World Shaking: Chapter 7 Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission. *** World Shaking - A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide - Chapter 7: Premonition and Preparation From Hospital to Home, and Back Again The police and ambulance services had arrived promptly, given that they had to come from Tokyo proper to reach the theme park. The place had already been evacuated by security after the explosion inside the manor, and within half an hour of arriving the paramedics already had Minako and the other Shadows' victims on stretchers and heading to hospital. The police had acted far less urgently, but no less efficiently over the situation. While some of the Senshi had gone with the ambulances, the rest remained to answer questions and relate exactly what had happened, as far as they understood it. After three hours of meticulous note-taking the chief inspector in charge - the same Tokuno who had been looking for Mita Lili those months before, he had been woken specially for this - finally let them go, asking only that one of them remained behind to help them explain some of the more bizarre evidence they were finding. Tokuno was a short, traditional older man, with a sharp mind but more than a few reservation about taking so much help from leotard clad college girls. He was also aware that this case was riddled with means and motives far beyond his sphere of expertise though, and appreciated Sailor Pluto's own brief, concise answers to his questions. Mercury would have been the candidate to help go over the varied apparatuses, to try and determine exactly how and to what end the dark man had been revived within Ono Ryu's corpse. She travelled with the ambulances though, carefully monitoring the vitals of Haruka and her child, and giving advice to the paramedics regarding their other patients. The rest of the Senshi either rode with her, or made their own ways home or to the hospital after reclaiming their civilian guises. It had gone midnight now, and there was little more for them to do as Senshi. Even Mercury left to become Mizuno Ami once they had reached the hospital, and handed the reigns of care over to her mother, of all people. Though it had gone two in the morning now she, Michiru and Hotaru all stayed with Haruka, who was sufficiently calm again to try and sleep. "Uh, you know, it's already bad enough that I feel stretched from the inside out, but getting my energy siphoned away really hasn't helped balance the scales." Ami and Michiru smiled at Haruka's return to good, if morbid humour. The woman yawned, still trying to get comfortable in the hospital bed. "How long am I going to have to stay here?" "Just tonight and the day tomorrow, for observation and a few tests," Ami replied. "It looks like there hasn't been any irreversible damage, but I want to run a few more scans myself and your midwife will want to check everything as well." Haruka sighed. "And to think I've been poked to within an inch of my life already today. Joy." "Just settle down and sleep," said Michiru as she leant town to kiss her. "You both need the rest." "I can't sleep here," Haruka yawned with a sloppy smile. "There's only room for one. We'll get lonely, won't we baby?" With a tired giggle of her own Hotaru knelt down next to the bed, and put one hand in Haruka's and one on the woman's stomach. "Here. We'll stay with you until you're asleep, okay?" Haruka huffed, amused that she was getting what she asked for the in the last way she'd intended. "That sounds fair, Hotaru-chan." It wasn't long before Haruka was in fact asleep, breathing heavily in tandem with her gently snoozing daughter. In the chairs beside the bed, Michiru's expression had turned bland. "On the way here, Saturn asked me why Minako would have done this." Ami's gentle, studious expression turned slightly pained. "What did you tell her?" "I said I didn't know. What on earth had she been thinking, Ami- chan?" "She wouldn't have wanted to hurt anyone," Ami replied, certain of her words. "Least of all Haruka. We can't know until she wakes up. The least we can do is heard her out, right?" Michiru nodded, her face still firm, but her voice softer. "Yes. I can do that much." *** While the others had all slowly left for their beds, for their families' sakes if not their own, Usagi had obstinately refused to leave Minako's bedside, and though he had to work the following morning Mamoru stayed with her. It was a nice show of support, she thought, and she hoped he wouldn't regret it later, when he had to explain to his colleagues why he kept yawning. Usagi could have no more left Minako than she could any of her friends though. School could wait, and she didn't have children or grandparents who relied on her. Someone needed to be there for sweet, enthusiastic Minako, at least until her parents were called. Waking up in hospital after going though all that would be scary, she was sure. Haruka had been agitated enough, and she had not passed out during her ordeal. Ami's mother had bags under her eyes as she came to see each of the victims in turn, checking them over and administering an IV and a few shots to each of them. "It's to help get them on the mend," she had explained when Usagi asked what it was all for. "Build their energy levels back up. They need the extra nutrients, and the fluid will help if they remain out for a while." "You don't know when she'll wake up?" Usagi had asked, concerned. "Not exactly." Katsura had shaken her head. "Minako-chan seems in better shape than the rest though. She must be a fast healer. Or maybe it's your good influence." Usagi had smiled. She liked the idea of that. *** It was 5am before Minako finally began to stir. Usagi had dropped off several times in that chair, but never for long, and hearing her friend's weak groan as she woke brought Usagi back to full wakefulness. She reached to the bed, and took Minako's hand, the IV needle still nestled in that arm. "Minako-chan?" The girl groaned again, and clutched her hand while another slowly went up to her head. "Uuuuugh. Did anyone get the number of that tram?" Usagi burst into happy tears almost immediately. "Mina-chan, you're okay! You're gonna be fine!" Minako's eye finally opened fully, and they passed across Usagi and Mamoru beside her bed. "I... am, huh? I thought I was a goner." Usagi nodded vigorously, still beaming through her tears. "You scared me, you idiot! Are you in pain? Do you need me to get medicine or something." Lacking the energy to sit up, Minako just shook her head where she lay. "No, I'm good. I'm... You, uh, you won, right?" Usagi didn't have the heart to tell her that the battle might only have just begun. "Yeah. We won, Mina-chan." Beside her fiancee Mamoru nodded in confirmation. "Your friends are here too. They're being well looked after." Usagi saw the worry flit across Minako's eyes as clear as day as her friend tried to look only half concerned. "Oh. That's good, I guess. Haruka-kun too?" "She'll be fine," Mamoru replied. "She's already complaining about the prospect of being stuck in bed for a whole day though, so you'd better watch out." What Usagi would have done without him to keep up a cheerful face she didn't know. Minako nodded, letting out a tired sigh. "Yeah. I, uh, could you tell her... that I'm sorry? This was all my fault. I didn't think they'd look for more Senshi." Usagi shook her head. She didn't want Minako thinking like that. "It's okay, Mina-chan. She's not angry. And your friends are free, and they'll all recover soon too." To Usagi's concern Minako didn't seem as happy with the prospect as she'd hoped. "What happened to Marya-sempai's father?" Usagi didn't know how to answer that, and Mamoru's own smile faded when he looked to her for inspiration. "He... He was never going to come back, Minako-chan." He finally said, when Usagi failed to find the right words. "Your Shadows took his place." "W-what?" Usagi felt her heart break when Minako's face fell. "Mina-chan, I'm sorry. He wasn't a man any more. He attacked Ono-san." "So... so she was wrong. We couldn't have helped after all." A small tear escaped from Minako's eye. "I'm so sorry Usagi-chan. I wanted to try and do something good for someone else. I wanted to make up for letting you down before." She gave a heavy sniff, and forced a smile onto her face. "But at least you know you were right. I was becoming a liability after all." Usagi wouldn't hear it, and took Minako's hand more firmly in her own. "What are you saying? You're not good enough to be my friend any more? Haruka-kun and Michiru-chan aren't good enough because *they* made bad decisions? That Mamo-chan isn't good enough because he was taken by the Dark Kingdom? That Hotaru-chan isn't good enough because she was going to be used to waken Pharaoh 90? That Tyra-chan and Koan- chan weren't good enough because they worked for the other side?" Minako looked as though she could barely believe what she was saying. "Why aren't you angry? I should have known better..." "Because you're my dear best friend that I want to go and eat ice- cream with as soon as you're better! That's why, idiot Mina-chan!" Next to her Mamoru shrugged, and gave Minako a helpless look. "There you have it." Mianko could only sniff again, tears in her eyes. "I love you Usagi- chan." "We love you too, Mina-chan! So get better!" Then from the doorway a tired Katsura appeared, holding two separate clipboards that she appeared to be working from. "Honestly, girls, you two are always so loud. My patients need their sleep, and you three look like you do as well! Weren't you going to help Rei-chan with her shrine today, Usagi-chan? You won't be much help if you don't get a few hours rest." "Yes, Mizuno-sensei." Usagi leaned over and gave Minako a gentle hug. "Get better soon, Mina-chan. We want you back. And go and see Haruka- kun when you're feeling better. She'll want to talk, and I promise she won't be mad, or else!" *** Tsukino Ikuko emerged from the shrine's kitchen with a tray of bento lunch boxes and three flasks of tea, hopefully just in time to avert a food tantrum for her daughter. Usagi's bottomless stomach had long been a source of both pride and exasperation in her household, because while it was nice to see a healthy, growing daughter eat well, there were limits to the pampering she was willing to give her little glutton. And even after all that food Usagi had ended up the shortest of her entire social group. Now Kino Makoto, there was a girl who put food to good use. A fraction taller even than the mannish Tenoh Haruka, Makoto had bloomed in a way that Ikuko would never have expected from living alone and fending for herself, even if she was genetically predisposed. Ikuko had wondered at times whether Makoto was wholly Japanese, none of them ever having had the chance to meet her parents. Ikuko sighed. Such strange girls, both of them. Rei, sitting in the reception room and speaking to the shrine guests, was so much more normal. She had a traditional Japanese beauty to her, lacking her friends' wilder extremes, except perhaps for the temper Usagi had so often gone on about in their teenage years. And a good temper was healthy for a well rounded girl, Ikuko thought. It kept the men in line, and other women from getting too full of themselves. Not that Rei had turned out to be quite as well rounded as Ikuko thought, but then the friendships those girls had forged had always been very close. It was a shame, really. A girl like Rei could have had any man she wanted, if only she chose to. She was certainly pretty enough, and had a good, keen attitude to her. But that wasn't her business, she told herself. If the girls had received more guidance from their absent parents, maybe things might have been different. Then again, her own daughter had had her heart set on a man many years her senior since her school days, and hadn't *that* shocked her and her husband half to death! "Rei-chan, I have some lunch for you." She knelt by the doorway, intending not to intrude on the girl's work. Rei talked like a professional. She would do better working for a woman's magazine than giving advise in that old shrine. But then, it would be a shame for the place to close. It was an old and familiar part of the town, past its time maybe, but too friendly to dismiss as obsolete. That Rei had customers was proof that it wasn't ready to shut its doors yet. "Oh, thank you, Tsukino-san," Rei got to her feet and beckoned her in. "Please, I'll take it." Ikuko did as she was bid, bowing to Rei's guests as she handed the girl her bento and tea. "Sorry to intrude. I trust Usagi is being helpful." Rei sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, she's helpful, Tsukino-san. In her own, constantly yawning way. Thank you for allowing her to come." "Oh, I didn't. She is her own woman now. But I won't disapprove of her priorities this time." She bowed again and left the shrine maiden to her work, "Excuse me. I had better take this to her, before she fades away to nothing." Usagi she found at her post in the fortune stall, bundled up in a coat and gloves against the cold, meaning she had to fumble with the fortune and prayer slips on the occasion that someone came to buy one. The rest of the time Ikuko had found her idly failing to sweep the dead leaves from the paths, or just nodding off in her booth. Just then it was the latter, and Ikuko frowned. Gluttonous and lazy, that was her daughter. How she didn't blow up into a balloon full of sweets she didn't know, but then Usagi's metabolism was one of those true mysteries best left to the Gods. She set the tray down on the stall and carefully unpacked Usagi's lunch, before proving just where Usagi had got her lung capacity from. "USAGI-CHAN! IT'S LUNCH TIME!" Her daughter screamed, bolting upright on her stool before toppling off to land in a heap at the back of the booth. "Whaaa-? Mum! You scared me half to death and back! What was that for!" "Sleeping on the job," Ikuko replied, and presenting the picture perfect of a parent lecturing her child. "This is what you get for staying up all night. You're lucky I'm here to make you lunch, or you'd have gone without. Rei-chan wouldn't pander to you like a mother has to." "I couldn't leave Mianko-chan all alone!" Usagi pouted as she got to her feet, dusting off her long, pink coat. Then she caught sight of the opened lunch box. "Ahh! That looks delicious! You're the best mother in the world! Even if you are loud like a train." Ikuko almost choked. "Loud like a... And this coming from who exactly?!" But Usagi was already fumbling with her chopsticks. "Why don't you take off the gloves, silly girl. And stay awake. Rei- chan needs you to make a good impression for the shrine." Usagi nodded, her face suddenly setting seriously. "Yes Ma'am. Usagi-san is on the job." "Good. Make sure you are. I'm supposed to be looking after Hino-san, not you." "You're so cold sometimes." "Maybe I wouldn't be if you and Mamoru-san visited occasionally. Even Luna got lonely and disappeared for a whole fortnight because you never come over any more. I was so worried I nearly called animal control to see if they'd found her." Usagi looked suitably admonished after that. As always, one mention of her cat and suddenly she takes responsibility. "Okay. As long as you don't let Dad be mean to Mamo-chan. And its fine, Luna came back eventually." "Don't worry about your father. Just remember to come and say hello occasionally, sweetie." Ikuko returned to the shrine feeling better. Sometimes it was good to keep your children in line, even if they weren't children any more. And she missed Usagi, after all. She hadn't thought she would at first - such a loud and irresponsible girl would be hard to miss, surely - but soon enough she had. That had been several years ago, and now even Shingo was looking to move out when he finished at high school the next year. How time flew. At the back of the shrine she brought the last lunch to the living room, where Grandpa Hino rested. She had brought him through from his room to change the scenery for him, as well as the air, and now he lay in his futon next to the kotatsu, the heated table gently warming his blankets to keep out any chill. He was awake, but the cold had sapped him of his usual vibrancy and energy, leaving him content to doze though the recent days. An occasional sharp cough escaped him, and he blew his nose loudly into a tissue from the box by his futon. "Oh, Hino-san. That cough is keeping you up again?" The old man just smiled from his pillow and shook his head slowly. "No, Iku-chan. I think I'm used to it now." "Oh, that's no good. Here, I brought you some food. Rice broth. Do you think you could manage some?" The little man nodded. "You're so thoughtful to an old man, Iku-chan. Gen-chan must have been a lucky boy to catch you." Ikuko smiled. Even when ill he was still such a character. "Really, Hino-san, you shouldn't flatter like that. Not that I mind. Here, I'll serve you." "Thank you. My Rei-chan is being a proper host, I hope?" Ikuko nodded, mixing the rice and soup for him. "She's very professional out there, unlike my daughter. You should be proud, Hino- san." Grandpa Hino just nodded, and breathed a heavy, warm sigh. "Yes. Too proud, I think. But that's my secret indulgence." *** As the afternoon had progressed into evening Ikuko had left Rei and her daughter to their work, and beyond the small swell of post-workday visits the shrine quietened down again. Not counting the slow drip feed of young women who came to socialise with their working friends as their own school or work days ended. By the time Usagi's fiance arrived it was time to close for the night, and only two of their group was missing, neither one being particularly surprising. Ami's mother was not about to let Minako out of the hospital before she was fully recovered, even if she did know the girls' shared secret, and Setsuna would only appear if she felt it necessary. And right now, knowing that Sailor Pluto had been aware of the kidnappings and of Minako's plight, not all the Senshi were sorry for her absence. Ami had been upset by that fact, disappointed in Pluto's cold heartedness even, but she did hope that the enigmatic woman would accept the invitation they had left her. If there was anyone who could help them plan their actions from now on, and point them in the right direction, it was Sailor Pluto. She had been stuck at the university for the day, her project tutor eager as always to have the chance to nail her down and go over her notes and her progress. As such she was more than glad for the chance to pamper Haruka when she, Michiru and Hotaru all appeared after collecting Haruka from the hospital. She tried not to make a fuss, but she was grateful to hear that nothing had come of her day's observation but hunger and abject boredom. "I was reduced to talking to her," Haruka admitted, looking lethargic and dishevelled from a day in bed with nothing but her occasionally energetic baby to keep her occupied. She did smirk as she went on though. "Apparent that's how you get a nurse to pay attention to you. It works quite well." Soon though, with the shrine closed up and her Grandfather sleeping in the lounge, Rei ushered them into the fire room and closed the sliding doors behind them. Now they could plan in peace, and Ami took her seat between Usagi and Haruka as they all sat beside the warmth of the fire. The two cats sat among them, obviously nervous that they would be put on the spot for information after their own stint in captivity. But not yet. "So," Rei began, once she had sat herself down in front of the fire. "I tried a reading earlier today. I could see this 'Shadow Beast', but not where it is, or what it might be planning. The visions were... very disorganised. It followed a target, drained it, and vanished. I got no sense of a grand plan, or of any mass destruction. It seemed more like an animal stalking prey than a man." "But it is still dangerous?" Usagi asked, serious now that the day had turned to business, and not merely day-to-day work. Rei nodded. "I did see lots of victims. Each one was always alone, and it left them alive, but only barely. And I don't know if they were still human, afterwards." Mamoru was also an image of professionalism. "Did you recognise any of them?" Rei nodded. "Lots. A lot that didn't make sense actually. Most of us. Haruna-sensei, Naru-chan, Tomoe-sensei, Petz-san and her sisters." She huffed, and gave them a dull smile. "Even my stupid father, and he's not even in Tokyo now. I don't know if seeing all of them was the fire trying to tell me something, or if the Shadow really will try to take all those people." Michiru spoke up after Rei had finished. "So the question becomes; how do we track this creature down? If it has no motive, where do we begin?" Rei returned Michiru's gaze with one that held no more answers than any of them. "You haven't seen anything in your mirror?" "No. It only shows Ono Ryu himself. He... he preens in my own talisman!" "I would have liked to think that Minako-chan would be able to shed some light on his motivation," Mamoru put in. "But as I understand it Ono Marya-san's own plans did not involve the Shadows reviving her father in this way at all. She was going to use their sacrificed energy to revive him, along with the drip-feed of energy they had siphoned from the park visitors these last five months - a sizable amount put together. Either she was betrayed by the shadows, or our interfering gave them the opportunity to take the initiative. Either way, the plans Minako-chan might have been privy to are the ones that have been thwarted." He looked to the two cats. "And likewise for you, I assume." Artemis nodded, sitting stiffly in Hotaru's lap. "I pieced a few things together while I was there, but nothing about Ono-san's father going renegade. Ono-san intended him to help lead them in their own sort of 'superhero' family. But I am going to talk to Minako, when she gets home. She had one of those Shadows inside her. Maybe it could have given her an idea what would happen in a situation like this." "And," he added, speaking to them all, "I'd like to do it personally. We'll meet again to discuss it properly afterwards, but I want to talk to her about it myself first." The others all nodded, if hesitantly in some cases. Artemis seemed relieved by the unanimous assent. "Thanks." "We can't wait for her though," Ami advised, finally speaking up. "My mother will not let her leave the hospital until the weekend, at the earliest. We should be looking for evidence in the mean time." "One thing though," Rei said, interrupting. "You've called them 'Shadows'," she said, looking at Mamoru in particular. "I don't think we would be looking for a group. I think all of the Shadows were parts of one single being." "Which we can use to our advantage." Makoto looked to be thinking hard about the idea. "Trying to track down just one would be a lot easier, and it's only a single trail we would have to pick up." She sighed, frustrated by her personal conclusion. "Except we don't have anywhere to start. No 'M.O.'" Usagi nodded, shifting inwards with Luna in her lap. "Then we go patrolling, like we used to. We can't wait until he finds another victim. We can at least try looking for strange energy signatures around Tokyo. Maybe we can find him before he even gets started." It wasn't much of a plan in the end, having them go out in rotating groups each night, but it was better than doing nothing. No-one relished the idea of giving up their evenings or their sleep, but when they, their families and their friends were all potential targets, none of them were willing to turn down Usagi's request. After they had all gone their separate ways Ami spoke up as Michiru drove them home, Haruka being a rare, uncomfortable passenger. "You were quiet during the meeting. Is anything wrong?" Haruka shook her head. "I didn't have anything to say. I can't go out and help you, after all. Maybe I'll visit our 'friends' in hospital instead." "What about Artemis?" "I'll leave that specific talk for him. But I have to do *something*." *** That something happened the very next day, and it was with a knot of guilt in her stomach that Minako waved her into her hospital room. Haruka had been finding it awkward, not to say uncomfortable, getting around now, and there she was marching back into the place the day after she had been allowed out. Minako should have gone and seen her after all. That said, Haruka had only said a brief goodbye the day before, so Minako wasn't the only one at fault there. After Usagi's urging though, Minako suspected that Haruka had been given a little help in deciding who to visit today, and if she hadn't known Usagi should have been at college she would have gone out to check that the hilariously meddlesome girl wasn't hiding outside. Instead she sat up as best as her unhelpful arms would allow, and put on a happy face. "Hi Haruka-kun. I guess you're feeling better if you drove back here already. No hard feelings about getting you kidnapped and all, right?" Haruka stared at her like she was mad for a second, before laughing and pulling up a chair. "No, heh. No hard feelings, Mina-chan. Michiru and I worked towards our own greater good as well, remember? You were there. The second time was even better, aside from the whole 'backfiring and killing us' part. That sort of sucked." Minako's smile felt more natural now, and she had to agree. "Yeah, dying's no fun. I've got to stop making a habit out of it. Did you know I was officially dead for all of sixteen seconds this time, according to Ami-chan?" Thankfully Haruka's more calm amusement seemed genuine. "Only you could make such a morbid topic fun, Mina-chan." "It's what I'm best at, after all! So you're not mad?" Haruka's look turned contemplative. "No, I'm not. I was, you can believe that, but I got to watch the fight from that machine. You didn't even try to fight back." Minako felt her heart fall just a little. "How could I? She's Sailor Moon." Haruka nodded, clearly understanding that sentiment. Usagi was more than just a companion superhero. She was their princess. "And Ono-san? Who is she?" That Minako had been trying to work out for herself ever since she had woken in her hospital bed. "She's my... friend. And I respect her, and trust her. She was my sempai. Rei-chan and Ami-san - when they were scanning me before and doing psychic stuff - they said that the Shadow was part of this larger creature; the one that took Marya-sempai's father? So I think that's why we all felt so close. Our new energy was all part of the same whole." At a loss for further details she shrugged and scratched her head. "That's as good as I can explain it." "Well, sometimes family can be more trouble than its worth," Haruka replied, and Minako thought there was something more there, but Haruka didn't linger on the thought. "They're all awake now though - except Ono-san of course, but she'll be out for at least a week. But Mizuno- sensei will probably let you talk to the rest of them if you want. She didn't mind me asking a few questions before the police come in and drive them all nuts." "Oh." So Haruka had come to investigate? It was at least good that the rest had started to recover properly. If only her Marya-sempai had not been so eager to give her own energy to her machine when it had tried to return to her, she might not have been left in such a dire state. "What did you ask them?" "Don't worry," Haruka reassured her. "Just the same stuff we've been bothering you with. Ami is still in there, taking readings and comparing notes with her mother." Minako couldn't help but giggle a little. "I know! Before I didn't think they were much alike - you know, with Mizuno-sensei being so much more talkative and intense - but they're *exactly* the same when they're both working! Like Doctor, like med student." "And you think we can trust them to keep our little secret?" Minako nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. They know how important that is to us. Even cranky old Ryuji-san. They won't tell." *** Hotaru arrived home from school to find her parents' various studies still going on. Or so she supposed. The house was quiet, seemingly empty, but she knew that the women who had adopted here were there somewhere - they had not mentioned any social events that night, nor was there an apology note and some money so that she could buy herself dinner. Setsuna might have been scarce recently, but the others' evening schedules were not nearly as busy as they had once been. She announced her return, more out of polite habit than anything else, slipped off her shoes and her school bag, and went to see if Ami had managed to add Haruka to her list of subjects for the day after all. Her Ami-papa's obsession with gathering and mentally digesting data of any kind brought Hotaru's usually restrained sense of amusement to the surface. For her homework seemed not to be a chore, but a pastime. Quite how that was possible Hotaru still hadn't managed to grasp, and Ami would deny it of course, but it didn't make it any less true. Watching her Ami-papa's behaviours in her natural day-to-day habitat was quite funny, though Hotaru kept that to herself. The older girl was also shy about her little compulsion, and Hotaru was good natured enough that there was only so much embarrassment she was willing to inflict on her Ami-papa. She'd still keep calling her that though. Even Hotaru had to have some cheeky bad habits! She found the three of them in Haruka and Michiru's bedroom, taking advantage of the largest bed in the house. Haruka lay dead centre, the arc of her stomach exposed thanks to several undone buttons on her shirt, while Ami and Michiru sat either side of her, chatting while Ami stared at the Mercury computer's screen, tapping buttons. "There you are," Hotaru complained light heartedly. "I thought you were going to do your scanning this morning." "I did," Ami replied, turning briefly to give her a smile before going back to her machine. "But with so many people involved this time I couldn't pass up the chance to get a proper spread of results. Like any other trauma, not everyone will respond to energy draining in exactly the same way, or will recover uniformly either. Ono-san being a notable case in point." She smiled again and patted Haruka's bump. "Thankfully our girls have an accelerated recovery rate. Though surprisingly it's not actively *different* to the others that Mother is caring for. It's merely accelerated. Presumably the 'healing' of the drain is also more comprehensive, seeing as being Senshi seems to circumvent the worst effects of *physical* damage, but I can rely on my controls to even out that discrepancy, if it arises." Haruka looked at her quizzically, rubbing the upper rise of her belly. "You have a control group?" "Broadly speaking. Several other students volunteered for the more invasive tests I was going to do. And I've been making fortnightly visits to a local maternity group to confirm the results you've been giving me." She spared Haruka a glance. "Don't worry, you're still the star of my research." Hotaru headed over and sat at the foot of the bed. "Don't they think it's weird that you're scanning them with a 'PDA'?" Ami shook her head. "No, I have my own medical apparatus. That I do legitimately, in case my tutor want to examine my methods. We *can* measure energy levels and such with modern technology, it's just rather advanced. Setsuna helped acquire that too." Hotaru sighed at the mention of Setsuna. "I wish she'd come home." "We all do, Hotaru-chan. But right now she's being Sailor Pluto, and as such I'm hoping she is out there justifying her recent priorities." "I'm sure she had her reasons," Hotaru replied. It sounded weak, but then Haruka, Michiru and even Ami were the adults. As much as Hotaru felt like an adult, she was intelligent enough to know better, and naive enough to hold their authority above her own despite her intellect and her position among the Senshi. Michiru didn't look like she wanted to agree, but she did. "Yes. I'm sure she had her reasons. I just wish I knew what they were." "She knew I was going to run a few tests on energy drain myself," said Ami, putting down her computer for a moment. "And she got us there in time to prevent it impacting your health to any serious degree," she added for Haruka's benefit. "As much as I hate to admit it, foiling Ono-san's plan now has given me a much better insight than the experiments I was intending, and it has put us all in a good position to fight the Shadow. We know what it is, we know who it is possessing, and I was able to collect some data from it while it was there in front of us. If nothing else, that will help us track it down." It was a sobering thought for all of them, Hotaru especially. "Couldn't we have done that earlier though?" "Maybe," Haruka replied. "Maybe not. Only Pluto would be able to tell us if that was her reasoning. Maybe all the Shadow fragments needed to be there together, not waiting wherever Marya kept them. Maybe we had to wait until they were channelling the energy to Ono Ryu- san's body. Maybe the Shadow would have escaped without us noticing if we had exorcised it just from Marya right at the beginning. Why doesn't really matter now though. We... *you* have just got to do what you can now." "It's still *we*, Uranus-chan," Michiru reassured her. "And according to Ami-sensei you're still doing important work right here, and you don't even have to get out of bed in the morning to do it! We all know how you hate that." Ami shifted over, closer to Hotaru. "See here, Hotaru-chan, this is Haruka's energy signature, and that line there is the baby's. Now watch what happens when we say hello to her." Ami gave Haruka a sly smile, and gently pressed her thumb over her stomach, hard enough to force Haruka to shift slightly. "Come on, Ami." On the small screen the two streams of energy lines coiled around, merging together from two directions before seeming to force themselves mostly apart again. "Oh, wow." "Intriguing, isn't it? It's reflexive, on both sides. Sorry, hon," Ami stroked Haruka's bump again, though Hotaru wasn't sure if she was apologising to the baby or Haruka, or both. "I'm done poking now." *** Friday was not a quiet day at Matsubashi's noodle shop. Many office workers were more than willing to treat themselves to something more than a sandwich or rice ball at their desks if that was their last day of their week. Likewise those who would have to work late before the weekend, or who would be working through it, would need a quick and filling meal when they found the time. Seeing as their noodles fulfilled both criteria, Matsubashi was ideally poised to make the most of the regular Friday upturn of business. He had a steady, professional clientele of regulars to add to that as well, spreading word of his little shop, and the quality of their food. It also helped that for the last few years, barring the terrible 'disappearance incident' of the last year, he'd also had an assistant chef who's sunny demeanour and rather incredible figure behind her snugly tied apron had lifted both his sales and the atmosphere of his shop. Even the most exhausted or dour of businessmen had been persuaded to lift their eyes from their newspapers at the sound of her voice. Not that she had been as talkative in the last week or so. She put a brave face on whatever she was having trouble with, but those lapses into silence, hushed telephone calls or requests to be let off early were mounting up. And sadly it was affecting business. The customers noticed, and though the more sociable types had occasionally had the gumption to ask her about it, Makoto just looked surprised and smiled. It's nothing, she would say, before getting back to her pan. If so it was the most distracting 'nothing' Matsubashi had ever seen. He'd wondered whether she was having trouble with her recent juvenile (and supposedly covert) crush on the black haired girl who had been coming to eat more often recently. He'd always assumed that sort of thing was out of their systems after high school. But this 'Rei-chan' had come to visit again, a few days ago, and while she had seemed even more tense than Makoto neither one showed any sign of 'relationship' problems. At least not the kind Matsubashi understood. Hell, maybe that lack of understanding was why he'd never made it through to marriage in any of his varied romances. The afternoon was beginning to progress into evening when the inevitable happened, and Makoto apologise to him when her phone began to ring. He nodded, just barely able to suppress a sigh, and took her skillet from her. He could handle both their pans for a moment, but as she answered - out of earshot of the customers but not quite of him - he realised that if she did ask for another early end to her day he would have to say no. It wasn't an attitude he wanted to take, he was a laid back man himself when the shop was quieter, and he wanted to share that lenience he gave himself with his hard working girl. The problem was that she had been working for him long enough now, and improving his customer base, however slowly, that he could no longer run the burners on his own. Though he had never told her as much, her absence when her friends and the Senshi had vanished had forced him to realise just how much his business had swelled since hiring her. Enough that he had lost good customers when he had not been able to keep up with the demand for food on busy evenings. "Rei, I'm so sorry. But at least you know, right? I mean, you've been asking him to take another look for ages." Makoto's end of the phone conversation paused. Of course it was her 'girlfriend', but at least Makoto seemed somewhat reassured by this apparent bad news. "Well, the doc knows you were right now. He'll take care of Grandpa, don't worry." Another pause. "And you stayed anyway? Since when did you ever listen to Gramps' advice? ... I'm joking, Rei-chan. Joking. ... No. I, uh, I can't. We're getting people in already... I'm sorry, Rei-chan, I would, but... Yeah. You're going to visit him later though, right? I'll see if I can meet you at the hospital. Which one is it?" Matsubashi breathed a sigh of relief. Makoto was a conscientious young woman, and he felt rather guilty that he had intended to be hard on her if she had wanted another favour. "Okay. It might be late, but I'll meet you there. Ask Usagi-chan or Ami-chan to come over. I bet they'd be willing to keep you company when they're done with school stuff... Yeah, I love you too. Bye." With that Makoto shut off her phone and forced a brisk sigh from between her lips. Then she straightened her hair and her apron, and all five feet ten of her marched back to the kitchen burners behind the counter. "Heh, uh, sorry about that, Matsubashi-san. It won't happen again." "Problems? You look like you're feeling better" Makoto shrugged. "Just something that's getting sorted out, finally. Bad news, but at least it should be getting better now." Matsubashi nodded. "Which hospital?" "Huh?" Makoto's chopsticks paused in her pan. "If you can wash up while I close tonight, I'll drive you there. Which hospital is it?" The first genuinely happy smile of the afternoon graced Makoto's face. "Matsubashi-san! Thank you!" "Just don't forget about those noodles." *** Haruka woke on Saturday morning to find her bed empty, and the clock reading a quarter to eleven in bright, condescending digits. The curtains in the room she shared with Michiru were still closed, and it was with great effort that she hauled herself from beneath the nice warm sheets. She was glad of the chance to lie in - she was glad of any excuse for a little physical indulgence really - now that her daughter was becoming more active. She could feel it already as she straightened up, and she sucked a breath in through her teeth, rubbing the right side of her belly. "What, you're staying up all night already? You're not even born yet." Either the baby had started to mark her favourite kicking spot or Haruka had ended up sleeping on her hand, or something equally stupid, because that was sore. At least she had managed to sleep through the assault if it was her daughter's fault. Next time she might well not be so lucky. She dressed slowly and wandered out into the house to see if anyone else was around. "Michiru? Ami?" From within the living room Michiru appeared, choosing to come and talk instead of calling back. "Good morning, sleeping beauty. Someone sent you a get well soon card." A knowing smile played across her lips, and Haruka's couldn't help but return that crafty little look. "You could have woken me, you know. It's late. Though our little girl feels as though she tried hard enough for the both of you." Michiru glided over and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Feeling fragile?" She stroked Haruka's back, the comforting contact persuading Haruka into the room. "Sit down and read your card. I'll make you something to eat." Michiru had always been very affectionate, with little touches and subtle looks, but this new child had brought that caring attention to the surface, and Haruka liked it. She didn't really do it so much when Ami or Hotaru were around, but when alone Michiru seemed eager to dote in her own mature, understated way. Haruka took her seat willingly in front of the coffee table, and with a huge stretch forwards she slid the card from it. Between them the other girls had obviously conspired to open it, and the image on the front was of a cartoon character in biker leathers laid out on a hospital bed, its leg in a raised cast. The biker looked none too pleased by it, but the nurses all looked amused at his annoyance. Inside the message was simple, and written in a slightly scruffy hand. 'I saw what happened on TV, and then they announced that you had been found there. I was shocked. Are you okay? The baby? I hope you are recovering by the time you get this. If it isn't a bother, could you mail me when you are feeling better? I am worried for my big sister. 'See you again sometime? 'Tenoh Maki Haruka sighed and leaned back into the settee. Big sister, huh? It was odd being called that. "She seems to be a nice girl," Michiru commended from the kitchen partition. "Maybe you should introduce us?" Haruka chuckled. "That would put the fear of God into her. It looks like Tenoh Haruka now has 'youma kidnap victim' on her public profile though. That's going to be a pain." "You're a big girl," Michiru replied. "You'll live. And if they play that tune then they'll soon change it when they see you out and about next. You don't *look* like a victim of any sort." "Mmm." That was nice to hear, at least. "Michiru? You remember that Kasaraha guy?" Her girlfriend's tone turned dry. "How could I forget?" How indeed? Haruka really wished she had handled her last encounter with him better. Those hysterics would be a permanent black mark against her image, if only in her own mind. "I could give him his interview. I think he's bugged Ami about it once already. Maybe now's as good a time as any to re-assert myself." "With him?" Michiru didn't sound convinced, but Haruka couldn't think of anyone better. "He wants something for his gossip mag. All personal details, no politics." "And what about Ami-chan? You know he'll bring that to the table. Tenoh Maki-san as well." "They already know our line for Ami. I'll just reiterate it. And if Maki-san really want to be related to me, *someone* will pick up on it. Might as well tell it like it is. Put a good angle on it." Michiru looked thoughtful as she buttered the toast that had just risen. "And your parents? She's still living with them." "...Yeah. I'll ask her about that." Haruka lifted herself from the settee and went to find her mobile phone, and Maki's number. She had wanted to be mailed after all. "By the way, where did Ami and Hotaru disappear to?" Michiru just smiled, clearly amused. "Ami-papa is taking our girl shopping." *** In truth Ami had been intending to indulge Hotaru's desire to have more time together for a while now. While they now lived under the same roof one or other of them was usually out all day during the weeks, and their evenings were filled with homework or research as often as not. When they weren't some combination of Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna was there with them for the evening. It made talking personally a little more difficult, and Hotaru wasn't the only one who was a little sheepish about speaking her mind. In all honesty, Ami found Hotaru's affection for their new relationship just a little unbalancing. The girl was now - for all intents and purposes, and setting aside her magically enhanced aging - sixteen years old, as best as they could ascertain. Going from being a casual friend to being treated like a parent was a little unnerving, to say the least, and the thing was Hotaru *was* treating her like a parent already. If anything she was almost going too far, and going out of her way to give her the authority that she clearly accepted from Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna. It was something Ami was slowly coming to terms with, and she was glad that Hotaru was eager to welcome her into the family so wholeheartedly. But, while she was happy to try and live up to the role of Ami-papa for the girl, she also wanted to become her friend again, and not just a prospective parent. That was the reason for the trip really. It was a good excuse to patrol around the city for the day and make the most efficient use of their time, but Ami wanted to show that they could still be of a similar mind. It also helped that while Hotaru's growth had returned to a far more normal level, she still needed new clothes more frequently than anyone else she knew, and not because she just wanted to expand her wardrobe. "I don't know, you don't think it's too bright?" From her own changing cubicle Ami allowed herself an amused smiled. "I don't think so. Let's have a look." She poked her head out from behind the curtain, and after a long pause Hotaru appeared from the cubicle next to her. The red blouse *was* far brighter than Hotaru tended to wear, but that wasn't hard given how over half her wardrobe was made up of black. The girl wasn't at all gothic inclined, but for some reason she chose a lot of darker clothes. Hotaru looked unconvinced though. She gave a timid twirl, her arms stiff. "It looks great," Ami enthused, and she meant it. It wasn't a particularly simple garment, with carefully unobtrusive lace around the collar, buttons and cuffs and faux mother of pearl buttons, and the vibrant red colour highlighted those features well. "Isn't it a little flashy for me?" "No more so than your black dancing dress." Hotaru nodded. "I suppose. But I don't really wear that out." "No, but you do pick it for special occasions at home. And you wear those three sundresses all the time during summer. I've never heard you worrying that they're too bright." Hotaru looked back to the mirror inside the cubicle. "You really think it looks good on me?" Ami nodded. "Red looks good on you. It would look even better with a complementary skirt." "Yeah," Hotaru admitted, looking at her current one. "It sort of clashes. What about you, Ami-san?" No Ami-papa in public, at least not for now. It felt almost normal, but after hearing it so much over the last few months she wasn't sure any more. She left her bag on the bench at the back of the cubicle, and stepped out. She had decided that she needed some more warm weather clothes, as her old ones were *very* old now, and these days she had more incentive to make a good impression. She had blushed to her roots when Haruka had pointed out a hole in one of her cuffs. It was large on her, and she had rolled up the cuffs on this one, so that she could cut them down when they inevitable became the first parts to wear. She might have said it was predominantly beige, but that would have been a lie. It was shot across with green and yellow zig- zags, and was both as warm as it looked and obscenely comfortable. And it wasn't something that had a chance against the fashion sense of any one of her friends, Hotaru included. "Um... Ami-san? That's for wearing around the house, right?" Ami just grinned. "Do you think Michiru-san would let me?" Hotaru stifled a laugh and tried to look stern. "She would. And she wouldn't let you leave with it on." "Mako-chan would have." "Really?" "Mm-hmm. This is a slumber party pullover. Or a 'curl up alone at home with the TV remote' pullover. Plus she used to take what she could get sometimes, trying to find clothes in her size." "But those criteria don't involve her wearing it out. And it's not bright enough! It's beige." "Touche. You know, I think Rei-chan has been giving you fashion tips, hasn't she?" Hotaru blinked in surprise. "What? Um, maybe we talked about it once?" "Good. She has good taste." "You're teasing me!" Hotaru pouted. Ami couldn't deny it. "Maybe a little. Why don't you find a jacket to go with that blouse, and I'll send my last e-mail." Hotaru nodded, understanding what she meant. That was their little phrase for Ami to make another trace energy check. Her Mercury computer could scan the surrounding block well enough even from inside the store, and that would be enough for now. Anything more intensive would have to wait until her next night patrol, or else she would be mistaken for some kind of ghostbuster. "Oh, Ami-san? The green jumper looked better." Ami shook her head. She should have expected that. *** The day was not actually a cold one, if only in comparison to the previous few weeks, and it was that comparative mildness that drove so many people into the city to shop or just get out of their homes. Well wrapped families and coupled flocked to the local parks to make the most of a reasonable day before the cold returned. The weather reports had threatened more snow, and this time it was likely to settle properly. Had anyone looked up to the buildings around them they might have noticed the flitting of an odd shadow, not cast by the sun on the buildings or architecture around it, but even if they had it would have been gone again a moment later, melting into nothingness, just a figment of their imagination. Souichi looked up a lot more than he used to these days, though he did not see the phantom above. When he looked up it was to see the sky, and not the buildings that scraped at it. The billowing of the clouds and the countless stars stirred something deep and intellectual within him; a sense of dynamic wonder. He wanted to reach out to such things and touch them. To examine them, and understand why they thrilled him so. He had been a scientist, once upon a time. Or so he had been told. That might have been why his fascination with those ephemeral things, so far beyond his reach, had such clear and precise power behind it. He wanted to study. A moral shiver ran through him, and he returned his eyes to the people around him. No, no matter how motivated he might be, for some reason he knew he shouldn't study any more. His experiments were what had caused his fall from grace, if his doctors and the old newspaper archives were to be believed. They were why he was alone, without a woman who he had once loved enough to marry. Even his daughter had been taken from him, to be raised by those who were still capable of doing so. He looked at the watch on his wrist, and had to brush a stray silver hair away from his large, round spectacles. His time was up. He had enjoyed his day out, seeing the city and meeting so many people, but he was supposed to be back at his apartment by six o' clock, or else the care worker who visited him every Tuesday and Friday evening would worry. She was such a nice girl, that Rika. She would come and talk with him, and they would reminisce about whatever they wanted. She remembered back before the incident at Mugen High, and she could tell him about the people and places he should have known. She would bring him a newspaper, and they would read it together to learn about what was going on in Tokyo, Japan, and the world outside their home islands. She was only a volunteer for the carers, but she was so pleasant and such willing company he might never have known it. Yes, he had better get home, before she came to visit an empty flat. He really ought to clear away his lunchtime rubbish as well. It was as he took his first step that he realised that, in all his analytical wonderings as he had gazed around, he had failed to see the man who stood right in front of him. "O-oh," Souichi stuttered as she stopped suddenly, mid-step. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you for a moment." The well dressed man smiled at him with wide, charismatic lips. "Please, Tomoe-sensei; Professor. The fault is mine." The sound of his own name brought Souichi up short. He hadn't been called 'Professor' in years. Not since before... He couldn't remember. "No, I doubt you would remember, Professor, but an associate of mine once worked with an associate of yours. But that is in the past, Professor." This strange man in the black suit kept using that word! Professor, professor, PROFESSOR! That was what... she had used. And after five years he could finally remember her name. Not even the name of his late wife, but of the woman who had worked beside him afterwards, during... darker times. "Kaori..." In a flash the smartly dressed man raised his hand, and a flicker of darkness leapt from his fingers, and into Tomoe Souichi's chest. "Your daughter, Professor, you put so much time and effort into her, didn't you? You saved her life, and she rewarded you by turning her back, didn't she, Professor? She ruined your plans, and stole your memories." Tomoe Souichi would have disputed that, had he been able. But it was not his human will that had joined with the shadow. It was the broken, bitter memories of the Daimon that he had been, while Kaorinite and the Witches 5 had been his followers. "Yes," he breathed, "I gave her Mistress 9, to save her. She was pivotal to us, and yet I still allowed her every freedom." "And she let you down. Just as I gave my daughter everything, and yet *she* let *me* down. We should work together, you and I, Professor. As responsible adults, we should correct our failures, and strive for better." The Professor, fuelled only by mad memories and grief, stood tall and straight. His spectacles glinted, reflecting the light of the sun even as a tangible darkness crawled up from within his chest to swathe his face in shadow. "Yes, my friend. Successful results. That would be for the best. " And a small chuckle escaped him as he and the Shadow that Ono Ryu had become strode away. "Heh heh heh heh. Hehehehehehehehehe!" *** Haruka shifted in her chair, still unable to get comfortable. The soreness in her abdomen had not abated as the day had gone on, even though her little girl seemed to be behaving herself. She'd only attacked that tender area once, but that had been enough to have Haruka seeing stars. Which was a shame, considering how well the rest of the day had gone. Maki had been more than willing for her to set up the interview, as long as Haruka tried not to make too much of a fuss about it if Karasuro asked about her. Likewise the journalist himself was more than eager to set up the interview as soon as possible, so the pair had met that afternoon at a coffee shop in town. He'd found it amusing how she had only ordered water and a piece of fruit cake, until she had pointed out that the caffeine wouldn't have done her any good right now! There was no time like the present to get these things out of the way. With the other girls all patrolling or otherwise looking into the Shadow, and the police having come down on the ex shadow children like a ton of bricks at the hospital, Haruka needed something to do to avoid feeling left out. Maybe in a week or so, once the interview article had come and gone, she'd give Maki a proper call. As long as she was in better shape, that is. Just getting into town had been a trial, and though she'd had no problems earlier trying to eat dinner had been an exercise in frustration. She was hungry, but just didn't feel as though she could stomach a proper meal. A salad would have been better, she'd managed some of that, but the rest of her meal sat wrapped in cling film, awaiting the reappearance of her appetite. And both Ami and Michiru were quite strict about her eating more than just green leaves these days. She sighed, putting a hand over the sore spot in her stomach before getting changed for the night. Maybe a decent night's sleep would help, as long as her little girl felt the same way. She'd have to run her idea past Ami and Michiru later. She didn't want to keep calling her just 'the baby', and she'd thought of a name she liked the sound of. The thought vanished suddenly, and she froze as soon as she had removed her underwear. A small red fleck stood out in the white cotton, sending a surge of nausea through her. What the hell..? She stared at the small, bloody stain for a moment, forcing her breathing back under control, and setting her face straight. She had the presence of mind to grab her robe before she marched back out of the room. "Ami, can I have a word?" No sense giving Michiru or Hotaru reason to panic just yet, she'd decided. Not until *I* do, anyway. The pair of them did turn at her unsteady voice, but Ami was beside her in no time, and Haruka led her just out of earshot. "Haruka? What is it?" "I think something's wrong." Haruka took her into her room, to the underwear left strewn on the bed. Ami looked shocked only for a moment before her professional face covered her surprise. "Okay, lie down and I'll have a look." The younger woman could be very authoritative when she wanted to be, and this was one of those times. Haruka did as she was told, glad Ami had not looked too alarmed. It eased her own clawing worries. Just as she did before each examination Ami took her transformation pen to allow her access to her Mercury computer, which appeared in her hands from behind a ribbon of pale blue magic. But she remained quiet as she scanned. Usually one or other of them would make conversation as one of their tests started, either to help Haruka relax or to alleviate her boredom, before Ami fell into the studies too deeply. This time there was none of that. Just tense silence. It only lasted thirty second or so, but that was a long time for Haruka, aware of each and every second as it passed by. "Okay," Ami finally said, closing the lid of the palm top machine and letting it disappear back to wherever it belonged. "Let's put some clothes back on. It's not too serious, but I have to get you back to hospital for monitoring and bed rest." "Shit," Haruka swore. "Is she okay?" Ami nodded. "Baby's fine for now. No distress, but she's the one who needs monitoring, just in case. And you may need to get some extra nutrition. Mainly, we need to make sure the condition doesn't get any worse. That means bed rest." Haruka groaned and got back to her feet, grabbing her clothes. "This is because I didn't eat dinner?" "No, Haruka. Now come on, Mother will kill me if I don't get you there as soon as possible, as will anyone else who diagnoses you. And they'll have to do so the normal way I'm afraid. Now get dressed, I'll have Michiru drive us there." Haruka frowned. They had a course of action, but for what. "Wait, Ami. What are we actually talking about here? This is because of what the Shadows did to me, right?" "I don't know. But that's probably it. I'll need to spend more time looking at the data." From the doorway Michiru and Hotaru appeared, either drawn by curiosity or the sound of Haruka's swearing. "Ami-chan, what's going on?" Michiru asked. Haruka watched as Ami sighed, now forced to spell it out. "Haruka has suffered a minor placental abruption. Probably a reaction to the scale of energy drain she endured. It doesn't look too serious, but if you could drive us to the hospital?" "Of course." As Michiru dashed off Hotaru looked in, still worried. "Why is Haruka-papa going to hospital if it isn't serious?" Haruka answered this one for Ami. "Because it *could* get worse, and I'd rather we stopped that happening, right?" Ami nodded, before explaining. "You know how the placenta is designed to detach from the womb and come out after the baby is born?" Clearly Hotaru did, so she carried on. "Basically a small edge of Haruka-papa's has already come loose. At the hospital we need to make sure that's not going to happen any more, and that it doesn't keep bleeding." Damn, Haruka thought. That didn't sound 'not serious' to her. But then she wasn't the medical student. "And if it doesn't?" Ami leaned down to give the girl a hug. "Then we have to look after them. But as long as we do, it won't come to that." "I'm coming too," Hotaru announced, looking straight into Ami's eyes as she let the girl go, and then Haruka's. "Sure," Haruka agreed as she finished dressing, "not that there'll be anything to see. Now let's go." Before I lose my cool, she thought as she followed Hotaru out. I'm glad you're confident Ami, because that only makes one of us. *** To Be Continued... *** Please send any comments and constructive criticism to: nutzoide@nutzoide.net They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers. (c) Nutzoide 2009-2011 http://www.nutzoide.net