As Long As I Love You

The Karaoke Cantina Story

Written by Seijoutai Priire/Sailor Asteroid

A herd of people massed in front of the cantina. Seijoutai Priire - considered an expert on the matter - had assured them that this particular cantina was perfectly safe for anyone who cared to enter. It had been Miyuki's idea to find a cantina like this one, because Riko told Pinku who told Chouko who told Annika who told... anyway, word got around that Yuki was feeling a little homesick. Considering that in Japan karaoke was pretty near a religion, Miyuki asked Priire if she knew where a good karaoke cantina was.

That's how the group of Sailor Jedi and friends ended up in front of the Drunken Ewok Karaoke Cantina. Yuki was thrilled.

Kousotsu and Ben held the doors for the ladies as they walked in. Kirana was doing her best to finish braiding the last thick braid in Tejina's hair as everyone else walked in. "Would you please hold still?" the pearlescent-haired girl begged. "Look, I just have to tie this last ribbon...." She grinned triumphantly as Tejina dashed through the doors, almost knocking Lupin over. That was okay, however. Lupin was trying to squeeze her way past Ippin and Riku so it was easy for the man to catch the blind girl. Little Renako had a tight grip on Koumi's hand; the yellow- and green-eyed girl was remembering the last time she'd been in a place like this. It wasn't a nice memory, but she knew she'd be safe with the senshi.

Priire shrugged. "Tashita said something about dragging Kalil in by his braid, and Mara said she had a surprise." The blonde glanced around, trying not to be suspicious of everyone. It was a hard instinct to overcome.

Everyone was sitting at a mass of tables near the back of the cantina. By the time Tashita and Mara arrived, Chouko and Ippin had started playing Truth or Dare.

"Ben! Kami! BRAT!" Mara yelled, trying to get her future son's attention. It was hard, considering the bulk of his attention was focused on Yuki. "Brat! Look who I found!"

Tashita shook her head. "No way! Kalil and I are going to sit down and watch you guys make fools of yourselves."

Ippin leaned over and consulted with Mara. Then, with a giggle, she motioned Yuki over. The three females tried not to keep laughing as Yuki slipped away. "Okay. Ben. I dare you not to blush!"

The redhead nonchalantly pointed to the stage. Yuki was standing up there with her hair down and a microphone in her hands. She didn't look nervous at all. "Oh, my love, my darling, I've hungered for your touch a long, lonely time! Time goes by so slowly and time can do so much... are you still mine?" she sang in her beautifully sweet voice.

Everyone in the cantina began clapping and shouting. Yuki grinned and kept singing. As she finished the song with a flourish, one rather drunken man started waving his hands and yelling. "You're a goddess! Marry me!"

Yuki blushed a little and grinned. "Talk to Ben about it... he's my husband, more or less."

Ben was trying his best not to change his facial expression... it worked, too. Until Miyuki walked up behind him and poked him. Tenchi just shook his head at Ben's misfortune.

Ignoring the proceedings, Nom glanced around. She'd only come along in hopes there was a fight. If anyone began singing a boyband song, she would be of the mind to start one... but other than that, the cantina looked clean. The warrior sighed.

Tashita frowned. Where did Kalil go? He'd just been trying to convince her that karioke was fun, then he disappeared. The girl looked over at Priire who was trying to get her attention. Priire gestured to the stage and Tashita blanched. "Oh... no..."

The blonde walked over to where the brunette was sitting and placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. "What are they doing?" Priire asked, referring to their respective boyfriends.

"We'd like to dedicate this one to our girlfriends... Tashita and Priire!" Kalil announced loudly and exuberantly as the music started playing. "The way you look, the way you laugh, the was you love with all you have, there ain't nothin' about you..."

Priire's eyes lit up. "That's my favorite Rivers and Buckskinn song!" she exclaimed. "How'd he know?"

"The way you kiss, the way you cry the way you move when you walk by, there ain't nothin' about you..."

"I love your attitude, your rose tattoo, your every thought, your smile, your lips, and girl the list goes on and on and on..."

When they finished, all the senshi gave them a standing ovation. Before Kiri had time to ask "Truth or Dare," another senshi made her way on stage.

"It's probably killer," Mika added. The cat senshi ducked when Annika threw a balled-up napkin at her.

"Shh!" Renako said, holding up her hands. "She's singing!" No one noticed as a brown-haired boy grabbed the little senshi and dragged her off.

"I don't know if I've ever been real in love, I'm a little bit rusty, and I think my head is caving in..." Nom sang.

Tejina frowned. "I want to hear that Glittny song... the one ‘She's a Celestial Point of Light'! Not Matchbook 40."

"Request it," Priire deadpanned. "I'm sure Nom wouldn't hurt you too badly." Everyone laughed.

"Where'd Luke go?" Mara asked with a frown. "Oooh, he can't sing!" she exclaimed as she saw him waiting for his turn.

The accent that the Omwati had put on the word made her blind friend smile. Lupin knew Kirana was talking about her Force-talent. "No," Lupin answered. "Wait... uh oh."

"Girl, it ain't no lie, see ya later, see ya later, see ya later!" Riku, Kirran, Luke, Ben, Kalil, Kousotsu sang, doing their best to badly imitate N*aboo.

Kiri banged her head on the table. "It's bad enough when my brother sings that crap! Someone, give me a blaster!"

Everyone laughed and goodnaturedly pelted the guys with balled-up napkins as they came off stage. "Kiri... who are you going to ask?"

The girl closed one eye and cocked her head, thinking. "Ummm... Priire! Truth or Dare?"

Suddenly, Priire looked nervous. "Um, you know... I have to... uh... get some teeth pulled... so I'll just..."

Ippin grabbed her twin by the shirt. "No way, Aster. You got yourself into this!"

Over in a corner, Miyuki and Kiri had gotten Tashita, Yuki, Tejina, and Tenchi together. Chouko had wandered over... but when she heard what they were discussing, she backed away. "X-nay! Don't get me involved! I want to live!" The brunette shook her head. "Priire has access to lots of guns!"

The conspirators laughed. "Aw, come on, Chouko. Priire wouldn't shoot us," Miyuki giggled.

The flame-haired guardian herself just shook her head. "You realize that even if Aster does agree to this, she'll have some kind of dastardly revenge planned. Like Re-Lax in your drinks... snakes in your sleeping bags... catnip in your pillows..."

Chouko blanched. "Priire!" she yelled. "I had no part in this! Just to set the record straight! I'm not a part of this!"

"Lay off, butterfly girl," Tashita said. "She's not going to kill us or anything."

Chouko raised her hand meekly. "May I once again insisit I had no part in this?"

"Come on...it's just one boyband song!" Kiri urged. "Let's hear you do 'See Ya Later'!"

They nodded. Miyuki poked Tenchi until he nodded as well. The knight was an unwilling accomplice.

"Fine," Priire sighed. "I'll do it. But realize I'm going to put Re-Lax in your drinks... snakes in your sleeping bags... catnip in your pillows..."

Where is my little sister? Koumi thought, annoyed. And my boyfriend, for that matter! The dark-haired warrior sighed as she spotted them. Kirran - her boyfriend - had gotten Renako to sing a duet with him. Koumi debated investing in earplugs. Her little sister had a beautiful voice... her boyfriend, on the other hand...

Chika giggled as Kirran proceeded to ruin Renako's perfect performance. The pair took a bow and everyone clapped. Chika did a double take when the opening strains of a Bespin Boys song came on and Priire stood up to sing. Even though she didn't know Priire all that well, the ex-mercenary's dislike of boybands went beyond sending threatening letters to threatening them in person. If one believed all the stories.

"As long as you love me..." Priire sang out. Her voice was a little rough around the edges, but still beautiful. The heart that she put into the song made everyone in the cantina listen silently.

"Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine I'm leaving my life in your hands." Her sea green eyes sought out another's and locked with a slight smile. "People say you're crazy and that you are blind, taking with me this chance." She blew him a kiss. "How you got to me is still a mystery, I can't get you out of my heart. You don't care what is written in my history, as long as this is where I'll be."

As Priire started to sing the chorus, several senshi got tears in their eyes. Annika sniffled loudly and blew her nose.

"You don't care who I am, where I'm from, what I did, as long as I love you, who I am, where I'm from," Priire sang, pouring out her heart. "Don't care what I did, as long as I love you."

By this time Miyuki and her twin cousin had joined in the tears. Kami was there to put an arm around Yuki so she'd didn't bawl. "I never thought about it like that before..." Miyuki sniffled rubbing tears out of her eyes.

Priire caught Kousotsu's eyes again. "Every little thing that I have said and done, feels like a knife within me, I hope that you don't mind that I am on the run." She was rewarded with a slight grin sprawling across his face. He mouthed the next words with her. "It seems like we're meant to be."

"I've tried to hide it so that no one knows, but I guess it shows..." Priire traced the outline of a mask on her face. "That I had a mask around my eyes." Ippin gave her a thumbs up and a smile. Even Tashita seemed moved to emotion. Kalil had his arm around her. "What I did and where I'm comin' from, you don't care, as long as I love you, baby."

Chouko leaned over and grabbed one of the powder-pink tissues Annika had gotten out of her equally pink purse. With a sigh, Xarae fit different meanings to the words. Her heart ached suddenly for Khameir.

"You don't care who I am, where I'm from, what I did, as long as I love you, who I am, where I'm from, don't care what I did, as long as I love you..." Priire finished, focusing her eyes on Kousotsu who had made his way over to the stage. Setting the microphone down, she let him sweep her off the stage in the midst of intense applause.

Ippin wrapped her arms around her big sister and hugged her. Because of the way they were turned, only Ippin could see the almost-tear that threatened to trickle down Priire's face. "Hey, don't worry, Aster," the flame-haired twin whispered. "Even Hawkbats need to cry sometimes."

Priire laughed quietly and took a bow for the rest of the senshi. After everyone was seated again and the applause had died down, Priire turned to them. "Truth or Dare, Miyuki-Tenchi-Kiri-Tashita-Yuki-Tejina?"

The six conspirators looked at each other nervously. "Um... Dare?" Tejina asked hesitantly.

Glancing around innocently, Priire spotted the person she most wanted to see. "I dare you people to go over there and ask Mace Windu to sing a Glittersim Girls song!" Priire giggled amid the groans. "And you have to sit there and listen to him!"

Ippin giggled. "Can I say 'I told you so' yet?" she asked, starting another round of groans and peltings with balled-up napkins.