A/N: So it's been a while since I've posted anything . . . let's see how this goes ^^;

Chapter 1:

Dirty Little Secrets.

Tsukino Usagi had never been popular. In the years she had been at Juuban School – she had made two friends. . . to everyone else she didn't even exist. She was kind enough – most people just found her to be strange – so they'd just ignore her.

She found herself walking down the hallway as class finished up for the day, knowing that the weekend would be a boring one . . . Naru and Umino – her two friends – were gone for the weekend – both having had apologized a ridiculous amount about leaving her to her own resources for a whole two days. Usagi shook her head as she stopped at her locker, wondering what she should do. She knew that being outside by herself those days was dangerous – what with the Sailor Senshi and the monsters running around town and fighting.

She pushed her books into her locker and then grabbed her knapsack, thinking momentarily how exciting it would be to be one of the superheroes. . . her life would never be boring anyways. Sighing slightly, the girl pushed her locker door closed, and swallowed when she saw Sakura, Hinata and Ino standing there. These three girls often bullied her . . . without a given reason. Usagi licked her lips nervously, her large blue eyes glancing to the side of them, as if to look for an escape. Sakura, the leader of the group smirked at her. She was one of the most popular girls at Juuban high – her hair down to her shoulders, black and straight, her eyes almond shaped and a soft brown colour. She wore the shorter version of the school uniform – even though it was mid winter . . . and she looked as though she wanted to say something particularly nasty.

"Can I help you?" Usagi asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Sakura's lips twisted into an ugly smirk and she nodded.

"Oh I think you can, Tsukino." she whispered, "Follow me." she ordered. Usagi glanced at the other two and then sighed, pushing her knapsack back into her locker. She would come back for it after – knowing that if she brought it, something awful could happen to it . . . and her mother had bought it for her for her birthday. Closing her locker, she followed the three other girls, wondering what sort of torture she was in for that day – and frowned when she was shoved into the bathroom. She didn't struggle – she never did . . . there was no point. She knew that one day they would get bored with her lack of reaction . . . but until then she would continue with the assault.

She was shoved into the handicap-able stall in the bathroom, knowing then exactly what was going on. Her blue eyes widened a fraction as the toilet seat was lifted up and the three girls shoved her to her knees, right before it. She closed them then, taking a deep breath before holding it – her face pushed into the disgusting depths before her. She heard the whooshing noise around herself as they flushed, and hoped to Kami it would be over soon.

She didn't know why they did it . . . they had no reason to pick on her . . . she wasn't a threat to them. Usagi would always lie about what was happening to her . . . she had been a klutz when she first hit puberty – and could still use that as an excuse for the random bruising on her arms and legs – the wetness of her hair – the paint on her uniform . . . and her mother would just shake her head in disappointment.

As the three girls finished their torture, they left the girl there, sputtering up the putrid toilet water as she dripped onto the floor. It wasn't something she wasn't used to . . . but it didn't mean she liked it. Usagi didn't cry. She just sat there, completely silent as the water dripped from her hair onto the floor and shoulders. Shivering, she couldn't even bring herself to stand up as she sat there – completely silent.

She heard the door of the bathroom open and frowned, wondering if they'd come back. Quickly scurrying, the girl moved with unknown speed to the toilet again, standing on it. The door was closed to the stall, so if they looked underneath it – they wouldn't spot her. She heard a shuffle of feet as more than one person entered the room, and then frowned when she heard an unfamiliar female voice.

"Lock it." they said quietly. She heard the bathroom door lock and her heart fell . . . wondering if she was safe, "Go and see if anyone's in here." the voice said then. She heard the sound of high heals as someone checked under the stalls for feet.

"We're clear." the new voice said. Both voices were lower than normal – and Usagi found herself wondering what on earth was going on. Should she reveal herself? She wiped some of the water off of her face and looked around, wishing she had gotten out of the school quickly.

"That youma attack last night was awful." she heard the first voice say. Usagi frowned. What was a youma?

"We need to find the Princess guys . . . if we don't . . . I fear it could be too late -" a new voice said then, "Remember, if the Dark Kingdom continues to get as strong as they have been – we could all be in major danger -"

"What do you suggest Luna?" yet another new voice asked. Usagi frowned. Luna? That was the name of her cat . . . how strange.

"I think you girls need to prepare yourselves . . . and we need to figure out a new way to track the princess . . . I worry for her safety -" there was a short pause before someone punched the wall, startling Usagi.

"We aren't strong enough, Luna . . . that last youma nearly killed Rae – even as Sailor Mars she couldn't beat it . . . there has to be another way . . ." there was a sigh and Usagi's eyes widened. Whoever was in the bathroom with her were the Sailor Senshi . . . and they went to her school! She swallowed, closing her eyes. She couldn't get caught by them! They were superheroes! - and if she found out who they were . .. she had no idea what would happen to her.

"Do we have any new clues Ami?" one of them asked. Usagi frowned, her eyes opening when she realized exactly who they were.

There was a group of four girls that went to her school . . . as far as anyone else could tell they had nothing in common . .. 'except for this . . .' she thought, biting her lip. Water dripped down her cheek and she looked around again, wishing she could disappear. They were Ami, Rae, Makoto and Minako. The four girls usually kept to themselves . . . and now it made sense. Suddenly the water below her became slippery and she gasped out loud as she fell face first off of the seat. Holding out her arms, she winced and groaned as she felt her wrist snap. There was complete silence for only a second before the door was pulled open and a very angry looking Makoto and Rae looked down at her.

Usagi's large blue eyes moved up to look at the two of them. She could tell now – that they were Senshi. Rae with her long black hair and large, gorgeous purple eyes was obviously the senshi of Mars . . . and Makoto with her brown hair kept in a ponytail and her green eyes . . . plus her height . . . was so obviously Sailor Jupiter. Usagi swallowed, feeling the tears spring to her eyes. She hurt . . . her wrist throbbed as she sat up, holding it tenderly to her chest. She knew she probably looked like a wet deer caught in headlights . . .but there wasn't much more she could do.

"What did you hear?" Makoto bit out, punching her left hand with her right, showing she wouldn't be opposed to kicking Usagi's ass if need be. Usagi's blue eyes moved to the two girls behind them and frowned, having heard five voices.

"I . . . I don't know what I heard . . ." Usagi whispered, "I . . . was just . . ." she sighed, "Please don't hurt me."

"What did you hear?" Rae repeated for her brunette friend, looking equally as angry. Usagi bit her lip, trying to stand but pathetically slipping and falling back into the water around her. She looked down.

"I won't say anything . .. I swear . . " Usagi said then, still looking down. She wouldn't . .. who would believe her anyways.

"How can we trust her?" she heard Minako's British accent then. She looked up at the other blonde haired blue eyed girl and sighed.

"Because I have no one I could tell . . . and I wouldn't . . . I'm not like that." she whispered, wishing she was anywhere but there. Minako frowned then, suddenly looking her over.

"Why are you so wet?" she asked. Usagi looked at her and smiled weakly.

"I . . . tripped – landed in the bowl . . . was just trying to clean up when you all came in here." she said, looking between them all. She had no idea if they would believe her . . . but it was closer to the truth than she would ever let on. Rae made a face and then sighed, offering her hand to the drenched blonde. Usagi looked at the hand in surprise, and then took it with her not broken one. Straightening her skirt, she looked between the four of them and then frowned. Ami – the blue haired genius of the group – had a black cat with a crescent mark on its forehead and large crimson eyes – that looked at her as though it was shocked.

"Luna?" Usagi whispered, frowning, "So . . . you . . . you were talking to my cat then." all four girls looked at the cat and then to Usagi in disbelief.

"She's . . . your cat?" Rae asked slowly, frowning. Usagi frowned, looking at Luna.

"I . . did . . . she talked . . ." she frowned, her head suddenly feeling light.

"No she didn't." all four girls said loudly, "You must have misheard."

"This is my cat, Luann." Ami said with a forced smiled. Usagi frowned.

"She looks just like my cat." Usagi frowned, knowing the girl was lying . .. and wanting to know what on earth the Sailor Senshi were doing with her cat . . . she must have just misheard the cat talk. She moved forward to look at Luna closely, but both Rae and Makoto moved in her way.

"I think you should go." Makoto threatened, "And if I hear any . . . rumours about us . . . I will find you." she said. Usagi bit her lip, wanting to cry but not. She nodded and swiftly moved past the four of them before turning back and giving Luna a hurt look.

"See you at home for supper, Luna." she whispered, turning away from them then and running out. She knew it was her cat . . . the senshi had her cat . .. the senshi knew she knew their secret . . . and if anyone else found out she was dead. She continued to walk quickly, wanting nothing more than to get her books and go home. She gasped again as she slipped on the trail of water she was leaving, and swiftly ran into something much larger than herself. She winced, breathing in quickly as she hit her broken wrist, the tears then coming to her face. She looked up into the cold face of one of the grade twelve boys – Chiba Mamoru.

She knew him only because he was one of the star basketball players at their school. His broad shoulders, his dark blue, icy cold eyes . . . and his unruly black hair made him a very handsome specimen of a man . . . but she had heard many a woman say he was cold in personality – and wasn't interested in dating.

"I . . . sorry." Usagi whispered, looking down. Mamoru raised an eyebrow and looked down at the pathetically wet girl in front of him.

"It isn't raining out blondie . . . you were aware of that . . . right?" he asked, his voice near a whisper. Her eyes shot up at him and flashed with anger.

"I'm aware. You don't have to be a jerk." she said back, pushing him out of the way with her good hand. She didn't need to be treated badly by another person that day . . . she shook her head and kept walking annoyed. Mamoru frowned and watched the girl go, wondering but not really caring who the blonde was.

Usagi sat in her bedroom alone that evening, her wrist in a cast and her eyes on her math homework. She really didn't care much about homework . . . but she rarely had anything else to do – and usually Umino wouldn't let her and Naru play video games or read Manga until their homework was done . . . so she did it. Her mind was elsewhere that night however. As was expected, Luna was not home when she finally got home from the doctor . . . no one was around actually. Her father worked late that night – and her mother had left her a note and a casserole, with an apology about having to take her brother Shingo to a baseball game.

Shaking her head, the blonde looked out the window at the large crescent moon and the bright stars outside, wondering if this was all she had to look forward to. She already knew she wanted to be a lawyer . .. but would she even be able to handle it if she wasn't even able to handle a couple of bullies at school? "And the Sailor Senshi." she whispered, bitter. How on earth had they even gotten hold of her cat? She didn't worry that Luna was in any sort of trouble . . . because she'd looked so comfortable with Ami.

Closing her math text book, the blonde flopped back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She'd made enemies with the Sailor Senshi . . . who on earth could say they'd done something as impressively foolish as that? She sighed and then jumped when she heard scratching at her window. Looking over she frowned, seeing Luna on the other side, her crimson eyes going to the blonde's wrist with what looked like surprise. Usagi sighed and stood, walking over to the window and opening it for the cat before walking back and sitting on her bed indifferently.

Luna jumped onto her bed from the windowsill and slowly padded over to her, her crimson eyes still on Usagi's wrist. The cat began to purr and climbed gently into Usagi's lap. Usagi looked down at the cat, tears now falling from her eyes.

"I'm sure that was you Luna . . . I . . . I didn't mean to make them angry . . . I wouldn't have even been in the bathroom if it hadn't been for Sakura." she whispered, gently scratching behind the cat's ear. Luna looked up at her with a very un-cat like expression. Usagi frowned, "Wouldn't it be funny if you could talk?" she whispered, wiping her eyes with her hand.

She had rescued the cat nearly a year back – from two boys who had tied cans to her tail and stuck band aids in her fur – and after that – she had fallen in love with the cat . . . it was almost as though they had a silent connection . . . a very powerful one – and the fact that the Sailor Senshi had taken her had almost broken the blonde girl's heart. She sighed, going back to petting the cat.

"I wonder what princess they were talking about." she whispered softly. Luna looked up at her, her red eyes almost serious and Usagi smiled, gently hugging her, "Maybe another warrior . . . a senshi princess." she joked and then sighed, "Do you think Juuban will ever be safe again, Luna?" the purring stopped and Usagi frowned, looking at the animal.

Luna stood up and stretched before jumping off of Usagi's lap and heading back for the window. Usagi frowned, watching the cat leave without a second thought. She sighed, watching as Luna jumped into the tree outside her window – and then completely disappear into darkness. She shook her head again and flopped back onto her bed, wishing Naru was around. Even though Naru didn't know the extent of the bullying Usagi dealt with – having her around was comforting.

The blonde jumped up when she heard the phone ring, wondering who on earth could be calling with everyone out of the house. She licked her lips and dashed out of her room, answering the phone in the hallway. She picked the phone up with her good hand and answered it with a quiet, "Hello, Tsukino residence – Usagi speaking."

"Usagi – it's Makoto." she heard. Her heart fell. She was going to pay for earlier – wasn't she?

"H-hello Makoto – what can I do for you?" she asked. There was a long pause on the other end of the phone and she waited, not sure what to expect. When Makoto spoke again it was as though she was attempting to force kindness.

"We need to talk – somewhere away from the phone . . . will you meet me in Juuban park in an hour?" the girl asked. Usagi swallowed and looked at the clock on the wall. It was already eight PM. She frowned and then closed her eyes.

"Are you going to beat me up?" she asked, seriousness in her voice. Makoto was quiet again.

"No – just to talk." she said, sounding annoyed. Usagi sighed.

"Fine . . . I'll see you in an hour." she said, putting the phone down. What on earth did Makoto want? She sighed and went to her room, changing from her nightwear into a pair of jeans and one of her favourite pink sweaters. Sighing she fixed her buns and quickly headed out, knowing the walk to Juuban park normally took her closer to an hour and a half from her home.

XXX

"So . . . you're going to erase her memories of us Luna?" Ami asked the cat as the four senshi stood in the park. Luna sighed, looking worriedly around at the lot of them.

"I think that this might be the only way . . . she . . . I don't believe she would tell – but she has so many other things to deal with – and a citizen knowing your identities puts her life in danger." the cat said. Ami nodded and Makoto sighed.

"She had a cast on her arm when you got home?" the brunette asked casually, looking down. Luna nodded and looked up at her.

"Yes . . . I believe when she said she'd fallen – she'd tried to catch herself." Makoto winced and nodded, looking over at Ami who was doing something on the Mercury computer.

"What are you up to Ames?" Rae asked, looking over as well and voicing the brunette's thoughts. Ami looked at her and sighed slightly, bringing her free hand to her face and holding the side of her head as though she had a headache.

"The negative energy in Juuban is increasing at such an alarming rate . . . I believe it's only a matter of time before Beryl gets up here -"

"Which means we need to get a move on with finding the princess." Minako pitched in, looking at them. She was the senshi's leader and as such it was her duty to make sure that their job was done to the best of their abilities.

"Yes . . . but my resources are strained." Luna sighed. Artemis – the other talking cat in their group was back at central pulling every string he had to try and find more information. There was absolutely nothing more to go on. It was a losing battle and she was terrified that history was not only going to be repeating itself but to a much more drastic extent.

"Maybe Tuxedo Kamen knows something?" Rae said, her dark eyes going to the rest of them thoughtfully. All of them knew that Tuxedo Kamen was looking for the princess as well . . . but because he was a jewelry thief they more often than not stayed away from him. For someone who had super powers he was sure using them in the wrong way . . . and really – if they hadn't had the Dark Kingdom to deal with they would probably be trying to help the police in catching him.

"I don't know . . . we couldn't trust that he would even tell us the truth could we?" Minako wrinkled her nose. Rae sighed. The four of them perked when they heard the sound of footsteps coming towards them. Each girl jumped into the tree over head and peered down at the gorgeous blonde heading in their direction, her wrist obviously in a cast.

"Okay – we do it quick and then we don't have to worry about her -"

"Right." they all agreed, watching as the blonde got closer.

XXX

Usagi looked around tentatively as she walked through the cool park, wondering where the Sailor Senshi were. She could barely see in the dark and she wasn't certain she should have trusted them . . . but they did save all of Juuban . . . so maybe she just had to. The blonde gasped as four figures jumped around her and then stepped back with a frown. Sailor Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury all looked at her through the near darkness and she shivered.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" she asked them, fearing the answer. Jupiter sighed and Usagi looked in her direction, making out Makoto's curly brown hair.

"We couldn't have you going around telling who we are -"

"I . . . I already promised I wouldn't . . ." Usagi bit her lip, frowning. Suddenly a black cat jumped down from the tree the four had been occupying and she could easily tell that it was indeed her cat.

"I'm so sorry Usagi." the cat whispered. Usagi looked down at her and frowned. She had been right after all . . , Luna could talk. She gasped as a burst of light released from the crescent moon on the cat's head and hit her own forehead. Usagi fell to her knees, her mind suddenly going fuzzy as everything around her swirled, "You won't remember any of this after I'm done. . . " the cat whispered. Usagi whimpered as she felt something being pulled from what she felt to be her very core.

'I will love you for the rest of eternity . . . Serenity.' she heard a familiar male voice say in her mind. She mouthed the name, her eyes closing as she felt herself fall back.

Venus looked down at Usagi as the cat finished erasing her memories of the senshi, a sigh leaving her lips. She looked at the others who nodded, and Jupiter went to pick the girl up. She looked at the three others and nodded again – the group swiftly running towards Usagi's home. This was how it had to be. . . this outsider would not know who they were . . . it was for the safety of all of them.