Chapter Two- The Outers
It was nearly four in the morning when Chou woke up in the small, dark apartment. She tried to look for something that told her she was not in danger, but everything was unfamiliar to her. An unexpected tear rolled down the child's angel face, and then as if that were a queue the other's followed silently. She wanted to get up and look around, but her legs were shaking violently. "Mama..." she called out barely audible. A full shower of tears erupted from her eyes. She couldn't find it in her to be brave. "Mamma." she choked once more, gasping for air.
The door creaked open, and a young lady peered through, looking very confused. Chou's eyes widened in horror, as she spotted the young woman's silhouette coming toward her. She shot under the covers, her entire body violently, shaking. She wanted to scream out for help, but couldn't find her voice.
"Hello?" Hotaru said, she was just as scared. She didn't want to hurt the child that was in a panic, but she had no idea what to say or do. "I promise I won't hurt you."
"St-st-stay away," Chou screamed, moving further down the bed. She couldn't hear what the crazy woman was saying, but she knew she wanted to stay away. Hotaru bit her bottom lip. She had no idea what to do or say. She thought about calling her mom and papa, but they wouldn't have any better luck than she.
"I only want to help," Hotaru said, her voice slightly strained. She lifted the covers up off the child. She kicked and screamed. "Shhh. Shhh."
Chou rolled off the bed, and the woman walked over to her. "Are you alright?" Chou wiped the tears out of her eyes. She saw the woman for the first time. Her stomach twisted and turned, she cupped her hands over her mouth and spewed all over them. Vomit ran down onto her pajama's. Chou started crying again, this time embarrassed.
Hotaru was slightly grossed out by this, but she had remembered several times when she had done this to herself. She remembered what Michiru and Setsuna-mama would do in a time like this. Hotaru bent down to the child's level, "It's okay, sweetheart."
Chou went to wipe her eyes with her vomited hands, but Hotaru stopped her. She grabbed a tissue from her night stand and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "You know what would make you feel better?" Chou shook her head. Hotaru smiled, "A nice warm bath, and a nice glass of spearmint tea."
Chou smiled for the first time. She noticed how much the woman resembled her mother. The only difference was, she looked younger. Hotaru helped the little girl up and walked her to the bathroom. "My name is Hotaru, what's yours?"
"Chou." she whispered.
Hotaru smiled, "What an adorable name. Your name means Butterfly. Mine is Firefly."
Chou giggled. She knew this young woman was her mother, but she got the feeling she was in the wrong timeframe. She was too afraid to speak and ask questions. She listened to what Hotaru instructed her to do.
"I have some clothes for you. Luckily, I saved a box from when I was a child." Hotaru laughed. "Never thought I'd actually need to use them." She ran the bath water for Chou and went to get the box out of her closet. She couldn't help but feel a strong connection between her and the girl. She wondered if there was a possible chance that they were related somehow. She knew she needed to get over to The Mansion and talk to her family about this. Strange things were always happening to them because they were Senshi.
She came back into the bathroom with the new clothes, "So, how old are you?"
Chou held up her hands to show that she was six. Hotaru smiled, this little girl reminded her so much of herself. "Who are your parents?" Hotaru asked.
"Mamma and Papa." she replied, shyly.
Hotaru nodded slowly, this was not the answer she was expecting. "Time to get out. You can get some rest, and then we'll eat when you wake up." she explained. Chou stood up and let Hotaru wrap the towel around her. Chou stood there, allowing Hotaru to dry her off and help her dress. She knew who this woman was, even if she couldn't say it out loud 'cause it seemed weird to her. Chou would call her mom, as soon as the sun rose. Of course, she was certain Haruka was awake by now. She had a race at eight, and had to get to the track early.
Setsuna and Megumi
Setsuna had sat herself down at a small quiet cafe. She had in her hand a book, and in the other a cup of warm tea. She breathed in the minty aroma from the tea, it helped soothe her, and currently she had been receiving bad vibes, but when she looked into the gates of time there was nothing there. Everything seemed to be in order, there was no presence of an evil force, but her instincts told her something was about to happen. She just wasn't sure what.
"Oh, she's adorable." a waitress said, interrupting Setsuna's deep thinking. It took Setsuna a few seconds to collect what the woman had said. She followed the women's eyes to the other side of the booth. Setsuna leaned over the table to find a small girl who resembled her. Setsuna looked up at the woman and smiled.
"She's precious." Setsuna said. "Can we get her a strawberry muffin? And make that to go. I must be getting her off."
"Sure thing, Miss. Meioh." the woman smiled and walked away.
"Psst. Kid. Wake up." Setsuna said, once the woman was out of ear shot. The green haired girl sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Mom, why are we in a cafe?" the little girl asked, yawning. "I was nice and warm in my bed." the girl shivered as if she were cold.
"Mom?" Setsuna repeated flabbergasted. She saw the similarities, but for some reason hadn't expected that this was the outcome.
Megumi's face fell, "Please, don't play games."
"I'm not..." Setsuna said truthfully.
"But you are Setsuna Meioh, aren't you?" Megumi asked extremely confused.
Setsuna nodded slowly and Megumi continued, "You're the gatekeeper. Guardian of Time."
"Yes, but we usually don't address these things in public," Setsuna explained.
"I'm so sorry," Megumi said, and cupped her hands over her mouth. "My name is Megumi Meioh, I'm nine years old, and I usually live in the palace."
"You're in the wrong time, sweetie." Setsuna said. "The time of Neo-Queen Serenity's reign hasn't begun."
"Hmm… I wonder how I ended up here," Megumi said. The waitress came back with Megumi's strawberry muffin in a brown bag. "Thank you," Megumi peered inside the bag. Amazed that it was her favorite muffin. She looked up at Setsuna wanting to ask her how she knew it was her favorite, but decided against it. Setsuna paid the waitress. The waitress thanked them and disappeared.
"You don't remember how you ended up here?" Setsuna asked. "You weren't told that you were coming to the past? Are there…other's of you?"
"Yes ma'am," Megumi said. "There are eight more of us, assuming that everyone is here. Perhaps we are here for training? I don't really remember. We had a meeting, and it was very late. I was tired and was only thinking of bed."
"How old is the youngest?" Setsuna asked.
"Five." Megumi answered.
"We have to go." Setsuna said. The two of them rose from the table and quickly adjourned outside. "We're going to the mansion so we can figure this out," Setsuna explained, opening the passenger side for the girl. Megumi got in and Setsuna shut it. She got in on her side and cranked the car up. Megumi wondered what was in store for them when they got to the mansion. She could tell that Setsuna was not pleased with her sudden arrival, but she wasn't sure why.
"I'm sorry I didn't pay attention at the meeting." Megumi said. "I wish I could have the answers for you."
A smile crept up on Setsuna's face. Though, she did not entirely agree with herself having a child, the fact that Megumi was apologizing for something that Setsuna knew nothing about was amusing to her.
Haruka and Sora
Haruka Tenoh was placing her helmet on, when her manager walked up to her. He had a huge big grin on his face. He placed his hand on Haruka's shoulder, "We're glad to have you back full time."
Haruka flashed a smile, "It's good to be back."
Something caught the managers attention, and he turned to look inside Haruka's car. "Eh, Haruka, we usually don't allow kids in races. I thought all your kids were grown."
Haruka's looked at the man bewildered. She looked into the car window and sure enough there was a child curled up in the passenger seat. "I'll take care of this." Haruka said. The manager nodded and walked off. Haruka opened the door and pulled the brown haired girl out of the front seat, "Just what do you think you're doing?"
The little girl barely had time to catch her balance. "No-nothing," she looked at the car confused, and back at Haruka who had her by the neck. She pulled back away from her, slightly aggravated. She was quite aware that this was not the Haruka she knew. She stomped her feet, and crossed her arms. "You have issues."
"I do?" Haruka asked, her eyebrow raised. "I'm not the one playing inside people's cars."
"Well, I wasn't playing. I was originally sleeping peacefully in my bed! And then I end up in your car." Sora growled. She glanced at Haruka's gear. Her name was written all over it. She knew spatting out her name wouldn't be very effective. "Where's Michiru-mama?"
"Who?" Haruka asked, slightly aghast.
"I think you're fully aware of who I'm talking of." Sora said.
"I have a race to win." Haruka said, and went to shut the door, but Sora slid in just as it shut.
Cursing, Haruka got into the driver seat, "What do you want kid?"
"I need to speak to Michiru-mama and find my sister," Sora explained. "I'm not getting out of this car until that happens."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Haruka said. "Now get out!"
Sora shook her head, "Sailor Uranus, you better listen to me now. I have the ability to tell your identity to the world."
Haruka glared at the little girl. Her manager walked back up to let her know the race was about to start. Haruka tried to show that she was not irritated, "Something's come up."
"Haruka Tenoh…are you forfeiting?" he asked completely shocked.
"I'm going to have to," Haruka said gripping the steering wheel.
"This will be the first race…ever"
"Please, don't say anything else. I have to go." Haruka said, cranking the car up. She slammed he foot on the pedal and took off. She couldn't believe she had to quit for the first time ever. She was far too ticked off to try and speak to the girl. This race had been important for her, and now it was gone. She knew she would be getting a call from her manager later on telling her she could not work with her. Haruka wanted to cry, but she would not let her emotions show in front of the kid.
"I know how much racing means to you," Sora sighed. "Just you should have been nicer."
Haruka grind her teeth together, she was on the verge of cursing uncontrollably, but she knew Michiru would not agree to such profanity in front of children. Sora frowned. She wasn't getting through to Haruka. Crossing her arms, she stared out the window. The trees passed by as a blur.
Michiru and Kiya
Kiya Kaioh's eyes popped open. She blinked several times to see if she was dreaming. The ceiling was painted with angels. She smiled, and sat up, she was unaware as to where she was, but her mom had told her angels meant security. Yawning, her eyes bounced back and forth trying to grasp her new surroundings. Her feet touched the ground and something small, and furry came up to them and begin licking them.
"Eeeee!" Kiya squealed. She looked down to see a small puppy looking up to her. "Oberon!" The puppy yelped, excitedly. Kiya bent down to pick him up. "You're so adorable! I've never seen you as a puppy. You're all old in my time."
The puppy licked her face. Kiya stood up from the couch. She needed to find out why she was here, and why her puppy had been kidnapped- dog napped. She was amazed at how big the house was, and the breathtaking scenes. She passed by a huge kitchen, that could easily fit twelve people in it. She wondered who lived in this mansion. She was shocked that there weren't a gazillion different people going all over the place. She heard a soft humming melody coming from upstairs. She looked down at the puppy, gulping.
"Ready to go find the culprit?" she asked. The puppy licked her feet. Kiya giggled. She started tiptoeing up the stairs. Her insides were squirming, as she knew she was about to encounter a possible thief. She wasn't sure how she was going to confront the horrible person, but she knew she had to. She felt nauseated when she got to the last step, to see a hall full of rooms. She wanted to scream. She had never seen so many rooms, and them to be all empty. At home, they had only five bedrooms, but there was often people coming in and out of them.
She spotted an open door, and walked up to it. Peering in, she saw a woman, with her hair pulled back into a hat. She was painting a beautiful picture. Kiya's eyes grew large when she recognized the picture. She gasped, and walked into the room, "You stole that picture!"
Michiru's paintbrush went up through the picture, startled. She turned around to see a small little girl standing there, pointing her finger at her, and the puppy at her feet. Michiru smiled, "You're quite adorable."
"No, you can't kidnap me too!" Kiya squealed, she went to make a run for it, but stopped and stared into the woman's eyes. "You look very familiar."
"Do I?" Michiru asked, very amused.
Kiya nodded indefinitely, "Why did you kidnap Oberon? That's not very nice."
Michiru laughed, "I'm afraid I got Oberon fair and square. He was a gift from Haruka."
Kiya whirled around and came back to face Michiru. "How do you know Haruka? I know Haruka, you can't too. You're an evil kidnapper." She bent down and picked the puppy up. "I'm taking Oberon back!"
Michiru nodded, "I agree, you should. Do you need a place to stay? I have a room, but it's going to cost you."
Kiya looked at her quizzical. "How much?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out some lent. "This is all I have."
Michiru smiled, "That's the right amount of lint I needed." Michiru held out her hand. Kiya looked from her hand to the lint. She bit the top of her lip, and slowly walked toward her. She shut her eyes as the lint fell out of her hand and into Michiru's hand. She quickly pulled her hand back so the kidnapper wouldn't grab her too. Michiru stood up, and put the lint in her own dress pocket. "I will show you and Oberon to your room now."
Michiru led the way down the hall. She came to the second room and opened it, "This will be your room while you stay."
Kiya nodded. She went and placed Oberon on the bed. She looked back at Michiru, "Miss… I'm a little hungry."
Michiru smiled, "What would you like to eat?"
"Ice cream!" Kiya squealed.
"I can do that." Michiru replied.
"And you won't poison it?" Kiya asked.
"I promise," Michiru said. "Besides you paid fair and square."
Kiya nodded in agreement. Michiru shook her head. The child was very creative. The two of them walked into the very big kitchen. Oberon followed close behind Kiya. The front door opened, catching Michiru's attention. She looked around the corner just as Hotaru was coming in.
"Hotaru, I wasn't expecting you." Michiru sad coming toward her daughter. She spotted a little girl quivering behind her. "Oh, I see."
Kiya came out of the kitchen, ice cream smeared all over her face. "You know Hotaru too! Just who are you evil kidnapper?"
Hotaru looked at Michiru slightly confused. She had never seen the girl in her life, and was calling her mother a 'kidnapper'. Michiru smiled, "Are you sure you want to know? Can you handle the truth?"
"Yes, I can handle the truth." Kiya said.
"Alright, if you think so." Michiru said. She took her hat off, causing her aqua hair to cascade down to her shoulder's. Kiya's eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, but she couldn't speak. "Oh, by the way, I think this is yours." Michiru reached into the closet and pulled out a small, blue whale.
"NeNe!" the girl squealed in delight.
"Kiya." a soft voice spoke.
"Chou!" Kiya screamed, and ran over to her best friend. "I missed you!" The two girls hugged one another.
"I missed you too." Chou replied.
Kiya turned around to Michiru and demanded an explanation as to why she had her NeNe locked in a closet. "It squirted water at me."
Hotaru looked at Michiru amused. "It must've thought I was going to hurt her or something."
Kiya and Chou giggled, "NeNe didn't think you were going to hurt me." Michiru raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.
"She programed her to squirt anyone, except me, to squirt water in their faces if they wake her up." Chou whispered.
Michiru and Hotaru looked at one another, "Now I know what I have to look forward to in the future. I'll make a mental note of that. How'd she get a whale anyway?"
As if on queue, both Setsuna and Haruka walked in with two extra kids. Setsuna gave the floating miniature whale a quizzical look. "That looks an awful lot like the Luna-P."
"It is." Megumi spoke up. "It's your design. We all had one at some point in time."
Michiru looked at Setsuna, "At least I know who to come after every morning when I'm soaking wet." Kiya and Chou giggled. Sora would have been amused, but she was far too upset with Haruka.
"I need to talk to you." Haruka demanded. Michiru looked at the young children before her. She knew where this conversation was about to go.
Next-Chapter Three: Impressions