NOW AND FOREVER
				   by LilAsia
				(lilasia@juno.com)

Chapter 2 - Reprise

The sun shone through the windows. The wind blew the curtains aside
prettily. The boy groaned as consciousness pulled him  back through the
foggy mists of his dreams. His ears took in the morning conference of the 
birds preparing for their migration. His ears peeled open. 'Aah! Can't even
hear Mom in the kitchen yet. Can't be that late... Damn bird!' He grabbed a
pillow and clapped it over his ears.
	Music started playing as the clock read 9:30. Shingo jerked 
upright. "What?" He grabbed the alarm and turned it off.
	Tossing the bedspread aside, he jumped out of bed. He checked
his parents' bedroom and found both haphazardly lying in bed, asleep.
	He blinked. "Weird..."
	He went back into his room and changed quickly. 'I wonder if
she's up yet... Probably not,' he smirked.
	Standing in front of his sister's door, he shook his head, sighing..
"And like the good brother I am..." He threw her door wide open and--
	"Ne, ONEECHAN!! WAKE UP!!.... Huh?" 
	He surveyed the room. He didn't really expect a response. Every
day, he would burst into her room. Every day, she would just grumble and
turn over, eliciting mild protestations from her squished black cat. But
today was a surprise... No lump on the bed, the covers thrown off, no cat,
even..
	"Hmmm.... Wonder where she is... Must have woken up early,
wonder of wonders. Eh, no time to stand around. Mika's gonna kill me if
I'm late."	
	He skipped downstairs, ready to face the day. What he saw in
the living room was one thing he wasn't prepared for.
	Usagi was still in her pajamas, holding her cat on the sofa. 
And Mamoru was holding Usagi. They were asleep.
	Mamoru blinked slowly, and was about to stretch when Usagi 
grumbled discontentedly in her sleep. He gazed down at her lovingly,
and would have continued to do so for quite a time, when he noticed
that they had an audience. 
	"What are you doing here?" Shingo asked, aghast. "Dad would
have a heart attack if he found you here." Sure, he loved to tease Usagi
about her boyfriend, but having him inside the house. Well.... The house
was just too small for their dad's temper.
	Ikuko came downstairs, yawning. 
	"If he found what here? I can't believe I overslept." She froze 
when she saw the couple. "Oh, kami-sama, I thought.... no, couldn't have
been," she muttered. 'It was just a dream, wasn't it?' "Ohayou, 
Chiba-san. What brings you here so early? And whatever possessed 
Usagi to invite you in and fall asleep?" She gave a faint laugh. Oh, last
night's dream was just a little too realistic. She had dreamed that-- what
was it about? She frowned. 
	Mamoru looked at her quizzically.
	The sound of heavy footsteps moved towards the stairs, and
Kenji's voice followed. "Sumimasen, I have a lot of work to finish up in
the office and I better get g-- You again! What are YOU doing here?!"
	Usagi yawned and opened an eye. The sight of their audience
startled her. "Daddy?" she asked in a small voice.
	Shingo checked his watch. "Anou..... I have to go. Mika's going
to kill me! Great. I'm turning into Usagi." He quickly put on his shoes and
shuffled out the door. An uncomfortable silence dawned.
	Luna nudged her ward. Usagi stroked her fur absently and
cleared her throat. "Dad, I thought you were going to work."
	"Never mind that. I want to know what Chiba-san is doing here
with my daughter in her -- in her sleepwear!" he demanded.
	The silence was deafening. Usagi was flustered. What to tell
her parents? They didn't seem to remember the previous night's
events. 'Do I lie? Or do I tell the truth? This is easy enough. I'll just say 
that Mamo-chan came to pick me up for the meeting at Rei's. Oh, my gosh,
there's a meeting today, isn't there? Anywayz, I'd just woken up.. I invited
him in, but... I fell asleep. Yeah, that's it. Telling the truth doesn't seem
to work anyway... Last night was proof enough.'
	"Well?" Her mother's voice snapped her back to attention.
	She looked up guiltily at Mamoru, whose eyes offered support,
no matter what she decided to do. 
	She laughed weakly, "Anou.. I'm such an odango atama. Rei's
right. Look at me, falling asleep when Mamo-chan just came to pick me
up f---"
	Beep. Static. "Youma at the park! Be there! Hurry!"
	Usagi abruptly stood up. "We have to go."
	Her parents stared at her as if she was crazy. "You're not going
anywhere, young lady. Not if there's a youma! What's all this about?"
	Usagi turned to the cat. "Luna," she pleaded.
	Kenji and Ikuko wondered why would address the cat all of a 
sudden. What was going on? 
	'Kuso! I have to tell them the truth. The senshi need me. And I
don't think this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime occurence. I don't 
need them to ground me for life everytime I have to leave in the middle
of every discussion... Not that I can.'
	"Usagi?" Ikuko queried tentatively.
	She sat back down. Mamoru squeezed her shoulders. "Do you 
remember what happened last night?" she asked quietly. 
	"Refresh our memory."
	Usagi took a deep breath. How to start? 'Try the beginning,'
she told herself.
	"Dad, Mom, remember when the youma attacks started?"
	Her parents were taken aback. Ikuko slid to a seat. This
wasn't what they were expecting... Or wasn't it? Something clicked. It
seems as if something was starting to surface in their minds, but they
couldn't grasp it. 
	"Usagi, don't change the subject!" her father snapped.
	"I'm not. Remember when Sailor Moon first appeared?" Her parents 
were startled. "Anou.... ne, to tell you _again_, I'm Sailor Moon."
	Again, the silence.
	Ikuko turned to her husband. "Kenji, you know I had a dream
that she said the same thing last night?"
	"Mom, it wasn't a dream," Usagi interrupted. Her parents looked
at her sharply.
	"Usagi..." her father warned.
	She sighed. Why did she have to do this again? She was getting
tired of this. She peered at her cat. "Luna, why don't you explain?"
She ignored the expressions on everyone's faces, closing her eyes.
	Luna tried to overcome her surprise. "Ehrm... Meow?"
	"Please, Luna...?"
	"Ahem... Well, then," she turned towards the bewildered pair. 
"Tsukino-sama, it started a few years ago... Or at least in this life.."
	"In _this_ life...?"
	"Well, it actually started over two thousand years ago when--"
	And Luna spun her tale. She has not had to tell this story since
the Senshi had come to realize their roles in the past. She had hoped
never to tell it again in entirety as it made her throat dry from all
the talking she would have to do. However, this story would take quite
a bit longer as her parents had not known the events of _this_ life 
as well. She told them of the Silver Millenium, the Fall of the Silver 
Millenium, the Discovery, the Battle with Beryl, and several other
events. She did not tell them of the pink-haired child that had come to
live with them for quite a time nor did she tell them of any of the 
Events that Will Come to Pass. It was unnecessary to tell them of Those
Which Have Not Yet Come to Pass. 'One day, I'll just have my voice 
recorded so I don't have to tell this everytime somebody starts asking
questions,' Luna thought wryly as the story came to an end. 'This just
gets longer and longer every time! I'm starting to have recurring 
nightmares of myself talking to death.' She shivered.
	Her mother swallowed. There was a lot to be pondered. Parental
instincts kicked in.
	"Well, Usagi... Usagi is _our_ daughter. This is _not_ the Silver
Millenium. And as her parents, we have a responsibility over her 
safety. As of today, she is no longer a Senshi."
	Oh, this was so perfect. She had always wanted a normal life.
She didn't really want to fight. She didn't like fighting; she liked 
making friends. And lately she had not had time to do that. Heck, she
didn't even have enough time for the few regular non-Senshi friends 
she had. Sure, she was known by many and liked by many, but she didn't
know them as well as she used to. Now her parents had forbidden her to
fight. 
	"But---!" She stood abruptly.
	But it was too late. She knew the consequences of abandoning her
duties. She had a responsibility to the Senshi. She had a responsibility
to her friends. She had a responsibility to the world and to life.
	"No buts, young lady," her father interrupted. "From now on, you
go to school, you come home, you study, and you are _not_, under any
circumstances, to associate with the other... Senshi."
	"Dad, they need me! I'm their leader; I need to be there!"
	"From what we understand, this Sailor Venus can be the leader. 
It's too dangerous for you."
	"Dangerous?!" she exclaimed wildly. "I know it's dangerous! But
I've been doing this for several years now, and we have always won! I
know how to take care of myself."	
	"And you died, Usagi," her mother said, anguished. That stopped 
her for a minute. 
	"Yes, but I'm here. Doesn't that prove something?"
	"Yes, it proves that you've had your lucky calls when we didn't 
know. But what if the next time, you die, and you never come back?! 
Actually, that isn't even the point. The point is you died! That you 
will die again someday. And we'd like to postpone that to natural
causes! One day, you'll just disappear and we don't know where you are;
we don't know what happened to you. And we'll just have to assume you're
dead?! That's not something a parent can bear, Usagi!"
	"And you!" Kenji interrupted, pointing an accusatory finger at 
the young man they had almost forgotten. "You allow her to do this?! 
You allow her to fight? I thought you cared for her."
	"I do. But I could no more stop her from fighting for what's right
than stop her from laughing. She knows she has a responsibility. She is
the light of the world. And I'm right there to make sure nothing happens
to her."
	Kenji snorted. "The best way to make sure nothing happens to her 
is if she was not in the vicinity of these fights in the first place.
Well, she will no longer fight. There are others who can fight."
	"You guys, we need some help," Sailor Jupiter's voice came through
Usagi's communicator. 
	"Mamo-chan. We have to go."
	"That's right. Chiba-san, you may go," Ikuko said in a steely
voice. "Usagi, sit down."
	"But--"
	"No, buts. Go, Chiba-san. You are no longer welcome to this family."
	Mamoru sighed and picked up his jacket slowly. 
	"Mamo-chan." Usagi tried to convey her need for him. She didn't 
want him to go. He was the only one who could offer some comfort in 
the midst of her parents' anger. But she knew that he had to go. She 
smiled in appreciation of his support.
	He looked at her. He wished he could stay; he didn't want to 
leave her to the firing squad. However, his presence seemed to have 
cast a dimmer light into her "career" and their relationship. The man
who was supposed to protect her supported her role in the violence. 
"I'm going to the others. Will you be alright?"
	She nodded.
	"I'll see you, Usako."
	"Ja, Mamo-chan. I'll be there."
	Nobody spoke as he walked out. She rushed to see him out.
	"No, you won't," her father said.
	Usagi blinked and turned around to face her father.
	"You won't be seeing him anymore, either."
	Usagi remained quiet. For a person who was being forced by her
parents to lead a normal, carefree life, she seemed to be forbidden 
from doing many things. But it wasn't just the freedom she cared about.
What would happen to the Senshi? They needed her. She wielded the most
power, she needed to be there to protect them much as they had 
protected her.
	Her father stood up. "Good. Then that's settled."
	He picked up his suitcase and straightened his tie, while his
wife went over to hug her still child. No more, the danger was over.
She was safe now.
	"I'm sorry, Dad. It's not settled. They need me."
	Her mother drew back shocked. "We already talked about this."
	"Mom-"
	"No, Usagi!" her mother cried shrilly. "No more fighting. No
more going away."
	"They need me," she said quietly, standing up. "I must go."
	"You are going NOWHERE, Usagi!" her father commanded.
	"But, Dad.... All those people depend on me! Do you remember
how many people Sailor Moon has saved! They need me! Think about
what could have happened."
	"Everybody else can take care of themselves--"
	"Not against youma, Dad! They need me! _You_ needed me, too,
or did you forget? I've _always_ been there and I vowed that I always
will be. Look -- I don't break that easily. I've proven that so many
times before--"
	"That was then. This is now. Now we know."
	"You wanted to talk so let's talk. You say it's your 
responsibility to keep me safe. Well, I have a responsibility, too. 
Over the millions of people that live on this world. I'm sorry but I 
seriously think it takes precedence over my own. What's one for a 
million? I thought this was what you wanted -- that I become more
responsible. And now you're limiting. And it can't be limited. Why 
can't you just accept this? I was grown up enough to tell you the truth. 
Why can't you just be grown up enough to accept it?" She bit her lip.
	"Usagi!" her father yelled. She had no right to talk to them like
that. She had no idea what she was talking about. She was only a child.
Couldn't she see that they were doing this for her own good?
	"I'm sorry. They need me. I hope you understand." She turned to 
walk away with a heavy heart.
	"Choose, Usagi," her mother suddenly announced in a hardened 
voice. Usagi stopped in her tracks and turned, startled.
	"Mom, you don't-- you can't mean--" she stuttered, paling.
Her heart beat quickly. She couldn't be asking what Usagi thought
she was asking for her to do: an all or nothing deal.
	"I mean it, Usagi. Choose. Follow our rules or leave this 
household."
	She sighed broken-heartedly. "Then I choose the fate of 
millions over my own," she announced and ran out of the house.