quick little note (scroll to below the line break if you want to skip):
(this isn't my writing style, just my talking style lol so please don't be scared off.)
hi! my name is mia, and this is my first sailor moon fanfiction! i've been a long-time fan of sailor moon and a long-time fanfiction writer, so I thought, hey, why not write a sailor moon something? idk why this is what my brain came up with, but i have a lot of different little ideas about this au, so if you are interested, i would totally be down to post more. i know this isn't the most active fandom in the world or anything like that, so idk if anyone will actually read this, but like if at least one person enjoys this, then that will be enough for me. i also have another fic in the drafts that like sort of similar concept to this but it's reinako and it's angsty and it's abo (alpha/beta/omega) (so maybe it's not that similar lol) and if i get a good response for this i might post that one as well. this is really just to test the waters, so reviews will be highly appreciated. they don't even have to be positive if you hate this lol.
finally, a quick little etymology lesson (feel free to skip if you are familiar with japanese name formatting): most japanese names are written using kanji, and are structured [family name] [given name]. different kanji characters correspond to different meanings, so not all people who have the same name use the same kanji when spelling it.
for example, minako's name is spelled 愛野 美奈子. 愛 (ai) means love, 野 (no) in this case can be read as "of", 美 (mi) means beauty, 奈 (na) is just a phonetic character, and 子 (ko) means child. so, rearranged her name can be translated as child of love and beauty (translation courtesy of the sailor moon wiki). basically all of the sailor gaurdians names are super well thought out, so props to naoko takeuchi for planning it all out.
some kanji characters of note: 火 (hi) means fire, 野 (no) again means of in this case, so 火野 means of fire. 映 (ha in this case) means reflections, or to make the shape or form of something appear when light hits it. 月 (zuki in this case, though also spelled tsuki (it appears in usagi's last name lol)) means moon or month. so 映月 (which can be spelled as hazuki in romaji) can be rearranged to mean reflections of the moon. the most common spelling of hazuki is 葉月, which is translated as month of leaves and is the traditional name of the month of august, which i make a little joke about. additionally, like minako's name, adding 子 (ko) to a name essentially changes the meaning to child of, so reiko could be translated as child of rei. i have fun with this sort of thing, so i thought it would be cool to have a purpose behind the oc names my brain kind of randomly came up with.
to summarize: please enjoy and leave a review if you enjoyed (or hated it)!
Hazuki always claimed to hate fire.
When she was younger, she would tell them it was scary. When they tried to get her to elaborate, Hazuki would complain about the time she had accidentally burned herself on the stove top and then promptly move on to another topic.
As she gets older, her reasons change. Anytime anyone brings it up in front of her, Hazuki wrinkles her nose and complains how awful the smell of smoke was and how much she hated overheating. Rei claims it doesn't bother her, that she wanted the girls to find their own paths in life. If Hazuki's had nothing to do with the sacred flame, that was completely fine. Risa enjoyed their daily meditation in front of the flames, and Rei would explain that was more than enough for her.
Eventually, Hazuki begins to avoid the fire altogether. She goes as far as to insist on taking inconvenient detours just to avoid having to walk past the door. (It bothers Rei. Jun knows this. But he also knows she's far too stubborn to ever address it with Hazuki.)
Sometimes, when Rei and Risa aren't home, Jun catches Hazuki in front of the fire room. She never goes inside, just staring at the flames through the open door with a look Jun knows all too well. Rei never wanted to be bothered when she had that look on her face, so he never bothered Hazuki when she was like that either.
"She hates the fire, Jun." Rei is looking at him through the vanity, carefully applying lotion to her pale arms. "Are you sure she wasn't just trying to think of a way to put them out?"
"She wouldn't do that." Jun didn't believe the words before or after they came out of his mouth.
"I loathe to remind you that she would." Rei's sigh sounds defeated and exhausted. Often, Jun wished he knew how to fix the relationship between the two of them. "We're talking about the child who cut her sister's hair while she was sleeping because she was mad that they looked so alike." Yes, that wasn't one of Hazuki's finest moments. Jun had tried to argue that's just what siblings did to each other at that age, but Rei (an only child) argued that she knew better. "There was also the incident with the frog at school, and the time she pushed Risa into the lake when we weren't looking, and the time she-"
"I know." Jun watched as she crossed the room. Damn, he thinks as he watches her, I am the luckiest man on Earth. "She's a little spitfire."
"Yes." Rei stood up, her pajamas clinging to her as she walked. "That's putting it lightly."
"She never looks at the fire like she's about to start trouble." Jun rolled over to his side to give Rei her space. "She looks like you, my love."
"I'll talk to her about it." Rei had a small scowl on her face as she said it. "But you know she's not going to want to tell me about it."
"She could." Jun wrapped one arm around Rei as she lay across from him, pulling her closer.
"She won't."
"She gets this from you, you know?" Rei's scowl only gets worse as he taps her adorable nose and kisses her forehead. "You two are a lot more alike than you think you are, gorgeous."
Rei mumbled something incoherent as he pulled her closer.
"Hazuki," Hazuki already looks uncomfortable just from how Rei says her name. "I wanted to talk to you about something." Jun sort of wishes he wasn't a part of this conversation, but for some insane reason, Rei had insisted on his being here.
"I didn't do it." Hazuki immediately responds, her blue eyes drawn to a particular spot on the floor.
"Didn't do what?" Jun put a hand on Rei's shoulder, he knew her tone all too well. This isn't why we came to talk to her, his eyes tell Rei. She nods in understanding before taking a deep breath.
"What your mother means to say, Hazuki, is we would like to talk to you about something I've noticed lately…" Jun tried to keep a civil smile on his face. Between these two, things could turn uncivil relatively quickly.
"Hm?"
"The other day I noticed you staring into the fire."
"It's fire, papa, people tend to do that." But Hazuki's shoulders were tense as she said it. Jun hated that she felt she had to be so defensive when she was still so young.
"Hazuki… Did you see anything?" Rei was never the type to talk around issues. Jun had to appreciate her ability to get straight to the point. "Like dreams, but in the fire instead?"
"No, mama." It's difficult, but Jun can tell she's lying. He just hopes Rei can too. "Just fire."
"Are you sure?" Rei looks Hazuki up and down in disbelief.
"Yes." Hazuki sank further into her chair, her eyes drifting back towards the schoolwork in front of her. "Can I finish my homework now?" If she is willing to do schoolwork to get out of this, she really must not want us to know.
"Sure." Jun cut off anything more Rei was going to say. The look on her face was more than enough for him to realize neither of them was going to be civil if the conversation kept up. "Just… Let your mom know if you see anything, okay?"
"Mm-hmm." Hazuki looked back down at her math homework, her face a mix of confusion and annoyance. He dragged Rei back to their room before she could comment anymore.
"Why won't she tell us?" Rei had always gotten frustrated easily, but this was a new record, even for her. "It's so obvious she's lying."
"I don't know love." Jun knew from experience that a Rei this worked up wouldn't want to hear actual solutions. Instead, he moved behind her to massage her tense shoulders, his eyes wandering to the framed family photo on the nightstand.
A few moments of silence passed before Rei spoke again.
"Sorry, you know she gets me worked up sometimes." Rei sighed, already leaning further into his touch.
"I really do think she has a reason for not telling us." Jun laid a kiss on Rei's shoulder. "A reason other than making you mad."
"I don't know. She loves to test my patience."
"You know she just does half of that stuff for your attention, right?" Rei looks genuinely confused at the statement, and Jun thinks maybe this wasn't the right time to be having this conversation. His back was still sore from the last time he slept on the couch.
"What are you talking about?" Rei moved forward, her shoulders slipping out of Jun's grasp as she turned to face him.
"You know she thinks you like Risa more." Hazuki had told Rei as much, in front of Jun and Risa. That had been an awful day for everyone in their house.
"I don't, though. I told her that." Uh-oh, her sentences are getting shorter. Jun knew this was Rei speak for I'm really getting pissed off now.
"When have you ever believed anything someone told you at face value, love?" Jun sighed. "You do spend significantly more time with Risa. I can see where Hazuki is coming from."
"Hazuki always turns me down when I invite her to do things." Rei's eyes roll, and her shoulders tense up.
"Are you inviting her to do things she wants to do, or things you want her to do?" Jun can see that he struck a nerve. A tension comes across Rei's face, and her eyes tell Jun he's hit the nail on the head. Her face, however, tries to tell him that he's wrong.
"I let Hazuki choose what she wants to do with her life. Even if that means she spends all her days messing around and being a goddamn menace, I let her. That little brat can do whatever she wants. "
"Rei." Jun can see the hurt that comes across her face as she says the words. She immediately looks disgusted with herself. "Do you really believe that?"
"Shut up." Rei abruptly turns the other way, and Jun can faintly see the tears on her face. "I need to pick Risa up from her friend's house."
"She's our daughter Rei." Rei was trying to get out of this conversation, and Jun didn't want to let her. "Are you really going to call her a brat?"
"You're spoiling her."
"You're too harsh on her." Jun countered. "She's a kid. Kids do silly things like cutting their sister's hair or shoving people into pools. I'm not saying she doesn't deserve to be punished for those things, but I'm also not saying those things make her a menace or a brat. They make her a normal kid."
"Risa doesn't do those things."
"I can't believe you're comparing them in this situation, Rei." Jun let out an exhausted sigh.
"You always take her side!" Rei finally turned back towards Jun, and he could see that she was well beyond reason at this point. Sometimes to get through to her, I have to get under her skin. Jun reminded himself. "Every time she does something bad, you're right there defending her."
"Because you won't," Jun growled, feeling himself getting much too worked up for this. "Excuse me for loving our daughter just the way she is."
"I love her too!"
"Then you should show it sometime, Rei. Because Hazuki and I are waiting for it." Jun finally gave up, standing and quickly making his way out of the room. When he opens the door, he hears a soft grunt of pain.
"Hazuki?" Hazuki's blue eyes are wide as she looks at him, a little red mark on her forehead from where the door had smacked her. He feels his heart break when he sees tears shining in her eyes. "Hey. Let's go get some ice cream, yeah?" And maybe ask Kadir if Minako is around. He added in his head.
"Does mama… Hate me?"
"Hazuki… No." Okay, scratch that. I'll tell Minako to hang out with her even if she is busy.
"She does, doesn't she? I told you she didn't want me. She just wanted Risa." Jun had a flashback to the time Risa asked about her name. It was supposed to be sweet, but when they had explained that Risa had been thoughtfully named after her grandmother, Hazuki asked where her name came from. The answer we just thought it sounded nice had not gone over well.
"She did want you, Hazuki." Jun pulled his daughter into an embrace.
"Liar," Hazuki whispered in his ear. Jun feels his heart shatter into a million pieces when Hazuki bursts out into tears.
When Rei finally comes out of their room, she's met with the sight of Jun desperately trying to get Hazuki to stop crying. The anger immediately drops from her face, and she looks concerned over their daughter as she comes closer. However, before she can touch Hazuki, something comes across her face, and she quickly leaves. Hazuki doesn't even notice.
"Hazuki…" Hazuki refused to look at him. Her eyes remained downcast, puffy and still shining with tears. Jun sighed, before bending down and taking her into his arms. She let out a tiny yelp as he lifted her off her feet.
"Papa?" She looked confused at first, before wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. He hadn't done this in a few years, and she was a lot bigger than he remembered her being, but it was fine. I would do anything for her. Jun mused as Hazuki's arms tightened around him.
He was happy he had an active gym life as he carried his daughter onto the train. They got some weird looks, but Jun shoots back glares at anyone who seems to think Hazuki is too old to be carried. He can hear Hazuki's occasional sniffles as they go, but her face never moves from where it is buried in his shoulder. He ignores the growing wet spot on his shirt.
Jun doesn't set Hazuki down until they reach their destination, her eyes taking a second to adjust to the bright sunlight before she realizes where they are.
"Jun?" Kadir was the one who opened the door, his hair a little messy and his shirt half unbuttoned, and Jun thinks for the first time that he maybe should have called.
"Hey." Kadir looks them both up and down, and immediately nods in understanding when he sees Hazuki's red, puffy eyes.
"I'll go get Minako." Kadir nodded, stepping aside to let them in. Hazuki stays by his side, taking her shoes off and carefully setting them next to Minako's.
"Hazukin!" The screaming is the only warning Jun gets before a blonde bullet whirls past him.
"Aunt Minako!" For the first time all day, Jun sees a genuine smile come across his daughter's face.
"Mm… It's good to see you again, kiddo." Minako wrapped Hazuki in a tight hug, blue eyes briefly catching Jun's as she took in the sight of Hazuki's tear-stained face. He quickly mouthed Rei before she nodded in understanding, taking Hazuki's hand and dragging her further inside. When Jun looks up again, he sees Kadir has run a brush through his hair, but his shirt is still only half buttoned.
"Need a drink?" One glance at the expensive bottle of whiskey in Kadir's hand is enough for Jun to know that the older man wholly understood why he was there.
"Yes, please." Jun finally let out the breath he had been holding in since his argument with Rei. Kadir only smiled, leading them to the home bar Jun was all too familiar with. In the silver millennium, he had never been too close with his stalwart commander. Kunzite had been far too serious for Jadeite's tastes, and even if they were friends, he wasn't the person Jadeite would seek romantic advice from in a million years. After a couple of lifetimes, Kadir had finally relaxed a bit. Adding in the fact that Nathan, Mamoru, and Zach's love lives were a little too perfect for Jun to get any solid advice out of them, and Jun found himself at Kadir's doorstep a lot more than he ever thought he would.
"Do you want it neat this time?" Kadir eyed him up and down, and seemed to conclude that he needed at least three fingers of whiskey after his nod. Jun would agree with that assessment.
"Thanks. I know this was last minute." Kadir served him his drink before pouring himself one. Distantly, Jun could hear the sound of Minako and Hazuki's squealing.
"Anytime." Kadir took a sip of his whiskey, but remained standing. He didn't ask, Kadir would never stoop so low as to ask for gossip, but he did incline his head in a way that seemed to indicate he was ready to listen, whenever Jun was ready to talk. He took a long sip of whiskey first. It was expensive, and only burned a little bit going down.
"Lately, Hazuki has been looking at the fire… Differently." Jun started. "Like Rei does."
"Do you think she has Rei's fortune-telling abilities?" Besides Chibi-Usa, none of the kids had ever displayed any kind of special powers. They didn't even have any sort of reaction to the silver crystal beyond what a normal person would. Truthfully, all of them were relieved by the notion.
"Maybe." Jun sighed. "She won't tell us."
"Sounds like someone else I know." Kadir chuckled into his drink.
"I know, right? Rei didn't like that one." Jun let out a dramatic huff. "Anyway, I tried to get her to talk to Zuki about it, and she refused to tell us anything. Rei got frustrated. It caused an argument between me and Rei, and well, you can guess the rest."
"And Hazuki?"
"Rei called her a brat. And a menace. And she compared her to her sister, which Hazuki hates." Jun knocked back the rest of his drink. Kadir was already getting him another one. "Turns out Hazuki was listening. I don't know how much she heard, but I think it was most of it. Now, she thinks Rei didn't want her to be born." Jun held back a grimace when he said that. Hearing his daughter think that her mother didn't want her was hard to hear. He was able to stay strong in front of Hazuki, but saying it out loud again filled him with turmoil. Kadir offers him a look of sympathy, and Jun takes a deep breath as tears blur his vision. "Let's talk about something else. How's Minako?"
"She's fine." A serious look comes across Kadir's face, and Jun begins to wonder if the fancy whiskey was only for his sake. "We just got back from Spain."
"Ah yes, your annual month-long vacation to Europe. I guess those are the sorts of things you can do when you don't have kids." He attempts to lighten the mood with a joke, but Kadir's face only gets more serious at his comment. Jun sighed, pushing his own problems aside to focus on the man he had died with more than once. "Did something happen? You're acting like she's dying or something." Kadir took another sip of his drink before answering.
"Minako's pregnant." Jun was glad he wasn't holding his glass when Kadir said it, because he knew if he had been, he would have dropped it. Anytime the topic of children came up, Kadir and Minako always avoided talking about it. Minako would dodge the question with all the grace of a woman who had worked in the entertainment industry since she was seventeen, and Kadir would always fall silent. More silent than usual. Eventually, they all stop pestering them, figuring it was a private matter between the couple. One evening, Minako had drunkenly admitted to Usagi (and by extension, all of the Senshi and the Shitennou, because their princess couldn't keep a secret to save her life) that they both didn't want kids. Their lives were complete without a child, and they didn't want to have one only because people expected it of them. Any discussion of the topic afterwards was dropped entirely.
"Holy shit dude." Kadir nodded solemnly in agreement. "Are you- what are you guys going to do?"
"We aren't entirely sure yet." Kadir poured himself another drink. "She told me on the last day of our vacation. You're the first person I've told… She doesn't want it to get out yet." Jun nodded at that. He could only imagine how excited some of the girls would get when they found out.
"How are you feeling about it?" Kadir was never the kind of guy to enjoy talking about his feelings, but Jun could tell this might be the first time his deathly serious commander needed to talk about his feelings.
"It's unexpected." Kadir looked towards the hallway where the giggling was coming from, a small but important smile on his face. "But not entirely unwelcome."
"I thought you two didn't want kids." Jun wasn't normally this honest with his friend, but Kadir's face told him how much he needed this conversation. Mamoru and Nathan would no doubt be too excited to question him, and Zack would likely tune out the discussion altogether. He needs someone to talk this out with, someone who isn't Minako. Jun thinks to himself.
"I never felt ready for them before." Kadir stirred his whiskey slowly. "She was the same. Now that it happened… I'm not entirely sure what I want." Distantly, Hazuki lets out a scream of glee. Kadir's smile only gets bigger when Minako's loud laughter follows.
"You would be a good dad," Jun commented, relaxing at the smile on his friend's face.
"Thanks." Kadir's face told Jun how much that statement had meant to him. Jun was just glad he could cheer one person up today. "And for the record, you already are one."
"Thanks, but I really haven't felt like it lately." Jun folded his arms, burying his face in his arms. "This stuff between Hazuki and Rei… I try and try to help, but it constantly feels like I'm doing the exact wrong thing. I spend extra time with Hazuki because Rei never does, and Rei gets mad at me for coddling her. I try to spend extra time with Risa to make up for it, and then Hazuki gets upset that no one wants to spend time with her. It's exhausting."
"Twins do seem like a precarious balance."
"You have no idea, dude. I love my girls, and I'm glad we have both of them, but I do wish they weren't the same age." Jun sighed. "Hey, maybe you'll be as unlucky as me."
"Sorry, I think we've reached our twin quota for the group." Kadir laughed.
"You never know. What if Minako is carrying triplets?" That was a funny thought. Jun could feel himself smile, imagining how overwhelmed Kadir would be in that situation.
"Yes, I do. We checked already, there's only one." Kadir nodded, an even bigger smile stretching across his face as footsteps approached them. "Hello."
"Hi." Minako looked between both of them suspiciously, before settling on a smile. "What are you boys talking about?"
"Which one of you girls would win a bikini wrestling fight." Jun answered with a small smile. Kadir affectionately rolled his eyes as he moved to get Minako a glass of water. It was then that Jun noticed the bags under her eyes. While not his cup of tea, only an idiot wouldn't think Minako was beautiful. It was rare to see any imperfections on her face. "We concluded it would be you."
"Oh?" Minako's lips curled into an amused smile. "Not Rei?"
"While I would never bet against my wife's rage, I fear it would only work against her," Jun explained.
"You're probably right about that." Minako laughed, taking the glass of water Kadir had poured for her. "Poor Ami would be far too embarrassed, Usagi's a lost cause, and Makoto would probably get too worked up to actually win. As leader of the Senshi and not in any way biased, I agree with your assessment. "
"Glad to know we are on the same page." Jun nodded in appreciation. "How's Hazuki?"
"She's picking out a movie to watch. I'm guessing it was bad?" Minako glanced back down the hallway she had just come from as she spoke, a sad smile on her face.
"You, more than anyone, know how Rei can get when she's upset." Minako nodded thoughtfully at that.
"If you need, I'm sure Kadir would split the guest room with you."
"Oh? And why would I be sleeping in the guest room in my own home?" Kadir looked amused as he took another sip of his drink.
"Hazukin is sleeping with me, of course. We'll stay up way past your bedtime, and you get so grouchy if you don't get your full eight hours of sleep." Minako affectionately butted her hip into Kadir's as she said it.
"While a sleepover with Mr. Fun Police over there does sound amusing, I fear Rei would only be more angry if I didn't come home tonight. Thanks for the invite, though darling."
"Anytime, tiger." Minako shot him a playful wink. Kadir let out a snort at their interaction, but the amused smile on his face betrayed him. "Love, can you make Hazuki a Shirley Temple? I'm going to see if we have any ice cream left."
"Try not to overload the poor girl's stomach with sugar, please." Kadir sighed, moving to make the requested non alcoholic beverage.
"If you think that's enough, I clearly haven't taught you enough about female heartbreak." Minako playfully giggled, swaying her hips as she strutted off in the direction of the kitchen.
"Women," Jun commented, a playful tone in his voice. Kadir only nodded in solidarity.
Rei didn't look at him as he came in. Jun expected as much, so he ignored her as he gave Risa a kiss goodnight and went to shower. After the shower, he tries to get some work done, but his mind is too distracted by the whiskey and the woman he knows is just a few rooms away.
Rei doesn't come into their bedroom until late. Jun was still wide awake as she lay down on her side of the bed.
"Where's Hazuki?" Rei tentatively asked. The few centimeters between them feel monumental.
"Kadir and Minako's." It was a short answer, one meant not to offend while still being helpful. So what if I'm a bit curt?
"Is she… Okay?" Jun doesn't have to face her to know Rei is fidgeting. Anyone who knew Rei Hino knew that she did not fidget.
"She heard what you said about her, Rei." Jun's patience and buzz from the whiskey had long since faded. All he was left with now was a mild headache and an aching heart. "She thinks you didn't want her to be born."
Rei doesn't say anything, but Jun's heart breaks a little bit more at the way he can hear her poorly holding back her tears.
"Are you and mama fighting?" There's that trademark Hino straightforwardness, Jun sighed to himself internally. Risa was fidgeting with her straw wrapper, clearly nervous about his answer.
"We'll be okay, Riri." Jun hoped the nickname he had used for her since she was a baby would calm her. As her posture relaxed, Jun knew it had its intended effect.
"What about Hazuki?" Risa tentatively asked after a sip of her vanilla milkshake. "How long is she going to stay at Aunt Minako's house?"
"As long as she needs to." Jun watched as Risa carefully digested that information, her milkshake slowly melting as she stared at it. Normally, he wouldn't take her somewhere with such indulgent treats, but he figured both of them could use the sugar fix.
"She'll come back, though, right?" Risa anxiously tore her straw wrapper apart.
"She will. Just give her a little time." Jun schooled his face into a reassuring smile, taking his daughter's hand and gazing into her blue eyes. While Rei's genetics had won out for most of their daughter's appearances, he was selfishly a little proud that they both inherited his clear blue eyes. "Thanks for putting up with this, Riri. I hope you know you did nothing wrong."
"Thanks Papa." Risa gave him a genuine smile as she took another sip of her drink. Risa was never the most talkative child (no, that had all gone to Hazuki), so they fell into a comfortable silence after the comment. Risa takes out a book, and Jun gets out his laptop. Just a typical Sunday afternoon, Jun tries to tell himself as he begins working. As much as he tries, he doesn't believe it.
"Do I really have to go?" Hazuki watched as Minako gathered up all the clothing her Aunt had purchased for her. It didn't take much to convince Aino Minako to go shopping; all it took were a few well-timed puppy eyes, and Hazuki was being sent home with an entirely new closet. Her mother always complained when Minako spoiled her too much, but Hazuki figured she deserved it after what she said.
"Trust me when I say I know your mother and her temper," Minako paused her actions, giving Hazuki a soft tap on the nose. Hazuki couldn't help but smile under her favorite Aunt's attention. "And I know that she misses you." Hazuki's smile fades at the comment.
"No, she doesn't." Hazuki looked away from Minako's knowing gaze. "She has Risa. She doesn't need me."
"Don't say that, Hazukin." Minako rested her forehead on Hazuki's, forcing the child to look her in the eyes. "Your mom can be difficult, at times. But she really does love you. Now, you remember our deal?"
"I have to give half of the cookies you got me in Spain to Risa." Hazuki pulled away with a nod. "And I have to tell Mama that Papa told you to take me shopping."
"Good girl." Minako smiled, securing the white ribbon she had tied into Hazuki's hair to hold her bangs back before going back to packing. She didn't get very far before Hazuki asked her another difficult question.
"Aunt Minako?"
"Hm?"
"Are you leaving again soon?" Minako's hands paused as she looked over the adorable dress she had bought Hazuki. Hazuki watched as the blonde woman let out a sigh, before pulling Hazuki into a hug.
"No Hazukin." Hazuki instantly melted into Minako's touch. "I think I'm going to stay for a bit."
"Good," Hazuki whispered.
They both stay like this for a bit, Hazuki basking in the attention she doesn't normally get from anyone but her father, and Minako needing to hold onto the flickers of her niece's childhood she so rarely got to see.
Neither of them notices Kadir or Jun as they come in. But both men have smiles on their faces as they leave the girls alone.
"You wouldn't believe what Papa made for dinner last night." Risa's voice sounded lighter than it had in the last few days. The shrine steps had always been a blessing and a curse to Rei. While they were undoubtedly the reason she was able to outrun most of her friends (she would always curse Minako's natural athleticism), they also carried any conversations being held on their steps, warning her of an incoming visitor and daring Rei to hear them.
"Papa cooked?!" Hazuki's voice was something Rei would recognize anywhere. Her heart beat faster at the thought.
"Believe it or not, I can cook Hazuki." Jun laughed as he said it. "Hey, I don't like either of your faces."
"It's not your strong suit." By the sounds of their voices, they couldn't be far. Only a few more steps. Rei tells herself, attempting to focus on the task of sweeping.
"That's Risa speak for you suck at it." Risa had a nice laugh. It was warm, like the feeling of wrapping yourself in your favorite blanket on a cold evening. Rei had always loved hearing it. Hazuki's was different. It was clear, like the sound of wind chimes on a sunny summer day. It was filled with a joy that Rei couldn't remember ever having. Has it really been so long since I've heard my daughter laugh?
The laughter abruptly stops when the group reaches the top of the stairs. Hazuki clearly looks like she wasn't expecting Rei to be waiting for her by the entrance. Jun doesn't either. Truthfully, Rei doesn't know what compelled her to stand at the top of the steps.
"Oh, I completely forgot we needed to go to the grocery store. Risa, would you like to come with me?" Risa eagerly nodded at her father's words, taking his hand and leading him down the stairs they had just climbed. Hazuki looked like she wanted to go after them.
"Why don't we move inside? I'll make some tea." Hazuki's nose crinkled at the suggestion, but she didn't say anything. Once they were inside, Hazuki immediately made a beeline for her bedroom.
When Hazuki's door slams, Rei knows that her intention to have this conversation in the living room was ruined. She makes herself and Hazuki a drink before heading upstairs.
She knocks, but doesn't wait for Hazuki's answer. She finds her daughter sitting on the floor, surrounded by clothing Rei had never seen before. Minako… Rei grumbled as she looked at the expensive-looking clothing. Hazuki looks up at her entrance, and her gaze is immediately drawn to the mugs in Rei's hands.
"Hot chocolate?" A smile briefly crossed Hazuki's face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Your favorite." Hazuki doesn't agree, but she doesn't deny the claim either. Rei hands her the pink mug Hazuki had always claimed as her own before sitting across from her daughter.
Hazuki's face briefly lights up again at the taste of the sugary beverage. Good to know she still has that adorable habit. Rei smiled as Hazuki took another sip. Those were the kind of thoughts she wouldn't let anyone but Jun here. But that might be part of the problem, huh?
"I see Minako took you shopping." The evidence was all over Hazuki's floor. Hazuki always claimed getting her clothes all over the floor was part of the process of putting them away. Rei had never quite agreed, but was learning to put up with it.
"She told me to tell you that Papa asked her to."
"Did he?" Rei already knew the answer, but talking with Hazuki at all felt like an improvement.
"No." Hazuki's amused smile told Rei everything she needed to know about her daughter's weekend. See? She's completely fine. A part of Rei is mad at herself for feeling upset at that. "What do you want, Mama?"
"I want to talk to you." Rei had rehearsed this conversation countless times in the roughly forty-eight hours since Jun had left with Hazuki, but she found herself hesitating under Hazuki's critical blue eyes.
"I did my homework already. And I don't see anything in the fire." Both of those subjects had been on Rei's mind, but they weren't why Rei was in her daughter's room.
"I know. I don't want to talk about that." Nervously, Rei looked around Hazuki's room. She wondered if Hazuki knew it used to be her bedroom. Memories of study sessions that were more than a little unfocused and moonlit conversations briefly brought a smile to her face. "Look, Hazuki… I… I'm sorry." The words burn on Rei's tongue as she says them. Apologies had never really been her thing, and her friends and Jun had long since gotten used to nonverbal apologies. But Hazuki was still so young, and Rei knew that nothing she did would make up for the words she said.
"Mama. Do you… Hate me?" Hazuki tries to keep her face even, but her age betrays her. Rei hates the tears swimming in Hazuki's gaze.
"I could never." Rei wasn't one to speak from the heart very often, but Hazuki deserved it.
Hazuki's eyes tell her that she doesn't believe her. Rei decides to switch tactics at the realization that Hazuki really couldn't take her attempts at comfort at face value. "Did we ever tell you about when you were a baby?"
"Huh?" Hazuki's sadness is briefly replaced with confusion. Rei reaches a hand out and places it over Hazuki's.
"I didn't want to tell you about this until you were older, but I think it's important for you to hear." The memories weren't pleasant for Rei, and she had done everything in her power to avoid them, but the last few days had forced her to relive the most difficult time in her life after her mom died. And she was ready to finally put those memories to rest. "When you two were born, it was earlier than we expected."
"Yeah. I already know that." Hazuki rolled her eyes, but looked to Rei for the rest of the story eagerly. Rei took a deep breath and tried to think of the most child-friendly way to say the next part.
"Yes, well, did you know it was over a month early? I'm sure you remember from Haru's birth that babies are supposed to be in their mother's stomach for nine months. Twins are a little less than that, but you and Risa were only there for a little more than seven." Rei took a deep breath. "It didn't affect Risa very much. She was perfectly healthy from the second she was born, but it was different for you." Rei pushes down feelings of inadequacy and pain as she continues. "You were little, way smaller than you were supposed to be. And within hours of you being born, you were running a fever. You were immediately taken away from me and your dad, and the hospital kept you in the intensive care unit for babies for almost a month. It got pretty bad… There were times when we were scared that you weren't going to make it." Tears came to Rei's eyes at the memories of looking at Hazuki through a glass window, instinctively wanting to hold her newborn but knowing she couldn't. Rei pushes them away as best she can. "The minute you were allowed to come home, I didn't let you go for probably a solid twenty-four hours."
"What about Risa?" Hazuki looked a bit shaken by the story, her hand moving to fully hold Rei's.
"Oh, your dad had her. But I wasn't going to let you go until I could be completely sure that you weren't going anywhere." Jun had been more than a little annoyed at her for that, but Rei's protective glare was enough to scare him off whenever he asked if she was tired. "It was so scary. Every day I prayed that you would be okay. I even neglected taking care of Risa, because I was so worried about you. The idea of losing you tore me apart. Your dad was worried too of course, but I fear that I annoyed the crap out of your Aunt Ami begging her for updates on you. When the doctors said you were going to be okay, I was so relieved. I remember thanking every deity in existence that they spared my precious daughter Hazuki because I wasn't sure what I would do if I lost her." Hazuki scooted closer to her, and Rei felt the tears she had been trying so hard to hold back finally slip down her face.
When she notices Hazuki is crying too, Rei pulls her in her arms for the first time in what felt like years.
"I'm not telling you this to make you upset. I'm telling you this because you still are my precious daughter Hazuki. You always will be." Rei whispered, burying her face into Hazuki's dark hair to hide her tears. Distantly, she can feel tears on her shirt as well. "I'm sorry I haven't made you feel that way. I'm sorry I haven't told you how important you are to me. I'm sorry you don't feel like the precious, perfect girl you are. But most of all, I'm sorry I ever made you feel like I didn't want you. Yes, you were a surprise. But you were the best surprise I have ever gotten."
They fall into a silence afterwards, both of their faces wet with tears. Hazuki climbs into Rei's lap, and Rei holds her as tightly as she can without hurting her.
"Mama?" Hazuki asked after both of their tears had started to dry. Rei leaned back to properly face her daughter, one of her hands immediately moving to wipe away some of the tears still clinging to Hazuki's face. "Is that why I'm named Hazuki? Cause I was supposed to be born in August?" Rei laughed at the comment, a genuine smile crossing her face as she took in her daughter.
"No, that wasn't our intention at all." Rei smiled at the memory of how they came up with their younger daughter's name. "To be honest with you, we weren't expecting two daughters. I'm sure you've noticed that besides Chibi-Usa, who is something else entirely, you and Risa and the only Senshi children who are girls. Before you two were born, half of us were convinced Senshi couldn't have daughters. We wanted your genders to be a surprise, but we were convinced one, if not both of you, was going to be a boy. We barely even talked about girl names before you two came along. I always knew that if I had a daughter, I wanted to name her Risa, so that's where her name came from, but your birth allowed me to be more creative." Rei's hand moved to brush a strand of black hair, just as dark as her own, away from Hazuki's face. "We liked the idea of having the character for moon in your name, so we narrowed our search down to names that contained it. When I was watching you sleep one night, you almost looked like you were glowing in the moonlight. That's when I came up with your name. 火野映月. Reflections of fire and the moon."
"Why did you want the character for moon in my name? Is it because of Aunt Usa?" Hazuki looked genuinely curious, and Rei almost laughed at the question.
"That's a story for when you're much older." Or never, Rei thought to herself. Their past lives weren't something Rei was very eager to share with her daughters. "I just want you to know that while I didn't come up with it until after you were born, your name is just as precious to me as Risa's is."
"I like my name, Mama." Hazuki adjusted their position so she could be even closer to Rei. While not normally one for physical affection, Rei knew it was important to Hazuki. She would force herself into anything if it meant something to her daughters. "You did a better job than Aunt Usa."
"You're right about that one." Rei laughed at the thought of Usagi naming her daughter after herself. While not uncommon, it was a bit uncreative in Rei's opinion. "Your dad is just as bad, though. He wanted to name you Reiko."
"That would have been confusing." Hazuki laughed, resting her face on Rei's collarbone. "Hazuki is much better."
"I agree." Rei moved her hand to pull Hazuki close to her chest, smiling at how the tenseness seemed to leave Hazuki's shoulders. Rei knew her shoulders were the same.
By the time Rei hears Jun and Risa come in, the hot chocolate had long since gone cold. She can hear Risa's soft footsteps slowly approaching them, but at the last second, she turns and enters the bedroom next door. Jun's footsteps come next, but unlike their daughter, Jun actually dares to open Hazuki's door.
A small smile comes to his face at the scene, and he happily sits down next to her. Rei immediately rests her head on his broad shoulder.
"I haven't seen you two this close to each other in years," Jun whispers, his eyes drawn to the sleeping girl in Rei's lap. Rei can't help but think she looks younger in her sleep.
"She likes this sort of thing." Rei's hand continued gently stroking Hazuki's hair.
"Oh, I'm aware." Jun laughed, one of his arms wrapping around Rei's waist to pull her closer. "She gets it from me."
"Yes, she does." A small smile comes across Rei's face. Jun kisses her hair before looking back down at Hazuki.
"You two all good?"
"I think so." Rei nodded, allowing herself to fall into Jun's warmth. "I… Apologized to her."
"Rei Hino apologized?" Jun had an amused smile on his face. "I never thought we would see the day.
"I'm trying." Rei let out a small sigh.
"That's all I can ask of you, firebird." Rei moved impossibly closer to her husband, kissing his cheek as a thank you. They fall into a comfortable silence, Hazuki's light snoring the only noise.
"Minako took her shopping again," Rei mentions after a couple of minutes. Her gaze is trained onto a child-sized sweater that was no doubt expensive. She had told Minako to stop buying her daughters' extravagant clothing that they would grow out of in less than a year, but Minako always waved her off with a metal credit card and a smile.
"I'm sure Hazuki asked for it. You know she loves it when Minako dresses her up." Jun chuckled, grabbing a dress that was lying next to him. He took one look at the price tag, a surprised look crossing his face as he began carefully folding the garment.
"Yes, well, I'm sure Minako was equally thrilled about it." Rei nodded her head in disappointment, but her amused smile betrayed her.
"Oh, I agree wholeheartedly. Hazuki is the only one of the kids who will go shopping with her without getting bored." Hazuki lightly stirs in her slumber, but she remains fast asleep, comforted by Rei's natural warmth and the hand still slowly stroking her hair.
"Hazuki is the only person in the world who can go shopping with Minako and not get bored." Rei rolled her eyes in amusement. "Nothing rivals that girl's obsession with dressing up anything that breathes. With how much she spoils Hazuki, I'm surprised she never wanted to have her own kids simply to have another cute thing for her to shove into much too expensive clothing." An amused smile came across Jun's face at the comment. Kadir had said Minako didn't want it getting out, but Rei could be discreet. Probably more so than Jun himself.
"Well, now that you mention it…"
Rei did her best to ignore Hazuki's fidgeting as she went about setting up her morning prayer. Risa had been the same the first time she meditated with Rei, but she had long since learned how to sit still. Then again, Hazuki had always found it difficult to sit still. Much more difficult than Risa. Rei thought to herself.
"Mama?"
"Yes, Hazuki?" She tried not to sound too annoyed, but the way that Hazuki had already managed to mess up the robes Rei had meticulously put on her that morning made it difficult.
"My foot's asleep." Hazuki pouted, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Truthfully, Rei was proud of her that she managed to make it a whole ten minutes in a traditional seiza position.
"You can sit normally if you would like." Hazuki immediately let out a sigh of relief, moving to sit on her butt with her feet out in front of her. Rei held back a chuckle at how much it reminded her of Usagi.
"Baby," Risa muttered quietly, an amused smile on her face at her twin's behaviour.
"Hey! I'm not a baby." Hazuki argued, immediately turning towards her sister. So much for her sitting quietly and watching Rei grumbled to herself.
"Only a baby wouldn't be able to sit properly." Rei didn't point out that Risa had struggled with it just as much as Hazuki when she first joined her.
"Girls, please. Not here." Rei sighed, deciding to put a stop to the argument before the morning ritual was completely ruined. Rei was self-aware enough to know they sounded exactly like her and Usagi when they were younger. The thought causes an amused smile to break through her serious face. "Hazuki, sit however you feel comfortable. Risa, you agreed to be quiet." The girls both shot each other one more competitive glare before moving to their respective spots. Risa moved to the other side of the fire, sitting a bit further away than Rei. Hazuki crawls towards Rei, sitting next to her. One glance at the child tells Rei all the answers she wants to know.
"You don't have to do this if it scares you, Hazuki." Rei knew that feeling all too well. When she first started seeing things in the fire, she was scared of it too. It very rarely showed good things.
"I can do it." Hazuki nodded, a look of fierce determination coming over her face.
"You can just copy me for now. If it gets too much, let me know, and we can stop." Hazuki nodded, carefully watching as Rei moved through the motions she had been doing every day since she could remember. Hazuki copies her exactly, her motions unpracticed and a tad awkward. The fire doesn't feel like showing her much, so Rei instead focuses on her environment. Risa's aura remains as stable as it always is, a gentle ocean blue that Rei found reminded her of Ami a bit. Hazuki's neon red one was never as consistent as her sister's, but it's more unstable than usual as Hazuki squeezes her eyes shut.
When the fire flared in front of them, Rei knew it wasn't because of her. She places a hand on Hazuki's shoulder, but Hazuki seems determined to keep her visions to herself. Rei isn't sure if she's doing it on purpose or subconsciously.
After a few minutes, the fire dies down and Hazuki's gentle blue eyes open. Rei makes sure that she is the first thing Hazuki sees.
"I'm okay, Mama." Her worry must have been written all over her face as Hazuki gave her a gentle smile. The neon red aura calms a bit, and Rei allows herself to relax a bit. " Actually, I want to try something."
"Sure, whatever you want." Hazuki looks around briefly.
"I want Papa and Risa to watch." Rei briefly nods before going to collect Jun. It wasn't hard, he was waiting right outside the door. She whispers to Risa to come over as well, and Hazuki tells them all to sit behind her. Jun and Risa look at her in confusion, and Rei shoots back a look that says she doesn't know anything more than they do. Nothing in a million years would have prepared her for what Hazuki did next.
After a brief glance at the other occupants in the room, Hazuki smiled slowly before sticking her arm in the sacred fire.
Rei can feel her instincts immediately kicking in, trying to get to her feet as fast as possible. She can feel Jun doing the same.
Instead of screaming in pain, Hazuki is laughing when Rei desperately pulls her away.
"It's fine, see?" It's then that Rei noticed that Hazuki's arm was completely fine. Even her clothes were completely untouched.
"Hazuki." Jun sighed, pulling Hazuki's arm to inspect it even closer. "Please never do anything like that ever again."
"The fire told me to." Hazuki laughed.
"Well, at least warn us next time." Jun sighed, his face shifting from worry to surprise when he saw an amused smile on Rei's face.
"It told me to do this, too." Hazuki nodded before intensely looking at her hands. After a few seconds, a small fire appeared between them. Panic is written across Jun's face as she proudly shows it off. A stray ember breaks off, setting Jun's sleeve on fire.
"Careful." Rei quickly uses her powers to put it out for him, and Hazuki pouts as the fire in her hands rapidly goes out.
"New rule," Jun examined his sleeve. There went his favorite dress shirt. "No fire in the house."
"What about the sacred fire?" Hazuki looks amused with herself as she says it. It reminds Jun of the way he used to torture Kunzite with contradictions and smart comments.
"That can stay, but no creating fire inside." Jun looked to Rei, who nodded in agreement at the new rule. He was happy she wasn't upset.
"What about candles-"
"Hazuki. No special fire powers inside." Jun sighed at his daughter's need to find loopholes.
That comes from you, too, Rei silently tells him.
I'm well aware of that, Jun's glance responds.
"Risa? What's wrong?" All their gazes immediately looked over at the silent girl, who had a pout on her face at her mother's question.
"I want cool fire powers too." Risa pouts, kicking her feet out in front of her. "I'm older, I should be the next Sailor Mars."
"Oh please, you're only twenty minutes older than me." Hazuki rolled her eyes. "The gods picked me, so deal with it." Rei was barely able to hold Risa back as the normally quiet girl tried to jump on her sister.