"ChibiUsa, what are you doing here?" Usagi said, letting a little irritation creep into her voice. "You didn't tell us you were coming."

"I told Mamo-chan," ChibiUsa replied. She eyed Usagi suspiciously. "And I know he would tell you. So why didn't you know?"

"What are you talking about?" she said angrily. "Mamo-chan never told me about this."

"Stupid Usagi. You probably just forgot or something."

"Why you! You've only been here five minutes and you're already smarting off to me!" Usagi used her angry, indignant look to cover up her confusion. ChibiUsa's probably not lying, she thought. But I wonder why Mamo-chan didn't bring it up...

"Where is Mamo-chan, anyway, Usagi? And who are you?" she said, turning her attention to a bewildered Seiya.

"Another Odango?" Seiya said, only half-jokingly. "My name's Seiya. You must be ChibiUsa. I've heard a lot about you." He held out his hand to the pink-haired, slightly angry girl.

Her anger quickly faded when she looked up into his friendly face. "Hi, Seiya. Nice to meet you," she said, taking his hand. She then gave him a questioning look. "What has Usagi told you about me?"

Usagi interrupted. "Don't worry about keeping secrets from Seiya, ChibiUsa," she said, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "He's a Senshi, too."

ChibiUsa's eyes lit up. "Oh, you're that Seiya," she said. "I heard about you the last time I was here."

"Well, I'm glad we're all on familiar terms, then," Seiya said. He smiled at the two girls, then looked away for a moment and sighed. Dammit, I was so close, he thought. He suddenly felt very guilty for thinking that in the presence of ChibiUsa. Man, he thought. It's the KID.

The three turned to the sound of the apartment door opening. "Usa-ko, I'm home," they heard Mamoru say from the foyer. He entered the living room, only to be immediately tackled by ChibiUsa.

"MAMO-CHAN!" she cried out and planted a plethora of kisses on his face. "I missed you so much!"

"Oh, ChibiUsa, you're here!" he said. He looked up from the floor to see Usagi standing over him with her arms crossed.

She arched her eyebrows in an angry scowl. "Why didn't you tell me ChibiUsa was coming? I think I deserve to have some advance notice."

"I must have forgotten, Usa-ko," he said pleadingly. "I'm sorry."

Mamoru got to his feet and attempted to brush himself off, with ChibiUsa still clinging to his neck. He finally noticed Seiya sitting on the couch, with an even more perplexed look on his face than before.

"Hi, Seiya-kun. I'm glad you're here," he said with a smile. "You have quite a few people looking for you." He gestured behind him, where Ami, Minako, Makoto, Rei, Taiki, Yaten and Kakyuu were all poking their heads through the doorway. At Mamoru's mention they poured through the foyer and into the living room.

"Well, Usa-ko, it looks like we have quite a few dinner guests," Mamoru said.

Usagi eyed her friends. "What are you guys doing here?"

Ami spoke up from behind the others. "Kakyuu-san told us that Seiya-kun was here with you, so we came to...uh..."

Minako was ready with the save, and jumped forward in front of Ami. "We came to say hi!" she finished. The others all did their best to disguise their true intentions and averted their eyes. Makoto put on a bright smile. "Come on, girls," she said loudly. "Let's help with dinner, okay?" Ami, Minako and Kakyuu took the hint and followed her quietly into the kitchen.

Usagi pulled Rei aside from the group. "Rei-chan, are you guys checking on me?" she whispered, a little angrily.

Rei answered by pulling her by her elbow out the apartment door, into the hallway. "I need to talk to you," she said. "Now."

Usagi feigned ignorance. "What about, Rei-chan?"

She scowled. "You know what about, Usagi. About Seiya-kun."

Back in the apartment, Taiki and Yaten seated themselves on opposite sides of Seiya. Taiki peered into Seiya's face intently. "So, how did it go?"

Seiya discreetly nodded his head toward ChibiUsa, who was sitting on Mamoru's lap on the other side of the room. "She showed up," he said. "She's a nice girl, but talk about a mood killer."

Yaten giggled. "So that's ChibiUsa, huh?" He tilted his head and gave her a long look, his silver hair falling in front of his face. "They sure do look alike."

"Why are you guys here, anyway?" he asked. He pushed his black curls up off his forehead in frustration. "I was hoping to get her alone again, but that looks impossible now."

Yaten rolled his eyes. "Those girls," he started, "...those girls are total watchdogs. They found out that the two of you were alone here and they had to come and check on you."

"Don't be discouraged, Seiya," Taiki said. "You'll get your chance...I think."

"Don't be discouraged?" he said indignantly. "You don't think that's discouraging?" He gestured again at ChibiUsa. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Once again, a roguish grin crossed Yaten's pale face. "Don't you worry about a thing, Seiya," he said. The three of them looked over at the girls in the kitchen, and Yaten set his face with determination. "We'll keep them occupied."

In the kitchen, Makoto was chopping up vegetables and chicken. The ingredients grew into large piles shoved to the side of the cutting board. Makoto whistled cheerfully as she worked, but her mood was far from cheerful. The other three stood around the kitchen, pretending to be busy and chatting in low voices.

"So I wonder what happened," Minako said. "Do you think Usagi-chan..."

Makoto looked up from her work. "...Maybe. I can't believe Usagi-chan didn't tell us about this."

Ami gave them a cross look. "Well, I'm not surprised she didn't, Mako-chan," she said. She frowned. "Look at how we're behaving. Checking up on her, like she's a little girl." She blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so angry."

Kakyuu looked a little lost. "You girls made us rush over here so fast, I don't even know what's going on. Why are you so concerned?"

It occurred to the other three that Kakyuu was unaware of the situation. "Well," Makoto started, "Usagi-chan and Seiya-kun..."

Kakyuu listened. Her eyes grew wide with surprise. "I see. I should have realized earlier..."

Rei and Usagi were still in the hallway. "Usagi, I know how you feel about...him," she said. "Don't try to hide it from me."

Usagi smiled slightly. "I should have known better than to try, Rei-chan," she said as she looked at the floor. "I can't cover up these feelings."

Rei's eyes widened. "So I was right," she said softly. "What are you going to do?"

"I tried to tell him earlier, but..."

"ChibiUsa-chan showed up, right?"

"Yes...I don't know what to do," she said. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, and continued to look away. "Help me, Rei-chan..."

Rei took Usagi's chin in her fingertips and brought it up until their eyes met. Tearful blue eyes met gentle yet hard violet ones. "Look," she said, "I know you feel like we won't understand, but we do. So follow your heart, Usagi. We're behind you all the way, whatever you choose."

"Rei-chan...do you really mean that?"

"Absolutely!" she said. She put her hands on her hips. "I know you're a coward, but you have to be brave and stop being so secretive. It's not fair to Seiya-kun or Mamoru-san to keep quiet like this."

Usagi brightened up. "Thanks, Rei-chan," she said. "You're right. I can't back down."

~***~

"Go to the beach? Oh, Yaten-kun, I'd love to!" Minako cried out. Her voice suddenly became low and seductive. "What would you like me to wear?"

The group sat scattered around the living room and dining room of Usagi and Mamoru's apartment, still picking at their chicken stir fry. Seiya and Taiki gave each other small, hidden smiles, silently approving of their friend's plan.

Yaten sighed in aggravation. "Whatever you want, Minako-chan," he said. "How about you girls? Are you up for it?"

"Sounds like fun! I'm in!" Makoto said with a smile. "I'll make a bunch of food to take with us!"

"I'll come too," Ami said, glancing at Taiki. "I can catch up on my reading."

Minako folded her arms over her chest and frowned angrily. "There goes my romantic day at the beach..."

Rei laughed and agreed she would come. "How about you, Usagi?" she asked. "It'll be fun."

"I don't know if I want to," Usagi said. "Maybe I'll stay behind."

Mamoru spoke up. "You should go, Usa-ko. I can't come, though. I have to work."

"Me either," ChibiUsa said. "I'm going to go see Hotaru-chan tomorrow."

Usagi looked up at Seiya, who gave her a look. A "please come" look.

"All right," she relented. "Count me in."

"Great, it's settled then," Yaten said, grinning.

~***~

Hotaru looked up from the large book on her lap to the sound of knocking on the front door.

Michiru leaned through the kitchen doorway. "Can you get that, Hotaru? My hands are full."

"Sure, Michiru-momma! No problem!" She set down the book--a dense-looking calculus text--on the coffee table and made her way to the door. As she opened it a pink blur zoomed from the steps and knocked Hotaru back into the house.

"Hotaru-chan!" the girl cried out. "Hi!"

"ChibiUsa-chan! What a great surprise!" Hotaru sat up and threw her arms around her best friend. "When did you get here?"

"Yesterday afternoon," she said. "I got to meet Seiya-san, Taiki-san, Yaten-san and Kakyuu-san at Usagi's apartment."

"They're nice, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I like them a lot. Especially Seiya-san. He's funny."

Setsuna walked into the room with a sketchpad under her arm and a pencil tucked behind her ear. She jumped with surprise at the sight of ChibiUsa in their living room.

"Small Lady! You're here!" she said, letting a smile creep across her face.

"Puu! I've missed you!" She bounded over to Setsuna and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"How wonderful to see you, my Small Lady," she said warmly. "Why don't you stay for lunch? Michiru's cooking enough for another person."

Michiru leaned against the wall next to the kitchen, with her arms crossed and a spatula clutched tightly in her delicate hand. "Hi, Chibi-chan. Lunch would be ready sooner, but someone won't help me." She glared in the direction of their den, where Haruka sat transfixed, cross-legged on the sofa, Playstation controller in her hands. Her eyes glinted with fierce determination. She momentarily turned her attention away from the screen, noticing Michiru's angry look.

"Come on, Michiru! If I don't win this race I won't have enough prize money to buy a new transmission!" Convinced of the merit of her argument, she returned to her game. After a few moments they heard her shout, "Ha! There's no way Ten'ou Haruka's gonna be passed by an American car!"

Hotaru and ChibiUsa giggled. Michiru rolled her eyes and returned to the kitchen.

ChibiUsa smiled. "I'm so happy I'm here with you guys," she said. "I know we'll have lots of fun."

~***~

~***~

Seiya jumped up energetically and bounded toward the girls. "Hey, you all look great!" he said. But his eyes never left Usagi. And hers were locked onto him.

Makoto knelt down in the sand and set down the basket. "Hey, are you guys hungry? I made tons of food!"

"MAKO-CHAN! That looks so good!"

Seiya, in his time away from Earth, had forgotten Usagi's love for eating. She practically leapfrogged over him toward the smell of Makoto's fried chicken.

The group ate with relish, gobbling up everything Makoto had cooked for their outing. Usagi got up to throw away the large pile of chicken bones on her plate. "That was great!" she said. "I couldn't eat another bite!"

"Of course you couldn't," Yaten quipped. "You already ate everything."

"It's okay, Yaten-kun," Makoto said. "I always cook extra in anticipation of Usagi-chan's appetite."

Taiki giggled. "Well, I think the more you cook, the more she'll eat."

Seiya pointed his finger in the air and winked. "If she could, she'd probably cut those odango off her head and eat them, too."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Usagi returned from the garbage can just in time to hear what Seiya had said. Her cheeks puffed up in anger. "Seiya! Odango made from hair wouldn't taste very good!"

That just made everyone laugh more. The entire group was in hysterics. Taiki's face turned bright red from his nonstop giggling.

Yaten finally stopped laughing long enough to speak. "Hey, why don't we all go for a swim?"

Ami cocked an eyebrow in his direction. "Yaten-kun, we're supposed to wait half an hour after eating. We don't want to get all cramped up." He started to laugh again. "I think Usagi-chan is the only one who's eaten enough for it to matter."

Usagi pouted. "Yaten-kun, you too?"

Taiki stood up and started walking toward the shore. "Yaten is right, Ami-san. Let's all go except for Usagi-san." Yaten and Seiya were the only ones who noticed his subtle wink.

"Fine," Ami relented. "Let's go."

"Not me, thanks," Seiya said. "I'll stay here and keep Odango company."

The three men waited for one of the girls to protest. None of them did.

"Okay!" Minako shouted. "Race you, Yaten-kun!"

"I think she's just looking for an excuse for Yaten-kun to see her running in that bikini," Rei said to Usagi as she started to follow the others. After a moment she turned back quickly and whispered in Usagi's ear. "Here's your chance. Don't blow it."

She watched with a small sigh as Rei joined the others near the water. "Thank you, Rei-chan."

"For what?"

She turned her head to see Seiya standing inches away from her. "Oh...nothing. Just talking to myself."

Seiya grinned wickedly. "So, I've finally got you alone, Odango...what should we do?"

Usagi blushed at his forwardness.

He gave her a small poke in the shoulder. "Come on, now, don't be like that. I'm just teasing you."

She relaxed a little and smiled. "So what do you want to do, anyway? You're not the type to just sit here while everyone else has fun."

"You and I can still have fun," Seiya said. He gestured at the large outcroppings of rocks behind them at the back of the beach. "Want to do some rock climbing?"

"Seiya...I'm no good at stuff like that..."

"Don't worry, you have me with you. Come on, the view will be great when we get to the top." Before Usagi could protest, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the rocks.

Ami was floating on her back, gently propelling her body through the water, when she noticed that Seiya and Usagi were no longer on the beach. She craned her neck and saw them scaling some rocks a few hundred yards away. She chuckled as Usagi struggled to find footholds, and Seiya kept catching her and pushing her farther up. Taiki noticed her laughter and swam up next to her. "What's so amusing, Ami-san?"

She lifted one lithe arm out of the water and pointed to their friends on the rocks. Taiki smiled.

"Taiki-san," she said, suddenly very serious, "was coming out here just a ruse to get those two alone?"

Taiki looked away and didn't say anything, when Yaten swam up to them.

He pushed his wet silver hair away from his forehead, leaving his bangs sticking up in a stiff ridge. "Do you blame us? They would have never had the chance if it had been up to the four of you."

Ami looked bewildered. "What is that supposed to mean, Yaten-kun?"

Taiki finally spoke up. "The first time you girls found out they were alone together, you swarmed in like a flock of vultures." He paused and gave her a long look. "You don't want them to be alone."

"Yaten-kun, fix your hair! You use too much gel!" Minako said cheerily as she joined them. When she noticed the looks on their faces, she quickly sobered up. "What's going on, Ami-chan?"

Meanwhile, Usagi and Seiya reached the top of one of the large rocks. They seated themselves and stared out at the ocean.

"You were right, Seiya," Usagi said. "This view is incredible."

"I wouldn't know. I can't take my eyes off of you." When Usagi looked over at him, the light of the afternoon sun caught in his eyes, making them shine more than they already were.

"Seiya..."

"Stop hesitating, Odango!" he said loudly. "Twice you've tried to tell me something, and twice you haven't had the chance to finish."

"I know, but..."

"But now we're alone. And I'm not afraid anymore--you can tell me anything. So go ahead."

"Okay. You're right..."

"Of course I'm right. I'm always--"

"...I love you, Seiya."

Even though he was pressuring her to say it, Seiya still wasn't prepared when she did. He sat back a little and stared at her.

"Seiya?" Usagi felt her heart wrenching. Maybe, she thought, maybe I shouldn't have said it after all. Maybe he--

"I love you too, Odango."

"You...you do?"

"Yeah, isn't it obvious?" He laughed nervously.

Before he realized it, he saw tears rolling down Usagi's face, dripping onto the rock below them.

"Odango, what's wrong?"

"I...I was almost hoping you'd...reject me. Now that I said it, I can't go back... but I don't have the power to...to..."

Her body seemed to crumple, as she let out a pitiful wail. Seiya grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Now you listen to me, Odango," he said. "No one can decide your fate but you. You have the power to do what you want." He poked his finger at her chest for emphasis. "You are free."

"But Seiya...what do I do?"

"I have a novel idea," he said, and leaned forward, pressing his body into hers.

Back in the water, Ami frowned at Minako. "They think we don't want Seiya-kun and Usagi-chan together," she said.

"What reason have you given us to think differently?" Taiki asked, letting a little anger enter his tone. "You've interfered wonderfully so far."

"You misunderstand us," Minako said. "We respect whatever decision Usagi makes."

Yaten grumbled. "Then why have you been so nosy?"

"Yaten, you should know that's how girls are. You are one, after all," Kakyuu said, gliding through the water toward the group.

"But Princess--"

"These girls care for one another very much," she said, trying to reassure the two men. "They're just too involved in Usagi-chan's life to stay out of it."

Rei and Makoto popped their heads up from underwater in between the rest of the group, and blinked rapidly to get the water out of their eyes.

"We heard you a minute ago," Rei said, after shaking her head back and forth a few times. "And you're wrong about our intentions. Really."

"Trust us, you guys," Makoto said gently. "If this is what Usagi-chan wants, it's what we want. And we know you feel the same when it comes to Seiya-kun."

Yaten emitted a small smile. "I guess you're right. Maybe we've got it all wrong."

Minako put her hand on Yaten's shoulder and grinned. "Okay, then we're all friends? So let's go back to shore."

They turned to the beach and started to swim back, until Ami stopped. Once again, she pointed a finger up at the rocky area. "Look, everyone..."

Although they all gazed with wide eyes, none of them were too surprised to see Seiya and Usagi perched on the rock, locked in a kiss.

At that moment, with her lips pressed to Seiya's, her thoughts were fleeting. Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest. She closed her eyes and felt a wave of peace wash over her. Seiya's right, she thought. I am free.

~***~