Do we call woman whore? Ay, verily and amen, she is that; the air shudders and burns as we shout it, exulting and eager. O ye! Was not this your sneer, your vile whisper that scorned her and shamed her? Was not "whore" the truth of her, the title of terror that you gave in your fear of her, coward comforting coward with furtive glances and gesture? But we fear her not; we cry whore, as her armies approach us. We beat on our shields with our swords. Earth echoes the clamor! Excerpt from The Law is for All by Aleister Crowley. ---- ---The Silver Millennium--- There was no military per se on the small planet. None was needed. Under Minerva's guiding hand there'd never been any wars, and without nearby hostile neighbors there was little necessity for any armed militias. There was however an ever present threat from the asteroids and comets swirling around in the Kuiper Belt, and the planet did have a defense system to defend itself from such outer space disasters. It was this network of defenses that the enemy warships attacked first. By the time Minerva had exited what was left of the emissarial ship, these defenses were already destroyed and the enemy had already begun to open fire on her palace and her unarmed subjects. She looked around at her once beautiful capital city, now little more than ashes and corpses. She then looked up at the hundreds of ships darkening her sky. Clutching her magical shield at her side, she launched herself into the air towards the unknown enemy who had destroyed all she loved and held dear. As she approached them, a yellow ball of light began to form between her hands. ------ From the mother ship, Commander Yukio smiled as he saw the ships of his fleet spread out around the small planet below him. As the blue-skinned warlord watched, missile after missile burst on the planet's surface. The once beautiful green planet slowly began to take on a dull brownish-red hue, as the explosions began to trigger volcanic activity. It would soon be over, he thought with a chuckle. They would then move on and... Just then a warning siren began to blare out over the ships intercom. From the bottom left corner of the view screen, Yukio saw first one, and then three more warships explode as a small golden-yellow orb moved with incredible speed from the surface of the planet, firing some sort of small projectiles at his fleet. The orb then began flying back and forth from one ship to the next, swerving and weaving around the laser fire being aimed at it as it continued to take ships out. "Ensign!" Commander Yukio barked, "Get me magnification of the enemy, now!" The image on the view screen went in for a closer look. The image of a woman warrior in a golden skirt appeared on the screen, a bronze shield on her left arm and she appeared to be yelling something. Each time she did, a large yellow ball containing hundreds of long electric blue arrows materialized on their own, white sparks of static electricity encircling the shafts and arrow points. As she threw the ball and sent her projectiles flying, they exploded on impact with the warships, tearing them apart. She moved so fast, and sent her arrows with such speed, that the ensign soon lost sight of the warrior. The commander's jaw dropped. He'd faced battlefields before, fought in dozens of campaigns, but never had he seen the likes of this. "P... Pull the view back." he managed to stutter out, "Get me a long shot." The long shot revealed that their mission had been a success. The planet's surface had been transformed from a green paradise into a red-hot hell. Unfortunately, he'd lost almost his entire fleet. Worse yet, the thing from the planet's surface was beginning to come toward his command vessel. ------ "War Arrows!" she screamed, sending yet another of the ships to oblivion. Tears, warm and bitter, fell down Minerva's face. She could no longer feel her people; no longer sense her subjects calling to her to save them. The voices of planet Minerva had been silenced forever in a preemptive attack by these monsters from deep space. Waves of sorrow washed over her as she realized she had failed her people; there was no one left to save. Her people's culture; their music, their festivals, even their language, were now no more. As she looked at the three remaining warships and their command ship, her eyes narrowed angrily as she clenched her fists. For Minerva, there was nothing left but vengeance. Before she could extract it, however, something came flying up towards her from the surface of the planet. Slamming into her force field, it took her momentarily by surprise. Dark, sinister energy swirled around the object as it reached out and penetrated through the protective field, swiping downward and cutting deep into her left shoulder blade before flinging her back down to the planet's surface. The thing watched with glee as a small impact crater formed where she landed. It then flew down after her. As Minerva slowly began to crawl out of the crater, she winced at the pain from the gaping wound in her shoulder, as well as the three broken ribs she'd received upon impact with the planet's surface. If not for her shield, she would be dead now. Clutching her ribs, she forced herself back up on her feet as she looked up to see something surrounded by a black ball of energy come towards her. When less than fifty feet away, the energy dissipated to reveal the form of her chancellor Maiya frowning angrily at her, blood dripping from the nails of her right hand. "You filthy bitch!" she spat out at the princess, "My fleet. You've destroyed my fleet! No matter, princess; victory shall still be mine!" Minerva shook her head in dismay at what she was seeing and hearing. "M... Maiya..." she gasped out, each breath a new experience in pain as one of her ribs had punctured her left lung "Why?" The thing in front of her smiled as its eyes glowed red. "Sorry princess, Maiya no longer exists. There is only me now." "W... What... are you?" Minerva managed to get out. She could feel her knees buckling beneath her as a small pool of blood started to form at her feet from her shoulder wound. "I am the cosmic whore," the thing answered, "the scarlet woman who drinks deep of the cup of my abominations. I am incest and rape and murder and adultery and the lust for power and riches that lead to madness. I AM BABYLON, and I claim this planet and the rest of this small solar system for my own!" ---South Orange Grove, Texas--- ---June 19, 1952--- Personal journal of John Whiteside (Jack) Parsons -- I've been tricked. We've all been tricked. Crowley, the members of the O.T.O., myself. We were all patsies, all mere marionettes being played by higher intelligences. No, not intelligences; a single intelligence. I look at my work from six years ago with disgust and loathing. I had such high hopes for the future of mankind through the liberation Babylon was to bring. I can still remember the late nights, utilizing the Enochian Tablet of Air as I and my then brothers and sisters in the O.T.O. tried to give substance to the elemental summons. I learned too late that Babylon was no goddess, no shining star of freedom and liberation. Too late, I learned I'd become the butt of a cosmic joke. Her cosmic joke. Three years ago with the hope of using darkness to battle darkness, I took the Oath of the Abyss, and took the new magical name Belarion Armiluss Al Dajjal AntiChrist. Needless to say, it didn't work. The magical child simply absorbed the darkness into itself, becoming more powerful. The thing must die. Now, before it becomes any more powerful. Tomorrow, I'll be moving some explosives in my garage laboratory. The U.S. government is interested in some of my recent experiments with fulminate of mercury. Once I have the volatile material safely stored away, I intend to take my thirty-eight caliber and find the monster. What becomes of me is no longer important. It must end now. -- ---Tokyo, the Present--- Haruka held Michiru close as they watched the concert on T.V. Michiru hadn't spoken much overthe last hour, and her wife was nervous about breaking the silence. From upstairs, they heard their daughter Hotaru coming down the stairs. "Is Setsuna-mama home yet?" the teen asked, anxious for any news about the date one of her moms was having with her teacher. "No, and shouldn't you be in bed?" Haruka asked, "Tonight's a school night, remember?" Michiru nodded in agreement. "You can find out all about it tomorrow morning hon. Now go get some sleep." "I will." their daughter said, "I just hope everything went alright for her." "We all do." Haruka answered, "Good night." As they both heard Hotaru go back upstairs and her bedroom door shut, Haruka turned to Michiru and finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry Michi-chan." she began, "I know you're upset and disappointed in me, but I couldn't bear the thought of you suffering anymore, not like you did yesterday." Michiru smiled at Haruka as she brushed a few of the blonde's bangs back. "I know you worry about me dear, and I love you for it. But you have to remember; I am a Senshi. I'm not made of glass, and I'm not going to break every time something attacks me." Before Haruka could respond, Setsuna entered through the front door. Michiru turned to her friend with a smile. The smile quickly faded when she saw the woman's dejected face as she took off her shoes to enter the house. She picked the pair of high heels up and sullenly set them to the side next to the doorframe. She then closed the door, leaning her head against the wood as she sighed deeply. "Sets?" Haruka asked, likewise concerned by the Time Senshi's behavior. She removed her arm from around Michiru as she got up off the couch to go over to the morose looking woman, "Sets, what happened?" Setsuna looked at the handsome tomboy in her dress shirt and black slacks, and slowly shook her head. "Why?" she asked as her voice began to crack, "Why am I destined to always be alone, bereft of companionship or comfort. Why... am I..." she broke down and started to weep. Haruka took Setsuna in her strong arms as Michiru rushed over to likewise comfort her. "What happened?" Michiru asked. "We... We were having a wonderful time. She was so sweet, and I... we kissed, and... And the timegate... I had to leave her." Michiru gave Haruka a look, and the blond nodded and went off to the kitchen. The Sea Senshi was always better in these situations, and while she was comforting Setsuna, Haruka began to fix them all something to drink. "She'll never want to see me again." Setsuna whimpered, "Why? Why am I cursed with the timegate?" Michiru was about to offer words of comfort when something suddenly occurred to her. "Setsuna, when did you feel the call of the timegate?" Setsuna sniffed as she looked at her friend funny. "Around ten." she answered, "Why?" "Because I felt something just around the same time." she said, "And yesterday you were called away when I was attacked, and the day before that it was when Rei was knocked out." Setsuna's eyes widened as she began to comprehend what Michiru was getting at. "You think there's a connection?" she asked as she wiped away her tears. The Sea Senshi nodded. "Look, now that we know there's a possible connection, it leaves us a little bit less in the dark. As for you and Kihomi, you need to talk with her." "Michi-chan's right." Haruka said as she entered the room with two small wine glasses, passing one to each of her fellow Senshi. "At the very least, just tell her you were sorry to leave like that." "You're right." she said. "I'll call right now." "I don't know if that would be such a great idea." Michiru said, "It's getting late." Haruka nodded, "Talk with her tomorrow. If she's as nice as you say, I'm sure she'll understand." Setsuna smiled sadly. "Thank you." she said. She gave Haruka back the wine glass without having sipped anything from it and slowly went upstairs to her room. ---The Next Day--- "A leave of absence?" Principal Hoashi Daisuke asked as he wiped his glasses with a handkerchief. "Yes, Hoashi-sempai. For medical reasons." Kihomi answered glumly. Everything had been going so wonderfully for the teacher; she'd earned her teacher's diploma, had landed a job, and it looked like she'd found the love of her life. Then her date ran away, she began to hallucinate about voices and naked people with knives and swords cutting themselves, and she ended up waking up this morning behind the wheel of her car with dried blood clotted down her face and the sides of her neck from her nose and ears. How had everything gone so wrong? From behind his desk, the principal nodded understandingly. "Yes, I heard from the janitor Nobuhiro-san all about the incident last Friday." he said as he put his glasses back on, "It's a shame that this kind of thing has to happen to a young teacher such as yourself, especially in her first year before she's earned tenure. We can have a substitute take over your classes by tomorrow, of course, but we would need you for today, if you think you're up to it." "Yes sempai, I'm up to it." she answered. Daisuke noticed the young teacher's melancholy tone and quickly gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Saito-sama; you'll have a job when you're ready to come back. I promise you that. In the short time you've been here you've managed to win over both the students and the faculty. Teachers like you are indispensable in a school like this." Kihomi returned the smile as she bowed in her seat, "Thank you sempai." she said, blushing at the compliment. "Of course. Just be sure to keep us all updated as far as your health is concerned." "Yes, sempai. I will, sempai." ------ Rei woke up feeling miserable. There was something out there threatening not just her, but everyone else, and she was being ordered not to pursue the matter. Looking over across from her at the family shrine, she saw the picture of her late grandfather and frowned. Whatever was out there was powerful, and even if she couldn't have sought help from the old man, it would've been a comfort to have him around right now. As she walked from her bedroom to the kitchen, she could hear the sounds of someone frying something in a pan. Entering the room, she saw Makoto fixing eggs and bacon in a skillet for them. "Makoto?" Rei asked, "You stayed over last night?" The cook shrugged her shoulders, "You looked like you could use the company, and I didn't have any plans for today." Nodding, Rei looked over to the kitchen table where a paperback translation of Edith Hamilton's Mythology was resting. She picked up the book and examined it. "Is this yours?" she asked. Makoto looked over from her skillet and nodded, "I was, well, reading about Minerva. Rei, I hate to agree with Usagi on this, but if there is a Sailor Minerva out there somewhere, chances are she's not the one attacking us." Rei raised her eyebrow, "Oh?" she asked. "And what makes you say that?" "Minerva is the Roman name for the Goddess Athena. She was a goddess of war, but also of wisdom and reason. The Greeks credited her with protecting civilized life. It just doesn't make sense that a Senshi named after a goddess like that would be attacking others from a distance psychically, does it?" Rei just shook her head. "She's named after a goddess of war." The Shinto priestess reminded her, "Until we come face-to-face with her, how are we to know what a 'Senshi of War' would or wouldn't do? By the way, this is somewhat unusual reading material for you, isn't it? Where'd you get it?" Makoto shrugged her shoulders as she began to dish the food out onto the plates. "Ami loaned it to me. Why." "Oh, I see." Rei said with a quirky smile. Makoto looked over to the priestess. "What do you mean by that?" she asked. "Mako-chan, you and Ami may have the others fooled, but you didn't honestly think I wasn't going to figure it out, did you?" The cook felt her breath catch in her throat, "You're not going to tell, are you?" Rei looked hurt, "What? No, of course not. But you really should tell the others what's going on between you two." "We plan to." Makoto said as she set the two plates down on the table, "Just as soon as we know what's going on between us." she quipped before sitting down across from Rei to eat. ---Afternoon--- "And tomorrow you will have a new teacher coming in for a while, while I go on a leave of absence for... personal reasons. I expect you all to treat the new teacher with the same level of respect you've given me during my short stay here." As Kihomi struggled with delivering her speech for the fourth time that day, a hand went up. "Yes Watsuki-san, you have a question?" The young man stood up from his desk, "Sensei, how long will you be gone?" The teacher suddenly looked very sad. "I don't know." she admitted just as the bell rang for class to end. As the last student left, she turned away from the classroom door and sighed. If she tried to focus on everything that was happening to her right now, it became too overwhelming. Her health and her social life were in the toilet. If only she hadn't pushed Setsuna last night. She didn't think she was, but obviously she had, and in the process had driven the young woman away. And now... Kihomi blocked it all out of her mind as she began erasing the blackboard. From behind her, she could hear the classroom door open. No doubt either a fellow teacher or a student had decided to say goodbye to her. She felt like crying. Why was this happening to her? Why now? This was going to be hard enough without a bunch of well wishers trying to cheer her up before she left. With a resigned sigh she turned to see who it was. There, standing in the doorframe to her classroom, stood Setsuna. "Hello." Setsuna offered weakly. She couldn't bring herself to look at those beautiful grey eyes staring back at her. She was too afraid of the look of anger she felt sure was waiting for her there. "Hello." Kihomi offered back. She sadly noted that the attractive woman in front of her was avoiding eye contact. She bit her lower lip as she waited for her to say whatever she felt needed to be said. As she watched, Setsuna shifted her weight from one shapely leg to the other. "May I come in?" the Senshi nervously asked. Kihomi nodded as she motioned for her to enter. As Setsuna walked in, the teacher walked over to the door and locked it. She then lowered the blind on the door's glass window and turned to see Setsuna watching her silently from in front of the large desk at the front of the room. "So." the Senshi muttered. "So." Kihomi answered back. In the awkward silence that followed, the teacher watched as the woman fidgeted a bit with her jacket sleeve. Setsuna then stared down at the tile floor. "I overheard outside the door. You... You're leaving?" Kihomi took a deep breath, "Yes, for a little while." she answered. "Oh." Setsuna said flatly. Now it was Kihomi's turn to look away as she rubbed the back of her head with her hand. "Look, Setsuna, about last night..." "You must hate me, don't you?" The teacher was caught completely off guard by the question. Setsuna looked up from the floor as tears started to form at the corners of her violet eyes. "I... I can't say that I blame you. I never meant to leave you like that, to run away and hurt you. I didn't want to go. You have to believe me, Kihomi... I wanted to stay with you. I've... never felt this way about anyone before. You're sweet and compassionate and... and..." she paused as a tear ran down her cheek, "Please don't turn me away." she whispered, "I... I've been so alone for so long. I'm sorry. Please don't... leave... because of me..." Setsuna was cut off as Kihomi crossed the room and took her in her arms. As she held her the shorter woman buried her head in her shoulder. She could feel Setsuna softly shudder as she began to weep. She started to run her fingers through the woman's long, silky hair as she held her close. "Shhh..." Kihomi whispered, "It's okay. I'm not leaving because of you. Honest" Setsuna looked into Kihomi's kind face. The teacher gently wiped away her tears with her index finger. "And... And I thought all this time you were upset with me." Kihomi said as she stroked the Senshi's cheek. "I was afraid I was the one who drove you away." Setsuna looked at the other woman in surprise. "Really?" she asked. The teacher nodded. "Setsuna, you're the most wonderful woman I've ever met. You're incredibly intelligent, you have a beautiful laugh, and a lovely personality. When you rushed off yesterday, I was afraid that I'd pushed you away." Setsuna looked at her questioningly. "Then why are you going on a leave of absence?" Kihomi swallowed hard, "Medical reasons." she admitted. The Senshi pulled away and looked at her in alarm, "Medical reasons? What kind of medical reasons? Kihomi, what's going on?" "I... I wish I knew." The teacher said sadly, "I've been having these incredibly severe migraines for the last three nights. No, not migraines; more than migraines. Yesterday and last Friday there... there was blood as well, coming from my nose and ears. I don't know if it's a possible aneurism or maybe a tumor, but the local hospital can't find anything. And now..." Kihomi hesitated before going on, "Now I'm starting to hallucinate during the attacks. I can't go on like this, I just can't. There's supposed to be a good hospital in Nagoya. Hopefully they can tell me what's going on." Setsuna felt her heart sink for the woman in front of her. "You... You had another one of these attacks last night?" Kihomi nodded glumly, "Just after you left." she said. The guilt-ridden Senshi shook her head as she looked at the teacher. "I should've been there." she said, "I should've stayed." She'd always felt the obligations of being the Senshi of Time, of having to watch over the timegate, but she'd never felt it to be such a painful burden until now. Kihomi had been in pain, suffering intensely, and she'd been unable to help her. The other woman put her index finger under Setsuna's chin as she gently stroked the soft skin under her jaw. "You didn't know, Setsuna." Kihomi said, her grey eyes full of compassion, "Don't beat yourself up about this." she added as she kissed her on the forehead. Setsuna responded by kissing her on the cheek. Both women could feel the mood in the room change. Kihomi returned the kiss, lightly pecking Setsuna on her cheek, and tasking the saltiness that her tears had left behind. The Senshi then pressed her lips to Kihomi's. The teacher deepened the kiss even as she maneuvered Setsuna back toward her desk in front of the blackboard. As the Senshi felt her rear bump up against the desk, Kihomi broke away from her lips and began to kiss her throat. "When... aaaaaa... When are you leaving?" Setsuna managed to get out. "Tomorrow morning." Kihomi answered as she brought her lips up to the other woman's ear, "It'll only be for a little while. For the rest of today though, I'm all yours." she whispered as she flicked the Senshi's earlobe with her tongue before sucking on it. Setsuna let out a low deep moan from the back of her throat as she wrapped her right leg around Kihomi, sitting on the edge of the desk as she did so. They brought their lips together again. Kihomi kept one hand behind the Senshi's head as she brought her other hand down to grip the woman's right hip. The sudden sensation caused Setsuna to take in a quick breath as she began to feel a heat rising up within her. As the Time Senshi lost herself in the sudden flood of new sensations coursing through her body, Kihomi opened her eyes a crack to look at the wall clock. "Setsuna-chan." Kihomi whispered as she broke the kiss, "My next class starts soon." she said sadly. Setsuna looked at her with a pained expression for a second or two before nodding her head. "I... I understand." she answered. Kihomi stroked her cheek as she reached into her pocket for a tissue and quickly wiped off the lipstick smudges from Setsuna's face. "I only have three more classes. After that, I'm all yours. Honest." Setsuna smiled at her as they both separated. From her purse she pulled out the same small notebook she'd used two days ago at the mall and wrote down her home address. She then ripped the page out and handed it over to the teacher. "Come over after classes." she said. "I'll be waiting for you." Kihomi took the slip and smiled at the woman giving it to her. "I will. I promise." she said as she showed the beautiful young woman to the door. After she left, Kihomi raced to her desk, pulled out her compact from her purse, and fixed up her hair and makeup just in time for the next class. ------ The smell of the sea was coming in from the harbor, filling her nostrils. She walked by a drunk who was passed out sleeping next to a garbage can and two teenage boys looking through a stolen pornographic magazine as she came to the entrance. Entering, she found one of the female members of the circle shooting up as another member, completely ignoring the junkie, played solitaire with a pack of tarot cards. Walking past the large machine of Professor Miyagawa, Beniko came to a back room in the giant warehouse. Opening the door, she saw the redhead curled up on the couch, using her leather jacket as a makeshift blanket. The plan had been so simple; she'd made out the contract, signing it in her own blood. Marika would help until the new Senshi was found, and then she would use the Senshi's power to break the contract. So how had this happened? How had she fallen in love with the redhead? Marika sniffed the air before yawning, her forked tongue clearly visible in her open mouth. Opening her eyes a bit, she smiled as she saw Beniko. As the blond came over, she sat up to give her room to sit on the couch. Beniko took the offered spot, pulling Marika's head back down so she could use her lap as a pillow. As she ran her fingers through the woman's red hair and heard her softly purr, she frowned. It had been so simple. Exactly when had it become so complicated? ------ Hotaru got off the bus and ran over to her house where Haruka's convertible sat parked in the driveway, her papa looking over the engine under the hood. At the sounds of her footsteps, the sandy-blond turned around. "Hey firefly." she greeted with a smile. "Hey papa" Hotaru answered, "Any luck yet on finding the tenth Senshi?" "No, and I wish everyone would stop referring to her as 'the tenth.' I mean, Galaxia was a Senshi, and so was Princess Kakyuu and her three pet idiots, remember?" Hotaru rolled her eyes, "You know what we all mean, papa." "Yeah, I know. So, you ready to learn that 'grease monkey stuff'?" Hotaru mock pouted, "I'd hoped you'd forgotten about that oil change stuff." she said. "No such luck. Get some beat-up old clothes on and get back out here." Haruka said as she sat down on a creeper lying next to the car. Hotaru smiled as she ran inside to change. For all her teasing, she'd been looking forward to this time together with her papa as much as Haruka was. The two shared a very special father-daughter type of relationship, and both cherished these moments when the Formula-one racecar driver was able to set aside time just to bond with the junior high student. As Hotaru closed the door behind her and Haruka pushed herself underneath the vehicle, a car pulled up to the house, parking next to the curb in front of the lawn. Haruka, who was under the car and hadn't heard the other vehicle pull up, now heard footsteps in the driveway close by. "That was fast." she mumbled to herself as she reached for the drain pan. "Are you ready?" she called out from under the car. Kihomi stopped dead in her tracks, afraid that she was hearing voices and another attack was imminent. She did a quick survey of her body and realized there was no intense pain this time. "Bring the toolbox over, and grab the extra creeper for yourself." She looked down to see a pair or legs sticking out from underneath the vehicle next to her and put her hand on her chest as she took a quick breath of relief. Looking around, she found the toolbox and creeper in question lying near a bird bath in the lawn and brought them over. "Well, don't just stand there. Grab the socket set and the filter wrench, and then get under here with me already." Kihomi raised her eyebrow at that. Setsuna had told her a bit about Haruka, her love for cars, and her quirky sense of humor. She didn't know how she was expected to take this call for help. She didn't want to get her suit dirty, but at the same time she didn't want Setsuna's friends or family to think of her as a stuffed shirt either. Removing a scrunchie from her pocket, she tied her hair up, took the socket set and the oil filter wrench Haruka had requested and lay down on the creeper. As three pairs of eyes watched from the living room window, Kihomi pushed herself under the vehicle next to Haruka. The blond took out the socket handle from the box offered her and held it up to the undercarriage. "This is the drain plug." she said, using the handle as a pointer, "This is the oil filter, and this is the drain pan. Now, what do you do first?" "First you put the drain pan under the drain plug, then you unscrew the plug and let the old oil flow into the pan, then you change the oil filter, re-screw the plug back in, and fill the vehicle with new oil." Haruka turned to the speaker with a surprised look. "Saito-sama?" she asked, "What are you doing under here?" Kihomi smiled, "You told me to bring over the tools and the creeper to..." Haruka started to laugh, "That's because I thought you were Hotaru." she said. Kihomi started to giggle as well, "Oh, I see. Well, Setsuna had told me about your sense of humor, so when I heard you tell me to come under here, I thought..." "Don't drag me into this." a voice said from above. Both women pushed themselves out from under the car to see Setsuna, Hotaru and Michiru smirking down at them. Ten minutes later, after everyone had stopped laughing, Michiru went back into the house as Haruka and Hotaru went underneath the convertible. Setsuna got into the passenger seat of Kihomi's car next to the teacher as she started up the vehicle. "So," Kihomi said, "You have me for the rest of the day. Where do you want to go?" Setsuna thought for a second. This blissful feeling she felt with Kihomi; was she really allowed it as the Time Senshi? Closing her eyes, she stretched out her consciousness looking for an answer. The response she got back from the fates was completely unexpected. No condemnations, no disapproval, no reproof to her relationship with the teacher. Instead, she received a very different response from the fates. Joy. More than joy; a feeling of a long overdue happiness, as if she and Kihomi had always been meant for one another, but somehow had been kept apart until now. The fates smiled happily upon her and her relationship. She opened her eyes again and smiled at the woman next to her, happier than she'd ever felt. "Your place." she finally answered, "I... I want to go to your place." Kihomi felt her heart skip a beat. "Are you sure?" she asked. Setsuna nodded with a smile, "I've never been so sure of anything in my life." she replied. Kihomi smiled as she nodded. A few seconds later, the car had pulled out from the curb into traffic as the two women headed to the teacher's apartment. ---To Be Continued--- End Notes: Just a bit of a change of pace for a chapter. Don't worry- things go back to being nuts again next time around.
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