Standard Disclaimer: None of the characters that appear in here belong to me! Although if I could, I'll have a Heero and a Trunks please! *grins*
Author's Notes: Hey minna-chan! Here's another semi-holiday'ish fic for everyone, as a Christmas present to everyone :) Although really, the fic doesn't have to take place on Christmas. It can be put at any time. Let me know what you think, okay? And oh yeah, forgive any grammatical or errors you might find. As my final gift to you all, short ANs this time! *giggles*
Side Note: This has been revised. Thanks to Samantha for pointing out the boo-boo I made! :)
Again, italics denotes thought.
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His Touch
It's funny how you find old albums, and once you go through them, you can never stop. Usagi glanced through page after page of this one particular album from last summer. A snapshot capturing a moment in time. An expression of joy, of laughter, of pensiveness among other things. She found so many pictures of her and her good friends together. It had been so long since they last did that. At age 18, life was different. Priorities were different. Makoto was preoccupied with making her restaurant a success. She had finally secured a bank loan and the grand opening was in two weeks. Minako was in drama school. Her dreams of being a successful actress may happen sooner than expected. She had confided to Usagi about an upcoming audition for a play. While it wasn't quite the lead role, it was a major character. Rei was training heavily to finally reach the highest level for being a priestess. She had already accomplished so much for one so young. Ami, the most intellectually gifted out of the whole group, was in pre-med. As it stood, she was only 7 chapters ahead. Usagi grinned. Some things never changed. Out of the 5 of them, she probably changed the most. She was no longer a cry-baby, as Rei used to call her. Intellectually, she had improved significantly. Though she was no Ami, she had done well enough to get into journalism at the Juuban college. As she flipped to the next page, one picture caught her attention. It was one of her and Mamoru, right before they broke up.
The sigh she let out at that moment wasn't one of sadness. It was more exasperation than anything else. As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words right? In this photo, Mamoru had his arms around her and they were both smiling at the camera. But something was off about the whole picture. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. His smile never quite touched his eyes. Then again, neither did hers.
She never told anyone how Mamoru's touch never excited her. She didn't get those tingly feelings that you read about in Harlequin novels or that her friends had told her about. It always left her strangely cold, unaffected. The break up had been mutual. Simply put, they had drifted apart. They had been complete opposites, each initially fascinated and drawn to the other's personality. Usagi had never met a person who kept so much to himself. Mamoru had been utterly captivated by the light that was Usagi. She was so alive. She lived each day to the fullest; she wore her heart for everyone to see; she was not afraid to love. For all the wrong reasons, they ended up together. As Usagi matured, she began to truly see. She started to understand that they were not meant to be. She never regretted one moment in life; she never believed in living life that way. Life was meant to be appreciated and lived to its fullest. It was rather ironic how she was sitting home, looking at old pictures, and feeling so alone on Christmas.
It was funny how that one moment in time could bring back so much emotion and thoughts. She looked back at the Usagi she once was. She wasn't the same girl. Of course, it was unreasonable to think she'd stay the same. She matured but at the same time, there were so many different aspects to her. The young child in her longed to burst free, to live and experience life again. The intellectual part of her absorbed and processed everything logically and methodically. There was also the current her, who lay somewhere in between.
Unconsciously, her fingers moved towards the locket that had been with her since birth. As a child, her tiny fingers would fumble in an attempt to open the locket. "What's that for, Mama?" Her mother would smile at her as she tried to explain to her extremely precocious four year-old. "Usagi-chan, you're supposed to put a photo of you and the one you love the most in there." "Mama, can I have your picture then?" Her mother laughed and shook her head. "Iie, sweetheart. It's the person you want to spend forever with. Like your Papa and I." Her adorable face scrunched up in concentration as if trying to understand. "I don't understand Mama." Her mother would then pick her up and hug her. "Right now you won't. But you will. I promise you." Those words echoed in the back of her mind as she stared at the empty locket. It was funny how the two years that Mamoru and her dated it never once occurred to her to put his picture there.
Clasping the locket in her right hand, she glanced outside the window. What a way to spend Christmas, she thought wryly. She closed her eyes as she made silent wishes. I want to meet someone, someone who feels as alone in this world as I do. I also want to be able to better see the different mes. A mischievous grin crossed her face. It couldn't hurt if that lonely person was male, available and cute too.
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The locket in her hand began to glow, a steady shimmering light that grew brighter in its intensity. Now, most people would think her wishes would come true right? Well, unfortunately, the way Usagi phrased her wishes left it open to interpretation. And how we imagine the locket would work isn't what we expect either.
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A huge sigh could be heard echoing through the passages of time. She stared about the now deserted void known as the Time Gates. Everyone else was busy fulfilling someone else's wishes. She was the fortunate one who was assigned to one Tskuino Usagi. Very few people in this world got their very own Time Gates' assistant, much less the Guardian of Time herself. But then again, there weren't many people who were as special as Usagi. Waving her staff in front of her, a portal opened up, taking her to another dimension, one which would allow her to grant Usagi's wish. Setsuna sighed again. As much as she loved her job, it was moments like these when she hated it. People who make wishes really have to learn to be more specific.
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A girl with silvery blond hair sat down at a park bench feeling slightly irritated. Knowing her boyfriend, he probably got lost… again. She grinned, unable to stay angry for long. It was her own fault really. She should've known better. He had reassured her repeatedly that he could find the park with no problem. Then again, this was the guy who would get lost going to a room that was right in front of him. Her hands fluttered up towards the locket, which hung around her neck, and opened it. On one side was her own picture; the other contained her boyfriend's picture. She smiled lovingly at his picture. He was so good to her, and she had never felt happier in her life. Suddenly, a dark hole just appeared out of nowhere and a strange lady with green hair stepped through it.
"Nani?!" She exclaimed loudly, jumping up from the bench. She felt the first apprehensions of fear as the stranger approached her. Silently, she wished she had paid more attention when her boyfriend had tried to teach her how to fight.
"Don't be afraid of me. I mean you no harm," the stranger said with a gentle voice. Her hair was dark green, and her red eyes, which should've appeared frightening, were oddly kind. She was tall, and held a staff in her hand.
"Who are you?" The girl demanded, half frightened for her life and half somewhat imperiously.
"My name is Setsuna. I am known as the Guardian of Time. I need you to help me with something, to fulfill a wish. Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen, I assure you."
The girl merely looked at her with untrusting eyes. She quickly assessed this Setsuna lady in front of her. She didn't appear dangerous.
"I think you'll even have a lot of fun coming with me. You'll get to meet new people, and see new worlds."
The girl's eyes widened. Adventure… it had been so long since her last one. Setsuna smiled to herself. She knew it was the one thing that this young girl couldn't resist.
"But… but… my boyfriend… he'll be looking for me… eventually, once he figures out where he is first." She grinned unexpectedly.
Setsuna grinned in return. "They don't call me the Guardian of Time for no reason. I'll just need you for a short period of time. When you return, it'll be as if no time has passed by. Tell you what, I'll make it even better. When you return, I'll retrieve your boyfriend for you."
"When you put it this way, how can I resist?" The girl looked back behind her and silently thought to herself, I hope I'm doing the right thing. I'll be back Ryouga.
Setsuna motioned for her to move towards the portal. "This may feel weird at first, so don't be afraid." The young girl stepped into the portal and felt as if she got sucked right into a tornado. "Aiiieeeeeee!!!!!" Setsuna laughed softly to herself. "One down, and two more to go."
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Tumbling over the gym floor mats, a young girl finished a particularly difficult routine. As she finished the sequence, she attempted to catch her breath. As usual, her locket had caught around her neck, causing her to choke slightly. I should really take this off, but how could I? She thought to herself. Reaching up, she loosened the chain and unable to help herself, opened the locket. Her eyes immediately fell on the picture of her boyfriend. Despite her weariness, a soft smile touched her lips as her eyes lit up lovingly. Had it really been only a year since they've been going out? Somehow it seemed much longer than that. Their friends had been struck dumb when they first started going out. They were virtually polar opposites; she was sunshine and light personified, in startling contrast to his untrusting and somewhat dark outlook on life. Despite that, they balanced each other. She brought happiness to his life, and he to hers. She was so deep in her thoughts that she nearly missed the black hole, which appeared near her. A young girl tumbled out landing clumsily as she yelled in agony. "Owwwwww!" Another feminine voice laughed softly behind her. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough," she told the fallen figure.
The young girl wiped the sweat off her forehead and laughed in spite of herself. The taller of the two strangers walked over. She had dark green hair, startling red eyes and in one of her hands, she held a staff.
"I see you're not afraid of me."
"Iie," she replied.
"My name is Setsuna, and I am also the Guardian of Time."
Her eyes brightened in amazement.
"Wow! Really?? So, that dark hole that appeared is a portal or something?"
Setsuna nodded her head in agreement. The young girl began to bounce about excitedly. "That is soooooooo neat!" She exclaimed. "So you've seen other worlds and things like that right?? I told the guys that but they wouldn't believe it. They think we're the only world that can exist. Wait till I tell them this! This is tooo unbelievable!" Setsuna hid her smile as the girl chattered away.
The other girl, who had fallen, finally got up and walked towards the other two women. "Is this the other person you have to get from the other dimension?" She asked Setsuna as she approached them. She came abruptly to a halt as the girl Setsuna had been talking to noticed her. She stared blankly in shock as the other girl stared back at her. "OH MY GOD! YOU'RE ME!!!!" They both exclaimed simultaneously.
Setsuna chuckled in amusement as she observed the two young girls' reactions to each other. Normally, this wasn't something that was permitted. But this was an unusual circumstance.
"This is incredible! I can't believe you and I are the same person, existing in different timelines! My god, this boggles my mind."
The chattier of the two nodded her head vehemently. "It's crazy! It's like something out of a sci-fi movie or something. Now the guys will really be shocked. Not only is there another world, there's another me!"
They both assessed the way they looked, stopping at the locket which hung on their necks.
"You have a pix of your boyfriend in there too?"
The other girl nodded. "This is beyond incredible! Even our lockets are identical! You would think that there would be more differences… although… even though we look the same, our personalities are vastly different."
"No kidding! This is too nutty for words! So why are you guys here anyway?" She asked curiously.
"I would've thought that that would be somewhat obviously. We're here for you. I need you to help me out with something, and I promise you no harm will come to you." Setsuna responded.
"I didn't think you two would be evil. You can't travel through time just to capture lil' ol' me. But as much as I wanna help…"
"It'll be fun! You'll get to see other worlds, travel through time…"
The girl tugged at her dark pink leotards and stared at the two newcomers. It would be so neat to be able to see other worlds and to see what else existed out there.
"Okay, I may wanna go, but my boyfriend… he's come a long way since I first met him, and he might act a little crazy to find me missing you know?" She said, adding a silent sorry for calling her boyfriend crazy.
"I'll offer you the same deal I offered your other self. I can stop time until you return. Normally, this isn't usually allowed, but we have special circumstances."
"Well…" Her eyes lit up delightedly and her head bobbed up and down in excitement.
"I'll take that as a yes?" Setsuna remarked wryly.
The black hole appeared once again and one of the girls groaned. "Oh dear God, not again. I don't think I'll ever get used to this," she muttered as she stepped through.
"Can't I at least change? I'm probably all stinky and stuff."
"No time for that," Setsuna said as she dragged the young girl through the portal.
"I wonder what Heero will say about this…" Her voice trailed off, ending up in somewhat of a shriek as she got sucked through the portal.
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"One wish coming right up!" A voice in the checkout counter of the Time Gates called out. "Next!"
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Usagi finally finished thumbing through the album. It had been hours since she first opened it. There could be worse ways to spend Christmas, she thought to herself. As she was about to return the album back to the shelf, a dark hole appeared in her ceiling and one figure came crashing through landing on her bed. Shrieks could be heard as the figure fought with the mess of blankets. Usagi stared in open-mouth horror only to look back up and realise that more "guests" were coming through. Another figure did a neat somersault before landing gracefully on her feet. The third figure merely floated down from above before the hole closed up. Somersault-girl went towards the bed to help blanket-girl, giggling all the way. "I guess you're a bit more clumsier than I am huh?" She remarked. "I can't help that I wasn't born with brains and two left feet!" A similar sounding voice retorted. Usagi stared at the intruders as she prepared herself to scream.
"Before you do that," a woman with dark green hair remarked. "I can assure you we mean you no harm. I am Setsuna, the Guardian of Time…" Her introduction was left somewhat unfinished since the two other girls finally made their way over.
The voices chimed out simultaneously. "Oh my GOD!!!! YOU'RE ME!!!" With that, all three figures fell to the ground in a faint.
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Usagi stirred slowly as her eyes fluttered open. She had been having this horrible nightmare that there was some black hole that appeared in her room, and there were these two other girls that fell through that looked exactly like her. Suddenly, two pairs of sapphire blue eyes looking too much like her own appeared in her line of vision. She shrieked and immediately scrambled to her feet, backing herself slowly against the wall. One of the girls was dressed in a deep blue Chinese dress while the other wore dark pink leotards and a matching tank top.
"She's taking this harder than you or I did," the one in the dark blue dress said. The other girl bobbed her head enthusiastically in agreement. "Well, you can't really blame her. I mean, who expects to meet another person who looks exactly like you?"
"Look!" Somersault exclaimed excitedly. "She even has the same locket as us!! Look look!!"
"I see that," Blankets remarked patiently.
Usagi stared at the two girls who looked identical to her and fingered her locket. They were all silver, with intricately carved patterns on it. She rubbed her thumb on the intricate carvings on the back of her locket, which closely resembled ancient writings.
"Does yours have…"
The other two brought up their lockets and shocked the living daylights out of Usagi as she same the familiar ancient scripting on them as well.
"Okay, this just gets weirder and weirder by the moment." Somersault said.
"What's your name?" Usagi asked, finally having regained her voice.
Blankets looked at Somersault curiously.
"You know, in all our haste, I never got your name either."
"I know! What's your name?" She exclaimed.
"I have a funny feeling about this." Blankets remarked.
"Tsukino Usagi."
Three voices shrieked in astonishment, causing quite a few glasses to break within the apartment.
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"Setsuna-san didn't say anything about us having the same names!" Somersault-Usagi exclaimed once they had finally calmed down.
"Setsuna… that's the one with the dark green hair, right?" Usagi asked.
Blankets-Usagi nodded. "She's the Guardian of Time. She said that you apparently wished for us and we needed to be here to help her out, and you as well."
"But I never wished…" Usagi's voice trailed off as it finally hit her. "Oh my gosh. I'd said I wanted to be able to better see the different mes."
Somersault grinned. "Betcha that we weren't what you had in mind when you wished for that huh?"
Blankets grinned as well.
Dear God, it's so eerie at the moment. It's like seeing me everywhere, Usagi thought to herself. She looked around her apartment, wondering if she hadn't gone mad.
"Where did that Setsuna person go?"
"She said she had some business to take care of. She'll be right back. She has to return us to our time too you know." Somersault answered.
But you were my second wish… I wonder…
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"This is sooo crazy!!" Somersault exclaimed as they sat down on the couch. Usagi had brought them all hot chocolate, something all three of them adored. Usagi sipped her drink as she slowly began to get used to the 'situation'.
"Wait till I tell Heero about all this. He'll think I'm officially nuts!"
Blankets nodded in agreement. "I think Ryouga will think I've finally lost it since I've been studying so hard."
"Are those your boyfriends?" Usagi asked softly.
Both girls smiles were identical as they reached for their lockets to open them.
"This is Heero. Isn't he cute?" Somersault sighed dreamily as Usagi leaned in to get a closer look at his picture. Dark brown hair hung over his eyebrows, Heero's face had a solemn expression though his Prussian blue eyes softened at the person who took the picture.
"Uhh… he looks kinda mean," Usagi commented.
Somersault giggled. "That's Heero. He tries so hard to be mean but he's a good guy." Her face suddenly took on a grim expression, in contrast to her sunny nature. "He's had a horrible life. I can't even imagine going through what he did or surviving. Deep down inside, he's the kindest person I know, almost as kind as Quatre is. But he's been trained since he was a kid to not show emotions."
"Trained? What do you mean by that?" Blankets asked.
A soft sigh escaped her lips. "There are things about my world and my time that you could not imagine. We're in the middle of a war." Her eyes filled with tears and her voice trembled. "My good friend Milla was caught in a crossfire. We had been walking home from school when she pushed me out of the way. In return for saving my life, she got shot. I kept hearing her screams. They kept on going in my head. I would've gone back for her if Wing Gundam hadn't destroyed the enemies right there."
"Wing Gundam?" Usagi inquired, her heart breaking for her other self.
"Gomen. I forget sometimes that you don't know my time. Wing Gundam is a plane that can transform into this super huge robot. It has the ability to fight and also has a huge energy sword that can destroy the dolls. Those are the enemy robots."
"Incredible! A plane that can transform into a gigantic robot?" Blankets exclaimed, her mind trying to imagine the technology required to make something like that happen.
"Does it have a pilot?" Usagi asked.
Somersault nodded as her eyes softened. "Heero's the pilot. He's the one that saved me that day. He destroyed the dolls, and I just ran for Milla's body. I couldn't stand it. Milla was so beautiful and there she lay, her body was filled with blood and bullet holes. I just stood there and cried. I looked up and there he was. Heero said he can't explain what happened to him there. He said he saw me cry and he couldn't leave me alone. So he rescued me."
"In more ways than one," Blankets said softly.
"How is it that you can still remain so… happy?" Usagi inquired, astounded by her story.
"Hope," Somersault said simply. "It's what keeps me going, and I know when everyone sees me, they think they see a happy, fun-loving, and silly girl. They don't know that I've felt pain and despair so deep. They don't know there are different sides to me. Everyone has them, ne?" She said with startling insight. "Milla wouldn't have wanted me to be sad. We all believe in the cause. I believe in Heero, and the other Gundam pilots. As much as I hate fighting, and war, and all the tragedies it causes, I know we need to do this to be free, unlike that stupid pacifist Princess Relena."
Usagi stared at the girl in front of her, amazed by what she just said. Every person has different sides to them. The words rang repeatedly in her head. To see this girl, one would never have guessed the depths of sadness and tragedy she had had to endure in her world. But she remained positive, believing in hope. Blankets' words startled her out of her thoughts.
"Princess Relena?"
"Oh don't get me started. Let's just say she believes in peace at all costs. She believes fighting is wrong. Period. Oh god, her self-righteous attitude just gets me soooo annoyed sometimes." Then, she grinned mischievously. "But I got the man." She burst into giggles.
"Nani?" The other two Usagis exclaimed.
"The pacifist princess has the hugest crush on Heero. As much as he'd love to put a gun to her head, he's unfortunately sworn to protect her. You should see how fast the other guys run when she shows up. Heero tolerates her, though she's learning to behave now, especially since my first encounter with her."
"What do you mean?" Usagi inquired, her curiousity struck by Somersault's comments.
Her eyes twinkled as she leaned in, prompting the two girls to lean closer themselves.
"Oh I merely kissed Heero in the most passionate way in front of her and let's just say Heero wasn't behaving like his unemotional self when I did that." She exploded in laughter as she remembered the look on Relena's face. "Duo had a camera on him that day. We even have a picture of her expression. Lordie. It was too funny."
The two girls joined her in laughter, each admiring her spirit.
"Anyway, enough about my boyfriend. How about yours, uhhhh Usagi in the blue dress?" Somersault asked.
A soft smile touched her lips as she took off her locket and showed the others. A photo of a young man, with a yellow and black bandana around his black hair, laid on the right frame.
"Oh he's sooo kawaii!" Somersault cried out as Usagi nodded in agreement. Then an even tinier picture was attached on the right hand corner. There was this cute little black pig with a similar bandana around its cute little head.
"Oh that is tooo adorable for words," Usagi said. "His pig even has the same bandana as him!" A strange look crossed Blankets' face as she looked away. "What is it?"
"He's the pig."
"NANI!?!" The other two Usagis screeched.
Blankets sighed. "This one is tough to explain. I suppose this might seem… weird…"
"Understatement of the year," Usagi muttered under her breath.
Blankets explained about how Ryouga became the way he was. (AN: I didn't think I had to go through this story)
"Okay, let me see if I understand this. If he gets splashed by cold water, he turns into a pig. Hot water turns him back to his human form." Usagi said slowly, watching a blush suffuse Blankets' face. "Okay, there's more to it. What happens when you douse him with hot water?"
"Uhh… he's kind of naked," her face turning even redder as she replied and looked away quickly.
The two girls' eyes widened as their mouths formed identical "O"s. Then they burst out in giggles.
"Oooooh, but the question is, does he look good naked?" Somersault asked impishly.
"Judging by his physique while he's fully clothed…" Usagi grinned mischievously.
"Oh you guys!" Blankets yelled out, her face flaming in absolute embarassment. "You asked for it!"
Before anyone knew what happened, a full-fledged pillow war broke out.
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Meanwhile, Setsuna appeared in another dimension. As much as I hated leaving the girls alone, I have to do this. Not too far away stood a figure staring off into the ocean. His body became stiff suddenly as if sensing a presence. As he whirled around to face her, she sighed inwardly. I knew he would be difficult. That's why I saved him for last.
The man stared at the strange lady approaching him. His body tensed up, unconsciously preparing himself for battle. He had been at his favourite spot, a cliff a considerable distance from his home. He had been thinking, something he did very frequently these days. The androids had finally been destroyed, at an extremely high price. All his friends, his father, everyone had perished in the battle. He tightened his jaw as memories of them flooded his mind. He had come to this spot to think. He was so tired of being alone.
The woman stopped in front of him, her staff held loosely in her right hand.
"Who are you?" He demanded.
"I am Setsuna, the Guardian of Time." She replied.
He snorted in disbelief.
"Yeah right. There can't be a single person who can control the time gates."
"You should be no stranger to time travel. I know you've passed through the gates many times."
His blue eyes widened slightly only to narrow almost immediately.
"Nice try. You almost had me there. You must be an android. I knew there were more of you left!" He exclaimed as he began powering up.
Setsuna made a sound of exasperation. "Don't make me do this."
He smirked slightly in an expression almost identical to his father's as he began to speak again.
"Burning…"
She waved her staff quickly before he could finish his attack. In a blink of an eye, time was stopped as his body froze.
"I really hate it when they force me to do that," she muttered as she grabbed Trunks' immobile body through the portal which opened up behind her.
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As Setsuna made her way through the gates of Time, she silently cursed Trunks for being so muscular. (AN: *swoon* I had to throw that in *giggles*) Her arms strained as she tried to drag his body across to the other side, which would bring him to Usagi's world. Conveniently, the other agents of time were unavailable. "It's demotions for the lot of you," she seethed. "I'll probably regret this but…" She positioned Trunks so that he faced another direction and created a space pocket in front of him. She didn't want any damage done to any of the worlds and well, she didn't want her 'home' messed up. Waving her staff again, she said the words. "Time unfreeze."
"Attack!"
The energy burst flew out of his hands and into the space pocket.
"NANI!?" He exclaimed as he took in his surroundings. It seemed that our Dorothy (AN: Wizard of OZ reference for those who haven't watched it) caught on pretty quickly that he wasn't back home anymore.
"What is this?!" He yelled out, staring into an empty void, which resembled the Room of Spirit and Time. He spun around in with a speed that amazed Setsuna. "Where the hell did you bring me, you damned android?"
Setsuna groaned in frustration. "I knew it! I shouldn't have unfroze him. Should've just kept him as is until we got to the other side," she grumbled.
"I'll say this just once," she gritted her teeth as she felt the ends of her patience being reached. A normally patient and kind person, Setsuna wasn't used to being attacked at every single turn. As the Guardian of Time, she was also used to being treated with a bit more respect than this little… punk. "I am the Guardian of Time. You are needed to help someone out in another world. If you say or do anything else I may find offensive, I'll just freeze you again until we get there. Understand?" Her red eyes fairly blazed in anger as she bit out the words. Something in her expression reminded Trunks of his own father so he calmed down and nodded. "Good. You're in the passageway of Time at the moment. Somebody needs you really badly at the moment."
He looked at her in confusion.
"Follow me," she said simply.
"Setsuna, right?" He asked, as he walked along her side. She nodded at him, a bit surprised that he would even remember. "Who needs me?"
"A very special girl. She feels… alone in this world." Something I can relate to, he thought to himself as they disappeared through a black hole.
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The girls fell onto the couch giggling, thoroughly exhausted from their pillow fight. Usagi had brought around some food, which had been consumed in record time. (AN: Three Usagis eating at that speed. All I have to say is... oh MY.)
"And we all eat the same too!" Somersault grinned.
"So, Usagi, we've shown you our boyfriends. What about yours?" Blankets asked as she and Somersault waited expectantly. A look of sorrow crossed Usagi's face.
"I don't have one. I used to, but he wasn't right for me. Something about him always never seemed quite right." She let out a soft sigh. "All my friends are pretty busy with their lives at the moment so I don't get to see them as often as I'd like. Mamoru… Mamoru has been hinting at wanting to get back together, but I don't think so. It wouldn't be fair. I dated him for two years, and not once did it ever occur to me to put his picture in my locket."
Identical expressions of concern appeared on the girls' faces.
"Are you okay, Usagi?" Blankets asked softly.
"Yes… no… sometimes I think I am, other times I don't think so. I just feel so alone. I feel like no one understands me. I feel like I'm at war with me."
"What do you mean?" Somersault questioned.
"When I was younger, I was a lot more lively, more like you. But then, as I grew older, I realised that life wasn't always about fun and that there were other priorities. I became more like you," indicating Blankets. "Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of who I really am."
"You know, I'm not always who I appear to be. I know, you all think I'm this serious, analytic, intelligent person, but there are other sides to me. If I were, do you think I would've stepped through that portal with Setsuna?"
"I understand. So, what you two are saying is that I need to find what my middle ground is? Find out again who I am?"
The two other Usagis nodded their heads. She smiled suddenly and hugged them both.
"I can't imagine what it'd be like if our friends saw us now, ne? One of us is bad enough without having three!" Somersault exclaimed as the three of them erupted in giggles.
A black hole appeared in the ceiling and Blankets said calmly, "Looks like Setsuna's back sooner than expected."
Just then, a tiny figure came hurtling through the portal, landing in Somersault's arms.
"MAMA!"
(AN: SURPRISE! *grin*)
"Nani?!?!!" Two Usagis screamed in shock. Somersault smiled fondly as she recognized her future daughter.
"Hello, Yumi-chan."
The other two Usagis slowly backed away from Somersault and the squealing child who truth be told, was extremely adorable. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in two little odangos, looking much like they all did when they were kids. Her sapphire blue eyes were mirror images of their own.
"Kami-sama," Usagi whispered, drawing the attention of the child.
"You're Mama too!" She exclaimed, and her eyes widened even further as she caught sight of the third Usagi not too far away. "I have three Mamas?" She remarked, her face scrunched up in confusion. She squirmed in Somersault's arms before finally landing deftly on her feet.
"At least the child inherited her grace," Blankets noted as Usagi nodded in agreement.
"This little girl is your future daughter?" Usagi asked, shock apparent in her voice.
Yumisa's eyes narrowed in a way that reminded Somersault of Heero as she pursed her lips. "I am not a little girl! I'm five years old! And I'm a princess!"
"That you are," Usagi said placatingly, grinning inwardly at this young girl.
"Why do I have three Mamas now?"
"It's hard to explain…" Somersault's voice trailed off.
"I'm really smart. Papa tells me that all the time." She said proudly, and her face took on a more solemn look. "Mama tells me that I should have less of an e… eggo." Usagi let out a giggle, causing eyes to fly in her direction.
"Gomen, gomen. Eggos are waffles in my world."
"I think you meant ego," Somersault corrected gently.
The young girl nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Is Papa here? If I have three Mamas, does this mean I have three Papas too?"
"Errr…"
"I…"
"Well…" Somersault struggled to find the words that somehow explain their current situation to her future daughter. "You know how you came from the future and that was how your papa and I first met, chibi hime?" Upon seeing her very enthusiastic nods, Somersault continued. "There are different worlds out there, different futures and different pasts."
Yumisa gave the idea great consideration. Then suddenly, she let out an exclamation.
"If there are many Mamas, are there many mes too?" Her face suddenly fell in a pout. "I'm not special anymore."
All three Usagis felt as if their hearts would break at the moment, though two in particular were still trying to imagine having your future child come visit you, and then lend a hand in causing you and your future husband meet.
"Yumi-chan, you know you're special to the people who matter most, your Mama and your Papa." Somersault said simply.
"Wouldn't that be you?" Usagi grinned.
"And Heero?" Blankets added.
A bright, enchanting smile appeared on Yumisa's face as she flung her arms around her Mama's neck.
"You're so smart, Mama." Yumisa's tiny fingers brushed her neck and felt a chain beneath them. "Mama, mama. Can I see? Please?" She absolutely melted on the spot. Who could say no to a child like that? She still couldn't believe that this child would be hers… and Heero's. She blushed slightly as she bent over to show the opened locket to Yumisa.
"Will I be special even when you have my little brother?"
"NANI!?!" Somersault squealed. Okay, one future kid she could deal with. Now she was apparently pregnant with another one?
The two other women laughed at her look of horror. "Looks like you and Heero have been uhhh… busy," Usagi winked.
Just then, a dark hole appeared from the ceiling again, causing Usagi to groan aloud. This was beginning to look like a very bad comedy. People from other dimensions appearing from holes in her ceiling. Like anyone would believe her. They'd send her to the institution for even suggesting something like that.
"I believe your work is done here, ne?" Setsuna asked as she descended onto the floor. She looked at the tiny figure who looked at her with horror. "Chibi Hime… who let you through the Time Gates? You know you're not supposed to go through it again," Setsuna chided gently.
"I'm not telling! I promised!"
"You know that I will find out eventually."
She shook her head stubbornly.
"Well, it can't be Kana. It would have to be someone really really smart to get you through the Gates." Setsuna said carefully, knowing full well that next to herself, her daughter was Yumisa's other favourite person.
"Nuh-uh! Kana is so smart! She snuck me through this back part that you thought she didn't know about but then one day she saw you walking through there when she was supposed to be asleep and so she knew how to get me past those people at the Gate."
"Oh, Yumisa…" Somersault whispered, inwardly laughing at her future daughter. She herself had fallen victim to that particular tactic countless of times.
"She even sounds like her mother," Usagi grinned wickedly as she nudged Blankets, who laughed out loud.
Yumisa stopped herself immediately and looked up at her Mama. Her mouth formed a cute little O and she clapped her hands over it. "Yumi-baka." She said, her voice somewhat muffled by her hands as the women giggled.
"Come on, chibi hime. We must go now. I have to bring these other women back to their homes."
Usagi stared at the two figures that had brought so much insight to her in such a short period of time. Her eyes began watering as she hugged them both.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"No, thank you." Blankets said softly. "For allowing us to share this adventure."
"For allowing us to have fun." Somersault added, looking teary-eyed as well.
"We must go now, Usagis. Time is of the essence. I cannot suspend time indefinitely."
"Sayoonara minna-chan!" Usagi called out as the strangers who entered her life so suddenly disappeared just as quickly. Shrieks could be heard coming from the portal as they were sucked into the portal. She grinned to herself. Blankets.
******************************************************
"I'm going to make Ryouga teach me balance when I get back. And I'll put a tracker on him," Blankets grumbled as they walked out the other side of the black hole. The group of women, except for Setsuna, stopped suddenly as they observed a male figure frozen as he appeared poised to step into the world they just vacated.
"Oh he's cute," Somersault remarked.
Yumisa cocked her head sideways and looked at the man who looked so silly standing still.
"I think Usagi's going to like her next wish," Blankets said with a laugh.
Setsuna merely waved her staff and called out, "Time unfreeze!"
******************************************************
Trunks stumbled slightly as he fell through the portal. Summoning his powers, he managed to float down gently into a strange room. His eyes narrowed immediately on a girl who was staring in open-mouth shock at him. This one better NOT be an android, he thought to himself as he stared at the vision in front of him.
"No more time travellers. I don't think my poor brain can deal with this." She exclaimed.
"Setsuna sent me. I think that woman froze me again," he grumbled.
"Froze you?" She asked, curiousity written all over her face.
"I tried to attack her when she tried to get me into your world."
"ATTACK HER?!" She yelled incredulously. "You… you… baka! Why would you attack a poor defenseless woman like that?"
He snorted at that comment. "In the first place, she is not even remotely close to being defenseless. For her to be able to stop me, she's pretty powerful. Secondly, I thought she was an android."
She merely raised her eyebrow at him. Oh Kami-sama, she looks so cute when she does that. Trunks got annoyed with himself.
"Never mind. What's your name?" He blurted out, and then turned slightly red. Oh smooth move genius. That was really casual. What next? Marriage? Geezus! Marriage!! Trunks could not explain his train of thoughts. It was pretty much beyond his control, something that he apparently lost the moment he met this girl.
"Tsukino Usagi, but please, call me Usagi."
"Trunks."
"How can you be as lonely as me?" The words fell from her mouth before she could help it. Trunks grinned at her. It was her turn to have that runaway mouth disease.
"Everyone in my world died, except for my mother. The only thing that keeps us sane is being able to time travel." Her sapphire blue eyes showed compassion as she gently took his hand in hers. He stared in amazement at her hand. Awareness, sensation, feeling rushed through him upon contact. It was unlike anything he had ever felt in his life. He was so used to battle, the constant fighting, the sadness that assailed him as he watched just about everyone he loved die around him. This… this was new.
"How can you be as lonely as me?" He repeated her words softly, unable to believe that someone as beautiful and as gentle as her could feel the way he did.
She shook her head. "I was lonely, but I don't think I ever will be anymore."
His eyes widened as she looked up at him. A gentle spray of happiness appeared in the region of his heart. He squeezed her hand in response. All of a sudden, marriage didn't seem like such a horrible thing anymore.
"Have you ever flown?"
"In an airplane? Iie."
He smiled at her, causing her heart to beat rapidly. Oh Kami-sama, he's the most gorgeous guy I have ever met! Why did I ever think Mamoru was good-looking. He pales in comparison to Trunks, she thought, staring at his shoulder-length lavender hair, blue eyes, and muscular body. (AN: Okay, now I'm drooling. *giggles*)
"No, I meant fly." He said strangely as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Upon contact, she felt an unfamiliar excitement at his touch. Her eyes flew to his in shock. His touch was sending shivers down her spine. All of a sudden, everything seemed so crystal clear. "Don't worry. I won't ever let anything happen to you." His arm tightened as they began to float.
"Oh my…" She whispered.
"Hang on," He told her as they began to gravitate out of the window in her apartment.
"I don't have a whole lot of choice here, Trunks!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, missing the grin that spread across his face. (AN: *sigh* I wish that was me! Hehe)
As the couple took off for their first flight, Setsuna appeared off in the distance, a smile lighting up her face. Remembering a future locket she saw with Trunks' picture in it, she promised, "And you two will never be alone again."
******************************************************
Well minna-chan? What did you think? Love it? Hate it? Please let me know? I know it's somewhat of a crazy idea, and at times it gets really confusing, but you try writing a fic about three different Usagis and let me tell you, keeping them distinct was pretty tough. Curious about the idea? It occurred to me one day. I love fan fics pairing up either Heero/Usagi, Trunks/Usagi, or Ryouga/Usagi, and I couldn't decide who to write about. So I thought to myself, hey! Why don't I write a story that involves all three pairings? And then, another idea occurred to me about timelines and how we all have this idea that when Usagi makes a wish, it just sort of happens by magic. What if things didn't work the way we think it does? And hence the story was born. Anyway, I was shocked when the words just flew out of my fingers, and Yumisa appeared in the fic! For those who haven't read Forever Afters yet (that's where Yumisa comes from), please do read and review it. It's really short, but pretty cute or so I think :) (Yeah, keep deluding yourself like that Chibi Tenshi) And if you do find this fic a bit weird, I typed most of it up last night in one sitting, till 6 a.m. in the morning!! Now that's dedication. *giggles* Oh yeah, the locket in this fic is NOT the ginzuishou. It's a locket entirely of my own creation. *grins*
Quick update on what's going on with Unexpected Destiny, the story *is* in the works. I'm currently playing around with an idea in my head. I'm working on developing the villain, as well as tying up who Usagi's father is as well. I just want to thank all the wonderful reviewers out there, especially people who've mailed me and helped me out with so much (D-chan – arigatoo for being so patient and wonderful!! , Krys-chan – where did you go?, Wild Melody, Son Usagi, Ashley, Chika – haven't heard from you in a while either - and to anyone else I forgot).
And oh yeah, if readers like this enough and if I get a lot of reviews about this, the possibility of a sequel or side story of some kind has crossed my mind for this fic.
Finally, don't forget,
Lots of reviews keep Chibi Tenshi happy, and a happy Chibi Tenshi writes more!
Merry Christmas, and happy holidays to all my readers! Ja ne!
P/S: Sorry to all the Relena fans out there! I don't know where that came from! *looks around innocently* Okay okay, gomen minna-chan! I'm just chatty today!