Chapter Seven- Widespread Shock
Setsuna grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. It blared with the five o'clock news. Haruka and Hotaru stared agape. Hotaru had gotten Setusna's emergency message and had come straight home. There was a rough sketch of Sailor Pluto plastered behind the man sitting at the news desk.
"Earlier this afternoon the world saw something shocking. A good hero gone bad." the guy shook his head as if this was just too much to take in. "Sailor Pluto is wanted for the heinous crime."
A woman walked onto the set, sitting down in the empty chair. "We just got word in about the other Legendary Senshi. It is currently not known at this time if any of them can be trusted."
"This is ridiculous!" Haruka shouted, startling Kiya who was watching from a distance. She looked at Setsuna with many questions forming in her head. Had Sailor Pluto really killed that woman? If she had, why?
"There is a reward out for the capture of Sailor Pluto. Though, it is advised that you call in her whereabouts. Do not approach Sailor Pluto, as she is highly dangerous. And could strike out viciously upon you." Haruka shut the TV off, shaking her head in disbelief.
Hotaru turned to Setsuna with a frown, "It's okay mama, we're going to get through this." Hotaru took Setsuna's hand and held it for a few minutes.
Kiya's eyes filled with tears. She wanted love and comfort; she was used to being noticed and loved. She saw how Hotaru was with Chou, and everyone else. Kiya glanced at Haruka who was sitting on the couch, with her fingers on her temples, as if she had a headache or was frustrated.
Kiya couldn't take it anymore, she darted from the stairs and ran toward Hotaru. She squeezed through Setsuna and Hotaru, clinging onto Hotaru. She didn't care about what the news said, or if she should really be concerned with Setsuna being right there. Setsuna bent down and put her hand on the girls shoulder, "Is everything okay dear?"
Kiya didn't let go of Hotaru's legs. She shook her head no, "Everything's horrible!"
"Don't say that," Setsuna said. "It's not good for a small child to think that. Children are meant to be the free spirited ones, the one's that grownups truly admire."
Kiya swung around quickly, glaring at Setsuna, "You're lying! If you really admired us you'd love us! No matter if the future changes for you or not!"
Setsuna looked at Kiya hurt. Megumi and Sora entered the room just upon hearing that. They stood still, unsure if they'd get in trouble or not. Setsuna held her hand out toward Kiya. Kiya slowly placed her hand inside of Setsuna's.
"I know, I should love Megumi, but even adults get scared like little kids. Children are a huge responsibility, and I was just afraid of the future. Raising a family, falling in love, that's scary stuff; you understand, right?"
Kiya shook her head, "No, I don't."
"Ki…" Sora said softly. "Why don't we go get ready for bed?"
"I want to go home!" Kiya shouted.
"We can't, I'm sorry." Sora frowned. Kiya let go of Setsuna's hand and buried herself into Hotaru.
"They just want to be loved." Hotaru said, and picked up Kiya. "That's all I ever wanted when I was a child. To be loved, and cared for."
"You're scared?" Megumi asked.
Setsuna swallowed hard, and turned to the little girl that had been labeled her daughter. "A little."
"Well, I'm scared too," Megumi replied. "And I'm going to bed." She turned on her heels and marched upstairs.
ooooooooooooooo
Chou took the washcloth from the sink and ran water on it. She then took the dish soap and squirted a whole bunch of it into the washcloth. Throwing it back under the water for a few seconds, and then attempting to ring it out. She shut the water off, turned around and threw the washcloth on the floor. Walking to the edge of the kitchen, she turned around eyeing the wet rag mischievously. She took off running, and jumped onto the washcloth, sliding a bit across the floor.
Her heart jumped a little, excited that it actually worked. She ran back to the edge of the kitchen again and repeated. She landed on her bottom, and giggled. Becoming a little bit more confident, she went back to her spot, and took off at full speed. Unfortunately she slid before she was ready and smacked her head on the island.
Haruka jumped up from the couch instinctively and ran into the kitchen. Her heart nearly melted away when she saw the red spot on Chou's head. It was amazing to see just how Chou resembled Hotaru. Haruka chuckled a little when she saw what Chou had done, and how much she was trying to not cry.
She bent down, "So we're we trying to clean the kitchen? Or skid across the floor on a washcloth? I tried that once."
A tear slid down Chou's face and Haruka caught it, "I ended up with a bloody nose. My mom always said I was too rough." Haruka laughed. "I didn't know you had a tough side to you."
Chou tried to smile, but her head was hurting too much. "Let's have a look at your head." She picked Chou up and sat her on the counter, "Would you like a popsicle? My mom always gave them to me when I got hurt."
"Did your mom go broke?" Chou sniffed, as Haruka grabbed a popsicle.
"Huh?" Haruka asked, and then realized what the child was insinuating. "No, I may've played rough, but it made me a stronger person. Well, in the sense that I can tolerate pain more than others. You're strong too."
"Thanks…" Chou said as she took the popsicle from Haruka's hand. "Why do you hate Kiya and Sora?"
Haruka stared open mouthed at Chou. The little girl was like a snake; she could attack you in her sweetest, most critical moments. Haruka clamped her mouth shut, not knowing what to say to Chou.
oooooooooooooooooooo
Minako stared at the television horrorstricken; a Sailor Senshi gone bad? It was obviously a mistake. Of course, things may have changed since the last time they saw the outer Senshi. Minako's eyes searched for the picture that was on top of her television. It was of her friends; right as they were entering college. Her heart sunk a little, she missed them terribly. She wondered how they were doing and what they were up to. She had been ignoring on their calls since her bad break up with her boyfriend.
Sakura came out of the spare bedroom that Minako had finally cleaned out a little. She spotted a rough sketch of Sailor Pluto on the TV and frowned, "What happened? Why do they want Sailor Pluto?"
"She was said to have 'murdered' someone, but I think its was just the wrong time to be there. I think we need to go see the other girls. I have a bad feeling that there is a new enemy." Minako explained.
Sakura giggled, "The Senshi of Time caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. Who would've thought. She'll get through it, I think."
"That was almost comforting. Next time leave the 'I think' part off." Minako patted Sakura on the leg. She flipped open her communicator, breathed in deeply, and pressed her 'communicate all' button. Ami, Usagi, Makoto, and an unfamiliar girl answered.
"Aunt Minako! You're alive!" gushed a petite girl.
"Inari!" Sakura squealed, and attacked Minako's hand grabbing the communicator away from her. "I'm not alone anymore!"
"You were never alone lollipop." Inari rolled her eyes, giggling.
"Lollipop?" everyone chorused.
An unexpected voice came from Makoto's communicator, "She's not allowed to call people dumb dumb's, so she calls them lollipops, instead."
"Clever kid." Usagi said.
"Give me back my communicator!" Rei snatched the communicator away, and saw a younger looking girl staring back at her. "You're awfully young, Minako."
Sakura giggled, "I'm not Minako, and my hair is a different color."
"Pfft, I knew you weren't Minako." Rei said, as Sakura handed the communicator back to Minako.
"Everyone got landed with a kid?" Minako asked.
"Yeah, you would know that if you answered your cell phone, or communicator every once in a while." Rei smarted off.
"Sorry, so has everyone seen the news? And does Luna and… never mind. Does Luna know anything about the new enemy?" Minako asked.
Usagi looked shocked, "New enemy?" There was a loud boom outside, which caused the blond to shriek. "Have you been attacked, Minako?"
Minako shook her head. Makoto had turned the news on and looked at it in shock, "The enemy is Sailor Pluto? She was caught at the scene of a crime. A heinous crime. They say she killed a young woman in an alleyway. A passerby spotted her. She ran, which makes her seem guilty. They want to capture her."
"That's horrible! Setsuna would never kill anyone." Usagi shrieked.
"Well, if I recall correctly, weren't the outers all set out on killing Hotaru?" Rei asked. "Maybe killing this woman is part of their next mission. We all know how they operate."
"So you think they could be responsible for an actual sacrifice?" Ami asked, trying to digest the possibility of this. Usagi was the one that was truly against the idea of this being the case. She knew with all her heart that it was a mistake, and she wasn't going to take Rei's theories as fact.
When Minako finally got off the communicator she was exhausted. She was glad that Usagi didn't hound her with questions as to why she had been ignoring them, but as her cell phone rang she knew who it was. Sakura looked from the cell phone to Minako. Minako fell back into the couch. Sakura answered it.
"Hello?"
"Is Minako there?" Usagi asked.
Minako looked at the child slightly agitated and very worn out, "No, you just missed her. She's in the shower."
"Let her know I'm here for her if she needs to talk." Usagi said.
"Okay, I will. Bye." Sakura hung the phone up. "Why can't we go see them still?"
"No one knows anything about the true enemy. It's just a bunch of theories," Minako explained. "I'm going to bed. There should be something to eat in the fridge."
"Leftovers." Sakura scowled. She was getting a bit tired of eating leftovers. She was glad that she had finally been able to speak to Inari. She giggled to herself. She was still a trouble maker; though, at the same time she was the biggest sweetheart.
ooooooooooooo
Michiru choked on a piece of steak. She couldn't believe her ears. "Sailor Pluto was on the news this evening." someone from a few tables announced to their guest.
"I can't believe a Sailor Senshi would do this!" one man slammed his hand down on the table. "That Sailor Pluto needs to be taught a lesson."
"I heard she ran like a coward." one man laughed.
"Some brave warriors we have." a woman sighed. "Did she really kill that poor woman?"
"That's what they're saying."
Michiru got up abruptly and retreated to her room. She took out her communicator and quickly contacted Haruka. "Is everything okay? I've been hearing some awful things on the cruise. Please tell me the rumors are untrue."
"If they're about Setsuna then yes, unfortunately. It was horrible timing. Two children are after something."
"Children?" Michiru asked shocked.
"Yeah, Setsuna said they appeared to be brother and sister maybe. The girl might be twelve to fourteen, and the boy sixteen or seventeen. We're not sure. They both fled from the scene before Setsuna could figure anything out."
"This is horrible!" Michiru said. "This is a crummy week to be on a cruise."
"How are your recitals going?" Haruka asked trying to comfort her love in some way.
"They're okay. They'd be better if you were here." Michiru sighed. "I should be home tomorrow."
"I will be looking forward to it." Haruka smiled. She blew a kiss into the communicator and Michiru returned it. "I love you." they both said, laughed, and signed off.
Authors Note: Chibiusa, unfortunately, didn't make it into this chapter, but she should be appearing more. Sorry about the lack of Chibiusa. We shall definitely see her in the next chapter, as things begin to unfold. I have a vague outline of things that are supposed to happen, but since the Pluto incident things have kind of shifted. It shall be interesting to see what happens.
P.S Please remember to be patient. I can't be as quick as I'd like with my stories as I want to. I'm a full time college student, and I have a full time job. It's difficult to get a chapter out in a day like I'm used to.
