Off High Guard

by Aspirator

A series of shorts describing palace antics told by our favorite Council member, Koko.

ONE: Retirement, or is it?

In which Natsume is never far away from the High Guard, or the Small Council for that matter.

Clink, clink, clink.

Koko felt himself very fortunate to be able to continue sharing dinners with the former commander and their Small Council's sorceress even now that they are married. Today, however, is a different story. It was a little too quiet...which is not an adjective he'd like to use in any situation involving Mikan Hyuuga. He gulped down his dinner, then glanced at Natsume. He could tell by the way Natsume's shoulders were tense and the grip he held on his mug that he was apprehensive of the silence as well. Koko watched nervously as Mikan continued to calmly eat her dinner. He gave her husband another more obvious glance, causing the former Commander to look back at him impatiently. Koko easily read Hyuuga's eye roll as - yeah I saw your first look, stop looking at me, and what do you want ME to do about it?

So Koko was left to do the talking. The Advisor straightened in his chair, tugging at the collar of his shirt as he cleared his throat. "So-"

"Kokoroyome." Mikan spoke up first, using his full name but giving him the most innocent look.

Koko's eyes went wide as saucers as he looked to Natsume for help. Natsume only shrugged, as if he knew anything. "Y-Yes?"

"Something interesting happened in our Small Council meeting today, didn't it?" Mikan stated casually, using the same tone she would if she was asking whether he liked the weather today. She smiled at him, then looked down to stab her fork into the meat.

Out of the corner of his eye, Koko saw Natsume watch the meat with detached interest. Koko could just imagine that he was vaguely wondering whether Mikan's skewering of the poultry was some type of passive aggressive threat. Koko was wondering the same thing. "Um...really? Something interesting?" He answered distractedly, going over multiple escape scenarios in his head. "Seemed-seemed pretty normal to me," he tried to keep the anxiety out of his voice but failed miserably when Natsume only stared at him and made no noise. Right, he's not even at Small Council meetings, what would he say anyway? Koko tried to remember what happened, but realized he didn't pay much attention today. "You know, your usual discussion of um...usual...topics."

"I don't know," Mikan dragged out the three words while she locked her eyes onto Koko's, who froze in his seat and tried to subtly eye the door. That door that is hanging open just past Mikan that led into the kitchen...She twirled her fork in her hand, the meat hanging off of it dangerously, "there was that one topic about the Geardans in the North."

Now Koko was truly confused. The Geardans...? Weren't they threatening - "Ah," Koko voiced aloud, then turned a panicked eye to Natsume while smiling reassuredly at Mikan. It's a complicated facial expression. "Yes, that topic! So interesting, ha ha! Well, can't be discussing these Small Council topics in front of a non-Council member! You know the rules!" He shuffled his dinner plates and utensils, this time definitely making his escape. That door stood open, as if pleading for him to escape. "Well, Advisor duties-"

"Koko," Mikan blinked at him innocently. The door behind her slammed shut with a light blue haze of magical energy, and Koko promptly sat down and stared at Natsume. But Natsume was busy watching Mikan intently with an unreadable expression. "You said something really interesting -"

Koko immediately saw where this was going. He set his dinner plates down with a clatter and put his hands up in placating surrender, "Wait a second-"

"-about what should be done with the rebel groups up north," but Mikan ignored him and now was looking right back at Natsume with a glare. She continued speaking to Koko, but it was obviously not directed to him at all. "It was really insightful, I had to wonder if you had any background in-"

"Well," Koko chuckled nervously, "you know me, full of surprises."

At this point, no one was paying attention to him anymore. Mikan rose a brow at her husband, mimicking his own expression back at him. "The comments that you talked about, Koko, sounded a lot like someone I know."

Oh no. Koko could feel the tension rise in the air as he realized in panic that Mikan was onto them. Natsume had always been interested in political affairs, especially battle strategies and have periodically been weaseling information out of Koko and Youichi. Hotaru couldn't care less if Natsume wanted input since she recognized his intelligence and experience but Mikan has always been adamant of Natsume's true "retirement" and warned everyone to make sure he "stayed out of Small Council affairs, or next thing you know he's reinstating himself as the Commander". Koko glanced nervously between the married couple.

There was a beat of silence. Natsume spoke up finally, drawling, "Been studying?" He turned to Koko with a slightly condescending smirk.

"Oh-kay, now wait a minute," Koko rolled his eyes at the jab. At a sudden, rather precise kick in his shin, Koko straightened, "ahem, yes. I wanted to be on par with you know, Youichi and Tsubasa during these meetings so I read up." He could almost pat himself on the back right then and there, but then he trailed off. "On...um, books... in the library. About battle strategy...I mean, rebel fighting strategy."

Mikan gave him a weird look, nodding slowly. The advisor smiled nervously back at her.

Then she glanced back at Natsume and narrowed her eyes. In one quick blink of an eye, she had stood up and was pointing rather dramatically at him, "you told me! We talked about this!"

Natsume remained seated, not at all flinching at the turn of events. Unlike Koko, who had fallen out of his chair from surprise, and screw the dishes, is crawling towards the nearest door. Fights between this couple tend to get magical...occasionally.

"About what?"

That was not the right answer, Koko thought, as he ducked under the table. A fork (no meat on it, thank goodness) came flying. Natsume easily snatched the offending object from midair and set it down on the dinner table. Child's play, read his facial expression.

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT ABOUT!" Mikan all but shouted. "I caught you talking to Youichi last week and you said, you said to me that is was a spying mission up north with the small team of High Guard -"

"It is." Natsume had the audacity to interrupt.

"A spying mission that involves defeating some rebel Geardanian groups that have snuck in through the North border?!"

"Have you seen a Geardanian rebel group?" Her husband instead responded with a scoff, "it's not a fight."

Mikan frowned at her husband. "Then Koko had this bright idea today-"

"Thank you," Koko muttered, then realized he should probably crawl back under the table.

"-that a group of top Academy students with their instructor should take a learning field trip up north-"

"That is a good idea." Natsume didn't even bother hiding his smirk.

"Did you think I wasn't going to connect the dots?!" Mikan narrowed her eyes at her husband.

Natsume opened his mouth. Koko squeezed his eyes closed and shrunk in his seat. Then Natsume closed his mouth. Good move, the Advisor mouthed to Mr. Hyuuga. Natsume only shrugged. "Fine, you win. No field trip."

Cautiously, as if Natsume would take back her win any second, Mikan sat back down in her chair.

There was a beat of silence as Natsume resumed his meal.

Then, "you already talked to Ruka, didn't you?"