February 15, 2xxx
Artemis sat woefully on a park bench. Now, this would have seemed unusual to any passerby who took notice to see a white cat sitting alone in such a manner, but none did. At the moment, this particular white cat was mentally berating himself as the moron he was.
Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Yesterday was the day that he should have shown his affections towards Luna. Would have, could have, should have…but didn't. How was he to know that this particular day would have meant something? Other than the church/nun incident during the Black Moon Circus invasion, Luna gave him no indication that she thought any more of him than the occasional voice of reason. Occasional being a relative term.
She even had a crush on that Dr. Ohzora a while back. Minako had admonished him then that it was due to his neglect of Luna that caused her to seek comfort elsewhere. But if there was going to be a relationship between the two of them, doesn't it work both ways? If there are two people …er cats involved, the efforts should be mutual. He shouldn't be the one always taking the initiative. Time and time again he put his best paw forward and had little to show for it.
Well, if Luna could have her fling, then he could too. He was tired of being the unappreciated, mostly unnoticed partner and more often than not, the scapegoat. His ego had taken multiple beatings and that was no longer acceptable. What he needed to do was to seek out some female companionship that appreciated him for who he was.
On that note, he began to groom himself in preparation of finding said female who would be enamored by his sleek coat, superior intelligence and wit and all around basic maleness. Artemis was so intent upon his primping that he failed to notice the approach of two black cats with identical white markings on the chest and forearms. Simultaneously they hopped up onto the bench on either side of the white lunar cat. Artemis started in surprise and glanced back and forth between the two females. Talk about ask and ye shall receive. It was about time that he was rewarded for all his service towards humanity. Twins!
A quick brush of his whiskers with his paw was his final act of male vanity, but before he could impress the two with his debonair air, the feline duo moved even closer to his person.
"What's your name big guy?" the cat on the right purred in his ear.
Artemis yowled and hopped down on to the pavement and turned to face the cats remaining on the bench. Two sets of yellow eyes stared back at him rather predatorily.
"You can talk?" stammered out before he realized his faux pas. Normal cats don't ask or answer questions.
The twins shared a smile of amusement with one another before bounding off the bench to join their conquest on the concrete. They began to circle the dumbfounded cat teasing him with their tails as they moved.
"I'm Hari."
"I'm Ruri."
"I'm in trouble," the white-haired cat muttered under his breath. His heart began to race slightly as he weighed his options. He could play along and find out who these cats were and their intentions. Though the last swipe of Hari's, or was it Ruri's, tail was sending his mind spiraling in a different direction, leaving him quite aware of their current intentions. His cheeks hued a faint pink and he fought control of his senses as his two amour du jour continued to taunt and tease in the most delight…er scandalous way.
'Focus baka, focus.'
Artemis cleared his throat. "Ladies, as delightful as your company is, I must be going."
Ruri sat on her haunches and cocked her head to the side questioningly. "Why is that?"
Artemis searched his mind for a reply. It wouldn't do any good to mention Luna or Minako. Even if these two were a little more aggressive than he bargained for the last thing he was going to admit vocally that he answered to two other women. Whipping boy he may be but he was not about to vocalize it out loud. Male pride at its finest.
"I'm not your type," he stated matter-of-factly.
Hari sat opposite her twin, tail swishing gently. A bangle with rectangular charms was secured around the end. It flashed silver in the sunlight making a slight tinkling noise in sync with the movement of her tail. "How do you know what our type is?" she bantered back.
"I just do," he answered doggedly. Gesturing with a paw, he motioned towards his forehead. "This crescent moon is indicative of those who I am compatible with, which neither of you have." Artemis narrowed his eyes. "Speaking of which, how come the two of you are able to communicate with me? You are not of the Mau rac..er..breed."
Ruri began to lick her paw in a rather seductive manner. "Our master has granted us certain abilities, one of which is the ability to speak."
Artemis could feel his hackles rise unintentionally at the mention of 'master'. He struggled to remain calm; after all, he was given the perfect opportunity to gather information. These two seemed rather harmless at the moment. If worst came to worst he could try to call upon his human form if these two somehow managed to overpower him.
"Oh?" he arched his brow in surprise. "And what other powers did your master grant you?"
Hari smiled wickedly. "Wouldn't you like to find out."
Artemis recognized that not as a question, but as a challenge. He gulped and tried to focus. What to do, what to do? Did he stay here and try to find out more about this potential enemy or get the hell out of Dodge?
He weighed his options. Enemies had never focused on him in the past. Energy, dream mirrors, star seeds, world domination; what could the enemy possibly want from him? Glancing back at Ruri who was still using her tongue in a rather erotic matter reminded him exactly what these two cats were after.
The twins stood up and began to prowl even closer. Fur against fur sent Artemis' senses tingling. He was sure they were screaming danger. Whether it was due to the proximity of his female aggressors or fear of what Luna would do to him if she saw him right now, he wasn't exactly sure. But he knew he was treading on thin ice. Best to get what he needed and get the heck out of here as quickly as possible.
"So handsome. How about Ruri and I show you some of our tricks?"
Artemis leaned away from Hari who was pressing herself up against his shoulder. "Um, why don't you tell me a little about yourselves first? Your master isn't going to be upset with you for being here with me, will he?"
Hari exchanged glances with Ruri. "Probably not. Koryu is most likely preoccupied harassing an angel or looking for lost souls."
"An angel?" Artemis looked curiously at the twins. "What do you mean an angel?"
Ruri huffed angrily. “God’s angel. He loves to tease her. He says he doesn’t care about her but he keeps hanging around her and giving her a hard time. He’s even been NICE to her a few times.”
Hari moved over to console her partner in crime. “Don’t worry about him. We’re his. But right now we’re doing something else.” Her look turned predatory. “We’re doing our own form of hunting.”
Ruri purred in response. “Riiiight.”
Artemis felt the hair stand upon the back of his neck. He tried to remain nonchalant. “So, your master has no evil designs on Earth nor plans to rule over all mankind?”
The twins chuckled lowly and shook their head. “No.” Slowly they began to stalk the white cat.
“Well, um..it has been nice talking with you…” Artemis began to back away slowly. Male pride was the only thing keeping him from turning tail and running as fast as he could. Fervently he began praying to the Kami that some sort of divine intervention would occur. Natural disaster, mass destruction, a great evil bent on conquering Earth…any of the aforementioned was welcome.
A light, cheery voice was heard loudly, “Artemis. Artemis. Where are you?”
Ask for a natural disaster and the great Kami delivered. A young, blonde-haired woman rounded the nearest corner and moved into the open area.
“Artemis! There you are!” Minako bent over and scooped up the errant cat into her arms holding him to address him to his face. “I’ve been looking for you all morning!”
Artemis meowed. A blonde brow rose in surprise and the teenager looked around. There were no people in sight. Just two black cats with white markings and simple jeweled bangles attached to their tails nearby. Each cat was a mirror of each other, head cocked slightly to the side observing the interactions between cat and human girl. Blue eyes stared intently at the two felines. After a few moments, the two stood up and bound off into the opposite direction the girl came from.
Artemis, after seeing his groupies had fled, breathed a sigh of relief. He tensed up slightly at Minako’s words.
“Hmmm…looks like someone is a little too sexy for his fur.”
His head and shoulders drooped and mentally groaned. Next time he’d be a little more careful what he wished for.
