Chapter 4

Kakyuu was barely aware of the soft clicks coming from the keyboard behind her as Maker diligently worked on schematics on her laptop. Instead, her garnet gaze was staring off into the distance where two figures had just vanished. The young Princess couldn't help but worry for her young senshi even though she knew they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. Perhaps she simply feared the changes she'd seen in the trio since meeting again with them on Earth. Kakyuu may not have been an empath like Healer, but she was well aware of how much her dear ones had changed. She could only imagine the hardships they had faced in her absence. Guilt weighed on Kakyuu heavily. She had abandoned them when they had needed her most. She had abandoned everyone; fled to the other side of the galaxy with the hope to end the madness. She knew she'd hurt her senshi. While they still showed her reverence and adoration, there was an underlying hesitance that wasn't there before. She was sure that even they, her dearest friends, weren't even aware of it.

Watching Fighter suffer hurt worst of all. Seeing the pain in those luminous blue eyes smote her heart like nothing else could. And yet there was nothing Kakyuu could do to ease that pain. Fighter was in the crucible of her life; a sword being forged. One wrong move, and the sword would shatter. No, it was not up to Kakyuu to smooth out the burrs in her beloved Fighter's life. That was something Fighter would have to do on her own, as much as it hurt to acknowledge it. Even if Fighter felt the same about her, which the young Princess was pretty certain she didn't, it was something that could never be. Kakyuu was already betrothed. Although it was a purely political engagement, Kusanagi was a wonderful man - and would be, again, once they resurrected him and everyone else. 'I'm getting as morbid as Maker,' she thought to herself, pushing away from the railing to attend the days' duties. 'Perhaps I should write some poetry...'

* * *

Though the sun beat down on their fighting leathers, the pair headed towards town at a brisk pace. The only sounds to be heard were the crunch of gravel under their high-heeled boots and the occasional grumble from Healer as she shifted the pack she was carrying to a more comfortable position. The Kinmokuan senshi both carried rucksacks filled with provisions and a small sleeping mat. However, as the miles wore on, the grumbles grew louder and the shifting came more frequently. Finally, frustrated with her diminutive companion's complaints, Fighter plucked Healer's rucksack up and flung it over her shoulder to join her own.

"Hey!" the green-eyed senshi snapped, more surprised than anything else. Ignoring her, Fighter pressed on, increasing the pace. Huffing with indignation, Healer jogged to catch up. Clearly sensing the annoyance rolling off her Leader in waves, the petite senshi toyed with the idea of venting her frustrations on her companion. She was hot. She was sweaty. And she was in just the right mood to start a fight. As a matter of fact, she was just about to do so when Fighter stopped abruptly, holding up a hand. "What?" Healer snapped, knowing her fun was about to be put on hold.

"I think I heard something," the taller woman murmured, looking to the house ahead of them. It was then Healer realized they'd hit the outskirts of town. Homes of varying sizes dotted the landscape every few miles, growing closer together the nearer one got to town. The homes this far out were mostly for rural folk, farmers and the like. The house in question was moderate in size, with white-washed, stone walls and a clay-tiled roof. The front door, made of an orange wood, stood open, showing a sunken entryway. As the pair moved forward, a stench rolled out of the door, faint but unmistakable. Something had died in there. Healer felt a flair of panic and dread from Fighter, making the silver-haired senshi realize that her companion had not quite recovered from finding the bodies in the cellar. Giving her Leader a sympathetic squeeze on the arm, she went in first.

Sunlight filtered in behind her as she entered the entry way, dimly lighting the surrounding area. It took a moment for Healer's eyes to adjust to the darkened interior. Everything seemed to be intact, if dusty. No sign of violence, and yet there was a faint scent of decay on the air. As Fighter entered the room behind her, Healer moved forward, entering the main living area. Her hand shot out suddenly, gripping the wall. Something was alive here! Alive, sick and terrified, the young empath felt. Healer waved Fighter forward, and the pair searched the room.

"Well, what do we have here?" Fighter asked softly, dropping to her knees in front of the breakfast nook.

When Healer did the same, she saw a pair of yellow eyes peering back out at her. A kitten! How in the world... As she sat staring at it in pure shock, Healer was aware of her companion fumbling through her rucksack. Shooting Fighter a quizzical look, she was completely surprised when her Leader pulled out one of their canteens.

"I bet you're thirsty, huh?" Fighter asked the kitten softly, pulling out a little cup and pouring a bit of water inside. "C'mere, little one. We won't hurt you. It's ok."

Healer couldn't help but simply stare stupidly as Fighter crooned at the kitten, urging it to come out. She'd never seen her friend like this. Even more amazingly, it did. It was just a little thing, perhaps only a few weeks old. It was white, with a brown smudge over its left eye. Its fur was matted, and it was so wretchedly thin. Where was its mother? Its siblings? Slowly, it dipped its muzzle into the cup to lap at the water.

After a moment, Healer was surprised to hear Fighter admonish it. "Ok. That's enough. You don't want to make yourself sick, do you?" The silver-haired senshi almost laughed as the kitten looked up at Fighter, down to the cup, back up at Fighter again, then sat down. "You're a good kitty, aren't you? Here, let's see if we have anything else for you..." Fighter's arm disappeared into the rucksack as she rummaged round, finally pulling out a bit of salted meat. Breaking off a tiny portion, she offered it to the kitten. The little thing sniffed it once, and then delicately took it from Fighter's fingertips.

"Well, now I've seen everything," Healer commented with a laugh, standing slowly as to not frighten the kitten. "I'm going to look for its mother." She had to admit, watching Fighter care for the little kitten was cute. Cute but kind of creepy, because as far as Healer knew, Fighter had the mothering instincts of a rock. And yet here she was, carefully feeding the little one. Shaking her head, she continued to search for the mother of this kitten.

The search was a short one. All Healer had to do was follow her nose, sadly. The smell of decay was centered under a chair in the corner, and that was where she found the mother. From the emaciated state of the body, it appeared that the mother had given all she could to keep her kitten alive. If there were other kittens, there was no sign. From the state of the decay, it appeared the mother had been dead for only a couple days, which made sense. The kitten would have perished otherwise. As it was, the senshi would have a job trying to keep this kitten alive. Carefully, Healer collected some hair from the mother cat, and put it in a bag for Maker to replicate later. Fighting back sadness, the petite senshi stood and headed back to her friend. She stood a moment, watching Fighter pet the kitten as she cleaned it up a bit. Perhaps there was some hope for the big dork yet, Healer mused.

"You know, if you're coming with us, you need a name," Fighter mused aloud, petting the kitten. "I know! We'll call you 'Spot'."

Then again, maybe not, Healer groaned inwardly. "Spot? What the hell kind of name is that for a kitten?" she snapped, green eyes flashing in irritation.

"Spot is a good name," the younger senshi pouted. "You like Spot, don't you?" she asked the kitten. Healer almost fell over when the little thing actually meowed. "See? He likes it," Fighter beamed, scooping up the kitten. "Er, she likes it," she amended, cradling the kitten in one arm and scooping up the rucksacks in the other. The kitten nuzzled Fighter's breastplate affectionately. "You're such a cute little thing."

Healer threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine, we'll name the stupid cat Spot. Well, Genius, Spot's mother is dead. That's what we've been smelling. I can't find any of Spot's brothers or sisters. Nor is the father anywhere to be found."

Fighter sighed and watched as Spot started to climb up her fuku. "I suppose we are lucky we found this little one in time. But it's also a good sign, because that means things were alive after we left. How long do cats stay pregnant? This had to have happened after. It may not be much, but if these cats survived, who knows what else may have? HEY!" This last squawk came as Spot claimed her resting spot, by wedging herself in the gap between Fighter's breastplate and padding over her left breast. Kneading her new bed softly, the kitten promptly curled up and fell asleep.

At that, Healer burst out laughing. "It seems you are Spot's new mother," she teased between hoots of laughter. Fighter looked positively mortified. "She's sleeping above your heart. Babies always like to hear their mother’s heartbeat."

Fighter couldn't fight the blush that spread over her cheeks. "Well, I guess it's ok then," she mumbled, scratching Spot between the ears. The little kitten yawned and snuggled deeper into her nest. "At least this way I don't have to carry her." Giving the kitten one last scritch, Fighter then returned to the business at hand. "Let's see if this place has any supplies we can use. Food, water, blankets, transportation devices, seeds, anything at all that might be useful."

Healer nodded thoughtfully, heading towards the kitchens. "Since this looks like a farmhouse, maybe they have an electric tally." This would be a definite plus, for it was like a simple, transportable computer specifically designed to record lists and tables. Most of the outlying farmers had it, so they could track their harvests and goods, and upload the information to sellers in the region. The tally would allow them to mark what kind of goods could be had, and where it came from; that way the items could be returned later, or Kakyuu could reimburse the owner for goods used. Sadly, the palace's electric tallies had all been destroyed; at least the ones they could find, anyway.

Healer watched Fighter disappear deeper in the house, looking for items to scavenge. She still didn't know what to make of the display she saw earlier. That had to be one of the most sentimental things she'd ever seen. While her friend was certainly emotional, she never really thought Fighter could be quite so gentle. First, the big dork brushes out her hair, and now she adopts a little kitten. What's next?

Completely unaware of the little smile she was wearing, Healer started rummaging through the kitchens. It was well stocked, though much of the produce was no longer fresh. Opening the door to the refrigeration unit, Healer almost gagged as the smell of horribly rotten food wafted out. While she was loathe to waste anything, she could not bare to go through that disgusting mess. Quickly, she shut the door and started rummaging through the cupboards. This turned out to be quite profitable. The people who had lived here kept their kitchen stocked. There was even food for the kitten once it got bigger. With a twinge Healer realized the food would have been for the mama cat, which was not able to get into the cupboards. The nourishment she had needed had only been a few feet away, shut up tight in the cabinet. With a sigh, she set the goods on the kitchen table, and started looking for something to carry it all in, as well as something to write down where they got it from.

* * *

"I'm so glad this is dry," Maker muttered to herself, holding the glow stone high to illuminate her surroundings. She was deep inside the palace sewers, surveying and assessing damage and repair times. Normally, she'd be knee deep in muck. However, since the destruction of the palace, the sewers had run dry. Not even the usual vermin that one typically found in the sewers were about. Part of her was slightly disappointed in that, for at least it would be some type of other life form. But at least she didn't have to worry about rats scurrying around her while she did her work. Rats that would be incredibly hungry after months of having no refuse to feed on...

"Now there's a pleasant thought," she grumbled to herself, rounding a corner to continue her survey. "I need to stop reading that tome before bedtime. It reminds me too much of Edgar Allen Poe..." Maker paused, noting an electric switch plate in the wall. Checking her schematics, she realized this was one of the circuits she'd need later on. Good. Now, if the pipe ahead was clear or at least not too heavily damaged, their repairs would only take a matter of hours. Otherwise, a certain Leader was going to have to do some tunneling. Moving further down the corridor, Maker noticed the air was getting heavier, thicker. "That's not good," she murmured. "That means something is blocking the current."

As she rounded the next bend, she saw why. The tunnel had collapsed. "Well, that's just brilliant," she sighed, studying the fall with a critical eye. If she had to hazard a guess, she was now located under the kitchens, which is where the main culvert split, leading to the various wings. They'd have to clear this to get the rest of the sewers working, and fix the water pipe so they could have running water again. As Maker examined the debris, she realized that this was the result of the gas pipe explosion in the kitchens. Perhaps the lines on the other side of the kitchens were still intact. If that were the case, once Fighter returned, she could annihilate this mess, so she and Healer could work on repairs. She had to get up to the kitchens to run another scan.

Turning, she paused. Her keen hearing picked up on something. Closing her eyes, she listened carefully. It was faint, but growing louder. It sounded like chittering. Her violet eyes flew open wide and she resisted the urge to curse. Of course. Of all the things to survive Galaxia's assault, it *would* be vermin. Phasing in her Star Yell and clutching it tightly in her right hand, she held her left aloft, willing the glow stone to shine with more light. She had to get out of this dead end before they boxed her in.

As she reached the end of the tunnel, she realized morosely that it was too late. They already had.

* * *

Fighter stood in the doorway to the storage shed and resisted the urge to cheer, for fear of waking the kitten still dozing on her breast. She thought she'd been lucky when she found the electric tallies in the house, along with working, spare batteries. But Maker was going to have a fit when she saw this. A solar generator. It was old and it was small, but it was a generator. Besides the generator, there were several cords and adaptors, so they could not only power things, but recharge things as well. Now, they just needed a skiff to transport it all.

As Fighter recorded the data on the electric tally, she couldn't help the wave of sadness that washed over her. People had lived here. A family with children. There should have been a little boy or little girl playing with this kitten. The mama cat and the babies should all be alive and healthy. The Leader of the Starlights didn't know these people from Adam, and yet she couldn't wait to bring them back. Again and again her mind returned to the problem of resurrecting this world and its people, without throwing away their lives. That was the real problem, wasn't it? Too bad they didn't have some sort of generator of their own. Or an amplifier. That would work.

Still deep in thought, Fighter headed back to the house. As she set the spare tally on the table, she heard what she could have sworn sounded like muffled snickering. Blinking, she saw Healer standing in the corner, staring at her. Her small, black-gloved hand was clamped over her mouth and she was shaking with mirth. The half-irritated, half-perplexed look Fighter shot her sent her over the edge, and she started howling in laughter. Annoyed, Fighter put her hands on her hips and glared at her friend. This simply sent Healer to laughing even harder. Now thoroughly annoyed and vaguely paranoid, the Leader of the Starlights snapped, “What the hell is your problem?"

Unable to breathe, Healer simply pointed. Looking down, Fighter couldn't help but laugh, herself. Spot had shifted in her sleep. She was now head down, with her face buried in Fighter's breast plate. However, her butt stuck straight up. She looked like some sort of fuzzy ostrich. With a sigh and a smile, Fighter reached up to adjust Spot. Spot, however, wanted none of that. With a soft yowl, she clamped down, digging her nails into her bed, through the padding of Fighter's breastplate and into the flesh beneath. The black-haired senshi yelped in pain as the kittens nails tore her skin. "Spot!" she scolded, holding the groggy kitten out in front of her. The kitten gave her a bleary-eyed look and yawned.

Healer wiped her streaming eyes and wandered over to her friend, plucking the kitten from her grasp. She was about to tease the taller woman when she noticed a bit of red on the kitten's white paws. Carefully, she examined Spot, hoping that Fighter hadn't inadvertently injured the little kitten. Frowning, she noted nothing seemed to be amiss. Settling the kitten in the crook of her arm, her free hand shot out and gripped Fighter's left arm, turning her slightly. As her Leader attempted to evade the grab, she saw what she was looking for.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Fighter snapped, slapping Healer's hand away.

Still frowning, the silver-haired woman blushed slightly. "You're bleeding."

Looking down, Fighter noticed the bit of blood staining the white of her padding. Well, that would explain the stinging sensation. "Meh, it's nothing," she said with a shrug, dismissing the wound and turning back towards the table. She saw out of the corner of her eye Healer's eyebrow twitch. More amazingly, the blush spread further across her comrade's cheeks. "What's your problem?" Fighter asked, acutely uncomfortable with the look the diminutive senshi was giving her.

Healer's eyebrow spasmed one more time. "Take off your breast plate," she grumbled, setting Spot on the table.

Blue eyes wide, the younger woman immediately turned pink. "I most certainly will NOT. It's just a scratch!" Her voice rose higher than either woman had ever heard it before.

Healer sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, staring up at her Leader. "Yes," she agreed, "but it is a scratch from a strange animal. Spot isn't all that clean, nor is she healthy. And she drew blood. I'm sorry, but I don't want to risk you getting an infection because the cat had feces on its claws. Now, take the damned breast plate off."

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding..." Seeing the determined look on her team mate's face, despite the blush, the young Starlight realized Healer was serious. And what her friend said made perfect sense. But for the empath to heal her friend, she had to touch the wounded area. This thought, of course, had Fighter blushing to the roots of her hair. As Healer's green eyes continued to bore into her, she sighed and relented, snapping off the breastplate and holding it in her hands. Her fists clenched around the hardened enamel, she looked away.

"Thank you," Healer mumbled, going to their packs and pulling out some rubbing alcohol and a bit of cloth for cleaning the wound. She could simply heal it, but that might seal any infection there might be inside. No, she had to clean the wound, and then heal it. Then she had to clean up the kitten and heal it as well, to hopefully kill any infection it might have. She soaked a bit of the cloth in the alcohol, then went to work, cleaning Fighter's wound. If her Leader thought *she* was embarrassed, she should try doing this herself some time, empathy included. Even though the silver-haired woman tried to block out emotions, they invariably leaked through, particularly when her own emotions were in flux. Right now was one of those times, unfortunately. She could feel Fighter's extreme discomfort; but underneath that, there was a surge of something else. Excitement? Swallowing the lump that suddenly formed in her throat, Healer hurried about her business, trying to ignore the more tangible evidence of what her friend was feeling. While she tried to remain totally clinical about this, she couldn't help but notice that her own heart beat sped up as she had to lay her hands on her friend's breast to heal it. She was mortified to realize her excitement mirrored Fighter's own. As soon as the green glow faded away, she yanked her hands back as if they were being burnt. "Done," Healer pronounced, ducking her head to hide behind her bangs. The petite senshi scooped up Spot and scurried off, mumbling something about needing to examine the kitten.