AN: I'm not too sure about this chapter, but I'll put it up in the meantime. Anyway, there is a reason what happens happens.
Lingering a little while after the older girl with the rich dark green hair walked away, Usagi watched her as she pulled up her own shopping basket. It had been a split second decision to try for the basket first, but she really hadn't thought the girl could have walked so fast. In fact, Usagi and her father had walked past the girl putting her hair up only moments before she headed straight towards the sweets aisle and her father stopped her and told her to get a basket. She should have realized that the taller girl would walk quickly with longer legs.
Well, anyway, she had a basket now. She turned and walked in another direction to where she knew her father would be. Catching up to the tall man, Usagi couldn't help but smile with pride. She knew her father was doing the best he could to support the family, and she loved him very much. She felt bad they hadn't spent much time together lately, but it was impossible to know when a youma would attack.
"So, which one would you think would be better?" Kenji asked, holding up two different jars.
There was more than one kind of garlic spread? That was a little surprising. Deciding to go with the one that had the brighter label, Usagi pointed at it and held out her basket.
"Alrighty!" Depositing the jar into the basket, Usagi's father kindly took the basket from her. Eyes twinkling, he motioned towards the right with a tilt of his head, "You want to pick out something for dessert?"
"Really? Thank you!" Throwing out her arms to give him a spontaneous hug, Usagi eagerly ran to the back of the store where the freezers were. Maybe some ice cream would be good… But what about cake? Ooh, and the cheesecake looked good! But there was a sale on the ice cream, so she would be able to bring more home, which would mean more left over for later.
Tapping her finger against the side of her face and putting more weight on her right foot, she tried to work out the best possible choice that would net her the most dessert for the yen and make the most people happy. She knew her mother enjoyed cheesecake, but her brother liked ice cream. And her father liked whatever was put in front of him, she giggled softly to herself. He almost had a bigger sweet tooth than her… Almost.
As she wondered about dessert, another part of Usagi's brain wondered what candy or sweets she could sneak into the basket; seeing as, she grumbled to herself, she didn't have the money to pay for them herself. If she asked for next week's allowance now, her Papa would remember what Mama had said. She was hoping that they'd both forget about it by next week.
So if she did choose ice cream, which kind should she get? The tub or the individually wrapped variety? And what flavor? Shingo liked chocolate, her mother preferred strawberry or vanilla, and her father liked green tea best of all. Of course, Usagi loved every single flavor!
"Excuse me."
Jumping back a bit with surprise, Usagi turned to see the girl from before looking at the same freezer door she was in front of. Realizing that she prevented her from getting inside, Usagi colored and took a step back. "Sorry," she offered.
Grabbing a box of assorted Drumsticks, the girl placed it in her own basket, tilting her head in acknowledgment, "It's fine." She half-smiled, as if it was expected of her.
Playing with her hands behind her back, Usagi nodded. Seeing that the tall girl was going to leave, something in her basket caught her eye. "Oh, you don't want that!"
"Eh?"
Rushing up to her, Usagi grabbed the bag of potato crisps out of her basket.
"H-hey! What are you -!" The girl blinked shocked red eyes, pulling her basket close into her chest, cradling it safely with her arms. "Give that back!"
"No, no." Shaking her head, Usagi looked straight into the girl's face, craning her head back a little due to her height. "You don't want this," she repeated, holding the bag up by a corner.
One of the girl's eyebrows was higher than the other one, and her mouth had firmed into a frown. She looked highly uncomfortable. "Okay…" she finally let out, looking quickly over her shoulder and back, her green ponytail flicking back and forth with her quick movements, "Take it if you want. I need to be going…" The girl took a step back, her expression having changed into one of placation, as if Usagi was crazy.
"I don't want it!" Usagi shook her head again. "Look," she reached out, grabbing a hold of the girl's nearest elbow.
The girl started violently. She jerked away from her.
"No, it's fine. Trust me?" Usagi gave her the most innocent smile she had.
"Why should I?" the girl shot back, her voice becoming lower. She now looked angry, her arms tightening around the basket. She glared at her.
Usagi's eyes widened. The girl's angry face was really scary. Taking in the body language of the girl, whose body was tense under her white t-shirt and jeans, she realized she needed to placate the girl before things got more heated or she walked away.
"Look, I'm not trying to steal these or scare you. I'm just trying to give you some advice!"
The girl looked at her with disbelief.
"No, it's true. Look." Usagi brought up the potato crisp bag again. She turned it to where the front was on top. Seeing that the girl didn't move, she motioned the bag at her, smiling brightly.
The girl stared at her a second, finally letting out a sigh. Shaking her head, she moved forward an inch. "What am I supposed to be looking at?" she asked, her voice tight.
Usagi pointed at the brand name.
Furrowing her brow, the green haired girl straightened. "I don't see anything wrong. It's just the brand name." She wasn't looking at Usagi with anger anymore, but she still had a guarded expression on her face. Shifting the basket on her chest to make it more comfortable, she seemed to come to a decision and lowered it to one hand again.
Smiling at her little win, Usagi shook her head. "Have you listened to the news lately?" At the girl's 'no', she forged ahead. "I have. My mother has it on every morning. Well, a couple of days ago, several of this company's products were found to be contaminated."
Green eyebrows shot up. "Really?" the girl asked, her body losing some of its rigidity.
"Yes."
"Oh." Staring at her, the girl's lips suddenly curled up. "I see. Thank you."
Usagi smiled, "No problem." She was happy the other girl didn't seem afraid of her anymore. Although how a taller, older, and very attractive girl would be scared of a shorter, younger, plain girl like herself, she didn't know.
Deciding that there was no sense in standing before the freezer just staring at the other girl, Usagi blushed and started turning back to make her dessert choice.
"You know," the girl started as Usagi was once again scanning the ice cream on display.
Usagi tilted her head in answer and smiled, glancing at the girl to let her know she was listening. She had just remembered that she really didn't have a lot of time. Finally making up her mind, Usagi opened the door, gasping a little at the chill that washed against her face. She grabbed a tub of Neapolitan ice cream (it would work for almost everyone!), and turned back around. The girl opened her mouth to continue her sentence… But never got to finish.
With a loud crashing, splintering sound, a car hurtled through the front of the store. Screaming, Usagi dropped to the ground in instinct, the girl hitting the floor with her. Only a few seconds passed as the car barreled through, aisles folding with the impact, goods and merchandise getting thrown everywhere, but it seemed like it was in slow motion. Screams and loud scrapes and noises filled the air. Finally, as the car lost speed, it came to a sudden crunching halt when it hit the freezers at the back of the store only a couple of feet away from where Usagi and the girl huddled. With a spray of broken glass and milk, the car, which had come in sideways, dropped to the ground with a loud creak to land on its wheels.
Shocked silence filled the store. Lowering her arms from above her head, Usagi shook to get the glass and debris off of her. She was lucky she hadn't been looking at the milk. Mind racing, she tried to remember if anyone had been standing there. With a sigh of relief, she remembered that it had only been her and the girl standing in front of the freezers at the time.
Remembering the girl, Usagi looked to see the older girl in front of her shaking off the debris as well. She had been lucky enough to be a little farther away than Usagi had been, but she seemed unhurt. They exchanged relieved smiles.
The sound of a baby crying ripped through the silence. It broke the stunned immobility. Standing up through stiff muscles, having had been furiously clenched, Usagi looked at the damage done to the shop. Everything in a straight path from the front to the back looked wrecked and broken. Heart beating fast, she hoped no one had gotten seriously hurt. She had been lucky only getting away with some cuts from the flying glass. In fact, she realized, as the back of her body and hands stung a little, the reason the girl hadn't been hurt was because Usagi was inadvertently shielding her!
Feeling something cold sticking to her knees, she looked down to see that when she had dropped to the ground, she had landed on the tub of ice cream. It had split open and melted a little under her body heat. Wait, ice cream! The air sucked out of her chest. Papa! Was Papa okay?
Panic hit her. Taking off running to the aisle she had left him in, she screamed in despair when she realized he wasn't there. Eyes furiously scanning the store, standing up on her tip toes, she used all the air in her body to yell out for him, repeating it with every third step as she raced to find him. If he had been in the sweets aisle, picking out something for her… Her blood ran cold. That would have been in the direct path of the car!
Tears streaked down her face. "Papa! Papa!" she screamed, her throat becoming hoarse. The store hadn't seemed that big before, but now it seemed endless. As she ran from aisle to aisle, making her way towards the wreckage, the only people she saw were strangers holding each other close or looking around with the same bewildered expression on their faces.
Finally, scrambling up and over the downed aisles at the front of the shop, not noticing the cuts and bruises she was amassing on her hands and knees from the broken metal, feet slipping from the contents of broken packages, she saw her father making his way towards her.
He looked pinched and drawn, but as he caught sight of her, a sudden relieved smile threatened to take over his whole face. "Usagi-chan!" he yelled, running up to her.
"Papa!"
Heat raced through her body. She almost tripped on her way down, hopping over the sharp corners of overturned shelves, tears obscuring her vision. Her father met her at the bottom. "Usagi-chan!" he breathed into her hair, picking her up to hold her tight to him, arms wrapped strongly around her midsection.
"You're okay," he murmured, squeezing her, "I was so afraid…"
Nestled in his arms, Usagi breathed in the familiar smell of his cologne she remembered from childhood, crying and trying to hold him as close as she could with trembling arms. "Papa," she choked out, finally pushing herself a little away to look into his eyes, touched beyond words to see that he had tears in them as well, "Are you okay?"
Setting her down so her feet touched the ground again, Kenji couldn't help but laugh softly. He reached out to cup his daughter's face. He had been so afraid that his baby had been caught in the accident, thinking that she might have been looking at sweets. When he had seen her coming for him, struggling over the wreckage, terrified shouts coming out of her mouth, his heart had almost stopped with joy. "I'm fine," he said softly, brushing a tear away before he crushed her into another hug, "But I should be asking you that! Honey, you're bleeding a little."
Usagi shook her head. "It's fine," she answered, her voice muffled again by his shoulder, "I was just near the freezer when the car hit. Broken glass. But it's really okay. Hey!" She pushed herself back again, looking up at him with big eyes. "What caused that car to come flying in here in the first place?"
Kenji looked outside the cracked window to his left. "I have no idea," he started, peering at the view of outside offered to him, "But it doesn't look like the only casualty." More parked cars were in disarray, and he could hear frantic honking and squeals of tires.
"What?" His daughter turned to look with him. She suddenly froze, her hand reaching out to hold his, clutching it in a strong grip. "Papa…." She murmured, "I think we should make our way to back of the shop…"
"Why?"
Usagi had already started pulling him to the back, striding with strong legs, looking back over her shoulder with every step. "Because," she started, "I think there's a youma out there."
Kenji almost stopped walking. Like everyone else, he had heard about the so-called youma attacks, but barely paid heed to them. It wasn't like he didn't believe they were real; he just hadn't seen any evidence for himself. He knew, though, that strange things happened in Tokyo every once in a while (he had heard of the past troubles of Tokyo, like Gojira. Though he hadn't been alive at the time, he knew that Gojira had existed because he had seen the news footage). No one had been able to catch any footage or procure any definitive proof of the new Senshi or youma, so he was left skeptical.
Looking down at his daughter, he could tell she firmly believed what the news reported. And, as they approached where the crumpled car rested, Kenji could only make the sight of the car hurtling through the store make sense if he thought it had been thrown… He pulled Usagi closer to him.
In the back of his head, he wished he had his camera with him. If Usagi hadn't been there, he would have risked trying to capture whatever happened next on film. But she was there. He knew he had to protect her now, no matter what.
As if sensing his thoughts, Usagi looked up at him, smiling through closed lips, squeezing his hand in response.
She needed to get away. She needed to go out and fight the youma. Usagi's left hand went to curl around the brooch she had placed in her pocket. It pulsed warmly under her fingers, sensing the youma outside. Taking a look up at her father, she saw the protective look on his face, and smiled back at him. How was she going to be able to leave him…?
Finally, she knew what she could do. People had followed her and her father back, feeling the danger outside the walls as well. Scanning the crowd of exhausted, confused people, some hurting, but all tired, she noticed a heavily pregnant woman sitting by herself against the concrete wall of the employee hallway. "Papa," she whispered up to her dad, pulling his hand to get his attention, "We should go and help that woman."
Looking where she indicated, he nodded. Without a word, he let go of her hand and shrugged off his coat. "Excuse me," he touched the woman's shoulder softly, kneeling down, "Would you like my jacket to keep out the cold of the wall?"
Surprised, the woman smiled happily. "That's very nice of you, thank you. It is pretty cold."
Her father smiled back, draping his coat over her shoulders as she moved forward awkwardly a little. "It's no problem," he said, making sure it covered wherever she would touch, "When my wife was pregnant, she was highly susceptible to the cold."
As people noticed what he was doing, more and more came over to sit with them, using the woman's pregnancy as a way to distract them from whatever it was that was happening outside. Usagi moved back a little, slipping away through the small crowd. Knowing she was going to scare her father when he noticed she was gone, she couldn't help it. Taking one last look to make sure he was alright, she ducked behind one of the corner aisles.
She flipped open her communicator. Informing the others about the youma in whispers as she made her way to front, Usagi took one last look around her to see if anyone could see her. Squaring her shoulders, she pulled out her brooch.
"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"