A/N: Took me long enough, huh? Well... I'm also working on a story of dear ol' Keeper's past and how she turned from Sailor Neptune into Star Keeper and how and why she went to earth when she wasn't under any real threat. ^^; I'll upload it once I get more done.
Anyhoo! I hope you enjoy this chapter... ^_^ I know I do!
Ch. 6: A broken heart. Kiran and Kali make their mark!
"Kakyuu-hime...." Rei began softly, the others around the table looked as though they
were trying to support her. The fire senshi stared at her plate of food for a while before
speaking again, realizing she had permission to continue. "Well... I know how terrible
this thought has been playing on all of our minds lately... but why exactly did you and the
starlights return.... what's even more, why did they return to stardom?"
"Shall I use the para-phrase version?" Kakyuu joked. She shook her head and went on.
"Time on Kinmoku used to pass much slower than on Earth. The time difference
between the Milky Way galaxy and our own is a humungous gap. What's more is that we
age slower than you do. That could explain a lot... Kathryn retreated from Kinmoku
before Chaos destroyed it... she was reborn on earth in the same time frame as you all
were. Now time moves much faster on Kimoku.. I don't know why either... What was
two years for you was six years for us... We rebuilt Kinmoku in the first two years... In
the remaining four we were there, we were forced to watch it be brought to ruins again.
We arrived on Earth, for now the planet has to heal itself, to wait... We also wanted to
find out the cause. Do you remember the story of the greedy woman that I spoke of the
other day? She was High Priestess Antanania... my high priestess... She betrayed me. And
so we came to Earth. My reasons were hidden... I just wanted my niece back. You see, in
order to keep things going, I was forced to push the memory of her into their unconscious
minds. My starlights didn't know who they were singing for really... I searched for about
half a year and returned recently.. and I've found her, only to lose her again."
"But she's not lost princess," Usagi said softly.
"Yes... without her crystal key, Itazura isn't herself," Kakyuu replied, her voice soft yet
heartbroken.
"Exactly how many betrothed did she turn down?" Makoto asked curiously.
"Well... I should suppose in the three years they tried setting her up...25... possibly more,
my memory isn't all what it used to be."
"Twenty-five? My, she's a very creative girl when it comes to getting rid of men,"
Minako couldn't help but exclaim with a giggle.
"She didn't love any of them... she actually despised the thought of love... It was because
of the first one... but that's her story to tell, not mine," Kakyuu explained with a shrug.
She absently picked at the food on her plate before eating some of it.
"Speaking of Kathryn-hime... Where is she?" Usagi asked quizzically, looking around for
her but finding her nowhere in sight.
"I sent her out with my starlights, they're to show her a good time," Kakyuu said softly.
~~~~~~
"Where are we going?" Kathryn asked softly as she was led forward by Seiya. The three
had blindfolded her so she couldn't see a thing.
"If you ask one more time we'll have to gag you," Yaten taunted her. He had an arm
around her shoulder while Taiki followed them, gently pressing on her back.
"Well excuse me! I just wanna know! I mean, seriously! I'm being led to who knows
where with three men with their hands all over me!" Kathryn retorted jokingly.
"Almost there, princess," Seiya said softly, his grip on her hand tightening.
"Hey! Don't cut off my circulation now!" Kathryn yelped, unable to keep herself from
giggling. "Oh hey... you guys.... It's getting dark soon!"
"We know," Taiki sighed, casting a glance at Yaten.
"She just doesn't seem to shut up, does she?" Yaten snickered softly.
"Hey! I heard that!" Kathryn snapped.
The four stopped in a clearing facing the west. The grass was soft beneath her feet as she
slipped off her shoes and took seat, with help of course. Behind them was a thicket of
forestry and a conveniant little path, the one they'd taken. Taiki stretched out a soft
blanket and set a picnic basket on it. This now meant Seiya had to help Kathryn onto the
blanket. "Just a few more minutes, hime."
"Okay, now I'm really curious..." Kathryn whispered before chuckling softly. She
shivered slightly as a gust of cool night wind brushed past her. "Shall I start counting
down the minutes?"
"Oh God no," Yaten said exasperatedly. Kathryn giggled at his reaction and decided not
to count down. It was a few moments of silence with only a few birds chirping from the
trees before Seiya finally untied the blindfold. A small table was set up with a candelabra
and silverware. If that wasn't breathtaking enough, the sun was just now setting, casting a
pastel glaze over everything with its bright pink and orange light. Kathryn's jaw just hung
down, she was unable to say anything.
"We were ordered to show you a good time, hime. So that's what we're doing," Seiya
explained. "All your favorite foods... after this we have another surprise."
"So, whose idea was this?" Kathryn inquired, glancing around at each of the three who'd
already taken their seats.
"Taiki's," replied Yaten nonchalantly. "Mine's next and then Seiya's."
"Where's my aunt?" Kathryn questioned gently, in a futile attempt to catch them
offguard and find out the whole truth.
"Dinner with the others.. explaining things," Taiki answered immediately, spoiling her
plans.
"I see," Kathryn remarked as she helped herself to a hamburger and dressed it to her
taste. After spreading the mustard on nice and thin she popped her pointer finger in her
mouth and licked off the excess condiments. After taking her finger from her mouth, she
made sure to wipe it clean with a napkin. "And what sort of things is she explaining?"
"Private matters," Yatten uttered before taking a bite from his sandwhich.
"I see... and do these private matters concern a certain pink haired girl I don't know?"
Kathryn pressed calmly, though inside she was burning to force it out of them.
The three shrugged and went on eating, providing the pink haired princess with no
answers at all and more frustration than she thought could mount up. By the time she'd
finished her meal she had almost forgotten all about it since she was far more excited to
see what Yaten had planned for her.
"You're almost done eating, aren't you Yaten-kun?" Kathryn asked desperately, the
anticipation overwhelming her.
With his own little flair, Yaten decided to take his time on eating. He taunted her by
biting into his bite-sized piece of sandwhich with only nibbles and taking a long time to
chew and swallow. "You know," he said after he finished his sandwhich. "I think I'm
hungry enough for another..."
"No!" Kathryn squealed, quickly snatching the basket away from him. "Let's go...
please," she pleaded, giving them each her most pathetic puppy-dog face.
Seiya let out a sharp laugh, perhaps the first time he'd made a sound since they started
eating. "Come on, Yaten! I think we've agonized her too much for one day!"
A rare smile crept onto Taiki's face as he watched Kathryn whimper and act like a sick
puppy. "I must agree... she's looking rather pitiful now."
Yaten shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not. Pile into the car everyone, Taiki, you
know where we're heading!"
To Kathryn's delight, she had the backseat all to herself with Seiya. Yaten and Taiki
jumped into the two front seats. She was anxious, perhaps a little too anxious. She acted
no different than a dog, full-grown or puppy, in a car ride. Her head snapped from side to
side and front to back as they made their way to their new destination.
If there was one thing the american girl loved more than singing, it was shopping. Yaten
knew this. With a little extra effort, the four managed to disguise themselves expertly to
keep from being chased down by rabid fans on their day off. As soon as the pop princess
caught sight of the mall, the three men had no chance of catching up with her. She bolted
merrily from the van and waited only a few moments for her escorts to catch up. She
couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun.
While shopping, Kathryn would find one of the three carefully watching her, or more
precisely, the gem around her neck. It was something she'd grown accustomed to when
she was around her aunt and her guardians for the past few days. They knew the
importance of the stone better than she did, and that did quite the job in making her more
nervous. The aquamarine stone in the coil of silver seemed to bob against her chest
merrily, even as she walked calmly.
When they finally left the shopping center an hour or so later, Kathryn's arms were filled
with a few bags while Seiya and Yaten were stuck carrying the bulk of the purchases.
Kathryn had completely forgotten each of them had planned something for her to do and
Seiya had yet to tell her what his plans were. When she did remember, she blinked
several times while trying to sort through the thoughts jumbled in her head. "Wait...
didn't you have something planned too?" she asked Seiya inquisitively.
"Be patient," Yaten chided from the front seat. He and Taiki got out of the car and started
unloading the shopping bags while Seiya led Kathryn to the apartments. The three young
men helped her put her bags in her apartment, then left. Kathryn had no clue what was
happening.
After dressing in her nightgown and plaiting her hair, Kathryn heard a knock at her door.
She opened it slowly and saw Seiya, Yaten and Taiki standing there. She stepped aside so
they could enter and threw her robe on over her nightgown. After all three had stepped
into the kitchen she closed the door, locked it, and joined them. "What's going on?" she
demanded lightly, fists on her hips and a mock angry look on her face.
"Just like old times," Seiya replied simply. "Come on..." He led her into the living room
and to the couch, Yaten popped a tape in the VCR and Taiki provided them with a huge
bowl of popcorn and a quart of ice cream for everyone.
"Old times?" Kathryn inquired as she took the freezing quart of vanilla ice cream into her
hands.
"Don't you remember? I know I do... when you first arrived on Kinmoku, we'd stuff our
faces with junk food and talk late into the night... Those are memories I'm rather fond
of," Seiya explained, his voice soft.
"And even though you spent most of your time with her, we'd sometimes be graced with
these all-nighters," Yaten added, implying more than Kathryn caught onto. Taiki surely
didn't skip a beat because he was off snickering to himself.
"I'm sure I'll remember sometime... I just can't at the moment," Kathryn whispered
apologetically. She really did feel sorry, it was a memory that she'd like to share more
than anything. To remember how happy she'd been when she was with those three on
Kinmoku, it was a feeling she longed for.
Even as she curled up close to Seiya, Kathryn couldn't help but dwell on what things
were like back then. She knew it was impossible for her and Seiya to have been close, her
Aunt loved Fighter and knew her longer than she had. Then there was the awkwardness
between Fighter and Sailor Moon which Kathryn couldn't help but think about. Sailor
Moon had her prince, but Fighter still seemed to hold her very dear to her heart. It was a
feeling Kathryn got when Fighter was around Kakyuu as well. The pink haired princess
couldn't sort it in her head, was it devotion, dedication? Or was it something more?
Something like love?
Kathryn hardly noticed Taiki get up to put the half eaten quarts of ice cream in the
freezer and had fallen asleep by the time he'd gotten back.
"Did she really fall asleep?" Yaten asked astonishedly. "She must really be worn out!"
"My, doesn't she look comfortable," Taiki chortled before both of them realized that
Seiya had fallen asleep as well.
"Their 'late night talks' must've been dry! It's only 10! Well, let's let them sleep and go
check on the princess, she should be home by now," Yaten chuckled, still bewildered
with Seiya and Kathryn's premature slumber.
~~~~
"Healer... Maker, how is Itazura doing? Did she have a restful evening?" Kakyuu asked
kindly as Taiki and Yaten reentered their apartment. She was sitting down at the table in
a nightgown, eating ice cream and reading a book.
"She's doing fine, Hime... Actually... she fell asleep during the movie.. Seiya did too, so
we didn't wake them. Either we wore her out so much that she had to sleep or she was so
well rested that sleeping sounded good... either way, we took care of her good, just like
you instructed us to," Yaten replied as he took a seat across from Kakyuu. He rested his
elbows on the table and his chin in his palm.
"Well, let's let them rest for now... You two should get to bed as well.. Thank you for
watching over her tonight. The senshi have agreed to work with us and protect her and
the other key holders," Kakyuu explained delicately before getting up from her spot and
putting the ice cream away. She kissed them both on the cheeks, but soon found herself
being escorted to bed instead of them.
~~~~
"Why'd we agree to help them?" Rei asked openly as she readied her sleeping bag for the
night. They'd all decided to spend the night at Usagi's to figure some of the recent events
out.
"Kakyuu and her starlights helped us not too long ago, it's all we could do, to help them
out in return. Besides, this is a threat to not only them, but us too," Usagi replied
matter-of-factly as Minako braided her hair.
"This could come back to bite us," Rei muttered before unzipping her sleeping bag.
"It's a chance we'll have to take," Minako sighed after finishing the last braid in Usagi's
hair. "Usagi-chan... your hair's done," she whispered, putting her face right next to her
friend's. "You okay?"
Usagi nodded seriously. "Yeah, just fine!" she replied with all smiles. "Ami-chan..
Mako-chan.. You two are awfully quiet... want to add anything?"
"I'm not just going to accept this, you know, Usagi-chan," Makoto began softly. She was
already in her sleeping bag and had been playing with a few of the loose threads. "But
you must have your reasons... It might be tough convincing Haruka and the others, but
you have my support unless things take a turn for the worse."
Ami, who'd been absorbed in her book, looked up and smiled softly at Usagi. "Like
Mako-chan, I'm not sure whether I'd pour my heart into it... It could be dangerous... But
I'll follow you wherever, Usagi-chan."
~~~~
When Kathryn woke up the following morning she found it hard to stay calm. She'd
fallen asleep cuddled next to Seiya. It was worse, however, since Seiya was already
awake and just smiling at her. She felt odd. She knew she loved Seiya... no, she loved
Star Fighter. Long ago she'd given up on men and everything they stood for, that's why
she felt the way she did for Fighter... or was it? She couldn't seem to remember properly.
"I see Yaten and Taiki didn't care to wake us last night," Seiya chuckled before rubbing
Kathryn's head softly, messing up her bangs. "I'll treat you to breakfast, come on."
Kathryn nodded numbly and slowly stood from her spot, wrapping her robe around
herself tightly. She remembered the few days ago, when Seiya had come to give her a
wake up call and she just collapsed into tears after closing the door. At the time she had
no clue why she was crying. ~It's cause we'd always fight... It reminded me of then
without me being conscious of it...~ she thought with a sigh before making her way
slowly into her room. She watched through the crack in her door as Seiya left her
apartment to go to his own. "Being a man doesn't suit her... she's far prettier as she
normally is... I wonder how things will return to what they used to be... I wonder if they'll
return..."
Nearly an hour later, as she was drying her hair, Seiya walked back into her apartment
and announced his presence. Kathryn tugged her hair into a low ponytail with a teal bow,
mocking that of the starlights, just so she could see how they'd react. She smoothed out
her bellbottom jeans and nervously tugged on her teal corset to cover more of her
stomach.
"Hurry up! I'm starving!" Seiya taunted her as he stuck his head into her room.
"Tough..." Kathryn replied and stuck her tongue out. She slipped on some black pumps,
grabbed her purse and linked her arm with his before he escorted her out.
~~~~~
"They went to eat," Yaten answered as he watched Taiki pull food from the refrigerator.
"Fighter's recalling more and more about her every day," Kakyuu commented softly as
tears sprung to the corners of her eyes. Never was she one to show such an emotion
without a real reason, but she soon found the tears slipping down her cheeks before she
could prevent them from doing so. Her voice, however, remained quiet and strong. "How
long will it be until she remembers that Itazura hates men? And will she keep her
disguise when she remembers?" she mused softly before quickly wiping her tears away
so Taiki and Yaten wouldn't notice.
"Only time will tell, hime," Yaten began softly. "Do you want to go to eat, hime, instead
of wait all day for Taiki to make something edible?"
Kakyuu hid her giggles behind her hand and shook her head. "Maker... do you mind? I'm
famished."
After shooting a nasty glare in Yaten's direction, Taiki turned to Kakyuu and merely
smiled. "I don't mind at all hime, it saves me the trouble of making something myself.
Shouldn't you change into clothing more appropriate to the surroundings, though?"
"I suppose you're right... It should just take a moment," Kakyuu commented softly before
heading towards her room and shutting the door.
"It's tearing her up inside, seeing Seiya devote himself to someone else... It did back then
and it does now. From what I can remember, our princess may be in for heartbreak,"
Yaten grumbled. "How can he be so insensitive to her feelings? He knows how she
feels!"
"He also knows how Kathryn feels and how he, himself, feels. In his place, what would
you do, Yaten?" Taiki replied, trying to be reasonable. "Let's stray from the topic when
around the hime, agreed?"
"We wouldn't want to trouble her anymore," Yaten agreed. Just then, Kakyuu opened her
bedroom door. She wore a knee length, red skirt with a pink dress shirt and a red blazer
over it. Her hair was no longer held captive by her crown and instead it was let down
loosely. She looked like a normal human and had even managed to make the olive
blossom mark on her forehead disappear. "Hime, you'll fit in perfectly," Yaten said
softly as he went to take her arm.
~~~~~
Seiya tugged on Kathryn's ponytail jokingly. "Not the look for you, hime-chan..."
Kathryn winced slightly at the suffix he'd used when addressing her, but didn't comment
on it. "Ne... Seiya-kun," she stressed the suffix she'd used for him before continuing.
"We fought a lot, didn't we?"
Seiya was taken aback. Of course they had, as Star Fighter, she'd hated Kathryn, then
known as Anrui, for the first two weeks. But he felt he couldn't tell her that, not with her
current condition.
"Didn't we?" Kathryn pressed as she stopped abruptly and turned to face him.
Seiya continued a few steps, but eventually stopped as well. He turned to look at her and
sighed. "I don't feel comfortable talking about that."
"Well why don't you become comfortable? Hm? I want to know more about my past...
what we were like, but you're making that impossible!" Kathryn snapped.
~Not much different from before,~ Seiya thought with a sigh. ~Apt to mood swings... my
hime-chan..~ He shook his head. "I want you to learn more about our past, hime-chan...
but I want it to happen in due time..."
Kathryn crossed her arms, glared at him, then stormed off. She quickly broke into a run
to make sure he wouldn't catch up with her as quickly.
Yaten, Taiki and Kakyuu approached Seiya as Kathryn was running away. "Fighter...
what's going on?" Kakyuu asked softly.
"I'm not quite sure... She just threw a fit and ran off..." Seiya mumbled.
"Well after her you three," Kakyuu ordered quietly, but firmly.
~~~~
"Who are you?" Kathryn gasped as two blondes stepped in front of her, causing her to
stop quickly. She stared at them for a moment then recognized them as the girls from
before, who'd pressured the Sandana girl away. Kiran and Kali, she believed they were
called.
"We've come to collect you..." the one with longer hair stated softly.
Kathryn had no choice, she had to henshin. Thrusting her hand aside she shouted "Keeper
Star Power, Make Up!" As soon as she was finished henshinning, however, the two
enemies were ready and had surrounded her. Kiran grabbed the princess' wrists and held
them firmly behind her back before Kali took a sickening blow to the princess' head.
Star Keeper let out an ear splitting scream before she fell unconscious into Kiran's arms.
"Let's get her out of here quickly," she muttered to her sister. The two antagonists froze,
however, as the sure sound of snapping came from the nearest tree branch.
"Standing in the darkness of the night," a calm voice began.
"Dashing through the air of freedom," the second one added.
"The three holy shooting stars!" A third finished. "Sailor Star Fighter!"
"Sailor Star Maker!" the second announced.
"Sailor Star Healer!" the first declared.
"Sailor StarLights, stage on!" They shouted together.
"No, no, no! Not today children!" Kiran grunted as she attempted to hoist Star Keeper
over her shoulder. "Shimatta! Kali-chan! This girl is friggin heavy!"
"Star Sensitive Inferno!" Star Healer shouted, sending her attack from her Star Yell
towards Kiran. A shield of black water intercepted the attack and a ball of black fire was
shot back. The three star senshi leapt out of the way only to watch the tree branch fall
after being hit.
"See you later, girlies!" Kali taunted before disappearing in a swirl of black fire.
"Star... Serious....." Fighter began. "Laser!"
Kiran stuck out her tongue and disappeared with Keeper in a swirl of black water. The
attack zoomed past where Kiran had just been, missing her by a mere few seconds.
Anyhoo! I hope you enjoy this chapter... ^_^ I know I do!
Ch. 6: A broken heart. Kiran and Kali make their mark!
"Kakyuu-hime...." Rei began softly, the others around the table looked as though they
were trying to support her. The fire senshi stared at her plate of food for a while before
speaking again, realizing she had permission to continue. "Well... I know how terrible
this thought has been playing on all of our minds lately... but why exactly did you and the
starlights return.... what's even more, why did they return to stardom?"
"Shall I use the para-phrase version?" Kakyuu joked. She shook her head and went on.
"Time on Kinmoku used to pass much slower than on Earth. The time difference
between the Milky Way galaxy and our own is a humungous gap. What's more is that we
age slower than you do. That could explain a lot... Kathryn retreated from Kinmoku
before Chaos destroyed it... she was reborn on earth in the same time frame as you all
were. Now time moves much faster on Kimoku.. I don't know why either... What was
two years for you was six years for us... We rebuilt Kinmoku in the first two years... In
the remaining four we were there, we were forced to watch it be brought to ruins again.
We arrived on Earth, for now the planet has to heal itself, to wait... We also wanted to
find out the cause. Do you remember the story of the greedy woman that I spoke of the
other day? She was High Priestess Antanania... my high priestess... She betrayed me. And
so we came to Earth. My reasons were hidden... I just wanted my niece back. You see, in
order to keep things going, I was forced to push the memory of her into their unconscious
minds. My starlights didn't know who they were singing for really... I searched for about
half a year and returned recently.. and I've found her, only to lose her again."
"But she's not lost princess," Usagi said softly.
"Yes... without her crystal key, Itazura isn't herself," Kakyuu replied, her voice soft yet
heartbroken.
"Exactly how many betrothed did she turn down?" Makoto asked curiously.
"Well... I should suppose in the three years they tried setting her up...25... possibly more,
my memory isn't all what it used to be."
"Twenty-five? My, she's a very creative girl when it comes to getting rid of men,"
Minako couldn't help but exclaim with a giggle.
"She didn't love any of them... she actually despised the thought of love... It was because
of the first one... but that's her story to tell, not mine," Kakyuu explained with a shrug.
She absently picked at the food on her plate before eating some of it.
"Speaking of Kathryn-hime... Where is she?" Usagi asked quizzically, looking around for
her but finding her nowhere in sight.
"I sent her out with my starlights, they're to show her a good time," Kakyuu said softly.
~~~~~~
"Where are we going?" Kathryn asked softly as she was led forward by Seiya. The three
had blindfolded her so she couldn't see a thing.
"If you ask one more time we'll have to gag you," Yaten taunted her. He had an arm
around her shoulder while Taiki followed them, gently pressing on her back.
"Well excuse me! I just wanna know! I mean, seriously! I'm being led to who knows
where with three men with their hands all over me!" Kathryn retorted jokingly.
"Almost there, princess," Seiya said softly, his grip on her hand tightening.
"Hey! Don't cut off my circulation now!" Kathryn yelped, unable to keep herself from
giggling. "Oh hey... you guys.... It's getting dark soon!"
"We know," Taiki sighed, casting a glance at Yaten.
"She just doesn't seem to shut up, does she?" Yaten snickered softly.
"Hey! I heard that!" Kathryn snapped.
The four stopped in a clearing facing the west. The grass was soft beneath her feet as she
slipped off her shoes and took seat, with help of course. Behind them was a thicket of
forestry and a conveniant little path, the one they'd taken. Taiki stretched out a soft
blanket and set a picnic basket on it. This now meant Seiya had to help Kathryn onto the
blanket. "Just a few more minutes, hime."
"Okay, now I'm really curious..." Kathryn whispered before chuckling softly. She
shivered slightly as a gust of cool night wind brushed past her. "Shall I start counting
down the minutes?"
"Oh God no," Yaten said exasperatedly. Kathryn giggled at his reaction and decided not
to count down. It was a few moments of silence with only a few birds chirping from the
trees before Seiya finally untied the blindfold. A small table was set up with a candelabra
and silverware. If that wasn't breathtaking enough, the sun was just now setting, casting a
pastel glaze over everything with its bright pink and orange light. Kathryn's jaw just hung
down, she was unable to say anything.
"We were ordered to show you a good time, hime. So that's what we're doing," Seiya
explained. "All your favorite foods... after this we have another surprise."
"So, whose idea was this?" Kathryn inquired, glancing around at each of the three who'd
already taken their seats.
"Taiki's," replied Yaten nonchalantly. "Mine's next and then Seiya's."
"Where's my aunt?" Kathryn questioned gently, in a futile attempt to catch them
offguard and find out the whole truth.
"Dinner with the others.. explaining things," Taiki answered immediately, spoiling her
plans.
"I see," Kathryn remarked as she helped herself to a hamburger and dressed it to her
taste. After spreading the mustard on nice and thin she popped her pointer finger in her
mouth and licked off the excess condiments. After taking her finger from her mouth, she
made sure to wipe it clean with a napkin. "And what sort of things is she explaining?"
"Private matters," Yatten uttered before taking a bite from his sandwhich.
"I see... and do these private matters concern a certain pink haired girl I don't know?"
Kathryn pressed calmly, though inside she was burning to force it out of them.
The three shrugged and went on eating, providing the pink haired princess with no
answers at all and more frustration than she thought could mount up. By the time she'd
finished her meal she had almost forgotten all about it since she was far more excited to
see what Yaten had planned for her.
"You're almost done eating, aren't you Yaten-kun?" Kathryn asked desperately, the
anticipation overwhelming her.
With his own little flair, Yaten decided to take his time on eating. He taunted her by
biting into his bite-sized piece of sandwhich with only nibbles and taking a long time to
chew and swallow. "You know," he said after he finished his sandwhich. "I think I'm
hungry enough for another..."
"No!" Kathryn squealed, quickly snatching the basket away from him. "Let's go...
please," she pleaded, giving them each her most pathetic puppy-dog face.
Seiya let out a sharp laugh, perhaps the first time he'd made a sound since they started
eating. "Come on, Yaten! I think we've agonized her too much for one day!"
A rare smile crept onto Taiki's face as he watched Kathryn whimper and act like a sick
puppy. "I must agree... she's looking rather pitiful now."
Yaten shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not. Pile into the car everyone, Taiki, you
know where we're heading!"
To Kathryn's delight, she had the backseat all to herself with Seiya. Yaten and Taiki
jumped into the two front seats. She was anxious, perhaps a little too anxious. She acted
no different than a dog, full-grown or puppy, in a car ride. Her head snapped from side to
side and front to back as they made their way to their new destination.
If there was one thing the american girl loved more than singing, it was shopping. Yaten
knew this. With a little extra effort, the four managed to disguise themselves expertly to
keep from being chased down by rabid fans on their day off. As soon as the pop princess
caught sight of the mall, the three men had no chance of catching up with her. She bolted
merrily from the van and waited only a few moments for her escorts to catch up. She
couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun.
While shopping, Kathryn would find one of the three carefully watching her, or more
precisely, the gem around her neck. It was something she'd grown accustomed to when
she was around her aunt and her guardians for the past few days. They knew the
importance of the stone better than she did, and that did quite the job in making her more
nervous. The aquamarine stone in the coil of silver seemed to bob against her chest
merrily, even as she walked calmly.
When they finally left the shopping center an hour or so later, Kathryn's arms were filled
with a few bags while Seiya and Yaten were stuck carrying the bulk of the purchases.
Kathryn had completely forgotten each of them had planned something for her to do and
Seiya had yet to tell her what his plans were. When she did remember, she blinked
several times while trying to sort through the thoughts jumbled in her head. "Wait...
didn't you have something planned too?" she asked Seiya inquisitively.
"Be patient," Yaten chided from the front seat. He and Taiki got out of the car and started
unloading the shopping bags while Seiya led Kathryn to the apartments. The three young
men helped her put her bags in her apartment, then left. Kathryn had no clue what was
happening.
After dressing in her nightgown and plaiting her hair, Kathryn heard a knock at her door.
She opened it slowly and saw Seiya, Yaten and Taiki standing there. She stepped aside so
they could enter and threw her robe on over her nightgown. After all three had stepped
into the kitchen she closed the door, locked it, and joined them. "What's going on?" she
demanded lightly, fists on her hips and a mock angry look on her face.
"Just like old times," Seiya replied simply. "Come on..." He led her into the living room
and to the couch, Yaten popped a tape in the VCR and Taiki provided them with a huge
bowl of popcorn and a quart of ice cream for everyone.
"Old times?" Kathryn inquired as she took the freezing quart of vanilla ice cream into her
hands.
"Don't you remember? I know I do... when you first arrived on Kinmoku, we'd stuff our
faces with junk food and talk late into the night... Those are memories I'm rather fond
of," Seiya explained, his voice soft.
"And even though you spent most of your time with her, we'd sometimes be graced with
these all-nighters," Yaten added, implying more than Kathryn caught onto. Taiki surely
didn't skip a beat because he was off snickering to himself.
"I'm sure I'll remember sometime... I just can't at the moment," Kathryn whispered
apologetically. She really did feel sorry, it was a memory that she'd like to share more
than anything. To remember how happy she'd been when she was with those three on
Kinmoku, it was a feeling she longed for.
Even as she curled up close to Seiya, Kathryn couldn't help but dwell on what things
were like back then. She knew it was impossible for her and Seiya to have been close, her
Aunt loved Fighter and knew her longer than she had. Then there was the awkwardness
between Fighter and Sailor Moon which Kathryn couldn't help but think about. Sailor
Moon had her prince, but Fighter still seemed to hold her very dear to her heart. It was a
feeling Kathryn got when Fighter was around Kakyuu as well. The pink haired princess
couldn't sort it in her head, was it devotion, dedication? Or was it something more?
Something like love?
Kathryn hardly noticed Taiki get up to put the half eaten quarts of ice cream in the
freezer and had fallen asleep by the time he'd gotten back.
"Did she really fall asleep?" Yaten asked astonishedly. "She must really be worn out!"
"My, doesn't she look comfortable," Taiki chortled before both of them realized that
Seiya had fallen asleep as well.
"Their 'late night talks' must've been dry! It's only 10! Well, let's let them sleep and go
check on the princess, she should be home by now," Yaten chuckled, still bewildered
with Seiya and Kathryn's premature slumber.
~~~~
"Healer... Maker, how is Itazura doing? Did she have a restful evening?" Kakyuu asked
kindly as Taiki and Yaten reentered their apartment. She was sitting down at the table in
a nightgown, eating ice cream and reading a book.
"She's doing fine, Hime... Actually... she fell asleep during the movie.. Seiya did too, so
we didn't wake them. Either we wore her out so much that she had to sleep or she was so
well rested that sleeping sounded good... either way, we took care of her good, just like
you instructed us to," Yaten replied as he took a seat across from Kakyuu. He rested his
elbows on the table and his chin in his palm.
"Well, let's let them rest for now... You two should get to bed as well.. Thank you for
watching over her tonight. The senshi have agreed to work with us and protect her and
the other key holders," Kakyuu explained delicately before getting up from her spot and
putting the ice cream away. She kissed them both on the cheeks, but soon found herself
being escorted to bed instead of them.
~~~~
"Why'd we agree to help them?" Rei asked openly as she readied her sleeping bag for the
night. They'd all decided to spend the night at Usagi's to figure some of the recent events
out.
"Kakyuu and her starlights helped us not too long ago, it's all we could do, to help them
out in return. Besides, this is a threat to not only them, but us too," Usagi replied
matter-of-factly as Minako braided her hair.
"This could come back to bite us," Rei muttered before unzipping her sleeping bag.
"It's a chance we'll have to take," Minako sighed after finishing the last braid in Usagi's
hair. "Usagi-chan... your hair's done," she whispered, putting her face right next to her
friend's. "You okay?"
Usagi nodded seriously. "Yeah, just fine!" she replied with all smiles. "Ami-chan..
Mako-chan.. You two are awfully quiet... want to add anything?"
"I'm not just going to accept this, you know, Usagi-chan," Makoto began softly. She was
already in her sleeping bag and had been playing with a few of the loose threads. "But
you must have your reasons... It might be tough convincing Haruka and the others, but
you have my support unless things take a turn for the worse."
Ami, who'd been absorbed in her book, looked up and smiled softly at Usagi. "Like
Mako-chan, I'm not sure whether I'd pour my heart into it... It could be dangerous... But
I'll follow you wherever, Usagi-chan."
~~~~
When Kathryn woke up the following morning she found it hard to stay calm. She'd
fallen asleep cuddled next to Seiya. It was worse, however, since Seiya was already
awake and just smiling at her. She felt odd. She knew she loved Seiya... no, she loved
Star Fighter. Long ago she'd given up on men and everything they stood for, that's why
she felt the way she did for Fighter... or was it? She couldn't seem to remember properly.
"I see Yaten and Taiki didn't care to wake us last night," Seiya chuckled before rubbing
Kathryn's head softly, messing up her bangs. "I'll treat you to breakfast, come on."
Kathryn nodded numbly and slowly stood from her spot, wrapping her robe around
herself tightly. She remembered the few days ago, when Seiya had come to give her a
wake up call and she just collapsed into tears after closing the door. At the time she had
no clue why she was crying. ~It's cause we'd always fight... It reminded me of then
without me being conscious of it...~ she thought with a sigh before making her way
slowly into her room. She watched through the crack in her door as Seiya left her
apartment to go to his own. "Being a man doesn't suit her... she's far prettier as she
normally is... I wonder how things will return to what they used to be... I wonder if they'll
return..."
Nearly an hour later, as she was drying her hair, Seiya walked back into her apartment
and announced his presence. Kathryn tugged her hair into a low ponytail with a teal bow,
mocking that of the starlights, just so she could see how they'd react. She smoothed out
her bellbottom jeans and nervously tugged on her teal corset to cover more of her
stomach.
"Hurry up! I'm starving!" Seiya taunted her as he stuck his head into her room.
"Tough..." Kathryn replied and stuck her tongue out. She slipped on some black pumps,
grabbed her purse and linked her arm with his before he escorted her out.
~~~~~
"They went to eat," Yaten answered as he watched Taiki pull food from the refrigerator.
"Fighter's recalling more and more about her every day," Kakyuu commented softly as
tears sprung to the corners of her eyes. Never was she one to show such an emotion
without a real reason, but she soon found the tears slipping down her cheeks before she
could prevent them from doing so. Her voice, however, remained quiet and strong. "How
long will it be until she remembers that Itazura hates men? And will she keep her
disguise when she remembers?" she mused softly before quickly wiping her tears away
so Taiki and Yaten wouldn't notice.
"Only time will tell, hime," Yaten began softly. "Do you want to go to eat, hime, instead
of wait all day for Taiki to make something edible?"
Kakyuu hid her giggles behind her hand and shook her head. "Maker... do you mind? I'm
famished."
After shooting a nasty glare in Yaten's direction, Taiki turned to Kakyuu and merely
smiled. "I don't mind at all hime, it saves me the trouble of making something myself.
Shouldn't you change into clothing more appropriate to the surroundings, though?"
"I suppose you're right... It should just take a moment," Kakyuu commented softly before
heading towards her room and shutting the door.
"It's tearing her up inside, seeing Seiya devote himself to someone else... It did back then
and it does now. From what I can remember, our princess may be in for heartbreak,"
Yaten grumbled. "How can he be so insensitive to her feelings? He knows how she
feels!"
"He also knows how Kathryn feels and how he, himself, feels. In his place, what would
you do, Yaten?" Taiki replied, trying to be reasonable. "Let's stray from the topic when
around the hime, agreed?"
"We wouldn't want to trouble her anymore," Yaten agreed. Just then, Kakyuu opened her
bedroom door. She wore a knee length, red skirt with a pink dress shirt and a red blazer
over it. Her hair was no longer held captive by her crown and instead it was let down
loosely. She looked like a normal human and had even managed to make the olive
blossom mark on her forehead disappear. "Hime, you'll fit in perfectly," Yaten said
softly as he went to take her arm.
~~~~~
Seiya tugged on Kathryn's ponytail jokingly. "Not the look for you, hime-chan..."
Kathryn winced slightly at the suffix he'd used when addressing her, but didn't comment
on it. "Ne... Seiya-kun," she stressed the suffix she'd used for him before continuing.
"We fought a lot, didn't we?"
Seiya was taken aback. Of course they had, as Star Fighter, she'd hated Kathryn, then
known as Anrui, for the first two weeks. But he felt he couldn't tell her that, not with her
current condition.
"Didn't we?" Kathryn pressed as she stopped abruptly and turned to face him.
Seiya continued a few steps, but eventually stopped as well. He turned to look at her and
sighed. "I don't feel comfortable talking about that."
"Well why don't you become comfortable? Hm? I want to know more about my past...
what we were like, but you're making that impossible!" Kathryn snapped.
~Not much different from before,~ Seiya thought with a sigh. ~Apt to mood swings... my
hime-chan..~ He shook his head. "I want you to learn more about our past, hime-chan...
but I want it to happen in due time..."
Kathryn crossed her arms, glared at him, then stormed off. She quickly broke into a run
to make sure he wouldn't catch up with her as quickly.
Yaten, Taiki and Kakyuu approached Seiya as Kathryn was running away. "Fighter...
what's going on?" Kakyuu asked softly.
"I'm not quite sure... She just threw a fit and ran off..." Seiya mumbled.
"Well after her you three," Kakyuu ordered quietly, but firmly.
~~~~
"Who are you?" Kathryn gasped as two blondes stepped in front of her, causing her to
stop quickly. She stared at them for a moment then recognized them as the girls from
before, who'd pressured the Sandana girl away. Kiran and Kali, she believed they were
called.
"We've come to collect you..." the one with longer hair stated softly.
Kathryn had no choice, she had to henshin. Thrusting her hand aside she shouted "Keeper
Star Power, Make Up!" As soon as she was finished henshinning, however, the two
enemies were ready and had surrounded her. Kiran grabbed the princess' wrists and held
them firmly behind her back before Kali took a sickening blow to the princess' head.
Star Keeper let out an ear splitting scream before she fell unconscious into Kiran's arms.
"Let's get her out of here quickly," she muttered to her sister. The two antagonists froze,
however, as the sure sound of snapping came from the nearest tree branch.
"Standing in the darkness of the night," a calm voice began.
"Dashing through the air of freedom," the second one added.
"The three holy shooting stars!" A third finished. "Sailor Star Fighter!"
"Sailor Star Maker!" the second announced.
"Sailor Star Healer!" the first declared.
"Sailor StarLights, stage on!" They shouted together.
"No, no, no! Not today children!" Kiran grunted as she attempted to hoist Star Keeper
over her shoulder. "Shimatta! Kali-chan! This girl is friggin heavy!"
"Star Sensitive Inferno!" Star Healer shouted, sending her attack from her Star Yell
towards Kiran. A shield of black water intercepted the attack and a ball of black fire was
shot back. The three star senshi leapt out of the way only to watch the tree branch fall
after being hit.
"See you later, girlies!" Kali taunted before disappearing in a swirl of black fire.
"Star... Serious....." Fighter began. "Laser!"
Kiran stuck out her tongue and disappeared with Keeper in a swirl of black water. The
attack zoomed past where Kiran had just been, missing her by a mere few seconds.