Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon and other characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.

Usagi had thought that she was a normal teenage girl. That is, she thought she was until she met Luna. Turns out that the stray cat she had saved was from the Moon, and that she, Usagi Tsukino, was supposed to be a warrior to protect the Earth, Sailor Moon!

The black cat had made her way into the girl's open bedroom window and coerced her into taking hold of her transformation brooch.

Usagi had MAJOR reservations about accepting things from strangers, much less strange talking cats, but there was something about the aura from the brooch that not only made her take it, but she felt almost possessive towards the object she had never seen before.

Before she knew it, she had automatically repeated the words Luna had told her to speak and was transformed into the soldier, Sailor Moon. Not fully understanding what was going on or why, she followed Luna's instructions only because she knew that it was her friend, Naru that was in trouble. It wasn't everyday that a 14 year-old-girl, put herself into harms way without having any kind of knowledge of self defense or how to properly "attack" her enemies.

"Now, Usagi, that wasn't too bad but," Luna had spoken down to the girl who had just returned to her home from her first brush with the Negaverse. Luna was unimpressed with Sailor Moon to say the least. She had expected a warrior, not some whiny crybaby girl, who shrieked at her adversaries. "You're going to have to do better than that!" she chastised the trembling blonde.

Usagi, who had thought that she had done a pretty gosh darn good job for not having a clue to what she was doing, turned to the feline with tears in her eyes. Maybe she wasn't the most graceful, or coordinated, and maybe she wasn't as brave as Luna had wanted her to be, but at the end of the day, the monster was destroyed with the help of Tuxedo Kamen, and everyone from the jewelry shop had been saved. How could Luna snap at her like that without a single word of encouragement?!

Usagi couldn't trust herself to not bawl outright. Two crystal tears slid down her face as Luna continued on ignoring the sniffling girl, "And you cannot by any means, tell anyone about you being Sailor Moon!" The black cat sniffed with an air of superiority and turned to the window, "I'm going back to headquarters to update the system on what has transpired. Go to sleep, and remember, you must hide your identity for your safety!" With that, Luna jumped out of the window and into the night.

Usagi, who was beyond exhausted by that point curled herself into a ball under her sheets and cried herself to sleep for the first time in her high school life.

...

It was a good thing that it was the weekend, because Usagi didn't walk down to breakfast until 10:00am the next day (Pretty late for someone who was usually up by 8 or 9am.) The fight and using her newly acquired powers had taken a toll on Usagi and she felt weak and starving. She had skipped her morning shower and instead put on her purple fuzzy robe that she usually wore when she was feeling down. She liked to think that wrapping herself in the soft comfort of the robe would help heal her hurts, whether mental or physical.

Ikuko had been wondering if there was anything wrong with Usagi as she turned to face her daughter who had plopped herself down at the kitchen table. She had a smirk and a quip on her lips to make fun of her daughter for sleeping in so late, but her words faltered on her lips as she saw how pale and weak her daughter looked.

"Usagi, honey, are you feeling alright?" Ikuko stepped around the table to feel her daughter's forehead. She didn't seem warm.

"I'm okay, I'm just tired, I think I just need some food to energize me!" Usagi tried smiling at her mother's pout.

"Do you want me to make some chicken soup for you?" Ikuko asked.

"No, mama, you don't have to go through the trouble, I'll just have leftovers if we have any?" Usagi replied.

"I saved some pancake batter and eggs for you, sweetheart. It'll only take a few minutes to cook them up, alright?" Ikuko turned back to the stove and began puttering around the kitchen to cook the pancakes and eggs that she had set aside for Usagi earlier.

Usagi in the meantime stared at her hands clasped in her lap. The previous night's events whirled through her mind, and the conversation with Luna gripped her heart in a vice-like manner. Besides the hurt that her lack of support caused, Usagi wondered how she could ever keep that kind of a secret from her family. She told them everything! She trusted them with everything! She learned at a young age, that keeping secrets from her family could not only lead to getting even more hurt but could also prevent her from fixing any problems that were happening.

...

Usagi's mind wandered to the event that triggered that particular emotional response. She had just turned 6 years old and was just starting primary school. Usagi was excited and a little apprehensive about making new friends and being a 'big kid.' But after her first week of school, Ikuko noticed how quiet Usagi had become and how scared she always acted around everyone. When Ikuko asked about what was wrong, Usagi just shook her head violently, refusing to say anything.

After another week of this strange behavior, Usagi stopped eating and stopped talking altogether. Ikuko and Kenji were greatly alarmed by this deciding that it must be something that happened to her while in school. They went to the school and talked to the teacher who hadn't really noticed that anything was wrong. From her perspective, Usagi just seemed a very shy girl, who would open up on her own to the other children when she was ready and comfortable with them. Displeased with the reaction, both Ikuko and Kenji stayed to watch Usagi interact with her classmates (out of view, of course) during their playtime outside in the playground. Then they saw how and why their beautiful daughter had started to change.

Her classmates tease her about her looks, about why her hair was a different color.

"Why do you have yellow hair, when both of your parents have dark hair, huh ugly?"

"Is it true that your mother had an AFFAIR?! Are you a whore too?!"

"I can't believe they let someone who was ADOPTED into the school- you don't belong here, even your original parents hated you."

"Yeah, go away- orphan!"

They taunted her with bad names and cruel words and started pushing her in the circle that they surrounded her with.

Kenji who had been holding the recorder just in case they needed proof of anything, was furious. His hands shook holding the recording device his grip. How dare those boys and girls lay a hand on his little princess!? How badly raised were they for bullying a girl who was simply different from them?!

Ikuko was aghast. Where were the teachers that were supposed to be supervising their children?! How could they not have seen what was going on under their very noses at this educational institution?! She turned her head trying to see where the teachers could be hiding, and then she saw them. Congregating in the corner of the courtyard paying no attention to the chaos of the playground around them. She saw one teacher's gaze glance over to the group of children pushing Usagi and decidedly turned away to ignore the bullying. Ikuko saw red.

Usagi couldn't remember the details of what happened next, but all her Papa would say about it was that you never cross a mama bear when her cub is in danger, he would always chuckle saying this, and Ikuko's cheeks would in turn, blush and look away muttering how those women deserved it.

The lesson that Usagi learned from the debacle was that if she had spoken to her parents about the bullying earlier on, they would have helped her with it before it had gotten worse.

In between shamed sobs Ikuko pressed Usagi into her lap, "Usagi, honey, we love you. We have always loved you, and we will always love you."

Kenji sat down next to Ikuko and Usagi on the couch. "Listen to your mama bear, Usagi. You have never been dishonest with us, and we will always believe you because we love you."

After awhile Usagi's sobs lessened and that evening she learned that standing together with your family and trusting them with your whole heart is what made them your family. She promised herself then that she would never keep secrets from her family. They cost too much hurt and strife; and because she wanted to prove to them, that she loved them and trusted them enough with all her secrets.

...

Which brought Usagi back to the kitchen table with her mother setting down a plate of freshly cooked food in front of her. She looked up with a smile on her face to thank her mama for cooking her breakfast. Ikuko smiled back and turned to start cleaning the dishes she had just used.

A cup of steaming hot cocoa was pushed towards Usagi from her right side. She hadn't even noticed Shingo coming into the kitchen; she was so lost in her thoughts and memories. Shingo had a serious look on his face and nudged the mug towards his sister again, nodding at her, "Eat sis," he commanded.

Usagi weakly smiled at her brother and took a sip of her hot cocoa before working on the food in the plate in front of her. Shingo nursed his own hot chocolate while he let his sister eat. The end of the meal found Ikuko, Shingo, and Usagi sitting quietly at the kitchen table.

"Wow, Nee-chan, you sure can eat," Shingo attempted at some levity to break the silence. Ikuko smiled sofly at her son whom she knew was just trying to cheer up his sister.

Usagi tried to laugh, but the expression fell of her face and she lowered her head to sob into her hands.

Shingo was immediately up from his seat, hugging his sister in his arms, "Nee-chan, I'm sorry, I was only teasing you," he began to babble. One of the few things that Shingo could not stand was seeing his sister really cry. Alligator tears were one thing, he could tease her through the fake tears and the high pitched wails, but when she really cried, from the depths of her heart, well, it unraveled him.

It touched Ikuko's heart seeing her son plead with her daughter, begging her to stop crying. From the corner of her eye, Ikuko spied her husband coming around from the living room, newspaper in hand, concern written across his face. He sat himself down next to his wife as Shingo rubbed his sister's back. They held each other's hands.

"Usagi, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Ikuko asked softly.

Usagi didn't even know how to start, she remembered Luna's words, "T-Th-There's nothing wrong," she tried to say.

"Bologne!" Shingo almost hissed, folding his arms across his chest. "You're wearing your 'sad' robe and you would never not shower in the morning unless you were feeling really down. There's something wrong nee-chan and I know it!" Shingo's face softened from the scowl that his tirade pinched it into, "Please won't you tell us what's wrong? You know we can help you."

Kenji spoke up softly, "That's right Usagi, we're here for you because we love you. Let your family help out, honey."

"What ever is happening," Ikuko added in, "We will always love you." She reached out and grasped her daughter's hand squeezing it, trying to project her love for her daughter through their touch.

They were all too earnest and sincere for Usagi to hold back anymore. "This is going to sound crazy, but I think it'll be easier for me to show you, rather than tell you." Usagi ran upstairs to her room and grabbed her transformation brooch. She wanted to get the chance to show them before Luna came back and yelled at her for spilling her great secret. She trembled back into the kitchen to her waiting family and transformed in front of them, whispering her transformation spell.

It only took a heartbeat and a flash of bright lights and feathers for her to transform into Sailor Moon. Opening her eyes to her family staring slack jawed at her. Usagi played with the hem of her fuku, twisting it nervously in her hands.

"So um… I guess I'm Sailor Moon," she said sheepishly.

Shingo still being the ten year old boy that he was exclaimed out, "WHOA! Like Sailor V?! That is SO COOL!"

Usagi smiled at her brother as she released her transformation and sat back down at the kitchen table, with the brooch sitting in front of her. Shingo sat back down and silence ensued once more as everyone stared at the brooch.

And there you have it. Hope you enjoyed.