Love Potions.

They’ve been used countless upon countless times to win over the hearts of the members of the Departments. All of them which had been accidently affected for those said members to go after their poor bosses. But tonight…

Well, tonight's the night where all hell breaks loose.

And the fault is of another stupid attempt to drug one of the drinks.

Let me explain.

*****

(February 14th, Trinity Department Parlor)

Kitari/Sailor: “Now this is just stupid.”

Karno: “Oh, lighten up, Kitari, you look stunning. Doesn’t she, Leon?”

Leon: “Hm? You’re asking my advice?”

Kitari: “Nah, I am not getting any response from the tease-butt lion.”

Leon: “Excuse me?”

Ichthys: “Yeah! Yeah! Ain’t Sailor pretty, Scorpio?!”

Scorpio: “Why the freak you asking me!?”

Sailor: “Heck, I don’t wanna know!”

Scorpio: “H-Hey…”

Kitari and Sailor were presented with special Valentines Day dresses. They were flowy, like their usual uniform coats. In addition to the Department theme, there were flushes of pink and red with a mute sparkle. The ribbon work and layers of fabric made them almost like wedding dresses. The dressmakers of the palace really were pushing this. Adjusting their regular crowns on their heads, careful not to mess up their hair or whatever, they follow their members out of the parlor.

Kitari: “I’m glad they gave us flats. Easier to walk in.”

Sailor: “Yeah, and they didn’t have us wear the birdcage thing.”

Kitari: “...yet.”

Teorus: “Do you know who you’re gonna dance with?”

Kitari: “Dance? As in ballroom dance? Nah, no way, no can do.”

Leon: “Oh, please, the Wishes Queen should be able to do ONE dance.”

Kitari: “Heck, the only dance I’ve done...when was that? When I was in college?”

Sailor: “Oh, I remember that! When you had to that one tango thing with Aurum? That was so hilarious, especially since you two turned it into a sparta!”

Partheno: “How can you turn ballroom dancing into sparta?”

Kitari: “Hmph.”

Sailor/Kitari: “Stomp, don’t glide. Get faster every five seconds. Before you know it, it’s turned into deer ramming.”

Tauxolouve: “Deer ramming? Oh my.”

Kitari: “...I think I might’ve broke his foot.”

Sailor: “You DID.”

Kitari: “Glory, did I…?”

Leon: “...Curious, who’s this Aurum human?”

Karno: “...Leon?”

*****

Once they had stepped foot into the ballroom, everyone’s head swiveled toward them. Obviously, all the goddesses scowled menacingly when they saw Kitari and Sailor. Those two just sighed and mentally rolled their eyes. Their members had been pulled away by flocks of women which just left men to go over to the small group of queens.

Finally Star King arrives.

Star King: “Happy Valentines Day, everyone.”

“And to you also, You Highness.”

Star King: “I can see that something special is bound to happen tonight.”

Kitari: “Oh, lord…”

“What is this special thing, Your Highness?”

Star King: “Oh, I don’t know, per se. But I know it’s going to be special.”

Sailor: “‘He doesn’t know’, my buttcrack.”

Kitari: “D-Don’t, I was eating. Don’t make me choke on laughter while he’s talking.”

Star King: “What is being passed around,”

A group of identical men walk around handing out elegant wine glasses filled with a silky, baby pink liquid. Kitari and Sailor took theirs with suspicion as they glanced back at their members who carelessly took a glass.

Star King: “...is our annual Heart’s Soul. If you are new to the festivities, then I shall explain. What you hold is a fashioned drink that everyone is to take one sip at once. There’s a ring at the bottom of two glasses and those two will dance for one whole song.”

Kitari/Sailor: “Yep, this is gonna definitely be rigged.”

Star King: “You do not need to finish your glasses right away, please take the time to enjoy them. They were crafted by our wise man after all.”

Kitari: “Huedhaut, did you also select the glasses that got the rings?”

Huedhaut: “Mm, I just placed them in random glasses. They probably got mixed around, you saw everyone taking one instead of them being handed to them.”

Kitari: “Point made, point reserved.”

Star King: “Very well...now in celebratory to a new day of love, let us partake of this drink. Together.”

Sailor: “Gag me.”

Kitari: “Agreed.”

Everyone takes a sip with Kitari and Sailor slowly coming from behind. The drink was mildly frothy and smooth. It was definitely sweet, but not too sweet enough for them to gag. It was like drinking a very thin whip of marshmallow, minus the stickiness. It tasted faintly of strawberries.

Kitari: “Hm...nothing’s happened.”

Sailor: “Though this stuff is good.”

Huedhaut: “So, how to you find it?”

Kitari: “I feel like I’m drinking that Miracle Whip stuff.”

Sailor: “It’s Kitari-language for ‘this stuff is good’.”

Leon: “‘Kitari-Language’? Now that’s something I need to make fluent. You’re going to have to teach me sometime.”

Sailor: “Why don’t you ask the natives, sucker…”

Kitari: “What the heck you two talking about back there?”

Scorpio: “Yeah, why the heck you talking to Leon?”

Sailor: “Take a chill pill, Scorpio. Huedhaut was just asking what we thought of the drink.”

Scorpio: “But you were talking to LEON.”

Sailor: “...and that is an issue because…?”

Scorpio: “...hmph, nevermind…”

Everyone was going around, dancing to the ballroom songs, while the members of Wishes and Punishments all kinda sat in one big circle around the dancefloor. Kitari and Sailor sitting in front of Star King. While They were talking, Kitari and Leon went into a drinking contest to see how fast they could down their drinks.

Leon: “Oh, please, your glass is about halfway empty.”

Kitari: “So’s yours, we’re even!”

Leon: “Imagine, me even to you.”

Kitari: “Oh? You’re finally up at my level? Or was that just a snag comment about our drink capacity?”

Leon flicked his arm at her, giving a mock punch. Kitari instinctively shot her hand that held her glass to the side. Sailor, being the girl sitting next to her, yelped in surprise while she was chatting with Scorpio.

Sailor: “Ack-! Hey! You poured your drink into my glass…!”

Kitari: “Oh! How much? Are you okay? Did I get it over your dress or something?”

Sailor: “Hah, girl, I wouldn’t be angry at you for getting it on my dress.”

Leon: “Now this will be unfair.”

Kitari: “...Y’know what? How about we just drink the remains just for fun?”

Leon: “Hmph, on three.”

Kitari: “One…

Leon: “...Two…”

Leon/Kitari: “Three!”

*chug*

As they’re powering down their drinks, Sailor had downed hers and Scorpio offered her his. Scorpio said that he wasn’t a fan of the strawberry tasting drink and, quote-unquote, ‘if Sailor likes it, then I won’t waste it on myself, who doesn’t’. Sailor took a sip of Scorpio’s drink watching over Leon and Kitari.

Sailor: “So? Who won? By the looks of it, it was pretty cut and even win for the both of you.”

Leon/Kitari: “...”

Leon: *choke-!*

Kitari: “L-Leon! You okay?!”

Leon had doubled over to his side, falling onto Kitari’s lap. Sailor springed up and started batting people away from Kitari and Leon, who were either worried attenders or frantic goddesses. Either way, Sailor wanted to give the two some space for Kitari so that way she can...um, fish whatever is choking Leon. She had to pry Leon’s mouth open as she saw a small gold ring looped on his uvula, halfway down his throat. Good thing the ring was hooked to the uvula or he would swallowed it. His mouth was still gaping open and he was still in pain. Cringing a little she slowly reached her fingers down and yanked the ring off, nearly tearing off his uvula on the way. Or so it felt.

Leon: “A-A-ACK-!!!”

Kitari: “Ah! Sorry! U-Uh, look! You got one of the rings!”

Leon didn’t respond. He was just a sweating flop pile on Kitari’s lap, not wanting to get up. He was panting and not wanting to shut his mouth due to the pain. The man lazily looks up at Kitari, having to squint due to the lights above her.

Leon: “...hurts…”

Kitari: “Yeah, that’s what happens when you gotta ring lodged halfway in your throat and is hanging by your uvula.”

Leon: “...h-ho...h-hot…”

Kitari: “You’re...hey, Sailor.”

Sailor: “Here.”

Having been watching the entire time, Sailor deftly handed over the majority of her glass. Already poked at the bottom with a fork to check for a ring. Kitari poured the contents into Leon’s glass, carefully lifted his head up and made him drink.

Zyglavis: “...No…”

Sailor: “Chill bro, it’s not like he’s gonna die.”

Karno: “Wow...to actually see him care…”

Kitari: “Uh...Zyglavis...what’s that in your hand…?”

The ponytailed minister had been watching to the left of Sailor, one hand daintily holding his glass, the other in a knuckle-white grip. Kitari’s breath was still pitched up high due to the adrenaline and was trying hard to calm herself down, so she didn’t move. Instead, she talked with her eyes, signalling Sailor to go help him.

Sailor: “Okay, Zig, open your palm. Did you cut yourself or something?”

Zyglavis: “...No, something worse…”

Moving close to Sailor so that only she could see, he slowly pried his hand open to reveal a golden shine. Zyglavis had received the other ring. Leon and Zyglavis has to dance together for one whole song.

Sailor: “...Oh, shoot.”

Kitari’s voice was still kinda edgy as she turned around to find out what was in his hand.

Kitari: “Wow, d-dude, you g-got the other r-ring…!”

Sailor: “Sis, you stuttering…?”

The minute the words leave Kitari’s mouth, the entire ballroom falls silent. Once her words register, Leon mutters a Scorpio-worthy string of curses. Zyglavis shocks the crowd by sending one back his direction.

Star King: “...Minister Leon? Are you willing to continue for the dance?”

Leon: “...n-*cough, cough*”

Star King: “Very well...Kitari, Wishes.”

Kitari: “...Yeah?”

Star King: “I suppose that you will have dance in Leon’s place, little bird.”

Leon: “-HACK-!!!”

The entire crowd jumped at the sound of Leon’s overreacting dry throat. Kitari’s adrenaline spiked another eight hundred shot versus her earlier one hundred. Sailor looked down at the coughing fit wondering if it happened because Kitari was dancing with the Punishments version of Oangia or the fact that Star King just called her a ‘little bird’. Another thing Sailor was painfully noticed was how panicked Kitari is. Leon saw Sailor lean in and whisper to her…

Sailor: “He’s not Aurum.”

Star King: “Well? Are you going to dance?”

Kitari: “...Uh-”

Leon: “O-Over my...dead...body-*cough-!*”

Star King: “Ssh, rest, Minister Leon.”

Kitari: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll take care of it rest and do not worry, sucker.”

She rambled, her words practically all in the same line with no spaces or breath. She shot up to her feet, after shakily pushing Leon up. Her entire body snapped to face Zyglavis in one super-quick and stiff motion, which makes him flinch. Slowly, Zyglavis extends a hand for a reluctant invitation to dance.

Zyglavis: “U-Um...Lady Kitari, would I have the honor of this dance…?”

Kitari: “Sure, yeah, why not, let’s go.”

Kitari yanks Zyglavis to the dancefloor and Star King snaps his fingers, signalizing the music to start. Leon watches on weak, tired and irritated to no end. But he wonders if dancing with Zyglavis would’ve been worse. The pace of the song was steady, a tad quicker than most songs. Kitari, on the other hand, still hype on adrenaline, was running the music in her mind as split-time. Doubling the speed.

Zyglavis: “K-Kitari, you’re going really fast…”

Kitari: “Silt, I can’t get myself to-”

Those two ramble off and on as the song stretches into slower halves of the piece. It was around that time when Zyglavis and Kitari started slow dancing and the adrenaline had worn down. As he noticed her slowing, he glances down and her eyes...looked kind of empty. Dead.

Zyglavis: “...Kitari-?”

Kitari: “...I wish I did more...but I can’t...do wishes...any...more…”

Zyglavis: “...What?”

Sailor had Leon and Scorpio sit either side of her. Leon was only interested in seeing if Zyglavis was going to do anything to Kitari.

Scorpio: “Are you feeling okay? Nothing funny?”

Sailor: “W-What do y-you mean…? What?”

She clawed at her throat in surprise to her own stutter, sounding almost identical to Kitari’s. Scorpio leaned in worried, but drew back in spite of himself.

Scorpio: “What? What did you say? Hey! What’s going on?! Are you dying?!”

Just like Kitari’s eyes, hers started dimming, looking lifeless. Then, at the exact same time, Kitari and Sailor both collapsed in the arms of someone from Punishments. Leon struggled to get up, as he choked on his words of panic. The attenders either scrambled to get away or to get close and just...watch. Star King…

Well, Star King...he did something, too.