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Nom, upon entering the kitchen, stopped so suddenly that Kairiku ran into her. The four girls who were sitting around the table chatting fell silent. The dark-haired warrior crossed the room purposefully. She picked up a plate and showed it to the girls at the table. A few crumbs fell off, along with a piece of paper that said DO NOT EAT in Nom’s handwriting. She didn’t say a word.
“I swear I didn’t have a single crumb,” Priire said immediately.
Annika’s hand shot to her heart. “Honest, it wasn’t me this time!”
Chikako shrugged innocently. “I had nothing to do with it.”
One of Oola’s scarlet headtails quivered when Nom’s black eyes turned to her. “I haven’t had a cookie in a week!” she insisted. Nom’s expression changed ever so slightly. Oola looked down at the table. “Pie, on the other hand...”
Nom’s eyes scanned the four suspects again. “I do not believe a single one of you,” she finally said.
“Me neither,” Kairiku spoke up for the first time. “There had to have been a dozen cookies there. I bet you’re all guilty!”
Priire snickered. “You don’t think Annika could down a dozen cookies by herself?”
Annika stopped glaring at Kairiku and turned to Priire. “ME?” she squealed. “What about YOU? Remember that night Kyoko made that pizza stuff? And you ate NINE pieces?”
Priire’s cheeks got a little pink, but only Nom noticed (she wasn’t missing a thing). “What does that have to do with cookies?” the blonde demanded.
“I don’t know,” Annika smirked. “By the time you started eating cookies, I’d lost count.”
Priire’s hand moved in the direction of her blaster, but she changed her mind. “Well what about Oola? I’m sure she can eat twelve cookies – in fact, we’ve probably all seen it!”
“Yes we have,” Kairiku added.
“And Chikako,” Priire continued. The accused sat up straight and blushed. “I saw her eat three ice cream cones in a row the other day, I can’t imagine cookies would be much of a problem.”
“Right again,” Kairiku mused.
“And YOU!” Priire whipped around and pointed at her strongest supporter. “You seem strangely eager to condemn!”
“That is right,” Nom agreed. “Kairiku did not eat the cookies. That I know.” Kairiku smiled sweetly, and Priire seemed to be on the verge of sticking her tongue out.
“Yeah!” Annika agreed. “I bet you’re just trying to take the blame off yourself! Sounds like a guilty conscience to me...”
“Right,” Priire said sarcastically. “You’re the one who blamed me to begin with!”
“Yeah, after you blamed me!”
“All I’m trying to do is look at the facts!”
“Oh, please! Facts, you call those?”
“Maybe we should take this before the Jedi Council,” Oola interrupted.
“Fine!” Priire and Annika shouted at each other. Kairiku withheld a giggle. This was getting fun!
“We’re going to take a cookie dispute before the Jedi Council?” Chikako said dryly. “While the Sith are trying to take over the Galaxy?”
“We do not need to go the Jai Council,” Nom said. With her subtle expressions, it was hard to tell if she was exasperated, amused, bored, or still really really mad.
Oola looked alarmed. “What are you gonna do?”
Nom closed her eyes. Kairiku was delighted. “She’s using the Force to find the culprit!” she almost sang. “This is so funny!” she added, mostly to herself.
Annika sat back and crossed her arms. “Good! Now you will all see how innocent I am! This time, anyway.”
Nom’s eyes flew open before the Princess had finished talking, and something akin to surprise was in her voice. “Where is it?”
Priire raised an eyebrow. “Where’s what? The Force?”
“Yes.”
Oola frowned. “What do you mean, where’s the Force? Isn’t it always, like, everywhere?”
If Nom had been someone else, she might have said “Duh!” But instead she just repeated her "yes." Half the eyes in the room went closed this time, trying to find the omnipresent Force. “You’re right! It’s gone!” Kairiku exclaimed.
“Okay, who’s got the ysalamiri?” Annika asked.
Priire’s green eyes darted around the kitchen. She suddenly gasped. “It’s you, Myrkr-Girl!” She pointed at Chikako.
The brunette’s mouth dropped open. “I am not an ysalamiri!” she protested.
“It IS you!” Annika said. “I don’t need no Force to see how guilty you are!”
“You did eat the cookies!” Oola realized, and moved away from her as if she were contagious.
“I did not!” she insisted, cheeks growing pinker.
“Then stop blocking the Force!” Annika retorted.
“No!” Chikako said in spite of herself.
“Why not?”
Priire threw her hands in the air. “’Cause she ate the cookies, of course!”
Nom put her hands on her hips. “Chikako, if you do not make the Force return, I will... I will...”
“Blow up your droid!” Priire supplied. Chikako shot her an indignant glare.
“Read your diary,” Kairiku suggested. She produced a tiny key. “Out loud, to everyone.”
Chikako did a double take. “Where did you get that?!”
Kairiku smiled, said “Chibi’s secret!” and disappeared.
Oola thought for a moment. “If you don’t stop this ysalamiri stuff,” she finally said slowly. “We’ll let Numa-chan know that she has complete practical-joking license over you, with no rules.” Chikako grimaced, but the Force remained absent.
“I’ll get Obi-Wan to get Yoda to ban ice cream from the Jedi Temple,” Annika threatened.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Chikako answered.
“So?” Annika confessed with a grin. They both laughed.
“If you do not make the Force return,” Nom finally said, “I will have a talk with the boy.”
“What boy?”
“The boy outside the Temple.”
“The... the one who sells the Coruscant Times?”
“Yes.”
“With the blonde hair? With the... um..."
“The blue eyes, yes.”
Chikako hesitated. “What exactly do you mean by talk?”
Nom shrugged. “I will tell him you think he is cute.”
The Force returned immediately.
“Please don’t tell, please don’t tell!” Chikako began begging the minute Nom said “cute.” “If you tell I will be soooo unbelievably humiliated! Please, Nom! I would never be able to go out the main doors again, I’d be so embarrassed!”
“Wow!” said Annika. “You’re kind of a spaz, aren’t you?”
“I’m not a spaz!” she argued, and immediately resumed begging. “If he liked me, it’d be one thing, but he’s probably never even noticed me, and I would just feel so stupid and he’d think I’m some stalker-girl and – ”
“Sweetheart, if I were you, I’d worry about the paperboy later,” Oola advised.
“Why?”
Priire giggled. “You ate Nom’s cookies!” They looked at Nom, who was still calmly looking on. Chikako nearly shrieked when she realized what she was guilty of, and immediately bolted from the kitchen. She was a fugitive now and was hoping on the off chance that if she ran fast, she might get to a hiding place before Nom caught her.
She made it, amazingly enough, but it didn’t do much good with Peetie standing nearby yelling “Hey Nom, Chikako’s hiding over here!” because he thought it might lead to something entertaining. And from his point of view, it probably did.
About the Senshi in this story:
Nom/Sailor Dathomir
Kairiku/Sailor Chibi Naboo
Priire/Sailor Asteroid
Annika/Sailor Bakura
Chikako/Sailor Myrkr
Oola/Sailor Ryloth
Numako/Sailor Dagobah
Peetie
