"Mom... and Dad?" Usagi asked.
"Why, sure!" the little girl that had been Battra nodded. "You told me yourself you wanted to lead a normal, human life, isn't that true? Well, I made sure you have a family and a place to stay. Isn't that nice of me?" And it's also a good way for me to make sure that this life is really good for you... by being your little sister Shinko! What do you say?"
It took Usagi a while to figure out what Shinko meant. She narrowed her eyes. "You... you used your hypnotive powers to make someone believe that I am their daughter?"
"Only in the best of interests, sister dearest!" Shinko assured her. "And they wanted to have children to begin with... only can't the mother bear any children. Isn't that sad?"
"You don't sound exactly very convincing," Usagi muttered.
"Aw, I like the idea," Minako smiled.
"Yeah, me too!" Rei nodded.
"Are you serious?" Makoto gasped. "If she really brainwashed those people... we are the protector of humanity, did you already forget?"
"I didn't," Rei replied. "But think about it: If we want to live like humans, we need new identities. We have no passports, no registrations, no other documents that mark us as Japanese citizens. Having a family is the best cover there is."
"And what about Chibiusa?" Usagi asked, gesturing at her daughter from space. "Do you think my new 'parents' will allow me to live with them after they see that I already have a child? Or how else do you explain that I already have a daughter at my age?"
"Easy, she won't be your daughter, she will be our cousin," Shinko smirked."
"You know, that could work," Chibiusa remarked.
"And don't worry about legal documents and school... everything's taken care of," Shinko said. "Usagi, Rei and Minako will attend the same school as you, while Chibiusa can go to Hotaru's school."
"Yay! That means we can see each other every day!" Hotaru cheered, forgetting about what happened to happened to her school after she transformed for a moment.
"You know..." Usagi murmured. "The longer I think about it... the more I like the idea." She had to smile. An own family? Father and mother who'd love her and accept her as their daughter? Even better, who would think that she had been their child from the very beginning? That sounded to good to be true.
"I'll do it!" she finally said.
"For real?" Makoto asked in surprise.
"I still don't like that Shinko brainwashed them, don't get me wrong... but still, I think this is the best for everyone. If they truly wanted to have children, but couldn't... then this is just perfect! At least give me the chance to get to know them better..."
Ami sighed. "Oh well, I guess this is a special case... but what about Minako and Rei?"
"Hey, they can stay at our apartment, can't they?" Makoto suggested.
"One of them, maybe," Ami sighed. "But you remember the contract we made with our landlord, do you? Only three inhabitants allowed."
"That's fine with me," Rei said with a sigh. "Minako, you stay with them. You need a place where you can recharge your batteries anyways, isn't that right? And I am used to sleeping in the wild. I'll just stay in my hybrid form..."
"Rei-chan!" Minako squealed and hugged her friend. "You're the best friend I ever had! But... are you sure you don't wanna..."
"Nah, I'm fine," Rei assured the robot girl. "Besides, you know more about the human culture either way..."
"Rei..." Usagi said sadly. "You don't have to do this..."
"You go home to your own family instead of worrying about me, meatball head," Rei muttered in a low voice. "I told you, I'm fine. Ex... excuse me, I have to go..." She spread her wings and took off.
"What's with her all of a sudden?" Minako wondered.
"Can't you imagine?" Ami sighed. "She's jealous that unlike Usagi, she doesn't have anyone to stay with."
"True that," Usagi nodded. "She never had much of a family to speak with. I always had Battra, and now that I know that she was in love with Godzilla... I guess I know how she must feel."
For about an hour, Rei had been strolling aimlessly through the streets. While she had said that she could sleep in the wild in her hybrid form, she didn't feel like staying in it for too long for some reason. Every now and then, she looked up to observe the humans she passed.
'This is so different...' she thought. 'Almost makes me wish I was born a human... they are so happy... and there are so many of them...' She sighed. 'I've never met another one of my species... I've always been alone... Damn that Usagi! She always gets everything! A sister, a boyfriend, a place to stay, a family... but what does little old Rodan get? Nothing...'
She sniffled. She knew she was being unfair... but at the moment, she wished that it was her who would be about to meet her own, new family. A tiny voice in the back of her head told her: 'You could have accepted Ami and Makoto's offer to stay with them, you know?' But she felt bad for even having that thought. 'At least I can survive on my own. Minako's nice and all, but she's such a ditz... and all the knowledge she has was downloaded from the Internet. She couldn't survive on her own for two days.'
She was so in thought that she didn't notice where her feet had taken her. When she looked up, she stood at the bottom of some stairs that were leading to a temple.
Like all kaiju, Rei had never been a religious person... but something was stirring within her when she saw the temple, so she turned around and began to walk up the steps.
For a moment she just stood there and looked at the little shrine. Two crows, who were sitting on top of the temple's roof, were eyeing her curiously.
"I wonder..." she murmured. "If there are truly gods... what do they think about the existence of us kaijus? Or are they even responsible for our creation? If that's the truth, then why did they decide to make me the last surviving Rodan of my kind?"
She then looked at something standing to her right... it was a small stone statue, showing an image she was all too familiar with.
She snorted. "King Caesar... I should have known. You're still letting yourself get worshipped by humans? Well, at least they acknowledge your presence and deeds. As for the rest of us, we're just monsters in their eyes... but no, you're special... you're a guardian beast..."
She knelt down in front of the little shisa statue. 'I envy you,' she thought. 'While you're the only one of your kind as well, you have at least a role in life. Me? Well, I'm the Senshi of Mars... but that always makes me second rate compared to my princess, doesn't it?'
"Good evening," a voice next to her said. "I see you're admiring the statue of our temple's guardian... yes, it's a nice piece of craftwork. We're quite proud of it."
Rei stood up and turned around. A diminutive, old man in priest's robes was standing in front of her.
"Temple guardian?" she wondered. She didn't know that this was the temple King Caesar had chosen to protect. Could it be that this was also the place where he...?
"What's a pretty little thing like you doing here at this late hour, I wonder," the priest said with a grin. "I've often seen girls your age come here and pray, but at this time, they're usually already at home. You look like you're a highschool student. Am I not right?"
Rei honestly didn't know what she should tell the old man. While Shinko had said that attending school would be no problem for either of them, she had no idea how the transformed bat-girl wanted to achieve that. On the other hand, she hadn't actually thought about it either.
"I... must go," she mumbled. Without thinking, she gave the old priest a bow before she turned around to leave.
She almost ran into a blonde, glasses-wearing woman who had just come up the stairs.
Mimette smiled. So this was the resting place of the legendary kaiju, King Caesar.
"Out of my way, kiddo, I'm busy," she said, shoving Rei aside. Never hesitating, she approached the old priest. "Excuse me, are you the priest in charge of this temple?"
"Well, since I'm the only priest around here..." Hino said.
Mimette's eyes lit up with glee. "Well, excellent!" And then, she threw her upper clothes off, exposing her more revealing witches outfit underneath.
"I am Mimette of the Witches 5, old man... and I have come here to bring your guardian, the mighty King Caesar, under our power! Tell me where I can find him... or else I'm gonna turn this little temple into a heap of rubble!"
She noticed that the priest was staring at her without responding? "What?" she snapped.
Hino's hands were twitching. "Pretty lady..." he murmured.
Mimette facefaulted.
Rei had heard enough. "Hey! Stop picking on that old man! You're looking for trouble, well, take your chances with me instead!"
"Please, don't interrupt adults that are working, young lady!" Mimette said with a huff. "I don't have time for nosy little schoolgirls that should already be in bed."
'Okay, that's IT!' Rei thought. 'No one insults Rodan and gets away with it!'
Not really caring who was around at the moment, she called up her powers. "Mars Kaiju power, make up!" she shouted, not really thinking about where she had the phrase from.
In a flash, she transformed into her Senshi hybrid form, complete with tiara and non-existent bodysuit. She spread her wings and pointed at the witch. "I can't allow you to desecrate this temple and threaten humans. In the name of Mars, I'm gonna punish you!"
Hino stumbled back. Mimette's appearance might have attracted his attention... Rei's unclothed half-kaiju form nearly made him nosebleed. "A... another pretty lady..." he murmured.
Mimette gritted her teeth. 'Dammit, I didn't know it was one of them... then again, if I find King Caesar, I might just be able to beat her...'