Minako-Hime
Hotaru Gomon was a noblewoman, the princess of her
kingdom and the heir to the throne, and as the heir
had certain responsibilities. The quiet, serious black
haired woman knew her duty and carried herself with
dignity from task to task, appearing every inch a
child or royalty. However with royal blood came
bodyguards, and that was where the problems lay...
Minako of the Lovely Topaz was a Otome, a superhuman
protector sent from Garderobe Academy to watch over
Hotaru but she was a little... unusual. The quiet,
serene Hotaru was unused to such a brash blonde woman,
and though she would never admit it she was also a bit
envious of her shapely form.
"Good morning, princess," Minako cried as she barged
in, threw open the curtains of her bedroom and flooded
Hotaru's dim room with light.
Hotaru winced, shading her eyes as she said, "Minako,
it's still early...."
Cheerfully Minako yanked the covers off of her as she
said, "You've got to take time for breakfast, Hotaru."
She paused, "Oooh, black lace, very nice...."
"Pervert.," Hotaru grabbed her robe, pulling it
around her as the teen got up, hurrying to the door as
a chuckling Minako followed.
"Thank you," Usagi, the chief maid murmured to
Minako, the young blonde's twin streams of hair
bouncing, "we usually can't make her get up."
"Glad to help," Minako chuckled as a man-servant
opened the doors to the dining room, revealing the
table set for breakfast.
"Mother," Hotaru smiled at Michiru, then looked over
at Haruka, "Father."
"You don't have to call me that," the very female
Haruka chuckled softly, sitting at the head of the
long table. She and Michiru were at either end, while
two settings for breakfast sat at the middle, waiting.
"Miss Minako," Michiru gestured to a empty seat,
"join us."
"Don't mind if I do," Minako smiled, clearly amused
by Hotaru's soft growl as she sat opposite her. She
clapped her hands together and softly murmured before
digging in, "Thanks for the food."
"So," Hotaru asked her parents as they ate, "what's
on the schedule for today?"
"We'll be dealing with the negotiations with
Celestine today," Haruka mused, "can you handle the
meeting with the chief of police, Rei Hino?"
"Certainly," Hotaru answered confidently.
"And you'll be coming along of course," Michiru
addressed Minako.
Hotaru nearly choked on her orange juice. "Why does
she have to come along?" she begged, "I'll be safely
with the police!"
"You know you're a target," Haruka said gently, "and
vulnerable if some lord wanted to force a marriage
pact. We need you safe, if only for our own peace of
mind."
"Besides, it wouldn't look good if you were wandering
around without your otome," Michiru noted with a small
smile.
Minako smirked across the table then winked at
Hotaru.
Hotaru fought the urge to grind her teeth. "You're
right mother," she conceded, "I'll bring Minako
along."
"Thank you," Minako said sweetly, then finished her
breakfast before Hotaru's glare could set her on fire
or something.
Not long after Hotaru was in one of the many cars
associated with the palace, cruising along with Minako
at her side. Reluctantly Hotaru met her companions
amused gaze and crossly asked, "Must you be so
insufferable?"
Minako smiled back as she asked, "Would that help
you, Hotaru-sama? Or would I just become one of the
many servants you ignore?"
"I...," Hotaru actually looked startled as their
driver expertly wove them through traffic, "I hadn't
thought of it that way."
"Not that I don't enjoy teasing you too," Minako
added thoughtfully as she crossed her long legs
sexily, making her short white and gold skirt hitch up
dangerously high, "you're cute when you're flustered."
"Minako!" Hotaru scolded.
A soft chuckle came from their driver as Ami pulled
up to the station. The blue haired girl turned in her
seat, "I'll leave on a random evasion course, to try
to make sure the car isn't targeted. Would you like me
to return at a set time, or call?"
"Call, I think," Minako said, "it's safer."
"Very well," Ami smiled as she pressed the switch to
pop the car's armored doors, "I'll see you later
then."
"Is everyone getting paranoid?" Hotaru wondered
softly.
"You have been threatened princess," Minako reminded
her gently as she stood close on the short walk to the
modern building, "such steps are not unreasonable."
Hotaru shrugged after a moment, "I guess I don't want
to live that way."
Minako gave her a smile free from other meanings,
"That's admirable, if stupid."
"Thanks a lot," Hotaru said, but she found herself
reluctantly smiling back. As aggravating as Minako
was, she DID have a certain charm....
THOOM! The earth around them bucked wildly, a
shockwave of force nearly knocking them over. "Are you
all right?" MInako demanded, pushing her down and
shielding her with her body. The comic humor in her
eyes was gone as Hotaru looked up, replaced by concern
and a steely sort of intensity.
"Ami," Hotaru felt fear clutch her guts, "Is she...?"
"It came from the other direction," Minako reassured
her as she looked to the west, where a large figure
loomed over the city.
Amid the chaos the police rushed out, deploying in a
defensive wedge around them. Rei Hino stood with gun
in hand as she swept the street with her eyes, her
black hair gleaming in the sun. "No secondary attack?"
she demanded.
"Not yet," Hotaru answered as she was helped up. The
giant off in the distance towered over a building,
it's massive weight shaking the earth as it walked
along broken streets. "Is that a youma?" she wondered
grimly.
"Yes," Minako nodded grimly. The youma were the
latest incarnation of the attack beasts developed by
the Otome's enemies, beings of great size and
destructive capability. She looked at Hotaru, "I need
your authorization to stop that thing, Hotaru."
Hotaru looked at her as if she was insane, "You
can't! It's immense...."
Minako gave her a lopsided smiles as she answered, "I
have to, Hotaru. There's no one else who can...." With
that she knelt, pushing her hair back to reveal the
earring in her left ear, "Please, Hotaru. There's not
much time."
Hotaru took a steadying breath. "Minako of the lovely
Topaz," she said as she pressed her lips to Minako's
earring, "by my authority, I release your power."
Minako stood, smiling as she murmured, "Thank you."
Much louder she cried, "Materialize!" In a moment the
nanotechnology in her body activated, reconfiguring
her skirt into a bodysuit in white and gold, along
with red gloves and boots. "This won't be long," she
promised before soaring off to face the youma.
Watching the battle from a distance Hotaru was once
more filled with awe and wonder at the power Minako
commanded. She darted around the giant monster with
incredible speed, weaving by it's attacks even as she
used her whip-like attack to slice away at it. In
moments what seemed a indesructable monster was just
rubble on the ground, and Minako returned with a smug
smile on her face.
"Told ya," MInako winked as she banished her armor,
reverting to her usual dress.
Without thinking about it Hotaru rushed to Minako,
holding her close as she cried, "I was so worried..."
MInako reached out and held Hotaru, patting her
shoulder gently. "I'm fine," she quietly reassured
her, "we're both fine."
Hotaru shook her head, laughing softly as she
relaxed. "Yes, we are," she agreed, looking up into
the taller woman's blue eyes.
In the background Rei reorganized her people and lead
them back into the offices as she muttered, "Might as
well leave them alone for now...."
"Hotaru?" Minako looked at her questioningly as the
girl's cheeks reddened.
Hotaru pulled away, startled by how much her heart
was racing. 'I detest this woman,' she thought, 'don't
I?' Clearing her throat she managed somewhat normally,
"I'm glad things went so well. Should we carry on?"
"Of course," MInako agreed as they walked into the
station. 'What was that look in Hotaru's eyes just
then?' she wondered, 'And do I want to find out?'
Meanwhile, back at the palace....
"How long do we have to keep making excuses to throw
them together," Haruka muttered, "before they finally
figure out they're made for each other?"
"I don't know, dear," Michiru sighed. "Hotaru is such
a stubborn girl."
"Don't I know it," Haruka agreed, sitting back.
"Think we can talk Rei into setting up a false
emergency? Maybe locking them in a bunker for awhile
might do it...."
"Next week?" Michiru suggested.
"Yeah," Haruka nodded, "we'll try it then."
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