Very far away from the place where the two superheroes were currently intensely busy looking at and evaluating their previous relationship with each other from a completely new perspective, in a throne room provided with sparse light, the blush of anger was literally written on the face of a certain evil majesty.

Zoisite!" growled Queen Beryl most angrily, while sitting on her throne she looked down contemptuously with her deep red, devilish eyes on the blond general before her, "You told me that you got the missing rainbow crystals from Tuxedo Mask. How is it that, as before, no Imperium Silver Crystal has come from it?!"

"Your Majesty," the blonde general bowed deeply to the red-haired queen of the Dark Kingdom, her sharp fangs now flashing fearfully from the corners of her mouth. Zoisite heard a nervous whispering from the soulless figures around him, who were already beginning to openly speculate about his approaching fate "It is true, I have been able to get the missing shards of the Rainbow Crystal from Tuxedo Mask in the Starlight Tower, and from each of them all of the legendary seven monsters have also been removed. I saw it with my own eyes, I can assure you. There must be something I haven't thought of yet to get the Imperium Silver Crystal out of the shards. I am working flat out on a plan to do this. Please... grant me some more time."

The general was in despair.

How could it be that the colored crystals did not combine to form the Imperium Silver Crystal? He had tried many different constellations, had thrown them all together high in the air, had stacked them on top of each other, had even tried to enrich them with dark energy and used the Black Crystal to bond it to the shards like glue.

Nothing. Absolutely no reaction. Not even a little glow or anything magical like that. It almost looked like they were completely useless, cheap glass stones. When he had been able to take the missing shards from Mamoru with the help of Kunzite in the Starlight Tower, he was so sure that he would immediately create the Imperium is Silver Crystal from it. As the flames he sent down to the elevator mercilessly hit their target, he clapped his hands in triumph and hurried confident of victory directly over to the side room where Kunzite had stored the crystals.

All seven of them lay flawless and sparkling, bedded on a purple velvet cushion and glowing in every color imaginable ... but that was it. For over two days they had been lying there doing absolutely nothing. Zoisite was almost going insane as he tried everything to form the Imperium Silver Crystal from them. Although he was aware that it would only be a postponement of his inevitable punishment, he tried to sound out Queen Beryl's mercy by promising her a new plan.

Whatever it would be.

The evil queen scowled at Zoisite, but finally nodded curtly and punctuated her voice with an unmistakably angry, warning tone

"You know this will be the last chance I grant you, Zoisite."

"Yes, Queen Beryl, I know that. I am very much aware of it and am exceedingly grateful to you that you still have faith in me. I will not fail you."

After another deep bow, Zoisite turned and left the dark throne room.

Lord Kunzite was already waiting for him in his chambers.

"Zoisite, I am sure that the Sailor soldiers can help you and will hand over the key immediately, if you only ask them kindly enough." A devilish grin settled on his lips. "I can easily arrange a meeting with them so you can get what you want from those pesky brats." The general took a step closer to Zoisite and gently stroked his cheek. "I will not let you fail."

Zoisite knew all too well that this would be his last chance to avoid the same fate that had befallen one of his predecessors, Jedite, only a short time ago. Queen Beryl was certainly merciless when someone did not meet her standards. Compared to Jedite, however, Zoisite was close to designing the most powerful weapon in the entire galaxy. That might also be why the Queen of the Dark Kingdom still showed some patience with him.

If only he had a clue how to solve this mystery of the Imperium Silver Crystal? As ironic as it might sound, the Sailor warriors actually seemed to be his last hope to be able to fulfill his mission after all. He would make them suffer and finish off those stupid brats the same way he had done to Tuxedo Mask and that little blonde, clumsy girl in the Starlight Tower who had been standing next to him in the elevator...

'Wait a sec... Clumsy little blonde girl?!'

Before Zoisite could continue his thought of who could possibly be hiding behind this suspicious teenager, however, the white-haired general had once again embraced his face and looked into his green eyes with a deep, possessive love. Quickly, Zoisite decided to discard the vague feeling he just felt about Tuxedo Masks' possible fate, because all of a sudden a completely different concern came over him.

"Lord Kunzite," he sighed deeply, confessing with an anxious look to him, "the most I am afraid of is losing you. Whatever is to come, I want you to know that I am doing all this for you."

The white-haired general then pulled him right into an intimate embrace. He held him that tightly as he murmured softly into Zoisite's blonde hair,

"Be sure... we will make it and get the Imperium Silver Crystal... And then we will finish off those little girls!"

...

A single ray of sunlight shone through the snow-white curtains from her window, lightly tickling the tip of the young superheroine's nose as she lay snuggled up in her bed, snoring blissfully to herself.

Awakened by the pleasantly warm greeting of the early morning, Usagi opened her eyes slightly drowsy. Yawning heartily, the blonde girl sat up and after stretching extensively, she finally looked around her room in a half-dreamy manner.

The purple floor cushion next to her bed was empty. The owner of this extravagant place, Luna, seemed to be out early that day. A certain relief spread through Usagi because of the absence of her talking pet. She was really glad that she didn't have to tell her magical little cat another lie today. When Luna came back home late last night, Usagi had already been half asleep for a long time. Therefore, she remembered only dimly how Luna had whispered in her ear that she would be not in today and therefore quite busy. With what exactly, however, she had not mentioned. This information came back to Usagi's mind while she got up from her bed and started to get ready for today.

Luna's absence clearly played into the middle school girl's cards. The fewer lies she had to tell in her life, the better she could live with those that already existed in her life. Because without question, another lie would have been due today.

But this way, she had the opportunity to calmly prepare for her upcoming date.

Ohhh yes, her date with him! Usagi was still a little surprised that Mamoru Chiba himself had actually asked her out on a real date when they were in the park together yesterday. At first, it had perhaps been a bit of a strange feeling for her to suddenly feel such a bond with her former nemesis, but slowly Usagi realized that she was starting to really like the jerk. Already a little more than like. He really could be quite nice (and sexy, hot, cool, handsome, funny, sweet, and perfect!) when he wanted to be. Plus, he was Tuxedo Mask! Whereas his alter ego wasn't really decisive for all those milions of tons of butterflies that started fluttering like crazy around in her stomach as soon as she even thought about him. So much had changed in this short time. Even her insecurity about Rei was blown away after Mamoru had assured her with his inimitable manner that the term "steady girlfriend" was completely unoccupied in his life.

Still!

Usagi couldn't deny that these new feelings in her for Mamoru would most likely hurt Rei, but hadn't it hurt her just as much back then when Rei felt she had to go to the park with Mamoru and hook him as a boyfriend? Even though she never would have admitted it back then, especially not in front of Luna, but a fair amount of jealousy played into that whole time with Usagi whenever Rei started mentioning anything about Mamoru. He was, after all, HER baka. From the very beginning. And it had been him alone who had asked her for a date today!

But before she could start to imagine the possible course of her today's rendezvous en detail in her pretty head, she first had to make a weighty decision; What the heck should she wear on her first date with Mamoru?!

The answer came right after she had finished showering and was standing in her room in front of the white built-in closet, dressed in a towel... hadn't she dressed up for a date with her long-term crush when she had received a love letter from Tuxedo Mask? This situation now was quite comparable to the "date" back then, except for the teeny tiny detail that Nephrite had written that love letter on behalf of Tuxedo Mask back then, and he had sent that invitation for a date to pretty much every girl who lived in Tokyo and was more or less Usagi's age.

Anyway, she had put together a pretty fancy outfit back then and immediately got even more butterflies in her stomach when she pulled out the short, pink-green dress from her closet and quickly slipped it on.

For a moment, Usagi furrowed her brow and pondered over the upcoming meeting, which she was looking forward to more than anything else. Somehow, today was a very little bit of a date with her long-term crush Tuxedo Mask, wasn't it?

"Mhm... so I don't exactly look like Sailor Moon, but... Yeah, he'll like it."

Full of confidence, she spoke gleefully to herself as she happily gazed at her reflection in the mirror, squealing as she spun around.

"Anything else? Ohhh yeah right, mom's perfume that smells like roses...and a matching lipstick to go with the blouse should make the outfit perfect."

Usagi was just about to lose herself in her daydream with a perfect gallant gentleman Mamoru, while she pranced into the bathroom and smeared purple and white striped toothpaste on her bright pink toothbrush

"I mustn't forget to brush my teeth thoroughly again ... maybe he even wanfs to kiff me?!" she muttered to herself as she busily scrubbed the toothbrush around in her mouth until she had a mouthful of toothpaste foam.

An image of an unmasked Mamoru with the most beautiful, radiant smile she could imagine popped into her head as she had just wiped her mouth and was nimbly applying a bright pink lipstick. His lips, covered with a sheer unstoppable desire, ready to conquer hers ... slowly, he leaned forward toward her until he was just a very few millimeters from her half-open mouth, and then ...

"Whaaaaaat?! Oh my god! What am I thinking right now? Oh noooo this is sooo embarrassing!"

Deep red and completely embarrassed by her amorous thoughts, though grinning rather broadly in the process, Usagi shook her head vehemently from left to right while simultaneously giggling in a most teen-like manner. Despite the fact that she was the protector of this planet and had a tremendously important mission to accomplish, namely the search for the Moon Princess and the Imperium Silver Crystal, Usagi Tsukino was still

A young teenager.

Completely clueless in all love issues, her experience with a real man was so far limited to all the touches she had exchanged with Mamoru's secret identity Tuxedo Mask during his numerous rescue missions. Okay, there was also her very first kiss, which she had with the very person she had a date with today.

"Oh my, that was Mamoru back then! At the embassy! Mhm... I wonder if he still remembers it? Did he actually recognize me then? I turned into a beautiful princess with the Luna pen... I wonder if that counts as the first kiss between me and him... so completely transformed?! Mhm..."

Usagi stood a little indecisive in her room and waited a little helplessly for the reaction of an imaginary interlocutor who could have given her an answer to her questions. Deeply she sighed after a little while finally and made a decision

"Oh never mind, since the Starlight Tower nothing is the same between us anyway. Reset and off to my very first real, insane super duper date!"

With probably the most beautiful, coolest and greatest man on this earth! For the very first time in her life, Usagi noticed a form of energy within her that she had never felt before with all her girl crushes;

That comforting, warm tingling in her stomach and the strong beating of her heart whenever Mamoru had been near her in the last few days. When they had walked together through the streets of Azabu-Juban to his apartment, when he had put his arm around her in the park. When he had looked into her eyes, as if he was looking deep into her soul.

Was this what love felt like? Did that small, tender and innocent word unite all those inexpressible, strong feelings inside her that she felt for Mamoru all at once?

Her chicken alarm clock began to ring, immediately snapping Usagi out of her girlish daydreams

"Oh no, so late already, I have to go!!!!"

She stormed out of her room and ran - as she always did - down the stairs at breakneck speed, grabbing a piece of toast from the breakfast table and waving goodbye cheerfully to her shocked mother as she slipped out the door and into the new venture.

"Bye mom, I'm off to a study meeting with Naru. I won't be home until late afternoon, don't wait up for me with dinner."

Ikuko glanced at her watch in confusion. "It's Sunday. Early in the morning. What on earth happened to my little girl?"

All she could do was look puzzled after her daughter, who was doing her best to set a new speed record on her daily circuit.

...

They had arranged to meet in front of the OsaP shop, owned by Naru's mother. This place represented something very special for both of them. Exactly there - in front of this jewelry store - they had both met a little more than eight months ago. It was a "battlefield" for both of their identities. Of all things, she had thrown one of her worst test results ever at him in crumpled form at the time. By mistake and completely unintentionally, of course.

It was fate.

Also the fact that she had met Luna on that very day. And then in the evening became Sailor Moon. Mamoru had saved her only a few hours later in his masquerade as Tuxedo Mask. A hero who gave her courage and let her feel for the first time what it meant that she could feel protected. By him. Since then, he had saved her again and again. And even as Mamoru, in a way, he was always around her. Almost as if he had protected her in her normal life as well.

Usagi was already completely out of breath from running so fast when she spotted the tall, black-haired man in front of the entrance to the jewelry store. He was wearing his green jacket over a black turtleneck sweater. He had on lilac pants to go with this absolute Mamoru-Chiba classic combination, and his eyes were covered with dark, sporty sunglasses. As he gazed most intently through the shop window at the jewelry on display in the jewelry store, it seemed as if he hadn't even noticed Usagi yet.

'My goodness, he really is an insanely handsome, totally cool and perfect man! If only he could at least get rid of that outfit!'

Usagi swallowed nervously, but gave her heart a jolt and took a few more steps towards her crush, who was still staring spellbound at something in the window display

"You're not looking for a specific crystal, are you?"

Surprised by her slightly teasing question, Mamoru quickly turned to her and gave her a penetrating look through his pitch black sunglasses.

"No, princess, today I'm more on the lookout for something suitable to wear. A tuxedo, for example." He replied lightly.

Quick-wittedness already suited him quite well, especially with his bun-headed friend.

Usagi winced at his comment and slowly took another step closer to him. Mamoru took off his sunglasses and smiled slightly after inspecting her outward appearance extensively.

"You look pretty."

Boom!

Usagi hadn't expected him to pay her such a disarming compliment at all. Understand Mamoru Chiba. Something the elevator in Starlight Tower had done to him that he now seemed changed. Insults were something else and also very familiar to hear from the jerk, but this was completely new territory for her. Usagi scratched her head slightly embarrassed at his surprisingly friendly remark and stammered back her answer

"Well ... um ... you ... um ... um ... too."

'Oh my God, that was such a stammered answer and so horribly embarrassing! If he didn't know it before, then he must assume I'm a complete moron by now at the latest!'

At this thought, Usagi tripped over a small stone and fell directly with a high-pitched scream into Mamoru's strong arms, who had rushed to her at a breathtaking speed and caught her in skillful Tuxedo Mask manner.

'Great, just great! Here it comes again! My bloody clumsiness! Something I can always count on at all times in my life. Can it get any worse?'

"You...arrrgghh, just don't say anything, please! " Usagi - still lying in his arms and now inhaling his beguiling scent with a tomato-red head - reached for his green jacket and continued speaking while looking at his muscular, masculine chest

"This jacket here... it'll be burned by the end of the day!"

Mamoru was just gobsmacked at how a girl could be as clumsy and sweet and funny and pretty as Usagi at the same time. She was so much the opposite of him, but somehow it was getting more and more exciting to learn more about what was going on between the two funny and so unique topknots.

Sure, she was Sailor Moon. Probably the most powerful creature on this planet... but in his arms was Usagi, the sweetest girl he had ever met. Her scent, he could hardly get away from that loveliness. Always something invisible had drawn him to her as if by magic, a word was enough from her, yes almost a blink of her eyes with those unreal long eyelashes was enough for him to react to her. He had already fallen for her completely at the beginning. Only he had not wanted to admit it until the end, which his heart had long understood since the very first moment he had laid his eyes on her.

But even if he wanted nothing more than to finally confess his feelings to her... Mamoru Chiba just couldn't get out of his skin! And as so often during their encounters, he had to return right away. He pulled out a slightly amused smile and explained to the blonde girl under him

"Oh well, if it makes you happy, we can do that with pleasure. However" - he lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, which immediately gave Usagi goosebumps all over her body as she felt his warm breath suspiciously close to her forehead

"If I may tell you a secret ... I own far more than just one! ugly green jacket."