Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Descended
Episode Five - A Summer´s Night, Easing Pains of Growing Age

        Amatsu sat next to his mother, humming to the music playing. It was a jazzy tune that he enjoyed though Zokusei looked more and more prissy about it.
        "Mama, the music is too loud," she stated flatly.
        "It´s barely on," Amatsu quipped.
        "Mama!"
        "Grow up, Zokusei!" Amatsu turned sharply. "Mom´s not going to back you up forever, you know!"
        Her lower lip trembled as she met her mother´s eyes in the rear view mirror.
        "Amatsu," Makoto said gently.
        "Come on Mom! She´s thirteen and acts like a five year old!"
        "Enough, Amatsu!" Makoto spoke sharply. "Don´t argue with me," she added, stopping him from rebutting against her.
        They drove in silence, Zokusei looking bored and Amatsu annoyed. Makoto looked worried, seeing Amatsu acting not like himself. She wondered if it were just age and nothing more.

        Kiryoko smiled at her mirrored form as she placed down the cushioned brush. She fiddled with her bangs for a moment before looking over her shoulder, seeing her mother watching her with a gentle look.
        "I´m about done," she announced. "Will Lettuce be there?"
        Setsuna chuckled. "Of course, though you shouldn´t tease her so."
        "It´s all right with her," Kiryoko said confidently.
        "It´s just for fun, all right?" Setsuna pointed out.
        "Mom! Like I wouldn´t know!" Kiryoko sighed gustily. "Amatsu AND Kochi will be there!"
        "Oh? And rumor has it that they are both interested in other people then yourself," Setsuna said gently.
        "Like Dad was with you? But you didn´t give up and neither will I!" She said cheerfully, grinning brazenly.
        Setsuna burst out laughing. "Like mother, like daughter?"
        "Absolutely!"

        It didn´t take long for the group to gather in the generous backyard of the Tenou family. Amatsu hounded Kochi instantly.
        "Hey, what´s wrong?" He asked on the spot. Kochi frowned at him. "Come on, living with super ultra sensitive baby sister gives me a good radar. You´re upset!"
        Kochi rolled his eyes but neglected to respond. He turned slightly away, his posture saying he didn´t want to talk about it.
        Amatsu looked around. "Hey! Kaichou!" He made a beeline, beaming widely. "Hello, Ms. Mizuno."
        Ami nodded gently. "Good evening, Amatsu. How is the family?"
        "Well, we´re doing wonderful. Father is on a long trip but he promised this to be the last time," Amatsu beamed. "And Zokusei has been a bit emotional and Mom won´t do anything about it."
        "Is she depressed?"
        "She´s just moody," Amatsu shrugged.
        "Hmmm.. she is a girl, you know," Ami said carefully. "Perhaps she´s becoming a woman?"
        Amatsu stared at her. "How?"
        Kaichou snorted into her palm. "When she gets her period," she told him frankly.
        "Mom never told me.."
        "Of course not! It´s not something you´d understand!" Kaichou was now visibly laughing at him. "You´re all manly and yet you forget the simple processes of a woman?"
        He blinked and turned around, leaving her without another word. "Oh... Amatsu!"
        It was too late. Once his ego was pricked and deflated, he didn´t want to be with the opposite sex and so lounged for a good while, moping.
        Zokusei settled herself in a chair, resting comfortably and easy to keep herself clean and pure. Kochi stood farther in the back of the yard, mumbling to himself. Kaichou watched him with a conflicted face. And Amatsu watched the two, putting two and two together.
        He lumbered over to Kaichou, just barely there as she took notice and he tripped on his left foot, from a invisible obstacle. He had time for a gasp as he crashed and then staggered up, hearing Ame and Seiiko laughing from his far left backside.
        "Are you alright?" Kaichou asked instantly.
        He winced. He sorely wished he could stop making an ass of himself. "So, what´d he say?"
        "What?" Kaichou stared at him.
        "What´d Amatsu say that ticked you off? Everyone knows he blabs whatever comes to mind. He doesn´t mean it to be mean you know."
        "It certainly sounded like it."
        "Really? Or maybe he was trying to show you something? Like what it´s all worth?"
        "What´s it like, you think, for him to not know his father?"
        "He has a father, she just happens to be a woman," Amatsu said instantly.
        "Oh... who told you that?"
        "My mom."
        "Ah..  But so he has a ‘father´."
        "Man, if that´s what you´re so upset about.."
        She interrupted him. "It´s not of your business."
        He blinked. "Kochi is a good guy. Big mouth, yea, but you shouldn´t be mad at him. ‘Sides, aren´t we allies? Can´t have bad blood, you know."
        She rolled her eyes. "Leave me alone."
        He snorted. "God, what is it with prissy girls today!?" He lumbered off  again, his dark mood returning.
        Kaichou sighed and stayed away from Kochi. Which was remarkably easy. He never once approached close enough for someone to talk to him.
        Finally, Ami nudged her daughter. "Honey, go on and talk to him. He feels badly about whatever it is that upset you."
        "He said I could´ve been a one-night stand," Kaichou stated flatly.
        Ami said gently. "Kaichou, you were." Seeing the stunned face of her daughter, she sighed. "I knew your father for a long time but we were friends. Before he had to leave, we gave in to our feelings, no matter the cost. That was when I knew I had fallen in love. And then came you," she brushed her daughter´s hair back gently. "Now, are you going to talk to him or shall I escort you?"
        Kaichou shook her head. "I can do it.."
        She inched to Kochi, who was sitting down at this point, plucking the stringent grass. The summer air was still muggy, and the night was coming, the sun slowly dipping away to rest.
        She stood behind him and coughed delicately. When she didn´t get a response, she coughed a little louder.
        He looked over at her, his eyes clearing. "Oh, Kaichou!" He moved to his feet, opened his mouth, and moved forward at the same time, intent of apologizing at that moment when he stepped on a rock and flipped onto his back. "Ow.."
        "Almost as bad as Amatsu today," she said lightly, helping him up.
        "What? No way, I´m not a klutz!" He brushed his buttocks free of dust, face red. "I... uh, wanted to.. um, say that I was... uh... sorry, you know. Sometimes my mouth does things that my mind doesn´t have time to stop. It was very.... thoughtless of me and I didn´t mean it at all."
        "I know." There was a moment of awkward silence. She fiddling with her shirt, him scuffling his feet, both looking shy.
        "And how´s it going!?" Amatsu nearly screamed it, as the two jumped. "Goody! You guys work it out? That´s good, that´s good. Listen, someone help me out here?"
        They turned and nearly had a heart attack. Somehow, he had waddled over to the two, his bottom stuck in a folding chair. "It folded on me and I think it´s caught on my jeans. So... how about a hand?"
        Kochi snerked, covering his face with a barely contained laugh. "My god, see! I´m not like him at all!"
        "Listen, berate me sometime later. I´d like help before.."
        "AMATSU!" Makoto had seen her eldest in the state he was, and after composing herself, had gone to help him. "I told you not to sit on the children´s seats! Why did you do that?"
        "You told me not to," Amatsu responded.
        She whapped him at the side of his head. "Don´t patronize me," she stated. "And try listening for a change?" She promptly turned him around and yanked off the chair.
        There was a rip and a moment´s silence. "Amatsu.. .since when do you go without.."
        "MOM!" His hands feebly covered the gaping hole.
        "You´re not wearing underwear?" Kochi asked in amazement.
        "Shut up.." Amatsu´s eyes bugged out, his face a permanent red. "Give me some pants?"         "Fine, fine.." Carefully manevuering so that he didn´t moon anyone, the two entered the home.
        Kaichou followed Makoto, who went to the elders talking seriously.
        "The signatures have been similarly constructed as of with the war against the Black Moon clan. But these are old entrances, barely sustained," Setsuna was saying.
        "The planet was left alone afterwards, right?" Ami asked quietly.
        "Yes. Once the link was gone, there was nothing left to do anything," Setsuna nodded.
        "Well, it could be something that came to rest there, another evil being," Minako mused.
        "Suppose so but come on, there must´ve been civilians," Rei pointed out. "They´d  be pretty angry.."
        At this point, they noticed Kaichou. "Honey, why don´t you go off with the others?" Ami asked her gently.
        She frowned. "But Mom.."
        "Merely speculations, go on now," Ami said more firmly.
        She sighed and then waltzed over to Kiryoko and Netsuretsu. "Hey, what´s up?"
        "Just talking about class," Kiryoko quipped, grinning at Netsuretsu. "And certain unrequited love, huh?"
        Netsuretsu turned red. "Oh, leave me alone!" She retorted hotly.
        "I can´t help it! You make it so easy!" She teased.
        "Boy trouble, huh? I never had the problem."
        "Not till now," Netsuretsu waggled her eyebrows. "They both like you a lot. They make is so obvious."
        "Utterly obvious. But I couldn´t tell which one to pick," Kiryoko mused.
        Kaichou raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me but I could pick neither one of them."
        "I thought you got along well with Amatsu."
        "I get along fine with all of you," Kaichou stated, matter-of-factly.
        "What is this? Girl talk?" Amatsu and Kochi approached. Amatsu fiddled with the borrowed belt attached to the borrow pants.
        "Baggy doesn´t suit you," Kiryoko said teasingly.
        Amatsu flushed. "Oh, bug off."
        "I don´t think we should tell them what we were talking about," Netsuretsu told Kiryoko. Kaichou jumped.
        "Of course NOT," she added loudly. "Nothing to tell THEM about!"
        The two other girls giggled in their cupped hands at Kaichou´s frantic face.
        "I´m boredddd..." Zokusei nearly sang it.
        "I thought you were having fun counting the lint on your dress?" Amatsu asked.
        "Humph." She turned her head away smartly, nose in the air.
        "What´s Mommy talking about?" Seiiko asked, the two younger children popping up suddenly.
        The others turned to Kaichou who shrugged. "They didn´t want me to listen."
        "You´re nearly the adult here," Kochi mentioned.
        "And you´re not that far behind," Kaichou said, feeling put out.
        "Yea, I guess. Mom says that boys take forever to grow up though."
        "I don´t know, it just may be your genes," Amatsu suggested.
        Kochi frowned. "I see, so when did you change your sex?"
        "I didn´t.." He turned and saw the younger children watching the budding argument. "Sure, start something in front of children. Real mature."
        Amatsu stuck his tongue and then blushed as Kaichou stared him down. "Sorry.." He mumbled to his feet, scruffling.
        "You know, I keep thinking about the pool we found. Where we ‘blessed´ our guides, who aren´t here today.." Kiryoko mused.
        "Apollo is floating around here," Kochi waved a hand carelessly.
        "Eos was tired," Zokusei said smoothly. "She needed more beauty sleep."
        "I took her out to run with me," Amatsu whispered to the rest. "She needs to stretch her legs instead of always trying to look pretty."
        "That´s your sister in a nutshell."
        He saw double for a moment when Amatsu twisted his earlobe, pulling him down in a hunched back. "Ouch!"
        "I´ll hurt more than that if you say something like that again."
        "I´m BORED."
        "Where are Seiiko and Ame?" Netsuretsu asked suddenly.
        "Oh, look at them!" The two had gotten tired of listening to their allies and were now chasing the fireflies that glowed into life as the day shifted effortlessly into night.
        The others drifted out, watching them like floating tiny stars of energy, dancing around them in a free spirit. Kiryoko stood behind them all, thinking to herself.
        "Penny for your thoughts?" Came Apollo, who settled at her feet. She knelt and waited for a moment before he got the hint. Gently, he climbed to rest against her shoulder, posed a little precariously.
        "Apollo, what drew us to you? Or was it you to us?"
        "Haven´t a clue. I´m just an ordinary cat. There really isn´t anything special about me."
        "And the same with Eos?"
        "I guess."
        "So then, why did we find you?"
        "You needed us."
        "I think.." She said slowly. "That you play a bigger part, something just far out of sight and yet it´s coming."
        "Tell me about it?"
        Kiryoko watched the fireflies. "To need is to seek out. We were drawn to you because we don´t know what to do. Maybe you were born for this reason. Despite the lack of learning and having to be given powers of speech, you have something in you that help us be guided. You are a soundboard, able to tell us the truth, to give advice greatly needed, or just be there to help us in a tight spot."
        "That kind of makes me feel better. I´ve been with Luna and Artemis for only a week and already I can´t stand this."
        "It´s not that bad. After all, you´re not alone."
        "I don´t think Eos counts. She has too many teeth."
        "I think you two would get along splendidly."
        "Hmmm... this wasn´t what was really on your mind, right?"
        "What did that water feel like?" Kiryoko asked finally.
        Apollo was silent, a look of momentary concentration. "It was.. congealed. A gathered mound that felt like something I could barely grasp. It looked like water, for sure, but it´s form was more substantial, more condensed. It was as if it had been water at one point but then was combined with some energy."
        "What energy?"
        "I don´t know but... it´s fading," Apollo looked out at the group. "Earth has and always needed protection but it´s no longer going to be just Earth. When we hit space, I mean finally go and make permanent marks, we´ll be spread across and need salvation more than ever."
        "But as it´s been proven, we´re not alone here. From history books, against Galaxia and her team, against other dimensions, others exist. Who is to say that when Wiseman was destroyed, Nemesis was taken out?"
        "So they are reaching us."
        "For what though?"
        She let the question stand. "For what....." And she sighed. "Mother has restricted me greatly."
        "Ah.. about the no using Time keys, or the Garnet Rod, or the three taboos?"
        "You learn fast."
        "I may look cute but I can be very layered."
        "So is Eos."
        "Not this again.."
        "You´re going to have to give her chance."
        "Over my dead body. I may be a guide but I´m a cat first and instincts tell me to run!"
        "You´re not just a cat anymore, you have a capacity to see beyond those instincts and listen to that mind of yours! I suggest you do so. That way Eos will stop picking on you."
        "She does -not- pick on me."
        "Liar."
        "Hey, if anything, -I- pick on her!"
        "Right."
        "I DO!"
        "You´re just a chicken."
        And she went to the others, Apollo still protesting all the way.
        "Should we have included them?" Makoto asked Ami quietly.
        "No.. it was only speculation. Until enough happens, that´s all we have." And they watched their children, mingled and laughing, the fireflies still moving lazily, their lights dancing in motes, filling a darkening world with a dim and cool light.


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