Chapter 21-The Family

So much had changed in the month after the battle with Nehelenia. Mamoru was invited to attend an American University. Usagi bravely urged him to follow his dream, even though her heart was shattered at the thought of the long time separation. To made things worse, Chibiusa had to return to the 30th century. When that news broke, Hotaru spent the night crying.

Hotaru went to their house for a sleepover the night before Chibiusa left. Usagi said they spent the night locked in their room, talking. When she peeked in later, they were asleep while cuddling each other. When Haruka picked her up the next morning, her eyes were red and puffy.

Ever since then, the scouts and I had a new mission. We would do our best to keep Usagi and Hotaru happy.

Spring finally arrived and it was the annual cherry blossom festival. Minako suggested that we all take the train together and we could have a picnic beside the Meguro River. Mako and Ami quickly volunteered that they would make the food. Hotaru sulked in her room, complained that it just wasn't the same without Chibiusa. When both Haruka and I failed at convincing her, Setsuna-mama took over the job. After an hour behind closed doors, Hotaru emerged with a faint smile on her face. She picked up the phone and called Mako.

"Mako-chan, don't put cucumbers in the sandwiches. I am coming to the picnic. I don't like cucumbers anymore."

"How did you do it, Setsuna?" Haruka asked.

"I promised her that when the time was right, I would bring her to the time gate so that she could meet up with Chibiusa in the future." Setsuna shook her head as she explained. "It is against the rules and it is not against the rules. I think if I take her as Sailor Saturn, maybe it will be okay."

She glanced over at Hotaru. "I would do anything to make that little one happy."

On Sunday, while we were still sleeping, Hotaru jumped into our bed and startled the both of us. I glanced at the clock and it said 6:00 a.m.

"Wake up, papa. Wake up, mama." She squeezed herself between us and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "I have a question."

"What is it?" Mumbled a very sleepy Haruka.

"How old am I now? And if I travel to the future, would I age even more? What if I get too old for Chibiusa?" Seeing how Haruka was falling asleep again, she took my hand and used it to tap on Haruka's forehead. I laughed out loud at how annoyed they both looked. They weren't related by blood but they sure looked and behaved the same sometimes.

"Mama, what do you think?" She turned to me instead, giving up on waking Haruka.

I stroke her beautiful purple hair and I told her I didn't know the answer to that question. Her aging was accelerated when Nehelenia threatened all of us. Since then, her growth had slowed down. She looked like she was about 6 or 7 now; but intellectually, she was already studying Grade 6 materials. Ami and Setsuna had become her full-time teachers, recognizing that traditional schools could not keep up with Hotaru's intellectual growth. Plus, we couldn't explain her faster than normal aging process as well.

Unsatisfied with the answer, Hotaru frowned and sighed. She then nuzzled her head closer and wrapped her tiny arms around me. "Okay, I will ask Setsuna-mama later." She drifted off to sleep again, snoring lightly, in sync with Haruka's snores.

I looked at my two favorite people sleeping next to me and felt warm all over. I reached over and set the alarm to nine instead of eight. We would be late but that's okay. I just wanted to watch them sleep.

Ring ring. Hotaru jumped out of my embrace at the sound of the alarm clock. "Time to go, time to go", she yelled as she continued to jump on the bed. Annoyed, Haruka flung the blanket over her head. "World shaking, world shaking, world shaking," Hotaru continued to jump while yelling out Papa's attack jokingly.

"Silence Wall. The blanket is my silence wall. You can't hurt me." Haruka said under the blanket.

I went to the washroom and wet my hands. "Deep Submerge." I sprinkled water on both of them.

Haruka poked her head out, looked at Hotaru. Then they both turned and looked at me sheepishly. "One…..Two…..Three….." They both lunged at me and pushed me back in bed. We giggled so hard that tears were running down our faces.

Two hours later, we finally made it out of the house. Hotaru "accidentally" spilled her milk, so she spent the next hour changing. She wanted an outfit that would make her look "normal". "Will there be other kids at the park? Maybe I can make new friends. They won't be as important as Chibiusa of course. But until then, maybe I can have someone to play with?" Hotaru asked as she picked out another outfit. Sighing internally, I assured her that she would make friends in no time. We would enroll her in a normal school when her growing spurt stops. That way she could have some normal social interactions.

The park was packed by the time we got there. People lay on their blankets and enjoying the warm weather. There was a marching band playing on the opposite of the park and cheerful music filled the atmosphere. Hotaru held on to Haruka and my hands, timid and overwhelmed by the crowd.

Her face relaxed when she saw Usagi and she dashed toward the princess. By the time we got there, Hotaru was happily chomping on a very, very big rice ball. "Usagi made this for me. It's falling apart but it tastes really good. What did you call this again?"

"Courage ball. If you eat this, your courage and power will increase tenfold." Usagi explained.

"Amazing!" Hotaru stuffed the rest of the very, very big rice ball into her mouth. We all laughed. She was a kid at heart, after all.

So, in one sunny afternoon, nine sailor soldiers had the most amazing and mundane picnic. There was no evil. There were no monsters. We all forgot, just for a moment, that we had the weight of the world on our shoulders.

Mina brought a volleyball and we had a game of Inner vs Outers. Usagi volunteered to join us, reasoning that it was unfair to have three adults and one kid on one team. The very competitive Haruka groaned, muttering that now we had two kids on the team. Sure enough, the ball landed squarely on Usagi's face every single time. The game went on for a while until everyone got tired. Except Mina and Haruka. They challenged each other to a single match and the game dragged on for another hour. I chuckled as I watched both of them panting with exhaustion but still determined not to back down. Mina's serve was amazing and deadly accurate. Haruka was fast and was able to return every single serve.

At first, everyone was amused. The game even drew some spectators. As the game dragged on, the crowd thinned and we lost interest. So the rest of us decided to take a stroll along the river. Dusk was approaching and the light posts were turned on. The glow of the light and the falling flowers made the park even more beautiful. Hotaru walked among us, happily holding on to my hand and Usagi's hand. I could feel the sadness that was always in Hotaru lifted a bit. For today at least, she was a normal six-year-old girl hanging out with her very big family.

Finally, night descended and it was time to go home. We packed up our stuff and went to get Mina and Haruka. No one lost and it was tied at zero. The poor volleyball was so deflated by the end. A very sweaty, stinky Haruka came up to me and gave me a kiss.

We reluctantly said goodbye to Usagi, Ami, Mako, Rei and Mina.

Hotaru was silent on the way home, deep in thought. I picked her up and carried her for the rest of the way. Even though she was getting too tall for this, and too heavy for this, I didn't want to let her go. My daughter grew up way too quick and she had already seen so much sorrow already. I patted her on her back and promised to do this with her every year.

Once a year, the sailor family would get together and go see cherry blossoms.

"Promise?" Hotaru asked hopefully. "And Chibiusa too?"

"I promise."