Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Full Moon Wo Sagashite Fan Fiction ❯ Matter of Time ❯ Chapter 3 - Mysterious Sleeping Sickness: Defend the Young Girls' Hearts! ( Chapter 3 )

Usa's note: This was written by the great Pokahydee! I'd give you the email but right now her site and normal email is down. But you can use the comment box and all comments directed towards her *will* be forwarded.

Note: Sorry this took me so long to write, imouto-chan. I had a hard time getting inspired to write^^; Not only that, but I was in an Inuyasha kick for a while there so I had to immerse myself back into Full Moon ~.^ Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It may be a little boring and I'm sorry if anyone is OOC, I tried to keep them in character but some don't like to work with me^^; Anyway R&R!

Chapter 3 - Mysterious Sleeping Sickness: Defend the Young Girls' Hearts!

"Usagi-chan, wake up!" Said a furious cat that sat on the sleeping girl's chest. Usagi coughed lightly and rolled onto her side to try and stop the coughing fit. She opened her eyes slowly and sat up with her hands at her throat.

"Itai," She whimpered as tears stung the corners of her eyes. If that cat hadn't startled her awake like that, she wouldn't have started to cough like that.

"Baka neko," Takuto muttered as he clicked his fingers. In a puff of smoke the pile of manga that had been on Usagi's nightstand tumbled off and landed on the end of the cat's tail. Luna shrieked in pain and took off across the room and out the door.

"Who does she think she is?!" Meroko said as she frowned after the cat. "Doesn't she knows it's impolite?"

"Daijoubu, Meroko-chan. At least I won't be late for school now." Usagi said with a smile as she swung her feet over the edge of the bed and began to get ready for school. After she was ready she made her way down the hallway toward the stairs. Her throat ached dully, but she had to ignore it because her aunt would give her another lecture if she found out that it was hurting again. Behind Usagi floated her new friends, Takuto and Meroko. It was a strange friendship indeed. A human friends with two Shinigami. 'Oh well, it doesn't matter. A friend is a friend and they're helping me achieve my dreams so they must be true friends indeed.' Usagi thought to herself with a smile.

"What a strange girl," Takuto said to himself as he floated down the stairs after the two girls.

"Usagi-chan, come and have some breakfast before school. You need to keep up your strength." Ikuko said as Usagi emerged at the bottom of the steps.

"Hai, obaa-chan." Usagi said as she walked into the kitchen and had a seat at the table. She ate quickly because the time was getting on and she was going to be late if she didn't hurry.

"Oh dear." Ikuko said as she skimmed over an article in the newspaper in front of her. "A strange sleeping disease where the person doesn't wake up?"

"I'm done." She said as she pushed her plate back and snatched her bag up from the ground and headed toward the door at a run.

"Don't push yourself! You'll make it worse!" Ikuko yelled after Usagi as she scrambled out the door and down the front steps.

**

"Ne, have you been listening to that program on FM #10?" The girl sitting behind Usagi asked her friend sitting in the next desk over.

"Do you mean Midnight Zero?" The girl questioned.

"Hai! That Jay Daitou sounds so dreamy." The first girl said as she gushed over the radio announcer.

"Midnight Zero?" Usagi questioned to herself as she chewed on the end of her pencil. Sitting on her desk were two stuffed animals, a cat and a bunny. "Have you heard of it, Meroko-chan?" Usagi asked as she looked down at the rabbit on her desk.

"Iie, why don't we listen to it tonight and see what it's about, ne?" Meroko suggested as a smile spread across her face.

"At least Haruna-sensei was late today. Even though I tried to make it here on time, I still came in after the bell." Usagi said to herself with a sigh of relief.

"I wonder where Haruna-sensei is. It's not like her to be late." Umino said impatiently as he sat behind Usagi. He had returned to his normal, geeky self and was had started to pester Usagi with useless facts on how much dirt earthworms ate in a day.

"I'm here," Came a weak-sounding voice from the doorway of the classroom. Everyone looked toward the door to see Haruna-sensei stumbling into the room with her shoulders slumped forward. She had dark rings under her eyes and looked as if she hadn't slept at all the previous night. Usagi noticed a strange flower brooch on Haruna's suit and smiled slightly.

"How pretty," Usagi mused as the purple flower caught the light and sparkled slightly. The sparkle caught Meroko's eye and she immediately fixed her gaze on the flower brooch.

"I want one!" She squealed just as the teacher dropped her book on the table.

"I think I'll, take roll." Ms. Haruna said as she let the grade book fall to the floor. "Maybe, just study yourselves," She continued as she fell onto the podium and fell sound asleep.

"Eh? What's wrong with her?" Usagi questioned as her eyes fell on her teacher.

"She must have that sleeping disease that young women have been coming down with lately. They say that once you get it, you'll never wake up." The girl sitting in front of Usagi said.

**

"Tadaima." Usagi said as she came through the front door after school. Her aunt didn't like her to go anywhere after school in case something happened and she got really sick without anyone to take care of her or bring her to the hospital.

"Usagi, you have a phone call." Ikuko said as she handed the cordless phone to the girl.

"Huh? Moshi moshi." Usagi said into the receiver. "Ah! Wakaouji-sensei! Why are you calling me?"

"Ah, well. The person who's going to be your manager came to see you." Wakaouji said into the phone.

"Eh?! Manager?!" Usagi nearly yelled as she heard the news from her doctor.

"Keep your voice down. You don't want your aunt to hear." Meroko hissed into Usagi's ear.

"Ne, why did the manager go to your place?" Usagi asked a little confused.

"That's because I've become your guardian. I didn't think you would sign your aunt up as your guardian." Wakaouji said slowly. "Now, this doesn't have anything to do with singing, does it?" He questioned suspiciously.

"No no, it's for umm, modeling!" Usagi lied as a sweatdrop appeared on her forehead.

"Ah, modeling is fine then. But you can't push yourself and you'll still have to have your regular checkups." Wakaouji said sternly.

"Hai, Wakaouji-sensei." Usagi said with a smile into the receiver.

"Anyway, I just talked to her a moment ago and she wants to come visit you and me." Wakaouji said. "So, would you come to the hospital right now?"

"Hai, I'll be right there." Usagi said with a smile as she hung up the phone.

"You get your own manager? Sugoi!" Meroko said enthusiastically as she clung to Usagi's back. She still looked like a stuffed rabbit with small white wings on her back. Usagi hurried up to her room with the bunny on her back, but she didn't notice the little head that poked around the corner after she hung up the phone.

"Manager?" Shingo questioned as a suspicious look crossed his face. He decided he would let it go for now, but he would keep an eye on his older cousin. She was up to something, he wasn't sure what, but something strange was going on.

**

"Don't look Takuto! She's still changing!" Meroko cried as she had her hands clamped tightly over Takuto's eyes.

"I'm not going to look, baka!" Takuto said as he fought to free himself from the bunny's grip. "Besides, what's the point of changing. She can't meet the manager in that body."

"Eh? Oh no, that's right. Wakaouji-sensei doesn't know that you turned me into a sixteen year old." Usagi said as her smile faded slightly.

"What do we do then?" Takuto demanded and in a puff of smoke, resumed his normal form.

"What do we do," Meroko said as she put her hand to her chin to think. "In times like these, we consult the Shinigami Handbook." She said and in a puff of pink smoke, a small pink book appeared in her hands. "Let's see, let's see,"

'Hmm, looks like we'll have to tell them everything.' Usagi thought to herself as a vision popped into her head.

~"These two are Shinigami-san, Takuto and Meroko. They turned my body into a sixteen-year-old, and when I'm like that, I don't have any cancer in my throat. I can sing with all my heart." Usagi said to a pair of people that sat in front of her with Takuto and Meroko on either side.

"Is that how it is?" chibiWakaouji said with a smile.

"I don't have a problem with it." The man holding a sign reading 'manager' said.~

"Okay!" Usagi said as she clapped her hands together.

"It's not okay!" Takuto and Meroko said in unison.

"Doing something as strange as that is definitely out of the question! Geez, let's see," Meroko said angrily before burying her face back in the handbook.

"Meroko, Is that Handbook really of any use?" Takuto asked doubtfully as he peeked over her shoulder.

"I got it! I'll give you a rare chance to see my true power!" Meroko said as the handbook disappeared from her hand.

"Oh? You're going to show me?" Takuto questioned with a smug look on his face. "So then. What's your idea?"

"Well, umm, I've got it!" Meroko said as she plopped her hand down into her fist. "I'll turn into her sixteen-year old self and we'll go talk to the manager together!"

"But Wakaouji-sensei thinks that the manager is going to be for me as a model, not for someone else that looks like me." Usagi said skeptically.

"Hmm, Then we'll say that you were selected to be a double for your older self. We'll call you Usako and say you're Usagi's imouto, ne?" Meroko said as the idea struck her.

"Little sister?" She questioned in a confused tone.

"Hai! It's a catchphrase in the company and Usako will be your stage name." Meroko said in a unusual stroke of genius.

"Will that really stupid story really work?" Takuto questioned with a look of annoyance on his face.

"We won't know until we try it." Meroko said as she changed herself back into a stuffed animal.

"Usagi-chan! Let me in!" A voice cried from the other side of the window. There was scratching at the window and Usagi turned to see Luna sitting on the windowsill.

"Eh? Luna? How did you get out there?" Usagi questioned as she opened the window and let the cat into the room.

"That monster cousin of yours chased me out with a remote-controlled car." Luna said angrily as she pulled her tail closer to her body. She didn't want anything else strange to happen to her poor injured tail. "We have trouble, Usagi-chan." Luna said as she changed the subject quickly.

"Eh? What are you talking about, Luna?" Usagi questioned as she kneeled down next to the cat with the stuffed animal still in her arms.

"There's another youma around here somewhere. People have been mysteriously falling asleep and not waking up lately. I'm not sure how is has been happening, but everyone that has been effected has had a flower brooch pinned to their shirts." Luna explained.

"Flower brooch? That's right, Haruna-sensei was wearing a flower brooch when she passed out in class today." Usagi said as she remembered back to the school day. She ignored the dull pain in her throat as she stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going, Usagi-chan?" Luna demanded angrily as the girl seemed to ignore the rest of her words.

"I have an appointment, Luna. I'll keep a look out for anything strange, though." Usagi said as she headed toward the door. Takuto followed her and cast a dark look at the pitiful creature that sat on the floor nearly yelling for Usagi to come back so she could continue her lecture.

**

"I'm here, Wakaouji-sensei." Usagi called as she waved down the hallway to her doctor. She winced slightly as it dawned on her that she still couldn't speak loud, but she hid the pain well. The only one that seemed to notice her discomfort was Takuto who had been watching her like a hawk for the past several days.

"Ah, Usagi-chan your manager is here." Wakaouji said as Usagi walked toward him. At his side stood a blond girl that looked surprisingly similar to Usagi except she had warm brown eyes and appeared to be a few years older.

"I have to fill you in on a few things though, Wakaouji-sensei." Usagi said with a smile to her doctor. "They gave me a different stage name, Usako. Her stage name is Usagi." The girl said motioning to the transformed Meroko at her side.

"Nice to meet you, Wakaouji-sensei!" Meroko said brightly as she smiled and winked at the older doctor.

"Ah, nice to meet you." Wakaouji returned the greeting with a small bow.

"Anyway, they call me a little sister of the company as a catch phrase. I'm supposed to appear as Usagi-chan's imouto." Usagi said as she motioned back up to Meroko with a smile.

"Oh? That makes sense." Wakaouji said as he scratched his chin. Takuto just watched the scene with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't believe that the doctor was buying this. "Well, we better not keep your new manager waiting."

"Hai, Wakaouji-sensei!" Usagi said with a smile as she followed the man into the room with Meroko following her. The first thing that Usagi noticed was a young woman sitting on the couch with her legs crossed. She had chin-length, light brown hair and was wearing a business suit.

"Hello, I'm Ooshige Masami from Rage Pro." The manager introduced with a smile at the two girls that entered the room. She seemed slightly surprised for a moment as she looked from one girl to the next. It was shocking how much the two girls looked alike. They were obviously sisters, if it weren't for the fact that the brown-eyed girl looked older, she would have sworn they were identical twins.

"I'm Tsukino Usako." Usagi said as she bowed. "And this is my neechan Tsukino Usagi."

"Nice to meet the two of you." Ooshige said with a smiled as the two entered the room and had a seat across from her.

**

"Sugoi, my own cell phone!" Usagi squealed as she flipped open the pink phone and began to press buttons. This was the first time she'd ever held a cell phone so she wanted to see some of the different things she could do on it.

"That was pretty easy. We shouldn't have to worry about them anymore." Meroko said with a smile as she poked out of Usagi's bag. The blond was headed home in her transformed state. Takuto had taken pity on her and changed her into her sixteen-year-old self to make the pain in her throat go away for at least a little while. She would have to endure the pain when they reached her home, though. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Usagi. She was so young and yet her life was going to end in less than a year.

"Wow, you can play games and everything!" Usagi squealed as she began to push random buttons on the phone. She cried out in shock as she walked into something that felt like a brick wall and fell down on her butt. "Itai!" Usagi whined as she sat on the ground with tears in her eyes.

"You really should watch where you're going, odango atama." A taunting voice said from above her. Usagi looked up to see a man with black hair and weird sunglasses standing above her. "Get off your cell phone and pay attention. From the looks of it, you'll have a problem if you scramble up your brains even more."

"How mean." Usagi whined as tears welled up in her eyes. Takuto's eyes narrowed and he clicked his fingers as the man began to walk away. Out of nowhere a pair of men walked out from a store holding a pane of glass between them and the dark-haired man walked right into it and fell to the ground. Usagi spun around to frown at the Shinigami. "Takuto, that wasn't very nice, you know."

"He deserved it for saying all of that." Takuto said indignantly as he crossed his arms over his chest and refused to look Usagi in the face. He didn't care if the brat was upset with him, that guy had deserved much worse than what he had gotten.

"Let's just go home." Usagi said as she picked up her pace and ran toward her house. She had never really been able to run like this in a long time so she was glad that she was still able to breathe.

**

"Usagi-chan! This is that program everyone was talking about at school today!" Meroko said as she turned the radio up.

"Huh? Program?" Usagi questioned as she looked over at the Shinigami. She was sitting at her table under the old moon calendar writing in her journal. She wasn't really known to keep a journal, but she just felt like writing. Not only that, she had some ideas for song lyrics. She didn't want to be one of those artists that had other people write her songs.

"Hai! Midnight Zero! They're reading peoples' love letters. I want to write one to Takuto and have Jay Daitou read it on Midnight Zero." Meroko gushed as she sat in front of the radio.

"And now we have a love letter from Naru-chan." Jay Daitou said and then began to read a letter the girl had written.

"Love letters only have meaning if you give them to someone." Usagi said simply as she looked up at the moon calendar.

"Eh? I suppose you're right. Do you have some paper so I can write Takuto a love letter?" Meroko asked cheerfully as she floated above Usagi. Usagi giggled quietly but handed the Shinigami paper and a purple gel pen.

"N, nani?!" Luna nearly shrieked as she sat a pen and a piece of pink paper with a bunny in the corner float across the room and the radio clicked off. "This place has ghosts!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Luna?" Usagi questioned as she looked up from her journal.

"T, that!" Luna cried and picked up one hand to point to the floating paper.

"That's Meroko. She wants to write a love letter to Takuto." Usagi explained simply and turned back to the notebook in front of her.

"Meroko? Takuto?" The cat questioned as her mouth dropped open. "You mean those Shinigami you were talking about?"

"Hai, who else would it be? They've been helping me achieve my dreams." Usagi said with a smile as she turned to her new friends. Meroko had lain down on Usagi's bed on her stomach and was chewing on the end of the pen. Takuto, on the other hand, was sitting in Usagi's window staring out at the waning moon.

'I guess there really are Shinigami here,' Luna thought to herself as a frown crossed her face. 'What are they here for, though? It's certainly not to help Usagi do anything. They must be here to take her life!' Luna frowned deeper and jumped up onto Usagi's notebook.

"Luna, I'm trying to write." Usagi whined as she tried to pull her notebook out from under the cat's feet.

"You still have to find this new youma and destroy it. In order to do that, you need to get some sleep. Besides, do you want to be late to school again?" Luna asked as she looked sternly at her charge.

"Hai hai, I'll go to sleep. You happy?" Usagi pouted as she walked over to her bed and crawled in. Meroko transformed in a puff of pink smoke and lay down beside Usagi in her stuffed bunny form.

"Goodnight, Usagi-chan." Meroko said as she pulled the covers up over herself.

"Oyasumi, Meroko-chan, Takuto, Luna." Usagi said as she closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep. Takuto frowned slightly as he noticed the cat lingered in the room. He didn't like that cat to be near Usagi. He had a bad feeling about this Sailor Moon business and that cat was only making it worse. He snapped his fingers and a breeze came in from the open window and pushed the cat through the bedroom door, then closed the door with a quiet snap.

**

"Eh? Your letter was the one on Midnight Zero last night?" A girl asked as she saw the small package in a girl called Naru's hands.

"Isn't it pretty?" Naru asked the next day as she pinned a purple flower brooch to her shirt. Usagi knelt in front of the girl to look at the brooch.

"Didn't Haruna-sensei have one of those yesterday?" Another girl nearby asked.

"That means Haruna-sensei was Dreaming Haruna the other night then, ne?" A dark-haired girl asked with a startled look. "Who would have thought?"

"It's so pretty." Usagi gushed as she leaned in closer to see. It did look just like Ms. Haruna's brooch. It was a purple flower that glittered in the light. Usagi looked up at Naru with a smile and noticed the girl's eyes were glazed over and she seemed to be fighting to stay awake or something. Usagi leaned in closer to look at the brooch and felt her eyelids droop. 'What's going on?' Usagi asked herself as she suddenly felt really tired.

"Usagi! Usagi!! Wake up!" Takuto's voice barely filtered into her brain as she saw the floor coming nearer. She knew she was falling, but she couldn't catch herself.

"Naru-chan! What's wrong!?" Usagi could hear the voices around her as her body began to feel heavy. "Wake up!"

"Tsukino-san too?! Wake up you guys!!" Someone cried out. Usagi was vaguely aware of someone shaking her, but her eyes soon blurred and she fell into a blissful dream.

~"Motoki-kun! Matte!" Usagi called as she ran toward the figure in front of her. She didn't know how she knew it was Motoki, but she just knew. She could sense that it was Motoki even if she couldn't see his face or any definable features. "Wait for me, Motoki-kun. You promised you'd tell me how to find Ursa Major and Ursa Minor!"

"Usagi-chan, you've grown very beautiful." Motoki's voice filled Usagi's ears as the figure in front of her turned around to face her.

"Motoki-kun, do you want to hear my new song?" Usagi questioned as she stood in front of her friend, the one she loved and longed for.

"I would love to hear you sing. You have such a beautiful voice." Motoki said with a smile as he reached one hand down toward Usagi. Usagi reached up to grasp it but as soon as she did, he burst into bubbles and was no longer there.

"Motoki-kun?" Usagi called quietly as she looked around her. It had suddenly gotten very dark, very dark indeed. "Motoki-kun, where are you?" Usagi called a little louder as fear laced into her voice. "Motoki-kun!! Don't leave me, Motoki-kun!" Usagi began to yell in fear as she searched in every direction.

She began to run up a hill hoping that she would be able to see him from the top. She reached the top and leaned over to catch her breath. She straightened up and look in all directions from the top of the hill, but everything was bathed in darkness. She couldn't see anything at the bottom of the hill on any side.

"Motoki-kun!! Come back!! Don't leave me here alone!!" She cried as she sunk to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest, then she began to start rocking back and forth. "I love you, Motoki-kun, come back and find me, I'm so scared.,"~

Usagi's head shot up from a pillow as the darkness seemed to eat her alive. She glanced around herself on all sides and saw only two people, or rather, Shinigami. Her body was drenched in a cold sweat and she was breathing heavy.

"Daijoubu, Usagi-chan?" Meroko questioned as she sat on the bed beside the blond girl.

"H, hai. It was just a, nightmare." She paused slightly as the remnants of the dream ran back through her mind. Motoki had left her alone in the darkness, Thank goodness it had only been a dream. Usagi didn't know what she would do if he had really left her. It hadn't been his choice to go to America, but he had been given another chance at happiness even if Usagi wasn't with him. They had vowed to meet each other again.

"Usagi-chan!" A voice cried as a familiar clawed figure jumped through the window and sunk her claws into the soft flesh of Usagi's arm. Usagi cried out in pain as tiny pinpricks of blood rushed up to the surface. Usagi winced in pain afterward as the biting pain returned to her throat from the volume of her voice.

"Baka neko!" Takuto growled as he got ready to drop something else on Luna's tail.

"Don't Takuto," Usagi said weakly as she smiled up at him. The pain was fading but only slightly.

"You have to get to FM no.10 right now. That's the reason everyone has been falling asleep. A youma has been stealing their energy using those flower brooches they've been giving away." Luna said as the girl rose to her feet and set the cat down on the bed.

"Those girls won't wake up until I get rid of the youma ne?" Usagi questioned as she winced slightly. She was dreading using her voice again since it had only been a day since she had been forced to last time. Luna nodded her head affirmative so Usagi nodded her head slightly. "All right, let's go. I can't let them do that."

"But Usagi-chan!" Meroko interrupted with a frown. "Remember what happened last time? It's only going to make the cancer worse!"

"I can't just leave those girls to sleep forever." Usagi said calmly as she walked toward the door. "Takuto, onegai. Can you turn me into a sixteen-year-old until we get there?"

"Hai." Takuto said as he clicked his fingers. He didn't like the idea of her being this Sailor Moon person, but there wasn't much he could do at this point. Once that girl made up her mind, there was no changing it.

**

"Mou Luna, how am I supposed to get in there?" Usagi whined as she knelt outside of the FM no.10 studio. "Even in my sixteen-year-old form, they're just going to throw me out."

"Use this." Luna said as she did a backflip. A pen landed on the ground beside Usagi, who picked it up and examined it.

"How is this pen going to help me?" Usagi questioned as she turned it in her hands to look at it.

"This is a new item." Luna explained as she landed beside the blond girl. "It will turn you into any adult figure, just say 'Moon Power' to activate it."

"Do I have to?" Usagi questioned as she touched her throat lightly. She was still in her sixteen-year-old form, but Usagi had a feeling she would revert back to her younger self when she used the pen. The last time Takuto's power didn't work when she was Sailor Moon so she had a good feeling it wouldn't work here either.

"Yes you have to. They are stealing the power of young girls, you must stop them." Luna said sternly as she frowned at her charge. Usagi swallowed the lump in her throat and held the pen up in the air.

"Moon Power, turn me into a radio announcer!" Usagi yelled as the power from the strange object washed over her. She cringed slightly as pain tore through her throat from the scream, but she endured it and stood before the cat wearing a nice suit with short hair and sunglasses.

"I wonder if she can stay in character?" Takuto said as he watched the blond woman walk toward the guard's booth. "Didn't think so," Takuto sighed as Usagi's foot tipped over and she fell to the ground.

"Itai!" Usagi cried as she held onto her leg where she had hit the ground.

"You don't have time for this, Usagi-chan! Get going!" Luna demanded as she approached Usagi. Usagi sniffed one more time and nodded.

**

"Eh? Is that Jay Daitou?" Usagi questioned as she peeked in through the window at the recording that was taking place. Lying all around on the floors were people that should have been broadcasting the show. They were sleeping or unconscious in their chairs or leaning against the walls.

"He's the one responsible for this, Usagi-chan. Don't let your guard down." Luna said as her eyes narrowed on the man.

"All right, let's go." Usagi whispered as she pushed the door open and entered the room. She ran over to the microphone and began to speak in it over Jay Daitou's voice. "Listen minna! The flower brooches are dangerous, if you have one you have to destroy it! Love letters only have meaning if they are given to a person that you care for!"

"That's enough!" A female voice yelled from the side. Usagi turned to see a woman with short red hair crash through the window. Usagi turned and ran toward the door and slammed it behind her on the youma and the blond man.

"Usagi, transform!" Luna yelled over the crash that came from the closed door.

"Hai, Moon Prism Power, Make-UP!" Usagi yelled and immediately winced again from the volume of her voice. She felt warmth bathe her as pink ribbons settled into place around her body. She spun around once more and struck a pose. "I'm a pretty sailor suited soldier, Sailor Moon! You have taken advantage of young girls' dreams and love! I will not forgive you! In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!" Usagi said as she struck another pose.

"Sailor Moon, you have interfered with my plans for the last time. Youma, kill her!" Jay Daitou ordered as he pointed to Sailor Moon.

"Eh? Who are you?!" Sailor Moon demanded as she saw that the radio announcer was in on it somehow.

"I guess I could tell you that, seeing as how you are going to die soon. I'm Jadeite, a dark general." Jadeite introduced himself.

"Here is your place to die!" The youma shouted as she attacked the soldier. Sailor Moon dodged with Luna right at her side. No matter how much Sailor Moon dodged, the youma continued to attack.

"What do I do, Luna?" Sailor Moon asked as she jumped through the hole in the ceiling and out onto the roof.

"Use your tiara!" Luna said as she landed beside Usagi on the roof of the building. The youma flew out right behind them and floated above the edge of the building.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon shouted as she flung her tiara at the youma that floated several feet away. She gasped slightly and fell to her knees when the youma sidestepped the attack and it went flying past her.

"Where are you aiming at?" The youma demanded confidently. That's when an idea came to her and she brought her hands in front of her as if to control the direction of the tiara. The tiara reacted to this and flew back the opposite way and caught the youma from behind and turned her to a pile of dust easily.

"Jadeite!" Sailor Moon called as she rose to her feet and took a deep breath.

"Are you ready to fight me one on one?" Jadeite questioned with a smirk. There was no way he would fear a little girl in a sailor suit. Especially if she went down after merely using her attack the last time.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon called again as she sent the object flying at the smirking man. He held up his hand and the item stopped halfway from him and fell to the ground with a clatter. "No way! How do I stop him, Luna?!" Sailor Moon demanded and dissolved into a coughing fit and fell back to her knees.

"Usagi-chan, daijoubu?" Meroko demanded as she fell to the girl's side. "Usagi-chan?!" She shouted louder trying to get through to Usagi. "Hang on!" Meroko stood up and faced the advancing man with a frown on her face. "Mero mero change!" Meroko said, and then she twirled her hat around and in a puff of pink smoke, Meroko stood before Jadeite dressed in a similar sailor outfit as Usagi. "I won't let you hurt her!" Meroko yelled as she stood protectively in front of Sailor Moon as Takuto knelt beside the girl.

"Eh? Shinigami again!?" Luna cried as she saw a pink-haired woman standing in front of Sailor Moon with her arms outstretched.

"Oh? There's two of you?" Jadeite questioned as he looked the girl over. "No matter, I'll get rid of you both at once." He smirked as he advanced on the pair that stood before him, but stopped as something hit the ground right in front of his feet. "Hmm?" He looked around for where the rose had come from and frowned slightly. "I don't have time for this." He raised his hand and a black hole opened up above him and sucked him inside.

"Usagi! Hang on!" Takuto said as he helped the girl sit up. He snapped his fingers and a glass of water appeared in his hands. "Here, drink this." He said as he helped Usagi to drink from the offered glass. Gradually, Usagi's coughing fit faded and she lay in Takuto's arm breathing heavily.

"Arigato, Takuto." Usagi said slowly as she sat up and rubbed her aching throat.

"Usagi-chan, are you all right?" Luna asked from her spot next to Usagi. Meroko had fallen to her knees after the effort of becoming visible to humans for a second time that day and let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close, Usagi." Meroko said as she turned back to the fallen heroine. "You can't keep fighting as Sailor Moon though. It's going to make your death come early."

"I'm sorry, Meroko." Usagi said with a sad smile. "But I can't let anyone die because I wasn't able to protect them. I won't have that on my conscience."

"All right," Takuto said as he seemed to come to a realization. "I promise that I will help you for the next year to achieve your dreams."

"Honto?" Usagi questioned as a small smile spread across her face.

"Aa, it's a promise." Takuto said as he smiled down to the blond girl.

"Arigato, Takuto!" Usagi cried as she hugged him around the middle.

::Fin::