|
Chibi-Usa Gets Married
By
Chibicardcaptor
Email to
This is a romantic adventure tale primarily about Chibi-Usa, one of the Sailor Sprouts, daughters of the five inner senshi, the Sailor Scouts. The story is complete in one installment. However, it uses characters introduced in "Sailor Scout Melvin," "The Sailor Sprouts," "The Sailor Sprouts - Hotaru's Wedding, Final Battle and Conclusion," and "The Sailor Sprouts Get Back Together." A very brief SPOILER summary of these previous stories follows:
Molly and Melvin had been married for a few years. The five Sailor Scouts, inner senshi, came to them, dropping off their seven children to take care of, and purchased for them the Tomoe Mansion (all in Hokkaido, Japan). The children, Mamoru, Junko, Kana, Kami, Yukari, Seira and Asami, then lived there for over ten years while the senshi fought an enemy on future Moon. Then, the six girls, Chibi-Usa and Melvin went to the Moon and defeated the enemy, also rescuing Darien, Serena's husband, who was a prisoner of war. The husbands of the other four senshi had already been killed in combat. Then, Kana and Kami, twins of Ami, were accidentally killed. Ami cloned embryos of them from their ovaries, and implanted them in Molly, who was unable to bear more children. Molly produced new twins, naming them Kana and Kami, same names as the originals. The daughters, now known as the Sailor Sprouts, returned to Molly and Melvin's home after a few boring years on the Moon, along with Chibi-Usa.
[email protected] Rating: 'PG-13' for mild violence, a little sex, and one teeny vulgarity. Junko had 'borrowed' Serena's Luna Disguise Pen, which she then frequently used to turn into an eagle or a black panther. They repeatedly engaged the "Dark Forces" in battle, and eventually defeated them. During this time, Molly produced two more twins, as did fifteen-year-old Junko, all cloned from the ovaries of the original Kana and Kami. Finally, peace reigned, almost; and after high school graduation three of the girls went elsewhere, Chibi-Usa went back to the Moon, while her sister Junko stayed at the mansion to raise her two girls and help Molly with her four. Junko and her boyfriend all through high school, Douglas, decided to marry during their final year in college. During the preparations for the wedding the Sailor Sprouts and Ami dealt with a more natural enemy, world-class kidnappers, during which battles Junko acquired a foundling child, Aruna, presumably from India. Melvin also retained a Canadian exchange student as a mother's helper, Agatha, from New Brunswick, who loved travel and was an instant success in the household. Junko and Douglas produced little Douglas Jr., Chibi-Douglas as everyone called him. Chibi-Usa had returned from the future Moon to assist her sister Junko when her little Douglas was being born, later traveling to Brazil to be with her brother, his wife and their family. Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is copyright (c) 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOFI Animation. English Language Adaptation (c) 1995 DiC Entertainment. After the birth of her sister Junko's little boy, Douglas Jr., Chibi-Doug-ras-san, as the other children in the Hokkaido household called him, Chibi-Usa decided to return to Brazil to stay with her brother Mamoru and his wife, Machiko-chan, and their small family. She had barely gotten to know her own brother, he being an ordinary mortal, whereas she was a senshi, Sailor Chibi-Moon, when she transformed. In fact, she had been given her "Eternal" transformation by her mother, which made her very powerful, and which gave her a set of wings with which to fly. She was the first daughter of her mother Usagi, princess Serena, now queen Serena, queen of the future Moon kingdom. Chibi-Usa avoided going to future Moon. The stiff formality of the court was stultifying; Usagi had never forgotten she was her mother, and treated her like a baby at times; most of the time in fact. Chibi-Usa preferred the company of her sister Junko-chan, but she, now being married with a little boy in addition to her twins cloned from her aunt Ami's long deceased twins Kana and Kami, was not as enjoyable company as she had previously been. Chibi-Usa had avoided marriage for as long as she was capable of being betrothed, another reason why she avoided future Moon and her mother. Serena had an endless supply of handsome, eligible young men she wanted to introduce to Chibi-Usa. Rudolph and Hilda had been good friends of Chibi-Usa. They lived in Germany, but traveled from time to time to Brazil and Hokkaido, and were well known to Melvin, the benefactor of the senshi and the Sailor Sprouts, daughters of the five inner senshi. Rudolph was a manufacturer, like Melvin, although not of the same stature. Rudolph was struggling, whereas Melvin had factories all over the world. 
"Are you planning to marry Rudolph?" asked Mamoru, with more directness than he normally exhibited. "Don't be silly, brother dear. If I wanted to be married I could have gotten married years ago. Remember, I have changed my age several times. I used to appear older than you, then I took on the same age as our sister Junko; even she and I changed our age by about two or three years when we all came back from future Moon, tired of having our hands kissed while wearing long white dresses and standing in reception lines. Married? I will leave that fine institution to you and Machiko, and to Molly, Junko and all the rest of the people in the world who cannot stand to live alone." "Methinks the lady doth protest too loudly," thought Mamoru to himself, quietly. "Well, take or buy some thermal underwear," he suggested to Chibi-Usa, "and forget about those skimpy little two-piece swimsuits you have. No place to swim in Germany except through the ice. That place is cold, even during summer." The next day he drove her to the airport, and the following morning she arrived in Rudolph's little city, took a cab and appeared on his doorstep. It was a Saturday in mid-winter, and he did not have to go to his factory that day. "Chibi-Usa, how wonderful to see you. What brings you here? I am really surprised to see you. You look beautiful, even in a parka and ski pants. Come in, come in." Rudolph was a kind gentleman and a very proper host, in his early thirties. "Oh Rudolph, I read in a German newspaper that Hilda had been killed in an auto accident. I have been helping take care of Molly's and Junko's children for years now, and I thought your four could use a mother, for a while at least, while you devote more time to your manufacturing concerns. Can I fit in? Will I be of any use? I have my own money, so I will not be a financial drain on you or your household." Chibi-Usa did her best to avoid being a burden. "That would be fantastic, Chibi-Usa," replied Rudolph, "I have two housekeepers working for me, who are competent, but they have no heart. They are very strict and stern. Hilda was so loving and cheerful, no one could take her place. But these two ladies do not even come close. The children hang closely to me all the time, and never want to be with those two women. I need to be with my firm. It will not run itself, and, whereas I am not poor, I have no cash reserves to let the company go without guidance for any length of time." The children came up to them about then. Chibi-Usa had seen the elder three before, but Rudolph introduced them, Eric, six; Maria, four and a half; Wolfgang or Wolferl, two and a half, and little Helga, ten months old. They bowed, curtseyed, asked to be picked up and shook their rattle, respectively. Chibi-Usa beamed at each one, bowing, and patting them all in turn. She picked up Wolferl briefly, finally took Helga from the housekeeper, who did a hasty retreat to the kitchen before Chibi-Usa could give the baby back to her. The six of them talked for a while, having tea in a sitting room, and then Chibi-Usa put the two younger children down in their beds for a nap, while the elder boy and girl, Eric and Maria, went outside to play in the snow. Rudolph then suggested Chibi-Usa might want to use Hilda's former bedroom for herself. It was right beside Rudolph's and was warmed from a high-technology wood stove he had, heating both rooms. They went upstairs to see this room. "This is very nice, Rudolph," Chibi-Usa commented, "but won't people talk, me sleeping in your wife's old room, and right next to your room? This palace, castle, villa, chateau, whatever you call it must have several spare rooms I could use." "It does," Rudolph responded, "but they are not heated and have no plumbing. They were built during the era of chamber pots, candles and virtually no heating. The housekeepers and the children sleep downstairs closer to the furnace, in the servants' dormitory, which is barely adequate. There really is no other place. You will see, when you wander around the dwelling. I call it my castle; it definitely is not palatial, nor does it have the amenities of a villa or of a chateau." "Has it been in your family for centuries, Rudolph? I have heard about these baronies or duchies passing from father to son for several generations." "It should have been, Chibi-Usa," responded Rudolph grimly, "but my family was not always rich. Some of my ancestors squandered their money. Hitler confiscated the building and grounds during World War Two, and stripped out all of the iron pipe and copper wire for his war machines. It was being offered for sale for back taxes due after the war was over, and my grandfather purchased it, but then my father lost it. I inherited his company, which was bankrupt, and managed to turn it profitable once again. As soon as I had some cash reserves I purchased the property and have owned it ever since. It is a tremendous financial drain, but aside from my family, my children, it is the most important thing in my life, it and my factory. I am an industrialist, and love what I do. But other things are important, too." Rudolph and Chibi-Usa were able to converse with each other in either German or English. Chibi-Usa could speak to the children in German, their only language at that time. Rudolph took her into her room. He and his late wife had shared a suite of rooms, a sitting room, bath and two bedrooms. One door in each led to the hallway through the sitting room, but a second door connected the two bedrooms. "There is a dead bolt on your side of this door. You, of course, will want to lock it at night. This woodstove is a product of American engineering and German manufacturing skills. The computerized controls come from the United States, and we build the rest of it, the metal work. Both countries market it to their own people. I wish I built it, but another company manufactures it for Germany. It is started up by loading the grate with firewood. A gas flame ignites the wood, fans exhaust the burned gas, the smoke, to the outside; and heat exchangers extract the warmth and circulate it in the two bedrooms, bath and sitting room. It is really fantastic." Chibi-Usa was still thinking about the separate bedrooms. "Why did you and Hilda have your own sleeping rooms? You must have come together now and then, with four children?" "Oh, of course, dear woman," he laughed, "we had a very loving, affectionate marriage. There was absolutely nothing lacking in the physical aspect of our being together. She slept with me in my bed every chance she could. However, I would sometimes come home late, or get up early. I would be away for two or three weeks at a time on business. It was on those occasions when Hilda preferred to sleep in her own room. And, her clothes, her closet, her dressing table were in there. She frequently got up in an evening for the children. It was simply a practical solution, allowing us both to sleep as we needed, without disturbing the other." Rudolph began to weep for a few seconds, and then he recovered. "I am sorry, Chibi-Usa, it has been only a short time, a few days, less than a week since she died. I am still in shock, but I feel her loss, her absence, terribly." Rudolph helped her with her luggage, three suitcases, and told her to use any of Hilda's things she wanted to use. They were both the same size, and he had no sentimental attachments to her clothing, only to Hilda herself. Chibi-Usa unpacked, then napped for an hour before rejoining the family. She had her work cut out for herself. First would be to establish a rapport with the children, then with Rudolph as head of his family. The day was cloudy-overcast, but bright enough that they could go out and have fun sledding and tobogganing. She wore some of Hilda's winter clothing, heavily insulated boots, parka, and her ski pants. It was great fun. Hilda's flaxen hair had been close enough in color to her own pink hair that they could have passed for the same person at a short distance. It was an easy transition for the children. Maria and Wolferl accidentally called her 'Mutter' at times. Neither she nor Rudolph corrected them. If she could ease their pain she would answer to 'Mutter,' and be happy to do so. Monday came and Chibi-Usa made sure Eric got out the door to school. He attended half days, from late morning until early afternoon. Maria could have been in pre-school, but Chibi-Usa chose to tutor her, at least for the present and until the following fall. The two younger children had enough to do just growing and learning words. Helga soon started walking, to Rudolph's pleasure. A new practice Chibi-Usa instituted was to give the children their dinner early, after their father came home. He and she would sit with them while they ate, engaging them in conversation, and after they went to bed Chibi-Usa and Rudolph would eat in their sitting room upstairs. A housekeeper prepared food for them, which Chibi-Usa served, or sometimes she cooked it herself. She was not the best cook in the world, but could feed children and a father who barely noticed what he ate. It was a pleasant hour or so in the evening, being together while they ate and conversed, later going to sleep in their own bedrooms. Chibi-Usa had taken one look at the dead bolt locking her door to Rudolph's room, and decided not to use it. To do so would imply distrust. She simply left the door unlocked, usually ajar a few inches. This gesture was not lost on Rudolph. He appreciated it. By spring, near the end of March, the inevitable happened. Rudolph told Chibi-Usa, "I am falling in love with you, girl. I know it is too soon, but I love you, Chibi-Usa. Will you be my wife, warm my bed, comfort my body, raise my children, bear more children for me, do everything a wife does or should do?" 
Rudolph had looked amazed, then incredulous, finally, angry. "Chibi-Usa, Europe is home to some of the most skillful liars in the universe. They hire writers to create their stories, directors to help them rehearse their parts. They are very convincing at times. I am disgusted with them. If I told you I was an accomplished pianist, you would nod politely and expect me to play. If I did not, you would think me a fraud, pastiche. Well, I am an accomplished pianist." He walked over to the baby grand piano in the sitting room, took out a cassette tape and placed it in the player. "This is my accompanist. Such tapes are readily available in Europe. I do not know about in America or Japan, but allow me to entertain you." The tape played soft violin music, the orchestra part, not to Beethoven, or Bach or Mozart, but to George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Rudolph played expertly. While playing, he continued talking. "Do you really expect me to believe such a story without some tangible evidence? What other things do you do? Leap tall buildings in a single bound, like Superman?" "That is close, Rudolph. Actually I am a female warrior, a very powerful one. I am pledged to protect my mother the queen, in company with several other senshi, as we are called. Some of us, including my sister, Junko, are on the Earth. Others are on the Moon; still others are on the outer planets. Proof? I can give you a very good demonstration, say, tomorrow morning, at about eight thirty or nine o'clock, as soon as there is enough light for --- what I want to do." "I am sorry, Chibi-Usa, I was angry. Let's not fight. I am deeply indebted to you and so very much in love with you. I have no right to be intolerant. Could we not simply love each other? Come to bed with me. Be with me this night, and we will put aside all conversation." Rudolph took her in his arms, embraced her and kissed her, warmly at first, then passionately. He wanted her badly, and he wanted her at that instant. Chibi-Usa did not resist his embraces or kisses. She enthusiastically returned his love, kiss for kiss, embrace for embrace, breathless sigh for breathless sigh. But when they finally came up for air she told him, "If it were simply you and I, I would most likely do just exactly as you wish. I feel as strongly about you as you feel about me. But I came here to be a surrogate mother to your children. How could I be that, without at least as much integrity as your late wife, Hilda? I absolutely must be the strong moral woman I am setting myself as an example for them. I simply will not be a hypocrite, moralizing to them by daylight, warming your bed and comforting your body, as you put it, by night. And, as a royal princess, I have a duty to my queen, my mother, to be the best person I can possibly be, as if the entire world, the entire universe were watching." Rudolph nodded. He knew she was right. "Maybe we had better go to sleep now, Rudolph. I have a few things I need to do to prepare for tomorrow morning." Chibi-Usa stood up to leave, then sat back down. "I will make a guess, and I am willing to put money on it. We will be married some day, in about a year or a year and a half. You still need time to adjust to not being married to Hilda. I have been resisting marriage for as long as I can remember, for the same reasons I explained to you tonight. How can a person be a wife, and also a senshi? It is not easy. My sister managed and is managing very well. But she is not next in line for the throne, for becoming queen. I have a lot of personal adjusting to do, and it will take me a long, long time, I am afraid." With that, Chibi-Usa stood up, as did Rudolph. She, not he, initiated the final embrace and kiss. "Love me, Rudolph, love me well enough to have faith in me, and to wait for me. I will prove everything I have said to you this evening. Oh, beloved, I love you, my Rudolph." With that, Chibi-Usa went into her room. She left the door ajar as she had been doing since coming there. She trusted Rudolph, more than she trusted herself. Rudolph had difficulty going to sleep. He heard her sewing on Hilda's sewing machine. He had loved that about Hilda, making clothing for herself and her family, even though she could have purchased anything she needed. Chibi-Usa was so much like Hilda; it was impossible not to love her. At about seven the next morning Chibi-Usa brought Rudolph some coffee and a sweet roll, while she had tea. They breakfasted quietly, and then changed into warm clothing for outside. It was still bitterly cold in Germany. She had Wolferl with her. He was also dressed warmly. They all walked up a few flights of stairs to a balcony near the roof of the castle. "You have a dead pine tree in the front yard, Rudolph. Why have you not taken it down?" 
Chibi-Usa then took out of her neckline a jeweled pendant. "This is the Imperium Silver Crystal. I use it to transform. The Earth does not understand the technology, so I will not try to explain it to you." With that she took the crystal in her hands and chanted, "Pegasus Power, Eternal Chibi-Moon Crystal Power, Henshin Yo!" and, doing a dance that could have been a ballet routine, she spun around slowly, her clothes vanishing, leaving her totally naked for a few seconds. New clothing then appeared on her body, the uniform of Eternal Sailor Chibi-Moon, a senshi pledged to protect her mother, Serena, queen of the future Moon. She was now carrying her weapon, the Moon Scepter. "So, how do you like it, Rudolph?" she asked, turning around for him to admire her. He was still fascinated by the view of her naked body; with all the things a girl should have, in all the places she should have them. "I am impressed, Chibi-Usa, especially by your wings. But you are going to freeze in that skimpy little outfit. Shan't I get you a coat? What became of your coat, anyhow?" Rudolph was totally mystified. "Actually, I am quite comfortable. Now, let's get this show on the road." She took a nylon web harness she had made on the sewing machine the night before for Wolferl and put it over his shoulders, around his chest and around his waist. She buckled it securely, and then had him get on her back. "Want to go piggy back ride, Wolferl?" she asked him. He was instantly excited. He climbed up on her back, and nestled himself between her wing roots, while Chibi-Usa fastened the buckles in front around her own chest. He was on tightly. He could not fall off. "Now watch closely, Rudolph. I am going to deal with that dead tree of yours." With that, she jumped off of the balcony, her wings flapping, and soared up above the roof, above the tree, demonstrating her mastery of the air. She then hovered about five meters down from the top of the tree, and using the beam from the Moon scepter cut off the treetop. Then she hovered lower, cutting off another section. She repeated her cutting, finishing with cutting the trunk off even with the ground. The tree was now in nicely sized pieces that a woodcutter could manage, making firewood for the castle. She then hovered above where the tree had been and, using her scepter beam, burned the roots of the tree away totally, leaving nothing but a smoldering hole in the ground where the stump had been. "How do you like the ride, Wolferl?" she asked her little passenger. "This is fun, Mutter," he answered, "I like flying. I want to be a pilot some day!" Sailor-Chibi-Moon continued flying, gaining altitude and preparing to return to the balcony and Rudolph. He was not as excited as Wolferl. For all he knew, he had just seen a witch with white wings and no broomstick take his son away and burn down a tree. Suddenly Chibi-Moon was attacked, by three large flying wolves, werewolves, being ridden by evil looking young women in black clothing and wearing armor, carrying spears and broadswords, but no doubt with fearsome powers she could not sense. They were in fast pursuit, right on her tail. Chibi-Moon dove, did a half roll and pulled up, flying directly at her pursuer and fired off a blast from the moon scepter, burning off the wing of the lead wolf-maiden's mount. Canine and female warrior plunged to their deaths below. Chibi Moon then dove again, pulled up, half-looped and did another half roll --an Immelmann turn-- and caught the second flaxen-haired maiden with a scepter blast to her chest, burning a hole through her. She fell off, dead, and the winged werewolf flew by itself without a rider toward a distant mountain peak, which was always clouded in haze, suspicion and superstition. The third flying werewolf and its rider thought better of attacking Sailor Chibi-Moon and dove into a forest, flying under cover of the trees. Chibi-Moon pursued her, matching hairpin turn for hairpin turn, but was unable to catch up with her. Chibi-Moon knew she would have to go back to this forest and practice, rehearse, memorize every tree in it, to be able to follow the next warrior-maiden who tried to escape her scepter. She then returned to the castle with Wolferl still excitedly on her back, loving every minute of the flight. She landed next to Rudolph, who was relieved to see her, and asked what this enemy, three warriors, had been. Before answering Chibi-Moon unbuckled her little passenger, removed the harness from his back and set him down on the balcony floor. He thanked her and asked to go flying again, real soon. Then he went over to his father, who picked him up and held him. It was a wonderful experience for a now three-year-old boy, but he was exhausted, and went right to sleep in his father's arms. Sailor Chibi-Moon then de-morphed, transforming back into Chibi-Usa. Rudolph hungrily watched the routine, missing nothing. Chibi-Usa saw him staring at the patch of pink hair ten centimeters below her navel and commented, her eyes twinkling, "There is your proof that I do not dye my hair. No girl uses hair color down there. The chemicals are too dangerous to her insides." She smiled mischievously at Rudolph, who simply replied, slightly embarrassed, "You are a very beautiful woman, Chibi-Usa." They walked downstairs to their rooms where Chibi-Usa put the sleeping Wolferl on her bed, after removing his parka, and the two went into Rudolph's room to talk. "That probably created more questions than it answered, but do you believe any of what I told you now?" She also explained a little about the enemy, evil maids riding winged werewolves. Rudolph said he had heard stories, legends and folk tales of such creatures, but never had seen one. He speculated no one else ever had either, but had just kept the mythology going, for fun. "There is a local legend," began Rudolph, "that a wealthy prince took a beautiful blonde girl as his bride, but she refused to join with him and bear him an heir. In anger he seized her by the hair and dragged her outside and chained her up in the dog kennel, declaring she would henceforward sleep with the beasts, since she would not bed with him. Then a large ferocious dog, a werewolf, took her for himself into the forest where he took her for his own, and she bore him a litter of two female human babies, two girls; and two male puppies. The werewolf then scoured the countryside and brought back four more maids unhappy with their husbands, and begat more female human babies and male puppies; the young women suckled and cared for their progeny, who then grew into beautiful flaxen-haired maids like their mothers, and the puppies into ferocious flying werewolves, like their father. They have lived, reproducing, in and on the mountain you saw in the distance for hundreds of years, and have preyed upon farmers and unsuspecting beautiful frauleins ever since." Rudolph stopped for breath, and then continued. "The local men tell the story with grins on their faces, over tankards of bier; the ladies whisper it in more sinister terms; but no one really believes it, or at least I do not believe they do." Chibi-Usa took in Rudolph's story, realizing it may very well be true. "I want to give you a wedding present, Rudolph, even though it will be over a year before we marry, if ever. We both have a lot of thinking to do. What do you need or want? Sterling, fine china, exquisite linens? You name it, and it is yours." "I have all those things, Chibi-Usa." Rudolph got a key and gave it to her. "Keep this safely. This key fits that key cabinet. In there are all the keys to every room, every closet, every chest and strongbox in the castle. Wander around and look into everything. When I bought this building back, family friends of several generations gave me their own priceless possessions. They had all been forced to downsize, themselves, and were living in one, two or three bedroom houses. They did not have room to store anything, and hated to sell it for a tiny fraction of what it was worth, so gave it to Hilda and me. We must have two hundred kilograms of sterling, rooms full of china and antique furniture, and trunks full of fine linens. I do not have the money to pay anyone to take care of it all, as it should be cared for. "What I need most is a sewer line. We had one to the city, two kilometers downhill, but time, earthquakes, bombs and old age destroyed it. I would guess it would cost $200,000 to build a new one, but since costs tend to over-run, not under-run, it could cost up to half a million dollars. I am sorry. I did not mean to discourage you." "No, that sounds like a good idea, Rudolph. Get me the name of a contractor you trust, and I will have the money here in a few days, a week at the most." The two then went on to do other things, but first Chibi-Usa telephoned Junko, her sister, in Hokkaido. After a brief exchange of pleasantries Chibi-Usa told her of her plans for the sewer line and asked her if she could spare some gold coins from her massive store of same. "About forty kilograms of gold should do it. Ask Melvin to melt it down into gold bullion first. He is good at that. Could you bring it yourself? Bring your senshi stuff, too. We may have to kick some tail while you are here." Chibi-Usa told her sister about the flaxen-haired maiden warriors and flying werewolves, and downing two of them. She could not have built a hotter fire under Junko with a blowtorch. Junko immediately went into action, and three days later telephoned Chibi-Usa from the airport. Melvin's pilot had flown her in the private jet. Chibi-Usa picked her up minutes later in the Mercedes-Benz four-wheel-drive they owned. Junko was wearing a fur coat and hat, carrying two brief cases. Rudolph had arrived at home from work before the two girls returned, was introduced to Junko and, trying to be gallant, reached for the brief cases, only to nearly pull his arms out of their sockets. "Oh, that is all right, Rudolph," Junko apologized, "I will take them," and effortlessly carried them upstairs to Chibi-Usa's room. "Are you transformed, is that why you could lift these things and Rudolph could not?" asked Chibi-Usa. "Yes, now let me de-morph," she said, looking anxiously at Rudolph. "Oh, go ahead. He knows everything, and he saw me transform and de-morph." Junko removed her fur coat and hat, revealing her Sailor New-Moon fuku. "The wings were the hardest part, covering them up with a coat," she explained, and de-morphed, Rudolph watching as the gorgeous blonde, Junko, appeared. "She is a natural blonde, too, Rudolph," giggled Chibi-Usa, knowing he could not keep his eyes off of her while she transformed back. "So, how do you like my sister? Pretty, isn't she?" Without waiting for an answer, Chibi-Usa opened up one of the brief cases and saw it contained eighty one-kilogram gold bullion ingots. "That is a lot more than you wanted, sis," explained Junko, "but at last estimate we had two metric tons of the stuff in our apartment, Douglas and I, and Melvin is afraid it is going to make the foundations of the house settle. You are welcome to it. We never spend it, and Melvin still has most of his own steel box of gold coins in the basement." Junko and Chibi-Usa agreed that the two could share the bed in Chibi-Usa's room for the few days Junko would be there, and they found space for Melvin's pilot to stay downstairs. The next morning he flew the two girls to Berne, Switzerland, where Chibi-Usa exchanged fifty of the gold ingots for currency: Swiss Francs, Deutsche Marks, British Pounds and United States Dollars. The pilot needed to return to Japan the following day, and Chibi-Usa asked Junko to stay with her for a while. Junko explained that their aunt, Ami, would be flying there as soon as she arrived from future Moon. Junko agreed to stay, explaining to Rudolph that she had three children she had given birth to, and was a mother's helper and foster mother to five more. She showed photographs of all of these children to Rudolph, who thought he was seeing double, sextuple in fact, the three sets of cloned twin girls, Kana and Kami, Nobuki and Chizu, Hiromi and Yuki. All of those with Chibi-Douglas, Aruna, the foundling, and Agatha, the indentured-servant-exchange-student from New Brunswick, Canada were a house-full of little ones. Rudolph was clearly impressed with all this family, and liked Junko instantly. That evening the three adults and the four children settled down in a family room on the main floor, conversing, playing games and getting to know each other. Junko noticed the absence of a pet, an animal, and asked Chibi-Usa if a cat would frighten the children. Chibi-Usa knew what she had in mind, and cautioned her to be very careful she did not frighten the two little boys and two girls. Junko then took out her Luna Disguise Pen and transformed into Panther, the rather large black feline she loved being. Rudolph was clearly frightened out of his wits, but Junko, Panther, curled up with the four children on the floor, licked their hair and hands, purred, and was instantly loved by them. Helga and Wolferl snuggled against her for warmth and went to sleep on the floor. Later Junko transformed back to herself and helped Chibi-Usa put the four children to bed. Next morning the pilot returned in the corporate jet to Hokkaido, where he rested for a few days waiting for Ami to come from future Moon. During this time the two girls transformed into senshi several times, flying off to the haunted mountain looking for more flying werewolves. On one of these occasions Junko flew as an eagle, one of her favorite transformations using the Luna disguise pen, and asked Sailor Chibi-Moon to kill a wolf-maiden with her scepter, but to leave the flying werewolf in one piece. Chibi-Moon did just that, and Junko dove screaming onto the back of the rider-less wolf, transformed back into Junko and mounted the beast, flying it back to Rudolph's castle. Rudolph was just returning home at the time, from his factory, and was surprised to see a huge winged-wolf in his front yard, nuzzling under the melting snow for mice, rabbits or anything else to eat. Flying made it hungry. "You ride and fly both, don't you Rudolph," asked Junko, "do you want to take it up for a test flight?" Rudolph did, and with Junko riding double behind him they took into the air on the back of the flying wolf. Rudolph was both a fine rider and pilot, and adapted immediately to flying or riding this winged mount. They flew as long as they could, as it was getting dark; and after landing Junko released the animal to fly homeward to the mountain where it and the flaxen-haired maidens lived. Rudolph took this occasion to ask Junko about their aunt Ami, who was coming to visit them. "Ami is our aunt, because she was married to our brother or cousin or uncle, I am not sure which he is. Shingo was the other one of the Tsukino children, of the family that our mother Serena, Usagi, was re-born into after being sent from the future Moon for her safety after it was destroyed by the Negaverse." Again this future Moon story that had so irritated Rudolph. Junko continued, "Shingo was killed in another war, after having been married just a short time to Ami. That makes her our aunt, if Shingo was our uncle. Now Serena is totally my mother, but she was Chibi-Usa's mother on future Moon, but her cousin on Earth. Chibi-Usa came tumbling in from outer space, one day, carrying her Luna ball, sort of a pet, or companion, but also a weapon; and landed at the feet of Serena and her boyfriend-fianc�, Darien, whose Japanese name is Mamoru." Junko could see Rudolph was not absorbing all of her story, so shortened it. "Well, after the war, Shingo-san's and Ami's twins, Kana and Kami, were killed accidentally, but she saved their ovaries and cloned embryos from them and had them implanted in our benefactor Molly, producing a new Kana and Kami; and two years later another batch of embryos were implanted in both Molly and me. I was fourteen at the time. Molly later had Nobuki and Chizu, and I had Hiromi and Yuki. Ami lives on future Moon, where she has a new husband and another family, but comes to Hokkaido often to look after her three sets of twins. You will like her. She is also a doctor, so if you have anything medically wrong with yourself, talk to her, and maybe she can help you." Rudolph had nothing physically wrong with him, but did have a few reservations about marrying into this possibly nutty family. "Look, Rudolph," Junko continued, "my husband, Douglas, went through all of the same thoughts you are going through. We knew each other from when we were barely teen-agers, but the first time he saw me transformed into Panther, a ferocious jungle cat weighing over two hundred pounds, it nearly scared him to death. Later he saw all of us, including aunt Ami, battling creatures few mortals even know exist." "Are you saying Ami is also a senshi, wings, mini-skirt and all?" This was a new twist Rudolph had not expected. "Yes," Junko answered, hoping she was not telling too much, "She is also Eternal Sailor Mercury, a very powerful warrior." Rudolph suddenly got hungry, and hoped there was something good to eat for dinner that evening. This conversation was not very satisfying, although it was certainly filling. He longed for a pork roast and some cabbage and boiled potatoes. He hoped it would be more digestible than this story of Junko's. "Rudolph," Junko suggested, "could you take me through the castle? I would like to see more of it, and we could talk a little bit while we tour." Rudolph agreed, got two flashlights and some keys, and they went upstairs to where he and Chibi-Usa had their bedrooms, and showed her the remaining rooms on that level. They were barely furnished, dusty and without lights, water or heat. The third floor was equally barren, and above that was a small attic with just a few rooms and storage space. The structure was masonry from the basement through the second level, while the third and fourth floors were wood. It was architecturally sound, had steel reinforcing in the basement and first two floors, heavy wooden beams the rest of the way up. It was old, but not too old. It was begun in the early 1800s, rebuilt somewhat from time to time, and finished in the 1920s. Rudolph added the modern bathroom and heating to his and Hilda's quarters shortly before they married. "If you want to, you can almost ignore the Moon and senshi aspect of Chibi-Usa, Rudolph," continued Junko, "my husband does. He is studying for his PhD in computer sciences; he loves our little Douglas and me, and lives his life much like every other husband. In fact, all the husbands of the senshi are solid males, not given to romantic fantasies or flights of their imagination. It is a good arrangement, and I personally need solid men like Douglas, Melvin, and yourself in my life. I like the Moon. I was there for nearly three years, partly as a warrior, partly as a young lady in the royal court. But I prefer to live in Hokkaido, which, incidentally, is similar to this place, Germany. Chibi-Usa loves you. I have seen her with other men, and she never loved any of them. She was simply unimpressed by them. And, I can tell, you love her very much." "You are right about that, Junko," answered Rudolph, "I, too, love her totally, more than I ever thought I would love another woman after my Hilda. But these surprises are unnerving at times. I keep wondering what the next will be. I also see that she could help me financially to restore this castle. Am I being avaricious thinking of her as a source of money to do what would take me years, a lifetime perhaps, to do? I do not totally trust myself." "In those two briefcases I brought from Hokkaido there is enough gold, enough money to pay for a lot of remodeling of this castle. Bring heating, plumbing, electricity into all of the remaining bedrooms; convert one or two into bathrooms, add a fire escape to the outside; you would not want your children to burn to death, would you?" Junko had just struck a raw nerve. He had not thought of fire. And of course the four children, probably more from Chibi-Usa when they married, could not continue to sleep downstairs in the servants' quarters. They slept there now because it was warm, and they could walk outside to the privies. This dream castle of his was, in many ways, a slum, a firetrap; it was unsuitable, unsanitary and unsafe. If you want, you could travel to the future Moon, just to see what we are talking about for yourself," offered Junko, "Chibi-Usa and I would be glad to take you there. You would be safe traveling in the arms of two royal Moon princesses." She patted him patronizingly on the shoulder. Rudolph detected a slight tendency of Junko to start teasing him if he were not careful. What better way to die than in the arms of these two beauties? Still, he had read enough science fiction that he was distrustful of space and time travel. People always were arriving at or returning to the wrong time or place, or landing in an intergalactic zoo, or some such. "Perhaps, some day," Rudolph answered, "but there is no hurry." Rudolph had a streak of cowardice in him that prevented rash, unpredictable actions. "Let's go downstairs and sit with the children while they eat," suggested Rudolph, "I need time to think about all you have said. You are right, by the way, absolutely right. You look like a teenager, or a young college student, but you are smarter than I am, or at least you have thought things out better in a few days than I have in over ten years." They went downstairs, joined the children and Chibi-Usa for the children's dinner, after which the two ladies got the children cleaned up and dressed for bed, then prepared to eat with Rudolph in the upstairs sitting room. During their dinner he and Chibi-Usa were particularly snuggly, which did not displease Junko in the least. They all stayed up as long as they could, but Rudolph finally suggested they go to sleep. He had a long week ahead of himself at the factory, lots of things to do. They were also all expecting Ami to arrive Thursday evening, staying through the weekend and leaving the following Monday morning with Junko for Hokkaido. Ami arrived on Thursday as scheduled, bringing with her Kana and Kami, the eldest set of twins, who were now almost thirteen. Ami and the two girls were an instant hit with Rudolph, with their blue hair. Ami seemed mature, but appeared nowhere near her presumed age of possibly fifty. The three senshi talked briefly about the werewolves and their female warrior-pilots, and Ami presented, almost apologetically, a bag of gold coins to Chibi-Usa, just in case she needed money for anything. Serena, Chibi-Usa's mother, insisted she bring them from future Moon. She explained to Rudolph that the Moon kingdom had accumulated tons upon tons of gold bullion and coins from conquered worlds, but later learned to manufacture gold directly, converting from one element to another. Further, Imperium Silver became the more valuable metal to accumulate, and their very existence depended on Imperium Silver crystals. The gold was now nearly worthless on future Moon as currency, but was still quite valuable on Earth. Rudolph examined some of the coins and found them beyond description in their detail, as if each one had been laser-engraved, individually, instead of stamped in a hammer mill. "Rudolph," warned Ami, "you dare not let an outsider even see one of these coins." Rudolph was flattered that he was now considered an insider. "That is why," Ami continued, "we always ask Melvin to melt them into bullion before redeeming them for currency. You can do that in your factory, I am sure. However, Melvin sent you this to try out in your machine shop. It is a lathe tool we allowed him to make using, not future Moon technology, but technology from a world in another galaxy. It would be considered antiquated by future Moon standards, but you may find it interesting and useful. Melvin suggested turning a two or three centimeter diameter round file in a lathe at high speed and cutting it with this tool. The tool cuts best when white hot." Rudolph knew this would destroy even a carbide-tipped lathe tool, but agreed to do as she said in his factory machine shop the following day. The four adults sat with the six children while they ate. Kana and Kami tried with some success to teach Eric, Maria, and Wolferl to use chopsticks, and in turn learned a few words of German. The new twin girls chose to sleep that night on rollaway beds in the big downstairs bedroom with the four children of Rudolph. The two were skilled at caring for children, and would look after Eric, Maria, Wolferl and Helga during the night. The four adults then went to the upstairs sitting room where a housekeeper served them their dinner, and they discussed werewolves and armored blonde maidens again. "They are evil," Ami assured Rudolph; "we have been battling demonic creatures since I was about Kana's and Kami's age. You cannot even see these preternatural individuals in the world until you challenge them, as we have. But they have their effect. The difficulties in your company at this time, the high local unemployment rate, the lack of success lately of your crops, poor harvests, missing livestock and young girls vanishing all could be caused by them. Junko, Chibi-Usa and I will deal with them tomorrow, hopefully once and for all." Ami sounded very powerful and self-confident, nothing at all like the tender and loving mother she was. "I am a doctor, and it grieves me terribly to kill, to destroy life. But with beings like these, the Negaverse, the Dark Forces, and other diabolical creatures we have destroyed it has been totally necessary." "Don't forget the smugglers kidnapping children and harvesting body parts for transplants," Junko quietly reminded Ami. "No," Ami responded, "I never forget those. Your little Aruna, her life saved by perhaps only minutes from those horrible people, is very precious to me." Ami and Junko were referring to a girl unable to even talk, when found, she was so young, they had saved from being an involuntary organ donor just a year or two previously. Junko was raising her as a foundling, since she had no way to return her to her family. As Rudolph was leaving for work Friday morning he saw Ami, Junko and Chibi-Usa gathered on the fourth floor balcony. He watched from below before driving off. The three chanted their transformations, holding their Imperium Silver Crystals in their hands. "Mercury Crystal Power ... ," "New Moon Eternal Crystal Power ... ," "Pegasus Power, Eternal Chibi-Moon Crystal Power ... ," "HENSHIN YO!" and, doing their dances, became Eternal Sailor Mercury, Eternal Sailor New-Moon and Eternal Sailor Chibi-Moon. The two Moon princesses were armed with their Moon scepters. Off they flew in a chevron formation to the distant mountain peak, home of the werewolves and flaxen-haired maidens. Rudolph then drove away, mystified by all that he saw. The three sailor senshi flew at a high altitude, hoping to escape detection by werewolf scouts; when they arrived at the mountain, Sailor Mercury used her virtual reality visor and data computer to scan the mountain deeply inside, looking for meeting halls, escape routes, wondering how many there were of them inside. There were possibly a hundred wolf-maidens, and no water in any quantity. "I will fill the place with water," Sailor Mercury suggested, "then you two melt the mountaintop with your Moon scepters." Sailor Mercury spoke her attack, "Mercury Bubbles!" flooding the entrance with tens of thousands of gallons of water, which collected in the chambers below. Sailors New-Moon and Chibi-Moon then spoke "New Moon Scepter Power," and "Chibi-Moon Scepter Power," concentrating their laser-like beams of energy on the mountaintop rocks shrouded in haze below. The rocks glowed red-hot, then white, and melted, filling the passages, flowing downhill inside into the pools of water placed there by Sailor Mercury. Suddenly the mountaintop blew up, the superheated steam expanding and hissing out of the escape routes, scalding to death anyone in its path. Within seconds the task they had started out to accomplish was finished. Almost. Sailor Mercury had flown up higher than the other two to watch for anyone attacking the Sailors, and suddenly two flying wolves came out of the sky behind and above them, attacking them. Before they could do so, Sailor Mercury attacked again with her Mercury bubbles, drenching the werewolves thoroughly. The water froze on the wings of the canines; they could no longer fly, and plummeted Earthward with their maiden-pilots into the molten rock of the volcano-like mountaintop. Sailors New-Moon and Chibi-Moon continued melting the mountaintop until they were satisfied nothing was left alive anywhere inside. That was almost true. They saw something flying away in the distance and flew over to see what it was. It was two lone wolf-maids on flying werewolves, leading the rest of the winged beasts, perhaps two hundred of them, away. They followed for some time, but did not attack. They agreed that the wolves were simply the innocent victims of war. Probably they were going to where there were other wolf-dens and would join them; possibly to have an angry horde descend on the Sailors in the future, probably to warn them to stay away, it was too dangerous to return to where they had been. The three continued flying around, watching, as the mountain slowly cooled. With luck no one would have noticed the activity, since from the valleys below the peak was shrouded in clouds and haze. They would possibly have heard an explosion, like thunder, and thought nothing of it. Finally they returned to the castle, de-morphed and returned to being quiet young ladies and mothers. When Rudolph returned that evening he looked towards the mountaintop, seeing nothing, when suddenly the clouds briefly cleared, only for a few seconds, then returned. The mountaintop was gone, vanished, totally missing. "Schiest!" he said to himself, "Mein gott in himmel!" Inside, Ami was busy with the children, and he asked Junko and Chibi-Usa what had happened, describing what he saw. Junko merely said they had done what they had to do, and that the werewolves and wolf-maidens would probably never bother them again, but that without a doubt more were in Germany in other locations. Rudolph then produced a small steel pin from his pocket, the file he had machined during his lunch hour with the lathe tool given him by Ami. "It would have taken hours to do this work with a precision grinder," he explained, "and I did it with the new tool from Melvin in five minutes. It could save fantastic amounts of money, if used when needed." He was clearly impressed. The three senshi and Rudolph did their best to make that weekend memorable. They skied, something the girls and women were good at, having lived for years near the slopes of Sapporo. Kana and Kami spent a lot of time with Eric and Maria on the bunny slope, at least teaching them not to fall down, most of the time. On Saturday evening the contractor Rudolph had selected conversed with Rudolph and the three senshi, agreeing to start laying the new sewer line immediately. The ground had thawed enough to begin excavating, and he recommended laying new water and natural gas pipelines at the same time, a good idea that was immediately accepted. He estimated he could complete the task by mid-summer, using a back-hoe and up to a hundred workers using shovels, in addition to the pipe fitters who would actually lay the pipeline itself. The trench had to be shored to prevent cave-ins, and dug to over six feet deep. He would open only about a hundred and fifty meters of trench at a time, two hundred at the most, burying the new lines as he proceeded. Chibi-Usa paid him a small advance on his work and agreed to pay the remainder as billed on a weekly basis so the contractor could meet his payroll. She also described the other work on the house that needed to be done, the second floor remodeling, starting with an iron fire escape to the fourth floor. The contractor was excited about the new work, which would last through the winter, working slowly and carefully inside of the house. The high local unemployment meant skilled workers were plentiful at modest wage scales. Monday came; Junko and Ami left for Hokkaido with Kana and Kami, who asked if they could return after school let out for the summer. They really liked Rudolph's children, and had seen altogether too little of Chibi-Usa as they had grown up. Chibi-Usa was anxious to give them more senshi training, they both being the right age to begin their future lives as female warriors. When they were little they had helped, as toddlers, to defeat the dark forces with their Mercury Crystal lockets under Chibi-Usa's direction, and remembered it well. That evening Chibi-Usa moved little Helga into her own bedroom with herself. She felt Helga was too young to be in the large bedroom with the three older children, and the two housekeepers simply were not caring for her adequately at night. She needed to get up once or twice, or have her diaper changed, being only fourteen months old now. They placed a crib in Chibi-Usa's room for Helga. It was a happy solution all around. In late May Ami and Serena, Chibi-Usa's mother, arrived with Kana and Kami to leave them for the summer. It was a happy re-union for mother and daughter, but conversation immediately was on the wedding, now planned for summer a year from that time. "I want a small wedding, Serena," stated Chibi-Usa, with finality. "The only thing small will be the size of this castle. It is simply not big enough to hold a wedding in. Wouldn't you all like to come to the Moon and have a decent wedding? Remember, you are a royal princess." Serena wanted one for Chibi-Usa as big as her own to Darien. "This castle is big enough if you do not invite every third-rate dictator in the universe, Mother. Look, all I want is blood relatives, Puu if she can come, Ami, Lita, Mina and Rei, and their daughters Kana, Kami, Seira, Asami and Yukari; I grew up with them; and, of course, Junko and all of her family, Molly and Melvin, Hotaru and Florien. Rudolph has a brother and a sister; they must be invited, along with their families. His parents are no longer living. Can daddy come? I know time travel makes him ill." Darien had hated traveling since he was a prisoner of war with the Wormholers for over ten years. "Mamoru and Michiko will come, I know they will." Serena finally agreed to do it Chibi-Usa's way, which was more than agreeable with Rudolph. He had sweated through one large wedding, and that was sufficient for a lifetime. Serena and Ami both had large sacks of gold coins for Chibi-Usa from the royal treasury. Serena and Chibi-Usa spent Monday flying to Berne again, where they exchanged another quantity of gold ingots for currency, the original nearly half million dollars being spent on the construction of the pipelines, and on purchasing the fire escape, which had been ordered from a foundry. The contracting work proceeded on schedule, by mid-summer they had decent plumbing again, and the downstairs bathroom worked for the first time in anyone's memory. No more septic tanks, and trucks coming to pump them out. Iron workers installed the new fire escape on the outside of the castle, while carpenters, plumbers and other craftsmen worked remodeling the second floor bedrooms, changing one into two bathrooms, one for boys and one for the girls. The outside walls were insulated, and efficient natural gas heaters with forced air circulation and drafts were put in, along with lights, telephone lines and cable, for television and Internet service. The floor above was insulated for heating efficiency down below. By the following summer it would be all finished. The three summer months with Kana and Kami present were exciting for all. They learned German, and were able to read, write and speak the language to some degree. Chibi-Usa conducted private training of the two of them in being senshi. Maria wanted to be included, but Chibi-Usa thought it unwise. Serena had given them each one attack, 'Mercury Vapor' for Kana, and 'Mercury Ice Crystals' for Kami. They could drench an enemy in fog, then coat him in a layer of ice to disable him. It was not a deadly attack, but was enough to practice with. They looked more like little cheerleaders than senshi in their fukus as Sailor Chibi-Mercury and Sailor New-Mercury. Chibi-Usa reminded them she had started out with a 'Pink Sugar Heart Attack,' shooting little pink candy hearts at the enemy, which did not usually get there, falling harmlessly to the ground, unless she stood really close. Ami returned at the end of the summer to collect her twins, Serena came and went a few times during the coming year, and finally the next summer and the wedding were upon them. Chibi-Usa gave Rudolph the collection of gold coins the ladies kept bringing from the Moon, asking him to melt them down into fifteen one kilogram gold ingots for her. This was worth nearly $150,000, and they still had many more, left from the originals Junko had brought with her a year and a few months previously. Rudolph's business was prospering in the absence of the werewolves and their beautiful riders, although he would not admit to that as being the reason. He preferred to think it was due to his own hard work and ingenuity, which, of course, was largely true. "We have not made any honeymoon plans, Chibi-Usa," Rudolph pointed out one day, "I cannot leave the factory for too long at a time. Do you have any ideas how we are going to do this?" The factory closed for a fortnight each summer for vacations, and both her brother and Melvin had offered to look after the factory for two weeks in Rudolph's absence. She suggested Rudolph plan a six-week business trip. He ordinarily went out on these trips for two or three weeks at a time, but Chibi-Usa said they could spend half of this time vacationing and honeymooning, with the children, and during the other half he could call on clients. They would be able to see South America, Australia, the Pacific Rim including Hokkaido, Southern France, all the places where he had business contacts. There was money enough to pay for it, especially with Rudolph's business prospering. 
"I suppose you are going to take the children with you both on your honeymoon?" asked Serena, certain she knew the answer. "Of course, Serena," answered Chibi-Usa, "how do you think they would feel, abandoned both by their father and me for several weeks? We will manage quite nicely, and Junko has already offered us the services of Agatha, the exchange student Melvin got for them all as a mother's helper. She will be good with them and look after them while Rudolph and I enjoy being newly married." "What about a wedding dress for you, Chibi-Usa?" asked Serena. "Are you having one made? These things take time." "Junko is bringing her wedding kimono. I will wear that. It was beautiful on Junko, and I hope I will look half as good as she did in it. We are retaining a Lutheran pastor to perform the nuptials themselves, but I would like Rei, who is a Shinto priestess now, to bless the relationship. Many, or most, of the guests coming have Japanese ties, and are unfamiliar with Christian clergy and their practices. It would make them more nearly a part of the ceremony to have a co-religionist joining the ritual. I personally am not religious, and care nothing for whatever faith is represented. But I do want the people to feel comfortable with whatever we do. "I really hope the ceremony itself will be very short, no longer than fifteen minutes. The emphasis should be on good fellowship, with enough music, food and beverages that everyone feels at home." With reluctance Serena agreed to do it Chibi-Usa's way. It was, after all, her wedding, not Serena's. They spent the remaining time preparing. They purchased new clothing for the children, stockings, shoes and suits with short pants for the boys, white tights, ruffled panties and pretty dresses for the two girls. Serena gave Maria and Helga home permanents, and trimmed the hair of the two boys into nice pageboy cuts. These were skills she had learned as a teenager in Japan, and had used while raising her own children. They retained a small chamber orchestra, and a caterer to provide food and refreshments during the gathering. Chibi-Usa and the housekeepers washed linens, cleaned rooms, made beds and polished furniture in the newly outfitted bedchambers on the second floor. All available space would be used for guests from future Moon, Japan, Brazil and Germany. They would be packed in like sardines, and a local hotel had reserved a block of rooms for those who chose not to live like young people away in a crowded summer camp. 
The wedding gathering officially started in mid-afternoon. Everyone conversed, with Chibi-Usa, Melvin, Mamoru and Michiko speaking German to the siblings of Rudolph. The two German men-guests drank perhaps a little too much, and were loud and slightly tipsy by the time of the wedding ceremony. The Lutheran pastor was warm and congenial and had uplifting things to say to everyone, especially to Rudolph, Chibi-Usa and the four kinder of Rudolph. The ceremony started with Junko and Melvin walking out of the kitchen area on either side of Chibi-Usa, who was dressed in Junko's white wedding kimono. Junko and Hotaru wore fine silk brocade kimonos in red and purple. The four inner senshi and Serena all wore kimonos, but the Sailor Sprouts had, all three, stopped in Rome or Paris on their way to Germany to purchase stunning off-the-rack dresses at fashionable ladies' wear outlets. All of the younger girls, the six twins and the rest, wore white, blue or pink tights and pretty party dresses, most with white leather shoes. Wolferl and Maria were ring bearer and flower girl, but Helga was feeling left out, making a fuss, so Chibi-Usa held her during the entire ceremony, giving her to Junko only at the end. Junko tried to cheer Chibi-Usa up a little, as she was looking tired and drawn. "Buck up, sister," she said to her, "you are at the top now, but it gets better and better. You may not know it at the time, but it does." Chibi-Usa smiled weakly, knowing life could just as easily go downhill from here. The Christian pastor quietly had Rudolph and Chibi-Usa exchange rings and vows, pronounced them husband and wife, and then gave them both communion. He stepped aside while Rei came forward in her priestly robes and performed a wedding blessing over them. Rudolph's brother, who had been his best man, shook hands with Rudolph and the minister, tried to embrace Rei, Junko and Chibi-Usa, and returned to the bar for more liquid refreshments. Finally, before it was too late, Chibi-Usa gave Helga to Junko and kissed Rudolph, warmly and affectionately. They were married. Rudolph kissed her and embraced her fondly, whispering in her ear his love for her, adding, "It has been a long wait, Chibi-Usa, but it was worth it." Melvin and others then proposed a series of toasts, which were seconded by drinking from tiny cups of warmed sake, or drinking chilled champagne, whichever the guests preferred. After that, everyone danced. As quickly as Melvin could get to Chibi-Usa he danced with her, wishing her well. "You have a great place and a fine family here, Chibi-Usa. I like what you have done to this castle, the remodeling, improvements and all. It really needs an indoor swimming pool, heated, of course. Even a small one, four or five meters long and half as wide would be a blessing, especially in the winter time." "I will look into it, Melvin," answered Chibi-Usa, remembering how much they all loved the two indoor pools at the Tomoe mansion in Hokkaido, "it does sound like a good idea. We six tend to stay indoors all winter, and do not get enough exercise." Young Mamoru, her brother, danced with Chibi-Usa, congratulating her. "You said you did not want to get married, but I think you did very well. You are great with the children. I always knew you would be a good mother. I hope you two have a few of your own, really soon." Chibi-Usa agreed to focus on his suggestion, but added that it was a lot of work, taking care of four children she had barely come to know in a year and a half. The afternoon turned towards evening, and Chibi-Usa suggested to Rudolph that it was perhaps time to leave. They had important things to do yet. Both then made a final round of the guests, greeting and conversing with all of them. Rudolph took a count and realized that there were thirteen senshi and four future senshi in attendance, and that their combined firepower was greater than that of the United States Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps combined. And, there were three more, he had been informed, Sailors Neptune, Pluto and Uranus, who were left guarding future Moon, along with Chibi-Usa's father, Darien, Mamoru senior. At about eight that evening the two drove a few miles to a nice local hotel. This was their night, possibly the only night for a long time they would have totally to themselves. They were both stuffed from all the food at the wedding, and on getting to their room they embraced, kissed hungrily and proceeded to slowly undress each other. "I love you, Chibi-Usa. It has been worth the waiting for you. You are the most wonderful girl in the universe." "And I love you, Rudolph. But are you going to chatter on all night long?" Chibi-Usa tickled Rudolph playfully, then turned down the bed, and they lay there in the semi-darkness, kissing, and caressing each other. When they could stand it no longer they made love, wildly and excitedly. Neither was quite ready for sleep, so they continued to lie there, all tingly and aglow, tracing little patterns on each other's skin with their fingertips. "Do you ever feel Hilda's presence, Rudolph?" asked Chibi-Usa. "I think I am supposed to be jealous of the fact that you were married before, and have four children by another woman, but I am not. I felt Hilda's presence the first time I napped on her bed, the day I came from Brazil, and I feel it now. She approves of us marrying, in case you were wondering." Chibi-Usa had surprised Rudolph, speaking of Hilda at a time like this. "No, I have never felt her presence, like a ghost or a spirit." Rudolph felt her absence, her loss, strongly at first but even now, on his wedding night to Chibi-Usa, he missed Hilda. "I am so much of a realist I tend to block feelings, emotions, or intuition out of my mind at times. No, that is not really true. I use all of those in my business dealings, but in human relations, surprisingly, I just do not trust in voices, dreams, visions, things like that." "Some of the senshi are very skillful at mental telepathy," Chibi-Usa commented, "like Rei and Hotaru. They are our primary means of communication from future Moon to and from the present Earth. "As we were making love for our first time tonight I felt Hilda's presence very strongly, and I could even see her. She was singing. Would you like to hear her song to me?" Rudolph did not know what to expect, so simply nodded. Chibi-Usa then sang Hilda's song. It was quite pleasant, simple and melodious. When she finished singing, Rudolph lost his voice for a few seconds, and appeared to be on the verge of a tear or two. He recovered, and spoke. "That is a song Hilda composed and wrote herself. She only sang it to me and to our children, to no one else. I do not believe she ever wrote it down. She added words to it from time to time. Did she sing any more of it?" Chibi-Usa answered that Hilda had sung more, indeed, and proceeded to sing the rest of what she had heard during her and Rudolph's first joining together, as husband and wife. It was beautiful, and went on for several, perhaps ten, stanzas. "Hilda approves of our marriage, and used this occasion, our first love making, to teach me the song. She wants me to sing it to her, our, children." Chibi-Usa felt more like she belonged with Rudolph, Eric, Maria, Wolferl and Helga than she ever had felt before. They continued talking of other things, caressing and fondling each other, then made love once more, this time being more relaxed, feeling they had all the time in the world. They were not rushed. They then went to sleep in each other's arms, later woke up and made love again, finally sleeping until mid-morning. They showered together, dressed and returned to the castle. Most of the guests were there and awake, and the housekeepers had served them all tea, coffee and rolls. Goodbyes were said, thanks given for the nice gifts, and Chibi-Usa busied herself a little with the children, although the other ladies and Sailor Sprouts had been looking after them quite well. They spent that day and evening at the castle, this time both sleeping in Rudolph's bed with Junko and Serena in the adjacent bedroom, and on the following day would depart on their six weeks combined honeymoon and business trip. Mamoru and Michiko were staying to look after the factory for two weeks. Serena and Junko chose to remain for a week to clean up the castle and prepare it for the return of the new family. Her mother and sister took long looks into Chibi-Usa's eyes, as she quizzically wondered what they were looking for. Junko pronounced Chibi-Usa as looking happy from her wedding night with Rudolph. "She looks just the same as you looked when you came back from your weeklong honeymoon with Douglas, Junko-chan," smiled Serena. All three had a good giggle. In the final analysis Serena really wished only that her daughters be happily married, which they both were. Agatha, the Canadian exchange student, came with them as a mother's helper. She loved travel, and earned her keep. In Brazil and Argentina Rudolph spent three or four days per week calling on business associates, while Chibi-Usa and the children swam in the hotel pools or the Atlantic Ocean, and spent the remaining time seeing the sights with his new bride and their children. The same pattern was repeated in Australia, South Africa and Malaysia. When Chibi-Usa was with the four children she always sang their mother's song to them. Eric remembered it. Maria barely remembered it, but Wolferl and Helga not at all. Nevertheless they enjoyed it, all four of them. Chibi-Usa was no Maria von Trapp, but sang well enough that the four kids did not complain. They spent a week in Hokkaido with Molly and Melvin, Rudolph seeing the Tomoe mansion and Melvin's factory, where he was thoroughly impressed by Melvin's new technologies. Melvin would spend the last two weeks of Rudolph's and Chibi-Usa's honeymoon trip in Germany looking after Rudolph's business. Then they journeyed to China, Turkey, Greece and Southern France. By Marseilles and St. Tropez Chibi-Usa was spending each morning on her knees or sitting on the floor, doubled over the toilet, vomiting. Rudolph knew the signs; he had seen them four times before. "That was quick. Did you get pregnant on our wedding night?" He sounded accusatory. "If you had not been trying to make up for a year and a half without a woman this might not have happened, at least not so soon." Chibi-Usa was in no mood for being blamed for what was obviously the work of both of them. Not that she was unhappy. But she and Rudolph both felt, sub-consciously, that only six weeks of conjugal bliss was hardly enough before the reality of pregnancy set in. However, the afternoons were not bad, and the evenings were spent in delicious love making, as long as she did not eat too much. They were both glad to get home to Germany. Chibi-Usa put the children in the new bedrooms on the second floor, Helga and Maria in one, Eric and Wolferl in another. She still had to go in to see and care for Helga once or twice an evening, but she was big enough to wear Pull-Ups, and sometimes she used the new toilet by herself. She began the leisurely task of sending out thank you notes for all the gifts, when she found, buried deeply in her closet, another briefcase, larger than the two brought by Junko. It contained more gold ingots, without a doubt brought by Melvin to enable her to build the indoor swimming pool he had suggested, and which she wanted. As soon as Rudolph had gotten used to the idea of a new baby he started referring to it as "he." Chibi-Usa referred to it as "she." They did not argue, but she assumed the baby would be the new heir-apparent to the throne of the Moon kingdom, after Serena and herself. Rudolph had similar illusions about the future of "his" son. He would be a co-heir with Eric and Wolferl to the family business and properties, while his daughters would, hopefully, marry nice gentlemen and be well cared-for, for the rest of their lives. Before the winter was over Chibi-Usa had had an ultra-sound, a sonogram, done by her OB-GYN and decided not to share the news with Rudolph. After all, she rationalized; a wife does not have to tell her husband everything. Junko visited them during January after Christmas, and while she was there the two flew to Berne again to exchange the last of the remaining gold bullion for currency, not including those brought by Melvin. Chibi-Usa wanted to remodel the third floor and attic, modernize the kitchen and downstairs rooms. Junko offered to bring more gold ingots, but Chibi-Usa said the refurbishing was almost over, only a new roof was needed that coming summer, and that Rudolph was doing well enough he could pay for it. She showed Junko the briefcase Melvin had brought, and told her about his idea for an indoor pool, that she planned to have built after the top two floors and roof were remodeled and repaired. That Spring Chibi-Usa went into labor, and on April second she produced her first born, two babies, fraternal twins, a boy they named Frederick-Alfred, after Rudolph's father and brother, and a girl Chibi-Usa was planning to name after Junko but, upon seeing her, instead called her Serena-Rose, after her mother Usagi, but with a head of hair redder than pink, but pinker than red; sort of a rose-colored shade. She knew some people might call her Chibi-Chibi, or Chibi-Chibi-Usa, something like that. But for her she was Serena-Rose. She was beautiful, and Chibi-Usa could not help but fantasize flying through the sky with her, transformed into Eternal Sailor Chibi-Chibi-Moon, along with herself, Eternal Sailor Chibi-Moon, and their mother and grandmother, Eternal Sailor Moon. Serena Rose would be queen of future Moon some day, but already, in Chibi-Usa's eyes she was a queen, her own little royal princess.
The End
I hope you have enjoyed this story. If so, you may want to read the other Sprouts stories. http://www.moonromance.com/ and on my website under MY FANFICTION. http://chibicardcaptor.tripod.com Also there, are more Sailor Moon stories, not related to the Sprouts, but quite entertaining. I thank you for your interest and readership. ChibiCardCaptor
Email to: [email protected] |