What Abides Within
By: Ryu Niiyama
"Class dismissed."
It would seem that no matter the era and no matter the exciting advancements of technology, young students were always eager to rush from the classroom to the sweet, albeit brief respite of freedom. The professor tried not to take offense, knowing it wasn't necessarily that her lecture or the subject matter was boring, but not all hungered for knowledge as she did.
She moved to dust off the many chalk boards, an ancient medium but one she adored using. Chalk made her feel one with the theorems and equations she wrote. If a musician needed an instrument to produce beautiful music, an academic needed chalk and chalk boards or the occasional marker to properly convey the exquisite postulates of one's subject.
Of course she had many. The one benefit to being an ageless genius was that she had both the time and the capacity to gorge herself on all the subjects that interested her. Although she had to quietly admit that the lack of a foil, that shared her joy of learning and her passion for discovery but offered her a challenge, made her pursuit somewhat hollow. She didn't allow herself to admit such a thing often, knowing her mind could easily conjure a potential candidate. Wanting to banish the melancholy of her thoughts, the professor scrubbed at her task more vigorously.
The boards clean and ready to hold the insights of another lecture, the professor moved to her desk and gathered her things. Smiling softly to herself, she turned off the lights and headed for her vehicle, ready for a quiet dinner and perhaps a good book to read.
"Mizuno-hakusei!"
Out of reflex, Ami Mizuno turned around at the sound of her name and she nearly dropped her briefcase in shock. A beautiful woman, with warm, intelligent amethyst eyes and long unbound chestnut hair strode towards her with easy confidence. Ami racked her eidetic memory, attempting to come up with a different name association than the one that kept pushing itself to the forefront of her mind. After all she hadn't seen that woman in nearly four decades, and there was no reason for her to be here.
The woman paused a polite distance away, a small grin on her face and Ami realized that her guest had noticed her eyes tracking slightly to the left and up as she searched her memory and the professor blushed. The grin grew into a charming smile and the woman held her hand out for a hand shake. Acting again on auto pilot that years of etiquette lectures as well as her own natural sensibilities had instilled into her, the blue haired professor reached out and grasped the offered hand. Her blush crept to her ears as the inviting warmth of a hand with long, delicate fingers and the callouses of a musician and a warrior grasped hers with polite firmness, before turning their grip so that the woman could place a delicate kiss upon the back of her hand.
Confusion and flickering arousal skittered up her spine as the woman straightened and those warm eyes stared straight into her own, their hands still grasped. Ami could no longer fight what her memory was insisting her and for a moment she juxtaposed the image of this woman verses the battered, heroic warrior poet she remembered from decades prior. This woman had grown into her features, the face that she had swooned over as a teenager had become almost painfully beautiful but she most noted the contentment and warmth in amethyst eyes, a rarity on the teen-aged warrior that had thoughts only for her mission and pure, emotionless logic.
Yet there was no doubt, no way to tell herself that this melodious voice and bewitching visage belonged to anyone else. Letting out a breath she didn't realize that she'd been holding, Lady Ami Mizuno, PhD, MD and Eternal Sailor Mercury spoke a name she'd dare not speak aloud in decades.
"Taiki Kou-san…"
Taiki Kou smiled brilliantly, and Ami absently noted how much more vibrant her smile was in her natural form rather than the disguise she and her fellow Starlights wore on Earth so long ago. "I was worried that you wouldn't remember me Mizuno-hakusei…" Ami almost rolled her eyes at the absurdity of the thought; how could she not remember the woman whose voice moved her to tears? How could she forget the cool, analytical mind that gave her the first true challenge she'd ever met…even as their ideologies of the heart clashed and drove them apart? How could she forget the body in statuesque, warrior perfection, sheathed in leather and thrumming with the power of the stars?
Yet she said none of these things as she reminded herself that she was hardly a teenager anymore and the still blushing professor squared her shoulders and nodded before offering a charming smile of her own. "You aren't an easy one to forget Taiki-san." Internally, the graceful senshi of water pumped a fist as she watched the unflappable Taiki Kou blush slightly in response and the starlight pulled her hand back to flick her impossibly silken, long hazelnut hair behind a broad shoulder.
Ami's mind crowded with questions but in the end she could only say the one thing that mattered. "Welcome back to Earth Taiki-san." Ami tried to keep her smile gracious, but she could only wonder at what a Starlight's arrival on Earth could portend. The concern must have shown upon her face for Taiki threw her head back and laughed, the sound inviting and infectious and Ami found herself smiling in response. Taiki reached out and grasped her hand, shaking her head softly, her shoulders still shaking in mirth.
"As sharp as ever Mizuno-hakusei. You needn't worry, I came here alone and Kinmoku is fine. Although, I appreciate your concern."
Azure eyebrows scrunched in consternation and then shot up in shock as Taiki moved her hand upwards to hold her cheek gently. Ami felt her blush flare back up and she mentally checked if she took her hives medication as she was certain she would break out from such unexpected touches. Her mind drifted to the warmth and the startling sense of familiarity at the touch and she had to consciously issue a command to her knees to keep her upright.
"I came here to see you, Mizuno-hakusei…but, I see I've inconvenienced you. Perhaps I could call upon you again?" Ami's mind demanded that she agree, so that she could have the time to regroup and to present herself as a woman of her station, as a member of the Lunar Court and a world renounced scientist, doctor and professor with poise and calm. Yet her heart, that treacherous thing that she tried very often to ignore when it came to matters like this, questioned the good fortune of seeing this woman again after so long… what if she changed her mind and left without saying goodbye? What if this was her only chance to speak with her?
"Of course not Taiki-san, we are friends are we not? I know a wonderful cafe where we can talk." That wasn't what Ami intended to say at all, but upon seeing the delighted smile that blossomed upon the Kinmokuseijin's face, she couldn't argue with the results. "Of course, I'll follow you Mizuno-hakusei." Ami nodded and the two parted, moving to their respective vehicles. Keying the ignition sequence, Ami smoothly entered her car, placing her bags on the passenger side before she drove the blue sedan to the exit of the parking lot and pulled to the side so she could wait for the starlight to catch up. The noblewoman eased her car forward when she saw the maroon sports car pull up behind her and match her pacing evenly.
Ami drove with casual authority but her mind was racing. Taiki had claimed that she'd come to Earth to see her. Why? Did she need to collaborate on an academic paper? Was Kinmokusei's scientific development analogous to Earth's? She panicked as her mind began to traverse less scholarly inclined thoughts. She looked fantastic; the starlights always had amazing bodies to fill out those unique fuku, but Ami had nearly bitten her tongue gazing upon such alluring and charismatic beauty. The doctor shook her head as she pulled into the parking area of the café and she quickly parked and exited her car, refusing to primp her hair, as she decided this was merely a social visit between friends.
If she didn't think about it very much she could believe such a premise.
Taiki parked her car next to Ami's and the statuesque former idol smoothly exited her own vehicle before looping her arm with Ami's and gesturing towards the restaurant. "Shall we, Mizuno-hakusei?" Ami let out a burst of laughter and as her eyes drifted closed she didn't notice the warmth that suffused Taiki's gaze at the sound. When her azure eyes fluttered open, the professor nodded, keeping her tone in mirror of her friend's.
"Let's."
The bustling café's chatter froze to a halt and Ami blushed as she was reminded of the natural beauty of the former idol that drew stares and admiration. Taiki ignored the attention easily, her focus only on her companion and Ami's heart trebled unwittingly as the taller woman held out her chair for her. Despite her allergic reaction to romance (or rather the apprehension of it), Ami had much to the dismay of her most of her fellow senshi and the amusement to others (Haruka-san namely) had blossomed into a bit of a seductress.
Her relationships never lasted past six months due to her focus on her work, but she was well beyond the point of being flustered by a lover. Yet the sight of this alluring woman across from her nearly stripped her of all of her vaunted clarity and poise. It was as vexing as it was intriguing, yet Taiki didn't seem to be acting oddly, so the slightly flustered senshi of water forced herself to take a deep breath and focus on the conversation shared.
Ami couldn't remember the last time she'd had such stimulating conversation. Ami had only one true instance to memory that she'd been allowed to converse with Taiki on a purely intellectual level, and despite the walls the starlight had put up with her focus upon her mission, she remembered the way ideas flowed easily between them. Yet this was something different entirely; the starlight was charming and engaging, her agile mind easily keeping up with even the bleeding edge research that Ami described.
There was a camaraderie to their interactions that Ami had sorely longed for all those decades ago but had never been to achieve; yet they conversed and laughed as if they had kept in touch all the while. The easy warmth transitioned into something nameless yet invigorating as the professor watched her dinner companion eat a decadent chocolate mousse in a way that she wasn't entirely certain was innocent.
In the blink of an eye, hours passed until the staff looked ready to close down for the evening, and the pair rose from their table, leaving a generous tip as they left the restaurant, still talking animatedly. When they reached Ami's car she found herself lingering uncertainly, a part of her wanting to suggest that Taiki stay with her to catch up in her quarters, while the rest of her mentally flailed in flustered abandon. Ever polite, Taiki smiled and took one of Ami's hands into her own, leaning down to place a gentle kiss upon the back of her knuckles even as she deftly produced a business card with her free hand. Rising to her full height, the starlight slipped the card into Ami's hand and stepped back slowly.
"I hope, that I may call upon you again Mizuno-hakusei."
Ami's inner confidence grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and gave her a good shake, and outwardly the water soldier smiled winningly with just a hint of sensuality as she nodded in response. If she had been less focused on her own trip hammering heartbeat, she would have noticed the blush that delicately flushed Taiki's cheeks and neck at such a charming smile.
"Of course Taiki-san, it has been a delight to see you again. Until next time."
Taiki nodded and stepped back enough for Ami to pull her vehicle out of the parking space and exit the lot. For a few moments Taiki watched the vehicle drive off into the night traffic, her eyes warm and intent. Thinking of that final smile that Ami parted ways with the tallest starlight walked towards her own vehicle with a light heart. On a whim she began to sing, her voice clear and smooth.
"Search for your love…"
7/2018 R. Niiyama
Trying my hand at pure fluff. No monsters, no end of the world...Just one woman courting another.