Shooting for the Moon: 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.

***

                        Shooting for the Moon

              - A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -


    Chapter 7: Secrets Still Abound!
               Parenting: The Toughest Road of All
    
    
    It felt as though it had been a while since all five girls had 
been on a sleepover together. In fact, it had probably been before 
they had all finished high school. Of course, as they had got older, 
their pyjama parties had evolved somewhat from simply hanging out, 
and with almost all of them now starting into their twenties the 
occasion was as much a self-support group as anything else.
    
    Sure, they still had time for fun and laughter, but at the same 
time it was one of the few occasions that they could air their 
thoughts openly on Senshi matters without having to keep half an eye 
out for well meaning grandfathers or parents. Invariably, when they 
did manage to organise it, it was Makoto's apartment that they all 
descended on these days, and that seemed to suit them all fine. 
Makoto herself could show off her culinary skills, and bundling all 
five of them into the small flat made for a very cosy and 
companionable atmosphere. Enough that, if they did have to argue, 
they would at least get the whole thing out in the open.
    
    That Saturday morning, after the tense night had been soothed 
with oven-warm chocolate cookies and gentle conversation, it wasn't 
so much an argument that was given air to, but more a case of worry 
that found its voice.
    
    Makoto, Ami, Rei and Luna hadn't heard the details of the 
previous evening's battle, but they listened equally concerned as 
Usagi tried to talk to Minako about it. Not that it wasn't easy to 
see where Minako was coming from either. She had been angry, and she 
had acted accordingly. 
    
    "Wouldn't you have wanted to hurt her?" Minako accused, feeling 
very singled out as the one at fault. "What if it was Luna with 
broken ribs and a fractured leg, and Unazuki-san or Naru-san who was 
turned into a monster?" 
    
    Usagi tried not to, but she had to avert her eyes from Minako's 
stare. "Yes, maybe I would have. But still, wasn't that going too far 
Mina-chan? You could have used a Crescent Beam and tried to knock her 
out, you didn't have to choke her."
    
    Sitting on the table Luna decided to break up their discussion. 
It was painfully obvious it wasn't going anywhere, and they had 
plenty more to talk about while they had the opportunity. "More to 
the point," she put in, "the youma escaped. Believe me, I would like 
to take some revenge for Artemis' injuries myself, but there is no 
point if my efforts are made redundant."
    
    "I know!" Minako snapped, not even bothering to justify her 
actions any more. "I'm sorry, I was stupid, what else is new?"
    
    Makoto sighed and finally placed the dish she had been holding in 
front of Luna, before filling it with milk. However, she was 
obviously still a little upset with the cat, because she didn't wait 
for Luna's thanks, and instead turned straight to Minako. "They 
aren't trying to pick on you Mina-chan. I let the fox-girl get away 
too, remember?"
    
    "And you both captured the black youma together," Ami added.
    
    Makoto was surprised by the positive tone in Ami's voice. "I 
thought you didn't approve of keeping her?" she asked, knowing that 
they had both shared that view when the idea had first been put 
forward.
    
    "Well," Ami clarified, still sounding positive, "I don't approve 
of keeping hostages, but we have learned something about the youma. 
We now know that there are only five of them, and that they fully 
expect to be able to defeat us some how. But most importantly, we 
know that they are not universally hostile. This 'shiva' youma seems 
to hate us with a passion, but according to Michiru-san the black 
youma seems to be sympathetic, at least to some degree."
    
    Everyone else seemed surprised by that statement. Not because of 
what it told them, but what it implied. "You've been liaising with 
the Outers together?" Luna asked, using as much discretion as she 
could. "That is very good work Ami-chan."
    
    Makoto felt a little twinge of guilt. She was still upset at 
Luna's attitude towards her relationship with Rei, but Luna seemed to 
have put all that behind her already. Or at least she was doing very 
well at making it seem that way. "That is a point," she added, subtly 
giving Luna her dues. "I hadn't thought about it before, but the fox 
girl seems hesitant to fight us. She only attacks us when one of them 
needs help or she's trying to defend herself, and this time she ran 
as soon as she was told she could."
    
    "She is only a child. Unless she just naturally looks like one, I 
guess," Rei added, but that didn't dissuade Makoto from her argument.
    
    "But she's a child that doesn't want to fight. That's good, 
right?"
    
    Luna nodded. "It certainly helps us." 
    
    Ami took a sip of her tea, tallying their progress so far. "That 
makes two who might prefer not to fight, one hostile youma, and two 
unknowns. That definitely seems to be in our favour."
    
    Luna frowned, suddenly realising something. "It is three 
unknowns. The youma lied!"
    
    "What?" came the chorus of uneasy voices.
    
    "How do you know?" Usagi asked anxiously. "W-why would she lie 
like that after telling us what happened to them?"
    
    "Because we're her enemies?" Minako ventured.
    
    Luna didn't have any better answer. "Probably. But I've been 
following up on the clues the youma gave us, and there are definitely 
at least three more we haven't seen. The leader, the scientist, and 
someone else collecting energy. The fox girl doesn't collect alone, 
and the multi-limbed one can't have been doing it while she was 
holding Minako's agent hostage."
    
    "They're still out there..." Rei said slowly. These youma were 
still preying on people?
    
    "I haven't found anything to point me to their base of 
operations," Luna finished, "but we need to find whatever is still 
collecting energy first."
    
    Minako shook her head. She had thought that cutting down the 
youma numbers by one would have been enough with so few of them. Now 
letting the shiva-youma go might have been a much bigger mistake than 
she thought. "I'll be back in a second," she said getting up and 
making for the bathroom. 
    
    However, when she got to the door in the small hallway she was 
stopped as Rei grabbed her arm. "Mina-chan..."
    
    "Rei-chan? What is it?" She gave her friend an embarrassed smile. 
"I do kind of need the toilet."
    
    Rei didn't see the humour though. "Minako-chan, how do you deal 
with it? You know, being a murderer?"
    
    That word brought Minako's humour down, and she stared at Rei 
with very serious eyes.
    
    "Because I can't," Rei finished. "I... I need to be able to fight 
properly against these youma, but when I tried..."
    
    Minako's eyes lost their angry edge as she realised that Rei was 
in the same boat as her after all. She just didn't want to let the 
others know, just as Minako didn't. "I don't know, Rei-chan. I don't 
think it's something I deal with. It's just something that I am. 
Killing a person isn't different to killing a youma. I'll do it if I 
have to. I know I can now, so why hide it?"
    
    "No..." Rei said, looking into Minako's eyes and seeing nothing 
but honesty there. "It can't work like that. That's not who you are 
Mina-chan. You... you're stronger than that. You can't just tell me 
you've given up!"
    
    Minako shook her head and took Rei's hands in her own. "I haven't 
given up anything Rei-chan. Killing someone just... I think it made 
me realise what being a Soldier is all about, even if I wear a sailor 
fuku to do it. I know how far I am willing to go if I have to, and I 
have you all here to stop me going too far like I guess I did 
yesterday."
    
    Rei didn't want to believe it. "But I can't do it! Not like that! 
I don't want to go back to being like that!"
    
    "Then," Minako answered, "find out how you do want to be, and be 
it. I know you can. Especially with a certain girlfriend to help you, 
right? You really should be trusting her with this. The 'Minako of 
Love' knows these things."
    
    "Hey, what are you two gossiping about?" came Makoto's voice from 
the living room. "Is something wrong with the toilet?"
    
    "Nope!" Minako replied, giving Rei a wink to try and cheer her 
up. "Just girl talk!"
    
    "We're all girls Minako-chan!" Usagi replied, sounding put out at 
the phoney excuse. "No gossiping in secret!"
    
    Rei wiped her face and nodded thankfully to Minako. This would 
remain between the two of them. "Oh, that's enough dumpling head," 
Rei sniped and she came back, sitting down next to a curious looking 
Makoto. "There's some girl-talk that's only for certain girls," she 
said, before giving Makoto a smile and pecking her on the cheek.
    
    Luna swallowed a sigh and went back to her milk while Makoto 
blushed scarlet and took Rei's hand behind the low table. It wouldn't 
have surprised her as much, but Rei had been so possessive of her the 
night before last. That had been so unexpected. It had been the kind 
of affection that Makoto herself felt for Rei, and she knew that she 
acted on it when they were alone. 
    
    The thought of Rei loving her so deeply gave her butterflies in 
her stomach.
    
    "Oi oi, Mako-chan's having dirty thoughts!" Usagi whispered to 
Minako. When had Minako she come back from the toilet?
    
    "I am not," Makoto said in vehement denial, blushing all the more 
and making the others laugh. However, she knew that she was just 
digging herself in deeper, so she settled for squeezing Rei's hand 
gently where they sat. 
    
    And Makoto beamed to herself as Rei knowingly squeezed back. 
    
    "Usagi-chan, Minako-chan, stop embarrassing them," Ami said, 
reminding them all that she was still in the room. However, for once 
her small smirk belied her good intentions. She was having fun not 
being the one who was being embarrassed for once. Ami could remember 
that first night in Seiji when Makoto had confessed about her 
confused and awkward feelings, before she had even found the courage 
to find out how Rei had felt. It was so nice to see how well things 
were working out for them now.

***
    
    For as much fun as she had had with them, Usagi had voiced those 
exact same feeling to Mamoru when she had returned home that morning. 
She was also sneaking in a second, late breakfast with him, since he 
had not had the same impetus to give up a lie in. Living with Usagi 
had slowly imparted in him a love of lazy mornings, since he got so 
few of them these days.
    
    "I could barely believe it when they all first came back," Mamoru 
said, happily savouring his cooked breakfast while Usagi beamed at 
him. "Even if I had expected them to be attracted to women - and I 
can't think of two girls I know who I could have been less prepared 
to hear it from - I would still have been surprised that Rei-chan and 
Mako-chan would be attracted to each other."
    
    "Mamo-chan," Usagi pouted, "that's not nice. Aren't you happy for 
them?"
    
    "Of course I am," Mamoru said, mollifying his fiancee, "I just 
find it hard to see what attracts them to each other. With Haruka-san 
and Michiru-chan it's obvious, as is Haruka-san and Ami-chan to some 
degree, but Rei-chan and Mako-chan? I will admit, I'm mystified."
    
    Usagi just huffed and popped some more food into her mouth. 
"They're good for each other. It's sweet, watching Mako-chan fawn 
over Rei-chan, and then get all embarrassed. And Rei-chan's obviously 
in love, and she plays around so much that she wants people to 
notice."
    
    "I noticed that about a certain blonde girl as well..."
    
    Usagi just grinned. "What? I want people to see how lucky I am."
    
    "Well," Mamoru said with a similar smile, "if Rei-chan is 
anything like you then she must think she's very lucky indeed."
    
    Usagi giggled, and had to try very hard not to spit out her well-
chewed mouthful. "It's a good thing your ego is well deserved Mamo-
chan! And anyway, I bet Mako-chan is a really good catch. She can 
cook and clean and dance and everything. She'll probably be a world 
famous celebrity chef or something eventually."
    
    "And Rei-chan?" Mamoru asked, curious to hear his fiancee's 
opinions of the other side.
    
    "You mean apart from being drop-dead gorgeous, with a great 
singing voice and good fashion sense?" Usagi asked in reply. "I mean, 
you did date her, even if it was only for a little bit."
    
    "Well," Mamoru admitted, "there is that."
    
    "Anyway," Usagi continued, "I think we all need to get together 
more often, and not because of youma or the world blowing up. Just 
everyone together as friends. I don't really know what happened, but 
Ami-chan and Michiru-san have made up, and Mako-chan and Setsuna-san 
don't have to work tomorrow, so we should all get together. I've got 
a great idea!"
    
    "What sort of hours does Setsuna-san keep?" Mamoru asked. He had 
never really got to know her, even compared to the other 'Outer' 
Senshi. It was clear that she didn't have anything against him, in 
fact she seemed very comfortable in his company, but at the same time 
she had always had a ready excuse as to why she couldn't socialise 
with them in the past. Or more specifically, when he was around. He 
put it down to memories of the Silver Millennium. After all, who knew 
what Sailor Pluto remembered that even Luna and Artemis had 
forgotten?
    
    "I think she works really odd hours," Usagi said, polishing her 
plate, "but I know she's free tomorrow. I checked that it was okay 
for us to go over to her house."
    
    Mamoru gave her a cautious look. "You're plotting again Usako."
    
    Usagi just grinned with faux innocence. "Hee hee."

***
    
    The morning atmosphere was more serious as the girls' parents and 
guardians once again gathered at the Hikawa shrine. But not by much.
    
    "Kikon-san!" Tsukino Genji blurted out, caught completely off 
guard by the woman's genuine confusion. "Seriously? Has our shy girl 
started buying into her boyfriend's wild imagination?"
    
    "Genji-san!" Kikon exclaimed in reply, before his wife gave him 
yet another smack on the head.
    
    "Gen-chan," she said, picking up her tea again, "can't you see 
that this isn't the time for your jokes."
    
    For once it was Setsuna's turn to take Genji's side. It was 
carefully calculated of course, so as not to arouse suspicion, but 
even so the others were surprised that she could see the humour in 
his attitude this time. "Honestly Ikuko-san, and I don't mean any 
offence to Yokozuki-san, but we haven't exactly taken these theories 
seriously in the past."
    
    Genji nodded, keeping his good humour even as he nursed his 
aching head. "And Minako-chan is a rather flighty girl Kikon-san. You 
must admit that. As poorly timed as it might have been, teenagers - 
well, newly turned twenty years olds as well - do strange things 
under stress."
    
    Kikon had been so convinced when she had called them all 
together. Now, in front of everyone, she just felt embarrassed. But 
then, wasn't that her husband's point? Wasn't their complete lack of 
ability to suspect that anything was wrong enough grounds for 
suspicion in and of itself? She had only been able to believe it 
because Minako's actions and attitude had worried her, but for no 
reason that she could define other than the fact that it wasn't 
normal. 
    
    They had said it outright in the past. Their children might be 
the Sailor Senshi. Surely grown men and women like themselves should 
be able to look at that logically. So why could they only dismiss the 
idea out of hand, herself included? She had now realised that she 
couldn't think about the possibility itself, but she could do what 
her husband had done. She could build the case, not from the source, 
but from the fact that she was mentally incapable of even 
*considering* the source in the first place.
    
    And she said so. And then she felt even more embarrassed for 
saying it, and she found herself staring at her cup, just so she 
wouldn't have to see her friends' faces. It was just too ridiculous.
    
    Her husband put his arm around her for the moral support. After 
these two years she had finally understood what he had been trying to 
say. It was hard trying to believe in something when the whole basis 
of your argument is that no one can believe in it!
    
    Then, from where she had been sitting quietly with her own cup of 
tea, Mizuno Katsura spoke up. "That is the first time I have heard 
this idea in full. If that is true," she said uncertainly, "then it 
would explain a lot. It would make sense of a lot of things. And, 
scientifically, the theory is sound."
    
    She smiled at the Ainos not wanting to hurt their already 
obviously bruised feelings. "But it is, by its very nature, 
impossible to prove. Unless Ami came and said to me that she is one 
of the Sailor Senshi, I don't know that I could ever fully believe 
that, no matter how many suspicions I have had since you first told 
me of it."
    
    Setsuna listened with careful interest. She had thought Katsura 
would have been too analytical a person to buy into any of these 
ideas. It took a great deal of imagination and faith in the unknown 
to be able to circumvent the magic of their transformations. Then 
again, Ami had not been doing well up until recently, so it was only 
natural for her mother to have certain worries, especially after 
having her go missing for such a length of time. 
    
    Artemis had already been keeping both her and Luna informed of 
any developments in the Ainos' discoveries about the Senshi, and he 
had mentioned them telling Ami's mother at one point, but he was at 
the veterinary hospital now. It was such unfortunate timing.
    
    "And that is the heart of the problem, Katsura-sensei," Setsuna 
said, not betraying her thoughts. "To be frank I think that, no 
matter how you may worry, it is for the best to let it lie. Worrying 
itself does nothing but make us stressed, and even if it is true 
then, as Yokozuki-san is so fond of saying, it is probably for the 
best."
    
    Yokozuki nodded. "To prevent something happening to either them, 
or us. But still, I can't help but want you to realise the truth. If 
only so that we are prepared."
    
    "Preparedness is a state of mind," Grandpa Hino said. He had been 
enjoying the meeting very much. He could always find the fun in their 
little 'club meets', but as Setsuna and Yokozuki had talked his old 
senses had picked up just enough warning to set him on edge. A 
glimpse of black near Setsuna's corner, the squawks of Phobos and 
Deimos out by the path, and a presence that felt... somehow 
unpleasantly familiar. 
    
    As he got to his feet Setsuna suddenly felt a pair of claws dig 
into her suit jacket. She sat still, not giving any sign to the 
others that anything was happening.
    
    "Setsuna-san," Luna whispered, hanging onto Setsuna's back with 
her front paws. "Artemis was right. The youma know! They are here!"
    
    Setsuna nodded, thanking whatever powers she believed in that 
Luna and Artemis' relationship, as rocky as it could be, was just as 
pre-destined as Usagi and Mamoru's. Luna had snuck in to visit him, 
and he had told her about the fox-youma he had seen snooping the 
Ainos' front garden as he had been taken away by the vet.
    
    Setsuna had known something like this would happen, but having 
specific information on such an imminent event was going to be very 
useful this time around. "How many?" she whispered.
    
    "Four."
    
    Setsuna resigned herself. "Now would be a good time for that 
interrogation you wanted to make," Setsuna said. "Tell Haruka and 
Michiru as well."
    
    "Are you sure?" Luna asked. She and Setsuna had already discussed 
what would have to be done if this ever happened. Luna suspected that 
Setsuna had known it would all along.
    
    Setsuna nodded, and Luna made her escape as four women appeared 
by the opposite doorway. Four women whose impeccably tailored 
clothing dissolved away before their eyes, leaving coloured skin and 
hair and feathers.
    
    'So,' Setsuna thought as she scanned their captors, 'If Luna is 
right, I have now seen all of them.' A feathered one, a muscle-bound 
one, the many-limbed one and a leader. With their captive, that left 
only the fox-girl unaccounted for.
    
    Standing strong and upright at the front of their quartet, 
Tyranya brushed her long, vicious-looking nails through her mane of 
silver hair. "It is a pleasure to meet you, humans. I do hope you 
will excuse this inconvenience, but we have need of your services."
    
    "Y-you... You must be kidding!?!" Ikuko exclaimed, staring in 
fearful awe at the creatures that had just walked in on them all.
    
    "Not at all," Tyranya said with a wide, menacing grin. "The 
Sailor Senshi will surely come to the aid of their blood-family. And 
they will be far more eager to listen to our demands of them."
    
    "So," Katsura said in as steady a voice as she could manage, 
looking the youma in the eyes, "if you need us, you will not kill 
us."
    
    Tyranya nodded. "At least until we hear what the Sailor Senshi 
have to say. Your lives hang on their choices."
    
    Setsuna smiled inwardly to herself, and a little of that smile 
crept onto her face. That was what she needed to hear.
    
    Strangely, Grandpa Hino was smiling too. "And what makes you 
think the Sailor Senshi will come to our rescue at all? We are just a 
club of playful parents with nothing better to do."
    
    Tyranya gave the shrunken, aged man a curious look, but she 
remained confident. "How long can it be before they find their blood-
family missing?"
    
    It just got better, and Setsuna had to force herself to suppress 
a full smirk now. Then she noticed Grandpa Hino looking at her, with 
the same smile on his face. A smile that worried her slightly because 
it seemed to mirror her thoughts exactly. 
    
    'They don't seem to know human girls very well, do they Setsuna-
san? It's very lucky that their timing is so bad. So lucky it might 
almost have been planned...'
    
***
    
    "Meow!"
    
    Michiru would have been tempted to ignore it if it hadn't sounded 
a little too much like a bad impersonation instead of an actual cat's 
meow. She looked up from her book, interrupting her occasional 
glances towards Haruka and Hotaru playing on their computer console, 
to see Luna looking in through the window beside her chair.
    
    She unlatched it and let the cat in. "Good morning Luna. What can 
we do for you?"
    
    Luna looked serious as she leaped over the chair and landed 
neatly on the carpet. "Setsuna-san might well not be back tonight."
    
    Instantly Michiru's transformation pen was in her hand. "Youma?"
    
    Haruka and Hotaru looked over, the latter getting to her feet 
while the former just sat in resignation. Then to their collective 
surprise, Luna jumped up and snatched Michiru's pen in her teeth.
    
    "What? Luna!"
    
    The cat deposited the pen at her feet, before looking back up to 
Michiru, who stood in confused irritation.
    
    "Firstly," Luna explained, "yes, it is youma. Almost all of them. 
Secondly, there are a lot of other people involved, and we can't 
afford to do anything risky."
    
    "Everyone's parents," Hotaru said, surprising both her own 
adoptive mother and 'father'. "Setsuna-mama said she meets with 
everyone else's parents sometimes when she goes out for the day."
    
    "Like today?" Haruka asked. She was ready for the chance to do 
something, even if she didn't know what she could do without 
transforming.
    
    Hotaru nodded. "We have to warn everyone!"
    
    Luna jumped onto the coffee table and put on her most 
authoritative voice. "No. None of the Senshi can turn up. Somehow the 
youma are immune to the magic that keeps our identities secret, so we 
have to make them think that they've got it wrong. If the Sailor 
Senshi turned up to rescue their parents it would prove who you all 
are, and it might even push a few of the parents themselves into 
being able to see past the transformation magic. Some of them already 
suspect the truth."
    
    "So what?" Haruka asked. "We just do nothing?"
    
    Michiru was far less outspoken, but she shared Haruka's worries. 
"We can't even let the others know."
    
    Luna shook her head. "Usagi and everyone are otherwise occupied 
today. They need the day off, and most importantly they don't need to 
know that being the Sailor Senshi has put their families at risk. 
Even Setsuna-san will allow them that small amount of innocence. 
Setsuna-san will deal with the situation, and if somehow something 
does go wrong she will call us. Beyond that, the best course of 
action is to make sure that the youma's plan delivers nothing."
    
    Haruka sighed heavily. She could see the point, but she didn't 
like it in the least. "Damn it."
    
    "It's okay Haruka-papa," Hotaru said, trying to comfort her. 
"Setsuna-mama knows what she's doing, right?"
    
    "Right," Michiru agreed.
    
    "Also," Luna added, "this is the ideal time to talk to our 
captive. We now know that she lied to us, and that the other youma 
are busy."
    
    Michiru nodded, and picked up her transformation pen. "I will 
take you down to her."
    
    A flash of coloured light later and Sailor Neptune ushered the 
cat onto her shoulder before making for the basement door. However, 
both she and Luna were aware of Haruka's eyes on their backs as they 
went. 
    
    "How is she doing?" Luna asked quietly as they took the short run 
of steps down. Luna and Haruka hadn't really spoken since Haruka had 
given up her transformation pen, and Luna was still feeling a little 
guilty about how harshly she had spoken then.
    
    "Well enough, given the circumstances," Sailor Neptune replied. 
"She will be fine. Hotaru and I plan on taking her out this 
afternoon, so that Hotaru can paint her." She smiled. "Then we will 
have a matching set, almost."
    
    "Almost?" Luna asked.
    
    Neptune nodded. "Minako-chan sat in my picture as well. Would you 
like to pose for Haruka's?"
    
    Luna smiled. "Why not." It might be a good show of friendship, if 
Haruka wanted one.
    
    But there were more pressing matters right then as Neptune 
switched on the basement light. "Good morning, Maxill-san."
    
    "Maxill-san?" Luna asked, surprised. "She told you her name?"
    
    Maxill's large, faceted yellow eyes squinted at the light. "It is 
better than being called 'it' or 'youma'. Is it time for breakfast 
already? Am I going to starve now that I have drunk all the energy in 
that crystal?"
    
    Sailor Neptune shook her head. "You'll be fed. I heard that 
Haruka already offered last night."
    
    Maxill glared at her. "You might well like that, mightn't you 
'Senshi'. You are Haruka's soul-sister, aren't you? Her lover."
    
    Neptune didn't say anything.
    
    "I won't harm the child, whatever you take me for."
    
    'For the same reason we can't let Haruka transform,' Neptune 
noted. 'Her life energy is intertwined with the baby's.'
    
    "That isn't why we are here Maxill-san," Luna said, derailing 
that conversation before it got too personal. "Your fellow 
'survivors' are certainly audacious. But then, are they really 
survivors? We know there are more than five of you; they've shown 
themselves. You've been playing with our sympathies."
    
    Maxill didn't move a muscle, but inside she was shaking. 
"Alright, there are more than five of us. You would lie as well. How 
many of you Senshi are there? Including the man in black and white."
    
    "Ten," Luna said automatically. "One for each planet of our solar 
system, plus the Moon of Earth."
    
    "Not counting Pluto's little upset," Neptune said with an amused 
smile.
    
    "That is a ridiculous modern technicality," Luna bit back, 
suddenly annoyed and explaining purely out of reflex. Only weeks 
before Haruka and the others had gone missing Pluto had been 
'declassified' as a planet by the scientific community, and both she 
and Sailor Pluto had received no end of torment from the others 
because of it. "It supported its civilisation regardless of how that 
civilisation was spread among the belt! It was no different from 
Saturn in that regard. Even the Japanese government has recognised 
that."
    
    Sailor Neptune would have remarked that they hadn't been given 
much choice, considering how incensed Sailor Pluto had been, but 
Maxill chose that moment to actually make her point. "Regardless of 
your planetary squabbles," she said, "you claim to have ten members. 
You tell the same lie as I did, for the same reason. You do not want 
your pink-haired child recognised as a target for us."
    
    "Chibi-Usa?!" Neptune exclaimed. "She isn't even here!"
    
    Indeed, Usagi's future daughter had long since returned to her 
own timeline, and now only visited when she could escape from Sailor 
Pluto's gaze, usually to see how Hotaru was growing up, and show off 
how she was growing herself. Considering how close the two were, it 
was surprising that Chibi-Usa had the patience. Hotaru got to see her 
every six months or so, which equated to several years of growing up 
for Chibi-Usa in the future. And soon she wouldn't have the excuse, 
because Hotaru seemed to have started maturing at a much more normal 
rate now. Setsuna guessed it would completely even out by the time 
she was only a year or so 'younger' than Usagi and the others, much 
as they were only a year younger than Haruka and Michiru.
    
    "How did you find out about her?" Luna asked, looking daggers at 
the youma.
    
    Maxill looked back with far less antagonism. "It is easy enough 
to hunt up information in this world. Especially about you Sailor 
Senshi. So," she finished, "now you know we are six. Will that make 
any difference? Will you kill a child like you would the rest of us?"
    
    Luna's expression didn't soften. "I hope that death isn't the 
only way to resolve this, but that depends on what your fellow 
'survivors' do today. I pray, for both our sakes, that they are as 
rational as you seem to be."

***
    
    Rationalism, it turned out, would not be the problem as Tyranya, 
Shivis, Kiazi and Myoshiya held the 'parent's club' hostage in 
Grandpa Hino's own shrine. Boredom however...
    
    "... and of course Usagi would never tell me we were going to 
have guests! She waltzed in after that study session with all four of 
them in tow, and she barely spared a breath to say they were all 
staying for dinner before they all vanished upstairs to her room!"
    
    Both Kikon and Katsura blushed dutifully. "You have my apologies 
Ikuko-san. I would expect better of Ami."
    
    Ikuko and Genji just laughed. "Oh, don't be! Ami-chan spent the 
whole evening apologising for intruding like that, and she was as red 
as you are now! So did Makoto-chan for that matter. I bet Usagi is 
still like that, even though she's the one who has to worry about 
cooking now!"
    
    Yokozuki allowed himself a wry laugh of his own. "I can believe 
it of Minako, sad to say. That pair really did cause us all so much 
trouble..."
    
    "And then they had each other to complain to afterwards," Genji 
added. "'Ohh, but Minako-chan does it too!' was a phrase I heard more 
than often enough, and I know Minako-chan said the same of our lazy 
Usagi, because I overheard them both plotting it!"
    
    Grandpa Hino just continued to laugh. "Ah, such delightful girls, 
full of youth and vigour!"
    
    "Full of cheek and evil plans, you mean," Genji muttered.
    
    Setsuna smiled at just what those matured 'evil plans' would soon 
entail, but Katsura took Grandpa Hino's side.
    
    "Really," she said with honesty, "they have both been perfectly 
well behaved when I have seen them come home with Ami. I think Ami 
needed that spirit to help her open up, or else she might not have 
made friends at all during junior high school. It was such a 
wonderful surprise to hear her saying she was going to go out with 
some friends so soon after she transferred. I was afraid she would 
remain trapped in her studies."
    
    "Forgive me for saying," Kikon said, "but surely you wanted Ami-
chan to be successful? I know that we have wished Minako would study 
with even a fraction of Ami-chan's diligence."
    
    Katsura nodded. "Yes," she replied, "I have always pushed Ami to 
study hard, but I could also see that she was not always happy. I did 
what I could, but no amount of extracurricular study or activity can 
be a substitute for people like Usagi-chan, Minako-chan, Rei-chan and 
Makoto-chan."
    
    Ikuko smiled to herself. "Katsura-sensei, I don't think that is 
going to change any time soon. I know Usagi has been very vocal about 
sticking up for Ami-chan recently."
    
    Katsura knew it. "As has Makoto-chan, I know. And Ami seems to 
have reached an understanding with Michiru-san as well. It has all 
seemed to cheer her up no end."
    
    Setsuna agreed. "Michiru, Haruka and Hotaru have all been in 
similarly better spirits." She sighed. "I have to admit, I'm glad 
those bridges were not burnt. Michiru and Ami-chan always got on so 
well. Much like Haruka and Mako-chan."
    
    "But," Ikuko gossiped, "that is a girl I have never understood. 
Usagi even brought her to our house with a ripped school blouse after 
she got into a fight, and she darned it herself over a plate of her 
own biscuits!"
    
    Katsura shook her head. "Makoto-chan is a good girl, who has 
probably had a harder life than she shows. When I first saw her I 
thought she belonged to a gang, but she has often been good enough to 
keep Ami company while I worked late."
    
    Grandpa Hino smiled as he heard that. "Yes, she is something of a 
strangely bound book, isn't she? But I don't doubt that she and Rei 
will be happily keeping each other company tonight."
    
    Yokozuki blinked at him, surprised at his acceptance of the 
situation. "You don't worry about letting Rei-chan out at night with 
Makoto-chan, you know, like that?"
    
    Grandpa Hino laughed again. "Well, I would say it is a fifty-
fifty chance that Rei brings her here!"
    
    Yokozuki shook his head. "I know Minako is an adult, and what she 
does in her own time is her business, but if she ever brought someone 
home like that..."
    
    "You forget," the old priest said, "that Mako-chan has been 
coming here since she was fourteen years old! I'm not going to 
question their relationship after all that. Trust me Yokozuki-san, 
'traditional' values are not all they are cracked up to be. If they 
were then Rei would get more from her 'father' than a single visit 
every year."
    
    Away from them all Tyranya sat by the door watching the sun set. 
They had been there all day, and had not heard a peep out of the 
Sailor Senshi. If Myoshiya could get the Senshi to come to her after 
only two days, then surely those 'heroines' should have been on top 
of them after only a few hours. They had always been unnaturally 
effective against the Dark Kingdom when Queen Beryl had been in 
charge. Was there something preventing the Sailor Senshi from co-
ordinating themselves?
    
    Or had they simply got the wrong targets? Had the Senshi come to 
Myoshiya simply because of their direct connection with the Aino 
girl? No, that didn't make sense.
    
    Shivis appeared next to her, close enough to whisper. "Captain, 
unless we go public properly, this isn't doing us any good. And then, 
if we need hostages, we could use any humans who happen to be there."
    
    Tyranya nodded. "And Kaizi needs to get the last of her harvested 
energy. We can't leave Aretsuki guarding it alone if this isn't even 
worthy of the Senshi's attention."
    
    She turned to the gossiping septet and all eyes turned to her. 
"It looks like you were correct, priest. It will suffice to say that 
we have wasted enough of our time here. Whatever the reason for this 
useless little farce, we have no further need of you."
    
    "I-is that a threat?" Genji ventured, getting to his feet.
    
    Myoshiya backhanded him as she walked over to join her sisters. 
"Not unless you choose to make it so, human," she said, with annoyed 
spite in her voice. She didn't think Aretsuki had been wrong, but 
taking this low-key approach hadn't been what she wanted either. Now 
at least they would get to make the most of all their planning.
    
    The parents just watched, and the youma walked away with no 
further word. It was deeply anticlimactic, but each of them breathed 
a sigh of relief once the coloured monsters had gone. "Well," 
Yokozuki said, a little shaken even though nothing had happened, 
"what more proof do you need?"
    
    Genji almost choked. "Yokozuki-san, you're kidding! Even if you 
were right, when have the Sailor Senshi ever failed to turn up to 
something like this?! For all I know Usagi is blissfully unaware, 
shopping out in the city somewhere."
    
    Then they all jumped as the shrine's telephone went. It had even 
made Setsuna start, and Grandpa Hino got to his feet a little more 
unsteadily than he usually did. "Hoo, that was a surprise I didn't 
need," he said. "But you are right Genji-san, Usagi-chan is most 
likely still out shopping with Rei, Minako-chan and Ami-chan."
    
    He picked up the phone from just out in the hallway and silenced 
the hard ringing. "Hello? Ah Rei, what excellent timing. Did you all 
have fun? Ah, good. ... Yes, of course. I will see you tomorrow then. 
You enjoy yourselves. I love you too."
    
    Both the Tsukinos and the Ainos were staring at him agog as he 
returned. "You didn't say anything?" Ikuko asked, amazed. 
    
    Grandpa Hino shrugged. "What is there to say? Nothing happened to 
us, and if I told her she would just worry for the rest of the night 
and come rushing home, for no reason whatsoever. Instead, she is 
going to have dinner out with her friends, and then spend the night 
with her girlfriend, and probably have a very good time all told."
    
    Setsuna nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Nothing negative 
has come out it, so why spread the worry?"
    
    'And it would be better if they don't know, if they are the 
Sailor Senshi. Assuming they really don't know already,' Yokozuki 
thought. 'They would probably blame themselves for it.'
    
    And Grandpa Hino just smiled at Setsuna, as if silently 
congratulating her on a well executed plan of omissions. Setsuna 
returned the smile with one of her own. One that was willing to let 
things lie, as long as he was too.
    
    But, of course, who ever said that a pair of friendly smiles had 
to mean anything at all?

***
    
    To say that Katsura was frazzled as she walked home that evening 
would have been an understatement. Although she hadn't said anything, 
she didn't think it was too early to dismiss the Ainos' theory 
either, in light of what had happened that day. She doubted the 
Sailor Senshi were omniscient, and since they had organised today as 
a day out for themselves it wouldn't have been hard for the more 
uncompromising 'Outer' Senshi to make sure that the youma wouldn't 
get what they wanted. But, regardless of the truth, she would be fine 
with it as long as Ami truly didn't know about what had just 
happened. Her daughter had enough to think about as it was.
    
    And so did Katsura now. If, and it was a very decisive 'if', Ami 
was one of the Sailor Senshi, when had it all started? Had that been 
the reason she had first become depressed at school? No, more likely 
it would have been when she had started making friends again. It was 
strange to think that being forced to fight an alien invasion might 
have been the catalyst for a fourteen year old girl's emotional 
upturn.
    
    Not that she believed it for a second. Usagi had been the reason 
for that, with the other girls following soon after. Socially, the 
fanciful idea that Ami might be a magic-wielding heroine wouldn't 
have changed anything at all. Though if it was true somehow Katsura 
would have liked to have words with whoever had thought of recruiting 
children to fight these pan-dimensional wars. 
    
    Then again, she had often wanted to have words with the Sailor 
Senshi themselves. Their battles often filled Katsura's hospital beds 
far too easily. Now, it was possible that she could have spoken to 
them at any time, and she found that she really didn't want to. Even 
as a scientist, it scared her that it might be true. She didn't want 
that kind of dangerous fate for her daughter. Ami was going to be a 
well respected doctor - that was all Katsura wanted. The mother in 
her was happy not believing. It was a shame that the scientist in her 
didn't feel the same way.
    
    She tried to suppress those thoughts as she got home. She wasn't 
surprised to hear Ami pottering around inside. It was quite late 
after all. Katsura hoped Ami wouldn't mind dinner being late. Maybe 
they could eat out somewhere, if Ami hadn't eaten already. 
    
    Then she had to stop herself. Her hands were shaking as she took 
off her shoes, and she took a moment to try and calm herself. 
Whatever else she was or wasn't, Ami was her daughter, and that was 
all that mattered, Katsura recited mentally. She had already decided 
that Ami didn't need any more worries. Why was she hesitating now? 
    
    "I'm home," she called out, once she had finally managed to 
compose herself.
    
    Then, to her surprise, Ami came to greet her, wiping her hands on 
her mother's apron, which hung around her neck. "Welcome back 
Mother."
    
    Ami smiled a smile that Katsura had not seen on her for a long 
time. A simple, happy smile that just said she was enjoying herself. 
"I hope you don't mind," Ami said, "but since it was getting late I 
thought I would try to cook something for us."
    
    Katsura felt her inner strength wavering. She could remain 
professional in the face of every casualty in the hospital, and 
simply seeing her daughter after today was tying her stomach in 
knots.
    
    "Mother? Are you alright?" Ami asked, her smile replaced by a 
look of concern. 
    
    Katsura swallowed hard, and put on a smile of her own. "Yes Ami, 
I am alright. It has just been a... tiring day." She stepped forward, 
knowing that it would seem strange, and gave her daughter a heartfelt 
hug. "What are we having?"
    
    Ami blinked as she was held, wondering what had just happened. 
"Umm... I was making pork udon."
    
    Katsura forced herself to step back, if only to put her daughter 
at ease. "Pork udon?"
    
    Ami nodded, still a little confused. "I know it is summer, but I 
thought you might be hungry after staying out late. Actually," she 
admitted, "I'm sort of making it up as I go. I couldn't find your 
recipe book."
    
    Katsura allowed herself a smile. Ami never had been a child of 
the kitchen. "I'm sure it will be fine. I am rather hungry." 
    
    She walked with Ami back into the kitchen, looking at the various 
pots that cluttered the work surface as Ami went back to her noodles. 
She seemed to be washing up as she went, but was cluttering the space 
again as fast as she cleared it. 'I really should have given you 
lessons,' she thought. 'You never did say how you did in home 
economics classes.'
    
    Outwardly though Katsura was happy just to watch, and was 
somewhat relieved at not having to sit on the floor any more today. 
"Did you have a good time with the other girls today?"
    
    Ami didn't turn to reply, but her mother could see her smile 
broaden as she nodded. "Yes. We had fun."
    
    "What did you do?"
    
    Katsura had to wonder as Ami seemed to hesitate. "... We just 
went shopping. Usagi-chan, Minako-chan and Rei-chan all ate too much 
ice cream, as though they were still in high school. Mako-chan and 
Rei-chan made eyes at each other when they thought we wouldn't 
notice, as soon as Mako-chan joined us."
    
    Katsura wanted to prod her for more, and for why Ami seemed so 
reticent, but Ami looked as though she wanted to say it anyway. She 
only hesitated because she didn't know how well it would be received. 
    
    "We... looked at baby things..." After that it seemed to flow 
from her like a torrent. "You see, we are going over to see Haruka-
san, Michiru-san and Hotaru-chan tomorrow - Usagi-chan and Setsuna-
san have planned it - but they haven't told Haruka-san yet. We're 
going to surprise her, and have a sort of party because we haven't 
all got together in so long, and Haruka... they think Haruka-san 
needs cheering up because it is all so complicated with the baby, 
even though she wants to keep it. And I know it's too early to buy 
baby things - we don't even know if it is going to be a boy or a girl 
yet - but Usagi-chan and Minako-chan dragged us around to look at 
them anyway."
    
    Katsura had been expecting something like that eventually. She 
just hadn't expected it so soon. She sighed, but let out a chuckle 
even so. "You don't need to make excuses for it Ami. I know what it 
is like."
    
    Ami blushed to herself as she finished heating the meat, 
embarrassed about her sudden outburst. "I'm sorry. It was just nice, 
even when they were teasing me."
    
    "So," Katsura said, asking the obvious and more serious question, 
"I know it isn't really my business, but do you know how you are 
going to deal with it all? You and Michiru-san seemed to have come to 
an understanding, and I'm glad you are feeling better for it, but do 
you know what either of you are going to do now?"
    
    Ami shook her head as she dished out the rich noodle broth. "No, 
we don't know. But we're going to do our best. That is all you can 
do, isn't it?"
    
    Katsura nodded, but it did make her worry. "Then, are you sure 
that tomorrow is such a good idea? If," she swallowed hard, wrapping 
her head around the complex issue her daughter was involved in, 
"Haruka-san has feelings for you both, and you are both competing for 
her..."
    
    "It's not like that," Ami replied, placing their bowls at the 
table. "It won't be. Tomorrow... that is neutral ground. We are going 
to be there for Haruka's sake, not our own. And I think Usagi-chan 
planned for this to happen too. I haven't seen Haruka in a while, so 
we are just going to have fun. I think that is what Michiru will want 
too."
    
    'Alright Ami,' Katsura thought, conceding the battle, 'you know 
your situation far better than I do. Just be careful, and try not to 
be too upset. They live together, after all.'
    
    She pulled some of the thick noodles from her bowl and blew on 
them, before slurping them up with as much decorum as was possible 
with an udon bowl. "This is good. You should cook more often Ami."
    
    Ami smiled at the complement, chewing on her own first mouthful. 
Somehow she had managed to over spice the broth without actually 
making it any more flavourful, but it was still edible. It wasn't as 
good as she had hoped for certainly, but given how little she cooked 
it was only to be expected really. She could hardly be expected to 
match the eponymous Hyper-Mako-Noodles. As long as this was 
acceptable to her mother, that was enough.

***
    
    As it happened, the Hyper-Mako-Noodles in question had done their 
work earlier that evening, and even an hour on Rei was still 
complimenting them.
    
    "Ohhh, I'm so full," she said, one hand resting on her satiated 
stomach. "Perfectly, blissfully full."
    
    Makoto smiled as Rei's head rested on her own bare belly, Rei 
stretched out on the settee while Makoto sat lazily up against one 
end, her legs arching by Rei's sides as she played with Rei's raven 
fringe. "You know, I did hear you the first forty times. I ought to 
feed you more often."
    
    Rei nodded, smiling up at her girlfriend. "Yes, you should. I am 
never going to have instant curry again."
    
    "I think we can arrange that."
    
    Rei felt fit to purr as Makoto's fingers worked gently through 
her hair. Right then she was living out her perfect picture of 
contentment. "Makoto, those little bootees were so cute, weren't 
they?" she said, remembering the neatly knitted baby-socks they had 
crooned over that afternoon.
    
    "Yeah," Makoto agreed, "cute is the word. I was so tempted."
    
    Rei's eyes rolled back up to Makoto's face. "Really? She asked 
with a grin. "Why didn't you buy them?"
    
    Makoto shrugged. "Ami-chan was right, we shouldn't get anything 
yet. At least, not until we know it's okay to. And besides," she 
added, "I'm skint, remember."
    
    Rei sighed. "You haven't talked to Ami-chan yet? And I'd lend you 
it."
    
    "Yes, I have," Makoto replied, "and no, you won't." There was a 
little bit of edge in her voice, but only enough to let Rei know she 
was serious about this point. "I'll deal with it Rei. It's just a 
good excuse to stop buying things on a whim."
    
    "Well," Rei replied, mollified, "next time we see them, I'm 
buying them for you, and you can give them to her. My treat."
    
    Makoto nodded in defeat. "Thank you. As long as they're the green 
ones. Any baby looks good in green."
    
    "Then I'll just have to give her the pink or blue ones then," Rei 
said with a giggle. "It wouldn't be proper otherwise!"
    
    Makoto's hand slipped down from Rei's hair to stoke her cheeks. 
"You can be so stubborn, you know that?"
    
    Rei nodded, relaxing into the touch. "You can be too, you know. 
You just don't show it."
    
    It was warm and comforting, letting her lose herself as she lay 
there. Then Rei felt herself failing, just a little. She swallowed 
hard and turned over onto her front, berating herself. Why couldn't 
she be allowed to enjoy this? She liked it, but...
    
    She didn't let that unease show though. She got onto her hands 
and knees and crawled up the settee, until she leaned up at Makoto's 
level on the arm rest.
    
    And Makoto seemed to understand, though Rei had never actually 
told her. "I won't be stubborn for you," she said, feeling a glow as 
she said it. It was cheesy, but cheesy was good when it made her feel 
as warm as this.
    
    Rei's blush visibly mirrored that feeling and she dropped her 
stronger air, letting herself down to rest against Makoto's shoulder. 
"Sweet talker. I like stubborn, just a little."
    
    Makoto nodded, wrapping and arm around her. "I guess that's good 
then. Are you going to bring anything tomorrow?"
    
    Rei shrugged. "I don't know what. Unless you want some help to 
make a cake or something. I didn't really plan that when I came 
over."
    
    Makoto nodded. "We'll make a cake then. I'll see if I can 
remember what Haruka-san's favourite is."
    
    "You do remember that I can't cook."
    
    Makoto smiled. "What does that matter? I'll teach you. It'll be 
fine."
    
    Rei leaned back up, looking down into Makoto's languid eyes. 
"Thanks. I guess I can help wash up at least."
    
    That atmosphere just felt too nice to let it lapse into silence 
then, Rei thought. "I really am full," she giggled, laying herself 
down flush against her girlfriend, and puffing out her stomach.
    
    "Good," Makoto grinned, holding Rei to her. "No-one ever goes 
hungry in my house."
    
    "I'll get fat," Rei teased.
    
    Makoto just shrugged. "No you won't. I'll feed you properly, and 
you'll stay being the most beautiful girl at school, or at work, or 
wherever you are." Her grin returned. "It's kind of nice, you know. I 
won the junior high school idol!"
    
    Rei felt that flutter in her heart, the good kind, and the nice 
awkwardness overcame her as she lay there on Makoto's front. "Makoto, 
that was ages ago. But yeah, you did. I love you."
    
    And she was rewarded when she felt Makoto's heart flutter in 
return against her chest. Makoto coloured visibly, and leaned down, 
leaving a soft, brief kiss on Rei's lips. "I love you too Rei."
    
    Rei just smiled, but it was cautious smile, and she let her head 
fall down, resting her forehead on Makoto's collarbones. Could she 
really let it be at that any more? 
    
    She shifted her legs up until they were the ones that straddled 
Makoto's thighs, and she sat up slightly, tentative but more self-
assured about this than she had been for a long time. Her hands 
traced down Makoto's sides until they reached the hem of her tank 
top, and they slowly pushed beneath it until they rested gently on 
Makoto's tight sports bra.
    
    Had she been three years younger she would have bitten her lip as 
she glanced briefly at the ample cleavage beneath her fingers. "Maybe 
Snow White has had enough sleep for one lifetime."
    
    Makoto flushed more deeply, and Rei felt Makoto's heartbeat 
quicken beneath her fingertips. Slowly Makoto sat up until Rei's 
hands pressed strongly against her chest, and she wrapped her arms 
around Rei, pressing them together as they lost themselves in a 
sensual, lingering kiss. 
    
    "She's awake," Makoto whispered as their lips parted. She put up 
no resistance as Rei pushed her gently back down onto the settee. 
They both knew that sleep would be a long time in coming, but that 
night it was, at last, for all the right reasons.

***
    
    It had been at Artemis' request that Luna had stayed at Minako's 
that night, instead of enjoying her usual place on Usagi's old bed at 
the Tsukino household. Frankly she had thought it was just because 
the old sap didn't want Minako being lonely after getting used to 
having him around again, but she had been pleasantly surprised.
    
    The Ainos were all too willing to spoil her, and Luna had found 
out what might have been the main reason Artemis seemed capable of 
being both knowledgeable and lazy at the same time - though she 
couldn't think of him as the latter without feeling guilty, 
considering what he had put himself though on their behalf.
    
    The thing was, Minako was a great one to chat late into the 
night, and Luna had learned a great many things just from that one 
late evening. Minako was, as Usagi had said on occasion, a good deal 
deeper than she appeared. As Luna had now found out, Minako had been 
the first of them to create a new attack based upon the magic she had 
learned in Seiji. 
    
    "Why didn't you tell us about it before?" Luna asked the next 
morning. It surprised her that Minako hadn't wanted to boast about 
it, and even besides that, taking new training upon herself was a 
legitimate and very creditworthy thing to have done.
    
    "Honestly, that move wasn't really ready yet," Minako admitted. 
"I only told the others about it yesterday, though I think Mako-chan 
gossiped after she saw me try it against the fox youma, because Ami-
chan and her said they'd both been practicing with new magic too. Hee 
hee, Usagi-chan felt so left out."
    
    "That's... very admirable, Minako-chan," Luna said, feeling a 
swell of pride for the girl. "What sort of attack is it? Given what 
Rei's... demon told us, I assumed we wouldn't be able to harness any 
of those powers you all mentioned."
    
    Minako shrugged as she packed up her bag, slipping a large gift 
card carefully around her makeup things. "Well, it's not really 
anything like the stage magic I did. I just thought it would be cool 
if I tried something similar with Senshi magic, and it kind of 
worked, just not in the way I expected."
    
    "It's like Ami-chan said," she went on, trying to remember her 
friend's specific words. "Senshi magic isn't as rigid as I thought it 
was. It's... mutate-able, I think."
    
    "You mean mutable?" Luna asked, intrigued.
    
    "Same thing," Minako said, waving it off. "We are used to using 
specific attacks that just 'feel' right, but that doesn't mean they 
are set in stone. Like, we have more attacks than Uranus and Neptune 
do, and I always wondered if they hadn't discovered others yet or 
whether they just honed theirs to be more powerful. Instead, maybe 
they just don't feel the need for more, and haven't experimented.
    
    "I think maybe I've got the most well rounded moves out of all of 
us; a pinpoint attack, a wide attack, something to tie up or stop 
enemies - and generally just be useful, so I'm okay for attacks. I 
can just power up my Crescent Beam or Love and Beauty Shock if I have 
to. In Seiji though I just had swords, and I used the stage magic to 
make sure I could use them properly."
    
    "So," she finished with a wink, "the Venus Honey Flash does that. 
It's like a small Sailor Teleport, but just to somewhere I can see, 
and it makes a flash of light so they're already blinded as soon as I 
appear again! Clever, huh?"
    
    Luna nodded, pleasantly surprised by the way Minako had thought 
it out. "It sounds like a very good idea. What have the others been 
trying?"
    
    Minako shrugged. "No idea. They didn't want to 'spoil the 
surprise' apparently, those sneaks-in-the-muds."
    
    Luna shook her head. "Anyway, shouldn't you be going? You'll be 
late."
    
    "I know, I know " Minako replied, uncapping her lipstick. "Just 
let me finish." She sighed. "I wish Artemis could come."
    
    Luna had to agree. "I'll sneak in to visit him. He comes home 
tomorrow anyway, so he'll survive."
    
    When Minako had finally finished her makeup she dashed out of the 
room without a pause, leaving Luna to trail behind since the black 
cat wasn't inclined to ape Artemis' hitch-hiking approach today.
    
    Then, as Minako shoved on her shoes in the hall, her mother 
appeared from the living room. "Minako? Where are you going? Listen 
dear, I think we need to talk."
    
    "What?" Minako said, still getting ready at something close to 
the speed of sound. "Mum, I told you I would be going out today. 
It'll wait, right?"
    
    She didn't even wait for her mother's broken reply before the 
door was open and she was gone, Luna following close at her heels.
    
    "M-Minako, wait... And Luna too, just like Artemis. They don't 
act like cats at all." 
    
    Her husband appeared beside her as she stared at the closed front 
door. "I think so too. One day I am going to get that cat to talk."
    
    "Honey..." Kikon said, turning to look at him with worried eyes.
    
    Yokozuki took her hand. "This is Minako. No matter how hair 
brained she gets, she'll be fine." In all honesty he was reassuring 
himself as much as his wife. "She has been so far."

***
    
    Haruka looked up from her small plate of salad as the doorbell 
rang, listening out for one or other set of feet that might start to 
pad their way down the hallway. She was feeling too lazy to get the 
door herself, and she speared another plum tomato, popping it into 
her mouth.
    
    Idly she wondered whether this snacking was because of her 
pregnancy already, or whether that was just her most accessible 
excuse to eat more over the last few days. She didn't suppose it 
mattered though. She was rather lucky, being partial such non-
fattening food.
    
    Again, not that that mattered either, she thought to herself. She 
would be more than just fat soon enough, and everyone would start 
nagging her to eat more than just salad. She smiled to herself, 
lifting another leaf of lettuce up in front of her, and looking it 
over. She really had been going round in a lot of circles recently.
    
    She seemed to have had a lot to think about in those few seconds 
between the bell and the voice that followed from the depths of the 
house. "Haruka, could you get that please?"
    
    Haruka smiled and shook her head, taking a bite out of the 
greenery on her salad fork before she got to her feet, her plate 
still in hand. 'Well,' she thought, her laziness defeated once again, 
'at least they'll see that they interrupted a good snack.'
    
    When she did open the door she almost dropped the plate. 
"Dumpling? Ami-chan?" she said, blinking owlishly at the miniature 
throng that had assembled, all colourfully beweaponed with goodness 
knew what.
    
    "Congratulations!" Usagi, Minako, Makoto and Rei cheered, all 
grinning from ear to ear. And Ami, at the back of the group, just 
smiled, feeling horribly embarrassed.
    
    "Girls..." Haruka said, momentarily forgetting herself.
    
    Her composure wasn't helped when Michiru's voice came from behind 
her, with Hotaru and Setsuna flanking, each wearing an all too 
knowing smile of their own.
    
    "Congratulations Haruka."
    
    Hotaru grinned. Even for her, with her seemingly eternal good 
will, it was too good a chance to miss. "Congratulations Haruka-papa-
mama!"
    
    Haruka was determined not to smile at that as everyone else burst 
out laughing, but her lips twitched involuntarily. "I see. Even in my 
own house, huh Hotaru?"
    
    Hotaru just nodded, and produced a present of her own from behind 
her back. "Yep. Sorry Haruka-papa."
    
    Setsuna was about to speak up concerning their guests on the 
doorstep, but Makoto managed to beat her to with, with a much more 
valid reason. "Umm Haruka-san? Unless you want Usagi-chan to start 
stealing this cake out here I'm going to have to get to your 
crockery."
    
    "Well, we can't have that," Setsuna agreed, ushering them in 
while Haruka consoled a pouting Usagi. 
    
    "I only said it smelled good," Usagi moaned comically.
    
    Haruka patted her on the head. "And who could ask for a better 
judge than my Dumpling?"
    
    "You might want to be careful," Usagi said, beaming now that her 
compliment quota had been topped up. "I think my re-enforcement 
flatterer has arrived early."
    
    Haruka had noticed at the same time Usagi had, and she could see 
it coming a mile off as Mamoru strolled up the pathway, gave them 
both a wink, and continued straight past to take the hand that 
Michiru proffered. "Michiru-san, as elegant as ever I see." He kissed 
it and managed a remarkable impression of Haruka's own rakish grin. 
"And the dress is very nice too."
    
    From the doorway Ami still smiled. "Haruka, Usagi, hadn't you 
better rescue your better halves from each other?"
    
    Usagi, however, had it all planned out. "Ah, Mamo-chan, you 
playboy!" she exclaimed as Mamoru in turn greeted Setsuna in the same 
knightly fashion.
    
    "Setsuna-san, a pleasure, once again."
    
    For her part Setsuna simply smiled at his staged charms, her 
usual cryptic air surrounding her again after her open greeting to 
the others. "Yes, it is, Mamoru-kun."
    
    And Usagi, her target having moved on, fell upon Michiru with a 
theatrical wail. "Ah, my man is such a flirt, Michiru-san!" 
    
    At least that was all it seemed to be to the others, but Usagi 
gave Michiru an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Michiru-san, but... She's 
been too quiet all the way here."
    
    Michiru shook her head, looking to Ami still standing politely at 
the entrance, and looking far too hesitant to join the others as 
Makoto cut the cake she had already unboxed. "Well played, Usagi-
chan," she whispered. Then, aloud, "I know it all too well, Usagi-
chan. Come, let us drown out sorrows in Mako-chan's famous 
confectionery!"
    
    Mamoru sighed, watching the pair of them join in. "I think I've 
just been abandoned." He looked to Setsuna, and offered his arm. 
"Shall we?"
    
    Setsuna simply seemed to consider him for a moment, but to his 
credit he didn't waver in the slightest. "Let's." Setsuna finally 
said, taking that arm. "You played your part very well there, Mamoru-
kun."
    
    The pair of them gave a very lost Ami and Haruka a glance. "Are 
you sure about this?" Mamoru asked quietly.
    
    "We shall see," the cryptic young woman replied, her eyes 
lingering.
    
    Haruka could only wonder what had just happened. These kinds of 
games had been commonplace among them at one time, but usually Haruka 
had played a much more active part. She looked at Ami, who returned 
that gaze. Was Michiru saying that it was okay? If so, what did that 
mean for them? This was exactly the situation that had caused her so 
much internal conflict up to this point. Did Michiru want to see her 
choose on her own, without being told what was expected from her?
    
    Michiru had never had any middle ground between up-front and 
almost impossibly oblique. If the latter was how she wanted to handle 
this, the Haruka would simply have to trust her own feelings. 
    
    It surprised her how long it had been since she had done that.
    
    "Ami-chan, don't stand on ceremony. I'm glad to see you again."
    
    Ami nodded, her hands clasped down in front of her, around the 
small gift that she held. She felt like an awkward schoolgirl again. 
"So am I, Haruka. I have missed you."
    
    Haruka was surprised by the way Ami said her name, especially 
with the others around. Just what had she and Michiru told each other 
when Michiru had visited her?
    
    "I missed you too, Ami," Haruka admitted. "I'm sorry I made 
things so difficult last time." That was putting it mildly, she 
thought to herself. Accosting Ami in her own home after Michiru had 
found out the truth had been more than 'difficult'.
    
    Ami shook her head. "Don't be. Here, I bought this for you," she 
said, finally lifting her hands and giving Haruka the simple box.
    
    Haruka took it carefully, pulled open the yellow bow that held it 
shut, and opened it. Inside sat a small gold brooch, ringed with 
similarly small but carefully cut yellow stones, and at the centre 
sat what was obviously a star sapphire of a richly deep blue. The 
light caught the reflective 'star' of the gem only slightly, but it 
gave the brooch the most amazingly ethereal look.
    
    "Ami," Haruka said, slightly in awe, "this must have cost a 
fortune. Where of earth did you get it?"
    
    Ami chose not to confirm Haruka's monetary suspicions. "Actually, 
it was in one of the special displays at Osa-P. I couldn't leave it 
there. I thought that sapphires would... fit."
    
    "The gemstones of the sky," Setsuna said from the open-fronted 
kitchen, without looking away from the plate she held. "Fitting 
indeed." She was the only one not watching though, as Haruka and Ami 
had become painfully aware.
    
    "Hey," Minako observed, "they're in your colours too."
    
    Haruka had noticed too. Even if she wasn't allowed to transform, 
she could still wear those colours. "Ami, thank you."
    
    "But no fair giving your present first Ami-chan!" Minako added, 
breaking the atmosphere. "How am I going to follow that?!"
    
    "Well," Usagi said with a mouth full of cake, "it's not like she 
can give anything at the baby shower. That would be weird."
    
    Haruka blinked. "This is isn't the baby shower?"
    
    "Of course not." Usagi said, as if it made perfects sense. "How 
can we buy you baby things when we don't know if it'll be a boy or a 
girl? And men don't come to baby showers, so I couldn't have brought 
Mamoru along." 
    
    Minako followed up on Usagi's running questions without leaving a 
break. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet? Have you thought of 
a name?"
    
    Haruka felt embarrassed, both for herself and for them. "It's a 
bit too early for that." Then she had to wonder, and looked over to 
Michiru. "Isn't it?"
    
    Michiru nodded, and received her own plate of cake from Rei. 
"Definitely too early. They don't develop that fast Minako-chan. 
Let's leave that kind of guessing until the real baby shower, shall 
we?"
    
    Makoto shook her head. It would have been nice to do all that 
now. "Ah well. Haruka-san, come and get some of your cake before this 
lot start wanting seconds!"
    
***
    
    None of them had expected that their impromptu little party would 
have lasted until sundown, but that had been exactly what happened. 
It had been surprising how many stories had been left untold until 
then, and how different their attitudes all were now. In the past, no 
matter how friendly they had been at times, there had always been 
something in the way somehow, even if it had only been the rift 
between them as 'Inner' and 'Outer' Senshi. 
    
    In effect, this had been the first time they had all come 
together without that kind of baggage, and with only a few awkward 
moments of eggshell walking. Setsuna still seemed somewhat too 
cryptic around Mamoru, even for her, and Ami and Michiru had held a 
strange sort of air between them, that neither one knew exactly how 
to handle. It was clearly friendly, but perhaps too much so under the 
circumstances. Both sides seemed far too willing to care about the 
other, and to give ground to each other.
    
    And on the flip side of the coin none of them had missed just how 
close Makoto and Rei had stayed the whole time. Obviously, Haruka had 
thought, whatever apologies had been needed were now long said, and 
the pair of them had made up quite comprehensively. And probably 
enjoyed it a hell of a lot to boot.
    
    Hotaru had also enjoyed a lot of attention, which both Haruka and 
Michiru had felt a little guilty about. Their daughter had been 
another victim in their problems, but she was going to be the older 
sister now, and the younger girls had made a big deal out of that. 
Not only that, but Setsuna had aired her daughter's latest artistic 
offerings, and Ami had rightly said that Hotaru had inherited a lot 
of Michiru's talent, if not her style.
    
    Usagi had wished that Luna had tagged along when they had been 
shown that painting, because the stuffy old cat had deserved some 
petting for making up with Haruka enough to pose with her. The pair 
of them had looked quite elegant, shown lounging in the dappled 
sunlight beneath some trees, Luna curled up and napping in Haruka's 
lap while the boyish woman leaned back against a tree, looking out 
past the viewer.
    
    "Hmm," Hotaru said, rather tired now that all the socialising was 
done and the other girls had all made their ways home - no doubt to 
pick up something to eat on the way. Hotaru lay on the couch, resting 
her feet on Setsuna's lap as they all waited for their own food to be 
delivered. "That was fun."
    
    Setsuna could only agree. "Yes, it was. We aught to throw 
surprise parties more often."
    
    Haruka smirked. "As long as I'm not the one who always gets 
surprised."
    
    "But it was such fun to watch," Michiru smiled, relaxing in her 
own favourite chair, while Haruka had curled up in hers.
    
    "You can be next then," Haruka replied with that same smirk. 
"Right Hotaru?"
    
    Hotaru was thinking her own thoughts though, and the teasing 
humour in the words escaped her. "I think Ami-papa should be next, 
for giving Haruka-papa such an expensive present."
    
    All three of her 'parents' stared at her, and all in equal 
surprise. "Ami-papa?" Michiru echoed, her good humour suddenly cut 
short. Where had that come from? And more to the point, why?
    
    Haruka just blinked in surprise, reacting instinctively despite 
that it didn't mirror her own feelings on the matter. "Hotaru, don't 
so silly. You shouldn't say things like that."
    
    Setsuna was surprised for a very different reason. She had not 
had much time to explore the many changes that this episode had made 
to future history. At least, not compared to the largely unchanging 
centuries that had come before, which had let her see and even 
experience many details of their possible future paths, as those 
paths had become clear over the innumerable choices that humanity 
made. "Hotaru, why do you think of Ami-chan like that? It was only a 
short while ago that you raised your hand to her."
    
    Hotaru hadn't realised just how strongly her family would take 
it. However, as defensive as it made her, she was surprised by their 
reactions. To her it seemed natural. "I was angry then," Hotaru 
admitted in response to Setsuna's question. "But... Ami-papa is Ami-
papa now, isn't she?" 
    
    It was as much as statement as it was a question, as if there 
wasn't really any other way of seeing it. "You all made up, and we 
all had fun today. Ami-papa was really nice to you, Michiru-mama, and 
you were really nice to her too."
    
    "Stop calling her that!" Michiru blurted, not knowing how else to 
react to this unexpected and frightening turn, but Hotaru was 
undeterred.
    
    "Why? Michiru-mama is Michiru-mama, and Setsuna-mama is Setsuna-
mama as well! Ami-papa... Ami-san is part of our family now, because 
Haruka-papa is going to have her baby. So, doesn't that make her Ami-
papa to me? Her baby is going to be my little sister. Why shouldn't 
she be Ami-papa? How is that any different from Setsuna-mama? You all 
love each other, don't you?"
    
    Michiru just swallowed hard, leaving Haruka to reply.
    
    "Yes, Hotaru, we all love each other. But it's more difficult 
that that."
    
    Even though she was now a teenager, and one more capable than 
most, Hotaru didn't understand the reasoning. Her family had always 
been different, with such a strange dynamic between her parents. That 
was what was normal for her, no matter how anyone else saw it. How 
would it be any different with Ami there too?
    
    "Why is it more difficult? She loves you, Haruka-papa, and I 
think she loves Michiru-mama too, like you both love Setsuna-mama. 
And I like her."
    
    Setsuna was the one to answer that. "People's feelings don't make 
sense so easily, Hotaru. If they did you wouldn't have got angry at 
Ami-chan before, would you?"
    
    That Hotaru did understand. People never made sense. If they did, 
she might have had more friends. "I guess not."

***
    
    That night was a restless one for Kaizi, last surviving warrior 
of the Dark Kingdom, but that restlessness had been born of 
anticipation rather than worry or anxiousness. She hardly needed the 
sleep, so she had enjoyed it. The culmination of all their efforts 
had come.
    
    The morning saw an early rise for her, and for every human that 
worked for her, or who paid membership to the gym she had instituted 
on the lowest floor of the small office building. The company 
directors and higher echelon staff were not invited. This was a 
meeting for those with passion, not financial reports.
    
    "I'm glad you all came," she said, standing in her suit-clad 
disguise, addressing the small crowd that stood in the open gym. "I 
have not been here long, and some of my views have been 
controversial, I know, but in that short time we have achieved many 
things together. You have made this little gym of mine a reality, and 
I hope that I have been both a good instructor and manager to you 
all."
    
    "Katahashi-san," one of the women asked from the front, "you're 
not leaving, are you?"
    
    Kaizi smiled. "Hopefully not, but we shall soon see. I have asked 
you all here to answer one question. Do you trust me?"
    
    The crowd murmured uncertainly, but once the first voice had 
spoken up the others soon followed, be it out of loyalty, company 
pride or simple honesty. "I do." "Of course, Katahashi-san!"
    
    And then came the moment of truth. Kaizi let the magic of her 
disguise fall away, and both her clothing and her human guise 
evaporated like coloured mist from her body, floating down in 
streamers of vapour and pooling on the floor as it disappeared.
    
    The gasps and cries were obvious as people stepped back in fear 
and confusion, and Kaizi stood there taller, broader, and more 
imposing than ever, unmistakable as one of the Dark Kingdom's people.
    
    "I ask you again, my friends. Do you trust me?"
    
    The murmurs came again, quieter, more uncertain and laced with a 
natural terror, but no-one ran. Kaizi simply stood there awaiting 
judgement.
    
    Eventually several ripples of understanding moved through the 
crowd. It explained her physique and the strange story of how she had 
come to be employed. It explained her unsettling views on current 
affairs, and how she had been one of those outspokenly against the 
recent actions of the Sailor Senshi in taking prisoners. But she was 
a youma? Could they trust her? She had always treated them fairly, 
hadn't she? She was a good boss, and a good instructor. But she was a 
youma! They were preying on people only a subway stop from there! She 
hadn't done anything to them though. She had always said: what if the 
youma had reasons?  
    
    Slowly, very slowly, the crowd stood resolute, their courage 
bolstered by their own reassurances to each other. "I don't 
understand, but I trust you." "Yeah, you haven't done anything to 
us."
    
    Kaizi smiled a strong, genuine smile. She had known all along. 
The humans were a good people. They would make fine youma. Theirs 
would be a new Kingdom, all as the same, powerful people. Myoshiya 
would see such sense in time. Tyranya had always been wise, she had 
always seen, and Shivis had come to see it as well, once she 
understood how their captain had planned for their survival. 
Maxill... if she was safe, perhaps she could learn in time too.
    
    "Thank you, friends. We shall have a glorious future together. 
Come."
    
    The crowd parted for her, and followed her out into the street.

    It did not take long for people to start running, or to join 
Kaizi's small crowd, first trying to make them flee out of fear and 
panic, and then joining them to wait and see what would happen since 
there seemed to be no danger beyond the fear of the purple skinned 
youma.
    
    Timed to perfection Tyranya, Shivis, Myoshiya and Aretsuki soon 
joined their sister, just as the first news team turned up. By then 
the crowd had become a sizable throng, and from the Crown Fruit 
Parlour next door Furuhata Unazuki looked out at them all from the 
window next to the table she was serving. "Oh my God..."

***
    
    At that same time Aino Kikon stared at the television in fear, 
and clutched at her husband's hand. "Yokozuki..."
    
    As he stared at the screen with his wife, the salary man doubted 
he had ever been so grateful to have a day when he would not be 
needed at work. This was something that he needed to see. Something 
they both did.
    
***
    
    Maxill tried to blink away the sudden light that flooded the 
Meioh household basement, but without much success, since she was 
lacking when it came to eyelids.
    
    "What? What? Is that you Haruka? I though you were going to 
forget me down here again."
    
    Haruka stared at her before walking over. "That would be hard 
this morning."
    
    Maxill looked down as Haruka knelt by her chair, and she felt the 
ropes go slack. "What do you mean? What are you doing?"
    
    "Your friends have decided to go very public," Haruka replied, 
deadly serious. "It is generally not a good idea to give the Sailor 
Senshi ultimatums."
    
    Maxill smiled, and luxuriated in the feeling of her sore flesh 
filling her wrists again. "I did not think I would be able to say 
this, but it has been nice knowing you as a human, Haruka. I look 
forward to your company as a youma, and a sister."
    
    "Trust me," Haruka said, staring Maxill in the eyes, "whatever 
you have planned, it won't be going as smoothly as you like. Do you 
want your sisters to die?"
    
    Maxill absorbed that, and considered. "Why are you releasing me, 
Haruka?"
    
    "I'm not. A friend of mine called. Even if her own friends don't 
think it's a good idea, she wants you to watch what happens now, and 
she knows I won't sit here like a good little girl. She thinks that 
you will be able to help us, and help your friends at the same time."
    
    Maxill stood up, now that she was able, and laid a firm hand on 
Haruka's shoulder. "Do you think you can keep me captive after 
allowing me the freedom to move?"
    
    Haruka didn't so much as flinch. "I think you will come with me, 
because I'm risking so much for it," she said, taking Maxill's other 
hand roughly and placing it on her abdomen. She stood proud, her 
warrior's colours shining, pinned to her breast. "I can't do much, 
not now, but I can do this."
    
    Maxill considered that as well. "You are not doing this for me, 
or for Sailor Moon. You are doing it to prove yourself."
    
    Haruka shrugged off the assessment. She didn't need it. The 
question was simple. "Will you come with me, youma, or will you kill 
me here?"
    
***
    
    "Hino-san?"
    
    "Mizuno-sensei? What can I do for you?"
    
    Katsura glanced over at the ceiling mounted television as she 
held the phone to her ear, her voice straight and businesslike as she 
stood at the reception in the hospital. "Have you seen the news?"
    
    "Yes. I have. Will you go?"
    
    "I am where I will be needed most, I fear. I just thought you 
should know."
    
    The old priest smiled into the mouthpiece. "Do not worry, Mizuno-
sensei. And you need not call the others. I believe they have decided 
on their own."
    
    Katsura sighed, understanding. The Tsukinos were happy as they 
were, the Ainos would not talk from their own world of unproven 
conviction, and Meioh... perhaps Grandpa Hino knew something there 
that Katsura had not yet understood. "I thought as much. I just... 
did not know where you stood."
    
    Katsura found her heavy heart lifted as the old priest chuckled. 
"I stand by my Rei, Mizuno-sensei. I am glad that you stand by your 
Ami-chan as well."
    
    Katsura thanked him. After all, this wasn't the first time she 
would stand vigil, waiting for the victims that would be caught in 
her daughter's battles. She had just not known it before.
    
***

To Be Concluded...

***

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nutzoide@nutzoide.net

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for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007

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