A Sailor Moon Fanfiction: The Pledge of the Sun.

Chapter 136

When Harusuke next regained consciousness, he found himself lying in bed, waking up to the sound of birds chirping and the warm rays of the sun. As his eyes fluttered open, the first things he saw were the relieved faces of Usagi, Chibiusa, and all of his friends at his bedside.

"Uncle Sunny, you're awake!" said Chibiusa happily.

Harusuke sat up. "Chibiusa. Everyone," he murmured. "I'm glad you're all okay."

"Not as glad as we are to see you're okay," said Ami. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine. More or less," said Harusuke. He suddenly remembered. "Wait, what about the fight? What happened to Sailor Saturn and Pharoh 90?"

Uncomfortable looks spread all around, but then Usagi spoke up.

"The battle is over," she spoke quietly. "Pharoh 90's gone, and so is Sailor Saturn. She sacrificed herself to save us."

Harusuke's face fell as he looked at his hands as they clenched, grabbing a fistful of the covers. "I see," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry, everyone. Especially you, Chibiusa. I know how much you wanted to save Hotaru, but..."

"Harusuke, please don't apologize," said Chibiusa. "We all did everything we could to save her. Besides, if it weren't for her, we wouldn't be here right now."

"And don't forget what Chibiusa told us," said Usagi. "Even though she's gone, she's still alive in our hearts, and she'll always be with us."

Harusuke then smiled. "You're right. I should try to cheer up. There's no reason for me to feel so down," he said. "Thanks for not holding it against me."

But Usagi and Chibiusa couldn't help sense the pain behind Harusuke's demeanor despite his smile. Harusuke then got out of bed.

"Well, I'm going to go ahead and get dressed," he said, trying to sound upbeat. "No sense laying around in bed all day."

"But, are you sure you should be up and about, Harusuke?" asked Rei worriedly.

"Yeah. Maybe you should try to take the time to rest some more," added Minako.

"I'll be fine," reassured Harusuke. "I... need to take some time alone for a while, okay? I'll be back in a little while."

And with that, the boy walked out of the room, leaving his friends and family feeling worried.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

A little while later, Harusuke got dressed and left the house to take a walk. As he did, Usagi and Chibiusa both watched him go while keeping out of sight from behind the gate, the two ordangos looking concerned. Then, Luna and Artemis came up.

"What's the matter, you two?" asked Luna. "You both look worried."

"It's Harusuke," said Usagi. "He's trying so hard to act like he's strong, but he must be feeling terrible about Hotaru."

"Harusuke's doing it is because he knows that it would be hard on us to see him grieving," said Artemis. "That's most likely why he wants to be alone."

"That reminds me. Do either of you know where Haruka and the others went?" asked Usagi. "I haven't seen them since the battle ended."

"I'm afraid we haven't seen any sign of them anywhere," replied Luna. "Minako and the others are looking as we speak, but they haven't found anything yet."

Chibiusa then gently tugged on Usagi's sleeve to get her attention. "Usagi? Do you think we should watch over Uncle Sunny?" she asked. "I'm kinda worried about him, and I want to make sure he's okay."