Note to the reader: I rate this story PG-13. There's some incidental nudity and some curse words. It's not like I made it hentai or anything (although that might be an idea for my next story [if I ever write another] ). This story may be confusing to those of you who have become accustomed to writing, reading, and seeing Seiya as a "he". In this story Seiya remains female 90% of the time. If you have any fanmail or flames, send them on through. I love getting any e-mail. It's like my birthday or something. 8) (my e-mail: cheesier@hotmail.com ) I'm not a very good author, so take that into consideration. But I did have a lot of fun writing this. Inspiration tends to hit me after I haven't slept for 3 days. Enjoie, mes cheries. Chapter One - Painful Memories Seiya dove off her bed, waking up as her body hit the hardwood floor. She opened her eyes and noticed her pillow was just inches away from her outstretched arms and fingertips. She clenched her fists, squeezing her eyes tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks. She tried to keep from letting out a loud sob that would wake the rest of the household. She suddenly looked down at her right fist, feeling a pain sear right through it. She opened her fist slowly and gasped as she noticed her palm was drenched in blood. And right in the middle of her palm, there was embedded a thorn. A thorn like that of the roses that Taiki had so admired on Earth. Seiya's eyes flew wide open as she realized that that's exactly what it was. She jumped up and ran into her bathroom crying as she yanked the thorn out and rinsed the blood off as well as she could. She threw her hands down on either side of the porcelain sink and looked in the mirror at her messed short black hair and blue eyes that were so dulled by the pain of the dream she'd had. She started to sob in cries that wracked her whole body. "It was so real," she said to herself, "and that bastard Mamoru did that to her... I never should have left her. Never." Seiya fell to her knees on the ceramic tiles and rest her elbows on her knees, leaning her forehead onto her palms, "Seiya, you can be so stupid sometimes. You know that you con't.. can't.. love..." "Seiya-chan, what happened," a soft voice asked from above and behind him. She recognized the voice and felt a smile spread across her face before she turned around. "Usagi!", she grinned as she lifted her forehead, now smeared with blood and opened her eyes. The voice chuckled and rested it's hands on Seiya's delicate shoulders, "Don't be silly, darling, it's me, Kakyuu." Seiya blinked her eyes, bringing herself back into reality. She smiled weakly and turned to face the red-haired diva who looked so much like the Moon Princess herself, "I'm sorry Kakyuu. I don't know what came over me. Just a strange dream I suppose." Kakyuu gasped and grabbed a cloth, wiping at her forehead, "A dream that hurt you! What on Earth happened?" Seiya sighed to herself at the term, thinking of how ironic it was that she mentioned Earth. She looked in Kakyuu's deep eyes filled with concern, and felt her own hand taken into hers. Oh Kakyuu, she thought to herself, if only you knew. Seiya bandaged herself up and clumsily made up a silly dream where she was fighting a demon and ended up slamming her palm on the corner of her bed. Kakyuu smiled and gave Seiya a soft kiss on the lips. "Go back to bed,"she spoke softly, and got up leaving the bathroom. Seiya remained seated and looked down to see that she wasn't wearing any pajamas. She had been stark naked the whole time Kakyuu was with her. Even though Kakyuu had left the bathroom already, she lifted her right arm across her chest covering her breasts. "God, how embarrassing," she muttered to herself. "Seiya, where did you get this?" she heard Kakyuu call from the other room. Seiya grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her body and walked swiftly to wear Kakyuu was standing. She followed her gaze, and saw a familiar object lying on her bed.... with a red rose. Seiya picked up the object and cursed quietly as she realised just what it was she was holding in her hands. She cradeled it and ran her thumbs over the gold heart and the smaller moon that lay atop it. Usagi's transformation locket. She winced and opened it slowly. Both Kakyuu and herself looked inside to see that it was the real thing. Inside lay a large shimmering stone. The Silver Crystal. Kakyuu looked to see a tear rolling down Seiya's cheek. She unconsciously reached over and wiped the tear away. "I'll get Taiki and Yaten," she said quietly, "We can leave first thing in the morning." She ran quickly out of the room and down the hall, her long white nightgown trailing behind her. Seiya stood in the same spot silently, her gaze not leaving the locket that lay in her hands. She whispered softly, "Usagi-chan... I hope you're alright. I hope with all of my heart." Then she placed a soft kiss against the crystal and closed the locket. She crawled back into bed and held the locket tightly against her bare chest. Seiya feel asleep crying that night, praying that she could help Usagi in time. Hoping that she wouldn't selfishly pause this time in her own pain, missing that chance to catch her. Her last words before she fell asleep was a confused pondering, "I was male in my dream... she wouldn't accept me as a female... never.... she couldn't...." and her last tears rolled onto her pillow. * * * * * "So, you stole Usagi's locket, huh?" Yaten asked slyly as Seiya sat at the kitchen table and crossed her legs. Obviously Kakyuu had breifed them about what happened, and Yaten being her normal insensitive self added, "Couldn't take being dumped because you were ugly, huh?" "Shut up, Yaten," Seiya warned. "Oooooh.. you're scaring me now. You never had a chance with her. Especially with those thunder thighs of yours. That annoying clutz wasn't worth your time anyways." Seiya stood up and slammed her fist against the table, looking threateningly into Yaten's bright green eyes, "Shut... up... Yaten... there is only one thing to do right now. Go back to Earth. I want to make sure Usagi-chan is alright." Yaten yawned and rolled her eyes, stretching, "Yes ma'am." Obviously she hadn't gotten up much earlier than Seiya. Taiki looked up for the first time from her poetry book with stars in her eyes and smiled, "I dream'd I lay where flowers were springing, gaily in the sunny beam; List'ning to the wild birds singing, by a falling crystal stream." Seiya and Yaten blinked simultaneously giving Taiki an identical blank stare. "Robert Burns. Er... what I mean is, I'd love to go back. To visit Ami.. and Usagi and Rei and all of the other senshi," she sputtered as she closed the book of Earth poetry that held an inscription; To my dear Taiki; I hope you hold this poetry as close to your heart as I do you. Keep it close forever, and I will hold your memory alongside my soul until the end of time.. Love Always, Ami Mizuno ChibiUsa watched as Ami wrote that and gave it to Taiki the night before she was killed by Galaxia. She had smiled to herself, trying to remember where she had seen that inscription before. A few millenia later while looking for her own daughter's school outfit, she ran across a sketchbook in Haruka's room. She sat on Haruka's bed slowly and opened to the inside cover. Inside lay the exact same inscription, except it was from Michiru to Haruka, and the word "poetry" was replaced with "artwork". The pink-haired Neo-Queen Serenity smiled to herself and thought of Ami, "Copied from Michiru's words. She never was too good at being creative emotionally. Very bright, yes, but not very good at being non-technical. I know she meant those words when she wrote them, too." Taiki didn't know this of course, so every time she read those words she dreamt of looking into Ami's big blue eyes again, and pulling her into tender kiss. Yaten continued to smirk and grin, "But we do have some business there aside from love interests, no?" She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. Seiya shot a glare at Yaten that could have frozen hell, "That other business is the only reason why we're going. Although it will be nice to visit our friends again. All of them." "Well, then I suppose we won't have to disguise ourselves as men this time. And then we won't be hoarded by the police and press, seeing as we left without a trace. They probably have a world-wide search for us going on." Taiki nodded in agreement, "That's right. It probably would be safer to return to Earth as females. No one would even look twice." Seiya froze for a moment, remembering what she'd been thinking about before she went to bed again the night before. "Is there a problem Seiya?" Taiki asked concerned. "No, of course not. We'll return as females. No problem whatsoever." Even Yaten curbed her sarcastic comments. She knew how much it would hurt Seiya to be reminded of Usagi being with Mamoru, and she did feel rather resentful that Usagi hadn't returned Seiya's feelings in full. Taiki looked at Yaten and shared a sad look with him, feeling poorly for thinking of Ami when Seiya would be in such pain in returning. Seiya feeling rather uncomfortable now, knowing what the other two were thinking, stood up and straightened her skirt, "Well, we should be on our way. Who knows what could be happening in their solar system." * * * * * Seiya stood on grassy hill in Chiba, Japan as she waited for the other two girls to arrive. She had selfishly convinced Kakyuu not to come, because it would be too painful for her to have Kakyuu and Usagi there at the same time. She sighed and looked towards the stars shining in the sky. When Taiki and Yaten got here, they would all go and catch an 80 mile train into Tokyo and begin to search for the others. She was torn up inside at the feelings of being excited for not wanting to wait to see Usagi again, and another feeling that she knew all too well. She wasn't sure she could see Usagi again. Especially with Mamoru. Either way, she had to see her. She hadn't been able to decide what to wear earlier that day. She wanted to impress Usagi, and maybe even attract her. "What are you thinking," she scolded herself looking at her reflection in the mirror, "She's not interested in women..." Remembering, her words of earlier, a sad frown fell upon her face. She looked down and wondered if what she was wearing looked alright. Taiki had no fashion sense, and Yaten would have told her her thighs looked huge no matter what she had on. Now back on Earth, she tugged on the short leather skirt that fell about 6" above her knees and tied her red blouse around her waist. She sighed happily as she looked towards her chest, releived that she was wearing a tanktop and hadn't made the same mistake as the night before with Kakyuu. Then she leaned down and tied up her 18-hole army boots. She hugged her arms over her stomache once she finished and watched the sky melt together during the sunset. Softly, she whispered to herself, \ "I won't fall in love with you again, Usagi-chan... I can't. I... it will break my heart into a thousand pieces. Just like before. And the glue won't hold the second time." She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Yaten looking at her with a true concern, for the first time in a long time. "Seiya," Yaten whispered a little shakily, "I hope, for your sake, that the same thing doesn't happen this time. I know you love her still. A love that deep can't disperse itself in a matter of three years." "I know. Thank you, Yaten," she returned gratefully. Seiya could still remember the day that she left Usagi behind. Usagi had always wanted Mamoru anyways. It was February the 8th, 1997. And now, as she stood on a hill, back in Japan, it was over three years later. It must be April here in the new millenia. Usagi will have graduated. Probably living with... Mamoru. Married perhaps. "I only wish it was me married to her," she thought. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces!" Taiki chattered excitedly. Yaten skipped forward to walk alongside Taiki, leaving Seiya behind. Seiya closed her eyes and turned to join the other two, "I'll be there soon Usa." Then her thoughts were broken when Yaten shouted, "Come on lazyass! The train is going for Tokyo any minute!!" Seiya laughed and ran towards the train station, her two friends, and her past, not even sure why she was getting herself into this heart-breaking situation again.