Part Two
It Is Discovered That Plutonians Do Not Have Good Anger Management
~*~
Michiru sunk back into the sofa cushions and let her feet rest on the coffee table. "I'm really worried, Haruka. Setsuna was in bad shape when we got home. I'm glad we decided to take her to the doctor. I can't believe she managed to badly sprain both ankles in one afternoon!"
"She's pretty kooky," decided Haruka.
Michiru crossed her arms. "You should go in and see her. She's probably lonely lying in her room all alone. And bring her out to the couch so she's not so solitary. I worry that she gets enough attention."
Haruka shook her head. "No way. You saw how mad she was when the doctor told her to say off her feet. She gave me a really pissed look. I'm not going anywhere near that room!"
Michiru rested a hand under her chin in thought. "But what if she's sad? She seems sad."
"Aw, she's not sad. She's just Setsuna. Why don't you go check on her? She likes you. I'm the mean one who always ends up getting her killed somehow. Like when I tried to fly the helicopter into Mugen Gakuen. That was smart. I figured she would never speak to me again after that dumb move. But then I did it again. Taking her Star Seed in the battle with Galaxia didn't help her like me any more, that's for sure."
"I did that," argued Michiru.
"But it was my dumb idea."
"But she understood why you did it. She understood completely. Besides, she wasn't supposed to die. We were just supposed to take the Star Seed out of her body and then put it back in again once we had defeated Galaxia. We couldn't have known she and Hotaru would disappear. Believe me, I still have nightmares about it."
Haruka made an impatient noise. "Well, she still doesn't like me. You go help her out to the living room."
Michiru gave her girlfriend an irritated look and stood. She headed through the house to Setsuna's dimly lit purple and black shrine to dismal. 'How can anyone live in a room with no aqua?' Michiru wondered. "Honey?" she knocked on the door. "Are you sleeping?" There was no answer. She cracked the door and discovered that Setsuna was not in her bed. "Oh, for the love of Poseidon! Where did she go?" Michiru blew her bangs out of her eyes in frustration. Once checking to see if Setsuna was in the bathroom, she called out, "The doctor told you to stay in bed! Wherever you hobbled to, get back here!"
"That you, Mom?" called Haruka, making fun of Michiru ordering around someone who had been alive (for the most part) for some millennium before she had.
"Quiet, Haruka! She'll hurt herself if someone doesn't look after her."
Haruka came down the hall. "Maybe she went outside. I'll go look."
Setsuna was not outside. She wasn't in the house or anywhere on the premises. "And she couldn't have gotten far with her crutches," reasoned Michiru, once the two had met back in Setsuna's room.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Haruka. "She doesn't like me, so she finally split."
"That isn't true!"
"I don't know…"
"What's that noise?" Michiru suddenly asked. "It sounds like an approaching Time Portal. Is she traveling through time?"
"Even if she doesn't like me, why wouldn't she just stay here and take a break? She's had a big day. It's not as if I was going to come in here and kill her." Haruka held out her arms in exasperation at the moment a Time Portal opened in the ceiling. A small body fell out of it and landed splat in Haruka's arms. "Awwwk!" Haruka held up the little person at arm's length. "Hotaru?!"
"Hi! Boy, that was a rough trip." Hotaru slipped out of Haruka's arms and landed on her bum on the floor. She stood, brushed herself off, and pulled something out of her pocket. "I have something I'm supposed to read to you."
"Have you seen Setsuna?" demanded Haruka.
"No, Ruka, Hotaru just fell out of the ceiling under her own steam. Honestly!" Michiru nodded at the smaller girl. "Go ahead, Taru."
"Okay…" She unfurled a very official-looking parchment and cleared her throat. " 'Let it be known that I, Setsuna Meioh, have taken it upon myself to branch out on my own. You needn't know where I am, and there's no reason for you to come and find me. Good day to you all. Love, Setsuna.'" Hotaru looked at the older girls.
Michiru raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"
"Um…it also says, 'Don't bother calling me on my communicator, as I tossed it into space.' Wow, that's harsh. I guess she's really done with the Sailors."
Haruka buried her face in her hands. "See, I told you she doesn't like me!"
"Stop saying that!" Michiru then regarded Hotaru. "And she has you working for her now?"
Hotaru shrugged. "She gave me cookies." She pulled out a little silver time key. "I should go now." She raised the key in the air. "And besides…I like Setsuna." The time portal opened once more and the child hopped up into it, a lá Fisheye.
"Well, this is a crazy thing she's done," remarked Michiru. "But we like Setsuna too, you know. We're her family. We need to find her and make sure she gets into some really good anger management therapy."
"I agree. I'll go warm up the car!"
"And I'll order a pizza! This could take awhile!"
*****
~Lady Grizabella
setsuna_haruka_michiru@yahoo.com
http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/ladygrizdrawings/sailor_moon.html
