"Do you think she can see us?"

Mamoru was brought out of his thoughts by the soothing voice of Usagi. He was never tired of that voice. He had the good fortune of being able to pick out that voice from a heavy crowd, and living in Tokyo gave him perfect opportunities to practice. It had been a while since Sailor Galaxia left, and here they sat in a night just like the one in which they were reunited, on a bench in an empty park. It was almost as if the fates had decided to give them some alone time. Usagi had his jacket and arm around her shoulders in the crisp, cool autumn night.

"Whom do you mean, Usa?" he asked after a few seconds' pause, curious as to whom she meant.

"Queen Selenity."

He had forgotten that the Moon was clearly visible tonight. He tried not to think about what might be up there, what secrets he could find. That wasn't his life anymore.

"I'm sure she can."

"I wonder what she would say."

"I'm sure she.... would be very proud of you." Mamoru really didn't know what to say to her, but he was curious as to where she was going with this.

"I'm not so sure. We've fought so much. Made so many mistakes. And there she remains, forced to watch." Usagi lamented, staring at the source of her thoughts.

"Whatever happened, I know for sure that she was your Mother, and loved you with all of her heart. That love can only grow. Otherwise, she would have never sacrificed herself for her Kingdom. I can see the same courage in you, Usako. I think you're forgetting that. Don't let doubt shadow your heart."

Mamoru wondered if she was just egging him for a compliment, but this was a side of her that rarely showed up at all. It was not the first time that she has gotten herself into a funk. Just encourage her out of it. That's what he told himself every time she did something like this to herself.

Usagi offered no reply, except for slouching back into Mamoru's embrace. Usagi started thumbing the ring around her finger. It had become an unconscious act of hers right after Mamoru disappeared. She thought it was more comforting than obsessive, but she did wonder when he would set a date.

It started to become much colder with the loss of the sun as it neared eleven o'clock. Only fifteen minutes remained until Usagi's curfew, of which her mother was strict on enforcing. Since he had incurred the wrath of a Tsukino woman, a very tough one at that, Mamoru knew he had to literally peel a very relaxed Usagi off of the park bench of which she had grown accustomed to for the whole time they were there. They made their way back, one holding the other the whole way there.



Something was very wrong here.

Books plus Ice cream shouldn't calculate in Usagi‘s eyes. But it does in Ami's eyes. There were plenty of places she could rather be, but she had promised her long time friend that she would give her one hour of concentration. Despite Ami's initial doubts about her little student, she has been doing well in the past 10 minutes out of the 20 that they were there already, some of the studying was starting to stick. Usagi had put up a good fight of distracting Ami from the fact, but the word warrior that Ami was, she was able to get Usagi to concentrate.

At least she'd like to think that way.

So here they sat, in a perfectly fine day for napping, studying in the Crown Sundae Shop one level above the Crown Arcade, one of the many places Usagi would rather be. Instead of say, playing soccer, going to the park, or hell, even helping ChibiUsa with her English, they were here. And there was nothing Usagi could do about it until this hour was over. Then again was ChibiUsa. That thought of her future daughter was unexpected. Usagi missed her dearly, but knew she was happier in the future, her home.

"Do you understand?"

"Ami. That's asking the fish to breathe air... I'll be fine though." Usagi said, giving the book of facts and numbers a cautious eye. Ami patted her shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll be giving you pop quizzes soon enough. Maybe they'll work if I give them to you. I know how you think." Ami felt confident over that statement, but she paused after her last sentence. She did get a smile from Usagi though. Definitely a good sign.

It wasn't like they hadn't tried this ploy before. Usagi had countless medals of honor for skipping out or breaking up the group's study gatherings. She was feeling frustrated, so they left the current subject, and moved onto another after about a minute or so tending to their snacks. For Usagi though, those snacks were many.

It wasn't soon afterwards when Minako entered, purchasing some coffee and approaching the two, deep in thought, their noses buried in their books. Minako, in her usual zone, approached the two with a smile and spring in her step:

"Hey gals! What's the gathering for?"

"Studying." They both replied, not moving from their 'bookworm' status.

"Thank you" Minako half sung as she flew by them, taking her afternoon Coffee elsewhere.

Obviously, Minako wasn't the only one cautious about the infamous study groups. After going around the Shop, she paused near the entrance, and the place was busy as it ever was at this time of day, full of patrons to get their afternoon sugar buzz. Or in Minako's case, a java jolt. She sighed, brushing back her bangs from her eyes, finally feeling the effects of a delayed hair trim. Minako found a higher table specifically designed to have the patron stand around it while enjoying their purchases, stood near it, and looked around the shop as she slowly enjoyed her coffee.

That man over there. He was reading the newspaper. Minako saw him around here often, taking a break from managing the place, as it was plainly obvious from his clean-cut presence and his spotless shirt and tie ensemble. He wasn't really known to anyone, so he was left alone.

Those three girls. They had just started Junior High School when they came across the Arcade and Sundae Shop. Their top hobbies were leering at the cute boys their own age who happened to pass by on the street. Likewise for the boys, they would get a glance up the skirt of the girls for themselves from full length windows and with a vantage point from a whole level below.

Usagi and Ami. Don't get her wrong, but no matter how many study groups that they had established before, none of them had actually worked out. Minako would rather avoid studying with others than actually participating. She functioned better as a voice on the shoulder, a very distant one at that, to encourage them on.



Minako finished her paper cup which was once filled with the sugar loaded caffeine injection they call coffee, she passed by an empty booth where a newspaper lay. The front page loaded with stories such as ‘Aki Matsuri’, some gossip on the Three Lights…

< Months after they’re GONE. > Minako thought as she continued and ended after reading inadvertently about sick and homeless men and women dying on the streets.

Trying not to let that bad news effect her, Minako half skipped down the stairs to the arcade below, filled with younger people enjoying the games. This was a usual routine for her, but something was different today. Lately the popularity of the Sailor V video game was going down because of the Dance Dance Revolution wave. The Crown Arcade has experienced an explosion of popularity, because it was the first in the area to acquire new DDR machines. So while the younger people danced their hearts away, there was a lone... woman?... at a Sailor V game. Not many adults visit the Arcade, save for Mamoru, and even then Usagi drags him here against his will.

Minako decided to take the sneaky route and circled the outside of the sea of arcade games, keeping her eyes on the woman. She eventually stopped playing, and packed up to leave. She didn't look like a normal Japanese person. Brown skin, wavy black hair, and average height. Definitely not from these parts. Minako couldn't get a better look at her before she exited the Arcade, half running down the street to get to her next destination.

"Minako!" Motoki called out, and approached her in his usual working garb, over the noise and sirens of the arcade.

"Hi Motoki."

"What's wrong? It's almost like you've seen a ghost." He asked, noticing Minako's strange look on her face.

"Motoki, did you see that woman who just left?"

"Yes, but she's only been coming for the last month or so, but just two or three times."

"Hmm... she does look odd though..."

"There's been an increase of immigration here to Japan, so there's going to be a lot more weird looking people coming to Tokyo especially." Motoki said, feeling weird about saying it at all.

Minako nodded not in agreement, but in the fact that it made her go to the fact that she was playing the 'Sailor V' game. It still shocked her. Especially the fact of her age.

Motoki took this moment of awkward silence to look back at the counter, seeing that there were new customers waiting to spend, or waste, their money on the multitude of games. He knew deep down, however that they were here for Dance Dance Revolution. No more playing the classics. "Listen, Minako, I have to get back to work. But it was nice seeing you again. You don’t come over here enough anymore." Motoki said with a smile and a small bow, and returned to the redundancies of his part time job.

Minako smiled back to him, and left the Game Center.



Minako really didn’t have anywhere in particular to go. She was doing alright in her studies, so there was no need to study any more than she already has today, especially with her two friends still inside the building. As she was in her thoughts while she walked down a busy sidewalk, a curious ring came from her purse. It remained ignored as the noise continued to follow her, and she could ignore it no more.

< Duh, Minako. Your cell phone? > she mentally prodded herself as she hurriedly whipped it out from her purse, fumbling a little bit with her fingers and the buttons before she held it to her ear.

"Hello?" Minako asked.

"Minako? It’s Rei, you need to come over here.”

“What’s wrong?” Minako stopped and bumped into someone walking behind her who wasn’t expecting her sudden movement. She didn’t make too much of a deal from it, her attention was otherwise concentrated on;

“Minako! I can’t believe you forgot! It’s the talent competition tonight!”

“Oh right…”

“Can you come over?”

“Sure, give me about 15 minutes.”

“Well hurry up.” Rei said hurriedly, hanging up about a millisecond after she finished speaking. Minako looked at the cell phone in her hand after she hung up, and started walking again, this time a little faster to get there sooner. This was so unlike Rei.



Just as she thought, it took Minako about 15 minutes and two busses to get to the Hikawa Jinja, the home of her Miko friend. So just as soon as Rei saw the blond walk up the long flight of stairs, she rushed up to her and pulled her by the arm into the Temple. Minako didn’t have a chance to react before she was planted down in a spare room to hear Rei and her song, and to give her a few pointers from a different audience.

Literally.

But Rei usually wasn’t so nervous about a performance. She does say often that everyone gets nervous, but this was ridiculous. It was so unlike her. Minako just put it aside in her mind, and waved it off as nothing but nerves, and gave Rei some good advice about her future performance.

Now that she thought about it though, a lot of people have been acting strangely in the past few weeks. Not as courteous, not as polite, and some people not even bowing as much as they used to. Was it the final decline of Japanese politeness? Minako enjoyed it the old way, and it was a lot better than when she was in London. Minako even saw it in herself sometimes, and found herself losing a lot of the patience and concentration that she used to have.

While Rei ended off her song, Minako was wondering what would cause all of this unrest within the populace. And she hoped that soon, everything would solve itself, or she would have to give everyone a good dose of the way things used to be.



Later that night, it was indeed the annual Juuban Talent Competition in the Park, and Rei of course had been nervous for the entire day. It was more unnecessary yelling, especially targeted at Yuuichirou, but she’d apologize for it tomorrow. Usagi, Mamoru, Ami, Makoto and Minako all came to cheer her on and to give her their support.

It has been a few days since Usagi and Mamoru were last in the park, and all Usagi could think of was that night, and watched the moon as it appeared after the sun retired for the day. Something must be going around the city, because she has had a few flu symptoms lately. So, she made the best of it, and made it through to Rei’s performance, which went smoothly.

The competition neared it’s end, and the awards were handed out, but in a different format than a straight 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. This competition went more along the lines of 'Best Outfit', 'Best Group Performance', 'Honorable Mention' and so forth, while not putting emphasis on 'first place and all the rest were losers'. It was safe to say that Rei received high honors for her performance, and most of everyone received something special, along with a participation award. Usagi was starting to feel faint, so she knew that she had to get home soon, or she would fall in public, and she has had enough embarrassments relating to that in her life already. Rei pranced up to her friends, award and prize in hand, and the rest who stood up in return.

“How did I do?” Rei asked, out of breath from both the nervousness going away, and from running around for the last 20 minutes straight.

“Yours was my favorite act.” Makoto said from the back.

“You didn’t put your hand behind your head in the fourth verse like I told you to.” Minako joked. Rei sighed and looked to the other two.

“I’ve always liked that so…” Usagi said, stopping only as a chill went down her spine, and a white haze suddenly weighed down on her eyes, as she heard the whistling of the wind. She looked slightly dazed and her eyes refused to focus. Usagi's eyes lulled back in her head as she fell forward and fainted, her cheeks red and her brow furrowed with tension.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa there…” Makoto hurriedly said as she dove in to catch her, Minako going into help after the initial catch.

All Usagi heard before the dark took her completely, were the worried voices of her friends, and brief mentions of ‘Mamoru’ and ‘Doctor’.

Out of the humble and jumble of the sudden movement, Ami looked to Usagi intensely, and saw something there that she didn't before. She knew Usagi longest of the group, and knew her best of everyone there.

< This is no illness.... > Ami thought.

Chapter Two