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     1.2 +++ b/old/stories/chbmn-satpt3.txt	Fri Feb 19 20:53:12 2010 -0500
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     1.4 +
     1.5 +All of our stories (including the Sakura & Tomoyo stories I’ve written) along 
     1.6 +with all the other ChibiUsa & Hotaru/Sakura & Tomoyo stories I’ve managed to 
     1.7 +find are up at http://fly.to/moonlit_nights as well as hopefully a few other things. 
     1.8 +^-^ It’s a fanfiction shrine to two of the most wonderful yuri couples. Please 
     1.9 +check it out. ^-^
    1.10 +
    1.11 +
    1.12 +Tears and Rain (I know it was gonna be Rainbow Connection, but I changed my 
    1.13 +mind. ^-^;; You should know that I change my mind a lot by now. ^-^;; *l* The 
    1.14 +old title just didn’t fit as well.)
    1.15 +By the Amazoness Quartet
    1.16 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
    1.17 +
    1.18 +Watashi-tachi ni Naritakute:
    1.19 +
    1.20 +"Ever since I first met you 
    1.21 +I've been shining in my heart
    1.22 +My love causes so much sorrow
    1.23 +I broke off my glance so quietly
    1.24 +
    1.25 +Your insignificant gestures
    1.26 +And your ordinary words
    1.27 +Every time
    1.28 +I think of them I feel like I'm going to cry
    1.29 +
    1.30 +Love brings a lonely lonely heart
    1.31 +I'm just all alone now
    1.32 +Lonely lonely heart
    1.33 +All the joy and pain I feel, I'm always
    1.34 +Dreaming it by myself
    1.35 +Love brings a lonely lonely heart
    1.36 +But I know that someday it will come
    1.37 +While I'm being held in your strong arms
    1.38 +Wanting to be together with you... 
    1.39 +
    1.40 +Right at your side, I'm standing there
    1.41 +I'm always waiting for you
    1.42 +But you don't return my advances
    1.43 +I've been disappointed so many times
    1.44 +
    1.45 +When I fall in love with someone
    1.46 +Why does it cause me so much pain
    1.47 +All alone, by myself
    1.48 +It's like I've fallen sick
    1.49 +
    1.50 +And now it's baby baby love 
    1.51 +Please, I beg of you 
    1.52 +Baby baby love 
    1.53 +When I feel I am going to lose to this loneliness 
    1.54 +I have to look into my hand mirror 
    1.55 +And now it's baby baby love 
    1.56 +Seems like every day I'm crying through the night 
    1.57 +I long for the past, smiling to myself 
    1.58 +Wanting to be together with you... 
    1.59 +
    1.60 +Nobody knows about these 
    1.61 +Secret tears 
    1.62 +The one to wipe them away is 
    1.63 +Only 
    1.64 +Not just myself 
    1.65 +Wanting to be together with you... 
    1.66 +
    1.67 +Love brings a lonely lonely heart 
    1.68 +I'm just all alone now 
    1.69 +Lonely lonely heart 
    1.70 +All the joy and pain I feel, I'm always 
    1.71 +Dreaming it by myself 
    1.72 +Love brings a lonely lonely heart 
    1.73 +But I know that someday it will come 
    1.74 +While I'm being held in your strong arms 
    1.75 +Wanting to be together with you..."
    1.76 +
    1.77 +A dark haired girl with odangos sighed miserably as she and her pink 
    1.78 +haired companion stood outside the Outer Senshi’s mansion, waiting under a 
    1.79 +tree as the storm continued. "Why are we even here? We could be at home right 
    1.80 +now, warm and dry, in the Crystal Palace. We could just tell Hotaru-mama and 
    1.81 +ChibiUsa-mama about us and not have to worry about all this." The storm had 
    1.82 +shown signs of slowing for a moment, but only a moment. It was already 
    1.83 +starting to pick up again, pelting the two girls with cold rain. They were about 
    1.84 +the same age as ChibiUsa and Hotaru, coming from further in the future than 
    1.85 +their younger selves.
    1.86 +	Shisa shivered, Selene’s body leaning against her own the only warmth 
    1.87 +she felt. "Because we need to make them understand, Selene. They have to know 
    1.88 +we’re in love. We have to prove that to them, make them realize that that’s the 
    1.89 +most important thing to us."
    1.90 +	"And why can’t we do that in the warmth of our own home? Why did 
    1.91 +we travel back in the past for all this?" Selene asked. She was already starting to 
    1.92 +feel homesick. She missed the room they shared; waking up to breakfast with 
    1.93 +their whole family; their parents gentle prodding when it came to their being 
    1.94 +princesses.
    1.95 +	Shisa looked down at the damp grass. "We’d already talked about all 
    1.96 +that. They wouldn’t understand if we only told them. We have to prove it. We 
    1.97 +have to test them, show just how important their love is, so they’ll know how 
    1.98 +important ours is."
    1.99 +	"Maybe they already know," Selene said hopefully. "Maybe they know 
   1.100 +and they’re fine with it."
   1.101 +	Shisa shook her head skeptically. "Remember a year ago? You were 
   1.102 +wondering why I was acting so strange around you. You kept wanting to know 
   1.103 +what was bothering me. You just wouldn’t leave me alone about it. And finally I 
   1.104 +told you. I looked you in the eyes and told you I was in love with you. There 
   1.105 +was no mistaking it. I think you know me better than I know myself sometimes. 
   1.106 +You didn’t need to ask, or to pretend you didn’t understand. And do you 
   1.107 +remember what happened?"
   1.108 +	The rain kept pouring over the two girls as they pushed further against 
   1.109 +the tree, trying to stay out of the soaking rain. Selene let out a deep sigh before 
   1.110 +answering. She looked away from Shisa when she did, not being able to meet 
   1.111 +the pink haired girl’s gaze. "I freaked out. I didn’t talk to you for a while. I 
   1.112 +thought you were sick. I kept telling you to leave me alone when I’d say 
   1.113 +anything at all.." the maroon haired girl trailed off. 
   1.114 +	Shisa nodded sadly, pushing back the depression that always tried to 
   1.115 +overwhelm her at those memories. "It took a long time before I could even get 
   1.116 +you to even look at me again. ChibiUsa-mama and Hotaru-mama would 
   1.117 +probably react even worse."
   1.118 +	Selene thought for a moment, holding onto the other girl for comfort. 
   1.119 +"But I did eventually wind up falling in love with you. I got over how I 
   1.120 +originally thought of it. Maybe our parents will grow to accept it, too."
   1.121 +	The dark night, lit only by occasional bolts of lightning, left the two 
   1.122 +princesses in shadows. Shisa pulled her glasses off, trying to wipe the water 
   1.123 +from the rain off on her blouse. Turning to Selene, she shook her head somberly. 
   1.124 +"It took you time, Selene. It took a lot of time to fix things. Before our parents 
   1.125 +could take the time to realize that, they probably would try to pull us apart. 
   1.126 +They’d forbid us being together. We might wind up not seeing each other if they 
   1.127 +decide to put us in different places to keep us apart. Who knows what else 
   1.128 +they’d do." Shisa closed her eyes, shivering again. This time it wasn’t 
   1.129 +just from the wind and rain. 
   1.130 +	"Oh, Shisa.." Selene wrapped her arms tighter around her lover, kissing 
   1.131 +her cold cheek. "I don’t ever want to lose you. You’re right. We can’t take any 
   1.132 +chances. We’ll do whatever it takes."
   1.133 +	"Whatever it takes," Shisa repeated, determination lighting up her pale 
   1.134 +violet eyes.
   1.135 +
   1.136 +	Biting cold and freezing droplets of ice water hit ChibiUsa as she 
   1.137 +opened the door for whoever had been knocking. Her pink hair was thrown 
   1.138 +around by the strong surging winds. She shivered as the cold wind got to her, 
   1.139 +standing there only in Hotaru’s nightgown. “Hello?” She called out into the 
   1.140 +storm. The harsh rain and wind nearly blinded her as she tried to make out the 
   1.141 +figure in the doorway. Why couldn’t she be back in bed with Hotaru right now? 
   1.142 +What had possessed her to come downstairs in the first place? “Hello?” she 
   1.143 +called again, barely hearing herself as a thunderclap shook the house. She 
   1.144 +shuddered at the sudden sound, hugging herself as she waited for it to pass. As 
   1.145 +she slowly managed to open her eyes and peer out past the doorway, a figure 
   1.146 +slowly took shape. “Oh!” gasped the princess as she took a step back.
   1.147 +	The figure smiled slightly and bowed. “It’s a pleasure, Princess 
   1.148 +Serenity. You look surprised. I hope I haven’t come at an inopportune time.”
   1.149 +	The pink haired girl shook her head slowly, at a loss for words. “I… 
   1.150 +No, its just that… Why are you here?” she finally blurted out in confusion.
   1.151 +	Taking another step forward, the figure’s smile broadened. “There is 
   1.152 +much I must tell you, Princess.”
   1.153 +
   1.154 +
   1.155 +	Momoko cinched the towel around herself tighter and closed the door 
   1.156 +behind her as she entered her room. No one was home, but force of habit made 
   1.157 +her shut the door anyway. She had just taken a long relaxing shower after she 
   1.158 +had finally gotten home from shopping with Ruruna and Naruru. Momoko rolled 
   1.159 +her eyes. Those two were really hard to deal with. She could see why Hotaru 
   1.160 +didn’t like them very much. They were good friends of ChibiUsa’s, though, so 
   1.161 +she put up with them. The pink haired girl had been supposed to come along, but 
   1.162 +she had called at the last moment saying she couldn’t make it.
   1.163 +	Stretching luxuriously, the lavender haired girl reflected on the past few 
   1.164 +days. She had learned from ChibiUsa and Diana that not only had ChibiUsa’s 
   1.165 +younger sister shown up, but her future daughters as well. That news had been 
   1.166 +rather shocking. She’d had no idea the two girls could have a child, let alone 
   1.167 +twins.
   1.168 +	A by now familiar scratching sound at her window grabbed Momoko’s 
   1.169 +attention. She smiled broadly before turning to look, pushing her other thoughts 
   1.170 +aside at the arrival of her lover. “Diana!” Momoko quickly ran over and opened 
   1.171 +the window. A small grayish purple kitten hopped down into the room, landing 
   1.172 +gently on the floor.
   1.173 +	“Hi, Momo-chan!” Diana said happily. The kitten purred as Momoko 
   1.174 +bent down to pet her. 
   1.175 +	“Where were you?” Momoko asked, scratching under the kittens chin. 
   1.176 +“I missed you, Diana.” She pouted for a second before smiling again, picking 
   1.177 +her up in her arms.
   1.178 +	“I was being played with by Small Lady and Hotaru-chan’s kids,” 
   1.179 +Diana replied, obviously frustrated.
   1.180 +	Momoko couldn’t help but giggle. “Children love kittens, Diana. 
   1.181 +Especially cute talking kittens like you.”
   1.182 +	After a shimmer of light, Diana stood before Momoko in her human 
   1.183 +form. The beautiful cat girl’s short dark hair was done up in four odangos. She 
   1.184 +wore a lavender dress with matching stockings that reached her thighs. Her 
   1.185 +catlike eyes gazed deeply into Momoko’s. She took a step forward, her arms 
   1.186 +wrapping around Momoko’s waist as she hugged her tightly. “Thanks, Momo-
   1.187 +chan. You’re sweet.” Leaning forward, she gave the lavender haired girl a peck 
   1.188 +on the lips. She sighed as she leaned against her lover’s soft body, the scent of 
   1.189 +Momoko’s hair already starting to relax her. “Those kids are hard to keep up 
   1.190 +with, even when they’re dragging you around. They have a bundle of energy.”
   1.191 +	Momoko smiled, running a hand through Diana’s soft hair. “Sounds 
   1.192 +like it. Maybe you should stay with me for a while. I mean, my mother knows 
   1.193 +you stay around here a lot, as a kitten at least. And ChibiUsa doesn’t always 
   1.194 +need you there. Like you said, the Quartet can watch over them.” Her voice had 
   1.195 +a hopeful tone to it.
   1.196 +	Diana squealed giddily and hugged the other girl again. “Really? 
   1.197 +Thanks! No more little kids pulling my tail. And I’d get to stay with you. That 
   1.198 +would be great, Momo-chan!”
   1.199 +	“Yeah, I’d love if you could stay.” Momoko’s hands moved down 
   1.200 +Diana’s back before arriving at her tail. “As for the not pulling your tail…” 
   1.201 +Giving a playful tug on the other girls’ tail, Momoko laughed as Diana tensed up 
   1.202 +in her arms. “At least you won’t have to pack anything,” she said thoughtfully 
   1.203 +before sitting on the edge of her bed.
   1.204 +	Diana sat down next to her, placing a hand on the lavender haired 
   1.205 +girls’. “I’ve been thinking about you so much lately, Momo-chan. I love you,” 
   1.206 +Diana said happily, her tail moving back and forth behind her.
   1.207 +	“I love you, too,” Momoko smiled back. “My little kitten,” she added. 
   1.208 +She slowly leaned forward, Diana turned to her, as if to speak. Momoko caught 
   1.209 +Diana’s lips with her own, kissing her passionately. Diana was caught by 
   1.210 +surprise. Her mouth fell open, Momoko’s tongue pushing inside. Diana quickly 
   1.211 +regained herself, kissing the other girl back.
   1.212 +	Momoko sat forward, lost in their kiss. She felt Diana’s tail wrap 
   1.213 +around her hand, the soft fur against her skin. As their tongues danced, Momoko 
   1.214 +felt a warm feeling pouring through her. Her eyes widened as she felt Diana’s 
   1.215 +hand on her right breast. She moaned softly into Diana’s mouth. The lavender 
   1.216 +haired girl was paralyzed. She didn’t know what to do, but Diana continued. 
   1.217 +They had been dating for several months now, but they had only gone so far, not 
   1.218 +actually having made love. Momoko’s worries were quickly drowned out by the 
   1.219 +feelings flooding through her. She continued to kiss the other girl back, her 
   1.220 +tongue brushing against the other girl’s. She moaned again when Diana lightly 
   1.221 +squeezed her breast. She gasped, arching her back as Diana’s other hand went to 
   1.222 +her left breast. Her now hard nipples pressed against Diana’s soft palms.
   1.223 +	Both girls were breathing heavily when the kiss finally ended. “Diana-
   1.224 +chan,” Momoko whispered huskily. She pushed the cat girl backwards on the 
   1.225 +bed, a quick yelp of surprise coming from Diana. Lying atop Diana, Momoko 
   1.226 +kissed down her jawline to her neck. Diana shuddered deliciously underneath 
   1.227 +her. Momoko started pulling the top of Diana’s dress down, baring her soft 
   1.228 +breasts. The lavender haired girl kissed down her shoulder hungrily. Lightening 
   1.229 +shot through Momoko’s body as Diana’s hands began to caress her own chest 
   1.230 +again.
   1.231 +	Almost as if coming out of a trance, Momoko could vaguely hear a 
   1.232 +ringing sound. “Not now…” she muttered, finally recognizing the doorbell. She 
   1.233 +tried desperately to ignore the now grating noise, reveling in the new 
   1.234 +experiences playing out before her. Her mind focussed solely on Diana and the 
   1.235 +sensations the cat girl was arousing within her. Sitting up, she ran a hand 
   1.236 +through her sweat dampened lavender hair. “Diana,” she tried to say. She 
   1.237 +shuddered lightly as Diana continued her ministrations. With great reluctance, 
   1.238 +she finally disentangled herself from her lover. 
   1.239 +	Diana let out a small whimper as Momoko stood up. Her passion filled 
   1.240 +eyes traveled up and down Momoko’s nude body. “Momo-chan, don’t go,” the 
   1.241 +cat girl pleaded, reaching out for the lavender haired girl.
   1.242 +	Taking Diana’s hand in her own, Momoko brought it to her flushed 
   1.243 +cheek. “I’m sorry, Diana. I’ll be back in a minute. Wait right here,” she 
   1.244 +commanded, ignoring the cat girl’s crawling towards her. Heading to the closet, 
   1.245 +Momoko quickly pulled out a Chinese dress and pulled it on, eager to get rid of 
   1.246 +the visitor. She wasn’t in the mood to deal lightly with whomever it was. A 
   1.247 +glance back at her bed weakened her resolve to go check the door. The sight of 
   1.248 +Diana sitting on her bed with the top of her dress down with a slightly 
   1.249 +bewildered look in her eyes greeted Momoko. Blushing profusely, Momoko 
   1.250 +averted her eyes and headed through her door. This was the first time she’d ever 
   1.251 +done anything like this. It was an almost overwhelming sensation. She wanted to 
   1.252 +get rid of the intruder as quickly as possible and get back to it. 
   1.253 +	The site that greeted her when she opened the door was a tired and 
   1.254 +traumatized looking pink haired girl flanked by three younger girls. A worried 
   1.255 +Hotaru was holding onto ChibiUsa’s hand, looking up with concern in her deep 
   1.256 +violet eyes at her one true love. On the other side of the future princess were the 
   1.257 +twins, Shisa and Selene. Shisa bowed first, her sister following suite seconds 
   1.258 +later. “Ohayo, Momohara-san,” Shisa said politely. “Hi, Momoko-san,” Selene 
   1.259 +said seconds afterward. She giggled and whispered something to her sister. 
   1.260 +Apparently the other girl thought it was funny as well. 
   1.261 +	Momoko shook her head, looking back up at the miserable pink haired 
   1.262 +girl. She knew that ChibiUsa must be taking that accident that changed Hotaru 
   1.263 +into a child pretty badly, despite Diana having told her that she seemed to be 
   1.264 +doing well. “ChibiUsa-chan, looks like you brought the entire family. Well, 
   1.265 +except your little sister.”
   1.266 +	“Aunt Kousagi is still back at grandma Usagi’s house. ChibiUsa-mama 
   1.267 +spent the night with Hotaru-mama," Selene supplied helpfully. Shisa nodded a 
   1.268 +little shyly from her place slightly behind ChibiUsa,. 
   1.269 +	A sigh escaped the future princesses lips before she looked up. She 
   1.270 +gave Hotaru’s small hand a squeeze before plastering on the fake smile she’d 
   1.271 +worn all the way there. It wasn’t enough to fool Hotaru, but she hadn’t known 
   1.272 +what to ask her girlfriend. What could have happened that morning to upset her 
   1.273 +so? “Momo-chan, I’m really, really sorry about this, but would you mind 
   1.274 +watching the kids for a bit? There’s someone I need to talk to and its kinda 
   1.275 +urgent. My mother sent her and there’s some things we need to talk about and 
   1.276 +I’d feel bad just leaving Hota-chan, Shisa-chan, and Selene-chan all alone,” 
   1.277 +ChibiUsa asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.
   1.278 +	That much was true, Hotaru could tell, but what wasn’t she saying? 
   1.279 +And why was she so afraid to ask? She knew that they could tell each other 
   1.280 +anything, so all she had to do was ask the pink haired girl. But every time she 
   1.281 +tried, the knots in her stomach would just get worse. ChibiUsa had seemed so 
   1.282 +hopeful the night before and now… 
   1.283 +	Momoko looked back inside the house. Her parents were gone for the 
   1.284 +day and she had Diana back waiting for her in her room for a day they could 
   1.285 +spend in each other’s arms. They could pick up where they left off and see 
   1.286 +where it went from there. With a sigh, she turned back to her friend. So much 
   1.287 +for that idea. There was always some other time. Smiling a bit, she nodded. 
   1.288 +“Sure thing, ChibiUsa-chan. I’d be glad to help.”
   1.289 +	ChibiUsa let out her breath in relief. At least she wouldn’t have to 
   1.290 +worry about the children while dealing with things. And it was probably better if 
   1.291 +Hotaru stayed here for now. Maybe things wouldn’t have been so bad if Hotaru 
   1.292 +didn’t already have so much to worry about. Hotaru’s enhanced aging had been 
   1.293 +jump started, but it would still be a while before she was back to her normal self. 
   1.294 +Whether that meant days or weeks, ChibiUsa had no idea. “Thanks, Momo-
   1.295 +chan. I owe you one.” She smiled a little weakly as she led the younger girls 
   1.296 +towards the door. 
   1.297 +	Laughing, Momoko shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You can 
   1.298 +just babysit for me and Diana if we ever have a kid,” the lavender haired girl 
   1.299 +joked.
   1.300 +	“You mean Isis-chan?” Shisa asked curiously. 
   1.301 +	Momoko stared at the younger girl for a moment before she began to 
   1.302 +sweatdrop. They did have a child? Before she could think about it anymore, 
   1.303 +Selene slipped past her, dragging Shisa behind. 
   1.304 +	“Will you be okay, ChibiUsa-chan?” Hotaru asked softly, not managing 
   1.305 +to hide the concern in her voice.
   1.306 +	Smiling down at the dark haired girl, ChibiUsa nodded. “Hai, I’ll be 
   1.307 +fine, Taru. You just try not to worry about things, okay? We’ll get it all worked 
   1.308 +out soon enough.” ‘I hope,’ she added to herself. 
   1.309 +	Hotaru didn’t feel very reassured, but she slowly let go of ChibiUsa’s 
   1.310 +hand and took a step towards Momoko. She didn’t want to leave the pink haired 
   1.311 +girl, but she didn’t know what to say. Everything was so confusing. Looking up 
   1.312 +at the pink haired girl, she tried desperately to say something, anything, but 
   1.313 +nothing came to her. But she didn’t need words. ChibiUsa met her gaze with a 
   1.314 +warm smile, comforting her a little. 
   1.315 +	“I’ll be back soon, Hota-chan,” ChibiUsa promised, kneeling down. 
   1.316 +She gave Hotaru a hug, something she needed as much as the other girl to quell 
   1.317 +the storm in her heart. 
   1.318 +	“I’ll be waiting for you,” Hotaru said softly before they parted. 
   1.319 +Blinking back tears she didn’t know had been there, she watched as the pink 
   1.320 +haired girl turned around and left. She knew that she’d be back, so why did it 
   1.321 +feel like this would be the last time they’d see each other?
   1.322 + 
   1.323 +
   1.324 +	“It isn’t fair.”
   1.325 +Hotaru sat quietly on the couch, hugging her legs tightly to her chest. 
   1.326 +The small, lonely girl was propped up on a cushion, her chin resting on her 
   1.327 +knees. She shivered, her pale skin forming thousands of goose-bumps. It wasn't 
   1.328 +the cold that bothered her so much. No, she was used to that. She had always 
   1.329 +been cold. It didn’t matter how warm it was outside. Inside, she always felt cold. 
   1.330 +Now was no different. The only warmth she’d felt in her cold body was when 
   1.331 +she was being held in ChibiUsa’s arms, losing herself in the sensation. It was as 
   1.332 +if she was somehow absorbing the heat from the pink haired girl’s body. But she 
   1.333 +knew that just had to be her mind playing tricks on her. She was always cold 
   1.334 +because she had always been a weak and sickly girl. Maybe it wasn’t as bad this 
   1.335 +time around as it had when she had been growing up the first time, but she still 
   1.336 +wasn’t as healthy as most of the other children.
   1.337 +	Her dark violet eyes reflected the flickering flames from the fire 
   1.338 +Haruka had started not that long ago. The large house she shared with her 
   1.339 +surrogate parents was slowly warming up. She wanted to get off the couch and 
   1.340 +sit right in front of the fire, but she stubbornly stayed where she was. She didn’t 
   1.341 +feel like trying to warm herself. Hugging her legs tighter to herself, she blinked 
   1.342 +stinging watery eyes as the bright flames finally won their staring match. 
   1.343 +	ChibiUsa had come upstairs that morning with a trinket from Crystal 
   1.344 +Tokyo that had jumpstarted Hotaru’s advanced aging. She should be her normal 
   1.345 +self within a few weeks. In the meantime, she was still stuck in the body of a 
   1.346 +child and she would have to slowly re-age back to her normal self within the 
   1.347 +course of the next few weeks. But rather than being overjoyed by the prospect, 
   1.348 +ChibiUsa had been quiet and withdrawn, not at all the normally outgoing person 
   1.349 +she usually was. The pink haired princess had been preoccupied by something, 
   1.350 +but despite Hotaru’s concern, ChibiUsa had just tried to convince her that 
   1.351 +nothing was wrong. And afterwards, ChibiUsa had taken Hotaru and their future 
   1.352 +twin daughters to Momoko’s house so she and Diana could keep an eye on them 
   1.353 +while ChibiUsa thought. ‘About what? What’s she keeping from me? We’re 
   1.354 +supposed to tell each other everything. Why would she hide this from me? She’s 
   1.355 +treating me like a child,’ she thought despairingly to herself. ‘Could it be that 
   1.356 +just maybe you’ve been acting like one?’ a voice within herself countered. She 
   1.357 +silenced it quickly, curling up tighter. ‘I’m not acting like a child. I’m not… My 
   1.358 +body’s just younger, not my mind…’ she reassured herself. 
   1.359 +	“It isn’t fair.”
   1.360 +	“What isn’t fair, Hime-chan?” Michiru asked gently, gracefully 
   1.361 +entering the living room with a tea tray. She kneeled next to the table in front of 
   1.362 +the couch Hotaru was on. 
   1.363 +	“Nothing…” Hotaru trailed off, looking down miserably. Strands of her 
   1.364 +short, dark hair fell into her eyes.  Even the momentary blindness made her feel 
   1.365 +worse. She brushed the hair from her eyes with her small hand, looking up 
   1.366 +slowly to see Michiru’s soothing smile. 
   1.367 +	“Would you like some tea, Hime-chan? You need something to warm 
   1.368 +you up before you freeze.” Michiru began pouring the tea into several cups even 
   1.369 +before the younger girl’s response. “Sitting there all stern and thoughtful. One 
   1.370 +might think you’re a piece of gothic architecture. We have enough art around the 
   1.371 +house. We need more lively little girls.” 
   1.372 +	Hotaru giggled softly, a small smile beginning to light up her young 
   1.373 +features. “Hai, Michiru-mama. I’d like that.” She missed the note of childish 
   1.374 +exuberance in her own voice as she slid off the couch and gratefully accepted 
   1.375 +the offered cup of tea. “Arigato, Michiru-mama.” The first sip of the warm 
   1.376 +liquid did make her feel a little better as it slowly warmed her inside. Michiru 
   1.377 +had to warn her about drinking it too quickly, lest she burn her throat. She 
   1.378 +sighed softly before taking another sip. If she asked, she knew ChibiUsa would 
   1.379 +tell her. They could tell each other anything. But what scared her was when 
   1.380 +ChibiUsa did tell her. If this was enough to affect the usually bright and 
   1.381 +optimistic pink haired girl…
   1.382 +	Sitting in front of the fire, the mug held in both hands, the young 
   1.383 +Senshi of Death and Rebirth counted off all of her blessings despite the 
   1.384 +condition she was in. And prayed that she wasn’t about to lose them all.
   1.385 +
   1.386 +
   1.387 +
   1.388 +	ChibiUsa sighed miserably as she searched through the refrigerator for 
   1.389 +something else to eat. She was feeling empty in more ways than one. She steered 
   1.390 +clear of the carrots, scavenging for anything that looked edible cold. ‘There we 
   1.391 +go,’ the pink haired princess thought to herself as she found some chocolate near 
   1.392 +the back. Usually she would be a little more weary of who’s it was, but she 
   1.393 +wasn’t in the mood to worry about that at the moment. Putting the chocolate bar 
   1.394 +in her mouth to hold for a moment, she smoothed down her pajamas before 
   1.395 +returning to her seat at the table, a space she hadn’t vacated for the past two 
   1.396 +hours. Taking a bite of the chocolate, she winced. It was still hard. She set it 
   1.397 +down to wait for it to thaw a bit before trying to polish it off. Looking into her 
   1.398 +half empty glass of water, she gazed at the dim reflection she could make out 
   1.399 +from the single light that was on in the room. Her normally vibrant crimson eyes 
   1.400 +seemed faded, they’re usual sparkle missing. She ran a hand through her pink 
   1.401 +hair, let down from her odango hair style. “Not quite the pristine princess I’m 
   1.402 +supposed to be, right, mom?” she asked quietly into the empty room. She 
   1.403 +laughed bitterly. “But then, why should you care? Just how much of a 
   1.404 +disappointment am I to you?”
   1.405 +	Picking up the candy bar, ChibiUsa took a bite out of the still hard 
   1.406 +chocolate. It was supposed to be comfort food, but it didn’t feel very comforting. 
   1.407 +So technically, she should stop. But who would care whether or not she did? 
   1.408 +Hotaru. She wouldn’t mind if Hotaru was doing this, if the pale girl got a little 
   1.409 +chubby. Then she wouldn’t have to worry so much about the poor girl never 
   1.410 +eating. Besides, she’d look cute even then. 
   1.411 +	ChibiUsa shook her head as she realized her thoughts were wandering. 
   1.412 +But was that a bad thing? At least it would get her mind off of things. She didn’t 
   1.413 +want to have to think right now, to have to relive thoughts over and over. It only 
   1.414 +made things worse, it seemed. Thoughts lived and died, other darker thoughts 
   1.415 +rising from their ashes as the night pushed inexorably onward towards the 
   1.416 +coming dawn. There was no silver lining for her to search for, no shelter in this 
   1.417 +storm. Sleep escaped her as if it were running from her frenziedly. Biting her 
   1.418 +lower lip, she wondered if she could ask Elios if there were something he could 
   1.419 +do about that. He was the priest of Elysian, the land of dreams, after all. But then 
   1.420 +she’d still probably have nightmares all night long. That wouldn’t be any better 
   1.421 +than this waking nightmare. And talking to him would just remind her of her 
   1.422 +mother’s plans.
   1.423 +	‘How could she do this to me?’ ChibiUsa thought to herself. ‘She made 
   1.424 +it sound like she had faith in us. I always thought she was such a wonderful lady. 
   1.425 +I wanted to be just like her. Now… I don’t know what to think. Why us? 
   1.426 +Hotaru’s already had such a difficult life. Why can’t she have some happiness? I 
   1.427 +love her. How can my mother dictate that? Is love so weak that she can decide 
   1.428 +its fate? She thinks our love is nothing more than puppy love, that I was 
   1.429 +experimenting back here and got with my best friend because of that. It took me 
   1.430 +long enough to figure it out, but I do love Hotaru. I always knew it deep down. I 
   1.431 +always worried about what the future would bring when I had to return, but I 
   1.432 +knew things would work out. We’d think of something. Love would find a way. 
   1.433 +But now I find out that my mother had it set from the beginning that this 
   1.434 +couldn’t be. And what about the twins? Were they just told to say that Hotaru 
   1.435 +and I were their parents so that we wouldn’t realize what was going to happen? 
   1.436 +Are they Elios’ and my children?’ 
   1.437 +The pink haired princess buried her face in her hands, tears running down 
   1.438 +her cheeks when she thought she had none left. ‘I thought we’d be together 
   1.439 +forever. My birthright destroyed everything. How can I face Hotaru with this? I 
   1.440 +just wanted to make her happy, and now I can’t even do that. I hate you, mother. 
   1.441 +I’ll never forgive you for this. I want to curl up and die. Maybe I should. Prove 
   1.442 +to you that you can’t rule my life. That I won’t follow in your footsteps if it 
   1.443 +means leaving behind the girl I love. If it means leaving behind the other half of 
   1.444 +my soul, what type of life is that? Its not even life. And I won’t live it. I’d rather 
   1.445 +die than be her puppet. Than ever hurt Hotaru. I’ll be with Hotaru again in the 
   1.446 +afterlife. You’ll never keep us from each other. I’d move heaven and earth to be 
   1.447 +with her.’ The princess stood up, pulling back the drawn curtains to look up into 
   1.448 +the moonlit sky. A renewed determination burned in her eyes. ‘I won’t let you 
   1.449 +keep us apart. I’ll fight to be with her, give up my birthright, even die. Whatever 
   1.450 +it takes.’ She drew a tiny picture on the damp glass with her finger. ‘I love you 
   1.451 +too much, Hotaru. I’ll never give up on you. I won’t let it end this way. I 
   1.452 +promise.’
   1.453 +
   1.454 +
   1.455 +
   1.456 +	“Are you alright, Kyusuke-kun? You’ve been out of it all afternoon. 
   1.457 +You’ll make me think I’m too boring for you,” Hikaru chided the green haired 
   1.458 +boy.
   1.459 +	“Huh? Oh.. Sorry, Hikaru-chan. I was just lost in thought. And boring 
   1.460 +is definitely not a word I’d use to describe you. You may be a lot of things, but 
   1.461 +boring’s not one of them,” Kyusuke replied.
   1.462 +	Hikaru paused for a moment, considering whether or not to take that as 
   1.463 +a compliment before smiling back at the boy. “Just try not to get lost again. I 
   1.464 +might not be able to find you.”
   1.465 +	“I’ll be careful,” Kyusuke promised. Glancing sidelong at his 
   1.466 +companion, he smiled to himself. Her short auburn hair fell past beautiful brown 
   1.467 +eyes almost to the point of obscuring her vision, but she never seemed to have a 
   1.468 +problem knowing exactly where she was going. With everything. A large 
   1.469 +oversized sweater and a pleated skirt adorned the girl that chilly evening, her 
   1.470 +arms still clutching the stuffed bear he’d bought her just a short time beforehand. 
   1.471 +Kyusuke had known Hikaru for years now and they’d always been good friends, 
   1.472 +but it hadn’t been until a few months ago that they’d finally started dating. The 
   1.473 +girl was a little odd, but he loved all those little things about her. 
   1.474 +	“You’re grinning like an idiot again. Wanna tell me what about?” 
   1.475 +Hikaru asked with a wink, once again shaking Kyusuke from his thoughts. 
   1.476 +	“Nothing.. I’m just thinking about things,” the green haired boy said 
   1.477 +lamely. He was about to try again before something caught his eye. Across the 
   1.478 +street he could make out ChibiUsa along with three younger girls heading into a 
   1.479 +store. “ChibiUsa-chan must be babysitting.”
   1.480 +	Hikaru followed his gaze to the pink haired girl and nodded. “Looks 
   1.481 +like it. That’s the girl who dates the gothic girl at your school, right?”
   1.482 +	Sweatdropping profusely, the green haired boy nodded. “Yeah, but 
   1.483 +Momoko said she’d beat the crap out of me if I told anyone. She only told me 
   1.484 +because I was joking about it.”
   1.485 +	“Looks like she’s gotta kill you then, because you told me.” Hikaru 
   1.486 +grinned and stuck her tongue out at the boy. “You really are scared of that girl, 
   1.487 +aren’t you?”
   1.488 +	“Hey, as long as Momoko doesn’t find out, I don’t wind up very very 
   1.489 +dead. And sense you go to a different school, I figure the rules don’t apply.” 
   1.490 +Proud of his explanation, Kyusuke watched ChibiUsa and the girls disappear 
   1.491 +into the building. Slowly, the pair begin walking again. 
   1.492 +	“You always run up to your friends to talk to them except when I’m 
   1.493 +around.” Hikaru turned and pouted cutely at Kyusuke. “Why is that?”
   1.494 +	Sighing and rolling his eyes, the green haired boy kept walking. “Come 
   1.495 +on, Hikaru-chan. Don’t do that.”
   1.496 +	“I only do it because it always works,” the auburn haired girl said with 
   1.497 +a giggle.
   1.498 +	“Well, it’s just that… They’re all… And when you think about it…. 
   1.499 +You know…”
   1.500 +	Hugging the stuffed bear against her chest, Hikaru turned to Kyusuke. 
   1.501 +“But what’s the big deal? The pink girl and that other one are in a lesbian 
   1.502 +relationship and your friend Momoko obviously seems fine with it. So there 
   1.503 +shouldn’t be a problem if they met me. Its not like they’d find out.”
   1.504 +	“I know, I know… It’s just…” Kyusuke began nervously.
   1.505 +	“Now don’t start that. We both know why you don’t want me to meet 
   1.506 +them. You don’t need to cover it up. Fine.” She shrugged, walking forward 
   1.507 +again. Brushing some hair back, she placed a withering glance on the green 
   1.508 +haired boy as he tried to keep up. “It doesn’t matter if you pretend I don’t exist.”
   1.509 +	A sigh of defeat marked the end of Kyusuke’s resistance. Nodding, he 
   1.510 +looked up at her. “Alright, you win. But don’t expect it to be a big thing. 
   1.511 +They’re just my friends. Momoko’s kind of intimidating sometimes, but that’s 
   1.512 +usually just to me. ChibiUsa’s sort of… perky. And Hotaru pretty much just 
   1.513 +follows her around, not saying much.”
   1.514 +	Hugging her boyfriend warmly, Hikaru smiled. “Thanks, Kyusuke-kun! 
   1.515 +I knew you’d understand.”
   1.516 +	Returning the hug, Kyusuke sweatdropped. He hoped he wasn’t making 
   1.517 +a mistake.
   1.518 +
   1.519 +
   1.520 +
   1.521 +	“What about this?” ChibiUsa asked as she lifted the small frilled dress 
   1.522 +up for the younger girls to see.
   1.523 +	“ChibiUsa-chan…”
   1.524 +	“But it’s cute. You’d look adorable in it, Hota-chan,” the future 
   1.525 +princess argued. Looking from the small dark haired girl to the dress and back, 
   1.526 +she nodded, pleased. “Besides, Puu gave me some money and told me to buy 
   1.527 +you some clothes. You do need some, Taru. The rest of your wardrobe’s still for 
   1.528 +a sixteen year old girl.”
   1.529 +	“I know, ChibiUsa-chan. But don’t you think it’s a little too...” Hotaru 
   1.530 +trailed off as she stared skeptically at the dress.
   1.531 +	“Cute?” Shisa supplied helpfully, startling the shy raven haired girl.
   1.532 +	“Hai. Its more like something that you would wear, ChibiUsa-chan...” 
   1.533 +Hotaru looked up at ChibiUsa with her dark violet eyes for a long moment. It 
   1.534 +was strange, looking up at her like that. She remembered it the other way around 
   1.535 +when they’d first met, when she had to look down to see the little pink haired 
   1.536 +girl. The last time she herself had been this small and in a situation like this had 
   1.537 +been several years ago shopping with her surrogate parents. Looking up at their 
   1.538 +smiling faces, she’d been thrilled when they had let her pick out a particular 
   1.539 +sundress she liked. Michiru had said it would only get dirty anyway but Haruka 
   1.540 +had said that was the point. Now she was looking up at a different smiling face 
   1.541 +with a different kind of love in those eyes than in those of her parents’. It left her 
   1.542 +a little disoriented, the new mixing with the old, nostalgia mixing with anxiety, 
   1.543 +all performing a jumbled orchestra in her heart.
   1.544 +Selene giggled and nodded. “I think you should get it, Hotaru-chan. It 
   1.545 +would look nice.” Dark purple odango bobbed up and down as she nodded 
   1.546 +enthusiastically. 
   1.547 +ChibiUsa smiled at her future daughter’s attempt at helping. She had 
   1.548 +noticed the twins had quickly dropped the use of ‘mama’ for Hotaru when 
   1.549 +they’d found out she was their age. She hoped it was only because of their 
   1.550 +similarity in age rather than Hotaru not really being their mother. If Elios really 
   1.551 +was the father... Hotaru’s insistent tug on her hand brought her back to reality. 
   1.552 +“I’ll get it if you want, ChibiUsa-chan,” Hotaru said with a shy smile.
   1.553 +	ChibiUsa smiled down at her and shook her head, something catching 
   1.554 +her eye. “No, you’re right, Taru. Its not exactly you. Besides, this is soooo much 
   1.555 +cuter.” Pulling up a little yellow sundress to Hotaru, she grinned happily. The 
   1.556 +younger girl looked simply adorable. “Now we just need to find you a good 
   1.557 +wide-brimmed hat for that and it will be perfect.” Standing up and still holding 
   1.558 +her girlfriend’s small hand, she looked around for the next object in her quest.
   1.559 +	“ChibiUsa-mama? When we’re done getting Hotaru-chan clothes, I 
   1.560 +want something to!” Selene stated so her future parent would be absolutely sure 
   1.561 +not to leave her out of the day’s events.
   1.562 +	“Me too!” Shisa added. “I’ll have the one you were gonna get for 
   1.563 +Hotaru-chan if she doesn’t want it.”
   1.564 +	Hotaru let her eyes wander as they walked through the enormous racks 
   1.565 +of clothes. Everything was so huge now. She’d never been a tall girl, but the 
   1.566 +sheer difference in size from a few days before and now was colossal. Brushing 
   1.567 +back her dark hair, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that they were being 
   1.568 +watched. But by who? She glanced around worriedly, unable to keep the 
   1.569 +sensation from getting worse. To keep the disorientation welling up inside her 
   1.570 +from becoming too much to bear, she squeezed ChibiUsa’s hand tightly. The 
   1.571 +future princess squeezed back gently, reassuring Hotaru. A sigh escaped 
   1.572 +Hotaru’s lips as she tried to convince herself that it was all in her mind. Smiling 
   1.573 +to herself, she slipped away from ChibiUsa while the older girl was checking the 
   1.574 +hats.
   1.575 +	“This one looks really cute, but this one’s really good, too. Hmm... 
   1.576 +What do you think, Hota-chan?” ChibiUsa looked up as she held the two hats 
   1.577 +for the raven haired girl’s inspection, but Hotaru was nowhere to be seen. Right 
   1.578 +as she began to fear the worst, a small voice piped up near her.
   1.579 +	“What about this one, ChibiUsa-chan? I really like it!” Hotaru said 
   1.580 +happily as she ran back up to the three other girls. She was clutching a beautiful 
   1.581 +white wide-brimmed hat offset with a midnight black ribbon encircling it before 
   1.582 +trailing off the back. Placing it on her head, the pale girl demonstrated for her 
   1.583 +future princess. Her short dark hair fell out from underneath the hat, framing her 
   1.584 +ivory skin. She giggled as she tilted her head to the side.
   1.585 +	“Its really pretty, Hota-chan. I think you should get it.” ChibiUsa 
   1.586 +smiled at her counterpart, her soulmate, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief that 
   1.587 +nothing had happened. Before she could further comment, the two hats she had 
   1.588 +been holding were snatched from her grasp.
   1.589 +	“What about me? I look pretty, too, right?” Selene asked quickly, 
   1.590 +wearing the hat that had been in ChibiUsa’s right hand. 
   1.591 +	“Can I get this one? Please?” Shisa asked, blinking huge puppy dog 
   1.592 +eyes upwards at her currently overwhelmed future pink haired parent. 
   1.593 +	Hotaru watched as the other two girls fought over their mother’s 
   1.594 +attention through blurry eyes. It had looked so perfect, sitting there all alone. 
   1.595 +She wanted so much to show it to ChibiUsa, to see what she thought. All alone... 
   1.596 +She’d known ChibiUsa would like it as much as she did, but now... A tear 
   1.597 +dropped down to the cold floor, quickly joined by another. It wasn’t fair... 
   1.598 +“Hotaru? Hotaru-chan, what’s wrong?”  she heard pierce through the shroud of 
   1.599 +sadness around her. A hand went to her shoulder as another brushed the hair 
   1.600 +away from her eyes. Concerned crimson eyes met her own tearful violet ones. 
   1.601 +She lunged forward with a choked sob and clasped onto ChibiUsa. Comforting 
   1.602 +whispers brushed past her ears as the older girl held her tightly. She could see 
   1.603 +the twins watching worriedly from behind ChibiUsa but her torn heart kept the 
   1.604 +tears flowing. She buried her head against ChibiUsa’s shoulder, wanting 
   1.605 +everything to go back to the way it had been. ‘Why am I doing this?’ she asked 
   1.606 +herself. ‘It’s not a big deal. It’s alright. I know she loves me, so if she pays 
   1.607 +attention to them, why does it hurt so much? Why am I so sad? I’m a big girl, I 
   1.608 +shouldn’t be crying about this. This doesn’t matter. But.. I just wanted to show it 
   1.609 +to her.. I wanted to ask her what she thought.. I wanted to be the only one...’
   1.610 +	“Shhh... It’s okay, Hota-chan. Cry all you want. It’s okay.” ChibiUsa 
   1.611 +stroked Hotaru’s back as the other girl sobbed against her. What had happened? 
   1.612 +She wanted to ask, to make sure that the dark haired girl was all right, but she 
   1.613 +just needed comfort right now. There would always be later to worry about such 
   1.614 +things. Hotaru had been trying so hard to pretend that she was fine, but this had 
   1.615 +taken a rather heavy emotional toll on her. She was just a little girl now. 
   1.616 +ChibiUsa had been so worried about what she’d heard from the future and what 
   1.617 +would become of them that she hadn’t been worrying enough about what Hotaru 
   1.618 +was going through now. Things would work out, they would find a way. But for 
   1.619 +now, Hotaru needed her. She never should have left her side since this had 
   1.620 +happened. Closing her eyes, she realized what a mistake she had made. She 
   1.621 +could only hope that she could make it up to the pale girl in her arms.
   1.622 +	
   1.623 +	“Poor Hotaru-mama,” an older Selene said as she watched the scene 
   1.624 +unfolding before her. Her long dark hair was swept back behind her as familiar 
   1.625 +fingers brushed through it. She smiled as she turned her attention to the 
   1.626 +spectacled girl next to her. “I was wondering where you’d disappeared off to.”
   1.627 +	“Just making sure we had one of grandfather Tomoe’s Daimon Eggs 
   1.628 +ready,” the teenage Shisa explained. She lifted up the small object in her hand 
   1.629 +for the dark haired girl to see. 
   1.630 +	Selene frowned as she looked from it to the embracing forms of their 
   1.631 +parents. “Are you sure about this? Aren’t they already in enough pain? 
   1.632 +ChibiUsa-mama just heard that she’s marrying High Priest Elios and Hotaru-
   1.633 +mama’s no more than a child.” She shakes her head sadly. “But we have to. We 
   1.634 +have to or they’ll never accept us. We must test them.”
   1.635 +	Shisa nodded in agreement. “We must make them hurt. To try to tear 
   1.636 +them from each other. To make them suffer. Only then will they understand...” 
   1.637 +She clutched the Daimon Egg tightly as her mind started to shift back to painful 
   1.638 +memories. 
   1.639 +	“Shisa, no, don’t think about it. We’re both here. I’m here with you. 
   1.640 +Please don’t worry.” Selene placed her hand on the other girl’s cheek gingerly. 
   1.641 +She offered a small smile. “You can’t just give up on me now. What would I do? 
   1.642 +If we’re gonna pull this off, we need to be together on it. I need you.”
   1.643 +	Placing her hand atop Selene’s, Shisa nodded, smiling herself. “Hai, 
   1.644 +Selenity. Besides, it should be fun.”
   1.645 +	Selene grinned. “Most definitely. We’ll see just how well our beloved 
   1.646 +parents can handle what we throw at them.”
   1.647 +
   1.648 +	“There you go,” ChibiUsa said softly as she wiped the last of Hotaru’s 
   1.649 +tears away. She smiled as she looked into the raven haired girl’s deep violet 
   1.650 +eyes. “Is that better?” She got a shy nod from Hotaru in return. Smiling a little 
   1.651 +more as relief spread through her body, she placed the wide brimmed hat on 
   1.652 +Hotaru. 
   1.653 +The pale girl looked at ChibiUsa for a long moment before smiling a little 
   1.654 +herself. She was being childish, she admonished herself. But she had to admit 
   1.655 +deep down that it was worth it if it meant ChibiUsa was there to take care of her. 
   1.656 +She gave the bigger girl a warm hug. “Thank you, ChibiUsa-chan.” After a 
   1.657 +second’s pause, she added almost inaudibly, “I love you.”
   1.658 +Whether the older girl heard her or not would never be known, because at 
   1.659 +that moment an arm whipped out and grabbed at Hotaru. A yelp escaped the 
   1.660 +raven haired girl as she got pulled backwards suddenly, her hat falling to the 
   1.661 +floor. As the terrified Senshi of Death and Rebirth turned around, she saw what 
   1.662 +she had sworn was a mannequin just a few moments earlier with an evil grin on 
   1.663 +its face. 
   1.664 +“Hotaru-chan!” ChibiUsa yelled as she watched in confusion. A Daimon! 
   1.665 +Just like the one they’d fought a few days ago when Hotaru had been tied up. So 
   1.666 +it wasn’t an accident after all. Someone was after them. But why? There was no 
   1.667 +time to waste on the answers but she’d see that they didn’t get away with 
   1.668 +whatever it was. Lunging forward, she grabbed Hotaru’s forearm. 
   1.669 +Unfortunately, the Daimon was much stronger than it had appeared and 
   1.670 +ChibiUsa had never been very strong to begin with, so both the dark haired girl 
   1.671 +and the future princess got dragged through a few racks of clothes. Trying to 
   1.672 +catch her bearings, ChibiUsa noticed that the twins were left unprotected as they 
   1.673 +watched the whole thing. She could only hope that this thing was only after her 
   1.674 +and Hotaru. “Hotaru-chan, hang on!” she screamed as she felt her grip 
   1.675 +loosening. The Daimon laughed maniacally and lashed the smaller girl in her 
   1.676 +grasp. ChibiUsa lost her grip and lay sprawled against a cosmetics display. 
   1.677 +Disoriented, frightened, and now very angry at seeing the girl she loved 
   1.678 +being hurt like that, Hotaru struggled with the much stronger Daimon. 
   1.679 +"ChibiUsa-chan!” The Saturn symbol flashed on her forehead as the Daimon 
   1.680 +laughed evilly. An aura of light started glowing around the young girl, her short 
   1.681 +hair whipping around as if she were in a storm. “Don’t hurt her!” Hotaru cried, 
   1.682 +grabbing the Daimon’s attention. The energy around the girl grew in size and 
   1.683 +strength within seconds, ripping through the Daimon’s hand that had been 
   1.684 +holding onto her arm. Screaming in pain, the mannequin daimon stumbled 
   1.685 +backwards. Swaying back and forth after the serge of energy had drained her, 
   1.686 +Hotaru fell to her knees. She was quickly pulled back to her feet by two arms 
   1.687 +around her. Looking around in fright, the dark haired girl’s frantically beating 
   1.688 +heart started to slow when she looked up into crimson eyes framed by cotton 
   1.689 +candy pink hair. “ChibiUsa-chan!” 
   1.690 +ChibiUsa smiled reassuringly. “Hai, it’s me. I’m just fine. You did a great 
   1.691 +job, Hota-chan, but I want you to get out of here with the twins. I’ll henshin and 
   1.692 +deal with the Daimon while you three get out of here.” She grabbed her broach 
   1.693 +absentmindedly as she watched the injured Daimon. 
   1.694 +Hotaru shook her head adamantly, her violet eyes worried. “I don’t want to 
   1.695 +leave you…” she said softly. She couldn’t leave ChibiUsa to face this thing 
   1.696 +alone. “Wait for the Sailor Quartet at least,” she pleaded, holding tightly onto 
   1.697 +ChibiUsa’s white skirt. 
   1.698 +The pink haired girl bit her lower lip as she watched the Daimon start to 
   1.699 +regroup. She really hadn’t fought on her own before. Besides, when Hotaru had 
   1.700 +returned to her it was so they could fight together. But now, on her own… She 
   1.701 +would have to fight anyway. She was a Sailor Senshi and she couldn’t stand by 
   1.702 +and let this thing hurt anyone else, let alone Hotaru or her future daughters. 
   1.703 +Clutching her broach, she took a step away from the worried dark haired girl. 
   1.704 +“Gomen nasai, Taru-chan. I promise we’ll fight together again.” Another soft 
   1.705 +smile went the younger girl’s way before being replaced with a more serious 
   1.706 +look. Holding her broach in the air, feeling her own Pink Crystal inside of it, she 
   1.707 +braced herself for what could be the toughest fight of her life. 
   1.708 +But before she had the chance to utter another word, another voice rang out 
   1.709 +into the pandemonium that had become the mall. “From a distant horizon, a new 
   1.710 +day is dawning. I am the future. Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon.” Landing 
   1.711 +gracefully a few yards in front of the shocked would be Sailorchibimoon, 
   1.712 +another Sailor Senshi stood, her long dark hair done up with four odango, the 
   1.713 +thick pigtails draped across her back not quite reaching past her waist. She had a 
   1.714 +light pink skirt with a purple bow on the front and back. Her long boots reached 
   1.715 +just below the knee. Her broach, a highly decorated scarlet and pink heart, was 
   1.716 +offset by a small gold half moon. Her shoulders were clad in a pink sphere, 
   1.717 +similar to Eternal Sailormoon. Long gloves went past her elbows, an odd scepter 
   1.718 +in her gloved hands.
   1.719 +Not knowing what was going on, but not wanting to keep the younger girls 
   1.720 +in harms way any longer than necessary, ChibiUsa backed off from the new 
   1.721 +senshi towards a clothes rack, hoping to find some sort of cover if anything 
   1.722 +happened. It took her a moment to realize that she’d taken Hotaru’s hand in her 
   1.723 +own in reflex. She looked curiously down at the other girl, but Hotaru’s simple 
   1.724 +shrug was enough to see that the dark haired girl had no more of an idea than 
   1.725 +she did about what was going on. She did know that the senshi sure looked 
   1.726 +awfully familiar... 
   1.727 +Hotaru squeezed ChibiUsa’s hand, looking for some reassurance in what 
   1.728 +had quickly become a shopping trip from hell. She knew that the monster that 
   1.729 +had attacked them was a Daimon, but she couldn’t figure out how or why it 
   1.730 +would be here. Her father’s laboratory was gone, the Daimon Eggs wouldn’t be 
   1.731 +easy to produce. But obviously someone had gotten a hold of them. And they 
   1.732 +were sending them after her. She brought her other hand to ChibiUsa’s as well. 
   1.733 +She’d never been this frightened before of an attack. But she had never been this 
   1.734 +helpless before either. 
   1.735 +Ribbons whipped out from the mannequin at the new Sailor Senshi, but 
   1.736 +before they reached her, they hit right into a glowing barrier. Another Senshi 
   1.737 +stood in front of the first, this one holding a very familiar looking weapon. The 
   1.738 +Silence Glaive. Short, wavy pink hair graced her head along with a large pair of 
   1.739 +glasses that accentuated the soft curves of her face. She had a dark purple skirt 
   1.740 +and a light pink bow on the front and back. Her long laced up boots reached a 
   1.741 +little lower than her counterpart’s. She had the sharp crystal shards that Saturn 
   1.742 +had had on her original fuku for a broach, this time in a heart shape. Her 
   1.743 +shoulders had the odd ripped look of Saturn's old costume as well. 
   1.744 +“Sailorsaturn,” Hotaru gasped. Shaking her head, the raven haired girl watched 
   1.745 +the two. But that couldn’t be right. She was Sailorsaturn. Or, Saturn resided 
   1.746 +within her at least. This was all becoming more and more unnerving. 
   1.747 +“Amazoness Jungle Arrow!!” With the Daimon distracted, the just arriving 
   1.748 +Sailor Quartet wasted no time in attacking. Unable to dodge, it dissipated after 
   1.749 +the combined blast of the four ripped through it. 
   1.750 +“Well, that sure was easy. We’re getting good at this protecting the princess 
   1.751 +thing,” JunJun said thoughtfully as she took a few steps towards who she 
   1.752 +suspected were the Saturn and Chibimoon that they knew. Whirling around, the 
   1.753 +short pink haired one stuck the Silence Glaive inches from the tanned member 
   1.754 +of the Quartet’s face. Suddenly not feeling quite as friendly with the sharp object 
   1.755 +pointed in her face, Sailorjuno backed off.
   1.756 +“What the hell?” VesVes asked as she watched the two new Sailor Senshi 
   1.757 +suspiciously. “Hey, this is our job. Find yourself your own princess.” Out of the 
   1.758 +corner of her eye, she could see Sailorceres and Pallas standing protectively near 
   1.759 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru. She averted her eyes before she could alert the two 
   1.760 +intruders.
   1.761 +The two girls laughed a little as they looked at each other. “Thanks, but no 
   1.762 +thanks. We’ve got our own reasons for being here. We just decided that rather 
   1.763 +than having them all get killed now, we’d let them know that we’re keeping an 
   1.764 +eye on them,” the dark haired one answered, brushing her fingers through one of 
   1.765 +her dark pigtails. 
   1.766 +“Though they shouldn’t expect us to save them next time,” the shorter 
   1.767 +haired one said, adjusting her glasses as she looked pointedly at the two girls in 
   1.768 +question, ChibiUsa still clutching onto the younger Hotaru protectively. 
   1.769 +“PallaPalla didn’t know there were anymore Sailor Senshi. Especially not 
   1.770 +any that looked like Small Lady or Hotaru,” the blue haired Sailor Quartet 
   1.771 +member whispered to CereCere. 
   1.772 +“Neither did I. It’s starting to get difficult keeping track of everybody. Just 
   1.773 +remember that nobody else matters besides the princess. It’s much easier to 
   1.774 +remember that way,” CereCere explained, irritated at the newcomers 
   1.775 +appearance. This would definitely mean more work for them. As if they didn’t 
   1.776 +have enough as it was! ChibiUsa was pretty good at getting herself in trouble 
   1.777 +with these sorts of things and they had to protect her as Hotaru had decided for 
   1.778 +them when she’d awakened them as Sailor Senshi. Maybe if she wasn’t so 
   1.779 +overprotective, they wouldn’t have to worry about this sort of thing. 
   1.780 +“Who are you?” ChibiUsa asked as she stood up, looking over at the two. 
   1.781 +“Why are you here?” She took a step forward toward the Sailor Senshi. “Are 
   1.782 +you here to fight with us? Is there a new threat on the way?” Her innocent 
   1.783 +questions were cut short as the Silence Glaive slashed through the bow on her 
   1.784 +blouse. Startled, the pink haired girl stumbled backwards before falling. 
   1.785 +“We’re here to test you,” the dark haired one answered with a sad smile. In 
   1.786 +the background, a strange whistling music could be heard at that. 
   1.787 +ChibiUsa swallowed nervously as the new Sailorsaturn looked down at her 
   1.788 +with glassy, cold eyes, still holding the Silence Glaive ready. She remembered 
   1.789 +not to let her fear show through as she shifted on the cold floor. “Test us? 
   1.790 +How?”
   1.791 +“You’ll see,” the pink haired one said simply. With that, the two were off. 
   1.792 +ChibiUsa wanted to follow, wanted to know what was going on here and 
   1.793 +why they’d saved them, but Hotaru’s arms around her made her give up on the 
   1.794 +idea instantly. Kneeling down next to her, she looked into those infinitely deep 
   1.795 +violet eyes. “Are you okay, Hota-chan?” She hugged the younger girl to her, 
   1.796 +glad the whole thing was over. 
   1.797 +Hotaru knew that ChibiUsa was hiding how worried she was about all this 
   1.798 +but she let it drop. ChibiUsa always tried to hide her feelings, pretending to be 
   1.799 +happy when something was wrong so no one would worry about her. It wasn’t 
   1.800 +very difficult for Hotaru to see through it, though. She wasn’t very good at 
   1.801 +pretending to be happy herself, but she could still spot the differences in 
   1.802 +ChibiUsa’s behavior when the pink haired girl tried it. “ChibiUsa-chan, I think I 
   1.803 +know who they are,” Hotaru whispered to the older girl. 
   1.804 +“What? Who?” ChibiUsa asked, startled. She hadn’t begun to think about 
   1.805 +that yet, still confused by their very appearance to wonder who these mysterious 
   1.806 +senshi could be. 
   1.807 +Maybe she was wrong. How would she know? Maybe she was just looking 
   1.808 +too hard. She shook her head. No, it made too much sense. Casting a sidelong 
   1.809 +glance at the still worried twins, she quickly looked back at ChibiUsa. Leaning 
   1.810 +closer, she whispered again. “ChibiUsa-chan, I think it’s the twins. I don’t know 
   1.811 +how yet.”
   1.812 +ChibiUsa could barely restrain her surprise at that. She cautiously took a 
   1.813 +look at the two younger girls, still embracing in fear as PallaPalla and CereCere 
   1.814 +tried to calm them down. One with long dark pigtails, the other with slightly 
   1.815 +shorter pink hair and glasses. Hotaru shook her head, silencing ChibiUsa’s 
   1.816 +questions for the two girls before she could ask them. ChibiUsa just nodded, 
   1.817 +biting her lower lip. This was most definitely getting bizarre. She wished for her 
   1.818 +magical city of the future where things at least made sense. “Oh boy...”
   1.819 +
   1.820 +
   1.821 +~Fin~
   1.822 +
   1.823 +Next time on Quant… err… the ChibiUsa & Hotaru series of stories: I 
   1.824 +really have no clue. ^-^ Maybe a few vague ones (which I’m currently keeping 
   1.825 +tabs of in an outline for the next story) but otherwise I’m as clueless as you are. 
   1.826 +^-^;; Maybe if I didn’t keep switching from story to story (I’m working on nine 
   1.827 +at last count) I’d have some idea of where I was going with all this. O_o I’m 
   1.828 +really sorry I’m so slow, but when it rains it pours. ^-^;; Things have been really 
   1.829 +messed up lately, as everyone who knows me has surely heard about. But as far 
   1.830 +as everything goes, you never can have too much time traveling right? ^-^ Okay, 
   1.831 +maybe. ^^;; I’ll try to lay off the time traveling next time so I don’t cramp the 
   1.832 +story with so many characters. I should be concentrating on ChibiUsa & Hotaru 
   1.833 +more as it is. ^-^;; Anyway, I’m ranting now, so please ignore me. If any of you 
   1.834 +would like to contact me for any reason at all (liked the story, caught any in-
   1.835 +jokes, noticed I screwed up somewhere from my bad habit of only writing when 
   1.836 +I should be asleep, have any ideas for the next story, etc.), my e-mail address is 
   1.837 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com and my ICQ name is ChibiUsa Tomoe. I have 
   1.838 +AIM, but I’m not on it half as much. ^^;; Anyway, thanks so much for reading. 
   1.839 +^-^ *hugs and kisses* 
   1.840 +
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