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Hiro had spent most of the night awake, or barely dozing. Worried over his Alkaid, he'd perched on the back on the sofa-turned-bed and just watched Kaia sleep. The amount of smoke she'd inhald had him worried, not to mention the traps the BMC had laid for them, and the final battle. His ears had been perked all night, twitching at every sound. Any time Kaia's breath rattled in her throat or was late in coming, his eye sprung open, a teal gleam in the darkness.

It had been a fitful, unrestful night for Hiro. But he wouldn't have had it any other way. His Kaia was safe and that was all he cared about.

When she awoke and called his name, he stretched and leapt down. He was careful not to land on Kaia. He'd been avoiding sleeping on her for a reason, worried enough about injuries and damage to her lungs as it was.

"Right here," he said, nuzzling at her throat and face. A loud purring surrounded them.

"Giant phoenix youma? Every senshi ever crawling out of the woodwork?" Hiro's ears flattened against his head. "I was there for some of it... not so helpful, really, cat versus white moon senshi."

It was hard to admit, if only because Hiro thought under normal circumstances he would be more than a match for any senshi. But trying to block their attacks from hitting Tanzanite's Great Youma form? Even he had to admit he had done very little in the greater scheme of things.

"A new General Queen, though... That's not a bad outcome for us," he considered. Even if it had taken the loss of Marthozite. Damn those stupid Blood Moon senshi!

Settling himself back down, he tried to be consoling. "We got most of them back. And we'll kill those Blood Moon bitches for what they did."

It wasn't quite 'all's well that ends well'... but it could have been worse. Hiro chose to be grateful for what they did have. Most of the captives rescued, no losses in the final battle, and a General Queen for Destiny City. Despite the fact that Hiro had worked under Marthozite for as long as he could remember, there had been no senshi in Africa, corrupt or otherwise. It hadn't been the most fulfilling position, nothing compared to partnering Alkaid, or training the other corrupt senshi here in Destiny City. Hiro... wasn't displeased with how things had turned out for him.

The headrub and the compliment had Hiro purring loudly once more. It didn't matter so much what Kaia said, so much that she wanted to cheer him up at all. He snuggled in closer. Best senshi ever!

Being helpful when Kaia needed him? That was all he needed. As long as Hiro could do that much, he was happy. She deserved to have someone looking out for her. All the corrupted senshi did, but most especially his Kaia.

"I'm sure he believed he would live on through Tanzanite's actions," Hiro agreed. If there was anyone who could live up to Marthozite's legacy of taking over an entire continent, it would definitely be Tanzanite. She was more of a boogeyman to the senshi than even Beryl herself - understandable since Tanzanite had been out there hunting them down. But for the senshi to know that their nemesis was now the most powerful agent of the Negaverse in Destiny City? Their moral must surely be suffering.

Hiro chuckled when Kaia question if the BMC would be brave enough to show themselves anytime soon. "I do wonder. The person they tortured and tried to kill is suddenly in command of Destiny City's Negaverse, not to mention more powerful than ever. I'd be lying low for quite some time, if I were them."

Of course, Hiro doubted they were that clever. They seemed to think they were invincible, carrying out such a brazen plot against the Negaverse. No doubt their leader, Ares, would refuse to hide away. How helpful, considering she was the one they most wanted to kill.

Hiro nodded at Kaia's words. The little he'd seen of Tanzanite so far had been very impressive. She was a strong woman, and very dedicated to the Negaverse. She'd protected those under her as best she could, even in the face of imprisonment and torture. Best of all, she cared for her senshi just as much as she cared for the regular officers. Hiro would follow her for that alone, if nothing else.

"Very few of us are cautious enough," Hiro said. It had been the Negaverse to be captured originally by the Blood Moon Court, after all. "We are simply better organised."

It was a problem that Hiro wanted to drill out of his senshi and officer trainees. Rushing in where fools feared to tread could remain the domain of the White Moon. Hiro wanted his children to be cautious, to be devious. To stay safe, even while striking down their enemies. A hopeless dream, perhaps. But if he could make them even the slightest bit more sensible, or even just the better warriors for when they and the White Moon clashed, then Hiro would have done his job well.

"We shall have to see. It was an intelligent enough plan, their capture. Perhaps they will be equally intelligent and realise we are expecting them to strike again." It would depend on how they saw the final fallout - did those senshi view it as a success, a failure, a learning experience? It would depend on whether calmer voices could temper the 'too bold' Ares.

Everyone knew Ares, that much was true. Hiro wasn't quite satisfied with that, though. "We should know all of their faces," he complained. "If they're trying to lay a trap, they won't lead with her. We need to know all of them, be able to target them and pick them off if any of them are spotted, not just their leader."

Kaia's gritting of her teeth against the pain as she sat up didn't escape Hiro's notice. He was very careful of where he placed his paws and where he leaned as he moved to Kaia's side. His touch was light and brief as he rubbed his head against her shoulder, rumbling loudly.

The bruises covering his senshi worried the feline. Knowing that there was nothing he could do was the worst feeling in the world. He couldn't bandage her wounds or carry her if she was hurt... sometimes Hiro - as marvellous and amazing as he knew he was - just felt useless.

"Perhaps it's better than we fear them a little," Hiro suggested. "It may give our new recruits the caution they need to survive, to grow more powerful and therefore be able to live through a battle with this Blood Moon lot."

Not that there weren't other dangers out there, just as bad. Rumour said one of the senshi had revealed themselves to be loyalty - not the fabled Moon Princess, thank goodness, just a boy. But he'd also managed to 'purify' Linarite somehow. Rumour said Tanzanite was furious - Hiro wasn't about to go ask her if that was true or not. But the point was that there were other things to fear out there. They needed to be more careful than ever.

"Perhaps we should let it be known exactly what this Blood Moon group are like," Hiro suggested. The tip of her tail started twitching back and forth, plans half forming in his mind. "I can't imagine that the other senshi would be very happy to hear what some of their fellows are up to..."

Mmm, internal strife. Maybe someone else would take down the BMC for the Negaverse.

He might not be able to sit in her lap right now, but Hiro kept close. He made his presence obvious, touching and warming as much as he could. All the while, he kept up a loud, steady rumble. Kaia wouldn't think she was alone for a moment, as long as Hiro was around.

"Well, I'm a very good trainer," Hiro suggested. Very modestly, of course. (Not.) "I'm sure I could whip the cowardly ones into shape."

If only he had opposable thumbs, he would do that quite literally. Alas (or rather, luckily for all the potential trainees).

"Phone, phone..." Hiro narrowed his eye. He had a vague memory of... aha! He leapt of the couch, disappearing from sight. A minute later, he trotted back, a slim phone held delicately between his teeth. He dropped it onto the couch beside Kaia and gagged a little (while wiping cat spit off the screen with one surreptious swipe of his paw). "Phone," he announced proudly.

There was a surprised chirp-purr when Kaia kissed between his ears. It settled into a very loud rumble, Hiro looking very pleased with himself. It was normally him smooching others, but if Kaia wasnt to return the favour, Hiro wasn't about to complain. Not even when breakfast was no longer on offer.

"I'll survive," Hiro said wryly. He could scavenge something from the kitchen, or perhaps go and mooch off one of the others he trained when Kaia was busy.

"Do you need any help?" he made sure to check first. Kaia was his first, main priority, after all.