With summer vacation here, and their summer homework finished and set aside, they were free to do what they wanted until school started again.
When Haru shared the plans for the next day – to go to the beach with friends – her surprise was clear on her face when all three of Hotaru's parents donned grim looks of worry.
"Is something wrong with the beach?" Haru asked. Hotaru didn't know what the problem was, either. She knew how to swim. Sailor Neptune had made sure of that herself, in the oceans of Neptune itself. A beach on a nice, clear day was hardly going to be an issue for her after learning how to swim in the deep oceans with a polearm in her grip, even when she wasn't Sailor Saturn.
"The problem," Haruka said with full seriousness not befitting her next words, "is that you two are very pretty girls."
Haru blushed and covered her cheeks with both hands. "Hahi!"
"Why is that a problem?" Hotaru asked, because the frown on Haruka's face, the silent agreement in Setsuna's eyes, and Michiru nodding were all clear signs of agreement among her three parents. This was not a joke, or meant to be a compliment, it was actual worry.
Michiru sighed. "Because the beach is a public place where the chances of running into rude, entitled and-or perverted people increase exponentially."
"Ohh." Now Hotaru understood. She had actually forgotten, going to a school exclusively for girls and not having social interactions outside of the circle that had adopted her. Tsuna, Takeshi and Gokudera weren't the types to flirt or say inappropriate things.
But Setsuna was a young professor of a subject that was considered masculine. Haruka was an athlete, in a sport where rivals on her level of fame were predominantly male. Even Michiru had to deal with the deep-rooted sexism in the world of classical music. All three were objectively and subjectively very good-looking people who had gone through their share of idiots and harassers in life.
"Remember the last time?" Setsuna recollected, a faraway look in her eyes, and not in the good sense. "Five. Five men came up to me – two of them at the same time – and asked for my number using the worst pickup lines known to the history of womankind. The two that came together were having a staring contest like I was some kind of a prize. They had the nerve to look betrayed when I just walked away, and tried to stop me physically."
"That's terrible!" Haru cried. Takeshi nodded from where he was sitting, a slight furrow to his brows as he listened.
Setsuna smiled at the genuine distress they displayed. "It's fine. They 'tried'." And failed, said the smug light in her eyes.
"And sometimes, that's actually the better alternative," Michiru complained. "You could get psychopaths who build up a fantasy about you and decide that's the real thing, and try to 'fix' you for not fitting their fantasies because heavens forbid you be a real person with your own preferences and thoughts."
Michiru could attest to that. She had a restraining order against a stalker, and she was just waiting for the chance to 'abuse' the power of the Kaiou family to put him behind bars the moment he stepped out of line.
Haru cringed. "Does that happen?"
Michiru wasn't going to lie to Haru about the realities of what could happen. "Much more often than you might think."
Haru looked a lot less enthusiastic about the trip, and Haruka, always of the belief that anything daring to tell her who or what she could be and stopping her from living her life needed to be fought head-on, decided to fix that.
"Takeshi-kun," she said, climbing to her feet. "Get up for a moment."
Bemusement coloring his eyes, Takeshi nevertheless followed Haruka's example.
"Stand tall," Haruka requested, pulling herself to her full height. Takeshi was tall for his age – tall for the average Japanese male, really – but Haruka was the type of person called 'Amazonian', with most of the men she met around her being shorter than she was, and Takeshi was no exception, though there was only a slight difference between them.
"If anyone touches you in any way," Haruka said as she put her hands on either side of Takeshi's neck. That, though, wasn't the most threatening part of what she was about to do. "Grab them by the shoulders like this and knee them in the-"
Takeshi flinched, guessing by her words the direction of her next action, and Hotaru pulled Haruka down before she could carry it out. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry, Takeshi-kun," Haruka apologized. "I was just going to demonstrate how close you should be for a proper impact, not actually do it."
Because Hotaru knew how strong Haruka was, and because Takeshi had a faint idea of how strong she was, both of them exchanged a look of deep relief.
"No problem, Haruka-san," he said, ever easygoing. But the fear had been clear, as evident in his next words. "Can I sit back down?"
Haruka nodded, and Takeshi sat back down rather quickly.
Haru, though, brightened as she remembered something. "That's okay, though! We're going with Tsuna-san, he can definitely protect us."
"You should still be able to know how to defend yourself," said Haruka, not looking very impressed at the thought of Tsuna protecting them.
"No time now, we'll cover self-defence when we have more time," Michiru said. Haruka nodded at her logic, accepting that being taught something poorly might end up being more harmful. "But Takeshi-kun would be excellent repellent for people who don't get the word 'no'."
"Me?" Takeshi pointed at himself with a finger at being called out, and not for something that required a demonstration that would be potentially painful on his part.
Michiru lifted her lips in a patient smile and nodded. "A lot of times just having a man – or," she added with a wink towards Haruka, who smirked, "a person that makes a lot of men feel inadequate in comparison – makes those that come on too hard back down more easily."
"You mean they finally give up when before they seemed to think every 'no' was 'keep trying, you're impressing me but I'm playing hard to get'," Setsuna muttered darkly.
Takeshi looked at Setsuna, and then back at Michiru. "Really?"
Michiru nodded. "You're tall and good-looking, and with you nearby quite a few people will be discouraged from trying anything."
"Ahahaha, thanks, Michiru-san."
She shrugged. "It's an objective fact. Can we count on you?"
"Sure," Takeshi agreed immediately. "Is there something I should keep in mind or do?"
"Keep an eye out, and if they're harassed by someone step in." Haruka listed off in rapid succession as if she had just been waiting to be asked. "Inappropriate comments, contacts or gestures are grounds for instant disposal."
"Haruka-papa," Hotaru said, because that last word was a little unnerving. What exactly did she mean by instant disposal? If she was thinking the same thing, then that wasn't something she should be telling Takeshi to do.
"What?" Haruka looked completely unrepentant and Michiru hid a giggle behind her hands.
"Have I ever told you about the time she stepped in with a fan I met at a CD store?" she asked Takeshi and Haru, who shook their heads. "A man recognized me and came up, saying he was a fan and that he had all my albums, and reached out for a handshake while asking me out for coffee. Out of nowhere Haruka reaches in, grabs the man's hand instead and shakes it hard enough to rattle his entire body while smiling and thanking him loudly for buying my CDs."
"You were backing away, and he kept pressing forwards," Haruka interjected. "A sore hand isn't something he can't recover from."
"It looked red and swollen to me."
With the same look of complete unrepentance, Haruka raised an eyebrow as if to ask, 'so?' Michiru smiled. "You could have squeezed harder."
Haruka grinned.
"Other than violence," Setsuna said as Hotaru sighed at the antics of her other parents. "You can also turn to authority figures. The beach should have lifeguards, so if anyone ever makes you uncomfortable, they should be able to help."
"If you can't reach the lifeguards or if they can't help, and those as-"
"Haruka!"
"-jerks," Haruka censored herself immediately. "Are still bothering you, do whatever you need to make them stop. Give them a kick to the groin, scream, punch them, call them 'desperate ugly pathetic perverts who can't get dates without using force' or whatever."
Haru giggled, and encouraged, Haruka threw out even more suggestions until all of them were laughing.
"Just remember," Setsuna told them. "It's never your fault. No one has the right to take away your right for happiness, or force you into something, or make you uncomfortable. This applies to you too, Takeshi-kun."
Takeshi blinked at his name, before his eye crinkled into a smile. "Thanks, Setsuna-san."
Hotaru's parents had incredible foresight in predicting the presence of rude and self-entitled people who came on too strong at the beach, but even they hadn't predicted that the people of authority – the lifeguards – would be those very red flags to avoid.
"These are the senior lifeguards," Kyoko's brother said proudly. This wasn't the first time Hotaru met Kyoko's brother. They met at the zoo, back when the lion broke out, and at first glance it was hard to tell that he and Kyoko were related. He was tanned, with white hair cropped close to his skull, and was extreme. His word exactly.
He was a nice guy, though, which made Hotaru wonder if she had misjudged the lifeguards he introduced. Sure, not even a minute ago, they had been bullying a boy younger and smaller than them, but maybe she had them mistaken for someone else. It might have been hard to mistake those faces, but maybe.
"Hey guys," drawled the one in the middle, and it wasn't right to judge someone by their appearance, but the sneering smirks they wore gave Hotaru a greasy impression.
And Hotaru didn't like greasy things, food or people.
"They were on the Namimori boxing team when I started middle school," said Ryohei. In the short time she knew him, Hotaru's impression of him was 'extreme' and 'loves boxing'. This was only adding to the latter, although if he knew these lifeguards from when he was in his first year . . .
Hotaru looked back at the lifeguards, amazed. "They're in high school?" With those faces?
The one on the right, with the clean-shaven head, preened for some reason after giving her a look over. "That's right."
And that there was the biggest shock of the day. A bomb could go off and she would still think that.
"I thought they were in their late twenties, at the very least," Hotaru mumbled. And that was a generous guess. Her honest guess would have been thirty-two. They looked older than Setsuna. No, that was an insult to her mother. Setsuna still looked – and, physically, was – in her twenties.
And that was because she was a sailor soldier, and kind of immune to aging. That didn't apply to her friends.
This was terrible. Stricken by this newfound realization, Hotaru backed up and towards Takeshi, digging into her bag to pull out the large bottle of sunscreen she packed. While changing, Hotaru and the girls had already applied liberal amounts so she didn't have to worry about Haru, but she knew Takeshi wasn't going to have taken nearly as much care.
"Takeshi," she said, dead serious. He was with Tsuna and Gokudera, and yes, they needed protection from the sun too. "Here."
He accepted the bottle. "Sunscreen?"
"Put it on." There was living proof – three of them, just in case one wasn't enough – on the importance of needing proper protection from the sun's lights right before them. Hotaru would accept no arguments.
"Where? My face?"
"Everywhere. I'll help you with your back, just -" Skin cancer was a thing, too, how could she have forgotten? It was a good thing the bottle was new, there should be enough for everyone. "Everywhere."
Haru overheard her and realized her line of thinking. "Oh my gosh you're right. Tsuna-san, I can help you put sunscreen on, too."
Kyoko, who noticed and did not look like she enjoyed the attention her brother's seniors were showing her, jumped to join them, reminding Hotaru that the lifeguards were still there. "Onii-san, you too. You never wear sunscreen."
"Extreme men don't need sunscreen!"
"They do if they don't want to look like they're thirty in their teens," Hotaru muttered. It was unkind of her, but also kind of true.
Gokudera overheard her, and he snickered.
"What did you say, Hotaru-chan?" Kyoko asked, and the guilt prickled her conscience.
"I said, they do if they don't want to get extreme skin cancer," she said, loud enough for Ryohei to hear. If Gokudera snorted, well, he was a weird person already, and he didn't snitch her out.
Between that and Kyoko, it looked like Ryohei would put sunscreen, too. All was well.
"Well aren't you a smart little lady."
Hotaru stiffened in surprise when an arm came to rest around her shoulders. Or not.
"Hey!" Haru looked like she might spit fire. "Hands off Hotaru-chan!"
"Yes, hands off, please," Hotaru agreed, pushing the arm off. The lifeguard with the shaved head, taller than even Takeshi or Haruka, let her push him off, but he didn't step away, and he was smirking. It was one thing to know Michiru was psychic, but it was another thing to have her worries come true.
She had thought it sounded bad when she heard her parents recollect their far-from-fond memories. It was so much worse in person, and extremely uncomfortable to the point where Hotaru wanted to shrink back or hide herself despite having no reason to do so.
Takeshi used his instructions from three very dedicated mothers and put himself between the lifeguard and them. Unlike when he was being told by her parents to work as repellent, he wasn't smiling like he was playing a game.
"Your sister and her friends, huh," the one that looked like the leader drawled. "Tell you what – we'll keep them company while you guys watch the beaches. Sound cool?"
She must have misheard. She hoped she misheard.
"Why the hell do we have to work for you?" Gokudera demanded, and usually she might have frowned at his rudeness, but today Hotaru felt like cheering for him. Her words exactly.
Apparently it wasn't just their skins that had been negatively affected by prolonged exposure to the sun without proper protection, but also their brains. The lifeguards challenged them to a race.
"Three on three, in a swimming race. The losers will be slaves to the winners."
"What are you talking about?!" Haru exploded, patience truly run out. There were several things Haru disliked by virtue of her fiercely protective nature. Poor treatment of children, because children were supposed to be protected, not abused. Betting, because she despised gambling. Slavery, because of how it reduced a person into a belonging, a property of another person. Jerks, because jerks were jerks.
Somehow, within minutes of meeting them, the lifeguards had managed to hit all those points near the top of Haru's list. It was impressive, in all the wrong ways.
Before she could let them have it, though, the coach Ryohei introduced them to hopped onto Haru's shoulder.
"Sounds interesting!" Pao-Pao said, blocking Haru's mouth with his gloved hand. "We accept the challenge!"
Hotaru tried to protest – there were so many things wrong with this that she didn't know where to start – but before she could get so much as a word out, the glove lightly bopped her mouth. The same fate awaited all the others that tried to protest.
"Then it's decided," said Ryohei's senpai while Hotaru wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, grimacing.
"What are you doing?!" Tsuna demanded to the short man in the elephant hat.
Pao-Pao had the audacity to brush Tsuna's rightful anger off. "You just have to win."
Tsuna spluttered at that, but it did make Hotaru rethink it.
"Well, that's true," Takeshi agreed, but the competitive light in his eyes betrayed his easygoing tone. "Okay then."
A smart and good friend would have discouraged this. The best way to handle it would have simply been to report the lifeguards for not doing their jobs properly and get them fired. Sure, they might become vengeful stalkers, but if the lifeguards were the type to be that petty, then society would be much improved by them being carted off to jail.
That, though, required patience, long-term planning and not having the instant gratification watching her friends beat lifeguards in a swimming race.
On the off chance that her friends lost, Hotaru figured, she could always point out the legal, moral and ethical issues of lifeguards slacking off from their jobs to race junior high students. They wanted to abuse their positions? Fine, she'd just make sure they couldn't do that.
How would they abuse something they didn't have any longer?
Haru still wasn't ready to drop it, so Hotaru nudged her lightly. "Let's cheer them on," she said brightly.
"Hotaru-chan . . ." Haru looked concerned.
Hotaru lowered her voice, just so only Haru and Kyoko could hear her. "I want to see what their faces will look like when they lose."
Kyoko and Haru's faces slacked in surprise, but it wasn't long before a mischievous smile spread on Haru's face. "You're a genius."
"I have my moments," Hotaru agreed modestly.
Kyoko's smile was too sweet to be called full of mischief, but it definitely had an edge that didn't exist in her usual smiles, and it was all-too-clear that she was definitely in with them.
"We'll cheer you on!" she promised the boys.
"Absolutely," agreed Haru.
'Win,' Hotaru mouthed to Takeshi, who was the first one up. He grinned and nodded.
She exchanged a high-five with Haru and Kyoko when Takeshi pulled ahead of his opponent. A part of her mourned the fact that the race wasn't anything related to baseball or pitching things. He would have creamed the competition. Hotaru comforted herself with the knowledge that it was more damaging to someone's pride, to beat them at their own game.
Hotaru's smile dropped, though, when only one swimming figure appeared from behind the island. And – those were dreadlocks. It was a considerable distance, but that wasn't Takeshi. She knew what her friend looked like and it wasn't him.
"Where's Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked, worried about the same thing.
"Maybe his leg seized up and he's resting on the island?" asked the shaved lifeguard, the one that had put his arm around her. He was smirking that greasy grin now, as if the thought was funny.
"As soon as our guy gets back, round two will start," said the leader of the trio.
Not a single word of concern for Takeshi. Whatever standards had been applied in picking lifeguards, their moral obligations to keep people hadn't been included in the process. Disgusted, Hotaru kept watching, but she didn't catch sight of a second figure coming from behind the island, and with every passing second her worry grew.
And so, too, did her fury.
The second match – between the shaved head and Gokudera – started, and Hotaru went up to the lifeguard with dreadlocks.
"Where is he?" It took a lot of effort to keep her voice from being demanding.
He pretended to not understand, but he certainly wasn't a good actor, not with the smirk pulling his lips upwards. "Where's who?"
And there went what was left of her patience. This probably wasn't what her parents had expected when they told her, Haru and Takeshi to use whatever means possible, legal or not-so-legal, but Hotaru rid herself of any and all restraints stemming from social niceties. "My friend, you incompetent, pathetic excuse of a lifeguard. Where is he?"
The smile slipped from his face. Good.
"Don't you think you're being a little rude?" he asked. "Pretty girls should smile and be pretty, y'know, silent."
There was an irony in him telling her, the soldier of silence, to be silent, but he didn't know, and she didn't mistake for one second that he meant that in a good way.
"Don't you think a lifeguard who can't even prioritize the duties of his job is an inept idiot undeserving of his position?" she riposted frostily. "And no, they shouldn't."
A scowl twisted his face.
"Listen," he said, probably in an attempt to be threatening. "Your friend's just enjoying the nature on the island while he massages out a cramp. Now I'd like an apology for the rude things you've said, because I don't think I deserve it when it's your friend's fault for deciding to lounge around on the island-"
"Where's Gokudera?!" Tsuna cried out, and Hotaru turned. Sure enough, only one figure was swimming back, no one to the front or back of the returning competitor. And Gokudera's silver hair could glint under the sunlight, true, but that was a shaved head she saw over there.
"Hm? Your second member's gotten the cramps too?"
How thick did someone's skin have to be, to say that with nothing but a smirk?
Hotaru softly growled. This was her fault. She shouldn't have encouraged them, she should have just played it smart from the first place and reported these arrogant, inept people and removed from their positions before they could end up getting someone hurt or killed.
Ryohei volunteered to go check on them, but the lifeguard that hadn't yet swum to the island stopped him.
"They're just communing with the nature over there," reassured the senpai. "Don't disturb them!"
Hotaru saw red.
She took a deep breath, reminding herself that she wanted to be like Michiru or Setsuna in response rather than Haruka's physical methods – though honestly the idea of slapping some sense of decency into them was tempting – and spoke.
"You're telling me," she said, forcing her words to come out slowly and not raised. "That not one but two lifeguards saw someone possibly in trouble while swimming and prioritized a race where the prize is them slacking off their job?"
As lifeguards, they had the job of being on watch for any dangers the people on the beach might be exposed to. It was a heavy duty, because accidents happened, and life could be fragile. It was blatantly obvious that they didn't understand the weight of what they were entrusted with and didn't care about their ignorance. They were unashamed of it.
For a moment the smirk finally caught up to the amount of grease he exuded and drowned out of sight, but to its credit, it persevered and returned like a worse sequel to a bad movie.
"You might not understand, but it's a matter of pride that men can't give up," he explained 'patiently'. Haruka's method, Hotaru reminded herself, was no good, especially when she didn't have the strength to back it up and make it hurt nearly as much as she wanted it to be, though it was awfully tempting and growing more so with every word. "We're just respecting their wishes, y'know? It's hard to accept help from a guy you were just competing with, and as seniors in life, well, it's only fair we respect that."
"Incredible," Hotaru said. The feeling that came when she witnessed injustice or cruelty, the creeping cold combination of disappointment and disgust gripped her heart. "Every word of that was nonsense."
If she ran out of any more patience, she was just going to end up transforming into Sailor Saturn to go after them. What Kawahira said, about some people in town being sensitive to large uses of power the way she was for a while, was the only reason why Hotaru hadn't already.
Because it was starting to make Hotaru physically ill to have to look at him, much less talk to him and deal with his idiocy, she turned and walked up to the ocean and began to stretch. Change of plans.
"Hotaru-chan?" Haru asked. "What are you doing?"
The oceans were calm. It had a rather unlikable person swimming in it, but the 'lifeguard' that had raced Gokudera was getting closer to the beach and would be out soon. It wasn't anything threatening or dangerous, compared to Neptune's oceans.
If Hotaru drowned here, Michiru would throw her back into the abyss that was the seas of Neptune and not let her out until she could beat a mermaid in a swimming race, all the while dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and woefully lamenting how she had failed as a teacher.
"Stretching so I don't get 'cramps'," Hotaru said, the last word full of vitriol as she glared at the lifeguard coming closer. "While I swim over there and make sure Takeshi and Gokudera-san are alright, because I don't trust the words of people who don't understand the very definition of their job titles. Want to come with me?"
Lifeguard. Someone who guarded life. Was that so difficult a concept to comprehend, even without understanding just how valuable life could be? Everyone had pain and suffering in their life, and everyone was eventually destined to die. It was natural for people to struggle to live, to continue taking in even one more breath of air. Life was precious, incredibly so.
Death, by drowning or by whatever other means, wasn't something to be joked about or glossed over so carelessly. There was a reason the release of her greatest power was done without a single word, and why she was the soldier of silence.
Silence spoke what words could not convey, and her silence was that of respect and remembrance at the moment of the end.
Hotaru had no reason to be so significantly silent at the present, and there were no wordless condolences she would give right now.
Action spoke what words couldn't, too.
Haru darted to her side and kicked off her shoes. She had a wide smile on her face. "Totally!"
"Hold up," said Pao-Pao. "We still have the third race."
"Pao-Pao-san," Hotaru said, scraping together what little patience she had if only because it was Ryohei's teacher speaking, and not one of the lifeguards. "We have priorities."
But he persisted. "Don't you have faith in your friends?"
She wavered at that. Takeshi was strong, athletically fit to the point of impressing even Haruka. And Gokudera, she assumed, was also pretty decent. Before reaching that island, he had been leading in the swimming race, which was impressive. She did have faith in him. That was why she believed he and Gokudera would win the race with ease and crush some baselessly high pride.
"What if there was an accident, though?" A jellyfish, a rock they accidentally swam into and hit their heads against, a sea snake, a hidden whirlpool like the kind Neptune's oceans had too many of, maybe even a cramp, like the lifeguards claimed. No cramp was contagious, so it seemed doubtful that both Takeshi and Gokudera would have gotten it, but still.
The third race started as Pao-Pao grinned reassuringly. "You're a good friend. Don't worry, Hotaru-chan. I'll go check it out. I can't let a girl have to run the risk of carrying back two heavy boys on her own."
Haruka's usual retort, 'what does gender have anything to do with that', nearly came to her tongue. Sometimes Hotaru wished she had the super strength of Haruka and Makoto, if only to look at gender expectations and toss something heavy into their face, or better yet, toss them flat on their back like Haruka was so fond of doing.
It was unfortunate that even as Sailor Saturn, she was one of the weakest sailor soldier, physically. Actually, since Mercury was an excellent swimmer, Hotaru was fairly sure she was physically the weakest among them all.
Truly unfortunate.
"Okay," she said instead, even if she wasn't entirely satisfied. "Thank you."
Pao-Pao picked up a tube and turned to Kyoko's brother. "Ryohei! Stay with the girls while I go!"
"Yes, sir!"
As Tsuna and Ryohei's senpai were halfway to the island, and Pao-Pao floating off after them, a scream pierced the background noise of the beach.
"My baby!" screamed a young mother, pointing towards the ocean. Not too far from where Tsuna and the last lifeguard were swimming, there was a small figure.
While the lifeguards on the beach once again proved their incompetence – Michiru had to know how to get their information and prevent them from ever being put in a job that gave them responsibility over safety and lives, she just had to if only to keep Hotaru from going crazy – and Hotaru was ready to go swim towards the girl herself, Tsuna turned away from the race and swam towards the girl to save her the moment he realized what was going on.
"That," Hotaru murmured, relieved as he began bringing the girl back. The crowd's cheers buried her words, but that was fine. "That's why."
Usagi knew how to distinguish good people. She knew that, knew Tsuna had a model heart, but still, it was especially noble and heartwarming when compared to the people whose actual jobs were being done by her friend.
Pao-Pao ended up being right, as well.
"You mean these kouhai?" Gokudera's voice was familiar enough to snap her out of her thoughts, and Hotaru turned to find him and Takeshi standing on the beach, both secure and safe.
There were a few people unconscious at their feet, but they were dressed in the uniform speedo of the lifeguards, so Hotaru didn't give them much attention.
She sighed in relief as Gokudera and Takeshi approached the senior lifeguards. The instant disposal method, Hotaru figured, wasn't as bad as she had initially expected.
"Don't forget the sunscreen after you're done," she reminded them, as she took a seat under the shade of their umbrella. When she got home, she was heading to Titan Castle for a soak in the castle's baths.
NOTICE: I keep forgetting to say this because on AO3 it's in the tags and also I can post a timeline / trivia there, but -
1) Petrichor is SM manga/crystal canon.
2) On my AO3 you can see the timeline for the story I made, as well as a list of 'trivia' / production notes. Some information is [REDACTED] to avoid spoilers.
The obligatory beach episode. This is also the part where Gokudera goes from 'acquaintance' to 'sort-of-friend' for Hotaru.
AN: Updating because CYL 3.
A part of me wondered if I was being unrealistic. Then I remembered the catcalls I got while walking home, the stories I heard from other people both in-person and online, and figured, nah, reality's more unbelievable. The girls are canonically super pretty so I figured they'd definitely have it worse than I ever did.
Gokudera and Takeshi, by beating up the other two lifeguards, unintentionally saved them from the wrath of Sailor Saturn. She'd never abuse her powers and threaten their lives, but still, close call there.
+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
Hotaru when faced with people being inappropriate to her: This makes me uncomfortable I'm going to back away and try to change the subject maybe they'll go away.
Hotaru when her friends are in danger: HEY YOU INCOMPETENT IDIOT BACK OFF.
+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
Hotaru: *more confident than she was while in pain and with Prof. Tomoe* *role models include Haruka, who's blunt as a sledgehammer about confronting nonsense; Michiru, who can cut you up with her words while smiling elegantly; and Setsuna, who wields facts like a weapon when she has to* *Lived for years with a 2000 year old man once infamous for having a barbed tongue and a blunt Granny who never once told her or Haru to take bullshit lying down.* *protective of her friends* Listen you incompetent excuses for a lifeguard, where's my friend. You know what, I don't trust you to save him, I'll do it myself.
Parents, Kawahira fam, holding up a phone camera: You're doing amazing, sweetie.
+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
Sweet Dreams~