None of the girls knew how to respond to the new arrival's question. Their first thought was to let the young girls inside, out of the cold and away from the merciless wind and rain that had come to greet them just as suddenly as the children. It seemed like the kindest action to take, but how could they be sure that the moment they were invited inside, the children wouldn't turn on them? They may have looked young, but age couldn't be attributed to power. They had seen enough of Chibiusa in battle to know that.
It was that thought that made them hesitant to let the children come any closer to them then they all ready were, even if small thoughts of guilt were playing in the back of their minds for letting such young girls brave the weather outside the shelter of the house. As much as it made them flinch to see the girls stand just out of reach of the hunting rain, they had to make sure that they were safe before they made any rash decisions. They had learned that the hard way.
That was the plan they were going by. However, that was before the smallest of the group, from what they could see, gave a rather loud, yet sweet sounding sneeze, before she sniffled and wrapped her cloak tighter around herself. It made the senshi feel even further guilt, but still they did not budge. Not until one of the other girls moved to her side and very caringly placed an arm over her shoulder in an attempt to keep her warm.
Minako bit her bottom as she quickly glanced behind her at her friends, not sure what she should do. It was clear to see that they were all having the same idea in their minds by the warm looks each girl was giving, and if it turned out they had made the wrong decision, well, they could deal with the consequences later.
"You must be freezing," the blonde commented as she shook her head and stood aside so that the girls could pass her. "Come on in, there's sweets in the living room. Rei-chan, could you help me bring them some blankets?" Minako took charge as the girls hesitantly filed into the warmth of the house, obvious relief on some of their faces, while others kept a blank mask.
Rei blinked, having been trying to judge the girls by their mannerisms, before nodding her head quickly. "Sure," she answered, following the blonde down the hall while the other senshi trailed after the young girls to make sure they didn't cause any trouble.
They couldn't help but smile as a couple of the girls dove for the sweets Makoto had baked in an almost mirror image to how Usagi and Minako had reacted earlier. The rest of them had just been content to take a seat on the carpeted floor to watch the musical that they had left on. Two of them, however, seemed happy to just stand against the wall and watch the other girls, seeming almost like guards. None of them had noticed that the girl who had introduced herself as Sailor Aphrodite wasn't present.
Down the hall Minako stood on a chair, reaching into one of the closets to grab a large pile of blankets to hand to Rei, who was busy trying to not notice the fact that she was clearly able to see the other's pink underwear beneath her skirt. "Got 'em?" she asked her raven haired companion before releasing the sheets into her hands.
Rei nodded, her blush unseen to Minako as she hid behind the pile, and was about to respond when a voice startled her. "May I help?" She managed to peek behind the sheets just enough to see the small blonde haired girl who had been the only one to introduce herself to the group standing there, looking genuinely like she wanted to lend a hand.
She'd surprised the young women however, and though Rei had managed to calm herself quick enough, Minako had panicked at the sound of the voice, and ended up tumbling off the chair she had been positioned on, right into the miko who had dropped all of the blankets in a shower, and was now trapped under the blonde's weight.
"Oww," the older blonde rubbed her head quickly, even if she hadn't injured it in any way, before a soft groan alerted her to what had cushioned her fall. "Uwah! I'm so sorry!" she apologized as she quickly jumped off of the girl whose violet eyes were glaring at her at that moment.
"Are you ok?" Sailor Aphrodite asked softly, reaching down to pick up a blanket that Rei had dropped and added it to the pile she already had slung over her arm. She hadn't meant to scare them, true enough to her offer, she had only figured at the very least she should help out there, in exchange for them being offered safe passage into the home.
Rei stood up slowly, straightening out her skirt, before she nodded in affirmation. "I'll take that if you want," she offered, holding her hand out to reobtain the blankets.
The young girl shook her head, taking a small step back. "Please, allow me to do something to help you," she answered with pleading eyes, causing Rei to flinch and simply nod her head. Who would have thought that simple puppy dog eyes was enough to bring her down?
When they returned to the living room, they were met with by an uncomfortable looking Ami who was watching over a small group of girls while Usagi and Makoto panicked as they tried to calm a hysterical child, who was crying because she had tripped and bumped her knee. They quickly recognised her as the small one who had sneezed when they were standing outside.
The hood of her cloak had fallen back to reveal she was another blonde child. Her short hair was tied up in two short pigtails which trembled as she cried. Her head was bent and her eyes closed, so her tiara and eye color were hidden from them at that moment.
"Shh, shh. It's ok," one of the other children tried to console her, lightly petting her head as she pulled her into a half-hug. Obviously the smallest child was the one who needed the most taking care of, as none of them seemed to act like this was a rare occurrence. Yet each of them looked worried for her.
With one last sniffle the young girl finally stopped her wails, and instead buried her face into the shoulder of the girl who was looking after her. Her hood had fallen back as well in the process of caring for her friend, and they could see she had long, well kept dark hair.
Sailor Aphrodite dropped the sheets she had been holding and quickly made her way to the other's side, kneeling in front of her. "Are you alright now?" she smiled gently, lightly reaching out to place a hand on her fellow blonde's arm.
The little girl nodded and swiftly wiped at her eyes to destroy the evidence that she had been crying. "Uh huh. I'm sorry," she spoke in a voice that was so sweet that it just made the older girls want to melt, as she looked at them apologetically with her bright blue eyes.
"Don't be," the first blonde smiled, reassuring her. It was obvious she cared for this other girl very much, and they could see it was the same for the others. It made the senshi wonder if she was someone special.
Usagi smiled, being the first one to speak after that. "I'm glad you're feeling better," she told the child warmly and the other senshi followed. They really didn't need to deal with a hysterical child right now.
The little girl nodded, seeming to respond more to Usagi's words then anyone else. "Thank you," she raised her head, her tiara finally coming into view. Like Sailor Aphrodite's, it was a familiar shape, seeming to resemble a decorated crescent moon, yet at the same time it didn't seem to be. "I'm Sailor Selene. It's a pleasure to meet you Usagi Tsukino," she introduced herself, her expression one of pure joy as she spoke the older blonde's name.
Usagi on the other hand, was a little shocked, as were the other girls. They had no idea how this child had come to know Usagi's name, and they were reminded that they had also identified Minako. It made them wonder if the other's were also known to these mysterious children. "I-it's nice to meet you too," Usagi responded after a moment of collecting her thoughts.
Rei had been watching each little moment the children had made, yet she had seen nothing out of the ordinary and it did nothing to quench her curiosity. "Who are you?" she mirrored Minako's earlier question perfectly.
The girl's looked between themselves, as if deciding how much information they should share, before one girl stepped forward. She had been one of the two standing against the wall, watching over the other children with care. Rei was just able to make out her cautious violet eyes, that studied the older female as if she were judging whether or not she was a threat.
"We, Rei Hino, are not yet able to divulge that information. Not whilst you are the only ones present," the girl answered, and the use of her name caused Rei to stiffen slightly. This sentence only helped to confuse the senshi however, and they wondered who else was supposed to be there, and what the girl had meant by that.
"However," she continued. "I may introduce myself. I am Sailor Ares," the child explained, letting her hood fall back to reveal her long raven hair that was tied together by a ribbon near the ends of her hair, which fell over her left breast... if she had any. She waved a hand from beneath her cloak so that they caught sight of a fuku identical to Mars' though the symbol on the broach mirrored that of her tiara. It was again one that seemed to be a decorated flame, as well as not.
The senshi were beginning to see some sort of pattern arising here, though it only begun to confuse them, piling further questions onto their already large lists.
One of the meeker looking girls who had shoved a cookie into her mouth just as Sailor Ares finished her introduction, glanced up quickly. "Are we sure we should be telling them this?" she questioned, not sure how she felt about the whole thing.
"Take it up with Aphrodite if you have a problem, she was the first to introduce herself," Sailor Ares rolled her eyes, used to her constant questioning and unsureness. Though it didn't mean that it had stopped annoying her.
The girl who had asked the question shook her head quickly, regretting speaking up in the first place. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's not like I have a problem. I was just wondering..." she began to babble as she tried unsuccessfully to get the attention away from herself.
"And who are you?" Makoto cut into the babble, stopping her before she just begun to speak gibberish. Nervous blue eyes stared into her own green ones, and she couldn't help but think how cute the girl looked. Like a puppy meeting new people. Though another thing she noticed was how much the girl before her resembled one of her other friends. When she didn't get a response, she stepped back, not wanting to scare her any further.
Nudging Ami in the side lightly, she jerked her chin in the direction of the child, urging her to try and speak to her instead. Now she was beginning to see what the pattern they had each noticed truly was, and if she were right, then Ami was the only one who was going to receive a response. She snuck a glance at her friends, and noticed that they had begun to get the same idea as her.
Nervous and not really sure what was expected of her, Ami took a cautious step forward. Though she had never been particularly bad when it came to children, she still didn't have much experience with anyone other than Chibiusa and Hotaru. Both being the slightest bit wiser than many other children. "Hello," she spoke softly, not wanting to startle the little girl.
Lifting her head slightly, the child studied Ami quickly, while everyone else in the room watched in order to see what her reaction would be. The other young girls al knew she was the shyest of the group, and they weren't even sure she would respond. "H-hello," she spoke timidly as she played with her fingers.
Ami smiled, glad to have gotten a reply. "What's your name?" she spoke in a gentle voice, not making her tone any louder than the child she was addressing, so that she would appear as a friend, and not a threat.
The girl gulped, before whispering softly. "I-i'm Sailor Hermes, Ami Mizuno. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she answered in the same soft voice.
It had all begun to fit together in Ami's mind from the moment Makoto had pushed her forward, but the girl's answer to her question only helped to confirm her thoughts. She wanted to share her theory with the others, but she would wait until they were able to find privacy away from the children.
"I-is something wrong," Sailor Hermes spoke in a fearful tone when she didn't receive a reply to her introduction, scared she had said something wrong.
Panicked and realising she had made a mistake by not responding to the girl, Ami opened her mouth to speak, when the girl received a fist to the back of her head, causing her hood to fall back and reveal her shoulder length blue hair that curled at the ends. "Ah! What was that for?" she gave the little cry as her hands came up to cradle her head, spinning around to see who her attacker had been.
It was one of the other girls, who had completely discarded her cloak in the process, revealing her short, pixie cut, brown hair, as well as her fuku that mirrored Sailor Jupiter's, save for the decorated lightning bolt that sat snugly on the bow over her chest. "You can't always be so panicky! Man up!" the girl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood to her full height. It was easy to see she was one of the tallest in the group.
Sailor Hermes pouted, her eyes threatening tears as she looked up at the other. "You're so mean! Why would I wanna man up if I'm a girl?" she countered quickly.
The brunette just shook her head and pretty much ignored her after that. Instead she turned to Makoto, a grin on her face. "Makoto Kino right?" she pointed a slender finger at the older brunette, her green eyes sparkling mischievously. "Since everyone else has been introducing themselves, I might as well right? Sailor Zeus at your... well I'm here anyway," she mock bowed quickly.
It was that moment that Ami's same theory clicked in each of the senshi's minds, and they swiftly glanced between themselves to see everyone had the same thought. "And the others? Who are you?" Makoto spoke directly to Sailor Zeus, knowing she woud be the one most likely to work with her.
The small brunette took a second to realise what Makoto was talking about, but she soon turned around to glance at the girls who had yet to introduce themselves, and stayed hidden beneath their cloaks. "Ehh... well..." she started, glancing at Sailor Aphrodite, who the young women soon realised must act as their leader. The blonde girl shook her head, and Sailor Zeus just shrugged in response. "Sorry boss, not much I can tell ya myself," she answered, even if they had known the response she was going to give.
If their assumptions were correct, they would never get a response from the hidden children themselves. They needed help.
It was almost funny though, how Usagi was the only one to really notice that there were five girls that were still unknown to them, not four as they expected.