Proper Etiquette in Food and Love
“... And last but not least- this is where we eat- the mess hall.”
Rei raised an eyebrow at the name which described the room's exact opposite. Not a single thing seemed out of place; the floors and walls glistened like marble, and cobwebs were inconceivable. Seeing the shocked looks on both Rei's and Mina's faces, Haruka grinned and explained, “I know, weird isn't it? But Mako-chan seems to have a thing for keeping everything neat and tidy. She helps the cook with the meals, too.”
At that, Makoto vertically pounded her fist into her palm, remembering her job. “Oh that's right. I should go check on the meals. Excuse me.”
As Makoto exited the room, Rei found herself chuckling slightly. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to revert the rogue Senshi into a different form of piracy after all. At the sudden pressure around her arm, Rei looked over and came face to face with a curious Mina. “Ne, ne what's so funny? Tell me tell me!”
A light bulb flashed in Rei's mind, prompting her to run a single finger from Mina's forehead to the tip of her nose. Sure enough, Mina's eyes followed the digit, making an adorable imitation of a puffer fish as Rei pulled it away. “Tsk, tsk, Mina-chan. Your face is dirtier than a pirate ship. Now as to whether that's a good thing or a bad thing in this case...”
Mina puffed her cheeks a little longer for good measure, before breaking into a sultry grin, and leaning forward to whisper in Rei's ear, “Are you going to clean me up later then...?”
Something about her tone caused Rei's cheeks to heat up profusely, which in turn caused a certain Pirate Captain to laugh at the situation she knew nothing about, but had created amusing reactions.
Choosing not to reply to Mina's question, Rei pulled away and walked in the direction Makoto had gone, gruffly explaining, “I'm going to check the menu. I'm already fairly aware of it, so Ruka-chan, please inform Mina-chan about how pirates usually eat.”
To that, Haruka called back, “Aren't you going to do it, Rei-sensei?”
Rei waved the question away. “I'll be there for the real deal. Just soften the blow for me- since, trust me, it's nothing like the Kingdom etiquette.”
The look of dawning apprehension was quickly becoming a new usual for Mina as she watched Rei turn the corner. So lost in her imagination was she, that she jumped nearly two feet when Haruka put a hand on her shoulder. Once she had calmed down, Haruka, ever the one for finesse, explained the basics, as there really was no other way to do it.
“All righty, see here, Mina? There's only one utensil we use, and that's a fork. If there's a big chunk of meat, you spear it and bite off a chunk with your teeth. Oh, and when you finish the meal, you lick off the rest of the food or sauce or whatever, and stick it back into your pocket.” Haruka paused to laugh as Mina gave a disproving look coupled with a light shudder. “You'll get used to it. We'll even find a drawstring pouch for you guys, since these outfits down have pockets. Well, mine and Rei's capes do, and your boots have a special hidden compartment, but that's beside the point. Let's see... oh, belching from one end or the other is a normalcy that is never asked to be excused... we don't tuck napkins in over our shirts or laps- there's a stack at the center of the table if you can get someone to pass you one though. Hm... if you want something at the other end of the table, you can try shouting it or getting someone else to stand up and bring it over for you, since you're the captain now... saying please and thank you are rarely if ever used... Crude jokes are pretty common- you don't have to join in if you don't want to, but if you get to know the crew, I'm sure they'll be happy to let you in on it. Erm... and we don't say grace or whatever at the beginning of the meal. I think that covers everything I remember from dinner etiquette differences between here and the Kingdom. Anything I miss?”
It took a few moments for the look of disgust to dissolve from Mina's complexion, as the Kingdom was apparently as different from Piracy as Day was to Night... but she eventually resigned to it, stating, “I get it. Just act like the Princess in the morning after she misses dinner, right?”
A hearty laugh erupted from the Wind Senshi before “I don't know how much the Princess has changed since we last saw her... but that sounds about right.”
“Ah... the good ol' days...”
Haruka blinked and looked to see a faraway glaze in Mina's eyes. “You okay?”
“Encouraged to let go of years of etiquette lessons... eat like we haven't eaten since we were six or seven... fun indeed... If it keeps getting this promising, I'm going to start wanting to be a full time pirate...”
At that, Haruka raised an eyebrow. “Do you hate it at the Kingdom that much?”
“What's the reason you don't return?”
Haruka shrugged at the absently made question. “I'm an Outer Senshi. I've always felt more comfortable protecting the Princes from a distance.”
“Then Mako-chan?”
She's a borderline one, so it didn't take much convincing for her to travel the seas with me.”
Mina sighed softly, casting her gaze down to her new pointy boots. “It's not that I hate it; I've gotten used to the courtesy we're supposed to show everyone. After I turn twenty-one... there's no going back though. Oh how I miss those days...”
Haruka grinned. “Sounds like you're still living it.”
“Only one more week. Gah, one more week before I become an official Lady.”
The older woman slung an arm around the other blonde's shoulder. “You know, it ain't so bad, becoming an adult.”
Mina glared at Haruka. “You didn't spend it at the Kingdom. It just came and went like any other day, for you.”
Her free hand went up to sheepishly rub the back of her head. “Ah, yeah, that's true. It's still not as big of a deal as some make it out to be though.”
Before Mina could reply, Rei returned with an attention-grabbing clap of her hands. “Alright already. Finished?”
Haruka's grin returned. “Finished long time ago Rei-sensei. So is Mina-chan's comparison true? Is pirate manners like the Princess when she's starving?”
At that, Rei cracked with laughs instinctively covered by a hand. Once she recovered, she scratched her head lightly and responded, “That remains to be seen, but I wouldn't put it past her.”
Her whole aura having brightened upon seeing Rei again, Mina skipped over to glomp her teacher. Knowing her intentions, Rei took one wide step back, as to not allow enough momentum between them to result in a fall. As it was, Rei put her hands on Mina's shoulders and slowly held her out at almost an arm's length.
“Mina-chan... don't you know signs of public affection between student and teacher are widely frowned upon?” Pausing only slightly, Rei added, “Even among pirates.”
Almost as if she were ignoring Rei's protests completely, Mina tilted her head up and kissed Rei on the lips. Rei seemed to be having conflicting reactions before she roughly pushed Mina away, a deep blush on her cheeks. Turning away, she whispered, “What... what was that for?”
Mina grinned impishly, leaning around Rei with her hands behind her back to see Rei's face. “Because I wanted to. Being taught by you is a priceless honor, Rei-chan. So I want to return the favor with my own source of priceless commodity. I meant it when I said I'll love you always, Rei-chan. You, and only you. I don't care what others say, because I'll never be afraid to admit it to anyone. So, please, won't you let me show you, at least a little, how much you mean to me?”
Upon realizing that there was little to nothing she could say against that without seeming harsh, selfish, or outright rude, Rei sighed and gave in once again. “Just... I just need some time to adjust to the idea. In case you never noticed, I'm not nearly as active in the whole love business as you are. I wouldn't want to disappoint you before the 'game' has even begun.”
Mina giggled lightly at that, and gave Rei a quick hug. “Oh, you could never disappoint me Rei-chan, so long as you stay true to yourself. When you feel you're ready, all you need to do is show a little initiative, and then I'll really prove we can be and should be a couple.”
Backing away, Mina showed Rei a bright smile and asked, “So is lunch ready yet?”
At that moment, Makoto returned with an iron triangle and rod. “Yup. Now it's time to call in the crew. Mina-chan, want to do the honors? It's not exactly a captain's duty, but Ruka-chan usually does it because she can get her voice to project far.”
Mina scampered over and asked, studying the iron duo with obvious curiosity. “What do I do?”
“If I remember correctly, tap the triangle repeatedly while yelling as loud as you can 'Lunch is ready, come and get it,'” Rei answered for Makoto. “Call from the deck though; it'll echo better.”
Nodding brightly, Mina took the set and rushed out the door. As Rei sighed and sat down at the right side of the table's head, Haruka walked over and whispered to Makoto, “Apparently, their relationship is still a bit shaky, so don't push it, okay?”
Makoto frowned and turned to face Haruka. “That sounds more like your problem than mine.”
Before Makoto could reply, an earsplitting shout, loud enough to make the calm seas produce medium waves as the ship rocked back and forth, beat away the peaceful silence. “Geez, that girl's got one healthy set of lungs. Not even you shout that loud, Ruka-chan.”
Still wincing, Haruka had no choice but to agree. “You're telling me. Hey, Rei-sensei- did you teach her to shout like that?”
Rei groaned as she felt her headache grow. “Shouting is something Mina never had to be taught. Restraining herself was one of the first lessons she ever had upon entering the Palace. She's obviously enjoying acting like a pirate... You mind opening the door when she takes a breath and telling her to tone it down a little? I doubt even she will want to run a deaf crew.”
“Neither will we, for that matter...” Haruka grumbled as she made her way to the door. Hearing the start of a brief pause, she snapped open the door and relayed the message. There was a soft, sheepish apology in return, before Haruka closed the door and a comparatively softer call was sent to the crew. It was still loud, but not nearly as bad on the ears.
“Come on, Ruka... let's get our seats saved before the horde arrives.” Haruka nodded at Makoto's wary suggestion, and moved a seat from the corner to the end of the table.
“Rei-sensei, should we sit to the side on your end, or do you think claiming this end would work better? Since Mina-chan's the captain now, she should be at your end so...”
Rei waved it off. “Come sit over here. To introduce us to the crew, if nothing else. You do know your own crew, right?”
Haruka scoffed. “Oh please, of course I do. I've been the captain of this ship since I gained my Senshi powers at fourteen. I can't spend ten plus years in the same ship and not know its inhabitants, you know.
“Just asking. In another time, Mina might take a total of two days to know everything about everyone, if she did nothing but that. She's a sociable one, all right.”
“Nah,” Mina disagreed as she opened the door, leading a horde of men also referred to as the crew. “It only took an hour tops. See, Rei-chan, this is Bebe... Rodrigo... Paul... Torres...” As each burly crewman entered, Mina named them, ultimately impressing all three of the present Senshi. Quietly, Rei counted every name Mina listed, and when the last person filed through, it came to a total of around one hundred twenty. If it only took an hour... she would have had to at least memorize one name every thirty seconds. And Rei knew she hadn't left Mina alone for anywhere near an hour's length so how...?
Seeing her shocked look, Mina grinned as she took her seat at the head of the table. As the food began circling in via kitchen servants, Mina held up a thick book that Haruka recognized instantly.
“Hey! Where'd you get that? It was supposed to be locked in a drawer of the captain's cabin!”
Not seeing it's significance, Rei asked, “And... it's special because...?”
Mina answered, “Among other things, it has a database of all the crew members, their names, their ages, their jobs, their pet peeves- anything you really need to know about them to be their captain, really. Cool, huh? And to think, it was just lying there for any curious mind to find...”
When she winked, Rei groaned and cupped her face in her open palms. She'd known for a long time that Mina was a master pick pocket and knew all the skills a world-class burglar might. Heck, she could slip past the security cameras and borrow royal jewelry for a night and return it, without anyone being the wiser. Rei only knew because Mina had confided in her that night. It was no surprise she could swipe a book like that during a tour of the ship, and speed-read it while still paying attention to the tour itself. When it came to things like that, she could probably even give the Royal bookworm, Sailor Mercury, a run for her money. Not that she'd try, but still...
As soon as it was announced that the last dish was placed on the table, Mina stood, to further introduce herself to the crew as their temporary captain. She didn't go into any details, only saying she was a friend of Haruka, who was doing this as a favor to her, but the crew didn't question it. Raising their goblets to their new captain, a “Here, here!” became the fanfare instigating the start of the meal.
It was just as Haruka had explained. And later, Rei admitted that it was indeed similar to how Princess Serena ate when she was particularly ravenous, and didn't have to put up a polite front. As far as eating manners went, Mina was perfectly atrocious, a sight Rei wished she could have had taken a still portrait of. Even while stuffing food from three different plates in her mouth at once, Mina was able to carry a somewhat clear conversation with her fellow Senshi, while not spewing any food at them. Rei had noticed a thin line of drool escape those hungry lips though...
As for Rei, while no one could say she was as bad as Mina, she seemed to have maintained a perfect balance of how much to put in her mouth so she could reply easily at the right moments, and when to take a drink when she felt a burp coming on (goblet hides mouth, so you can't really pinpoint it on her). Often times, Mina was tempted to spear a small piece of something and offer to personally feed Rei, but that would have to wait until Rei was either alone or had both arms injured; the fire priestess was still had her timid pride, and Mina had to respect that.
After watching the closer crewman as far as manners went, and comparing them to the Senshi, Rei noted that while Haruka, Makoto, and herself were showing an adequate equivalent to the typical pirate's manners, Mina remained a bit too... zealous. Rei only told her once to slow down so she didn't choke- to which Mina did slow down.. about as much as a gun can control how far it sends its bullet- before leaving her to her own devices.
All in all, the second lesson was a complete success. The fact the Haruka and Makoto were already long since used to it... and Minako seemed to have a natural calling for improper manners... helped immensely. Rei had eaten a few meals with them before, and she had, in the privacy of a Senshi only meal, had fought over food with the Princess, so in a way, she too, had simply been used to it.
As the crew began lingering and leaving to return to their duties about an hour later, Rei began to wonder what the next mini lesson would be...
Dish Maintenance?
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