Nihao!

While I wanted to release part one all in one go, I have come to
realize that a. It's bloody damn big. And b. I'm not too sure I have
the characterizations down. So, please treat this as less of a chapter
and more as a partial rough draft, a proof of concept if you will. Any
and all comments are welcomed then.

And hopefully I have fixed the damn formatting problem.

And yeah, I don't own Sailor Moon, nor was I planning to make money
off of this, nani nani nani...

Jusenkyo Productions Presents
A Sailor Moon Fan Fiction
To Choose

Part 1: Usagi's Choice

Week One

       Up and down. Up and down. The rhythm was quite soothing, very
soothing actually.
       She was sure Ami-chan would probably tell her that her feelings were
part of something programmed into her, probably something that evolved
to keep one half of a love pair from killing the other half after a
bout of lovemaking when part of said half immediately rolls over and
falls asleep.
       'Mamo-chan could tell me the same thing,' Usagi mused to herself, a
small, wicked, smile on her face, 'If he hadn't fallen asleep'.
       Instead of following that line of thought, she relaxed more, and
snuggled deeper into the arms of her lover; enjoying the sensation of
being slightly lifted and dropped by his breathing as she lay entwined
with him, her head and chest resting on his broader chest. The perfect
pillow she had once remarked to him.
       Mamoru's response had been a slightly pained expression.
       In the warm afterglow of lovemaking, his response was to always drop
off to sleep. The first few times she HAD wanted to kill him for that,
now though, she enjoyed it, luxuriated in it actually; this was the
time she could be alone with her beloved, held close and protected,
and not have to worry about Senshi, Crystal Tokyo, or her daughter
falling on her head again. Besides, he always woke back up when she
needed him, or wanted to talk, or for more lovemaking.
       Now she just studied the face of her partner in so many things,
looking back to try to see the young high school student who first
transformed and came to literally sweep her off her feet, the serious
college student who spent time worrying if the future king of the
earth should really choose genetics as a major, and now, the young
graduate student working hard to study and do all that he could now,
before he was forced to be the king of the earth and his studies
became a hobby.
       But like Tuxedo Kamen, those masks were hidden.
       "Like my own," Usagi murmured. It was soft, but enough to rouse him.
His eyes blinked a few times and focused in on her.
       "Your own what, Usako?" he asked her, sleep still clouding his voice.
       She sighed, and planted her chin on his chest to gaze into his eyes
and hugged him a little tighter, "Just remembering, Mamo-chan. And
thinking how surprised my classmates would be to know they have the
mysterious Sailor Moon in their mist."
       He chuckled slightly, "The beautiful warrior of Love and Justice, at
a woman's college, and still unable to get to class on time."
       She turned a small glare on him, "And you have something to say, Mr.
Honestly-Professor-I-Have-No-Idea-Where-All-The-Experimental-Roses-Went?"
she asked sweetly.
       They both laughed and he pulled her still naked body closer to his.
"I love you, Usako," he whispered in her ear.
       She smiled wider at that, still almost melting with those three
words, no matter how many times she heard them. 'She is still the same
girl she was in junior high,' Mamoru thought to himself, 'And then,
not quite. In many ways, she's also more Serenity now. I think that
final battle with Galaxia forced her to grow up.'
       "I love you too, Mamo-chan," Usagi replied.
       He chuckled again, "I forgot, whose house are you supposed to be at
tonight? And how much longer do we have before you need to be there?"
       Usagi grinned, "I have all night tonight, I'm supposed to be at
Rei-chan's, but we worked it out so her grandfather saw and heard us
being invited over to Ami-chan's, whose mother will swear Mina-chan
took us out to a movie and invited us to stay there. Mina-chan's mom
will claim to not know anything about me, Rei-chan, and Ami-chan, but
will state that Mina-chan had called her from Mako-chan's apartment
shortly after the movie ended and said she was going to spend the
night with friends at Hotaru-chan's house."
       Mamoru frowned for a second, working the statement out, "And when
your dad finally works out where you are supposed to be and calls
Hotaru-san's house?"
       Usagi's grin grew impish, "He'll have to answer to Setsuna-san."
       "A fate worse than death," Mamoru agreed, then he sighed, "I'm sorry
Usako, I wish we didn't have to do this."
       Usagi sighed as well, "Its ok, Mamo-chan, Mama is working on Daddy,
and he will let you be with me someday. I hope," she finished, laying
her head fully on his chest, listening to his heart beating.
       Mamoru frowned, "Still, I don't like having to lie to them."
       Usagi sighed, "I don't either, but Daddy..."
       "I know, Usako, I still remember him chasing me down the street with
those golf clubs, swinging, when you brought me to your house to
introduce them to me. And screaming that if I ever touched you
again..."
       "And now," Usagi paused, "it's not too different from when we were in
school, Mamo-chan. We couldn't just announce our love then too." She
turned to look him in the eyes again, "And your own apartment does
come in handy, just think of the money we save not having to go to a
love hotel?"
       Mamoru chuckled again, "I guess so. But I still don't like dragging
everyone else into this."
       "You know they're happy to help, Mamo-chan, just as long as I share
every... intimate, detail with them afterwards."
       Mamoru started in shock, "You WHAT?"
       Deep blue eyes looked back in innocence, "Well, Rei-chan wants to
know what she gave up, Mako-chan wants to know if you're as good as
her old sempai, Mina-chan says it's her duty as the Goddess of Love to
know how well you perform, and Ami-chan wants to know how you
measure up to her textbooks."
       Mamoru groaned and covered his eyes with his hand, "Usako..." he
moaned as he shook his head.
       The blue eyes still held a world of innocence, "Haruka-san and
Michiru-san want to know how having a man is, and Setsuna-san wants to
know if I thought you were better in the Silver Millennium."
       'I wonder if I could just stay under the blankets for the rest of my
life?' Mamoru thought. Then he caught the silent laughter behind that
false innocence. "Oh, and I hope you've been giving good reports about
me."
       A small laugh filled the bedroom of Mamoru's apartment, "Well, I tell
them to go catch their own Prince of Earth and find out."
       Mamoru pulled Usagi up for a long serious kiss, "Usako, for that, I
am going to have to punish you in the name of the moon."
       Usagi smiled in the kiss, "That's my line, Mamo-chan." Then she
returned the kiss with vigor.
       Nothing more was heard except the rustling of the bedclothes, and
gasps, for some time.
***
       Morning light, diffused by the curtains on the window, fell on the
slumbering form of the two lovers, still holding each other. But
morning light is a perverse creature, and will always find a way to
work itself so it shines right in the face of those who are trying to
get that last bit of sleep.
       Mamoru groaned and shifted as the sunlight hit a mirror by his bed
and bounced right into his eyes. Turning his face away from the
mirror, he managed to face the window directly, with even brighter
light. Giving up, he opened his eyes and awoke. From the look of the
sunlight, it was probably around 9am; a quick check of the clock
confirmed that.
       A quick check of the soft, warm weight on his now numb arm confirmed
that Usagi was still asleep. 'She really can sleep though anything,'
he thought. He smiled gently and bent down to kiss her cheek, "Usako?
Come on Usako, it's time to wake up."
       Usagi grumbled and turned her face into his side. Mamoru thought he
heard something about tuxedos in her mumblings.
       "Usako," he said, kissing her again and gently shaking her shoulder,
"You need to wake up."
       "Five more minutes Mom," was the muffled reply.
       Mamoru sighed, bending his head down so it was right by her ear, he
said in his most authoritarian voice, "Tsukino Usagi! You're late!"
       Usagi jumped from the bed, "I'm sorry Daddy! I'm going right now!
I'll make it, really..." She stopped and looked around the apartment,
"Mou! Mamo-chan?!" she shrieked and turned back to the bed.
       Mamoru raised his arms to ward her off, "I'm sorry, Usako, but we
have to get you to Hotaru-san's house so you can come home with
Rei-san, remember?"
       Usagi still glared at him, "Alright, I'll forgive you, THIS time."
       Mamoru got up from the bed and enfolded Usagi in a hug, "I'll buy you
breakfast to make up for it."
       "Yeah! I want pancakes, oh, and bacon, and, um, eggs, eggs are good.
And I want some coffee, and maybe some rice, and miso soup, and..."
Usagi rambled on with various breakfast foods while Mamoru started to
sweat, envisioning the damage about to befall his wallet.
       After the largest breakfast in the history of Red Coffee, Mamoru and
Usagi headed out to the house shared by the outer Senshi. Hotaru's
transformation back into a young girl had meant that while the rest of
the Senshi had finished high school and started in on college, she was
back in junior high. Haruka and Michiru still acted as her guardians,
and while Hotaru was not happy to live through, in effect, the same
schooling twice, with Setsuna around, she was at least acing history.
       Usagi watched the various scenery go by from the window of Mamoru's
car. "So what shall we do next time?" she asked.
       "I'm sorry, what was that Usako?" Mamoru asked as he maneuvered his
car through the narrow streets.
       "I said what should we do next week, Mamo-chan? Besides the obvious?"
Usagi asked, an impish smile playing on her lips.
       "Every weekend for a month and a half and you STILL want more?"
Mamoru asked with a slight chuckle.
       Usagi laughed, "You bring out the best and worst in me, Mamo-chan. I
was thinking of going to go see a movie next time."
       Mamoru paused to take a turn, "Ok, Usako. But no Springtime Cherry
Blossoms ok?"
       "But it was such a wonderful movie, Mamo-chan!" Usagi pouted. 'I know
he hates those types of movies' she thought.
       "How about you invite Rei and Yuuchiro along, you and Rei and go see
that movie and Yuuchiro and I can go see something else?" Mamoru
asked.
       "Aw, you're no fun!" Usagi laughed, and then stopped as a thought
struck her, "Mamo-chan?"
       "Yes, Usako?"
       "Has it really been a month and a half?" she asked with a small
worried frown.
       Mamoru counted back in his mind, "Yes, it's June now, and we went to
Karuizawa for Golden Week in May, and we've seen each other every
weekend since then. Why?"
       Usagi shook her head quickly, "It's nothing, Mamo-chan, just thinking
of an assignment at school that is coming up soon."
       Mamoru frowned, 'She's worried about something, and hiding it' he
though. Before he could pursue his thoughts further though, the
arrived at the house. Usagi quickly jumped out of the car and grabbed
her bag. "I'll call you later, Mamo-chan?"
       "Alright, Usako. Usako, what is..."
       Usagi cut him off, "I have to get going now, Mamo-chan, unless you
want to come in while I report to everyone."
       Mamoru groaned again and lowed his head to the steering wheel,
"Usako...".
       The Senshi were busy piling out of the house to stand in the yard,
grinning at the two lovers.
       "You better have shown the Princess a good time, Prince!" Haruka
yelled loudly, grinning from ear to ear. "Her dad called three times
last night so it better have been worth it!"
       Both Usagi and Mamoru started to blush.
       Minako cocked her head to the side, "I don't know, she's upright and
walking, so he wasn't too good."
       Usagi and Mamoru went beet red, along with Ami who gasped out,
"Minako-chan! Not in public!"
       As the rest of the Senshi started to weigh in with their opinions of
Mamoru's supposed bedroom skills, or lack thereof, Usagi leaned in and
kissed Mamoru. "I love you, Mamo-chan," she whispered.
       Mamoru returned the kiss, "I love you too, Usako."
       "Next week then?" she asked.
       "Next week," he confirmed and started the car back up. He watched as
she turned and ran over to her friends, and started joining in the
argument. He started the pull away and heard "REI-CHAN! WHY ARE YOU SO
MEAN?!" being shouted by his love.
       'Sometimes I really wonder about the Senshi' he mused to himself as
the started to drive back to his apartment, all thoughts of Usagi's
worry forgotten.
***
       Usagi stared out the window at the summer night's sky. 'Mamo-chan was
right; it has been a month and a half.' Maybe something was wrong...
this could just be... What, Usagi didn't know. 'A month and a half.'
It kept running through her mind. 'A month and a half.'
       'I can't be. I mean we were always safe.' Usagi thought. Behind her,
Luna looked at her charge with worry, when Usagi came home; she had
run upstairs and hadn't moved since.
       "Usagi-chan?" the moon cat asked softly.
       Usagi about fell out of the window.
       "LUNA!" she screamed, "Don't scare me like that!" she said more
softly this time.
       Luna jumped onto the window still and placed her front paws on
Usagi's lap, "Usagi-chan, what's wrong?"
       "NOTHING! I, er, I mean nothing's wrong, Luna. Why should anything be
wrong? There's nothing wrong here, nope." Usagi babbled then laughed
that nervous laughter that after so many years Luna knew meant Usagi
was hiding something, or had eaten all the cookies.
       "Usagi-chan..." Luna tried again, this time putting more of her worry
into her voice. Usagi winced, and then scooped the cat up into a hug.
       "I don't KNOW if anything is wrong Luna, and that's what worries me."
Usagi said softly.
       'What on earth does she mean by that?' Luna wondered.
       "Luna," Usagi continued softly, "Do you think I'm bad for wanting to
be a normal girl a little while longer?"
       Luna's face drew into a puzzled frown, for a cat, "Usagi-chan, it's
been three years since Galaxia, is there some other threat?"
       Usagi shook her head, sending her long blond ponytails whipping
around them both, "No, no, it's not something that needs Sailor Moon.
More like... But I don't KNOW Luna!"
       Luna tried to pretend she knew what Usagi was talking about.
       "Maybe you should ask the other Senshi, like Ami-chan or Rei-chan?"
Luna said hesitantly.
       Usagi looked like a drowning person who suddenly has found a
lifeline. "Ami-chan! That's it!" Dropping Luna on the bed, Usagi dug
out her cell phone and quickly dialed Ami.
       "Mizuno Residence," Ami answered.
       "Ami-chan! It's Usagi. Um, after classes tomorrow can I come by your
dorm room? I REALLY need your help!"
       "Usagi-chan, I am not going to do your homework again." Ami warned.
       "It's not that, Ami-chan, it's... Please, I really need your help."
Usagi pleaded.
       Ami frowned a little, her princess and best friend had been withdrawn
and subdued since Mamoru had dropped her off this morning, but none of
the other Senshi had managed to work out what was bothering her, or
get it out of her.
       Since starting at Todai, Ami had finally found an intellectual haven
among the other best and brightest in Japan. No longer did she feel
she was being ostracized by her classmates for her intelligence. While
Biochemistry as a major to prepare for medical school was a
challenging course of study, she had loved every minute of it.
       But she hadn't forgotten the lessons taught to her by the Senshi,
especially Usagi. She now knew that there was more to life than just
studying, and her friends were always more important.
       "Of course, Usagi-chan," she said, "I will be done with classes and
studying at six tomorrow evening."
       "I'm done by four, but it will take me three hours to get there. So,
seven then?" Usagi asked hopefully.
       Ami smiled, "Seven it is then. Usagi-chan, what's wrong?"
       "I'll tell you tomorrow, Ami-chan. I just... I'll tell you tomorrow.
Thank you!"
       Ami frowned again, "See you then, Usagi-chan."
       "See you!" Usagi replied then hung up. She closed the cell phone and
put it back in her pocket.
       "Usagi-chan, what IS the matter?" Luna demanded after the phone call.
       "I'll tell you later, Luna. Right now I don't know." Usagi said and
turned back to the stars.
       Luna sighed, then jumped down from the bed and walked started to walk
out of the room. "Good night, Usagi-chan."
       "Good night, Luna," Usagi replied, not turning around from the window.
       Luna's sharper hearing barely caught her charge's whisper of "I'm not
ready to be a queen yet."
       Luna turned back, but Usagi still was looking for answers in the
stars and did not see the small tear Luna shed.
***
       Usagi groaned as one of her alarms went off at 4am. 2 minutes later,
her radio started to play, two minutes after that, a larger, louder
alarm shrilled its electronic beeps into the warm darkness.
       About a second later her brother, up since 1am studying, started
pounding on the wall that separated his room from Usagi's. Thus at
4:15, Usagi finally crawled from bed, cursing with every step of the
way her father's insistence that she live at home when Showa Women's
JuniorCollege was almost exactly opposite of Juuban, meaning to make
her first class at 8:30, she had to catch the 5:07 train for the three
hour commute.
       "And all this just because he thinks that if I had my own apartment
Mamo-chan would never leave," she grumbled to herself, "Even Mina-chan
gets to have HER own apartment by HER college." The thought of Mamoru
brought back the worries of yesterday. 'I can't be! I just can't!' she
thought fiercely, 'I want to be Usagi longer, not Serenity, not now!'
       A rather quiet Usagi prepared for the day, quickly dressing, washing
up, and eating breakfast. The streets of Juuban were still quiet in
the early dawn, although Usagi wasn't the only one having to make an
early commute, other students, college and high school, were leaving
for far flung schools, and some salarymen were weaving down the street
on bicycles to the station.
       Usagi joined the flow, heading for the station and the long train
ride. 'It's my own fault' Usagi thought to herself, as she did every
morning having to get up at this ungodly hour, 'If I had actually
studied...'
       Time had done what various enemies, jealousies, Makoto's old sempai
stories, and Minako's attempts at nursing them back to health had not
done, it had split up the Senshi. All of them remembered what Pluto
had said after the defeat of Galaxia, that there would be no more
battles to fight, that the founding of Crystal Tokyo would come soon;
although as Haruka remarked, soon for Pluto could be a lifetime for
everyone else. The Senshi has gone to pursue their dreams, and denied
her dream of being Mamoru's bride, for now, Usagi had tried for a
university, and had quickly realized that her skills would not allow
her to pass the entrance exams for anything.
       Thankfully, Showa Women's University had an affiliated junior
college, which was open to anyone without having to pass the entrance
exams. Women who completed their Associates could then attend the
university without having to take the exams. It seemed like the
perfect idea; she could get a university education while waiting for
Mamoru, and a major of Humanities and Culture sounded right for a
future queen.
       This was before she found out to make it to the college she would
have to get up at 4 am everyday, take a three hour train ride, and
that Humanities and Culture was a lot harder than it sounded.
       'At least this early I can get a seat on the train every morning'
Usagi groused to herself in ill humor as the boarded the train.
       As the train ran its course around Tokyo, Usagi stared blankly out at
the various buildings that were slowly coming to life, or gong to
sleep, her thoughts returned to their earlier worries. 'I can't be. I
just can't. We were always safe, we never...'
       A stray memory entered her mind, a memory of month and a half ago.
       They had gone to Karuizawa, a resort town on the flanks of an active
volcano in Nagano. Her father had let her go because she had told him
it would be her and her friends, going for the shopping opportunities
and the hot springs. This was true; he had seen her off himself to the
Shinkansen station to board the bullet train for the three-hour ride
to Nagano. He had seen the rest of the Senshi there, all of her
friends chatting and laughing about the Golden Week vacation, the hot
springs, and the shopping they were going to do.
       She just hadn't told him that the rest of the Senshi were bringing
their boyfriends, and that they were all going to have separate rooms
at the hotel. She really didn't tell him that Mamoru was waiting for
her at the station in Karuizawa, a place famous for its shopping,
volcano, hot springs, and beauty, and known throughout Japan as one of
the most romantic places for young lovers; boasting no less a famous
pairing than the Imperial couple itself.
       There they had spent the time looking at various art museums, eating
and drinking excellent food and coffee, and walking in the surrounding
countryside that seemed to call for small intimate moments with
Mamoru, and of course, the shopping.
       Then they had gone to the hotel, which was on the top of a mountain
next to the town. It had its own hot spring to relax in after a hard
day of looking, eating, walking, and shopping. But each room also had
private baths, and she had insisted, hadn't she, that the bath was big
enough for two. She wanted to combine resting in hot water with
resting in his arms.
       And after all those wonderful couple moments, her mind had been on
other things, hadn't? And the tub had proven not only big enough for
two, but some movement as well. He had been surprised, at the time,
she remembered, when she had started, but he didn't stop her, and she
didn't stop herself.
       So, there WAS one time. But surely, that couldn't be it. It
just couldn't be.
       As the train pulled into Sangenjaya Station, Usagi still had one
thought only, 'I can't be, I am not ready to be Serenity yet, not now,
not when I still want to be only Usagi.'
       It was time to walk the final few blocks to the college, and start
the day's classes. In a few hours she could see Ami, and find out for
sure.
       'I can't be, I don't want to be Serenity right now... or a mother.'
***
       The day seemed to have undergone some strange time transformation
that almost had her calling Setsuna to ask if something had gone
wrong. Sometimes it seemed that time stopped, not advancing at all,
then other times she would glance at the clock to realize that a whole
period had gone by without her being aware of it, or aware of the
class. Finally though, four o'clock came, the end of her day at Showa.
Usagi quietly gathered her things, not responding to various questions
from her classmates and made her way back to the train for the ride
that would take her to Tokyo University.
       Each step felt as if she was dragging a huge weight on her leg. She
didn't want to go. If she didn't go, she wouldn't know, and that
ignorance seemed so sweet, like the ignorance before Luna restored her
memories, before she found out how the future was already decided for
her. She had three years without Sailor Moon, without the constant
reminders of who she was, and who she would one day be. 'So I can't. I
just can't be!' she thought, 'I can't be... THAT! I want to be Usagi,
not Serenity, I want...'
       Usagi looked up from her walk, 'I'm here.'
       She turned into the dormitory of her friend, this time not even
smiling at the fancy name plaque on the entranceway, as she normally
did, that proclaimed this hall that serves as residence for students
of prestigious Tokyo University was named Wombat Hall, a gift from a
famous American historian who had insisted that it be named that, for
some reason.
       Instead she rode the elevator in silence and knocked on the door to
the room of her friend.
       Ami opened the door, and quickly hid a frown; Usagi looked as if
Mamoru had just eclared he really loved Rei. Ami had never seen her
friend so depressed, or worried. "Usagi-chan, please come in."
       "I am sorry for bothering you," Usagi said in a flat voice as she
moved into the room.
       Ami shared the room with one other person; it was easy to see which
side belonged to which person. One side was a riot of colors with
posters of SMAP, KinkiKids, Orange Range, and Uteda Hikaru, plus other
popular figures decorating the walls, and the desk was a cluttered
mess surrounding the computer.
       The other side was cool, blue shades populated the bed. The walls
were unadorned except by a framed drawing of Sailor Mercury that Usagi
recognized as being something she had made and given Ami for her
birthday last year. The bookshelf was crammed full of books, and
topped with four framed photos, one was Ami's mother, one of her
father, one was of Urawa-kun, her boyfriend, and the final one was a
large group shot of all the Senshi, not in uniform, taken during the
Karuizawa trip.
       Ami's desk was oddly empty though. Unlike most students, she didn't
have most of her desk space taken up by a computer or other related
equipment.
       Ami gestured for her friend to sit on the bed while she herself sat
on the chair at her desk. "Usagi-chan, what's wrong? You've been
worried about something since yesterday."
       Usagi started to speak, then stopped and looked around, "Ami-chan,
where's Katsuyama-san?"
       Ami looked over the mess that was her roommate's side of the room,
"She's staying in the library to study, and she said she won't be back
till eight at the earliest."
       Usagi nodded to herself, "Ami-chan. I need your help. I... Ami-chan,
remember the trip to Karuizawa?"
       Ami frowned at the sudden shift in topics, but nodded affirmative.
       "Mamo-chan and I, there was a time I mean when Mamo-chan and I were
together." Usagi stated.
       Ami looked puzzled, "Usagi-chan, you and Mamoru-san usually are
together."
       "I mean we were TOGETHER, together. You know what I mean?"
       Ami blinked a few times then started to blush, "Oh! Yes, I
understand. But...?"
       Usagi took a deep breath, trying to say what she couldn't even think
about. "Ami-chan, that was a month and a half ago. I haven't had my
period since then."
       Ami stopped moving for a second, finally she stuttered out,
"B..b..but you and Mamoru-san, I mean, you use protection right?"
       Usagi nodded, "But there was one time in the hotel. I'm hoping; I
really hope that I am just late. When I was younger my period wasn't
regular so..."
       Ami just stared at Usagi, "Usagi-chan," she said gently, "This is too
long, even for an irregular period. And you are old enough that you
shouldn't be."
       Tears formed in Usagi's eyes, "I was hoping though, Ami-chan, that
you would say it could be."
       Ami reached across from the chair and hugged her friend, "I'm sorry,
Usagi-chan," she said simply.
       Usagi returned the hug, and then drew back a little and released Ami.
"Ami-chan, could you make sure? I mean, with your computer?"
       Ami nodded, "Of course, Usagi-chan. Why don't you lie back on
the bed ok?"
       Usagi swung her hips and legs fully onto the bed and stretched out on
Ami's bed. Ami had pulled the Mercury Computer from, somewhere, and
opened it. She started to type rapidly, telling the computer what she
wanted it to scan for and to narrow the search down to just Usagi, she
didn't want to know how many of her dorm mates were pregnant, a result
that could happen with the power of the Mercury Computer if she didn't
limit it. She then passed the computer over Usagi's nether regions.
       "Hang on, Usagi-chan, this should take a minute," Ami noted.
       Usagi nodded. A minute later a soft beeping came from the machine.
Ami read the screen and nodded, "Ok. It's done."
       Usagi sat up and looked at her Senshi, "And?"
       "And yes," Ami said gently, "You are about 3 to 5 weeks pregnant.
Congratulations, Usagi-chan, you're going to be a mother!" she said
the last with a bright smile.
       The blood drained out of Usagi's face at the pronouncement though. "I
don't want to be though," she whispered.
       Ami looked at Usagi with concern, "Usagi-chan?"
       "I don't want to be a mother now, not now!"
       "But that's Chibi-Usa, that means..." Ami started to say.
       "That's what I don't want! Ami-chan, you know what that means. It
means Crystal Tokyo is here, now! It means I can't be Usagi any more,
I have to be Serenity, the queen!"
       "But..." Ami tried again
       "Ami-chan, don't you see?" Usagi's voice was getting hysterical, "I
can't finish school, none of us can now. We won't be Ami and Usagi
anymore; we'll be Senshi Mercury and Neo-Queen Serenity. I won't be
able to marry Mamo-chan and be his bride; I'll be marring Neo-King
Endymion. How can I be his bride? How can I have a small wedding with
just my friends and family, how can I do things that brides are
supposed to do like cook, how can I, when I will be the queen of the
Earth?" Usagi took a deep breath and then said quietly, "And we know
something's going to happen, something bad has to, to make Crystal
Tokyo come about."
       Ami just looked at Usagi in shock, "Usagi-chan, don't you want to be
queen and see Crystal Tokyo, what we fought for, for so long?"
       Tears started to fall, not the river filling bawls she would let
lose, but silent tears that streamed down Usagi's face and started
turned the blue blanket on Ami's bed a darker shade. "I do, but not
now. I want to be Usagi right now; I just want to be Usagi again."
       Ami reached out to her princess, her best friend, the one whom she
had died for and would willingly do so again, and pulled her into a
deep hug. "I understand, Usagi-chan. I understand," she repeated,
hugging the once and future queen tight and rocking slowly.
       After a few minutes of nothing being said, and nothing heard but soft
sobs from Usagi, Ami finally pulled back a little to look Usagi in the
eyes. "Usagi-chan, you need to tell Mamoru-san about this and start
seeing a doctor."
       Usagi looked a little panicked, "I can't see a doctor, what if they
decide to tell my parents? If Daddy finds out that Mamo-chan got me
pregnant..."
       Ami sighed, she knew what she was going to say next would really put
a cat among the canaries, "Usagi-chan, I think you should tell them
too. You won't be able to hide this from them, and you are going to
need the support of your family."
       Usagi's eyes widened in alarm, "I can't! I can't tell them! Ami-chan,
Daddy will... my father... Ami-chan you have no idea what he'll do.
He'll try to kill Mamo-chan. He'll ground me till I turn 99, I can't
tell him! How can I tell them that I really screwed up?"
       "Usagi, you NEED to tell them..."
       "NO! NO! I can't! I won't!"
       Ami sighed with frustration. Unfortunately Usagi, once she was
panicked could only have her mind changed by two people, one was
Mamoru, and the other was Rei. "Usagi-chan, if nothing else, you need
to tell the rest of the Senshi. If Crystal Tokyo is coming soon, they
need to know."
       Usagi nodded silently, just as long as she didn't have to tell her
parents. Ami stood up, "Why don't you call Mamoru-san and ask him to
take you back home and I'll call everyone and we'll meet at the shrine
tomorrow evening?"
       Usagi nodded again and also stood.
       Ami hugged her friend one last time, "Usagi-chan, we'll be there for
you. Always, and you will always be Usagi to us, not Serenity."
       "Thank you, Ami-chan!" Usagi wailed and started to crush the life out
of Ami in a bear hug.
       "Usagi-chan! I need to breathe! I can't call everyone if I can't
breathe!" Ami said desperately flailing her arms around.
       Usagi released Ami with a small laugh and blushed a little, "I'm
sorry, Ami-chan."
       Ami smiled, "Call Mamoru-san, I'll start calling everyone else."
       Usagi nodded and got out her cell phone. Dialing the number from
memory she quickly spoke, "Mamo-chan? Could you give me a ride home?
I'm at Ami-chan's dorm." She paused, "I have something I need to tell
you." She paused again, "I can't say over the phone, Mamo-chan, it's
very important and I need to tell you tonight." One more pause, "Ok,
I'll see you soon. I love you Mamo-chan."
       Ami and Usagi spent the last half hour going over what Usagi
would need to do.
       "Just remember to eat well, Usagi-chan, less junk food and more
healthier foods. Actually I've read that a more traditional Japanese
diet will be the best for you during your pregnancy," Ami finished;
Usagi winced once again when she heard the word.
       "And, you really need to see a doctor," Ami continued, she reached
over and took one of Usagi's hands in hers. "Usagi-chan," she said to
the head shaking blond, "you must! There is prenatal care that you
HAVE to have. It's not just for you, it's for the health of your baby,
for Chibi-Usa."
       "I can't," Usagi said in a small voice, "What if they tell my
parents? Couldn't you do it?"
       Ami sighed, "Usagi-chan, I am a first year student here, not even in
medical school, I can't provide you the care that you need, not yet."
Ami thought for a moment, "My mother is a pediatric, not a
gynecologist, but she might be able to help you out for now until you
see the doctors you really need to see."
       "But she'll tell!"
       Ami shook her head, "She won't, she's good at keep secrets; trust me
on this. Usagi-chan, she won't tell them unless you say so."
       The buzzer for the door sounded, startling them both. "That must be
Mamoru-san," Ami said. "Why don't we talk about this tomorrow when you
tell the rest of the Senshi?"
       Usagi nodded and slowly got up from the bed. "Thank you, Ami-chan."
       Ami gave her friend one final hug, "Be happy, Usagi-chan, this is
supposed to be a joyous time."
       Usagi just sighed and walked out the door.
       Ami watched the door closed and winced when it clicked shut. It
almost did seem like the door was closing on Usagi's innocence. She
hadn't thought, really thought about what Crystal Tokyo would mean to
Usagi. 'I guess we all just assumed that Usagi wanted to be queen. We
should have known better,' Ami mused. She sighed once more and reached
for her cell phone and quickly dialed a number.
       "Hi, may I speak with Dr. Mizuno please?"
       "This is her daughter, Ami."
       A pause or two, and Ami winced as the wait music came on, 'Why' she
wondered for the umpteenth time, 'Does my mother's hospital have to
use American country music for hold music? And why does it have to be
filled with so much static?'
       "Mother? I have to talk to you; I am going to need your help."
       "No, this is not Senshi business, well, not quite."
       "I can't really say over the phone, but are you coming home
this weekend?"
       "Ok, I'll see you then."
       "Yes, Mother, my studies are going well."
       "I love you too, bye".
***
       Mamoru waited at the front of Wombat Hall, trying to figure out why
Usagi would sound so depressed over the phone. He hadn't felt that
particular tug that let him know she was in danger and that had sent
him racing across Tokyo in the past in a tuxedo, but from the tone of
her voice on the phone he knew something was wrong, very wrong. She
sounded like all the life had been drained from her.
       That life, the wonderful joy that she found in everything, was one of
the many things he loved about her. He was a professional cynic,
always ready to see the bad, always ready for failure, but she was the
total antithesis of his worldview. To her, the world and everything in
it was wonderful, and worth fighting for, and it was a fight they
would win.
       But her voice on the phone sounded like all the joy had gone. And as
he saw her walk out of the elevator and across the lobby to the door,
his worry heightened, it was as if the sun had suddenly cut out and
stopped projecting warmth and light.
       She didn't hug him, she didn't yell his name; she didn't even say hi; she
just brushed past him and went to his waiting car and climbed into the
passenger side.
       Mamoru followed and got into the car himself and started it up. He
turned to his beloved and also tried to start, "Usako..."
       She cut him off, "Just take me home, Mamo-chan." Usagi started to
shake with suppressed sobs, "Take me home. I'll... I'll tell you on
the way," she choked out.
       Mamoru guided the car onto an expressway and headed towards Juuban,
all the time glancing worriedly at the occupant of his passenger seat.
Halfway back, Usagi finally spoke in a small, quiet voice that made
his heart ache.
       "Mamo-chan, remember Karuizawa?" she asked.
       "Of course, Usako, what...?"
       "Remember our first night there, in the bathtub?" she continued.
       "Yes, I do," Mamoru said, wondering where this was going.
       "Mamo-chan, I'm a month and a half late."
       Mamoru, trying to reconcile 'late' with 'bathtub' and also shying
away from the obvious, engaged mouth before engaging brain, "Late for
what, Usako?" he asked confusedly.
       She shot him a hurt filled glare. She took a deep breath and said it
in words that even Mamoru couldn't misunderstand; "I'm a month and a
half late for my period. Ami-chan just confirmed it; I am pregnant
with YOUR child, Chiba Mamoru!"
       Mamoru's resulting swerve almost took them into the barrier wall on
the side of the expressway.
        Mamoru almost blurted out 'Are you sure?' followed by 'How did this
happen?' but managed to catch the look Usagi was giving him and
decided he didn't want to die at the hands of the mother of his child.
Instead he took the next exit off the expressway, noting her unasked
question he simply stated, "We had better talk about this, Usako, and
I don't want to cause an accident."
               Usagi simply nodded.
       Mamoru continued, "Besides, you are the most important thing to me,
and deserve my full attention, especially now."
       Usagi gave him a grateful look and nodded again.
       He drove for a few minutes before parking by a children's playground.
He killed the engine and turned to Usagi. "So...?" he left it hanging,
not sure where to start.
       Usagi spoke quietly, looking down at her lap where she kept clenching
and unclenching her fists, "Yesterday when you said we had been
sleeping together for a month and a half straight this time, I
remembered that I hadn't had my period at all. I should have had it
about a week or so after we went to Karuizawa."
       She looked up at him for a second; then quickly looked back at her
lap. "I didn't even think about it until yesterday. But we had been so
safe, we always used a condom so, I thought... But then I remembered
that first night in the hotel."
       Mamoru shivered slightly at the memory of steam, hot water,
soap, and Usagi.
       "And so I went to Ami-chan's room to see if she could scan me with
her computer. She said..." Usagi stopped, sounding as if she had
suppressed another sob, "she said I was pregnant."
       Mamoru's mouth moved a few times without saying anything. Then he
swallowed hard and finally found his voice, "How long?" His voice was
also quiet, if somewhat higher pitched than normal.
       Usagi finally met his eyes, "Ami-chan says about 3 to 5 weeks. She
says a fuller and longer scan could know how long for sure."
       "I see," Mamoru said softly and turned to gaze out the window of his
car. In the twilight, he saw a man and a young girl walking down the
narrow street, maybe coming to the park to play. The girl was probably
about 5, her black hair done up in pigtails and she was wearing a pair
of pink and blue overalls. She ran around the legs of the older man,
who was in his late twenties or early thirties.
       He laughed at her antics and she giggled back; a father and daughter,
Mamoru suddenly realized. For a moment, his imagination gave the young
girl pink hair done up in a familiar odongo style and gave the father
a lavender cape, and a white mask. 'That is going to be me soon'
Mamoru thought to himself. 'A father, I am going to be a father!'
       "Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked hesitantly, he had just zoned out on her.
'Maybe he's thinking of something,' as he turned back to her, with a
strange look on his face, her wonder turned to fear, 'Maybe he wants
to break up with me now.'
       Her mind sped through various stories whispered to her by classmates
at Showa, how so and so had gotten so and so pregnant, and how he had
immediately dumped her, declaring that he couldn't be the father and
she must have been sleeping around. How he left quickly to leave her
to deal with the pregnancy, or the abortion.
       "Mamo-chan?" she asked again, fearfully this time, dreading the
answer she might receive, but needing to know all the same.
       "Usako," Mamoru said a little hoarsely, "I'm sorry for this, this is
my fault for not insisting on protection all the time. I should have
controlled myself better. But..."
       Usagi closed her eyes, tears starting to already form, 'Here it
comes,' she thought, 'rejection.'
       "But," Mamoru continued, "in a way, I am glad."
       Usagi's eyes snapped open and she looked at Mamoru, who was now
smiling, in shock, "What?" she demanded.
       "I know that the timing is a little bad, and I know you must be
worried about your family, but it means we're going to be parents.
Usako, we're going to be a family!" Mamoru exclaimed almost joyfully.
       At first Usagi was surprised, she had expected rejection, but this...
this...? Then she grew alarmed, she didn't WANT to be pregnant now,
and she needed someone to understand that, since Ami hadn't, she was
counting on Mamoru. But Mamoru, Mamoru WANTED this child, he wanted
this... family. She finally understood, the family that was taken from
him by the car accident, he wanted it back.
       What had she once said to him? 'Don't worry, Mamo-chan, I'll be your
family.' She had said that shortly before Fiore had attacked. For her,
this child meant the lost of herself as Usagi, but to Mamoru it meant
the gaining of all he ever wanted, a family.
       While Usagi struggled with these thoughts, Mamoru himself was
thinking hard. 'She doesn't seem to want to this,' he figured out.
'But why? This means Crystal Tokyo will be founded soon.' His thoughts
paused and grabbed onto the fact, and provided him with the image he
had just imagined, he and Chibi-Usa, father and daughter. But he was
not Chiba Mamoru in the image; he was the Neo-King, co-ruler of all
the Earth and Moon.
       And while a year of having his future daughter with him had branded
into his mind that her name was Chibi-Usa, it really wasn't. No, their
daughter's real name was Serenity, named after her mother, the queen,
as was the custom in the Silver Millennium.
       And what did his Usako want here and now? His memory replayed moment
after moment of their lives together after Galaxia. Her constant talk
of getting married and being a bride, of going to college and maybe a
university, of trying to cook him food, of being a normal young woman
in Tokyo in love.
       He had wanted a family, he realized, she had wanted one too, but the
key word was normal.
       "Usako!" Mamoru spoke...
       Just as she exclaimed, "Mamo-chan!"
       They both paused for a second, then Usagi tried to speak again, but
Mamoru cut her off.
       "Usako, listen to me now, ok? I know you want a normal life, and this
scares you. But, I will support you, in everything. No matter what it
is, I will be there, and you will always be my Usako, always."
       "Mamo-chan, I don't want this right now." She looked into his eyes,
her bright blue meeting his darker blue, "I want to be Usagi right
now, I wanted to get married to you, and be your bride. I wanted to
see you graduate, to see all of us graduate and follow our dreams
before we had to give them all up to be the queen and king of Crystal
Tokyo. I wanted my friends to have the same, before they have to
always be the Senshi." She paused, "I'm not ready to be Serenity, not
right now. I'm scared, Mamo-chan, I am so scared."
       Mamoru's response was to just pull her into a deep embrace, "I'm here
for you, Usako, and I always will be. No matter what." His lips
quirked, "We've survived breaking up, me getting brainwashed, Galaxia
destroying the Senshi and me, and dying, twice. I think we can survive
an unplanned pregnancy."
       Usagi laughed, though her laughter seemed to have a hysterical twinge
to it, "You forgot believing you were from Saudi Arabia, Mamo-chan."
       "I still don't know why my powers chose such a strange outfit; at
least the tuxedo makes some sense."
       Usagi said nothing, just held on to him like he would disappear
again, like the Moonlight Knight.
       Mamoru continued to hold her, "Usako, Usagi," he said. She looked
back up at the use of her proper name; "I died for you in the Silver
Millennium, to be reborn for you now. I died for you again, willingly,
in this life. I have been waiting for you for 25,000 years; I will not
leave you alone now."
       "Oh Mamo-chan, thank you!" Usagi's relief was evident in her voice.
"I was scared, some classmates told me stories of how boys run off,
after hearing their girlfriends got pregnant I mean."
       "I won't run, Usako."
       "Mamo-chan? Will you come with me tomorrow? I have to tell them, tell
the rest of the Senshi," she asked. "I'm not brave enough to, not
alone."
       "Of course." Mamoru looked away again, "Usako, when are we going to
tell your family?"
       Usagi stiffened, "I don't know," she said in a small voice that
almost shook with fear. "Mama... Mama will cry, and Daddy," she
stopped and looked at Mamoru.
       "Your father will probably kill me," Mamoru sighed. He knew he really
couldn't blame the man, he had felt as protective of his own daughter,
both the future version and now.
       "I can't tell them, Mamo-chan, not right now," Usagi said.
       Mamoru rubbed his forehead in thought, "Usako, there IS an alternative."
       "How?"
       "We could get married. At the end of June you turn 20, right? You
won't need your parent's permission anymore for the paperwork."
       "But, the witnesses..."
       "Haruka-san, Michiru-san, and Setsuna-san are all over 20," he
reminded her.
       Usagi blinked, she hadn't considered that, the law did say at 20 she
no longer needed parental permission. She had been so busy dreaming of
the wedding, she had forgotten that, by law, a marriage only takes
place at the ward office, when she and he presented the paperwork to
have her name taken off her family's registry and transferred to his.
       While it would take her from worrying about her father and the law
would protect her from him, since she would be under the care of
Mamoru, still...
       "Mamo-chan, I can't. I can't do that to my family. Mama wants to see
us married, with the wedding. I want the wedding, and I don't want to
be disowned by my father. I do love him, even when he's like this and
I refuse to hurt him."
       Mamoru smiled, she was still thinking of others, even now. She was
truly the woman he loved, and would always. "Of course, Usako. Still,
we should do this right, will you marry me?"
       "WHAT?!" Usagi's shriek shattered the calm night, brought a number of
people racing out of their homes in that quiet neighborhood, and
practically deafened the occupants of the car.
       Mamoru shook his head to clear his ringing ears, and then tried
again. "We are going to be parents, Usako; I want us to be a family. I
love you, and have loved you since you were the princess of the moon
and our love was forbidden, I love you now as a Japanese woman, and
will love you when you are the queen of the earth. Tsukino Usagi, will
you marry me?"
       For the first time in her life, Usagi didn't know what to say.
***
       The red sports car stopped a few blocks from her house; Usagi quietly
got out of the left side and gathered her bags. "I'll see you tomorrow
at the shrine, Mamo-chan?" she asked.
       Mamoru leaned over the passenger seat, "Usako..., please..." he pleaded.
       Usagi bent down and put her finger to his lips, silencing him with
the gesture. She smiled a small smile, "I love you, Mamo-chan, but..."
       "But that's why!" Mamoru started to protest around her finger.
       Usagi pressed her finger again into his lips, "Mamo-chan, I want to
marry you, and one day we will. But I want it without you feeling you
HAVE to because I am," she looked around for a second at the deserted
street, no one, cat or otherwise, could been seen, "pregnant," she
whispered the last word.
       "But!"
       "Mamo-chan, ask me again, later, but not now."
       Mamoru nodded, he was obviously unhappy, but did not want to push the
issue with Usagi. "I understand," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow at
the shrine."
       Usagi stood back up, "I love you, Mamo-chan."
       "I love you too, Usako," he replied. He watched her start to walk
down the street back to her house, till she turned the corner and was
gone from his sight. He could still feel her presence; the bond they
shared let him always know she was safe, if not where she was or what
she was doing at the time. It had been there right at the beginning,
prompting him to transform without knowing it, and since the fight
with Galaxia it was stronger than ever. But he couldn't use it to get
Usagi to understand he really did love her, and had wanted to ask her
to marry him
before finding out about the baby.
       He drove away into the night.
***
       Usagi returned to her house and quietly went up to her room. She
tossed herself on the bed, burrowing her face into the pillow. A small
thump and a quick shake of the bed alerted her she was not alone. A
small weight slowly made its way up her back then climbed down into
the hollow between her arm and head.
       "Usagi-chan?" Luna asked. "Did Ami-chan help you?"
       Usagi turned a tear stained face to the guardian cat, Luna gasped,
"Usagi-chan! What happened? What's wrong?!"
       Usagi pulled Luna closer to her, and started to cry, silent tears
flowed into the Moon Cat's dark fur. "I'll... I'll tell you
t.t.tomorrow, L.L.Luna," Usagi sobbed, "Don't ask!"
       Luna started to purr has loud and as hard as she could. Not saying
anything, just purring and staying with Usagi. She didn't stop till
the young woman cried herself to sleep.
***
       The next evening, Usagi slowly made her way up the stone steps to
Hikawa Shrine. Step by step she was climbing to her destiny. Once, she
had wanted it. As a child she had wanted more than anything to be a
beautiful princess, and marry a handsome prince, and live in a
wonderful palace together.
       'And now, I'm a princess with a handsome prince who would give
anything to be a normal girl who can marry her normal boyfriend and
live together in a normal house,' Usagi thought bitterly.
       She paused for a second and placed her hand over her lower abdomen,
'Chibi-Usa-chan,' she thought to the child developing within her,
'it's not that I don't want you, it's that I wish you could have
waited a little longer.'
       She continued up the last few steps and stopped right before the tori
gate. She hadn't really ever paid that much attention to religion
before, if pressed she might have claimed some Shinto beliefs, but
couldn't say what those beliefs were. She did remember one afternoon,
some years back, when she and Rei were the only ones left after a
Senshi meeting. She had stayed to help Rei clean, well, really to
finish off the cookies and watch Rei clean.
       "Hey, Rei-chan," she had said around a mouth full of cookies, as the
shrine maiden swept under the large tori, "what are tori anyway?"
       Rei had given her one of those looks that spoke volumes about her
view on Usagi's intelligence. Then she looked up fondly to the massive
gate, on which she could see Phoebes and Demos perched, sunning
themselves. "It's a gate, meatball head!" Rei had said, "It separates
the holy ground, the world of the kami, from the regular world."
       Usagi brought her thoughts back to the present, 'And right now, it is
the gate separating Usagi from Serenity.' She closed her eyes, and
stepped through.
       Across the stone path leading to the shrine proper, Rei was busy
sweeping. She looked up at the sounds of footsteps and almost dropped
her broom. Usagi was here. The meeting wasn't going to be for another
15 minutes, but Usagi was here, early, without Ami, Mamoru, or herself
to bring Usagi to the shrine early.
       'Something HAS to be wrong, Usagi couldn't make it early to anything
if her life depending on it!' the senshi of fire thought to herself.
       Last night, Ami had called saying Usagi was calling a meeting of all
the Senshi, and that there was something very important that everyone
needed to know about, but the blue-haired girl refused to say what or
why, only noting that it was Usagi's place to tell them all.
       Watching her best friend slowly make her way to the shrine, Rei had
the feeling that whatever it was she had to tell them, it wasn't
joyful news.
       Usagi didn't see Rei till she almost bumped into her, "Oh, uh, hi,
Rei-chan" Usagi said; obviously trying to inject her normal
cheerfulness into her voice, and failing.
       Rei carefully leaned the broom down then turned back to Usagi. Usagi
looked around for the first time, "Where's everyone else?" Usagi
asked.
       Something in her tone of voice convinced Rei that now was not the
time to indulge in her favorite hobby of Usagi teasing. "Usagi, you're
fifteen minutes early," Rei said without her usual rancor.
       Usagi blinked and looked around the shrine grounds, as if she too
couldn't believe she was early to something without the intervention
of someone. "I am? I thought I was late, Rei-chan."
       Rei's worry was growing exponentially, "Why don't you come in? I've
just made some cookies and some tea for everyone." 'Food HAS to do it,
food always makes Usagi happy.'
       Usagi started moving towards the house, but was shaking her head, "No
thanks, Rei, I'm... I'm not really that hungry."
       Now Rei was REALLY worried. Usagi not hungry? Either she had been
taken over by a youma or something was really wrong. And since Rei
didn't sense any feelings of evil, just the normal pureness that
radiated from Usagi, it had to be the latter instead of the former.
>From behind her friend, Rei asked softly, "Usagi-chan, what's wrong?"
       Usagi froze in her steps, but didn't turn around. "I... Please,
Rei-chan, I'll tell you when the others get here."
       Some of Rei's fire vented, "Oh, you could tell Ami, but you can't
tell me now huh?" she snapped.
       Usagi shook her head and turned to face Rei, "No! Ami-chan found out,
but I, I don't have the strength to say it more than once. Please,
Rei-chan! Please wait for everyone else."
       Rei actually took a step backwards in regards to the panic that she
could see Usagi barely holding in. Whatever this was, it was not good.
"Ok, Usagi," she said quietly, "I'll wait."
       Usagi nodded and continued her walk into Rei's house. Rei watched at
the door shut. 'What on Earth...?' she wondered.
       A few moments later, more footsteps alerted her to the arrival of others.
Turning, she saw Ami, with Luna hanging over her shoulder, with
Makoto, and Minako, who had Artemis perched on her shoulder, walking
up the final steps. The close roar of a sports car told her that the
outers had arrived as well. All that was missing was Mamoru, who when
he had been included on a semi-regular basis in Senshi meetings would
just show up out of nowhere. Rei had complained numerous times that he
did just so he could practice being mysterious.
       She had never caught him perching on anything waiting for the chance
to swoop down mysteriously though.
       She glanced back to the house, then back to the knot of arriving
senshi, to see that Mamoru was now in the middle of the group.
       "He did it," she grumbled to herself, "again."
       They all had finally arrived and had started to settle down, each
around the table, facing Usagi, who sat alone at the head, though she
was flanked on either side by Mamoru and Ami. In years past, the
division might have been Outers on one side, if they had shown at all,
with Inners on the other. Three years of Usagi's particular brand of
friendship, accepting all and assuming that everyone would accept each
other had finally filled the wide gap between the two teams. Once more
they were the Senshi, not Inners and Outers. They would never
disappoint their princess.
       So, as Rei went around the table, serving tea and cookies, she was
answering questions tossed to her from Michiru about the curricula of
the music program at T*A College, and asking a few herself about the
prestigious Tokyo College of Music, which Michiru attended. Most of
the Senshi had relaxed into talking with old friends.
       Most of the Senshi.
       Minako and Hotaru were giggling together over Minako's latest
boyfriend disaster, and having a small debate on when Hotaru would
EVER find a boyfriend, and if Haruka would kill him first. Haruka was
attempting to get Makoto to fix her and Michiru a special dinner in
exchange for a complete tune up, Makoto was holding out for more than
just a tune up, angling for some modifications from the famous Motor
Car Club that Haruka belonged to in exchange for a dinner made by her
and one of her teachers at Le Cordon Bleu-Tokyo. The Cats had gone off
to one corner of the room and were talking quietly with Luna tossing
worried looks at Usagi. And Setsuna sat and quietly sipped her tea.
       Rei finished the passing out of food and sat between Mamoru and
Haruka. The conversations slowly died out as by some unseen signal
they awaited whatever it was Usagi was going to tell them.
       Usagi had spent the time looking at the polished wood of the table,
not really noticing her friends. She was barely aware of Ami and
Mamoru on either side of her trying to provide support. The untouched
pile of cookies in front of her was noticed by all, as well as her
downcast mood.
       Finally, Minako broke the silence, "Um, so, Usagi-chan, what's going
on? Ami-chan said it was important and that we shouldn't let Hell or
low water stand in our way."
       Ami groaned, "That was high water, Minako-chan, Hell or high water."
       "Whatever."
       Everyone ignored another Minako mangling and concentrated on Usagi.
       The young woman spoke softly, not really raising her head, "Everyone,
I have something to tell you. I'm, I'm sorry, but it means we're going
to have to give up a lot."
       Haruka frowned and leaned forward onto the table to try and catch
Usagi's eye. "New threat, Neko?" the blond senshi asked, dressed, as
always, in men's clothing. Across the table from her, Makoto also
leaned in an unconscious copying of the Outer's movement. The both of
them had felt that they, the best fighters of the Senshi, had failed
the most during Galaxia's attack. A chance word or two from Luna had
brought the two together to train and had formed a new friendship.
       Usagi shook her head slightly. She looked up when she felt a hand on
her shoulder, turning to look at Mamoru who gave her an encouraging
smile and a squeeze. Usagi glanced over at Ami who nodded once. She
finally faced her friends, and saw there nothing but concern and love,
giving her the strength, as always, to face what needed to happen.
       "No, not a new threat, Haruka-san, I'm pregnant," Usagi said.
       You could have heard a pin drop. It seemed as if the world, or time
itself, had stopped for a second, until Setsuna raised her cup and
sipped some more tea.
       Finally Minako broke the silence, "Um, Usagi-chan, I must be hearing
things. I thought you said you were pregnant."
       Usagi nodded, "I did; I am."
        Minako nodded, a bright, maniacal smile on her face, "Oh, I guess
I'm not hearing things," the blond commander of the Senshi said
calmly. Then she took a deep breath, "Usagi-chan?" she said sweetly.
"Could you please then tell me HOW THE HELL THIS HAPPENED?"
       Usagi winced and then seem to rally herself, annoyance and worry
causing her to answer back, "Well, gee, Minako-chan, YOU'RE the one
with all the boyfriends. I thought you'd know all about the whole
insert tab A into slot B and rub vigorously thing."
       Where silence had been, now came pandemonium. Mamoru found himself
confronted by an angry priestess and a cat.
       "YOU!" Luna yelled, bounding across the table to where he sat, her
tail bristled like a cleaning brush, "You, you, you..."
       "You animal!" Rei shrieked, rounding on the young man.
       "Rei-chan!" Luna complained.
       Rei turned to the cat and calmly apologized, "I'm sorry, Luna. I
didn't mean to group this... man, with animals who have much better
sense."
       "That's ok, Rei-chan," Luna said magnanimously, "I understand." Then
both turned to Mamoru, who had started to sweat and wave his hands as
if to ward them off.
       "How could you, you brute? I TRUSTED you with her. I felt that you,
Prince of Earth, would have the intelligence not to knock up the Moon
Princess!" Luna yelled at Mamoru, her paws on his chest and her face
in his.
       He turned his head to be confronted by an equally up close and
personal Rei. "You idiot!" she screamed, "I set up and acted as cover
all those times because YOU promised me you'd take care of her, that
you wouldn't take advantage of her."
       "It was an accident!" Mamoru protested.
       "An accident?" Luna scoffed, "You do know this is why we neuter male
cats, right? It would be a shame is such an 'accident' was to befall
you, Mamoru-kun." The sudden pricking of her claws on his chest told
Mamoru where she was heading with this statement. He blanched.
       "But don't worry, Mamoru-kun," Rei said sweetly, "I'll make sure the
wound is NICE and cauterized."
       Mamoru's face went even whiter.
       While Mamoru was fighting with one cat, the other was trying to break
up a catfight.
       "Um, guys, this isn't helping you know," Artemis said.
       "How could you not tell us?" Makoto demanded.
       "Exactly! We're supposed to be like fleas in a pod," Minako exclaimed.
       Ami was so agitated that she didn't even bother correcting Minako,
her eyes narrowed and she spoke in an icy voice, "Because it was
Usagi-chan's news, NOT mine. And there's this little thing called
doctor-patient confidentiality. I may not be a doctor yet, but I will
not betray or talk about those who come to me for help. As I recall,
BOTH of you have. Would you like me to tell everyone here about your
little problems?"
       Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru were having a small family discussion.
       "Does this mean I can baby sit Chibi-Usa-chan?" Hotaru asked hopefully.
       Both Haruka and Michiru looked as if someone had hit them upside the
back of the head with a board, Michiru nodded absently to Hotaru.
Haruka swallowed hard and finally managed to say, "Well, Neko, your
sense of timing is as wonderful as ever."
       Setsuna sipped her tea and noted to no one in particular, "This is
why I spend most of my time with the time gate."
       Usagi finally had enough; she slammed her hands down on the table and
pushed herself to her feet, spilling tea everywhere. "Shut UP! All of
you!" She glared at each of the arguing groups. "This is NOT
Mamo-chan's fault. I was the one who started sleeping with him, and
fucked him during a time where he could not possibly have a condom on
him. And I asked Ami-chan to not tell anyone because this is MY
problem, not hers."
       The rest were shocked into silence by Usagi's rage. A rage which
quickly turned to tears, "I called you here to tell you that Crystal
Tokyo is now here," she placed her hand on her abdomen, "this child
means our lives are going to change and I didn't want you to lose your
dreams this time without a choice, or knowing." She glared at them all
once more, "But I don't know why I bothered." With that, she turned
and fled.
       "Usako!" Mamoru called and struggled to his feet, tossing Luna, who
let lose a startled yowl, off his chest. He too glared at the
assembled group, but left without saying a word.
       "Um, what just happened?" Makoto asked.
       Ami sighed, "Usagi-chan is not happy. She thinks that this birth
means she has to give up being Usagi and has to be Serenity. She also
thinks that since Crystal Tokyo is coming very soon we're going to all
have to give up our dreams."
       Setsuna finished her tea and stood, "And she is wrong," the Guardian
of Time simply said and left.
       "As I said, what the hell just happened?" Makoto repeated.
***
       Usagi had been avoiding everyone for about a week now. Luna found
that each night the door to her room had been firmly shut in her face.
The other senshi had found that Usagi would no longer answer calls on
her cell phone from them, and had managed to take different routes to
school. Even Mamoru wasn't able to get a hold of her; they hadn't
tried calling her on her communicator, yet.
       Usagi walked slowly down the twilight lit street, counting the small
side streets to find one of the other routes to her home. She couldn't
keep this up forever she knew, and she knew that in her heart, she had
already forgiven them. For one thing, they were her friends, for
another, she had remembered that she had never told them of her fears
of losing herself to Serenity. She hadn't because she didn't want them
to worry about her. But for right now, she wanted to be alone. So she
ducked down a small side street that was framed by an eel restaurant
and a house. While her home was on a corner, the twisty maze of
streets and small alleyways that made up Tokyo meant her trip back
from the train station
could be made in a variety of different ways.
       Usagi turned onto one of the busier streets of Juuban and walked
quickly past various shops and vending machines. Around her flowed
crowds of people heading home, or heading out. Smells of food and
tobacco from the open doorways of restaurants mixed in with the aromas
of fresh fruits, flowers, and beer that created the chaotic symphony
of scents that was one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world.
       The bright lights, neon and fluorescent, which glared on the street
dimmed as she turned and moved down a smaller side street. This one
was quieter, lit by the red paper lanterns of small bars tending to
the salarymen heading home. The bright glow of a convenience store
marked her next turn onto an even smaller street.
       Usagi was almost home now, this street connected onto a road that led
to a park by her house. From there it would be a straight shot home.
Being in such familiar territory and still worried over what was going
to happen, Usagi was not paying attention to the dimly lit street that
was her chosen path home this evening. As she moved between the
buildings, the noises of Tokyo grew distant in her ears. Her head
down, staring at her feet, she moved quickly and ran head first into
the large door that suddenly filled the street.
       "Owiee!" Usagi yelled as she bounced off the door. She looked up to
yell at whomever she ran into to watch where he or she was going, but
the words died on her lips as what she ran into made its way into her
brain.
       The Gate of Time filled the small Tokyo street, looking as impassable
as a shear mountain cliff. It stood as if it had been there since the
beginning of time, and that all Tokyo, indeed, even the very planet,
had grown around it. And maybe it had.
       The gate swung open, releasing mists that slowly crept around the
area, and discharging its guardian.
       Sailor Pluto regarded Usagi for a few moments before speaking, her
face a mask of impassiveness. The eldest of the Senshi, she alone knew
how the Silver Millennium came to being, and she alone had seen the
Crystal Millennium. None really claimed to be close to her; even the
outers whom she worked the closest with could claim to really know
Pluto. To Usagi and the rest of the inners, she remained a
frightening, mysterious, figure.
       None then knew the joy she took in seeing the Senshi reborn, and in
Usagi in particular.
       "Princess, no, Usagi-chan, I need to speak with you," Pluto intoned.
       Usagi swallowed nervously, "What about?" she finally asked.
       "The future, and your child," The Senshi of Time replied, "Please,
come with me." Pluto held out her free hand to Usagi.
       Usagi hesitated a second, not wanting the final confirmation that
Crystal Tokyo was indeed now here. In the past she would have run
away, but that Usagi had been sleeping for many years now. The Usagi
of here and now took the hand of her friend and was drawn into the
Gate of Time. Both figures vanished into the mists of the Time Tunnel.
       The Gate itself shut and disappeared, or perhaps it would be best to
say, it arranged matters so that instead of being built where that
street of Tokyo would some day be, it found a time where it was built
somewhere else.
       Pluto walked slightly ahead, leading Usagi down the Time Tunnel, and
then angled off to the side where a door slowly came into view. Unlike
the massive, awe inspiring, reality of the Gate of Time, this one was
a normal wooden door with a small brass handle and keyhole. Next to it
was a small bell on a curled spring, with a choker and string
arrangement to ring the bell. Over the door a brass plate read 'Mr.
Sanders', next to the bell was a small hand written sign asking a
visitor to 'Please Ring'.
       Usagi looked at Pluto questioningly.
       A small, faint blush momentarily colored Pluto's cheeks, "Ok, so I love
Pooh-san," she said a little defensively.
       "So I guess the Pooh-san kitchen set in your home isn't really for
Hotaru-chan?" Usagi asked impishly.
       The blush on Pluto's face grew.
       Usagi grinned in response, "That's ok, Setsuna-san, I've always liked
Tigger-san myself."
       Pluto flashed her a quick answering grin and then opened the door. She
stood to one side and gestured for Usagi to go in.
       Still silently giggling to herself over her discovery of the mysterious
Sailor Pluto's secret Winnie-the-Pooh addiction, Usagi walked in.
       She almost expected a replica of the tree house but was instead
confronted by a study. The size of the room seemed to tug at Usagi's
eyes; viewed straight on it was no bigger than one of her classrooms
in junior high, but out of the corner of her eye, it seemed to suggest
that it was far, far bigger. The walls were lined from floor to
ceiling with bookcases, all crammed with books and some scrolls. Here
and there were breaks between the cases where artwork or pedestals
with objects stood in solitary splendor, lit by bright beams of light.
Usagi was startled to see a picture of her in her garb as the Moon
Princess, surrounded by the Senshi, also in full court garb, before
the moon palace with the Earth hanging in the sky. Below that was the
more recent picture of the Senshi at Karuizawa. Other objects tugged
at dim and distant memories buried with Princess Serenity's death
25,000 years ago.
       There was a sword in a jeweled scabbard that hung next to a picture
of Endymion and the four Guardians.
       A crown made from black crystal, with the symbol of Pluto etched in
burnished gold.
       A small key that hung from a gold chain, encased in a block of blue
tinted crystal.
       A plain clay cup, the inside stained a red-brownish color.
       A small silver and crystal crown, with a golden crescent moon that
stood centered in the circlet.
       That last one had been placed reverently in its own alcove in the
back of the room. Above it was a picture of Queen Serenity wearing the
same crown. Pluto noticed the direction of Usagi's gaze and nodded
slightly. "Yes, that is the crown of your mother, the crown of the
Moon Kingdom. She asked me to keep it safe and it give it to you when
you are ready for it. It was the last request she ever made of me,"
Pluto said softly.
       Usagi lingered on the crown a few moments more, then turned to the
rest of the room. In the middle was a large desk, and beyond that,
almost in it's own little area of space and time, were two easy
chairs, with a small coffee table. The final surprise was on its own
table in easy reach of the chairs, a TV, with a Play Station 2.
       Again Usagi turned to Pluto in surprise. Pluto had a slightly pained
expression. "Haruka," she finally said. "I got tired of hearing her
taunt me when she kept beating me at those damn games of hers." The
Senshi of Time got a wry smile, "Also I like to watch TV; 25,000 years
is a little long to just be standing around doing nothing."
       Usagi laughed in silent agreement and followed Pluto to sit on one of
the easy chairs while her friend found her way to the other one after
placing the Time Staff in a special stand next to her chair.
       "Tea, Usagi-chan?" Pluto asked, "Or are you addicted to coffee now
like Michiru?"
       Usagi laughed again, "I think every Starbucks in Tokyo knows me by
name and Red Coffee has given me my own seat."
       "Coffee it is then," Pluto said, and gestured to the coffee table.
Two mugs of deep black coffee slowly formed out of some swirling mist.
Pluto picked up both and handed one to the startled Usagi.
       "How..." Usagi wanted to know, staring at the mug in her hand. Her
nose told her that this was indeed coffee, GOOD coffee.
       "The Time Tunnel is attuned to me, in here I can create anything I
wish, and it will be real, but only in the tunnel. That is why
everything you see here," she
said gesturing around the room, "is the real artifact, or book, or
Play Station from the outside world. But food, the room, the
furniture, and other knickknacks I can make myself."
       "How is this possible?"
       "Serenity, your mother, willed it to be so, when I was first
chosen as her
Senshi and given the guardianship of Time. Your mother felt that the
Time Tunnel and the Gate were too dangerous to be left alone, even for
a grocery run."
       Usagi laughed at that.
       Pluto's face grew a little grim, "She also foresaw that I may be trapped,
under siege, in this very tunnel should something drastically wrong
happen and would need a way to provide for myself."
       Usagi's eyes widened, "Did that... I mean, were you ever...?"
       Pluto smiled a little at the worry evident in the young woman's
voice, "Yes, yes I was, for about 100 years I could not leave the
tunnel, even for a little bit."
       "Who?" Usagi asked, almost afraid of the answer.
       "The same people who caused the downfall of the Moon Kingdom. The
Dark Kingdom had finally gathered enough power, and the seals had
weakened enough, to try to attack the Time Tunnel. They could not get
past the Tunnel's defenses, but they could keep its guardian trapped
in here." Pluto paused, in reflection of that time, and then she
continued, "That is why, even though I knew you had been reborn, I did
not come to guide and help you. I had to rely on Luna and Artemis, and
your own awaking memories to guide you. When you finally defeated the
Dark Kingdom, I was free again, but then had to wait for you to regain
your memories... And then I had Small Lady to contend with."
       Pluto refocused on Usagi and smiled again, "But now, with the rest of
the Senshi awake, I can leave the tunnel again, and drink coffee I
didn't make myself."
       The two women were silent for a few minutes after that, slowly
sipping their coffee before Pluto spoke again. "Usagi-chan, you are
the first outsider to see my sanctuary. I brought you here to tell you
something very important about the child you are carrying."
       Usagi frowned, "Let me guess, that this is Chibi-Usa, Crystal Tokyo
is here and I have to remember my responsibilities as Neo-Queen,
right?"
       Pluto sighed, "No, that is NOT it."
       "Then it's about how I screwed up, literally, with Mamo-chan,"
Usagi declared
       "That too, is wrong," Pluto said firmly.
       "Then what is it?" Usagi demanded.
       Pluto gazed at her princess, soon to be her queen, and her future
best friend, and said in a voice that seemed to echo with Time itself,
"The child you are carrying is not Small Lady Serenity, she will not
be born for a few more years yet."
       "But..." Usagi started.
       "The Queen and King have but one child, the child in your womb is
unknown in Crystal Tokyo," Pluto finished. "Usagi-chan, I am sorry,
but I cannot tell you more than that."
       Usagi's face drained of color, "'Cannot tell me more'?!" she
screamed. "My child is going to be killed and you can't tell me
more?!"
       Pluto shook her head sadly, "I did not say the child will be killed,
only that it is unknown. I cannot tell you more because I do not know
what will happen. You, or rather, Neo-Queen Serenity, would never tell
me, and made me swear to never find out myself until this time
occurs."
       Pluto's eyes filled with tears, and compassion. "Usagi-chan, in the
past and present you are my princess. In the future you will be my
queen. But you will also be my best friend. I will not betray your
trust in me, now, or in any time. I'm sorry, Usagi-chan, I cannot tell
you what happens to the child. All I can tell you is that Small Lady
is an only child in Crystal Tokyo."
***
       Mamoru awoke to pounding. Someone was hysterically, and heavily,
knocking on his door. He sat up in his bed with a groan and rubbed his
eyes. He glanced at the clock, 3:24am, and groaned again. The past
week had been hellish for him. Usagi had been avoiding him ever since
what happened at the shrine. His week became one of trying to keep his
mind on his studies while worrying about her. Needless to say, the
stress had not been too helpful in getting a good night's rest. He had
been asleep for an hour before this lunatic decided to pound on his
door.
       Almost growling, he bushed back his sleep-tousled hair and tossed on
a t-shirt over his bare chest before moving to his door. The pounding
had not stopped, if anything, it had gotten worse.
       He moved to the entrance of his apartment and jerked the door open,
intending to give whomever it was a piece of his mind. Usagi fell
through the now open door and collapsed on him.
       His arms automatically came up to hold her even as he gasped out a
startled, "Usako?!"
       The young woman in his arms shook almost violently with tears. This
was not the comic floods Usagi unleashed when she had fallen down,
this was panic, panic about something. Now that he was more awake, the
bond they shared resonated with the despair Usagi was feeling right
now.
       Mamoru gathered his scattered wits about him, trying to, for the
first time, block some of what was coming down that link with his
beloved.
       "Usako, what is wrong? What happened?" he asked.
       Usagi gave a small wail of grief and clutched him tighter.
       "Usako? Usako?! USAGI!?" Mamoru tried again and again to reach her,
but her only response was to cry harder. Mamoru pulled Usagi fully
inside his apartment and shut the door. He bent down to grab her legs
and swing her up so he was cradling her still shaking form.
       "Usako?" he called one last time, but she still didn't respond.
       His t-shirt wet with her tears, Mamoru carried Usagi back to his bed and
gently set her down. He climbed in next to her and wrapped her in his
arms. He spent the next few hours just holding her close and
whispering platitudes to her until sleep fully took them both.
***
End Chunk 1

-- 
Guide of the Training Grounds of Accursed Springs

To those who feel, life is a tragedy, to those who think, it's a comedy.

             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'