Hotaru was thankful for the capacity to drift off into her own mental landscape; it kept her from noticing Haruka's frantic driving on the way to the shrine. Unfortunately, Setsuna and Michiru looked a bit unsettled after the trip, but Hotaru knew that Haruka would not have let anyone else drive.

After they ascended the stairs to Rei's room, she nodded politely to everyone present and took her usual seat in the corner. She felt compelled to help Setsuna along, but didn't want to lead her around like a child or a puppy as that might upset her.

As she looked through a window, she vaguely heard the others mention Usagi's usual lateness as her mind started dancing among the leaves in the trees. The gentle breeze created a symphony of movement outside and Hotaru felt almost as if she were dancing along.

It was comforting to know where she was at the moment. There were several people gathered here too, and Setsuna smiled to herself, knowing that this was a safe place. She couldn't quite remember all of their names, but she still knew each of them in a way she couldn't explain.

The shrine was as beautiful as always. Setsuna had always loved being in this building. It felt old and steady, and those were qualities she could understand.

Ever since the day before, Setsuna stayed close to Hotaru, choosing a spot near her in the corner of the room. The younger girl was a comforting presence, an anchor of sorts. She only hoped that her continued presence wasn't wearing on Hotaru.

Setsuna listened only half-heartedly to the conversation going on around her, but at Michiru's latest comment, Setsuna's attention came into focus. Was Rei having trouble keeping the shrine clean? A sudden need to help in some way came over her, and Setsuna turned to Rei. "Do you need help cleaning?" she asked as she got up from her seat, straightening her clothes. "I don't mind."

Usagi slowly opened her eyes to see Mamoru beside her. She sat up slowly. She had a headache which caused her to lightly grasp her head. She took in the room around her, and she suddenly remembered she had a meeting with the senshi. She turned to Mamoru, her eyes still showing hindrances of pain and suffering as she spoke. 

"Mamo-chan, what time is it, did I wake up late, am I late for the meeting, I can be ready, i just need a few minutes." She got up and walked, dragging her feet a bit. She closed the bathroom door behind her. She took a glance at herself in the mirror, she hated what she saw and all the comments she had been delivered came back to her mind. She clutched her ears and bent down, trying to block out the words. She looked again in the mirror. She looked as pale as a ghost, her body looked tired. She weakly washed her face and put on some make-up, not because she wanted to, but because she wanted the others to believe she was okay, if it was one thing Usagi hated, it was causing others to worry about her. 

She walked back out of the bathroom, then the bedroom into the kitchen where she got a glass of water. She sat down across from Mamoru and asked, "are you ready to head out?"

Mamoru woke up Usagi and she said she could be ready soon. She thought that maybe they were running late, and they were a bit, but that was okay. She looked really pale this morning and exhausted. He wished there was more he could do for her, other than make her breakfast and be there for her whenever she needed, but there wasn't. He had continued to hope that just by being by Usagi's side he could help cheer her up and protect her and he knew it helped, but it didn't seem like enough at times and that frustrated him.

Mamoru sat down at the table and took a couple bites of his food. Then Usagi came out of their room and she sat down across from him and asked if he was ready to head out. "Yes we can leave soon." Mamoru said, "I made breakfast if you're interested. It's a really healthy one, a good way to start your day." Mamoru smiled at Usagi, lovingly and ate some of his own breakfast.

Haruka made a face at Michiru's suggestion and plopped onto the floor. "I'll sit," she grumbled. She sat there for what felt like forever, staring at the ceiling and tapping her fingers in agony. Finally, Usagi and Mamoru entered the room, and Haruka let out a groan of relief. "Freaking finally," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest in anticipation. Not wanting to wait through another awkward silence, Haruka looked pointedly at Mercury and said, "Alright, so what all did you find about the enemy?" 

She hadn't been there for most of the battle, but from what Michiru told her and what she had gathered from the end of the battle, it looked like this new threat was not going to go easy on Usagi. The poor girl was still so fragile and sensitive. Haruka would be damned if she allowed it to happen again.

When Usagi and Mamoru entered the room, their group was finally complete, and Haruka didn’t waste time asking her for information now that everyone was here. Ami fidgeted as the attention of the room turned on her. She tried to summon the energy and clarity she needed to convey this information as accurately as possible.

“The new enemy’s identity is not yet known, but they have the ability to morph forms and seem to have personal insight on the people closest to Usagi. Not only her current family and friends, but also her past and future. That means it’s someone who intimately knows our lives, and that’s the most concerning thing of all. It means our identities as senshi are no longer secret from them.”

She paused and moved on to her analysis. “The energy they emitted was vaguely human, but the human part is very weak. Overall it just emits the usual darkness, but it’s certainly interesting to note that it may just be a corrupted human. Also, when the rest of us attacked, it did not have any effect on the enemy; it simply caused the current illusion to disappear. It was only after Usagi stood up and attacked it herself that it was truly vanquished. Of course, this is common; Usagi has been the one to properly eliminate an enemy for good before, but usually our attacks also have at least some effect on them.”

Her speech done, she grew silent, waiting for questions or comments.

Usagi walked into the meeting, she knew she was late, but in a nightmare filled sleep, she just wanted an extra moment to pick up the pieces and collect herself before going to the shrine, but it was all for nothing, even though Usagi felt Haruka's anger wasn't directed at her, her comment when she walked in caused Usagi to drop her head and draw herself inwards and fidget with herself as she took a seat, she kept her eyes down as she spoke, "I'm sorry Ha-Haruka san, she hiccuped, fighting back tears, luckily she was able to wipe them away while she listened to Ami speak about the new enemy, she only was able to half pay attention because she was fighting back all of last night's memories from coming back to her mind.

Usagi tried to process what Ami was saying, this enemy was vaguely human, but how did they know about Usagi, and the ones she loved, not to mention her insecurities. As she sat there she felt regret for how much she had eaten at breakfast, she never ate that much in a day, not to mention in one sitting. She would have to go for an extra long run later, maybe it would help her clear her head. 

When Ami was done speaking, all Usagi could think of asking was the same thing she asked Mamoru, "Ami chan, why, why is there a new enemy attacking us again, I thought it was all over when we defeated Chaos, but its happening all over again, are we not destined to happiness?" She asked as she turned her head back down and pulled on her clothes.

Mamoru walked into the meeting with Usagi. He knew they were late, but he thought Usagi's health was more important. She had needed to sleep and he let her. When Mamoru heard Haruka's comment and saw Usagi's reaction, he got very protective. He glared at Haruka and moved closer to Usagi to comfort her. He put his hand on her shoulder and listened to Ami talk. 

She was right, it was strange for this new enemy to know who they were. It put everyone they cared about in danger. Mamoru also knew Usagi was right. That there shouldn't be a new enemy since they'd defeated Choas there was not supposed to be a way for a new enemy to emerge. He was saddened by Usagi's comment about them not being allowed to have happiness. He didn't know what to say. Mamoru moved and held Usagi, he hoped that this would be a least a bit of comfort for her. He decided to just listen to the others speak.

Ami didn’t quite know what to say to Usagi’s question. It was the same question she’d been asking herself. Everything in her being had refused to fight and only wanted her semblance of a peaceful life back. She already had a chaotic life to deal with as it was, between her endless days at the hospital and trying to keep the balance between her mood swings. It was definitely a 24/7 job already. But she hadn’t even been the one who was attacked. This affected Usagi the most, and she couldn’t be selfish. She didn’t even know how Usagi felt after everyone close to her in her life teared her down like that.

Ami reached over and grasped Usagi’s hand. “I don’t know why, Usagi-chan, but I do know that you’re not alone. We’re here… we’re all here to support you, to fight with you, just like always. And you can’t let what the enemy said get to your head. What they think about you isn’t true, and it doesn’t matter. You have us. We’re the only ones you need to listen to. I promise none of us will ever leave you alone.”

Hotaru's mind returned to the room in the shrine and she looked around. An awkward silence had fallen across the room, so she realized she must have missed something. Setsuna was closest, but she looked a bit flustered like she usually did when making a mistake with her memory lapses, and she was the least likely to be helpful in explaining what she had missed, sad as it was to admit.

Instead, she glanced back and forth across everyone's faces. Usagi looked quite distraught over something but was receiving reassurance from Ami. She would have to ask Michiru for the details of the discussion later. She felt the weight of her Transformation Rod in her pocket as her mind began to travel away from the room again. She was prepared should an enemy appear again at least, and her mind began to ponder over a bunch of parallel battle scenarios at once, in harmony with the twisting of the fabric strands in Rei's floor mats.

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Minako had sat through the wait for the meeting to start worrying about what this new enemy would be like and how difficult it would be to defeat.  Although she didn't voice any of her worries or concerns.

When the future royal couple finally got there and the meeting started, Minako's worst fears weren't really confirmed - they were overshadowed, exceeded by what Ami described as the reality of this new enemy.  Which, of course, did not help Minako's level of anxiety.  She started worrying that she wasn't worrying enough.  Then Usagi spoke like Minako was used to noticing out of Usagi - down in the dumps for a reason beyond Minako's comprehension.  Which made Minako realize - again - that Usagi didn't sound like a leader should sound.

All that combined made Minako worry that they wouldn't be able to defeat this new enemy.  She even started to give voice to this concern, looking at Ami and starting to ask in a worried tone "How are ...?"  But then she stopped herself when she got worried that her question would only send Usagi deeper into a downward spiral.  Because at least Minako had enough common sense to make sure to not become the cause of Usagi becoming a worse leader.

She had to admit, she was impressed.

The last thing Selena expected was for her weakling of a niece to fight back against her beautiful shapeshifter, but the fact that the young girl did fight back only made this mission all the more fun. These girls were fighters, but they were too stubborn to realize that their mental illnesses would prevent them from ever being as powerful as the once were.

Ever since her shapeshifter had been destroyed by Sailor Moon, Selena had been brooding over what mischief she would cause next. She had surveyed the entire battle, watching each senshi as they appeared and analyzing the effects their mental illnesses had on them. She had to admit, she had gotten better results than expected. Her powers were weak, but they got the job done.

The reminder of her weakness made Selena's fists clench around the arms of her throne. She hated being weak and vulnerable. She needed power. But the only power she could get was from that stupid Silver Crystal, and that was far out of her reach.

So she decided to continue with her original plan - break the senshi one-by-one.

With a snap of her fingers, two shadowy figures began to rise out of the ground. A stench began to fill the dark palace, but it didn't bother Selena. With a smirk, she waved her hand and sent the shadows to find their targets and destroy them from the inside out.

~

At the shrine, the girls continued to discuss their new enemy, unaware of the foe that approached. A horrible scent filled the air, seeping through the walls of the shrine and plaguing the nose of each senshi present. It smelled like the worst kind of filth - a mixture of unpleasant scents. Outside, the shadows waited for their prey to come out and play.

While she calmed down from her sprint to Rei’s shrine, she carefully listened to what Ami had to say. Everything was so odd, so strange – and inconvenient at that. Enemies who had human-like energy but who weren't really human; probably corrupted, and only vulnerable when Usagi attacked. They were so different than the enemies they fought earlier.
 
Or was Makoto only out of practice? And that was what made it seem so hard?
 
At any rate it’s inconvenient, she thought to herself. Makoto, and everyone else, had enough problems themselves – so how could they protect the world and its people if they were in this poor health?
 
“Are we not destined to happiness?”
 
Usagi’s words hit like slap in the face for Makoto. Were they not destined? To be happy? Would they...have to fight for the rest of their lives?

Usagi listened as Ami spoke. She gave a small smile to Ami, to everyone. She was glad to have such great friends who would support her through everything. She was still extremely shaken up from the night before. She was itching to go for a run, to clear her mind. Running had kept her focused, though she tended to overdo it sometimes. She had to keep her figure intact.


Usagi snapped back to reality when she caught a whiff of a most awful stench. “Oh my gosh, what is that awful smell. Do you guys smell it too?” Usagi asked as she clamped both hands over her mouth and nose to try and mask the wretched smell seeping into the shrine.

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Minako's mind was wandering to some degree, trying to think of even other things she should be worried about.  Because in her view, she needed to figure out their various problems as a necessary first step towards solving them.  One of the things Minako started worrying about in this way was that not much seemed to be being discussed during this meeting, which meant they weren't making very much progress toward trying to figure out the new enemy.  So it didn't feel like a very productive meeting to her.

Then Minako noticed a putrid odor.  She moved her left hand to hold her nose, so that she wouldn't have to smell it much if at all.  But it quickly got worse, and even seemed to be permeating the whole room.  Minako was about to get up and excuse herself to leave the meeting in this room when Usagi spoke up, asking if anyone else smelled it.  Minako thought this question from the odangoed blonde was a rhetorical question, so she treated it as such.  Minako completed the process of standing up (while still holding her nose with her left hand) and addressed the rest of the girls in a matter-of-fact tone "If all of you will excuse me, I'm going outside.  I can't stand this."  Finally, the blonde with the large red bow in her hair walked toward the exit of this room, not even thinking about whether or not she should transform.

Mamoru heard Usagi ask about a smell and he didn't notice it for a second, but then he caught a whiff. It was a seriously disgusting smell and he needed to cover his nose too. Breathing through his mouth was going to be disgusting as well, but he didn't have anything else he could do. The smell slowly got worse and covering his nose was soon not enough. Mamoru watched as Minako excused herself from the room and left. He thought maybe that was a good idea, but he decided to ask Usagi what she wanted to do first. "Usagi, should we leave too? I think maybe the smell will go away if we are outside in the fresh air." Mamoru said.

A sudden putrid odor poked at the edges of Hotaru's awareness, she followed the carpet strands back up from the meadow of her thought and as she did so the smell became worse and worse. Dreamily, her attention turned back to the room and she noticed several of the others heading outside with their mouths and noses covered. 

Then the odor fully hit her nostrils and she gasped and began to cough a little.

"How awful..." she choked out. She looked over at her adoptive mother, "Setsuna-mama, would you like to step out for some fresh air to escape this smell?"

Ami didn’t immediately notice it; her mind had started whirling a mile a minute again considering all the possibilities of this enemy. She felt frustrated because she felt like this was a puzzle she should have been able to solve—it was her job to solve things, after all—but she hadn’t the slightest idea. Everyone she could think of who could know Usagi well enough had been defeated or purified. They had never left an enemy unhandled before.

When everyone started talking about the stench in the air, she finally smelled it, and as it hit her full force, she flinched and slowly stood up. “I think we’d better go outside and check out where that’s coming from. That’s not natural,” she concluded, before hurrying after Minako outside, looking for a possible source.

Not noticing it at first, Makoto was puzzled at Usagi’s comment. Smell? What smell?
“What are you talking a-”
 
However, as she took breath, she smelled it too. “Eww, what is this?”
Holding her nose, Makoto looked at Rei, wondering if she would know anything. “Rei-chan, is something in your house defective? A broken pipe or a gas leak? Something that could cause this?”
 
Not standing the awful smell anymore, Makoto jumped up and followed the others. “Jeez, I need to get some fresh air now. Sorry!”
With a quick pace, she left the room, feeling relieved when she eventually stood outside. She removed her hand from her nose, took a deep breath and…
 
…almost lost consciousness as she realized it was even worse outside.

Haruka's nose immediately wrinkled up when she caught a whiff of the disgusting smell, and she quickly crawled to her feet and moved away from Michiru. "God, Michiru - that's disgusting," she said, looking at Michiru as if she was the cause of the horrid scent. Smirking at her little joke, Haruka followed the rest of the group outside, hoping against hope that the smell would go away once they inhaled the fresh air.

But with every step, the smell got worse. Haruka's eyes began to burn and water, and it got to the point where she almost couldn't stand it. She pulled her shirt up to cover her nose, breathing in the scent of laundry detergent in a desperate attempt for salvation. 

The air suddenly felt colder, and Haruka knew that something was up. This wasn't a gas leak, or a silo accident, or a Mongolian fart from Michiru. This was the enemy. 

Haruka quickly pulled out her lip rod, forgetting to warn the other senshi of the enemy's presence before transforming. In a flash of gold, Sailor Uranus was suddenly standing in Haruka's place, face wrinkled in disgust. "Show yourself!" she yelled, almost choking on the putrid air.

Two pairs of dark shadows began to slink out of the trees surrounding the shrine, slithering across the ground before rising and solidifying. One shadow took the form of what appeared to be a teenager - but not just any teenager. This was that teenager that was always filling up the room with his body odor, the one who's dandruff fell from his hair onto his shirt every time he moved, the one who wore the same outfit three times a week without washing it, the kid who no one could stand to be around.

The dirtiest, most germ-infested, unorganized, irresponsible kid on a high school campus.

Sailor Uranus's face paled as she glanced back for Michiru. She had no idea what to do - her heart was pounding inside of her chest as her brain tried to move past the shock of the situation and find a solution. 

The other shadow solidified into the form of a chef, holding a whisk in hand and wearing a pure white apron. A disproving frown was on the man's face as he stared straight at Makoto. "Are you done letting us down, Kino-san? Are you happy with the thousands of nights you've had to leave us behind in the kitchen because of your mommy and daddy issues? We've had enough of your poor leadership and your constant failures. You should be ashamed of yourself."

The dirty kid began to shuffle forward, holding a piece of crumpled paper in hand. The fringes on the paper's edge were all over the place - some torn off, some not. It continued to shuffle forward, finding Michiru and holding the paper out to her. "For you," he said.

When Mamoru had suggested they leave, Usagi nodded and grabbed his hand. She followed the others, hoping he was close behind her. The smell only got worse when she got outside and she found herself trying not to gag from the stench. Before Usagi knew it, Haruka had transformed into Sailor Uranus and was prepared to face this, whatever this possible threat was head on.

She watched as the shadows morphed into two different people. One was a dirty, smelly teenager. He reminded her of Shingo, but much much dirtier. Shingo at least had the decency to shower when he was stinky and gross. 

The other person appeared to be a chef who was mad at Makoto. How could that even be possible? Makoto was one of the best chefs Usagi knew. Makoto did often miss her parents, but she had never let her personal issues get in the way of her work.

Usagi turned and glanced at Makoto.  Usagi wondered if she should transform, if she could even transform, after the night before she wasn’t sure. She would have to force it to happen. If someone was going to pick on Makoto, Usagi would not allow her to be bullied.

Hearing Ami’s analysis had made Michiru antsy. An enemy who knew so much about their personal lives? And who seemed unaffected by their attacks? Michiru wasn’t worried about the whole illusion thing; she was pretty good about determining which was real and which wasn’t, though she wondered how this enemy might appear to her. Would it take Haruka’s appearance? She glanced at her partner, and it was at this moment that her nose picked up the disgusting smell that suddenly seemed to permeate the room.

When Haruka crawled away from her and said it was coming from her, Michiru’s face turned bright red in embarrassment and anger. “What are you talking about?!” she demanded. Would the other senshi take her seriously and think this was really because of her?!

Thankfully most of them had stumbled outside by then, and with a scathing look at Haruka, Michiru turned and followed suit.

There was no fresh air outside, though. In fact, out here it was worse. It was so overwhelming it made her eyes water and her head spin. She barely even noticed Haruka transforming.

She saw the two figures that appeared and approached them, but her attention zeroed in on the younger one. Michiru could practically feel her skin crawl at the sight of him.

No. She could almost see every disgusting part of him; his hair, his skin, his clothes, his hands... The thought of the amount of germs that could be crawling in one single human body that seemed as if it had not been taken care of in months overwhelmed her. She suddenly felt cold with fear and her heart began to pound loudly. She hugged herself, feeling all the hair on her body standing on end. She felt a panic attack coming when he and his… filth went straight for her.

“N-no! Stay away from me!” she yelled, taking a couple steps back as the boy tried to hand her something. She didn’t care what it was. It could have been gold or a million dollar yen check for all she cared. It could have been the most beautiful violin in the world.

She still wasn’t touching it, or any part connected to him.

When they got outside, the smell got even worse. The others were slowly coming outside as well. Suddenly he saw Haruka transform into Sailor Uranus and prepare to fight whatever enemy could have caused this. It was strange to see her transform so quickly without talking to the others. She was yelling at the enemy to come out and soon Mamoru saw the dark shadow change into two people. One was a teenager that was so dirty, he was clearly the cause of the stench. The other was someone who looked like some kind of chef and he was yelling at Makoto. This was clearly the same enemy as the one who attacked Usagi. Was it now after Makoto?

Trying to cover her nose, first with her hands, later with her arm and eventually with her clothes, Makoto jumped up from surprise when she heard the Transformation phrase of Haruka
Why was she transforming? This was only an unpleasant stench, not the end of the world, after all.
 
‘Show yourself!‘
Hearing these words from no less a person than Haruka, Makoto got entirely confused, wondering if something had gotten into her. Or was there really another cause for it?
Already opening her mouth to ask Haruka about the reason for her brilliant performance, the tall brunette didn’t notice what was going on until the shadow eventually appeared in front of her, assuming the form of a cook.
 
“What in Heaven’s sake?!”
This wasn’t just a cook, it was her cook. The dark hair, the green eyes, the only too familiar voice - there was no doubt. It was her deputy. Her best cook, her deputy and last but not least her friend.
 
But what was he saying? Mommy and daddy issues? Poor leadership? Constant failures?
First happy to see her friend, her mouth corners now went down, her eyes slowly welling up with tears. Was he being serious? What had gotten into him all of a sudden?
Only a few minutes ago, she read the letter, didn’t she?  His letter. The letter where he told her to take as many time as she needed. What had changed his mind so sudden?
 
“W– What did I do wrong? D– Did something happen?”
Over and over again, she tried to stammer a sentence together, trying to find out if something had happened in the restaurant. If something had made him angry to react like that.
 
But after a while, Makoto saw reason.
Maybe it didn’t happen anything in the restaurant…Maybe he just told her what he was really thinking of her…

Upon stepping outside, Ami saw the two figures making their way toward them. One of them seemed to be heading for Michiru, and the other one for Makoto. She didn’t wait to get her Mercury Computer and started analyzing them. Just as she suspected, they exuded the same type of dark energy as the shapeshifter that had faced Usagi.

“Be careful, everyone! This is the enemy!” she shouted. She saw that Haruka had already transformed, and she followed suit. She stood as Sailor Mercury, trying to decide which enemy to try and attack first. She found it difficult to concentrate on the action; the lethargic feeling from before still lingered and the last thing she wanted to do was participate in a battle anyway, especially since she wasn’t even as strong as most of the other senshi.

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When Minako had gotten outside, she had noticed the smell was no better there - in fact, it was probably worse.  She half considered going back inside, but then she saw the two people appear - one of them tried to hand something to Michiru, and the other apparently berated Makoto.  As the leader of the inner senshi, she considered it her duty to defend her teammates, so she treated the latter as if it was a personal affront.  Striding up as close to him as she could stand, Minako defiantly called out to him "She's doing the best she can!"

Then Ami announced that this was the enemy and immediately transformed into Sailor Mercury.  Now that she could be sure of that, Minako also transformed.  She then called out to the man who had berated her strongest teammate "Now go away, or else!"

As Hotaru slowly made her way outside, she wasn't sure what all the commotion was about. Why was Michiru so reluctant to receive a paper from the teenager? And why was a chef here and yelling at Makoto? She had also subconsciously covered her mouth and nose to keep out the rank stench, but wasn't giving it much mind.

Suddenly Haruka and Ami transformed, shouting at the two strange figures, stating that they were the enemy and trying to rally the others. It was then that Hotaru noticed Makoto's tears and noticed how debilitated she seemed, but on the whole these strange people weren't actually attacking anyone.

She decided to hold off on transforming. Her attacks were likely too powerful for this situation and the others did not seem in need of a shield yet. Besides, the leaves in the trees were undulating in a lovely dance in the slight breeze and the confrontation was a ways away from where she was standing...

Sailor Uranus felt her anger boiling as the filthy teenager got closer to Michiru. Glancing over, Uranus could easily see how it was affecting her lover. This only further incited her rage.

No one was allowed to mess with Michiru.

"Get back!" Uranus yelled, stepping in front of Michiru and throwing a punch at the teenager. Her fist went straight through him, and the figure disappeared. Uranus looked around, searching for the little brat, not noticing the shadow slinking across the ground. Before Uranus could do anything, the shadow rose up from behind Michiru, taking the form of the teenager again and wrapping Michiru up in a hug.

Meanwhile, the false form of Makoto's coworker took angry steps forward. "I don't have time for your depression, Kino-san. Nobody does. Not your coworkers, not your customers, and especially not your friends. You're dragging everybody down with you."

Michiru felt relief when Haruka—now transformed—stepped in front of her. She would protect her, like always. Michiru could always depend on her, right? Haruka would take care of this—

But her fist went straight through the apparition, and it disappeared. Michiru stepped closer to Uranus before suddenly she felt arms around her. It only took an instant for her to realize this was him. This close, the smell was enough to make her eyes water and choke her completely. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t breathe.

Michiru let out a high-pitched wail of terror as she fully recognized her predicament, her brain starting to shut down from the sensory overload. The boy was touching her. Not only touching her—hugging her. The idea that all his germs were crawling all over her body and getting into every nook and cranny made her scream and scream without being able to stop. There was only terror, and nothing else mattered.

"I don't have time for your depression, Kino-san. Nobody does. Not your coworkers, not your customers, and especially not your friends. You're dragging everybody down with you."

You're dragging everybody down with you.
You're dragging everybody down with you.
You're dragging everybody down with you.

Over and over again, his last sentence repeated in her mind. She didn't hear what the others were saying - everything she heard was that sentence. But was she...really dragging them down?

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
With loud sobs and tears running down her face, she apologized over and over again, shaking her head and trying her to best to make him forgive her. "Please forgive me! I promise I will stop with my annoying behavior! I will never go home before quitting-time, I will never talk about my problems again - okay? Please! I'm trying my best! It's just..."

Losing her vigor and her power to stand straight, Makoto eventually fell on her knees with her hands intensely grabbing her own thighs and the first teardrops touching the ground.
"Please - don't leave me..."