Disclaimer: Look at A/N.
Looking back
Part I
Location: Japan, Chiba residence
Usagi Chiba awoke to the soft caress of the morning sun's rays. Not that she needed any warmth. Trailing her eyes upwards from the strong arms that had held her in her sleep, she couldn't help but smile at her husband's face. Mamoru looked like such an angel in his sleep, far different from the outwardly obnoxious and teasing teenager she had first met. She chuckled softly at the thought.
It truly is funny how things managed to work out, now that she thought over everything in her life as of yet.
As a crybaby fourteen year-old, no one, and especially not Usagi herself, had expected much of her. If only everyone knew just how much this young lady, no, this woman had done for the world. She had grown up and how well she had turned out! Slowly, as to not disturb her sleeping partner, she arose from their bed and slipped on her robe. Perhaps she would make breakfast. She took hold of a brush on her vanity and thoughtfully ran it through her silvery-gold hair. Usagi had cut it a while ago but it did not make a difference as her body seemed to make it grow out no matter how many times she attempted to make it shorter. Now, it was down from the buns that she had worn as a teen and flowed down her back in luscious, soft waves that stopped right by her butt.
Glancing back at her sleeping husband, she smiled and walked out of their room and towards another room in their house.
It was so wonderful to have a house of their own. After they had been married, Usagi moved in with Mamoru in his apartment and they had begun their careers. Despite the fact that they made a lot of money from both their jobs, they had chosen a house in the suburbs rather than stick around in the city. It was quieter than the city and it was a life that Usagi was more used to. Not that Mamoru minded. He had wanted a life like Usagi had wanted in her childhood and he wanted their child to have that same experience.
Quietly, Usagi pushed open another door on the second floor and smiled softly. The room was painted with various pink shades that melded together to create a beautiful effect and was covered with a plush pink carpeting. The room held various furniture, baby things, and numerous stuffed animals. Usagi walked over to the crib and brushed aside the see-through silky netting that surrounded her child.
An eight-month old Chibiusa lay there, asleep, in her pink pajamas, covered with a soft white blanket. Her pink hair was beginning to curl around her scalp and had begun to take on the strange Lunarian trait of growing out seriously fast. For a while, Usagi just stood there at the foot of the crib staring admiringly at her daughter. She was so beautiful. While her agent was relieved that carrying around Chibiusa had not had a great effect on her figure, Mamoru and Usagi were thankful that their daughter was born healthy. In mid-thought, Chibiusa began to stir. She awoke fitfully and opened her eyes into a frown. Huge, crimson orbs softened from that frown into a huge smile as the child recognized Usagi. Gleefully laughing, she clapped her hands together and lifted them into the air, indicating she wanted to be picked up. Laughing, Usagi reached in and pulled her daughter out.
"Good morning, my Small Lady." She cooed. Chibiusa giggled and softly tugged on a portion of her mother's hair that had trailed onto her face. Usagi took up a sutffed animal, an adorable stuffed bunny that she had owned as a child and handed it to Chibusa, who squealed and held onto it. Smiling, Usagi walked down the stairs with Chibiusa in her arms. She set her daughter into the high chair and walked over to the fridge.
"So, my darling," She called to her daughter. "What should be whip up today? Hmm…Maybe some bacon…Or some pancakes…with eggs." Chibiusa was playing with her stuffed bunny when Usagi glanced over at her. "Maybe I ought to make all?" To this, the pink haired angel laughed and clapped her hands together in agreement.
Usagi laughed. "Okay, okay. But you're not gonna have any of it until your teeth grow in." Chibiusa cocked her head to one side and looked at her mother quizzically before going back to playing with her stuffed animal. Usagi began to heat up the oven, thinking quietly to herself,
'Thank goodness for home economics classes and Makoto's cooking lessons. Otherwise, we'd be living on take-out for the rest of our lives.'
Soon, the kitchen filled with the sweet arome of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and coffee. Which smell awoke her husband, Usagi had no clue. Just as she stacked up the last of the pancakes, she felt a strong pair of arms surround her tiny waist.
"Good morning Usako." Usagi giggled at his use of her old nickname and tilted her head to give him a peck on the lips.
"Good morning yourself." Mamoru planted a kiss on her forehead before turning around to face his daughter.
"Who do we have here?" Chibiusa giggled as Mamoru proceeded to make silly faces as Usagi served up breakfast for him. He was already dressed for his work at the hospital. Over the years, he had gained an impeccable reputation as one of the best and youngest doctors, turning thirty in a matter of a little over a year. Just as she set down breakfast, Mamoru served up two coffee cups for each of them and took out Chibiusa's breakfast and their telephone rang.
"Hello?"
"Good morning Chiba-sama!" Mamoru smiled at the voice on the phone.
"Good morning, Mike."
"How's it going?"
"Pretty good." He replied. "How about you?"
The photographer shrugged on the other line. "Same old, same old."
Mamoru grinned. "Really? How's Kira?"
At this, the younger man was thankful that Mamoru couldn't see his face. "She's great. Actually, her folks are going to have a barbecue in a matter of days. Her sister is supposed to finally be there. She's incredibly busy you know."
Mamoru nodded. "I see." His tone changed into a sly one. "Haven't you already popped the question to Kira yet?"
Mike laughed. "Man, I wish! You must've been freaking out so badly when you asked Usagi."
Mamoru laughed along with him, not adding in that he had just come back from the dead when he asked her. "Yeah, something along those lines. You probably want to talk to Usagi, right?"
"Yeah." Mike replied. "Don't worry, I'll be quick."
Mamoru handed the phone to his wife and proceeded to eat while still making faces at Chibiusa.
"Michael?"
"Hey there, Usagi-sama."
"Good morning." She replied. "Are we still on for the shoot today?"
"Yup. You've got a cover shoot to do from twelve to about one-thirty and a couple more regulars to do from then to about four or five. And remember, you've got that show to do next week. And also…"
Usagi nodded, taking in all the information that he was supplying her with. Believe it or not, Usagi is now a famous model. When I said she changed, I meant she changed. Her natural beauty mixed in with the sophistication and grace that she later gained equaled to having her face on over hundreds of ads and cover magazines. Even after Chibiusa was born, her figure went on unharmed to the relief of Kasha, her agent.
"Okay." She said when Mike was done. "Thanks and I'll see you at the studio."
Mamoru was gulping down his meal when Usagi made her way to her seat. After a few moments of silence, her husband stopped and looked at her.
"You okay?" Usagi looked up at him, her eyes seemingly glazed over.
"Have you felt it?" she questioned. Mamoru looked at her, startled, then put down his utensils and nodded downwards.
"Yes." He replied. "Something big is about to happen. I've been having this feeling for quite a while now."
Usagi peered at him. "Is it something …" Her voice faltered into a tone of desperation. "…bad?"
Mamoru looked up at her and noted the look of pain and tiredness in her eyes. She had amazed him over the years they had been together. How she had grown up from that immature child he had first flirted with to this amazingly mature woman. Still, her care for a zillion other people other than herself had remained. He understood that she didn't want to fight anymore. And she understood that, as a soldier, it was her duty to do so. He followed the direction of her azure eyes and sighed as he found them resting on their daughter as she attempted to drink her juice.
He didn't want Usagi to fight. That's what he and the other scouts were there for. But nonetheless, she was the strongest and the most dedicated. But now that she was a mother, she had new obligations and harder decisions to make. He didn't even want to consider the pain and worry she must be going through. Determined, he reached over and took her hand into his. She glanced at him quizzically. In reply, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed them softly. He was rewarded by one of her true smiles. Not like the ones that were displayed in magazines and ads. A true smile. A smile meant entirely for him and for him alone.
Chibiusa glanced back and forth between her parents, confused. As a baby, she didn't know the true extent of her powers. It was strange, but she could've sworn that she just heard her father say, "Whatever happens, we're in this together," when he reached across the table to her mother's hand. But, he hadn't moved his lips! She pouted. Grown-ups were strange.
Just then, there was a knock at the back door. Mamoru opened it to reveal a girl of about fifteen years of age. She had purple eyes and black hair that went about half-way down her back. She was dressed in black jeans and a black tank top with a black blazer being held with one hand over her shoulder. Smiling, she said,
"Good morning, Mamoru-sama." Mamoru smiled back and welcomed her in.
"Good morning Hotaru." Usagi walked over to the girl and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Thanks again for volunteering to babysit Chibiusa." She said. "You have no idea how much we appreciate it. "
Hotaru Tomoe shook her head and laughed. "No biggie, Usagi-san. School just ended for the summer so I get pretty restless around the house."
The girl spotted Chibiusa and promptly walked over to her. Upon seeing the older girl, Chibiusa began squealing and laughing and holding out her arms. Hotaru laughed and scooped up the child.
The couple watched them and smiled, still mindful of that horrible sense of the pending disaster and doom that was more than likely hovering over them and the happy life that they had created.
Location: Unknown
He eyed the piece of equipment with sadness. It had been quite functional till very recently. He shook his head much like a father would at a child that had just broken a window. They were such idiots. If only they had just joined them, everything would've been just fine. And this beautiful portal wouldn't have been destroyed. He sighed dejectedly. Oh well. They would find other means to catch up to them.
With that final thought, he swirled around to face an armor clad figure being forced to kneel before him. Where the mortal heart would be was the emblem of the soldier's nation. He was surprised to see that the soldier was no commoner.
A high general? Well…that's odd. He tilted his head, eyeing the kneeling warrior. Why on earth would they make this one a high general? He shook off his thought and continued to pace around the figure like a vulture on its prey.
The armor was very beautifully designed, he could tell that. Many of his subordinates understood his wicked agendas but he was also known to be a good judge of art when it was brought before him. He brought his finger upon the soldier's chin and forced the face to look up at him.
The bowing figure was forced to lift up its head. The face that met him was dominated by defiant, angry black-blue eyes glared up at him.
"Well, well," He murmured aloud. "What am I going to do with you?"
~*chickay*~
A/N: To those who were confused, Chibi-Usa picked up her father's comforting telepathic message to her mother. Oh…what's going on? Anyone else here confused? Please let me know so I can finish this up for you guys. Well, hope you like it. Please review! I need encouragement to go on!
