Happy Disclaimer: I don’t own Sailor Moon. Then again, no one else on this site does either. I will say that if anything in this story sounds like a quote or similar to a situation in any other fic, it is completely unintentional.

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I was lounging on the bed I shared with Michiru one hot spring afternoon. I stared out the nearby window gloomily, watching…ugh…nature. I had always been more of a city girl and the chirping of the birds and the buzzing of the insects honestly made me nervous. Plus, it was hot for April. Way too hot, in my opinion. The heat kept me from wearing my normal slacks, which meant that my legs were exposed to the world, making me feel generally naked. I don’t love my sailor uniform for the same reason, although I put up with it. So there I was sprawled, in shorts and a tank top, staring at the birds…and Michiru.

Michiru was definitely the most interesting thing outside, and that would ever be outside. She was standing outside the window with a parasol to keep the hot sun off her head and shoulders, her sundress blowing lightly in the breeze. Not many girls can use an actual parasol and look natural, but if anyone could pull it off, it was my Michi.

Then Setsuna ran by with a kite. And my love for spring depleted even further.

~*~

Don’t get me wrong…I love the warm weather. Warm, mind you, not hot. This morning, I woke up, threw on some clothes (pants and one of my sporty tank tops), and found Michiru in the kitchen, already dressed and ready to go. She was keen on being up to greet the dawn. Setsuna and I were the lazy ones. But on this day, I wanted nothing more than to be out in my car, the wind in my hair, Michiru by my side, with the kid in the back (if you can really refer to Setsuna as that…). Since Hotaru had gone back to live with her father for awhile, we three had really bonded and liked to do things together, meaning someone had to force Setsuna to participate when she would rather fiddle with her computer or nap. Naturally, Michiru insisted that Setsuna come with us for the morning drive, and the job of waking her up and bringing her out to the car fell to me. I’m lucky like that.

Being the loving ‘sister’ that I am, I headed into her bedroom, lifted her sleeping figure right out of bed, joyfully carried her through the house and tossed her into the backseat of the car with a giggle. "Setsuna’s here, dear!"

"Hey, wha’?" Our groggy little darling sat up and noticed she was still in her summer nightgown and that, for some reason, she was in the back of the car and not in her bed. "Haruka! What…?"

"Step on it!" laughed Michiru (I love it when she talks like that!), and I floored it. I kept expecting to feel the legendary Time Staff slam into the back of my head with a vengeance, but Setsuna actually seemed to enjoy the ride once she was fully awake.

~*~

Then it got hot. Very hot. Dreadfully hot. Stinking damn hot. Once we got back to the house, it had to be a hundred degrees outside. Michiru put on as little clothing as possible (the wind senshi is not complaining) and went outside to walk in her garden and do all those dignified Michiru things she liked to do. Meanwhile, everything I liked to do required speed and sweat, so I had taken up my spot lounging on my bed. And then, Setsuna ran by with the aforementioned kite.

I raised an eyebrow and crawled closer to the windowsill. "Michiru?" I called through the screen.

Michiru turned and her bright eyes peered at me from under the parasol. "Yes, love?"

"Is Setsuna…all right?" I personally thought that Setsuna died and came back to life one too many times, and she was going to go nuts on us any day. For as much time as she spent in her room, she had equal spurts of childish glee. Not that I don’t. I’m a handful. But coming from Setsuna it was even more hysterical.

Michiru watched Setsuna run with the kite streaming behind her. "Well, she seems happy enough." Michiru thought Setsuna was just precious. Especially since our earth bodies had passed hers in age, even though she was technically thousands of years older.

I soon received a sight as Michiru took hold of the kite string and started to run with it. Then they both took a hold of the string and ran together, Michiru still clinging to her parasol. I hunted desperately for a camera, while keeping an eye on them out of the window. Suddenly a cry went up from outside and I leapt to the window again. "What? What happened?"

The girls were standing beneath a nearby tree, both of them wailing in disappointment. Their kite had gotten stuck high in the tree. I couldn’t help but roll over on the bed laughing. They looked for all the world like two unhappy children.

Michiru’s voice cut off my laughter quickly. "Haruka Tenoh! You get out here and climb this tree and stop laughing at us!"

I was startled. "What? Why do I have to do it?"

"You’re good at climbing trees," Setsuna said matter-of-factly.

I sighed and hobbled out of the house into the heat. "How did you two manage to do this, anyway?" I asked irritably.

Michiru crossed her arms. "Don’t patronize us, Haruka!"

I wisely shut up. Michiru could have a fiery temper despite her calm demeanor, and I would hate to think what Setsuna would do to me if she got angry. I started to climb the tree as my girls looked on lovingly, hands clasped in front of them in a hopeful gesture. The things I do out of devotion.

  I was halfway up the tree when a voice startled me. I nearly lost my balance and only just managed to grab onto a branch with one hand. "Who’s there?" I bellowed.

A blonde head with two long pigtails popped into view. The scary person was wearing a red ninja suit with a hood, and hanging upside down from a branch by her knees. "Usagi!" I tried to catch my breath.

She spoke in a mystical ninja voice. "Greetings! It is I, the Red Ninja!" She swung slightly on the branch her legs were hooked over. I knew she was going to fall down and kill herself before the day was out.

"What are you doing? Crazy kid!" I loved Usagi, but frankly she had scared the crud out of me. I started my climb again. My girls were starting to look bored from their place on the ground. I felt like the day’s entertainment.

"I’m watching out for spies and other evil forces. The Red Ninja sees all." Usagi gave me a shifty look and stuck out her tongue a bit in a goofy manner. Obviously nothing better to do on a Saturday. "What brings you up a tree, Senshi of the Wind?" she asked me.

I pointed up at the kite. "Well, Senshi of the Meatball, Suna and Michi have been having a bit of spring fever. I, being ‘manly’, was instructed to climb this tree to retrieve that kite."

Usagi gulped. "So high."

"Yes." I hauled myself up onto another branch. "You’d better get down before Michiru gets out the hose. She won’t appreciate you peering in our windows, even if there are evil spirits about." I winked at her and watched as she started her decent down, petrified of Michiru. I counted down from ten. "…Four…three…two…one…"

"AHHHHHHHH!" And a crash. Usagi had fallen out of the tree, just as I had figured.

"Right on time," I muttered and stretched to reach the kite.

The girls were fanning Usagi and trying to pull her to her feet when I pulled the kite free and let it float down to them. "There you go!" I found myself ignored. "HEY!"

Michiru looked up at me. "Oh, sweetie, how nice of you to get that for us!"

Setsuna, who was cradling Usagi’s head in her lap, rested one hand against her chin in thought. "I guess one of us could have just transformed and blasted it out of the tree with our attack, but it was really very nice of you to make the climb. We might have damaged the kite, otherwise."

I narrowed my eyes at them. "Tomorrow morning, Suna, you’re going to find yourself in the cold water-filled bathtub…not the car!" Her garnet eyes widened visibly.

Michiru raised an eyebrow. "Tell her that and she’ll lock her door and never come out again."

"And you, Love, you get to sleep on the couch!" Neither of us had actually ever slept on the couch, but it was a fun threat.

She planted her hands on her hips. "You wouldn’t dare!"

I started to laugh. "We’ll see, won’t we?" I quickly transformed into Uranus and leapt out of the tree, landing easily on my feet. It never worked quite so well when I was powered down. "So, who’s going to take the Red Ninja back home to her family?" I looked down at a partially conscious Usagi, who muttered: "Only one lump, please."

Michiru seemed to be feeling more charitable. "I will…if I can take the car."

I sighed. It just wasn’t my day. "You can take the car…but be caref-!" I never got to finish, since Michiru had taken off at a run to grab the keys. I lifted and deposited the Red Ninja in the front seat of my car and looked at Setsuna who seemed to be back to her normal melancholy self. "Nap time?"

"Quite."

I threw an arm around her shoulder and we headed into the house to sprawl on the family room sofas and blot out the rest of the day. I hoped to God it would be winter again by the time we woke up. Anything to get out of these shorts!

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