Daddy's Little Girl
Sailor Mars walked down the quiet walls of the Crystal Palace, the sound of her high heels clicking against the tiled floor. It was already eight o'clock in the morning, but she was well aware of the fact that the queen was most likely still sleeping. Mars was not looking forward to waking Usagi up, but they had no other choice.
Stopping in front of the intricately designed door of the royal bedroom, she raised her hand and knocked. A still sleepy-eyed Mamoru, dressed in just a pair of moon covered pajama pants, answered a few seconds later. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight.
"What is it, Mars?" he asked, letting out a huge yawn. "Why are you transformed? Is there a problem?"
Mars nodded. "I'm afraid so, Your Majesty. Some youma have been sighted on Mercury, terrorizing the citizens. We need Eternal Sailor Moon to blast them."
"Couldn't the Sailor Soldiers handle this without Usagi?"
"They're too strong. Not even the Outers could defeat them. We've only managed to chase them away, but I have a feeling they're going to pop up again, even stronger than before."
Mamoru yawned again, rubbing his dark blue eyes, and then went over to the bed where his wife was sleeping, her long golden blonde hair spread across the pillow like a halo around her face. She was so incredibly beautiful in her sleep. He hated that he would have to wake her.
"Usako, time to wake up," he said in a low voice, gently shaking her.
In response, the queen simply groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket over her head. Mamoru rolled his eyes and tried again. "Come on, baby. Rise and shine."
"Go away, Mamo-chan. Too early to wake up… Need sleep."
He yanked the blanket off her body. "No, you need to get up. There's trouble on Mercury."
That woke Usagi up. She sat up and yawned. "Why can't the enemy ever attack at a decent hour?" she asked, sounding none too happy. Mamoru shrugged as Mars came in.
"Sorry, Your Majesty, for the early wake up call, but I'm afraid it is urgent that you come deal with this. The others and I managed to chase them away from the capital city of Hermes, but Mercury suspects that the youma are hiding in one of the large craters, just waiting to attack again. We need to get rid of them before more people get hurt."
"Of course," Usagi replied, reaching for her transformation brooch. "But what about Small Lady? I can't just leave her here. Who will take care of her while I'm gone?"
Right on cue, the high-pitched cry of two-year old Chibi-Usa, otherwise known as Small Lady, filled the air. The three ran to the nursery where they found the little pink-haired princess standing up in her crib, her arms outstretched. "Ma-ma, Da-da! Me scared!"
Usagi scooped her daughter in her arms, comforting Chibi-Usa, whose cries immediately softened. "What's wrong, my Small Lady?" the queen asked softly. "Did you have a bad dream?"
Chibi-Usa nodded her head. "Big monster runs after me. He scary. I no like him. Not nice."
"Well, it's okay now. Mommy and Daddy are here, and we'll make sure the big, scary monster doesn't get you."
The small child smiled and rested her head against her mother's shoulder, a tiny hand grabbing onto a strand of Usagi's hair. Mars tapped her wrist communicator, reminding the queen that they needed to go.
"Come on and transform, Your Majesty."
"I can't just leave without somebody to watch after the baby, Mars."
"Don't worry about it, Usako," Mamoru said, taking his daughter from her arms. "I'll take care of her."
The queen raised an eyebrow. "You? Take care of a baby? Are you sure?"
"Sure, why not? How hard can it be? Remember that time we babysat Manami-chan when his mother was attacked by a Cardian? That was a piece of cake."
"Only because me and Ann, in her weird way, were there to help you. In fact, if I remember correctly, I won the bet about whether he would walk or talk first and you never did pay me."
"Come on, that was a long time ago. Anyway, it looks like I'm the only choice. All the others are gone, and since it is Sunday, the nanny has the day off. We'll be fine, and if I have any questions, I can ask the other fathers."
Usagi didn't look very convinced, but she knew that she didn't have much of a choice on such short notice. She quickly transformed into Eternal Sailor Moon, then turned toward her husband to give him a few instructions. "Okay, but remember that she takes her nap at around noon, and if she doesn't fall asleep right away, read her a story. She also likes it if you sing. If she gets fussy, just pick her up and rub her back. That usually calms her down. For mealtimes, you can feed her dry cereal or maybe some vegetables cut up into small pieces, and she likes either milk or orange juice, but make sure that you use the sippy cup because she spills a lot. And she doesn't like…"
The king held up his hand, signaling Usagi to stop. "Like I said, we'll be fine. I'll figure it out. After all, I've seen you in action. Just go. The Mercurians need you."
"I suppose you're right, Mamo-chan," she sighed, kissing Chibi-Usa on the cheek. "Goodbye, my Small Lady. Mommy has to go, but I promise I'll be back soon."
"Ma-ma go bye-bye? Me no want! No go away!" Chibi-Usa screamed, thrashing in her father's arms.
"Be a good girl, Small Lady," Mamoru ordered softly. "Your mommy has to go save a lot of people. You don't want them to be killed, do you?" She shook her head, her cries lowering into a tiny whimper. "That's my little girl. We'll have lots of fun while Mommy's gone."
Usagi gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Goodbye, Mamo-chan. Hopefully we'll be back by tonight, and if you have any problems, you can reach me on the communicator."
"Right. Be careful."
"I will. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Mamoru sighed as he watched Eternal Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars exit the room, Chibi-Usa crying again as soon as her mother left. He gently patted her back, trying to calm her down again, but it only seemed like that made things worse. The king had a feeling that this was going to be a very long day.
What have I gotten myself into?
In the kitchen, the king of the Silver Millennium was frantically searching all the cabinets, looking for something to feed his hungry and cranky daughter. Chibi-Usa was already sitting in her high chair, screaming at the top of her lungs. Didn't that kid ever shut up? Usagi had left little more than thirty minutes ago, and he was already regretting volunteering to watch Chibi-Usa.
"Small Lady, will you please stop crying for a moment?" he asked, rubbing his temples. "You're giving Daddy a very bad headache."
Instead of following her father's orders, the pink-haired bunny screamed even louder, her cries registering off the decibel scale. Mamoru began softly humming to himself, trying to block that horrible noise out. How did Usagi deal with this every day and not go deaf?
And where in the world was the freaking box of Cheerios?! All he could find were hundreds of bottles of exotic spices, some boxes of baker's chocolate, flour, sugar, extracts… Basically tons of ingredients but no actual food. This had to be Makoto's doing. He was going to have to have a talk with the Jovian cook.
"Where is the d…arn food?" he asked aloud, shutting the last cabinet with a loud bang.
"Try looking in the pantry, Your Majesty."
Mamoru turned around at the unexpected sound of a male voice. It was a frazzled-looking Shinozaki, Makoto's husband, who was holding another screaming baby in his arms. She was even louder than his daughter. Shinozaki quickly settled little Amaya into a high chair next to Chibi-Usa.
"So you got roped into babysitting too, Shinozaki-kun?" Mamoru asked wryly.
"Unfortunately. I'll go get some cereal."
Shinozaki went down to the pantry and brought back a box of Cheerios, along with some pancake mix and syrup to make the two fathers breakfast. "Here, you can feed the girls while I make some pancakes," he said, handing Mamoru the cereal. "You like anything special in your pancakes?"
"Chocolate chips."
"Chocolate chip pancakes it is. Hopefully they'll turn out all right. I'm not as good as my Mako is."
"Who is?" the king laughed as Shinozaki pulled out everything he needed and began cooking.
Mamoru turned to the two screaming little girls and poured a small stack of Cheerios on each of their trays. Amaya immediately stopped crying and started to munch happily on the tiny little Os, but Chibi-Usa wasn't so easily satisfied. She let out an ear-piercing wail.
"Small Lady, don't you want to eat your breakfast?" he asked helplessly, putting one of the Os in her little clenched hand.
She promptly threw it back at him, hitting her father squarely between the eyes. "Daddy-baka!"
"What did you say, young lady?'
"Daddy-baka, Daddy-baka, Daddy-baka!"
He gave his daughter a look. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say, Small Lady. Especially to your father."
"Daddy-BAKA!"
"Baka!" little Amaya chorused cheerfully, following her friend's example. "King is baka!"
A small arsenal of Cheerios were launched at the poor king, hitting him in the face and falling to the ground until a thin blanket of cereal covered the ground. "Stop that!" he ordered, reaching over to take away the few remaining "bullets", but Chibi-Usa immediately covered hers with her hand. Amaya as well. Both girls stuck out their tongues.
"Daddy-baka!"
Sitting down, Mamoru banged his head against the kitchen table in frustration and sighed. This was a lot harder than it looked. Why wouldn't she just eat the Cheerios? Was she trying to make him go insane?"
"Come on, sweetie," he coaxed, taking one out of the box and holding it to Chibi-Usa's mouth. "Just eat your breakfast like a good little girl."
The little princess shook her head. "Me no like! Me no like! Me want Foo Loos."
Foo Loos? What the heck was a Foo Loos?
"I think she means Fruit Loops, Your Majesty," Shinozaki suggested helpfully. "There should be some in the pantry."
"Thanks, Shinozaki-kun."
Mamoru retrieved the desired Fruit Loops from the pantry and set a stack in front of his daughter, who gleefully began eating her favorite cereal. He had to smile as he watched Chibi-Usa pick up each little O individually and proudly announce what color it was before popping it in her mouth. She was so cute! At least when she wasn't screaming her head off. This father business wasn't so hard. Maybe this would be a good day after all.
"Incoming!"
The king looked up just in time to see a soggy chocolate chip pancake land right on the top of his head, the batter oozing down his face. Spoke too soon. Chibi-Usa giggled and pointed at the pile of goo in his hair.
"Daddy funny!"
Today was just not his day.
After they finished eating breakfast and the king took a shower to clean up after the pancake fiasco, Mamoru decided that he needed some quiet time to clear his mind. So, he took Chibi-Usa to the small shrine located in the back of palace, where they found Rei's long-suffering husband Yuuichiro meditating while his daughter Katsuna slept peacefully nearby.
"You, too, Yuuichiro-kun?"
Yuuichiro put his finger to his lips, silently shushing the king. "Keep your voice down, Your Majesty. I've just spent the last thirty minutes trying to put Katsuna to bed for a nap, and I don't want her to be disturbed."
"I see," Mamoru whispered, nodding his understanding. He put Chibi-Usa down on the floor and then took a seat beside his friend. "Mind if I join you? I could use a little peace and relaxation after the day I had, and it isn't even noon."
"The more, the merrier."
Mamoru crossed his legs in the lotus position and closed his eyes, focusing his mind only on the soft sound of his breathing. He could feel all his stress and tension melt away. This was exactly what he needed. Peace and quiet…
AAAAAAHHHHH!
Both men opened their eyes at the sound of the cry and groaned in perfect unison at the sight that greeted them -- a tearful Chibi-Usa, who was tightly holding onto her left arm as if her life depended on it, and a now wide awake Katsuna. Yuuichiro and Mamoru quickly went over to comfort their daughters.
"What happened, Small Lady?" Mamoru asked softly, taking the little princess in his arms. Her cries diminished somewhat in the comfort of her father's embrace.
"Katsuna mean!" she sniffled. "I wake her up. She bites me. She bad girl."
Yuuichiro looked appalled. "Hino Katsuna, is this true?"
Katsuna nodded slowly, her pretty green eyes cast on the floor. "Yes, Papa. But she woke me up. Chibi-Usa-chan mean!"
"That still does not excuse your behavior, young lady! Now, you better apologize."
Reluctantly, the little girl bowed and muttered a short apology under her breath. Yuuichiro grunted. "Louder!"
"Me sorry I bit you, Chibi-Usa-chan. Forgive me?"
"No!" the princess exclaimed. "Me no like you, Katsuna-baka! You meeeeeaaan!"
Mamoru had to restrain himself from bursting into laughter as Katsuna blew a raspberry toward his daughter, who immediately blew one back. He could tell Yuuichiro was thinking the same thing. Those two little munchkins were so much like Rei and Usagi, it was like looking into a mirror. Eventually the king composed himself and turned back to his daughter.
"Now, Small Lady, Katsuna was nice enough to apologize to you about the bite, and so it is only fair that you forgive her and apologize for waking her up from her nap, like a proper princess. And it is not nice to call someone a baka!"
With a small pout, she offered her hand. "Me forgive you and me sorry too. Friends?"
Katsuna eyed Chibi-Usa's outstretched hand suspiciously as if it would suddenly turn into a snake or something, but finally took the peace offering. "Friends."
"That's a good girl," Mamoru replied, taking Chibi-Usa's injured arm. "Now let's have a look at that bite."
"It hurts, Daddy! Very bad. Am I going to die?"
Mamoru smothered a smile. His little girl was quite the drama queen. It was only a small bite, although he could still make out the faint traces of Katsuna's teeth marks. From his pre-med training in college, he was fairly certain that Chibi-Usa would survive. Make that 100 certain.
"I think you'll live, my little princess," he answered with a straight face. Mamoru scooped his daughter in his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. "But we better go to the clinic to get you patched up."
Chibi-Usa made a face. "Me no like doctors."
"Tough."
Mamoru glanced over at Yuuichiro, who bowed respectfully. "Please except my sincerest apologies for my daughter's behavior, Your Majesty. I assure you that it won't happen again."
"It wasn't your fault, Yuuichiro-kun. No hard feelings."
After saying goodbye to Yuuichiro and Katsuna, the king and princess headed back to the palace, Chibi-Usa screaming the entire way.
Dr. Urawa Ryo took his stethoscope from around his neck and handed it to his daughter, who was sitting on the examination table dressed in a cute tiny nurse's uniform, complete with hat and a blank clipboard. "See, Tomoko? This is called a stethoscope. You use it to listen to people's hearts."
"Tetoscope!"
"Right! Want to see how it works?"
Tomoko put on the stethoscope just like she always saw her father, mother, and Dr. Tomoe always wear it as her father put the cool metal against her chest. She jumped at the unexpected coldness. "Cold, Daddy!"
"Sorry," he laughed, heating the end with his breath and placing it back.
Her face broke into a huge smile as she listened to the steady rhythm of her heart. "My heart?"
The doctor nodded and placed the stethoscope over his own heart. "And this is mine. What does it sound like?"
"Like drums!" she giggled.
There was a knock on the door, and the king, carrying the crying princess in his arms, walked into the clinic. "Good morning, Urawa-sensei. I see that you got stuck with Tomoko-chan while Ami-chan's out fighting."
"Yeah, but it's been fun. I've been teaching Tomoko about the medical profession. She's going to become a doctor when she grows up, just like her mom and dad, right, Tomoko?"
The little girl nodded her head as her father gently put her back on the floor so Mamoru could sit Chibi-Usa on the examination table. Ryo smiled at the crying little bunny, trying to seem friendly. "What seems to be the problem, Your Majesty?" he asked loudly, trying to be heard over the child's inhumanly piercing screams.
Mamoru pointed to the small red marks on his daughter's left arm. After taking a look at the bite, Ryo nodded in understanding. "I see little Katsuna-chan's been at it again."
"Again?" Mamoru exclaimed incredulously.
The doctor held up a bandaged finger. "Yesterday, Rei-chan brought her little demon daughter to get her annual vaccinations, and to say the least, Katsuna-chan did not like getting her shots."
"Who does?" Mamoru stated, unconsciously reaching up and rubbing his shoulder. He absolutely hated shots.
Turning back toward Chibi-Usa, Ryo got out a bottle of alcohol and some cotton to clean the bite. "Now, Small Lady, this might sting for just a few seconds…"
She let out an ear splitting scream and started thrashing before Ryo could even put the alcohol on the cotton. "No hurt! No hurt! No hurt!"
"Please, Small Lady, I have to clean the bite so I can kill all of Katsuna-chan's germs."
"NO HURT!"
Mamoru grabbed his daughter by the arms and held her down. "Come on, Small Lady. It'll only hurt for a few seconds, then you'll be all better. You don't want to get sick do you? Be a brave little girl. I know you can. For me, please?"
"If you let me clean your bite, I'll give you a lollypop," Ryo added, pulling a big red sucker from his smock pocket.
Her cries becoming softer, Chibi-Usa nodded and sniffled. Sweets were a sure-fire way to make the little princess do something she didn't want to do. With Chibi-Usa finally calmed down, Mamoru took her tiny hand in his and made funny faces as the doctor quickly wiped the area and covered the bite with a cute pink Band-Aid covered with bunnies. "There, all better, Small Lady," Ryo said, handing her the promised lollypop. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
The little girl shook her head, sticking the sucker in her mouth. Mamoru grinned. She looked so much like Usagi right then, they could have been twins. "So, Urawa-sensei, does Small Lady need to get her shots too?"
Ryo looked down at his clipboard. "No, she's not scheduled for another two months for her next inoculation. However, I do know of a certain king who was due for his tetanus booster over five months ago. Roll up your sleeve, Your Majesty."
The king groaned. "Do I have to?" he whined, sounding very much like a certain pink-haired little girl. "I hate shots!"
Chibi-Usa reached for her father's hand. "It okay, Daddy. Be brave."
Well, Mamoru couldn't very well say no after what he just said to Chibi-Usa only a few minutes ago. He should have just kept his big mouth shut. Now he had to be a man about this. Reluctantly, the king rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and held out his arm, closing his eyes tightly. The sharp needle pierced his skin, causing Mamoru to bite down on his lip so he wouldn't scream.
I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry…
A second later, it was all over. Ryo covered the puncture with another one of those girly Band-Aids, much to the king's chagrin, but luckily it would be hidden from view underneath his sleeve. As he pulled down the sleeve, Mamoru could feel a small tug on his pant leg.
He looked down at little Nurse Tomoko, who was holding up another blue lollypop. "Lollypop make everything feel better," she said.
Taking the lollypop from the little girl's hand, Mamoru smiled. "Yes, Tomoko-chan, lollypop make everything feel better."
After their little visit to the doctor, Chibi-Usa suggested that they go to the playroom for a little party she and Aino Anzura were throwing in honor of Mr. Hoppy's birthday. Mr. Hoppy, if Mamoru remembered correctly, was Chibi-Usa's favorite stuffed bunny which he had given her last Christmas. He thought it was absolutely adorable that they were throwing the bunny a birthday party, although he was pretty sure that stuffed animals didn't have birthdays.
He didn't think it was adorable when he found out what he was going to have to wear to Mr. Hoppy's birthday party.
"Come on, Daddy!" Chibi-Usa pleaded, pulling the red-faced king toward the door of playroom. Mamoru hoped that nobody was nearby to witness his moment of embarrassment. "We late for party! Mr. Hoppy will be mad!"
"Small Lady, I'm not going any further dressed like this!" he declared, stopping in his tracks.
"Why not? You look very pwetty!" she giggled.
Chibi-Usa walked behind her father and tried pushing him forward with all her strength. Laughing at his little girl's persistence, Mamoru opened the door and walked in to the sound of Asai's uncontrollable laughter. The king shot Minako's husband, also similarly dressed, a dirty look as he carefully took a seat on a small, kid-sized stool around the table.
"If you do as much as say one single word about this to the other guys, Asai-kun, I will kill you," Mamoru threatened.
Asai laughed even harder, tears watering his eyes. This was rich! Chiba Mamoru, king of Silver Millennium and the epitome of masculinity, was dressed in one of Usagi's old maternity dresses (the only one that fit), a diamond tiara, a pair of long, white opera gloves, and a long blonde wig styled in the familiar style of the royal family. But Chibi-Usa hadn't stop there. She also decided to play make-up artist, painting her father's lips a deep red color that perfectly matched the color of his face and covering his eyelids with a heavy coat of blue eye shadow. He looked exactly like Mimi Bobek, a character on an old twentieth century American sitcom.
"That dress looks fabulous on you, Mamoko-san!" Asai exclaimed in a high-pitched feminine voice. "And you must give me the name of your hairstylist. I've always loved the odango look myself."
"You're enjoying this just a little too much," Mamoru muttered as Asai's daughter Anzura handed him a pretty pink teacup filled with water.
Asai took a look at himself in a nearby mirror and fluffed the curl of his brunette wig. "Oh, you're just jealous because I make a prettier girl than you do."
The king rolled his eyes as Chibi-Usa and Anzura brought out four small chocolate cakes covered with vanilla frosting and sprinkles that they had made with an Easy-Bake Oven. They looked delicious to a man who's breakfast had ended up on the top of his head instead of in his stomach. Mamoru reached over to take one of the cakes when Anzura slapped him on the wrist. "No cake, King. Mr. Hoppy not here!"
"Well, where is he?"
Tripping over Usagi's long silky nightgown which she had insisted on wearing, Chibi-Usa went over to the toy chest and pulled out the tattered brown bunny. Mr. Hoppy was not in the best of shape. Patches of fur had been worn away on his head and feet, and one of his black bead eyes was missing. He wore the same red bowtie and black top hat that he came with, although they were also in pretty bad condition. Still she loved that bunny as if it were brand new.
Chibi-Usa brought him over to the table and sat him in the place of honor between his "wife" Mrs. Hoppy (a white bunny wearing a lacy wedding dress) and Miki, Anzura's favorite porcelain doll, which was dressed in a beautiful Japanese kimono.
"Now can we eat?" Mamoru asked, reaching over for the cake. He was rewarded with another slap on the wrist, this time from Chibi-Usa.
"No, Daddy! We sing Birthday Song first!"
So, the group sang an incredibly off-key version of the Birthday Song to Mr. Hoppy, with Asai hitting a high note that Mamoru wasn't aware any man could hit without a swift kick where the sun don't shine. He was really beginning to wonder about that guy. Then Anzura finally gave Mamoru his cake.
After they finished eating, Chibi-Usa pulled out a beautifully wrapped gift box, which she sat in front of Mr. Hoppy. "It present time!" she exclaimed happily as Asai and Anzura pulled out their presents for the birthday bear and sat them down on the table.
Mamoru blushed with embarrassment. He hadn't thought to bring a gift. It was just a stuffed bunny, for crying out loud! What would Mr. Hoppy do with a neck tie?
Chibi-Usa tapped her father on the shoulder, waiting patiently for him to bring out his present. "Daddy, where present for Mr. Hoppy?" she asked.
Present, present, present… There had to be something he could give the bear. Mamoru began searching the pockets of the pants he still wore underneath his pants, his hands wrapping around a ball-point pen. It was the best he could do on such short notice. He pulled it out and sat it on top of Chibi-Usa's present. "Happy birthday, Mr. Hoppy!"
Chibi-Usa gave Mamoru a look he had seen on Usagi's face a thousand times before, whenever he bought her another blender or equally clueless gift for her birthday. "But Mr. Hoppy no write."
"Sure he does!" Mamoru insisted, taking the bunny in his arms and pretending that he was using the pen. "See?"
Not amused, she let out a huge wail at the top of her lungs and ran out of the room, yelling that he didn't like Mr. Hoppy and that he had ruined the entire party. Mamoru sighed and went after his daughter before she hurt herself running in that silly nightgown.
Around noon, after calming Chibi-Usa down and changing into more masculine apparel, Mamoru decided that it was time for Chibi-Usa to take a nap. He certainly could use a break. This parenting business was hard work. Already he felt as if he'd run the entire Boston Marathon, and he still had hours to go before the girls would get back. When Usagi got home, he was definitely going to tell her how much he appreciated all that she did. Being a queen, warrior, wife, and mother of the most hyperactive child in all of Silver Millennium was a job he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.
"Small Lady, slow down!" he called out, chasing the cute pink-haired bunny around one of the fountains in the Crystal Gardens. "Daddy isn't as fast as he used to be. Come on and let's go take a nice long nap."
"No nap!" she screamed, running away from her father's open arms.
Mamoru sighed as he simply collapsed on the ground and died of exhaustion. This was just too hard!
A few seconds later, he felt a kick in his side. "Daddy, wake up! Time for hide-and-go-seek!"
Mamoru opened his eyes and sat up, grabbing his little princess before she could run away again. Trying to wiggle out of his embrace, she let out a loud shriek that he was sure they could hear all the way on Pluto.
"No, Small Lady, it's time for your nap."
"No nap, no nap, no nap, no nap!"
"Yes, nap!"
When she saw that her father was serious about taking a nap, Chibi-Usa finally surrendered, pouting all the way to her parents' bedroom. She hated nap time. It took the fun out of everything. She wanted to go back outside in the gardens and play hide-and-go-seek with her daddy.
Mamoru hoisted his daughter onto the large fluffy bed and laid down beside her, feeling his eyelids begin to droop. This was just what he needed, a nice long peaceful nap.
Unfortunately, Chibi-Usa had other plans. A few seconds after her father closed her eyes, the pink-haired princess stood up and began bouncing on the bed. She grabbed a pillow and hit her father on the head. "Pillow fight!" she shouted as Mamoru awoke.
An annoyed Mamoru grabbed the pillow and threw it on the floor. The princess shrieked as her father pulled her back down and held her close to his body, making sure that she wouldn't get up again. "I told you already, Small Lady, it's nap time, not play time. We'll play after while."
"But I'm not sleepy, Daddy!" she pouted.
The king moaned. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to have let Chibi-Usa eat that cake at Mr. Hoppy's birthday party, and that lollypop she got from Ryo hadn't helped at all. She was probably on a sugar high.
"Well, how about I tell you a story?" he suggested, remembering what Usagi said about how to get their daughter to sleep.
Chibi-Usa's pretty red eyes sparkled with joy. She absolutely loved hearing stories, especially ones in which she was the beautiful princess trapped in a tower, and the only one who could save her was the handsome prince, who always slayed the big meanie dragon and saved the day. "Yeah, tell me story! Tell dragon story."
"But I don't know the dragon story, Small Lady," he confessed, much to his daughter's disappointment. "However, why don't I tell you a new story?"
"Okay."
Chibi-Usa got situated underneath the covers as her father began his tale. "Once upon a time," Mamoru began, "a very long time ago, there was a kingdom called the Moon Kingdom, ruled by the wise and beautiful Queen Serenity-sama. Her kingdom was a happy and wonderful place, full of peace and love, and she hoped to one day pass her crown over to her daughter, Princess Serenity-sama, whom she was grooming to follow in her footsteps.
"Unfortunately, it was not to be. On Earth, a peasant girl named Beryl had come to power with the help of the evil Metallia, intent on getting her hands on Queen Serenity-sama's magic crystal and ruling the entire galaxy. The Earthlings, brainwashed by Beryl, eventually grew to hate the Lunarians, and relations between the two kingdoms became very hostile."
"Why they hate Lunarians?" she asked.
"Because those born on the moon were blessed with long life-spans and eternal beauty," he answered. "However, not all Earthlings hated Lunarians. The handsome Prince Endymion of Earth had grown to love the queen's daughter, Princess Serenity-sama, who also returned his love. Serenity-sama was the prettiest girl the prince had ever seen, with long silver hair and eyes the color of sapphire, and her heart was even more beautiful, for he had never met someone so kind and generous. It was no wonder that he fell in love with the princess at first sight, but he knew a love between them could never be."
Chibi-Usa frowned. "Me no like this story, Daddy!"
"It gets better, I promise. Anyway, even though they knew it was forbidden, the prince and princess began meeting for secret rendezvous on Earth."
"What rondayvu mean?"
Mamoru blushed slightly. "It's just a fancy word for meeting," he answered, returning to the story before she asked what they did at the meetings. That wasn't meant to be heard by such young ears. "As their love grew, the hate between their two kingdoms became more evident. The Moon Kingdom and the Earth Kingdom were on the brink of war, despite the Earth prince's attempts to prevent it.
"The night before the war began, Queen Serenity held a masque. The prince, disguised in a tuxedo and a white domino mask, snuck into the party, wanting one last dance with his princess. He knew what was to come and had already warned Queen Serenity-sama, pledging his loyalty to the Moon Kingdom, but now he would have to say goodbye to his love, knowing that there was a strong chance that he would never be able to see his beloved Serenity-sama again. Though the princess was sad when she learned of the approaching war, she kept on a brave face, never shedding a tear. She gave the handsome prince her mystical Star Locket to always remember her by and hoped that one day they could be together once again."
Chibi-Usa wiped away a tear. "Daddy, that sad. I no wanna hear anymore."
"I'm afraid it gets even sadder, my little princess, but I promise that this story has a happy ending," Mamoru said softly, pulling her closer. "The next day, Queen Beryl's forces attacked the Moon Kingdom, destroying everything in sight. Prince Endymion did the best he could to protect the princess, but he was killed by an attack meant for Serenity-sama, and the Moon princess, overcome by grief, committed suicide by stabbing herself with a sword. By the end of the battle, everyone was dead except for Queen Serenity-sama, who had used her crystal to defeat Beryl, and her two loyal advisors. She had just enough power left to seal the souls of the fallen prince and princess, as well as Serenity-sama's guardians, into her crystal and send them to a new future on Earth, which she did, giving up her own life so that her kingdom would one day live again."
"They died?" she asked sadly, letting out a yawn as she snuggled closer to her father.
Mamoru smiled. "Yes, the prince and princess did die, but they were eventually reborn on Earth where they found each other once again, and they lived happily ever after. The end. See, I told you it would have a happy ending… Small Lady? Are you asleep?"
He looked down at the sleeping princess in his arms, a smile on his face. She looked so beautiful laying there, so much like her mother. Oh, how he loved Chibi-Usa, his sweet little girl… Careful not to wake her, Mamoru shifted his body to a more comfortable position and joined his daughter in Dreamland.
"Daddy!"
Mamoru groaned and rolled over on his side, pulling his pillow over his head. Sometimes he was as hard to wake up as Usagi, especially when he was really tired like he was now. But Chibi-Usa would have none of that. Now awake and fully refreshed from her nap, she was ready to get back to doing what she did best, playing!
"Come on, Daddy!" she whined as she gave the resting king a good shove. "I wanna play! You promised!"
"Okay, okay…" he mumbled, letting out a huge yawn. Why did she have to wake him up? He was having such a nice dream. "What do you want to do now, Small Lady?"
The hyperactive child grabbed his hand and began yanking him from the bed. He had no choice but to follow her. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"Shizu-chan's room!"
He should have known that she wanted to go play with her cousin. The two of them were practically inseparable. Even as babies, they displayed deep affection for each other, crying loudly whenever Usagi and Hotaru broke them apart. They shared the same kind of friendship that Chibi-Usa and Hotaru had when her older self went back to the past to train as Sailor Chibi Moon.
Walking into Shizu's nursery, the king and princess stepped into total chaos. A little girl with teal blue hair was crying loudly in the center of the room as her twin brother ran circles around her, a dirty rag doll in his hands. The king's brother-in-law Shingo, trying to get the doll back, was busy chasing after the naughty little boy while his daughter sat nearby, banging loudly on the bottom of a couple of kitchen pots. The only person who seemed unbothered by the bedlam around her was raven-haired Masago, who was quietly reading a Dr. Seuss book by the window.
Even though he knew it wasn't right, Mamoru couldn't help but smile at the predicament Shingo had gotten himself into. He felt sorry for the poor guy, having to take care of Uranus', Neptune's, and Pluto's children, as well as Shizu. Shingo probably hadn't a moment to himself the entire day. And he thought babysitting Chibi-Usa was hard work! That was peanuts compared to looking after three excitable two-year-olds and a introverted six-year-old.
"Goku-chan, I'm telling you to stop it right now!" Shingo ordered the young boy breathlessly, stopping his chase to catch his breath. "Give your sister back her doll or no dessert for you after dinner tonight."
"Never!" Goku bellowed.
Goku's sister wailed even louder. "I want my dolly!"
Spotting Mamoru and Chibi-Usa standing in the doorway, Shingo sighed in exhaustion. "Mamoru-san, could you give me a hand here? I'm way over my head."
The next time Goku dashed by the door, the king of Silver Millennium stepped in front of him, stopping the little urchin in his tracks. "Young man, I suggest you give Nagisa-chan back her doll, or I will have you arrested for petty theft."
Goku huffed, not the least concerned about Mamoru's threats. "No, you won't. My mommy won't let you!"
"Really? We'll just have to see what Michiru-san has to say about that. Or perhaps I should just let your Haruka-papa take care of you. I'm sure she could be a lot more convincing than any of my guards."
Making a face, Goku reluctantly handed the doll back to a happy Nagisa. The last thing he wanted to do was get in trouble with Haruka-papa. "Here your stupid dolly back, Nagisa. Me no want it anyway. She ugly."
Nagisa protectively hugged the rag doll close to her chest. "No, she not! You mean, Goku-baka!"
"You ugly too."
"Am not!" she shouted, bursting into tears again. "Tsukino-san, Goku called me ugly."
"Tattletale!"
"That's really quite enough, you two," Shingo declared, stepping in between the two siblings before they got into another fight. Nagisa wrapped her arms around her Shingo's leg as Goku stuck out his tongue at her. "I mean it. Goku-chan, you have time out. Go put your nose in the corner and think about what you did. When you're ready to apologize to your sister, then you can come play again. And Nagisa-chan, why don't you go play with Shizu and Small… Uh, where are Small Lady and Shizu?"
"What do you mean?" Mamoru asked, turning around. "They're right over here. Hey, where did they go?"
Over by the window where she was reading, Setsuna's daughter Masago raised her hand, like she had been taught in school. "I saw Shizu and Chibi-Usa-chan sneak out of the room while you two were busy chasing Goku-chan," she said.
"Do you know where they went?"
Masago shook her head. This was not good. Usagi and Hotaru would not be happy to come home and find their children missing while their idiot husbands were supposed to watching them. But the girls had to be somewhere nearby. They couldn't have gotten very far in only five minutes.
"Shingo-kun, you go check downstairs," the king ordered. "I'll look up here."
"Right."
Chibi-Usa let out a giggle as she took another look out of her closet door. This was so fun. Daddy would never think to look for her in here.
Beside her, Shizu brought her finger to her lips, silently telling her cousin to be quiet. "He gonna hear you," Shizu whispered.
"Oops, sorry!"
After a few more minutes passed and nobody had found them yet, Chibi-Usa slowly opened the door, her head peeking out. Shizu was standing right behind her. "See him, Chibi-Usa-chan?"
The princess shook her head. "Nobody out there. We pick good hiding place!"
The sound of a man's footsteps stopping in front of Chibi-Usa's nursery alerted the girls to quickly close the closet and get quiet. Mamoru walked in just in time to see the door shut, but decided to play along with their little game.
"Small Lady? Shizu-chan?" he called out, looking underneath the crib. "Where are you? Are you under here?" A couple of giggles emerged from the closet, but Mamoru pretended he didn't hear.
"I guess they just disappeared. Boy, I'm sure going to miss those little munchkins, but hey, me and Usako will just go to Babyland and buy a new daughter. She'll be a brand new Small Lady. Or maybe we'll get a boy. I've always wanted a son. Yeah, that's what we'll do. We'll get a new child to love and spoil."
Inside the closet, an annoyed Chibi-Usa huffed in indignation. As if any new kid would be a cute and lovable as she was. That was it! Play time was over. She was not going to let some new baby come and take over what was rightfully hers. The two girls opened the door and ran over to hug the "surprised" king.
"No new kid. I am the daughter," Chibi-Usa declared, giving her father a huge kiss on the cheek.
Mamoru smiled and ruffled her hair. "Of course, Small Lady, you're my little girl, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now what do you say we go find Uncle Shingo and the others and all go out for ice cream?"
"Yea, eye scream!" the two girls chorused, nodding enthusiastically.
"I guess I'll take that as a yes. Let's go!"
Boy, it had been an exhausting day, not only for Mamoru, but for Chibi-Usa as well. For once, he didn't have to tell her twice that it was time to go to bed. He quickly dressed her in her favorite pair of pink pajamas and tucked her in bed with Mr. Hoppy in her arms.
"Goodnight, Small Lady," he said, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "I love you. Mommy and I will see you in the morning."
"You go bye-bye, Daddy? Mommy always stay til I go sleep."
Although he was anxious to jump into his own bed, Mamoru pulled the old-fashioned rocking chair close to the crib and took a seat. Surely he could stay for a couple of minutes. It probably wouldn't take long for Chibi-Usa to go to sleep anyway…
"Daddy?" the princess said a few minutes later, popping her head up. "Daddy? You up?" Chibi-Usa smothered a giggle as her father let out a loud snore. Guess not. Her daddy was so silly.
Settling back down in her bed, she made a shushing sound to all her dolls and stuffed animals. "Everyone, be quiet. Daddy sleeeeping," she whispered.
A few minutes later, Chibi-Usa was fast asleep.
Usagi and the other Sailor Soldiers arrived back in Crystal Tokyo at around midnight, having finally defeated the youma on Mercury. Everyone was ready to hit the sack, but none so more than the queen. She was incredibly tired from all that fighting. All she wanted to do was say goodnight to her daughter and crawl into bed.
Popping her blonde head into her daughter's nursery, Usagi smiled at the sight of her beloved husband sleeping in the rocking chair beside the crib, the moonlight from the open window illuminating his handsome face. He looked so adorable.
The queen quietly walked in the room and gave Chibi-Usa a kiss goodnight. She then grabbed an extra blanket from the closet, wrapping it around her sleeping husband. "I love you, Mamo-chan," she whispered, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Sweet dreams."
The queen silently went back to her own room, a smile on her face. She truly was the luckiest woman in the entire world.
DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon is the property of the talented Takeuchi Naoko.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: If you would like to read more about this lovable group as they take over as the Sailor Neo-Soldiers,check out my story Sweet Dreams. Also, be on the lookout for Sands of Time, which will explain the truth about Meioh Masago's birth.