Sailor Dee tried not to look so taken aback at what she'd just heard. Part of her just couldn't help but notice how strange it felt to hear those words coming out of Meta Knight's mouth. Of course, it was perfectly understandable given the circumstances, but... never had she thought that a pantry raid would be in the cards, especially as the reason for the crew's reunion. Kirby, on the other hand, had processed as far as the word 'pantry' and instantly began to bounce with joy.

"Poyo!" Kirby cried suddenly, grabbing onto the blanket tightly.

The puffball was so delighted, you could almost see stars in his eyes. Observing this had made Meta Knight's usual half-smile become a full-on grin. He was growing more and more appreciative of his student's carefree antics by the day. The healing process would have been much more difficult without the support of the little one and his loyal sailor, and he was beginning to realize just how fortunate he was to have them by his side. Sailor Dee, however, became more hesitant to voice her concerns upon seeing how lively this made her commander.

Even though it had only been a few days following the incident, his tone had a level of enthusiasm that she hadn't heard in what seemed like years. Even so, this, combined with her distaste for the idea, created a vicious moral dilemma. Would she have been wrong to dispute anything someone she'd greatly trusted had declared?

Boldly, she began, "Sir, I'm in full support of whatever you want to do, but..." but stopped when his eyes met hers.

The poor Waddle Dee felt like freezing in place right then. Interestingly, Meta Knight's gaze became far more menacing when his mask was off. His eyes, which were previously a uniform shade of yellow, now bore darker, slit pupils. They gave his looks a new degree of intimidation, even if he had looked cute otherwise. Sailor was fine when it wasn't direct, but she was still getting used to looking him squarely in the eyes.

Even he seemed to notice this, breaking eye contact swiftly so he wouldn't keep startling her.

"Go on," he urged gently.

"All right...well... that plan worries me. The king would be furious once he found out all the food in the castle was stolen!"

Despite the brief silence, Meta Knight, to her surprise, laughed off the objection. He usually took those criticisms far more seriously.

"Ah, no need to fret. I was just playing it up for a little extra flair," he said. "I assure you, we'll make no more than a dent in the king's enormous pantry."

He made a pinching motion with his fingers to show just how little he had planned to take. Not much, but Sailor knew better. Her lord wasn't one who'd settle for less. Even so, she replied with a sincere nod, thinking it would have been just as wrong to think he wasn't telling the truth. Any fears she had would be easy for her to swallow later, anyhow.

"Got it! But...I have one more question before I go contact the others, if that's alright?

"Of course."

"What would happen if you overexerted yourself again? And then you..."

"I know what to look out for now. I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"...Can you promise me it won't? Please?"

That caught him by surprise. Sailor usually had a lot of trust in his word alone, but she seemed especially worried about this.

She just needed a bit more reassurance.

He leaned down on the bed and looked down at her, patting her head softly as he did. Somehow, she gathered the courage to look back up at him too. Meta answered her request without any further thought.

"I promise."

She didn't need anything more.

The same eyes that had first frightened her gave her resolve.

AN: This is a shorter chapter because it's divided into three parts. Though I'll have more to get into in the next part, so this is just build-up for that. That way, I don't write one full chapter and come back two years later...again, lol. Happy new year! I'll try getting the next (hopefully more interesting) part out ASAP. I know this is pretty rusty; I haven't written in a while.