"Guys, this is Riku Etsu. She'll be staying here from now on." Sailor Uranus introduced, chuckling slightly as the young teen in question hid behind her slightly.
"They're not gonna bite you, you know." The sky senshi teased lightly, reaching down to ruffle the girl's cropped, Russet hair.
Tsuki couldn't help but smile at the sight, although her mind couldn't help but wonder how the girl had been treated before. It was obvious by the basically shorn hairdo and the girl's pale complexion that she had not been treated well.
But that wasn't what Tsuki noticed the most…It was the look of terror in the young girl's eyes.
"It's nice to meet you Riku. I'm Tsuki Tenoh…Sailor Uranus's Sister." She attempted to introduce herself, noticing how scared that the child suddenly looked.
"Lady Eclipse!" Riku stammered out, bowing clumsily.
Taken slightly aback by the girl's sudden distress Tsuki took a full step back, meeting Haruka's confused gaze.
"That makes you sound like an old hag….Lady….my ass." Karunā snorted, crossing her arms over her chest.
Yaten glared at her wife's ward, wondering just what the hell was going on.
Tsuki, however just chuckled.
"I prefer no honorifics." She stated, hoping that maybe the new comer would relax a bit.
"And I prefer not to be bossed around." Yaten heard Karunā mumble under her breath, making the starlight inwardly cringe when she recalled that same stoic attitude coming from a certain other senshi.
Soon the door of the council room burst open as Cerecere rushed in.
"We're all finished Mama!"
The little girl exclaimed, earning a chuckle from everyone.
"Good job girls. Can you two go see if the trio will join us?" Tsuki replied softly, only to receive a nod as her adopted daughter rushed out.
"Geez…and I thought they were energetic before." Rei muttered, earning a laugh from everyone.
"Just wait, in a few years you get to help Vesves control her fire." Tsuki reminded her friend, who glared at her.
"Hey, you're the one who has the PHD in child psychology!"
That only caused more laughter from the group.
Yaten couldn't help but let her mind wonder back to their own high school days. Tsuki and she had absolutely hated each other…But then the odd dreams started. The child crying in middle of the night, the screams for help….Then of course the dreams of Shoku.
Thinking back to those days and how much school that Tsuki had to miss because of her emotional problems, she wondered how the young woman that was seated now in front of her had come to be.
Maybe Serenity's silver crystal healed some of that hurt?
The starlight wondered, only to be interrupted by a very pregnant Luna leaping into her lap.
"Tsuki…Pluto wishes to speak with you privately before your outing." The cat said, earning a sigh.
"Excuse me, but duty calls." The shadow senshi stated before exiting the room, her long cape trailing after her.
Karunā sighed and glanced over at the queen who was trying to engage Riku in a conversation about food.
"May I return to the training fields now Ma'am?" she asked, earning a sigh from Yaten.
"I don't know what you're problem is right now but go on…I'll let Tsuki handle this later." The silver haired warrior retorted, earning huff.
"Dang…Is it me or does she act like a spitting image of Tsuki at that age?" Makoto stated, earning a collective groan around the room.
"Guys…Cut her some slack. I mean, she didn't have time to grieve her parents before she had to face all verities of abuse. Tsuki only acted bitter after the battle against Jaaku-Henkō, which tells me that there was a lot of psychological issues going on." Ami stated, earning a nod from both Haruka and Yaten.
"Trust me…After watching that anyone would be in tatters." Menyani stated.
Meanwhile Tsuki stood just outside the time gates, her eyes on the tall figure looming in the distance.
"You asked to see me? Even while on patrol?" she stated, only to be met with a soft look.
"Tsuki…We both know you're drinking again. What's going on?"
Tsuki stiffened at the question before glancing down.
"I'm old enough…besides you didn't say anything when I was a kid." Tsuki argued, earning a sigh.
"No, because it was either that or you cutting again." Setsuna stated before sighing and adding
"It's about the girls….what did you find out?"
Tsuki sighed, looking up at the older woman.
"Kaasan….Their lives were terrible. I won't even go into detail but their mother and father beat them, starved they and worse of all...mentally manipulated them. Cerecere was never pretty enough or good enough, Junjun and Vesves was never brave enough or strong enough and Parapara wasn't smart enough." Tsuki muttered, fists tightening at her sides.
"Suki-Chan…that is not your fault. You can give them a better life." Setsuna replied gently.
The time guardian knew that the shadow soldier was bottling up more than just that but wouldn't pry.