Mama's Hand
                                    By
                               Douglas Helm

                             Edited/Co-Plotted
                                    By
                         "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl
                                Rated : R

Definitions : 

Sobo - Used when refering to your grandmother
Sohu - Used when refering to your grandfather

Part IX - Imagery

Transforming back, Usagi dashed over to Mamoru, who had also resumed his
civilian garb, and hugged him. "Oh Mamo-chan!" Usagi said, "I missed you
so much!"

"Usagi, where were you?" Mamoru said, "You called me earlier and told me
that you were leaving Minako's and that after you went home, you were
coming over." He tried to sound frustrated but couldn't once he looked
deeply into her eyes, the world around them starting to fade out. <I've
missed you so much.> "Are you okay?"

"Hai," Usagi mumbled out, "Gomen, Mamo-chan. I was on my way to your
place but I couldn't resist going into the arcade." She stared into his
eyes and hoped that he would kiss her. <I've missed you.>

"Excuse me!" came the loud voice beside them. Both Usagi and Mamoru
jumped and turned to find Rei looking at them. "I hate to interrupt you
two love birds but what if the cops come and find you two necking while
there are people in trouble?!"

Usagi pouted slightly, "I guess Rei's right."

"Come on, Usagi. Let's go back to my place and you can tell me what's
kept you so occupied for the past two weeks." He raised an eyebrow as
Usagi took on a panicked expression. <What's got her so scared?>
"Something wrong, Usako?"

"NO! No," Usagi said while placing her one arm behind her head,
"Nothing's wrong. Sure, I'd love to go to your apartment." <I love to
spend time with you but we just can't talk about Chibi-Usa.> A very
protective nature wouldn't allow her to.

"Usagi-chan, you usually eat at five, ne?" Ami asked.

"If she had her way she'd eat twenty-four hours a day." Rei muttered.

"Hai, why Ami-chan?"

"Well it's almost five. If you run home, you just might make it on time
for supper. Besides, I don't think you told your mom you were going to
Mamoru's. She likely thinks you're at the arcade." She waved her arm
around indicating the various news agencies, <If the emergency crews
were as quick as the news people, I'd be happier.>

"Ohmygosh!" Usagi screeched and tore off down the decimated sidewalk,
"See you later, Mamo-chan! Love yo... EEEK!" Mamoru blinked as Usagi
disappeared down a hole. "Hey! Can somebody get me a ladder or
something!" came Usagi's voice from the hole.

<Oh Usako,> Mamoru thought as he ran towards his trapped girlfriend.

                                  ******

Late that same evening, Mamoru slept peacefully. His breathing steady as
he entered a dream state. A slow smile spreading across his face; to any
observer, they might think that Mamoru was having a pleasant dream, and
he was.

He found himself sitting beside Usagi on top of a grassy hill, a small
stand of trees off to the left in the distance. The sounds of nature
around and no one to bother them. Puffy white clouds stretched out in
long strings floating lazily along.

"Usako, you are so beautiful," Mamoru said as his stroked her hair, "My
precocious princess." Cupping the back of Usagi's head in his hand, he
drew her into a kiss. The couple held that pose for what seemed like an
eternity until a slight wind made them shiver.

Wrapping his arms around Usagi, he contented himself with just staring
out over the endless sea of color listening to Usagi's breathing and
feeling her body's warmth against his.

"Mamo-chan?" Usagi said.

"Hmmm?"

"Mamo-chan, how do you see me?"

"What do you mean, Usagi-chan?" Mamoru asked.

"Am I your girlfriend or a princess?" Usagi said pulling away slightly
so she could turn to look at him.

"Both Usako. I love you with all of my heart."

"Then why haven't you ever told me? Shown me?"

Mamoru frowned slightly, "Usako, I have told you. I hope I've shown my
love to you."

"I suppose..." Usagi said but she seemed doubtful. Not feeling well
about how this was going, Mamoru started to wrap his arm around her
reassuringly but the dream shimmered and then faded away as Mamoru
awoke. He found that it was still night.

                                  ******

At about the same time that Mamoru was having his dream, the girls were
having a meeting via communicator. Ami sat on her bed with Luna and
Artemis curled up at her feet. She was listening as Usagi recounted what
had happened before Usagi had called the others.

"Figures you'd waste your money in that place," Rei sneered, "If you had
one more token, we might've needed a crowbar to pull you out of the
rubble."

Before Usagi could retort, Luna cut them off. "Girl!" she said sternly,
"We don't have time for this petty bickering." She waited as Usagi and
Rei stopped grumbling before continuing, "We have a new problem.
Specifically, the new enemy is out to get US. Not energy, not crystals,
but US!"

"That doesn't make sense though. What are they some type of dimensional
hit squad?" Minako asked, "Why would they be after us? We don't have
anything they want."

"They know we're Senshi though," Usagi emphasized, "They came to Tokyo.
Doesn't that mean they might know who we are?"

"Unlikely," Artemis said, "If they knew where you lived, they would
likely strike at you when not in Senshi forms. It could be that they
want to get rid of the Senshi first before they start a larger
operation."

"I'll try a fire reading," Rei said, "I should go now. Grandpa will
wonder who I'm talking to and I don't need him to hassle me."

"Well until we get more to go on, I guess that's it. I'll be home in a
little bit, Usagi."

"Okay Luna, 'night." The others bid their own goodnights before signing
off.

Once Ami's communicator was off, Luna turned and asked, "Did you get a
scan of Mamoru?"

"Hai," Ami said drawing out her minicomputer from her dimensional
pocket, "However, I don't know if you'll like the results." Settling
herself more comfortably, Ami continued, "Mamoru is NOT the father... at
least not the biological father."

"Nani?" Artemis questioned while taking on a puzzled look.

"Given Mamoru's nature, his genetic markers are supercharged. It'd be
hard to miss them. I did a comparison between Mamoru's DNA and
Chibi-Usa's DNA. Usagi is the mother but Mamoru is not the father."

Luna started to pace, "This just gets more confusing all the time. We
find two pieces of the puzzle but they don't match!" Sitting down, she
looked at Artemis and said, "What's your take on this?"

Taking on a thoughtful expression, Artemis said, "I'm just about as in
the dark as you are." Seeing Luna's glare, he shrugged, "Okay let's look
at what we got. We have a positive ID on Chibi-Usa's mother. That would
lead us to the conclusion that Chibi-Usa is telling the truth and she
really is from the future." Luna nodded her agreement so Artemis
continued, "The next logical step is to ask how'd Chibi-Usa get here."

"Chibi-Usa carries a key that isn't normal," Ami said, "It's possible
that the key is some type of temporal device, allowing time travel."

"That's all well and good," Luna said, rising again to pace, "But this
doesn't answer the questions: What happened to Endymion? How could Usagi
let this happen? And what is the new enemy after?" Turning at the foot
of the bed, Luna looked at the room's other occupants before saying,
"Not to mention what the hell am I going to do?!?"

Artemis blinked, "Luna, calm down! What's got you so agitated?"

<Baka cat!> "Artemis, are you as dense as you look?!?" Artemis was about
to protest but Luna sighed, "Gomen. I'm worried. I've been up trying to
figure all this out. Then the new enemy comes and things have just gone
from confusing to chaotic." Looking at Artemis directly, Luna said,
"Gomen, I do appreciate your help."

Artemis had a hard time trying to control the urge to float off the bed.
"That's okay, Luna," Artemis said while grinning, "First things first.
Do we tell the girls?"

"About Usagi being Chibi-Usa's mother?" Ami asked.

"Hai."

"I don't see any practical value in that action at this point." Ami
mused, "It might even cause more trouble. If Usagi were even inclined to
believe that she was actually Chibi-Usa's mother, Usagi would want to
know who the father was."

"Hmmm, that's a good point. Okay so we keep it secret for a little bit,"
Artemis said, "Now we've got a bigger problem though. Let's assume that
the enemy IS from the future as well. If they know about the Senshi and
also know to look in Tokyo, what else do they know?"

Luna's eyes enlarged as she stared at Artemis for several seconds,
"You're right, Artemis. If they know about the Senshi, then they might
know WHO the Senshi are." Then Luna wrinkled her forehead, "But didn't
you just say that it was unlikely that the enemy knew the Senshi's
identities?"

"I..." Artemis began and then trailed off, "Before I was working under
the assumption that these enemy were of this time. Enemies from the
future could have access to personal information about the Senshi."

"I would assume that the new enemy does not have access to that
information," Ami stated confidently, "It would not be tactically sound
to draw out the Senshi when they would be expecting an attack. Five
separate hits conducted within minutes or seconds of each other is all
that would be required."

"Ami!" Luna said. She seemed shocked by the coolness that Ami had stated
that rather chilling fact.

"Luna, I've run simulations. I wanted to see what our possibilities
were," Ami said sheepishly, "Given my current power levels, I would be
killed or captured within five minutes if the enemy did a surprise
attack."

"Now Ami-chan, you're underestimating yourself," Artemis admonished
lightly, "You might not have power but you got brains."

"Artemis is right," Luna said then added, "Uh, just out of curiosity,
what about the others?"

"The best holdouts are likely Jupiter and Mars. I'd give either Jupiter
or Mars fifteen minutes or an all out escape. Venus would likely be
average seven and a half minutes. Sailor Moon... hard to say, depends on
how she would react and Usagi's chaotic enough that the results could be
rather surprising."

"Yep, that sounds like Usagi," Luna muttered darkly, "Well let's start
setting up some plans. Better to be prepared than not prepared."

                                  ******

Sunday morning was slightly overcast; a stiff southeasterly wind was
working hard to push a bank of heavy dark clouds over the city.
Chibi-Usa padded down the stairs in Usagi's pajama top and a pair of
bunny slippers. It was still early so she was surprised to see someone
was awake. Thinking it was her grandmother, Chibi-Usa entered the
kitchen but came to a complete stop as she saw it was her grandfather.

"Good morning, Chibi-Usa-chan," Kenji said, "What are you doing up this
early?"

"Good morning, Ojii-san. I just woke up," Chibi-Usa said shyly, "It's
okay that I'm up?" She looked towards her grandfather nervously; she had
heard him yell at her mother before. <Maybe he doesn't like me,>
Chibi-Usa thought. Her grandfather was always scowling when she called
her mother "Mommy". <Maybe he wants me to go away.>

"Of course it's all right. Would you like some juice?" Kenji asked.

"Hai, arigato," Chibi-Usa said with relief.

"Okay, you get the juice out of the fridge and I'll get us some
glasses," Kenji directed. He watched Chibi-Usa walk over to the
refrigerator and open it before turning back to retrieve some glasses.

Chibi-Usa struggled with the container. It seemed to be stuck in the
door shelf. Talking a firm grip on the bottle, Chibi-Usa pulled but
nothing happened. <Why is it stuck?!?> Chibi-Usa thought, <This should
be easy.> Moving some of the other containers out of the way, Chibi-Usa
forced her hands underneath the bottle.

"Chibi-Usa-chan, do you want some help?" Kenji asked.

"Hai, please," Chibi-Usa said stepping away from the door. Kenji reached
out and gave a little harder tug on the bottle. With a pop, it came out
of the door shelf easily enough.

"There you go," Kenji said handing the bottle to Chibi-Usa.

"Arigato Ojii-san," she said while taking the bottle and following her
grandfather over to the table.

"Would you like to pour the juice?"

"No," Chibi-Usa said after some thought, "It's heavy. I might spill
some." She then handed the bottle to Kenji who poured the contents into
two glasses.

"Okay Chibi-Usa-chan, go put the juice away." Taking the bottle,
Chibi-Usa carefully started across the floor, a smile on her face. Kenji
shook his head slightly but smiled and picked up the morning paper.

Chibi-Usa was just preparing to place the bottle back on the shelf when
a sharp crack sounded. Whirling around at the unexpected noise,
Chibi-Usa lost her traction and both she and the bottle went crashing to
the floor. The impact knocked the wind out of the little girl as the
bottle shattered spraying juice and glass everywhere. <No!> Chibi-Usa
thought. Drawing herself up into a ball, she gave a little whimper and
simply laid there.

Kenji jumped at the unexpected noise and jumping up hurried over to the
little girl. Bending down, Kenji said, "Chibi-Usa-chan, are you okay?!?"
All he got was a muffled sob as the little girl lifted her hands to her
cover her ears. "Honey, are you hurt?" Kenji asked. He reached out a
hand and gently touched Chibi-Usa on the shoulder. The reaction he got
was unexpected at best. The little girl shuddered and then stiffened
again.

"Gomen nasai!" Chibi-Usa sobbed out, "I didn't mean to!!!"

Gently, Kenji lifted the little girl drawing her close the best he
could. "Chibi-Usa-chan, are you okay?" he asked again while standing up
and examining her face for any fragments of glass. He noted that a
bleary eyed Usagi and Ikuko had dashed to the doorway. Holding up a
hand, he moved over to the kitchen table and sat down. Settling
Chibi-Usa on his knee he asked gently, "Are you hurt?"

Chibi-Usa's response was just to cry. <Where's Mommy?> she thought
sadly, <Why isn't he yelling at me?> She could feel her grandfather
gently holding her. <I was bad... He'll tell Daddy.> "Gomen nasai,
Ojii-san!" she sobbed again.

Hugging the little girl, Kenji said, "I believe you. I'm not mad; it was
an accident." Gently, he wiped away some of the tears from her cheeks
before saying, "Chibi-Usa-chan, can you look at me?" Slowly Chibi-Usa
flitted opened one eye then the other. Tearily, she stared at Kenji who
softly smiled, "Now what's a kawaii little girl like you crying about?"

Sniffling and taking on a confused expression, Chibi-Usa said, "Aren't
you mad at me, Ojii-san?"

"No, why?"

"'Cause I was naughty."

Kenji put on a confused expression, "I thought you were helping really
well until you had an accident. I don't think you were naughty at all."
He smiled at Chibi-Usa again and said, "You can help me clean up if you
want to." Chibi-Usa nodded rapidly, "Okay, you go get dressed and then
we can clean up the kitchen and make breakfast for everybody."

Tentatively, Chibi-Usa reached out and hugged Kenji, "I love you," she
said softly. She smiled as her grandfather hugged her back. <I like
having a sohu. He's nice.> Taking on a pensive expression, Chibi-Usa
leaned back and said, "Do we have to tell Daddy?" <Daddy would be really
mad.>

"No, it was an accident and you said you'd help me," Kenji said. Letting
the little girl down, he added, "Now go get dressed and hurry back
down." <Kami-sama, you are such a precious little girl. How anyone could
be cruel to you, I don't know.>

Rather ecstatic that she wasn't going to be punished and she was even
being allowed to help, Chibi-Usa skipped out of the kitchen. She
politely acknowledged her mother and grandmother but they were rather
stunned by what had just occurred.

After recovering Usagi walked over to Kenji and, giving him a hug, said,
"You're the best, Dad."



Part X - School

Monday morning found Ikuko sitting in the Principal's office for the
local elementary school. Along with her were Haruna Koume, Chibi-Usa's
case worker, and Matsudara Senji, the Principal.

Senji appeared old. His slightly dull brown eyes were framed with an
ancient set of bifocals. His almost snow white hair framed a narrowed,
haggard looking face. The image made Koume glad she hadn't listened to
her mother and stayed away from the teaching profession. Taking a moment
to arrange the papers on his desk, Senji said, "We have two choices.
Chibi-Usa can either be placed in grade one or kindergarten."

"Nani?!?" Koume asked slightly shocked, "Is it that bad?"

"Hai. Normally Chibi-Usa would be in grade two, if she had started
proper schooling at five. The tests we did indicate that she's barely
able to complete grade one work. Her vocabulary is very good. That's why
the test results surprised me."

"Would it be that difficult for Chibi-Usa in first grade?" Ikuko asked,
"I mean, maybe she should go into kindergarten." <She's so sensitive.
Something like this would be really important to her. Chibi-Usa's hinted
that she'd really like to go to school.>

"Academically, if she was placed in the first grade, she would need some
help," Senji said, "However, I don't see any major problems in her
catching up to the others; it is close to the beginning of the school
term. Chibi-Usa would have to work though."

"I think she would," Koume said, "She's the type of person who would
work at something especially if she thinks it's important. To Chibi-Usa,
school's important because her `mother' goes to school."

Senji frowned slightly, "I was meaning to ask you about that,
Haruna-san. Why isn't Chibi-Usa being encouraged to call her cousin
`Usagi' instead of `Mommy'?"

Koume shifted slightly before saying, "It's a complicated situation
really. Chibi-Usa needs that emotional attachment for stability.
Somehow, she's associated Tsukino-san's daughter with her mother. To
call her mother any other name except `Mommy' would be a violation of
her father's rules; she's scared of breaking any rule that would
upset her father."

Senji grunted his understanding but didn't look pleased, "That brings us
to the other test we conducted. We've figured out that Chibi-Usa has
about the same social skills that a child of five would have." Shifting
some papers. Senji asked, "So do we place Chibi-Usa into grade one or
kindergarten?"

"I would recommend grade one," Koume said, "It will be a bit of a
struggle but I think it would help Chibi-Usa's self-esteem. Placing her
in kindergarten may also cause her to regress."

"I think grade one as well. I don't have any strong reasons but I think
Chibi-Usa would work hard as Haruna-san said. It would certainly
help her self-esteem," Ikuko mused. "Would that be a problem?"

"No, well I'll have the paperwork started. I'll also see if I can find
the most docile class at the grade one level that we can place Chibi-Usa
into," Senji said. <If any such thing exists!> he thought.

                                  ******

Shortly after Usagi had put Chibi-Usa to bed she walked into the living
room and sat down on the couch beside her mother. "You wanted to talk to
me?" Usagi asked tentatively. <I've really been working hard. I know my
grades aren't stellar but I'm trying.>

"Hai, I wanted to talk to you about school..."

"Honest Mom," Usagi said, "I'm doing my homework. You can ask
Haruna-sensei yourself."

Ikuko gave a small smile and shook her head slightly, "Usagi-chan, let
me finish." Usagi took on a sheepish expression, "I was saying that I
wanted to talk to you about school for Chibi-Usa."

"Oh," Usagi said, "Gomen. She's really looking forward to going too."

"Usagi, a little girl Chibi-Usa's age would usually be placed in the
second grade. However, Chibi-Usa can't go into the second grade. She
would have too much trouble with the work."

Usagi's face took on a disappointed look. <Oh Chibi-Usa, I wish you
could be in grade two. I think that would make you feel very grown up.>

"Usagi-chan, Chibi-Usa is going into the first grade but she's going to
need to do a lot of work to catch up. She'll also need your support.
It'll be scary for her the first little bit. It'll be like having you
leave all over again. I'm going to try and be as supportive as possible
but Chibi-Usa will look to you. She's going to need a lot of comfort
over the next couple of days or so."

"Well I'll help her, at least help her the best I can," Usagi said,
"I'll have a lot of work to do." Usagi then took on a thoughtful
expression. <Ami would like to help. I'm sure of it. I'll ask her
tomorrow if she wants to help.>

"Usagi, if you're looking for a raise in your allowance you can forget
it," Ikuko said with mock sternness.

"Nani??? I was just thinking that with my homework and then helping out
Chibi-Usa that it would be a lot of work. Then I have chores and..."

"Usagi-chan," Ikuko said cutting her daughter off, "What if I said you
could give some of your easier chores to Chibi-Usa."

"Really?!?" Usagi asked excitedly, "I think she'd really like that."

"Well I mean some of the easier things she can do," Ikuko said, "That
way Chibi-Usa will get some confidence in herself. Do you think you'll
be able to help Chibi-Usa out with her homework and not get her
confused?"

"I think so," Usagi said while scowling slightly, "But maybe I could ask
Ami to help out. I'm not saying every day but Chibi-Usa likes to visit
with Ami. I think they'd both like it."

                                  ******

Late Monday night, a storm broke over Tokyo unleashing a torrent of
water on the city below. The wind rattling the trees moaned and the
Tsukino home creaked slightly as the wind buffeted it. Thunder echoed
and rebounded off of Tokyo Bay seeming to double its volume. Lightning
streaked through the sky in a dazzling light show.

At the Tsukino home most of the occupants were asleep. Usagi was wide
awake, however, cowering under her covers. She HATED thunder and this
storm seemed specifically designed to scare her. At least that's what
she had told Luna. The Lunar cat was curled up at the foot of the bed
trying to go to sleep but every time the thunder roared down, Usagi
would give a yelp of terror.

"Mommy, are you scared?" asked Chibi-Usa. She was wide awake as well.

"Yeah, I hate thunder," Usagi said.

"But Mommy," Chibi-Usa said with a hint of confusion, "You not scared
before." She looked towards her mother and said, "Why you scared in past
but not in future?"

"Honey, aren't you scared?" Usagi asked in response.

"No," Chibi-Usa said. <Mommy's scared and I'm not... Does that mean that
I'm brave?> She was feeling a little proud of herself for not being
scared of the storm. "Mommy, I scared before but you say that thunder is
only Kami-sama bowling. Lightning is for when Kami-sama gets a strike."

Usagi giggled. The look of seriousness on Chibi-Usa's face was cute in a
way. Wrapping an arm around Chibi-Usa, she said, "Arigato, I think with
you here I won't be scared." Her smile got a little wider as Chibi-Usa
snuggled closer, <I hope you can stay with me. I don't want you going
back to that awful place. I think I'd miss you.> Settling herself back,
Usagi finally fell into sleep and started to have a dream. A dream that
Chibi-Usa was a happier little girl.

Chibi-Usa for her part felt warm and safe. She could tell her mother was
sleeping but that didn't really matter. <I get to go to school
tomorrow!> she thought happily, <I get to be like Mommy and if I do
really well, then Daddy can love me!> When she had done well at her
lessons her mother gave her, Chibi-Usa's father seemed to be so proud of
her. <I hope Mommy can come with me.> Finally though, the lateness of
the hour and the day's excitement took their toll and Chibi-Usa fell
into a peaceful sleep.

                                  ******

Tuesday morning dawned brightly, the sun glistening off the dew and
freshly washed structures. After breakfast was over Usagi took Chibi-Usa
up to their room to get ready for school.

"Honey, we have lots of time," Usagi said to Chibi-Usa who was nearly
dragging her mother up the stairs, "We'll get you ready, don't worry."

Stopping at the stop of the stairs, Chibi-Usa turned towards her mother.
"But Mommy..." Chibi-Usa started to protest but then ground to a halt
and covered her mouth, "Gomen, I want to go to school with you." <I want
to be a good girl.>

"Well I'll walk you to school," Usagi said, "But we do have lots of
time. And we don't want either of us tripping, ne?" Chibi-Usa nodded.
Taking Usagi's hand, the pair continued down the hall towards Usagi's
room.

Five minutes later, Chibi-Usa was beaming proudly as she stood in her
school fuku. It had a white shirt with red trimming and a blue skirt.
Walking over to stand beside her mother, Chibi-Usa said, "Mommy, how
come you have a different fuku than me?"

Crouching down, Usagi said, "Well Chibi-Usa-chan, I'm in a different
grade than you." <I'm in a different school also.> She noted Chibi-Usa
seemed to lose some of her spark. "But I'm going to be walking with you.
I think you'll be very good and make me very proud." Chibi-Usa beamed
again and gave a twirl of excitement.

That's when she saw herself in the mirror. Walking closer to the full
length mirror, she turned slightly and noticed that a little of the
bruising was still visible on her legs. Her smile slipped from her face
and she looked sadly at herself before giving a little sniffle.

"Chibi-Usa-chan, what's the matter?" Usagi asked getting up to stand
beside the little girl.

"Mommy, I not kawaii," Chibi-Usa said softly, "I don't think Daddy would
like me wearing this." <I'm not pretty like Mommy is,> Chibi-Usa thought
sadly.

"Chibi-Usa, I think your daddy would want you to go to school. If you
want to go to school, you have to wear a fuku." Lifting the little girl
into a hug, Usagi said, "I think you're a very pretty little girl. My
dad thinks you're kawaii."

"But you can see those," Chibi-Usa said pointing to the nearly faded
bruises that were peeking from underneath the fuku's skirt.

"Chibi-Usa-chan, the doctor said that those bruises would take a little
longer to clear up. They're almost gone and soon they'll be all gone,"
Usagi said, "I still think you're a very pretty little girl." She looked
at Chibi-Usa and said, "Are you scared?"

"Hai," Chibi-Usa said softly.

Walking towards the bedroom door, Usagi said, "You know I was scared on
my first day of school." Chibi-Usa looked dubiously at Usagi. "I missed
my mom very much but when school was done, she came and took me home."
Smiling to reassure the little girl, Usagi said, "When school's all
done, I'll come and get you too." Usagi had to fight the urge to sniffle
as Chibi-Usa wrapped her arms around her mother, "I love you."

"I love you too, Mommy," Chibi-Usa whispered back. <With you there, I
won't be scared.>

                                  ******

A short time later Chibi-Usa stared wide-eyed at the transformation that
had taken place. The schoolyard was crowded with children, all of them
strangers. Pressing close against Usagi, she nervously looked around at
the unfamiliar setting. When she had come the day before the yard had
been nearly deserted and wasn't as noisy.

"Who are they, Mommy?" Chibi-Usa asked ask as she tightened her grip on
Usagi's hand.

"They all go to this school," Usagi said, "Let's go inside and get you
settled. I have to go to school too." Starting to move through the
throng towards the entrance, Usagi noticed that Chibi-Usa had taken on a
slightly disappointed look.

<I thought Mommy was going to be with me,> Chibi-Usa thought as she
followed her mother closely, <I'd be scared if Mommy left me.> At least
in here. Chibi-Usa had grown accustomed to Usagi going to school and
spending her days with her grandmother.

Once inside the school building, the noise lessened. After hunting
around for a minute or so they came to the main office. Standing outside
it was the Principal.

"Konnichiwa Matsudara-sensei," Usagi said and bowed.

"Konnichiwa Matsudara-sensei," Chibi-Usa politely. She bowed but kept
her hold on Usagi's hand. <He's kinda scary looking,> Chibi-Usa thought.

"Konnichiwa," Senji said, "Well Tsukino-san, I thought you were in
junior high. But alas you've come back." He then smiled at Usagi to take
some of the stinging out of his words. <Well I see you haven't swelled
to balloon size yet,> Senji thought, <Considering you were the `Bento
Box Bandit'.>

"I'm in junior high, Matsudara-sensei, but I wish you were still my
principal. Nobody yells like you," Usagi said and gave a grin. <You look
just like I remember you.>

"Tell me, Usagi-chan, have you given up being the `Bento Box Bandit'?"
Usagi flushed brightly, "Ah now there was an interesting case. Several
bento boxes were cleaned out before lunch time and I wouldn't have
caught you either except for the stains on your fuku that one time."

"No, I've given that up. I have friends who make extra just for me,"
Usagi admitted and then flushed brightly again.

<Maybe he isn't scary,> Chibi-Usa thought, <He and Mommy like each
other. Maybe he'd like me too.> "You know Mommy?" she asked Senji.

"Hai, your mother... er, Usagi-chan used to come to this school when she
was a little girl like you."

"Really?!?" Chibi-Usa asked and looked at her mother, "Boy that LONG
time ago, huh Mommy?" Usagi giggled, "Nani?"

Senji chuckled good-naturedly and said, "I'll just show you to
Chibi-Usa's classroom." Turning, he led the two girls down the hall and
then up a flight of stairs. Stopping at the first open door, Senji
called out, "Sonoda-sensei, could you step out into the hall for a
moment?" After a brief pause a petite woman stepped into the classroom
doorway, "Sonoda-sensei, this is Tsukino Usagi, but they call her
Chibi-Usa. She's the girl I was talking to you about yesterday." Turning
slightly, Senji said, "Chibi-Usa-chan, this is Sonoda Sawa. She'll be
your sensei."

Chibi-Usa studied the new person. <She's shorter than Mommy,> Chibi-Usa
noted, <But pretty.> Sawa was about twenty-five, short trimmed dark hair
and deep green eyes. "Konnichiwa Sonoda-sensei," Chibi-Usa said and
politely bowed.

"Konnichiwa Chibi-Usa-chan, I'm glad to meet you. Why don't you come on
in and we'll get you settled."

Chibi-Usa looked pensively at her mother. Usagi bent down and, hugging
Chibi-Usa, said, "Chibi-Usa-chan, I have to go now but I WILL be back to
pick you up when school's finished."

"Aren't you coming with me, Mommy?" Chibi-Usa asked hopefully.

"No, gomen, I have to go to school too, a different school," Usagi said
and stood again.

"Chibi-Usa-chan, it'll be okay. You'll be with your mommy after school's
done," Sawa said, "Why don't we go find you a desk." She then slowly
held her hand out.

Chibi-Usa sniffled and, clamped onto Usagi's leg, before saying, "Please
Mommy, stay with me."

Gently taking Chibi-Usa's hands from around her leg, Usagi placed one of
the little girl's hands in Sawa's. "I promise I'll come get you.
Remember how I said I'd be home at twenty to four?" Chibi-Usa nodded.
"Well I'll be here at that same time." Giving Chibi-Usa a kiss on the
forehead, Usagi said, "Now you have a good day at school."

"Don't worry, Tsukino-san, everything will be all right," Sawa said to
Usagi. <Yep put about ten years on you and you'd fit the `first day
jitters' pattern of a parent perfectly.> "Come on, Chibi-Usa-chan," Sawa
said and slowly led the little girl into the classroom. No sooner had
she entered then Chibi-Usa started to call out for her mother.

"Please Mommy, don't leave me!" Chibi-Usa cried reaching out for Usagi.
Senji, being used to this, started to hustle Usagi down the hall,
"Mommy! Come back please!!!!" Chibi-Usa cried after Usagi who was now
sniffling herself, "MOMMY!!!!!!"

"Don't worry, Usagi-chan," Senji said comfortingly, "I know Chibi-Usa is
more sensitive than most but I think once she gets used to things, it'll
all work out okay."

"Arigato Matsudara-sensei," Usagi said. <Gomen nasai, Chibi-Usa-chan,>
Usagi thought sadly. She cast one longing look back up the steps before
heading for the exit.

"Usagi-chan," Senji called after her. Once Usagi had stopped and turned
around, Senji said, "I always thought you'd make a great mom." The smile
he got in return was brilliant.

<Mommy...> Chibi-Usa desperately thought, <Please come back!> She was in
a strange place with a strange person and she didn't like it one bit!

                                  ******

The end of the school day brought much relief to both Chibi-Usa and
Usagi. When Chibi-Usa saw her mother standing in the classroom doorway,
she bolted and applied a vice-like hold to Usagi's leg. Usagi, reaching
down, lifted the little girl into a reassuring hug.

"Shhh... I said I'd come back," Usagi said while stroking Chibi-Usa's
hair. "See, I did come back to get you." She felt Chibi-Usa crying
softly, little arms wrapped around her neck in a effort to gain comfort.

"I missed you," Chibi-Usa said through her tears. <I was so scared,
Mommy.> She lifted her head and, looking at Usagi, said, "Why you not
stay with me?"

Usagi wiped away a stray tear before saying, "Gomen, I should have told
you before. I have to go to school too; Chibi-Usa-chan, I love you and I
would have stayed with you at school but I couldn't. Do you understand?"
Chibi-Usa just shook her head and, hugging Usagi again, hid her face in
Usagi's shoulder. <Oh my little one,> Usagi thought and then blinked.
<I'm even starting to think of you as my daughter.> "Chibi-Usa-chan,
why don't we go home."

"Hai," Chibi-Usa said softly without raising her head.

Usagi was about to turn to walk down the hall when she felt a tug on her
skirt. Looking down, she saw a little girl looking worriedly at them,
"Is Chibi-Usa okay?" the little girl asked softly.

Usagi smiled. "Hai, arigato." <I think you made a friend.> "Hai, she's
okay. She just missed me." Then Usagi remembered something, "Chibi-Usa,
did you have anything to bring home?"

Sheepishly, Chibi-Usa looked at Usagi for a moment before saying, "Hai."
Flushing slightly, she added, "I forgot."

Usagi chuckled, <Yep we're related and not just in looks either.>

End of Part X