Hello! ^-^ This story stars ChibiUsa & Hotaru and is set in an

 alternate reality. I’ve been wanting to write something about this

 theme of a slave and her owner falling in love for quite a while now.

 I’d like to thank Boco the Chokobo for all of the wonderful ideas

 that went into making this fanfic. ^-^ This story deals with some

 adult issues, so please read responsibly. The characters belong to

 Naoko Takeuchi and I’m merely borrowing my favorite couple, though

 I’m sure they wish I wasn’t with all the stuff I put them through. ^-

 ^;; All of the situations and this alternate reality are my own, so

 please don’t take them without permission. I borrowed many other

 characters for cameos, so if you can spot them all, drop me an e-

 mail. ^-^ Or if you just like the story or have any comments about

 it, I would love to hear them. ^-^

 

 

 Finally Free

 by Amazoness Duo

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 

 The large stone building was crowded with people. Bodies crammed

 next to bodies as everyone struggled to get past, trying to peer into

 the brightly lit cages at those trapped within. The smell of people

 permeated the air, the sound of voices droning out other voices until

 it became a nearly deafening roar. The new shipment had come in and

 was on display for all to see. Girls and boys in cages all throughout

 the building were being poked and prodded by the vast throng of

 customers. All searching for something in particular. 

 	It was organized chaos at its finest. Like some amalgamation of a

 carnival freak show and a slave auction, people came and went in

 densely packed lines, going from cage to cage. They would inspect the

 creature before them for a bit, studying them for more than a few

 seconds if they were interested. Then they would move on or get the

 attention of one of the well dressed employees about buying one of

 the half naked ‘animals’ in the cages. People came and went, cages

 opening and closing as the employees went from one perspective

 customer to another.

 	There was a wave of fear for all of those in the cages. Most were

 frightened out of their minds, hundreds of people looking them over

 like furniture. Curiosity gnawed at each of them as their fates

 seemed to hang in the balance. And there was nothing they could do

 but wait. The small, steel cages were much too tiny to move freely,

 much less turn around in their confines. And so they could do nothing

 but watch and pray to whomever may be listening that things would

 work out. That this nightmare would soon end. 

 	In contrast to the frightened thoughts of those in the tiny cages,

 those outside had a general sense of excitement. A certain electric

 thrill ran through the air as they continued their inspection. This

 was an altogether amazing event for most, the sheer amount of choices

 mind boggling. Children giggled playfully as they stared into the

 cages, poking in with stubby fingers and whatever else they may have

 with them while absentminded adults paid little to no attention, too

 busy with their own gawking at the prisoners. 

 It was in this jumble of anarchy and confusion that a pink haired

 girl made her way along the rows upon rows of cages. Rather petite of

 stature, she didn’t stand out much in the crowd. Her long pink hair

 was done up in two cones, the rest falling to either side and

 reaching just above her shoulders. Her red party dress with gold trim

 felt a little out of place next to the hardly clothed people in the

 cages, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was just as ecstatic as any

 of the others there, if not more so. Oh, how she had longed for this

 for so long now. Having just turned sixteen, she was now given the

 chance to pick out her birthday present. But what to pick? They all

 looked so cute! It was difficult to decide what she wanted. 

 	Peering into a cage, the pink haired girl’s crimson eyes followed

 the movements of a small dark haired girl. Smiling sweetly, she moved

 closer, trying to get a better look. Long, dark wings unfurled from

 the dark haired girl’s back as she came closer. Her long, dark hair

 fluttered behind her as her aquamarine eyes peered out fearfully. The

 wings began beating faster as she tried to escape the small cage, but

 she again failed. With each failure came the sickening revelation

 that she would never be free again. ChibiUsa noted with some dismay

 that her wings had been clipped. Even if she was free, she wouldn’t

 be able to fly. 

 	“Poor girl,” ChibiUsa whispered, holding onto one of the cold steel

 bars. The girl inside continued to flutter her wings in agitation,

 but their beating slowly began to diminish. Drawing her knees up to

 her chest, she seemed to be giving in to the futility of it all. 

 	It took ChibiUsa a moment to realize that someone was yelling at

 her to get back. Glancing around, it took her a moment to spot the

 man. He was behind the cage and pulling it back out of the way.

 Watching it curiously, she spotted a slightly younger blue haired

 girl, her long pigtails trailing behind her as she smiled into the

 cage. 

 	“Oh, she’s so cute! I’m going to name her Misao. You’re coming home

 with me, aren’t you, Misao?” the blue haired girl asked happily. Of

 course, asking the pet was pointless. It wasn’t up to her at all. But

 the girl was obviously pleased with the bird girl that she had picked

 out. 

 	ChibiUsa smiled and continued on, glancing in cages as she did so.

 She was glad that the bird girl had gotten an owner. But that still

 didn’t help her decide who she should get for a pet. Her father was

 somewhere around here, but she had lost him a while ago. It hadn’t

 been hard, moving through the vast sea of people. She just wanted

 some time to pick out a pet for herself without someone looking over

 her shoulder. She wanted this pet to be all her own. 

 	Brushing back pink bangs, the teenager walked alone through the

 crowd, looking in cage after cage of pets for sale. She saw another

 bird girl, with tan skin and coppery hair, long dark wings fluttering

 uselessly. Next to her was an ice blue haired girl, but she couldn’t

 quite figure out what type of animal she was supposed to be. It took

 her a moment to realize that she was in a tank rather than a cage,

 water surrounding her as she tried to swim in the enclosure. The

 scales on her tail were all beautifully iridescent, reflecting the

 bright lights of the building in rainbow colors. In the next two

 cages were a leather clad cat and a white haired mouse, respectively.

 The mouse was cowering in a corner of her cage as the cat hissed

 loudly at her, raking long finger nail-like claws against the bars.

 Next to the mouse in yet another cage was a green haired frog girl

 who was dozing peacefully. And even further on was a simply gorgeous

 woman with beautiful rainbow colored butterfly wings. She seemed to

 be a little older than a good deal of the pets there. 

 	Many had caught her interest, but none had really been the one that

 ChibiUsa wanted. She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for

 herself, but she knew that she would find it if she only kept looking. 

 	Passing by a butterfly boy and a pony boy, ChibiUsa paused for only

 a moment before moving on. Someone already seemed interested in them,

 a boy a little older than her, and she was looking for something else

 anyway. She just couldn’t tell what exactly. 

 	Fingers rolling along the edge of a cage, the crimson eyed girl

 relished the cold feeling beneath her fingers. The room was almost

 unbearably hot, the air humid. She could hear the loud sounds of the

 air conditioning in the background, but it just didn’t work with all

 of these bodies back so closely together. Deciding to ignore it, her

 other hand wiped across her sweat drenched brow. 

 	A low growl startled her out of her thoughts, drawing the young

 consumer’s attention to the cage near her. With a quick motion, the

 tiger that was in there lunged towards her fingers. Shock pumped

 through her small body as her hand jerked back reflexively. A scaly

 fish boy began laughing at her as she passed him and another hawk

 boy. She resolved to be more careful, holding the hand that had been

 lunged at protectively. 

 	Just what was she looking for? What type of pet did she want? She

 couldn’t tell. A smile graced soft lips as she walked past what

 looked to be a family of cats. The parents looked to be a slender

 female cat with long dark hair and a male cat with only slightly

 shorter white hair. The kitten was adorable, with short, dark violet

 hair done up in odangos near her ears. This one seemed a lot tamer

 than the tiger. Large curious eyes looked up at her, as if they were

 studying ChibiUsa in the same way she was being studied herself.

 ChibiUsa giggled softly and scratched behind the kitten’s ear,

 hearing a distinct purr in reply. “You’re just a sweetie, aren’t you?

 I’m sure someone’s gonna get you soon.” She giggled again as the purr

 grew louder. Slowly pulling her hand away, she took another step

 forward, glancing back at the cage and smiling for a moment before

 heading forward. 

 	And suddenly, she spotted something moving near the back of what

 she had thought was an empty cage. Taking a few steps closer, she

 hunched over to try and get a better look inside the cage. In the

 back, there was a scared looking girl, her skin as pale as a sheet of

 paper. Her long black tail moved slowly, her knees drawn up to her

 chest. The dark ears that jutted out of her raven hair twitched

 occasionally. Large, violet eyes watched ChibiUsa cautiously. It

 looked like she was trying to fade away into the shadows at the back

 of the cage, the poor kitten looking helpless in the tiny steal cage.

 Crimson eyes brightened as the newly christened sixteen year old girl

 leaned forward to get a better look. The kitten didn’t make a sound,

 only the movement of the dark tail and violet eyes showing that she

 was awake. She looked so shy, holding herself like that. So lonely.

 So cute.

 	ChibiUsa smiled happily as an employee came by to see if she needed

 help. “I want this one!!”

 

 	“So what are you going to name her?” ChibiUsa’s father asked

 curiously as they drove home a short time later. His pink haired

 daughter sat in back with her new pet, still holding the catgirl’s

 leash. The catgirl really didn’t seem to be doing much, just watching

 the events from her large, scared violet eyes.

 	ChibiUsa tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, watching her

 feline companion closely. She was still so excited to finally have

 her birthday present. And what a birthday present at that! Her very

 own catgirl... And such a cute one, too.  It was a thrilling

 experience. 

 	Pink hair flew around ChibiUsa’s head as she shook it, trying to

 clear her thoughts. She couldn’t just let the catgirl run around

 nameless. But she didn’t want to name her just anything. Those sad,

 violet eyes and her beautiful ivory skin made her gorgeous to look

 at. She needed a lovely name to go with it. But what would fit this

 skittish kitten? And with such a lonely, haunting feel about her, it

 was hard to find something suiting. “I think I’m going to name her

 Hotaru,” she said at last. 

 	Her father raised an eyebrow, looking back at his daughter through

 the rearview mirror. “You’re going to name your pet cat ‘firefly’?”

 	ChibiUsa pouted, scooting closer to the catgirl. Hotaru tried to

 scoot away, but just managed to wedge herself against the door.

 “Yeah, because I think it fits her perfectly. She has a real gothic

 beauty to her. And she looks so sad. So I like the name.” She smiled

 sweetly at the catgirl, who looked down quickly. 

 	Laughing, her father turned a corner. “That’ll change once you get

 her home and well fed. Then she’ll be a much happier cat. She looks

 pretty skinny, so that’s most likely the problem.”

 	Nodding thoughtfully, ChibiUsa reached forward, smiling gently at

 Hotaru. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’m taking you home. You’ll be

 happy there.” Her fingers brushed through the catgirl’s soft hair.

 Hotaru closed her eyes and tried to pull further away, but there was

 nowhere to go. Her pointed cat ears twitched slightly. Seeing the

 catgirl like this was a little disturbing. She had seen how happy

 pets usually looked with their owners, but this catgirl looked

 entirely withdrawn, afraid of the situation. It did make sense that

 she would be scared. She was still young and probably hadn’t been

 anywhere else before. But that just strengthened ChibiUsa’s resolve

 to get closer to her new pet, to make it feel comfortable at home.

 She was her kitten now, so she'd make sure she was happier. 

 	Exuberance filled the genki pink haired girl as she watched her

 pet. Finally having one, she was extremely pleased with her choice in

 a birthday present. She was just so cute. And all hers. She had

 promised to take good care of her before her parents would let her

 have one. She was the perfect birthday present, a real live catgirl.

 And to think that she hadn’t had any idea of what to ask for for her

 birthday until a few weeks ago. 

 

 	Sitting in the park weeks earlier, ChibiUsa had been pondering the

 same question over and over for the past few days. Her sixteenth

 birthday was nearly upon her and she still didn’t know what she

 wanted. It was a big stepping stone and her parents seemed pretty

 thrilled. A big party was planned with all of her friends and family.

 But she couldn’t think of a thing that she wanted. Little things that

 didn’t matter, but nothing that seemed to fit the occasion. So she

 had gone shopping with Ruruna and Naruru to clear her mind and wound

 up broke. Again. They had gone on to another antique shop, but she

 just wanted to rest her aching legs. They’d been shopping since they

 had met up hours earlier. So she took her break to set her mind back

 on the question at hand. 

 	An elegant looking girl around ChibiUsa’s age with milky white skin

 and long dark gray hair drew her attention. Not because of her

 astonishing beauty, which was certainly evident in the midday light,

 but because of what she was holding. A long, pink leash that was

 linked to the collar around another girl’s neck. The other girl had

 short brunette hair and was walking on all fours across the grass.

 The pale girl seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, following

 after the girl on the leash with a camcorder in her other hand. It

 was a very peculiar sight to behold. 

 	“Good girl, Sakura-chan! You’re such a sweet puppy. You just work

 all of that energy out, darling. My cute, genki Sakura-chan can’t be

 kept in a house all day,” the mistress said in a soft, melodious

 voice. It wasn’t until then that ChibiUsa noticed the large, floppy

 ears on the brunette’s head or the short furry tail just above her

 tail bone. So that was a pet! She watched in astonishment as the

 puppygirl continued to run around on the grass, the dark haired

 heiress holding onto the leash and following the puppy’s motions with

 her camcorder. “Fetch, Sakura-chan!” Pulling a small pink stick out

 of her purse, the woman tossed it in front of her pet. Sakura hurried

 to get it, biting down on it and bringing it back to her mistress.

 The dark haired girl knelt down, scratching behind the puppy’s ears

 and smiling delightedly. “Oh, you’re such a good girl.”

 The brunette’s eyes closed, her tail wagging happily. 

 	“Wow!” Getting to her still sore feet quickly, ChibiUsa approached

 the two girls. “That’s amazing! Is she your pet? She’s so cute!”

 Seeing the puppygirl up close, ChibiUsa marveled at the site. A mix

 between a normal girl and a puppy, she made an adorable pet. 

 	Stormy blue eyes shimmered as the woman nodded. A bright smile

 crossed her face as she continued petting Sakura. “Hai, she is. Her

 name is Sakura-chan. I’ve had her for years now. Her mother was a

 show winner. Isn’t she sweet? She’s the sweetest puppy imaginable.” 

 	Sakura was starting to blush from the praise, but her tail still

 wagged happily as her mistress’s fingers continued playing through

 her hair. “Hi,” She said, a little shyly. 

 	ChibiUsa blinked in surprise, nearly falling back in the grass.

 “She can talk, too? She must be really talented.”

 	“Oh, she can talk really well. And about the cutest things. And

 yes, she’s very talented. I have tapes and tapes full of all the cute

 things Sakura-chan can do,” the woman said, still smiling her

 trademark smile. 

 The puppy girl was leaning against her by now and still blushing a

 deep red. “Tomoyo-sama...” She looked like this happened often, but

 that she still hadn’t really gotten used to it. Sighing, she started

 licking at Tomoyo’s palm while her mistress continued talking with

 the girl that looked like a bunny. She’d chase her, but Tomoyo

 probably wouldn’t want her to. And besides, she really didn’t feel up

 for a chase right now.

 	“She’s so kawaii!! I bet she makes a terrific pet,” ChibiUsa said,

 still amazed by the girl on the leash. What a wonderful idea. She had

 no idea pets were so exciting. Her shoulders slumped slightly as a

 sudden realization hit her. The pale girl did look remarkably

 wealthy. “She probably cost a fortune, though.” There went that idea.

 She’d have to find something else to get for her birthday. And it

 seemed like such a good idea, too!

 	Tomoyo shook her head, giggling softly at the ticklish feeling of

 Sakura’s tongue. “No, not really. Sakura-chan was a gift from my

 mother a few years ago, but I don’t believe they’re really that

 expensive. It might take a while to save up, but with all of the

 things you bought,” she motioned towards ChibiUsa’s bags back on the

 bench, “you should be able to afford it after a while. I honestly

 think you should. I’m so lucky to have my cute Sakura-chan.” Another

 bright smile lit her face as she looked down at the puppy girl.

 Sakura perked up, as if waiting for something, sniffing. A horn

 honked in the distance, catching all of their attention. Tomoyo

 looked back towards a waiting limousine. “Oh, I must be going. I hope

 you can get a pet. They really are wonderful. I don’t know where I’d

 be without Sakura-chan.” Standing up elegantly, she brushed down her

 long skirt. “Come one, Sakura-chan. Let’s go home. I’ll give you a

 nice bath.”

 	Sakura waved and followed her mistress, standing up on two feet

 this time, pulling alongside of her. Both girls disappeared into the

 limousine. 

 	Watching them drive off, ChibiUsa’s hair was tossed around by the

 wind. She barely seemed to notice, too deep in thought to care. That

 was what she wanted. A pet. A pet all of her own. Running back to the

 bench, she grabbed her things and headed home. That’s what she would

 ask for. Oh, it was perfect!

 

 	ChibiUsa brushed back some pink hair from her eyes, squinting in

 the afternoon sun, her reverie fading. Her brand new pet was still

 sitting sulkily in the car, dark eyes glistening in the shadows.

 “C’mon, Hotaru-chan. We’re home now.” She smiled sweetly at the

 catgirl, motioning for her to follow. The catgirl looked at her for a

 second, but dropped her gaze just as quickly. ChibiUsa’s father

 yelled for her to come in, grabbing her attention away from the shy

 new pet. “Just a minute, papa!” Her crimson eyes returned to the

 catgirl. Kneeling next to the open door, she reached in slowly. “It’s

 okay, kitty. We’re home now. Home. I’m going to take good care of

 you. I promise. There’s nothing to be scared of.” Her hand gently

 stroked the catgirl’s side. Her pale skin was exquisitely soft to the

 touch. ChibiUsa’s fingers continued to trail up and down as she

 smiled. “Please?” Another request from her father to head in caught

 her ears, Hotaru’s ears perking up at the same time. She sighed and

 got back to her feet, smoothing down her skirt. “Well, we better get

 going, Hotaru-chan. Come on.” She whistled, but the only reaction she

 got from the catgirl were her ears perking up again. The pink haired

 owner tugged lightly on the leash. This finally seemed to get the

 catgirl’s attention. Pulling lightly, the pink haired girl led her

 birthday present inside.

 	Hotaru followed behind her owner slowly, taking no notice of her

 surroundings. What was the difference between here and the pet shop?

 At least she wasn’t in a cramped cage anymore. But now she was all

 alone. Most of the others would have been thrilled to have been

 bought like this. But being in this strange new place by herself was

 scary. She should be grateful to have her own mistress now, but it

 was all too new, too frightening. Everything was happening too fast.

 At least her mistress was pretty. And she seemed nice. But who knew

 what would happen? Not that it mattered. She was only a pet. Her life

 was at the sole discretion of her mistress. It was why she lived.

 	Pushing the door to her room open, the proud new owner could hardly

 hide her excitement. This had to be her best birthday ever. Her

 lovely pet was just perfect. Better than she could have dreamed.

 “Well, here it is. This is my room.” She gestured broadly with her

 free hand to their surroundings. The bed was along one wall, red and

 white bedsheets topped with neatly placed bunny dolls. The room was a

 little cluttered with little possessions here and there, but it

 didn’t look messy. Long, frilly white curtains hung over the bedroom

 window that overlooked the backyard. Some clothes from this morning

 lay discarded in a corner. Several letters were arranged neatly on

 her bedside, all sporting ‘Happy Birthday’ somewhere on them. Next to

 the bed lay a large maroon fuzzy basket with some small cat toys in

 it. Next to it were a food and water dish. 

 	Grinning in excitement, ChibiUsa walked towards the bed. Resistance

 tugged at the hand holding the leash. Turning back, she saw the

 catgirl frozen in the doorway. “It’s okay. This is your room now,

 too, Hotaru-chan. See? This bed is for you. And the toys and

 everything. Isn’t it cute? We went and picked it out this morning.

 It’s all for you.” She tugged lightly at the leash, pulling Hotaru

 out of her stupor. The shy girl looked down, but slowly walked up

 behind her owner.

 	Hotaru’s catlike eyes took in the little things on the floor, even

 in the dim light. It was all for her? She’d never had anything

 before. Just another kitten at the pet store, she was lost in the

 crowd. Usually afraid or lonely even amongst all the others. She was

 a little overwhelmed to be given anything at all. Especially when she

 herself was a birthday present. The thought seemed ludicrous. Like it

 didn’t quite fit. She was a pet. Pets didn’t have anything. No, it

 must have just been phrased wrong. That had to be it. Her eyes shut

 quickly when ChibiUsa finally got to the light switch. 

 	“Well, here it is. I hope you like it,” ChibiUsa said with a smile,

 twirling around on one foot to gesture to the room a last time before

 plopping down on her bed. Her crimson eyes stayed on the catgirl with

 a childlike enthusiasm. It was almost surreal to see one up close.

 Her very own at that. And she was so pretty, too! Just wait until

 Ruruna and Naruru found out. They would be so surprised. Hotaru

 averted her gaze, shifting around uncomfortably, her tail swishing

 slowly from side to side. “You’re soooo cute.” A giggle escaped the

 pink haired girl as she pulled on the leash playfully. “You can come

 closer. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.” 

 	Taking an awkward barefoot step forward, Hotaru inched closer to

 her mistress. That warm smile managed to draw the dark haired catgirl

 ever nearer. Feeling another gentle tug on the leash, she kneeled

 down in front of her having nowhere else to go. Her hands and knees

 on the floor, her tail continued moving nervously behind her as big

 violet eyes looked up at her owner. The smile was still on that face

 framed by pink, her hand moving down slowly. Hotaru flinched a bit

 when ChibiUsa’s fingers touched the side of her face, trailing

 upwards into her raven hair. What did she want? Not that it mattered.

 She was her pet. Her mistress could do whatever she wanted with her.

 Hotaru’s curiosity continued to grow as the fingers ran through her

 hair. But suddenly it didn’t matter. Her eyes closed and she began to

 purr. Quietly at first, but it began to grow louder. ChibiUsa’s

 fingers were scratching right behind her ear. It felt very nice with

 those gentle fingers in her hair. Her tail began to move more

 happily, as if completely unaware of the previous nervousness of the

 girl it was attached to.

 	A musical giggle escaped ChibiUsa lips as she watched her new pet.

 “I’m really glad I picked you, Hotaru-chan.” She continued to pet the

 kitten for a few more minutes, enjoying the soft purring sound the

 catgirl made. 

 	“ChibiUsa-chan, dinner!” 

 	“Coming!” Sighing, the pink haired girl petted the girl one last

 time before standing up. The purring slowly came to a stop. Big,

 violet eyes looked up at her in confusion. She smiled down

 apologetically. “I have to go get dinner. You should probably eat,

 too. I’ll be back in just a bit.” Scratching behind Hotaru’s ear

 again, she quickly made her way to the door, glancing back in at the

 solemn looking catgirl. ‘She looks so serious all the time,’ ChibiUsa

 thought to herself. “Bye, kitty!”

 	Hotaru watched as her mistress left the room, nervousness gnawing

 at her again. It hadn’t been too bad when she had been there with

 her, but now she was alone in this scary place. And she didn’t know

 what to do. This was all new to her. This was home from now on.

 Curling up into a ball, she began to cry.

 

 	Later that night, the catgirl was balled up in her basket, wide

 awake. She couldn’t get to sleep in her strange new surroundings.

 Every small sound startled her right when she started to fade away to

 the land of dreams. She had finally given up trying to sleep a short

 time ago. Lying there, staring at the wall, she contemplated her

 existence. Sold like the animal she was, she was now property of her

 mistress, the girl in the bed behind her. It was a dream for many to

 get sold at the auctions. To have their own master or mistress. To

 have a home. But she was still so afraid. No one had taught her what

 to do once she was bought. Part of her had thought that she never

 would be. Who wanted a lonely looking cat, anyway? Apparently, this

 pink haired girl. She sat up slowly, her head peaking up across the

 bed. She could see ChibiUsa’s feet sticking out from under her

 blankets, the warm cloth tangled around the pink haired girl oddly.

 In the darkness, her catlike eyes could still make out the nightgown

 she was wearing, though the color looked faded. Her pink hair was let

 down out of the odangos she had seen it in earlier. She really was

 very pretty. And she was looking at her. Hotaru’s eyes widened in

 surprise and she quickly ducked back down, pulling her knees to her

 chest as she tried to pretend she was asleep.

 	“Can’t sleep?” the sweet voice of her owner whispered. Hotaru

 froze, unsure of how to respond. Creaking sounds came her way as

 ChibiUsa crawled across the bed. The sound finally stopped and she

 relaxed slightly. A hand brushing through her hair nearly made her

 jump in shock. Turning around, she spotted her mistress’s head over

 the edge of the bed, watching her with that warm smile again. “It’s

 okay if you can’t sleep. I always have trouble in a new place, too.

 You wanna sleep on the bed?” 

 Hotaru nodded slowly, shyly. ChibiUsa smiled again and sat up,

 gesturing for the catgirl to follow. Standing up, the dark haired pet

 hesitantly crawled onto the edge of the bed, curling into a ball

 there. She felt ChibiUsa’s feet brush against her side as her

 mistress pulled the blankets around herself. Hotaru was a little

 surprised. Wasn’t she supposed to be in her basket? Well, this was

 nicer. It felt soft and the blankets underneath her were warm. And it

 did feel more comfortable to be closer to her owner. She was very

 sweet and managed to make this whole thing much easier for Hotaru to

 handle. Lying there in silence, she tried not to move much lest she

 disturb the pink haired girl. But it was still cold in the room

 despite being on top of the blankets and she couldn’t help shivering

 slightly. She was only lightly clothed.

 	Giggling softly, ChibiUsa sat up again. “Still cold, huh? Here, get

 in the blankets. It’s warmer.” She watched the quiet catgirl for a

 long moment, holding up the blanket invitingly. “Come on. It’s okay.”

 Smiling reassuringly, she scooted over and patted the bed next to

 her. “Come here.” The violet eyed pet looked back at her hesitantly,

 still sitting with her legs tucked under her at the foot of the bed.

 She sure was a reluctant pet. She didn’t seem very open around

 people. But she was ChibiUsa’s now so it didn’t matter. The pink

 haired owner was just glad to have her. Sighing, she took her pet’s

 arm. The pale skin was very soft and cold. “Oh, you poor thing. You

 must be freezing. C’mere, Hotaru-chan.” Pulling lightly, the catgirl

 slowly crawled up beside her. ChibiUsa smiled again and pulled the

 blankets up. “Here you go.” Hotaru sat there, staring at her. The

 young owner sweatdropped. Taking Hotaru’s arm again, she pulled her

 closer and toward the head of the bed. “Okay, now lie down.” The

 catgirl lay her body down on ChibiUsa’s pillow, her head to the side.

 “No, not like that.” 

 Hotaru winced, closing her eyes.  She didn’t know what she was doing

 at all. Humans had never been around her very much so she just didn’t

 understand what she was supposed to do to please her mistress. Now

 she’d probably hate her for being disobedient. And she didn’t want

 that at all. Her mistress seemed so nice. What was she to do now?

 The fear etched on Hotaru’s face sent a chill through ChibiUsa. Her

 catgirl looked so sad. She shook her head quickly. “No, I didn’t mean

 it like that. It’s all right. Don’t be sad.” Another smile crossed

 her face as she tried to reassure her new pet. This was getting to be

 a lot of work. But still... She liked it. It was nice having her

 here. Her cute catgirl. It was nice to have the responsibility of

 her. To take care of her new pet. Placing her hands on Hotaru’s

 shoulders, she positioned her on her back, pushing down until her

 head was finally on the pillow. Dark hair formed a halo around the

 catgirl’s head on the pillow, her kitten ears barely jutting out of

 the hair. Hotaru looked at her in confusion but followed her

 directions. Satisfied with her work, ChibiUsa pulled the blanket up

 around the both of them. “There. See? Much warmer, Hotaru-chan.” She

 smiled brightly as she hugged herself under the blanket, trying to

 get warm again.

 Shyly, Hotaru smiled back. “Thank you,” her soft voice whispered. 

 	Giggling, ChibiUsa propped herself up on an elbow. “So you can

 talk. I was wondering when you were gonna say something.” It had

 almost been a surprise to hear Hotaru speak. She had started to think

 that she wouldn’t. Hotaru’s voice was very soft, but lovely. It fit

 the shy catgirl perfectly. “You have a very pretty voice, Hotaru-chan.”

 	The dark haired pet blushed a cherry red, shifting slightly under

 the blankets. It was already strange to be sleeping this way, like a

 human girl, but now she was embarrassed as well. She hadn’t known

 what to say earlier. And her owner’s comments were flattering. This

 whole day had taken quite a toll on her. It just seemed to be one

 surprise after another. “A.. arigato...” she whispered, quieter this

 time. 

 	Petting her catgirl gently, ChibiUsa smiled again. “Sleep well,

 Hotaru-chan. I’ll see you in the morning.” Something brushing against

 her side caught ChibiUsa's attention. It was warm and furry, moving

 in quick motions. Reaching down, she grabbed a hold of the furry

 intruder. Hotaru’s eyes went wide as ChibiUsa gripped it. “Oh...

 Sorry.” She sweatdropped as she let go of Hotaru’s tail. Yawning, she

 let her crimson eyes fall shut. “Sweet dreams, kitty.”

 	Hotaru watched closely as ChibiUsa’s breathing steadied and she

 drifted off to sleep. Her mistress looked so calm and peaceful. So

 cute. She noticed that the pink haired girl was holding onto a white

 stuffed bunny with a big red bow. Purring softly, she snuggled next

 to her owner, yawning tiredly and showing her sharp teeth in the dim

 light. It had been an exhausting day. Before long, she was passed out

 beside her pink haired owner.

 	

 	J-pop meandered through ChibiUsa’s room as morning light filtered

 through her window. Something about ‘my darling and my dentures’

 played on the radio. ChibiUsa was still too tired to care. The pink

 haired girl rolled over in bed, moaning about the unjustness of it

 all. School was always such a tiresome thing. Sure, she got to see a

 few friends, but was it really worth all of that pain of stuffy

 teachers trying to force things upon you? Especially when she had her

 own pet now. That’s right! ChibiUsa sat up in bed, suddenly awake.

 Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she scoured the room for any trace

 of her catgirl. But where was she? It couldn’t have been a dream,

 could it? Her heart started to slow back down to it’s usual beat when

 she saw Hotaru heading back into her room from the doorway on all

 floors. ChibiUsa’s slippers were in her mouth. “Awww... How sweet of

 you, Hotaru-chan. You’re such a good kitty.” Grinning happily,

 ChibiUsa slipped out of bed, kneeling next to the catgirl and petting

 her warmly. “My good little girl. Yes, you are.” Taking the slippers

 from Hotaru’s mouth, she quickly slipped them on. “I wanna stay home

 and play with you, Hotaru-chan. School doesn’t sound like any fun.”

 Pouting sadly, she just watched her new pet for several moments.

 Finally reaching forward, Hotaru tensed up under ChibiUsa’s warm hug.

 “I’ll see you soon, Hotaru-chan. We can play when I get home.”

 	Hotaru watched her mistress with inquisitive violet eyes as

 ChibiUsa walked all over the room sticking things in her bookbag.

 “Where are you going?” she asked curiously, trying to keep the

 nervousness out of her voice. She didn’t want to be left alone again.

 And why couldn’t she come with? She’d be good. She was well behaved.

 Not like some of the pets she could remember back at the pet store.

 “Skool?”

 	Nodding quickly, ChibiUsa began getting dressed, tossing the

 nightgown to the floor as she dug through her closet for her school

 uniform. She stood in front of the closet clad in nothing but her

 slippers and her white cotton panties, but didn’t seem to notice as

 if she were alone. It was just her pet, after all. She nodded

 absentmindedly as she pulled her blouse over her head, then paused

 and pulled it off, looking for a bra. “Yeah, school. It’s this real

 boring place where they try to force us to learn things.” She stopped

 again, turning an anklet over in her fingers thoughtfully before

 discarding it. “I’m doing pretty well this semester, though, so I

 can’t blow it off and stay home with you. Even if I really want to.

 If I do well enough, I’m thinking of going into government.” She took

 out a black lavender ribbon and tied it in her hair on one of her

 odangos after fixing it to her usual hair style. “Then when I get

 older I could get a nice big house for us and you could have gourmet

 cat food and all sorts of good stuff.” Checking the mirror, she

 smiled and went back to the closet.

 	Violet eyes followed her mistress back and forth across the room as

 Hotaru sat on the floor. Her owner really was very pretty. She had

 beautiful curves that fit her small frame wonderfully. A small sigh

 escaped Hotaru’s soft lips. Too bad she wasn’t a catgirl. But she did

 make a nice mistress nonetheless. “Will you be back soon?” Hotaru

 asked hopefully.

 	“You’re so sweet, Hotaru-chan,” ChibiUsa commented as she pulled

 her skirt on. “Hai. Well, kinda. Sometimes it seems like a long time.

 But I’ll be back this afternoon. I promise.” She smiled as she bent

 down and scratched behind Hotaru’s left ear. A giddy feeling went

 through her as she watched the dark haired pet’s eyes close and heard

 her purring again. This whole pet thing was turning out to be great.

 Hotaru really did seem like the perfect choice. It was even better

 than what she’d thought when she’d met that rich girl and her puppy.

 	Hotaru didn’t answer, just tilting her head to the side, her tail

 moving back and forth as she watched her pink haired owner head for

 the door. “Goodbye, mistress,” she said at last.

 	Pausing for a moment, ChibiUsa stood in the doorway, fumbling with

 her bow. That had sounded awkward. But thinking it over, it did make

 sense. Hotaru was her pet at any rate. Smiling over her shoulder, she

 waved cheerfully. “Bye, Hotaru-chan! See you this afternoon! I bet

 you’ll have more fun than me.” And with that, she disappeared off to

 the mysterious ‘skool’. 

 	Sighing, Hotaru clasped her hands in front of her and watched the

 empty doorway where her mistress had just been. “I doubt it, mistress.”

 

 	Many hours later, an exhausted student made her way home,

 shouldering her bunny shaped bookbag on a weary shoulder. Opening the

 door with the key she kept with her, ChibiUsa pushed the door open

 with a sigh of relief. It was good to be back home again. A smile

 crossed her lips as she remembered the catgirl waiting for her. She

 had found it difficult to concentrate at school all day with the

 knowledge that Hotaru was at home. School just seemed extraordinarily

 mundane compared to her brand new pet. “Hotaru-chan?” she said as she

 took off her shoes near the door. There was no answer. But then, she

 was a quiet catgirl, so that shouldn’t be too strange. Pulling her

 slippers back on, ChibiUsa walked back towards her room. The door was

 still wide open as she’d left it. And there was Hotaru lying on the

 floor. Reading a book. “Hotaru-chan?” ChibiUsa asked incredulously.

 She knew that the catgirl was obviously smart. But that she could read?

 	The book dropped from Hotaru’s hands as she scrambled to a sitting

 position. Her violet eyes were wide with fear as she looked towards

 her owner. ‘She saw me? She’s not supposed to know that. It’s my

 little secret.’ She didn’t know what to say. Or what would happen to

 her. Maybe she’d give her away. Hotaru knew that pets usually didn’t

 read. Why would they need to? Tears began to well up in her eyes. It

 was just the day after she’d been bought and already she had ruined

 everything. She was really beginning to like her mistress, too. She

 wanted to explain, to try to fix things, but nothing would come out

 of her mouth. She felt helpless, trapped. She wanted to run away.

 	“I... Hotaru-chan..” ChibiUsa shook her head and knelt next to her

 kitten. She picked up the book that had dropped to the floor. It was

 one that she had gotten for her birthday. A hand reached out and

 gently stroked Hotaru’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Hotaru-chan. I’m just

 surprised. You can read? I didn’t think pets could read.” She smiled

 sweetly to show that she wasn’t angry, managing to calm the catgirl

 slightly. 

 	Hotaru nodded weakly, sniffling. “Hai...” She wasn’t angry at her?

 Why not? Not that it wasn’t a good thing. But she had always been

 afraid about someone finding that out. “My mother taught me... before

 she died..” Hotaru said sadly. Reading always reminded her of her

 mother, bringing back bittersweet memories of the kind woman and her

 death that had left Hotaru all alone. So she liked to read when she

 had the chance. It always felt like her mother was watching.

 	“Oh...” ChibiUsa looked down at the book for a long moment. So that

 was how. It hadn’t occurred to her that anything might have happened

 to Hotaru’s family. She hadn’t thought about that sort of thing when

 it came to pets. No wonder the poor catgirl looked so lonely. “I’m

 really sorry, Hotaru-chan.” She smiled softly, handing the book back

 to her pet. It took Hotaru a minute to slowly reach out and take it

 cautiously. “If you really like to, you can go ahead and read any of

 my books. I don’t read them all that much anyway with all I need to

 read for school. And I’m more of a manga girl myself.”

 	Holding the book against her chest, Hotaru kept her eyes on her

 slightly shorter owner. “Really...? You’d let me?” she asked

 curiously. All of this time she had been afraid of getting in

 trouble. She was so surprised that ChibiUsa would allow her to. Her

 mother had told her never to let a human see her read. Her owner

 really was so kind. “Thank you, ChibiUsa-sama..” Smiling meekly, she

 hugged the book tighter, still looking into the pink haired girl’s

 pretty crimson eyes. She was so lucky to have a mistress like her.

 	ChibiUsa watched the eager look in Hotaru’s eyes as she held the

 book. The catgirl was so cute. The pink haired girl was really

 beginning to enjoy learning all of these new things about her pet.

 She really did have a lot of personality. Hotaru was becoming more

 and more captivating. And she was all hers, which made the whole

 thing even better. She didn’t have to share Hotaru with anyone. She

 was like her very own personal friend. Gazing back into those violet

 eyes, she began scratching absentmindedly behind Hotaru’s left ear

 again, eliciting a soft purr from the catgirl. “You can read all you

 want, Hotaru-chan. I want you to be happy here.”

 	Hotaru blushed softly and nodded. “I am happy here with you,

 ChibiUsa-sama.” She had been so lonely for so long. She was an

 outcast back at the pet shop. And ever since she had lost her mother,

 she had no one else to turn to. But this lovely girl had taken her in

 and was being so sweet to her even though she was just a pet. It was

 almost too good to be true. Her mother must have helped her get this

 mistress.

 	Giving Hotaru a hug that the catgirl slowly relaxed into, her tail

 still moving behind her, ChibiUsa blushed a bit herself. Hotaru was

 already figuring very prominently in her mind. The catgirl was just

 so much more fun and fascinating that her friends at school who were

 much more concerned with boys and certain fads. She couldn’t wait for

 the times when she could be with her kitten. Everything else just

 seemed to take a backseat to that in her mind. Smiling, she kept

 petting Hotaru as she held onto her, enjoying the soft purr in her

 ears. It was so much fun to be with her. And it felt very nice to

 hold her. Actually, she could feel the barely clothed girl trough the

 thin cloth as she held onto her, now that she thought about it. “I’m

 gonna need to get you some clothes soon, Hotaru-chan,” she mentioned

 thoughtfully, still holding her.

 	Hotaru blinked, her face inches from ChibiUsa as she watched her.

 “Why?”

 	A giggle escaped ChibiUsa’s lips and she shook her head.

 “Nevermind, Hotaru-chan. You just read your books and I’ll bother

 with the rest. I have to take care of my pet, don’t I?”

 	Still watching, Hotaru finally nodded when ChibiUsa seemed to be

 waiting for her. “I.. uhh.. Yes, mistress.” It seemed to be the right

 answer so she relaxed, looking into those beautiful scarlet pools

 again. ChibiUsa smelled very nice. Just like her slippers had

 earlier. And the bed. Yes, she was beginning to like that smell very

 much. It was soothing and made her feel warm and safe inside. 

 	ChibiUsa sweatdropped a little at the close proximity, but aside

 from it seeming a little odd, it really didn’t bother her. In fact,

 she was enjoying the chance to be so close to her pet, especially

 with how shy the catgirl was. Reaching down, she stroked Hotaru’s

 tails, playing with the swiftly moving pendulum. “Of course. My cute

 little pet, Hotaru-chan.” She should start her homework. She should

 feed the catgirl. But she just wanted to sit there.  

 

 	“ChibiUsa-chan, I love you,” the white haired boy whispered softly

 as his fingers trailed through her cotton candy pink hair. A crimson

 blush, the same color as her eyes, made it’s way across her cheeks.

 She had thought he’d never say that. Her crush on him had gone

 unreturned for so long. As he leaned forward, she realized with

 sudden shock ‘He’s going to kiss me...’ Closing her eyes, she waited

 anxiously for the magical moment. “Elios...” She pursed her lips as

 she waited, her heart pounding in her chest like a freight train.

 Would he? She could feel warm breath against her lips, sending an

 electric spark throughout her body. Frantic thoughts hurried through

 her mind as seconds stretched out into infinity. Her body tensed as

 she waited for the kiss that would seal her fate. Warmth washed over

 her cheek, slightly wet and a little scratchy against her soft skin.

 Confusion quickly shook her anxiety away. What was he doing? Kissing

 her cheek? It sure didn’t feel like a kiss. Well, not quite. Shifting

 a bit to the side, she felt the warm feeling continue on her left

 cheek, moving up and closer to her lips. An unexpected giggle escaped

 her as the unidentifiable feeling continued its journey forward,

 tickling her cheek. Just what did he want? Wasn’t he going to kiss

 her? “Elios?”

 	Scarlet eyes fluttered open in curiosity, searching for the object

 of her full attention. “Elios?” she asked again. Blinking in the

 darkness, she tried to find the white haired boy. The warm feeling on

 her cheek continued, closing ever closer to her lips. Her blush

 deepened as she sleepily tried to spot her crush. Her eyes finally

 found an ethereal figure leaning over her, a pale figure in the dim

 moonlight offset by jet black hair that fell around the pale face

 like a veil. Like some unearthly angel, the creature sat over her,

 continuing the sweet caress of ChibiUsa’s cheek as if nothing had

 changed. The pink haired girl shifted in bed, now utterly confused.

 Where had Elios gone? What was happening? And what was that feeling?

 It slowly dawned upon her that the warm feeling was her cheek being

 licked. But why would Elios be licking her cheek? Her still sleep

 addled mind clicked and whirred as it slowly put everything together.

 Violet eyes sparkled in the dim light above her, watching her with

 catlike intensity. “Hotaru-chan?” the young owner asked suddenly,

 sitting up. 

 The catgirl moved quickly and with agile grace disappeared into the

 darkness. Straining to see the catgirl in the darkness, ChibiUsa’s

 fingers reached up to her cheek. The soft flesh still had some saliva

 on it from where Hotaru’s somewhat scratchy tongue had passed over

 it. So it had all just been a dream? Well, the part about her crush

 at the least. But if that was the case, then why was her heart still

 beating so quickly? Her fingers traveled from her cheek over to her

 lips, lingering there for a second. The warmth that had spread

 through her cheek now felt like it was melting through her body,

 coating every inch of her. She didn’t know quite how to explain it.

 The excitement from the dream dared not dissipate into the night air

 just yet. It held onto her, as if the dream wasn’t ready to depart.

 Her mind drifted back to her pet’s insistent licking and the

 beautiful silhouette that her eyes had awakened to above her. A

 cherry red blush colored her cheeks as she sat on her bed, still

 drenched in sweat from yet another of many absorbing dreams. The pink

 haired girl had never kissed anyone yet, which made it very difficult

 to listen to Ruruna and Naruru’s constant boasts. Her dreams often

 led her up to what she had built up into her mind to be the

 penultimate romantic moment, but had never crossed the threshold,

 always leaving her curious as to what would have happened had she

 been asleep only a brief moment longer. 

 ChibiUsa finally caught sight of her pet in the darkness. Violet

 eyes glinted in the shadows near the foot of her bed. As if she were

 being drawn to those distant stars, the young owner began crawling

 across the bed to the still mostly hidden catgirl. “Hotaru-chan?

 Hotaru-chan, you don’t need to hide, kitty.” A soft giggle filled the

 silent room. “You’re so shy. Come here.” Sitting in front of the

 catgirl on the middle of the bed, ChibiUsa motioned for her to come

 forward. “It’s okay. Come here, kitty.” Hotaru slowly complied,

 crawling towards her pink haired owner. Her pale figure slowly came

 into view, her tail moving slowly in the moonlight. ChibiUsa could

 still feel her heart pounding in her chest, her mind furiously trying

 to go in every direction at once. She remembered Hotaru’s tongue

 along her cheek, so close to her own lips. The feeling was baffling.

 It left her wondering about what would have happened had she waited.

 She had to remind herself that Hotaru was a catgirl and that it was

 probably just her licking her owner as she remembered the puppygirl

 had done with the rich girl. But still she couldn’t banish the

 thoughts from her mind. Hotaru moved a little closer at her

 insistence, her hand still motioning her forward. 

 Hotaru complied with her mistress, moving ever closer on all fours.

 Her eyes burned with catlike curiosity as she watched the pink haired

 woman before her, her hands stopping right before ChibiUsa’s knees.

 She hadn’t slept, preferring instead to keep a silent vigil over her

 beautiful owner. She had merely been cleaning ChibiUsa’s cheek when

 the human girl had woken up, but her sudden movements had frightened

 the skittish kitten. Her owner looked cute when she was asleep. Her

 pink hair had framed her cute face beautifully in the dark room, her

 hands resting on her pillow, her lips forming a sweet pout. She was

 surprised to see her awaken so suddenly when it was her experience

 that the pink haired girl slept all night long. She had been here for

 weeks now and that pattern hadn’t changed in the least. Well, with

 the exception of when ChibiUsa wound up staying up with her, but once

 the crimson eyed owner was asleep, she generally stayed that way.

 Hotaru moved closer still, smelling intently as she moved closer,

 enjoying the comforting scent of her mistress.

 Blushing, ChibiUsa watched as Hotaru’s angelic face came nearer, her

 small nose twitching ever so slightly as she did. Violet eyes peaked

 out from behind their shadowy veil at her. That face that had held an

 almost constant fear or pain to it now held a gentle contentment.

 Sometimes the fear and the pain returned, but ChibiUsa had been happy

 to see it slowly ebb, the catgirl’s smile coming more easily as time

 went by. The pink haired girl found herself spending more and more of

 her time with her precious pet than with her best friends. They were

 nice and all, but they didn’t captivate her the same way her gorgeous

 kitten did. There was something about the girl’s shy nature and her

 total devotion that had quickly snagged ChibiUsa’s attention. She had

 even blown off Ruruna and Naruru when they were going to the movies

 because of the jealous look she had seen in the catgirl’s deep pools

 of violet. Part of that scared her, that she would rather stay home

 with her pet than go hang out with her friends. But she had found it

 much more enjoyable than gawking at passing boys and staring at

 outfits that she could never hope to afford. They had passed the

 night pleasantly, playing cards of all things. ChibiUsa had won every

 game. She had begun to suspect afterwards that Hotaru had let her

 win, but she had such an enjoyable time spending the night sitting on

 her bed and playing the games that it hardly seemed to matter. 

 It was really a curious situation she found herself in. She knew

 that pets were really amazing to have simply from all of the stories

 she had heard, but this was much more than she had expected. Unlike

 the rest of her friends, ChibiUsa felt that she could really tell

 Hotaru things, that she could talk to her about anything. The dark

 haired catgirl didn’t judge her. She listened to whatever her

 mistress had to say, her cute little cat ears moving along with the

 words. She didn’t have to pretend around Hotaru. And that made her

 feel so spectacularly free inside. It felt like the shackles that

 held down her heart were suddenly released when they were all alone.

 Hotaru had asked her why she pretended so much in front of people,

 why she hid her feelings behind a veil of happiness and genki energy.

 ChibiUsa had tried to explain, but none of her explanations sounded

 good enough, even to herself. “Because I want people to see the

 happy, smiling me. I want that to be who they remember. I don’t want

 to burden others with my problems. I want them to like the genki me

 that they see,” she had finally settled on.

 “I like you,” Hotaru had said simply. “I don’t think you should have

 to pretend for everyone else, ChibiUsa-sama. Even when you’re sad, I

 like you. Especially when you’re sad. Because then I can really see

 all of you. I know I can’t help much, but just being next to you,

 seeing your sad eyes, it makes me wish that I could be with you

 always.” Her quiet voice had spoken earnestly from her heart. It had

 shaken the young owner. She had grown up hiding her pain and troubles

 from others, always being the perky and bubbly girl she had thought

 they wanted her to be, but the catgirl was content with who she was

 even when that façade was nowhere in sight. 

 And now ChibiUsa found herself staring deeply into Hotaru’s endless

 violet orbs, breathing quickly as they sat in the darkness on her

 ruffled sheets. The catgirl waited with endless patience, looking

 back at her curiously as ChibiUsa’s mind wandered from memory to

 memory. Laughing in embarrassment, ChibiUsa placed a hand behind her

 head. “Goment nasai... I guess I’m still sleepy after all.”

 Hotaru nodded slowly, still watching her mistress. A small smile

 crossed her lips. She liked watching the pink bunny-looking girl

 sleep. “I hope you sleep well, ChibiUsa-sama,” her soft voice prayed. 

 	Shaking her head quickly, ChibiUsa tried to collect her thoughts.

 Not thoughts exactly, because she couldn’t quite understand them all.

 It was mostly a jumble of feelings, scattered throughout her heart

 like flotsam. She collected them up, trying to make sense of them.

 The burning sensation from earlier had only managed to grow more

 intense as she watched the beautiful catgirl’s ivory skin nearly

 sparkle in the moonlight. “No, that’s not what I meant. I don’t feel

 like sleeping right now. Hotaru-chan, I...” She shook her head. Why

 was this so difficult? What did she want to say? Whatever it was, it

 certainly shouldn’t be this difficult. Hotaru was her pet. She had

 gone out and picked her out. Hotaru was hers. So why was she having

 such a hard time forcing out whatever it was that clung to her? A

 frustrated sigh escaped her lips, causing Hotaru’s ears to twitch

 noticeably. “Hotaru-chan, I want to kiss you,” she got out in a rough

 whisper, her cheeks burning up. Was that it? Was that what she had

 wanted to say? Well, not quite, but it was close enough. 

 	The catgirl sat in silence for a long moment, her dark eyes

 concentrating fully on her mistress. Her own pale cheeks had flushed

 a deep red themselves, though it was hardly evident in the dim light.

 She nodded slowly, her black hair fluttering a bit as she did so. Of

 course, ChibiUsa was her owner. She had to do whatever was asked of

 her, whatever her owner expected of her. But this was so much more

 than normal obedience. This was something that she knew she wanted

 herself. That she had wanted for some time now. That her mistress

 would ask that of her... Her heart swooned at the thought. Her

 mistress was such a kind and loving person, the first person who had

 ever really cared about her. She treated her more like a friend than

 an animal. She was so cute and funny to watch. Hotaru was completely

 enamored with her sweet owner. The thought of being with her in such

 a way was absolutely delicious. So as her pet, she must comply. But

 all of Hotaru’s soul was fully behind the action. 

 	Leaning forward a little awkwardly, ChibiUsa placed her hands on

 Hotaru’s bare shoulders. Her heart felt like it was pounding between

 her ears by now. The fact that she had never kissed anyone before

 made itself painfully well known in her mind. But she did know that

 she wanted this to be her first kiss. Licking her dry lips, ChibiUsa

 moved forward slightly before pausing again. Moving her head to the

 side, she tried to position herself better. The fact that Hotaru was

 a girl hardly mattered in her mind and it probably hadn’t even

 occurred to Hotaru with the blissful look on the angelic girl’s pale

 face. Hotaru was also her pet, so such trivial things as what gender

 she was hardly mattered at the moment. Moving forward once more,

 ChibiUsa felt her lips press inexpertly against those of her devoted

 catgirl. The soft petals of Hotaru’s lips parted briefly and she once

 again felt that soft yet scratchy tongue press against her skin, but

 this time it was on her own lips. The sensation was sweetly

 overwhelming. ChibiUsa closed her eyes and kissed the dark haired

 girl again, this time letting her own mouth part when the dark haired

 girl’s tongue came out. Her lips moved around it, starting Hotaru at

 first before her own tongue brushed against the scratchy one entering

 her mouth. 

 ‘She’s your pet. You shouldn’t be doing this,’ ChibiUsa’s mind cried

 out. ‘She’s your pet so of course you can do this,’ it retaliated.

 ‘Damn it, she’s Hotaru-chan and I want to do this,’ she concluded at

 last. Her hand slowly moved up over Hotaru’s bare stomach, caressing

 the satin soft skin as she made her way upwards. Her heartbeat

 continued it’s maddening tempo as she continued higher. She was happy

 to find that Hotaru’s heart was beating just as rapidly, thumping

 rapidly in the raven haired catgirl’s chest. After what felt like an

 endless pause as she worked up her determination, ChibiUsa’s hand

 moved to the right under Hotaru’s simple nightshirt, cupping the

 delicate skin of one of her small breasts. The catgirl let out a

 startled cross between a purr and a moan as ChibiUsa’s hand caressed

 the small mound. Hotaru’s arms wrapped around her mistress, pulling

 her closer as they continued to kiss. By now, whatever arguments

 ChibiUsa’s rational mind had tried were completely forgotten, lost in

 the swirling storm that had overtaken whatever conscious thought was

 left in her. There were wonderfully soft lips and piercing violet

 eyes and warm skin that she could feel through the thin fabric of her

 pajamas. And there was a joyous sense of relief, as if she had

 finally found what she had spent an eternity searching the world over

 for. “Hotaru-chan...” she whispered, her voice sounding different

 than she had last remembered. It was her voice, but it wasn’t at all

 controlled. It was only now that she had completely let go that she

 could see.

 Hotaru wasn’t completely aware of what was going on. Her mind had

 become clouded over as the kiss had overtaken her. She was vaguely

 aware of ChibiUsa’s hand in her blouse, of her fingers against her

 skin. That sent a blush all the way down to her shoulders. The

 thought that she was completely at her mistress’s mercy sent a shiver

 through her ivory body. She didn’t know if she had quite expected

 this or not. She knew that she belonged to the pink haired girl, but

 this hadn’t really crossed her mind. She would do anything for her,

 and she was only all too willing to follow along with her mistress’s

 wishes. 

 Slowly pulling away, ChibiUsa tried desperately to catch her breath.

 She felt dizzy, her mind swirling in ecstasy as she sat back. Her pet

 slowly opened her eyes, watching her closely. Swallowing, ChibiUsa’s

 tongue moved around in her mouth, still used to the other’s presence

 from moments before. This certainly hadn’t been one of the reasons

 she had wanted a pet in the first place, but it was certainly a

 wonderful surprise at the moment. The teenage girl was extremely

 happy to have the closeness that her pet was all too willing to

 provide her with. But just as she was an inexperienced kisser, so too

 was she lost in exactly how to go about initiating anything sexual

 between the two of them. The catgirl sat still, completely docile.

 ChibiUsa sighed, her mind racing. Her mind finally settled on the

 kiss. “Hotaru-chan, I want you to take off your clothes,” she said

 quickly, trying to keep herself from blushing a deeper shade of

 crimson than she already was. The dark haired catgirl complied shyly,

 looking away from her mistress as she pulled the simple nightshirt

 off, sliding off the plain white panties a moment later. The pink

 haired owner watched all of this intently, taking in all of her

 feline companion in the dim moonlight that sparkled over her body.

 Reaching forward, ChibiUsa pulled the panties off of Hotaru’s foot,

 pulling at them slightly as she held them up. They had an

 intoxicating smell, and the knowledge of where they had just been

 only served to entice her even more. 

 Hotaru sat on her knees in front of her mistress, watching shyly as

 she waited for whatever was to come next. This had certainly come as

 a surprise to her, but not as much as it could have been. She had

 known from the start that her mistress was completely in charge in

 whatever she decided to do. Hotaru was only her pet. She was to go

 along with whatever she wished. So she waited, nude in front of her

 mistress, her body barred for her. Her tail moved quickly, betraying

 the excitement that was building within her. Her animal instincts

 wanted to come into play and they were very difficult to suppress at

 the moment. She had the sudden urge to pounce the pink haired girl,

 but through force of will she managed to push the thought deep down. 

 If this had all been a dream, ChibiUsa would not have been at all

 surprised. What did come as a surprise was the fact that she wasn’t

 waking up from all of this. Part of her was expecting it all to come

 to a close at any second. It had already gone much further than any

 of her other dreams had dared. She had finally received that

 intoxicating first kiss. Yet it was moving far beyond a simple kiss.

 Hotaru was simply stunning in the moonlight, her gorgeous body on

 display for ChibiUsa alone. Her fingers reached out slowly, brushing

 some of the catgirl’s dark hair away from her violet eyes. “Hotaru-

 chan... You’re so beautiful. Every inch of you,” she stated as her

 fingers trailed down Hotaru’s bare shoulder. The catgirl shivered at

 her touch, causing ChibiUsa to pull her hand away. Hotaru looked up

 suddenly, disappointment evident in her eyes.

 ChibiUsa held her hands in her lap, blushing deeper than she was

 sure she ever had before. Her pink hair hung past her shoulders,

 still messy from hours of sleep. The burning inside of her was now

 almost unbearable. She swallowed nervously as she tried to think. Her

 mind kept going to vivid images. Again, the feeling of Hotaru’s skin

 against her, the feel of her warm and slightly scratchy tongue

 entered her mind. “Hotaru-chan, I want you to... Umm…” Not being a

 particularly vulgar girl or even an overly sexual one, ChibiUsa was

 having a very difficult time describing what she meant to the catgirl

 in front of her. “I want you to lick me again...” she finished at

 last. She was about certain that she would pass out from blood loss

 around then. If her mother ever heard her say anything like that...

 She shook her head quickly, banishing the thought of her parents

 having any idea of what she was currently engaged in. The catgirl

 moved forward, her tongue brushing ChibiUsa’s cheek once more. The

 pink hair giggled a bit at that, but the giggle was shortlived as

 another blush overtook her. “No, I meant I want you to lick me

 somewhere else, Hotaru-chan,” she said softly. 

 Seeing the curious look that the catgirl gave her, ChibiUsa reached

 down and pulled her pajama bottoms off. The cool air hit her bare

 skin instantly, but it did little to quell the firey sensation within

 her. Despite having watched Hotaru undress mere moments earlier,

 ChibiUsa was still embarrassed about being seen in only her pajama

 top and panties, even if she had undressed in front of her pet

 countless times. It took her a moment before she could work up the

 courage to pull her bunny stylized panties down her legs, leaving her

 bare skin to the scrutiny of the dark haired catgirl. She sat there

 for a long moment, her bare skin against the ruffled sheets that she

 had been sitting on. Her legs parted slowly, her eyes never leaving

 the catgirl sitting quietly in front of her. She swallowed nervously,

 part of her wondering just what the hell she was doing. Disregarding

 whatever part of her was protesting, ChibiUsa reached down past the

 soft pink hair that marked only a small patch of the bare skin from

 her waist down. Her crimson eyes remained on Hotaru as her fingers

 held herself open, her blush intensifying as she saw Hotaru’s violet

 eyes looking between her legs. Her first instinct was to close her

 legs tightly, to grab for the pajama bottoms that she knew were

 hopelessly out of her grasp. But she saw the Hotaru now understood

 what she meant. The nude catgirl moved forward on all fours, quickly

 moving between ChibiUsa’s spread legs. The pink haired girl’s heart

 crashed thunderously in her chest as she waited. She could see

 Hotaru’s midnight black hair and her equally dark ears followed by

 her beautiful ivory back that led all the way down to her dark tail

 that swished rapidly back and forth over Hotaru’s flank. That was the

 last thing she saw before she felt Hotaru’s hot breath on her, the

 catgirl having finally reached her destination. The pink haired girl

 rested her head back on her pillow, staring up at the roof as she

 felt Hotaru’s nose brush past her small patch of pink hair. 

 Hotaru was now running mostly on instinct, glad to let her animal

 side take charge of herself for the time being. Her nose pushed into

 her mistress’s soft pink hair, brushing the soft skin underneath. Her

 ears perked up at the soft moan that elicited from her owner. Her

 tail continued to dart back and forth as she leaned forward again,

 her nose trailing downward across the hot skin. She was entirely

 focussed on ChibiUsa, entranced by the situation she found herself

 in. Her rough tongue began to trail along ChibiUsa’s soft petals the

 same way she had trailed along her cheek not too long ago. She slowly

 began to lick at the sweet skin, garnering more moans and movement

 from the pink haired girl. She was so happy to be able to cause such

 sounds from her mistress. She continued licking, her tongue moving

 over ChibiUsa’s fingers as well as what lay between them. She

 wrinkled her nose at the strange taste that replaced the salty taste

 of ChibiUsa’s skin further up. After a moment, she began licking

 further between her mistress’s fingers, enjoying the interesting new

 taste. Her ears followed every moan, every sound that came from the

 pink haired girl. ChibiUsa continued to shift along the bed,

 squirming as Hotaru’s tongue continued along its path. Hotaru’s hands

 rested on ChibiUsa’s warm thighs so she wouldn’t have to move around

 as much to compensate for ChibiUsa’s movements. 

 Breathing heavily, ChibiUsa’s fingers of her free hand buried into

 Hotaru’s soft dark hair, narrowly missing one of her ears. “Hotaru-

 chan!” she whimpered, her scarlet eyes closing tightly as she felt

 Hotaru’s warm tongue against her most sacred of treasures. Hotaru’s

 tongue continued to caress her, the catgirl eagerly sending the pink

 haired girl into the heights of some distant heaven. “Hotaru-chan...”

 Her toes curled up in the sheets underneath her, her bare skin still

 meeting Hotaru’s warm tongue. ChibiUsa moaned louder as the catgirl

 found her pearl, her tongue sending sparks through her entire body.

 Hotaru licked at it more intently at the sound of her moans, barring

 her sharp teeth against it. ChibiUsa’s hands gripped onto the sheets

 as she moaned one last time, her muscles tensing up as her whole body

 felt like it was on fire. She collapsed to the sheets a short time

 later, breathing heavily and even more disheveled than when she had

 first awakened. Hotaru crawled up next to her, still naked, and

 curled against her side. ChibiUsa smiled softly as she wrapped her

 arms around the catgirl. “Hotaru-chan...” she whispered softly,

 kissing her pet with what little strength she still had. Hotaru

 smiled back, watching her intently. ChibiUsa fell asleep to those

 endless violet eyes and Hotaru’s warm purr. 

 

 	ChibiUsa felt herself unable to concentrate at all during class

 several days later. Her head lay against her cold desk as she school

 day continued to drag on like molasses pouring slowly from a jar. Her

 mind was a jumble of thoughts, all struggling for dominance in her

 confused mind. The flurry of conflicting information was too much for

 her, but she didn’t no how to deal with it all. She had lost interest

 in Elios a short time ago, her crush disappearing as quickly as it

 had appeared. She blamed it at first on the fickleness of such

 things, but that didn’t exactly fit. Crushes had come and gone

 before, but usually not with such sudden surety. Maybe she was just

 becoming more mature, realizing when her feelings were merely the

 product of an overactive teenage mind. Which was true in some way,

 she now saw. Elios had been a nice guy and all, but not someone that

 she could spend an eternity with. 

 Which brought her to her next group of thoughts. Who did she want to

 spend eternity with? That question produced a rather clear image, but

 she quickly dismissed it, trying to keep her fear from overcoming her

 panicked heart. ChibiUsa hadn’t ever had any interest in girls in the

 first place, and this was infinitely more confusing than finding out

 she was in love with one of the female members of the species. They

 weren’t even of the same species. ‘How do you fall in love with your

 pet cat?’ her mind asked for what had to be the thousandth time. And

 once again she came up blank. 

 	Her mind had been consumed with thoughts of the pale catgirl as of

 late, drowning her in their intensity. She had tried to quell the

 rising feelings at first, but they quickly became too much for her to

 hold back. They bubbled up around the barriers she had set in place,

 knocking them down as if they had never been there at all. The

 growing warmth in her heart showed through in everything she did,

 pouring forth whenever she was with her pet. What had at first

 frightened her now merely confused her. She was trying to understand

 just what had happened, where the distinction had been made. When had

 friendship, the relationship between the pet and her mistress, turned

 to love? And what did she say to Hotaru about it? This would have

 been easier if she was younger. In her childlike innocence, she had

 quickly come to decisions regarding matters of the heart, moving on a

 pure and simple instinct that had always served her well. That same

 instinct that bothered her whenever Hotaru would call her mistress.

 She wasn’t just a pet. That’s what this all boiled down to. Hotaru

 was far more than some simple object of amusement. She was ChibiUsa’s

 best friend, something that she would have to be careful not to

 mention around the possessive Ruruna and Naruru. And it wasn’t the

 same as with Momoko. They could talk and she liked spending time with

 the peach girl, but it was nowhere near as captivating as the

 catgirl’s presence. 

 	ChibiUsa tried to cloak her true feelings behind a happy façade

 that dazzled most people. Hiding her feelings had always been second

 nature. Her father was an important politician. She couldn’t be going

 around like an open book. But often her heart would push off the

 boundaries and restrictions she laid on it, pulling her in all sorts

 of different directions. This had always been frustrating for her,

 this contradictory force pulling her in two directions at once. It

 sometimes left her feeling empty inside, struggling with the feelings

 in her heart and the painting she tried to portray to the world. Did

 any of her friends really know her at all? Hotaru did. Those sad eyes

 saw deep inside of her, as if she could see directly into ChibiUsa’s

 soul. The pink haired girl shuddered at the thought, remembering the

 feeling of those endless violet orbs on her, asking why she lied so

 much about how she felt. 

 	It was with this dual nature that ChibiUsa found herself struggling

 once again. The fact that Hotaru was her pet was becoming less and

 less important. It seemed silly to use that as an excuse. That she

 meant so much to her immediately nullified the little problem of

 Hotaru being a catgirl. Her heart was beginning to shred through the

 curtains that had hidden it, and it was difficult for her to maintain

 any semblance of a mask in Hotaru’s presence. Instinct and rational

 thought grappled in the recesses of her mind, struggling between

 suppressing her feelings and following her heart. As was so often the

 case, ChibiUsa’s instincts eventually came out on top. 

 	Pink hair bobbed as ChibiUsa heard the bell ring. Finally! Grabbing

 her bunny bookbag, she hurried out of class. She had things she

 needed to do. She left her confusion at her desk, determined to see

 where the path in her heart led.

 

 	Papers surrounded Hotaru’s barely clad form as she sat on the floor

 in ChibiUsa’s father’s room. She wasn’t supposed to be in there, but

 she had grown curious. And, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the

 cat. Hotaru had finally found it almost impossible to ignore the

 dark, almost imposing room that she had normally avoided. She had to

 find the answers. And there they were, in black and white in front of

 her.

 	It had started simply enough. That pleasant scent that signified

 her mistress always had a strong affect on her. All of her senses

 would come alert when it reached her nose, catlike instinct going

 crazy. It worked well with the rest of the pink haired girl’s

 presence to drive her completely crazy. It was something she enjoyed,

 but a small thought had begun to nag at the back of her mind. She

 knew that smell and that reaction from somewhere else. Well, not that

 exact smell and not that exact reaction. There was something in

 specific about ChibiUsa that got her heart pounding. But that tensing

 of her muscles and that almost maddening thought to pounce on the

 pink haired girl seemed familiar. She had finally come searching for

 answers.

 	The strange feelings weren’t the only reason she had gone looking

 for proof to her suspicions. She had to ashamedly admit that she had

 a more selfish reason. She was in love with her mistress. She knew

 that now. Denial had set in stubbornly at first. Hotaru’s broken

 heart had not wanted to allow herself to get hurt again after all of

 the pain her life had afforded her. It had tried to escape that by

 denying the feelings in her heart. ChibiUsa was her mistress, so of

 course she was the most important thing to her. She was supposed to

 feel strongly about her mistress. But that wasn’t the full truth.

 Watching the pink haired girl while she slept, waiting anxiously

 everyday for her to return home, wanting nothing more than to be with

 her constantly, it all burned too brightly in her heart. Nothing she

 had read could have prepared her for the tumultuous feelings that

 sent her heart reeling. It wasn’t a happy realization by any means.

 When she had discovered that she was in love with her mistress, she

 had cried for many hours until her tears had finally given up on her

 completely. Pain had wracked her lonely heart because she knew she

 could never be with her mistress. They could never be together. She

 would always be alone, watching her mistress from afar. She was only

 her pet, after all. She was nothing more than her plaything. This was

 her last hope, that perhaps she could prove that they could be

 together, that she could be with her mistress always. Of course, she

 wouldn’t be her mistress anymore if she was right, would she?

 	The answer she had been searching for lay written on the paper in

 front of her, painfully obvious yet carefully hidden. ChibiUsa was

 not the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino. She was, in fact, not human

 at all. She was a pet as well. Or at least, she had been. The

 Tsukino’s had been devastated when their first daughter had died

 during childbirth. Mrs. Tsukino couldn’t have any other children. The

 couple so wanted a child, but they couldn’t have one of their own. So

 they had purchased a very young pet, a pink haired bunnygirl. They

 had her tail and ears surgically removed while she was still a baby

 and had raised her as their own child. 

 	The truth hadn’t been entirely surprising to Hotaru, though she had

 wondered if she was hoping for the impossible. If ChibiUsa was a

 bunnygirl, then it meant that they could be together. It meant that

 if ChibiUsa did return her feelings as she suspected, it would be all

 right for them to be in love. There wouldn’t be any social stigmas to

 worry about if two pets were in love. She wasn’t just in love with

 ChibiUsa because she was her mistress. Their love wasn’t forbidden.

 This filled Hotaru with a profound sense of relief. The familiar

 feeling finally had a memory attached to it. She had first seen a

 bunnygirl back in a petshop. She had hissed at the girl and tried to

 pounce on her, but she hadn’t been able to get out of her cage. So

 part of ChibiUsa’s scent had alerted that catlike part of her mind to

 the bunny aspect of her mistress. Her bare toes curled happily in the

 carpet as she purred. Yes, she couldn’t wait to see ChibiUsa. She

 would tell her everything and they would be together forever. She

 hoped. Part of her was worried about the pink haired girl’s reaction

 to it. What would she think? Would her heritage frighten her?

 	The front door opened, alerting Hotaru to the return of her

 mistress. Her heart pounded deafeningly in her chest as she held the

 paper to her chest. She still wasn’t sure what to do. But she knew

 she wanted to be with her mistress above all else. A strange scent

 startled her out of her thoughts as the steps grew closer. That

 didn’t smell like ChibiUsa. Her violet eyes shot towards the door as

 ChibiUsa’s father entered the room. Her heart practically stopped. 

 	“What the hell are you doing?” he asked in shock as he surveyed the

 room. His daughter’s pet catgirl was sitting in the middle of some of

 his most important papers, holding one tightly to a chest. Noticing

 ChibiUsa’s fake birth certificate lying next to her bare leg, he felt

 panic easing it’s way out from his stomach. He had gotten home early

 and had decided to hurry home and get some rest after the recent late

 nights he had been pulling. But he certainly hadn’t expected to see

 this. ‘Calm down,’ he commanded himself. ‘Be rational. She’s only a

 catgirl. She can’t read. She doesn’t know what any of it is. Just

 scold her and hide those papers somewhere else.’

 	Hotaru stared up at the graying politician with concern in her

 violet eyes. She held the paper even tighter as he came forward.

 Steeling her courage, the shy catgirl met his eyes. “She’s a

 bunnygirl, isn’t she?” her soft voice whispered. His forward advance

 stopped immediately. “She was a pet, wasn’t she?”

 	“Oh my God...” Panic began to pump quicker through his body as he

 stared at the catgirl, her deep violet eyes meeting his in curiosity.

 He idly wondered if he was about to have a heart attack as his heart

 beat furiously in his chest. “You can read..” This couldn’t happen.

 Some damned catgirl couldn’t have found out his daughter’s dark,

 dirty little secret. He would not let his entire career, his entire

 reputation, his happy family get torn apart by some loathsome animal.

 He could lose everything if this got out. His career would be hurt

 beyond repair if it got out that his daughter was a bunnygirl. 

 	Nodding slowly, Hotaru looked down at the paper in her arms. “You

 never told her. You hid it from her so she wouldn’t know. And you let

 her get a pet of her own. It’s almost ironic. A pet owning a pet.”

 She smiled weakly, showing her fangs. To ChibiUsa’s father, she

 looked like some hellish demon. “I understand. You just wanted to

 protect her. But I have to tell her. She has to know who she is.”

 	“Who.. Who the fuck are you to decide something like that..? You’re

 just some damned pet... I’m her fucking father.. You have no right

 telling her that.” His hands were shaking now, an irrational rage

 building inside. How dare this cat come in and try to ruin his life?

 How dare she exert power over him? She was only a pet. 

 	Hotaru shook her head quickly, dark hair flying just above her bare

 shoulders. “No, you don’t understand...” her quiet voice was barely

 above a whisper. “I... I have to tell her.. She needs to know...

 Because.. Because I love her. So she has to know that she’s a pet,

 too..” Her violet eyes grew more focused as she stood up. She felt a

 cold determination growing within her. She would be with the one she

 loved. She would give her whole heart to ChibiUsa. But the only way

 they could be together was if she told her who she really was. It was

 the only way that her mistress could love her back, if she knew that

 she was a pet.

 	Blinding pain erupted through Hotaru as an insanely loud noise

 filled her ears. An acrid smell filled her nostrils as she fell

 backwards. Her eyes barely caught a glimpse of the gleaming metal

 object in the man’s hands as she collapsed like a rag doll to the

 floor. She felt as if the air had all been forced out of her in a

 split second. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch her

 breath as she lay panting on the floor, gasping fruitlessly. A

 coppery taste invaded her mind as she began to cough uncontrollably.

 Tears spilt down her cheeks as she kept trying to catch her breath.

 What was happening? Why did her lungs burn so badly? She could dimly

 hear him over her, angry words laced with venom assaulting her as she

 lay helplessly on the floor. Her hand weakly grabbed at her chest

 only to find her simple blouse soaked with blood. It continued to

 poor out onto her shaking hand as her heart pumped desperately. He

 had shot her through the lung and she was rapidly bleeding to death.

 “ChibiUsa-sama...” her voice got out before breaking. Fire burnt

 through her side as she felt his foot kick her in the ribs. 

 	“You fucking bitch!! Do you think she’s going to save you? Do you

 think that I’d let you ruin my life?! My career?! That I’d let you

 come in and take my baby girl away from me?!” He ran a hand through

 his graying hair as he tried to catch his breath. She couldn’t hurt

 him anymore. The vicious demon lay dying on his bedroom floor. All he

 would have to do now would be to get rid of her and this whole

 painful episode would be over with. If ChibiUsa missed her pet cat,

 he would just go buy her a new one. Preferably a deaf and mute one

 this time. He heard the catgirl whimper his daughter’s name again on

 the floor and drove his foot into her stomach, shutting her up. 

 	Hotaru couldn’t see anymore, her vision finally fading out as she

 lay on the floor. Her body still ached horribly, but it was becoming

 distant, as if it were someone else’s pain. The room was gone, left

 far behind. Her body was slowly starting to slip away as she came to

 the dim realization that she was dying. Her heart cried out in

 anguish as she found that ChibiUsa could not come to her rescue. No!

 She didn’t want to die yet. She had wanted to die many other times in

 her life, praying to be with her mother again, but she had a reason

 to live this time. In her mind’s eye, she saw the pink haired girl,

 smiling serenely, her arms behind her back. She had to live. She had

 to see ChibiUsa again. Struggling to her knees, she coughed up more

 blood onto the already soiled carpet. Yes, she would be with her

 mistress. Forever. Despite the pain, she thought she might be able to

 make it to her feet after all. This man would not stand in the way of

 her heart. “Chi...” she got out weakly before another gunshot rang

 out. Hotaru’s lifeless body fell in a heap on the floor.

 	“Oh God!! Please no...” The politician turned at the sound of his

 daughter’s voice. The gun fell from cold fingers, clattering to the

 floor near the catgirl’s dead body. He reached out slowly, shaking

 his head. He realized dimly that his fingers were shaking. “ChibiUsa-

 chan, I... I had to... She was... She was going to destroy you, my

 little girl...” his words came out shakily as he watched his daughter

 hurry to Hotaru’s side.

 	“Hotaru-chan!!! Hotaru-chan!!” ChibiUsa cried out helplessly. She

 clutched onto the catgirl’s still warm body, holding it tightly

 against herself, praying that she would move in her grasp. “Please...

 Please say something.. Please do something... Anything!! Hotaru-

 chan!!! No!! Don’t leave me like this!!! Say something!!!” she

 demanded, shaking the girl in her arms. Hotaru lay limply against

 her, unmoving. ChibiUsa burst out into fresh tears, sobbing

 uncontrollably. “You can’t leave me... I.. I love you... I love you,

 Hotaru-chan.. I said it.. You mean everything to me... So open your

 eyes.. Oh please, just open your eyes.. I mean it.. I mean it with

 all my heart.. I love you...” Her fingers clutched desperately onto

 the pale girl’s skin as her body shook with each breath the pink

 haired girl managed between sobs. Her skirt and blouse were now

 soaked with blood, a stark contrast with how neat and clean they were

 mere moments before. The flowers she had bought Hotaru lay near the

 doorway, forgotten instantly as she had seen her fallen love. What

 had happened? What had gone so horrendously wrong? She had finally

 given in to the inevitable pull of her heart only to find the girl

 that lay at the center of her heart dead in her father’s bedroom. Why

 was this world so cruel? Why would it take such a gentle, shy spirit

 away? 

 Bitter tears fell down ChibiUsa’s cheeks, dripping onto Hotaru’s

 pale cheeks as ChibiUsa cupped her chin, looking into her lifeless

 violet eyes. “Hotaru-chan..” Her father was mumbling something, but

 she couldn’t hear him. Her thoughts were too dashed to concentrate on

 anything but the broken girl in front of her. “Hotaru-chan..?” she

 asked again, her pink lashes throwing tears as she blinked them

 furiously in an attempt to see through the burning veil they formed.

 Her lover looked back at her blankly, vacantly. She wasn’t there

 anymore. The spark inside of her that had been ChibiUsa’s pet catgirl

 was gone, already having fled to somewhere far away. “I love you..”

 ChibiUsa whispered as she began to cry hopelessly, hugging Hotaru

 with all of her strength. 

 “She was going to take you away from me, ChibiUsa-chan.. I had no

 choice. I couldn’t let her take you away.. I couldn’t let her ruin

 everything for us.. I’ll buy you a new catgirl.. I’ll let you get any

 pet that you want.. All right, honey? You can get whatever you want..

 She was just a pet anyway.. No big loss..” He turned to his daughter,

 trying to concentrate. He hadn’t expected her to get home. He was

 just going to tell her that Hotaru had run away, that she had simply

 left when he had accidentally left the door open. But this made

 things infinitely more complicated. His eyes caught on something

 shiny as ChibiUsa reached out and wrapped her fingers around it. It

 took a moment for it to click in his mind, the gun clicking back at

 the same moment. “No..” he whispered breathlessly. 

 The cold metal of the barrel pushed painfully past cotton candy pink

 hair as ChibiUsa felt it bite into her skin. Her tears still fell

 silently down her cheeks, but she wasn’t shaking anymore. She shifted

 her other arm, holding Hotaru warmly against her. This was it. It was

 over. She couldn’t live without Hotaru. That was part of what had

 made her realize that she loved the catgirl. Her life was incomplete

 without her. So she wouldn’t continue down life’s path alone. She

 couldn’t. Even if her body lived, she was already dead. This life was

 over. She felt the trigger tense under her finger as she pulled it.

 It kicked in her hand and fell to the floor as she slumped against

 Hotaru. She actually thought she heard the gunshot, but that couldn’t

 possibly be true. She died the second she pulled the trigger.

 Everything faded to black as she saw the roses lying discarded by the

 door, her lifeless body leaning against Hotaru’s.

 Hotaru’s smiling face and vibrant violet eyes greeted ChibiUsa as

 gun smoke filled the air and two girls lay dead and entangled

 together in a lover’s embrace back in a room far away.