"…Hotaru."
"Wha!"
Hotaru looked up suddenly, as if awakening from a dream.
"Who was that?" Hotaru thought.
She had heard a man calling her name. But that couldn't be possible, since the only people in the temple at that moment were her and the girls. Usagi, Chibi-usa, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako, also known to Hotaru and a few others as the Sailor Senshi. It was Wednesday afternoon, and on every Wednesday afternoon there was a Senshi meeting at the Cherry Hill Temple.
It was now three years after Sailor Moon had defeated Chaos and released Galaxia from it's powerful hold over her. There had been less than five rogue monsters attacking after that, but for the most part things had been peaceful. Although things were pretty quiet, Luna and Artemis, the two guardian cats of the senshi, had insisted upon these weekly meetings to keep everyone informed and their skills sharp. The meeting was meant for all ten senshi to attend, but the only one of the outer senshi that ever came was Hotaru. The other three outers lived up to that name. They had worked with the other senshi numerous times, but still felt like they were not yet fully part of the group. So Hotaru attended the meetings by herself and kept the others informed on what was going on. And at that point, there was nothing worth telling them.
These so called meetings every week had become more like a weekly mini-social. Poor Luna and Artemis had tried to maintain everyone's attention, but at this point they had given up. Ami looked like she was reading a book, but was more intently listening to Makoto and Minako talk about a cute guy they had seen on their way over, Usagi and Rei were bickering as usual, and Chibi-usa was trying to break it up by annoying Usagi. She ceased this at Hotaru's outcry.
"Hotaru-chan! What's wrong?"
"Did you hear that Chibi-usa-chan?"
"Hear what?"
"That voice. I just heard a man calling my name."
By this time everyone had stopped doing what they were before and had their attention turned to Hotaru. Luna gave a worried look to the girl.
"Are you feeling alright Hotaru?" Said Luna.
"Maybe she has a cold." Rei proposed.
"You're not overworking yourself in school I hope?" Ami asked her.
"Maybe she needs something to eat!" Usagi chimed in, and added, "I know I do!"
"I could make her something to munch on." Makoto suggested.
"Maybe she's having trouble with the kids at school. I know that would upset me." Minako said to everyone.
"NO!" Hotaru yelled, jumping to her feet. "WILL YOU ALL LISTEN FOR JUST A MINUTE! I'M FINE! BUT I JUST HEARD A MAN'S VOICE CALLING MY NAME!"
At this outburst everyone fell silent. Luna was the first to break the silence.
"A voice. What kind of voice? Could it be a new monster?"
"No, I don't think so." Answered Hotaru "It actually sounded familiar, like I know him. Oh! This doesn't make any sense!"
Hotaru sat back down, putting her head in her hands, obviously very annoyed and confused. Chibi-usa looked at her friend, and then to the other girls, a desperate look on her face.
"I think this meeting has gone on long enough," Usagi said, "We could all use some rest."
Everyone agreed with this.
"Don't worry Hotaru," Artemis said encouragingly, "We'll figure this out."
"I'll check the fire for you, Hotaru, and see if this is anything we need to worry about." Rei said.
"Thank you very much, Rei-chan."
"Do you want me to walk home with you? Or are you going to you're dad's place?"
"No thank you, Chibi-usa-chan. Besides, Daddy is out of town on a business trip, and he won't be back until next week. And I'd rather walk home alone today, if that's ok with everyone?"
"Are you sure Hotaru-chan?" Asked Chibi-usa in a worried voice.
"I'm positive Chibi-usa. Please don't worry about me, I'm fine." She said smiling to her friend. "Ja ne everyone!"
"Ja ne Hotaru-chan." Everyone said in unison as Hotaru walked down the steps and away from the temple.
~
Hotaru hung up the phone and walked out of the booth. She was in the shopping area of Tokyo and decided to call home to let them know that she was going for a little walk before she came back. Of course, it was after she hung up that Hotaru remembered that Setsuna was staying late at the observatory and Haruka and Michiru were at the racetrack where Haruka was competing.
Almost everyone that knew Hotaru thought that she had the strangest family life. Hotaru hadn't lived with her father in over three years. Instead, she lived with three women, who she (affectionately) called Setsuna-mama, Michiru-mama, and Haruka-papa. The only other people besides her father who knew the real reasons behind this living arrangement were the other senshi.
After the incident with Pharaoh 90, and Hotaru being turned back into a baby, the three outer senshi, Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus, had decided to raise Hotaru up themselves, to teach her how to properly use her powers as Sailor Saturn. Dr. Tomoe, Hotaru's real father, had consented to this arrangement only after they acknowledged that Hotaru be allowed to see him at anytime. Both parties agreed to this.
Hotaru's healing powers had caused her classmates to shun her, and her family arrangement had caused even more teasing by them. But Hotaru didn't care about that. Over the years that Hotaru had lived with the other three outer senshi, they had become a real family to her. Hotaru loved them all as much as she loved her father. And with her friends, the other senshi, Hotaru felt very happy with her life.
Yet, there was something that was bothering Hotaru, something that she kept buried in her heart. She told no one, not even her Haruka-papa (who she confided in the most), about this. Every time she saw a couple, like Usagi and Mamoru, Chibi-usa and Helios, or even Michiru and Haruka, she felt an emptiness in her heart. Hotaru was 15 and going to be turning 16 in a few months. All the girls in her class talked about boys, and some of them even had boyfriends. But no boy ever talked to Hotaru. She longed to find someone who could understand her, someone that could love her for who she was.
Hotaru had that in mind as she was walking home. She had been thinking about that voice non-stop.
"That voice..." She said, rather dazed, "Why did it sound so familiar?" When he said my name, something stirred inside me, a feeling I never knew before. And yet, it felt so…so right."
Hotaru continued walking, concentrating on her thoughts, unaware that she was being closely watched.
The man in the metallic armor was closely watching Hotaru as she walked down the street. Hotaru turned to walk across the street, and her face became visible to the young man. He caught his breath as he looked deeply into her glowing purple eyes. It was taking every ounce of restraint he had not to run down there and hold her in his arms.
"Very soon, we will be together again, Hotaru. I will keep the promise I made to you."
Hotaru continued walking home, lost in her thoughts, not knowing that someone was watching over and protecting her the entire way.