Hoshi ran up to the front gate of the palace on Mercury and hit the intercom button.
"Ichijouji Hoshi for Mizuno Michiru and Neko."
Everyone at the palace knew Hoshi. She was Neko and Mi-chan's best friend, and had been for the past ten years. So it was no surprise when the gate immediately was opened for her.
"Arigatou," she said politely into the intercom before hitting the button to turn it off. She ran up the stairs and into the palace clutching the Christmas presents she had brought for the twins.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko and Mi-chan darted out of their room and down the hall to meet Hoshi, each carrying a present for her. Christmas had been a few days ago, but the girls hadn't gotten a chance to exchange gifts yet. They couldn't wait. Neko had gotten Hoshi a CD of "classic" Three Lights songs, including hers and Hoshi's favorite, "Todokanu Omoi: My Friend's Love." Mi-chan had gotten Hoshi a set of juggling balls, since Hoshi had joined the juggling team toward the end of the last term.
Hoshi was equally excited about the presents she had brought for them. "Open them! Open them!" she was practically bouncing with anticipation. She handed Neko a small package and Mi-chan a medium-sized one.
"Mine's bigger," Mi-chan bragged in jest.
"Ara, but big things come in small packages," Neko pointed out.
Hoshi crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Are you guys going to open them or just talk about them?" she said impatiently.
"I think we should just talk about them for awhile," Neko teased.
"Nah, give her a break," Mi-chan answered as she tore into her present. Inside she found two books - The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword. "Cool," she remarked as she began to read the back of the first one, The Hero and the Crown. It was about a girl knight with a special sword. Mi-chan couldn't wait to dig into it tonight before she went to bed.
Neko, however, was savoring the moment. It was the girls' last Christmas together, for in a week the Mizuno family would be moving to Earth so that the twins and their brother and sister could assume their responsibilities as the new Sailor Senshi with their own planets. But that meant that soon she and Mi-chan would have to leave Hoshi behind.
She ran her finger along the silver star printed wrapping paper. Hoshi always used stars in her wrapping. Sometimes she could be so predictable.
Neko tried to smile. But how were she and Mi-chan ever going to find someone like Hoshi? How could they be expected to find a new best friend on Earth that would be as great as Hoshi was? That would put up with the two of them? And what if she and Mi-chan didn't make the same friends? What if they hated each other's new friends and then ended up miserable? What if they didn't make any new friends at all?
*Don't worry, Neko-chan. I'll always be your friend.*
Neko grinned self-consciously at Mi-chan. While she appreciated her twin's comforting thoughts, she was embarrassed that she had allowed her own thoughts to get so hysterical. Fortunately, Hoshi hadn't seemed to notice anything was wrong.
"Neko-chan! Open it, already! Kami-sama, I'm gonna go nuts from the anticipation!"
Neko giggled at Hoshi's anxiety. She began to unwrap the gift, carefully slitting the tape, while keeping the paper from tearing. Upon opening both sides, she pulled out the box and folded the paper, to be used again someday. Mi-chan sent her thoughts about being slower than molasses, but Neko-chan was trying to make it last. It was the last gift of the season, and maybe the last she'd ever receive from Hoshi.
Finally, she opened the small thin box that contained her gift. Inside was a pretty blue crystal heart. As Neko took it out of the box, she realized that it was a necklace.
"Oh, Hoshi-chan! It's so pretty."
The necklace glittered in the sunlight that flowed into the huge windows that ran along the wall of the palace, and sent light blue rays bouncing off the far wall. Neko twirled it on the end of the chain, just admiring it for a moment.
"Ano, it's not anything super special. Just plain crystal." Hoshi was quick not to let the twins think that she had spent a fortune on them or anything. Especially, since it was obvious that she hadn't spent all that much on Mi-chan. "Demo you wear those blue heart earrings Mi-chan gave you two years ago so much, and I just thought this matched them so well. And I kinda hoped that� that maybe every time you wore it, both of you would remember me." Hoshi looked away as her eyes began to mist up.
Her tears were contagious, and almost immediately, Neko began to cry. "I'll wear it everyday, Hoshi-chan. I promise." She gave her friend a big hug.
Mi-chan held up a box of tissues. "If you two are going to blubber about all afternoon, I'll just go finish packing."
"No, we'll be good," Neko sniffed as she wiped her eyes.
"Hai, we promise," Hoshi echoed. Then she totally lost it and grabbed Mi-chan for a hug as she burst out crying again. She couldn't help it.
Afterall, they had all been best friends since they were six.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Oops, sorry!" Neko cried as she accidentally hit the cherry ball out of bounds.
"I win!" Mi-chan gloated triumphantly. Then she frowned as she realized how far away the ball had gone. "Hit it hard enough?"
"Gomen." Neko was repentant at Mi-chan's disapproval.
"S'ok. I'll get it," Mi-chan volunteered and ran off, leaving Neko alone on the four-square court.
Neko sat down at the edge of the court next to her stuffed cat, Luna, who had been "watching" the game. "She better hurry," Neko pouted.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mi-chan scanned the playground for the ball, but couldn't find it. Finally, she saw it, lying in the grass beyond the blacktop. "Sheesh, Neko-chan." She ran to get it, but it was intercepted before she got there.
"Hey! That's my ball!" she yelled at the boy who had picked it up. He was in her class, but she wasn't sure what his name was yet.
He smiled at her. "Hey, it's one of the twins!" A group of his friends were suddenly very interested in her. "Wow, you have a twin?" "Cool, where's your sister?" "Hey, come play with us!"
"Hel-lo! I just want my ball back!" But she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the attention. It was like she was an instant celebrity. But Neko was waiting for her, and she couldn't go back without that ball.
"Ne, we just wanted to play some keep-away," the first boy said. "You can't play it with us?"
Mi-chan considered it. "I'll play, but as soon as I get the ball, I'm going to take it back to my sister and play four-square. Feel free to join me."
"'Kay, but you have to get the ball back first, right? Good luck," the guy's eyes shone confidently as he threw the ball over her head to the boy across from him. Mi-chan wasn't about to back down from the challenge.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hoshi had been working for all of recess on her sandcastle. It was going to be a brilliant work of art. There would be a moat and loads of towers and even a courtyard in the center. Right now she was working on the tower on the front left. She was very proud to know her left from her right, and used the directions whenever
possible. This was definitely the front left tower. The front right tower and front center tower were already
