Ryo came home to find three of his four children - Mi-chan, Kimahou, and Chibi - in the family room playing a board game. They were also all trying very hard not to give away the fact that Chibi and Neko had left the house, which, for some of them, meant they were broadcasting it all over the place. He shook his head. "Nice try, kids."
Kimahou and Mi-chan instantly jumped up. "Ano, maybe we'll be going now," Mi-chan suggested, as they grabbed the game and backed out of the room.
Chibi stared at the ground as Ryo tried to decide where to start. He already had the battle figured out, so he knew that Neko had just left to save Chibi, so he was trying to figure out how to be fair to both of them. He was glad that at least he wouldn't have to talk to both of them together. It would be difficult to explain to both of them why Neko's restriction wasn't going to be extended.
"Gebriel�," he started, trying to be firm, yet gentle. "I'm disappointed in you. You let a pretty face and charms rule your judgment. You skipped cram school and you ran out on your punishment. And as a consequence, you were kidnapped and could have been killed. I think 'let that be a lesson to you' is slightly redundant. Be that as it may-"
"Dad, I thought I was in love with her. Isn't the fact that she betrayed me punishment enough?" Chibi asked, half being sincere and half hoping to get out of an extension of his sentence.
"Be that as it may," Ryo continued, "I can't allow your libido to control your life. So you will continue to be grounded until Wednesday."
"Aww, Dad," Chibi whined. But he gave it up when Ryo shot him a look that clearly said "Don't push me." So instead he ran up to his room to sulk and to complain to Neko.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chibi didn't bother knocking as he flung open the door to Neko and Mi-chan's room. Neko was sitting up on her bed, hugging some old stuffed animal and looking depressed. She didn't even bother looking up with the bang of the door.
"Dad's home, and I'm grounded forever!" he whined. "I hope you're happy. If you hadn't slept over with- uh, at Tenshi-san's, I wouldn't have been grounded in the first place."
"Gomen," Neko said half-heartedly.
An apology was all he really wanted, so Chibi, seeing that Neko wasn't in a talkative mood, left.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," she said, assuming correctly that it was her dad. When he entered, she asked, "Am I grounded for life?"
"Would you care if you were?"
She shook her head. "Not really," she replied softly.
He sat down on the edge of her bed. "I'm not extending your punishment. You were only trying to save your brother." If he had been expecting her to be relieved by the news, he would have been disappointed. But he knew enough not to expect that. He pointed to the stuffed gray cat. Neko had stopped carrying the cat, Luna, around when she was about six, but she kept her on a shelf in her room both on Mercury and here on Earth since that time. "Haven't seen her for awhile." She didn't make an effort to acknowledge his comment. "Do you want to talk about what happened between you and Tenshi-chan?" She shook her head. "Does it have something to do with your nightmares?"
She winced. "I-" For a second, Ryo thought that she was going to tell him everything, but then she closed up again, and shook her head. That wasn't too terribly surprising. Neko had never been as close to him as Mi-chan had. Instead she had clung onto the connection she had with her sister, opening up to her instead of to him or Ami. And now he was at a loss. He couldn't even figure out why she and Tenshi had broken up, or how that related to her recent dreams.
He sighed. Neko hadn't even been this despondent in the wake of Jian-wa's betrayal and Mi-chan's suicide attempt and ensuing amnesia. But she had spent a lot of time confiding in Tenshi that time. It didn't seem like that was an option now. "Just remember, you can tell me anything. And you might want to think about talking it over with Michiru. She does have experience in these matters," he pointed out.
"Okay," she answered unconvincingly. He started to leave, but before he had fully exited her room, she said at a slightly more audible volume, "Thanks for not punishing me."
He nodded and closed the door behind him as he left. "I think you've punished yourself enough."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The small apartment was nothing like the mansion they had left behind. There were a few small windows, a couch, a small kitchen, a bathroom with only one sink, and a bedroom with a twin bed for them to share. They were on the 15th floor, and there was no yard for them to go out in, nor a balcony to look over the city. All things considered, Amethyst and Jasper found their new surroundings quite depressing.
Jasper lay across the couch with his head on Amethyst's lap as she attended his wounds. "I thought you said they were breaking up," he mentioned sullenly.
"They are. You didn't see it, but Sailor Eryx rejected Night Angel right after you left. She only came to help save Night Angel's sister. Now hold still." She cleaned the cut on his hand with some rubbing alcohol. He could heal anyone else, but he was at the mercy of his own injuries.
He drew in his breath quickly at the pain. "Do you think they killed Amber?"
"Amber. Crystal. Carni. They killed them all." Amethyst dropped the cloth she was holding and looked away from him.
Jasper sat up and wrapped his arms around her, longing to comfort her. "Hey, let's leave this planet. It's only brought us cruelty and pain. It's not worth it."
"You want me to let those Senshi get away with killing my sisters? Jaspy, they killed Carnelian! I'm not leaving until I've killed them all."
Jasper took her hand that was placed on her heart and gave it a squeeze. "Then I will stay too. Until the Senshi are dead," he promised.
That's it. The story's over.
"But what will happen to Neko and Tenshi?" you ask. "What about Amethyst and Jasper? Will they kill the Senshi?" you wonder.
Don't worry; I was working on the next story, even before I finished this one.
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