Surprise! I said I was waiting for four reviews, but I decided against that. You can thank another fanfic author who got back to me about one of her stories, which really keyed me up to post this for you.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Miyako, Cleo, Lia, Harper, and Owen, as well as a few others, are only figments that have escaped from my imagination. Another little note, I'm going back to the divisions of Terra I used back in by other Sailor Moon stories, so, when I refer to the five divisions of Terra, I refer to them by their direction from Elysian, thus North and South America, being to the East of Terra are the Eastern Division, Africa and the Middle East are the Western Division. Europe, Russia, Greenland, and Iceland are all the Northern Division, while Australia, Antarctica, and the Pacific Islands are the Southern Division. The rest of Asia would be Elysian.
A/N: To anonymous reviewer Alex – Miyako has a broach, like the one Serena/Usagi has as Sailor Moon, though with a rose in the middle, instead of the moon, and with more gems around the outside. But, yes, the other Elemental Scouts have pendants, Isolde (Water) has a raindrop, Cleo (Earth) has an Egyptian ankh, Lia (Fire) has a flame, and Molly (Air) has a cloud. Melvin (Metal) does not have a pendant, because he has his sunglasses, instead (He's not a scout). Hope that clears it up for you.
Chapter Fourteen: Time to Give Thanks
Miyako and Usagi both let out a cheer as they left Firerose Academy.
"I just love early dismissals, don't you?" The ebon-haired girl flashed a smile, walking backwards so she could face her friends. "Hey, want to detour downtown? Bet everything's almost all set up."
Molly blinked. "Almost all set up? For what?"
"Noland didn't tell you?" Cleo, Lia, and Miyako chorused.
"Tell us what?" Melvin said, frowning.
"The annual Terrarose Snowflake Festival," explained Usagi. "It begins the first day of December, and the whole town turns out to celebrate. And, apparently, it runs until the end of December. This will be my first year to see it, too."
"And downtown should just about be ready," added Cleo.
Molly looked at Melvin, grinning. "Let's go!"
As the group passed the edge of the downtown section of Terrarose, Molly's jaw dropped. Everything was covered in silver, white, and pale, icy blue. Giant snowflakes covered the fronts of several downtown businesses. Here and there were glimmering sparks of lavender and smoky grey. Dark blue and black accented several displays. And glitter! Everywhere they looked, something was covered in glitter! Sprinkled among the snowflake decorations were stars that, when lit, would surely shine like beacons.
"And, they're setting up the skating rink in the park," added Lia. "There'll be open skating during the day, and there'll be ice skating shows and competitions. Plus, Isolde will be taking part in Madam Claire's Dance Studio's performances, too."
"And there's games to play, and, it we're lucky, we'll get a chance to go to the Winter Carnival. They'll have rides and everything! Plus, all the businesses have contests and sales, and free give-aways," continued Cleo.
Miyako nodded. "Everyone looks forward to the Snowflake Festival. Oh, and then there's the Snowflake Ball. You can't actualy go to the Snowflake Ball until you're in high school, so the three of us have never been. Kyle and Noland went, once, and so did Isolde's older brother, Zander, but the three of them said they didn't really care for it. But, then, three of them aren't big on socialization, for the most part."
Usagi sighed. "A Snowflake Ball. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I'd feel so much like Cinderella, walking into something like that."
Molly giggled. "You know, sometimes you remind me a lot of a friend of mine. Serena is always wanting to be like Cinderella."
Only Miyako seemed to notice Usagi freeze and slightly pale. But the blonde girl quickly shook it off.
"Come on. We don't have any homework, because of break, and the weather's so wonderful. Why don't we take the day off?" Usagi offered. "You know, go to Melanthios, have some lunch, maybe some cheesecake. Hey, maybe we could even do a little shopping or something." She ignored the slight shudder Melvin gave at the word 'shopping.'
Cleo shook her head. "Miyako and I have to finish getting everything set up for tomorrow, at our place."
"And we've got family arriving today," sighed Lia, mournfully. "I have to be there to greet them. Parental orders."
"And Isolde's got rehearsal, anyway," stated Miyako.
Usagi's shoulders drooped.
"Hey, Melvin and I don't have anything to do," offered Molly. "Maybe we could do a little exploring. You know, go see the sights of Terrarose."
The blonde's smile brightened. "That'd be great. Trista's got some business to take care of, and I really didn't want to go back to an empty apartment, today."
"Hey, we'll see you all tomorrow. Well, except for Lia," commented the ebon-haired girl. "You and Trista are still coming, right?"
Usagi nodded. "Gorge fest, here we come."
Molly and Melvin both laughed.
It had actually been great, walking around Terrarose with Molly and Melvin. Not surprisingly, Molly had asked to stop into the few jewelry stores that Terrarose boasted. She had mentioned how much she missed visiting her mother's jewelry store, Osa-P, in Tokyo.
They had managed, for Melvin's sake, not to do too much shopping. And they'd visited the Terrarose Observatory, where they had also been preparing for the Snowflake Festival. A couple of the astronomers had called out to them and had given Molly messages to pass along to her brother.
"He's usually really busy," explained Molly. "Between both of his jobs and his classes at Terrarose Community College, I almost never see him. And Dad's absolutely never home. But, that I don't mind so much. Dad's pretty strict, which is a change from Mama, who's really laid back at home. I think she just got a little freaked over all the monster attacks. I mean, now I can take care of myself, and the Senshi always saved me, before."
It had been a reminder of what life had been like, before she'd been forced to become Sailor Moon, when she'd had the freedom to just hang out and relax, to just be herself. Though, she'd tried hard not to be too much herself, and make Molly and Melvin suspicious. Bad enough she was already reminding Molly of herself.
She could only hope that Microbis and Experia would keep quiet until after Thanksgiving had passed. Though, she had a feeling that was just wishful thinking.
She'd bade the two farewell at the steps of the brick house where the Bakers lived. It was only a few, short blocks to the front door of her apartment building. She'd almost managed to make it to the front door of her apartment, her key already in her hand.
"I hate these stupid flowers!" A woman yelled. Usagi immediately recognized her as the woman in the apartment next door. "How could you have gotten me such stupid flowers?"
Her husband shouted, "But chrysanthemums have always been your favorite flower. I thought you'd like them. They're from that new flower shop, downtown."
"Oh, and I suppose you flirted with the clerk while you were there?"
Usagi froze. She could feel the negative energy, which seemed to be coming from the vase of flowers she could spy through the slightly open door.
A new flower shop downtown? Very suspicious. But, I can't call Cleo, Miyako, or Lia. She checked the clock. Isolde's done with practice. And I can get Molly and Melvin.
She reached out and grabbed her new cell phone from her pocket. She pressed 2 on her speed dial, lifting the phone to her ear, before grasping the water drop on her charm bracelet to call Isolde.
"Hey, Darien," she said, as soon as he picked up. "We've got trouble at the new flower shop downtown. Cleo, Miyako, and Lia can't make it, and I'm sure Kyle can't either. If Harper or Owen can get away..."
"We'll be there,"he said. "I promise."
The phone went dead as he hung up. Usagi slid it back into her pocket, and she squeezed the cloud charm on her bracelet. She'd been relived when Miyako had told her there were only two more left. The bracelets were getting rather crowded. There had also been some quick finagling, because Melvin couldn't be seen wearing a charm bracelet. The poor guy would get teased enough as it was. So, instead, the charms all dangled off of a key ring he kept in his pocket. Two extra charms were given to everyone, a tree, for Wood, and a pocket-watch, for Aethyr, both of whom had yet to come. The charms' designs had been Miyako's decision.
She could only pray Molly, Melvin, and Isolde got her call.
Turning, she ducked into a deserted, narrow alleyway.
"Regal Star Power!"
The henshin felt a little slower, and she could tell she wasn't as strong, tonight. She was running out of time, and she still hadn't figured out what the bond was that she had to repair. It couldn't be returning to Tokyo and her senshi. She wasn't ready to face them again, just yet. And there really wasn't any other bond that had weakened, was there?
She pushed the thought out of her mind. Right now, she had work to do.
She arrived, just as Sailor Air and Knight Metal did, the two of them looking slightly confused.
"They're targeting people through the new flower shop," explained Sailor R. "We need to close it down before anyone else gets hurt."
Sailor Water came running up. "Let's do this. I just hope we can take down whatever it is without Sailor Element."
The four of them entered through an open window at the back of the flower shop. Or, rather, a window that had been opened when Knight Metal had manipulated the metal window frame.
"There aren't any flowers back here," whispered Sailor Water. "No sign at all that this is a flower shop."
Knight Metal nodded. "Maybe we should call the others. There's a lot of dark energy here. I can feel it."
"There's now way Fire can get away right now. And, if Earth and Element could be here, they'd be here." Sailor R stated, not wanting to mention she hadn't even tried contacting Earth and Element. "Besides, we do have help coming. Now, let's find that Anti-Element, and fast."
The others nodded, following her as she moved towards the front of the store, keeping out of view of any potential customers.
Peering over the top of a section of chrysanthemums, Sailor R scanned the rest of the front of the shop.
A young woman, with long, mousy brown hair, dressed in a long, pale pink dress and a white bib apron, was handing a bunch of lilies to a young man Sailor R didn't recognize.
"These are bound to help you win her heart," the woman simpered.
The scouts and knight waited as the unknown victim left, not wanting him to get caught in the crossfire. As he left, three more people walked in, and Sailor R gave a slight smile. Harper stood at the front of the group, Owen just behind him, one hand on Vista's harness. And, at the back, Darien flipped the sign to closed and locked the door.
"Well, three such handsome young man. Surely you three must have sweethearts who'd love one of my bouquets." The woman's smile broadened.
"Drop the act," growled Harper. "We know what you are. I could feel your dark energy all the way down at the other end of the block, Anti-Element."
Her smile instantly faded, and she lobbed a heart-shaped blob of energy at Harper. As it sped towards him, it started cracking in half.
Owen shoved his brother out of the way, the attack barely clipping the young boy. But, even across the store, Sailor R could see tears forming in his eyes.
"So, you draw your power from broken hearts," gasped out Owen, struggling to his feet. "You're bouquets are designed to tear people apart."
"Of course," the woman shrugged.
Her mousy brown hair rippled, turning a reddish pink, and silver barrettes with cracked hearts appeared to hold the hair out of her face. Her long outfit shimmered to be replaced by a short, red one, covered in broken, pink hearts.
"I am Romera, she who feasts on broken hearts. And I give all that energy to my great master, he who controls the Void, itself."
Owen and Harper lifted their right hands, their rings flashing. Instantly, they were replaced by Onyx and Heliotrope, capes billowing around them.
Taking advantage of Romera's distraction, Sailor R nodded to her companions.
"Metallic Storm!"
"Frigid Whirlpool!"
Knight Metal's shards of various metals flew at her, as Sailor R spun her icy ribbon, sending it's power at Romera.
Sailor R raised her wand, even as Romera recovered from the attacks of her comrades.
"Really, that was rather rude, attacking without letting me know you were there," admonished Romera. "I'll just have to teach you a lesson."
"Aerial Illusions!"
This time, instead of creating various copies of the warriors, a misty fog seemed to shroud Romera's head, as if trapping her within some kind of illusion. She was moving around objects that weren't even there and running into ones that were.
Then, out of nowhere, it seemed, a slippery liquid spread across the floor, sending Romera sliding, just as she managed to dispell the illusion. Darien stood at the other end of the store, a couple bottles of liquid soap in his hands.
Romera shrieked and moved towards him, but Sailor R leapt in the way, taking the brunt of Romera's attack. Darien gathered her close, checking for her pulse, as the blonde scout had fallen, unconscious.
Heliotrope lifted his hand, a seven-foot scythe appearing before him. He spun it towards Romera, who vanished before the blade could touch her.
"Usagi?" Darien whispered, stroking the side of her face. "Usagi, can you hear me?"
The blonde's henshin rippled and died, leaving only Usagi Moon behind, looking even paler than before.
Darien pulled his hand back, abruptly, before putting it back on her forehead. "She's burning up," he explained. "Come on, we've got to get her back to her apartment."
Heliotrope nodded, bending down to pick her up. "The rest of you, go on home. We'll see you tomorrow, at Thanksgiving dinner. You, too, Owen."
Onyx nodded, releasing his henshin. He waved a hand, and two shadowy figures appeared next to him. "In case anyone's watching. The rest of you go out the back."
The figures seemed to solidify to resemble Darien and Harper, and they followed Owen and Vista as the boy unlocked the door and disappeared down the street.
Darien relocked the door behind the boy, as the interior of the store emptied, the enchanted flowers disappearing, back to wherever they had come from.
At the back door, Sailor Water nodded to Heliotrope and Darien, before she led Sailor Air and Knight Metal away, into the darkening evening.
"You'll be staying with her, again?" Heliotrope demanded, as they left the former flower shop.
Darien nodded. "Pluto may or may not be there, and I don't want to leave Serena alone. Not when she's sick, like this."
"Serena? As in Princess Serenity's reincarnation?"
The reincarnated prince grimaced. "I forgot, I hadn't told the three of you yet. It's complicated. Her Inner Senshi turned on her, so Pluto brought her back a few months, and to Terrarose, to help her cope. It's actually pretty hard not to call her Serena, especially around other people."
"Understandable," replied his Shitennou.
The general of the Underworld nodded towards the apartment's front entrance. "I'll meet you upstairs."
Darien nodded, pointing to the balcony he knew to belong to Usagi Moon's apartment. The moon and star-shaped glow-in-the-dark stickers on the window to her room helped.
Heliotrope leapt up to the balcony as Darien hurried up the stairs, inside, taking them two at a time. Finding the door already unlocked, he entered cautiously, finding Trista Meioh in the living room, sitting next to the unconscious Moon Princess, who was resting on the couch.
"She's loosing energy," stated Trista, looking up as he approached.
Harper nodded, leaning against the back of the couch. "If she continues to be Sailor R, she won't live much longer. Something is preventing her energy from completely recharging. The fever should pass by morning, provided she doesn't do anything else that might drain her."
"I must return to the Time Gate, if I am to make it for the dinner tomorrow," added Trista, rising reluctantly.
Darien moved towards the couch. "I'll stay with her. Though, I figure she might be more comfortable in her room."
The Time Guardian nodded, moving towards the kitchen.
"I should be leaving, as well. I must check on Owen," muttered Harper, hurrying towards the glass doors.
He ignored the look his prince gave him, and he struggled to avoid looking in the direction of the kitchen. He resumed his form as Heliotrope, vanishing into the night.
Darien bent down, picking up his love, and carrying her back into her bedroom. He drew her curtains all the way back, hoping the light of the moon, nearing it's fullest, might be able to help her. He sank down next to the bed, leaning back, so that her hand actually rested next to his head. Drawing up one knee, he turned and kissed her hand, before letting his eyes drift closed.
From the doorway, Trista smiled at the two of them, before casting a longing look out the glass doors, where Heliotrope had vanished. She sighed, her Time Staff appearing in her hand, and she transported herself back to the Time Gate.
The morning rays of the sun woke Usagi. Slowly, she sat up, feeling slightly disoriented. She remembered leaping in front of Darien, taking Romera's attack instead of him. But, after that, nothing. But, somehow, she was back in her room at the apartment. Struggling slightly, she managed to sit up, to find Darien, sleeping on the floor by her bed. It looked like he'd originally been sitting against the bed, but, sometime during the night, he'd fallen over, so that he lay in a very uncomfortable position on the floor.
She had, however, learned something from Romera's attack, last night. It was last night, wasn't it? Somehow, her bond to Darien wasn't as strong as it should have been. Romera's attack had almost snapped it apart. That had to have been the bond the stranger had been talking about. Her bond to Darien. After all, Darien was her whole world. If she lost him, she'd have lost everything. But, why had their bond weakened so much? And then, it hit her. Part of it had to do with the dark energy Beryl had used on him. But, the other part was her own fault. She'd pulled the bond back, in Tokyo, in order to protect herself from Beryl's dark energy, subconsciously though it had been. However, now that he was free of it, she still hung back, unwilling to complete the reforging of their bond, a bond still weakened in their reincarnation, from their attitudes towards each other, before she became Sailor Moon and he Tuxedo Mask.
Now, all she had to do was reach out and reforge their bond, before it was too late. And she knew exactly how to do that.
Carefully, she managed to ease her way out of bed and step over Darien. She dropped her hair out of it's single bun, with a sigh of relief, putting it back into it's more comfortable two buns. She moved into the apartment's kitchen, and she began pulling out the ingredients to make pancakes. They weren't eating Thanksgiving dinner at the Lambert house until 2, so she figured she might as well get a good breakfast. Besides, she was starving!
Right on it's scheduled time, the coffee pot behind her started brewing. Normally, she wasn't a big fan of coffee, herself. And she certainly couldn't drink it black, the way Darien could. She preferred the flavored lattes and cappuccinos she got at Melanthios to straight coffee. But, if she put in enough flavored, liquid creamer, she could drink regular coffee. And, she had to admit, the added caffeine boost was coming in handy, right now.
The smell of the coffee, however, appeared to have woken Darien.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded. "Becoming Sailor R is killing you, isn't it?"
She shook her head. "Not entirely the reason I collapsed last night, and the reason my energy's been so depleted. Go ahead and sit down, and I'll try to explain. But, in return, you've got to explain why you didn't henshin at the flower shop, and what's been bothering you. Deal?"
Darien nodded, taking one of the chairs at the small table in the kitchen. She joined him, handing him a mug of black coffee and setting the stack of pancakes between them. Carefully, she took a sip of her mug of half coffee, half liquid caramel creamer.
"Shortly after I arrived in Terrarose, I came across a young girl being attacked by one of the blob-like Anti-Elements' monsters in the park," she began. She went on to explain her first encounter with the strange blonde man, as well as her second encounter with him, later, eating bites of pancake every so often. "And, he said, the power I need is within me, if I can reforge the bond that was weakening. Last night, I found out what bond that is." At Darien's expectant look, she set down her fork, reaching across the table to grab his hand. A trickle of Moon power flowed down her arm and into his hand. "Somehow, our bond is weakening. Romera's attack, last night, it almost destroyed it."
Darien's hand tightened on hers, as he felt an echoing strand of power come from within him, reaching out to her. "Then we'll find a way to build it back up. I promised. I don't doubt Beryl had something to do with weakening it, before we came here."
"And what about you?" Serena demanded, rising and leading him from the kitchen, back into the living room, to the couch. "Why didn't you henshin last night?"
"I can't," he admitted, not looking at her as he sat on the couch, Serena curling up next to him. "When Beryl took me and brainwashed me, it only took hold while I was Tuxedo Mask, or if I assumed my armor as Endymion. I think, somehow, my identity as Darien was shielded, either by you, or by my past self. When I was reunited with Heliotrope, Onyx, and Kunzite, her hold on Endymion vanished, no doubt due to my bonds with them. But, then again, her hold on Endymion was the weaker hold. Still, my henshin rose remains poisoned by her darkness. And I can't ask you to purify it. You can't risk Beryl detecting the power of the Silver Crystal."
"And you can't hold Endymion very long," murmured Serena.
"And, without Tuxedo Mask, I'm completely useless. I can't fight, I can't protect you. I can't..."
"Don't say that! Don't you dare say that!" Serena shrieked at him, drawing back.
He lifted his head to look at her. Tears poured freely down her cheeks. She stared hard at him, angrier than he had ever seen her, even when he teased her at the Crown, or when Beryl's youma attacked.
"But I am," he muttered.
"No, you're not!" She protested. "You give me the strength to fight! I was a mess after Beryl took you, because I couldn't bring myself to fight. I didn't have you there to tell me I could do it, that I could be a good scout, that I could defeat the monster, defeat Beryl. I need you, Darien. Whether you have powers or not. I need to know you're there, that you believe in me." The tears kept coming, but she was ignoring them, letting them fall. "Right now, I can't purify the rose. I can't use the Silver Crystal without Beryl finding me, either, but I will purify it as soon as I can. Or, we can talk to Sailor Fire. She has the ability to purify objects." She took a few steadying breaths, as he pulled her close, stroking her hair. "Besides, we need someone in a civilian role. We need someone who can cover for us with parents and school, and so on. We need someone with training to help with injuries after the battles. We need your help, Darien, help that doesn't require any superpowers. Besides, you have one of the greatest powers of all." She reached out and rested one hand over his heart. "You have the greatest power of all, right here. A kind, loving heart, the power that Beryl and others like her can never understand."
She allowed herself to settle deeper into his embrace, feeling his lips on her forehead, before she looked up, meeting his gaze, and he kissed her, the way he hadn't since the day after the Halloween party at Melanthios.
-8-
Some time later, Serena slowly lifted her head from Darien's shoulder, to glance at the clock.
"Oh, no! We're going to be late! It's after noon, already, and I promised Cleo and Miyako I'd be over there by 12:30, with a Jell-O salad!" She leapt to her feet, running into the kitchen. Flinging open the door to the refrigerator, she moved several things around, before pulling out a large bowl, filled with red Jell-O, with pieces of diced fruit suspended in the gelatin. She set it on the table, before turning back around and looking down at her clothes.
"And I still have to change!" Serena wailed. "Oh, this is just great!"
Darien laughed. "And there's my Serena. I was wondering where you'd hidden her, Meatball Head."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'll meet you at the Lamberts' in about an hour, alright? Besides, you have to go back to Melanthios and change, anyway, don't you? Oh, and after Thanksgiving, when I get a chance to talk to Lia, we'll see if she can't purify your henshin rose."
She was practically shoving Darien out the door when he turned around and caught her in his arms. He bent down and kissed her again. As he did, she could feel her power rising in her, filling her back up, until she felt almost whole again. He smiled down at her, before releasing her.
"I'll see you in about an hour, my princess." He said, backing up and giving a bow, before he left.
She sighed, leaning back to close the door, before she remembered what she still had to do. She ran towards her room. "What do I wear? Where's V-chan when I really need her help?"
Fifteen agonizing minutes later, she finished pinning up her hair into the single bun, with it's shorter ponytail. Smoothing the sides of her knee-length, pale pink cotton skirt and checking that the cowl neck of her sparkly white, light weight sweater was in place, she stepped into the pair of ankle-high white boots she'd picked up yesterday, out shopping with Molly.
When Usagi walked back into the kitchen, she found Trista waiting for her, dressed a little more casually than her normal lavender suit. Instead, the Time Guardian had chosen a pair of tight-fitting black jeans and a short sweater dress in a deep burgandy, belted with a silver-studded black leather belt.
"Ready to go, Usagi?" Trista inquired.
She nodded. "Just let me grab the Jell-O salad and my purse."
The two of them walked downstairs, Usagi carefully cradling the large bowl. Despite the fact that the Lambert house was only about half an hour's walk away, Trista led her over to a small, silver sedan.
"You actually have a car?" Usagi demanded.
Trista smiled. "Yes, but you can't drive it. You have to be fifteen, first, since you're close enough to the school."
"But, can you at least teach me how to drive?"
"After your fifteenth birthday, perhaps," promised the Time Guardian. "Now, as I understand it, we're already running late."
Cleo greeted them at the front door, dressed much the same way Trista was, in jeans and a sweater dress, though the Earth scout had chosen blue jeans and a cream-colored dress, with a brown belt. Her ankh necklace sparkled just below the collar of her sweater.
Molly and Melvin weren't far behind, with Molly's older brother, Noland, who was carrying two covered pie dishes. Miyako emerged from the kitchen, claiming both dishes from Noland, and motioning Usagi to follow her.
"Just put that wherever you can find room," she was told, as the ebon-haired girl set down the two pie dishes. "Isolde's bringing green bean casserole and something called scalloped corn. Turkey's already in. Noland gave me specific instructions on how to do it, though I'll have him check it, shortly. And, he's going to make the rolls, and the gravy, once the turkey's done. And Harper's bringing stuffing, cranberry sauce, and he said something about mashed potatoes." Miyako ticked everything off on her fingers as she kept talking.
Usagi scanned the long counter between the kitchen and the dining room. She carefully set the bowl of Jell-O salad next to the two pie dishes.
"Kyle will probably pull all the guys downstairs, after we eat, to watch the game on his big screen," continued Miyako. "So, we girls are on our own, up here. So, whatever we want to do."
Usagi frowned at the idea of Melvin watching a football game. It just didn't seem like his kind of thing. But, then again, it probably wasn't Owen's thing, either, and he'd get pulled down there with the rest.
"So, everything's under control in here. Why don't you go back to the living room and relax?" The ebon-haired girl smiled.
Returning the smile, the blonde girl walked back to the living room. Kyle, evidently banned from the kitchen after last year's fiasco, lounged on the couch. Noland had claimed an armchair next to him, and the two older men were explaining football to Melvin, who was looking a little confused.
Trista leaned against a nearby wall, shaking her head, while Molly hung back, not sure whether to jump in and help Melvin or not. Usagi solved her problem by walking over and leading her to another couch.
"How do you like Terrarose so far? Aside from the fact that there are monsters here, like in Tokyo?" The blonde's grin widened.
Isolde showed up a short while later, looking a little frazzled, with Harper, Owen, and Darien, the eldest Melanthios having offered his part-time employee a ride. Each of them carried a container of some kind of food. Isolde was carefully juggling two long, shallow pans, and a third, deeper pan, which thankfully stacked up nicely, with their lids.
"Hey, Darien!" Usagi called him over, after they'd detoured to drop off the food. Isolde had drug Molly off to Cleo's room, the other girl following, calling out something about the upcoming Snowflake Festival and something else that Usagi didn't quite catch.
Hesitantly, Usagi reached into the small white purse she'd brought with her. She pulled out the photo Miyako had dropped, several days back, and she handed it over to him.
For several moments, Darien just stared at the photo. "Where did you get this?"
"Miyako had it. She dropped it, and I picked it up. I recognized you, though. I thought, maybe, you'd know who the others are."
Kyle approached them, even as she finished talking. "It's hopeless, trying to explain football to that kid. Noland's holding out a hope, figuring watching an actual game'll help."
"Kyle," said Darien, slowly, "what do you know about this?" He held out the photograph.
Silver grey eyes widened. "I'd forgotten all about them. You know my parents, Cleo, and I used to live in Japan. Dad was stationed at the American Embassy. Miyako's birth parents were killed in a car accident. She was only about two or three, I can't really remember. She escaped without a scratch. Her older brother," he tapped the figure Usagi had recognized as Darien, "ended up with amnesia. My parents wanted to adopt both of them. My mom had somehow met and befriended their mom while we were there, but, Miyako's dad's family refused to let my parents adopt her older brother. Something about needing him to inherit the family connections and some other business jargon my parents didn't really understand. But, his family didn't care what happened to Miyako, so Mom and Dad adopted her. They tried to keep in contact with her brother, but his dad's family cut her brother off from everybody. It devastated Miyako, loosing him, too, so we didn't talk about them. Mom boxed everything up but Miyako's stuffed horse, since she refused to give it up, and Mom hid everything away."
"So, that explains why it was far back, next to her hope chest," stated Miyako, startling all three of them. "I wondered who they were."
"Your last name, before you were adopted, it was Shields, wasn't it?" Usagi demanded, slowly, looking back and forth between Miyako and Darien, seeing the resemblances she'd ignored before.
Just as slowly, the ebon-haired girl nodded.
"Well, Fate's always been a funny thing," laughed Darien. "Especially in this lifetime. I always had vague memories, from after the car accident, with a little girl begging me to remember her. But, everyone always denied her existence."
"But you have proof now," grinned Usagi.
He nodded. "Hey, I actually have family, now!"
Miyako looked at him, blinked, and then threw her arms around him. "Of course you do!" She pulled back, wiping her suddenly teary eyes. "Two older brothers! This is going to be interesting."
Kyle started laughing, too. No one seemed to notice the odd look that crossed Harper's face at the happy family reunion.
Of course, Noland had to interrupt it, when he walked into the room, calling out, "Chow's on, people! Come in and dish up!"
Okay, so this chapter ended up being longer than I had expected. Originally, I figured it'd just be a short filler chapter while I worked on the next chapter. However, it just got away from me, and before I knew it, I had thirteen hand-written pages waiting to be typed up, making it the longest chapter so far for this story. Not bad for what was supposed to be a little filler, is it? Not much to say, right now, except, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Please?