Needed a little break from Destiny Decision. So I decided to write a short. :) Hope ya like! If you read the ending of the short Questions that I wrote, you will find the inspiration that I got for this little short.

The Thing I Hate

My friends all have things they cannot stand. It's part of life. Haruka hates to lose. Michiru hates to hear a sour note. My princess, Serenity, or Usagi as she is known in this time, is terrified beyond words of thunderstorms, and because of it, she hates to even hear rain coming for fear that a storm is on its way.

But no one, none of the senshi, can hate something... as much as I hate those things.

I am guardian and keeper of the time gates. I reign over these gates and make sure no evil passes through them. My master, the time god Chronos, and Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium entrusted this task to me because I am a strong, independent individual who is not afraid of solitude, loneliness, or evil. I can battle the most vile of creatures without a single flinch.

But this morning, I was faced with something more terrifying than any of those things.

I woke very early. Hotaru, who is in my charge most of the time, was going to be spending the day with her father, and I had to help her get ready. He came to visit often, but he trusted Haruka, Michiru, and myself with Hotaru's care for reasons that he was not allowed to know, but that he acknowledged as necessary. Hotaru knew all of these things and more as the awakened Sailor Saturn who was finally old enough to help battle with her fellow senshi. However, since the defeat of Galaxia, it had been quiet enough for Hotaru to spend time with her father and to be a normal girl.

I helped Hotaru dress in a pink dress and I curled her black hair into ringlets, which made it short enough to be a bob. She looked adorable, I have to say. I do not have any children of my own, despite my advanced age of well over a thousand years, and to be honest, I have abstained from relationships with men because my duty as the guardian of time prevents me from keeping any relationships for any long period of time. It would be more hurtful for any man I was with... because I would rarely ever get to see him. So it is easier for me to just remain alone.

But for the moment, Chronos had dictated that I stay in this time and care for the vulnerable Sailor Saturn, and I was thankful for the time I had been given to spend with my dear friends. Friendship is something that I value. As a person who is not allowed relationships, friendships are especially important... even if I found myself angry beyond words at one of them that particular morning.

Hotaru skipped off into the arms of her father happily, and she waved to me from the car as I stood on the front steps of the house, my house robe tightly bound around my waist. I waved back to her, smiling, and then turned to go into the house. It was only a little after eight in the morning now, and Haruka and Michiru were still not awake, and I expected them to stay in bed for several more hours at least.

I walked into my bedroom and surveyed the contents of my closet, trying to decide what to wear for the day. I selected a comfortable pair of dark maroon slacks and a matching vest. It was one of my favorite outfits to wear. I was slightly behind on fashion, as always, because I so rarely lived in modern life. So the frills that graced the front of the white shirt I planned to wear were obviously out of style, but I thought it pointless to purchase new items when I would be returning to the gates as soon as Chronos deemed Hotaru able to be without me.

I laid the clothes out and then turned and walked to the bathroom. Opening the shower door, I leaned in and turned the water on and quickly set it to hot before stepping back and shutting the door, allowing the steam to begin to rise. I love, love, love a very hot, steamed shower. It is one of the things that really allows me to relax.

I pulled my favorite shampoo and body wash out of the cabinet below the sink where I kept them, and then I hung my bathrobe on the back of the door. I opened the door to the shower again and sighed happily as the steam brushed my face.

Then, I stepped inside the shower. At first, all was well and good. I placed my shampoo and body wash on the small shower shelf and stepped under the hot water, letting it sink into my bones and warm me. I closed my eyes and started to relax as the water kneaded my muscles.

Then, I felt something... something...... crawl.

My eyes snapped open. My heart began to pound in my chest. My breathing hitched up several knots, and I looked down.

There, sitting on my foot, with six nasty, disgusting legs, two twitching tentacles, and the most horrible appearance on the face of the Earth.... in fact, in the entire universe... was a cockroach.

It took all of two seconds before my voice broke away from my throat in a bloodcurdling scream. I screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed.... and then came the most terrible experience of my life.

I jumped, over and over, through the air. The demon shook on my foot and then started to crawl its way up my bare leg, only causing my screams to grow louder. I toppled out of the shower and slipped on the wet floor, causing my bare backside to go flying to crash with the hard surface of the tiled floor.

Then the screams changed into moans of pain, and I knew I was going to have a terrible, terrible bruise on my lower back from the contact. I writhed on the floor for a moment before I realized that the crawling was still happening. I looked down and my eyes literally bugged... oh God, what a terrible word... literally popped out of my skull. There sitting on my stomach was the infernal creature! It had made its way up all during my torturous experience! My throat hoarse, I started to scream again and began thrashing around, but the thing just would not move for some reason!

And then, the door crashed open and there was Michiru, her eyes wide and terrified. She looked down and saw me, stark naked, and her eyes widened. Then she saw the creature, and she knew my dilemma. Gasping, she reached over for a fluffy while towel and quickly lashed it out at my stomach. The creature scampered away, finally, and I got to my feet despite the pain in my back and grabbed the robe on the door, throwing it over my shoulders in a rush.

And then, I heard the laughing. The maniacal, guffawing laughter of Tenoh Haruka as she rolled in gales of laughter on my bed. She had watched the entire episode from the moment Michiru had opened the door.

I took a cursory glance at Michiru, who was looking at Haruka with a look of disbelief and her hand daintily pressed to her lips. It became obvious that she had no idea what Haruka had done.

But I, Meiou Setsuna... oh, I knew. I knew that the senshi of wind was now my arch nemesis, and I, the guardian of time and the senshi of revolution, was a powerful, dreadful adversary to have. I stomped into the bedroom and glared with all of my might, my dark red eyes turning fiery at the taller woman.

"Tenoh Haruka, what in the hell did you do to me?!" I screamed, my voice cracking hoarsely from all the screams.

Michiru fluttered behind me, muttering soft apologies for her partner's sake. But Haruka didn't look phased. She sat up haughtily and grinned cheekily at me. "I just sent you a little friend to keep you company, Setsuna-chan."

I reached out to smack the girl, muttering curse words at her, but Michiru gasped and grasped my hand, her aqua eyes pleading with me. "Setsuna-chan, it's alright, Haruka was only playing a joke on you! We... we have so many other pressing matters to attend to! I will deal with Haruka!" With that, she glared down at Haruka, who sat with her stupid grin still spreading over her face.

I snapped my hand away but remained motionless. Then I backed away from them and turned my back on them. "Michiru-chan, is the... thing... dead?"

"Yes, I got it out..."

"Haruka." My voice became deadly.

"Yes, Setsuna-chan...?" Haruka all but giggled.

"You will buy me lunch today."

I could tell that Michiru was glaring at Haruka, because the wind senshi agreed with a hesitant "of course."

"And I will not ... I repeat, I will not forget this!"

With that, I walked into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me.

Looking into the shower, I scanned the entire space before cautiously entering the small space and shutting the door behind me, happy to see that I was completely alone.

I sighed, and never again did I step into the shower before furtively searching it for any signs of other life.

The day went on and Haruka, Michiru, and I concluded our business with the other senshi*, a task that was very important to all of us. The couple bought me a very expensive, fantastic lunch, and Haruka looked repentant. She behaved herself the entire day and was especially kind to me.

However... she had no idea what awaited her.

I waited several days, of course. If I had struck that night, I would have failed because she was on the look out. So I waited, and several days later, I got my revenge.

It was extremely late at night. I made sure that I picked a night that Haruka had decided to go to bed early. Michiru stayed up later to work on a painting that she was trying to complete. Hotaru was safely tucked into bed and was surely fast asleep.

So with all the odds in my favor, I slipped out of the living room where Michiru was set up with her paints, pleading weariness. I slipped through the halls and went into my bedroom. Reaching for my Garnet Time Rod, I whispered a few words to it and used my powers for my own means (a rarity, to be sure, so Chronos would have no ill words for me).

I waited.

Several long moments passed. I stepped out into the hall.

And then..... the screams began.

Michiru rushed into the hallway, her face pale and drawn. She noticed me standing in the hall, my rod still in my hand. Her fearful stance relaxed and she looked at me with a small eye roll. I grinned, and I could tell she could see the humor, because a small smile threatened to tug at her lips.

A few more moments passed, and then Haruka stormed out of her bedroom. Michiru snorted and laughter suddenly poured out of her. I, too, found it just way too comical to resist bursting into laughter.

"Setsuna!" Haruka roared.

I looked up from my giggles to glare at her. "Payback, my dear friend, is rough." My eyes narrowed at her. "And as the guardian of time, I will be watching you, Tenoh Haruka, if you even dare try to reciprocate!"

A visible lump went down Haruka's throat. And then slowly, she started to stumble back toward her bedroom, obviously heading to the shower.

Ah, but if only she knew that those feathers were not going to come off so easily. Because the first bucket that I had summoned... was full of caramel, and caramel is such a sticky substance. So when the feathers were summoned to fall all over her, they easily stuck to every place the caramel had fallen, and it was going to take quite some time for them to be pulled off. I had learned the trick from watching movies with Hotaru, and even such an easy trick such as that was one that had definitely paid off.

Michiru and I looked down at the floor where a small trail of feathers followed after Haruka. Looking at each other for one silent moment, we waited until Haruka's door was shut before bursting into laughter once again.

Revenge is sweet, indeed. Never again did Haruka attempt to put one of those things anywhere near me... in fact, she saved her pranks for others, always wary of my watchful eye. Because the guardian of time is a powerful being. Besides... being the time gate keeper has to have its perks, after all.

End

Ha, I just had to.

*Again, see "Questions" for the "situation" that Setsuna speaks of.