"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" Lita cried out, destroying the last of the monsters. As she and the other scouts watched the last monster dematerialize, they all sighed with relief. Lita brushed dust off of her green dress, the dress she wore as Princess Jupiter.
"Great, now we're never going to get to the party on time," Raye said, smoothing out her own red dress.
The Scouts had been walking home to get ready for a Christmas party, one of the last things they were going to do before they went home the next day for two weeks during Christmas break. In the middle of heading home, they got attacked by a small army of monsters, which had taken forever for defeat. They had used so much power that they reverted to their princess state, which could handle a greater amount of power.
Once they had defeated the monsters, they had no time to go home and get ready for a Christmas party. The party was a party put on by the school for parents and students, so the entire affair was going to be elegant with a live orchestra and everything. The other thing about the party was that it was a costume ball and the Scouts had perfect outfits planned out, but would never get the chance to wear them.
"Oh well, it looks like we're going to have to go home," Ami said, disappointed. She really wanted to go; she really wanted to spend the evening with Rowen.
"No we don't," Lita said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Raye asked.
"Well, we can just go like we are now, in these dresses," Lita said.
"But no one will recognize us!" Serena said, pointing to the Jupiter symbol that glowed on Lita's forehead, "With that symbol protecting your identity, no will be able to recognize you. Kento won't be able to recognize you," Serena finished.
"Which means I'll be able to flirt with him better," Lita said, her voice filled with laughter. All the others liked the idea immediately...except for Ami.
"I don't like that idea," Ami said, "It wouldn't be fair to the guys."
"Aww, come on Ami, how much fun could you have with Rowen?" Lita inquired. Ami only blushed.
"Actually, I like that idea," Mina said.
"I do too," Raye agreed.
"So, it doesn't matter to you that the guys won't recognize you?" Serena asked, liking the idea more and more every second, her crescent moon mark glowing with her happiness and mirth.
"Nope," said Lita, Mina, and Raye.
"Alright," Serena said, "Let's go like this."
"Come on you guys, we can't go like this!" Ami exclaimed.
"Why not?" all the others said.
"Because...because...because it's mean! The guys won't be able to tell that it's us," Ami said, coming up with a lame excuse. She just didn't want Rowen to see her in the blue dress that she was wearing.
"Aww, come on Ames, lighten up," Serena said, her eyes begging and pleading Ami to go along with it.
"Alright, with eyes like those, who could resist?" Ami asked, her resolve weakening.
"Great, now, we just transport ourselves there. We're already late as it is. Hey, at least we get to make a dramatic entrance," Serena said, grabbing hands with Raye and Ami. Lita and Mina grabbed hands with the others to make a circle.
Closing their eyes, they whispered, "Princess Planet Teleport!" With a flash of bright light, the Scouts had disappeared from the empty street that they had been standing in.
Moments later, they stood in front of the building that the party was held at. The place where the party was being held was a large mansion. The girls could see people through all windows of the first floor, so they figured that the entire first floor had been opened up to produce one large room that could host a huge party.
From where they were outside, the girls could hear the soft sounds of the orchestra and it reminded them of the balls that took place during the Silver Millennium.
"Shall we go in?" Serena asked the others. The girls only nodded as they began to walk up the steps to the front door. Serena smiled at the others, who smiled back, before opening the door and stepping in. The reaction they got they never expected.
***
"I wonder where they are," Kento whined as he looked around for the girls.
"I'm sure they're coming. They said they would," Cye reassured.
"But, they're late!" Kento exclaimed.
"Maybe it's a girl thing," Sage said.
"Ah, I don't think so. Everyone else is here but them," Rowen said as he looked around the large room.
Rowen smoothed out his costume, an ancient-looking Samurai uniform done in shades of dark blue, before turning to Ryo, whose costume looked exactly like his, except it was red where Rowen's was blue.
"Hey Ryo, wasn't Mia supposed to come?"
"Yeah, but she had work to do. But, she's sorry that she couldn't come," Ryo said. Ryo looked around at his friends, shaking his head at their costumes. Mia had found them and thought them to be perfect. The 5 costumes were identical in style, but not in color. Ironically, the colors worn by each Ronin Warrior matched the color of their armor. Sage's was green, Kento's was orange, and so on.
Ryo was about to open his mouth to comment on their costumes when a hush fell over the room, even the orchestra fell silent. The Ronin Warriors looked towards the door, which was directly in front of them, and their jaws dropped, Ryo's from recognition and the other guys from pure awe. On top of the stairs that led to the front door, so one could look over the entire room from the front door, were 5 young women who were breathtakingly beautiful.
The one who stood in the middle wore a strapless white dress, on which a pair of large cloth wings was attached. On the front of the dress was a simple, white bow and on her forehead was a gold crescent moon symbol. Her long, golden hair was pulled into two, what could only be described as, meatballs with a long stream of hair flowing from each one. Ryo's eyes widened in recognition. That's the girl from that flashback. Different dress, but it's the same girl! Ryo thought.
On her left was a girl in a blue dress. The dress was obviously fitted for her body. The dress shaped itself to the curves of her body, clearly outlining her slim figure. The dress itself was a halter dress, held up by a thin strap that went around her neck. It wasn't low cut, but the dress was backless, showing off the smooth skin of her back. The dress went to the floor with a slit on the left side that stopped mid-thigh. Her short blue hair had been left alone and on her forehead glowed a blue Mercury symbol.
Standing to the left of the girl in blue was a girl in orange. Her dress was also floor length, but was a different style then the girl in blue. Her orange dress was an off-the-shoulder dress with long sleeves. The front of her dress dipped down, making the front low cut; not extremely low cut, but low enough and the material of the dress clung to her body. On the right side of her dress was a slit that was just as high as the girl with the blue dress, ending about mid-thigh. Her blonde hair was done in a large braid and hung over her right shoulder and on her forehead was an orange Venus symbol.
On the other side of the girl in the white dress was a tall girl in a green dress. Her dress, also floor length like all the others, was dark green in color and was held up by thin spaghetti straps that crossed over on her back, creating an "x". Her back was bare, except for the straps, and the dress started again at the small of her back. She also had a slit on the right side of her dress, but it was smaller, only going up to her knee. Her dress was pretty low cut and also was fitted for her body shape. Her long dark auburn hair was down, cascading down her back, ending in the middle of her back, and on her forehead was a green Jupiter symbol. The last of the 5 girls was perhaps the most devastating beauty of the 5.
Standing on the right of the girl in green, her dress was red and strapless. It looked like it was a little snug but that detail was easily over looked as one took in the whole effect of the dress. The dress went down to the floor and was very slinky. The upper half of the dress was tight-looking, almost like a corset, but there wasn't one. The dress magically stayed up on it's own, but it also managed to hug to her body and at the same time, push everything up. Her dress, at the waist, became a little looser, but only because she had a slit on either side of the dress that went a little past mid-thigh. Her raven hair was pulled up into a bun on the top of her head with long locks of hair escaping the bun, like it was made hastily, and on her forehead was a symbol, a red Mars symbol.
No one in the room had any doubt that these girls had to at least be princesses, if not angels because no one that beautiful really existed, or so they thought. The one in the middle, in the white dress, eyed the room carefully before smiling.
"Well," she said, her grin resonating in her voice, "does anyone mind if we crash this party?" She looked around the room and when no one told her to get out, her smile became wider and she said, "Good."
Serena, who loved the looks she was receiving from everyone in the room, spotted Ryo right in front of her, wearing the perfect costume, as were the other guys. Ryo's costume was almost identical to the outfit he wore in the Silver Millennium, which went for the other guys too. Serena suppressed a giggle and walked over to where Ryo was, the other girls following behind for they had spotted the guys as well.
The crowd parted for Serena and the girls as they made their way to the guys. Serena and the girls stood in front of the Ronin Warriors, much to the envy of every other guy in the room. Serena, who was looking Ryo in the eyes, curtsied deeply, as she had been taught in her younger days.
The other girls followed her example, each of them curtsying to the guy that they liked. The Ronin Warriors thought that they were going to die of cardiac arrest. Here were these beautiful girls, standing in front of them, curtsying deeply for them, as if they themselves were royalty.
Serena was the first to straighten her body. By now, the orchestra had started playing again and people were dancing, the 5 beautiful girls becoming forgotten as everyone turned back to their respective dates.
"Hello, Ryo of Wildfire," Serena said, reveling in the shocked look that formed on the faces of Rowen, Kento, Sage, and Cye, but not Ryo. Ryo only looked curious.
"Who are you?" Ryo asked.
"My name is Princess Serenity, cousin. But, Ronin Warriors, I do not believe you've met my royal court." In a random observation, Serena noticed that they were now mostly alone in the front hall; the majority of the party had moved into the ballroom/dining room. Moving her arm in a sweeping motion, she indicated the two girls on her left.
"On my left are Princess Jupiter and Princess Venus." The two curtsied, respectfully, each of them looking into the eyes of the Ronin Warrior standing in front of them.
"And, on my right are Princess Mercury and Princess Mars." They also curtsied, respectfully.
Rowen was a little confused on the names and couldn't help but remark on that.
"Why are you, except for Princess Serenity, named after planets?"
"Because that's the planet that we come from," Ami said, looking straight into Rowen's eyes, surprisingly, without nervousness. Maybe being in my princess form gives me more confidence, Ami thought, smiling at the object of her affection.
"So, are you aliens?" Kento asked. Serena only laughed
"No," she answered, "We were born on this planet 16 years ago to human parents, so, technically, we're not aliens."
Serena looked back at Ryo and said, "Dear cousin, I'd be honored if I could have the next dance with you."
Ryo only smiled back before saying, "My Lady Cousin, I would love to." Serena giggled lightly while taking the hand that Ryo had extended towards her. Serena and Ryo walked off towards the dance floor, leaving the other 8 people standing there. The girls gave each other mischievous looks before, without warning, grabbing the hand of the guy that they liked and pulling them towards the dance floor.
Sage followed the beauty in front of him in a daze. He could hardly believe that someone as beautiful as the princess standing in front of him would want to spend time with him. As Sage kept his eyes on the girl in front of him, he felt a pang of guilt. In someway, he felt like he was cheating on Raye, but he wasn't even going out with her. So, why do I feel guilty?
By this time, Raye had turned around and was going to start dancing with Sage when she saw the almost miserable look on his face. Confused and really wanting to know what was wrong, she grabbed his hand again and pulled him out of the ballroom. Sage couldn't do anything but follow. She led him to a couple of chairs that were out in the front hall.
She sat down on one and pulled him down to sit on the other.
"What's wrong, Sage?"
"Nothing's wrong." Raye gave him a disbelieving look that cracked Sage's emotional walls.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. I feel like I'm cheating on someone."
"You have a girlfriend?" Raye asked. She never heard about another girl in Sage's life.
Suddenly, she was seeing red, literally, but calmed herself down. He's not your property, you idiot, Raye chided herself.
"Who is your girlfriend?" Sage only shook his head.
"Oh, I don't have a girlfriend."
"Then, who is this girl that you obviously like so much?"
"Well, she's someone I go to school with."
"What's her name?" Raye wanted to find out the name of this girl and kill her.
"Oh, you don't know her."
"I still want to know," Raye said in a commanding tone of voice.
"Well, if you must know," Sage said pointedly, "Her name is Raye."
Outwardly, Raye showed no emotional change. But, inwardly, she was pleasantly surprised. ME?! It's me? He likes me? Raye thought as she urged him to continue, which Sage did without hesitation.
"I know she's not my girlfriend, or anything, but being attracted to you makes me somehow feel that I am cheating on her, that I'm cheating myself on my feelings, betraying them even." Raye smiled understandingly.
"Why don't you tell this Raye person how you feel?"
"I couldn't do that."
"Why not?"
"What if she laughs at me or rejects me? I don't think I could stand that disappointment."
"You won't know unless you try," Raye said. Sage just gave her a look.
"No matter what you say, I'm not going to say anything until I'm sure of her feelings for me."
With those words, Raye felt her heart sink. She so badly wanted to be with him, but she needed to sort out her feelings that were concerned with knowing that Sage was Ronin Warrior before she could be with him on her own terms. So, she couldn't change the way she felt about him outwardly until she was absolutely positive about her feelings for him.
"Well, I'm sure everything will work out for the best," Raye said encouragingly. Sage looked up into Raye's eyes.
"Are you sure?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'm positive," Raye said, her expression softening.
"Well, if you're sure..." Sage said, his statement dissolving into a chuckle. Raye, getting tired of Sage's depressed attitude about his feelings, decided to change the subject.
"Well..." Raye began, but Sage interrupted her.
"How did you know who I was?" Sage asked. Raye only smiled.
"I know everything about you. Well, almost everything." Sage sighed.
"You know so much about me while I know almost nothing about you," Sage said, raising a hand to touch the Mars symbol on Raye's forehead.
Raye shivered as Sage touched the symbol on her forehead. The symbol was a center of her power and Sage's touch of that symbol was very pleasurable.
"Are you ok?" Sage asked, noticing her shiver.
"Yeah, it's just that the symbol on my forehead is very, very sensitive. When you touch it, I shiver."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sage said.
Raye could tell that he really wasn't and said, "Liar." Sage just smiled.
***
Cye bit his lip nervously as he danced with Mina, although he didn't know that he was dancing with Mina. He glanced up at the symbol on her forehead and suddenly, a thought struck him.
"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking, but are you at all related to Sailor Venus? You know, of the Sailor Scouts?" Mina looked at him wide-eyed before giggling lightly.
"That, I cannot tell you."
"Why not?" Cye asked.
"Because, I can't. But, I still do battle. I can handle much more power than Sailor Venus can."
"That probably comes in handy in a battle."
"Yeah, but it's kinda awkward while fighting in this dress, though," Mina deadpanned. Cye looked down at her dress and said, "Yeah, I can see how it can get in the way of fighting." Cye looked back up into Mina's smiling face and blushed automatically.
"You're very cute when you blush, did you know that?" Mina said.
"Oh great," Cye said sarcastically. Mina could sense his disappointment in hearing that remark and honestly didn't understand what his problem was. She stood on her toes and whispered into his ear, "I think it's kinda sexy." Cye pulled back and looked at Mina, who was blushing slightly and looking down at the floor.
He gave her a small smile, which went unnoticed by Mina, who was still looking down at the floor. He stopped dancing and removed his hand from hers. Very gently, he put his hand under her chin and tipped up her face.
Feeling very impulsive and extremely brave, Cye gave Mina a kiss on the forehead. Mina froze as a wave of pleasure washed over her. What happened? Did that come from Cye kissing the symbol on my forehead? Mina thought, wide-eyed.
Her body then started to sway a little bit, and Cye put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"Are you feeling all right?" Cye asked. Mina nodded, but didn't give an explanation. Cye wasn't going to let it go without one and looked Mina straight in the eye.
"What happened?"
"You kissed me on the forehead."
"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry about that."
"No, it's alright, it's just that you kissed my forehead. I guess the symbol on my forehead is VERY sensitive. You know what I mean, it's like that spot right behind your earlobe where if someone kisses it, you shiver."
"No, actually, I wouldn't," Cye said sheepishly.
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't actually had a girlfriend before, so I wouldn't know what you were talking about."
"Then let me show you," Mina said.
She stood up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss right behind his left earlobe. Cye did indeed shiver as a tingle went down his spine. After a few moments, he felt normal again and looked down at Mina, who was smiling up at him.
"That's what it felt like when you kissed my forehead." Cye only laughed as they continued to dance.
***
Ami, who was busy dancing with Rowen, looked past Rowen's shoulder to see Mina kiss Cye on the neck. She laughed slightly, so quietly that Rowen didn't hear it. However, he did feel her laugh as her body shook slightly against his.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing, really. It's just that Venus just kissed your friend, Cye." Rowen turned the both of them to look at Cye and Mina, his eyes wide with surprise and shock.
"Where did she kiss him?" Rowen asked Ami, looking down at her again. Ami took her right hand off of his shoulder and tapped the spot behind his ear with her index finger.
"Right here." Ami laughed again as Rowen shivered slightly.
"Guess I'm sensitive there," Rowen said.
"I think everyone is sensitive there," Ami said in a lecturing tone of voice.
"Everybody?" Rowen asked with a particular interest.
"Yes, everyone," Ami repeated, exasperated. Rowen only smiled and moved in closer until his mouth was hovering next to her neck.
Ami could feel his breath on her neck.
"So," she heard him say, "If I were to kiss you here, you would be affected, right?" Ami gulped and nodded. Rowen smiled and kissed her neck, leaving his lips there, sucking on the skin lightly. Ami suddenly felt very lightheaded.
She grabbed on to Rowen's shoulders as he kissed her neck, trying to steady herself. She was extremely sensitive there, or so she now found out. It took all her willpower not to rip his lips away from her neck and kiss him herself. But, she knew that she couldn't. She could tell that Rowen was attracted to this alter ego and she didn't want him to fall in love with Princess Mercury before falling in love with Ami Mizuno, the 17-year old high school junior.
But, Ami couldn't stop the small moan that escaped her lips. Rowen smiled as he heard it. There was something that was highly familiar about the princess that he was dancing with. He couldn't put his finger on it. But, whatever that familiar thing was, it was getting in the way of his falling in love with her.
That's probably for the best, though. I am in love with Ami, although she doesn't know it yet, and I'm probably never going to see this girl after tonight. Rowen thought. He pulled away from her neck, finally letting his lips leave her neck and looked down at her.
"Looks like you're sensitive there, too," Rowen teased, a smirk forming on his face, laughing a bit. Ami only glared at him good-naturedly as they continued to dance.
***
Kento stared at Lita, not knowing that it was Lita, as they danced. Every now and then, she would look up at his eyes, but quickly blush and look away. Kento looked at Lita in awe. It wasn't everyday that a beautiful girl danced with him.
Unable to hold it in anymore, he opened his mouth and said, "Why are you dancing with me?" Lita looked at Kento with a wide-eyed and shocked expression on her face.
"Why are you asking me that question?" she asked.
"Well, it's just that you could dance with any other guy in this room but, you're standing here, dancing with me. I just want to know why."
"Well, I like you a lot. Does that answer your question?"
"Kind of. But you're so beautiful, I'm beginning to wonder if this is a dream."
"Oh, believe me, it's not a dream," Lita said, absolutely convinced that standing in Kento's arms wasn't a dream.
"How do you know?"
"Just believe me," Lita said, pleading with her eyes.
"Alright, I believe you," Kento said, dropping the subject. Lita only smiled at him until something he said finally registered in her head.
"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked. Kento only rolled his eyes.
"Yes, of course I think you're beautiful. You are beautiful. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Realizing what he just said, Kento blushed and looked away.
Lita smiled tenderly at him before raising a hand to touch his cheek, pushing his head so that she could look straight into his eyes.
"That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," she said sincerely. Before Kento could say anything, Lita leaned forward, feeling rather daring, and kissed him. Kento, of course, kissed her back.
Lita could feel her heart pounding in her chest. I never knew that it could feel like this. It's so warm and safe, yet...I don't know how to describe it. It's unlike any kiss I've ever experienced. Lita felt the tingles running up and down her spine as she and Kento kissed. It was like every nerve was alive and highly sensitized.
The kiss slowly ended and Lita pulled back to look at Kento, who was looking at her with desire and the beginnings of love in his eyes. Lita breathed in deeply and whispered,
"Wow." Kento nodded in agreement as the two of them continued to dance.
***
Serena smiled as she lay her body down on her bed. She was exhausted from hours of dancing at the Winter Ball and all she wanted was to go to sleep. But, as much as she wanted to go to sleep, she couldn't get the images of all the Sailor Scouts and Ronin Warriors dancing out of her head. They were all so adorable and so in love, even though the Ronin Warriors didn't quite know whom they were dancing with. Eh, it's the general idea that matters, Serena thought as she started to drift off to sleep.
But, before sleep could take over, she felt something slightly heavy land on her stomach. Opening her eyes to look at what it could be, she wasn't surprised to see Luna looking at her with curious eyes.
"So, how did the party go? Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah, we did Luna. The girls danced with the guys, which was nice. Though, that in itself was kind of bad," Serena said with her brows furrowed.
"Why is that a bad thing? I thought you wanted all of them to get together."
"I do, but the guys didn't know that they were dancing with the girls."
"How could they not?" Luna asked; Serena was cleverly avoiding the subject and Luna wanted Serena to get to the point.
"Well, it's kind of hard to recognize the girls as the girls when they're protected by a magical barrier." Realization suddenly dawned on Luna.
"Serena, don't tell me that you and the other Scouts went to the ball as your princess forms." Serena averted her eyes and concentrated on her bedspread. Luna sighed in exasperation.
"Oh, Serena, and I bet that you had something to do with it, didn't you?" Serena nodded.
"Well, no one figured out who it was, did they?" Serena shook her head. Luna smiled slightly.
"Well, because it's almost Christmas, I'll be generous and let you girls off." Serena smiled broadly and sat up, scooping Luna up into her arms.
"Thanks Luna; I was worried that you were going to be mad at me.
"But, I'll let you off this time. Don't pull a stunt like that again, ok?"
"Ok," Serena agreed. She stretched and yawned.
"Well, if you don't mind, Luna, I'm going to turn off the light and go to sleep. I've had a long evening."
"Good idea, I'm tired as well. Good night, Serena. I'll see you in the morning."
"Good night, Luna."
"Great, now we're never going to get to the party on time," Raye said, smoothing out her own red dress.
The Scouts had been walking home to get ready for a Christmas party, one of the last things they were going to do before they went home the next day for two weeks during Christmas break. In the middle of heading home, they got attacked by a small army of monsters, which had taken forever for defeat. They had used so much power that they reverted to their princess state, which could handle a greater amount of power.
Once they had defeated the monsters, they had no time to go home and get ready for a Christmas party. The party was a party put on by the school for parents and students, so the entire affair was going to be elegant with a live orchestra and everything. The other thing about the party was that it was a costume ball and the Scouts had perfect outfits planned out, but would never get the chance to wear them.
"Oh well, it looks like we're going to have to go home," Ami said, disappointed. She really wanted to go; she really wanted to spend the evening with Rowen.
"No we don't," Lita said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Raye asked.
"Well, we can just go like we are now, in these dresses," Lita said.
"But no one will recognize us!" Serena said, pointing to the Jupiter symbol that glowed on Lita's forehead, "With that symbol protecting your identity, no will be able to recognize you. Kento won't be able to recognize you," Serena finished.
"Which means I'll be able to flirt with him better," Lita said, her voice filled with laughter. All the others liked the idea immediately...except for Ami.
"I don't like that idea," Ami said, "It wouldn't be fair to the guys."
"Aww, come on Ami, how much fun could you have with Rowen?" Lita inquired. Ami only blushed.
"Actually, I like that idea," Mina said.
"I do too," Raye agreed.
"So, it doesn't matter to you that the guys won't recognize you?" Serena asked, liking the idea more and more every second, her crescent moon mark glowing with her happiness and mirth.
"Nope," said Lita, Mina, and Raye.
"Alright," Serena said, "Let's go like this."
"Come on you guys, we can't go like this!" Ami exclaimed.
"Why not?" all the others said.
"Because...because...because it's mean! The guys won't be able to tell that it's us," Ami said, coming up with a lame excuse. She just didn't want Rowen to see her in the blue dress that she was wearing.
"Aww, come on Ames, lighten up," Serena said, her eyes begging and pleading Ami to go along with it.
"Alright, with eyes like those, who could resist?" Ami asked, her resolve weakening.
"Great, now, we just transport ourselves there. We're already late as it is. Hey, at least we get to make a dramatic entrance," Serena said, grabbing hands with Raye and Ami. Lita and Mina grabbed hands with the others to make a circle.
Closing their eyes, they whispered, "Princess Planet Teleport!" With a flash of bright light, the Scouts had disappeared from the empty street that they had been standing in.
Moments later, they stood in front of the building that the party was held at. The place where the party was being held was a large mansion. The girls could see people through all windows of the first floor, so they figured that the entire first floor had been opened up to produce one large room that could host a huge party.
From where they were outside, the girls could hear the soft sounds of the orchestra and it reminded them of the balls that took place during the Silver Millennium.
"Shall we go in?" Serena asked the others. The girls only nodded as they began to walk up the steps to the front door. Serena smiled at the others, who smiled back, before opening the door and stepping in. The reaction they got they never expected.
***
"I wonder where they are," Kento whined as he looked around for the girls.
"I'm sure they're coming. They said they would," Cye reassured.
"But, they're late!" Kento exclaimed.
"Maybe it's a girl thing," Sage said.
"Ah, I don't think so. Everyone else is here but them," Rowen said as he looked around the large room.
Rowen smoothed out his costume, an ancient-looking Samurai uniform done in shades of dark blue, before turning to Ryo, whose costume looked exactly like his, except it was red where Rowen's was blue.
"Hey Ryo, wasn't Mia supposed to come?"
"Yeah, but she had work to do. But, she's sorry that she couldn't come," Ryo said. Ryo looked around at his friends, shaking his head at their costumes. Mia had found them and thought them to be perfect. The 5 costumes were identical in style, but not in color. Ironically, the colors worn by each Ronin Warrior matched the color of their armor. Sage's was green, Kento's was orange, and so on.
Ryo was about to open his mouth to comment on their costumes when a hush fell over the room, even the orchestra fell silent. The Ronin Warriors looked towards the door, which was directly in front of them, and their jaws dropped, Ryo's from recognition and the other guys from pure awe. On top of the stairs that led to the front door, so one could look over the entire room from the front door, were 5 young women who were breathtakingly beautiful.
The one who stood in the middle wore a strapless white dress, on which a pair of large cloth wings was attached. On the front of the dress was a simple, white bow and on her forehead was a gold crescent moon symbol. Her long, golden hair was pulled into two, what could only be described as, meatballs with a long stream of hair flowing from each one. Ryo's eyes widened in recognition. That's the girl from that flashback. Different dress, but it's the same girl! Ryo thought.
On her left was a girl in a blue dress. The dress was obviously fitted for her body. The dress shaped itself to the curves of her body, clearly outlining her slim figure. The dress itself was a halter dress, held up by a thin strap that went around her neck. It wasn't low cut, but the dress was backless, showing off the smooth skin of her back. The dress went to the floor with a slit on the left side that stopped mid-thigh. Her short blue hair had been left alone and on her forehead glowed a blue Mercury symbol.
Standing to the left of the girl in blue was a girl in orange. Her dress was also floor length, but was a different style then the girl in blue. Her orange dress was an off-the-shoulder dress with long sleeves. The front of her dress dipped down, making the front low cut; not extremely low cut, but low enough and the material of the dress clung to her body. On the right side of her dress was a slit that was just as high as the girl with the blue dress, ending about mid-thigh. Her blonde hair was done in a large braid and hung over her right shoulder and on her forehead was an orange Venus symbol.
On the other side of the girl in the white dress was a tall girl in a green dress. Her dress, also floor length like all the others, was dark green in color and was held up by thin spaghetti straps that crossed over on her back, creating an "x". Her back was bare, except for the straps, and the dress started again at the small of her back. She also had a slit on the right side of her dress, but it was smaller, only going up to her knee. Her dress was pretty low cut and also was fitted for her body shape. Her long dark auburn hair was down, cascading down her back, ending in the middle of her back, and on her forehead was a green Jupiter symbol. The last of the 5 girls was perhaps the most devastating beauty of the 5.
Standing on the right of the girl in green, her dress was red and strapless. It looked like it was a little snug but that detail was easily over looked as one took in the whole effect of the dress. The dress went down to the floor and was very slinky. The upper half of the dress was tight-looking, almost like a corset, but there wasn't one. The dress magically stayed up on it's own, but it also managed to hug to her body and at the same time, push everything up. Her dress, at the waist, became a little looser, but only because she had a slit on either side of the dress that went a little past mid-thigh. Her raven hair was pulled up into a bun on the top of her head with long locks of hair escaping the bun, like it was made hastily, and on her forehead was a symbol, a red Mars symbol.
No one in the room had any doubt that these girls had to at least be princesses, if not angels because no one that beautiful really existed, or so they thought. The one in the middle, in the white dress, eyed the room carefully before smiling.
"Well," she said, her grin resonating in her voice, "does anyone mind if we crash this party?" She looked around the room and when no one told her to get out, her smile became wider and she said, "Good."
Serena, who loved the looks she was receiving from everyone in the room, spotted Ryo right in front of her, wearing the perfect costume, as were the other guys. Ryo's costume was almost identical to the outfit he wore in the Silver Millennium, which went for the other guys too. Serena suppressed a giggle and walked over to where Ryo was, the other girls following behind for they had spotted the guys as well.
The crowd parted for Serena and the girls as they made their way to the guys. Serena and the girls stood in front of the Ronin Warriors, much to the envy of every other guy in the room. Serena, who was looking Ryo in the eyes, curtsied deeply, as she had been taught in her younger days.
The other girls followed her example, each of them curtsying to the guy that they liked. The Ronin Warriors thought that they were going to die of cardiac arrest. Here were these beautiful girls, standing in front of them, curtsying deeply for them, as if they themselves were royalty.
Serena was the first to straighten her body. By now, the orchestra had started playing again and people were dancing, the 5 beautiful girls becoming forgotten as everyone turned back to their respective dates.
"Hello, Ryo of Wildfire," Serena said, reveling in the shocked look that formed on the faces of Rowen, Kento, Sage, and Cye, but not Ryo. Ryo only looked curious.
"Who are you?" Ryo asked.
"My name is Princess Serenity, cousin. But, Ronin Warriors, I do not believe you've met my royal court." In a random observation, Serena noticed that they were now mostly alone in the front hall; the majority of the party had moved into the ballroom/dining room. Moving her arm in a sweeping motion, she indicated the two girls on her left.
"On my left are Princess Jupiter and Princess Venus." The two curtsied, respectfully, each of them looking into the eyes of the Ronin Warrior standing in front of them.
"And, on my right are Princess Mercury and Princess Mars." They also curtsied, respectfully.
Rowen was a little confused on the names and couldn't help but remark on that.
"Why are you, except for Princess Serenity, named after planets?"
"Because that's the planet that we come from," Ami said, looking straight into Rowen's eyes, surprisingly, without nervousness. Maybe being in my princess form gives me more confidence, Ami thought, smiling at the object of her affection.
"So, are you aliens?" Kento asked. Serena only laughed
"No," she answered, "We were born on this planet 16 years ago to human parents, so, technically, we're not aliens."
Serena looked back at Ryo and said, "Dear cousin, I'd be honored if I could have the next dance with you."
Ryo only smiled back before saying, "My Lady Cousin, I would love to." Serena giggled lightly while taking the hand that Ryo had extended towards her. Serena and Ryo walked off towards the dance floor, leaving the other 8 people standing there. The girls gave each other mischievous looks before, without warning, grabbing the hand of the guy that they liked and pulling them towards the dance floor.
Sage followed the beauty in front of him in a daze. He could hardly believe that someone as beautiful as the princess standing in front of him would want to spend time with him. As Sage kept his eyes on the girl in front of him, he felt a pang of guilt. In someway, he felt like he was cheating on Raye, but he wasn't even going out with her. So, why do I feel guilty?
By this time, Raye had turned around and was going to start dancing with Sage when she saw the almost miserable look on his face. Confused and really wanting to know what was wrong, she grabbed his hand again and pulled him out of the ballroom. Sage couldn't do anything but follow. She led him to a couple of chairs that were out in the front hall.
She sat down on one and pulled him down to sit on the other.
"What's wrong, Sage?"
"Nothing's wrong." Raye gave him a disbelieving look that cracked Sage's emotional walls.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. I feel like I'm cheating on someone."
"You have a girlfriend?" Raye asked. She never heard about another girl in Sage's life.
Suddenly, she was seeing red, literally, but calmed herself down. He's not your property, you idiot, Raye chided herself.
"Who is your girlfriend?" Sage only shook his head.
"Oh, I don't have a girlfriend."
"Then, who is this girl that you obviously like so much?"
"Well, she's someone I go to school with."
"What's her name?" Raye wanted to find out the name of this girl and kill her.
"Oh, you don't know her."
"I still want to know," Raye said in a commanding tone of voice.
"Well, if you must know," Sage said pointedly, "Her name is Raye."
Outwardly, Raye showed no emotional change. But, inwardly, she was pleasantly surprised. ME?! It's me? He likes me? Raye thought as she urged him to continue, which Sage did without hesitation.
"I know she's not my girlfriend, or anything, but being attracted to you makes me somehow feel that I am cheating on her, that I'm cheating myself on my feelings, betraying them even." Raye smiled understandingly.
"Why don't you tell this Raye person how you feel?"
"I couldn't do that."
"Why not?"
"What if she laughs at me or rejects me? I don't think I could stand that disappointment."
"You won't know unless you try," Raye said. Sage just gave her a look.
"No matter what you say, I'm not going to say anything until I'm sure of her feelings for me."
With those words, Raye felt her heart sink. She so badly wanted to be with him, but she needed to sort out her feelings that were concerned with knowing that Sage was Ronin Warrior before she could be with him on her own terms. So, she couldn't change the way she felt about him outwardly until she was absolutely positive about her feelings for him.
"Well, I'm sure everything will work out for the best," Raye said encouragingly. Sage looked up into Raye's eyes.
"Are you sure?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'm positive," Raye said, her expression softening.
"Well, if you're sure..." Sage said, his statement dissolving into a chuckle. Raye, getting tired of Sage's depressed attitude about his feelings, decided to change the subject.
"Well..." Raye began, but Sage interrupted her.
"How did you know who I was?" Sage asked. Raye only smiled.
"I know everything about you. Well, almost everything." Sage sighed.
"You know so much about me while I know almost nothing about you," Sage said, raising a hand to touch the Mars symbol on Raye's forehead.
Raye shivered as Sage touched the symbol on her forehead. The symbol was a center of her power and Sage's touch of that symbol was very pleasurable.
"Are you ok?" Sage asked, noticing her shiver.
"Yeah, it's just that the symbol on my forehead is very, very sensitive. When you touch it, I shiver."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sage said.
Raye could tell that he really wasn't and said, "Liar." Sage just smiled.
***
Cye bit his lip nervously as he danced with Mina, although he didn't know that he was dancing with Mina. He glanced up at the symbol on her forehead and suddenly, a thought struck him.
"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking, but are you at all related to Sailor Venus? You know, of the Sailor Scouts?" Mina looked at him wide-eyed before giggling lightly.
"That, I cannot tell you."
"Why not?" Cye asked.
"Because, I can't. But, I still do battle. I can handle much more power than Sailor Venus can."
"That probably comes in handy in a battle."
"Yeah, but it's kinda awkward while fighting in this dress, though," Mina deadpanned. Cye looked down at her dress and said, "Yeah, I can see how it can get in the way of fighting." Cye looked back up into Mina's smiling face and blushed automatically.
"You're very cute when you blush, did you know that?" Mina said.
"Oh great," Cye said sarcastically. Mina could sense his disappointment in hearing that remark and honestly didn't understand what his problem was. She stood on her toes and whispered into his ear, "I think it's kinda sexy." Cye pulled back and looked at Mina, who was blushing slightly and looking down at the floor.
He gave her a small smile, which went unnoticed by Mina, who was still looking down at the floor. He stopped dancing and removed his hand from hers. Very gently, he put his hand under her chin and tipped up her face.
Feeling very impulsive and extremely brave, Cye gave Mina a kiss on the forehead. Mina froze as a wave of pleasure washed over her. What happened? Did that come from Cye kissing the symbol on my forehead? Mina thought, wide-eyed.
Her body then started to sway a little bit, and Cye put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"Are you feeling all right?" Cye asked. Mina nodded, but didn't give an explanation. Cye wasn't going to let it go without one and looked Mina straight in the eye.
"What happened?"
"You kissed me on the forehead."
"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry about that."
"No, it's alright, it's just that you kissed my forehead. I guess the symbol on my forehead is VERY sensitive. You know what I mean, it's like that spot right behind your earlobe where if someone kisses it, you shiver."
"No, actually, I wouldn't," Cye said sheepishly.
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't actually had a girlfriend before, so I wouldn't know what you were talking about."
"Then let me show you," Mina said.
She stood up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss right behind his left earlobe. Cye did indeed shiver as a tingle went down his spine. After a few moments, he felt normal again and looked down at Mina, who was smiling up at him.
"That's what it felt like when you kissed my forehead." Cye only laughed as they continued to dance.
***
Ami, who was busy dancing with Rowen, looked past Rowen's shoulder to see Mina kiss Cye on the neck. She laughed slightly, so quietly that Rowen didn't hear it. However, he did feel her laugh as her body shook slightly against his.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing, really. It's just that Venus just kissed your friend, Cye." Rowen turned the both of them to look at Cye and Mina, his eyes wide with surprise and shock.
"Where did she kiss him?" Rowen asked Ami, looking down at her again. Ami took her right hand off of his shoulder and tapped the spot behind his ear with her index finger.
"Right here." Ami laughed again as Rowen shivered slightly.
"Guess I'm sensitive there," Rowen said.
"I think everyone is sensitive there," Ami said in a lecturing tone of voice.
"Everybody?" Rowen asked with a particular interest.
"Yes, everyone," Ami repeated, exasperated. Rowen only smiled and moved in closer until his mouth was hovering next to her neck.
Ami could feel his breath on her neck.
"So," she heard him say, "If I were to kiss you here, you would be affected, right?" Ami gulped and nodded. Rowen smiled and kissed her neck, leaving his lips there, sucking on the skin lightly. Ami suddenly felt very lightheaded.
She grabbed on to Rowen's shoulders as he kissed her neck, trying to steady herself. She was extremely sensitive there, or so she now found out. It took all her willpower not to rip his lips away from her neck and kiss him herself. But, she knew that she couldn't. She could tell that Rowen was attracted to this alter ego and she didn't want him to fall in love with Princess Mercury before falling in love with Ami Mizuno, the 17-year old high school junior.
But, Ami couldn't stop the small moan that escaped her lips. Rowen smiled as he heard it. There was something that was highly familiar about the princess that he was dancing with. He couldn't put his finger on it. But, whatever that familiar thing was, it was getting in the way of his falling in love with her.
That's probably for the best, though. I am in love with Ami, although she doesn't know it yet, and I'm probably never going to see this girl after tonight. Rowen thought. He pulled away from her neck, finally letting his lips leave her neck and looked down at her.
"Looks like you're sensitive there, too," Rowen teased, a smirk forming on his face, laughing a bit. Ami only glared at him good-naturedly as they continued to dance.
***
Kento stared at Lita, not knowing that it was Lita, as they danced. Every now and then, she would look up at his eyes, but quickly blush and look away. Kento looked at Lita in awe. It wasn't everyday that a beautiful girl danced with him.
Unable to hold it in anymore, he opened his mouth and said, "Why are you dancing with me?" Lita looked at Kento with a wide-eyed and shocked expression on her face.
"Why are you asking me that question?" she asked.
"Well, it's just that you could dance with any other guy in this room but, you're standing here, dancing with me. I just want to know why."
"Well, I like you a lot. Does that answer your question?"
"Kind of. But you're so beautiful, I'm beginning to wonder if this is a dream."
"Oh, believe me, it's not a dream," Lita said, absolutely convinced that standing in Kento's arms wasn't a dream.
"How do you know?"
"Just believe me," Lita said, pleading with her eyes.
"Alright, I believe you," Kento said, dropping the subject. Lita only smiled at him until something he said finally registered in her head.
"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked. Kento only rolled his eyes.
"Yes, of course I think you're beautiful. You are beautiful. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Realizing what he just said, Kento blushed and looked away.
Lita smiled tenderly at him before raising a hand to touch his cheek, pushing his head so that she could look straight into his eyes.
"That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," she said sincerely. Before Kento could say anything, Lita leaned forward, feeling rather daring, and kissed him. Kento, of course, kissed her back.
Lita could feel her heart pounding in her chest. I never knew that it could feel like this. It's so warm and safe, yet...I don't know how to describe it. It's unlike any kiss I've ever experienced. Lita felt the tingles running up and down her spine as she and Kento kissed. It was like every nerve was alive and highly sensitized.
The kiss slowly ended and Lita pulled back to look at Kento, who was looking at her with desire and the beginnings of love in his eyes. Lita breathed in deeply and whispered,
"Wow." Kento nodded in agreement as the two of them continued to dance.
***
Serena smiled as she lay her body down on her bed. She was exhausted from hours of dancing at the Winter Ball and all she wanted was to go to sleep. But, as much as she wanted to go to sleep, she couldn't get the images of all the Sailor Scouts and Ronin Warriors dancing out of her head. They were all so adorable and so in love, even though the Ronin Warriors didn't quite know whom they were dancing with. Eh, it's the general idea that matters, Serena thought as she started to drift off to sleep.
But, before sleep could take over, she felt something slightly heavy land on her stomach. Opening her eyes to look at what it could be, she wasn't surprised to see Luna looking at her with curious eyes.
"So, how did the party go? Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah, we did Luna. The girls danced with the guys, which was nice. Though, that in itself was kind of bad," Serena said with her brows furrowed.
"Why is that a bad thing? I thought you wanted all of them to get together."
"I do, but the guys didn't know that they were dancing with the girls."
"How could they not?" Luna asked; Serena was cleverly avoiding the subject and Luna wanted Serena to get to the point.
"Well, it's kind of hard to recognize the girls as the girls when they're protected by a magical barrier." Realization suddenly dawned on Luna.
"Serena, don't tell me that you and the other Scouts went to the ball as your princess forms." Serena averted her eyes and concentrated on her bedspread. Luna sighed in exasperation.
"Oh, Serena, and I bet that you had something to do with it, didn't you?" Serena nodded.
"Well, no one figured out who it was, did they?" Serena shook her head. Luna smiled slightly.
"Well, because it's almost Christmas, I'll be generous and let you girls off." Serena smiled broadly and sat up, scooping Luna up into her arms.
"Thanks Luna; I was worried that you were going to be mad at me.
"But, I'll let you off this time. Don't pull a stunt like that again, ok?"
"Ok," Serena agreed. She stretched and yawned.
"Well, if you don't mind, Luna, I'm going to turn off the light and go to sleep. I've had a long evening."
"Good idea, I'm tired as well. Good night, Serena. I'll see you in the morning."
"Good night, Luna."
