Hotaru continued to stare at the scene of the battle even after Mamoru had thanked them and left with the exhausted Usagi. The soft breeze as the evening grew deeper blew across her face as she drifted along the patterns of thought.

Eventually, she noticed that Haruka and Michiru were no longer talking, and her attention shifted. A feeling of surprise came over her when she saw her third parental figure. "Setsuna..." she whispered. She had expected to spend the weekend with two of her adoptive parents, but not all three. Did Setsuna's appearance have something to do with the coming of the new enemy?

Hotaru knew her third parent probably had no answers. Her memory loss would kick in whenever she would leave the Space-Time Door and resume life in the 20th Century. She wasn't sure if Setsuna would even remember her now after this time, but she slowly made her way over and gently clasped one of Setsuna's arms.

"Hello Setsuna," she said quietly. "I hope you are feeling well."

Everything around her felt muffled. A flurry of things moved and changed, words were spoken, but too quickly to properly keep up. It left Setsuna confused, frustrated. If she could just reach out, grasp at everything for a moment to let it sink in, she knew she would be okay. But her hands would miss, every time, no matter how hard she tried to hold on, and everything remained a confused blur.

Where was she again? She looked around, noticed a few familiar faces, though their specific names escaped her at the moment. She frowned. What had happened to her Queen? The fact that Queen Serenity was not here suddenly bothered her very much.

This was not the Moon Kingdom, so of course Queen Serenity wouldn't be here. She knew that. Setsuna allowed a frown to marr her expression, and she glanced around herself once more. This was not her post, either. This place was too bright, too colorful to be the gates of time.

Where was she? The name was on the tip of her tongue, but try as she might, it remained an incomplete thought.

Consumed with her own irritation, Setsuna was startled back into the present by a gentle pressure upon her arm. She turned and realized that she knew this girl who was now beside her. The purple eyes were so familiar.

"Hotaru?" The name came after a moment of contemplation. But after she had said it, she wasn't entirely certain anymore. Wasn't Hotaru still a baby? She remembered holding the soft and warm little bundle in her arms.

But the beautiful purple eyes were the same. This had to be Hotaru, right? As she decided that yes, it had to be, a wave of affection washed over her. She loved this girl. That much, at least, she remembered.

"I am okay," Setsuna replied, putting on a smile. It wasn't entirely true, she still felt confused, but she knew that things had to be okay if Hotaru was here. "How are you?"

It felt as though she should say something more, something more personal maybe. But what? "I've missed you." The words felt true enough, though had it been a long time since she had seen Hotaru? It felt like forever since she had seen Hotaru, and at the same time, she could distinctly remember helping the young girl with her lessons as if it had happened only hours ago.

A frown came to Setsuna's lips, and she clung to Hotaru's arm. Hotaru felt like the only constant around her at the moment, a warm and comforting presence, and she did not want to lose her. "Can we go home?"

It didn't matter that she didn't quite remember where or when 'home' was. Home meant 'safe', and she trusted Hotaru to take her there.

OOC:

She felt a warm glow inside when Setsuna had remembered her name without help.
"I have been doing well. Right now I'm on break from university, and I've missed you very much as well. Yes, let's go home. Perhaps we can get something good to eat, now that the commotion has passed," Hotaru replied with a light smile. Then she started off toward Michiru's car, not loosening her hold on Setsuna's arm. She knew an unmedicated Haruka had little patience for Setsuna, and may have also already left for the house in her impatience. Besides, she hadn't yet seen Michiru and concluded that Michiru had reached the fight in her own car.

Mamoru fell asleep soon after Usagi did. He was going into a deep sleep and dreaming of Usagi, seeing her happy and smiling. It felt like a distant memory, Usagi being completely happy and confident with herself. He smiled at her and as they were about to kiss in his dream, something stirred him. He had woken up, only slightly, and was a bit dazed, but aware enough of the fact that Usagi seemed to be having a nightmare. She was talking in her sleep and it didn't seem like anything good was happening. He heard her say someone was wrong and asked why they were saying mean things to her.

Mamoru considered for a bit. He wasn't sure if he should wake her. Dreams had a psychological effect on people, even nightmares happened for a reason. Maybe she was working out something important in her dream, something that she couldn't figure out in the real world. But he realized her dream seemed to be escalating. He softly shook her in an attempt to wake her up. "Usagi." Mamoru said, "It's okay, I'm here. Whatever's wrong we can figure it out." If he couldn't wake her up, he at least hoped to calm her nightmare.

Usagi was in her dream world, or rather her nightmare world. Everyone seemed to have something to say to her that they did not like about her. She was stupid, clumsy, a crybaby, and worst of all her weight was equaled with her being worthless in the eyes of those in her dream. Usagi shouted at them, "no, no, you're wrong," repeatedly she shouted until she felt a shaking sensation causing her to jerk awake in a nervous sweat, clinging to Mamoru.

It took her a moment to realize she was now awake and she had only been dreaming. She looked up at Mamoru, her arms still wrapped around him, "it was only a dream...." she said in a low voice as her her body was slightly trembling. 

In this moment she had a hard time finding the words that she wanted to say and all she could manage to say was, "why do I have to be haunted in my dreams, dreams are supposed to be happy..." She said as she wrapped her arms more around Mamoru, wanting to be close to him as possible, because right now, the only place she felt safe was in his arms.

Michiru glared as Haruka insisted on getting the last word in, but what unfolded before them took her full attention. Usagi had finally transformed. Seeing Sailor Moon again seemed surreal, but when she finally vanquished the enemy for good, Michiru sagged against Haruka in relief. She didn’t have to fight. Didn’t have to risk losing her mind with all the variables she could not control.

Usagi seemed exhausted by the ordeal, but Mamoru quickly took care of her, so once they were gone, Michiru turned to the rest of them.

She frowned when Haruka referred to Setsuna as a ‘lost puppy’. “Be nice. She’s our family too,” she chided. Before she could take care of Setsuna, Hotaru had beat her to it, which was just as well. Glad to have her entire family back together at last, Michiru ushered them into her car, handing her keys to Hotaru. “Take good care of it. Let’s meet back at the house,” she said. Michiru was particular about a lot of things, but letting Hotaru drive her car was not one of her worries. Now, if it had been Haruka…

She then turned to Haruka and sighed. “Now, let us go home too.”

Haruka’s way of driving could be rather erratic, especially without her meds, but though that would be a terrorizing journey for her, Michiru preferred to be there to make sure Haruka didn’t get herself into an accident. Haruka seemed to only be able to have some semblance of control if Michiru was with her.

They’d been driving for a while—just barely under speed limits thanks to Michiru’s silent but watchful eye—when she saw something up ahead. “Haruka, slow down. Isn’t that Makoto-san?” she pointed at a figure near the park. She seemed to be crouched down on the ground and clearly in distress. “We have to help her.”

With Sailor Moon finally defeating the enemy and the threat over, Mercury shifted back to civilian form, and it was as if all the fire that coursed through her veins before vanished with it. She was coming down from her high, and now she felt exhausted. Lethargic, almost. Like she could curl up right there on the ground and sleep forever.

It didn’t help that everyone was leaving, too. Well, the outer senshi and Usagi and Mamoru were. Rei was the only one left, and Ami only half listened when she suggested holding a meeting to assess the new threat they’d just witnessed. Rei asked her to tell Minako what just happened and to come to the meeting tomorrow while she contacted everyone else.

Ami’s limbs had started to feel as if they weighed a ton, but with some difficulty she managed to pull out her phone. She frowned at it for a moment, unable to remember Minako’s number. Normally, she had all of the girls’ numbers memorized and could recite them at any point without thinking much about it, but her brain had gone all clouded and foggy.

Finally she found Minako’s name on her address book, and pressed the call button. She waited for Minako to pick up while her mind wandered.

Must she explain the previous hour’s events in detail? She just felt so tired…

Hotaru nodded happily to Michiru and accepted the car keys. Still attached to Setsuna's arm, she made sure to open the passenger door, fasten the buckle and gently close the door to ensure the other woman's safety. She hadn't driven in so long as would try not to get distracted while driving. Having to take care of Setsuna helped keep her mind from wandering off into it's own inner world.

Quickly, she rounded the car, buckled herself in and set off back to the mansion. Haruka would beat her home unless the other two decided to stop on the way for some alone time. She didn't have anything else to say to Setsuna during the drive home. 

Once the car was safely in the garage, she broke the silence.

"Are you tired Setsuna-mama? There is a room set up for you if you would like to lie down. Otherwise, I can reheat the tea Haruka-papa made before we left."

Mamoru was relieved when Usagi grabbed him as she woke up from what seemed to be a nightmare. She quietly woke up and said it was just a dream. However, Mamoru could tell that to, Usagi this didn't feel like "just a dream". Maybe it was something much worse. She then asked him why she was haunted with these dreams. To be honest, Mamoru didn't know why, he had some ideas that were on a more psychological level. He didn't want to say that it was all just in her head, but to be honest some of this was probably something that had been bothering her for quite some time. He just held Usagi in his arms, unsure of what to say to her or what to do at the moment.

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Minako was taking the train – she knew she still wasn't rich & famous enough to afford a limo - home from her small concert when she heard her mobile phone start to ring. With the free time she had being a passenger on it, she had just started worrying that she might never become so rich & famous.


Minako found where in her purse she had put her mobile phone, picked it up, and looked to see who was calling her. When she saw it was Ami, she wondered why her blue-haired friend was calling her. Minako started to worry that it was to tell her some bad news – maybe about the performance she had just done. The next ring of this call jarred her out of it enough to answer the phone anyway. So she pressed the button on her mobile phone to answer it, put it up to the side of her face, and said “Moshi moshi,” into it in a worried tone, one meant to convey a message of 'Oh no, what is it?'.

When Minako answered on the other end, Ami tried to sound a little bit upbeat. “Minako-chan, how are you?” Her brain still seemed a bit muddled. Did Minako have a concert today? It felt like she might have had a concert today. She still kept up with her friend’s schedules to an extent. She should know this.

“Um, did you have a great show?” she asked, hazarding a guess. It was hard to think now; when before it seemed like she had a lot of thoughts all at once, now she could barely entangle them and there were a lot of blank spaces. She mustn’t forget about the enemy and what she was on the phone to begin with. Right… to invite Minako to a meeting to discuss it.

God, why did they have to fight again? Suddenly she felt like crying. They’d finally achieved happiness and their dreams were fulfilled. Could they not get some break? Wasn’t it about time for Crystal Tokyo anyway? She really didn’t have the energy for living a double life anymore.

As she drove, Haruka tapped on the wheel to the music playing in her head. She knew Michiru probably wouldn't appreciate the music playing for real, so her head would have to suffice for now. She eventually got bored and reached over, taking Michiru's hand in hers. "So, how was your day? Mine was pretty cool. Practice races are kind of boring, but I did 'accidentally' wipe a guy out. The idiot smacked his nose against the steering wheel and started bleeding alllllll over his car. I didn't even feel bad, since he wasn't wearing his helmet. But hell, I wasn't wearing mine either. But at least I don't go around smacking my nose against steering wheels. We caught one of our crewmen listening to classical music during break and made fun of him for it."

Smirking, Haruka squeezed Michiru's hand and remember to keep her speed under control. It was agonizing, but she didn't want to make Michiru uncomfortable at all. Haruka was so focused on her speed that she didn't even notice Makoto's body on the ground until Michiru pointed it out. Slowing down, Haruka parked and got out of the car, walking over and standing above the brunette. 

"Hey, Kino-san, you feeling alright? Need a ride home?"

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When Minako heard Ami answer the phone in a somewhat-upbeat manner, it cheered her up a little – maybe she really had performed well in her small concert earlier tonight, like her producer had said. So to summarize how she was feeling, Minako told Ami “I'm not bad. I hope your doing well,” in a tone that was almost chipper – but if Ami was very perceptive, she would be able to tell that Minako's heart wasn't behind the tone she used.


When Ami asked if she had a great show, Minako responded matter-of-factly “It depends whose opinion you go by. The audience – what audience there was – cheered as wildly as ever. My producer said I did very well. But I'm not so sure. I'm worried I missed a note somewhere, or one of my outfits came a little loose while I was performing, or something else went wrong.”


Finally, since she was genuinely interested in her friends and what they were doing (at least that they were willing to share), Minako asked Ami with genuine curiosity “So what were you doing today?”

Minako didn’t sound like Minako on her good days. Ami knew her friend was suffering from anxiety most days, which really was quite the opposite of her cheerful, carefree self. Judging from the way she described the concert, it seemed as if the mental state had reared its head again. Ami sympathized, though right now she also wished she could be not dealing with her own wrecked state. She could barely hold herself up, let alone Minako.

“If your producer said you did well, then there’s nothing to worry about, Minako-chan. I’m sure they loved you. People don’t usually cheer wildly for someone who’s disappointed them.” She figured approaching this logically was probably the best solution. Well, it was her preferred solution anyway.

When Minako asked in return about her day, Ami remembered her purpose. “Right, actually, I was doing business as usual when something strange happened. I’m afraid there’s been an attack of the supernatural kind.” She paused, letting that sink for a moment before continuing. “Usagi-chan was attacked by a dark energy that had the ability to morph into the people she care about, trying to attack her emotionally. We’ve decided to have a meeting about it in Rei’s shrine tomorrow. Can you come?”

"Hmmmmmm.  I can see your point about the audience," Minako thought out loud.  "It makes sense."  She spoke that as if she wasn't entirely convinced, but also as if she couldn't rule it out, either.  Minako almost followed up with a question something like 'But if they like me, why have I never performed in front of much more than a couple hundred people?', but then she realized that the way Ami had been talking for most of this conversation, it sounded like she was at the low-energy end of her bipolar disorder  Minako worried about making it worse for her blue-haired friend, or imposing on her or something like that, so she dropped the thought of asking the extra question.

When Ami spoke about the supernatural attack, Minako couldn't help muttering "Oh no."  She didn't think she had time for all this - her performance schedule, her practices for them/trial run-throughs, and dealing with the attacks of a new enemy, not to mention all her worrying over these various things.  Nonetheless, she heard Ami out.  When Ami mentioned the meeting tomorrow at Rei's shrine, Minako realized "Ah, okay.  Yes I can come to the meeting tomorrow - if its during the day.  Because my producer wants to see me tomorrow at 7:00PM, for another run-through of my performances."

“Yes, I’d say it’s probably going to be around 1 pm, so you should have plenty of time to get to your appointment,” Ami replied. She sighed and looked around. How’d she get here anyway? Had she actually run there? Good god, she didn’t think she have the energy to walk back to the hospital. She wondered if anyone else could give her a ride.

“I’m sorry, Minako-chan, I feel as overwhelmed as you are by this development. Just when we think our lives are finally peaceful… but it’s good that you can be there. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Some days it felt as if she couldn’t remember how they could be senshi and everything else with each of their challenges. It seemed impossible. Or was it just because she was getting older and didn’t have as much energy as she used to? Ami didn’t quite know. She could remember dealing with this illness all her life… but she remembered it in a detached way, as if she understood it logically but did not fully grasp its emotional implications. It was strange to say the least.

Usagi lay next to Mamoru, her arms wrapped around him and her head resting on his chest. He never spoke, but in this moment, she was happy with him just holding her. His arms felt safe, she felt like nothing could hurt her while she was laying in his arms. Usagi mindlessly traced her finger along Mamoru's back, it was something that oddly helped her calm down more. 

Usagi gazed back up at Mamoru before speaking, "Mamo-chan, thank you for sticking by me, in the good times in the bad. I am so lucky to have you in my life and I don't know what I would do without you." She said as she felt her eyelids grow heavy as she slowly drifted off back to sleep.

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"Okay.  Thank you for the sympathy, Ami-chan," Minako said gratefully.  Though she continued on in an anxious tone "And I'll see you tomorrow then - though I doubt the meeting will do much good, because this is such a new enemy."

Minako then covered the mouthpiece of her mobile phone just long enough to audibly sigh.  So now that her life - and, she would imagine, the lives of most of her friends - were more complicated, they would have to deal with a new enemy.  There went her free time, her time to have fun, Minako figured.  However, she also figured many of her friends were in that same boat, so she was determined to help them defeat this new enemy.

More and more tears were running down from Makoto’s face. “My parents would be ashamed if they could see me now!,” she quietly said while she sobbed.  “And they also have the right to do so!”
 
Suddenly Makoto heard a familiar voice coming from her left. However, it has been a while since she heard the voice the last time. She snuffled and slowly raised her head, looking for the person that just talked to her.
 
“H- Haruka…Michiru,” she stumbled when she suddenly saw her old friends in front of her. “W- What are you doing here?!” Quickly she brushed her tears away and stood up.
She always admired Haruka’s and Michiru’s strength and confidence, so she was more than embarrassed when her role models saw her in a condition like that. Jumpily Makoto brushed off the dirt from her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair. Due to the surprising occurrence, she immediately stopped to sob and to cry.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” she said while hiding her actual feelings since she didn’t want to bother anyone with her problems. “My apartment is only half a mile away from here, so you don’t have to make a detour. I’ll walk – after all, the weather is great today.” She smiled, in hopes they wouldn’t notice what was actually going on in her mind. “But it was great to see you after this long time! If you should have some spare time the next days, I would like to invite you to a café or something like that. Maybe the others can come too - It’s been an age since I saw you all!”

Haruka smiled softly and put her arm around Makoto. She could tell by the pained look in her eyes that Makoto's depression hadn't gotten any better since the last time they met. Haruka had always had a soft spot for the brunette, admiring her strength and determination. 

"Half a mile's quite the walk, and it's getting late. We'll take you home, okay?" Haruka said, pulling Makoto towards her car. "It's no problem, right Michiru? Besides, there's something you should know."

Twirling her keys around one finger, Haruka winked and opened the door for Makoto to get in. "I don't have all day, you know," she teased.

Mako seemed to regain her composure quickly after they found them, though she still looked upset and clearly in distress. Michiru wasn’t going to let her walk home in that state, even if the thought of her trailing dirt in her car was slightly distressing. Still, it seemed manageable compared to whatever Makoto’s problem was.

“Yes, of course. We do need to discuss something with you,” she added after Haruka insisted Mako get in the car. She remembered about the meeting scheduled for the next day at Rei’s shrine. Michiru was getting a headache thinking about this sudden change of schedule. She was supposed to be enjoying this week off with Hotaru, Haruka, and Setsuna, but now they had to prioritize senshi duty first. Was it ever going to end?



“Well, it does seem like it may be another long and arduous battle…” Ami had to agree with Minako’s remark, though that just made her feel more depressed. Neither of them was clearly in a good state of mind today and they weren’t going to be tackling any problems anytime soon. She hoped tomorrow she’d feel better—it was the only way she could take this fight seriously after all.

“Anyway, until tomorrow, Minako-chan. Take care,” she added, waiting for Minako to say goodbye on the other end before cutting the connection. With a sigh, she looked around and started thinking about how she was supposed to get back to the hospital. That was going to be a long journey too.

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Minako would've sighed when Ami seemed to confirm her fear about the new battle for the senshi - if she hadn't already just sighed.  She started to get anxious to get this new battle over with.  Then she would feel much better.  Well, maybe not much better, because then she would probably find something else to get anxious about, but she would still feel somewhat better.

When Ami seemed to be bidding her good-bye, Minako replied nervously "Okay.  See you then.  Bye for now."  Then she returned to focusing on getting home.  She immediately became nervous that she had missed the stop where she was supposed to change trains.  Even though she took care of that anxiety by asking a fellow passenger where they were, she then worried that she wouldn't get enough sleep that night, especially now that she knew she would have to resume a former duty that she hadn't performed in years.  Even if she could get back up to speed quickly, there was always the extra time that said duty took.  Could she really manage her time well now that she had that duty piled up on all her other duties related to climbing the ladder to a famous idol singer?  There was no way to tell now.

As Haruka and Michiru took Makoto home, they explained to her what had happened earlier that evening. After assuring her that Usagi was okay and no serious harm had been done, they informed her of the meeting at the shrine that had been planned for the next day. After dropping Makoto off, they went back home to meet Hotaru and Setsuna and try to discuss what had happened, although it was a little hard with Hotaru getting distracted and Setsuna forgetting everything. 

So as Haruka drove the four of them to the shrine the next day, she hoped that at least a little more discussion and analysis could be made regarding the new enemy. To be honest, Haruka wasn't all too fond of the sitting-in-a-room-and-discussing thing, but she knew planning things out and getting information would make Michiru more comfortable the next time they went into battle. 

After a road-rage-filled drive, Haruka finally got all of them to the shrine without any serious accidents. She opened her car door, cursing something about grandfathers and turn signals under her breath as she headed to open Michiru's door. "I don't  want to be here for long," Haruka grumbled. She would much rather be at home, splashing Hotaru and frustrating Michiru by getting her hair wet. Senshi meetings weren't fun - killing monsters was fun.

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Minako made sure to leave her home (for the meeting at Rei's shrine) extra-early – about one hour before it was supposed to start, even though she lived in one of the wards of Tokyo that bordered Minato-ku – because she was nervous that she would be delayed somehow, like missing a connection, or one of her trains getting delayed by traffic, or even one of the large earthquakes that were well-known in Japan striking during her trip (never mind that such an event would probably seriously delay the others also; Minako still worried about it delaying her). Even once she had made it to the train station where she would catch the route 66 bus that would take her directly to Rei's shrine, Minako worried that the bus would disappear into an alternate dimension just before getting there - like her close friends had told her had happened back before she joined Sailor Moon's team, when Jadeite was sending his minions all over Minato-ku.


So Minako arrived at Rei's shrine all in one piece – physically. Mentally, she was a nervous wreck, as usual. Arriving at the Hikawa shrine had reminded Minako about the reason(s) for the meeting, which in turn reminded her of the anxiety she felt last night about the upcoming battle(s), and about balancing the time commitments for that vs. the time commitments for her goal of becoming a singing idol. So Minako wasn't sure she was as ready as she ever had been for one of these meetings, but she was as ready as she was going to be for this one.

Another sleepless night had passed. After Haruka and Michiru told about the recent events, Makoto couldn’t think about anything else but this. Why did they have to attack now? Now that everyone turned his back on fighting? Now that she reached a new low point in her life? How could she fight now? How was she supposed to protect her princess when she had enough problems herself?
 
Makoto heard the birds singing their bird songs outside. Was it already morning? Slowly she stood up and raised the blind. It was morning! The sun was shining, the traffic was at full work and the streets were crowded with people. She really was up all night. She really spent the last eight hours with thinking and worrying. Suddenly she felt how a headache was arising.
 
With her massaging fingers on her temples she went to the kitchen to get a pill – but just as she left her bedroom she saw something lying there in front of her door. What was that?
When she arrived at her door she found a little letter and some pills. Huh? What is that? And who brought that? After she lifted it up, Makoto went to her kitchen with a view of making a tea and taking a pill against the headache. While the water was boiling, Makoto sat down and read the letter:

 
 

Makoto smiled. She didn’t know how but her crew always knew how to make her feel happy.

The water was boiled now and she already stood up to get her tea ready. Valerian tea. The best remedy for insomnia. Suddenly her heart skipped a beat. It was already so late? Quickly she jumped up, took the antidepressant and stormed out of her apartment.
You’re as punctual as Usagi, Makoto, she reproached herself as she ran down the street.
 
After ten minutes of intense running she finally arrived at Rei’s shrine. She entered the room with a fitful and loud breathing. “Makoto Kino…is on spot,” she said with her last strength and sat down. Her fast breathing was audible in the whole room.

Michiru wasn’t exactly looking forward to this meeting, especially because of what it meant. New enemies, right when she finally got her life arranged exactly the way she liked it. It had taken her a long time to get used to touring around the world and having predetermined family vacations every few months, and she’d just gotten comfortable with the schedule when now suddenly a new wild card was thrown into the mix. Back to battle. Could she do it? God, she was already nervous thinking about what it would do to her precise, careful schedule. Battles could happen at any time. There was no way to predict or schedule them. And that was Michiru’s ultimate enemy. Not the villain behind these attacks themselves. The unpredictability factor.

She supposed the meeting could help them figure out a plan as much as possible, so that was a bit comforting. But Haruka driving like a madwoman with Hotaru and Setsuna in the backseat was not. “You’re seriously going to drive me insane,” she commented as she stepped out, grateful to be stepping her foot on solid ground again. Her hand trembled a bit, still recovering from a near miss some miles back. “And kill us, too. I seriously wonder sometimes who was mad enough to give you a proper driving license.”

Haruka couldn't help but chuckle at Michiru's complaints. Slinging her arm around her lover's shoulder, Haruka began to lead the way up the shrine staircase. "I don't have a license, remember?" she said, remembering back to the conversation they had with Makoto so many years ago about how Haruka had gotten her license at such a young age. It was amazing how she had gotten away with it after all these years.

They finally reached the top of the stairs and entered Rei's bedroom, the place where they always had their silly meetings. Haruka had only been to a few during her time working with the inners, and she wasn't very fond of them. Sitting still and listening to other people talk was just so boring.

Makoto and Rei were already there, but it didn't seem like anyone else arrived yet. "Great," Haruka deadpanned. "Now we're going to have to sit here and wait."

Mamoru woke up the next morning and looked over at Usagi. He decided he wouldn't wake her quite yet. Instead he got up, showered and then changed into his clothes for the day. He then decided to make breakfast. He made a really healthy breakfast with fruit, egg whites and whole grain toast. It looked and smelled delicious. He knew they had a meeting with the senshi soon about the new enemy and he hoped this would cheer up Usagi and give her energy for what he knew was going to be a hard day. He went into their bedroom and shook Usagi softly. "Usako, time to wake up." Mamoru said smiling.

Ami was feeling a bit more balanced today. She’d taken the proper meds and was feeling more like herself, not particularly excited or depressed. But the side effect was she was feeling rather… well… she wasn’t feeling much. It seemed like she was just existing at the moment. Going through the motions as she made her way from the hospital to Rei’s shrine. She hated leaving her patients behind, but the world needed saving in a different way. Hopefully this wouldn’t take too long.

She arrived at the shrine just as the rest of the girls were, and made her way inside. Some of them were already there; the Outers, Rei, of course, Makoto, and Minako. It looked like Usagi hadn’t arrived yet, but punctuality wasn’t usually her forte. She settled quietly among the others, hoping Usagi wouldn’t be long.



Michiru suppressed a smile as Haruka reminded her she didn’t actually have a license. Being an actual race car driver, Michiru thought she would have some form of it should the authorities ever caught up to her, but she supposed Haruka really couldn’t be bothered. That was going to bother her, though. She didn’t exactly want to be involved with the police—that could ruin her reputation. But she supposed Haruka would just say she’d outrun the police every time.

As they entered the shrine, she could see that almost everyone was there already. “It seems our princess never changes,” she commented, noting Usagi’s absence. She turned to Haruka. “Try not to explode while you sit still for a few seconds. If you absolutely must move, go run a few laps around the shrine or something. Or how about some cleaning? I’m sure Rei-san has a few brooms you could use and she would appreciate the help,” she winked at the miko.