(4) Don't you hang your head

It was not even night, still dusk had happened two hours ago and the darkness that covered the earth even devoured the snow's whiteness. It was silent; not even the rustle of bare branches or the barking of a nearby dog could be heard. And it was freezing cold.

"I've spent all day in the orchestra hall where it's cold and I was looking forward to have a nice warm bath." Michiru trembled and held her hands before her mouth to warm them with her breath, which danced as a little cloud before her face.

"We can't ignore a signal telling us that a youma is near, or maybe even Mistress 9!" Haruka, or better, Sailor Uranus looked around and flitted through the school grounds, ignoring her partner's chattering teeth.

"'course not. But next time I'll wear my thick jacket over my fuku, that's for sure. Mission or not, I won't catch a cold out here. It's December, for heaven's sake!" Michiru cursed silently her short skirt and followed the blonde, although her thoughts were at home with her nice tube and secretly she begged for the signal being a false alarm. So they could go home quickly and try to warm up again. No, tonight she refused to be Neptune, no matter what clothes she wore. Tonight she was simply Michiru and wanted to be in her bathroom or either in her soft warm bed.

"The signal must be near." Uranus frowned and turned around to stare in every direction. She did not mind the bitter cold, maybe she did not even notice that snow was slowly leaking into her boots which were nice to look at in the summer but not made to wear during the winter and especially not in freshly fallen snow. "Somewhere here…"

"I can't see nor hear any youma." Shivered Michiru and could not prevent her voice from sounding whining. Damn! It was Christmas time! She wanted to stay in her warm bed, eat some gingerbread cakes, read a romantic novel and listen to Christmas song until she had enough for the next eleven months. Instead she was standing in the freezing cold, with summer clothes and searched for Mistress 9 who probably sat in her own tube, splashed nice hot water around and laughed at them. It was so unfair!

Uranus frowned, but did not reply anything. She held her henshin high above her head and frowned even deeper.

"Can't be…" she muttered to herself and walked through the snow back to the school's building. "Something must be broken." She shook the golden staff, but nothing changed. It showed them only one direction, no matter how often she turned it around.

"What is it?" Michiru was now hopping to keep herself at least a little bit warm. It did not work, but she felt better this way.

"It's guiding me to the teacher's section, but they can't be Mistress 9. I mean, if you were one of the most powerful monsters on this earth, would you hide behind a music or a sport teacher's façade?"

"Well, you can torture innocent souls, so it's imaginable if that's what you like." Joked Michiru but Uranus did not laugh. No, the wind senshi gulped visibly and glanced up to a balcony. A well known balcony with a well known aviary.

No!

Michiru shook her head. Then she jumped and landed right next to her partner. It was one of the senshi power's advantages to be able to do a stunt effortlessly. However, there were too many disadvantages and right now Michiru wanted to throw her henshin away, take Uranus' surely icy hand and walk home. To forget all this rubbish. To continue her old life before the first transformation or to start a new life. That was alike to her, as long as Haruka was in it. As long as they did not have to fight. As long as they did not have to kill the ones they loved…

No…

The curtains were drawn, but there was a crack in the middle where they could peer through. Little Hotaru was lying on her bed. They could hear her cough, but she seemed to be asleep, because otherwise she would have left her room as fast as she could, crying out for her father to protect her. There was a shadow sitting next to her small body which was surrounded by a blood red light. Purple eyes glitter and although they could not see the shadow's face, they knew that it was sneering. That she was sneering at them from inside, from her host where she felt save. Well hidden from everybody else. But not from their henshins…

"It's her…" Uranus lowered the golden staff and hang her head. Michiru had never seen her so defeated before. Suddenly the sea beauty knew why. Normally they would have broken into Hotaru's room and ended it right here and then. But this situation was anything but normal, the past three months had been bizarre, a word which could hardly cover their situation.

"It's her…" whispered the wind senshi again. It sounded broken. Because she could not destroy Mistress 9 to complete their mission, to save the world and to return to a normal life. In there was Tomoe Hotaru, an ill little child who missed her mommy and was left alone too often by her busy father. Their Hime-chan who loved them no matter what. Who trusted them!

"It's her…" Uranus shook her head, did not seem to be able to end the sentence, not with all her will, not with all her strength which seemed to have left her body all of a sudden.

Nothing is going to endanger our mission!

Michiru heard those passionately spoken again in her mind, saw Haruka's green eyes looking in a strange expression down at her.

She wants to end our mission at all cost. Maybe she's desperate to enough to sacrifice herself in destroying Mistress 9, but she's not able to kill the ones close to her.

Michiru knew that Haruka would have never confessed what she herself surely thought of being weak; for the sea beauty it was her friend's greatest strength. So she walked over to a slightly trembling Uranus in silence and took the blonde's free hand to hold it comfortingly tight.

"We'll find a way." Michiru squeezed the icy hand gently and forced herself not to stare at Hotaru sleeping so peacefully next to the shadow. However, the water senshi knew that waking up the little girl would not make a difference. Mistress 9 was in Hotaru's body, the ill child could not escape her parasite. "There must be another way!"

"There's none…" Uranus' voice was hoarse but her bangs hang in her face, Michiru could not see her partner's expression.

"We'll think of something. Maybe Sailor Moon…"

"That's even above her powers! It's…" Uranus clenched her henshin, but did not react, did not shout at Michiru or pushed her away as the sea beauty leaned forward and simply took the golden henshin away.

"Let's go home, find some fitting clothes, drink a warm tea and discuss this matter calmly with more than only one degree keeping us company, okay?"

Uranus did not nod, did not reply anything, but she followed Michiru without resistance, let herself being led away from Hotaru's balcony.

Nothing. Except the loved ones.