Hotaru stifled a yawn as she blearily blinked her eyes open. Sunlight streamed in the window, making it almost obscenely bright and cheerful. She should have gotten to bed sooner, it seemed. As coherent thought began to enter her mind she remembered the events of the previous night and sat up in bed. The sun was a little too high in the sky for comfort. Breakfast--and the senshi meeting--had probably already started. With a mild oath she scrambled to get dressed and ran to breakfast.
"Gomen!" she gasped as she sprinted into the room. The others were already seated. Most looked up at her in surprise at her unusual entrance. Usagi didn't even acknowledge Hotaru's arrival. Hotaru swallowed a lump in her throat when she noticed, but didn't make any comment. Instead she just quickly slid into her place and began to eat her grapefruit, ears pricked to catch the conversation around her.
"Setsuna is still stable. She'd not getting worse, but it's taking all my skill and all our technology to keep her that way. If this really is the enemy attacking her, we'll have to get rid of him quickly, or we will eventually lose her." Ami's voice was softer than usual as she broke the difficult news. Usagi dropped her spoon with a loud clatter and stared at Ami in shock, then started and looked down at the utensil, rocking back and forth on the table and throwing reflections of sunlight into the others' eyes. She slowly reached her hand out and quietly picked it up. Nobody made any comment, they just silently averted their eyes.
Rei spoke up. "Whoever's attacking us a strong being, like many of our past enemies, and while I couldn't divine a large amount of information on our opponent, I do know his goal is different from all the others. The others all ultimately wanted Ginzuishou and the power it offered, but this time it's a personal grudge. Someone's out to destroy your kingdom, Serenity, and you along with it. I also found out that Setsuna's problem, whatever it is, is the enemy's fault. He wanted her out of the way." Ami nodded sadly.
"We found that the attacks were centered around a building near one of the inner crystal points of Crystal Tokyo. The good news is we were able to narrow the source down to one building. The bad news is the building is a mega-apartment complex. There are literally hundreds of residents, so unless this person owns a large number of apartments, or sticks out in some way from the rest of the population, we're going to have a long, tedious search ahead of us." Haruka turned to Minako.
"Ahem." Minako stood and coughed into her closed fist, then began to speak, shifting from foot to foot. "Yes. Well, I briefed the guards on what happened, and there are patrols roaming the streets, concentrating on the area of the apartment building, but they're all over the city, watching for more of these creatures. It seems nobody but the senshi see anything different about the crystal spires atop the palace. No one in any of the sentry posts could see that they've turned black, even in the light of the sunrise this morning. I can't help but think that this is very important, somehow."
Makoto shrugged, then winced a little as she pulled an injury. "I don't know. I don't think it's hard to figure out where that's coming from. I mean, didn't Serenity use Ginzuishou to construct the palace? Doesn't it just make sense that the palace is connected to both Serenity and her kingdom, and it senses that something's wrong? It could be something else, but I think that makes the most sense." At Makoto's words most of the senshi looked at her with shock, and Hotaru was waiting for one of them to whack themself of the forehead and shout "Duh!"
Serenity looked around the table and stifled a laugh at the poleaxed looks on everyone faces. "That's the best guess I've heard so far, Makoto. Though why only senshi could see it. . ."
"Oh, that's easy to guess," Ami jumped in, eager to redeem herself. "We are sensitive to energy signals most humans can't sense, and we're very closely tied to you, Serenity. If Makoto's idea truly is the cause of the darkness in the crystal, it's most understandable that only we can see the change."
Minako blinked, then cleared her throat. "Yes, well, anyway, our plan is to go to the apartment building, and have Ami see if she can find any odd energy signatures to lead us to the culprit, and the rest of us can just look around, making sure to stay in contact with Ami in case anything comes up." She shrugged a little. "We need a place to start, and this is as good as any. Makoto and I will stay here in case anything happens here. Ami can't stay for obvious reasons, Rei's psychic ability would come in handy on the search, and Michiru, Haruka, and Hotaru are all strong fighters, which will come in handy if they do find the enemy's base."
"What about me?"
"Uh, I think it's best if the Moon family doesn't leave the palace for awhile, Small Lady, unless it's absolutely necessary. Things are a little dangerous to have you running around."
"But-"
"Usagi!" Usagi turned her head to look at her mother at the sharp command. "No, Small Lady. You're my only child. I can't risk my heir unless I have to."
Usagi looked down at the table top and didn't say anything more. Hotaru finished her grapefruit and was debating eating a bagel while Minako finished up her briefing. "You're going to start canvassing the area right after noon. You'll meet here, then set off together. Any questions?" Hotaru swallowed a mouthful of bagel as she raised her hand. "Yes, Hotaru?"
"Is it all right if I meet them in front of the building? I may have something to do this morning."
Minako gave her a look of surprise, but nodded. "Sure. Anything else?"
No one said anything, so Minako nodded. "Very well. Good luck." She turned and left the room. Everyone started drifting off in different directions and Hotaru got up before Makoto could leave.
"Anoo. . .Mako-chan?"
"Yes?" Makoto wasn't using the crutches anymore, but she still had a terrible limp. She caught Hotaru looking for her crutch and chuckled. "I'm just lucky I am a senshi, or I'd have this limp forever." She flexed one arm. "It's nice we heal so fast." Hotaru nodded. "What can I do for you?"
"I don't know if you'd noticed, but the Small Lady is quite mad at me, so it's awfully uncomfortable for me to stay here. I was wondering if I could impose on you to live in that villa of yours down the street."
Makoto smiled. "Of course! You don't even have to ask!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key-laden ring. "Here you go. When you get in, check behind the door. There should be a spare set of keys. Keep those, and give these back to me when you can."
Hotaru nodded. "Thanks, Makoto." She ran through the back hallways of the palace toward her room. She had to return Mark's coat. Then she jogged toward the servant entrances. That was the safest way to leave the palace unseen. She walked off the palace grounds and down the street again. This time everything seemed bright and cheerful in the light of day. She walked past the upscale houses near the palace and finally came to the first commercial area. She walked in and looked around for a public phone or telephone directory.
"Can I help you, miss?" An elegantly dressed store clerk interrupted her abstracted search. Hotaru smiled faintly at her.
"Yes, do you a phone book I could look at?"
The woman's face scrunched up in a show of displeasure, but she nodded and led Hotaru toward the store office. "Here you go." The woman held it out to Hotaru, then left as soon as Hotaru picked it up.
"Stanton. . .Stanton. . .there!" Hotaru traced down through the Stantons until she found Mark. "Only one of them, thank goodness!" She jotted down the address and gently closed the office door. "Thank you!" she called out with a parting wave as she left the store. The woman gave her a disdainful sniff and ignored her again. Hotaru was too excited to make herself care. She was going to see Mark again.
She hailed a taxi, thankful that she'd remembered her purse this time. She nervously twisted her hands as the taxi drove toward Mark's address. Maybe last night was all a dream, or maybe he wouldn't want to see her. Maybe he would think she was nuisance for showing up at his house, or a crazy stalker. She should have called first. She shouldn't have decided to come on the spur of the moment like this. What was wrong with her anyway? It was so out of character for her. The taxi began to slow down, and Hotaru stuffed a few random bills in the taxi driver's hand as she stumbled out. She saw his eyes widen in shock, but since he didn't yell for her to come back a pay him more, she figured she'd just overpaid him a bit. She walked into the huge lobby and stopped. There was something in the back of her mind, clamoring for attention in the mid of her nervous crisis.
It struck her. This was the very building that the senshi were going to search later today! She slowly walked up to the intercom to Mark's room, wondering what she would do if she ran into trouble before the other senshi got here. She pushed the button. "Hello?" She waited for an answer.
"Yes? Who is it?" Hotaru's heart stopped at the sound of his voice. She'd practically convinced herself that she'd imagined the night before, but that was the same voice. The fact that he was real didn't make any of this any less crazy though. It just made it more.
"Hello, it's Hotaru." She winced at the timorous sound of her voice. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clenching her fists tightly as they clutched Mark's trenchcoat. "I've come to return you coat."
"Hotaru?! From last night?"
"Yes."
"I'll be right down." CLICK! The intercom went dead, and Hotaru stared at it for a second. Was that elation she'd heard in his voice?
She stepped back from the wall and stood in the middle of the lobby, shifting from foot to foot as she watched the stairs and elevator for a sign of Mark. Her blood was pounding so hard through her head she was amazed it didn't explode.
One of the elevators opened, and Hotaru's breath caught in her throat. There he was.
"Hotaru! I hadn't expected to see you again so soon!" He was smiling!
"I was wondering if I could take you out to lunch," Hotaru felt herself begin to blush, but she forced herself to ignore it, "to say 'thank you' for all you did for me last night." Mark turned and looked at the elevator. Hotaru hurriedly backpedaled. "If you're busy or-"
"No. No. That sounds like a wonderful idea. Where would you like to go?"
Hotaru smiled. "I still don't know Crystal Tokyo that well, so I'll let you choose," She pulled her wallet out of her pocket, "but this time I remembered my wallet, so I'll cover the cost!"
"Okay!" Mark chuckled easily and walked up next to her. "What's the weather like outside?"
"It's a little cool, but don't worry," she handed him his coat, "I brought this for you." She felt her lips curl up as he smiled down at her took his coat and pulled it on. He offered her his arm with a little flourish, and she giggled like a schoolgirl and took it.
"I know the perfect little spot for us to have lunch," Mark began as they strolled out the door.
*****