Day 6: February 6
Venus returned home.
Mars made a surprise visit.
The guard announced the presence of Mars at the door to the main strategy room.
Normally she would have received immediate access.
Not this time.
She heard chairs and items being shuffled around in the room. She raised an eyebrow at the odd sounds from inside the room.
Were they trying to hide something from her eyes?
Suddenly, Venus opened the door, after a staggering 1 minute wait.
Rei coolly watched the senshi of love as she gave a wink. "Mars dearest! Come in!"
Saying nothing, Mars stepped into the room seeing a few empty chairs along with other military men and strategists. "We weren't expecting you this morning Sailor Mars!" Mars took a seat in one of the empty chairs. It was warm. Someone had been sitting here just seconds before she made her presence known. Venus gave her that deceptive smile, "Always a pleasure for you to join us though!"
"Cut the crap Venus," glared the Fire Senshi, legendary for her no-nonsense attitude. "And don't you dare lie to me. Someone was sitting in this chair before I arrived."
"Er-"
Her piercing violet eyes turned to one of the officers in a slightly lower position as she. He bowed his head respectively, "I was in that chair before you walked in, Sailor Mars."
She studied the man. He was bluffing. Her eyes turned to slits. Before she could speak another word, Venus immediately sighed, "Mars, dearest, why are you looking so paranoid? Has stress gotten to you?"
Rei glared at the woman who was like her own sister. "You know very well, VENUS, why I am a bit...uptight."
She just gave her smirk before waving it off with a flick of the wrist. "You have always been such a hothead."
Standing up from her seat at the table, Mars began heading towards the door keeping her eye on the blonde and that sweet smile she had. "I've got my eye on you."
She turned around again giving each of the men in the room a scowl before turning back to their ring leader. "And I don't trust you either Venus!"
"Love you!" she waved back with that unsufferable smile.
Mars left without another word spoken as she stormed out of the room in a huff.
The only place she could go to blow off steam was the training facility... where she burned a whole lot of new training gadgets and targets. After having shot a few more fiery arrows and having thrown her newly polished and sharpened dagger at the messenger who startled and broke her concentration, the man tried standing bravely before the angry senshi of fire.
"Sailor Mars," spoke the man, obviously having prior military training as he saluted her. He stood at attention and handed her a white, cloth bag closed with a draw string. "Delivery for you."
"Oh my... not again," hissed Mars as she received the bag. What was it this time?
As soon as the messenger disappeared, she walked to the side of the training grounds and sat on a wooden bench. She used her white gloved arm to wipe away the sweat from her forehead. She released a sigh before looking down to the bag. A look of displeasure crossed her features before she opened the sack. She saw a few small sealed containers with a letter on top. Again, it was the same calligraphy. She raised an eyebrow noticing the ink was still drying on the letter. It turned the tips of her gloved fingers black.
Interesting.
She read the letter silently.
My Dearest Mars,
Letting off some steam?
I'm sure you must be exhausted.
Let me offer you refreshments,
My Treat.
Love,
Your Secret Admirer
She took off her gloves and set them aside before pulling up one of several sealed containers in the bag. She raised an eyebrow feeling the warmth coming from the container. What was it?
She opened the first container: Freshly Steamed Rice.
She decided to sit on the floor kneeling much like she used to as a Miko-Priestess. She reached into the bag and opened another sealed container. She almost hissed at the liquid drops spilling from the lid. She needed to be more careful.
Miso Soup.
She raised an eyebrow.
In a different container, she was careful to open it this time.
Yakisoba and Yakitori.
When she reached for the last container, she felt it was cool. After it was opened, she smiled. Sushi and Sashimi.
This really was a treat!
Yet, before she was able to get excited even further, she looked around the training gym. She saw no one around. Looking one more time in the bag she felt a sweatdrop fall from the side of her head and chuckled to herself before screaming, "BAKA! You forgot the chopsticks and spoon!"
Didn't bother her one bit to eat with her hands instead. She was alone after all...
Or so she thought.
At the highest point of the three-story high ceilings of the training facility behind the reflective glass, a loud laugh was emitted from a General with strawberry-blond hair. He patted his comrade who put his head in his hands. "How could I forget those items?"
Zoisite gave a smirk, his emerald-eyes smiling at his brother-in-arms embarrassment, "Calm down Jadeite. I think she's coming along rather well with her 'Secret Admirer'."
"Everything was going so perfect," the man with golden locks of short curls admitted, "She was responding so well to each gift I gave her... and then I forget the cutlery."
"You still have till the 14th to be the suave, collected, and romantic-at-heart. I still can't believe you waited all these years to finally make your presence known to her."
"What if she doesn't accept me?" asked Jadeite, his cool-blue eyes becoming stormy with doubt.
Zoisite smirked, "She was yours once and she will be yours again. Ami keeps telling me how Rei longs for you and still mourns your death."
That gave the blond a little encouragement. "Coming back from the dead..."
"Well, it took us a thousand years to get back to the position we are at as Neo King Endymion's Generals," sighed the younger, brazen man, "I'm thankful Endymion has been so gracious to allow us to live under the same roof as he, though this move only happened at the beginning of this year... Though, I do remember centuries back where we were all sent to the furthest corners of the earth at the lowliest positions in the military to prove our loyalty to our King."
"Great brother bonding time," smiled Jadeite at the memories.
"Freezing our tails off, turning fish in the ocean into target practice whille gathering our next meal, running away from raging Polar Bears..."
"That was you, Zoisite. And we were already One-Star Generals at that point."
The strawberry blond shrugged, "Eh, I see it all as worth it in the end. I have Mercury back in my life, in my arms, and in my bed-"
"After that secret wedding you both had only inviting the Priest, King and Queen. Low blow, bro."
"She's head of Intelligence!" shrugged the General with green eyes, "She has only has two days off a week and they are not back to back! I was not going to complain when she married me two-weeks ago Monday. Best decision ever made..."
Jadeite slapped his forehead, "Well, good for you. You need to be careful though. Mars is on the hunt. And if she gets wind that you, Nephrite, Kunzite, or I have made our ways back to the kingdom, all this Valentine's Day planning is for naught!"
"And... she might kill you with fire," optimistically teased Zoisite.
The blue-orbed man groaned. "Don't remind me. Please, don't remind me."
Mars paused her mid-eating noticing something in the reflective glass straight ahead near the top of the ceiling. For a moment, she noticed two silhouettes. She raised an eyebrow before looking down to her food. Not that she wanted to scare whoever was up there away... but she was curious to know who resided in that space...
She stood up, leaving the food containers on the ground, and began walking towards the stairs leading to the upper observatory room.
"Where is she going?" asked Jadeite, his eyes narrowing in confusion. She wouldn't just leave her meal to-oh, SHOOT! "We need to get out of here Zoi!"
"Relax," spoke the blond man with long curly locks. While sitting in his chair, he lifted his feet and placed them on a balister. "No one can see us up here-"
"Then explain to me why she just walked up the stairs leading to this room," the older of the two hissed.
The younger just laughed, "You're just paranoid Jadeite. What could go wrong?"
Sure enough, as quickly as they could blink, the heard the handle to the door jingle and the biometric system begin to beep to life.
"Oh shi-"
The men teleported just as Mars opened the door. She looked to the right and to the left. She walked to the window and looked out and down to where she previously sat. A sweatdrop fell down the side of her face when she saw Luna and Artemis walk over to her food and begin eating it. "I must be loosing my mind..." she uttered. Running her hand frustratedly through her hair she went back down to the training area and locking up the observatory room. As she began leaving the room, she noticed a small stash of chopsticks. She smirked, grabbed a pair, and exited the space. Little did she realize, in the rafters above her hid the two Generals, looking down at the fire senshi, and keeping as silent as possible from being caught.
"She's sharp," uttered Zoisite.
"Too sharp sometimes," agreed Jadeite with a sigh.