A New Addition

Deep in the darkest of space a girl screamed.

Ariel laughed as she saw a tear fall from the eyes of her victim. She knew the pain that comes when evil enters your soul for the first time. She relished it.

The fact that those experiencing it were mere children only made it more enjoyable.

Slowly the screaming faded away, melting into laughter.

Sailor Sithettes Leth and Aon had been created.

Tanrei silently looked over the top of her book as the door to the Room Behind the Waterfall opened. Despite herself she felt her cheeks heat up and ducked back into the safety of Wuthering Heights.

From across the room another young girl noticed and hid a laugh. Kairiku had been watching her for several days, finding great amusement in Tanrei's affection for a certain 'muggle'.

"Hey, DUDE! Look Yo', Ippin went to Earth!" Peetie grinned and pointed to the pile on the coffee table. He started to look through then groaned. "What's all this? No manga?"

Ippin laughed from her corner. "I went book shopping." She held up a leather-bound edition. "I even got a signed copy of Jane Eyre."

Yoshiko pouted. "But I wanted the new Saint Tail manga!"

Ippin shrugged. "Sorry, but I couldn't find it in nineteenth century England."

The earthborn girl groaned then grabbed Peetie's arm and pulled him out of the room, muttering something about 'silly book-worm guardians' and pouting.

Tanrei stared at them as they passed then sighed softly. She closed her book and headed back to her room. She didn't notice the vaguely concerned look on the face of her mother or the curious expression her friend Ame wore. She DID notice the pitying look that Kairiku gave her and felt tears fill her eyes as she hurried out the door.

Ippin sighed as she walked through the temple. Tanrei was still refusing to open up. She'd tried everything she could think of to get on her daughter's good side. But for all that, Tanrei simply showed indifference to everything she did. She wouldn't go anywhere that Ippin was present - and such spent most of her time in the gardens tending her pansies, or reading in her room with Rajni at the foot of her bed.

Ippin paused as she passed a door. Her eyes widened slightly, and she smiled. She opened the door and peeked through. There it was, the same as she'd left. A bit more dusty, but it had never been the cleanest place in the Temple. It was, in fact, the only room in the rooming area of the Temple that went directly outside to the city. It was still unguarded. Ippin smirked and shook her head. They still hadn't learned. She shrugged and went in. She shut the door behind her and started looking over the familiar nooks and seats. It had been her favorite room in the Temple at one point. But of course, there were other reasons for that than just the privacy…

Ippin jumped. That was a train of thought she hadn't followed in many years - for a reason. She pursed her lips and banished the thought forcibly. She went over to an almost-empty bookshelf. She smiled again and moved a hidden back to one of the shelves. There they were, her old novels. The teachers didn't approve of them, so she'd kept them hidden in this private room. She pulled one of her old favorites and began to thumb through it.

"I knew you would be here."

Ippin jumped and whirled around. "Ee! Sith, don't sneak up on a person like that." Ippin paused, and her eyes widened as she looked over the young man in front of her. He was tall, a bit taller than she was, with deep blue eyes and shoulder-length dark hair. She blinked repeatedly then gasped. "Ken?"

He grinned at her. "You recognized me. I'm surprised. It's been a long time, Ippy."

Ippin nodded dully. "Well… yeah. I mean, wow! What are you doing here? I thought you moved off-planet."

"Aren't people allowed to move back home? To tell the truth, I just got here a few weeks ago."

"Wow. This is - incredible. I never figured to see you again. What are you doing HERE though? At the Temple, I mean."

"Passing by. Like I said, I just knew you would be here. You have a very unique Force signature."

Ippin laughed. "Not really. You just don't know my friends. We all have similar signatures. Especially Aster and me."

"Aster?"

Ippin smiled. "Let's just say she's allowed to mention my hair."

"Wow. You must be really close."

"Well she IS my twin sister."

Kenji paused. "Wait - back up. I thought you were abandoned here?"

Ippin shrugged. "I was. I found my parents a few weeks ago, but Aster and I have known each other since we were around ten. We found out about the twin thing about two years ago."

"Huh. Remarkable. How you could find each other like that, I mean."

"Yeah. Things are funny that way." Ippin smiled softly. "How people are destined to be together and all. You just keep crossing paths until you decide to walk together, and then find you could never walk alone again."

Kenji stared intently at her for a moment. Ippin finally noticed his gaze and started.

"Sorry. I get like that sometimes. I read too much poetry for my own good." She laughed and shrugged. "Wanna come in? Yoda can't disapprove of my friends visiting me anymore."

Kenji nodded and smiled at her. He ruffled her hair lightly and put a hand on her shoulder. "Lead the way. I never did get any farther into the Temple than this room."

Ippin laughed and opened the door. "Come on, then."

"And this is the Room Of A Thousand Waterfalls." Ippin gestured around the room. "As you can see, we never run out water. Oh!" Ippin straightened. "Tanrei! Tanrei, there you are." Ippin jogged over to where her daughter sat reading. "Tanrei, this is Kenji. I knew him back when I was still at the Temple."

Tanrei looked up emotionlessly. "You mean before you were kicked out for lack of participation?"

Ippin colored. "I was not kicked out. I ran away."

"Ah. So you quit instead. Much better."

Ippin pursed her lips and counted to ten. "I will not send her to a land of singing dinosaurs, I will NOT send her to a land of singing dinosaurs…" Ippin chanted under her breath. "Okay… I have to go now Tanny. I'll talk to you later."

Tanrei silently went back to her book.

Ippin jogged off, followed closely by Kenji. "Sometimes the pure stubbornness she shows astounds me. Why won't she talk to me? Erg." Ippin's eyes narrowed as she looked around the room. She spotted someone over in a corner and made a beeline. "CHIKAKO."

The brunette looked up, startled. "What?"

"WHERE is Priire?"

Chikako's eyes widened. "She's… in the hangar bay. Uh… you're not gonna kill her, are you?"

Ippin forced her annoyance away. "No. I was just trying to talk to Tanrei."

Chikako nodded as if this explained everything - which really, it did. "She's just working on the Legendmaker. Nothing too important I don't think." Suddenly she spotted Kenji and her eyes made instant hearts. "Who's your friend?"

Ippin hid a laugh. "Uh, Chikako-chan, this is my friend Kenji. I knew him back in the days when I was still training to be a Jedi."

Chikako laughed. "Wow. That's a long time. Better make sure Priire doesn't think he's your new boyfriend - she might kill him."

Ippin laughed. "No… of course, if she'd seen the way I'm sure my face looked a minute ago she might have."

Kenji looked nervously between the two girls. "Uh, what do you mean? Who's Priire?"

Ippin slapped herself on the forehead. "Sorry. Priire's my twin. I call her Aster, but her real name is Seijoutai Priire."

Kenji nodded but still looked a bit worried. "Ah. And why would she want to kill me?"

Ippin giggled slightly. "Because she's a bit over-protective of me. I've almost lost several guy friends that way. But so far there haven't been any fatalities."

Chikako glared into the distance. "Yeah, it's your other sister that likes killing people in cold blood."

Ippin narrowed her eyes. "Ariel is evil. Any kind of relationship we might have had was destroyed the minute she met Kendra."

Chikako held up her hands in a defeated manner. "Okay, okay. Sorry. Didn't mean anything by it." She glanced over Ippin's shoulder. "Oh, there's Priire. Ooh, she looks happy. I wonder what she did?"

Ippin turned around and grinned. "Uh huh. So do I. Hey ASTER!"

Priire looked up in surprise. She handed something to Fon and walked over. "What?"

"You look cheerful. As in you-just-put-someone-in-the-hospital cheerful."

Priire grinned. "Don't worry about it. It was no one you know. Let's just say I overheard some guys in the mall making rather crude comments about us."

Ippin tried to look disapproving. "Aster… you can't kill someone just because they think you look good in a mini-skirt."

Priire grinned viciously. "I don't think those particular young men would agree."

Ippin couldn't help it. She started laughing. "You are too much sometimes, you know that? You're supposed to be a GOOD GUY now."

"I am?"

"Didn't you get the memo?"

"Nope. Darn lazy secretary."

Both girls burst out laughing at this point, unable to keep up the serious facade any longer.

"You two are weeiiiird," Chikako declared, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

Ippin grinned. "Of course we are. But at least WE don't fall in love with random street peddlers."

"Oh riiiight. You just try to kill each others' boyfriends whenever the opportunity presents itself," the brunette replied, laughing.

"Exactly. Except that I don't try to kill Kousotsu, I just do my best to scaaare him with tales of Aster's grumpiness."

Priire swatted her twin on the arm. "Hey, I'm never grumpy. I'm the most sweet-tempered girl in the Room Behind the Waterfall."

"Suuure ya are. And Aisu's mute," Ippin giggled.

Priire mock-glared at her. "And of course YOU'RE the calmest Jedi here."

Ippin smiled innocently. "You're so right, Aster."

"Which is exactly why everyone runs to Earth when you come home from a date."

"Not Earth… usually Tatooine is far enough," Chikako corrected.

Ippin glared at both of them. "Hey, I AM calm. So long as you don't mention my hair, I'm calm."

Kenji laughed under his breath. "Ippy, calm is that last word I'd use to describe you. Though temperamental and grouchy immediately come to mind."

Ippin turned her glare to him. "Ken… you have a certain amount of immunity. Don't use it all up in one afternoon."

Kenji just smiled and ruffled her hair. "Just kidding Ipp, just kidding."

Ippin rolled her eyes and noticed her sister's curious gaze. "Oh, Aster, this is Kenji. An old friend of mine. Ken, this is Priire, my sister."

Priire tilted her head and looked at him. "Huh." She narrowed her eyes and looked closely at him. Suddenly she shook her head and smiled. "Oh, sorry. Pleased to meet you. Like she said, I'm Priire."

Kenji shrugged. "And I'm Kenji, like she said. Nice to meet someone else who's allowed to mention her hair without dying. It's a first."

Priire smirked. "She's not allowed to randomly kill anymore. We're -" Priire made a face here "- good guys now." She sighed dramatically.

Ippin laughed. "Poor Aster. It must be hard no being allowed to use people as target practice anymore."

Priire sighed tragically. "You have no idea."

Ippin giggled then started and looked at her watch. "Oh NO. I was supposed to meet Riku an hour ago! Darn it. I'm never gonna hear the end of this. I'm always nagging him for missing stuff."

"Aw, afraid the boyfriend's gonna be maaad?" Priire teased.

"No, because he's not my boyfriend anymore, remember?"

Priire looked confused then rolled her eyes. "Boyfriend, fiancé, same difference." Neither girl noticed the look that came over Kenji's face at this comment.

Ippin pursed her lips. "See if you say that when Kousotsu asks YOU to marry him. You'll be singin' a different tune then, sis."

"Yeah yeah. Whatever you say. You gonna call the fiancé?"

"Yeah." She turned to Kenji. "It'll just be a minute. You can come in if you want."

Kenji looked around. "In? In, uh, where?"

Ippin giggled. "Sorry. Behind the waterfall. The Room Behind the Waterfall, to be specific. It's where we live."

Kenji nodded slowly. "Okay. I guess. Yeah, I'll come in. We've still got a lot to catch up on."

Ippin nodded and grinned. "The girls'll LOVE you. They love having cute visitors. Especially Annika, though she's seriously dating Obi-Wan Kenobi now, do you remember him? He was SO stuffy back then, such a stickler for rules. He was the one that caught us in our room and told Yoda. But he's okay now, Annika's made him loosen up a bit."

Kenji narrowed his eyes. "I remember."

"Hey, don't make that face. I told you, he's different now. Much more relaxed. Then again, he can't tell me what to do anyway. Not even Yoda can really. I'm above all of 'em."

"Glad you don't let your position go to your head or anything," Priire commented dryly.

Ippin made a face at her. "At least I HAVE a position. So nyeh!" At this point Ippin stuck her tongue out.

"She's mature, isn't she? And yet she's considered one of the adults," Priire grumbled to herself under her breath.

"Oh, don't pout." Ippin rolled her eyes. "I'm only considered an adult because Nom's never caught me sneaking a cookie. Note the word CAUGHT."

"Oh? Do you mean you have stolen my cookies before?" Nom's unemotional voice stopped Ippin in her tracks.

"Uh oh…" She turned and smiled innocently. "Why no, of course not, Nom. I'm mature, remember? Only little girls like Kairiku and Aisu steal cookies."

Nom stared at her. "Perhaps. But I will be watching you."

Ippin giggled nervously. "Uh, right. Nothing to watch! Well, gotta go, see ya Nom!" She grabbed Kenji's arm and pulled him along. Priire trailed slightly behind, deep in thought.

A few minutes later, after Ippin called Riku and explained - he wasn't too happy to hear she'd missed their date because she was with a guy, but didn't make a scene - she started introducing Kenji to all the Senshi.

"No, see, we used to meet in this room on the lower levels of the Temple," Ippin explained for the dozenth time. "It's a really nice room, but it had a door that opened right out into the city so no one used it. Lucky for us, 'cause we used to go there and talk whenever either of us had a problem, or if someone was just getting on our nerves. Usually it was just me venting my anger at the other trainees and padawans."

Kenji laughed. "You certainly did. It wasn't a complete day if Ippy wasn't complaining about someone taking away one of her books or making her actually participate in class."

Ippin folded her arms. "Not my fault I was left on the doorstep of a Master. I never wanted to be a Jedi."

"Yeah, I know. And it wasn't my fault I lived on the Outer Rim till I was six so I couldn't be."

"Well you got about three years of training, didn't you?" Ippin asked, grinning.

Kairiku looked over in surprise. "How could he do that? If he was six when he came to Coruscant they wouldn't take him."

Ippin folded her arms and smirked. "Who said they trained him? I had nothing better to do in between classes. It's the only reason I paid any attention at all during lessons."

Yuki gaped at her. "You didn't, please say you didn't!"

Ippin looked uncomfortably at the faces around her. "What? I told you I never followed rules. Not that big of deal."

"Coru, Jedi training is very serious." Yuki replied. "You of all people know what can happen when someone unqualified tries to train a padawan."

Ippin looked startled. "I never thought of it like that. It kinda WAS a bad thing, wasn't it? Well nothing happened, so what's it matter?"

"Plenty."

Everyone glanced at Obi-Wan in surprise as he entered the room. "Ippin, you got in a lot of trouble when the Council found out about that."

She pursed her lips. "You mean when you caught us and told Qui-Gon about it?"

"Yes, that. Yoda would not be pleased to find out you brought him back in here."

Ippin glared at him. "You're NOT going to go tell them again. Then again, what can they do to me?"

"Um, Coru? They could do plenty. If they decided we weren't doing right, they could take away this whole place and make us fend for ourselves." Priire shook her head and shrugged. "Which would be bad."

Ippin paused. "Oh, right. They could, couldn't they? And I guess we couldn't very well all live on the ships. Darn it, this's irritating."

Kenji shrugged. "Don't worry about it, Ippy. Here's my number. Call me and we can get together sometime, OUTSIDE the Temple, okay?"

Ippin pursed her lips and nodded. "Okay. Sometimes these stupid Jedi make me so mad, I wonder why I stay here."

"Because you get free food and a nice room?" Priire suggested.

"Oh right. Good reasons, I guess." Ippin sighed.

"Very good reasons."

Ippin picked up a book and threw it at the door - barely missing the head of a newly-arrived Chakra.

"Hey! I thought it was Priire's job to attack helpless little kids!"

Ippin looked stunned, then laughed. "Sorry. Didn't see you there. Just venting anger. Unlike Priire, who shoots something, I throw books."

Chakra giggled. "An oddly-fitting weapon for you."

"It is, isn't it?" Ippin grinned and pointed to Kenji. "Chakra, this is my friend Kenji; Kenny, this is Chakra Ramahoshi."

Chakra looked slightly unnerved. "Hello. I'm sorry, um… I have to ask Mama something." The young brunette hurried out of the room, biting her lip.

"Mama?"

Nom looked over in surprise as her future daughter entered the kitchen. "What is the matter?"

Chakra looked nervous and disturbed. "Have you met Ippin's friend?"

Nom nodded. "I met him outside the Waterfall."

Chakra took a deep breath. "Did he seem odd to you?"

Nom thought for a moment, then nodded. "He seemed a bit familiar."

Chakra nodded sharply. "There is something very strange about his Light. I can't figure it out."

Nom looked as puzzled as was possible for her. "He looked quite familiar. As if I had seen him in the past. It is odd, is it not?"

Chakra nodded, her disturbance eased slightly by talking. But she was still uneasy. "I think that Priire felt something strange too."

Nom nodded. "She seemed distracted. Perhaps you should speak to her about this feeling. She will want to know if he is dangerous. And she will certainly find out for certain." The barest hint of a smile crossed the Dathomirian warrior's face.

Chakra smiled and nodded. "I'll talk to her after he leaves. Give him time to hide in case she decides to 'ask' him about it."

Nom nodded and turned back to her cooking. "Wise. Now go, I am busy."

Tanrei glared as Kenji walked past her. He glanced nervously at her, then hurried away. She wasn't a fool. She'd seen the way he looked at her mother. And she wasn't about to let him come between her mother and father. Especially since that might impede her birth a bit.

She shook her head and closed her book. It wasn't really her business. She stood and dusted off her long black skirt as she went over to her newly-planted garden. She had asked the Jedi Council, and they had agreed to giving her a small waterfall to keep for herself. Near the pool Tanrei grew a garden of pansies and the darker roses. No pinks or yellows would be found in Tanrei's garden. That's what Annika and Kirana's flowers were for. Tanrei's flowers matched her personality, seeming cheerful only when around those less happy than herself.

She looked up in surprise when she sensed someone approaching her garden. She cocked her head to the side and folded her arms. "Is there something you forgot?" she asked tonelessly.

"I wanted to talk to you," he replied, sitting down next to her.

Tanrei shrugged and picked up a fallen rose petal. "All right. What do you want to talk about?"

"Ippin. She was so upset when you wouldn't talk to her - why?" He looked curiously at the dark-haired girl as she fidgeted.

Tanrei narrowed her eyes. "Because she wants me to, pure and simple. She is selfish - when she doesn't get what she wants, she gets angry. Most people don't see this, but I'm not most people."

"I noticed," Kenji replied dryly, pointing to a small box by the pond. "You keep ash by a pool."

"I keep flowers near the pool. Flowers are happy when they are near the place they were planted in. Just because they wilt doesn't mean they oughtn't stay there."

"You burn dead flowers?" Kenji asked quizzically.

"I suppose you might put it that way. So yes, I do."

Kenji shook his head. "It's something I never heard of anyone doing before." He paused for a moment and looked around the Room of a Thousand Waterfalls. "You're the Sailor Senshi, aren't you?"

Tanrei looked sharply at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Those girls. What Priire said about the Jedi Council deciding they weren't acting as they should. The way the Jedi used to act about Ipp. A lot of things would make sense if she was a Sailor Senshi."

Tanrei shrugged. "If you want to know whether or not Fuukou-san is a Senshi, ask her yourself. I don't really know or care."

"You're a strange child. Are you a Senshi?"

Tanrei paused. "I don't know. I haven't transformed yet, at any rate."

Kenji nodded. "Hmm." He was silent for a moment, then stood and started to leave. He turned back and glanced at Tanrei. "Tell Ippy I'd like to meet for lunch tomorrow if she can."

Tanrei shrugged then nodded. "I suppose I can tell her."

Kenji nodded gratefully. "Well I'll be leaving. I'll see you later, Tanrei - it was nice talking to you."

Tanrei graced him with a slight smile. "It wasn't unbearable."

Kenji laughed, then turned and walked away.

Tanrei pursed her lips and approached Ippin.

The red-haired senshi of time looked up from her book in surprise. She set it aside immediately and looked eagerly at her future daughter. "Yes, Tanrei?"

"Your new boyfriend wants you to meet for lunch tomorrow."

Ippin rolled her eyes. "Not a boyfriend. I'm engaged to your father, remember?"

Tanrei nodded. "Yes. I know. Excuse me, I'm going to find Rajni."

Ippin nodded, vaguely disappointed. "Of course. See you later, Tanrei!"

The dark-haired girl mutely turned and left the room.

"Kou-sot-su!" Priire complained. "Come on. I want you to meet this guy."

Kousotsu rolled his eyes. "She's your twin. Why do I have to come?"

"Because you look threatening?" Ippin supplied from behind them.

Priire and Kousotsu jumped then looked sheepish.

"I'm just trying to protect ya, Coru! This guy could be some mass murderer for all you know."

Ippin raised an eyebrow. "Someone who's killed millions? Someone feared and hated throughout the galaxy?"

Priire started to nod then smiled sheepishly. "Okay, okay. I get the point." She paused and grinned at her boyfriend. "But Kousotsu's still coming."

Priire, Ippin and Kousotsu entered the small café and looked around curiously. Ippin looked over to a corner and smile widely.

"There he is, come on." Ippin hurried over and slid into a chair. "Hiya!"

Priire stared at her twin for a moment then shook her head and shrugged. "Coru, I'M the blonde, remember?"

Ippin grinned. "Unless I get near vinegar."

Priire smothered a laugh. "Point. I guess that gives you a right to act like an airhead once in a while."

Ippin looked vaguely indignant then grinned. "Okay, so I'm acting like an airhead. Well within my rights." She turned to Kenji. "ANYway, Ken, this is Aster's boyfriend, Kousotsu Renjiro."

Kenji slowly turned and looked at Kousotsu. Priire gasped at the sight. "THAT'S IT!"

Ippin looked puzzled then her eyes widened. "What in the name of Time?"

Kenji shook his head slightly. "It's impossible." He paused, and lowered his voice. "Kou-kun?"

Kousotsu nodded slowly. "Ken-kun?"

"It's impossible. How did you get to this galaxy?"

Kousotsu shrugged. "The Senshi. Sort of. It's a long story."

"You're one of them?" Kenji queried, raising an eyebrow.

Kousotsu nodded slightly. "Sort of. Tuxedo Jedi to be specific."

Kenji frowned then nodded. "Makes sense. It would explain your being here anyway."

Ippin held up a hand. "Wait, hold it. This doesn't make sense."

Kenji nodded seriously. "It makes perfect sense. I was brought to this Galaxy when I was six by my aunt - I don't know WHY, but I was."

Kousotsu shrugged. "And I stayed on Earth until… well, until I showed up here. How ironic that we both ended up meeting these two."

Kenji nodded. "They didn't know they were twins, and neither of us knew our twin was here."

Ippin's jaw dropped. "NANI???"