Chapter 1

Bree

Bree

Bree

Usgai Tsukino blinked sleepily, trying to clear blurred vision as she looked at the alarm clock. When the numbers finally came into focus, she buried her face in her pillow and muttered into it angrily. She was going to be late. Again. She threw her legs over the side of her bed and ambled over to her dresser.

"Usagi! Get up, sweetie, or you'll be late!" Ikuko Tsukino shouted from the kitchen.

"I'm up! I'm up!" she answered. She threw on her uniform, slipping into a pair of purple and black tie-dyed leggings under her skirt. Then she grabbed her skates and ran downstairs for a quick breakfast.

"Morning, Mom and Dad. Spore," she greeted her family cheerfully. Ikuko waved a spatula from her post at the oven, Shingo rolled his eyes and Kenji smiled at her from over his newspaper.

"Grab a seat, honey," Ikuko said, cracking some eggs into the frying pan. "I'll fix you a plate."

"Thanks, Mom." Usagi pulled out a chair and put on her skates. Kenji glanced down at her legs and sighed.

"I don't see why you wear those loud leggings," he commented, flipping the page.

"Well, after the whole 'London-France' fiasco last year, I don't think it's the best idea to skate in a skirt without them," Usagi explained as she stole some sausage from his plate. Kenji reached around the paper and grabbed his coffee.

"Here's an idea. How about not skating in a skirt?"

"But if I don't skate, I won't get to school on time." Usagi grabbed some toast off of his plate and spread jelly on it.

"You could wake up earlier.'

"Yeah right, Dad," Shingo scoffed. "The queen of tardy getting up before eight?"

"See?" Usagi said, waving one hand at her brother, while stealing another forkful of her father's eggs and pancakes with the other. "He even gets it." Kenji put down his paper long enough to raise an eyebrow at his eldest child before flipping the page again.

"Your father's right," Ikuko said, adding sausage to the pan. "It wouldn't kill you to be more punctual, Usagi."

"No, but it my teachers might die of shock. I get there in time when I skate, so what's the big deal."

"It's just that it's a little dangerous, isn't it?" Ikuko poured some orange juice in a cup and pulled down a plate. "I don't think I'm comfortable with you ripping through the streets on skates, or skate boards. You even make biking dangerous."

"Gosh, Mother, you make it sound like I pull Tony Hawk-ish stunts. Without a helmet." Usagi groaned, munching on the last bit of sausage from Kenji's plate. Shingo looked at his father's now empty plate and smirked at Usagi, who just stuck her tongue at him.

"Usagi, you do have a tendency to be a little reckless," Kenji commented. "Especially when you're late."

"Alright, I'll be careful, okay?" Usagi promised. She got up and grabbed her bag. "I've got to go. See you!"

"Wait," Ikuko turned, holding a plate of food and cup of juice. "What about breakfast?"

"Give it to Dad," Usagi told her as she quickly drank Kenji's orange juice.

"What?" Kenji put down his paper and looked at his empty plate. "Usagi!"

"Thanks, Mom and Dad! Love you! Bye-bye!" Usagi rolled out the door and sped up the street before her father could say anything else.

"One of these days, I'll eat her breakfast from under her nose and see how she likes it," Kenji muttered. Ikuko sighed and set the plate she had made for Usagi in front of him.

"Oh, don't fuss, honey," she said. "Look, you get to eat her breakfast anyway. Shingo, hurry up and finish your breakfast so you can catch your bus." Shingo nodded and started shoveling food into his mouth. As he swallowed the last bite, he shot up from his seat and ran for the door.

"Bwye, Mum, Dald!" he called from around bits of pancake and sausage. Kenji watched his son leave, shaking his head.

"You sure they're ours?" he asked his wife. Ikuko laughed a little and kissed his head.

"Of course not, they were switched at birth. Our real kids are at some nice boarding school in Switzerland. Anything interesting in the paper?" Kenji offered her the paper and shrugged.

"You know, the usual. The global economy is in the crapper. Some princess is coming to Japan- do you believe they don't want me to cover it? Me! - Someone tried to rob Usagi's friend, Naru's store again. And those girls and that one guy…what are they called….the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen saved someone again." Ikuko hummed and flipped through the paper.

"They don't look any older than Usagi. How could their parents let them run around pulling such dangerous stunts?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but if I saw Usagi in a skirt that short, I'd murder her," Kenji said, finishing off his breakfast. He stood and kissed his wife on the cheek, then checked his watch. "Shoot! I'm going to be late. Love you, babe."

"Love you," Ikuko smiled and started clearing her table as her husband rushed to the car and tore down the driveway. "Yep, he's their father alright."
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" Luna, Artemis, look" Rei said, turning the newspaper around so everyone could see the picture. "We're in the news!" The other three girls and Artemis crowded in to see the article, Luna glanced at it quickly, and Mamoru just hung back looking impatient.

"We're supposed to be having a meeting, right?" he asked. "Can we make this quick. I've got a huge test today."

"Oh, please," Makoto scoffed. "You'll ace this one without trying, just like every other test."

"Yeah, Mamoru," Minako added. "All work and no play makes Jack a dumb boy."

"It's 'makes Jack a dull boy'," Mamoru corrected her. Minako shrugged her shoulders and flipped her hair.

"I've heard it both ways." Mamoru rolled his eyes. It had been a few months since he teamed up with the Sailor Scouts to find the lost Moon princess and the silver crystal, and while they had become like the long lost sisters he never had, it could get annoying being around them first thing in the morning. Especially when he had something to do. Luna noticed his impatience and began the meeting.

"As you all know, the youma attacks are getting more and more frequent lately," Luna started. "The Dark Kingdom is stepping up its search for the Moon Princess. We have reason to believe they have leads on her true identity."

"So what do we do?" Minako asked. Luna sighed and turned to Artemis.

"We've contacted the outers," Artemis told them. The girls and Mamoru gasped.

"I thought you said we couldn't trust them," Makoto said. "You told us that we couldn't be sure of their loyalties."

"We can't be sure of their loyalties to us," Luna corrected. "We can't count on them to do things our way. But their loyalty to the princess is unquestionable. In this, at least, we can count on some support for them."

"Will we get to meet them?" Ami asked.

"They should be in town by tonight night," Artemis said. "We'll meet in Juban Park at one a.m."

"One in the morning?" Minako repeated incredulously. She groaned. "Why didn't you tell me I'd be giving up my eight hours of sleep when I signed up for this?" Luna rolled her eyes and dismissed the meeting.

"Go on to school. All of you," she said, sounding very much like an overspent mother. The girls grabbed their bags and shouted their good-byes, Mamoru gave the cats a friendly pat on the head and left too.

Mamoru whistled to himself as he trotted down the stairs that lead from the temple to the street. The meeting ended just in time; he had forty minutes to get to his school and in his car he could get there in 20. 'I'll have enough time to grab some coffee and go over my notes,' he thought, sliding into his car. His mood was soaring high…until he turned the key in the ignition. The car sputtered a couple of times, and then died.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Mamoru shouted in frustration, hitting the dashboard. After trying a few more times to start the car, he sighed and gave up. "So much for coffee before class." Mamoru grabbed his bag and started walking towards his school.

"Watch out!" Mamoru had just enough time to look up and see a flash of yellow, white and blue before something solid slammed into him at an impossible speed. The force of the impact sent Mamoru reeling. He and whatever hit him went rolling down the slightly inclined sidewalk, finally landing in a heap at the corner. Mamoru lifted his head and tried to orient himself. Something started squirming underneath him and he realized that the 'what' that had hit him was really a 'who'.

"Um, excuse me," the person said, sounding slightly irritated. "I realize that you're probably dizzier than me because you don't have a helmet, but you're crushing me! Get off!" Mamoru scrambled to get off of the (decidedly female) person. He found himself looking at the blue top of the girl's helmet as she pushed herself off of the ground. She slipped and nearly fell to the ground again, and he noticed she was wearing roller blades.

'No wonder she hit me so hard,' he thought. "Are you ok, miss?" he grabbed her arm to steady her. With her other hand she straightened her helmet and he got his first glimpse of the girl that had literally swept him off of his feet. She was tiny. Well, she wasn't a midget, but he had almost half a foot on her.

"Wow, for such a small girl, you sure pack a punch," he commented. The girl's blue eyes widened slightly, and then she furrowed her brows a little, which Mamoru had to admit, was kind of cute.

"Um…yeah…skates you know." The girl reached down and tugged at her tie-dyed leggings and grabbed her bag, preparing to leave. "Well, sorry, 'bout that. No need to exchange insurance info, right?"

"No, I'm alright, but maybe you should take a few lessons before you try skating in public again. You're kind of a menace." Mamoru teased. 'Now, where did that come from?' He didn't tease. Ever. Not even the Sailor Senshi, girls he considered younger sisters. He didn't even know he knew how to tease until just then. The girl was not amused. Her cheeks flushed slightly and her brows furrowed again, this time in annoyance.

"For your information, a rock got caught in my skate, alright?" she retorted. The bell for the middle school rang and the girl's eyes widened again. "Shoot. Gotta go. Later for you!" With that, the girl was off, her long pony tails flapping behind her like streamers from her helmet.

"Well, that was interesting," Mamoru said, heading towards his school.

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