"Look on the bright side, Mina. You'll have a chance to visit him, and talk to him yourself in a few days!" Although it was the truth, Luci's words still didn't seem to fill that void in Minako's mind.

"Oh I know....I'm just still surprised....I've shown you the pictures of my Uncle Tenshu. Luci... he looked just like him. You don't suppose that could be his son, do you?" She shifted on the seat, again gazing out the window.

Several children in costumes were practicing for their part in the upcoming Summer Solstice festival, and Minako watched them as the limo drove slowly past.

"You'll get the part you know. None of the other girls were pretty enough, much less could fit into this year's costume. I know, I saw them when I signed you up for it." That random comment struck Minako and grabbed her attention.

"Sorry, Luci. What?"

"The part of the Summer Sun! You'll be the star of the parade! I've seen the designs for the Sun float, oh Mina they're gorgeous!" She couldn't understand why Luci hadn't signed up for the part herself.

They'd discussed the issue a thousand times at least when they were children. This was the first year that they were eligible to sign up for the role, and she was sure Luci would have wanted to be in the spotlight.

"But I thought you wanted to sign up? Luci, you wanted that part so much!"

"You deserve it more than I do Mina. Besides, I can't be in the parade this year anyway. I've got a wedding to plan, but I promise I'll show up to see you." Luci had been acting so strangely, Mina wasn't sure she could trust her completely, but she knew that her best friend wouldn't let her down.

The limousine stopped and both women left it at the curb as they entered the industrial park, making their way to a large warehouse to the left. Several more highly decorated children ran around them as they walked, playing with their ribbons and having confetti fights to the dismay of the proctors who were trying to get them in line for practice.

As soon as they stepped in, they were greeted by a rather stressed looking woman in elliptical glasses. She had short graying spiky hair that looked frazzled from her running around all day and her clothes and face were soaked with sweat.

She surveyed Mina as she hurried over to them, getting a rather impressed look upon her face. Mina couldn't help but notice there was a small cut on the left side of her neck, just below her jaw.

'Probably from all the wires they've been working with this year on the floats. That poor woman, she works so hard.' She added as a mental note.

"Minako! So you're finally old enough to sign up, huh? Well congratulations, the last girl was just rejected five minutes ago. I swear no one can fit into the dress this year. At first I didn't believe even you would, but now that I've seen you! Well let's just go get into costume alright? I've still got another batch of teenagers to fit, and the color guard team is coming in at seven." She led the girls towards the back of the warehouse to the changing rooms and handed Minako the basic dress.

"Poor Ms. Nikawa, every year she gets so wrapped up in the seasonal parades."

"Yes, remember when we were seven, and the cloud float collapsed in the middle of parade? I felt horrible, she looked as if she'd cry." Mina had taken the dress behind the tri-fold and slipped into.

Neither Luci, nor Ms. Nikawa were lying when they said she'd be a perfect fit. The dress while a little tight, was only just, and she pulled the zipper up as far as she could before Luci took over and finished zipping it to the top.

"My god, Mina. I knew you'd be perfect for it. I knew it. Look at yourself; you were born to be the sun." After fiddling with her hair, Luci held her up to the mirror and truth be told, she looked gorgeous.

The dress was a perfect match for her eyes, and they brought out the caramel almond color clearly. She blushed and forced herself to look away, feeling shameful at being so admirable of herself even for a second.

"Let's go. You've still got to rehearse, and the parade is in three days!" They hurried outside to the floats, giggling the whole way.