Chibimamoru: Small Lady's Little Brother
Chapter 7 - Family Reunion
Author's Notes: Ohayo, minna-san. Gomen nasai once again for taking so very long to update. Someone stole my laptop out of my car while I was in the process of moving to North Carolina, and it has taken me this long to save up for a new one. I know I know things keep coming up that prevent me from updating, but I AM going to finish this fic. I PROMISE. Please bare with me, ok? Because it took so long for me to update, I promise I will do my very best on it and I will try to make the next one longer, ok? I'm going to post this after just two scenes, just so you guys will know I HAVE NOT abandoned it.
(Story Begins)
Innocent azure blues gazed hesitantly outwards as little Mamo-chan wrapped a single tiny arm around his fluttering stomach. He clutched General Nicholas' right hand tightly as he was led down the long and winding corridors towards the throne room of the Crystal Palace. Clear crystalline walls sparkled with a thin ray of hope - hoping to restore the happiness that once radiated through the royal palace, lighting it up both day and night. At times, it seemed the walls were the ONLY ones who remembered those happy times - before the little prince disappeared, before the little princess began her drastic change, before the king and queen began to long for the children they had lost.
'Mommy. Daddy.' Mommy and Daddy are waiting for me. Oneesan too. I gots a Mommy and a Daddy now. They live in a big, big house made of crystals. I'm gonna live in the big crystal house with Mommy and Daddy and Oneesan. Will Miss. Carol live in the big house too? No. Miss. Carol lives at Nephrite Hills. She's even gots her own room there. Will I ever see Miss. Carol again? Who'll make T.J. leaves me alone? Who'll protect me from the bad peoples? Daddy promised ta protect me from the bad peoples, but he didn' protect me from the red-haired lady. She went away in the pink cloud wif Oneesan. I was supposed to go inta the cloud with Oneesan, but the red-haired lady went instead. Daddy didn' protect me from the bad man either. Sailor Chibimoon protected me from the bad shadow man. But Chibimoon disappeared...just like Oneesan. Who will protect me now?
General Nicholas looked down sympathetically at the child as a tight pressure on his hand revealed the small child's fears. A certain distance revealed itself in the child's eyes. What was he thinking behind those intense blue eyes of his? Was he frightened? Excited? The neutral look accenting his gentle features made it hard to tell. 'Oh, Mamo-chan.' Nicholas thought with a sigh. Turning away from the child, he focused his gaze forcefully forwards. 'I don't know who is harder to watch in pain - you or your father.' But the little prince was home now - - things had to get better from here, right?
Azure blue eyes watched the Venusian General curiously out of the corner of neutral blue eyes. As soon as Nicholas had turned away, Mamo turned his gaze fixing it upon the proud man before him. General Nicholas...'Uncle Nicky-san.' His subconscious told him. Young eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. Could it be - - did he remember - - - "General." A deep voice spoke out, interrupting Mamo's train of thought. The child blinked, looking up to a young man of about 22 years. His long brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail which fell lightly over his shoulder as the man bowed respectfully to them. Brown eyes looked curiously upon the little child for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Little Prince." He greeted. Pursing his lips together with uncertainty, Mamo stepped closer to the General whom had led him here, hiding protected behind General Nicholas' right leg. The man laughed lightly at him, before stepping forward to open the door for to the Throne Room, where the King and Queen anxiously awaited the arrival of their newly-found lost son.
Endymion's heart skipped a beat as two heavy doors opened at the end of the throne room, and a single pair of azure eyes peered out from behind one of his four head generals. Taking hold of the child's shoulder, General Nicholas led Mamo up the long walk towards the front of the throne room. Two pairs of azure eyes – both Endymion's and Mamo's - seemed to grow wider and wider as the child was pushed slowly towards the front of the room, where a set of strangers stood waiting for him with open arms. As Nicholas stopped before the King and Queen nodding his head in simple respect for the two, Mamo broke free from his hold….Anxiously, he hid himself behind the Venusian General peering cautiously out at his parents with an uncertain misty-eyed gaze.
Endymion didn't know what to say. His nod in acknowledgment of Nicholas came purely out of habit as he gazed in wonder at his son – or his eyes anyway. The little boy who used to run to him wrapping his small arms adoringly around his father's legs, now hid from him as if he were some kind of frightening stranger. He felt a light mist pushing at the edge of his eyes. How could he have let this happen? After spending over 10 years alone in a Japanese orphanage, how could he have let his OWN son end up with the same fate? It was unthinkable. Beside him, his wife squeezed his hand gently.
"Hi, Mamo-chan. It is so good to have you home." Serenity greeted her son with a warm smile. Home? I don't gots a home - - do I? I HAD a home, but I think it moved. That must be why Onee-san took me so far away. But Onee-san left into the pink cloud with the bad lady inside her. Onee-san lives at home - - at home with Mommy and Daddy. I don't 'member Mommy and Daddy, but Onee-san 'members. She's at home with Mommy and Daddy. I wanna go home. I don't know these people. I wanna go home with Mommy and Daddy and Onee-san.
Blue eyes began to fill with tears as the child's wandering gaze fell upon his mother, studying her curiously. She is tall - - at least from where he stands - - with long trailing locks of silver-blonde hair that fall almost to the floor. Her smooth, creamy-white skin is accented perfectly by her long flowing white dress and yellow crescent moon jewelry. Mamo's eyes meet his mother's. Her eyes are a soft baby blue - - blue like Onee-san's used to be. "I - -" The words quiver on the child's lips as all three of the adults look down at him - - watching for his reaction. His body tenses as Nicholas takes a step back, leaving him out in the open - - -alone.
"I wanna go home!" Mamo finally states, breaking down into tears. Anxiously, he looks around for his white cathead friend, A.B. . . but A.B. is no where in sight. His crying grows stronger - - and louder - - - as he drops himself onto his knees hiding his face behind his hands. King Endymion, for one of the few times in his life, feels completely out of control. In his mind's eye, he can see himself at that age…"I want to go home!" He cried while sitting in a Tokyo City Hospital bed, faced with strangers. Endymion's stomach churns empathetically for his son, but he can't seem to find the words to speak. Luckily, however, just like last time - - - Serenity seems to know what to do.
Kneeling down on her knees, Neo Queen Serenity pulls her son gently into her arms. "Mamo-chan." The warmth of her body soothes him, as her mothering embrace protects him from the outside world. "My Mamo-chan, you are home." Serenity's sweet-sounding voice tells him as his tears slowly begin to subside. "Your Mommy is here now. No one is going to take you away ever again." The child sniffles as his small hands clutch fistfuls of his mother's dress. Smiling soothingly at him, Serenity stands to her feet - - with a little help from her husband of course.
As his tears subside, Mamo's mind begins to turn quickly. "Mommy?" He questions with an air of uncertainty. Serenity's smile widened in pleasure at his questioning of her. "Are you Mommy?" He had to ask. . . . He had to know. . . . This warm, comforting feeling he felt from Serenity's presence. It was one he hadn't known in many years. Was THIS Mommy? Had he finally found home? Serenity squeezed him into a hug, before looking him directly in the eyes.
"Hai, Mamo-chan," She answered gently, seemingly unfazed by the child's obvious lack of recollection of his parents. After all, she had already twice dealt with a lack of memories from her husband and friend's. Why should this be any different? He would remember in time. And even if he didn't, it didn't really matter. She couldn't remember anything from when she was 2 and 3. Love would prevail in the end. She had always believed in that - - and she always would. With an ecstatic grin, she repositioned the child until his eyes would fall upon his father. "And this is your Daddy, Mamo-chan."
As his son's blue eyes began to study him, Endymion was – unfortunately – a lot less certain about the whole situation than his wife. He had actually LIVED in an orphanage. He knew what it was like to have no home - - no family to call your own. He knew the many emotions it brought up. Of course, he had spent over 10 years in the orphanage while his son had escaped after only two and a half, but still . . . there was bound to be problems they would have to deal with.
Everything seemed so perfect - - with his son finally home and his daughter becoming more and more like her mother every day. (The fact that she was late only added to that of course . . .) Yet, he always seemed to be waiting for the rug to be pulled out from underneath him. His secret fear was of losing his loving family to some tragedy - - a fear still left over from the LAST family he had lost. Watching his son, he forced a hopeful smile onto his face.
"Daddy?" Mamo questioned, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. He seemed to consider Endymion for a time before reaching his hands up, in allowance for his father to pick him up. A bit uncertainly, Endymion took his son up into his arms. The two fell silent again. Daddy's feel was much different than Mommy. It was stronger and safer - - and yet , . not as safe. His Daddy's was warm, but at the same time a bit clammy. Inwardly, he could feel Endymion's uncertainty mixed with his own. Holding his arms up, Mamo reached for his mother once more.
(End of Scene)
When the storm rises up, when the shadows descend,
Every beat of my heart, every day without end
Every second I live, that's the promise I make
Baby, that's what I'll give, if that's what it takes.
It's that's what it takes . . . .
Princess Lita's brown French pigtails bounced excitedly behind her as she raced through the halls of the Crystal Palace with the Small Lady on her heels. She had had a small portion of Celine Dion's song stuck in her head for the past ten minutes and it was actually beginning to get a bit annoying. Trying to push it from her mind, Lita looked over her shoulder to wear her friend was seriously lagging behind. "Hurry up, Small Lady! You were supposed to be in the Throne Room TEN minutes ago!"
"I'm . . . coming!" Small Lady called back, her breath coming out in a series of pants. "I . . . had . . . to use the . . . bathroom." She protested, picking up her speed until she was running side by side with her new found friend. In her mind, she saw Sailor Moon and Jupiter in the past. It was obvious Sailor Jupiter was running at Sailor Moon's pace. Blinking her way back into reality, she glanced over to find Lita watching her with a questioning look. Small Lady grinned. "I was just thinking how much you remind me of Sailor Jupiter in the past. " She explained. Princess Lita's face instantly beamed with pleasure. Her mother had always been her hero. She wanted to be JUST like her.
Nearing the North end of the Palace, the two girls slowed their speed to a quick walk. Anxiously, Small Lady straightened her skirt and tucked back the few hairs that had come loose during her run through the castle. If she happened to see anyone - - especially one of the princes or young knights in the castle - - she wanted to look like a proper princess . . . not a silly little girl. As they left the East Wing, were all the royal families made their homes and entered into the busier North Wing, they would begin to see more and more of their people wandering about the castle corridors. Lita smiled confidently as the sound of movement crossed her line of hearing, while Small Lady began to grow silent.
Inwardly, she wondered what Usagi would think of her, if she were to see just how many friends she actually had here in her OWN time period. Sometimes, she wondered if she should have told the Sailor Senshi the truth, rather than letting them believe she was the ONLY child at the castle in Crystal Tokyo. Certainly, the girls all had the false idea they were childless and possibly even husbandless in the future. Maybe it WAS wrong, but . . . what was she supposed to say? "Mom sent me back to the past to learn how to make friends because I don't HAVE any? Yeah, like she was going to admit that to the girls . . . and Usagi and Mamoru.
Small Lady matched her friend's pace as she lost herself in her thoughts of the past. She barely heard her new-old friend's call in time to avoid crashing into a young knight-in-training. Grinding to a halt, she gasped loudly as she found herself face to face with an eleven-year-old Jupitarian knight with thick sandy brown hair and charcoal colored eyes. Small Lady blushed deeply at the many sets of eyes that were suddenly upon her. There went trying to be a proper princess. What would her mother do in this situation? Or . . . what would Usagi do?
Demaris, a first-year knight-in-training, blinked with shock as he was just about run over by none other than the HIGHLY rumored about Princess of Crystal Tokyo. And then she had the nerve to stand there and stare at him . . . as if it was HIS fault they had almost had a collision? Most of the rumors weren't all that nice, and he silently wondered how much truth was behind them. Hiding his frown behind a neutral expression, Demaris took a step back placing some distance between him and the young princess before offering a stiff formal bow. "Gomen, ahm – Princess," Demaris replied smoothly. "I must not have seen you coming this way." Standing tall, he watched her stiffly (along with a number of other first years) awaiting her reaction.
Small Lady flushed at the sudden attention she drew from the crowd. It was such a simple mistake. Why was it so easy to blow it off in the past, but when it came to kids in her own time, she seemed to become a completely different person? "Ahm, yeah. . .I . . ." She shifted uncomfortably at the stares. Maybe because, if she did something REALLY stupid, they would all forget as soon as she returned to the future? No such luck here in her own time. Lita turned to her friend surprised. It wasn't the sudden collision that drew the attention of both the children and herself, but the Princess' inability to speak up for it. Inwardly, she wondered. 'Did our fear of her do this to her?'
Shaking her head, Lita took it upon herself to step in for her friend. Putting a bright smile on her face, she moved in between Princess and Knight. "Oh, it is no problem. Small Lady has just been so anxious over her little brother's return . . . we must not have seen you there, ne Usa-chan?" Lita questioned of her friend who offered her an appreciative smile in return for it. "Hai. Gomen nasai." Small Lady apologized with confidence borrowed from her friend's support. Maybe that's what it was. In the past, she always had the support of the girls, and Usagi, and Mamoru. "We should really be going now." Stepping around the young boy, Small Lady and Lita continued on their way to the Throne Room.
Just before the Throne Room door, the princess pair was met by a set of royal guards who nodded acknowledging at their approach. "This is where I stop, Small Lady." Lita told her as they stopped before the door. "Good luck with your reunion." Nodding appreciatively, Small Lady turned just as the guards opened the door for her to enter. Princess Lita watched curiously until the door was shut, before running around to the back door, where she was sure she would find her mother and the rest of the Senshi spying on the reunited family. There was NO way she was going to miss this.
Looking up at the front of the cool Throne Room they had viewed so many times before, Small Ladys' deep red eyes were met by the innocent azure blue ones of her five-year-old brother. She starred. The room was silent except for the tap-tapping of shoes against crystal as Small Lady made her way up to the front of the room to join her family. Mamo-chan starred back at the approaching girl peculiarly. Squirming out of his mother's arm, Mamo walked towards Small Lady eyes wide with curiosity. As they stood, mere feet from each other, Small Lady frowned as her little brother looked her over with a scrutinizing glance. The five-year-old's eyebrows furrowed uncertainly. All was silent . . . until Mamo finally spoke up. "What happened to your hair!" He questioned with amazement. "Did you fall into a cotton candy machine?"
From behind the slightly ajar side entrance door, the hysterical giggling of what sounded like Princess Lita, as well as at LEAST one or two of the Sailor Senshi could be heard. Small Lady cheeks flushed pink as she glared down at the so-called 'innocent' boy before her. 'Innocent my butt.' She thought with narrowed eyes. "MAMO NO BAKA!" Small Lady yelled at her brother as he quickly ducked away from his big sister running to hide behind his mother. "Mamo-chan…" Serenity tried to correct him - - though it was hard to sound angry when she was trying not to laugh. From behind Serenity's skirts, Mamo looked up between his mother and father's looks. "Well, it does!" He declared seriously.
(End of Scene)