Chapter Two

Haruka looked over at Heero and in a single look, she saw the sadness and hurt in his eyes. She bit her lower lip and drank a bit of her water.

"Aside from my daughter not knowing anything, what can I do?" Heero looked at her, his dark blue eyes staring into her own dark blue eyes.

She stayed silent for a few minutes, gathering her thoughts. "We need to tell her, Heero. I know mentioning her real mother would hurt you, and along with others, we still need to. She needs to learn what she is and who she is. Pretending that she isn't a Princess is not right." Heero said nothing, as he took in all the words she said. She was right, of course. Hikaru needed to learn anything they could tell her.

"Daddy? Mrs. Tenou?" They both turned and saw Hikaru standing there beside Chibiusa and one of Chibiusa's friends, Tomoe Hotaru.

"Hikaru, what are you doing out of school already?" Heero didn't know what else to say.

Chibiusa stepped forward, "Actually daddy ended school early for some odd reason. My dad wants to meet Hikaru very badly and I don't know why. So Hotaru and I snuck her out without my dad seeing us. Mr. Yuy, would you know why my father or even my mother would be so adamant about meeting her?" The moment they saw Heero and Haruka both paled considerably, the three teenagers knew something was up. "Mr. Yuy..."

"Now is not the place or time, Chibiusa," Haruka whispered. She got to her feet, looking at Heero. "Come to my place, Heero." She looked at the teenagers. "All of you can."

"I'm missing something here," Hikaru frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked just like Makoto did when she was unhappy. "You two know each other, though this is my first time meeting you. Her parents want to meet me badly, and you two also know something about Chibiusa's parents. What is going on? Tell me."

For the first time in his life, Heero couldn't answer or look at her. She looked so much like Makoto, Haruka can see how much it was hurting Heero. It was hurting her as well, but she only shook her head. "Hikaru, we will tell you, but not here. Please." The young teen sighed, as she slowly nodded.

"I'll still come over even if my parents want to meet her first, " Chibiusa whispered. "I can tell my parents I went to see you, and that's not a lie."

They all nodded, as they left Crowns. Heero walked beside his daughter, who was a tad bit confused. Hikaru had an endless amount of questions and she hoped she got the answers she needed. Chibiusa had an idea of what was going on, but she didn't say anything. Hotaru knew the truth, but she kept it to herself knowing that Haruka was going to tell Hikaru everything. It hurt the young woman to know that this whole time their King and Princess were around and close, but no one could ever 'find' them. They knew he lived somewhere in the high-class section of the city, but not entirely sure where.

They arrived at a very nice-looking house, and Heero and Hikaru stared at it in awe. It was almost as big as their own and Hikaru appreciated the garden, as a smile grazed her face. Haruka had a knowing smile on her face, 'She is Makoto's daughter. Her love for gardening rubbed off.'

Haruka opened the door and standing in the living room were both Setsuna and Michiru. Heero didn't seem surprised to see them, but both froze when they saw him. Beside him was his daughter and behind them were Chibiusa and Hotaru.

"Mrs. Kaioh? I didn't realize you lived with her," Hikaru looked at Haruka, who nodded.

"I've been living with Haruka for many years, Hikaru," Michiru's voice was soft, as her eyes were on Heero, who didn't make eye contact. She had questions for him, but she didn't voice them at that moment. "Why don't you guys go to the living room and I'll get some drinks and snacks." Hotaru followed her into the kitchen, as Haruka and Setsuna led the group into the living room.

"Michiru-mama, what do you think will happen?" Hotaru questioned Michiru grabbing cups, as the latter got the drinks from the refrigerator.

The teal-haired woman gave a small shrug. "I am not sure, but a lot of it comes down to Shinozaki. It's up to him in what we do, he is our king."

A few minutes later, Michiru and Hotaru came in with drinks and snacks. She set the tray on the table, as she sat beside Haruka and Hotaru sat beside Setsuna.

"Okay, can someone please explain to me how you all know my dad and I'm just now meeting you?" Hikaru suddenly exclaimed. Heero looked at her with sorrow clearly in his eyes, but he didn't say anything before his eyes made contact with Haruka. He knew she wanted him to say something to prepare her for what she needed to know.

He took a deep breath," Sweetheart, I haven't told you everything you need to know about your life." When the confusion was apparent on her face, he continued. "Remember how I said we weren't royalty." She gave a small nod. "We are and these fours are our protectors."

"WE ARE WHAT?" She got to her feet in shock. "DADDY, ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Hikaru please calm down..." Heero tried to stop her.

"NO! YOU LIED TO ME FOR 15 YEARS, DADDY! 15! DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT MAKES ME FEEL?"

"I WAS TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!" Heero got to his feet, as the four women jumped to theirs. Chibiusa's eyes widen in shock. "If Queen Serenity or King Endymion knew of your existence, you wouldn't have the life you currently have. I'm not exactly on good terms with them. I knew them before you were born and I'm telling you because you're old enough to understand. We are the royal family of Jupiter and I'm the King." Hikaru's eyes widen. "...Raven is not your mother, she is my Princess Consort."

"Wait for a second, she is not my birth mother?!" The disbelief and hurt were on her face and in her voice. "Then who is?" Chibiusa remained quiet, as she watched this unfold before her. Her mother told Chibiusa that the royals of Jupiter were dead, except for the King. Only now she knew that he was hiding, for 15 years and he had an heir, her new friend, Hikaru.

Heero removed his wallet and took out a photo of Makoto when she was a teenager. 'Her name was Kino Makoto. She was attacked and sadly died the day you were born. She had a disease that was slowly killing her. I wasn't told that she was dying either. No one told me."

"As I stated earlier, I thought she told you," Haruka whispered, as everyone sat back down.

Hikaru took the photo and stared with tears falling down her face. They look nearly identical except for her eyes. She had her father's eyes. The woman in the photo had a dazzling smile and she had a slight twinkle in her eyes. "I-I...: The teenager was at a loss for words. Although she was hurt and angry, she still loved her father and mother figure. She looked at her father. "She was beautiful and I look like her."

Heero nodded, "Yes you do." Hikaru handed the photo back as Heero put it away. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, Hikaru. I was planning on telling you when you turn 15, which is in a week now." Hikaru raised a brow. "But that's not how it worked out. Haruka and I have a difficult relationship. At first, she didn't like me being with your mother, because she had a sister-like relationship with Makoto and was extremely protective, more like overprotective." Haruka smirked a bit, as the three other Outers smiled. "As time passed and I eventually married her, Haruka and I come to an understanding and respect for one another. I became almost like a brother to her." Haruka only nodded.

The man before them took a deep breath before continuing. "I ended up going to a town from my teenage years to see some friends. At the time, Makoto was pregnant with you and working at Crowns, with Motoki. She wasn't well enough to travel, so she stayed behind. I'm not sure of all the events that took place until I found a man from her past who attacked her in our apartment. We got outside when your mother collapsed and stood in front of her to protect her."

He didn't know how else to explain the rest unless he mentioned youmas and who the senshi were. You read the stories in my library at home of the Sailor Senshi, correct?" Hikaru nodded. "Well those stories are real." Hikaru raised a brow. "Actually, your mother was Jupiter, the Queen and the Senshi of the planet. I was her King, Jupiter Knight. The man who attacked her was her ex-boyfriend, who hated me and was angry with her for choosing me. Somehow he became a youma and as I tried to protect her, he injured me and started to choke your mother."

The tears fell from Hikaru's eyes, not realizing how much this was hurting them both and knowing he tried to save Makoto. Heero fought back a sob, as Haruka put an arm around him. She looked at Hikaru. "The other senshi along with myself showed up. As Makoto lay there, we knew we were losing her. S-Heero became overwhelmed with anger and grief, and his most powerful lightning attack came forward and he was able to defeat this youma. We all went to the hospital. At the time, your father made a difficult decision. He took you and...well he went into hiding." Hikaru's eyes widen. "That is why none of us ever met you. He thought it was the right choice at the time."

XYukiNoHanaX
03|07|2023
08:09 pm