Hotaru spun her polearm, feeling hideously silly
dressed in the modified sailor fuku as she stood
beside Sailor V on the stage. Still, the crowd was
eating it up as the heroic Sailor V was saved by the
mysterious Sailor S.
'We have got to come up with a better name,' Hotaru
mused as she warily watched the actors draw near them,
dressed in their outlandish costumes. "So what do we
do now?" Hotaru murmured, keeping her voice down.
"Follow my lead," Minako murmured, barely moving her
lips.
With a unsurprising show of grace Minako spun,
producing a crescent shaped boomerang from beneath her
costume, "My shining tiara will drive back the forces
of evil!" She threw it skillfully, sending it soaring
so that it appeared to fly over the enemy, all of whom
pretended to drop.
The children and teens in the crowd cheered happily,
waving their hands and jumping excitedly. More
importantly many of them carried Sailor V products,
the clothes and other stuff with the dramatic masked
face.
Silently Hotaru raised her polearm, her eyes
narrowing as she studied her foes. Smoothly she was
off, striking with just enough force for the actors to
know they were hit, not enough to hurt them. Her
dramatic silence seemed to impress the crowd nearly as
much as Sailor V's speeches, the crowd crying out it's
approval.
"Thank you Sailor S," she cried, Sailor V returning
to her side again. The blonde surprised Hotaru by
standing close, looking up into her eyes dramatically,
"How can I ever thank you?"
Hotaru stiffened a moment as she felt the blonde
stand close to her, then with her free arm encircled
her shoulders. "No need," she said, carefully pitching
her voice so the audience could here, "your smile is
reward enough."
"Sailor S," Sailor V looked up at her adoringly and
Hotaru saw a flash of pure mischief in those blue
eyes.
'Uh oh,' Hotaru had time to think before Sailor V
slid close to press her lips to Hotaru's.
There was a moment of stunned silence as the crowd
registered the kiss then they roared out their
approval. Sailor V slid her fingers in Hotaru's hair,
letting the kiss deepen a bit, then slid back to
release her. "Thank you," she repeated.
Not long after they were backstage in the dressing
room that Minako and Hotaru shared, Setsuna looking at
Minako with a stern expression on her noble face.
"That wasn't in the script," she gently scolded the
star.
"Sorry," Minako said as she removed her mask, smiling
a bit at he manager, "I kind of got carried away by
the moment."
"Give me some warning next time," Hotaru murmured
from where she was sitting, still blushing faintly
from the kiss.
"Mind you the crowd liked it," Setsuna noted, her
expression thoughtful, "I think I'll run this by the
focus groups, see what they think."
Minako smirked, "As long as it's a good looking woman
I don't mind." She looked over at Hotaru, her
expression noticeably gentler, "I am sorry about
surprising you like that, I hope it wasn't too
unpleasant for you."
"It wasn't unpleasant," Hotaru answered her quietly.
Minako smiled happily, "Good."
Setsuna looked over at Hotaru thoughtfully then
asked, "Do you mind continuing with the Sailor S
performances, then?" Seriously, "I think the shows are
probably the times where Minako is the most
vulnerable."
"I could live without wearing the costume," Hotaru
sighed in resignation, "but yes, I'll do the
performances."
"Good," Setsuna said briskly, "I'll talk to the
poster artist, see if we can work Sailor S into the
promotion pieces."
"Urk," Hotaru made a face while Minako chuckled.
Minako smoothly began to strip her fuku off, smiling
to herself faintly as Hotaru turned away, blushing.
"You know, I think I like your shyness, too."
"Don't tease me, please," Hotaru sighed.
"But it's so fun," Minako said charmingly.
Hotaru had to smile a bit at that remark. Reluctantly
she began to strip her own sailor fuku off... only to
hear a disturbance out in the hallway. She stopped,
frowning, one glove half off, then she moved in front
of where Minako stood.
The door crashed open as the woman glared, her eyes
sweeping the room. Red hair was elegantly styled, her
clothes finely chosen but her eyes carried a hit of
madness. "Where..." she growled.
"Natsuna?" Minako squeaked.
"Who?" Hotaru blinked.
"You little witch," Natsuna Sakurada growled out,
glaring over at Minako as she continued, "how dare
you?!"
Hotaru smoothly kept herself between Minako and the
older woman, her boots and gloves off but otherwise
still dressed in her costume. "Who are you and what's
going on?" she asked crisply, keeping a wary eye on
Natsuna.
"I'm that little witch's lover," Natsuna started.
"Ex-lover," Minako protested.
Natsuna grit her teeth then glared at Hotaru, "Until
Minako here decided to throw me over for a younger
model, it seems."
Hotaru fought back a blush, realizing that Natsuna
had clearly seen the performance. "That was all part
of the show," she protested.
"I hadn't even met her when we broke up a few months
ago," Minako looked over Hotaru's shoulder, carefully
keeping her bodyguard between her and her ex.
"It doesn't matter," Natsuna growled.
"You were the one sending her the threatening
letters!" Hotaru realized.
Natsuna scowled, "I just wanted to scare her, get her
to go back to me!" She reached into her jacket,
drawing something from within....
'Gun!' Hotaru moved without thinking, grabbing the
mock polearm from where it sat nearby then lunging
forward, smacking the weapon right out of the
surprised woman's hands. Smoothly she spun the weapon
around then slammed the wooden pole into Natsuna's
gut, dropping the stunned woman to the floor.
"My hero," Minako puffed out, looking at Hotaru
adoringly.
With a blush Hotaru looked away, instead kneeling
down to grab Natsuna by the arm and pull her to the
feet. "You'd better go get Setsuna," she advised, "and
tell her we've got your stalker."
Setsuna called the police to collect Natsuna then
thanked Hotaru profusely, so much that she embarrassed
Hotaru. Deciding the two ladies needed some time alone
she left to determine how best to spin the event in
the media, thoughts already racing.
"I'm sorry," Minako sighed a little later, dressed in
a simple skirt and top, "I never even thought that my
ex-girlfriend could be behind it."
Hotaru had dressed herself in basic black, like usual
as they sat together. "How long were you together?"
she asked her curiously.
"A few months," Minako sighed, "but she was in the
closet and refused to even consider the idea of being
outed... and I was."
"I'm sorry," Hotaru hesitated, unsure how to ask.
"I was the one who ended it," Minako confirmed,
"after she and I had our last big fight." She sighed,
"It wasn't easy, but I thought I had to."
Hotaru reached out, comfortingly laying her hand on
Minako's.
"So what are you going to do now?" Minako asked
softly.
Hotaru blinked, "Well, I suppose I'll get another
job."
Minako hesitated, the she smiled up at Hotaru, "I was
wondering.. what would you think of staying on as my
security?"
Hotaru looked at Minako thoughtfully, remembering
their kiss. "Would I have to wear that Sailor S
costume?" she asked.
"Probably," Minako squeezed her hand gently, "if
Setsuna has her way."
"Well, I suppose I'll have to," Hotaru smiled back,
suddenly glad to see Minako's face light up in
happiness.
End.
Notes: Natsuna Sakurada is a police officer from the
original Sailor V manga and who also appeared once in
Sailor Moon. She pursued Minako more than a little
obsessively, so I thought it wouldn't be too
unrealistic for her to be the stalker.
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