The difference between travelling with Lady Kikyo and traveling with Lord Sesshomaru was like the difference between night and day. Lady Kikyo never spent a great deal of time speaking with either of the children under her care, but she never ignored them. Lord Sesshomaru rarely acknowledged the two additions to his entourage. Hotaru was fine with being ignored. The demon clearly had a goal in mind and she wasn't about to distract from it. She was just grateful for the security they had found.

Jaken, on the other hand, had plenty to say. He grumbled constantly. He had an incredible ability to find something to complain about in just about anything. His favorite thing to complain about seemed to be Hotaru and Kohaku. When he wasn't grumbling about them, he was grumbling about something else. Hotaru quickly learned to tune him out.

Then there was Rin. Rin was an absolute ray of sunshine. Hotaru found it hard not to be happy around Rin. She was kind, curious, and clever. She reminded Hotaru a lot of Chibiusa; always seeing the best in people and situations. She loved picking flowers, making up songs, and asking questions. However, she didn't ask any of the obvious questions. She hadn't asked what had happened in the underworld (though, Hotaru wasn't sure whether or not Rin could even remember what happened). She hadn't asked about any of Hotaru's abilities. She never asked Lord Sesshomaru where they were headed. Instead Rin prefered questions like, "Have you ever thought of being a bumblebee?" and "How do you think rain gets into the clouds?"

Rin was also the one who introduced Hotaru to A-Un. A-Un was the two-headed dragon-horse demon that carried all of their supplies. Hotaru really liked A-Un. He would let the children ride on him when the terrain got particularly tough. Rin, Hotaru, and Kohaku would take turns brushing his manes and feeding him berries at nights when they made camp. He seemed to enjoy the additions to the group. He spent many evenings with one head on Hotaru's lap and one head on Rin's, getting pet and scratched. He kind of reminded Hotaru of Luna and Artemis.

Evenings and mealtimes became much more lively. Hotaru and Kohaku had often joked and goofed around with each other before, but the seriousness of their mission had always cast a somber shadow over their time with Kikyo. A large part of that was thanks to Rin. Her optimism and childish innocence was infectious, and her energy seemed unlimited. Though, some of it came from Hotaru's own resolve. She decided that if she and Kohaku were destined to die before summer, they should make time to enjoy themselves. So that's what they did. They played tag and climbed trees. They'd make up stories in the passing clouds as they walked. They chased butterflies during the day and they caught fireflies at night.

Jaken complained often about how dizzy they made him with their constant running around.

Even in the light of the new found joy that Rin had provided, Hotaru couldn't relax. She was having difficulty recovering from their trip to the underworld. Many of the memories from her past life resurfaced. She began having nightmares about the war that destroyed the Silver Millenium, and her role in ending it.

To make matters worse, her powers hadn't stabilized after using them in the Underworld. There was a new, erratic energy running through her body. It felt like she was constantly receiving tiny electric shocks under her skin. New powers had awoken, but she didn't understand them yet.

In the past, anytime she developed a new ability Setsuna would work with her until she had some level of control and understanding. Michiru purchased a vacation home high in the mountains where Hotaru could test and practice without anyone around. Setsuna and Hotaru would hole up there for days or weeks at a time, learning everything there was to know about that power.

Now Hotaru had to navigate this new awakening all on her own. She didn't have time to slowly investigate the limits of her growing power. She didn't have the luxury of a risk free environment. Not for the first time in her life, she remembered she was a living bomb just waiting to go off.

Finally, Hotaru couldn't take it anymore. She had to do something to release some of the pressure. She waited until evening when Kohaku was out hunting and Rin was busy brushing A-Un, then she broke away from the group and wandered deeper into the woods.

Hotaru found a perfect spot in a small tree grove a short walk away from the others. She didn't dare test any of her new abilities. She just needed to do something to use up some of the excess energy. She sat down and took a deep breath. She held her hands out in front of her and focused her energy on a singular point between them. She felt power flow throughout her body, slowly building. It swirled around her. She felt her forehead grow hot and she knew her planetary mark must be glowing.

A small projection of the solar system appeared in the space between her hands. Once, when Hotaru was young, Haruka had made a game out of this power. The two of them would sit for hours on the living room floor. Haruka would pick random points in the solar system's history, and Hotaru would speed her tiny syndicated star system forwards and backwards in time to match the date. When she was a toddler, she had particularly liked recreating the big bang. Somewhere in the future there was a home video of young Hotaru, hardly bigger than a three-year-old, filling the entire living room with the sudden explosion that had created all the matter in the universe; then laughing and clapping apparently very impressed by her own magic trick.

When she got older, Hotaru had discovered that they hadn't simply been playing. The game was a way for the older guardians to keep an eye on Saturn's powers before she had awakened. It became less fun when Hotaru realized her parents were still slightly afraid of her.

Hotaru's heart twisted painfully in her chest at the thought of Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna. She missed them so much. It was difficult to come to terms with the fact she would never see them again. She focused on the planets in her hand. She watched Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto chase each other around the sun. Pluto weaving in and out of Neptune's orbit as Hotaru adjusted the dates of her model solar system from the time she was in now to her parents' time and back again.

"Woah!" Hotaru heard a gasp behind her. Rin had appeared.

Hotaru smiled up at the younger girl for a second before she expanded the projection. The entire clearing was filled with tiny planets, asteroids, and satellites.

Rin's eyes grew wide as she stared at the projection in absolute wonder. Suddenly, she laughed and ran to the center of the grove. Her eyes were sparkling as Hotaru made space swirl around them. It started off slowly, then started moving faster and faster. She expanded the corners of her tiny universe wider and wider, pushing her limits in a way she hadn't done since she and Haruka played their little game. Rin watched, awestruck.

Hotaru was beginning to feel the same joy at her little game as she had when she was young. She started showing off some of her favorite astrological events. Stars going supernova. Galaxies colliding. The formation of their sun. She had forgotten how much fun she used to have with this particular power.

Hotaru kept the projection going until finally she had expended enough energy. She let the planets fade away.

"That was amazing!" Rin said.

Hotaru tried to look nonchalant.

"It's just a trick my papa taught me." she replied.

Rin's eyes were full of admiration.

"Can you do it again some time?"

"Sure."

"Oh, Kohaku's back with dinner!" Rin announced, remembering why she had searched Hotaru out in the first place.

"Okay." Hotaru said, getting to her feet. She left the clearing feeling much lighter.