Deception - Chapter Three (PG-13) by Christina Anton Disclaimer: I think you know it by now. Maria had never seen a more peaceful place than the Hikawa Shrine. It was blissfully quiet compared to the noise of the city, and the cherry blossom trees were beautiful to look at. The walk up the many steps to get to the temple was soothing to her, even though her companions were talking animatedly about a movie that she had forgotten the name of. When they came to the tori, two ravens were sitting atop it. They squawked as the group came near, and she saw Rei wave a hand in greeting to them. Maria thought it a bit odd to wave to birds, but who was she to say what was odd and what wasn't? Maybe they were pets of hers. "Oh Maria-chan, you don't even know why we're here do you?" Ami asked her. "No, I don't, but I've just been enjoying the walk." Maria answered. "Rei-chan is the miko of this shrine. We come here to hang out a lot." Makoto explained. "Yeah, those are her pet ravens on the tori, Phobos and Deimos." Minako said. Phobos and Deimos... I've heard those names before, haven't I? Ahh yes, they're the names of the moons of Mars. "You named your ravens after the moons of Mars?" Maria asked the miko. Rei laughed and said, "Yes, I did. I've just always... liked Mars. You could say it's my favorite planet." Their conversation was interrupted by a small man wearing robes, who seemed quite spry for his age. "Rei-chan! Who's your loveley new friend?" The man asked, looking at Maria in a way that disturbed her a little. "Grandpa, this is Maria Levantine. She's an exchange student from America, so be polite." Rei told him in a tone that brooked no arguement. "When have I ever not been polite?" He asked, and then waved a hand in dismissal. "Why don't you girls go on in and I'll go get some tea for you all." "Where's Yuuichiro-kun?" "Oh, I sent him to get more incense. We were running out. He'll be back soon. Now go on, don't be impolite to your guests!" The old man exclaimed, shooing them inside and smiling the whole time. Rei led them into the temple to a room that seemed to be their normal gathering spot. When they were all kneeling at the table in the center of the room, Rei apologized for her grandfather. "Sorry, but he can get a little carried away sometimes." Thinking of the energetic elderly man, Maria replied, "There's no need to apologize. It's nice to see that not everyone slows down as they age." They all laughed. As their giggles died down, Makoto decided to get down to what they all wanted to hear. "We've shown you around the city, and probably talked your ears off, so why don't you tell us a little about yourself Maria-chan?" "Yeah, like how you hurt your hand. It doesn't look good." Usagi said concernedly. Here they come, the questions I've been dreading. Now to lie or tell half-truths? I have to tell them what I told Haruka and the others about my hand, but what about the rest? Maria thought quickly. "My hand was hurt from falling down the stairs last week. As for me... what do you want to know?" "Are you smart?" Usagi asked. "Usagi-chan!" Ami admonished. "How else was I supposed to ask?" Usagi whined. Hoping to avoid anymore yelling, Maria quickly answered. "Yes, I guess you could say I'm smart." "Like what kind of smart, knowing the table of elements by heart smart or thinking fast smart?" Minako shot in. "Ok, how about we get off that particular subject. Do you have a job back at home?" Makoto asked. Glad that the subject of her intelligence was done with, Maria answered, "No, I don't have a job." "Do you have a driver's license?" Usagi asked. "Yes I do." "Why don't you have a car then?" "Because a car costs money, which I would need a job to have." "Then why don't you have a job?" Maria burst out laughing. She didn't know why she thought the questions funny, but she did. Though, the way the two blonds of the group were looking at her was amusing. "I don't have a job because I don't need a car." "Oh." Rei shook her head at the way her friends were acting, and decided to ask a question of her own. "Do you like your parents?" Damn, why did she have to ask that? Maria thought. "My parents are divorced." "Sorry about that, why are they divorced?" Rei asked softly. The conversation was taking a turn that Maria definitely didn't like. "For a lot of reasons." Maria responded. Ami, having divorced parents of her own, decided to bail her out with another question. "Do you have any siblings?" It was an innocent question, but one that dredged up a lot that Maria had buried, or at least tried to bury. Thankfully, her answer was delayed by the arrival of Rei's grandfather. "Hello girls! I have tea for you!" He entered with a tray of teacups and a pot. As he set it down on the table, Maria saw that there were also cookies. "I also brought some cookies for you all, since I saw that Makoto-chan hadn't brought any. Not as good as hers, but they'll have to do, ne?" He winked at Makoto, who blushed and thanked him for the compliment. The small man looked at Maria for a moment, like he saw something about her that made him look more closely. "Thanks grandpa, we're fine now." Rei told him. Everyone thanked him for the afternoon snack. "It's nothing, ladies! Always here to help!" As he left, Maria had a strange feeling that he had been directing that last comment to her. Dismissing the thought, she grabbed a cookie from the rapidly diminishing pile. Looks like Usagi and Minako really love food, she thought as she watched them eat. Much to Maria's relief, Ami's question was apparently forgotten, and they asked her other questions. "Are you going to go to college?" Hotaru asked. Maria had almost forgotten she was there, she was so quiet. "I plan on going to college, yes." "Well, what are you going to major in?" Maria thought about this. She didn't really know what she wanted to do with her life. She did have an interest in computers however. She had always gotten good grades in what computer classes she had taken. "I guess something with computers." Ami perked up at that answer. "Hey Ami-chan, now you have someone to talk about computer stuff with besides Setsuna-san." Makoto said, nudging Ami. "You like computers too?" Maria asked the blue haired girl. "She sure does. She has an IQ of like 300. She doesn't like to boast about it though." Makoto said. "We'll have to get together and talk computers sometime Maria-chan." Ami said. "Sounds good to me." Maria agreed. They all stayed and talked until it started to get dark out. Maria learned that Usagi, Minako, Rei, Makoto, and Ami were all in their freshman years of college, among other things that were a large part of their lives. Everyone was a bit dissapointed when they had to leave, though they agreed to get together again the next day. She and Hotaru walked back home together, not talking much, just enjoying the walk through the dusk-darkened city. "So how are you liking your stay so far?" Hotaru asked in her soft voice. Lost in her own thoughts, Maria answered without thinking. "It's much better than home." "What's so bad about your home? I know your parents are divorced, but it can't be all that bad." Berrating herself for not thinking before speaking, she decided to put a stop to the subject, perhaps putting a little too much force into her words. "It's just not not very good, that's all." "Ok, then." Hotaru said, seeming not to even notice the bite in Maria's words. They walked on for a few minutes longer in silence. Maria regretted her tone with Hotaru, and tried to smooth things over. "I'm sorry about my tone, but it's just something I don't want to talk about." Hotaru smiled sadly. "It's ok if you don't want to talk about it. Just don't hold things in for too long. It hurts worse the more you hold it in." Don't I know it, Maria thought. But it will hurt worse when I let it out. * * * When Hotaru and Maria entered the front door, the first sight they saw was Haruka and Michiru kissing in the living room. Maria couldn't help but blush, while Hotaru laughed. "Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, we're back." The two stayed as they were for a few more seconds before separating. "Did you two have fun?" Michiru asked. Maria nodded, and Hotaru said, "Hai, we met Usagi-tachi at the arcade and they helped me show Maria-chan around the city. We went over to Rei's temple for a while too." Haruka laughed. "I'm surprised you've come home so early then. Odango-atama isn't easy to get to stop talking. Mina-chan too." "Odango-atama? Now that I think about it, it describes Usagi-chan's hairstyle well." Maria said amusedly. They all sat down on the couch as Haruka turned the television on. She flipped through the channels until she came to a channel showing an anime cartoon that she had never seen before. For a few minutes they watched the amusing antics of a white haired woman and a purple haired girl vie for the attentions of a black haired young man. When a commercial came on, Michiru asked Maria, "Do you have everything you need for school on Monday, Maria-chan?" Maria thought of what she had packed before answering. "I think I have everything I need, though I might need a satchel. My bookbag is starting to fall apart." "We can get you a new one tomorrow when we meet up with the others. They want to take Maria-chan and I shopping tomorrow." Hotaru said, directing the last comment to her guardians. Both nodded their assent. The rest of the evening, they watched TV and talked. When Setsuna came home at ten o'clock, they all decided to call it a night. After Maria went into her room and changed into her pajamas (flanel pajama shorts and a tank-top), she decided to go back downstairs to get something to drink. She saw Setsuna sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and her laptop. The dark haired woman looked up from her rapid typing. "Good evening Maria-chan. Can't sleep quite yet?" Maria went over to the cupboard, got out a small glass, and said, "You could say that. I just got a little thirsty." She took some orange juice out of the refridgerator and poured herself a glass. She held up the carton to Setsuna and raised her eyebrows, silently asking if she wanted any. The other woman shook her head, indicating her coffee. Maria put the carton back and leaned against the counter while drinking her orange juice. There's something strange about her, she thought. Those ageless eyes..."Gonna have a late night?" She asked the older woman. Setsuna smiled, looking over at her. "Yes, I usually work during the day, and do everything else at night. This time of night is about the only time I have to relax and do my own thing. I don't need much sleep." Maria nodded, understanding the need for time to yourself. For so long she had had precious little of it. Saying goodnight to Setsuna, she finished off her orange juice, put the glass in the sink, and went up to bed. Sliding under the cool sheets of her bed, she turned the light out and closed her eyes. Well, she thought, I can't get them figured out in only a day... And with that, she drifed off to sleep. End Chapter Three AN: Yes, it may be a bit boring right now. But there WILL be some action later on. It just depends on how eager I get to put some in here. I have those parts written all ready, I just have to build up to them. Anyway, I'd really appreciate it if you emailed me or reviewed this, depending on where you've read this. Thanks to everyone that's mailed me about this story!