Chapter 23: Love and Battles
Akane looked up at Minako confidently. She was completely sure that her mother would be generous enough to allow THIS request. Certainly, while her mother didn't like her giving out too much charity, she certainly couldn't resist the charm of a pair of cute brown eyes and wet sloppy kisses.
"What did you say you wanted?" Minako asked for clarification.
"A dog. From an animal shelter. Sakura told me that Bridget wants one, and I think if Bridget's too scared to ask you herself, I should do it for her. It's all part of my job to help those in need. At first I thought a dog was a silly luxury to take care of when there are starving people out there, but then, I thought, it would be okay if we got one from a shelter who really needed a home and not one of those stupid overbred prissy things," Akane explained.
"I dunno. Can you and Bridget take care of a dog? Not to mention it'll cut down on our social status if we get a shelter dog," Minako worried.
"Mom! If we get a shelter dog, it'll be free and you won't have to worry about the expense! You're always worrying that I throw away the money on the poor, and this time I'm not!" Akane whined.
"How about you think of the expense of losing membership in the most exclusive social clubs for wealthy people if they see us with a mangy old mutt?!" Minako shrieked in a panic.
"Quit worrying about your status in the eyes of stupid snobs who wouldn't stand a chance if they had to live in the jungle! And if you're so against a dog, what about a cat? Bridget likes all kinds of animals!" Akane retorted.
"Fine, a cat. They're better than dogs, and I know about them already since Artemis used to be my partner before those rotten Magic Knights killed him!" Minako shouted. There was a knock at the door then, and Minako charged over to open it. Instead of Bridget, as she had expected, it was Maria Delgado and Basil Anderson.
"Maria! YAY!! You came over like I asked! And did you bring a friend too?" Akane gushed, seeming to forget how angry she was at her mother a moment ago.
"Actually, Akane, I didn't bring him. He just happened to be here too," Maria admitted embarrassedly.
"Well, that doesn't matter, I always like having more people around! Hey, Mom, why couldn't we have brought in ALL the new foreign Senshi? We certainly would have enough money to..." Akane was cut short as Minako pounded her fist on Akane's wheelchair tray.
"Because! We do NOT have THAT much money! If we tried that, we'd be poor or something and I'd lose what new status I have!" she shouted.
"Akane, why are you fighting with your mother?" whimpered Maria.
"Sorry, sorry," Minako giggled, as it was her turn to be embarrassed now, "It's just that she has this silly idea that I can afford to give everyone in Crystal Tokyo my money and still keep my socialite status."
"I don't WANT you to keep your stupid status! If you lost that, maybe you'd be nicer to Makoto and the other Sailor Senshi then! Where was that old 'Senshi of Love' who was the friendliest of the Sailor Senshi, huh?!" Akane retorted. Minako roared with anger and was about to shove Akane when there was another knock at the door.
"You get it, Miss-Wants-Me-To-Have-A-Ruined-Social-Life," Minako spat, stomping over to a chair and sitting down, glaring at Akane sullenly. Akane stuck her tongue out at Minako and then went to answer the door. When she opened it, the Love Angels were there.
"Go away. Quit trying to make me love boys, because I'm stuck with Maria, got it?" Akane snarled. Angel Lily gave her a pitying look.
"Poor baby, you don't have to be stuck with Maria. Do you think that no man would love you since you're a cripple?" she cooed patronizingly.
"That's NOT what I meant! I meant that I love her and you're not going to take me away from her without a fight!" Akane retorted.
"Yeah, what kind of Love Angels are you, interfering with my daughter's love? I am the Senshi of Love, and I shall protect any romance that blossoms within my family!" Minako declared, jumping into a fighting stance. Akane rolled her eyes at her.
"Mom, don't get yourself attacked. You're not a Senshi anymore," she sighed, amused but also afraid that Minako would get in trouble.
"AWWW!! What a sweet girl you are to want to be the protector when you're weak and wheelchair-bound!" Wedding Peach exclaimed.
"Don't underestimate me, you fools. You've tangled with me before, now remember my wrath! Lollipop Prism Power, Make Up!" Akane shouted, transforming in a flurry of indigo lights.
"Licorice Power, Make Up!" Basil also transformed, but Maria did not.
"Please, Akane, shouldn't we show them that lesbians can be kind, sweet people?" she pleaded.
"Maria, didn't you forget? If we kill them in this world, they'll be safe in theirs! And they were the ones who started it in the first place. Lollipop Tiara Action!" Sailor Lollipop called, flinging a disk of indigo energy at the Love Angels. It hit Wedding Peach, knocking her into the wall.
"Saint Lipliner Lily Rainbow!"
"Saint Pendule Daisy Blizzard!" The combination of those two attacks not only tied up Sailor Lollipop, but also began to freeze her so she couldn't move to defend herself.
"Dead Scream!" Sailor Licorice yelled, blasting Angel Lily and Angel Daisy with his black energy ball.
"Stay out of this! You're supposed to be on our side, you're a pure boy who loves girls like you're supposed to!" Angel Salvia warned him.
"I'm in this for revenge! You'll pay for tricking me into joining you with that fake disguise! Dead Scream!" Sailor Licorice shouted again, ignoring Angel Salvia and flinging his energy ball attack at Angel Daisy, knocking her back into Angel Lily, who was still on the floor.
"Passionate Cake Cut!" Angel Salvia roared, lunging at Sailor Licorice with her sword. She stopped in her tracks and fell over when a bunch of vines tied up her sword and yanked it out of her hands.
"Leave me boyfriend alone," snapped Sailor Cupcake, who had just entered.
"Let's just get out of here! There's too many of them, and I don't want to hurt the pure ones!" wailed Wedding Peach. The other Love Angels agreed, and they escaped then.
"Bridget! Hey, did you know that Basil came here to see you? But you were out visiting the zoo, right?" Akane exclaimed, detransforming.
"Yes, I went there because I wanted to see the animals. I'm sorry I messed up your plans, Basil," Bridget answered, blushing.
"That's okay, I did it spontaneously, eh," shrugged Basil.
"Guess what, Bridget? I talked with Akane and we decided that you can have a cat! She told me you wanted a pet, right?" Minako asked cheerfully. Bridget nodded shyly.
"Yeah, but you better get one from a shelter. That way you can be helping a poor kitty that would otherwise not have a nice home, okay?" Akane added.
"A shelter...oh fine, cats are more dignified than dogs anyway, so I guess that's okay, but I better give it a bath first," Minako declared.
"A bath? But cats don't like water," Maria pointed out.
"Well, Yaten took a bath with Luna, so how hard could it be?" giggled Minako, remembering those days when she chased after the Three Lights, thinking them to be cute guys, unaware of their true origins as female aliens.
"As hard as the cat's claws are," Akane snickered, "What would you want to name it, Bridget?"
"I don't know right now. Probably something that would also be a regular person's name, though," Bridget answered.
"How about Artemis the Second?" joked Minako, which earned her a poke from Akane.