I do hope you enjoy this very short story. There aren't too many stories about Hotaru one the web. So if you are a Saturn fan, I'm sure you will love this. Feel free to e-mail me suggestions, comments, flames, and frozen pizzas at gracefulangel15@yahoo.com. Thank you. :) Now for the disclaimer everyone hates… The eighth commandment says not to steal That sadly makes the truth very real So to keep the lawyers from suing me Here is a disclaimer for all to see Takeuchi Naoko owns our beloved Sailormoon And she won't give her up any time soon ======================================================================= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh, with all that I've done wrong, I must have done something right. To deserve her love every morning, And butterfly kisses at night. Bob Carlisle "Butterfly Kisses" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To My Hotaru By: Masked Maiden Rated: G To my Hotaru, I do not deserve such an innocent angel in my life. Yet the gods gave you to me. After all the things I have done in my life, I do not blame them for trying to take you away from me. When your mother died, you were just a little girl. You were small, fragile, and so innocent. No little girl, and especially you, should never have to lose her mother. You two were so close - a perfect picture when together. The day she died, I vowed to take care of you the best I could by myself. I felt it as a great privilege, and less than an obligation, just like the first time you were placed in my arms. Anything for my little girl. The first few years of just you and me were some of the happiest years of my life. I gave you all the love and affection a father is able to provide for his daughter, and possibly even more. I didn't want to lose you like I lost your mother. I couldn't go through losing my other special girl. But I almost did. I still blame myself, even though I hearing your words in my ears. "It wasn't your fault." But it was, Hotaru. I shouldn't have let you come along with me to that meeting that day. But a father cannot argue with his daughter's pouting eyes, nor her soft tears. So I agreed to let you tag along. If I hadn't, though, none of what happened would have ever occurred. To this day I still do not know what caused the fire. But machines exploded, and the entire lab was lost. And even worse: for one moment, I had lost you. I felt you cold baby in my arms, and all I could do was cry. I thought I had lost you. That daimon appeared to me when I was most vulnerable. His words were too good to be true. But if it meant having you back in my life, I would do it. I sold my soul to the devil himself. Along with my soul, I gave him yours as well. But you were alive, and that was all that mattered to me. I don't remember much during those years of working under the influence of that evil being. Another being consumed my body, and an entirely different person consumed yours. We were both trapped in an evil web, and there was no way of getting out. I don't believe I felt anything during that time, only an unexplainable misery. It makes me wonder if there were times when you felt anger towards me... If you did, I do not blame you. At the highest point of despair, I was freed from my captivity as a host for the parasitic evil. The first thing I thought of was you. I searched for you through the ghastly domain I know I helped built. And there you were, in another form, in another mind. But you were the same person to me. I loved you just the same in that evil form as I did when you were my little girl. No less. Maybe more. I watched you fight for your sanity. It never occurred to me how strong you really were, and are, until then. I saw you transform from the evil entity into a young warrior. Yes, I saw you. I've never said anything because I know something so great as that should be kept a secret. Sailorsaturn, a Sailor Senshi... I never thought you could be so powerful. My little girl is a strong warrior that protects the Earth. You don't know how proud of you I am. A messiah brought you back to me, in the form of a tiny baby. You were just as precious then as you were the first time. I thank that messiah every day for bringing you back to me. She gave me a new start - to make all my wrongs right. Your mission as a Sailor Senshi took you away from me many times, but each time you came back to me. I thank those three young ladies - Tenoh-san, Kaiou-san, and Meiou-san - for taking care of you when you were away. They did a fine job. You are very fold of them. I can tell. Especially Tenoh-san. And I also thank you ChibiUsa-chan for being you friend. While she was here, she was your best friend. It's a shame she had to move away. You two were very close, almost sisters. And the others: Tsukino- san, Mizuno-san, Kino-san, Aino-san, Hino-san, and Chiba-san. When ChibiUsa-chan left, they became your friends. Friends are what make a person's life. You are nothing without them, and you everything when you gain them. You have proven beyond imagination what you can achieve. You are no longer the fragile girl I had to protect. Now, you are a beautiful young lady. It's a shame I will not be there to watch you fall in love, marry, have a family of your own. So I write this letter for you to remember me by. I wish I could turn back time and change everything. I wish I could bring back those days I would hold you high in the air, the days in the park, bruised knees, pouting faces, the outings... But I cannot turn back time. So I'll cherish those memories dearly, and I hope you do the same. Sometimes that's all you have. Promise me you'll live your life to the fullest. Don't have any regrets like I do. Regrets will forever bring you down. Be happy. Marry a nice man and have a family of your own. Keep your eyes one your dream. I know you'll make a great doctor one day, and I know you will make a great mother and wife. But just remember that you'll always be Papa's little girl. I love you, Hotaru. With all my heart. Always and Forever, Papa When she finished reading her father's letter, tears were running down her pale complexion. Carefully, Hotaru wiped the salty tears away and stared at the heartfelt letter in her hands. Her father had written it just weeks before he died. Hotaru stood up and stared at her father's grave. "I love you too, Papa..." ====== Fin.