A Sailor Moon Fanfiction: The Pledge of the Sun.

Chapter 128

It was a rainy day at Juuban Elementary. At Chibiusa's classroom, the students showed their crafts to one another. Chibiusa sat at her desk, admiring the Holy Grail that she, Usagi, and Mamoru worked on together. Then, the bell rang, signaling the start of class, and the teacher came in.

"All right, class," the teacher spoke. "As you're all well aware, this week's assignment is about giving a present to someone important. I would like you to give someone special the clay projects you made. That particular someone can be a family member or even your best friend, as long as they know how much you care for them."

Chibiusa looked across to Momoka. "Who are you going to give yours to, Momo?" she asked.

"I'm going to give it to my mom," replied Momoka with a smile. "Her birthday's coming up, and I think it'll be perfect for her."

Kyuusuke then came up to Chibiusa's desk and held out a clay mug which was the finished product of his project. It was pink and had a picture of a familiar sailor guardian of the moon. "Here you go, Chibiusa, this is for you," he said.

"Oh, wow! A Sailor Moon pencil holder!" gasped Momoko in amazement. "That's pretty awesome, Kyuusuke!"

"But, how come you're giving it to me?" asked Chibiusa.

Kyuusuke's cheeks went pink as he averted his eyes. "Well, uh, it's because- you're my," he stammered shyly. "Well, you're a girl I like hanging out with, okay? So it's a token of our friendship."

All the girls in the class, including Momoko, could only smirk slyly, sensing the gesture was more than just a token of friendship.

Chibiusa then remembered Hotaru while thinking about what Kyuusuke said, which gave her an idea.

"In that case, I think I know what to do with my gift," she said with a smile. "I'll give it to Hotaru."

"Hotaru? Who's Hotaru?" asked Momoko.

"She's this girl who's this pretty and also mysterious," said Chibiusa. "And she's also a good friend of mine."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

At Mugen Academy, Hotaru was walking towards the entrance heading home early. Some of the girls were hanging out outside their classrooms as she walked. They were either on the second floor or in their little hang-out spots. Hotaru could feel all of them staring at her and hear them talking.

"Hey, it's that sixth-grader, Tomoe," one spoke snidely. "She's leaving early again?"

"I heard that she's not feeling well," said another. "Well, I'd be too if I had to wear tights and long sleeves all year long like her."

"And she's always so gloomy," said a third. "No wonder she's such a weirdo."

"Well, yeah, she's the daughter of that eccentric scientist, after all," scoffed a fourth. "Guess it runs in the family, and it's no wonder that she doesn't have any friends."

Hotaru tried her best not to pay attention, but each word she heard felt like a needle pricking her skin. Then, she felt a minor attack seize her up, causing her to stumble and fall to her knees while dropping her school bag spilling all of its contents. The sickly tried to pick up her things, wanting to get away as soon as possible, but as she did, two of the schoolgirls came up to her, and one stepped on her pencil case, making it dent.

"Whoops, sorry about that," the girl spoke sarcastically. "Didn't see you there. I should watch where I'm going."

"Should we help you pick them up?" mocked the second.