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January, 2010
Usagi glanced up as the back door opened and closed. "Any sign of her?"
Miyo shook her head. "Nothing. It's weird, I never thought she'd be the one to run away."
Shi nodded, dropping into a chair across from the blonde. "Yeah, I mean ... Usami isn't normally like that. That's more something like I would do." After Shi had run out of the house after their fight, Usami had teleported to somewhere unknown. Tsuki had arrived at the bedroom in time to see her leave, but didn't tell anyone she was gone until the next morning, after breakfast. "I guess it didn't help that we all kind of decided to give her some space, did it?"
Usagi smiled sadly at the twins. "I'm sure she's ok. Even the best of friends need space every once in a while," she replied. "She'll come back when she's had time to think everything through."
"I hope you're right, Chiba-san," Miyo sat next to her sister and buried her head in her arms. Ever since they learned the black-haired princess was gone, most of the people in the house had been out looking for her. Even the older Rei and Michiru had been unable to tell where she went. "Kageshirou said he was going to search Kakyuu-hime's ship. Tavek is searching his."
"Why would he be doing that? Did he lose something?" All three women looked up to see Usami standing next to the table, holding several bags of candy. She smiled at the three of them then placed one of the bags on the table. "Sorry I was gone so long. I forgot about the time difference between here and Tokyo. It was a rather large order and I was afraid I may have been seen. Turns out, it was just Wakagi-san's husband, and he didn't see me teleport, so I was safe."
Usagi stared at the young Princess in shock. "You .... you went to Tokyo?!" She automatically launched into the 'use-caution-when-teleporting' speech before she realized that she didn't know Usami could teleport by herself, let alone be able to go so far, unaided. "... and what if it hadn't been Wakagi-san? You could have exposed-- wait ... you can teleport ... to Tokyo from California ... alone? Without going to one of the ships?"
Usami blushed and had the decency to lower her head as she listened to Usagi's ranting. When she was asked about teleporting, she smiled a little. "There is no need for me to go to a ship, I ... I am the only one among us that is able to teleport great distances unaided. I think it has to do with my ... former life." She bowed her head again as she stopped using her powers to block Usagi and the others in the house from seeing her sigil.
"Unusual form of telepathy your little friend has there." Dr. Alvarson smiled at the teenagers as he joined them at the table. He and Minako's mother had been visiting for the holidays and had decided to stick around when the aliens moved in.
Usami looked up and smiled at the older man, not at all surprised by his sudden appearance. "It isn't telepathy, Alvarson-sensei. I merely planted a suggestion in everyone's mind that they didn't want to see the truth. I did it through their-"
"Through our dreams. That's how Badiane always worked." Usagi was still staring at Usami, shocked to see yet another former enemy sitting in her kitchen. She glanced over at the other two teenagers, but could see nothing from them but static. "It's ok, girls ... we know who Tanetomi-chan is."
Miyo and Shi shared a quick glance then looked from their princess to the woman that was destined to rule Earth. "I don't know what you're talking about, Chiba-san," Miyo replied. "If you'll excuse us, we have to tell the others that Usami is home." The twins stood and left the room quickly, Usami following moments later.
Usagi frowned as she watched them all leave. "I know they're hiding something from us. But I don't understand why they feel they have to."
Dr. Alvarson smiled at the blonde woman. "You will, my dear. Now, tell me about this newest twist to the legacy of the StarLights ... Kakyuu-hime thinks she has found Yaten's daughter?"
After learning that Usami was home safely, and begging one of the Fleet doctors for a cure to their hangovers, Seiya and Taiki went back to the school. They had arranged to meet Jinia during her free time earlier in the day, but had missed it due to the situation with Usami.
That is why Jinia was not happy to see the two men standing outside the school as she left that afternoon. "Look, I hope you two aren't going to make this a habit. I have better things to do than wait around for people who don't even bother to show up on time. Especially ones that only want to tell me to stay away from their friend again."
"Whoa! Hold on a second, Sakuma-san! We're not here to say anything like that." Seiya held his hands up defensively and glanced at the redhead.
Taiki frowned slightly. "I know how we acted before must have seemed ... ok, let's be honest, we were jerks. We had only one goal in mind and we didn't think ..."
"You thought I was a distraction." Jinia watched the two men for several moments before walking over to sit on a low stone wall. "Why are you late?"
Seiya sighed, leaning against the building. "The girls got into a fight last night and ... Usami-chan ..."
"Usami-chan ran away from the house where we're staying. We spent the entire morning looking for her," Taiki replied. "Kakyuu-h ... chan called us a few minutes ago to tell us she was home."
Jinia frowned. She had known the other girl was absent, but all that any of the kids would say was that she was sick. "So why are you here now?"
Seiya sighed again. "A lot of things have happened over the last few years, Sakuma-san. Things that ... things that you and Yaten's daughter need to know."
Jinia looked at Seiya in shock. "How did you ... you knew, didn't you?"
"No. Not until this moment." Taiki sat down a short distance away from the teacher. "The woman that was with Seiya the other day was ... she is the reason we ..."
"She's the Princess. From your songs, right?"
Seiya nodded, glancing over at Taiki. Telling someone that you're an alien was never an easy thing to do and the redhead had far more experience than his darker companion. "We are not ... from Japan. Never were. We found ourselves there several years before you met Yaten. Our original goal was to find our friend, Kakyuu-hime and return to where we came from as soon as possible. It took a lot longer for us to find her than we ever anticipated."
"And because of that, we found ourselves growing attached to ... people. We made friends, even though we tried not to." Taiki thought back over the conversation they had had with Kakyuu and Usagi before coming to this meeting. Both women had agreed that Jinia needed to know, but told them to be careful not to scare her. "These friends ... meant a lot to us. And it hurt to leave them, but we had no choice."
"You're not making any sense. What does finding one friend have to do with leaving others?" Jinia looked from one man to another then remembered something that she had heard Yaten say years before. She switched to Japanese, just in case someone should walk by. "You're ... you're Senshi, aren't you?"
The two men shared a glance before Seiya nodded. "Yes, we are. But we are not ... from this planet."
"You're the StarLights." Jinia smiled a little at the stunned looks on their faces. "I may have been young and naive, but I wasn't stupid. Anyone could have made the connections I did. Especially if they saw half the stuff I saw."
Taiki smiled a little. "So, you knew? All these years?"
Jinia nodded. "Since just before the tour started. When you two and Yaten had that big fight and he came to stay with me. I thought I saw ... I could have sworn when he first came to the house that he was .... a girl."
Seiya chuckled dryly, remembering the fight. "That's because he was. He got so mad at us that he couldn't hold onto his male form. He stormed out of the apartment without even realizing it."
"Male form? I think there's a lot to this story that you're leaving out, Seiya-kun. And unfortunately, I don't think this is place to be telling it." Jinia pulled a piece of paper from her purse, jotted something down on it and handed it to the black-haired man. "Why don't the two of you ... and Yaten ... come to my place for dinner tonight? You can explain it all to me then."
"But ... what about your daughter?"
Jinia smiled a little. "Hikari is studying with friends, tonight. She's already arranged to spend the night at the mansion ... with Tanetomi-chan and Usami-chan, who I'm glad to hear isn't really sick after all."
Taiki chuckled slightly and glanced at his companion. "So, who came to speak to you? Kakyuu-sama or Chiba-san?"
"Chiba-san called me last night and asked if she could come over. Before the fight, apparently. It seems the girls aren't the only ones with issues they need to work out." Jinia looked between the two men as she stood. "I'm really glad you guys came back. Everyone's missed you."
Seiya watched her walk to the parking lot before he smiled and started chuckling. "Leave it to Odango to be ten steps ahead of us. I wonder if she's got their wedding planned yet?"
"Ok, so let me get this straight. You arranged for the girl Kakyuu-sama thinks is Yaten-san's daughter to be here while Yaten-san, Seiya-san and Taiki-san are at her mother's house, talking. And you're hoping that having the daughter here will get the other Kinmokunai to open up about who they were in their former lives, even though ... they don't know her?"
"Exactly." Usagi sipped at her tea and glanced around the table at her fellow Senshi. Ami and her family had already returned to Africa, but Michiru-tachi were still there. Haruka seemed the most puzzled by the whole situation, especially after learning about Tanetomi. "If she is a reincarnate as well, then I'm hoping that they'll be able to tell."
"So ... we know that Usami-chan is Badiane. And Tanetomi-chan is Papillon," Rei thought for a few moments then glanced at Usagi. "And you said you couldn't read the others?"
Usagi nodded. "The Founder was with me. He said he couldn't tell who they were, either, but I think he was lying. I think he knows exactly who they are. He's just not telling."
Luna frowned, remembering a few incidents from several months before. "Do you think-" Her frown deepened when the wheelchair-bound blonde gave her 'the look'. They had never found the girls in the pictures that Artemis made, nor had they been seen again. Usagi had brushed it off as a temporary crossing of dimensions and the others seemed to have forgotten all about it. The black-haired Guardian decided that she simply had to find those pictures again. "It wouldn't be the first time he's withheld information from us."
"I'll ask mom and see if she can get him to tell her. I don't think we have any reason to be afraid of them, do you, Usagi-chan?" Minako asked. When the other woman shook her head, the former actress grinned. "Good. Then while the girls are having their sleep-over, we'll have one of our own. But no more caffeine for Haru-chan. It's not good for the baby."
Haruka frowned and grabbed her coffee cup. "Back off, blondie." She downed the contents of the cup then glared lightly at Michiru. "I know that was decaf you gave me."
Michiru smiled innocently and leaned her head against the blonde's shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about, love."
"So, you're Usami-chan's friend from school? Hikari Sakuma, right?"
Hikari nodded slightly. Usami had told her that her family was slightly overprotective, but she hadn't expected to get the third degree the moment she walked in the door. She was currently standing in the hallway with Usami, Tanetomi, Usami's younger sister Tsuki, Kageshirou (who she had just learned was Usami's older brother) and his 'friend' Tavek, a rather impressive young man with light purple hair and golden eyes. "Y-yes," she replied, bowing slightly. "Usami-chan and I have Math together. And I have German with Tanetomi-chan."
Tsuki muttered something in a language Hikari had never heard before, but that 'felt' familiar.
"Tsuki-chan!" Usami blushed slightly and quickly reprimanded her sister. The younger princess made a face at her then retreated back to her bedroom. "I apologize for her. She's rather ...."
"Stuck-up?" Kageshirou suggested. He smiled at his sister, then motioned the girls into the living room. He noticed Tavek was watching Hikari and elbowed the slightly older man. "Into young girls now?" he asked in Kinmokunai.
Tavek chuckled. "If I was, you'd be the first to know." He winked at the younger man then pulled him to the side for a moment. "There's something about her that seems ... familiar. Who did Okaa-sama say was her mother?"
Kageshirou frowned for a moment as he thought over the conversation he had had with the older redhead. She hadn't given him many details, but had eluded to the fact that there was something special about the girl. "I think she said her mother was someone Dema and my uncles used to know in Japan. But they only ever told us about Usagi-sama and the others."
"Maybe it was someone they wanted to forget?" Tavek glanced into the living room and smiled slightly at two of the three teenagers giggling over something. He had picked up a little Japanese from being around the Royals all his life, but English was still something that eluded him, so he couldn't understand what they were saying. "What are they laughing at?"
It was Kageshirou's turn to chuckle as he placed his hand on Tavek's, which just so happened to be playing with the edge of his shirt. "I think they're laughing at us." He leaned over to whisper something in the other man's ear and heard the giggling increase. He then winked at his sister as he pulled the blushing man in the direction of the stairs.
"I had no idea your brother was ... that way," Hikari replied, watching the two men leave.
"What way?" Usami glanced at Tanetomi, who was also giggling.
"She means Kageshirou and Tavek's ... relationship."
Usami frowned, glancing back toward the stairs. "But what's so funny about that? They're both full-bloods, so it doesn't matter."
"No, I think she means the fact that they both prefer to be men," 'Tomi replied.
Hikari arched an eyebrow as she grabbed her German book. "I meant the fact that they both prefer men. What do you mean by saying they're 'full-blood's'?"
Usami chuckled slightly as she started doodling on her homework. "Uh, I meant ... well, you see, our parents ...well, my father, Shirou's step-father, would get very upset if he were with someone that wasn't ... full-blooded Japanese. He doesn't really care if it's a male or a female."
"Your father sounds like a very traditional man. Grandfather is the same way," Hikari replied. "Which is why he freaked out when mom got pregnant with me ... by someone who may or may not have been Japanese at all."
"You don't know who your father is?" 'Tomi asked. She looked down at her homework and quickly erased the butterfly she had drawn there.
Hikari shrugged. "Mother told me he was an old friend of hers from school, but that he vanished when he was in High School. He never even knew about me." She sighed, closing her school book. "We have all night to finish this, right? How about you guys give me a tour of this place? I've never been in a mansion before."
Seiya glanced into the living room and smiled slightly when he saw Yaten and Jinia sitting together on the couch. "I'm glad they're actually talking, but I didn't realize that when she invited us to dinner, it meant we had to make the dinner."
Taiki chuckled slightly. "I offered, remember. Besides, as nervous as she was, I don't think it was a good idea for her to be handling a knife," he replied. He finished what he was doing, then joined Seiya at the doorway to the living room. "Plus, this gives them more time to do what they've needed to do for a long time ... talk."
Yaten glanced up from his hands to look at Jinia. He had been reluctant when the other guys invited him to dinner and had asked them several times if it was a joke when they went to a residential neighborhood instead of to a restaurant. When Jinia answered the door, he had simply stood there for several moments, staring. She hadn't taken her eyes off of him since he walked into her house. "Jinia, I-I'm sorry."
Jinia smiled at the gray-haired man. "So am I. I guess I should have tried harder to tell you, but ... before I could, you were gone. No forwarding address, no phone numbers ... you simply vanished."
Yaten nodded. "We had to. Things were ... complicated. But what do you mean, before you could tell me? Tell me what?"
Jinia glanced at the kitchen door and saw it swing shut. "They didn't tell you, did they?" She glanced back at Yaten and seeing his confusion, she stood to retrieve a picture from the mantle. She looked at the picture for a long moment before handing it to Yaten. "We have a daughter."
Yaten stared at the picture in shock. The face staring back at him looked just like Jinia, only with bright green in place of the older woman's black eyes. "Wha- .... a daughter?"
Jinia sat back down on the couch beside Yaten and nodded. "I tried to tell you. I wrote you several letters and I thought ... I thought you were mad at me when I didn't get a reply ... I eventually stopped sending them ... and then you just ... vanished."
Yaten stared at the picture for several long moments. "I ... never got the ... letters. I wrote to you as well, but ... your parents told me you chose to go back to France. And that I should just forget about you," he replied. "I didn't know you were ... they never mentioned a baby."
"They wouldn't. I think they knew you weren't Japanese. And 'tou-san was determined I would marry a Japanese man or be disowned," Jinia replied. She reached over to touch the picture and rested her hand on Yaten's. "But I couldn't marry a man I didn't love."
