"Hotaru-chan?" Michiru slowly opened the door to the girl's room. She smiled at seeing the curled up bundle of child and blanket that dominated one end of the bed. Michiru placed a hand on the child's shoulder before shaking her gently while calling her name. "Michiru-mama?" She mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her large violet eyes. Hotaru sat, continuing to wake up, as Michiru opened the curtains to her room. It is a beautiful morning, Michiru noted. The sun was out with only a few clouds hanging about in the blue sky. A gentle breeze whisped through the leaves of the trees in the yard. "Haruka-papa was half expecting you to wake us up this morning," Michiru turned back around. Hotaru had crawled out of bed by now. "Haruka-papa doesn't like being woken up early on her rest day," she answered thoughtfully. Michiru knelt down to give Hotaru a hug. Most children her age wouldn't have remembered that or honored it. Of course, Hotaru was more than most children were. "It was kind of you to not wake us," she smiled once more before leading Hotaru to the bathroom to help her get ready for the day. ***** Setsuna was found in the kitchen preparing breakfast. It had been a very long time since she had been so -- domestic -- on a daily basis. She saw it as a nice change of pace from her usual duties. "Ohayo Setsuna-mama!" A pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind. "Ohayo Hotaru-chan," she stopped her preperations to hug her. Yes, this was another pleasant difference from her usual duty. "Have a seat at the table. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes," she instructed. "Okay," she climbed into her usual chair and waited patiently for her other parents to arrive. Haruka and Michiru entered the room shortly afterwards. Michiru sat down at Hotaru's right. Haruka ruffled her hair playfully with Hotaru giggling in protest. The meal itself was wonderful. Though Setsuna always deferred to Mako-chan, the woman did have some skill. All three guardians exchanged small smiles without Hotaru's notice. Today they were taking Hotaru to a locally held spring festival. They could sense her excitement in anticipation of today's event. Today was to be dedicated to being together as a family. It had been a while since they had all been together in this manner. It was an important relationship to establish and maintain. ***** Hotaru walked through the festival with her left hand in Haruka-papa's and her right in Michiru-mama's. Setsuna-mama walked behind them. Her eyes were glazed over at all the bright colors, people, and things to do and see. "Where would you like to go first?" Michiru-mama asked her. She looked around her to see what caught her eye. A booth that held many fishbowls drew her attention. She indicated her choice by tugging slightly on her parent's hands. Upon closer inspection it was obvious that this was some sort of game booth. They let go of her hands so that she could go up closer unrestricted. She knelt down in front of the rows of fishbowls and watched them intently. The goldfish that swam around mesmerized her. ----- "Hotaru-chan, come see this," her father called her over to his side. He pointed to a viewing window. She placed her hands onto the glass and peered inside. Something was moving on the other side of it. Something that was alive. It danced about, pleasing in the parterns it formed. Her eyes were wide as she watched it move. Papa... Something had gone wrong. There was a loud explosion. Debris feel around the lab with a piece crushing her. Papa... She wasn't alone. There was another with her, in her. Her deepest thoughs, her most private aspects, were violated by this other entity. The other didn't care about her. It pushed her aside, taking over her body, forcing her to watch as it lived her life for her. Helplessness... ----- "Hotaru-chan, come see this," Haruka-papa placed a light hand on her shoulder to catch her attention. She followed her obediently while glancing back at the fishbowls as they walked away. "Do you find the fish interesting?" Setsuna-mama asked from her side. "Not really," she admitted, pulling her thoughts back to the present. "They just.. reminded me of something," the girl added softly. The three women exchanged glances. They had anticipated the repression and then resurfacing of memories for their ward. That was part of the reason they had wanted to assure Hotaru had a stable home life. She had lacked that in her previous life with her father being possessed. Knowing that the three of them were always there would give her the confidence to face the deamons that would surely come for her eventually. "Do you want to talk about it?" Michiru prodded gently, smiling reassuringly at the young girl. "No thank you, Michiru-mama," she mumbled before taking hold of Michiru's hand. The girl held onto it tight, taking strength from her elder's presence. "As you wish," she squeezed Hotaru's hand. They would be there for her when she was ready. ***** Haruka followed a few paces behind Hotaru as the girl lead the way thought the hall of mirror. Michiru and Setsuna had declined to join them opting to visit some of the wares booths instead. Hotaru looked all around her. 'So many reflections of myself,' Hotaru twisted around to see herself at all different angles. 'All of them are me.' ----- "Hotaru-chan!" Her eyes widened. She could hear them calling her name. She felt for them, at least, part of her did. The part who's name was 'Hotaru'. Mistress 9 smirked as victory was nearly hers. They smirked. It was her body too, her mind, her soul. Why wasn't she the one in control? The being within her resisted her efforts to assert her will. 'I am stronger than you, child.' Hotaru's will felt weak. She was weak. Who was she to stop this one who had made her a victim of herself? Sailormoon stood before them. Uranus and Neptune had already been immobilized. The Grail. 'Keep it away!' Her mind screamed as it was offered to her. Uranus was yelling at Sailormoon not to hand it over. An echo of her own thoughts. Her will was beaten down once again as her pleas to stop this insanity became insistant once again. 'You can't hold me back forever,' a defiant spark in her threatened. It was a spark that could not be beaten and could not be repressed fully. She would have her chance, and when she did, this body would be hers again. ----- "So many reflections of the same person," Hotaru commented to herself. "Of course, Hotaru-chan, that's why it's called a hall of mirrors," Haruka-papa smiled down at her. She had mistaken her comment. Hotaru shook off the mood by tugging on Haruka-papa's hand. "Let's get out of here and find Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama." *****