Chapter Three
Welcome, Naien and Kaen/Good Bye for Now¼
That Night
Tomoe Residence
Hotaru's POV
It read 8:30 on my watch. Shikyo and I walked down the street on our way home. I held
Pandora securely as my husband walked to my left, holding Prometheus. This day was one I'd
never forget. First there was the meeting, and then there was another event. The two cats had
plans for every possible situation. One of the plans concerned the pregnant ones and the ones
who had lost their powers. When we got home, Shikyo went to bed as I put the sleeping twins in
their cribs. I sat down on the couch and reflected on what had happened during the meeting. The
cats did a lot of talking and there were a lot of arguments. I began to drift to sleep when I could
hear the cats.
"We have come prepared for the worst..."
"We have anticipated the actions that enemy would make. Therefore, we have made
plans that we will be taken immediately and plans that will be put into action in the event that a
certain event should occur," the cats said. I worried at what the immediate plans would be.
"What are the immediate plans?" asked Setsuna. I was glad that she asked instead of me.
I didn't know how to word my question.
"Our first concern is safety," the Siamese began. "Those who cannot fight will be sent to
a safe place. This includes those who are pregnant, have lost their powers, or are children. All of
the children will be sent, with the exception of Kitsune. She cannot go there."
Makoto suddenly stood up and shouted, "Why can't Kit go to where it is safe?"
James looked up at Makoto and said, "Kit's powers are too great for this place. This place
will only shield those with no power or with extremely little power."
Makoto sat down and looked like she was about to cry. "Then I shall stay here, despite
my lack of power," she said simply. All sorts of dispute came at this. James argued that Makoto
had to go or else she would get in the way. Tina argued that Kit could defend herself if worse
came to worse. Makoto argued that she would stay with Kit no matter what. The rest of the
scouts argued that Makoto had to go to the safe place with the others. The arguing continued
until someone realized that someone else was crying. Everyone looked about until they saw
Nephryte rocking gently as he headed for the door. Kit was crying in his arms. Nephryte turned
toward everyone when things silenced. He wore the face that Makoto had worn earlier when Rei
had first attempted to reveal Kit's sign.
He stared until he found the words to speak. "While all of you argue amongst yourselves,
nothing gets done," he began slowly. "Kit won't go to this safe place. She will stay here with me.
Makoto, you need to go with the others and help those who are pregnant and help to take care of
the children. Only you and Jedite will be able to do much over there. Don't worry about Kit's
protection. She can fight very well, as Tina said, should worst come to worst. Other than that,
she has her father."
Everyone, including myself, stared at Nephryte. I was glad the Nephryte accepted Kit. I
looked around at everyone and spoke up. "Pandora and Prometheus will go to the safe place,
right?" I asked. Tina nodded her head. "Well, when do they go? When will the children and
others go to this safe place?"
"We will need 24 hours to complete the transport arrangements. Therefore, they will
leave in 24 hours. They will meet here and then be sent to the place of safety," the cats said in
unison. I nodded my head as I took all of this in.
"Oh no!!" someone cried. Everyone turned to Rei and Jedite. Rei was panting heavily.
Jedite started to stand her up. "The baby's here!!" he cried. With those few words, pandemonium
broke out.
Jedite couldn't get Rei to stand up. Ami had her computer out in no time flat. She pressed
the buttons rapidly, and then screamed, "Don't stand her up! Lay her down! The baby is breached
in a bad position!" The pandemonium got even worse, if it was possible. Ami and I got Rei to lie
down. Together, we got everyone out of the room, with the exception of us two and Jedite. Ami
was a regular doctor, though prone to the ER more often than not. I was a nurse with no plan of
becoming a doctor. Jedite went over to Rei's side and got her to calm down as much as possible.
Ami handed her computer over to me and told me to continually monitor Rei. Ami then left the
room to get to the nearest phone. I continued to monitor Rei as Jedite kept her calm. I could hear
Ami on the phone. I heard her say that the baby was breached.
As I was monitoring Rei, I heard the door open. I looked over, expecting to see Ami. It
wasn't Ami, though. I could hear her still talking on the phone. It was Kit instead. Behind her
was Nephryte, holding her hand. Tina and James were on Kits' shoulders. "Kit said that she
could help. I think that she can," Nephryte said. The cats jumped up onto Nephryte's shoulders.
Kit walked over to Rei's side, the same side Jedite was on. Kit placed her left hand on
Rei's forehead and her right hand on her stomach. The black sign on Jupiter began to burn on
Kit's forehead as her bangs ruffled. Rei's bangs ruffled as well. A red light could be seen
underneath Kit's left hand. I assumed that it was the sign of Mars.
I could feel a low, steady pulse of energy emitting from Kit. I continued to monitor Rei. I
could hear Ami come in. In a hushed voice, Nephryte told her what was going on. I could feel
my heart jump almost completely out of my chest. The monitor showed that the baby was
turning! I could feel the color drain out of my face. Then, three large amounts of energy began to
emerge from Rei. One was undoubtedly Rei's and another had to be the baby's. I was confused at
where the third source of energy was coming from. What was even more confusing was that the
two energies had different frequencies than Rei's.
Suddenly, Rei began to scream out of pain. Kit backed up and looked at Ami and myself.
"Naien and Kaen are coming out," she said. Ami and I didn't give this a second thought. Ami
beckoned Jedite to get gloves that she and I could use. He was back in a flash.
Just as the sirens could be heard, Rei and Jedite were parents to, not one, but two
children. Their foreheads blazed with the signs of Mars, but the signs were not red. The signs
disappeared before anyone else but I saw. The paramedics took Rei, Jedite, and the two babies
away. Ami also went with them. I remained behind with everyone else.
Everyone wanted to know how the babies turned. I smiled as I washed my hands in the
kitchen sink. We all sat down in Rei's living room. I told about Rei's situation, about the babies
being breached and all. When everyone heard the word "babies," they freaked. No one knew that
Rei had been carrying two babies! No one could tell that she was bearing two babies. I told
everyone about what Kit had done and what she had said. I also told them about the brief
glimpse that I had gotten of their signs. This was found to be suspicious to everyone, until a little
voice piped up.
"Naien and Kaen are special, just like me!" piped the voice.
Everyone turned toward Kit. "What did you say, Kit?" Usagi asked.
Kit looked over to Usagi, who sat of some floor cushions while holding Chibi-Usa. Kit
smiled a little and held up a book, saying, "Today starts Aries, ruled by Mars. They are just like
me!"
Everyone looked at the page of the book that was open. It read:
"March 21 - April 20
Aries
Ruled by Mars"
"Today's March 21!" I cried. It was true. Like Kit, the twins were born under the Zodiac
that they ruled.
Tina and James sighed next to me. I turned to them with a concern. "You know how Kit
can't go to this safe place because she is too powerful? Well, can the twins go, or will they be too
powerful, too?"
Worried faces all turned toward the two cats. They looked at everyone sadly and said,
"The twins cannot go, unfortunately. They will have to remain here." Everyone looked as if they
were about to argue, so the cats quickly added, "However, even though they cannot go, the
senshi of Mars can stay and take care of them. Plus, Donwor does not seek them. He only seeks
Kit. Therefore, the babies are in no extreme danger. Rei will just have to live with them normally
here. However, this does not mean that Jedite can stay. He must still go, even though the babies
are here. He will not be able to protect them."
No one argued this. I knew that this was all true, so I assumed everyone else did as well. I
looked back at the cats and asked, "The signs that the babies had were not red, as they should
have been. Why is that?"
Everyone looked eagerly at Tina and James. They shook their heads, saying, "We do not
know for sure. Our only guess is that because all of Kit's powers were tampered with by
Donwor, she somehow changed the babies when she turned them around. It is highly possible. It
doesn't mean, however, that the babies are in danger of anything. It could mean nothing. After
all, the moon sign that Chibi-usa has is pink instead of yellow. It could mean nothing at all."
Everyone let out sighs of relief just as the phone rang. Zoisite was closest, so he
answered. He got off of the phone a minute later with a smile. "Rei and the babies are just fine.
They want us to come up right now because they are lonely!" he laughed. Everyone else
laughed, too. We began to head out of the door when all four cats suggested that we not say
anything to Rei and Jedite about the situation. We all agreed.
10 minutes later, all of us were at the hospital in Rei's room. Jedite was sitting in the
chair next to her. Both were holding one baby each. The new parents raved on and on about the
babies. Finally, Nephryte asked about the names. "Well, we haven't thought of any names," Rei
said, smiling.
Jedite nodded, adding, "First off, we weren't expecting two babies. Second, we've been
too busy trying to bottle feed the babies, but neither will feed. Third, we wanted Kit to name
then, since she helped Rei."
All eyes turned to Kit. She smiled and asked, "Which one is the girl?" Rei nodded her
head down at the baby she held. Kit went over to the little girl. She placed her index finger
lightly on the baby's forehead. The baby squirmed slightly. A light pulse of energy could be felt
all around the room. I looked down at Ami's computer and began to watch the baby. Its energy
level began to rise. "I name you Naien, daughter of Mars, and possessor of Aries," Kit said. The
sign of Mars appeared on the baby's forehead in the color I had seen earlier. It was peach instead
of red. Kit walked over to the baby boy that Jedite held. Kit placed her index finger on the baby's
fore head. The baby's energy level rose like the other's had. "I name you Kaen, son of Mars, and
possessor of Aries," Kit said. Kit lifted her finger, revealing the sign of Mars, again in peach. Kit
walked back to Nephryte and Makoto. Rei and Jedite wondered at the peach signs as they
dimmed.
The babies began to cry as if hungry. Rei got the bottles. She handed one to Jedite. The
babies took the bottles willingly. Rei and Jedite, still looking bewildered, looked over to us.
Tina, James, Luna, and Artemis told them of the conversation that we had back at the temple.
Rei and Jedite sighed. Jedite said, "I will go only because I have been asked to." We continued
the meeting in quieter voices. Battle plans were told to us. They seemed simple enough. We left
the hospital, the clock above Rei's bed reading 8:02 pm. Only 16 more hours until Jedite had to
leave his wife and newborns.
I awoke with a start. Pandora was crying in the other room. I rushed quietly into the other
room, but I was too late. Prometheus was already awake. I smiled. I looked over to their little
clock. 10:37 is what it read. I had only 13 hours and thirty minutes until they would leave. I
guess I should spend as much time with them as possible before they leave, I thought. I got both
of them out of their cribs and took them to the living room to watch a movie. Shikyo was already
there, with popcorn and the movie, waiting. I smiled at him as I sat next to him. He took
Prometheus in his lap as the movie started. I smiled again. I would miss my babies badly. "Take
it all in," I said in my head, "Take it all in."
Makoto's POV
I awoke suddenly to jumping and laughing. The bed Nephryte and I shared moved about
roughly. I shot open my eyes to see a small figure jumping up and down on the bed. I saw a pair
of hands reach out and wrestle the small creature down. I rubbed my eyes and looked over to my
left, where Nephryte wrestled with Kit in the bedcovers. I laughed as Nephryte continued
wrestling with the empty bedcover, looking for Kit. He didn't realize that Kit had slipped over to
my side. She hid behind me, holding one of my throw pillows. Nephryte stopped looking for Kit.
I smiled. He looked up at me just as the throw pillow flew over my head, followed by my throw
blanket. The blanket, however, landed on me, covering my head. Kit's voice rose from behind
me as she shouted, "War!"
I tore the blanket off of my head just as Kit screamed and Nephryte lunged at her, who
crawled behind me. All three of us tumbled off of the bed, laughing. Nephryte got up, Kit on his
shoulders. Kit laughed hard, saying, "Daddy, you missed me and hit mommy instead!"
I laughed with her. "He still got you, though, even if he took me with you!" I said.
Together, we made a breakfast of rice and bacon. We ate as a happy family. My eyes
strayed to the clock on the counter. 11:30 am it read. I sighed. That clock was a cruel reminder
that I would be leaving my family soon. I looked back to the table. Nephryte looked back to the
table as well. He had looked at the time, too. His eyes showed sadness. Together, they looked at
Kit, who munched happily on bacon.
Hikawa Shrine
I looked back at my watch for what seemed like the 1,000th time. Nephryte, Kit and I
arrived at the Hikawa Shrine at 11:52 am. Everyone else was already there. No one was smiling.
I looked for Rei and the babies, but Jedite was alone. As, we joined the group, I asked, "Where
are Rei, Naien, and Kaen?"
Jedite looked at me and said, "Rei is staying in the hospital for another day. Naien
appeared to be having breathing problems. She was better when I left, though."
"Six more minutes until the portal opens," said a voice from a cherry tree. Tina and
James jumped down from the cherry tree together. "There is a circle drawn on the bricks," Tina
continued, "Everyone who is going, please enter the circle."
Minako and Kunzite held each other in one last hug. I turned around and gave Nephryte
and Kit a hug. I didn't want to leave. Over Nephryte's shoulder I could see Minako and Kunzite
let go of each other. As Minako walked to the portal, I could see Michiru, Haruka, Ami, and
Jedite already in the circle. I let go of Nephryte and Kitsune. Nephryte shed a single tear, but Kit
shed none. However, her eyes showed all of the sadness in the world. I walked over to the circle,
passing Usagi and Mamoru.
"Makoto-Chan," Usagi said. I turned to look at them. "Will you take Chibi-Usa and
Chibi-Mamo?" I smiled and nodded. Both children were placed in my arms; both were sound
asleep. I joined the others in the circle. Jedite took little Pandora and Prometheus in his arms.
Michiru held Ike's hand tightly as the little girl kept saying good-bye to her father.
"12:00!" James said as he looked at Mamoru's pocket watch. I light surrounded us on the
line of the circle. We began to lift up.
I looked out to Nephryte and Kit. Things began to fade. As things went white, I cried out,
"Good bye for now!"
Welcome, Naien and Kaen/Good Bye for Now¼
That Night
Tomoe Residence
Hotaru's POV
It read 8:30 on my watch. Shikyo and I walked down the street on our way home. I held
Pandora securely as my husband walked to my left, holding Prometheus. This day was one I'd
never forget. First there was the meeting, and then there was another event. The two cats had
plans for every possible situation. One of the plans concerned the pregnant ones and the ones
who had lost their powers. When we got home, Shikyo went to bed as I put the sleeping twins in
their cribs. I sat down on the couch and reflected on what had happened during the meeting. The
cats did a lot of talking and there were a lot of arguments. I began to drift to sleep when I could
hear the cats.
"We have come prepared for the worst..."
"We have anticipated the actions that enemy would make. Therefore, we have made
plans that we will be taken immediately and plans that will be put into action in the event that a
certain event should occur," the cats said. I worried at what the immediate plans would be.
"What are the immediate plans?" asked Setsuna. I was glad that she asked instead of me.
I didn't know how to word my question.
"Our first concern is safety," the Siamese began. "Those who cannot fight will be sent to
a safe place. This includes those who are pregnant, have lost their powers, or are children. All of
the children will be sent, with the exception of Kitsune. She cannot go there."
Makoto suddenly stood up and shouted, "Why can't Kit go to where it is safe?"
James looked up at Makoto and said, "Kit's powers are too great for this place. This place
will only shield those with no power or with extremely little power."
Makoto sat down and looked like she was about to cry. "Then I shall stay here, despite
my lack of power," she said simply. All sorts of dispute came at this. James argued that Makoto
had to go or else she would get in the way. Tina argued that Kit could defend herself if worse
came to worse. Makoto argued that she would stay with Kit no matter what. The rest of the
scouts argued that Makoto had to go to the safe place with the others. The arguing continued
until someone realized that someone else was crying. Everyone looked about until they saw
Nephryte rocking gently as he headed for the door. Kit was crying in his arms. Nephryte turned
toward everyone when things silenced. He wore the face that Makoto had worn earlier when Rei
had first attempted to reveal Kit's sign.
He stared until he found the words to speak. "While all of you argue amongst yourselves,
nothing gets done," he began slowly. "Kit won't go to this safe place. She will stay here with me.
Makoto, you need to go with the others and help those who are pregnant and help to take care of
the children. Only you and Jedite will be able to do much over there. Don't worry about Kit's
protection. She can fight very well, as Tina said, should worst come to worst. Other than that,
she has her father."
Everyone, including myself, stared at Nephryte. I was glad the Nephryte accepted Kit. I
looked around at everyone and spoke up. "Pandora and Prometheus will go to the safe place,
right?" I asked. Tina nodded her head. "Well, when do they go? When will the children and
others go to this safe place?"
"We will need 24 hours to complete the transport arrangements. Therefore, they will
leave in 24 hours. They will meet here and then be sent to the place of safety," the cats said in
unison. I nodded my head as I took all of this in.
"Oh no!!" someone cried. Everyone turned to Rei and Jedite. Rei was panting heavily.
Jedite started to stand her up. "The baby's here!!" he cried. With those few words, pandemonium
broke out.
Jedite couldn't get Rei to stand up. Ami had her computer out in no time flat. She pressed
the buttons rapidly, and then screamed, "Don't stand her up! Lay her down! The baby is breached
in a bad position!" The pandemonium got even worse, if it was possible. Ami and I got Rei to lie
down. Together, we got everyone out of the room, with the exception of us two and Jedite. Ami
was a regular doctor, though prone to the ER more often than not. I was a nurse with no plan of
becoming a doctor. Jedite went over to Rei's side and got her to calm down as much as possible.
Ami handed her computer over to me and told me to continually monitor Rei. Ami then left the
room to get to the nearest phone. I continued to monitor Rei as Jedite kept her calm. I could hear
Ami on the phone. I heard her say that the baby was breached.
As I was monitoring Rei, I heard the door open. I looked over, expecting to see Ami. It
wasn't Ami, though. I could hear her still talking on the phone. It was Kit instead. Behind her
was Nephryte, holding her hand. Tina and James were on Kits' shoulders. "Kit said that she
could help. I think that she can," Nephryte said. The cats jumped up onto Nephryte's shoulders.
Kit walked over to Rei's side, the same side Jedite was on. Kit placed her left hand on
Rei's forehead and her right hand on her stomach. The black sign on Jupiter began to burn on
Kit's forehead as her bangs ruffled. Rei's bangs ruffled as well. A red light could be seen
underneath Kit's left hand. I assumed that it was the sign of Mars.
I could feel a low, steady pulse of energy emitting from Kit. I continued to monitor Rei. I
could hear Ami come in. In a hushed voice, Nephryte told her what was going on. I could feel
my heart jump almost completely out of my chest. The monitor showed that the baby was
turning! I could feel the color drain out of my face. Then, three large amounts of energy began to
emerge from Rei. One was undoubtedly Rei's and another had to be the baby's. I was confused at
where the third source of energy was coming from. What was even more confusing was that the
two energies had different frequencies than Rei's.
Suddenly, Rei began to scream out of pain. Kit backed up and looked at Ami and myself.
"Naien and Kaen are coming out," she said. Ami and I didn't give this a second thought. Ami
beckoned Jedite to get gloves that she and I could use. He was back in a flash.
Just as the sirens could be heard, Rei and Jedite were parents to, not one, but two
children. Their foreheads blazed with the signs of Mars, but the signs were not red. The signs
disappeared before anyone else but I saw. The paramedics took Rei, Jedite, and the two babies
away. Ami also went with them. I remained behind with everyone else.
Everyone wanted to know how the babies turned. I smiled as I washed my hands in the
kitchen sink. We all sat down in Rei's living room. I told about Rei's situation, about the babies
being breached and all. When everyone heard the word "babies," they freaked. No one knew that
Rei had been carrying two babies! No one could tell that she was bearing two babies. I told
everyone about what Kit had done and what she had said. I also told them about the brief
glimpse that I had gotten of their signs. This was found to be suspicious to everyone, until a little
voice piped up.
"Naien and Kaen are special, just like me!" piped the voice.
Everyone turned toward Kit. "What did you say, Kit?" Usagi asked.
Kit looked over to Usagi, who sat of some floor cushions while holding Chibi-Usa. Kit
smiled a little and held up a book, saying, "Today starts Aries, ruled by Mars. They are just like
me!"
Everyone looked at the page of the book that was open. It read:
"March 21 - April 20
Aries
Ruled by Mars"
"Today's March 21!" I cried. It was true. Like Kit, the twins were born under the Zodiac
that they ruled.
Tina and James sighed next to me. I turned to them with a concern. "You know how Kit
can't go to this safe place because she is too powerful? Well, can the twins go, or will they be too
powerful, too?"
Worried faces all turned toward the two cats. They looked at everyone sadly and said,
"The twins cannot go, unfortunately. They will have to remain here." Everyone looked as if they
were about to argue, so the cats quickly added, "However, even though they cannot go, the
senshi of Mars can stay and take care of them. Plus, Donwor does not seek them. He only seeks
Kit. Therefore, the babies are in no extreme danger. Rei will just have to live with them normally
here. However, this does not mean that Jedite can stay. He must still go, even though the babies
are here. He will not be able to protect them."
No one argued this. I knew that this was all true, so I assumed everyone else did as well. I
looked back at the cats and asked, "The signs that the babies had were not red, as they should
have been. Why is that?"
Everyone looked eagerly at Tina and James. They shook their heads, saying, "We do not
know for sure. Our only guess is that because all of Kit's powers were tampered with by
Donwor, she somehow changed the babies when she turned them around. It is highly possible. It
doesn't mean, however, that the babies are in danger of anything. It could mean nothing. After
all, the moon sign that Chibi-usa has is pink instead of yellow. It could mean nothing at all."
Everyone let out sighs of relief just as the phone rang. Zoisite was closest, so he
answered. He got off of the phone a minute later with a smile. "Rei and the babies are just fine.
They want us to come up right now because they are lonely!" he laughed. Everyone else
laughed, too. We began to head out of the door when all four cats suggested that we not say
anything to Rei and Jedite about the situation. We all agreed.
10 minutes later, all of us were at the hospital in Rei's room. Jedite was sitting in the
chair next to her. Both were holding one baby each. The new parents raved on and on about the
babies. Finally, Nephryte asked about the names. "Well, we haven't thought of any names," Rei
said, smiling.
Jedite nodded, adding, "First off, we weren't expecting two babies. Second, we've been
too busy trying to bottle feed the babies, but neither will feed. Third, we wanted Kit to name
then, since she helped Rei."
All eyes turned to Kit. She smiled and asked, "Which one is the girl?" Rei nodded her
head down at the baby she held. Kit went over to the little girl. She placed her index finger
lightly on the baby's forehead. The baby squirmed slightly. A light pulse of energy could be felt
all around the room. I looked down at Ami's computer and began to watch the baby. Its energy
level began to rise. "I name you Naien, daughter of Mars, and possessor of Aries," Kit said. The
sign of Mars appeared on the baby's forehead in the color I had seen earlier. It was peach instead
of red. Kit walked over to the baby boy that Jedite held. Kit placed her index finger on the baby's
fore head. The baby's energy level rose like the other's had. "I name you Kaen, son of Mars, and
possessor of Aries," Kit said. Kit lifted her finger, revealing the sign of Mars, again in peach. Kit
walked back to Nephryte and Makoto. Rei and Jedite wondered at the peach signs as they
dimmed.
The babies began to cry as if hungry. Rei got the bottles. She handed one to Jedite. The
babies took the bottles willingly. Rei and Jedite, still looking bewildered, looked over to us.
Tina, James, Luna, and Artemis told them of the conversation that we had back at the temple.
Rei and Jedite sighed. Jedite said, "I will go only because I have been asked to." We continued
the meeting in quieter voices. Battle plans were told to us. They seemed simple enough. We left
the hospital, the clock above Rei's bed reading 8:02 pm. Only 16 more hours until Jedite had to
leave his wife and newborns.
I awoke with a start. Pandora was crying in the other room. I rushed quietly into the other
room, but I was too late. Prometheus was already awake. I smiled. I looked over to their little
clock. 10:37 is what it read. I had only 13 hours and thirty minutes until they would leave. I
guess I should spend as much time with them as possible before they leave, I thought. I got both
of them out of their cribs and took them to the living room to watch a movie. Shikyo was already
there, with popcorn and the movie, waiting. I smiled at him as I sat next to him. He took
Prometheus in his lap as the movie started. I smiled again. I would miss my babies badly. "Take
it all in," I said in my head, "Take it all in."
Makoto's POV
I awoke suddenly to jumping and laughing. The bed Nephryte and I shared moved about
roughly. I shot open my eyes to see a small figure jumping up and down on the bed. I saw a pair
of hands reach out and wrestle the small creature down. I rubbed my eyes and looked over to my
left, where Nephryte wrestled with Kit in the bedcovers. I laughed as Nephryte continued
wrestling with the empty bedcover, looking for Kit. He didn't realize that Kit had slipped over to
my side. She hid behind me, holding one of my throw pillows. Nephryte stopped looking for Kit.
I smiled. He looked up at me just as the throw pillow flew over my head, followed by my throw
blanket. The blanket, however, landed on me, covering my head. Kit's voice rose from behind
me as she shouted, "War!"
I tore the blanket off of my head just as Kit screamed and Nephryte lunged at her, who
crawled behind me. All three of us tumbled off of the bed, laughing. Nephryte got up, Kit on his
shoulders. Kit laughed hard, saying, "Daddy, you missed me and hit mommy instead!"
I laughed with her. "He still got you, though, even if he took me with you!" I said.
Together, we made a breakfast of rice and bacon. We ate as a happy family. My eyes
strayed to the clock on the counter. 11:30 am it read. I sighed. That clock was a cruel reminder
that I would be leaving my family soon. I looked back to the table. Nephryte looked back to the
table as well. He had looked at the time, too. His eyes showed sadness. Together, they looked at
Kit, who munched happily on bacon.
Hikawa Shrine
I looked back at my watch for what seemed like the 1,000th time. Nephryte, Kit and I
arrived at the Hikawa Shrine at 11:52 am. Everyone else was already there. No one was smiling.
I looked for Rei and the babies, but Jedite was alone. As, we joined the group, I asked, "Where
are Rei, Naien, and Kaen?"
Jedite looked at me and said, "Rei is staying in the hospital for another day. Naien
appeared to be having breathing problems. She was better when I left, though."
"Six more minutes until the portal opens," said a voice from a cherry tree. Tina and
James jumped down from the cherry tree together. "There is a circle drawn on the bricks," Tina
continued, "Everyone who is going, please enter the circle."
Minako and Kunzite held each other in one last hug. I turned around and gave Nephryte
and Kit a hug. I didn't want to leave. Over Nephryte's shoulder I could see Minako and Kunzite
let go of each other. As Minako walked to the portal, I could see Michiru, Haruka, Ami, and
Jedite already in the circle. I let go of Nephryte and Kitsune. Nephryte shed a single tear, but Kit
shed none. However, her eyes showed all of the sadness in the world. I walked over to the circle,
passing Usagi and Mamoru.
"Makoto-Chan," Usagi said. I turned to look at them. "Will you take Chibi-Usa and
Chibi-Mamo?" I smiled and nodded. Both children were placed in my arms; both were sound
asleep. I joined the others in the circle. Jedite took little Pandora and Prometheus in his arms.
Michiru held Ike's hand tightly as the little girl kept saying good-bye to her father.
"12:00!" James said as he looked at Mamoru's pocket watch. I light surrounded us on the
line of the circle. We began to lift up.
I looked out to Nephryte and Kit. Things began to fade. As things went white, I cried out,
"Good bye for now!"