Work Text:
“Everything must be prepared for the trial. Now excuse me,” responded Rita Kaniska to Morfonia’s concerned pleas.
The sovereign of Gokkan had spent countless hours working on their duties as Supreme Justice, to the point that they had forgotten to pay attention to their own health. After all, without them, the entirety of Chikyu would fall into mayhem and crime without the steadfast, resolute and unshakable ruler. Because of that, their own safety and well being could wait, at least in their eyes.
“But Rita! You need to take the day off, just this once!” Morfonia tried to call out to their monarch, but they had closed the door shut and prevented her from dissuading them away from doing their job. The lavender-haired woman could even hear the countless locks being set up. “What if you collapse in the middle of the trial…”
If only they would let some of her own attitude rub off on them for once. That would prevent them from getting ill or fall weak after days of Judge work. The retainer has always been lazy and would prefer it if there wasn’t much work for her to do, but even then, she would still get worried about the person who gave them a chance to probe herself.
Morfonia just stood there, staring at the closed door with a worried look on her face.
Even while trying to hear through the wooden surface, she could hear Rita trying to continue their work. All those fluffy Moffun plushies would definitely give them the boost they needed to continue, but just how far could they go until their body gives in?
As the retainer of the sovereign of Gokkan, Morfonia just couldn’t allow that thought to become a reality!
“Why must they be so difficult sometimes…” She stepped away from the room with a pout on her face, crossing her arms while stomping the pristine floor beneath her.
“Think, Morf… There must be a way to get Rita out of there.”
---
“Again?” Himeno asked. “They are so difficult sometimes.”
“Yes! You get it, right?” Morfonia had escaped to one of the empty rooms of Zaiban Castle to call the queen of Ishabana. There were two people in all of Chikyu who were close to Rita Kaniska, and if their retainer ran out of options, then the ruler of the land of beauty and medicine should have something up her sleeves. “Do you have anything that could convince them to stop just for a day? I don’t want them to hurt themselves…”
“Well, you already tried everything I would have done. Ishabana won’t mind if I take a short trip to Gokkan for a meeting with the ruler.” Himeno gracefully snapped her fingers. “Sebastian, prepare God Kamakiri.”
“R-Really?” Morfonia seemed a little shocked that the ruler would go out of her way just to help out another close friend of Rita’s.
“Of course, these are important affairs between Gokkan and Ishabana. The health of your sovereign is at risk, and there’s no better person for this than the best doctor in all of Chikyu.”
Before she hung up the call, Himeno had a mischievous yet adorable smile on her face.
She was using her royal privileges just to see the person she trusted the most. It was quite the selfish move, but then again, that was the philosophy of the Queen of Ishabana: putting yourself first, expressing your beauty and preserving anything that she loves, be it her kingdom, her people, or even Rita Kaniska.
---
The blonde ruler confidently arrived at the large castle and courthouse, making her way through the halls gracefully. It was almost like she was shining brightly and clearly in the middle of the cold, at least in Morfonia felt it that way.
She knocked on the door three times in a rhythmic manner. “Rita, could you open the door, please? There’s something I must show you.”
Morfonia was standing not too far away from the scene, putting all her attention on whatever smooth little scheme Himeno had thought while traveling in God Kamakiri.
The door slowly opened just enough to reveal the workaholic ruler, their tired and exhausted eye peeking from their face cover and their jet-black hair.
It didn’t take a doctor to see just how far they were pushing themselves. They had definitely pulled a few all-nighters trying to progress with some of the paperwork involving the upcoming investigations and trials. They have barely gotten a few hours of sleep, if any.
“Himeno,” they uttered, their eyes lit up at the sight of the unannounced guest. “My apologies, but there are important matters I must attend to at the moment.”
Rita was seconds away from closing the door again before the queen interrupted her. “More important than Moffun?”
The sovereign immediately reacted, their eye widening as their hyperfixation was mentioned.
That confident and playful smile made its way back to the woman in yellow’s face after catching their attention. She reached into the bag that they had brought from a fancy shop in her Kingdom and pulled out something that would make any collector burst in excitement: a limited edition Moffun onesie that uses some of the same material used for the plushies, giving an incredibly comfortable and relaxing feeling to those who wore it.
The plan was to have Rita wear this makeshift bed, which would force them to get some rest after spending so much time working.
“C’mon, I know you missed out on the sale for this because of an undercover mission,” Himeno teased, moving the box closer to the entrance while her tone changed into something more flirtatious and inviting. “I bet it would look adorable on you!”
The Queen of Ishabana was just so smart, Morfonia thought to herself, there was no way that Rita would refuse such an offer. Her mind truly was just as beautiful as her external appearance!
“I am sorry, Himeno, but I must remain neutral. You have already tried doing this before to lessen your penalty, I cannot allow that to happen again.”
The door closed.
---
The queen of Ishabana and the retainer from Gokkan both sat on opposite sides of the table, contemplating any other plans to get the unshakable Rita Kaniska to rest, even if just for a short moment.
They both let out a defeated sigh in unison.
Morfonia was the one to break the silence.
“This isn’t fair… I understand how important their work is to the world, but they shouldn’t hurt themselves by going through with it. What would be the point of justice if there isn’t a Rita Kaniska to uphold it?” She pouted, looking at the discarded pijamas laying on the table.
Himeno gave a concerned look to the other woman, who was just as worried about the sovereign as she was. They were both close to them, but it was the first time that they have talked to one another without any royal duties guiding the conversation or the threat of being attacked by an intergalactic invader.
She adjusted her position on the chair, crossing her legs and leaning back. “They are quite dedicated to their job… But you are correct. Usually, they would give in by now with all these efforts. This time, they are just too focused.” The doctor looked away for a moment. “Why is this case so important to them?”
“I could tell you, if you promise not to tell anybody.”
Himeno placed her index finger and her thumb on one side of her lips, imitating a zipper being closed over them.
Morfonia looked all around the empty room, making sure that nobody was listening in on them. Once she was done scanning the area, she lowered her volume and leaned forward.
“You know about that undercover mission, right? Well, apparently there were a few loose ends regarding the investigation, and because they accidentally blew their cover by the end, Rita needed to find other ways to get back in and keep tabs on the criminal group.”
The queen let out a long and understanding “Oh…” while nodding her head. “So, what about those ruffians? Where are they right now?”
“They are already in the minus ten degree celsius prison! I put them there myself, they just need to figure out their sentences and hold their trial.”
“Then, poor Rita just wants to get done with all of this… They must feel incredibly frustrated.”
“Mhm… But with how disorganized everything has been, it has taken so much of their time already.” Morfonia looked away from the table, thinking about her ruler and their current condition, worried that their body could give in at any moment.
Despite being rather close with Rita Kaniska, the Queen of Ishabana had never seen this side of the bailiff. Usually, she would see her doing work with the Supreme Justice or lounging around Zaiban Castle whenever she came to visit.
It was pleasant to see someone so concerned for the same person. Maybe… Maybe she could be a little selfish at the moment and indulge in a little conversation with Morfonia. Besides, changing the subject could help them come up with fresh new plans.
“There’s something else that worries you, isn’t there?” Himeno asked, pulling her chair closer towards the other. “You aren’t just worried about your boss…”
Morfonia let out a long sigh, deciding to open up to the royalty. “Well… Rita is just such an imposing and powerful figure in Gokkan. I know that they trust in me to be their successor, but those are some really big boots to fill… Sometimes I just wonder if I’ll be able to stand up to the job…”
“A lot of pressure on your shoulders, correct?”
The retainer nodded. “Maybe… I wanna show everyone that I am capable of being Supreme Justice. But there’s that feeling on the back of my head telling me the opposite. That I won’t be able to show that… I am just really lazy, after all…” Morfonia chuckled awkwardly and sadly, kicking her fit as she looked away from the scene.
“Well, maybe my words won’t do any good to make that voice go away. But I am sure they will help by shutting it up.” The blonde stood up from her spot and made her way to Morfonia, standing much closer to her than their chairs would allow. “You must hear the words of the queen of Ishabana instead!”
“H-Huh?”
“Morfonia, I have seen you work before, and I think you would make for quite the wonderful successor.” She began encouraging, holding the hands of the bailiff and pulling her back up to her feet. “You have helped Rita expertly all this time, I never have I heard them complain. And with how cold they tend to be with their own emotions, that means they appreciate every ounce of effort you pour into this. And if they ever need to retire, I wouldn’t mind working together with another cute Supreme Justice…”
Himeno finished by adding a little wink to her short but heartwarming speech.
The woman in purple took a moment to process her words, especially that last little comment at the end. Did she really think she was cute? But she thought she had something going on with Rita.
“Th-Thank you for the kind words, Queen Himeno.”
“Himeno is fine for now, Morfonia. I think we have seen each other so many times already that it feels strange being so formal.”
“But we have barely talked before! I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that, unless…” The retainer tried to make eye contact with the royalty, but she couldn’t help but look down in embarrassment. “Maybe we could get to meet each other? Maybe over a cup of hot cocoa or something like that?”
“Oh, now that would be wonderful. But I should treat you! There are these wonderful cafés in Ishabana that I believe you would enjoy.” There were so many plans going through her head already, so many shops they could visit and so many things they could do to grow closer with one another. A warm smile made its way to Himeno’s mouth, realizing the gloomy expression that the retainer had was gone now. She had successfully silenced that inner voice. “Are you perhaps a fan of Moffun?”
“I do love the show! But I am nothing compared to Rita…” Both of them chuckled at the comment, charmed by the fascination that the sovereign had about the soft yet intimidating yeti. “You know, sometimes I leave some of the plushies over the paperwork just as a cute little surprise for them.”
Just as she said that, something clicked in Morfonia’s mind. She went quiet as the gears in her head began to turn.
“Something wrong?” The blonde asked.
“I have the perfect plan! It’s a little crazy, but I need you to get Rita out of their room for a second. Make up any excuse you can as long as it gets them out of there.”
“And what are you gonna do?”
“I think I could write some documents for them and force them to take a break for…” She counted her fingers, to make sure she had the amount of hours correct. “For the rest of today and all of tomorrow. Any more than that would be too much time to put the trials on hold.”
“You can do that?”
“Of course! If the Supreme Justice is unable to take care of themselves, then there’s no better person to handle that than their successor!” The girl with glasses said with an enthusiastic smile.
Himeno stared at the other’s bright face for a short moment, her surprised and interested look slowly changing into a soft and warm expression. Morfonia’s sweet smile was contagious and charming in its own way. She preferred this beautiful beam over the worried pout from before. “You’re adorable, you know that?”
“Huh?”
The Queen quickly glossed over that comment. “How about this? We should make Rita sleep for the rest of the day, while we go on a little shopping trip through Ishabana! You know, just to get a bit closer with each other. And then tomorrow, we can put all our attention on them so they forget about their responsibilities.”
“Sounds like a plan to me! Let’s set everything into motion!”