Hi. I have another ChibiUsa and Hotaru story here for you guys. ^^ While 

 it is still not a hentai piece, it should be observed that the young 

 adult ChibiUsa and Hotaru love each other deeply and it is best suitable 

 for mature readers. Just so you would know.... otherwise, enjoy.

 

 Disclaimer: I do not own ChibiUsa and Hotaru - they are copyrighted by 

 the wonderful Sailor Moon artist, Naoko Takeuchi.  This is only a fan 

 fiction, okay? ^^

 

 ***********************************************************************

 

 I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU

 

 By YaRassno (yup, it's still spelled this way! ^^)

 

 Readers take note: this story contains a few violent scenes and mature 

 situations.

 

 

 	

 ***********************************************************************

 

 "Wake up, sleepyhead."

 

 ChibiUsa grumbled, twisted away from the voice and burrowed deeper under 

 the covers, not wanting to wake up.  "Go away, Diana-chan! I'll get up 

 when I'm good and ready."

 

 "Hey, come on!"  The voice said again, poking her in the side.

 

 "All right, all right, don't tell me you're hungry already!  I just fed 

 you some snacks a while ago.  Diana-chan, how if I scratch behind your 

 ears, will you go away and leave me alone?" Even as she finished speaking, 

 ChibiUsa put her hand out from beneath the blanket. Almost instantly it 

 was clasped in someone else's hands and pressed against something soft.  

 It was not her cat at all.

 

 "I'm not Diana," the voice laughed, "And I've already eaten!"

 

 "Nani?"  ChibiUsa poked her head up from the depths of the bed. "Hotaru-

 chan?  What are you doing in my bedroom?"

 

 "YOUR bedroom?"  Hotaru gazed at her with amusement. "Well, ChibiUsa-chan, 

 you're not in Crystal Tokyo now!"  The tall thin girl, dressed as always 

 in black, was holding ChibiUsa's hand tenderly against her breast. "I had 

 half a mind to pull you right out of the bed if you are not up by noon, 

 and it is already past ten minutes!"

 

 ChibiUsa frowned slightly, sat up and looked around. "Oh, that's right. I 

 just got here yesterday. Okay," She fell back into the bed, then just as 

 quickly she sat bolt upright again. "Wait a minute, what about your 

 school?"

 

 "Lucky for you, we are in the middle of a Christmas vacation right now.  

 You have arrived just in time - No school for a week!"

 

 "Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. What a relief," ChibiUsa plopped 

 back in the bed, "Now I can go back to sleep!"  But Hotaru, still holding 

 her hand, pulled her back to her sitting position again. 	

 

 "Not a chance! You're getting out of bed, and that's it!" 

 

 "Aw, Hotaru-chan!" ChibiUsa griped, but she complied anyways and stood on 

 the floor, shivering from the morning chill because she was not wearing 

 anything on her.  Hotaru let go of her hand.  "Say, where is my duffel 

 bag I brought over with me?"

 

 Hotaru pointed. "Right over there!"

 

 "Arigato!"  ChibiUsa brushed the loose hair from her face and went to the 

 corner where she had tossed her duffel bag and started rummaging around 

 inside it. When she straightened up and turned, she saw Hotaru sitting on 

 the edge of the bed and gazing lovingly at her.

 

 "Welcome back, my princess. You look even more beautiful each time I see 

 you!" Seeing a light blush on ChibiUsa's cheeks Hotaru chuckled. "Well, 

 that's true.  And I'm really glad you came all the way from Crystal Tokyo 

 to stay with me for a while," she said, "I'll tell you, every time you 

 went away for a few months I missed you terribly. Whenever you are gone I 

 thought about you all the time!"

 

 ChibiUsa smiled. "Me too, Hotaru-chan," She went over and kissed Hotaru 

 softly on the lips. "I think about you every day, even in my dreams. So I 

 just decided to sneak off and see you again!" She shrugged sheepishly. 

 "Although I unknowingly arrived right in the middle of the Christmas 

 season!"

 

 "But it's a perfect timing!" Hotaru exclaimed happily. "I was just 

 wishing the other day you would be here to celebrate Christmas with me 

 and my parents this year, and when you turned up suddenly at our door 

 yesterday night I am truly delighted!"

 

 "Yeah, and Haruka and Michiru were so surprised to see me so soon," 

 ChibiUsa said with a small laugh.

 

 "Well, I'm happy to see you again anyway. It's going to be so much fun, 

 now that you are here with me!" Hotaru put her arms around the pink-

 haired princess and hugged her warmly. "Then again I'm always happy 

 whenever you travel back here to visit me...again and again! I just wish 

 you could stay with me - permanently!"

 

 "I wish I could, Hotaru-chan, but Puu probably won't let me stay too long. 

 Neither would my mother...Whoop!" ChibiUsa stepped back and clutched at 

 her loudly rumbling stomach. "Guess I'm starving!"

 

 Hotaru chuckled.  "That's what you got for skipping breakfast. Okay, I'll 

 see what I can cook up for you for lunch."  Suddenly her face brightened, 

 "Hey, I have an even better idea! We can go downtown and get something to 

 eat. My treat. How does it sound?" 

 

 "Great!" ChibiUsa said happily.

 

 "Good. Go get dressed. Or you can help yourself to some of my clothes in 

 the closet. I don't mind.  I'll be downstairs waiting for you!"

 

 "Hotaru-chan?"

 

 "Hai, ChibiUsa-chan?"

 

 "I was thinking - could we stop by at the Tsukino house first? I'd like 

 to see Usagi again." ChibiUsa asked tentatively. "I never got a chance to 

 see Usagi and her family while I was here the last time, and I just 

 wanted to see how she is doing."

 

 Hotaru thought about it. "I'm not sure if she's still living with her 

 family, and also it's a bit long way from here...but sure, we can go over 

 there and say hello to Usagi!"

 

 ChibiUsa threw her arms around her dark-haired friend in a big hug.   

 "Arigato!"

 

 	

    		        ******************

 

 Some time later Hotaru and ChibiUsa (who managed to find some warm, 

 light-colored clothes from the closet to wear) found themselves standing 

 before the door at the Tsukino house, shivering because it *was* pretty 

 long way getting there.  But neither complained, though.  Hotaru glanced 

 at her young friend and noticed the nostalgic look in ChibiUsa's face. 

 The pink-haired girl must really miss her future mother a lot, she 

 observed.

 

 "ChibiUsa-chan, I wonder if Usagi's parents will recognize you?"  

 

 "Not without Luna-P, I don't think so," ChibiUsa said, looking rather sad. 

 "You know, I used my Luna-P on Usagi's family a long time ago and fooled 

 them into thinking I was just a poor, long-lost and abandoned 'cousin' 

 who needed to be taken care of.  I believe the effect have long since 

 worn off now. There's no way Usagi's family would recognize me and 

 welcome me with open arms."

 

 Hotaru impulsively put her arm around ChibiUsa and hugged her closely, 

 trying to console her. "At least Usagi will remember you and be happy to 

 see you again anyway!"

 

 "Yeah," ChibiUsa nodded, smiling a little. "Well, here we go."

 	

 Hotaru stepped back to one side and watched silently as ChibiUsa reached 

 up, hesitated only momentarily, then knocked the door.  A few moments 

 passed, then the door swung outward and a middle-aged woman with long, 

 bluish hair streaked with gray peered curiously at the the pink-haired 

 teenager.   "Hai?"  The woman queried.

 

 ChibiUsa blinked. "Uh, uh, I-I just came here to see if Usagi is home," 

 she stuttered, shuffling her shoes and looking terribly shy. "I haven't 

 seen her for quite a while and I've lost touch with her...so...." 

 

 "Oh, my goodness. You must be one of Usagi's friends. Do you know she got 

 a job in the other part of the city and moved away a couple of months 

 ago?" The woman asked.

 

 ChibiUsa's face fell. "Oh...I don't know that."		

 

 The woman looked at her more closely and said with a quizzical expression 

 on her face, "Hmmm...You seem familiar. Where have I met you before?"

 

 Hotaru's eyebrows raised and she looked sideways at ChibiUsa who became 

 flustered and looked down at her shoes, tongue-tied. She decided to speak 

 up for her.

 

 "Konnichi wa, Mrs. Tsukino-san. Since Usagi's not living here anymore, 

 can we have her phone number so we can get in touch with her?"

 

 The woman's head turned, and gave the dark-haired girl a surprised look.  

 "Why, hello, Hotaru! I haven't seen you in months - good to see you 

 again!"  Then the woman turned her attention back to the pink-haired teen.  

 "Well, I'll most certainly be happy to give you Usagi's phone number if 

 you like."

 	

 "Arigato! It's just that Usagi is my...really good friend," ChibiUsa 

 replied, sounding even more shy than usual. "And I just want to talk to 

 her again..."

 

 "Okay. I understand," The woman nodded. "Give me a second, and I'll give 

 you a piece of paper with Usagi's phone number on it."

 

 "All right, Ik...ma'am," ChibiUsa said, beaming.  She staggered against 

 Hotaru as soon as the woman closed the door. "Kami-sama, I almost called 

 her 'Ikuko-mommy'!"  She whispered as Hotaru gave her another one-arm 

 reassuring hug.

 

 The door opened, and the girls straightened up expectantly. Ikuko stepped 

 forward with, "Here you are," and handed ChibUsa a piece of paper.  "I 

 hope you will be able to get hold of Usagi long enough to have a nice 

 talk - I myself have had hard time getting her on the telephone as she is 

 so busy with her job and her social life!"

 	

 "Arigato again," ChibiUsa said, accepting the proffered paper. "If Usagi 

 ever come by here some time, please tell her that I was looking for her."

 

 "Oh, hai, we are planning to visit Usagi this weekend," Ikuko said 

 brightly with a smile, "But what's your name, so I can tell her that you 

 were looking for her?"

 

 "Oh," ChibiUsa felt a sudden pang of sadness that the woman could no 

 longer knew her name.  "Just tell her the little spore stopped by in 

 Tokyo for a sort visit. She'll know who it is. Ja ne!" She grabbed 

 Hotaru's arm and took off with the dark-haired friend in tow before the 

 woman would see her tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

 

 *********************************************************************

 

 "Are you okay, ChibiUsa-chan?" Hotaru said, glancing worriedly at her 

 friend across the table they had taken at the Crown Place.  "You seem 

 awfully quiet."

 

 "Oh well. I was thinking about Usagi's mother," ChibiUsa said. "Now that 

 I have seen her I miss her just as much as I do Usagi. Although," She 

 rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands with a 

 look of mild disbelief, "To tell you the truth, I can't believe she 

 looked so much older than I last saw her!"

 

 "Hmm-mmm," Hotaru said, nodding. "Things changed a lot since you were 

 away, I guess," Hotaru smiled and reached across the table to squeeze 

 ChibiUsa's arm affectionately. "I'm sorry we don't get to see Usagi, but 

 now that you got her number we can call her tonight to say hi. Oh, by the 

 way," she added quickly as though an thought had occurred to her, "Tell 

 you what, with Christmas only a few days away I need to do some shopping 

 this afternoon and get a few Christmas presents for Haruka-papa and 

 Michiru-mama.  We'll go to the mall after we ate. Okay with you?"

 

 "Okay, Hotaru-chan," But ChibiUsa was still preoccupied; "Ikuko-

 mommy...she said I look familiar," she whispered half to herself, "I 

 wonder if she still remembers me after all?"

 

 A young, smiling waitress came up to their table and bowed slightly 

 toward the two occupants.  "May I take your order?"

 

 ChibiUsa looked up, sat straight up and exclaimed happily;  "Hi, 

 Unazuki!" 

 

 Unazuki looked at her in surprise.  "Nani?  Have we met before?...Oh, 

 ChibiUsa! I almost didn't recognize you! My, but you've all grown up now 

 and without your odangos in your hair!"

 

 The pink-haired princess grinned.  "I guess I hadn't gotten around to 

 fixing my hair up  - and Hotaru said she don't know how to do odangos."

 

 "Indeed!"  The young waitress paused to study her critically. "Whoa! You 

 know, I believe you look real kawaii with your hair down...I mean really 

 kawaii!"

 

 "That's what I thought, too!"  Hotaru said.  She smiled fondly at 

 ChibiUsa.  "Unazuki's right.  You do look very kawaii with your hair 

 down! Would you consider letting your hair hang loose for the rest of 

 your life?"

 

 "Yeah, that's a good idea!" Unazuki agreed. "You'd make a complete 

 knockout sight!"

 

 "Well, I don't know," ChibiUsa said, looking slightly embarrassed by the 

 sudden interest in her hairstyle. Bemused, she looked from Hotaru to 

 Unazuki and laughed nervously, then decided to change the subject; 

 "Uh...can I order fried chicken sandwich?"

 

 "Certainly!" Unazuki scribbled in her small notepad. "What about you?" 

 She asked Hotaru. The raven-haired girl gave her choice and the smiling 

 waitress wrote it down, then paused and gave the teen girls a concerned 

 look. "Please pardon me, but did you say you'll do the shopping at the 

 mall?  Down the 8th Street, correct?"

 

 "Uh, yeah, Unazuki, that's right," Hotaru answered. "Why?"

 

 "Oh, my.  Just be very careful, girls. There is a gang living in an area 

 not far from the 8th Street," Unazuki said seriously, "They're called the 

 White Wolves, and I heard they're pretty vicious. I just thought I'd warn 

 you if you're planning to shop there."

 

 "The White Wolves?" ChibiUsa squeaked. 

 

 Hotaru looked thoughtful. "I've heard of them, my parents had told me 

 once about them a while ago," she said with a nod, "Arigato for the 

 warning, Unazuki. We will certainly be careful." 

 

 "Good, then," Unazuki was all smiles now. She looked at ChibiUsa and said, 

 "I still think you look quite kawaii with your hair down. I really like 

 it a lot!"  She bowed herself away.

 

 ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru. "The White Wolves...I don't remember hearing 

 about them. I know we have many gangs here in Tokyo, but this one?  This 

 is news to me," She sounded a little worried, "And she says they're 

 vicious, eh?"

 

 "Don't worry about them, ChibiUsa-chan. As long as you are with me, 

 you'll be safe," Hotaru turned to gaze at the pink-haired teen and 

 grinned. "Well, I believe you're blushing, aren't you?" she teased, "You 

 acted like Unazuki were trying to hit on you just because she commented 

 so nicely on your hair, ne?" 

 

 ChibiUsa ducked her head, face turning even deeper color of red. "Of 

 course not! I don't think so, Hotaru-chan!"

 

 Hotaru chuckled. "Heh. Sorry, ChibiUsa-chan. I better not tease you 

 anymore, now that your face got such a lovely shade of red."

 

 ChibiUsa squawked indignantly and tried to cuff her friend. With a 

 lightning motion borne of long senshi practice, Hotaru grabbed the young 

 girl's hand and covered it with both of her own hands. Deep purple eye 

 twinkling, the raven-haired girl grinned at ChibiUsa. "Okay, okay. I'll 

 behave, ChibiUsa-chan."

 

 Chibiusa struck her tongue out at her. "You better be!"  She huffed. She 

 felt warm inside, however, when she noticed Hotaru's eyes became soft and 

 her mischievous smile turned gentle. The raven-haired girl's hands kept a 

 firm yet tender hold on hers. 

 

 "Uh-oh," ChibiUsa said, raising one eyebrow, "I think I know what you're 

 thinking, Hotaru-chan."

 

 The raven-haired girl gave a small chuckle.  "Perhaps you do, ChibiUsa-

 chan," She winked at her, "But you'll have to wait until later to find 

 out!"  She released her friend's hand, placed her elbows on the table and 

 rested her chin on her hands, still smiling gently at ChibiUsa.  "Well, 

 suppose I get you something for Christmas, what will it be?"

 

 "You don't have to get me anything!"  ChibiUsa protested, feeling a 

 little guilty,  "I'm afraid I don't bring any money with me to buy you 

 something because I have no idea it would be almost Christmas when I 

 arrived at your house yesterday.  You know how unpredictable time-

 traveling can be. And besides, I've already got too much stuff back at 

 home anyways.  If I've known I would arrive during the holiday, I would 

 bring something for you!"

 

 Hotaru smiled again. "Okay, then. And don't worry about that...ChibiUsa-

 chan, just having you here with me is like a early Christmas present to 

 me!"

 

 "Really?"  ChibiUsa said, pleased.

 

 Hotaru nodded vigorously, then became serious. "ChibiUsa-chan...Now that 

 you are here, how long will you stay?  I hope this time you will be able 

 to stay as long as you can," Hotaru looked pleadingly at her young friend. 

 "Would you?"

 

 "I don't know. That depends," ChibiUsa said slowly, her brow furrowed.  

 "I would certainly stay as long as possible. But then Puu will come and 

 discover me here, she'll say I should go back home," Her voice sounded 

 resigned, "Then I'd have to leave."

 

 At this Hotaru frowned and shook her head vehemently.  "ChibiUsa-chan, 

 she can't do that to you. You shouldn't let Pluto tell you what to do!" 

 she said sharply. ChibiUsa blinked at the tone of her friend's voice. 

 Hotaru continued, "If you want to stay here, you just tell her so!"

 

 "Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said. She reached out to touch her friend's 

 shoulder, wanting to reassure her, "It's okay! I'm not going anywhere - 

 especially not this soon anyhow!"

 

  "As much as I love Pluto, I just don't want her to come and take you 

 away again," Hotaru said earnestly, almost angrily. She took ChibiUsa's 

 hand and squeezed it briefly.  "You are not only my best friend, you are 

 my soul mate.  I won't let her tear us apart like she did last time.  I'd 

 miss you terribly if she does."

 

 "I see," The pink-haired teen said softly, giving her friend a curious 

 look.  She had never seen Hotaru this upset before. A memory came to her, 

 of young Hotaru and ChibiUsa trying to catch up with each other after the 

 downfall of Neherenia - to pick up where they had left off since they 

 last saw each other [and Hotaru was then a baby at that time before the 

 evil Neherenia and the Dead Moon Circus began causing trouble] - only to 

 have Pluto come and said that ChibiUsa have to return home to Crystal 

 Tokyo for good. Hotaru was so disappointed they had not been able to be 

 together very long... "I'd miss you too, if I leave. Don't worry, Hotaru-

 chan, for you I will stay as long as it is possible, no matter what Puu 

 may say."

 

 Hotaru's troubled face cleared, and she seemed to calm down. "Good!"  She 

 said, starting to smile warmly, "If you stay around long enough it'll be 

 also my birthday present next month too!"

 

 "At least until..." ChibiUsa hesitated and blushed a little, "Until Usagi 

 gets pregnant. Then I really have to go."

 

 Hotaru's smile faded, and she sighed, releasing her friend's hand.  "You 

 have a point. Well, as long as you're here, we have to make the most of 

 time, I guess."

 

 "Hai, that's right," ChibiUsa agreed.  She scooted around the beach to 

 the raven-haired teen's side and gave her a tight hug, "I don't want you 

 to feel bad, Hotaru-chan. I love you, always and forever. Nothing can 

 change that in any way!"

 

 For a moment Hotaru looked at her with shining purple eyes, and she 

 opened her mouth and was on verge of speaking something when Unazuki 

 returned bearing a tray of steaming food and placed it on their table.

 

 "Chow time!"  The waitress announced with a huge smile.

 

 "What is it you were about to say?"  ChibiUsa prompted her as soon as 

 Unazuki left.  Hotaru shrugged and gave her another loving look.

 

 "Just that: I love you, too, ChibiUsa-chan. Always and forever." 

 

 ****************************************

 

 The night sky was clear and cloudless with the bright, full moon hovering 

 over the Tokyo that twinkled and glittered like jewels with Christmas 

 lights everywhere. 

 

 The young senshi and the princess from the future, each clutching tightly 

 to a bugling bag, pushed their way trough the jostling crowd of 

 pedestrians and shoppers across the congested street from the mall they 

 had just left. Reaching the other side safely, they turned in one 

 direction and started off on way home down the sidewalk.

 

 "Whoa, it's night already. We must have shopped all day until now!" 

 ChibiUsa exclaimed. She glanced down at the bags, then at Hotaru. "You 

 said a few presents, huh? I can't believe you can afford to buy all those, 

 let alone treat me at the Crown Place. Just how much allowance do you 

 actually get from Haruka and Michiru each week?!"  

 

 "You're making it sound like Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama are spoiling 

 me!"  Hotaru laughed. "No, really, the amount of the weekly allowance I 

 receive is about as normal as yours when you lived with Usagi, I think.  

 And every time I get it I just squirreled it away for later when I need 

 it to buy something." 

 

 "So you just accumulate your allowance over time?" ChibiUsa raised her 

 eyebrows in mock surprise.  "Oh, no wonder. And I thought you were 

 wealthy because of your parents!"

 

 Hotaru shrugged. "I'm not like those born-to-shop-until-I-drop-dead guys, 

 you know.  Just a few things I need to buy now and then. With Christmas 

 coming, I thought I'd better hurry and get something for my parents!"  

 She turned her head and smiled at her young friend. "It was fun shopping 

 with you, ChibiUsa-chan. And thanks for your help in picking out a really 

 cool gift for Haruka-papa. Now I can tell her that she's a proud owner of 

 2001 Ferrari GTO. Then all she have to do is look inside the box and find 

 a kawaii little toy car she can play with the remote controller!"

 

 ChibiUsa laughed. "You're very welcome, Hotaru-chan," she said.

 

 They walked for a while; admiring the decorated windows they passed by 

 while their booted feet made crunching sound in the snow.  Suddenly 

 ChibiUsa giggled furiously.

 

 "Gomen. There was one place that I was browsing back there - you were in 

 the other store at that time - and they were selling gag gifts. It 

 reminded me of one Mom got from Mars and Venus for her birthday back in 

 Crystal Tokyo last summer," She said, still giggling.  "I can't say what 

 it was, but I know it was kind of naughty.  You should have seen Mom's 

 face - it was really funny!"

 

 Hotaru laughed gently, mainly because ChibiUsa's giggles were quite 

 infectious.  "I wish I could have been there with you. It would be fun, 

 eh?"

 

 ChibiUsa became somber and looked at her with a hint of sadness in her 

 cinnamon-red eyes. She said quietly, "Yeah, It would indeed be fun, with 

 all friends and about every Senshi there for our birthday except..." 

 

 Hotaru cocked her head and looked at her quizzically. "Eh?  Except what?"   

 When the pink-haired princess looked at you sadly and didn't respond, it 

 dawned on her; "I wasn't there?"

 

 ChibiUsa shook her head, and walked more slowly with her eyes downcast. 

 "You weren't there at the party. In fact, you are not around anywhere in 

 the Crystal Tokyo at all!"

 

 "How come?"

 

 ChibiUsa was silent for a moment before continuing,  "I'll have you know, 

 Hotaru-chan, that after we defeated Neherenia I returned home and saw all 

 the old and new Senshi, including Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune - 

 except Sailor Saturn.  I asked everyone what happened to you.  Nobody 

 could give me a straight answer, not even my mother. Puu was the only one 

 to tell me that you were no longer on the Earth."  She stopped and looked 

 at the stunned Hotaru. She continued with tears brimming her eyes, "At 

 first I thought it meant you had already died. But Puu said no, it was 

 just that you were sent back to your own planet - on the far side of the 

 galaxy. And nobody have contacted you ever since!"  She scrubbed away the 

 tears that now tickled down her cheeks. "I can't reach you in any way, 

 and it made me feel so bad not to be able to see you. Oh, Hotaru-chan, I 

 miss you so much..."

 

 "Oh, ChibiUsa!"  Hotaru dropped her bag and stepped forward quickly to 

 take her into her arms. "It's all right...don't cry, ChibiUsa-chan," For 

 the pink-haired princess was beginning to cry in earnest. "So that's why 

 you kept coming back here just to see me? It's okay, we're together now. 

 Shh, shh...." 

 

 ChibiUsa snuggled against her and did not say anything else for a while.  

 Hotaru continued to murmur soft reassuring words and stroked her friend's 

 long hair absently. It was perhaps two full minutes before ChibiUsa 

 sighed and raised her head to look at the raven-haired teen right in the 

 face.  "You're O.K. now?  Hotaru asked in a concerned tone.

 

 ChibiUsa nodded, still not looking very happy. "Well, but I sure wish you 

 could still remain in Crystal Tokyo and not go anywhere else. Why did 

 they have to send you so far away?"

 

 "I really don't know. I have no idea what is going on in the future," 

 Hotaru said, feeling distressed herself, "Could it be they just decided 

 they don't need me now that there are no more powerful enemies in the 

 30th Century to battle with?" She paused for a moment as though thinking 

 and shrugged, "Or maybe it's just that your people can live much longer 

 in that century than we do here - don't they, ChibiUsa-chan? If so, they 

 probably don't want Death hanging because it would be too depressing for 

 them, huh?"

 

 "Hotaru-chan, I don't think those are good reasons enough to send you 

 away!" ChibiUsa said, shaking her head negatively, "We still do have 

 enemies popping up from time to time, and besides, you are one of the 

 elder Senshi and you are have an important duty in Crystal Tokyo, so why 

 should they..."

 

 "It just occurred to me," Hotaru said suddenly, looking pensive. 

 "ChibiUsa-chan, could it be they send me away because they are afraid of 

 my powers?"

 

 "What are you saying!"  ChibiUsa was startled. "What made you think they 

 are afraid of you? But you are our dear friend. Why would they be scared 

 of you...?"

 

 "I think I know why," Hotaru said quietly. She paused and looked at 

 ChibiUsa with a serious look on her face.  She took a long breath and 

 asked rather diffidently, "First I'd like to ask you something I have 

 been wondering about for a long time.  ChibiUsa-chan, when you first knew 

 I am Sailor Saturn, were you afraid of me?"

 

 "Me, afraid of you?" ChibiUsa cried in surprise. "Why should I?"

 

 "Remember, I am a Sailor of Death and Rebirth," Hortaru said more quietly, 

 "You know that if I must, I will not hesitate to kill the enemies which I 

 have done many, many times. And watching them die is not something you 

 should see - it's horrible.  And not only that, you are aware that with a 

 single blow of my Glaive I am quite capable of destroying everything on 

 this Earth, and the planet itself too. You know that, don't you?"

 

 ChibiUsa looked at her and gave a small, uncertain nod but otherwise did 

 not say anything. After a while Hotaru continued. "I'll tell you what.  

 When I go around as Sailor Saturn almost everyone is afraid of me. It may 

 not seem like a big surprise, considering I carry the Glaive anyway. 

 But...the problem is, even if I am not transformed - that is, I go around 

 as Hotaru and not carrying my weapon - both the Inner and the Outer 

 Senshi, including what few friends I have, once they knew who I am, are 

 still uneasy around me.  I believe even your mother is a little afraid of 

 me. I know they are, because I could see a hint of fear in their eyes 

 even if they declared their love for me and would stand by me no matter 

 what. They tried to hide it, but I was not fooled. They are just, simply, 

 afraid of me and walk around me on tiptoes, so to speak."

 

 "Even my mother?" ChibiUsa asked. Her eyes were wide with astonishment. 

 "But it can't be!"

 

 Hotaru closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Even Usagi, believe it or not. 

 I think it's because I have the power to bring the destruction and death 

 down at any time and there's no one who can stop me. ChibiUsa-chan, I 

 must tell you, it has been going like this for so long I just can't take 

 it any more. I hate it, the way everyone was just...you know, kind of 

 skittish around me. I just want to be treated like a normal person, a 

 friend and not a sort of cold, ruthless Grim Reaper they seemed to think 

 I am!"

 

 "But Hotaru-chan..."

 

 Now Hotaru opened her eyes her eyes and but did not quite meet her 

 friend's eyes.  "Chibiusa-chan, shouldn't you be afraid of me?  You have 

 seen my Glaive and know my powers and what I am capable of,"  She said 

 softly, "Are you?"

 

 "No, Hotaru-chan. I have never been afraid of you. No, not at all!"

 

 Hotaru gasped and looked at the pink-haired princess full in the face.  

 ChibiUsa looked steadily back at her with her wide, cinnamon-red eyes 

 filled with...love, compassion and total trust.  There was absolutely no 

 fear in them at all.  "Hotaru-chan, like I said, I love you. I've known 

 you for a long time and yet I love you more than anything. 

 Nothing...especially what you just said...can change it. You have to 

 believe that!"

 

 Hotaru was vastly relieved to hear that. "ChibiUsa-chan," she whispered, 

 "Is it any wonder why I love you so much?  Of all people I've known, you 

 are the only one who do not fear me!" She became aware of ChibiUsa's hand 

 was stroking her face, wiping away tears that Hotaru didn't know were 

 steaming down her own cheeks. 

 

 "Hotaru-chan, I don't care what they think or say about you, I see you 

 only as a warm, kind-hearted person who is fun to be with," ChibiUsa 

 continued, "And more than just a best friend, too. You are someone I feel 

 comfortable enough to share with you my innermost feelings and secrets 

 nobody else knows. And what's more, I know you will always be there for 

 me as I will for you too." She smiled up at Hotaru. "To tell you the 

 truth, I feel much more safe and secure whenever I'm with you, because 

 you protect me and would not let anything happen to me. Won't you?"

 

 Impulsively Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa's hand and kissed it.  "Of course, I 

 will always be there for you, ChibiUsa-chan! And I will always protect 

 you because as Sailor Saturn I'm sworn to protect you anyway. Not only 

 because you are a princess, but you are very important to me.  Much more 

 than you realize!"

 

 The pink-haired teen's face grew more serious. "I guess that is why they 

 sent you away just because they are still afraid of you, even in the 30th 

 Century? I can't believe it!" 

 

 "Either that or the other way," Hotaru said with a slow shrug. "Right now 

 it's way far into the future, so I guess we will never really know, eh?"

 

 ChibiUsa shook her head with disapproval.  "Well, I will not tolerate 

 that!  When I have a chance I'll find out why and then I'll see to that 

 it get changed so you will always remain in Crystal Tokyo with me, no 

 matter what! I swear on it!"

 

 Hotaru smiled.  "Good. I want to be near you, too. I wouldn't want to be 

 separated from you either," The raven-haired girl said. Absently, she 

 reached up and brushed the pink strands of hair from ChibiUsa's face.  A 

 snowflake floated down and melted against the princess' forehead. "Oh, 

 it's starting to snow," Hotaru looked up, and realized not only it was 

 snowing, the wind was becoming quite chilly and gusty. "Come on, we 

 better hurry home," she said, grabbing a heavy shopping bag.

 

 Without another word the girls both strode at a brisk pace, shoulder to 

 shoulder, hand in hand, shivering with their heads bent against the 

 heightening blizzard. They met fewer and few pedestrians, until they 

 could see no other person traveling down the strangely silent side of the 

 street with only an occasional car rumbling by. Curious as why she did 

 not see any more store windows festooned brightly with Christmas 

 decorations like they should be, ChibiUsa looked up and after a while she 

 whispered, "I don't think I've been here before."

 

 "Hmmm?" Hotaru raised her head and looked carefully around. Thanks to the 

 heavily blowing snow, it seemed they had somehow lost their way and 

 stumbled into an unfamiliar area of the city. Puzzled, She peered through 

 the snow swirling crazily in the streetlight at the signpost and took 

 note of the name of the street. She did not recognize it.  "I guess we 

 must have took a wrong turn." Hotaru said. 

 

 "We seem to be in a bad neighborhood," ChibiUsa observed, eying with 

 distaste the crude graffiti on the weathered brick wall.  

 

 "Really," Hotaru said, sounding slightly perturbed at their predicament. 

 "I guess we just need to turn around and find our way back there." She 

 paused and she cast a concerned look at her friend and noticed that 

 ChibiUsa's face was red from cold and exposure, and that the young 

 princess covered on one side with snow. "You okay, ChibiUsa-chan?"

 

 "Just cold, that's all," ChibiUsa griped, shivering. Even her teeth were 

 chattering a little. "I don't suppose you know a shortcut to your house 

 from around here, Hotaru-chan?"

 

 "I don't think so," Hotaru sighed. "Don't worry, we'll be home before 

 long. Just stay close to me, okay?"  The girls turned around and began to 

 trudge back up from where they had come from.

 

 "Hey, kawaii girls," A new voice hailed them.

 

 Both girls stopped and twirled around, startled.

 

 "What are you nice girls doing here? If you two are lost, maybe we could 

 help you out," A slender, older girl - probably in late teens - stepped 

 out of the shadows and into the glare of the lamppost and stood in the 

 front of them, regarding them with some interest. She was a good head 

 taller than them, and under the streetlight her long windblown hair was 

 bleached white and she was wearing long, dark heavy leather coat. She 

 grinned down at them, but the look she gave them wasn't exactly 

 benevolent.

 

 We? Hotaru frowned, suddenly wary. She looked around quickly to see if 

 there were anyone else with the strange girl, but there were no one she 

 could see beyond the scope of the lamppost.  All the same, Hotaru moved 

 closer to her friend in order to protect her and replied in an even voice, 

 "No, thanks. I'm sure we can find our way home."  

 

 "Oh?"  The girl cocked her head, the grin hardly leaving her face. "But 

 it's freezing out here! We are heading over to our place and maybe you 

 both should come in with us to get warmed up," She jerked her thumb back 

 at a squat brick building that appeared to be somewhat dilapidated. Two 

 upper curtained windows were lit with sickly yellow light, and Hotaru 

 could see silhouetted figures moving forth and back ominously behind them. 

 The stranger continued; "There you can have something to eat and drink, 

 too if you have not yet eaten."

 

 "Thanks for the offer, that is very nice of you," Hotaru said quietly, 

 "But I'm afraid we have to pass it up.  It's getting late anyway and we 

 need to go home."  She whispered to her friend, "Let's go, ChibiUsa-

 chan."

 

 The pink-haired girl threw a longing glance at the building; apparently 

 she was hungry too as well as cold, and would gladly go in there to thaw 

 out if possible.  But after a moment's hesitation Chibiusa sighed and 

 conceded, "All right, Hotaru-chan, we better go home then."  Both the 

 girls turned to walk away.

 

 "You are not going anywhere!" A new, stern voice called out.  Another 

 girl, even taller than the first, stepped into sight out of nowhere 

 blocking their path. She too has bleached hair and wore the similar dark 

 attire and has a very unfriendly expression on her face. Narrowing her 

 eyes, she said flatly; "Don't you know it's extremely rude to turn down a 

 generous offer like that?"

 

 Both Hotaru and ChibiUsa abruptly halted, and the raven-haired girl threw 

 her arm around the princess and pulled her close protectively. "What do 

 you want?" Hotaru demanded.

 

 "You," the second tall girl said simply.

 

 "That's right, we're always looking for new friends!"  Yet another voices 

 chorused and two more girls, twins to be exact, soon appeared on both 

 sides of the disagreeable second girl. In contrast their faces were 

 cheerful and smiling, but their expressions belied a dangerous glint in 

 their eyes.  Like the other girls who had accosted Hotaru and ChibiUsa 

 the somewhat young twins have pale hair and wore the same kind of leather 

 coats.   

 

 The four strangers spread out, and in the next few moments the young 

 Senshi and the princess found themselves surrounded with no other way out. 

 Something was terribly wrong.  Hotaru felt ChibiUsa gripped her arm 

 tightly. "Who are you?" The pink-haired girl challenged angrily, "What 

 are you going to do with us?"

 

 "Well, well. Such a gutsy girl," One of the girls smirked. 

 

 "ChibiUsa," Hotaru whispered to her in a warning tone.

 

 The tall girl, obviously a leader who had spoken to them in the first 

 place now addressed them again, "Well, we might as well introduce 

 ourselves.  I am Hoshi," She bowed slightly. "And this is Kumiko," She 

 nodded toward the tall hard-faced girl.  "And those are Shina and Yoko," 

 She finished, looking in direction at the young twins with deceptively 

 pleasant faces. Then she turned her attention toward Hotaru and ChibiUsa. 

 Her eyes hardened.  "Now that you have met us, I'll let you know one 

 thing.  We are the White Wolves, and you happened to be trespassing our 

 territory."

 

 Hotaru tensed, and heard ChibiUsa gasped sharply.

 

 Obviously anticipating this type of reaction, Hoshi smiled. "However, 

 since this is Christmas season," She said in a more genial voice, "And 

 for such kawaii girls like you should not be wandering around out in this 

 bad weather, we'll be generous. Therefore, you could have taken up my 

 offer to come in with us and get acquainted with us guys. There's so much 

 we can learn from each other."

 

 Hotaru and ChibiUsa looked at each other for a second. Then the raven-

 haired girl shook head firmly. "No, thanks."

 

 The leader sighed.  "If you decline our offer and would rather leave here 

 anyway...well, there is a price for trespassing our turf. So you have two 

 choices.  Hand over your money and bags you are carrying, and we'll let 

 you leave without any hassle."

 

 Hotaru's heart began to beat rapidly.  Before she could say anything 

 ChibiUsa demanded, "And what's the second choice?" 

 

 The leader's smile thinned and eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you try to 

 leave without paying the price, well, you'll have to find it out the hard 

 way."

 

 Hotaru did not like the sound of it at all. She whispered to her pink-

 haired friend, "I think we better hand over our bags, ChibiUsa-chan, and 

 then they'll let us go."

 

 "Nani?" ChibiUsa stared at her incredulously. "But you bought all those 

 presents with your money for Haruka and Michiru...and it's not right for 

 them to take the presents away from you!"

 

 "Never mind, it's better than standing around to find what the second 

 choice is all about," Hotaru whispered back. As ChibiUsa scowled angrily 

 and muttered something acidic under breath, Hotaru turned to the leader. 

 "We'll give up our bags and money.  You're sure if we do, we'll leave 

 without any trouble, correct?"

 

 Hoshi grinned suddenly. Her dark eyes glistened with greed as she nodded. 

 "Excellent choice. We will certainly let you go after we have your 

 stuff."

 

 "Okay, here you are," Hotaru said with quiet resignation, and held out 

 the bag. Just as the tall leader reached forward to take it, ChibiUsa 

 suddenly yanked Hotaru back. 

 

 "No!"  ChibiUsa said vehemently, shooting the gang leader an angry look,  

 "They have no right to do that to us!"

 

 "ChibiUsa!" Hotaru said sharply. "We don't want any trouble with them. 

 Just let them take what they want, and then we'll be let go. It's not 

 worth making a big fuss about it!"

 

 ChibiUsa shook her head stubbornly, still balking.  "It's just not 

 right!"

 

 "Ah, so you're resisting, eh?" The hard-faced second girl named Kumiko 

 said. She rubbed her knuckles ominously. "What are we going to do about 

 you two?"

 

 "You're not taking anything from us!"  ChibiUsa shouted. 

 

 The leader glanced over Hotaru and ChibiUsa's heads at Kumiko and nodded.  

 As though on cue, the hard-faced girl standing behind Chibisusa stepped 

 forward with slow, purposeful and menacing movements.

 

 Without warning, ChibiUsa's elbow flew out and caught Kumiko in the 

 stomach. As she doubled over, gasping, the petite pink-haired princess 

 grabbed her around the head and flipped her right over her shoulder.  

 Kumiko went down with a thud and lay there in the snow, groaning.  The 

 other bleach-haired girls froze where they stood, staring in stunned 

 disbelief.

 

 "ChibiUsa!" Hotaru gasped. "What do you think you are doing?"

 

 "Come on! We're getting out of here!"  ChibiUsa said. She grabbed 

 Hotaru's hand and dragged her across the space that was formerly occupied 

 by Kumiko and into the alley, taking the bags with them.

 

 "They're getting away!"  The leader of the gang screamed as Kumiko jumped 

 to her feet.  She sounded absolutely livid; "They will pay for it! Go 

 after them!" 

 

 "Oh, Kami-sama," Hotaru said, looking at her friend in consternation.  

 They could hear the angry words echoing off the walls and a set of 

 footfalls slapping furiously upon the snow-covered ground behind them, 

 growing closer and closer each moment. The raven-haired girl yelled; "Run 

 as fast as you can!" 

 

 And so the senshi and the princess sprinted hand in hand down the semi-

 dark alley for dear lives, turning this way and that way at every corner 

 in hopes to shake their pursuers off.  But when they made fourth such 

 detour they immediately realized their mistake; they had ran into a dead 

 end. And they could not backpedal out of their predicament, for almost 

 immediately the angry girls with bleached hairs burst into view, blocking 

 their only way of escape.

 

 Before Hotaru would react, she was tackled from behind with such a force 

 that she was slammed against the brick wall. As she groaned painfully she 

 heard a falsely cheerful voice said with a tone of ironic playfulness in 

 it, "Tsk, tsk. You think you can dodge us, aren't you?"  Hotaru was not 

 sure if it was either Shina or Yoko.  But as she tried to struggle she 

 saw Kimuko striding right by and caught a fleeting glimpse of what looked 

 like a bowie knife flashing in dim light.  Icy fear seized her heart. It 

 was not out of a concern for her own safety, however, but for ChibiUsa. 

 [Dear Kami-sama, don't let them hurt my friend!]

 

 "Know what I'm gonna do?"  The same voice laughed nastily, and Hotaru 

 felt her arm twisted savagely behind her. She could not cry out loud, she 

 was paralyzed with pain. "We're gonna break every bone of yours and kill 

 you!"

 

 The next few moments seemed like an eternity, as Hotaru was struck 

 brutally several times - with what, she wasn't able to tell.  Hotaru was 

 dimly aware of a furious scuffle not too far off. [ChibiUsa...oh, no!] 

 But there was nothing she could do at that time. Then, with a final 

 savage blow to her head that sent her reeling, she was flung to the 

 ground among the overturned trashcans. 

 

 "Next time we see you it'll be much worse than that. You should be lucky 

 we let you live for now."  It was Hoshi's voice now. "Have a Merry 

 Christmas!"  With those mocking parting words, the gang stomped away.  

 Then there was silence.

 

 Hotaru lay panting there in semi-darkness, shivering, waiting for the 

 pain to dwindle to a tolerable level before she could dare to raise her 

 head. She was somewhat relieved she suffered no broken bones. "ChibiUsa? 

 Are you there?"  She called tentatively. When she did not hear the 

 immediate response she became panicky.  "ChibiUsa! Answer me!"

 

 At last a weak reply came.  "Hotaru...!" In semi-darkness Hotaru could 

 see a form of ChibiUsa floundering around in the snow not far from her.  

 Hotaru, frightened and concerned for her friend, tried frantically to 

 reach where the pink-haired girl was.  ChibiUsa must have seen her, for 

 she shuffled over to her right away on knees and hands and an arm slipped 

 gently around the raven-haired girl, supporting her.  "Hotaru! Are you 

 all right?" ChibiUsa said in a much stronger voice now. She also sounded 

 strangely restrained as thought she was trying to hide pain from her 

 voice.

 

 Hotaru staggered into her friend's arms with relief. [Thank Kami-sama!] 

 She was so scared that they might beat ChibiUsa senseless...or worse. She 

 looked up through blowing snow flurries into ChibiUsa's face, trying to 

 gauge just how bad the princess looked.  It was hard to tell, as 

 ChibiUsa's face was in shadow with tendrils of pink hair whipping around 

 in the wind, partly concealing it. 

 

 "I...I think so," Hotaru said in a halting voice as she allowed ChibiUsa 

 to pull her to a sitting position.  Instinctively she massaged the aching 

 arm. "Ouch. That's a wonder they didn't pull my arm out of the socket!  

 ChibiUsa-chan, please tell me - how badly are you injured in any way?"

 

 ChibiUsa did not answer the question. Instead, she became upset; "Kami-

 sama, you're hurt!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed, stricken. "They did 

 this to you and got away with it!"

 

 "Forget it," Hotaru said wearily. "Let them go."

 

 "But, they took the gifts you bought for Haruka and Michiru and beat you 

 up...!"  ChibiUsa was becoming angry again. "I won't forgive them. I'm 

 not going to let them get away with it!"

 

 "I said forget it. It's not worth going after them," Hotaru said.

 

 "There's no way I can let them get away with it!"  ChibiUsa repeated.  

 She hugged Hotaru fiercely for a second or two, then released and 

 scrambled to her feet. "I'm going after them!" And then she took off down 

 the alley after the retreating members of the White Wolves gang. 

 

 "ChibiUsa! Come back!" Hotaru shouted. [Can't she see they're armed and 

 extremely dangerous?]  Ignoring her pains, she got to her feet and took 

 off after her friend at a frantic speed. "ChibiUsa!  ChibiUsa!" 

 

 The pink-haired princess, however, had already vanished around the corner.  

 [I can't believe it, ChibiUsa is just as rash as her mother Usagi was!] 

 The thought of ChibiUsa trying to take on the White Wolves gang by 

 herself and getting sliced up and down horrified Hotaru, and her feet 

 picked up an ever faster pace.  Already a violent melee could be heard 

 breaking out not too far off. Her heart sank. [If anything happen to 

 ChibiUsa, I might not even be able to put her together!]  She ran around 

 the corner just in time to hear ChibiUsa cry out loud.    

 

 "SATURN PLANET!"

 

 As she drew nearer to the open area she caught sight of the White Wolves 

 gang standing around in a circle, viciously hitting and kicking at the 

 huddled form in the snow.  Oh, gods.

 

 "POWER!"

 

 [ChibiUsa-chan, hold on! I'm coming! ]

 

 "MAKE UP!"

 

 A purplish light flashed momentarily around her and her heavy civilian 

 attire for the winter dissolved, to be replaced by a purple and white 

 sailor uniform. "GLAIVE, COME FORWARD!"  She raised her arm, and the 

 deadly Silent Glaive materialized from far above and came spinning into 

 her outstretched gloved hand.  Thus armed, Sailor Saturn bounded over to 

 the top of the big dumpster and pointed the Glaive toward the gang.  

 "STOP IT AT ONCE!"   

 

 The White Wolves gang twirled around. 

 	 		

 The light from a nearby lamppost was dim but the Saturn saw enough to 

 make her heart stop. ChibiUsa was lying quite still.  There appeared to 

 be some dark stains in the snow near her body.  Saturn felt sick inside.  

 She lifted her eyes to glare at the older girls.  "Beating up and robbing 

 a young lady during a Christmas season - this I cannot tolerate, nor can 

 I forgive!" 

 

 Hoshi appeared to recover quickly from her stupefaction at the sight of a 

 formidable figure on the dumpster in front of her, and became belligerent.  

 "Who are you?"   

 

 "I am Sailor Saturn," The Senshi intoned flatly, her Glaive that 

 reflecting cold light every time she moved it, "Agent of Death and 

 Rebirth." 

 

 "Hoshi! I've heard of her!"  One of the twins shrieked, her eyes bulging. 

 "She's one of the senshi, and the most deadly of them all!"

 

 Hoshi, unnerved, stepped back a pace and eyed Sailor Saturn warily. "What 

 do you want with us?"

 

 "It would be better if you all leave right now!" With that Saturn leaped 

 down from the dumpster and, despite the freezing, blowing snow, she 

 struck a threatening posture with her Glaive thrust outward.

 

 The gang gasped and scurried back a few paces.

 	

 "I said, leave NOW!" Saturn shouted, and advanced on them.

 

 The twins - no longer so cheerful looking now - lost their nerve 

 completely and fled screaming into the dark without a backward glance.  

 Hoshi and Kumiko took several nervous paces back but did not flee. "We 

 don't do anything to you!" The leader yelled. "You're not gotta butcher 

 us for no reason, are you?"

 

 Saturn stopped advancing, but said nothing. 

 

 "Maybe she's bluffing," Kumiko said to Hoshi.

 

 "I'm warning you..."  Saturn growled softly. Keeping her eyes on the two 

 remaining older girls, she moved sideways until she reached the still 

 form in the snow and crouched down. Her gloved hand slipped down to touch 

 the pink-haired girl's face.

 

 The gesture was not lost on the tall girl.  "Ah, so it must be your lover, 

 ne?"  Kumbio said. Somehow, in spite of the grim situation she actually 

 smirked; "I think you came too late to save her. She's gone."

 

 Saturn's face stiffened. Hardly taking her eyes off the older girls, she 

 shook her friend's shoulder with her hand. "ChibiUsa," the Senshi 

 whispered urgently, "Come on, wake up."

 

 ChibiUsa did not answer.  Saturn grew desperate. "ChibiUsa!" She said, 

 turning her attention away from the older girls to look down at her 

 friend. "ChibiUsa...can you hear me?!"

 

 The princess opened her eyes. "I'm cold..."  She mumbled. She turned her 

 head to look at Saturn and grimaced. She was not hiding pain from her 

 voice this time; "And I hurt." 

 

 "Oh, ChibiUsa-chan!" Saturn said, deeply distressed. She wrapped her one 

 arm around her friend and pulled her carefully to a sitting position. The 

 young teen shuddered, and rested her head wearily against Saturn's chest, 

 shivering violently.  

 

 "HAIIIIIII!"  Kumkio whipped her knife out and rushed toward her with 

 wild, insane look in her eyes.  Saturn reacted quickly; with a lightning 

 speed she jumped up and swung her Glaive around, slamming the blunt end 

 against the side of Kumbio's head. Without a word the tall girl dropped 

 down with a crash and lay there in a heap.  

 

 "Oh, my god. You killed Kumkio, didn't you!"  Hoshi gasped.

 	

 "I think not," Saturn said, giving the leader a cold stare, "She's lucky 

 if all she'll get is a severe headache when she wakes up. It should teach 

 her not to mess with the Senshi of Death!"

 

 "Yeah, serve her right!"

 

 Saturn nearly lost her composure. She glanced sharply downward and saw 

 that ChibiUsa had raised her head and was glaring defiantly at Hoshi. The 

 pink-haired girl struggled unsteadily to her feet and hands and then said 

 stoutly; "Sailor Saturn will see to that you and your friends will be 

 punished in the name of Moon, for we will not tolerate your such actions, 

 threatening and robbing citizens during Christmas season!"

 

 Hoshi stared at the pink-haired teen, astonished and impressed at the 

 same time. "You are really one gutsy girl. I saw Kumkio struck her knife 

 deep in you, and you still come up fighting!"

 

 "ChibiUsa-chan...?"  Saturn said in disbelief. The princess gasped, 

 shuddered and collapsed with a strangled cry. Frightened, the senshi fell 

 to her knees and put her arm around the wounded girl again.  

 "ChibiUsa...!" 

 

 The princess coughed briefly, then moaned in pain. "It hurts. It 

 hurts..."

 

 Hoshi snickered nastily. "Well, well. Then again I guess she's not so 

 tough after all."

 

 Saturn's head whipped around. "Get out of here! Take your friends and get 

 out of the city and don't come back!" She said in a cold fury and aimed 

 her lethal weapon toward the gang leader, "Or so help me, if I catch one 

 of you White Wolves lurking around I will strike every one of you down 

 with my Glaive  - without a moment's hesitation!"

 

 Taken back at the tone of the senshi's voice, Hoshi looked genuinely 

 frightened at last.  Her eyes widened, and she turned as pale as her hair. 

 Hastily she reached down and dragged the still unconscious Kumkio away.

 

 As soon as they were gone Saturn turned her attention back to the 

 pink=haired teen. "Hold on, ChibiUsa-chan!" Saturn put down the Glaive, 

 quickly stripped one glove off and, still holding her injured friend in 

 one arm, she put a bare hand under ChibiUsa's sweater. Almost immediately 

 her hand found the wound just under ChibiUsa's right breast, and what a 

 terrible wound it was. Saturn could feel the blood bubbling from the 

 nasty slash where the knife had penetrated the lung. She became extremely 

 upset. Sobbing, the Senshi pressed the hand firmly against the wound and 

 poured all her energy to Heal it. 

 

 ChibiUsa gasped from the pressure placed on the wound but otherwise made 

 no other word. "You're not going anywhere, you hear me?" Saturn said 

 through tears, "ChibiUsa-chan, you just have to hold on and don't you 

 dare leave me - not now, please, not now!"

 

 Slowly the wound stopped bleeding and began to close up. Even so, Saturn 

 refused to take her hand off after it has completely healed. The princess 

 lay still in her arms, so quiet and so pale.  The senshi cradled her 

 friend's head under her chin and rocked her forth and back. 

 "ChibiUsa...ChibiUsa-chan, do you hear me? Please tell me!"

 

 For one long, terrifying moment there was no reply. Then, slowly, the 

 princess raised her head and opened her eyes to look at Saturn. "Hotaru-

 chan..."

 

 Saturn gasped. "ChibiUsa-chan, are you all right?" 

 

 ChibiUsa snuggled against the senshi. "Yeah. I think so...but I'm still 

 cold."

 

 Saturn withdrew her hand, now covered with blood, and threw her arms 

 around her friend in a fierce hug and could not let go for a long while.  

 "ChibiUsa...oh, ChibiUsa-chan, I was so afraid you were going to die. I 

 don't want to lose you!" She whispered with her face buried in the soft, 

 silky pink hair.

 

 ChibiUsa gave a weak laugh and shook her head slowly. "Not this time. 

 Don't worry, Hotaru-chan. No way I can leave you now...not ever!"

 

 "Thank Kami-sama!" Saturn lifted ChibiUsa's chin and kissed her fervently. 

 "Just don't you ever do that again! I don't know how I can go on, if you 

 run off and get killed. Promise me you will not do anything rash like 

 that again!" 

 

 "Hai, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, sounding suddenly meek. "I promise."

 

 "Good," Saturn kissed her again and hugged her even more tightly. It has 

 been such a huge relief to know that the princess would be all right. 

 Indeed, thank Kami-sama for that.

 

 *************************************************************************

 ****

 

 With her arms full Hotaru stepped into her bedroom and managed to close 

 the door behind her. The room was semi-dark, with only two or three lamps 

 burning dimly on the dresser in the corner. "ChibiUsa-chan, I've got 

 another blanket. Want it?"

 

 ChibiUsa, lying on her side in the bed with a couple of covers pulled up 

 to her chin, looked up. "Hai! Hurry up and get in with me!" She said, and 

 held out arms for her.  The raven-haired teen walked briskly toward her, 

 threw the thick blanket over the bed before disrobing and slipped under 

 the covers next to the princess. She gasped softly with pleasure when 

 ChibiUsa's warm body moved forward, pressing against hers.

 

 "I thought I would never thaw out! Hotaru-chan, what took you so long?"

 

 "Well, ChibiUsa-chan," Hotaru said as she snuggled into her lover's 

 inviting arms, "I have told Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama about our 

 encounter with the White Wolves gang. You can imagine they were pretty 

 upset about it, and they promised they would keep an eye out for them and 

 to make sure the gang will not return to cause any more trouble in the 

 city again." 

 

 "Great! Now the people can do Christmas shopping without fear of running 

 into those thieves!" ChibiUsa said happily. Then she paused and added, 

 "Speaking of the Christmas presents, I wonder what happened to the gifts 

 you bought from the mall?"

 

 Hotaru shrugged. "Buried under the snow somewhere in the alley, for all I 

 care," she said. "I'm not worried about them. My parents will understand. 

 It was more important that you would live. I just can't bear the thought 

 of losing you!" She brushed the loose strands of pink hair out of 

 ChibiUsa's face and kissed her soft lips. "I'm just glad you are still 

 here, alive and well. That is the best Christmas present I can ask for."

 

 ChibiUsa smiled and ran hand through the other girl's dark hair. "Arigato 

 domo for healing me and saving my life. I'll say that was the best 

 present I got also!" she said, and then hesitated. "Um...Hotaru-chan, I'm 

 really sorry I went off and got us into trouble with that gang. I guess I 

 should not have acted so recklessly, eh? Gomen nasai."

 

 "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Like I said, I'll always be there for 

 you and protect you," Hotaru kissed her again, "Just don't make a habit 

 of it, okay?"

 

 "Hai, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, and moved back a little to look at her 

 lover with some distress, noting the bruises that were still visible on 

 Hotaru's body.  "But you're still hurt, and you can't heal yourself..."

 

 Hotaru shook her head. "ChibiUsa-chan... Don't worry about me. Just give 

 me time and then I'll be fine," She paused, and then laughed quietly. 

 "But don't let that stop you from loving me any way you want, my 

 princess!"

 

 The worried look on ChibiUsa's face cleared. She smiled, pulled Hotaru 

 closer and gave her a kiss, this time longer and more passionate. Hotaru 

 happily responded with as much vigor as possible. After a while they 

 broke apart and Hotaru rested her head on ChibiUsa's chest. The pink-

 haired teen continued to groom the dark hair with her fingers.  "Hotaru-

 chan...I love you," she whispered after a moment.

 

 Hotaru smiled contentedly. "I love you too, ChibiUsa-chan," she replied. 

 She could hear ChibiUsa's heart beating, regularly and reassuring.  To 

 her, it was most beautiful music, far more than anything and more 

 precious than the Christmas and birthday presents combined.

 

 

 

 *******************************************************************

 

 Well, that's it. I'm not sure how you like this story. ^^;;  But I hope 

 you enjoyed it anyways!

 

 

 Thanks for reading!

 

 YaRassno 

 

 Comments?  Email: yarassno@juno.com