Anyway, enjoy.
Ah, Family
Chapter Three
Quatre and Heero slid into their large, plush seats aboard the earthbound shuttle. They had first-class seats, as Quatre had bought the tickets. Heck, Quatre could have chartered his own private shuttle. However, the blonde preferred to travel like normal when possible - and Heero really didn't care.
Strapping into his seat, Quatre turned to his companion. "Ready to go?" He was answered with a simple nod. The blonde then frowned. "Say, Heero?" he asked, lowering his voice. "You didn't bring your gun did you?"
The Perfect Soldier's only response was a look that clearly said, What do you think?
Quatre sighed. "Oh well. I don't even want to know how you snuck that aboard."
"Didn't have to," Heero said evenly. "I showed them my Preventers ID."
Quatre let out a relieved sigh, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. "Oh, good. That's one less thing to worry about."
The Arabian was forced to rethink that, as he felt something small and metallic being pressed into his hand. "You're too soft, Quatre," Heero stated. "Tokyo can be a dangerous place."
Quatre rolled his eyes. "You brought two?"
"I brought twelve," Heero replied as if it were normal. "I only carried two on my person."
Quatre let out an exasperated breath. "Fine," he said, taking the handgun and hiding it.
At that point, a voice came over the intercom telling everyone to strap in, as they were preparing the launch from the colony.
-------
Wednesday after noon was warm and sunny in Tokyo. With just a slight breeze, the weather was almost perfect. Great for talking a walk - which is exactly what Hotaru was doing. School had just let out for the day, and the young senshi of Saturn had decided to walk home. She had never been the most healthy of girls, and a walk in the nice weather would be good for her.
Hotaru was walking on the sidewalk passing by a local park. It was spring time, and the flowers were blooming. She paused as she arrived at one of the entrances to the park. Haruka and Michiru were both very busy today, and Hotaru had nothing she had to do until supper time, right?
"Hey, Hotaru!"
The dark haired girl turned at the sound of her name. A red convertible pulled up to the curb next to her. Mamoru was behind the wheel, and Usagi sat in the passenger's seat, waving. It had been her that had called out to Hotaru.
"Hey, Hotaru, what are you doing here?" the Moon princess asked, smiling.
"Hi, Usagi. Hi Mamoru," Hotaru replied, walking over to the car. "I was walking home. Haruka and Michiru are busy today, so they couldn't pick me up."
"Oh, do you want a lift?" Usagi asked, Mamoru nodding in agreement.
"Thanks, but no," the younger girl replied. "I was going to go spend some time in the park. It's a nice day."
"Well, alright. Oh! By the way," Usagi began, lowering her voice and getting more serious. "Rei and I had to deal with a Youma today. We're having an emergency Senshi meeting at Piro's Pizzeria at 5:45."
"At 5:45?" Hotaru asked. It was a somewhat odd time.
"Yup," Usagi nodded. "Ami is working at the hospital, and she doesn't get off until 5:30, so we're giving her time to get there."
"Okay," Hotaru replied. "I'll be there. Are Haruka and Michiru coming?"
"Yes, they'll be there," Usagi replied. "They said they'd take you home after that and worry about dinner with Haruka's brother."
"Alright," Hotaru said. "I guess I'll see you then."
"Bye, Hotaru."
"Bye."
Hotaru watched the car pull away before turning and heading into the park.
-------
Several Hours Earlier
After arriving on Earth, Quatre and Heero had been picked up by a limousine from Winner Corps. Heero had asked to be let off at the nearest dealership where one could buy a motorcycle. He preferred to have his own transportation. He agreed to get in touch with Quatre at 6:00, when the blonde would know where they were meeting his sister.
Heero quickly picked out a motorcycle that would suit him - paying for it with his Preventers credit card. Being the Preventers's top agent had its perks.
Having acquired his new bike, Heero headed off through Tokyo to find a public Library, where he could access the web from his laptop, which he had carried with him in a backpack. After finding a suitable place, Heero hacked into his sister's school, looking for information on her. He soon had her dorm room, her phone number, her class schedule, and just about any other information the school had on her. He also found out that Usagi's four closest friends were also enrolled in Tokyo University. He hadn't actually seen them transform, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that these were the other Sailor Senshi, dubbed the Inner Senshi.
After finding the basic information, Heero began more general searches, not only for his sister, but also for any of the other Sailors. He soon found two useful web sites. One was run by a kid named Melvin, who was apparently a friend of Usagi and the others from highschool. The other was a blog owned by none other than Minako. Using information from these two sites, Heero deduced that Usagi was still dating Mamoru Chiba, as well as several other things, such as usual hangouts for the gang.
Heero continued his research for a while. He looked into information about his sister, her friends, and about the Sailor Senshi. He continued like this until he felt he had a reasonable grasp on the current situation.
-------
Quatre had decided to kill time by touring a few of the facilities that Winner Corps sponsored. He had toured an orphanage first, followed by a retirement center, then another orphanage. His forth stop was the Tokyo Regional Hospital.
He was being led around by a female doctor. They had visited the ICU, the children's ward, and the new helicopter emergency system, which Winner Corps had paid for. The doctor had just led Quatre into the staff-only area of the hospital. They were passing several offices when a young intern walked out of one of them. She had blue hair, much like the doctor who had been leading Quatre around. The doctor stopped.
"Ami! Come here for a minute." The intern turned at the sound of her name and headed over to the doctor and Quatre.
"Hi, mom," Ami said, reaching the two. "What is it?"
Doctor Mizuno smiled. "Ami, this is Mr. Winner, one of the hospital's best donors. Mr. Winner, this is my daughter Ami. She works here part time and is studying to be a doctor herself."
Ami was the brainy type, so she certainly knew who Quatre Reberba Winner was - the most wealthy man in the Earth Sphere. Ami's mother had been so proud when Ami had gone into medical studies and gotten an internship at the hospital. She took every opportunity to brag on Ami. In this case, Ami certainly didn't mind.
Quatre shook her hand, and greeted her pleasantly. He appeared to be a few years younger than the senshi of Mercury, which, if she remembered correctly, he was. Still, it was interesting meeting him in person.
"Ami is part of the internship that Winner Corps sponsors," Dr. Mizuno explained happily.
"Oh, really?" Quatre replied smiling. "Well, I hope you are finding it to be a good opportunity," he said to Ami.
"Oh, yes," Ami replied. "I love working in the hospital. I've wanted to be a doctor ever since I was young."
They conversed for several minutes before Ami was called away to her duties, and Dr. Mizuno continued on with Quatre's tour.
-------
After finishing his tour at the hospital, Quatre had decided to spend some time outside enjoying the weather before he needed to get in contact with Heero. Haruka had called him earlier, and they had decided to meet up at a certain restaurant at 6:15.
Walking down the street, Quatre spotted a park and decided go there for a while. The sun was still out, and there were only a few light clouds in the sky.
The Arabian pilot strolled through the park until he found a bench he liked and sat down. Relaxing, he pulled a small book from his vest pocket a began to read. Now, Quatre liked to read. It was one of his favorite pastimes, along with the violin. As such, he tended to get totally absorbed in his reading and shut out the rest of the world. This is exactly what happened to him in the park. He was so absorbed in his reading that he lost track of time and everything else. It wasn't until a feminine yell jolted him from his reading trance that he realized he'd zoned out.
-------
Hotaru sat on the grass leaning up against a tree in the park. A pleasant breeze ruffled her hair and the pages of the book she had been reading. It was a bright sunny day, and sitting in the shade of the tree was just perfect for the dark haired girl. She enjoyed being outside, and she enjoyed reading. Hotaru also tended to get absorbed in books - not to the degree that Ami (or Quatre) did, but she often lost track of time and such.
The soldier of Saturn gently turned the pages of the leather-bound novel she was reading. The book was entitled Ivanhoe. It was her favorite kind of story; historical fiction - a story about a knight returning from the Crusades. She was so entrapped in her reading that she didn't even notice anyone approach her until their shadow fell over te pages of her book.
Hotaru looked up in surprise. Three figures loomed over her. She recognized them all. They were classmates of hers in school. The largest one, in the middle, was a football player named Jared. The other two where his "poesy," an arrogant scrawny guy named Greg and a heavyweight named Brad. They were the basic school bullies.
"Well, well,"Jared slurred. "If 't ain't the loner."
Hotaru frowned, closing her book. "Leave me alone, Jared," she stated calmly. It's true she was not particularly singled out for scorn in school these days, but Jared and his goons picked on everyone.
The jock crouched down so he was nearly on level with the girl. "Dat ain't nice, now," he drawled. Hotaru flinched slightly. His breath reeked. He'd obviously been smoking something, and she had a feeling it wasn't just normal cigarets. "She's be'n rude, ain't she boys?" Jared called back to his friends. They both voiced their agreement - speech slurred just like their leader.
Hotaru placed her book back in her school bag, grabbing the bag and standing. "What do you want?" she asked cooly.
Jared also stood - towering over a full two head above Hotaru - and put on a rather pathetic "hurt" face. "Wha? Can't a guy jus' say 'hi' if 'e wans tah?"
The senshi frowned again. "Well . . . hi then," she replied. "I'm afraid I have to get going, though," she said, turning and beginning to walk off.
She didn't get far. Jared quickly grabbed her wrist and prevented her from leaving. "Now why you wanna be run'n off like that?" he asked, grinning. Hotaru tried to pulled her arm free, but Jared was stronger. In response, he yanked her arm around, basically throwing her against the tree she had been leaning against earlier. Hotaru let out a surprised yell as she hit the tree rather hard, dropping her book bag. Jared and his gang crowded in, more or less pinning her to the tree.
"Get off me!" the princess of Saturn yelled at the boys. She tried to push past the and get away, but Brad and Greg each grabbed one of her arms, pinning them roughly against the tree and holding her in place.
"Now, now, fiesty, ain' she?" Jared cooed, as Brad clamped a hand over Hotaru's mouth. "Jus' be a good girl an' stay quiet. We jus' wanna have a lil' fun wit yah." Hotaru's eyes widened in fear. Her transformation pen was in her book bag and well out of reach.
"Now be a good gurl," Jared leered. Reaching out for the buttons on her school uniform. He only managed to get one button unfastened before a voice came from behind him.
"Let her go."
-------
Quatre bolted upright, dropping his book. He briefly wondered how long he had been reading, but the task of finding the source of the yell was more important. Turning most of the way around, he found the source. Three large guys, probably around his age, were pinning a smaller girl against a tree. One of them was clamping her mouth shut. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.
Quatre leapt over the bench and ran straight over to the tree. He arrived there just as the largest of the guys began to try to take of the girl's shirt. "Let her go," he called, coming to a halt just behind the group.
The gang turned their heads towards Quatre, still holding the girl against the tree. "Whadda yah want?" the tallest slurred. "Scram, runt." The boy was over a full head taller than Quatre, and the other two were also marginally taller than the Arabian.
Quatre frowned, slowly walking straight up to the large guy who had spoken - obviously high on something. "How about you scram instead," Quatre stated more than asked, coming up to the thug.
The thug blinked in surprise. "Oh yeah? You wanna get yur pretty lil'face busted up, eh?"
Quatre's expression remained neutral. He may be the weakest fighter amongst the Gundam pilots - but he could easily take these thugs down. However, Quatre was never one to fight if he didn't need to. He leaned in closer to the head thug, and spoke softly, so only he could hear. "That's not a very good idea."
"Yeah?" came the slurred reply.
"Yeah," Quatre stated calmly. "You see, I'm the owner of a rather large corporation. I'm a very wealthy man."
"That so?" the thug sneered, grinning. He was beginning to see Quatre as an easy source for money.
"It is," Quatre replied, allowing a small smile to spread across his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of money - a wad of hundred dollar bills. The thug's grin increased. "You see, I am very rich. And do you know what that means?"
"Wha's that?" the larger boy drawled, grinning broadly.
"It means I don't go anywhere without bodyguards," Quatre replied softly. "Armed body guards. If I give the signal, or if your or your friends try to attack me, you'll find yourselves being gunned down before you can even touch me."
The thug's grin was gone. He looked around. "Oh yah? I don' see any guards."
"Well they wouldn't be very good bodyguards if you could spot them easily," Quarte replied, his expression not changing. "Now, I'm going to give you fifteen seconds to get out of here. If I can still see you at that time, I'll give them the signal to fire." The bully blanched. He obviously didn't feel like testing his luck. Quatre smiled. "I suggest you run. Now."
The bully staggered for a moment, before taking off in an off balanced run towards the nearest exit from the park, his confused cronies following closely behind.
Quatrr watched them run for a moment, before turning to the girl they had been attacking. "Are you alright?" he asked, bending down and picking up her fallen school bag.
She slumped against the tree, breathing heavily. "Y-yes. Thank you," she replied.
"That's alright," Quatre stated, giving her a friendly smile, and holding her bag out to her. "I'm glad you're alright."
The dark haired girl gratefully accepted her bag. After a moment of silence she finally asked, "What did you say to him?"
"Hmmm?" Quatre turned back to look at her. "Oh, I told him that if he didn't get out of here I'd have my bodyguards shoot him." The girl blinked in surprise, starring at the blonde. He gave a sheepish grin, placing one hand behind his head. "Of course I don't have any bodyguards with me today . . . but they didn't know that."
The girl grinned and chuckled along with Quatre. "Well, thank you," she said giving him a polite bow. "I'm Hotaru, by the way. Hotaru Tomoe. What's your name?"
"I'm Quatre Winner," he replied, extending his hand.
Hotaru smiled and shook it. "Nice to meet you."