Richforce: Glad someone knows how I feel, lol. Thanks for the review.
Girl Who Writes: I'm quite glad that you've enjoyed it that much. And, I wholeheartedly agree with what you said about poor Suna.
Ancient Death: Thanks for the review, much appreciated.
little princess of mercury: Haha, well, I hope this was soon enough. Will try to have updates every couple weeks.
IkaruHuuga: Thanks for all the reviews; I'm glad you like the story. Is quite nice to see another Pluto fan, as there's not enough of us. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Until the Sun Rises no More
Chapter 8
Resplendence
She laid perfectly still atop the satin sheets, staring silently at the swirly white ceiling that seemed to continue forever above her. The white gown that she had adorned earlier reflected the brilliant moonlight that struck it from it's place on a chair. Though it felt like only a short period of time, Setsuna had been like that for hours since arriving home from the party; or whatever it was. Sleep wouldn't be overcoming her on that night, for her thoughts were all too occupied with other things. Or rather, someone else. It was something she didn't understand, and wasn't even sure if she wanted to for that matter. All she could think about was last night. The music, the lights and everything else. His gentle touch. His soft smile. That perfect waltz.
'What am I doing?' she thought, shaking her heads as she finally pried her gaze from the ceiling and looked upon the clock.
Five in the morning.
A gentle groan escaped her lip as she got out from her bed and opened the door to her room slowly. Once again, she made off towards the kitchen through the dark hallways and put on a kettle of water. If anything could soothe her, and make her mind stop racing, it'd be a cup of hot green tea. Setsuna laid the cup down upon the table as the steam rose silently into the air; her always solemn garnet eyes staring off into nothing. She closed her eyes, only to see his face again as she drew her lids open; an almost amused smile playing on her lips as she shook her head. She felt almost, shameful with her actions. Shamed about what she deemed fleeting and useless thoughts that managed to plague her the entire night. Perhaps her being Time Guardian for so many centuries had taken an irreparable toll.
"Ahh...Setsuna, I knew it was you."
Glancing sideways at the doorway, she looked to see a half-awake Haruka standing before her. "I'm sorry, Haruka. I didn't mean to wake you." She received a smile from the tall sandy haired woman that took a seat next to her.
"No," she responded. "I was already awake. Just knew you were going to have one of your nightly teas." She mused while Setsuna smiled back at her, taking a sip from her cup. "Something on your mind?"
She placed the mug back down and folded her hands in her lap before answering. "I suppose so. I can't even make sense of my thoughts, so explaining them would be impossible," she answered, the music from the waltz echoing through her mind again. Haruka half expected that response from her. She knew her best friend all too well. "What about you?"
"Me?" Haruka answered, propping one of her legs up on the chair next to her. "I'm only awake because of Michiru's snoring, you know." Setsuna covered her mouth to muffle the gentle laugh that came from her lips.
"I don't think Michiru would like to hear that." Haruka only snorted and ran a hand through her short hair and stood up a minute later. After adjusting her top, she glanced towards Setsuna with a loud yawn.
"You should get back to bed, Setsuna," she mumbled as she made towards the hallway. "The sun will be coming up soon." Setsuna nodded slowly, placing her mug into the sink as she glanced out the window in front of her. It was still pitch black outside, though she could see the dark shadows from the trees swaying back and forth in the wind. A sudden chill shot through her body as a shiver ran down her spine. She quickly made off towards her room once more and slipped into bed. For once, she dreamed peacefully.
Morning had come sooner than Setsuna hoped, and it brought another day in which she wasn't sure what it'd entail. Being time guardian for so long, she always had her duty and something to keep her busy. Now that she was relieved of all her duties, she couldn't quite get used to the fact that she had so much free time.
"Hey, Setsuna?"
She looked up to see Michiru looking down at her as she sat upon the couch. She only looked at the teal-haired woman questioningly.
"Haruka and I are heading out for the afternoon," she added, grabbing her coat and purse. "Would you like to come? Wouldn't want you sitting here with absolutely nothing to do." Setsuna smiled towards her friend and shook her head.
"That's okay, thank you," she responded. "I will find something to do." Michiru looped her arm around Haruka's, who had appeared next to her a moment prior.
"See you tonight, then," Haruka said with a wave as the two left from the house; leaving Setsuna to her thoughts once more. She suddenly noticed the box containing the dresses she'd made over the years on the other couch out of the corner of her eye. A brief thought drifted through her mind a few seconds later. She got up, grabbed a dress from the box and made off towards the door, which she folded into her bag. Before she left from the house she grabbed a newspaper from the coffee table near the door.
Once outside, Setsuna could feel the cool air and crisp breeze against her skin. This, she could surely get used to. She knew she couldn't continue to stay back at the house every day; and looking for a job would surely remedy that. Her long jade green hair whipped about in the breezes, earning herself several stares from men and women alike. Her exotic look was apparently alluring and found strange to many, but she found herself always uncomfortable stuck in their gazes.
Setsuna rounded the corner, only to bump into someone else as she stumbled and lost her footing; falling directly into the person. She quickly cursed herself for being so careless, feeling suddenly embarrassed to realize that she'd fallen so haphazardly into a stranger's arms. Or so she thought.
"Setsuna?" questioned a familiar voice. A slight blush suddenly enveloped her features. She looked up to see that light lavender, almost white hair that swayed in the breeze; and the familiar dark blue eyes that looked upon her last night. He was smiling. "Are you alright?"
Prying herself from against him, she stood fully on her own and looked upon him. She smiled back at him and nodded firmly. "I'm fine, Souichi. Thank you." He reached down and handed her the news paper that she had dropped and handed it to her.
"I'm sorry, I should've paid more attention," he added. Gathering the newspaper under one of her arms, she only shook her head.
"It's quite alright, don't worry about it." They stood for another few moments as she observed him quietly. His next words surprised her.
"If you're not busy," he started, seemingly pausing to choose his next words carefully. "Would you like to go to the café?" Setsuna couldn't help but to smile at his request as she moved some strands of hair from before her eyes to behind her ears.
"I was on my way there, actually. I'd like your company very much." The pair quickly turned in the direction of the small café and began their short walk there. Their trip was mostly quiet besides the small bits of conversation that Souichi tried to make. Setsuna was never one to dislike silence and it was strange to find someone else, let alone a man, who seemed to enjoy it just as much. Once they arrived, they found an empty table and took a seat. Setsuna ordered her usual green tea as Souichi got himself coffee. She smiled towards him once more before opening her paper and began looking through the section with job offerings.
"What type of job are you looking for?" he suddenly asked, taking a sip of his coffee that had just arrived. "If I'm not intruding." Setsuna looked up from the paper and shook her head.
"It's alright," she started, looking down at the table. "I've made dresses and clothes for…a long time. So, a job doing that would be perfect." Souichi suddenly chuckled at her words, earning a curious look from Setsuna who wondered what was so funny.
"Usagi told me that you had made all dresses that your friends and yourself wore last night, when she cornered me into a conversation," he said, smiling again. "You're very talented." Folding her hands into her lap delicately after spotting an ad in the paper, she closed it.
"Thank you," she said appreciatively. They continued to chat about every day things, and Setsuna found herself smiling more than she had in literally ages. There was something soothing about his presence. His smooth voice carried so easily through her ears, and his gaze made her warm for reasons she didn't quite understand. He himself was quite mesmerized by the woman before him. Every move she made was graceful from a simple stride to a graceful spin upon the dance floor. He'd never met a woman like her; so mysterious and unfathomably beautiful both in looks and personality.
Eventually it came time to part ways once again as they both stood up from the table and grabbed their coats and whatever belongings were upon the table.
"Setsuna, before you go, I had a question," Souichi said. He seemed to grow ever slightly nervous at what he was about to ask as Setsuna nodded for him to continue. "Would you like to have dinner tomorrow night with me?"
"That..." she murmured, her mind and usual habits telling her to just say no, but something else was telling her to say yes for once. Something much stronger than her usual thoughts. "Yes. That would be nice." They both smiled at eachother for a few brief moments; Setsuna blushing slightly once again. This man had such a strange effect on her emotions that she could normally and easily keep in check.
"Is seven a good time for you?"
"Yes, that's fine," she answered, turning sideways. "I'll see you tomorrow evening, Souichi." With that, she turned to leave, but was haulted when her hand was grasped gently from behind. She turned to see him holding her hand lightly.
"I'll be by to pick you up, then," he added, letting his fingertips glide over the palm of her hand until they were parted again and he was off on his way. Setsuna lingered for a moment longer, still stunned and surprised by what he'd done. Managing to shake it off, she made off towards her next destination with the days events stuck in her mind.
Day had quickly turned to night, and Haruka and Michiru were already back at home awaiting Setsuna's late arrival. Eventually the door creaked open and the green-haired young woman stepped in.
"Didn't know you'd be out all day," Haruka said, waving to her from her chair next to Michiru. "We were a bit worried about you."
"Sorry," Setsuna answered, haning her coat upon the hook near the door as walked over and took a seat next to her friends.
"Where'd you go off to today?" Michiru questioned with a smile. Thinking about the question momentarily, she answered simply and with another smile that neither of her friends were used to her wearing.
"I got a job."
But that wasn't the main source of her happiness.