Nihao! 'Losses' is the same 'fic as 'Grievances of the Heart' (which
I changed because I thought it was horrendous. Not that 'Losses' is such
a great title either, but it'll do for now ;)) so don't worry about
not having seen the first part. If you haven't read Grievances yet,
then if you want it you can email me.
	Thanks to the few people that responedd so kindly to the last
part. Thanks to you my ego has grown, and I bet I didn't work as hard
on this piece as I did on the other. Oh weell, just tell me and I'm sure
my ego will deflate again. ;)
	If anyone can suggest me a better title, I sure could use it.


        Mamoru was busy staring out into space when he felt 
 tug at his pants. Looking down, he saw a huge mass of pink
 hair, divided into short streams of hair tied at the ends with two
 odangos. He immediately recognized the hair as Chibi-usa's,
 and bent down to scruffle it. "Hi, Chibi-usa."
 
        "Mamo-chan, what are you looking at?" She asked, her
 face now tilted up to get a better view of the man she was
 talking to.
 
        "Nothing. Um, Chibi-usa, did you come here with
 anyone?" He knew she hated always having somebody with her,
 but for the sake of her safety, he had to ask her.
 
        Frowning, "Yeah, Usagi was with me, but she's in a store
 buying tons of clothes. It was way too boring to watch her try
 out clothes, so I left." Mamoru smiled, having already gone
 shopping with his ex-girlfriend, and knowing how tiresome being
 downtown and with Usagi could be. It required allot of stamina
 and patience.
 
        "There you are, Chibi-usa, didn't I tell you not to run
 ahead?" Usagi scolded as she tried to look past a mountain of
 boxes.
 
        "You were taking too long." Chibi-usa replied curtly.
 
        "Was not! You're just-" Usagi at that point saw Mamoru,
 who had been trying to slip away quietly as the two girls argued.
 "Mamo-chan...." Chibi-usa moaned inwardly; she hated how
 Usagi was forever embarrassing her in front of Mamoru with
 all this dumb 'destiny' stuff. She wished she'd just take a hint
 and bug off.
 
        But to both Chibi-usa's and Mamoru's surprise, Usagi
 greeted Mamoru, and then told Chibi-usa that they had better
 start heading for home, since they had to be back within an hour.
 
        Not a word came from Mamoru's mouth as the two
 girls left in the direction for home, Chibi-usa waving good-bye
 to him happily, and Usagi never looking back. If he didn't know
 better, he'd say Usagi was... ignoring him.
 
         As Usagi led her fake cousin home, Chibi-usa couldn't
 resist asking, "Are you all right?"
 
        Trying to hide a glance back at Mamoru, "I'm fine."
 Chibi-usa instantly recognized the falsity in Usagi's statement,
 but said nothing, thrilled by her attempt on giving up on Mamoru.
 
        Needless to say, Mamoru was far from pleased by her
 behavior. However, he suppressed the need to run up to her
 and apologize, just as Usagi was resisting the urge to find out
 just what was up last night. But they both assumed control
 over themselves and continued about their tasks, acting as if
 nothing was bothering them.
        
 
 
 
        In the cool shade of the tree sat a sailor warrior, her
 secret identify known only to a few close friends, and for
 now, her sailor senshi duties were pushed aside and enjoyed
 a day in the peaceful life of Hino Rei. A giggle or two emitted
 from her smiling lips as she read the comedic adventures or
 another sailor warrior, and a close friend of hers, Sailor V.
 
        Her surroundings were rather nice... a few birds
 hopping on the most green grass searching for their next meal
 (ants), a gentle breeze helping to alleviate the heat, a pair of legs,
 children playing ball nearby... a pair of legs?
 
        Looking up to see to whom the pair of legs dressed in
 grey khaki belonged to, Rei's cheerful expression faded. It
 was Mamoru.
 
        Once, in a year that had ceased to exist in the memory
 of average people, Rei had been infatuated with that man.
 Instantly attracted to his sharp looks and his gentle teasing nature,
 Rei shortly afterwards managed to take him out on a date. And
 quite a few others, as time rolled by.  Back then she hadn't
 noticed that it was a one-sided relationship, and that he was too
 busy with his own affairs to start caring about Rei.
         After she had learned about his past life though, and his
 undying love for Usagi, Rei quickly laid off her hands on him.
 They had remained friends, though now Rei was more bitter
 towards him for having dumped Usagi so harshly.
 
        "Konnichiwa, Mamoru-san." 
        "Rei," He started, obviously having a hard time choosing
 his words, "Can you help me?" That got Rei's attention.
 Mamoru generally gave out help, not asked for it. Setting
 her manga down in her lap, Rei asked him what was the
 problem. "I already know you are skilled enough to read fire,
 Rei, but I need to check if you can consult the fire on dreams."
 
        "I can do so with my own, but I've never tried it with
 somebody else's. I would need very precise details on the
 dream; can you provide me with that, Mamoru-san?" He
 nodded.
 
        "Also, whenever I look at a certain item, it reacts in a
 certain way, Do you think it would help you?..."
 
        "It might. Do you have it with you?"
 
        "Yeah. But first, you have to promise me not to
 breathe a word of this to anyone, especially not Usagi. Got
 that?" Rei was rather insulted by his last remark.
 
        "Geez, Mamoru-san, I'm trying to help you!" Taking
 a deep breath,
 
        "I'm sorry, Rei. I've been dealing with this dream every
 night now, its making me giddy. And I've never talked about
 this to anyone, I'm just trying to learn how to deal with it."
 Reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket, Mamoru handed
 Rei a rectangular object, who raised an eyebrow at the sight of
 it.
 
        "Mamoru-san, why is it cracked?" It was a photo,
 capturing one of the few happy moments shared between
 Usagi and Mamoru as they sat next to each other posing for
 the picture. There was a large crack running through one end
 to another, and other several cracks near it. It took a few minutes
 to make sense of the photo, the cracks were so numerous and
 distracting. 
 
        "Well, you see, sometimes when I wake up, I look at the
 picture and..." His lowered his voice a great deal, "It cracks. By
 itself. And then Usako falls over, almost as if she were... if she
 were..." Taking another deep breath, his voice now barely
 audible, "dead." Rei paled, being able to tell from Mamoru's
 deadpan expression that he wasn't joking.
 
        "I think you better tell me more about this on our way
 to the shrine, Mamoru-san."
 
 
        'I'm getting too soft,' Observed Chibi-usa, as she walked
 through the park and kicking a pebble, 'Here I am, meant to be
 finding the ginzishiou to help mommy, and instead I'm going to
 a shopping spree with ditzy old Usagi. What would 'Pu say?'
 Annoyed by her baby-sitter's child-like attitude, the young child
 had easily managed to slip away from Usagi's unobservant eye as
 she drooled in front of a candy store, planning to look for the
 ginzishiou again. It had to be here somewhere, and wherever it
 was, Chibi-usa would get it and save her parents.
 
        Chibi-usa's thoughts on her mission were cut short when
 something caught her eye; Mamoru and Rei were talking. Not
 that unusual, but they both look extremely serious, as they
 seemed to be discussing the thing that Rei held in her hand.
 Expecting the worse, Chibi-usa set out to use the spying skills
 she had gained while in the past to check out what they were
 up to. That is, until a hand grabbed hers arm. Chibi-usa looked
 up in alarm, expecting to see one of the four dark sisters there.
 Instead, it was just Usagi.
 
        "Chibi-usa, didn't I tell you not to run off?" Usagi
 scolded, obviously irritated, as she led Chibi-usa away.
 
        "Fine, I won't anymore! Now will you go and leave me
 alone?"
 
        "No." Usagi had already seen Mamoru with Rei, and
 while she would leave him alone about it, she knew she was
 going to give Rei an ear-splitting wail later on,  to show her
 disapproval in Rei's latest actions. Usagi had expected better
 of her friend.
 
 
 
 
        A couple of hours later, Usagi sat on her bed twiddling her
 hair, as Usagi continued to contemplate the same question she
 had been for the past hour. After having spent 14 years of her
 life observing her talent for goofing off, Usagi knew very well by
 now that the quality of her thinking was as good as what cats
 could think of- excluding Luna and Artemis that is.
 
        Reluctantly she took the brooch she always wore on
 her chest, and after opening the case, she looked thoughtfully
 at the glittering ginzishiou. To the eyes of an average person,
 they would think that this silver stone was merely a rather
 piece expensive piece of jewelry. But to Usagi, this stone
 meant death of life at the moment of a crisis. It was her
 transforming tool to Sailor Moon. And most importantly, it was
 the key to her past life self, Princess Serenity.
 
        Serenity. A woman Usagi could never be. A Princess
 with unimaginable powers Usagi wouldn't ever hope of using.
 Just like her name, she was serene, a trait Usagi couldn't claim
 to posses. And yet, somehow, Usagi shared the same soul as
 this magnificent person. 
 
        Usagi dreaded the thought of turning into Princess
 Serenity, and she had good reason to. The last two times she
 returned to her former self hadn't been in pleasant
 circumstances; the first time was while he beloved laid dying at
 her feet, and the second was when she was saving the world
 from an evil source that had destroyed her old kingdom,
 known as Metalia. In other words, her reversion to Serenity
 had bought on her death.
 
        Yet now Usagi needed the wisdom of the person she
 feared so much to help her decide to deal with Mamoru, or
 as Serenity knew him, Endymion. It had been so easy to simply
 say she'd never look at him that way ever again; well, easy
 compared to acting out on it. Aided by the Moon Princess's
 rationality, Usagi would be able to make the right choice for her
 and her true love.
 
        Gathering the small amount of courage Usagi had
 earned as Sailor Moon, she prepared to disappear and to be
 replaced by the more mature piece of her. A small part of her
 wondered what it would be like to be Princess Serenity, since this
 would be the first time she changed without some danger at hand.
 
        Usagi held the ginzishiou in front of her, beginning to
 withdraw the magic pulsating in the stone and drew it into
 herself. She held the magic in herself as a bowl would hold
 water, until it began to pour out, at which point she stopped
 gathering the magical force.
 
        She opened her closed eyes once the metamorphose was
 finished, and took a second to orient herself. Curiosity overcame
 her, and she moved towards the mirror situated above Usagi's
 dresser; she hadn't seen herself in over a thousand years, and it
 had proven itself to be a long time, for she barely remembered
 her appearance.
 
        Noticing symbol of her heritage shinning proudly on
 her forehead, she went on to study her other features. Her blue
 eyes were the same as Usagi's, but that wasn't so surprising
 since she had always believed the eyes revealed the soul. it
 was a sheer coincidence, though, that they both had odangos
 sitting on her head; that had been the trademark of the princesses
 and queens of the moon kingdom, and how Usagi ever came
 across it was a mystery.
 
        Once she felt she had viewed herself enough, Serenity sat
 in Usagi's bed. It was... weird to be in the room of the girl that
 had taken care of her soul after her own death, as it was so wildly
 different from the one she had grown up in the moon. But then
 again, so was the society both girls had been bought up to, so
 that would help explain it, but still, she felt lonely without her
 chart of the solar system and the portraits of her fellow ancestors.
 
        As Serenity lamented over the differences between the
 two rooms, she noticed a photograph sitting near the bed. Picking
 it up carefully, her heart sank as she looked at the subjects of the
 photo. In it, Usagi was laughing happily, holding the hand of a
 man resembling Endymion, who had to be Mamoru. Mamoru
 was glancing down at his girlfriend, his smile brilliant. 
 
        "Endymion-sama..." She whispered, holding the picture
 tightly to her chest. So long ago, they had promised to always
 remain together through the worst of pains and through the
 lightest of problems. Never had the thought that he'd leave
 her occurred to her; it was too... wrong. Just as the Moon would
 always revolve around the Earth, serenity would always love
 Endymion.
 
        Having finished shedding her tears over him, Serenity
 pondered what to do. Unlike Usagi, she couldn't morph into a
 wiser person, so she was stuck with making the decision that
 would forever follow both her and Usagi. Were Serenity to
 make the wrong choice, she'd.... she'd... to put it simply, she'd
 never forgive herself.
 
        He had to have some good reason for toying with her
 emotions as of late; nasty as Mamoru and caring as ever as Tuxedo
 Kamen. Serenity could always tell what was troubling Endymion,
 but she didn't have enough information. She would just have to
 take his word for it.
 
        He loved her still. There was no denying it. Little
 things tipped that off, such as his reaction to Usagi's words
 last night, and his unchanging concern for Sailor Moon's safety. With
 that in mind, Serenity decided that for whatever reason
 Endymion had left her, it must have been a very good one.
 It might be best to take his silent word on it, and separate
 forever.
 
        'But,' Serenity mused, 'Isn't love meant to conquer
 all?'. A clich, perhaps, but it was a concept Serenity was very
 familiar with; when nothing else seemed to work, it was always
 Endymion's love for her that shined through, and saved her
 from whatever predicament held her prisoner.
 
        Their love was strong, there was no doubt. But she also
 had to consider Endymion's point of view, using only estimates
 to understand his problem, which made matters harder.
 
        Curling her fingers around the photo frame and hugging
 it tightly to her chest, Serenity realized what she had to do. A
 low, gentle sob rose from her throat as she reverted back into
 Usagi.
        



	Isabel Arantes