Author's Note:
See, I said it would be up and it is! I've stayed up until 3:30 am to put this up here for everyone, and here it is!
Enjoy, everyone! (I'm so off to bed.)
Of Love and War
Chapter Nine
"Cursed"
Shinozaki looked over at Ryo, "Explicit enough?"
Ryo thinking it over, nodded and then his expression darkened, "Your troubles sound terrible, but I have this
feeling you've left something... important out. Something that would carry over to my problems and make
them rather dire as well."
Shinozaki waited to see if Ryo would puzzle it out on his own, half hoping he would and half hoping that he
would not. Ryo got up from the bed where he had been sitting and stood beside the window looking down
into the garden, "You have implied something that would dash a number of hopes that are harbored in many
rooms up and down this hall."
"Hopes?"
"The lovely ladies that have grabbed the attention of, well, our entire group, it appears... You, however, will
need to answer a question for me. So, how high a lady is your Makoto?"
"What do you mean? How high?"
"You know what I mean, Shinozaki-kun."
Shinozaki sighed, and turned his attention to his closet, looking through his options one last time.
"Ryo-kun, you do realize that you don't want to know the answer to that question as much as I desire that the
answer to the question were different."
"I need to know. For better or worse. If things are impossible, I should override my senses."
Shinozaki glanced over at his friend, the lines of his face deepening, " From experience, it's an impossible
task. Even isolation cannot cure it. Denying it makes the feeling much like a ghostly shadow, following in the
footsteps of every kind of thought."
"I know. But to attempt is madness."
"Then live madly. As we must."
"So she is..."
"She is Makoto-hime of the Kino house, Princess of Jupiter."
"And they would not send one princess in the company of ladies. They would send them as a party, all with
equal status."
"It would be the most logical thing to do."
"So, Lady Ami is indeed Ami-hime."
"It would follow, my friend."
sigh "We are cursed men."
Shinozaki looked at the clock and swore, "If we don't run, we're going to be late men as well. We have three
minutes."
Ryo scurried out the door, and Shinozaki pulled on the shirt in his hand and jogged out the door.
He checked his hair by glancing in the mirrors that he jogged past and trying to finger comb his hair into
submission as he went. Mamoru and Motoki were already there; Motoki appeared to be gushing at Mamoru
who was impatiently awaiting someone else's arrival.
The moment Mamoru's eyes lighted on Shinozaki, he called out, "Shino-kun, you're late! Where have you
been?"
Motoki looked up, "There you are, did you comb your hair?"
Shinozaki spun around, looking for a mirror, spotted the one behind the hall table at the head of the stairs and
quickly stepped over to it. It definitely wasn't the best his hair had ever looked, but it was a little late to worry
now. He rolled his eyes, gave it one final finger comb and went back to the other two.
"I was having trouble picking a shirt and yes, I did."
Motoki eyed his friend's hair and raised his eyebrows in skepticism, "Running your fingers through it as you
sprint is not combing." He sighed, "Come here a second, I had a feeling you might have this trouble."
Motoki walked quickly to the console table in front of the mirror, reached into a large black vase sitting on the
mahogany table, and retrieved a small brush. "I put it here earlier. I had a feeling that one of you might have
this problem; you have less practice then I."
Mamoru couldn't help but smile as Shinozaki gritted his teeth, grudgingly took the brush and made a pass
through with the brush. He turned away from Motoki's smug smile to look down to the first floor. As he
gazed down, thinking, the sound of heels on marble floors roused him from his thoughts and he came back
into the present just as the five ladies swept into view below him. He glanced through the group and his eyes
caught on Serena, She is lovely...
Then Ryo hurried into view, Yuuichirou on his heels, both looking rushed. Shinozaki sighed and handed Ryo
the brush, who ran it quickly through his hair. He offered it to Yuuichirou who looked at himself in the
mirror, figured that his mop of brown hair looked as good as it was going to with a brush through and refused
it. Motoki took it back and stuffed it back into the vase. Then Mamoru walked back to the others and
wordlessly motioned towards the staircase. They all checked their appearances one last time and began their
descent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Senshi ended their trek through the halls at a pair of huge, carved wooden doors.
Ami announced, " I believe we have reached the dining room at last. We're barely on time, but we're here."
As they began discussing whether they should enter, they heard footsteps behind them. They all turned in
time to see the group of 5 knights begin their descent down the marble staircase. Minako smiled broadly at
Motoki, who grinned back. Usagi's eyes rested on Darien as he descended, his black shirt standing out in the
group of jewel toned cloth. She tipped her head off to the side and tried to think back to the garden, tried to
reconcile the conflicting names. Ami glanced up, spotted Ryo, blushed, and looked down at her feet. Rei
glanced up and her eyes caught on Yuuichirou, He is handsome, shook her head, denying it, and looked
ahead at the door, determinedly. Makoto found Shinozaki immediately, meaning to glance away but found
herself staring. He cleans up very well. He looks even better then- Stop it. It's Shino. She pushed her
automatic response aside and finding his eyes on her as well, she gave a half smile. He smiled back, his eyes
soft. As the knights reached the foot of the staircase, a flurry of footsteps were heard scurrying down the hall.
A small gaggle of women, around 10, in gowns of varying pastels wandered in, chattering as they pooled into
the antechamber. The women in front suddenly stopped short, noticing the small group already gathered there.
They began whispering amongst themselves, and finally one stepped foreword. She was a tall woman, with
long red hair, obviously styled with the greatest care into delicate curls. As she tossed her head, her elaborate
crimson dress rustled from the impact of her hair. "Who are you?"
Darien moved to Usagi's side and intercepted the woman, "Madam Charlotte, these are some guests from the
Silver Millenium. This-" He extended his hand to Usagi, " is Lady Serena, that is Lady Rei, the lady near
Lord Motoki is Lady Minako, that is Lady Makoto, and this is Lady Ami."
Lady Charlotte pursed her lips, curtsied, and opened her painted lips to say something more, but as she did so,
their Majesties swept into the area, followed closely by a group of four young men in Military dress with the
decoration of generals. The Queen opened the doors and entered, as she did so, Darien quickly offered his
arm to Usagi, which she took, and they strode in after their Majesties. Motoki offered his arm to Minako who
took it with a flourish and they glided in, as Ryo shyly offered his arm to Ami. She looked up at him, smiled
softly, and took it. Makoto looked at Shinozaki, who smiled, and offered his arm. She nodded shallowly and
took it without hesitation. Behind them strode the generals, each adorned with a lady, after whom stalked the
ladies left without the attentions of the men. As Shinozaki snuck a sideways glance at Makoto, who was
smiling to herself slightly, he looked back ahead to navigate to her place and grinned. Cursed we may be,
but perhaps the pleasure is worth the pain. She is the same as she ever was, maybe even more so. And, she is
on -my- arm tonight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for reading, everyone, and for taking the time to review. It's lovely to hear from all of you.
Lightning Girl
PS
Athena- You were right, I didn't realize how awful the formatting issues were. I think they're fixed but lemme know. Thank you for letting me know about them in the first place!(They deleted my 's that tell you when they're just thinking. I can't believe how hard it was to read it without them. Sorry about that.)
I think it's fixed (crossing my fingers) let's hope it doesn't delete them again when I post or something.
Thank you,
Lightning Girl
PPS.
Indeed, it deleted them again. I despise their import system. It's evil. Beryl would be proud. Now, thoughts are italics, let's see if that holds. Arrrgh.
Lightning Girl