Two days after the incident, Haruka called a little meeting for the Sailor Scouts of which Setsuna, Darien, Mina, and Raye were not in attendance. Setsuna had to do a lot of catching up at work, Darien was busy with some class he was taking, Mina had modeling workshop for three hours, and Raye had to run the temple while her grandfather was out of town.

Haruka told the rest what had happened to Setsuna, and reminded everyone to be wary of Chiharu.

"We still have no idea who she is or what she's trying to do," Haruka told them, "but we know now that she's hostile. We can't take any chances." She paused, waiting to see if anyone had any input. No one did, so Haruka continued. "Setsuna mentioned that Chiharu said something about Chibiusa," Haruka's gaze fell onto Serena as she said this last, "we must make sure that Chibiusa is never alone."

Serena hugged Chibiusa to her. "I won't let anything happen to her."

Haruka was silent for a moment.

Setsuna's exact words.

Then she said, "Good."

They departed.

=-=

Four days had passed and no one had seen hide or hair of Chiharu. Some of them relaxed, hoping that Chiharu was maybe gone for good. She'd only come to harass them and to show them she could cause trouble, and had been called back to wherever she'd come from. The rest of them were even more on edge; they thought that Chiharu was waiting for the perfect time to strike.

Darien walked down Main Street, hands in the pockets of his black blazer, at a leisurely pace. Setsuna had cancelled their plans for lunch, which was all right with him, and he had nothing to do. He had decided to take a walk to get away from work for a while. The weather was still rather cold, but today it had been oddly warm enough to just wear the blazer. The sun had melted away all the snow from Monday, which was a shame, but the weather was much nicer to bear.

As Darien walked by Otafukya Café, he noticed something that made him stop and look into the window. He was alone save those that hurried by around him; no one would sit outside in the café patio chairs because of the cold. Darien saw Setsuna sitting in the far back. Her back was to him, so she wouldn't know he was there. Setsuna was sitting alone, sipping a cup of coffee. He waited a minute and watched her. Two minutes. No one came to sit down with Setsuna, so Darien went in and did so himself.

"This seat taken?"

Setsuna looked up, surprised, but only a little. She managed a tiny smile and said, "No, of course not." Darien sat down across from her, as he usually did.

Setsuna did not say anything at first, and she would not look at him. Darien stared at her, though. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked so tired that it was overwhelming that she was still standing, and her eyes still had a slight red tint to them. The blood was still there, but only a little. He let them sit silently for a few more minutes, when at last he said to her,

"Are you afraid I'm going to ask you about the Christmas party?"

She slowly nodded her head, still refusing to look at him.

"Well, if it would make you feel a little better, I won't ask you."

"Thank you," she whispered. Nothing else.

"Setsuna," he said. No response. "Setsuna. Setsuna, will you look at me?" Setsuna lifted her head and their eyes finally met.

"You cancelled our lunch."

"I wasn't feeling well."

"I guess you feel better, now."

"But not much."

"You always speak in riddles."

More silence ensued. They stared at each other, and neither of them broke the gaze. He wondered what she could possibly be thinking. How mysterious Setsuna was. How often he would catch her staring off, seeing things that no one else could see. How often he would catch her when she thought no one was looking. He would catch her with those tears in her eyes.

"What is it, Setsuna?" Darien began to probe. He wanted to know something.

"What is what?"

"What is it that's making you like this?"

Last time she had been asked something like this, she had been unprepared and she had been unable to answer. This time, however, she wouldn't be caught off guard. This time, she thought about what he might ask her when they got to seeing each other again. This time, when Setsuna opened her mouth to speak, the lie slipped past her lips perfectly and articulately.

"I knew you wouldn't see past me for long, Darien," she began, "but I tried to hide it anyway. This new enemy really scares me. To be a Scout you must have courage and strength. I know I have those, but," she uttered a trembling sigh, all an act of the part she was playing beautifully, "it seems like fear prevails over them."

"Is that all?" He breathed in a sigh of relief.

The dreaded question, is that all. In an instant, Setsuna saw herself breaking down at the words. She saw herself bursting into tears, some of the people at the other tables turning to look for a moment, then turning away, pretending not to notice. She saw herself crying and saying, "No! That's not all! Can't you see? I just want you to know! All I want is for you to remember!"

But she did no such thing.

Instead, she smiled a soft, long-suffering smile and said, "That's all."

Darien laughed a little, a sound she loved hearing, and he said to her, "I was so worried. I thought the worst, Setsuna."

She joined him in his laughter, and it felt good. Oh, how silly. How silly for Setsuna too be scared of a little enemy, a single girl that everyone seems to be so confident that they could destroy if they could just get at her all at once. How very silly.

They laughed together.