Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Our Future ❯ Calculating Threat ( Chapter 6 )

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Chapter 6 - Calculating Threat

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Heliodor sat on a small wooden bench and watched the opening to his tent closely with his hand on his chin. He'd gone over different scenarios in his head about what may be transpiring, `What strength did they possess at that time?' he thought to himself. He couldn't imagine they were stronger than they currently are, but if they proved to be just as strong, that would be problematic as well. After a few more seconds of sitting alone with his thoughts, he saw out of the corner of his eye that someone had entered his tent. Heliodor looked up, causing the intruder to speak.

“Excuse my intrusion, but I've returned and I believe you'd like that know what occurred in the battle.” Nabesite said cautiously, with a bowed head.

Heliodor stood and walked toward the tent's entrance, “And you'd be right. What did you see? What can I expect from them?”

He nodded, “I recognized all the royal guard, plus four other warriors. Of the three other warriors, I could identify two of them as being from the outer guard. There is however one I've never seen…but she seemed overly protective of the Princess, she took a blow for the Princess.”

Heliodor paced the ground in his tent. `This might be a harder task than I originally thought…' One of his hands went up to his chin, he tapped it thoughtfully. He stopped and looked at his companion strangely, “You said there were four other warriors…who was the fourth?”

“That's another thing that was strange…” The creature in front of him said, drawing his attention.

He stopped pacing, “Continue.” Heliodor said and waited to hear what else his scout saw.

“Queen Serenity was among those fighting and as far as I'm aware she has never fought or transformed into a warrior. Assuming she lost that ability at some point for some reason, that still leaves that unknown girl. I did hear her being referred to as Saturn by them though.”

“…Saturn?” Heliodor said aloud and strained his memory for knowledge of a warrior called that, however he came up blank. `She is named after one of the planets, same as the others…' He thought to himself, though he was unfamiliar with any warrior calling themselves Saturn. While he didn't know anything about her abilities, having another enemy only made things more difficult. He shut his eyes for a moment before asking the question that had been on his mind before Nabesite had returned, “How did they fair against the shades I sent?”

“They dispatched them with relative ease. Once they determined what their abilities were, they didn't have much trouble. From everything I observed, I can say with certainty that we face a significant force defending the Princess. I'm afraid to say that unless we find a way to lure her away from them, it'll be nearly impossible to acquire the Princess with that level of attack.”

“That is troublesome…” Heliodor thought aloud and paced over to the opposite side of his tent. He sat down and looked at Nabesite, who was still standing where Heliodor left him, awaiting instructions. “You may leave, Nabesite. I have to think about a couple things.” The handsome looking young man told his companion, who quickly turned on his heel and left.

Heliodor leaned back and ran his hand threw his long hair, `What he says is true, it'll be impossible to fight the royal guard plus the outer guard plus a transformed Queen Serenity plus an unknown warrior. I don't want to ask for any of their help, but I may not have a choice…'

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The closely knit group of girls sat in the waiting area of the emergency room at Minatoku Hospital. When they arrived with Hotaru, they had explained that she suffered from a fainting episode, as she had a history of. So now every simply waited to hear how the younger girl was doing. Michiru and Haruka sat next to each, beside them sat Rei, Usagi, and Chibi-Usa. The five girls filled up one section of chairs, so the remainder of their group, Ami, Makoto, and Minako, sat in the next section of chairs that was positioned 90 degrees in relation to where the other girls sat.

There was little said among the girls since they arrived when Minako voiced her thoughts, “I don't like that it was a group.”

Everyone turned their attention to the leader of Princess' bodyguard, each knowing what Minako's statement suggested. None of the other girls immediately said anything, not because they didn't agree, but saying it out loud would be really confirming it.

“Neither do I.” Rei agreed after a few seconds. “They don't normally act in groups unless someone is pulling their strings.”

Chibi-Usa shifted slightly in her seat beside Usagi. The monster that hurt Hotaru recognized her, she was sure of that and that worried her. If he recognized her that meant he was from her time and if that was case, that could only mean that she'd brought them after her parents in this time. Unless they were after the girl that was pretending to be her… The pink haired girl bit her lower lip, `I can't believe they could have tracked me to the past. If they could have done that, why wouldn't they have attacked them in past already? They aren't protected with the same kind of security in this time.' She questioned herself, though she couldn't come up with a reason that made any sense, except that these monsters had something to do with the girl pretending to be her.

“You don't think we already have another enemy on our hands do, you?” Usagi asked as she turned her head to look at her girlfriend.

Rei met her girlfriend's gaze as she said, “I hope it isn't, but…” The raven haired girl trailed off, but smiled slightly when she felt Usagi's hand cover her own.

“I really hope we're all just being overly cautious.” Ami said quietly.

“So do I babe.” Makoto whispered to her girlfriend.

“If there is someone behind this group, if someone plotting something, there's one thing I know…” Haruka said and paused for a moment before adding, “We'll find out soon…”

“Tenoh-san? And Kaioh-san?”

The two outer soldiers immediately stood and walked over Mizuno-san together. They stood off from the other girls in their group as they spoke to the doctor. The group was silent the entire duration of the conversation.

“So, how is she doing?” Michiru asked as soon as the reached the older woman.

Ami's mother smiled as she said, “She's doing just fine. I would like to run a few more test though and have her stay over night for observation.”

Haruka nodded, “Thank you for looking at her.”

“I actually wasn't the doctor assigned to her, but when I saw Hotaru-chan's name in our computer as a newly emitted patient, I recognized her name as being a friend of Ami's. So, I decided to take a look at her charts and make sure there was nothing serious going on.” Miss Mizuno explained.

Michiru smiled warmly as she said, “Well, we appreciate it. And if she's going to be staying the night, do you think it would be alright if we did as well?”

“I don't see that being a problem, I'll just call up to the room she's in.” Doctor Mizuno said and walked over to a nearby phone.

Haruka walked back to the group, while Michiru stayed and waited for Miss Mizuno to finish the call. As soon as she reached the group, Haruka was met by six questioning pairs of eyes. “She fine as far as they can tell, but they want her to stay over night for observation, but she should be fully healed by then or at least close I would imagine.”

“That's good to hear.” Usagi said, voicing the group's collective opinion.

“I'm glad.” Chibi-Usa whispered, prompting Usagi to hold her future daughter's hand.

Ami saw Michiru making her over, “I'll be back in a few minutes. I want to talk to my mother about something.” The blue haired girl said and stood up before hurrying over to her mother before she could leave. “Mom, can I talk to you for a moment?” Ami asked, slightly nervous to her mother's surprise.

“Sure.” Miss Mizuno said and led her daughter a short ways down the hall. Once they reached a quiet spot, the elder Mizuno turned to the blue haired teen, “What is it, Ami?”

“I just wanted to make sure you're still off tomorrow night, right?” Ami asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?” Miss Mizuno asked in return.

The blue haired genius looked down as she said, “I-I was wondering if we could make dinner and eat together…and if it would be okay if I brought someone over…”

The older woman tried to hide her surprise, but did so poorly, “W-Well that would be just fine. Do I know this someone already?”

Ami nodded her head slightly, though kept her line of sight downward as she said, “Y-Yes.”

Miss Mizuno looked at her daughter curiously, “Alright, I'll do my best to be home then. I am chief of staff, so if an emergency comes up will still have to go in to work, but I'll make every effort to be home tomorrow.”

Ami finally looked up and smiled, “I understand mom, thank you.” The blue haired girl said happily before hurrying back to her friends.

Miss Mizuno shrugged her shoulders at her daughter's unusually behavior, but she couldn't help but allow her curiosity get the better of her as she thought about who her daughter would be bringing over and why she was so nervous about it….

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The group waited patiently for Ami to rejoin them. After a few minutes, a yawn escaped Minako's lips, causing her to mutter a quick apology, “Sorry. It's getting kinda late. I should probably be heading home.” She said and stood up as Ami returned.

“Sorry about that guys, I just needed to ask my mother something.” The avatar of Mercury said and moved to sit down next to Makoto again. Makoto had her hand on the chair's armrest and Ami instinctively took it in her own hand once she was seated. She noticed her blonde friend to her left was standing, “Are you leaving Minako?”

“Yeah, my bed is calling my name.” Minako said and stretched, “I'll see you guys tomorrow.”

Everyone said their goodbyes and watched the blonde leave. No more than ten minutes later, Makoto drew the group's attention, after whispering something in Ami's ear, “We should leave to.” Ami nodded her head in agreement. “We'll see you tomorrow.” Makoto said for both of the girls. Once more they receives farewells from the remainder of the group before leaving as well.

The group having been reduce nearly in half had grown quiet once more, until the future Princess spoke. Chibi-Usa lifted her head, “I-Is it okay if I stay here?” She asked as she looked to her left where Rei and Usagi sat together, beside her. The two girls looked at each other to see what each thought of the pink haired girl's suggestion. After their silent exchange Usagi finally spoke, “I don't know if…”

“We could look after her.” A voice suggested, causing both Rei and Usagi to look in its direction. “Haruka and I were already planning on spending the night, so she can stay with us.” Michiru offered.

The two girls turned to each other once more, Rei shrugged her shoulders, if Haruka and Michiru were staying there would be someone to keep an eye on her. Usagi then shrugged her shoulders as well, “Well, I guess if she isn't going to be by herself, then it's okay.”

“Thank you, mama.” Chibi-Usa said and got up. The pink haired girl walked to Usagi and hugging her, before stepping over to Rei and hugging her as well as whispering thanks to her.

“We should probably leave too then.” Rei said as she looked over to her girlfriend. It took a moment for her to nod in response. Both girls stood up and prepared to leave.

Usagi looked at the two older women, “Message us if Hotaru gets discharged, otherwise we'll be here after school.”

“We will.” Haruka acknowledged.

Usagi smiled her thanks before focusing on her future daughter, “Be good for Haruka and Michiru-san, Chibi-Usa.”

“I will.” The pink haired girl promised.

“We'll see you after school tomorrow.” Rei said to three girls remaining at the hospital.

“Okay, we will let both of you know if anything changes.” Michiru said with a smile.

With that, Usagi and Rei started to make their exit when the blond haired member of the duo paused, causing Rei to do the same. “I still have my backpack at the shrine.” Usagi said upon receiving a confused look.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I guess we'll have to stop there first.” Rei said and took her girlfriend's hand as they worked out of the hospital.

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“I talked to my mom…” Ami said cautiously.

“I saw, what about?” Makoto asked and looked at her blue haired companion.

“About dinner…I told her to expect a guest Friday.” Ami said in a tone Makoto couldn't quite place.

“You're still sure about this, right? About me officially meeting your mother.”

“Of course!” Ami said firmly, before adding, “It's just my mother and I haven't really talked much about relationships and I won't just be bringing home my significant other, I'll be bringing home a girl.” She paused for a second and took a deep breath. “I mean she's never voiced any dislike for homosexuals, but..”

Makoto sighed and cut off her girlfriend before she could continue that train of thought, “Ames, you know your mother better than I do, but from everything I've seen from her, I don't think she'd reject you if that's what you're thinking.”

Ami silently thought about her girlfriend's words. She knew that her fears were probably irrational, but she couldn't stop them from creeping into her thoughts, especially now that she spoke to her mother about having someone over. Her love's words did offer her some comfort though, “Thanks. I know I'm probably overthinking this. I'm just nervous.” The blue haired girl admitted.

Makoto put her arm over the shorter girl's shoulder and held her close as they continued to walk, “I understand the nervous part. I want to make a good impression on your mother…” She paused when she received a look from her girlfriend, “I know you say that she'll love me, but I'm still worried that I'll say or do something to embarrass myself.”

“You'll be fine. You don't have anything to worry about.” Ami assured the other girl.

Makoto smiled and squeezed her girlfriend's shoulder for a moment, “Thanks. I think as long as we are there for each other everything will work out just fine.”

Ami gave a quick nod, “Yeah, I think so too.”

The two girls continued on in silence for a short while before the taller girl broke in with a question, “What kind of food does your mother like?”

The blue haired genius tapped her fore finger to her chin as she thought, “She enjoys curry with steamed rice.”

“Great! I'll make that for dinner then. We can go shopping after school tomorrow to buy the ingredients.” Makoto said, already making a mental note of everything she would need to buy.

“Are you sure? You don't have to cook, you'll be my guest.”

“Ami, I love cooking, it'll be my way of taking some of the pressure off of you. Besides, I expect you to help too.” The tall brunette said with a wide smile before coming to a stop.

Ami stopped and hugged her girlfriend, “You're awesome, you know that?”

Makoto nodded her head, “Yeah, but it's great to hear it from you.” She said and leaned down and gave the other girl a quick kiss on her lips. She pulled back slightly and whispered, “I'll see you at school tomorrow.”

The avatar of Mercury nodded and took a small step back, “Yeah, see you tomorrow.” She then turned around and started to make her way to her apartment complex. Makoto watched her until she reached to door to get inside, once she did, she turned and waved goodbye. The brunette did the same before waiting a few more seconds and continue on to her own apartment.

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“I got an idea!” Usagi exclaimed excitedly and stopped to look over to her girlfriend.

Rei laughed a little before asking, “What's your idea?”

"Why don't I just spend the night over at the jinja? I mean it's already pretty late and we have to go over to there anyway to pick up my stuff, so why walk all the way back here?” Usagi asked, more rhetorically than anything.

"I'd love that, but there's only one problem with that..." Rei trailed off.

Usagi sighed, "It's a school night."

The raven haired girl nodded her head slowly, "Yeah, and you know you'd have to ask your parents' permission. I'm sure Jii-chan wouldn't mind, but your parents might not like the idea. They're probably not ecstatic about you being out as late as you already are."

The blonde lowered her head, “Probably not, but it's worth a shot.”

Rei smiled, “You'll just have to call them when we get to the jinja, but let's get going or we'll never get there to call them.”

Usagi nodded her head quickly, “You're right, we'll never get there if we just stand here…” She said and pulled the other girl down the sidewalk with her.

Rei smiled even wider as her girlfriend pulled her along enthusiastically. She quick sped up her pace for match Usagi's quick strides, not wanting to fall down from being pulled. Usagi was going on about the prospect of being able to spend the night. Rei, for her part didn't say much aside from the occasional chuckle at her girlfriend's enthusiasm. After a while Usagi slowed down and looked back to at Rei to see why she was being so quiet, “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing, I'm just happy…” Rei said simply. She was positive she was wearing a stupid grin on her face, but she didn't really care. They were the only people out as far as the eye could see and she felt freer to express herself than she would have otherwise. They still held each other's hand, though Usagi wasn't pulling her anymore. Rei squeezed the other girl's hand slightly before letting it go and draping her arm around the shorter girl's shoulders.

Usagi smiled and wrapped her arm around Rei waist, allowing herself to walk closer to the raven haired girl.

Rei smiled as well and allowed herself to enjoy the feel of the blonde pressed so close to her. They seemed to fit together perfectly, like they were meant to be in each other's arms. The moment was so peaceful, but a nagging thought continued to pester her mind. It was something that she'd been thinking about almost constantly since earlier that morning. She really didn't want to sacrifice the current mood that they'd established, but now that she wasn't distracted by other things like fighting youma or worrying about Hotaru, her mind was free to travel back to where it had been focused on most of the day. There was no sense hiding her thoughts from her girlfriend, so she made the decision to tell the other girl what was on her mind. “Can I talk to you about something, Usa?”

“Sure, what is it?” Usagi asked and looked over to her girlfriend intently.

Rei bit her lower lip nervously, “Chibi-Usa…”

The Moon Princess cocked her head to the side slightly as she asked, “What do you mean? What about her?”

The miko took a deep breath, “There's something she's holding back from us…”

“What makes you say that?”

Rei shifted slightly, so she could look her girlfriend in her eyes, “Last night, or actually this morning, she woke up from a nightmare. She didn't want to say anything and I didn't want to pressure her to say anything, but I was able to gather a little bit of insight because she said a couple things in her sleep.” She paused for a moment, “She was worried about someone being hurt and she seemed relieved that I was safe, but quickly she tried to backtrack from what she said when she realized where she was.”

Usagi's looked at the girl beside her thoughtfully, “That is strange…it might be best if we ask her what's going on in the future.”

Rei nodded her head in agreement, “That's what I was thinking, but I'm not really sure what to ask. I know if Setsuna were here…” The raven haired girl trailed off, not entirely sure how to finish that statement without bringing up memories neither girl wished to relive. “I'm sorry…I just don't know how to go about asking her without asking too much.”

The Moon Princess tightened her hold around her girlfriend's waist, “I know. I trust your intuition, so I do think we'll need to sit her down and talk to her about what she is afraid of. I do think we should approach her slowly to make sure she doesn't shut us out.”

The young miko nodded her head, “I'm afraid of just that. That's why I didn't want to press the subject earlier.”

“I know, but sometimes you need to push a little especially when it's something painful or difficult to talk about.” Usagi said knowingly.

Rei once again nodded her head, “Okay. I'm just worried because I don't really know how to act like a parent.”

“I barely even know what I'm doing when it comes to Chibi-Usa.” The Moon Princess admitted and took a deep breath before adding, “I just do what feels right and I'll always be here to help, we're in this together, remember?”

Rei smiled, “Thanks. I love you, you know that?” She said and turned her head to look at the girl beside her.

“And I love you too.” Usagi said gave Rei the brightest smile she could give.

The two girls turned the street corner and as soon as they did, they could see a large torii marking the entrance the jinja. Usagi let go of her girlfriend's waist and likewise Rei removed her arm from the other girl's shoulders. Rei reached for Usagi's hand and took it in her own, interlacing their fingers as she did so. They ascended the steps together and in just a short time they reached the top. They quickly made their way inside the main shrine and looked for Rei's grandfather.

“Jii-chan! Where are you?” Rei called as they reached the kitchen.

“I'm in the garden.” A voiced called in the distance.

The two girls then proceeded to rear of the shrine. As soon as they reached the door to the back garden, they saw the door was already open, so they simply stepped through. Sitting on the bench looking at the starry sky, sat an elderly man.

Rei approached him and asked, “Jii-chan is it alright if Usagi spends the night?”

The elderly man looked over to the girl standing beside his granddaughter, “What did your parents say?” He questioned the blond.

“I haven't asked them yet. I wanted to make sure it was fine with you first.” Usagi said, already expecting that question.

The older man smiled warmly, “Of course it's fine with me as long as you get the okay from your parents.”

Usagi bowed quickly and said, “Thank you Jii-chan. I'll go call them right now.”

Rei smiled at her girlfriend and watched her leave to go use the phone. She really hoped her hopes won't be dashed, but the realist in her told her that Usagi's parents weren't likely to be too keen on her idea. Usagi's optimism was rubbing off on her because she could almost believe that she could convince her parents that abruptly staying over at a friend's house on a school night was a good idea.

“It seems she's finally softened you a little.” The older man said out of nowhere.

“Wh-What?” The teen stuttered and looked at her grandfather. He wore a kind of half smile half smirk, making her wonder what her expression had looked like a few moments ago to draw his reaction.

“Usagi-san, she's done an amazing job of breaking down those barriers you put up to protect yourself.” Grandpa Hino said with a big smile on his face.

“Jii-chan…” Rei muttered exasperatedly.

He simply continued to smile and pointed out, “Well even if you can't see it, which I doubt, I can. She's good for you.”

“Jii-chan…please…” She muttered again. Rei could feel her cheeks warm, mostly because she didn't really didn't want to admit how right he was.

The elderly man put his hands up in defeat, “Fine..fine, as long as you admit it to yourself.” Just as the words left his mouth the light patter of footsteps could be heard approaching the room.

Usagi returned with her backpack slung over her shoulder and a sad expression on her face. She shook her head no as she approached, “My mom doesn't think it's a good idea with school tomorrow.”

Rei smiled sadly, she expected that to be the answer, but she still allowed herself to feel a bit of optimism that her parents would have agreed, “I'm sorry, maybe you can stay over another day.”

The blond returned the other girl's smile with a small one of her own, “Yeah, maybe.”

The young miko looked over to her grandfather and asked, “Would it be okay if I walked Usagi home, Jii-chan?”

The older man smiled warmly, “Of course. Just try not to be too long, it is getting late.”

Rei walked over to the older man and kissed him on his forehead, “I won't be. I promise.” She said and made her way over to Usagi and offered her hand to her girlfriend, “Are you ready?”

Usagi nodded slightly, “As ready as I'll ever be.” She said and took the other girl's offered hand. She allowed Rei to lead the way to the shrine's exit.

Just before passing the threshold, the raven hair girl looked back and her grandfather and said, “I'll be back soon.”

The old man nodded and watched the two teens leave with an amused grin on his face.

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“Can I ask you something, Princess?” Haruka asked as she leaned forward in her seat across from Chibi-Usa. They each had a chair on opposite sides of Hotaru's bed. She'd been sleeping since they made it up to her room. There was an empty chair next to Haruka, because Michiru had left a short time ago to use the restroom.

The pink haired girl looked at the Guardian of Uranus curiously. She hadn't spent nearly as much time with her and Michiru-san as she had with the other senshi, but she knew the sandy haired blond well enough to know she was probably the most serious when it came to senshi business. However, she also knew the other woman was also probably the least serious when it came to topics not relating to senshi business. That made predicting her forthcoming question almost impossible to guess, but there was also no need to delay what ever her question was further. “Of course, Haruka-san.”

“I've never told you to just call me Haruka or Haruka-chan at least?”

Chibi-Usa looked at other woman curiously once again, `That is want she wanted to ask?' After a couple seconds she shook her head no, “No. I don't see you or Michiru-san as often as I do the other Senshi. It would be rude of me to just use your first name, but if you want me to, I will.”

Now it was Haruka's turn to look curious, “So why is it that you don't see Michiru and me as much as you do the other girls?”

“Well, you don't live in the palace like the other Senshi do.” She explained.

“Why? Where do we live then?” Haruka asked, her curiosity was definitely piqued.

“Mother told me that both of you guard the boarder of our solar system against outsider intruders and because of that you couldn't guard effectively always living in the palace.” Chibi-Usa explained further, but paused as she thought about the second part of the question. `I never really thought about it before…since I know why they don't live at the palace; I could probably make a guess.' The pink haired girl thought to herself. “As for where you live, I'm not sure. I've never asked. I would imagine its one of the outer planets, Pluto perhaps since it's the planet closest the edge of our solar system.”

Haruka nodded her head in understanding, “Interesting. Now, I got off track of what I originally wanted to ask…” She started to say, but paused when she heard the room's door open. She looked over to see her girlfriend entering the room.

Michiru approached her chair, she felt as though she had interrupted something because Haruka looked guilty. “You aren't pestering her about things you shouldn't even be asking about are you?” Michiru questioned, but one look at her lover's face told her the answer to her question. She shook her head and looked over to Chibi-Usa, “You don't have to answer any of her questions about the future. She knows better than to ask you anything about it.” The avatar of Neptune said, directing the last sentence at her lover as she sat down.

“I'm sorry. I didn't realize I shouldn't talk about the future.” Chibi-Usa quickly apologized.

“I don't blame you honey…” Michiru said warmly as she smiled at the future Princess, “I blame her.” She said and point at her lover.

“Hey, they were all innocent questions.” Haruka said, defending herself, though her girlfriend still didn't look entirely convinced. “I promise.” The blond said sincerely.

Michiru shook her head and addressed the pink haired girl, “You should try to get some rest, it's rather late and there's no reason for you to stay up all night. Hotaru isn't going anywhere.”

The other girl nodded and reclined the chair she was in and made herself more comfortable. She positioned herself on her side so she was looking at the dark haired girl in the hospital bed. “She's going to be fine, right?” Chibi-Usa asked quietly.

“Yeah, she's tougher than she looks. Her senshi healing would have kicked in by now and she'll be close to a hundred percent by the time she wakes up.” Haruka said reassuringly.

“I'm glad. I didn't want her get hurt because of me.” The pink haired girl said and yawned.

“She'll be happy you stayed with her.” Michiru said, bringing a smile to the other girl's face.

~~~~******~~~~

“Why does tomorrow have to be a school day?” Usagi complained for probably at least the dozenth time since they left the shrine.

Rei smiled at her girlfriend as she'd done each previous time, “I wish it wasn't, but there isn't anything that can be done about it. At least tomorrow's Friday, so maybe we can try again.” The raven haired girl offered.

“But tonight it would have been guaranteed to just have been us…”

Rei eyed the other girl curiously, “Usagi, we'll have plenty more opportunities. Even if it isn't just the two of us, you know you'll have my fullest attention.”

A small smile inched across the blonde's lips, “I know. I was just looking forward to the possibility of staying over at the jinja with you.” Usagi said and lowered her head as she finished.

The raven haired girl stopped, causing the other girl to do the same. She released Usagi's hand and put her hand under her girlfriend's chin, urging the other girl to look at her. “Why don't we do something this weekend then? It could be just the two of us, because I'm sure Chibi-Usa wouldn't mind staying with the outers for a day or so.” Rei smiled as she watched her Princess' face light up at the suggestion.

“Really? What did you have in mind?”

Reis hugged her shoulders, “I don't know, whatever you feel like. We could go see a movie or just hang out; whatever you want to do is fine with me.” A thought occurred to her as she said that, this would be their first official date. `Maybe it should be something more formal…'

Usagi jumped into her girlfriend, catching her off guard and nearly knocking her to the ground, “Oh, that would be great! I can't wait for this weekend now!”

“I'm glad you're excited.” Rei gushed as she smiled from ear to ear, “We're only about a block away from your house now though.”

The blonde teen quickly moved forward and captured her girlfriend's lips for quick kiss. Rei blushed at the other girl's sudden action. Usagi pulled back and released Rei from her crushing hug and instead linked her right arm around Rei's left. The two girls then continued down the path to Usagi's house in relative silence until they reached her house.

As soon as Usagi opened the front door the two girls were immediately met Mrs. Tsukino, she must have seen them coming up to the house. The older woman didn't expect to see her daughter's friend with her and she didn't want to say anything that could embarrass her daughter, but… “Usagi, this is far later than the curfew we discussed in the past.”

“I'm sorry she's so late, Tsukino-san. It's my fault. I was helping her with her Math homework and we lost track of time. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.” Rei lied with ease.

Usagi's mother looked a little surprised at first, but didn't pay much mind to that as she spoke again, “Thank you for helping Usagi with her school work, Rei.” She said to the raven haired girl before pausing and addressing both girls, “However, coming home at half past twelve on as school night without so much as a call to let me know you were running late will not be tolerated in the future. Do we have an understanding?” Ikuko asked and looked at both girls.

“Yes ma'am.” Rei replied quietly.

“Yes Oka-san.” Usagi replied just as quietly.

“As long as that's clear ladies…” She said and paused receiving a nod from each girl. “Thank you for walking Usagi home, do you want Kenji to give a ride back, so you don't have to walk?”

The dark haired girl shook her head, “No, I'll be fine walking back. Thank you for the offer. I should be on my way though. Good-bye Tsukino-san. I'll see you tomorrow, Usagi.” She said as she took a step down from the porch.

“Good night, Rei-san.” Tsukino Ikuko replied.

“See you later, Rei-chan!” Usagi exclaimed from beside her mother.

Rei found herself smiling again as she looked at her girlfriend, she waved her and her mother before turning around and starting her trek back to the jinja.

~~~~******~~~~

Hotaru rolled to her left, when her hand hit a metal bar on the side of her bed. She winced and cracked open her eyes. Her vision was a little blurry, so she wiped her eyes with her hand. As soon as her vision was cleared she found herself staring at a sleeping angel. She was surprised to see the other girl in her hospital room. Her face was slightly obscured by her messy pink hair, barely being contained by the buns on top her head. Hotaru smiled briefly as she observed how peaceful the other girl was.

“Chibi-Usa…” The youngest senshi whispered.

“She wanted to make sure you were going to be okay.” Haruka said quietly, alerting the other girl of her presence as well.

Hotaru couldn't help but smile even more at her guardian's words as she looked over to the sleeping girl, “That was sweet of her.” Hotaru turned her attention to Haruka as she asked, “So when can I be sprung from here?”

“Ami's mother said she wanted to keep you overnight for observation, so you should be released tomorrow morning. How do you feel?” Michiru said, drawing the younger girl's attention.

Hotaru smiled slightly, “Not bad. I'd say I'm pretty close to a hundred percent already. I told you there was no need to come here; I'll be fully healed by morning.”

“You can't fault us for wanting to make sure. You're our responsibility.” Michiru said protectively.

Hotaru was silent after that for a few moments before eventually saying, “Sorry, I didn't mean that I wasn't thankful. I just…”

Haruka cut off the dark haired girl before she could say anything more, “We know what you meant and its fine. We understand.”

The younger girl smiled slightly, “Thanks.” She said quietly. After a short time, she laid back on to the hospital bed and looked over to her left again. She watched the other girl sleep for a few minutes before turning back to her guardians, “I don't know what affect Rei and Usagi had on the timeline, but they obviously had a profound effect on Chibi-Usa, she's nothing like how she was before. In the time I've already spent with her, I can see that clearly. I want learn about who she is now and the state of things in the future.” She told the two older women and looked at them for their approval.

“What do you mean? What are you hoping to learn?” Michiru asked.

“Everything I've learned from being with her so far tells me that she is a completely different person, different personality, different memories, different everything. I believe if I can learn more, I may learn why she never met me until now. And why she came to the past.” Hotaru explained.

“What are you thinking?” Haruka asked as she leaned forward in her seat.

Hotaru took a deep breath, “I think there was something after her, but she's trying to hide that for some reason.” She looked over the pink haired girl and added, “I think she's thinking she's protecting us or something.”

“Do you think she'll open up to you?” Michiru asked gently.

The youngest senshi looked back to her guardians once more, “I'm not sure, but I'm going to try.”

~~~~******~~~~

“Where is everyone else?”

Heliodor stepped forward as he spoke, “No one else is coming. I wanted to ask you specifically for help.”

The blue haired woman eyed her companion carefully, “What makes you think I would help you?”

“I know the strength your faction possesses and I based on what I've seen I cannot acquire the Princess without additional help.”

His companion was intrigued by this statement and urged him to continue, “Go on.”

“I sent four of my shades, each of varying strength, to determine where we stand.” Heliodor explained and paused for moment to take a deep breath, “I was disappointed to learn they are significantly stronger than I thought they would be and not only that, their fighting force is larger than I assumed it to be.”

“How so?”

“Both Uranus and Neptune fought alongside the Royal Guard, but so did an unknown warrior. On top of that, Serenity even fought.” Heliodor explained. “We'll need to formulate a plan, one that will draw the Princess away from her protectors, at least most of them in order to have a shot at acquiring her.”

“You were supposed to be the one good a coming up with plans, but now you want my help?”

“Would you swallow your pride for once and work with me, Maxixie?” Heliodor hissed. “I don't have anyone in my faction of shades that can fight with them evenly. I could go, but based on my intel that would likely mean my demise if all of them worked together. That is certainly not the outcome I'm looking for.”

Maxixie remained silent for a couple minutes before answering, “What's in it for me if I agree?”

Heliodor stared at the woman, “My appreciation…” He said somewhat sarcastically.

“I'm leaving.” Maxixie said abruptly and began to walk away.

“Wait!” Heliodor said quickly. “I was merely joking about that.”

“So, what do you have to offer me?” Maxixie stopped and look back. Heliodor smiled and walked up to her. He leaned next to her and whispered something into her ear. As soon the sentence left his mouth her eyes widened. “I don't believe you have the ability to accomplish that…but if you can…”

Heliodor started to walk away, “I'll contact you when my plan is ready to be put into motion.” He said and within moments disappeared. Maxixie simply stood rooted in her spot until a new voice spoke…

“Hmm…I never thought you'd swallow your pride ask for help…” A voice said from behind Maxixie.

An irritated expression crossed the blue haired woman's face, “Eavesdropping is unbecoming, Morganite.”

“Calm yourself Maxixie. I was merely curious. A meeting that was not requested in the usual way and with only you and Heliodor present…”

“Please just say what you wanted to say so I may leave.” Maxixie said, still sounding irritated.

“As I said, I was merely curious, but now that I know what was discussed I do have a question…” Morganite said dragging out his part of the conversation.

Maxixie stared at the other man in annoyance, “So, out with it then.”

“Do you actually intend to help him with his plan?”

She took a deep breath, “Most likely.” She said simply.

“Interesting…do you mind if I watch?”

“Hmph…I think you'll do whatever you want no matter what I say, so why even bother asking.” Maxixie said and glared

“Quiet true…”

“I'm leaving.” She said simply before disappearing similar to Heliodor.

“I wonder what Goshenite will think of this turn of events…” Morganite wondered aloud before disappearing himself.

End ch.6

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