Heat

Yay! I'm on a roll! ^_^ I'm rather hyper, starting this about five
minutes after I posted chapter 6, so yeah...

Now, something changes in this chapter. What is this change, you might
ask? Read and review to find out! Mwahahahahah! ^_^

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~*Heat*~

~Chapter Seven: The Meeting

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*A Week Later*~

It felt awkward, having a chest again! Taiki gave herself a few
more once-overs in the mirror. Her knee-length violet dress and
matching pumps looked and felt so strange after wearing guy
clothes for so long. She imagined this was how Haruka felt whenever
anyone forced her into a dress.

She swayed her hips a little, getting used to the feeling of them
really moving again. She looked so different, and yet so much was the
same! It was a little unsettling.

"Taiki?" Yaten peeked in, then grinned as she spied the stunned look on
her lover's face. "What, did you honestly forget what your old body
looked like without a sailor fuku on?"

"That's partially it. I also forgot how it felt to be so...topheavy."
She admitted, turning sideways to examine herself again. Yaten came
over, grinning mischeviously. She ran a hand over the taller woman's
hip. "You're still cute."

"Yaten!" Taiki cried, blushing. "You have such a one-tracked mind!"

"Actually, that's not quite accurate. Three tracks." The silver-haired
woman held up three fingers, counting. "You, the baby, and eating and
sleeping."

The brunette sweatdropped. "Technically, that's four."

Yaten waved it off. "Specifics, specifics. Now get going." She nuzzled
her lover. "You're going to be late."

Taiki swatted at her, but complied, "I'm going, I'm going. Make sure
you" She looked pointedly at Yaten, who grinned, "take it easy."

She turned her back and walked down the hall, heading for the bigger of
the two Conference Halls. There would be a lot of people at this
meeting. She suspected the larger room would be needed.

Princess Kakyuu met her outside the door. *Of course, we really have to
stop calling her 'Princess'. She's not technically the princess, she's
the Queen.*

She certainly looked like a Queen. Kakyuu was resplendent in a deep red
silk dress. The sleeves and skirt were long and flowing, the neckline
simple. Her hair was pulled back and up, the long red waves falling
down to her waist. A small crown sat on her head, set with tiny garnets
and topaz. Her earrings and choker were small topaz flowers. Finally,
the olive blossom was clearly visible on her forehead, marking her as
the rightful owner of the throne.

As they entered the Conference Hall, everyone turned to stare at them.
Taiki felt her hands get sweaty. There were a lot of people
there. One representative of every Senshi group in the galaxy was here
with their respective Royal Family, including the representatives from
Mau, Chuu, Coronis and Mermaid. Directly opposite their places at the
table were three very well-known faces: Usagi-san, Chiba-kun, and
Setstuna-san, all dressed in attire marking them as royalty.

*Neo-Queen Serenity, Neo-King Endymion, and Princess Setsuna.* She
reminded herself absently. If the Silver Millenium had reformed, then
the three deserved their true titles.

When she and Kakyuu had taken their seats, the conference officially
began. Taiki tuned out, really too distracted to pay attention to much
else. Her mind wandered to Yaten...and the baby...for probably the
millionth time that day.

What would she look like? It was probably the hundredth time she'd
asked herself that question, but she was still no closer to finding
an answer. Would the baby look like her or Yaten? Or a blend of both?

"...dy Kou?"

Taiki snapped out of her reverie at her name. "Huh?"

Sailor Antares, an orange-haired, blue-eyed Senshi in a red-pink dress,
arched one fine amber eyebrow. "Didn't get enough sleep last night?"

The brunette felt her cheeks redden. "No...I'm just having trouble
concentrating. Were you asking me something?"

"I asked you about Kinmoku's defenses. How built up are they?"

"Oh..." Taiki's violet eyes skimmed her notes on the table in front of
her. There. The information she needed. "Actually, we're still in the
process of training new guards for the Palace. We lost too many, first
when Ga...Chaos attacked, then when Kinmoku was being...repopulated...
many of those Star Seeds simply didn't find their way back."

"Well, you might want to hurry." Antares' tone was sharp. "What enemy
would dream of waiting until a target's defenses are back up?"

As the redhead turned back to the conversation she was having with
Sailor Mau, Taiki felt her hackles rise a little. She was right, of
course, but it didn't make it any less insulting to have what you're
supposed to do dictated to you by someone who had their own problems
to worry about. She was going to retaliate in kind when Kakyuu laid a
hand on her shoulder.

*Calm down.* She thought to the taller woman through their link. *She's
just nervous. We all are.*

Taiki nodded, but still tuned out of the rest of conference. She kept
an ear out, though, for any more questions directed at her. She didn't
want to be embarrassed again.

~*~*~*~

As the conference droned on for its third straight hour, Serenity's
patience wore out. She stood, placing her hands on the table in front
of her and meeting every eye in the room. She managed to look rather
regal while doing it, too, even though she was shorter than almost
everyone present.

"We're not getting anything done." She stated flatly, then looked to
Setsuna for support. The garnet-eyed woman nodded her approval and the
blonde continued. "If we're thinking of getting anything planned, much
less started, we should stop bickering and get a move on." She
sat again.

Taiki, who had tuned in to listen to this speech, was completely
astounded. Not only had Serenity, once the clumsy crybaby Usagi,
snared everyone's attention with a single sentence, but she had kept
their attention, silenced the entire room, and done it without
falling, whining, or making a fool of herself in the process!

Of course, she had to give the Moon Princess some credit. She must
have gained some grace over the last few years. At least one of the
Senshi was giving her lessons, too, the brunette would bet
anything.

No one really wanted to talk after that. Several groups stood and left,
muttering that they could look after themselves. Taiki was going to send
them on their way with a scathing remark, but decided not to add to the
frustration already brewing.

Everyone who was left turned to Kakyuu, who was technically the host.
She rose to her feet. "We'll resume talks later. Right now, it's a
beautiful day, and I think we could all do with some fresh air."

They all made their way over to the doors Kakyuu had gestured to, and
scattered, breaking up into a dozen or more little groups. Taiki weaved
through them, trying to get to Serenity. She wanted to talk.

When she got close enough, she reached over and tugged on the Moon
Princess's puff sleeve(*). The shorter woman turned and caught sight of
her. "Taiki-san!" Her face lit up with a characteristically bright
smile.

"Konnichi-wa, Usagi-san. O-genki desu ka?"(**) She felt herself slip
easily back into the Japanese language. She thought Serenity might want
to hear her native language so far from home.

"Taiki-san, it's nice of you to use Japanese, but Setsuna insists I
learn Galactic Common, and as many new languages as I can. They're
very difficult, though, after speaking one language for so long." She
grinned sheepishly, using somewhat broken Common.

Taiki laughed softly. "That makes sense." She replied, switching back
to Common. "You need any help with it?"

"I know. My Common isn't the greatest. But Setsuna knows it, so she's
been teaching me. She says I'm coming along quite well." Usagi beamed
at the compliment.

"You've got a nice lilt in your voice when you speak in Common." The
brunette smiled, obviously a lot happier now since her days on Earth.
"I think it's a...a by-product, you could say, of the Japanese
language."

"Huh?" Usagi blinked her big blue eyes, confused. "What do you mean?"

"We all had lilts for at least three months after coming back from
Earth." Taiki explained. Usagi nodded in understanding. "I've been
leaning most of the languages on Earth, too, just so I can understand
them. Except for the other Mandarin languages, Japanese is pretty much
unique. Chinese was easy, though. Very similar in writing and speaking
to Japanese."

One of Taiki's thin red-brown eyebrows arched. "You certainly know how
to change topics quickly." She then continued along the path the blonde
had started. "We're pretty glad, though, that Kinmoku has one standard
language. Most of the different countries and the colonies have
different dialects, though. You know how that happens."

They continued to talk. Suddenly, to her surprise, Taiki felt a pair of
arms slip around her waist. She blinked, turning her head to try and
catch a glimpse of who held her. "Yaten?"

"Hey." The silver-haired woman grinned, holding tight to her lover's
waist. It wasn't the only thing she could reach, but if she tried to
grab Taiki's neck she'd end up choking her. Anywhere else was a little
suspiscious.

"Yaten, you're not suppose to be here." Seiya grumbled from somewhere
behind them. The black-haired teen had also gone female, just in case
she might be needed. She came up to tug on Yaten's shoulder, trying to
draw her away from the crowd. "Come on, we need to go."

"Seiya?"

The black-haired Senshi froze. She turned slowly towards the speaker,
navy eyes wide. "O...O...Odango-atama?"

Usagi probably would have hugged the teen, if she hadn't looked so
petrified. The colour had drained from Seiya's slightly tanned skin at
an alarming rate. Was she afraid of her?

Seiya couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Couldn't even think clearly.
She felt her heart thumping against her rib cage, as if it were trying
to escape. She told herself it was simply adrenaline, but no, that
wasn't it at all!

It wasn't just her looks. It had never been just anything. It
was her looks, and that oh-so-kawaii "What'd I do?" look, and her
shine. Those big blue eyes. The comforting warmth that sprang from her
and reached out to touch everyone.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why'd she have to be here?! Seiya was
finally trying to set her heart straight, and then she ran into Odango!
Now she was torn again, torn between the blonde, the one who had
captured her heart on Earth, and her Princess, the one who would have
her devotion forever, and maybe even her heart. This wasn't fair!

She was in the process of turning around when suddenly a scream pierced
the air. Mamoru was instantly at Usagi's side, and so was Setsuna. But
it was not one of them who had screamed.

~*~*~*~*~

(*)-She's in her Princess Serenity dress, not her Neo-Queen Serenity
dress

(**)-I don't speak Japanese, so any errors that have been made, blame
on me. Feel free to correct me, but don't be too harsh about it, 'kay?

Chapter Seven finished! ^_^ I told you something changed. Who screamed?
Are they okay? Will I get the next chapter up before exams? All in due
time, my friends, all in due time ^.~ Please R+R!