Author's note: I apologize for the wait. The next chapter should be up without too much of a wait.

Thanks for the reviews!


Why I volunteered to carry Rei, I'll never know. Maybe I wanted to be a little fair, after all, Ami was the easiest to watch over; it would be unsporting to take Mako, who was also pretty well behaved, and leave Usagi with both Rei and Minako.

However, I begin to rethink my chivalry as Rei squirms in my arms, shouts in my ear, and tries to hit Ami on the way down the stairs. What we really need are leashes, I realize as I set her on the ground and catch her shirt collar before she can run off down the hall. I glance behind me to see Mako and Minako holding hands with Usagi. Minako is singing a version of 'row-row-row your boat' in which the boat sails up and down a staircase. Mako follows Usagi, filled to the brim with the anticipation of getting to the park.

Rei stops straining against my grip and walks beside me fairly placidly, but refuses to hold my hand. I keep a lax grip on her collar, just in case she gets any ideas of escape. Ami buries her tiny fists in my shirt and turns so she can see where we're going.

The doors exiting my apartment building slide open, much to Minako's fascination. I wait outside with Mako and Rei and Ami while Usagi escorts the giggling blonde in and out a few times.

"Stay close and watch out for cars." I warn as we get ready to cross the street. All the little girls stare with wide eyes at the passing vehicles. Rei points.

"Car!"

"Good, Rei." Usagi and I smile. "It is a car."

The light turns green, and we cross. Minako and Mako race. Minako gets distracted in the middle of the road by a penny, which she immediately inserts into her mouth. Thankfully, Usagi catches her before she can swallow.

"Here we are." We arrive at the park where all this began. Everything looks different in the daylight. Trees that clawed and whispered to the night sky were spread with leaves that caught the sun. A locust buzzed somewhere, and, every now and again, a happy couple laughed as they strolled the dirt paths that wound through the park. We let the girls loose in a grassy field. Minako, Rei, and Mako were only too glad to race around and play tag and tumble in the grass and catch bugs. Ami remained attached to my shirt, however. I sat on one of the white-washed park benches with Usagi.

"Think they've started repairs on that fountain?" Usagi asks. It seems like weeks have passed since the fight. Strange, that something like that could happen in a place like this. I watch a couple of birds chirping at each other in the branches of a well-shaped maple just across the gravel path before us. Mako is collecting sticks around the base of the tree, and Minako is picking wildflowers. Rei digs in the dirt with a twig.

"I don't know." I answer. Usagi leans back against the bench. She glances at little Ami, still holding on tight to my shirt, then up at me.

"Do you think Luna and Artemis will find anything?"

A cloud covered the sun for a moment, casting a pale shadow over the field and the tree. "They'll find something." There was no telling when, but they would. A youma doesn't often disappear completely without a fight.

"Hm." Usagi turned back to the children. "Ah, Minako, those flowers aren't for eating!" She leapt from her seat and hurried after the omnivorous blonde.

I chuckle and ruffle little Ami's hair as we watch Usagi picking leaves out of Minako's mouth. "She's pretty silly, isn't she?"

"Mm." Is my answer, in confirmation. I look down at the girl in my lap. She looks up at me with big, aquamarine eyes. Intelligent, aquamarine eyes.

"Say, Ami. How old are you?"

She's quiet, and I think for a moment she won't say anything. Then she holds up three fingers shyly. "… this many."

"Wow, you're three already?" I tickle her cover-alled stomach, eliciting a sharp giggle. "You're so tiny, I thought you were two!"

"You're not tiny." She giggles and stands up on my lap so she's at eye-level with me.

"That's right. I' m pretty big, aren't I?" I steady her.

"Big!" She repeats, and keeps her balance by holding onto my sleeve. Her blue eyes dance with childish delight at the word. I smile back and ask,

"How old do you think I am?"

I swear I could see the wheels turning in her head as she considered. It was a fascinating thing, seeing a toddler work something out. Finally, and very seriously, she pronounced me to be 'forty-eleven' and plopped back down on my lap to play with my buttons again.

"Thank goodness I'm not quite as old as I look." I chuckle and look quickly up. I haven't been paying attention to Usagi and the other girls.

They seem to be getting along well. Usagi is teaching Rei and Minako to make mud pies (and making sure Minako doesn't eat any of their creations), while Makoto stalks after a grasshopper. Every so often, when she's just near enough to catch it, the insect leaps a few more feet away. Makoto is persistent, however, and continues to prey upon it.

"Here, go and get some more water, Rei," Usagi handed her a plastic cup that I suppose she found somewhere, and sent her scampering to the drinking fountain at the edge of the path a few yards off.

Ami has, by now, unbuttoned my shirt down to my pants. "Can you button me back up?" She looks at me quizzically, and I demonstrate. Soon, she's doing me back up.

While she's occupied, I look over at Mako just in time to see her pounce on the grasshopper she had been chasing. She squeaks in triumph, drawing the attention of Minako and Usagi.

"Did you catch something?" Usagi crouched to see. Mako proudly opened her hands to show her, only to have the grasshopper leap – straight onto the front of Minako's dress!

The little blonde opens her mouth wide with a sound of mixed surprise and delight, and looks down at the tiny passenger riding on her front. Usagi and Mako laugh; Rei hurries over with her cup to see what's happening.

I sense the forthcoming disaster before it happens. "Usagi-" Minako catches the grasshopper with one hand. Then, like a magnet to metal, her hand is in her mouth.

"Ah-" Usagi's mouth drops open, but she's too late to stop the little girl, who chews her freshly captured snack and swallows.

"Blech!" Rei articulates everyone's reaction. Mako looks dejected, having lost her prize. Minako runs her tongue over the inside of her mouth and smiles like ingesting small insects is a perfectly normal thing to do.

"Mamoru," The high, almost panicked pitch in Usagi's voice makes me want to alternately cringe and burst out laughing, neither of which is particularly wise at this time. Her blue eyes are flooded with uncertainty as she pulls Minako to herself, "What do I do? What if she gets sick? What if that thing was poisonous?!"

"I don't think grasshoppers are poisonous." Wise or not, I can't help myself. My chuckles start low, and grow gradually louder and longer as Usagi makes the little blonde open her mouth and rinse it out with the water in Rei's cup.

"You could help, you know." Usagi gives me her patented it's-not-fair-that-I-have-to-do-this-and-you-don't look. I catch my breath as my laughter subsides and lift Ami up onto my shoulder.

"I'm helping." I smile. Ami clings to my hair and ear.

Usagi flushed and said nothing.

I frown. It's odd that she doesn't continue the argument. Did I say something wrong?

The thought is interrupted, however, because Minako is eating grass. Apparently life waits for neither man, nor argument.

There's a sandbox and little swing set in another part of the park. We shepherd the girls in that direction and let them have at it. Soon, Ami, Rei, and Mako are playing in the sand and Minako is swinging, or trying to, on the lowest swing. Usagi and I stand guard beside the swings in case Minako falls or swallows something. The other girls are getting along well, so I can focus more attention to Usagi's sudden, uncomfortable bout of silence.

As far as I can tell, she's not upset with me. Her face is still a little flushed, and she's fidgeting with the edge of her sweater. Now she's glancing at me, and flushing harder. Something in her eyes changes. Uh-oh. My hand strays to the back of my neck. I can see her steeling her nerve. Or maybe she's just getting mad. Well, whatever it is, I'm about to get some kind of lecture. I wonder what for? She turns to me, arms rigid at her sides.

"Mamoru!"

I grimace a little. Here it comes. "Yes?"
Uncertainty flickers in her eyes for a moment. She drops her gaze and immediately claps her hand to her forehead. "Girls shouldn't ever have to tell guys this…" I hear her grumble under her breath. I knit my brow. What in the world? All is suddenly clear as she bursts out, "Mamoru, your pants are unzipped."

"What?" She's right! But how…? I almost smack myself. Of course. Ami. I correct the problem, and all is well. For the next half a second.

Rei is throwing sand at Mako and Ami. Mako throws it back, laughing. Ami starts to cry, and gets a handful of sand in her hair, courtesy of Rei. I find myself wondering how kindergarten teachers deal with this kind of thing. Do they constantly intervene, or let the kids work things out themselves? I have no recollection of the process myself. For a moment, mild frustration wells in my chest. Rei shrieks with pain and rubs her eyes furiously. The sand fight dissolves as Mako realizes neither of the other girls are having fun. My frustration melts into something like pity for the dark-haired instigator of the little sandstorm. Before I can act on anything, Usagi sits on the plank lining the sandbox.

"Come on up, Rei." She scoops the little girl onto her lap and wipes some of the sand off her face. Her blue eyes sparkle. "Don't rub. Even though you deserve it for being mean, I don't want your eyes to get hurt." Finished cleaning her up, Usagi bonks Rei on the head with her fist. "Now don't throw any more sand." She raised an eyebrow at Mako. "And that goes for everyone, okay?"

"'kay." Ami sniffles and dusts some sand out of her hair. Mako and Rei soon join efforts in making a huge pile of sand.

I feel a small tug on my jean pant-leg.

"Hey!" Minako looks up at me and pulls on my jeans again. "Push!" She points to the swings. I smile. Well, it could always be worse. She could be eating something.

Little Minako squeaks in delight as I swing her high into the air. She holds on tight, afraid she might fly off into the clouds, but having too much fun to be truly scared. In reality, she's only a few feet up, but to her it's as good as cloud-height.

Rei loses interest in the sandbox and runs to join Minako on the swings, followed shortly by Mako, and even Ami.

"A little help, Usagi?" I start Rei and alternate between the two girls, leaving Mako and Ami to fend for themselves until Usagi dodges over to them.

"Up you go!" Usagi launches Mako's swing forward. The brunette clings to the chains and kicks out, aiming for higher marks each time. Ami doesn't want to go high, but still lets Usagi push her a bit.

Laughter, ours and the girls', rings clear as the afternoon fades. At last, it's time to go home.

The girls all want to be carried on the way back, including Mako, who seemed fond of doing things herself. I took Mako and Rei, who fell asleep almost as soon as I picked her up, and left Usagi with Minako and Ami. Energetic girl that she was, Minako walked part of the way, giving Usagi a break. Nevertheless, her spirits were low as we made our way back to my apartment.

"Say, Mamoru." There was a distant look in her eyes. "You don't think they'll stay like this forever, do you?"

"Hm." I shift Mako, who's riding on my shoulders, to a more comfortable position with my free hand. "They'll have to grow up eventually."

"I know that. But do you think they'll ever be… my age?" Her worried blue eyes met mine. "At the same time, I mean. Like before."

"Usagi, we'll find a way." I know it's true as I say it. "Even if that youma runs as far as the moon."

"Yeah." The distant look returned for a moment. Then she turned her head and watched Rei cuddle up to my shoulder. "I wonder why they're so much cuter when they're asleep."

"It's because they're holding still." I smile, pausing at the crosswalk opposite my apartment building. Usagi frowns as Rei snuggles happily against my chest.

"If she even thinks of doing that when she's back to normal…"

The walk signal flashes up, and we cross. In a few minutes, we're all settling back in the apartment. Rei and Ami are deposited in the pillow nest while Mako and Minako watch us sleepily from the couch.

I happen to glance at the phone as I walked to the kitchen sink. I had a message. Great. Praying it isn't one of the girls' parents, I press the 'play' button and twist the faucet on to warm.

The first message is from one of my college friends, asking me if I'd help him study on Monday. I glance behind me at the girls. Usagi has joined Mako and Minako on the couch, and seems to be hovering near sleep. Assuming this youma trouble got cleared up, tutoring on Monday would be great.

I dry my hands on a dishtowel and lean back against the counter. Strangely, this whole situation doesn't feel terribly out of place. As I look over the girls, Ami and Rei curled up in the nest of blankets and pillows, Usagi and Mako dozing on the couch, and Minako drooling on the armrest, it feels a little like the family I never had. Or haven't had yet. For a moment, I think of how insane it would be to have this many kids. Thankfully, it's difficult to picture these tiny girls as the protectors of love and justice, or my imagination might blow a fuse trying to conjure up a family outing.

Just as I've decided it might be a good time to send Usagi home, a faint beeping catches my attention. I glance at the phone, then my watch, then Usagi's. It's not her watch. It's her communicator.

"Usagi." I touch her shoulder. Her eyes snap open.

"Wha-? What's happening?"

"Your communicator."

Her hand flies to her wrist, and Luna flickers onscreen.

"Everyone, emergency!"

I lean in beside Usagi. "What's wrong?"

"We've located the youma!" The dark-furred cat is suddenly joined by her white companion.

"Where?" Usagi's question is hardly out of her mouth when something shakes the apartment. I'm on my feet in an instant.

With a crumbling, tearing sound, the west wall is completely torn out of the building. Before Usagi or I can react, the youma roars and flexes its four arms, its razor claws. Usagi grabs Minako and Mako and bolts from the couch. I shield them as they retreat to the kitchen.

The youma's distorted, almost-human face sneers at me, as if it doesn't care that I'm here. It looks away, finding in a fraction of a second what I should have known it was here for.

Ami and Rei.


Author's note: Feel free to review; tell me what's good and bad and how it can be improved.