the celestial one | YUMIKO

act three \ the awakening

"It's been a while now. She should be back soon, right?"

All inside a room at Hikawa Shrine, the Sailor Senshi, Daisuke, Mamoru and the three feline advisors spread themselves around the free room during the late-afternoon, the setting sun peeking through the windows. Gazing up at the clock for the seventh time in the last hour, Usagi quirked her head to the side as she laid on her back, a pinching feeling in her chest making the teen uncomfortable.

"Hey, guys. How long has Yumiko been out? Is it just me or has been a long time since she's left?"

Turning their attention to the older blonde, the group furrowed their brows as they finally noticed how long the time had been since the lilac-haired female had left.

"Maybe the lines are long at the shop. You know how it's always busy, and maybe she got caught up in the mess." Nodding at Makoto's cautious words, the younger twin pursed her lips lightly as she moved the pillow behind her head to her lap.

"Why? Are you wondering when you're getting your cake and doughnuts?"

"N-No! It's just that she's been gone for almost two hours and I'm getting kind of worried." Looking down at his watch, the black-haired male in the room cleared his throat before parting his lips.

"Usagi is right. The bakery isn't that far from here, so it is kind of weird that Yumiko is taking this long. Do you think something else happened?" 

Feeling his hands dampen slightly as time continued passing by without his crush entering the room, the sixteen-year old shrugged his shoulders as everyone voiced their opinions.

"Do you think she went to another place?"

"I don't think so. She's been telling me on how we should try out 'Lovely Cakes and Sweets', saying that we'll 'jump over the moon'."

"Maybe she got lost and found her way back . . ?"

"I'm not sure, Rei. She's memorized the path to here after we passed by the first time, and I know because she told me--" Clutching the top of her blouse as she fell onto her back, Usagi lifted one of her eyebrows as the pinching pain increased in her chest, forcing short breaths out past her lips.

"She could have stopped by a candy store to pick up some more sweets?"

"Guy-s--"

"That sounds about right. She might have stopped somewhere new, that place catching her gaze and distracting her. We all know that she is one who is able to get distracted easily."

"Wait, guys--"

"That's it! That is what happened, and she also has cakes from the bakery, and that line is always long. That's why she is taking so long--"

Before Minako could finish her answer, the sound of a body dropping to the ground silenced the whole room. Moving their gaze towards the floor, the three cats in the room rushed their way towards Usagi's figure, the blonde clenching her top tightly as harsh breaths left her lips.

"Usagi! What's wrong?"

Crouching down to his close-friend, Daisuke cradled the female's head in his arms as she sat herself up slowly.

"S-Something is going to happen. I don't know what, but something is going to happen and I need to find my sister now." Looking up at everyone with a worried expression, the pained female clutched the light-brown haired male's shoulders as she pushed herself up.

"What do you mean 'something is going to happen'?"

"I mean what I said. Something is going to happen soon and we cannot sit here and wait for it to touch down. Yumiko is out there, defenseless, and the last thing I want is to see my older sister hurt."