Hiya everybody. So, I decided that Raye's father should *finally* make an appearence. Fun, huh? Anywayz, enjoy! I hope this turns out okay, I decided to pull an all-nighter to finish this fic:)
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***Several hours later***
"Raye," Lita said, speaking for the first time in over an hour about something not school-related. "You need to call him. At least then it's over and done with."
"Lita," Raye said, looking up from her text. "I don't need to call him."
"But Raye, you…"
"No Lita, I really don't need to *call* him." Raye continued staring out the window.
"Why? Shouldn't you talk to him?"
"I don't need to call him." Raye repeated. "Because here he comes."
"What?" Lita said, turning around. Sure enough, she could see a man, who resembled Raye somehow, although it wasn't in the looks, walking towards the temple. He was dressed in a spotless suit and was carrying a briefcase, and he reminded Lita perfectly of a workaholic, exactly what Raye had said he was.
When Lita turned back to Raye, she noticed that Raye had stood up and was straitening out her priestess robes. Raye moved towards the door, and into the hall, towards the door where her father was now standing. Lita was going to follow her, but decided on just moving closer to Raye's door. That way she would at least be able to here what was happening.
"Welcome to the Cherry Hill Temple," Raye said. "Father." It sounded almost like Raye spat that last word to Lita.
"Raye, darling, it's good to see you again." Lita heard the man say.
"Why have you come?" Raye let him into the hallway, but wasn't planning on letting him move any farther. To her he was still the man who abandoned her after her mother's death. The same man who hated her, merely because she hadn't been the son that he had always wanted. And the man that hadn't chosen to contact her since.
"Well, to see you, of course." The man said, as if it was obvious. "Especially in light of resent events, I figured that now is when I should remind you that I'm always out there."
"In light of resent events? Wait, you know about me being a Scout, don't you?" Lita could hear the definite accusation in Raye's voice. Lita noticed that the noise Raye and her father were making had attracted Chad and Grandpa.
"Shh." Lita said, motioning for them both to come into Raye's room. "Stay here and stay quiet." They listened to her and sat down to listen to the conversation.
"Of course I know," her father said, starting to sound angry. He covered that up with his
"Sweetheart. I saw it in the newspaper, and decided that now is when I should see my little girl. Now is when she needs the comfort of family."
"I have 'the comfort of family'. I have Grandpa, and I have the other Scouts. And that isn't why you came. I can tell."
"Ahhh, my Raye. So much like your mother. Always looking for an ulterior motive."
"That's because with you, there usually is one."
"I merely decided that we have been apart far too long. I have seen you in nearly eleven years. That's why I think it's time that we mended the rift between us. We'll need that, if we want to get along."
"I haven't needed to 'get along' with you in eleven years, why would I need to now? When this conversation is over, you are going to go back to your office, and I'm going to stay here. The only time that we would ever need to even talk is if you think that I might be involved in something that would…" Raye paused for a second, realizing why he was here, "would hurt your career. That's why you're here, isn't it? Isn't it?"
"Well Raye," Mr. Hino began, the conversation obviously not going the way he had planned. "The reporters will realize that successful business man Kazu Hino is related to Sailor Soldier Raye Hino. If they do it right, they will find out I'm your father. Then the questions will come. 'Why doesn't your daughter live with you?' they'll ask. I might as well then kiss my career good-bye. I have to show that I care about my family. And you, Raye, are my family."
"So you expect me to drop everything for you and your stupid career?" by now Raye was yelling loud enough that Lita was surprised that the reporters hadn't already come running.
"As my daughter, I have custody over you. And if I want you to come, then you have to."
"I don't have to do anything! You lost all those rights when you dumped me off here."
"Until you are of age, you are my daughter and if I want you to come with me, then you have to. Like it or not Raye, it's the law."
"Well, do you think it would look so good for your career if the media finds out that you are holding the soldier of fire against her will? And you can easily deny that you are my father."
"It isn't that easy Raye. The people at my office, they know that you're my daughter. Many remember when your mother used to bring you to the office to see me. They never forgot about 'sweet little Raye' despite the fact that I never talked about you. By now, they have found out that you are Mars, and I need to maintain my image. So pack your bags and let's go."
"Absolutely not!" Raye screamed. Lita cringed slightly; she had seen first-hand what Raye was capable of when she was this angry. "I refuse to go, leave my friends, and live with you. And you can't make me come."
"I can and I will." Her father shouted right back at her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. 'Big mistake.' Lita thought when she saw it. Lita could almost see the anger in Raye's eyes.
"Let go of me." Raye said, quietly, although they put more fear in Mr. Hino's heart then her yelling had. He dropped her arm immediately. But the fire in her eyes was already there.
"Now, leave the temple grounds. And if anyone asks, you can tell him or her you had a niece named Raye, too. That should 'save your career'." Raye was speaking quietly, but each of her words invoked fear in her father.
"Fine." He said, going out the door. "But, Raye Hino, you are now no longer my daughter. Don't come to me when the world falls apart and you need saving."
"Trust me, I won't. I'm the one who saves the world when it falls apart. And my father died eleven years ago with my mother to me. I don't know who you are." With that, Raye slammed the door shut and walked towards her room. If anyone had been watching Mr. Hino, they would have seen him walk towards his car and never look back.
Chad and Grandpa stood against Raye's wall as Raye stormed into her room. They left, after Lita gave them a look that clearly said, "I can handle it". Grandpa decided that he would talk to Raye later, when she went for a fire reading, as she often did when she was upset.
Lita moved from her place by the door to sit on her bed, which, she decided, was probably the safest place to be. When Raye started pacing, her decision proved to be right.
"I can't believe him!" Raye screamed, pacing around her room. "What did he think he was doing? He ignores me from eleven years! Eleven years! And he expects me to drop everything and follow him! Who in the world does he think he is?! That arrogant, self-centered jerk! Next time he sets foot on the grounds, I'm going to burn it right off. I don't care that this is a temple; it'll be the work of Mars, not a priestess. The nerve!"
"Raye," Lita said, speaking up lordly enough for Raye to hear. "*Calm down*. He's gone, okay? And anyway, Mars *is* still a priestess, Mars is still Raye. Luckily, Jupiter isn't a priestess, and I'm staying here."
"Thanks Lita" Raye said, sitting down next to her. "I guess that I shouldn't let him bother me, huh? After all, apparently I'm dead to him. And I'm glad. At least I'll never again have to talk to him."
"That's right Raye." Lita said smiling. "So, ready to start the English homework?"
Raye smiled at that, picked up a pillow, and tossed it at Lita. Within seconds, the screams of laughter could be heard, and Lita and Raye were involved in a serious pillow fight.
'I'm glad Raye's happy again.' Chad thought, when he peeked inside the room. 'She shouldn't ever have to deal with her father again.'
*****
"Artemis!!!" Mina screamed. Artemis had been watching her carefully for over an hour. When he went to consult with Amy over calculus, Mina had taken out her discman, and been able to hide the discman under her books, while her hair hid the headphones. But Artemis had spotted the half-paying attention look Mina had when she was listening to music, and snatched the headphones away from her. Now Mina was in the process of chasing Artemis across the room, trying to get her headphones back.
"Eina, wou showldnint hab been goobing ofd. Wou showld know beffer!" His words sounded slightly weird, but that was because he was trying to talk with headphones in his mouth.
"You give those back right now Artemis, or you will wish you were dead!" Mina screamed at him again. Unfortunately, Mina's room was never neat, which was where they were. It didn't bother Artemis; he was incredibly graceful since he was a cat. Mina however, wasn't quite as graceful. And both her and Amy had to suffer from it.
"Owww! Mina! Get off of me!" Amy cried, after Mina had tripped over a textbook and crashed into Amy, causing them both to end up in a heap on the floor. Artemis had stopped a safe distance away and was laughing at the sight in front of him.
"Artemis! Get your furry little butt back here!" Mina yelled, scrambling back onto her feet and continuing the chase. Amy got back on her feet as quickly as possible and moved to a safe place against Mina's wall. She had to admit, watching Mina chase Artemis was a funny scene.
"Mina," her mother said, rather surprised, from the doorway, "what in the world are you doing to poor Artemis?" Artemis took this chance to hide behind Mrs. Aino.
"Pathetic." Mina muttered under her breath after seeing that Artemis had taken refuge behind her mother.
"Could someone please tell me what is going on?" Mrs. Aino said, after surveying the room. She was quite confused; she saw Amy pressed against a back wall; Mina kneeling on the floor in front of her feet; Artemis hiding behind her, with…headphones? in his mouth; and books and clothes scattered everywhere, although that was normal for Mina's room.
"It's quite simple, Mrs. Aino." Amy said, taking charge. "Mina was listening to music, Artemis grabbed the headphones, and Mina chased him. The usual."
"Oh really," Mrs. Aino said, slightly amused. It was nice to see that Mina hadn't changed, despite recent events. "Well, Mina, I think I heard something that stated that you are supposed to be doing homework, so Artemis did the right thing taking away your headphones." Artemis chuckled, ever so slightly, which was very hard to do with his mouth full. "Now, Mina, if you are so dead set against working, I just finished baking some cookies. So why don't you girls come down for some cookies and milk and take a break from all this studying."
"Great, thanks mom!" Mina said, jumping up. "Wait, what kind?"
Amy and Artemis rolled their eyes. They knew that with Mina, it didn't matter, as long as the cookies were filled with chocolate and sugar.
Mina's mother chuckled. 'Definitely Mina.' She thought. "Chocolate chip cookies, Mina." A meow by her feet reminded her that she had another person to please. "And a saucer of milk for you, Artemis."
Mrs. Aino smiled again at the girls, and went downstairs to get the snack ready. Mina bounded after her, looking as happy as she usually does when sugar is offered. Artemis had abandoned the headphones and was running down the stairs, definitely excited about the saucer of milk that was waiting for him. Amy smiled to herself as she started down the stairs. 'It's nice to know that some things never change.' She thought to herself. Then the smell of the fresh baked cookies reached her, and Amy quickened her steps down the stairs into the kitchen.
*****
"Here girls," Ikuko said, entering the room, carrying a tray of Serena and Rini's favorite doughnuts. She knew that this was hard for both of them, especially Serena. "I brought you up a treat. I think that it's time that you took a break; you've been working for quite awhile."
Both girls smiled their thanks, and attacked the plate of doughnuts. Diana was the first to discover the treat Ikuko had brought up for the cats.
"Tuna!" She cried happily, diving into the bowlful. The cry of tuna had gotten Luna's attention, and she came over to investigate. Ikuko could she the delight in her eyes when she found her own bowl, filled with tuna, and she to dived into it.
"Thanks Mom." Serena said between bites.
Ikuko just smiled and made her way out the door. 'They shouldn't have to deal with this.' She thought. 'Serena and Rini they're just…just children. Well, Serena isn't a child anymore, but still!' Ikuko paused when she reached the bottom of the stairs. 'It just isn't fair.'
Meanwhile, after finishing off the donuts, Serena had gone to get the phone to call Molly. Rini had gone up to her room.
"Mol, hi." Serena said when Molly answered the phone. "Molly I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. But I couldn't, I didn't want you to get hurt. Please, forgive me."
"Ser," Molly said. "Calm down. It's okay; I'm not upset. I understand why you didn't tell me. I got in trouble with the Negaverse enough when I didn't know anything about the scouts. I would have been killed if you had told me. And I took care of our friends earlier. I guessed that you were too busy to call everyone and tell them to not hound the scouts, so I did it for you. I think most of them spread the word to not bug you guys; they know that this is hard."
"Molly, thank you." Serena said. She was glad that Molly understood. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"It's no problem." Molly said. "I totally wish that we could talk longer, but I've still got homework to do. Call me soon, okay?"
"Okay. Oh, I won't be at school tomorrow, we want the press to settle down a little bit. I'll be back on Tuesday."
"Okay, see you."
"Bye Molly."
Serena hung up the phone, and turned towards the window to gaze at the sun, just beginning to set. 'Molly's such a good friend' Serena thought.
Rini returned a minute later with her painting equipment and a painting that she had been working on for a few weeks.
"What's that Rini?" Diana asked, becoming instantly curious when she saw the painting. She jumped up onto the table to get a better view. When she saw it, she gasped. "Rini," she started, sounding amazed. "That's incredible!"
Rini just smiled and finished setting up. Luna had come over to see what the painting was, and Serena had moved from her spot to see it. They too, gasped when they saw it. The painting was still in pencil, but you could clearly see the design. Each of the lines were drawn so carefully, creating such intricate detail. In truth, it was hard to believe that Rini hadn't sketched it in real life; instead she had had to use pictures. The painting had the Crystal Palace, in all it's glory, in the background. There was a small hill in front of it, and standing on that hill, facing the palace (you could only see their backs) were, in order from the left hand side, Sailor Pluto, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus, and Sailor Saturn (with their talismans). Then, in the center, left to right, went King Endymion, Princess Serenity, and Neo-Queen Serenity. Finally, in order from the right hand side, went Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter. Then, drawn in the sky, above the palace, with the shaded parts of their face starry, were, in order left to right, Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Mini Moon, and Sailor Moon.
"Rini," Serena said, still stunned, "That's amazing. How did you ever manage to do that so…so…so well? It looks like a professional painting!"
"I have to agree Rini." Luna said. "I've seen many paintings, but this one…this one is truly remarkable."
"Thank you, Serena, Luna, Diana." Rini said, getting the paints ready. "I was in art class one day, and I just started sketching the Crystal Palace. When I got home, I took out all the pictures I had of it, and did a better drawing. Then I just decided to make it into a painting. I'm going to give it to Mom and Dad when I get back. And the reason that no one has seen me working on it is because I've been working on it in my room when I'm alone." Rini stopped and took a good look at the painting. She had to agree, she had worked extremely hard on it and it was quite good. "Aunt Michelle has been giving me art lessons in Crystal Tokyo, so that's also helped."
"Well Rini, I'm sure that your parents will enjoy it." Luna said, still admiring the painting. 'She must have inherited Darien's creativity; Serena doesn't have talent like *this*.' She thought, going over to the window. Serena looked at the painting again, then followed Luna to sit by the window and watch the crowds. Diana stayed by Rini, and Rini continued to work on the painting.
By the time Rini was half done painting the palace, Luna announced that it was time for bed. Both girls, however reluctantly, went to bed, and settled into a fitful sleep. Their guardians remained right beside them, to make sure that they both at least got *some* sleep.
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Another chapter written n read. I hope none of u mind, but you might notice me rushing through the chapeters a bit. Hope it's okay:)
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***Several hours later***
"Raye," Lita said, speaking for the first time in over an hour about something not school-related. "You need to call him. At least then it's over and done with."
"Lita," Raye said, looking up from her text. "I don't need to call him."
"But Raye, you…"
"No Lita, I really don't need to *call* him." Raye continued staring out the window.
"Why? Shouldn't you talk to him?"
"I don't need to call him." Raye repeated. "Because here he comes."
"What?" Lita said, turning around. Sure enough, she could see a man, who resembled Raye somehow, although it wasn't in the looks, walking towards the temple. He was dressed in a spotless suit and was carrying a briefcase, and he reminded Lita perfectly of a workaholic, exactly what Raye had said he was.
When Lita turned back to Raye, she noticed that Raye had stood up and was straitening out her priestess robes. Raye moved towards the door, and into the hall, towards the door where her father was now standing. Lita was going to follow her, but decided on just moving closer to Raye's door. That way she would at least be able to here what was happening.
"Welcome to the Cherry Hill Temple," Raye said. "Father." It sounded almost like Raye spat that last word to Lita.
"Raye, darling, it's good to see you again." Lita heard the man say.
"Why have you come?" Raye let him into the hallway, but wasn't planning on letting him move any farther. To her he was still the man who abandoned her after her mother's death. The same man who hated her, merely because she hadn't been the son that he had always wanted. And the man that hadn't chosen to contact her since.
"Well, to see you, of course." The man said, as if it was obvious. "Especially in light of resent events, I figured that now is when I should remind you that I'm always out there."
"In light of resent events? Wait, you know about me being a Scout, don't you?" Lita could hear the definite accusation in Raye's voice. Lita noticed that the noise Raye and her father were making had attracted Chad and Grandpa.
"Shh." Lita said, motioning for them both to come into Raye's room. "Stay here and stay quiet." They listened to her and sat down to listen to the conversation.
"Of course I know," her father said, starting to sound angry. He covered that up with his
"Sweetheart. I saw it in the newspaper, and decided that now is when I should see my little girl. Now is when she needs the comfort of family."
"I have 'the comfort of family'. I have Grandpa, and I have the other Scouts. And that isn't why you came. I can tell."
"Ahhh, my Raye. So much like your mother. Always looking for an ulterior motive."
"That's because with you, there usually is one."
"I merely decided that we have been apart far too long. I have seen you in nearly eleven years. That's why I think it's time that we mended the rift between us. We'll need that, if we want to get along."
"I haven't needed to 'get along' with you in eleven years, why would I need to now? When this conversation is over, you are going to go back to your office, and I'm going to stay here. The only time that we would ever need to even talk is if you think that I might be involved in something that would…" Raye paused for a second, realizing why he was here, "would hurt your career. That's why you're here, isn't it? Isn't it?"
"Well Raye," Mr. Hino began, the conversation obviously not going the way he had planned. "The reporters will realize that successful business man Kazu Hino is related to Sailor Soldier Raye Hino. If they do it right, they will find out I'm your father. Then the questions will come. 'Why doesn't your daughter live with you?' they'll ask. I might as well then kiss my career good-bye. I have to show that I care about my family. And you, Raye, are my family."
"So you expect me to drop everything for you and your stupid career?" by now Raye was yelling loud enough that Lita was surprised that the reporters hadn't already come running.
"As my daughter, I have custody over you. And if I want you to come, then you have to."
"I don't have to do anything! You lost all those rights when you dumped me off here."
"Until you are of age, you are my daughter and if I want you to come with me, then you have to. Like it or not Raye, it's the law."
"Well, do you think it would look so good for your career if the media finds out that you are holding the soldier of fire against her will? And you can easily deny that you are my father."
"It isn't that easy Raye. The people at my office, they know that you're my daughter. Many remember when your mother used to bring you to the office to see me. They never forgot about 'sweet little Raye' despite the fact that I never talked about you. By now, they have found out that you are Mars, and I need to maintain my image. So pack your bags and let's go."
"Absolutely not!" Raye screamed. Lita cringed slightly; she had seen first-hand what Raye was capable of when she was this angry. "I refuse to go, leave my friends, and live with you. And you can't make me come."
"I can and I will." Her father shouted right back at her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. 'Big mistake.' Lita thought when she saw it. Lita could almost see the anger in Raye's eyes.
"Let go of me." Raye said, quietly, although they put more fear in Mr. Hino's heart then her yelling had. He dropped her arm immediately. But the fire in her eyes was already there.
"Now, leave the temple grounds. And if anyone asks, you can tell him or her you had a niece named Raye, too. That should 'save your career'." Raye was speaking quietly, but each of her words invoked fear in her father.
"Fine." He said, going out the door. "But, Raye Hino, you are now no longer my daughter. Don't come to me when the world falls apart and you need saving."
"Trust me, I won't. I'm the one who saves the world when it falls apart. And my father died eleven years ago with my mother to me. I don't know who you are." With that, Raye slammed the door shut and walked towards her room. If anyone had been watching Mr. Hino, they would have seen him walk towards his car and never look back.
Chad and Grandpa stood against Raye's wall as Raye stormed into her room. They left, after Lita gave them a look that clearly said, "I can handle it". Grandpa decided that he would talk to Raye later, when she went for a fire reading, as she often did when she was upset.
Lita moved from her place by the door to sit on her bed, which, she decided, was probably the safest place to be. When Raye started pacing, her decision proved to be right.
"I can't believe him!" Raye screamed, pacing around her room. "What did he think he was doing? He ignores me from eleven years! Eleven years! And he expects me to drop everything and follow him! Who in the world does he think he is?! That arrogant, self-centered jerk! Next time he sets foot on the grounds, I'm going to burn it right off. I don't care that this is a temple; it'll be the work of Mars, not a priestess. The nerve!"
"Raye," Lita said, speaking up lordly enough for Raye to hear. "*Calm down*. He's gone, okay? And anyway, Mars *is* still a priestess, Mars is still Raye. Luckily, Jupiter isn't a priestess, and I'm staying here."
"Thanks Lita" Raye said, sitting down next to her. "I guess that I shouldn't let him bother me, huh? After all, apparently I'm dead to him. And I'm glad. At least I'll never again have to talk to him."
"That's right Raye." Lita said smiling. "So, ready to start the English homework?"
Raye smiled at that, picked up a pillow, and tossed it at Lita. Within seconds, the screams of laughter could be heard, and Lita and Raye were involved in a serious pillow fight.
'I'm glad Raye's happy again.' Chad thought, when he peeked inside the room. 'She shouldn't ever have to deal with her father again.'
*****
"Artemis!!!" Mina screamed. Artemis had been watching her carefully for over an hour. When he went to consult with Amy over calculus, Mina had taken out her discman, and been able to hide the discman under her books, while her hair hid the headphones. But Artemis had spotted the half-paying attention look Mina had when she was listening to music, and snatched the headphones away from her. Now Mina was in the process of chasing Artemis across the room, trying to get her headphones back.
"Eina, wou showldnint hab been goobing ofd. Wou showld know beffer!" His words sounded slightly weird, but that was because he was trying to talk with headphones in his mouth.
"You give those back right now Artemis, or you will wish you were dead!" Mina screamed at him again. Unfortunately, Mina's room was never neat, which was where they were. It didn't bother Artemis; he was incredibly graceful since he was a cat. Mina however, wasn't quite as graceful. And both her and Amy had to suffer from it.
"Owww! Mina! Get off of me!" Amy cried, after Mina had tripped over a textbook and crashed into Amy, causing them both to end up in a heap on the floor. Artemis had stopped a safe distance away and was laughing at the sight in front of him.
"Artemis! Get your furry little butt back here!" Mina yelled, scrambling back onto her feet and continuing the chase. Amy got back on her feet as quickly as possible and moved to a safe place against Mina's wall. She had to admit, watching Mina chase Artemis was a funny scene.
"Mina," her mother said, rather surprised, from the doorway, "what in the world are you doing to poor Artemis?" Artemis took this chance to hide behind Mrs. Aino.
"Pathetic." Mina muttered under her breath after seeing that Artemis had taken refuge behind her mother.
"Could someone please tell me what is going on?" Mrs. Aino said, after surveying the room. She was quite confused; she saw Amy pressed against a back wall; Mina kneeling on the floor in front of her feet; Artemis hiding behind her, with…headphones? in his mouth; and books and clothes scattered everywhere, although that was normal for Mina's room.
"It's quite simple, Mrs. Aino." Amy said, taking charge. "Mina was listening to music, Artemis grabbed the headphones, and Mina chased him. The usual."
"Oh really," Mrs. Aino said, slightly amused. It was nice to see that Mina hadn't changed, despite recent events. "Well, Mina, I think I heard something that stated that you are supposed to be doing homework, so Artemis did the right thing taking away your headphones." Artemis chuckled, ever so slightly, which was very hard to do with his mouth full. "Now, Mina, if you are so dead set against working, I just finished baking some cookies. So why don't you girls come down for some cookies and milk and take a break from all this studying."
"Great, thanks mom!" Mina said, jumping up. "Wait, what kind?"
Amy and Artemis rolled their eyes. They knew that with Mina, it didn't matter, as long as the cookies were filled with chocolate and sugar.
Mina's mother chuckled. 'Definitely Mina.' She thought. "Chocolate chip cookies, Mina." A meow by her feet reminded her that she had another person to please. "And a saucer of milk for you, Artemis."
Mrs. Aino smiled again at the girls, and went downstairs to get the snack ready. Mina bounded after her, looking as happy as she usually does when sugar is offered. Artemis had abandoned the headphones and was running down the stairs, definitely excited about the saucer of milk that was waiting for him. Amy smiled to herself as she started down the stairs. 'It's nice to know that some things never change.' She thought to herself. Then the smell of the fresh baked cookies reached her, and Amy quickened her steps down the stairs into the kitchen.
*****
"Here girls," Ikuko said, entering the room, carrying a tray of Serena and Rini's favorite doughnuts. She knew that this was hard for both of them, especially Serena. "I brought you up a treat. I think that it's time that you took a break; you've been working for quite awhile."
Both girls smiled their thanks, and attacked the plate of doughnuts. Diana was the first to discover the treat Ikuko had brought up for the cats.
"Tuna!" She cried happily, diving into the bowlful. The cry of tuna had gotten Luna's attention, and she came over to investigate. Ikuko could she the delight in her eyes when she found her own bowl, filled with tuna, and she to dived into it.
"Thanks Mom." Serena said between bites.
Ikuko just smiled and made her way out the door. 'They shouldn't have to deal with this.' She thought. 'Serena and Rini they're just…just children. Well, Serena isn't a child anymore, but still!' Ikuko paused when she reached the bottom of the stairs. 'It just isn't fair.'
Meanwhile, after finishing off the donuts, Serena had gone to get the phone to call Molly. Rini had gone up to her room.
"Mol, hi." Serena said when Molly answered the phone. "Molly I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. But I couldn't, I didn't want you to get hurt. Please, forgive me."
"Ser," Molly said. "Calm down. It's okay; I'm not upset. I understand why you didn't tell me. I got in trouble with the Negaverse enough when I didn't know anything about the scouts. I would have been killed if you had told me. And I took care of our friends earlier. I guessed that you were too busy to call everyone and tell them to not hound the scouts, so I did it for you. I think most of them spread the word to not bug you guys; they know that this is hard."
"Molly, thank you." Serena said. She was glad that Molly understood. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"It's no problem." Molly said. "I totally wish that we could talk longer, but I've still got homework to do. Call me soon, okay?"
"Okay. Oh, I won't be at school tomorrow, we want the press to settle down a little bit. I'll be back on Tuesday."
"Okay, see you."
"Bye Molly."
Serena hung up the phone, and turned towards the window to gaze at the sun, just beginning to set. 'Molly's such a good friend' Serena thought.
Rini returned a minute later with her painting equipment and a painting that she had been working on for a few weeks.
"What's that Rini?" Diana asked, becoming instantly curious when she saw the painting. She jumped up onto the table to get a better view. When she saw it, she gasped. "Rini," she started, sounding amazed. "That's incredible!"
Rini just smiled and finished setting up. Luna had come over to see what the painting was, and Serena had moved from her spot to see it. They too, gasped when they saw it. The painting was still in pencil, but you could clearly see the design. Each of the lines were drawn so carefully, creating such intricate detail. In truth, it was hard to believe that Rini hadn't sketched it in real life; instead she had had to use pictures. The painting had the Crystal Palace, in all it's glory, in the background. There was a small hill in front of it, and standing on that hill, facing the palace (you could only see their backs) were, in order from the left hand side, Sailor Pluto, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus, and Sailor Saturn (with their talismans). Then, in the center, left to right, went King Endymion, Princess Serenity, and Neo-Queen Serenity. Finally, in order from the right hand side, went Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter. Then, drawn in the sky, above the palace, with the shaded parts of their face starry, were, in order left to right, Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Mini Moon, and Sailor Moon.
"Rini," Serena said, still stunned, "That's amazing. How did you ever manage to do that so…so…so well? It looks like a professional painting!"
"I have to agree Rini." Luna said. "I've seen many paintings, but this one…this one is truly remarkable."
"Thank you, Serena, Luna, Diana." Rini said, getting the paints ready. "I was in art class one day, and I just started sketching the Crystal Palace. When I got home, I took out all the pictures I had of it, and did a better drawing. Then I just decided to make it into a painting. I'm going to give it to Mom and Dad when I get back. And the reason that no one has seen me working on it is because I've been working on it in my room when I'm alone." Rini stopped and took a good look at the painting. She had to agree, she had worked extremely hard on it and it was quite good. "Aunt Michelle has been giving me art lessons in Crystal Tokyo, so that's also helped."
"Well Rini, I'm sure that your parents will enjoy it." Luna said, still admiring the painting. 'She must have inherited Darien's creativity; Serena doesn't have talent like *this*.' She thought, going over to the window. Serena looked at the painting again, then followed Luna to sit by the window and watch the crowds. Diana stayed by Rini, and Rini continued to work on the painting.
By the time Rini was half done painting the palace, Luna announced that it was time for bed. Both girls, however reluctantly, went to bed, and settled into a fitful sleep. Their guardians remained right beside them, to make sure that they both at least got *some* sleep.
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Another chapter written n read. I hope none of u mind, but you might notice me rushing through the chapeters a bit. Hope it's okay:)