free day!, [CYOR!] (and Ren, perhaps?)

March 3rd, Saturday
Around Noon
Outfit!

It was a good excuse for a day out – Gaven had been chomping at the bit to get out of that apartment for something other than school. And she hadn't taken a real day off of work in... Well, every time Gaven had been sick, she'd conveniently taken vacations, so she'd never had a non-vacation day. In years. In an interplanetary law firm. It was completely unnatural, and when her new assistant had said so, she'd agreed and taken the weekend off.

He'd brightened immensely at the idea of going on a picnic – she'd known he would, but the grin on his face made it all the better. Little pleasures, she knew, but all the same.

She knew they were going to be joined, so she packed extra in the basket – she did have to admit, while her little cosmic joke was more of a hassle than anything else, it did come in handy on occasion. She managed a small grin as she caught herself mentally referring to herself as a cosmic joke – that was exactly what she was, though. Hotaru had said so, once, back before she'd met Johannes and gotten married. She knew what would happen before it happened – had all of eternity plotted out in her head – but there wasn't a fucking thing she could do about anything. It was like being that supporting character that could always tell what was coming and couldn't do anything about it – they still cried at the end of the book. She almost wished that she had just done as she was told back in the Silver Milennium and not dealt with any of the Princesses. Her meeting them had changed the future. She should have stepped back out then. But she couldn't.

And then she'd done it again in Crystal Tokyo.

And was doing it again now. Well, she supposed, after the first time it was all the same. She'd grown to love them from a distance and then slowly gotten closer and closer. She snapped her mind from that topic; this was not a day to be reminiscent. Well, in a way, it was, but for now... Now it was just her and Gaven. For a little while, anyway.

The drive to one of the parking areas outside the park was long, but Gaven just seemed to get more and more excited as it went. They reached the spot and he carried the massive basket to where he'd decided they'd eat in a while. Until then, however, he'd determined that they would play Frisbee. And then soccer. And then tag. And then... The list was long. She was quick to take off her shoes, positive of the lack of stickers in the grass. They'd found a good spot – about the size of a soccer field and mostly grassy.

The game of Frisbee started fairly enough. Gaven was quick to start trying to do tricks, though – and managed to catch the disc behind him once. A triumphant shout and a taunt made her laugh out loud. The sound carried, and when the frisbee flew back towards her, she flipped onto her hands, catching it was her feet. ”Trust me, hon, this game is all timing. And I'm an expert at timing.” He groaned and with the next toss tried the same thing.

It didn't quite work out for him.

Outtttfitttttt!

His first Saturday off in months. And what did he do with it? Spend it with Ren, of course.

She was so unused to spending time with her daddy on a Saturday that she squealed when he asked her what she wanted to do. Of course she said she wanted to go to the park. Naturally, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky and they were going to a park of all places, she insisted on wearing a crown and a pair of rain boots. She loved those rain boots.

Little Ren was running up and down stairs, outside, around the kitchen with such abandon that she nearly toppled over their live-in housekeeper a few times. Poor Eunice was so flabbergasted by the girl's sudden change in temperament that she had to vacate the area for the rest of a day, a free day that Cyor gave the hardworking woman willingly.

On the drive to the park, Ren's mouth went a mile a minute, and it was all Cyor could do to keep up. He was smiling, though. He hadn't seen his daughter this animated in a very long time, and it, unfortunately, made him feel horrible. He wondered if maybe he cut back his hours and spent more time at home and less time at the Eye she'd be like this more often. He often feared that he might blink and she'd be grown. But he had important work, he told himself. He was building the world over. She was going to live in a free galaxy, or he would die trying to make it so.

For a long time, they flew Ren's favorite kite. It was in the shape of a pink butterfly, and it even flapped in the wind. He'd often heard her remark that it appeared as if it were a movie that she was watching. A really colorful movie.

And then the kite catapulted downward, landing in a tree. Ren started to cry.

"Don't worry, Water Lily," Cyor said gently. He led her over to the tree with a bit of a grin on his face. "I'll pull it out, fix the string, and it'll be good as new," he assured her.

As he sat there on the tree limb, his daughter encouraging from below, he happened to glance over the park, and there, on the far side, he saw Esuna and her son (what was his name again, Greg?) tossing a frisbee. He finished pulling the kite out quickly, and sure enough, the string had broken on impact. As he tied the two ends together tightly, he looked over at Ren.

"How would you like to meet a new friend?" he asked.

At once, the little girl clung to his leg. "I would not," she replied bitingly, refusing to let go.

Cyor chuckled, ruffling Ren's hair. "Are you sure? They have a frisbee," he said, knowing at once that he had spoken the magic word. Ren loved frisbees. She'd played with her last one every day until it broke; he just hadn't had time to retrieve a new one for her.

At once, the little girl was hopping and down, clapping her hands, insisting that they go right away. He was surprised how quickly she could change from angry to excited. It seemed as if in just that last hour, Ren had experienced every emotion on the spectrum. Once again, he chuckled. His little Ren.

They strolled, hand in hand, over to where he'd seen Esuna and her son. He smiled at the pair of them as they approached. "Have room for two more?" he asked congenially as Ren jumped up and down again, too excited for words.

”Come on, now, Gav. Reaction time.”

The tall Plutonian woman had spent his whole life trying to teach him the skills that he would one day build upon. It was probably weird, to other people, that she regarded her son as a project to prepare for the future. It wasn't that she didn't love him – Chronos knew that she loved him. And Ren. Minoru and Sayuri had been her whole life – all of the children had. That was the only reason she'd broken the rules, the only reason she'd dare to take the punishment that fate would hand to her one day. She couldn't deal with those children being tortured. It would have killed her. If they had to die, she was happy – yes, happy – that they died peacefully. Because she was the only one who would ever know what would have happened to them if they'd survived past Usagi.

She shook that thought away, catching the frisbee on impulse. No sooner was it in her hand that she looked over to where in a matter of seconds, Ren and her father would emerge from the trees. He had always been handsome – he'd even caught her eye when she'd been Ailie. All of her lives melded together as one, as most of their personality was the exact same, but each of them had a different face. Different situations to deal with. Different people to see. Esuna had to be the bright, laughing person she was – she had to try her damndest to bring hope to their little group. She smiled as the tiny blonde girl made her way over to them, obviously excited. She grinned. This would be a wonderful day.

”Of course, Cyorlithe. Glad you could join us. Gaven, this is Cyorlithe and Ren, his daughter. He's a friend of mine.” The pair of dark skinned individuals moved towards the pair of their opposites, Gaven staring at the man with a confused expression.

It was strange to know that he would fully awaken as his past self rather soon. Well, it was soon to her – everything was soon to her. She crouched down, bringing herself much closer to Ren's level. She smiled. ”Hello, Ren. I'm Esuna, and this is Gaven.” Gaven was still staring at Cyor like the man had grown a third eye. She made a face at her son, reaching over with a long arm and flicking his ear. He winced, looking back at the little blonde.

”Uh... It's nice to meet you.” He caught his mom's look at him. ”You wanna play frisbee with me?” Esuna offered the frisbee to the girl with another smile, standing up and stretching her shoulders. Gaven tried to lead the girl away, promising that he wasn't very good and that he was sure she'd win.

She chuckled at them. ”Sorry... He's due to jump into some memories soon.” She shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. ”And just as a heads up, Shingoro won't be at work Monday. Wicked case of food poisoning. He's not as good a cook as he thinks he is. And just to double check, would you mind spending some time, when you get it, with Gaven? He's never really had a father figure, so when he remembers, he's going to be.. quite obsessed with you.” She shrugged, looking over at the blonde man with an all-knowing look. No use beating around the bush, right?

It was lovely seeing Esuna again. Khorvash was constantly grunting in his head whenever he neared the woman, as if some part of her repulsed him, but he had no idea why. Esuna was a lovely woman, in both manner and appearance. why, if he didn't have Amisi...

He let that thought go, smiling at Esuna and her son as he and Ren approached, genuinely happy to see the pair of them. Of course he knew that in another life, he had been the boy's father, but he wasn't sure if he saw himself that way now. He didn't really feel a connection to him, at least, not the sort of connection he felt towards Ren. It was more like a shadow of that, a spark of recognition, before turning to look at the next thing occupying his attention.

He wondered if he should feel badly about that.

”Of course, Cyorlithe. Glad you could join us. Gaven, this is Cyorlithe and Ren, his daughter. He's a friend of mine.”

The man winced at the use of his full name, but before he could say anything, Ren spoke up, irritated. She crossed her arms. "His name is Mr. Nitze, thank you very much!" she snapped.

He chuckled at her indignation. "Cyor is best, though," he added, ruffling Ren's hair. "I'm surprised at you, Su, I thought you knew everything," he joked. Cyor wasn't sure where the nickname had come from, but something told him this wasn't the first time he'd used it. Nonetheless, it fit the woman well.

”Hello, Ren. I'm Esuna, and this is Gaven.”

As Esuna called attention to the boy, Cyor realized that he was being stared at if he were alien. He reached down, holding out his hand to the lad, smiling slightly. [b]"And how is the young man?" he asked, winking. "Su tells me you're into [INSERT SOMETHING HERE - ASK IRIS]. How's that working out for you?"

Ren grinned as Esuna knelt down in front of her. She picked up her kite and held it out the woman. "The string broke, and Daddy sucks at fixing things. Could you do it?" she asked with a tremor. Cyor was surprised. Usually, Ren was quite nervous around people she'd never met before, but here she was, demanding things of Esuna not long after being told the woman's name. If there wasn't a connection there, he wasn't sure what a connection would be.

After a moment, he looked at the boy - Gaven - again. Still nothing. He sighed, wondering if Khorvash had actually fathered this boy during the time of Crystal Tokyo.

Then Gaven uttered the word frisbee and Ren was no longer his - she was running after the boy, chasing after the frisbee as if it were a diamond.

”And just as a heads up, Shingoro won't be at work Monday. Wicked case of food poisoning. He's not as good a cook as he thinks he is. And just to double check, would you mind spending some time, when you get it, with Gaven? He's never really had a father figure, so when he remembers, he's going to be.. quite obsessed with you.”

Cyor chuckled. He'd remembered to expect the unexpected with every incarnation of Pluto, but this was still a bit... much.

He glanced over at Esuna with the latter part of the conversation, raising an eyebrow. "I know you're the queen of predictions, but he seems to think I'm suffering from the plague and contagious. Are you quite sure about that?" he queried, looking over at the boy again. After a moment, he sighed and confessed, "I... honestly don't feel any sort of connection to him. Definitely not the sort I feel toward Ren. Not that I'm doubting that he's Minoru, of course, but... Why do you think that is, exactly?" he inquired.

Even though she'd been expecting them, it was still pleasant to see the two of them. She was glad that at least, in this life, Cyor was a good father – an excellent father, even if Ren was more than a little spoiled. Compared to their last life, having little to no interaction with their father on a father-child basis, that was great for her. Gaven, of course, having little to no interaction with men throughout this life, was still staring at the platinum haired man like he had a third head. Esuna grimaced, almost wishing she had warned him so that he wouldn't look so... frightened.

She nearly busted out into loud laughter when the tiny girl in front of her crossed her arms and spoke out her irritation. She should have known better than to expect any fear from the girl – after all, this was her daughter. Her precious Sayuri. The one and only Heir to the senshi-line of Pluto, while Gaven was, by all technical means, the crown prince of the planet. Not that any of that matter at this point.

She chuckled. ”Sometimes I know more than I let on.” She would have winked, if she wasn't watching the girl in front of her held out the broken kite. It blew her mind that little moments like this, while entirely expected, were so wonderful and perfect that she knew she'd wait forever for them.

Gaven, on the other hand, was having more trouble. ”Uh... good.” He shook the man's hand, oddly amused that his wasn't so much smaller than the elders. After that contact was done, he squirmed. ”Uh... it's good. I made first in the 100 meter.” His mother, to his knowledge, had never once mentioned this man. It was possible that he could be a friend from work... He squirmed, fidgeting with the Frisbee with both hands. He felt weird.

Esuna nodded, accepting the kite with large hands and surprisingly nimble fingers tying a small know in the broken string, tugging a bit to test the strength of it. Just because she knew that the kite would meet an untimely death in a tree one day soon didn't mean that she shouldn't give the girl all the pleasure she could get out of it.

And then they were gone, Esuna left holding the kite as she watched the two run off. She chuckled. She was glad for them. The innocence, the childhood – she wanted it all to last as long as possible – especially for Ren.

”I can't tell you exactly why – you have to figure that out for yourself. And the reason he looks at you like that... It's rather my fault, I'm afraid.” Esuna grimaced. ”Despite doing my best, I'm no substitution for having an actual father, and I've never really had an 'other' to take the place. He's interacted with a disappointingly small number of males. He just doesn't know how to handle you yet. Once he remembers some of the past, he'll get better. Just out of curiosity and because contrary to popular belief – and if you tell any of them this, I will send you back to the Jurassic period – I do not know everything... How much do you remember of last time around?” She, in all honest, wasn't sure about him. Most of them, she knew about because they interacted frequently, so she just could tell. But she'd seen him so few times, she really wasn't sure.

”Despite doing my best, I'm no substitution for having an actual father, and I've never really had an 'other' to take the place. He's interacted with a disappointingly small number of males. He just doesn't know how to handle you yet. Once he remembers some of the past, he'll get better. Just out of curiosity and because contrary to popular belief – and if you tell any of them this, I will send you back to the Jurassic period – I do not know everything... How much do you remember of last time around?”

Esuna didn't know everything? Well, that was a bit of a shock.

Cyor had long assumed that the sun set and rose simply because Esuna told it do so and not for any other reason, so this admission proved to take him aback. He straightened a bit, stopping mid-step as he stared at her, a questioning expression set deep in his wide grey eyes. After a quick beat of silence, he chuckled. "What do you mean, not everything? You are the second most powerful Senshi, you know. Or, maybe the most powerful. Because even that Moon has that crystal of hers, you have the power to stop her whilst she's using it."

For the next few minutes, silence fell between the pair as he pondered Esuna's major question. How much did he really remember? Probably not much, he supposed. He thought himself so radically different from both Khorvash and the general he ever refused to name that he often blocked off all contact with the two. He didn't really want their lifestyles seeping into his at any rate. Though he knew Esuna and he had had kids in a past life, he also had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't the greatest of fathers. Of course, on this subject, Khorvash would wave his hand dismissively, acting as if the kids were irrelevant. He always wanted to talk about the battles, the booze, and the women, even when Cyor actually granted him leave to speak.

After a moment or so, Cyor crossed his arms apprehensively, as if not sure if he wanted to commit to that simple gesture. "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. All of my memories are rather murky, and it's not like Khorvash is the best past life to speak with," he mumbled sarcastically as his eyes darted to check up on Ren and Gaven, still locked in the cusp of their game.

Then he turned back to Esuna questioningly. "I know we had kids," he said, lowering his voice to no more than a whisper, but he was sure that Esuna could hear every word. "But, we weren't really... in love, were we?" He couldn't really say that Khorvash simply saw her as one good drunken night that ended one of the biggest of mistakes, so he was trying to allude what had actually happened gently. It was because of this, one of the first memories he'd had of the past life, that he knew he hadn't been there for Ren and Gaven before. Not that he had much proof in his memories, but he couldn't see the man from that memory suddenly growing up and taking on the responsibility of being a loving, capable father.

She couldn't help chuckling at the expression on his face. It was true – she really didn't know everything. She knew what fate and time wanted her to know, and nothing more. The fact that that was most often everything was just a coincidence... She had to wonder what would happen to her and her supposed 'power' if fate and time decided they didn't want her to be in the loop anymore. She smirked lightly. ”Actually, Saturn is considered more powerful than me. She can kinda end worlds with her will. And Saturn is second to Moon, while I'm third. It's an interesting hierarchy, I guess.” She shrugged.

His words about Khorvash made her laugh so hard that Gaven stopped and looked at her after he'd caught the Frisbee. She waved him back to his game, tears forming in her eyes. ”No kidding, Cyor, no kidding.” She regained her composure, still grinning slightly. ”Yes, we had children, and no, we were never in love. And if he's ever bragged about sleeping with Setsuna, he can rest assured that the only reason that I slept with him was because of them.” She gestured to the children, playing a ways away.

In truth, that really had been the only reason. The knowledge that sleeping with the drunken shitennou would produce two of her most treasured things ever was the sole reason that she'd gotten herself drunk enough to do it. And it hadn't even been that great, honestly... Of course, that was from a woman who didn't like men, so she couldn't really be an accurate judge of Khorvash's sexual prowess. After all, he'd impregnated Naru-chan as well, so there had to be something going for him, right?

She chuckled again, watching the two of them play. Her son and daughter, but her son and not her daughter. She wasn't positive of the time frame that Ren would even remember her past life as Sayuri, but it was something that Esuna would never push on her. If she could spend the rest of her life not remembering that, not remembering the pain or the fighting or any of it, that she would be happy. But since she knew that it wouldn't happen like that, that at some point, she would remember... she had to admit that she was at a loss. She had died after Sayuri in the past, so the girl had never been forced to be Pluto, as Keiko had been Saturn or Rosaline had been Mercury. She let out a small sigh, shaking her head. ”Khorvash was a man that was full of himself and scared of commitment. He abandoned every one of his children. That's why I appreciate you so much, Cyor – you're a good father to her.” She nodded. Gaven was doing good, catching her off-center throws and managing to throw it so that she could actually catch it.

He had to admit, the idea of Su admitting that she both didn't know everything and that she wasn't the most powerful Senshi rather took him aback. She controlled time, after all. The last sacred dimension, he thought it was called. Surely, that automatically meant she was both the most powerful and the most important Senshi, but then, that might have been his bias speaking and not his logic. Stranger things had happened, of course.

Still, he kind of had to think that the person with the ability to stop time, reverse it, or even make it go forward had more power than the girl who held the Silver Crystal. With that thought, he started to feel the general stirring. The one who had hated her. Immediately, Cyor pushed the thought from his mind, shoving the general back into the dungeons of his mind, where he would forever belong. That was a conversation he'd rather skip.

”Khorvash was a man that was full of himself and scared of commitment. He abandoned every one of his children. That's why I appreciate you so much, Cyor – you're a good father to her.”

As he listened, he watched as Ren and Gaven played together. Ren was so into her games with him. She was being almost too friendly. Cyor had to chuckle. He wished that she would never find out her past as Sayuri. Of course, he wondered how Su might feel about that wish. That life, after all, was the only connection they had to one another. Nonetheless, Cyor knew he didn't want his little girl remembering the nightmare that had been the end of Crystal Tokyo. Hell, he shut most of it out. It was the sort of thing that would give her night terrors and never allow her to be unafraid of anything ever again, and that was something he'd rather protect her from.

Then the part of every one of his children resurfaced in Cyor's mind.

He immediately shrank back from Su, looking as if he had both sucked a lemon and been dropped into a lake unknowingly. "Every one?!" he exclaimed so loudly that pretty much the entire park heard. "How many kids did the bastard have?!" he demanded of her.

He felt as if instead of air, he'd breathed in some sort of gas. His chest was heaving madly, and he wondered for a minute if he had any other reincarnated children walking the earth. This certainly had been a shocking day.

Ren had turned to look at him curiously. He was quite positive he'd never shouted or cursed in her presence before, but he supposed there was a first time for everything. He would apologize to her later. Right now, he was staring at Su as a drowning man might stare at a lifesaver. What in Gaea's name was she telling him?

The reaction was comical – so he hadn't known. Had Khorvash been a better man, she might have felt bad about revealing all of his deep, dark secrets to his current incarnation, but as it was, she had no qualms. However, (mainly due to her urge to screw with the man before her) she hesitated when replying to him, playing as though she had to think about it. Her reply, as usual when she wanted to lead someone on, was illogical and left as many questions as he'd had before.

”I really do wish that I could answer you, Cyor, I do, but first, it's not my place to tell you, and second, I'm not even positive. Nor do I believe that he was. I can tell you this, though – there were more that Minoru and Sayuri.” She wanted to mention that he'd fathered children through Osaka Naru as well, but she didn't dare. He was currently in a relationship with her reincarnation, and knowing that might scare him away when he found out. That would cause problems between him and Ruro, which she really didn't want to deal with either.

A great number of times, she had wanted to tell the man before her (or his past selves) a great number of things. That he was going to betray his lord (she'd met him a time or thrice during the Silver Millenium, but that was more out of necessity and anything else.), that sleeping with her (no matter how drunk he may have been) would make him a father of twins. She wanted to tell him the future now, as well, but she didn't dare. No living soul (save herself) deserved the burden of time, and though she was nearly positive that the other could handle it, she didn't want to risk anything like it.

Those were their children, reborn, playing Frisbee together. She wouldn't risk it. She wouldn't risk them.

”But don't worry, brother, you'll find out. Not even the best secret keeper in the world can keep secrets from himself.”She waved a hand at Gaven, who was staring at them like they were both fusing into one alien being. He knew that his mother was weird, yeah, and now he was pretty sure that all of her friends were weird, too. That Saturnian girl was weird, and everyone else that he'd been introduced too... Except Khonsu, but he wasn't really normal. And Ruro had been nice and normal, but he hung around with the weird ones. And then there was Aunt Riya... She was normal, but at the same time, she wasn't. He let out a sigh, wondering how exactly his odd-ball mother managed to attract so many weird people.

”I really do wish that I could answer you, Cyor, I do, but first, it's not my place to tell you, and second, I'm not even positive. Nor do I believe that he was. I can tell you this, though – there were more that Minoru and Sayuri.”

More than Ren and Gaven? Cyor felt like pulling his hair out of his skull. He loved Ren with all of his heart, but what if all these other children started coming up to him, calling him daddy as well? Immediately, he jumped back, eying nearly all the children with fear as if they might jump up and suddenly start throwing knives at him. He didn't want to be saddled with his previous life's children in this life. But what would happen if he were? Would he own up to the obligation?

And, naturally, Esuna's answer was doing little to help the situation. He looked at her with wide eyes, begging for a better answer, and yet he knew, after spending so long with her in so many different lifetimes, that the one he got was the best he was going to get. He sighed, trying to calm his shooting nerves. This was not going to help him adjust by any means.

”But don't worry, brother, you'll find out. Not even the best secret keeper in the world can keep secrets from himself.”

Naturally, though, Cyor didn't want to go talking to Khorvash or the general anymore than he had to. He wanted to know without asking; he wanted Esuna to tell him. He knew it wasn't going to happen, though. Esuna always had more than one reason to keep things from people, even if he secretly suspected that she did it on purpose just for her own enjoyment.

He started taking deep breaths, wondering if he should put his head between his knees. Nonetheless, he stood up straight, breathing through his nose, noticing that Ren was watching him quizzically, almost fearfully. He had to admit that he was acting quite strange around her. After all, this was the first time she'd ever heard him curse. And so he calmed himself down, if not for himself, then for his little Water Lily. She didn't need a father who fell to pieces when certain news didn't go his way. He needed to be strong for her, and so he would be.

"I'm sorry for reacting thus," Cyor breathed, turning to Esuna. He noticed that Ren had returned to her Frisbee game, which relieved him. She wouldn't be experiencing her father's crazy moods further today. "It's just... a bit of a surprise, to realize that you have/had more kids than you thought you did."

Oh, if she could have laughed without the entire area hearing her, she would have. The look on his face was absolutley priceless, and Esuna found herself struggling to hold back her giggles. She managed, though, tapping into the eternally mysterious well that was Meioh Setsuna and maintaining a straight face as she watched her past life's one-time lover panic and glance around, watching the other children. That, however, was when the dam broke – she started laughing, the sound loud and different from what people thought of when they thought of a woman's laughter. She was fully aware that she laughed like a man – as Setsuna, she'd cared a bit, and hadn't done much more than the occasional chuckle. But now, here, this... It was just too much.

She wasn't really consious of flopping herself down onto the ground and holding her ribs, but she was. ”I'm s-sorry, Cyor...” She managed through the tears that were threatening. ”You just look so... panicked!”

Gaven was shaking his head and holding the frisbee, wondering what on Pluto could have set the large woman off like that. He'd heard her laugh, probably more than any other living individual, but it was weird for her to do it so openly, so loudly. She had been acting weirder and weirder as of late, being gone more and yet it seemed like she was always there, like she wanted to hang out with him more. He didn't understand why she was doing it, she knew that. She was aching on the inside, longing for that personal closeness that she'd had with Minoru and Sayuri, wishing for Theia. It would be a very long time, hopefully, before Ren was awakened, and a while still before he would remember, and Theia...

Her laughter faded away, leaving her sitting on the ground. She propped her head up on her elbows, leaning forward as she watched the pair of them, Gaven trying to draw attention back to their game. He liked having kids to play with... She'd have to get all the girls together and let him have some fun with that. She was pretty certain that he'd draw the line at dressing up, but he might play house or something. And if any of them played video games, he would be their new best friend. ”Don't worry about it. It'll all come to light soon enough.”

Esuna as rolling around on the ground, holding her sides together as if they might fall apart with her laughter. Well, at least someone was enjoying this. Cyor could do nothing but watch as she rolled around in the grass like a toddler, bringing nearly every glance in their direction. They had certainly caused quite the stir, the two of them. He wondered if after his cursing and her giggling someone would call in the Feet. That wasn't something he wanted to quell today.

"It's fine, Su," Cyor replied, himself cracking a smile. It was nice to see her so happy. "I admit, I did overreact a bit there. It is a scary thing, thinking that you might have more children than you think you do." He was careful to keep his voice down with Ren so near. He didn't want her to hear any of this.

He pulled Esuna back up into a standing position, nodding at the starers. They were really starting to get annoying, even if they had proven their worth in entertainment. He wondered if he should try and shuffle them out of there. It might be for the best, actually.

”Don't worry about it. It'll all come to light soon enough.”

Shrugging was Cyor's only response. He didn't want things to come to light. He was perfectly content being in the dark about his past lives' doings, thank you very much. But he supposed he should grow up and just deal with it. It may not have been him, technically, during Crystal Tokyo or the Silver Millennium, but if his errors of the past stretched into this life, he knew that he would take care of every one of them, even if they flushed his savings, which would be incredibly hard to do.

For a moment, he stood there and watched Ren and Gaven at their game, trying to picture them as Sayuri and Minoru of the past. Nevertheless, even though he tried his hardest, he couldn't picture Ren as her Crystal Tokyo counterpart, let alone Gaven, who even in this form was foreign to him. He felt a bit sorry for Esuna then. What if she felt just as detached from Ren because of this? He couldn't be sure. But he tried to imagine Ren being stolen from him, not recognizing who he was or anything... That, that would have been more than he was capable of bearing.

"Why don't you take Ren home with you for the weekend?"[/b[ he asked suddenly. [b]"It might do her, and possibly you, some good. She should get to know Gaven better, let alone you. Or, you and Gaven can stay with us. It doesn't matter to me." He shrugged after a moment. Then he grasped Esuna's hand in a friendly gesture. "I am sorry that Ren won't recognize you for a while, and I'm sorry for wishing that she wouldn't get any memories at all. It must be very hard on you."

He had a sense of humor - that was certainly a bonus. Her grin remained on her face as she nodded in semi-understanding. Of course, she'd never experienced that thought process, (nor would she ever) though it did seem rather intimidating and overwhelming. She could easily understand the reaction he'd given... That, however, didn't make it any less funny. She grasped his hand and let him pull her up, ignoring her internal want to comment on how much taller than him she was. There would be another time for that - not like she was running short on time. Or ever had been. Or ever would be.

It was unexpected, his offer of allowing the girl to stay with them for the weekend. "Well, we'd love to have her, but since I know you live in Kejona, she might have a bit of culture shock when she comes to our little two bedroom apartment. If she wants to come, she can stay in my room and I'll take the couch, since Gaven has Mercury's snake and I doubt the little Princess likes snakes..." Her eyes wandered over to them again.

She barely noticed as he grabbed her hand, his words only registering because she'd tuned into his voice. "No, not at all. I wish that I could leave them both innocent and in the dark about the past... I wish all of you could have stayed in the dark. I wish that it had never begun, this ugly cycle that we're in..." Maybe it was just because he was the father of her daughter, but Esuna trusted him.

Not with everything, of course, but all the same, she trusted him. Out of all of the senshi, and even the rest of the shitennou, she might have said that same sentence to Ruro or Haiden... Or Khonsu, come to think of it... But that was really it. Her list of extreme trust was that short, a meager four people. "But since I know it has to happen, the best I can ever do is try to make it easy on them. On everyone." She chuckled. "Unless they have hilarious reactions, that is."

It was strange, how easily he was falling into this odd relationship with Esuna. He wasn't sure if it was because of the intimacy they'd shared in the past life, or if it was because they'd known each other on a deeper level. Or maybe, it was that, in a sense, she was the past-life mother of his present daughter. All these maybes, what ifs, and ands were starting to make his head spin, so Cyor decided that it might be best if he left the deep thinking related to time with Pluto for now.

"Well, we'd love to have her, but since I know you live in Kejona, she might have a bit of culture shock when she comes to our little two bedroom apartment. If she wants to come, she can stay in my room and I'll take the couch, since Gaven has Mercury's snake and I doubt the little Princess likes snakes..."

Cyor shrugged. He had to admit, he wasn't a fan of snakes. Slimy, slithery, despicable creatures. And he knew that his prejudice had passed on to his daughter. "That might be best," he replied, chuckling slightly at the "princess" comment. "Ren is very much a princess at heart," he admitted. This was probably the most honest thing he'd said all day, made even more evident by the fact that Ren was chasing after a frisbee in a dress and a crown.

He stood there for a moment, surveying the area, knowing that the group was rather an odd bunch. Two Lunarians and two Plutonians. Not that it was necessarily wrong to be together, but that the two races weren't often seen close together. If Cyor hadn't shouted across the park earlier or Esuna hadn't let out her wind-carrying laughter, that might have been the reason why people were staring.

"Unless they have hilarious reactions, that is."

For a moment, the man chuckled, but then he pondered the first half what she'd said. Did she actually think that she may have been the cause for what happened before? He looked at her, eyes searching. It wouldn't be fair if Esuna blamed herself. After all, if anything could have been done, he was sure that she or Usagi would have done it. But it seemed that all the forces in the world were working against them at the time.

"You don't... actually think that it was your fault, do you?" he asked softly. "It's not something that you should really make up for. If this is our destiny, so be it. At least let us be happy while we may," he said. For a moment, he was unsure what to do, but then he clapped Esuna on the shoulders. "You may be really powerful, Su, but if you think that's in any way your fault, you might be overestimating your own abilities a bit." He grinned.

She could hardly contain her mental glee at the prospect of spending time with her past-daughter, even if the girl didn't remember. If it became an issue that spending time with her was somehow making the girl remember, she was more than positive that she'd pull away from her, and pull Gaven away as well. The longer she remained innocent and... well, herself, the better. Esuna loved the other girls – Iskra, Amora, Mai... but at the same time, she felt so awful for them. At least she'd gotten her childhood in this life, no matter how insane it may have been, before she was thrust head first back into this chaos. Those few years that she was a child and a teenager in this life were the only ones in the history of the world that she hadn't consciously been Sailor Pluto, and it was a strange feeling, that was for certain.

She just grinned, watching their – was it alright to refer to them, even mentally, as their children? - children play. Minoru and Sayuri... Gaven and Ren. She listened to Cyor without looking at him, knowing full well that she couldn't lie to him as easily as she could the others. She had few weaknesses. Gaven, Ren... Khonsu. Ushriya and Ruro. And for some reason, instead of her other past-life daughter, Cyor. Her dislike for Khorvash had been no secret, and yet here they were, entirely different people, and she considered him a friend. A friend that made occasionally stupid decisions, but who didn't, when they were honestly living their lives?

”Don't we all blame ourselves for something or the other?” She asked, not really intending to speak that out loud. She quickly cleared her throat. ”Destiny doesn't really exist in the way that you're thinking. There is Life, Time, Death, Cosmos, Chaos... and Fate. And Fate is a sadist of the worst breed.” Did she really believe what she was saying? In ways, absolutely. She knew better than any others what messing with fate could do. Time was always the response to the choices that one made in their life – a smoker got lung cancer and died thirty years before he should have. A daredevil fell off his bike and broke his neck. And then there were the others... Fate's sadistic little games, infants that died in the womb, to forever burden their mother's minds. She swallowed, sighing again. ”I just have a hard time believe that this could be anyone's destiny.” What could they have done to deserve this? Or, depending on your frame of mind, what could they have done to earn this?