A Sailor Moon Fanfiction: The Pledge of the Sun.

Chapter 157

"I know," Usagi smiled reassuringly. "I will."

Then, the ordango blonde yawned while her eyes got a bit droopy.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" suggested Harusuke. "You could use some after the day you had."

Usagi sleepily nodded. "Yeah. I'll take you up on that. Goodnight, you two."

She then sleepily trodded off to her room. As soon as she was gone, Luna spoke up.

"You know, it never ceases to amaze me how much Usagi's grown," the black cat murmured. "If her current self met with how she was in the past, you would think they were two different people."

"I know what you mean," said Harusuke. "But still... I can't imagine how stressed she is right now. With Mamoru being sick with a curse and after finding out that he, Helios, and the Earth are all suffering because of the Dead Moon, I'm surprised she hasn't gone charging into enemy territory."

"Let's not try and give her that idea," said Luna. "With the stakes being as they are, we must be careful with how we go against our enemy. Especially since they've already gone as far as to take over Elysion."

"Yeah, I know. I just wish there was something we can do to help Mamoru," said Harusuke. "But we have to find the Golden Crystal to do that. At least, that's what Helios told us. I don't suppose you know what or where that is, Luna?"

Luna shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't. I've never even heard of it until now. But perhaps there's some information about it in the archives at the Command Centre. It's worth looking into."

Harusuke nodded. "Please do so," he said. "Until then, I suppose I'll get to bed, too. No sense in worrying about fighting the enemy if I don't get some shuteye. Night, Luna."

The boy then walked to his room while waving goodnight to the feline.

But as soon as he walked into his room, he heard the sound of some scratching. At first, he was puzzled, but then he soon realized that the sound was coming from his window. Sure enough, as he came over to inspect, pulling aside the curtains, he found Artemis standing outside.

"Artemis, what brings you over at this hour?" wondered Harusuke as he pulled the window open.

"I came to talk to you," Artemis replied as he hopped inside. "It's about Minako."

The white cat then told Harusuke what Minako had told him while the boy listened.

"I see," Harusuke hummed as Artemis finished. "So, Minako's worried about slowing the team down and failing as the Sailor Guardians' leader because of not getting her crystal yet? Isn't this similar to how she wasn't targeted by the Death Busters before she eventually did?"

"Yes, and that's what I'm worried about," said Artemis. "I'm worried she'll do something reckless to prove her worth as a guardian and leader. I may have told her not to worry about it and that her time will come, but words can only do so much." He frowned as he looked sadly at the floor. "Not to mention that she's not the only one worried about being a liability. I'm afraid I haven't done enough for Minako as her partner."

"Why would you think that?" asked Harusuke.

"I mean, think about it, Harusuke," said Artemis. "I may have helped Minako become the woman she is today, but I'm not the best role model either. Not to mention, I'm not the strongest either. I just feel like I haven't been doing my fair share, you know?"

"Oh, come on, Artemis. You've done a lot of things to help," said Harusuke. "You stood your ground when you protected Luna against those animals when they were being controlled at that animal park. You also played a part in saving me when I was Dark Nova. And you even saved Luna back with that weird kangaroo Lemures."