The daylight illuminated the dining room and adjacent kitchen.
It was still early morning, so Shingo was still sleeping and (unsurprisingly) Usagi hadn't returned from Rei's yet. With Kenji having mysteriously vanished at the crack of dawn, Ikuko found herself practically alone in the house.
She scanned the kitchen whilst drying the blue plates, trying to find her next task. In truth there wasn't anything that actually needed to be done. Certainly nothing as urgent as the laundry.
Kenji had changed his shirt but his old one still stank of the cologne. Just thinking about it made Ikuko's nose twitch slightly.
Had she been diligent there wouldn't have been nearly as much to do. But now there was a veritable mountain of clothes for her to work through. There was no way she'd be able to get through it in even two loads, let alone just one.
Ikuko tried to steel herself, mentally envisioning herself actually exiting the kitchen, crossing the hallway and entering the laundry room. In her vision she saw the clothes to her left, piled up in a jumbled mess. At first she imagined separating them out in the room but soon reconsidered. It'd be better if she did that elsewhere, though obviously not in the tiny kitchen. The dining room perhaps? Or maybe in front of the TV?
She momentarily retreated out of her vision.
No. Not in front of the TV.
So upstairs it'd have to be. That would mean multiple trips up and down the stairs of course, but that was preferable to her other options. Keeping her eyes on the steps or off to the side wasn't too tricky, not when you were just passing through the room anyway.
Unfortunately she wouldn't just be passing through. No matter what, she'd have to spend at least fifteen minutes straight in the room for each load of laundry. Ikuko envisioned the scenario again. In her mind the task itself wasn't difficult and she could do it like clockwork.
She felt a murmur of bravado within herself. It gradually began build as she continued to run the scenario in her mind.
Then she felt a tiny tingle at the back of her neck.
Ikuko suddenly noticed the faintest of watermarks on the plate she was holding. She wondered if any of the other plates in the kitchen had similar marks, if not worse ones.
Perhaps the laundry could wait just one more day.
Rei tucked into a solitary lunch.
Yuichiro and her grandfather still hadn't returned, although she expected them soon enough. Recently there had also been a decline in visitors to the shrine. Today was no exception so Rei had the place to herself for the time being.
She was actually glad for that, right now she didn't have the strength to deal with customers. In spite of the evening (especially Minako's driving) exhausting her, Rei hadn't slept particularly well.
The events of the party had kept playing over in her head. Even now Rei kept recalling the fun parts (when 'Bad' had started playing), the embarrassing moments (Minako's poor grasp of common phrases) and, above all else, her concerns.
Chief among them was Usagi of course, although snatches of her conversation with Unazuki and Mamoru kept cropping up in her mind too.
She narrowed her eyes.
Given her grandfather's bad habits with young ladies she was sure Yuichiro must've had his hands full keeping him under control. Not that she cared if he'd had his hands full with…
She tried to think of something else and her mind inevitably drifted back to-
Beep.
Beep.
Rei experienced a small spike of adrenaline as her communicator sounded off. They hadn't had any trouble for about two years. However, Rei had never quite believed their lives would be peace and quiet forever.
She snatched up the communicator and activated it, the screen igniting to display…
"Usagi!?"
"Hey Rei." Usagi sounded a little quiet. But then again, she did love to sleep in on weekends. She'd probably only just gotten up.
"What's going on?" Rei asked slightly urgently.
"Er…well, nothing really. This is more of a social call."
"…Oh…" Rei relaxed, the small adrenaline spike dissipating. The effect left her feeling even more tired than she'd been before. "You know we should really stop using these so casually," Usagi's image became a pink blur as Rei yawned out the last two words.
"Now you sound like Luna."
"That better be a compliment."
Usagi laughed. The sound caused something to stir at the back of Rei's mind, though right now she couldn't put her finger on what. Currently she simply lacked the energy to think too hard. Her fatigue even pushed her concern for Usagi to the side for the moment. Dimly Rei decided to put herself on 'automatic' and just treat this as a regular talk with her old friend.
"So, what's this social call about? You need me and the others to pick you up and finish off Mamoru's apartment I expect?"
"Um…no, that's not it…"
Although Rei was still half asleep her eyebrow raised up a little. Not because of what Usagi had said, but because she could've sworn she heard an odd noise from somewhere. It was a slight humming sound accompanied by the distant pattering of water, even though it wasn't raining.
"Me and Mamo-chan practically…" now Usagi yawned "…finished cleaning up."
Usagi's yawning put the odd sounds out of Rei's mind. She tried to refocus her attention onto her friend. The blonde bun-head seemed tired, which Rei wasn't surprised by considering she'd helped clean the whole apartment. Registering the pink dress from last night Rei imagined Usagi getting home late and flopping face first onto her bunny adorned bed sheets. The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement.
"I actually wanted to ask you a different favour Rei."
Rei sighed, "What is it?"
"It's…It's kind of a big favour to be honest."
Rei closed her eyes momentarily to brace herself. "Yes princess, how may I serve thee?"
"…You should know I'm going to ask the others to do this too, so it's not all on you."
Rei rolled her eyes and pictured the others' reactions.
Ami's look of concern and nervous acceptance.
Makoto's slight hesitation followed by an indulgent 'of course'.
Minako's inevitable despair morphing into an over-the-top embracing of whatever this 'favour' might be.
"Just get on with it," she breathed out, exacerbated.
"Well…if they ask…could you tell my parents that I stayed at the shrine?"
Rei's brow furrowed in confusion and she peered closer at the visual display. As she did so, she noticed Usagi's hair was somewhat damp and a little frizzy in places. Moreover, she was standing in front of some blue tiles that seemed oddly familiar. Then the sound she'd picked up on earlier abruptly stopped.
Something clicked in Rei's mind.
Her fatigue vanished as realization dawned on her.
"…Usagi…"
"…Please Rei?..."
Rei's breath caught in her chest. Usagi had only uttered two words, but the way she'd said them spoke a dozen.
"…Alright…"
Usagi gave Rei the warmest smile she'd ever seen.
"Thank you."
A few seconds elapsed before Rei tentatively spoke up again.
"…Okay then…I should…I should probably let you…finish cleaning. I know what a slowpoke you can be."
"You're so mean," smirked Usagi, briefly flicking her tongue out.
Rei mimicked the gesture. "Well, you've also got to talk to the others. And you know how Mina likes to gossip. She'll probably take over an hour all on her own."
Rei let out a little laugh, Usagi soon joining her. "You never know. This might leave her…" Usagi's laughter died down, Rei swiftly following suit, "…speechless."
It dawned on Rei that Usagi had seen her crack up countless times too.
"Um…Anyway, I better get to it. I'll see you soon, 'kay…Thanks again Rei."
There was an affectionate quality to Usagi's voice. Rei wasn't sure how to respond, so she just nodded and let Usagi end the call.
A minute or so later Rei was still gripped by uncertainty.
Various thoughts were simultaneously yapping away in her head. And yet her mind felt oddly blank, as though the cacophony had somehow created a kind of white noise.
She left the room to get some fresh air. Once outside the house she stared out across the horizon and tried to sort through her head. She soon gave up, instead becoming distracted by the passing vehicles in the distance. Without meaning to, every so often her lips would form into a small smile. After a few minutes she caught herself doing it and realized there was soft warmth in her chest. She furrowed her brow again. Then she spotted something in the distance. It was another bus.
This brought her current situation back to the forefront of her mind.
Was she…envious?
The idea seemed ridiculous. She hadn't dated Mamoru for like four years. Whilst she certainly didn't regret their time together, even back then neither of them regarded their relationship as particularly serious. Exclusive perhaps, but not serious. And besides, it'd lasted maybe a few months (if that) before everything had changed for them and the others. She'd been sad about Mamoru of course but her focus even back then had been on-
She shivered a little as a chilly wind blew by.
An image swam in her memory. A sad looking girl with blonde buns and pigtails, dressed in a skiing outfit and sitting amidst the snow.
Rei felt a pang of irritation, which consequently made her confused as to why she felt that way.
Usagi hadn't done anything wrong. Not back then and not now.
Granted, asking Rei to lie for her was maybe approaching a line. But was that really what Rei was annoyed about? How many times had she or the others had to lie in the course of being Senshi? Maybe this was different, but-
Another breeze passed by.
For a moment Rei felt utterly cold all over.
No.
Rei knew she'd die for Usagi. They'd all die for her.
So what was a little lying really? Especially when it was for something that must've made two of her best friends happy. And she did feel happy for them. Happy and...Rei looked up to the skyline and squinted her eyes, trying to pin down the feeling.
Relief?
Why would she be relieved?
She tried to replay her conversation with Usagi.
"…You know we should really stop using these so casually."
"Now you sound like Luna."
"That better be a compliment."
Then Usagi's had…
"Oh…" Rei breathed out.
Then her heart sank. In truth she just couldn't be sure. She hadn't been paying full attention and the communicator just wasn't the same as being in the room as someone.
Distantly Rei heard a rumbling noise but pushed it to the back of her mind.
She tried to get her hopes up but found her heart sinking a little further for some reason.
The rumble grew louder and was joined by other sounds too. Vaguely she counted two voices.
Rei's envy crept back to the forefront of her feelings, soon accompanied by further confusion and frustration.
Why was she feeling-
"Rei!"
"Huh?" Rei's mind was swiftly drawn out of itself and towards the shrine steps, "Oh Grandpa!"
Her diminutive, balding, yet surprising spry grandfather hopped over the last step leading up to the shrine, both arms waving energetically. Rei casually waved back with one hand and mustered up a small smile. Her grandfather was halfway towards the house before he turned back towards the stairs and began yelling.
"Yuichiro, what's taking so long? All these years of training and you're still struggling with some stairs!"
"S-s-sorry master!"
Another figure climbed the last few steps. He moved slowly due to the three suitcases he was laden with. In spite of the shaggy hair covering the upper half of his face Rei could tell he was clearly straining.
She didn't move to help him.
Rei's grandfather shook his head as he approached Rei. "That boy. Honestly. Sometimes I think I've failed as a teacher."
Rei felt a hot flush. "He's your best student Grandpa!"
"Oooooh…" he cocked his head and fixed Rei with an exaggeratedly inquisitive look. He leaned towards her and cocked his head to one side, opening one of his eyes wide and pointedly raising the eyebrow above it. "…So you admit you've slipped to second place?"
Rei rolled her eyes and made and exacerbated noise. "I don't count. And it's not exactly nice to insult the guy after you bummed a weekend at his swanky mountain place."
"That was for training!"
"Yeah, training at being a perv!" Rei said scathingly. "Just how many girls did the two of you bother over the weekend?"
Her grandfather seemed to blush. "That's…That's not…What's gotten into you this morning anyway?"
Rei let out a sigh as she replied, "Nothing grandpa. Nothing at all."
"Hmm…" her grandfather had stopped blushing and fixed her with another inquisitive look, this one actually sincere. In the second or two it lasted Rei could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Evidently he decided to not press his luck and walked past Rei and headed into their house.
Once he was gone Rei felt a pang of guilt. Her grandfather had been over the line, but she had handled that as her younger hot-headed self might have. Alright, her younger comparatively more hot-headed self might have.
Where had that come from? From her frustration from a few minutes before, obviously. It'd bubbled over and she'd vented a little on her perverted, but nevertheless beloved, grandfather. She decided to do something uncommon for her younger comparatively more hot-headed self and immediately apologize.
Rei moved towards the door but it opened before she got to it. Her grandfather poked his head out.
"And for your information young lady we didn't bother any girls. Yuichiro insisted we just train and ski. By the time we got the chance to socialize with anyone I was too exhausted to do anything else. Yuichiro carried your poor old grandfather to bed both nights and practically nursed me back to life for the morning."
"He-, I mean…You really just skied and rested?"
Her grandfather scowled. "Yes we did. We didn't even get to watch the pageant. Yuichiro wouldn't even do his master the kindness of going by himself and telling me about all those young beauties. He stayed by my side the whole time."
"That…That was very sweet of him."
"Sweet!? That's exactly what I was talking about earlier. I've failed as a teacher. Even my own granddaughter can't see that!" His face flew to his sleeve and he began to make loud blubbering noises.
Rei rolled her eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. She placed her hand on her grandfather's head and gently pushed it back inside the house before finally shutting the door. Her exacerbated expression morphed into a mellower look and a small smile briefly crossed her lips.
From behind her she heard the sound of grunting. Turning around she saw a red faced Yuichiro take two small steps forwards before halting, trying desperately to keep his balance. However, a second later he surrendered, dropping the suitcases heavily onto the ground and collapsing onto his hands and knees. His head faced down as he began to huff and puff for air. He was still trying to catch his breath when Rei finally approached him.
"Do you…need any help?"
"Oh, Rei!" Yuichiro said between breaths, "Thanks but you really don't have to. The master's training has given me a lot of-" he inhaled heavily and exhaled the last word "-stamina."
"…I suppose carrying my shopping all the time probably helps too."
It was difficult to tell beneath all that hair but Rei could've sworn Yuichiro's face had turned a little redder. He tried to laugh but still didn't have all his breath back.
She leaned down and offered him her hand.
"Thanks again Rei, but that's really not-"
"Yuichiro would stop being an idiot!"
His breath caught for a moment and he seemed to freeze.
Rei detected a small noise from behind her but ignored it. Her focus was on Yuichiro's face. Catching a few more breaths he took Rei's hand and allowed her to help him up. As she did so she caught sight of his eyes beneath the shaggy mane. They seemed surprised but also a little curious. Hopeful even.
Rei however maintained a neutral poker face once Yuichiro was firmly on his feet. She bent down and grabbed one of the suitcase handles. Straightening up slowly, Rei proceeded to raise an eyebrow before abruptly spinning on her heel towards the house.
A swift 'thunk' sound resounded across the empty shrine grounds.
Rei didn't need to be psychic to tell her grandfather was feeling pretty smug and satisfied.
She smirked and gave another eye-roll.
"C'mon, Yuichiro. Even I can only manage one of these." Rei walked towards the house leaving Yuichiro standing stock-still.
She'd almost reached the door before she heard Yuichiro actually start gathering up the other cases. She dumped the case in Yuichiro's room then headed back to the door. Yuichiro had made it all the way to the doorway and was starting to look a little out of breath again. Rei reached over and relieved him of another suitcase.
Yuichiro followed her into the house and headed towards her grandfather's room.
"Thank you Rei," he uttered quietly from behind her.
Rei turned her nose up and closed her eyes, a pompous expression forming on her face "Of course you realize you owe me for this?"
"I…er…" She dropped the suitcase outside her grandfather's bedroom and walked past Yuichiro, still sporting the pompous expression. Over her shoulder she heard him finally respond, "…I suppose I could go shopping with you again next weekend?"
"I suppose we could," she uttered, an uppity quality to her voice. "Ooooorrrr...we could head to the mountains again?"
"Oh, I dunno about that Rei. My parents still aren't using it or anything, but there're no events going on there for the next few weeks."
Rei maintained her pompous expression and uppity tone. "That's fine. Some peace, quiet and privacy sounds just perfect."
"But Rei," Yuichiro pleaded "I don't think the master will want to head back there any time soon. The mountains didn't seem to agree with him."
Rei spun on her heel. "Yuichiro!" she barked. He straightened up and became stiff as a board under her fierce glare. Then her expression softened. "He won't be coming with us."
As Rei turned around and began heading out the house again, Rei just caught Yuichiro's jaw starting to drop.
Once outside Rei breathed in deeply, letting out a satisfied exhale as another chilly wind engulfed her. She prayed the relief she'd felt for her friend was not misplaced.
Then she heard a noise behind her.
It wasn't a voice.
It wasn't a 'thunk'.
It wasn't a rumble.
It was the sound of something ringing.
"NUUUAAAAGGGHHH!" yelled Kenji.
Distantly he heard footsteps slap the floor.
"What's the matter?" exclaimed Ikuko.
Kenji tried his best to talk through gritted teeth and the blood pumping in his ears "I-It's…" his eyes closed in anguish and he hunched over slightly.
"Oh Kenji…" began Ikuko "I just can't…" he heard her let out a loud breath "I just can't believe you." Kenji opened his eyes just enough to look at her face "I told you to leave that until tomorrow!" she scolded.
Kenji looked away from his wife's annoyed expression and examined his bright red thumb. He could practically see the blood throbbing where the hammer had landed. Regaining some of his composure he attempted to reply through gritted teeth, "I thought it was best to do it this weekend. I'm going to be too busy during the week."
Although he was still looking at his thumb he could tell Ikuko had folded her arms and adopted an unconvinced look. "And what would've been so bad about waiting until next weekend?"
"You know how I don't like to leave photos lying around the house for that long. What if it gets lost, or mixed up with my work stuff?"
Kenji risked a glance at his wife. Sure enough he was hit with an all too familiar glare that made him feel like a naughty little boy.
"Kenji," Ikuko took a few threatening steps forward from the hall into the room "For goodness sake, your being-"
She halted.
Her body seemed to stiffen for a moment before her eyes re-centred on Kenji. His wife's facial expression softened from frustration into mere exacerbation. She moved forwards again and took Kenji's injured hand in her own. With her back to the wall she peered down at his thumb. "Come on," she sighed, "Let's deal with this."
Ikuko hurriedly ushered him out of the room, through the hallway and finally into the kitchen. She turned on the tap and left Kenji to run his thumb under the cold water whilst she fetched some cream for the swelling.
Were his thumb still not throbbing Kenji might've been more curious about his wife's sudden attitude adjustment. However, at this moment he was just grateful to be spared an earful from her.
After she'd applied the cream he sat back down in his favourite chair at the dining table. As the pain subsided he leaned over the table and pulled his newspaper over to him. He tried starting the same story two or three times before giving up. He'd been distracted by something else on the table, the newspaper having practically obscured it from view. Putting the paper down he picked up object and examined it.
"They came out pretty nice, if I do say so myself."
"So you said when you brought them home."
Ikuko's reply had been robotic but Kenji felt a flush of embarrassment all the same.
"Er…Well, this one will look even nicer once it's on the wall." He silently cursed himself. He remembered Ikuko's expression when he'd brought home the frames. He was sure she wasn't concerned about the one meant for his work but the other one he got for the house had made her eyes flare. Maybe he should've consulted her before getting it, after all she was usually in charge of the household decorations.
But he'd thought it'd be a nice surprise for her, and for Usagi and even Shingo. That was why he'd spent half the night awake of course. He was just so excited to surprise them. It was also why at the crack of dawn he'd set about developing the photos and rushed out to buy the frames.
It hadn't quite worked out the way he'd imagined. Shingo had been on his way out the house when he'd showed him. At first he'd seemed weirded out, then he'd just shrugged his father off and left. As for Ikuko, after her eyes had settled she'd barely spoken to him, aside from warning him about hanging the frame today. But Kenji couldn't help himself. He wanted to see Usagi's face when she spotted the picture.
He ran through the scenario in his head. His daughter would come home and en route to the stairs would spot something out of the corner of her eye. She'd turn to the right and her face would light up when she saw the new addition to the wall.
Suddenly, he was snapped back to reality by a loud bleeping noise. He turned his attention towards the kitchen where Ikuko was making up two plates of food. His mouth watered slightly as she brought them over and sat down herself. He put the paper and photo to one side and tucked in.
"Mmm," he swallowed before continuing, "If I didn't know any better I'd have thought this was fresh not left-overs."
"Thank you dear." Ikuko hadn't replied unkindly, but there had still been a slight robotic quality to her voice. Kenji considered asking her about it but decided to let it go.
For now anyway.
He decided to change the subject. "Did Shingo say when he'd be back?" Ikuko shook her head as she chewed. "I think he's been spending too much time with those friends of his."
"Absolutely," there was a little more life behind his wife's voice now.
Encouraged Kenji continued, "Pretty soon he'll be heading for high school. The boy should start knuckling down."
"That's exactly my concern." Kenji took Ikuko's continued conversing as a good sign.
"His friends aren't bad kids, but I doubt they hit the books together when they aren't playing video games or-"
"Or soccer," Ikuko cut in. He nodded, a tad overenthusiastically.
"Now, Usagi's friends…" Kenji barely registered Ikuko's eyes dart briefly to another spot on the table "…they all seemed pretty serious about studying, especially that Ami girl. It was when she wasn't with them we had to worry. Thank goodness those days are over."
He chuckled slightly. However his laughter soon died down as he saw Ikuko wasn't joining in. Instead she'd simply re-focussed upon her food. A moment later she casually got up and took her half finished plate back over to the kitchen.
Kenji began to raise an eyebrow when Ikuko spoke up without looking at him. "Are you going to go and pick Usagi up from Rei's shrine?"
"Er, no. Rei said Usagi would make her own way home once she woke up."
"She's still asleep?"
"She was almost an hour ago when I called. I expect she'll come home after she's eaten and washed up. That's what she normally does right?"
"Not these days. She doesn't like washing there." The robotic quality was back in Ikuko's voice.
Kenji decided to give up and continued with his food. After a few more mouthfuls his tongue began to tingle slightly so he distracted himself by returning to his paper. Several paragraphs into the story his mouth was starting to burn so he somewhat hastily gulped down some water. Relief flooded his throat and brought out the aftertaste of the meal.
He closed his eyes briefly as the coolness of the water, the heat of spice and the smell of the fish threw his mind back to the lake on a hot day. Courage suddenly flared within him. Maybe, just maybe, Ikuko could be convinced to get out of the city next weekend after all. She'd been talking about needing a night out for a while now, why not something more elaborate.
But when his eyes opened again and gravitated towards the kitchen he found Ikuko's back turned on him.
He sighed in defeat then remembered how her eyes had dashed during the course of the meal. He looked towards the spot she'd checked out and found the frame there. He picked it up and examined it once again.
The five of them really did look quite lovely in the genkan, Usagi most of all.
But of course he'd say that. After all, she was his li-
His heart sank.
He mustered up some mental energy and tried to re-envision the scenario with Usagi, attempting to materialize her delight in his mind.
He'd given up his hopes for a lakeside trip.
He'd given up hoping Ikuko would open up to him.
He might as well make it a trifecta.
Kenji placed the frame facedown on the table.
The babbling of the radio surrounded Mamoru as the accelerated and he enjoyed the gentle thrum through the steering wheel.
He wasn't going particularly fast, certainly well within the speed limit. Haruka might enjoy that sort of thing, but he just wasn't as 'free-spirited' as her. He was more the protective type, and that went doubly so with Usagi in the passenger seat.
He glanced over to her once they stopped at another red light. She was just staring out the window, as she'd done the entire journey. She hadn't said much either, although they'd been perfectly talkative back at his apartment.
Given his angle he didn't have the best view of her, but he suspected that he'd find her features unreadable. This suspicion was founded upon the unreadable expression he'd glimpsed on his own face in the car mirrors.
He concentrated, trying to make out her expression from the window reflection. He hastily gave this up when he realized the lights had changed a second or two ago. As a result of these distractions he'd tuned out radio DJ announcing the next song and the first few musical notes leading into the song.
'Search for Your LOVE Search for Your LOVE'
Mamoru gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. In his peripheral vision he saw Usagi's head turn towards the radio.
'You were always shining
Your smile like a miniature star'
Mamoru thought he saw her mouth form into a thin line.
'I've always cherished it (eternal star-'
Keeping his eyes on the road, Mamoru had felt out the volume control on the radio and cranked it down to zero.
From the fringes of his vision he saw Usagi turn to look at him.
His eyes darted to her briefly.
Her expression was indeed unreadable.
She faced back towards the window.
About a minute later they approached the curb. They were just around the corner from her street. Usually after their dates he'd drop her off directly outside her house. It had gone unsaid between them that, given the circumstances, today would have to be a bit different.
Mamoru parked the car, but kept the engine running. Now he wasn't driving he could get a better look at Usagi, but her expression was still unreadable. Usagi silently released her seatbelt before addressing him.
"I'll call tomorrow okay."
"Alright," he replied.
They each leaned forwards and swapped a quick peck on the lips.
Usagi then proceeded to casually open the door and get out of the car, her face disappearing from Mamoru's line of sight. She'd begun to close the door when she paused for a moment. A quizzical look came over Mamoru and a tiny note of concern flickered in his head. Usagi bent over and leaned back into the car. Balancing her knee on the passenger's seat she reached out with her right hand.
But not towards Mamoru.
'…now (Moonlight Princess)
My Princess
Answer me (Answer for me)'
She dialled the volume up even more.
'As soon as you can (Answer for me)'
Usagi looked away from the radio, staring directly into Mamoru's face.
'Answer me (Answer for me)'
Her expression didn't seem unreadable anymore. Maybe it never had been and he'd just been too distracted to notice.
'With a simple reply (Answer for me)'
Serenity enveloped Mamoru.
A gentle strength began to flow through his arms.
It remained whilst he watched Usagi disappear around the corner and continued to linger as he pulled away from the curb.
As he manoeuvred the vehicle around, a golden glow glinted off the car mirrors. Mamoru was nonplussed and began tapping his finger on the steering wheel in time with the music.
Once he began driving off he was surprised to find Motoki amongst his thoughts.
It seemed his friend was in for some good news.
The soft click of the front door echoed through the house.
Kenji looked up from his paper.
Ikuko imperceptibly stiffened.
Usagi walked through the hallway and paused just outside the kitchen.
"Well hello sleepyhead," chirped Kenji.
A faintly puzzled look came over Usagi before she replied "…Hi."
A similar look flashed across Ikuko. "How was it last night?" Casually she looked away from Usagi.
"Great."
"Did Mamoru enjoy himself?" inquired Kenji.
"…Huh? Oh, yeah. Yes he did." Usagi replied distractedly.
Ikuko blinked for a moment.
"That's nice. What about the others?"
"I think they had fun. Although Mina had a few embarrassing conversations."
Kenji laughed. "Yes, I can imagine. In my experience that girl struggles to keep quiet."
"Not today she didn't," muttered Usagi, almost inaudibly.
Ikuko headed over to the sink.
"And how're Rei's grandfather and that student of his?" inquired Kenji.
Usagi began to lift her arms and shoulders, as though she were starting to shrug. However, she her arms continued to rise until they stretched above her head. "They're…fine," she yawned out.
Ikuko scrubbed the plates a little harder.
"What's that?" Usagi's left hand pointed towards on the table Kenji was sitting at.
"Oh…nothing," Kenji replied robotically, his gaze shifting away from the table and back to Usagi.
"Kay…" The distracted quality returned to Usagi's voice as she retracted her hand. Ever so slightly Ikuko's head tilted towards her daughter. "…Um, is there anything leftover from last night?" Usagi asked nonchalantly.
Ikuko nodded.
"You can have mine if you'd like?" Kenji inclined his head towards his half-eaten plate of food.
"No thanks Papa. I was just thinking about what to eat later. Smells delicious though."
"You might as well eat now," Ikuko began "It'd save me washing two sets of clothes."
Usagi shook her head.
"Don't worry, I'll handle my own clothes."
Kenji slowly, but deliberately, looked back at his paper. Ikuko blinked a few more times.
"Well, if you're sure," she slowly replied. She casually turned to face Usagi, "Your brother is out so the bathroom is free."
"That's okay Mama," Usagi brushed away a stray strand of frizzy hair from her eyes "I've already showered."
Usagi began to slowly move up the hall towards the laundry room. She stopped just outside of the room and seemed to stiffen as she peered into it.
She looked back at her parents. An odd expression crossed her face as she stared at them.
"Something wrong?"
"…Hmm?...Oh, no. Not really. I just…I just had a weird idea pop into my head. For a moment I wondered if you'd been in those rooms all night."
Confusion came over Ikuko and Kenji.
"It's just…when I came down yesterday, you were reading the paper on the table and Mama was working in the kitchen." She gave a small shrug and shook her head slightly. "Just me being silly again. Anyway, I'm going to go and change."
Her jaw clenched briefly before she continued towards the laundry room and soon disappeared up the stairs.
In the dining room Kenji frowned before folding up his paper and tossing it atop the frame.
In the kitchen Ikuko was blank faced as she continued scrubbing the sink's contents.
As she did so, her nose began to twitch.
Luna's ears twitched. She opened her bleary eyes slightly as the encroaching vibrations grew louder.
Dimly she considered how she should've picked them up earlier, but she still wasn't back to her old self. She couldn't even muster the strength to raise her head up.
The door creaked before she noted a pink blur topped with golden streamers enter the room.
"Luna?" asked a gentle voice.
"Hello Usagi," moaned Luna.
"How're you feeling?"
"Lousy, my nose is totally blocked."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Can I get you anything?"
"Just peace and quiet."
"No problem. And if anyone tries to disturb you I'll punish them!"
Luna mustered the strength to open her eyes a bit more. Her vision was still blurry but she could still tell Usagi had her arms in an all too familiar pose.
She started to laugh but soon groaned.
She shut her eyes again, but her keen ears still picked up Usagi's shuffling around the bedroom. To her credit she was making an effort to be quiet for Luna's sake. In her mind's eye, Luna put pictures to the sounds she was picking up. She envisioned Usagi unpacking her purse, then putting it away by the bed and finally rummaging around for a fresh set of clothes.
"How was everyone last night?" she croaked.
"Oh, you know the usual."
"Must've been fun."
"It was, although I was running around most of the time."
"Why? Was there some kind of crisis?"
"No, not unless you count making sure everyone had stuff to eat and drink."
"You playing the good hostess? Now I really wish I could've gone."
Luna internally groaned. She'd replied reflexively, too used to the typical rhythm of her and Usagi's exchanges. Except now she really wasn't up to Usagi responding with an angry retort or high-pitched whining. She mentally braced herself, and was even prepared to give a pacifying apology.
"Honestly Luna, you wouldn't have had much fun. You would've had to keep quiet all night, there were too many strangers around."
Though her eyes were still closed a confused expression crossed Luna's features. She opted to go with the flow and continue being friendly.
"Did the girls help you clean up afterwards too?"
"Yep. Although me and Mamo-chan…" Usagi trailed off.
"What?"
"Oh…Although me and Mamo-chan tried our best, the others did most of the work. You know what they're like."
"Yeah…" Luna whispered, "Artemis told me the other night how Mina went overboard just cleaning her room."
"…That was nice of him. Calling you up when he's sick too."
"No, that was before we got…" Luna trailed off due to a wave of fatigue. Manners forgotten she surrendered to her drowsiness.
However, she was still just alert enough hear everything around her. As such she vaguely wondered why Usagi seemed to have stayed still since the end of the conversation.
A minute later she heard soft footsteps approach her.
"Luna…?" Usagi asked gently.
"Mmmm?"
"…I'm sorry you caught my flu."
Luna breathed out a reply "S'okay Usagi. Not your fault."
"And...I'm happy for you and Artemis…"
Luna's eyes snapped open and her head whipped up.
Usagi was brought into sharp focus. Luna zeroed in on her gently smirking mouth.
"How…When…I'm….We're not…"
Luna began to blush.
Usagi bent down so her face was level with Luna's. Delicately she stroked Luna from her neck to her back with her left hand. She wasn't smirking anymore, her features now wearing a small yet warm smile.
Luna stopped blushing.
For the moment her flu symptoms seemed to have vanished.
Instead she felt a benign pride glow within her. Confusingly, it was accompanied by a faint murmur of regret.
She wasn't sure what to say until she noticed Usagi withdrawing her hand.
"You…You should make sure to put that back in your drawer. You might lose it if you leave it lying around."
Usagi's gaze shifted to her finger then back to her feline friend.
There was a pacifying, faintly pitying, quality to her charge's eyes; and Luna doubted her flu had anything to do with it.
Doubt niggled at Ikuko, but she couldn't put her finger on why.
Her nose twitched again.
Could it be the cleaning products she was using? She'd wiped the countertops and fridge at least twice today and was currently going for a trifecta.
Ikuko took a moment to actually consider the aroma.
Annoyance compounded her doubt. She knew she recognized the smell from somewhere; she just couldn't remember where exactly. For whatever reason, as she wracked her memory her thoughts kept returning to the laundry room.
A sound emanating from her left abruptly interrupted her ponderings. Following the noise she walked up to the edge of the kitchen and peered into the dining room. Kenji had opened up a window and Ikuko wondered if he'd detected the smell too. Looking at him though she doubted it. He seemed to have become very interested in the birds flittering around the tree outside.
Ikuko motioned forwards, almost crossing the threshold out of the kitchen.
Then her nose gave another twitch and the vision of the laundry hit her again.
She backed away from the threshold, retreating to the centre of the kitchen.
Evidently the fresh air wafting in from the window hadn't done much for the smell. Involuntarily her nose twitched again sending another, more assertive, image of the laundry room through her mind. It was followed by more niggling doubt, now accompanied by a flare of frustration.
She looked back into the dining room again. Kenji was out of sight, apparently still by the window. Her gaze instead fell upon the dining table.
Wheels began to turn in her brain and her frustration abated.
The cologne.
That was the scent she'd picked up. It must've lingered in the dining room from the night before.
Ikuko's eyes narrowed. Her nose twitched once more, this time more forcefully. Now she recognized the scent it was as though it were crowding her.
But that didn't make sense. She couldn't remember smelling the cologne earlier, certainly not that morning. Kenji hadn't even carried the aroma with him upstairs the night before. Ikuko had made him dump his shirt under the mountain of other clothes before he'd gone up for the night.
She didn't remember even noticing the smell after she'd woken up and descended the stairs. Ikuko mentally shrugged and chalked it up to her having been distracted.
The doubt gave another little niggle.
Her frustration flared again and she practically marched towards the other end of the kitchen, momentarily not caring that she was en route to the laundry room.
To her surprise her sensitive nose was practically assaulted with the scent before she even had the chance to leave the kitchen. She was however one step away from being in the hallway. Specifically the spot where Usagi had been after she…
Ikuko lingered outside the hallway for a moment as the gears whirred in her mind. She leaned out of the kitchen slightly and peered down the hall to the right. Her gaze fell upon the genkan.
More niggling ensued.
Last night's conversation about the cologne faintly echoed in her ears.
Her nose twitched again.
She straightened up, almost abruptly.
Concentrating, tried to recall everything after she'd heard the door click open.
Usagi had seemed…
She suddenly remembered when exactly her doubts had started.
Ikuko shook her head a little.
She was letting her imagination get the better of her. Usagi might've given the cologne a spray herself. Or just been standing too nearby when someone else had. Or maybe she'd picked the smell up when she danced with…
Her doubts were doing more than just niggling now.
Ikuko knew her nose could be oversensitive, but it was odd the aroma was so insistent considering Usagi had already washed. The fragrance hadn't lingered as strongly on Kenji after he'd washed last night.
But then again, Usagi was wearing the same clothes from the night before. Plus, Kenji had only gotten it on his shirt not his skin like Usagi might have. With all that in mind, it wasn't surprising the smell had remained on Usagi in spite of her bath at-…
"That's okay Mama. I've already showered."
Ikuko blinked.
"I've already showered."
She blinked again.
"…already show-"
Ikuko let out a very controlled breath through her nostrils.
Her daughter had evidently misspoken; much like that blonde friend of hers was prone to do.
Bath. Shower. It was an easy mistake to make, especially if you'd been up late as Usagi had.
Her doubt seemed quieted.
However, it wasn't truly gone.
To her chagrin, Ikuko heard her own words reverberate in her head.
"…these days. She doesn't like washing there…"
Well, apparently Usagi had decided to make an exception. After a party like that she probably would have felt gross and bone-weary today. So obviously she would've needed a wash just to feel awake enough for the journey home.
Ikuko's doubt seemed to retreat.
After all, preparing food, managing guests and then helping to clean up would've been exhausting for anyone. Even a youngster like Usagi would've felt wiped out; and she loved to lie-in at the best of times. No wonder she'd still been asleep when Kenji called almost two…hours...ago…
The doubt stirred again.
Ikuko's gaze shifted to the right. She couldn't actually see the genkan, and yet it was as though she was back there the night before.
"…Hikawa Shrine is at your disposal. Even though you insult our traditional baths."
"Maybe I don't like the idea of poor Yuichiro freezing outside just so I can have a hot bath."
"Or maybe you're just impatient. Not to mention, you take like three hours to wash and dry…"
Ikuko's eyes shifted back to centre.
"Not to mention, you take like three hours to wash and dry…"
Her doubt positively growled.
"…three hours …"
… Maybe Usagi had decided to have a very quick bath. Perhaps she saved some time by not washing her -
"…three hours to wash and dry. Especially with all that hair…"
Unbidden, Usagi materialized directly in front of Ikuko. She was standing exactly where she had been about twenty minutes earlier, brushing away a stray strand of hair.
A rather frizzy strand.
Ikuko no longer felt even a hint of doubt.
In fact, at that moment, she didn't feel much of anything.
For the last five minutes Usagi had sat on her bed, just to the left of Luna. She was still in her pink dress, having decided to wait until Luna was asleep to change.
She wasn't even entirely sure why that mattered. Not even the little voice at the back of her head offered an answer. In fact it had been silent since the night before. Instead she'd been hearing a new, distinctly different and much sweeter voice. It'd been whispering the same thing over and over all day, growing steadily louder.
When she was certain Luna was asleep Usagi slowly stood up and motioned to unzip her dress. The action caused a pair of blue eyes to appear before her. They were warm and gentle, but with a hint of steel.
That new voice whispered once more.
She stopped what she was doing and stared straight ahead. Not for the first time that day, she felt a murmur of bravado build within her chest. As her eyes adopted some steel of their own her gaze shifted towards the chest of drawers.
Usagi moved in front of it and began to extend her left hand towards the top drawer.
She hesitated.
A glint of silver made her eyes sparkle.
An almost deserted apartment flashed in her mind.
For a moment her heart ached. Then the ache was replaced by a gentle strength flowing through her chest.
She clenched her left hand before opening the drawer.
With her other hand she delicately fished out an almost rectangular-like object. Flipping it face-up she briefly ran a thumb over the rim of the cartoonish bunny face in the top left-hand corner.
Moving towards her closet, Usagi set the photo down next to a decidedly larger rectangular-like object. Quietly, she blew a thin layer of dust off the object and opened up her closet. Carefully she began packing some clothes into the empty suitcase.
Although she was far from finished, she paused after a few minutes.
She picked up the photo next to the case.
Shifting her gaze to the centre, Usagi was greeted by three familiar smiling faces in a park.
She stroked the image of the little girl with the pink bun-hairstyle, the light glinting off the glass and the silver ring on her finger.
Try as she might, Usagi couldn't help but return the little girl's smile with one of her own.
She placed the frame into the case.
Then she turned back to the clothes and carried on.
For the last five minutes Ikuko had stood in her kitchen staring across the hallway into the laundry room. She'd decided to wait until Kenji had stopped peering out the window and returned to the dining table.
She wasn't even entirely sure why that mattered.
When she was certain Kenji hadn't left the window she turned around and crossed to the other side of the kitchen. Sure enough, her husband was still leaning out the window; and still apparently enamoured with the birds.
She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Ikuko retreated back to the kitchen until she stood just outside the hallway.
She lingered there for a moment, before clenching her left hand and stepping over the threshold.
She moved as though possessed, walking a little way up the hall and into the laundry room. As per routine, she kept her eyes downward, merely catching a hint of the mountain of laundry to her left and nothing of the wall to her right.
Finally, she came to the bottom of the stairs.
"Usagi! Will you come here please?" Her own voice sounded strange to her, but not in it's tone. Rather, it was like she was hearing someone else speak the words. As though she were merely a passenger in her own body.
She caught the sound of footsteps and creaking stairs. Reflexively, she braced herself, her grip tightening on the bannisters.
It wasn't enough.
Her out of body experience abruptly ended when she looked up the staircase. Specifically, she was focused upon the very top step.
That was where the young woman was standing.
She calmly peered down at Ikuko in her shapely pink party dress.
"Hi," Ikuko scrutinized her daughter for a second or two but neither her tone nor her facial expression had given anything away. After another second elapsed Usagi seemed confused "Was there something you wanted?"
Ikuko felt a tightness build in her chest build.
"Usagi…You…You're okay aren't you?"
The confusion deepened on the young woman's face. She laughed little as she replied, "Of course I'm fine."
"Usagi!"
The young woman abruptly stopped laughing, her confusion now tinged with concern.
Ikuko took a slow, steadying breath before staring directly into her daughter's eyes.
"…Are you alright?..."
Absolute silence fell as the question hung in the air.
Gradually, comprehension seeped into the young woman's face. A mixture of embarrassment and fear flashed across her features. Meanwhile, Ikuko maintained a questioning expression that barely concealed her concern.
For what felt like hours neither broke eye contact.
Finally, in a very slow, very quiet, and very kind voice, Usagi answered.
"Yes Mama. I'm alright."
The silence returned.
Both were as still as statues.
However, this time the tension lasted a mere second.
Usagi lifted her left hand, "Actually I'm…" she brushed aside another stray strand of frizzy hair, "…I'm wonderful…"
Ikuko wasn't sure what had done it.
It might've been the repeated gesture with her hair. It might've been the way the ring had glittered as it caught the light. Or it might've been the utterly sincere and contented way she'd uttered the last two words.
Maybe it had been all of them.
Regardless the result was the same. Something inside Ikuko felt broken.
Briefly, her gaze fell to the floor before the very first step. When it returned to Usagi she saw a hint of defiance behind her daughter's eyes as she stared down at her.
Slowly, Ikuko's features settled into acceptance.
She rallied herself and gave Usagi a small smile. "…I was thinking your father and me could go out tomorrow for dinner," her voice was quiet and measured.
A shade of confusion returned to Usagi's face, "…Oh…Is it…Is it a special occasion?"
Ikuko shook her head. "We…We just need a night out of the house. And a chance to…to talk…"
The confusion slowly dissipated from Usagi's features. "I…I understand…"
"I'd…I'd like you to look after Shingo while we're out. Make sure he gets down to some studying. Then he…he can go see his friends after that if he wants."
"Sure thing."
"Good. And…And maybe next weekend, if he's available…Mamoru could spend a little time with your father."
Ikuko could tell Usagi was weighing up something internally before she replied. "I think…I think that'd be a good idea." Suddenly, inspiration flared behind her eyes, "You know, Mamo-chan talked about wanting to get out of the city for awhile. He mentioned a lake, so maybe he and Papa could go together? You know how he loves to go fishing with Shingo."
"That…That sounds like a great idea Usagi. It's very…It's very considerate of you." A twinge of pride pulsed within Ikuko. "And then, if they catch anything, I could cook it for dinner when they get back."
"Oh, I could help you!" chirped Usagi. "I've learned some great recipes, and Mamo-chan loves my fish curry."
"That would be just lovely," Ikuko only just managed to disguise the sadness behind her tone.
"Great! Well…I better finish packing. And I should change too."
"…Yes…I suppose you should…"
Usagi motioned to leave, "Wait!" The young woman returned to where she'd been standing. Her questioning expression confirmed that she hadn't detected the hint of desperation in Ikuko's voice.
"Usagi…You…" For a split-second her eyes flicked back to the spot below the bottom step. Her chest tightened. Silently, she marshalled her strength and locked eyes with her daughter one last time. "You…You really are you know…"
"…I'm really what?"
"…You really are wonderful. You're a very wonderful…lady…"
Ikuko gave a little nod.
Usagi's face became serene, her kindly smile utterly dazzling.
"Thank you. Mama."
Ikuko watched as her daughter departed, her curly blond hair trailing behind her as she disappeared.
After a minute or two she stopped staring at the top step and slowly moved away from the stairs. She was back on 'autopilot' but something was different now. For one thing, she was no longer keeping her gaze downcast.
In fact, rather than make a beeline out of the room, she shuffled over to her right and opened up the washing machine. She began carefully sorting through the mountain of laundry.
Although she was far from finished, she paused after a few minutes.
The back of her neck had tingled.
She stood up. Her body jerked slightly, as though she was about to turn around, but then centred itself. She was totally still.
Trance like, she turned all the way around to face the back wall of the room.
Dozens of figures stared back at her.
To the left of her gaze five young women were surrounded by a cake, sixteen candles alight atop it. To her right two girls, one with short reddish brown hair tied with a green bow, sported middle-school uniforms. However, her eye was squarely focused upon the three faces directly opposite where she was standing.
They loomed larger as she slowly approached. Eventually, she was close enough to remove the frame from the wall. En route her vision had become practically lost in bright blue of the sky and the lush green of the trees.
Ikuko's gaze first fell upon a young woman with bushy blue hair, carrying a bundle of blankets, a tiny hand just peeping out from under them.
To the young woman's right stood a lean and handsome bespectacled man with dark hair.
Between them, front and centre, was a smaller figure with an utterly delighted smile.
She stroked the image of the little girl with the blonde bun-hairstyle, the light glinting off the glass and the gold ring on her finger.
She wasn't really gone.
She knew that.
And she would still love her. That could never change.
But it wasn't going to be how it was. She wasn't going to be how she was. In truth, she hadn't been for a while now, Ikuko just hadn't noticed. Or hadn't wanted to notice.
Maybe that was for the best. How it should be.
In a sense she was being selfish. Because she knew for her it was probably going to be better than it had been before.
And she knew they would still share wonderful times together, definitely some of the best.
Even the here and now had so much joy to be had.
Deep down, she really did look forward to the future.
But that didn't mean right now, in this moment, she couldn't grieve for the past.
So, try as she might, Ikuko just couldn't return the little girl's smile with one of her own.
Right now, in this moment, all she had was tears.
She placed the frame back on the wall.
Then she turned back to the clothes and carried on.