Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.
Chapter Six: Thursday I.
Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters.
It was another bright and sunny day outside as I got up to get ready for a day I was really looking forward to, my friend Kimyo's birthday party.
Like last year we would be going to the Tokyo Zoo as her parents are huge sponsors of the place. Kimyo had called me last night to confirm that I would be there with my whole family and I said yes. She was really happy, especially when I assured her that Haruka-papa was coming.
"Ooh I can't wait to show off that I know the great Haruka Tenoh to the others!" She squealed happily. I laughed a bit. I had the speakerphone on in our study since I was typing at the same time.
"Oh yeah, we're bringing my cousin Hoshiko along since she's visiting from out of town. I hope you don't mind." I told her. She assured me that it was okay. Then an unpleasant thought occurred to me. "Are Keiko and Megumi coming?" I was referring to Kimyo's former friends who made such a mess of things last year.
"No they're not, thank goodness. I don't want to talk to them ever again especially after the fiasco with that project we tried to do at your place." Kiyo replied. I winced at the memory. Our science teacher had paired Kimyo and me with the two of them on a big science project. Can you say oil and water? Relations between the four of us were strained at the best of times since the mess last year and we generally tried to avoid one another. We ended up at my home where we basically ended up arguing constantly and Haruka-papa eventually threw them out.
Kimyo decided to change gears. "But I know that Katsuji will be there." She said suggestively. Katsuji was a really hot looking classmate of mine. Tall, dark haired, green eyes, looks to kill for, you get the idea. And he was a nice guy who was interested in me! We'd had lunch together at school several times, along with Kimyo. She figured it was a matter of time before he asked me out.
"Oh really. Well I guess that I could be persuaded to come then." I replied in my best suggestive voice as I sipped my Coke.
"Hotaru, who's Katsuji?" Haruka-papa asked from behind me. I nearly gagged on my Coke, boy she can move quietly when she wants to. I didn't need to turn around to know that she had her arms folded and a scowl on her face.
"Busted!" Kimyo crowed as she hung up. Grrr, she was gonna suffer when I saw her next. Provided I lived long enough.
"Um, hi Papa! He's just this guy I know, a classmate. That's all. Really." I laughed nervously as I turned to face her. I was right she had her arms folded and a scowl on her face. An eyebrow was arched but otherwise she just scowled. I sensed a disbelief factor of 112%.
"Uh-huh. I guess that means that I will be coming with you after all tomorrow." Haruka-papa said ominously. Oh great, just what I needed, Haruka-papa in her 'overprotective papa' mode. Hopefully Michiru-mama can keep her from going overboard. Now I just had to worry about Hoshiko getting lost and Setsuna-mama from repeating her performance from last year.
After breakfast we sat down and we made sure that we had everything, film for the cameras, extra batteries, Kimyo's present and card, the day's itinerary, etc. We only had one small problem as far as we could tell.
"What do we do to keep Haruka-papa from being mobbed by her adoring fans?" I wondered aloud.
"I'll just wear a hat and sunglasses like I usually do." Haruka-papa replied.
"I don't know, maybe something a bit more might be in order." Setsuna-mama suggested.
"Perhaps Haruka could wear a dress or something?" Hoshiko suggested. I just moved and sat beside Michiru-mama at this point.
"Yeah! That could work! I have this nice little skirt that should fit her, a nice blouse and…" Her voice trailed off as Haruka-papa was standing over them with her face mere inches from theirs and a very annoyed look on her face. Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko swallowed.
"Or perhaps she could wear a hat and sunglasses." Hoshiko said hastily.
"Less is more, that's what I always say." Setsuna-mama added. Haruka-papa came back and sat beside us again much to their relief.
Michiru-mama just sighed and shook her head. "Now that that's settled, let's get going shall we?"
About half an hour later we were pulling into the parking lot of the Tokyo Zoo. It was fairly busy and I was worried that we'd be forever finding Kimyo and the others. As usual Michiru-mama set me straight with her reassuring smile and a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. I smiled back and we carried on. Haruka-papa made sure her dark glasses and ball cap were firmly in place before we went in.
We got up to the main gate and saw several dozen people there. All of us started searching around for Kimyo and her Mom. Thankfully we didn't have to wait long.
"Hotaru! Hi! You made it!" Kimyo cried as she jogged up to us, her Mom trailing behind her. I grinned and went up to meet her halfway, laughing and hugging each other. We'd practically become inseparable at school, and our families had become close friends. She'd also met Usagi and the others and was amazed that I knew so many cool people, as she'd put it. If she only knew.
"I'm so glad all of you could make it." Kimyo stated.
"We're glad to be here." Michiru-mama replied. We introduced them to Hoshiko, and were happy to see that they got along right away.
"It is a pleasure to meet you both." Hoshiko said warmly.
"It's nice to meet you as well." Kimyo's Mom replied. "Come on let's go meet the rest of the group." Kimyo and I lead the way while Kimyo's Mom talked to Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko while Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa trailed behind us holding hands.
"I'm so glad that Haruka is joining us today." Kimyo whispered as we headed for the group.
"Me too. Just don't make too much of a fuss over her okay? We kind of enjoy our privacy." I replied.
Kimyo pouted. "Aw, and I was going to make a big announcement over the Zoo's PA system announcing that the great Haruka Tenoh was in attendance." She giggled and ducked as I playfully tried to swat her in the head.
She changed subjects. "Your cousin's really a nice lady. One question though, does she always talk so formally?"
I had to think about that as I'd gotten used to the way Hoshiko talked. Granted, Japanese wasn't her native language. In fact I had no idea what her native language was! I made a note to sit down with her along with my parents and give her some elocution lessons. "It was the way her parents brought her up. A very strict family from what she's told me." Hey, it seemed plausible enough.
We walked up to the group of 16 boys and girls, some of them were my classmates, a few were some other friends of Kimyo's and two I didn't know at all and Kimyo introduced them as her cousins. 8 other parents were there as well. Then there was Katsuji.
"Hello Hotaru. I'm so glad you could make it." Katsuji said with a smile. I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks as I looked up into his emerald eyes. He was about the same height as Haruka-papa, 5'10" and built like an athlete. He was one of our schools top swimmers in fact. Did I mention that he was drop dead gorgeous? He flashed that winning smile at me and my heart nearly melted. If this were anime, we'd suddenly be standing alone in front of the seashore at sunset as we walked towards each other in slow motion, arms outstretched, ready to meet in a passionate kiss…and then reality crashed in, in the form of Haruka-papa clearing her throat rather dramatically.
"Oh, hello. You must be Hotaru's parents. I'm Katsuji Mori. It's nice to meet you at last. Hotaru has told me a lot about you." He smiled and extended his hand to Haruka-papa. She just stood there, arms folded, her face unreadable behind her dark glasses.
"Hello, I'm Michiru Kaioh, one of Hotaru's parents." She walked up and took Katsuji's hand while shooting Haruka-papa a dirty look. "This is Setsuna Meioh, our housemate and co-parent to Hotaru." Setsuna-mama smiled warmly and shook hands with Katsuji. "Our cousin Hoshiko." More smiling and handshaking. "And you've met Haruka." Haruka-papa just stood there and glowered at him. Michiru-mama just sighed and shook her head.
"It's nice to meet all of you." Katsuji said. "I hope we can get to know each other a bit more today."
"I doubt it." Haruka-papa growled under her breath. Michiru-mama elbowed her in the ribs. He didn't seem to notice as he smiled and went back to join his friends. Kimyo came up beside me again and we all headed into the zoo.
Along the way Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama both started whispering to me while looking at Katsuji.
"He seems to be a really nice boy." Michiru-mama remarked.
"Yeah, has he asked you out yet?" Setsuna-mama asked.
"No, not yet." I replied.
"Good, let's keep it that way." Haruka-papa growled. I love my Papa, I really do, but she does tend to be way too overprotective at times.
"Be nice to the boy dear." Michiru-mama admonished.
"I am being nice." Haruka-papa shot back. "I haven't killed him yet." Note to self: If, by some miracle I try to get married, elope. Hoshiko, Kimyo, and her Mom just stared at Haruka-papa. They were wondering if she was serious or not.
Other than Haruka-papa keeping my virtue intact by glaring at all the boys in her line of sight, especially Katsuji, the day went rather smoothly. We spent several hours looking at all the animals, laughing at the antics of the monkeys, pretending to be scared of the tigers, marveling at the pandas, etc.
When we got to the petting zoo, Setsuna-mama was reacquainted with an old friend, the same overly affectionate Llama from last year, who, once again, came up and nuzzled her from behind causing her to jump a bit. Yes I took several pictures to prove it.
"He really likes you I see. Any ideas as to where you'll be going on your date?" Haruka-papa was grinning from ear to ear, enjoying herself immensely.
"Shaddap you!" Setsuna-mama growled, red faced, as a giggling Hoshiko helped her to her feet.
As we walked through the large aquatic exhibit, I noticed that Michiru-mama had the same smile and faint look of longing she always got when we come here. People think it's because she really likes the sea creatures. We know for a fact that she actually wants to be in the water, her element, with the sea creatures. Haruka-papa gets the same look when we tour the bird exhibit. She'd love to be in the air with them.
Hoshiko loved the arboretum the most. "All of the different flowers and trees you have here. It reminds me of home." She looked truly happy there.
We sit down for lunch as we talk about the next area on the tour. "Setsuna, if you want to stay out here instead of going inside we won't hold it against you considering what happened last year." Michiru-mama said softly. We were heading for the big Entomology exhibit that had a large collection of cockroaches in it, and Setsuna-mama really hates cockroaches.
"I appreciate what you're saying Michiru, but I really need to face this fear of mine." Setsuna-mama replied. "With everyone's help and support over the last year I've been slowly overcoming it. Now is a good a time as any to face it head on." We'd been helping her get over her fear of cockroaches, and she has been getting better. Although Haruka-papa's hypnosis idea was a big bust. Don't ask you're better off not knowing.
"Are you sure Sets? We don't need you fainting on us again like last year." Haruka-papa said with a worried look.
"I'm positive, as long as you're all with me." Setsuna-mama replied as she took one of my hands in hers and one of Michiru-mama's in the other. Haruka-papa smiled and put her hand on Michiru-mamas and Hoshiko put hers on mine.
"Then let us face it together." Hoshiko said to all of us. We smiled, finished our lunch, and headed for the exhibit, hand in hand.
The five of us trailed behind the rest of the group as we walked through the hall. It was still as creepy as it was from our previous visits the various bugs in their habitats crawling and flying around gave me chills. The dim red lighting didn't help much. I looked up at Setsuna-mama. She was sweating a bit, but she gave me a reassuring smile as we approached the cockroach exhibit.
The exhibit was just like I remember it, a large habitat with a big picture window. Inside were hundreds upon hundreds of cockroaches of all shapes and sizes. I felt Setsuna-mama's grip tighten as I'm sure Michiru-mama, who still held her other hand, did. She stood there rooted to the spot as she stared at the enclosure, sweating profusely. We stood there for what seemed like an hour, but were actually only 3 minutes until we saw that the rest of the group was moving on. Kimyo and her Mom both looked at us, especially Setsuna-mama, with worried expressions. We smiled and Michiru-mama assured them that she was fine and we'd be outside soon.
"Let's go." Setsuna-mama said quietly. She didn't need to tell us twice! Another few minutes of bad mood lighting and creepy-crawlies and we were back outside in the fresh air and sunlight.
"Are you all right Mama?" I asked Setsuna-mama who looked like she was ready to pass out. Haruka-papa went to go find her some water.
"I'm fine Hime-chan, everyone. Thank you." She smiled and gratefully took the bottle of water that Haruka-papa handed her, drinking half of it in one swallow. "I did it." She stated.
"Yes you did and we're so proud of you." Michiru-mama told her as she put her arm around Setsuna-mama's shoulders while I hugged her. Haruka-papa and Hoshiko did the same. Kimyo and her Mom came up at this point.
"Are you all right Setsuna?" Kimyo's Mom asked.
"Yes I'm fine thank you." Setsuna-mama replied.
"That's great. We just wanted to invite you back to our home for dinner and some cake and ice cream afterwards." Kimyo said.
"Will 'that boy' be there?" Haruka-papa growled as she searched around for Katsuji.
Kimyo's Mom laughed. "No, we just wanted the 5 of you over for awhile."
"Is it a chocolate cake?" Setsuna-mama asked hopefully.
Kimyo laughed again. "Of course!"
"Then what are we doing standing around here for? Let's go! Let's go!" She exclaimed impatiently. We all laughed and bid our farewells to the rest of the party. After a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' we headed for the parking lot. Along the way we ran into Katsuji again.
"It was really nice of you to invite me Kimyo. And it was nice to see you here as well Hotaru, along with your family of course." He smiled and bowed to my parents. Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama, and Hoshiko all smiled warmly while Haruka-papa glowered at him.
"See you at school next week!" He called as he headed back to his friends. I could hardly wait for school next week. I smiled and waved as he and his friends got into a van and left. I turned and found Haruka-papa standing there still glowering.
"We need to talk young lady." She said simply. I sighed, visions of Nunnery's floating in my head.