Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Betrayal ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

I stared into the blinding sunlight. I should've been happy; I didn't get to see the sun that much nowadays. But the sun was only a taunting memento, a painful reminder of what used to be.

A single tear rolled down my face. What was the point in going on anymore?

I clenched my fist and I could feel the heartless bond, the cold metal of Galaxia's bracelet tighten against my skin. Why had I made such a foolish decision? What had it amounted to in the end? Everything that I held dear to me was gone now. Everything.

"Michiru..." I whispered into the wind. "Michiru, will you ever forgive me? I let you down. I let everybody down. I'm so sorry. I didn't want it to happen." I paused for a moment to rub my arm across my face, stinging my eyes. Michiru couldn't hear me. She was gone now. Nothing could bring her back. Nothing could bring either of them back.

"Uranus!" A voice behind me called out to me, but I didn't move. I only stood there dismal, silent as a statue as the clacking sound of Lead Crow's black high-heeled boots approached me. I waited until Lead Crow walked up to my side.

"You're out here again?" Lead Crow asked. "Why?"

"None of your business," I angrily replied. "What do you want?"

"Galaxia called a meeting of the Sailor Ani-mates," Lead Crow answered. There was a pause. "That includes you."

"I don't care." I muttered. It was not the first time I didn't care. Lead Crow scowled.

"You say that," Lead Crow answered. "As if you're the only one Galaxia hurt." Again I was silent, which only got Lead Crow more upset. "Get over it!" she yelled. "The rest of us have suffered because of her too, you know! So get your sorry self down there before everyone gets in trouble!" With that, Lead Crow teleported away. I let out a longing sigh and turned to leave. I would go to the meeting, but not to help Crow. It didn't matter to me whether Lead Crow suffered or not. In fact, I was delighted at the thought. Let her suffer. Let her know what pain feels like. It didn't matter what happened. I would never forgive her or even sympathize with her. Not with the one who had taken Michiru and Taylor away from me.

* * * * *

It had started out as quite the ordinary day. I awoke to the smell of sizzling bacon and freshly baked banana-nut muffins. Typical; Michiru was already putting breakfast on the table before I was even out of bed. As I slowly opened my eyes to greet the day, the door to my room flew open and in ran Hotaru, leaping onto the bed to see if she could startle me out of a sound sleep.

Only I was already awake.

"Good morning, Hotaru," I said with a smile. "How are you?"

"Fine," Hotaru answered. I smiled at Hotaru's carefree innocence. I reached down to pat the child's head, but suddenly Hotaru grasped her arms around my waist, squeezing tightly and refusing to let go.

"What's this all of a sudden?" I asked.

"I don't know," she answered, looking up with deep sad eyes. "I just felt like I should hold onto you."

"I'm not going anywhere," I assured her. "Except out for a date with Taylor this afternoon. Now come on..." I started to stand up, a rather difficult task to accomplish with a little girl strapped to my waist. As my feet hit the floor, Hotaru tightened her grip and pulled up her legs, letting her small body dangle over my hips.

"Having fun?" asked a voice. I turned around.

"Michiru!"

Michiru smiled, a playful sparkle to her eyes.

"When you girls are done playing, I've got breakfast on the table," she said.

"We're coming," I answered, pulling Hotaru away from me and setting her feet down on the carpet. I then bent over, pulling aside strands of Hotaru's jet black hair and whispering into her ear, "Better do what Michiru says. You don't want to see her when she gets mad." Hotaru's eyes widened and she hurried out of the room. Michiru looked quizzically over at me.

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing," I answered, grinning. "Come on, let's dig into those muffins of yours."

The conversation at the breakfast table was unusually light, even I was forced to admit. Maybe it was because I was still tired. Or maybe I was still thinking about Hotaru's strange behavior that morning. In either case, Setsuna tried her best to break the silence.

"So, what do you have going on today?" she asked no one in specific as she brought a cup of steaming coffee to her lips.

"I'm going to visit Chibiusa," Hotaru announced proudly. "Usagi is taking us to the park, on accounta Ruka's busy with Taylor today." I giggled at Hotaru's slurred vocabulary. Michiru glanced over at me from across the table.

"You be careful," she told me. "You two have been running into a lot of attacks with the enemy."

"Yeah, they're annoying," I replied, paying more attention to the food on my plate than Michiru's words. "But don't worry. Taylor increases my power level, remember? I have no problems beating those idiots." Michiru nodded in agreement at my newfound confidence, but something still brought her to let out a long sigh.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all," she said.

"If it's bothering you, do you want to come along and be my bodyguard?" I teased. Michiru smiled, but something told me she wasn't in the mood for making jokes. The playful grin disappeared from my face. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Just watch yourself out there today, alright?"

I nodded. "I promise." It was just like Michiru to be concerned about my safety, and rightfully so. The number of enemy attacks seemed to have increased dramatically in the past few weeks, and always where Taylor and I were. But it didn't matter. My power was stronger now. I could beat them. The only thing I couldn't beat was... myself.