Title: Forest Fire - Part II Author: Viper Inferno E-mail: viperdvman@gmail.com Genre: Action Drama Rated: PG Author's Notes: I recommend reading Brother of Fire and Five-Alarm Fire before reading this fanfic, since they are part of a series and provide quite a bit of the background for this fanfic. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Forest Fire By Viper Inferno Part II Hikawa Jinja... After spending much of the morning and the early part of the afternoon at the Game Center Crown's with Mamoru, Kyodai pulled into his registered parking space at the Hikawa Jinja next to Gabianni's sedan. After shutting off the engine, Kyodai stepped out of his car, shut his door, and paused for a moment. He took in a great breath of the fresh Hikawa Jinja air, feeling much relieved from his slump earlier in the morning. It took some quality time with his best friend, someone who also had no girlfriend despite how good he was to the ladies, save for one Odango Atama, for Kyodai to feel better after his relationship with Minako ended. With most of his thoughts about Minako having finally left his mind, Kyodai began his trip up the shrine steps. But as he reached the top of the steps, his sister came running out the front door of the shrine. "Kyodai!" Rei summoned as she ran across the shrine toward her brother. 'She looks to be in a good mood,' Kyodai thought to himself, noting the beaming smile on Rei's face as she ran toward him. He braced himself for what he thought was going to be a sisterly tackle, something she did numerous times back when Kyodai would visit her at the shrine every few weeks or so. However, Rei only grabbed him by the wrist and tugged at him, trying to get him to follow her. "Come on, Kyodai. You've got to see what's on the news," she said, tugging at him even more. "I thought you hated television," Kyodai commented as she started walking toward the shrine, with his sister dragging him. "I overheard something coming up about the Sailor Team on the news from Yuuichirou's room," said Rei, "I just couldn't resist." "So you're dragging me inside to watch something about the Sailor Team," said Kyodai, "I've never seen you this excited over them before." "Oh, come now. I know you're a fan too," Rei commented as they neared the front door, "You were the one who told us the great stories about the battle you witnessed." "You got a point there," Kyodai said submissively. The siblings then burst into the house, Kyodai's and Rei's shoes coming off at the front door at lightning speed. They then dashed down the hall, with Rei still keeping a firm grip on Kyodai's wrist, and burst into Yuuichirou's room. Rei sat Kyodai down in front of Yuuichirou's TV with Yuuichirou and Romano, while Rei herself took her place on Yuuichirou's bed. Gabianni was in the room as well, sitting on a chair at Yuuichirou's desk. There, the five sat with their faces glued to the television as the anchor on the TV began her report. "...a situation at Juuban Junior High where a tiger-like youma attacked the people of the Minato Ward during a youth baseball game. But help arrived as the legendary Sailor Moon and two of the Sailor Senshi rescued the people and defeated the youma. However, the battle wasn't over as another villain arrived on the scene. Sailor Jupiter immediately attacked the villain with her vicious lightning attack, sending him flying into Chopper 13. After a short battle, Sailor Moon sent the villain off the school grounds and out of sight, once again saving the day. Fear not viewers, no one aboard Chopper 13 was injured and they landed safely here at Channel 13 after the battle. Sailor Moon, thumbs up to you and your friends from Channel 13..." "I knew they'd pull it off," said Yuuichirou, "Even if it was just three of them." "They're the Sailor Team, of course they did," said Rei. "I would love to have seen that battle," Kyodai commented. "Besides, Yuuichirou, there were just 3 Sailor Senshi for quite a length of time before Sailor Jupiter came along, then Sailor Venus," Rei explained. "Hearing them so much on the news, I'm surprised that guys don't ogle them like you girls ogle that Tuxedo Mask character," Romano commented, "I particularly like Sailor Venus because she was once Sailor V." He then turned to Kyodai, "Hey Kyodai-san, who's your favorite?" Kyodai thought for a moment, both of his love of them from afar and his battles alongside them as Tuxedo Inferno. "You know, I really haven't given much thought to that, and I've been asked that question before," Kyodai replied. He thought hard about each of the 5 Sailor Senshi, focusing on what he liked about each of them. "Well, there is something I like about each of them, including Sailor Moon," Kyodai explained, "I like Venus for her amazing skill and courage, matching even Sailor Moon's. That, plus the rumors floating about of her being Sailor V, makes me like her. I like Jupiter's strength and speed too." "So which one is your favorite?" Gabianni asked. "Well, as much as I like both of them," Kyodai explained, "Sailor Mars wields fire both gracefully and aggressively. And she is probably the best looking senshi alongside Sailor Venus. I mean, they both love to show off their beautifully-sculpted legs more so than the other senshi." That comment drew a blush from Rei, once again from her brother flattering her with his praises of Sailor Mars, both her powers and her looks. But she quickly shook those flattering thoughts from her head. 'Kyodai, I'm so flattered that you like me as Sailor Mars... and think I'm beautiful... but I swear your opinion will change if you ever find out that the senshi you think is so hot is actually your sister,' she thought to herself before turning back to the guys. "His favorite is Sailor Mercury," Rei told them, trying to get Kyodai quit beating around the bush as he did when she first introduced him to her friends. "Right, I like her because she's the smartest and most resourceful of the senshi," Kyodai explained, "She has a tendency to use her analytical skills in battle more so than her powers. I think that with out her, the Sailor Team wouldn't be quite as legendary as they are." "He has a point there," Gabianni commented, "Every great group of superheroes, or in this case 'super-heroines', has to have a brains of the outfit. Most of the superheroes in Rei's manga books also have a 'brains of the outfit'. So it's only natural that the Sailor Team would too." After their conversation, Rei rose from Yuuichirou's bed and began to walk toward the door. Since it was fairly early afternoon on a Sunday, with all the chores having been done, Rei had little else to do for the day except for a get-together she had arranged the day before. "Hey guys, I'm going over to Makoto's with Ami-chan and Minako- chan," she said. She then turned to Kyodai, remembering everything she and he were talking about earlier in the morning, "Kyodai, do you want to come with me?" Kyodai thought hard for a split second, 'I wonder why she's inviting me again. I mean, Minako and I just broke up, and she now wants to bring me over to where she'll be. Maybe she wants us to still be friends just as much as Minako does, and show us that we can be friends without having a relationship.' "Uh...sure, why not?" he responded as he reluctantly rose from the floor and joined Rei at the door. "I'll see you guys when we get back." Makoto's apartment... Rei and Kyodai arrived at Makoto's apartment building after a leisurely drive through the Juuban District. Makoto's apartment wasn't very far, but Rei had suggested that they take their time getting there. Rei always enjoyed sitting in the passenger seat of Kyodai's old coupe as he drove. It was a time when it was just the two of them, in the privacy of Kyodai's car. It was a place where they would converse with one another without the others at the shrine overhearing their brother-to- sister conversations. They trusted each other with a lot of things, and would often share things with each other that they would share with no other, even if they had to drag it out of each other. It was something they shared with each other even before Kyodai left the Hikawa Jinja to live with their aunt and uncle. Other times, Rei just wanted to be in his passenger seat yet remain silent. Just being with her older brother in the privacy of his coupe while he drove was plenty enough for the both of them. Once Kyodai found a parking spot, he pulled in and shut his car off, then unbuckled his seatbelt. But as he reached for the latch to open his door, he felt a hand take a gentle hold of his upper arm. "Kyodai, wait," Rei said to him. He turned to Rei, his eyes meeting hers. "Can we stay for a little longer?" she asked, "I want to talk some more." "Sure," Kyodai replied, placing both his hands into his lap, "What else is on your mind?" Rei then removed her hand from Kyodai's arm and placed them gently into her own lap. "Well, you're not too uncomfortable being here, are you?" Rei wondered, "I mean, if you don't want to be here with Minako- chan, you can always drop me off and I can call you to pick me up." Kyodai turned his eyes away from Rei's and stared down at the hands in his lap. Immediately, thoughts of his breakup with her entered his mind. All the times he had spent with her quickly flashed through his mind, before the events of their actual breakup froze in place. Although he felt less troubled than he did earlier that morning, those thoughts still made him feel rather uneasy. "Yeah, maybe," he meekly replied. "I understand," Rei replied. She unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for her door latch to exit Kyodai's car. "But," Kyodai interjected, stopping Rei dead in her tracks. She froze there, her hand a mere centimeter from the door latch, and listened. "I do kind of want to see how Minako-chan is doing," he explained. "Oh?" Rei replied, returning to sitting back in the passenger's seat and laying her hands in her lap as she listened. "Yeah, although a part of me feels uncomfortable being with the girl who had just dumped me yesterday, another part of me is curious as to how she feels about it," Kyodai continued, "She said she wanted to be friends, but I was too shocked and distraught to pay any attention to my sixth sense. So maybe being at Makoto-san's place with her there as well will help me to see if she really meant what she was saying. Perhaps this is the final closure I need in our relationship, and I do kind of want to know where we stand, you know." "I see what you mean," Rei replied, "Do you still want to be her friend?" "Well, she's seems like a nice enough girl. And she's a huge Sailor V fan like some of the other guys and I am. She may not be my type, but I guess I can be her friend," Kyodai replied. As Rei listened to all of what Kyodai had to say, thoughts of her own began flowing through her head. She remembered how evasive Kyodai was at even sharing what had happened between him and Minako. But more than that, she remembered how he stood up and left at the mention of Makoto possibly liking him. And that thought immediately brought back those feelings of guilt she had that morning. "Kyodai, I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable about Mako-chan liking you," she said, "I know it's too early to be saying such things after your breakup." "Hey, it's okay. You were just trying to make me feel better," Kyodai replied as he opened his door, "Besides, I needed to go out anyway and be with Mamoru for a little bit. I hadn't been with him outside of class hardly at all since Minako-chan and I started dating." He then stepped out of his car and shut the door, with Rei also exiting his old coupe. He waited for Rei to walk around the back of his car before they began their trip to the apartment building. Although he was curious as to how Minako felt about their beak up, one question still lingered about his mind. "Hey Rei-chan, why did you want me to come along to Makoto-san's anyway?" he asked. "Well, I did sort of want you and Mako-chan to get to know each other. I mean, not to get together with or anything like that," Rei sheepishly replied before throwing her hand behind her head and laughing childishly. "And what do you mean by that?" Kyodai replied, glaring at his sister. "Well, she may not look it, but Mako-chan is actually more mature than she looks," Rei explained, "Despite being 14 and in Grade 8 like me, she takes care of both her apartment and herself very much like any adult would. You know she lives alone, right?" "Oh really? So that's why I didn't see any parents those last times you brought me over to her apartment," said Kyodai. "Yeah, Mako-chan's an orphan. I don't really know all the details, but she lost her parents when she was young," Rei explained. "That's sad," Kyodai replied as they entered the lobby of the apartment building. "Well, I won't lie to you. I do think she likes you, and I do want to better introduce her to you," said Rei, "You're right, maybe it is too early for you to be thinking about her liking you. But give her a chance. You two can be friends. You share a few things in common, you know? You're both martial artists and both athletes." "Perhaps. I'm just not really worried about that right now. Although, I do kind of want to get to know my sister's friends a little better," Kyodai replied. "That's the spirit," said Rei as they boarded an elevator. After a few moments of silence between the siblings as the elevator ascended to Makoto's floor, they arrived at Makoto's apartment in rather short order. Rei then knocked on the door to announce her arrival. "Is that you, Rei-chan?" Makoto's voice sounded through the door. "Yes," Rei replied, "And Kyodai's with me too." Nothing else was said. Immediately after Rei's reply, she and Kyodai heard footsteps on the other side of the door quickly approaching. And not a moment too soon, the door opened to reveal Makoto's smiling face. She wore a green blouse and khaki slacks, with her usual pink apron. "Please, come in," said Makoto, waving the siblings in. They walked inside, leaving their shoes just inside the front door, and immediately noticed that Makoto had rearranged her furniture. Her couches still sat across from each other, with the cedar coffee table sitting between them. The chair had moved to the head of the table, while the loveseat was moved to the foot of the table. This arrangement made for an executive board meeting environment, and seemed to have been arranged with visits from multiple guests in mind. Her television sat behind her chair yet diagonally from the table where guests on the loveseat and one of the couches could easily see. And finally, all her wall furniture and even her wall clock had all been rearranged. However, the one area that was barely touched was her dining room. Everything but a few pieces of wall furniture stayed where it was before. "You did great rearranging this place," Kyodai commented with a smile. 'He likes it,' Makoto thought to herself, her beautiful emerald green sparkling, 'And he's smiling at me too.' Ami and Minako were already sitting at the couch with their backs to the television set. They had been conversing amongst each other and Makoto before the siblings had arrived. So the siblings took their places in the living room while Makoto walked back into her kitchen. Kyodai sat at the loveseat while Rei took her seat on the chair. And immediately, feelings of anxiety began to cumulate within Kyodai. In the couch, not more than two meters from him, sat the girl who had turned a potential day together into one of heartbreak just the day before. On top of that, she was looking right at him the whole time he was inside Makoto's apartment, making him feel even more uneasy. He closed his eyes for a second and reflected on what he had just told Rei earlier in the car. And a quick second later, he opened his eyes and looked at his sister sitting across the table. "Kyodai-kun," Minako said, grabbing his attention again. He turned to not only see the worried look on her face, but also feel the aura of sorrow emanating from her. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," Kyodai said, relaxing a little. "Look, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I don't know what..." "No, it's okay, Minako-chan. You don't need to say anything," Kyodai interrupted. Unlike yesterday, he actually was paying attention to his sixth sense like he had told Rei about. And what he felt was exactly what Minako had told him yesterday when they broke up. Although they did share a few romantic moments together, they both knew that their relationship wouldn't have progressed more than that. She may have lost that dating spark, but she was sincere about wanting to keep their friendship going. And that sense prompted him to look into her baby blue eyes. "We're friends after all, right?" he said, smiling at her. And immediately, all the same feelings of worry and discomfort were washed away from Minako with that smile. "Yes," she replied, smiling and holding her hand out to Kyodai. Kyodai then took her hand into his and gave it a friendly squeeze. "I do want us to be friends," Minako added as Kyodai took her hand, "We didn't spend all those good times together for nothing, right?" "Of course," Kyodai replied, giving Minako's hand one last squeeze before letting go and placing them politely in his lap. 'This was the closure I needed,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'And I'm glad things will be okay between us.' "So," said Rei to Minako, turning her attention from Kyodai, "How'd you like that Sailor V movie?" "I loved it," said Minako, "Sailor V is the best." "I agree, she was really something," said Rei before turning to her brother, "Did you see it Kyodai?" "I saw it on Friday with Obake and some of the other guys after practice," said Kyodai. "And how did you like it?" Rei asked. "Oh, please tell us," said Minako, blinking her eyes. "It was a great movie," Kyodai explained, "The guys loved it too. That movie actually converted a couple of them into Sailor V fans." "Oh, she gets more and more fans everyday," said Minako, thinking about how much of a role model she really was when she was Sailor V. "Yeah," Kyodai sighed, "She was a true fighter before the Sailor Team arrived. Speaking of that, Rei and I saw them on the news today." "Yeah, I heard that only three of them were there," Minako replied, glairing at Makoto in the kitchen as she wondered why she too wasn't let in on the action. "I loved how Sailor Jupiter zapped that villain in black and sent him flying into Chopper 13," Kyodai commented. At the mere mention of her alter ego, Makoto walked in and sat next to Kyodai on the love seat, "You like Sailor Jupiter, don't you, Kyodai-san?" "Yes, I like Sailor Jupiter. I admire a girl with great strength," Kyodai replied That response was all Makoto wanted to hear. She turned away from Kyodai and the others, hiding the fact that her eyes were glistening at Kyodai's praises, 'So he is a Sailor Jupiter fan after all.' "How much do you know about Sailor Jupiter?" Kyodai asked, breaking Makoto from her trance. "Well, I do know she tends to use that great physical strength rather than her powers in battle," Makoto explained, being ever so careful and leaving out anything referring to her being Sailor Jupiter. "I've noticed her doing that in battle," said Rei, helping Makoto with her cover-up. "It takes a lot of guts to use just physical strength against a youma," said Kyodai. "But when she does use her powers, her thunder attacks are a not force to be taken lightly," said Makoto. "But Sailor Moon is the best," said Ami, remembering that it was Sailor Moon who had saved her from Titanius' energy drain, "Nobody can surpass her." "Come on, Sailor Moon's just a clumsy crybaby," said Rei, "She's slow to act, she relies too much on the others, and she whines a lot." As Rei spout out that comment, she took a look around the room, expecting someone to argue back with her. However, she soon realized that Usagi wasn't there to stand up for herself as Sailor Moon and challenge Rei's insults. With no response to her opinion, she hung her head in defeat. "I just wish Usagi was around to hear this. Sailor Moon is her favorite," she commented. "Actually, Sailor Moon is probably the best fighter of the group," Kyodai rebutted, getting Rei's attention, "Slow to act, maybe. But she knows exactly what to do in just about every fight. And she's gotten a lot better since I first heard about her." "Really now?" Rei challenged. She certainly didn't expect a debate from her brother on the subject of Sailor Moon. "I think so," Kyodai replied with confidence, "But I do somewhat agree with you." "See? I'm right. She's a klutz and shouldn't be the leader. Sailor Mars is more suitable as leader than she is," said Rei. "I didn't mean it like that, Rei-chan" said Kyodai, "She WAS klutzy, a bit of a crybaby, and was really lacking in confidence when she first appeared. She was no Sailor V by any means." "She's like that now," said Rei. "Not nearly as much. She has a lot more confidence in herself and is a much more determined fighter than when she first appeared," Kyodai explained, "Pair that with her extraordinary powers, and they make her more than suitable as leader." Rei sat in silence, starring into her brother's eyes, knowing she's been defeated. 'Yeah, but you don't see her in action like I do,' Rei thought to herself, careful as to not let her first-hand knowledge of Sailor Moon slip, 'But you're right. She is a lot more mature and a lot more confident than when I first met her.' "This isn't so much fun without Usagi around," said Rei. At that comment, the other 3 girls dropped to the floor while Kyodai merely hung his head with a sweat drop hanging. "Uh, Rei-chan? I have to agree with Kyodai-san," Ami added, "She has matured since she first appeared. You have to admit that." "Yeah, you're right," said Rei, finally admitting her defeat. After a few moments of silence, Makoto stood from the loveseat and began walking back toward her kitchen to resume her cooking. As entered her kitchen, she paused for a second. 'I really want to get to know him better,' she thought to herself, 'Now is my chance since he's here in my apartment.' She then turned back toward the group. "Hey Kyodai- san? I'm making dinner for us all. Would you like to help?" she asked as politely as she could, with a slight bow. The other girls suddenly glanced at her with their eyes wide open in pure shock. Knowing Makoto as well as they did, and more than familiar with her supreme cooking skills, Makoto's offer surprised them. "She's actually asking someone to help her cook?!" they commented in unison. "My pleasure," Kyodai replied as she stood and began making his way toward the kitchen, "I'm not that bad of a cook myself. Ask Rei about it." "Yeah, right. Gabianni does most of the cooking at the shrine," Rei replied with her usual sarcasm. "That's only because he's used to it," Kyodai struck back, "Besides, he's a good cook too." "So Mako-chan, why are you asking Kyodai-san to help?" Ami asked, "You never have anyone helping you cook. In fact, you're the one helping us with our cooking." "I just thought it'd be a good setting for him to share me more of his views on the Sailor Team," Makoto replied, "Plus, I'd like to get to know Rei-chan's brother a little better." "Why thank you, Makoto-san," Kyodai replied. "About dinner, what are we making?" "Shepherds' pies, vegetable soup, and dinner rolls," said Makoto. "Sounds easy enough," said Kyodai. Throughout much of the conversation since Kyodai had accepted her offer, Makoto's eyes sparkled at the mere sound of Kyodai being a good cook. Although she was the competitive type, and was one who prided herself in her cooking abilities, she found it flattering that Kyodai was not only athletic like her, but was also a seemingly good cook like her. "Where'd you learn how to cook?" she wondered. "Yeah Kyodai, tell us," said Rei, putting her hands at her waist, "Where did you find the time to learn how to cook with all your studies and soccer practices?" "Aunt Reika taught me to cook when I was living with her," said Kyodai, "You know that I can cook. I'm not like you." "Really funny," she commented with a haughty expression. Makoto and Kyodai then walked into the kitchen to grab what they needed to cook. The others in the living room carried on with a conversation of their own as Kyodai grabbed one of Makoto's cookbooks to look up the dishes she was to prepare. And with everything gathered, Kyodai and Makoto began making dinner. Meanwhile, at the Dark Kingdom... After his rather embarrassing loss to the Sailor Team, no thanks to the media covering the battle, Titanius returned to the Dark Kingdom headquarters, being careful as not to make his presence too well known. He was more than certain that Queen Beryl had witnessed that entire battle, and probably had some access to the media through her crystal ball. And he had no desire to face Queen Beryl's fury alone. So he decided to make his way toward one of the Dark Kingdom's many training rooms, where not only the soldiers trained, but also the 4 Kings and their youma. In a secluded alcove quite a distance from Queen Beryl's throne room, Titanius opened the large wooden door to find only a few soldiers practicing some sword moves against each other. The sounds of the opening of the door grabbed the soldiers' attention, prompting them to pause their swordplay and glance toward the door. Upon seeing Titanius enter, they only glanced at him, not even acknowledging that the former champion of the Dark Kingdom has standing before them. Instead, they only began to chuckle at him, remembering hearing about Titanius' loss to Sailor Moon and the media's boasting about it. And just as quickly as they started chuckling, it grew into laughter, with one of the soldiers even pointing at Titanius as he laughed. "What the hell is so funny?" Titanius bellowed, causing the training room to vibrate all around them and freezing the soldiers in place, utterly ending their laughter. They all stood at attention, gazing at him and trembling from the resonating sound of Titanius' fury. "N-Nothing, Titanius-san," one of the soldiers replied. "Good," Titanius replied calmly as he walked past the soldiers, without as much as a facial expression. After all, Titanius was here for the same reason those soldiers were, to train in the use of his powers. But he certainly didn't want those soldiers who felt so amused at his loss to Sailor Moon to be in the same training room with him. He knew immediately why they laughed at him, knowing how quickly news traveled around the Dark Kingdom. Besides, he wanted this secluded training room to himself. So as quickly as he had walked by them, Titanius turned to the soldiers and bellowed, "Now get the hell out!" Once again, the room shook at the thundering sound of Titanius' furious voice. And the soldiers quickly dashed out of the room quicker than cockroaches at the flick of a light switch. Titanius hung his head and held his fist up in front of him, trembling as he grasped the air with all his might. "Damn that Sailor Moon," he swore, "That's the last time she's going to embarrass me and get the best of me like that." He then focused on the fury burning inside him. With his right fist still held up in front of him, tingling from the tension, Titanius lifted his head back up and gazed at his trembling fist. And as his fury boiled inside, his fist and forearm began to glow bright purple as it charged up with his dark energy. He then drew his right fist back and thrust his open palm toward a training dummy at the other end of the training room, sending a powerful ball of dark energy in its direction. The ball of energy struck the dummy, shattering it into a thousand pieces. However, that one blast of energy left Titanius somewhat drained. He leaned down, with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily after releasing all his fury in one large ball of dark energy. Although he had used them during his earlier battle, it had been ages since he had used his own innate powers, even in training. Ever since he had first built his blaster, began using it in his battles. Over time, he devised much of his strategy around the brutal power of his blaster to the point where he favored his blaster over his own innate powers granted to him by the Dark Kingdom. His mechanical and strategic ingenuity was his greatest strength. However, with how rusty he had become in the use of his own powers, it proved to be his weakness. "Failed your mission, huh Titanius?" Kunzite's voice echoed. Titanius stood back up and turned toward the door to see his colleague entering the training room. "I figured you would be staying as far from Queen Beryl as possible after your rather embarrassing loss to the Sailor Team." "You can say that again. The Mars Prince wasn't even there," said Titanius. "Yes, I know," said Kunzite. "Hell, the pyromaniac didn't even show up," Titanius barked, "How the hell did only 3 of them show up? Don't they all show up nowadays?" "I can't explain," Kunzite replied, "I couldn't even explain it to Queen Beryl. We've rarely lad problems when getting the attention of all 5 Sailor Senshi, whether deliberately or not. Queen Beryl gave me quite the verbal thrashing for it, especially since I was the one who planned that energy-gathering mission. So I'm sure she'll take it easier on you." "I knew she was going to raise hell over our failure," said Titanius, "But I really hate losing. And I really hate it when my target doesn't even show up." With more anger building up inside Titanius, he threw his right arm toward another dummy and launched a bolt of lightning at it, singeing its wooden body. Kunzite only watched, not even flinching at Titanius' display of furious power. "That's too bad," he calmly said, "What are you going to do now?" "Well, I'm gonna take most of this week off to perfect the use of my own powers. This was the first time that I really had to focus on my own powers in battle. So I was pretty unfamiliar with them. That was why I lost," Titanius explained. "And once I'm done with my training, I'll then devise a way to lure those senshi and that Mars Prince to a more... closed area. That school may have made for excellent youma feeding grounds, but it also made it easier for them to fight. So I'll make sure and get them into an area where they can't move around quite so much. That'll make it harder for them to fight," Titanius explains. "You certainly bounce back from a loss rather quickly. I'll go tell Queen Beryl," said Kunzite as he turned and left the training room. Titanius then turned back toward a small group of dummies, threw his arm across his chest, and then swung his arm in front of him. That motion sent a wave of dark energy at the dummies, bowling them over and sending them sliding into the wall. "I may have failed today, but next week I'll lure all of them. Then the Mars Prince will come to their aid. He'll come...and go," Titanius said to himself as he filled the cavernous training room with his evil laugh. Back at Makoto's apartment... Makoto and Kyodai were tackling dinner like a pair of restaurant chefs. Makoto and Kyodai had worked together on the shepherd's pies. Makoto had tackled the potatoes and vegetables while Kyodai cooked the ground beef. Once the ingredients were pre-cooked, Makoto put the final ingredients together before putting them into the oven to bake. With the shepherd's pies baking in the oven, Kyodai took to making the dinner rolls from scratch, following the highlighted pages and even a few notes in one of Makoto's cookbooks. While Kyodai was busy mixing the ingredients for the dough, Makoto had started on the vegetable soup, starting with the basic stock. The other girls had left 5 minutes earlier to take a leisurely stroll, leaving Kyodai and Makoto alone in the kitchen to cook dinner for them all. Very little was said between the two, other than a few simple requests and a few thanks. Both of them had concentrated too much on their tasks in cooking and didn't really get much of a chance to really get to know one another. As Makoto was placing the vegetables in the soup, she took a quick look at Kyodai and paused, watching as he was rolling out the dough for the dinner rolls. 'He certainly has done this a lot before,' she thought to herself, 'He's pretty good in the kitchen for someone who studies a lot like Ami and plays soccer.' She then dropped the last of the vegetables in the soup and decided to once again try to break the ice with Kyodai, "Kyodai-san, could you please hand me the celery seed over there?" Kyodai had just finished rolling out the dough. So he easily paused and grabbed the celery seed from the spice rack sitting less than arm's reach from him. "Here you go," he said as he tossed it to her, landing perfectly into her hands. "Thank you, Kyodai-san. You've been such great help," said Makoto. "It's my pleasure," Kyodai replied as he turned back to the dough and began work on forming the dinner rolls. 'Damn, missed again,' Makoto thought to herself, having missed yet another opportunity to try and get Kyodai to talk to her a little more. Even her complimenting him on his help wasn't working. So she gave up once again and went back to making her vegetable soup, measuring out the perfect amount of celery seed for her vegetable soup. Minutes later, the oven timer for the shepherd's pies went off. Makoto took the cookie sheet with the freshly formed dinner rolls from Kyodai and walked over to the oven. She donned an oven mitt, opened the oven, and pulled out the sizzling shepherd's pies, then slid the dinner rolls inside. While she was busy setting the oven temperature for the dinner rolls, Kyodai turned his attention to the vegetable soup, picking up where Makoto left off. He took a look at Makoto's cookbook, which was turned to the page for the vegetable soup she was cooking, and quickly found where in the recipe she had left off. So he took a couple of spices from the spice rack and measured out the right amounts of each before dropping them into the soup. He then stirred the soup, test tasting it every few moments. Makoto paused, gazing at Kyodai with sparking eyes as took to the soup like one of those master chefs on TV. "You're really good, Kyodai- san," she commented. "Thank you. I've made this kind of soup before. It's Rei-chan's and my favorite. So I figured I'd learn how to make it," Kyodai explained, "But I couldn't possibly compare to your meatloaf, or your chicken cordon blue." "But you do a great job," said Makoto as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't sell yourself short, okay? I'll go ahead and take over." She gently squeezed his shoulder, emphasizing her thanks, then let go and went back to making the soup. 'Well, that was a start,' she thought to herself as she put the last of the ingredients into the soup. Oddly enough, she wasn't even thinking about making another attempt to break the ice. Her compliments just slipped out rather naturally. 'She's a lot like one of those master chef's that Aunt Reika used to watch on TV,' Kyodai thought to himself, watching Makoto take to the soup like a true master at her line of work, 'She seems like nice enough girl, one who cares deeply for her friends.' "So tell me a little about yourself," said Makoto as she decided to a short break from the soup and let it cook. It finally provided her the perfect opportunity to get to know Rei's brother a little better. "Well, as you may have already heard, I was the star soccer player on the Juuban High School soccer team. We were 2-time high school soccer champions while I was there," Kyodai explained. "I noticed the championship ring on your finger," said Makoto. "And Rei-chan's wearing the second ring I won," said Kyodai. "Wow, that was really sweet of you to give it to your sister," Makoto commented. "Well, she was there for all my games," said Kyodai, "I may not have been living with her, but she would get out of school and come to a number of my soccer practices after school. She would also come to a lot of my soccer games. And she was there when we won our second championship. So when the OSA*P Jeweler was getting our ring sizes for our championship rings, I had mine sized to fit Rei-chan's finger. So I gave it to her, thanking her for being there for me during all those games." "It sounds like your sister was really proud of you even then," Makoto replied as she took a single step toward Kyodai and rested herself against the counter, "Did you know that the owner of the OSA*P has a daughter who goes to the same school as me, Ami, and Usagi?" "Wow, that's great," said Kyodai, "It seems like you girls are proud of that, having a friend whose mother owns such a fine jewelry store." "How about you? Do you know anyone famous?" Makoto inquired as she rested her chin in her palm and her elbow on the counter, gazing into his purple eyes. Kyodai's eyes averted from Makoto's as silence was his initial answer. After a few thoughts flashed through his mind, he let out a discontented sigh, "No, not really?" "Wait, you and Rei-chan couldn't be related to Hino Takashi-sama of the Liberal Democratic Party, could you?" Makoto wondered. Kyodai closed his eyes for a moment. 'God, I hope she's not another one of those girls who like to latch onto me because they some how figured out my relationship with him, and automatically picture me as a rich boy, and want to get together with me,' he thought to himself, cringing at the thought. Makoto immediately saw his response and took a couple steps back from him, her sorrow screaming out for the world to hear, "I'm sorry, Kyodai-san. If you don't want to talk about it..." "No, it's okay," Kyodai interrupted, looking back into Makoto's eyes, "Rei-chan and I don't talk about him much at all. Hino Takashi is our father. Neither of us has really associated ourselves with him since Rei-chan was 6 and I was 10." "It sounds like you two don't think very highly of him," said Makoto, taking another step toward him and placing her hand on the counter very close to him, offering her sympathy. "Yeah, you can say that again," Kyodai commented, laying his left hand close to Makoto's without thinking, "It's nothing I like to talk about, so not a lot of people know that we're his children." "It's okay, I won't ask anymore," Makoto replied as she walked her fingers up to Kyodai's. As she touched his fingers, she noticed a rather antique-looking ring on his left finger. It was gold, plainly decorated, and adorned with a large black jewel in the center. "Hey Kyodai-san, what's this black ring on your left hand?" she asked, quickly finding another subject to divert Kyodai from his apparent discomfort at the mention of his father, taking that hand into hers as she gazed at the ring. "This..." Kyodai paused, not wanting to share with Makoto anything about him being Tuxedo Inferno. But then, he noted the softness of her hand as it held his while she was looking at his ring. "This is my obsidian jewel ring." "Wow, I've never heard of obsidian being used as jewelry before," Makoto commented. "It does, though I've never seen obsidian at OSA*P," Kyodai commented, "But this ring was passed down to me by my uncle, whom his father passed down to, and so on. He told me that one of my ancestors crafted it sometime in the early Edo Period after the English traded his famous recipes for some obsidian. He had given it to his son as a gift, which then began the tradition." 'He tells such wonderful stories,' Makoto thought to herself, letting go of Kyodai's hand and looking into his eyes as he continued on with his story. "So tell me a little bit about yourself," Kyodai said moments later after finishing his story. "Well, there really isn't much interesting about me," Makoto replied, "Other than I live here by myself and take care of the apartment and all the cooking by myself." "That in itself is an amazing accomplishment," said Kyodai, "I don't know of any 14-year-old's who can take care of an apartment and go to school and do tons of homework at the same time." Makoto only blushed at his compliments, "Well, I also take martial arts and am quite adept at athletics, although I'm not on any teams or anything. I sort of took a liking to cooking and don't concentrate so much on athletics anymore. But, I still like to practice my karate. It helps me focus on things." "Yeah, karate does that for me too," Kyodai replied, "I used to practice at the Hikawa Jinja all the time until I moved out. Then, I went to a dojo that my uncle highly recommended that I attend. Although I haven't practiced much lately since I started at Azabu Tech." "So you're both smart and athletic, huh?" Makoto commented as she rested both her elbows on the counter and laid her head onto her hands, gazing into Kyodai's, "I saw all your trophies that Rei-chan had displayed at the shrine. You have not only your athletic trophies, but also a collection of academic trophies rivaling even Ami's. Rei-chan must be really proud of you since she took the time to build it." "Yeah, Rei-chan's always been my biggest fan and my biggest supporter, even if she annoys the hell out of me sometimes," said Kyodai. "Yeah, I wish I had a brother like you," Makoto said. "Oh do you now?" Kyodai wondered, raising an eyebrow at her comment. "Yeah, a brother who cares a lot for his sister, someone for his sister to look up to, and someone to loves her like no one else," Makoto said as she stood back up from the counter and gazed into his deep purple eyes, "Sometimes, I wish I had a brother to share this apartment with... or a sister. You know, someone to keep me company here while I take care of this apartment." "Don't you have Rei-chan and the others to keep you company?" Kyodai asked. "Yeah, but I've lived alone since I was 9," Makoto explained, "Ever since my parents died, I never really knew anybody very well. I never stayed at the same school for very long. In fact, Juuban is the third junior high school I've attended. Let's just say I wasn't the easiest person to make friends with." "Some how, I find that rather difficult to believe," Kyodai commented, "A girl who's as great of a chef as you are, and who's such a great friend to my sister and her friends as you are... I just can't picture you being otherwise." "Yeah, Usagi said the same thing when I first met her," said Makoto, "A lot of students were afraid of me because of my size, while others picked fights with me because of my size. Usagi was one of very few who didn't care about my bad reputation, and got to know me for who I am." "I can agree with you there. Rei-chan's been more open and sure of herself, and not quite so reclusive outside of home since she first told me about Usagi," said Kyodai. Makoto once again gazed into his eyes. She was quite reluctant to tell Kyodai anything about her bad reputation from before she had met Usagi, fearing he would turn her down like her old flame did. But like Usagi, Rei, and the others, Kyodai didn't seem to care in the least bit, but rather seemed fascinated that a girl her age could do so much by herself. And that thought only made her heart beat faster as her feelings for him only grew stronger. "So you really can't picture me as being the tall, gruff, tomboyish girl that had a bad reputation before transferring to Juuban?" she asked. "Not at all," Kyodai replied, "In fact, if that was true, I think that it is something you now use for something more noble, such as standing up for your friends when they can't stand up for themselves... kind of like your idol, Sailor Jupiter." Makoto giggled at Kyodai's comment on Sailor Jupiter. "Now stop it, you," she said teasingly. "I'm serious, I don't picture a sophisticated girl like you who works hard to cook such great meals for her friends, who takes care of her house, and is strong and athletic at the same time as being one who people would want to pick fights with," Kyodai continued. Makoto couldn't take it anymore. The compliments were more than she could bear. So she walked up to Kyodai and took his left hand into hers, and once again gazed at his obsidian jewel ring. "This ring... it's really beautiful. It's such a perfect match for you," she commented. "Thank you, Makoto-san," Kyodai replied, "You're the only girl I've met who's even complimented my antique ring, much less shown any real interest in it." Makoto tightened her grip on Kyodai's hand, albeit in a rather affectionate manner, and looked back up into Kyodai's deep purple eyes, "Please, you can call me Mako-chan. And I do. I like antique jewelry, especially beautiful pieces like this that match the color of your long black hair. If only your eyes could release those age-old fires locked deep inside..." Kyodai's heart began to pick up the beat as Makoto gently took his other hand into hers. And then, after a moment of gazing into each other's eyes, they slowly inched toward each other and gently pressed their lips together. Makoto immediately felt the fire from his lips calling to her as she enveloped herself in the flames of his kiss. 'I think I really like this girl,' Kyodai thought to himself as his lips gently caressed hers, 'She's definitely not like any 14-year-old I've ever met. A girl like her seems more my age.' However, their burning passion was only short lived as the oven timer interrupted their sharing of love. "Oh," she said, breaking their kiss, "the dinner rolls." She quickly caught her breath from that kiss and ran over to the oven. She donned her oven mitt, opened the oven door, and pulled the dinner rolls out. Kyodai, also catching his breath from their kiss, turned back to working on the soup as if they hadn't even kissed to begin with. "Did I say that I admire a strong, athletic girl?" Kyodai said after testing the soup. "Yes you did," Makoto replied, throwing her oven mitt back onto the counter as she walked behind Kyodai and gently slid her hands and arms around his waist. She then gently pulled herself close to him, so as not to disturb his work on the soup too much, and rested her cheek against the back of his shoulder. "I gotta tell you something," Makoto said in a rather flirting manner. 'Ooh, this must be good,' Kyodai thought to himself in response to the sound of her voice. "I've liked you since before you and Minako even started dating," she said. "Really, I never knew," said Kyodai, lying of course. "And I like you even more now," she added, giving his waist an affectionate squeeze and kissing him in the crook of his neck. "You're one amazing girl, you know," Kyodai replied as he continued stirring the soup. And as he stirred the soup, thoughts of his last conversation with Mamoru regarding Minako reentered his mind. 'We need a more sophisticated girl,' were the words that lingered in his mind. 'Yeah, like Makoto here,' he thought to himself in reply. "Hey Kyodai-san, the soup should be done by now," said Makoto. She then let go of Kyodai, moved beside him, and removed the soup pot from the stovetop and placed it onto a ceramic tile on the counter to cool off. Kyodai quickly turned the burner off as Makoto tested the soup. "It's perfect," she commented, "Thank you, Kyodai-san. You really were a great help." "You're welcome. And you can call me Kyodai-kun if you'd like," Kyodai replied. Then, something immediately hit him when she thanked him for helping her cook, "Tell me, Mako-chan, what did the girls mean when they said 'You actually asked someone to help you cook'?" Makoto hesitated, with her hand behind her head and a sweat drop hanging, before she sheepishly replied, "Well... I usually never ask anyone to help me out with my cooking or any of my housework." "But you do make exceptions," Kyodai added. Makoto smiled and nodded in reply. She then walked up to him, placed her arms over his shoulders, and gave him another deep, passionate kiss on the lips, putting all her feelings of love and admiration into it. But just as Kyodai wrapped his arms around her to help deepen their kiss, Makoto gently pulled back, breaking their kiss, "The others will be back any minute. Let's get dinner ready, shall we?" So Kyodai grabbed some plates and flatware while Makoto grabbed some casserole dishes to serve the soup and shepherd's pies in. And as the couple began setting the table, Rei, Minako, and Ami opened the door and walked inside. "We're home," they all said in unison as they left their shoes at the door. They begin setting the table when Rei, Minako, and Ami walk through the door. "We're home," they all say in unison. "Welcome back, everyone. Dinner's ready," said Makoto, "Take your seats and let's eat." With that, all 3 sat at the table as Kyodai was finishing putting the last of the dishes and flatware on the table. The dining room table had 6 seats around a rectangular table, two at each side, and one at each end. Minako sat at the end of the table, while Ami sat to Minako's left, and Rei sat to Minako's right. When Kyodai had finished setting the glasses on the table, he took his seat next to Rei. Makoto took her place at the head of the table, right within arm's reach of Kyodai, and began passing the food around to each of them. "Well, at least Usagi's not here to gobble it all up," Rei commented as she passed the dinner rolls to Ami. "Wow, you two did a great job preparing this for all of us," said Ami. "Thank you," Makoto and Kyodai say in unison. This simultaneous response took them by surprise, and they turned to each other with their eyes sparkling and their cheeks slightly blushing. "So Kyodai, you have a soccer game coming up on Friday, right?" Rei asked Kyodai, quickly getting his attention. "Yes," Kyodai replied, "It's our first scrimmage of the season. You are coming, right?" "Of course, and so is everybody else at the shrine," said Rei. "Oh, can I come too?" Makoto begged, placing her hand on Kyodai's. She then gazed into his eyes, thinking to herself, 'You will take me, oh yes you will.' "Of course, you can come too," Kyodai replied, turning his hand over and giving hers a gentle and affectionate squeeze. "Thank you, Kyodai-kun. Now I get to see a star soccer player like you in action," Makoto said as she let go of Kyodai's hand and rubbed his cheek with the backs of her fingers. "Kyodai-kun, huh?" Rei said, chuckling to herself in response to both Makoto's use of a more familiar honorific and her rather persuasive actions, "You go Kyodai. Didn't I tell you she liked you?" "Well... yes you did," Kyodai replied sheepishly. "What? You knew? You told him?!" Makoto exclaimed. "Come on, Mako-chan, it was obvious," Rei responded. Makoto only threw her hand behind her head in response, with a sweat drop hanging. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said. The rest of dinner went off very well, with only a few words shared amongst the girls. Kyodai, however, shared very few words with both his sister Rei and his newfound love Makoto. It wasn't until Kyodai stood after dinner had finished that the activity around the table picked up. Kyodai was about to reach for some of the empty plates when Makoto immediately stood. "Kyodai-san, you don't have to help clean up. You've already been more than enough help. Let me go ahead and take care of cleaning up," she said, placing her hand gently on Kyodai's to stop him. Kyodai looked to her to see her smiling lips and her beautiful green eyes staring into his. "Thank you, Mako-chan," he replied, smiling back at her. "Hey, I'm the one entertaining everyone here, you know," Makoto replied, winking at him. "She does have a point, you know," Rei replied as she and the other girls also stood from their seats, "It was her job as the head of the household to entertain her guests." "It's starting to get a little late," said Ami, glancing at the wall clock in Makoto's living room, which read 8:28pm. "Yeah, I told my mother I'd be home after I had dinner here," said Minako as she excused herself from the dinner table, not forgetting to push her chair in. "And I have some studying to do for class tomorrow," Ami added. Minako only hung her head, letting the sweat drops hang as well, "Do you have to study so much when you're ahead of the rest of your class?" "And Kyodai's going to be taking me back home," Rei added, ignoring Minako's comment about Ami's studying, knowing her brother likes to do it too. "It's okay," Makoto commented as she gathered the last of the empty dishes to take into the kitchen, "I really enjoyed having all of you over, especially you, Kyodai-kun." "Thank you, Mako-chan," Kyodai responded, "I'm glad to have gotten to know you too." While Makoto was taking the dishes into the kitchen, Kyodai and the girls gathered at Makoto's front door and slid into their shoes. They all turned back to Makoto as she had walked back into her dining area to grab the casserole dishes with all that was left over from dinner. "Good bye, Mako-chan. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Thank you for dinner," said Ami, "I'll see you tomorrow," said Rei, "Thank you for everything." "You're all welcome," Makoto replied. "Bye-bye, Mako-chan. Be good to my Kyodai-kun," said Minako. "Excuse me," said Makoto, placing the casserole dishes back onto the dinner table and glaring at Minako, "He's MY Kyodai-kun." Kyodai only paused in place, with bead of sweat hung from his forehead, as the girls walked out the front door after saying their goodbyes. 'Okay ladies, you don't have to fight over me,' he thought to himself. With the others out the front door, Makoto walked up to Kyodai and gently laid her arms across his shoulders. "Kyodai-kun, I meant it. Thank you so much for tonight," she said before placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "Don't sweat it, Mako-chan. I really enjoyed your company. I'll see you tomorrow after soccer practice, okay?" he said. After another gentle kiss, Kyodai let Makoto go and walked out her front door. He decided to take a casual walk down the hall toward the elevator, knowing Rei was going to be waiting in the lobby for him to drive them back to the Hikawa Jinja. As he walked, new thoughts began to roam through his head: 'She's quite not as flamboyant as Minako-chan, but she is a great cook. She has so much potential to be a star athlete like me that it makes me wonder if she does participate in any athletics at her school. And she's quite a pretty girl too. She's tall, lean, and has a very pretty face. And she's definitely seems much more mature and more sophisticated than any girl Rei-chan's age that I've known. I just hope she's the right one.' However, as he entered the elevator to go down to the lobby, more thoughts entered his mind: 'However, I feel like I'm rushing into this relationship. Never once have I moved from one relationship to the next this quickly, nor have I ever succumbed to a girl's advances this easily... twice. I'll give Mako-chan a chance, I think she's an amazing young lady, but I feel a little guilty rushing into this relationship after having just broken up with Minako-chan.' And both those thoughts remained on his mind as he met his sister in the lobby to head for home. -----------------------------end of part II--------------------------- ...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me. Have fun Sailor Moon fans, Viper Inferno (Y2V)