Sometimes good things come from bad things

Summary: Ami comes to the park that was to be torn down to read and ponders how Petasos actually saved it.

Ami had once again come to the park she used to come to read to when she didn't have cram school. It was nice and quiet as she sat down under one of the trees and opened one of her books.

It was somewhat hard to imagine now that not a year ago this beautiful place was to be torn down and replaced with a business district. But whoever had been behind it had changed their mind after all the strange occurrences caused by the Dark Kingdom's youma, Petasos.

She could never forgive the way Dark Kingdom had hurt innocent people, including this park's caretaker, but just this once she would admit that something good had come from their actions. Even though they surely had not intended it.

The mystery called love

Summary: Nephrite doesn't understand Naru's actions - or his own feelings.

'Why would she go to such lengths for someone she barely knows?' No matter how much Nephrite tried to understand Naru's actions, he simply couldn't. No one in Dark Kingdom would ever have put their own life at stake to save someone else. She had said it was because she loved him, but that made even less sense. All he had done was lie to her and use her, and still she said she loved him. That was absurd.

Then there was the matter of his own actions. Afterwards it had been easy to simply dismiss having defended her as paying back a favor, but when he had done it, he really hadn't thought that far. No, when he had seen her in danger, he hadn't thought at all.

Secret tears

Summary: After Tuxedo Mask sacrifices himself to save her and is captured by Dark Kingdom, Usagi can't bear the thought of losing anyone else to the enemy.

There was nobody else in the room, not even Luna, as Usagi lay quietly on her bed and wept on her pillow. It was only in moments like this she could really break down and cry. In front of Luna and her fellow sailor soldiers she had to act strong.

But she wasn't really strong. Everybody always had to protect her, and even Tuxedo Mask had been captured and brainwashed by the Dark Kingdom because of her. Luna said that the only way to save Earth was to protect the princess – Usagi herself - and the Silver Crystal and destroy the Dark Kingdom, and Usagi had promised to fight alongside all her friends to accomplish that goal. But what if...what if she'd have to lose more people dear to her to do that?

'I don't want that! I'd rather hand over the Silver Crystal to them if they'd just give Tuxedo Mask back and let us all live in peace.' If Rei-chan had heard her say that, she'd slap her again. But she just wasn't that strong. Of all the five sailor soldiers, she was least qualified to be the princess. All she wanted was for them to just have normal lives as average junior high school girls.