Setsuna's Advice
Admin Note: Minor spelling revisions by Lady Meg.
------------------------------------------------------------
"So, Makoto's in love with you?"
Her blue-haired impromptu guest just nodded, too embarassed to add
anything else. Not long after the snowstorm had ended, she had found
herself wandering aimlessly in the freezing streets of Tokyo, something
she usually enjoyed a lot in winter. But for the life of her, she
couldn't relate how she had finally wound up in front of the Outers's
house. It wasn't exactly close to her own home, to say the least!
And that's how Setsuna had found her, standing in the doorway with a
blank stare and barely responding to any external stimuli. The older
senshi had gently led her visitor in the living room. The Inners had
once told her how badly Ami would zone out when she was under deep
emotional stress, but she hadn't actually witnessed it yet. She had
wanted to call the others for help, but the young genius had suddenly
lunged at her, snatched her communicator and phone and refused to give
them back. That had, of course, worried the senshi of time greatly. And
when'she' was under deep emotional strain, 'she' lunged at chocolate.
So, she had silently brought two boiling mugs of cocoa from the kitchen
and settled on something she was damn good at: waiting.
Luckily, she didn't have to wait until the next ice age before Ami
finally relaxed and blurted out the whole story. Now, Setsuna was having
a very hard time keeping a straight face, for the sake of convenience.
Had she been alone, she would be rolling on the floor with laughters!
However, to be a senshi of time required a lot of self-control and...
mind flexibility. There was nothing such as a straight line with time.
Everything could or couldn't happen. On the other side, when the train
was well on it's way, some things WERE BOUND to happen, provided that no
gangster would try to stop it with a big boulder on the rails, that is.
Her job was to make sure that she had the monopoly in this business.
Then, you'll understand that you couldn't live like this during
millenias without a good sense of humour, or you went insane after the
first three centuries... She couldn't wait to see the reactions of her
housemates, particularly Haruka's. She had taken a big, slow breath and
managed to keep her trade-mark cool and unshakable expression.
"And Usagi wants to set me up with Seiya-san?"
Again, the younger girl simply nodded.
"Interesting..." Was all she added, before she took a sip of her mug and
nearly burnt her tongue. There were so many timelines, so many alternate
universes. Sometimes almost similar, sometimes completely different. She
had seen them all, and in a way, lived them all. Well, at least, in
those where mankind AND the senshi had arisen. A senshi of time also
ought to be good at multi-thinking, because of that, precisely (in fact,
she was just good at following several lines of thoughts at the same
time, a women's advantage, it is said, according to the last
compartmental studies). It was a strange thing to be able to remember
things that had yet to happen or that would happen to another of her
self. If she didn't pay attention, she could lose herself. But chocolate
was chocolate. A sure thing to cling to, if nothing else.
A dreamy look appeared on her face. There were so many... combinations.
Some choices had to be made before she could determine with timeline
they would follow, at least during some time. But already, the number of
possible futures had dramatically reduced. They were...
"But Setsuna-san, aren't you worried?" Ami shyly interrupted her pompous
rambling.
Setsuna allowed herself to smirk and raised an eyebrow. "Why should I
be? I'm a grown woman, I can handle it." Anyway, there were certainly
far worse things than to date a gender-changer as cute as Seiya.
Gender-changer? Now, come to think about it... Yeah...
Of course, she wouldn't admit that her worst fear was to end up in one
of those timelines were she was condemned to stay alone until the end.
She shuddered. She had seen it, it was pretty miserable. She usually
became a terminal addict to some dangerous substance. She glanced at the
chocolate box that she had already partially ravaged. It was lying
seductively on the low table, vulnerably open for her to ravish it. She
sweatdropped.
Hum... She didn't want it to happen to anyone else! She tore her gaze
from the box and focused on the senshi of water. "But maybe I should
ask: why are YOU so worried?"
The younger girl froze, and for a moment, Setsuna feared that she had
reversed back to her zombie-like state. Then, Ami's face went burning
red and the senshi of time could have sworn she saw steam rising from
the girl. The thought to use her to heat a sauna complex crossed briefly
her mind before she filed it for later.
Back to the real world at hand, Ami was mumbling something, her gaze
glued to her feet.
"Sorry? What did you say? I'm afraid that at my age, it's not surprising
to become a little deaf.." She said good-naturedly.
Ami's face became even brighter and she was even more incoherent.
Setsuna had to ventilate herself with a newspaper. Gods it was hot, all
of a sudden! Actually, it was almost raining in the room by now.
Setsuna finally took pity on the girl - and on herself - and decided to
help her friend out a bit more actively. "Look, Ami-chan, if you don't
love her, you will have to tell her, eventually. Even if you don't want
to hurt her. You cannot avoid her indefinitly. Of course, it will
probably break her heart, she's very sensitive, but she's also very
strong and loyal. She will accept your decision, no matter what. But,
and this is the most important, don't deny her your friendship and don't
act as if nothing had happened either. That would probably kill her.
Take her feelings in account and respect them. Remember that she's your
best friend, first of all. Be honest with her."
She was startled to see Ami raise her head with a fierce look on her
face.
"But I do love her!" The assurance with which she said that surprised
Ami herself. "I... I really love her... I guess I was too mixed up to
admit it..." Imagining her Makoto hurt by her, being denied what she
herself craved for... That was just too much. Ami knew she would never
allow that.
Unnoticed by her, Setsuna was fighting back a scowl. 'So much for the
good piece of advice!' Instead, she wore her usual neutral mask and
asked. "Then, what is all the fuss about? You already know that she's in
love with you..." And with a tone a little bit more edgy, because,
really! Why were the young people so complicated nowadays? Things were
much simpler back then. You just knocked down the one you'd selected,
grabbed him/her by the air and hauled him/her in your cave. That was it!
"... You don't even have to worry about Usagi's and the others's
reaction, and I don't think your mother, as I know her, would object to
that either..." She unconsciously grabbed a piece of chocolate.
Ami's gaze dropped once again as she clutched her sides nervously. "I...
I don't know... I'm terrified... I guess... Everything's happening so
fast! I..."
It suddenly dawned on Setsuna what Ami's real problem was, what she
couldn't bring herself to ask. "... And you've never been too
comfortable with these kind of ur... feelings, have you?" She finished
tactfully for her. She looked at the young woman and suddenly had an
awful moment of doubt. Surely she knew how...? She shook her head. Of
course she did, Ami was a genius, after all. Even Chibi-Usa had figured
it out a long time ago. Ami just needed someone neutral to help her
loosen up a bit, gently. It was like walking on eggs, considering Ami's
reaction to this particular subject. The excitement of a new challenge
ran through her spine.
"I know that I'm being completely irrational, but I can't help it. And I
don't want to mess up everything with a panic attack..." Ami trailed
off.
Setsuna snatched another chocolate and chewed it thoughtfully. "Yes, you
certainly must do something about it, because if you don't, it could
become quite a problem... Love can strike like a fifty ton hammer, but
it's also as fleeting and fragile as a feather." She nodded pleasantly
to herself. That was a good one, she would use it again. "You came to
the right person, Ami-chan. I happen to have a lot of experience in this
matter."
"Oh really?"
The two women jumped in surprise upon hearing the new voice.
"And what's with the line? You almost sounded like Mina-chan, except we
could understand you!" Haruka was leaning against the doorway, a sly
grin tugging her lips. Behind her, Michiru was gently laughing. Then the
sandy-haired woman strolled to the couch and flashed her most seductive
smile to the poor Ami. "I think that if Ami-chan is looking for good
tips, Michiru and I would be better suited to the job, wouldn't we?"
Setsuna scoffed, irritated by what she perceived as an invasion on her
territory. "You? You're just a newbie in this game! I, on the contrary,
have had millenias of practice. 'I' could teach YOU some valuable
tricks!"
The two women were now nose to nose, each one not standing that her
expertise in the matter could be doubted.
"Oh yeah? I'd like to see that, granny! Because 'I' certainly didn't see
YOU practice a lot for the last decades. You certainly need a real
update."
Setsuna was about to yell when she suddenly remembered who she was and
replied with infuriating calmness. "The fact is that I've always favored
quality to quantity, indeed."
Harucka's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you insinuating that I don't
know how to please Michiru?"
By now, Ami was seriously hyperventilating, while Michiru was too
shocked by the situation to even believe that she had actually heard
what had just been said.
Setsuna just smirked.
But Harucka was a too good poker player. She wouldn't fall in such an
obvious trap and make a fool of herself by losing her temper. Ha!
Certainly not! She recovered her usual sexy self and decided to produce
her ace. She reached in her subspace pocket and brought out a video
tape. "Ha, ha! I can prove how good I am!" She bent down to be at level
with her housemate's face. "I could show you much more... directly, but
Hotaru will be home soon. However, I'm sure..." She handed her the tape.
*H/M testing Kama Sutra T#1* was written on the cover. "...that this
will suffice."
At this, Setsuna's smirk widened. "Maybe, but I still have a great
advantage on you, dear..."
This picked Harucka's curiosity. "And that would be?"
" 'I' wrote the Kama Sutra."
There was a dead silence in the room. Haruka's lower jaw had hit the
floor, Michiru's eyes were twitching uncontrollably and she was about to
strike her lover with a fifty ton hammer. Ami's head had finally blown
up.
Setsuna looked around her and frowned. "Now, who finished my chocolate
box?"
The end
That was just too fun to write! And yes, I'm a hopeless Terry
Pratchett's fan.
Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction