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"I'm Jinia's mother, Mari."
Kakyuu looked stunned for a moment, then smiled a little at the older-looking woman. "I-It's nice to meet you. We ... didn't know you were coming, or we would have had someone bring you here."
Mari frowned slightly. "I didn't know I was coming either until I found Hikari-chan's letter. My ... husband refused to have anything to do with our daughter, but now that he is gone ... my son and I do not want to spend any more time away from her."
"Please, sit down. We're just ... waiting for news right now. You said you got a letter from Hikari-chan?" Kakyuu frowned slightly as the other woman sat, the man she had arrived with moving to stand behind her. The redhead glanced at the other adults, then over to Kai and Mi-ko. "I was not aware that she had written you."
Mari nodded, following Kakyuu's glance. She smiled a little at the two girls, then turned back to the redhead. "Yes. She sent us a letter the day her parents were married. She included pictures of the wedding."
"M-Married?!" Kakyuu spun back to Mari, her jaw dropping. "Jin-chan and Kou are ... married?"
"You did not know? The letter stated that the marriage had not been announced, but ... I thought certainly he had told you. Hikari said that you were very close to him and the other boys."
When she saw the older woman looking at her sister and herself, Mi-ko stood and walked toward Kakyuu. Frowning slightly at what she heard, she stopped next to Mari. "D- ... 'Tou-san did not want everyone to know because he felt that my uncle would try to take us from him. He was afraid to even tell Kakyuu-oba-san. He wanted us to all be a family, like we should have been ... had things been different."
Kakyuu lightly hugged Mi-ko. "Meiya can never take you from your father, I promise you that, Minako-chan." She turned back to Mari and saw her smiling a little. "You said that Hikari-chan's letter was the day of the wedding ... when was that exactly?"
"New Year's Eve," the man behind Mari replied. He frowned slightly as he glanced at the group of people watching them. "The letter was mixed in with business papers. We only found it two weeks ago. Father did not want mother to see it, I ... I think he was planning to do something to Yaten-san. But he died before he could do anything."
Mari nodded slightly. "He could be a very unreasonable man when it came to tradition, and his health suffered for it."
"I'm sorry about your husband, Sakuma-san."
"I'm not." Mari's small smile faded as she glanced from Kakyuu to Usagi. "We went to the address on the letter and a man named ... Cyril told us that Jinia was here. Has something happened to my daughter?"
"She had twins." Hikari watched the two newcomers very cautiously as she stepped closer to the group. She didn't know either of them to look at them, but had been listening in on the conversation, thanks to Urani. 'Are they telling the truth, 'Rani?'
'Yes. She is your grandmother and he is your uncle. You don't want to see the images I got of your grandfather.'
Hikari glanced at Kakyuu, then to her relatives. "Two girls. Two months premature. She almost didn't make it to the hospital." She watched their faces for a long moment before crossing her arms over her chest. "I suggest you leave for now. The doctors will only let me in to see her and she needs sleep more than anything right now."
"But I am her mother."
"She has no mother. You lost the right to call yourself that the day you sent a pregnant 15-year old to another continent to have her baby in shame. Well, guess what, Obaa-san, the baby's grown up now ... and wants nothing to do with you."
Mari sighed as she sat on the couch in the living room of the Alvarson mansion. After Hikari's statement, the younger woman had walked back to her mother's side and refused to even speak to Urani telepathically. Deciding that it would be best to not cause another scene at the hospital, the Senshi returned to the mansion, leaving only Kai, Mi-ko, Yo-Ichi and Kunzite, who all refused to leave, at the hospital with two crewmen from the Av'Nai. Mari and her son, Kazuo, were invited back to the mansion and were told the full cover story behind Yaten's sudden disappearance from his family's life.
"I had no idea they were in the middle of all that. It is lucky that even one of you managed to make it out alive," Mari replied after Taiki finished telling her.
Taiki nodded slightly, the cover story so ingrained in his memory that he had to stop and think sometimes to remind himself that his friends were, in fact, never coming home. "Now you can understand why Hikari-chan is a little ... on edge. After finding out that her mother was pregnant again, she ... she basically took over. She made sure that neither her siblings, nor her cousins, missed out on a single thing. And when Jin-chan had to be put on bed rest, right after the end of school, both she and Usagi-chan made sure that there was someone always by her side."
"Even if it drove her crazy," Minako replied, smiling a little.
Rei nodded. "Yeah, you certainly did that, didn't you, blondie?"
Minako gasped and turned to glare at Rei. "I did no such thing."
Rei grinned at the other woman, then turned back to Jinia's mother. "I'm sure that once Jin-chan feels better and Hikari-chan calms down, they'll want to see you both. Until then, you are welcome to stay here."
Mari smiled a little, but shook her head. "Thank you, Kumada-san, but we have already made arrangements to stay with an old family friend. He has been ... when my husband sent Jinia away all those years ago, I asked him to keep an eye on her. He has been my eyes, ever since."
Kakyuu smiled. "She said there was an old friend of her family's that lived near her school. And that he had always been close by whenever she needed him."
"My own brother, Kentarou, though he no longer carries the Sakuma name. He was sent away by our father before I ever married Ichiro." Mari smiled back at the redhead. "Our family is very strict about traditions ... and very consistent in breaking with them."
Kazuo frowned slightly from his spot near the doorway. There were far too many people in the house for his liking and definitely too many women. He could see why his little sister felt comfortable here, but there was an almost distinct uneasiness regarding men. That much had been obvious from the moment his mother had asked the blonde who seemed to be in charge, Chiba-san, about her husband. He hadn't felt comfortable in the house since. "Kaa-chan, I think it's time we were going. We wouldn't want to keep the whole household up all night."
"In other words, my son is growing nervous around so many beautiful women." Mari allowed a real smile to cross her face as she glanced towards her blushing son. She wrote down the address and phone number to where they were staying, then said her goodnights to the Senshi. "You were very nervous in there, Kazu."
"That many women in one room would make any man nervous. I don't know how Taiki-san can be so calm around them all."
"That's simple. Did you not see his face when Kakyuu-san came into the room? His heart is already spoken for."
August 1
It was a full day before Hikari even told her mother about the new arrivals and another before Jinia was allowed regular visitors. She refused to see anyone until the teenager relented and agreed to talk to her grandmother. "You don't understand, Hikari-chan. It was a different world back then. And Otou-san was a very strict man. Be glad that you didn't have to grow up under his roof."
Hikari crossed her arms over her chest and continued pacing the floor. "I just wish they'd hurry up so we can get this over with. There's only one family reunion I'm interested in and it's certainly not with them."
Jinia smiled sadly as she adjusted the pillows behind her back. "He'll be back soon. They all will. I'm sure of it." There was a soft knock on the door frame and she glanced up to see her mother and older brother walk in.
Mari smiled at her daughter as she crossed immediately over to her and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Jinia."
"You tried to stop him, I know." Jinia returned the hug and smiled at her brother as he also moved to hug her. "Did you finally grow up and tell him off, Kazu?"
Kazuo hugged his sister, then shook his head. "No, you were always the one with the backbone, sister. I could do nothing but wait until he died."
Jinia's smile faded slightly. "He's dead? Otou-san is ... how? when?"
"Two months ago. He had a heart attack while he was driving. Crashed his car into a ditch."
Nodding slightly, Jinia glanced over at Hikari and noticed that she was staring out of the window. "That was too good for him. I was actually hoping I'd get a letter that one of those monsters had eaten him." She turned back to her mother and saw the older woman smile. "Well, it's the truth. Bastard deserved it."
"Jinia, that's our father you're talking about." Kazuo smiled slightly. "You know perfectly well that his parents were married."
Hikari looked at the adults and raised an eyebrow. "You're not ... upset over your father's death?"
Jinia shook her head as she turned to face her daughter. "Why would I be? He's the one that tried to force me to give you up. I stopped caring about the man long before you were born. Like I told you, there is much you don't understand about where you come from." She motioned for the teenager to come over to the bed. "Your grandfather ... was a horrible person. I was glad when he sent me away, to be honest. That meant I could raise you the way I wanted and you would never have to meet him. But I had always hoped that you would get to meet these two. Especially since I wasn't sure you'd ever get to meet your father."
"Taiki-san told us what happened to Yaten-san and the others. Has there ... has there been any news of them?" Mari asked, glancing between the two women.
Jinia shook her head, taking Hikari's hand in hers. "None. I ... I had hoped he would be home before ..."
Kazuo smiled slightly when he saw Hikari hug her mother. "Chiba-san said you had twin girls. What did you name them?"
"I named them after the two women that helped them into this world. Michiru and Makoto."
August 2
The elder Makoto stepped off the elevator and started down the hall toward Jinia's room. Now that Jinia had managed to get Hikari to meet her family, the new mother was open to having visitors, as long as they kept it to a few at a time. The doctors still weren't allowing anyone in to see the babies, however. Only Jinia, Hikari and Mari had seen them since they were brought to the hospital. Even Hotaru couldn't get close enough to them to tell if anything was wrong.
Jinia's OB-GYN had been surprised to learn that she had had twins, but wasn't surprised that they came early. She had been to the hospital every day since to check on Jinia and the babies. So it wasn't a surprise that Makoto passed the doctor on her way to Jinia's room.
"Hello, Urawa-san. I'm afraid she's not in her room right now."
"What do you mean, 'not in her room'. Is she with the babies?" When the older woman nodded, Makoto frowned. "I was hoping I would get here before she went in to see them today."
The doctor smiled and motioned Makoto toward Jinia's room. "Well, there is actually good news. The babies have been thoroughly checked and are actually being moved to the regular nursery. You can go see your namesake now."
Makoto grinned and thanked the older woman, slipping into Jinia's room to drop off the get well cards that had been arriving at the house from the other woman's students for the past few days. She saw Kazuo staring out the window and smiled a little. "Not a fan of hospitals?"
Kazuo smiled a little at the brunette's reflection. "Not really. Did the doctor tell you about the babies?"
"Yes. I was just getting ready to go see them. What about you?"
"I ... was hoping to get a chance to talk to Hikari-chan, but ... perhaps you can help me." Kazuo turned to face the brunette, the smile fading as he pulled a picture from his pocket. Handing it to Makoto, he replied, "This was in with the letter Hikari-chan sent us. It's one of several that she included, but it's the only one that has the blonde. I have seen several blondes since we arrived, but ... not her."
Makoto smiled a little at the picture. Hikari, Kai, Mi-ko and Shi were all posing with Yo-Ichi in front of Jinia's house. From the way they were all dressed, it was taken right after the wedding. "That's Shi-chan, Seiya-chan's daughter. She and her twin, Miyo, are part of the group that's with them. I didn't know that Shi-chan was part of the wedding."
Kazuo nodded slightly. "The letter said that Hikari-chan's friend was there as a witness, same as Yaten-san's sister, but it did not give a name. I did not realize that it was Seiya-san's daughter. She doesn't really look like her father."
Makoto returned the picture, smiling sadly. "Shi-chan looks more like her mother, or so I have heard. Hikari-chan and Shi-chan are ... were practically inseperable."
"You do not sound as though you expect them to return." Kazuo placed the picture back into his pocket and frowned at the look on the brunette's face. "Is there ... more to the story than my mother and I were told?"
"Yes. And no. It is a very long, complicated story, Sakuma-san. The chances of Yaten-san and the others returning safely to us are very small. We have tried to keep hope, but as more time passes ... the fear that we will never see them again grows."
September, 2011
Kakyuu rubbed her temples and frowned at the image on the screen. She had muted the sound several minutes before and it didn't look as if the man that had been yelling at her realized it yet. "Why did I ever think that this man would make a good leader for my people?"
"Because Enishi was good at what he did." Taiki smiled a little at the redhead from across the room. Meiya was mad enough after learning that he had been blamed for the disappearance of their friends, that the former Empress thought it best he not see the other redhead ... yet.
A small smile flashed across Kakyuu's face and was gone in an instant. She motioned the others in the room to be quiet as she once more opened the comm. link. "Meiya, if you would please shut up, I will explain my actions to you. I needed a reason for my StarLights and the others to not be seen for a while and your ridiculous actions gave me a perfect excuse. It is much easier to explain to the people of Earth that an alien has taken their friends than it is to tell them that they are simply in another plane of reality."
"I have seen the reports. It says that I took them to use against you to try and get you to return to Kinmoku. I have never done anything that would endanger you or our family."
A figure to Kakyuu's side rolled their eyes. The redhead frowned at the images that flashed in her mind. "I never said that you had done anything to endanger us, just that you had taken them to use against me. Were you able to, I do not doubt that you would have tried something similar to that before now. And do not think for one minute that I will allow you to endanger my friends or their families by revealing that they are Senshi. In case you haven't noticed, I have managed to find and remove every spy you had in my court and even those you managed to place on Earth." She grinned as the black-haired man looked at her in shock. "You are in a very precarious position, husband."
Meiya glared at the image of his wife's face on the screen in front of him. "What do you mean, 'spies'? I have no spies in your court, wife. It's all lies that that ... StarLight has told you."
"That, you are right about. It was brought to my attention by one of my StarLights. By Kageshirou, in fact. Seems he didn't trust you from the very beginning." Kakyuu smiled a little as Kageshirou stepped up behind her. "I know everything that you have done, husband. And I know that you have been sending messages to the Hrrrrunai homeworld so that they can follow us. I also know that you have used my daughters to try and find out information about the Senshi of this planet. And that you have tried to negotiate deals with some of the world leaders, claiming to be the ruler of the Kinmokunai people. How very arrogant of you, husband. Do you not remember that, in the Hrrrrunai culture, men can not rule? I'm sure your dear Empress would not be pleased with you, husband. Oh, wait ... that's right. We're not married anymore, are we? Your own Empress violated the peace treaty, ending our marriage and those of my StarLights so that her own cousin could marry the man she wanted."
The redhead saw him pale and her smile turned into a smirk. "You see that I am not as ill-informed as you had thought, Meiya. I may not have a kingdom to oversee anymore, but I still have my loyal subjects. They have witnessed their Empress bend far too much to the will of others for the name of peace, I would not have them witness more. But I do want them to witness this." She pressed a button on the console in front of her and the image he was seeing changed to show the back half of the room to not only him but the entire Fleet and a few select observers on Earth. Kakyuu was seated in the command chair of her flagship, Kageshirou at her elbow. Beside him were Sailors Kinmoku and Orion. On Kakyuu's other side was StarDestroyer, Chibi StarHealer and Chibi StarFighter.
Kageshirou transformed into Chibi StarMaker and grinned at the stunned image of the older man. "Four StarLights and two Kinmokunai Senshi, for a total of six. One more than is needed to call the Warriors' Council into being." The image shifted again, this time showing nearly the entire room. Mi-ko, Kai, Usami, Tanetomi and Taiki were standing on one side of the image, while Sailors Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Chibi Moon were positioned on the other side. "Five Senshi from this system as observers and five citizens of the Kinmokunai Empire to act as witness. I, Kageshirou Dai, eldest child of the Empress Kakyuu, call on this Warriors' Council to do three things. First, and most important, to judge the innocence or guilt of the man before us, Meiya Aotani, former consort of the Empress Kakyuu. Second, I ask this Council to permanently dissolve the Peace Accord with the Hrrrrunai Empire. Finally, I ask this Council to declare the planets of this solar system to be under the protection of the Kinmokunai Empire from this day on."
