Kiryuin Satsuki aimlessly gazed at the sprawled city in front of her, its steely buildings in full view from the office glass wall. The bright rays cast upon her a commanding shadow and an authoritarian aura, but secretly she reveled in the warmth it provoked on her skin; made her feel normal again. It was already around noon, judging by the vibrant sky, but time had seemed to pass by deceiving slow; painfully slow, as if to demoralize her.
Her mind was searching for something precious to her, lost in the precarious city. It wandered around in pain, guilt, and solitude. And yet, she could do absolutely nothing about it. Satsuki let out a quiet, prolonged breath before her name captured her attention. She turned in her chair to face her company executives, until that moment nothing more than monotone, whispered exchanges in the background.
She focused on a rather short individual, his eyes rimmed with pristine glasses and his light blue hair standing out from the otherwise uniform crowd. The projection behind him revealed a complex arrays of graphs and slightly decreasing lines that told her the inevitable: her company was loosing money. Not too much, but just enough to make the greedy not sleep at night. Any other president would've wanted to see heads roll, but Satsuki was better than that; she was always calm, always composed. Nothing good ever came out of being irrational. And frankly, she wasn't caring too much as of lately.
"Yes?"
"We, the board of directors, have reached a decision on the compensation for this quarter's losses. But we would like to know your in-"
"Inumuta," Satsuki interrupted with nonchalance, "I deeply appreciate your concern, but that won't be necessary. What is the purpose of the board if it's not to simplify these matters? I trust your judgment." Her words were strict, but offered a gentle touch to her former Elite Four Diva, whom bowed in return.
"Of course, Lady Satsuki. It will be carried out swiftly."
"Good..." Using the tip of her heel, Satsuki swiveled back to contemplate the view, her fingers tapping on the arm rest. Suddenly, after weeks of practically living in her office and dealing with inhuman overexertion, she didn't feel like being inside her mothers building any longer. "Then I believe this meeting is adjourned. I have some matters to attend to."
Satsukis perfectly poised steps echoed sharply in the quiet room before the automatic doors closed behind her. The elevator "dinged" opened and obediently closed shut.
The Glowing Nipple Lounge was strangely packed for a weekday. The high-end establishment, founded by none other than their fellow naked nudist Aikuro Mikisugi, was an eccentric place of sorts. Everything was as expected of a place that specialized in late-night experiences; fancy tables that reflected the bright, purple and blue lighting, an extensive bar and collection of crystalline bottles that covered two L-shaped walls, and a lengthy array of statues and framed pictures of men that undoubtedly were meant to praise the male form.
Even the waiters - both men and women, for nobody was spared of Aikuro's philosophy- were instructed to work in quite revealing outfits, similar to the Nudist Beach uniforms. Satsuki asked for her usual table in an isolated corner of The Glowing Nipple and waited for her usual drink as she studied the crowd of barely clothed nudists cheer on at some event on the monitors.
A glass with Baileys on the rocks was handed to her shortly, to which Satsuki politely nodded. She took in a fair amount of the drink and raised her chin slightly, letting the creamy liquor numb the base of her tongue and allowing the sudden rush of warm, alcohol vapor to escape in a nasal sigh. From her table she could see the spot where the disparate group that saved the world celebrated the pre-opening of Aikuro's lounge. She remembers it clearly. Everything from the laughs of the group after being reunited again; the warmth of the Mankanshoku's catering with all its mysterious ingredients; and the strip poker rounds with its highly intoxicated, verbally expressive players. She had never felt happier. Although, the feeling was not reciprocated by everyone, for sadness was still very present in the Kiryuin family.
Amidst the rowdy crowd a figure suddenly flashed before Satsuki's thorough gaze. She squinted at the small shadow that had stopped dead in its tracks, violently twisted its body, and placed a palm above its eyes to search in Satsuki's direction, despite it being dark. Kiryuin's hand tensed around the glass as she prepared herself for the train of jittery energy that was coming her way. "Lady Satsuki!" Mako Mankanshoku yelled, almost in the woman's ear, as part of her every cheery entrance. The girl's hair was still perfectly round and her pattern of thought still just as puzzling.
She joyfully wrapped her arms around Satsuki in a tight, prolonged hug. The latter's body tensed and her brows furrowed at the silent pain that seemed to paralyze her. Control yourself Satsuki, for christ sake. After a few calming breaths, Satsuki patted the girl's petite frame briefly; slowly but surely she would get to at least tolerate such gestures. Mako jumped off of Satsuki and looked at her watch, "You always come at the same hour, like a robot! Do you have another meeting today?"
"Hello, Mankanshoku," Satsuki started after clearing her throat, "I see you're doing well. And no, I'm just taking a respite for the day."
"Too much work is not good for you, Lady Satsuki. You'll start to loose your beautiful hair and get deep wrinkles under your eyes, just like mom!" the girl said enthusiastically.
"I'm...quite aware of that."
"But dad can offer you his new technique on acupuncture. So far he's only killed three people, but he's making a lot of progress!" At times like this Satsuki didn't know whether to be shocked in awe from Mankanshoku's high sense of honesty or ignore her lack of a filter.
"Thank you for the offer, Mankanshoku. I'll surely let you know." Satsuki said with a nod and another gulp from her drink. She was going to need it. "Say, what kind of event is going on?"
Following Satsuki's gesture towards the crowd, Mako's eyes grew wider, even more so than normal, and got a calendar from her bra to show the older woman.
"Didn't you know!? Today is Ryuko-chan's pre-champion fight!"
Satsuki's glass struggled under her unconsciously tightened grip at the mention of her little sister.
"Oh, so it's today. I haven't been well informed of her athletic doings." She said downcast, examining the melting ice cubes.
"Whaaaat? But haven't you gone to see Ryuko-chan? She got this new, awesome apartment!"
Satsuki frowned at the icy feeling in her chest. She doesn't want to see me, she wanted to say, but instead went with the easier answer.
"No, I haven't seen Ryuko. Haven't had the chance. How is she?"
Mako brought a finger to her chin, "Well, lets see, she's been okay. Same Ryuko-chan as always, I guess. But lately she's been...different. I asked her if she was mad at me, but she said no. Do you think that me going out with Gamagori-senpai has something to do with it?" Genuine concern laced Mako's expression and Satsuki, although quite critical of the girl's lack of thorough thinking, admired her love for Ryuko. Hell, the girl swam through an ocean of pure life fiber energy to snap Ryuko out of her monstrous rage. Satsuki gave a small smile and a scuff.
"I don't take her for the jealous type. Maybe she needs time to adjust, knowing now that her best friend is with someone else. After all, you have been her only family."
"You think so, Lady Satsuki? Gamagori-senpai has been real helpful too! He invites Ryuko-chan over a lot, despite her always saying no. Maybe our house is too big and she feels lonely, now hat Senketsu is not around." Mako put serious thought to her last suggestion. Satsuki quietly drank what little remained of her drink and jiggled the glass in her fingers.
Thinking about it now, the Kiryuin mansion had also turned into a big expanse of empty rooms and silent dinners since her Elite Four Divas moved out after graduation, all of them spread in different directions to pursue their careers. Lively reunions and "gets" were regular in their agendas, but Satsuki would be lying if she denied missing the constant bickering and warmth they brought every day.
Uzu Sanageyama followed his athletic dream to become a world-renowed kendo champion and sought after coach. Houka Inumuta became Satsukis very useful Technology R&D chief, Nonon Jakuzure toured Europe as an avid founder of the Nova Classical Music movement, and Ira Gamagori went on to be-
"How's Gamagori doing at Hanes?" Satsuki asked to break the silence.
"Oh! Gamagori-senpai was promoted to Regional Quality Manager! He says it's a lot of work, but he feels happy knowing that people are going to have soft, comfy socks and shirts to sleep in. Although he keeps sleeping in the nude..." Satsuki could easily imagine her colossal friend raining his wrath on an underpaid worker for finding a fiber out of place,
You inferior, blue-collar trash! How dare you produce such a sub-par sock!? You see THIS?THIS is not acceptable and I'll make sure you get rightfully PUNISHED for it!
It was good to know that some things never change. "I'm glad to see the two of you doing so well. I've personally never seen him as happy," Kiryuin said with a rare, warm smile.
Even with the dim lighting, Satsuki noticed the red tinge on Mako's cheeks. "R-really, Lady Satsuki? He's always protecting me. But sometimes he does things like opening the door for me, giving me flowers this big", Mako extended her arms to their full wingspan, "and paying for the food, no matter how expensive it is. I don't get it."
Satsuki figured that in the slums the basic gestures of chivalry were not a common treat. "He's just very old-fashioned. It's a way of expressing how much he cares about you."
"Oh..." Mako mused, looking down at her shoes, before slapping her first on her other palm, "Then I'll do the same for him! I'll show how much I care for Gamagori-senpai by giving him flowers eleven feet tall, and cooking his favorite food for him, boiled asparagus!"
Satsuki chuckled before an authoritative finger from Mako interrupted her, "And you, Lady Satsuki, will show Ryuko how much you care about her by going to her fight tonight! I asked her if you could go and she said," Mako crossed her arms and imitated her friends tone, "'I don't care what she does.' So that's a 'yes'!"
Satsuki took a quick glance past Mako to the mounted tv's. They were promoting the fight, which was a little more than two hours from now; on them was footage of an unknown blonde woman smashing some poor fighter's skull in half followed by recaps of Ryuko's past Mixed Martial Arts fights. Her little sister looked absolutely terrifying.
"I'll think about it, Mankanshoku. Thank you for taking your time with me."
"Of course, Lady Satsuki! You helped us saved the world, after all. And remember to always take good care of your pajamas, they are the ones that keep you warm at night!"
Before Satsuki could even process the thought Mako gave a farewell salute and sped off to her assigned tables, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Satsuki looked at the tv again and then at her empty glass. She gave a heavy sigh and cursed under her breath. She would definitely need more drinks tonight.
This is my first Kill la Kill fanfic and I am very much excited with contributing to the small ryuko la satsuki world. Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.