Discussion with the Princess-tachi
“Promise me, Rei-chan?”
Rei rolled her eyes as Mina stood before her, one hand innocently behind her back, and the other extending a pinky. Reluctantly, she proffered her own pinky. “I promise, Mina.”
After Mina finished with her little pinky promise chant, she brought Rei into a sudden tight embrace. “Give them my best regards, okay? And take care of yourself.”
Returning the hug, Rei nodded into her shoulder. “I will. You take care too, all right? I'm leaving you almost alone to care for the crew yourself.”
With a grin, Mina pulled back and waggled her finger between them. “I'm the leader of eight headstrong girls- and I'm the Senshi of Love. I can handle this crew no problem.”
Shaking her head hopelessly, Rei gave Mina a quick peck on the cheek before moving to cross to the other ship. But Mina would have none of that, not without a properly extended kiss goodbye. With her own cheeks flushed, Mina waved goodbye as Rei crossed the makeshift bridge in a slightly dazed fashion.
On the other side, she was immediately tugged into another hug, which made her stomach roll over with guilt. But she obliged the Princess and hugged her back, before pulling away.
“Rei-chan it feels like it's been so long! How are you? How are the rest of the Senshi doing? Why aren't they crossing too? Rei-chan? Why-”
“Slow down, Princess! I'll answer you in a minute. Let's get out of the sun- this might take a little while.”
Reluctantly, the Princess backed off, though she tugged Rei's arm towards what happened to be the nearest cabin. “Come on then- everyone's waiting!”
Cordial greetings were given and taken between the Senshi before they all seated themselves. The Princess remained the first to prompt, “So, Rei-chan? How are you? Is everything all right?” In her knowledge that taking it slow would mean that more questions would be answered, the Princess paused at that point.
Rei let out a soft, calming exhale before she answered, “I'm fine, Princess. So are the other Senshi. Everything is going as well as could be expected.”
At this, Setsuna cut in, “And what, if I may ask, were you expecting?”
Turning to look at the Senshi of Time, Rei verified, “Do you mean what the plan was?” At her nod, Rei continued, “Well, I suppose I should get this out of the way first. See, it's like this. About three days ago, Mina and I were talking, and as you know, her uncle set up the voyage to make sure that her surprise wouldn't be ruined, in such a way that she wouldn't cause much trouble. Naturally, if you know Mina, if she doesn't have something worthwhile, or at least a bit interesting to do, she, by default, becomes bored. A bored Mina is a more-unpredictable-than-ever Mina. It just so happens that the Zephyr came into view at that moment, and that capricious persona of Mina's suggested that we become pirates, if for no other reason than to keep our hands tied. I apologize if this has caused you any undue worry.”
As they digested the information, all were quiet. Finally, Ami asked, “You agreed to this, Rei? That isn't like you.”
Calming making sure that a blush didn't give her away, Rei responded, “I surprised myself too. But I've been with Haruka and Makoto before while they were pirates- they're good hosts.”
The Princess jolted at that. “When? When did you see them as pirates, before this week? I didn't hear of that.”
Rei assured her softly. “They hadn't taken over the ship at that point, but they already had influence. I think it was around... ten, eleven years ago?”
Ami did some quick calculating. “It was during that visit to see your grandfather? That's why you were delayed, wasn't it?”
A solemn nod was her answer. Michiru then asked, “How can you trust them so easily? They betrayed the Kingdom once- they can do it again.”
The Princess whimpered in protest at that. “It wasn't their fault! They got kidnapped last time, didn't they?”
Again, Rei nodded. “Perhaps it would be more of a reassurance to know that Haruka and Makoto never turned their backs on the Kingdom. They're simply protecting the Kingdom on the perimeter. Haven't you ever wondered why we were never successfully invaded?”
Cluelessly naïve, the Princess squeaked, “A good military?”
“Working on the tip-offs from a certain pair of Pirate Senshi.” When no one seemed to have nothing more to ask, Rei turned the tables on them, so to speak. “What about you? What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere?”
Setsuna was the one to answer. “Assuring ourselves of the truth. Allow me to verify what you have informed us of as of thus. You boarded the pirate's vessel on account of Minako-san becoming bored. The pair of Senshi already settled on said vessel are merely an undercover scouting and guarding the rim of the Kingdom from invaders. Is that all the necessary information, or is there something else you would like to tell us?”
Rei considered it briefly before shaking her head. “No, that's it. I-”
“You're lying.” Michiru's accusation was sharp enough that had it been possible, it would have beheaded the cool atmosphere.
“What makes you think I'm lying?”
Setsuna cut in, “The future would not be as it currently seems, if that was all there was to it.”
Rei sighed and muttered, “And here I thought your personal saying was 'the future is not set in stone'.”
“It isn't,” Setsuna agreed, “But from what I glimpsed just the other day, something occurred aboard the Zephyr that altered the timeline.”
At that, Rei raised her eyebrow. “You don't say? How so?”
“It is not my current concern to tell you.”
“Well then, it is not my current concern to tell you either.”
Before Setsuna could object, the Princess informed them, as proud as a hen that had laid her first hen, “I know why she wants to keep it a secret. Rei-chan's in love.”
If thoughts of her Mina hadn't already flushed Rei's cheeks, the Princess' declaration did, which all the more proved that she was right. If it was possible, Ami's complexion became a darker red than Rei's as her notorious shirking of love made itself known again. Michiru however, held a slightly amused expression, as she measured Rei's depth of feeling with the help of her mirror. She held up exceedingly well to the test.
“This love,” Setsuna began, her eyebrows knitted in a rare moment of uncertainty, “It wouldn't happen to involve a fellow Senshi, would it?”
Rei turned her head away from the inquisitive looks, and only responded with a simple, “None of your business.”
At the sudden pressure on her wrist, Rei twisted to see the doleful look in the Princess' eyes. “Rei-chan, you know I have a right to know, as your Princess and as your friend.”
Before Rei could even consider answering her, however, the ship suffered drastic turbulence as something crashed into it. Even as they all rushed out to assess the damage, Rei knew where it had come from, and cursed her own stupidity, on top of Mina's.
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