Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ Arisugawa's Locket ❯ Setsuna's Side ( Chapter 20 )

Setsuna's Side

"Haruka's bringing Juri home for dinner?" Setsuna repeated what Michiru was saying with a little frown on her face. Under her breath she added, "I just hope this isn't another matchmaking attempt of hers."

Michiru shook her head no, "I don't think so, not from the tone of her voice. Haruka sounded pretty serious, actually."

"Do you need any help with dinner?" Setsuna inquired. At Michiru's reassuring smile, "Then I'll go tell Hotaru we have company coming."

Hotaru looked up from where she was sitting cross-legged on top her bed. Once again Setsuna was struck by how old this girl seemed, looking into her dark eyes. Other than that, she seemed your typical young teenager.

"Yes?" Hotaru inquired to her quiet knock on the open door.

"We're having company over for dinner," Setsuna said, "Arisugawa Juri."

Hotaru got up and stretched, smiling, "Did you invite her over?"

Setsuna looked a bit startled, "Ah, no, Haruka did."

"That's too bad," Hotaru chuckled. She frowned slightly, "I wondered why Haruka decided to bring her here so suddenly?"

"Michiru said that Haruka sounded serious," Setsuna said.

"Do you know what it's about?" Hotaru asked curiously as Setsuna prepared to go.

Setsuna smiled slightly, "I choose not to know about the future."

It wasn't long after that Haruka arrived, and right after her came Arisugawa Juri. Again, Setsuna noticed how the woman seemed to fill up any space with her presence. 'And she seems so unaware of it,' she thought. She tried to look at Juri dispassionately, but it wasn't easy. The woman had been occupying her thoughts a great deal, and Setsuna wasn't quite sure what to do about it.

"We're here," Haruka smiled, slipping her shoes off gracefully. A gentle kiss, then Michiru moved on to Juri.

"Welcome," Michiru smiled, giving Juri a gentle hug.

"I'm sorry if I'm imposing," Juri apologized smoothly.

"It's no trouble," Michiru said, but it was obvious to Setsuna that she appreciated the casually given gesture.

Then Juri looked up and met Setsuna's eyes, and she had to force herself to merely walk and not run over to offer her hand. "It's nice to see you," Setsuna managed to get out as Juri slipped her fingers into Setsuna's own.

"The pleasure's all mine," was Juri's smooth response. She noticed Hotaru and with a smile asked "Do you still have the Chibi-Moon doll?"

Hotaru blushed and with a shy laugh, "Yeah."

"C'mon," Haruka gestured to the living room, "we can sit down for a bit and you can tell the others all about your little situation."

Setsuna frowned slightly as she followed them into the living room. 'What does she mean, situation?' she wondered. Haruka sat down and Michiru settled down beside her, gently laying her head on Haruka's shoulder.

It took a lot of Setsuna's self control not to feel just a bit sorry for herself. All the other Senshi seemed to have paired off, and here she was, all alone. She was a bit startled when she noticed Juri giving her a sympathetic glance.

"What did Papa-Haruka mean, your situation?" Hotaru asked.

"Papa?" Juri echoed, a smile teasing at her lips.

Setsuna took pity on the blushing Haruka and explained, "We, that is, Haruka, Michiru and I, all helped raise Hotaru together."

"You've done a good job," Juri noted as she met Setsuna's eyes.

Setsuna was left speechless by the casually given compliment, thankfully Michiru asked, "So what is Haruka being so mysterious about?"

Juri leaned forward in her seat, obviously a bit uncomfortable as she quietly explained that because of receiving a piece of a mysterious power, she might be ageless, or even immortal.

"Whoever told you wasn't a little black cat that gave you a transformation wand?" Hotaru asked, and was slightly startled when both Haruka and Juri broke up laughing.

"I already asked that," Haruka laughed softly as she added, "I can't quite see Juri dressed in a fuku, can you?"

"And you trust whoever told you about this?" Michiru asked, ignoring Haruka's comment.

"With my life," was Juri's instant reply.

Setsuna found herself wondering who Juri trusted so much. "There may be a way to test this," she said softly, inwardly wondering if Juri really wanted that answer. Juri looked up to meet her eyes, and Setsuna saw that she was probably wrestling with that very question.

Finally, Juri said, "If you can prove it, then please do."

Setsuna rose from her chair, and her transformation wand seemed to appear in her hand as she called out, "Pluto planet power, make-up!" Energy washed across her body as time itself encircled her, enfolding and transforming her into Sailor Pluto.

"Incredible," Juri murmured softly, her gaze frankly admiring.

Setsuna suddenly felt the urge to pull her fuku skirt down, but she resisted the impulse. She hefted her time staff, and advanced towards Juri. The woman looked a little nervous, and Setsuna had to admit it felt kind of nice to throw the normally cool Juri off balance.

"I'm going to try to read your life-line," Setsuna explained reassuringly. "Just sit still, and it shouldn't hurt a bit," she smiled as she held her staff over Juri's head. The orb glowed softly, and Setsuna felt the power that dwelled inside Juri, a power not that different than a Senshi's.

The orb flared, and Setsuna felt the years that stretched ahead for Juri, and knew that her friends hadn't lied, Juri was nearly ageless. She prepared to pull back, when suddenly she was struck by a vision of the future too powerful to deny.

Setsuna saw the city of Crystal Tokyo, and the Senshi assembled to defend it. But not far away she saw another group. Led by a pink hared woman and her dusky companion, they were seven in number and stood as proud as the Senshi themselves.

Juri stood with the seven, garbed in armor similar to that of the generals of a bygone age. But her gaze was not focused on her leader, instead she met the eyes of the Pluto of her time. On their hands, matching rings of gold glinted.

Setsuna tore herself free of the vision with a gasp, and sagged into gentle arms. "Are you all right?" Juri asked, holding her upright.

"I'll be fine," Setsuna smiled at her weakly. 'Was that what is to come?' she wondered, 'Or is it just a possibility?' Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru were all around her asking questions, and she couldn't seem to formulate any answers.

"Give her some space," Juri frowned, guiding Setsuna to a seat. "I'm so sorry, if I caused this," Juri said fiercely.

"It wasn't your fault," Setsuna reassured her. Why they had tried this in the first place suddenly occurred to her, so she added, "You're friend was telling the truth. You are, at the very least, nearly ageless."

"Thank you," Juri said softly, looking over to meet Setsuna's eyes again.

Setsuna smiled slightly, "It was my pleasure." She paused, "I think this is a lot for you to take in right now, but if you want to talk about it..."

"I'll look you up," Juri finished as she reached out to take Setsuna's hand.

'I was going to say come see us,' Setsuna thought as she felt her heart seemingly skip a beat, 'but never mind.' She noticed Haruka and Michiru leaving discretely. Then Haruka came back in to grab Hotaru.

Juri seemed about to say more when they both were distracted by a soft clearing of the throat. "Dinner's ready," Michiru said apologetically.

Our Cast This Episode: Juri and "the other Seven" are from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru and Setsuna are all from Sailor Moon.