Chapter 3
Notes: The premise for the fanzine Kaya is reading in this chapter comes from Sailor Doc's fic 'Heart Of Passion, Heart Of Love'. Give it a read! It is a very good Rei/Minako fic and stands on its own if you aren't familiar with the larger story it stemmed from.
Setsuna still wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the toaster waffles. This morning's breakfast involved blueberries, though, and it all mixed nicely enough. A good lead-in to the continuing job of sorting and studying all their library materials, she decided.
They'd gotten off to a strong start, the clock almost at noon when they were loudly interrupted by the door buzzer. Not just a simple press to alert Kaya to a visitor. Rather, it had begun and not stopped, loudly demanding her attention. There had been no answer when Kaya shouted into the intercom for whoever was pressing it to stop. She'd wound up banging on it a few times, a curse of frustration falling from her lips as she did. Finally, she'd thrown up her hands and marched downstairs, ready to take her ire out on whatever she found.
All Kaya had found, though, was an open mailbox and her daily delivery fluttering about on the ground. More curses fell as she and Setsuna chased the letters around the entryway, the breeze trying to steal them away. But then her hand had landed on a pale blue envelope, and she grinned widely.
"Hey, look!" Kaya called, chuckling. "Monthly parental guilt payment right on time. Movie and a fancy dinner on me tonight."
Setsuna grinned back, then noticed the large envelope peeking from the still open mailbox.
Kaya moved over to check it, then squealed like a child set loose in a toy store on her birthday. She absolutely beamed as she pulled out the large, beat-up envelope that had been unceremoniously shoved into her box.
"No, no, you don't understand," she explained at a quick clip after they were back up in the apartment, the buzzer now blessedly silenced. She tore the thing open and held up the fanzine with both hands for emphasis while waving it happily in Setsuna's direction. "This volume was late, from a group that is never late. And it contains the final part of this really sweeping period piece that isn't at all historically accurate, but damn it's good. The amount of tutoring I had to do to get all of the earlier issues was crazy! At one point I thought I was going to have to start trading sexual favors just to get it all," she laughed.
Setsuna raised an eyebrow and took a slow sip from her cola bottle.
Kaya hung her head. She laid the zine on the kotatsu, careful to keep it well away from their lunch, and stood. "Okay," she said with a nod, "I know what this calls for."
Setsuna watched as Kaya moved with determined efficiency, going back and forth between the living room and bedroom. With each trip, a milk crate of carefully categorized and alphabetized fanzines was set on the floor beside the couch. When Kaya was done, she dusted her hands together and smiled proudly over the half dozen crates.
"So the best place to start is here," explained Kaya as she pulled a volume of 'Secret Chocolates' from her library. She started to hand it to Setsuna, but hesitated. "Oh, um, wipe your fingers really well first. No mayo on the zines, please."
With a smirk, Setsuna made a show of using her napkin.
That earned a giggle from Kaya before she went on. "This is what you were reading the other night. It's all one-shot stories and a few single strip comics, so you won't get left hanging," she explained as Setsuna took it and flipped through a few pages. "There's one other set near the front that sticks to that format, and all the single story issues are tabbed in blue, but with the multis it can get kind of dicey by way of completion. There's a few different genres, so you can mix your flavors however you like."
Setsuna stared at it for a moment, feeling a bit guilty over the idea of taking time for such a frivolous thing while there was so much work in front of them.
Kaya seemed to sense this and prodded gently in a roundabout way. "You go ahead and pick your reading," she went on lightly as she moved back to her seat and plopped down on her floor pillow. She opened her zine with one hand and held half a sandwich an arms length away with the other. "I'm going to see what made my fire ninja princess freeze just as she got in her girlfriend's window after she spent so much time planning her entrance and going through the trouble of repelling down the castle wall in the middle of the night.
"Oh, and," she grinned as her eyes started to scan the text, "if we skip the movie tonight, I know a good noodle shop that's open late. In case we need to burn a little oil working."
Relenting to her curiosity, Setsuna eased back into the couch with 'Secret Chocolates' and picked up reading where she had previously left off. There really wasn't anything happening that needed their urgent attention, and she allowed herself to reason there was no harm in a short break. She glanced over the top of her zine and for a second wondered if Kaya's grin was because of the story she was reading or how easily she'd been talked into this.
The volume she started with had been a quick and easy read. Returning it to its spot and rifling carefully through the milk crates, she found a second series that looked interesting, the cover a detailed drawing of a woman in a trench coat with her face largely obscured by sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat. There was one volume ahead of it in the series, and this volume promised completion in the early summer release. Feeling good about her choice, she took a moment to retrieve two more bottles of cola from the kitchen before beginning.
It took awhile for Kaya to notice the soda bottle that had been quietly set beside her on the kotatsu. Setsuna chuckled at the momentary confusion on the young woman's face when she did, then nodded at the silent 'thank you' that was mouthed before Kaya flipped her new zine back to the beginning and started reading again.
Kaya wasn't reading the zine anymore when Setsuna closed the second volume of her new spy series and went looking for the third. There was a hardcover spread open in front of Kaya on the kotatsu instead, one they'd brought back from the library. She would finish this one and then get back to work, Setsuna decided. It wouldn't do for her to be the one slacking.
A frown touched her lips as her search for the next volume came up empty. Kaya's filing system was fairly precise, and she was certain she was in the right place. She checked the spots around the designated slot, just in case it had been accidentally misfiled, perhaps after a late night read. But nothing. Clearing her throat to get Kaya's attention, she held up the zine to show her which one she was looking for.
The grimace on Kaya's face was all the answer she needed.
"Yeah," began Kaya in a conciliatory tone, "that one's not finished. And it stopped in a horrible place!"
Pointing to the large text on the cover, Setsuna returned, "They were quite clear it would be completed in early summer this year. It's far closer to fall at this point than it is summer."
Kaya laughed lightly. "I've been told that group is always late. Printing problems usually. We probably won't get it until the end of the year at this point."
Setsuna stood and crossed her arms, contemplating. Her toe tapped lightly against the floor as the idea ran through her mind. She'd already done several things she shouldn't at this point. Was there any real harm in adding one more small thing? "Would you excuse me for just a moment?"
Kaya nodded and watched her disappear into the hall. She wasn't entirely sure how to interpret the look Setsuna had in her eyes or the sharp way she'd turned on her heel before walking away. She still wasn't sure what to think when Setsuna came back a few minutes later, a wide self-satisfied grin on her lips. Until she saw what Setsuna was holding.
"You didn't!" exclaimed Kaya, standing so quickly she knocked her knee on the kotatsu, bobbling her open soda bottle. She hissed while simultaneously diving for the bottle, saving the books and papers spread out around her before hobbling in Setsuna's direction.
Setsuna's grin widened. "Apparently they misjudged how many volumes they'd need to complete it as well as their print dates," she said merrily, holding up the two purloined fanzines she'd sauntered in with.
Kaya tried to reach for them, but Setsuna held them just out of her grasp.
"Unfair height advantage!" cried Kaya, hopping on her uninjured leg as the zines were held above Setsuna's head. She made a few more jumping grabs then gave up and resorted to a pout that only amused Setsuna more. "Come on! You can't do something like that and not share!"
"I suppose I should share. But no touching," teased Setsuna with more humor than a real warning would have allowed. "You don't want to cause a time paradox and rip apart the universe, do you?"
That teasing smile made Kaya believe this wasn't an actual threat, but she wasn't going to be the one to take that chance. "So then?"
"Read it with me?" offered Setsuna. "I can't leave it here, but I don't think there's any harm in sharing it with you. Though, of course, you must promise to keep this to yourself just like everything else."
"I can do that," returned Kaya eagerly. "No paradox-ripping, loose lips here."
Setsuna nodded and moved toward the couch. Kaya settled in beside her, leaning lightly against her side with hands folded tightly in her lap so she'd be less tempted to touch the pages. "Do you want to start from the beginning or the new volume?"
"Can we read the whole thing from start to finish one time before you take it back?" At Setsuna's nod, Kaya went on, "Then the new volumes first. We'll do the whole thing another time."
Opening to the first page, Setsuna began to read as she pretended not to notice how Kaya's head rested casually on her shoulder.
The burst of power had been impossible to miss. Surprised at its strength, Setsuna had nearly dropped her teacup as a shiver ran through her, the echo of childish laughter like a chime floating on the breeze.
There wasn't time to explain it to Kaya, and she wasn't going to have any way to communicate and offer direction once she was gone. Without any choice, she ignored the deep frown she was given and told Kaya to meet her at the park, since it was the simplest location she was sure they both knew. Then she abandoned their breakfast to let The Gate put her where she needed to be.
Where she needed to be turned out to be the downtown shopping district, and she was glad she'd stayed in civilian dress as she stepped out onto the sidewalk from a narrow alleyway. Morning traffic hummed along as people made their way to work. There was a hint of freshly baked bread in the air, and a gaggle of elderly women chatting animatedly at the front of the fresh grocer. A young woman with a red ponytail hurried by, stopping only when she physically ran into her blonde companion at an art store several doors down. The blonde shook her head before laughing and pulling the redhead into the store. Women with small children in tow began their daily shopping, and a group of school girls in uniform despite the summer holiday chased down a bus in an effort not to be left behind. All forms of humanity swirled around her, but no kirkri.
Setsuna closed her eyes briefly and tried to listen for that laughter. Hearing nothing, she scanned the area for hiding places - behind benches or mailboxes or large potted plants. Any places a small creature could hide or scurry between. She began walking slowly down the block, trying to tune out all the distractions. She was certain it was here. She just needed to catch a flash of those yellow eyes.
She'd made it to the cross section when she felt it, the sensation like that of a careless child brushing against her as it ran by. That chime-like laughter drew her attention back in the direction she'd come, and she turned just in time to see a blur of red dart beneath the feet of a woman entering the art shop.
She was in the doorway, henshin wand in hand, when she heard the first scream. It came from the back of the store, and through the haze of a quick transformation she heard a cacophony of female screams rise up along with one very clear, "Kill it!" A few more steps and she found herself in the middle of a craft class turned to chaos. Women from their late teens to middle fifties scrambled to get their feet clear as the kirkri darted about. The shop owner implored everyone to calm themselves, promising that whatever it was there were no rats in the store. The only one not in an absolute panic was the young woman with the red ponytail.
A flash of fur darted between two overturned chairs and knocked into a table leg, sending a jar of glaze paint crashing to the floor. It ducked behind a cabinet, came back through to curl under the chair a cringing blonde stood upon, and nearly toppled the store owner as it swished past her long skirt heading for the stairs.
"Oh, for pete's sake," exclaimed Red Ponytail. She had obviously had enough and moved as though she were going to just handle this intrusive rodent herself. There were two problems with this, however. First, both her sneakers had come untied. Second, the blonde on the chair was using her to keep her balance. One or the other she might have been able to overcome. The two together were a losing battle.
As soon as she stepped forward, her feet got tangled in her laces, throwing her off balance. Her movement knocked the blonde from the precarious position she was in and both went tumbling to the floor. Blonde landed on top of Red Ponytail, the latter letting out a shriek as her shoulder audibly popped.
That seemed to snap attention away from the frolicking rodent. The shop owner was almost as pale as the young woman dry heaving in a ball of pain on the floor. Pluto felt bad for her but took advantage of the distraction.
The kirkri scurried up the stairs and skirted through a partially opened door at the top of the hall. Pluto gave chase, ignoring the stunned looks of the children playing in the family room as she followed it through an open window onto a fire escape. The creature chittered as it wound itself down the ladder, trying to find escape through the alley and back to the street.
Pluto stayed on its tail and tried to find a good moment to throw a Garnet Ball around it. But there were too many people in too enclosed a space. If it kept heading in the direction it was going, though…
A small smile formed on Pluto's lips. It was heading for the park. With just a touch of luck, she could find the empty space she needed there.
They turned a corner, and she silently apologized to the people she knocked off balance. Another block and they were charging through the decorative pillars at the park entrance.
The kirkri never broke pace as it lifted its muzzle and hummed out a call. They were coming into the open space Pluto had hoped for and there wasn't a person in sight. The words to form a Garnet Ball came to her lips, and she could feel the power building in her hands when the kirkri suddenly veered off the path and towards a small rose garden. It only slowed her down a step or two, but it was enough. She heard the chime of laughter as the Garnet Ball was thrown in the kirkri's direction.
The orb traveled lightning fast, but it wasn't enough. The kirkri was plucked to safety by a small pair of ethereal hands. Pluto watched it disappear along the gauzy orange of a hazy sleeve before both phased out completely, leaving the Garnet Ball to capture nothing but air.
Pluto cursed. It was not her usual reaction, but she felt it justified in this moment. She let the Garnet Ball fall away and gave a half-hearted look-over of the space the kirkri had disappeared from. There wasn't even a disturbed blade of grass left behind.
"Pluto!"
Kaya's voice grabbed her attention, and she noticed the franticness in it. Standing from where she'd been kneeling, she caught the young woman by the shoulders when she ran up to her.
Out of breath from running, Kaya braced herself against Pluto's hands. Leaning forward and trying to gulp in air, she choked out, "Are… are you… okay?"
"I'm fine." She gave her a rueful grin. "Unsuccessful, but fine."
In response she got a doubtful expression, silent only because Kaya was half bent over slowly getting her breathing back to normal. However, that didn't stop Kaya's hands from beginning to hover over Pluto's frame. Pluto held her arms out and allowed Kaya to check her over to make sure she really was okay, though the small frown that formed on Kaya's lips made her wonder if she was actually disappointed at the lack of injury.
"So what happened?" asked Kaya as she finished her cursory exam. "No kirkri?"
Pluto phased back to her civilian form. "No, I found it. I just wasn't quick enough to catch it." She explained what had happened and how the chase had ended.
Arms crossed and head tilted in thought, Kaya let out a little huff. "Huh. So no magic sparks or rampaging Squirrelzilla?"
Setsuna shook her head.
"And then ghostly hands just snatched it away?" Kaya chuckled. "I guess I should feel special then."
Setsuna laughed. "Come on. Let's go back and finish our tea. Perhaps the rest of the day will be quiet."
Back at the apartment, Setsuna had started to hunt through some photocopies to see if any pictures jumped out at her, but nothing matched up with anyone at the art store. She conceded it was a half-hearted search, though. The morning chase had frustrated her and she wanted some time to decompress.
Kaya hadn't said anything to her when the photocopies were traded for one of the books stacked against the tv. As Setsuna turned a page to begin a new chapter, she glanced over the top of the book to catch a glimpse of what Kaya was doing.
On the floor at the kotatsu, Kaya leaned over two of the books she'd brought home from the library, her lips moving slightly as she went between the texts and her notebook. Her hair was clipped up in a messy twist, a few strands falling in loose curls over her glasses. Every few minutes she would absently blow them aside, never breaking from her reading. Setsuna wondered how long it would take for that to bother her enough to make her pause and reclip it.
Kaya must have felt her staring because she suddenly looked up with a tiny little "hmmm." She caught Setsuna's eyes and grinned, tucking those errant strands of blue behind her ear. Setsuna grinned back, the gesture causing a bit of pink to color Kaya's cheeks before she ducked her eyes in embarrassment.
"I… um… kind of went down a rabbit hole," admitted Kaya with some quiet hesitation.
Setsuna closed her book and leaned forward, arms crossed on her knees. "What are you working on?"
Perking up, Kaya tapped one of the books with her pen. "Mostly the same subject. Ancient civilizations aren't really my thing, so I'm playing a lot of catch up, but the library had some really interesting stuff to get me going. Our medallion gets a cursory mention with the name the university cataloged it under in this book. Lots of speculation on the civilization, but the sources for their theories seem legit. However," and a gleam of excitement lit in her eyes, "I think… just maybe… what this other book references is our medallion, though they're calling it something different. It's going pretty off script, though, so I'm trying to connect some far flung dots. All with a heavy dose of admitted bias."
Setsuna laughed lightly, finding the enthusiasm unexpected but entirely endearing. Kaya was embracing this task more than she was, and the curiosity it ignited in her added an element that could almost be described as fun.
"You think I'm silly," stated Kaya through a self-conscious half-grin.
Surprised, Setsuna sat up straighter. "Not at all," she assured. "I apologize if I gave that impression. I find people tend to assume I have an affinity for these types of tasks because of my place at the Time Gate. In truth, I find them a bit tedious. Ancient civilizations aren't really my thing, either," she admitted with a small shrug. "So I'm very glad to have the help of someone who finds enjoyment in it."
Kaya propped her chin on her hands, open curiosity on her features. "What do you enjoy?"
"Hmm?" Setsuna's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Is it a hard question?" giggled Kaya. "You've gotten a good idea of the kinds of things I like. I know you enjoy morning tea. What else?"
"Oh." Setsuna sat back in the chair, her hands lightly twisting the paperback in her lap. "Let's see. A good book is always a pleasure. I do also have a fondness for shopping trips, especially in places I'm visiting for the first time. Though obviously it's not something I get to do terribly often. But as an entirely guilty pleasure? New clothes." She chuckled, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "I don't think I'm supposed to admit that, but I spend so much time in uniform that getting a chance to play with new fashions is very welcome. And then there's astro physics."
Kaya's eyebrows shot up. "Astro physics?"
Setsuna nodded.
"As in 'something you do for fun?'"
Another nod. "My preferred field. It has practical purposes, of course," she went on, waving a hand nonchalantly, "but over time the study of it has become very much like a hobby. And something I'm quite good at, if I may say so."
"Always say it," returned Kaya with a wide grin. "So like, that's all black holes, crashing ions, and tears in space/time, right?"
Setsuna smirked. "Something like that."
Kaya waved her hands to stall off any sense of disrespect. "No, no, I don't mean it like that! I did not go down that road with the sciences so it all goes over my head. But!" She quickly looked around, scanning her book piles until her eyes landed on the one she was seeking. She crawled over to it and held it up like a prize.
Setsuna squinted at the title - 'Wellspring: Our Solar System and the Aliens Who Crafted It' - then hung her head with a heavy sigh. "Really?"
A shrug and a deep blush were Kaya's reply. Then she squeaked out, "Please don't be offended. I saw it at the library and couldn't help myself." She crawled back over to the kotatsu and set the book down, gingerly giving it a push in Setsuna's direction. She bit her bottom lip, then offered almost shyly, "So I was thinking… I started it but don't mind going back… so if you maybe wanted to… we could grab a couple of take-out boxes, and since you seemed to like it when we did it with the zines, maybe read it together? We can pick apart the factual inaccuracies and narrative fallacies for fun."
Setsuna wanted to be annoyed, at least just a little. But that crooked smile flanked by the warm pink in Kaya's cheeks wouldn't let her. "Okay. I'll give it a try."
Kaya gave a little clap. "It'll be fun, I promise! And there's a great little store not far from here that has the best chicken cutlet boxes." She let out a short laugh. "I can't wait to hear what you have to say about this one!"
A crescent moon hung languidly in the sky among a dusting of stars, the small bit of light it gave off glinting in the kirkri's eyes as it jumped between trees and negotiated across power lines. It crossed a quiet street and wound its way up the wooden lamp post outside the apartment building. Atop the light fixture, it stood on its hind legs, its whiskers twitching as it sniffed the air. Its golden eyes flashed, the thing its mistress sought now found. It leaped to the side of the building, landing on a window sill and moving across balconies until it found the correct one.
Hidden in the shadows, it watched through the open door.
The muddled Mercurian sat facing the Guardian, her back against the couch arm and her knees bent halfway to her chest. Their toes just barely touched in the middle of the couch, and the Mercurian struggled to read a paragraph through her laughter.
Through her own laughter, the Guardian shook her head emphatically 'no.' "Absolutely not," she stated with a great deal of offense on her queen's behalf. "No queen I ever served would have even considered taking a consort from outside the solar system. And certainly not with the intent to 'seed' the galaxy."
The muddled Mercurian bit her lip, an impish sparkle in her eyes. "Maybe she was going through an experimental phase?"
She was quick enough to dodge the pillow the Guardian threw at her before the book was snagged from her hands. "Even if any of them were feeling that way, they generally preferred their experimenting to be with Venusians." The Guardian huffed before beginning to read the next section with a flare of indignance.
The kirkri cooed softly, the chime of its mistress' amused voice in its ears. "That was quite a bit easier than I thought it would be. I really am much better at matching than my brother is," giggled the small goddess. "Well done, my pet. Pluto should be kept occupied for awhile. Now come home so we can see if my priestess has learned her lesson yet."
The kirkri's whiskers shifted into its version of a grin. Its eyes flashed one last time as it turned into the darkness and scurried away.
Their time spent meticulously categorizing and tabbing all of their information had taught Setsuna some very specific things about Kaya. One - she was intimately familiar with every take out place in town and could dial them all from memory. Two - she was not opposed to speculation if she had at least two semi reliable sources. Three - when she was focused on something and trying to work through that speculation, she would hold full-on conversations with herself. Just like she was now.
Container of fried rice in one hand and chopsticks in the other, Kaya paced in a short line, her words mostly muttered. "If they… no, no, the timing is wrong. But if… that would work. What was it… what was it… ugh, I need to go back and look again." She stabbed at the take out container and plucked out a piece of shrimp to chew on in annoyance.
Setsuna grinned and turned back to the newspaper she was browsing. She sipped her water, waiting for Kaya to find her way back to the couch. When she did, Setsuna glanced over the top of her paper.
"I need that copy of the President's List," said Kaya as she leaned forward and started leafing through one of the piles on the kotatsu. "I keep popping back on a name - Takahasi. Seems like she's everywhere, very successful, but there's something…"
Her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. Rather than answering, she waited silently for the machine to pick up.
"Hey, Kaya, it's Kimiko," intoned a happy, female voice. "Haven't heard from you in awhile and wanted to check up on you. Make sure you aren't getting into too much trouble." She laughed, then went on, "Anyway, call and let me know you're okay. I promise I won't bring up the wedding, though Ryo is fully on board with my idea if that makes you want to talk about it. Love you! Call me!"
Another thing Setsuna had learned was that if you just looked in her direction and sat silently for a moment, Kaya would volunteer far more of an explanation than was actually warranted.
After letting out a long sigh, Kaya leaned back on the couch and let her head fall so she was looking up at the ceiling. Setsuna folded her paper and laid it aside, leaning back in a similar relaxed fashion.
"My cousin. She's getting married next year and wants me to come," began Kaya. "But it's complicated. You get the whole marriage thing, right?"
Setsuna nodded. "I've used different terminology, but it's the same concept."
Kaya licked her lips. "Okay, well, my parents weren't. More specifically, my mom wasn't. My dad… Mom's parents weren't real thrilled she'd set herself up as a married man's mistress. They cut ties with each other, and that's the side of the family Kimiko comes from. I lost my mom a few years ago, and when it happened there was some discussion over what to do about me. Consensus was that I hadn't been their problem for the first 17 years of my life and there was no reason for that to change. Kimiko took great exception to that."
A corner of Kaya's mouth quirked up even as she swiped at her eyes, pushing her glasses askew. "She found me, made sure I was okay. My dad has always taken care of me, so she didn't have to self appoint herself my guardian. We've become good friends, though, and she thinks it would be great fun for me to show up at her wedding."
"You don't?" asked Setsuna. She inched a bit closer to Kaya, just enough to offer some warmth to this chilly subject.
"No. Maybe if things were a little different." Kaya's voice dropped a bit lower. "I loved my mom so much. For awhile, though, I didn't really treat her very well. I always understood they weren't married, and that was okay cause it was my normal. When I was little I actually thought all that time my dad was away was for work." She laughed a bit bitterly at her own naivete. "But as I got older, I started to understand the whispers, and I got angry. Angry that he was leaving us for these other people, that when he called me his favorite girl it was because I wasn't his only child. I turned all of that on my mom. Mostly just because she was there. And middle school just kept happening to me. I wanted to talk to her about it because I was confused. My checklists weren't working because there were too many checks and choices, and I couldn't figure out what column I was supposed to be in. I couldn't talk to her, though, because I knew she would make me feel better, and I would have to stop being mad at her. So I got mad at her about that, too. My logic at the time was spectacular." She shook her head, a self-conscious quirk to her lips. Then she let out a tired sigh.
"She got sick my first year of high school, and all that time I wasted on being angry, all that time I lost with her by trying to push her away, suddenly felt like hands around my throat."
"You were just a child," offered Setsuna softly, her fingers brushing against Kaya's hand. "You couldn't be expected to know any better."
Kaya grinned, letting her pinkie grasp Setsuna's. "She said the same thing as I cried out all my apologies. I tried really hard to make up for it. I watched her favorite tv shows with her and stopped hiding from game nights. I promised I'd be kind to my father. I even wrote a letter to her parents, because she wanted to see them one last time. Neither of them ever acknowledged it. That's why this isn't the game to me that it is to Kimiko. I don't know if I'm ready to deal with them or to see all that lost time reflected back at me."
Setsuna let her head fall back so she was fully mirroring Kaya, their arms resting against each other as their pinkies remained clasped. "I was the equivalent of 14 Earth years when I was chosen to be my planet's avatar. I do believe that was my purpose, my destiny. At the time, however, I felt like my mother was trading me away. That I was an object being given in exchange for a treaty with the Lunar queen to sate the needs of a Goddess I didn't believe in. I was scared. I didn't want to leave my home or my siblings. My mother wanted to comfort me, but I wouldn't let her. I became very formal with her, and I never let that air drop, right up until the end. That last day, as we stood in the courtyard and I said my last goodbyes, I wouldn't let her hug me. None of us knew at the time what the extent of my powers or life span would be, or that I would wind up living most of my life at the Time Gate as I guarded it. I didn't realize how quickly I'd lose track of time, and that I'd never be going home again as a result."
They turned their heads so they were looking at each other, their eyes holding similar regrets as Setsuna went on, "I did get to see her one more time towards the end of her life. I took the liberty of leaving The Gate for several nights so I could sit with her. I was glad to have that bit of time, but in all the millenia that have passed, my greatest regret is still that rejected hug. The missteps of our youth were never supposed to have such weighty consequences."
"No, they weren't," returned Kaya quietly. Then she let go and abruptly stood. Forcing a smile, she stretched her arms over her head. "Let me take you out tonight. I know a place in town that rarely cards and never cares who your dance partner is."
Nyoteric was what Kaya called it, and as they watched the waning sun from the bus windows, the tension in Kaya's bearing slowly melted away. This place was perfect, she explained quietly. It was stress release and anonymity and no one ever asked any questions you didn't want to answer. Social mistakes could be forgiven and erased, and you could go on like it had never happened.
Kaya flashed her a smile then, the look a mixture of youthful embarrassment with a touch of mischief. Setsuna grinned back, curious to what some of those mistakes Kaya wanted to erase entailed.
After walking a few blocks from the bus stop, they came to a halt outside an old industrial building, its brick and metal facade cleaned up into a stylish grunge. A small group milled about beneath the sharp cursive of the lavender neon sign, passing around a pack of cigarettes while they talked and waited for someone else to join them. The heavy, steady beat of dance music inside pressed against the large steel entry door, blasting free and nearly knocking them over when Kaya opened it. The sound seemed to understand its transgression, though, and quickly wrapped around them to welcome them in, lighting the way with wide, smokey beams of blue, green, and purple.
The interior was much like the exterior, converted into a modern space that complimented the steel and brick bones. In the dim lighting, Setsuna could make out graffiti art spray painted along the brick walls. An erector set stage with a lone DJ sat against one wall with a dance area marked out on the concrete floor. Tables and mismatched chairs were scattered about, leading to a long bar that was covered in stickers, mostly for bands that had played there.
Kaya wound through the sparse, early evening crowd making her way to the bar. She nodded at the young bartender and held up two fingers, receiving a nod and two popped bottles of Kirin in return. She grabbed the bottles and inclined her head, directing Setsuna's attention toward a cast iron staircase. "Come on," she called over the din of the music. "My favorite spot is upstairs."
Setsuna followed her to the open, U-shaped second level, understanding almost immediately why Kaya preferred it up here. The music from the first level was just a bit muffled and the tables were set further apart in the narrower space, allowing for a bit more intimacy of conversation. Above them, they had an unobstructed view of the evening sky through the checkerboard of skylights in the ceiling, and the spot Kaya chose at the far end gave both a feeling of privacy and an excellent view to people-watch down below.
They settled in at their table, their chairs against the railing. The conversation stayed casual, bouncing from subject to subject. Without having to ask for it, a plate of noshy food was slipped onto their table, followed not long after by two more bottles to replace the ones they'd nearly emptied.
Kaya finished off the dregs of hers, then picked up the second, giving Setsuna's a playful clink. Halfway into the second, she paused in her story about the first night she'd awkwardly stumbled through club culture and the upperclassman who had taken pity on her before buying her first beer. "Oh, hey, JC knows to cut me off at two most nights, but don't feel like you need to stop because of me."
Setsuna could already see the haze beginning to fall over Kaya's eyes. "Cheap date?" she teased.
Kaya huffed. "I'll have you know I am a very expensive date, thank you very much." She giggled at the hint of a slur she could hear in her own voice. Then she turned and folded her arms on the railing, looking down at the growing crowd on the dance floor. "I don't really do that much, though. The dating thing. The casual thing is easier, there's no expectations. And I like being able to pick my flavor rather than having to stick to just vanilla all the time." She shook her head and chuckled at herself. "Sorry. Pick my partner, I mean. No point trying to be obtuse right now. But that's why this is my spot, because I like to watch without a lot of interruption. When you're here alone, hiding up here doesn't really invite conversation."
Setsuna took a slow draw off her bottle. "This doesn't really seem like the place to come if you're trying to avoid people."
"I'm not always trying to avoid them," grinned Kaya. She turned back to face Setsuna and let her chin rest on her twined fingers. "I just prefer to be the pursuer rather than the pursued. I guess I really am just a bit of a control freak." She laughed lightly before letting her voice drop, her eyes holding Setsuna's. "And like I said before. Sometimes you just need to stop and pet the squirrel."
Setsuna could feel her cheeks instantly warm. There was playful mischief swirling in the haze over Kaya's eyes, and the unexpected innuendo had brought Setsuna up short.
"Hey, you know, I am very pleasantly buzzed right now," went on Kaya, her words coming out quickly and only slightly tripping over each other. Then she stood, holding out a hand. "I am having a really great time tonight, though. I've got good company, and the only thing missing is a dance with a beautiful woman. No expectations or strings attached. Just a dance. Any takers?"
Setsuna hesitated a moment, but took the offered hand, enjoying the feel of Kaya's fingers gently wrapping around hers.
They stayed near their table, a sultry tune in the air around them. One of Kaya's hands held loosely to hers as the other rested against the small of her back, inviting Setsuna in just a bit closer than she would have gone on her own. They swayed along with the slow beat of the music, and Setsuna found herself lulled into a sleepy contentedness. The soft smile Kaya wore touched her eyes, making that stormcloud gray more like a gentle spring rain - something warm and welcome, outlined in hints of sunshine.
Setsuna chuckled to herself over the silly sentimentality, her head tilting just enough to break the spell she'd been falling into. Her expression must have amused Kaya, though, because the corners of her mouth turned up just a bit more. The hand at the small of Setsuna's back slowly shifted, coming back up until those delicate fingers whispered over her cheek before tucking an imaginary loose strand of hair behind her ear. Then, with a hushed giggle leading it, Kaya's index finger lightly touched Setsuna's lips. She lingered there only a moment as the song they'd been dancing to wound down, giving just enough pause between songs for Kaya to step away. She released their hands and moved to retake her seat as the music resumed the heavier dance beat.
No strings or expectations. Just a dance. And the sense of disappointment that left behind.