InuYasha Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Through your Heart ❯ Return and Surprises ( Chapter 28 )

I'm aliiiiive! And tired as hell. I've been working on this fic everyday so you can say I was pretty busy. This is a LOOONG epilogue, and it's the last chapter. (sniff!)

Big Thanks to all who reviewed, including on Mediaminer:

Mage Raistlin LunarPrincess Jewelclaw Lady of Wind MySweetInnocence Kyrstyn

Loving Angel Jackie Jack Shannan lil-saturn-goddess Snoggitz SilverWingPhoenix

Flame Ivy Moon Eo*angel MFlower49 SilverBunny5 CJ-Chan littleBUNNY92

Sere Trinity Twilight Henio Ryui and Gokuru-chan Keahi The master unspoiled rini

Ivy Tearen Blue_Straberry Cristina Lil angel Solqua SailorShadowFox

Senshi's Tenshi Queen Diamond

I really hope I'm not forgetting anybody! I love you all!

If you're still having troubles finding the NC-17 on MediaMiner, e-mail me and I'll send it to you.

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Through your Heart

Chapter 28: Return and surprises

Epilogue

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One year. An entire year had come to pass since Usagi, now Lady Serenity of the Western Lands, had arrived in these Feudal ages. The Lady of the West had taken possession of the Central Lands as nobody seemed to want them and now it was a great place to live, filled mostly with human villages.

The people really loved her; she was a fair ruler and had a great sense of justice and neutrality for both humans and youkai. She had even made Sesshoumaru a more tolerant Taiyoukai even if he still had his 'I hate humans' tendencies. He still held himself proudly and emotionlessly but he now showed more leniencies over some matters instead of annihilating the problematic person before he or she could even get a word out.

All in all, life was peaceful and pleasing these days.

…………

Their master was in a hurry this morning and the servants could only yelp and throw themselves out of his way as he ran in the corridors of his maze-like castle, his body barely seeing by untrained eyes.

He had been in the middle of a reunion with Lord Kurama when he had felt a slight feeling of discomfort coming from his mate. He hadn't even excused himself as he ran out of his study; this feeling had been strong enough, to his opinion, for his mate to be immediately brought to the infirmary where he was presently headed.

He almost broke the wooden door down as he barged into the infirmary frantically searching for his mate, scaring poor Rin half to death in the process, almost making her drop the vase of fresh flowers she had picked up in the garden this very morning.

The Inu Lord quickly spotted his mate sitting on a bed, her hand still extended to take the vase. Serenity only blinked at him and he was beside her in seconds, cooing reassuring things in her ear and embracing her possessively. "My love, tell me what is wrong! Was there an attack? Are you going to be okay?" he kept asking her softly while nuzzling her neck and stroking her back.

A polite cough brought Sesshoumaru back to reality and to his old stoic self again as he turned towards his healer Shinji and his high general Katsura. Both youkai were looking at him with raised eyebrows and he growled in annoyance at them.

A chuckle came out of his blue eyed mate's mouth and he sighed as she brought his head to lean on her shoulder. "Sesshoumaru, it's not the first time this has happened and it certainly isn't the last. You should really learn to control that temper of yours; I'm the one who is with pup, not you, remember?" Serenity asked playfully while Rin found the matter funny enough to hide a giggle in the flowers.

Sesshoumaru nodded mutely and put a hand on her stomach. There wasn't much of a bulge yet for she was only pregnant by 2 months but Sesshoumaru was proving to be quite the protective father already. He barely left her go outside alone and had assigned Katsura to protect her when he had to go somewhere. In these times of peace, the general was more than happy to be of help and protect his mistress.

………

This very same night, Sesshoumaru found his mate leaning on the fluffy pillows of their bed waiting for him. He had gone back to Kurama after checking his woman and had asked to be forgiven for his lack of manners.

The Kitsune Lord had only chuckled and slapped him on the back. "It's quite alright! You sly dog! I didn't know your mate was with pup!" he had added cheekily and burst out laughing when his keen eyes noticed a small blush staining the Inu Taiyoukai's cheeks.

Serenity could only raise an eyebrow at Sesshoumaru as he shook his head and sighed, taking his heavy armor off and putting it on a chair beside him. "Tough day, love?" she asked with a small smile.

Sesshoumaru sat on the bed and moved in for a languid kiss witch she gladly accepted with a small moan of happiness. "You have no idea. I made a fool of myself in front of Kurama, thank the Lord it wasn't Kouga." Sesshoumaru nuzzled his mark on her neck as she chuckled silently and he soon got up to change his clothes.

She was still leaning on the pillows when he came back but now she was just staring into nothingness, her eyes all glazed over. He looked at her with worried eyes and went to bed, slyly making his way behind her so that her back was leaning into his chest instead of the pillows. "What's wrong, mate?" he whispered in her ear, making her slightly jump when she was cut out of her reverie.

Serenity leaned into his chest some more to get comfortable and she put a hand on her stomach. "It's been a year since I've been gone from my home…well, my first home, seeing as I now live here. But I would really love to see my family again. I miss them a lot but I can't seem to be able to activate Pluto's powers since I became a youkai. I know it's still there, like the Ginzuishou, but it won't activate. If only I could get a push, something to help trigger the dimensional powers…" she finished deep in thought.

Sesshoumaru was slightly hurt at first when she mentioned wanting to go back to her world but he understood her point-of-view; it was her family, after all. It wouldn't hurt to go there for a few days just to meet them and let his woman visit them, heck! It wouldn't be bad for him to see her world and what the future actually looked like! He mentally admitted he was curious in that area.

Sesshoumaru put a hand on hers and stroked her stomach gently. "If it is only a helping hand you need…maybe there would be a solution for that."

Serenity was now all ears and looked at him hopefully.

"InuYasha's mate, Kagome, comes from the future. I think you know she travels back and forth in time in a well. The only thing is; it's not the same future as yours-" Sesshoumaru didn't have the time to finish his sentence when he was assaulted with kisses from his excited mate.

"Oh thank you Sesshoumaru! I didn't even think about that and I personally saw Kagome go through it! It could work! I just needed something to trigger Pluto's powers!"

Sesshoumaru laughed when she bounced happily in his lap. "Alright then, tomorrow we'll go to InuYasha's forest and we'll ask the miko the permission to go through the well if you so desire."

Serenity froze. "We? You would come too?!" She blinked when the silver haired youkai licked her neck with a light purr.

"Of course. There is no way I will let my mate go in the future alone and I am rather curious as to what it looks like. Rin will stay with Jaken; I do not want her to be corrupted by a world full of humans. Maybe she'll accompany us when she's older but not tomorrow."

The Inu-Moon Lady jumped in her mate's arms and kissed him fervently. "Thank you so much Sesshoumaru! You don't know what this means to me! I love you so much…"

The Taiyoukai merely groaned in the kiss, a sign that he had heard her. They fell asleep not so long after, their tails intertwined together lovingly and Serenity cuddling in his chest.

………

After a teary goodbye from Rin, the duo set off towards InuYasha's forest on Sesshoumaru's cloud, leaving the matters of the Western Lands in Jaken's and Katsura's capable hands.

In a matter of hours, they arrived above old Kaede's village and landed in the middle of it, alerting the entire population. Everyone panicked and the men took their weapons and pointed it at them with trembling ends.

Sesshoumaru smirked and flexed his claws, making the villagers yelp in fright. "Silly humans. Do you really think your sticks can harm this Sesshoumaru?" His deep voice and the menacing step he took towards them made them yelp and stagger backwards.

Serenity rolled her eyes at his childish behavior. "Honestly Sesshoumaru, stop playing with them. They're scared stiff."

Sesshoumaru snorted. "That's how it should be."

A young man, either very brave or very foolish, took a warning step towards them. "I'm warning you now, demons! Our village is protected by the hanyou InuYasha, priestess Kaede and the holder of the Shikon no Tama; priestess Kagome! Sango the demon slayer and Miroku the monk are also guests here so if you don't go away we will be forced to call them!"

Serenity stayed wisely silent while Sesshoumaru didn't seem impressed at all. He looked rather bored and disinterested by the human's speech, which completely baffled the young man. Normally the demons fled this village because of the special people protecting it.

"Call them if you must. On second thought, I order you to get them, seeing as my stupid half-brother must be with his miko for he hasn't jumped into the village by the scent of my arrival here." The Taiyoukai said tonelessly.

Now the villagers looked confused and baffled.

"Half-brother?"

"It can't be! Is this really THE Sesshoumaru, the Lord of the Western Lands?!"

"So the lovely thing behind him would be the new Lady of the Western Lands? How lucky!"

Whispers and gossip flew around them and Sesshoumaru was beginning to loose his patience. He gave a warning growl that echoed through the village and Serenity was about to interfere when a loud voice broke the tense atmosphere.

"SESSHOUMARU!? What in the 7 Hells are you doing here?!" InuYasha jumped down a tree with a surprised but smiling Kagome on his back. The villagers all parted away in fright when Sesshoumaru walked to the hanyou without even glancing at them and Serenity merely smiled softly and followed him.

Kagome ran to Serenity to hug her while the 2 males watched them silently. "So…What ARE you doing here? It's rare that you feel like visiting your lowly half brother" the silver haired hanyou said mockingly.

It was Serenity who answered. "Actually InuYasha, we were here to see Kagome." The Lady turned towards the blinking miko. "Tell me Kagome, do you think Sesshoumaru and I could use your well?"

"My well? It's not my well, but why on Earth would you want to try to go to the future? Personally I don't mind." Kagome said slowly and they started to walk towards the forest where the magic well rested.

"Oh, we don't want to go to your future. I've had troubles triggering my powers since I became a youkai and I don't know why. I want to try to get into MY future through your well; it's a dimensional portal so I should be able to activate the right portal from there." Once the Lady finished her explanations, Kagome nodded and pointed at the well. "Here it is, you can try it. The worst that could happen is that you could wound up in my world or not be able to activate the well's power at all."

Serenity thanked her profusely and Sesshoumaru simply nodded his thanks. The Taiyoukai took his mate in his arms princess style and jumped into the well without asking any questions.

Because of her knowledge in that kind of power, Serenity felt the portal start to open with a soft blue light. The problem is that it wasn't the right one so she concentrated on creating another portal that would lead her directly at the Tsukino's house.

Kagome and InuYasha gasped as the soft blue light became a light pink and transformed, unknowingly to them, into the Cherry Road.

………

On the 2nd floor of the Tsukino's residence, in a bedroom full of pictures of bunnies, the pink portal appeared and vanished as fast as it came leaving 2 full youkai in its wake. While Serenity looked around contentedly, Sesshoumaru breathed in his mate's scent still lingering in the bright room. "Bunnies, hmm. I can easily say this room is yours, it suits you very well. But there are such curious things in it that I don't know about."

Serenity giggled. "It's just as I remembered it! Momma didn't change a thing! It's a miracle that my bratty brother Shingo didn't try to change his room with mine."

Sesshoumaru hummed distractedly, being busy looking at her alarm clock. Needless to say that when he pushed the wrong button, the loud music burst out of the small machine and was soon melting away in a pool of acid by the surprised Taiyoukai's claws.

Serenity eeped and took Sesshoumaru away from her things. She sweatdropped at him as he continued to glare at the melted alarm clock as if it came from hell and she put a digit on his forehead, turning his attention back to her. "This won't do at all! I'll have to give you a certain knowledge of this world so you don't kill anybody and we'll have to change our looks; blend in so that we'll look like humans. We'll still have our youkai abilities but at least we'll look human!"

Sesshoumaru didn't really look thrilled by this particular idea but he was the one to insist about coming here with her. He soon felt the presence of someone entering his mind and he closed his eyes, letting his brain absorb the new information. He felt a tingling in his body but dismissed it as an after-effect of the mind trick.

When he finally opened his eyes again he had a surprised look on his face. This world really was bizarre! Cars, shops, how people behaved, schools…And he hadn't been completely briefed! He looked up at his mate and blinked; she looked like a human again and her silky kimono had become a blue tank top and black cargo pants.

But what made him raised an eyebrow is that she was death silent, just staring at him. He could swear she was salivating! He furrowed his brow slightly and looked around. Getting up when he spotted a mirror, the Taiyoukai went to investigate his new self and blinked his surprise when he looked back at his human-like reflection.

No tail, no claws, no markings, no kimono…it felt weird, but he still felt the youkai blood pumping in his veins so he didn't complain…for the moment. His silver hair had become a light shade of platinum and his skin was slightly more tanned. Thank God, his eyes were still the same lovely and mysterious shade of gold.

He was wearing dark blue jeans (not too tight, he wasn't used to that), and a black T-shirt, just the perfect size for him, with the Kanji DOG written on the front. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at that and looked at her through the mirror.

She shrugged back at him nonchalantly and grinned. "If someone asks your name, you're Sesshoumaru Taisho and I will keep my name; Usagi Tsukino…Ummm, more like Usagi Taisho now! It will be to honor your father's name; InuTaisho!"

Pleased that she had thought about just everything, Sesshoumaru hugged her by behind and kissed her at the nape of her neck.

As she was about to turn to kiss him, a screech of disbelief ran through the house. "USAGI?!"

The 2 youkai turned around swiftly with tense bodies and winced at the loudness of the yell. Ikuko was standing near the door with her mouth wide opened and loud footsteps indicated that someone was running up the stairs rapidly. Kenji Tsukino froze behind his wife when he spotted his daughter.

"Usagi?! Is that really you? Oh my baby!" Ikuko burst into tears and ran to her daughter, hugging her with all she was worth. She looked relieved and happy and Kenji soon joined the family reunion.

Sesshoumaru looked at his happy mate with love filled eyes but she soon disappeared from his line of vision as a human 'my mate's father' his brain provided, looked at him with guarded eyes. "Usagi sweetie, who is this man?" The human gave him a calculating and disapproving glare but it left Sesshoumaru totally unfazed.

Still, the Taiyoukai bowed slightly and introduced himself and told them about his relation with their daughter. Ikuko immediately jumped on her daughter asking for details and after a few minutes of staring at the human Sesshoumaru, Kenji nodded and shook the other's hand firmly. "You found a good man, Usagi! He's so better than that other guy Mamoru you dated before!"

They went down the stairs to talk some more and Sesshoumaru quickly wiped his hand on his pants, not being used to human contact. Luckily Kenji had his back turned and Usagi only giggled silently at him, not gaining anyone's attention. "Hey mom? Where's Shingo? It's summer so he should be home…" Usagi said while looking around.

Ikuko smiled and gave Sesshoumaru the glass of water he had asked for. "He's out at summer camp with Mika. You remember her, don't you? He should be back at his school by now; you can always go and see if he's there. Sesshoumaru-san could also look around."

"Good idea mom! I think I'll do just that! We'll look if he's there and then I'll show Sesshoumaru the neighborhood. I'll see you later okay?"

The Tsukinos nodded and bid them a good day.

………

Shingo's school wasn't that far from the house so they arrived pretty quickly. The Taiyoukai had troubles with the various odors attacking his senses and he was tempted to put a hand on his nose a few times when cars passed beside them.

Sesshoumaru had first wanted to marvel at the technology but the smell and sound it made quickly diminished his enthusiasm while Usagi found out the down side of having strong senses.

They passed the school gates and the disguised Lady of the West didn't wait to open the doors to get inside. The smell of many humans filled his nose so Sesshoumaru put on his emotionless mask.

In the gymnasium there was a veritable assembly of them and grown-ups, which Usagi labeled as annoyingly perky monitors, were telling the children what to do and how to play a game.

The moment Usagi showed herself through the gymnasium doors, a boy about 12 or 13 years old ran away from the game and into Usagi's awaiting arms. "Usagi nee-chan! I can't believe you're finally back!" the boy exclaimed happily while his friends looked on curiously, Mika not being too far away. "You grew up a lot, Shingo! It's good to see you again!"

2 monitors of about 20 years old watched the beauty hugging Shingo Tsukino happily and they were almost salivating on the floor at her good looks. They were about to go to the duo when a man walked in front her as if nothing was wrong, not even bothering to glance at them. "Excuse us but nobody's allowed here when the camp is still going." One of the monitors said, trying to look around the platinum haired man's shoulder to get a glimpse at the blonde.

When they didn't get the hint, Sesshoumaru straightened his back imposingly and the look he gave the 'kids' sent a chill down their spine. They backed away really fast; something about this guy was freaking them out. He may have the girls completely at his mercy with his ethereal look, but he looked dangerously…wild. And obviously taken, to the girls' dismay, when he wound a protective arm around the blonde woman.

"Let's continue this outside, shall we?" he said with a sexy but firm voice, making Shingo raise his eyebrows at him. They spent a small portion of the afternoon together, sitting under a tree near the school.

Usagi explained everything to her brother and how she was now a youkai like her "husband". Shingo desperately pleaded to see what they really looked like now but it wasn't exactly the right place. So, to sooth his disappointment, Usagi promised that when they'd come back home they would show him and their parents.

Shingo accepted and soon he had to go back to the school where he was sure Mika was waiting for him. "Bye Usagi-chan! I'll see you later! Bye Sesshoumaru-san! Take care of my sister!" This being said, the boy went back to his friends.

Sesshoumaru's eyes softened just a second before they became blank again. He helped his "wife" to get up and kissed her forehead tenderly.

She beamed up at him. "I always said he was a brat but really; he's a good kid. Come on, I'll show you where I always hung out after school! I wonder if Motoki is there today. He must've been worried about me!" The blonde caught Sesshoumaru by the arm and the Taiyoukai let her lead the way.

"Who is this…Motoki you mentioned?" he growled out softly, his grip on her tightening. She giggled and looked up at him in the eyes playfully. "Do my senses betray me? Am I detecting jealously rolling in waves off of your body?"

Sesshoumaru growled a little louder as to not get the attention of anybody and he brought her body flat against his possessively. She stopped him in mid-growling by kissing him and he responded all too happily, his tongue massaging hers erotically.

For the people that went by, they looked just like a happy couple enjoying their time together, and the picture was almost ethereal-like; both of them truly looked like they came from another world, their beauty surpassing even the models on television. When it was time for them to come up for air, she nuzzled his neck and smiled. "Motoki is the owner of the Crown; it's an arcade where people can hang out and it has a little restaurant too. He was like a brother to me."

Sesshoumaru blinked at her answer. "So you deliberately teased this Sesshoumaru, didn't you, you little minx?" Usagi's answer was to giggle and run away from him playfully. He smirked and followed her without trouble until she stopped in front of a store. "That's the Crown Arcade. It hasn't changed at all!" she said, entranced in front of the glass window.

Sesshoumaru peaked inside curiously and an arm immediately went around her waist when he spotted the many guys that hung out here. She barely noticed and went in with a beaming face.

Sesshoumaru, however, kept his stoic face on since the boys were busy checking out his mate. He felt her detach his hand from her waist when she ran to a tall blonde haired man. "Motoki-kun!"

Motoki turned when he heard his name but he wasn't prepared for Usagi to run into him, hugging him around the shoulders. He yelped and his feet tangled in a chair; they both fell backwards on the bench of a booth. Luckily no clients were sitting there but they caught the attention of everybody present.

When Motoki blinked back his surprise and got past the curtain of blonde hair, he was pleasantly surprised to see his favorite client and friend. "Usagi-chan! You're back! Your parents said you were gone to another country! I was so sad you didn't say goodbye…"

Usagi laughed when he swept her in a hug but a small inhuman growl made them stop and blush at the position they were in; they were still on the bench and Usagi on top of Motoki. "What was that sound?" Motoki asked curiously.

The blue eyed girl giggled as if nothing had ever happened and got off her friend, trotting over to a platinum haired man with mysterious golden eyes. The man, Motoki observed, looked very calm and collected beside the hyper bunny. But since he kissed Usagi and she let him, pretty willingly might he add, Motoki guessed he was okay and dusted himself off to greet the man. "Hello! Welcome to Crown Arcade! My name is Motoki and I'm a friend of Usagi."

Sesshoumaru looked at the offered hand and then back up at him with scrutiny; the stare unsettled Motoki for a moment but when the golden eyed man shook his hand back, he let out the breath he had inconsciously been holding.

"My name is Sesshoumaru Taisho. I'm Usagi's husband. Nice to meet you" Sesshoumaru answered with a deep voice, short and straight to the point. Motoki looked baffled but Usagi nod confirmed the fact; they were indeed married.

"Wow! And here I thought you were going to marry Mamoru! Guess I was wrong!" Motoki exclaimed with a grin.

Another small growl resonated through his ears.

"Again with that sound! What is that?" He looked around and then at Sesshoumaru curiously. The Taiyoukai hadn't moved an inch and looked perfectly calm. Taisho-san raised an eyebrow at him because he was staring and Motoki excused himself from the conversation, turning around and blushing.

He went back to his clients and when the Taiyoukai turned, Usagi wasn't at his side anymore but sitting in a racing car arcade game and readying herself to play. "Ne Sesshoumaru! You coming?"

She put a heavy helmet on her head and the game started; the Taiyoukai merely stayed behind her and leaned slightly on the back of the seat, watching the car speed off on the monitor. She was really skillful in those games, amongst other things…

It wasn't until much later that Usagi stopped to play and tensed. She got the helmet off in middle-game and her racing car crashed with another but she didn't paid and heed; citizens were screaming outside and seemed to be running away from something outside the Crown Arcade.

Curious people inside the building hurried near the window to see what was going on but Sesshoumaru stayed behind, taking a step closer to his mate. "Do you feel this? What is it?" Sesshoumaru asked her with a growl and a glance towards the outside.

Usagi didn't know what to say, she was completely lost. "It…It feels like a youma! But that's impossible!" She ran to Motoki, who was still looking outside. "Motoki-kun! What is it?"

Motoki looked at her, then outside again. "It's a youma, you better stay inside! We were living in peace until just a couple of months ago when they suddenly reappeared." He stopped talking when the youma finally appeared on the top a building, before jumping down in the street.

The monster threw an attack on a man who had come too near and his energy got taken away to feed the snarling youma.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

To say that Usagi was shocked and frozen on the spot was an obvious understatement when the Sailor Senshi appeared out of the blue. The blonde bunny stammered but no word came out of her mouth as her supposedly dead senshi jumped down and attacked the youma without further ado.

They were all here! Alive and well! Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and even Pluto! "How?..."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at the short, indecent skirts they were wearing but frowned when the youma started to get the upper hand each time a human was drained of his energy.

A few tears fell from her eyes but she jumped silently when she was pulled out of the crowd by her forearm. Sesshoumaru put a hand on her mouth to make her stay quiet and she nodded for him to let go. They went in the deserted kitchen of the Crown and he looked gravely at her shaken form. "Love, I know this new development is troubling but we must concentrate on the task at hand; the youma is getting more powerful and those girls won't last for much longer."

Usagi blinked a few times to clear her mind and nodded seriously. "You're right. I got over their 'death' a long time ago but good for them if they're back. I'll have to know hoe they came back later but right now we need to help them; and what better way to do it than in our true from!"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "You want to fight as a youkai? It is fine by me, flattering even, but what about Sailor Moon?"

The blonde woman looked sad for a moment but shrugged it off. "Nah. My place is with you now."

The Taiyoukai's eyes softened and he bent down, connecting his lips with hers softly. He felt a light tingling sensation and when he pulled away, they were back to their true form. "Let's go Serenity. I'll cover for you" the Taiyoukai said and he adjusted his armor and tail around his shoulder before they both disappeared in an inhuman speed.

………

Things were getting rougher outside; the senshi were bruised all over but fortunately not down. But each time they tried to attack the youma together, the darned monster evaded them with the speed he had acquired from all his stolen energy.

"Shit! This thing is even faster than me!" Uranus cursed as her 'Space Sword Blaster' made a dent in the road where the youma was previously standing. Venus was about to call out one of her own attacks when the youma suddenly appeared right above her, ready to strike.

The senshi of love cried out in shock but when the youma was about to strike her, a silver blur attacked the youma and the 2 went crashing 20 meters behind Venus. Well, the youma crashed on the hard concrete but the other person landed on her feet.

Movements had stopped so now the senshi could see more clearly who it was, even though they didn't know. Long silver hair braided went down her back and to her calves and she was wearing some type of ancient kimono. The new comer was crouching in a fighting position, -claws?-at the ready.

"She can't possibly be human!" Mercury said, referring to the furiously swishing tail attached to the stranger's lower back. The youma got up from the rubble he created in his pathetic attempt of a landing and he snarled at the silver haired woman.

She looked back at it with red rimmed eyes and snarled back even more ferociously, making the youma blink and loose his composure for a short moment. Intent on not letting a stranger get the better of him, the monster attacked with all he had.

Youkai Serenity smirked inwardly; she just jumped out of its way and with a quick swipe of elongated claws, she scratched at his back, her poison slowing it down. The senshi were frozen on the spot. Only one swipe of claw and the youma was down!

Up on the roof, 2 felines were looking down at the street apprehensively. "What do you think she is, Luna? She smells like a demon but a pure one! It's impossible!" Artemis said worriedly. Luna didn't comment and simply continued to gaze down, watching as the woman with the tail attacked the youma again with her sharp claws.

Luna was so on the edge, literally, that when she bent down too much to see what was going to happen, she lost her footing from the edge of the building. Luna screeched loudly but Artemis didn't even had the time to open his mouth as another clawed hand shot out and caught Luna by the neck.

Artemis froze and lifted his head to gaze at who had caught Luna. The white cat gulped audibly when he saw the tall and imposing demon, resembling the other one on the ground.

Sesshoumaru brought Luna to eye level by the scruff of her neck and Luna screeched at him indignantly and tried to swipe her claws at him without success; he merely raised an eyebrow and growled. "Cat. Do not screech at me again. I could very well drop you and we would see who, between the both of us, would land on his feet. Though I do not think my mate would appreciate to see her guardian splattered on the streets…" The demon said with his deep emotionless voice.

Luna's eyes widened when the demon spoke up to her and she was about to talk back when what he said replayed in her head. 'Guardian? Then that would mean…'

Artemis, too, had caught on and his feline mouth almost fell on the ground. "Do you mean to tell us that's Usagi down there?! Then why does she smell like a -dog-? And who are you anyway?" The white cat exclaimed, still eyeing the tall demon cautiously.

Sesshoumaru didn't give them any response but he growled when he sensed that something was wrong with his mate. She was clutching at her stomach and was wincing slightly; he growled when the youma got up again and cackled when he noticed the discomfort in his opponent.

The senshi were obviously too slow and hesitant to help her so when the youma readied an attack, the Taiyoukai snarled and let poor Luna go to jump down swiftly. Luna screeched again but landed on the roof in a heap, thank god.

Poor youma, it didn't even know what hit him. The arm that held his attack landed on the street meters away after being cut off by Sesshoumaru's whip. Jupiter and Venus were heart-eyed and awing at the newcomer's beauty and grace but he sneered at them and didn't pay them one ounce of attention.

His mate was down and his protective instinct kicked into high gear. He crouched down and held her by the shoulders, lightly stroking her stomach. "You shouldn't have toyed with it, mate. Do you think you will be able to destroy it in your condition or will I have to do it?" The care in his voice was obvious to the sailor senshi and they became curious as the woman shook her head and got up with the help of the man. Only when she came into full view that they gasped in shock and disbelief.

If the shock of seeing a violet crescent moon on the man's brow wasn't enough, the one of seeing the familiar golden crescent moon on the woman's made their day. "That's the royal mark of the Lunarians!" They started to murmur as if they didn't want to be heard.

Serenity almost rolled her eyes when her sensitive ears heard what they said. "It's about damn time they get it" she muttered before Sesshoumaru helped her to face the bleeding youma.

Her crescent moon shone brightly and for the 1st time in months, she felt her crystal activate. "Moon Healing Activation!" She didn't need to call out a more powerful attack as she drew her power directly from the Ginzuishou. The youma didn't last for long against such an onslaught of purifying power.

Serenity sagged breathlessly against Sesshoumaru's chest and he took her in his arms effortlessly. He turned towards the silent senshi for his mate to talk to them. "I know you have a lot of questions to ask me and that's good because I do too. We'll be waiting for you at the shrine; the people will start coming out soon." That said, she motioned for Sesshoumaru to go and he deftly jumped from rooftop to rooftop, following his mate's directions since he didn't know where this shrine was anyway.

………

About 20 minutes later, 8 winded girls and 2 cats appeared up the steps of Ray's temple. Serenity and Sesshoumaru were already waiting inside and the girls eyed the male warily when they went to sit around the low table.

Nobody dared to talk for a while until youkai Serenity had enough of the tension. "I'm happy you guys came back, I never thought I'd see you again. But how DID you come back?"

The girls jumped slightly. "So it IS you! Oh Usagi-chan! We missed you sooo much!" Minako was about to jump on the other side of the table but Mars's temper wouldn't allow her ditziness to interfere. "Down girl! Questions first, hugs later." The fiery girl said as she pulled Minako back to her place by her shirt.

It was Setsuna who answered for the others; "We don't really know how we came back, really. But we reappeared about 5 months ago as if nothing had ever happened. We were still able to transform but curiously, our powers weren't as strong as before as if a part of it was gone. Maybe you could be able to answer this matter, hime-sama? And the matter of what happened to you, perhaps?"

Serenity hummed, her head leaning in her hands on the table and her fingers tapping her cheeks lightly. The senshi's eyes followed the unconscious movement intently, mainly focused on the new razor sharp claws now a part of their princess's being.

"I guess it all makes sense now. When I unconsciously wished to be a youkai, my powers got locked up in me. I guess it was too much for my body to take and a part of your own powers went back to you, enabling you to come back. I became a youkai about 5 months ago so…"

Haruka was about to open her mouth but Michiru glared at her. "Hime," the calm woman started, "Why did you wish to become a youma, what we desperately hate and fight to destroy?" Her voice was as soft as ever but Serenity, with her new senses, felt a slight despair in her tone of voice.

The Lady of the West chuckled, catching them off guard. "Not youma, Michiru. Youkai. And after all this time, I still think it was the greatest decision I ever made. I did it to stay by Sesshoumaru's side, always."

The girls blinked. "Sesshoumaru?" Hotaru asked for everyone. Serenity glanced backwards where the male demon was standing silently, leaning against the wall in the shadows in the back of the room. They had completely forgotten that he was here!

Haruka was outraged. "You're going out with him?! But what about Mamoru?"

Serenity blinked slowly, her eyes getting a deeper shade of midnight blue. "But Mamoru's not here, ne?"

Haruka sat back, grumbling under her breath. "No. He came back all right, but the jerk decided not to wait for your return and went back to the States. Personally, I wanted to kill him but Neptune restrained me."

Their princess laughed out loud, a beautiful silvery voice. "Too bad for him because the destiny has already been altered. I'm with Sesshoumaru now, and I'm pregnant."

Silence reigned over the temple until the screaming fit started and all the birds around flew off in fright.

"OH MY GOD! YOU GOT MARRIED AND WE WEREN'T EVEN THERE!!!" Minako screeched, her eyes as big as saucers.

Serenity looked around uncomfortably. "Well, actually, youkai don't wed if they want to be together."

Minako, the ever so clever one, just cocked her head on the side. "Oh? So what does youkai do if they want to live together?" she asked innocently.

Serenity's mouth opened and closed in discomfort, her cheeks reddening under their curious gaze. She was about to answer when 2 striped hands wound themselves around her torso and brought her against a hard chest. "They do not need to know all the details, I'm sure." Sesshoumaru spoke up for the first time since they had arrived and his deep possessive eyes looked all the senshi over.

Some recoiled sheepishly, like Ami and Hotaru, for example, but Haruka had too much pride and glared back.

"Human, do you wish to challenge This Sesshoumaru?" the Taiyoukai growled low and threateningly, pink beginning to seep into his eyes and his aura darkened menacingly. The girls backed away from Haruka swiftly, hands on their henshin pens.

The senshi of the wind was about to retort angrily when a tail swished in her face and pushed her on the ground. Serenity gave a nervous laugh that totally broke the tense atmosphere. "Oh Haruka! You're always joking, huh?" The Western Lady tried to joke and she motioned for her friends to never try that again as Sesshoumaru was slowly coming back to his stoic self.

The girls slowly sat down again as if they were afraid any wrong movement would make him go mad again but he merely licked Serenity's neck and rubbed her stomach.

Haruka gulped slightly. "Well, at least I know he'll be able to protect her better than Mamoru." She let out a light laugh and turned to Michiru, muttering; "Remind me to never open my big mouth again in his presence."

Michiru only raised an eyebrow at her lover.

"So, does this mean you carry the next heir of the Silver Millennium?" Hotaru asked curiously, eager to know if ChibiUsa would be back.

The princess shook her head a little sad. "I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan. The Ginzuishou gave me youkai blood but I'm still of Lunarian descent. It won't, however, accept any other person with mixed blood as its wielder. The pup I carry - yes Minako, the baby is called a pup-, will only hold Sesshoumaru's blood and some of my youkai blood. The pup will be powerful when trained, but he will never be able to touch the Ginzuishou. I think I was destined to be the last Lunarian standing, I guess. I'm supposed to live a pretty long life as a youkai, but Lunarian is a different kind of immortality."

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what had happened in the past year and soon they had to go back to Usagi's family to show them their true forms. It was a tear filled goodbye for the senshi but their princess promised to come back once in a while and surely when the pup would be born.

Crystal Tokyo would never be created, but Serenity could never have wished for a better life.

……………………& #8230;………………………… ;…………………………R 30;……………

END.

Thank god that's over. ^_^;

It's only…17 pages long… (sweatdrop) Worth the wait, wasn't it?

Remember to R&R!!!

Eternal Cosmos ^_~