Insert witty disclaimer line here.

Some mistakes to punctuation fixed as of September 2010.

This takes place between the time when the last Rainbow Crystal (nijizuishou) is found and when Venus joins them. I used the manga ages and the Japanese names. So, for those that don't know them, the main ones to know are: Usagi Tsukino (Serena), Shingo (Sammy), and Mamoru Chiba (Darien Shields).

Okay, since all of you probably skipped over reading the text before the story, I'll just get right to said story.

To Fight

"I can't believe you!"

Usagi flinched at the tone in her mother's voice. She was a bit dirty, her jacket scuffed up and a hole in the pair of jeans that she wore at the knee that revealed a bloody scrape.

"Exposing your brother to such a danger! You're so irresponsible, Usagi!" Ikuko Tsukino continued angrily while she held the boy in question close to her.

Shingo, Usagi's younger brother, was equally as dirty and had a couple of scrapes, but there was no blood since Usagi had shielded him. On the other hand, the event had shaken him up. He had been in tears when the two arrived home.

Kenji Tsukino, the father, had his arms crossed sternly. "We trusted you, Usagi."

"I…I couldn't have known…" Usagi stammered, tears in her eyes.

How could she have known that the amusement park would end up being a battle ground between the Sailor Senshi and two Youma? Yes, that's right…not one, but two. It had taken all four Senshi and Moon, with help from Tuxedo Kamen, to bring them all down.

"Even though that's true, you just disappeared and left your only brother by himself in the middle of an attack!" Ikuko had gotten most of the story out of Shingo…that Usagi had covered them from the initial blast, but then had left him hidden behind some rides (in order to transform, but nobody knew that), only to reappear again when the battle was over with.

"We expected more from you, Usagi." Kenji's voice was low. "We haven't said much about your grades, which have been falling as of late, but now this…it's too much. Your grades, your attitude towards everything, and your lack of responsibility towards your brother…give us one good reason why we shouldn't take some extreme disciplinary action. As in, more than just enrolling you in a remedial cram school."

"I…I'm trying…" Usagi stammered.

"Is this what you call 'trying'?" Ikuko took over for her husband. "Your grades were bad to begin with, but they've been getting even worse! And every time, you just tell us that you're trying your best, and that you'll improve! But you haven't! You promised us, Usagi, that you would try harder! Yet you constantly ignore that and your responsibilities! Because of that attitude of yours, your brother was put in danger! Because you ran, and left him there! Just like you've been running out on your promises, commitments, and schoolwork these days!"

The tears flowed faster down Usagi's cheeks. If only she could tell her parents. If only she could let them know. That she had to cancel some commitments and her grades were dropping because of Senshi business. That, now that all seven nijizuishou had been found, and Sailor Venus joined the team, they were desperately looking for a way to contact Tuxedo Kamen about his loyalties and search for the entrance to the Dark Kingdom.

She wished that she could tell her parents that she didn't leave Shingo behind…she had ducked away so she could transform to fight the monster. That she did save him, and other innocent people, because that's what Sailor Moon's job was.

But she couldn't tell them. She couldn't say a word about it.

So, she cried. There was nothing she could say as an excuse…nothing that would cover up without telling the truth. But she wished that it didn't hurt so much. Especially when her mother pushed her out the door and slammed it behind her.

"Reflect on what you've done! You're not welcome in this house until you can give me a solid reason for your behavior!" came the voice of her mother through the door.

Usagi wailed and pounded on the door. "Please, mama! I didn't mean to! I didn't know it would happen!" Her right knee stung from the bloody scrape, and she had a couple others on her palms and arms where the sleeves of her jean jacket were rolled up to just below her elbows.

"That's no excuse for your serious lack of responsibility! When you can tell me the truth and think about what you've done, it had also better convince me not to send you to a school for delinquent children!"

Usagi stopped pounding on the door, and stared in shock. "Y-you wouldn't r-really do that, would you…?"

"Better start reflecting!"

Usagi stared at the door for a moment longer, then stifled a sob and painfully trudged away. Yet, she had no clue where she was going. Where do you go when you don't want to be put down anymore, and when you aren't welcome even in your own house?

She didn't want to deal with hordes of people, and doubted that even a milkshake could cheer her up. So, she just plodded along, not caring if she tripped or fell. No wailing, no screaming…she just got back up and continued to walk.

Her feet led her to the park, and she stopped at a fence that surrounded the lake to make sure that people didn't fall in. Usagi stared at her reflection.

A sad girl with red-rimmed eyes that were slightly baggy and smudges of dirt on her cheeks with ruffled hair stared back up at her, then rippled when a drop of saltwater fell into it.

Usagi couldn't stop the tears this time, and buried her head in her arms, shoulders wracked with sobs.

Mamoru didn't usually roam around the park. First of all, it was a common site of Youma attacks, and if the Dark Kingdom ever found out who he really was, then he would bring even more danger to the people around him. Even so, he only had a couple of the nijizuishou, and had no clue where the Dark Kingdom was or how to get theirs.

On the other hand, it was a couple that the Dark Kingdom didn't have. Plus, he knew that the Sailor Senshi were looking for a way into the Dark Kingdom. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to contact them, after all…

His thoughts were interrupted by the peacefulness of the park. That was the main reason he had gone there instead of the Crown. For some reason, he thought that it would help to clear his mind.

Or, maybe some invisible force had pulled him there instead of the arcade.

He quickly dismissed that thought.

Surrounded by nature, there was no reason to keep worrying.

Mamoru nearly chuckled. Most teens his age would be worrying about college entrance exams and final high school exams, as well as sports, scholarships, classes, and daily school life. Not about a mysterious princess in their dreams, some legendary crystals, a group of feminine superheroes, and a dark entity that wants to wreck havoc on the world.

Though, if he had been thinking about school instead of the Dark Kingdom, he would have to recheck to make sure he had his priorities right. Identity, saving the princess, and destroying the Dark Kingdom. After all of that, he could worry about school.

Mamoru turned to the side to continue his walk, and stopped abruptly. For a moment, he thought he saw the princess in his dreams.

A serious expression on a young woman with sad blue eyes that sparkled, and long blond hair that glistened in the sunlight was the profile that greeted his eyes.

It took him a couple moments to realize that, no, it wasn't his dream princess, but Usagi Tsukino…aka, odango atama.

How he had mistaken odango atama for a princess, Mamoru had no idea.

In fact, what the two of them were doing there, running into each other at the park instead of the Crown, he didn't know.

Higher forces? Perhaps. Or maybe they had opposite ends of magnets stuck to them somewhere…

Mamoru stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over, "Yo, odango atama!"

Usagi started, and looked over at him in shock. Oh, great…this is the last thing I needed!

"Did you decide to roll in the dirt, or is that some new fashion trend?" Mamoru was talking, of course, about the dirt that was on the girl.

"Like you would know anything about fashion." Usagi gritted her teeth. She really did not want to deal with him right now. She had come to the park so that she wouldn't be mocked anymore…just her luck that she ran into the person that mocked her even more than her peers at times.

"Oh, I get it…" Mamoru smirked. "You tripped over your own feet again and fell. Really, odango…" He didn't know why he felt the need to always tease her, but every time he saw her, he felt something strange. Something he couldn't identify. So, as a defense mechanism, he teased her.

Usagi didn't appreciate his comments, and snapped, "Well, sorry for being a klutz! Tell you what…next time I have the misfortune to bump into you at the Crown, I'll make sure to 'trip over my own feet' while I'm walking with my ice cream, and take extra care to dump it on your head. Maybe the cold will make it shrink back to the size of a normal person's instead of some egomaniac!"

Mamoru grinned, but faked a flinch. "Ouch, odango…that hurt."

Usagi didn't catch onto the sarcasm. "Good. Now go away. I was enjoying the peace and quiet." Not really, though. She had been trying to figure out what she was going to do about her situation.

"I believe the park is a place for the general public…I'm free to do what I please. And if I want to stand here, then I will," Mamoru stated nonchalantly.

Usagi tried to count backwards, but it was no good. She whirled on him. "Why can't you just take a clue for once! I don't want you near me! I don't want to see you! I don't want to hear you! I just want to be alone!"

Honestly, Mamoru preferred this fiery Usagi to the depressed one that he had first come across. So, he grinned. "Wow…someone's got some major PMS."

Usagi stared at him, her face flushed in mortification. She wasn't even on her period yet for the month, but it was still very odd coming from him.

"You might want to close your mouth before you start attracting flies, odango."

Usagi spun around to hide her tears. Tears of anger, frustration, and some emotions from earlier. She didn't want him to see. "I don't have time to deal with you right now, jerk. I have something I need to think about."

"Don't hurt yourself."

Usagi clenched her hands into fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white before she unclenched them. "Don't you have anything better to do than harass younger girls?"

Mamoru quickly glanced around to make sure that nobody had heard the loud question that would make him appear to be a pervert of some kind. Luckily, they were in a fairly secluded area. "Any louder, and I'll need hearing aids, odango."

So far, he had managed to lower her spirits even more by pointing out a couple of her many faults.

Klutz.

Loud.

Whiny.

Stupid.

Usagi's shoulders slumped. What was the point in arguing it? Their fighting was like a broken record…but she was getting tired of the stabs he made at her. Tired of constant fighting…whether with him or her peers as Usagi or with Youma as Sailor Moon. Tired of looking so bad in the eyes of her parents because she had to cancel commitments to take care of Senshi business. Tired of Rei scolding her for being late, tired of getting detention for oversleeping due to a lack of sleep…

Mamoru tilted his head quizzically. No response? No barb? No shouting?

She spoke so quietly that he had to strain to hear.

"Say again?" Mamoru blinked.

"You win," Usagi was still speaking in a whisper, but loud enough to hear this time.

"What are you talking about? You make no sense, odango atama. Why don't you actually try being normal for a change…?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Why don't you actually try being normal…?"

"…try being normal…"

"…normal…"

Tears cascaded down Usagi's cheeks. She didn't care if he saw her crying or not as she spun around to face him.

Mamoru was shocked. She was crying…not wailing or screaming, but just crying. Her fists were clenched at her sides, her shoulders shook, and her eyes shone.

"Because I can't be normal!" Usagi shouted at him. "Do you even realize how much I want to be normal! To be like the other girls my age!"

Mamoru nearly took a step back at the raw emotions pouring from the girl.

"Of course you don't know!" Usagi continued, breath hitching now and then from tears, but it did nothing to stop her tirade. "You can't possibly know! You don't even try to know! You've never known, before! You never know when to stop, either! You have the emotional capacity of a rock! You…you're just like everyone else! You have your eyes wide open, but you're still blind!"

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. The comparison to him and a rock would have normally raised his defenses or caused him to argue back, but something stopped him from saying a word. One look at her, and he was frozen.

Her anger spent, Usagi leaned against the railing for support, then sunk down to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest. She buried her head in her knees and wrapped her arms around herself with a muffled sob. Nobody knows…nobody can see that I'm doing what I can. I'm not perfect…but everyone has such high expectations of me. Ones that I can't ever seem to meet. As Sailor Moon and as Usagi. Not one person can seem to see that I'm trying my best to keep up with everything. Not one.

Mamoru had no clue how to react, or what to do. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Not even a barb to get her on her feet could come forth. A cold feeling filled him at a sudden thought. It was one of those barbs that drove her to the ground…

He was deep in thought, but not too deep so as not to hear what Usagi whispered to herself.

"I'm tired of it…I'm tired of everything. Enough. Just…enough…"

It was so broken that Mamoru felt like someone had punched him in the gut before stabbing him in the heart. He ran a hand through his hair. Yes, he knew his tongue had caused some of the damage, but there was obviously something deeper. And for it to bother a happy-go-lucky person like Usagi, it must be something extremely deep.

Mamoru knelt down next to her, and fumbled for words as she shook from silent tears. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do? He didn't like seeing her like this. It hurt to see her like this…in pain.

Finally, he stammered out something, "So…what's the big deal with being 'normal', anyway? Nobody's 'normal'. If everyone was normal, then the world would be a boring place to live in. 'Normal' is overrated."

Usagi sniffled. The only reason why his speech was able to stem her tears was because it sounded as if he was speaking from experience; as if he definitely knew what he was talking about. Plus, he didn't insult her.

Mamoru noticed that her crying had abated, and smiled kindly at her. "The most important thing is to never give up. If you want to accomplish your hopes and dreams, then you can't just give up."

"But…some of them means that I have to fight for them. I…"

Mamoru sighed. "Fighting is probably inevitable at some point or another. Grades, a job, daily life…what matters is how hard you fight for it. If there's anything that holds you back, you can't give it your all and then some. You can't be indecisive when it comes to those sort of things."

Usagi looked up, and gazed ahead of her with an unreadable expression. "…just keep moving forward, huh…?"

"Exactly." Mamoru nodded. He watched the thoughtful look on her face, and could tell that she was deeply thinking about what he had said. He, himself, didn't know why he had said all that. He didn't even know where it came from. But, it seemed to help, so he shouldn't be complaining.

Finally, Usagi smiled so brightly that Mamoru swore she would eclipse the sun if it got any brighter.

Then, Usagi did something that startled him…and startled her a little, but she didn't show it.

She flung her arms around his waist and buried he head in his chest in a giant hug.

Mamoru was momentarily stunned, then found that his arms seemed to have a mind of their own as they slowly but gently wrapped around her back and held her close. Having Usagi that close was intoxicating. It was like a drug. He could practically feel the joy, relief, and warmth that radiated off of her. Her touch was electrifying, and caused the feelings he got when he was around her to intensify a thousand fold. But this time, he didn't insult her; he didn't throw a barb at her.

Something seemed to click as they silently held onto each other. It just felt right, the way they seemed to mold together. Neither wanted to let go, and found that it wasn't as shocking or uncomfortable as they had thought it would be.

Finally, however, Usagi did pull back with the thousand-watt smile she wore brighter than ever. Somehow, instead of an embrace, their hands were interlaced, now. Neither seemed to notice or care.

"Thank you," Usagi whispered softly to him.

Mamoru found himself returning her smile as he replied, "I don't know for what, but you're welcome."

After another moment, Mamoru stood up and stretched his slightly cramped legs. He hadn't even realized how long he had been kneeling on the ground like that until he felt the slight pins and needles in his legs.

Usagi, too, felt it and yelped sheepishly when she crashed back to the ground.

Mamoru raised an amused eyebrow, but just silently offered his hand to help her up.

Usagi flushed in embarrassment, but accepted the offer.

Mamoru pulled her to her feet and grinned. "So…do I still have the emotional capacity of a rock?"

Usagi pretended to think about it, then winked at him. "I think I'll upgrade you to a boulder."

Mamoru faked a hurt expression, which caused Usagi to burst out in laughter at the pout on his face.

"What?" Mamoru couldn't stop the grin from her infectious laughter.

"Y-your face! You pouted!" Usagi gasped between laughter.

Mamoru chuckled. "Didn't think I was able to?"

Usagi just shook her head…to the question or something else, they didn't know. But they did know that something had just happened between them. Of course, what exactly that was seemed to be a mystery. Either way, the two ended up next to each other as they walked out of the park in companionable silence before they parted ways with a smile, a laugh, and a wave.

Usagi took a deep breath, then opened the door to her house, "Mama! Papa! I decided! I'll do the best I can do, because that's all I can do! And whatever happens after that makes you decide whether or not to send me to a remedial cram school or something similar is just something I'll have to face if I fail!"

Ikuko and Kenji exchanged startled looks. Not for the fact that their daughter had finally come home when the sun began to set in the sky, but because of the extremely mature statement that had issued from her upon entry.

Shingo was so shocked that he dropped the video game controller on an equally startled Luna, who yowled.

Ikuko and Kenji just went over and embraced their daughter.

"We should apologize, too," Ikuko told her with a smile.

"We shouldn't have come down so hard on you earlier," Kenji agreed.

"I know something is going on that you're busy with…and you wouldn't have left Shingo without a good reason. Whatever that reason is, you can't tell me, but that's okay. I have a feeling it's nothing bad." Ikuko assured her daughter. "What you said before about doing the best you can…that's all we needed to hear."

Usagi thought she had cried all her tears, but apparently, there were some tears of relief that still remained.

The two parents smiled at her and said at the same time, "We're proud of you, Usagi."

Usagi latched onto them with a cry of joy and relief. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Luna was looking at her with something akin to pride in those feline eyes.

Luna gave her a nod as her eyes sparkled. You've come a long way, Usagi-chan. And there's still a long path in front of you. It may take some time for you to get used to it, and there might be times when you still just want to run away. But as long as you always come back, you'll be fine. I just know it.

THE END