Mercurial > moonlitnights
diff old/stories/free.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights
[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
author | rlm |
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date | Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500 |
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1.1 --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 1.2 +++ b/old/stories/free.txt Fri Feb 19 20:53:12 2010 -0500 1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1371 @@ 1.4 +Hello! ^-^ This story stars ChibiUsa & Hotaru and is set in an 1.5 +alternate reality. I’ve been wanting to write something about this 1.6 +theme of a slave and her owner falling in love for quite a while now. 1.7 +I’d like to thank Boco the Chokobo for all of the wonderful ideas 1.8 +that went into making this fanfic. ^-^ This story deals with some 1.9 +adult issues, so please read responsibly. The characters belong to 1.10 +Naoko Takeuchi and I’m merely borrowing my favorite couple, though 1.11 +I’m sure they wish I wasn’t with all the stuff I put them through. ^- 1.12 +^;; All of the situations and this alternate reality are my own, so 1.13 +please don’t take them without permission. I borrowed many other 1.14 +characters for cameos, so if you can spot them all, drop me an e- 1.15 +mail. ^-^ Or if you just like the story or have any comments about 1.16 +it, I would love to hear them. ^-^ 1.17 + 1.18 + 1.19 +Finally Free 1.20 +by Amazoness Duo 1.21 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 1.22 + 1.23 + 1.24 +The large stone building was crowded with people. Bodies crammed 1.25 +next to bodies as everyone struggled to get past, trying to peer into 1.26 +the brightly lit cages at those trapped within. The smell of people 1.27 +permeated the air, the sound of voices droning out other voices until 1.28 +it became a nearly deafening roar. The new shipment had come in and 1.29 +was on display for all to see. Girls and boys in cages all throughout 1.30 +the building were being poked and prodded by the vast throng of 1.31 +customers. All searching for something in particular. 1.32 + It was organized chaos at its finest. Like some amalgamation of a 1.33 +carnival freak show and a slave auction, people came and went in 1.34 +densely packed lines, going from cage to cage. They would inspect the 1.35 +creature before them for a bit, studying them for more than a few 1.36 +seconds if they were interested. Then they would move on or get the 1.37 +attention of one of the well dressed employees about buying one of 1.38 +the half naked ‘animals’ in the cages. People came and went, cages 1.39 +opening and closing as the employees went from one perspective 1.40 +customer to another. 1.41 + There was a wave of fear for all of those in the cages. Most were 1.42 +frightened out of their minds, hundreds of people looking them over 1.43 +like furniture. Curiosity gnawed at each of them as their fates 1.44 +seemed to hang in the balance. And there was nothing they could do 1.45 +but wait. The small, steel cages were much too tiny to move freely, 1.46 +much less turn around in their confines. And so they could do nothing 1.47 +but watch and pray to whomever may be listening that things would 1.48 +work out. That this nightmare would soon end. 1.49 + In contrast to the frightened thoughts of those in the tiny cages, 1.50 +those outside had a general sense of excitement. A certain electric 1.51 +thrill ran through the air as they continued their inspection. This 1.52 +was an altogether amazing event for most, the sheer amount of choices 1.53 +mind boggling. Children giggled playfully as they stared into the 1.54 +cages, poking in with stubby fingers and whatever else they may have 1.55 +with them while absentminded adults paid little to no attention, too 1.56 +busy with their own gawking at the prisoners. 1.57 +It was in this jumble of anarchy and confusion that a pink haired 1.58 +girl made her way along the rows upon rows of cages. Rather petite of 1.59 +stature, she didn’t stand out much in the crowd. Her long pink hair 1.60 +was done up in two cones, the rest falling to either side and 1.61 +reaching just above her shoulders. Her red party dress with gold trim 1.62 +felt a little out of place next to the hardly clothed people in the 1.63 +cages, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was just as ecstatic as any 1.64 +of the others there, if not more so. Oh, how she had longed for this 1.65 +for so long now. Having just turned sixteen, she was now given the 1.66 +chance to pick out her birthday present. But what to pick? They all 1.67 +looked so cute! It was difficult to decide what she wanted. 1.68 + Peering into a cage, the pink haired girl’s crimson eyes followed 1.69 +the movements of a small dark haired girl. Smiling sweetly, she moved 1.70 +closer, trying to get a better look. Long, dark wings unfurled from 1.71 +the dark haired girl’s back as she came closer. Her long, dark hair 1.72 +fluttered behind her as her aquamarine eyes peered out fearfully. The 1.73 +wings began beating faster as she tried to escape the small cage, but 1.74 +she again failed. With each failure came the sickening revelation 1.75 +that she would never be free again. ChibiUsa noted with some dismay 1.76 +that her wings had been clipped. Even if she was free, she wouldn’t 1.77 +be able to fly. 1.78 + “Poor girl,” ChibiUsa whispered, holding onto one of the cold steel 1.79 +bars. The girl inside continued to flutter her wings in agitation, 1.80 +but their beating slowly began to diminish. Drawing her knees up to 1.81 +her chest, she seemed to be giving in to the futility of it all. 1.82 + It took ChibiUsa a moment to realize that someone was yelling at 1.83 +her to get back. Glancing around, it took her a moment to spot the 1.84 +man. He was behind the cage and pulling it back out of the way. 1.85 +Watching it curiously, she spotted a slightly younger blue haired 1.86 +girl, her long pigtails trailing behind her as she smiled into the 1.87 +cage. 1.88 + “Oh, she’s so cute! I’m going to name her Misao. You’re coming home 1.89 +with me, aren’t you, Misao?” the blue haired girl asked happily. Of 1.90 +course, asking the pet was pointless. It wasn’t up to her at all. But 1.91 +the girl was obviously pleased with the bird girl that she had picked 1.92 +out. 1.93 + ChibiUsa smiled and continued on, glancing in cages as she did so. 1.94 +She was glad that the bird girl had gotten an owner. But that still 1.95 +didn’t help her decide who she should get for a pet. Her father was 1.96 +somewhere around here, but she had lost him a while ago. It hadn’t 1.97 +been hard, moving through the vast sea of people. She just wanted 1.98 +some time to pick out a pet for herself without someone looking over 1.99 +her shoulder. She wanted this pet to be all her own. 1.100 + Brushing back pink bangs, the teenager walked alone through the 1.101 +crowd, looking in cage after cage of pets for sale. She saw another 1.102 +bird girl, with tan skin and coppery hair, long dark wings fluttering 1.103 +uselessly. Next to her was an ice blue haired girl, but she couldn’t 1.104 +quite figure out what type of animal she was supposed to be. It took 1.105 +her a moment to realize that she was in a tank rather than a cage, 1.106 +water surrounding her as she tried to swim in the enclosure. The 1.107 +scales on her tail were all beautifully iridescent, reflecting the 1.108 +bright lights of the building in rainbow colors. In the next two 1.109 +cages were a leather clad cat and a white haired mouse, respectively. 1.110 +The mouse was cowering in a corner of her cage as the cat hissed 1.111 +loudly at her, raking long finger nail-like claws against the bars. 1.112 +Next to the mouse in yet another cage was a green haired frog girl 1.113 +who was dozing peacefully. And even further on was a simply gorgeous 1.114 +woman with beautiful rainbow colored butterfly wings. She seemed to 1.115 +be a little older than a good deal of the pets there. 1.116 + Many had caught her interest, but none had really been the one that 1.117 +ChibiUsa wanted. She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for 1.118 +herself, but she knew that she would find it if she only kept looking. 1.119 + Passing by a butterfly boy and a pony boy, ChibiUsa paused for only 1.120 +a moment before moving on. Someone already seemed interested in them, 1.121 +a boy a little older than her, and she was looking for something else 1.122 +anyway. She just couldn’t tell what exactly. 1.123 + Fingers rolling along the edge of a cage, the crimson eyed girl 1.124 +relished the cold feeling beneath her fingers. The room was almost 1.125 +unbearably hot, the air humid. She could hear the loud sounds of the 1.126 +air conditioning in the background, but it just didn’t work with all 1.127 +of these bodies back so closely together. Deciding to ignore it, her 1.128 +other hand wiped across her sweat drenched brow. 1.129 + A low growl startled her out of her thoughts, drawing the young 1.130 +consumer’s attention to the cage near her. With a quick motion, the 1.131 +tiger that was in there lunged towards her fingers. Shock pumped 1.132 +through her small body as her hand jerked back reflexively. A scaly 1.133 +fish boy began laughing at her as she passed him and another hawk 1.134 +boy. She resolved to be more careful, holding the hand that had been 1.135 +lunged at protectively. 1.136 + Just what was she looking for? What type of pet did she want? She 1.137 +couldn’t tell. A smile graced soft lips as she walked past what 1.138 +looked to be a family of cats. The parents looked to be a slender 1.139 +female cat with long dark hair and a male cat with only slightly 1.140 +shorter white hair. The kitten was adorable, with short, dark violet 1.141 +hair done up in odangos near her ears. This one seemed a lot tamer 1.142 +than the tiger. Large curious eyes looked up at her, as if they were 1.143 +studying ChibiUsa in the same way she was being studied herself. 1.144 +ChibiUsa giggled softly and scratched behind the kitten’s ear, 1.145 +hearing a distinct purr in reply. “You’re just a sweetie, aren’t you? 1.146 +I’m sure someone’s gonna get you soon.” She giggled again as the purr 1.147 +grew louder. Slowly pulling her hand away, she took another step 1.148 +forward, glancing back at the cage and smiling for a moment before 1.149 +heading forward. 1.150 + And suddenly, she spotted something moving near the back of what 1.151 +she had thought was an empty cage. Taking a few steps closer, she 1.152 +hunched over to try and get a better look inside the cage. In the 1.153 +back, there was a scared looking girl, her skin as pale as a sheet of 1.154 +paper. Her long black tail moved slowly, her knees drawn up to her 1.155 +chest. The dark ears that jutted out of her raven hair twitched 1.156 +occasionally. Large, violet eyes watched ChibiUsa cautiously. It 1.157 +looked like she was trying to fade away into the shadows at the back 1.158 +of the cage, the poor kitten looking helpless in the tiny steal cage. 1.159 +Crimson eyes brightened as the newly christened sixteen year old girl 1.160 +leaned forward to get a better look. The kitten didn’t make a sound, 1.161 +only the movement of the dark tail and violet eyes showing that she 1.162 +was awake. She looked so shy, holding herself like that. So lonely. 1.163 +So cute. 1.164 + ChibiUsa smiled happily as an employee came by to see if she needed 1.165 +help. “I want this one!!” 1.166 + 1.167 + “So what are you going to name her?” ChibiUsa’s father asked 1.168 +curiously as they drove home a short time later. His pink haired 1.169 +daughter sat in back with her new pet, still holding the catgirl’s 1.170 +leash. The catgirl really didn’t seem to be doing much, just watching 1.171 +the events from her large, scared violet eyes. 1.172 + ChibiUsa tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, watching her 1.173 +feline companion closely. She was still so excited to finally have 1.174 +her birthday present. And what a birthday present at that! Her very 1.175 +own catgirl... And such a cute one, too. It was a thrilling 1.176 +experience. 1.177 + Pink hair flew around ChibiUsa’s head as she shook it, trying to 1.178 +clear her thoughts. She couldn’t just let the catgirl run around 1.179 +nameless. But she didn’t want to name her just anything. Those sad, 1.180 +violet eyes and her beautiful ivory skin made her gorgeous to look 1.181 +at. She needed a lovely name to go with it. But what would fit this 1.182 +skittish kitten? And with such a lonely, haunting feel about her, it 1.183 +was hard to find something suiting. “I think I’m going to name her 1.184 +Hotaru,” she said at last. 1.185 + Her father raised an eyebrow, looking back at his daughter through 1.186 +the rearview mirror. “You’re going to name your pet cat ‘firefly’?” 1.187 + ChibiUsa pouted, scooting closer to the catgirl. Hotaru tried to 1.188 +scoot away, but just managed to wedge herself against the door. 1.189 +“Yeah, because I think it fits her perfectly. She has a real gothic 1.190 +beauty to her. And she looks so sad. So I like the name.” She smiled 1.191 +sweetly at the catgirl, who looked down quickly. 1.192 + Laughing, her father turned a corner. “That’ll change once you get 1.193 +her home and well fed. Then she’ll be a much happier cat. She looks 1.194 +pretty skinny, so that’s most likely the problem.” 1.195 + Nodding thoughtfully, ChibiUsa reached forward, smiling gently at 1.196 +Hotaru. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’m taking you home. You’ll be 1.197 +happy there.” Her fingers brushed through the catgirl’s soft hair. 1.198 +Hotaru closed her eyes and tried to pull further away, but there was 1.199 +nowhere to go. Her pointed cat ears twitched slightly. Seeing the 1.200 +catgirl like this was a little disturbing. She had seen how happy 1.201 +pets usually looked with their owners, but this catgirl looked 1.202 +entirely withdrawn, afraid of the situation. It did make sense that 1.203 +she would be scared. She was still young and probably hadn’t been 1.204 +anywhere else before. But that just strengthened ChibiUsa’s resolve 1.205 +to get closer to her new pet, to make it feel comfortable at home. 1.206 +She was her kitten now, so she'd make sure she was happier. 1.207 + Exuberance filled the genki pink haired girl as she watched her 1.208 +pet. Finally having one, she was extremely pleased with her choice in 1.209 +a birthday present. She was just so cute. And all hers. She had 1.210 +promised to take good care of her before her parents would let her 1.211 +have one. She was the perfect birthday present, a real live catgirl. 1.212 +And to think that she hadn’t had any idea of what to ask for for her 1.213 +birthday until a few weeks ago. 1.214 + 1.215 + Sitting in the park weeks earlier, ChibiUsa had been pondering the 1.216 +same question over and over for the past few days. Her sixteenth 1.217 +birthday was nearly upon her and she still didn’t know what she 1.218 +wanted. It was a big stepping stone and her parents seemed pretty 1.219 +thrilled. A big party was planned with all of her friends and family. 1.220 +But she couldn’t think of a thing that she wanted. Little things that 1.221 +didn’t matter, but nothing that seemed to fit the occasion. So she 1.222 +had gone shopping with Ruruna and Naruru to clear her mind and wound 1.223 +up broke. Again. They had gone on to another antique shop, but she 1.224 +just wanted to rest her aching legs. They’d been shopping since they 1.225 +had met up hours earlier. So she took her break to set her mind back 1.226 +on the question at hand. 1.227 + An elegant looking girl around ChibiUsa’s age with milky white skin 1.228 +and long dark gray hair drew her attention. Not because of her 1.229 +astonishing beauty, which was certainly evident in the midday light, 1.230 +but because of what she was holding. A long, pink leash that was 1.231 +linked to the collar around another girl’s neck. The other girl had 1.232 +short brunette hair and was walking on all fours across the grass. 1.233 +The pale girl seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, following 1.234 +after the girl on the leash with a camcorder in her other hand. It 1.235 +was a very peculiar sight to behold. 1.236 + “Good girl, Sakura-chan! You’re such a sweet puppy. You just work 1.237 +all of that energy out, darling. My cute, genki Sakura-chan can’t be 1.238 +kept in a house all day,” the mistress said in a soft, melodious 1.239 +voice. It wasn’t until then that ChibiUsa noticed the large, floppy 1.240 +ears on the brunette’s head or the short furry tail just above her 1.241 +tail bone. So that was a pet! She watched in astonishment as the 1.242 +puppygirl continued to run around on the grass, the dark haired 1.243 +heiress holding onto the leash and following the puppy’s motions with 1.244 +her camcorder. “Fetch, Sakura-chan!” Pulling a small pink stick out 1.245 +of her purse, the woman tossed it in front of her pet. Sakura hurried 1.246 +to get it, biting down on it and bringing it back to her mistress. 1.247 +The dark haired girl knelt down, scratching behind the puppy’s ears 1.248 +and smiling delightedly. “Oh, you’re such a good girl.” 1.249 +The brunette’s eyes closed, her tail wagging happily. 1.250 + “Wow!” Getting to her still sore feet quickly, ChibiUsa approached 1.251 +the two girls. “That’s amazing! Is she your pet? She’s so cute!” 1.252 +Seeing the puppygirl up close, ChibiUsa marveled at the site. A mix 1.253 +between a normal girl and a puppy, she made an adorable pet. 1.254 + Stormy blue eyes shimmered as the woman nodded. A bright smile 1.255 +crossed her face as she continued petting Sakura. “Hai, she is. Her 1.256 +name is Sakura-chan. I’ve had her for years now. Her mother was a 1.257 +show winner. Isn’t she sweet? She’s the sweetest puppy imaginable.” 1.258 + Sakura was starting to blush from the praise, but her tail still 1.259 +wagged happily as her mistress’s fingers continued playing through 1.260 +her hair. “Hi,” She said, a little shyly. 1.261 + ChibiUsa blinked in surprise, nearly falling back in the grass. 1.262 +“She can talk, too? She must be really talented.” 1.263 + “Oh, she can talk really well. And about the cutest things. And 1.264 +yes, she’s very talented. I have tapes and tapes full of all the cute 1.265 +things Sakura-chan can do,” the woman said, still smiling her 1.266 +trademark smile. 1.267 +The puppy girl was leaning against her by now and still blushing a 1.268 +deep red. “Tomoyo-sama...” She looked like this happened often, but 1.269 +that she still hadn’t really gotten used to it. Sighing, she started 1.270 +licking at Tomoyo’s palm while her mistress continued talking with 1.271 +the girl that looked like a bunny. She’d chase her, but Tomoyo 1.272 +probably wouldn’t want her to. And besides, she really didn’t feel up 1.273 +for a chase right now. 1.274 + “She’s so kawaii!! I bet she makes a terrific pet,” ChibiUsa said, 1.275 +still amazed by the girl on the leash. What a wonderful idea. She had 1.276 +no idea pets were so exciting. Her shoulders slumped slightly as a 1.277 +sudden realization hit her. The pale girl did look remarkably 1.278 +wealthy. “She probably cost a fortune, though.” There went that idea. 1.279 +She’d have to find something else to get for her birthday. And it 1.280 +seemed like such a good idea, too! 1.281 + Tomoyo shook her head, giggling softly at the ticklish feeling of 1.282 +Sakura’s tongue. “No, not really. Sakura-chan was a gift from my 1.283 +mother a few years ago, but I don’t believe they’re really that 1.284 +expensive. It might take a while to save up, but with all of the 1.285 +things you bought,” she motioned towards ChibiUsa’s bags back on the 1.286 +bench, “you should be able to afford it after a while. I honestly 1.287 +think you should. I’m so lucky to have my cute Sakura-chan.” Another 1.288 +bright smile lit her face as she looked down at the puppy girl. 1.289 +Sakura perked up, as if waiting for something, sniffing. A horn 1.290 +honked in the distance, catching all of their attention. Tomoyo 1.291 +looked back towards a waiting limousine. “Oh, I must be going. I hope 1.292 +you can get a pet. They really are wonderful. I don’t know where I’d 1.293 +be without Sakura-chan.” Standing up elegantly, she brushed down her 1.294 +long skirt. “Come one, Sakura-chan. Let’s go home. I’ll give you a 1.295 +nice bath.” 1.296 + Sakura waved and followed her mistress, standing up on two feet 1.297 +this time, pulling alongside of her. Both girls disappeared into the 1.298 +limousine. 1.299 + Watching them drive off, ChibiUsa’s hair was tossed around by the 1.300 +wind. She barely seemed to notice, too deep in thought to care. That 1.301 +was what she wanted. A pet. A pet all of her own. Running back to the 1.302 +bench, she grabbed her things and headed home. That’s what she would 1.303 +ask for. Oh, it was perfect! 1.304 + 1.305 + ChibiUsa brushed back some pink hair from her eyes, squinting in 1.306 +the afternoon sun, her reverie fading. Her brand new pet was still 1.307 +sitting sulkily in the car, dark eyes glistening in the shadows. 1.308 +“C’mon, Hotaru-chan. We’re home now.” She smiled sweetly at the 1.309 +catgirl, motioning for her to follow. The catgirl looked at her for a 1.310 +second, but dropped her gaze just as quickly. ChibiUsa’s father 1.311 +yelled for her to come in, grabbing her attention away from the shy 1.312 +new pet. “Just a minute, papa!” Her crimson eyes returned to the 1.313 +catgirl. Kneeling next to the open door, she reached in slowly. “It’s 1.314 +okay, kitty. We’re home now. Home. I’m going to take good care of 1.315 +you. I promise. There’s nothing to be scared of.” Her hand gently 1.316 +stroked the catgirl’s side. Her pale skin was exquisitely soft to the 1.317 +touch. ChibiUsa’s fingers continued to trail up and down as she 1.318 +smiled. “Please?” Another request from her father to head in caught 1.319 +her ears, Hotaru’s ears perking up at the same time. She sighed and 1.320 +got back to her feet, smoothing down her skirt. “Well, we better get 1.321 +going, Hotaru-chan. Come on.” She whistled, but the only reaction she 1.322 +got from the catgirl were her ears perking up again. The pink haired 1.323 +owner tugged lightly on the leash. This finally seemed to get the 1.324 +catgirl’s attention. Pulling lightly, the pink haired girl led her 1.325 +birthday present inside. 1.326 + Hotaru followed behind her owner slowly, taking no notice of her 1.327 +surroundings. What was the difference between here and the pet shop? 1.328 +At least she wasn’t in a cramped cage anymore. But now she was all 1.329 +alone. Most of the others would have been thrilled to have been 1.330 +bought like this. But being in this strange new place by herself was 1.331 +scary. She should be grateful to have her own mistress now, but it 1.332 +was all too new, too frightening. Everything was happening too fast. 1.333 +At least her mistress was pretty. And she seemed nice. But who knew 1.334 +what would happen? Not that it mattered. She was only a pet. Her life 1.335 +was at the sole discretion of her mistress. It was why she lived. 1.336 + Pushing the door to her room open, the proud new owner could hardly 1.337 +hide her excitement. This had to be her best birthday ever. Her 1.338 +lovely pet was just perfect. Better than she could have dreamed. 1.339 +“Well, here it is. This is my room.” She gestured broadly with her 1.340 +free hand to their surroundings. The bed was along one wall, red and 1.341 +white bedsheets topped with neatly placed bunny dolls. The room was a 1.342 +little cluttered with little possessions here and there, but it 1.343 +didn’t look messy. Long, frilly white curtains hung over the bedroom 1.344 +window that overlooked the backyard. Some clothes from this morning 1.345 +lay discarded in a corner. Several letters were arranged neatly on 1.346 +her bedside, all sporting ‘Happy Birthday’ somewhere on them. Next to 1.347 +the bed lay a large maroon fuzzy basket with some small cat toys in 1.348 +it. Next to it were a food and water dish. 1.349 + Grinning in excitement, ChibiUsa walked towards the bed. Resistance 1.350 +tugged at the hand holding the leash. Turning back, she saw the 1.351 +catgirl frozen in the doorway. “It’s okay. This is your room now, 1.352 +too, Hotaru-chan. See? This bed is for you. And the toys and 1.353 +everything. Isn’t it cute? We went and picked it out this morning. 1.354 +It’s all for you.” She tugged lightly at the leash, pulling Hotaru 1.355 +out of her stupor. The shy girl looked down, but slowly walked up 1.356 +behind her owner. 1.357 + Hotaru’s catlike eyes took in the little things on the floor, even 1.358 +in the dim light. It was all for her? She’d never had anything 1.359 +before. Just another kitten at the pet store, she was lost in the 1.360 +crowd. Usually afraid or lonely even amongst all the others. She was 1.361 +a little overwhelmed to be given anything at all. Especially when she 1.362 +herself was a birthday present. The thought seemed ludicrous. Like it 1.363 +didn’t quite fit. She was a pet. Pets didn’t have anything. No, it 1.364 +must have just been phrased wrong. That had to be it. Her eyes shut 1.365 +quickly when ChibiUsa finally got to the light switch. 1.366 + “Well, here it is. I hope you like it,” ChibiUsa said with a smile, 1.367 +twirling around on one foot to gesture to the room a last time before 1.368 +plopping down on her bed. Her crimson eyes stayed on the catgirl with 1.369 +a childlike enthusiasm. It was almost surreal to see one up close. 1.370 +Her very own at that. And she was so pretty, too! Just wait until 1.371 +Ruruna and Naruru found out. They would be so surprised. Hotaru 1.372 +averted her gaze, shifting around uncomfortably, her tail swishing 1.373 +slowly from side to side. “You’re soooo cute.” A giggle escaped the 1.374 +pink haired girl as she pulled on the leash playfully. “You can come 1.375 +closer. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.” 1.376 + Taking an awkward barefoot step forward, Hotaru inched closer to 1.377 +her mistress. That warm smile managed to draw the dark haired catgirl 1.378 +ever nearer. Feeling another gentle tug on the leash, she kneeled 1.379 +down in front of her having nowhere else to go. Her hands and knees 1.380 +on the floor, her tail continued moving nervously behind her as big 1.381 +violet eyes looked up at her owner. The smile was still on that face 1.382 +framed by pink, her hand moving down slowly. Hotaru flinched a bit 1.383 +when ChibiUsa’s fingers touched the side of her face, trailing 1.384 +upwards into her raven hair. What did she want? Not that it mattered. 1.385 +She was her pet. Her mistress could do whatever she wanted with her. 1.386 +Hotaru’s curiosity continued to grow as the fingers ran through her 1.387 +hair. But suddenly it didn’t matter. Her eyes closed and she began to 1.388 +purr. Quietly at first, but it began to grow louder. ChibiUsa’s 1.389 +fingers were scratching right behind her ear. It felt very nice with 1.390 +those gentle fingers in her hair. Her tail began to move more 1.391 +happily, as if completely unaware of the previous nervousness of the 1.392 +girl it was attached to. 1.393 + A musical giggle escaped ChibiUsa lips as she watched her new pet. 1.394 +“I’m really glad I picked you, Hotaru-chan.” She continued to pet the 1.395 +kitten for a few more minutes, enjoying the soft purring sound the 1.396 +catgirl made. 1.397 + “ChibiUsa-chan, dinner!” 1.398 + “Coming!” Sighing, the pink haired girl petted the girl one last 1.399 +time before standing up. The purring slowly came to a stop. Big, 1.400 +violet eyes looked up at her in confusion. She smiled down 1.401 +apologetically. “I have to go get dinner. You should probably eat, 1.402 +too. I’ll be back in just a bit.” Scratching behind Hotaru’s ear 1.403 +again, she quickly made her way to the door, glancing back in at the 1.404 +solemn looking catgirl. ‘She looks so serious all the time,’ ChibiUsa 1.405 +thought to herself. “Bye, kitty!” 1.406 + Hotaru watched as her mistress left the room, nervousness gnawing 1.407 +at her again. It hadn’t been too bad when she had been there with 1.408 +her, but now she was alone in this scary place. And she didn’t know 1.409 +what to do. This was all new to her. This was home from now on. 1.410 +Curling up into a ball, she began to cry. 1.411 + 1.412 + Later that night, the catgirl was balled up in her basket, wide 1.413 +awake. She couldn’t get to sleep in her strange new surroundings. 1.414 +Every small sound startled her right when she started to fade away to 1.415 +the land of dreams. She had finally given up trying to sleep a short 1.416 +time ago. Lying there, staring at the wall, she contemplated her 1.417 +existence. Sold like the animal she was, she was now property of her 1.418 +mistress, the girl in the bed behind her. It was a dream for many to 1.419 +get sold at the auctions. To have their own master or mistress. To 1.420 +have a home. But she was still so afraid. No one had taught her what 1.421 +to do once she was bought. Part of her had thought that she never 1.422 +would be. Who wanted a lonely looking cat, anyway? Apparently, this 1.423 +pink haired girl. She sat up slowly, her head peaking up across the 1.424 +bed. She could see ChibiUsa’s feet sticking out from under her 1.425 +blankets, the warm cloth tangled around the pink haired girl oddly. 1.426 +In the darkness, her catlike eyes could still make out the nightgown 1.427 +she was wearing, though the color looked faded. Her pink hair was let 1.428 +down out of the odangos she had seen it in earlier. She really was 1.429 +very pretty. And she was looking at her. Hotaru’s eyes widened in 1.430 +surprise and she quickly ducked back down, pulling her knees to her 1.431 +chest as she tried to pretend she was asleep. 1.432 + “Can’t sleep?” the sweet voice of her owner whispered. Hotaru 1.433 +froze, unsure of how to respond. Creaking sounds came her way as 1.434 +ChibiUsa crawled across the bed. The sound finally stopped and she 1.435 +relaxed slightly. A hand brushing through her hair nearly made her 1.436 +jump in shock. Turning around, she spotted her mistress’s head over 1.437 +the edge of the bed, watching her with that warm smile again. “It’s 1.438 +okay if you can’t sleep. I always have trouble in a new place, too. 1.439 +You wanna sleep on the bed?” 1.440 +Hotaru nodded slowly, shyly. ChibiUsa smiled again and sat up, 1.441 +gesturing for the catgirl to follow. Standing up, the dark haired pet 1.442 +hesitantly crawled onto the edge of the bed, curling into a ball 1.443 +there. She felt ChibiUsa’s feet brush against her side as her 1.444 +mistress pulled the blankets around herself. Hotaru was a little 1.445 +surprised. Wasn’t she supposed to be in her basket? Well, this was 1.446 +nicer. It felt soft and the blankets underneath her were warm. And it 1.447 +did feel more comfortable to be closer to her owner. She was very 1.448 +sweet and managed to make this whole thing much easier for Hotaru to 1.449 +handle. Lying there in silence, she tried not to move much lest she 1.450 +disturb the pink haired girl. But it was still cold in the room 1.451 +despite being on top of the blankets and she couldn’t help shivering 1.452 +slightly. She was only lightly clothed. 1.453 + Giggling softly, ChibiUsa sat up again. “Still cold, huh? Here, get 1.454 +in the blankets. It’s warmer.” She watched the quiet catgirl for a 1.455 +long moment, holding up the blanket invitingly. “Come on. It’s okay.” 1.456 +Smiling reassuringly, she scooted over and patted the bed next to 1.457 +her. “Come here.” The violet eyed pet looked back at her hesitantly, 1.458 +still sitting with her legs tucked under her at the foot of the bed. 1.459 +She sure was a reluctant pet. She didn’t seem very open around 1.460 +people. But she was ChibiUsa’s now so it didn’t matter. The pink 1.461 +haired owner was just glad to have her. Sighing, she took her pet’s 1.462 +arm. The pale skin was very soft and cold. “Oh, you poor thing. You 1.463 +must be freezing. C’mere, Hotaru-chan.” Pulling lightly, the catgirl 1.464 +slowly crawled up beside her. ChibiUsa smiled again and pulled the 1.465 +blankets up. “Here you go.” Hotaru sat there, staring at her. The 1.466 +young owner sweatdropped. Taking Hotaru’s arm again, she pulled her 1.467 +closer and toward the head of the bed. “Okay, now lie down.” The 1.468 +catgirl lay her body down on ChibiUsa’s pillow, her head to the side. 1.469 +“No, not like that.” 1.470 +Hotaru winced, closing her eyes. She didn’t know what she was doing 1.471 +at all. Humans had never been around her very much so she just didn’t 1.472 +understand what she was supposed to do to please her mistress. Now 1.473 +she’d probably hate her for being disobedient. And she didn’t want 1.474 +that at all. Her mistress seemed so nice. What was she to do now? 1.475 +The fear etched on Hotaru’s face sent a chill through ChibiUsa. Her 1.476 +catgirl looked so sad. She shook her head quickly. “No, I didn’t mean 1.477 +it like that. It’s all right. Don’t be sad.” Another smile crossed 1.478 +her face as she tried to reassure her new pet. This was getting to be 1.479 +a lot of work. But still... She liked it. It was nice having her 1.480 +here. Her cute catgirl. It was nice to have the responsibility of 1.481 +her. To take care of her new pet. Placing her hands on Hotaru’s 1.482 +shoulders, she positioned her on her back, pushing down until her 1.483 +head was finally on the pillow. Dark hair formed a halo around the 1.484 +catgirl’s head on the pillow, her kitten ears barely jutting out of 1.485 +the hair. Hotaru looked at her in confusion but followed her 1.486 +directions. Satisfied with her work, ChibiUsa pulled the blanket up 1.487 +around the both of them. “There. See? Much warmer, Hotaru-chan.” She 1.488 +smiled brightly as she hugged herself under the blanket, trying to 1.489 +get warm again. 1.490 +Shyly, Hotaru smiled back. “Thank you,” her soft voice whispered. 1.491 + Giggling, ChibiUsa propped herself up on an elbow. “So you can 1.492 +talk. I was wondering when you were gonna say something.” It had 1.493 +almost been a surprise to hear Hotaru speak. She had started to think 1.494 +that she wouldn’t. Hotaru’s voice was very soft, but lovely. It fit 1.495 +the shy catgirl perfectly. “You have a very pretty voice, Hotaru-chan.” 1.496 + The dark haired pet blushed a cherry red, shifting slightly under 1.497 +the blankets. It was already strange to be sleeping this way, like a 1.498 +human girl, but now she was embarrassed as well. She hadn’t known 1.499 +what to say earlier. And her owner’s comments were flattering. This 1.500 +whole day had taken quite a toll on her. It just seemed to be one 1.501 +surprise after another. “A.. arigato...” she whispered, quieter this 1.502 +time. 1.503 + Petting her catgirl gently, ChibiUsa smiled again. “Sleep well, 1.504 +Hotaru-chan. I’ll see you in the morning.” Something brushing against 1.505 +her side caught ChibiUsa's attention. It was warm and furry, moving 1.506 +in quick motions. Reaching down, she grabbed a hold of the furry 1.507 +intruder. Hotaru’s eyes went wide as ChibiUsa gripped it. “Oh... 1.508 +Sorry.” She sweatdropped as she let go of Hotaru’s tail. Yawning, she 1.509 +let her crimson eyes fall shut. “Sweet dreams, kitty.” 1.510 + Hotaru watched closely as ChibiUsa’s breathing steadied and she 1.511 +drifted off to sleep. Her mistress looked so calm and peaceful. So 1.512 +cute. She noticed that the pink haired girl was holding onto a white 1.513 +stuffed bunny with a big red bow. Purring softly, she snuggled next 1.514 +to her owner, yawning tiredly and showing her sharp teeth in the dim 1.515 +light. It had been an exhausting day. Before long, she was passed out 1.516 +beside her pink haired owner. 1.517 + 1.518 + J-pop meandered through ChibiUsa’s room as morning light filtered 1.519 +through her window. Something about ‘my darling and my dentures’ 1.520 +played on the radio. ChibiUsa was still too tired to care. The pink 1.521 +haired girl rolled over in bed, moaning about the unjustness of it 1.522 +all. School was always such a tiresome thing. Sure, she got to see a 1.523 +few friends, but was it really worth all of that pain of stuffy 1.524 +teachers trying to force things upon you? Especially when she had her 1.525 +own pet now. That’s right! ChibiUsa sat up in bed, suddenly awake. 1.526 +Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she scoured the room for any trace 1.527 +of her catgirl. But where was she? It couldn’t have been a dream, 1.528 +could it? Her heart started to slow back down to it’s usual beat when 1.529 +she saw Hotaru heading back into her room from the doorway on all 1.530 +floors. ChibiUsa’s slippers were in her mouth. “Awww... How sweet of 1.531 +you, Hotaru-chan. You’re such a good kitty.” Grinning happily, 1.532 +ChibiUsa slipped out of bed, kneeling next to the catgirl and petting 1.533 +her warmly. “My good little girl. Yes, you are.” Taking the slippers 1.534 +from Hotaru’s mouth, she quickly slipped them on. “I wanna stay home 1.535 +and play with you, Hotaru-chan. School doesn’t sound like any fun.” 1.536 +Pouting sadly, she just watched her new pet for several moments. 1.537 +Finally reaching forward, Hotaru tensed up under ChibiUsa’s warm hug. 1.538 +“I’ll see you soon, Hotaru-chan. We can play when I get home.” 1.539 + Hotaru watched her mistress with inquisitive violet eyes as 1.540 +ChibiUsa walked all over the room sticking things in her bookbag. 1.541 +“Where are you going?” she asked curiously, trying to keep the 1.542 +nervousness out of her voice. She didn’t want to be left alone again. 1.543 +And why couldn’t she come with? She’d be good. She was well behaved. 1.544 +Not like some of the pets she could remember back at the pet store. 1.545 +“Skool?” 1.546 + Nodding quickly, ChibiUsa began getting dressed, tossing the 1.547 +nightgown to the floor as she dug through her closet for her school 1.548 +uniform. She stood in front of the closet clad in nothing but her 1.549 +slippers and her white cotton panties, but didn’t seem to notice as 1.550 +if she were alone. It was just her pet, after all. She nodded 1.551 +absentmindedly as she pulled her blouse over her head, then paused 1.552 +and pulled it off, looking for a bra. “Yeah, school. It’s this real 1.553 +boring place where they try to force us to learn things.” She stopped 1.554 +again, turning an anklet over in her fingers thoughtfully before 1.555 +discarding it. “I’m doing pretty well this semester, though, so I 1.556 +can’t blow it off and stay home with you. Even if I really want to. 1.557 +If I do well enough, I’m thinking of going into government.” She took 1.558 +out a black lavender ribbon and tied it in her hair on one of her 1.559 +odangos after fixing it to her usual hair style. “Then when I get 1.560 +older I could get a nice big house for us and you could have gourmet 1.561 +cat food and all sorts of good stuff.” Checking the mirror, she 1.562 +smiled and went back to the closet. 1.563 + Violet eyes followed her mistress back and forth across the room as 1.564 +Hotaru sat on the floor. Her owner really was very pretty. She had 1.565 +beautiful curves that fit her small frame wonderfully. A small sigh 1.566 +escaped Hotaru’s soft lips. Too bad she wasn’t a catgirl. But she did 1.567 +make a nice mistress nonetheless. “Will you be back soon?” Hotaru 1.568 +asked hopefully. 1.569 + “You’re so sweet, Hotaru-chan,” ChibiUsa commented as she pulled 1.570 +her skirt on. “Hai. Well, kinda. Sometimes it seems like a long time. 1.571 +But I’ll be back this afternoon. I promise.” She smiled as she bent 1.572 +down and scratched behind Hotaru’s left ear. A giddy feeling went 1.573 +through her as she watched the dark haired pet’s eyes close and heard 1.574 +her purring again. This whole pet thing was turning out to be great. 1.575 +Hotaru really did seem like the perfect choice. It was even better 1.576 +than what she’d thought when she’d met that rich girl and her puppy. 1.577 + Hotaru didn’t answer, just tilting her head to the side, her tail 1.578 +moving back and forth as she watched her pink haired owner head for 1.579 +the door. “Goodbye, mistress,” she said at last. 1.580 + Pausing for a moment, ChibiUsa stood in the doorway, fumbling with 1.581 +her bow. That had sounded awkward. But thinking it over, it did make 1.582 +sense. Hotaru was her pet at any rate. Smiling over her shoulder, she 1.583 +waved cheerfully. “Bye, Hotaru-chan! See you this afternoon! I bet 1.584 +you’ll have more fun than me.” And with that, she disappeared off to 1.585 +the mysterious ‘skool’. 1.586 + Sighing, Hotaru clasped her hands in front of her and watched the 1.587 +empty doorway where her mistress had just been. “I doubt it, mistress.” 1.588 + 1.589 + Many hours later, an exhausted student made her way home, 1.590 +shouldering her bunny shaped bookbag on a weary shoulder. Opening the 1.591 +door with the key she kept with her, ChibiUsa pushed the door open 1.592 +with a sigh of relief. It was good to be back home again. A smile 1.593 +crossed her lips as she remembered the catgirl waiting for her. She 1.594 +had found it difficult to concentrate at school all day with the 1.595 +knowledge that Hotaru was at home. School just seemed extraordinarily 1.596 +mundane compared to her brand new pet. “Hotaru-chan?” she said as she 1.597 +took off her shoes near the door. There was no answer. But then, she 1.598 +was a quiet catgirl, so that shouldn’t be too strange. Pulling her 1.599 +slippers back on, ChibiUsa walked back towards her room. The door was 1.600 +still wide open as she’d left it. And there was Hotaru lying on the 1.601 +floor. Reading a book. “Hotaru-chan?” ChibiUsa asked incredulously. 1.602 +She knew that the catgirl was obviously smart. But that she could read? 1.603 + The book dropped from Hotaru’s hands as she scrambled to a sitting 1.604 +position. Her violet eyes were wide with fear as she looked towards 1.605 +her owner. ‘She saw me? She’s not supposed to know that. It’s my 1.606 +little secret.’ She didn’t know what to say. Or what would happen to 1.607 +her. Maybe she’d give her away. Hotaru knew that pets usually didn’t 1.608 +read. Why would they need to? Tears began to well up in her eyes. It 1.609 +was just the day after she’d been bought and already she had ruined 1.610 +everything. She was really beginning to like her mistress, too. She 1.611 +wanted to explain, to try to fix things, but nothing would come out 1.612 +of her mouth. She felt helpless, trapped. She wanted to run away. 1.613 + “I... Hotaru-chan..” ChibiUsa shook her head and knelt next to her 1.614 +kitten. She picked up the book that had dropped to the floor. It was 1.615 +one that she had gotten for her birthday. A hand reached out and 1.616 +gently stroked Hotaru’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Hotaru-chan. I’m just 1.617 +surprised. You can read? I didn’t think pets could read.” She smiled 1.618 +sweetly to show that she wasn’t angry, managing to calm the catgirl 1.619 +slightly. 1.620 + Hotaru nodded weakly, sniffling. “Hai...” She wasn’t angry at her? 1.621 +Why not? Not that it wasn’t a good thing. But she had always been 1.622 +afraid about someone finding that out. “My mother taught me... before 1.623 +she died..” Hotaru said sadly. Reading always reminded her of her 1.624 +mother, bringing back bittersweet memories of the kind woman and her 1.625 +death that had left Hotaru all alone. So she liked to read when she 1.626 +had the chance. It always felt like her mother was watching. 1.627 + “Oh...” ChibiUsa looked down at the book for a long moment. So that 1.628 +was how. It hadn’t occurred to her that anything might have happened 1.629 +to Hotaru’s family. She hadn’t thought about that sort of thing when 1.630 +it came to pets. No wonder the poor catgirl looked so lonely. “I’m 1.631 +really sorry, Hotaru-chan.” She smiled softly, handing the book back 1.632 +to her pet. It took Hotaru a minute to slowly reach out and take it 1.633 +cautiously. “If you really like to, you can go ahead and read any of 1.634 +my books. I don’t read them all that much anyway with all I need to 1.635 +read for school. And I’m more of a manga girl myself.” 1.636 + Holding the book against her chest, Hotaru kept her eyes on her 1.637 +slightly shorter owner. “Really...? You’d let me?” she asked 1.638 +curiously. All of this time she had been afraid of getting in 1.639 +trouble. She was so surprised that ChibiUsa would allow her to. Her 1.640 +mother had told her never to let a human see her read. Her owner 1.641 +really was so kind. “Thank you, ChibiUsa-sama..” Smiling meekly, she 1.642 +hugged the book tighter, still looking into the pink haired girl’s 1.643 +pretty crimson eyes. She was so lucky to have a mistress like her. 1.644 + ChibiUsa watched the eager look in Hotaru’s eyes as she held the 1.645 +book. The catgirl was so cute. The pink haired girl was really 1.646 +beginning to enjoy learning all of these new things about her pet. 1.647 +She really did have a lot of personality. Hotaru was becoming more 1.648 +and more captivating. And she was all hers, which made the whole 1.649 +thing even better. She didn’t have to share Hotaru with anyone. She 1.650 +was like her very own personal friend. Gazing back into those violet 1.651 +eyes, she began scratching absentmindedly behind Hotaru’s left ear 1.652 +again, eliciting a soft purr from the catgirl. “You can read all you 1.653 +want, Hotaru-chan. I want you to be happy here.” 1.654 + Hotaru blushed softly and nodded. “I am happy here with you, 1.655 +ChibiUsa-sama.” She had been so lonely for so long. She was an 1.656 +outcast back at the pet shop. And ever since she had lost her mother, 1.657 +she had no one else to turn to. But this lovely girl had taken her in 1.658 +and was being so sweet to her even though she was just a pet. It was 1.659 +almost too good to be true. Her mother must have helped her get this 1.660 +mistress. 1.661 + Giving Hotaru a hug that the catgirl slowly relaxed into, her tail 1.662 +still moving behind her, ChibiUsa blushed a bit herself. Hotaru was 1.663 +already figuring very prominently in her mind. The catgirl was just 1.664 +so much more fun and fascinating that her friends at school who were 1.665 +much more concerned with boys and certain fads. She couldn’t wait for 1.666 +the times when she could be with her kitten. Everything else just 1.667 +seemed to take a backseat to that in her mind. Smiling, she kept 1.668 +petting Hotaru as she held onto her, enjoying the soft purr in her 1.669 +ears. It was so much fun to be with her. And it felt very nice to 1.670 +hold her. Actually, she could feel the barely clothed girl trough the 1.671 +thin cloth as she held onto her, now that she thought about it. “I’m 1.672 +gonna need to get you some clothes soon, Hotaru-chan,” she mentioned 1.673 +thoughtfully, still holding her. 1.674 + Hotaru blinked, her face inches from ChibiUsa as she watched her. 1.675 +“Why?” 1.676 + A giggle escaped ChibiUsa’s lips and she shook her head. 1.677 +“Nevermind, Hotaru-chan. You just read your books and I’ll bother 1.678 +with the rest. I have to take care of my pet, don’t I?” 1.679 + Still watching, Hotaru finally nodded when ChibiUsa seemed to be 1.680 +waiting for her. “I.. uhh.. Yes, mistress.” It seemed to be the right 1.681 +answer so she relaxed, looking into those beautiful scarlet pools 1.682 +again. ChibiUsa smelled very nice. Just like her slippers had 1.683 +earlier. And the bed. Yes, she was beginning to like that smell very 1.684 +much. It was soothing and made her feel warm and safe inside. 1.685 + ChibiUsa sweatdropped a little at the close proximity, but aside 1.686 +from it seeming a little odd, it really didn’t bother her. In fact, 1.687 +she was enjoying the chance to be so close to her pet, especially 1.688 +with how shy the catgirl was. Reaching down, she stroked Hotaru’s 1.689 +tails, playing with the swiftly moving pendulum. “Of course. My cute 1.690 +little pet, Hotaru-chan.” She should start her homework. She should 1.691 +feed the catgirl. But she just wanted to sit there. 1.692 + 1.693 + “ChibiUsa-chan, I love you,” the white haired boy whispered softly 1.694 +as his fingers trailed through her cotton candy pink hair. A crimson 1.695 +blush, the same color as her eyes, made it’s way across her cheeks. 1.696 +She had thought he’d never say that. Her crush on him had gone 1.697 +unreturned for so long. As he leaned forward, she realized with 1.698 +sudden shock ‘He’s going to kiss me...’ Closing her eyes, she waited 1.699 +anxiously for the magical moment. “Elios...” She pursed her lips as 1.700 +she waited, her heart pounding in her chest like a freight train. 1.701 +Would he? She could feel warm breath against her lips, sending an 1.702 +electric spark throughout her body. Frantic thoughts hurried through 1.703 +her mind as seconds stretched out into infinity. Her body tensed as 1.704 +she waited for the kiss that would seal her fate. Warmth washed over 1.705 +her cheek, slightly wet and a little scratchy against her soft skin. 1.706 +Confusion quickly shook her anxiety away. What was he doing? Kissing 1.707 +her cheek? It sure didn’t feel like a kiss. Well, not quite. Shifting 1.708 +a bit to the side, she felt the warm feeling continue on her left 1.709 +cheek, moving up and closer to her lips. An unexpected giggle escaped 1.710 +her as the unidentifiable feeling continued its journey forward, 1.711 +tickling her cheek. Just what did he want? Wasn’t he going to kiss 1.712 +her? “Elios?” 1.713 + Scarlet eyes fluttered open in curiosity, searching for the object 1.714 +of her full attention. “Elios?” she asked again. Blinking in the 1.715 +darkness, she tried to find the white haired boy. The warm feeling on 1.716 +her cheek continued, closing ever closer to her lips. Her blush 1.717 +deepened as she sleepily tried to spot her crush. Her eyes finally 1.718 +found an ethereal figure leaning over her, a pale figure in the dim 1.719 +moonlight offset by jet black hair that fell around the pale face 1.720 +like a veil. Like some unearthly angel, the creature sat over her, 1.721 +continuing the sweet caress of ChibiUsa’s cheek as if nothing had 1.722 +changed. The pink haired girl shifted in bed, now utterly confused. 1.723 +Where had Elios gone? What was happening? And what was that feeling? 1.724 +It slowly dawned upon her that the warm feeling was her cheek being 1.725 +licked. But why would Elios be licking her cheek? Her still sleep 1.726 +addled mind clicked and whirred as it slowly put everything together. 1.727 +Violet eyes sparkled in the dim light above her, watching her with 1.728 +catlike intensity. “Hotaru-chan?” the young owner asked suddenly, 1.729 +sitting up. 1.730 +The catgirl moved quickly and with agile grace disappeared into the 1.731 +darkness. Straining to see the catgirl in the darkness, ChibiUsa’s 1.732 +fingers reached up to her cheek. The soft flesh still had some saliva 1.733 +on it from where Hotaru’s somewhat scratchy tongue had passed over 1.734 +it. So it had all just been a dream? Well, the part about her crush 1.735 +at the least. But if that was the case, then why was her heart still 1.736 +beating so quickly? Her fingers traveled from her cheek over to her 1.737 +lips, lingering there for a second. The warmth that had spread 1.738 +through her cheek now felt like it was melting through her body, 1.739 +coating every inch of her. She didn’t know quite how to explain it. 1.740 +The excitement from the dream dared not dissipate into the night air 1.741 +just yet. It held onto her, as if the dream wasn’t ready to depart. 1.742 +Her mind drifted back to her pet’s insistent licking and the 1.743 +beautiful silhouette that her eyes had awakened to above her. A 1.744 +cherry red blush colored her cheeks as she sat on her bed, still 1.745 +drenched in sweat from yet another of many absorbing dreams. The pink 1.746 +haired girl had never kissed anyone yet, which made it very difficult 1.747 +to listen to Ruruna and Naruru’s constant boasts. Her dreams often 1.748 +led her up to what she had built up into her mind to be the 1.749 +penultimate romantic moment, but had never crossed the threshold, 1.750 +always leaving her curious as to what would have happened had she 1.751 +been asleep only a brief moment longer. 1.752 +ChibiUsa finally caught sight of her pet in the darkness. Violet 1.753 +eyes glinted in the shadows near the foot of her bed. As if she were 1.754 +being drawn to those distant stars, the young owner began crawling 1.755 +across the bed to the still mostly hidden catgirl. “Hotaru-chan? 1.756 +Hotaru-chan, you don’t need to hide, kitty.” A soft giggle filled the 1.757 +silent room. “You’re so shy. Come here.” Sitting in front of the 1.758 +catgirl on the middle of the bed, ChibiUsa motioned for her to come 1.759 +forward. “It’s okay. Come here, kitty.” Hotaru slowly complied, 1.760 +crawling towards her pink haired owner. Her pale figure slowly came 1.761 +into view, her tail moving slowly in the moonlight. ChibiUsa could 1.762 +still feel her heart pounding in her chest, her mind furiously trying 1.763 +to go in every direction at once. She remembered Hotaru’s tongue 1.764 +along her cheek, so close to her own lips. The feeling was baffling. 1.765 +It left her wondering about what would have happened had she waited. 1.766 +She had to remind herself that Hotaru was a catgirl and that it was 1.767 +probably just her licking her owner as she remembered the puppygirl 1.768 +had done with the rich girl. But still she couldn’t banish the 1.769 +thoughts from her mind. Hotaru moved a little closer at her 1.770 +insistence, her hand still motioning her forward. 1.771 +Hotaru complied with her mistress, moving ever closer on all fours. 1.772 +Her eyes burned with catlike curiosity as she watched the pink haired 1.773 +woman before her, her hands stopping right before ChibiUsa’s knees. 1.774 +She hadn’t slept, preferring instead to keep a silent vigil over her 1.775 +beautiful owner. She had merely been cleaning ChibiUsa’s cheek when 1.776 +the human girl had woken up, but her sudden movements had frightened 1.777 +the skittish kitten. Her owner looked cute when she was asleep. Her 1.778 +pink hair had framed her cute face beautifully in the dark room, her 1.779 +hands resting on her pillow, her lips forming a sweet pout. She was 1.780 +surprised to see her awaken so suddenly when it was her experience 1.781 +that the pink haired girl slept all night long. She had been here for 1.782 +weeks now and that pattern hadn’t changed in the least. Well, with 1.783 +the exception of when ChibiUsa wound up staying up with her, but once 1.784 +the crimson eyed owner was asleep, she generally stayed that way. 1.785 +Hotaru moved closer still, smelling intently as she moved closer, 1.786 +enjoying the comforting scent of her mistress. 1.787 +Blushing, ChibiUsa watched as Hotaru’s angelic face came nearer, her 1.788 +small nose twitching ever so slightly as she did. Violet eyes peaked 1.789 +out from behind their shadowy veil at her. That face that had held an 1.790 +almost constant fear or pain to it now held a gentle contentment. 1.791 +Sometimes the fear and the pain returned, but ChibiUsa had been happy 1.792 +to see it slowly ebb, the catgirl’s smile coming more easily as time 1.793 +went by. The pink haired girl found herself spending more and more of 1.794 +her time with her precious pet than with her best friends. They were 1.795 +nice and all, but they didn’t captivate her the same way her gorgeous 1.796 +kitten did. There was something about the girl’s shy nature and her 1.797 +total devotion that had quickly snagged ChibiUsa’s attention. She had 1.798 +even blown off Ruruna and Naruru when they were going to the movies 1.799 +because of the jealous look she had seen in the catgirl’s deep pools 1.800 +of violet. Part of that scared her, that she would rather stay home 1.801 +with her pet than go hang out with her friends. But she had found it 1.802 +much more enjoyable than gawking at passing boys and staring at 1.803 +outfits that she could never hope to afford. They had passed the 1.804 +night pleasantly, playing cards of all things. ChibiUsa had won every 1.805 +game. She had begun to suspect afterwards that Hotaru had let her 1.806 +win, but she had such an enjoyable time spending the night sitting on 1.807 +her bed and playing the games that it hardly seemed to matter. 1.808 +It was really a curious situation she found herself in. She knew 1.809 +that pets were really amazing to have simply from all of the stories 1.810 +she had heard, but this was much more than she had expected. Unlike 1.811 +the rest of her friends, ChibiUsa felt that she could really tell 1.812 +Hotaru things, that she could talk to her about anything. The dark 1.813 +haired catgirl didn’t judge her. She listened to whatever her 1.814 +mistress had to say, her cute little cat ears moving along with the 1.815 +words. She didn’t have to pretend around Hotaru. And that made her 1.816 +feel so spectacularly free inside. It felt like the shackles that 1.817 +held down her heart were suddenly released when they were all alone. 1.818 +Hotaru had asked her why she pretended so much in front of people, 1.819 +why she hid her feelings behind a veil of happiness and genki energy. 1.820 +ChibiUsa had tried to explain, but none of her explanations sounded 1.821 +good enough, even to herself. “Because I want people to see the 1.822 +happy, smiling me. I want that to be who they remember. I don’t want 1.823 +to burden others with my problems. I want them to like the genki me 1.824 +that they see,” she had finally settled on. 1.825 +“I like you,” Hotaru had said simply. “I don’t think you should have 1.826 +to pretend for everyone else, ChibiUsa-sama. Even when you’re sad, I 1.827 +like you. Especially when you’re sad. Because then I can really see 1.828 +all of you. I know I can’t help much, but just being next to you, 1.829 +seeing your sad eyes, it makes me wish that I could be with you 1.830 +always.” Her quiet voice had spoken earnestly from her heart. It had 1.831 +shaken the young owner. She had grown up hiding her pain and troubles 1.832 +from others, always being the perky and bubbly girl she had thought 1.833 +they wanted her to be, but the catgirl was content with who she was 1.834 +even when that façade was nowhere in sight. 1.835 +And now ChibiUsa found herself staring deeply into Hotaru’s endless 1.836 +violet orbs, breathing quickly as they sat in the darkness on her 1.837 +ruffled sheets. The catgirl waited with endless patience, looking 1.838 +back at her curiously as ChibiUsa’s mind wandered from memory to 1.839 +memory. Laughing in embarrassment, ChibiUsa placed a hand behind her 1.840 +head. “Goment nasai... I guess I’m still sleepy after all.” 1.841 +Hotaru nodded slowly, still watching her mistress. A small smile 1.842 +crossed her lips. She liked watching the pink bunny-looking girl 1.843 +sleep. “I hope you sleep well, ChibiUsa-sama,” her soft voice prayed. 1.844 + Shaking her head quickly, ChibiUsa tried to collect her thoughts. 1.845 +Not thoughts exactly, because she couldn’t quite understand them all. 1.846 +It was mostly a jumble of feelings, scattered throughout her heart 1.847 +like flotsam. She collected them up, trying to make sense of them. 1.848 +The burning sensation from earlier had only managed to grow more 1.849 +intense as she watched the beautiful catgirl’s ivory skin nearly 1.850 +sparkle in the moonlight. “No, that’s not what I meant. I don’t feel 1.851 +like sleeping right now. Hotaru-chan, I...” She shook her head. Why 1.852 +was this so difficult? What did she want to say? Whatever it was, it 1.853 +certainly shouldn’t be this difficult. Hotaru was her pet. She had 1.854 +gone out and picked her out. Hotaru was hers. So why was she having 1.855 +such a hard time forcing out whatever it was that clung to her? A 1.856 +frustrated sigh escaped her lips, causing Hotaru’s ears to twitch 1.857 +noticeably. “Hotaru-chan, I want to kiss you,” she got out in a rough 1.858 +whisper, her cheeks burning up. Was that it? Was that what she had 1.859 +wanted to say? Well, not quite, but it was close enough. 1.860 + The catgirl sat in silence for a long moment, her dark eyes 1.861 +concentrating fully on her mistress. Her own pale cheeks had flushed 1.862 +a deep red themselves, though it was hardly evident in the dim light. 1.863 +She nodded slowly, her black hair fluttering a bit as she did so. Of 1.864 +course, ChibiUsa was her owner. She had to do whatever was asked of 1.865 +her, whatever her owner expected of her. But this was so much more 1.866 +than normal obedience. This was something that she knew she wanted 1.867 +herself. That she had wanted for some time now. That her mistress 1.868 +would ask that of her... Her heart swooned at the thought. Her 1.869 +mistress was such a kind and loving person, the first person who had 1.870 +ever really cared about her. She treated her more like a friend than 1.871 +an animal. She was so cute and funny to watch. Hotaru was completely 1.872 +enamored with her sweet owner. The thought of being with her in such 1.873 +a way was absolutely delicious. So as her pet, she must comply. But 1.874 +all of Hotaru’s soul was fully behind the action. 1.875 + Leaning forward a little awkwardly, ChibiUsa placed her hands on 1.876 +Hotaru’s bare shoulders. Her heart felt like it was pounding between 1.877 +her ears by now. The fact that she had never kissed anyone before 1.878 +made itself painfully well known in her mind. But she did know that 1.879 +she wanted this to be her first kiss. Licking her dry lips, ChibiUsa 1.880 +moved forward slightly before pausing again. Moving her head to the 1.881 +side, she tried to position herself better. The fact that Hotaru was 1.882 +a girl hardly mattered in her mind and it probably hadn’t even 1.883 +occurred to Hotaru with the blissful look on the angelic girl’s pale 1.884 +face. Hotaru was also her pet, so such trivial things as what gender 1.885 +she was hardly mattered at the moment. Moving forward once more, 1.886 +ChibiUsa felt her lips press inexpertly against those of her devoted 1.887 +catgirl. The soft petals of Hotaru’s lips parted briefly and she once 1.888 +again felt that soft yet scratchy tongue press against her skin, but 1.889 +this time it was on her own lips. The sensation was sweetly 1.890 +overwhelming. ChibiUsa closed her eyes and kissed the dark haired 1.891 +girl again, this time letting her own mouth part when the dark haired 1.892 +girl’s tongue came out. Her lips moved around it, starting Hotaru at 1.893 +first before her own tongue brushed against the scratchy one entering 1.894 +her mouth. 1.895 +‘She’s your pet. You shouldn’t be doing this,’ ChibiUsa’s mind cried 1.896 +out. ‘She’s your pet so of course you can do this,’ it retaliated. 1.897 +‘Damn it, she’s Hotaru-chan and I want to do this,’ she concluded at 1.898 +last. Her hand slowly moved up over Hotaru’s bare stomach, caressing 1.899 +the satin soft skin as she made her way upwards. Her heartbeat 1.900 +continued it’s maddening tempo as she continued higher. She was happy 1.901 +to find that Hotaru’s heart was beating just as rapidly, thumping 1.902 +rapidly in the raven haired catgirl’s chest. After what felt like an 1.903 +endless pause as she worked up her determination, ChibiUsa’s hand 1.904 +moved to the right under Hotaru’s simple nightshirt, cupping the 1.905 +delicate skin of one of her small breasts. The catgirl let out a 1.906 +startled cross between a purr and a moan as ChibiUsa’s hand caressed 1.907 +the small mound. Hotaru’s arms wrapped around her mistress, pulling 1.908 +her closer as they continued to kiss. By now, whatever arguments 1.909 +ChibiUsa’s rational mind had tried were completely forgotten, lost in 1.910 +the swirling storm that had overtaken whatever conscious thought was 1.911 +left in her. There were wonderfully soft lips and piercing violet 1.912 +eyes and warm skin that she could feel through the thin fabric of her 1.913 +pajamas. And there was a joyous sense of relief, as if she had 1.914 +finally found what she had spent an eternity searching the world over 1.915 +for. “Hotaru-chan...” she whispered, her voice sounding different 1.916 +than she had last remembered. It was her voice, but it wasn’t at all 1.917 +controlled. It was only now that she had completely let go that she 1.918 +could see. 1.919 +Hotaru wasn’t completely aware of what was going on. Her mind had 1.920 +become clouded over as the kiss had overtaken her. She was vaguely 1.921 +aware of ChibiUsa’s hand in her blouse, of her fingers against her 1.922 +skin. That sent a blush all the way down to her shoulders. The 1.923 +thought that she was completely at her mistress’s mercy sent a shiver 1.924 +through her ivory body. She didn’t know if she had quite expected 1.925 +this or not. She knew that she belonged to the pink haired girl, but 1.926 +this hadn’t really crossed her mind. She would do anything for her, 1.927 +and she was only all too willing to follow along with her mistress’s 1.928 +wishes. 1.929 +Slowly pulling away, ChibiUsa tried desperately to catch her breath. 1.930 +She felt dizzy, her mind swirling in ecstasy as she sat back. Her pet 1.931 +slowly opened her eyes, watching her closely. Swallowing, ChibiUsa’s 1.932 +tongue moved around in her mouth, still used to the other’s presence 1.933 +from moments before. This certainly hadn’t been one of the reasons 1.934 +she had wanted a pet in the first place, but it was certainly a 1.935 +wonderful surprise at the moment. The teenage girl was extremely 1.936 +happy to have the closeness that her pet was all too willing to 1.937 +provide her with. But just as she was an inexperienced kisser, so too 1.938 +was she lost in exactly how to go about initiating anything sexual 1.939 +between the two of them. The catgirl sat still, completely docile. 1.940 +ChibiUsa sighed, her mind racing. Her mind finally settled on the 1.941 +kiss. “Hotaru-chan, I want you to take off your clothes,” she said 1.942 +quickly, trying to keep herself from blushing a deeper shade of 1.943 +crimson than she already was. The dark haired catgirl complied shyly, 1.944 +looking away from her mistress as she pulled the simple nightshirt 1.945 +off, sliding off the plain white panties a moment later. The pink 1.946 +haired owner watched all of this intently, taking in all of her 1.947 +feline companion in the dim moonlight that sparkled over her body. 1.948 +Reaching forward, ChibiUsa pulled the panties off of Hotaru’s foot, 1.949 +pulling at them slightly as she held them up. They had an 1.950 +intoxicating smell, and the knowledge of where they had just been 1.951 +only served to entice her even more. 1.952 +Hotaru sat on her knees in front of her mistress, watching shyly as 1.953 +she waited for whatever was to come next. This had certainly come as 1.954 +a surprise to her, but not as much as it could have been. She had 1.955 +known from the start that her mistress was completely in charge in 1.956 +whatever she decided to do. Hotaru was only her pet. She was to go 1.957 +along with whatever she wished. So she waited, nude in front of her 1.958 +mistress, her body barred for her. Her tail moved quickly, betraying 1.959 +the excitement that was building within her. Her animal instincts 1.960 +wanted to come into play and they were very difficult to suppress at 1.961 +the moment. She had the sudden urge to pounce the pink haired girl, 1.962 +but through force of will she managed to push the thought deep down. 1.963 +If this had all been a dream, ChibiUsa would not have been at all 1.964 +surprised. What did come as a surprise was the fact that she wasn’t 1.965 +waking up from all of this. Part of her was expecting it all to come 1.966 +to a close at any second. It had already gone much further than any 1.967 +of her other dreams had dared. She had finally received that 1.968 +intoxicating first kiss. Yet it was moving far beyond a simple kiss. 1.969 +Hotaru was simply stunning in the moonlight, her gorgeous body on 1.970 +display for ChibiUsa alone. Her fingers reached out slowly, brushing 1.971 +some of the catgirl’s dark hair away from her violet eyes. “Hotaru- 1.972 +chan... You’re so beautiful. Every inch of you,” she stated as her 1.973 +fingers trailed down Hotaru’s bare shoulder. The catgirl shivered at 1.974 +her touch, causing ChibiUsa to pull her hand away. Hotaru looked up 1.975 +suddenly, disappointment evident in her eyes. 1.976 +ChibiUsa held her hands in her lap, blushing deeper than she was 1.977 +sure she ever had before. Her pink hair hung past her shoulders, 1.978 +still messy from hours of sleep. The burning inside of her was now 1.979 +almost unbearable. She swallowed nervously as she tried to think. Her 1.980 +mind kept going to vivid images. Again, the feeling of Hotaru’s skin 1.981 +against her, the feel of her warm and slightly scratchy tongue 1.982 +entered her mind. “Hotaru-chan, I want you to... Umm…” Not being a 1.983 +particularly vulgar girl or even an overly sexual one, ChibiUsa was 1.984 +having a very difficult time describing what she meant to the catgirl 1.985 +in front of her. “I want you to lick me again...” she finished at 1.986 +last. She was about certain that she would pass out from blood loss 1.987 +around then. If her mother ever heard her say anything like that... 1.988 +She shook her head quickly, banishing the thought of her parents 1.989 +having any idea of what she was currently engaged in. The catgirl 1.990 +moved forward, her tongue brushing ChibiUsa’s cheek once more. The 1.991 +pink hair giggled a bit at that, but the giggle was shortlived as 1.992 +another blush overtook her. “No, I meant I want you to lick me 1.993 +somewhere else, Hotaru-chan,” she said softly. 1.994 +Seeing the curious look that the catgirl gave her, ChibiUsa reached 1.995 +down and pulled her pajama bottoms off. The cool air hit her bare 1.996 +skin instantly, but it did little to quell the firey sensation within 1.997 +her. Despite having watched Hotaru undress mere moments earlier, 1.998 +ChibiUsa was still embarrassed about being seen in only her pajama 1.999 +top and panties, even if she had undressed in front of her pet 1.1000 +countless times. It took her a moment before she could work up the 1.1001 +courage to pull her bunny stylized panties down her legs, leaving her 1.1002 +bare skin to the scrutiny of the dark haired catgirl. She sat there 1.1003 +for a long moment, her bare skin against the ruffled sheets that she 1.1004 +had been sitting on. Her legs parted slowly, her eyes never leaving 1.1005 +the catgirl sitting quietly in front of her. She swallowed nervously, 1.1006 +part of her wondering just what the hell she was doing. Disregarding 1.1007 +whatever part of her was protesting, ChibiUsa reached down past the 1.1008 +soft pink hair that marked only a small patch of the bare skin from 1.1009 +her waist down. Her crimson eyes remained on Hotaru as her fingers 1.1010 +held herself open, her blush intensifying as she saw Hotaru’s violet 1.1011 +eyes looking between her legs. Her first instinct was to close her 1.1012 +legs tightly, to grab for the pajama bottoms that she knew were 1.1013 +hopelessly out of her grasp. But she saw the Hotaru now understood 1.1014 +what she meant. The nude catgirl moved forward on all fours, quickly 1.1015 +moving between ChibiUsa’s spread legs. The pink haired girl’s heart 1.1016 +crashed thunderously in her chest as she waited. She could see 1.1017 +Hotaru’s midnight black hair and her equally dark ears followed by 1.1018 +her beautiful ivory back that led all the way down to her dark tail 1.1019 +that swished rapidly back and forth over Hotaru’s flank. That was the 1.1020 +last thing she saw before she felt Hotaru’s hot breath on her, the 1.1021 +catgirl having finally reached her destination. The pink haired girl 1.1022 +rested her head back on her pillow, staring up at the roof as she 1.1023 +felt Hotaru’s nose brush past her small patch of pink hair. 1.1024 +Hotaru was now running mostly on instinct, glad to let her animal 1.1025 +side take charge of herself for the time being. Her nose pushed into 1.1026 +her mistress’s soft pink hair, brushing the soft skin underneath. Her 1.1027 +ears perked up at the soft moan that elicited from her owner. Her 1.1028 +tail continued to dart back and forth as she leaned forward again, 1.1029 +her nose trailing downward across the hot skin. She was entirely 1.1030 +focussed on ChibiUsa, entranced by the situation she found herself 1.1031 +in. Her rough tongue began to trail along ChibiUsa’s soft petals the 1.1032 +same way she had trailed along her cheek not too long ago. She slowly 1.1033 +began to lick at the sweet skin, garnering more moans and movement 1.1034 +from the pink haired girl. She was so happy to be able to cause such 1.1035 +sounds from her mistress. She continued licking, her tongue moving 1.1036 +over ChibiUsa’s fingers as well as what lay between them. She 1.1037 +wrinkled her nose at the strange taste that replaced the salty taste 1.1038 +of ChibiUsa’s skin further up. After a moment, she began licking 1.1039 +further between her mistress’s fingers, enjoying the interesting new 1.1040 +taste. Her ears followed every moan, every sound that came from the 1.1041 +pink haired girl. ChibiUsa continued to shift along the bed, 1.1042 +squirming as Hotaru’s tongue continued along its path. Hotaru’s hands 1.1043 +rested on ChibiUsa’s warm thighs so she wouldn’t have to move around 1.1044 +as much to compensate for ChibiUsa’s movements. 1.1045 +Breathing heavily, ChibiUsa’s fingers of her free hand buried into 1.1046 +Hotaru’s soft dark hair, narrowly missing one of her ears. “Hotaru- 1.1047 +chan!” she whimpered, her scarlet eyes closing tightly as she felt 1.1048 +Hotaru’s warm tongue against her most sacred of treasures. Hotaru’s 1.1049 +tongue continued to caress her, the catgirl eagerly sending the pink 1.1050 +haired girl into the heights of some distant heaven. “Hotaru-chan...” 1.1051 +Her toes curled up in the sheets underneath her, her bare skin still 1.1052 +meeting Hotaru’s warm tongue. ChibiUsa moaned louder as the catgirl 1.1053 +found her pearl, her tongue sending sparks through her entire body. 1.1054 +Hotaru licked at it more intently at the sound of her moans, barring 1.1055 +her sharp teeth against it. ChibiUsa’s hands gripped onto the sheets 1.1056 +as she moaned one last time, her muscles tensing up as her whole body 1.1057 +felt like it was on fire. She collapsed to the sheets a short time 1.1058 +later, breathing heavily and even more disheveled than when she had 1.1059 +first awakened. Hotaru crawled up next to her, still naked, and 1.1060 +curled against her side. ChibiUsa smiled softly as she wrapped her 1.1061 +arms around the catgirl. “Hotaru-chan...” she whispered softly, 1.1062 +kissing her pet with what little strength she still had. Hotaru 1.1063 +smiled back, watching her intently. ChibiUsa fell asleep to those 1.1064 +endless violet eyes and Hotaru’s warm purr. 1.1065 + 1.1066 + ChibiUsa felt herself unable to concentrate at all during class 1.1067 +several days later. Her head lay against her cold desk as she school 1.1068 +day continued to drag on like molasses pouring slowly from a jar. Her 1.1069 +mind was a jumble of thoughts, all struggling for dominance in her 1.1070 +confused mind. The flurry of conflicting information was too much for 1.1071 +her, but she didn’t no how to deal with it all. She had lost interest 1.1072 +in Elios a short time ago, her crush disappearing as quickly as it 1.1073 +had appeared. She blamed it at first on the fickleness of such 1.1074 +things, but that didn’t exactly fit. Crushes had come and gone 1.1075 +before, but usually not with such sudden surety. Maybe she was just 1.1076 +becoming more mature, realizing when her feelings were merely the 1.1077 +product of an overactive teenage mind. Which was true in some way, 1.1078 +she now saw. Elios had been a nice guy and all, but not someone that 1.1079 +she could spend an eternity with. 1.1080 +Which brought her to her next group of thoughts. Who did she want to 1.1081 +spend eternity with? That question produced a rather clear image, but 1.1082 +she quickly dismissed it, trying to keep her fear from overcoming her 1.1083 +panicked heart. ChibiUsa hadn’t ever had any interest in girls in the 1.1084 +first place, and this was infinitely more confusing than finding out 1.1085 +she was in love with one of the female members of the species. They 1.1086 +weren’t even of the same species. ‘How do you fall in love with your 1.1087 +pet cat?’ her mind asked for what had to be the thousandth time. And 1.1088 +once again she came up blank. 1.1089 + Her mind had been consumed with thoughts of the pale catgirl as of 1.1090 +late, drowning her in their intensity. She had tried to quell the 1.1091 +rising feelings at first, but they quickly became too much for her to 1.1092 +hold back. They bubbled up around the barriers she had set in place, 1.1093 +knocking them down as if they had never been there at all. The 1.1094 +growing warmth in her heart showed through in everything she did, 1.1095 +pouring forth whenever she was with her pet. What had at first 1.1096 +frightened her now merely confused her. She was trying to understand 1.1097 +just what had happened, where the distinction had been made. When had 1.1098 +friendship, the relationship between the pet and her mistress, turned 1.1099 +to love? And what did she say to Hotaru about it? This would have 1.1100 +been easier if she was younger. In her childlike innocence, she had 1.1101 +quickly come to decisions regarding matters of the heart, moving on a 1.1102 +pure and simple instinct that had always served her well. That same 1.1103 +instinct that bothered her whenever Hotaru would call her mistress. 1.1104 +She wasn’t just a pet. That’s what this all boiled down to. Hotaru 1.1105 +was far more than some simple object of amusement. She was ChibiUsa’s 1.1106 +best friend, something that she would have to be careful not to 1.1107 +mention around the possessive Ruruna and Naruru. And it wasn’t the 1.1108 +same as with Momoko. They could talk and she liked spending time with 1.1109 +the peach girl, but it was nowhere near as captivating as the 1.1110 +catgirl’s presence. 1.1111 + ChibiUsa tried to cloak her true feelings behind a happy façade 1.1112 +that dazzled most people. Hiding her feelings had always been second 1.1113 +nature. Her father was an important politician. She couldn’t be going 1.1114 +around like an open book. But often her heart would push off the 1.1115 +boundaries and restrictions she laid on it, pulling her in all sorts 1.1116 +of different directions. This had always been frustrating for her, 1.1117 +this contradictory force pulling her in two directions at once. It 1.1118 +sometimes left her feeling empty inside, struggling with the feelings 1.1119 +in her heart and the painting she tried to portray to the world. Did 1.1120 +any of her friends really know her at all? Hotaru did. Those sad eyes 1.1121 +saw deep inside of her, as if she could see directly into ChibiUsa’s 1.1122 +soul. The pink haired girl shuddered at the thought, remembering the 1.1123 +feeling of those endless violet orbs on her, asking why she lied so 1.1124 +much about how she felt. 1.1125 + It was with this dual nature that ChibiUsa found herself struggling 1.1126 +once again. The fact that Hotaru was her pet was becoming less and 1.1127 +less important. It seemed silly to use that as an excuse. That she 1.1128 +meant so much to her immediately nullified the little problem of 1.1129 +Hotaru being a catgirl. Her heart was beginning to shred through the 1.1130 +curtains that had hidden it, and it was difficult for her to maintain 1.1131 +any semblance of a mask in Hotaru’s presence. Instinct and rational 1.1132 +thought grappled in the recesses of her mind, struggling between 1.1133 +suppressing her feelings and following her heart. As was so often the 1.1134 +case, ChibiUsa’s instincts eventually came out on top. 1.1135 + Pink hair bobbed as ChibiUsa heard the bell ring. Finally! Grabbing 1.1136 +her bunny bookbag, she hurried out of class. She had things she 1.1137 +needed to do. She left her confusion at her desk, determined to see 1.1138 +where the path in her heart led. 1.1139 + 1.1140 + Papers surrounded Hotaru’s barely clad form as she sat on the floor 1.1141 +in ChibiUsa’s father’s room. She wasn’t supposed to be in there, but 1.1142 +she had grown curious. And, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the 1.1143 +cat. Hotaru had finally found it almost impossible to ignore the 1.1144 +dark, almost imposing room that she had normally avoided. She had to 1.1145 +find the answers. And there they were, in black and white in front of 1.1146 +her. 1.1147 + It had started simply enough. That pleasant scent that signified 1.1148 +her mistress always had a strong affect on her. All of her senses 1.1149 +would come alert when it reached her nose, catlike instinct going 1.1150 +crazy. It worked well with the rest of the pink haired girl’s 1.1151 +presence to drive her completely crazy. It was something she enjoyed, 1.1152 +but a small thought had begun to nag at the back of her mind. She 1.1153 +knew that smell and that reaction from somewhere else. Well, not that 1.1154 +exact smell and not that exact reaction. There was something in 1.1155 +specific about ChibiUsa that got her heart pounding. But that tensing 1.1156 +of her muscles and that almost maddening thought to pounce on the 1.1157 +pink haired girl seemed familiar. She had finally come searching for 1.1158 +answers. 1.1159 + The strange feelings weren’t the only reason she had gone looking 1.1160 +for proof to her suspicions. She had to ashamedly admit that she had 1.1161 +a more selfish reason. She was in love with her mistress. She knew 1.1162 +that now. Denial had set in stubbornly at first. Hotaru’s broken 1.1163 +heart had not wanted to allow herself to get hurt again after all of 1.1164 +the pain her life had afforded her. It had tried to escape that by 1.1165 +denying the feelings in her heart. ChibiUsa was her mistress, so of 1.1166 +course she was the most important thing to her. She was supposed to 1.1167 +feel strongly about her mistress. But that wasn’t the full truth. 1.1168 +Watching the pink haired girl while she slept, waiting anxiously 1.1169 +everyday for her to return home, wanting nothing more than to be with 1.1170 +her constantly, it all burned too brightly in her heart. Nothing she 1.1171 +had read could have prepared her for the tumultuous feelings that 1.1172 +sent her heart reeling. It wasn’t a happy realization by any means. 1.1173 +When she had discovered that she was in love with her mistress, she 1.1174 +had cried for many hours until her tears had finally given up on her 1.1175 +completely. Pain had wracked her lonely heart because she knew she 1.1176 +could never be with her mistress. They could never be together. She 1.1177 +would always be alone, watching her mistress from afar. She was only 1.1178 +her pet, after all. She was nothing more than her plaything. This was 1.1179 +her last hope, that perhaps she could prove that they could be 1.1180 +together, that she could be with her mistress always. Of course, she 1.1181 +wouldn’t be her mistress anymore if she was right, would she? 1.1182 + The answer she had been searching for lay written on the paper in 1.1183 +front of her, painfully obvious yet carefully hidden. ChibiUsa was 1.1184 +not the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino. She was, in fact, not human 1.1185 +at all. She was a pet as well. Or at least, she had been. The 1.1186 +Tsukino’s had been devastated when their first daughter had died 1.1187 +during childbirth. Mrs. Tsukino couldn’t have any other children. The 1.1188 +couple so wanted a child, but they couldn’t have one of their own. So 1.1189 +they had purchased a very young pet, a pink haired bunnygirl. They 1.1190 +had her tail and ears surgically removed while she was still a baby 1.1191 +and had raised her as their own child. 1.1192 + The truth hadn’t been entirely surprising to Hotaru, though she had 1.1193 +wondered if she was hoping for the impossible. If ChibiUsa was a 1.1194 +bunnygirl, then it meant that they could be together. It meant that 1.1195 +if ChibiUsa did return her feelings as she suspected, it would be all 1.1196 +right for them to be in love. There wouldn’t be any social stigmas to 1.1197 +worry about if two pets were in love. She wasn’t just in love with 1.1198 +ChibiUsa because she was her mistress. Their love wasn’t forbidden. 1.1199 +This filled Hotaru with a profound sense of relief. The familiar 1.1200 +feeling finally had a memory attached to it. She had first seen a 1.1201 +bunnygirl back in a petshop. She had hissed at the girl and tried to 1.1202 +pounce on her, but she hadn’t been able to get out of her cage. So 1.1203 +part of ChibiUsa’s scent had alerted that catlike part of her mind to 1.1204 +the bunny aspect of her mistress. Her bare toes curled happily in the 1.1205 +carpet as she purred. Yes, she couldn’t wait to see ChibiUsa. She 1.1206 +would tell her everything and they would be together forever. She 1.1207 +hoped. Part of her was worried about the pink haired girl’s reaction 1.1208 +to it. What would she think? Would her heritage frighten her? 1.1209 + The front door opened, alerting Hotaru to the return of her 1.1210 +mistress. Her heart pounded deafeningly in her chest as she held the 1.1211 +paper to her chest. She still wasn’t sure what to do. But she knew 1.1212 +she wanted to be with her mistress above all else. A strange scent 1.1213 +startled her out of her thoughts as the steps grew closer. That 1.1214 +didn’t smell like ChibiUsa. Her violet eyes shot towards the door as 1.1215 +ChibiUsa’s father entered the room. Her heart practically stopped. 1.1216 + “What the hell are you doing?” he asked in shock as he surveyed the 1.1217 +room. His daughter’s pet catgirl was sitting in the middle of some of 1.1218 +his most important papers, holding one tightly to a chest. Noticing 1.1219 +ChibiUsa’s fake birth certificate lying next to her bare leg, he felt 1.1220 +panic easing it’s way out from his stomach. He had gotten home early 1.1221 +and had decided to hurry home and get some rest after the recent late 1.1222 +nights he had been pulling. But he certainly hadn’t expected to see 1.1223 +this. ‘Calm down,’ he commanded himself. ‘Be rational. She’s only a 1.1224 +catgirl. She can’t read. She doesn’t know what any of it is. Just 1.1225 +scold her and hide those papers somewhere else.’ 1.1226 + Hotaru stared up at the graying politician with concern in her 1.1227 +violet eyes. She held the paper even tighter as he came forward. 1.1228 +Steeling her courage, the shy catgirl met his eyes. “She’s a 1.1229 +bunnygirl, isn’t she?” her soft voice whispered. His forward advance 1.1230 +stopped immediately. “She was a pet, wasn’t she?” 1.1231 + “Oh my God...” Panic began to pump quicker through his body as he 1.1232 +stared at the catgirl, her deep violet eyes meeting his in curiosity. 1.1233 +He idly wondered if he was about to have a heart attack as his heart 1.1234 +beat furiously in his chest. “You can read..” This couldn’t happen. 1.1235 +Some damned catgirl couldn’t have found out his daughter’s dark, 1.1236 +dirty little secret. He would not let his entire career, his entire 1.1237 +reputation, his happy family get torn apart by some loathsome animal. 1.1238 +He could lose everything if this got out. His career would be hurt 1.1239 +beyond repair if it got out that his daughter was a bunnygirl. 1.1240 + Nodding slowly, Hotaru looked down at the paper in her arms. “You 1.1241 +never told her. You hid it from her so she wouldn’t know. And you let 1.1242 +her get a pet of her own. It’s almost ironic. A pet owning a pet.” 1.1243 +She smiled weakly, showing her fangs. To ChibiUsa’s father, she 1.1244 +looked like some hellish demon. “I understand. You just wanted to 1.1245 +protect her. But I have to tell her. She has to know who she is.” 1.1246 + “Who.. Who the fuck are you to decide something like that..? You’re 1.1247 +just some damned pet... I’m her fucking father.. You have no right 1.1248 +telling her that.” His hands were shaking now, an irrational rage 1.1249 +building inside. How dare this cat come in and try to ruin his life? 1.1250 +How dare she exert power over him? She was only a pet. 1.1251 + Hotaru shook her head quickly, dark hair flying just above her bare 1.1252 +shoulders. “No, you don’t understand...” her quiet voice was barely 1.1253 +above a whisper. “I... I have to tell her.. She needs to know... 1.1254 +Because.. Because I love her. So she has to know that she’s a pet, 1.1255 +too..” Her violet eyes grew more focused as she stood up. She felt a 1.1256 +cold determination growing within her. She would be with the one she 1.1257 +loved. She would give her whole heart to ChibiUsa. But the only way 1.1258 +they could be together was if she told her who she really was. It was 1.1259 +the only way that her mistress could love her back, if she knew that 1.1260 +she was a pet. 1.1261 + Blinding pain erupted through Hotaru as an insanely loud noise 1.1262 +filled her ears. An acrid smell filled her nostrils as she fell 1.1263 +backwards. Her eyes barely caught a glimpse of the gleaming metal 1.1264 +object in the man’s hands as she collapsed like a rag doll to the 1.1265 +floor. She felt as if the air had all been forced out of her in a 1.1266 +split second. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch her 1.1267 +breath as she lay panting on the floor, gasping fruitlessly. A 1.1268 +coppery taste invaded her mind as she began to cough uncontrollably. 1.1269 +Tears spilt down her cheeks as she kept trying to catch her breath. 1.1270 +What was happening? Why did her lungs burn so badly? She could dimly 1.1271 +hear him over her, angry words laced with venom assaulting her as she 1.1272 +lay helplessly on the floor. Her hand weakly grabbed at her chest 1.1273 +only to find her simple blouse soaked with blood. It continued to 1.1274 +poor out onto her shaking hand as her heart pumped desperately. He 1.1275 +had shot her through the lung and she was rapidly bleeding to death. 1.1276 +“ChibiUsa-sama...” her voice got out before breaking. Fire burnt 1.1277 +through her side as she felt his foot kick her in the ribs. 1.1278 + “You fucking bitch!! Do you think she’s going to save you? Do you 1.1279 +think that I’d let you ruin my life?! My career?! That I’d let you 1.1280 +come in and take my baby girl away from me?!” He ran a hand through 1.1281 +his graying hair as he tried to catch his breath. She couldn’t hurt 1.1282 +him anymore. The vicious demon lay dying on his bedroom floor. All he 1.1283 +would have to do now would be to get rid of her and this whole 1.1284 +painful episode would be over with. If ChibiUsa missed her pet cat, 1.1285 +he would just go buy her a new one. Preferably a deaf and mute one 1.1286 +this time. He heard the catgirl whimper his daughter’s name again on 1.1287 +the floor and drove his foot into her stomach, shutting her up. 1.1288 + Hotaru couldn’t see anymore, her vision finally fading out as she 1.1289 +lay on the floor. Her body still ached horribly, but it was becoming 1.1290 +distant, as if it were someone else’s pain. The room was gone, left 1.1291 +far behind. Her body was slowly starting to slip away as she came to 1.1292 +the dim realization that she was dying. Her heart cried out in 1.1293 +anguish as she found that ChibiUsa could not come to her rescue. No! 1.1294 +She didn’t want to die yet. She had wanted to die many other times in 1.1295 +her life, praying to be with her mother again, but she had a reason 1.1296 +to live this time. In her mind’s eye, she saw the pink haired girl, 1.1297 +smiling serenely, her arms behind her back. She had to live. She had 1.1298 +to see ChibiUsa again. Struggling to her knees, she coughed up more 1.1299 +blood onto the already soiled carpet. Yes, she would be with her 1.1300 +mistress. Forever. Despite the pain, she thought she might be able to 1.1301 +make it to her feet after all. This man would not stand in the way of 1.1302 +her heart. “Chi...” she got out weakly before another gunshot rang 1.1303 +out. Hotaru’s lifeless body fell in a heap on the floor. 1.1304 + “Oh God!! Please no...” The politician turned at the sound of his 1.1305 +daughter’s voice. The gun fell from cold fingers, clattering to the 1.1306 +floor near the catgirl’s dead body. He reached out slowly, shaking 1.1307 +his head. He realized dimly that his fingers were shaking. “ChibiUsa- 1.1308 +chan, I... I had to... She was... She was going to destroy you, my 1.1309 +little girl...” his words came out shakily as he watched his daughter 1.1310 +hurry to Hotaru’s side. 1.1311 + “Hotaru-chan!!! Hotaru-chan!!” ChibiUsa cried out helplessly. She 1.1312 +clutched onto the catgirl’s still warm body, holding it tightly 1.1313 +against herself, praying that she would move in her grasp. “Please... 1.1314 +Please say something.. Please do something... Anything!! Hotaru- 1.1315 +chan!!! No!! Don’t leave me like this!!! Say something!!!” she 1.1316 +demanded, shaking the girl in her arms. Hotaru lay limply against 1.1317 +her, unmoving. ChibiUsa burst out into fresh tears, sobbing 1.1318 +uncontrollably. “You can’t leave me... I.. I love you... I love you, 1.1319 +Hotaru-chan.. I said it.. You mean everything to me... So open your 1.1320 +eyes.. Oh please, just open your eyes.. I mean it.. I mean it with 1.1321 +all my heart.. I love you...” Her fingers clutched desperately onto 1.1322 +the pale girl’s skin as her body shook with each breath the pink 1.1323 +haired girl managed between sobs. Her skirt and blouse were now 1.1324 +soaked with blood, a stark contrast with how neat and clean they were 1.1325 +mere moments before. The flowers she had bought Hotaru lay near the 1.1326 +doorway, forgotten instantly as she had seen her fallen love. What 1.1327 +had happened? What had gone so horrendously wrong? She had finally 1.1328 +given in to the inevitable pull of her heart only to find the girl 1.1329 +that lay at the center of her heart dead in her father’s bedroom. Why 1.1330 +was this world so cruel? Why would it take such a gentle, shy spirit 1.1331 +away? 1.1332 +Bitter tears fell down ChibiUsa’s cheeks, dripping onto Hotaru’s 1.1333 +pale cheeks as ChibiUsa cupped her chin, looking into her lifeless 1.1334 +violet eyes. “Hotaru-chan..” Her father was mumbling something, but 1.1335 +she couldn’t hear him. Her thoughts were too dashed to concentrate on 1.1336 +anything but the broken girl in front of her. “Hotaru-chan..?” she 1.1337 +asked again, her pink lashes throwing tears as she blinked them 1.1338 +furiously in an attempt to see through the burning veil they formed. 1.1339 +Her lover looked back at her blankly, vacantly. She wasn’t there 1.1340 +anymore. The spark inside of her that had been ChibiUsa’s pet catgirl 1.1341 +was gone, already having fled to somewhere far away. “I love you..” 1.1342 +ChibiUsa whispered as she began to cry hopelessly, hugging Hotaru 1.1343 +with all of her strength. 1.1344 +“She was going to take you away from me, ChibiUsa-chan.. I had no 1.1345 +choice. I couldn’t let her take you away.. I couldn’t let her ruin 1.1346 +everything for us.. I’ll buy you a new catgirl.. I’ll let you get any 1.1347 +pet that you want.. All right, honey? You can get whatever you want.. 1.1348 +She was just a pet anyway.. No big loss..” He turned to his daughter, 1.1349 +trying to concentrate. He hadn’t expected her to get home. He was 1.1350 +just going to tell her that Hotaru had run away, that she had simply 1.1351 +left when he had accidentally left the door open. But this made 1.1352 +things infinitely more complicated. His eyes caught on something 1.1353 +shiny as ChibiUsa reached out and wrapped her fingers around it. It 1.1354 +took a moment for it to click in his mind, the gun clicking back at 1.1355 +the same moment. “No..” he whispered breathlessly. 1.1356 +The cold metal of the barrel pushed painfully past cotton candy pink 1.1357 +hair as ChibiUsa felt it bite into her skin. Her tears still fell 1.1358 +silently down her cheeks, but she wasn’t shaking anymore. She shifted 1.1359 +her other arm, holding Hotaru warmly against her. This was it. It was 1.1360 +over. She couldn’t live without Hotaru. That was part of what had 1.1361 +made her realize that she loved the catgirl. Her life was incomplete 1.1362 +without her. So she wouldn’t continue down life’s path alone. She 1.1363 +couldn’t. Even if her body lived, she was already dead. This life was 1.1364 +over. She felt the trigger tense under her finger as she pulled it. 1.1365 +It kicked in her hand and fell to the floor as she slumped against 1.1366 +Hotaru. She actually thought she heard the gunshot, but that couldn’t 1.1367 +possibly be true. She died the second she pulled the trigger. 1.1368 +Everything faded to black as she saw the roses lying discarded by the 1.1369 +door, her lifeless body leaning against Hotaru’s. 1.1370 +Hotaru’s smiling face and vibrant violet eyes greeted ChibiUsa as 1.1371 +gun smoke filled the air and two girls lay dead and entangled 1.1372 +together in a lover’s embrace back in a room far away. 1.1373 + 1.1374 + 1.1375 \ No newline at end of file