Chapter 2: The Night's Consequences

Setsuna stared blankly into her cup, oblivious to her surroundings. Noting the other woman's unusually disheveled appearance, Michiru exchanged a worried glanced with Haruka. The blonde nodded put looked pointedly at Hotaru, indicating they should be silent for the girl's sake.

"Are you ready for school, Hotaru-chan?" Michiru asked. "We'll need to leave soon."

The girl nodded. "Setsuna-mama, are you ready?"

Setsuna jerked her head up at the mention of her name. "Nani?"

"Are you okay, Setsuna-mama?"

The older woman smiled as she nodded. "I'm fine, Hotaru-chan. Better finish up or you will be late for school."

"Maybe Haruka-papa can take me," the girl said, her big eyes hopeful.

Haruka grinned. "Sure. Go grab your school bag."

The girl ran to retrieve the object, leaving the older three women alone. Clearing her throat, Michiru drew the others' attention. "Setsuna-chan, are you truly fine?"

"Yes, yes," the Time Guardian stated, "just a restless night. I couldn't sleep well."

"Get some rest," Haruka said gruffly, heading to the door. "Come on, Michiru-chan, or we will be late."

Reluctantly, Michiru followed her girlfriend out of the room. As she stared into the cup, Setsuna listened to the others leave. The front door finally closed and the house fell into complete silence.

"I hope I've made the right decision," she murmured, rubbing her temples. "Just once."

"Knock, knock," Jonathan called, entering the apartment. "Hey, I brought pizza."

Closing the door with his foot, Jonathan scanned the living room. "Celeste? Mara? Anyone home?"

Hearing a noise in the kitchen, Jonathan walked slowly into the next room. He paused and then chuckled silently at the sight in front of him. Celeste was asleep, sprawled out across several textbooks.

"Celeste," he whispered, setting the pizza on the counter, "wakey, wakey."

His girlfriend moaned but remained asleep. Leaning beside her, he kissed her cheek. "Celeste, come on. Time to wake up."

Her eyelids finally began to flutter. Yawning, she moved to sit up, but the open textbooks' pages stuck to her cheek. Celeste winced as the pages peeled off her face.

"Jonathan?" she asked in sleepy confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm providing a study break," he stated. "Did you get a lot done?"

"I think so. So, what kind of study break do you have in mind?"

"Well, I have two large pizzas and a couple of rented movies."

"You're wonderful."

Jonathan smiled. "I think you are, too."

"Get a room already," Mara moaned, shutting the apartment door behind her.

Celeste grinned at Jonathan before turning to her roommate. "Hello to you, too. Did you have fun shopping?"

"Yeah, I guess," the girl replied noncommittally. "How's the studying going?"

"I'm ready for a break. Jonathan brought some pizza and a few movies. Want to join us?"

"And be a third wheel?"

Jonathan laughed. "No, Mara, you won't be a third wheel. You'd be very welcome. I'm sure your guardian won't mind a chaperone."

Mara grinned. "All right, where's the pizza?"

For the next few minutes, the trio grabbed slices of pizza, cans of soda, and fought over the movie choices. They settled in the living room with Celeste and Jonathan on the couch and Mara in the nearby armchair. After more arguing, the group finally decided on a movie.

Mara grabbed the selected video. As the television flickered to life, the anchorwoman for the six o'clock news appeared on the screen. As related pictures to her story materialized, Mara stumbled back from the TV.

"What's wrong?" Celeste asked, noting Mara's pale face.

"Police are baffled by the series of murders," the anchorwoman stated, her voice clearly audible in the room's silence. "So far, six bodies have been founded scattered in an area just west of the old port area. All the victims had a similar physical description: teenaged girls with short, dark hair of medium height. If you have any information, please call . . ."

Jonathan turned it off, glancing nervously from Celeste to Mara. Both women wore similar expressions of horror as they continued to stare at the now blank screen. Hugging herself tightly, Mara managed to sit down.

"They looked like me," she said, her voice cold and detached. "They all looked like me."

"It could be just a coincidence," Jonathan stated, but the girl shook her head.

"No, that woman is still looking for me. She's not going to give up."

"She won't find you." The venom in Celeste's voice took both Jonathan and Mara back. "Mara, I promise I won't let her hurt you again."

Mara nodded. "I know, Celeste. I know."

With a faint smile, Celeste rose from the couch.

"Where are you going?" Jonathan asked.

When she turned back, Celeste was holding her transformation pen. "For a walk."