Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, or "Thankyou." I am borrowing them for entertainment purposes only; no money is being made from the writing or reading of this story.
Bunny Moon
©2001-2002 by Kei
::Chapter 4 – Usagi's Death::
And even if I'm there, they'll all imply that I might not last the day
And then you call me and it's not so bad, it's not so bad and
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life
Quatre's four friends came over again the following day, and the group was relaxing on the front porch when a car pulled up and out stepped a thirteen-year-old girl holding a pink-haired baby no more than two years old.
Bunny nearly ripped the front door off its hinges in her hurry to get to Hotaru and Chibiusa.
"Little sister!" she cried, running towards Hotaru. "Chibiusa!"
"Big sister!" exclaimed Hotaru as Bunny smothered her and the baby with her enthusiastic hug. They both started crying as they held each other, and Chibiusa kept cheering, "Mama! Mama!"
The five boys on the porch watched wordlessly the happy reunion. Bunny was on her knees, hugging and kissing the two children. At last she stood up, wiped some dust and sand off her pants, and gladly took Chibiusa out of Hotaru's thin arms. She propped up the ruby-eyed child on her left hip and grasped her right hand onto Hotaru's as they began walking back to the house.
"Good afternoon. Are you going to introduce us, Miss Bunny?" Quatre smiled warmly at Hotaru and Chibiusa.
"Yes, of course, Mr. Quatre," Bunny answered. "This is my little sister Hotaru Tomoe and my—"
"Her other little sister, Usagi Moon," Hotaru cut in, glancing at Bunny out of the corner of her eyes, knowing the blonde understood. "We all just call her Chibiusa."
"Little sister, Chibiusa, these are my friends Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, Wufei Chang, and Heero Yuy," Bunny told them and was shocked when Chibiusa seemed to start reaching her short arms out to Heero, who eyed the baby warily.
"Go on, Mr. Yuy," Bunny said in a tone of voice Heero had never heard her use before, except the day before when she thanked Quatre for her purse. "I think Chibiusa likes you."
"Well, um, I—," he tried to say when Bunny dumped the toddler into his arms. He hoisted her up a little and she giggled.
"Can you say 'Heero,' Chibiusa?" grinned Bunny, and then she turned to Hotaru, who was tugging on her shirt. "What, little sister?"
"Big sister," Hotaru whispered fiercely, "do they know about your past?"
"No," Bunny replied. "Mr. Quatre only knows a little, and that's because he was there when they took you away from me."
"Let's all go inside, shall we?" Quatre piped up, shepherding them in.
As they stepped inside, Heero gave Chibiusa back to Bunny. The small girl kept saying, "Mama, Mama."
"Mama?" Heero said, raising a questioning, suspicious eyebrow.
Bunny wasn't about to let him catch her off-guard. "Mom died right after giving birth to Chibiusa, so I'm the closest thing to a mother she's ever known," she clarified.
"Oh," he said, eyes narrowing slightly. Heero saw through her lie, but decided not to call her on it. He sensed something wrong with this picture, though he couldn't put his finger on it.
At last, around dinnertime, Hotaru and Chibiusa were picked up. Bunny bid them a tearful goodbye, but reminded herself that she had to stay strong. She would keep working hard and save up the money to get back her little sister and daughter.
Before he left for the day, Heero stopped to speak with Bunny for a minute. She didn't trust him in the least, but let him talk.
"You have a secret, Miss Moon, and believe me when I say I intend to find out what it is," he warned.
"We all have secrets, Mr. Yuy. Some just hide them better than others," she answered coolly.
"You're not who you claim to be. I think you're pulling the wool over Quatre's eyes. I'm sure he'll soon see the light," he said.
"Why do you even care?" she spat. "Are you really concerned about Mr. Quatre's welfare or just about satisfying your own curiosity? You think I have secrets? Go ahead and try to find out, but I guarantee that the only way you will ever know anything about me is to get me to put my trust in you. And I trust nobody," she said acidly, then ran up the stairs.
"Quatre, for your own well-being, you should find out as much about that Bunny girl as possible," Heero told the other boy before walking away.
Quatre stared after him for a moment, then looked up at Trowa. "This isn't something I usually say, but right now I don't trust Heero so much. It's a tad uncharacteristic of him to make a comment like that, don't you think?"
"Yes, I agree with you, Quatre. I think Heero considers her a threat in some way. Possibly because she is even more secretive than he is," Trowa replied, and Quatre grinned.
From her window, Bunny watched Heero disappear into the night. "Heero Yuy, you'll never find out anything about me, because Bunny Moon doesn't even exist. If you want to know anything at all, you'll have to find Usagi Tsukino, and the thing about her is that…"
Memories hit her then, of her parents yelling at her, of her own father calling her a whore. Her friends pretending to be understanding, but their eyes not masking their disgust with her. Finally, Mamoru, with his arm around another girl's waist, saying with a derisive sneer in his voice that "Usako" was an immature loser with no life. He laughed at her, laughed at a love she had truly believed would be everlasting.
Her life was so dark during the months of her pregnancy, as Chibiusa grew inside her. Hotaru, her little sister, had been a shining ray of hope. They spent time together, getting to know each other, putting faith in one another, becoming a family.
Hotaru was an orphan. Her parents had both been killed in an explosion in her scientist father's basement, and Hotaru had been in the hospital for most of her life due to injuries caused by the accident. But Bunny's companionship and love had given her new strength, and she began to get better.
They went house-hunting together after agreeing that Hotaru would live with Bunny and Chibiusa. One, big, happy family.
"…she's dead."