Kikyo turned her head and glanced at her.
Her gaze was calm, as calm as a winter lake glazed with thin ice, yet beneath those waters lay a resolve that sent a faint chill down Diana's back.
"I have come on the great goddess Amaterasu's orders to beg your forgiveness, Lord Yongye."
"You may beat me or kill me as you wish!"
"The earlier misunderstanding was entirely Takamagahara's fault!"
"The great goddess Amaterasu hopes this matter can end here."
She paused, her gaze sliding over Diana's flushed face before settling on the Lasso of Truth hanging crookedly at her waist. Her tone remained steady.
"If this is an inconvenient time, I can... come back later."
Diana's jaw abruptly tightened.
Every subtle expression on this Shrine Maiden in white said the same thing: I know what you two were doing, but I won't say it out loud.
That quiet, calculated coyness seemed to seep from her very bones, so thick it set Diana's teeth on edge.
"No need to come back later."
Yongye rose from the sofa, stepped barefoot onto the carpet, and walked over to the refrigerator to pull out another bottle of sparkling water. He unscrewed the cap and took a swig, his gaze sweeping between Diana and Kikyo. The smile at his lips went from pleased to openly enjoying the spectacle.
"Since you're here, sit down and talk."
He waved toward the sofa, then sat back down in the middle himself, propping his legs on the edge of the coffee table again.
Diana remained standing, the skirt of her golden armor hanging beside her legs. Her pale blue eyes fixed on Kikyo like those of a leopardess whose territory had been invaded.
Kikyo did not sit either.
She stood in the center of the living room, her white