All Hearts Can Melt 4 Bringing Up The Past I do not own any of the SM characters you see on TV. Just the ones I've made up. Energy was forging throughout Luna's body. She felt more emotion at that moment than she ever had. She raced out of Kakeru's home, down the steps toward the streets. Watching her come forward from up in a tree was Lucky. He pondered what he should do. He was going to tell Artemis he was just worried about nothing. But Luna being in love with a human was a serious deal. It wasn't nothing. Should he forget it? Or tell Artemis and the others what had happened? Should he try and stop Luna? But Luna was like the sister he wished he had and because of that, he had to do something. As she came close, he spoke. "Hey, Luna…" But she didn’t hear him. He spoke again. "Luna, oi--" Luna's head was in the clouds. Lucky groaned and realized he had to take another course of action. Just as she came underneath the tree branch he was sitting on, he jumped upon her and she fell. "What--Lucky! What is the meaning of this?" she demanded. "Forgive me, Luna. I tried calling to you but you didn't hear me." He told her. "Luna, I know." "Know what?" "I saw you, Luna," Lucky said, sitting back on his hind legs. "I saw you kiss that lad." "Oh," she mumbled, "go on. Say it." "Say what?" "How crazy I am to be in love with a human." "I don't think you're crazy." "Oh?" He shook his head. "So, he's the one who saved your life, eh? He gave you that ribbon too?" "He did." "I bet whenever you're around him, yeh wish yeh could be human. Yeh almost feel like you are." "Yes," Luna said, blushing. "Lucky, where is this coming from? I thought for sure you'd think I was losing my mind." "I know how you feel, Luna," Lucky turned around, "I know, because I was there." "I don't understand. How?" "Because the way Kakeru is to you, is the way…was the way, Dorothy was to me." "Dorothy?" Luna walked next to him. "Who's Dorothy? Lucky--it can't be. You were in love with a human also?" "I was. That is where I got this collar." He looked down at the golden collar he had around his neck. "You never told me," Luna said. "I was certain that you got it from Lydia or Madam Indigo." "Surprised, aren't yeh?" he asked, cracking a smile. "Well, your past was pretty much a mystery." Luna shrugged. "You didn't talk much about it. Could you tell me?" "Aye. It's such a long story, so I'll start when I was born. I don't know if you just ended up here after Serenity sent you and Artemis to Earth or you were reborn as a kitten. I however, was a kitten. I had three bothers and three sisters and we all were different. No human owned us. It was just we cats. My siblings hated me." "Why?" "Because, of this," he stepped forward. "My rainbow birthmark. I was different from them and I could do things they couldn't do." "They were jealous of you?" "Yes. They all were and they fought rough with me. Even the runt." "That's preposterous!" Luna cried. "Why, you were their brother and they should've loved you no matter what!" Lucky chuckled. "What?" "Luna, you look just like my eldest sister, but you are nothing like her. I wish she were at least a bit like you. And my brothers…I wish they were like Artemis." **** A solid white shorthaired stray mother cat delivered her first litter in a hollow log. Her litter was different colors and their fur was different too. She noticed that one, her fourth born had an interesting birthmark on his forehead. The other kittens did not have this birthmark and she wondered how it could belong to her. However, it was still part of her litter and she had to be a good mother, when she knew for certain that the other kittens wouldn't like him. When the kittens were old enough to walk and their eyes were open, they treated their orange longhaired, green-eyed, rainbow-birth marked brother with no respect. Not just because of his birthmark, but because when it was cold, he was warm. He had the thickest fur of any cat in the whole litter and it got cold a lot in Ireland. The oldest cat was a black shorthair with red eyes and a female; the next was male gray with somewhat-thick fur with orange eyes; the third was also a male with yellow eyes, brown thick fur. The orange-longhaired one in the middle had green eyes and the unsightly birthmark that they all resented. The next cat also had orange hair, but it was shorter with yellow stripes, blue eyes and a female. The next had indigo eyes, a male and he was orange and white. The last, also the runt of the family, was male, had violet eyes and was gray with black stripes. Sadly, instead of picking on the runt, the picked on the middle kitten. Even the runt picked on him. The orange, longhaired middle kitten could do things that the others couldn’t' do. He found food more easily. He caught mice better than anyone else and a good fishing cat also. All the other cats thought the mother cat loved the middle cat more than anyone else. But this mother cat loved all of her litter. It didn't keep the cats from fighting with their sibling and he had a few scratches that his thick hair hid. One spring day, when the kittens were a little older, there was a beautiful rainbow spread across the meadow. All the kittens were excited and they ran to it. But the closer they got to it, the father it went. Only one could come to it, and that was the one with the birthmark. He walked right into the rainbow and on the other side was a pot of gold. The kittens were angry with their sibling. Especially the eldest; she being the eldest, should have authority to be able to play in the rainbow. She went up to her brother and tried to swat him. The loathed kitten jumped into the pot of gold before he was hurt. His sister and the others tried jumping in with him to push him out and play in the gold but they couldn't get near it. They gave up and left their brother alone. The kitten watched his siblings leave him. The kitten began to cry and he sank down in the gold. He wondered why they hated him. He tried hard to be part of the family. He was nice and respected them. Why couldn't they do the same for him? The kitten fell asleep and then he heard a voice talking to him. He sat straight up, a few coins falling from his head. "Hear me," said the voice. For some odd reason, the kitten understood the voice. It could understand human speech, unlike other cats and his siblings. He couldn’t see who was speaking to him. He looked around to see if a human was standing next to the pot. Then the voice spoke again. "Hear me." The voice was coming from over head. He cat looked up. He saw a woman's face through the rainbow. It was Queen Azure. "Find her, dear cat. Find my daughter on Earth. You are her guardian advisor. You must find Sailor Rainbow, the Rainbow Princess." "Meow?" the cat spoke. "You can speak my language and I know you can hear me. You are different from your kittens because you were chosen to find the rainbow princess. Find her, before it is too late." "Rainbow…Princess?" the kitten mumbled. "Yes. You will know when you find her. She also bears the same mark on her forehead, as I do." She pointed to her forehead. "But she does not remember her past nor does she carry the rainbow mark on her forehead right now. But you will know, dear cat when you find her. You can make her remember with your special gift. Hurry." "Wait…" the kitten whispered. But then, the woman disappeared and her voice, he could no longer hear. The kitten sat down in the pot of gold. He was only a few months old. He wasn't fully grown to look for someone yet. He was still yet a kitten. But then, he couldn't stay with his family--a family that didn't love him. But he really didn't have much of a choice. He had to go, even if he was a kitten. The orange kitten jumped out of the pot of gold, through the tall grass to find whoever this Rainbow Princess could be. ***** "That's how it began," Lucky said. "I just can't believe your siblings were so cruel to you." Luna sympathized. "Just awful! I'd like to have a talk with them." "Me too." "So what happened after that?" Luna asked, interested. "You left your home while you were still just a young kitten." "Aye, I did. But, I got lucky. I've walked through snow, rivers, swamps, deserts…" "There are deserts in Ireland?" "No. But it felt like it during the summer times. During a cold winter, a young boy found me." *** A child was making snow angels in the snow when he heard a faint meow behind a bush. "What's that?" the boy asked, getting up. He followed the noise and found a kitten, cold and hungry in the snow. "It's a kitten!" he picked up the kitten and opened his jacket then held the kitten inside to keep it warm. He ran in the house. "Mama! Papa!" he cried, kicking off his snow boots. "I found this kitty in the snow. Can I keep him?" "Absolutely not," his mother said, "Having a pet is a big responsibility." "But Ma…" the child groaned. "It's sick. Can it least stay here a few days?" His father who had been reading the paper got up. "Your mother is right, son. We already have a lot of animals to care for." "But look at the poor thing," he said, pulling it out from his jacket. "I can't just put it out there. I promise I'll take good care of him!" The kitten in his hands looked up hopefully and meowed. "Please?" the boy begged. His parents exchanged glances. "I don't know," his mother said. "What do you think, Francis?" "Well, Molly," he mumbled, stroking his chin, "it is just a kitten. It's lucky that it could survive out there in the snow. All right, Martin. You can let it stay the night until it gets better." "Oh, thank you, thank you!" Martin cried. He poured a saucer of milk for the kitten and let it sleep in front the fire to keep warm. The kitten began to feel better soon and he was very grateful to the young boy Martin and wished he could thank him somehow. It felt good to be noticed and cared for. Something the kitten always wanted but never got. The young boy played with him and then, the next day by the time the boy fell asleep, the kitten had to leave and finish his journey. **** "I still wonder about that wee lad," Lucky said. "If he hadn't found me, then, I'd be frozen. I wish I didn't leave him, but I had to. Then, after that, the road I took was very bumpy. I've been in many fights with different cats and dogs. Beneath me thick coat, there are many scars. Here, put yer paw in me back." Luna did what Lucky told her to do and she could feel a large indent in his back as well as many scars. "Lucky, how could you survive?" "Why do yeh think me name's Lucky?" Luna nodded to Lucky to continue. "After being in a tough catfight, I wondered away and found myself onto rich woman's home. That was when I met Dorothy." **** A servant girl was drawing water from a well in the middle of a dry summer season. If it weren't for the snow from the winter, there would be no water. The water level was very low. As the servant girl pulled the bucket up, she found that it had no water, but a drenched tomcat instead. "Oh dear!" she cried, pulling the cat out of the bucket. She held the cat close and ran away from the well, through the gardens and to a large house. "Mistress Dorothy! Mistress!" "What is all the shouting about?" a woman playing croquet with other aristocrats asked. "Mistress Dorothy," the servant panted, holding out the drenched orange tomcat. "I found this cat in the well." Dorothy dropped her croquet mallet and took the cat in her arms. "The poor thing has been in a fight." The cat tried to open his eyes and he could barley make out a beautiful woman's face, violet eyes, shiny blond hair and a fancy hat upon her head. "Thank you, Betsy. Now continue your duties. I'll take him inside." "Yes, mistress," Betsy curtsied and ran out to the gardens. Dorothy took the cat into her house and took off her hat. "It's blistering hot out there," she sighed. "I hope this drought will not last long." She set the cat on her bathroom counter and took out some gauze and peroxide to clean its wounds. As she examined him, she found that he had more scars and scratches than she thought. "This cat has been in more than one fight." She muttered, "the poor thing. "It's lucky for you that you didn't break any bones. You're lucky to still be alive. Lucky. Yes, that is what I'll name you. You have no collar, so you must not have a home. Well, Lucky, this is your home now." 'Lucky,' the cat thought, 'Lucky. I think that's a perfect name for me to go by. A home. Finally, a home.' The cat meowed and purred in his pain. "Your wounds are very bad," Dorothy said, dabbing his wounds. "But it is a good thing my servant Betsy found you when she did. If she found you any later then you might not have survived. Don't worry, you're safe now." She petted his head and he slightly mowed and eventually fell asleep as she was patching up his wounds. When she finished, she had one of her servants fetch a fancy cat bed for him to sleep in. Dorothy sat next to him the whole time, watching over him. But she wasn't able to stay awake the whole night and she fell asleep against the wall. Lucky opened his eyes in the morning, feeling much better and he found Dorothy sitting next to his bed. He looked as his new bed and he was very surprised that he was sleeping in that fancy, comfortable cat bed the whole night except on the floor. He had been used to be sleeping on the cold streets and it was amazing to him to feel pampered and cared for. But he didn't understand why she had to watch over him, when she could've had one of her servants do it. She sacrificed her sleep for him. 'She stayed up the whole night looking after me,' Lucky thought, 'and she even took care of me.' He looked down at his front leg that had a bandage wrapped around it. Dorothy yawned and woke up. "Oh my, did I fall asleep?" She said sleepily. She looked down at Lucky, who was sitting up in the bed. "Well, now, Lucky, did you sleep well?" Lucky meowed and nodded his head. Dorothy laughed and Lucky thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. "I'll go take a bath." She went into the bathroom and came back shortly with a red robe around her and a towel turban style on her head. She picked him up carefully not to injure him anymore. "Let's see if you can eat something," she said. "We have to put some food in you." She entered the kitchen. "Good morning Mistress Dorothy," the cook greeted, "what will you like for breakfast?" "Oh, I believe I'll some tuna and milk." The cook raised an eyebrow, "Tuna and milk? Unusual breakfast." Mistress Dorothy giggles again, "oh no, not for me. For Lucky here. I'll just have some grapefruit." "Ah, so the cat feels like he can eat, can he?" the cook grinned, "well, I'll make something special for him." "Thank you, Fred." Dorothy said, "Lucky, it's a nice day out. Let's go outside." Lucky meowed approvingly. She set Lucky down on the ground as she sat in a chair near the table. "This sunshine is nice, but we could use some rain. The rivers are awfully low and the gardens look terrible. Nothing is growing. The soil is good; it just hasn't rained in a long time. I am sure the farmers are having a rough time." Lucky meowed, as if he could understand and rubbed against her leg. She smiled and scratched him behind the ears. Short time after, Fred and a female cook came with their breakfast. "Here you are, Mistress Dorothy," Fred said, setting down a tray with grapefruit, toast and tea. "And this is for you, Master Lucky," the female cook said and put a silver tray with a saucer of milk, one of tuna and turkey. 'Master Lucky?' Lucky thought. The female cook petted him, "enjoy your breakfast." "Yes, you look like you won't be able to chase mice for a while." Fred said and petted him. The two cooks bowed, Dorothy thanked them and they left. Lucky tried his saucer of tuna. It was delicious. Everything was just dandy. He could get used to all this. Everyone was kind to him here, especially Dorothy. As Dorothy was nibbling on her toast, a servant walked forward and bowed. "Mistress Dorothy, Count Magnus is here to see you." "He's here?" Dorothy stood up quickly. Lucky meowed, concerned and looked up at Dorothy. 'I wonder who this Magnus is.' Dorothy smiled, "yes, let him in, or, out I should say." She giggled. "Yes." The servant went back inside and was accompanied by Magnus. He was a tall, well-tailored man with dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. "Can I get you anything, Count Magnus?" "No, thank you." Count Magnus said and the servant went back inside. "Please, sit down, Magnus," Dorothy said. "Are you sure you don't want to join me for breakfast?" "I've already eaten," he said, coming forward and he kissed her on the cheek. "But maybe I could persuad you to meet me tonight for ldinner?" "That sounds lovely, Magnus." Lucky looked Magnus over carefully as he sat down across from Dorothy. He could sense there was some connection between them. There was some way Magnus was looking at her--that look in both of their eyes. They talked about some things he couldn't understand. Human things. After Dorothy was done with her breakfast, she told Mangus she'd go get dressed and meet him later for dinner. "It was wonderful to see you again, Mangus," Dorothy said. "As always," Magnus said. He looked down and saw Lucky. "Why, who is this?" "Oh, this is Lucky. Betsy found him in a well yesterday." Magnus frowned, "looks like he's been hurt awfully badly. Did you call a vet?" "No, I took care of him myself." Dorothy answered. Now the frown became a smile, "you've always been like that, Dorothy." "What?" "Taking matters in your own hands. Especially when someone is hurt." "You know I was a nurse." "Then Lucky here should be just fine in a day or two." "I sure hope so," Dorothy said. "Until tonight then," Magnus said and kissed her forhead. He left and Lucky looked past him in surprise. Dorothy let out a big sigh. Lucky looked up at her. "Yes, my love," she whispered. She looked at Lucky and he finished his breakfast. "You ate all that, hmm? I'm glad that you've got your strength back. Let's see how your wounds are healing." She picked him up and carried him inside and carefly checked his wounds. "My goodness, they look much better." She said, astonished. "I don't think you need the bandages anymore. Let's get these off, shall we?" she removed the bandages and brushed him. It felt so good for Lucky. It almost made him go to sleep. "I'll go get dressed and then we'll go pick out a collar and some toys for you. How does that sound?" Lucky stood up and meowed cheerfully. "This is so funny," Dorothy said, scratching him under the chin, "it's like you understand everything I say. As if you're human. Well, I suppose cats are smarter than people think." She took the towel off her hair and dried it. Her handmaids came in to get her ready for the day and she was fitted in a nice pantsuit and her hair was pulled back in a bun. Lucky's eyes nearly popped out os his head. He never thought humans were so, so attractive before. 'Am I losing me head?' Lucky thought, 'Feeling this way about a human? But she is so kind to me and so beautiful I just can't help it. If I were just human myself maybe things would be different.'' "Well, Lucky," Dorothy said, "let's go into town, hmm?" She picked him up and they left the nice house and then entered a limosine. The driver drove them into town and Lucky looked out the window to see the world passing him by. Then the driver stopped the car and opened the door for Dorothy. People noticed her and started to greet her and she said her hellos back. Dorothy went into a store, picked up cat food and a litter box, cat litter, catnip, another cat bed, a scratching post and other cat items. She passed the collars and looked at them carefully. "Hmm, these are good, but not all good enough. I know a goldsmith that doesn't live too far from here. He'll make a special one for you." 'A goldsmith?' Lucky thought. Dorothy made her purchase for the items and visisted the goldsmith. "Ah, Miss Dorothy, good to see you again," the goldsmith said. "What can I do for yeh?" "Rodger, I'd like you to make a collar for my cat," she said. "Something better than any other collar in the world." "Oh, what a good-looking cat," he said, petting him. "When did yeh get him?" "Yesterday. My servant Betsy found him in a well after he was in a fight. Poor thing was near to death." "And he's all better now?" he gasped. "My, he's lucky." "I know, that's what I named him. Lucky." "I believe I can make something special for him." Rodger said, winking. He pulled out a tape measured and measured his neck. "This cat deserves the best if he'll have you as his owner. I'll go in the back and get started. Should take me about a half hour or so." "I can wait." Rodger left the front desk and went to the back to work on Lucky's collar. Lucky was quite anxious. Rodger was a goldsmith. He was certain that he'd have nice shiny leather collar with a gold tag with his name on it. Or maybe even a solid gold one…all this was too much for him to take, a cat who once had brothers and sisters that didn't give him the time of day, having to live day to day, catch mice for food, being in fight after fight, now being pampered. "Ah, all done," Rodger said, coming out with a shiny box. Dorothy set Lucky down on the counter and Rodger opened the box to reveal Lucky's new collar. Lucky almost shouted his disbelief. The collar was indeed pure solid gold, perhaps more than 14 carats. In the front was an emerald buckle in the shape of a four-leaf clover. "Oh, Rodger, it's beautiful." Dorothy gasped. "Oh, I believe Lucky loves it!" "And here, see," Rodger took the collar from inside the box and unbuckled it. "It has Lucky's name written on the inside. Let's put in on him." Lucky leaned forward, ready to accept his gift. Both Rodger and Dorothy chuckled as Rodger put it around the cat's neck. Lucky looked down on it. He felt like a million bucks. After that, she brought him home and surrounded him by his belongings. He was a very spoiled, pampered and loved cat. He almost forgot what his destiny was. Things got better for him. During lunchtime, also like at breakfast, they were eating outside on the porch. Then it got cloudy and there was a small sprinkle. The sprinkle increased into a shower and then a thunderstorm. Dorothy jumped up. "I don't believe it," she gasped, "it's raining!" she picked up Lucky and got inside but enjoyed the thunderstorm by looking through the glass window. "Finally, some rain." The thunderstorm died down to a good twenty-minute shower and then, when it cleared fully, a rainbow spread across the sky. "Oh, how beautiful! A rainbow!" Then she looked down at Lucky's forehead, "oh, yes, why didn't I notice it before? You have a rainbow on your forehead too, Lucky. You are a very special cat." Lucky meowed and licked her arm. He was so happy. He had everything he wanted. By dusk, Dorothy changed out of her day clothes and into a beautiful green evening dress for her dinner with Magnus. Again, Lucky was reminded by Dorothy's exceptional beauty. Then Magnus came to see Dorothy. "Dorothy, you look ravishing!" he exclaimed. "Shall we be off?" "Yes, Magnus," she said and she gave him her arm. Lucky pranced after her and meowed. "Oh, Lucky…" she bent down to pick him up. "I'm sorry, but you can't come with me this time. Don't worry, everyone will be here for you and I'll be home soon." She handed Lucky to one of her maids and petted his head. "Bye, Lucky." 'But…' Lucky wanted to say. 'Well, I am just a cat…' "Come, Master Lucky," the maid said, "let's give you a dinner and a bath.' Sadly, Lucky couldn't go with her. He was alone again, even if he had Dorothy's maids and butlers and cooks to keep him company, wait on him hand on foot, it wasn't enough. The cooks made him an excellent kitty dinner. The maids gave Lucky a bath and even though most cats hated water, Lucky was used to it for he sometimes jumped in streams to get fish and he had been in a well for who knows long. It felt good to have all those hands rubbing him with scented soap. Then they dabbed off the extra water and blow-dried him. They clipped his claws, trimmed his thick fur and gave Lucky an all-out kitty makeover. As Lucky looked in the mirror while they were primping the orange cat, he was happy with the way he looked, but not how he felt. He wanted to be near Dorothy. He wish he was in Magnus' place, be a human. But even if he were a human, would it make any difference? Lucky felt like a human trapped in a cat body and maybe he was. He liked being with Dorothy. He loved it. He loved her. There was nothing like it in the world. Then he remembered his destiny. He had to go find the Rainbow Princess. Queen Azure made it sound important and it was important. Here he was being primped and polished, wasting time when it was his duty, his destiny to find the rainbow princess. She was out there somewhere and he had to find her. He couldn't sit here and wait until the world to end. He had to train this girl to be the rainbow princess and get the rainbow crystals back. Many girls were circled around him now and he knew that none of them was the Rainbow Princess. After maids were finished, they put him to bed, said how much a handsome cat he was and left him alone to sleep. But Lucky could not sleep. He knew what he had to do. He had to leave. He sat up and walked to the window and just as he were about to leave, he stopped. What about Dorothy? What would she think when she came home and wonder where he was? He was sure, even if she was in love with Magnus, that she did care for him. He remembered how unkind the streets were to him in the past and he didn't want to go down the road. He still wanted to stay here with Dorothy and his friends. They were all so kind to him. But it was making him soft. If he stayed, he'd become a rich, fat and spoiled house cat. Lucky groaned and curled up at the window. He wasn't sure what to do. At a late hour, Dorothy came home and Lucky went to greet her. "Oh, Lucky, I had such a wonderful time!" she exclaimed as she picked him up. She set him down on her vanity dresser and pulled the zipper down on her dress. Lucky turned his head away. "Magnus is so good to me." She said and slipped into her nightgown. She picked Lucky up again as she ranted on about Magnus. She sat on her bed, stroking him. "My, Lucky, don't you look handsome! Did you have a fun time while I was gone?" Lucky meowed. She giggled then yawned. "Oh, I am tired. I must get some sleep. I will see you in the morning." She put him in his cat bed and got in to her own. She fell asleep before Lucky did and he watched her sleep. She didn't make his decision much easier. But he knew what he had to do, even if he didn't want to do it. He jumped onto the bed and rubbed against her. He licked her face, sighed and escaped out the window. "Goodbye, Dorothy," he said aloud to himself, glancing to his collar. "I will never forget you." ***** Luna sniffed and held back her tears. "Oh, Lucky…what a sad story. I never had any idea that your past was so hard." "So now yeh see," Lucky whispered, "I know how yeh feel because I was in love with a human once before. I tell yeh this, Luna, it was very hard for me to leave. It hurt more than any fight I've been in. I knew what I was going back too. But if I did stay at Dorothy's, I never would've found Lydia and she would go on with her life never knowing she was the Rainbow Princess. The world would be under the control of Beryl and there wouldn’t be anyone to blame but myself." "Oh, Lucky, don't be like that," Luna said. "Surely Sailor Moon would've gotten the rainbow crystals another way. There was Madam Indigo and she believed in that legend…maybe…" "But she was too old to train her," Lucky said. "She just believed it was a legend and how would she know that Lydia, her deciple was the Rainbow Princess?" "She did have a magical prism." Lucky shook her head, "you don't understand. This is where I belong and yeh know where yeh belong. If I had stayed, Dorothy would still be in love with Magnus. There wouldn't be any difference. Even if I liked being in her home, this is where I belonged. Besides, being on the streets had made me the tough cat I am today. Now you can't tell me you've forgotten who you are, can you? You're Sailor Moon's advisor and being in love with Kakeru will never change that. I'm not asking you to forget this laddie. He saved yer life. I still think of Dorothy tiem to time." "He does have Himiko," Luna admitted. "He's in love with her." "Yeh see? I think yeh shouldn't go there anymore." "Why not? Kakeru's ill and he'll need someone to watch over him." "Yer a cat, Luna," Lucky reminded hotly, "just what can yeh do? Especially when he is in love with this Himoko?" "Well, I can…I can…" "I ought to tell everyone about this." "Lucky, please!" "But I won't." "Huh?" "I know what yer getting yerself into," Lucky said, "because I've been there. I'm sure he is very good to me, hell, Dorothy was good to me too, but I was just a cat to her. That's all Kakeru thinks of you. But with the scouts, and Artemis…you're more to us than just a cat. Because that's what we are, Luna. Sure, we are cats and we do cat things. We chase mice, sleep a lot--" "You and Artemis do," she corrected. "Touché…and we like catnip. But unlike other cats we talk and can understand humans. We cary a special symbol on our forheads. We have destinies. We have duties and our duty is to train the scouts. Think of where they would be without us. Would the have gotten this far if it weren't for us? They wouldn’t even know they wre the sailor scouts! Now are yeh willing to risk their lives and the rest of the world for some feelings yeh can never have?!" "Lucky…Lucky I…" Lucky sighed. "I'm sorry. I think yeh just need to learn this for yerself. I won't tell Artemis. At least, I will try not too. He's the one who sent me to follow you and he might make me say something." "He what?" "He's worried about yeh, Luna. And I am too." "Lucky…" "Just be careful, all right?" he asked. "I'll go home now and yeh…just do whatever yeh see fit." "Thanks, Lucky." "For what?" "For not telling anyone and not thinking I was strange." Lucky smiled. "I really wish my elder sister was like yeh. She and the others thought I was all strange." "But you're not. They were for not accepting you." "Come home soon," Lucky said and he left Luna to her thoughts. 'Maybe he's right,' Luna thought, 'What should I do?' TBC