thought it was unnecessary.

"Okay, so um…" Ami said, trying to think of something else to ask, not wanting to forget and have to ask later since she wanted all her answers right now. "Are the fights always like what happened in my class? You and Tuxedo…Kamen?" She said, not wanting to say his name wrong, and watched Usagi nod. "You two were moving fast."

"I'm not going to lie to you. They are like that, but not always with the youma controlling people." Usagi said. "It's scary and fast paced and hard to focus on fighting when you're being attacked by something that clearly isn't human."

"Do the youma always look like a creature?" Ami asked.

"Usually they start off looking human because they're disguised in their attempt to get human energy, but after they're forced to let it go they look like creatures." Usagi explained.

"When they're disguised like that I make sure that they're really a youma and not a regular person. That can be difficult and dangerous, but maybe your new computer can help with that now." She added.

"I hope I can help with that. I certainly don't want to attack a regular person by mistake." Ami said, and then sighed. "Um..do your parents know about you being a senshi?" She asked.

"No." Usagi said as she shook her head. "I think they wouldn't exactly be happy if they did know nor approving."

"I guess this is something we should keep a secret." Ami said thoughtfully.

"Yes. That would be ideal." Luna replied firmly, and the two girls nodded silently.

"Luna do you remember if there were senshi of the other planets? You know, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto?" Usagi asked the feline.

"I don't remember yet, but I imagine there probably was." Luna answered thoughtfully. "I think they would have had different duties since there were only five Guardian Senshi." She added, and Usagi and Ami nodded.

"Was there a senshi for the Earth?" Ami asked curiously. "Since it seems the planets closest to the Moon had one, and they were the ones that protected the princess. It would make since that a senshi of the Earth would be part of that group being close to the Moon."

Usagi looked on in interest. That did make sense. If there were senshi for every planet and a kingdom on every planet in the past then it would make sense that there would be a senshi of the Earth.

"You're right. It would make sense, but I don't get the sense that there was a senshi of the Earth." Luna said as she shook her head.

"At least that's one less person we have to find." Usagi said optimistically, and Ami nodded.

"What are we going to do if the princess is younger or older than us?" Usagi asked suddenly as she looked to Ami and Luna. "What if she's an adult with a job? How are we going to justify being around her?"

"What if she's a toddler?" Ami asked as well. "We can't possibly justify even trying to be around her without explaining the truth to her parents."

"And that would be made even worse if she's an orphan and doesn't have a family yet." Usagi said, thinking of Mamoru and how he had become an orphan in an instant, twice, and been lucky to be adopted so quickly after the first time.

"Perhaps you should wait until you find the princess and learn her age before you worry about that." Luna advised the pair. "Hopefully the other senshi will have been awakened before you need to worry about it."

"Yes. That way there would be more of us to come up with a plan." Ami said as she nodded, and Usagi nodded as well.

From there they began to discuss what they knew about the enemy they were fighting against. Apparently they were called the Dark Kingdom and the youma were coming from there. There was obviously someone within that "kingdom" that was sending out the youma, but they had no idea who that was.

They were just going to have to keep their eyes and ears open for more clues and information. Hopefully they would know more before the princess was found.

~HPxXxMC~

Saturday found Mamoru and Motoki at Mamoru's apartment for his tutoring session. At the moment they were sitting at the kitchen table taking a break as they ate some snacks and quenched their thirst with a bottle of Butterbeer each.

"So how's your friendship with Usagi going?" Motoki asked curiously before he took a sip of his drink.

He remembered when Mamoru told him about the girl he had met being Usagi, and being surprised that it was the golden blonde haired girl that had liked to hang out at the arcade.

"It's fine. Although, I realized a while ago that she has feelings for me." Mamoru revealed. "I haven't addressed her feelings outright, but I did tell her about my last girlfriend and that I'm still mourning her."

Motoki remembered learning about the death of Mamoru's girlfriend before he left for the remembrance ceremony back in England; from the way it sounded he thought his friend had plans to marry her.

"Does that mean you like her too since you told her about your last girlfriend instead of just putting her off completely?" He asked.

"I'm attracted to her and steadily drawn to her," Mamoru admitted. "but I'm not interested in a relationship. I still miss my Ginny; that was her name you know. Ginevra actually, but she liked Ginny better. I still love her, and I'm still in love with her. Plus, Usagi is too young for me."

Motoki nodded noncommittally. Those were valid reasons, but Mamoru sounded like he was trying to convince himself of why he couldn't be with her.

The fact that he was being Usagi's friend, spending time with her on a daily basis, meant his friend wanted to keep her close. He was probably waiting for his grief to become less before he tried to start anything with her, because he fully believed Mamoru liked Usagi enough to start a relationship with her despite her being younger.

It's just a matter of Mamoru giving himself permission. He thought.

"Aside from any romantic feelings how do you like her as a friend?" He asked, and watched his friend smile.

"I definitely like being her friend. She's cheerful and fun to be around, and I like that she likes to take me to do fun things; things I haven't experienced before." Mamoru said.

"I like that she isn't pushy and doesn't try to make me do things I don't want to do. Or talk about things I don't want to talk about. And I definitely like that she wanted to know about Ginny." He added.

"She did?!" Motoki said in surprise.

"Yeah." Mamoru said as he nodded. "I was just as surprised, but she wanted to know all about her. Said she must have been really great if I wanted her as my girlfriend, and that she must have had a big impact on my life."

"Wow. I had no idea Usagi was so understanding." Motoki said, and Mamoru nodded in agreement. "Do you think you'll ever tell her about being a wizard?"

"I don't know. I guess it depends on how close of a friend she becomes." Mamoru answered. Although, if I do tell her she'll be able to handle the information considering her secret identity as Sailor Moon. He thought.

"So how are your other friends doing? Do you have a girlfriend?" He asked after a few silent moments. He had never asked him about a girlfriend before.

"Most of my friends started their career jobs when we graduated, so I drifted away from them since they didn't have much time to hangout. I have my part time job, and I do tutoring, but it isn't a full time career job. And they just didn't seem interested in trying to maintain contact." Motoki explained.

"I have some friends like that, but they aren't close; just acquaintances. If I saw them I would greet them and catch up, but I didn't go out of my way to stay in touch." Mamoru said. "And I only drifted away from two; my former close friends."

"They didn't die did they?" Motoki asked delicately.

"No. I drifted away from them because of the way they had been trying to treat me." Mamoru said.

"How were they treating you?" Motoki asked curiously.

"They were accusing me of things. Ron, my former best friend, accused me of not really caring about his sister, Ginny was his only sister, because I wasn't grieving out in the open in front of everyone or at least in front of him." Mamoru said.

"My other former close friend, and Ron's girlfriend, accused me of dealing with what happened during the war by becoming an alcoholic and a womanizer." He continued.

Motoki sucked in a sharp breath in shock, and Mamoru nodded.

"And that with no evidence." He added. "Ron took that as fact, because she's, honestly, very smart and he's used to her always being right, and said I couldn't have cared about Ginny if I could sleep with every woman that caught my eye now."

"Wow." Motoki said.

"The accusations came when I was over there for the ceremony, directly afterward when people were mingling and talking, so I ended the friendship right then." Mamoru said.

"I had been hoping that when I finally talked to them they would have calmed down and dealt with their emotions and issues caused by the war and grieving, especially in Ron's case." He continued. "He hadn't just lost his only sister, but he had twin brothers that were two years older than us, and he had lost one of them as well."

"On top of that he had a temper. So I understood with his grieving, and I was used to his temper even if I didn't like it." He said. "With my other former friend, Hermione, she was bossy. She was like a mother trying to tell me what I should do, and when I should do it, when she wasn't trying to pressure me into doing what she wanted. She didn't want to give me my privacy."

"I've been away from that behavior and I had realized that I didn't want to go back to dealing with that. That it would be bad for me to back-step into that, so I decided not to." He finished.

"That was unexpected." Motoki said. "I hadn't expected friends of yours to treat you like that. How could they say that with no evidence? I certainly haven't seen any evidence of such since I met you."

"The only thing I can think of is this get together a bunch of us had a few months before I traveled here, and a few months after the war." Mamoru said thoughtfully. "A friend had organized it, wanting the group to get together one more time before everyone spread out and started settling into their lives."

"It was at a new pub in the magical alley, and this girl I had liked back in school and went on one date with started coming on to me for lack of better way to say it, strongly, while I was sitting at the bar alone." He continued.

"My friend Neville got rid of her for me, and then suddenly Ron was calling out to me accusing me of flirting with the girl; while drunk I might add. And Hermione was with him and had agreed with him saying that was the way it looked to her, which I thought was ridiculous. As far as I was concerned I didn't know how to flirt, and didn't even bother trying when I was with Ginny." He explained.

"Even then I didn't bother arguing with him, and just let him think what he was going to think. I hadn't wanted the stress." He said as he shook his head.

"And you weren't drinking at the bar?" Motoki asked.

"No." Mamoru said as he shook his head. "One of my acquaintances got me some alcoholic drink I'd never heard of until that day, but I didn't touch it. I knew I shouldn't with the mental issues I knew I was having on top of my grief. I'd actually been drinking a Butterbeer instead."

"It's sad that you weren't able to mend things with them considering how long you had been friends, but you were right to put your mental and emotional health first." Motoki said as he nodded.

"I'm glad to have you as a friend since you can relate to me what with the both of us still going to school even though we've finished our mandatory education." He added, and his friend smiled in agreement.

"As for a girlfriend, I don't have one, but I have met a girl at school recently." He revealed. "Her name's Reika, and she's non-magical. She's our age, and I think she's pretty and smart. I'm going to try to get to know her, and see what happens."

"What does she look like?" Mamoru asked curiously.

"She's as tall as me with long red hair that's like reddish-brown red more than a vibrant red, and she has burgundy eyes." Motoki listed.

"Nice." Mamoru said as he nodded. "Good luck getting to know her."

"Thanks." Motoki said before he took a sip of his drink. "You know, Usagi isn't the only one that can take you to do new and fun things. Have you ever been to a club?"

"A club?" Mamoru repeated a little blankly.

"Yeah. A club to go drinking and dancing; usually at night." Motoki explained.

"Ah." Mamoru said in understanding. "I haven't been to one. I remember you mentioning there was a nightclub on Hachijō-jima island, and being curious about it."

"In that case I'm going to have to introduce you to both magical and non-magical clubs. In fact, if you don't have anything to do later we can go to one tonight." Motoki said.

I am curious and Motoki is right that it would be a new experience. He thought as he blinked in surprise. I just hope Usagi doesn't need me while we're out.

He had been lucky that hadn't happened so far. The closest was the morning of the remembrance ceremony, and even then he had been back in more than enough time to not have to stress or worry.

He couldn't imagine having to come up with an excuse for why he was late to that event; especially with him having been seated in one of the front rows.

He just didn't know what excuse he would give Motoki if he had to leave without warning. And now that he was thinking about it, it was the same with his mind healer. He didn't know what he would do if Usagi needed him while he was speaking to his Healer. He couldn't imagine walking out unless he was angry.

At least he didn't have to worry about coming up with excuses with Usagi. If anything she would have to come up with one for him, but then those creatures didn't seem to attack while they were together. Or she just never learned while they were together.

Although, I have noticed that more than a few times she needed me not long after we've parted from spending time together. He thought, and wondered how she was being alerted to those youma creatures.

Probably that talking black cat. He thought.

"I don't have anything to do or anything planned, so I'm good to go." Mamoru said.

"Great!" Motoki said. "I can't wait to see how you react."

From there the friends talked about what time Motoki would come pick him up, what he should wear, and some idea of what the club would be like as they finished their drink and snacks.

It was then he learned that he would be taking him to a non-magical club, and that the magical club would come another weekend.

Once the information had been relayed they got back to Mamoru's studies, so they could finish up as soon as possible, and have as much time as necessary to prepare.

~xXx~

Hours later Mamoru was in his bedroom getting dressed, and a little worried about how he looked. The last thing he wanted was to look foolish, but he had asked Motoki what he should wear earlier and this qualified.

He was wearing black slack pants and a dark blue button up long sleeve shirt. He left the first couple of buttons undone enough for his neck to show, but not enough that his Mokeskin pouch would no longer be hidden.

Looking in the mirror in his bathroom he thought he looked okay. The outfit was simple but he once again reminded himself that it qualified according to his friend's suggestions.

Shaking his head he walked out and sat on his bed and grabbed the shoes he had picked. They were simple black shoes and comfortable, but they went with what he had chosen to wear so he pulled them on.

He went and looked in the mirror one more time, wondering if he should do something about his hair but then remembered that he hadn't even thought to buy a comb.

Do I even need one? He wondered as he gazed at his hair thoughtfully. He had no one to look good for and his hair had been fine all this time without one.

My fingers are good enough for the time being. He decided with a shrug, and figured he would consider getting a comb another time.

Mamoru looked around and thought if he had cologne he would put some on, but just like with the comb he hadn't even thought to get some. Then in the next moment he decided that was a good thing since he didn't want to attract some girl with a desirable scent.

He left his bathroom, turning off the light, and grabbed his keys and wallet as he left his bedroom turning that light off as well and made his way to the living room.

"So how do I look?" He asked as he went and stood in front of Helios. "I don't know if I'm going to like going to a nightclub, but I hope I at least look the part."

Helios hooted quietly tilting his feathery head this way and that way as he stared at him. Then he nodded his head and hooted again.

"I'm glad you approve." Mamoru said as he stepped closer and stroked the warm feathers along his head and neck.

A few moments later he heard the familiar popping sound of Apparition and looked to his left to see Motoki standing in the tiny hallway in front of his apartment door. He looked like he was dressed for a club as far as he could tell wearing a shiny looking white shirt, light gray pants, and white shoes.

"Do I look the part?" He asked his friend as he began to walk toward him.

"Yeah; you look fine for the club." Motoki said as he nodded.

Mamoru nodded in return and was about to get his new camera and asked him to take a picture of him to have as proof that he had gone to a club, but decided against it since it wouldn't really be proof; just him in an outfit.

It would be better to take a picture at the club; either inside or outside. He thought as he moved toward Motoki. He would keep his eyes open to see if such an opportunity was available.

"So how are we getting to this club?" He asked as he checked the time, and saw that it was just after 9:30pm.

"I'm going to Apparate us to a side alley near the club. It's a designated Apparition point, so we'll be fine." Motoki answered, and Mamoru nodded.

Motoki had shown him a few of those during his tour around the city. He hadn't been in those areas frequently enough to use them, but he still remembered where each of them was.

Mamoru said a brief goodbye to Helios before he walked over to his personal designated Apparition point, turning off the lights on the way, and placed his hand on Motoki's shoulder.

A few moments later they disappeared from his apartment and reappeared in a dark yet clean alley. He knew it was only as clean as it was because it was an Apparition point and no non-magical could go through it.

He followed Motoki out of the alley and they walked down the street passing buildings with bright signs and swerving around people. He looked around curiously, not having been to this part of the city and not really having been out much at night aside from going to fight youma with Usagi.

As they walked he saw a couple of colorful yet transparent people here and there that he recognized as ghosts. Every single one acknowledged him with a bow or curtsy depending on their gender, and he acknowledged each one in return with a nod of his head.

He was still confused as to why he could see ghosts when he hadn't before outside of Hogwarts. Ever since the first one he saw after returning from England he had been seeing them more frequently as each day passed.

It was disconcerting, but he was getting used to it. He also hadn't been in a position where he could try to speak to one of them, but even if he had he wasn't sure he would have the nerve to do it. Something told him he wasn't ready for what he would hear.

Perhaps it's all the therapy I'm getting. I'm starting to learn when I'm ready to deal with something and when I'm not. He thought idly as they walked.

"There it is." Motoki said a few minutes later as he point up ahead of them toward the non-magical club.

Mamoru blinked as he looked at the line of people that trailed along the sidewalk from a dark doorway where muffled music could be heard. Above the doorway was a small sign, but it stood out from others with its glowing green lettering that read: Tokyo Shiren.

"Interesting name." He commented as they reached the end of the line and took their place in it.

The two friends reached the beginning of the line and the door after a twenty minute wait, and after showing their ID cards to prove they were old enough for the club they finally made it inside where they paid the entrance fee and continued on.

Mamoru blinked his eyes wide and then squinted, his eyes flickering all over, as he took in the atmosphere of the club around them.

The club had a black floor with swirling white lines on the tiles, and lights on a slightly low ceiling that gave off a green teal light. There was a black bar with a white counter off to the side with tall stool seats with white cushions that were attached to the floor, and along most of the edges of the room were tall small white tables with tall seating with white cushions; both attached to the floor.

The green teal lighting made the tables and seats glow interestingly in the dark room, so much so that it continuously drew his eyes, and a DJ played music on one side of the room that pulsed through the air and the body.

As they moved through the large room, swerving around people, he thought the atmosphere was interesting, but he didn't like that there were so many people there. Although he understood that just meant the club was likely doing good or it was popular.

Mamoru looked at the people dancing on the wide open spaced floor as they reached the bar, and didn't think he could do that. It was dark and no one but Motoki knew him, but he just couldn't see himself going out there and dancing.

And what am I going to do? Dance with Motoki? Or some random unknown girl? He thought as he shook his head slightly. That was not happening. He just wasn't comfortable with that.

Still, he took in the way they were dancing more closely. Some wore dancing close together facing each other but with only enough space so their legs didn't knock together.

Others were dancing even closer, as in snug together, as they moved in rhythm with the music. Some were facing chest to back and others were facing each other chest to chest with their arms around each other.

There were others who were a reasonable distance apart, a distance that didn't look too intimate, but his eyes drifted back to the other types of dancers.

Could I have danced this way with Ginny or at least tried to dance this way? He wondered. Technically it was doable since the examples before him were just swaying with the music while pressed together like puzzle pieces.

Would he have been too uncomfortable, or embarrassed, to try? Or would he have been all for it considering he had happily made out with Ginny any chance he got once they got together. He had certainly enjoyed feeling her pressed against him.

Then Usagi's smiling image flashed through his mind.

Would I be willing to dance with her since it would be a first time activity? He wondered as he watched the pairs dancing close together.

No. He vetoed that curious thought in the next moment. She was too young to get into the club, and dancing like the majority of the examples in front of him would no doubt fuel her feelings for him.

Unless I'm bad at dancing. He thought.

Then he considered that such a thing was likely to possibly fuel his own growing feelings for her. It was good that they couldn't do this activity together since what he did do with her was apparently enough for his feelings to steadily, if slowly, grow.

"So what do you think?" Motoki asked, leaning toward him where they sat at the bar to be heard.

"It's interesting, and definitely a new experience." Mamoru said over the music. "I like the music, but I'm not comfortable trying to dance with a stranger."

"That's understandable. I don't usually dance unless I know the girl or could be talked into it by a pretty girl. When I'm not dancing I just listen to the music, and enjoy drinks since it's usually too loud to really talk with whoever I'm with." Motoki said, and he nodded.

"I wouldn't mind just sitting somewhere enjoying the music and watching people dance." Mamoru said.

"So do you want to get a drink?" Motoki asked as he looked at the people dancing with drinks in their hand.

"Only if they have anything nonalcoholic because I don't really drink." Mamoru replied. "And if I do decide to have anything it would be something small in the privacy of my home or a place where I trust the people."

He was serious about that. It was why he hadn't drank anything when prompted back before he had traveled to Japan, and why the bottle of saké he had gotten from Kototama Market was still unopened.

He wasn't a casual drinker and there had been no special occasion to have him opening the bottle. Plus, he never knew when Usagi would need him, and he didn't need to be drunk and trying to help her fight youma.

Beyond that he needed his mind clear so he didn't use his magic randomly and publicly, blurt out any of his secrets, or risk something happening to the Deathly Hallows.

Motoki nodded his understanding and made a mental note to remember that fact. His friend was not a drinker, and if he decided to partake in something it would likely be at home or in a more secure quieter setting.

"Let's see if we can find something you can drink." He said, and Mamoru nodded in agreement.

They both shifted in their seats until they were facing the bar with the dancers to their back. They spoke to the bar tender and Mamoru ended up with a fizzy concoction that tasted like ginger and cold orange juice. He liked it and best of all it had no alcohol in it.

Motoki on the other hand got a drink that had alcohol in it. He didn't intend to drink much, but he wanted something that would get him a little more than buzzed.

They took their drinks and moved away from the bar, and to one of the tall tables that was currently clean and empty. They talked about the music pulsing around them, which branched off into what types of music they liked, which branched off into Mamoru telling Motoki about Usagi taking him to a music store.

A few minutes later a man with a camera came by and offered to take their picture and sell it to them. Mamoru saw that it was an instant camera and after being shown the quality of picture it took he was all for it since this what he had wanted earlier.

Motoki was fine with it and they each requested one before they smiled for the camera. The flash went off twice and after seeing the pictures they paid and took their copy.

Mamoru smiled lightly at his copy; proof that he had been to a club. At least you could tell it was a club once you were told that's what it was if you had never been to one before.

And I'll have to wait to show this to Bill and Fleur, and George and Neville until after I tell them about being adopted. He thought since he didn't look like the Harry they were used to seeing.

He subtly shrunk it down with a wandless gesture, and placed it safely inside his wallet before he put that back safely inside his pocket.

Before they could even talk about what they were going to do with the pictures a couple of girls walked up to them and struck up a conversation.

Mamoru had no problem talking to them if only to be polite and for Motoki's sake. He might be interested in the girl at his school, but that didn't mean he wasn't interested in simply being social or meeting someone better.

They're pretty. He admitted as he looked at the trio of girls.

One had dirty blonde hair, one had black hair, and the last had light brown hair with red streaks in it. All of them were dressed appropriately for the club, at least he assumed so, judging by the other women he had seen walking and dancing around.

As attractive as they were, however, he wasn't at all interested, and one of the reasons why was because they were a Cho Chang pretty. He had never denied that Cho was pretty, even after he had lost interest in her he had continued to think she was pretty, but afterward he had begun to notice things about her that he didn't like.

Like the fact that she used her beauty to get what she wanted, that she used her tears to try to manipulate, that she cried when she didn't get her way, and got angry and vindictive when crying didn't work to get her way.

These girls reminded him of her. They were pretty and knew it, and used their looks to try to get what they wanted. He could tell because of the way they were talking to them. They wanted something from them, and were going to try and used their looks to get it.

That's not happening. At least not with me. He thought as he glanced to Motoki.

He was willing to be social, but that was all. He wasn't buying them any drinks, he wasn't dancing with them, he wasn't flirting with them, and definitely wasn't doing anything intimate with them.

Hopefully they'll leave and move on to other people to talk to, so I can get back to enjoying this first time experience. He thought as he took a sip of his drink, making sure to keep his palm over the top of the glass once he was done.

The last thing he wanted was the non-magical version of a love potion or some drug that could alter his mind running through his system.

~HPxXxMC~

It had been a week since Ami had been awakened as Sailor Mercury, and only a few days since she had been brought up to speed on what her duty was and what she was going to be dealing with from now on.

It was still hard for her to believe that she was a sailor senshi, Sailor Mercury, but she had transformed and she had her new items to prove it when she woke up believing it had all just been a fantastical dream.

Then there was her new friendship with Usagi, and she wore her transformation brooch on her school uniform in plain sight every day, which was further proof that she was actually a sailor senshi and so was Usagi.

She really was truly a sailor senshi, which meant that everything she had learned was real as well. Like the fact that the job was much more than dealing with the strange occurrences, which were actually attacks, and fighting youma alongside her fellow senshi and a masked man.

There was a reincarnated princess from the Moon she was supposed to find and help protect, along with said royal's powerful silver crystal, and her fellow Senshi to find.

It still intrigued her that there had been life on all the planets in the solar system, and that they each had their own kingdom. The fact that the Sailor Senshi were from different planets meant that there was interplanetary travel, which meant there had been sophisticated technology to space travel.

She wondered what their cultures had been like. Were the societies as a whole peaceful? Was the solar system? One would assume that the fact that they had all died and been sent to the Earth meant that it wasn't, but the fact that she was now, once again, part of a team meant to find and protect an important princess told her it was likely peaceful and something had happened to change that.

The Moon princess was important enough to have protectors from multiple planets, and her mother being the holder and guardian of the silver crystal, must have been responsible for the interplanetary peace. That was the only reason she could see that the princess would be so important now; aside from being the current holder and guardian of the silver crystal.

She wondered if the silver crystal was the only reason the Moon princess would be relevant in this time or if she would possibly somehow be responsible for a worldwide peace.

Now Ami was walking down a quiet sidewalk on her way home after leaving the public library she had gone to after school.

"Ami!" She heard a feminine voice call and she turned and looked around before she spotted Luna running toward her.

"Hi Luna." Ami said, kneeling down as the black feline reached her.

"I'm glad I found you." Luna said as she sat down. "I just overheard some people talking about public buses disappearing around a specific shrine. Not just the buses but all the people on them as well."

"Yeah. I overheard talk about that during lunch." Ami said as she nodded.

"Apparently because of the time of day it happens it is mostly school girls around your age that have disappeared. I find the whole situation suspicious, so I believe we should go investigate and see what we can find." Luna suggested.

"Alright." Ami agreed. "I don't have class at my cram school, so I'm free for the rest of the day."

An investigation had been done at the school after it was discovered that a fight had occurred, and it was determined that it was another of the strange occurrences with the mysterious fighters showing up. Aside from that incident the school had been deemed safe enough to continue.

Ami gently scooped Luna up in her free arm, her school bag in her other hand, and stood back up before she turned to walk back in the direction she had come from.

"So what shrine are we headed to?" She asked.

"Hikawa Shrine." Luna answered. "It's the buses on the route going pass it that have been disappearing."

"Do you think we'll find a youma there?" Ami asked nervously; if it was it would be her first fight since she had been awakened as a senshi, and Usagi wasn't here with her to help.

But I'll be able to contact her with my communicator. She assured herself.

"It's very possible with buses disappearing as they have." Luna said seriously. "We don't know if it's the drivers that are the cause, if they're being controlled or if they are actually youma, or some outside force that buses unexpectedly drive through."

Ami nodded as she considered those possibilities.

"Usagi should be here with us." Luna said as she sighed. "I would have gone to her as well, but I wouldn't have been able to get inside the cafe she goes to. And there was no guarantee that she would still be there."

"You can't expect her to skip her tutoring." Ami said as she glanced down to her.

"No, but I'm not sure how much tutoring is going on with it being at a cafe; they should be at a library." Luna said with a light huff.

"From what Usagi told me they use the cafe so they can eat and not have to moderate their voices." Ami said. "They need to be able to talk, and depending on how long the session goes on they can eat there instead of having to leave to find food before going back."

"You're right." Luna said with a light sigh. "I just want her involved in this."

"I don't think we're always going to be involved in checking out a situation. One of us will get the information and pass it to the others when the situation calls for it, and we'll figure out what to do as a team from there." Ami replied.

"We're just going to have to work around each other's schedules. I'm sure it will be my turn to miss investigating a situation, because of my cram school at some point; probably soon." She continued.

"I don't want either Usagi or myself to do badly on a test because we skipped out on our extra studies. That could prevent us from being able to go do things involving our senshi life." She said as she walked.

"I understand, and you're right." Luna admitted. "I guess I just thought when I found you all you would always be together. Spending friendly time together and investigating together. I guess I wasn't being realistic."

She shook her head slightly. She had truly thought when she found the Senshi they would always spend their time together, being close friends and protectors of the Moon Princess. She also thought she would be spending the majority of her time with them.

She guessed she was wrong not to factor in that they would be school aged and be in school for hours and, depending on the girl, have after school activities. And that was only two of the Senshi so far. She wondered what else she had failed to factor in in her zeal to find the Senshi and be sure they all got along.

"There's nothing wrong with what you imagined." Ami said kindly. "We'll probably be like that when we don't have other responsibilities to take care of. We're just going to have to schedule time to hang out together or find a time during the day where we're all free."

Luna nodded knowing she was right. Although, she was disappointed that they would have to schedule time to spend friendly time together.

They continued on their way and eventually reached the bus stop they needed for the bus line that would take them to the shrine since it was too far to walk. That also meant that any conversation was at an end since there were other people waiting there, so it was a good thing Ami had gotten the name of the shrine from Luna already.

About fifteen minutes later the bus they needed pulled up to the stop and they got on. Ami paid her fare and assured the driver that Luna was harmless before she moved toward the center of the bus. She carefully moved around people and stopped in an open area next to a pole.

Luna shifted up to lay across Ami's shoulder to free up her hand so she could hold on to the pole as the bus began to take off. She made sure to pick the side that didn't have the pretty brooch of a white and light blue lyre that was attached to the collar of her school uniform.

As she settled she looked around but stopped on the side profile of one girl. She had long black hair with a slight purple tint trailing down pass her back and almost reaching the back of her knees, and a red stud earring in her ear.

She shifted her head so her face turned slightly in their direction and Luna saw that she had purple eyes and bangs that covered her forehead and only gave glimpses of her eyebrows.

However, what really caught her attention was the glimpse of a red glow between her bangs. Unfortunately before she could be sure of what she saw the girl turned her face away.

Red. Mars. Another senshi. Luna thought quietly almost in disbelief. Could that girl be a senshi?

"I think that girl might be a senshi." She said softly in Ami's ear, and heard her gasp just as softly.

Really?! So soon after me? Was Ami's instant thought. She remembered Usagi telling her she had been a senshi for almost a month, so she thought it might be at least that long before another senshi would be found.

"Which one?" Ami breathed so hopefully only Luna would hear her.

"The one with the long black hair with a slight purple tint." Luna answered softly as she pointed a paw in her direction.

Ami's eyes flickered along the dark haired girls in the direction Luna pointed in, and paused on the one with the purple tinted black hair.

She had on a uniform she had seen a few times before. A gray long sleeve top with black buttons and pockets, a dark gray sailor collar with red lining and a dark red ribbon tied beneath it, a dark gray skirt that stopped at the middle of her thighs, white knee-high socks, and black shoes.

"She's pretty." Ami said quietly. "You can't tell if she really is a senshi?"

"No. I need to get a better look at her." Luna replied as she stared at the girl.

"I guess we're getting off with her. The shrine will have to wait." Ami said.

"Hopefully she will be a senshi and you'll have another person to help you investigate." Luna said.

Twenty minutes passed as the bus stopped at each stop along its route before they reached the stop for Hikawa Shrine. They were surprised, however, when the girl that could possibly be a senshi moved to get off the bus. They looked at each other in their surprise before Ami hurried to get off as well.

It was a good surprise and it turned out to be even better when she crossed the street and began to head up the steep stairs toward the bright white torii gate of the shrine.

Ami and Luna followed at a slight distance; far enough to not seem like they were following her but close enough that they didn't lose sight of her and where she was going.

I wonder if the shrine itself has anything to do with the disappearances. She thought as they reached the top of the stairs. I should take a look around just to see if anything catches my eye. She thought as a couple of other school girls walked with them in their general vicinity toward the shrine buildings.

"I want to take a look around just to see if the shrine itself could be part of the disappearances." Ami said quietly.

"Well, while you're doing that I am going to follow her." Luna said. "I want to see if I can tell if she really is a senshi, and if so exactly which one she is."

"Okay." Ami said as she nodded.

"How about we meet back at one of those benches when we're done." Luna suggested.

"Okay." Ami agreed easily as she looked toward the wrought iron benches. She then carefully let Luna down, and watched her dash off toward the girl that could possibly be a fellow senshi.

~xXx~

Luna ran as she kept her eyes on the young woman she suspected was a senshi. She saw her reach the door to a house, and she hurried so she didn't disappear inside without her.

Thankfully she reached her just as she opened the door, and carefully slipped inside, dodging around her feet and moving behind her so she wasn't seen or tripped over. She stealthily and carefully followed her down a couple of hallways until she reached a door. The young woman opened the door and Luna hurried around her feet inside, and quickly hid under the floor table she had glimpsed in the middle of the room.

The young woman closed the door and placed her school bag on the table before she began to change out of her school uniform. Luna looked around, remaining still aside from her swiveling head, and realized she was in a bedroom from the furniture she was seeing and the clothes in the closet.

When she focused back on the young woman she had on a white kimono, and red hakama tied securely with a matching bow in front of her waist. She carefully peeked out from under the table to look at her as she sat on her bed and pulled on some white tabi socks, and saw clearly the symbol for Mars glowing on her forehead.

Sailor Mars. Luna thought softly.

She had in no way expected to find another senshi so soon, and especially not while on her way to investigate a possible youma attack, but she couldn't have been happier. This meant as soon as she could awaken the young woman to her destiny then there would be three senshi to fight youmas and look for the Moon Princess; not to mention the remaining senshi.

Now if we could just find Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus then the princess' guardians will be complete. She thought as she watched the unaware senshi pull on her sandals.

Luna took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she completely focused on the young woman. Considering the house was located on a shrine and with the traditional priestess uniform she was wearing she could assume the young woman was a shrine priestess.

How am I going to awaken her to her duty? She wondered as she took in the young woman's long dark hair and purple eyes. Can I make it happen in time for her to help with the current youma causing trouble?

Luna didn't know, but she knew she needed to alert Ami. To let her know that the young woman was in fact a senshi.

And Usagi too for that matter. She added as she watched the young woman stand and walk toward the bedroom door.

The young woman opened the door and Luna dashed out with her and stealthily followed her until they were once again outside. Then she dashed away and headed toward the benches she and Ami had agreed to meet at.

Thankfully Ami was already seated on one and sat up when she spotted her.

---

"The girl is a senshi; Sailor Mars to be exact." Luna reported as she leapt up onto the bench and settled at her side.

"Oh wow." Ami breathed as she looked around and spotted the girl in the distance sweeping up leaves, clearly she was a priestess at the shrine.

"Yes. She is the senshi of Mars. I saw the planetary symbol glowing clearly in red, and she apparently lives here." Luna said.

"So what happens now?" She asked quietly as she looked to Luna.

"Well, I'm not sure how I'm going to awaken her." Luna admitted. "Did you find anything during your search?" She asked.

"No nothing. All seems clear and quiet." Ami answered.

"Alright. I want to go see if Usagi is still at the cafe and bring her back here." Luna said. "That way I can inform her about the disappearances and finding a new senshi. Maybe the two of you can help me awaken the girl to her duty." She added, and Ami nodded.

"In that case I'm going to stay here and check out the bus stop and the buses that come." Ami said. "If anything happens before you both get here I'll contact Usagi."

"Very well. I'm going now so I can get back as quickly as I can." Luna said as she stood up.

"Okay. I'll see you later." Ami said as she moved to stand up.

Luna nodded and leapt to the ground before she took off at a run toward the stairs. She raced down them as fast as she dared and once she reached the bottom she picked up her speed. She wanted to hurry and find Usagi as fast as she could in case something happened with the bus stop while she was gone.

~xXx~

Meanwhile, Usagi and Mamoru sat in their usual booth inside the Crown cafe with their books and papers spread out and with their drinks off to the side out of the way.

"Mamoru?" Usagi said as she paused after filling in a space on her English language worksheet.

"Yes?" Mamoru said as he glanced up from the sentence he was writing for his French homework.

"Can I ask about your friends back in England?" She asked curiously in English since they had been mixing English and Japanese as they had been doing before.

He had mentioned them before in a vague way, usually when he was describing something from his past back in England or when he recently returned to the country for the memorial service.

She figured it had been long enough, and that they had known each other long enough, that it would be okay to ask details about them.

Mamoru paused as he considered his friends. Those he still considered friends, and those he no longer did.

"Sure." He answered.

"What are their names? What are they like?" She asked.

"Well, I have two guys I consider friends. I have other acquaintances that I would talk to and hang out with, but those two are my closest these days, at least of those back in England, and part of the few who I actually write to to keep in touch with." He explained, and she nodded as she gazed at him in concentration; clearly trying to make sure she understood what he was saying.

"One is Longbottom Neville. He was one of my dorm roommates at school." He continued. "He was really shy when we first met. Quiet, really forgetful, and clumsy, but he grew out of it. He's still quiet, but he's confident now and stronger. Courageous, smart, and loyal. He went into law enforcement after school, but last I talked to him he wasn't sure he was going to stick with it."

"What does he look like?" Usagi asked curiously.

"He's tall, about my height or a bit taller, with short blond hair, and hazel eyes." He described, and she nodded as she tried to picture him.

"My other friend is Weasley George. He's one of Ginny's older brothers. He's two years older than me, and he was also on our house sports team the entire time we attended school together." Mamoru said.

"He's a prankster and a jokester, which goes perfectly with his birthday." He continued.

"When's his birthday?" She asked.

"April 1st; April Fool's Day." He answered.

"Ahh!" She said understandingly with a smile.

"Those facts also explain why he chose to open a joke shop after he left school, which I am happy to say is doing very well." He said. "It definitely was when I went back, so much so that he's opening a second location."

"Oh wow! He has his own business?!" Usagi said in surprise, remembering him mentioning it before but having been distracted at the time. Obviously she didn't know anyone old enough to have their own business, so this was a surprise. Especially with his age; only two years older than Mamoru!

"Yeah." He said as he nodded. "Beyond that he's mischievous, smart, confident, inventive, courageous, and loyal. He's like a brother to me."

"What's he look like? Similar to Ginny?" She asked curiously.

"Similar yes." Mamoru agreed as he nodded. "Flaming red hair that's more on the vibrant orange-tinge side rather than fiery, freckles, brown eyes, skinny, and fairly tall; taller than me."

"Wow. I wonder what he would look like in person." She said as she pictured a guy taller than Mamoru but with red hair, brown eyes, and freckles.

"If I had a picture I would show you." He said with a light shrug. "If he ever comes to visit I'll introduce you to him." He added.

"I'll look forward to that." She said as she nodded eagerly, wanting to meet his friends.

"While I'm close to Neville and George now it wasn't always that way." He said with a heavy sigh; switching back to Japanese as he prepared to talk about his former close friends. He just reminded himself that he wanted her to know about his situation with them in case she ever found herself in such a situation.

"I had two other friends who were actually my first ever friends. My former best friend Weasley Ron, and my former close friend Granger Hermione. We'd been friends since we were eleven." He continued, but paused as he tried to figure out how to continue.

"Ron is tall and lanky with red hair, freckles, and blue eyes. He's loyal, brave, and fun, but immature, insensitive, insecure, prideful, jealous, and temperamental as well." He described his former best friend.

"Hermione is short, about your height, with brown bushy hair, and light brown eyes. She's intelligent, hardworking, loyal, and brave, but also bossy, opinionated, and logic-minded to the point of not being able to believe in things without irrefutable proof." He described.

"She also trusts in books more than people, but also trusts authority figures and those in power; be they teacher, law enforcer, politician, or parental figure; regardless of whose parental figure it is." He added.

Usagi nodded as she listened to Mamoru's description of who were apparently his former really close friends. All four of the friends he had described so far, regardless of their status in his life, shared common traits.

Loyalty, bravery, and courage. She thought as she idly twirled her pen. Still, there are things about his two former friends that he clearly wasn't blind to. She thought as she recalled his description of them.

"How was Ron jealous if I can ask?" She asked curiously.

"Well the Weasley family isn't the wealthiest. Not even moderately, so the children all grew up poor. Wearing second hand clothes, and hand-me-downs of those second hand clothes, used books, that type of thing." He explained since he couldn't tell her about his fame since she didn't know about his magical heritage.

Usagi nodded her understanding as she listened.

"My adopted parents were rather wealthy. Well, it was actually from my adopted dad's family, and my mom married into it." He added. "That fact, that my family was wealthy, was known to the community of the students I went to school with and their families."

"Because of this Ron would be jealous when I had new clothes, shoes, and books and could buy whatever I wanted in the village near our school." He explained. "It didn't seem to occur to him, or he would conveniently forget, that I didn't grow up wealthy."

"You remember what I said about growing up with my mom's sister?" He asked.

"Yes." Usagi said as she nodded, remembering that she and her husband were the reason he hadn't experienced so many things kids and teens did at that age.

"Because they wanted nothing to do with me, but were forced to, I grew up just as poor if not poorer than the Weasley's. I wore hand-me-downs from their son who was a whale of a boy so his clothes hung on me like rags, and the fact that they were old and faded and looked like actual rags didn't help." He said.

"If they had known my parents had left me money they would have tried to steal it; claiming it was compensation for taking me in and caring for me when it would have really been used on everyone but me." He explained, and she grimaced.

"Anyway, the point is that I could only use that money for school and while I was at school." He continued. "So my school uniform was new, my books were new, and I had some clothes that I could wear outside of class that were new, but I couldn't wear any of that during the summer when I was back with my mom's sister and her family."

"I could explain the school supplies and uniform by saying the school provided them, but I wouldn't have been able to explain away any other new things I had. Ron never seemed to understand that. It was like he assumed I could wear what I wanted, buy whatever I wanted, eat whatever I wanted, and go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted." He explained.

"He assumed you lived a wealthy life just because your parents had been wealthy. He knew the truth, but his jealousy would get in the way when he saw you with new things that he couldn't afford." Usagi summed up.

"Yes." Mamoru said as he nodded. "It didn't help that the same community that knew my parents were wealthy also knew that his family wasn't, so he would get teased and ridiculed when it was obvious his uniform and casual clothes were second hand."

"I never cared about that, having grown up the way I did, but his anger and jealousy would push that fact right out of his mind. Then whenever I tried to buy him something that was even remotely expensive he saw it as charity instead of a gift and would get angry." He explained.

"I can imagine you would get tired of having to deal with that." She said quietly, and he nodded.

"Okay I understand his jealousy." She said. "What did you mean about Hermione trusting other people's parental figures?" She asked.

"I told her that my mother's sister and her husband, although at the time I referred to them as my aunt and uncle, had been starving me, and she berated me for speaking badly about my guardians." He answered with a frown.

"She just assumed that because they were adult parental figures that they couldn't possibly do something like that. Especially since she couldn't imagine her own parents being that way, but then again she grew up in a loving home, so with her personality of course she couldn't imagine that." He added.

Usagi bit her lip hard to keep her face from shifting as she took in his words. With his explanation, and what he said just a minute before about his former best friend assuming he could eat whatever he wanted, it was clear that he had in fact been starved by his adopted aunt and uncle.

Did he ever say anything about this again after telling her? She wondered. Probably not considering his own friend didn't believe him, and I doubt with his former best friend's personality he mentioned it to him at all.

"I understand." She said as she nodded slowly, imagining how that type of trust in adult figures could transfer to adults in power.

"So how did Ron and Hermione become former friends?" She asked quietly, still thinking about their personalities as he described them.

"Do you remember me saying how I had put distance between myself and Ginny's youngest older brother?" Mamoru asked.

"Yeah." Usagi said as she nodded.

"Ron is that brother." He said and watched her eyes widen. "As I said before I put that distance in place because he was taking his grief out on me whenever I was around. That translated into being angry with me."

"Hermione wasn't angry with me but she was being bossy and intrusive. She felt it was okay to tell me what to do and when to do it. Like a parental figure almost. Berating me when I didn't do what she wanted me to do or if I said something she felt was out of line. Even trying to correct me if I felt the need to curse." He explained, and watched Usagi's eyebrows raise.

"When I went back for the memorial service I had hoped that the time apart would have cooled his anger and made her more mellow or something, but that wasn't the case." He said with a sigh.

"Right after the service, while people were mingling and talking, the two of them confronted me." He continued. "Ron wanted to know why I hadn't invited him to move in with me after I moved out of his family home. Never mind that he hadn't seemed to be interested in wanting to move out or that he had started to take out his grief on me after the fact."

"Plus, I honestly hadn't wanted him to move in with me." He added.

"Can I ask why?" Usagi asked, and he nodded.

"Remember we've known each other since we were eleven, shared a room at our boarding school during all of our school years, and even when I was allowed to go to his house during the summer we shared his bedroom." He explained. "I was tired of sharing a room, and I needed my space."

"Furthermore, Ron's the type who's used to his mother taking care of him. He's spoiled that way. He would have expected me to cook and clean for him, and he's the type to get angry when he doesn't get food when he's hungry." He said.

"That must have grated on your nerves considering the way you grew up." Usagi said as she shook her head, thinking of him missing meals as he grew up.

"Exactly!" He said, grateful that she understood. "There I was having been used to missing meals and sometimes not being feed at all, and there he was used to having three large meals a day with multiple helpings at each sitting; plus snacks in between each of those meals."

"So yes; it grated." He said, and she nodded. "So beyond the moving in issue Ron was upset that I hadn't told him that I left to travel nor that I left while the family was grieving."

"Hermione for her part had an issue she thought I should have taken care of for them since the three of us had all been involved, and I had only taken care of my part." He continued. "Beyond that she wanted to know where I had been, and that I should've been back in England all that time, and for good at that point, focusing on my education, settling down, and getting my life together instead of traveling around."

Mamoru opened his mouth to continue, but paused as he realized what had been said next were the accusations that had angered him so much.

Accusations that she might not understand nor understand where they came from. He considered.

Usagi gazed at Mamoru as she waited for him to continue. She wondered what the issue had been that he and his former friends had to deal with. She was curious but she wasn't going to ask since, with how open he was currently being, she felt if he wanted her to know he would have told her.

I'm not liking what I'm hearing of his former friends; especially this Hermione girl. She thought. Ron seems too..angry and likes to have his own way too much, to the point of getting angry, but Hermione sounds controlling. I wonder how she became that way.

"This next part might shock you, but I'm going to tell you because I want to be honest with you." Mamoru said honestly. "And when I was fourteen I didn't like it when people kept things from me in an attempt to protect me or shelter me from the truth of things."

Usagi's eyes widened.

What can he want to tell me that could be so shocking? She wondered.

Still, regardless of whatever it was she was grateful, because it meant he was treating her like she was his age or at least with the same respect that he wanted to be treated with.

"Thank you for the consideration." She said softly.

"You're welcome." He said with a small smile. "Okay remember that with the loss of Ginny and one of her brothers everyone is grieving." He reminded her since that was the only thing he could tell her at the moment. He couldn't very well tell her about the war, the deaths, the murder attempts, or the attacks.

Usagi nodded.

"Because of that Hermione accused me of dealing with my grief by drowning my sorrow in alcohol and sleeping around with girls." He said quietly.

Usagi frowned as he spoke, and then gasped as she heard the last part. She may be naive but not that much.

"Ron took her words as instant fact, and said I had never cared about Ginny if I could now sleep around with whatever girl caught my eyes." He continued.

Usagi shook her head, a shocked horrified look on her face as she stared at Mamoru. How could they accuse him of such things? She had known him for only a few months and she knew that didn't fit his personality, so why couldn't people who had known him for years not know?

"So because of all of that, and especially those accusations, I decided to end my friendship with them right then and there." Mamoru said firmly. "They were shocked and I can understand why. They hadn't expected me to just end our years' long friendship like that. They likely thought I would be angry and just ignore their words or take them in and heed them, because that's what I usually did in the past."

"They probably also thought I would yell back at them in anger, make excuses for myself, and deny their accusations." He added with a shrug.

"But that isn't me anymore. I've changed." He admitted. "I'm not willing to be yelled at for no good reason, to be told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, be accused of things I haven't done, or live by the expectations of others even if they are friends."

"Being back there and dealing with that whole confrontation made me realize how different I had become. I was calmer, able to hold my anger easier, and definitely not used to being spoken to the way they spoke to me." He said as he shook his head.

"What did they say when you ended your friendship with them?" Usagi asked quietly.

"They didn't say anything." He answered. "I said what I said, wished them well and hoped they had a happy life, and walked away. I didn't want hear any more of what they had to say. To me they had said quite enough as it was."

"Wow." She said as she shook her head. "I can't believe they accused you of those things. Drinking and..and..being with girls!" She said with a blush. "I haven't seen any sign of that type of behavior in the months we've known each other, so why would they say such things when they've known you for years?"

"I have no idea." He said with a heavy sigh. "The only thing I can think of is the grief. It's understandable, but I just felt I didn't deserve to have it directed at me. And it was clear by the way they came at me that they had been thinking that way the entire time I was gone."

"Did Ron's other brothers react the same way he did? Being angry or at least directing it at you?" She asked with a frown.

"No. They didn't." Mamoru said as he shook his head. "And if any of them was going to react badly it would have been George since he's the one who lost a brother."

"What? I thought he and Ron were brothers." She said in confusion. Ron had lost a brother too, so why the distinction?

"They are brothers, but…well, the brother they lost, his name was Fred. He was the same age as George. The exact same age. They were identical twins." He explained.

Yes Ron had lost a brother just like his other brothers had, but George was the one who lost his other half. They had been true twins. They had dressed the same, styled their hair the same, they thought the same, which he thought explained how they had also been able to do their twin speak.

Usagi gasped in horror as she understood that the brother that had been killed had been a twin. Identical twins. That meant there was a brother that looked just like the one that had been lost still with the family.

How was the rest of the family dealing with that? Was it hard to look at George? Was it hard to look at him and not think of Fred? Did they ever confuse him with his lost twin and call him Fred?

And what about Mamoru? How was he dealing with Fred's loss? She knew he was still mourning his lost girlfriend, Ginny, but she didn't know the level of it. If it was still great or if it had lessened in the year that had passed.

And it's not my business. It's enough to know that he is still mourning her. She told herself. But how is he doing when it comes to her brother?

"Can I ask how you're doing with the loss of Fred?" She asked gently, and listened to him sigh.

"I miss him." He admitted. "He and George were the best prankster duo. You never knew when they were going to pull a school wide prank or who they would target if they wanted to do single person pranks. And they always knew when I needed a laugh."

"They always looked out for me, and if I needed anything- whether it was privacy from Ron and Hermione, an alibi to avoid detention, a way to get food in the middle of the night at school, or a way to sneak off school grounds- they wouldn't hesitate to help me out." He said with a slight smile.

"Aside from that Fred was the more daring of the two. The one to push ahead pass hesitation or concern if there was any." He added.

He believed that had been part of what had led to his death. He hadn't paused in concern, but then again if he had paused perhaps George would have died instead or the both of them would have died in the explosion.

"They sound like they were a fun sociable pair." Usagi said softly as she imagined the two identical red headed boys causing laughter around their school and among their large family.

"Yeah they were, and George still is." Mamoru said with a small smile as he thought back on the pranks the pair had pulled, and what George had been doing in recent months.

"Anyway," He said after a few silent minutes. "I wanted you to know about Ron and Hermione in case you ever found yourself in a similar situation. Don't let peer pressure or just the fact that someone is your friend make you act differently than you feel you should."

"Accepting advice is all fine and good, but don't let them tell you what to do if it's something you truly don't want to or feel you need to do. I'd rather you skip that bit of angst." He said.

"I'll definitely remember that." Usagi said with a firm nod.

She knew Naru would never treat her that way since she hadn't in all the years they had known each other, but Ami was new and she was still getting to know her, so she should probably keep a look out for that type of behavior.

After all Ami is as intelligent as Hermione sounds, so it could be those high smarts that cause that behavior for all I know. Or those smarts in a girl since Umino is just as smart and hasn't acted like that to anyone that I know of. She thought, and then hummed lightly.

Maybe I should keep this in mind for Luna too. She considered.

The feline wasn't a friend, more like a live in guidance counselor, but she had already tried to turn her against Tuxedo Kamen with no proof that he was a bad guy; just that he was there at all.

Yeah I'll definitely keep this in mind for her too. She thought firmly. She would not let Luna talk her into changing her mind about the masked man. Tuxedo Kamen had been there since day one helping her, and she would not treat him like an enemy unless he started to act like one.

"Can I ask about those you consider acquaintances?" She asked after a few moments, and he nodded.

"There's Seamus and Dean; they were my other roommates aside from Neville and Ron." He said. "Seamus is Irish; pale skin, sandy hair color, and dark eyes. He's easy going, brave, and loyal. He can be skeptical at times, but once he's sure of the facts of a situation he's good to go."

"Dean is tall with brown skin, black hair, and brown eyes. He's also easy going, brave and loyal, and a talented artist. He's also the guy Ginny was dating when I first realized I had feelings for her." He explained.

Usagi gasped as her eyes widened at that bit of news. She couldn't help imagining this tall dark skinned boy with a short pale freckled red headed girl. That was an odd pairing in her mind, but as long as they had liked each other at the time what did it matter?

She then listened as he spoke of another red headed girl named Susan and a blonde girl named Hannah. Both girls were in a different fraternity/sorority house than him while in school. He wasn't sure what Hannah was doing these days but he knew Susan had gone into law enforcement.

Next was another blonde girl named Luna interestingly enough. She was a year younger than him and had been in a different house than both him and the other two girls. She was intelligent, perceptive, quirky, and very loyal.

Then there was an Indian girl named Parvati who had dark eyes and black hair. She had been in his house at school, and had a twin sister that had been in another house. She had been a gossip and into fashion, but he still thought she was loyal and brave when it came down to it.

Usagi hummed as she considered that loyalty and bravery seemed to be traits Mamoru liked in his friends and acquaintances. She wondered if he found her loyal and brave. Had they known each other long enough for him to know one way or the other?

She definitely thought he was loyal since he was determined to keep in touch with his friends back in England, and brave because he had to be to travel to a foreign country on his own and decide to live there permanently after only a few months there.

"Then there's Lee who was in my house during his time at the school. He has brown skin and black hair in dreadlocks. He's good-natured, brave, humorous, and loves pranks. He's best friends with George, which means he was best friends with Fred too." Mamoru said.

"Lastly there's Katie, Alicia, and Angelina." He continued. "All three girls are friends with George and Lee, all but Katie were in the same year at school, she was a year younger than them, and were on our house sports team with me, George, and Fred."

"Katie has white skin, brown hair, and light brown eyes. She's friendly, kind, and gentle. Alicia has light brown skin, black hair, and dark brown eyes. She's good-natured and friendly. Angelina has brown skin, black hair that she usually keeps in braids, and brown eyes. She's blunt, diligent, friendly, humorous, and competitive." He described.

"All three girls are loyal and brave." He couldn't help adding.

"Ugh! I wish I could see all these people!" Usagi said, a little frustrated. She could try to picture them from his description but it wasn't the same as seeing them in person or at least a picture of them.

"Next time I go back to visit I'll take pictures." Mamoru said with a light laugh. "I don't know if I'll get them all since they're all doing their own things, but I'm sure I'll at least get the ones I'm close to."

"Then I'll look forward to that." She said with a smile.

"Alright, so tell me about your friends." He said as he idly pushed some of his papers.

"Well, of course you know Motoki." Usagi said. "I know him from how much time I've spent at the arcade and up here in the cafe. The only time I've ever seen him is at the arcade or occasionally here in the cafe, so clearly we've never hung out before."

There was no need for him to know she used to have a crush on Motoki, and that was why she had spent so much time at the arcade.

Mamoru nodded. He didn't find that surprising. Usagi was currently fourteen and beyond that she was non-magical. He didn't think Motoki would go out of his way to spend time with her without there being an interest there.

Like me. He thought ironically, but didn't pursue the thought further.

"There's my best friend Osaka Naru. She's my age and height, but she has wavy dark red hair that stops slightly above her shoulders, and teal eyes. She's kind, friendly, outgoing, and loyal." She described.

"We've been going to the same schools since we first started going to school, so we're always hanging out when we have the chance. She's such a good friend. I tell her almost everything that's going on with me." She said.

"Does that mean she knows about me?" Mamoru asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yup. I told her about you the day after we met." She answered honestly; remembering how her best friend had asked if he was boyfriend material.

"Then there's this new friend I made last week; Mizuno Ami." She continued, not elaborating on if she had mentioned him as her tutor or just the guy she liked. "She's my age and about my height, maybe slightly taller, and has short straight dark blue hair that reaches her neck and blue eyes."

"She's really smart and quiet. She goes to my school and I know people have mistaken those traits for being snobby and arrogant, but she's not like that at all. She's just shy and a bit insecure, but she's also friendly and supportive." She described.

"Do you have any people you know who you aren't close to?" He asked curiously, and watched her nod.

"There's Umino. His name is actually Gurio, but everyone calls him by his family name. He has blondish colored short hair, he's my height, and he wears these large glasses that somehow hide the color of his eyes." Usagi said.

"He also goes to my school. He's really smart, like Ami, but he comes off more nerd-like, can truly be a bit arrogant, and he's a bit of a gossip." She listed thoughtfully.

"Then there's these two girls; Yumiko and Kuri. Yumiko has long straight black hair down to the middle of her back and dark blue eyes, and Kuri has short straight black hair that stops just below her ears and dark brown eyes." She described.

"Both girls are usually happy and cheerful but also gossips, and sometimes they can be judgmental of people who act differently than them. Beyond that they usually have no problem hanging out, and they like to shop; window shopping too actually." She said with a shrug.

Mamoru nodded. He knew their type. Parvati and her sister were like that. At least the part about the hanging out and gossiping. He hadn't spent any significant time with either girl outside of school to know if they were into shopping, but he knew they were into fashion so maybe that meant they liked to shop as well.

After that the pair continued on with their homework and studies; occasionally tossing out a curious question in English about the other's friends. Usagi finished her English homework and Mamoru finished his French homework. Then the both of them worked on their History homework; Usagi wanting to get it out of the way, and Mamoru wanting to help her like he said he would.

When they finished their History homework it was a little while after they usually left the cafe, so they decided to just stay and get as much homework and studying done as they could before they decided to part ways.

Mamoru went and ordered them some snacks and they got back to their textbooks and papers.

They ate, drank, wrote on papers, shifted books around, and talked as they worked, and eventually the time they usually parted ways came around and they decided they should head home since the sun was starting to go down.

They packed up their books, papers, pencils, and pens, and threw away any remaining garbage they had before they began to make their way to the cafe door.

The pair walked down the stairs from the cafe and continued along the sidewalk in the direction they usually walked in when they were about to part from each other.

"Well, here we are." Usagi said as they slowed to a stop at the end of the sidewalk. They had reached their parting point.

"Yes." Mamoru agreed as he nodded then glanced down the way she usually walked. "So I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he looked back to her.

"Yeah. Same time and place as usual." She said as she nodded.

"Alright. You stay safe." He said, the words having become habit after all their time together.

"I will." She promised. "You stay safe too." She said. She hoped he never got caught up in a youma attack. She wasn't sure what she would do if she ever found him a victim of one of those.

"I will. Bye." He said with a little wave as he stepped away.

"Bye bye." She said as she waved back, and watched him begin to walk across the street.

~xXx~

Usagi turned away as Mamoru reached the other side of the street, and began to walk down the sidewalk around the corner from where they had just come from.

It was a rare day that she and Mamoru stayed at the cafe and just did their homework and studied instead of going to explore some new place or activity that he had never done before. She had had a place planned for them to go to, but it could wait for another day.

I'm just glad I got to spend uninterrupted alone time with him. She thought. Especially since I got to learn more about him, and his friends overseas.

Neville and George sounded interesting. Actually Neville sounded like a shy or quieter version of Motoki. She really did wish she could meet both guys. They both would probably have a lot to tell about Mamoru, and she could learn more about him from their perspective instead of from just his own.

Like what he was like when he was my age. She thought curiously.

Was he shy? Was he loud or quiet? Was he as tall as he was now or was he shorter? Was he as studious then as he was now? Did he get in trouble in school or was he well behaved?

I want to know so badly. Usagi thought before she switched her thoughts.

Just like she had thought when he was describing his friends and acquaintances to her she noticed that he clearly valued loyalty and bravery. It seemed everyone he knew back in England was brave and loyal; even his former friends. Although, she didn't know if that applied to those he saw as family. She thought it likely did.

They had to be brave to go on as they had after losing two members, and from the things Mamoru had said since she had known him it was clear they were loyal since they were making sure to stay in contact with him even though he had moved to another country.

Of course just as she had thought earlier she thought Mamoru himself was loyal and brave. Keeping in touch with his friends back in England as he was, and basically moving to another country by himself.

Definitely brave. She thought. He's been brave to try all those things I've taken him to do; roller skating, ice skating, and indoor wall climbing. He could have refused for any number of reasons, not wanting to fall, fear of heights, not wanting to get hurt, but he didn't. He went in focused and determined to try each activity.

I wonder if his bravery was always there or if it developed from the way he grew up. She wondered as she walked.

Speaking of the way he grew up she couldn't help thinking about what she had learned. He had been starved by the people who were supposed to care for him. It was crazy and outrageous, and she couldn't understand why they had done that to him.

And unlike his former friend, even though she couldn't image her own parents doing that to her she still believed him. He had no reason to lie about something like that.

She couldn't understand why that Hermione girl wouldn't believe him. Especially since that would have been a few years ago, so at the time it would have been actually happening when he was at home with his relatives.

He must have been able to eat properly at school, so when summer was over and they were back at school it was probably clear that he had lost weight. That should have been proof of what he said. She thought with a frown.

Unless he was smaller or shorter than he is now. She considered. It might have been easy to overlook if you weren't looking for it. And their ages likely didn't help either. Who thinks about such things? She didn't.

The difference was that none of her friends had even hinted that they were being starved and they didn't look like it either, and if they had she would have believed them and tried to figure out some way to help them since that's just the way she was.

I definitely wouldn't think they were lying to me, not about something so important, and I wouldn't tell them they shouldn't say that type of thing about their parents. I just wouldn't think it was my place; especially since I wouldn't know their parents like that. She thought.

Actually the only one of my friends or acquaintances parents that I know is Naru's mother, and she wouldn't... She thought.

"Usagi!" She heard a familiar feminine voice call her name, cutting off her thought.

Usagi looked around and spotted Luna running toward her from the direction she had just come from. She turned and knelt down, idly wondering what youma she was going to have to fight today.

"I'm so glad I found you." Luna said as she came to a stop in front of her. "I overheard earlier that there are public buses, and the people on them, going missing, and all centered on the bus line around one shrine." She said quickly.

"I found Ami and we headed to the shrine to see what we could find out, but on the way there I saw a girl that I thought might be a senshi." She added before Usagi could say anything. "She got off the bus and went to the shrine in question, and I discovered that not only does she live there, she's a priestess there, and I confirmed that she is in fact a senshi. She is Sailor Mars."

"Oh wow." Usagi breathed, wide eyed as she stared at Luna. She hadn't expected to hear news of another senshi being found. It had only been a week since Ami was revealed to be a senshi.

Okay. Focus on the disappearing buses. The new senshi is Luna's job. She told herself with a sigh before she scooped up Luna.

"What's the name of this shrine, and where is Ami?" Usagi asked quietly as she stood and began to walk.

"It's called Hikawa Shrine, and Ami is still there. She wanted to investigate the bus stop closest to the shrine and the buses that came." Luna answered. "She said she would contact you if anything happened before I got back with you."

"Okay." Usagi said as she nodded, and began to look for a place to transform.

It took a few minutes but she eventually found a side street that was free of windows, cars, and people. She walked halfway down the narrow street, and gently put Luna down before she straightened and touched her brooch.

"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" She said, and watched the round piece of jewelry start to sparkle and glow.

Pink light surrounded her and she closed her eyes as she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Her transformation was quick and when it was over and she stood on the ground beneath her she opened her eyes and saw that she was in her sailor outfit.

"Come on!" Luna said urgently.

Usagi nodded and followed after her as she ran down to the other end of the side street. They burst out onto the sidewalk, and she had to dodge around a group of school girls her age before she could continue to follow Luna.

She wished she knew exactly where they were going, but she had never been to Hikawa Shrine before. That was one of the problems with being a senshi; not knowing where the location of the youma or disturbance was. That was just not one of her abilities and she definitely didn't have any devices to help with that.

Maybe Ami's super computer has that ability. She thought as she ran.

After all, so far Luna was just overhearing things or happened to be at a place when youma activity happened, and it was the same with her with that time her fellow students had those strange pets. There had to be a better sure way for them to know.

Suddenly she heard the beeping of her communicator and she pulled it out of her subspace pocket without stopping her running. Glancing at it she saw the button for Mercury flashing.

"Yeah?" Usagi answered after pressing the button, and saw Ami's face appear on the small screen.

"Has Luna found you?" She heard Ami ask.

"Yes." Usagi answered even though she knew Ami would see her face on her communicator and see that she was transformed. "She informed me about the disappearing buses and the new senshi being found. I'm on my way to the shrine now."

"Okay. Well, I just saw a public bus disappear through a black hole in the sky." Ami said. "It took off down the street and then lifted off the ground and flew into the sky as the hole opened up."

"Wow!" Usagi said in shock. She hadn't seen anything like that so far since she'd become Sailor Moon.

"Yeah." Ami said, but paused and Usagi saw her face turn like she was looking at something off screen. "I have to go. The new senshi just came down the stairs from the shrine and she's heading my way." She said quickly.

"Okay." Usagi said, but Ami had already ended the connection.

She sighed and ended the connection on her end before she put her communicator back in her subspace pocket. She wanted to tell Luna about what Ami said, but she needed Luna to lead her to the shrine.

Buses disappearing through a black hole in the sky with who knows how many people on it. She thought as she shook her head. And who knows if there's more than one driver, more than one youma, or if there's only one youma and they're controlling the normal drivers.

Or if the youma is the one doing the driving and can somehow switch to another bus after one has gone through the black hole. Or maybe if the bus is the same and the people are dumped off somewhere. She considered.

If that's the case then I'm likely going to have to get on one of those buses. She thought unhappily. I don't want to do that! I don't want to disappear into one of those black holes. Even if Ami is going to be there, and maybe the new senshi it's still going to be scary. And I haven't even factored in the youma yet!

And what about Tuxedo Kamen? What if he doesn't get there before the bus goes through the black hole?! She wondered in a bit of a panic, and then she took a few calming breaths, which was a bit difficult since she was still running.

I have to do it even if it's scary. If Mamoru is brave enough to travel to another country on his own then I can do this. I can be brave. She told herself. And I have to believe that Tuxedo Kamen will be there in time to help. I have Ami now and maybe the new senshi, but I'm used to him and I know how he fights. I know he's reliable.

It'll probably be best if I change my appearance before I get on the bus so I don't alert the possible youma or whoever is sending out the youma that I'm there. She thought before she looked to Luna.

"Luna!" Usagi said as she hurried until she was almost running at her side. "Let me know when we're almost there so I can change my appearance." She told her as they rounded a corner.

"Alright." Luna said readily.

Five to six minutes later Luna slowed to a stop and Usagi did the same.

"We're almost there. Only a few more blocks." Luna said seriously.

"Right!" Usagi said before she pulled out her disguise pen and held it out in front of her.

"Moon Power, turn me into a bus stewardess!" She said, although, she wondered if there was such a thing.

Bright pinkish white light flared from the top of the pen and surrounded her, and when it cleared her appearance was completely different.

She wore a navy blue skirt suit with a long sleeve white blouse, a red bow on her chest that had a gold assent line on the ribbons, a navy blue hat with a red ribbon around it and white wings over the front, and black small heeled shoes. The suit jacket had long sleeves and two columns of gold buttons, and the skirt reached the middle of her thighs.

Her hair was styled the same except her streams were gone, which she found strange but thought might help her look more professional.

"Alright Luna, tell me which way to go." Usagi said as she picked up the black feline, figuring it would be quicker that way since they were almost there.

Luna did just that as she moved up to Usagi's shoulder to free up her arms.

Usagi ran for a few more minutes before she came out of a side street and gasped to see a bus pulling up to a stop at the bus stop at a slight distance. She ran faster and watched with wide eyes as Ami got on the bus.

Why is she doing that? Why didn't she wait? She asked herself as she continued to run. Her eyes widened and she ran faster as she saw the doors close.

"Oh no! Wait! Wait!" She called out frantically, no longer concerned for herself getting on the bus and possibly disappearing into a black hole. Ami was on that bus alone, and not transformed at that!

Suddenly the back door opened even while the bus was moving, and she pushed herself to go faster as she saw Ami lean out slightly and wave to her.

As soon as she was close enough Usagi jumped up on, and was just in time as the front of the bus began to lift off the ground. Unfortunately, she also heard a feline cry, and she looked over her shoulder to see Luna falling.

"Luna!" She called out worriedly as she hung on to a pole and watched, hoping that she would land on her feet and be okay.

---

"Got you!" Tuxedo Kamen said as he caught the black cat he had seen a number of times with Usagi.

He looked up to the bus that was outrageously flying through the air at a slight upward angle. The only experience he had with an unusual bus was the Knight Bus, and even that rollercoaster like vehicle didn't fly.

He frowned slightly as he glanced down at the cat in his arms before looking back up to the bus. He was a bit shocked at what was happening but at the same time he wasn't. It was clearly youma activity and Usagi was involved.

Just as every other time whatever connection they had led him right to Usagi. He actually hadn't even made it home before he sensed her need for him. The last time that happened when he wasn't at home was the first time he had assumed the masked persona. Even back in England he had been in his house when it happened.

Now he was here near a shrine seeing her dressed almost like a flight attendant standing in the doorway of that flying bus looking relieved and yet worried. He thought he could tell where those emotions were coming from. He had caught her cat so the feline was uninjured, maybe also that he had arrived to help, but now both him and the cat were on the ground away from her.

Neither of us can help from here. He thought with growing worry of his own; not that he had seen the feline help when it was present at a fight scene aside from the first one when it had told her how to use her weapon.

I'm not going to be left behind. I won't leave Usagi behind to face a dangerous youma alone. He thought firmly as he narrowed his eyes at the open doorway to the bus that was growing further and further away.

Tuxedo Kamen focused his mind and tightened his hold on the cat in his arms before he willed himself to the open space he had glimpsed at Usagi's side.

Sailor Moon watched in wide eyed worry and dismay as the bus got higher and higher and further away from Tuxedo Kamen and Luna. She had gone from feeling horror when Luna fell from her shoulder, to relief when she was caught by Tuxedo Kamen and at the fact that he had arrived just as she had told herself he would, but now he was being left behind.

As she watched him slowly grow smaller it occurred to her that this would be the first time she would have to fight without his help. She didn't know if she could do it. Ami was there so she wouldn't be alone, but last time Ami had made it difficult to see the youma when she had tried to help.

However, before she could worry more she saw him, and Luna, surprisingly disappear, and jumped with a gasp as he reappeared only a few moments later right next to her.

"How?" She breathed as she looked up at him, gripping the pole to keep herself steady and make sure she didn't fall out the open doors.

"Just one of my abilities." Tuxedo Kamen said as truthfully as he could as he put the cat down on an empty seat. He'd never Apparated to a moving location, so he was pleased that he and his tiny passenger had arrived safely.

"Well I'm so glad you made it!" Sailor Moon said in relief, truly glad she would not have to face the unknown youma without him.

"I'm glad to be here." He replied before he looked around and grabbed onto a pole.

Everyone on the bus seemed to be asleep or unconscious except Usagi and two girls; one he recognized as being the new senshi from the last fight with her short blue hair and blue eyes and wearing the same school uniform as Usagi, and the other girl had long black hair and wore a red and white outfit that he recognized from his early tutoring with Motoki as being what shrine priestess' wore.

"Any idea what's going on here?" He asked Usagi quietly as he idly watched the black cat walk toward the other two girls.

"All I know is that public buses from this line have been disappearing along with the people on them." Sailor Moon informed him just as quietly. "I was told earlier before I made it onto this bus that the one before it had disappeared through a black hole in the sky."

"That doesn't sound pleasant." He said with a sigh as he looked toward the front window at the black hole that had just formed.

"At all." She replied shakily as they drew closer to the hole. "I..I haven't seen the driver, but I'm assuming they're the youma." She added, trying to distract herself from her fear.

"Deep breaths Sailor Moon." Tuxedo Kamen said as he noticed her fear. "And it could be the normal driver being controlled by the youma."

"True." She agreed as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then repeated the process as they began to go through the hole.

They came into a blue and white dimension space that looked like it had its own moon that actually looked like a planet. There were two other buses parked side by side on what they assumed was the ground, and they both wondered if the people were still on them and alive.

Ami looked around feeling so many emotions she could hardly tell them apart. She felt relieved, worried, concerned, and fearful.

She had been so concerned when the girl who was unknowingly Sailor Mars had gotten on the bus for seemingly no reason. She herself hadn't intended on getting on any bus that came, not without Usagi with her, but with the girl being a senshi she couldn't just let her disappear with everyone else on the bus, so she went and got on with her.

She was glad that Usagi had been able to make it onto the bus in time but now Tuxedo Kamen was there as well. She didn't know how she was going to transform with him present nor how the senshi would be awakened with him around to see.

I guess I should at least be thankful he brought Luna with him so the new senshi can be awakened. She thought with a sigh as she looked around at the unconscious people.

She then forced herself to look out through the windows and saw that they were no longer on the street or sky, and actually looked like they were no longer on the Earth. They were clearly in a whole other place and they hadn't even seen the youma yet.

"I think it's time for you to lose the disguise." Tuxedo Kamen told Usagi as the bus began to land.

"Yeah." Sailor Moon said as she looked down at herself. She hadn't made it to the bus in time for it be useful. "I'll do it as soon as we land and get off." She added. Everyone that wasn't going to be involved in the coming fight had fallen asleep soon after she made it onto the bus so they wouldn't see, but she still thought it best to do it out where there was more space.

"Right." He replied as he took in the environment outside the bus.

Since the back door was still open it was clear that the air outside was breathable, so that was one thing they didn't have to worry about. Now they just had to figure out if the driver was actually the youma, and what it was capable of if it was.

The bus landed surprisingly lightly and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen wasted no time hurrying off the bus and tentatively onto the white ground. Thankfully it was as solid as they had assumed it would be since the buses were parked on it.

Sailor Moon then released her disguise leaving her once again appearing as the senshi of the Moon, and followed Tuxedo Kamen as he moved toward the front entrance of the bus while keeping a respectable distance from the large vehicle.

Tuxedo Kamen's fingers twitched as he focused and a rose appeared between his fingers in each hand. He wanted them there and ready for him to add his magic to at a moment's notice.

Sailor Moon seeing this reached up and pulled off her tiara and watched it become a glowing white disk hovering above her fingertips ready to be thrown at any time.

They watched the front door open and the driver, a woman, get up from the driver seat and step off the bus. She wore dark teal pants suit with a white button up collar shirt, navy blue tie, matching hat, and black shoes. The hat hid her eyes, but when she lifted it they saw that they were black and beady.

"Who are you? How are you conscious?" She demanded to know as she stared at them and took in their strange outfits.

"Who are you?" Tuxedo Kamen asked in return, hoping to keep the female's attention from the two conscious girls still on the bus.

"Kigaan." The stern faced female answered slowly. "You both look strong. Your energy will please my master." She said, no longer caring for who they could be.

Her disguise seemed to melt away as soon as she finished speaking leaving a female that looked like a humanoid emaciated reptile with light green skin, long blood red hair, sharp pointed front teeth, large eyes, and clawed hands with red nails. She wore a black sleeveless knee length body suit with matching forearm sleeves.

"Who's your master?" Sailor Moon asked as she took in the youma's appearance since she seemed willing to answer questions.

"Master is Jadeite." The female answered in a raspy tone.

Jadeite? Both Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen thought as they shared a glance. The name wasn't familiar to either of them so they assumed it was someone who worked in the Dark Kingdom.

The female, Kigaan, raised her hand toward them with a fanged smirk, and they both tensed waiting for whatever kind of attack would come flying at them, but were completely surprised when nothing came out.

Instead they were taken completely off guard when they suddenly felt lighter than a feather and began to float off the ground. They both cried out and flailed their arms and legs looking for some kind of stability as they rose higher and higher into the air.

Tuxedo Kamen huffed and shifted himself until he was floating on his stomach and then threw one of his roses, without his magic embedded in it, down at the youma to see what would happen. Unfortunately it didn't even reach the female; she having raised her other hand and stopped it like it hit a solid wall and fell to the ground.

I wonder if it didn't reach her because of the power she's using on us, and if it would have reached her if she hadn't seen it coming. He thought as he narrowed his eyes down at the youma. Would my magic have an effect even if my roses don't reach her physically?

"Do you want me to try?" Sailor Moon asked, having seen his attempt. "Maybe I can distract it if nothing else."

"As long as you're sure your tiara will come back to you." He said cautiously as he glanced over to her.

"It will as long as the youma doesn't prevent it." She said as reassuringly as she could.

"Go ahead then." He said, and began to infuse his remaining rose with the magic of the Blasting Curse.

Sailor Moon tried to adjust herself so she could throw her tiara, thankful it had remained with her and transformed during the unexpected attack, and then threw it down at the youma as hard as she could.

They watched the glowing white disk speed through the air, and then watched the youma raise her free hand again and the tiara slam into an invisible solid wall right in front of her before bouncing away. The attack wasn't even slightly distracting enough for a follow up attack that the female wouldn't see.

Ami looked out the window and watched as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen were caught up in the youma's attack that looked like it might have control of gravity at the very least.

I have to get out there and help. She thought as she watched their attempts at attacking fail. Maybe it'll help if the youma doesn't see the attack coming. She considered as she quietly slipped off the bus through the open back door.

She hurried around the back of the bus and to the other side so she couldn't be seen by either the youma or the masked man, and pulled out her transformation pen from her subspace pocket.

Here goes. She thought as she took a calming breath, having not transformed since she first became a senshi.

"Mercury Power, Make Up!" She said clearly, and squinted as blue light flashed and water poured out of the top of the pen.

It began to swirl around her and she closed her eyes as the light and water transformed her into a senshi. When it cleared she opened her eyes and blinked down at herself to see she was dressed in her blue and white sailor uniform.

Ami took another calming breath before she began to run along the side of the bus toward the front and where the youma was. When she was pass the bus she saw that the youma's back was to her and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen were still being held up high in the air.

She ran a little further until she was off to the side of the youma but still just behind it and close to the other buses, and raised her hands to the female.

"Shabon Spray!" She called out and watched as a stream of bubbles came spilling out of her hands before turning into a cold fog that obscured the youma's view in every direction.

Tuxedo Kamen shook his head, not liking that girl's method of attack for how it blocked his view of everything, but used the distraction to his advantage. He threw his rose sharply down to where he had last seen the youma, and watched the glowing fiery orange petals disappear into the fog.

"Prepare yourself for a fall in case this works." He warned Usagi.

"Alright." Sailor Moon said quietly before she reached up and grabbed her tiara, the glowing disk having returned to her after the failed attack.

They heard a scream a few moments later and suddenly they were falling. They quickly shifted themselves until they were upright, and landed into a slight crouch on their feet before standing up straight.

Before they could do anything they heard a raspy feminine yell and the fog, along with them, was suddenly blown backward.

As they were flying backward Tuxedo Kamen looked over to Usagi to see her flailing, and twisted and reached out and grabbed her arm before he pulled her hard toward him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and twisted until he was on his back with her on top of him before he crashed into the ground.

He groaned as pain rippled along his back and the back of his head as he slammed onto the ground, but kept a firm hold on her until they stopped moving.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he loosened his arms from around Usagi.

"I'm fine thanks to you." Sailor Moon said before she rolled off him and to his side. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, glancing toward where she last saw the youma.

"I'm aching, but it's nothing I can't handle." He said as he sat up with a groan. It was painful, but he truly had felt worse. Having the bones in his arm regrown alone was more painful never mind all the other things that had happened to him over the years.

My arm being broken, Basilisk venom running through my veins, the Cruciatus Curse frying my nerves, having my hand repeatedly sliced open, the burn of the horcrux locket against my skin. The list ran through his mind.

Sailor Moon watched worriedly as Tuxedo Kamen twisted to get up, struggling slightly in the process clearly showing that his back was hurting, and as she was about to get up she felt something heavy hit her lap.

Looking down she nearly gasped to see a gold star shaped locket sitting on her thighs. It was thick and shiny with a delicate chain attached to it, and was large enough to take up her entire palm and some of her fingers.

She picked it up and held it in her hand before she got to her feet and grabbed her tiara from where it hovered above her.

"Wait!" She said as he was about to head back toward the youma. "I think this fell out of your pocket."

Tuxedo Kamen turned back and his eyes widened as he looked at what she was talking about. He hadn't even known he had that, had never felt it hiding in a pocket, but then again he had always been otherwise occupied when he was wearing the tuxedo and hadn't thought to search it.

Why do I even have such a thing? He wondered as he reached out and touched it lightly. It looked like a locket, but he thought it was entirely too big for that. At least to be the kind a person could wear.

"You keep it. I'll only lose it again." He said as he pulled his hand back. It looked like something she would enjoy having in any case.

"Are you sure?" Sailor Moon asked as she looked from him to the locket and back again.

"I'm sure." He said firmly. "You'll probably enjoy it more than me, and definitely keep it safer than I apparently can."

"Alright." She said and bit her lip, hesitating, before she stuffed the locket beneath the collar of her sailor outfit so it sat snugly against her chest.

Tuxedo Kamen raised an eyebrow at her move, but acknowledged it should be safe for the time being where she placed it.

"Come on; let's go!" He said before he turned and began to hurry back toward the youma, taking out a rose as he did.

Confringo. He thought as he willed the magic of a Blasting Curse into the flower. The rose glowed a fiery orange, and he threw it sharply at the youma's chest where she stood still not far from the bus' front door.

Sailor Moon focused on the youma as she ran just behind and to the side of her masked companion, and threw her tiara at the youma aiming for her arm; hoping if she could get rid of those then the youma wouldn't be able to use its power against them.

Sailor Mercury, seeing this, forced herself to get closer to the youma and lifted her hands.

"Shabon Spray!" She called out as she launched her attack, hoping to make the female too cold to move quickly and avoid the two coming attacks.

~xXx~

The dark haired purple eyed young priestess stared through one of the bus windows wide eyed at what she was seeing.

She had only gotten on the bus to prove that her family's shrine had nothing to do with the buses and people supposedly going missing. She had wanted to be able to say truthfully that she had gotten on the bus and nothing had happened, so there couldn't be any truth to the rumors of missing buses and people.

After all, wouldn't the police have gotten involved if city buses and dozens of people were suddenly going missing without a trace?

She had admittedly been very alarmed when people started suddenly falling asleep or falling unconscious in their seats. Only one other girl had remained awake aside from herself, and she had watched in surprise as she forced open the back door and a woman jump on looking like she belonged on an airplane.

She then couldn't have been more shocked and surprised when a masked man in a tuxedo holding a cat suddenly appeared next to the woman out of thin air. Then she was proven wrong when the bus started lifting off the ground!

Fear had instantly taken hold and her heart had raced as she held on to the closest pole and braced herself in her seat. Terrified didn't even come close to what she had felt watching a black hole open up in the sky, and she wasn't ashamed to admit, at least to herself, that she had squeezed her eyes shut rather than watch as they passed through it.

When nothing happened she opened her eyes and was further shocked to see that everything outside was completely different. Clearly she was no longer where she should have been. Clearly the rumors were not actually rumors; they were true, and she had no idea what would happen to her.

Thankfully the bus landed without a problem and when she looked around she saw the masked man and flight attendant-looking woman get off the bus. Then she was surprised to see the woman's appearance change to look almost like Sailor V!

Then she was surprised all over again to see the girl that had been the only other one conscious with her leave the bus! She twisted in her seat and stood up slightly as she watched her hurry around the bus, feeling strangely abandoned, and then gasped to see her pull something out of thin air and make light and water come out of it.

She squinted but couldn't see anything until the light cleared, and then gasped again to see her looking just like the other woman. The only difference between them was the color of their outfits and the lack of accessories on one.

The dark haired priestess looked away from the newly transformed girl as she began to move toward the front of the bus and looked toward the other side. She leaned further toward the window as she held a pole and finally saw the bus driver.

No longer did they look like a stern faced woman. She was now some kind of skinny red haired humanoid lizard creature, and she seemed to be winning in the strange fight that was going on with the masked man and the woman that looked like Sailor V being held high in the air.

This can't be happening. None of this is real. I have to be dreaming. Maybe I went to sleep when I got home after school. She thought as her eyes flickered from the driver to the masked man and the sailor woman and back again.

"You can help you know." She suddenly heard a feminine voice say, and she jumped and spun around, nearly falling, and looked around wildly trying to see who else was conscious on the bus with her.

Everyone was still slumped over in their seats, but then her eyes landed on a black cat sitting in an empty seat a row away from her.

"No way!" She breathed as she stared at the feline that had arrived in the masked man's arms.

~xXx~

Luna was honestly still trying to process the events that had just happened. She had been startled when she fell off Sailor Moon's shoulder, but she hadn't worried about her landing. She had been more worried about how she was going to awaken the new senshi. Actually worried that she was on the bus since Ami had been.

But that worry had abruptly left her mind as she felt herself land into strong warm arms, and looking up she was startled to see the mask man she was so concerned about. Then before she could react beyond recognizing him she blinked and they were suddenly on the bus and standing next to Sailor Moon.

How had that happened?! How did he do that?! How did she not feel or see it happening?! She heard him clearly say it was one of his abilities, but there had been no sound to it and no light of any kind. It was like he just disappeared from the ground and reappeared on the bus.

Then before she could finish processing that he put her down on a seat and experienced the phenomenon of a bus disappearing, and found that it actually went through a black hole; although it might very well have disappeared from the Earth considering the place they eventually landed in.

It looked like another dimension; strange, alien, and empty but for the previously mentioned missing buses.

Immediately she turned her attention to her charges and the unaware new senshi.

Sailor Moon still stood next to Tuxedo Kamen and they were talking but she couldn't hear what they were saying before they got off the bus. She watched long enough to see Sailor Moon release her disguise, and wish she could hear the confrontation going on with the bus driver before she turned her attention to Ami.

She was still standing looking out the window and watching what she could see was now the start of the fight, but before she could encourage her to go help Ami hurried off the bus.

Luna then turned her attention to the young priestess who was the new senshi, and watched her taking everything in wide eyed. She looked shocked, surprised, bewildered, and scared. All of which were understandable given what had and was happening.

She watched her reacting to Ami transforming and then to the fighting once she joined Sailor Moon, and decided now was the time to speak and introduce the young woman to her destiny.

---

"Did you just talk?!" The dark haired girl said in shock.

"I did." Luna said.

"You actually talked! You're a talking cat!" She exclaimed in shock.

"Yes I am." Luna confirmed. "And I meant what I said before. You can help Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury."

"Is that who those women are?" The dark haired priestess asked as she glanced out the window. "Are they like Sailor V? What about that masked man?"

"They may be similar to that young woman." Luna said as she glanced to her charges outside the bus. "As for the masked man, he is not one of them even though he has appeared to be helping."

"And how am I supposed to help them?" The dark haired young woman asked. "I'm not a fighter like them."

"You are. You are like them." Luna said insistently. "You are Sailor Mars."

"What?!" The dark haired priestess said incredulously. "That's not possible! How can I be like them? I can't be!" She said as she looked out the window at the fighters again.

"It is possible, and you are like them. I will prove it." Luna said before she leapt up into the air.

The dark haired priestess watched as the cat did a backflip that somehow caused a flash of light before she landed back on her seat and caught something in her mouth. She hopped closer to her to another empty seat before she put what was in her mouth down in front of her.

"This is your transformation pen." Luna said as she pushed it slightly toward her with a paw. "This will allow you to change and become a senshi like Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury."

The dark haired priestess stepped forward and cautiously grabbed the object and snatched her hand back, not really trusting the talking cat, and saw that it looked like a pen. It was red on the bottom half with a gold cap as the top half with the planetary symbol for Mars engraved within a circle on top of the cap.

"You will be able to fight just like them." Luna said reassuringly. "All you have to do is say 'mars power, make up', and you will become the senshi of Mars."

Purple eyes took in the pen before she looked to the cat and then looked through the window at the fighting. Could she really do this? Did she want to do this? Was this permanent? What exactly would it mean for her to become this Sailor Mars?

"Being Sailor Mars is a serious duty and important responsibility, but you are the only one who can be the senshi of Mars." Luna said seriously. "You obviously won't be alone. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Moon will be with you, and the three of you will need to find the others. Besides that you will be helping to fight creatures, youma, like the one the others are fighting now."

"There is more, but there is no time to discuss it now. You must help them!" She said emphatically.

The dark haired priestess looked from the pen to the cat to the activity outside the bus and back to the pen. She wasn't sure about accepting this or even if she truly believed it despite the proof of a talking cat and making the pen appear out of a flash of light.

Still, the pen felt right in her hand, and she wanted to help those fighters out there. She especially wanted to help get rid of the creature that was responsible for the disappearances of the buses and people and therefore giving her family shrine a bad reputation.

"Alright. Let's do this." She said.

"You should go outside the bus and transform since you will have more room, and on the off chance one of these people regain consciousness at the wrong moment." Luna suggested.

The dark haired priestess nodded and looked through the window to see fog everywhere. She hurried off the bus, using the cover of the fog, and made her way to the far side to try the pen.

"Mars Power, Make Up!" She said as she held the pen out in front of her.

Red light flashed and fire streamed out of the top of the pen just as she heard the youma, as the cat called the creature, cry out and heard a slight boom before the bus rocked from side to side like something had hit hard.

The fire swirled around her as she was lifted off the ground, and she blinked rapidly before she quickly closed her eyes as the fire drew closer to her. When the transformation finished she opened her eyes, and they widened at seeing herself look completely different than she had only moments ago.

She actually looked a lot like the two women fighting. She had on a skin tight white bodysuit with three white shoulder pads, a red collar with three white stripes on it, a matching red mini skirt with a red bow on her lower back, and a dark purple bow on her chest with a red round circle brooch in the center of it.

White elbow length gloves stretched up her forearms with red cloth attached to the ends, and red high heels on her feet. She could also feel she had a tiara on her forehead, a choker around her neck, and earrings in her ears. And to her surprise she saw that the pendant from her mother's necklace had shifted into a brooch attached to the v-point at her waist just above her skirt.

She noticed idly that the red of her uniform was different than the woman who had red in hers. It was more of a dark or deep red rather than the vibrant bright red that the other woman wore.

The dark haired newly transformed senshi looked to the bus and saw the cat nod at her firmly, and she took a breath before jogging toward the front of the bus.

What am I going to do? She wondered worriedly. I don't feel any different now that I've become Sailor Mars. How am I supposed to fight? I should have asked that cat that!

~xXx~

All the fighters heard a raspy feminine yell, and Tuxedo Kamen, hearing this and anticipating what it meant, braced himself and quickly grabbed Usagi's arm and pulled her against his side just before the cold fog was blown away.

Sailor Moon cried out lightly as she felt the pressure against her and was grateful for Tuxedo Kamen's foresight as she huddled against him. Unfortunately Sailor Mercury wasn't as cautious and cried out as she was blown back.

Sailor Mars looked on from the cover of the side of the front of the bus, and just as she was once again about to wonder what she could do she suddenly knew exactly what she had to do.

She stepped away from the bus and lifted her arms and clasped her hands together with her two index fingers pointing away from her, and watched as a red-orange fireball swirled into existence at the tips of them.

"Fire Soul!" She cried out loudly, and watched as the ball of fire shot forward and hit the creature in the back sending the female flying forward.

Tuxedo Kamen quickly pulled out a rose and focused as he willed the magic for the Blasting Curse into it.

Confringo. He thought, and watched as the red petals began to glow a fiery orange.

He threw the glowing rose hard at the youma as it was getting up, and it struck the female in the chest just below her neck and blasted her back with a raspy cry.

"I'm going to go check on the people on the other two buses and try to gather all the buses together." He told Usagi as he finally released her arm. "Will you be okay fighting with those girls?" He asked as he glanced to the girls in blue and red.

He was surprised at seeing the one in red since she hadn't been at a previous fight, but he recognized her as a girl that had been on the bus. The only one aside from the blue senshi's civilian form that had been conscious. Clearly she was new just as the one in blue had been at the last fight.

"I don't know," Sailor Moon said honestly as she looked from the injured youma to the new senshi and back. "but you should still go ahead since if we defeat the youma we'll probably have to leave quickly, and won't have time to gather the buses. We can't leave them and the people behind."

"Alright." He said with some concern, not trusting these girls. "You be careful, and fight smart."

"I will." She said as she nodded firmly. "Go on!" She said before she threw her glowing tiara at the youma, hoping to keep the female distracted from him.

Tuxedo Kamen took off running toward the two buses parked side by side, ignoring the two girls, senshi, but noting their positions so he wouldn't be caught off guard if they tried anything against him.

After all, even though he had seen that they were young girls like Usagi under their transformation he didn't know them. He only knew Usagi, had only built trust with her. If anything their appearances had only added to the questions he had.

He still wanted to know, needed to know, why Usagi was this Sailor Moon fighter, but now he wondered why those two girls were fighters as well. Were all the girls meant to work together with them being dressed similarly? Did it mean something that they were dressed similarly? Was their purpose just to fight the youma that were appearing or was there more to it?

He shook his head and wandlessly opened the front door to the first bus as he reached it and hurried on. He immediately saw numerous people, mostly young girls, collapsed in their seats. He moved forward and wandlessly used the diagnostic charm to check their vitals, and checked manually, and found that they were all alive but simply unconscious.

He then hurried off the bus, closing the door behind him, and looked toward Usagi as he moved toward the other bus. At least he tried to look toward her. The blue senshi had spread her fog making visibility impossible for him and no doubt everyone over there.

Tuxedo Kamen sighed and again used wandless magic to open the bus door and hurried on to again see everyone on it collapsed in their seats. Again he wandlessly used the diagnostic charm to check their vital signs and physically double checked as well, and found that they all were alive but unconscious.

Now how do I make sure all these people get to safety and back where they belong? He wondered as he looked around. He didn't know how to drive or get the buses to fly as the bus seemed to do earlier. First gather the buses together and then go from there. He told himself before he hurried off the bus and began to conjure up thick rope.

Meanwhile, the youma Kigaan blew the cold fog away so she could see and sent two of the fighters to their knees.

Sailor Moon, still on her feet having anticipated the youma would do that, threw her tiara at the female in the hopes that it wouldn't be able to react fast enough to stop it.

She looked to Sailor Mercury and the new senshi Sailor Mars standing at a slight distance on either side of the youma, and then glanced to Tuxedo Kamen to see him tying what looked like rope to the front of the bus closest to them.

Where did he get rope from? She wondered, but dismissed the thought as she focused back on the youma.

"Fire Soul!" Sailor Mars called and sent a ball of fire speeding toward the youma as Sailor Moon's tiara did the same.

The youma raised her hands and the glowing tiara and ball of fire stopped abruptly as they seemed to hit an invisible wall. In the next moment the attacks were suddenly streaking back toward their owners.

Sailor Mars' eyes widened and she twisted to the side to avoid her own fireball, and Sailor Moon cried out as she ducked to avoid her tiara since it was going too fast for her to catch.

Sailor Mercury looked on worried and wished she had something other than a bubble fog to use against this youma, but that was all she had so she had to use it. Still, she knew the youma would blast them all to get rid of it, but she had to try.

Unfortunately as she raised her hands the youma looked at her and pointed her hand at her, and she cried out as she was suddenly lifted off the ground; her arms and legs flailing as she tried to move herself upright instead of being on her stomach.

"Fire S…" Sailor Mars began to say as she pointed her fingers at the youma, but was interrupted and lifted off the ground as the female aimed her hand at her.

She cried out and flailed her arms and legs helplessly as she moved higher and higher until she was at the same height as Sailor Mercury.

"Fire Soul!" She cried out as she aimed her fingers down at the youma.

The fireball formed and burst from the tips of her fingers and streaked down at the youma, but just like before it slammed into an invisible wall before it could hit her.

Sailor Moon practically snatched her tiara out of the air as it returned to her from its previous rapid trip, but before she could throw it at the youma again she suddenly went slamming to the ground.

She cried out as she hit the ground face first and moaned in pain as her knees and face rippled with pain. She tried to get up but felt like she had a hundred pounds weighing her down from head to toe.

Tuxedo Kamen looked over to the fighting as he finished tying the buses together, having decided to levitate the bus they had arrived on to the front of the other two buses, and did a double take as he realized all the girls were incapable of fighting.

Usagi appeared to be plastered to the ground, and the other two were floating in the air as he and Usagi had been earlier.

He quickly pulled out a rose and willed the magic of the Blasting Curse into it, and watched the red petals begin to glow a fiery orange before he threw it sharply at the youma's back. He then pulled out another rose wanting to slow the youma's reaction time so it wouldn't recover quickly.

Impedimenta. He thought as he willed the magic of the Impediment Jinx into the flower, and watched it glow with a turquoise light as his previous rose hit the youma.

The female cried out and flew forward, and he quickly threw the rose in his hand at it while it was down.

Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury cried out as they began to fall to the ground, but they both managed to right themselves and land lightly on their feet.

"Fire Soul!" Sailor Mars called out as she quickly aimed her fingers at the youma, wanting to land a hit before she could recover and stop her.

The red orange ball of fire streaked through the air and slammed into the youma's back as she was slowly sitting up causing her to scream as the fire engulfed her.

Sailor Moon pushed herself up and then stood up as she watched the youma be hit by Mars' fireball. The female was engulfed in flames screeching in pain as her skin was burned. She grimaced but grabbed her tiara, seeing that it was still a glowing white disk, and threw it at the silhouette she could see in the fire.

The glowing white disk flew through the air in a straight line and slammed into the youma's screaming burning figure. The female screamed louder before the sound stopped abruptly, and the youma's burning silhouette crumbled and disappeared along with the fire.

Sailor Moon grabbed her tiara out of the air as it returned to her and walked forward warily toward the crumbled remains of the youma and her fellow senshi.

"Are you two alright?" She asked them as she put her tiara back on.

"I am." Sailor Mercury said.

"Yeah." Sailor Mars said as she looked from the dusty ash remains of the youma to the two women.

"I'm Sailor Moon. Welcome to the team." Sailor Moon said with a smile.

"Yes welcome. I'm Sailor Mercury." Sailor Mercury said quietly.

"Thanks. I'm..I guess I'm Sailor Mars." Sailor Mars said.

"Nice to meet you Sailor Mars." Sailor Moon said before she looked over toward the buses, and immediately saw Tuxedo Kamen leaning out of the lead bus and waving her over to him.

"Come on Mercury, Mars!" She called out as she began to run toward the buses. She glanced up and saw that the hole they had come through was slowly starting to shrink now that the youma was gone.

At least it wasn't an instant closure. She thought as she ran.

She hopped onto the front entrance to the bus and moved to the side but stayed near the front as Mercury and Mars hurried on. She looked back and saw Mercury sit next to Luna where she was situated near the back, and Mars grab onto a pole near the middle of the bus.

Tuxedo Kamen closed all the doors to the bus and shifted in the driver's seat feeling strange sitting in the seat with it being a large bus and him not knowing how to drive.

Wingardium Leviosa. He thought the simple spell, wandlessly casting the charm and hiding the hand gesture by grabbing onto the drivers wheel.

He focused on including all three buses, using the rope he had used to tie them all together with, and watched as the bus began to lift off the ground. He nodded slightly and almost held his breath as he concentrated on lifting the buses and guiding them up into the air and toward the black hole in the sky.

"How are you doing this?" He heard Usagi ask near him.

"Just another one of my abilities." He said distractedly as he concentrated on moving them toward the slowly shrinking hole and keeping them aloft.

He breathed a sigh of relief as they passed through the black hole just in time to avoid being closed inside the dimension. He even checked the side mirrors to make sure the other two buses made it through and was glad that they had.

He then focused on landing them all safely onto the ground, and after a few long nerve fraught minutes the buses touched down in the street and he released his hold on the charm.

"Yeah! Good job!" Sailor Moon said, happy that they were back on familiar ground.

"Thanks." Tuxedo Kamen said before he opened up all the doors on the bus. "I'm going to go open up the doors on the other buses." He said as he stood up.

"Alright." She said easily before turning her attention to her fellow senshi and Luna. "Are you okay? You weren't hurt through everything that happened were you?" She asked Luna as Mercury picked her up.

"I'm okay. I wasn't hurt." Luna said from the blue senshi's arms.

"Good. Let's get off here before these people start waking up." Sailor Moon said as she headed for the back door.

"Where is Tuxedo Kamen?" Luna asked as they stepped off the bus. "Has he left or is he still in the area?"

"He's opening up the bus doors so the people can get off since there's no driver to do it." Sailor Moon said with a sigh.

"You three should avoid him. There is just too much we don't know about him." Luna insisted. "How did he get the buses back through the black hole? How did he even gather the buses together?! I was on the bus he moved, and I couldn't even tell how he did it!"

Tuxedo Kamen opened the doors on the last bus in time to see the passengers start to come to, and began to walk back around the buses toward where he sensed Usagi was.

"You have to admit it's pretty suspicious." He heard a feminine voice say, and he recognized it as coming from that talking cat.

"No it's not." He heard Usagi say with a hint of exasperation in her tone, and he slowed to stop behind the back of the bus closest to her before he could be seen.

"And that's not all! How did he get on the bus? He just disappeared from the ground and reappeared on the bus!" The feline said.

Clearly the cat was suspicious of him, and maybe those other two girls too, but he didn't care how any of them felt about him. He only cared if they helped Usagi and didn't hinder her efforts at fighting.

"Don't be ridiculous Luna." He heard Usagi say. "He has abilities just like we do. I'm sure he wonders how you can talk when you're a cat, but that hasn't stopped him from ignoring you and helping at fights."

He smiled lightly. Usagi clearly trusted him. Her defensive words now and general behavior with him made that clear to him. It was another instance of her loyalty, and he could admit to himself that he liked the display; especially since it wasn't a show for him.

Especially since she doesn't know who I am. He thought quietly before he casually stepped out from behind the bus, having waited a reasonable time so they didn't think he had overheard them.

"You're okay Sailor Moon?" He asked as he stopped in front of her, barely glancing at the other two senshi standing near her.

"I am thank you." Sailor Moon said with a smile. "And thank you for your help with the youma and getting these buses back here. I wouldn't have even known what to do!"

"It's no problem." Tuxedo Kamen said simply before he glanced around at the people who had managed to make it off the bus and were looking confused.

"I better go, and you probably should too." He suggested as he looked back to her. "These buses crowding the street and these people are bound to attract attention from the authorities."

"Right." She said as she nodded firmly and looked around. "I'll see you next time." She said as she looked back to him.

"Next time." He agreed firmly. "Until then." He added before he took off to look for a secluded location to Apparate from.

"He's right. We need to get out of here." Sailor Moon said as she looked away from his retreating figure. "We need to bring Mars up to date too, so we need to get somewhere where we can talk freely."

"Um…my place is closest. Why don't we go there?" Sailor Mars said, speaking up for the first time since they had been in that strange place. She had been content to listen and take in everything so far, but she wanted and needed to talk to them and learn more about what she had become.

"Then lead the way." Luna said seriously.

Sailor Mars nodded and dashed away with Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury following; Luna still being held securely in Mercury's arms.

~HPxXxMC~

Mamoru sat on the bus gazing out the window as it drove him closer and closer to his destination. Normally he would be at the cafe waiting for Usagi to arrive but he had told her yesterday that he wouldn't be able to make it.

~xXx~

The pair sat in the cafe in the booth seat they always sat in as usual. He had waited for her, also as usual, and she had arrived only a few minutes ago.

"I won't be able to meet you here tomorrow." He said and watched her eyes widen and listened to her gasp quietly before her eyes drooped slightly in disappointment.

"Why?" She asked quietly.

"I have an appointment to meet my parents' lawyer." He answered just as quietly, and watched her eyes widen again.

"Is something wrong? It's not serious is it?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"Nothing's wrong, but I suppose it can be labeled as serious." He said thoughtfully. "It's the same lawyer that handled my adoption as well as everything to do with my birth parents after the accident, so I'm hoping they'll be able to tell me where they were laid to rest." He explained, and she gasped.

"There's no one you could have asked before now?" Usagi asked.

"No. The only ones who knew about my adoption died before I even found out about it. Clearly they didn't think I needed to know since they had a few years to tell me before they died." Mamoru said.

"What about the…um..your mom's sister? The one you lived with?" She asked.

"No. She didn't know either." He said.

He watched her frown and tilt her head at his answer. She was clearly confused, which he could understand, but didn't say anything.

~xXx~

Mamoru blinked away the memory as he focused on his surroundings to make sure he didn't miss his stop.

He could still understand her confusion. How could his mom's sister not know he wasn't related to her? She was probably thinking he didn't look like his adopted parents so why wouldn't she know even if she hadn't been told.

Of course she didn't know the magical element. That he had been part of a blood adoption and his true appearance had been hidden after his parents' death.

She hadn't questioned it at the time, and he hoped she didn't anytime soon because he didn't know what to tell her. He wouldn't lie to her, but he couldn't tell her the truth. That couldn't happen until she learned he was a wizard, and that in turn wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

They had only known each other a couple of months, and he hadn't even outright addressed her feelings for him yet. He hadn't even addressed his own feelings outside his mind.

So no it was too soon for her to know he was a wizard, and therefore know about the magical aspects of his adoption.

Mamoru sighed lightly and pulled his mind away from Usagi, and toward what he hoped to find out from his appointment with his birth parents lawyer.

He hoped the woman knew where they had been laid to rest so he could visit them. Just like with his adopted parents he knew they were watching over him and knew what was happening in his life, but he still wanted to visit them and talk.

He looked around at the view beyond the window and recognized a store from when he had checked where the law office was. He rang the bell and got up from his seat to move toward the back door in preparation to get off when his stop arrived.

After driving across a street and nearly halfway down a block the bus pulled over at the bus stop, and he and a few others stepped off the bus and onto the sidewalk.

Mamoru looked to his right and began to walk in that direction to the end of the sidewalk before he turned at the corner, and walked halfway before stopping in front of a building that looked like any other office building.

He pulled open the glass door and stepped inside the quiet lobby before he walked toward the elevator. He paused at the registry to double check the floor he need before continuing on.

When he reached the elevators he pressed the up button and waited. A couple of minutes later one of the doors opened, and he stepped toward it and inside before he pressed the button for the floor he needed. The elevator ascended gradually and stopped on the floor he needed before the doors slid open with a soft ding.

He stepped off and looked to his left, the only direction he could since the hallway went in that direction, and walked until it opened up into a large open room.

There was a large reception desk with a woman seated behind it, and up high on the wall behind her were the words: Taisho & Yoshida International Law Firm in block letters.

Mamoru took a slight breath and calmly walked across the soft carpeted floor and up to the desk.

"Good morning." The woman, the same one who took his call from the sound of her voice, said as she looked up at him. "How can I help you?" She asked.

"I have an appointment at 3:30pm with Mrs. Yukimura Masako." He said.

"One moment please." She said before she began to type on the keyboard to the computer slightly off to her side. "Mr. Chiba Mamoru?" She said a few moments later.

"Yes." He confirmed, and she nodded.

"Okay. If you will please take a seat I'll call Mrs. Yukimura to let her know you are here." She said.

"Thank you." He said before he turned and went and sat down on a cushioned arm chair to wait.

Mamoru looked at the artwork on the walls in the quiet of the room since there was no one else waiting. It reminded him that he should probably start looking into getting some for the empty walls of his apartment.

He stared at a boring one that was nothing but different colored thick lines on a white background. Despite that he couldn't stop looking as he followed a yellow line as it intersected with a red one and continued on until it hit a blue one then crossed over a purple one.

Long minutes passed as he followed the lines until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to see the receptionist walking over to him even as a couple walked in from the hallway where the elevators were.

"Mr. Chiba? Mrs. Yukimura is ready to see you now." She said, and he nodded and stood up. He followed her back to her desk and she gestured to another hallway near her desk.

"Her name will be on the side wall next to her office door." The receptionist said as she moved back behind her desk.

"Thank you." He said and stepped over to the slightly narrow hallway and began to look at the names next to each door he passed. It wasn't until he reached the end of the hallway that he found her name.

The door was open and when he looked in he saw that it was a corner office with floor to ceiling windows behind and to the left of her desk where she sat.

There were two comfortable looking chairs in front of her desk, a three seater couch off to the side in front of the windows with a small round table off to the side at the end, and a round table in the middle of the office with a small vase of flowers, a stack of plastic cups, and a clear pitcher of water on it.

He knocked on the door and watched her look up.

"Please come in and close the door Mr. Chiba." Mrs. Yukimura said. "Sit wherever you feel comfortable." She said once he had closed the door.

The couch looked comfortable, but he thought it would be better to take one of the seats in front of the desk.

"You look just like your parents Mr. Chiba." Masako said with a smile.

"You remember them." Mamoru said though it sounded like a question.

"It may have been eighteen years now, but you never forget when you handle the Will of two people who travel overseas with their baby, and then handle the adoption of said baby; especially since it was not only non-magical but magical with a blood adoption component on top of that." She said.

"Does that mean this firm services both magical and non-magical clients?" He asked.

"Absolutely." She said firmly, and he nodded.

"That's good to know." He said, and she hummed positively.

"So how can I help you?" Masako asked.

"It occurred to me recently that I didn't know where my birth parents were laid to rest, and I figured you would possibly know." Mamoru explained briefly.

"I do indeed know." She confirmed. "I expected to hear from you much sooner than this." She said with a raised eyebrow that clearly said 'why are you just now wanting to know where your parents are? You should have honored the people who brought you into the world long before now.'

She knew, considering who he was, that he couldn't have contacted her in the last few years, but before that he certainly could have. Or at least his guardians could have.

Mamoru looked away and sighed lightly, wondering how many more times he was going to have to relay this fact.

"I've only known I was adopted for a year, and I've actually only known where my adopted parents were laid to rest for almost two years now." He informed her.

Masako gasped lightly and immediately, silently, berated herself for jumping to conclusions.

Just like every witch or wizard around the world who wasn't living under a rock she knew that his adopted parents had been killed not long after the adoption took place, but she had no idea what his life had been like between then and when news of him started trickling into newspapers a few years ago.

She had simply assumed his guardians would have told him years ago.

"This really isn't my business, but why in the world would your guardians not tell you?" She asked.

"Only two people had known about my adoption; my godfather and Dumbledore Albus, the previous headmaster of Hogwarts. Neither one of them said anything when I met them or in the years after that." Mamoru said.

"My godfather having been sent to prison shortly after my parents' murder, I hadn't known about the man or learned that he was my godfather until I was thirteen, and Dumbledore for some reason put semi-permanent glamour charms on me so I looked like my adopted parents. Because of that no one, not even me, had any reason to question my parentage." He said.

"If I had to guess, considering what was going on at the time, I figure my parents kept my adoption mostly a secret to keep me safe. They probably would have made it more widely known after Voldemort had been defeated and it was safe." He said with a shrug.

Masako nodded, that making sense to her since she herself had questioned them on if he would be safe in the environment they lived in.

"Well as I said before I do indeed know where your birth parents were laid to rest." She said before she pulled out a file from one of her drawers.

"If I recall correctly they were cremated and flown back to the country, and were buried in the cemetery they listed in their Wills." She said as she opened the file. "Your parents prepared very well for their trip."

"Do you know what all those preparations were?" Mamoru asked.

"I know that they had retained my services just in case they needed a lawyer. They each drew up their own Will. Both had been essentially the same, and included what to do with their belongings and assets should something happen to them, and that they wished to be cremated and where they were to be buried." Masako said.

"We offered more services, but that was all they needed and wanted." She added.

"What other services do you offer?" He asked curiously.

"Our firm provides Estate Planning which is Will & Probate, Family Law which involves Adoptions, International Law which is to provide our services when our clients are in other countries, and Privacy Law which deals with defamation and libel suits." She informed him.

"That's good to know in case I need a lawyer." Mamoru said. Which if I'm being honest with myself is a high probability with how my life has been. He thought.

He had never thought about creating a Will, such a thing hadn't ever crossed his mind, but he thought it was something he should probably do at some point since he had a lot of assets, property and money, that needed to go somewhere.

The last thing he wanted was for his property and money to go to a specific person or people that he didn't like or care for.

"Considering what I read of you in the newspapers from Great Britain a few years ago I would not be surprised." Masako said as she nodded.

"I supposed that would have gone under the Privacy Law bit of your services." He said.

"Absolutely." She said with a firm nod.

"That's understandable. I haven't read the Daily Prophet much but I think at least when it comes to me it operates more as a rag magazine than a factual newspaper." He said with a sigh. "If I get tired of their lies I can what? Sue them?" He asked.

"It did read that way unfortunately, and suing them is a definite option." She said. "Either that or settling outside of court and forcing them to print a retraction and apology, and possibly getting monetary gain from their action for your distress."

"I understand." Mamoru said as he nodded. "What happened to my parents belongings?" He asked, moving the subject away from him back to where it belonged.

"Your parents had been renting an apartment at the time, so their furniture was sold and all bills they had were paid off. The money they had left over was added to their bank account, and all personal items were put into a safety deposit box at their bank." She answered.

Masako wrote down the name of the Chiba's bank as well as the cemetery where they were buried.

"I'll help you gain access to their account and the contents of the safety deposit box." She said as she handed him the information.

"Thank you." He said as he accepted the paper. "I would appreciate that very much."

She nodded and then handed him her business card, which had her name and the name of the law firm on it with her office number as well as the firm's number.

"For if you decide you need my legal services." She said.

"Thank you." Mamoru said as he accepted the card and added it to the paper with the information she had given him.

He and Mrs. Yukimura then set up a date where they could go to the bank his parents had used, and deal with the business of getting their personal items and transferring the money to his bank.

~HPxXxMC~

Meanwhile in England, Ron Weasley was at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes working his shift at the shop. He had been restocking a shelf but got sidetracked by a pretty girl with straight light brown hair and blue eyes that he decided needed his help; especially since she kept looking his way and smiling at him.

He chatted with her for a few minutes. He didn't recognize her from Hogwarts but he learned that she did go and had just finished her sixth year. She was in Hufflepuff which is part of why he hadn't recognized her. If he was honest he only really recognized those from his year and the year behind him, and really only knew the names of those in Gryffindor. And maybe some specific people from different houses.

Still, despite her being younger than him she was really pretty and he liked talking to her. He also liked that she was interested in the things he talked about.

When she left he moved back toward the shelf he had been stocking, but before he could reach it he spotted another girl in another section of the store. She had wavy black hair with purple streaks in it and gray eyes.

He smiled and moved toward her instead and when she spotted him she smiled and turned toward him. He knew she definitely hadn't been at Hogwarts with him or if she had then it was before he started noticing girls, which he decided meant she was older than him.

They were chatting for a few minutes where he learned not only her name but that she actually hadn't gone to Hogwarts. She'd been homeschooled, and judging by her accent she grew up in Scotland.

"Excuse me miss." Ron heard the unmistakable voice of his brother just as he suddenly felt an arm drape across his shoulders. "My brother and I need to have a little chat." He heard him say and watched her nod.

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

"What are you doing little bro?" George asked quietly as he led him away from the young woman.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked with a frown.

"I've been watching you for the last half hour and you've been talking to the young attractive female costumers instead of working." George said as he stopped next to the spot his brother was supposed to be stocking.

"Calm down, calm down. Take it easy George. I was only trying to help them." Ron said.

"Right." George said slowly. "Let's see if you're still just as helpful when Hermione's around." He added before he walked away toward a family of four.

Ron shook his head as he went back to stocking the shelves he had been working on wondering what Hermione had to do with anything.

What's George's problem? He couldn't help wondering. He was much less fun without Fred around. He was just always working now, it seemed like, and that was probably what his problem was.

Maybe I'll drag him out with me after the shop closes. He could use a drink. He thought as he placed an item on the shelf. Yeah, I'll do that. He thought as he nodded to himself.

Too bad things can't be so easy when it comes to Harry. He thought with an angry frown as he suddenly found himself thinking about how Harry had ended their friendship.

He still couldn't understand why Harry would just throw away their friendship, and wondered if it was just because he called him out on not caring about Ginny and Fred as much as he pretended to, and that he was sleeping around. Hermione said that he was sleeping around so it must be true; especially since he didn't really care about Ginny like he thought he had.

Harry had changed so much since the end of the war. Ron could never have imagined it with their years or friendship. He had become emotionless, and wasn't spending any time with him and Hermione. He wasn't even hanging around the family!

And I still can't believe he didn't invite me to live with him! He thought indignantly.

He and Harry had been sharing a room since their first year at Hogwarts. Every time Harry came to the Burrow they shared a room. They had even shared a room at Grimmauld Place!

Now Harry was living there by himself. Or at least he had been before he decided to go travel the world! But he supposed that was what happened when you were rich and famous.

Harry was now a war hero, Savior of the Wizarding World, and apparently had full access to all his wealth. He could have taken care of his and Hermione's reparations with the goblins; he could very well afford it, and it was the least he could do for all they had done for him.

But no! He couldn't be bothered and instead abandoned the family and his friends to go party around the world. I'm surprised he managed to pause long enough to come to the remembrance ceremony. He thought bitterly.

Well if Harry 'bloody' Potter thinks I'm going to forgive him and take him back as a friend he's a complete nutter! He thought, fuming as he remembered Harry's words when he ended their friendship.

Hours later as soon as the shop closed for the day Ron left, not sticking around to help close up and completely forgetting to drag George with him, and headed to The Sorcerer's Spot. He was so ready to relax.

As soon as he stepped inside the pub he paused and looked around before he grinned and joined a group of people he had become friendly with over the past months. They were drinking Beetle Berry Whiskey, so he ordered up another bottle got himself a shot glass and started drinking with them.

They drank and had a good time, and soon Ron was chatting up a girl that worked at Madam Malkin's; a pretty dirty blonde girl with brown eyes. With no thoughts of Hermione in mind; after all he was just being polite and friendly.

Shot after shot after shot the two drank, all the while talking, teasing, and having a good time, and after a couple of hours both were clearly drunk to those aware enough to notice.

Ron didn't notice how it happened, or care really, but soon he was kissing her right there in their seats like they were alone. Lips were locked and tongues danced, and he was very much enjoying himself. However, he had to pee and pee badly.

"I gotta go to the loo." He said as he broke the kiss and stood up unsteadily.

He was just as unsteady as he made his way across the pub and to the hallway that lead to the loos. He turned the handle of one of the two doors, not so drunk to not recognize the mens loo, and stepped inside before he closed the door behind him.

He took care of his business, feeling like a pissing hippogriff with how long it took, and stumbled toward the door, not bothering to wash his hands; the thought not even crossing his mind. He opened the door and paused to see the pretty girl with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes he had been having fun with standing right in front of him.

He blearily took in her outfit, something he hadn't done when he first started talking to her, a black lace spaghetti strap crop top and a matching pencil skirt that stopped just above her knees with black high heel ankle boots. Her hair was in a high ponytail with her wand stuck in it at an angle.

She must have changed before coming to the pub. He thought vaguely, doubting she had gone to work wearing that, as she stepped closer to him.

"Where do you think you're going Mr. Weasley?" She said before she kissed him. "You weren't thinking of leaving me alone in here right?" She asked as she took his hand and pulled him back into the loo with her, and he mindlessly shut the door behind them.

"I heard you were a King." She said as she slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders. "Why don't you show me big boy." She added with a small grin.

Ron blinked and pressed his lips to hers and placed his hands on her hips as he pushed her back against the closest wall. He slid a hand over the curve of her waist and palmed one of her busty breasts through her top.

The dirty blonde haired girl wrapped a leg around his, her skirt hiking up with the move, and he ground his hips against hers. She moaned into his mouth and he shivered at the sound, feeling his desire spike, and wanting to hear more of that sound.

He groped at her chest and moved his free hand from her hip to stroke along what he could reach of her leg. He continued to grind his hips against hers as she unbuttoned his shirt, and shivered as she pushed it off his shoulders and stroked her hands along his chest and shoulders as they kissed.

He squeezed her breast through her top before he grew frustrated with the material and nearly shoved his hand down the top of her top, pushing the strap off her shoulder, and squeezed her bare breast.

No bra. He noted idly as he squeezed the warm squishy flesh again.

"I want to know how big of a boy you are Weasley King." She breathed against his lips as she broke their kiss.

She pushed him back slightly and dropped to her knees where she stood, and before he could even think of a reply she undid his pants and pushed them down along with his boxers.

"You really are a big boy." She said in surprise before she wrapped a hand around him and took him into her mouth.

Ron groaned deeply at the instant pleasure of her moist heated mouth, and placed his hands on the wall in front of him as he braced himself. He closed his eyes and panted as he remembered Lavender Brown almost doing this to him when they dated.

They had been in a broom closet after curfew, and she had rubbed him with her hand through his pants as they kissed before she lowered to her knees and undid his pants. He remembered the loud sound of their panting breaths, and feeling the heat of her breath through his boxers before a loud noise outside the closet startled them into stopping.

He looked down at the girl in front of him, seeing how she had a hand wrapped around the base of him and the rest of him in her mouth and one of her breasts hanging out of her top where he had left it.

He moaned and closed his eyes as he tipped his head back and rocked his hips.

The dirty blonde haired girl squeezed and sucked on him as his length moved back and forth in her mouth until he came with a long loud groan. When he finished and she had swallowed she stood up, wrapping her arms around his neck, and he immediately kissed her; too drunk to realize he was tasting himself on her.

Ron's hand covered her bare breast again and squeezed the soft flesh as they shoved their tongues into each other's mouth and swirled them around each other. His hand slid up her thigh and his fingers curled around her knickers before he began to pull them down.

He broke their kiss and leaned over as he pulled them down just enough for her to pull one leg free, and then abandoned it as he stood up groped under her skirt and began to rub between her legs as he brought his lips back to hers.

She moaned into his mouth as they kissed repeatedly, messily, and spread her legs as she ran her fingers through his copper hair. She moaned again as she rocked her hips against his moving fingers, and arched her back pushing her breast into his eager hand.

"Come on Weasley King." She said lustfully between panting breaths as she broke their kiss. "Show me what a big boy you really are; what a big boy like you can really do."

Without a word Ron hiked up one of her legs with his hand and guided himself inside her willing body with his other as he moved his mouth to her neck, kissing and sucking as he began to thrust inside her.

The dirty blonde haired girl moaned wantonly as she clutched at his hair with one hand, and slid her other hand down his bare chest and lightly grasped his forearm as he held her leg up.

~xXx~

George Weasley finished cleaning up the shop, counting the money and putting it away, and restocking the shelves with his friend and manager of the store Katie after the store had closed for the day. Once he locked up they both headed over to The Sorcerer's Spot to meet up with their friends as had been planned. He was looking forward to relaxing and spending time with his friends.

They walked in and found Lee, Angelina, and Alicia there and wasted no time joining them at the table they were at. As they sat and greeted each other he looked around and noticed Ron hanging out with his own group of friends, drinking, but focused back on his own friends instead of his little brother.

He smiled at Angelina from his seat right next to her. They had been getting closer the last few weeks, and he was happy to spend some more time with her.

I need to ask her out on an actual date and not just hanging out with our friends. He reminded himself as he and Katie listened to how everyone's day had been.

As they talked the group of friends leisurely drank bottles of Butterbeer, Pumpkin Fizz, Otter's Fizzy Orange Juice, and Pumpkin juice; none of them interested in getting drunk that evening. However, after a couple of hours of catching up, joking, teasing, and laughing all the drinks began to have an effect.

"I'll be back. Have to go to the gentleman's room." George said as he stood up, and watched his friends nod and wave him on.

He walked around tables, occasionally waving to someone he knew, before he made it back to the hallway that housed the pubs restrooms. He tried the handle on the door to the men's room and when he found it unlocked he opened it only to pause in shock before he even took a step.

The loo he had assumed was unoccupied since the door was unlocked was very much occupied by his little brother and some girl. He was pressed up against her, practically pinning her to the wall, as his hips moved rapidly against hers with a hand gripped around the leg that was hiked up to his waist as she clung to him.

His shirt was undone and hanging on at his elbows, his pants and boxers around his ankles, her skirt was pushed up around her waist, knickers around her ankle and on the floor, and one of her breasts was hanging out of her top.

It was very clear what they were doing, and just as clear that neither one of them had even noticed the door had opened let alone that he was standing there.

George stepped back and closed the door on the sight of them and the sounds they were making, and made his way back through the pub to his friends.

"It was occupied by my oblivious brother." He said to their raised eyebrows since he hadn't been gone long enough to do anything involving the bathroom.

"I'm not sure I want to know which brother you mean." Alicia said with a slight frown since she knew it could only be either Ron, Bill, or Percy since Charlie wasn't in the country.

And neither is Harry. She thought since she knew George saw him as a brother too.

"Ron, and he wasn't alone in there." George said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he sat back in his seat.

"And oblivious." Angelina said as she shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's drunk."

"I think both of them are drunk to not notice the door to the public bathroom open." George said. "I didn't realize my brother was the type to cheat on his girlfriend."

I hope this isn't his first sexual experience; a drunken shag in a pub bathroom. He thought as he shook his head.

"People do stupid things when they're drunk." Lee said, and Katie nodded.

"If he's drunk enough to do that in the first place it would be surprising if he remembers it." She said, and Alicia nodded in agreement.

"I almost wish I could be a fly on the wall when Hermione's told," Alicia said as she shook her head. "because someone is sure to tell her, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's the girl that he's in there with."

"I bet that girl doesn't forget," Angelina said as she nodded. "and she's likely not as drunk as she probably seems."

"She probably planned that whole encounter." Lee said.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Angelina said in agreement. "He's a war hero. He hasn't gotten the attention that Harry has, but he still has gotten some, and people know him. She was likely thrilled that he was paying attention to her, and their current activities are making her day."

They all nodded in agreement since all of them had experienced it to some degree since they had all fought in the final battle.

Suddenly George groaned.

"I hope Ron doesn't get her pregnant." He said in dismay.

"He's likely too drunk to think of protection." Lee said as he shook his head. This is exactly why he didn't drink with anyone other than his close friends, which was this group he was currently with. They may get drunk but they still kept an eye on each other and made sure no one wandered off; on their own or with anyone outside their group.

"I'm not sure he would have thought of it even if he wasn't drunk. Ron has a great mind for strategy, but I wonder sometimes if Hermione does all his thinking for him." George said as he rolled his eyes.

They all chuckled quietly yet solemnly at that as they thought of the bushy haired girl.

"I wonder if Hermione would be the one to say something to him about protection or if she would send Harry a letter to have him do it." Katie said thoughtfully, and George snorted.

"That won't happen seeing as they aren't friends anymore." He said, not worrying about telling them that since it wasn't a secret unlike the fact that Harry had moved out of the country.

"What?!" They all said at once in surprise.

"When did this happen?" Angelina and Alicia asked immediately after.

"Why?" Katie asked almost at the same time as the other girls.

"Is it just Hermione or her and Ron?" Lee asked a moment later.

"It's both of them he's not friends with anymore." George said. "Harry wasn't exactly pleased with the way they behaved toward him when they spoke after the remembrance ceremony or before he left on his travels."

"You know how Hermione was always trying to boss them around at Hogwarts; always telling them when to study, how to study, where to study, and how they shouldn't stay out after curfew or spend so much time talking about Quidditch." He said, and they all nodded, having seen that many times over the years.

"And you've all seen Ron's temper get away from him and how he easily made assumptions." He continued and they all nodded, and began to understand where this was going.

"Well Hermione was trying to continue with that behavior before he left to travel, and Harry wasn't putting up with that rightly so. It was one of the reasons he moved out of the Burrow since he had been staying there after the war." He said.

"Then on top of that she was inviting herself over to his house. She wasn't getting in, but she would try to Apparate, try to Floo, and even try to open the front door; and all without invitation like it was her house." George said.

"Why would she think that was okay?" Katie asked with a frown. "She still lives with her parents doesn't she? How would she like it if he just waltzed into her house without a word? I'm sure her parents wouldn't be fine with that."

"Maybe she justifies it by saying he lives alone." Lee said thoughtfully, and then frowned. "He did right? Or did Ron move in with him?"

"He lived alone. Ron stayed at the Burrow." George answered. "And apparently Hermione didn't think what she was trying to do was wrong since she had gone into his room at Hogwarts and the Borrow without a problem."

"Never mind that everyone went into everyone's dorm room, and that he was a guest in your family house and couldn't exactly tell her to get the hell out." Alicia said as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and he shared a room with Ron every time he stayed at the Burrow, so that's another reason he couldn't just tell her to get lost." George added, and they all shook their heads.

"Anyway, aside from her behavior Ron was starting to take his anger out on Harry whenever he saw him, and accuse him of not caring about Ginny just because he wasn't showing his feelings in front of everyone." He explained.

"Well that was just stupid thinking." Katie said. "You would think with how long they had known each other that he would know that Harry's a very private person. Even I know he doesn't show his private emotions for all to see; except on the rare occasion." Remembering him kissing Ginny in front of the entire common room.

"Very true." George agreed. "After the remembrance ceremony, when everyone was walking around talking to each other, the three of them talked, and Hermione once again tried to boss him around. She tried to tell him he needed to stop traveling and come back home and focus on his education so he could do something with his life."

"After that she accused him of dealing with the aftermath of the war by going out drinking and sleeping with women." He continued, and the girls gasped in shocked outrage.

"Isn't that ironic considering what Ron's doing right now?" Lee said in disgust.

"Yeah!" Angelina, Katie, and Alicia agreed, angry on Harry's behalf. How could such a close friend accuse him of such a thing?

"It is ironic; especially since Ron agreed with her and just took it as fact since it came out of her mouth. He said that Harry definitely couldn't have cared for Ginny as much as he claimed if he could sleep with any woman that caught his eye." George said.

"Definitely ironic." Lee said as he shook his head.

"Yeah. There were more angry accusations Ron and even Hermione flung at him, but those were the major things, and Harry decided then and there that he didn't have to put up with that and ended their friendship." George said.

"I'm surprised, but only because they were such close friends for so many years." Katie said.

"Yeah. You always think the friends you make in school will last a lifetime." Alicia said.

"But if they're acting like that then why keep them as friends?" Angelina said. "Harry's dealt with their behavior all throughout their Hogwarts years, and if it was just getting worse now that they're done with school he could assume it would only continue that way if he let it."

"True, and that's why he decided to end things. It wasn't what he wanted when he came for the ceremony, but he wasn't used to that behavior anymore and didn't want it back in his life."

"Does the rest of your family know?" Lee asked curiously.

"As far as I know only mom, dad, Bill, and Fleur know." George said. "I don't know about Percy. My parents or Bill would have had to tell him, and the same with Charlie with him being in Romania."

"Were your parents upset about it?" Angelina asked.

"No." George said as he shook his head. "They don't like that it happened, but they understand since they had seen some of that behavior for themselves. As far as they're concerned he's still family, so it doesn't matter that he isn't connected through Ron."

"That's good." She said. "He's lost so much that it would have been a shame for him to have lost the closeness with your family just because he and Ron aren't best mates anymore."

"We wouldn't have let that happened." George said seriously. "Even if he had thought that way we would have straightened him out. Ron too for that matter."

"Did Ron think that way or does he?" Lee asked curiously.

"No." George answered as he shook his head. "Although it probably hadn't occur to him with the shock of the friendship suddenly ending, and since then it likely hasn't because he's been too busy with the way he's been acting."

"And Harry not being around for him to see on the regular likely helped to keep it from occurring to him." Lee said as he nodded.

"Yeah." George agreed. "It's not like we tell him when we hear from Harry, so if he's going to be angry about him then it's because of his own thoughts and not because anyone in the family provoked him."

"Anyway, if it does occur to him we'll set him straight." He added. "Harry's family and that's not going to change just because he's not Ron's friend anymore or dating G..Ginny." He added, stumbling over his little sister's name.

"How's he doing when it comes to her do you know?" Katie asked gently.

"He seemed to be doing as well as the rest of the family." George said with a shrug and a sigh. "When he was here for the ceremony I know he visited her and..Fred. He didn't have any breakdowns, cry, or get angry, but then I didn't expect him to even if he felt that way. He didn't even react that way to his godfather or Dumbledore's death."

"I know he's contained and private about his feelings. Unlike Ron I never expected him to go around showing his grief for all to see." He added.

"That's because you're not self-absorbed." Alicia said, and shook her head. "You'd think your brother would know better after knowing him for so many years."

"Yeah." George agreed. "After the ceremony we got together at Bill's house and we were all able to speak about the good memories. He didn't seem to be having any difficulties."

"Well, that's good. That means he's healing right?" Lee said quietly.

"I like to think so. For me it was at least another way to judge my own healing." George said.

They didn't need to know that he had had nightmares that night. Being back at the castle, and the ceremony itself, had brought up memories that had settled over the past year. Then there was Harry's news about living permanently in Japan.

Charlie had been living in Romania for years and Bill had lived in Egypt for nearly as long before he moved back home, but he hadn't gone to school and been on the Quidditch team and experiencing those ups and downs with them.

Of all his brothers living in the country he was closest to Bill and Harry, so the news that Harry would be gone like Charlie was and how Bill had been was a blow. He was losing another brother even if it wasn't in the horrifyingly permanent sense.

But he'll be back for visits, and we can still write. He reassured himself.

The letters they had exchanged while Harry had been gone had been a major help. One he hadn't expected. Most of their letters were just updates on how they were doing, what was going on in their lives, and sharing interesting tidbits, but a few others were more serious and spoke of their loses and how it made them feel.

He felt like he had gotten to know Harry better because of those letters, and it seriously sucked that he wouldn't be living here anymore for him to visit or hangout with on the regular.

Part of him was surprised at how much he had come to admire the young man, mostly because he was a few years younger than him, but the other part of him wasn't. This was Harry after all.

He had been confronted with and been thrust into dangerous situations and come out on top a majority of the time, took to teaching lifesaving information easily if reluctantly, and assumed the role of leader in situations naturally.

He had given him and Fred the money to help start their business without asking for anything in return, he always helped people when he could when they needed it, he always tried to right a wrong, and he didn't hesitate to save someone's life if he had the ability to do it.

That thought reminded him of Harry's decision to become a Healer. The decision made even more sense now that he was reminded of the lives he had saved during their years at Hogwarts. The majority of them being members of his family.

Plus, him always trying to help people who needed it. He thought, recalling how he had seen him helping younger students here and there with finding their way to class, trouble with homework, studying, or healing a cut or bruise.

Of course there were the more recent examples of helping fix the damage done to Hogwarts during the final battle, helping with testimonies to put the right people away for the right crimes, and helping him at the shop when he was first getting it back up and running.

So yeah George was definitely going to keep their friendship and their family connection. He would not lose another sibling.

They would write, Harry would visit, and he could even go visit him. He had traveled out of the country before, even if it was with his entire family. If Harry felt comfortable doing it on his own then he could do it too. Especially when he had someone he knew there to greet him when he arrived.

George sighed heavily, coming out of his thoughts as he saw his friends nodding sympathetically to his last statement. He shifted in his seat as he looked around the pub, and frowned when he didn't spot his brother or the girl he had seen him with.

"Well, I still have to use the gentleman's room, so I'm just going to run home real quick." He said as he looked back to his friends. "That's better than waiting for however long it'll take Ron to be done, and I'm not sure I want to go in there anyway knowing what he's doing."

"Why don't we all just go with you, and spend the rest of our time at your place?" Lee suggested.

"I don't mind if you all don't mind." George said with a shrug.

The others agreed and the five friends got to their feet, and moved away from the table before they began to make their way toward the pub's main door.

~HPxXxMC~

Back in Japan, Mamoru was at the Crown arcade spending the late Saturday afternoon taking a break from his studies waiting on the milkshake he had just ordered.

He had studied first with Motoki earlier for his tutoring session and then on his own after his friend left; he'd spent the time talking to himself and Helios in French, and practicing his wandless magic.

Now after he enjoyed his milkshake he planned to go searching for the silver crystal before getting back to his studies. He didn't anticipate actually finding it, but he still felt he should make the attempt while he had the time; especially with the dreams of the mystery princess still coming to him.

He had had a couple of dreams about her since the one he had had when he was visiting back in England, and he still had no answers to any of his questions involving her.

He still had no idea who she was or what she looked like aside from knowing she had moonlight colored hair. He didn't know why she wanted him to find the silver crystal or what exactly it even was. He didn't even know how she was sending him those dreams or how exactly she knew him to send him the dreams in the first place.

All I know for sure is that she's an actual real person, and the crystal is a really powerful object. He thought as he smiled slightly and nodded at the server as he accepted his milkshake as it arrived.

"Mamoru!" He heard a familiar surprised feminine voice as he was taking a sip of his milkshake through the straw.

He looked over from where he was sitting at the front counter across from the main door, and saw Usagi walking toward him with a girl with dark blue hair and blue eyes that he recognized as a student he had seen before that went to Usagi's school, and another girl with long black hair with a purple tint and purple eyes that he'd only seen once before.

Both girls were senshi, as Usagi called herself and the other female fighters, and he recognized them as Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars, having heard them called that during the last fight.

Clearly it's not just with Usagi. I can see through the other senshi's secret identity as well. He thought smiling slightly at her. Why? I can kind of see why with Usagi since I had met her just prior to taking on my Tuxedo Kamen persona, but these other two girls I hadn't seen before the fight they first appeared at. Well, at least if more show up I'll recognize them outside of their secret identity.

"Hey Usagi." Mamoru greeted, twisting to face her as she reached his seated figure. "This is a surprise." He added as he subtly took in what she was wearing.

She had on a deep purple pleated skirt, white tights that went just pass her knees, a white sleeveless turtleneck shirt, and black flat shoes.

She looked very pretty, and he very much liked those tights on her even though he knew he shouldn't be noticing them. They drew his eyes to her legs and somehow made them look good.

The skirt was longer than the one she wore as Sailor Moon, but shorter than the one she wore with her school uniform. Either way it looked very nice on her. And for some reason he liked that her arms were bare, but didn't like that her neck wasn't.

Part of him couldn't believe he had preferences when it came to what she wore, but the other part of him could. He'd had preferences with Ginny even before they started dating. He'd even had a preference when he had that crush on Cho.

So of course with the feelings he had for Usagi, feelings that he was trying not to think about, he would have preferences.

And I will leave it at that before I discover more of them. He thought firmly.

"I know. I hadn't at all expected to see you here today." Usagi said as she took in his outfit.

He was wearing a long sleeve navy blue shirt with light gray lining the neck and the sleeves pushed up to the middle of his forearms, and blue jeans with black shoes.

He looks so good. She thought as her eyes flickered all over him. It's just a casual outfit, but it looks so nice on him.

I'm so glad I picked out something nice to wear even though I truly hadn't expected to see him today. He's used to seeing me in my school uniform, so anytime he sees me outside of that is a plus. She thought.

"I'm just here enjoying a milkshake while I take a break from my studies." He said with a light shrug.

"I'm just here to hang out with my friends." Usagi said with a shrug of her own before she turned sideways to look back at her friends and fellow senshi.

"This is Ami." She said as she gestured to her blue haired friend. "And this is Rei." She said as she gestured toward her new black haired friend. "Girls, this is my friend and tutor Mamoru."

"Hello." Mamoru said with a nod from his seat.

"Hi." Ami said shyly as she looked curiously at the guy Usagi got her tutoring from and spent so much time with afterward.

"Hey there." Rei said as she eyed the hunk she had just been introduced to. She couldn't believe this was the guy Usagi got her tutoring from. He was so cute!

I wonder how old he is. She wondered as her eyes looked him over from head to toe. From the way she introduced him I can assume he's just a tutor and friend, so she's not dating him. That means he's free game.

Usagi pressed her lips together to keep herself from frowning unhappily as she saw Rei taking an interest in Mamoru. Of course they weren't dating, but they had had the conversation somewhat, and feelings and interest were there on both their sides.

She didn't know if he realized he was doing it but he gave her small looks of interest, just like he had moments ago when he looked at what she was wearing, and she saw them and understood them for what they were.

They were sparks of warmth, of heat, of passion, and a glimpse of what he could show her when he was no longer grieving. And it thrilled her. It was just a glimpse of a spark, but it made her feel warm on the inside and a light shiver run along her skin.

Still, it's none of Rei's business exactly why Mamoru and I aren't dating. She definitely doesn't need to know that he's grieving for his last girlfriend. She thought with a light sigh as she tried to get rid of her irritation.

Mamoru looked away from the girls and took a sip of his milkshake to keep from groaning at what he had just seen. Usagi's new friend, Rei, was interested in him if her lingering look and body language were to be believed.

He silently thanked Ginny and their relationship for giving him the experience to recognize Rei's attraction to him. It had also helped him recognize Usagi's feelings for him since he wouldn't have known so quickly if he hadn't had experience, but right now it was helping him see what was happening with her friend.

He did not want this girl to have a crush on him. He wasn't at all interested in her. He was already interested in Usagi and reluctant to proceed, because of his feelings for Ginny and grieving for her and missing her.

"Bloody hell!" He cursed quietly in English. He wasn't even interested in addressing what he had just realized, but knew he had to before the girl could really get fixated on him.

Usagi heard him since she was so close, and wondered why he said it but decided not to call attention to it since the others hadn't heard it. Instead she turned her mind away from that as well as Rei's instant liking of Mamoru, and focused on this meeting that had just happened.

I wish Naru could be here to meet him. I want her to meet him. That definitely should have happened before Ami and Rei met him. This was a spontaneous meeting, but still my best friend should have met him first. She thought as she nibbled on her lip.

"Hey Mamoru?" She said quietly as she saw her friends talking to each other.

"Yes?" Mamoru said as he looked toward her.

"Can I introduce my best friend to you? You should have met her first before any new friends." Usagi said.

"Sure." He agreed easily as he nodded. "Bring her with you when you meet me at the cafe; any day. She can study and do her homework with us."

"Thank you." She said with a bright smile as she tilted her head sideways, her streams of hair swaying behind her.

"I understand how you feel." He said honestly with a shrug. "I would definitely want to introduce you to Neville and George before any new friends I made. Not that I've been making new friends."

"Do you want more friends?" She asked curiously.

"Not particularly." Mamoru answered. "If I make them I make them, but I'm not going out looking for any."

Usagi nodded understandingly.

"Speaking of friends, I assume you're here to hang out with yours." He said as he nodded toward them. "You should go ahead and do that."

"But..you're here." She said as she nibbled her lip in indecision.

"You'll see me on Monday, and we can hang out after your tutoring without you having to worry about neglecting your friends." He said quietly. "And I'm not going anywhere just yet. I still have to finish my milkshake, so I'll be right here minding my own business; drinking on this and lost in thought." He said as he gestured to his milkshake.

"And I won't just disappear." He promised. "If you're still here when I finish then I'll let you know I'm heading out."

"Okay." Usagi said as she nodded. She didn't like that she wasn't going to be hanging out with him, but she was glad that he was still going to be here for a while so she could at least look toward him.

"I'll see you later then." She said.

"Later." He agreed as he nodded. "Now go have fun with your friends."

She nodded and smiled before she turned and joined her friends.

Mamoru picked up his milkshake and took a sip from the straw as he watched Usagi and her swaying hair before he turned and looked away. He would have continued just to see what she would do next, but he did not want to catch the eye of the friend that was interested in him.

Instead he turned his mind to his own friends back in England, and wondered how George and Neville were doing.

He wondered how the shop was doing and how the second location was fairing, and how George was getting along with his friends. He wondered if Neville had moved away from his relatives and where he had ended up if he had, and how his job was working out and if he had made a decision about staying or going yet.

I think I'm going to have to write to them and find out. He thought as he sipped on his milkshake. George should have some news about the new second shop location, and something to say about his friends.

Neville might not have news about his job, but he might have news about his living situation. He considered. I hope he has moved away from his relatives. Staying will only make him miserable; especially now that he's of age and can do what he wants.

They shouldn't be comparing him to his parents the way they are. You'd think after all these years and what he's done to distinguish himself they wouldn't do it; wouldn't even feel the need, but apparently they do. He thought with a light sigh.

Hmm…I think I'll even ask him if he happened to come across that girl he saw in Japantown. He thought. He highly doubted it since he didn't think his friend would go back there without him, but you never know.

Maybe telling him about my situation with Usagi inspired him. Who knows? Maybe if not that same girl then another one he's come across or met since then will have caught his attention. He told himself as he raised his eyebrows slightly.

Thinking about Usagi and his friends, and what she had said about wishing he had met her best friend before her new friends had him wishing she could meet Neville and George.

She already knows Motoki, so that's not a situation of her meeting a new friend before my older friends. He thought. Still, if they come to visit me I'll introduce her to them; Motoki too for that matter since I doubt either of them will be able to join me on one of my visits to England.

Although, Motoki would be more able to than Usagi, being of age and a wizard himself. He could Portkey with me and that would be that. Usagi on the other hand is only fourteen and a non-magical. If she could somehow miraculously get permission to travel to another country without her parents we would have to fly by plane. He thought as he took a sip of his milkshake.

I wouldn't have a problem paying for everything, but I think it truly would be miraculous if she got her parents to let her go. And flying on a plane wouldn't be particularly pleasant, my only experience is more than enough, but I would do it if she somehow got permission. He thought surprisingly.

Mamoru was surprised he was willing to travel with Usagi back to England if the opportunity came about. Was it his growing feelings for her that made him think that was okay? Was it because of the amount of time they had spent together since meeting each other? Did he actually trust her? He had to in order to be fine with traveling to another country with her.

I hadn't realized I trusted her to that extent. He thought slowly. He knew he trusted her enough to let her lead him to unknown places for him to experience, and to help guide him through some of those experiences, but more than that was unexpected.

Now I just need to know how much I trust her. He thought seriously; truly needing to know since his level of trust would dictate if he told her he was a wizard or not.

"How are you doing over here all by yourself?" A soft feminine voice interrupted his thoughts.

He glanced over to his left to see Usagi's friend Rei move to sit on the stool next to him.

"I'm perfectly fine." Mamoru said politely as he looked over his shoulder to see Usagi and her other friend playing a car racing game.

Of course she would wait until her friends, Usagi in particular, are preoccupied. He thought as he held in a sigh and faced back forward. Well if nothing else this might give me the opportunity to put her off whatever interest she has in me. Hopefully without hurting her feelings since she's Usagi's friend. A new one, but still a friend, and one she's going to be working with a lot since she's a senshi too.

"So, how long have you been tutoring Usagi?" Rei asked curiously, wanting to see if she could make absolutely sure there was nothing between him and her new friend.

Although, I should just asked Usagi, but our friendship is too new for that. She thought as she glanced back to her and Ami.

"Pretty much since I met her." He replied simply, uninterested in going into exact details with this girl. If she didn't already know then that meant Usagi hadn't told her, and she either hadn't bothered to ask her or she did and Usagi refused to answer.

I doubt Usagi would refuse to answer since it's not important enough to keep secret, so she must not have asked her. He thought as he sipped his milkshake, wondering what that said about this girl, but not willing to make a judgment without knowing her.

"That's kind of you; to help a girl you had just met." She said, although that didn't at all tell her how either of them felt about the other.

"I suppose." He replied calmly.

He supposed it had been kind of him to help her with her English after just meeting her, but she had asked him and he had no problem with it. Even with seeing her attraction to him he hadn't minded since he had been attracted to her as well.

It was only a couple of weeks later that he realized she had feelings for him beyond the initial attraction.

"So how come you're not over there playing games with Usagi?" Rei asked curiously, hoping he would reveal something about their friendship. "She said you were her friend or was she assuming? Or is it that you just feel too old to be playing games?"

"I don't feel too old, and Usagi is my friend." Mamoru said patiently in response to her slight barrage of questions. "I'm not over there because she said she was here to spend time with you and her other friend. I can spend time with her any other time."

And that doesn't tell me how old he is, and I don't really want to ask him right now since that might tip him off before I can ask him out. She thought as she bit her lip, and gazed at the side of his face since he hadn't turned to look at her while they talked.

Rei also still didn't know if there was anything between him and Usagi, but she didn't think there was from what she had seen of their behavior toward each other.

If he's willing to know Usagi and be her friend than he might give me a chance at something more. She thought optimistically as she idly toyed with her pendant necklace. Alright! Here I go.

"So, want to hang out with me sometime?" Rei asked him out as best she could, never having done it before. "We could go to a movie or somewhere else?" She suggested with a smile as she watched him take a sip of his drink.

"No thank you." Mamoru said as he released his straw. "I'm not interested." He added as he glanced over to her, figuring it was polite to at least look at her while he rejected her.

"Is it because of my age?" She asked with a disappointed sigh.

"No." He said as he looked at her full on this time, and noticed the pendant necklace she was wearing only because the red popped out at him.

It was a round red gem encased within a thin gold circle that thickened at the bottom until it looked like a crescent. Within that crescent were three tiny red gems, on each side and bottom outside of the crescent was another tiny red gem, and dangling beneath the crescent and the gem beneath it was an oval red gem.

It hung from a delicate golden chain, and was large, but not as large as a certain Slytherin locket he unfortunately had experience with, and not gaudy looking either.

"I don't even know how old you are, but I assume you're the same age as Usagi. I'm simply not interested in going out with you or dating you." He added honestly, and a little bluntly as he pulled his attention from the necklace.

He wasn't even interested in dating Usagi despite his growing feelings for her, and even if that wasn't the case and he didn't have feelings for her he still would have rejected this girl. He did not like that she saw him and almost immediately tried to ask him out.

At least Usagi made the effort to spend time with him, let him get to know her, and took the time to get to know him before she started letting him know she had feelings for him.

This girl didn't know him from anyone. Just because he was tutoring Usagi and she counted him as a friend didn't mean anything. He could be some obsessive stalker, some deranged person that was coming off as normal at the moment, or some dangerous attacker. She didn't know.

Maybe she thinks just because she's a senshi she would be able to handle herself. Or maybe I'm giving her too much credit, and she hasn't even considered anything aside from my looks. He thought, hiding his disgruntlement.

Plus, the fact that she clearly didn't speak to Usagi about approaching me for such a thing lets me know that friendship is too new for there to be any kind of loyalty to Usagi. He thought a little unhappily. After all, he was all about loyalty.

"I have no problem being friends since you're one of Usagi's friends." He offered to soften his blunt words. He highly doubted he would be spending any time with her even if she agreed to be friends unless she was already with Usagi at the time.

Oh! This is so embarrassing! Rei thought as she struggled not to blush.

The one time she had tried her hand at asking a guy out and she was rejected outright. He wouldn't even give her chance, and apparently it wasn't because of her age.

Maybe he doesn't like the way I look. She considered. But he's willing to be friends, even if it's only because I know Usagi, and that might give me a chance to change his mind.

Then again it could put him off even more since he's made himself very clear. He's not interested. Maybe I'll meet someone through him. She thought optimistically. I don't think I'm going to be interested in guys my age; especially if I like what I learn about Mamoru.

"Friends it is then." She said with an accepting nod.

"Alright." Mamoru said with a nod of his own before he took a sip of his milkshake.

That had gone better than he thought it would. He just hoped she hadn't accepted to have another chance at expressing her interest. If that was the case she would find out rather quickly that she should have left well enough alone.

Let's hope that's not the case. He thought as he listened to her say she was headed back over to her friends. He nodded and watched briefly as she did just that.

~xXx~

Late that evening found Mamoru at home getting dressed for a night out at a club.

After he had finished his milkshake at the Crown arcade he had, just as he promised, informed Usagi that he was heading out. He could tell she hadn't been happy, but she had thanked him for letting her know and said she couldn't wait to see him on Monday. He had simply smiled in response, and said he would see her then as usual.

Once he was out of the arcade and on his way he had gone searching for the silver crystal just as he had planned, and after going to a few jewelry stores he had had no success just as he suspected would happen.

Since he hadn't found anything he had gone home and returned to his studies. He'd worked on both his English and Japanese history, which was a lot since he was studying both magical and non-magical history, and practiced reading and writing in French before he moved on to studying some potions he was considering brewing.

Hours passed and when the time came for him to start getting changed for his night out he had gone to his bedroom to do just that. He wanted to be dressed and ready to go for when Motoki arrived to take him to experience another club.

Currently he had on his pants, socks, and shoes, and took that moment to pull on his shirt. As he straightened his shirt he went into the bathroom attached to his bedroom, flicked on the light, and looked in the mirror.

He wore a navy blue long sleeve V-neck shirt with his sleeves pushed up just beneath his elbows, dark gray jeans, and black shoes.

The v-collar of the shirt wasn't large, and the shirt was loose enough that the shape of his Mokeskin pouch wasn't visible through it. That was good since he didn't want anyone getting curious and asking him about it.

It was similar yet different than what he wore the first time he went to a night club, so he was sure it was suitable for the night.

As Mamoru looked himself over he idly noted that his wand holster was almost the same color as his shirt. On top of that he was glad his holster and his wand were invisible with the way he was wearing his sleeves, because although they were going to a magical club that didn't mean he felt comfortable with anyone with eyes seeing where he kept his wand.

He ran his fingers through his hair to try and make it look nice, but there was no difference that he could see and he didn't care to look anything other than presentable for the environment he would be in.

Leaving the bathroom he turned off the light, and grabbed his wallet and keys and slipped them into his pockets. He looked around his room from where he stood next to his nightstand to see if he had left anything out or forgotten, but there was nothing so he walked around the bed and held his arm out to his familiar.

"Come on Helios. Let's go to the living room." Mamoru said and watched his golden owl hop onto his arm and carefully tighten his talons to steady himself.

Once he was comfortable Mamoru turned off the light, and left the darkened room for the living room. He walked over to Helios' stand and watched as his familiar hopped off his arm and onto the tree branch-looking horizontal stem.

"How do I look?" He asked after his familiar had made himself comfortable. "Motoki is taking me to a club again; a magical one this time."

Helios tilted his head from side to side as he stared at him before he nodded and hooted quietly.

"It's good that you approve." He said as he stepped forward and stroked the warm golden feathers along the top of his head and down the back of his neck. "Hopefully that means I won't look out of place."

After a few more strokes he stepped over to his balcony and slid the door open wide enough for Helios to get in and out, so he could freely come and go while he was out at the club. The air felt cool, uncomfortably so, so much so actually that he felt he needed a jacket, but he didn't have one that went with his outfit.

Plus, that's what warming charms are for, and the club is sure to be warm. He thought since modern magical places were always comfortably warm in his experience.

The familiar popping sound of Apparition echoed through the room, and he turned around to see Motoki standing in the little hallway in front of his apartment door. He was dressed for a night at a club or at least he assumed so since his outfit was similar to last time. He was wearing blue jeans, a teal shirt and a black jacket over that, and matching black shoes.

"Am I presentable for the club?" Mamoru asked as he began to walk toward his friend.

"Yeah. You look fine." Motoki confirmed, nodding as he took in his appearance.

Mamoru nodded in return and waved goodbye to Helios as he paused to turn off the lights. Once they were off he joined his friend in his personal designated Apparition point, and placed his hand on Motoki's shoulder so they could leave.

A few moments later they disappeared from his apartment and reappeared strangely enough in a small gazebo in a park. It was painted white and was pristine, which wasn't surprising since it was an Apparition point and non-magical's couldn't enter it.

"This is different." Mamoru said as he lifted his hand from Motoki's shoulder.

"Yeah, but it works. At least as long as I've known about it." Motoki said as they descended the stairs of the gazebo.

As Mamoru followed Motoki through the park he took in the details. It was not a small park but not a large one either. There was no playground but a lot of grass so he guessed it was a park for walking, picnicking, and just sitting and enjoying the grass.

I might come back here. I haven't just sat or lay in the grass since my sixth year at Hogwarts. He thought, picturing the long expanse of grass nearly everywhere surrounding the magically modified medieval castle.

They left the park only a minute or two later and he looked around curiously seeing that just like before he hadn't been to this part of the city. There were restaurants, bars, and even a club here and there, but even he could tell that they were non-magical clubs.

As they walked he took in the bright signs of various designs and people dressed in many different fashions. Some looked very formal and he watched them enter a restaurant, some looked casual as they entered different restaurants, some looked like they might be dressed for what he imagined might be a rock concert, and others were dressed in club attire and waiting in long lines to get into the door of a club.

As had been happening recently he saw a few colorful yet transparent people standing here and there and walking along the sidewalk. Every single one acknowledged him with a bow or a curtsy, the ones walking pausing to do so, as soon as they became aware of his presence, and he in turn acknowledged each one of them with a nod of his head.

He was getting used to the sight of seeing ghosts and them bowing and curtsying to him. He was still confused by it, and didn't understand why it was happening. He was no one special to be getting such acknowledgment; especially from ghosts. They were literally stopping what they were doing to look at him and pay him respect. It was crazy!

I really do need to figure out why this is happening. He thought as he nodded his head to yet another ghost that sensed his presence and bowed to him.

The thought reminded him of his idea when he first started seeing ghosts after returning to Japan from England. Did his having the Deathly Hallows and his status as the Master of Death have anything to do with his strange new ability?

He would have thought if it did then it would have happened right away instead of taking a year to happen, but then maybe it took so long to kick in because the combined magic of the Hallows was making sure he was actually going to keep the Hallows and not lose them or deliberately get rid of one or more.

Or it could have been my mental state that kept the ability away. He considered thoughtfully.

He knew how bad he was right after the war. He'd been dealing with not only Ginny's death, but the death of others he had cared about. The aftermath of murder attempts, of being hunted, being tortured, and the revelation that he had been adopted.

All that on top of all of the things he had dealt with while at Hogwarts, and the disaster that was his childhood with the Dursleys.

So if it had been his mental state that had held back the ability then he fully understood. Seeing ghosts on top of his nightmares and the justifiable fears he had developed wouldn't have helped him at all. It highly likely would have made him worse.

"Here we are." Motoki said after nearly ten minutes of walking, and pointed ahead of them.

Mamoru immediately spotted the club. It blended into the other buildings around it with its dark coloring, but it stood out as magical with its design. It was painted all black with a thick blue, green, and purple wavy line, almost like a smeared unfinished rainbow, moving across the front of the building in swirls and waves.

The name of the club was in brightly glowing kanji on a vertical sign a few feet above the door that read: Ōra. The character letters morphed from green, to blue, to purple before repeating the cycle.

"The name seems to fit the design on the building." He said.

"Wait until you see the inside." Motoki said with a smirk.

Unlike his last experience with a club Mamoru saw that there was no line, but there was a guy standing in front of the door. Another difference was that they didn't have to show their ID card to prove they were of age; instead they had to present their wand.

He wasn't particularly happy about that just as he never was when he had to go to the Ministry. However, he noted that at least in this instance he didn't actually have to hand his wand over. The guy just waved his own wand over theirs and each of them glowed blue, which apparently meant they were old enough to enter.

The door was opened as they put their wands away, and they moved inside where he experienced a chance of paying with Hōseki Yen for the entrance fee, which considering it was a magical establishment wasn't at all surprising. It was just that he didn't get a chance to use the currency outside of Kototama Market Place and the monthly fee he paid for his therapy sessions.

After putting away their Kuramas bank card they continued on through a double doorway and into the actual club. The music was loud just as it had been at the non-magical club, people were everywhere seated and dancing, but the look was completely different.

It was dark, black actually, with bright colored lights like tiny spotlights streaming all over the place, and around the room were cushioned booth seats in dark blue, dark purple and dark green with black tables. There was also tall tables with small black table tops only big enough for two people with seating near them.

There was also colored fog spread out from the knees down that was thick enough to block the view of anything in it or below it including the floor. What was interesting was that the fog changed colors with the songs.

"Okay so the name definitely fits." Mamoru said as he squinted as some spotlights passed over his face.

"Yeah." Motoki agreed. "Let's see what they have to drink." He said and began to lead the way through the dancers to the bar.

They sidestepped and swerved around people dancing and standing around talking, and were soon standing at the long bar waiting their turn for the bartender's attention.

As they waited Mamoru looked around again. He could admit that he liked the atmosphere here better than at the non-magical club. He couldn't even say why. Maybe it was simply because it was a magical club or because the booths reminded him of the cafe he spent so much time at with Usagi or maybe it was the colorful misty fog.

The dancing aspect still held no appeal to him, and he was still so new to music that he couldn't tell yet if the songs he had heard so far were by magical singers or non-magical. Either way they weren't bad and were pleasing to his ears if more loud then he would prefer.

After a few minutes the bartender was finally able to turn their attention to them, and after a brief discussion Motoki ordered a Kyohomist cocktail that was purple with a lavender mist coming off it and pouring over the rim of the glass. It was a mixture of kyoho grapes, vodka, and whatever magic that made it misty.

Mamoru, unlike his friend, decided on a drink that had no alcohol in it called a Nashi-Momo sparkling cider. It was a very light green-orange color and bubbled like champagne but nonstop after it was poured. It was made of pears, peaches, and whatever magic that made it endlessly bubbly.

The friends took their drinks and made their way to one of the tall tables that was free. Mamoru would have preferred one of the booths instead, but taking one for just the two of them when they looked like they could comfortably sit five or seven people, and likely expand to fit more, couldn't really be justified with how packed the club was.

"Oh wow." Mamoru said in surprise as they reached the table and made themselves comfortable in their seats. His surprise stemmed from the fact that as soon as they sat down the sound of the music dramatically decreased.

"It's cool right?" Motoki said, knowing exactly why he was reacting.

"Yeah! Are all the tables like this?" Mamoru asked before he took a sip of his drink.

"Yes. That way people can talk without shouting, but still hear and enjoy the music." Motoki explained before he took a sip of his own drink.

"Nice." Mamoru said as he nodded. "Do all magical clubs have this feature?" He asked.

"Yeah as far as I've experienced." Motoki answered.

Mamoru nodded. Another reason to like magical clubs over non-magical clubs. He thought, taking a sip of his drink as he looked around.

"So how do you like this club verses the non-magical one?" Motoki asked.

"I definitely like this one more." Mamoru answered. "I like the atmosphere, I like the seating, and I like the fog." He said as he glanced down at the colorful cloud-like mass.

"I like the sound of the music too, but I'm still not interested in dancing." He added.

"That's fine. As long as you're enjoying the experience." Motoki said.

"I am, and I'm enjoying my drink too." Mamoru said before he took a sip of his bubbly drink. "Can non-magical's enter the club?" He asked a few moments later, wondering if they could and how that would work.

"They can." Motoki answered. "They have to be of age, magical age to be exact, and of course they have to be with a witch or wizard."

"That makes sense." Mamoru said as he nodded. That means seventeen, so Usagi would be too young. He thought.

"So why do you want to know? Are you thinking of bringing Usagi here someday?" Motoki asked with a smirk.

"No!" Mamoru denied, even though the thought had crossed his mind since he had no other reason to ask. She was the only non-magical person he knew that he would even consider bringing there.

"Yeah sure." Motoki said slowly, and laughed as his friend blushed. He couldn't wait see that friendship progress into a romantic relationship.

Mamoru shook his head and began to tell him about coming across Usagi earlier that day at the arcade and being introduced to two of her new friends, and how she had wanted him to meet her best friend first.

"That meeting will happen when she brings her to meet me, but what really stood out from that whole encounter was one of her friends taking an instant liking to me." He said as he shook his head.

"Just like that?" Motoki asked.

"Just like that." Mamoru confirmed. "She clearly liked the way I looked, and she clearly didn't want Usagi to know when she was trying to ask me out since she did it while Usagi was busy playing a game."

"What about the other friend?" Motoki asked.

"She was watching Usagi play the game." Mamoru answered.

"So the girl snuck away and over to you since I'm assuming you were elsewhere." Motoki said.

"Yeah. Usagi was there to hang out with her friends and I was there to enjoy a milkshake while I was taking a break from my studies." Mamoru said. "I told Usagi to enjoy herself and have fun and she would see me as usual on Monday, then a little while later the girl comes over and tries to chat me up before asking me out."

"I made it perfectly clear that I was not interested in her or going out with her or dating her or anything else she wanted with me." He added.

"Woah. How did she react?" Motoki asked.

"She was disappointed, and asked if it was her age. I told her it wasn't her age; that I just wasn't interested." Mamoru said. "Then I told her we could be friends to try and soften my words, but I don't really anticipate seeing her much if at all unless she happens to be with Usagi when she meets me after school."

"Was she up for that?" Motoki asked.

"She was, and I'm very much hoping it's just to be friends and not to have another chance to ask me out." Mamoru said with a sigh before he took a sip of his drink.

"Does Usagi know about any of this?" Motoki asked curiously.

"She doesn't. At least not from me, and I doubt her friend will tell her given her secrecy in talking to me in the first place." Mamoru said. "Still, I don't think it's necessary for her to know unless the girl continues to pursue me."

Motoki nodded and took a sip of his misty drink.

"So how are things with the girl from your school? Reika right?" Mamoru asked.

"Yeah that's her name," Motoki confirmed. "and things are going well. I like her. We've been out on a few dates, but I wouldn't call us dating. She's not my girlfriend. We're still just getting to know one another."

"That's progress." Mamoru said as he nodded. "I hope things continue to go well with her."

"Thanks. I hope so too." Motoki said.

The friends continued to talk about this and that as they finished their drinks and listened to the music. Then a while later, just like at the non-magical club, a woman came by with a camera offering to take their picture and sell it to them much to Mamoru's pleasure.

Mamoru immediately agreed since he wanted proof of his first experience at a magical club. Motoki shook his head in amusement but agreed as well.

They each requested a copy and then they both smiled for the camera. The flash went off twice and after seeing the pictures they paid and took their copy.

Mamoru smiled at the picture of him and Motoki. It was a magical picture so it moved. The two of them smiled but Motoki was rolling his eyes at him. The spotlights were moving around, and the mist and bubbles from their refreshed drinks was clearly visible.

He grinned at Motoki and his friend just rolled his eyes at him in amusement before he took a sip of his drink.

~HPxXxMC~

Monday late afternoon found Naru walking with her best friend Usagi, their school bags in hand, after school on their way to the Crown cafe. Usagi planned to spend her usual time with Mamoru receiving her tutoring and apparently doing homework, but this time Naru was joining them so she could meet him.

It would be her first time seeing the guy since Usagi first mentioned meeting him, and she could admit she was nervous. Her best friend had established a friendship with him aside from her feelings for him, and she wondered if he would like her.

She was Usagi's best friend, but that didn't mean he would automatically like her. And she wanted him to like her since that meant he might not mind spending time with Usagi when she was with her. At least in her mind that was what it meant, which also meant her friend would have a better chance of changing her friendship status to girlfriend status with him.

"Are you sure he won't mind me showing up with you?" Naru asked worriedly. She didn't want to be the reason any problems came up between them; problems that could hurt her friend's chances with him.

"It'll be fine Naru really." Usagi reassured her. "I asked him when I saw him this weekend, and he said to bring you any day so you could meet. It'll be fine. Don't worry."

Naru sighed and nodded as they walked.

It took them ten more minutes before they arrived at the building that housed their destination. They ignored the doors to the arcade and walked up the stairs to the cafe and opened the door.

Inside was quiet and smelled of delicious scents, and as they moved further in Naru watched her friend look toward the seating. Her eyes brightened, her face lit up, and she smiled.

"Come on Naru he's here!" Usagi said excitedly as she looked at her, her tone sounding like she hadn't known he would truly be there even though she did.

Naru took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she followed her best friend down an aisle between two rows of booth seats. In a booth next to the windows halfway down the aisle, facing them, was a young man with messy short black hair looking down and writing.

"Mamoru!" Usagi called happily, and Naru watched as the guy lifted his head and smiled a small smile at seeing her friend.

Along with his short black hair he had deep blue eyes, a narrow yet clearly masculine face, and pale skin.

"Usagi." He said in greeting as they reached the booth and table he sat at. "How are you?" He asked.

"Good." Usagi answered cheerfully. "And you?" She asked.

"I'm good." He answered.

"Good." She said with a smile before she looked to her and back to him. "This is my best friend Osaka Naru; Naru this is my friend and tutor Chiba Mamoru." She introduced them.

Mamoru slid out of the booth and stood up respectfully, and Naru's eyes widened a bit at how tall he was.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you." Mamoru said politely, knowing this was an important meeting.

This girl was Usagi's best friend, the one she had wanted him to meet before the other two, the one who he assumed she had talked to about him after she first met him.

The one she likely talks to about her current feelings for me. He thought as he took in the girl's appearance.

She was just like Usagi had described before. She had short wavy dark red hair that she wore half pulled back and tied with a dark teal bow, teal eyes, a rounded faced, and was as tall as Usagi.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Naru said, pleased at how polite he was.

"Have a seat ladies." Mamoru said as he gestured to the booth they were standing next to.

Usagi grinned at being called a lady and nodded for Naru to slide in first. Naru shook her head slightly and slid into the booth until she was next to the window and watched as both Usagi and Mamoru did the same; Usagi stopping next to her, and Mamoru stopping in the middle across from them.

"So how was your weekend after we parted?" Usagi asked as she lay her school bag on the table in front of her.

"It was interesting." Mamoru answered as he folded his arms on the edge of the table in front of his work. "Motoki took me to a club." He revealed.

"What kind of club?" Naru asked curiously as she adjusted her school bag on the seat cushion at her side.

"A nightclub." He answered, and Usagi perked up.

"What was it like?" She asked curiously, remembering that she had wondered if she would like such a place.

"It was interesting." He said thoughtfully as he remembered back to the non-magical club instead of the magical one. "Honestly it was loud. The music was loud, people were loud trying to be heard over it as they talked to each other, and the place was crowded with people dancing and drinking."

"I liked the look of the place, but it wasn't really a place I would enjoy going to again." He added with a shrug. Although, I would go to Aura again. He thought.

"Why did you go then?" Naru asked, and Usagi nodded, wanting to know too.

"Because I'd never been before, and Motoki wanted me to experience it. I wanted to try it at least once, and now I know that I don't like it." Mamoru said.

Usagi nodded, making a mental note of his preference against nightclubs.

"At least you know for sure now." She said.

"True." He agreed, and then shrugged. "Maybe it would have been different if I had someone I felt comfortable dancing with. I've only danced once before, and it was a formal dance, a ball, at school a few years ago. It was an agonizing experience, and I have no wish to repeat it."

"Why do you say it like that?" Naru asked.

"Because it was a dance in celebration of an event, a tournament, that was happening that I and a few others participated in." He answered. "We had to open the dance with our partners, no way to get out of it, and before that evening I had never danced a day in my life. I did okay for having to wing it, but it was a nerve wrecking experience fraught with fears of complete humiliation in front of the entire school."

"Were you comfortable with your partner?" Usagi asked.

"No." Mamoru said instantly. "Not only did I not want to go to the dance, I didn't want to go with the girl I asked. She was familiar since I had classes with her, but she wasn't someone I spent any time hanging out with."

"The only girl I was interested in at that time was one I had a crush on who was in the year above me, and she went to the dance with another guy who was participating in the tournament with me who was two years above her." He said, and held in a grimace as he was reminded of Cedric's murder.

Usagi hummed as she nodded thoughtfully.

Would he try going again with me if we could figure out how since it is a nightclub? She wondered.

It was one thing to sneak out for a youma attack, but another entirely to sneak out to have fun. She would be hurrying during one, and would want to take her time during the other.

Of course the only time she had ever danced was with Naru during their sleepovers, so maybe she wouldn't be the best dancer either. Plus, she was sure there was a minimum age limit to get into the place.

"I wouldn't want to even be reminded of an experience like that." Naru said with a grimace.

"Same here." Usagi agreed as she nodded. "I wouldn't want to go to any type of dance if I couldn't go with the one I had chosen."

"Hopefully you won't have to experience that." Mamoru said.

"Um..Usagi said you're originally from England." Naru said into the silence. "Can I ask what it's like over there?"

"It's different." He answered. "The language obviously as English is the dominant language over there. Although, there are places where people speak different languages and you can experience other countries cultures."

"Beyond that the manner of speech is different, and the way people behave in general is different. The food is different, the style of dress is a bit different, the architecture is different, and the weather is different. It's usually rainy and cold; sometimes snowy depending on where you are." He continued.

"There's probably more differences. In fact, I'm sure there is, but I'm still learning what they are." He added with a shrug.

"Well that sounds like plenty." Naru said, and Usagi nodded silently. "What did you mean by places where people speak different languages?"

"After I decided to come here I found this place called Japantown." Mamoru said. "It was like..not as large as a mall, but more than just a shopping plaza. It had nothing but shops and stores owned and run by people that spoke Japanese, and they were all Japanese businesses. Restaurants, bookstores, bakeries, toy stores, music stores, movie stores, and clothing stores."

"It was where people who were in the country visiting from Japan or had moved from Japan or were born in England but had Japanese parents could go and shop for things they could only find in Japan." He explained.

"I went there a lot after I decided to come here and when I was learning the language. It definitely helped." He added.

"Ah, that makes sense." Usagi said as she nodded. She remembered what he said about possibly listening to music in English to help her learn the language. He had likely did the same at that shopping center; listening to people talk the language he was learning all over the place.

"Yeah, and there are other places like that for other cultures." Naru said thoughtfully, thinking that was pretty cool, and wondering if they had places like that here somewhere.

"I want to see it." Usagi said with a sigh. "If I ever get the chance to go will you take me to see the place?" She asked him.

"Sure." Mamoru agreed easily. "We'll do that as well as the Farris Wheel."

Usagi grinned, happy that he still remembered the Farris Wheel they were supposed to ride together if she ever had the chance to go to England.

"Can I ask where you lived over there?" She asked, suddenly curious about it. She even wondered where he had stayed when he went back recently.

"Like recently or all my life?" He asked, wanting clarification.

"Both." She answered. "Where did you go when you were home for the summer, and then after you finished school before you came here?"

"Ah, when I was little I live with my mom's sister and her husband and son, so obviously in their house. That's where I went when I was home for the summer." Mamoru said, holding in a grimace at the reminder of the Dursleys.

"For a few summers I stayed at my former best friend's house. Well, more like the last couple of weeks or days of the summer and then we would all return to school together. Then during the summer when I was fifteen I stayed in my godfather's house for a few weeks." He said, remembering why that was.

Looking back it was clear if he hadn't been attacked by Dementors and gotten that letter about being expelled from Hogwarts and having his wand snapped he would have been left at the Dursleys for the entire summer.

"After I finished school I lived at my former best friend's house for a few weeks, then I moved into my godfather's house, and after a short time there I moved into the house my mom and dad left me. That's where I lived before coming here, and where I stayed when I returned recently." He explained, and Usagi nodded thoughtfully.

"What do you two mean about when you were home for the summer and going back to school?" Naru asked in confusion.

"Oh, well I went to a boarding school, and we lived at the school for the entire school year, and only went home for the summer and holidays if you had family and they were doing something for the holiday." Mamoru explained.

"Wow." She said in surprise. "You went there for your entire schooling?" She asked.

"No." He said as he shook his head. "The school started at age eleven and went for seven years, so until you were seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen depending on when your birthday was when you started at the school." He explained.

"Before that I went to a regular primary school or elementary school or however you want to call it." He added.

"Elementary." Usagi said, just so he would know. "Did your godfather mind you staying with him even if it was only for a short time?" She asked curiously.

"By then my godfather had passed, and I had inherited the house." Mamoru answered.

"Oh, was he very old?" She asked, thinking that the man must have passed sometime between when he was fifteen and after he finished school.

"No. He was rather young." He said. "He was actually killed during the end of my fifth year at the boarding school."

Usagi and Naru gasped in shocked surprise.

Naru was not only shocked at the revelation but surprised at how calmly he had said it. Then again this happened when he was fifteen if she understood right, so he had some years to get over it.

Usagi on the other hand was surprised and dismayed. His godfather was the fifth person that had been killed in his life, murdered actually since his birth parents had died in an accident.

Five people in his life! She couldn't believe he had experienced so much death. She supposed he had been too young when his mom and dad were killed, but with the other three he was old enough, and she wondered how he had handled it.

Why did he have so many people being murdered around him? Is England that dangerous or is it something else? Does he just have bad luck or something? She wondered with a frown.

"I'm so sorry." Usagi said sympathetically, and Naru nodded in agreement.

"Thank you." Mamoru said as he smiled slightly at both girls.

"So what were you working on when we got here?" She asked, wanting to change the subject so he didn't get sad.

"I was working on my French homework." Mamoru answered.

"Always French first." Usagi said with a light smile as she began to pull out her English notes and homework.

"Well, I figured since we always start with your English then I should work on my French." He said with a half-smile and a shrug before he looked to her friend. "Are you studying English as well?" He asked the red head.

"Yeah." Naru answered as she nodded, and began to pull out her own English homework and notes since it sounded like they were about to work on their languages.

"How are you doing? Are you having any trouble?" He asked solicitously.

"I'm doing okay, but I can always use help." She said. "I really do want to learn the language well enough to actually speak it and write it and read it."

"Same here." Usagi said as she pulled out her pen and pencil.

"Alright then." Mamoru said. "Usagi usually shows me her notes for the day and shows me where she's having problems or didn't quite understand something, and we go from there. We've also taken to mixing English into our conversation even when we finish working on her English homework."

"Okay." Naru said as she nodded, seeing as she was about to join Usagi's tutoring for the day.

"Then let's get started ladies. Show me your notes for the day." He said.

With that Usagi and Naru showed him their notes, and after reading through them Mamoru began to explain and demonstrate what they hadn't understood or were having trouble with.

They both took notes and then they began on their homework, which he helped with as well. During this all three of them spoke in a mix of English and Japanese with Mamoru throwing in some French at their insistence so he could practice as well even though they couldn't understand.

"Do you have any plans for us or should we continue on with the rest of our homework?" Mamoru asked as they all finished their language homework.

"Yes! I was hoping we could go to the movies again." Usagi said, looking up as she was pulling all her papers together. "Is that okay?" She asked.

"Of course." He answered easily. "The last one I saw was the one we went to see."

"Cool!" She replied. "Do you want to come?" She asked her best friend, figuring her presence would make it feel less like a date to Mamoru.

"Sure if you two don't mind." Naru said as she looked between Usagi and Mamoru as she grabbed her school bag with one hand and her papers with the other.

"Not at all." Mamoru said as he put his papers away.

"Then we have a plan!" Usagi said.

The three of them finished packing up and left the cafe before heading down the sidewalk to the bus stop. Luckily the bus they needed was coming, and they got on when it arrived and paid the fair before finding seats together.

The ride was short and they got off at their stop and walked down a block to the same movie theater that Usagi had taken Mamoru to for his first movie. It was large and had fourteen screens and plenty of newly released and not so new movies to choose from.

They walked inside and made their way to the side wall that had posters of all the movies playing. They looked at each of them and looked over to see what time the movies were playing before they looked back to the posters as they discussed which one would interest all three of them.

Mamoru had only seen one of them, and that was the one Usagi had taken him to see. Beyond that he wasn't interested in anything that involved war, a great deal of blood, wolves, a lot of romance, and obvious magic.

Usagi wasn't interested in anything involving horror or war, and she wasn't sure about comedy, but everything else she was willing to try. Although, she silently wondered if she really wanted to see anything with action in it considering what her secret senshi life was like.

Naru didn't want to see anything involving horror or major violence, but everything else she was open to seeing if they wanted to.

With their opinions out there they once again looked at the options available and the times they were playing before they finally decided on a movie.

They walked over to the registers and had a brief mini argument about who was paying, since Mamoru had no problem paying and Usagi was insisting that she pay, and ultimately decided that Usagi would pay since it was her idea. Mamoru would pay for the snacks, and Naru would simply enjoy her time since she had been invited along.

Three tickets later and they were riding the long escalator up to where the theater rooms were. Once at the top they headed for the concession area and Mamoru told the girls to get whatever they wanted.

They all got popcorn and drinks, either soda or slushy, and then made their way toward the theater rooms. They presented their tickets at the door and were let through to find their room.

Once they had they entered and walked along the short dark yet lit hallway and into the room. The walls were black and red, the floor was covered in tan colored carpet, the seats were black and cushioned, and the white screen was framed by black curtains.

It wasn't the largest movie screen, or room for that matter, definitely not as large as the one Mamoru had seen with Usagi, but not as small as he imagined they could get.

The three of them paused as they looked around, seeing some people already seated and quietly chatting, and decided to sit in the back and off to the side. They moved into the short row with Naru in the lead, Usagi in the middle, and Mamoru behind her and sat in the area they had picked.

They put their school bags aside in the chairs next to them, Usagi's bag with Mamoru's, which helped keep other people from sitting next to them, and placed their drinks in the cup holder attached to their seats as they made themselves as comfortable as they could.

Usagi sat happily between her friend/crush and her best friend snacking on her popcorn and watching people trickle into the room and find a seat. She thought about the last time she had seen a movie, which was with Mamoru since it had been his first time, and how much she had enjoyed the experience.

She had watched Mamoru and his reactions as much as she had watched the movie; probably more if she was being honest with herself.

He hasn't been to the movies since then, but I wonder if he's seen any TV movies or bought any other movies to watch at home. She thought as she tossed some popcorn into her mouth.

She knew because of the way he grew up he hadn't seen any movies or watched much TV, but since he had moved here she wondered if he had seen anything on TV.

Even if he has I doubt he's seen the movies all kids have or at least the majority of kids. She thought. So maybe that's something else we can do.

"Hey Mamoru?" She said.

"Hmm?" Mamoru hummed, sipping on his drink as he looked to her.

"I just had an idea for you to watch the movies that most kids have. Anime movies and Disney movies." Usagi said before she picked up her orange slushy and took a sip.

"That sounds good." He agreed. "I definitely haven't seen any, and this will be my first anime movie. We can even watch them at my place."

He wouldn't have offered up his place considering her feelings for him since that would mean her spending hours at a time planted on his couch and in his space, which would likely only add to her feelings, but he couldn't see himself being comfortable going to her house to watch the movies.

"Great!" She said as she put her drink down. "Do you want to try watching a few in one day or over the weekend? Or maybe try one movie a day or every other day instead of going to find something to do?"

"I wouldn't mind watching a movie a day or every other day, so we can still get out and do things if we aren't in a mood for a movie." He said.

"Then we have a plan!" She said excitedly, already having the first movie picked out. "I'll bring the movies since I have nearly all of them."

"If we're going to do it at my place I'm going to have to get a DVD player since I didn't bother to get one when I was getting my TV, telephone, lamps, and furniture." Mamoru said.

"Aw! So we won't be able to start tomorrow?" Usagi asked, some of her excitement fading.

"Not necessarily." He replied. "After the movie ends I can go look for one. I'm sure I can find one that I like, and have it set up for tomorrow."

"Yay!" She said, her excitement back in full swing.

Mamoru chuckled in amusement before he went back to eating his popcorn.

Naru for her part had looked on and listened as the two had easily planned what, to her, sounded like a continuous series of movie dates. Movie dates that were going to happen at his apartment.

As far as she knew Usagi had only been to his place the one time when she learned that his last girlfriend had died, and now she had gotten herself invited every other day at the least and every day at the most.

I wonder if they'll move Usagi's tutoring to his place or if that would be too distracting with trying to watch a movie and studying at the same time. She wondered as she sipped on her soda.

Her best friend seemed to be moving along well with this guy. He was her tutor, she had seen that clearly, but he was also her friend, and to her it seemed like the time they spent together afterwards were like dates.

Even if they aren't calling them that. She thought, but she could understand why they weren't.

He was mourning his last girlfriend and was likely not in a hurry to move on to someone else, and Usagi didn't want to push and risk driving him away. Instead they were being friends. If she hadn't known how her friend felt about him that's all she would have thought they were since they weren't displaying any other signs.

Aside from Usagi's excitement when she first saw him at the cafe. She thought as she held back a smile.

Mamoru was harder to read since he seemed to keep his emotions close to his chest. His smiles were slight when he did smile, and his emotions were muted when they crossed his eyes.

He was a quiet guy. Soft spoken even with his deep voice, and that was when he was actually talking. He had gone quiet a couple of times, seemingly content to listen to her and Usagi talk.

Altogether she thought he would be a good fit for her best friend if they got together like Usagi wanted. He would be the calm to her sometimes excitable storm.

Sometimes excitable because her friend had changed since meeting Mamoru. It was subtle and gradual, but she had seen it even if she hadn't said anything. Usagi was doing better in all of her subjects, not just English, she was quieter, and she was always on time to school.

He's good for her. Naru thought just as the lights began to dim in the room.

As the room went dark the three stared at the screen and began to watch the trailers for upcoming movies. Once those ended the screen went dark and then showed a nighttime scene of a field with lightning striking and the introduction credits showing.

The wind was blowing fiercely through the grass and two men were fighting. One was tall, shirtless, and barefoot wearing an eyepatch over his right eye, a pair of dark shorts and white bandages around his hands and forearms and shins and feet.

The other was shorter and also barefoot wearing a white martial arts uniform with red wristbands and a red headband tied around his forehead with the excess ribbons blowing around with his movements and the wind.

Both men were muscular and fast moving as they hit each other and dodged around. Then the tall one used some kind of white lightning attack with his hands, but only after a few minutes of fighting the other gave the tall man an uppercut that had some kind of power to it that cut up his chest and sent blood flying, and then he finished him off with some kind of blue crackling lightning energy attack.

With the attack's flash as it came at the tall man and the viewer the movie title came up in red, orange, and yellow letters reading: Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie.

"Oh! She's got buns in her hair like me!" Usagi whispered as a woman came on the screen a few minutes later wearing a short sleeve modified blue qipao with gold accents and a wide white sash around her waist, brown leggings, and tall white combat boots.

She had large spiked bracelets around her wrists, and white fabric covered the buns in her hair with white ribbons tied around them.

"Look at her thighs!" Naru whispered. They were huge! She wondered what kind of workout or fighting she did to get them like that.

"I know right!" Usagi whispered in reply as she stared at the screen.

Mamoru glanced over at them in amusement before looking back to the screen. He could understand both of their reactions. The woman did have buns similar to Usagi's, although her hair was obviously nowhere near as long, and her thighs were really muscular.

Clearly she must use her legs in her fighting style a lot to have developed those muscles. He thought as he stared at the screen, and listened to the dialogue.

The obvious major villain and under villains were introduced as well as some information on what they were all about. The guy in the white uniform from the beginning of the movie was shown doing some isolated solo training before he seemed to flashback to some training he had with a blond guy in a red uniform.

The movie moved along to him being tossed into a makeshift fighting ring by some people thinking he had said something he shouldn't have about the fighter in the ring, and they were all wide eyed when he took the massive guy down with a head-butt that looked like it caved in his nose and the surrounding area.

Overall, from this one and his last experience, Mamoru liked sitting in a dark theater watching a movie on the large screen. The sound was amazing since he could not only hear but feel it rumbling and vibrating through him. The seats were cushioned and comfortable, and the selection of food and drinks at the concession area were nice.

I would've like this when I was back in Hogwarts, but after fourth year I don't think anyone but Hermione would have been let out to go. Well, and Neville too. He thought. But I wasn't close friends with Neville yet, and I wouldn't have wanted to go alone with Hermione.

Of course, I likely wouldn't have been let out to go either, so it wouldn't have mattered. He thought with a slight frown. Stay in the here and now. Those times are over. He told himself firmly, not wanting to think about the times he had been stuck away with the Dursleys during the summers.

I think Neville and George would like going to the movies now. Maybe the next time I visit we can go together. He considered, and decided in the next moment to write them about his experience.

Mamoru then looked over at Usagi to see how she was liking the movie so far, and saw that she looked fascinated and curious. She was clearly enjoying what was happening so far, and he thought even her friend looked like she was too.

Naru didn't usually like action, but that was usually action movies with guns and explosions. This movie she kind of liked since it was fighting using their own physical strength.

And I suppose some kind of energy power. She thought as she remembered back to the fight scene that opened the movie, and the one with the sumo wrestler and the fighter from India.

She watched as a scene played with what was looking like a professional fight in a ring happening at some kind of casino. The first fighter was a Russian man they called Zangief and he was huge!

He was tall and muscular with short brown hair styled in a Mohawk with a thick connected beard and mustache and a ton of hair on chest. At first he wore a red cloak that cover his entire body, but when he pulled it off he was revealed to only be wearing red tight underwear with a studded gold belt, red boots, and red and gold wristbands. On top of that his arms and legs were covered in scars.

The second fighter, Blanka, was a savage looking green skinned man. He was muscular just like the other man with long orange hair, and matching hair on his forearms and shins. He was only wearing a pair of red orange pants that were cut off at the knees with thick bands around his ankles, and had claws on his fingers and toes.

Ugh! Why does he look like that?! She wondered as she grimaced, slightly reminded of the creature that had attacked her in her mom's jewelry store.

Then her eyes widened as the fight started and the green skinned man moved fast in his attack of the other man. He was jumping all over the place, but the big Mohawk guy was still able to land some hits.

Her eyes widened again and she winced as he caught the green skinned guy in his arms and jumped up high before crashing back down on his head.

"Oh!" She breathed as the green skinned guy came to after the blow and kicked the tall guy with his feet and then somehow jumped off a wall and spun himself into a ball and slammed into the tall man.

"Ugh!" She exclaimed quietly with a grimace as he latched onto the tall man and bit into his shoulder, and then her eye widened as the man pulled his long orange hair and he started glowing with electricity and lightning before he started shocking the tall man.

This is crazy! She thought as she stared at the screen, her soda forgotten at the moment.

As Usagi watched the movie she knew she couldn't fight like those characters. Obviously they had training and had been fighting all their lives, which is why they could fight the way they could, but as a senshi she was supposed to be able to fight well.

She was supposed to, but she couldn't. Maybe her instincts from the past hadn't come through yet like her memories of that time hadn't.

Still, she was supposed to be this warrior that protected an important princess, and she hadn't seen any sign of the skill necessary to do that job. How was she supposed to protect the princess in this time if she couldn't fight? Her tiara couldn't do everything.

Maybe training like these characters do will help. She thought as she stared at the large screen. Or some other kind of training. She corrected herself as she remembered seeing the Ryu guy standing on some jutting rock up high in the mountains doing some isolated training.

Usagi pushed the thought aside for another time, and looked to Mamoru to see how he was liking the movie. She saw that he looked really into it; staring at the screen intently with his eyes flickering all over, and sometimes with his head slightly turning left and right with the action.

She looked back to the screen not wanting to miss anything herself, and watched as the scene showed the woman with the buns in her hair taking a shower.

Chun Li. She thought.

Then the scene switched to show the military guy, Guile, driving and calling her. Obviously she didn't answer, and she eventually finished her shower and came out wearing only her underwear and a yellow shirt while wrapping a towel around her hair.

She turned on the music in what looked like her living room before going into her bedroom and closing the door. She brushed her hair out and divided the mass in two and pulled them up into high ponytails on the sides of her head. Then she brushed them and braided each side before she wrapped each braid up in the buns she had been wearing during the whole movie.

A noise and seeing her lamp tremble alerted her to something not right and she looked up only to see an attacker dropping down on her from the rafters along her ceiling.

Usagi watched her roll away over her bed and pull the sheet away to make the person fall so she clearly see who it was, and her eyes widened along with Chun Li's when the muscled guy with the snake tattoo and the mask with long blond braided hair was revealed.

Vega. She reminded herself as she stared at the scene playing out.

She winced at seeing the woman getting beat up and cut up by his sharp claw weapon, but she did like that she was still holding her own for the most part.

Then her eyes widened as she actually lifted her own couch and threw it at him, and then did some kind of spinning move on her hands while she was kicking him with both her feet.

"Oh!" She breathed in shock as she watched her step on his chest while he was down and then step on his face and spin in a circle damaging and ruining his face.

Usagi was amazed to see the woman running up walls and doing backflips as she fought the man, especially since she was clearly seriously injured by her blurring vision.

"Oh wow!" She whispered as she watched her run at the man and kick him in the face so rapidly her leg blurred. Then she kicked him in the face with both feet and sent him right through a wall!

Yeah I don't think I'll ever be that kind of fighter even with training. She thought as she watched the man fall down through the air screaming.

As Mamoru watched the movie he found that he liked it, liked the action, but he oddly thought the fighting was familiar, which was strange since he had never fought a day in his life. Even his encounters with youma hadn't involved any physical up close fighting.

Although, he had fought a little with regular people who were being controlled by youma, but that was nowhere near what he was seeing in this movie. He hadn't seen anything on TV during his time in Japan that could explain the familiarity, and he definitely hadn't seen anything back in England that could explain it.

All his fights back there had been purely magical; nothing but charms and jinxes flying through the air at a distance and occasionally up close.

Another aspect to the mysteries surrounding me. He thought as he held in a sigh. First the dreams of the mystery princess, then my Tuxedo Kamen persona and the abilities that go with it, my connection to Usagi's senshi persona, being able to see through the senshi's secret identities, and being able to see ghosts that other witches and wizards can't.

I'm starting to get irritated at not having any answers to why I can do these things. He thought with a light frown, and he hadn't even factored in the mystery of Hogwarts referring to him as 'Master', but forced it to the back of his mind and focused back on the movie.

They watched as Chun Li underwent surgery for her injuries, and Ken, who was the blond man in the red uniform from Ryu's memory flashback, was defeated in his fight by having his own energy attack rebound on him and kidnapped by the villain. He was brainwashed in what looked like a painful process; like his mind was being broken.

The scene switched to Ryu rock climbing what looked like a sheer mountain face with nothing but his bare hands and feet as training, which they all thought was outrageous and highly dangerous; even Mamoru and Usagi with their new abilities.

It turned out the top of that mountain was where the sumo fighter, E. Honda, lived, and where Ryu continued his intense training. It also turned out to be where nearly every major character congregated.

Guile arrived to warn Ryu about the villainous organization after him and how they had already taken his friend/fellow fighting style student Ken. Then the villains showed up, having followed Guile, with the brainwashed Ken before much more could be said.

They watched the fight between Ryu and Ken, Guile and the head villain M. Bison, and E. Honda and another of the villain fighters, Balrog.

Guile was seemingly knocked unconscious by M. Bison, and E. Honda and Balrog's fight caused them to roll right off the sheer side of the mountain top. Meanwhile, the fight between Ken and Ryu was a bit hard to watch because Ryu wasn't fighting to his full potential or much at all because he knew his friend was brainwashed and he was trying to snap him out of it with words.

He ultimately succeeded but Bison attacked Ken with some kind of electric energy attack that sent him flying and knocked him unconscious leaving Ryu to fight Bison alone.

He didn't do well but Ken eventually joined the fight and they teamed up against Bison, and they got beat up but they also managed to hit him a lot. Then they both pulled out the same energy attack and sent them at the man. They combined in the air and struck Bison electrocuting him and sending him flying back into his own plane, which exploded with the combination of the impact and the energy from the attack.

After that everyone seemed to be fine. E. Honda returned to the top of the mountain looking fine and carrying Balrog and Guile. Chun Li healed up nicely from her surgery, and Ken and Ryu went back to their lives; Ken with his girl and Ryu to his seemingly endless traveling and training, but vowing to fight each other the next time they met up.

They watched the credits start to come on the screen as Ryu walked along an empty highway carrying his bag. Then a big rig truck suddenly came driving up fast behind him horn honking and surprisingly revealed the driver to be Bison looking like he had never been in the explosion that defeated him.

It ended with Ryu jumping up and toward the truck like he was going to attack him through the windshield before the scene ended and went black with the credits scrolling up the screen.

They waited until the credits ended and lights came back on to get up since Mamoru had learned when Usagi took him to the movies his first time that sometimes there was a scene at the end after the credits finished or even in the middle of the credits.

"So how'd you two like it?" Naru asked as they walked out of the theater and down the hallway back the way they came when they first arrived.

"I definitely like it." Usagi said right away. "But that guy, Ryu's, training was outrageous! Climbing up the sheer face of a mountain that looked like it reached above the clouds, and with nothing supporting him if he slipped!"

"That was outrageous." Mamoru agreed as he held the remains of his drink. "I liked the movie overall. Although, seeing the bright red blood was strange." He said, because he knew from experience what blood from injuries really looked like.

But this was an animated movie, so it's expected to look like that. He thought.

"What about you? How did you like it?" Usagi asked her best friend.

"I liked it fine, but that wild green skinned man creeped me out." Naru said before she drank the last of her soda.

"Ah! Did you see his fangs and claws? They were even on his toes!" Usagi said with a laugh.

Mamoru just shook his head in amusement as he looked on and listened.

Before they left the building Usagi and Mamoru finished what was left of their drinks and they all threw their cups in the trash. Then they caught the bus back to the area of the cafe, talking about the movie the whole time, and got off when their stop arrived.

"So are you going to head to the store now?" Usagi asked Mamoru as they reached the end of the sidewalk where they usually parted ways, and proving that she hadn't forgotten about their plan to watch movies at his place.

"Yeah." Mamoru said as he nodded. "I should have plenty of time to find what I need, and get back to my homework and studying." He added. "What about you two? Heading home or somewhere else?"

"Home I think." Usagi said before she looked to Naru questioningly.

"Yeah home." Naru agreed. "I have to finish my homework, and who knows if my mom will want me to do something for her."

"Yeah. The same with me I guess." Usagi agreed. Plus, there's always the chance of some youma attack happening. She thought.

"I guess we all have things to do before the day is over." Mamoru commented. "It was nice meeting you Naru." He said as he looked to Usagi's best friend. He certainly liked her better than the girl who was Sailor Mars.

"It was nice meeting you too." Naru said with a smile, and he returned it slightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he looked to Usagi.

"Definitely!" Usagi said as she nodded.

"Alright. Bye you two." Mamoru said.

"Bye." Usagi and Naru said together.

"Stay safe!" Usagi added as she watched him step away from them.

"I will." He assured her. "You be safe too." He added.

"I will." She promised.

With that said they parted ways. Usagi and Naru walking together to head to their homes, and Mamoru to head to the same mall where he had gotten his CD radio player to find a DVD player.

~HPxXxMC~

A tall slim figured auburn haired girl stepped out of the main building of her school Wednesday afternoon a few minutes after the lunch hour had started, and paused as she looked around.

Students were standing or seated everywhere talking to their friends and eating lunch. Sounds of laughter, yells, and shouts rang through the air, and she held in a sigh before she began to walk toward an empty area of the courtyard.

She was new to Azabu Jūban Junior High School, had actually just transferred in that day, and she wasn't sure she liked it. It seemed like everyone thought she had transferred into the school because she had been kicked out of her last one from fighting.

She didn't know why everyone thought that, but she could take a wild guess. She was taller than any girl she had seen so far, and it didn't help that she stood out because of the uniform she was wearing. It wasn't the school's uniform for girls since they had informed her that they didn't have her size, so she had been told to wear her old school's uniform.

It was a sailor uniform just like most girls school uniforms were. The top was white with long sleeves and white thin lace ribbons crisscrossed up the center and tied in a bow with a khaki strip lining each side of the bottom edge, a khaki collar with two stripes, and khaki wrist cuffs with two white stripes.

The skirt was khaki colored, pleated, and stretched down pass her knees with a long thin khaki ribbon tied in a bow at the back.

At least my shoes are black, She thought with a sigh as she sat on a wooden bench in the sun. but they have a heel so that's another difference even if it isn't a high heel.

She rested her lunch bag on her lap and rolled up her sleeves until they reached her elbows so she wouldn't be too heated in the sun. Then she pulled the strings of her bag apart and pulled out her lunchbox, and rested the bag on the bench at her side as she placed the box on her lap.

At least I'll have a delicious filling lunch. She thought as she pulled the top off.

"Hi!" She suddenly heard a feminine voice say just as she pulled out a rice ball.

She looked over to see a girl with bright blue eyes and incredibly long blonde hair styled up in buns with the rest streaming down her back and over the bench as she sat a couple of feet away from her.

"Hi." She replied as she blinked at the girl.

"I'm Tsukino Usagi." The girl introduced herself cheerfully.

"I'm..Kino Makoto." She said slowly as she lowered her rice ball back into her lunch box.

"I couldn't help noticing that you were sitting over here alone, and I wanted to invite you over to join me and my friends if you want." Usagi said as she gestured behind her.

Makoto looked over the girl's shoulder to see two girls, one with short wavy dark red hair with a blue bow tied in it and the other with even shorter blue hair, sitting on another wooden bench looking their way.

"Mm..are you sure?" She asked as she looked back to the blonde girl.

"Yeah!" Usagi answered as she nodded. "Come join us. I don't want you over here by yourself. Especially if you don't want to be."

"Okay." Makoto said before she covered up her lunchbox and grabbed her lunch bag.

They stood and she followed the blonde, seeing that her hair trailed down just pass her knees, over to the other two girls.

"You guys this is Kino Makoto." Usagi said as they stopped in front of the girls. "Makoto, this is Mizuno Ami and Osaka Naru." She said as she lightly gestured to each girl in question.

"Hi." All three of them said at once, and smiled at each other at the coincidence.

"Feel free to sit if you want." Naru said as she gestured to the empty spaces on the bench.

"Yeah." Usagi agreed as she picked up her lunch, opting to stand. "So tell us about yourself. Obviously you're new to the school; what school did you go to before?" She asked before she popped a piece of her lunch into her mouth.

"Um…" Makoto hesitated as she looked from Usagi's welcoming face as she chewed, to Naru's smiling face, to Ami's shy curious face.

She nodded and sat down next to the blue haired girl, Ami, and began to tell them about her last school, and why she had transferred to their school as she opened her lunchbox.

~xXx~

Luna stealthily made her way around trees and under bushes as she headed for Usagi and Ami while they ate their lunch with a friend.

She had had the idea a few days ago that since so far Usagi, Ami, and Rei were the same age then maybe the next two senshi would be the same age as well. With them possibly being the same age it made sense that they would be in school too, so she had decided to spend time at the girl's schools to see if any young woman stood out.

She was starting with Ami and Usagi's school, and so far she had spent the last two days looking at school girl after school girl before school started, during lunch, and after school ended, but so far she hadn't had any luck.

Now she thought she would take a short break and check up on her charges before she got back to her search.

As she grew closer to where the girls were seated she noticed Usagi was no longer there, and she paused under a bush to look around for her. She spotted her quickly walking back toward Ami and her friend with a tall girl wearing a different uniform.

She had reddish-brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail with a green elastic tie with two balls that trailed halfway down her back. She was fair skinned, slim and yet her eyes could easily see that she was also slightly muscular, and from her vantage point she could see she had a pink rose blossom earring in her ear.

Luna continued on her path until she was concealed in the bush directly behind where the girls were seated. She sat down and watched through the greenery as Usagi and the girl grew closer and closer until they stopped in front of the bench and the girls.

She listened as Usagi introduced the girl as Kino Makoto, and she took the time to take a closer look at her.

The rose blossom earring was part of a matching pair, and the girl had big green eyes, and what she thought was a shy uncertain face.

However, what immediately caught her eyes was the green glow peeking through the tall girl's bangs. She narrowed her own eyes as she stared and held in a gasp as the girl shifted her head, causing her hair to move, and revealed the glowing symbol for Jupiter on her forehead.

Sailor Jupiter. She thought quietly yet excitedly. I can hardly believe it even with her standing right in front of me. How strange that three or the four guardian senshi found so far go to the same school.

I need to inform Usagi and Ami, but how can I with Usagi's friend right there? Not to mention the new senshi there as well? I would rather her not see me talk until it's time to awaken her. She thought.

If only she could be awakened right now. She thought with a sigh. The new senshi was so close and yet so far.

Even after the girls got out of school Luna knew it would be difficult to get to them and inform them. Usagi would take off to head to her tutoring session, and Ami would head to her cram school.

Rei would likely be headed home since as far as I know she doesn't have any after school activities of any kind, unless I count her shrine duties, but she's still far away, and I would lose track of the new senshi going to her. She thought with a sigh. I suppose I could contact her on the communicator. She considered thoughtfully.

As she considered this she listened as the girls talked about Ami's cram school and Usagi's tutoring, and what they each liked to do for fun and what they liked to eat.

Since I can't speak to the girls now or at any point before school ends I'll just awaken Makoto by myself as I did with Usagi. She decided firmly. Then afterward I'll let Ami, Rei, and Usagi know.

With her plan set Luna settled down and continued to listen to the girls and observe her charges; including the new and currently unaware senshi.

Once the lunch hour ended it appeared to her that Ami, Usagi, and her friend had all become friends with the new senshi; especially since they all walked off smiling and laughing.

She stayed where she was until all the students disappeared, and then she cautiously made her way through the courtyard and through the bars of the main gate at the front of the campus. From there she made her way down the block before she jumped up onto a slightly high wall and lay down so she would be less noticeable as she waited for school to end.

Only one more guardian senshi left to be found. Sailor Venus. Luna thought as she gazed around idly. Could she go to this school as well or perhaps Rei's school? Maybe she'll go to a different school altogether. I'll have to check other junior high schools.

I wonder what she'll look like. Will she have blonde hair or black hair? Blue like Ami or reddish-brown like Makoto? She wondered. Maybe another color entirely like pink or green or orange. I wish I could remember what she looked like in the past.

I wish I remembered what they all looked like in the past; the princess especially. She thought. If Ami, Rei, Usagi, and even Makoto looked as they did in the past then that would mean the princess would look as she did in the past. That might make finding her easier or at least less difficult than it is right now.

The hours passed surprisingly quickly as she lost herself in thoughts of when all her memories would return and people watching, and startled as she heard the loud echoing sound of the bell that signaled the end of the school day.

She sat up and became more alert as she waited for the students to begin to stream out. She needed to spot Makoto as soon as possible in case she was going in a different direction and she had to run to catch up with her.

A few minutes passed before the first students began to appear and walk away or get into cars that were parked or idling. Then more minutes passed before she spotted the tall new senshi. She was with Usagi, Ami, and the girl Naru just as she had been during lunch.

Luna stayed where she was as she noted they were walking in her direction, which was the usual direction three of the girls always walked in when leaving school. The girls passed by below where she sat, and she stood up and began to follow them. If any of them had noticed her they didn't react.

Eventually she had to leap to the ground, and when she did she landed lightly and ignored the curious murmurs of some of the students that saw her.

The girls began to part from the little group one by one. First was Usagi saying a cheerful goodbye before running off across the street and down the sidewalk, then was Ami with a quieter goodbye and promise to see them tomorrow, and finally was Usagi's friend Naru who was apparently on her way to her mother's jewelry store to help her.

This left Makoto alone, which was what Luna wanted. Now she just had to follow her to her home, and be careful not to gain her attention or anyone else's.

Now that she was alone the tall teen walked faster so Luna had to jog to keep up, which wasn't much of a problem since she had four legs and could move fast.

As they walked down sidewalk after sidewalk and passed busy streets they came across a couple of strange scenes. People yelling at each other, rushing more than usual, some fighting each other, and some even yelling at inanimate objects.

They all appeared impatient and trying to hurry to wherever they were going, and all of them mentioned time and looked at their watches.

Is this connected to that new clock store? Luna couldn't help wondering.

Earlier in the day she had overheard students talking about the establishment. It had apparently had its grand opening on Monday and sold nice watches and clocks of every size and style. There was apparently something for everyone in every age.

I'll have to suggest the girls take a look at the place, and see if there is youma activity. She thought as she followed after Makoto as she began walking again after pausing to watch the strange scene.

They continued on and she saw the teen pause at a bus stop as if she was contemplating taking one, but the next bus that came nearly crashed and people got off screaming; not in fear but in anger for being made late.

Luna watched in approval as the tall teen decided to take a pass and continued walking. Clearly she knew where she was going since she seemed to take what the feline thought were shortcuts before they reached a residential area.

After walking for another two blocks the teen turned onto a walkway and headed toward a brown four story building. There was a sturdy fairly large looking balcony on the top three floors, and what looked like little trees visible off to the sides on the balcony at the very top.

Clearly the teen lived in an apartment building, and in what appeared to be a quiet neighborhood to the block feline.

Luna moved closer to the teen so she could see exactly where she lived in the building and get inside so she could speak to the young woman.

~xXx~

Makoto made it to the door of her apartment after walking up a number of flights of stairs and unlocked her door and stepped inside. She closed the door and nearly kicked off her shoes before she placed her school bag and keys on the dining table then plopped down in her oversized lime green arm chair with a sigh.

As she sank into the softness of the cushions around her she shifted her feet on her wooden floor and began to check on the plants she had surrounding her chair. They were all bright green and healthy as she expected, but she still needed to water some of them.

She put her hands on the rounded soft arms of her chair and was about to push herself to stand, but froze as she spotted a black cat with red eyes sitting casually on her white dining table looking at her.

How did that get in here? She wondered as she sat frozen in her position half poised to get up.

"Hello Makoto. My name is Luna, and I have been searching for you." The feline said.

Makoto sat back sharply in her chair at the sound of the cat's voice, and if she could have scooted back through the cushion then she would have.

"You can talk! You're a talking cat! How can you talk?!" She asked as she stared at the cat sitting near the edge of the table closest to her.

"I am special as you will soon learn." Luna answered calmly before cleared her throat. "You, Makoto, are one of the chosen ones. You are a guardian sailor senshi; Sailor Jupiter to be exact."

"Sailor Jupiter?" Makoto repeated with a frown, hardly believing she was talking to a cat. "You mean like Sailor V, and those women I've heard about on the news."

"The women yes. Sailor V? Possibly." Luna answered. "Those women, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Mercury, are also guardian sailor senshi.

"What's a guardian sailor senshi?" Makoto asked, curious despite her wariness.

"A guardian sailor senshi is a female warrior charged with the duty to protect and support the Moon Princess." Luna answered.

"Moon Princess? Who's that, and how do you know I'm one of those senshi?" Makoto asked.

"The Moon Princess was the heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom back in the Silver Millennium, and I know you are a guardian senshi because I can see the planetary symbol glowing on your forehead. It is how I identified you as Sailor Jupiter." Luna answered.

"It is the same way I identified Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury." She added.

"But not Sailor Moon?" Makoto asked.

"No. I identified her by the power I sensed within her." Luna said. "Each guardian senshi was correctly identified and awakened to their duty. They are the senshi of their planet. You are the senshi of your planet, Jupiter; you are Sailor Jupiter. There is no other."

Makoto sighed as she ran her fingers through her bangs.

A guardian sailor senshi. She thought as she pictured images of Sailor V and remembered the little she had seen of the..sailor senshi on the news. I can't be one of those women. How can I be? I'm a pretty good fighter, but I've only fought other people. Those women fight..other things as far as I've understood.

And what if they don't like me? What if they don't want me fighting with them? She wondered with a frown, having gotten used to people judging her and taking an almost instant disliking to her.

"What if the other guardian senshi don't want me with them?" She asked the feline.

"That is not possible." Luna said instantly. "You all are a team, and they have been looking for you too. Beyond that you have already met two of them."

"Really? Who?" Makoto said in surprise.

"Tsukino Usagi and Mizuno Ami." Luna answered.

"What?! Are you serious?" Makoto said with wide eyes, and then frowned as she leaned forward toward the table. "Does that mean that's the only reason Usagi approached me at school?"

"I'm very serious, and Ami and Usagi have no idea you're a senshi. Only I can see the planetary symbol on your forehead." Luna answered seriously.

"Can you prove any of this? That I'm really this Sailor Jupiter you think I am?" Makoto asked as she leaned against one arm of her chair. She wasn't about to believe the cat or make a decision on words alone with something like this.

"Absolutely." Luna said firmly before she jumped up into the air and did a backflip.

Makoto watched the flip and blinked at the flash of light it somehow caused before she flinched as something came flying her way. She had to take her eyes off the acrobatic cat to catch the blurred object so she wouldn't get hit in the face or anywhere else.

She brought her hands up and caught the small object before she shifted it around to look at it properly. It was green on the bottom half with a gold cap on the top half with the planetary symbol for Jupiter engraved within a circle on top of the cap.

"That is your transformation pen." Luna said as she settled back down onto the table. "It will allow you to become Sailor Jupiter. All you have to do is say 'jupiter power, make up', and you will become the senshi of Jupiter."

Makoto glanced to Luna and back to the pen. She guessed that if she said the words that Luna mentioned and transformed then that would definitely be proof that she was the senshi she claimed she was.

"How many of these guardian sailor senshi are there?" She asked thoughtfully as she considered whether she wanted to try to use the pen.

"There are five including yourself." Luna answered. "Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus." She added, and Makoto nodded.

"And the duty of a guardian sailor senshi is to protect a princess from the Moon of some long ago era?" She asked.

"Essentially yes." Luna confirmed. "It is also to fight the youma attacking people for their energy, because one of their victims could very well be the princess. Not to mention because it is dangerous and wrong to allow it to happen."

"And that's what the others have been doing since they became senshi?" Makoto asked.

"Yes." Luna answered.

"Umm..there's no going back if I do this is there?" She asked as she finally looked away from the green and gold pen to the cat.

"No." Luna answered seriously. "Once you transform you will officially be a senshi, you will be Sailor Jupiter, and will be taking up the responsibilities of that role, which are for a lifetime considering you will be protecting the princess."

Makoto nodded slowly as she looked back to the pen. It sounded like a big responsibility, especially with the fighting that would be happening on top of the royal protection. She was only fourteen. Wasn't that too young to make a decision like this?

On the other hand yes she was fourteen, but she also lived alone in her apartment. She was responsible for getting herself up and to school, had actually been responsible for transferring to another school, and was responsible for feeding and clothing herself, which meant shopping and cooking.

This would just be another responsibility. One that would allow her to use her fighting skills and possibly make them better.

And I would be doing something important with helping to stop attacks on people. She thought before she nodded to herself.

"Alright! Let's try this, and see if it actually works." Makoto said as she stood up, and held the pen out in front of her.

"Jupiter Power, Make Up!" She said, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when green light flashed and lightning instantly began to stream out of the top of the pen.

The lightning began to swirl around her as she was lifted off the floor, and she closed her eyes at the brightness of the lightning. After a few long moments the light behind her eyelids disappeared and her feet touched the floor.

Makoto opened her eyes and gasped as she looked down at herself. She had on a skin tight white bodysuit with three white shoulder pads, a green collar with three white stripes on it, a matching green mini skirt with a pink bow on her lower back, and a pink bow on her chest with a green round circle brooch in the center of it.

Her hands and forearms were covered with long white gloves that stopped just below her elbows and had green cloth attached to the ends, and her feet were covered in medium heeled green ankle boots that were tied with white laces.

There was also what looked like a decorative belt resting around her waist. It was made of a thin delicate looking golden chain with pink beads that actually looked like slightly large pearls, and sitting on her left hip attached to the chain was a clear spherical ball that had a pair of small pink rose blossoms inside.

She could also feel something on her forehead and around her neck, so she rushed into her bathroom and looked in the mirror. There was a gold tiara with a green gem on her forehead, a green choker around her neck, and her pink rose earrings were still in her ears.

Wow. Makoto said in awe as she stared at herself. I actually look like Sailor V and the other senshi. She thought as she took a couple of steps back to try and see more of herself in the mirror.

I like that my hairstyle is the same, and my earrings too. And I'm loving this belt. I wonder if it's just decoration or if it does anything. She thought as she touched the clear ball with the rose blossoms inside.

"Okay, so it's true." Makoto said as she walked back into her living/dining room. "I'm really a senshi. I'm Sailor Jupiter."

"Yes you are." Luna said as she nodded.

"Okay, so how do I get out of this?" She asked as she smoothed her hands over her short skirt.

"Simply will yourself back into your normal clothes." Luna answered.

Makoto nodded. Alright, I want to be back in my school uniform. I need to be back in my school uniform. She thought as she focused on her clothes.

Green light flashed briefly and just like that she was back in her school uniform with no sign that she had ever been transformed into a senshi.

I take that back. She thought as she lifted her left wrist to see that her rose belt had somehow become a bracelet. Oh! It smells like roses! She thought in happy surprise, realizing the clear ball must hold potpourri inside.

"Where's my transformation pen?" She asked suddenly.

"It is in your subspace pocket." Luna answered.

"What's that?" Makoto asked before more could be said.

"It is a personal dimension space to carry items you cannot keep in your clothing pockets, and need to have with you at all times." Luna answered patiently. "All you have to do is gesture with your hand and think of wanting your transformation pen, and it will appear in your hand."

Makoto nodded and gestured with her right hand as she thought of wanting the gold and green pen, and gasped lightly as it appeared in her hand out of thin air.

"Just do the same to put it back?" She asked as she twirled it around slightly.

"Yes." Luna answered.

Makoto did and watched wide eyed as the pen disappeared like it had never been there.

"So what now?" She asked as she sat back in her lime green cushioned armchair.

"Well, with Ami and Rei we had a meeting to inform them of everything they needed to know about being a guardian senshi, and everything we knew about this enemy you are facing." Luna said.

"With Usagi I told her everything since she was the first awakened. I can tell you everything now, but I would prefer to wait and have a meeting with the other girls present in case they ask a question you have not thought of or in case there is new information that they need to hear as well or that I do not yet know." She explained.

"Ah, I understand." Makoto said.

"There is something I would like to do now." Luna said, and watched the teen nod curiously. "I would like for us to go investigate a new clock store that opened recently."

"Oh I heard about that place. I was going to go there in a few days." Makoto said. "Do you think it has something to do with the..youma..is that what you called them?..attacking people?"

"Yes to both questions." Luna answered. "I have seen fights, heard people screaming and yelling, and even seen accidents, and in each incident something about time was mentioned and they all looked at their watches."

"I simply think it is suspicious that this new store opens and suddenly these things begin to happen." She added.

Makoto nodded and remembered the scenes she had passed on her way home, and even a few she had come across yesterday. It had been strange and confusing, but she hadn't thought anything of it. Just assumed it was city life.

I guess I'll have to start paying closer attention to things like that since they could be youma attacks or youma activity. She thought as she sat forward in her chair.

"So let's go check it out." She said as she stood up and moved toward her shoes. "I can do my homework later since I don't have much."

"Very well." Luna said as she watched her put on her shoes.

~xXx~

Makoto and Luna arrived outside the new store nearly half an hour after they left her apartment. It was a white store front with yellow rounded awnings over the windows, and over the large center awning above the entrance to the store was the name: Clock Look. There were also signs in the windows announcing a big sale and huge discounts.

They went inside, Luna easily being concealed with how many people were there, and began to look around.

The walls were pale blue, the floor was white shiny tile, and there were clocks everywhere. They were lined up on the walls like pictures, on stand-alone display stands, inside glass covered display cases, lined up on tables, and hanging from different displays on top of tables and counters, and standing against walls.

There was even a massive grandfather clock against one wall of the store. It actually looked like it was built into the wall that's how big it was.

As Luna continuously dodged feet as she kept close to Makoto she sensed that something wasn't right inside this store. It was packed, so business was clearly doing well, but something was off. The whole place gave off an extremely uncomfortable vibe.

She managed to get Makoto's attention and they headed out of the store, and moved further down the sidewalk and into a small side alley.

"Something is not right in there." Luna said immediately as Makoto knelt down next to her. "I'm going to contact the other girls to get them here."

"Okay." Makoto said as she nodded. "I'm going to go back inside and take another look around."

"Alright." Luna said.

Makoto stood back up and walked out of the alley as casually as she could and headed back to the clock store. She passed through the open glass doors and began to wander around.

She took in the very different styles of the many clocks and watches, and paused to look at the ones behind and under glass in the display cases. There were also warning signs around that said not to pick up the time pieces, and she didn't plan to.

But they don't say anything about not touching or opening them up. She thought before she did just that.

She opened one of the clocks standing on a display case in front of her, and instantly frowned at what she saw.

What the heck is this?! She thought, because there was nothing inside the clock.

It was completely empty. No screws, wheels, or other gadgets that would make it work, and the clock did work. It was ticking away without a problem.

"What?!" A woman who was passing by exclaimed as she stopped in her tracks after glancing at the clock. "Is that a display clock?" She asked as looked into the empty clock.

"No." Makoto said before she closed it. "See; it still works too." She said.

"But there's nothing inside!" The woman said before she moved over to another clock and opened it, only to find it empty as well.

"This one is the same! Empty yet working." She said.

"You are not supposed to touch the time pieces!" A masculine voice said aggressively, and they turned to see a salesman speed walking toward them.

"No. It says no picking them up." Makoto countered. "None of the signs say anything about touching them or opening them."

"It means no touching!" The man nearly shouted in her face before he pushed her hard away from the clock.

Makoto cried out slightly as she stumbled back, caught off guard by the move, and hit a table behind her loaded with clocks.

The woman that also discovered an empty clock screamed at the sight, and quickly turned and rushed away, fearful she would be attacked as well.

Makoto straightened as she pushed away from the table, and looked around to see two more sales people, two women, approaching her, and some other people in the area running away; clearly having seen what happened to her.

The women were dressed professionally and looked angry; much more so than they should because of a customer breaking a rule.

Looks like there is something going on here, and I'm going to have to deal with it alone for now. She thought with a frown. Should I transform? She wondered as the man and women began to close in on her.

~HPxXxMC~

Rei swept leaves near one of the buildings on her family's shrine. She had changed after school into her priestess clothes, and then went about her duties. After helping a few people and answering some questions she went about sweeping up the dried leaves that had fallen.

Now she was left alone with her thoughts, and of course they went directly to the new direction her life had taken. She was no longer just a junior high student and shrine priestess, she was also now a sailor senshi.

Sailor Mars. She thought quietly.

She was still surprised about that. Surprised that she was a senshi; that she was like Sailor V. She had been nearly convinced that woman hadn't been real, and that the whole concept of her was just some company creating publicity to sell merchandise to make money.

Now she wasn't so sure. With her being Sailor Mars, Usagi being Sailor Moon, and Ami being Sailor Mercury there was a very real chance Sailor V was actually a real person, and maybe even one of them.

With her being Sailor V maybe she's really Sailor Venus. She considered since that seemed like a logical conclusion if she went by the names alone.

Luna had said she couldn't tell without seeing the woman in person, so she guessed she would have to wait and see if she was or wasn't one of them.

Then there was the supposed Moon Princess they were supposed to find and protect. That was even harder to believe then it was to believe Luna when she first told her she was Sailor Mars.

A princess from the Moon back when there was life on the Moon, and she was so important that she had five guardians to protect her around the clock day in and day out. She thought as she moved the bristles of the broom across the ground.

A princess. She thought as she shook her head. What's so great about her that she gets guardians? And not just one, but five! Is it only because of the silver crystal she's supposed to guard and be able to use? Well, that and being next in line to the throne.

But that was then, so are we only going to be guarding and protecting her now because of the crystal? Because obviously there's no more kingdom on the Moon. She thought as she glanced around at people walking around.

And what if we don't like her? What if she has an attitude? What if she's spoiled or becomes spoiled once she finds out she's a princess or a reincarnated princess? She wondered, realizing these were things she should have thought about or asked before she accepted being a senshi.

But I didn't know those things at the time in order to ask. She thought with a sigh, but paused as she heard her communicator going off.

Rei looked around before she moved behind the building she was near, and pulled her communicator out of her pocket.

"Rei here." She said after she pressed the flashing button.

"I need you to come to the new clock store." She heard Luna's voice come through clearly from the device in her hand, and saw her face on the tiny screen. "Have you heard of it?"

"Yeah I've heard of it." Rei said as she remembered hearing a few people talking about it the last few days.

"Something is wrong with this store, and I'm suspicious of youma activity." Luna said. "I'm here with the new senshi…"

"New senshi?!" She exclaimed in surprise, cutting her off. "Already?" She asked since it hadn't been long since she had been awakened as one.

"Yes." Luna confirmed. "She is Sailor Jupiter, and I have already awakened her to her duty. We came together to investigate the new store because of some strange incidents I had witnessed."

"Alright. I know where it is. Should I come transformed?" Rei asked uncertainly since this could very well be her first fight since the one she was in at her awakening as a senshi.

"Yes." Luna said seriously. "I'm contacting Ami and Usagi as well, so you and the new senshi won't be alone."

"Alright. I'm on my way. Rei out." She said before she pressed the same button as before.

She put her communicator back in her pocket and pulled out her transformation pen as she leaned her broom against the wall of the building. She looked around to make sure she was still alone and no one could see her where she was standing.

"Mars Power, Make Up!" Rei said as she held her red and gold pen out in front of her.

Red light flashed and fire streamed out of the top of the pen before it surrounded her. She began to lift off the ground and closed her eyes as the fire moved closer to her. When she touched back down she opened her eyes and saw that she was changed into the senshi of Mars for the second time in her life.

And my mother's pendant necklace is once again a brooch attached to the belt-like bit above my skirt. She thought in surprise, guessing it was just going to be part of her transformation from now on.

Rei shook herself out of her thoughts and took off running; hoping her grandfather didn't miss her.

~xXx~

Ami sat in class at her cram school typing away on the keyboard to the computer she was using. She was completely focused on her studies; only allowing herself to pause and look around to take in her surroundings to make sure all was well.

The last thing she wanted was a repeat of what happened when she was awakened as a senshi.

Suddenly she heard her communicator beeping, and she froze and looked up and around, but no one else reacted to the noise. She was instantly glad she had decided to keep the communication device in her subspace pocket since it appeared she was the only one who could hear it in there.

As the beeping continued she knew she needed to leave. Neither Usagi nor Rei would contact her unless it was important, as in youma attacking important, since they all knew she was in her after school cram class.

She quickly began to close down the computer she was using and put away the notes she had been taking. When she finished she quickly packed up the rest of her loose items, and grabbed her school bag as she stood up.

Ami moved toward the front of the room, giving an excuse to the teacher that she hoped was good enough not to cause her problems later, and left the classroom. She made her way to the bathroom, needing to answer her communicator before she did anything else, and was idly glad that it wasn't one of her regular classes at school that she had to slip out of.

Although, she knew it could very well happen during the school day, and she may have to leave class then. She wasn't looking forward to that.

Once in the bathroom she made sure no else was in there, and when she was sure she gestured with her hand, focusing on wanting her communicator, and watched the pink device appear with one of the buttons flashing.

"Ami here." She said, and watched Luna's face appear on the tiny screen.

"I need you to come down to the new clock store." She heard Luna's voice say instantly. "There's something not right about it. I'm here, or rather near it, and the new senshi, Sailor Jupiter, is inside."

"New senshi!" Ami said in surprise. "Did you follow her there?" She asked.

"No. I discovered her, then awakened her, and we came here together. I have already spoken to Rei, and she is on her way now." Luna explained.

"What about Usagi?" She asked.

"I'm still waiting for her to answer, but I didn't want to wait for all of you to answer before letting you know what's going on." Luna said.

"I understand. I'm on my way. Ami out." She said before she pressed the button from before, and watched Luna's face disappear from the screen.

Ami put her communicator away back in her subspace pocket, and left the bathroom and the school building altogether. She made her way to a secluded area as quickly as she could, and put her school bag in her subspace pocket before she pulled out her transformation pen and minicomputer.

She quickly looked up the store and its location, and mapped out a route to get to it before she put her minicomputer away.

"Mercury Power, Make Up!" She said as she held her transformation pen up.

Blue light flashed and water streamed out of the top of her pen and began to swirl around her. She lifted off the ground and closed her eyes as the water moved closer to her.

When her feet touched back down on the ground she opened her eyes and saw that she was transformed into the senshi of Mercury. The blue and white uniform was in place and her lyre brooch was once again attached to the v-juncture just above her skirt.

She nodded to herself and took off running toward the clock store.

~xXx~

Usagi smiled lightly as she walked away from Mamoru's balcony. They had just gotten to his apartment after her tutoring session, and she had given him the movie they planned to watch.

He was currently setting up the TV and getting the movie into the DVD player, and while he was doing that she was looking around since she was still new to being in his apartment.

She had already taken in the view from his balcony and noted his bird perch was still empty, and now she was admiring his white and gold owl crystal figurines as she did the other times she had been there.

Beautiful. She thought as she took in the fine detail, but froze as the sound of beeping echoed through the living room.

Oh no! Usagi thought before she glanced to Mamoru, and hurried over to her school bag where she left it on a side table by the door to his apartment. She grabbed it and quickly opened it and dug through it looking for her beeping communicator.

Please, please don't say anything! She thought as she glanced over to Mamoru from the corner of her eye to see him looking her way.

Finally, after what seemed like long minutes, she pulled the pink device out, and rushed to the bathroom before Mamoru could say anything. She closed the door, flipped on the light, and took a few steps back toward the bathtub before she pressed the flashing button.

"Usagi here." She said quietly as she watched Luna's face appear on the small screen; not wanting Mamoru to hear her talking.

"Usagi! I need you to come down to the new clock store right away!" She heard Luna say, and she felt like her voice echoed off the walls with how paranoid she was that Mamoru would hear.

Is there a volume button on this thing?! She wondered as she looked worriedly to the closed door.

"Why? What's going on?" She asked quietly.

"There might be youma activity. I've seen fights in the city where people are fighting and screaming, and all they can talk about is the time and how they're going to be late to their destination. All of them looking at their watches." Luna explained.

"What about the others?" Usagi asked quietly.

"Ami and Rei are both on their way already, and I'm here with the new senshi." Luna answered.

"New senshi?! Which one is she? Where did you find her?" She asked in quiet surprise.

"She is Sailor Jupiter, and I discovered her at your school. She is actually the new girl at your school." Luna answered.

"Oh wow!" Usagi whispered, ignoring the fact that Luna had been at her school that day. As long as she wasn't interrupting her time with her friends she didn't care.

"Why are you whispering and being quiet?" Luna asked.

"Because I'm at Mamoru's place." She answered quietly. "I had to go into his bathroom to answer your call, and I don't want him to hear me in here talking."

"Well, hurry up and get here. I'm starting to hear some screaming, and I'm worried about Jupiter being in there alone; especially since she isn't transformed." Luna said urgently.

"Where is the store?" Usagi asked, and listened to her give directions as best she could. "Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. Usagi out." She said before she pressed the button and ended the connection.

She sighed heavily and put her communicator in her pocket. She couldn't believe this was happening. She was going to have to run out on Mamoru because of a youma or a possible youma attack.

She hated it! She absolutely hated it!

What am I going to tell him? She wondered. I don't want to lie to him, but I can't tell him the truth. Ugh! Why is this happening?!

Usagi grabbed her bangs and pulled hard on them as her eyes teared up in frustration and worry. She just couldn't believe this was happening! This was her time with Mamoru!

This wasn't a date. She wouldn't fool herself into thinking it was, but it was her chance to sit close to him and nearly cuddle. Another opportunity to let him know her feelings hadn't changed and weren't going anywhere.

Now instead of that he might think she was ditching him, and she didn't even have an excuse to tell him!

And I have to go. Damn it! She cursed, which was rare for her.

Usagi released her bangs and took the opportunity to look in the mirror since she was in the bathroom, and could clearly see that she was on the verge of crying.

And if I can tell then Mamoru will definitely be able to since he's much more observant. She thought with a sigh before she turned away from the mirror and moved to leave the bathroom.

She opened the door and turned off the light before hesitantly stepping out. She could see Mamoru sitting on the couch with his back to her. She didn't want to face him, didn't want to have to tell him she was leaving, but she sucked up her courage and walked forward.

"Mamoru?" She said softly as she reached the area near the kitchen table, and watched him twist to look back her.

"What's wrong?" He asked instantly as he stood up and moved toward her.

"I..I have to leave." Usagi said sadly as she looked at him, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Why?" He asked with a small frown.

"I can't..can't tell you." She said in sad frustration as her tears finally escaped her eyes.

"Hey now." He said as he stepped toward her and stopped so she had to tilt her head to look up at him. "There's no need to cry. I understand. I've had to leave a situation without explanation a few times in the past."

"But I don't want to leave! I don't want you to think I want to leave!" She said quickly as she wiped her tears away.

"I don't think that." Mamoru assured her. "I can clearly see that you don't want to go, so it's okay. We'll just pick this back up tomorrow."

"Really?" She said as she wiped away more tears.

"Yes really." He said. "So no worries. You go do whatever you have to do, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." Usagi said as she nodded, feeling better. "You can go ahead and watch the movie without me." She said, and watched him shake his head.

"No. I'll wait for you. I know you like watching me see and experience new things." He said, and she grinned and nodded.

"Okay." She said, and then sighed. "I really have to go!" She said as she stepped toward the little hallway where her school bag rested.

She closed her bag and grabbed the handle in her hand and picked it up before she turned to Mamoru only to see he had followed her and was standing right behind her.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said hopefully, still a tiny bit worried he would be upset for running out on him.

"Yes. I'll be at the cafe waiting in our usual booth." He assured her before he moved around her and opened the door for her.

"Okay. Bye!" She said as she stepped through the doorway and out into the quiet hallway.

"Bye. Be safe." He said.

"I will." Usagi said before she waved and rushed down the hallway.

She reached the elevator and pressed the down button and waited as she looked up above it to the arrows to see when the one facing down would light up.

She wanted to look back to see if Mamoru was still in his doorway watching her, but she didn't want to be disappointed if he wasn't, and she didn't want to be distracted into hesitating to leave if he was.

At least I'll get to come back here tomorrow. She thought as she remembered back to the additions he had added since her first time visiting his apartment.

His black and gold radio CD player looked nice with his TV and his black DVD player, and she also liked the way he had everything set up. It was neatly arranged and all the electronics colors matched. It all just looked nice with the colors of his furniture in his living room.

Usagi was pulled out of her thoughts as she heard the elevator arrive. The doors opened and she stepped inside the empty conveyor and pressed the button for the ground floor. She avoided looking into the hallway as the doors closed since she still didn't want to know if Mamoru was at his doorway watching.

The elevator ride was quick and she stepped into the hallway and hurried through the large bright lobby and out of the building. She paused and looked both ways before she dashed off to her left down the sidewalk.

Only two blocks away from Mamoru's apartment building she found a spot she felt was good enough for her to use to transform.

She turned to her left and slipped behind a row of tall bushes that were acting like a fence but looked more like a wall. Behind it was actually a fairly wide space and then an actual wooden fence. She looked around to make sure she couldn't be seen, and when she was satisfied she reached up and touched her brooch.

"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" She said, and watched the piece of jewelry start to sparkle and glow.

Pink light surrounded her and she squinted her eyes at the brightness as she felt herself being lifted off the ground. She closed her eyes and relaxed as her transformation took place, and when she felt her feet touch the ground she opened her eyes to see herself dressed as the senshi of the Moon.

She took a steadying breath and jumped up on the low rooftop of the building next to her and took off running toward the new clock store.

~xXx~

Mamoru closed the door after watching Usagi hurry down the hallway toward the elevator and turned to head back into his living room.

I wonder why she had to leave so suddenly. He thought curiously as he went to his little entertainment area and took the DVD out of the player and turned it and the TV off.

She was clearly unhappy about it. He thought as he put the DVD back in its case, and placed it next to the TV. He had been able to see her tears as plain as day, and hear the sadness and frustration in her voice.

He could also admit in the privacy of his mind that he hadn't wanted her to leave either. He had been looking forward to watching the movie with her and seeing her expressions even as he knew she would be watching his expressions.

But like I told her I understand having to leave without explanation. I did it a number of times back at Hogwarts. He thought as he settled down on his couch, but that still didn't stop him from wondering why she had to leave after they had just arrived.

Did it have something to do with the beeping sound I heard? He wondered as he eyed his radio CD player, considering whether or not to listen to some music.

He hadn't been able to see what she had grabbed out of her bag, but he didn't think it was a cellphone since she had never mentioned having one. He was sure that if she did she would have given him the number already.

Mamoru sighed and got up and turned on his radio, the station already on one of the classical instrumental ones he had found before, before he went and opened the balcony door a little wider for Helios since his familiar was currently away from home.

So if it wasn't a cellphone then could it have been something to do with her being… He thought as he turned to head back to his couch, but stopped short as he flinched and sucked in a sharp breath as a piercing ache pulsed through his head.

Usagi! Her name entered his mind sharply. I need to get to her!

Clearly his interrupted thought was correct. She had left so suddenly because she needed to change into Sailor Moon and go fight a youma. That was the only possible reason because it hadn't even been ten minutes since she had left.

I need to become the masked man Tuxedo Kamen, so I can get to Usagi and help her. He thought as he visualized the black tuxedo and white mask of the masquerade-like outfit he wore every time he went to Usagi's aid.

Just like every time before he felt warmth and saw red gold-tinted light surrounding him. The bright light blocked his view and he closed his eyes, and when the light disappeared from behind his eyelids he opened his eyes to find himself dressed as was becoming familiar.

The full black tuxedo and matching dress shoes, white dress shirt, vest, bow tie, and gloves covered him. He could feel and see the black and red cape hanging from his shoulders, and he could also feel the white mask framing his eyes and the black top hat sitting on his head.

What an irritating part of this outfit. He thought with a huff as he shifted the hat on his head slightly. He could understand why it went with the outfit, but it really wasn't necessary.

Hmm… He hummed thoughtfully before he took the hat off and tossed it onto his couch with satisfaction.

Mamoru then turned his attention to where he was sensing Usagi. She was to his right, so he hurried over to his personal Apparition point and willed himself to a rooftop in that direction.

In the next moment he disappeared silently; leaving only soothing classical instrumental music playing softly through his apartment.

~xXx~

Screaming rang through the new clock store as people dodged flying clocks and ran away from a body heading their way.

Makoto cried out in exertion as she lifted the salesman over her head and tossed him on a nearby table when he tried to punch her in the face. Then she took a step back as one of the saleswomen she had pushed aside earlier came rushing at her.

She blocked the arm that was swinging a punch toward her and kicked the woman away before she spun around and punched the other saleswoman running toward her. The woman stumbled back and she kicked her in the stomach sending her tumbling backward onto the floor.

She looked around and saw all three of the people that had attacked her were struggling to get up, so she took the opportunity to look around and try to adjust to what had just happened.

The store was nearly empty with only a few people taking cover behind a shelf or stand and others still trying to get out the door.

Makoto could barely believe what was happening. She had no problem fighting. She liked to fight, was very good at it, but she only did it when it was necessary outside of practice. These people had just attacked her for touching one of the clocks!

This must have something to do with the youma Luna mentioned earlier. She thought as she looked around, trying to see if she could see anyone that stood out and could be this creature.

Instead she saw a sailor senshi come through the door. She was dressed just as she had been when she transformed, but her colors were blue and white.

Her hair is much too short to be Usagi, so she must be Ami. She thought as she stared at the senshi as she walked toward her. I think. She has to be, but I can't tell. She thought with a slight frown.

It should be obvious but it wasn't, and she guessed that was how people wouldn't be able to tell who they were when they were transformed. She thought she looked the same when she transformed and looked in the mirror, but that was probably because it was her transforming and she obviously knew what she looked like.

Sailor Mercury was surprised to enter the clock store and see her new friend Makoto standing there in the nearly empty store.

She's the new senshi! She thought in surprise as she walked toward her.

"Makoto." She said in greeting as she reached her.

"Hey..Ami?" Makoto said quietly, and she hummed in confirmation, pleased that she was quiet about it so no one else could hear and potentially identify her. "Should I transform?" She asked uncertainly.

"Um..I don't know. I've never been in a situation like this before." Sailor Mercury said hesitantly. "Has the youma made an appearance yet?" She asked.

"No. I was just attacked by these people struggling to get up just because I touched a clock." Makoto said. "Actually I opened one and saw that there was nothing inside to make it work even though it was working perfectly fine."

"Ah. Then they were probably being controlled by the youma, who is probably in disguise somewhere in here." Sailor Mercury said as she looked around.

"Then I should probably transform before it does appear." Makoto said, and Mercury nodded.

"Especially since there doesn't appear to be anyone that's normal and aware around anymore." Sailor Mercury said.

Makoto nodded and gestured with her hand as she focused on her transformation pen and watched it appear in her palm.

"Jupiter Power, Make Up!" She said as she held the pen up in front of her.

Instantly green light flashed and lightning began to stream out of the top of the pen. The lightning began to swirl around her and she was lifted off the floor in the next moment. She closed her eyes against the brightness of the lightning, and when the light cleared and she felt her feet touch down on the floor she opened her eyes.

She took in her appearance and saw that she looked just as she did before; including the addition of her decorative rose belt that could switch to a bracelet.

Sailor Mercury took in her appearance as well. Her lace up ankle boots, the pink and gold belt around her waist, and her rose blossom earrings. She looked just like the rest of them for the most part except her dominant color was green.

Only Sailor Venus is missing now. She thought.

"Let's do this!" Sailor Jupiter said.

Mercury nodded and the two senshi began to walk further into the store. They didn't get far before they came across a professional yet fashionable looking woman.

She had green eyes, brown wavy hair styled up, and her lips were a bright red. She wore a short skimpy red dress that stopped just above her knees, a thick black choker-like necklace with a golden jewel in it, gold matching earrings, and black high heels.

"Ah, more customers." She said casually, her tone pleasant, as if the once busy store was not deserted.

In the next moment they heard running footsteps and glanced back to see the three sales associates that had attacked Jupiter. They stopped a couple of feet behind them, and looked like they were ready to attack at any moment.

"Oh. I guess you are not customers." The woman said just as casually as before as she looked them over. "No, not with those outfits. Why don't you three show these ladies our hospitality for those disturbing our store's service?"

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury looked over their shoulder and then turned around entirely before they stepped back as the sales people began to approach them.

"I've never had to actually fight before." Mercury said worriedly. "The last time I was in a situation like this was just before I was awakened, and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen did the fighting."

I didn't think Usagi was the fighting type, Jupiter thought as she remembered the long haired girl she had met earlier that day. but then I know I don't look like a fighter either even with my height. And who is Tuxedo Kamen?

"Then it's time she get some practical experience." She said as she watched two women and a man approaching. "Just hit them and don't feel sorry about it. You don't have time for that since they're trying hurt you. And keep an eye on your surroundings since that woman is behind us and can try anything."

"Okay." Mercury said just as the people reached them.

One of the women moved toward her swinging her arms as if she was trying to grab hold of her and punch her at the same time, and she easily sidestepped whatever she was trying to do and kneed her in the stomach.

She took a step back and backhanded the woman hard across her face, then punched her in the face before kicking her hard in the chest sending her flying back to land on a glass counter that shattered beneath her.

Sailor Mercury was shocked at what she had just done. She didn't know she could do that, didn't think she was capable, but she guessed it was in her. She was a senshi so she must have had some fighting training in the past in order to be able to protect the Moon princess.

I guess it's like using my attack for the first time. I knew what to say and how to use it without being told, and this physical fighting is the same. She thought logically.

Sailor Jupiter blocked a sloppy punch from the man that stepped angrily toward her and punched him in the face before she elbowed the woman in the face that came at her from the side.

She quickly turned her attention back to the man and punched him again before kicking him hard in the stomach sending him falling back and sliding across the floor and crashing up against a tall display case.

The woman came back toward her and swung a punch at her. She blocked it and thrust her hands at the woman's chest to push her away before she swung a kick at her face sending her spinning away to crash against a display case before sliding to the floor.

Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter quickly looked back to the woman, who hadn't moved an inch, and watched as her eyes began to flicker and glow before her figure began to ripple.

No longer did she look like a regular woman; now she was pale skinned with big pointy ears, yellow eyes, thick long wavy purple hair trailing down her back, red line markings trailing over her eyes and down her cheeks, and a black five point star sat on her right cheek.

"Their failure is of no consequence. I have just the thing for you two." She said with a smirk before she raised her hand.

Clocks and watches all around the store rose up, lifting off their perches and off the walls, and into the air and began to hover.

"Feel free to take your pick. I have something for everyone." She added before she gestured with her hand.

The clocks began to fly toward the pair of senshi at rapid speed, and the youma smirked before she began to walk toward the massive grandfather clock behind her. They managed to see her open a portal at the bottom where the pendulum swung and disappear inside before the clocks reached them.

Sailor Jupiter saw this situation as more fighting so that's how she treated it. She punched and blocked and dodged the many different clocks and watches as quickly as she could, and hoped it came to an end sometime soon.

Sailor Mercury nearly panicked as she tried to dodge and block the clocks and watches from hitting her, but she wasn't having much luck. She was hit over and over and over again from nearly every angle. There were just too many of them. She couldn't even take the time to see how Jupiter was doing.

~xXx~

Sailor Mars raced down the sidewalk and turned a corner sharply onto the street where the store was supposed to be.

She was hurrying to get to the location where Luna said the youma activity was and where the new senshi was, but she was surprised at how fast she could run now that she was a senshi. She was also surprised that she could run in high heels the way she was; she was moving like she was wearing sneakers or flat shoes.

I don't know if I'll ever get used to this. She thought before she spotted Luna standing by a pole in front of what she realized was the clock store.

"Luna!" She called and watched her head turn toward her.

"Mars!" Luna said as she watched her running toward her before she slowed.

"Has anything happened yet?" Sailor Mars asked as she knelt at her side; surprised she could easily do that in high heels too.

"Something is happening in there. I think all of the customers came running out just after I contacted you. Sailor Mercury arrived not too long ago and went inside, but Sailor Moon hasn't arrived yet." Luna said.

"Alright. I'll head in now." She said before she stood up and stepped toward the doors.

Sailor Mars pulled open a door and took a couple of steps inside, and was immediately surrounded by flying time pieces; like she was in the eye of a storm of clocks. She looked around wildly as she took in this bizarre impossible predicament, but before she could do anything more she was hit square in the face with a round windup clock.

She cried out in pain and then again as she was hit in the back of the head, in her shoulder, in her stomach, on her knee, and in her back.

What is this?! She thought before she began to try and block and dodge the clocks as she moved further into the store to try to find her fellow senshi.

~xXx~

Sailor Moon ran hard down the sidewalk swerving and dodging around surprised and shocked people. She could hear their whispers and exclamations at the sight of her, but she ignored them as she continued on her way.

She'd already been running for nearly ten minutes, and was finally close to where she needed to be. She wondered what she would find when she got there. Would Mercury and Mars already be there? How was Makoto doing as Sailor Jupiter? Had the youma made an appearance yet? Were there people being controlled that she would have to fight? Would Tuxedo Kamen be there already?

Is Luna still there? She wondered. Not that it would matter since there's nothing she could do with her presence unless the last senshi happens to be there to be awakened.

Of course she highly doubted that would happen. That would be too much of a coincidence for two senshi to be awakened on the same day to deal with the same youma.

Sailor Venus. I wonder what she looks like and where she could possibly be. She thought as she rounded a corner, and instantly dodged a man in a business suit.

A few moments later she spotted Luna sitting near a pole in front of a store, and she took a closer look and realized it was the store she needed to be at.

"Sailor Moon!" Luna called to her, clearly having seen or heard her coming.

"Has anything happened? Are Mars and Mercury here yet?" Sailor Moon asked as she stopped and knelt down next to the black feline.

"Yes they are both inside with Jupiter, and there is indeed something happening in there." Luna answered. "Nearly everyone came running out before Mercury arrived, and I've been hearing noises inside."

"Alright; I'm headed in." Sailor Moon said before she stood up.

She took a steadying breath, already becoming worried about what was going on inside the store, and took a step toward the store entrance, but before she could do more a dark figure dropped down on her right side.

She jumped, her heart nearly racing, and looked over quickly to see Tuxedo Kamen straightening up to his full height.

---

"Oh! You scared me." Sailor Moon said as she put a hand to her chest.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention. It was just the fastest way to get down to you." Tuxedo Kamen said.

He had caught up to her within a couple of minutes of Apparating out of his apartment, and had followed her at a distance the entire way to this store front. Then he had waited until she finished speaking to that cat since he didn't want to cause her to deal with any problems since he knew the feline had issues with him.

It's a good thing I didn't catch up to her and travel with her like I have before. I doubt that cat would have kept quiet at seeing us arrive together. He thought.

Looking at the building now he saw that it was a clock store from all the clocks displayed in the windows and the name on the sign.

"You were headed in so let's go." He said as he looked to Usagi.

"Right!" Sailor Moon said with a firm nod.

The pair walked toward the entrance and Tuxedo Kamen opened the door for Sailor Moon. She stepped in and he followed her, however, they had only taken a couple of steps away from the door and were immediately surrounded by flying clocks and watches.

"Aah! What is this?!" Sailor Moon cried out as she raised her arms to cover her head as much as she could.

Tuxedo Kamen on the other hand reacted instantly. He grabbed Usagi's closest arm with one hand and gestured with his other hand as he pulled her to his side. He stepped back and pulled her with him toward the door as a single rose appeared between his fingers.

He unconsciously wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her tightly to him as he focused on gathering the right amount of magic for the spell he had in mind.

Protego horribilis. He thought quickly as he raised the rose above his head and swirled it in the air above the two of them uselessly since he was only using the flower to mask his use of wandless magic.

Sailor Moon nearly burrowed her face in Tuxedo Kamen's chest as she gripped the back of his jacket in one hand and rested the other on his chest beneath the gold pendant medal hanging from his neck.

She watched with one eye as he used his rose to do something that stopped the clocks from being able to reach them.

"What did you do?" She asked as she slowly pulled away from his chest.

"I put a protective barrier around us, so make sure you stay close to my side or you'll end up stepping out of it." Tuxedo Kamen answered as he lowered his rose.

"Alright." Sailor Moon said as she nodded, and felt his arm slip from her shoulders. "What is going on with these clocks?" She asked as she looked at the clock storm.

"It's likely the youma has revealed itself and is attacking someone." He replied as he looked at the clocks bouncing off his invisible barrier.

"That makes sense." She said as she nodded slowly. "I know the others are already here. We're the last to arrive, so they could be fighting already."

"Okay. Then let's go see what we can find." He said.

Sailor Moon nodded and they began to walk forward together. She made sure to stay at his side as she idly looked at the clocks slamming into and bouncing off the barrier around them. She didn't know how he did it, but she was glad she was with him. She didn't know how she would have dealt with the clocks by herself.

They turned a corner as they reached deeper into the store and paused at the sight of three senshi trying to avoid getting hit by the storm of clocks.

"I haven't seen the green one before." Tuxedo Kamen said quietly.

"Me either." Sailor Moon replied just as quietly. "She's new; Sailor Jupiter."

"Ah, okay." He replied as he nodded slowly. "I don't see anyone that could possibly be the youma, so I suggest we look for it since it'll be easier to deal with the creature and end the swarm of time devices than trying to join those girls in dealing with the clocks."

"True," She agreed. "and we should have a better chance being shielded by your barrier like we are."

With that the two bypassed the three senshi and moved further into the store as they looked for the youma.

Sailor Jupiter spotted another senshi and a masked man as she blocked and knocked clocks out of the air. She easily guessed that senshi was Sailor Moon, which meant she was Usagi, but she was clueless on who the masked man was since Luna hadn't mentioned him.

How are they not being hit by these clocks? She wondered as she smacked a pocket watch out of the air before it could hit her face.

She saw that they were headed toward the grandfather clock the youma had gone into, and she decided she wanted to be there if they found the female. She wanted to help and she wanted to fight her first youma not these clocks.

Looking around as best she could her eyes landed on Mercury and then Mars, and she decided to move toward Mercury since she knew her whereas she had yet to meet Mars.

"I'm going to follow Sailor Moon and that masked man with her since they're headed in the direction the youma went in." She told her when she reached her side. "Maybe you should take cover and try to find a way to stop these clocks; maybe Mars can help." She suggested.

"Right. Be careful, and tell Sailor Moon to be careful too." Sailor Mercury said before she glanced around and then dashed toward Mars.

Sailor Jupiter dashed in the opposite direction toward Sailor Moon and the masked man; blocking and hitting clocks out of the air when she couldn't dodge and even taking hits when she couldn't do either.

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen stopped in front of the massive grandfather clock and looked at the portal that was sitting wide open at floor level in front of them.

"Do we have to?" She asked as she stared at the blue and green swirling inside the portal.

"I don't see what choice we have." He answered. "This..portal is here so the youma must be inside, and in order to defeat it we'll have to go in after it."

"Then let's do it before I lose my nerve." She said.

Tuxedo Kamen nodded and they walked forward together and into the portal. The swirling colors were instantly disorienting, but they continued forward.

"I'm going to release the barrier but stay close. I don't want us to get separated in here." Tuxedo Kamen said.

"Alright." Sailor Moon said, squinting her eyes as she looked around.

He did just that, releasing the magic he had been holding to keep the barrier in place, as they walked. He released a slow breath and closed his eyes briefly against the swirling colors. They were making him nauseous, but oddly the more he stared the less he was affected.

In fact, the more he stared the more he could see a path in the swirling chaos. He didn't know why he could see it. A glance at Usagi told him she wasn't seeing it, and was looking rather nauseated herself.

"Sailor Moon!" They heard a feminine voice call from behind them.

They glanced back and saw Sailor Jupiter jogging towards them, so they paused to wait for her.

"Where are Mercury and Mars?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Still dealing with the flying clocks." Sailor Jupiter answered as she reached them. "I suggested Mercury take cover and try and find a way to stop them and get Mars to help her."

"That was a good idea." Sailor Moon said as she nodded. She glanced to Tuxedo Kamen but he remained silent as he kept his eyes on the lookout for the youma. "Have you seen the youma at all since you've been in the store?" She asked as she looked back to Jupiter.

"Yeah. She disappeared in here after she set those clocks on us." Sailor Jupiter said.

"Then we're on the right path." She said as she looked to Tuxedo Kamen, who nodded firmly in agreement. "Stay close." She told Jupiter as they continued walking.

Tuxedo Kamen guided them forward toward the path he could now see clearly sure that the youma was in that direction. Usagi walked at his side, and the new senshi walked at her side. All of them moving cautiously and keeping their eyes moving around to try and find the youma.

A few moments later they must have passed a certain point because white clock faces appeared among the blue and green swirls. Some showed only clock hands, some Roman numerals with the clock hands, and others showed actual numbers.

After a few minutes of silent tense walking they passed into a completely different area that had blue, black, red, and white colors swirling in a circle as far as they could see.

Sailor Moon breathed slowly as she walked. The swirling colors were making her sick, and on top of that she was starting to feel strange; groggy and lightheaded. She didn't know how she was going to fight like this, and was glad the youma hadn't appeared yet.

Ugh! I feel terrible; like I'm going to throw up and pass out at the same time. That would be gross and embarrassing. She thought as she pulled in a slow breath through her mouth.

She looked to Tuxedo Kamen and then to Sailor Jupiter to give herself a break from the swirling colors and frowned in confusion.

Are they getting taller? She wondered as she looked back and forth between them. No. I'm getting shorter; I'm shrinking! She realized abruptly with a gasp and reached out, speechless, to grab Tuxedo's arm but missed and latched onto his cape.

Tuxedo Kamen's eyes shifted to Usagi as he heard her gasp and felt a tug on his cape, and stopped abruptly at the sight of her getting smaller.

"Sailor Moon?!" Sailor Jupiter gasped in shock at seeing her new friend shrinking before her eyes.

They both stared as Sailor Moon grew smaller and smaller until she turned into a child. They knew she was a child and not just shorter because she almost immediately started making childish sounds instead of speaking words.

Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Jupiter shared a shocked and surprised look before they looked back to Sailor Moon. Her outfit had shrunk with her a little, enough that it hadn't fallen off her, but it looked like it was clearly too large for her little body now.

"Sailor Moon?" Sailor Jupiter said gently as she knelt down to her level. "Sailor Moon?" She called again when she was ignored, and reached out to touch her.

They watched as she pulled away with a slight cry and wrapped her arms around one of Tuxedo Kamen's legs.

This is definitely a situation I have never been in before. Tuxedo Kamen thought as he slowly knelt down as he moved her slightly away from his leg.

She looked up at him with big watery eyes and her long hair swaying behind her, which he thought was strange. He would have thought her hair would have gotten shorter as well since he doubted her hair had truly reached her knees when she was two.

"Come here." He said gently as he held his arms out, and watched as she rushed forward and slammed into his chest and wrapped her little arms around his neck as best she could.

"Well!" Sailor Jupiter said with a light huff before she stood up.

"Don't take it personally." Tuxedo Kamen said as he wrapped his arms around Usagi and lifted her as he stood up. "Some part of her likely feels I'm familiar, and that's probably because she's known me longer in these situations."

"That makes sense." Sailor Jupiter said as she nodded. "Now we really have to find the youma."

"Definitely." He agreed firmly, tightening his hold on Usagi so he didn't lose his grip on her if anything happens. "Let's keep going." He said, hoping neither of them would get turned into toddlers next.

They walked forward and he continued on the path he could still see even as he looked around for the youma and listened to Usagi's little voice in his ear. He even turned around to see if it was behind him.

There was no one the first time, but the second time he slowly turned around there was a female.

She had pale skin, yellow eyes, and big pointy ears. Her hair was long and wavy, and she had red line markings trailing over her eyes and down her cheeks and a black five point star sat on her right cheek. Beyond that she held a staff that looked like the long hand on a clock.

"Sailor Jupiter." He said seriously to make her aware that they were no longer alone.

Sailor Jupiter turned around and sucked in a sharp breath at seeing the youma standing at a distance from them holding a staff she hadn't had before.

Sailor Moon whimpered at the sight of the female and buried her little face against her protector's neck.

"I have you." Tuxedo Kamen said softly as he rubbed Usagi's back gently. He'd had to stop himself from saying her name as he comforted her. That certainly would have led to more distrust of him, maybe even from Usagi herself when she learned.

"Don't worry. I'll keep you safe." He added as he kept his eyes on the youma who stood calmly staring right back at them.

"I wondered when you would notice me." The female said with a smirk.

Sailor Jupiter immediately moved forward and stood between the youma and the masked man and Sailor Moon. It just made sense to her since he couldn't fight while holding Sailor Moon, and he couldn't put her down and risk the youma getting ahold of her.

Now how do I fight this female? She wondered since they were at a distance from each other so she couldn't fight physically, but then in the next moment she suddenly knew what to do.

She crossed her arms over her chest, unknown to her a thin lightning rod extending up from her tiara, and electricity began to crackle around her.

"Supreme Thunder!" She cried out as she threw her arms forward, and sent white lightning streaking through the air toward the female.

The youma sidestepped the lightning easily and Sailor Jupiter frowned. She was surprised she had been able to produce something like that, but irritated that the attack had not connected.

"My turn." The youma said before she raised her hand and sent a flash of light flaring from her palm at the fighter.

The light hit Sailor Jupiter and she thought nothing had happened, but when she went to move her arms and attack again she realized she couldn't. She couldn't move her arms, she couldn't move her legs, she couldn't move her head, she couldn't even blink her eyes!

Oh no! She thought in panic as she felt her stiff limbs. This can't be happening! How can I protect them if I can't move?! How is the masked man going to fight while holding Sailor Moon?!

"I hope you enjoy being frozen in time." The youma said before she laughed evilly.

Tuxedo Kamen watched all this silently yet intently. He had wanted to see not only what the new senshi could do, but more importantly what the youma could do.

He knew it could levitate objects, but there was nothing in this area for it to levitate. It could control their aging and open portals or at least one portal with disorienting and confusing layers, but that was all he knew.

Now judging by what happened to Usagi, what was happening to Sailor Jupiter, and with the youma's own words, the female could control time. He had never come across a person or individual that could control time or an aspect of it. Even a time turner could not change a person's age.

Well, it could age a person by minutes and days, but not reverse a person's age, and definitely nothing so dramatic as taking away years. He thought as he gently rubbed Usagi's trembling back.

Now how do I fight her, and especially while keeping Usagi safe? He wondered as he glanced to Sailor Jupiter before focusing on the youma. First I need to make sure I don't lose her; either from the youma trying to take her from me or because of my motions during the fighting.

With that he wandlessly cast the Sticking Charm on Usagi and stuck her to him to make sure they didn't get separated during the coming minutes. Then he focused on gathering the right amount of magic for the spell he wanted and tightened his grip on the flower still in his free hand.

Confringo. He thought as he willed the magic of the Blasting Curse into the flower.

"Now for you." The youma said as she turned her attention to the masked man and the child. "Or perhaps the child you're trying to protect. Or should I say the fighter turned child you're trying to protect." She amended with a smirk.

Tuxedo Kamen threw the fiery orange glowing red rose sharply toward the youma's chest, and instantly gestured with his hand and felt another rose appear between his fingers as he moved a little to the side out from behind Sailor Jupiter.

Confringo. He thought as he once again willed the magic of the Blasting Curse into the rose, and watched the previous rose fly through the air before he threw it.

The female quickly raised her free hand and a flash of light flared from her palm freezing the glowing rose in midair only a foot away from her, but the second rose slammed into the frozen rose and they exploded loudly blasting the youma back with a cry.

While the female creature was down he pulled out another rose and focused on the magic needed for an entirely different spell; not wanting to waste time and let the female recover to freeze him or turn him into a child.

Ebublio. He thought as he willed the magic for the jinx into the flower and watched it glow blue.

He threw it hard at the youma while it was getting up, and when it hit the magic spread from the flower and wrapped around the female and trapped it inside a large bubble.

The female looked around at the bubble it was in before she raised her staff and jabbed the pointy end up above her head only for it to bounce back and nearly slip from her hands.

Tuxedo Kamen nodded to himself at seeing the youma entrapped, and pulled out yet another rose as he quickly organized his thoughts and the sequence of spells he wanted to use to be rid of this creature.

Glacius. He thought as he willed the magic for the Freezing Spell into the flower and watched it glow blue.

He threw it hard at the youma and watched it fly through the air before it pierced the bubble, destroying it, and hit the female. The magic instantly spread, blowing her hair in a breeze, before she and her hair froze solid with ice surrounding her.

Now to finish the creature. He thought as he glanced down to Usagi as she shifted her head against his chest.

He decided right then to finish off the youma wandlessly instead of using his magic infused roses. He was behind Sailor Jupiter so she couldn't see him and Usagi's child self wasn't looking so there was no need to use his roses and he could act quicker this way.

Duro. He thought as he gestured with a hand toward the youma, and watched the female creature instantly turn to gray stone. This way he didn't have to worry about the creature somehow thawing out.

Bombarda. He thought fiercely as he gestured toward the youma with one hand and held Usagi's head to his chest with the other.

The youma's figure exploded dramatically as soon as the spell connected sending pieces of stone flying everywhere.

Sailor Jupiter suddenly cried out and he watched her lift her arms to cover her face and turn her back on the explosion. Clearly she had been freed from her frozen state at the youma's destruction, so he released the sticking charm from Usagi in preparation for her to return to her true size.

He was just in time too. As the area around them began to crack and crumble, like it was made of glass, she began to grow rapidly in his arms.

~xXx~

Sailor Mars dodged a cuckoo clock as she spotted Sailor Mercury heading for her, and she couldn't help wondering what was wrong or if something was happening. After all, she had spotted Sailor Moon arrive with Tuxedo Kamen, and saw that neither of them was having problems with the attacking clocks.

It must have been some kind of shield. I wonder if it was Sailor Moon's ability or Tuxedo Kamen. She thought as she ducked under a small grandfather clock and blocked a round wall clock.

"Let's take cover!" She heard Sailor Mercury call just before she reached her.

She looked around quickly and dashed down behind a counter, and a few moments later she was joined by Sailor Mercury.

"What's going on?" Sailor Mars asked.

"Sailor Jupiter went after Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen to confront the youma." Sailor Mercury said. "She suggested I take cover and try and figure out how to stop these clocks."

"That would be nice; especially if you can figure it out before we become too tired to deal with them." Sailor Mars said.

"True." Sailor Mercury agreed before she gestured with her hand, focusing on wanting her minicomputer, and watched the blue device appear in her palm.

She opened it and began to type on the tiny keyboard. She quickly located the store and began to try and find out what she could do about the attacking clocks. She detected both dark energy, that she assumed belonged to the youma, and a large amount of human energy.

The human energy was gathered inside the massive grandfather clock, which she guessed the youma was collecting from the sale of clocks and watches. However, there were also individual human energy signatures.

So the three that are not moving are likely the ones from the sales people we fought, and those other two a few feet away are me and Mars. She thought, and then frowned. But I don't see Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, Tuxedo Kamen, or the youma on here.

The portal must be masking their energy signatures, but I'm not even picking up the portal. Unless that's the dark energy I'm picking up. She wondered, and hummed lightly as she tried to isolate the dark energy.

A few minutes later and she had the signature isolated, and saw that it, like the gathered human energy, was coming from the grandfather clock.

And that's the only dark energy I'm picking up. The clocks flying around aren't even giving off anything, so that means we'd have to somehow destroy that grandfather clock to release the human energy or destroy the youma. She thought. That also means the youma likely needs to be destroyed to stop these clocks.

"Okay, so there's a ton of human energy gathered in that massive grandfather clock and that's where dark energy also is, which I gather is the youma's energy." Sailor Mercury reported. "The attacking clocks don't have energy signatures, so my best guess is that the youma likely has to be defeated to stop them."

"Ugh! Well, let's hope the others are having better luck then we are with these clocks." Sailor Mars said as she peeked out to see what was happening with the clocks, only to pull back sharply as a clock came flying at her face.

The two senshi hunkered down and Sailor Mercury put her minicomputer away as they waited and hoped their fellow senshi defeated the youma.

A few minutes later they were startled as the counter they were hiding behind began to disappear. They looked around and saw the display cases and actually the entire building disappearing as well.

"Do you think they defeated the youma?" Sailor Mercury asked as she watched the walls fade away.

"They must have for this to be happening." Sailor Mars said, and then gasped. "Look!" She exclaimed as she pointed.

Sailor Mercury looked in that direction and her eyes widened to see Sailor Jupiter standing with Tuxedo Kamen, and Sailor Moon seemingly growing while being held by him.

---

Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury stood up and hurried toward them, idly noticing the three sales associates lying collapsed on the ground.

"Sailor Moon!" Luna called as she rushed forward, seeing one of her charges being held by the questionable masked man as the building disappeared.

"Ugh! What happened?" Sailor Moon said as she leaned against Tuxedo Kamen.

"The youma turned you into a toddler." Tuxedo Kamen answered as he helped steady her as she finished growing to her normal height.

"Seriously?!" She said as she began to get her balance back.

"Yeah." Sailor Jupiter agreed with the masked man. "You shrunk down and looked like you were playing dress up. Too bad we didn't have a camera."

"Yeah I would've liked to see that." Sailor Moon said as she stood up straight.

"You're okay to stand on your own?" Tuxedo Kamen asked Usagi quietly.

"Yes." She answered as she nodded up at him. "I'm good thank you." She added.

"You're welcome." He replied before he pulled his hands away and stepped back.

"Are you okay?" Sailor Mercury said as she and Mars reached the small group.

"I'm fine. Just a bit disoriented." Sailor Moon assured her.

"What happened to you?" Sailor Mercury asked.

"She got turned into a toddler. She looked like she was around two years old." Sailor Jupiter answered.

"But you're okay?" Luna asked as she glanced suspiciously from Sailor Moon to the masked man standing back from them and back again.

"Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry." Sailor Moon said before she looked to Tuxedo Kamen. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

"I am. Thanks for asking." Tuxedo Kamen said. "I'm going to get going." He added as he looked around at the empty lot they stood in.

"Alright." She said as she nodded. "See you next time."

"Next time." He agreed before he turned and began to walk away.

"Is the youma gone?" Sailor Mars asked. She didn't see it, and the fact that the building and all the clocks had disappeared suggested it had in fact been defeated.

"Yeah it is." Sailor Jupiter answered. "That masked guy defeated it; froze it and turned it to stone, and then blew it to pieces! I saw the whole thing."

She may have been unable to move, but her eyes had not been affected. She had been able to see it all clearly. She thought it was interesting that he fought using roses, especially since each one seemed to do different things, but the last couple of things that happened to the youma confused her.

Well, not exactly confused me since it was pretty clear what happened, but how it happened confused me since there hadn't been any roses. She thought in bemusement as she looked to the masked man's back as he walked away.

"You two didn't fight?" Luna asked.

"I had apparently been turned into a toddler." Sailor Moon said with a shrug. "Before it happened I know the youma hadn't made its appearance."

"The masked guy was holding Sailor Moon, so I moved in front of them to put myself between them and the youma and managed to attack it once. It avoided the attack and somehow froze me so I couldn't move." Sailor Jupiter explained.

"So he defeated the youma on his own." Luna commented as she looked over to see Tuxedo Kamen disappear behind the front of the building next to them.

"Let's get out of here before anyone gets curious enough to approach us." Sailor Moon said seriously as she looked around. She could see that people were starting to notice them standing there along with the three unconscious people lying on the ground.

Luna and her fellow senshi nodded in agreement, and they all took off running in the same direction. Unconsciously planning to separate once they were all away from the immediate area.

~HPxXxMC~

Mamoru walked along silently as he made his way to his destination. It had only been twenty minutes since he finished his tutoring session with Motoki, and most of that time had been spent putting his materials away and then walking to where he was going.

He had Apparated as close as he could but since the place was public and wasn't a magical location he couldn't appear directly there. So he walked along the sidewalk, not seeing a single person in the quiet area, and eventually slowed to a stop once he reached the entrance.

He looked up at the sign that announced the place was a cemetery, and sighed before he stepped through and began to head for the spot where he had been told his birth parents were located. As he walked he noted that the cemetery was large, much more so than the graveyard where his adopted parents were laid to rest.

I guess that's because this one is in a large city, and the other is on the edge of small village. He thought quietly as he looked at the expanse of tombstones.

There was a concrete stairway with smooth metal railings leading up to a shrine, and stone walkways branching off at intervals between rows of tombstones.

Mamoru walked up the stairs and halfway to the top he stepped off and onto one of the branching walkways. He scanned the tombstones and stopped when he recognized the names on a large one near the end.

It was bright gray with a place holder on either side for flowers, and the script was in both English and Japanese. A thoughtful gesture since it would have been known before it was put up that he was being adopted, and would learn English as his primary language.

It was marked 'Chiba' in bold black kanji and in English capital letters right beneath. Below and to the left of the family name, in black kanji and English, was his father's name and birthdate and death date, and to the right, also in black kanji and English, was his mother's birthdate and death date. At the bottom of the stone it read 'beloved mother and father' in both English and kanji.

He stood staring at the tombstone, idly noting the differences between this grave and the grave of his adopted parents back in England.

Just like mom and dad. Their death date is on the same day, which isn't surprising given they both died in that car accident. He thought quietly.

Mamoru knelt down with a sigh and subtly and wandlessly put up a notice-me-not charm and a privacy charm around both him and the grave, so he wouldn't be noticed or heard.

He looked around and saw that the other graves nearby had flowers in those place holders, so he decided to do the same even if he didn't know the religious reason of why it was supposed to be done. He also didn't know if it mattered what type of flowers were used or not, so he chose to use flowers that meant something to him.

He wandlessly conjured up two small bouquets of red roses, and placed one in each place holder. Roses being what he used as Tuxedo Kamen, and being a flower he felt had some deeper meaning to him that he hadn't figured out yet. As well as being a flower with a soothing yet beautiful fragrance.

"Hello mother, father. I'm sorry it took so long for me to come see you, but I only recently learned where you were. Before that I was too preoccupied with getting settled, and having a routine in my life to even wonder where you were." He said, knowing they knew this was his first time coming to see them.

"You likely know already, but I found out your location from the lawyer you got before going to England." He continued. "I thought she was very nice and helpful, and I'm considering getting her as my lawyer as well. With my life the way it is I'm sure it'll be good for me to have one, and she already knows my early history and both my names so it makes sense." He said, and then sighed.

"I hope you like the flowers." He said, changing the subject. "I'm not sure if they're suitable for the occasion, but I wanted you to have them as a gift from me."

"My life is going well; at least as far as I can tell. I'm doing well in school and with my additional tutoring, and with my own personal studies. I've decided to be a Healer, which is the magical version of a doctor. Although, I'm not sure what type of Healer I want to be yet. I think that will come once I start Healer training; unless inspiration comes to me before then." Mamoru told his parents as he gazed at the grave marker.

"Um..I have two friends here, Usagi and Motoki, and they're great. I'm fine with just them since I'm more about the quality of my friends then the number." He said.

"Motoki is a wizard and he's the one tutoring me in the magical subjects I wanted to learn, and Usagi is non-magical but she has some type of power of her own considering her secret life. She's the one taking me around to experience different places and activities that I've never experienced before." He informed his birth parents.

"Motoki has also taken me to new places, and I've had fun with both of them, and appreciated the experiences and the fact that they were willing to take me." He added, and then looked around to make sure he was still alone despite his magical protections.

"I mentioned Usagi's secret life, and I'm sure you know I have a secret life now as well; my Tuxedo Kamen persona." He said when he was satisfied he was alone. "I'm still unhappy to be out fighting like I did with the Death Eaters, but I'm glad to be helping Usagi and making sure she's safe during the fights."

"I'm still clueless about why I now have this persona, and why it happened when it did. But I don't think it's a coincidence that it happened after I met Usagi, and she ended up also being part of this secret life." He said.

"Aside from that I'm still keeping in touch with my friends and pseudo family. Although, I recently parted ways with two of my close friends that I thought of as family." He admitted with a slight frown as he thought of Ron and Hermione, and the last time he saw them.

"It's not what I wanted, but it's a choice I had to make for my mental health. I can't keep people around me, treating me and talking to me anyway they want, just because we've been friends for years. I'm at a point in my life where I can no longer accept such behavior. Don't want to accept such behavior." He said seriously.

"People over there still treat me like a celebrity, at least when I look like the Harry Potter everyone recognizes. When I look like Chiba Mamoru no one recognizes me; I love that anonymity." He said with a wistful sigh.

"The only thing I worry about is losing that anonymity here in Japan. No one except a select few know that I'm Harry Potter, and despite what I told people back in England I'm worried about what'll happen if I decide to walk around as Harry Potter." Mamoru admitted.

"I don't think it'll be the chaos that happened back in England whenever I was in public, but I think my location could get back to England and reporters will come and try to hunt me down and see what I'm doing here." He said with a frown.

"They'll take pictures to put in articles in the Daily Prophet. Articles that would likely be full of lies since I know I wouldn't talk to them for interviews or random questions wherever they happened to find me." He added.

"I honestly don't know when I'll feel comfortable enough to try walking around as Harry Potter here, or if there's even a need to. I suppose I'll have to decide which one it is."

"Although, already I'm leaning toward there really being no need to go around as Harry Potter here. I'm Chiba Mamoru here, and only people who I want to know or who need to know will know in time." He said.

That actually brought to mind if he would ever let it be known to the public at large back in England that he was adopted, and what his actual physical appearance was. He wasn't sure if he would want to or if that would ever be necessary.

He could imagine the chaos that revelation would bring. Shock and surprise. The Daily Prophet digging up every detail they could find out, people wondering if he was actually a Potter despite the official records, who his birth parents had been, and finding out that he was Japanese.

I can imagine that leading to them finding out that I'm living in Japan. Unless official people here keep that type of information locked down. He thought as he tilted his head slightly.

Mamoru sighed and looked around a little before returning his gaze to the tombstone.

"Over all everything is going well with me. The issues I had from the way I grew up, my time at Hogwarts, and from the war are all almost gone. My last nightmare was the last time I was back in England, and before that it had been some time. Aside from that I'm mostly at peace and content with my life." He said.

"I'm working on expanding my education, I have a career plan in mind, I have my friends, I have my pseudo family, I never have to see, deal with, or even think of the Dursleys again, and I have my own home." He continued.

"I miss being able to see the Weasley's and my friends back in England whenever I want, and I definitely miss Ginny, but I'm okay. I can write to them and go back to visit, and I'm learning to live with not having the life I had hoped to have with Ginny." Mamoru said with solemn thoughtfulness.

"So I'm okay, and getting better every day." He said with a nod, sure of that with all the therapy sessions he had been through so far.

~xXx~

Meanwhile, as Mamoru was visiting with his birth parents Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Luna were having a meeting to inform Makoto about everything she needed to know about now that she had been awakened as the senshi of Jupiter. Plus, officially introduce her to Rei.

As Luna talked, being the one to have awakened Makoto and knew what needed to be said, Rei listened with everyone else, but part of her was remembering and comparing it to what had been said after she had been awakened as Sailor Mars.

~xXx~

"So that really happened? This is really happening?" Rei said as they settled in her bedroom after their dash from the street and away from the stranded buses near her shrine.

"Yeah it is." Usagi said, and Ami nodded in agreement.

"I'm actually Sailor Mars." Rei said as she looked at the girls who looked her age now that they weren't transformed; were even wearing school uniforms.

"You are indeed Sailor Mars." Luna said seriously.

"So what's your name?" Usagi asked. "I'm Tsukino Usagi." She added, introducing herself.

"I'm Mizuno Ami." Ami said.

"I'm Hino Rei." Rei answered.

"And I am Luna." Luna added. "Do you recall what I told you on the bus before you transformed?" She asked, getting the meeting started.

"Yes. You said that being Sailor Mars was a serious important responsibility, and that I'm the only one that can be Sailor Mars. The three of us would have to find the other senshi, and I would be helping to fight the creatures like the one from the bus." Rei said as she remembered back to that moment.

"Beyond that you said that there was more to be said but there was no time right then." She added.

"Correct, and now is that time." Luna said seriously.

"It's also the time to ask whatever questions you have." Usagi added just as seriously, and the new senshi nodded.

"Okay well, how did you know I was Sailor Mars?" Rei asked the black cat.

"I saw the symbol for Mars glowing on your forehead." Luna answered.

"Alright. I'm Sailor Mars, but what does that mean? What are we?" She asked as she looked around at Luna and her fellow senshi.

"You all are Sailor Senshi." Luna answered. "A sailor senshi is a female warrior charged with the duty to protect and support the Moon Princess."

"Moon Princess?!" Rei said with slightly wide eyes. "I've never heard of such a royal. Who is she?"

"The Moon Princess was the heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom back in the Silver Millennium. She was also next in line, after her Queen mother, to wield and guard the imperial silver crystal, which was a very powerful object that could only be used correctly by the royal moon line." Luna answered.

"Because of her status as heiress and future wielder of the silver crystal she was given five guardian senshi to protect her during her life; Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus." She explained.

"Silver Millennium? When was that?" Rei asked in confusion.

"I haven't recalled all of my memories yet so I can't be sure, but I believe it to have been around one thousand to two thousand years ago. Possibly even further back." Luna answered.

Rei nodded. If it was that far back then it made sense why she had never heard of it before. It was so long ago that no one knew of it; except Luna apparently.

"So we're all reincarnated." She said thoughtfully.

"Yes." Luna answered. "You, me, Usagi, Ami, Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon Princess. All of us."

Rei nodded, deciding to think about that fact later.

"So the next senshi to be found are Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter? Could Sailor Venus be the Sailor V that's so popular?" She asked.

"Yes those are the next two senshi that need to be found and awakened." Luna answered. "As for Sailor V possibly being Sailor Venus, I don't know. I would have to see her in person to be able to tell one way or the other."

"How are we supposed to find them?" Rei asked.

"Either Luna will have to see them like she did with all of us or we'll have to go by our returning memories if we start to remember the past, and happen to look as we did in the past." Usagi said.

"If you are suspicious that a girl or young woman you know or meet could be either Jupiter or Venus then bring that to me, so I can check them out and either confirm or deny it." Luna added, and Rei nodded.

"And we have to find the Moon Princess or will she find us?" She asked.

"You will have to find her." Luna answered. "Although, I suppose it is possible that she could find us, it would certainly be nice and convenient, but in the meantime we cannot very well wait for her to show up."

"Okay, so our job as Senshi is to find and guard this Moon Princess, find the last two senshi, and fight the creatures attacking people." Rei listed to make sure she understood.

"Yes that is your duty." Luna confirmed. "The creatures are called youma, and they are collecting people's life energy. You have to fight them and stop them from doing that, because it's wrong and can be deadly to their victims; of which could very well be the princess if she is not found soon."

"Beyond that danger the princess is further endangered because she is the only one that can guard the silver crystal, and if she, and especially the silver crystal, fall into the wrong hands it would be a disaster." She continued seriously.

"So the silver crystal is around too." Rei said, realizing from Luna's words that it indeed was. She wondered how that had happened; if it was sent when they were reincarnated or came on its own since it was 'very powerful'.

"Yes." Luna answered.

"Will we have to find it?" Rei asked.

"Yes if it is not with the princess." Luna said firmly.

"How are we supposed to find the princess?" She asked.

"You and the others will have to search for her." Luna answered.

Rei frowned, but before she could say anything one of the girls spoke up.

"We'll have a better chance after we find Venus and Jupiter." Usagi said. "Luna mentioned before that since we're all here in Tokyo the princess hopefully will be as well. The other senshi too. It just makes sense that we would all be gathered in the same area; especially the area where all the attacks are happening."

"So there will be no need to search the whole planet." Ami added.

"I understand." Rei said as she nodded. "What's your role in all this if we're to be these warriors?" She asked the black feline.

"I am to be an advisor and guide to the Sailor Senshi, and when the princess is found I will be her personal guardian and advisor." Luna answered.

"Okay." Rei said as she nodded. "Um…who's the masked man that was at the fight?" She asked.

"His name is Tuxedo Kamen." Usagi answered. "He's been helping during youma attacks since my first fight. He's been at every single one so far; he just seems to know when to show up in time to help."

"We don't know what his motives are, which concern me very much, so I would prefer you all be careful around him." Luna added firmly.

"Okay." Rei said slowly, deciding to watch the masked man carefully next time she saw him. "Do you know who's sending out the youma?"

"One of the previous youma we fought said that their duty was to fill the minds of their victims with the knowledge of how to be subservient and obedient to the Dark Kingdom, and this last youma said her master was someone named Jadeite." Usagi answered.

"I assume from those facts that the youma was sent out by this Jadeite person, and they're both part of this Dark Kingdom organization." She said.

~xXx~

Rei blinked out of her memory and focused back on the present. Makoto had so far asked many of the same questions she had, and the same answers had been given. Nothing more and nothing less.

"So we were reincarnated." Makoto said as she looked around at everyone, and everyone nodded.

"Yes." Luna said.

"Did we live on the Moon since our duty was to guard the princess there?" She asked.

"We all lived on the Moon with the princess." Luna answered. "However, you were actually born and lived on the planet you are senshi of during your childhood."

"That makes sense." Makoto said, wondering what it was like to live on the planet Jupiter. "Will we actually start to remember the past? Has anyone remembered anything yet?"

"I haven't." Usagi said, not too concerned about that since she was focused on what was happening in her life in the here and now.

"I haven't either." Rei said, and Ami just shook her head in the negative.

"Hopefully you will all remember." Luna said. "It would make finding the last guardian senshi and princess easier if you recalled the women. Although, I don't know if that would work when it comes to physical appearances since I don't yet recall if you look as you did in the past."

"Are there any senshi of the other planets, and if there are will we have to find them too?" Makoto asked curiously.

"I don't yet recall if there were senshi of Pluto, Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune, although I imagine there probably were, but I don't get the sense that there was a senshi for the Earth." Luna answered.

"And no, you will not have to find those other senshi since they were not guardian senshi to the princess." She continued.

"Do you have any more questions?" Luna asked after a few moments of silence.

"No. I can't think of anything right now." Makoto said.

"In that case I have something for you." Luna said before she jumped up into the air.

She did a backflip, causing a slight flash of light, and landed back on the floor and caught a pink item in her mouth.

"This is your communicator." She said after she put the device down and pushed it toward the young woman with a paw. "You can use it to talk about Senshi related topics and arrange in person meetings to talk about the same with your fellow senshi."

Makoto picked up the little pink device and turned it this way and that way as she looked it over. It looked like a simple tiny calculator with its flat rectangular shape and the arrangement of the buttons, but she liked the color.

"Thanks." She said as she put it down.

"You are welcome." Luna said before she looked to Usagi. "I also have something for you."

Usagi blinked in surprise and watched as she jumped up again and back flipped. There was another flash of light and she landed back on the floor before she caught something slightly long in her mouth. She stepped over to her and dropped the item in her hand as she reached for it.

"This is the Crescent Moon Wand." Luna announced as she stepped back and sat down. "I sensed that now is the time to give it to you. Incidentally I also remembered it now. It will help find the silver crystal, which will hopefully lead us to the Moon Princess; if not it will help to find her."

Usagi lifted the wand and looked at it more closely. It was, in essentials, a large crescent moon sitting on top of a stick.

The crescent was light blue and looked almost as if it was glowing with a sparkle inside it, and the stick was pink with gold assents at the top and bottom. On the stick just beneath the crescent was a dark pink round faceted gem inside a gold circle, and around it were four tiny gems; red at the top, blue at the bottom, green to the left, and yellow to the right.

"How do I use it?" She asked as she lowered the wand to her lap.

"I do not know. Only you will know how to use it when it is time." Luna answered.

Usagi raised a surprised eyebrow, and hummed thoughtfully to hide her skepticism. She hadn't even known how to use her tiara without Luna telling her, so she didn't see how she would know how to use this wand. She didn't seem to have any instincts to rely on as far as she could tell, so she was at a loss as to how she was going to be able to use it for its purpose.

At this rate who knows when the silver crystal or the Moon Princess will be found. She thought as she held in a sigh.

"Alright. I'll let you all know if I find anything if you're not with me when it happens." She said, and everyone nodded.

"Now then, I would like to move on to something that has been worrying me concerning you Usagi." Luna said, and she blinked in surprise.

"Like what?" Usagi asked. What could possibly concern her? I don't do anything. I spend most of my time with either Naru or Mamoru, and when I'm not with either of them I'm at home. She thought.

"I believe you should start distancing yourself from your friend Naru." Luna said seriously. "That way she won't end up getting hurt because of your friendship. After all, she's already been attacked once."

"That had nothing to do with me. I wasn't even a senshi yet!" Usagi pointed out.

"Regardless, it would still be for the best." Ami said, agreeing with the feline advisor. "I think you should also start spending less time with Mamoru." She suggested.

"I like that you're getting help with your English and you shouldn't stop that, but you don't have to spend time with him afterward. That's risking your secret being discovered just like continuing being friends with Naru is." She said seriously.

Makoto and Rei raised their eyebrows at Ami's words. Rei for her part didn't know Naru since she hadn't had a chance to be introduced to her yet, but she thought it was strange that Ami and Luna wanted Usagi to pretty much end her friendship with the girl.

Makoto was surprised; mostly with Ami since it sounded like something Luna would suggest as an advisor. She had met both Ami and Naru at the same time, and Naru had been just as kind and welcoming as Usagi had. Ami had seemed to get along well with her, so she didn't understand why she would want Usagi to start pulling away from her.

Does that mean I have to too? She wondered with a slight frown.

Usagi didn't like their words. Naru wasn't going to get hurt just from being her friend. If she got caught up in a youma attack again it would be for the same reason anyone did; because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And she'd known Mamoru since day one of being a senshi and he didn't know. She definitely wasn't going to stop spending time with him, and it was her business who she allowed to know about her secret anyway!

"I wanted you to know about Ron and Hermione in case you ever found yourself in a similar situation. Don't let peer pressure or just the fact that someone is your friend make you act differently than you feel you should."

"Accepting advice is all fine and good, but don't let them tell you what to do if it's something you truly don't want to or feel you need to do. I'd rather you skip that bit of angst." Mamoru's advice passed through her mind as she remembered him telling her why he had ended his friendship with his two former closest friends.

His advice was definitely applying to this moment. Ami was still a new friend and Luna was just a live in advisor in regards to her senshi life, but she wasn't going to let them try to start telling her what to do based on their own opinions of right and wrong.

Especially since I don't agree. She thought.

"I'm not going to pull away from Naru and Mamoru just because I'm a senshi." Usagi said firmly. "Naru is my best friend, has been since we were little kids, and Mamoru is a good guy who has become a good friend, not just my tutor."

"The way you two are talking I would have to pull away from my family as well if you actually believed your own words. I'm not going to do that, and I'm not going to distance myself from Naru and Mamoru or any new friends I make. I am not going to isolate myself and be friendless." She continued strongly.

"If you want to do that, that's your business. Although, I highly discourage it." She told Ami. "Still, you can feel free to distance yourself from Naru now that you have Makoto to spend your lunch time with."

"I'll come up with an excuse to tell my friend about why you no longer come around her or speak to her; especially after I went through the effort of introducing you to my best friend when you were friendless and lonely during the lunch hour." She continued.

"I kind of regret introducing you to Naru. It's like you used my friend, and then discarded her when you felt she was no longer needed." Usagi said with a frown.

Ami could only blush deeply, speechless, at her words, and the looks Rei and Makoto were giving her.

Luna, for her part, seriously took in Usagi's words, and found she did have some good points. If she needed to not be close to people outside her fellow senshi then she would have to distance herself from her family.

She didn't want that for Usagi or the other girls, and she thought it would be hard to do anyway. It was not as if she could move out and away from them.

She also didn't particularly want Usagi and the girls to be friendless; at least outside of their fellow senshi. She worried about their friends and family finding out their secret and being hurt, but Usagi saying she would not isolate herself had struck her. She didn't want that for the girls, and she couldn't expect them to change their lives like that.

"You're right about having to distance yourself from your family if you had to do it with your friends. I can't expect you to do that, and I don't want you to do that." Luna said to Usagi. "I don't want any of you to isolate yourselves as Usagi said. I'm simply worried about the people close to you getting hurt or finding out your secret."

"I understand your concern Luna, but this isn't the past." Usagi said. "I don't remember it yet, but I think we must have had an easier time with being senshi then. Now we have lives that don't revolve around a single person we're supposed to protect, and we can't possibly change that without actually creating suspicion."

"Usagi's right." Makoto said, speaking up for the first time since this topic started. "We do have lives that can't just revolve around guarding the Moon Princess, and even if we wanted to be that way we can't. It just isn't possible at this point in our lives, and even later on when we're older it likely won't be possible."

"Just like Rei goes to a different school than the rest of us the princess could go to a different school than all of us. That would be a long seven or eight hours without protection, and outside of that we would have to explain to her friends and family who we are to suddenly be in her life and hanging around all the time." She continued.

"And when we're older we'll have to work to support ourselves and obviously won't be able to guard her during those hours." She added, and the other girls nodded in agreement.

"She's right. Both her and Usagi are right." Rei said. "Realistically we're going to have to really discuss how we're going to protect the princess once she's found. I imagine the princess' age will also factor into that."

"Yes." Usagi agreed. "We've touched on that topic before. I think at this point we're generally assuming she'll be our age, but realistically she could be older than us or younger. She could be working right now or be a little kid just starting school. We don't know."

Rei, Makoto, and Ami nodded in agreement.

"That is true." Luna agreed herself. "Perhaps you'll have to come up with a protection plan for different age ranges just so you're all ready. It would also be preferable to have the plan ready before she is found, so you should start thinking about it."

The girls all nodded thoughtfully.

"Something else you should know Makoto, but that all of you should hear again, is that you all should be wary of Tuxedo Kamen. He could be an enemy." Luna said, changing the subject. "He hasn't done anything that I have seen that would make me think he could be after the princess, but I'm still concerned about his appearances at fight scenes."

"Not to mention I worry about his motives. Who is he? How does he know where fight scenes are? Why is he helping?" She listed her concerns.

"Keep these questions in mind when you see him, and be on the lookout for anything that can be seen as a danger to yourselves or the princess." She cautioned them.

Makoto, Ami, and Rei nodded as they agreed.

"I'll be careful, but I see no reason to be wary of him. He hasn't given me a reason to be." Usagi said.

"Really Usagi." Luna said in exasperation as she shook her head. "I think you're being a little naive about the masked man."

"I don't think so. I agreed to be careful, but I see no reason to be wary of him." Usagi countered. "And I caution you all not to take too heavy a hand so-to-speak in being wary or starting to think of him as an enemy too soon." She added as she looked to her fellow senshi.

"I had this conversation with Luna directly after my first fight when we first encountered him. Luna hadn't remembered anyone with his name or appearance, and so far she still hasn't since she hasn't said anything yet." She continued.

"In fact, I know Luna hasn't remembered what any of us looked like in the past since she's never said anything before or after any of us was awakened. And that includes what the princess looked like." She said. "She's even said so herself."

"Tuxedo Kamen could have been in the past with us. After all, it couldn't have only been us, you know the Guardian Senshi, the princess, and Luna that were reincarnated on the Earth. What if he's actually someone close to the princess?" She pointed out.

"What if we did end up treating him like an enemy? What if when we find the princess she sees that, and wants to know what we're doing with someone she's close to? I don't want to be the one to explain the flimsy reason for our behavior with zero evidence." Usagi said as she shook her head.

Ami, Makoto, and Rei exchanged thoughtful looks as they considered Usagi's words. She did have some good points. Luna didn't remember what anyone looked like in the past or that anyone other than the princess, the Guardian Senshi, the Moon Queen, and herself were in the past.

They guessed it was right to be careful of him since they knew nothing of him other than that he showed up to fights and helped defeat the youma before leaving, but being wary suggested he was dangerous to them without having seen evidence of it. Sure he was dangerous in a fight with youma, they had seen that with their own eyes, but so were they.

"And let's not forget that he could very well think the same thing of us. He has no idea who we are, what our motives are, or how we know where youma attacks are." Usagi pointed out.

"Then again it could also be the reverse. Maybe he does know. Maybe he was in the past and he remembers it, and he's not saying anything because it's clear that we don't remember." She said.

"She has a point." Rei said.

"A number of good points." Ami said as she nodded. "We don't know anything about him just as he doesn't know anything about us, so we should be careful and watchful but nothing more without cause."

"That sounds reasonable." Makoto said. "I definitely don't want to judge anyone without there being a reason. I know what that's like."

"Very well. Have it your way." Luna said with a heavy sigh. "I agree that it is possible he could have been in the past with us, and that he could very well remember that past. It's also possible that he has a connection to the princess just as we do."

"I suppose that if he doesn't know anything about us than it's a good thing he's also likely taking the wait and see route since he's had plenty of chances to hurt you; and even me." She said as she vividly recalled being caught in his arms when she fell from Usagi's shoulder as she jumped onto a bus.

---

(1) How Do I Say by: Usher
(2) If I Want To by: Usher
(3) Kiss from a Rose by: Seal
(4) The Prayer by: Josh Groban & Charlotte Church
(5) From This Moment On by: Shania Twain
*Irasuto Shashin satsuei: Illustration Photography
*Tokyo Shiren: Tokyo Siren
*Ōra: Aura