Chapter 2: Dinner Escorts
After spending the majority of her afternoon outdoors Healer finally decided to retrieve back to her bedroom. Once in her room she de-henshied to her female form as Yaten. The reality was that she could just as easily become the male version of herself. It was a distinct advantage in their world to be of both genders, an ability that was granted to not just the senshi but the remainder of the population on Kinmoku.
Secretly it had helped shield their starlight identity and given them enough exposure as the three lights to send their message to their beloved princess. During her stay on earth, Yaten had pitied human beings. How could they possibly be comfortable enough to lead lives without the benefit of choosing a body that connected to their true souls?
In Yaten's case she'd personally never cared to sustain a male body, it was part of the reason why earth was such hell for her. The whole façade of being a male idol had been a daunting task from the very beginning. Anyone who truly knew Yaten could clearly see she was purely all feminine. Yaten despised carrying anything heavier than chopsticks; getting hit in the face was another huge offense for her.
As oppose to someone like Seiya whose carefree spirit held no boundaries. As a women Seiya was beautiful and elegant, and as a male dashing and handsome. Seiya's attractiveness came in every form, it was almost unfair to anyone who meets him or her, and for Yaten it was almost dangerous.
As dusk settled she spent the remainder of her time trying different outfits on. It was all practice for Yaten, who had perfected her pristine look at an early age. She wore an off one shoulder beige polyester long sleeve shirt, skinny jeans, and brown boots. She decided to let down her silk like hair for the evening. Before she could complement her face with some makeup, a trivial past time which she quite enjoyed, a knock on her bedroom door interrupted her.
Knock, knock, knock. "I'm coming." KNOCK KNOCK. "I said I'm COMING!" Yaten irritable open the door. "What took you so long?" A casual looking Seiya stood at her doorway with a gleaming smile on her face, for a flicker of a second it dazed Yaten.
"Uh! Did you get lost or something, can I help you find your way back?"
Seiya chuckled "No I came to see you, thought we could walk to dinner together." Yaten raised her eyebrow almost in disbelief "Thanks but I'm a big girl I don't need an escort anywhere." Seiya's face faltered "I'm being nice to you, but I can see you're still ticked off about earlier." Turning sideways she muttered to herself "Babybitches can be so stubborn."
She should have been insulted but all she could do was smirk and laugh. She then gave in "Fine, we'll go but don't call me that anymore! I'm not done getting ready so you're going to have wait here" - "Wait here?! You take forever, just let me sit inside!" Seiya argued. Yaten looked towards the inside of the room and saw massive amounts of clothes spread throughout her bedding, not to mention her floor. "It's messy."
"So?" A mischievous light dance in Seiya's eyes and Yaten was almost too hesitant to let her in.
Once inside Seiya muse all her surroundings "Seriously? I hope you tip your maid." Yaten innocently shrugged "I have a lot of things."
She walked to her vanity and started applying a light shade of pink lipstick. Seiya took a seat on one of the upholstered armchairs by the balcony glass doors, she quietly observed her silver hair companion paint her face. Doing so, an odd sense of déjà vu took over.
She had done this in the past; she had a clear memory of an eight year old Yaten playing with makeup. Seiya had made fun of her for putting so much blush on her cheeks that it made her look like a clown. The thought put a faint smile on her face. Some things never change, in her opinion Yaten didn't need the makeup, she had a pretty face without it.
"What's so funny?" Green eyes meet deep blue ones through the mirror, catching her off guard "Nothing." Yaten dabbed some mascara on her eyelashes, and then sprayed herself with one of her favorite scents. Its familiarity sparked Seiya's curiosity "What is that?" As if it was the most obvious thing Yaten replied with a hint of irritation "Coco Chanel."
"That's not from here!" Unaware of the questioning look her friend was shooting her, Yaten simply gave herself a once over look in the mirror till she felt content with her appearance. Then finally she spoke "No it's not, I took from earth."
Turning around and looking at her friend's wistful face she suddenly regretted saying anything. Earth was a subject she generally avoided, it was just always uncomfortable for any of them to bring back the past. It meant dealing with emotions that overwhelm them entirely. "Sorry."
Seiya's expression became hard "Don't be, I don't care. It's not a big deal!"
For a minute the room filled with tension and Yaten was too intimidated to say anything. Gazing at her friend Seiya quickly realized she'd been too sharp with her tone, she then stood and closed the gap between them. Touching softly a speck off of Yaten cheek she whispered "There, you look good. Let's go."
A serene silence fell upon them as they made their way outside through the palace's corridors. The only sound one could hear was the clicking of their shoes on the marble floor.
Seiya wasn't sure if Yaten could make out the rapid beating of her heart as well. She couldn't explain why the mention of earth agitated her so much. Or why an unsettling feeling consumed her whenever she was this close to Yaten.
It had started out subtly, a desire to be in her company, teasing her, provoking her. Maybe it was just a game, but these were things she would never admit out loud. She'd like to think she had a good poker face, but Seiya found herself flustered at times. This was such an odd sense for her because she was always so sure of herself. Not to mention she known Yaten for practically all her life, so any uneasiness was almost absurd. To her Yaten had always been a friend, and to now have these emotions emerge seemed so strange.
She shot a glance at her shorter ally, a secret smile playing on her lips. She slightly nudged her. "Hey I didn't mean to snap at you back there." Yaten's eyes narrowed "I wouldn't be worried about that if I was you." She paused before continuing "I'd be more concern about what Kakyuu-hime will say to you tonight. Maybe she'll demote you." Yaten wickedly grinned at the thought.
"So you could be charge?! Yelling out orders and having me do everything you want. You would love that wouldn't you?" A dark smirk graced her features and she suddenly stopped to stare at her partner.
"Trust me you'd love it too." Yaten answered barely above a whisper.
One look at the sinful sparkle in her ally's eyes and Seiya couldn't help but secretly agree.
Outside a starry night had blanketed the Tankie palace. Kinmoku's stars and dimly lit candles illuminated a splendid terrace where princess Kakyuu and her guardians shared occasional nightly dinners.
Taiki was the first to arrive, as usual. A table was set with a crystal vase full of lilac roses as a centerpiece and fine china for their catered meal. Taiki patiently waited, being quite fond of what little calming quiet he could savor for the night. He knew once his companions arrived jeering and chattiness would shortly follow, although he quite enjoyed that as well. Seiya and Yaten's quarrels were if anything, at the most entertaining.
As of lately though Taiki notice a change in his silver hair friend, he was no empath but he certainly had good perception. He'd known his friends long enough to catch subtle differences in their behaviors. Yaten at times seemed disconnected, as if she was caught up in her mind, dazed fleetingly. He wasn't quite sure what was causing it but he knew something was up, yet for the time being he decided against saying anything.
Violet eyes caught two silhouettes emerging from inside the palace onto the terrace stairs. On approach both women greeted their comrade with warm smiles.
"Wow, its nice and warm out here." Yaten mentioned as she shifted her chair in comfortably. "I'm starving what are we having?" Seiya reached for one of the hot bread rolls on the table.
"I don't know. I thought we'd wait for Kakyuu to arrive. But go ahead have the whole damn basket if you'd like, it's not like the rest of us want any." Taiki said sarcastically. "Don't mind if I do. Can you grab me some butter?" Seiya pointedly asked him. Taiki threw several wrapped cubed butters across the table.
"Really Taiki? Why put them on the table if no one's supposed to eat them?!" She questioned with an annoyed glance his way. "That's not the point." Taiki countered.
"What is the point?" Kakyuu inquisitively asked, making her appearance known, all the while taking a seat at the head of the table. Taiki replied "The point is Seiya obviously needs an etiquette class to teach her some table manners along with punctuality."
"I knew it! I knew you'd have something to say about this morning. I'm sorry I overslept but I don't think it's at all necessary for everyone to constantly give me shit for something that more than likely won't happen again." An exasperated Seiya cried out in defense. Yaten turned to look at her princess expectantly, knowing she would either excuse Seiya's behavior, because let's face it she was her favorite. Or she'd reprimand her actions to show no favorability, which often times she choose to be fair.
"I don't care if you eat without me, I do however care for the lack of commitment when it comes to your senshi duties. This isn't the first time you've miss an assembly, fail to attend another and I'll have you on night guard duty for a whole week. Is that understood?"
"Fine." Seiya shrugged her shoulder indifferently. She didn't want to be disrespectful, but she didn't think the issue would be taken that seriously.
Kakyuu on the other hand hated having to be so stern with her guardians, particularly Seiya because she always had a soft spot for her, but as a princess she didn't want to be ineffective. It was a difficult position to be their leader as well as an intimate friend. That's why she'd hope the next piece of news would lighten the atmosphere and bring them a little bit of delight.
"I especially want this upcoming week to be perfect, I want everything to go smoothly. We'll be hosting some very special guest in the palace. Kinmoku has prospered greatly in such a short period of time. With our three year anniversary celebration I saw it only appropriate to extend an invitation to the sailor senshi's of earth to show our gratitude. They've accepted and they'll be staying with us for a short period." Kakyuu announcement left her short of breath and it was only now that she realized the weight barring stress it had caused her keeping it a secret.
Whatever excitement princess Kakyuu had anticipated was drowned out by a deafening silence. All she could see was a mixture of shock, confusion, and bewilderment on the faces of her guardians.
Yaten specifically wasn't just stunned, she was utterly dumbfounded. How could this possible be happening? She felt absolutely betrayed. Her princess had clearly stated this was nothing to worry about. She had been WRONG, everything would not be fine!