Edited 6/7/2024

Morning

Mamoru sat at the arcade counter reading his textbook. Unazuki filled his coffee cup as he did since Motoki was off taking another customer's order. He chuckled as he watched her next fill her own travel mug full of coffee.

She smiled at him and said, "Hey, I really love coffee, and I don't want it getting cold as I work."

"I've never seen anyone drink as much as you, and I'm pre-med. I think my fellow students exist on coffee alone."

Motoki walked over after he entered the latest order and, smiling, shook his head at his sister. "You should see how much coffee we go through during her shift. It's frightening."

"You do have good coffee here," Mamoru replied.

"Yeah," Motoki responded. "I think your friend Rick likes the coffee here, too."

Mamoru was mid-sip of his coffee and tried to cover up his shock by faking a cough. If Usagi was right, and he suspected she was, it wasn't the coffee his friend was interested in, but Unazuki.

Glad he couldn't blush anymore, Mamoru said, "It's good coffee." He knew he was pretty much repeating himself, but he didn't know what else to say. Usagi believed that Rick was attracted to Unazuki and that she returned his feelings.

Mamoru suddenly smiled. Before the front doors even wooshed open, he felt Usagi. She was here, and he felt the now-familiar feeling of everything in his world being as it should be. Calm radiated throughout his whole body.

"Mamo-chan!" She yelled. He spun to look at her and smiled as she launched herself against him, hugging him while he sat on the stool. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Usako," he replied as he kissed her forehead. "Get into any trouble today?" he teased her.

With a huge smile, she said, "Yeah, I did! It was so much fun. Naru helped!"

He shook his head lovingly, "Usako, I was kidding. You caused trouble?"

She got a mischievous look on her face, "Just a tiny bit."

Motoki was still there and eyed Usagi wearily, "Does it have anything to do with that girl?"

She replied, smiling, "Unazuki helped me out too."

Unazuki laughed and added, "I only let her see the surveillance video from the arcade. Mamoru told her off, but she was relentless."

A week ago, a woman in her upper twenties had taken one look at Mamoru and decided that they were soulmates. It wasn't the first time a woman had come on to him, but she was definitely the most aggressive.

He had told her he was absolutely not interested and ignored her, but that didn't stop her from showing up daily, trying to get his attention. It also hadn't mattered to her how many times he spurned her. She still insisted that he should be with her and even vulgarly propositioned him for sex.

Usagi smiled, "You told her to just leave you alone. I had different plans." He instantly knew she had compelled the woman to stay away from him.

"Usako," he said, faking to scold her. He knew Motoki was fully aware of how much he enjoyed her being possessive of him, but he did it anyway. "She's not a threat."

"I told you, Mamo-chan. If I only went after people who were a threat to me, I'd never get to do anything! I know. It still pissed me off, and that behavior leads to crazy stalking. I did some guy a favor in the future."

"What did you do?!" He asked, now genuinely concerned.

She smiled, "Nothing much."

"Usako?"

Usagi smirked, "She's helping people now. I did a good deed."

Unazuki leaned in and asked, "What?"

Usagi suddenly realized her mistake. Unazuki didn't know the truth about them all. How would she explain that she could compel the woman to obey her? It was apparent the truth was drawing on the others, too. Motoki actually flushed red.

Usagi said, "I convinced her that being a Nun was a good idea."

Mamoru groaned and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. "Usagi, really?!" Meanwhile, Unazuki was laughing hysterically.

Noon

Once their lunch orders were placed and Motoki was the only one in possible hearing distance, Rei said, "Mayumi, I spoke with Mars, and I have the reincarnation spell. When you're ready, I can cast it. Will Saturday work?" Rei, Jadeite, Mayumi, and Satoru were all sitting down to lunch together.

"Saturday would work," Mayumi replied, blushing and squeezing Satoru's hand under the table.

"If you don't want to or you're nervous, just say something," Jadeite said, misinterpreting her reaction.

Mayumi shook her head quickly and said, "No! That's not it. I'm just…" She took a deep breath and then said, "I'm just extremely excited. It's a bigger deal than the day we got married. We promised each other the rest of our lives that day. Now, we will be promising each other all of our lives to come."

Rei was surprised she didn't tear up and then remembered she couldn't anymore. She then grew thoughtful and said, "I didn't think of it like that. For me, it was just an issue to solve. But you're right. I wonder if we can make a bit of a ceremony out of it at the shrine."

Mayumi went to speak, but Satoru cut her off by saying, "She'll tell you not to worry about it. But Mom, let's do it. I want this for her —for us. Let's take lots of pictures so you can show our future selves."

Jadeite leaned back in his chair and smirked. "You're smooth like your father," he praised. "The two of you should figure out a ring, too. Make it a really nice one. We'll show the pictures, explain your love for each other, and give her the ring for her to wear."

"Satoru should have a new gold band, too," Mayumi said. "I'll have the date engraved on the inside. That way, we both have something from the day that we chose to be reborn for each other."

Rei absolutely loved the idea and was already making plans for the ceremony. She also had a completed guest list in her head that included Mars. She wanted him there at this big event for her son.

Night

"Crane Game Joe," Motoki said, stating the nickname he had always known him by. "I didn't imagine the guy who could always beat that game would end up kidnapped and tortured. I'm sorry it happened to you."

Joe rubbed his eyes and said, "They saved me. And I do realize that I owe them everything. Which is why…" he then pulled out a previously blank journal and slid it across the table to Motoki. "I wrote down every secret and bit of information I could remember. If I think of anything else, I'll make sure to get it to you."

"Thank you," Motoki said with deep gratitude, picking up the book. "Usagi wanted me to make sure to let you know that this is appreciated."

Joe turned and looked out the windows at the front of the shop. It was fully dark now. "She's kind. It surprises me. She has all that power and doesn't lord it over anyone."

"Can you see a difference between Usagi and Mamoru's power?" Motoki asked, curious.

"Yes. I bet you sense it, too. Everyone looks to her for leadership, even Mamoru. She's the center of your group." He wasn't ready to fully explain what he saw. It was still overwhelming for him to think about.

The truth was that with the Queen and King, it was the first time he had ever seen powers physically manifested. He could see strength with his inner eye before, but with them, he could see it represented in the light he saw around each of them.

Usagi, the beautiful Queen, was wrapped in a silver light that ebbed and flowed around her like a winding river. The King's, Mamoru's light, was golden and looked more like a forcefield. It encompassed Usagi everywhere she went. At times, the silver and gold blended together, making a blinding light.

Motoki nodded, "You're right."

Joe pushed the undrunk cup of coffee away from him. "I'm sorry, but it's too late for caffeine."

"It's decaf. Sorry, I assumed you would know. Only my coffee-addicted sister drinks caffeine this late at night."

Soon afterward, Joe left, and Motoki sat at the counter and flipped through the notebook. Most of it was unrelated information, and the details made him sick. There were a lot of twisted, vile secrets out there. But one in particular stood out to him and frustrated him. He knew that the five female vampires only traded secrets and blood with other females, and from the intel in the book, Joe discovered that Beryl was now in Tokyo, but she surrounded herself with men. So, if any were vampires, they wouldn't have been trading secrets there.