The Return

Chapter 10: The Lull Before the Storm

by Richan

Beryl waited in the darkness, seething at the missed opportunities to get her opponent. She could see Sailor Moon standing in the light, surrounded by her senshi and prince. The others that surrounded them where unimportant in her eyes, having been told to leave them alone. Not questioning this, Beryl used the power that she had been given to create another portal, this time landing close to her enemy's newest shelter.

Gazing on the house, she saw that it was no different from what had been in Tokyo so long ago, when she had started her second campaign to create darkness on Earth. Soft, golden light shone from the windows, revealing shadows moving through the house. She was looking for the shadow that would reveal her nemesis.

There was a restlessness behind her, indicating that her troops were tired of staying here. With an upraised eyebrow, she turned to look at them, silencing them quickly. Turning back to her mission, she watched carefully.

The lights turned off, one by one, not revealing anything. 'Stupid curtains,' Beryl thought. 'They didn't quite let the shadows through.'

******

In one of the rooms upstairs, Usagi snuggled next to Mamoru. As they lay on one of the beds in the room, the held each other tight, not really knowing what was going to happen next. They could both feel Beryl's energy nearby, and all night they had been careful not to go near the windows. Somehow, they both knew when their enemy was nearby, and they were taking great steps to keep from her noticing what was going on.

Usagi sighed, looking over at the other bed. Minako and Yaten were trying not to touch each other as they lay side by side. Stifling a giggle, she turned her head into Mamoru's chest.

Mamoru hugged his Usako tighter. He could feel the darkness coming closer and closer, and he wasn't able to do anything about it. Even holding the golden crystal next to him wasn't enough. He looked down at Usagi, who was trying to hide laughter. Wondering what she could have been laughing at, he looked across the room to see the senshi of love trying to behave with a certain ThreeLight. In the four years that he had known all of the senshi, he had never seen Minako try to act so circumspect. He had to hide his own laughter as he watched the nervous tossing and turning on the other bed.

"I wonder how they're going to be able to sleep tonight," Usagi whispered.

"Who knows," Mamoru whispered back. "Don't worry about them, Usako. Try to get some sleep yourself."

"Hai, Mamo-chan."

On the other bed, Yaten was wondering what had gotten into Minako. She had dragged him up the stairs, demanding that he had to share a bed with her. He had resisted before he had realized that it was one of three beds in the room. Sitting up, he looked over at the other two bed. Usagi and Mamoru were snuggled up together in the middle bed, and Suru and Kashikoi were trying to hold a whispered conversation.

'I wonder what Seiya had to say about that,' Yaten wondered briefly before his attention was turned to Minako. She was looking up at him, smiling sheepishly.

"Gomen, Yaten-kun," she whispered.

He shook his head, and lay back down. Taking her hand, Yaten leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Daijobu, Mina."

Minako's eyes brightened and widened at the shortened version of her name. 'Mina,' she sighed mentally. 'He called me Mina.'

"Don't think too much, Mina," he continued. "Just get some sleep." Closing his eyes, he held onto her hand when she tried to pull it away. As he drifted off to sleep he could hear her whisper his name.

On the third bed of the room, there was a soft conversation going on.

"Suru, you have got to tell her," Kashikoi whispered urgently. "I have tried to keep a distance from Seiya-kun," here she blushed before hurrying on. "We shouldn't get involved with them. They belong here on the Earth when this battle is done. We don't."

Shaking his head, Suru didn't answer. He put one of his fingers on her lips to keep her quiet. "I know, Ka-chan, I know," he eventually whispered to her.

"I think I'm falling in love," Kashikoi confessed quietly.

"So am I."

On the end of the bed Usagi and Mamoru slept in, Luna and Artemis curled together. Each tried to ignore all of the noise around them. Luna, however, couldn't help but hear the whispered conversation from the next bed. 'What does she mean that they don't belong on Earth?'

******

There was a rustling of covers and a quiet giggle. The moonlight through the window was broken by a pillow passing through, hitting an occupant of the bed that making all of the noise.

"Jeez," Nephrite said. "You should have taken the single room, Kunzite, Zoicite."

Beside him on the floor, Jadeite laughed. On the other side of him, Suhai rolled over, determinedly trying to ignore all of the noise. Finally giving up, he sat up and grouched, "Take pity on those who don't have a bed, please."

There was giggling from the other bed, where Makoto, Rei, and Ami were trying to compete for space to sleep. Makoto sat up and laughed at the men who were trying to calm down on the other bed.

"Shut up," she said. "It's not like you haven't been talking, Seiya. Can we get a little sleep here?"

"Mako-chan," Rei said softly. "You're on my hair."

"Gomen, Rei-chan. Here..."

"Now you're on me, Makoto-chan," came a soft, sleepy voice.

"Sorry, Ami-chan."

The struggle resumed for space as the men in the room laughed, until there was a banging on the wall. "Shut Up!" came a loud cry from the room where the rest, except Setsuna, were trying to sleep.

"Gomen," came a chorus as Haruka turned to gather Michiru back into her arms.

"Baka..."

"Ruka, forget it," Michiru said softly, trying not to wake the others up, although they probably already were thanks to the yelling. "Just go back to sleep."

Haruka nodded, and looked across the room. Motoki and Unazumi were on the bed to the left, each on opposite sides of the bed. She smiled slightly, remembering the fight between the siblings about the sleeping arrangements. Unazumi had wanted to share a bed with Suru, but there was no way Motoki was going to let his little sister sleep in the same bed as him. Shaking her head, Haruka shifted her attention over to Hotaru, who slept on the sofa bed that was in the room. On the floor next to her lay Shingo, who was facing the bed. Mentally laughing at the remembrance of Setsuna's face when Hotaru had put her foot down at being with Shingo, she lay down, gathering Michiru into her arms.

The house settled into sleep as most of its inhabitants did. Setsuna lay awake in the room that she was alone in, staring up at the ceiling. She could hear snores coming from down the hallway, along with sighs, and the occasional "itai" coming from the bed which Makoto, Rei, and Ami were sleeping in. Stifling an exasperated sigh, she looked at the door as there was a soft knock on it. The door opened, revealing Kashikoi standing there, a tray in her hands.

"I figured you wouldn't be sleeping," she said as she brought the tray over. Setting it down, she handed Setsuna a cup and took the other one for herself. She plopped down on the foot of the bed and looked at Setsuna. "Ok. Spill it."

"Nani?" Setsuna looked at the other woman with a calm look on her face.

"I know that you're thinking about what's going to happen, so spill," Kashikoi said softly. "Don't think that I don't know that expression."

There was a look of shock on the senshi of time's face. Only Hotaru had been able to even see half of what went on behind her mask. Sighing, she remembered that this goddess before her had been half-raised by Saturn on Olympus.

"And why are you awake," she asked, hoping to get off the subject. She was surprised when a blush answered her.

Kashikoi shook her head. "Trying to think of a way to stay."

"Aa," Setsuna said. She had seen the looks that her 'sister' had given the lead singer of the ThreeLights, and the looks she had gotten in return. "I understand. I have had the same problem throughout my guarding time."

Nodding, Kashikoi took a sip of tea. "Please, get some sleep, 'na-chan."

Setsuna looked up at this. There was something familiar about this line, and she searched her mind for it. She saw Kashikoi looking at her, her bright golden eyes shining at her. They didn't expect for her to know all like the other senshi did. She was startled when she felt a cool hand on her arm.

"Daijobu, sis," Kashikoi said as she got up. "I'm sure that Saturn would *not* want you to worry like you are. I'm also pretty sure that Usagi doesn't expect you to know everything, so just let it slide for once, ne?"

Setsuna looked bewildered as Kashikoi slid out the door, as if walking on air. She couldn't know that the other girl had a huge smile on her face, as if she knew something that nobody else did. She looked down into her teacup, wondering what was in it before taking a sip.

'Chamomile. The only person who knew I liked this tea was...' She drifted off into sleep. As she dreamed, she could still taste the tea. Setsuna had been dreaming about playing tea with a little girl and an older man when she sat up, suddenly excited by what she thought. She got out of bed quickly and silently, trying to catch up to Kashikoi. Looking in the room that she had taken, she only found the princess and prince, Minako, Yaten, Suru, and the cats sleeping soundly.

Looking in the other rooms, she didn't find her, but stopped as she heard humming coming from downstairs. She hurried down the stairs and blew into the kitchen. She stopped when she saw Kashikoi standing at the stove fixing a lot of food for breakfast. She was wearing an apron over some clothes that Setsuna hadn't seen before.

Hearing a noise, Kashikoi turned and smiled. "Hungry? It's almost time for everybody to get up."

Setsuna looked out the window, surprised to find that the sun was rising. "How?"

Shaking her head, Kashikoi shook the spatula at her before turning back to the stove. "You just get up the stairs and wake everybody up, ok? We can talk later."

"Hai, sister," Setsuna said softly. She went up the stairs, leaving Kashikoi in the kitchen, tears in her eyes.

"Sister."

Setsuna stopped in the first bedroom, finding everybody sprawled across the other or the bed as the case may be. She went over to the middle bed and saw her princess and her prince in each other's arms, Luna and Artemis stretched across their feet. 'It's almost a shame that I have to wake them.' She looked over and saw Minako was sleeping on *top* of Yaten, who was looking slightly squished, but apparently not minding it because he was still sleeping. Suru, on the other bed, had taken over the bed and was snoring in between the pillows.

"Princess," Setsuna said quite loudly.

"Five more minutes, mom," Usagi sleepily requested. Her nose wrinkled when she remembered where she was. "Mamo-chan, tell mom not to wake me up."

Mamoru opened one eye, which rested on Setsuna. Startled, he sat up and let go of Usagi, who plopped back down on the bed.

"Itai!" came a loud wail.

"Usagi..." Minako was not happy with the wake-up call given by Usagi. She snuggled back into her pillow, which started to move. Lifting her head, she looked down into Yaten's eyes. "Um... oops," she muttered, rolling off of him.

"No...problem, Mina," Yaten groaned as she stuck her elbow in his stomach. "Glad to oblige."

Usagi laughed and looked over at the other bed after watching the drama of Minako wake up. She saw Suru snoring softly on the other bed. Somehow he had managed to sleep through her wailing and was still lost in dreamland. She looked up at Mamoru, who was still shaking his head at Minako and Yaten. He looked down at her when she tugged at his sleeve.

Following her finger, he saw something that he thought he would never see: the person that could truly sleep through anything. He had thought that Usagi was bad, but Suru was worse. He watched as the door opened, revealing Kashikoi in an apron. Winking at the others in the room, she ran over and jumped on Suru, yelling at the top of her lungs.

The rest of the household was startled awake by the yell, but not Suru. As the group straggled into the doorway of the first bedroom, they found Kashikoi bouncing up and down on Suru, who wasn't waking up.

"Come on, sleepyhead! There's food downstairs!"

"Food?" Usagi asked.

Kashikoi nodded her head exaggeratingly. "Yep, and it's all gonna be gone by the time *somebody* wakes up!" She bounced a couple of more times before getting off the bed. She went over to stand next to Setsuna as the rest of the group came in through the door. "There's pancakes and other stuff downstairs. I wasn't sure what everybody liked, so I made lots of different things."

"Wow!" Shingo and Usagi said in unison, their eyes lighting up at the mention of all different sorts of foods. Everybody else laughed as they raced down the stairs. They could hear chairs being pulled out and more exclamations.

Mamoru put his hand up to his head, rubbing tiredly. Rei went over to him. "Maybe she'll get better when we're older," she said.

"Maybe not," Kashikoi said with a wink. She pointed over at Suru who was still sleeping. "He certainly hasn't gotten better at waking up since we were little." She looked over at her best friend before dragging Setsuna behind her as she went down the stairs.

The others were startled at this behavior. Setsuna actually let somebody else lead?

Unazumi waited for the others to file out of the room. Once they were all gone, she went over to Suru, who snored peacefully.

"Suru," she whispered, letting her hand slide against his cheek.

"Huh?" was the sleepy reply.

"It's time to get up."

"'m tay," Suru said, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. "Where is everybody."

"They're downstairs," Unazumi answered. "They went down there after Kashikoi-san tried to wake you up."

A sweat drop trickled down the side of his face as it turned red. "Everybody saw?"

A nod was his answer.

Suru smiled sheepishly and got off the bed. "Well, we might as well go eat."

Walking into the kitchen, the two discovered the table laid out perfectly, everybody happily chowing down on the delicious food.

"Oishii," Seiya was saying at the other end of the table. "But you must have been up for hours to do all this."

Kashikoi blushed as everybody stared at her. "Um, I couldn't sleep, so I thought I just would do something nice for you all."

"Arigato," Setsuna said. When they had gotten to the kitchen, the others had found Usagi and Shingo sitting at one end of the table, eating, and Kashikoi and Setsuna at the other, starting to put food on their plates. Hotaru looked at Setsuna strangely for a couple of seconds before going and sitting next to Shingo.

Yaten and Taiki laughed with each other as they saw Seiya go down to the other end, sitting next to Kashikoi, before their attention was taken up by others. Minako dragged Yaten down to the middle. "We sit here," she said.

The generals laughed at the ensuing mayhem as they scrambled for a seat. Jadeite found himself sitting next to Makoto, who blushed before offering him some meat.

"Arigato," he said softly, taking the dish.

Rei looked across the table to see Makoto flirting gently with Jadeite. Shaking her head, she looked down the table for toast and found herself looking into Suhai's black eyes. She blushed before looking the other way to find her princess with her mouth full. She held back the giggle as she dug into her food, having forgotten about the toast.

******

Setsuna looked over at Kashikoi, who was fidgeting slightly on the bench in the garden. She looked up at the house where they had found shelter, and wondered where this woman next to her had found the clothes that everyone was now sporting. She could still hear the gleeful squeals of Usagi and Hotaru as they found something cute that they had always wanted to wear.

"Um," Kashikoi finally decided to say. "I suppose you want to know how I know."

"Know what," Setsuna asked, hoping to find out what was going on. Was this young woman really who she thought it was?

"When you were growing up, do you remember a man with a red car that always drove down the street at 5:30 every night?"

Startled by the question, Setsuna could only answer truthfully. "Hai."

"And do you remember the lady that always walked her dog every afternoon when school let out, so that she could find some boy to walk it?"

"Hai."

"You are her."

Shocked, Setsuna looked at Kashikoi. "What?"

"Only somebody who knew me before I was six would know these things. Suru and I became friends when I was eight, two years after I was taken from the only home that I had ever really known," Kashikoi said sadly. She hunched her shoulders over, hiding her eyes under her hair.

Setsuna looked over at her. She could remember these things when she was growing up, but only vaguely. There was something blocking her memories of the past. She searched for something, anything, that would connect these two people with this woman next to her. She couldn't remember much of her younger years. They were cloudy, hidden behind the memories of the Silver Millennium.

Kashikoi looked at her quickly before turning her head again. "I grew up in a foster home from the day I turned five until I was six. Up until that time, I was with my sister, who with me had survived the fire that killed the rest of our family. I was the youngest of seven, and my sister, the middle child, were the only ones left. When I was six, she was adopted by a family that didn't seem to care that there was a younger sibling. My sister was eight years older than I, and was almost too old to be adopted.

"I cried for a month, refusing to meet any prospective parents. It was only until my mother came and looked me in the eye, not backing down from my stare, that I started to care again. From that point, she was my mother, the one who would look after me. I was adopted by her and her husband, and the three of us moved away from Tokyo. When I was eight, Suru and his family moved in down the street and we've been friends ever since then.

"When I lost my sister, after losing my family, was almost more than I could bear," Kashikoi said, watching an ant march across the path. "I have heard a little of the story from the others that Mamoru-san suffered the same."

She stopped for a moment with a deep sigh, looking out over the flowers that were trying to bloom in the freshly created landscape. "I had been hoping that I would be able to track her down, but Beryl started her plans before I could. I hadn't been able to open my records until I was eighteen, and I had my birthday the day before I found out who I really am."

Kashikoi put her head in her hands. "I had hoped that I would be able to stop this before all of this happened." She raised her head and watched Setsuna with bright eyes, tears glimmering in the corners. "When Saturn granted you his power, I felt a shock run through me. My memories of Olympus and my time here on Earth were slammed together, the force rocked me so. I suddenly saw whom I had been searching for, but I was also suddenly unsure of myself. What if I was wrong? I couldn't bear the pain if I was, so I hid my troubles from the rest of you. Last night, though, I came to the realization that if I hid behind my laughter, nothing would ever get resolved. So when I brought you tea last night, I watched your eyes. Imagine my thoughts of seeing the same eyes as my sister's staring back at me. I had called you sister when Saturn was still with us physically, since I had felt close to you back then. Now I know you are my sister."

She started to sob quietly as Setsuna watched. As Kashikoi had told the story, it had seemed more and more familiar, as if she too had lived it. Suddenly it all clicked together, the last piece of the puzzle fitting, shaping the whole picture. Tears in her eyes, she hugged her sister. "I am glad that you found me, koinu[1]," she whispered in Kashikoi's ear. "I'm so glad."

On the other side of the bushes behind the two, Usagi sat wiping tears from her eyes. Next to her Seiya sat with a stunned expression on his face, and behind the both of them Hotaru just looked on in awe, Luna huffing quietly about eavesdropping on other people's conversations. The three humans had been intrigued by Kashikoi pulling Setsuna out of the kitchen after breakfast, not giving her time to talk to anybody. Kashikoi had said that since she had cooked, it was not up to her who cleaned, so long as it was done. She had put a scowl on her face, meaning that if it wasn't clean when she came back, somebody would get hurt. They had left a moment of silence in their wake, which was soon consumed by mass panic.

Usagi had watched the pair go out the door with a strange expression on her face. Looking over the others, she had found Seiya and Hotaru watching them as well. Signaling them, she led the three of them into the garden, finding a hiding place, Luna following close behind. Now as they watched, the four of them tried to leave as silently as they had come. However, Rei had different ideas.

"Usagi..."

All six looked up at the senshi of fire, who was standing behind the group in the bushes, Artemis on her shoulder.

"Um, hi, Rei," Usagi stammered, looking for a good excuse.

"I've been looking all over for you, and where do I find you but in the bushes." Rei breathed fire on her princess, not really paying attention to the others.

"Rei-san," called a soft voice from in front of Usagi.

Looking up, she saw Setsuna standing before her, hands on hips, almost glaring at her.

"Nani?"

There was a sniffle from Kashikoi, who looked at the others before turning away, running towards the front of the house. Seiya got up quickly and ran to catch her.

"Good going, Rei-chan," Usagi said.

"And what were you doing, princess?" Setsuna asked quietly.

"Um," Usagi searched for an answer when Hotaru spoke up,

"We wanted to know what was going on, Setsuna-mama." Hotaru paused to look at Setsuna carefully. "Do I have an aunt?"

Setsuna nodded once. "Please let me and koinu tell the others, please." She left and went back indoors.

"Koinu?" Those left looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

******

Seiya caught Kashikoi's shoulder and turned her around. He wasn't prepared for the emotion pouring from her eyes. He could see tear tracks running down her cheeks, which were tinged pink.

"Hush," he said as he pulled her in a hug. "Don't cry."

Sobbing again, Kashikoi buried her face in the crook of his shoulder. Hugging him tight, she tried to regain some control. The effort of getting the truth out took a lot more than she had expected. Never in a million years had she really expected to find her sister so close to her. She wrapped her arms closer around Seiya's waist, holding tight.

Seiya stood there, just holding this young woman. After hearing what she had had to say, he could understand why she was crying. He wondered what had happened to Kakyuu after they had left. It seemed so long ago, but he knew that time had flown so fast for them, it was as if no time had passed. He looked up at the house to find Minako hanging out the window, giving him a thumbs up before Yaten pulled her back in.

Sighing, he shifted as Kashikoi pulled back slightly.

"Gomen, Seiya-kun," she said softly. "I didn't mean to become a watering pot." She petted his shoulder, trying to mop up the salt water from his shirt.

"Ah," he answered, turning red. "No...no problem."

Realizing what she had been doing, Kashikoi pulled her hand away and stepped back. Her cheeks still slightly pink, she looked up at Seiya with bright eyes. They no longer held a trace of tears, but still retain some sadness. Rising up on her toes, she kissed his cheek. "Arigato," she said quickly and started back to the house.

"Kashikoi," Seiya said.

"Hai?"

"Please, stay out here with me for a while?"

Nodding, she went back over to him. "Sure. What do you want to do?"

He didn't answer as he lowered his head. Holding her chin in one hand, he softly brushed his lips against hers and pulled back. Kashikoi stared at him, bringing her fingers up to touch.

"Wow," she muttered.

Seiya laughed. "Am I really that good a kisser?"

"Oh you," Kashikoi said, punching him lightly in the arm. She looked back at him and nodded. "Um, yeah. I guess you are."

"I am? How do you know?"

"Well, I don't know, but from what I've heard the others say, it would rate pretty high."

Seiya looked at her. "What...others say?"

Kashikoi nodded shyly and blushed. "Um...that was my first kiss."

"Well," he said. "How about I give you another to compare?" With that he kissed her again, this time longer. He brushed his lips across her cheeks and eyelids before making his way back to her lips.

In the window, Minako was silently cheering as Yaten watched with a smile on his face.

"I didn't think he had it in him," she said to him. She hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Saa, what are you going to do that will beat that?"

Yaten sweat dropped before coming back with an answering kiss, hot enough to quiet Minako.

******

The generals were out in the back of the house. They, as well as their prince, had gotten stuck with the breakfast dishes. Now, the four of them were relaxing, listening to the mayhem that floated through the air. They were interrupted briefly as Motoki chased Suru through the garden, but were once again left in peace.

"Did we ever act like that when we were younger," asked Zoicite as he snuggled into Kunzite.

"I doubt it," Nephrite said with a slight smile.

"Yes, you did," came a voice behind them. All four turned and found Setsuna standing in the doorway. There was a trace of faint red around her eyes, and Jadeite studied her closely. She looked over at him and nodded before coming out to them. "I seem to remember an incident that involved a young girl, her father's horse, and a chicken."

The four men looked distinctly embarrassed by the mention of this and each searched for a new subject.

Jadeite spoke up, "Setsuna-san, what's the matter?"

The other generals looked at him as if he was crazy, and were surprised by the response.

"No, nothing's the matter. In fact I have had some good news, but it will have to wait for later. I was wondering what you would recommend I fix for lunch."

Nephrite stood up. "Please, let me help. I really don't know what the others will want, but at least allow me to participate."

Makoto hung out the kitchen. "Setsuna-chan, what do they want for lunch so I know what to make." She looked out and saw Jadeite, but didn't see the others. "Um, Jadeite-san, what would you care for?"

The other generals looked at Jadeite, smirking behind upraised hands. They watched as the blond man stood and hurried over to the door. They really started laughing when they caught what he was saying. "Whatever you cook is good enough for me, Makoto-san."

"How cheesy," Kunzite said.

Setsuna shook her head and wandered through the garden. As she searched for the others, she thought over what had happened earlier this morning. She still couldn't believe that her sister was with her once more. More than once she had believed that those memories was a remnant of a story told by the woman who had raised her. Now, as she thought about it, she could still see the blue-green eyes watching her as she stared out of the back window leaving the orphanage.

She came across Rei and Ami, who were walking by the shore of the pond farther in back of the house. Off in the distance, she could see Taiki watching the pair while he talked with Suhai and Unazumi. As she came up to them, Motoki came up swiftly. Stifling laughter, she wondered what had brought her such joy these last couple of days. Sighing, she grabbed a hold of Motoki's shirt and stopped him. As she did, she was hit by a sudden urge that wanted to come out and play.

"Motoki-san, please don't chase Suru-san," she chided.

Hanging his head for a brief moment, he raised his eyes to the sky. "I found him kissing my sister! Now I'm going to have to beat him." He pounded his fist into his other hand, emphasizing each word.

Setsuna put a hand on his arm, calming him down. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Suru snuck over to Unazumi. There was a slight catch in her breath to alert Motoki to what happened next. As he searched for his sister's boyfriend, he was startled by a pair of lips on his. Taking a step back, he saw Setsuna's face close to his. Smiling, she kissed him again and he slowly started to respond, wondering what imp had gotten into her. He didn't wonder too long because he was definitely starting to like this.

The others around the pond stared in shock. Setsuna? Motoki? Rei and Ami looked at each other, wondering what the world was coming to. They had never seen the senshi of time do something like kissing in public, even in the past. On the other side of the pond, the others watched as the kiss got deeper and deeper, until Unazumi made a sound of disgust.

"Onii-chan wanted to beat you up for kissing me, but he goes ahead and kisses her," she pouted to Suru. The three males hid their laughter at her whining and watched the show. None of them had expected those two to do this, since both were older than them, and Setsuna was so mysterious that no one could really have expected her to do this.

Looking out the window of one of the bedrooms, Mamoru looked out onto the front yard. He could see Seiya and Kashikoi talking while they walked slowly across it. As he watched, he saw them stop and Seiya lean down to kiss her. 'I'm glad he found somebody,' he thought, his jealousy about what had happened between him and Usagi fading a bit. He moved to the big bedroom at the back of the house and looked out the window, catching a glimpse of what was happening back at the pond. Shaking his head, he looked towards the door as he heard Usagi bouncing in.

"It's a kissing fest out there," she announced happily, Luna tagging at her heels. She ran over and hugged him. "I'm so happy for them!"

"Aa," Mamoru said softly. He gathered his princess into his arms and kissed the tip of her nose. "Shall we see what's going on in the kitchen?"

Her mood quickly switching to food, as he knew it would, she pulled him down the stairs. They stopped in the doorway when they found that it was full of gawkers. Makoto and Hotaru were glued to one window, while the generals were laughing at another one. Shingo watched from the doorway, trying to keep from laughing.

They heard a noise behind them and found Minako and Yaten.

"What's going on?" Minako looked over their shoulders when they pointed out the window. Her eyes widened when she saw what was happening. "Wow, I didn't know that that was physically possible! Can we try?"

Everybody in the kitchen face faulted as they turned to stare at her.

"What?!"

Yaten pulled her back into the hallway. "Don't ask," he said quietly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Seiya and Kashikoi come in the front door, troubled looks on their faces.

The four went into the kitchen as the sightseers from outside ambled in, shock still written across their faces. Behind them, Setsuna and Motoki pulled apart and stared at each other.

A chill ran up Setsuna's spine and a pained look crossed her face.

Motoki watched as the glow from their kiss was replaced by her usual stoic mask. "Trouble's coming, isn't it?"

Setsuna nodded. "We must get to the house quickly."

Once they made it into the kitchen, their faces, as well as the faces of Kashikoi and Seiya sobered the group up.

"We've got trouble," Kashikoi said in a serious voice.

"And it's at the front door," Seiya added.

Just then the doorbell rang.

******

[1] koinu-puppy

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