Sailor Moon is copyright 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi. North
American Rights for Sailor Moon are owned by D.I.C.

Rating:  PG-13


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Part I - Recovery
Epilogue


	By the end of November, the five had grown very
close.  Although they each had their own lives to
attend to and did not see each other as much as they
would have liked, they kept in touch through the
telephone, e-mail, chat, and periodic lunches at El
Café.

	Jiro's boss had been able to get him the job.
He now worked under Hiroshi & Son.  He spent his days
fighting for abused wives and children.  When he
received the job, he moved in with Kiyoshi.  He could
no longer stay in a hotel, because he was no longer on
vacation.

	Kiyoshi was working part time as a martial arts
instructor, and was in his last year at Azabu
Institute.  As of now, he was planning on opening his
own martial arts gym.  It could start out small and
then expand.

	Noriko was nick named Riko by the other guys,
just because it was shorter; Usagi, however, still
preferred Noriko, claiming it was more sophisticated.
He was still working at the restaurant, The Cheesecake
Factory.  It was apparently very popular in America
and the company had decided to try and expand it.  He
shared an apartment with Zared in Juubangai.  Usagi
seemed hesitant to visit them sometimes, again
prompting curiosity.

	Zared had decided that he wanted to get a job as
a physical therapist.  He enrolled at the same school
Kiyoshi was attending and held a part-time intern job
at Tokyo Hospital.

	Usagi was still volunteering at the hospital.
She and Mia remained close, and she continued to do
better than expected in school.  She never got over
what she saw that one October day.  But she had
learned to deal with it.  After all, what more could
she do?  He had gotten on with his life; she could at
least pretend she was doing the same.

	Though the five were close, personal aspects of
their lives had yet to surface.

	Nishia - one of the waitresses at El Café -
stretched out her arms above her head and arched her
back, standing on her toes.

	"Man, talk about an afternoon rush!" she
exclaimed to Kai.

	He only smiled and said, "Oh, it wasn't that
bad."

	"Maybe 'cause you preferred to hide behind the
counter and push buttons while she ran around the
room!" Usagi retorted, while grabbing a seat at the
counter.

	Kai grinned as Nishia walked away.

	"Hey, you," a familiar voice greeted, while
pulling on Usagi's ponytail.

	"Don't pull my hair, Jiro!  That's so 6th
grade," she said while batting his hands away.

	"Well, SOR-REE! Ms. Maturity," he threw back at
her.

	She rolled her eyes and merely said, "Get a
life."

	"I have one, thank-you-very-much."

	"One that's worth something, dear."

	Jiro clutched his hands over his heart.  "The
pain I endure, so she is blessed by my presence!" he
said dramatically.

	"Blessed?" Usagi echoed.  "If this is blessed, I
hope to God I am never cursed."

	Jiro pouted, while the four other men present
watched rolled their eyes and Usagi smiled sweetly.
Even Kai had gotten used to their daily spats.  It was
actually amusing at times.

	Usagi sat down next to her surrogate brothers
and listened to their conversation, as Kai went back
to work.  They were talking about sports or something.
She didn't really care, so she let her mind wander.

	'So much has happened in the four months I've
known them.  I'm more open.  I can even look at the
senshi now.  I don't turn away anymore.  I have my
self-confidence back - at least some of it.  I can
talk to them; I can trust them.

	But they still don't know.

	They don't know who I am.  They don't know
what's happened.  They don't know about the senshi.
Or about Mamoru.'

	Usagi's eyes misted over slightly, and she
stared at the counter.

	'I can't tell them.  I trust them, but it hurts
	so much.'

		'_Can_ you tell them?' a voice asked.

	'Of course I can.  If I wanted to . . .'

		'You can't tell them.  You can't because
		you know they'll scorn you.  They'll agree
		with everything Mamoru said.'

	'No!  They'd be on my side!  They're _MY_
	friends!'

		'And the senshi were . . . what?'

	'I can trust them!  I know I can!'

		Something similar to laughter sounded.

	'I can . . . can't I?'

	Usagi's faced twisted into something similar to
desperation and confusion.

	"Usagi.  Usagi.  Usagi!  Hel-LO!  Earth to
Usagi!  Usagi, come in!  Houston, we have a problem!"
Noriko called.

	Usagi's head snapped up.  She let her eyes focus
before frowning.  "Who's Houston?"

	Noriko and Zared looked at each other.  Both
mumbled, "Never mind."

	Jiro frowned at them slightly before turning to
Usagi.  "You okay?  You kinda zoned out on us."

	"Mmm . . . I'm okay."

	"You sure?" Kiyoshi asked, unconvinced.

	Usagi looked into their faces and saw they
weren't buying it.  She pasted on a smile.  "I'm
fine!" she insisted.  "It's just that school's been
stressing me out lately . . . And I'm worried about
Mia; she might have another operation," she added.

	They nodded their heads, not completely
believing her, but not knowing what else to say.  They
resumed their conversation.

	Usagi stared at the band on stage.

	'I can tell them.  I really can!  And I will!'

	' . . . Just not today.'


~ ~ ~  End  ~ ~ ~


Author's Notes:

	Hey guys!  Can you believe it?  I actually got
this far!  Woohoo!  =)

	Anyways, a couple people emailed me saying the
story started to lag.  Sorry.  After the next couple
of chapters, things start rolling.  Seriously!  Stay
with me, k?

	Another thing: For those of you who know who
Kiyoshi, Jiro, Noriko, and Zared are, _they_ don't
know who they are yet.

	In the next part, I am going to introduce the
senshi (finally).  Also, I'm gonna get more into
what's going on with Mamoru and Leslie (the girl he
was kissing).  It _is_ of relevance.

	When I started this story, I had a set ending in
mind.  Now, I'm not so sure.  People have been
emailing me about Usagi getting with Mamoru, Seiya, or
Jiro.  So, now, I have no idea what my ending's gonna
be.  We're very far from the ending, trust me on that.
But I'm just saying - if anyone has any ideas . . .
feel free.

	If you guys didn't know, I am developing this
into a series.  I don't know why.  I think it'd just
be better.  I'm hopin' you guys will keep reading.

	To all the people who have emailed me:

	THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

	It's great knowing that people are reading my
story.  And a couple people have given me some ideas.
So, again, I'm open to all criticism, comments, and
ideas.

	Thanks for reading!

HoNeY
hnymustd@hotmail.com
4/21/00