A week
later
“You wanted to see me, my dear?”
“Always,” she smiled, her features shone with radiance and her eyes twinkled
with genuine delight at her current situation, “I have something to show
you.”
“Another one of your toys?”
“Not really, I’ve just reset your entire security system, and the Kurizuishou
Go crystal room, I hope that you will agree with me that it is a lot more
secure in comparison to what you had previously.”
“I trust your judgment completely, and I don’t plan on asking you how you
have managed to make it more secure. How does the Kurizuishou Go
Crystal room system work? I do hope that it doesn’t actually mean
more passwords to remember to get in, because that would only trap me.”
“It’s not that bad. Now, do you mean you want to know the algorithms
of the configuration when you are asking me how the system works?”
He laughed at Ami’s suggestion, “no my dear, you would lose me completely
in that language, just tell me how to get in without getting shot.”
“Ahh…” Ami seemed to glow as her eyes shone once again from pure pleasure
in a world that she was so comfortable with, “it’s a simple system really,
it requires yours and my fingerprint, voice sample and a PIN number.
After that, there are a series of buttons which you must press to get in,”
handing him a piece of paper, she continued, “you have to commit this into
memory, a flaw would immediately trap you in the room until security arrives…”
“Rather embarrassing if I was to forget it, don’t you think?”
“That’s why I would suggest that you remember it.” She returned his
smile with a hint of tease. “The second room is a higher security
control, lasers are expected, but there is also a touch sensitive panel
attached to the glass case of the crystal surroundings, which means that
if anything was to touch it without the computer’s prior notice, the ventilation
system automatically shuts down, and the room becomes a steam room of approximately
70 degrees Celsius. Naturally, any tampering with the security system
of this room will raise alarms to the control room… I am boring you
with this, aren’t I?”
“It is always a pleasure to hear you speak my dear, nothing that you say
can ever bore me. It is true that I don’t understand the mechanics
of your system but I trust you implicitly, I would trust you with my life
if it came to it.”
“Well my lord, I don’t ask for your life at this moment,” Ami laughed,
“perhaps I may request it at a later time?”
“Very well, it will be here for your taking.” Lord Takeuchi laughed
back and took her tiny waist in his arms as they glided out of the room.
“You know, as much as I trust Ami’s ability to change that security system
of the Kuriverse Go, but the bit about her being lovey-dovey with Lord
Takeuchi worries me. We all know how she responds to love letters,
I mean, how on earth is she going to respond to his affections? And if
she doesn’t respond rightly, then she’ll never get the chance to go into
the system, let alone change it!” Makoto sat on the ground, rocking
her body against the walls of the temple as she said this.
“We all worry, Makoto-chan, we all do, we just have to hope that she can
keep up the charade, and somehow be able to respond in a somewhat normal
fashion to his affections, then she’ll be safe. She did pretty well
when we saw her in the Kuriverse, let’s hope that she’ll able to continue
to do that.”
“Easy for you to say, Rei-chan, you take these leaps of faith all the time,
come on, remember that time when she got a love letter and she screamed?
Ami-chan has never been in love before, she doesn’t know how to react,
let alone pretend to react… she’s not me, she’s not the goddess of love,
she is the goddess of intelligence, she acts according to her brain, not
her heart.”
“Everyone!” Luna said, “this is a test remember? You have to
remember that tests not only examine your knowledge; they help you develop
your deficiencies. She chose this strategy, which I think under the
circumstances is the best strategy, but I also think that she must have
some kind of confidence to have chosen it. Yes, Ami-chan does have
problems when it comes to love, but she, like all of you, are learning
to face her weaknesses and this may become a crash course for her in this
matter.”
A sound of clapping was suddenly heard throughout the room, and they saw
Deus Mercury slowing appearing in the corner of the room, as he came into
focus, his hands stopped clapping and he cleared his throat. “Very good
analysis Luna, I do hope that Princess Mercury will really be able to overcome
this phobia of hers.”
“Deus! I thought you were only to come in extensionating circumferences,
is something wrong?” Usagi asked.
“Excuse me, Princess Serenity?” Deus asked in reply, not quite understanding
what Usagi was saying.
Artemis coughed softly, “um, Deus, I believe that she means ‘extenuating
circumstances’, I believe that she has the same problems with long words
as Venus has with quotes.”
“Oh! I do apologize for my insensitivity then, Princess Serenity.
Now, I had better get back to business before I am missed back on the Grounds,
I’m already in enough trouble as it is from Someieichi-kou for the last
little leak from Urawa-san. I am afraid that I am not the best ”
“I suppose that Ami-chan does need a trouble-maker for a guardian to make
up for her prim and properness.” Minako giggled at the thought of Ami and
Deus’ disposition being exchanged, if Ami was the rule bending one, and
Deus behaving like the stereotypical god, following all the rules as if
they were written in blood.
“Princess Venus, this is where you may have to help her since you are the
Princess of Love, although you cannot directly tell her who to choose,
but you must direct her to the people who love her. Her confusion
will be great at that time, but you must make her face the problem and
not shunt it, make it clear to her that her destiny is not for her to whither
as a spinster, there are people who love her!”
“People?” Minako’s eyes immediately glimmered at the thought.
“You mean that there are more than Urawa? Wow! Way to go, Ami!”
Deus’ eyes reverted from Minako’s, “Uhum! I am afraid that I have
to go now, before I divulge too much of the future to you, ladies… and
gentlemen. I believe that I have already said a bit too much for
my liking, or for Someieichi-kou’s liking for that matter, I’m not too
interested in being punished afterwards. So, until we meet again
then, ladies.” Deus Mercury’s aura began to glow and covered his
form until with one bright flash; he disappeared from their sight completely.
Dr Mizuno sat at her desk at home holding a single portrait photo in front
of her, she read and re-read the yellow pieces of paper which lay scattered
on her desk as part of a scroll which formed part of the test that she
had been writing. Her feather quill pen lay, so far, unused on her
desk with its thick fountain-pen nib dipped in a pot of blue ink, ready
to once again join the expensive pieces of paper to create more reality
like the rest of the calligraphy had done.
Her eyes then fell on two another photos on her desk, both of them were
portraits of people. One of the photos showed Ami - or Princess Mercury,
dressed in her princess gown, from a long time ago. She sighed, her
aura changed from that of a doctor to her alter-ego, Someieichi-kou.
Looking at the photo at her hand, she rubbed her forehead in a sign of
distress, “it’s time now, I suppose, it’s time.”