Chapter Five - Nisai

Hotaru awakens the next day and slides out of bed. She yawns and rubs her eyes sleepily, "Ahhh, Saturday." she says with a grin and skips downstairs. She peeks around the corner to find Setsuna making breakfast. An odd sound catches Hotaru's ears as she realizes Setsuna is humming. Her soft voice sounds so happy and fulfilled. Setsuna turns around, her face glowing with joy.
"Hello Hotaru, are you ready for some breakfast?" she asks and holds out a plate of food.
Hotaru smiles and nods, "Yes, I am starved." she says and hops over to the table.
Setsuna sets the plate in front of Hotaru and smiles brightly, "All right, eat up." she says cheerfully. Hotaru is surprised at her mood since only yesterday she could barely keep herself from crying. She decides to ask about it after breakfast when her stomach growls lightly. She starts eating quickly and Setsuna smiles, then goes back to her cooking. Some sounds come from the upstairs as Michiru's voice says something about a toothbrush. She comes stomping downstairs and sits at the table, her hair all up in curlers. Haruka slinks down after her and sits across from her.
"Look Michiru, I said I was sorry again." she says and sets her hands on the table. Michiru crosses her arms and looks away. Haruka sighs and puts her head down. Setsuna walks up and sets an elaborate meal in front of them. They both look at it and look at her as she gives them a "good morning" and a warm smile. They also wonder about her good mood but smell the wonderful food. They start eating, Haruka giving Michiru pleading glances but Michiru is ignoring her. Setsuna is busy cleaning up as they all eat. Suddenly the door chimes ring and Haruka decides that it would be a good idea to leave Michiru alone. She gets up and slowly walks to the door. The door comes open with a creak and she slowly lifts her head up to see Jikan standing in the door, dressed like a human and without naginata. She freaks out and goes to grab her henshin stick, but she is in her sleeping clothes. She looks at Jikan and growls, fully ready to attack him in human form when Setsuna leans around the corner and sees him.
"Jikan!" she yells and comes running out of the kitchen. She finds his open arms again as they embrace. Haruka stands there with a look of total surprise on her face as Hotaru and Michiru come running over to see what is going on. They stop next to Haruka and stare in amazement as Setsuna leans up and kisses Jikan for a long time. They all just stand there and watch them kiss, completely shocked. Jikan and Setsuna finally come out of the kiss and look into each other's eyes. Setsuna smiles and looks at the others staring at them. Her face goes very red and she smiles, covering her mouth and holding onto Jikan around his waist.
Jikan looks at them all and smiles, "Hello, I do apologize about yesterday. I am no longer attacking the people of Earth." he says.
The others look at him in disbelief and Hotaru steps forward, "You are the Time Mage?" she asks.  They all look at her oddly and he nods, "Yes, I am. You are Sailor Saturn, aren't you?" he says and kneels down on front of her. She smiles and nods, "Yes, I feel a strong time aura around you." he says.
"Time aura?" she asks.
He nods, "Yep, all living things have a time aura. It is their "fingerprint" in the time lanes. The more powerful the creature is, the stronger aura. Yours is particularly intense, Sailor Saturn." he says and looks at an invisible field around her. He stands up and looks at Setsuna, "I have to go take care of something. What happened last night made me remember when we...." he suddenly shuts up and looks at the others standing there. Setsuna goes really red and the others look at her in shock. Jikan also actually goes a bit red and kisses Setsuna one more time, "I will be back later today. Wait for me?" he asks. She smiles up at him with cheeks as red as roses and nods. He smiles and waves good-bye to the other and with a last peck on her cheek, starts walking away.
She sighs happily and leans on the doorway, "Until tonight, my love." she says.
"What is going on??" Haruka blurts out and Setsuna suddenly snaps out of her trance. She looks at the others and smiles.
"Oh nothing. Jikan is back and I am happy." she says with a lovesick sigh. She walks past them and goes back to humming as she finishes her cleaning. The others are still digesting what they had seen as they watch Jikan disappear into the distance.

Jikan slowly makes his way up to the top of a radio station building. He stands under the huge dish and sighs. A column of energy surrounds him as he disappears just as three different tears in space open. Out of two, four creatures step out carefully and looks around. They all are darkly dressed and have very human-like appearances but are obviously not human. They send some kind of blast back into the third tear and after a moment, another figure steps out. The third figure is dressed in a dark cloak and slowly looks around.
"Find the Sailor first, then we will find out about the Mage." the dark, raspy voice calls out from under the cloak. The four creatures nod and go leaping off the roof in four different directions. The hooded figure turns towards the city and glances out over it. "Nobody escapes the Nisai." it says and holds it's hand out. A dark cover envelops the city, making the night seem like day. It lowers it's hand back down and a deep, bellowing laugh echoes out over the city.

            End <Chapter Five>