The apartment door closed behind Usagi and Chibiusa with a click. Usagi dropped her bag by the door and exhaled. The awkwardness between mother and daughter filled the air like static.

  Chibiusa wandered into the living room. She looked at the couch, considered sitting on it for a moment, then thought better of it. She had not forgotten the dripping mess of sewage that had leaked all over it the night before.

  “Well, you said you were hungry, right? I’ll whip something up for you!”

  Usagi put extra cheer into her voice as she dashed into the kitchen.

  Chibiusa stared at her, eyes wide in horror.

  “ You’re going to cook?”

  Usagi huffed with indignation.

  “Yes. I can cook, you know.”

  She put on her pink apron and grinned at Chibiusa. The girl crossed her arms.

  “No, you can’t . In the future, we order takeout most of the time. Daddy says it’s safer.”

  Usagi gasped. She clutched her chest as if struck by an arrow.

  “Safer?! How dare you!”

  Chibiusa stuck out her tongue at Usagi.

  “It’s the truth.”

  Usagi grabbed a spatula from the counter and brandished it at her future daughter.

  “Oh, you little … !”

  Chibiusa remained unbothered.

  “Stop calling me ‘little’. I’m already eight years old, Usagi.”

  Usagi glared at her.

  “You claim you’re my daughter, so why won’t you call me mama, huh? Why is it ‘Usagi’?”

  Chibiusa shrugged. Her next words cut Usagi to the core.

  “You’re not my mama yet. You didn’t give birth to me or raise me. So, you’re just Usagi.”

  She stuck her tongue out again.

  “That’s it! You’re getting drafted, you little brat!”

  Before Chibiusa could protest, Usagi grabbed another apron from the cabinet, rolled it up to fit her tiny frame, and tied it around her.

  “If you think I’m such a disaster in the kitchen, you can help!”

  Chibiusa sighed in resignation but didn’t resist.

  “Fine, but don’t blame me if you burn down the apartment. There’s a reason we have the fire department on speed dial.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Usagi ruffled the girl’s hair.

  “Hilarious! Now watch and learn from the master!”

  She dragged the girl to the counter with the energy of a mad scientist while Chibiusa tried to undo the damage to her hair.

  They cooked together. Initially, at least, there was a lot more bickering than cooking. Usagi tried to chop vegetables. Her clumsy knife skills sent carrot pieces flying. Chibiusa groaned and picked the pieces out of her hair.

  Gradually, the two found a rhythm. It amazed Usagi how easily she and Chibiusa could work together. Instructions passed between them without words, as if they were two halves of the same person. They still traded plenty of barbs as they cooked together, but it felt like a fun game, not a genuine conflict.

  Chibiusa leaned forward to pour rice into a pot. Usagi put her hand over it.

  “The water needs to boil before you put in the rice, Chibiusa, or it’ll be a sticky mess.”

  Chibiusa looked up at her.

  “Move your hand, Usagi, or you’re gonna get burned!”

  Usagi winked at her.

  “You know what they say. No pain, no grain.”

  The two looked at each other for a long moment, then broke into laughter. When the water bubbled, Chibiusa poured in the rice. Usagi grinned as she watched Chibiusa stir it.

  Am I enjoying myself? How is this possible?

  Chibiusa seemed more at ease than she had been all day. Usagi seized the moment and asked her some questions as casually as possible.

  “Hey, what was that all about with Rei and Minako today? They were acting so weird when you asked to have a sleepover.”

  Chibiusa hesitated. Her cheeks turned a little pink.

  “Aunt Rei and Aunt Mina are great. They’re just... close in the future.”

  Usagi caught the girl’s hesitation and raised an eyebrow.

  “Close? How close?”

  Chibiusa snapped back.

  “Just close!”

  Usagi let it slide.

  “Fine, fine.” She switched gears. “What about Makoto? You said very little to her.”

  Chibiusa’s expression dimmed.

  “She’s going through something in the future. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Usagi frowned but didn’t press.

  “And Ami…why do you keep calling her Miss Mizuno? She’s one of my best friends. Don’t you spend any time with her at all? I thought you two would be closer.”

  Chibiusa dropped her cooking spoon on the floor. Her face had gone ashen. Usagi bent down to pick up the cooking spoon and washed it off in the sink before handing it back to Chibiusa. Her heart ached at how guarded the girl now seemed.

  She grabbed a handful of flour and tossed it into the air with exaggerated clumsiness.

  “Oops! Guess I’m making a mess again!”

  Chibiusa groaned.

  “You’re impossible.” She hesitated. “Why is there flour on the counter, anyway? We’re making curry rice!”

  Usagi grinned. She had no idea.

  They focused on finishing the meal, and Chibiusa’s mood lifted again. Usagi enjoyed their banter, but deep down, she was worried. What was going on with Ami that Chibiusa was too terrified to discuss?

  As they put generous helpings of curry rice on their plates, Chibiusa cleared her throat.

  “Why did we meet all of your friends at Crown Karaoke today, anyway? Shouldn’t we focus on finding the Guardians and helping them reawaken their powers?”

  Usagi stiffened. Her future self had never told Chibiusa about her life as Sailor Moon. The girl had grown up in the belief that her mother had made up those tales, first as bedtime stories, then for a manga. That the Guardians were real was still new to her; that Usagi and her friends, in fact, were the Guardians, was a well-kept secret.

  She stammered.

  “I... uh... thought it would be nice to, you know, catch up.”

  Chibiusa’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “Catch up on what?”

  Before Usagi could dig herself a deeper hole, the door opened. Mamoru entered the apartment with two shopping bags.

  He spotted Usagi and Chibiusa across the small apartment and smiled.

  “Something smells good.”

  Chibiusa sprinted to her future father and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “Mamo!”

  Usagi pouted.

  “She never greets me like that.”

  Mamoru chuckled.

  “What’s for lunch?”

  Chibiusa’s eyes took on an evil twinkle as she looked up at Mamoru.

  “If you call now, we can still have some okonomiyaki delivered.”

  Usagi tossed a kitchen towel across the room at Chibiusa. It landed dramatically on her head.

  “I heard that, small fry! Now go wash up for lunch!”

  Chibiusa stuck out her tongue one last time, then dashed away.