Chapter Four: Personal Habits: A Deeper Look at the Senshi

Author: StarlightMichi

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Venus pouted as she watched Mars stomp about the room. "Why are you being so grumpy, you started it." Mars turned and shot her a glare from the corner of her purple eyes. "I did not start anything," she stated calmly, marching herself over to the farthest corner of the room and plunking herself into the large chaise located there.

Venus' pout turned into a real frown. Had she really upset Mars? That hadn't been her intent, not at all! She was flirty by nature, and the soldier of war should know that—and she did. Maybe she did lay it on a bit strong towards Uranus, but why did it upset Mars so much?

"Mars…" she started, standing near the door. She hadn't moved from that spot when they'd returned to the room. Mars glanced her way, and her expression softened a bit. She beckoned Venus to her with an outstretched arm, and the golden girl hurried over, kneeling in front of Mars and laying her head in her lap.

"I didn't mean it. You know that…" Mars smiled softly and bent to give Venus a soft kiss on her forehead. "I do. But did you have to be so…"she didn't finish. Venus picked her head up and looked at Mars, her eyes full of apology. Mars couldn't help but grin. She tweaked Venus' nose. "Don't look so serious all of the time, it worries me."

Venus grinned, flashing her normal smile again. "Well, you were overly serious, and I didn't want to make you madder." She walked her fingers playfully across the raven-haired girls knee, making her twitch. She flashed a devilish grin up at Mars, and the other girl shivered a bit.

Mars hadn't been really upset with Venus. Sometimes she over did the jealous act, she knew. It was selfish, but making up with Venus was always a passionate experience. As the pair lay together, Mars ran her fingers caressingly through the blonde's hair as the other slept. She couldn't express in words how Venus made her feel. She knew she'd never be complete without the senshi of love and beauty by her side. She smiled down at her as she drew the thin sheet around their bodies.

"I love you, Venus," she murmured, kissing the girls golden hair gently. Venus shifted in her sleep, and smiled contently. Mars sighed, letting sleep come over her.

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As the days passed, Serenity's four guardians were true to their word. Each morning, they met in the dawn light to practice and train together. It had been glaringly clear to the four that they were out of shape. Venus hadn't been able to hit her target after four attempts, and she wasn't the only one. Each girl sported lightly chared hair after Mars misdirected one of her attacks—meant for the fountain, where the water would dispel it. Of the four, Mercury did the best. They accused her of studying in secret, and she blushingly confessed.

But now as time had worn on, each girl saw the improvement in her skills. Venus could hit anything, moving or not, with her whip. Mars had enough control over her fire that she could etch designs in a piece of wood no wider than her finger, and Jupiter's lightning gave them wonderful backgrounds to work with. Mercury, after the first day, had kept mostly to the background, offering advice but doing little offensive work herself. The other three didn't really mind this. It was her way.

As Jupiter slumped onto a bench, exhausted after her training, she watched Mercury a few paces away. The water-senshi was watching Venus and Mars spar playfully with each other, each throwing, dodging, and blocking in turn. When she turned and caught Jupiter's eye, she blushed a bit and walked over, perching herself next to the taller girl.

"We're doing pretty well, huh?" Jupiter asked, watching Mars and Venus. Mercury nodded her agreement, sitting comfortably. "We've improved a lot, but we could do a lot better." Jupiter rolled her eyes and playfully tugged on Mercury's ear. "Silly-senshi. Not everything needs to be serious." Mercury's cheeks flushed a bit which only made Jupiter grin wider.

Mars and Venus finished their sparring and came to collapse near Jupiter, both opting for the cushioning grass of the garden's floor. Mars sat, and Venus promptly snuggled into her lap, making Mars grimace. All of them, except Mercury, were sweating greatly.

"What do you think of the new senshi, now that they've been here a while?" Venus asked, peering up at Jupiter thoughtfully. The brunette nibbled her lower lip for a moment before replying. "Well, I'm not sure I trust them. We don't know anything about them. Why haven't we met them before?"

Mars nodded her head a bit. "They really haven't made an attempt to talk to us, either," she noted, frowning at Venus. "Well, it's true! They haven't made an attempt to befriend us." Venus was giving her an accusing look, but turned to look at Mercury instead. The fourth girl was a bit slower in answering, and her reply was timid.

"I think… I think they're trustworthy. Serenity trusts them, so why shouldn't we? And they seem strong…"

"But we don't know anything about them for certain," Mars pointed out, giving Venus a gentle push. The golden girl moved off her lap, claiming a patch of green for herself. "I like them well enough. From what I've seen of Uranus, she's nice enough." Mars rolled her eyes. "You spend enough time hanging on her arm to know." At Venus' pout, Mars gave her a quick smile to show she wasn't hurt, and continued. "But seriously, maybe we should talk with them? I want to find out what their thoughts are."

"Maybe we should invite them to train with us? What!?" Venus glared at the other three, who were looking at her with wide eyes. "Why shouldn't they train with us! Honestly! Mercury, I thought you were on my side." She stuck out her lower lip, but when it didn't get much response, returned to normal.

"I said I thought they were trust worthy, but train with them? Maybe… but it might be a bit…straightforward." Mercury looked on with concern. It was true that they knew little about the other three senshi. And Mercury had liked the idea of the four of them training every morning. It was like their own private thing, something special that was only theirs. Inviting three new people—especially three people they didn't know—seemed somehow wrong.

"Well, we don't have to decide anything now. And maybe after the meeting today things will be more comfortable. Venus, I think we should do as you're doing, and get to know them. I talked with Neptune briefly, and she seemed nice enough." Mercury blinked at Jupiter, and the taller girl tilted her head.

"When did you…" but Mercury didn't finish, and no one asked her about it. Their conversation turned to much more cheerful matters, as Venus began to describe the latest meetings of Serenity and Endymion.

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Princess Serenity glanced both was as she slipped out into the garden. It was noon, which meant most people were eating lunch, but there were always a couple or two wandering the gardens—and she did not want to be caught.

Since she and Endymion had started to meet in secret over two weeks ago, Serenity had been constantly on guard. At first she'd jumped at any little noise, certain it was her mother or one of her guardians come to take her away. As time passed, she'd become more relax in her meetings, going so far as to let their unions be in the open before slipping away into the small hidden tunnel under the gardens. But one thing she always did was check to make sure no one saw her leave the palace.

The coast was clear, and she was off, into the maze of the gardens. She picked up her skirts, walking as swiftly as she dared. Those few people wandering around gave her a glance, but at her swift smile, they merely bowed their heads and went on their way.

At last she was by the fountain, their normal meeting place. Serenity was usually the first to arrive, but today she was delighted to see that Endymion had beaten her to it. Her face lit up as she saw him, and she skipped the last few steps to throw her arms around him from behind.

The motion startled the prince, and he turned swiftly. He smiled brilliantly when he saw her though, but his eyes were worried. "What if…" he started, but she silenced him with a small grin.

"No one saw," she reassured, letting him go. The pair slipped behind the bush, then down the stairs to the wide tunnel below. It was a long, narrow hallway of marble, obviously done with care though Serenity had found it by accident. She wasn't even sure if her mother knew it existed. It suited her needs perfectly, though. As soon as they were out of sight, Endymion bent and kissed Serenity, meeting her passionately. Their unions were every day, but still he found them to be painfully far apart. He hated not seeing when he wanted, and it was utterly unbearable to see her seated across from him in the Council, unable to speak to her freely.

Serenity snuggled into his arms after their kiss, fitting herself perfectly against him. He breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of her hair and light perfume. It made him giddy, as if his cares were gone. With a sinking feeling, he tugged her away from him, looking into her eyes. He had something important to tell her.

Serenity knew instantly that something serious was happening. As she looked into the face of the man she'd come to love, questions rose to her lips. He halted them with a finger, and led her down the hall to the small sitting room at the end.

"Something serious has happened," he said as she sank into one of the oversized chairs. He came to rest next to her and took her hand in his, unable to bear being out of contact with her.

"My guardians inform me that there's something in this solar system that shouldn't be. They noticed it a few days ago, and felt they should tell me. They don't know what it is, only that it is unusual, and out of place. They're worried that it's a threat to us."

Serenity frowned. "If there was a threat, my mother would know about it. She hasn't said anything…" but she stopped at his look. "Maybe she does know, and doesn't want you to worry? Maybe she knows as little as we do." She frowned, concern evident in her face and he swept her into his arms, nuzzling his nose against her hair.

"I'm telling you only so you are prepared. It's probably nothing, but…if it is something, I want you prepared," he murmured, his words slightly slurred against her head. She breathed deeply, feeling completely safe in his grasp. "I'll be prepared," she said softly.

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It was midnight, and silence had swept over the palace and its occupants. In their beds, Uranus and Neptune slept. The light, reflected back from the earth, pooled in a small puddle by the window.

The air was still, the doors to the balcony shut against the chill of night air on the moon. Neptune slept uneasily, tossing and turning and straining at her sheets. She sweated, her hair plastered to her forehead and neck. Several times she kicked off the sheets, only to shiver violently and pull them around her once more. She jerked once, then sat upright, screaming silently.

For several minutes, she sat, breathing heavily, clutching the sheets in a death grip. Her eyes were wide, staring unseeingly into the dark of the bedroom. It was too hot, too stale in here. Quickly, she rose and hastily made her way to the doors of the balcony. She flung them open, letting a rush of cold air in. It blew around her, swiftly drying her sweaty form. She stepped out onto the marble, uncaring that it was several degrees below comfortable and she wore nothing but a simple satin nightgown. She wanted—needed—to be outside.

Once there, she placed her hands against the ice-cold surface of the marble railing, staring into the depths of the palace grounds, covered in shadows. Her breathing was swift and jagged, as if she couldn't catch it, and she gulped at the air as if drowning. She wasn't even aware she was shivering until a warm blanket was curled around her.

Startled, she looked around and into the face of Uranus, who stood beside her. The taller senshi quickly took a step back, afraid of Neptune's wrath, but it didn't come. The aqua haired senshi just turned and stared back out at the scene before her.

Uranus had awoken at the cold. Shivering in her bed, she'd opened her eyes to find Neptune's place empty and the balcony doors wide open. Fear had gripped her violently for a moment until she'd seen the delicate figure on the balcony. Uranus didn't pay any attention to this seemingly irrational fear. Whatever ailed Neptune hadn't ailed her, and she'd been smart enough to dress warmly.

Taking a blanket, she'd approached the sea-senshi and carefully wrapped it around her, having seen her shaking violently from her spot. Neptune's eyes were blank, as if she were in a trance, and Uranus was gripped again by an irrational fear. She reached out and gently touched the other woman's shoulder, turning Neptune towards her. In a movement that surprised the wind-senshi more than anything else could, Neptune launched herself at her, pulling herself against Uranus violently.

"I can't feel it," she said, her voice wavering and nothing at all like it's normal serenely confident tone. Uranus, eyes wide, didn't know how to react. A few seconds later, she folded her arms around Neptune as the smaller girl continued to shiver.

"I can't feel it, I can't feel it…" she repeated, mumbling her words against Uranus. Uranus swallowed hard, fear gripping her tightly. "Can't feel what?" she asked hesitantly. She was startled to find that Neptune was crying, hot tears ran down her cheeks and into Uranus' shirt.

"The sea. I can't feel the sea!" Neptune's words were panicked, and Uranus's heart jumped in fear. Gripping her tightly, the taller senshi led Neptune back inside, kicking both balcony doors shut against the cold. She walked the aqua-haired woman over to her bed and sat, holding her in her lap. "It's not there! It's just gone!" Neptune said over and over, her voice rising in hysterics.

"It's there," Uranus said, not knowing what else to say. "It's there, it didn't go anywhere. You're on the moon, remember?"

Neptune's eyebrows twitched in a frown, though Uranus couldn't see it. "The moon?" she asked softly against the other woman. "Why am I on the moon?" Uranus tried her best to keep her breathing slow and steady. The last thing she needed was to panic as Neptune was obviously doing.

"Serenity-sama summoned us, remember?" she asked gently, rocking the smaller girl gently. Slowly, Neptune's shivering decreased, and her breathing became more normal. She still mumbled about the sea, but Uranus gradually felt her relax against her arms. Soon, Neptune was asleep, and Uranus sat silently, just holding the other woman against her. It was a long time before she finally stood, tucked Neptune into her bed, and retreated back to her own.

Sleep did not come to Uranus immediately. Something was nagging at her, tickling her mind in an irritating way and disappearing just as she thought she had her finger on it. Stifling a yawn, she tried to stay awake, wanting to probe this nagging until she found its source. Time caught up with her, and against her will, she slipped into an uneasy sleep.

The End Chapter Four

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A.N.: A bit of suspense, ne? Never hurt anyone, right? ::ducks:: Don't kill me!! I promise it'll be explained later, OK? :) Please leave reviews!