Chapter 9-Hotaru the "Adult"

I put on my graduation gown and looked at my reflection. Tomoe Hotaru, you made it. The youngest and the earliest one to graduate from the engineering program.

I had asked mama and papa if I could go back to the palace after my graduation. They didn't say yes right away. I guess they didn't want me to fight.

I haven't seen them in two months. Last time we talked, they were in Hong Kong. Ami-chan said they would be back soon. I miss them so much that I went out and bought a Neptune and Uranus doll. I cuddled with them at night so I could fall asleep.

Life here was pretty lonely. All of my classmates were older. I was the only kid in the class. Plus, being known as the soldier of destruction didn't help. Given the history of this city, I understood.

I turned on my communicator. I called Ami-Chan. I know it wasn't an emergency, but I just wanted to talk to her. Someone familiar, someone that wouldn't treat me like a freak.

"Today is the big day huh? Congratulations." Ami-chan's cheerful voice made me smile a little. "Wish I was there to watch you on stage."

Tears started to cloud my vision. I wiped them away quickly. I am twelve, I am not baby Hotaru anymore.

"I guess you miss your mama and papa. Well, they are coming back to Tokyo. So, don't cry. Enjoy your day. When you come back, I can show you where I work now. Or we can go out for ice cream. Okay, I have to go now. Talk to you later?"

I nodded and hung up. I sat down on my bed and stared at the sailor dolls I collected. After buying the Neptune and Uranus one, I decided to buy the whole set. They are all my family. Ami-chan looked so tired on the screen. I have been watching the news, so I knew things were getting bad. They all told me to stay put and for once, live my life.

"Papa, let me come back. Let me help. Evil is approaching." I had begged Papa once.

"No. Evil will always be here. This is a rare opportunity for you, so get out of here. I want you to live. Like a normal kid." Papa said with a sad smile on her face. We all knew I could never live like a normal kid. Normal twelve-year-old does not graduate from a top engineering program. Normal twelve-year-old does not have the power to blow up planets.

I followed my classmates and walked into the auditorium. Half of the seats was reserved for the graduates, the other half for family members. My classmates happily waved to their families as they walked past. I scanned the crowd, hoping for a miracle. No mama. No papa. They have the world to save. I understood that.

For the rest of the ceremony, I kept my face down and my mind blank. It was the only way that I could keep myself from crying. Just then, I heard a familiar voice in my head. "Hotaru, turn around." It was mama's voice. Did I imagine it?

I turned and saw Mama and Papa. They made it! Mama gave me a big smile and blew a kiss to me. Papa too. They couldn't find a seat so they stood by the entrace.

"Tomoe Hotaru." My name was called and I walked across the stage. Certificate in hand, proof that I had lived, I raced back into mama and papa's embrace. I wanted to fight. It was time for me to go back to Tokyo. I just had to convince them.

That night, the three of us went to dinner. Mama and papa ordered way too much. They said I was too skinny and they kept forcing me to eat.

Halfway through the dinner, I put down my chopsticks. It was time to address the elephant in the room. Ever since the Galaxia fight, we had avoided this topic like a plague. Mama and papa were still too traumatized to talk about it, so I carried on. Soon after, I got accepted into my program and then I left.

"Sailor Neptune. Sailor Uranus." Surprised, they looked up. Then they looked alarmed. I've only ever called them by their sailor names when it was in the battles. Otherwise, it was always mama and papa. But I needed to talk to the senshi inside my parents.

"I forgive you. What you did, I understood now. I am sorry I doubted you. Mama, Papa, thank you for giving me a wonderful childhood. For someone that was never supposed to be born, I was incredibly lucky when you adopted me. Setsuna-mama too. You are all important to me. In the future, if I ever die and get reborn, I want you to be my Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa again."

Mama and papa started crying. I walked over to the other side of the table and gave them a big hug.

"Now, second thing. Let me come back. Let me join the fight. Please. Wait. Before you say no, let me explain. Ami-chan had invited me to join her in the labs. If the battle ever needed my Saturn power, I would be there. For now, Ami-chan wanted me to help her with the research. This would be our way of fighting."

Mama and Papa looked at each other and then nodded. Papa reached over and ruffled my hair. "When did you grow up?"

When did I grow up? That was a good question. My aging process was weird already, but now after being healed by the silver crystal, I had no idea about my age anymore. I wish I could grow a bit taller, though.

For the two years that I stayed here, away from home, I made friends with loneliness again. I recalled Ami-chan saying how lonely she was too when she was at school, but how she focused all her energy into studying. So I did.

While other people were out partying, I was in my dorm, reading. While other people went home for holidays, I stayed and studied. The scouts had invited me to join them at the crystal palace but I declined. If I went home and be with them for the holidays, I would never leave again. For the same reason, I distanced myself from mama and papa. Perhaps, that was when I grew up.

So that night, mama and papa helped me packed up all my stuff and we drove back to Tokyo. Papa drove for nine hours, nonstop. Mama kept passing coffee to her. I could sense that they were anxious to get back. Eventually, I fell asleep.

I was jolted awake when the car came to a screeching stop. Up ahead, a huge block of ice was blocking the road. No, it was a big, tall block of ice that surrounded the city of Tokyo. Snow dancers flew around and was turning people into ice sculptures. No escape for the citizens.

"Saturn Planet Power Makeup!" "Neptune Planet Power Makeup!" "Uranus Planet Power Makeup!"

"Deep submerge." "World shaking." They combined their power and hurled the energy ball at the ice wall. Nothing. The ice wall absorbed the energy. That attack drew the attention of the snow dancers, however, and they started flying toward us.

"Silent wall!" I held up the barrier as the attacks came flying. The sheer number of them made them very powerful. I felt the cold penetrating the dome of silence. My hands felt numb.

"When I say now, drop the silent wall. Michiru, you ready? This is the Kaioh-Tenou-Tomoe attack!" Papa winked. Mama rolled her eyes and said that we need a better name than that.

"Stop flirting. Can I drop it now? Now?"

"NOW!" In the split second when I dropped the dome, they sent out their combined attacks, obliterating all of the snow dancers.

The three of us walked around the ice wall, trying to find a weak spot. I put my hand on it. It felt like normal ice but just super, super thick.

"Neptune, Uranus. What if we keep attacking the same spot? Ice is still ice. With enough force, it should crumble." I tapped the wall with my Glave and watched as some ice shaving came off.

"Okay. How about the name deep shaking? Deep submerge plus world shaking?" Papa continued on with her tangent. "Ready?"

So I marked an x on the wall with my Glave. Then I back away from it.

After 10 combined attacks, a faint crack appeared. It spread upward, zigzagging, until it reached the top. Finally, a section of the wall gave away, allowing us to enter the city.

The streets were quiet now. All the people had been turned into ice blocks. Pain and panic visible on their faces, they were permanently preserved in the ice. We started running toward the crystal palace….