Mercurial > moonlitnights
comparison old/stories/Christmasgiftccs.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights
[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
| author | rlm |
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| date | Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500 |
| parents | |
| children |
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| 1:dbe144217c71 | 2:fc00894c1d4a |
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| 1 Hi. I have another ChibiUsa and Hotaru story here for you guys. ^^ While | |
| 2 it is still not a hentai piece, it should be observed that the young | |
| 3 adult ChibiUsa and Hotaru love each other deeply and it is best suitable | |
| 4 for mature readers. Just so you would know.... otherwise, enjoy. | |
| 5 | |
| 6 Disclaimer: I do not own ChibiUsa and Hotaru - they are copyrighted by | |
| 7 the wonderful Sailor Moon artist, Naoko Takeuchi. This is only a fan | |
| 8 fiction, okay? ^^ | |
| 9 | |
| 10 *********************************************************************** | |
| 11 | |
| 12 I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU | |
| 13 | |
| 14 By YaRassno (yup, it's still spelled this way! ^^) | |
| 15 | |
| 16 Readers take note: this story contains a few violent scenes and mature | |
| 17 situations. | |
| 18 | |
| 19 | |
| 20 | |
| 21 *********************************************************************** | |
| 22 | |
| 23 "Wake up, sleepyhead." | |
| 24 | |
| 25 ChibiUsa grumbled, twisted away from the voice and burrowed deeper under | |
| 26 the covers, not wanting to wake up. "Go away, Diana-chan! I'll get up | |
| 27 when I'm good and ready." | |
| 28 | |
| 29 "Hey, come on!" The voice said again, poking her in the side. | |
| 30 | |
| 31 "All right, all right, don't tell me you're hungry already! I just fed | |
| 32 you some snacks a while ago. Diana-chan, how if I scratch behind your | |
| 33 ears, will you go away and leave me alone?" Even as she finished speaking, | |
| 34 ChibiUsa put her hand out from beneath the blanket. Almost instantly it | |
| 35 was clasped in someone else's hands and pressed against something soft. | |
| 36 It was not her cat at all. | |
| 37 | |
| 38 "I'm not Diana," the voice laughed, "And I've already eaten!" | |
| 39 | |
| 40 "Nani?" ChibiUsa poked her head up from the depths of the bed. "Hotaru- | |
| 41 chan? What are you doing in my bedroom?" | |
| 42 | |
| 43 "YOUR bedroom?" Hotaru gazed at her with amusement. "Well, ChibiUsa-chan, | |
| 44 you're not in Crystal Tokyo now!" The tall thin girl, dressed as always | |
| 45 in black, was holding ChibiUsa's hand tenderly against her breast. "I had | |
| 46 half a mind to pull you right out of the bed if you are not up by noon, | |
| 47 and it is already past ten minutes!" | |
| 48 | |
| 49 ChibiUsa frowned slightly, sat up and looked around. "Oh, that's right. I | |
| 50 just got here yesterday. Okay," She fell back into the bed, then just as | |
| 51 quickly she sat bolt upright again. "Wait a minute, what about your | |
| 52 school?" | |
| 53 | |
| 54 "Lucky for you, we are in the middle of a Christmas vacation right now. | |
| 55 You have arrived just in time - No school for a week!" | |
| 56 | |
| 57 "Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. What a relief," ChibiUsa plopped | |
| 58 back in the bed, "Now I can go back to sleep!" But Hotaru, still holding | |
| 59 her hand, pulled her back to her sitting position again. | |
| 60 | |
| 61 "Not a chance! You're getting out of bed, and that's it!" | |
| 62 | |
| 63 "Aw, Hotaru-chan!" ChibiUsa griped, but she complied anyways and stood on | |
| 64 the floor, shivering from the morning chill because she was not wearing | |
| 65 anything on her. Hotaru let go of her hand. "Say, where is my duffel | |
| 66 bag I brought over with me?" | |
| 67 | |
| 68 Hotaru pointed. "Right over there!" | |
| 69 | |
| 70 "Arigato!" ChibiUsa brushed the loose hair from her face and went to the | |
| 71 corner where she had tossed her duffel bag and started rummaging around | |
| 72 inside it. When she straightened up and turned, she saw Hotaru sitting on | |
| 73 the edge of the bed and gazing lovingly at her. | |
| 74 | |
| 75 "Welcome back, my princess. You look even more beautiful each time I see | |
| 76 you!" Seeing a light blush on ChibiUsa's cheeks Hotaru chuckled. "Well, | |
| 77 that's true. And I'm really glad you came all the way from Crystal Tokyo | |
| 78 to stay with me for a while," she said, "I'll tell you, every time you | |
| 79 went away for a few months I missed you terribly. Whenever you are gone I | |
| 80 thought about you all the time!" | |
| 81 | |
| 82 ChibiUsa smiled. "Me too, Hotaru-chan," She went over and kissed Hotaru | |
| 83 softly on the lips. "I think about you every day, even in my dreams. So I | |
| 84 just decided to sneak off and see you again!" She shrugged sheepishly. | |
| 85 "Although I unknowingly arrived right in the middle of the Christmas | |
| 86 season!" | |
| 87 | |
| 88 "But it's a perfect timing!" Hotaru exclaimed happily. "I was just | |
| 89 wishing the other day you would be here to celebrate Christmas with me | |
| 90 and my parents this year, and when you turned up suddenly at our door | |
| 91 yesterday night I am truly delighted!" | |
| 92 | |
| 93 "Yeah, and Haruka and Michiru were so surprised to see me so soon," | |
| 94 ChibiUsa said with a small laugh. | |
| 95 | |
| 96 "Well, I'm happy to see you again anyway. It's going to be so much fun, | |
| 97 now that you are here with me!" Hotaru put her arms around the pink- | |
| 98 haired princess and hugged her warmly. "Then again I'm always happy | |
| 99 whenever you travel back here to visit me...again and again! I just wish | |
| 100 you could stay with me - permanently!" | |
| 101 | |
| 102 "I wish I could, Hotaru-chan, but Puu probably won't let me stay too long. | |
| 103 Neither would my mother...Whoop!" ChibiUsa stepped back and clutched at | |
| 104 her loudly rumbling stomach. "Guess I'm starving!" | |
| 105 | |
| 106 Hotaru chuckled. "That's what you got for skipping breakfast. Okay, I'll | |
| 107 see what I can cook up for you for lunch." Suddenly her face brightened, | |
| 108 "Hey, I have an even better idea! We can go downtown and get something to | |
| 109 eat. My treat. How does it sound?" | |
| 110 | |
| 111 "Great!" ChibiUsa said happily. | |
| 112 | |
| 113 "Good. Go get dressed. Or you can help yourself to some of my clothes in | |
| 114 the closet. I don't mind. I'll be downstairs waiting for you!" | |
| 115 | |
| 116 "Hotaru-chan?" | |
| 117 | |
| 118 "Hai, ChibiUsa-chan?" | |
| 119 | |
| 120 "I was thinking - could we stop by at the Tsukino house first? I'd like | |
| 121 to see Usagi again." ChibiUsa asked tentatively. "I never got a chance to | |
| 122 see Usagi and her family while I was here the last time, and I just | |
| 123 wanted to see how she is doing." | |
| 124 | |
| 125 Hotaru thought about it. "I'm not sure if she's still living with her | |
| 126 family, and also it's a bit long way from here...but sure, we can go over | |
| 127 there and say hello to Usagi!" | |
| 128 | |
| 129 ChibiUsa threw her arms around her dark-haired friend in a big hug. | |
| 130 "Arigato!" | |
| 131 | |
| 132 | |
| 133 ****************** | |
| 134 | |
| 135 Some time later Hotaru and ChibiUsa (who managed to find some warm, | |
| 136 light-colored clothes from the closet to wear) found themselves standing | |
| 137 before the door at the Tsukino house, shivering because it *was* pretty | |
| 138 long way getting there. But neither complained, though. Hotaru glanced | |
| 139 at her young friend and noticed the nostalgic look in ChibiUsa's face. | |
| 140 The pink-haired girl must really miss her future mother a lot, she | |
| 141 observed. | |
| 142 | |
| 143 "ChibiUsa-chan, I wonder if Usagi's parents will recognize you?" | |
| 144 | |
| 145 "Not without Luna-P, I don't think so," ChibiUsa said, looking rather sad. | |
| 146 "You know, I used my Luna-P on Usagi's family a long time ago and fooled | |
| 147 them into thinking I was just a poor, long-lost and abandoned 'cousin' | |
| 148 who needed to be taken care of. I believe the effect have long since | |
| 149 worn off now. There's no way Usagi's family would recognize me and | |
| 150 welcome me with open arms." | |
| 151 | |
| 152 Hotaru impulsively put her arm around ChibiUsa and hugged her closely, | |
| 153 trying to console her. "At least Usagi will remember you and be happy to | |
| 154 see you again anyway!" | |
| 155 | |
| 156 "Yeah," ChibiUsa nodded, smiling a little. "Well, here we go." | |
| 157 | |
| 158 Hotaru stepped back to one side and watched silently as ChibiUsa reached | |
| 159 up, hesitated only momentarily, then knocked the door. A few moments | |
| 160 passed, then the door swung outward and a middle-aged woman with long, | |
| 161 bluish hair streaked with gray peered curiously at the the pink-haired | |
| 162 teenager. "Hai?" The woman queried. | |
| 163 | |
| 164 ChibiUsa blinked. "Uh, uh, I-I just came here to see if Usagi is home," | |
| 165 she stuttered, shuffling her shoes and looking terribly shy. "I haven't | |
| 166 seen her for quite a while and I've lost touch with her...so...." | |
| 167 | |
| 168 "Oh, my goodness. You must be one of Usagi's friends. Do you know she got | |
| 169 a job in the other part of the city and moved away a couple of months | |
| 170 ago?" The woman asked. | |
| 171 | |
| 172 ChibiUsa's face fell. "Oh...I don't know that." | |
| 173 | |
| 174 The woman looked at her more closely and said with a quizzical expression | |
| 175 on her face, "Hmmm...You seem familiar. Where have I met you before?" | |
| 176 | |
| 177 Hotaru's eyebrows raised and she looked sideways at ChibiUsa who became | |
| 178 flustered and looked down at her shoes, tongue-tied. She decided to speak | |
| 179 up for her. | |
| 180 | |
| 181 "Konnichi wa, Mrs. Tsukino-san. Since Usagi's not living here anymore, | |
| 182 can we have her phone number so we can get in touch with her?" | |
| 183 | |
| 184 The woman's head turned, and gave the dark-haired girl a surprised look. | |
| 185 "Why, hello, Hotaru! I haven't seen you in months - good to see you | |
| 186 again!" Then the woman turned her attention back to the pink-haired teen. | |
| 187 "Well, I'll most certainly be happy to give you Usagi's phone number if | |
| 188 you like." | |
| 189 | |
| 190 "Arigato! It's just that Usagi is my...really good friend," ChibiUsa | |
| 191 replied, sounding even more shy than usual. "And I just want to talk to | |
| 192 her again..." | |
| 193 | |
| 194 "Okay. I understand," The woman nodded. "Give me a second, and I'll give | |
| 195 you a piece of paper with Usagi's phone number on it." | |
| 196 | |
| 197 "All right, Ik...ma'am," ChibiUsa said, beaming. She staggered against | |
| 198 Hotaru as soon as the woman closed the door. "Kami-sama, I almost called | |
| 199 her 'Ikuko-mommy'!" She whispered as Hotaru gave her another one-arm | |
| 200 reassuring hug. | |
| 201 | |
| 202 The door opened, and the girls straightened up expectantly. Ikuko stepped | |
| 203 forward with, "Here you are," and handed ChibUsa a piece of paper. "I | |
| 204 hope you will be able to get hold of Usagi long enough to have a nice | |
| 205 talk - I myself have had hard time getting her on the telephone as she is | |
| 206 so busy with her job and her social life!" | |
| 207 | |
| 208 "Arigato again," ChibiUsa said, accepting the proffered paper. "If Usagi | |
| 209 ever come by here some time, please tell her that I was looking for her." | |
| 210 | |
| 211 "Oh, hai, we are planning to visit Usagi this weekend," Ikuko said | |
| 212 brightly with a smile, "But what's your name, so I can tell her that you | |
| 213 were looking for her?" | |
| 214 | |
| 215 "Oh," ChibiUsa felt a sudden pang of sadness that the woman could no | |
| 216 longer knew her name. "Just tell her the little spore stopped by in | |
| 217 Tokyo for a sort visit. She'll know who it is. Ja ne!" She grabbed | |
| 218 Hotaru's arm and took off with the dark-haired friend in tow before the | |
| 219 woman would see her tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. | |
| 220 | |
| 221 ********************************************************************* | |
| 222 | |
| 223 "Are you okay, ChibiUsa-chan?" Hotaru said, glancing worriedly at her | |
| 224 friend across the table they had taken at the Crown Place. "You seem | |
| 225 awfully quiet." | |
| 226 | |
| 227 "Oh well. I was thinking about Usagi's mother," ChibiUsa said. "Now that | |
| 228 I have seen her I miss her just as much as I do Usagi. Although," She | |
| 229 rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands with a | |
| 230 look of mild disbelief, "To tell you the truth, I can't believe she | |
| 231 looked so much older than I last saw her!" | |
| 232 | |
| 233 "Hmm-mmm," Hotaru said, nodding. "Things changed a lot since you were | |
| 234 away, I guess," Hotaru smiled and reached across the table to squeeze | |
| 235 ChibiUsa's arm affectionately. "I'm sorry we don't get to see Usagi, but | |
| 236 now that you got her number we can call her tonight to say hi. Oh, by the | |
| 237 way," she added quickly as though an thought had occurred to her, "Tell | |
| 238 you what, with Christmas only a few days away I need to do some shopping | |
| 239 this afternoon and get a few Christmas presents for Haruka-papa and | |
| 240 Michiru-mama. We'll go to the mall after we ate. Okay with you?" | |
| 241 | |
| 242 "Okay, Hotaru-chan," But ChibiUsa was still preoccupied; "Ikuko- | |
| 243 mommy...she said I look familiar," she whispered half to herself, "I | |
| 244 wonder if she still remembers me after all?" | |
| 245 | |
| 246 A young, smiling waitress came up to their table and bowed slightly | |
| 247 toward the two occupants. "May I take your order?" | |
| 248 | |
| 249 ChibiUsa looked up, sat straight up and exclaimed happily; "Hi, | |
| 250 Unazuki!" | |
| 251 | |
| 252 Unazuki looked at her in surprise. "Nani? Have we met before?...Oh, | |
| 253 ChibiUsa! I almost didn't recognize you! My, but you've all grown up now | |
| 254 and without your odangos in your hair!" | |
| 255 | |
| 256 The pink-haired princess grinned. "I guess I hadn't gotten around to | |
| 257 fixing my hair up - and Hotaru said she don't know how to do odangos." | |
| 258 | |
| 259 "Indeed!" The young waitress paused to study her critically. "Whoa! You | |
| 260 know, I believe you look real kawaii with your hair down...I mean really | |
| 261 kawaii!" | |
| 262 | |
| 263 "That's what I thought, too!" Hotaru said. She smiled fondly at | |
| 264 ChibiUsa. "Unazuki's right. You do look very kawaii with your hair | |
| 265 down! Would you consider letting your hair hang loose for the rest of | |
| 266 your life?" | |
| 267 | |
| 268 "Yeah, that's a good idea!" Unazuki agreed. "You'd make a complete | |
| 269 knockout sight!" | |
| 270 | |
| 271 "Well, I don't know," ChibiUsa said, looking slightly embarrassed by the | |
| 272 sudden interest in her hairstyle. Bemused, she looked from Hotaru to | |
| 273 Unazuki and laughed nervously, then decided to change the subject; | |
| 274 "Uh...can I order fried chicken sandwich?" | |
| 275 | |
| 276 "Certainly!" Unazuki scribbled in her small notepad. "What about you?" | |
| 277 She asked Hotaru. The raven-haired girl gave her choice and the smiling | |
| 278 waitress wrote it down, then paused and gave the teen girls a concerned | |
| 279 look. "Please pardon me, but did you say you'll do the shopping at the | |
| 280 mall? Down the 8th Street, correct?" | |
| 281 | |
| 282 "Uh, yeah, Unazuki, that's right," Hotaru answered. "Why?" | |
| 283 | |
| 284 "Oh, my. Just be very careful, girls. There is a gang living in an area | |
| 285 not far from the 8th Street," Unazuki said seriously, "They're called the | |
| 286 White Wolves, and I heard they're pretty vicious. I just thought I'd warn | |
| 287 you if you're planning to shop there." | |
| 288 | |
| 289 "The White Wolves?" ChibiUsa squeaked. | |
| 290 | |
| 291 Hotaru looked thoughtful. "I've heard of them, my parents had told me | |
| 292 once about them a while ago," she said with a nod, "Arigato for the | |
| 293 warning, Unazuki. We will certainly be careful." | |
| 294 | |
| 295 "Good, then," Unazuki was all smiles now. She looked at ChibiUsa and said, | |
| 296 "I still think you look quite kawaii with your hair down. I really like | |
| 297 it a lot!" She bowed herself away. | |
| 298 | |
| 299 ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru. "The White Wolves...I don't remember hearing | |
| 300 about them. I know we have many gangs here in Tokyo, but this one? This | |
| 301 is news to me," She sounded a little worried, "And she says they're | |
| 302 vicious, eh?" | |
| 303 | |
| 304 "Don't worry about them, ChibiUsa-chan. As long as you are with me, | |
| 305 you'll be safe," Hotaru turned to gaze at the pink-haired teen and | |
| 306 grinned. "Well, I believe you're blushing, aren't you?" she teased, "You | |
| 307 acted like Unazuki were trying to hit on you just because she commented | |
| 308 so nicely on your hair, ne?" | |
| 309 | |
| 310 ChibiUsa ducked her head, face turning even deeper color of red. "Of | |
| 311 course not! I don't think so, Hotaru-chan!" | |
| 312 | |
| 313 Hotaru chuckled. "Heh. Sorry, ChibiUsa-chan. I better not tease you | |
| 314 anymore, now that your face got such a lovely shade of red." | |
| 315 | |
| 316 ChibiUsa squawked indignantly and tried to cuff her friend. With a | |
| 317 lightning motion borne of long senshi practice, Hotaru grabbed the young | |
| 318 girl's hand and covered it with both of her own hands. Deep purple eye | |
| 319 twinkling, the raven-haired girl grinned at ChibiUsa. "Okay, okay. I'll | |
| 320 behave, ChibiUsa-chan." | |
| 321 | |
| 322 Chibiusa struck her tongue out at her. "You better be!" She huffed. She | |
| 323 felt warm inside, however, when she noticed Hotaru's eyes became soft and | |
| 324 her mischievous smile turned gentle. The raven-haired girl's hands kept a | |
| 325 firm yet tender hold on hers. | |
| 326 | |
| 327 "Uh-oh," ChibiUsa said, raising one eyebrow, "I think I know what you're | |
| 328 thinking, Hotaru-chan." | |
| 329 | |
| 330 The raven-haired girl gave a small chuckle. "Perhaps you do, ChibiUsa- | |
| 331 chan," She winked at her, "But you'll have to wait until later to find | |
| 332 out!" She released her friend's hand, placed her elbows on the table and | |
| 333 rested her chin on her hands, still smiling gently at ChibiUsa. "Well, | |
| 334 suppose I get you something for Christmas, what will it be?" | |
| 335 | |
| 336 "You don't have to get me anything!" ChibiUsa protested, feeling a | |
| 337 little guilty, "I'm afraid I don't bring any money with me to buy you | |
| 338 something because I have no idea it would be almost Christmas when I | |
| 339 arrived at your house yesterday. You know how unpredictable time- | |
| 340 traveling can be. And besides, I've already got too much stuff back at | |
| 341 home anyways. If I've known I would arrive during the holiday, I would | |
| 342 bring something for you!" | |
| 343 | |
| 344 Hotaru smiled again. "Okay, then. And don't worry about that...ChibiUsa- | |
| 345 chan, just having you here with me is like a early Christmas present to | |
| 346 me!" | |
| 347 | |
| 348 "Really?" ChibiUsa said, pleased. | |
| 349 | |
| 350 Hotaru nodded vigorously, then became serious. "ChibiUsa-chan...Now that | |
| 351 you are here, how long will you stay? I hope this time you will be able | |
| 352 to stay as long as you can," Hotaru looked pleadingly at her young friend. | |
| 353 "Would you?" | |
| 354 | |
| 355 "I don't know. That depends," ChibiUsa said slowly, her brow furrowed. | |
| 356 "I would certainly stay as long as possible. But then Puu will come and | |
| 357 discover me here, she'll say I should go back home," Her voice sounded | |
| 358 resigned, "Then I'd have to leave." | |
| 359 | |
| 360 At this Hotaru frowned and shook her head vehemently. "ChibiUsa-chan, | |
| 361 she can't do that to you. You shouldn't let Pluto tell you what to do!" | |
| 362 she said sharply. ChibiUsa blinked at the tone of her friend's voice. | |
| 363 Hotaru continued, "If you want to stay here, you just tell her so!" | |
| 364 | |
| 365 "Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said. She reached out to touch her friend's | |
| 366 shoulder, wanting to reassure her, "It's okay! I'm not going anywhere - | |
| 367 especially not this soon anyhow!" | |
| 368 | |
| 369 "As much as I love Pluto, I just don't want her to come and take you | |
| 370 away again," Hotaru said earnestly, almost angrily. She took ChibiUsa's | |
| 371 hand and squeezed it briefly. "You are not only my best friend, you are | |
| 372 my soul mate. I won't let her tear us apart like she did last time. I'd | |
| 373 miss you terribly if she does." | |
| 374 | |
| 375 "I see," The pink-haired teen said softly, giving her friend a curious | |
| 376 look. She had never seen Hotaru this upset before. A memory came to her, | |
| 377 of young Hotaru and ChibiUsa trying to catch up with each other after the | |
| 378 downfall of Neherenia - to pick up where they had left off since they | |
| 379 last saw each other [and Hotaru was then a baby at that time before the | |
| 380 evil Neherenia and the Dead Moon Circus began causing trouble] - only to | |
| 381 have Pluto come and said that ChibiUsa have to return home to Crystal | |
| 382 Tokyo for good. Hotaru was so disappointed they had not been able to be | |
| 383 together very long... "I'd miss you too, if I leave. Don't worry, Hotaru- | |
| 384 chan, for you I will stay as long as it is possible, no matter what Puu | |
| 385 may say." | |
| 386 | |
| 387 Hotaru's troubled face cleared, and she seemed to calm down. "Good!" She | |
| 388 said, starting to smile warmly, "If you stay around long enough it'll be | |
| 389 also my birthday present next month too!" | |
| 390 | |
| 391 "At least until..." ChibiUsa hesitated and blushed a little, "Until Usagi | |
| 392 gets pregnant. Then I really have to go." | |
| 393 | |
| 394 Hotaru's smile faded, and she sighed, releasing her friend's hand. "You | |
| 395 have a point. Well, as long as you're here, we have to make the most of | |
| 396 time, I guess." | |
| 397 | |
| 398 "Hai, that's right," ChibiUsa agreed. She scooted around the beach to | |
| 399 the raven-haired teen's side and gave her a tight hug, "I don't want you | |
| 400 to feel bad, Hotaru-chan. I love you, always and forever. Nothing can | |
| 401 change that in any way!" | |
| 402 | |
| 403 For a moment Hotaru looked at her with shining purple eyes, and she | |
| 404 opened her mouth and was on verge of speaking something when Unazuki | |
| 405 returned bearing a tray of steaming food and placed it on their table. | |
| 406 | |
| 407 "Chow time!" The waitress announced with a huge smile. | |
| 408 | |
| 409 "What is it you were about to say?" ChibiUsa prompted her as soon as | |
| 410 Unazuki left. Hotaru shrugged and gave her another loving look. | |
| 411 | |
| 412 "Just that: I love you, too, ChibiUsa-chan. Always and forever." | |
| 413 | |
| 414 **************************************** | |
| 415 | |
| 416 The night sky was clear and cloudless with the bright, full moon hovering | |
| 417 over the Tokyo that twinkled and glittered like jewels with Christmas | |
| 418 lights everywhere. | |
| 419 | |
| 420 The young senshi and the princess from the future, each clutching tightly | |
| 421 to a bugling bag, pushed their way trough the jostling crowd of | |
| 422 pedestrians and shoppers across the congested street from the mall they | |
| 423 had just left. Reaching the other side safely, they turned in one | |
| 424 direction and started off on way home down the sidewalk. | |
| 425 | |
| 426 "Whoa, it's night already. We must have shopped all day until now!" | |
| 427 ChibiUsa exclaimed. She glanced down at the bags, then at Hotaru. "You | |
| 428 said a few presents, huh? I can't believe you can afford to buy all those, | |
| 429 let alone treat me at the Crown Place. Just how much allowance do you | |
| 430 actually get from Haruka and Michiru each week?!" | |
| 431 | |
| 432 "You're making it sound like Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama are spoiling | |
| 433 me!" Hotaru laughed. "No, really, the amount of the weekly allowance I | |
| 434 receive is about as normal as yours when you lived with Usagi, I think. | |
| 435 And every time I get it I just squirreled it away for later when I need | |
| 436 it to buy something." | |
| 437 | |
| 438 "So you just accumulate your allowance over time?" ChibiUsa raised her | |
| 439 eyebrows in mock surprise. "Oh, no wonder. And I thought you were | |
| 440 wealthy because of your parents!" | |
| 441 | |
| 442 Hotaru shrugged. "I'm not like those born-to-shop-until-I-drop-dead guys, | |
| 443 you know. Just a few things I need to buy now and then. With Christmas | |
| 444 coming, I thought I'd better hurry and get something for my parents!" | |
| 445 She turned her head and smiled at her young friend. "It was fun shopping | |
| 446 with you, ChibiUsa-chan. And thanks for your help in picking out a really | |
| 447 cool gift for Haruka-papa. Now I can tell her that she's a proud owner of | |
| 448 2001 Ferrari GTO. Then all she have to do is look inside the box and find | |
| 449 a kawaii little toy car she can play with the remote controller!" | |
| 450 | |
| 451 ChibiUsa laughed. "You're very welcome, Hotaru-chan," she said. | |
| 452 | |
| 453 They walked for a while; admiring the decorated windows they passed by | |
| 454 while their booted feet made crunching sound in the snow. Suddenly | |
| 455 ChibiUsa giggled furiously. | |
| 456 | |
| 457 "Gomen. There was one place that I was browsing back there - you were in | |
| 458 the other store at that time - and they were selling gag gifts. It | |
| 459 reminded me of one Mom got from Mars and Venus for her birthday back in | |
| 460 Crystal Tokyo last summer," She said, still giggling. "I can't say what | |
| 461 it was, but I know it was kind of naughty. You should have seen Mom's | |
| 462 face - it was really funny!" | |
| 463 | |
| 464 Hotaru laughed gently, mainly because ChibiUsa's giggles were quite | |
| 465 infectious. "I wish I could have been there with you. It would be fun, | |
| 466 eh?" | |
| 467 | |
| 468 ChibiUsa became somber and looked at her with a hint of sadness in her | |
| 469 cinnamon-red eyes. She said quietly, "Yeah, It would indeed be fun, with | |
| 470 all friends and about every Senshi there for our birthday except..." | |
| 471 | |
| 472 Hotaru cocked her head and looked at her quizzically. "Eh? Except what?" | |
| 473 When the pink-haired princess looked at you sadly and didn't respond, it | |
| 474 dawned on her; "I wasn't there?" | |
| 475 | |
| 476 ChibiUsa shook her head, and walked more slowly with her eyes downcast. | |
| 477 "You weren't there at the party. In fact, you are not around anywhere in | |
| 478 the Crystal Tokyo at all!" | |
| 479 | |
| 480 "How come?" | |
| 481 | |
| 482 ChibiUsa was silent for a moment before continuing, "I'll have you know, | |
| 483 Hotaru-chan, that after we defeated Neherenia I returned home and saw all | |
| 484 the old and new Senshi, including Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune - | |
| 485 except Sailor Saturn. I asked everyone what happened to you. Nobody | |
| 486 could give me a straight answer, not even my mother. Puu was the only one | |
| 487 to tell me that you were no longer on the Earth." She stopped and looked | |
| 488 at the stunned Hotaru. She continued with tears brimming her eyes, "At | |
| 489 first I thought it meant you had already died. But Puu said no, it was | |
| 490 just that you were sent back to your own planet - on the far side of the | |
| 491 galaxy. And nobody have contacted you ever since!" She scrubbed away the | |
| 492 tears that now tickled down her cheeks. "I can't reach you in any way, | |
| 493 and it made me feel so bad not to be able to see you. Oh, Hotaru-chan, I | |
| 494 miss you so much..." | |
| 495 | |
| 496 "Oh, ChibiUsa!" Hotaru dropped her bag and stepped forward quickly to | |
| 497 take her into her arms. "It's all right...don't cry, ChibiUsa-chan," For | |
| 498 the pink-haired princess was beginning to cry in earnest. "So that's why | |
| 499 you kept coming back here just to see me? It's okay, we're together now. | |
| 500 Shh, shh...." | |
| 501 | |
| 502 ChibiUsa snuggled against her and did not say anything else for a while. | |
| 503 Hotaru continued to murmur soft reassuring words and stroked her friend's | |
| 504 long hair absently. It was perhaps two full minutes before ChibiUsa | |
| 505 sighed and raised her head to look at the raven-haired teen right in the | |
| 506 face. "You're O.K. now? Hotaru asked in a concerned tone. | |
| 507 | |
| 508 ChibiUsa nodded, still not looking very happy. "Well, but I sure wish you | |
| 509 could still remain in Crystal Tokyo and not go anywhere else. Why did | |
| 510 they have to send you so far away?" | |
| 511 | |
| 512 "I really don't know. I have no idea what is going on in the future," | |
| 513 Hotaru said, feeling distressed herself, "Could it be they just decided | |
| 514 they don't need me now that there are no more powerful enemies in the | |
| 515 30th Century to battle with?" She paused for a moment as though thinking | |
| 516 and shrugged, "Or maybe it's just that your people can live much longer | |
| 517 in that century than we do here - don't they, ChibiUsa-chan? If so, they | |
| 518 probably don't want Death hanging because it would be too depressing for | |
| 519 them, huh?" | |
| 520 | |
| 521 "Hotaru-chan, I don't think those are good reasons enough to send you | |
| 522 away!" ChibiUsa said, shaking her head negatively, "We still do have | |
| 523 enemies popping up from time to time, and besides, you are one of the | |
| 524 elder Senshi and you are have an important duty in Crystal Tokyo, so why | |
| 525 should they..." | |
| 526 | |
| 527 "It just occurred to me," Hotaru said suddenly, looking pensive. | |
| 528 "ChibiUsa-chan, could it be they send me away because they are afraid of | |
| 529 my powers?" | |
| 530 | |
| 531 "What are you saying!" ChibiUsa was startled. "What made you think they | |
| 532 are afraid of you? But you are our dear friend. Why would they be scared | |
| 533 of you...?" | |
| 534 | |
| 535 "I think I know why," Hotaru said quietly. She paused and looked at | |
| 536 ChibiUsa with a serious look on her face. She took a long breath and | |
| 537 asked rather diffidently, "First I'd like to ask you something I have | |
| 538 been wondering about for a long time. ChibiUsa-chan, when you first knew | |
| 539 I am Sailor Saturn, were you afraid of me?" | |
| 540 | |
| 541 "Me, afraid of you?" ChibiUsa cried in surprise. "Why should I?" | |
| 542 | |
| 543 "Remember, I am a Sailor of Death and Rebirth," Hortaru said more quietly, | |
| 544 "You know that if I must, I will not hesitate to kill the enemies which I | |
| 545 have done many, many times. And watching them die is not something you | |
| 546 should see - it's horrible. And not only that, you are aware that with a | |
| 547 single blow of my Glaive I am quite capable of destroying everything on | |
| 548 this Earth, and the planet itself too. You know that, don't you?" | |
| 549 | |
| 550 ChibiUsa looked at her and gave a small, uncertain nod but otherwise did | |
| 551 not say anything. After a while Hotaru continued. "I'll tell you what. | |
| 552 When I go around as Sailor Saturn almost everyone is afraid of me. It may | |
| 553 not seem like a big surprise, considering I carry the Glaive anyway. | |
| 554 But...the problem is, even if I am not transformed - that is, I go around | |
| 555 as Hotaru and not carrying my weapon - both the Inner and the Outer | |
| 556 Senshi, including what few friends I have, once they knew who I am, are | |
| 557 still uneasy around me. I believe even your mother is a little afraid of | |
| 558 me. I know they are, because I could see a hint of fear in their eyes | |
| 559 even if they declared their love for me and would stand by me no matter | |
| 560 what. They tried to hide it, but I was not fooled. They are just, simply, | |
| 561 afraid of me and walk around me on tiptoes, so to speak." | |
| 562 | |
| 563 "Even my mother?" ChibiUsa asked. Her eyes were wide with astonishment. | |
| 564 "But it can't be!" | |
| 565 | |
| 566 Hotaru closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Even Usagi, believe it or not. | |
| 567 I think it's because I have the power to bring the destruction and death | |
| 568 down at any time and there's no one who can stop me. ChibiUsa-chan, I | |
| 569 must tell you, it has been going like this for so long I just can't take | |
| 570 it any more. I hate it, the way everyone was just...you know, kind of | |
| 571 skittish around me. I just want to be treated like a normal person, a | |
| 572 friend and not a sort of cold, ruthless Grim Reaper they seemed to think | |
| 573 I am!" | |
| 574 | |
| 575 "But Hotaru-chan..." | |
| 576 | |
| 577 Now Hotaru opened her eyes her eyes and but did not quite meet her | |
| 578 friend's eyes. "Chibiusa-chan, shouldn't you be afraid of me? You have | |
| 579 seen my Glaive and know my powers and what I am capable of," She said | |
| 580 softly, "Are you?" | |
| 581 | |
| 582 "No, Hotaru-chan. I have never been afraid of you. No, not at all!" | |
| 583 | |
| 584 Hotaru gasped and looked at the pink-haired princess full in the face. | |
| 585 ChibiUsa looked steadily back at her with her wide, cinnamon-red eyes | |
| 586 filled with...love, compassion and total trust. There was absolutely no | |
| 587 fear in them at all. "Hotaru-chan, like I said, I love you. I've known | |
| 588 you for a long time and yet I love you more than anything. | |
| 589 Nothing...especially what you just said...can change it. You have to | |
| 590 believe that!" | |
| 591 | |
| 592 Hotaru was vastly relieved to hear that. "ChibiUsa-chan," she whispered, | |
| 593 "Is it any wonder why I love you so much? Of all people I've known, you | |
| 594 are the only one who do not fear me!" She became aware of ChibiUsa's hand | |
| 595 was stroking her face, wiping away tears that Hotaru didn't know were | |
| 596 steaming down her own cheeks. | |
| 597 | |
| 598 "Hotaru-chan, I don't care what they think or say about you, I see you | |
| 599 only as a warm, kind-hearted person who is fun to be with," ChibiUsa | |
| 600 continued, "And more than just a best friend, too. You are someone I feel | |
| 601 comfortable enough to share with you my innermost feelings and secrets | |
| 602 nobody else knows. And what's more, I know you will always be there for | |
| 603 me as I will for you too." She smiled up at Hotaru. "To tell you the | |
| 604 truth, I feel much more safe and secure whenever I'm with you, because | |
| 605 you protect me and would not let anything happen to me. Won't you?" | |
| 606 | |
| 607 Impulsively Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa's hand and kissed it. "Of course, I | |
| 608 will always be there for you, ChibiUsa-chan! And I will always protect | |
| 609 you because as Sailor Saturn I'm sworn to protect you anyway. Not only | |
| 610 because you are a princess, but you are very important to me. Much more | |
| 611 than you realize!" | |
| 612 | |
| 613 The pink-haired teen's face grew more serious. "I guess that is why they | |
| 614 sent you away just because they are still afraid of you, even in the 30th | |
| 615 Century? I can't believe it!" | |
| 616 | |
| 617 "Either that or the other way," Hotaru said with a slow shrug. "Right now | |
| 618 it's way far into the future, so I guess we will never really know, eh?" | |
| 619 | |
| 620 ChibiUsa shook her head with disapproval. "Well, I will not tolerate | |
| 621 that! When I have a chance I'll find out why and then I'll see to that | |
| 622 it get changed so you will always remain in Crystal Tokyo with me, no | |
| 623 matter what! I swear on it!" | |
| 624 | |
| 625 Hotaru smiled. "Good. I want to be near you, too. I wouldn't want to be | |
| 626 separated from you either," The raven-haired girl said. Absently, she | |
| 627 reached up and brushed the pink strands of hair from ChibiUsa's face. A | |
| 628 snowflake floated down and melted against the princess' forehead. "Oh, | |
| 629 it's starting to snow," Hotaru looked up, and realized not only it was | |
| 630 snowing, the wind was becoming quite chilly and gusty. "Come on, we | |
| 631 better hurry home," she said, grabbing a heavy shopping bag. | |
| 632 | |
| 633 Without another word the girls both strode at a brisk pace, shoulder to | |
| 634 shoulder, hand in hand, shivering with their heads bent against the | |
| 635 heightening blizzard. They met fewer and few pedestrians, until they | |
| 636 could see no other person traveling down the strangely silent side of the | |
| 637 street with only an occasional car rumbling by. Curious as why she did | |
| 638 not see any more store windows festooned brightly with Christmas | |
| 639 decorations like they should be, ChibiUsa looked up and after a while she | |
| 640 whispered, "I don't think I've been here before." | |
| 641 | |
| 642 "Hmmm?" Hotaru raised her head and looked carefully around. Thanks to the | |
| 643 heavily blowing snow, it seemed they had somehow lost their way and | |
| 644 stumbled into an unfamiliar area of the city. Puzzled, She peered through | |
| 645 the snow swirling crazily in the streetlight at the signpost and took | |
| 646 note of the name of the street. She did not recognize it. "I guess we | |
| 647 must have took a wrong turn." Hotaru said. | |
| 648 | |
| 649 "We seem to be in a bad neighborhood," ChibiUsa observed, eying with | |
| 650 distaste the crude graffiti on the weathered brick wall. | |
| 651 | |
| 652 "Really," Hotaru said, sounding slightly perturbed at their predicament. | |
| 653 "I guess we just need to turn around and find our way back there." She | |
| 654 paused and she cast a concerned look at her friend and noticed that | |
| 655 ChibiUsa's face was red from cold and exposure, and that the young | |
| 656 princess covered on one side with snow. "You okay, ChibiUsa-chan?" | |
| 657 | |
| 658 "Just cold, that's all," ChibiUsa griped, shivering. Even her teeth were | |
| 659 chattering a little. "I don't suppose you know a shortcut to your house | |
| 660 from around here, Hotaru-chan?" | |
| 661 | |
| 662 "I don't think so," Hotaru sighed. "Don't worry, we'll be home before | |
| 663 long. Just stay close to me, okay?" The girls turned around and began to | |
| 664 trudge back up from where they had come from. | |
| 665 | |
| 666 "Hey, kawaii girls," A new voice hailed them. | |
| 667 | |
| 668 Both girls stopped and twirled around, startled. | |
| 669 | |
| 670 "What are you nice girls doing here? If you two are lost, maybe we could | |
| 671 help you out," A slender, older girl - probably in late teens - stepped | |
| 672 out of the shadows and into the glare of the lamppost and stood in the | |
| 673 front of them, regarding them with some interest. She was a good head | |
| 674 taller than them, and under the streetlight her long windblown hair was | |
| 675 bleached white and she was wearing long, dark heavy leather coat. She | |
| 676 grinned down at them, but the look she gave them wasn't exactly | |
| 677 benevolent. | |
| 678 | |
| 679 We? Hotaru frowned, suddenly wary. She looked around quickly to see if | |
| 680 there were anyone else with the strange girl, but there were no one she | |
| 681 could see beyond the scope of the lamppost. All the same, Hotaru moved | |
| 682 closer to her friend in order to protect her and replied in an even voice, | |
| 683 "No, thanks. I'm sure we can find our way home." | |
| 684 | |
| 685 "Oh?" The girl cocked her head, the grin hardly leaving her face. "But | |
| 686 it's freezing out here! We are heading over to our place and maybe you | |
| 687 both should come in with us to get warmed up," She jerked her thumb back | |
| 688 at a squat brick building that appeared to be somewhat dilapidated. Two | |
| 689 upper curtained windows were lit with sickly yellow light, and Hotaru | |
| 690 could see silhouetted figures moving forth and back ominously behind them. | |
| 691 The stranger continued; "There you can have something to eat and drink, | |
| 692 too if you have not yet eaten." | |
| 693 | |
| 694 "Thanks for the offer, that is very nice of you," Hotaru said quietly, | |
| 695 "But I'm afraid we have to pass it up. It's getting late anyway and we | |
| 696 need to go home." She whispered to her friend, "Let's go, ChibiUsa- | |
| 697 chan." | |
| 698 | |
| 699 The pink-haired girl threw a longing glance at the building; apparently | |
| 700 she was hungry too as well as cold, and would gladly go in there to thaw | |
| 701 out if possible. But after a moment's hesitation Chibiusa sighed and | |
| 702 conceded, "All right, Hotaru-chan, we better go home then." Both the | |
| 703 girls turned to walk away. | |
| 704 | |
| 705 "You are not going anywhere!" A new, stern voice called out. Another | |
| 706 girl, even taller than the first, stepped into sight out of nowhere | |
| 707 blocking their path. She too has bleached hair and wore the similar dark | |
| 708 attire and has a very unfriendly expression on her face. Narrowing her | |
| 709 eyes, she said flatly; "Don't you know it's extremely rude to turn down a | |
| 710 generous offer like that?" | |
| 711 | |
| 712 Both Hotaru and ChibiUsa abruptly halted, and the raven-haired girl threw | |
| 713 her arm around the princess and pulled her close protectively. "What do | |
| 714 you want?" Hotaru demanded. | |
| 715 | |
| 716 "You," the second tall girl said simply. | |
| 717 | |
| 718 "That's right, we're always looking for new friends!" Yet another voices | |
| 719 chorused and two more girls, twins to be exact, soon appeared on both | |
| 720 sides of the disagreeable second girl. In contrast their faces were | |
| 721 cheerful and smiling, but their expressions belied a dangerous glint in | |
| 722 their eyes. Like the other girls who had accosted Hotaru and ChibiUsa | |
| 723 the somewhat young twins have pale hair and wore the same kind of leather | |
| 724 coats. | |
| 725 | |
| 726 The four strangers spread out, and in the next few moments the young | |
| 727 Senshi and the princess found themselves surrounded with no other way out. | |
| 728 Something was terribly wrong. Hotaru felt ChibiUsa gripped her arm | |
| 729 tightly. "Who are you?" The pink-haired girl challenged angrily, "What | |
| 730 are you going to do with us?" | |
| 731 | |
| 732 "Well, well. Such a gutsy girl," One of the girls smirked. | |
| 733 | |
| 734 "ChibiUsa," Hotaru whispered to her in a warning tone. | |
| 735 | |
| 736 The tall girl, obviously a leader who had spoken to them in the first | |
| 737 place now addressed them again, "Well, we might as well introduce | |
| 738 ourselves. I am Hoshi," She bowed slightly. "And this is Kumiko," She | |
| 739 nodded toward the tall hard-faced girl. "And those are Shina and Yoko," | |
| 740 She finished, looking in direction at the young twins with deceptively | |
| 741 pleasant faces. Then she turned her attention toward Hotaru and ChibiUsa. | |
| 742 Her eyes hardened. "Now that you have met us, I'll let you know one | |
| 743 thing. We are the White Wolves, and you happened to be trespassing our | |
| 744 territory." | |
| 745 | |
| 746 Hotaru tensed, and heard ChibiUsa gasped sharply. | |
| 747 | |
| 748 Obviously anticipating this type of reaction, Hoshi smiled. "However, | |
| 749 since this is Christmas season," She said in a more genial voice, "And | |
| 750 for such kawaii girls like you should not be wandering around out in this | |
| 751 bad weather, we'll be generous. Therefore, you could have taken up my | |
| 752 offer to come in with us and get acquainted with us guys. There's so much | |
| 753 we can learn from each other." | |
| 754 | |
| 755 Hotaru and ChibiUsa looked at each other for a second. Then the raven- | |
| 756 haired girl shook head firmly. "No, thanks." | |
| 757 | |
| 758 The leader sighed. "If you decline our offer and would rather leave here | |
| 759 anyway...well, there is a price for trespassing our turf. So you have two | |
| 760 choices. Hand over your money and bags you are carrying, and we'll let | |
| 761 you leave without any hassle." | |
| 762 | |
| 763 Hotaru's heart began to beat rapidly. Before she could say anything | |
| 764 ChibiUsa demanded, "And what's the second choice?" | |
| 765 | |
| 766 The leader's smile thinned and eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you try to | |
| 767 leave without paying the price, well, you'll have to find it out the hard | |
| 768 way." | |
| 769 | |
| 770 Hotaru did not like the sound of it at all. She whispered to her pink- | |
| 771 haired friend, "I think we better hand over our bags, ChibiUsa-chan, and | |
| 772 then they'll let us go." | |
| 773 | |
| 774 "Nani?" ChibiUsa stared at her incredulously. "But you bought all those | |
| 775 presents with your money for Haruka and Michiru...and it's not right for | |
| 776 them to take the presents away from you!" | |
| 777 | |
| 778 "Never mind, it's better than standing around to find what the second | |
| 779 choice is all about," Hotaru whispered back. As ChibiUsa scowled angrily | |
| 780 and muttered something acidic under breath, Hotaru turned to the leader. | |
| 781 "We'll give up our bags and money. You're sure if we do, we'll leave | |
| 782 without any trouble, correct?" | |
| 783 | |
| 784 Hoshi grinned suddenly. Her dark eyes glistened with greed as she nodded. | |
| 785 "Excellent choice. We will certainly let you go after we have your | |
| 786 stuff." | |
| 787 | |
| 788 "Okay, here you are," Hotaru said with quiet resignation, and held out | |
| 789 the bag. Just as the tall leader reached forward to take it, ChibiUsa | |
| 790 suddenly yanked Hotaru back. | |
| 791 | |
| 792 "No!" ChibiUsa said vehemently, shooting the gang leader an angry look, | |
| 793 "They have no right to do that to us!" | |
| 794 | |
| 795 "ChibiUsa!" Hotaru said sharply. "We don't want any trouble with them. | |
| 796 Just let them take what they want, and then we'll be let go. It's not | |
| 797 worth making a big fuss about it!" | |
| 798 | |
| 799 ChibiUsa shook her head stubbornly, still balking. "It's just not | |
| 800 right!" | |
| 801 | |
| 802 "Ah, so you're resisting, eh?" The hard-faced second girl named Kumiko | |
| 803 said. She rubbed her knuckles ominously. "What are we going to do about | |
| 804 you two?" | |
| 805 | |
| 806 "You're not taking anything from us!" ChibiUsa shouted. | |
| 807 | |
| 808 The leader glanced over Hotaru and ChibiUsa's heads at Kumiko and nodded. | |
| 809 As though on cue, the hard-faced girl standing behind Chibisusa stepped | |
| 810 forward with slow, purposeful and menacing movements. | |
| 811 | |
| 812 Without warning, ChibiUsa's elbow flew out and caught Kumiko in the | |
| 813 stomach. As she doubled over, gasping, the petite pink-haired princess | |
| 814 grabbed her around the head and flipped her right over her shoulder. | |
| 815 Kumiko went down with a thud and lay there in the snow, groaning. The | |
| 816 other bleach-haired girls froze where they stood, staring in stunned | |
| 817 disbelief. | |
| 818 | |
| 819 "ChibiUsa!" Hotaru gasped. "What do you think you are doing?" | |
| 820 | |
| 821 "Come on! We're getting out of here!" ChibiUsa said. She grabbed | |
| 822 Hotaru's hand and dragged her across the space that was formerly occupied | |
| 823 by Kumiko and into the alley, taking the bags with them. | |
| 824 | |
| 825 "They're getting away!" The leader of the gang screamed as Kumiko jumped | |
| 826 to her feet. She sounded absolutely livid; "They will pay for it! Go | |
| 827 after them!" | |
| 828 | |
| 829 "Oh, Kami-sama," Hotaru said, looking at her friend in consternation. | |
| 830 They could hear the angry words echoing off the walls and a set of | |
| 831 footfalls slapping furiously upon the snow-covered ground behind them, | |
| 832 growing closer and closer each moment. The raven-haired girl yelled; "Run | |
| 833 as fast as you can!" | |
| 834 | |
| 835 And so the senshi and the princess sprinted hand in hand down the semi- | |
| 836 dark alley for dear lives, turning this way and that way at every corner | |
| 837 in hopes to shake their pursuers off. But when they made fourth such | |
| 838 detour they immediately realized their mistake; they had ran into a dead | |
| 839 end. And they could not backpedal out of their predicament, for almost | |
| 840 immediately the angry girls with bleached hairs burst into view, blocking | |
| 841 their only way of escape. | |
| 842 | |
| 843 Before Hotaru would react, she was tackled from behind with such a force | |
| 844 that she was slammed against the brick wall. As she groaned painfully she | |
| 845 heard a falsely cheerful voice said with a tone of ironic playfulness in | |
| 846 it, "Tsk, tsk. You think you can dodge us, aren't you?" Hotaru was not | |
| 847 sure if it was either Shina or Yoko. But as she tried to struggle she | |
| 848 saw Kimuko striding right by and caught a fleeting glimpse of what looked | |
| 849 like a bowie knife flashing in dim light. Icy fear seized her heart. It | |
| 850 was not out of a concern for her own safety, however, but for ChibiUsa. | |
| 851 [Dear Kami-sama, don't let them hurt my friend!] | |
| 852 | |
| 853 "Know what I'm gonna do?" The same voice laughed nastily, and Hotaru | |
| 854 felt her arm twisted savagely behind her. She could not cry out loud, she | |
| 855 was paralyzed with pain. "We're gonna break every bone of yours and kill | |
| 856 you!" | |
| 857 | |
| 858 The next few moments seemed like an eternity, as Hotaru was struck | |
| 859 brutally several times - with what, she wasn't able to tell. Hotaru was | |
| 860 dimly aware of a furious scuffle not too far off. [ChibiUsa...oh, no!] | |
| 861 But there was nothing she could do at that time. Then, with a final | |
| 862 savage blow to her head that sent her reeling, she was flung to the | |
| 863 ground among the overturned trashcans. | |
| 864 | |
| 865 "Next time we see you it'll be much worse than that. You should be lucky | |
| 866 we let you live for now." It was Hoshi's voice now. "Have a Merry | |
| 867 Christmas!" With those mocking parting words, the gang stomped away. | |
| 868 Then there was silence. | |
| 869 | |
| 870 Hotaru lay panting there in semi-darkness, shivering, waiting for the | |
| 871 pain to dwindle to a tolerable level before she could dare to raise her | |
| 872 head. She was somewhat relieved she suffered no broken bones. "ChibiUsa? | |
| 873 Are you there?" She called tentatively. When she did not hear the | |
| 874 immediate response she became panicky. "ChibiUsa! Answer me!" | |
| 875 | |
| 876 At last a weak reply came. "Hotaru...!" In semi-darkness Hotaru could | |
| 877 see a form of ChibiUsa floundering around in the snow not far from her. | |
| 878 Hotaru, frightened and concerned for her friend, tried frantically to | |
| 879 reach where the pink-haired girl was. ChibiUsa must have seen her, for | |
| 880 she shuffled over to her right away on knees and hands and an arm slipped | |
| 881 gently around the raven-haired girl, supporting her. "Hotaru! Are you | |
| 882 all right?" ChibiUsa said in a much stronger voice now. She also sounded | |
| 883 strangely restrained as thought she was trying to hide pain from her | |
| 884 voice. | |
| 885 | |
| 886 Hotaru staggered into her friend's arms with relief. [Thank Kami-sama!] | |
| 887 She was so scared that they might beat ChibiUsa senseless...or worse. She | |
| 888 looked up through blowing snow flurries into ChibiUsa's face, trying to | |
| 889 gauge just how bad the princess looked. It was hard to tell, as | |
| 890 ChibiUsa's face was in shadow with tendrils of pink hair whipping around | |
| 891 in the wind, partly concealing it. | |
| 892 | |
| 893 "I...I think so," Hotaru said in a halting voice as she allowed ChibiUsa | |
| 894 to pull her to a sitting position. Instinctively she massaged the aching | |
| 895 arm. "Ouch. That's a wonder they didn't pull my arm out of the socket! | |
| 896 ChibiUsa-chan, please tell me - how badly are you injured in any way?" | |
| 897 | |
| 898 ChibiUsa did not answer the question. Instead, she became upset; "Kami- | |
| 899 sama, you're hurt!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed, stricken. "They did | |
| 900 this to you and got away with it!" | |
| 901 | |
| 902 "Forget it," Hotaru said wearily. "Let them go." | |
| 903 | |
| 904 "But, they took the gifts you bought for Haruka and Michiru and beat you | |
| 905 up...!" ChibiUsa was becoming angry again. "I won't forgive them. I'm | |
| 906 not going to let them get away with it!" | |
| 907 | |
| 908 "I said forget it. It's not worth going after them," Hotaru said. | |
| 909 | |
| 910 "There's no way I can let them get away with it!" ChibiUsa repeated. | |
| 911 She hugged Hotaru fiercely for a second or two, then released and | |
| 912 scrambled to her feet. "I'm going after them!" And then she took off down | |
| 913 the alley after the retreating members of the White Wolves gang. | |
| 914 | |
| 915 "ChibiUsa! Come back!" Hotaru shouted. [Can't she see they're armed and | |
| 916 extremely dangerous?] Ignoring her pains, she got to her feet and took | |
| 917 off after her friend at a frantic speed. "ChibiUsa! ChibiUsa!" | |
| 918 | |
| 919 The pink-haired princess, however, had already vanished around the corner. | |
| 920 [I can't believe it, ChibiUsa is just as rash as her mother Usagi was!] | |
| 921 The thought of ChibiUsa trying to take on the White Wolves gang by | |
| 922 herself and getting sliced up and down horrified Hotaru, and her feet | |
| 923 picked up an ever faster pace. Already a violent melee could be heard | |
| 924 breaking out not too far off. Her heart sank. [If anything happen to | |
| 925 ChibiUsa, I might not even be able to put her together!] She ran around | |
| 926 the corner just in time to hear ChibiUsa cry out loud. | |
| 927 | |
| 928 "SATURN PLANET!" | |
| 929 | |
| 930 As she drew nearer to the open area she caught sight of the White Wolves | |
| 931 gang standing around in a circle, viciously hitting and kicking at the | |
| 932 huddled form in the snow. Oh, gods. | |
| 933 | |
| 934 "POWER!" | |
| 935 | |
| 936 [ChibiUsa-chan, hold on! I'm coming! ] | |
| 937 | |
| 938 "MAKE UP!" | |
| 939 | |
| 940 A purplish light flashed momentarily around her and her heavy civilian | |
| 941 attire for the winter dissolved, to be replaced by a purple and white | |
| 942 sailor uniform. "GLAIVE, COME FORWARD!" She raised her arm, and the | |
| 943 deadly Silent Glaive materialized from far above and came spinning into | |
| 944 her outstretched gloved hand. Thus armed, Sailor Saturn bounded over to | |
| 945 the top of the big dumpster and pointed the Glaive toward the gang. | |
| 946 "STOP IT AT ONCE!" | |
| 947 | |
| 948 The White Wolves gang twirled around. | |
| 949 | |
| 950 The light from a nearby lamppost was dim but the Saturn saw enough to | |
| 951 make her heart stop. ChibiUsa was lying quite still. There appeared to | |
| 952 be some dark stains in the snow near her body. Saturn felt sick inside. | |
| 953 She lifted her eyes to glare at the older girls. "Beating up and robbing | |
| 954 a young lady during a Christmas season - this I cannot tolerate, nor can | |
| 955 I forgive!" | |
| 956 | |
| 957 Hoshi appeared to recover quickly from her stupefaction at the sight of a | |
| 958 formidable figure on the dumpster in front of her, and became belligerent. | |
| 959 "Who are you?" | |
| 960 | |
| 961 "I am Sailor Saturn," The Senshi intoned flatly, her Glaive that | |
| 962 reflecting cold light every time she moved it, "Agent of Death and | |
| 963 Rebirth." | |
| 964 | |
| 965 "Hoshi! I've heard of her!" One of the twins shrieked, her eyes bulging. | |
| 966 "She's one of the senshi, and the most deadly of them all!" | |
| 967 | |
| 968 Hoshi, unnerved, stepped back a pace and eyed Sailor Saturn warily. "What | |
| 969 do you want with us?" | |
| 970 | |
| 971 "It would be better if you all leave right now!" With that Saturn leaped | |
| 972 down from the dumpster and, despite the freezing, blowing snow, she | |
| 973 struck a threatening posture with her Glaive thrust outward. | |
| 974 | |
| 975 The gang gasped and scurried back a few paces. | |
| 976 | |
| 977 "I said, leave NOW!" Saturn shouted, and advanced on them. | |
| 978 | |
| 979 The twins - no longer so cheerful looking now - lost their nerve | |
| 980 completely and fled screaming into the dark without a backward glance. | |
| 981 Hoshi and Kumiko took several nervous paces back but did not flee. "We | |
| 982 don't do anything to you!" The leader yelled. "You're not gotta butcher | |
| 983 us for no reason, are you?" | |
| 984 | |
| 985 Saturn stopped advancing, but said nothing. | |
| 986 | |
| 987 "Maybe she's bluffing," Kumiko said to Hoshi. | |
| 988 | |
| 989 "I'm warning you..." Saturn growled softly. Keeping her eyes on the two | |
| 990 remaining older girls, she moved sideways until she reached the still | |
| 991 form in the snow and crouched down. Her gloved hand slipped down to touch | |
| 992 the pink-haired girl's face. | |
| 993 | |
| 994 The gesture was not lost on the tall girl. "Ah, so it must be your lover, | |
| 995 ne?" Kumbio said. Somehow, in spite of the grim situation she actually | |
| 996 smirked; "I think you came too late to save her. She's gone." | |
| 997 | |
| 998 Saturn's face stiffened. Hardly taking her eyes off the older girls, she | |
| 999 shook her friend's shoulder with her hand. "ChibiUsa," the Senshi | |
| 1000 whispered urgently, "Come on, wake up." | |
| 1001 | |
| 1002 ChibiUsa did not answer. Saturn grew desperate. "ChibiUsa!" She said, | |
| 1003 turning her attention away from the older girls to look down at her | |
| 1004 friend. "ChibiUsa...can you hear me?!" | |
| 1005 | |
| 1006 The princess opened her eyes. "I'm cold..." She mumbled. She turned her | |
| 1007 head to look at Saturn and grimaced. She was not hiding pain from her | |
| 1008 voice this time; "And I hurt." | |
| 1009 | |
| 1010 "Oh, ChibiUsa-chan!" Saturn said, deeply distressed. She wrapped her one | |
| 1011 arm around her friend and pulled her carefully to a sitting position. The | |
| 1012 young teen shuddered, and rested her head wearily against Saturn's chest, | |
| 1013 shivering violently. | |
| 1014 | |
| 1015 "HAIIIIIII!" Kumkio whipped her knife out and rushed toward her with | |
| 1016 wild, insane look in her eyes. Saturn reacted quickly; with a lightning | |
| 1017 speed she jumped up and swung her Glaive around, slamming the blunt end | |
| 1018 against the side of Kumbio's head. Without a word the tall girl dropped | |
| 1019 down with a crash and lay there in a heap. | |
| 1020 | |
| 1021 "Oh, my god. You killed Kumkio, didn't you!" Hoshi gasped. | |
| 1022 | |
| 1023 "I think not," Saturn said, giving the leader a cold stare, "She's lucky | |
| 1024 if all she'll get is a severe headache when she wakes up. It should teach | |
| 1025 her not to mess with the Senshi of Death!" | |
| 1026 | |
| 1027 "Yeah, serve her right!" | |
| 1028 | |
| 1029 Saturn nearly lost her composure. She glanced sharply downward and saw | |
| 1030 that ChibiUsa had raised her head and was glaring defiantly at Hoshi. The | |
| 1031 pink-haired girl struggled unsteadily to her feet and hands and then said | |
| 1032 stoutly; "Sailor Saturn will see to that you and your friends will be | |
| 1033 punished in the name of Moon, for we will not tolerate your such actions, | |
| 1034 threatening and robbing citizens during Christmas season!" | |
| 1035 | |
| 1036 Hoshi stared at the pink-haired teen, astonished and impressed at the | |
| 1037 same time. "You are really one gutsy girl. I saw Kumkio struck her knife | |
| 1038 deep in you, and you still come up fighting!" | |
| 1039 | |
| 1040 "ChibiUsa-chan...?" Saturn said in disbelief. The princess gasped, | |
| 1041 shuddered and collapsed with a strangled cry. Frightened, the senshi fell | |
| 1042 to her knees and put her arm around the wounded girl again. | |
| 1043 "ChibiUsa...!" | |
| 1044 | |
| 1045 The princess coughed briefly, then moaned in pain. "It hurts. It | |
| 1046 hurts..." | |
| 1047 | |
| 1048 Hoshi snickered nastily. "Well, well. Then again I guess she's not so | |
| 1049 tough after all." | |
| 1050 | |
| 1051 Saturn's head whipped around. "Get out of here! Take your friends and get | |
| 1052 out of the city and don't come back!" She said in a cold fury and aimed | |
| 1053 her lethal weapon toward the gang leader, "Or so help me, if I catch one | |
| 1054 of you White Wolves lurking around I will strike every one of you down | |
| 1055 with my Glaive - without a moment's hesitation!" | |
| 1056 | |
| 1057 Taken back at the tone of the senshi's voice, Hoshi looked genuinely | |
| 1058 frightened at last. Her eyes widened, and she turned as pale as her hair. | |
| 1059 Hastily she reached down and dragged the still unconscious Kumkio away. | |
| 1060 | |
| 1061 As soon as they were gone Saturn turned her attention back to the | |
| 1062 pink=haired teen. "Hold on, ChibiUsa-chan!" Saturn put down the Glaive, | |
| 1063 quickly stripped one glove off and, still holding her injured friend in | |
| 1064 one arm, she put a bare hand under ChibiUsa's sweater. Almost immediately | |
| 1065 her hand found the wound just under ChibiUsa's right breast, and what a | |
| 1066 terrible wound it was. Saturn could feel the blood bubbling from the | |
| 1067 nasty slash where the knife had penetrated the lung. She became extremely | |
| 1068 upset. Sobbing, the Senshi pressed the hand firmly against the wound and | |
| 1069 poured all her energy to Heal it. | |
| 1070 | |
| 1071 ChibiUsa gasped from the pressure placed on the wound but otherwise made | |
| 1072 no other word. "You're not going anywhere, you hear me?" Saturn said | |
| 1073 through tears, "ChibiUsa-chan, you just have to hold on and don't you | |
| 1074 dare leave me - not now, please, not now!" | |
| 1075 | |
| 1076 Slowly the wound stopped bleeding and began to close up. Even so, Saturn | |
| 1077 refused to take her hand off after it has completely healed. The princess | |
| 1078 lay still in her arms, so quiet and so pale. The senshi cradled her | |
| 1079 friend's head under her chin and rocked her forth and back. | |
| 1080 "ChibiUsa...ChibiUsa-chan, do you hear me? Please tell me!" | |
| 1081 | |
| 1082 For one long, terrifying moment there was no reply. Then, slowly, the | |
| 1083 princess raised her head and opened her eyes to look at Saturn. "Hotaru- | |
| 1084 chan..." | |
| 1085 | |
| 1086 Saturn gasped. "ChibiUsa-chan, are you all right?" | |
| 1087 | |
| 1088 ChibiUsa snuggled against the senshi. "Yeah. I think so...but I'm still | |
| 1089 cold." | |
| 1090 | |
| 1091 Saturn withdrew her hand, now covered with blood, and threw her arms | |
| 1092 around her friend in a fierce hug and could not let go for a long while. | |
| 1093 "ChibiUsa...oh, ChibiUsa-chan, I was so afraid you were going to die. I | |
| 1094 don't want to lose you!" She whispered with her face buried in the soft, | |
| 1095 silky pink hair. | |
| 1096 | |
| 1097 ChibiUsa gave a weak laugh and shook her head slowly. "Not this time. | |
| 1098 Don't worry, Hotaru-chan. No way I can leave you now...not ever!" | |
| 1099 | |
| 1100 "Thank Kami-sama!" Saturn lifted ChibiUsa's chin and kissed her fervently. | |
| 1101 "Just don't you ever do that again! I don't know how I can go on, if you | |
| 1102 run off and get killed. Promise me you will not do anything rash like | |
| 1103 that again!" | |
| 1104 | |
| 1105 "Hai, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, sounding suddenly meek. "I promise." | |
| 1106 | |
| 1107 "Good," Saturn kissed her again and hugged her even more tightly. It has | |
| 1108 been such a huge relief to know that the princess would be all right. | |
| 1109 Indeed, thank Kami-sama for that. | |
| 1110 | |
| 1111 ************************************************************************* | |
| 1112 **** | |
| 1113 | |
| 1114 With her arms full Hotaru stepped into her bedroom and managed to close | |
| 1115 the door behind her. The room was semi-dark, with only two or three lamps | |
| 1116 burning dimly on the dresser in the corner. "ChibiUsa-chan, I've got | |
| 1117 another blanket. Want it?" | |
| 1118 | |
| 1119 ChibiUsa, lying on her side in the bed with a couple of covers pulled up | |
| 1120 to her chin, looked up. "Hai! Hurry up and get in with me!" She said, and | |
| 1121 held out arms for her. The raven-haired teen walked briskly toward her, | |
| 1122 threw the thick blanket over the bed before disrobing and slipped under | |
| 1123 the covers next to the princess. She gasped softly with pleasure when | |
| 1124 ChibiUsa's warm body moved forward, pressing against hers. | |
| 1125 | |
| 1126 "I thought I would never thaw out! Hotaru-chan, what took you so long?" | |
| 1127 | |
| 1128 "Well, ChibiUsa-chan," Hotaru said as she snuggled into her lover's | |
| 1129 inviting arms, "I have told Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama about our | |
| 1130 encounter with the White Wolves gang. You can imagine they were pretty | |
| 1131 upset about it, and they promised they would keep an eye out for them and | |
| 1132 to make sure the gang will not return to cause any more trouble in the | |
| 1133 city again." | |
| 1134 | |
| 1135 "Great! Now the people can do Christmas shopping without fear of running | |
| 1136 into those thieves!" ChibiUsa said happily. Then she paused and added, | |
| 1137 "Speaking of the Christmas presents, I wonder what happened to the gifts | |
| 1138 you bought from the mall?" | |
| 1139 | |
| 1140 Hotaru shrugged. "Buried under the snow somewhere in the alley, for all I | |
| 1141 care," she said. "I'm not worried about them. My parents will understand. | |
| 1142 It was more important that you would live. I just can't bear the thought | |
| 1143 of losing you!" She brushed the loose strands of pink hair out of | |
| 1144 ChibiUsa's face and kissed her soft lips. "I'm just glad you are still | |
| 1145 here, alive and well. That is the best Christmas present I can ask for." | |
| 1146 | |
| 1147 ChibiUsa smiled and ran hand through the other girl's dark hair. "Arigato | |
| 1148 domo for healing me and saving my life. I'll say that was the best | |
| 1149 present I got also!" she said, and then hesitated. "Um...Hotaru-chan, I'm | |
| 1150 really sorry I went off and got us into trouble with that gang. I guess I | |
| 1151 should not have acted so recklessly, eh? Gomen nasai." | |
| 1152 | |
| 1153 "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Like I said, I'll always be there for | |
| 1154 you and protect you," Hotaru kissed her again, "Just don't make a habit | |
| 1155 of it, okay?" | |
| 1156 | |
| 1157 "Hai, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, and moved back a little to look at her | |
| 1158 lover with some distress, noting the bruises that were still visible on | |
| 1159 Hotaru's body. "But you're still hurt, and you can't heal yourself..." | |
| 1160 | |
| 1161 Hotaru shook her head. "ChibiUsa-chan... Don't worry about me. Just give | |
| 1162 me time and then I'll be fine," She paused, and then laughed quietly. | |
| 1163 "But don't let that stop you from loving me any way you want, my | |
| 1164 princess!" | |
| 1165 | |
| 1166 The worried look on ChibiUsa's face cleared. She smiled, pulled Hotaru | |
| 1167 closer and gave her a kiss, this time longer and more passionate. Hotaru | |
| 1168 happily responded with as much vigor as possible. After a while they | |
| 1169 broke apart and Hotaru rested her head on ChibiUsa's chest. The pink- | |
| 1170 haired teen continued to groom the dark hair with her fingers. "Hotaru- | |
| 1171 chan...I love you," she whispered after a moment. | |
| 1172 | |
| 1173 Hotaru smiled contentedly. "I love you too, ChibiUsa-chan," she replied. | |
| 1174 She could hear ChibiUsa's heart beating, regularly and reassuring. To | |
| 1175 her, it was most beautiful music, far more than anything and more | |
| 1176 precious than the Christmas and birthday presents combined. | |
| 1177 | |
| 1178 | |
| 1179 | |
| 1180 ******************************************************************* | |
| 1181 | |
| 1182 Well, that's it. I'm not sure how you like this story. ^^;; But I hope | |
| 1183 you enjoyed it anyways! | |
| 1184 | |
| 1185 | |
| 1186 Thanks for reading! | |
| 1187 | |
| 1188 YaRassno | |
| 1189 | |
| 1190 Comments? Email: yarassno@juno.com | |
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