Chapter 6-Healing

Mom was hurt pretty bad. There was a long gash on her forehead, bruises on her arms, presumably her body as well. I carried her to my car and gently lay her down on the backseats. She looked so broken and fragile now. I clenched my fists, anger flooding through my veins. Sailor Iron Mouse! She did this to my mom.

"Haruka?" Michiru gave me a gentle tap. "We should take her home with us. We will take care of her while she heals. Okay?" She then turned and asked Ami whether we should take mom to the hospital.

"Her cut isn't deep, she won't need stitches. She had already woken, so not in a coma. I am coming with you guys so I can keep an eye on her." Ami said as she got into the car.

We all waited anxiously by mom's side that night. Hotaru wasn't hurt, thankfully. We were lucky that Sailor Iron Mouse overlooked her because she was a kid. If her star seed was taken….I pushed that thought out of my mind.

"Haruka, your mom is okay. She's awake and everything seems fine. Except the cuts and the bruises. Michiru, come with me. I need to tell you what to do after I leave…" The two water senshi left the room, leaving me alone with mom.

I turned to see mom stirred in bed, slowly waking up. "Mom."

"Haruka, you are hurt." Mom frowned, starring at my bandaged legs.

"Mom, you are hurt." I sat down beside her and took her hands. I wasn't expecting it, the wave crashed through me before I could stop it. I bent over sobbing.

She reached over and stroked my back. I eventually collapsed into her chest and she just held me as I wept.

"Haruka, I am sorry. I am sorry I let you go. I regretted not standing up to your father every, single day. I wasn't a good mother. I hope, that one day, you will forgive me. I love you." She kissed the top of my head.

I had no words. My heart twisted in a knot, so tight it hurt. All these years, anger had slowly invaded my mind. Yet, as I looked at her, those eyes were filled with regret. She had suffered too.

"Mom, give me some time. I am glad though, that you are here…." I looked down, still feeling the conflicts inside of me.

"Haruka, there is something I want to ask you." Mom looked embarrassed. "I woke up remembering this, and I wasn't sure if it was because I hit my head. Are you….are you one of the sailor scouts? I read about them before, in the newspapers. Did I imagine it? "

"What?!" What did she see at the park before she became a phage? "What do you remember from yesterday?"

"Well, I remembered that monster that came to attack you guys. Hotaru grabbed my hand and we ran. I heard the explosion behind me and I thought you must be dead….but then I saw a sailor senshi leaping away from the explosion and she looked a lot like you. Then, the monster came out of nowhere and attacked Hotaru. Then she turned and attacked me. When I woke up, a sailor senshi was carrying me. She had the same eyes as you, Haruka." Mom looked at me with her confused eyes.

"Mom, you hit your head pretty hard yesterday. The sailor senshi did come to the park and saved us all. Michiru and I were alive because of them. They saved you and Hotaru too. I think you were just worry about my safety, so you thought you saw me as a soldier." I tried to keep my tone even, although my heart was pounding. I was never good at lying.

"Sorry, Haruka, for saying such silly things. I did hit my head yesterday. I am glad you are okay. That monster was so scary."

"It's okay. You should get some rest now. I have something I have to do today. Michiru is downstairs, so you can call her if you need anything." I got up and walked away.

Vroom. I raced my car down the street toward Rei's temple. A senshi meeting was called. I needed to tell the girls that Michiru and my civilian identities were compromised. Perhaps Ami could come up with some plan that could make sure mom and Hotaru stay safe.

The girls were already there when I arrived. Usagi looked up with worry on her face. The others stopped talking as I entered.

"Michiru called and told us everything." The princess came up and gave me a hug. "We will find a way to keep you, Michiru, Hotaru and your mother safe. Everything will be okay."

"Haruka, I think the first thing we need to do is to move you guys out of your house and find another place to live." Ami closed her computer and jumped to the chase. "Last time Eugeal spent two days tracking you guys down but it was pretty easy for her to find your address. Sailor Iron Mouse probably reported you guys to Galaxia by now. I just did a quick search myself on the internet. Luckily, Michiru was a pretty private person, so it took some hard digging to find her address. But we should move everyone by tonight."

"I was thinking Michiru and I could disappear for a while. I wanted to ask you guys to take care of Hotaru when we were gone. As for mom, I would have to convince her to move to another city." I had no idea how to explain this to her. She would probably think that I wasn't ready for her to be in my life yet. It would probably break her heart, but at least she would be safe.

Ami nodded, approving of my plan. "It's probably for the best. You said Sailor Iron Mouse completely skipped over Hotaru right? You and Michiru need to stay away from Hotaru right now. If she discovered how powerful that little girl was, then the world would end."

"Hotaru can stay here. I have a spare room." Rei offered. "Plus, the girls are always here. She would be safe among us."

"Thank you, guys. I will go pack up her stuff and drop Hotaru off in a few hours." I stood up, ready to leave.

"Wait. Can I talk to you outside?" Usagi asked.

So I followed her outside, curious about all the secrecy. The little kitten sat down under one of the trees and motioned me to sit beside her.

"I know this is none of my business, but I want to talk to you about your mother. How are you, Haruka?"

I shrugged. I wasn't sure if I was okay or not. Seeing mom get hurt changed something inside of me. It made me realize that I didn't want to lose her. Yet, I couldn't get over my anger.

"Out of everyone, I don't think I have the right to tell you how you should feel. I mean, I have a pretty normal family, so I don't know what is like to lose a parent….You lost your dad and your mom in a sense when they kicked you out of the house. Then your mom came back to your life. Isn't that a good thing? It's okay to be angry. That's because you cared about her and you love her. I believe that you and your mom will work things out eventually and you will repair your relationship. And I don't want to see you sad."

Oh, my little kitten. Usagi's ability to love just about anyone never ceased to amaze me. She looked at me with her hopeful eyes, waiting for my response.

"I will try my best, kitten. First things first though, I need to kick mom out of my house. Thank you, Usagi." I patted her head, causing her to blush.

Usagi's words looped in my head as I drove home. If we could get through this fight, then maybe I could start thinking about how to repair my relationship with my mother. Right now, I just want to make sure everyone was safe…