An and Ail were standing on the roof of their apartment outside, contemplating another plan to steal energy, looking at numerous projections at various babies, either crying, playing with toys, or crawling around exploring the world.
"Human babies may be young, but they are full of life," commented Ail. "And are also full of strong, fresh energy."
"So they will be our next target then," agreed An.
Ail once again held up a hand of eight Cardian Cards and presented them to An. "Then, please select a Cardian that would be suitable for our plan."
An then pointed her finger and, using her abilities, made the third card in his hand sharply fly upward, stopping in midair. The card grew to a large size as it revealed the image of the next Cardian they would send. She was light purple-skinned, with long flowing blue hair, and wore a dress of sorts in bright yellow and orange colors. Ail then readied his flute, putting it to his lips.
"Now! Come forth, Cardian Amaderasu!" he commanded as he then began to play.
At the sound of his flute, the card began to glow as it came to life as Cardian Amaderasu revealed herself, ready to serve her master's wishes.
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At the Juuban Municipal Nursery School, many babies and toddlers were roaming around playing and having a good time. At that time, a young woman had just arrived to pick up her baby, who was happy to see her.
"Hey there, Manami," the woman spoke as she took the baby in her arms. "Were you a good baby today?"
A caretaker then went up to her. "Oh, you were," she cooed affectionately. "You were such a good baby today."
The baby's mother smiled. "Now, say bye-bye to Nanny, Manami."
The baby in question looked at the Nanny and clenched and unclenched his hand as a wave while speaking. "Bah bah."
"Aww. Still too early to speak, huh?" the caretaker chuckled. "But don't worry, very soon you'll be talking like a grown-up in no time."
At that time, Usagi, Harusuke, and Ami happened to be walking by just coming home from school. When they saw Manami, they couldn't help but stop and admire the baby.
"Aww! How cute!" Usagi spoke, gushing.
"And what's your name?" Ami asked the baby.
"It's Manami," replied the mom. "And thank you for saying so."
"Manami, eh?" said Harusuke. "That's a pretty unique and pretty name. It suits her too."
Then suddenly, a bright light shone throughout the area, causing everyone to shield their eyes, making the area red from its glow.
"What's going on?!" cried Usagi.
"I don't know!" yelled Ami.
Harusuke then looked up to where the light was coming from and gasped. Hovering from above, just in front of the sun, he could make out a humanoid figure. However, he knew what it was upon squinting his eyes.
"It's a Cardian!" he cried.
Amaderasu held out her hands, making a strange black and blue orb in them. Multiple strands of hair-like thread shot out from that orb, wrapped themselves around all of the babies and caretakers in the area and began to drain their energy. Seeing the lines coming towards her as well, Manami's mom immediately turned around, shielding her baby from harm as the threads wrapped around her as well, draining her energy too. Usagi, Harusuke, and Ami were horrified. Not wanting to see this terrible sight and wanting to help, Harusuke was about to rush forward, but Ami stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"Harusuke, don't!" Ami yelled. "If you touch those threads, your energy will get drained too!"
"But we can't just do nothing!" Harusuke yelled back.
Then with her work finished and having collected a large amount of energy, Amaderasu retracted her threads and then disappeared along with the red glow. Bodies laid everywhere, babies and adults alike, unconscious and nonresponsive. The only one who was still conscious was Manami, who was now crawling out from beneath her mother's body.
"This is awful!" Harusuke cried. "How can any monster be that cruel?!"
"What should we do?!" Usagi wailed.
Mamoru came rushing to the scene at that moment, having heard the commotion. "Call an ambulance!" he yelled. "We need to get these people some help!"
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Back with the Makai Tree, it had just received the energy that Amaderasu had taken from everyone at the nursery and was once again growing, full of life. An and Ail were pleased.
"Our plan seems to be a huge success," chuckled Ail.
"I'll say it has," agreed An. "Let's steal some more life energy from those newborns."
"We shall, but we should also proceed with caution," warned Ail. "Those Guardians have a nasty habit of appearing when you least expect them."
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At the Azabu General Hospital, Usagi, Harusuke, and Mamoru were all in a room where Manami's mother and some other attack victims were recovering. The adults were all on stretchers sleeping while the babies were inside baby chambers and hooked up to monitors and breathing tubes. They were all waiting for Ami to come back and update their condition. Ami soon returned.
"So what did the doctor say?" asked Usagi worriedly.
"The babies will be able to leave the hospital in about a week," Ami said.
"But what about Manami?" asked Mamoru. "Is she OK?"
Ami then looked across to Manami, who was awake and carefree while sucking on her pacifier. "They said there's nothing wrong with her," said Ami. "It must have been because her mother protected her."
"Speaking of her mother, how long will Manami's mom be out?" Harusuke asked.
"Unfortunately, she won't be ready to go home for at least three days," Ami spoke. "And that's going to be a big problem."
"Why is that?" asked Mamoru.
"Manami's father has gone overseas on work, so no one's been able to get in touch with him," Ami explained sadly. "They have no family, no relatives, and no one else to call for help, so there's no one can take care of Manami while her mother is recovering in the hospital."
Usagi, Mamoru, and Harusuke were dismayed. There was also a long silence, no one being sure what to do while wanting to help Manami and her mother. Until at last, Mamoru spoke up.
"I'll take care of her," he said.
Usagi, Ami, and Harusuke looked at Mamoru feeling surprised.
"What?!" Harusuke and Usagi gasped.
"I said, I'll take care of her," repeated Mamoru. "I mean, someone has to take care of her. So it might as well be me."
"But... you think can take her home just like that?" asked Ami. "Caring for a baby isn't easy, you know. They have a lot of needs, and they're still discovering themselves, but they can't communicate yet, so it's tough to tell exactly why they're crying."
At that moment, Manami accidentally dropped her pacifier from her mouth. Feeling a bit upset, she began to cry. Usagi then picked up her pacifier, trying to give it back to her, but Manami spat it back out, continuing to bawl. Usagi then picked her up.
"Well, it is going to be difficult taking care of a baby," the odango blonde said. "But I can help you, Mamoru, and Ami and Harusuke can help too."
"I think I'll have to take a pass on that," Ami said. "It wouldn't feel right to get in your way, Usagi. Besides, you and Mamoru will do just fine."
Harusuke looked at Ami in surprise as Usagi and Mamoru played with Manami.
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A little after that, the group split up. Harusuke and Ami walked home while Usagi and Mamoru went to Mamoru's apartment. Harusuke was still feeling worried about Usagi helping Mamoru watch Manami.
"Ami, are you sure that this was a good idea?" Harusuke asked.
"Of course it was," replied Ami. "Are you worried?"
"Of course, I am. I mean, I know Usagi's my sister and all, but she hasn't exactly been the most responsible as of late," said Harusuke. "Not to mention she's about as much of a disaster as disasters can get when it comes to things like this. And if I know her, she'll probably use this as a way of getting close to Mamoru."
"I know, but look at it this way, Harusuke; this is Usagi's opportunity to learn some responsibility and how to take care of a baby," pointed out Ami. "After all, she is a princess, and maybe she'll want to have kids in the future with Mamoru when he gets his memories back."
Harusuke then pondered. "Well, when you put it like that, I suppose you have a point. But, still, I hope that Usagi doesn't cause too much trouble for Mamoru."
"I'm sure she'll be fine," reassured Ami. "Besides, we really should be focusing on finding that Cardian," Ami said, now scowling in anger. "The way that she just took the energy from all those babies is unforgivable! We have to track down that thing and destroy it before it attacks any other babies!"
Harusuke gulped, a bit surprised to see Ami so upset. "Wow, Ami. I've never seen you that angry before," he spoke. "But try not to let your anger get the better of you. I mean, it happened to me, remember?"
Ami's cheeks then flushed from embarrassment. "Y-yeah. You're right," she apologized. "Forgive me."
Harusuke couldn't help but laugh. "No need to apologize," he said. "Just remind me not to mess with you whenever you get angry."
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Mamoru and Usagi were tending to Manami at his apartment, who had started to cry again. Mamoru was shaking a rattle, hoping to entertain her, while Usagi looked through a book, trying to find some piece of info to help the two in this situation. However, nothing worked as Manami continued to cry.
Mamoru then tried a different approach by making a couple of funny faces. Upon seeing Mamoru's strange expressions, Manami stopped crying.
"It worked! You got her to stop crying!" Usagi said happily.
She joined in, too, making funny faces while using her hair. Manami then burst into laughter, thinking that both Usagi and Mamoru were very funny. Mamoru then stopped.
"OK, Bun-head. You can go on home now," Mamoru spoke sternly. "I volunteered to take care of Manami so that I can handle it from here."
He then lay on his back, picking up Manami and lifting her up and down, making the baby squeal with laughter.
Usagi, however, couldn't help but sulk, feeling a bit cross with Mamoru for telling her to go home.
"Come on! I thought we both agreed to look after her at my place!" Usagi huffily thought. But as she continued to watch Mamoru play with Manami, she couldn't help but smile. "But Mamoru's so caring and kind!"
She then sat next to Mamoru, not wanting to leave leaning on his shoulder in an attempt to get close, but Mamoru gave her one hard look, and she immediately got off of him, blushing sheepishly.
"Well, Mamoru, your room isn't as messy as I expected it to be," she laughed awkwardly.
At that moment, Manami suddenly burst into tears, crying again, much to Usagi's and Mamoru's startlement.
"Uh-oh! I wonder what's wrong with her this time?" Usagi asked worriedly.
"Maybe she's crying because she's hungry," suggested Mamoru.
Mamoru then went over to a bag that contained all of the supplies needed to take care of the baby. He had just taken out a thermos as well as some baby formula when Usagi suddenly appeared.
"Don't worry! I'll take care of it!" she said eagerly.
Before Mamoru could respond, Usagi had already taken the items from his hand and dashed straight into the kitchen. However, things would only get worse from there. Being the clumsy girl she was, Usagi had difficulty making the formula. She poured too much formula into the bottle making her cough, burned her hand when filling it up using the dispenser, and even sprayed water everywhere when she tried to clean up.
Eventually, Usagi staggered out of the kitchen, her clothes, hair, and face stained with baby formula, but had a bottle for Manami ready to go. Mamoru was shocked and unnerved to see Usagi in such a state, but he didn't dare get in her way as the odango blonde went over to Manami. She gently picked her up and tried to feed him as he cried, but Manami kept turning her head away, refusing to eat as she wailed.
"What's the matter, Manami? Why won't you eat?" Usagi asked, more confused than ever.
"Maybe the milk's too warm for her?" puzzled Mamoru.
Usagi then started to drink the milk, testing it to see if Mamoru was correct. It was not only the right temperature, but it also tasted pretty good, at least to her.
"This is not that bad," Usagi said. "Pretty yummy."
Mamoru then took Manami from Usagi and laid her down, looking at her bottom. He then understood what was wrong.
"Now I understand," Mamoru said. "Just as I thought."
"What do you mean? What is it?" wondered a worried Usagi. "Could she be sick? Has she got the measles or something?! Or Chickenpox?! Maybe whooping cough?!"
"Of course not, Bun-Head. She just has a wet diaper," replied Mamoru. "Go check and see if there are disposable diapers in the bag for me, would you?"
Usagi gently pushed Mamoru aside. "Not so fast, Mamoru, this is no job for guys," she spoke with confidence. "Leave this to a lady."
She then pulled down Manami's diaper and was about to change her, but then she let out a surprised shriek, her cheeks flushing red with shock and embarrassment, for she had seen something unexpected. Mamoru then looked up, having gotten a diaper from the bag.
"What's wrong, Bun-Head?" asked Mamoru.
Usagi then pointed at Manami stammering. "I-I - - There's well-uh... It's a girl, but she has a wee-wee!" she squeaked.
Mamoru looked, and sure enough, Usagi was right. Despite her and the others assuming that Manami was a girl, she was, in truth, a boy, having the parts to prove it.
Mamoru then chuckled. "Come on, Bun-Head. His folks may have given him a feminine name like Manami, but he's a boy."
"But still, who would have thought that he'd be a boy," Usagi said. "But, we should probably get him a fresh diaper before he catches a cold."
Soon enough, Manami now had a fresh diaper on, but he began to wail and cry once again.
"Oh no, now why's he crying? We just changed his diaper! Don't tell me he wet himself again?" Usagi said. She then checked his diaper. "No, he's dry as a desert. I wonder what's wrong?"
Mamoru then held up the bottle. "This time, he's probably hungry," he said. "You might want to feed him."
Usagi then took the bottle and held it to Manami. He immediately stopped crying, took the bottle, and started to suckle, drinking it. She couldn't help but feel impressed.
"Mamoru, you seem to understand babies so well; it's amazing!" Usagi grinned. Then she gulped. "Did... you have any babies before this?"
"Of course, I haven't, Bun-head!" Mamoru groaned. "Have you lost it or something?"
Usagi now felt awkward and also a little silly. "Why do I ask such stupid questions?" she cursed in her head.
As Manami drank from his bottle, Mamoru refocused his attention on him, sitting him up. "Wow, look at you go, little guy," he said. "Drink plenty of milk, and you'll grow big and strong when you grow up." He then pointed to the bottle. "This is "milk." Can you say "Milk?" "
Manami stopped drinking and stared at Mamoru blankly in response.
"Come on, Mamoru. Manami's still a baby," said Usagi. "He won't be able to say anything yet, since he's too young." She then gently picked up Manami from the bed and placed him on the ground, making him stand on his feet while she sat a couple of feet away. "Alright, Manami. Let's try to walk."
But all Manami did was stand there unsure of what to do, and after a few seconds of standing, he ended up sitting on the floor. Usagi tried again, helping Manami to his feet, but the same result happened.
"Manami can't stand on his little legs yet - all he can do at the moment is crawl," chuckled Mamoru. "Asking him to walk is completely out of the question."
Usagi felt insulted. "Well, then I guess when it comes to babysitting, I'm just plain useless, is that it?!" she snapped.
Mamoru didn't say anything and turned away in a huff, as did Usagi, while Manami looked curiously at the two appearing to wonder what was with them.
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Usagi was walking out of the apartments a little later, still fuming.
"I can't believe how rude Mamoru is! I mean, what's with him?!" she grumbled huffily. "He always finds something wrong with everything I do! I didn't think he was that full of himself!"
She soon came to a bridge over a canal and stopped just in the middle of it. She then leaned over the railing stared into the water, her anger dissipating and replaced with sadness causing her eyes to fill with tears.
"Could it be... that Mamoru and I aren't compatible?" she wondered. "And we can't even get along at all?"
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The next day, Luna woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning. She let out a big yawn as she stretched, getting herself out of bed. She sleepily went over to Usagi's bed, expecting her to be sleeping in, but was surprised to see that Usagi's bed was empty.
"Looks like Usagi's gone, but I wonder where she went?" wondered Luna. "She usually sleeps in on Sundays."
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Usagi had gotten up early. You see, she wanted to put a little more extra effort into helping Mamoru with Manami so that she could get into his good graces. The two of them were in the middle of town just finishing some shopping. Mamoru was carrying a couple of boxes of formula and diapers while Usagi pushed Manami along in a stroller.
"Do you think we got enough milk and disposable diapers?" asked Usagi.
"That's an understatement!" complained Mamoru. "It's only going to be for two more days!"
At that moment, Minako, Makoto, Harusuke, and Ami came up to the two. When Minako saw them, she couldn't help but give Usagi a teasing grin.
"Oh my goodness! I can't believe it, Usagi!" Minako laughed. "When did you have Mamoru's baby?"
Usagi went beet red in the face with embarrassment. "Are you crazy, Minako?!" she shrieked. "What makes you think I'd be stupid enough to do that?!"
"One thing's for sure, you two seem to be like actual parents now," smiled Ami. "You sure nothing's happened between you two?"
"Hey! That's not funny, Ami!" snapped Usagi. "Cut it out!"
"Sure it is," grinned Harusuke. "If you and Mamoru didn't look cute enough as a couple before, you sure do now."
"Harusuke! Not you too!" groaned Usagi. "Would everyone just knock it off?!"
"Calm down, Usagi. There's no reason to get so worked up," soothed Makoto. "Did you honestly think that the four of us would believe that you and Mamoru had a baby since the last time we saw you?"
"Yeah. We were just teasing you," added Minako.
Usagi then relaxed, her flushed face returning to normal. Ami then whispered to her so that only Usagi could hear her.
"Usagi, we're all heading over to Rei's place so we can all discuss how to stop that latest Cardian attack," Ami whispered. "Can you come with us?"
"Of course," Usagi whispered back. "I'll stop by after we drop off Manami."
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Inside the Hikawa Shrine, in front of the sacred flame, Rei sat before, saying her usual chant and using her shrine maiden powers, while everyone else sat behind her.
"Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!"
The flames suddenly flared spring to life as they revealed an image of Amaderasu inside them.
"That's her!" cried Usagi. "That's the Cardian that attacked those babies at the nursery school!"
"She looks very similar to a Sun Tarot card image I saw before," said Rei. "It signifies a happy marriage and love according to Tarot."
"Well, that's a wonderful meaning," commented Ami.
"When it's reversed, it signifies a different outcome," Rei continued ominously. "A broken marriage, loneliness, marital woes, and failure."
"Tha's awful!" gasped Makoto.
"Gee, why aren't I not surprised?" sighed Harusuke. "There always has to be a bad side to every good thing in the world."
"So I wonder which outcome will happen for Usagi and Mamoru?" Minako asked teasingly.
"Aw, come on, Minako! Mamoru and I aren't even a real couple yet!" Usagi said shyly.
"Well, you better be careful someone else doesn't steal him away," Makoto joined in. "Otherwise, you'll end up in a one-sided love destined to fail."
Usagi then shot up to her feet, feeling worried. "No! I don't want that to happen!" she wailed. "I'm going back to Manami, right now!"
She then raced out of the temple heading for Mamoru's apartment.
Harusuke then sighed, shaking his head chuckling. "Seriously, do you guys get off on teasing her that much? Give the girl a break."
"Come on, Harusuke. We were only teasing her," chuckled Minako. "It's nothing personal."
Harusuke then got up. "I know. Anyway, I was going to head for Juuban Park to search for the Cardian. Say, Ami; you want to come with me?"
"Sure. I go," agreed Ami, as she stood up.
As the two were about to leave, Makoto and Minako started teasing again.
"Oh my, Harusuke. Are you and Ami going to have a secret rendezvous?" asked Minako cheekily.
"Maybe even have a kid together?" Makoto teased.
Ami then blushed a bright shade of pink while Harusuke rolled his eyes.
"Oh, yes. I'm going to whisk Ami away, so we can elope and have a baby together," Harusuke spoke with slight sarcasm. "Right, Ami?"
Ami then blushed bright red as the two of them left. "Harusuke, this isn't the time to be making jokes like that!"
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Natsumi was walking around town aimlessly, searching around for any other nurseries. Then as she turned around a corner, she saw Harusuke and Ami walking together as they headed towards Mamoru's place.
"Man, I know that we just saw him earlier, but I want to see Manami again, considering that I've been worried how he'll be with Usagi and Mamoru," said Harusuke. "Not to mention that he's a cute little fella."
"I'll have to agree with you on that one," said Ami. "And I'm sure that Usagi and Mamoru have been taking excellent care of him. However, I'm looking forward to seeing him home with his mother again."
"Yeah, I'll say," agreed Harusuke. "It sure is going to be worth the wait for Manami, though. The little tyke's going to be so happy."
Naturally, Harusuke and Ami talked about Manami and his mother, but Natsumi took this from another perspective. She thought that Ami and Harusuke were talking about something else, which made her deeply shocked.
"I don't believe it! Harusuke and that girl and a baby?!" Natsumi gasped to herself. "Did those two have a secret affair, consummated their love for each other, and are forcing Mamoru and Tsukino to take care of it?! Unforgivable!"
Natsumi's face flushed with jealously and anger from the mere thought, and not wasting another second, she raced away to Mamoru's apartment, hoping to see this supposed baby for herself.
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Mamoru was just in the middle of making some milk for Manami while the baby was having fun pulling out tissues from the box. Mamoru soon finished pouring the hot water into the bottle and put it under cold water to cool it down when the doorbell rang.
"Come in!" Mamoru called.
The door opened, and Natsumi walked in.
"Hi, Mamoru. I heard that you're working hard by taking care of baby," said Natsumi. "That in of itself seems hard, so I figured I'd come over and see if there was any way that I could help you." She then saw Manami playing with the tissues and went over to him. "Naughty boy. Look at the mess you made. I'll soon stop that."
She then picked up Manami in her arms, and the boy immediately began to cry.
"Now, now. Stop your crying," soothed Natsumi. "Mamoru is making you a warm bottle for you, so you need to calm down like a good baby and wait, OK?"
Natsumi had hoped that she would calm Manami down all by herself, but unfortunately for her, Manami did not like her look and continued to cry, if not a little louder.
Mamoru then peeked into the room. "He might have just wet his diaper," he said to Natsumi. "Could you go ahead and check it for me?"
"Oh, yes! Of course!" Natsumi said.
Natsumi then set Manami down on the bed and got a fresh diaper from the bag. She then pulled down Manami's diaper to see if he needed changing, but she was surprised to see that his diaper wasn't wet at all. At first, she didn't know why, but then came trouble, that is. As soon as his diaper was down, Manami shot a stream of urine right in her face. Natsumi let out a shriek of disgust and immediately raced past Mamoru, who almost dropped his bottle, and into the bathroom to wash her face.
When she was sure her face was clean, Manami came back into the room, regaining her composure just as Mamoru gave Manami his bottle, making him stop crying.
"Mamoru, feel free to ask me to help you with anything you need," Natsumi said sweetly. "I will stay with you forever to help you and this darling child if you have to."
She then picked up Manami again, hoping that she would be able to win him over now that he was quiet, but Manami wasn't falling for her little facade as he once again shot a stream of urine at her face. Natsumi shrieked again with disgust, almost dropping Manami only for Mamoru to catch him.
Natsumi had enough. "That's it! I'm going home!" she yelled. "There is no way a horrid baby like that could ever be Harusuke's!"
Mamoru tried to stop Natsumi hoping to calm her down, but Natsumi was too cross to listen.
At that time, Usagi had just walked into the door in time to see an angry Natsumi stomp right past her, slamming the door behind her. She looked back at Mamoru, who was surprised to see her when she did. She felt the flames of jealousy start to burn in her heart as she remembered what Makoto and Minako said about her and Mamoru dropping her for another woman. That alone made her angry as well as hurt.
"So, I guess you'll let anyone help out with Manami," Usagi spoke bitterly, biting her lip.
She turned on her heel and was about to leave when Mamoru stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"Wait a minute, Bun-Head! It's not what you think!" Mamoru tried to explain as he Manami down. "Natsumi just came here because she wanted to help!"
"I don't care!" Usagi snapped. "If you want her help so bad, then I'm going home!"
"What are you so mad about, Usagi?" demanded Mamoru, now more confused than ever. "What's gotten into you?!"
"You want to know why?!" Usagi burst out. "It's because I hate guys who don't understand a girl's feelings!"
Now Mamoru was shocked and felt terrible, causing him to let go of Usagi's arm, and Usagi was just about to leave when she saw something that made her freeze in place and her eyes go wide. Mamoru was confused, but then Usagi pointed, causing him to turn around, and he couldn't believe his eyes either.
Manami was now standing on his own two feet, trying his best not to fall. Then Mamoru and Usagi watched as Manami took a baby step forward, and then another, and then another, and then another.
"I don't believe it..." murmured Mamoru. "Manami's..."
"Walking!" finished Usagi.
Usagi and Mamoru then watched in amazement and wonder as Manami continued to walk until he got to the box of tissues. When he did, he sat down and started to play with it again, ripping out the tissues and throwing them around. Mamoru and Usagi then began to jump and cheer with joy while holding each other's hands.
"He did it! He did it! He did it!" they both cheered.
As they celebrated, Ami and Harusuke came into the room. When they saw Usagi and Mamoru overcome with joy, they were surprised.
"What's going on in here?" wondered Ami.
"And are we interrupting something?" asked Harusuke.
Usagi and Mamoru immediately stopped and let go of each other's hands.
"You've got this all wrong!" Usagi wailed with embarrassment. "It's Manami! It's Manami!"
"What about Manami?" wondered Harusuke.
"You both just missed it!" Mamoru spoke as he picked up the baby. "Manami just took his very first steps!"
Ami and Harusuke gasped.
"Really?! That's wonderful!" cried Ami happily.
"Aw, man! I wish we could have seen it!" complained Harusuke. "We should have gotten the whole thing on video!"
Mamoru then placed Manami back on the ground, trying to get Manami to walk again. "Come on, Manami! Walk again and show them for us!"
"Yeah! You can do it, Manami!" cheered Usagi eagerly. "You're a natural!"
Ami then suddenly remembered and whispered into Usagi's ear. "Usagi, there's trouble! That Cardian's back again!"
Harusuke whispered too. "Rei sensed its presence not too long ago. So it should be somewhere close by!"
Usagi nodded in understanding as she spoke to Mamoru. "Um, sorry, Mamoru, but something urgent's come up! I'll be right back!"
And before Mamoru could even ask what this urgent matter was, Usagi, Ami, and Harusuke had already raced out of the room, leaving him alone with Manami.
At the Nakayoshi Koyoshi Nursery School, Amaderasu had just arrived, preparing to steal the energy from the babies and adults there. She was preparing to use the same method as before, when Sailor Mars, Jupiter, and Venus arrived.
"Hold it right there, you monster!" cried Sailor Mars. "We can't allow you to prey on the young, nor will we forgive you for taking the life energy of babies!"
"Out of all the monsters we fought, you're the worst we've had yet!" Sailor Jupiter added defiantly. "Leave them alone!"
Sailor Venus then went on the attack firing a powerful beam from her finger.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!"
Amaderasu immediately floated backward to dodge the incoming attack. Then, knowing that the Sailor Guardians would give her trouble, she created a strange bubble in her hand and blew on it, making several other bubbles bubble forth from it, swelling to larger sizes. Then to the Sailor Guardians' disbelief, one by one, they swallowed up babies as well as the caretakers trapping them inside and floated over to Amaderasu, protecting her from harm.
"That rotten coward!" growled Sailor Mars grimly.
"She's using the babies as a shield!" cried Sailor Jupiter. "We can't attack her like this!"
Amaderasu cackled with triumph, seeing that her foes were unable to attack as she unleashed a powerful blast that immediately took out all three of them at once. At that time, Usagi, Ami, and Harusuke arrived and wasted no time transforming.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER MAKE UP!"
"SOLAR GUARDIAN POWER FLARE UP!"
"MERCURY POWER MAKE UP!"
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Transformation Sequence: Usagi
Usagi holds up the Crystal Star brooch as it opens, revealing the Silver Crystal inside. Usagi waved her hand on the Silver Crystal, and it flashed it a bright short burst of pink light emitting a chime. It does it a second time, and on the third, it shines brightly, enveloping Usagi in its glow. Usagi then holds the brooch above her head, suspending it in between her hands, drawing it to the center of her torso, flipping it once before placing it in the center of her chest. She then spins around a few times as the crystal begins to glow even brighter than before in pink light. She holds her hands up as a pair of wings spring forth from her back while pink ribbons come out from the crystal wrapping around Usagi's body, forming her leotard. The wings on her back disappeared as more pink ribbons wrapped around her arms and hands, creating white gloves and red boots around her calves and feet. As the blue skirt appears around her waist, one more pink ribbon ties at her back as she does a kind of spread-eagle motion with one leg up, a glowing moon symbol appearing on her forehead. Her tiara, earrings, choker, and ordango covers appear, and Usagi, now Sailor Moon, finishes with her signature pose.
Transformation sequence: Harusuke.
Harusuke's bracelet begins to glow as Harusuke holds it into the air. Next, the symbol of the sun starts to shine on Harusuke's head as golden yellow and silver light envelop his body. First, the sun appears above him, shining its light upon him. Then, while Harusuke bathed in its light, a silver jumpsuit with gold lines on his hips materializes around his body. After that, the light shone on his legs, and long golden metal boots that went up to his knees appeared on his legs with silver hexagon knee pads. Next, the light shone on his arms, and then golden gauntlets appeared on his hands going up to wrists. Then a yellow symbol of the sun materializes in front of him, and it crashes into his chest, making a golden chest piece of armor appear with silver shoulder guards. Finally, a silver helmet covers his head, exposing his hair and making it stand up with a mouth guard covering his mouth and nose. Finally, Harusuke's eyes open, and he strikes his signature pose the symbol of the sun appears behind him.
Transformation Sequence: Ami
The symbol on Ami's pen begins to glow in a bright shade of blue as she holds up her transformation pen. It begins to spin around as it shines and envelopes Ami in blue light. Then, she sweeps it over her head while a stream of blue water shoots out, wrapping her body and forming her leotard, boots, and gloves. A sparkling ripple expands over her body, creating a slight mist of water that forms the rest of her uniform the same as Sailor Moon's but the center bow, boots, and rims on the gloves are blue and bright blue. Finally, she turns around and then strikes her signature pose.
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Amaderasu saw the three new guardians that had arrived and went on the attack firing multiple beams. The three heroes jumped, managing to avoid the rays, but they couldn't attack because of the hostages. The Cardian then unleashed its blue hairs entangling the three and began to drain all of their energy.
"Wh-what is this?!" cried Sailor Moon.
"I'm... losing my strength!" gasped Solaris.
"It's draining our energies!" Sailor Mercury moaned.
Then just when Amaderasu thought that victory was hers, a white rose shot past her, its petals barely grazing past her eyes, causing her to cover them and lose her concentration. Thanks to that, the hairs entangling the guardians dissipated, and the bubbles that trapped the babies slowly fell to the ground and popped, setting them free.
"Weekends are when families should be enjoying their time together!" said a voice. "I can't allow monsters like you to ruin that special moment!"
The Guardians looked up, and they saw a white Arabian-clad warrior standing on the roof of the nursery.
"It's the Moonlight Knight!" Sailor Moon gasped with glee.
"Babies are life's treasures as well as cute!" continued the Moonlight Knight. "They will respond to your love with a smile that is to die for!"
Amaderasu growled in anger, now able to see again. She then saw the babies crying from being scared on the ground and fired a beam right at them. Sailor Moon and Mercury gasped and tried to rush over to save them, but there was someone who reacted a bit faster than them, and he jumped right in front of the beam shielding the babies from harm as the beam hit him square in the back. That someone was Solaris, who gritted his teeth in pain while sporting a black spot on his back.
"Solaris! Are you OK?!" cried Sailor Moon.
Solaris winced as he looked at his friends. "Don't worry! I'm fine! As long as these babies are safe!"
Sailor Mercury stared at Solaris, shocked. Then she looked towards Amaderasu, scowling in anger at what she had done.
"How dare you, you monster?!" the guardian of Mercury yelled. "Not only did you use these babies as shields to protect yourself, but you also used them to hurt my friend! That is unforgivable, and it stops right now!"
She began to glow in bright blue light as she unleashed a brand new attack.
"MERCURY BUBBLE SPRAY FREEZING!"
Sailor Mercury unleashed a flurry of bubbles. However, instead of creating a fog as they usually did, the blast of bubbles encased Amaderasuin in a prison of ice, freezing her. Sailor Moon and Solaris were amazed as well as surprised.
"Whoa! Sailor Mercury! When did you acquire such an amazing and new technique?!" Sailor Moon gasped in wonder.
"Yeah! You froze that Cardian solid!" added Solaris.
Sailor Mercury stopped and looked at her hands, surprised as well. "I... I don't know," she replied. "It's most likely because I was angry at that Cardian for threatening those babies and using them to hurt Solaris. But never mind that! Sailor Moon, hurry and finish her off! Then, she'll return to normal with the warmth of the sun!"
"Right! I'm on it!" said Sailor Moon as she summoned forth the Cutie Moon Rod. "Get ready, you monster! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you! MOON PRINCESS HALATION!"
She then aimed the Cardian and unleashed a powerful stream of light and sparkles. Thanks to her being frozen solid unable to move, the attack obliterated Amaderasu, instantly reverting her into a card, its image going black as it emitted smoke. The babies were safe, but now they were so frightened that all of them started crying at once. The Guardians could only try to calm them down as the Moonlight Knight watched from afar.
"A child understands a while lifetime of caring and dear mother's love," he said himself, as he disappeared into the air.
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Soon after that, Usagi, Mamoru, Harusuke, and Ami received word that Manami's mother had been released from the hospital and was ready to take him home. So Harusuke and Ami went to pick her up while Usagi and Mamoru prepared to see Manami off.
Soon enough, Manami's mother, Harusuke, and Ami arrived and met up with Usagi and Mamoru at the entrance with Manami in tow. As soon as Manami's mother saw her baby, she immediately scooped him up from his stroller and hugged him warmly.
"Thank goodness, my little boy's alright," she spoke with relief. "I'm was so glad that the hospital decided to let me leave a day early. Thank you all for taking care of Manami."
"You should thank Usagi and Mamoru," said Ami. "They're the ones that did the real work."
"Please, it was no big deal," said Mamoru.
"Yeah, we didn't do that much," added Usagi, feeling embarrassed. "Besides, it was a lot of fun."
Manami's mother then put Manami back into the stroller, and Mamoru and Usagi then shared one more goodbye with him.
"I'm sure going to miss you, Manami," Usagi said. "It's not going to be the same without you."
"But nothing's better than being loved and raised by your mother," smiled Mamoru. "Right, Manami?"
Usagi was just about to disagree when a surprise happened. As Manami's mother pushed him along, Manami spoke, saying three little words.
"Mamoru. Usagi. Bye-Bye!"
As Manami and his mother left, Usagi and Mamoru watched them go, dumbfounded at what had just happened, as was Ami and Harusuke.
"Did... Manami just..." began Mamoru.
"Say our names?" finished Usagi.
The two then looked at each other, and a smile crept onto both of their faces. The two then burst out in excitement, holding each other's hands as they cheered.
"He spoke! He spoke! He said our names!" the two cheered as they jumped with joy.
Harusuke and Ami watched as the two cheered, amused and proud.
"Well, what do you know. I suppose you were right, after all, Ami," said Harusuke. "Taking care of Manami did make Usagi and Mamoru closer."
"And it seems they made a powerful impact on Manami himself," chuckled Ami. "I'm so proud of them."
"Speaking of being proud, you went Mama Bear on that Cardian back there," Harusuke smiled. "That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen, Ami."
"Not as cool as you when you protected those babies, Harusuke," Ami said. "You reacted just like a father would when protecting his children."
"Aw, come on, Ami. You're making me embarrassed," Harusuke spoke, scratching his cheek. "It was not that big a deal."
"I disagree," said Ami. "If it wasn't for you, I don't know what might have happened to those babies, so you should be proud."
She then spoke quietly to herself. "I would love to have someone like that protecting my kids."
"Did you say something, Ami?" asked Harusuke. "I couldn't hear what you were saying."
Ami's cheeks then flushed bright pink as she turned away in embarrassment. "It's nothing! I was just mumbling!" she squeaked.
Harusuke rose a brow in confusion, wondering what Ami said, not realizing that a glow went across his necklace again. This time it was a bright shade of blue.