Usagi clung tightly to Mamoru's arm and giggled as they made their way through the Azabu district of Tokyo. "It will be fine, Mamo-chan!" she cooed, peering up at him with a small smile on her lips. "They'll love you."

Mamoru let out a small laugh as he exhaled. "You can't blame me for being nervous. Meeting your parents is a big step… what if they think I'm too old?"

"Well… they already do," she admitted, and chuckled as she saw her boyfriend visibly wince. "But they also know that you've helped me get my grades up. And I've been trying really hard to leave the house on time in the morning, and I haven't had detention for being late or not doing my homework in over two weeks! My mom even asked me what your favorite dish was. She wouldn't ask that if she didn't want to impress you just as much as you want to impress her."

It was true. The couple had been dating for a little over three months now, and when Usagi had first gathered up enough courage to tell her parents about her boyfriend, three years older than her and in high school, they did the usual overprotective, objecting parents thing. Though, not long after that, her mother saw him briefly one evening after they walked home together. Suddenly her mother's protests were out the window, and Ikuko was suddenly insisting her daughter bring Mamoru over to the house for dinner and a proper meeting.

"Ah, shoot," Mamoru said with a click of his tongue, looking from his bag, to his pockets, to his free arm in dismay. Usagi lifted her head to look up at him and he sighed. "I forgot my other jacket at home. I need to go home and get it."

Usagi's eyes widened to her sad puppy-dog look and she pouted her bottom lip. Go back to his place? It was a few train stops going in the opposite direction of her house and she just wanted him to come back with her... "You don't need it. Your school uniform is just fine, Mamo-chan."

Mamoru smiled ruefully, and she knew her stubborn boyfriend would be going back to his apartment whether she liked it or not. "It'll make me feel better if I'm dressed up for this. Want to come back with me quick?"

Her shoulders sank as they slowed to a stop and she lifted her cheek from his arm. "I'd love to, but I promised my mom I'd help her with dinner as soon as school let out…"

With a warm smile, Mamoru nodded with understanding. "I won't be long, I promise. Give me an hour. You said your family doesn't eat until seven anyway, right? I'll be there in plenty of time." Usagi felt a searing heat on her cheeks as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. "See you soon, Usako."

Even after three months of dating, his nickname for her and the way his kisses felt on her skin still reduced her legs to jelly. She could only nod in response before Mamoru separated from her and took off in the opposite direction with a small wave.

Usagi watched him turn a corner before spinning on her heels and continuing home. The new, responsible Usagi had made a promise to her mother to help her with dinner, and as tempting as it was to travel back with Mamoru, she also wanted to impress him with her cooking skills… with her mother's aid, of course.

A few blocks from home she saw a group of kids in a parking lot surrounding something small and black on the ground. She glanced over with only a mild curiosity, but heard whatever they were poking groan. Was what they were torturing… alive?!

"Hey!" she called without any further thought. Half a dozen heads snapped up and looked in her direction, then scattered when they saw her running toward them. "What are you kids doing?!"

They were gone before she could grab any of them to find out the story, but looking at the shallow-breathing black creature laying on the pavement, she figured she knew what happened.

"Poor thing…" she said softly as she took a few hesitant steps closer. The thing was facing away from her and laying on its side, making it difficult to see what it was. A large rat? Eh, it was a little too big for that, but too small to be a dog. A few more careful steps later, she made out the pointed ear of a… cat?

It must have sensed her presence because before Usagi knew it, the cat lifted its head and snapped around, bounding to its feet and looking up at her with almost a startled expression. Usagi let out a small gasp of surprise, covering her mouth with her hand as she gaped at the animal.

"Aw, what a cute little bald spot!" she exclaimed happily, then dropped down to rest on her haunches. "Do you have a bald little moon on your forehead? C'mere, kitty kitty kitty… psssst." She scooted a bit closer to the timid cat, extending her hand out and wiggling her fingers. "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

It was too bad the cat didn't return the sentiment. With a swipe of her front paw, Usagi felt large scratches in her palm open up and begin bleeding.

"GAH!" Usagi cried, hugging her injured hand close to her chest but careful not to get the blood on her white school uniform. Tears welled up in her eyes but when she went to look at the treasonous creature again, it had disappeared. "Or not…" she whimpered, slowly getting to her feet and looking down at her wound. "Stupid cat…"

The scratches were still bleeding by the time Usagi reached her house. "I'm home…" she called in a weak voice, then kicked off her shoes before making a B-line for the bathroom. Her palm burned as she soaped it up and washed the angry gouges.

"Ah, Usagi!" Ikuko said, suddenly appearing in the door and causing the girl to jump as her mother's voice echoed off the tile walls of the bathroom. "What happened? And wasn't Mamoru supposed to come back with you? He's still coming for dinner, right?"

Despite the pain in her hand, her mother's concerned tone made Usagi smile. It was only more evident now how much she wanted to meet Usagi's boyfriend, and she couldn't wait to show him off. "Oh, Mamo-chan's still coming; he just needed to run home and get something. As for this, I tried to save a stupid cat in the parking lot next to the Lawson's but it didn't seem to be happy about being helped…" she sniffled as she dried her red palm with a paper towel.

Ikuko tilted her head to the side and looked at Usagi with a sympathetic expression. "Aw, sweetie. No good deed ever goes unpunished, hm?"

She let out a soft huff in agreement. "No kidding. I'm going to get changed before Mamo-chan gets here."

Her mother nodded as Usagi passed her and began climbing up the stairs to her room. Ikuko called after her, "When do you think he'll get here?"

Usagi smiled just as she reached her room. "In a little less than an hour!" she responded, then closed the door with her aching hand.

The blonde girl sighed as she rifled through her clothes, trying to find something a little more on the mature side than her usual outfits, yet something that wouldn't startle her father with her boyfriend at the dinner table. This was supposed to be a happy time, but between the nervousness she suddenly felt over the meeting and the agonizing burn on her palm, she was in a less-than-delightful mood.

"Usagi, is it?" a voice behind her asked.

Usagi leapt out of her skin as she let out a surprised yelp and spun around, searching wildly for the source of the unknown voice. "Wh- who's there?!" she stuttered.

The voice sighed. "Down. Look down."

So she did.

"...GAH! The Bald Cat!" Usagi cried, shielding herself from her feline attacker with the clothes she'd been holding from her closet. "Back! Shoo!"

Luna gave her a confused look as Usagi backed up into the closet, pressing herself into the remaining clothing as if she could disappear into the pieces forever. The cat watched as the girl trembled with the sudden realization that the creature had just spoken to her.

Was this really the girl Luna had been looking for? She seemed a little dense… and not exactly brave enough to be the one to lead the Sailor Soldiers.

With a small cough, Luna broke the temporary silence between them. "I've been searching all over for you, Usagi. Those kids earlier got a hold of me after I thought I felt your energy, but they'd all but knocked me out before you came to save me. Thank you for that, by the way."

Usagi puffed out her cheeks. "Thank you? You sure had a funny way of showing your thanks earlier when you scratched me!" she whined, seeming to suddenly forget once again that she was talking to a cat as she held up her palm. "It still stings!"

"I'm so sorry about that," Luna said as her ears flattened against her head, "Like I said, they'd nearly knocked me unconscious and I still hadn't snapped out of it by the time you came closer to me. It wasn't until after you screamed and I ran that I realized you were the one I'd been looking for, or I would have given you the broach outside."

"The… broach?"

Luna smiled, and before Usagi realized what was happening she'd launched herself into the air and spun, making a small, pink, circular object land on the carpet. "This broach." Usagi's eyes lit up and she swiped the jewelry off the ground as the cat continued her explanation. "Usagi, my name is Luna, and this may come as a shock to you, but your destiny is to protect something very, very important…"

"This is so beautiful!" Usagi exclaimed, hugging the piece tightly to her chest.

"...yes, but it's the power it holds that makes it so special…"

"All the girls at school are going to be so jealous! Oh my goodness, and look how nice it looks on my bow..."

"Usagi…" Luna blatantly gaped for a moment as she studied the girl's behavior and complete lack of concern that she'd made a broach appear out of mid-air and was trying to tell her about her true destiny. Instead of freaking out, she was posing with the darn thing in her mirror! Clearing her throat, Luna decided to make another attempt. "Usagi, you are Sailor Moon, the lead guardian of the princess of the Moon Kingdom. That broach will allow you to transform and give you powers and abilities to fight against our enemies, find the princess, and keep her safe."

The blonde-bunned girl sighed dreamily and looked down at her, cupping her cheeks with her own hands. "Sounds romantic…" she sighed, and something about that made her jump. "Romantic… Mamo-chan! He'll be here any minute! Gotta change, gotta change…"

Luna sighed as she watched Usagi pick up the clothing she'd been looking at before and assess each garment again. Suddenly, the cat had an idea… "You want to change?" she asked smugly. If cats could smirk, she would have. "Shout 'Moon Prism Power, Make Up.' Just trust me… you'll be impressed."

Usagi raised an eyebrow as she looked down at her. "Moon Prism Power, Make Up?" she repeated, and suddenly a blinding white light flooded the room. Before it faded Luna heard the girl gasp, and the cat could barely contain her excitement.

"...See?"

"What is this?!" Sailor Moon cried, posing once again in the mirror but this time with her jaw dropped, eyes wide, and face as pale as milk.

"It's like I said," Luna said softly, glad the girl seemed to finally be paying attention now. "You're Sailor Moon."

"Like Sailor V?"

"Yes, if that helps you understand."

Completely speechless, Sailor Moon stared at herself in the mirror for a long while. Her eyes traveled from the red plates in her hair, to the white clips, to her tiara with the red jewel in the middle. She admired her sailor uniform with the broach sitting proudly on her large red bow. Crescent moons adorned the points of her matching red boots.

"...This is crazy," she said finally, and opened her mouth to say something else when they heard a knock on the front door, causing them both to pause.

Her mother called up from the foyer, "Usagi, Mamoru is here!"