After Saturn's eradication of the second wave, they saw no more of the enemy. The outer Senshi brought Kohana back to the hospital ward, since she was still unconscious.
Having since changed back to their normal clothes, they regrouped inside the castle. Ken ordered the troops to come back but heavily strengthened security on the palace grounds. Tasuke and Chiyo had beds next to Kohana's in the ward. Chiyo had been unconscious since the explosion. The other seven Senshi waited in Mikomi's room, which was the innermost room out of all of theirs. Some of them paced, some of them sat, waiting for any news on their friends' conditions. Kei just stood and stared out the window. They waited into the evening hours. When a knock finally came at the door, half of them leapt up to answer it.
"Ken!" Umi announced. She hugged him tightly when she opened the door and then let him inside. He looked very tired but as strong as ever. As he stepped into the room there was a very tense silence. He cleared his throat and sighed, looking at the girls' anxious faces.
"Tasuke is up and moving. He'll be down here in a few minutes. Says he has to talk to all of you. Chiyo has been waking up every now and then, but she's pretty tired and goes back to sleep. She doesn't have any major injuries. Kohana isn't injured either, but she hasn't woken up."
"It makes sense," said Sora. "That was a huge amount of energy she released." She stood against Mikomi's vanity, her arms crossed. Yodume nodded in agreement from her seat in the corner.
"Do they know how long Kohana will be like this?" Koushi asked him. Ken only shook his head.
"It's really hard to say. She's very weak right now. We just have to let her rest."
Umi stepped in closer to Ken. "Can we visit them?" She asked quickly. She had been eagerly awaiting permission to go and visit Chiyo for the past hours.
"I'd wait until after Tasuke comes," Ken told her patiently. Slightly disheartened, Umi leaned back against the bedpost. There was a short silence, and Yodume began asking questions.
"How are the soldiers?"
Ken shifted his weight, and Hakeru noticed that he favored his right foot. "The casualties weren't as bad as I had originally thought, considering the numbers we were fighting. Civilian casualties were also low. . . I think our count was eighty."
"That's eighty too many, if you ask me," Koushi remarked. Everyone knew that Koushi meant no offense; they all felt that more could have been done to protect against the attack.
"I'm just thankful that we stopped that second line before they got to the city, otherwise things would have been much different," Sora thought aloud.
Ken nodded in agreement. "That was lucky. I've strengthened security all over the palace and in the city. We're on high alert for more attacks."
"What about the palace?" Mikomi asked softly. "That whole side is gone. . . what happened?" It occurred to the others then that they hadn't known this either, and were suddenly very curious.
"It was a magical blast; a concentration of energy focused on the palace. We don't know who sent it for sure; because the enemies we fought last night didn't appear to have magical capabilities. We're looking into-"
"Stop it." Everyone looked to Kei, who was still staring out the window. "Just stop. We know who did it. There's nothing to look into."
The Senshi fell silent again. Outside it was still raining in sheets, drenching the Moon Kingdom with tears from the sky.
In the loneliness of her hospital quarters, Chiyo squeezed her hand around the object in her palm. There were hazy memories of an explosion, and of Tasuke reaching out towards her. And there had been an angel who saved them. . .
She opened her eyes, only to find she could see nothing but blurs of light. There was a female voice- her mother's.
"You're okay, Chiyo. Everyone is okay. You can fall asleep again." A reassuring hand swept gently across her forehead and cheek. As Chiyo fell asleep again, her mother opened her palm. Chiyo was clutching the rose necklace that Tasuke had given her for her birthday. Imbriana couldn't believe that she had managed to hang on to it. She gently clasped the necklace around her daughter's neck, kissed her on the forehead, and left the room.
Tasuke was visibly worn out as he sat on the bed. A white bandage was wrapped around his chest and left shoulder, over which he wore a loose black shirt. He had wasted no time in saying what he had to say, and the girls listened attentively.
". . . She lost consciousness soon after that. I just picked her up and walked towards where I heard you all shouting," he said, looking towards Koushi.
Umi shook her head. "Its too soon. We just received our Senshi powers. She has never even really transformed."
"We can't jump to conclusions." Yodume insisted. What Tasuke experienced may just have been caused by an enormous rush of emotion, manifesting in the form of holy power. . ."
Sora stopped her short. "You're right, but we can't rule it out, either. This means that we will have to make a larger effort to protect Chiyo. Any way you look at it, that should be our plan of action. It's all we can do."
Koushi nodded in agreement. "The Inner Senshi will stay here, in the Moon kingdom." Sailorjupiter was the official leader of the Inner Senshi, according to the ancient texts. The Inner Senshi had always agreed that she was the best candidate anyway.
"I think that we would best serve the Moon Kingdom back home," Sora suggested to the other Outers. "We can do what's needed to prevent someone from slipping through the solar system unnoticed again."
Kei kept her silence. What if they were in the solar system to begin with? She winced.
"We'll stay until Kohana recovers." Hakeru recommended. "My guess is that we will be gone by tomorrow morning." Everyone knew that Hakeru rarely "guessed" anything and trusted her judgment.
Tasuke sighed heavily. "Well, I know we're all exhausted. I think we should try to get some rest." There were small nods around the room. None of them felt like sleeping. And it would prove to be a very sleepless night for many of the Senshi.
Having since changed back to their normal clothes, they regrouped inside the castle. Ken ordered the troops to come back but heavily strengthened security on the palace grounds. Tasuke and Chiyo had beds next to Kohana's in the ward. Chiyo had been unconscious since the explosion. The other seven Senshi waited in Mikomi's room, which was the innermost room out of all of theirs. Some of them paced, some of them sat, waiting for any news on their friends' conditions. Kei just stood and stared out the window. They waited into the evening hours. When a knock finally came at the door, half of them leapt up to answer it.
"Ken!" Umi announced. She hugged him tightly when she opened the door and then let him inside. He looked very tired but as strong as ever. As he stepped into the room there was a very tense silence. He cleared his throat and sighed, looking at the girls' anxious faces.
"Tasuke is up and moving. He'll be down here in a few minutes. Says he has to talk to all of you. Chiyo has been waking up every now and then, but she's pretty tired and goes back to sleep. She doesn't have any major injuries. Kohana isn't injured either, but she hasn't woken up."
"It makes sense," said Sora. "That was a huge amount of energy she released." She stood against Mikomi's vanity, her arms crossed. Yodume nodded in agreement from her seat in the corner.
"Do they know how long Kohana will be like this?" Koushi asked him. Ken only shook his head.
"It's really hard to say. She's very weak right now. We just have to let her rest."
Umi stepped in closer to Ken. "Can we visit them?" She asked quickly. She had been eagerly awaiting permission to go and visit Chiyo for the past hours.
"I'd wait until after Tasuke comes," Ken told her patiently. Slightly disheartened, Umi leaned back against the bedpost. There was a short silence, and Yodume began asking questions.
"How are the soldiers?"
Ken shifted his weight, and Hakeru noticed that he favored his right foot. "The casualties weren't as bad as I had originally thought, considering the numbers we were fighting. Civilian casualties were also low. . . I think our count was eighty."
"That's eighty too many, if you ask me," Koushi remarked. Everyone knew that Koushi meant no offense; they all felt that more could have been done to protect against the attack.
"I'm just thankful that we stopped that second line before they got to the city, otherwise things would have been much different," Sora thought aloud.
Ken nodded in agreement. "That was lucky. I've strengthened security all over the palace and in the city. We're on high alert for more attacks."
"What about the palace?" Mikomi asked softly. "That whole side is gone. . . what happened?" It occurred to the others then that they hadn't known this either, and were suddenly very curious.
"It was a magical blast; a concentration of energy focused on the palace. We don't know who sent it for sure; because the enemies we fought last night didn't appear to have magical capabilities. We're looking into-"
"Stop it." Everyone looked to Kei, who was still staring out the window. "Just stop. We know who did it. There's nothing to look into."
The Senshi fell silent again. Outside it was still raining in sheets, drenching the Moon Kingdom with tears from the sky.
In the loneliness of her hospital quarters, Chiyo squeezed her hand around the object in her palm. There were hazy memories of an explosion, and of Tasuke reaching out towards her. And there had been an angel who saved them. . .
She opened her eyes, only to find she could see nothing but blurs of light. There was a female voice- her mother's.
"You're okay, Chiyo. Everyone is okay. You can fall asleep again." A reassuring hand swept gently across her forehead and cheek. As Chiyo fell asleep again, her mother opened her palm. Chiyo was clutching the rose necklace that Tasuke had given her for her birthday. Imbriana couldn't believe that she had managed to hang on to it. She gently clasped the necklace around her daughter's neck, kissed her on the forehead, and left the room.
Tasuke was visibly worn out as he sat on the bed. A white bandage was wrapped around his chest and left shoulder, over which he wore a loose black shirt. He had wasted no time in saying what he had to say, and the girls listened attentively.
". . . She lost consciousness soon after that. I just picked her up and walked towards where I heard you all shouting," he said, looking towards Koushi.
Umi shook her head. "Its too soon. We just received our Senshi powers. She has never even really transformed."
"We can't jump to conclusions." Yodume insisted. What Tasuke experienced may just have been caused by an enormous rush of emotion, manifesting in the form of holy power. . ."
Sora stopped her short. "You're right, but we can't rule it out, either. This means that we will have to make a larger effort to protect Chiyo. Any way you look at it, that should be our plan of action. It's all we can do."
Koushi nodded in agreement. "The Inner Senshi will stay here, in the Moon kingdom." Sailorjupiter was the official leader of the Inner Senshi, according to the ancient texts. The Inner Senshi had always agreed that she was the best candidate anyway.
"I think that we would best serve the Moon Kingdom back home," Sora suggested to the other Outers. "We can do what's needed to prevent someone from slipping through the solar system unnoticed again."
Kei kept her silence. What if they were in the solar system to begin with? She winced.
"We'll stay until Kohana recovers." Hakeru recommended. "My guess is that we will be gone by tomorrow morning." Everyone knew that Hakeru rarely "guessed" anything and trusted her judgment.
Tasuke sighed heavily. "Well, I know we're all exhausted. I think we should try to get some rest." There were small nods around the room. None of them felt like sleeping. And it would prove to be a very sleepless night for many of the Senshi.