Chapter 14: More Fighting With the Princess! Usagi and Shingo’s Confusion! “Mama, why would the Lights girls’ Princess throw them out of the house just for using the wrong name endings?” Shingo asked Ikuko as Naru and Pikachu also left for their respective homes. “Well, I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her directly and ask her why she would do such a thing. I certainly wouldn’t kick you or Usagi-chan out,” said Ikuko helpfully. That solved Shingo’s problem for the moment, or so he thought. Princess Fireball looked up from her Sailor V manga. “Yaten-chan, get the phone. This is too exciting to put down,” she said, sticking her nose back into the world of Sailor V. Glaring at the lazy princess, Yaten picked up the phone. “Are you Princess Fireball-sama, perhaps?” asked Shingo on the other end. “No, I’m Yaten. Who are you? Your voice sounds familiar, but I can’t quite place you,” answered Yaten, sitting in a nearby chair. “I am Shingo Tsukino, Usagi’s brother. Could you please give the phone to your princess, Yaten-sempai? I need to talk to her,” said Shingo. “Sure. Here she is,” Yaten said calmly, and she tossed the phone into Fireball’s lap. The russet-haired princess picked the phone up. “Hello, Shingo-kun? What do you want?” she asked. “Why would you throw your own children out of your house like that?” Shingo asked. Princess Fireball started laughing, causing Yaten to get a little confused; Shingo on the other end of the phone line was confused as well. “What’s so funny?” Shingo asked, sounding a bit annoyed. “Nothing...hee hee hee...it’s just that Taiki-chan and Seiya-chan aren’t my children, really. I have no biological children; but I guess I’m sort of their legal guardian here. Well, I’m sure Taiki-chan can take care of herself and Seiya-chan. She’s the one who started it, anyhow. She was disrespectful to me as royalty. She called me Fireball-san instead of Fireball-sama! And she disowned her sisters; she refuses to call them -oneesan, but refers to them by the normal -san, as if they were just ordinary people on the street instead of her own older sisters!” Princess Fireball said, explaining the situation. Shingo pulled the phone away from his ear for a few seconds, shocked. “Well...I call my sister by her name sometimes, and sometimes call her Oneesan...I just wanted to know why Taiki-san was staying at Hino- sempai’s house instead of at her own house,” Shingo said. Princess Fireball hung up the phone quickly, then screamed. “WHAT?!?! They’re at that spooky temple with the lecherous old man!? Come on, Yaten-chan, let’s go get your sisters back!” Fireball raced out the door, forgetting to even take Yaten with her. Shingo stood by the phone, still shocked. Why did Princess Fireball hang up so quickly? Usagi saw him. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked. “Do you think Mama or Papa would ever make us leave the house if we were to, say, call them by their first names?” Shingo asked worriedly. “I doubt it, but let’s ask them. You’re thinking about the Lights sisters, aren’t you,” answered Usagi reassuringly. She and her younger brother went into the livingroom, where Kenji and Ikuko were watching a news program on TV. “Mama, Shingo has an important question for you and Papa. Go ahead,” Usagi pushed Shingo up front. “Well, I was wondering if you’d ever make us leave the house if we did something like call you by your first names instead of ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa,” Shingo said nervously. “No, we wouldn’t throw you out for something that minor. Is this about Taiki-san and her princess?” Ikuko asked. “Who’s Taiki-san? Your new boyfriend? I’VE ALREADY LEARNED TO ACCEPT ONE HUSBAND, YOU DON’T NEED ANOTHER!!!” Kenji shouted, standing up and pointing a warning finger at Usagi. “No, she’s that really tall 12-year old girl that came over to help us figure out the new Senshi, remember?” giggled Usagi. “Oh, oops. It’s just that Taiki is generally a boy’s name. I forgot; I thought it might be someone else,” Kenji said, embarrassed. “My, and I thought a strange and interesting girl like her would be easy to remember,” commented Ikuko. “Well then, why would Taiki-san’s princess throw her out just for calling her the wrong thing? It’s got to be something else,” said Shingo, mumbling to himself as he left the room. Yaten stared at the door, a bit surprised at her princess’s behavior. Shrugging, she went over to the couch and started reading the Sailor V manga. Just as she was finishing it, the phone rang. “Who is this?” she asked, setting the manga neatly on the coffee table. “It’s Shingo Tsukino. Is this Yaten-sempai?” asked the voice on the other end. “Yes, I’m Yaten. What do you want? My princess is out now for some reason; if you want her you’ll have to wait,” Yaten said. “Would you like to go out for dinner? Or better yet, come over to my place? I’m sure Papa would like that better so he could meet you,” Shingo asked. “Um, okay. I’m sure Fireball-sama would let me. She always encourages us to socialize. Sometimes too much, though,” said Yaten, and she, with the same abruptness as her princess, hung up without saying good-bye. “Rei-chan, are you sure you can’t fix Taiki-chan’s disease?” Seiya asked for the nth time. “No, I’ve told you that already!” Rei snapped, getting annoyed at Seiya’s constant pestering. Just then, Grandpa Hino ran in, excited. “There’s a sexy woman out there!” he exclaimed. “Hey! I’ll greet her before you scare her off!” shouted Rei, and she zipped to the temple entrance. Princess Fireball was standing there, eyeing everything warily. “I’ve come to get my babies out of this scary place. Where are Seiya-chan and Taiki-chan?” she asked quickly. “Hey! They are in no danger here! Before you take them back, I need to know if you’ll treat them nicely and not throw them out for using name endings wrong!” Rei ordered, her annoyance turning to anger. “Well! Not only is the psychic priestess spooky, but’s she’s rude, too! I will certainly not give in on the matter of the name endings; I am royalty, and thus she must call me by the -sama ending,” Princess Fireball retorted. She then swept away regally, Rei growling at her in the distance. “Who was that you were yelling at?” Seiya asked, curious. “Your princess. She is VERY unreasonable,” snarled Rei. “Did you say that girl is a princess, Rei-san?” asked a voice. Yuuichirou was behind Seiya. “Who’s that?!” Seiya shrieked. “That’s Yuuichirou. He helps at the shrine here. I’m surprised you haven’t seen him yet,” Rei said with a giggle, calming down. “Okay. I thought he might be someone my princess sent out to attack me and Taiki-chan,” Seiya said. “Who is this princess you’re talking about...hey, you’re one of those Shooting Stars girls who is also a Senshi!” exclaimed Yuuichirou. “Yeah, I’m Seiya Lights. My princess is also in the group; she’s the one with the red hair,” Seiya explained. “What brings you to this shrine? Praying to the gods that your music will make lots of people happy?” asked Yuuichirou. “No, me and my younger sister Taiki-chan were thrown out of our house by our mean princess. She says Taiki-chan is rude with name endings, and I was thrown out for taking Taiki-chan’s side in the argument,” Seiya explained for about the zillionth time. “Is that the same Taiki who used to be in the Three Lights...now I’m starting to remember who you are,” Yuuichirou said, thinking aloud a bit. “That’s the same one! She’s got some weird disease that even I can’t figure out, though. That’s why these girls chose to come here; they thought I could help,” Rei said, a bit sadly. “Has she tried going to the doctor?” Yuuichirou asked. “No, but we know from experience that even the care of a doctor can’t fix a disease caused by a magical enemy. Our shrine seems to be the best hospital for Taiki-chan right now,” said Rei. “It’s okay, except your grandpa keeps looking at me like I’m a tasty snack or something,” Seiya said. “He does that to all the pretty girls. I’m used to it, but he should be nicer to guests, especially a guest with a sick sister. I’ll have a talk with him, and why don’t you stay near your sister? He doesn’t come into her room anyway, since she’s too young for him,” reassured Rei.