[FFML] [SM][FANFIC] Just Wishful Thinking Chapter 4

Just Wishful Thinking
By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl.

Those characters that are original and the story "Just Wishful Thinking"
are copyrighted (c) 2000 by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at
http://rivendell.fortunecity.com/traveller/861/

Send comments to: Douglas Helm (dhelm@log.on.ca) or
"Tuxedo" Will (wwolfshohl@logicon.com)

Chapter 4 - The Present

"Ohayo Usako," Chiba Mamoru called softly.

"Hmmm..."

"Usagi," he said louder while shaking his wife.

Usagi slowly opened her eyes and smiled softly up at her husband. "Did I
miss the alarm?" she asked while sitting up and stretching.

"Hai," Mamoru answered and moving in, wrapped his arms around his
beloved while his lips moved to hers. She lowered her own arms and
draped them about his neck while kissing him back. "Last night was
wonderful," he murmured.

"You were wonderful, Mamo-chan." She felt her cheeks redden as she
thought of what had happened last night before sleep. <Oh Kami-sama,>
she wondered, <What am I going to do when I have to leave?> IF she ever
left. Usagi decided that it was too early in the morning to begin that
debate so she set it aside. Rather, she gave her husband another kiss
before sliding from the bed.

"Go ahead and get dressed, Usako," Mamoru recommended. "I've already got
the girls up and fed."

"It's that late?!" the blonde exclaimed, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mamo-chan.
Gomen." She didn't miss the puzzled look that came across his face
before shaking his head. <What did I say?> She should have been up
getting her family breakfast. Looking at the clock again, she giggled.
<It's just that he got the girls up early.>

"I am perfectly capable of making cold cereal," Mamoru intoned. Pointing
to what looked like a uniform lying on the bed, he continued, "Now get
dressed for work or you'll be late."

"You go to work or you'll be late," Usagi retorted. He grinned at her,
gave her a quick kiss, and left the room. Sighing, Usagi left the room
and entered the bathroom to wash and prepare for the day.

 - -

<Why can't it be pink?> Usagi whined internally as she inspected herself
in the mirror. Her uniform consisted of a dark green knee-length skirt,
white blouse, and dark green blazer with a company logo stitched in red
and gold on the left breast pocket. Giving her long golden hair one more
quick brush and checking her teeth to make sure she didn't have anything
stuck between them, Chiba Usagi left her bedroom. Walking over to her
children, she bent down and gave them a kiss and a hug each. "Now you
both be good for Makoto and have a good day at school."

"Hai!" the twins answered and gave their mother a hug and a kiss in
return.

"Ja Onee-chan," Makoto called.

"Ja, Mako-chan, have fun at school," Usagi replied and headed out of the
apartment. Turning, she walked down the hallway and passing by the
elevator, walked down the stairs to the ground floor and out into a
slightly overcast morning.

A chilly wind blew from the northeast while a set of heavy clouds hung
low over the ocean. That was a
distinct possibility considering that she had no real idea what she did
for a living; or at least, the older portion that had helped her so far
didn't supply an immediate answer, which was disconcerting in some ways.

<Should I go back?> The blonde sighed before thinking, <Can I even get
back?> She had dismissed the idea of telling someone of her problem
because it had the potential to undermine anything that this Usagi had
ever gained. Then again, Sailor Pluto
gave few answers about the future. Her main concern was that neither
Chibi-Usa nor Momoko be put in danger.

She was also feeling apprehensive about meeting the other girls in a
true Sailor Senshi meeting. She'd have
to remember to pull the perky blonde aside tonight, have a little talk
with her, and make sure that things were smoothed over between her and
Shingo. <And I know I've got Ami wondering about me.> She hadn't seen
the diminutive Senshi since her arrival but she was sure the Senshi of
Mercury was trying to puzzle out her odd behavior.

<I'm going to have to be careful around the girls tonight.> Or at least
until she got the feel of the meeting. Snapping out of her thoughts, she
looked up and found herself standing in front of a building. <This must
be the place,> she concluded and went inside through the elegant glass
doors.

 - -

The small restaurant bustled with a lunchtime crowd of downtown Tokyo
office workers. One of those workers was Chiba Usagi. She sipped at her
tea before taking another bite of her lunch. <The girls would never
believe how little I eat.> She was having a hard enough time believing
it herself. An image of her practically inhaling lunch as she usually
did as a teen came to her mind causing her to giggle.

"Nani? What is it, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi looked up at the familiar voice and nearly jumped out of her skin
at the sight before her. "Naru-chan!" she declared but made no other
move. Apparently that wasn't
the case because standing before her was a very adult looking Naru. <And
expecting,> Usagi observed as she noticed the distinctive bulge in her
friend's tummy.

"Can I sit down?"

"Hai!" Usagi replied, "How are you?"

Gurio Naru slowly settled herself into a chair opposite her long time
friend and smiled. "All right. Umino's driving me up the wall. He's more
wound up about me being pregnant than I am." Usagi giggled. "I guess I
can't blame him. Being parents will be a new experience for us." She
gave Usagi a small smile and asked, "So, Usagi-chan, what were you
thinking about? You had this strange look on your face."

"Oh, just remembering when I was younger and how I used to inhale any
food that was near me." Now it was the redhead's turn to laugh. <Oh
Naru-chan, I can't get over how you've changed. I'm glad you're still
with Umino though.> They lapsed into small talk while Naru placed her
order and the lunch hour proceeded.

"Oh, Naru-chan, I have to go," Usagi apologized when she looked at her
watch, "Gomen."

"That's okay, Usagi-chan," Naru replied while waving her hand
dismissively, "I'll give you a call tonight. Ja!"

"Ja," Usagi chirped and went to pay her bill. As she walked back to her
company, Usagi smiled brightly. It wasn't the most glamorous of occupations but she did feel
a certain amount of pride in her position. <And I know we need the money
even with Mamo-chan's promotion.> They were going to have to move to a
bigger apartment sooner or later, not right away of course but the girls
were growing up.

She was also glad that some things hadn't changed. <I'm so happy for
Naru.>

 - -

"Kami-sama... I hope the girls aren't too hungry," Usagi remarked to
herself as she walked down the corridor towards her apartment. <I'm so
lucky to have Makoto to baby-sit the twins after school while I work,
not to mention watching them in the morning.> It wasn't that she didn't
trust Luna; she trusted the Lunar Cat with her life. It's just that Luna
didn't have any arms or legs. <Well, there was that one time I made her
human,> the blonde absently thought. <She was so beautiful.>

Opening the door to her apartment, she called out, "I'm home!"

"MOMMY!" came the resounding response as two very energetic six year
olds came racing towards her.

"And how are my musume?" Usagi asked while scooping up the giggling
girls.

"We're hungry," they whined out.

"Gosh, I said supper will be just another few minutes," Makoto replied
from the doorway of the kitchen. Her tone conveyed mild exasperation.

"You aren't cooking, ne Mako-chan?" Usagi asked while letting her
children down. The twins immediately hugged one leg each, effectively
stopping their mother from walking.

Makoto wagged a finger at her and remarked, "Onee-chan, I like cooking
and since you insist on paying me to watch the twins, then I insist on
cooking when I feel like it."

"Chibi-Usa-chan, Momo-chan, Mommy needs to go to the bathroom. Can you
let go please?" They just hugged her legs tighter. "Why don't you go
play for a little bit before supper?"

"Read us a story?" Chibi-Usa requested.

"When I come out, how about that?" The twins held a silent conversation
before nodding and letting go of Usagi's legs. They giggled as their
mother ran across the living room and into the bathroom before closing
the door behind her.

"You did that on purpose, ne?"

"HAI!" both chorused before grinning.

 - -

Usagi hummed softly as she brushed out Momoko's long soft brown hair.
She tried to ignore the wet spots on her blouse from where the bath
water still hadn't dried. Shortly after supper, Mamoru had suggested
that they give the girls their bath and dress them for bed. Naturally
enough, both children protested this until they saw that if they put up
too much of a fuss, they would be put to bed and miss the Senshi
meeting, and more importantly, the snacks that were going to be there.

"Ne, Onee-chan," Makoto began as she brushed out Chibi-Usa's luxurious
strawberry-blonde hair, "Think Mamoru-san would come home with me?"

"I guess. Why?" Usagi questioned while turning to regard her little
sister.

"Well, he washes the dishes pretty good. I was thinking maybe he could
wash the dishes I have to do too." She giggled then and Usagi followed
suit.

"I heard that!" Mamoru called from the kitchen. This just caused the
girls to giggle more.

"What's funny, Oba-chan?" Chibi-Usa asked.

"I wanted your daddy to come home with me."

"Can't," Momoko state matter-of-factly.

"Nani? Why not?"

"Daddy has to read us a story. It's his turn."

"Mako-chan, Mamo-chan and I take turns reading the girls stories. It's
his turn tonight," Usagi explained. Starting to put up rabbit-ear
odangos and pigtails in Momoko's hair, she thought, <This seems so
weird. I'm still not used to Momoko having hair this long.> "Maybe
Minako will read you a story instead."

"YEAH!" Chibi-Usa declared, "She's funny."

"Is Minako funny?" Makoto asked while giving her niece a hug.

"Hai," Momoko answered, "She makes these funny sounds 'n' stuff."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Speak of the devil," Usagi
muttered out. Sure enough, the other blonde Sailor Senshi bounded into
the room with all the energy and perkiness that Aino Minako typically
represented. The bouncy teen was wearing an orange dress with yellow
accents. Her bow was bright yellow this time and seemed overly large.
"Konbanwa, Minako-chan."

"Konbanwa, Usagi-san," Minako almost sang, "Hi Mako-chan!" She bent down
and gave Momoko and then Chibi-Usa a hug. "Hi you two."

"Konbanwa Minako-oneechan!" the twins greeted. Minako reached out and
lifted Chibi-Usa up into the air. The little girl squealed in surprise
and looked even more puzzled when the blonde plunked her back down onto
Makoto's lap. Momoko's reaction was about the same when Minako did the
same thing to her.

"Huh, and I thought I was hearing a stereo."

"We not stereo," Chibi-Usa remarked, "That's a stereo." She pointed to
the entertainment system that sat in the corner of the room.

"You seem in a good mood, Minako-chan," Usagi decided.

"Hai. I am," Minako gushed as she plopped herself down between Usagi and
Makoto. "Shingo took me out for supper and it was..." She trailed off
with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"So, things are okay between you two, ne?"

"Sugoi!" Minako answered. She gave Usagi a wink and then held out her
arms toward Chibi-Usa and Momoko. "Don't I get a hug?" The little girls
obliged her, crawled onto her lap, and hugged her. "Now what do you want
to do while we wait for the others?"

"Read a story," Momoko prodded. "You said if you come over next time
that you'd read story to us."

"Well, I did, ne?" Both children nodded. "All right, what..."

"Hold it," Usagi interrupted, "We still have to do the girls' hair."

"I'll do it, Usagi-san," Minako volunteered, "Come on, girls. Let's go
find a storybook." Giggling, all three got up and headed for the twin's
room.

Once they were gone, Makoto leaned over to Usagi and commented softly,
"Onee-chan, sometimes I wonder who's the bigger kid."

"No kidding," Usagi replied then giggled, "But then again, I don't think
we'd want Minako any other way. I wonder where Artemis is?"

 - -

Artemis arrived a short time later with Luna closely behind him. "We
were doing a last minute scouting of the strange circus tent,
Usagi-san," the white cat answered to Usagi's query.

"Not much new information I'm afraid," Luna admitted to Usagi,
"Hopefully, Ami has completed her analysis of the data we gathered
before. How were the twins this afternoon, Mako-chan?"

"No problem," the teen answered, "Although, Onee-chan, you're gonna have
to talk to Momoko about jumping on the furniture."

"Hai, I will," Usagi said with a frown, "I wish I could figure out a way
to stop them from doing that." She looked at Luna and saw the restraint
in the feline's face. "Nani?"

"I've told you to get rid of that bed and just let them have a couple of
futons," Luna lectured, "That would solve it I would think." Mamoru
snorted upon hearing this as he came into the living room.

"Yeah, then they'd just want to jump on OUR bed," he piped in, "Makoto,
do you want tea or something else?"

"Tea, please."

"Minako-san, do you want tea?"

"No, Mamoru-san, got any pop?" the blonde chirped as she came out of the
twin's room.

"Hai! Girls, do you want some juice?" he asked his children.

"I want pop!" Chibi-Usa boldly declared. "Please Mommy?" she quickly
added.

"Me too. I like pop!" Momoko added.

"No, no, you can have milk, juice, or water." 

"Aw..." Chibi-Usa began and then halted as the girls huddled together.
After a few moments, she decided, "Juice please."

"You too, Momo-chan?"

"Hai!" Momoko chirped. Her father nodded and headed back into the
kitchen.

"That should be Ami," the black cat said as they heard a knock at the
door. As it turned out, it was Ami and Rei as well.

"Hi guys," Usagi greeted, "Well, I guess that's everybody." <It'll be
funny having Mamoru sit in on a Senshi meeting.> Although it was going
to be weird having Momoko sit in on one as well.

"No, we're still missing someone," Luna disagreed. This just puzzled
Usagi.

<Oh well, I knew things would be different.> But who was missing from
the group? <Can't be Naru.>

 - -

"Is something wrong, Usagi-san?" Rei asked.

"No," Usagi replied and gave her friend a smile. <It's just I wouldn't
have thought you'd let Chibi-Usa sit on your lap.> A minor fuss had
ensued when both Momoko and Chibi-Usa had wanted to sit on Makoto's lap.
The problem was quickly resolved when Rei lifted Chibi-Usa up and Minako
did likewise with Momoko. "Arigato," she said to Mamoru as he handed her
a cup of tea before sitting down beside her. As he wrapped his arm
around his wife, Usagi snuggled a little closer and sipped her tea.

<Kami-sama, I don't know if we can fit another person into this room.>
Mina and Rei were sitting on the floor. Ami had taken one chair while
Makoto had taken the other, leaving the small couch for Mamoru and
Usagi. The Lunar Cats sat on the coffee table.

Conversation halted for a moment as a knock came at the door. "I'll get
it, Onee-chan," Makoto offered and getting up, picked her way across the
floor to the door. Given Makoto's height, Usagi wasn't able to see past
the teen. She was just taking a sip of tea when Makoto returned with the
latest arrival.

At first, Usagi didn't recognize the eight year old, then she did a
double-take and nearly choked. Tea shot out of her mouth and hit Artemis
in the back of the head. The white cat gave a screech of surprise and
promptly fell off the table. This, of course, set the twins to giggling
and Minako was soon following suit.

"Oh, are you all right, Artemis?" Tomoe Hotaru asked.

 - -

<We're fighting Lemures,> Usagi thought as she listened to Mizuno Ami
give her analysis of the data she had collected. <Well at least I know
what enemy we're fighting.> She should have known when Luna had
mentioned the strange circus tent.

"Ami-chan," Usagi asked, "What is the final result?"

Ami flushed a bit and explained, "Gomen, the readings are just so
fascinating though. The high..."

"Ami," Usagi interrupted.

"Gomen nasai, Usagi-san," the diminutive teen apoligized then explained,
"The data still doesn't give us any idea of where they come from. We
know they are looking for something... or someone -- Pegasus.
Nevertheless, we've been unable to determine who or what Pegasus is. We
know that they are searching people's dreams but I do not sufficiently
understand the magic involved."

"Maybe we should break here so that Usagi can put the girls to bed,"
Luna suggested. The gathered group turned to see that both Chiba
daughters were already sound asleep.

"We'll put them to bed, Usagi-san," Rei offered.

"Arigato," Usagi replied and smiled up at her friend.

"Kami-sama!" Hotaru exclaimed, "Papa's gonna kill me. I forgot to phone
him when I got here." Lunging for the phone, she quickly dialed a
number.

 Hotaru was only an infant
when she had last seen her. She watched the eight year old speak into
the phone before blushing brightly.

"I'm sorry, Papa," Hotaru told Professor Tomoe, "I completely forgot
about it... Hai, Usagi-oneesan saw me and spat out her tea and it hit
poor Artemis in the head." The child giggled. "It was kinda funny."

"Gomen," Usagi apologized again to Artemis who was giving her a dirty
look, "It went down the wrong way."

"No harm done, Usagi-san," Artemis said.

"I'm sorry to cut you off, Ami-chan," Usagi apologized, "But I saw
Minako and Rei getting these glazed looks."

"So was Mamoru-san."

"I was not," Mamoru protested.

Usagi giggled and hugged her husband around the neck. "Don't worry,
Mamo-chan, I'll explain it later."

"I bet you will," Mamoru commented and kissed her. Usagi blushed and
then giggled when she saw the face that Hotaru was making.

"Chiba-san?" Hotaru asked, "Papa wants to know if you'll please drive me
home after the meeting."

"Hai," Mamoru replied.

 - -

Usagi sat on the couch after work the next day and tried not to move.
She had her eyes closed and her feet up on the coffee table. It had been
a thoroughly horrible day. They had all slept in. Her umbrella had been
useless against the downpour that was still going on. Most of the public
had been downright rude and cranky. To top it all off, she had come home
to find out that the couch in the girls' room had finally collapsed
under the twin's constant bouncing on it.

"Mommy?"

Usagi slowly opened one eye to regard her daughter, "Na-ni?" Momoko held
out a very crushed and thoroughly dead dandelion. Usagi smiled but
choked back the giggle that wanted to come out. "Is this for me,
Momo-chan?"

"Hai."

"Arigato," Usagi said, "Now go back to your room." Momoko sniffled a
little but complied and headed back to her bedroom. <What am I going to
do?> Really, there wasn't anything she could do until Mamoru got home.
Instead, she reviewed what had happened the night before. <Rei's really
different.> Not only was Rei a lot more even-tempered but also she
deferred to Usagi a lot more. The Shinto priestess had made some
off-handed comment and the teen part of Usagi had reacted. Things had
almost gotten out of hand. <And Minako seems... more stable.> Certainly
not calmer but there was a change in the blonde teen's personality. <And
Hotaru...> She had been the biggest surprise of all.

The beeping of her communicator drew Usagi from her thoughts. Flipping
the face open, she blinked in surprise when she saw Sailor Saturn
looking at her. "Usagi-san," Sailor Saturn declared, "The Dead Moon
Circus is attacking again!"

"Where?" Usagi questioned, her pulse quickening. <Are the girls Sailor
Senshi?> When Saturn told her, she said, "I'll be right there." Flipping
the communicator off, she instructed, "Girls! Come out here please!" As
she waited for her daughters, Usagi stood and got her broach.

"Mommy?" Chibi-Usa asked.

"There's a Lemure attack. Transform," Usagi commanded.

"Hai!" both little girls answered and produced broaches. Usagi blinked
at this development but decided now was not the time to puzzle it out.
Together the family shouted, "MOON CRISIS, MAKE-UP!"

In a flash of magical light, three Sailor Senshi materialized. Super
Sailor Moon took a moment to regard Momoko. Her daughter was dressed in
a similar outfit to her sister but instead of the pink and white motif,
it was lavender and white. <At least, it isn't an ugly color,> she
thought. "Come on, girls." Both children eagerly followed their mother
out of the apartment and towards the battle.

 - -

When the three Senshi arrived at the scene of battle, Super Sailor Moon
felt her jaw drop open in surprise at the sight before her. She wasn't
sure what antonished her more though, the fact that Sailor Saturn was
fighting the Lemure or that the eight year old was still wielding her
Silence Glaive. After recovering from her initial shock, she quickly
surveyed the landscape.

The Lemure was humanoid with a crocodile head. It was dressed in some
outlandish type of clothing and wielding two very sharp looking swords.
Off to one side was an annoyed looking VesVes.

Waiting for the right moment, Sailor Moon, with her children following,
made a dramatic entrance. "FOR RUINING FAMILY TIME AND INNOCENT PLAY, I
AM THE PRETTY SAILOR SUITED SOLDIER SAILOR MOON..."

"AND WE'RE CHIBI-MOON..." the twins declared.

"AND IN THE NAME OF THE MOON..."

"WE WILL PUNISH YOU!"

"Eat the mirror!" VesVes commanded her Lemure, "And then finish off
those Sailor Senshi!"

"Hai VessVess-ssama," the Lemure hissed. Leaping with great agility
backwards, it swallowed the victim's mirror. "Now... you die!" It smiled
menacingly. The creature was about to lunge for the new interlopers when
two new voices cried out, halting its progress.

"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"
"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"

At the same time, Saturn attacked with, "SILENCE GLAIVE SURPRISE!"

Under the combined attacks, the Lemure was blown backwards and into a
wall. "Okay, Chibi-Moon, call Pegasus!" Sailor Moon directed, not
knowing which daughter could do it.

"Nani?" the pink suited Chibi-Moon asked.

"Who that?" the lavender suited Chibi-Moon added.

"Then who rings the Charion Bell?" Both little girls pointed to Saturn
who was already kneeling. <NO WAY!> Her shock deepened as she watched
the Sailor Senshi of Silence rise to her feet and ring the Charion Bell
while calling out a very familiar "Twinkle Yell". Super Sailor Moon
stood staring in disbelief at the scene before her when someone tugged
on her fuku.

"Mommy, hurry up. I gotta go pee!"

"Oh..." Quickly Super Sailor Moon drew out her scepter and launched her
attack. "MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!"

The Lemure shrieked, "Stage Out!"

"DUSTED!" both little Senshi chorused.

End of Chapter 4

Coming next in Chapter 5 - The Future

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