Despite being the herald of bad news – at least, for Hotaru – Sailor Chu had given them information and time to prepare.
Two things that Sailor Mercury greatly appreciated.
"I'm not saying we haven't come out victorious in our previous battles," said Ami, the clack of keyboards below flying fingers doing an impressive impression of a machine gun. "It's just, nice, being able to be a tactician and prepare for things beforehand and not in the heat of things."
There were a lot of lists that Sailor Chu had left them. Some were similar in all but a few areas, but still needed to be cross-referenced and considered and used in analyzing different scenarios and approaches that might be taken from Tau.
In other words, Ami was thriving in simulations, and using the data she gathered to create plans.
Plans. Plural.
The main plan, which was both most likely to succeed and left far less damage than the others, was also Hotaru's chance at, as Takeshi might call it, a revenge match. There was the minor detail of her having 'won' the last clash against these opponents, but small details.
In case some things ended up going differently and not according to the simulations, Ami had three other back-up plans for each different scenario. Less ideal, but still optimal given the circumstances they would be applicable in with minimal damage on their side and maximum damage to them.
"And if they all fall through," Ami said, far too chipper for someone discussing the failures of plans she had spent hours crafting. With help from Minako and Setsuna and five cups of coffee without any milk or sugar, sure, but still. Contrary to her cheery, almost hyper tone of voice, the pallor of her skin was sickly pale, especially when contrasted to the dark blue locks of her hair. "Then we just take them out in our usual way."
After Makoto and Usagi dragged Ami away to make her sleep and Hotaru returned home, she went over the plans. Hotaru personally rather liked Plan A, and she hoped that the revived Tau, the second coming of the Death Busters, Pharaoh 100's army, would take the path that would allow Plan A to happen.
Was it vengeful of her? Beyond doubt.
Her fingers flexed, curling like they were wrapping around a pole – a pole of a weapon, about to be swung down in execution.
Did she need it?
(. . . yes.)
While not the one crunching numbers or making the plans, Hotaru was still involved in testing and simulating because Sailor Saturn was a crux of the main plan. She spent a few days immediately leaving school to head to Titan Castle through the mirror and preparing, until everything was set and ready. If Pharaoh 100 so much as put one tendril of energy-absorbing darkness into the boundaries of the solar system they would know and Sailor Saturn would be at Titan Castle, ready to hit them with a Death Reborn Revolution to the face.
That might have been why it took her a while to realize that the boys were weird.
Well, weirder than usual. Which was saying something in Namimori.
More specifically, it wasn't until Haru approached her with concern creasing the space between her brows that she realized there was something going on.
"Hotaru-chan," she said seriously. "Can we talk?"
Alarm bells went off in her head. "Of course."
Wringing her hands, Haru told her about the trip to the mall they had on Saturday with everyone except Hotaru because she had been involved in preparations and Hana who didn't go because I-Pin and Lambo were there, and it had been a fun day that came to an abrupt end with some kind of a fight or something.
"There were explosions," was Haru's explanation when Hotaru was confused by 'some kind of a fight or something'. "And at the time Reborn-chan said there was an accident, and I overheard yelling so I thought it was like a gas explosion, but since then the boys have been really weird."
And the guilt doubled for Hotaru, who had abandoned her friends in the last week or so. "Weird how?"
Haru clenched her fists, and her nostrils flared slightly – the tell-tale signs of her about to go on the warpath. Being guilty as she was, Hotaru quietly prepared herself to follow that warpath.
"This is mostly from Kyoko-chan, who thinks they're up to something, and I think she's right because it's not right at all. So, her brother woke up on Sunday morning, early as usual because he's usually training. All normal until then, except Kyoko overheard him yelling 'TO THE EXTREME' and then saw him run out of the house."
"That's not normal for him?" That fit with basically everything she knew so far about Sasagawa Ryohei.
"It is, but what's weird is that later that day he brought home a baby he said is Reborn-chan's friend who'll be teaching him." Haru's words slowed down near the end, and they came out with a wrinkled nose.
Hotaru nodded slowly, a little confused but somehow following along. Reborn-chan was a little weird, so it made sense that his friends would be weird too.
"Kyoko thought it was weird because he was all enthusiastic about Colonnello-chan – that's the name of Reborn-chan's friend – but when Kyoko asked how his day was, he just shut his mouth closed and couldn't meet her in the eyes. And then this morning, he left early as usual but when Kyoko-chan got to school he wasn't there!"
"He skipped school?"
Haru threw her hands up. "And so did Tsuna-san, Takeshi-kun and Gokudera-san! None of them came to school today!"
"They're all skipping school?"
Hotaru might have expected that of Gokudera, and maybe Sasagawa Ryohei. The latter she might have suspected for being too enthusiastic about boxing and the former was kind of like a delinquent. The 'kind of like' was because he was Tsuna and Takeshi's friend, and he'd gotten better recently.
But Tsuna? Takeshi?
Hotaru didn't think for one second that Takeshi was slacking off because the autumn tournament had ended. He would fall asleep in class, and skimp on reviewing his schoolwork, but never skip outright. For one, he couldn't practice baseball alone – it was a team sport – and other members of the team didn't skip. For another he wouldn't do that to his father.
Which meant they were probably up to something. And if they were skipping school, then it was something really big.
When they went to TakeSushi, neither of the Yamamoto father-son duo were there.
"I think Yamamoto-san said that Takeshi-kun needed special training," said Mori-san, the other chef, when Haru asked.
Training? Haru and Hotaru exchanged looks, and their eyes were like mirrors, showing confusion like a reflection.
If Takeshi's father was on it – whatever 'it' was – then he probably had permission for whatever he was doing.
But if they just left him at that, then they couldn't exactly call themselves his friends.
Since neither Takeshi nor his dad were available for ambushing to get some answers, and Kyoko's brother ran away screaming 'EXTREME' when they tried to ask, that left Tsuna to approach.
Tsuna, who was also not at home.
"Are you serious," moaned Haru, doing her best impression of a mask of Melpomene, grief tugging down the line of her eyes and mouth. At this rate Haru was going to be skipping school herself to solve this mystery tomorrow.
Which was probably not the best course of action to take, but Hotaru was getting tempted as well.
Luckily, just because Tsuna wasn't there didn't mean they were met with another dead end.
"Tsuna's training in the mountains," said Bianchi, who had been seated at the kitchen table, scribbling out some things into a notebook. It looked like recipes, but the cramped, hurried scrawl made it seem more like codes. "And Hayato is training in the fields below that."
"Bless you, Bianchi-san," said Haru with a sigh of relief at finally getting somewhere with their investigation.
"Do you know what they're training for?" Hotaru asked.
Bianchi paused, and her eyes fell into the scribble-filled pages of her notebook like she couldn't help it.
"To get stronger," she answered after a moment.
"But skipping school?" Haru said, scandalized. She was right, Hotaru thought. It was not only out of character for them to skip school, but also to be so – obsessed – with getting 'stronger'. Sure, school was boring sometimes, and Takeshi confessed to napping during class often, but he didn't skip.
After some deliberation, Bianchi came to a decision.
"Why don't you go and ask them their reasons?" she asked instead. "I'm of the opinion that they're not wrong to pursue being stronger right now, but I'm not them, or their advocate. They should be able to defend their opinions and explain their decisions, if they're to stand by them."
Haru leapt out of her seat. "You're absolutely right," she said. "Do you know where in the mountains Tsuna-san is, Bianchi-nee-san?"
Hotaru quietly despaired at the thought of hiking through the mountains as Bianchi found a map and circled a few places.
"Be careful," she warned. "They're near a cliff, so make sure to stay on the path."
On the way to the mountains, following the map Bianchi had kindly marked for them, Hotaru exhausted herself so Haru had to come up with an alternative method to 'crash Tsuna's training and see what was going on' because otherwise Hotaru would only drag them down.
"I'll go make sure Tsuna-san isn't being too reckless," she said, after checking and being reassured that Hotaru wasn't about to drop dead from the exertion. It was a little embarrassing because normally she would have been fine. Disliking the exercise and sweating grossly, sure, but fine.
Combined with the lack of sleep she'd been getting recently in preparations and the stress, and Hotaru was just exhausted, far too much so to keep up with a motivated Haru as they hiked through a mountain.
"Can you check on Gokudera-san?"
She might bicker with the silver-haired boy often, but Haru was a compassionate soul by nature. Hotaru nodded, and they split up – Haru heading up the mountains to reach Tsuna before the sun set, and Hotaru crossing the bridge.
When she nearly got blown up, Hotaru briefly entertained the idea of leaving Gokudera Hayato to his training and just heading to Titan Castle for a relaxing soak in the baths. She definitely would deserve it and Haru would take her side if she knew.
It was a very tempting thought.
Even before the revelation of her status as an UMA, Tomoe had been the most bearable of her trio of friends. Yamamoto was dumb, Haru was loud, and neither took seriously the Tenth and how special he was.
Tomoe was quiet, smart, and was respectful to the Tenth. She had been tolerable before, and after Hayato learned she was an UMA, it made perfect sense. That was why she had been so bearable.
Even her ability as an UMA was perfect. Healing – an absolutely welcome addition to the Vongola, to support the Tenth in case he was ever injured. He wouldn't be, if Hayato did his job as the right-hand man properly, but still. In the world he'd grown up in, you never knew. Life was fragile and its worth only in what was accomplished in that uncertain state.
Which was why he was apologizing for her nearly being blown up by wandering into the middle of his training session. Had it been anyone else, Hayato wouldn't really have cared, but Tomoe got special treatment.
"Sorry about that," he muttered, ears hot. He hadn't really had a chance to get to ask her questions about being an UMA, because she didn't like talking about it in public and Yamamoto and Haru were always interrupting his attempts, and of course he nearly blew her up the first time he got his mind off her.
Sure, she could heal herself from an acid attack, but that had mostly been damage to the skin. Tomoe said herself that she couldn't heal injuries that were too big. He could have ended up killing her.
"It's fine," she said, brushing a hand against her heart, as if trying to slow it down. Or was that a gesture with an entirely different meaning for an UMA?
Neither Haru nor Yamamoto were around, Hayato realized. No one else was, either. He'd been mad about Shamal refusing to train him but now, it was an opportunity to ask questions without being interrupted.
And then he hesitated. Yamamoto wasn't around because he was training. Or something. If he had even a shred of decency and loyalty towards the Tenth in that baseball-obsessed brain of his, then he would be training, and as dumb as he was, Yamamoto was loyal.
Which meant as much as he was dying to get to know an actual UMA, he needed to focus on training to figure out Shamal's technique. Everything else could wait until later.
Tomoe was faster, though. "You're hurt!"
She glanced around quickly, and after making sure there was no one in sight reached out to touch him. The sight had been cool when he saw it through the grainy footage, even cooler when he experienced it himself, and was still cool now.
Hayato didn't turn it down. It was the logical thing, he argued to the disapproving part of himself while the light sparkled, and his wounds disappeared as if fading out of existence, like they had never existed. If he was hurt, then of course his efficiency would drop.
And if he got to observe an UMA's powers in work, well, that was just a bonus, wasn't it?
"What have you been up to?" Tomoe asked, face lightly strained in concentration. Was that even her real appearance, he wondered. Or was it a mask or sorts, created to fit with a generic standard of beauty? She was pretty, if Hayato thought about it. In the tame, ladylike way. She certainly behaved like one. No one would have suspected that she was an UMA, which made her adaptive capabilities rather incredible.
Hayato shrugged and was pleased to find there were no aches or pains from the movement. She really was good. "Training."
The light faded away, and he was left without any injuries on his body.
Tomoe let go, but her gaze was flat when directed at him, almost as much as her voice as she spoke. "You're telling me you're skipping school to train blowing things up?"
"School's not important," he replied automatically. "It's not like I'm learning anything there."
She didn't look impressed by his response.
Hayato briefly considered telling her about the ring battles. Since the Tenth and Yamamoto were participating, she'd probably be willing to help, and there were a lot more options available in a fight if the fighters weren't afraid of getting hurt. Sure, most of the people he fought who were like that had been on drugs, but if they were guaranteed healing, then there was no need to worry about being hurt, and no need to back down.
But it wasn't up to him to break omerta, or to make the decisions on who to recruit. If Futa could keep the omerta even as he lost his powers, then Hayato sure as hell could shut his mouth to the only UMA in his life and have faith in the Tenth and Reborn to recruit her.
"I've got a question, too," he said instead, deciding to get his curiosity sated. "What planet are you from?"
If she had been drinking something, she would have spat it out as if she was doing her best to imitate a fountain. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull. Figurative speech for humans, but maybe not impossible for UMAs. Something for future observations and questions.
"What?!"
Hayato winced at the high pitch her voice had risen when she screeched. A sonic attack? Or just a loud expression of surprise?
"What planet are you from," he repeated the question, trying to not yell in frustration. Tomoe was an UMA who scared easily, he had to take that into consideration when interacting with her.
"Planet-" she began to sputter in disbelief, until a light of recognition filled her face. "You think I'm an alien."
"Obviously," he grunted. There was, admittedly, a part of him that was disappointed in how she looked so . . . normal. He'd been hoping for an UMA with special features, like double heads or wings. Hayato didn't completely lose hope, though – after all it could have been a disguise, and he was hoping that one day her true form would be revealed, but until then, her outer appearance was an excellent camouflage. No wonder he'd never suspected a thing.
Tomoe's mouth opened, closed, opened again and then closed without a single word or sound coming out. Then, she burst out laughing, giggling almost hysterically. She pressed her hands against her mouth, but even that only slightly muffled her laughter.
Women. Even when they were UMA, they had to be weird.
When Tomoe Hotaru finally stopped laughing, she wiped a tear away from her eyes.
"I think that was the funniest thing I ever heard," she admitted. "You have some unusual sides to yourself, don't you, Gokudera-san?"
"Che." He took back what he had said about her being the better one. UMA with useful abilities or not, the conversation wasn't getting him much. Hayato decided to focus on his training again when she spoke suddenly.
"Let's say Saturn."
Saturn. Roman god of wealth and agriculture. Also, a planet in the solar system – the sixth – that was not inhabited by any life, last checked. "What?"
"Saturn," Tomoe repeated, confirming that he had not misheard her the first time. "Let's say I'm from Saturn. I was born on Earth, but I like Saturn."
Hayato scowled. If she was going to lie, she could at least put some effort into it. "That's not a valid reason."
She didn't even blink. "Then Pluto? Saturn's my favourite but Pluto's nice, too."
Clearly, Tomoe wasn't going to be taking this seriously. He'd find out himself. It would be more worth it that way, anyways.
"Pluto shouldn't even be considered a planet," Hayato grumbled, still a little miffed at how the UMA wasn't taking it seriously.
The next moment, he tensed at the chill in the look Tomoe shot him. Having built up a reputation in the backstreets of Italy and a few months with the Reborn himself, he knew killing intent.
This – this was something else. It wasn't quite killing intent, but still oppressive in force – except there was so much more of it. An entire ocean put pressure on him, and for a moment Hayato believed he was drowning in a cold, deadly sea.
Danger.
The pressure lifted, and there was nothing, except a very disapproving Tomoe Hotaru.
"Take that back," she ordered him, darkly glowering like he had personally offended her. "Pluto is a part of the solar system – it is and always will be a planet."
Women, Hayato thought again, but he took it back. He told himself it was because it still was considered a planet by the scientific community, and not because he had been intimidated.
Definitely an UMA.
Gokudera hadn't really told her much, not even bothering to pretend that he wasn't being evasive, and Hotaru gave up. She might get better results grilling Takeshi, or by playing along with Gokudera's interest in her status as an 'alien'.
That, honestly, if anything, had made her day because of how funny it was.
In the meantime, Hotaru had to give Kawahira a head's up on what was coming.
Pushing aside his third bowl of ramen, emptied of even the broth, Kawahira put down his chopsticks and swallowed before giving his incredibly sophisticated opinion of upcoming visitors.
"Ew."
"'Ew'?" Hotaru repeated, asking herself if she was so tired that she was mishearing things.
Kawahira nodded and patted his mouth with a handkerchief. "Ew," he confirmed.
Not that she disagreed with his – very – succinct and accurate assessment of the Death Busters, but still. That was short and also not what she expected at all.
The priest of Earth and possibly ramen eyed the bowls he had demolished with a look of frustration, like they were at fault for not containing more of the food he'd just devoured as if possessed by a starving ghost. "Maybe one more . . ."
"No more," Hotaru said automatically, a habit from their years of cohabitation. Kawahira had the nerve to pout, but she wasn't going to budge. He needed to stop his habit of stress-eating, especially if his food of choice was ramen. "Eat some konjac jelly or something."
"They're gross," he said matter-of-factly. "And not very nutritious."
She gave the three bowls that had previously held food which couldn't really be considered 'nutritious' a pointed look, which he ignored magnificently by changing the topic.
"Speaking of gross and not very nutritious," he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Would I be right in assuming that you'll be the one fighting the Death Busters?"
Hotaru blinked, not at the change in topic – she was too used to him to get thrown off by the sudden swerve – but at his accurate guess. She hadn't told him the plan they had in mind. "Yes. How did you know?"
Kawahira shrugged, the movement coming across as lazy. "Basic process of elimination. The Death Busters, and especially that nasty Pharaoh 90, had a trait of energy absorption. They fed off life energy, even from attacks up to a certain point. Since Pharaoh 90 had a higher tolerance than his underlings in the past, and the chances of his successor being similar to him are pretty good, it only makes sense to have someone who has an overwhelming advantage be the one to face them first to keep them from growing stronger by your own attacks."
The same line of reasoning that had worked in creating their own plans. Hotaru nodded in agreement. Last time, the combined attacks of Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi-Moon, Tuxedo Mask and all the inners had been absorbed, and only strengthened Pharaoh 90.
The master of the Death Busters had not been able to do such a thing against Saturn's attack, and Sailor Chu's information confirmed that it was due to the advantage Saturn's powers of destruction had against the gluttonous nature of Tau's monsters. Creatures born from the darkness that was created after greedy souls cannibalized their own sailor soldiers for power, their very creation was rooted in gluttony.
Kawahira lightly shuddered.
"They were revolting," he said, revulsion in every line of his frown. "Apologies in advance for not being able to offer any aid, then and now."
Not that she had wanted, needed or expected it, but – "You're not getting involved?"
"In terms of matchups, I would be at quite the disadvantage when pitted against any of the monsters from Tau, let alone Pharaoh 90 and his ilk," Kawahira said with a free air not befitting that of someone admitting his weakness. "Besides, I've never been a guardian whose primary duties were to engage in combat."
Thinking about his talents and lessons in illusions, Hotaru frowned. "I thought you said illusions were applicable in combat."
Kawahira grinned with pride. "They are. I said primary duties, didn't I? I was never very good at fighting and I never enjoyed it, but sometimes we don't pick our battles and we have to make do with what we have. Most times I was gathering information or providing support to allies and distraction to foes. Buying time until the heavy hitters could finish off the enemy."
For someone who said he wasn't any good or didn't enjoy it, he seemed pretty happy reminiscing about it.
His good cheer faded, though, when his eyes landed on the empty bowls again. Hotaru mentally kicked herself for not shoving them under the coffee table, out of sight.
"What's gotten you so stressed?" she asked, hoping to destress him by getting him to spill what he could rather than fruitlessly stuffing himself with food to try and bury it all within.
Kawahira hummed like he knew exactly what she wanted to do and would play along as he saw fit. "When unsavory visitors are coming without invitation, I have every reason to be stressed."
"You're not talking about the Death Busters." It wasn't a question. He hadn't known about the warning before she told him, and he'd been stress-eating before she got here.
"Well, they've certainly added to my frustrations, I won't deny that," Kawahira murmured, conceding the point. "It is not a good month, for visitors."
Hotaru leaned back in her seat and sighed. Everyone was up to something in this town nowadays.
"I don't suppose you know what my friends have been up to?" she tossed out. Gokudera's question about the planet of her origin had thrown her off, to the point where she had forgotten to press him further. Maybe she could make a deal with Gokudera tomorrow – information for healing or something. His recklessness meant he was certainly going to be needing it, and, well, she was curious. And they – Hotaru, Haru, Kyoko – were worried.
Kawahira looked at her blankly, like he was just hearing about this.
Hotaru still had time. She gave a brief explanation of what was going on, and how evasive they were being.
"I did tell you boys were stupid," he said lightly when she finished telling him about her latest encounter with Gokudera, but Hotaru didn't mistake that for disinterest or him making light of her worries. "Although he seems to have hit the nail on the head without even realizing it."
"You can laugh," she said with a sigh, at the mirth in his eyes.
Kawahira did just that, nearly falling over onto his side on the sofa. With a fisted hand he thumped at the cushion a few times, muffling his chuckles into the crook of his arm while Hotaru waited.
"Sorry," he said, when he was finished. "I've been up to a few things outside of Japan. Do you want me to keep an eye on your friends?"
Hotaru shook her head. He was already stressed, and there were still bags under his eyes. Kawahira didn't need more on his plate. "Thank you, but it's okay. We'll manage. You just get some rest and stop eating ramen like it owes you money."
There was a bit of a tremor near his eye at the familiar words of Granny from her. "Much obliged for your concern, except the last part."
AN: Since Pharaoh 90 not only broke through the barriers made by the outers, and absorbed the energy from all the attacks, and it took Sailor Moon jumping in to release the holy grail/SC's power inside to awaken Saturn who then smacked P90 with a DRR and showed the weird goop its rightful place, I headcanon the nature of Pharaoh 90's power to be somewhat like a glutton that absorbs energy and makes it its own, and Saturn's powers don't apply the same way because she is the soldier of destruction.
To put it in pokemon terms, senshi + Mamoru's attacks are not very effective against Pharaoh 90, but Saturn's is super effective. Kawahira is even more vulnerable, and has a type disadvantage against Pharaoh 90 in the same way Whimsicott has a disadvantage against poison-types.
For non-Pokemon fans who have no idea what that means, in terms of 'most to least effective against Pharaoh 90, it would be:
Saturn /unbreachable wall/ Sailor Soldiers Mamoru + Chibi-Usa Kawahira
The hardest part about this chapter was writing it in a way that didn't make a pokemon reference.
Since I started conceptualizing Petrichor I wanted to write this Gokudera-Hotaru interaction. Isn't it funny how a half truth isn't a complete truth? The devil is in the details.
One of the reasons why this is an alternate world very similar to but not quite Earth is because Pluto will not be banished from planet status (because the alternate history stuff like eco-friendly pseudo-immortal priest illuminati and sailor soldiers happening totally isn't the more significant reason).
+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
Gokudera: Where are you from, alien?
Hotaru: (reincarnated princess of Saturn born and raised on Earth) let's say Saturn.
Gokudera: Lies?!
Hotaru: (still amused) then Pluto.
Gokudera: liar, also Pluto is totally not a planet.
Hotaru: (FURY) Take that back.
+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
Kawahira: *eating ramen like it owes him money*
Hotaru: *counts bowls* ah, he's stressed
+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
Kawahira: I'm up to something(s).
Hotaru: Aren't you always. Get some rest and actual food in you for once.
+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
Kawahira: I was primarily support. If I had to fight, I usually bought time.
Acheron back then: *disorients fighters in the middle of battle to force them to make mistakes; tricks enemies into fighting each other or using up a good chunk if not all of their strength against illusions; cons them into spilling information* I'm not a good fighter, can I sit this one out?
Sephira back then: *heavy hitter number 1* No.
Acheron back then: *vents his irritation by giving his enemies animal heads*
+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
Sweet Dreams~