Hime

Nerves that were uncharacteristic of her were flitting around in her stomach, as Usagi tugged at her and Mamoru's arms, pulling them toward Crown parlor.

"Ooh, I can't wait to introduce you to my friends! Another senshi! This is so exciting!" the tiny blonde bubbled, as the sliding doors parted for the trio.

"How many others are there?" Kat asked, betraying her own nerves.

"Well, there's..." Usagi stopped to think, counting silently on her fingers. "Ten of us? If you include Chibimoon and myself."

"Ten?!" She was not expecting that many.

"Oh! But don't worry, not everybody is here all the time. Haruka and Michiru and Setsuna and Hotaru kind of like to... keep to themselves. And Chibimoon is in the future with Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion," she continued to babble on.

"Endymion? Neo Queen...?" Kat stopped walking, and looked up at her brother, who went by the same name in a previous life, with her, and Princess Serenity.

Usagi stopped walking and looked back at the siblings. "Eh... uhm... yeah. So... Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion are me and Mamo-chan in the future. And Chibiusa is their... our daughter." Usagi poked her two pointer fingers together a couple of times, sounding slightly embarrassed.

It was Kat's turn for her mouth to fall open slightly, at a complete loss for words. So Usagi continued. "Chibiusa - Chibimoon - comes and visits us here, in the past, sometimes. She also comes to see Hotaru - they're best friends, you see."

Kat closed her eyes for a moment. She just spent the past few months trying to wrap her head around her past. But there was a future world she had to think about too? She couldn't help but smile, though. The idea that the prince and princess still existed in another time made her happy. "Well, I can't wait to meet her sometime."

"I guess that would make her your niece!" Usagi exclaimed, excitedly, now that she knew she didn't freak Kat out.

"So, then, if she's from the future... Does she already know about me?" The question tumbled from Kat's lips before she could swallow it. It didn't want to impose on their lives in any way, and that question almost felt too close to the line.

Usagi and Mamoru exchanged an unsure glance. "Eh... She hasn't said anything about you, before," Usagi started, carefully.

"Yeah, but, I only became aware of your existence after you did. So maybe, your... awakening will start to spark something in all of our memories?" Mamoru was quick to offer.

"Yeah, yeah!" Usagi agreed just as quickly. She grabbed Kat's and Mamoru's hands, pulling them along again, as she walked backwards towards a booth full of four other girls and two... cats?

"Usagi-chan!" A blonde with a red bow stood up, beaming. All the girls looked up at the sound of Usagi's announcement. They looked like they were going to greet her, but their voices stuck in their throats at the sight of the newcomer.

The girl with the blue bob spoke up first. "Who's your new friend, Usagi?"

Kat suddenly felt very under the microscope. All she had planned on doing was meeting her brother today. But she'd already met him, his fiancé - the moon princess - heard of their daughter, and she was meeting other senshi, that she had only had a very faint knowledge of just until an hour ago. Her face felt hot - was she blushing?

"This is Roun Katrina! She's... well..." Usagi stopped again, looking up at Kat and Mamoru, as if asking them to finish explaining for her.

Mamoru cleared his throat and put his free hand on Kat's shoulder. "This is my sister, from the Silver Millennium."

"Whaaat!?" All four girls - and the cats - cried at once, in disbelief.

"Your sister!?" the raven-haired girl repeated, the words almost sounding funny on her tongue. "Mamoru, honestly, how long have you been keeping this a secret from us?" she demanded.

"He didn't know," Kat was quick to jump in. "I just... found him today. I only got my memories back a few months ago."

"Right around the time Galaxia... killed me." Mamoru added.

"Wait, what!?" Kat's head snapped up. "You died again?"

Mamoru quickly put up his hands in defense. "Yeah... When you showed me your memories, I saw more than just our past, I saw your life up until... well, today, really."

"Kat is a sailor senshi, just like us!" Usagi added, with much excitement.

The girls began throwing a barrage of questions at Mamoru and Katrina.

"Here, here, let me just show you," Kat offered. She glanced around, there weren't many people in the Crown parlor, so she felt fairly safe letting the other girls see her past. She wasn't aware that her past also included her transforming for the first time in the present and fighting the phages, which she assumed came from this Galaxia that her brother had mentioned. The girls each put a hand in the middle of the table, fingertips touching, and Kat hovered her hand over theirs. Her signature rosy-golden glow illuminated her fingertips and warmth flooded over the other girls' hands. They were all silent as the memories merged in their minds. Kat also sensed the two cats presences in the peripheral of her mind.

They all opened their eyes as Kat pulled her hand back. They blinked slowly, and looked at her with new eyes. Not recognition, but acceptance. The warmth that squeezed at Kat's heart was new and unfamiliar. She'd never had so many people around her before.

"Sailor Earth," the brunette said, wonder in her voice.

They each began to introduce themselves - Minako, Sailor Venus, Makoto, Sailor Jupiter, Rei, Sailor Mars, Ami, Sailor Mercury, and even the two cats - Artemis and Luna. They all moved to make way for her to sit amongst them. Mamoru excused himself, kissing Usagi atop her head, saying something about really needing to study, and he was so, so sorry, but he promised Usagi and Kat that they could all get together for dinner that night. Kat wasn't in the least bit nervous about her brother leaving her behind with these girls she'd only just met. It felt like she'd always known them, Usagi especially.

Conversation quickly bubbled up, about school and studies, and eating and sleeping and gaming (courtesy of Usagi, herself). It was clear the girls had a deep bond, one that went far beyond them just being sailor senshi. The girls asked where Kat lived, where she went to school, what she did for a living, etc.

Kat tucked some hair behind her ear, looking down at the strawberry parfait sitting in front of her (one that Usagi had insisted that she try). "Well... I live in Hakone right now... but I've been looking at moving here and studying at Keio University. I want to continue studying biology, with an emphasis at animal husbandry and conservation. I'm currently a vet tech at one of the best vets in Hakone, but I want to be able to do much more."

"So like, zoology?" Ami asked, smiling gently at her.

"Yeah, exactly like zoology, actually. I would love to work at the Tokyo zoo, eventually. But that seems like such a long ways down the road. Especially after discovering who I really am. But it's gotten so quiet since you beat Galaxia, that I feel like I might be able to dedicate more of myself to my studies."

Ami nodded sagely. "Being a sailor guardian can be a lot of work, itself. But I've been able to maintain my studies and honor roll, so it's not impossible." Usagi and Minako groaned and rolled their eyes a little bit.

Kat laughed. "I take it you two aren't too fond of school?"

Rei smorted. "Usagi avoids studying like the plague. And her grades show how vested she is in her 'studies'."

"Why should I try to memorize something I'm going to forget immediately? And it's something that's not so important anyway, not like being Sailor Moon is!" Usagi's voice grew louder with determination.

"Shhh!" The girls were quick to shush her, and she hung her head slightly.

Kat laughed. "You're such good friends."

"What about your friends, Kat-chan?" Usagi asked, innocently.

Kat wasn't used to the affectionate nickname. It made her feel warm and welcomed. "Well... I don't really have friends outside of my coworkers back home, really," she admitted, quietly.

"Don't worry, we'll be your friends, from now on!" Usagi cheered. "Especially if you're going to move here! Oh, you have to move here! Us scouts have to stick together!"

Kat smiled at her. "You really think so?"

"Of course I do! You can't stay alone! Especially now that Mamo-chan knows he has a sister. Mamo's parents... they died in a car accident when he was younger. So he's never had any blood relatives around. He was an orphan when he was younger. But I'm his family now! I could be... your family too, if you would let me." Usagi offered a soft, small, genuine smile. Kat couldn't help but feel the warmness spread through her. Though there was something that tugged sadly at her heart. How her brother grew up, it didn't sound too much different than her upbringing. Though her parents hadn't died. They had just given her up. She spent most of her life feeling unwanted, and like she didn't belong. But here, now, sitting with the five other girls, and knowing that Mamoru was in her life, it felt like she'd never really been alone at all.

That night, Usagi and Katrina went to Mamoru's apartment. When they walked in, the rich smell of home-cooked udon ramen warmed the sparse living-space.

"I don't cook often," Mamoru admitted, when he saw Kat eyeing the cooking food. "But this felt like an extra special occasion." He smiled at her and rested his hand atop her head, like he always used to do. It made her smile, fondly.

Everything about this day had gone so much better than she had expected it to. In fact, she had been pretty sure that she wasn't even going to find her brother on this short trip at all. At the very least, she would check out Keio and talk to some professors, to see if it would be a good fit for her. But here she was, with her brother, and her new-found friend, whom she felt as if she had known her whole life. Usagi was purity and goodness and sunshine and love. It was no wonder she was Sailor Moon, and Princess Serenity. Even when she wolfed down her double chocolate parfait, leaving whipped cream and chocolate on her face, somehow Kat could still envision her as the princess of the Moon Kingdom. Even when she bickered with Rei in a losing argument, she could see it. Even when she tripped over the lip of the step up into Mamoru's apartment, Kat couldn't shake the vision of who Usagi once was; who she was destined to be.

"It looks so delicious, En- Mamoru," Kat said, whilst Usagi peered over her shoulder.

Usagi giggled. "Mamo-chan, it looks soooo yummy! Much better than the instant noodles that Mama buys me!"

Mamoru laughed, and turned his affections to his fiancé. He slipped an arm around her waist, kissing her tenderly. Kat turned away. She wasn't used to this level of love, or any sort of stable relationship. Because of the way she'd grown up, and the deep-seeded feeling that there was something so very different inside of her, none of her relationships had lasted past the one year mark. And that was only a one time thing. All of her other relationships lasted far less, it seemed. Not that she minded - it had given her time to focus on her studies, and her job. But seeing her brother and Usagi together, Katrina felt a pang in her chest.

Quietly, she pulled herself away from the small, but open kitchen, and padded around Mamoru's living space. It was very minimalistic, and she got the feeling that he didn't spend a whole lot of time here, save for sleeping. It was very clear that Usagi didn't spend more than a bit of a time here, either, as there wasn't a woman's touch to be seen. Not even a trace of clothing.

"Oh, Mamo-chan! Katrina-chan is looking at enrolling at Keio!" Kat perked up at the sound of her name, and looked at the couple in the kitchenette, mainly her brother. He had one raised brow.

"Oh really? What for?" He sounded genuinely interested.

"Biology. Zoology to be more specific."

"Yeah! Yeah! She wants to work at the zoo. Wouldn't that be so cool, Mamo-chan? She could spend all her days working with cute little animals!" Usagi was so animated.

Mamoru smiled at Kat. "That doesn't surprise me. From what I can remember, you were very much an animal-whisperer, even when you were a little girl." It sounded weird having someone refer to her at such a young age. She was used to people knowing that part of her. No one had ever stuck around long enough to even try and learn.

She laughed, a little self conscious now. "I guess I did spend a lot of time in the gardens, and the woods, getting to know the animals in the area."

"Ooh. Like a real-life Snow White?" Usagi sounded fascinated.

"Well... I never sang to them." Kat's face was a little flushed. She wasn't used to all of the attention, and positive feedback she was receiving from both of them.

Kat was absolutely flabbergasted when she saw the way Usagi wolfed down three full bowls of ramen, not even waiting for them to cool down, and gasping and whining every time she took an especially hot bite. "Where does it all go?" Kat asked, half joking.

Usagi shrugged.

"That's what I wonder, all the time," Mamoru said with a chuckle.

Once they were all finished, Usagi and Kat stood in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes.

"You and Mamoru are really close, huh?" Kat asked. Usagi was happily wiping the dishes dry, and putting them away, as she went.

"Of course!" she answered, without missing a beat. "I mean... he's my soul mate. And if time has proven anything to us, it's that we'll always find our way back to each other, every time." Usagi grew quiet for a moment, as if she were deep in thought. "I mean, Queen Beryl killed and brainwashed him, but he came back. Then, he was receiving warning dreams from King Endymion in the future, warning him that he might be my downfall. So we broke up. But he came back. And the Dark Moon Circus was draining his crystal with their powers, while they were here. But he never went anywhere, at least not completely. And then Galaxia... killed him. I thought he was just overseas, studying in America, and he didn't have time for me. But he came back, once I defeated the Chaos in Galaxia."

"You know what I'm hearing?"

"What's that?"

"That you, and your love, have saved him time and time again. Without you battling to protect this planet, and everyone on it, none of us might be here right now. I really wish I had gotten to know you sooner, Usagi." Kat's voice had grown a little softer, a little more quiet.

Usagi stopped wiping, and peered up at the other woman. "But... you're here now, and that's all that matters, right?" She smiled so brightly, the room seemed to glow with her energy.

"Right." Kat smiled warmly back at her.

"Usako!" Mamoru burst from his bathroom, in dark grey sweatpants, his hair still dripping wet from his shower. His voice was urgent. "People are being attacked downtown!"