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Death Reborn Evolution
Chapter 14: Chapter 11: Saturn's Lament

By: Shanami

 
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DRE Chapter 11: Saturn's Lament

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the source materials involved in the creation of this work of fanfiction. I'm just using them for fun, no profit is involved. For a longer disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Starting AN: This chapter is un-beta'd, unlike many of the ones previous. If you find any errors (and I'm sure there are some as I can never seem to catch them all myself) please send me a message so I can correct them. Thanks.

XXOOXX

Hotaru was getting a bit tired. The date had been an unmitigated success: dinner was pleasant if simple, sharing a sundae was romantic, and Ranko always made such adorable faces when eating ice cream. The night was clearly winding down, however, but Ranko wanted to play one more round of Sailor V, and Hotaru simply broke down before her pleading eyes. It was worth staying, however, just to watch Ranko's face while she played. Her eyes were locked on the screen, her tongue barely poked out past her lips, and it took all of Hotaru's self control to not spin Ranko around, press her up against the arcade machine, and claim those lips with her own. Her restraint paid off, however, when, just after the game announced "YOU HAVE EARNED A HIGH SCORE!," Ranko turned to face her, with bright eyes and glowing cheeks. "Thanks for waiting, Taru-chan. I'm ready to go now," she said.

"I'll walk you home," Hotaru offered.

"Thanks," Ranko chirped, taking her slightly taller date's hand. Hotaru's thumb gently stroked across Ranko's palm; giving both girls the tingles and causing Ranko to shift closer. The walk home was pleasant, both girls merely enjoying the other's company.

They stopped in front of the door to the Tanaka home. Ranko turned around and ducked her eyes shyly. "I had a really nice time, Taru-chan," she murmured.

"I did too," Hotaru said. She reached up and pushed an errant, crimson lock behind Ranko's ear, causing her to look up reflexively. There was a glimmer of something Hotaru couldn't quite decipher in Ranko's eyes. Was that… anticipation, desire, something more? Hotaru stepped forward, invading Ranko's personal space and captured Ranko's lips. Ranko squeaked in surprise and froze momentarily, before her eyes fluttered closed, and she sighed, relaxing into the kiss. Her lips mirrored Hotaru's as she let Hotaru press her up against the door, forcefully claiming her. Hands started to wander, roaming tentatively across backs and sides.

"T-taru-chan," Ranko moaned when they separated for air. Hotaru seized Ranko's wrists with one hand and pressed her harder into the door, the smaller girl nearly melted as she nuzzled and nipped along her neck. "S-stop, someone might see us," Ranko protested weakly.

"Let them," Hotaru growled, capturing Ranko's lips once more as her free hand began to explore Ranko's stomach.

Hotaru woke with a shuddering moan, her sheets drenched in sweat, pleasant tingling feelings still racing through her entire body after her racy dream. Across town, Ranko woke with a start. She too was covered in sweat, but her dreams had been nowhere near as pleasant, though Hotaru was indeed the subject of them. Instead of passionate kisses and roaming hands, her dreams were filled with harsh, cold eyes, rejection, and isolation.

XXOOXX

Hotaru sat at her desk and waited impatiently for Ranko to show up for school. She stared off into space and sighed. Usa plopped down in the seat next to her with Aoi flanking her on the other side though she didn't notice. Usa smirked at Aoi and winked. "Sooo," Usa drawled, "Whatchya thinking about, Taru-chan?"

Hotaru jumped and shrieked, "Ahh! Don't scare me like that Usa!" She smacked her friend on the arm.

"Or should that be who are you thinking about?" Aoi asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hotaru insisted. She looked away though a blush lightly pinked her cheeks.

"Oh really?" Usa said with a teasing drawl. "The longing sigh, the extra touch of makeup…"

"Looks like she repainted her nails to help bring out her eyes, and is that a hint of perfume?" Aoi added. "You don't normally wear any."

"It looks to me like someone has a crush," Usa continued. Hotaru reddened but she resolutely turned away.

"But if you don't want to tell us…" Aoi's commented.

"Well, we'll just have to figure out whose eye you are trying to catch on our own," Usa finished. Hotaru looked progressively more and more embarrassed as the back and forth banter of her friends didn't let her get a word in edgewise. Not that she actually wanted to admit that maybe she had spent a bit more time on her makeup that morning, or that she had actually repainted her nails in a particularly flattering shade of violet.

To Hotaru's great disappointment, Ranko did not show up until the bell rang to signal the start of the day and she rushed directly to her seat. 'Oh well,' Hotaru thought. 'I can just catch her at lunch.'

XXOOXX

The morning passed uneventfully. Ranko glanced at Hotaru moments before the lunch bell rang, flinched, and looked away. Leaving the room for lunch, she dragged Momoko and Aoi off to the lunchroom. They sat at their usual table. Momoko was talking about a trip her mother took her on over the past weekend. "We had such a good time skiing. We should all try to go sometime soon," she said.

"I don't know, I've never tried it before," Ranko admitted.

"Trust me, it really is a lot of fun. Besides, you're great at pretty much every sport we've seen you play. I'm sure you'll be great," Aoi commented.

Hotaru and Usa entered the room and moved over to the table. Ranko's pulse started pounding in her ears as they approached. "Over here guys," Aoi called out. Hotaru smiled gently at Ranko, though she didn't notice. She felt her face burning as Hotaru approached. Images of Hotaru's face twisted in anger burned into her mind. Ranko quickly excused herself, stating that she wasn't feeling well, and rushed of to the bathroom.

Hotaru looked confused and a shadow of disappointment flitted across her features for a moment. If any of the other girls noticed, they didn't say anything.

Ranko never returned to the lunch table.

XXOOXX

A green looking Ranko rejoined class moments before it started. She had worried herself so much while in the bathroom that she actually became sick to her stomach. 'I hope she's feeling okay,' Hotaru thought. 'I'll catch her after school and see if I can come over.'

The afternoon seemed to pass much slower than the morning. Ranko was worried that Hotaru would notice her odd behavior and that Hotaru somehow knew that she had a crush on her. Her mind was filled with scenes of rejection and losing what was really the best friend she'd ever had. It didn't help that her stomach had rebelled earlier and she was still queasy with worry.

Hotaru, for her part, just wanted to make sure her friend was okay. Well, that and to talk to her about what had happened the night before. She had prettied herself up deliberately in the hopes of… well, she wasn't entirely sure what but she knew that she wanted Ranko to notice.

When class ended, Hotaru called out, "Hey 'Ko-chan, are you…" but Ranko had already bolted from the classroom. She rushed out to try to catch up, but when she made it through the crowded hallways, she couldn't see a trace of Ranko anywhere. Falling heavily on the front steps, Hotaru sighed explosively.

Usa laid a hand on her forlorn looking friend's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"What? Oh yeah… it's nothing," Hotaru said.

XXOOXX

On Tuesday, Hotaru woke early with a determined expression on her face. She was going to catch Ranko on the way to school. Leaving 15 minutes before she normally would, she walked over to Ranko's house and rang the doorbell.

"Good morning Hotaru-chan," Kasumi said as she opened the door a moment later. "What are you doing here so early this morning?"

"I wanted to see if Ko-chan was okay and if she wanted to walk to school with me," Hotaru replied breathlessly; she had ran the last two blocks to the house.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan," Kasumi looked apologetic. "Ranko-chan already left for school this morning."

Disappointment passed over Hotaru's face. "It's alright, I guess I'll just see her at school then." She trudged back up the street.

XXOOXX

Hotaru barely made it to class on time. The morning passed with anticipation. 'At least I'll be able to talk to her at lunch… she looks fine today,' Hotaru thought. When classes let out, Hotaru excused herself to the bathroom with Aoi accompanying her. After touching up her makeup, she asked, "How do I look?"

"Great," Aoi responded. "Whoever you're doing this for sure is lucky, knock 'em dead girl." Hotaru blushed but didn't comment.

They approached the lunch table to see Ranko, Usa, Momoko, and Nariko chatting happily. When Hotaru sat down, Ranko's face turned ashen and she quickly focused on her lunch. Hotaru couldn't find a moment to talk to her alone with all their friends there anyway, but Ranko seemed standoffish.

After school let out for the day, Hotaru approached Ranko as she was packing up her bag to leave. "Hey 'Ko-chan, do you want to come over for the afternoon?" she asked.

"I can't," Ranko said.

"Oh," Hotaru sounded disappointed. "Why not?"

"I promised mom I'd come home right away today, sorry Taru-chan," Ranko said.

XXOOXX

Wednesday morning Hotaru woke feeling depressed. After a short soak in the furo she got dressed quickly. Putting on a cursory amount of makeup, she dragged herself to school. As usual, she looked for Ranko the moment she arrived, but she was nowhere to be seen. 'Ko-chan isn't actual avoiding me… she's just been busy,' Hotaru tried to justify to herself. But her doubts still remained.

Lunch came, and Ranko was literally nowhere to be found.

Hotaru felt like crying all afternoon. No matter what she tried, she couldn't even get a word in with Ranko, and she couldn't shake the suspicion that Ranko was actively avoiding her. The thought that she had lost her friend and as going to be all alone and teased again taunted her relentlessly. When classes ended, she saw Ranko leave in Momoko's company before she could even leave her desk.

Walking away from school in a daze, Hotaru didn't even notice Usa calling out to her worriedly.

XXOOXX

Michiru heard the front door open and slam closed. Curious, she poked her head out from the kitchen just in time to see the trailing edge of Hotaru's book bag as her daughter ran upstairs. Michiru turned off the stove and followed; Hotaru's uncharacteristic behavior left her concerned. Hotaru's door was shut. Knocking gently, Michiru called, "Hotaru-chan?"

There was no response. Now worried, Michiru tried again, "Hotaru-chan? Are you alright?" She heard a vague, mumbled reply. Pushing the door open, she saw Hotaru face down, sniffling on her bed with shoulders shaking. Gently laying a hand on her daughter's back, Michiru asked, "Hotaru-chan? Are you okay?"

Hotaru turned her head slightly and Michiru could see that she looked miserable. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy and there were tear tracks on her cheeks. "Hotaru-chan, what's wrong?"

"Mi…mi…michiru-mama," Hotaru sobbed, latching on to her mother figure with surprising strength; her arms wrapped around Michiru's waist and her head buried against the side of Michiru's chest.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Michiru asked again. She softly stroked the younger girl's back.

"K-K-Ko-chan wuh…*hic*...won't even talk to me," Hotaru sobbed. "She… I… I thought she was my…*sob*… friend."

"I'm sure she's still your friend, Hotaru-chan," Michiru assured her.

"Are y-you sure?" Hotaru replied.

"Of course, dear. What changed?" Michiru gently prodded.

"I don't know… *hic*… I… when we went to the Crown on Sunday everything was okay, but she's hasn't talked to me since," Hotaru said.

"Well, maybe Ranko-chan has just been busy," Michiru replied.

"B-buh-but she's spending time with our other friends and she leaves right when I show up!" Hotaru wailed and buried her face back in Michiru's chest, sobbing again.

Michiru held Hotaru and stroked her back while whispering soothingly, "Shh, it'll be okay," into her daughter's ear. After a few minutes, Hotaru calmed down until she was just sniffling slightly. "Hotaru-chan, you keep mentioning Sunday night, did something happen between the two of you?"

"N-no… well… we had fun at the Crown, and then Ko-chan kinda… well," Hotaru flushed. "She kinda gave me a kiss. And she hasn't talked to me since."

"Oh sweetie," Michiru hid a secretive smile, "Ranko is avoiding you because she likes you. I think she's just worried that you won't want her around anymore and she is embarrassed and afraid that you didn't like it when she kissed you. She will probably come around on her own given enough time, but if you like her too you will save yourself a lot of heartbreak by just confronting her."

"R..r-really?" Hotaru hiccupped.

"Really," Michiru replied. "After all… Your Haruka-papa and I had our moments as well. Trust me sweetie, everything is going to be okay."

Hotaru smiled tremulously and released her death grip on Michiru's waist. "Thanks Michiru-mama," she said.

"You're welcome, Hotaru-chan."

XXOOXX

Ranko bolted towards the classroom door on Thursday afternoon as soon as the bell rang as she had done every day since the start of the week but found her path blocked. Hotaru grabbed Ranko's wrist as she attempted to push past. "No! You don't get to ignore me anymore!" Hotaru pleaded. "You're my… I thought you were my best friend Ko-cha… Ranko." Ranko looked stricken as Hotaru corrected herself to use a less familiar address.

"I'm your friend, Taru-chan," Ranko insisted, weakly.

"Then why aren't you acting like it?" Hotaru demanded. "You've been avoiding me all week!"

"I… I'm not," the beeping of Hotaru's Senshi communicator interrupted Ranko's stammering.

"What?" Hotaru asked, looking visibly frustrated as Ami's head appeared on the screen.

"Attack at the airport," Ami said. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"It's fine," Hotaru replied tersely. "We'll be right over." She turned to Ranko. "This isn't over. Let's go."

XXOOXX

Saturn and Titania arrived on top of the airport terminal within minutes to see a rather unusual scene on the tarmac below. Three female phage with airplane wings instead of arms and flight attendant uniforms were dive bombing the Sailor Starlights, who were frantically dodging out of the way. Every attempt to return fire was dodged contemptuously by the agile fighters.

Mercury stood off to the side, guarded by Jupiter, while she analyzed the flight patterns. The other Planetary Senshi were in the process of bombarding a hulking monstrosity of a phage. It too was female, with grossly deformed features and wore a ripped-apart, bastardized pilot's uniform.

Saturn introduced herself to the fray with a shout of, "Silence Surprise!" A purple orb rocketed from her outstretched hand and detonated violently against the grounded phage, temporarily obscuring it in a cloud of smoke. She then flipped off the rooftop to land net to Pluto in a crouch.

Titania, meanwhile, took to the skies, her wings beating furiously as she engaged the fliers. A pair of ice blades condensed in her hands. She scored a hit on one of the phage on her first pass and it peeled off from its assault to engage her in an aerial duel. The phage was clearly faster than the pseudo-Senshi, but Titania was far more maneuverable. Titania scored sever glancing blows on the wings, each gash temporarily freezing over, but she couldn't land a solid hit on her speedy opponent.

Down below, Mercury continued to analyze the targeting information provided by her visor with the Mercury computer. Thanks to Titania's intervention, she found an opening as the movements became more predictable. Shouting, "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody," she played a few quick chords on her ethereal harp, sending blasts of freezing water skyward. The first two went just wide, but the second set—shot between Titania's legs and above her wing, framing the younger girl—connected to send the phage tumbling back.

Titania darted forward and grabbed the phage as it attempted to right itself. Concentrating, she flash froze the magically super-charged water to encase her opponent in a shell of solid ice. She spun rapidly with her frozen foe and released it, sending the phage to augur violently into the tarmac. Breathing heavily, she smirked at the results of her handiwork. She smiled down and chirped, "Thanks Mercury!"

"No probl… Titania, watch out!" Mercury shouted. One of the other fliers had peeled off to make a pass at the distracted Senshi. Titania spun and tried to duck out of the way. One of the wings clipped her shoulder, spinning her around and knocking her back. She winced but managed to stabilize herself before floating down to Mercury's position to recover.

Across the runway, the dust settled from Saturn's attack. The pilot phage had a gaping hole where its abdomen used to be that was slowly closing. It struggled to get back to its feet and managed to push itself to a knee. Sailor Moon shouted, "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" after using the downtime for the long power-up sequence on her cleansing finisher and the kneeling phage found itself enveloped by a pink light and surrounded by gently floating feathers. When the light cleared the gathered Senshi saw an unconscious airplane pilot barely dressed in the shredded remains of his clothes.

XXOOXX

From her position atop the air traffic control tower, Aluminum Seiren was getting fed up. Galaxia had given her an ultimatum after her previous failures and she had promised results. "That's it!" she declared. "I'm going down there to take care of them myself." With that, she jumped off the roof.

Lead Crow sighed, "Great… I guess I need to go keep her out of trouble… again." She spread her wings and took to the air herself.

The battle seemed like it was winding down. Chibi-Moon had cleansed the phage that Titania froze, revealing an unconscious flight attendant. The collective Senshi gave a sigh of relief. With half of the phage already defeated, cleaning up the remainder looked to be a much simpler task.

Uranus, as the strongest (at least physically) of the Senshi, went to check on the pilot and move him to safety. Kneeling next to his head, she felt a strong steady pulse. With the exception of his destroyed clothing, there was no permanent damage from his forced transformation. She lifted him into a fireman's carry and started to walk back towards the terminal.

"Galactica Tsunami!"

Only supernatural reflexes enabled Uranus to desperately leap to the side, barely dodging a pulsating whirlpool of water. The others ran to support her, but were forced to scatter as a violently swirling blast of wind landed in their midst. Quickly regrouping, they could see the Sailor Animamates responsible for the recent attacks approaching.

Aluminum Seiren was tall, with flowing, waist-length, baby-blue hair and what looked to be thin ribbons crossing from her cheeks over her eyebrows. Clamshell bracers the same color as her hair adorned her wrists. She had a sailor collar in the same light blue with a matching, sleeveless top that barely contained her bust and revealed her stomach except for a few ribbons tied across to keep it from falling apart before it flared out in an approximation of a fuku skirt in the back. Her slightly darker blue panties were clearly visible with thigh high stockings in the same color attached. In spite of her bubbly personality, the Sailor Senshi knew that she was quite a formidable opponent.

In stark contrast, though no less dangerous, Aluminum Seiren's partner, Lead Crow was dark where she was light, and serious rather than effervescent and bubbly. She was a brunette with cruel eyes. Her outfit also had a sailor collar, though hers was brown to match her hair. She wore a similarly split top, cresting the top of her breasts and connected over her stomach by leather cords in a corset-like pattern. Her panties were also clearly visible, and she wore thigh-high, brown leather boots and completed her look with a sadistic looking whip. Her most noticeable feature, however, was the pair of black, angel style wings that projected from her back.

Titania launched herself into the air to distract Lead Crow while the Inners recovered to engage Aluminum Seiren. Uranus continued her retreat to the terminal with Neptune providing cover to evacuate the civilians left behind by the cleansed phage.

Aluminum Seiren spun, gathering magic in her hands. "Mars Flame Sniper!" A bow of flame sprung to life in Sailor Mars' hand. She carefully sighted up and released an arrow of searing, mystical fire at the Animamate, forcing her to dodge to the side and abandon her own attack.

In the skies above, Titania thrust her arms forward as she raced at Lead Crow and released a beam of freezing energy which was casually dodged by her opponent. Forming a pair of icy blades, Titania attempted to engage Lead Crow directly. In spite of Titania's best efforts and enthusiasm, Lead Crow proved to be the stronger flier with years of experience from interplanetary campaigning. The Animamate was slightly less agile than the phoenix girl, but she was considerably more powerful, what attacks she could not avoid she deflected with ease.

"Really, is that the best you've got?" Lead Crow taunted as she dodged another icy blast with a condescending smirk plastered on her face. She lifted a hand and released a swirling vortex of wind that buffeted Titania's wings and threw her back. "Pathetic!"

Meanwhile, the Inner Senshi continued their assault on Aluminum Seiren. Mercury noticed that nothing, no matter how powerful, seemed to phase the Animamate had just thrown a "Love and Beauty Shock!" which Seiren slapped away without difficulty. The flighty Animamate was giggling playfully as she danced through and deflected the magical onslaught, her earlier ire forgotten.

'Nothing is working,' Mercury thought. 'There has to be something strong enough… and quick enough that we can do,' she amended after seeing Sailor Moon miss with one of her powerful but slow attacks. 'Maybe…'

"Jupiter, with me," Mercury called. Mars and Venus continued to distract the Animamate while Jupiter disengaged to join Mercury. Nodding to each other, Jupiter and Mercury gathered magic in unison and released it in a tremendous blast with a joint cry of, "Shabon Thunder!" The other Inners jumped out of the way as a stream of frozen bubbles rocketed forward and detonated in electric bursts, obscuring Aluminum Seiren temporarily from view. The collective Senshi caught their breaths and waited.

When the air cleared, they could see Aluminum Seiren standing rigidly with her fists clenched tightly. Her head was down, hair shrouding her face. Her head snapped up, eyes blazing. "That stung!" The enraged Animamate shot forward while launching her characteristic magical whirlpools rapidly, forcing the Senshi to scatter and dodge wildly. After nearly a minute of continuous dodging, the inevitable happened. Sailor Moon's booted foot caught on a crack in the tarmac and she tripped, landing heavily on her face.

"Ooof," Sailor Moon looked up to see a Galactica Tsunami bearing down on her and realized that there was no way for her to dodge in time. She clenched her eyes shut tightly in anticipation of the inevitable.

"Silence Wall!" Moon heard Saturn yell and saw the impact of the Aluminum Seiren's spell splashing harmlessly off the crackling, purple energy dome that hard formed around her. Saturn grunted with the effort and was about to let her shield drop when a blast of wind impacted the top of the dome and forced Saturn to stumble slightly as she reinforced the shield.

Lead Crow landed next to her partner and casually blocked the barrage of razor sharp leaves of an Oak Evolution, Jupiter's attempt to help her Princess. Aluminum Seiren continued the bombardment of Saturn's shield with vortex after vortex of water, keeping the pair hiding under it pinned. "Impressive," Lead Crow commented to Saturn. "That is quite a powerful barrier," she said as Sailor Moon started scrambling back to her feet. She glanced at Aluminum Seiren, who nodded back. With a smirk, Lead Crow continued, "You know, you aren't the only Senshi to combine powers… Let's see you stop this little girl!"

The Inners could feel a massive buildup of magical power as Aluminum Seiren and Lead Crow channeled together. They each launched an attack in a desperate ploy to stop the Animamates.

"Mars Flame Sniper!" An arrow of flame rocketed towards Lead Crow.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!" A flurry of razor sharp leaves blew at the Animamates.

"Crescent Beam Smash!" Rays of light fell from the heavens.

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" Bolts of freezing water joined the building maelstrom.

"Galactica Hurricane!" Lead Crow and Aluminum Seiren yelled together. A pulsing wave of water was whipped into a furious torrent by a spiral of wind. The storm front built rapidly, obliterating the incoming attacks and shredding concrete as it surged across the tarmac to hammer relentlessly against the Silence Wall. Purple lightning flared off the dome as magical fury expended itself against the energy barrier. Miniature tornados careened randomly about, forcing Neptune and Uranus, who had moved to try to help their embittered daughter, to retreat lest they be swept away by a twister. Meanwhile, the bulk of the storm continued to pound relentlessly against Saturn's implacable barrier.

In the skies above, Titania was barely able to stay aloft in the turbulent winds. As the storm began to dissipate, Titania could see that her friend had been forced to her knees by the onslaught. She watched helplessly as Lead Crow, her eyes sparkling cruelly, tossed one last tornado at Saturn's beleaguered shield. It impacted and stalled for an eternal moment as destructive force warred with Saturn's flagging strength. The dome shattered and the tornado slammed into the exhausted Senshi and buffeted her mercilessly until her limp form slammed motionlessly into the tarmac.

"Saturn! Noooo!" Titania dove to land by her friend's inert form. Saturn's body was a mess. Blood slowly pooled around her, her uniform had been shredded, and she was covered in lacerations on her legs, arms, and torso. "No," Titania choked back a sob, "Please be okay… Taru-chan please… I couldn't… I wanted to… hic… to tell you…"

"You hurt my daughter!" Uranus growled. She launched herself with complete abandon at the still smirking winged Animamate. Neptune dropped to her knees with shock, her own eyes stained with tears at the sight of her fallen child.

Saturn's transformation faded, leaving Hotaru's frail, battered form behind. Titania looked up with tearstained eyes to see Uranus backhanded away by the cackling Lead Crow. She did not see Hotaru weakly crack her eyes open. Titania's face hardened and the temperature around her dropped precipitously as the enraged girl literally radiated cold fury with her eyes locked on Lead Crow. Her arctic tone carried as she whispered, "You hurt my Taru-chan. Now… I might not be able to tell her how sorry I am… I was going to tell her," she stalked forward, absently ripping off her own wing and mashing it into a ball. "Tell her that I… like her. It's all your FAULT!" she screamed as she threw the orb in her hands forward and collapsed, curling up into a ball sobbing next to her friend. The orb pulsed as it traveled towards the Animamate, releasing waves of icy spikes which punctured and froze everything they came in contact with-leaving a trail of frozen destruction in their wake. A pair of the spikes pierced Lead Crow's wing and leg, even as she blocked the orb itself, freezing her arm.

"You haven't seen the last of us," Aluminum Seiren promised as she grabbed her injured partner and teleported away.

XXOOXX

"K-Ko-chan?" Hotaru whispered weakly.

"Taru-chan!" Ranko practically teleported to hug her friend tightly as she let her costume melt away. "You're okay? I thought… I thought you were going to… I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I've been so terrible to you recently," Ranko babbled.

"Shh, it's okay," Hotaru replied.

"No… no it isn't," Ranko continued to fuss over her friend as the other Senshi limped over to check on the pair. "I've… there's something I wanted to tell you, but I got too scared and I… I was pushing you away because I thought that I might ruin our friendship and well… I, I don't know how to say it but…." Ranko looked away and blushed.

"I heard you earlier," Hotaru admitted.

"What? I said… you heard," Ranko squeaked. "I didn't… I mean… that is to say… I really," Ranko babbled.

"Ko-chan," Hotaru interrupted.

"Well… I might have said… I mean… I do actually but I don't want anything to change and…," Ranko continued.

"Ranko!" Hotaru weakly brought her arms up to rest on Ranko's shoulders, finally drawing the frantic girl's attention and silencing her. "Just shut up and kiss me already." Ranko's brain completely locked up and she froze, which allowed Hotaru's weak tugging to pull her face down until their lips touched. Ranko startled for a moment before relaxing into the kiss, her hands cupping Hotaru's face as their lips chastely moved against each other. When the kiss ended Hotaru sighed contentedly as Ranko pulled back and blushed when she realized the rest of the Senshi had gathered around them. As her consciousness faded, Hotaru murmured, "That was nice," before she passed out.

"Aww, that was so sweet," Venus commented. Ranko's blush spread further down her face as the others agreed.

"We should really get out of here before the authorities arrive," Mercury stated. Nodding their agreement, the Senshi scattered. Uranus carefully scooped up her daughter, though Ranko refused to relinquish her hand, and they joined Neptune in heading back towards their car and home.

XXOOXX

On Friday morning, Hotaru woke feeling contentedly warm. There was a weight pressed up against her that she couldn't immediately identify. Her magic had almost completely healed her from the trials the day before but she still groaned and grimaced as she stretched the sore muscles that remained as she tried to sit up. A slim arm wrapped protectively around her waist prevented her from moving and she looked back over her shoulder to see a tangled mass of crimson and aquamarine resting near her shoulder. Hotaru turned over and pushed the hair out of the way. Ranko still held her close and she was adorably mussed up sleeping soundly. "Ko-chan," she whispered.

"Five more minutes momma," Ranko mumbled.

Hotaru giggled and lightly kissed Ranko on the lips. Ranko startled awake; her eyes flew open and she pulled back slightly before she realized what was happening. "Taru-chan! You're okay!" She nearly screamed.

Hotaru giggled again, "Of course I am, silly." She leaned back in and stole another quick peck before running off to the bathroom.

Ranko lay there dumbfounded for a moment before breaking into a broad grin.

XXOOXX

In the bathroom, Hotaru went through her morning ablutions with a smile on her face. After soaking in the furo, she applied her makeup and a touch of a flowery fragrance before walking back to her room to let Ranko know that the furo was available.

"Wow, you're beautiful," Ranko whispered when Hotaru walked into the room.

"Thanks," Hotaru blushed.

"Taru-chan… will you…" Ranko blushed herself and demurely looked down. Even after the day before and the kiss earlier that morning she had butterflies in her stomach as she asked, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course," Hotaru replied.

XXOOXX

Michiru and Setsuna congratulated the couple at breakfast and Haruka even managed to reign in the majority of her teasing when she drove them to school. Ranko and Hotaru walked into the classroom together, shyly holding hands. Usa walked over to the pair and whispered, "About damn time." Both girls blushed brightly and reluctantly separated to take their seats. Morning classes passed in a happy daze for Hotaru.

At lunch, the rest of their friends joined Usa, Hotaru, and Ranko at their usual table. "I think I figured out who you were dressing up for," Aoi sang. Hotaru blushed brightly but didn't relinquish her hold on Ranko's hand.

"Quit teasing Aoi!" Momoko interrupted. "What she's trying to say is that we're happy you guys finally got together."

"Was it that obvious?" Ranko asked, mortified.

"Painfully," Usa smirked.

"You girls don't have a problem with us, do you?" Hotaru asked.

"Of course not," Momoko replied. "It's not like we didn't see it coming." Lunch dissolved into happy chatter.

Hotaru and Ranko walked home together that afternoon hand in hand.

XXOOXX

AN: I promised I'd get a chapter out by New Years. I'm going into the toughest rotation of my school, so the follow up to this may be delayed, not that I've exactly been the quickest writer in any case. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you think. And, if you happened to have noticed any errors, please let me know about them. As stated prior to the chapter, this was an unbeta'd work because I wanted to get it out there and I appreciate it in advance.

 
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