Rainbow Day's Side-Stories

 

 

When Mamoru returned from Japan and eventually began seeing Usagi, they had held out hope that not everything had been lost. Certainly, the four friends understood why the two had broken up. In fact, in Rei's opinion, it was probably for the best for everyone. Things hadn't worked out as they thought it did after Galaxia and all, and some were having second thoughts about Crystal Tokyo- however that would happen- and their role there.

 

Usagi was their best friend and princess, but her personality hadn't been what it was before. They gave her grace for a lot of it. After all, they knew better than anyone else on this planet how unimaginably hard it must've been for her to fight against them by herself and then sacrifice herself to wake them all up to defeat Chaos.

 

But somethings were crossing the line. Her trust in them had waned somehow, but they didn't understand how it came to be. After all, they were her guardians, and the guardians over this planet. They would have had to interact with Mamoru. Not only that they were also his friends too.

 

So why did she think they were trying to steal him from her? It baffled them. It hurt their feelings even more. So, when he left, it was thought to be a temporary separation. After all, Usagi and Mamoru had loved each other for two lifetimes and two years through everything. They wouldn't really move on to others.

 

Except, when a small child that had tagged along after Usagi came to the Crown Arcade with her. They meet here all the time still, even though their fighting days were over. The comfort and familiarity of the place made them feel the most safe. Usually, they meet there and head next door to the Fruit Parlor for a nice long chat.

 

Minako's the first to notice.

 

"Hey, Usagi!" She greeted then glanced from the child hiding behind Usagi and to her, "Are you babysitting for a coworker?"

 

"Ah..." Usagi smiled a bit and then looked down, " It's ok. These are my friends." She told the girl. Then she looked up at them once more, " Everyone, I want you to meet Nijiko Chiba."

 

"Chiba?" The women looked between themselves.

 

"A cousin?" Makoto guessed.

 

"No." Usagi blinked, " His daughter."

 

Rei spat out her drink. Ami blushed to the roots, Minako did a double take, and Makoto just stared.

 

"I didn't think you'd all be that surprised." Usagi laughed softly, " Mamo-chan's got a meeting today that'll run late, so I picked up Nijiko from daycare in his stead."

 

"How, When?" Rei demanded, " I mean- I thought-?"

 

Usagi shrugged, " I'll explain later." She turned to Nijiko and offering her some money, " Why don't you go play some games? Ok? If you need help just come get me."

 

Nijiko nodded, her purple eyes nervously went from Usagi to the women then back before she took it and ran off to play.

 

Usagi sighed, " Geeze, you guys must've scared her!" She stood, smoothing out her skirts, "She's still really scared about being here."

 

"Again, how? When? What happened?" Rei was not about to let this go.

 

Usagi sat down with them and ordered a chocolate milkshake, "It's not really that hard to figure out, Rei." She leaned against the counter for a bit, " Mamo-chan met someone while he was away at college. I figured you'd know how babies are made, right?"

 

Rei blushed a bit, and sat back in her seat, " As if you-!"

 

"What Rei means, " Ami interrupted, "Is we all thought that you and Mamoru would be together still?"

 

"Yeah, how come you're so calm about this?" Minako asked, " I mean, it's not the kid's fault for existing, obviously, but still...? Aren't you mad?"

 

"How can I be?" Usagi smiled politely when she got her drink and sipped on it, "We broke up. For real. It wasn't a break from each other it was we weren't going to see each other again." She stirred the whip cream in, keeping an eye on Nijiko. "It's not like we planned on getting back together either."

 

"What?" The four women exclaimed and then realized where they were before they kept their voices down, " What do you mean?" Makoto asked, " After everything- !"

 

"I know." Usagi lifted a shoulder then sighed, " But I wasn't being a good person, was I? I know if he was with someone else that acted the way I had, I wouldn't want him to put up with that." She looked over at them, " I made my peace with it. She's here and he loves his child. I love her too. She's a good kid and lost her mom not too long ago."

 

"She lost her mother?" The others became somewhat quiet at that.

 

Usagi nodded, " Mamo-chan said that her mother died just a bit after she turned two. It's been just him and her for a while. That's why we took things a bit slowly." Usagi's gaze drifted to the girl that seemed to have decided to play an old Sailor V game. " How can I be mad about any of that? Someone loved him. They spent whatever time they had with him and gave him a beautiful child. I- How could I be angry about it?"

 

"Because it's supposed to be you and Chibiusa, wasn't it?" Ami said softly though she frowns a little, "I mean, that's what we were told."

 

"To be fair, we didn't exactly see a lot while there." Makoto picked up her tea, "We were kind of busy."

 

"Yeah, I'll say. It's not like we had time to site see." Minako sighed, " I just wanted to know if I made it to the silver screen!"

 

"Minako..." They laughed softly.

 

After a while, Rei asked, "So, what do you think this'll do to the future?"

 

Usagi shrugged and slurped up her milkshake til it was empty, " I've decided to let the future take care of itself. I have what I want. My friends, my family, and peace. What more could any of us really ask for?"

 

They agreed, of course. What more could any of them ask for?

 

 

 

To say that some of the Outers were a bit distant wasn't really an exaggeration. While Usagi started wedding preparations and the like, Setsuna was mulling over the change in the timeline. Not that this was the first time this has happened. In fact, it's happened several times any time anyone made a decision. It's truly a headache, to be sure. It's something she'd gotten used to.

 

what she hadn't gotten used to was being blocked from seeing the future at any given time. And she's seen multiple variations of it. Some where it doesn't even exist. So, this was really a unique feeling that only lasted until Mamoru and Usagi started dating again. The real moment it was unblocked was when he proposed to Usagi. Then the future seemed clearer but still not quite as solid as it once was.

 

Discovering the reason for it was because Mamoru had gone off and married someone else and had a child by them was what nearly took her out, so to speak. At first, she was in disbelief, then denial. Finally, she simply accepted it as it was when she downed some very expensive wine. She came to realize that it's truly a gamble. Sometimes, you don't win.

 

The real issue, though, was Hotaru. Hotaru was attached to Chibiusa and the idea that the pink haired girl might not exist in this time period could do a number on the girl. She especially hadn't taken it well when Usagi and Mamoru broke up. Setsuna believed that her being so knowledgable was probably a problem for her. She resolved that if Hotaru continued to have issues with it, she'd simply erased that knowledge of the past and Chibiusa from her memories. If only to save the poor girl's feelings and sanity.

 

Which leads to now. The fittings. Setsuna had volunteered to help with selecting wedding gowns and bridesmaids gowns. It was easily the most fun and stressful part of the process. Usagi had brought along Nijiko so she could be fitted with a flower girl's dress and to help with the selection process.

 

Immediately, Michiru and Haruka seemed to pull the girl between them and keep her company. The child was still a nervous little thing. Setsuna felt a small pang for her situation. She couldn't even be five yet. She seemed so small around them. It reminded her a little of Chibiusa when she first visited. Shy, awkward little girl that didn't seem to have any friends. She wondered if this girl had any. It didn't seem so.

 

She glanced over at Hotaru who was picking at some of the dresses, looking thoughtfully towards one that was an extremely pale lavender color. Hotaru was a teenager again. All of 12-13yrs old now. After the whole thing with the Galaxy Cauldron and Galaxia, she'd been able to age normally in the mean time.

 

It also meant she didn't really have any interest in the four year old that was currently hiding with her adoptive parents. Which was naturally to be expected. The two had nothing in common with each other. Setsuna just hoped things would remain civil and peaceful.

 

"Oh! What about this one?" Usagi called out coming out in a beautiful white dress with roses. " I love it!"

 

"It looks beautiful on you." Setsuna said, smiling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little girl, Nijiko, eyes widen with a small smile forming. Setsuna felt her smile warm up more. She closed her eyes and just shook her head at her previous thoughts.

 

Perhaps, this would be fine. Not everything had to be exact.

 

In her mind's eye as she peered into the future, she could see the towering crystal spires and two girls running hand in hand down the hallways.

 

The future would be fine.

 

"All right, let's try on the bridesmaids outfits!" Minako announced.