Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Enemy Within? ❯ Chapter 3

Author's Notes: People, let me first DEEPLY apologize for not getting this update out sooner! I just could not seem to get this next chapter done right, and finally, at the last second, inspiration hit. I don't think I did too badly on this, so therefore, I submit this to ff.net. Updates should be coming a bit more regularly for a bit after this one, since I know exactly what I want to happen, and when. Enjoy reading this part, and look for more to come shortly.:D It would also appear that I have to give thanks to more people! Personal thanks go to masterharuka, Yukina, and Pisces*Angel. Once more, if you wanna see your name in here, you gotta review! Even if you tell me the story needs work, you'll get your name in here.:D

PS: This chapter has been UPDATED!:D

Disclaimer: I respectfully decline the invitation to join your hallucination in which you believe me to be making a profit off of this story. I will reward you for your thoughts with a nice bomb that will be strapped to your back shortly. Just to put it plainly, so there's no confusion...I own nothing, I make nothing. Have a nice day!

Chapter Three

Just outside a nearby fair, eight individuals discussed the similarities between the events that had brought them here.

"Just what the heck is going on here?!?" Rei shouted impatiently, looking over the group that had gathered. A chorus of shrugs greeted her question, which only irritated the fire senshi further.

"I'm guessing that you're following the same directions we are, huh Rei?" Haruka asked. Also per the letter's request, none save for one of them were in senshi form, having instead been directed to wear the most casual civilian clothes they could, and if possible, wear their hair in a different style.

While most had reluctantly gone along with the instructions(even Haruka, surprisingly) Rei had flat out refused, sensing that something was amiss. Thus, she had shown up ready for trouble as Sailor Mars. Thankfully, they were in a fairly secluded area, so no one would tumble onto their conversation, and perhaps discern who they really were. As an added precaution(albeit a bit of a coincidental one), Urawa was also on hand, having gone with Ami to this proposed rendezvous.

Minako suddenly tapped one finger against her chin. "Now that I think about it, I was going to ask the queen what was up, but the guards told me she wasn't in for the day."

Rei perked up and narrowed her eyes, as if this provided an easy link to vindicate her suspicions. "Did they give any reason?"

Minako shook her head, as Urawa hid a smile behind a cough. He knew exactly what was going on here; had known, in fact, for a week. He could have easily spilled the beans on the whole surprise that Serin, Endymion and Sephiroth had planned, but felt that it was worth it to hold his peace out of respect for their time and effort, if nothing else.

A beeping sound broke up Rei's angry muttering, and everyone reached for their communicators. Haruka and Michiru, however, were faster. "Hotaru?" Michiru queried.

"Hai, Michiru-mama. Where are you guys, by the way? Did you decide not to come?"

"Well Hotaru-chan, we're...discussing some things that are best kept private right now. At least until more information is forthcoming," came the reply from her foster mother.

"Oh. Well, where are you anyway? I'll at least wait with everyone."

Michiru directed her daughter to their location, and within a few moments, the ninth member of the group stepped through the screen of shrubs. Brushing a few needles and leaves from her sleeves, Hotaru quickly surveyed the group, and caught the source of the dissent almost immediately.

"Rei! What are you doing?" she asked in surprise.

Rei folded her arms across her chest. "I'm being prepared for a trap, that's what! This whole gathering reeks of a set up!"

Haruka sighed, putting a hand to her forehead, but it was Makoto who spoke.

"Look Rei, while your devotion to duty is admirable, could you just ease up?" She sighed, and then added, "I wasn't going to say anything, but Serin explained what he was going to be doing last night. This is all part of the king's birthday present to his wife."

At that revelation, talk ceased for some time, being replaced with a few quizzical looks. After a moment, Ami slowly asked, "It seems rather unusual for a birthday present to have us all here..."

Makoto shook her head, a wry smile on her face. "Actually, the present is to give Usagi a day off from her duties. Serin mentioned it would be a kind of throwback to 'the old days'," she responded with a chuckle.

"So that's why Sephiroth took off before I woke up this morning..." Hotaru murmured. When her attention returned to her friends, she was confused as to why they were all staring at her with variations of shock and/or amusement on their faces...save for her parents, who were eyeing her with equal parts suspicion and sternness. It was a long moment before realization dawned on her, and she blushed fiercely at her gaffe.

Before she could correct or defend her statement, the inquisition began.

"Hotaru, how could you...?"

"Did you use...?"

"He didn't force you...?"

"How was he?"

The barrage of questions ended with an almost anticlimatic finality at the last, and slowly, the (mostly) disguised senshi turned to look at the progenitor of that inquiry.

"What?", Minako asked, with an innocence only she could muster.

None had ever seen bigger sweat drops than the ones on her friends' heads at that moment. Though it took some time for them to regain their equilibrium, the senshi finally did, and with a little more order.

Michiru sat her young charge down and looked in Hotaru's eyes. "Hotaru-chan...how did this happen?"

Squirming uncomfortably, the senshi of silence responded, "Well, it...it just happened. But he didn't force me or anything, I...I suggested it."

Haruka, for her part, wasn't sure whether to be proud or uncomfortable with the fact that Hotaru had suddenly developed such boldness, which was obviously the wind senshi's influence. She did, however, feel that a stern talking to would have to be had with the CTDF's commander...this was NOT, in her opinion, what she had given her approval to their marriage for. A significant look passed between Michiru and Haruka at that moment, and the wind senshi slightly nodded. Turning her attention back to their daughter, Michiru began, "Hotaru-chan, I'll understand if you're uncomfortable answering, but I have to know, and I know Haruka does, too." Taking a deep breath, she tried to phrase her next question as delicately as possible, while simultaneously gathering the nerve to say it aloud.

Several of the senshi knew what their friend was about to ask, and wisely decided to keep their mouths shut. While each of them were as tight as sisters, when it came to Hotaru, nobody took precedence over her well-being before the wind and water senshi. A long pause filled the clearing so thoroughly that the air seemed to press down on everyone present. Finally, Michiru spoke.

"Did you...use...well...protection...of any kind?" she finally asked.

Hotaru stared at the ground, her cheeks positively burning. Her mother tried to lean down to look at the young girl's eyes, but she turned away quickly, which provided the answer that the water senshi had sought-but not the one she had wanted. Blowing out a short, disappointed breath, she shook her head.

Haruka frowned in concern, and sat down next to Hotaru. "Hotaru-chan...how could you forget?"

Having finally suppressed her embarrassment over the situation, the surrogate daughter looked back up at her parents, and wordlessly held up her left hand, taking a certain mischievous pleasure that no one had noticed before.

Almost immediately, her comrades picked up what their friend was trying to say, and their eyes simultaneously widened. But before they could say anything, Urawa perked up. "They're here," he stated plainly.

Hesitantly, Rei dehenshined as she and the others headed for the entrance to the fair to meet with their friend and leader. Urawa, Ami, Makoto and Minako were next in line, followed by the three Outer Senshi...one of whom was quick to lean down and whisper, "Congratulations though, Hotaru-chan," to her young daughter, earning a blush and a mumbled "Thank you" in response.

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Serin glanced around the entryway, a slight frown evident on his face as he ran a hand through his blond hair. A tall man with his hair bundled up under a ballcap and shades on his eyes leaned down and whispered, "Looks like they didn't care for the secretive methods..."

A young woman, her arms wrapped around the waist of her husband, giggled at the comment, and added, "I don't see why not. I had fun riding in an ambulance and on a stretcher without being too hurt or sick to enjoy it. I just wish you guys had turned on the siren and sped around like it was a real emergency, though...I couldn't wait to start my day off!"

The group enjoyed a bit of a laugh at that. "Well, this is a present from all of us, Usa-ko. Happy Birthday," her husband answered, as he gave an eagerly accepted kiss. Nearby, Usa-chan rolled her eyes and made gagging noises as her parents kissed.

"Usa-chan...you should be happy you've got parents who still show their love for each other, even years later," Serin admonished

"If you had to live with them giving each other lovey-dovey looks and giving slobber kisses nearly 24/7, you'd understand why I'm gagging, Uncle Serin...it gets old after a while," the young teenager retorted.

"When you meet your 'special someone', you'll understand, prNGH!"

That last was uttered from Sephiroth as the heel of Serin's foot casually came down hard on the swordsman's toes. Sephiroth barely managed to keep from hopping around on one foot as he glared at the paladin, who studiously ignored the gaze. At that moment, the rest of their troupe arrived, and Usagi waved them over.

"Hey guys, over here!"

Seeing their queen waving(though no one else knew, since she had taken the time to wear her hair in one long ponytail, rather than the usual odangos), the group rushed over, crowding around their queen. In unison, they all spoke: "Happy Birthday, Usagi!"

Laughing in pure merriment, Usagi thanked each of her friends, sharing hugs with each of them occasionally, before Mamoru finally coughed and said, "Well...let's make the most of this day, shall we?"

"Actually..." Haruka piped in, with a short glance at her daughter, "I don't think they really meant to steal thunder from our q...friend's birthday, but I think that Hotaru and Sephiroth have an announcement." This was punctuated with a short, intense glare at the man in question, which clearly indicated that the two were going to have words later.

In response to the sentence, the swordsman and his fiancee both blushed, as Serin, Mamoru, Usagi, and Usa-chan blinked in confusion. Finally, Sephiroth said, "W, we are...we're engaged."

Both Usagi and her daughter immediately squealed with delight, throwing their arms around the senshi of silence and congratulating her simultaneously. The reaction from the men was a little more subdued, but both Serin and Mamoru gave their congratulations to the swordsman. Once the excitement had died down, Usagi asked, "So, when's the big date?"

"We're not sure yet...we've got all the time in the world, so we're just going to take things slow for now...but it's going to be soon, we both know that much," Hotaru answered with a smile.

"Hope that's not the only thing you take slow..." Haruka muttered under her breath, which earned an elbow from her lover.

Finally, the attention was refocused on the birthday girl, and the day of merriment truly began.

Both Serin and Sephiroth quickly got into the swing of things, since this was really their first time enjoying a fair(at least, as far back as they could remember), and before long, they were not only working on winning prizes for their significant others, but also competing against each other, which amused the group immensely.

One particular incident occurred when Serin and Sephiroth were participating in a fishing game, trying to scoop up fish with a net. The whole incident started when Sephiroth, trying to track down one of the rare fish, accidentally bumped into Serin's net during the chase.

"Hey...listen, Seph, this is my side of the pool, now I don't want your net touching my net on my side of the pool," Serin spoke up.

His competitor gave him an odd look, and said, "Wh, what do you mean, 'your side of the pool'? There isn't anyone's side of the pool anywhere, it's fend for yourself."

Serin's eyebrows raised and he emphasized, "I mean it, Seph, don't be touching my net on my side of the pool."

In response, Sephiroth blew out a short breath in disgust as he answered, "I'll touch your net, I'll touch it anywhere in the pool. There, I touched it right now. What do you got to say about that? Take THAT!"

"Oh yeah? I'll touch your net two times back. What do you got to say about THAT?"

"Then I'll touch yours three times back."

"I'll touch yours five times back, and poke you in the gut with it, too."

Sephiroth jerked at the dripping wet sensation that Serin had brought to his midsection and shirt, but gamely responded by taking one of the fish in the tank and whipping it at Serin, catching him full in the face. Stunned, the paladin recovered, and glared at the swordsman, mock-growling, "Okay, that's it!"

Despite the slight difference in height, Serin managed to grab Sephiroth by the collar, and dunk his head in the tank before anyone could respond. Leaving his head in for about five seconds, he bonked him playfully on the head a couple of times, punctuating it with a slap before letting him up...whereupon the soaked swordsman squirted a jet of inhaled water into Serin's face.

At this point, the tent barker ended the ensuing fight by shouting, "Hey, get out of here! I ain't gonna put up with these childish antics all day! Enough, alright?!?"

Still fairly amiable, the two commanders nodded and turned back to the rest of their group, only to find them in hysterics. Those that weren't outright rolling on the ground were doubled over in a laughing fit. Chuckling slightly himself, Serin elbowed his friend and muttered, "Bet we look like idiots right now..."

His comrade shrugged. "Small price to pay for making one so close to your heart laugh," he quipped.

Shortly afterward, the group stopped to buy lunch there, which naturally perked Usagi up further. For the first time in a long while, the queen could truly gorge herself, and not worry about propriety or decorum, which earned the usual disgusted look and smart aleck comment from Rei, and sweatdrops from everyone else. Endymion, for his part, was just glad that he'd been able to squirrel away a lot of money for occasions such as this...though they were rare, when Usagi gorged, she really GORGED. Still, he never faulted her one bit...least of all today. 'After all,' he thought, 'Even if it is for one day, it's nice to have the world revolve around you.' Usagi caught his look as she wolfed down a hotdog and grinned lovingly at him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. He accepted the kiss, but then stole another deeper one on the lips, whispering, "Happy Birthday, my love," when it ended.

Later, the group stopped by a test your strength booth, which most everyone was eager to try. Usagi, being the birthday girl, tried first. Hefting the hammer up over her head, she let out a shout, bringing the mallet down with a crash onto the sensor...scoring a 34.

Everyone, even Rei, was visibly impressed and congratulated their leader...the senshi moreso, since they remembered the last time she had tried a similar game, and had not only scored a measly 1, but had also gotten clobbered as the bag swung back and smacked her in the face.

Most of the other senshi scored around the 50's, although Hotaru didn't make it past 32. Haruka was matched only by Makoto at 98, which earned them picks of their choice from the vendor's stock. Haruka picked up a stuffed bunny for the queen, while Makoto, though she really wanted the Sailor Jupiter figure they had on display, decided on a Sailor Moon figure instead. Despite Usagi's constant statements of "You don't have to do this, guys," no one thought twice about it.

Initially, the guys hung back, content to watch their significant others have fun, but at that moment, Serin stepped forward, slapping down a 100 C-Yen note. "I'll take a swing."

Grabbing the hammer for himself, he tested its heft in a couple of swings, and then judged his distance from the sensor as he prepared to swing. Once he was finally satisfied, the paladin took a deep breath, jiggled the hammer a couple of times...and then swung. His score ended up being a 97.

Shrugging at the hoots from the ladies, he picked out the Sailor Jupiter figure that his wife wanted, handing it to her with a smile and an apologetic look to his sister, who laughed and shook her head in response. Later, as they headed out to the photo area for the group to take a final memento of their trip, Sephiroth whispered to Serin, "I would have thought..."

Shaking his head slightly, Serin whispered back, "Don't, Sephiroth...leave it as it is. Whether Makoto's stronger than I am, or whether I held back...let's not get caught up in such semantic nonsense. I refuse to get caught up in the age old argument...not when I love my wife, regardless." Shooting a baleful eye at his partner, he added, "Try to keep that in mind as you enter the next stage of your life, okay?"

It took a lot of money for eight copies of the photograph in question to be made, but over all the objections that were raised, Serin paid for the whole bit. All too soon, the sun started to dip below the horizon, which prompted everyone to leave the fair and migrate to Makoto and Serin's house, where they unveiled a wonderfully artistic single layer birthday cake. It was revealed that both Serin and Makoto had worked hard on it, replicating as best they could from memory the old Silver Millenium palace on the cake, which itself was in the shape of a crescent moon. Everyone present naturally gushed over it, even as Serin constantly passed off any praise to his wife. Eventually, hunger overcame reluctance, and the candles were lit as Usagi prepared to make her wish. Thinking hard for a long moment, she glanced around at her friends and family, grinned, and blew out all of the candles...all except one.

Good naturedly, everyone laughed and shrugged it off as the candles were pulled out and Usagi cut her first slice...but Urawa frowned in concern. For a brief moment, it seemed like the Silver Millenium replica was more like Crystal Tokyo...and that it was on fire...

Try as he might, however, nothing else came of that supposed vision. Blinking, the wizard/seer shook his head slowly, earning a curious glance from his wife.

"Urawa? Are you alright?" Ami asked.

"H, hai, Ami...I just...had a passing headache, I think...that's all."

The senshi of water nodded slowly in response, and then kissed her husband on the cheek before grabbing the next slice of cake for them to share. Urawa, for his part, let the last traces of that thought flow out of his mind. He was certain it was just a minor illusion, since it hadn't come with the certainty that usually accompanied his premonitions. But still...why did it bother him so...?