1.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
     1.2 +++ b/old/stories/Christmasgiftccs.txt	Fri Feb 19 20:53:12 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1202 @@
     1.4 +Hi. I have another ChibiUsa and Hotaru story here for you guys. ^^ While 
     1.5 +it is still not a hentai piece, it should be observed that the young 
     1.6 +adult ChibiUsa and Hotaru love each other deeply and it is best suitable 
     1.7 +for mature readers. Just so you would know.... otherwise, enjoy.
     1.8 +
     1.9 +Disclaimer: I do not own ChibiUsa and Hotaru - they are copyrighted by 
    1.10 +the wonderful Sailor Moon artist, Naoko Takeuchi.  This is only a fan 
    1.11 +fiction, okay? ^^
    1.12 +
    1.13 +***********************************************************************
    1.14 +
    1.15 +I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU
    1.16 +
    1.17 +By YaRassno (yup, it's still spelled this way! ^^)
    1.18 +
    1.19 +Readers take note: this story contains a few violent scenes and mature 
    1.20 +situations.
    1.21 +
    1.22 +
    1.23 +	
    1.24 +***********************************************************************
    1.25 +
    1.26 +"Wake up, sleepyhead."
    1.27 +
    1.28 +ChibiUsa grumbled, twisted away from the voice and burrowed deeper under 
    1.29 +the covers, not wanting to wake up.  "Go away, Diana-chan! I'll get up 
    1.30 +when I'm good and ready."
    1.31 +
    1.32 +"Hey, come on!"  The voice said again, poking her in the side.
    1.33 +
    1.34 +"All right, all right, don't tell me you're hungry already!  I just fed 
    1.35 +you some snacks a while ago.  Diana-chan, how if I scratch behind your 
    1.36 +ears, will you go away and leave me alone?" Even as she finished speaking, 
    1.37 +ChibiUsa put her hand out from beneath the blanket. Almost instantly it 
    1.38 +was clasped in someone else's hands and pressed against something soft.  
    1.39 +It was not her cat at all.
    1.40 +
    1.41 +"I'm not Diana," the voice laughed, "And I've already eaten!"
    1.42 +
    1.43 +"Nani?"  ChibiUsa poked her head up from the depths of the bed. "Hotaru-
    1.44 +chan?  What are you doing in my bedroom?"
    1.45 +
    1.46 +"YOUR bedroom?"  Hotaru gazed at her with amusement. "Well, ChibiUsa-chan, 
    1.47 +you're not in Crystal Tokyo now!"  The tall thin girl, dressed as always 
    1.48 +in black, was holding ChibiUsa's hand tenderly against her breast. "I had 
    1.49 +half a mind to pull you right out of the bed if you are not up by noon, 
    1.50 +and it is already past ten minutes!"
    1.51 +
    1.52 +ChibiUsa frowned slightly, sat up and looked around. "Oh, that's right. I 
    1.53 +just got here yesterday. Okay," She fell back into the bed, then just as 
    1.54 +quickly she sat bolt upright again. "Wait a minute, what about your 
    1.55 +school?"
    1.56 +
    1.57 +"Lucky for you, we are in the middle of a Christmas vacation right now.  
    1.58 +You have arrived just in time - No school for a week!"
    1.59 +
    1.60 +"Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. What a relief," ChibiUsa plopped 
    1.61 +back in the bed, "Now I can go back to sleep!"  But Hotaru, still holding 
    1.62 +her hand, pulled her back to her sitting position again. 	
    1.63 +
    1.64 +"Not a chance! You're getting out of bed, and that's it!" 
    1.65 +
    1.66 +"Aw, Hotaru-chan!" ChibiUsa griped, but she complied anyways and stood on 
    1.67 +the floor, shivering from the morning chill because she was not wearing 
    1.68 +anything on her.  Hotaru let go of her hand.  "Say, where is my duffel 
    1.69 +bag I brought over with me?"
    1.70 +
    1.71 +Hotaru pointed. "Right over there!"
    1.72 +
    1.73 +"Arigato!"  ChibiUsa brushed the loose hair from her face and went to the 
    1.74 +corner where she had tossed her duffel bag and started rummaging around 
    1.75 +inside it. When she straightened up and turned, she saw Hotaru sitting on 
    1.76 +the edge of the bed and gazing lovingly at her.
    1.77 +
    1.78 +"Welcome back, my princess. You look even more beautiful each time I see 
    1.79 +you!" Seeing a light blush on ChibiUsa's cheeks Hotaru chuckled. "Well, 
    1.80 +that's true.  And I'm really glad you came all the way from Crystal Tokyo 
    1.81 +to stay with me for a while," she said, "I'll tell you, every time you 
    1.82 +went away for a few months I missed you terribly. Whenever you are gone I 
    1.83 +thought about you all the time!"
    1.84 +
    1.85 +ChibiUsa smiled. "Me too, Hotaru-chan," She went over and kissed Hotaru 
    1.86 +softly on the lips. "I think about you every day, even in my dreams. So I 
    1.87 +just decided to sneak off and see you again!" She shrugged sheepishly. 
    1.88 +"Although I unknowingly arrived right in the middle of the Christmas 
    1.89 +season!"
    1.90 +
    1.91 +"But it's a perfect timing!" Hotaru exclaimed happily. "I was just 
    1.92 +wishing the other day you would be here to celebrate Christmas with me 
    1.93 +and my parents this year, and when you turned up suddenly at our door 
    1.94 +yesterday night I am truly delighted!"
    1.95 +
    1.96 +"Yeah, and Haruka and Michiru were so surprised to see me so soon," 
    1.97 +ChibiUsa said with a small laugh.
    1.98 +
    1.99 +"Well, I'm happy to see you again anyway. It's going to be so much fun, 
   1.100 +now that you are here with me!" Hotaru put her arms around the pink-
   1.101 +haired princess and hugged her warmly. "Then again I'm always happy 
   1.102 +whenever you travel back here to visit me...again and again! I just wish 
   1.103 +you could stay with me - permanently!"
   1.104 +
   1.105 +"I wish I could, Hotaru-chan, but Puu probably won't let me stay too long. 
   1.106 +Neither would my mother...Whoop!" ChibiUsa stepped back and clutched at 
   1.107 +her loudly rumbling stomach. "Guess I'm starving!"
   1.108 +
   1.109 +Hotaru chuckled.  "That's what you got for skipping breakfast. Okay, I'll 
   1.110 +see what I can cook up for you for lunch."  Suddenly her face brightened, 
   1.111 +"Hey, I have an even better idea! We can go downtown and get something to 
   1.112 +eat. My treat. How does it sound?" 
   1.113 +
   1.114 +"Great!" ChibiUsa said happily.
   1.115 +
   1.116 +"Good. Go get dressed. Or you can help yourself to some of my clothes in 
   1.117 +the closet. I don't mind.  I'll be downstairs waiting for you!"
   1.118 +
   1.119 +"Hotaru-chan?"
   1.120 +
   1.121 +"Hai, ChibiUsa-chan?"
   1.122 +
   1.123 +"I was thinking - could we stop by at the Tsukino house first? I'd like 
   1.124 +to see Usagi again." ChibiUsa asked tentatively. "I never got a chance to 
   1.125 +see Usagi and her family while I was here the last time, and I just 
   1.126 +wanted to see how she is doing."
   1.127 +
   1.128 +Hotaru thought about it. "I'm not sure if she's still living with her 
   1.129 +family, and also it's a bit long way from here...but sure, we can go over 
   1.130 +there and say hello to Usagi!"
   1.131 +
   1.132 +ChibiUsa threw her arms around her dark-haired friend in a big hug.   
   1.133 +"Arigato!"
   1.134 +
   1.135 +	
   1.136 +   		        ******************
   1.137 +
   1.138 +Some time later Hotaru and ChibiUsa (who managed to find some warm, 
   1.139 +light-colored clothes from the closet to wear) found themselves standing 
   1.140 +before the door at the Tsukino house, shivering because it *was* pretty 
   1.141 +long way getting there.  But neither complained, though.  Hotaru glanced 
   1.142 +at her young friend and noticed the nostalgic look in ChibiUsa's face. 
   1.143 +The pink-haired girl must really miss her future mother a lot, she 
   1.144 +observed.
   1.145 +
   1.146 +"ChibiUsa-chan, I wonder if Usagi's parents will recognize you?"  
   1.147 +
   1.148 +"Not without Luna-P, I don't think so," ChibiUsa said, looking rather sad. 
   1.149 +"You know, I used my Luna-P on Usagi's family a long time ago and fooled 
   1.150 +them into thinking I was just a poor, long-lost and abandoned 'cousin' 
   1.151 +who needed to be taken care of.  I believe the effect have long since 
   1.152 +worn off now. There's no way Usagi's family would recognize me and 
   1.153 +welcome me with open arms."
   1.154 +
   1.155 +Hotaru impulsively put her arm around ChibiUsa and hugged her closely, 
   1.156 +trying to console her. "At least Usagi will remember you and be happy to 
   1.157 +see you again anyway!"
   1.158 +
   1.159 +"Yeah," ChibiUsa nodded, smiling a little. "Well, here we go."
   1.160 +	
   1.161 +Hotaru stepped back to one side and watched silently as ChibiUsa reached 
   1.162 +up, hesitated only momentarily, then knocked the door.  A few moments 
   1.163 +passed, then the door swung outward and a middle-aged woman with long, 
   1.164 +bluish hair streaked with gray peered curiously at the the pink-haired 
   1.165 +teenager.   "Hai?"  The woman queried.
   1.166 +
   1.167 +ChibiUsa blinked. "Uh, uh, I-I just came here to see if Usagi is home," 
   1.168 +she stuttered, shuffling her shoes and looking terribly shy. "I haven't 
   1.169 +seen her for quite a while and I've lost touch with her...so...." 
   1.170 +
   1.171 +"Oh, my goodness. You must be one of Usagi's friends. Do you know she got 
   1.172 +a job in the other part of the city and moved away a couple of months 
   1.173 +ago?" The woman asked.
   1.174 +
   1.175 +ChibiUsa's face fell. "Oh...I don't know that."		
   1.176 +
   1.177 +The woman looked at her more closely and said with a quizzical expression 
   1.178 +on her face, "Hmmm...You seem familiar. Where have I met you before?"
   1.179 +
   1.180 +Hotaru's eyebrows raised and she looked sideways at ChibiUsa who became 
   1.181 +flustered and looked down at her shoes, tongue-tied. She decided to speak 
   1.182 +up for her.
   1.183 +
   1.184 +"Konnichi wa, Mrs. Tsukino-san. Since Usagi's not living here anymore, 
   1.185 +can we have her phone number so we can get in touch with her?"
   1.186 +
   1.187 +The woman's head turned, and gave the dark-haired girl a surprised look.  
   1.188 +"Why, hello, Hotaru! I haven't seen you in months - good to see you 
   1.189 +again!"  Then the woman turned her attention back to the pink-haired teen.  
   1.190 +"Well, I'll most certainly be happy to give you Usagi's phone number if 
   1.191 +you like."
   1.192 +	
   1.193 +"Arigato! It's just that Usagi is my...really good friend," ChibiUsa 
   1.194 +replied, sounding even more shy than usual. "And I just want to talk to 
   1.195 +her again..."
   1.196 +
   1.197 +"Okay. I understand," The woman nodded. "Give me a second, and I'll give 
   1.198 +you a piece of paper with Usagi's phone number on it."
   1.199 +
   1.200 +"All right, Ik...ma'am," ChibiUsa said, beaming.  She staggered against 
   1.201 +Hotaru as soon as the woman closed the door. "Kami-sama, I almost called 
   1.202 +her 'Ikuko-mommy'!"  She whispered as Hotaru gave her another one-arm 
   1.203 +reassuring hug.
   1.204 +
   1.205 +The door opened, and the girls straightened up expectantly. Ikuko stepped 
   1.206 +forward with, "Here you are," and handed ChibUsa a piece of paper.  "I 
   1.207 +hope you will be able to get hold of Usagi long enough to have a nice 
   1.208 +talk - I myself have had hard time getting her on the telephone as she is 
   1.209 +so busy with her job and her social life!"
   1.210 +	
   1.211 +"Arigato again," ChibiUsa said, accepting the proffered paper. "If Usagi 
   1.212 +ever come by here some time, please tell her that I was looking for her."
   1.213 +
   1.214 +"Oh, hai, we are planning to visit Usagi this weekend," Ikuko said 
   1.215 +brightly with a smile, "But what's your name, so I can tell her that you 
   1.216 +were looking for her?"
   1.217 +
   1.218 +"Oh," ChibiUsa felt a sudden pang of sadness that the woman could no 
   1.219 +longer knew her name.  "Just tell her the little spore stopped by in 
   1.220 +Tokyo for a sort visit. She'll know who it is. Ja ne!" She grabbed 
   1.221 +Hotaru's arm and took off with the dark-haired friend in tow before the 
   1.222 +woman would see her tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.
   1.223 +
   1.224 +*********************************************************************
   1.225 +
   1.226 +"Are you okay, ChibiUsa-chan?" Hotaru said, glancing worriedly at her 
   1.227 +friend across the table they had taken at the Crown Place.  "You seem 
   1.228 +awfully quiet."
   1.229 +
   1.230 +"Oh well. I was thinking about Usagi's mother," ChibiUsa said. "Now that 
   1.231 +I have seen her I miss her just as much as I do Usagi. Although," She 
   1.232 +rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands with a 
   1.233 +look of mild disbelief, "To tell you the truth, I can't believe she 
   1.234 +looked so much older than I last saw her!"
   1.235 +
   1.236 +"Hmm-mmm," Hotaru said, nodding. "Things changed a lot since you were 
   1.237 +away, I guess," Hotaru smiled and reached across the table to squeeze 
   1.238 +ChibiUsa's arm affectionately. "I'm sorry we don't get to see Usagi, but 
   1.239 +now that you got her number we can call her tonight to say hi. Oh, by the 
   1.240 +way," she added quickly as though an thought had occurred to her, "Tell 
   1.241 +you what, with Christmas only a few days away I need to do some shopping 
   1.242 +this afternoon and get a few Christmas presents for Haruka-papa and 
   1.243 +Michiru-mama.  We'll go to the mall after we ate. Okay with you?"
   1.244 +
   1.245 +"Okay, Hotaru-chan," But ChibiUsa was still preoccupied; "Ikuko-
   1.246 +mommy...she said I look familiar," she whispered half to herself, "I 
   1.247 +wonder if she still remembers me after all?"
   1.248 +
   1.249 +A young, smiling waitress came up to their table and bowed slightly 
   1.250 +toward the two occupants.  "May I take your order?"
   1.251 +
   1.252 +ChibiUsa looked up, sat straight up and exclaimed happily;  "Hi, 
   1.253 +Unazuki!" 
   1.254 +
   1.255 +Unazuki looked at her in surprise.  "Nani?  Have we met before?...Oh, 
   1.256 +ChibiUsa! I almost didn't recognize you! My, but you've all grown up now 
   1.257 +and without your odangos in your hair!"
   1.258 +
   1.259 +The pink-haired princess grinned.  "I guess I hadn't gotten around to 
   1.260 +fixing my hair up  - and Hotaru said she don't know how to do odangos."
   1.261 +
   1.262 +"Indeed!"  The young waitress paused to study her critically. "Whoa! You 
   1.263 +know, I believe you look real kawaii with your hair down...I mean really 
   1.264 +kawaii!"
   1.265 +
   1.266 +"That's what I thought, too!"  Hotaru said.  She smiled fondly at 
   1.267 +ChibiUsa.  "Unazuki's right.  You do look very kawaii with your hair 
   1.268 +down! Would you consider letting your hair hang loose for the rest of 
   1.269 +your life?"
   1.270 +
   1.271 +"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Unazuki agreed. "You'd make a complete 
   1.272 +knockout sight!"
   1.273 +
   1.274 +"Well, I don't know," ChibiUsa said, looking slightly embarrassed by the 
   1.275 +sudden interest in her hairstyle. Bemused, she looked from Hotaru to 
   1.276 +Unazuki and laughed nervously, then decided to change the subject; 
   1.277 +"Uh...can I order fried chicken sandwich?"
   1.278 +
   1.279 +"Certainly!" Unazuki scribbled in her small notepad. "What about you?" 
   1.280 +She asked Hotaru. The raven-haired girl gave her choice and the smiling 
   1.281 +waitress wrote it down, then paused and gave the teen girls a concerned 
   1.282 +look. "Please pardon me, but did you say you'll do the shopping at the 
   1.283 +mall?  Down the 8th Street, correct?"
   1.284 +
   1.285 +"Uh, yeah, Unazuki, that's right," Hotaru answered. "Why?"
   1.286 +
   1.287 +"Oh, my.  Just be very careful, girls. There is a gang living in an area 
   1.288 +not far from the 8th Street," Unazuki said seriously, "They're called the 
   1.289 +White Wolves, and I heard they're pretty vicious. I just thought I'd warn 
   1.290 +you if you're planning to shop there."
   1.291 +
   1.292 +"The White Wolves?" ChibiUsa squeaked. 
   1.293 +
   1.294 +Hotaru looked thoughtful. "I've heard of them, my parents had told me 
   1.295 +once about them a while ago," she said with a nod, "Arigato for the 
   1.296 +warning, Unazuki. We will certainly be careful." 
   1.297 +
   1.298 +"Good, then," Unazuki was all smiles now. She looked at ChibiUsa and said, 
   1.299 +"I still think you look quite kawaii with your hair down. I really like 
   1.300 +it a lot!"  She bowed herself away.
   1.301 +
   1.302 +ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru. "The White Wolves...I don't remember hearing 
   1.303 +about them. I know we have many gangs here in Tokyo, but this one?  This 
   1.304 +is news to me," She sounded a little worried, "And she says they're 
   1.305 +vicious, eh?"
   1.306 +
   1.307 +"Don't worry about them, ChibiUsa-chan. As long as you are with me, 
   1.308 +you'll be safe," Hotaru turned to gaze at the pink-haired teen and 
   1.309 +grinned. "Well, I believe you're blushing, aren't you?" she teased, "You 
   1.310 +acted like Unazuki were trying to hit on you just because she commented 
   1.311 +so nicely on your hair, ne?" 
   1.312 +
   1.313 +ChibiUsa ducked her head, face turning even deeper color of red. "Of 
   1.314 +course not! I don't think so, Hotaru-chan!"
   1.315 +
   1.316 +Hotaru chuckled. "Heh. Sorry, ChibiUsa-chan. I better not tease you 
   1.317 +anymore, now that your face got such a lovely shade of red."
   1.318 +
   1.319 +ChibiUsa squawked indignantly and tried to cuff her friend. With a 
   1.320 +lightning motion borne of long senshi practice, Hotaru grabbed the young 
   1.321 +girl's hand and covered it with both of her own hands. Deep purple eye 
   1.322 +twinkling, the raven-haired girl grinned at ChibiUsa. "Okay, okay. I'll 
   1.323 +behave, ChibiUsa-chan."
   1.324 +
   1.325 +Chibiusa struck her tongue out at her. "You better be!"  She huffed. She 
   1.326 +felt warm inside, however, when she noticed Hotaru's eyes became soft and 
   1.327 +her mischievous smile turned gentle. The raven-haired girl's hands kept a 
   1.328 +firm yet tender hold on hers. 
   1.329 +
   1.330 +"Uh-oh," ChibiUsa said, raising one eyebrow, "I think I know what you're 
   1.331 +thinking, Hotaru-chan."
   1.332 +
   1.333 +The raven-haired girl gave a small chuckle.  "Perhaps you do, ChibiUsa-
   1.334 +chan," She winked at her, "But you'll have to wait until later to find 
   1.335 +out!"  She released her friend's hand, placed her elbows on the table and 
   1.336 +rested her chin on her hands, still smiling gently at ChibiUsa.  "Well, 
   1.337 +suppose I get you something for Christmas, what will it be?"
   1.338 +
   1.339 +"You don't have to get me anything!"  ChibiUsa protested, feeling a 
   1.340 +little guilty,  "I'm afraid I don't bring any money with me to buy you 
   1.341 +something because I have no idea it would be almost Christmas when I 
   1.342 +arrived at your house yesterday.  You know how unpredictable time-
   1.343 +traveling can be. And besides, I've already got too much stuff back at 
   1.344 +home anyways.  If I've known I would arrive during the holiday, I would 
   1.345 +bring something for you!"
   1.346 +
   1.347 +Hotaru smiled again. "Okay, then. And don't worry about that...ChibiUsa-
   1.348 +chan, just having you here with me is like a early Christmas present to 
   1.349 +me!"
   1.350 +
   1.351 +"Really?"  ChibiUsa said, pleased.
   1.352 +
   1.353 +Hotaru nodded vigorously, then became serious. "ChibiUsa-chan...Now that 
   1.354 +you are here, how long will you stay?  I hope this time you will be able 
   1.355 +to stay as long as you can," Hotaru looked pleadingly at her young friend. 
   1.356 +"Would you?"
   1.357 +
   1.358 +"I don't know. That depends," ChibiUsa said slowly, her brow furrowed.  
   1.359 +"I would certainly stay as long as possible. But then Puu will come and 
   1.360 +discover me here, she'll say I should go back home," Her voice sounded 
   1.361 +resigned, "Then I'd have to leave."
   1.362 +
   1.363 +At this Hotaru frowned and shook her head vehemently.  "ChibiUsa-chan, 
   1.364 +she can't do that to you. You shouldn't let Pluto tell you what to do!" 
   1.365 +she said sharply. ChibiUsa blinked at the tone of her friend's voice. 
   1.366 +Hotaru continued, "If you want to stay here, you just tell her so!"
   1.367 +
   1.368 +"Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said. She reached out to touch her friend's 
   1.369 +shoulder, wanting to reassure her, "It's okay! I'm not going anywhere - 
   1.370 +especially not this soon anyhow!"
   1.371 +
   1.372 + "As much as I love Pluto, I just don't want her to come and take you 
   1.373 +away again," Hotaru said earnestly, almost angrily. She took ChibiUsa's 
   1.374 +hand and squeezed it briefly.  "You are not only my best friend, you are 
   1.375 +my soul mate.  I won't let her tear us apart like she did last time.  I'd 
   1.376 +miss you terribly if she does."
   1.377 +
   1.378 +"I see," The pink-haired teen said softly, giving her friend a curious 
   1.379 +look.  She had never seen Hotaru this upset before. A memory came to her, 
   1.380 +of young Hotaru and ChibiUsa trying to catch up with each other after the 
   1.381 +downfall of Neherenia - to pick up where they had left off since they 
   1.382 +last saw each other [and Hotaru was then a baby at that time before the 
   1.383 +evil Neherenia and the Dead Moon Circus began causing trouble] - only to 
   1.384 +have Pluto come and said that ChibiUsa have to return home to Crystal 
   1.385 +Tokyo for good. Hotaru was so disappointed they had not been able to be 
   1.386 +together very long... "I'd miss you too, if I leave. Don't worry, Hotaru-
   1.387 +chan, for you I will stay as long as it is possible, no matter what Puu 
   1.388 +may say."
   1.389 +
   1.390 +Hotaru's troubled face cleared, and she seemed to calm down. "Good!"  She 
   1.391 +said, starting to smile warmly, "If you stay around long enough it'll be 
   1.392 +also my birthday present next month too!"
   1.393 +
   1.394 +"At least until..." ChibiUsa hesitated and blushed a little, "Until Usagi 
   1.395 +gets pregnant. Then I really have to go."
   1.396 +
   1.397 +Hotaru's smile faded, and she sighed, releasing her friend's hand.  "You 
   1.398 +have a point. Well, as long as you're here, we have to make the most of 
   1.399 +time, I guess."
   1.400 +
   1.401 +"Hai, that's right," ChibiUsa agreed.  She scooted around the beach to 
   1.402 +the raven-haired teen's side and gave her a tight hug, "I don't want you 
   1.403 +to feel bad, Hotaru-chan. I love you, always and forever. Nothing can 
   1.404 +change that in any way!"
   1.405 +
   1.406 +For a moment Hotaru looked at her with shining purple eyes, and she 
   1.407 +opened her mouth and was on verge of speaking something when Unazuki 
   1.408 +returned bearing a tray of steaming food and placed it on their table.
   1.409 +
   1.410 +"Chow time!"  The waitress announced with a huge smile.
   1.411 +
   1.412 +"What is it you were about to say?"  ChibiUsa prompted her as soon as 
   1.413 +Unazuki left.  Hotaru shrugged and gave her another loving look.
   1.414 +
   1.415 +"Just that: I love you, too, ChibiUsa-chan. Always and forever." 
   1.416 +
   1.417 +****************************************
   1.418 +
   1.419 +The night sky was clear and cloudless with the bright, full moon hovering 
   1.420 +over the Tokyo that twinkled and glittered like jewels with Christmas 
   1.421 +lights everywhere. 
   1.422 +
   1.423 +The young senshi and the princess from the future, each clutching tightly 
   1.424 +to a bugling bag, pushed their way trough the jostling crowd of 
   1.425 +pedestrians and shoppers across the congested street from the mall they 
   1.426 +had just left. Reaching the other side safely, they turned in one 
   1.427 +direction and started off on way home down the sidewalk.
   1.428 +
   1.429 +"Whoa, it's night already. We must have shopped all day until now!" 
   1.430 +ChibiUsa exclaimed. She glanced down at the bags, then at Hotaru. "You 
   1.431 +said a few presents, huh? I can't believe you can afford to buy all those, 
   1.432 +let alone treat me at the Crown Place. Just how much allowance do you 
   1.433 +actually get from Haruka and Michiru each week?!"  
   1.434 +
   1.435 +"You're making it sound like Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama are spoiling 
   1.436 +me!"  Hotaru laughed. "No, really, the amount of the weekly allowance I 
   1.437 +receive is about as normal as yours when you lived with Usagi, I think.  
   1.438 +And every time I get it I just squirreled it away for later when I need 
   1.439 +it to buy something." 
   1.440 +
   1.441 +"So you just accumulate your allowance over time?" ChibiUsa raised her 
   1.442 +eyebrows in mock surprise.  "Oh, no wonder. And I thought you were 
   1.443 +wealthy because of your parents!"
   1.444 +
   1.445 +Hotaru shrugged. "I'm not like those born-to-shop-until-I-drop-dead guys, 
   1.446 +you know.  Just a few things I need to buy now and then. With Christmas 
   1.447 +coming, I thought I'd better hurry and get something for my parents!"  
   1.448 +She turned her head and smiled at her young friend. "It was fun shopping 
   1.449 +with you, ChibiUsa-chan. And thanks for your help in picking out a really 
   1.450 +cool gift for Haruka-papa. Now I can tell her that she's a proud owner of 
   1.451 +2001 Ferrari GTO. Then all she have to do is look inside the box and find 
   1.452 +a kawaii little toy car she can play with the remote controller!"
   1.453 +
   1.454 +ChibiUsa laughed. "You're very welcome, Hotaru-chan," she said.
   1.455 +
   1.456 +They walked for a while; admiring the decorated windows they passed by 
   1.457 +while their booted feet made crunching sound in the snow.  Suddenly 
   1.458 +ChibiUsa giggled furiously.
   1.459 +
   1.460 +"Gomen. There was one place that I was browsing back there - you were in 
   1.461 +the other store at that time - and they were selling gag gifts. It 
   1.462 +reminded me of one Mom got from Mars and Venus for her birthday back in 
   1.463 +Crystal Tokyo last summer," She said, still giggling.  "I can't say what 
   1.464 +it was, but I know it was kind of naughty.  You should have seen Mom's 
   1.465 +face - it was really funny!"
   1.466 +
   1.467 +Hotaru laughed gently, mainly because ChibiUsa's giggles were quite 
   1.468 +infectious.  "I wish I could have been there with you. It would be fun, 
   1.469 +eh?"
   1.470 +
   1.471 +ChibiUsa became somber and looked at her with a hint of sadness in her 
   1.472 +cinnamon-red eyes. She said quietly, "Yeah, It would indeed be fun, with 
   1.473 +all friends and about every Senshi there for our birthday except..." 
   1.474 +
   1.475 +Hotaru cocked her head and looked at her quizzically. "Eh?  Except what?"   
   1.476 +When the pink-haired princess looked at you sadly and didn't respond, it 
   1.477 +dawned on her; "I wasn't there?"
   1.478 +
   1.479 +ChibiUsa shook her head, and walked more slowly with her eyes downcast. 
   1.480 +"You weren't there at the party. In fact, you are not around anywhere in 
   1.481 +the Crystal Tokyo at all!"
   1.482 +
   1.483 +"How come?"
   1.484 +
   1.485 +ChibiUsa was silent for a moment before continuing,  "I'll have you know, 
   1.486 +Hotaru-chan, that after we defeated Neherenia I returned home and saw all 
   1.487 +the old and new Senshi, including Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune - 
   1.488 +except Sailor Saturn.  I asked everyone what happened to you.  Nobody 
   1.489 +could give me a straight answer, not even my mother. Puu was the only one 
   1.490 +to tell me that you were no longer on the Earth."  She stopped and looked 
   1.491 +at the stunned Hotaru. She continued with tears brimming her eyes, "At 
   1.492 +first I thought it meant you had already died. But Puu said no, it was 
   1.493 +just that you were sent back to your own planet - on the far side of the 
   1.494 +galaxy. And nobody have contacted you ever since!"  She scrubbed away the 
   1.495 +tears that now tickled down her cheeks. "I can't reach you in any way, 
   1.496 +and it made me feel so bad not to be able to see you. Oh, Hotaru-chan, I 
   1.497 +miss you so much..."
   1.498 +
   1.499 +"Oh, ChibiUsa!"  Hotaru dropped her bag and stepped forward quickly to 
   1.500 +take her into her arms. "It's all right...don't cry, ChibiUsa-chan," For 
   1.501 +the pink-haired princess was beginning to cry in earnest. "So that's why 
   1.502 +you kept coming back here just to see me? It's okay, we're together now. 
   1.503 +Shh, shh...." 
   1.504 +
   1.505 +ChibiUsa snuggled against her and did not say anything else for a while.  
   1.506 +Hotaru continued to murmur soft reassuring words and stroked her friend's 
   1.507 +long hair absently. It was perhaps two full minutes before ChibiUsa 
   1.508 +sighed and raised her head to look at the raven-haired teen right in the 
   1.509 +face.  "You're O.K. now?  Hotaru asked in a concerned tone.
   1.510 +
   1.511 +ChibiUsa nodded, still not looking very happy. "Well, but I sure wish you 
   1.512 +could still remain in Crystal Tokyo and not go anywhere else. Why did 
   1.513 +they have to send you so far away?"
   1.514 +
   1.515 +"I really don't know. I have no idea what is going on in the future," 
   1.516 +Hotaru said, feeling distressed herself, "Could it be they just decided 
   1.517 +they don't need me now that there are no more powerful enemies in the 
   1.518 +30th Century to battle with?" She paused for a moment as though thinking 
   1.519 +and shrugged, "Or maybe it's just that your people can live much longer 
   1.520 +in that century than we do here - don't they, ChibiUsa-chan? If so, they 
   1.521 +probably don't want Death hanging because it would be too depressing for 
   1.522 +them, huh?"
   1.523 +
   1.524 +"Hotaru-chan, I don't think those are good reasons enough to send you 
   1.525 +away!" ChibiUsa said, shaking her head negatively, "We still do have 
   1.526 +enemies popping up from time to time, and besides, you are one of the 
   1.527 +elder Senshi and you are have an important duty in Crystal Tokyo, so why 
   1.528 +should they..."
   1.529 +
   1.530 +"It just occurred to me," Hotaru said suddenly, looking pensive. 
   1.531 +"ChibiUsa-chan, could it be they send me away because they are afraid of 
   1.532 +my powers?"
   1.533 +
   1.534 +"What are you saying!"  ChibiUsa was startled. "What made you think they 
   1.535 +are afraid of you? But you are our dear friend. Why would they be scared 
   1.536 +of you...?"
   1.537 +
   1.538 +"I think I know why," Hotaru said quietly. She paused and looked at 
   1.539 +ChibiUsa with a serious look on her face.  She took a long breath and 
   1.540 +asked rather diffidently, "First I'd like to ask you something I have 
   1.541 +been wondering about for a long time.  ChibiUsa-chan, when you first knew 
   1.542 +I am Sailor Saturn, were you afraid of me?"
   1.543 +
   1.544 +"Me, afraid of you?" ChibiUsa cried in surprise. "Why should I?"
   1.545 +
   1.546 +"Remember, I am a Sailor of Death and Rebirth," Hortaru said more quietly, 
   1.547 +"You know that if I must, I will not hesitate to kill the enemies which I 
   1.548 +have done many, many times. And watching them die is not something you 
   1.549 +should see - it's horrible.  And not only that, you are aware that with a 
   1.550 +single blow of my Glaive I am quite capable of destroying everything on 
   1.551 +this Earth, and the planet itself too. You know that, don't you?"
   1.552 +
   1.553 +ChibiUsa looked at her and gave a small, uncertain nod but otherwise did 
   1.554 +not say anything. After a while Hotaru continued. "I'll tell you what.  
   1.555 +When I go around as Sailor Saturn almost everyone is afraid of me. It may 
   1.556 +not seem like a big surprise, considering I carry the Glaive anyway. 
   1.557 +But...the problem is, even if I am not transformed - that is, I go around 
   1.558 +as Hotaru and not carrying my weapon - both the Inner and the Outer 
   1.559 +Senshi, including what few friends I have, once they knew who I am, are 
   1.560 +still uneasy around me.  I believe even your mother is a little afraid of 
   1.561 +me. I know they are, because I could see a hint of fear in their eyes 
   1.562 +even if they declared their love for me and would stand by me no matter 
   1.563 +what. They tried to hide it, but I was not fooled. They are just, simply, 
   1.564 +afraid of me and walk around me on tiptoes, so to speak."
   1.565 +
   1.566 +"Even my mother?" ChibiUsa asked. Her eyes were wide with astonishment. 
   1.567 +"But it can't be!"
   1.568 +
   1.569 +Hotaru closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Even Usagi, believe it or not. 
   1.570 +I think it's because I have the power to bring the destruction and death 
   1.571 +down at any time and there's no one who can stop me. ChibiUsa-chan, I 
   1.572 +must tell you, it has been going like this for so long I just can't take 
   1.573 +it any more. I hate it, the way everyone was just...you know, kind of 
   1.574 +skittish around me. I just want to be treated like a normal person, a 
   1.575 +friend and not a sort of cold, ruthless Grim Reaper they seemed to think 
   1.576 +I am!"
   1.577 +
   1.578 +"But Hotaru-chan..."
   1.579 +
   1.580 +Now Hotaru opened her eyes her eyes and but did not quite meet her 
   1.581 +friend's eyes.  "Chibiusa-chan, shouldn't you be afraid of me?  You have 
   1.582 +seen my Glaive and know my powers and what I am capable of,"  She said 
   1.583 +softly, "Are you?"
   1.584 +
   1.585 +"No, Hotaru-chan. I have never been afraid of you. No, not at all!"
   1.586 +
   1.587 +Hotaru gasped and looked at the pink-haired princess full in the face.  
   1.588 +ChibiUsa looked steadily back at her with her wide, cinnamon-red eyes 
   1.589 +filled with...love, compassion and total trust.  There was absolutely no 
   1.590 +fear in them at all.  "Hotaru-chan, like I said, I love you. I've known 
   1.591 +you for a long time and yet I love you more than anything. 
   1.592 +Nothing...especially what you just said...can change it. You have to 
   1.593 +believe that!"
   1.594 +
   1.595 +Hotaru was vastly relieved to hear that. "ChibiUsa-chan," she whispered, 
   1.596 +"Is it any wonder why I love you so much?  Of all people I've known, you 
   1.597 +are the only one who do not fear me!" She became aware of ChibiUsa's hand 
   1.598 +was stroking her face, wiping away tears that Hotaru didn't know were 
   1.599 +steaming down her own cheeks. 
   1.600 +
   1.601 +"Hotaru-chan, I don't care what they think or say about you, I see you 
   1.602 +only as a warm, kind-hearted person who is fun to be with," ChibiUsa 
   1.603 +continued, "And more than just a best friend, too. You are someone I feel 
   1.604 +comfortable enough to share with you my innermost feelings and secrets 
   1.605 +nobody else knows. And what's more, I know you will always be there for 
   1.606 +me as I will for you too." She smiled up at Hotaru. "To tell you the 
   1.607 +truth, I feel much more safe and secure whenever I'm with you, because 
   1.608 +you protect me and would not let anything happen to me. Won't you?"
   1.609 +
   1.610 +Impulsively Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa's hand and kissed it.  "Of course, I 
   1.611 +will always be there for you, ChibiUsa-chan! And I will always protect 
   1.612 +you because as Sailor Saturn I'm sworn to protect you anyway. Not only 
   1.613 +because you are a princess, but you are very important to me.  Much more 
   1.614 +than you realize!"
   1.615 +
   1.616 +The pink-haired teen's face grew more serious. "I guess that is why they 
   1.617 +sent you away just because they are still afraid of you, even in the 30th 
   1.618 +Century? I can't believe it!" 
   1.619 +
   1.620 +"Either that or the other way," Hotaru said with a slow shrug. "Right now 
   1.621 +it's way far into the future, so I guess we will never really know, eh?"
   1.622 +
   1.623 +ChibiUsa shook her head with disapproval.  "Well, I will not tolerate 
   1.624 +that!  When I have a chance I'll find out why and then I'll see to that 
   1.625 +it get changed so you will always remain in Crystal Tokyo with me, no 
   1.626 +matter what! I swear on it!"
   1.627 +
   1.628 +Hotaru smiled.  "Good. I want to be near you, too. I wouldn't want to be 
   1.629 +separated from you either," The raven-haired girl said. Absently, she 
   1.630 +reached up and brushed the pink strands of hair from ChibiUsa's face.  A 
   1.631 +snowflake floated down and melted against the princess' forehead. "Oh, 
   1.632 +it's starting to snow," Hotaru looked up, and realized not only it was 
   1.633 +snowing, the wind was becoming quite chilly and gusty. "Come on, we 
   1.634 +better hurry home," she said, grabbing a heavy shopping bag.
   1.635 +
   1.636 +Without another word the girls both strode at a brisk pace, shoulder to 
   1.637 +shoulder, hand in hand, shivering with their heads bent against the 
   1.638 +heightening blizzard. They met fewer and few pedestrians, until they 
   1.639 +could see no other person traveling down the strangely silent side of the 
   1.640 +street with only an occasional car rumbling by. Curious as why she did 
   1.641 +not see any more store windows festooned brightly with Christmas 
   1.642 +decorations like they should be, ChibiUsa looked up and after a while she 
   1.643 +whispered, "I don't think I've been here before."
   1.644 +
   1.645 +"Hmmm?" Hotaru raised her head and looked carefully around. Thanks to the 
   1.646 +heavily blowing snow, it seemed they had somehow lost their way and 
   1.647 +stumbled into an unfamiliar area of the city. Puzzled, She peered through 
   1.648 +the snow swirling crazily in the streetlight at the signpost and took 
   1.649 +note of the name of the street. She did not recognize it.  "I guess we 
   1.650 +must have took a wrong turn." Hotaru said. 
   1.651 +
   1.652 +"We seem to be in a bad neighborhood," ChibiUsa observed, eying with 
   1.653 +distaste the crude graffiti on the weathered brick wall.  
   1.654 +
   1.655 +"Really," Hotaru said, sounding slightly perturbed at their predicament. 
   1.656 +"I guess we just need to turn around and find our way back there." She 
   1.657 +paused and she cast a concerned look at her friend and noticed that 
   1.658 +ChibiUsa's face was red from cold and exposure, and that the young 
   1.659 +princess covered on one side with snow. "You okay, ChibiUsa-chan?"
   1.660 +
   1.661 +"Just cold, that's all," ChibiUsa griped, shivering. Even her teeth were 
   1.662 +chattering a little. "I don't suppose you know a shortcut to your house 
   1.663 +from around here, Hotaru-chan?"
   1.664 +
   1.665 +"I don't think so," Hotaru sighed. "Don't worry, we'll be home before 
   1.666 +long. Just stay close to me, okay?"  The girls turned around and began to 
   1.667 +trudge back up from where they had come from.
   1.668 +
   1.669 +"Hey, kawaii girls," A new voice hailed them.
   1.670 +
   1.671 +Both girls stopped and twirled around, startled.
   1.672 +
   1.673 +"What are you nice girls doing here? If you two are lost, maybe we could 
   1.674 +help you out," A slender, older girl - probably in late teens - stepped 
   1.675 +out of the shadows and into the glare of the lamppost and stood in the 
   1.676 +front of them, regarding them with some interest. She was a good head 
   1.677 +taller than them, and under the streetlight her long windblown hair was 
   1.678 +bleached white and she was wearing long, dark heavy leather coat. She 
   1.679 +grinned down at them, but the look she gave them wasn't exactly 
   1.680 +benevolent.
   1.681 +
   1.682 +We? Hotaru frowned, suddenly wary. She looked around quickly to see if 
   1.683 +there were anyone else with the strange girl, but there were no one she 
   1.684 +could see beyond the scope of the lamppost.  All the same, Hotaru moved 
   1.685 +closer to her friend in order to protect her and replied in an even voice, 
   1.686 +"No, thanks. I'm sure we can find our way home."  
   1.687 +
   1.688 +"Oh?"  The girl cocked her head, the grin hardly leaving her face. "But 
   1.689 +it's freezing out here! We are heading over to our place and maybe you 
   1.690 +both should come in with us to get warmed up," She jerked her thumb back 
   1.691 +at a squat brick building that appeared to be somewhat dilapidated. Two 
   1.692 +upper curtained windows were lit with sickly yellow light, and Hotaru 
   1.693 +could see silhouetted figures moving forth and back ominously behind them. 
   1.694 +The stranger continued; "There you can have something to eat and drink, 
   1.695 +too if you have not yet eaten."
   1.696 +
   1.697 +"Thanks for the offer, that is very nice of you," Hotaru said quietly, 
   1.698 +"But I'm afraid we have to pass it up.  It's getting late anyway and we 
   1.699 +need to go home."  She whispered to her friend, "Let's go, ChibiUsa-
   1.700 +chan."
   1.701 +
   1.702 +The pink-haired girl threw a longing glance at the building; apparently 
   1.703 +she was hungry too as well as cold, and would gladly go in there to thaw 
   1.704 +out if possible.  But after a moment's hesitation Chibiusa sighed and 
   1.705 +conceded, "All right, Hotaru-chan, we better go home then."  Both the 
   1.706 +girls turned to walk away.
   1.707 +
   1.708 +"You are not going anywhere!" A new, stern voice called out.  Another 
   1.709 +girl, even taller than the first, stepped into sight out of nowhere 
   1.710 +blocking their path. She too has bleached hair and wore the similar dark 
   1.711 +attire and has a very unfriendly expression on her face. Narrowing her 
   1.712 +eyes, she said flatly; "Don't you know it's extremely rude to turn down a 
   1.713 +generous offer like that?"
   1.714 +
   1.715 +Both Hotaru and ChibiUsa abruptly halted, and the raven-haired girl threw 
   1.716 +her arm around the princess and pulled her close protectively. "What do 
   1.717 +you want?" Hotaru demanded.
   1.718 +
   1.719 +"You," the second tall girl said simply.
   1.720 +
   1.721 +"That's right, we're always looking for new friends!"  Yet another voices 
   1.722 +chorused and two more girls, twins to be exact, soon appeared on both 
   1.723 +sides of the disagreeable second girl. In contrast their faces were 
   1.724 +cheerful and smiling, but their expressions belied a dangerous glint in 
   1.725 +their eyes.  Like the other girls who had accosted Hotaru and ChibiUsa 
   1.726 +the somewhat young twins have pale hair and wore the same kind of leather 
   1.727 +coats.   
   1.728 +
   1.729 +The four strangers spread out, and in the next few moments the young 
   1.730 +Senshi and the princess found themselves surrounded with no other way out. 
   1.731 +Something was terribly wrong.  Hotaru felt ChibiUsa gripped her arm 
   1.732 +tightly. "Who are you?" The pink-haired girl challenged angrily, "What 
   1.733 +are you going to do with us?"
   1.734 +
   1.735 +"Well, well. Such a gutsy girl," One of the girls smirked. 
   1.736 +
   1.737 +"ChibiUsa," Hotaru whispered to her in a warning tone.
   1.738 +
   1.739 +The tall girl, obviously a leader who had spoken to them in the first 
   1.740 +place now addressed them again, "Well, we might as well introduce 
   1.741 +ourselves.  I am Hoshi," She bowed slightly. "And this is Kumiko," She 
   1.742 +nodded toward the tall hard-faced girl.  "And those are Shina and Yoko," 
   1.743 +She finished, looking in direction at the young twins with deceptively 
   1.744 +pleasant faces. Then she turned her attention toward Hotaru and ChibiUsa. 
   1.745 +Her eyes hardened.  "Now that you have met us, I'll let you know one 
   1.746 +thing.  We are the White Wolves, and you happened to be trespassing our 
   1.747 +territory."
   1.748 +
   1.749 +Hotaru tensed, and heard ChibiUsa gasped sharply.
   1.750 +
   1.751 +Obviously anticipating this type of reaction, Hoshi smiled. "However, 
   1.752 +since this is Christmas season," She said in a more genial voice, "And 
   1.753 +for such kawaii girls like you should not be wandering around out in this 
   1.754 +bad weather, we'll be generous. Therefore, you could have taken up my 
   1.755 +offer to come in with us and get acquainted with us guys. There's so much 
   1.756 +we can learn from each other."
   1.757 +
   1.758 +Hotaru and ChibiUsa looked at each other for a second. Then the raven-
   1.759 +haired girl shook head firmly. "No, thanks."
   1.760 +
   1.761 +The leader sighed.  "If you decline our offer and would rather leave here 
   1.762 +anyway...well, there is a price for trespassing our turf. So you have two 
   1.763 +choices.  Hand over your money and bags you are carrying, and we'll let 
   1.764 +you leave without any hassle."
   1.765 +
   1.766 +Hotaru's heart began to beat rapidly.  Before she could say anything 
   1.767 +ChibiUsa demanded, "And what's the second choice?" 
   1.768 +
   1.769 +The leader's smile thinned and eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you try to 
   1.770 +leave without paying the price, well, you'll have to find it out the hard 
   1.771 +way."
   1.772 +
   1.773 +Hotaru did not like the sound of it at all. She whispered to her pink-
   1.774 +haired friend, "I think we better hand over our bags, ChibiUsa-chan, and 
   1.775 +then they'll let us go."
   1.776 +
   1.777 +"Nani?" ChibiUsa stared at her incredulously. "But you bought all those 
   1.778 +presents with your money for Haruka and Michiru...and it's not right for 
   1.779 +them to take the presents away from you!"
   1.780 +
   1.781 +"Never mind, it's better than standing around to find what the second 
   1.782 +choice is all about," Hotaru whispered back. As ChibiUsa scowled angrily 
   1.783 +and muttered something acidic under breath, Hotaru turned to the leader. 
   1.784 +"We'll give up our bags and money.  You're sure if we do, we'll leave 
   1.785 +without any trouble, correct?"
   1.786 +
   1.787 +Hoshi grinned suddenly. Her dark eyes glistened with greed as she nodded. 
   1.788 +"Excellent choice. We will certainly let you go after we have your 
   1.789 +stuff."
   1.790 +
   1.791 +"Okay, here you are," Hotaru said with quiet resignation, and held out 
   1.792 +the bag. Just as the tall leader reached forward to take it, ChibiUsa 
   1.793 +suddenly yanked Hotaru back. 
   1.794 +
   1.795 +"No!"  ChibiUsa said vehemently, shooting the gang leader an angry look,  
   1.796 +"They have no right to do that to us!"
   1.797 +
   1.798 +"ChibiUsa!" Hotaru said sharply. "We don't want any trouble with them. 
   1.799 +Just let them take what they want, and then we'll be let go. It's not 
   1.800 +worth making a big fuss about it!"
   1.801 +
   1.802 +ChibiUsa shook her head stubbornly, still balking.  "It's just not 
   1.803 +right!"
   1.804 +
   1.805 +"Ah, so you're resisting, eh?" The hard-faced second girl named Kumiko 
   1.806 +said. She rubbed her knuckles ominously. "What are we going to do about 
   1.807 +you two?"
   1.808 +
   1.809 +"You're not taking anything from us!"  ChibiUsa shouted. 
   1.810 +
   1.811 +The leader glanced over Hotaru and ChibiUsa's heads at Kumiko and nodded.  
   1.812 +As though on cue, the hard-faced girl standing behind Chibisusa stepped 
   1.813 +forward with slow, purposeful and menacing movements.
   1.814 +
   1.815 +Without warning, ChibiUsa's elbow flew out and caught Kumiko in the 
   1.816 +stomach. As she doubled over, gasping, the petite pink-haired princess 
   1.817 +grabbed her around the head and flipped her right over her shoulder.  
   1.818 +Kumiko went down with a thud and lay there in the snow, groaning.  The 
   1.819 +other bleach-haired girls froze where they stood, staring in stunned 
   1.820 +disbelief.
   1.821 +
   1.822 +"ChibiUsa!" Hotaru gasped. "What do you think you are doing?"
   1.823 +
   1.824 +"Come on! We're getting out of here!"  ChibiUsa said. She grabbed 
   1.825 +Hotaru's hand and dragged her across the space that was formerly occupied 
   1.826 +by Kumiko and into the alley, taking the bags with them.
   1.827 +
   1.828 +"They're getting away!"  The leader of the gang screamed as Kumiko jumped 
   1.829 +to her feet.  She sounded absolutely livid; "They will pay for it! Go 
   1.830 +after them!" 
   1.831 +
   1.832 +"Oh, Kami-sama," Hotaru said, looking at her friend in consternation.  
   1.833 +They could hear the angry words echoing off the walls and a set of 
   1.834 +footfalls slapping furiously upon the snow-covered ground behind them, 
   1.835 +growing closer and closer each moment. The raven-haired girl yelled; "Run 
   1.836 +as fast as you can!" 
   1.837 +
   1.838 +And so the senshi and the princess sprinted hand in hand down the semi-
   1.839 +dark alley for dear lives, turning this way and that way at every corner 
   1.840 +in hopes to shake their pursuers off.  But when they made fourth such 
   1.841 +detour they immediately realized their mistake; they had ran into a dead 
   1.842 +end. And they could not backpedal out of their predicament, for almost 
   1.843 +immediately the angry girls with bleached hairs burst into view, blocking 
   1.844 +their only way of escape.
   1.845 +
   1.846 +Before Hotaru would react, she was tackled from behind with such a force 
   1.847 +that she was slammed against the brick wall. As she groaned painfully she 
   1.848 +heard a falsely cheerful voice said with a tone of ironic playfulness in 
   1.849 +it, "Tsk, tsk. You think you can dodge us, aren't you?"  Hotaru was not 
   1.850 +sure if it was either Shina or Yoko.  But as she tried to struggle she 
   1.851 +saw Kimuko striding right by and caught a fleeting glimpse of what looked 
   1.852 +like a bowie knife flashing in dim light.  Icy fear seized her heart. It 
   1.853 +was not out of a concern for her own safety, however, but for ChibiUsa. 
   1.854 +[Dear Kami-sama, don't let them hurt my friend!]
   1.855 +
   1.856 +"Know what I'm gonna do?"  The same voice laughed nastily, and Hotaru 
   1.857 +felt her arm twisted savagely behind her. She could not cry out loud, she 
   1.858 +was paralyzed with pain. "We're gonna break every bone of yours and kill 
   1.859 +you!"
   1.860 +
   1.861 +The next few moments seemed like an eternity, as Hotaru was struck 
   1.862 +brutally several times - with what, she wasn't able to tell.  Hotaru was 
   1.863 +dimly aware of a furious scuffle not too far off. [ChibiUsa...oh, no!] 
   1.864 +But there was nothing she could do at that time. Then, with a final 
   1.865 +savage blow to her head that sent her reeling, she was flung to the 
   1.866 +ground among the overturned trashcans. 
   1.867 +
   1.868 +"Next time we see you it'll be much worse than that. You should be lucky 
   1.869 +we let you live for now."  It was Hoshi's voice now. "Have a Merry 
   1.870 +Christmas!"  With those mocking parting words, the gang stomped away.  
   1.871 +Then there was silence.
   1.872 +
   1.873 +Hotaru lay panting there in semi-darkness, shivering, waiting for the 
   1.874 +pain to dwindle to a tolerable level before she could dare to raise her 
   1.875 +head. She was somewhat relieved she suffered no broken bones. "ChibiUsa? 
   1.876 +Are you there?"  She called tentatively. When she did not hear the 
   1.877 +immediate response she became panicky.  "ChibiUsa! Answer me!"
   1.878 +
   1.879 +At last a weak reply came.  "Hotaru...!" In semi-darkness Hotaru could 
   1.880 +see a form of ChibiUsa floundering around in the snow not far from her.  
   1.881 +Hotaru, frightened and concerned for her friend, tried frantically to 
   1.882 +reach where the pink-haired girl was.  ChibiUsa must have seen her, for 
   1.883 +she shuffled over to her right away on knees and hands and an arm slipped 
   1.884 +gently around the raven-haired girl, supporting her.  "Hotaru! Are you 
   1.885 +all right?" ChibiUsa said in a much stronger voice now. She also sounded 
   1.886 +strangely restrained as thought she was trying to hide pain from her 
   1.887 +voice.
   1.888 +
   1.889 +Hotaru staggered into her friend's arms with relief. [Thank Kami-sama!] 
   1.890 +She was so scared that they might beat ChibiUsa senseless...or worse. She 
   1.891 +looked up through blowing snow flurries into ChibiUsa's face, trying to 
   1.892 +gauge just how bad the princess looked.  It was hard to tell, as 
   1.893 +ChibiUsa's face was in shadow with tendrils of pink hair whipping around 
   1.894 +in the wind, partly concealing it. 
   1.895 +
   1.896 +"I...I think so," Hotaru said in a halting voice as she allowed ChibiUsa 
   1.897 +to pull her to a sitting position.  Instinctively she massaged the aching 
   1.898 +arm. "Ouch. That's a wonder they didn't pull my arm out of the socket!  
   1.899 +ChibiUsa-chan, please tell me - how badly are you injured in any way?"
   1.900 +
   1.901 +ChibiUsa did not answer the question. Instead, she became upset; "Kami-
   1.902 +sama, you're hurt!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed, stricken. "They did 
   1.903 +this to you and got away with it!"
   1.904 +
   1.905 +"Forget it," Hotaru said wearily. "Let them go."
   1.906 +
   1.907 +"But, they took the gifts you bought for Haruka and Michiru and beat you 
   1.908 +up...!"  ChibiUsa was becoming angry again. "I won't forgive them. I'm 
   1.909 +not going to let them get away with it!"
   1.910 +
   1.911 +"I said forget it. It's not worth going after them," Hotaru said.
   1.912 +
   1.913 +"There's no way I can let them get away with it!"  ChibiUsa repeated.  
   1.914 +She hugged Hotaru fiercely for a second or two, then released and 
   1.915 +scrambled to her feet. "I'm going after them!" And then she took off down 
   1.916 +the alley after the retreating members of the White Wolves gang. 
   1.917 +
   1.918 +"ChibiUsa! Come back!" Hotaru shouted. [Can't she see they're armed and 
   1.919 +extremely dangerous?]  Ignoring her pains, she got to her feet and took 
   1.920 +off after her friend at a frantic speed. "ChibiUsa!  ChibiUsa!" 
   1.921 +
   1.922 +The pink-haired princess, however, had already vanished around the corner.  
   1.923 +[I can't believe it, ChibiUsa is just as rash as her mother Usagi was!] 
   1.924 +The thought of ChibiUsa trying to take on the White Wolves gang by 
   1.925 +herself and getting sliced up and down horrified Hotaru, and her feet 
   1.926 +picked up an ever faster pace.  Already a violent melee could be heard 
   1.927 +breaking out not too far off. Her heart sank. [If anything happen to 
   1.928 +ChibiUsa, I might not even be able to put her together!]  She ran around 
   1.929 +the corner just in time to hear ChibiUsa cry out loud.    
   1.930 +
   1.931 +"SATURN PLANET!"
   1.932 +
   1.933 +As she drew nearer to the open area she caught sight of the White Wolves 
   1.934 +gang standing around in a circle, viciously hitting and kicking at the 
   1.935 +huddled form in the snow.  Oh, gods.
   1.936 +
   1.937 +"POWER!"
   1.938 +
   1.939 +[ChibiUsa-chan, hold on! I'm coming! ]
   1.940 +
   1.941 +"MAKE UP!"
   1.942 +
   1.943 +A purplish light flashed momentarily around her and her heavy civilian 
   1.944 +attire for the winter dissolved, to be replaced by a purple and white 
   1.945 +sailor uniform. "GLAIVE, COME FORWARD!"  She raised her arm, and the 
   1.946 +deadly Silent Glaive materialized from far above and came spinning into 
   1.947 +her outstretched gloved hand.  Thus armed, Sailor Saturn bounded over to 
   1.948 +the top of the big dumpster and pointed the Glaive toward the gang.  
   1.949 +"STOP IT AT ONCE!"   
   1.950 +
   1.951 +The White Wolves gang twirled around. 
   1.952 +	 		
   1.953 +The light from a nearby lamppost was dim but the Saturn saw enough to 
   1.954 +make her heart stop. ChibiUsa was lying quite still.  There appeared to 
   1.955 +be some dark stains in the snow near her body.  Saturn felt sick inside.  
   1.956 +She lifted her eyes to glare at the older girls.  "Beating up and robbing 
   1.957 +a young lady during a Christmas season - this I cannot tolerate, nor can 
   1.958 +I forgive!" 
   1.959 +
   1.960 +Hoshi appeared to recover quickly from her stupefaction at the sight of a 
   1.961 +formidable figure on the dumpster in front of her, and became belligerent.  
   1.962 +"Who are you?"   
   1.963 +
   1.964 +"I am Sailor Saturn," The Senshi intoned flatly, her Glaive that 
   1.965 +reflecting cold light every time she moved it, "Agent of Death and 
   1.966 +Rebirth." 
   1.967 +
   1.968 +"Hoshi! I've heard of her!"  One of the twins shrieked, her eyes bulging. 
   1.969 +"She's one of the senshi, and the most deadly of them all!"
   1.970 +
   1.971 +Hoshi, unnerved, stepped back a pace and eyed Sailor Saturn warily. "What 
   1.972 +do you want with us?"
   1.973 +
   1.974 +"It would be better if you all leave right now!" With that Saturn leaped 
   1.975 +down from the dumpster and, despite the freezing, blowing snow, she 
   1.976 +struck a threatening posture with her Glaive thrust outward.
   1.977 +
   1.978 +The gang gasped and scurried back a few paces.
   1.979 +	
   1.980 +"I said, leave NOW!" Saturn shouted, and advanced on them.
   1.981 +
   1.982 +The twins - no longer so cheerful looking now - lost their nerve 
   1.983 +completely and fled screaming into the dark without a backward glance.  
   1.984 +Hoshi and Kumiko took several nervous paces back but did not flee. "We 
   1.985 +don't do anything to you!" The leader yelled. "You're not gotta butcher 
   1.986 +us for no reason, are you?"
   1.987 +
   1.988 +Saturn stopped advancing, but said nothing. 
   1.989 +
   1.990 +"Maybe she's bluffing," Kumiko said to Hoshi.
   1.991 +
   1.992 +"I'm warning you..."  Saturn growled softly. Keeping her eyes on the two 
   1.993 +remaining older girls, she moved sideways until she reached the still 
   1.994 +form in the snow and crouched down. Her gloved hand slipped down to touch 
   1.995 +the pink-haired girl's face.
   1.996 +
   1.997 +The gesture was not lost on the tall girl.  "Ah, so it must be your lover, 
   1.998 +ne?"  Kumbio said. Somehow, in spite of the grim situation she actually 
   1.999 +smirked; "I think you came too late to save her. She's gone."
  1.1000 +
  1.1001 +Saturn's face stiffened. Hardly taking her eyes off the older girls, she 
  1.1002 +shook her friend's shoulder with her hand. "ChibiUsa," the Senshi 
  1.1003 +whispered urgently, "Come on, wake up."
  1.1004 +
  1.1005 +ChibiUsa did not answer.  Saturn grew desperate. "ChibiUsa!" She said, 
  1.1006 +turning her attention away from the older girls to look down at her 
  1.1007 +friend. "ChibiUsa...can you hear me?!"
  1.1008 +
  1.1009 +The princess opened her eyes. "I'm cold..."  She mumbled. She turned her 
  1.1010 +head to look at Saturn and grimaced. She was not hiding pain from her 
  1.1011 +voice this time; "And I hurt." 
  1.1012 +
  1.1013 +"Oh, ChibiUsa-chan!" Saturn said, deeply distressed. She wrapped her one 
  1.1014 +arm around her friend and pulled her carefully to a sitting position. The 
  1.1015 +young teen shuddered, and rested her head wearily against Saturn's chest, 
  1.1016 +shivering violently.  
  1.1017 +
  1.1018 +"HAIIIIIII!"  Kumkio whipped her knife out and rushed toward her with 
  1.1019 +wild, insane look in her eyes.  Saturn reacted quickly; with a lightning 
  1.1020 +speed she jumped up and swung her Glaive around, slamming the blunt end 
  1.1021 +against the side of Kumbio's head. Without a word the tall girl dropped 
  1.1022 +down with a crash and lay there in a heap.  
  1.1023 +
  1.1024 +"Oh, my god. You killed Kumkio, didn't you!"  Hoshi gasped.
  1.1025 +	
  1.1026 +"I think not," Saturn said, giving the leader a cold stare, "She's lucky 
  1.1027 +if all she'll get is a severe headache when she wakes up. It should teach 
  1.1028 +her not to mess with the Senshi of Death!"
  1.1029 +
  1.1030 +"Yeah, serve her right!"
  1.1031 +
  1.1032 +Saturn nearly lost her composure. She glanced sharply downward and saw 
  1.1033 +that ChibiUsa had raised her head and was glaring defiantly at Hoshi. The 
  1.1034 +pink-haired girl struggled unsteadily to her feet and hands and then said 
  1.1035 +stoutly; "Sailor Saturn will see to that you and your friends will be 
  1.1036 +punished in the name of Moon, for we will not tolerate your such actions, 
  1.1037 +threatening and robbing citizens during Christmas season!"
  1.1038 +
  1.1039 +Hoshi stared at the pink-haired teen, astonished and impressed at the 
  1.1040 +same time. "You are really one gutsy girl. I saw Kumkio struck her knife 
  1.1041 +deep in you, and you still come up fighting!"
  1.1042 +
  1.1043 +"ChibiUsa-chan...?"  Saturn said in disbelief. The princess gasped, 
  1.1044 +shuddered and collapsed with a strangled cry. Frightened, the senshi fell 
  1.1045 +to her knees and put her arm around the wounded girl again.  
  1.1046 +"ChibiUsa...!" 
  1.1047 +
  1.1048 +The princess coughed briefly, then moaned in pain. "It hurts. It 
  1.1049 +hurts..."
  1.1050 +
  1.1051 +Hoshi snickered nastily. "Well, well. Then again I guess she's not so 
  1.1052 +tough after all."
  1.1053 +
  1.1054 +Saturn's head whipped around. "Get out of here! Take your friends and get 
  1.1055 +out of the city and don't come back!" She said in a cold fury and aimed 
  1.1056 +her lethal weapon toward the gang leader, "Or so help me, if I catch one 
  1.1057 +of you White Wolves lurking around I will strike every one of you down 
  1.1058 +with my Glaive  - without a moment's hesitation!"
  1.1059 +
  1.1060 +Taken back at the tone of the senshi's voice, Hoshi looked genuinely 
  1.1061 +frightened at last.  Her eyes widened, and she turned as pale as her hair. 
  1.1062 +Hastily she reached down and dragged the still unconscious Kumkio away.
  1.1063 +
  1.1064 +As soon as they were gone Saturn turned her attention back to the 
  1.1065 +pink=haired teen. "Hold on, ChibiUsa-chan!" Saturn put down the Glaive, 
  1.1066 +quickly stripped one glove off and, still holding her injured friend in 
  1.1067 +one arm, she put a bare hand under ChibiUsa's sweater. Almost immediately 
  1.1068 +her hand found the wound just under ChibiUsa's right breast, and what a 
  1.1069 +terrible wound it was. Saturn could feel the blood bubbling from the 
  1.1070 +nasty slash where the knife had penetrated the lung. She became extremely 
  1.1071 +upset. Sobbing, the Senshi pressed the hand firmly against the wound and 
  1.1072 +poured all her energy to Heal it. 
  1.1073 +
  1.1074 +ChibiUsa gasped from the pressure placed on the wound but otherwise made 
  1.1075 +no other word. "You're not going anywhere, you hear me?" Saturn said 
  1.1076 +through tears, "ChibiUsa-chan, you just have to hold on and don't you 
  1.1077 +dare leave me - not now, please, not now!"
  1.1078 +
  1.1079 +Slowly the wound stopped bleeding and began to close up. Even so, Saturn 
  1.1080 +refused to take her hand off after it has completely healed. The princess 
  1.1081 +lay still in her arms, so quiet and so pale.  The senshi cradled her 
  1.1082 +friend's head under her chin and rocked her forth and back. 
  1.1083 +"ChibiUsa...ChibiUsa-chan, do you hear me? Please tell me!"
  1.1084 +
  1.1085 +For one long, terrifying moment there was no reply. Then, slowly, the 
  1.1086 +princess raised her head and opened her eyes to look at Saturn. "Hotaru-
  1.1087 +chan..."
  1.1088 +
  1.1089 +Saturn gasped. "ChibiUsa-chan, are you all right?" 
  1.1090 +
  1.1091 +ChibiUsa snuggled against the senshi. "Yeah. I think so...but I'm still 
  1.1092 +cold."
  1.1093 +
  1.1094 +Saturn withdrew her hand, now covered with blood, and threw her arms 
  1.1095 +around her friend in a fierce hug and could not let go for a long while.  
  1.1096 +"ChibiUsa...oh, ChibiUsa-chan, I was so afraid you were going to die. I 
  1.1097 +don't want to lose you!" She whispered with her face buried in the soft, 
  1.1098 +silky pink hair.
  1.1099 +
  1.1100 +ChibiUsa gave a weak laugh and shook her head slowly. "Not this time. 
  1.1101 +Don't worry, Hotaru-chan. No way I can leave you now...not ever!"
  1.1102 +
  1.1103 +"Thank Kami-sama!" Saturn lifted ChibiUsa's chin and kissed her fervently. 
  1.1104 +"Just don't you ever do that again! I don't know how I can go on, if you 
  1.1105 +run off and get killed. Promise me you will not do anything rash like 
  1.1106 +that again!" 
  1.1107 +
  1.1108 +"Hai, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, sounding suddenly meek. "I promise."
  1.1109 +
  1.1110 +"Good," Saturn kissed her again and hugged her even more tightly. It has 
  1.1111 +been such a huge relief to know that the princess would be all right. 
  1.1112 +Indeed, thank Kami-sama for that.
  1.1113 +
  1.1114 +*************************************************************************
  1.1115 +****
  1.1116 +
  1.1117 +With her arms full Hotaru stepped into her bedroom and managed to close 
  1.1118 +the door behind her. The room was semi-dark, with only two or three lamps 
  1.1119 +burning dimly on the dresser in the corner. "ChibiUsa-chan, I've got 
  1.1120 +another blanket. Want it?"
  1.1121 +
  1.1122 +ChibiUsa, lying on her side in the bed with a couple of covers pulled up 
  1.1123 +to her chin, looked up. "Hai! Hurry up and get in with me!" She said, and 
  1.1124 +held out arms for her.  The raven-haired teen walked briskly toward her, 
  1.1125 +threw the thick blanket over the bed before disrobing and slipped under 
  1.1126 +the covers next to the princess. She gasped softly with pleasure when 
  1.1127 +ChibiUsa's warm body moved forward, pressing against hers.
  1.1128 +
  1.1129 +"I thought I would never thaw out! Hotaru-chan, what took you so long?"
  1.1130 +
  1.1131 +"Well, ChibiUsa-chan," Hotaru said as she snuggled into her lover's 
  1.1132 +inviting arms, "I have told Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama about our 
  1.1133 +encounter with the White Wolves gang. You can imagine they were pretty 
  1.1134 +upset about it, and they promised they would keep an eye out for them and 
  1.1135 +to make sure the gang will not return to cause any more trouble in the 
  1.1136 +city again." 
  1.1137 +
  1.1138 +"Great! Now the people can do Christmas shopping without fear of running 
  1.1139 +into those thieves!" ChibiUsa said happily. Then she paused and added, 
  1.1140 +"Speaking of the Christmas presents, I wonder what happened to the gifts 
  1.1141 +you bought from the mall?"
  1.1142 +
  1.1143 +Hotaru shrugged. "Buried under the snow somewhere in the alley, for all I 
  1.1144 +care," she said. "I'm not worried about them. My parents will understand. 
  1.1145 +It was more important that you would live. I just can't bear the thought 
  1.1146 +of losing you!" She brushed the loose strands of pink hair out of 
  1.1147 +ChibiUsa's face and kissed her soft lips. "I'm just glad you are still 
  1.1148 +here, alive and well. That is the best Christmas present I can ask for."
  1.1149 +
  1.1150 +ChibiUsa smiled and ran hand through the other girl's dark hair. "Arigato 
  1.1151 +domo for healing me and saving my life. I'll say that was the best 
  1.1152 +present I got also!" she said, and then hesitated. "Um...Hotaru-chan, I'm 
  1.1153 +really sorry I went off and got us into trouble with that gang. I guess I 
  1.1154 +should not have acted so recklessly, eh? Gomen nasai."
  1.1155 +
  1.1156 +"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Like I said, I'll always be there for 
  1.1157 +you and protect you," Hotaru kissed her again, "Just don't make a habit 
  1.1158 +of it, okay?"
  1.1159 +
  1.1160 +"Hai, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, and moved back a little to look at her 
  1.1161 +lover with some distress, noting the bruises that were still visible on 
  1.1162 +Hotaru's body.  "But you're still hurt, and you can't heal yourself..."
  1.1163 +
  1.1164 +Hotaru shook her head. "ChibiUsa-chan... Don't worry about me. Just give 
  1.1165 +me time and then I'll be fine," She paused, and then laughed quietly. 
  1.1166 +"But don't let that stop you from loving me any way you want, my 
  1.1167 +princess!"
  1.1168 +
  1.1169 +The worried look on ChibiUsa's face cleared. She smiled, pulled Hotaru 
  1.1170 +closer and gave her a kiss, this time longer and more passionate. Hotaru 
  1.1171 +happily responded with as much vigor as possible. After a while they 
  1.1172 +broke apart and Hotaru rested her head on ChibiUsa's chest. The pink-
  1.1173 +haired teen continued to groom the dark hair with her fingers.  "Hotaru-
  1.1174 +chan...I love you," she whispered after a moment.
  1.1175 +
  1.1176 +Hotaru smiled contentedly. "I love you too, ChibiUsa-chan," she replied. 
  1.1177 +She could hear ChibiUsa's heart beating, regularly and reassuring.  To 
  1.1178 +her, it was most beautiful music, far more than anything and more 
  1.1179 +precious than the Christmas and birthday presents combined.
  1.1180 +
  1.1181 +
  1.1182 +
  1.1183 +*******************************************************************
  1.1184 +
  1.1185 +Well, that's it. I'm not sure how you like this story. ^^;;  But I hope 
  1.1186 +you enjoyed it anyways!
  1.1187 +
  1.1188 +
  1.1189 +Thanks for reading!
  1.1190 +
  1.1191 +YaRassno 
  1.1192 +
  1.1193 +Comments?  Email: yarassno@juno.com
  1.1194 +
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