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Ah, Family
Chapter One
Around Two years ago
Quatre Winner sat in his quarters aboard the Peacemillion. Elsewhere on the ship, Sandrock and the other Gundams were being prepped for the final battle against the White Fang's giant spaceship, the Libra. Quatre was currently seated on his bed, facing a small video phone on his desk. On the display was the face of a young woman a few years older that the pilot himself. She shared a strong resemblance with Quatre, though her hair was a bit darker.
"No, Haruka, I'm fine," Quatre spoke to the phone. "I was upset, of course, but I'm managing."
The young woman over the phone frowned at him. "You don't have to act tough in front of me, Quatre. I know you're hurting. With both father and Shana (A/N: I have no idea what his sister's name was) dying right in front of you, how could you not be?"
Quatre smiled slightly. "You didn't like father," he stated, not accusingly.
Haruka crossed her arms. "No, I didn't. But I didn't want him to die or anything," she retorted. "And that's beside the point. You have a soft heart, Quatre. You're too empathetic not to be hurting."
The pilot sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry about me," he said at last. "Of course it hurts. But if I don't move on ahead, what would happen? Nothing. Things are to crazy right now to spend a lot of time in mourning."
Haruka's face softened a bit. "Alright," she said. "I'll trust you on that. But I want you to be careful. Space is very dangerous right now."
Quatre nodded. "I know. With White Fang and the earth forces all moving, things are really coming to a head up here."
Haruka sighed. "Yeah, I can tell. Listen, I want you to stay as far away from all the fighting as you can. You're on L1, right?"
"Right," Quatre replied. "I know, I won't be going anywhere. We're no where near the combat."
Haruka nodded. "Good. Stay as far away from it as you can. Hopefully it will all be over soon."
Quatre nodded. "Yes. Hopefully." There was a moment of silence before Quatre finally spoke again. "I'm afraid I have to go. I have a meeting I need to get to."
"Alright," Haruka replied. "You take care of yourself, Quatre."
"I will. Bye."
"Bye."
Quatre turned the monitor off, ending the connection. He sat in silence for a few minutes before finally standing. He reached over and pulled out his flight suite so he could get ready for battle.
"I'm sorry, Haruka."
-------
Present Day
Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, and Mamoru sat at a booth in a local pizzeria. They were done with class for the day, and had all agreed to meet here with the rest of their "gang." Ami had a later class, so she hadn't arrived yet. Hotaru was still in high school, so she was also late. Haruka and Michiru had also not arrived yet. Luna ad Artemis had been forced to wait outside, as pets were not allowed in the restaurant.
Usagi gazed intently at the Menu, drooling slightly. "I think I want a supreme pizza . . . or maybe a meat lovers . . . or a . . ."
Rei frowned. "You should get a salad, Meatball Head," she chided her friend. "Or else you're going to look really bad in your Senshi uniform when you weigh 200 pounds."
Usagi whimpered. "I don't weight 200 pounds, Rei!" She turned to Mamoru for support, but he only shrugged. Her eating habits were quite alarming.
"No," the Senshi of Mars replied. "Not yet. But if you keep eating like you do it won't be long."
"Ah, lay off, Rei," came the voice of Minako. "We all know Usagi can eat like a pig and still not gain weight. Besides, you know what they say; a pizza a day keeps the doctor away!"
Rei rolled her eyes before mumbling to herself, "I really hope she got that one wrong on purpose."
Attention was drawn away from Usagi's eating habits, however, at the arrival of two more girls. Ami and Hotaru both entered the restaurant at the same time and joined the other senshi at their booth. Makoto scooted over to allowed them spots to sit.
"Hey Ami, how was your pre-med class?" Usagi asked in greeting.
"It's fine," the blue haired girl replied smiling. "It's all very interesting. I quite enjoy it."
Usagi face fell a little at her friend's enthusiasm for studying. "Of course you do," she muttered. She then turned on the younger of the new arrivals. "So how is your school going Hotaru?"
The dark haired girl smiled. "It's going well," she replied. "I get good grades and no one picks on me anymore."
Makoto nodded. "So you're making friends, then?" she asked.
Hotaru blushed slightly. "Ah. Well . . . a few." The senshi of Saturn was shy and did not make friends easily. But, simply not being picked on was an improvement over her first years in high school.
The conversation might have gone on, however, it was interrupted by the arrival of the final two senshi. Haruka and Michiru were all smiles upon their entry into the pizzeria. Haruka, in particular, seemed to almost be skipping along as she walked over the join the others.
Now that was strange. Haruka did not skip.
"Hey you two," Rei greeted as they took the final seats at the booth. "What are you so happy about?"
Haruka grinned more broadly. "I just got a phone call from my little brother. That's why we're so late."
"Wait, you have a brother?" Minako asked in surprise.
"Yup," Haruka replied. "But I haven't seen him in years. Sense before the war, actually."
"Before the war?" Mamoru spoke up. "That's over three years!"
"I know," Haruka nodded. "He's called me several time sense then, but I haven't seen him in person."
"I would have never guessed you had a brother, Haruka," stated Rei.
Michiru replied this time, "Yes, she has one brother and several sisters, actually."
"Several?" questioned Makoto.
"Twenty-seven, to be exact," Haruka stated.
"TWENTY-SEVEN!" came the combined cry from the rest of the Sailor Senshi.
Haruka simply nodded. "Yes. I actually had twenty-eight sisters, but Shana died in the war."
"Wow," Usagi breathed. "That's . . . a lot of sisters."
"Yup," Haruka replied. "My father kept having children until he finally had a son. Some crap about wanting an heir. Didn't quite turn out like he wanted. He kept having daughters, until finally Quatre was born."
"Your brother?" Rei asked.
"Yeah. His name is Quatre," the senshi of Uranus replied. She then turned to the senshi from Venus. "And Minako, keep your hands off him. He's too young for you."
"Huh?" Minako replied, confused. "I didn't say anything!"
"I know," came the reply. "But I know how you get around cute boys."
"And Quatre is one of the cutest," Michiru added.
"Oh really?" Minako asked, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "Let's see . . . a male Haruka. Yeah, I could see it." Haruka responded with a glare. Minako just grinned.
"Anyway," Michiru tried reorienting the conversation. "So Quatre called today."
"Right," Haruka said, returning to the original topic. "So, he called and said he's going to be in Tokyo for a while. He has a friend coming with him and they're going to be staying at our place while they're here. I'm really excited about seeing Quatre again."
"That's great," Makoto said cheerfully. "You'll have to introduce us to him."
"Right," Rei agreed. "So how old is he? You said he was too young for Minako."
"He's seventeen," Haruka answered. "Same age as Hotaru." The dark haired girl blushed slightly.
Same age as Shingo, Usagi mentally added, sobering up.
-------
Six Years Earlier
A young boy screamed as another wall in his house was torn down by a giant monster. The youma stood a full fifteen feet tall. It's skin was several shades of red. It had disproportionally large arms, and even larger hand - which were tipped by massive, blade-like claws. A lizard-like tail swung behind the beast, and a black, almost lion-like mane adorned it's neck.
Tears streamed down the boy's eyes. His mother was already dead - ripped open by the monster's claws. Now the youma was mauling the boy's father. He couldn't tell if his father was already dead, or still alive.
The boy tried to crawl away through the wreckage of his house. However, the monster was apparently done with his father, because it turned to the boy, discarding the father's body. Trembling, the boy tried to back away. However, the youma easily closed the distance.
Fortunately, the boy's salvation came in the form of . . . "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"
The youma roared in pain at the explosion of pink light that erupted against it's back. It was all over in a flash. Attacks from all of the Sailor Senshi, along with another from Sailor Moon, converged on the monster and it disintegrated.
Even with the monster gone, the boy still trembled in shock.
"Shingo!" Sailor Moon cried dashing across the ruins of the house to the boy. "Shingo, are you alright?" The leader of the Sailor Senshi scooped the boy up into her arms. "Shingo?" She allowed her transformation to fade away, returning to her normal form. "Shingo? Shingo! Say something!"
The trembling boy blinked, turning to the figure above him. "U-Usa-gi . . .?"
The girl nodded, tears now streaming down her cheeks as well. "It's me. Shingo, are you okay?"
The Shigo's eyes lost focus. "Mom and dad . . . . they . . . they're . . ."
"Shhh," Usagi hushed. The other senshi hung back giving them their space. "I know. They're . . . they're gone . . ."
Shingo sniffed for a moment more. "You . . . you're Sailor Moon." It was a statement, not a question.
"Shingo, I . . ." Usagi started, but she was cut off.
"It was after you!" Shingo cried, startling his sister. "It came here looking for you!" He pushed the startled girl off him. "It's all your fault! Get away from me! I hate you!" he cried, kicking Usagi in the shin before running out of the wrecked house.
The Moon Princess sat in a stunned silence for several moments. Finally, her cat, Luna approached her. "Usagi?"
This snapped the girl out of her stupor. She ran out of the house. "Shingo? Shingo!" she cried. However, it was too late. She couldn't see him anywhere. He was gone. Usagi quickly transformed back into Sailor Moon. She and the other senshi search around as best they could, but to no avail. Shingo was gone.
-------
Heero Yuy woke with a start. He remained perfectly still for several moments, getting his bearings.
"That dream again," he finally said out loud. This was certainly not the first time he had had this dream, though it had been years sense he last had it.
He had been foolish to blame her. He knew that. He certainly no longer held it against her.
But how could he face her again?