Act 6. NG (outtakes)
Usagi felt her heart pounding as she walked into the kitchen, where Ikuko Tsukino was standing by the stove. Somehow, the woman looked different than usual. Her eyes were distant and forlorn, mouth turned down in a worried frown. The way her tone had sounded calling for her was what got her adrenaline rushing behind her ears; her mother never sounded worried like that when she called for her.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
"Usagi…" Her face was a little flushed as she raised the magazine to show her the page it was open to. Usagi's cheeks darkened to the same shade, and surpassed it into an even deeper rouge. "Can you please explain this to me?"
Swallowing hard, she turned away, trying her best not to think about how much her face was burning. "M-Mom, I didn't think… you went through my room? And found it?"
"You left it open on your table. All these dog-ears in the pages; you're not just flipping through it. This is something you're into. I didn't… I mean, this isn't usual. Is it? Your mother is a bit old-fashioned, but…"
"No, no, you're right; I don't…" In a whisper, she said, "Don't tell anybody? Please? I know it's weird, but I'm not ready for all my friends to know I'm like that."
"Well, I… I mean, were you planning on exploring this sometime? Of all people, I didn't think my own little girl…" Her hand gestured to the page, a weak laugh falling from her lips. "This is just very strange to me, and I'm not sure how it would even work for you."
It took a lot of bravery for her to whisper, "Actually, Mom… I wanted to try it with you."
"What?" The roundness of her eyes hurt Usagi; she didn't think this would ever come up, let alone be talked about in such detail! But the cat was out of the bag now.
"Like you said, I'm not sure how to do that. Really don't have any clue. So if you could help me… teach me what you know…" She approached hesitantly, hands coming up, pulling back, then finishing their movement to rest on Ikuko's forearm. "You have to be better at this than me. I mean, look at the proof!" She gestured to herself.
"Usagi…" Her hand came up to cup her daughter's cheek. "This is very unexpected, but I can't deny… I'm very curious. And interested."
"You are?! I thought you would… laugh, or be ashamed of me."
"No, no. Well, it's very strange to me, but I suppose I don't mind trying something new. With you."
Ikuko leaned closer and pressed her lips into her forehead, and Usagi sighed, thinking it had been so long since she felt the softness of her mother's kiss. She sighed, leaning up into it, heart soaring on wings at her mother's acceptance. Sometimes, your parents really could surprise you.
"Alright. So, um… I guess you saw the jeans are pretty basic, might have to dye them turquoise? Orange socks, I can borrow those from Minako… gloves shouldn't be a huge problem, or the shoes; I think I have some like those. But I don't know about the little black vest. I mean, do they sell those?"
Leaning over the counter to look at the page with her daughter, she said, "I'm sure we can alter a normal-sized vest. I just… please, please tell me you aren't going to cut your beautiful hair just to look like this manga character. I know children like to dress up for parties and things, but that's too far!"
"Well, it's cosplay, Mom." Seeing the obvious confusion, she went on, "It's not just for children; I know that's probably why you were so wigged, but I promise, lots of grown-up people do this, too. And Naru and I want to go to one of the conventions, and… I dunno, I thought I might look good in this!"
"As I said, I'm not going to judge you," she said in a carefully patient tone, still looking a bit embarrassed. Maybe it was secondhand, or maybe she had felt slightly ashamed that her daughter was seriously contemplating doing something she thought to be immature. "And if you really want to do this, I will support you all the way. Unless you cut your hair!"
Smiling at her mother's concern, she reached up to pat her shoulder consolingly. "No, no, I was going to try to style it that way without cutting it. Like, maybe some bobby pins? I think we can do it. And if not, there's always wigs."
"Are you sure you couldn't cosplay as someone more wholesome? She looks like some kind of loose woman…"
"Actually, she's an android! Do you wanna know her backstory? She's pretty rad!"
Ikuko clearly didn't. But she did listen patiently, and helped to plot how they would fashion the costume with her daughter. Maybe it wasn't the ideal way for her, and Usagi felt the same way, but they were both glad of an opportunity to reconnect after feeling such a gulf between them — especially now that she had a secret identity that her mother could never know anything about. At the very least, this was something they could do together as a family.
~ X ~
"Serenity, I've waited so long to find you," Tuxedo Mask breathed as he swept in through the window to land deftly on the carpet, slowly removing the white eyemask and revealing himself. "It is I, Mamoru Chiba. I know I have deceived you, and for that, I'm sorry… but now, I have at last remembered our past. You and I were destined to b-"
"What?"
His eyelashes fluttered as he saw Usagi's head raise from where it had been pointed down at a shojo manga, legs gently kicking over her back as she lay on her stomach. Apparently, she had been so absorbed in the reading material that she had missed part of his announcement. "Well… I've remembered something. We were destined for each other. I, Prince Endymion, and you, Princess Serenity. Our reign over the… I'm sorry, am I distracting you from something?"
"Yeah. It's just getting really good." Her finger poked at the pages as she looked back down at them. "Dunno, I think the grandma might be coming back. Really gonna shake things up!"
"Usako, I'm trying to tell you that I'm in love with you."
"Oh, that? Yeah… no thanks. I'm a lesbian."
"What?!"
"Lesbian. You know, yuri? Girls' Love?" Her index and middle finger pushed against the corners of her mouth and her tongue flicked out and flailed up and down. It was lewd, but it got the point across. "Get it? Nothing against you, Chiba-san, but I'm not buying what you're selling. Sorry!"
Clearing his throat, Mamoru glanced between the window and the bed where Usagi was lounging easily. His mind seemed to be taking its sweet time absorbing this new information. Then he tried for a patient smile. "Oh. Well… I beg you to reconsider. Our destiny…"
"Whatever, bro. Destiny doesn't get to tell me who to date, and I can't pretend to be attracted to you if I'm not. Biology doesn't work that way. Also, isn't it kind of creepy jumping into a junior high girl's bedroom in the middle of the night? Somebody should call the police."
"Well, uh, it's not creepy if you wanted me here! But if you don't, I suppose I'll… get out of your way…"
"Thanks. Oh, but hang on!" Hopping up from the bed, she pranced over to him with a small smile. "Actually, there is something you could do for me."
"Yes, my love?"
"Teach me that thing where you throw roses! Like, she'd really flip her lid if I could do that out of nowhere like you do, and it might be enough to get me to second base!"
"Ehrm… with who?" But when her finger wagged back and forth, he guessed, "You're… not going to tell me?"
"Can't risk you blabbing, now, can I? Gotta try working my magic first! Anyway, thanks for stopping by — and think it over! We can still help each other out saving the world from the Dark Kingdom and all that, right?"
Laughing, he scratched the back of his neck as she began gently shoving him toward the open window. "Yes, of course. The Legendary Silver Crystal is of the utmost-"
"Yeah, yeah, crystals. I'll put in a good recommendation to one of the other Senshi; some of them like boys, so hey, keep hope alive!"
Then she was slamming the window shut behind him. Tuxedo Mask only spared himself a moment to shake his head out, trying to rid himself of that dazed feeling before he took off into the night.
~ X ~
Never before had a hand so strong caressed Usagi's face the way Haruka Tenou's was. It shouldn't have been possible; not even Mamoru's touch soothed her this way. What was happening in her brain? Every atom of herself was alive, her heart thudding against her chest like a fist pounding on a door. If something didn't happen soon…
"Haruka… are you a man? Or are you a woman?" That was one thing she needed to know.
"Man, woman…" Haruka leaned down to bring their faces closer, messy blonde hair swishing in front of her eyes, lips twitching into a lazily confident smile before she spoke again. "What difference does it make?"
That clenched it. There was no point in saying anything like that if she were a man; most boys she'd ever met would say something like "I'll show you I'm a man!" in response to a question like that. Fragile masculinity wouldn't let them be labelled a woman for even an instant. Besides…
This close, she could smell her. Maybe she wasn't as sweetly perfumed as her friends, or her mother, but she definitely used a floral body wash. Even her sweat seemed feminine.
And she tasted equally feminine when they connected. What a kiss! It mixed her up inside, feeling soft lips being pushed so firmly into her own, the strength and the tenderness blasting her with conflicting signals. She was kissing a girl! But it still felt like a boy-kiss! Maybe that was because she was the same height as Mamoru, and probably stronger. Her hands slid up Haruka's jacket lapels and tugged her closer, opening her lips to prove that she was not afraid, was ready to be kissed like this. What on earth was this feeling…?
Then she felt the connection being shifted to one side. Usagi tried to lean with the motion, to maintain their tryst, but eventually she couldn't, so she was forced to open her eyes and find out what was the matter.
"I'll tell you what difference it makes!" Michiru shouted at Haruka as she dragged her away by the ear. "You know that tonight is our date night — you were supposed to take me out for French cuisine! And instead, I find you Frenching another girl!"
"Ow, owowow!" Haruka protested, finally wrestling out of her girlfriend's grip. "Hey, I still had plenty of time! We weren't supposed to meet at the restaurant for five hours!"
Michiru folded her arms and glared up at her. Even though she was five inches shorter and more petite, and her soft waves of teal hair made her seem like a benevolent sea-goddess, at that moment she looked more like a towering force of nature to be reckoned with. Like a tsunami.
"I don't care if you play around with children, Haruka. It's a little unseemly, but if that's your hobby, fine. But you could at least save it for a day when we're not supposed to be together later that night! You're the only woman for me, so you could at least make me the only woman for you within a single day!"
Together?! Not only was Haruka a woman, but she was with Michiru! Like THAT! Not that it should have been much of a surprise, but Usagi had been a little too wrapped up in being kissed so sweetly to have given any thought to Haruka hanging around with Michiru all the time. What their 'friendship' might really mean.
"O-oh!" she burst out in sudden realisation. "Lesbians! I'm sorry, I didn't… I didn't mean t-to interfere, I'll just…"
The smile on Haruka's face when she glanced back toward Usagi was a bit wicked, but mostly fond. "Maybe we could bring her with us tonight. Double our fun and excitement."
"Hmph," Michiru scoffed, turning her face away. "One would almost get the impression that one wasn't that important to you anymore if you already need to spice up our relationship with a third wheel."
Usagi felt her ears going red. What were they discussing?!
"Baby, don't be like that," Haruka said earnestly, kneeling at Michiru's feet and clasping one of her hands. "You know that at the end of the day, no one else could hold my attention the way you do. I'm yours for all eternity."
Both Michiru and Usagi melted and cooed "Awwww!" Hearing she hadn't been alone, Michiru did briefly glare at Usagi, but then when she turned to see her lover was still gazing only at her, the glare softened and she reluctantly smiled.
"Alright. I suppose… Usagi is rather sweet, for a baby gay. But look, don't touch. She has the Earth Prince, remember, you homewrecker?"
"I'm not a baby!" Usagi muttered, mostly to herself. "I'm barely two years younger than you guys!"
"Oh?" she giggled, casting her dazzling blue eyes in Usagi's direction. The thrill that shot through her body was not a subtle or a moderate one. "Then you do want to come along tonight? We should probably warn you, after dinner, things are likely to get… a little intense."
About five minutes had passed before Usagi could move or think again. By that point, both of the mysterious Mugen Gakuen students had long departed, leaving her a quivering mess of burgeoning homosexuality.
~ X ~
"Miss Haruna?" Usagi Tsukino whispered hesitantly as she edged into the classroom. "I… know I'm a little late for my detention, but I can explai-"
"Oh, you ravishing creature."
"H-Haruna-sensei?"
Slowly, her voluptuous frame turned, long waves of auburn hair bouncing lightly as she faced her student, hazel eyes shimmering with emotion. "How many hours I have stared across the room, wishing to take your hands into mine and kiss them… to show you the depth of my heart. But circumstance holds us apart from one another! Oh, cruel fate, why do you thwart me so?"
Usagi was frozen just inside the door. This couldn't be happening. Her teacher, Haruna Sakurada, was really confessing her feelings? It was so unexpected! Especially since she had literally never spent a single moment entertaining the idea of any romantic connection between her and the dazzling instructor. On the other hand, she was passionate, and beautiful, and not that much older than her for a teacher…
"M-m-m-miss Haruna, I… y-you really feel…?" Her face was turning slowly redder as she backed up to the wall, heart thudding in her throat. "B-but we're both women, and I'm y-your student, and we-"
"Hm?" The teacher's expression clarified, and she blinked a few times. "Miss Tsukino, what are you doing here?"
"Huh? B-but I have detention today, don't I?"
"No, it's tomorrow." Then she suddenly took a long step backward to sit on her desk. "Wait, how long have you been standing there?!"
Squeaking in alarm at the sharpness in Haruna-sensei's tone, she said, "I d-dunno, a minute?"
"NO! You can't have overheard my rehearsal!"
"Rehearsal?" Glancing at the desk, she saw a stack of printed pages, stapled at one corner and folded back. A script? "Wh-what…?"
Now it was Haruna's face that was red, and she was pushing her hands into her cheeks. "Please never tell anyone! I'm auditioning for a local production, it's… oh, I'm so embarrassed!" Turning away fully, she snapped, "Y-you can consider tomorrow's detention taken care of if you promise to keep this a secret!"
"Y-yes, of course, Haruna-sensei! I will!"
All the way down the hallway, Usagi felt like a complete idiot as she sprinted on flailing feet. How could she have possibly thought those words were intended for her?! How conceited her poor bun-head was! The sooner she could forget this whole incident, the better.
~ X ~
"Yes, Usagi Tsukino," Dark Lady purred as she reached out to grasp Sailor Moon's face, caressing her tear-stained, flushed cheeks. "I was once your pathetic Chibiusa. But now… I have transcended that form. Thanks to the power of the Black Moon, I can now remove you from my life. Take Mamoru for my own. And you are powerless to stop it."
Usagi had to swallow hard to keep her heart from racing ahead of her. She found herself leaning closer and closer to the gorgeous face above her, breathing, "Chibiusa…"
"My name is Dark Lady now, Moon Face." But their lips were getting closer and closer. "W-wait, what are you doing? Stop, don't you understand your position? You've lost! Both your love and y- STOP IT!"
But Usagi was already blowing into Chibiusa's nose. The taller, glamorous version of her future daughter squawked and tried to push her away, but it was no use; Usagi had latched on and formed a perfect seal around the tiny nose, which was causing a harsh razzing noise to issue from her open mouth, since the air had nowhere else to go.
"AAGH!" she finally gasped out when she had freed herself, both hands rubbing at her nose and her mouth to rid them of the lingering discomfort. "That's disgusting! How dare y- wait, let go of me, let go!"
Bending her over her knee, Usagi shouted, "And THIS is for thinking we didn't love you! Silly little brat, you can't marry your father and destroy the universe! If you take him away from me, how are you even gonna be born? That doesn't make any sense!"
Every time her hand crashed into Dark Lady's behind, she called out "AH!" or "NO!" until the tears began to fall. Not long afterward, her slender supermodel body began to shrink down into the chubby child that Usagi had come to know and find annoying.
"There, there," she whispered gently as she drew her up into a tight hug, letting her bawl into her shoulder. "It's okay, Chibiusa. It's okay. Mommy's not going anywhere."
"You're not M-Mommy! You're just a dumb… dumb Bun-head I… I'm s-so sad and my b-butt hurts!"
With a little chuckle, she kissed the side of her head. "I know, I know. Your mom from the future's a thousand years older and probably way smarter… but I'm still her. We both love you and want you to be happy. And if you think killing me and everyone else is going to do that…"
The tears only got louder. Somewhere in all her blubbering, Usagi heard the word "sorry" being screamed, so she smiled to herself as she cradled Chibiusa close.
"Shhhh. It's alright, sweetie. Everything's going to be alright."
Well, once they took care of Wiseman and the Black Moon, of course. But things were already looking up. How difficult could they be?
~ X ~
"Actually, I'm serious. You have Sailor V right here, in your room, ready to listen. What have you always wanted to tell her?" Turning around, she caught sight of the comfortable bench in front of Usagi's vanity and took a seat — though she kept her posture erect, hoping that was how a "superhero" would sit. "Go on."
"Well… no, I couldn't." But Minako didn't flinch, or do anything other than sit patiently. So eventually, Usagi sat on the edge of her bed, looking down at her knees. "You really want to hear all that?"
"Of course. Sailor V fights to protect the world in the name of love and justice! What her fans think of her is very important, too."
The blush was coming back now that they weren't tittering so much. After a few seconds of kicking her legs back and forth, toes skimming over the pink area rug, she finally whispered, "I… oh, this is so lame! I'M so lame!"
"You're not. I promise. Come on, tell me anything."
"Well, alright." Clearing her throat, she straightened her back and forced herself to be brave. "I'm actually not Sailor Moon."
"What?" Minako's eyes narrowed behind her mask. "I mean… what are you talking about? Of course you are."
"Actually, I just start the transformation sequence flashing, and then I call for my stunt double. Serena?" Another blonde with pigtails emerged from inside Usagi's closet, waving bashfully. "Look how cute she is. Seriously, can you believe how cute?!"
One of Sailor V's fingers raised, then lowered again as her mouth opened and closed. No, she definitely didn't have the words for this. So she asked the only thing she could think to ask right off the cuff: "Where… does she live? Like, you can't seriously expect me to believe she just sits in your closet until the world needs Sailor Moon?"
"Ohhh, don't be silly! Okay, look."
They both got up, and Serena seemed more than happy to slide the closet door aside for them to peek in. Behind the clothes was a somewhat comfortable-looking chair, a book light, and a few trashy magazines. Most of them were in English, which Minako knew Usagi couldn't read very well.
"Is she, like… not from Japan?"
"Hey, we don't have actual magical girls here, do we?"
"What about Rei, and Ami, and Makoto?"
"Okay, besides them," she whispered, waving a hand as if that were an unimportant bullet point in an otherwise flawless presentation. Meanwhile, Serena was examining her nails and waiting for them to get done with this show-and-tell. "Anyway, I bring her snacks, and she has weekends off unless an emergency comes up. Those days when I look really wimpy and can barely do anything against the enemies? That's because I have to wear the suit myself. Just not nearly as great at the job as she is, but I mean, I'm the Moon Princess. Not an actual Senshi."
In a weirdly stilted dialect, Serena said, "Yeah. Moon Princess. She is so beautiful, and good! I want to be…" In English, she said, "God, I'm never gonna get this. The tapes aren't helping."
"It's okay!" Minako replied in the same language. "We can speak English if that's easier."
"Thank GOD. Normally, I try to stick to the lines Usagi coaches me in, but like, WOW is it hard to remember the conversational stuff." Then she smiled a little wider. "I like fighting alongside you guys! Y'know, when I can. Too bad we have to keep up appearances or I'd just fight with you and the Princess."
"Now, now, that would just get confusing," Usagi said reasonably, her own English not quite as good so she stuck to Japanese. "Besides, the whole point was to keep me out of danger, and not make you do the stand-in work, right, V?"
"Oh yeah! In that case… yeah, thanks, Serena."
"Anytime," the double said with a huge grin. "Y'know, we should all go out to eat! I mean, I still don't really know much about Japanese food besides rice and ramen…"
Warming to the subject, Usagi bounced over and looped her arm through both Minako and Serena's elbows. "C'mon, let's go right now! I mean, I'm not busy if you're not — you'd just have to do something about that hair so we don't raise suspicions by looking too alike."
"Yeah… hey, why not?" Mina said with a slowly-growing smile. "We have all this time to ourselves, and I think we could all be awesome friends! Blonde Brigade for life!"
"Yes!" Serena said, again in Japanese. "The friends for us to be!"
And away they skipped to find a decent restaurant. Right after Minako de-transformed, and the stunt double stuffed all her hair up until a giant hat, to keep her from being recognised; wouldn't want their connection to the Sailor Scouts to be that public.
~ X ~
"Luna, no one understands me!" Usagi burst out as she threw herself down on her bed. "Rei is so mean all the time, and Tuxedo Mask acts like I'm not even alive…. Wh-what do I do?"
A paw came to rest on her head. "Don't worry, Sailor Moon. I'm always going to be here for you. Even when they all turn a blind eye to your inner pain, I won't. Even though I'm hard on you sometimes… it's because I care, and I hope to make you better than you are. To show you the path to your best self."
Her hand came up to rest gently against the back of her feline companion. "Oh… oh Luna, you're so sweet…" Her lips moved forward, and pressed into a tiny muzzle. "If only you were Tuxedo Mask… someone as kind and caring as you would be way better than that selfish creep. All he cares about is the Silver Crystal and throwing flowers! Not like my Luna, who sees who I really am… who's so soft…"
The room was mostly silent for a moment. Then Luna muttered, "If you start trying to make out with me, I'll scratch you blind, Bun-head."
"What? Oh, sorry; I wasn't going to, I promise!"
Usagi flopped over onto her side and curled up with a pillow, feeling bad that she made Luna uncomfortable on accident. Maybe she needed to start chewing ice, or exercising… anything to take the edge off these annoying desires.
"You ought to go and see Koan," Luna suggested with a large sweatdrop over the crescent moon symbol on her forehead. "After all, you seemed to get along fairly well with her, and her hairstyle resembles cat ears. Vent your strange urges on her and leave me alone."
"Ehh? Luna, please, you really don't-"
The small feline face now bore a smirk. "I've heard you calling out her name in your sleep…"
Blushing to the roots of her hair, Usagi curled a little harder against her pillow. It was true that she was very glad Koan and her sisters had been saved from Black Moon's influence, given a new chance to live honest lives, but she hadn't realised the tall, glamorous woman was on her mind so deeply. And it was true that she liked her, and looked forward to seeing her…
"Maybe I will." When Luna chuckled, she sat up and grabbed her pillow to slam it down on the cat. "TO SAY 'HELLO', kitanai neko!" There was a lot of squabbling and flailing underneath it as Usagi stood and stomped toward the door. This was the last time she would ever trust her cat-shaped companion not to tease her over nothing.
~ X ~
"So which of us is it gonna be?!"
Usagi backed up shakily from the glares of the five women in front of her, hands held up to ward off their negative radiation. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"We can't all be your girlfriends," Ami told her reasonably, arms folded over her chest. "Be rational."
"Yeah!" Makoto chimed in. "Isn't it hard enough being a lesbian in Nineties Japan and taken seriously? Just make up your mind already!"
"But I'm only dating you guys in separate 'verses!" Usagi protested, backed against the wall by now. "God, I don't even know how you guys found out about it — technically, it's against the laws of physics!"
Rei slammed her hand against the wall next to Usagi's head. "Doesn't matter, bubble-brain! You can't two-time us, and you sure as hell can't five-time us! That's just too far!"
Unable to help herself, Usagi muttered under her breath, "Sheeeeeze, when you or Makoto act so strong, I get chills…"
"Um," Naru put in nervously, scratching the back of her neck. "I feel a little out of place here for some reason. Maybe I should just go…"
"That'd probably be for the best," Minako confirmed.
"Wait, don't!" Slipping out from behind Rei's arm, she ran over to grasp her old friend's arm, clinging tightly. "Don't go, I can't let you leave thinking that you're not as important as my new friends!"
"New girlfriends," Makoto corrected, sounding jealous but also hurt. And Usagi's heart was breaking.
"Alright," Ami finally said after having spent some time typing into her miniature Supercomputer. "There seems to only be one logical course of action. Usagi should spend time with each of us, and reach a decision as to which woman she wishes to date. If she can reach no such decision within an appointed trial period, she will forfeit all dating rights."
As the others were all pondering that, beginning to nod, Usagi slumped. "But I told you, I'm not dating all of you. Not really! It's like, five different Usagis are dating you, not just one for five girls! You get that, right?"
"Shut up and decide!" Rei snarled. "And it better be me — you've seen me naked!"
"Hey, that's not our fault," Minako protested, hands on her hips. "Just because you're some kind of slu-"
"OH!" Naru burst out, hopping up and down with an index finger raised. "How about a kiss-off? Best kisser wins!"
Before Usagi knew what was happening, they were all muttering their agreement and pressing in closer to her. Their lips were puckered, all vying for the attentions of her own, and she felt sweat break out over her forehead. Suddenly the bed was rising up to meet her back, and all five of them were atop her, warm bodies pressed in close, kisses being left all over her face, she couldn't get away, couldn't breathe-
The blare of her alarm clock woke Usagi from the feverish dream. It took her several seconds of heaving breaths before she realised… it had been a nightmare. The sheets were somewhat coiled around her, and a thin layer of sweat coated her entire body. Also, she felt warmth blossoming in her face.
"All five of them?! I must be crazy…"
"What's the problem, dear?"
Rolling over, she curled around the presence beside her in the bed. "I had this bizarre dream. All of my friends were coming onto me — girls, I mean. No more coffee cake before sleepytime!"
"Oh, Usagi-chan…" Rolling over, Gurio Umino adjusted his glasses as he leaned closer to her face. "Too much time spent on the Internet. Leave that to me! Maybe I can find upskirt pictures of them for you in one of my newsgroups?"
Usagi Tsukino was still screaming, even as she woke up from the nightmare that had been sandwiched around the other nightmare. The first thing she did was throw her sheet and duvet aside, making sure she was alone in her bed. Then she pinched her own leg; success. She was actually awake this time.
"Phew… there's a bad dream, and then there's a horrible nightmare. I'd rather be mauled in the first one!"
"Usagi!" came the call from outside her bedroom. "You'll be late for school if you don't hurry up!"
Still a little dazed, she called out "OKAY, MOM!" as she got changed and raced downstairs. Another day of school awaited. She only hoped she wouldn't feel too awkward around her friends after such dreams as the ones she had been plagued by the night before.
"Seriously, all five of them?!" Usagi burst out as she raced down the street, fuku flapping behind her in the wind that her speed was creating. "You're out of your mind, Sailor Moon!"
THE END [for real this time]