Background and Critique Request wrote:

This is what I have for Chapter 2 of Cardinal King: Arc Two; all the info you need on the "series" is linked in that post, including the first 20-chapter arc and the 12-odd one-shots that attempted to show what was going on behind the scenes; the first chapter is in the first post there and sets the scene; if you're willing to take me up on this critique request, please read that as well so you know what's going on ((and if you have any suggestions for that first chapter you can also reply with those here xD just tell me it's re: 1 instead of 2)).

^^' so.... I hit a spot in this chapter back in... i don't know... August and was stressing/cornered in how to get out of it -- I had forgotten that in setting "Z is for Zenith" & Chapter 1 on the day they got back from defeating Diana, so I had the story starting on a Saturday and meant for the next day to be Monday to fill it with school and a plot point, only to find myself staring at an empty Sunday and struggling to fill it with absolutely nothing while still trying to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of mildly interesting (or at least interesting enough that people don't stop reading because of this chapter). While my internet was out the other day I actually sat down and worked through it with the idea to send Mamoru to Usagi now rather than waiting for Monday, and just rambled through the whole thing.

I think I'm okay with the first half - all that came easily right after writing chapter one and it's just them throwing theories around so the reader knows where they're at and where they're headed with this "mystery" they have on their hands in the form of the kid and the visions Mamoru got when he touched him; it's that whole second day that has me questioning whether there's actually anything interesting there to tide people over to the next chapter, if nothing else ^^' 

Please critique with any grammar bugs, noticeable plot issues, and generally how reading this chapter made you feel / whether you wanted to finish it. If you had no problem reading through it and keeping entertained, please tell me that, too XD If you did have issues slugging through, if you had any comments or suggestions, that'd be great!  !! Also Nephrite's random romeo+juliet reference - keep or go or? I felt it went off topic but it was just them messing around - it's not a plot point so part of me is all nix it and the other is all lmao midori is a dork. 

!! LAST THING I SWEAR: For reference, since I didn't use an easy method of remembering who is who (I went with gem-stone colors being their last name)

Super Hero Name	Civilian Name	Past-Life Identity
Cardinal King	Chiba Mamoru	Prince Endymion
North King	Hanada Kaito	Zoisite
South King	Moegi Yuu	Jadeite
East King	Midori Nero	Nephrite
West King	Kobai Khalid	Kunzite

Thanks for reading the LENGTHY NOTE, and double thanks for those who choose to take up the task! XD

Mamoru spoke staring at his hands, recalling everything he could, every detail, from the moment he opened the stairway door in his apartment building and nearly bumped into the redheaded child up until he introduced them after they chased the creature away. His friends were quiet as he narrated, but once he finished and looked up, he could see that they all had questions. He knew just about as much as they did, but maybe by shooting ideas around they could reason this thing out. “I don’t think the creature was from Elysion,” he offered, returning to the question Midori had asked him before, “She was too normal; beyond the senshi, Diana didn’t use any minions that looked remotely humanoid.”
 
“Not to mention she was disguised when you first met her,” Hanada added, leaning back in his chair; his mind seemed to be elsewhere, “None of the others had done that.”
 
“Could she have been a higher minion?” Moegi asked, “Someone more on the senshi’s level that we maybe just didn’t run into before?”
 
“If she were, she did a terrible job of defending Diana when we attacked last night,” Kobai stated with some finality, “I think Mamoru is right; if she were allied with the old Moon Kingdom, it wouldn’t make sense for her to show herself now, just after they were defeated; she should’ve stored up her strength in Elysion, gathered the monsters together, and started strategizing a counter offensive – “
 
“Whoa,” Midori said, holding up his hands as he interrupted, “Who says she had to be allied to their cause? She could’ve been working under Diana without any loyalty towards her, and now that Diana’s gone she’s out in the world, causing mischief – kidnapping kids and whatnot.”
 
Kobai sighed, his silver eyes looking aside as he quickly thought and answered, “Even so, she should’ve known that we were located in Tokyo, and if she had any sort of intelligence – which today she’s shown she does – she would have taken her mischief-making elsewhere, rather than attempt something right beneath our noses. I don’t think she’s a remnant of Elysion.”
 
Helios popped into the room, signaling that the kid had fallen asleep. He shook himself thoroughly, from head to wings to tail, loosening muscles stiffened from his extended state posing as a stuffed toy. Mamoru got up and poured some water into a tea cup for him, which Helios drank from gratefully.
 
“What do you think, Helios?” Moegi asked, restating the question, “Was the enemy one of the Moon Kingdom’s, escaped from Elysion?”
 
“I doubt it,” Helios replied, “She didn’t seem the type; most of the Moon Kingdom’s monsters were cunning, but were very situational – that creature openly toyed with us, seeming to enjoy the chase. She knew little-Mamoru, and he seemed to know her, which means that he escaped from her once but she’s been tracking him, and then frightened him before honestly trying to capture him. That’s an entirely different type of intelligence, and I’m not sure Diana would have willingly created something like that to work under her.” He finished drinking, then added, “And with Beryl down there watching over things now, I’d like to think she’d send us a message if anything like that made it out after us.”
 
Midori sighed gustily, “Okay, then, where is she from?”
 
“And why does she want the kid?” Moegi added when it was clear no one had anything to answer to Midori’s question. Hanada still seemed to be thinking hard about something, and Kobai looked as strapped as the rest of them were for information, and didn’t seem too happy about it.
 
“Did he say anything to you when we left?” Mamoru asked Helios, hoping that the kid let something slip to the ‘stuffed animal’; he hoped to get information without having to drill the kid about it, but he would if they needed to. He wasn’t looking forward to it.
 
“He did”, Helios replied reflectively, “ He spoke to me like he knew I was more than I appeared. Before he somehow knew my name, and used it again and again after you two left, asking me what was wrong, why I wasn’t talking…” he trailed off almost sadly.
 
“Do you know him from anywhere?” Kobai asked, “Somewhere in the past, maybe? Could he be reborn from that time?”
 
Helios shook his head, his silver mane flying. “No; back then I appeared much different than I do today – he would have no reason to know me in this form, even if I had met him back then.” He paused, considering, “I can’t remember him at all – I don’t believe I have ever met him .” That Helios had once appeared different from the way he did now was interesting, but Mamoru let it go, keeping his attention on the problem at hand rather than curiosities of the past that had little bearing on their current issue.
 
“Maybe he’s heard of you?” Moegi offered, “And recognized you from those stories and put two and two together or something?”
 
“But what stories would have been written about him?” Kobai interjected, “I’ve done the research – everything from our past lives has been lost to history. There are myths and rumors about the sacking of Babylon that may coincide to when Elysion moved to the dimensional pocket, but, other than that and myths of Endymion and Serenity’s love, everything is gone. The existence of a horned Pegasus isn’t even in any myths – well any good ones, anyway.” At a look from Moegi, he added, “Assyrians used a horned Pegasus or bull to denote evil.”
 
“Well that’s morbid,” Midori commented flatly.
 
“Why’d you choose the form of a bringer of evil?” Moegi asked Helios, who immediately fluffed his feathers irritably.
 
“I did no such thing!” He protested, “ The Assyrians were an odd bunch who had it wrong,” he replied with finality, sounding annoyed.
 
“Okay then,” Midori continued, “next question would be why would the kid be interested in you? Mamoru said he was looking at you when he first saw the pair of you and decided to follow. Do you think he knows about the Assyrian thing? Or was it just a case of “ooh, pretty pony”?” He paused a moment, then continued on quickly, leaning forward, his long brown hair falling over his shoulders, his voice as strained with frustration as his body language, “And that still wouldn’t explain how he knew your name or expected you to talk back!”
 
Moegi shook his head, resting his elbows on the overstuffed arms of his chair, “We don’t have a lot to go on here…”
 
“What did the visions mean?!” Hanada practically exploded, standing up quickly and rounding to the back of his chair, where he leaned on the plush headpiece. Most of his blond hair had come loose from its low ponytail and now framed his face in loose curls, the softness at odds with his harsh expression, “Was it the past or the future?!” he growled looking away, “It has to be the future – we haven’t had anything like that within our time, but how does that work?! Is it set in stone? Can we change it? How can we change it?! How soon will it happen?!”
 
Kobai held up his hand placatingly, and Hanada closed his mouth on his next question, breathing though his nose. All eyes were on him, and the blond irritably looked away, restyling his hair. Mamoru had been trying to focus on things other than the visions, things that they could solve easier, things that maybe weren’t so subjective, but it made sense that Hanada would stick fastest to those hazy visions, as they showed the big picture, the possible path upon which they were now set. The creature, the kid’s motives and knowledge of Helios – and Usako – were pieces of the puzzle, but Hanada liked to know the big picture first when it was available, and what Mamoru saw when he held the kid’s hand were clues to what had happened, what could happen, or what would happen.
 
“Mamoru,” Helios asked inevitably, having not been there for the play-by-play, “what visions?”
 
“When I took his hand,” Mamoru repeated, closing his eyes to recall the images again, trying to pause them with his mind as they flashed across his memory, “I saw things – I saw a woman standing alone on top of a tower; there were explosions around her, and she was lit from the front by something really bright – it bleached out the colors of the image. And then I saw –“
 
“Wait,” Hanada instructed, his eyes closed, hands back on the chair, “Explain it again, but more detail – what did the woman look like? And the tower?”
 
He concentrated, “She has long hair; it’s streaming out behind her, like a really strong wind is coming from the light. I can’t tell much else – it’s too bright and hazy. The tower looks like it’s made of something reflective –“
 
“Windows?” Hanada asked.
 
“No, there aren’t any separators,” Mamoru concentrated further, but the more he concentrated the more he felt the image slipping away, “It’s like a solid reflective surface, like a window but it couldn’t be that big without supports.”
 
“The explosions?” Hanada prompted.
 
Mamoru grit his teeth, trying to keep the image in place, “They’re below her – on either side of the tower, but large enough to be seen in the frame with her. The tower shakes with them, and that’s all I’ve got from that image.”
 
He opened his eyes and Hanada didn’t look satisfied, but nodded. Moegi was watching Hanada, looking a little upset, while Kobai and Midori were both looking at him. Helios, his wings drawn in, kept his thoughts to himself.
 
“The next one? The city?” Hanada prompted.
 
Mamoru did his best to describe it all in one go, with as great a detail he could, closing his eyes to focus on the mental image again. “It’s not Tokyo,” he stated deliberately, “The buildings are too different – the style is off, like it’s using a different geometry. There used to be a lot of trees, but now there’s nothing but fire; even the buildings are on fire and melting. There was a lot of noise – sirens going off, people screaming – and there’s some sort of heavy feeling from above, like whatever’s causing it is coming from there.”
 
“Maybe that’s what the woman on the tower is fighting?” Moegi offered.
 
“Maybe,” Hanada agreed, without requesting for greater details. “And the last one? The one with the kid?”
 
“He was being chased,” Mamoru replied, “It didn’t look like he was part of the burning city – it was dark; nothing seemed to be on fire. He called for help, but no one came.”
 
Hanada’s fingers tapped on the back of the chair. “Two from the future, one from his past maybe?” he mused, “Have you ever gotten past and future visions in one go before?”
 
Mamoru shook his head, “I usually don’t get more than one image at a time,” he explained with a helpless shrug. He didn't often get visions of the future, either. 
 
No one spoke; they had more questions than answers, which seemed to have become a trend in Mamoru’s life ever since Helios had him stop that creature in the jewelry store. Unlike last time, however, they didn’t have a guide to lead them through and provide answers to at least some of their questions. All they had was one little boy who did not seem too eager to open up to them about anything.
 
“I’m going to bed,” Midori announced, standing after a few minutes of silence. “You guys should, too – it’s late and we’re dead tired. Thinking now is just wasting time,” he aimed the last at Hanada, who was still tapping his fingers on the back of a chair.
 
Moegi joined him, “Maybe things’ll be clearer in the morning when we’ve had some sleep.” He grunted, “I hope so, anyway – I have a debate Monday.”
 
“You’re seriously not thinking about going to school this week, are you?” Midori accused, walking towards the door.
 
“Not going would cause too many problems,” Moegi defended, “And there’s no way I’m losing that debate.”
 
They opened the door and, before it closed behind them, they heard Midori chastise, “You just helped save the planet! End of debate – you win!”
 
The door closed softly, and the silence moved in around them. A clock ticked the seconds past somewhere in the plush room, a sound both comforting and anxious. Half a minute passed quietly, but for Kaito’s insistent drumming as he stewed over the visions. “I don’t even know how you’re still awake,” Kobai said, his tone light and familiar, breaking the quiet as he leaned forward in his chair. Mamoru looked back at him, noting the darker regions beneath his friend’s eyes, too. Kobai regarded Mamoru for a moment before standing, “Let alone the answers to these questions. The others are right – we’re too exhausted to really contemplate the mysteries laid at our feet tonight. In the morning either things will be clearer, or they won’t be. All we can do is be prepared – keep our guard up against anything unusual until we can piece things together. Tonight, though, we should sleep.”
 
Mamoru nodded and stood, sleep sounding better and better by the moment. He started for the door and paused when Kobai didn’t join him, and turned to see him staring at Kaito, waiting patiently. “There are too many missing pieces,” he said quietly, “Get some rest.”
 
Hanada nodded and broke his single-minded stare at his chair cushions, and followed Mamoru and Khalid out of the room. Helios hopped up and flew after them, catching up and sticking to Mamoru as they split for their separate rooms, and then excused himself to return to the kid’s room for the night.
 
The moment Mamoru’s head hit the pillow, he fell asleep.
 
…
 
Judging by the shadows on the floor, it was nearly ten in the morning when he finally woke up, and he was still tired. He considered rolling over and going back to sleep, but, even as he moved to do so, he knew he’d never actually fall back asleep – the thought had already crossed his mind that falling asleep again meant his whole sleep schedule could be messed up, and he was officially, unchangeably awake. With a sigh he sat up and nearly groaned from the tightness of his stiffened muscles; he stood and stretched fully, grimacing through the pain – funny how the golden crystal could mend broken bones but did nothing to alleviate stiff muscles – and went through his morning routine. Once groomed and dressed for the day, he moved to the doorway, opened the door, and nearly tripped over the small body sitting in the doorframe.
 
The kid scrambled to his feet and turned around to face him, though he wouldn’t look Mamoru in the eye, probably, Mamoru suspected, because the kid’s eyes were bloodshot and puffy. The kid crossed his arms – awkwardly, as one still held Helios – and commented sourly, “Took you long enough to get up.”
 
“Good morning to you, too,” Mamoru drolled sarcastically, one brow twitching up in annoyance.
 
“He was up most of the night,” Helios cut in mentally, canceling any thoughtless remark Mamoru might have made next, “It must have been nightmares – he spoke in his sleep, but he mumbled so I couldn’t make out any of the words. He was terrified, waking up all at once, sitting up straight in his bed.” Mamoru sighed, regarding the kid; rough nights didn’t fully excuse rudeness, but it did enough. “He didn’t say anything to me about it; I think he’s embarrassed.”
 
“Had any breakfast yet?” he asked instead. The kid, still scowling and looking away, shook his head marginally, and Mamoru tilted his head towards the stairs at the end of the hall. “C’mon, I know where they keep the cereal.” He started leading the way, his hands in his pant pockets, and asked casually, hoping to get him to lighten up a bit, “Do you even like cereal?” The kid hmm’d noncommittally, and Mamoru tried again. “Midori’s got Cocoa-Puffs from the States – have you ever had any of those?” No answer. “They’re chocolate-flavored.” No answer. They started moving downstairs. “They turn the milk into chocolate milk.”
 
“Chocolate milk?” he finally replied, a little less grumpiness in his voice.
 
“Yep.”
 
“Chocolate milk isn’t for breakfast.” His sounded like he was being factual, but there was a waiver of interest in the dismissive tone.
 
“It is, here.”
 
“That’s weird.”
 
“You don’t have to have any,” Mamoru replied openly, turning the corner at the bottom of the stairs.
 
“No, I want some,” his feet padded on the last stair and turned the corner quickly behind him.
 
“Are you sure?” he trailed, pushing open the kitchen door to let him pass. Kobai, sitting at the dining room table behind them, straightened a newspaper loudly. Mamoru nodded towards him as the little redhead passed under his arm, “I don’t want to throw off your strict no-chocolate-milk-in-the-morning policy.”
 
“It’ll be okay.”
 
Within minutes they were seated at the table; the kid had cocoa-puffs and was again perched on pillows as he ate, Mamoru had toast and hot tea, at once starving and not hungry at all. Kobai turned the newspaper page and asked, reminiscent of a television father, “So, Mamoru, how did you sleep?”
 
The kid didn’t answer, barely acknowledging he had been asked a question. Mamoru cleared his throat, getting the kid’s attention, and nodded towards Khalid. Startled, as though just realizing what Khalid had said, he quickly replied that he had slept well – an obvious lie – before going back to his breakfast. Mamoru caught Khalid’s eye, his puzzled expression lost in his friend’s more serious gaze; both were probably thinking the same thing: ‘Mamoru’ hadn’t recognized his own name, which probably meant that Mamoru wasn’t his real name. Why would he lie about his name, and how did he choose that name out of millions? Was it intentional? If so, why use Mamoru’s name? Feeling uneasy, Mamoru finished his breakfast with one eye on the kid at all times.
 
After breakfast, Mamoru retrieved his school bag and took to one of the studies on the first floor, leaving the door open to catch sight of Midori, Moegi, or Hanada as he and Khalid got caught up on their schoolwork, the kid sitting in an overstuffed armchair near them looking bored to death. Occasionally Khalid would ask him a question about himself, but, despite how tired he was, the kid would find a way around it or would simply pretend he hadn’t heard it. They got nothing from him – not the names of his parents, the street he lived on, whether he had lived anywhere besides Tokyo, or even what his favorite color was. 
 
Khalid seemed to have given up by the time Midori walked by the room, stretching, well after noon. The brunet paused, did a double take, and swallowed his yawn to put a hand in the doorway and hang his head, “Really, guys? Studying on a Sunday? I’m so disappointed.”
 
“Do you know what time it is?” Kobai returned in their defense, but Midori took it easily, rolling back up and giving them both hopeless looks.
 
“Obviously time to go outside.”
 
Eager for something to do, Mamoru joined in rooting out both Moegi – who had holed himself up in his room to practice for his debate – and Hanada – who had been staring at a legal pad in obvious frustration – and pulling them out onto a field surrounding the manse. Midori ate a sandwich with one hand as he pulled a soccer goal from a shed with the other and grunted down any objections the others made about not wanting to play because they had other things to do. The teams were split “evenly”: Mamoru and Hanada on one team, as Hanada did not enjoy sports and Mamoru was on the starting lineup for their school, and Khalid and Moegi on the other, both having played the game but never on a school team; Midori served as goalie for both. The kid sat on the sidelines, looking grumpy but having volunteered to keep score for them as not to be left alone inside. Mamoru enjoyed the exercise and the comradery; he could almost convince himself that the unpleasantries of the past were finally behind them, but one look to the sidelines reminded him that more could be heading their way.
 
Exhausted, they left the field hours later with a close-scoring match - Midori might have been harder on Mamoru's shots than anybody else's - then showered and changed, and ate a well-deserved dinner.  As the sun was setting, Midori talked them into watching a new movie in the miniature movie theater on the east end of the house - that he had a movie theater in his house was bad enough, but having access to a film that had just recently left theaters seemed like an overkill on extravagance. Nevertheless, sitting down in a dark, quiet room with a bucket of popcorn and watching an action movie wasn't a bad way to end the day. Mamoru was just thinking about how nice it would be to do something like this with Usako when he felt an unexpected weight on his arm and looked down to see the kid had passed out on him, curled up awkwardly around his popcorn bucket in the plush movie seats, his chest now crushed up against the armrest between them in a way that looked anything but comfortable, but there was no mistaking the peaceful breathing of sleep. He hadn't gotten to see her today; he hadn't even called her, and the hospital visiting hours were long over. The kid had mentioned her by name; could she provide any answers? His heart beat faster thinking about an impromptu visit to the hospital later that night; visiting hours might be over, but she had a window...
 
When the movie was over, Moegi took the kid upstairs piggy-back, somehow not waking him up in the process, and Mamoru told them of his intention to visit Usagi and see if she knew anything about their visitor; they agreed it was a good idea, though it was clear they weren't considering letting him go alone. Hanada originally volunteered, but Kobai vetoed, and Midori stepped up; Mamoru thought the move had been odd, but shrugged it off, grudgingly content that he'd have just one escort rather than up to four.  They transformed outside and made off towards the city, running fast and easy. 
 
"So what's the plan?" East asked teasingly, "Scale the garden wall, climb the terrace and compare her to the sun?"
 
Mamoru rolled his eyes, "Do you want to be Mercutio?"
 
 
Nero paused, "... Is that the guy that dies?"
 
"You don't even know the characters?" Mamoru recoiled indignantly.
 
"Hey, I know the story and that's enough right? Leading lady Juliet and dashing rogue Romeo - "
 
"He wasn't a rogue," Mamoru corrected gustily as the outskirts of the city rose up to meet them.
 
"Prince? Trouble-maker? Whatever. They fall in love and live happily ever after, right?"
 
Mamoru shook his head disbelievingly, "You're so wrong I don't even know where to start."
 
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Midori quoted.
 
"That's not even in the play." They jumped to rooftops, making for the hospital.
 
Midori laughed, "Whatever, all I need to know is the poetry anyway."
 
"Need to know?" Mamoru repeated, wondering if Midori had joined some sort of theatre troop while no one was looking; he had to admit, Nero could be theatrical enough for that.
 
They landed on the rooftop of the hospital, skirting around the helipad lights as Midori replied, "Girls love that stuff," and Mamoru groaned. They slowed as Mamoru leaned over the side of the building, counting out Usako's window. "But really, what's the plan? Isn't she sharing a room with the ex-senshi? Wouldn't just tapping on the window as we are be conspicuous or something? If she didn't want them to remember their pasts, going in all dolled up like this and talking to Usagi-chan might not be the best way to lead them to believe she's normal."
 
"We'll pretend we're late visitors," Mamoru offered simply. 
 
The actual operation wasn't that simple; they found an empty room to get in through, then detransformed and tried to look casual, yet invisible as they traveled the halls towards Usako's room, knowing full well that visitation had ended half an hour ago. It was a miracle they made it to the room without being escorted out - that or lack security for rooms with patients who were just there for observation. As they approached, Nero looking every-bit like the spy-hero of the action movie they just saw, Mamoru heard stifled laugher from Usako's room and hesitated; it sounded like they were getting along fine, past or no past; he liked that for her, and almost decided to call it off, to get answers tomorrow, but Nero reached over and knocked softly on the door before he could fully reconsider. His heart pounded pleasantly in his chest as the door opened, but rather than Usako, Venus stood in the cracked doorway, looking at them in a covert manner.
 
"Do you have the goods?" she asked covertly as Usako and another girl laughed in the background, not paying attention to the door.
 
Baffled, Mamoru replied, "What goods?" 
 
She leaned back from the door, "He doesn't have it."
 
 
"Who is it?" another asked.
 
"I don't know - some guy."
 
"And his friend," Midori added, fully standing, his hands casually in his pockets. 
 
Venus turned back to them, took in Midori, and leaned back to add in, "And his friend." Mamoru thought he saw her rolling her eyes. 
 
"Aren't visiting hours over?" a quiet voice asked.
 
A second set of footsteps approached the door and it was pulled open further to reveal Mars, who looked at them suspiciously. "Visiting hours are over; what do you want?"
 
Usako was sitting sprawled on a bed with the tall brunette - ex-Jupiter - but once Mars opened the door wider and she saw him, and he her, she rolled over and hopped up to dash to the door, her smile bright and welcoming and completely disarming. "Mamo-chan!" she welcomed, Mars and Venus making way for her in the doorway; she immediately reached out, took his hand, and pulled him in; Midori followed and closed the door behind him as Usako cleared her throat and motioned to him like he was the topic of a presentation. "Everyone, this is Chiba Mamoru, my boyfriend - " his heart thrilled at the term; she looked up at him, her whole countenance nothing but happiness, "Mamochan, this is Ami-chan, Makoto-chan, Minako-chan, and Rei." She motioned to each in turn - Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Mars - and he wondered momentarily in the dropped honorific for Rei, but Mars's - Rei's - frustrated but accepting expression hinted that she didn't mind all that much. He was happy for her; she had worried that they might not like her, and while he had known they couldn’t resist – who could resist her? – it was still comforting to see.
 
Midori cleared his throat unobtrusively and Usagi whirled around as if she had just noticed him, and, grinning, added, “And this is Midori-kun, one of Mamo-chan’s friends.”
 
“Sorry to barge in so late,” Midori commented, “We were in the neighbourhood and thought we’d drop by.”
 
“That’s thoughtful of you,” Makoto commented, her green eyes flashing to him and Usagi.
 
Minako looked at him almost devilishly before she tugged on Rei’s arm and sat down on one of the beds beside Ami, across from Makoto, “Midori-kun, was it? We’ve been out of it for a while; why not tell us what we missed and we could give them a moment alone?” Her intonation made him blush, and Usako stiffened nervously beside him – he didn’t think – he didn’t want them to get the wrong idea –
 
Midori chuckled and clapped him on the back as he crossed the room towards them, “Okay, how much have you missed?”
 
As Midori started running through various movie releases, Mamoru looked down at Usako as soon as he felt his face cool, “I need to ask you about something.” She led him across the room, opposite of where Midori was probably boring the girls with rundowns of this or that, and once they were both seated, he asked her quietly, “Do you know a young boy with bright red hair and eyes? Goes by ‘Mamoru’?”
 
Usagi thought for only a moment before shaking her head, “You’re the only ‘Mamoru’ I know, and I don’t think I know of any kids with that description. Why?”
 
Mamoru frowned; he had figured the kid had been lying about being related to Usako, but how did he even know her?  As much as he didn’t want to involve her in anything dangerous, leaving her out of the loop was out of the question, “Something… strange happened yesterday,” he began, stressing the word and glancing towards bed full of girls behind them to emphasize what he really meant. “And we met a young boy with that description who claimed to be related to you. We’re keeping an eye on him for now, but I thought I’d see if his claims were true.”
 
Usako look worried, “Maybe I am related to him?” she suggested, “I don’t know much about Ikuko-mama’s side of the family; maybe I have a secret cousin?” He wasn’t convinced.
 
The door to the room opened quickly and with a stern, disapproving look of concealed rage, a night nurse cleared her throat. “Visitation hours are over,” she announced, her voice quiet yet projecting just fine. Midori all but jumped up; Mamoru squeezed Usako’s hand before joining him at the door. “I’ll show you the door; maybe you’d like the pizza that was trying to be delivered to this room.”
 
Minako huffed, crossing her arms, looking rebellious.
 
“It was nice to meet you girls,” Midori excused himself with a smile, exiting smoothly.
 
“Good night,” Mamoru nodded, about to slip out after him when Usako called, “I’d like to meet him.” He turned, looking at her, not sure what to say. He figured she would, but they didn’t know anything about this kid beyond that he was secretive, he lied about the information he did offer, and something was after him. He nodded lightly; willing to talk to Kobai and the others about it later; as the nurse closed the door firmly in his face he heard one of the girls ask, ‘Meet who?’ before he and Midori were promptly kicked out of the hospital.

XD I may just post it as is then and edit it back later if anyone has any critiques ♥