Hooky.
Chapter One.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters.
"And now we come to Sector 22 where the aqueduct extension was just started." A short, fat balding man who was in charge of the Kinmokusei Water Reclamation Project droned on as his assistant brought up the next holographic image over the conference table in the main meeting room of the Royal Palace.
Princess Kakyuu squirmed uncomfortably at the head of the table. She tried to do some stretching exercises to get the blood flowing again in her lower extremities with little effect. She wondered why she put this appallingly dull man in charge of such an important project until she remembered that he was the best engineer on the planet.
It was becoming more and more painfully obvious with each passing hour, that public speaking was not his forte.
She began rotating her neck slowly, wincing slightly at the cracking noises her vertebrae made. She chanced a look over at the tall, lean figure of Taiki Kou who sat beside her. Her protector appeared to be sitting there listening to the engineer, at least to a casual observer, but Kakyuu could tell that Star Maker was sound asleep, if not comatose. She regretted sending her other two protectors on a survey mission to the other side of the planet. Kakyuu had to do something, if not for her sake, then for the sake of one of her beloved protectors.
"Excuse me please, but could we table this discussion for another time?" Kakyuu said in her quiet, but firm manner as she stood up slowly, gripping the end of the table for support. Beside her Taiki started to come to.
"But your majesty, we have at least 9 other sectors to cover. Not to mention…" The engineers' voice trailed off as he saw the vein on the Princess' forehead begin to throb violently and her normally gentle eyes narrow dangerously. He nodded vigorously and said; "Of-of course your majesty! We can discuss this again in a few days. Or weeks if you wish." He added hastily as her frown deepened.
"Very good then, please leave us. Except for you Star Healer, I have a matter that I wish to discuss with you in private." Kakyuu was smiling again, but her tone left no room for argument. The engineer and the other planners left the conference room in silence, leaving Kakyuu and Star Healer alone. Kakyuu, now that her circulation was back, began to head for the exit.
"Walk with me Taiki, please." Kakyuu said.
"Of course, my Princess." Taiki replied as she fell in step beside her Princess. She was grateful to Kakyuu for ending the meeting when she did, before she totally slipped into a coma. She would have rather listened to Seiya pine over 'Odango' than listen to more reports on water reclamation. The two quit the conference room and began heading for the Royal Gardens.
It had been a few years since the final defeat of Chaos on Earth and the rebuilding of their home was proceeding along at a good pace. Once they had arrived back on Kinmoku, they had discovered to their surprise and delight that Galaxia, in atonement, had restored their planet's atmosphere and terraformed the landscape so that it was capable of supporting life again. A lot of the people had been restored as well, and were happy to see their beloved Princess alive and well and they all began the slow process of making the planet their home again. The process was long and hard but a lot of areas had been cultivated for farming, and thousands of new homes had been built already. In gratitude for their Princes' safe return, the Royal Palace was one of the first buildings to be restored.
Taiki looked at her Princess from the corner of her eye as they walked and noticed her unhappy expression. "What's wrong Princess?" She asked gently.
Kakyuu sighed. "I'm bored Taiki." Taiki blinked in surprise. Kakyuu continued; "I know it's silly, but I'm just bored and tired of the same routine. Don't get me wrong I love Kinmoku and all of the people, but I need a rest. I just need to get away from all of my duties for awhile."
"A holiday then?" Taiki suggested, smiling warmly.
"Exactly! I just need to go somewhere to get away from everything for a few cycles." Kakyuu replied excitedly.
"Well, there's always the waterfall in the Lake Kinmoku area…" Taiki began but the Princess cut her off by placing a finger on her lips.
"No, no. I had a different place in mind." Kakyuu said. She took a deep breath and said. "I want to go back to Earth."
"Earth?" Taiki shouted in astonishment. Kakyuu flinched and clamped her hand over her protector's mouth and shushed her, as she smiled nervously at a few shocked people who were passing by. Then the Princess dragged her to the most secluded part of the garden and removed her hand.
"Earth?" Taiki quietly repeated with more than a bit of anger in her voice. She made no secret of her dislike for what she called 'that miserable little backwater planet.' True she had made a few friends, well acquaintances anyway, during her time there, but on the whole she hated the place.
"Yes Taiki, Earth." Kakyuu said excitedly. "I've been meaning to go back there for awhile and visit with the Princess and her friends and if that last meeting wasn't a clue that this was a perfect time to go then I don't know what is!"
Taiki moaned softly. She knew damn well that it was useless to try and argue with Kakyuu when she had her mind set on something. She sighed and caved in. "Fine, I'll go get Seiya and Yaten and tell them to get ready to go…" Again Taiki was silenced by her Princess putting her hand over her mouth. Kakyuu shook her head vigorously.
"No, no you misunderstand me Star Maker. I wish to journey there alone." Taiki's eyes widened in alarm and she began to protest, but Kakyuu didn't remove her hand. "I know that the three of you want to make sure that I'm safe at all times, but I really need to do this. Besides, once I get to Earth I'll be protected by the Princess and her friends so I'll be perfectly safe. Don't worry." Kakyuu noticed that Taiki was going to worry, and worry loudly at that. She sighed and began to plead a bit.
"Please Taiki? I really need to do this. I shall go mad if I have to sit through another one of those infernal meetings." Kakyuu pleaded. Taiki felt himself giving in even more and Kakyuu pressed her advantage by turning her 'puppy dog' look up several notches.
"It will only be for one Earth week, perhaps two at the most. I promise that I won't get into a fight or anything, and I'll stay out of trouble. I'll even bring back a few gifts for you, Seiya, and Yaten, all right?" Taiki's shoulders sagged and he nodded in defeat. Princess Kakyuu smiled and took her hand from Taiki's mouth. "I knew you'd see things my way." She grinned and placed a kiss on Taiki's rapidly reddening cheek.
"I could never say no to you my Princess." Taiki replied with a smile. They both laughed a bit. She gazed over the Princess with a critical eye. "Well if you're determined to go, the least I can do is help you prepare for your trip." Kakyuu looked pleased at the prospect and they headed for her quarters.
A few hours later…
"All right that should do it then." Taiki stood back to admire her handiwork. The first thing that she insisted on was that Kakyuu had to dress like an Earth woman as her normal ceremonial robes would stand out a bit. Unfortunately all of their Earth clothes were male clothing since they went to Earth disguised as men. "I don't know how Seiya talked us into that." Admitted Taiki when they discussed the matter earlier. Kakyuu had planned ahead as she always did and she had a seamstress make up a few outfits for her based on a few Earth designs from some magazines that the Starlight's had brought back with them, just in case they decided to go back one day. She now stood before Taiki and a full length mirror dressed in an outfit they had pieced together.
Kakyuu wore a white blouse with a beige jacket over it. She also wore a pair of brown khaki slacks and matching hiking boots. Her long red tresses were tied in a long ponytail that trailed down her back. She examined herself critically in the mirror for a few minutes before smiling in satisfaction. "Yes, I like this look as well. Do you think I will pass as an Earth woman?"
Taiki smiled a bit. "I believe you'll do fine. Now let's make sure you have everything straight. You know where our home on Earth is, right?"
"Yes." Kakyuu confirmed.
"Once you teleport there you should find everything you need there, including maps, guide books, and whatnot. Our agent on Earth has been maintaining the place for us in case we ever decide to return, so everything should be working. Now do you have everything you need?" Taiki asked.
"Yes I do." Kakyuu smiled and held up a large backpack. "A few changes of clothes, toothbrush, toiletries, a few books on earth culture, a map of Tokyo, and sunglasses. I'm all set to go." She smiled warmly and then went up and hugged her protector warmly when she saw the sad expression on her face. "Don't worry so Taiki I will only be gone for a week. Besides you and Seiya and Yaten will be Vice-Regents in my absence. I'm sure the three of you can look after things while I'm gone."
"We will try my Princess. But it won't be the same without you to guide us." Taiki replied sadly. Kakyuu smiled and gently kissed her on the cheek.
"It is so sweet of you to worry Taiki, but I will be safe." Kakyuu assured her. Taiki smiled and returned her embrace. Finally they broke apart and Kakyuu readied herself to transport.
"Have fun Princess." Taiki called as Kakyuu faded away.
"I will Taiki. And try not to wreck the place while I'm gone?" Kakyuu replied with a smile and a wink. Taiki laughed as Kakyuu vanished in a flash of red light, only to reappear 30 seconds later, looking sheepish.
"Um, Taiki? Do you still have any Earth currency?" Kakyuu asked as she stared at her shoes, her face flushing.
Taiki sighed and brought a hand to her forehead. "Oi."
Several hours later a bright red shooting star appeared over the night sky in Tokyo, Japan. Dozens of people saw it and had mixed reactions. Some gazed in awe, others simply ignored it. Several people made wishes on it, while lovers like Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba shared a kiss under it.
In a large house on the outskirts of Tokyo, a woman named Setsuna Meioh abruptly stopped talking to her family and looked around with a quizzical expression.
"What's wrong Setsuna-mama?" Her daughter Hotaru Tomoe asked.
"Someone's coming." Setsuna replied. Then smiled in her infuriatingly mysterious way that she often did.
"Is it someone we know?" Michiru Kaioh asked from the lap of her lover Haruka Tenoh.
"You'll see." Setsuna replied before shushing them because the commercial was over and the episode of C.S.I. they were watching was back on. Her family shrugged and went back to watching the TV.
Princess Kakyuu materialized in the middle of the Starlight's loft in the middle of downtown Tokyo and looked around. Her first thought, once she turned a few lights on, was that the place could use a good cleaning.
As Taiki had told her, their agent had maintained the place for them, paying the bills, rent, etc. As she looked around, she saw the place still looked the same from when she was last there nearly five Earth years ago. All of their musical instruments still lay in their resting places, waiting for their owners to come play them again. She smiled at the memory of the songs they had composed for her, and saw a few of their early drafts on various tables. She ran her fingers over the piano keys and realized that she hadn't played since she was a child.
She walked around and looked in the bedrooms to determine where she would sleep. She decided on Taiki's since it was, not surprisingly, the cleanest of the bunch. Yaten's room wasn't too bad, but she wondered about the images on the walls. Seiya's room she didn't go into owing to the biohazard sign on the door. It may have been a joke on her fellow protector's part, but why take chances? Seiya was never a good housekeeper.
She noted that there was very little food in the place and decided that after she did a little cleaning tomorrow, she would contact Usagi and the others and do some shopping, something she looked forward to. She opened the balcony doors and stepped out into the night air, letting the sights, sounds, and smells of the unfamiliar city wash over her. Kakyuu looked around and saw the people going around their nightly business. She was awed that so many people lived in such a confined space. But the more she saw, the more she wished to experience. Finally, and more than a little reluctantly, she went back into the loft and closed the door behind her, lest she be overwhelmed.
As she prepared for bed after her long journey, Kakyuu thought about what she wanted to do. She wanted to sample everything this strange, congested, wonderful planet had to offer. But that would be for tomorrow, for now it was time to rest. Kakyuu climbed into bed, extinguished the lights, and drifted off to a blissful sleep.