Chapter 5

Notes: For those following along, I'm going to post both chapters 5 and 6 this week, take a short pause, then pick back up again in two weeks with chapter 7.

The Character List is posted at the end of the chapter.

"I'm thinking of changing my plan."

Kaya stopped mid-jelly-smear and looked from her toast to Setsuna. Across the small balcony table, the other woman wore a contemplative look, as though the idea was still turning over in her mind and she wasn't sure of its merits.

Setting down her tea and poking a bit at the boiled egg on her plate, Setsuna went on, "While I had originally thought to just find the artifact and contain it's occupants long enough to drop them in the time stream for an old friend to deal with," and here she paused to chuckle softly, still enjoying that idea, "that was before I had some very competent help."

Kaya's cheeks pinked up, and she smiled. "What have you got in mind?"

"Something a bit more thorough that will neutralize the medallion and prevent a repeat of all this," replied Setsuna as she reached once again for her mug. "I don't have all the particulars worked out yet. I need to visit my library, but if I'm correctly remembering something the Gate showed me, I might be able to leave the artifact here in its current place on the timeline."

"For less overall disruption?" asked Kaya. At Setsuna's nod, she bit a chunk of her toast and thought for a moment as she chewed. "Okay, what do you need me to do? Do we need to backtrack at all?"

"I think we're at a good spot," answered Setsuna. "I have access to the necessary texts, and it shouldn't take long to translate them. I'll bring them by this evening. This morning, though, I think we should stick to our tasks. We do still need to figure out where the medallion is, after all."

Kaya nodded. "Check. I'll hit up my source, then head over to Takahashi's class. Oh, that reminds me…" She stood from the table and went back inside the apartment. When she came back out a few minutes later, she was grinning and hiding her hands behind her back.

Setsuna tilted her head in curiosity.

Standing in front of Setsuna and rocking on her heels, Kaya said, "Pick a hand."

Setsuna hooked her fingers into the pockets on Kaya's denim cutoffs and tugged her closer until Kaya was standing between her knees. Her fingers moved up to tickle lightly at Kaya's sides before moving around to tap her left wrist.

"Lucky guess," laughed Kaya as she held out her open hand. In it were two keys on a plain ring. "In case you get done before me. The larger one is for the door downstairs." Using it as an excuse to lean in, Kaya dropped the keys into the pocket on the front of Setsuna's blouse. She bent down for a kiss, getting a taste of the strawberry that lingered on Setsuna's tongue. When she pulled back slightly it was with a sigh. Her eyes closed as their foreheads rested against each other, then she quipped through her grin, "Don't let your tea get cold."

Setsuna let out an amused puff of breath, and as Kaya's fingertips played along the hem of her skirt, returned, "I don't think cold is a problem when you're nearby."

"A theory to explore?" smirked Kaya, a teasing lilt in her voice.

Setsuna's fingers slipped under Kaya's t-shirt, her fingernails teasing along the waist of Kaya's shorts. "With a great deal of thorough research."

"Mmmm… I like research," sighed Kaya.

Setsuna dropped her hands and prompted Kaya to step back. "Then we'll have to be sure to come back to this particular subject later tonight."

Kaya smirked and moved back to her chair to finish her breakfast.

They separated after breakfast to follow their own leads. Kaya smiled to herself as she walked towards the library. Setsuna had kissed her good-bye, an act intended to be brief instead lingering in the open doorway longer than good sense allowed. Her fingers came up to her lips as she remembered the feeling, still a little giddy at its newness and wishing that they didn't have actual important work to do.

She was still smiling when she found Suoh perched on a rolling ladder trying to keep the books organized as he replaced them on the shelf.

"Please don't tell me you want more microfiche," he implored as he slid down the ladder.

Kaya shook her head and pulled a thin comic book from her bag. "I came to barter."

Suoh grinned, a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Well, then, step over to my office, Ishida."

She smirked at his foolishness and followed him over to the returns desk. She stood patiently across from him as he settled into the rolling wooden chair like a king taking his throne.

"The usual Kirin?" he asked as she slid over the comic with a few bills paperclipped to the cover.

"Double this time. And a bottle of decent wine. Something white," returned Kaya. When he raised an eyebrow at her, she gave him the widest self-satisfied grin.

He chuckled and waved a hand at her. "Anything else?"

"As a matter of fact…" She let her words trail as she pulled out another comic, bagged and boarded, and placed it on the desk. "I was hoping you could give me a little information on someone. And then promptly forget I asked."

Intrigued, he leaned back in his chair with a whistle. "What kind of project are you working on that you're trading on these terms? Because it would take me six months to afford that if I was lucky. And being sneaky about it, too?"

"Never mind my details, Mizuno," she grinned back. She gave the corner of the comic a tap. "Let's just see if yours are worth this. You familiar with Hidemura Kaede?"

A derisive sound passed Suoh's lips. "I know who she is, but I don't really know her. We don't travel in a lot of the same circles, just had a few classes together. She is a lot. I feel bad for her boyfriend."

"She's seeing someone?" asked Kaya as she pulled a small notepad from her pocket.

Suoh shrugged. "She seems to be from what I've overheard, but I don't think he's a student here. Honestly, it didn't sound like she really liked him all that much from the tone she was using. But he's got the right breeding and future trajectory." He leaned forward onto the desk. "My opinion, that's all Hidemura is after. She's that type, you know? The kind that thinks success is finding the right husband, so she's in college to get a degree she'll never use with some fancy words attached to it so she can impress the right people in the right way."

Kaya cocked an eyebrow at him. "I thought you didn't know her."

"I don't. But she plays on a couple rec teams, so I run across her a lot when basketball is in season. She's snobby as hell, and like," he sat up straighter and motioned randomly as he tried to convey his thoughts, "well, you know when you talk, I may not understand half of it but it's all still words. With her, every time she'd open her mouth it was like screeching static. For some reason, though, everyone just falls all over themselves for her. She would always put on this fake, sugary air with the professors, too. Managed to charm them most of the time no matter how annoying it was. Guess she thought batting her pretty eyelashes was enough to save her grades."

Scribbling in some notes, Kaya asked, "Not the best student?"

"Hardly," snorted Suoh. "You think I'm a bad student? She'd make you throw up your hands and quit. If scuttlebutt is right, she's on academic probation and took a job as one of the prof's assistants over at the museum to try and win some extra credit. The only thing keeping her from flunking out is pure luck."

Kaya grinned widely and closed her notepad. "Thanks, Suoh. Pick up my stuff tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll have it after lunch." He flashed her his best suggestive grin. "Bring your girlfriend. We can pop a few bottles."

Kaya rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. "Good-bye, Suoh," she said pointedly before turning.

As she walked away, she heard him call, "Just let me know! Anytime!" before he chuckled at her retreating back. She just shook her head and kept walking.

Off to the side at an unobtrusive distance, Setsuna sat in one of the green upholstered chairs in the common area of the music building. Empty flute case propped at her feet, she leafed slowly through some sheet music while listening to the argument going on at the other end of the room. The violinist she'd followed, while not necessarily loud, was forcefully attempting to make her point to the two other students vying for the same practice room while the terrified looking young proctor tried to help settle the matter.

"No, you don't understand," said Mai, a cold condescension in her tone, "I reserved this room over a week ago. The mistake is not mine."

A bit of sweat on his brow, the proctor motioned with his hands in an attempt to calm them. "Mai-senpai, please. There are several other rooms open this morning. Perhaps you could…"

Icy brown eyes cut him off with a glare. "If I could use one of the other rooms, I would, but I need a piano today. Need not want. Believe me, I do not want it. But the need is there, which is why I reserved a piano room specifically for the piano."

Setsuna could practically see the young man withering under Mai's glare. She felt a bit bad for him, but found herself sympathizing with the violinist. Piano lessons had been the bane of her young royal life. She had no natural inclination for it, and had never progressed further than the clumsy tapping of a few rudimentary tunes that were nowhere near acceptable for the audience she was expected to perform for. Thankfully, her brother had discovered an affinity for music fairly early in his youth, allowing her to shed that particular royal shackle.

She was beginning to think it was time to shed the violinist as well. Their argument was going in circles as the other two students pointed out that they also needed the only available piano, and the mistake in scheduling wasn't their fault, either. The tow-headed proctor hung his head as Setsuna tucked away her sheet music and stood to leave. She had discovered that Mai was sharing her apartment with three others, and it was unlikely she was hiding a stolen ancient artifact in such close quarters. None of her movements over the course of the morning had led to anything else, so it was time to move on.

She looked down at her watch and grinned. Just about time to check in with Kaya, anyway.

They met outside the student center, Kaya already waiting for her at a small, shaded table with two styrofoam cups. "Any luck," Kaya asked as Setsuna sat across . from her.

Setsuna shook her head. "Not really, but we can cross Omura off our list of hiding places." She took a sip of her drink, startling just a bit at the sweetness of the grape soda. Her lips smacked a few times, then she went on, "Higashi and Takahashi appear to share a dorm room, so they're still a possibility. Though all I got from Higashi this morning is that she's the favorite teacher with the kindergarten summer campers."

Kaya chuffed. "Takahashi wasn't having that much fun this morning with her class. I was able to sit in without anyone really noticing." She took a long sip through the straw in her soda, then shook her head. "She likes charms. I'm not going to say anything about the one hanging on her bag, we've all got one. But she set several little figures around her desk before starting, and it was just a practice exam. They didn't do her much good, though. She seemed to know the material well enough, but the test kept frustrating her. Like her pencil would land so she missed a bubble, and when she'd realize it and go back to fix it, her eraser would smudge everything or her pencil would break. I was starting to get frustrated for her."

Leaning back in her chair, Kaya folded her arms behind her head and frowned. "I'm really glad it wasn't a real test. Whatever bit of luck she may be looking for in this whole mess doesn't negate how hard she's worked to get to where she is. And I promise she's having to work a damn sight harder than her male peers to prove she isn't 'taking a spot' from one of them. She doesn't deserve to have some mischievous little creature messing it up for her."

"Theft aside, that's basically true for all of them," returned Setsuna as she leaned forward onto the table. "My goal isn't to ruin their lives over one poor decision, no matter how phenomenally poor it was. As annoyed as I might be with the whole thing, it's not as if any of them knew what they were really getting into. I prefer we all come out of this as unscathed as possible."

"True enough." Then Kaya's frown deepened. "Except for maybe Hidemura."

Setsuna cocked an eyebrow at the unexpected harshness.

"She doesn't fit," explained Kaya, annoyance in her voice as her hands moved to rifle through the notes in front of her. "My source has some biases, but I put credit in his info. The woman just doesn't do anything of consequence. She's failing her classes, isn't involved in any campus clubs, and her only interest is rec league ball. She's basically sliding through four years of university on her looks and a prayer, and yet she's surrounded by these overachieving women, and she's just there." She let out a long sigh. "But she's probably how they got in to steal it in the first place. She's working as an assistant over at the museum to keep herself from academic suspension."

Propping her chin in her hand, Setsuna flashed a teasing smile. "Do you still want Akane? Or would you prefer to swap out for 'looks and a prayer'?"

Kaya cocked an eyebrow. Through her own smirk, she returned, "Yes, I will still track down Ikeda. Blondes really aren't my thing."

With a chuckle, Setsuna stood. "Then I guess I know where I'm going."

In their shaded seclusion, Kaya moved over to Setsuna and stood on tiptoe to place a kiss against her cheek. "Good luck. I'm going to swing by the photography lab and paper to see if I can get a bead on where Akane is."

Setsuna wasn't sure what she was looking for exactly. She'd had a niggle of a feeling at the baseball field as she'd watched Hidemura interact with her teammates, and Kaya's description of her charming her way through university added to it. She needed more than a feeling, though, and she was hoping the young woman would do something to confirm that she was indeed their Venusian. Perhaps in the process she would also lead them to the medallion.

Knowing where it was would be enough for now, until the details of her revised plan were entirely worked out.

So far, though, the blonde hadn't given her anything but a frown, an incomplete set of materials, and a curt reminder that they closed at four today.

Pretending to have a great deal of interest in the documents that had been pulled for her, Setsuna surreptitiously watched Hidemura from across the study room. She was undoubtedly as bored as she looked, twisting her ponytail in her fingers as she turned the pages of a magazine. A sigh would pass her lips periodically, more loudly than really necessary, to indicate her displeasure at being stuck here at the help desk waiting on this lone researcher.

Setsuna was about to give up and let Hidemura have her day back when the thing she'd been looking for came through the door, sniffling and trying to hold back her tears.

The color that rose in Hidemura's cheeks indicated her embarrassment over her friend's weepy presence, and that embarrassment manifested in her harsh, whispered words. "Damn it, Chika, you can't keep doing this."

The other young woman sniffled and nodded as she was pulled into the short hallway that led to the offices, out of Setsuna's sight. Not out of ear-shot, however, as they stopped only a few steps from the entryway.

"I know, Kaede, I'm sorry," repeated Chika. "It's just… I don't know… I just…"

A heavy sigh, and Setsuna could picture Kaede with a frustrated hand scrubbing over her face. "Okay. Hit pause. Take a deep breath, then tell me what happened."

"Kyousei lost it, the pin that matches my ring," answered Chika weakly, a great deal of hurt in the words. "Weeks ago, and he didn't tell me. But he told Masahi. That's how I found out. Masahi was joking about it with some of our friends when I went to lunch after the morning camp."

More sniffles, a fresh round of quiet tears, and a sigh from Kaede. Setsuna watched their shadows as Kaede put both her hands on Chika's shoulders. It was done with a firmness that didn't entirely convey sympathy, but it did stop the tears.

"Stop. What's the first thing I always tell you?"

"Men are idiots."

Kaede huffed through a half grin. "That's the most important thing you need to remember in this. The second is that Masahi is the biggest idiot among them. After you and Kyousei get married, you really do need to find him a new friend group."

Chika's head drooped, and her form suddenly looked very small. Her words were too low for Setsuna to hear.

Whatever it was, it got a dismissive gesture from Kaede. "Don't be silly. Kyousei may be an idiot, but he loves you. And this actually explains everything. You said 'weeks ago,' right?" Chika nodded. "And when did he start acting all weird?"

Chika's shadow straightened, her head tilting to the side in contemplation. There would be a slow realization on her face.

"See," went on Kaede, triumph in her voice. "So basically he's been acting like a fool because he's too cowardly to tell you he was careless."

Chika laughed softly around one final sniffle. "You're too hard on him, Kaede. I bet he's just embarrassed because he knows how much it means to me. He probably thought he could find it before I found out."

Kaede made a derisive sound. She was cut off, however, by Chika unexpectedly throwing her arms around her neck. The blonde returned the hug, though with less enthusiasm, then said, "Don't you dare be nice to him and just forgive him. He needs to make up for his stupidity and standoffishness before you start being nice again. And don't be nice to Masahi at all any more."

Chika roundly ignored her. Instead, Kaeda was given a kiss on the cheek before Chika went on her way, far happier than she had been when she arrived.

Kaede was shaking her head when she walked back over to the desk. A small blush touched her cheeks when she looked up at Setsuna, remembering belatedly exactly why she was here and realizing that most of her conversation had probably made it out into the room. With a curt edge, she called out, "We close in an hour," before turning all of her attention back to the magazine in front of her.

Kaya had underestimated how awkward this was actually going to be. She still believed her reasoning was sound, that her familiarity with Akane, no matter how slight, would make the redhead more willing to talk. Provided, of course, there wasn't anyone else around, because she knew better than to break any unspoken rules. What happened at the club and who you did it with stayed at the club. Out in the world, no matter how many dances or drinks or hook-ups, you were just another stranger.

Hiding behind a book in an out of the way spot, she felt the memory of the embarrassment surrounding her encounter with this woman tickle at her. She remembered how clumsy her approach had been, the entire process still so new to her she could barely pretend she knew what she was doing. How flaming red her cheeks had felt when she realized her desire to lead an encounter had been brought to bear entirely on the wrong target. Those green eyes laughing as Akane introduced herself with only her given name, nails gleaming forest green as she slid a tumbler of dark liquid along the bar to Kaya. Two-for-one on bottom shelf Thursdays.

Kaya had relaxed a bit as they chatted about inconsequential things, neither one sharing any real details with the other. There were a few more drinks, a bit of dancing, and a lingering kiss in a dark corner that had involved casually roaming hands. The encounter had ended there, though, because neither could relinquish enough control to be the pursued.

In the year that had passed, they'd shared the occasional polite grin in passing as they moved through the club. Nothing more eventful or worth remembering.

Kaya took a deep breath and straightened her posture. She knew what she was doing. She had this.

She set her book on the bench as she watched Akane struggle her gear through the less maintained paths on this side of the park. The redhead was anything but smooth and poised as her bag slipped just enough from her shoulder that it caused her tripod to fall from its clip for the third time. Her grimace as she tried to right everything without using or exacerbating her injured arm was becoming increasingly more obvious, and she really did look like she needed help. Maybe this side quest would wind up benefiting both of them.

Trying to sound casual and like it was a total coincidence that she was out here in the middle of nothing, Kaya hurried up to Akane and stooped to pick up the folded tripod. "Oh gosh, here let me help with that."

Akane's surprise at another person suddenly and loudly coming up behind her was obvious, and Kaya was grateful the redhead didn't seem to have a strong fight response or she would have wound up with a hiking boot to the face. As Kaya stood, Akane's startled bearing relaxed, and she let out a wobbly chuckle.

"Thank you," she answered, adjusting her bag higher on her good shoulder. "But damn, you came out of nowhere."

Kaya laughed, the sound holding some apology. She pointed over to the bench with the book lying upside down. "I like it over here close to the pond. Out of the way and shaded from the afternoon heat."

Akane canted her head to the side, her eyes narrowing just a bit. A small smile tugged at her lips, indicating she knew the answer before the question was asked. "Have we met?"

"We have. Briefly," answered Kaya, giving permission for a fuller acknowledgment. "I don't mind helping get you to wherever you might be going. Not to suggest you aren't capable, but…"

Akane snorted. "Well, I can't lie and say I've entirely got this under control. Kaya, right?" At Kaya's nod she went on, "I'm heading over to the other side of the pond. The light is better over there in the early evening. You sure you don't mind?"

Kaya shook her head. "Not at all." She tilted her head toward the sling. "You'll have to tell me what happened as we walk."

"Just don't laugh too hard. You'll hurt my ego," returned Akane, looking a bit chagrined. "But it does look like I finally found some good luck, running into you like this."

Kaya smiled back. That luck was exactly what she wanted to hear about.

Her task at the collection thankfully complete, Setsuna stepped through The Gate to gather the things she wanted to take back to Kaya's. A few steps in, and she let her uniform phase in to replace her street clothes, then pulled the proper key from her waist to access her personal library. Purplish mist swirled around her, welcoming her back before parting to reveal a heavy wooden door. The key fit easily into the silver keyhole, and the door opened to rows of curated history in a neatly laid out grid. She waved her staff, and after a moment of unhappy shifting, the proper shelves stood in place before her.

And with them the weight of choice settled over her.

I have access to the necessary texts…

This was entirely true. She had a full collection of information on all the major planetary religions along with a nice dash of the more obscure sprinkled in for completeness.

It shouldn't take long to translate them.

She let out a quiet sigh. The truth in this statement was a bit more… opaque. Her Venusian was a bit rusty for lack of use, but she could still read it easily enough. So there was truth in how long it would take her to translate it. However…

A frown formed on her lips. Tucked in its cubby on the top shelf, a data pad gleamed, its blue 'ready' indicator glaring at her in the most accusatory fashion an inanimate object could. While it was nowhere near capable of the same feats as Mercury's mini computer, it did contain a Plutonian translation of every Venusian text in her library. With just a few search words, she would have the exact pages she needed in her native language. Simple, quick, and efficient. And yet…

What do you want, Setsuna?

"Time," she whispered to herself. "Just a bit more time."

Feeling ridiculously like an errant teenager about to get caught doing something she oughtn't, Setsuna gathered the books from the shelves. They were placed in a bag along with a Plutonian favorite before her hurried steps carried her away from the library and the judgment of the data pad. Shifting back to her civilian clothes, she stepped through The Gate into Kaya's apartment before she could think any harder on the matter.

Kaya's nose wrinkled as her lips pulled into a crooked frown. Reclined with her head in Setsuna's lap, she let the long lock of green hair she'd been lightly twisting fall from her fingers. She looked up into Setsuna's amused face, ignoring the light chuckle aimed at her displeasure. "Yes, but… you're absolutely certain?"

Setsuna nodded. "As certain as an observational hunch can be. Hidemura fits the best. As ill-tempered as she seems, there's something in the way she interacts with people when the interaction is her choice. 'Charmed' was the word you used, and that's quite apt.

"Think of it like this," went on Setsuna. "She's tapping into a particularly Venusian empathy that allows her to give others something that they need or want. While I won't call her kind, she's the personality that's balancing her circle of friends. Higurashi came to her when she was in need, and I suspect you'll find the others doing the same. And with her professors…"

Kaya held up a hand. "Do not tell me flirting with middle aged men to get ahead is a vaunted Venusian trait."

"No," grinned Setsuna. "But she knows how to read them and play off of that. Manipulation, I suppose, is a better word than empathy for this use."

"Ugh, fine," sighed Kaya in defeat, though it was exaggerated as she claimed one of Setsuna's hands and held it against her chest. "I don't have to like her to admit she's the Venusian. So what now?" She smiled widely, adding a touch of mischief into her voice. "Do we just toss her apartment?"

"You sound far too excited at that possibility," smiled back Setsuna. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind Kaya's ear. "We'll call that plan B. Plan A is being nice to her so she'll help us."

Kaya gaped at her. "Excuse me?"

Setsuna reached for one of the books on the floor in front of them. It was the size of one of Kaya's paperbacks, the hard, red cover with a texture similar to burlap and embossed with gold script.

"This," explained Setsuna as she began scanning the table of contents, "is a book of common prayers from one of the temples that worshiped Alandra. One of them is designed to put the goddess into a form of stasis. To her worshipers, it was intended to allow her a period of rest away from the requests of her followers. Outside of that, the concept worked its way into colloquialisms for warding off bad luck. I'm counting on it to be an entirely literal way to stop her when she gets out of hand."

She found the prayer she was looking for, then handed it to Kaya. The younger woman held the book over her and stared at the pages as though she could read the text. "Let me guess. We need a Venusian to say the prayer?"

"We do," confirmed Setsuna. "Since she was able to awaken her, I'm going to assume she can also put her back to sleep." Then she let out a long sigh. "Though I admit I don't know how to go about that yet. And I need to translate the details of the ceremony, as there is more to it than just saying the words."

"I'm starting to think we need to go back to your original plan and just toss Hidemura's apartment," chuckled Kaya. She held the prayer book over her and carefully turned through the pages, enjoying the look of the script even if she couldn't understand it. "So where do you want to start? I'm obviously not going to be much help with this part, but I've got a textbook I need to start looking at for next semester that can keep me busy."

Setsuna hesitated before answering. There was indecision in the way she bit on her bottom lip for just a moment. "Perhaps… we've done enough for today. Let's go out tonight and come back to the plan tomorrow."

Kaya's surprise was evident as she let the book fall to rest on her chest. "Really?"

"We don't have to," returned Setsuna softly, her cheeks showing a hint of dusty rose. "I just thought…"

Kaya stopped her with a finger to her lips. Grinning widely, she answered, "The books can wait. So…" She scooted up and began playing with the collar on Setsuna's blouse. "Where would you like to go? Dinner and dancing? A movie?"

Before Setsuna could answer, the tiniest of hissing sounds interrupted them. Setsuna heard it first, tilting her head to try and figure out where it was coming from.

Then as it got louder…

"The kitchen!" Kaya scrambled off the couch just as water began shooting in a geyser from the kitchen faucet.

Setsuna was on her heels, finding herself a bit stunned at the invectives falling from Kaya's mouth. The younger woman snagged a dish towel from where it hung on the refrigerator handle and tossed it over the faucet before flinging open the cabinet door and crawling under the sink.

"For as much as I pay to live here…" muttered Kaya unhappily as she struggled to turn off the water. "Stupid… stupid… hey, can you reach in that drawer over there and toss me a wrench?"

It took Setsuna a second to figure out which drawer, but she did as requested.

Still muttering, Kaya started torquing and banging on the stuck shut-off valve. "Damn stupid squirrel in my pipes." Wack "If you wanted…" Wack, wack "to keep us distracted…" Wack "you could have just…" Wack wack "let us keep doing what we were… fuck!"

That last curse was joined by the sound of metal breaking and a stream of water that immediately drenched Kaya and flooded from the cabinet onto the kitchen floor. Scrambling out from under it, Kaya sputtered, "Grab some towels from the bathroom," before grabbing a piece of paper off the fridge and going to her phone.

Dripping like a wet dog onto her living room floor, Kaya dialed quickly and took a deep breath to calm herself before responding to the voice that answered. "Hello, yes, I apologize for disturbing you at this hour, but I'm having a bit of a plumbing issue this evening." She quickly explained the situation and could feel the man's sigh in her bones.

"I'll be right there," the maintenance manager answered before grumbling about subpar plumbing and how she was the third leak this month he'd have to fix. "Though please don't touch anything else until I get there, Ishida-san," he finished with before hanging up.

Back in the kitchen, Setsuna was doing her best to contain the small flood. Kaya hung her head and rubbed at her temple. Damn stupid bad luck squirrel.

The little goddess fell backward, clutching her stomach as she laughed. Her kirkri cherupped in merriment, animatedly mimicking the muddled Mercurian and throwing its tiny arms wide in imitation of the water spray.

Alandra sat up, still chuckling, and wiped an amused tear from her eye. "Well done, my pet. You deserve a reward."

The kirkri trilled, then followed its mistress to a large chest that appeared in their space. It stood on its hind legs and watched as Alandra went head-first into the chest, her legs flailing as she rummaged around. The kirkri ducked as a stray lead arrow and several other random objects were tossed haphazardly aside.

"Ah ha!" called the goddess as she landed back on her feet, the treasure she'd sought held in her fingers. The small gold pin glinted, the diamond chip at the center of the etched flower reflecting back the starlight of her environment.

A velvety red ribbon appeared with a flash, and Alandra attached the pin to it before kneeling down to her pet. "Here you go, little one. A treasure in reward for such a fine job."

The kirkri held its chest out proudly as the ribbon was placed around its neck. It really did like getting shiny new things to add to its collection. Then it scurried up its mistress' sleeve and settled on her shoulder, purring a thank you as it nuzzled against her cheek.

A Bit of Mischief - Character List

Key Players

* Ishida Kaya - (Ami's mom) Pre-med, member of the mystery club, fanzine addict, and entirely taken with a certain Time Guardian

* Hidemura Kaede - (Minako's mom) Softball captain, art history major, more interested in her rec league ball teams than her classes, and the catalyst for Pluto's current problems

Softball Team

* Ikeda Akane - Redheaded pitcher and regular at Nyoteric, Kaede's closest friend, photographer and journalism major

* Takahashi Hana - overachiever in the group academically, has a love for charms

* Higashi Chika - team's catcher, education major, she's probably the most down to earth in the group, fiance is in the stamp club

* Omura Mai - 1st chair violin, plays outfield, personality within friend group is significantly different than what she projects to everyone else (she likes trouble)

Art History Department

* Mizuno Suoh - (Ami's dad) Doing work study at the library, Kaya's zine dealer and manga buddy

* Ando-sensei - The professor that hired Kaede, very old and lackadaisical, found something and ran off on extended sabbatical causing Kaede's current problems

* Uchida-sensei - Interim head of the department, Kaede can't get anything by him because he pays attention to everything