Author's Notes: This fic was inspired by reading about the new live action series, Pretty Guardian Sailormoon. I haven't watched the anime in years, but the live action show sure got me thinking about it. In the end, I thought I needed to do some penance for all the terrible fanfic I wrote about the anime when I was still in high school, and this is what resulted.

This is a multi-part "alternate universe" fic which begins in the episode involving the nijizuishou (rainbow crystal) from the artist. It was inspired by the storyline of the live action show but is firmly set in the universe described by the anime. It is probably best described as a gen fic even though it was originally intended as something focused on the Zoisite/Kunzite relationship. It seems to have moved beyond that, however, and now everyone gets to play a decent part.

I dedicate this to Narie the Waitress, who is so kindly beta-ing this for me with some of my flist at livejournal. It is entirely her fault that this is being written, considering the fact that she (a) encouraged it and (b) supplied me with the first sixteen episodes of the live action series and just cemented my desire to write it.

I hope the journey is to your liking, nariechan, and to the rest of you – I hope much the same thing. I'd love feedbackif you could spare some for a poor writer atoning for her many sins as a fanfic writer in the past.

What To Do With Daylight

Part One: The Worst Laid Plans

In which Rei finds a nijizuishou ~ Usagi mourns her non-existent street-smarts ~ Mako is forced to play idea wall ~ Kunzite and Zoisite spend "quality" time together and ~ an artist is the catalyst for a very bizarre reaction indeed.

"It's so pretty," she breathed, voice oddly muted as she held the little yellow crystal up to the sun. Twisting it like a kaleidoscope made the light dance over its facets, the jewel almost seeming to catch alight in her hands.

Rei looked up from where she was absently sweeping one of the shrine's deckings, and frowned to see how entranced Usagi still was by the single nijizuishou they, the senshi, had actually managed to collect. "Usagi, can you just give it back to Ami already?"

"She's okay," Ami said in a mild voice, slipping as always into the role of the mediator without even trying. She didn't even bother to look up from where her fingers were moving quickly over the keys of her palm-sized computer, though she did reach up to adjust her glasses. "I don't mind."

"But what if I mind?"

"Hey, Rei," Mako said, looking up from where she was watching the dizzying array of symbols flash across Ami's screen with no comprehension whatsoever, "no need to panic, right? We're all right here if something really bad happens, but it's not like Usagi-chan's going to try to eat it, or something."

"Oh, I don't know," Rei said moodily as she began to sweep the deck a little more viciously.

Usagi looked over at last to the brewing argument she'd had an unwitting hand in creating, and blinked. "Well, I wouldn't be feeling so hungry if a certain bad host would offer her guests anything to eat!"

"You already ate all the odango in the house, Usagi!"

"Girls?" Luna interrupted at last, also dragging her eyes away from what Ami was doing. Unlike Mako, the black moon-cat had at least looked a little like she was following the calculations of the genius Senshi. "Please, can we not argue like cats and dogs? There's no need for it – we need to stand united now." And she couldn't help but watch Rei's face carefully for a reaction; it was not easy to forget the way she had so passionately wanted not a week beforehand to replace Usagi as their leader.

And while she probably does have a very good point, the moon-cat thought uneasily, I can't say that I…would feel right about having anyone but Usagi-chan as leader, cry-baby or no.

"I agree," spoke Ami quietly, pausing in her work and blinking owlishly behind her rarely-worn glasses. "We're having enough problems as it is with the Dark Kingdom, without giving them the advantage by being unable to work together."

"But that's the problem, can't you see?" Rei said, dropping the broom with a clatter. Pushing her hair back with one tired hand, she began pacing erratically; some might have taken her attitude as plain anger, but her friends could see the true frustration underwriting each and every movement she made. "We're giving them too many advantages as it is! I mean, we only have one of these crystals, and you're letting Usagi run around with it--"

"What's wrong with me just holding it?" Usagi asked, wounded. "And…and I can look after it okay! I mean, Ami-chan's probably better to look after it because Urawa-kun practically gave it to her, which was so sweet and actually, Ami-chan, has he called you yet?" The crystal in her hand practically forgotten, Usagi sidled over to her more reserved friend and jabbed her elbow into the girl's side with a mischievous grin. "C'mon, spill! You're blushing!"

"You see, this is the problem!" Rei said, appealing more to the moon-cat than to the other two Senshi present. "She's distracted by anything and everything, and I just…we can't keep losing the nijizuishou to the Dark Kingdom, Luna. It's going to be hard enough to get ONE from them, let alone four more!"

"Maybe Tuxedo Kamen-sama will get more," Usagi said brightly, looking away from Ami (who was hanging her head low and desperately trying to command her blush away with little success). "And he'll help us get the others, right?"

"Usagi," and Rei was holding her head like it hurt. "We…Tuxedo Kamen-sama…"

"Why I am I the only one who trusts him?" Usagi asked suddenly, setting the nijizuishou down upon the wooden floor beside her and standing up. Emotion suffused her skin with rich blood, her eyes beginning to sparkle with either frustration or tears. "I know…I know he's acting weird, but – I thought you liked him too, Rei-chan! Why don't you trust him?"

Rei reached down to pick up her broom, looking oddly like a little old lady in the gesture. She did not meet Usagi's eyes when she spoke. "Because my love isn't blind, Usagi."

The words hit her hard; Usagi stared at her in shock, blue eyes wide. "…you really love him, Rei-chan?"

"Guys, come on," Mako said suddenly, made uneasy by the deepening emotion of the argument. Pushing back her bangs from her forehead in a nervous gesture, she said simply and directly: "Can we just stop it, please? It's hard for all of us, not knowing who to trust or where the enemy's going to come from next, but…Rei, really, come on. Luna's orders were to have Usagi-chan be our leader, and unless some big disaster happens, I am not going to help you make her change them."

"So you'd rather wait for the disaster than try to avert it? Optimist, aren't you?" And although her words were bitter, the weariness of them took away much of the edge. "Why do you guys have to have everything proven to you first? Why wait for something to break before you fix it?"

"Because," Mako said stubbornly, "how else would we know that it was actually broken?"

There was silence a moment in the group; Usagi was watching the arguing girls with wide eyes, lightly tinged with something approaching fear. Luna only frowned in silent cat fashion, while Ami apparently tried to pretend it was not happening by burying herself in her work.

The wind chimes hanging a few feet away chimed gently in the rising breeze of the late afternoon; the sound seemed to jolt Rei into action. Tossing back her long dark hair, she firmed up her grip about the broom and tightened her lips until they were nearly as white as her knuckles.

"Excuse me," she said stiffly. "I think I can hear grandfather calling me."

The look of confusion that crossed Mako's face then might have been priceless under happier circumstances. "I don't hear--"

"I do," Rei interrupted, voice low but firm. Turning about as elegantly as any dancer in her miko garb, Rei padded off down the outdoor hallway, opened a screen, and disappeared into the shrine.

The silence was heavy over the remaining Senshi and Luna, the chimes once again the only sound they could hear. They sounded wrongly cheerful in light of what had just happened, the soft tinkling music nearly obscene.

"…why doesn't she want me to be leader?" asked Usagi miserably, speaking up at last as her hands twined together nervously in her lap. "I mean…I can do it! I don't always want to, but…I don't want to give up, either. It's hard but I'm supposed to do it, right? And…I don't want Tuxedo Kamen-sama to think I'm a wimp or a baby."

"I'm sure he doesn't, Usagi-chan," Luna said, sounding as tired as Rei had done, though without the anger colouring the words in darker shades of grey. "But you have to realise that this is hard for her. She'd feel better if she could take control, I think." She paused, wondering to herself how well Usagi would understand it. It wasn't that she was a stupid girl, not in the ways that really counted, but sometimes Luna just wished that Usagi would think a little more about things. "She's always had to be in control of everything in her life up until now…I think she feels a little lost, having to give even some of that control away."

Usagi was shaking her head, ponytails flying wildly about her heart-shaped face as she did so. "But she can trust me! She really can!"

Luna looked away; sometimes Usagi's ephemeral earnestness hurt her heart more deeply than she cared to admit. "You need to prove that to her, Usagi-chan," she murmured, voice firm enough even in its kindness to indicate that this subject of conversation was now closed. Clearing her throat as Usagi moved to speak again, she said in a slightly louder voice than usual: "How is that programme coming along, Ami-chan?"

"Not good," she said with a sigh, finally removing her glasses and actively participating in the conversation again. One tired hand reached for her school-case; so exhausted was she that it actually took two tries before she got a good grip on it and drew it closer. "I don't think I can take the seeking-code from the moon-stick and broaden the range with my computer's scanners. I really can't work out how the moon-stick reacts to the nijizuishou in the first place. I should be able to, but I just…" All listening were startled to hear how close to tears Ami was; Mako scooted closer to her and draped a supporting arm about her shoulders.

"Ami-chan, it's okay, really," Mako assured her, "you can just keep trying."

Ami sighed, ducked away from the contact to set about putting her glasses and her computer away in her bag. "I just don't know if it would do any good."

"No reason to give up though, is it?" Mako said cheerfully, with a supportive slap to Ami's back that very nearly sent her (and her loaded school-case) flying.

"I guess not," she said with a faint affectionate look at her newest friend. Grasping her precious case to her chest, Ami said almost wryly: "Senshi never give up, right?"

"Right!" Mako said triumphantly, leaping to her feet in a truly heroic fashion. "So let's go do something to cheer ourselves up…arcade, anyone?"

Ami frowned, looked to her bag and thought of all the academic delights that it contained. "…I have homework I should do."

Mako put her hands on her hips, gave the blue-haired girl a disapproving look. "Ami-chan, I said something to cheer up with…oh, wait," her voice trailed off thoughtfully, but the glint in her eyes was deeply amused. "That would cheer YOU right up, wouldn't it?"

With a small smile, Ami admitted: "Yes, I guess it would."

Grabbing Usagi's hand and pulling the blonde to her feet, Mako said firmly: "Well, Usagi-chan and me are going to play some Sailor V."

"You guys really should do some study, we have tests coming up. I could help you, you know I'd be happy to," Ami offered, still seated with her books on the edge of the wooden veranda running about each of the shrine's building.

"We're lost causes!" announced Mako grandly, and then laughed. "We're off to dust some youma!" And with that said, Usagi looking slightly happier with the promise of gaming ahead, Mako made to drag the blonde away to the arcade and the delicious distraction of Motoki.

"Oh, Usagi-chan!" Ami said suddenly; when the two girls stopped, Ami reached into her bag and ruffled through the too-scholarly contents. "Your moon-stick," she said, holding out the light pink object to Usagi. "I shouldn't forget to give it back."

Usagi took it, blinked, and then realised that she had given it to Ami earlier so that the girl could scan and examine it as a part of her current project. "…thanks, Ami-chan! I would've forgotten all about it!"

"Maybe," Ami said with a smile, but there was something in her eyes that still looked a little troubled. "Oh, and may I have the nijizuishou?"

"What?" Usagi asked, with another wide-eyed blink. The confusion cleared momentarily, and she laughed again. "Oh, right! …good thing Rei-chan isn't here to see this…I…oh."

Watching the girl stop dead as she looked at the empty space where she had been sitting, Ami took a few moments to say the dreaded words. "Usagi-chan, where is it?"

"I…I set it down right here…I think…oh no." Usagi looked up, eyes wide with fear rather than confusion this time. "Maybe it rolled under the veranda…oh, no, Ami-chan, I'm so sorry!"

"Come on, we have to find it quick!" Mako said, and all three girls immediately began scrambling about the small area to see how far it had gotten. Luna also pitched in, though there was only so much one small moon-cat could do to help hunt for a small crystal in a small Shinto shrine.

"Looking for something?"

Three dusty faces and one equally dusty cat looked up to see Rei standing above them; her hands were out-stretched, one small yellow crystal cradled in the pale palms. Though an eyebrow was raised in what appeared to be annoyance, her obvious exhaustion blunted it and just made her look old.

Usagi straightened, brushed dust from her uniform as she bit her lip. Her words wobbled as much as her lower lip did as she met that unreadable gaze. "Rei-chan, I'm sorry!"

"You're always sorry, Usagi." No, there was no anger at all in her voice now. Rei just appeared tired, more tired than any girl her age should truly have to be. "I'm going to go meditate a little. You guys can stay here if you want, but I could be a while."

Mako's voice was less animated now, her tall form drooping ever so slightly. Making no attempt to brush the dust from her own uniform, she just said: "We were going to go, anyway."

"I'll see you tomorrow then, maybe," Rei said quietly, and bowed her head slightly to them before turning and walking away again. The quiet opening and shutting of the screens was the only sound she made as she disappeared completely from sight. The wind chimes swung again in the breeze, this time almost sounding like the sound of distant voices laughing.

"I'll make her believe in me." Usagi's words were quiet, but forceful in only the way she could make them. "I don't know how. But I will. I swear!"

Neither of the girls nor the moon-cat responded. In fact no-one spoke as they all left the grounds of the shrine together. On the street outside, Mako and Usagi turned towards the arcade, Luna and Ami towards the library. They raised hands (and paw) in farewell, and went their separate ways to think about something else, if only for a brief moment in time.

*****

"I swear I won't allow this to happen again, Kunzite-sama."

Kunzite nodded, but his eyes were still hard and shuttered. "You need to realise that they're not just little girls in little skirts, Zoisite,"

The younger of the two looked away, unable to meet that cool gaze for long when it was directed at him. He instead looked to the window of Kunzite's study, to the razed land outside; it all seemed to glow and writhe in the intermittent flashes of lightning from what passed for sky here. "You never took them seriously when Jadeite was running around like a blind fool after them!"

"I never saw a reason to, then," the commanding note that crept into his voice all but forcing Zoisite to turn about and look straight at him. "I know now I should have paid more attention to what their potential was rather than focusing on Jadeite's tendencies towards both melodrama and distraction. They're more than I realised, and I should not have ever thought otherwise."

"Kunzite-sama--"

The interruption was as sharp as the movement of the hand that raised to stop his words dead. "How are your plans for the collection of the next nijizuishou progressing?"

Zoisite looked for a moment like he wished deeply to challenge Kunzite's changing of the subject, but he ducked his eyes in deference. "I will present myself to Beryl in the morning," he said, tone becoming somewhat more formal and rigid with each spoken word. "I know who the woman is. I will collect the nijizuishou, and then I will make sure that the youma returns to us."

Kunzite frowned almost imperceptibly. "It is best to focus on the primary goal, Zoisite."

That struck a nerve; he looked up with eyes beginning to snap with green fire, mouth narrowing into a tight rosebud of distaste. "I can do both!"

"I don't doubt that you can," Kunzite said impassively, his icy emotions yet to be even remotely touched by the fire burning before him, "but those little girls have proved that Lady Luck is at least on their side, if not totally in league with them."

"I don't need false luck," Zoisite muttered, turning away from Kunzite even though he knew it was hardly protocol to do so. Beginning to pace like a caged panther, his entire body trembling with pent-up frustration and anger, he said nearly rudely: "I can make my own luck!"

"Consider your options, Zoisite," Kunzite said in the didactic tone of a teacher, unmoved by the display before him. Though Zoisite was a creature of beauty greatly enhanced by passion – whether negative or positive – Kunzite was able to shut off his attraction to the magnificence of the younger shitennou when he deemed it necessary. Or at least, for a time he knew he was capable of doing so. "If you leave the youma to the Senshi, they are less able to challenge you for the nijizuishou. If it is possible for you to leave with the youma, do so – but given their tendency to appear fortuitously at all scenes, it may be to your advantage to let it go. Allow the youma to distract them while you retreat with the true goal."

"I don't retreat without my mission objectives!" Zoisite all but snarled, whipping about to face his superior with his arms crossed fiercely over his chest.

Raising an eyebrow, Kunzite only watched the younger shitennou evenly until he lowered his gaze, looked slightly more contrite. "Zoisite," he said in a calm tone, "you have to remember what the true mission objective is. You are to collect the nijizuishou. Remember that before you next attempt to challenge Kamen."

"He has what's mine!" Zoisite couldn't help exploding, even under the watchful gaze of a man who never wore his heart upon his sleeve in such a fashion as did Zoisite himself.

"What is Beryl's," he corrected coolly, with no discernible emotion towards the queen obvious in his smooth voice. "I will deal with Kamen when the time comes."

The relief and smug joy that crossed Zoisite's face at the thought of Kunzite crushing the masked fool was almost immediately replaced by the burn of impatience. "Why can't you do it now?"

"Patience obviously can not be taught to some, even with the finest of teachers." Zoisite's mouth twisted as he processed this, but the glitter of his eyes made it obvious that the comment had hurt. Kunzite acknowledged nothing, continued only with: "There is no need to challenge him now over what he holds, Zoisite. We will wait until all the nijizuishou have been revealed."

Zoisite's eyes darkened now, and he looked a beat away from stamping a foot upon the floor. "You think I'll lose more of them to those short-skirted fools? And that idiot in a bad top hat?!"

"Patience," he repeated with an icy note of reprimand creeping at last into his voice, "and calm are virtues you should at least attempt to learn, Zoisite."

Zoisite stared at the floor for a moment, as was his habit when Kunzite bothered to actually chastise him. There was generally only one way in which he would respond to such treatment, and Kunzite did not have to wait long for the expected comeback.

Pulling his long ponytail over his shoulder so that he could tangle gloved fingers in the dark gold strands, Zoisite stepped closer to the standing man. Looking up at the taller shitennou from beneath too-long eyelashes, he all but purred: "But there's really not much need for…virtue…around here, is there?" He paused, noted no real disapproval from the more powerful of the two, stepped closer so that they stood bare millimetres apart. Standing as near as this meant he could feel their auras beginning to intertwine, their sustaining energies starting to mingle and amplify. "Kunzite-sama?" he breathed, lips slightly parted as he tilted his head up towards Kunzite's.

"In some regards, perhaps you are right," Kunzite said, showing no reaction to the close proximity of Zoisite even though the blonde was already beginning to breathe faster, in shallower gasps. "But I am not wrong in this."

"You're never wrong, Kunzite-sama," Zoisite said softly, reaching up with his arms to twine them about his neck, to tangle his fingers in silver-gilt hair. "Not really."

"Perhaps not," Kunzite said, voice softer than he usually allowed it to become. "But enough talk. You need to rest."

Zoisite grinned at this, the expression feral and hungry. "Rest or rest, Kunzite-sama?"

"Both." His voice was still cool, but Zoisite could see the telltale signs of arousal in his eyes, could feel the heat rising in his body even though the heavy material of his uniform. "Come."

"You know I will," Zoisite laughed abruptly, pushing himself so suddenly and firmly against the lean body of his companion that he very nearly made the icy man gasp aloud. "Several times, with you involved."

Kunzite made no reply, but Zoisite found it easy to pretend that he had seen that small smirk on the cool man's features as he gathered him up to kiss him near-brutally, to carry him to a place better designed for such activities.

*****

"I've got it!"

"I haven't," Mako said gloomily, letting go of the controller. "That was the last of my change, too. Stupid game!"

"No, not that," Usagi said, so excited she let the controller of her own game go, oblivious to the way this left the pixellated Sailor V vulnerable to attack by seemingly every ugly creature in the game. "How to make Rei-chan realise I should be leader!"

"Well, best not to leave the nijizuishou lying around, right?" she said, but kindly. "Usagi-chan, you shouldn't get so worked up about it. Like Luna said, Rei's just worried about what's going to happen…I mean, we all are, right? I think she just deals with it by…wanting to fix everything by herself. But she can't, and that drives her crazy."

"But what if I fix it for her?" Usagi asked eagerly.

"Usagi-chan, you're the leader, really, but even you can't do it all by yourself. Sailor Senshi stick together, right?" With that, Mako held her hand up for a high five.

Usagi slapped it, but distractedly; in fact she missed the hand totally but didn't actually appear to notice. "Maybe she'll be happier if we get all the nijizuishou really soon, you think?"

Mako couldn't help but laugh, leaning back against the game machine and shaking her head. "I think we'd all be happier, Usagi-chan. But it's not so easy…I mean, even Ami-chan can't get that little computer of hers to find them any earlier than your moon-stick--"

"Like Zoisite can." Usagi's eyes were glimmering. "But what if we could get Zoisite to find them for us?"

Mako blinked, and then shook her head. "…Usagi-chan, I shouldn't have let you eat so many ice-creams." With the GAME OVER signal flashing on Usagi's screen as well as her own now, Mako led the blonde girl from the arcade, flipping what she considered a funky wave at Motoki as they passed.

Usagi was so distracted by her grand idea that she didn't even notice Motoki calling goodbye to them both – a sure sign of trouble, Mako knew. "No, I'm really serious!" she protested, tugging at Mako's sleeve. "I mean…the moon-stick, it heals, right?"

Mako stopped, folded her arms across her chest and looked incredulously at Usagi. The blonde's face was earnest in the dim lighting from the convenience store that they stood before, enhanced further by the streetlamp they had stopped beneath. "…you're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"

"Probably," Usagi said, with a smile that was like radiant sunshine. Clasping her hands together before her chest, almost in something approaching thankful prayer, Usagi said happily: "But I just don't know why I've never thought of it before!"

Mako had to wince at the sight of the enthusiasm all but leaping off Usagi like lemmings off a cliff. "Probably because it's not a great idea, Usagi-chan?" she said, trying her hardest to sound reasonable but kind.

"But it is!" she said, apparently oblivious to Mako's understandable trepidation. "I mean…well…you never saw Nephrite, the shitennou before Zoisite, but…there was good in him, Mako-chan. Real good!" And she started waving her arms for emphasis, drawing some amused looks from a couple of passers-by. Usagi was too embroiled in her fantastic idea, however, to spare them even a grin. "It…he…when he died, he was so sad, and it made Naru-chan so sad, and I kind of thought about it when we met that priest with Naru-chan, but…Mako-chan! The moon-stick heals the carriers, right? So why wouldn't it work with Zoisite?"

Mako – who understood perfectly well that she was not the best one to go about answering questions of this sort – nevertheless tried to put as much confident authority into her voice as she could. She wasn't sure that it was working, but then Usagi never really listened to those who actually did know better anyway. "Usagi-chan, the carriers are human. I bet if you tried it with Zoisite, you'd dust him, the way Rei told me you guys used to do with all the youma before them."

"I think it'd work," Usagi said stubbornly. "Nephrite really liked Naru-chan, in the end. I think there's a little human in them, or something like it. I want to try!"

"Usagi-chan…" Mako sighed, looking up to the sky briefly only to see the crescent moon hanging strong in the sky.

Crestfallen at last, Usagi followed Mako's gaze, caught the moon. The shimmering scythe in the sky, however, served to remind her of the object firmly in her school bag. Firming her chin, she nodded suddenly at nothing in particular. "I'm gonna ask Ami-chan."

Well, I never thought I'd stop her, but I guess this is something. I only hope she gets to Ami-chan before Zoisite gets to the next carrier… Mako thought, hating how helpless she felt. "You'd better," she said aloud, trying to smile. "She'd know more about it than me."

Though Mako was a strong girl, even she had trouble holding up to surprise glomps from Usagi. "But you're still great, Mako-chan!" Usagi grinned as they both found themselves sprawled across the pavement.

"Yeah, yeah," Mako said, good-naturedly picking herself up from the ground and offering Usagi a hand. "Hey, want to come over for dinner? It gets a little…well, lonely sometimes, and you know I always cook enough for at least five."

"Only five?" Doubt crossed Usagi's lovely little face, and made Mako laugh out loud.

"All right, just for you – I'll cook for ten, okay?"

"Wai!" she proclaimed, clapping hands together excitedly. Shaking her head, Mako began to walk beside the all-but-skipping Usagi, trying to push the conversation out of her head. No point in worrying about it now, after all… she could only hope Usagi would forget this idea before she even thought to bring it up with Ami.

*****

Usagi hated feeling angry. Really hated it. But what Zoisite had just done…ruined the life of this talented artist, turning her into this thing just for a crystal he wanted to use to destroy the world…well. It really made her angry.

But when she was angry, she tended to forget that these "people" were real, too. It wasn't until she was in the form of Sailor Moon, warrior of love and justice, the moon-stick and its power but a thought away, that she remembered her promise of only the day before.

…I'll give Rei-chan a reason to really believe in me! And the others, too…we all deserve to be happy, and we're never going to be normal girls if we have to fight ugly monsters all the time!

Zoisite as always looked completely unimpressed by the speech Sailor Moon gave him, but she had to admit he at least had an excuse this time. She was distracted by trying to calculate how quickly the others would arrive now she'd contacted them from Yumemi's house, and how on earth she was going to get around the youma standing with menacing calm at his side.

No way I'm gonna get him with the moon-stick, not with that youma between us, she thought, and felt despair again at the thought of fighting her new friend. But…I think I should try. Why not? I'm the leader, right? I have to do something to make things better for the Senshi, because I make things so hard as it is…

"Hand over the nijizuishou!" she said, dismayed but not surprised when Zoisite simply commanded the winged youma to attack. However, even as she dodged the ridiculous – but still potentially lethal – rocks that the youma then tried to flatten her with, she had to admit that she was glad to see Zoisite was apparently happy to stay and watch the show.

…now I guess I just have to work on staying in one piece…oh, great, another huge one!

Shrieking as she suddenly realised she'd never get out of the way, Sailor Moon covered her head and fell heavily to her knees. However, before she became a so-called Sailor Pancake, she felt the air fill with energy. With her eyes closed she only heard the impact, then she was covered in a fine dust; she looked up in delight to see Jupiter grinning at her as she gave her leader a mock salute.

"Caught between a rock and a hard place eh, Sailor Moon?"

Sailor Moon's grin was wide enough that it should have really split her beaming face in two. "Sailor Jupiter!"

"That's right!" called a strong voice, and Mars and Mercury leapt down to stand on either side of the Jovan Senshi. All three struck a pose of their own, glaring at the shitennou and the youma beside him. "We are the Sailor Senshi, and that means – you're toast!"

"I doubt it," sniffed Zoisite without true concern, "but I hardly have time to play with you, little girl." The resultant smirk on his face, however, was quickly wiped clean away when he had to step sharply backward. This was simply to avoid his foot being impaled by the sharp tip of a thorny red rose that instead embedded itself into the concrete paving in front of him.

The Senshi, the moon-cat and the shitennou all looked upward, all seeing exactly what they expected. Upon the wall stood the slender, solid form of Tuxedo Kamen; his cape swirled about his tall form as he held his cane in a manner of a sword and glared down at his quarry. "Prefer a man, would you Zoisite?"

"You have no idea," Zoisite snorted, tossing his hair back behind slender shoulders in a gesture that might have been flirtatious in a different time and place. "But you'd have to catch me first, Tuxedo Kamen. I always do enjoy playing hard to get." And without further warning, Zoisite gracefully spun away into the darkness, slipping into the complicated web of steel beams of the half-constructed building with all the grace of an Olympic gymnast. Tuxedo Kamen was hardly as acrobatic as he followed his lead, but was nevertheless right on his trail.

"No!" Sailor Moon said, hands tightening into vain fists at her side.

"Don't worry about the nijizuishou yet!" Luna said, and Sailor Moon turned to see that the youma that had once been Yumeno Yumemi was already attacking her friends. Snatching her moon-stick from seemingly the air itself, Sailor Moon readied the weapon, not bothering to correct Luna's assumption. Hardly time for that now, with Mercury only just avoiding the latest shower of "pebbles" created by the artist's peculiar feathers. "Now?"

Luna watched the youma stumble down to one knee under a combination attack of lightening and fire, and nodded. "Now!"

"Moon…Healing…Escalation!"

The light from the moon-stick encased the faltering youma easily; she stretched towards the sky as the healing power arched her back and spread through her body like cleansing fire. Within mere seconds, Yumeno Yumemi collapsed to the ground, barely conscious.

"She'll be okay, I think," Sailor Moon said while biting her lip, and then looked away. Light flashed on the other side of the construction site, and some hope filled her at the sight. "We have to help Tuxedo Kamen-sama!"

"Sailor Moon—!"

Mars's voice calling her back only spurred her on faster.

And, just maybe, help us too…

She could feel the Senshi on her heels as she ducked and dodged through the beams. Sometimes she thought about how graceful and controlled she could be in her Senshi form, but mostly she tried not to. When she remembered she was supposed to be a klutz she tended to fall on her butt, warrior of love and justice or not. Still, she didn't pay a lot of heed to the others behind her. She hadn't had a chance to ask Ami about her theory, but it didn't seem to matter now. Opportunity had arisen, and she was going to take it.

When she came upon the scene, she could clearly see that a duel was taking place for the nijizuishou stolen from Yumemi – and to her horror, it seemed Tuxedo Kamen was losing. Even as she watched him stumble, she saw Zoisite draw back an arm and release a deadly sharp blade of ice.

"ZOI!"

Without thinking, she pulled the tiara from her forehead and let fly. The ice shard shattered under the impact of the sparkling pseudo-frisbee; Tuxedo Kamen looked up to see her, her name falling from his lips in surprised gratitude.

"Sailor Moon!" he said, eyes locking onto hers and holding her heart momentarily still. …oh, Tuxedo Kamen-sama, why can't you just be on our side without…

The soft laugh of the shitennou broke the moment between the two, Tuxedo Kamen looking away first to his acquired nemesis. "Oh, two against one's hardly fair," Zoisite all but gloated as he took an elegant step backward, "so I think you'll forgive me if I bow out now."

Sailor Moon's eyes widened as she saw her chance slipping through her fingers like so much melted ice-cream. "Stop!" she shouted, knowing it was ineffectual but unable to not at least try.

It only made Zoisite laugh again, the sound as light as dry ice. "Like I said, no time to play with little girls, I'm afraid. I only like to play with the big boys, Sailor Moon." And with that said, he raised his hand in a mocking finger-wave and made as if to teleport.

"You can't go!" And the moon-stick was in her hand, the power already gathering about her form again. Still on his knees at her side, Tuxedo Kamen's eyes widened as he watched her grasp the glowing moon-stick tightly in gloved fingers.

Jupiter, coming upon the scene with the others hot on her heels, stopped dead when she saw what was unfolding before them. Gasping, it was a moment before she shouted, already knowing she was too late: "Sailor Moon, don't!"

Mars frowned, made to step forward and cross to the beam upon which Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen and Zoisite acted out their little drama. "What is that idiot doing—"

Time seemed to stand still as Sailor Moon arced the moon-stick over her head, stunning all – including Zoisite – into stillness. "Moon…Healing…ESCALATION!"

The shine of the healing power reached forward, grasping for darkness in order to make it light; though Zoisite made to teleport immediately the hold of the moon-stick's brightness locked down his power, held him immobile. The scream he let loose caused all the other Senshi to cover their ears, wincing deeply; a moment later they had to look away from the entire spectacle as the light grew as painful to look at as the sun itself.

…it's…he's too strong! He…I don't think…no! I have to do this! Even though she could feel seemingly all the energy in her body streaming out through her fingers, into the moon-stick and then into the writhing form some ten feet away, she only bit her lip and threw her heart into it as much as she could. Not even Tuxedo Kamen's voice beside her penetrated her concentration now, sweat beginning to bead across her brow.

"Sailor Moon, stop!"

Sailor Moon stubbornly would not let go of the moon-stick, pushed it forward even as she felt herself beginning to teeter.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do this on a half-constructed building! she thought suddenly, and found herself wanting to laugh wildly until both she and the building collapsed from fatigue. The urge passed however when she saw Zoisite relax, felt him yield, felt her own energy fail as she herself dropped to her knees. The moon-stick clattered to the beam beside her, so hot it almost burnt her through her gloves. She did not let it go.

Mars was the first to leap to her side, almost shoving Tuxedo Kamen out of her way and off the building as she looked intently into Sailor Moon's wan face. "Oh my god, Sailor Moon, what did you DO? Are you okay?"

Sailor Moon stood, slightly unsteadily, and tried to move a bit closer. Only the firm hand of the recently appeared Jupiter stopped her from stumbling. Not ten feet away from her lay the precariously balanced body of the third shitennou, but…there was something…he no longer wore the uniform they had always seen him in before. No, now it was a lighter grey that was almost white, lined in light green and made of a finer material. A cape now was draped about slender shoulders, half-fallen over the edge of the beam and blowing slightly in the breeze. It was fastened with epaulets decorated with deeply glittering green gems and silver that caught the moonlight and made her blink.

Standing himself with caution, Tuxedo Kamen looked at the fallen figure. Even though he still wore both top hat and mask, the furrowed brow and deep frown were easy enough to see to all the Senshi and Luna. "That…uniform…it…" he said, in a voice more hollow than an echo that had been replayed a thousand times already.

Sailor Moon stepped further forward cautiously, the cooling moon-stick dangling nearly uselessly from one hand. "…he's not dead, is he?" she asked, her balance still not quite good enough to warrant walking on the higher levels of a building under construction. "I didn't…kill him, did I?"

"It's not as if he would not have deserved it," Tuxedo Kamen said, voice cold enough to make Sailor Moon look back at him, startled and nearly afraid. Before either could say a word – or indeed, before the other Senshi could contribute to the conversation – the form groaned, shifted.

Sailor Moon was then moving oddly nimbly to his side before any of the girls could stop her. Tuxedo Kamen was right beside her, his hand all but brushing the small of her back when she near-stumbled. She looked up at him gratefully for a moment, and then dropped to her knees beside the fallen shitennou.

"…I need Mercury to look at him…Tuxedo Kamen-sama, can you take his pulse?"

But the dark-haired crusader was only staring at the body, gloved fingers tapping his own thigh impatiently as he apparently thought to himself. "I wonder where he put that nijizuishou--" he speculated aloud.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" Aghast, Sailor Moon stared at him like he'd just stepped out of an alien spacecraft and announced he was the new lord and master of the universe. "He's hurt--"

It was Zoisite himself who interrupted them. Sitting up cautiously, groggily, the oddly dressed Dark Kingdom commander stared without comprehension at them both. "…stop being so loud…who…" He paused as he tried to focus his eyes on the girl with the too-loud voice, before they widened in shock. "Princess?"

Sailor Moon reared back from the stunned recognition in his eyes. "What?"

"Princess? What are you…who…" His attention had turned to the man at the "princess's" side. Before Tuxedo Kamen could so much as think to react, Zoisite reached for him with speed that should have been impossible given the state he was in. One hand – encased in a far more genteel glove than the military one he had just been wearing – pulled away the mask, and his confused eyes widened impossibly further. "My prince, why are you…" He looked away, down at his hands, and then with perplexity at the shimmering city of Tokyo below. "What is…my head…what is going on?"

With that gloved hand pressed to his temple still, Zoisite lapsed into total unconsciousness. Sailor Moon barely noticed the head that had all but fallen into her lap, however; she was instead fixated on the revealed face of the man beside her.

"…Chiba Mamoru?!"

Mars's gasp of shock was just as loud. "Mamoru-san?"

Tuxedo Kamen looked over at Mars sharply, away from the dazed face of Sailor Moon. Recognition crossed his face, lined it with shock and disbelief. "…Rei-san…?" Something more appeared to come to him; slowly he returned his gaze to Sailor Moon. For the first time, he truly looked at her, saw what was beneath the shimmering energy of the sailor-suited heroine. "Odango?"

"Don't call me that…oh." The usual retort died on her lips as she raised her hand to her mouth, felt her heart begin to skip like a hyper child being far too enthusiastic with a jump rope. "…Mamoru-san…you're…"

"Well, this is a right old mess," Luna observed, leaping across from where she had stood with the other girls. Shaking her small head, she gave Sailor Moon a disapproving look, then stared at the fallen king. "What are we going to do about this?"

But Sailor Moon was far more wrapped up in what Zoisite had just done, rather than what she had just done to Zoisite. "Mamoru-san? You're…Tuxedo Kamen?"

He looked away from her at last, pushing his fingers against his temple in a fashion oddly similar to what Zoisite had just done. "Yes," he said quietly, voice wondering and distant. "I'm getting a headache."

"Nothing like what he's got, I'd bet," Jupiter said rather pragmatically, seeming to take the revealed identities into her stride far better than any of the other humans about her. "Guys, we have to do something about this," she said, looking down at the fallen figure.

"…wait a second, something else is happening to him!" Mercury said sharply; right before all of their watching eyes the peculiar uniform shimmered, gently transformed into fashionable slacks and a shirt, though his hair stayed in the ponytail they had always seen him wear. Only Mars did not see it, her eyes still fixed on the revealed form of Tuxedo Kamen.

"…what was that?" Mercury whispered, fingers moving instinctively to activate her visor, to pull her palm computer from thin air.

Mars looked away from the unmasked man, briefly passed her eyes over Sailor Moon, and then focused on the inert form of Zoisite. Though she didn't say anything aloud, it looked like she was getting a headache on a par with Tuxedo Kamen's. "…so now what do we do?"

Sailor Moon looked at Tuxedo Kamen again, then at Jupiter. Tentatively, she said: "…Ami-chan, what do you think we should do?"

"…oh, so now you ask her for advice?" Jupiter said tiredly, sounding oddly like Mars. However, when Sailor Moon looked slightly hurt at this proclamation, she did manage to smile back at her. "Well, better late than never, I guess."

"Yeah," said Sailor Moon quietly, and looked down again at the fallen man. "Better late than never, right."