AN: I've always felt that Mamoru didn't really get a fair shake in the Anime. The Manga developed his character much more. However, I feel like a story that develops his character, and where he is the one who realizes everything first is important. This story falls somewhere between the Manga and the Anime, because honestly who doesn't love a quarreling duo who turns into an adorable couple.

AN2: I am making a couple changes... The Shittenou will be different, closer to the Manga (which means they are all male and were the love interests of the Senshi). There will be a close friendship between Matoki and Mamoru, and there will be some friends added who may have appeared in the Anime, the Manga, or SM Crystal depending. Finally, I believe it is important to show the development of respect for the Senshi for Usagi, and for the Shittenou for Mamoru as well as their development as fighters and leaders. Though the couple part is important.

AN3: I really don't want Mamoru to be a male sleeping beauty, nor do I want Usagi to be completely helpless on the battlefield. To that end, I am making subtle changes to the storyline. Oh, and Rei never dates Mamoru!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon... I just wish I did. Only gonna say this once!

Chapter 1

Tuxedo Kamen Sees Usagi

Day 1

"Hey, Odango Atama."

"Odango!"

"Usagi!"

Hearing her name, Usagi lifted her head from her arms. She had slumped over the table in the arcade, exhausted. It had already been such a long day. She had been called out in the early hours of the morning to fight a Youma, and when her alarm went off in the morning she hadn't heard it. Luna had been forced to use a bit of claw to wake her. She had missed breakfast, run face-first into Mamoru's chest… again, and been forced to stand in the hall outside her classroom for having been late. With no lunch, her first stop after school had been the arcade, because she knew her mother would lock her out of the house at dinner since she had failed another test. Her back ached, she had a gash in her thigh that still hadn't finished healing, and she hadn't had more than four hours sleep at a time in weeks. She was running on fumes. It was her only excuse for snarling quite rudely at Mamoru when she saw him standing over her.

"Don't you do anything other than sleep and eat?" He asked her.

Don't you do anything other than pick on people? She wondered. She was upset that he always teased her but seemed nice to everyone else. She wondered why he hated her so much. It didn't help that she was in love with the boy, in spite of his teasing. While she knew he would never return her feelings, she had already tried dismissing them long enough, and was resigned to pining silently over the man until time and distance eased the ache. But it was impossible when he never left her alone.

Standing suddenly, Usagi poked a finger into Mamoru's chest. "You are the rudest person on the planet!" She poked again. "You are a jerk!" Another poke. "And another thing…" Mamoru caught her finger before she could poke him again, and her jaw dropped. "Let go Mamoru-baka!" She tore her finger out of his grasp and shoved past him, grabbing her bag and heading out the door, her meal nearly untouched on the table.

Once outside she slumped against the wall, breathing as though she had run a race. Her eyes closed for a moment as she tried to control the raging emotions. Unfortunately, her communicator went off and she heard Ami's desperate voice. "We've got another one!" She ran to the nearest alley, pulling at her brooch as she went, and transformed into Sailor Moon as soon as she was safely hidden.

Racing towards the coordinates Usagi saw the Youma, which looked somewhat human, throwing what appeared to be flower pods at Ami and Rei. The two were dodging and throwing their attacks at the creature, and without pausing Usagi ripped off her tiara, screamed "Moon Tiara Action," and hurled it at the creature. There was a shriek as it disappeared.

The three girls hugged, then looked for a place to transform. The last thing they needed was a bunch of people trying to take pictures or ask them questions. Finding a nearby alley, the three girls transformed, and headed for their respective homes.

By the time she reached her door, Usagi was exhausted. Beyond exhausted. She went into the house and handed her mother the test without a word, walked back out to the porch, laid on the little wooden bench, and fell asleep.

Ikuko stared at the front door, unsure what to make of her daughter's behavior. She peered out the window to see Usagi asleep on the bench, less than a minute later. Something was up with the girl. She sent Kenji out to get her and watched as her husband carried their daughter up the stairs.

Once upon a time Usagi hadn't always had bad grades. She hadn't always fallen asleep whenever she stopped moving, and she had been the brightest light in the world. Now, since she had hit puberty, the girl was always tired and was sometimes even cranky. She knew what a tough transition the teenage years could be, but this seemed worse and she was a little worried.

She made up a plate and brought it upstairs, covered, for her daughter to eat when she woke up. The small black cat, Luna, was laying on the pillow next to Usagi's face. She reached out and gave the cat a scratch under the chin before leaving and closing the door behind her.

Usagi woke up to Luna batting at her face with a paw. "Luna, give me five more minutes," she muttered, trying to turn over.

"Food!" Luna's voice brought Usagi fully awake and she instantly scrambled for the plate on her desk. She shared a bit with the cat, who preferred people food to anything made for Earth pets.

"Luna?" Usagi was hesitant. "How many Senshi should there be?" The question had been bothering her for weeks. Her strange dreams of a man leaping in front of a sword to protect her and dying for his trouble upset her greatly. Especially so because the man looked so much like Mamoru. In her dream she had screamed the name Endymion again and again before grabbing his own sword and taking her life.

Usagi wanted to scoff at herself. She didn't want to believe she would ever be so stupid as to commit suicide over a man.

"Well, traditionally there are four Senshi who protect the princess. These are the inner Senshi." Luna swallowed a bite before continuing. There are four outer Senshi, though their duties are different. Their purpose is to protect the Solar System Alliance from any attack. Hmmm," she tried a bit of the squid. "There is also the Moon Princess, and the Prince of Earth to guard those celestial bodies. Honestly, they are the most powerful. And some say there is a guardian of the sun as well. Central tells me that the prince and princess will be in disguise though. They may be hidden among our number." She gave Usagi a surreptitious glance. "Why so curious?"

Usagi ignored the question. She hadn't told Luna about her dreams, though the cat was aware the girl woke up screaming. She ate another bite of rice and looked down at her guardian. "I just keep feeling like there's something I'm missing," she admitted eventually. "It's almost as though I almost remember something, and if I can just figure out what that something is, then I can find the princess and protect her. I don't know what it is though.

"Maybe we should have a meeting at the Shrine tomorrow after school," murmured Luna. She had her own reasons for wanting to talk. It was time for the leader of the Senshi to be acknowledged. Though she had originally been concerned about Usagi's leadership abilities, the girl was becoming a fine (if exhausted) Senshi. And while the girl's grades weren't the best, it wasn't due to stupidity.

"Okay Luna. Good night." Usagi put the plate on the desk again, and as soon as she closed her eyes, Luna leaped over and cleaned it with her tongue.

Day 2

Usagi's nightmare woke her at 4 am. Her communicator went off at 4:17. She went out the window carefully, hoping she would be done and home before her parents woke up at 5:30. Upon reaching the park (why are there so many attacks at the park?) she transformed and moved carefully through the bushes and into the area where the Youma was busily destroying a playground. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars were both there, though they had not yet attacked. Mercury seemed to be trying to discover the weakness of the creature.

"Hey Moon, took you long enough!" Sailor Mars, a little worried about her friend. "Want me to distract it so you can moon dust the sucker?"

"One second Mars. Mercury?" questioned Sailor Moon. She noticed Mars huff impatiently but ignored her. That girl really seemed to like a fight.

"Okay, this one is throwing toys. Sharp ones. Looks like the weakness is in the toy truck on its head."

"Alright," Sailor Moon looked to Mars. "You get around in front of it, and I can come up from behind."

Mars nodded, and the girls separated. She watched as Mars launched her Fire Soul attack before letting fly with her tiara. The creature moved too fast and the attack missed. Instead of continuing after the intended victim, the Youma whirled around and began throwing metal toys at Moon. She dodged several, but there were too many, and coming too quickly. A large metal dump truck, about a foot long was suddenly coming straight at her head, and with no time to move she simply lifted her arms over her face.

The truck never reached her as she was gathered into Tuxedo Kamen's arms and set carefully down. "Try again Sailor Moon," he said quietly. She instantly took off her tiara. Moon Tiara Action! The Youma disappeared into a cloud of dust that slowly settled onto the ground.

Sailor Moon turned back to look at the masked hero. "Thanks for..." but he was already gone. She gathered the others in and told them to meet at the shrine after school. Then she walked out of the park and into the nearest alley before letting the henshin fade and becoming exhausted and overworked little Tsukino Usagi once more.

Tuxedo Kamen sat on the edge of the roof overlooking the alley in shock. He couldn't have moved if his life depended on it in that moment. He had felt the link to Sailor Moon and had followed her into battle. He never revealed himself unless there was a need, usually to save Sailor Moon in the nick of time with a well thrown razor tipped rose, or a spectacular diving catch of the beautiful hero. And he always tried to leave before they had a chance to talk. He liked Sailor Moon but was distrustful of the others.

He had expected nothing more than the usual fight and had come to the alley to watch as the girls met in the center of the field. what he had not expected was to see who his favorite hero really was. It made so much sense to him now that he took a moment to think about it.

The odangos. He should have put them together long ago. The blonde hair with the peculiar double bun style leaving her long golden tresses hanging to her knees on either side of her head. And those cornflower blue eyes he had never seen on anyone but his Usagi, and on Sailor Moon. Well, there was also the Princess in his dreams. The one he had been dreaming of since childhood, who he was supposed to find and protect and to whom he had to deliver the Silver Crystal. Maybe Usagi was his Princess too.

He followed Usagi quietly, slipping from one roof to the next as he followed her. He wanted to make sure the exhausted girl made it home safely. Eventually she jumped into a tree, walked along the longest branch, leaped to a window standing open on the second floor and climbed inside. He climbed the tree after her, looking in her room as she turned on the light. That was a good thing because it would make her blind to the young man now sitting on the tree branch watching her.

He could hear her talking over the short distance.

"Another one down Luna,' she grumbled. "Why do they always attack in the park in the middle of the night? I thought they were supposed to gather energy or something. Maybe..." she trailed off. "Do you think there might be a portal in the park and some of them get out by mistake?"

Another female laughed, though Usagi was the only one in the room. That's strange, thought Tuxedo Kamen. And then he saw Usagi's little black cat jump up onto the desk and almost fell out of the tree when she started talking.

"I will never understand why people think you aren't smart Usagi." The cat paused to lick something off her paw. "Did you already get your homework done? Since you're up you might as well do it now."

"On it." muttered the girl. She pulled out her satchel and took out a book and several papers. "I just wish I could get a little more sleep." She scratched at her arm.

"Usagi!" the cat sounded upset. "You have another cut on your face!"

"Crap!' moaned Usagi. "That'll take hours to heal. I hate wearing makeup! Don't let me forget to put some on after my shower." After that the room got quiet as the girl did her homework. Tuxedo Kamen didn't move, afraid he would alert them to his presence.

His thoughts were in turmoil. This was a side of Usagi he had never imagined. He watched as she worked, though her head started nodding several times and the "cat" had to keep her awake.

"Oh," Luna suddenly remembered their conversation from earlier. "I almost forgot to ask. Were the girls available for a meeting?"

Usagi yawned. "Yeah. After school at Hikawah Shrine."

"You know," added Luna. "I was thinking about what you were asking before. You, Ami, and Rei are doing great, but we need to find the other Senshi. We have to get everyone trained so we can protect the princess. I wish my memory wasn't blocked. I wish I could figure all this out. You know there never was a Sailor Moon in the Senshi before? I can't remember why though." She butted her head up against Usagi.

Outside, slightly uncomfortable with his butt mostly asleep, Tuxedo Kamen had a few ideas that hadn't occurred to the cat. Ideas that came on suddenly, and were frighteningly clear. If there was no Sailor Moon, then couldn't it be that Sailor Moon was the Princess in disguise. It made a strange sort of sense to the teen who had been compelled to protect her before they had even met. Except, he realized suddenly, he had met Usagi several hours before the events in the jewelry store. And ever since then he had been drawn to her. If Sailor Moon was the Princess, then that made little Usagi royalty.

Unaware of the leaps of realization being had by the spy on the branch, Usagi, who was tired and a bit hungry, had just finished her homework. "What about the Prince though? He's supposed to be the Senshi of Earth right? What does he have to do with all of this? And do you think maybe Tuxedo Kamen is him?"

Tuxedo Kamen nearly fell out of the tree in surprise. Could that be possible? Wouldn't he know if he was some prince?

The cat sighed. "I don't know. I can't tell if we should trust him or not. I know he keeps saving you and you trust him, but I'm on the fence. If he is then we must protect him until his Shittenou appear. Central keeps telling me something about a prophecy, but he can't remember what it says. Just that if the Prince and Princess don't get together bad things will happen. Something about the Soul-Bond and fighting a great evil, which I assume must be the Negaverse. If that... ahem... if Queen Beryl isn't evil then I'm a mouse!" The cat humphed.

"So, any ideas how to find the Princess? Maybe Rei could look into the fire. Her abilities have been growing since she became Sailor Mars." Usagi looked down at the cat and smiled. Tuxedo Kamen suddenly wanted to leap into her bedroom and kiss her senseless. He's always adored her smile.

"I don't really know. Maybe..." The cat sat still for a moment. "If Tuxedo Kamen is the prince he would be able to feel the princess. He might not understand it though. He would be able to tell us exactly where she was, and who she was. He could point to her without looking from across the world. And that's before they even mate. Once they do and their souls reunite they could read each other's minds. It's all part of the bond, and it gets stronger and stronger over time."

Tuxedo Kamen gulped. If he was the prince, though he was still on the fence about that, and Usagi was the Princess, which seemed more and more certain, then they would have to 'mate.' Unfortunately, being a seventeen-year-old hot-blooded male, he could easily picture 'mating' with Usagi, and it made his seat on the branch much more uncomfortable. If there was a girl he were asked to mate with... Yes, Usagi was the only one he could picture.

"Showers' free" said the cat, bringing him out of his thoughts. He watched Usagi grab an outfit and her towel and head for her bedroom door. He heard the cat chuckle. "Her mom is going to faint!"

While the cat was still laughing, Tuxedo Kamen slipped away, becoming Mamoru before he even left the yard. Now he had some very important information, and several million more questions. He ran the blocks to his house and quickly entered the shower. An idea occurred to him and he suddenly stopped washing his hair and opened his mind to one thought. Where is Usagi right this minute? And he knew. He could have lifted his hand and pointed right at her.

More than that, he suddenly realized he could sense that she was feeling tired, hungry, and curious. He opened his eyes, and soapy water made them sting painfully. He rinsed out his hair, washed his body, and stepped out to dry and dress.

Several things were now occurring to him. One, he was a reincarnated prince. Two, eventually he was going to 'mate' with the only girl he had ever had feelings for. Three, he couldn't possibly let her know he was her mystery prince until she fell in love with him, as Mamoru, first. Not this prince, and not Tuxedo Mask, who he knew she had a crush on. No, he had to make her fall in love with him.