Disclaimer: My sincere gratitude to Takeuchi-sensei who created this wonderful world for us to dream in. respectful bow in the general direction of Japan As we all know, all rights belong to her. I hope you enjoy my portrayal of her creations.
I do not write for reviews, but I sure enjoy compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think. - Raya
The Sleeper
Chapter 9 – A Final Surprise
Ikuko Tsukino smiled as her daughter held a plate in the air, sniffed, then took a deeper inhale. "Lemon pie..." she breathed in wonder.
"Yes, we have company tonight."
"Company? Who else is coming over?" Usagi asked in surprise as she continued setting the table. Then, she blinked and recounted the places. "A whole army?"
"Haha, no," her mother laughed. "Just a few new friends I met today."
Usagi turned and gave her a considering look. "Friends you met today? And they're already coming over for dinner and lemon pie? These must be some friends."
"Mmmm... I think you'll like them," her mother answered noncommittally, then refused to say anything more on the subject.
Twenty minutes later, Kenji, Mamoru, and Ikuko lounged on the couch and watched as Shingo and Usagi paced impatiently around the family room. "This is so rude!" Usagi exclaimed. "Yeah," Shingo seconded. "Whoever heard of being late for a dinner party? I'm starving."
Just then, the door opened and a voice called out cheerfully. "I'm home!" Mamoru straightened up like a shot. Usagi froze, wide-eyed, then spun towards the entry way. Shingo and Kenji looked surprised. "They just came in?" Shingo asked in disbelief.
Lady's smile grew wider as she stepped into the room. One look at Usagi, however, made her freeze. Her friends didn't notice and ran into her and each other. "Ow!" "Lady-chan, don't do that!" "What?" "By the Crystal..."
Usagi took one step forward and held out open arms. That was all the encouragement Lady needed. She ran forward and tackled her future mother, almost bowling her over. Fortunately, Mamoru had come up behind her. He managed to catch them, and keep them vertical. The backpack made an uncomfortable lump between them, but neither girl noticed.
Lady began crying softly, whispering "Mama, Mama" over and over again in a desperate, aching voice. A fiercely protective look entered Usagi's blue eyes, and she wrapped her arms tighter around the weeping girl. "It's ok. You're safe now. We'll help you. It's all right," she whispered back. She looked up and over at the girls who had come in on her future daughter's heels, and started in surprise.
They were standing in a state of total shock, staring at their Queen and King in disbelief. They felt that nothing could surprise them ever again, until Usagi whispered "You?..." Mamoru wrapped a protective arm around Usagi's shoulders, then stared suspiciously at the four girls.
Ikuko broke the frozen tableau by exclaiming in concern, jumping up, and running over to Usagi and Lady. "ChibiUsa-chan! Are you all right? What happened?"
Slowly, Lady pulled herself back together again. Somehow, she managed to reassure her grandmother that everything was all right. "I... I was just so happy to see Usagi, I couldn't help myself," she choked out. Shingo gave a disbelieving sniff. "Yeah, right. You're just like her after all," he groaned trying to lighten the mood. "Always running late and crying like a baby. I bet you're clumsy, too," he added with a teasing glint in his eye.
"What did you say," Juno asked in a quiet voice as she turned menacingly towards the teenage boy. Bessa's eyes took fire as she, too, turned to stare at him.
"Leave him alone, guys," Lady ordered with a congested voice as she wiped tears off her face. "Shingo-onii-chan was just teasing me." She deliberately stressed the "older brother" ending so they would know he deserved their respect. Bessa and June relaxed a little, but continued to watch Shingo with narrowed eyes.
"Um, ChibiUsa, why don't you introduce your friends," Usagi said in an attempt to restore the peace.
Lady sniffled and nodded her head. "Everyone, these are my friends Celeste d'Nuit,..." "How do you do," Celeste said with a bow. "Bessamine Ejjel,..." "Please call me Bessa," Bessa bowed. "June Night,..." "Charmed, I'm sure," June bowed. "and Pallas Nychta." "Pleased to meet you," Pallas bowed.
"You girls have already met Ikuko-mama. This is her husband, Kenji-papa,..." "How do you do." Bow. "their son, Shingo-onii-chan,..." Shingo smirked at their look of surprise, and bowed. "their daughter, Usagi,..." Usagi grinned at the bug-eyed girls, and bowed politely. "and her husband, Mamoru-san." Mamoru bowed politely, then grinned at Lady who smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Very nicely done, ChibiUsa-chan," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Thank you, Mamo-chan," she replied with a suppressed giggle.
"Well, now that that's all taken care of, dinner is ready. Shall we eat?" Ikuko began to heard the large group out of her family room and into the dining room. "Usagi, ChibiUsa-chan, please help me bring the food in." She blinked, then smiled as Lady paused, sniffed, and took a deep breath. "Lemon pie?" she asked with wonder. "Oh, it's been so long since I've had good lemon pie...."
Usagi smacked her on the back of the head as she walked by. "Brat. Don't hog it all this time!" "Hey!" Lady exclaimed, and chased Usagi out into the kitchen. She returned a few moments later, sheepishly handed her backpack to Celeste, then walked back into the kitchen. Celeste looked at the bag in surprise, then carefully put it on her lap and folded her hands on top of it.
After dinner, the girls, including Usagi, retreated up to Usagi's old room to try and track down some old Juuban Jr. High school uniforms. They were finally able to find enough to get the girls outfitted for one day thanks to Ami and Naru. After that, Celeste, June, Bessa, and Pallas bid their hosts goodnight, and went off to find their temporary homes.
Usagi stood in the door with Lady as she waved them off. She then followed Lady back up to her room. As she passed by the family room, she caught Mamoru's eye, and silently asked him to wait a few more minutes. He nodded back his agreement, and settled down on the couch to watch Shingo play the latest Final Fantasy game.
Once in the room, she walked over to the bed, sat down, and looked at Lady with a serious expression. Lady fidgeted before her for a moment, then sat down on the floor by the study table and put the backpack up on it. She opened it up, and withdrew the rabbit and the Star Seed.
Usagi gasped in shock as she saw the crystal. "Who.. Who is that?" she asked as she got up from the bed and joined Lady on the floor. Gingerly, she reached for the crystal. Lady hesitated, then handed it over.
Usagi drew her breath in again as she felt the crystal's warmth. Then, she started as she felt a stirring in the back of her mind.
'Usagi-san? Have you come to visit, too?' a voice whispered.
"Ho... Hotaru-chan? Um.. Yes, but you sound sleepy."
"Tell her to go back to sleep," Lady commanded softly. "She's not ready to wake up yet."
Usagi blinked, then did as she was told. She heard Hotaru's soft voice grumble for a moment, then subside with a sigh. She then watched as Lady found a pair of scissors and began to operate on the defenseless pink rabbit. She blinked, then smiled in understanding. Cradling the Star Seed to her chest, she got up to get a needle and some thread. A short time later, the crystal was nestled inside the bunny, protected on all sides by polyester batting.
Lady sighed as she put the modified bunny in her lap, then stretched. She looked at Usagi with serious eyes, and waited for the questions. Before Usagi could begin, however, they heard a scratching at the bedroom door. Lady got up, and opened the door to admit Diana. "Where've you been?" she asked curiously.
"Talking to Mother," the grey cat replied. "She's on the roof now taking first watch. Father will come over later tonight to relieve her, and I will relieve him some time after that. If we were followed, we should have some warning before an attack. Father is going to stop by the Command Center and check the computers for any activity on the time plane, too. He'll report out to us tomorrow at the meeting."
"ChibiUsa," Usagi said when it was obvious Diana was done. "ChibiUsa, what's going on?" Lady began to quietly describe the situation to her future queen.