Disclaimer : I don't own the characters.

Summary : Usagi has been preparing herself for Crystal Tokoy for months now and everything seems to be going well. But like every fairy tale, not everything was what it seemed to be. Slowly everything Usagi and the senshi have worked for starts to fall apart. And that's not all. Usagi finds herself falling in love with one of her senshi.

Pairing : UsagiMichiru

A/N : This chapted is pretty short, I know. But I promise that the next one will be longer. Oh and to those who were wondering... I hate Mamoru so he's going to get into a lot of trouble (and pain) before this story is done. Also this story seems a bit dark right now but I can assure you that this is not the case. I just had to clear up how the main characters were feeling. That's also why both Usagi and Michiru keep asking themselfs obvious questions. I hope you'll like it! Please let me know what you think.

A special thanks goes out to UMfan who kept encouraging me to write this story.

Forbidden Step

Prologue

- Questions -

Slowly she opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling above her. Next to her Haruka was still sleeping. 'She looks so peaceful.' Michiru thought. She wished she could feel the same way. Lately she couldn't though. That happy feeling was gone now. That peaceful and calm feeling she always got when she was walking in the sand while staring at the sea besides her had lost it's power.

The sea was no longer comforting her. Instead of that it seemed to be laughing at her. Even the wind which had always protected her had stopped to sooth her worries. There was nothing left of what she used to know... Nothing at all.

All she could hear were Setsuna's words which kept repeating themselfs in her head.

Everything is fine.

Everything seems perfect.

The future doesn't seem to have changed at all.

We're this close to Crystal Tokyo now.

Our lives will be so much better then.

'Really? How can it be much better when I didn't feel good about this to begin with?' Michiru wondered, not bothering to come up with an obvious answer. She simply didn't know anymore.

-------

Usagi sighed, leaning against the bedroom wall. She was tired, very tired but somehow she found it impossible to get some sleep. All she could do was just stand there and stare out of the window. It was dark outside. The only light came from the stars that surrounded the moon as if guiding it through the night. Another sigh escaped her lips. How long had this been going on now?

She really didn't know the answer to that question. She was eighteen now which meant she wasn't too far away from Crystal Tokyo. Ever since Galaxia had been defeated and the world had gone to its original state she had been preparing herself for that future. The future which she would rule as the queen. After everything had gone back to normal she had somehow hoped she would be able to live a normal life.

A life just like the rest of her senshi were living now. Well, for as far you could call it 'normal'. Like other teenagers they would never be. To Usagi it seemed like the mission was still the main importance in her life. She didn't have to worry about youma anymore though. That was probably the only positive side of her life. She still had to learn how to become a good queen. She still had to prepare herself for the future.

Slowly she turned her head, looking at the bed she shared with her fiancée. Chiba Mamoru. They had been together for almost four years now. If you ofcourse didn't count the amount of years they had known each other. A small smiled appeared on her lips. It was strange. She had a loving fiancée who loved her. She was surrounded by friends who would literally give their lives for her and yet she didn't feel happy.

The thought of being loved used to be enough for Usagi. But lately she had started to wonder if it really was such a good thing. Was this really what she wanted? Did she really want to be the Neo Moon queen? Did she really want to rule over her own kingdom?

She shook her head. She really didn't know the answer to that. Everything she had known ever since she was old enough suddenly disappeared. To Usagi it felt like she had to experience the world all over. Even the kisses she and Mamoru shared had started to taste bitter. She used to feel save in his arms but lately that feeling had just disappeared. She no longer felt save around him. Their conversations had started to become uncomfortable.

''Usako?'' Suddenly a voice said, causing her to snap out of her thoughts. Slowly she looked up at the black haired man who was now sitting up in his bed. ''Why are you awake? It's only three 'o clock in the morning.''

''I couldn't sleep.'' Usagi said. It wasn't a real lie but it wasn't the complete truth either.

Mamoru smiled a bit. ''It's cold. Come back to bed.'' He whispered as the blonde girl nodded and slowly started to walk towards the man. ''Did you have a nightmare or something, you look rather pale.''

Usagi quickly shook her head. ''It's nothing. I am just worried I guess.''

''About the future?''

The blonde nodded. She couldn't explain it to him. She couldn't tell him how she really felt. Whenever she tried to tell him she wasn't so sure about being a good queen he just told her not to worry. He would tell her that everything was going to be okay. But how could things be okay when she didn't believe that. How could it be okay when he didn't even seemed to be convinced about it himself?

''You'll be the perfect queen.'' He added when he noticed the strange look in his fiancée's eyes.

Usagi faked a smile. ''I'll do my best.'' This was one of the things that was bothering her as well. He kept telling her she would be the perfect queen. But what if she just wanted to be Tsukino Usagi? What if she didn't want that future to happen?

''You shouldn't worry about anything,'' He went on. ''You've seen the beautiful daughter we'll have together. Chibi-Usa has told us enough things about Crystal Tokyo. And compared to the life we're living now it sounds even better.''

''You're right.'' Usagi nodded. ''I am just being foolish.'' He would never understand. Never. Sometimes Usagi wasn't even sure if he loved her the way she loved him. Hell, she didn't even know if her own feelings were true. Before she had found out about Mamoru's true identity she had hated him. Then suddenly when they revealed their secrets to one another they were lovers. No words were to be spoken, no nothing.

Could it be that her feelings for him and his feelings for her were just caused by the past? What if it were Endymion and Serenity that were calling out to each other, not Usagi and Mamoru?

'That's foolish. I am Serenity.' Usagi told herself while sitting down on the edge of the bed. 'We're not two different people. We're one and the same...' Luckily she wasn't facing Mamoru or else he would've been able to spot the tears that were now falling down her cheeks. She was so confused. Nothing made sense anymore. She surely had to talk to someone about this. But who?

Setsuna wouldn't understand either. She was just like Mamoru and Rei. All they could see was the future. They somehow seemed to have forgotten all about the fact they were still living in the past of that time. Haruka and Michiru were too devoted to their mission as well. There was no way they'd ever stay neutral with their judgement. Hotaru was too young to understand and Ami... Ami was too busy with her own problems right now. The blue haired girl had started dating Makoto a few weeks ago but already they were fighting about various stuff.

That left Minako as the only option. Usagi sighed again, falling backwards on the bed, right into Mamoru's arms. For a moment she tried to get back that save feeling she used to feel while being in his arms. This was ofcourse in vain. That feeling simply wasn't there anymore. ''Goodnight...'' She whispered, knowing that Mamoru had already fallen asleep. 'He doesn't even care...'

-----

Michiru leaned against the railing of the balcony, staring down at the streets beneath her. ''Do you think Setsuna was right?'' She suddenly asked when she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist.

''About?'' Haruka questioned, placing a kiss on her lover's cheek.

''The future... she says everything is going to be fine but somehow I have this strange feeling that something will go wr...'' She couldn't even finish her sentence. Before she could Haruka had already twirled her around and pressed their lips together. This was the third time Haruka had done this. It was as if the tomboy tried to avoid this subject. No, it was proven to be a fact now. Haruka had so much faith in their princess and Setsuna's prediction that she let it overcloud the reality.

There were so many things that could go wrong.

After a few more seconds Haruka pulled back again, smiling a bit. ''Everything is going to be fine Michi. Have some faith in our prince and princess. Setsuna said so herself. The future hasn't changed one bit since Chibi-Usa disappeared. Besides, that was quite some time ago. You should stop worrying about it.''

''I know.'' Michiru sighed, resting her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. ''I just have this weird feeling in my stomach. You know, the same sort of feeling I had whenever a youma would appear. And yet... it's different. I can't quite explain it.'' How could she ever explain what she felt? She and Haruka used to know exactly what the other meant but lately this hadn't been the case.

'What is going on?' Michiru wondered as she closed her eyes.

To Be Continued...

Did I ever mention that I HATE Mamoru? All he's good for is getting kipnapped... Oh and he CAN throw with 'dangerous' roses. What a Hero!

Okay, I'll stop rambling now... Let me know what you think!