Chapter Twelve - She's Come Too Soon
***
"This excursion is taking *forever*," Emperor Omega said, stretching his legs out. "How much longer do we have to go?"
"A little over three and a half ikkagetsu, your highness," Acting First Delta Junichi Hojo said. "There were a few discrepancies with some of the pilots." Delta Hojo sent a glare in the direction of the cockpit.
"These quarters are beginning to get cramped," First Omega Emperor Baran Matsudaira joked. The ship was massive, and the king's quarters were very large.
Delta Hojo smiled faintly. "We should be arriving in a short period of time, your highness...four and a half months, at regular speed. It's too dangerous and not very comfortable to enter hyperspeed."
"Yes, whatever..." Emperor Omega, as he was commonly called--no one used his first name--yawned. "As long as we get there, it should be worth the wait. Earth is too close to us for it not to be included in our realm."
`Three ikkagetsu is close?' Prince Tamashiiro thought, raising an eyebrow.
Delta Hojo nodded and left.
"What do you think, my boy? Wouldn't you like this small jewel to be a part of your inheritance?" He smiled devilishly at the young man deep in thought. "The planet *and* the girl?"
Prince Tamashiiro rolled his eyes. Actually, he'd been thinking a lot more about the girl lately. Yes, he did want her. Why, he didn't know, and how they would find her on Earth--it was a small planet in comparison to Proximi and Centauri, and even Ethiopia, but still--he didn't know either, but if she had been taken in custody, there would be no problem finding her. After all, sent to kill the king and queen, she'd most likely be in the central city Crystal Tokyo, and that's where they were headed.
"Both seem like a very hefty inheritance, Otou-sama," he answered, smirking. The picture of First Delta Aiyana Khalidah formed in his mind. He wondered--
"Ah." There was a dizzy spin in his head. He touched his temple, remembering too late how protective his father was.
"Tamashiiro-kun? Are you all right?" Emperor Omega reached towards his son and affectionately touched him on the arm.
"Yes." Tamashiiro shook his head gently. He'd been experienced this dizziness for quite a while now, and it was usually followed by a supreme headache. He could feel the onset of it now, and winced at the thought.
"Otou-sama? I believe I'll be retiring."
"But...it's only the ninth jikoku!"
"Yes. But I really don't feel well...Otou-sama, may I?"
Emperor Omega sighed worriedly. "If you must. I do hope this doesn't last too long. You've been having these dizzy spells for quite some time, haven't you?"
Prince Tamashiiro grimaced. He'd hoped the emperor hadn't noticed, but apparently he had.
"You've got to be in your best condition coming upon Earth. It's such a different planet from our own; you could have adverse reactions that would only be aggravated by your illness. I'll not have my son miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime!" Emperor Omega snapped his fingers. "Messenger. Go and search out the doctor. There's got to be one on this ship. I want my son tended to..."
***
King Endymion entered his study hall, tracing his fingers along the dusty bindings of the books on the shelves. Most were legal volumes. He didn't feel like reading dreary titles denoting volumes holding the histories of the Silver Millennium, the reinstated throne...he'd lived through these moments in history, and there was no need for him to research them.
However, there was another moment in history he'd lived through that hadn't been recorded in the volumes.
Glancing at the door again to reassure himself it was locked, Endymion made his way over to his desk in the corner of the room. Next to it was a personal cabinet. He pulled out his keys, staring ruefully at them as he remembered the day Serenity had lost them. It had taken him hours to scour the palace and find those keys--in the dining room, under a leg of one of the chairs--and they had completely missed the Senshi's dinner.
He clutched them in his hand for a moment before moving to open the cabinet door. As soon as he did, a clutter of papers and pictures fell out, having been hastily shoved in there from the last time had viewed them.
Papers, with the name `Tomoe Keiko' scrawled painstakingly across the top, large 100's and colorful stickers adorning the corners of good papers. King Endymion sorted through the mess until he found the picture he was looking for. It was the most recent picture of Keiko, at about age twelve. She was wearing a dark purple jumper with a white shirt underneath, a pink-purplish denim vest overtop, and she was holding a a yellow flower in her hand, her head cocked to the side with a cute smile on her face.
Her features had been softer and younger then...there was the slightest hint of a budding bosom, no curves, and her hair had only begun to spread across her shoulders, not yet reaching the glorious length it had as she grew older. Her eyes were blue-violet, but not as piercing, as dark, as intense as the young woman who had appeared at the palace almost five months before and threw his world into a tailspin.
Endymion clutched the picture close to himself as he felt tears well in his eyes. Back in those years, it had been much harder to tell...but now it was so simple, so obvious, he was so surprised no one else had been able to discover. Those *were* his eyes, piercing blue and intense as the oceans, turbulent with emotion and pain, no doubt from the life she had went through. Although Endymion had not seen the young assassin since that day he and his wife had chanced to see them exercising around the palace, the image of her figure and her eyes had emblazoned across his mind.
Endymion stared back down at the picture. Young Keiko had a cute smile on her face, full of life and exuberance and happiness. The day Endymion had seen her with Masaya, there was that laughing twinkle in her voice, but it was tempered by a darkness and sadness in her eyes that Endymion had never seen in a teenager, prayed he would never have to see in his legitimate daughter. What had happened to her? Where had she been?
`She's come too soon...what will become of her...and of me?'
Endymion clutched the picture to his chest again and bent his head down again, crying tears held back for over seventeen years.
***
Sailorvenus sighed heavily as she stared at the monitor. "Why did Ami and Mitsuru choose this weekend to go out of town?"
Kunzite rubbed her lightly on the back as she sank into a chair. "They needed a vacation. We all do, actually...things have been blown really out of proportion. This thing is a lot faster than we anticipated."
"And it's not going back to where it came from," Sailormars added. "Remember we thought it had returned on it's path home? Obviously it did that on accident. It's redirected towards Earth and is heading towards us at alarming speed."
"I wonder..." Sailorneptune stared at the monitor, her eyes not leaving it. But she was not seeing the monitor. She was seeing a picture of a certain blue-eyed beauty staying in the hospital. The connection she felt was strong...but she didn't want to reveal her feelings just yet. The connection she felt between the assassin and her beloved surrogate daughter were much stronger, and she was stupid if she would let the Senshi ruin her chance to know if this assassin knew anything about Hotaru...anything important.
Sailoruranus turned and looked at Sailorneptune. She knew that Neptune was having visions of the ship and the assassin, all connected to Hotaru, but she refused to tell the Senshi, and had pleaded Uranus not to tell them either. And Uranus had listened to her pleas. She loved Michiru; and she had also loved Hotaru...and wished to find out any information possible.
"There must be some way to incriminate that girl. She's too dangerous to be spending her time in Crystal Tokyo's finest hospital! If Ami were here, she'd be getting the third degree!" Sailorvenus pounded her fist into her hand. "As well as my son. They're both hiding something about that girl that I think needs to be known. I'm burning to know more about her!"
"Isn't Masaya at Ami's house, babysitting her children?" Sailorjupiter asked. "I think I remember you saying something about that to me."
"Hai," Sailorvenus said. "I think I should pay a visit to my son while he's over there. Ask him a few questions. It's important that he tells us these things...like what's taking so long! And since Ami is unavailable, he's the next to call." Sailorvenus nodded, resolute. "Yes, I think I'll ring him up to tell him I'm coming over there, and he'd better have something to tell me."
***
Aiyana hefted Nanami on her hip and stared at the curved device ringing on the walll. Masaya and Aiyana were striving to serve the three girls breakfast. It was considerably easier than last night, considering Aiyana had slept in and Masaya had cooked, then awakened her to help him serve it.
The thing looked enough like the cellular devices the Omegas used to communicate with each other, except there was no camera to see your receiving party. At that moment Aiyana was glad the Terrans had limited technology compared to that of the Omegas. The only person that would call here now, she probably didn't want to know that she was over here.
`Now how do these people answer their little tele-wave talking devices?' She lifted the receiver and pressed it against her cheek, so presumably it would be easier to hear against her ear. "Moshi moshi," she said. "Amesuino residence."
Minako was taken aback at hearing the feminine voice over the phone. It didn't sound a thing like Izumi. "Izumi-chan? Is that you?"
Aiyana flipped the telephone over, realizing she was holding the speaking part where her ear was. But the device was loud enough that she could hear the person on the other end. `Okay, so this is definitely not Dr. Amesuino or her husband!' "Ah...who is this?"
Minako frowned. "Who's this?"
Aiyana covered the phone with her hand. "Masaya-sensei!"
"Who *is* this?" Minako said. "You don't sound like Izumi-chan. Is that one of your friends?"
Masaya turned around. "What is it?"
"Someone's on this...thing..."
"The telephone?"
"Yes! They asked if I was Izumi." She shrugged. "Here."
Masaya frowned and took the telephone. "Moshi moshi?"
"Masaya? Is that you?"
"*Mama*?!" Masaya pulled the phone away from his mouth and cursed under his breath. "Mama, what are you calling here for?"
"Who answered the phone, Masaya?"
"Oh...that was Izumi...she was trying out a new voice!" Masaya smiled and leaned against the counter. "Yeah, crazy girl, she's trying to sound and act older. Anyway, what are you calling here for?"
"I wanted to ask--no, tell you I was coming over. The new sightings on the interstellar monitor had some new developments, and it's important that I talk to you about this assassin that you're holding in the hospital--for whatever reasons. We need to talk about those, too."
Masaya cursed again, forgetting to cover the receiver this time.
"What was that?"
"I said...I'm in a muck. I can't...can't have you over now...Ami said no guests!"
He could just see his mother pursing her lips on the other side of the phone. "She didn't mean *me*, Masaya. I'm your *mother*, for Kami's sake."
"Ah...Mama, this is really not a good time--"
"Make it good, Masaya, this is important. I'll be over in a few." Click.
"Holy sh--"
"No, Masaya-sensei, not around Nanami-chan," Aiyana teased. "What's wrong?"
"Mama's coming over. *Now*!"
Aiyana's eyes widened. "Oh, no."
"Oh, yes! What am I going to do with you?"
"I'll go upstairs. And stay in Dr. Amesuino's guest room. There'd be no reason for her to come in there, would there?"
"As long as you didn't make any noise." Masaya took a deep breath. "Mama drives like a flaming bat out of hell when she's determined, so she'll definitely be here soon. Quick, give me Nanami and go upstairs!"
Aiyana handed Masaya the little girl and laughed a little. "I can't do anything quickly anymore."
Despite himself, Masaya smiled. He took her arm gently and led her up the stairs and to the guest room where she had been staying the past few days. "Here...stay in here. Go to sleep or something. You sleep so quietly she'll never know another soul's in the house."
Aiyana smiled. "Must I?"
"No, but make it *good*. I'll be downstairs if you need anything, but don't need anything!" Masaya gave her a quick smile before rushing out of the bedroom, bounding down the stairs to reach the three girls.
"Look, you guys..." Masaya stared at Nanami and Manami. "We're playing a game, okay? Aunt Minako is coming over to play a game with us!"
"Yay!" the twins yelled. Izumi wrinkled her brow.
"We're going to play Hide-and-go-Seek, okay?" Masaya said. "Yep. Aiyana's hiding. We won't tell Aunt Minako where's she's hiding. We can't--it's a big secret! If Aunt Minako finds Aiyana, then the game is over and hse has to leave and be it."
"I don't want Aiyana-san to leave and be it," Nanami said.
"We can't tell nobody," Manami said. "Gotcha."
Masaya gave the girls a thumbs-up sign and shot a look at Izumi. She mimicked a pair of fingers zipping over her lips. Masaya smiled and Izumi felt her heart soar.
'I was going to...but I'm not. It'll disappoint him so much,' Izumi though unhappily. 'This is only for Masaya-senpai, and not for Aiyana at all! I really hope Aiyana's impressionable...'
The doorbell rang as if on cue, and Masaya went to answer it. "Mama! I can't believe you did this to me!"
"Hey...Izumi-chan! Manami-chan! Nanami-chan!" Minako rattled off the girls' names as they came over to hug her tightly, ignoring her son's incredulity. "Oh, it's good to see you all too. Everything going all right?"
"Mm-hm," said Izumi.
"You're cold...real cold, Aunt Minako!" Manami said excitedly.
"What?"
"Cold! Cold!"
Minako started to walk down the hallway towards the stairway.
"Getting warmer!"
"What are you two talking about?" Minako asked, a confused smile on her face.
Masaya slapped his forehead. 'I completely forgot I taught Nanami and Manami how to play Hide-and-go-Seek with the Hot and Cold hints.'
"We're playing a game," Izumi said sweetly. "Come on, sisters, let's go upstairs."
"But...we gotta tell Aunt Minako the hints so that she can find Ai--"
Masaya grabbed the little girl and clapped a hand over her mouth while swinging her in the air. She giggled. "Oh...go upstairs and play with your sisters!" He set her back on the ground and gave the twins a little push. Izumi led them upstairs, flashing a smile at Masaya.
"What was that all about?" Minako asked.
Masaya shrugged.
***
"You owe me one, Masaya-senpai," said Izumi, smiling again as she settled the twins in front of the television screen.
"Hai, I do." Masaya chuckled softly as he lightly ruffled Izumi's short blue hair, a bit darker than her mother's. "Thanks a billion, Izumi."
Aiyana smiled a little, but as she looked away, her smile faded. 'I wasn't able to do much to help Masaya out. I ended up being more of a problem than a help these two days.' She sighed.
"You're welcome." She smiled complacently. Yes, that was a wonderful precursor to her plan. Her smile turned into a smirk, and she bent her head downwards so no one else could see it.
"Aunt Minako never found Aiyana-san," Manami said. "That wasn't a good game of Hide-and-go-Seek."
"Erm...it's a long game," Masaya said. "She'll find her later. It's the longest game in the world."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
Manami seemed satisfied, and settled back next to her twin sister, quiet again. Television was a good remedy after the afternoon had been riled again.
"Gomen, Aiyana," said Masaya, shaking his head at Aiyana. "I wish my mom would have given more notice. No, she just barges over."
"I'm sorry I had to cause a problem." Aiyana looked to Masaya to deny that she had caused any trouble.
Masaya just shrugged. "Oh, well. I guess the worst of it's over yet..."
Izumi smiled again.
"What did she ask you?" Aiyana asked.
Masaya gave Aiyana a Look, and she swallowed.
***
Aiyana sat down on the bed facing the bureau, brushing her long dark hair out with the brush that had been left on the cherry wood dresser. She wasn't sure whether that brush was always in the guest room or if Ami had purposely left it there for her, but she was sure glad it was there. As she brushed, she looked into the mirror--a gesture she hadn't done in quite some time.
She was gaining weight in other places besides her stomach, that was for sure. Her face looked a bit fatter than it had been before, and she noticed that her feet were a bit swollen the day before...although Masaya had told her sometimes women's feet get even more swollen than hers. That seemed hard to believe...
But she was gaining color and health in her stature. She didn't seem quite so tall anymore, but perhaps that was because she was now balanced out because of the baby's size in her stomach, whereas before she had been tall and slender.
There was a short knock on her door. Aiyana hastily arranged her nightgown modestly. "Come in."
Instead of it being Masaya, as she expected it to be, it was Izumi. She came in with a serene smile on her face, her soft blue hair floating around her face. She really was a pretty young lady. Aiyana smiled.
"Hi, Izumi-san. Do you need something?"
"Oh," Izumi said. "Iie, I just wanted to come in and talk to you a little bit. I'm sorry about all the yelling we did yesterday."
"Oh," said Aiyana, waving her hand a little. She hadn't forgotten about the things Izumi said, but she pushed them aside as the younger girl came in and seated herself on the bed. "It's okay. I guess we both just got a little heated yesterday, that's all."
"Hai." Izumi traced her finger along the bedspread. "So, how pregnant are you?"
"Almost five months. About four and a half, maybe a little over."
"Oh." She smiled. "I figured about that much. You're really beginning to show, you know, and with people being able to feel the baby from outside and stuff...plus you've got the motherhood glow and all."
"What?" Aiyana laughed. "What are you talking about?"
"My mother says it's a very real thing, and she's an obstetrician,"Izumi said, propping herself off the bed with her arms. "It's like this thing that makes pregnant women just look angelic and everything. It's this thing that makes even the ugliest women look beautiful once pregnant; she's got the air of motherhood."
Izumi turned to see Aiyana's reaction to her statement. The older girl frowned, putting down her brush on the table briefly before picking it up again by braiding her hair. "I guess...I've heard of stuff like that before from the hospital. Your mother did mention something about that when talking to me."
"Yeah. Gosh, I think I'd like to have children," Izumi said, rolling over. "They're so cute when they're little. Plus, pregnant women get *all* the extra attention. Special parking places, special care in the hospitals...even certain people start looking at them differently.
"And then they look extra attractive to people who like children." Izumi smiled devilishly. "Especially men, I guess."
Aiyana frowned again and set her brush down for good. 'Where does this girl get her ideas from...they sound almost true. Maybe they are...what is she getting at?'
"I'm not trying to discourage you or anything," Izumi said. "I mean, you could have been really pretty before you got pregnant, but I never saw you, so I wouldn't know."
`Izumi-san didn't see me...but Masaya-sensei did. Has he been paying more attention to me since he found I was pregnant? He didn't visit me as frequently...before. What's going on? How is this girl getting to me the way she is?'
"Aiyana? You aren't saying anything."
Aiyana shook her head and turned around.
"Um...there really was nothing to say, I guess, Izumi-san."
Izumi nodded in satisfaction. "Yeah, I guess not. Anyway, I'm glad you let me vent that out to you...it's been on my mind." She smiled again. "I'm tired, so I'm going to go to bed...Oyasumi nasai, Aiyana-san."
"Oyasumi nasai, Izumi-san." Izumi exited the small guest room.
Aiyana sat down on the bed, a single tear trickling down her cheek.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
AN: Okay, okay, I know what you're all saying--why would Izumi's comments hurt Aiyana? Well, you gotta remember these things:
-She's never had a crush before, so she's unsure
-She's pregnant, so she's extra-sensitive
-She knows that Izumi knows Masaya well
-She's in a whole new world with different people in it
It's bound to get to her. Don't hate me...besides, Izumi's only 13, so her "perfect" solution may not have been so perfect.
Oyasumi nasai means `good night.'
Argh...I hate HTML tags. They want to work when you put them around thought bubbles, but they don't want to work when you put them around real codes. -_-
Ooh, I want to thank all of my readers, but particularly Miko633. She made me very speculative and inspired me to some of the stuff I use in this chapter...like Izumi's little jabs...I hope I can work the other stuff in ^_~
Comments and flames to the usual, julymoonbunny@hotmail.com
***
"This excursion is taking *forever*," Emperor Omega said, stretching his legs out. "How much longer do we have to go?"
"A little over three and a half ikkagetsu, your highness," Acting First Delta Junichi Hojo said. "There were a few discrepancies with some of the pilots." Delta Hojo sent a glare in the direction of the cockpit.
"These quarters are beginning to get cramped," First Omega Emperor Baran Matsudaira joked. The ship was massive, and the king's quarters were very large.
Delta Hojo smiled faintly. "We should be arriving in a short period of time, your highness...four and a half months, at regular speed. It's too dangerous and not very comfortable to enter hyperspeed."
"Yes, whatever..." Emperor Omega, as he was commonly called--no one used his first name--yawned. "As long as we get there, it should be worth the wait. Earth is too close to us for it not to be included in our realm."
`Three ikkagetsu is close?' Prince Tamashiiro thought, raising an eyebrow.
Delta Hojo nodded and left.
"What do you think, my boy? Wouldn't you like this small jewel to be a part of your inheritance?" He smiled devilishly at the young man deep in thought. "The planet *and* the girl?"
Prince Tamashiiro rolled his eyes. Actually, he'd been thinking a lot more about the girl lately. Yes, he did want her. Why, he didn't know, and how they would find her on Earth--it was a small planet in comparison to Proximi and Centauri, and even Ethiopia, but still--he didn't know either, but if she had been taken in custody, there would be no problem finding her. After all, sent to kill the king and queen, she'd most likely be in the central city Crystal Tokyo, and that's where they were headed.
"Both seem like a very hefty inheritance, Otou-sama," he answered, smirking. The picture of First Delta Aiyana Khalidah formed in his mind. He wondered--
"Ah." There was a dizzy spin in his head. He touched his temple, remembering too late how protective his father was.
"Tamashiiro-kun? Are you all right?" Emperor Omega reached towards his son and affectionately touched him on the arm.
"Yes." Tamashiiro shook his head gently. He'd been experienced this dizziness for quite a while now, and it was usually followed by a supreme headache. He could feel the onset of it now, and winced at the thought.
"Otou-sama? I believe I'll be retiring."
"But...it's only the ninth jikoku!"
"Yes. But I really don't feel well...Otou-sama, may I?"
Emperor Omega sighed worriedly. "If you must. I do hope this doesn't last too long. You've been having these dizzy spells for quite some time, haven't you?"
Prince Tamashiiro grimaced. He'd hoped the emperor hadn't noticed, but apparently he had.
"You've got to be in your best condition coming upon Earth. It's such a different planet from our own; you could have adverse reactions that would only be aggravated by your illness. I'll not have my son miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime!" Emperor Omega snapped his fingers. "Messenger. Go and search out the doctor. There's got to be one on this ship. I want my son tended to..."
***
King Endymion entered his study hall, tracing his fingers along the dusty bindings of the books on the shelves. Most were legal volumes. He didn't feel like reading dreary titles denoting volumes holding the histories of the Silver Millennium, the reinstated throne...he'd lived through these moments in history, and there was no need for him to research them.
However, there was another moment in history he'd lived through that hadn't been recorded in the volumes.
Glancing at the door again to reassure himself it was locked, Endymion made his way over to his desk in the corner of the room. Next to it was a personal cabinet. He pulled out his keys, staring ruefully at them as he remembered the day Serenity had lost them. It had taken him hours to scour the palace and find those keys--in the dining room, under a leg of one of the chairs--and they had completely missed the Senshi's dinner.
He clutched them in his hand for a moment before moving to open the cabinet door. As soon as he did, a clutter of papers and pictures fell out, having been hastily shoved in there from the last time had viewed them.
Papers, with the name `Tomoe Keiko' scrawled painstakingly across the top, large 100's and colorful stickers adorning the corners of good papers. King Endymion sorted through the mess until he found the picture he was looking for. It was the most recent picture of Keiko, at about age twelve. She was wearing a dark purple jumper with a white shirt underneath, a pink-purplish denim vest overtop, and she was holding a a yellow flower in her hand, her head cocked to the side with a cute smile on her face.
Her features had been softer and younger then...there was the slightest hint of a budding bosom, no curves, and her hair had only begun to spread across her shoulders, not yet reaching the glorious length it had as she grew older. Her eyes were blue-violet, but not as piercing, as dark, as intense as the young woman who had appeared at the palace almost five months before and threw his world into a tailspin.
Endymion clutched the picture close to himself as he felt tears well in his eyes. Back in those years, it had been much harder to tell...but now it was so simple, so obvious, he was so surprised no one else had been able to discover. Those *were* his eyes, piercing blue and intense as the oceans, turbulent with emotion and pain, no doubt from the life she had went through. Although Endymion had not seen the young assassin since that day he and his wife had chanced to see them exercising around the palace, the image of her figure and her eyes had emblazoned across his mind.
Endymion stared back down at the picture. Young Keiko had a cute smile on her face, full of life and exuberance and happiness. The day Endymion had seen her with Masaya, there was that laughing twinkle in her voice, but it was tempered by a darkness and sadness in her eyes that Endymion had never seen in a teenager, prayed he would never have to see in his legitimate daughter. What had happened to her? Where had she been?
`She's come too soon...what will become of her...and of me?'
Endymion clutched the picture to his chest again and bent his head down again, crying tears held back for over seventeen years.
***
Sailorvenus sighed heavily as she stared at the monitor. "Why did Ami and Mitsuru choose this weekend to go out of town?"
Kunzite rubbed her lightly on the back as she sank into a chair. "They needed a vacation. We all do, actually...things have been blown really out of proportion. This thing is a lot faster than we anticipated."
"And it's not going back to where it came from," Sailormars added. "Remember we thought it had returned on it's path home? Obviously it did that on accident. It's redirected towards Earth and is heading towards us at alarming speed."
"I wonder..." Sailorneptune stared at the monitor, her eyes not leaving it. But she was not seeing the monitor. She was seeing a picture of a certain blue-eyed beauty staying in the hospital. The connection she felt was strong...but she didn't want to reveal her feelings just yet. The connection she felt between the assassin and her beloved surrogate daughter were much stronger, and she was stupid if she would let the Senshi ruin her chance to know if this assassin knew anything about Hotaru...anything important.
Sailoruranus turned and looked at Sailorneptune. She knew that Neptune was having visions of the ship and the assassin, all connected to Hotaru, but she refused to tell the Senshi, and had pleaded Uranus not to tell them either. And Uranus had listened to her pleas. She loved Michiru; and she had also loved Hotaru...and wished to find out any information possible.
"There must be some way to incriminate that girl. She's too dangerous to be spending her time in Crystal Tokyo's finest hospital! If Ami were here, she'd be getting the third degree!" Sailorvenus pounded her fist into her hand. "As well as my son. They're both hiding something about that girl that I think needs to be known. I'm burning to know more about her!"
"Isn't Masaya at Ami's house, babysitting her children?" Sailorjupiter asked. "I think I remember you saying something about that to me."
"Hai," Sailorvenus said. "I think I should pay a visit to my son while he's over there. Ask him a few questions. It's important that he tells us these things...like what's taking so long! And since Ami is unavailable, he's the next to call." Sailorvenus nodded, resolute. "Yes, I think I'll ring him up to tell him I'm coming over there, and he'd better have something to tell me."
***
Aiyana hefted Nanami on her hip and stared at the curved device ringing on the walll. Masaya and Aiyana were striving to serve the three girls breakfast. It was considerably easier than last night, considering Aiyana had slept in and Masaya had cooked, then awakened her to help him serve it.
The thing looked enough like the cellular devices the Omegas used to communicate with each other, except there was no camera to see your receiving party. At that moment Aiyana was glad the Terrans had limited technology compared to that of the Omegas. The only person that would call here now, she probably didn't want to know that she was over here.
`Now how do these people answer their little tele-wave talking devices?' She lifted the receiver and pressed it against her cheek, so presumably it would be easier to hear against her ear. "Moshi moshi," she said. "Amesuino residence."
Minako was taken aback at hearing the feminine voice over the phone. It didn't sound a thing like Izumi. "Izumi-chan? Is that you?"
Aiyana flipped the telephone over, realizing she was holding the speaking part where her ear was. But the device was loud enough that she could hear the person on the other end. `Okay, so this is definitely not Dr. Amesuino or her husband!' "Ah...who is this?"
Minako frowned. "Who's this?"
Aiyana covered the phone with her hand. "Masaya-sensei!"
"Who *is* this?" Minako said. "You don't sound like Izumi-chan. Is that one of your friends?"
Masaya turned around. "What is it?"
"Someone's on this...thing..."
"The telephone?"
"Yes! They asked if I was Izumi." She shrugged. "Here."
Masaya frowned and took the telephone. "Moshi moshi?"
"Masaya? Is that you?"
"*Mama*?!" Masaya pulled the phone away from his mouth and cursed under his breath. "Mama, what are you calling here for?"
"Who answered the phone, Masaya?"
"Oh...that was Izumi...she was trying out a new voice!" Masaya smiled and leaned against the counter. "Yeah, crazy girl, she's trying to sound and act older. Anyway, what are you calling here for?"
"I wanted to ask--no, tell you I was coming over. The new sightings on the interstellar monitor had some new developments, and it's important that I talk to you about this assassin that you're holding in the hospital--for whatever reasons. We need to talk about those, too."
Masaya cursed again, forgetting to cover the receiver this time.
"What was that?"
"I said...I'm in a muck. I can't...can't have you over now...Ami said no guests!"
He could just see his mother pursing her lips on the other side of the phone. "She didn't mean *me*, Masaya. I'm your *mother*, for Kami's sake."
"Ah...Mama, this is really not a good time--"
"Make it good, Masaya, this is important. I'll be over in a few." Click.
"Holy sh--"
"No, Masaya-sensei, not around Nanami-chan," Aiyana teased. "What's wrong?"
"Mama's coming over. *Now*!"
Aiyana's eyes widened. "Oh, no."
"Oh, yes! What am I going to do with you?"
"I'll go upstairs. And stay in Dr. Amesuino's guest room. There'd be no reason for her to come in there, would there?"
"As long as you didn't make any noise." Masaya took a deep breath. "Mama drives like a flaming bat out of hell when she's determined, so she'll definitely be here soon. Quick, give me Nanami and go upstairs!"
Aiyana handed Masaya the little girl and laughed a little. "I can't do anything quickly anymore."
Despite himself, Masaya smiled. He took her arm gently and led her up the stairs and to the guest room where she had been staying the past few days. "Here...stay in here. Go to sleep or something. You sleep so quietly she'll never know another soul's in the house."
Aiyana smiled. "Must I?"
"No, but make it *good*. I'll be downstairs if you need anything, but don't need anything!" Masaya gave her a quick smile before rushing out of the bedroom, bounding down the stairs to reach the three girls.
"Look, you guys..." Masaya stared at Nanami and Manami. "We're playing a game, okay? Aunt Minako is coming over to play a game with us!"
"Yay!" the twins yelled. Izumi wrinkled her brow.
"We're going to play Hide-and-go-Seek, okay?" Masaya said. "Yep. Aiyana's hiding. We won't tell Aunt Minako where's she's hiding. We can't--it's a big secret! If Aunt Minako finds Aiyana, then the game is over and hse has to leave and be it."
"I don't want Aiyana-san to leave and be it," Nanami said.
"We can't tell nobody," Manami said. "Gotcha."
Masaya gave the girls a thumbs-up sign and shot a look at Izumi. She mimicked a pair of fingers zipping over her lips. Masaya smiled and Izumi felt her heart soar.
'I was going to...but I'm not. It'll disappoint him so much,' Izumi though unhappily. 'This is only for Masaya-senpai, and not for Aiyana at all! I really hope Aiyana's impressionable...'
The doorbell rang as if on cue, and Masaya went to answer it. "Mama! I can't believe you did this to me!"
"Hey...Izumi-chan! Manami-chan! Nanami-chan!" Minako rattled off the girls' names as they came over to hug her tightly, ignoring her son's incredulity. "Oh, it's good to see you all too. Everything going all right?"
"Mm-hm," said Izumi.
"You're cold...real cold, Aunt Minako!" Manami said excitedly.
"What?"
"Cold! Cold!"
Minako started to walk down the hallway towards the stairway.
"Getting warmer!"
"What are you two talking about?" Minako asked, a confused smile on her face.
Masaya slapped his forehead. 'I completely forgot I taught Nanami and Manami how to play Hide-and-go-Seek with the Hot and Cold hints.'
"We're playing a game," Izumi said sweetly. "Come on, sisters, let's go upstairs."
"But...we gotta tell Aunt Minako the hints so that she can find Ai--"
Masaya grabbed the little girl and clapped a hand over her mouth while swinging her in the air. She giggled. "Oh...go upstairs and play with your sisters!" He set her back on the ground and gave the twins a little push. Izumi led them upstairs, flashing a smile at Masaya.
"What was that all about?" Minako asked.
Masaya shrugged.
***
"You owe me one, Masaya-senpai," said Izumi, smiling again as she settled the twins in front of the television screen.
"Hai, I do." Masaya chuckled softly as he lightly ruffled Izumi's short blue hair, a bit darker than her mother's. "Thanks a billion, Izumi."
Aiyana smiled a little, but as she looked away, her smile faded. 'I wasn't able to do much to help Masaya out. I ended up being more of a problem than a help these two days.' She sighed.
"You're welcome." She smiled complacently. Yes, that was a wonderful precursor to her plan. Her smile turned into a smirk, and she bent her head downwards so no one else could see it.
"Aunt Minako never found Aiyana-san," Manami said. "That wasn't a good game of Hide-and-go-Seek."
"Erm...it's a long game," Masaya said. "She'll find her later. It's the longest game in the world."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
Manami seemed satisfied, and settled back next to her twin sister, quiet again. Television was a good remedy after the afternoon had been riled again.
"Gomen, Aiyana," said Masaya, shaking his head at Aiyana. "I wish my mom would have given more notice. No, she just barges over."
"I'm sorry I had to cause a problem." Aiyana looked to Masaya to deny that she had caused any trouble.
Masaya just shrugged. "Oh, well. I guess the worst of it's over yet..."
Izumi smiled again.
"What did she ask you?" Aiyana asked.
Masaya gave Aiyana a Look, and she swallowed.
***
Aiyana sat down on the bed facing the bureau, brushing her long dark hair out with the brush that had been left on the cherry wood dresser. She wasn't sure whether that brush was always in the guest room or if Ami had purposely left it there for her, but she was sure glad it was there. As she brushed, she looked into the mirror--a gesture she hadn't done in quite some time.
She was gaining weight in other places besides her stomach, that was for sure. Her face looked a bit fatter than it had been before, and she noticed that her feet were a bit swollen the day before...although Masaya had told her sometimes women's feet get even more swollen than hers. That seemed hard to believe...
But she was gaining color and health in her stature. She didn't seem quite so tall anymore, but perhaps that was because she was now balanced out because of the baby's size in her stomach, whereas before she had been tall and slender.
There was a short knock on her door. Aiyana hastily arranged her nightgown modestly. "Come in."
Instead of it being Masaya, as she expected it to be, it was Izumi. She came in with a serene smile on her face, her soft blue hair floating around her face. She really was a pretty young lady. Aiyana smiled.
"Hi, Izumi-san. Do you need something?"
"Oh," Izumi said. "Iie, I just wanted to come in and talk to you a little bit. I'm sorry about all the yelling we did yesterday."
"Oh," said Aiyana, waving her hand a little. She hadn't forgotten about the things Izumi said, but she pushed them aside as the younger girl came in and seated herself on the bed. "It's okay. I guess we both just got a little heated yesterday, that's all."
"Hai." Izumi traced her finger along the bedspread. "So, how pregnant are you?"
"Almost five months. About four and a half, maybe a little over."
"Oh." She smiled. "I figured about that much. You're really beginning to show, you know, and with people being able to feel the baby from outside and stuff...plus you've got the motherhood glow and all."
"What?" Aiyana laughed. "What are you talking about?"
"My mother says it's a very real thing, and she's an obstetrician,"Izumi said, propping herself off the bed with her arms. "It's like this thing that makes pregnant women just look angelic and everything. It's this thing that makes even the ugliest women look beautiful once pregnant; she's got the air of motherhood."
Izumi turned to see Aiyana's reaction to her statement. The older girl frowned, putting down her brush on the table briefly before picking it up again by braiding her hair. "I guess...I've heard of stuff like that before from the hospital. Your mother did mention something about that when talking to me."
"Yeah. Gosh, I think I'd like to have children," Izumi said, rolling over. "They're so cute when they're little. Plus, pregnant women get *all* the extra attention. Special parking places, special care in the hospitals...even certain people start looking at them differently.
"And then they look extra attractive to people who like children." Izumi smiled devilishly. "Especially men, I guess."
Aiyana frowned again and set her brush down for good. 'Where does this girl get her ideas from...they sound almost true. Maybe they are...what is she getting at?'
"I'm not trying to discourage you or anything," Izumi said. "I mean, you could have been really pretty before you got pregnant, but I never saw you, so I wouldn't know."
`Izumi-san didn't see me...but Masaya-sensei did. Has he been paying more attention to me since he found I was pregnant? He didn't visit me as frequently...before. What's going on? How is this girl getting to me the way she is?'
"Aiyana? You aren't saying anything."
Aiyana shook her head and turned around.
"Um...there really was nothing to say, I guess, Izumi-san."
Izumi nodded in satisfaction. "Yeah, I guess not. Anyway, I'm glad you let me vent that out to you...it's been on my mind." She smiled again. "I'm tired, so I'm going to go to bed...Oyasumi nasai, Aiyana-san."
"Oyasumi nasai, Izumi-san." Izumi exited the small guest room.
Aiyana sat down on the bed, a single tear trickling down her cheek.
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AN: Okay, okay, I know what you're all saying--why would Izumi's comments hurt Aiyana? Well, you gotta remember these things:
-She's never had a crush before, so she's unsure
-She's pregnant, so she's extra-sensitive
-She knows that Izumi knows Masaya well
-She's in a whole new world with different people in it
It's bound to get to her. Don't hate me...besides, Izumi's only 13, so her "perfect" solution may not have been so perfect.
Oyasumi nasai means `good night.'
Argh...I hate HTML tags. They want to work when you put them around thought bubbles, but they don't want to work when you put them around real codes. -_-
Ooh, I want to thank all of my readers, but particularly Miko633. She made me very speculative and inspired me to some of the stuff I use in this chapter...like Izumi's little jabs...I hope I can work the other stuff in ^_~
Comments and flames to the usual, julymoonbunny@hotmail.com