Anomaly
~Chapter 6~
Nestled in the brush was a small, disheveled child; a toddler, really. But the random appearance of a tiny girl in a thicket, in the middle of the woods, was not as unsettling as her very familiar features.
"Luna... I think it's Chibi-Usa," Usagi breathed. She bent over and laid a gentle hand on the aforementioned toddler's slack countenance, caked in dirt and what the two onlookers feared was blood. They watched as Chibi-Usa's eyelids seemed to flutter like restless butterflies while the girl slowly came to. The sluggish revelation of bright but confused ruby depths only confirmed what Usagi had suspected- she was staring into the face of her future daughter... albeit in the form of a youngster just out of babyhood.
"Good Lord, what's happened to her?" Luna wondered aloud.
Chibi-Usa blinked up at them, eyes flicking between Usagi and Luna. Her lower lip quivered dangerously.
"Something sliced her cheek!" Usagi gasped, still in the process of stunned examination. She inched closer for a better look. "I can't tell if it's deep-"
The blonde was interrupted by a sudden wail from the child. "MAMA!" Chibi-Usa's pudgy little arms leapt up almost of their own volition in response to Usagi's voice, fingers waggling and grappling at the air. Usagi froze. Mama? Chibi-Usa thought she was... But surely Neo-Queen Serenity did not expect her to...?
Chibi-Usa began making little whiny mewling noises when, a few seconds later, Usagi had yet to move. A terrible possibility gripped her. What if something had gone horribly wrong in Crystal Tokyo? They would have no way of knowing, and no way to initiate contact with their future selves without the help of Pluto. As it was, the Inner Senshi had not heard anything from the Outers since defeating Galaxia almost a full year ago. Unless Chibi-Usa had a time key handy on her person- and it was quite clear she didn't- the child was stuck in this time period.
But at least she's safe, Usagi's mind supplied reassuringly. Or... is she? Usagi shivered. They did not know the circumstances surrounding Chibi-Usa's unexpected and strange arrival. Nor had the feeling of foreboding- of danger lurking just around the corner- ceased niggling in the pit of her gut yet.
"Luna, we have to get out of here. Our first priority is to get Chibi-Usa somewhere warm," Usagi said firmly, sweeping the toddler in dire need of a bath into her arms. Chibi-Usa's whimpering calmed when her mother pulled her close, head dropping to rest on Usagi's shoulder. As the trio made their way out of the dark woodland and quickly stole across the uncomfortably open park area, Usagi felt Chibi-Usa yawn against her neck. She started at a sudden rush of maternal protectiveness, unnerved and elated by how natural the act of carrying her baby daughter was. Chibi Chibi was one thing, but this... this was different. Good different, but scary all the same.
"Luna," Usagi huffed, slowing as they neared the suburbs. She walked a little easier now, knowing they'd left fear and uncertainty a few miles back and were now entering familiar territory. It was getting harder to pinpoint a potential threat, but this cloudiness in the heroine's sixth sense was more reassuring than not at the moment. "What am I supposed to do? Mama will freak if she thinks I'm bringing in stray babies. It was hard enough adopting you-"
"There's also the issue that the 'stray baby' calls you 'Mama' and bears an uncanny family resemblance..." Luna sighed. She jerked her head this way and that before crossing the street. "Without the aid of Luna P, I fear your parents will not fall for the 'cousin' ruse again. But I also don't want to blow your cover if we can avoid it."
Usagi was silent, mulling the situation over, so the cat continued on, "The temple is closest. I hate barging in on Rei-chan at his hour, but perhaps she can make sense of Chibi-Usa-chan's condition with a fire reading. There is always the chance something merely went wrong during time travel, causing her body to regress. It is after all a perilous journey, and there are many risks involved."
Usagi gazed down at Chibi-Usa, currently snoring into her ear and disfigured by deep scratches. "I don't think this was an accident," she intoned softly.
"Neither do I," Luna admitted, but as she began to trot ahead the feline called back, "Whatever the case, we need to get a move on. It's getting late." Usagi worried her bottom lip as she tucked Chibi-Usa closer and followed Luna to Hikawa Shrine.
oOo
Chibi-Usa began stirring just as Usagi and Luna vaulted the last few steps leading into the shrine's courtyard. They stopped on the final stone stair as Usagi laid a warm palm over the pink-haired child's face.
"Shh. Keep sleeping. You need the rest."
As if compelled into compliance by the hypnotically calm quality of Usagi's voice, Chibi-Usa stilled her wakeful rustling. Usagi softly hummed the first strains of a made-up ditty, only to catch Luna watching on with a strange smile out of the corner of her eye.
"What?" she pressed, craning her neck to decipher the odd expression through the minute luminescence the moon provided.
"Nothing," Luna said simply, shaking her head and sidling off toward the ancient arches of the looming sanctuary's entryway.
Usagi hastened to remain in the feline's shadow, frowning peevishly. "You're amused."
"A little."
"Are you making fun of me?" Usagi asked loudly, pouting at the cat's rear. She saw Luna's tail twitch instinctively and pursed her lips. "You are!"
"I have better things to do than mock my charge when she displays an unanticipated burst of maturity," Luna groused under her breath. "Though I am seriously reconsidering my initial pride in favor of such a pastime given your current petulance."
"Luna, I can't believe you're going to... hey, wait, are you paying me a compliment?"
"As subtly as a jackhammer," Luna quipped, pouncing into the sacred Shinto fire room when Usagi pulled the panel open. "Well, Rei-chan's not here."
"What if she's already asleep?"
"What other choice do we have right now, Usagi-chan?"
"I'm just foreseeing one very grumpy priestess deciding to use one very flea-ridden broom on one very innocent bearer of bad news."
"Don't tell me you're scared," Luna leered, a smirk playing about the corners of her mouth.
"Scared? No. Disturbed by the possibility of flea transmission? Just a bit." Usagi shifted Chibi-Usa to her other hip, starting to feel the onset of muscle fatigue. "But I'm sure Rei-chan will understand our predicament. C'mon, this kid's not getting any lighter- let's just get the hard part over with."
"That's my girl," Luna grinned genuinely when Usagi took the lead this time. The pair coasted like ghosts across the wooden floor, half-expecting the eccentric Grandpa Hino or Rei's housemate slash friendly stalker Kumada Yuichiro to pop out from some dark crevice and reprimand them for visiting so late. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the temple's hallways were deathly quiet to the point of spookiness. Every abnormal creak of the floorboards sent Usagi jumping a good foot into the air. She found herself incredibly glad when Rei's bedroom came into sight, lamplight pouring out from underneath the door and pooling in a semi-circle around the frame. The blonde and her companion took deep, steadying breaths before Usagi prompted her knuckles into a nervous knock.
The door flew open almost immediately into the angry countenance of Rei Hino. "Yuichiro, I swear, if this is about the freaking 'draft' in your bathroom again... Usagi?"
"Erm, hi?"
Rei's mouth slipped open as, slack-jawed, she looked from baby Chibi-Usa to Usagi and back again. "Please do not tell me this is what I think it is."
Usagi had the grace to look sheepish before mumbling, "Can I come in or are you going to stare some more first?"
To Be Continued...
