Author's Note: For my readers who enjoy this, and my other stories, you can now find them under Sailor Silver Ladybug!
PS... the last scene of the story... based on something that happened to me when I was small, and I just thought it would be cute.
The Meaning of Love:
A Story From Beginning to End
Chapter 4
Rescues
Two teens sat together in a coffee shop. On the table was a notebook with very detailed instructions, including a timeline and who to talk to as well as who to avoid. They had pieced together everything their parents, aunts and uncles, and family friends remembered. It was a difficult thing they were trying to accomplish.
They had to save their parents. And four of their uncles.
Soon they would be babysitting for a full week. They would be caring for six children together. All at the Tsukino house, because it was a little larger. Shingo was the major concern because he was so young. The others ages were easier to manage. But they would have a full week with them, and in that time they had to stop the first known Negaverse attack. It was part of the reason they were bringing young Mamoru and the others to the house next door.
Records indicated that the Youma had attacked there first. In some of the alternate timelines he didn't live there, so it was never attacked. There were timelines where young Usagi's family was never attacked either. Arranging for their own grandparents to win a four person vacation, and then to be chosen as the babysitters during that time had been difficult.
The task of keeping their parents alive would be much more so.
"Alight," Chibi-Mamo said, brushing his hair away from his eyes. "So we show up Friday morning at seven. The first attack was when?"
"Friday night at nine, just after the kids were put to bed." Chibi-Usa said.
"Okay, and then Uncle Kun was next right? How are we going to get him and his family out of there?"
Chibi-Usa frowned. From what Kun had said there had been an alarm. Carbon monoxide. The emergency responders had shown up and there were firetrucks everywhere. The whole family had been at a hotel for the rest of the night. Whatever Youma had attacked had destroyed the house, but since no one was inside, the family couldn't be killed. That was when Uncle Kun and his whole family had moved to Usagi's neighborhood.
"We have to set off a carbon monoxide alarm... but we need to somehow make sure there is actual carbon monoxide so the firemen send them away. Bit not enough for it to hurt them." Chibi-Usa frowned. She had no idea how they were going to do that.
"Okay, and then Uncle Jadeite and Uncle Zoicite were after that right?" Chibi-Mamo looked down at the pages with neatly printed instructions. "So there was a fire. We have to be there to rescue them in time, but the house has to be unlivable for a little while."
"Right," Chibi-Usa turned the page. "Then Uncle Nephrite. His mom died already and his dad won't last much longer. He's the hardest to save because his dad drinks. We have to find a way to get him out safely too. I don't know how they did it before."
"I say lets just take Nephrite somewhere safe and bring his dad to the hospital to dry out. Maybe we can save him this time." Chibi-Mamo frowned. The death of his parents had hit their uncle hard.
"No. It's too late by now. Liver damage and a disease he didn't notice because of the alcohol. I don't remember what it was." Chibi-Usa felt a single tear fall. "But that's when he meets our dad and becomes friends with him. Right after his father dies."
"So he's Uncle Kunzite's cousin right?"
"Yeah. They're all cousins. That's why he goes to live with Uncle Kun." Chibi-Usa frowned. "I wish we could save everyone."
"You know they tried in one of the timelines. It messed things up really badly. Uncle Jed and Uncle Zo ended up getting hit."
Chibi-Usa knew that. Unfortunately Jed and Zo's parents wouldn't long survive the Youma attack, even though they never saw the monster. A drunk driver knocked them into a river instead. The boys and their younger sister ended up moving in with Kunzite's family as well.
"And the girls?" Chibi-Mamo asked.
"Still hidden, best we can tell. Until they become the Senshi, they are completely off the Negaverse radar." She twirled a strand of bright pink hair around one finger.
"How did they find our mom then?" he wondered.
"Because she lives next door to dad. The Youma sensed latent power."
"We'll we can't fail in this. We're going to need to work harder than we ever have before."
"Come on," Chibi-Usa said. "We're going to go over today to see them. They had a rough day yesterday, and I want to check on mom."
Mamoru was worried about Usagi. She didn't want to go outside anymore. He hugged her and let her cry. She didn't want to go to school anymore either. She had been so excited, and now she was more afraid than she was of the thunder. He didn't know what to do.
It was true that Usagi was very small for a girl her age, and that might make her a bigger target to bullies, but she couldn't hide in the house forever. He also didn't want her thinking that bullies were everywhere. She needed to be outside.
He missed the happy laughing girl from the day before. When he'd left for school she had been waving goodbye and giggling. Now she didn't want to let him leave the house and she was refusing to go outside. He knew he had to do something to help her before it got worse.
Usagi sniffled against his chest and he patted her back. Even though she was younger than him, she was his hero. She had found him a family and had become his best friend. He pulled gently on one of her Odango ponytails and she lifted her head to look at him.
"Why don't we all go together?" he suggested. "Maybe if it's all five of us no one will come close."
"I don't know if Mama will let Una come with me. Last time she chased after a dog and fell down a hill." Usagi said, but her lips quirked at the memory. "She got muddy and hurt her arm."
Mamoru remembered when Unazuki got all scratched up. She had though the roll down the hill was fun though, and had talked about the dog for days. In his little sister's mind it had been fun, and the few little scratches, while they made her cry, weren't enough to deter her.
But bullies might. What he needed was someone bigger to take her outside. Like the boy and girl who had helped them before. He wished they would come back and take them all to the park.
There was a knock on the door and Ikuko went to answer it. Mamoru looked up when he heard the voices of the teenagers he had just been thinking about. He raced over to them and grabbed the pink-haired girl's hand, dragging her back to Usagi.
"You have to help. She doesn't want to go outside," he said somewhat out of breath from tugging her across the room.
Chibi-Usa looked at Usagi and opened her arms. Usagi ran to her and held on tight.
"Why don't you want to go outside?" she asked
"Cause bullies," the little girl said, face against her shoulder now. Mamoru frowned. He didn't like bullies, and those kids were very big. Almost the same size as Chibi-Usa and Chibi-Mamo. He liked their names, but they were sort of silly. They weren't very little. They should just be Usa and Mamo. He laughed a little at that. Usagi called him Mamo. Sometimes he called her Usa. But he liked to call her Usako too, because she was like a baby bunny, all sweet and soft and nice.
He'd held a baby bunny once. When they went to the petting zoo. Usagi had loved it and wanted to take it home. She'd cried when they had to say goodbye. One day he was going to get her a baby bunny. Maybe lots of them.
Chibi-Mamo came over and put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled down at him. "Do you want us to take you all to the park?" he asked.
Mamoru nodded his head. "Please. She has her first day of school in a few days and she's afraid to go outside."
Chibi-Usa frowned and tilted her head to one side. "I think we can take you out. When is her first day of school?"
"Well Mamo and Toki and Ruki got out yesterday, and the new school year starts Tuesday," Usagi said. She was sitting on Chibi-Usa's lap now, comfortably looking out at the living room. "But I don't want to go. I want to be home where people don't hurt you."
Chibi-Usa looked down at her. "Usagi, not everyone wants to hurt other people. In fact, its really rare. And if someone sees a person trying to hurt someone else, then they should jump in and help. We have a responsibility to the people..."
She cut off when Chibi-Mamo shook his head, and grinned. "What she means is that there are people out there who will try to help. One day, you'll help other people too. Okay?"
Usagi nodded.
Mamoru smiled, and held her hand. He wanted her to play and be happy. Tee said it was his job to protect her always.
Usagi laughed and chased Una across the field. They were all playing tag, and their new friends were good at it. Probably because they were so big and tall. Unazuki and Usagi both knew places where tall people couldn't get though, and were going to hide in one of them. It was a pipe that came out of the side of a building. Really warm air came out of it sometimes and it always smelled like clean laundry.
She and Una had found it when they were playing hide and seek. The others found them though. But for tag, they couldn't reach them. That was funny. Una went in first, and Usagi followed. But the pipe seemed smaller. It had been a while since she had hidden there. It was harder to get inside and she had to wiggle a bit to get her shoulders in. She was facing out because she wanted to see if anyone was coming.
She laughed as the others raced around chasing each other and backed deeper into the pipe to take to Unazuki. "I don't think they noticed we ran here!" she giggled.
"That's silly," Una said. "They know we're fast but they always forget."
Usagi giggled again.
"Hey Usa?"
"Hmm?" Usagi looked at her younger friend.
"Were the bully people really scary?" Una asked, sounding afraid.
"Kinda, yeah, but then Chibi-Usa and Chibi-Mamo came and chased them away. They say people will help if there's bullies."
"Good. I don't want you to get hurted."
"Me either," Usagi said.
"Did I tell you my tooth is loose?" Una asked suddenly.
"Really? Which one?"
"My front one." Una pointed. In the dark pipe it was hard to see, but Usagi figured she could ask again later.
"Cool," she said. "I lost one before. It didn't really hurt even though Mamo said it would."
"Hey girls, no fair hiding in here, come on out," Chibi-Usa said. "Besides, it's starting to get dark. You don't want to miss dinner do you?"
"Food!" squealed Usagi excitedly. She loved to eat.
Unazuki went to the front of the pipe and made her way out and Usagi followed her. She wiggled herself closer and closer to the end, but then she felt herself getting stuck. Her shoulders were too big to get out.
"Uh oh," she said. She couldn't move past a certain point. "I think I'm stuck in here."
"Nah," said Chibi-Mamo. "I'll tell you what to do. Are you listening?"
"Yes," Usagi whispered, a little scared.
"I want you to lay down on your belly with your arms straight out in front of you really straight. Can you do that?" he asked.
Usagi nodded and did as she was told. She felt him grab her hands and pull her slowly out of the pipe. It was a tight squeeze, and it scratched her a little, but he kept pulling gently until she was free. When she was out Una and the others were all looking like they might cry. She smiled and waved at them.
"It's okay. I'm okay," she said.
Mamo came and grabbed her hand. "No more pipe, I guess," he said. "I don't know what we would have done if you got stuck and they weren't here to help us."
"Me either," she said and gave Chibi-Mamo a hug, while Mamo clung to her hand. "Thank you," she said.
"Not a problem. Just glad we were here. But he's right. You've grown up too much to hide in there anymore." Chibi-Mamo frowned over at his sister, and Usagi wondered what they were thinking about.
"Did you say something about food?" she asked as her stomach growled.
Everyone laughed.
