The Exiles

By: Starsea

Rating: Triple R

Chapter Five: Playing Games

I see ya blowing me a kiss,
It doesn’t take a scientist
To understand what’s going on, baby;
If you see something in my eyes,
Let’s not over-analyse;
Don’t go too deep with it, baby...

It’s just a little crush,
Not like I faint every time we touch;
It’s just some little thing,
Not like every thing I do depends on you.

Jennifer Paige, ‘Crush’


I know you’re not the one,
But I can tell that this is gonna be fun;
Won’t hesitate to lie,
But I can tell you what to feel inside.

So show me how to feel...

Enrique + Kelis, “Not In Love”


It was very strange how things turned out, Xavier thought. All that 
fuss about Mamoru and how to make him realise who they were... all 
it took was a little jog of his memory. Xavier knew that Mamoru was 
still in shock at the memories and feelings he’d received through 
his skin, but he also knew that Mamoru wouldn’t ask. Mamoru 
understood about pain. 

He made sure to keep the notes in the piles which Isamu had sorted 
out. Isamu didn’t like feeling vulnerable and Rei had struck at the 
heart of him. Xavier had seen this as soon as he’d read the words of 
that song. They haunted him, like a prophecy. It was rare that he 
felt protective. Usually it was the other way round, it always had 
been, ever since childhood. But those words told him everything he 
needed to know. It was an unnerving prospect.

He took a deep breath, pushing the thought away. That time wasn’t 
here yet. He should enjoy the moment, this moment when they were all 
finally together and happy. The rain falling against the window, Ken 
teasing Mamoru and Mamoru laughing, and beneath that, Isamu’s 
argument with Takehiko dying out as it always did. It was not a 
question of will, really, Xavier thought, carefully putting the 
notes on the bigger table near the window. It was a question of 
patience. Isamu was so used to people giving in, either because of 
his charm or his will, that to find someone who resisted both of 
these things frustrated and irritated him, automatically weakening 
his position.

There was a flurry of knocking against the door and Xavier went to 
open it before anyone else could get there. Usagi’s hair was shining 
gold and she literally bounced on her feet as she stood in the 
doorway, smelling of rain and something sweet, strawberry or 
vanilla.

“Oh Xavier-san, isn’t this wonderful?! I’m so happy, you’re all 
together again, aren’t you happy?”

Xavier smiled and nodded, soaking in her innocence and excitement. 
“Come in. You didn’t get too wet, I hope?”

“Oh no, I took an umbrella, Luna reminded me, she and Artemis will 
be here soon, she went off to warn him, where do I put this, oh 
thank you...” Usagi unzipped her shiny pink raincoat, put on some 
house slippers and literally flung herself on Mamoru with a 
rapturous cry.

“Mamo-chan! I’m so happy for you, I’m so glad you guessed!”

Mamoru blinked at her, bemused. “Guessed?” He unlocked Usagi’s arms 
from around his neck and she moved back a little, beaming into his 
eyes.

“I was worried that it would take you *ages*, but I should have 
known, you’re so clever, still, they *did* give you a lot of clues, 
and I was so afraid that Rei-chan would guess before you and tell 
everyone-!”

“You KNEW?!”

Usagi’s happy chatter ground to a halt. She blushed. “Well, of 
course I knew... I knew it as soon as I saw Ken-san...”

“And you didn’t tell me?!” Mamoru shoved her off him, his face 
white, glaring at her. “How could you do that?! How could you let me 
blunder about like that? Even after that nightmare, reading that 
poetry with me-!”

“It wasn’t *my* secret to tell!” Usagi retorted, sitting up straight 
and looking right back at him. “This wasn’t about me! This was 
between you and them. They were *your* guardians and I thought you 
had the right to discover them yourself without anybody telling you. 
Was I wrong?”

The men marvelled at her resolve. The happy, bouncy girl had 
disappeared and they could almost see the princess she had been, the 
queen she would become.

Mamoru looked away. “You might have told me...”

“What? I told you that Takehiko-san wasn’t an enemy and you were 
doubtful about that!” Usagi reminded him. “You wouldn’t have 
believed me if I’d told you that they were your guardians. You 
needed to come around to it yourself, and you needed proof. That’s 
just the kind of person you are, Mamo-chan,” she added softly. “You 
needed to discover it yourself. And you’re happy now you have, ne?”

Mamoru didn’t reply. Usagi was distinctly reminded of Artemis and 
the way he’d acted when he’d found out.

“You thought Hi-kun was an ENEMY?” repeated Ken, breaking the 
silence. “Where the hell did you get that idea? I admit he wasn’t 
friendly, but-!”

“Never mind that now,” Takehiko interrupted. He’d been watching his 
prince carefully through the last few minutes and felt that they 
needed to change the subject. “Since the saké’s out, I propose a 
toast.”

Isamu grinned. “Great idea!” he agreed, and poured everyone a shot. 

Usagi took hers with a little giggle. “Only one, ne? I can’t go home 
smelling of alcohol, Daddy will never forgive Mamo-chan,” she said 
with a wink.

“*Definitely* only one glass,” Mamoru said, glancing at her out of 
the corner of his eye. “We don’t want a repeat of that banquet.”

“How was I supposed to know the punch was alcoholic?” she retorted. 
“It didn’t taste any different to me! Besides, *you* didn’t seem to 
mind that I was a little worse for wear.”

Mamoru cleared his throat. “A toast,” he said, ignoring the look on 
Ken and Isamu’s faces, “a toast... to all of you and the renewal of 
your vows and your friendship. I’m happy to be reunited with you. 
Kampai!”

“Kampai!”

Usagi tossed back her saké in one gulp and then hiccupped. Xavier 
looked at her, faintly amused. “You drink like that, it’s no wonder 
you don’t notice the taste,” he commented.

Usagi blushed. “Well, it’s a celebration, isn’t it?”

“That doesn’t mean you can get drunk, Usako,” Mamoru told her.

“I’m not going to get drunk! Sheesh, it was only one glass. 
Look, there’s Luna!” she added and got up to open let her cat in, 
feeling a little embarrassed.

Luna and Artemis jumped down into the room as soon as she opened the 
window, looking much smaller and thinner now that they were 
completely soaked. They shook themselves and Artemis glared at the 
shitennou, as if the rain was their fault.

“I’ll get some towels!” Ken announced and bounded off towards the 
airing cupboard before anyone could call him back.

“If he thinks he can rub me dry...” Artemis said, puffing up.

“Artemis!” Luna hissed.

“You can dry in front of the radiator if you want,” Xavier said 
blandly. “Nobody’s stopping you.”

Artemis looked at him for a moment, checking to see if this was some 
sort of trick. Then he stalked over and settled down under a 
radiator, looking as if Xavier had suggested torture rather than 
something helpful.

Luna sighed and looked at the shitennou. “I apologise; he’s not 
entirely happy about the situation.”

“It’s all right, Luna, we know that. He paid me and Hi-kun a visit,” 
Ken added, coming back with a large blue towel and seeing Takehiko’s 
look a few seconds too late.

“Artemis paid you a visit?!” Luna and Usagi repeated.

“He just wanted to make a few things clear,” Takehiko said, 
swallowing his saké. “I suppose you could call it a matter of 
diplomacy.”

Ken snorted but he said nothing.

“Artemis, what did you say?!” Luna demanded, rounding on her 
partner, who remained silent.

“Oh, I’m sure I can guess,” Isamu said, a sardonic smile curling at 
the corners of his mouth. “Don’t put a foot wrong or I’ll tell 
everyone who you are, starting with Minako-chan.”

Ken smirked as Luna jumped on his lap and he began to dry her. “How 
did you know?”

“I got the same spiel from Phobos and Deimos,” Isamu said, and 
nodded at Mamoru’s surprised look. “Oh yeah, they were ecstatic to 
see me.”

“I’m sorry, Isamu-san,” Usagi sighed. “I should have thought of 
that.”

Isamu stared at her, genuinely surprised by her words. “It’s not 
your fault, Usagi-san. I expected it. And as long as I don’t do 
anything to hurt Rei-san, they won’t say anything.” He shrugged. “I 
have no intention of hurting her, so our secret is safe with them 
for the moment.”

“Yes, and I haven’t said anything, either, so you can stop glaring 
at me, Luna!” Artemis snapped.

“Artemis, how can you be like this?” Usagi asked, looking as hurt as 
if the shitennou were *her* guardians. “You must sense they’re good 
now, right?”

Mamoru shook his head. “Not everybody is going to be comfortable 
with this, Usako, you’ll have to accept that.”

“But they’re good,” she repeated, looking at him with puzzled eyes. 
“It’s obvious that they’re good this time. Isn’t that enough?”

“Not everybody is as forgiving as you, Princess,” Xavier said 
quietly. “And not everybody will believe us as quickly as you. Some 
may require... proof.”

Mamoru nodded. “Artemis’s reaction is mild compared to what Michiru-
san and Haruka-san will say when they find out. I assume that they 
will eventually find out?” he added, looking at his guards.

Takehiko shrugged. “That is entirely up to you, Mamoru-san,” he 
said. “You know them better than us. Perhaps we’ll only be able to 
reveal our past identities to them in the future.”

Mamoru looked around at them. “Well, that depends on whether you wan 
to take up your posts when Crystal Tokyo is founded,” he told them. 
“In that case, you’ll *have* to tell them, whether you like it or 
not.”

“What do you mean ‘take up our posts’? I thought we just did that,” 
said Ken, looking puzzled.

Xavier shook his head. “He means a formal initiation ceremony, Ken-
kun; pledging ourselves to him in front of everyone, letting the 
senshi know exactly who and what we are. Making ourselves 
vulnerable. And what, exactly, is Crystal Tokyo?” he added, looking 
at Mamoru.

“The city Usako and I will rule in the future... I don’t really know 
too much about it,” Mamoru confessed. “We only went there once.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Isamu murmured. “It comes down to 
this: do we tell them now and suffer the consequences or pull a fait 
accompli through the initiation ceremony?”

There was a silence as everyone took this in. Of course, they’d all 
known, more or less; but as usual, someone saying the words made it 
so much more real, so much more definite. Even Artemis looked a bit 
worried. As much as he disliked the situation, he could at least 
accept that these four men sitting in front of him were good *now*. 
Haruka and Michiru might not - *would* not – even believe that much. 
And who knew what it would take before they were satisfied?

“If they did demand proof, would you give it to them?” he asked 
curiously, looking mainly at Takehiko.

“And exactly how are we supposed to prove it?” Ken demanded. “Commit 
hara-kiri?”

Isamu and Xavier winced. Usagi went pale and Mamoru put his arm 
around her. Takehiko shook his head at Ken, who looked defiant, and 
replied in a soft voice.

“I think they will want to know that we are not going to be taken 
over again. That we will obey our master.”

“Well, that’s simple to prove,” Isamu said with a small smile, 
drinking his saké.

“It depends on what Mamoru-san asks us to do,” Xavier reminded him. 
“As nasty as Ken-kun’s suggestion is... they really might not 
believe we’re good unless we hurt ourselves for him.”

“Great, then all we have to do is die for him and render this whole 
experiment completely meaningless!” Isamu retorted.

“I am still in the room,” Mamoru said through gritted teeth.

They both looked at him. Xavier looked faintly uncomfortable, but 
Isamu raised an eyebrow. “You know it’s a possibility.”

“No, it’s not, because I won’t allow it!” Mamoru sat forward, his 
eyes darkening with anger. “I would never order any of you to 
sacrifice yourselves. Do you really think I would do that?”

Isamu raised his other eyebrow. “No, I was just saying...”

“I know what you were saying and I don’t want to hear it!” Mamoru 
snapped. “I don’t want any of you talking about it, not to me, not 
amongst yourselves!” 

Xavier coughed softly. “Not even amongst ourselves?” he repeated.

Mamoru looked at him, then away. He could sense them all watching 
him, worried and surprised; he knew that he wasn’t usually this 
emotional. But this was different. Everything was different now. He 
could never go back to his life before they’d arrived; that would be 
like asking him to go back to the life he’d had before Usagi 
arrived.

“We don’t want to leave you,” Ken said quietly. “You know that, 
right?”

Mamoru nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Ken nodded as well. “But it’s like Isa-kun said, we have to face the 
possibility-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Mamoru cried. “This is the first time 
we’ve been together in centuries and I won’t let anyone take you 
away. No matter what they say. I won’t let it happen. If the senshi 
are uncomfortable, that’s their right, but they’ll have to live with 
it. And I don’t want to discuss it anymore.” He stood up and walked 
out of the room.

“Mamo-chan!” Usagi almost got up but Takehiko shook his head.

“I’ll go,” he told her, standing. “This is about us... and we’re 
here now. So one of us should discuss it with him.”

“Yeah, but should it be you?” Isamu remarked. “We all know how 
sensitive you were last time...”

Takehiko turned his head and looked down at Isamu. Usagi shifted 
uncomfortably; Xavier sighed and Ken shook his head. Luna and 
Artemis were staring at Isamu with wide eyes; neither could believe 
he had just said that.

“I don’t remember you complaining when you talked to me about *your* 
troubles, Isamu-kun,” Takehiko said, his voice perfectly calm. 
“Maybe you’d like me to describe that to the others if you feel I’m 
so ‘insensitive’?”

Isamu’s face hardened but he said nothing.

“Or perhaps you feel that you’d be a better choice to talk to 
Mamoru-san,” Takehiko went on. “You didn’t seem inclined to get up, 
but if you want to go and talk to him, go ahead, I won’t stop you. 
Only it seemed to me that you were being the insensitive one in the 
argument and I didn’t think Mamoru-san would want to talk to you 
about it...”

Isamu sat up, breaking the stare. “I was just pointing out that it 
was a possibility!”

“One he obviously doesn’t want to think about, so there was no need 
to go on about it. But if you want to apologise, be my guest.”

“Oh shut up!” Isamu hissed, turning around. “Go ahead and monopolise 
him, like you always did.”

“Isamu!” Xavier said angrily. “It’s not about monopolising, you know 
that Endymion always responded better to him.”

Isamu glanced at him and then looked back at Takehiko, sneering.“He 
just wants to appease his conscience.”

Ken got up, holding Luna in his arms. “You want to have a go on the 
Playstation?” he asked Usagi, wincing at the horror in her eyes as 
she looked at him. She nodded mutely, got up and followed him, 
pausing to look at Takehiko.

“Takehiko-san... if he’s cold to you...”

“I won’t take it personally,” Takehiko assured her. She smiled 
tremulously and disappeared down the corridor.

Takehiko looked back at Isamu for a moment, but he said nothing. 
Then he turned and went out of the room. He knew where Mamoru had 
gone.

“You just had to do that, didn’t you?” Xavier said, getting up and 
gathering the glasses. The disappointment in his voice hurt Isamu 
more than any anger would have done. “You had to try and hurt him. 
In front of Usagi-chan as well. Did you see the look on her face?”

Isamu shrugged, glaring into space. “She’ll get over it.”

“It doesn’t matter whether she’ll get over it or not!” Xavier said, 
his mouth puckered as he looked at his cousin. “You were acting like 
a spoiled child in front of her! Accusing Hi-kun of monopolising the 
prince, saying he was just doing it to appease his conscience!”

“He is doing it to appease his conscience!”

Xavier shook his head and turned away. “Not worthy of you, Isamu. 
Not worthy.”

Isamu glared at his retreating back – partly because of the words 
and partly because Xavier had taken the saké away. He folded his 
arms, aware that he had behaved badly but not sorry, not yet. 
Takehiko knew that their conversations were private, why did he make 
that threat in front of everybody? /Because he knew that it would 
scare me. He knew exactly how it would make me feel./ He shifted, 
uncomfortable as his anger began to die away and he started thinking 
of Usagi, looking so shocked and upset... what if she told Rei about 
how he’d behaved? Oh God... An icy fear gripped his heart. Why did 
he let it happen? Why did he let the anger take hold so easily? Why 
did he lash out at Takehiko?

Because Takehiko was the only one who understood.

There was a hiss and needles suddenly pierced his ankle. He yelped 
in shock and looked down to see Artemis stalking away. The white cat 
tossed him a contemptuous green look before exiting the door. Isamu 
picked up his ankle and looked at it. Blood trickled down the pale 
skin from three long scratches right over the bone.

He swore under his breath and limped off to find the first aid kit.

* * *

Mamoru knew someone would come after him, just not so soon. And he 
certainly hadn’t thought it would be Takehiko. Yet some part of him 
was not surprised, in fact it welcomed the appearance of the taller 
man. Mamoru turned his face away so Takehiko wouldn’t see the 
confusion in his eyes, reminding himself that he didn’t like this 
man.

Takehiko did not speak immediately. He merely sat down and looked 
across the lake. A soft breeze blew the hair back from his face. In 
the bluer light, Mamoru noticed that there were shadows beneath his 
eyes and his skin looked much paler than it had in the softer light 
of the flat.

“Are you getting enough sleep?” he said, the doctor in him 
conquering the desire to remain silent.

Takehiko smiled slightly. “I never get enough sleep. Nightmares will 
do that to you.”

“You have nightmares?” Mamoru repeated, feeling more concerned than 
he wanted to. “About what?”

“The past,” Takehiko answered, saying nothing and yet everything. He 
picked some blades of grass and began to weave them into a crown. 
Mamoru watched him, unwillingly fascinated.

“Where did you learn to do that?” he asked.

“Norway.” Takehiko finished the crown and laid it between them, 
almost like an offering. Mamoru picked it up and examined it.

“Norway, huh?” he repeated. “What else do they teach you in Norway?”

“I’m sorry about Isamu,” Takehiko said, looking out across the 
water. “He gets carried away. But you probably remember that, ne?”

“I don’t remember him being that... callous,” Mamoru said. “He was 
always so quick to realise when someone was upset.”

“He still is... but he is also tougher than he used to be. We’ve all 
changed in some way. After what happened, it was inevitable.” 
Takehiko sounded sad and resigned.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give you up,” Mamoru said, his voice 
hardening.

“I know you won’t,” Takehiko answered, glancing at him. “Even if you 
and I don’t get on, you would never let me go simply because someone 
else thought it a good idea. And the same for the others. We all 
know that. We know you’d fight for us.”

Mamoru’s shoulders slumped. “That’s not... I mean...” He stared at 
the ripples of water, fighting for words. “Is Usako okay?”

Takehiko wondered how to answer the question without implying that 
Isamu had upset her. “The last time I saw her, she and Ken-kun were 
going to play a game on the Playstation, and Luna was with them.”

Mamoru nodded and looked straight at him. “She’s mine, you know.”

Takehiko stared back, totally bewildered. “Yes,” he said, “of 
course. You’ve been bound to each other ever since the past life.”

Mamoru continued to stare at him intently, his eyes dark. “I’m not 
going to let anyone take *her* away, either,” he said. “So don’t 
make me choose.”

Takehiko frowned. “I am not prejudiced like Kunzite was,” he said. 
“I think you two make a good couple. I remember from the stone how 
much you love her. You don’t need to tell me that she’s yours.”

Mamoru nodded. “As long as we understand each other on that,” he 
said. “But if you say anything to her...” He shot Takehiko a clearly 
hostile look.

“Say anything to her about WHAT?!” Takehiko snapped, making him 
jump. “I have no idea what you’re talking about and I don’t have 
time for this passive-aggressive bullshit.” He got up. “Let me 
know when you’re ready to tell me what’s wrong instead of making a 
song and dance about it.”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Mamoru shouted, leaping 
to his feet. “I saw the way you looked at her!”

Takehiko stared at him. “Looked at who?”

Mamoru’s hands clenched. He couldn’t believe the gall of the man. 
“Usako, who do you think?!”

Takehiko stared at him blankly and then began to laugh. Mamoru 
almost punched him.

“IT’S NOT FUNNY!”

“You think... I... her...” Takehiko coughed, trying to breathe. “You 
think I’m in *love* with her?!”

“I saw the way you looked at her,” Mamoru repeated through gritted 
teeth.

Takehiko sat down on the grass again, still laughing. “That’s what 
all this is about? *That’s* why you don’t like me? My God... and I 
thought it was because of what we did...”

Mamoru stared at him, completely bemused. “What?”

“I mean, that would be understandable,” Takehiko went on, almost to 
himself. “But *this*... this is just unbelievable...”

“Why the hell would I dislike you for what you did?!” Mamoru 
demanded.

Takehiko looked up at him, sobering. “Why the hell would you think 
I’m in love with your fiancée?” he answered.

Mamoru gestured, feeling foolish now. “The way you looked at her... 
your eyes and voice went all soft.”

“Well, I’m very grateful to her for what she did,” Takehiko said, 
shrugging. “And she’s cute. And...” He hesitated then decided it 
wouldn’t hurt to actually tell the whole truth. “She reminds me of 
someone I did love. Very much.”

Mamoru sat down beside him again. “So... you don’t love her,” he 
repeated, dazed.

“I have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever,” Takehiko said 
firmly.

Mamoru’s head drooped; then he began to laugh as well. “I’m sorry,” 
he said. “I’m really, really sorry... you had no idea... I feel so 
stupid.”

Takehiko smiled a little. “You’re very protective of her, it’s not 
surprising given my record that you’d be suspicious of me.”

“Will you stop that?!” Mamoru exclaimed, his laughter vanishing. He 
looked up at Takehiko, his expression a mixture of anger and 
bemusement. “I didn’t even know who you were, then. And if I had – 
and I know I should have – then I would have *known* immediately you 
wouldn’t betray me. I don’t hold what you did against you! At all! 
As far as I’m concerned, you have a totally clean slate! 
Understand?”

Takehiko blinked and looked down. He picked up the grass coronet, 
examined it, then flung it away with a hooked motion so the coronet 
sailed through the air and landed on the lake.

“What did you do that for?” Mamoru said quietly.

“We don’t have clean slates, not yet,” Takehiko said in a low voice. 
“We have a lot of karma. It’s good that you’ve forgiven us but that 
doesn’t automatically mean we’ve made up for what we did.”

“You’re here, you’re with me, don’t you think that makes up for it?” 
Mamoru questioned.

“I killed you!” Takehiko cried, looking at him. His eyes were 
unnaturally wide and bright. “I actually killed you, shujin! I 
remember it, I remember seeing that light hit you, I remember seeing 
you crumple in her arms!”

Mamoru opened his mouth but no sound came out. The pain in 
Takehiko’s eyes was so raw that he knew words would not heal it. He 
felt even worse about his accusations.

“So no, just being here doesn’t make up for what we did,” Takehiko 
whispered. “We have a long way to go before we make up for what we 
did. Especially me. And telling me that you forgive me... that’s 
very good of you. But it doesn’t make me feel any better about what 
I did.”

“You weren’t the only one controlled by her,” Mamoru said. “After 
you died... she made me go after Usako. She made me try and kill 
her. How do you think that made *me* feel when I found out?”

“But you didn’t kill her,” Takehiko said, staring into the distance. 
“You didn’t actually manage to kill her. You were reborn.”

“And so were *you*!” Mamoru said, grabbing his arm. Instead of 
memories flowing into him, he felt his power suddenly flood his 
chest and pour through his veins, out of his hand and into 
Takehiko’s skin. Takehiko stared at him, eyes wide, then his 
shoulders slumped. He lifted his other hand slowly and took Mamoru’s 
hand away.

“You shouldn’t do that. It could kill someone,” he said.

“I’m sorry; my powers seem to be erratic when it comes to you four. 
I read Xavier-kun’s memories without meaning to, and now this...” 
Mamoru rubbed his hands together, agitated. “I don’t know what’s 
wrong with me.”

“Nothing’s *wrong*,” Takehiko said, recovering and smiling at him. 
“The kinzuishou recognises us and is... well, marking us, for lack 
of a better word. Acknowledging us and the fact we’re back and 
guarding you.”

Mamoru laughed. “Is that all?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘all’.” Takehiko stretched and twisted his 
neck from side to side. Mamoru saw that the shadows had gone from 
his eyes and his skin was pinker.

“You look better!” he said.

“You... healed some wounds,” Takehiko replied, covering his mouth as 
he yawned. “Which means I’m suddenly sleepy.”

“Oh yes... your nightmares.” Mamoru frowned.

“We can discuss them another time; Usagi-san will be worrying about 
you, as well as the others,” Takehiko added.

Mamoru nodded and stood up, brushing himself down. “But don’t think 
means I’ll forget,” he warned.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Takehiko replied with a smirk as Mamoru took them 
both back to the flat.

As usual, it seemed like only minutes had passed. Isamu was just 
putting a plaster on his ankle.

“What happened?” Mamoru asked, surprised.

“Artemis,” Takehiko said, knowing that he was right. “He’s not happy 
about Isa-kun taking Minako-chan on a date this Saturday.”

“You’re taking Minako-chan on a date?!” Mamoru said, his eyes 
widening as they sat down opposite Isamu.

If looks could kill, Isamu’s glare would have not only eviscerated 
Takehiko but crushed his bones as well. As it was, Takehiko only 
smiled at him and Isamu suddenly knew he was really going to pay for 
what he’d said. “It’s not a date,” he said, pulling his sock back on 
and closing the first aid box. “Rei-san decided to invite herself. 
She seems to think I might be dangerous.”

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. “You told me you were dangerous.”

“Not to Minako-chan. I wouldn’t hurt her. I’m not going to do 
anything to blow our cover.”

“Artemis doesn’t seem to agree with that,” Mamoru remarked.

“Yeah, well, he wouldn’t, wouldn’t he? Guardians don’t like me in 
general, and he’s male, he’s even worse.”

“Probably because he can smell your intentions, Isa-kun,” Takehiko 
pointed out, which just made Isamu glare at him again.

“Mamo-chan!” Usagi flew into the room and hugged him around the 
neck. “You’re okay!”

Mamoru hugged her back. “Of course I’m okay. Takehiko-san looked 
after me, didn’t he?”

“Mm, I know. But you’re smiling,” Usagi added, without considering 
that she might be responsible for that. “You can take care of him 
all the time if you’re that good, Takehiko-san!” she finished, 
giving him a smile.

“Thank you, Usagi-san. It’s nice to know that you think I’m 
qualified for my job,” Takehiko replied without a trace of irony.

“Hey guys, guess what? I won a game!” Ken announced with a mammoth 
grin, almost dancing into the room.

Usagi stuck her tongue out at him. “It was a lucky punch.”

“’Fraid not, that’s called ‘skill’, Usagi-chan, ‘skill’...” Ken 
sighed, dropping into an armchair. “I actually won a game.”

“Enjoy it while you can, Ken-kun, because you’re back to playing 
with me from next week,” Xavier called from the kitchen.

Ken ignored him and continued to smile at the ceiling.

“If Rei-san’s going to keep an eye on Minako-chan, someone should go 
along to keep an eye on you,” Mamoru mused. “Because knowing her, 
she’ll probably try and get rid of Rei-chan somehow.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Isamu asked dryly.

“Yes,” hissed Artemis, leaping up onto the back of the settee and 
narrowing his eyes. “It’s a very bad thing. Minako shouldn’t be 
going anywhere near you.”

Isamu rolled his eyes. “It’s a free world, cat. If she wants to go 
out with me, it’s her choice, not yours.”

“Just because it’s a free choice, doesn’t mean it’s the right one,” 
Artemis retorted.

“I agree,” Mamoru said, surprising them both. “It’s not fair on Rei-
chan if she has to keep an eye on both of you, Minako-chan will be 
enough of a handful. I think somebody else should go.”

“Don’t look at me!” Ken said, holding up his hands. “There’s no way 
I’m getting in Isa-kun’s way if there’s a girl involved.”

Isamu smirked. “Thanks, Ken-kun.”

“I wasn’t going to ask you!” Mamoru said, trying not to smile. “I 
know you’d be useless.”

“I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted, but hey, it’s 
true,” Ken agreed, making everyone laugh.

Mamoru bit his lip. With Ken out, that left two options and he 
didn’t feel that Xavier was suitable to keep Isamu in check... not 
if Ken’s words about Isamu and girls were anything to go by. 
Reluctantly, he made his decision. “Takehiko-san, would you mind 
going?”

It would be hard to say who looked more horrified at this proposal: 
Artemis, Isamu, Luna or Usagi. Luna was completely speechless. Isamu 
and Artemis both yelled, “YOU CAN’T!” and then glared at each other.

“Xavier-san, you’re Isamu-san’s brother,” Usagi said desperately, 
“maybe you’d be better.”

“Cousin,” Xavier corrected her. “Technically, I’m only a cousin.”

“*Only*!” Isamu retorted. “You’re a lot more than that!”

“Anyway, I think it’s a good idea,” Xavier went on, ignoring the 
look on Isamu’s face. “Hi-kun’s polite and I don’t think Hino-san 
would find any fault with him.”

“And you don’t mind going along, do you?” Mamoru asked Takehiko.

Takehiko looked at him for a moment, then at the bowl of fruit on 
the table, consciously ignoring the four gazes begging him to 
refuse. “No,” he said, “I don’t mind. If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

Takehiko bowed his head formally. “I shall do as you wish.”

Isamu could have killed him.

* * *

Later that night, Mamoru was just about to start shaving when he saw 
a familiar white blur against his bathroom window. The cats’ ability 
to move around high buildings never ceased to amaze him. He slide 
the window up and Artemis jumped in. Mamoru wasn’t surprised to see 
him. As the only two males connected to the senshi, they had talked 
to each other a lot and often conferred on matters which would have 
been a mystery otherwise. Of course, they were still in the dark 
about most things, but it was nice to know that you weren’t alone.

That was all going to change now, Artemis thought resentfully as he 
watched Mamoru run a basin of warm water and smear shaving cream 
over his cheeks, chin and throat.

“So, what can I do for you?” Mamoru asked, beginning on his left 
cheek. He always went left to right. “I’m sorry about you being left 
in the dark, but as you can see, I didn’t know about them myself. 
Women.”

“PLEASE DON’T LET TAKEHIKO-SAN ACCOMPANY THEM ON SATURDAY!”

Mamoru almost cut himself in shock at the noise. He took the razor 
away from his face and then looked at Artemis. He was sitting on the 
toilet cover, almost quivering, his eyes fixed on Mamoru’s face.

“What’s wrong with Takehiko-san?” Mamoru asked, remaining still.

Artemis laughed desperately. “Everything! I understand why you’ve 
sent him... perfectly logical... but you mustn’t do it!”

“Perhaps you should start from the beginning?” Mamoru said, turning 
back to his reflection. He started shaving again, continuing the 
smooth path he’d cut into the foam.

Artemis shook his head. “It would be so much easier if you just 
remembered...”

“Well, I don’t, so you’ll have to explain,” Mamoru replied, not 
taking his eyes off his reflection. “It’s the least I deserve, 
considering the way you behaved. I can understand you being upset 
about Isamu-san, but I don’t understand this, Artemis. It’s as if 
Takehiko-san is worse than him, when I know he’s not.”

Artemis sighed. He washed his face for a few moments while Mamoru 
shaved his left cheek. The silence was almost easy.

“In a way, he is,” Artemis said eventually. “But not because of... 
his personality. I know he’s a gentleman, oh yes, I know that.” He 
looked up at Mamoru, the green of his eyes darkened to a swamp 
colour. “You see, I got to know him quite well as Kunzite.”

“You did? I don’t remember,” Mamoru apologised.

“No... you wouldn’t. They were quite discreet about their 
relationship... unless you looked for signs. Of course, she couldn’t 
avoid letting me know.”

“‘She’? Relationship?” Mamoru turned his head and looked at him 
fully, his eyes wide, his mind racing. Artemis could only mean one 
girl. “Kunzite and Venus?!”

“As I said, they were quite discreet; I don’t think you or Serenity 
ever found out about it. Hardly anybody knew except for Luna, the 
Queen and I. Usagi-chan only found out recently.”

“That’s why she looked so horrified,” Mamoru sighed, remembering his 
fiancée’s expression. “But why didn’t she say...?”

“And reveal his secret in front of the others?” Artemis shook his 
head and curled his tail around his paws. “Even if they knew, they 
certainly don’t remember and she didn’t want to expose him. Neither 
did I.”

Mamoru frowned at him. “If you dislike him so much, why not? That 
would be an excellent way of...”

Artemis growled in his throat. “Just because I don’t want him to be 
the one to accompany Isamu-san, doesn’t mean I don’t respect him. I 
already talked with him about this and he said that his only 
objective is to protect you. That’s another reason why I don’t want 
him going. Don’t you think he has enough to do already?”

Mamoru sighed. He turned back to the mirror and began on his chin 
and throat, occasionally dipping the razor in the warm water to 
clean it. He remembered the look on Takehiko’s face as he spoke of 
Usagi’s resemblance to someone he’d loved. It should have been 
obvious; but then he’d gone and asked him to accompany Isamu, and 
there was no way Takehiko would have refused... He was on his right 
cheek before he’d decided on what to say. “I understand, Artemis... 
and I know you’re worried about Minako-chan. But I can’t change my 
mind now. If I do, he’ll think that I don’t trust him.” He met 
Artemis’s eyes for a brief moment. “And I *do* trust him. I trust 
him more than I trust Minako-chan, put it that way.”

Artemis sighed. “Very well,” he said. “I just wanted to explain... I 
thought it might make a difference.”

“Artemis, do *you* think anybody else would be able to make sure 
Isamu-san behaves?”

Artemis looked away, frustrated. Mamoru nodded, returning to his 
reflection.

“This is the next best thing to you going along with them,” he 
concluded. “We have to think of Rei-chan as well – Ken-kun didn’t 
make a good impression on her, and there’s no telling what she’d 
make of Xavier-san. Takehiko-san’s diplomatic enough to make sure he 
doesn’t get on her bad side.”
“She might dislike him just because he’s Isamu-san’s friend,” 
Artemis muttered.

Mamoru splashed his face with warm water and smoothed some cream 
into his skin. “No, she won’t,” he replied. “Now, is there 
anything else? It’s been a long day.”

“No, there’s nothing else.” Artemis stretched. “Now I just have to 
think up an excuse for Minako to cover up where I’ve been all 
evening.”

“Tell her you’ve been with Luna, that’ll keep her quiet,” Mamoru 
suggested.

“Quiet?” Artemis repeated. “You really have no idea.” He leapt onto 
the window ledge, undid the catch with his paw and slipped out.

Mamoru rolled his eyes, closed the window and walked out of the 
bathroom, switching off the light as he did so. He wondered how he 
should wind down: some relaxing music and meditation? Or reading? 
Then he stopped thinking.

Usagi was sitting on his bed in a silvery nightdress that looked a 
great deal like her princess gown. Her hair was platinum in the 
moonlight falling through the window, her skin smooth as snow. She 
was a vision in silver and cream and she was smiling at him. 
Mamoru’s mind went completely blank.

“Usako?” he said, his voice hoarse. “What are you doing here? Your 
parents...”

“I thought you might need me after everything that’s happened 
today,” she said, flipping a lock of hair over her shoulder, a 
perfectly innocent gesture that somehow managed to make his knees 
go weak. He had a sudden vision of his hands in that hair, the 
silver strands glittering against his skin as she writhed beneath 
him. A fantasy or a memory? He swallowed.

“Listen,” he said, walking forward, “it’s not that I... don’t need 
you. I do. I just think you should go home. I won’t be gentle, 
Usako. I’m not in a gentle mood tonight.”

She only smiled wider at him and the blood pounded along his veins 
and his hands itched to grab her and his lips burned with the need 
to mark that white skin. /Do you understand what you’re doing? Run 
home, little girl, run home before you make me lose all control./

“No offence, Mamo-chan,” she said lightly, her fingers curling over 
the top of his boxer shorts, “but you have a history of ignoring 
what’s best for you.” Her fingernails grazed his stomach and a 
shudder went up his spine. He grabbed at her wrists before she could 
do any more damage. He was already dangerously close to the edge.

She looked up, her eyes as limpid and blue as a baby’s, shining in 
the moonlight. “Mamo-chan... normally I would agree that I should be 
in bed. But you need me. You need me so much I can actually see it.” 
She rose on her knees and gently brushed her lips against his.
A small strangled noise came out of his throat. She pulled back and 
a mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes.

“You know, it always amuses me,” she said, tracing a pattern on his 
stomach.

Mamoru was finding it difficult to think properly. “What amuses 
you?” he asked, watching his fingers take the pins out of her hair, 
one by one.

“Everyone always thinks of you as this gentleman... because you 
treat me so gently. And I like that. But... I don’t always want to 
be treated gently, Mamo-chan.” Her eyes flickered up to his. “If I 
just wanted gentleness and courtesy, I could have picked any lord in 
the kingdom.”

“But you didn’t,” he breathed, his heart leaping as he pulled out 
the last pin and her hair fell down her back in a glorious shining 
mass that just begged to be touched.

“I didn’t,” she agreed, pressing a kiss against his navel and making 
him jump. “I chose a Prince from Earth... a warrior... a leader... a 
little bit rough around the edges...” Their eyes met. “Everyone 
called you ‘barbarians’. It always amuses me they forget that. I 
don’t.” Her fingers pulled the material down. “I love that about 
you.”

He should have stopped her. He should have behaved like the 
gentleman everyone thought him. Except that when it came to Usagi, 
Mamoru couldn’t be a gentleman: not when she looked at him like that 
and stripped away all his pretences. Not when she read him so 
easily. 

He fell on her like a starving man and sunk his hands into that 
hair, pulling her head back and bruising her lips with his kisses. 
Like a barbarian. She gasped and laughed, and the sound of her 
laughter drove him further into madness, though he’d thought a 
second before that wasn’t possible. He shoved the silk upwards and 
grabbed her hips, forcing her down on the bed. She whispered his 
name, arching towards him and pulling the nightgown up over her body 
in the same movement. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Mamoru 
couldn’t believe that she was still here and actually enjoying this. 
He looked up, intending to say something – and forgot everything 
when he saw she was completely naked. His brain froze. Mamoru had 
often wished it wouldn’t do that but there seemed to be no solution 
to the problem.

Usagi looked down at him, smiled and stretched, her back arching 
slightly. “Did you want something?” she asked.

Mamoru rose up over her, running his eyes over her body. He knew he 
looked greedy and he didn’t care. She was his and he’d never let 
anyone take her away. He wouldn’t let anyone take away his loved 
ones. Not ever again. His hands curled in her hair and her eyelids 
fluttered.

“Usako,” he whispered.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Even now, he was fighting 
himself.

“It’s all right, Mamo-chan,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He might have stopped but for those words and Usagi knew it. She was 
glad. She loved it when he was like this. She loved him pulling her 
legs apart and thrusting inside her without a thought for protection 
or any warning words. She loved the breathless feeling and clinging 
to him as he rode out all his anger and grief and frustration. She 
loved the feeling of his hip bones crashing into hers. She loved 
being needed by him. Why couldn’t he see that? And then, as always, 
she felt the rush beginning, her body tightening, and white light 
exploded behind her eyelids as she screamed his name.

Mamoru paused to watch her writhe beneath him, teeth bared in 
animal satisfaction, then his own need overwhelmed him and he buried 
his face in her shoulder, biting down on the white skin as he 
shouted her name. He felt her body tremble beneath him and gloried 
in the sensation, gloating in the knowledge that nobody else would 
ever see her like this. Only him. Only him. Her skin was sticky with 
sweat and turning purple where he’d bitten her. She turned her head 
slowly and looked down at the marks, touching them with the tips of 
her fingers.

“Do they hurt?” he murmured, kissing the curve of her neck.

She stretched and sighed, her satisfaction plain. “Not yet... they 
probably won’t hurt until morning. That’s what happened last time,” 
she added lazily.

“I can heal them if you want,” he offered, the words vibrating 
through her skin.

“No,” Usagi said immediately. “I want them there. I want them as a 
reminder... of tonight.” She met his eyes. “Otherwise I might start 
thinking it was just a dream,” she explained softly.

“You dream about *this*?” Mamoru said, shocked out of his self-
satisfied state.

Usagi yawned and closed her eyes, snuggling up to him. “What do you 
think?”

Mamoru stared down at her, trying to come to terms with this sudden 
revelation. “When... how...?” he stuttered.

“I love it when you just take me,” she murmured, nuzzling into him.

Mamoru groaned and dropped his face into her hair. “Oh God, I didn’t 
even put a condom on...”

“Mamo-chan, relax. It was just once and if you’re that worried, I’ll 
go and get the twenty-four-hour pill tomorrow. Besides, we know that 
Chibiusa won’t come for a good while yet...”

“We shouldn’t tempt fate, Usa,” he admonished, tipping her chin up.

“And you shouldn’t start beating yourself up when you and I both 
know you enjoyed forgetting about your responsiblities for once,” 
she retorted. “I loved it, you loved it, so let’s not spoil it. Ne, 
Mamo-chan?” She kissed him on the nose.
He couldn’t help smiling at her. “Hai, hai. You win.” He kissed her 
back. “Now, if you’re staying the night, we should find your 
nightgown and my boxer shorts and get *under* the blanket.”

“Why do we have to find my nightgown?” she asked coyly.

“Usako...”

“Alright, alright!” She sat up and turned around. “I was just 
saying.”

He watched as she stood up and bent down to pick up the garment, 
then quickly realised this might not be a good idea and turned away 
to find his boxer shorts. They were lying on the floor at the end of 
the bed and he slipped them on quickly before either of them could 
get any ideas. /Sleeping naked is NOT a good idea. You know what 
you’re like in the morning. *Especially* when she stays over. You 
got what you wanted, now be a good boy./ When he turned around, 
Usagi had put the nightgown back on and was already crawling into 
bed, yawning widely. Mamoru smiled to himself, pulled back the 
covers and joined her.

As he dropped off to sleep, he remembered what he’d been going to 
ask her before his brain had stopped working. “Usako...”

“Mm?” she grunted.

“Did you hear what Artemis and I were discussing?”

She snuggled closer. “Mm-hmmm...”

“What do you think?” he whispered, rubbing his cheek against her 
hair.

“I think you made the right decision,” she mumbled. “Oyasumi, Mamo-
chan...”

He smiled a little. “Oyasumi, Usako.”

* * *

Minako pursed her lips in the mirror and slid the lipstick over 
them, a caress which left them dark pink with the slightest hint of 
glitter.

“You know, you don’t *have* to come, Rei-chan,” she said, admiring 
her face from the left, then the right. “I can take care of myself, 
you know. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I’m not worried about you, I’m worried about him!” Rei retorted 
without looking up. She flipped another page of the magazine. All 
Minako’s magazines looked the same to her, so she didn’t care which 
one she was looking at.

“Admit it, you’re jealous,” Minako argued, closing the lipstick and 
fluffing her hair. “You don’t want me getting anywhere near him.” 
She grinned at Rei in the mirror. “Should have said ‘yes’ when you 
had the chance, Rei-chan.”

“And I told you I’m not interested in him,” Rei replied, folding her 
arms and glaring.

Minako’s expression sobered for a moment and she shook her head a 
little before straightening up. “If that’s what you want to keep 
telling yourself, go ahead. I did my best.” She shrugged.

Rei stood up. “Are you ready?” she demanded, dismissing the 
conversation as if it had never happened.

Minako sighed. “Hai.”

“Then let’s go; the sooner we’re there, the sooner it’ll be over,” 
Rei stated, marching out of the room without a backward glance.

“You’d better not act this grumpy when we get there or we’ll lose 
you and I mean *lose* you, Rei-chan!” Minako threatened as she 
caught her up at the front door and put on her long boots, the ones 
that went almost up to her knees and were decorated with marigolds.

“You’ll slip on the pavement and twist your ankle,” Rei warned.
“No, I won’t; Isamu-san will catch me,” Minako said, her eyes 
sparkling at the thought.

“More like he’ll let you fall and laugh at you instead.” Rei slipped 
on her coat, buttoned it right up and wrapped a scarf around her 
neck. Even bundled up, she looked elegant, Minako thought enviously.

“Just because he doesn’t quake in his boots at the sight of you, you 
think he doesn’t have any feelings,” she remarked. “Personally, I 
think that’s a good thing. My boyfriend can’t be scared of my 
friends.”

Rei bit her lip, ignoring the needle pain inside her at that word. 
“Boyfriend?” she repeated. “This is only your first date, aren’t you 
getting a little ahead of yourself?”

“Maybe I am, but he must be serious if he didn’t object to *you* 
coming along.” Minako danced outside, admiring how bright her boots 
looked in the January sunshine. “Most guys would have told me to 
forget it if I told them that my friend insisted on coming.”

Rei closed the door. “Shiba Park, that’s where we’re meeting him, 
right?”

“Yup, now let’s go, I want to make a good impression on him by being 
early.”

“What’s the point if you’re going to be late ever after?” Rei 
muttered, following her friend. Minako had her hands in her pockets 
and was whistling. Rei wished she could be that happy... she knew 
that she should be nicer or Minako would do what she threatened and 
leave her behind. But it was impossible. Ever since she’d heard 
about Minako’s date, she’d been in a bad mood. There was no telling 
what Isamu would try to get out of Minako. Minako didn’t even 
believe that Isamu was dangerous.

/You don’t know him!/ Rei wanted to yell at her. /You have no idea 
what he’s really like! There’s no way you’d be able to handle him!/ 
But the words stayed locked inside. Minako prattled on about where 
they were going and all Rei could do was hope that Isamu would 
somehow slip and reveal his true colours around Minako and then 
Minako would be put off. She stayed silent throughout the ride on 
the metro and even after they came out of the station. 

As they walked through the park towards the designated meeting 
place, Minako became worried. What if Rei was like this throughout 
the entire date? A brooding silence was far worse than pointed 
remarks. She tugged on Rei’s arm.

“Rei-chan? Ne, Rei-chan? I didn’t mean it, you know... about losing 
you. Let’s be friends... Rei-chan?”

Rei looked at her and smiled faintly. “I know you didn’t mean it,” 
she said. “I was thinking, that’s all.”

Minako relaxed and smiled back. “What about?”

Rei looked ahead again. “Things,” she said evasively.

Minako was about to ask what when they rounded the corner and she 
promptly forgot all about her question. “There he is!” she squealed, 
grabbing Rei’s arm and hugging it. “Oh my God, he looks so good and 
– who the hell’s that with him?!” She let go and squinted. Rei 
quietly massaged her arm back to life. 

“He brought someone else?! He didn’t tell me! Ooh, maybe it’s a 
double date!” Minako exclaimed, turning to Rei. “That way, we’ll 
both have someone.”

“Oh joy,” Rei muttered. The last thing she needed was a man who’d 
been brought along solely to occupy her. She could already see how 
he’d treat her: pity, condescension or indifference. She preferred 
the third – the other two meant that she would surely lose her 
temper and cut him down somehow.

Minako waved at the two men and ran ahead, but as she came closer, 
she slowed down, suddenly uncertain. She could already tell from the 
way he was standing and looking at her that the other man was not 
here as a date for Rei. He was taller than Isamu, dressed in a dark 
trench coat, and he stood watching her with his hands in his 
pockets, neither smiling nor frowning. There was a still quality 
about the way he held himself which made Minako stop and stare at 
him. She recognised it. She knew this man from somewhere. She knew 
the way he held himself (that straight, straight back), she knew the 
way he looked at her (cool and calm), she knew that strong mouth and 
those deep-set eyes. /I know you! I know you! How do I know you?/

Isamu smiled at her. “Minako-san,” he said. “I’d like to introduce 
you to my friend, Kitano Takehiko-san.”

Takehiko bowed. “Pleased to meet you,” he said, and Minako felt as 
if all the bones in her legs had just dissolved. She bowed back, 
blessing her long hair as it hid the confusion on her face.

“The pleasure’s all mine,” she replied, wincing at how breathless 
she sounded.

“Takehiko-san’s here as a chaperone,” Isamu explained as Rei 
arrived. “Apparently, he didn’t think one was enough.” There was the 
slightest hint of irritation in his voice.

“One is never enough for you,” Takehiko said, and Minako wanted to 
clutch at Rei’s arm again. His voice went up her spine and into her 
blood and she shuddered on the inside.

“You’re a friend, Takehiko-san?” Rei said, a little surprised. 
Takehiko and Isamu did not seem very similar.

“You must be Hino Rei-san,” Takehiko said, turning and looking down 
at her. Rei nodded cautiously. “Kitano Takehiko. Isa-kun’s told me 
so much about you. Pleased to meet you.” He bowed politely and Rei 
bowed back, wondering what Isamu had said.

“Well, we’re still going to the tea rooms, right?” Minako asked, 
putting on a smile. “It’s still a bit chilly for a walk through the 
park, as beautiful as it is...” She glanced around at the bare trees 
and frost-hardened ground.

“Yes, the tea rooms are our first destination,” Isamu agreed with a 
smile and Minako beamed back, intensely aware of the way Takehiko 
was watching them.

They began to walk towards the east side of the park. It should have 
been Minako and Isamu walking together, of course, but somehow the 
two girls ended up in the middle, with Isamu on Rei’s side and 
Takehiko walking by Minako. Rei and Isamu were soon “discussing” 
something, Rei’s eyes snapping violet sparks while Isamu fought his 
corner with a smile lurking in the corners of his mouth. Their 
voices seemed curiously distant to Minako. Takehiko hadn’t spoken 
and she couldn’t think of anything to say. Her whole body seemed to 
be focused on the fact of him walking beside her: she was incredibly 
aware of his height, the smell of his coat, the way he had shortened 
his stride to match hers and the way they had fallen into step. 
This provided a useful excuse for her to look at the ground, at his 
dark brown shoe matching her white and yellow boot step for step. 
There was something comforting about that, even as she wondered what 
the hell was happening.

Takehiko glanced down at the blonde head beside him, which was just 
short of his shoulder. He could only allow himself small glances – 
any longer and he’d probably walk into something. He wanted to stop 
her, turn her to him and drink her in, the colour and the presence 
of her. She was dressed in a canary yellow coat that matched the 
colour of the marigolds painted on her boots. She smelled of roses 
and a hint of musk. She was also unnaturally quiet. He’d been 
prepared for some slight differences from what he remembered but not 
this. Maybe she was disappointed about the fact she wasn’t walking 
with Isamu, but he couldn’t sense any sadness. She seemed to be 
concentrating on his shoes, of all things. A powerful urge to take 
her chin and tip her head up swept over him.

“I hope you don’t mind me coming along,” he said and she looked up 
at him so swiftly that she stumbled over her feet and he had to grab 
her arm.

“Minako-chan, are you okay?” Rei exclaimed, pulled out of her 
“discussion”.

“Hai, hai...” Minako laughed nervously. “Takehiko-san was kind 
enough to make sure I didn’t fall.” She glanced up at him, her 
cheeks flushed. “Arigatou.”

He realised he was still holding her arm and let go. They started 
walking again, now a little behind Isamu and Rei. “It was my fault,” 
he said, looking straight ahead so he didn’t get lost in her eyes. 
“I shouldn’t have asked you that.”

“But you saved me from falling, so no harm done,” she said lightly. 
“And I don’t mind you being here. I mean, Rei-chan’s here and Isamu-
san doesn’t seem to mind.”

“You knew he wouldn’t mind,” Takehiko said and Minako glanced up in 
surprise. Their eyes met for a moment which felt endless. Minako 
looked away first, feeling exposed.

“Yes,” she admitted. “I knew. But how did *you* know...?”

“Because, as I said, Isa-kun told me a lot about her. She’s not like 
any girl he’s ever met before; she rejects his advances, she’s cold 
and stubborn. She’s a challenge. And he loves challenges.” Takehiko 
stopped, appalled. /My God, you fool! What if she’s in love with 
him?! Here you are, blithely talking about how he’s really 
interested in Hino-san, how *she’s* the challenge, implying that 
he’s using her.../ He wondered how he could possibly repair the 
damage. Then he heard a sad laugh beside him.

“Cold and stubborn, yes, that’s my Rei-chan,” Minako said softly. 
“You’ve described her exactly. A challenge. A challenge to any man 
who wants to win her heart. Most of them have no idea. I’m glad 
Isamu-san’s different.”

Takehiko wanted the ground to swallow him up. The sad understanding 
in her voice said everything. Ken would have made a joke about his 
tactlessness and everything would have been fine; but he was not 
Ken.

“He does like you, Minako-san,” he said, grasping at straws. “And he 
doesn’t think you’re silly or easy prey, it’s just that...”

“Rei-chan looks like some untouchable goddess and that makes men go 
crazy,” Minako finished. She sighed. “It’s always the same, 
Takehiko-san. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun.”

“No, that isn’t what I meant,” Takehiko protested, but Minako ran 
forward to grab Isamu’s arm. Isamu smiled down at her and Rei 
stepped away, her features hardening. It was like the light went out 
of her face. Takehiko braced himself as she dropped back to walk 
with him. He’d already been briefed by Isamu on what he should 
expect from Rei. Her first words, however, were not about him.

“I see Minako-chan’s abandoned you,” she commented, watching the two 
blonds ahead of them. Minako was clinging to Isamu’s arm in a way 
that reminded Rei of Usagi with Mamoru and her stomach clenched. 
“You mustn’t take it personally,” she went on. “It’s just that she’s 
very determined to keep Minami-san interested.”

“Does she always try that hard?” Takehiko asked, watching as Minako 
laughed. He heard no happiness in the sound, only a fierce 
determination, a desperation to disprove his words. Isamu didn’t 
seem to notice, but then he wouldn’t. He didn’t know Minako. /You 
don’t know her, either,/ Takehiko reminded himself, but the fact 
remained that he did and Isamu *was* using Minako. He could try to 
sugarcoat the fact as much as possible but in the end, that was what 
it was. 

“How do you know she’s trying?” Rei asked, surprised, squinting up 
at him. She’d thought Isamu was difficult to read, but Takehiko was 
nearly impossible.

“I’ve seen girls try with Isa-kun before,” he said. “They nearly 
always use the same gestures. Although I haven’t seen anyone cling 
to his arm before. She’s bold... he’ll like that.”

“Why, exactly, are you here, Kitano-san?” Rei asked, deciding that 
it was better to keep an eye on Minako and Isamu than trip herself 
up by trying to see the expression on his face.

“Because I wanted to make sure Isa-kun would behave,” Takehiko said, 
glancing down at her. “He does have this habit...”

“Seducing young girls?” Rei finished bluntly.

Takehiko’s lips twitched. “That would imply he has to make some 
effort. And Isa-kun rarely has to make any effort. Girls just throw 
themselves at him.” 

They both looked at Minako. Rei sighed. “That’s the way Minako-chan 
is, I can’t do anything...”

“How defeatist of you.”

The remark stung and she glared at him but Takehiko didn’t flinch.

“If you’re so worried about Aino-san becoming a ‘victim’, you should 
be taking action, not sitting back and saying it’s hopeless.”

“There’s not much I can do when she comes up and grabs his arm like 
that,” Rei retorted, lifting her chin.

“There’s plenty you can do, you’re just too proud to fight; too 
proud to indicate you might care,” Takehiko added, almost too quiet 
to be heard.

Rei went red with anger. “You have no idea what you’re talking 
about,” she said, her words crisp with frost, “no idea at all. This 
isn’t about Minami-san, it’s about Minako-chan.”

“Really?” Takehiko said, his voice dry. “Forgive me, but it seemed 
the other way around.” He met her furious gaze with narrowed eyes. 
“Let me give you some advice, Hino-san: do what you’re supposed to 
do. Look after Aino-san. Let me worry about Isamu. I know him. I’ve 
known him a lot longer than you. I know all his tricks.”

“What did he tell you?” Rei said in a tight voice. “What did he tell 
you about me?”

“What do you think he told me?” Takehiko asked, looking straight 
ahead.

“Don’t play games with me, Kitano-san.” Rei’s voice grew even 
cooler. “If you won’t tell me, I have ways of finding out.”

Takehiko looked down at her with an expression of amusement. “Are 
you threatening me, Hino-san? Don’t bother. If it didn’t work on 
Isamu, it won’t work on me, I can tell you that. And it’s rude to go 
poking around people’s heads, don’t you know that?”

Rei almost stopped walking from the shock. “I never said anything 
about poking around your mind.”

“I know you didn’t.”

Remnants of leaves crunched under their feet. Rei was trembling 
inside. Isamu had told him everything. Everything. Before she could 
mount a counter-attack, he spoke again.

“You have nothing to fear from me, Hino-san, so I don’t see why 
you’re being so aggressive. I haven’t done anything to deserve it. 
But if you’ve nothing else to say, we’ll consider this conversation 
closed, and I’ll forget all about it,” Takehiko said pleasantly. 
“After all, we are on the same side when you think about it.”

“The same side?” Rei repeated, the words sticking in her throat. 
“What are you talking about?”

“Neither of us want Aino-san to get hurt. That’s why we’re both 
here. So I don’t see why we should argue.”

There was a small silence and then Rei nodded, as if she’d come to a 
decision. “Fine. We’re on the same side for now. I’ll do my best to 
make sure Minako-chan stays away from him. You just make sure he 
doesn’t... act up.”

“He won’t harass Aino-san,” Takehiko promised. /But you’re another 
matter entirely, and I’m glad I don’t need to look out for *you*,/ 
he added to himself.

“Rei-chan!” Minako called, waving. “Come on, we’re nearly there.”

“Coming!” Rei called back. She looked up at him. “We’d better go and 
do our jobs, ne, Kitano-san?”

Takehiko nodded. “Lead the way, Hino-san,” he said and she rewarded 
him with a brief but illuminating smile. He watched her run up to 
the others, thinking that Minako must have recovered from his 
revelations somewhat if she was actually encouraging Rei to join 
them. Everything seemed to be going Isamu’s way, so Takehiko was 
amazed by the suspicious look Isamu gave him when they were hanging 
up their coats and even more surprised by the reason.

“Why was she smiling at you?” Isamu demanded in a whisper. “What did 
you say?”

“You’re being a little obvious,” Takehiko murmured, pretending as if 
he hadn’t heard.

“Tell me *now* or Minako-san and I will leave you two alone to get 
to know each other better,” Isamu threatened.

“Go ahead, it’ll be your funeral if Hino-san discovers you’ve done 
something,” Takehiko answered calmly.

Isamu glared at him, his eyes burning. Takehiko took pity on him, if 
only because he didn’t want Minako seeing the blatant jealousy on 
Isamu’s face. “We agreed that we were on the same side when it came 
to protecting Aino-san and I let her go first. That was all.”

“It had better be,” Isamu muttered, turning away. Takehiko was about 
to roll his eyes when he caught Minako staring at him over her 
shoulder, a strangely furtive look, her eyes darker than before. 

...He was walking down a corridor in long boots, open windows on his 
right side looking out onto a silver garden. Someone was coming 
towards him. Heels clicked on stone. Venus. It must be her night for 
patrol. He forced himself not to stare at her legs, or her waist, or 
any part of her; but as they passed each other she looked back at 
him, a deliberate look of understanding, and he knew that his 
admiration had not gone unnoticed...

Takehiko started, falling back into the present. Minako blushed and 
turned away. /You’re mistaken. It’s not the same, it’s not the same 
at all. She wants him, not you,/ Takehiko reminded himself as they 
were shown to a round table in the corner of the building, warm and 
shaded by plants.

/Then why was she looking at you like that? And why did she blush? 
You can’t ignore the blush.../

/Oh yes, I can, especially if she avoids looking at me, and I think 
she will after what just happened.../ He reached out for a menu but 
Minako grabbed it before him and began to scan it intensely.

That was the start of a pattern that continued throughout the rest 
of the date. Minako avoided him and focused on Isamu or Rei. 
Takehiko tried to tell himself that this was a good thing but a part 
of him still felt hurt, even though he knew he had no right to feel 
that way. He shouldn’t care that much. He didn’t care... he just 
wanted a chance to explain.

/Explain what? Why you told the truth?/ He could just imagine the 
raised eyebrow. /She should know exactly what she’s getting into. At 
least you were honest, unlike him./

After the drinks, they went to an art exhibition of home made 
ceramics and jewellery. Some of the exhibits were for sale. Isamu 
and Rei were both drawn to a set of tea cups, painted blue with red 
edges. Minako wandered off to stare at the jewellery. Takehiko 
didn’t go up to her straight away. He carefully made his way around 
the exhibits, keeping an eye on her. She seemed thoughtful, 
absorbed, an expression that called up many memories. Then he saw 
she was looking at some chunks of kunzite and he felt his heart skip 
a beat.

“It fades in bright light, you know,” he said, and she looked up, 
startled to find him so close. She hadn’t heard him coming. For such 
a tall man, he could certainly be quiet.

“I like the colour,” she said. “Pink... and lilac, too. It’s not 
often you find stones that come in pastels.” She tried to smile but 
failed. It was easy to pretend for Isamu and even for Rei but not 
for him. She knew he’d see through it.

“I’m sorry,” he said, startling her once more. She looked up at him, 
puzzled.

“For what, Kitano-san?”

“I didn’t realise you cared that much for him,” Takehiko said 
honestly. “I should have thought before saying those things. I hurt 
you and I didn’t mean to do that.”

Minako shook her head. “I don’t really care,” she said. “It was just 
nice to meet a man who’s handsome and intelligent, someone who 
actually flirts with me, doesn’t totally ignore me for her, but I 
knew it couldn’t be true. I mean, deep down, I knew. I saw the way 
he looked at her. And... I see the way she acts around him. She 
doesn’t usually act like that, you know.”

Takehiko nodded. “I know,” he said quietly, but Minako talked over 
him, the words pouring out.

“I know that they’re much better suited, but I wanted to believe it 
could work, just for a while; I thought I was allowed that much. Men 
always like her better than me, it was nice to find someone who 
didn’t, even if it was only pretend – why are you still listening to 
me?!” she suddenly demanded, turning to him. Her eyes were shining 
with tears, but Takehiko pretended not to notice.

“It’s polite? Sorry, should I be doing something else?”

“Yes!” Minako folded her arms. “You should be yawning, or fiddling, 
or looking completely bored – that’s what all the other boys do when 
I talk to them.”

Takehiko smiled down at her, wondering why this felt so natural. 
“Forgive me for pointing this out – you can put it down to male ego 
– but I’m not a boy.”

Minako felt that smile warm her face and body. She smiled back, 
unable to stop herself. “Oh... no, of course you’re not,” she said 
and realised she was blushing – again! This was not good – blushing 
meant things. /Stop blushing! Stop it right now!/ she told herself. 
The blush only deepened.

“And if the men you date react like that, you’re obviously going 
out with the wrong men,” Takehiko added lightly.

Minako raised an eyebrow. “And the right kind of man would be?” she 
asked, amused.

“Someone who appreciates you,” he answered, inspecting some 
turquoise rings.

Minako looked away. “I thought Isamu-san appreciated me,” she said. 
“But apparently, he appreciates Rei-chan more.”

“Well, there’s no accounting for taste,” Takehiko murmured, glancing 
over at Rei and Isamu, who were now having an argument. If he was 
counting correctly, that was the fourth one.

He did not see Minako look up, her eyes sparkling at the words, ones 
she’d never heard before. “Rei-chan isn’t to your taste?” she asked, 
taking a step closer.

“God, no,” Takehiko said truthfully, looking back at her and seeing 
that she’d cheered up. “Beauty isn’t everything, Aino-san. I 
wouldn’t want a girl who’d argue with everything I say and hold me 
to an impossibly high standard. Life’s difficult enough.”

Minako’s lips twitched. “You know, for someone who’s only just met 
her, you’re very accurate about Rei-chan,” she remarked.

“Isa-kun told me a lot about her,” he said, dismissing the 
compliment with a shrug.

“I doubt he told you she’s argumentative or that she’s cold or 
that she’s stubborn; and I certainly don’t think he complained about 
her being a perfectionist,” Minako teased. 

Takehiko laughed a little. “Well, actually...”

“No, he wouldn’t be *that* negative about her, so don’t try and tell 
me otherwise. But those *are* her bad points. You’re very good at 
sussing people out, aren’t you?” She smiled, looking up through her 
eyelashes. “How did you get so perceptive, Takehiko-san?”

“Practice,” he murmured, trying not to react to her use of his first 
name, trying to ignore the fact it made him shiver.

“And what have you learned about me?” she asked, that teasing smile 
still on her lips, creating thoughts he didn’t want to have.

“You underestimate yourself and that makes other people 
underestimate you. You settle for less than you should.”

Minako couldn’t breathe for a moment. The words went through her 
like a cold sword. “So what do you suggest I should do?” she 
whispered.

“Stop comparing yourself to Hino-san,” he said immediately. “You 
have your own beauty, you shouldn’t envy her, you shouldn’t try to 
be her. It wouldn’t suit you.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief, begging him to prove it, pulling him 
forward. “You think I’m beautiful?” she asked, her voice soft and 
ragged at the edges.

/I’m going to kiss her,/ he thought with a far off horror. /I’m 
going to push her against the wall and kiss her and ruin everything 
because I can’t bear that doubt in her eyes. How can she doubt 
herself like this? How can she doubt herself when she has this much 
power? Think, man, THINK!/

He tore his gaze away, frantic, trying to think of something to 
distract her, something that would take the focus of her power away 
from him. “If you just took the time to look, you’d see you have 
plenty of admirers.”

Minako blinked at him. “What...?”

“Don’t look now,” Takehiko continued, warming to his theme, clawing 
back his self-control, “but there’s a man behind you who keeps 
looking at you in the glass case. And by the door, there’s a couple 
of schoolboys who’ve been giving you glances ever since you came 
in.”

“R-really...?” She glanced at the two boys out of the corner of her 
eye. They both turned away, going slightly pink. Minako looked back 
at Takehiko. “They blushed!” she said, amazed.

He nodded, weak with relief. A few seconds more and he would have 
pinned her against the wall, never mind that it was a public place 
and she was supposed to be dating his friend. “You see? You’re not 
invisible,” he insisted.

Minako ran a finger down the glass of the case, her eyes on the 
chunks of kunzite. “Maybe I’m not invisible, but I would like to be 
specially noticed by someone.” She looked at him from the corner of 
her eye. “If Rei-chan isn’t to your taste, who is? I’ve never met a 
man who wasn’t attracted to her... apart from Mamoru-san, of 
course,” she added.

Takehiko felt trapped. “My taste?” He pretended to examine the 
jewellery in the next case, playing for time. “My taste,” he 
repeated, “let’s see.” He could feel Minako watching his back, her 
eyes moving up and down his body. “I like girls who have 
confidence... I like girls with a sense of humour, because I don’t 
have one.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“You can believe what you like,” he said, smiling to himself and 
continuing. “I like girls with bright eyes and long hair and 
dimples; I like girls with determination, ambition; I like girls who 
are dedicated to their friends.”

Minako could feel her heart speeding up in hope. She was also aware 
it shouldn’t be doing this. “And... what would happen if you met a 
girl with all those qualities?” she asked, stepping closer to him, 
noticing how narrow his hips were. 
 
He turned around and looked down at her. “Why do you want to know, 
Aino-san?” he asked, his voice suddenly blank.

Minako felt herself blush again. “Just... curiosity,” she stammered.

“Curiosity killed the cat,” he said, without moving a muscle.

“Satisfaction brought him back again,” Minako retorted, quick as a 
wink, then gasped. “I did it! I remembered!” She turned to Rei and 
Isamu, who had just come over. “Rei-chan, Rei-chan, I remembered a 
saying! I mean, I remembered it correctly! I’m actually improving!”

Rei smiled faintly. “That’s great, Minako-chan. Ami-chan would be 
proud of you.”

“What do we have here?” Isamu said, glancing at the case. “Oh, 
kunzite...” He glanced at Takehiko, his eyes glittering. “Pretty but 
not much use in the daytime, ne, Hi-kun?”

“Kitano-san said it fades in daylight,” Minako agreed.

“Well, sunlight isn’t the only light,” Rei commented. “And just 
because the colour fades in the daytime, doesn’t mean its powers 
fade as well.”

“It’s fine in the daytime as long as you don’t keep it exposed to 
the sunlight,” Takehiko said, still looking at Isamu. He took out 
his pendant. “I have some.”

Rei was surprised. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d believe in this 
sort of thing, Kitano-san,” she said.

“In my experience, you can never be too careful,” Takehiko replied. 
“Besides, it’s supposed to protect your aura from unwelcome 
presences... it’s like a shield. It also helps you to relax, and I 
definitely need that.”

“You don’t seem like someone who stresses out,” Minako murmured, 
reaching out and holding the pendant gently in her fingers. A shock 
went through her skin, which she put down to static electricity.

“I get very tense sometimes... right, Isa-kun?”

“I suppose so... but I can count the times I’ve seen you lose it on 
one hand; if you want someone who gets easily stressed, look at 
Xavier.”

They both laughed a little.

“Who’s ‘Xavier’?” Minako asked, curious.

“Oh, you haven’t met him,” Isamu told her. “Technically, he’s my 
cousin, but we grew up together so we’re more like brothers.”

“If he’s your cousin, does he look like you?” Rei asked, intrigued 
by this new information.

Isamu smiled a little. “People used to say we were very alike... but 
not so much nowadays.”

“What happened?” Minako asked.

“We grew up,” Isamu said briefly.

There was an awkward silence as they contemplated what that meant.

“Here’s a card with the properties of kunzite, Minako-chan,” Rei 
said, picking up a small plastic sign and reading it. “Apparently, 
kunzite promotes all sorts of love, loyalty and humility.”

“Yeah, I know Kitano-san’s humble!” Minako laughed, looking up at 
him. “He positively refused to accept a compliment. There is such a 
thing as being too humble, you know.”

“You’ll never have to worry about that,” Rei said with a slight 
smirk, earning a glare.

Isamu chuckled under his breath. “Do you want some precious stones, 
Aino-san?” he asked, watching as Minako’s eyes lit up and she 
nodded. “What would you like?”

“Um...” Minako walked back and forth, looking. “Let’s see...” Rei 
stood beside her and they conferred in whispers.

“You ought to buy Hino-san a stone, too,” Takehiko suggestd.

Isamu almost laughed. “She wouldn’t appreciate the kind of stone I 
want to give her,” he answered.

“It says here,” Minako mused, “that jade is good for Libras. And 
*I’m* a Libra. And it’s also good for Aries, and Rei-chan’s an 
Aries. But...” She walked to the middle of the display and pondered. 
“I do like what it said about kunzite promoting all kinds of love. I 
mean, that’s *me*.”

“Depends what you want more, balance or love, I suppose,” Isamu 
suggested, trying not to smirk.

“Oh well, that’s easy!” Minako said with a grin and picked up a 
chunk of kunzite. “I’ll take this.”

Isamu was frozen for a moment. Takehiko turned away, feeling himself 
flush. /It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything,/ he told 
himself. /Get a hold of yourself./

“And I’ll have some jade,” Rei added, picking up a smooth green 
sphere. “I need to cleanse the shrine and this will help.”

“Of course,” Isamu said, watching as Minako balanced the kunzite in 
her hand with a smile. “Would you like it wrapped up or as it is?”

“Just as it is,” Rei answered, dropping the sphere into his palm. “I 
don’t need any fancy wrappings. Thank you, Minami-san.”

“Same for me, I want to put this in my pocket,” Minako agreed, 
smiling at him. “Thank you, Minami-san!”

Isamu nodded, his mind reeling. He paid for the stones, gave them 
back to the girls and they all left the building. He didn’t want to 
look at Takehiko. He didn’t know what he’d say or do. There was a 
jealousy inside him that had nothing to do with Rei, a fire eating 
up his heart.

/Venus... Venus and Kunzite... I should have KNOWN!/ He glanced down 
at Minako, bobbing along and chattering happily, oblivious. /And she 
doesn’t know... she didn’t even recognise him. But that doesn’t 
matter, because when she *does* remember him, that’ll be it. She’ll 
be his, he’ll be hers, and I’ll be exactly where I am now... in love 
with a girl who thinks I’m the scum of the earth merely for being a 
man, never mind anything else!/ He looked at her. She was watching 
him as usual, eyes cold as stone. They would always be cold when 
they looked at him. And Minako, this golden girl with her laughter 
and her smiles, would leave him. She was not his, she never had been 
and never would be. She already belonged to someone else - the man 
who’d agreed to come along on this date as a chaperone and he must 
have known-!

/That BASTARD! Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t he SAY something? 
Why is he always the lucky one?! Why does he get to have her?!/ He 
could feel Takehiko watching him. /Sly, smug bastard... keeping 
silent all this time. I have a few questions for you, Kunzite.../

He suddenly grabbed Minako’s arm and pulled her close, whispering in 
her ear. “I’ll call you tonight.”

“I’ve heard that before,” she retorted, laughing under her breath. 
“Besides... what about Rei-chan?” Her eyes searched his. “Wouldn’t 
you rather speak to her?” 

/What the hell’s he said?/ “Not really,” he said with a smile. 
“You’re the one who wants to talk, not her. All she wants to do is 
argue, ne?”

Minako giggled, a delicious light sound. “Okay... but not too late.”

Isamu smiled and let go, already regretting her warmth. She was too 
insubstantial for him, not harsh enough, but he would enjoy her 
while he could. Before the memories showed her who was the better 
man.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“I wondered when you’d arrive,” he murmured, looking down into 
purple fire. If love was logical, this would not be attractive to 
him. He would want blue skies and golden laughter and dimples.

Minako was so happy that she left Rei berating Isamu without a 
backward glance and went to Takehiko.

“You were wrong,” she told him, almost laughing.

“About what, Aino-san?”

His eyes were neither green nor grey, but somewhere in between. She 
lost her train of thought. /What is going on with you?!/

“Aino-san?” He stepped closer, looking concerned. “What is it?”

“You were wrong about him,” she said, recovering, a defiant smile 
painted on her lips. “He does want me. He wants to talk to *me*, not 
her. I don’t know what you were trying to do, Kitano-san, but it 
wasn’t very funny.”

“You want to know what I was doing?” he said, his voice suddenly 
deepening, catching at things in her stomach. “I’ll tell you. I was 
giving you a warning, Aino-san. He doesn’t care about you the way he 
cares about her. You know that, I can see you do. Why don’t you 
listen to your instincts instead of ignoring them?”

“You’re just jealous,” she whispered, fists clenching. “You’re 
jealous of him, because... because...”

“I’m not jealous, I’m worried. Worried for you.” He stepped closer 
and she could smell a hint of his aftershave, salt and spice and 
something so familiar that it made her want to cry. “You think he’s 
this wonderful, charming man, don’t you? Yes, he can be very 
charming, but he can also be cruel. You should know that. You should 
know he’s not *serious*-”

“Serious?” She laughed a little, feeling dizzy. “Well, I’m not 
serious, either. I’m never serious about anything! Ever!”

He didn’t crack a smile, he just watched her with those winter eyes. 
“I think you’re serious all the time,” he said. “I know because I’m 
the same way. We just have different ways of dealing with it.”

She stared at him. Her chest felt tight and words flew around her 
head.

/Whyyouwhyyouwhyyou?/

“How do you know?” she whispered, pleading with him. “How do you 
know me? How do I know *you*?”

“You don’t know me,” he said quietly. “You don’t know me at all.”

“Well, gentlemen, it’s been wonderful, but we have to go now – end 
of year exams,” Rei announced, slinging an arm around Minako’s 
waist and making her jump. “Thank you for such a nice afternoon.”

“It was our pleasure, ladies,” Takehiko said formally.

“I look forward to next time,” Isamu added with a smile, but Minako 
looked at him blankly, as if he were a stranger. Rei shot him a cold 
glance.

“Ja ne,” she said, and turned Minako around. They watched the girls 
walk away, the blonde head close to the black one. It looked like 
Minako was leaning on Rei, as if she were too weak to walk on her 
own. She cast one glance back over her shoulder, the blue eyes 
almost burning with their question.

Isamu felt the bile rise up in his throat at that look. He whirled 
and grabbed Takehiko by the collar, too furious to think about his 
actions. “What did you DO?!” he hissed. The next instant, cold 
fingers closed over his wrist and white fire flared in his brain. He 
pulled away, choking on a cry of pain.

“What did I do? What did *I* do? You’re the one who started all 
this, so don’t start blaming me if something’s gone wrong!” Takehiko 
said, his voice as cold as Rei’s eyes.

“What did you say to her?!” Isamu spat, rubbing his wrist, his bones 
still raw from Takehiko’s grip. “She just asked me if I really 
wanted to talk to her! She wanted to know if I’d rather talk to Rei-
san instead! What did you say?!”

“I told her the truth.”

“The truth?” Isamu suddenly laughed, his lips drawn back over his 
teeth in a snarl. “Which part, Hi-kun? The part about us being 
Mamoru-san’s guardians? The part about Usagi-san reincarnating us? 
The part about you and her being *lovers*?” He grinned at the look 
on Takehiko’s face. “Yeah, I remembered. Nice of you to tell me, 
*Kunzite*. Nice of you to just go ahead and let me take her out, 
knowing that sooner or later she’d leave me ANYWAY!”

Takehiko’s eyes went green with anger. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I spoil 
your date, Isa-kun? Did I ruin your *fun*? What are you so pissed 
off for? She didn’t even remember me. Hopefully, she won’t remember 
me for a while. You’re perfectly *safe* in that regard. All I did 
was tell her that you’re using her to get to Hino-san.”

For a moment, Isamu was absurdly relieved. Then the words sunk in.

“YOU WHAT?!”

Some people walking by thought they saw two men disappear in a flash 
of golden light; but since they were citizens of Tokyo, they were 
used to unusual sights and carried on. As long as there wasn’t a 
monster involved, they didn’t care.

In Elysion, there was a similar flash and the two men stood on a 
hilltop, the wind raking at their hair. Isamu looked around, 
disorientated.

“How the hell did we get here?! Wait...” He whirled round and stared 
at Takehiko. “You can TELEPORT? When did this happen?!”

“Recently... during the last few months. I haven’t teleported anyone 
else before. I didn’t know if it would work. But I didn’t want to 
have a fight in Shiba Park.”

“You’re doing it AGAIN!” Isamu yelled. “Keeping secrets! Shutting us 
out! When were you going to tell me about you and Minako-san, Hi-
kun, WHEN?!”

“Nothing has happened between me and Aino-san, Isa-kun.”

Isamu swore in frustration and ran his hands through his hair in 
frustration. “FINE, when were you going to tell me about you and 
Venus?!”

“Never, if I could help it,” Takehiko said, folding his arms since 
Isamu seemed to have lost the will to attack him physically. Isamu 
was disarmed by the honest answer, as Takehiko had known he would 
be, and there was silence for a few moments while he digested it.

“Why not?” Isamu said finally, looking at him. Takehiko was blackly 
amused by the genuine hurt in Isamu’s eyes. He’d quite happily 
deceive Minako and Rei, but when he was the one being deceived it 
was different.

“Because it doesn’t matter – it doesn’t matter, Isa-kun,” he 
repeated as Isamu opened his mouth. “We don’t know each other. She’s 
interested in you, not me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Isamu muttered.

“You can’t think that just because she chose the kunzite, she 
prefers...”

“Yeah, I can and I do,” Isamu retorted. “That’s the stone she was 
attracted to, the one she chose when I offered to pay. Even though I 
said I’d pay for the jade.”

“Well, if you think that means something, you should take some 
comfort in the fact Hino-san chose the jade,” Takehiko argued, 
resisting the urge to smile.

“She said she wanted to cleanse the shrine, jade cleanses, end of 
story.” Isamu shrugged.

“Don’t you think that it means something that she’d use *your* stone 
to clean things... make them pure?” Takehiko pressed.

Isamu sighed and looked out across the country. “Why do you have to 
be so *nice*?” he exclaimed. “I mean... you should have told me to 
back off, Hi-kun. You’d have had every right, but you didn’t. You 
should tell me to back off right now. I’ll hurt her, you know that. 
I won’t mean to hurt her, but I’ll do it anyway, Hi-kun.”

“I know,” Takehiko said quietly. “I told her you would.”

Isamu looked up. He wasn’t surprised. Takehiko was nothing if not 
fair. “And?” he said. “What did she say?”

Takehiko half smiled but his eyes were sad. “She said that she 
didn’t believe me, she said that I was jealous... she didn’t listen, 
basically. She’ll just have to learn the hard way... like she always 
did.”

Isamu looked at him, the rage gone, sober. “You’re not going to stop 
me?” he asked. “Even after what I just said? Even after what I just 
*did*?”

“What would be the point?” Takehiko replied, looking back at him, 
his gaze so perceptive that it was difficult for Isamu to meet it. 
“She’d just be even more determined to go out with you. And you... 
if you want to make a point, you’ll make it no matter what I say.”

“Hi-kun, if you tell me to back off, I will,” Isamu said, simple and 
honest. “If you ask me to do that, I’ll do it. You’re the one she 
loved before. She was... she *is* the incarnation of Aphrodite. To 
actually hold her interest for more than a few days... to be her one 
and only... you can’t tell me it wasn’t serious.”

“Yes, was, past tense.” Takehiko sighed. Isamu’s offer was so 
tempting. Everything in his body wanted to accept it, tell him to 
back off, mark his territory. He shook his head. “I won’t tell you 
to back off, Isa-kun,” he said. “I just want one thing of you.”

“Anything,” Isamu said immediately and he meant it.

Takehiko smiled just slightly, looking down for a moment while he 
thought out his request. Then he looked at his friend again. “Let 
her down easy, Isamu. When the time comes, let her down easy. Be 
gentle. As gentle as you can be. That’s all I ask.”

“Gentle?” Isamu repeated. He laughed and shook his head, seeing the 
shrine glint white in the distance. “I almost wish you’d asked me to 
stop. That would be easier...”

“Since when have I given you easy tasks?” Takehiko asked, raising an 
eyebrow. “I’ve told you what I want. You said that you’d do it.”

“Hai, hai... I’ll remember.” Isamu sobered and sighed. “As gentle as 
I can be. Even if she doesn’t deserve it?”

“Considering what you’re doing, gentleness is the least she 
deserves, Isa-kun,” Takehiko said, and Isamu heard the warning in 
the depths of his voice. He nodded and didn’t say anything more.

“Now we should be getting back,” Takehiko said. “I have to make my 
report. Mamoru-san needs to know you behaved.”

“I did?” Isamu said, surprised.

“Your behaviour towards Aino-san was impeccable,” Takehiko 
commented. “I don’t need to tell him about how you treated Hino-
san... and this is a private conversation.”

Isamu chuckled dryly. “Don’t forget Artemis. I’m sure he’ll be 
there.”

“Yes... and we’ll both be on trial as far as he’s concerned.”

“Well, he’ll be disappointed. You behaved impeccably too.” Isamu 
smiled as Takehiko stared at him. “All you did was tell her the 
truth about me. That’s what Artemis wanted to do in the first place. 
He can’t fault you for that.”

“No, but he’ll certainly try.”

They were still laughing as they came back to Earth.

* * *

Minako ran the brush through her hair. She was heading for one 
hundred. Her reflection stared back at her, the eyes dark. In her 
belly, strings vibrated, tugging at her, demanding satisfaction. 
Artemis watched her. He’d been unusually silent. She kept waiting 
for him to say something but nothing so far. And she wasn’t going to 
tell him about Isamu. She wasn’t going to tell him anything.

Artemis cleared his throat. “I’ll be out late tonight, Mina,” he 
said, getting up and stretching. “Leave the window unlocked.”

Minako stopped brushing and looked at him in the mirror. “Out?” she 
repeated. “Aren’t you going to pump me for details? You were the one 
who was so paranoid about me going on this date.”

“If something had happened, I’d have seen it in your face,” Artemis 
answered, which was certainly true enough and yet not true at all. 
Plenty had happened. Minako saw a pair of grey-green eyes for a 
moment, then blinked them away.

“Then... I’ll see you in the morning,” she murmured, watching him 
leap out of the window, still puzzled by the missing interrogation. 
Then she shrugged and put her brush down. /Don’t look a gift mule in 
the mouth, Mina. Just appreciate the fact you’re alone... finally./

She switched off the light, then pulled back the covers and got into 
bed. For a moment, she simply breathed. Then one hand crept down 
between her thighs.

/God knows I need some way to relax and manga isn’t going to do it 
tonight,/ she thought, biting down on a finger to quell the moan 
rising in her throat.

...I think you’re serious all the time. I know because I’m the same 
way. We just have different ways of dealing with it...

“Oh,” she moaned, pressing her face into her pillow, the memory of 
his voice, oh God that voice, that deep voice which melted 
everything inside her, flooded her with liquid fire, the same fire 
that was running through her right now. Isamu’s voice didn’t do 
that. In fact, she’d never had that reaction to anyone’s voice 
before, although she’d always loved music, his voice was like a 
song, a deep ballad of desperate love that hinted at more than 
kisses and embraces, although she wouldn’t mind kisses, no, she 
wouldn’t mind pulling that long mouth down to hers and feasting on 
him, she wouldn’t mind hearing that voice whisper her name as he 
kissed her...

/You shouldn’t be fantasising about Takehiko-san... you shouldn’t be 
fantasising about his voice, or his mouth, or that lean body, or 
those wide shoulders or those hips, those nice narrow hips that 
would fit perfectly between your thighs as he breathed into your 
ear.../

“No,” she breathed, “no, I shouldn’t, but I am and it feels... so 
good...”

It would probably feel even better if he was here right now... those 
large hands slipping over her body, playing her like an instrument, 
that body pressing hers down as he leaned over her with that amazing 
smile lighting up his eyes, those grey-green eyes, those misty eyes.

Minako’s eyes flew open.

/NO!/ she thought and the orgasm hit her, hard and fast and 
irresistible, and she cried out a name that she didn’t recognise, 
her hips arching off the bed as if meeting an invisible thrust.

Afterwards, the tears trembling on her cheeks, she repeated it in 
bewilderment. “Kunzite...? Why did I...?”

/Why did I call out *that* name? Was that him in my dreams? Was he 
the one who resisted me? If he resisted me, why didn’t he resist 
Beryl and Metallia?! And those eyes... those eyes, Takehiko-san has 
the same eyes and just thinking about him turns me on, oh God, I’m 
in trouble, I’m in deep trouble, and the worst of it is that I don’t 
care. I just want him. I want him with every fibre of my body.../

...I like girls with bright eyes and long hair and dimples...

“And I like guys with wise eyes and amazing smiles and voices that 
could melt a woman’s legs at fifty paces,” she whispered. “And the 
guy I’m going out with doesn’t have any of those qualities. And my 
love life is a mess. As usual. Good to know some things don’t 
change.”

She closed her eyes and fell asleep, waiting to hear that voice call 
her name in a time that was gone, a place that had vanished. It 
wasn’t much; but she would take what she could get.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters and places of Bishoujo 
Senshi Sailor Moon. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Worship her. 
However, I do own Isamu, Ken, Xavier and Takehiko’s lives. So make 
sure you ask before borrowing. Or I’ll set the fangirls on you.


AUTHOR’S NOTES: See? Much quicker this time. This chapter fairly 
flew out of my fingers, maybe because it has Takehiko and Minako’s 
first meeting in it, something I’ve been looking forward to writing. 
It always helps when you look forward to writing the interaction.

I did not invent the properties of kunzite: you can find them 
described on any web page with the metaphysical properties. Reading 
a description of what kunzite can do will give you some idea of why 
Naoko made Kunzite the leader of the shitennou.

The next chapter will feature Angela and Helga! Who is Angela, you 
ask? You’ll find out! Helga has been mentioned once and she’s been 
in the story as well, she just hasn’t been named. ;D

Seren1tyStar01: Of course Mamoru’s human. He needs some friends who 
can appreciate that and treat him like a normal man. Although, as 
you will see, sometimes they’re a bit too irreverent ;) I loved 
writing the interaction between Isamu and Rei. Hopefully you’ll 
enjoy the interaction between Takehiko and Minako and Usagi taking 
the initiative.

blue: More Isamu and Takehiko for you, you addict. I know that you 
won’t be happy with Takehiko’s decision. I can already see you 
foaming at the mouth. Rest assured that Takehiko has no idea of the 
effect he had on Minako. He’s a bit like Mamoru in that respect.

Leiliana: It’s good to know that you keep checking. I hope this 
update will make you smile. :)

Kihin: More sex for you. :P In fact, this is a pretty raunchy 
chapter, isn’t it? So, you’ve found out why Mamoru was being that 
way; were you pleased with the way Isamu was thwarted? I know I was. 
And I know you’re angry with Takehiko. In fact, you’re probably 
furious. He’s just too noble for his own damn good. *pats*

Until next time, everyone!

Starsea xxx