Yaten, Minako, and the pants issue

A/N: Just a brief warning: the characters are just a little OOC. Specifically Yaten. And I apologize if I made Seiya come off a bit too Usagi-ish.
The conversation was boring. Not boring in a dull, fall-asleep type way, but boring in the we've-gone-over-this-too-many-times-to-count-and-if-we-do-it-one-more-time-I'm-going-to-kill-you-with-my-shoe sense. Their new album was due for release in the next week, and their manager kept trying to make last minute changes. It was driving Yaten insane. He didn't really understand why they'd hired the man, considering just how much of an idiot he was. But then again, it had been Seiya's decision. Go figure.

Finally, Taiki managed to convince him that the album was fine as it was. Or maybe he just started using those long, twelve-syllable words he liked so much and gave the poor manager a headache. Either way, the boring conversation was over, and the idiot manager wandered off to go pretend he was doing something useful. Thank--

"--god." He breathed, slumping his shoulders. "I thought it would never end."

Seiya shrugged, his mouth otherwise occupied with a muffin. "Mmffph." He replied, spitting crumbs everywhere. Yaten made a face and flicked a piece off his shoulder. Taiki frowned.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Seiya."

Seiya frowned too, which looked rather amusing considering the fact that his cheeks were swollen with muffin, making him resemble an angry chipmunk. Yaten forced back a laugh. The leader of the Three Lights swallowed and took a sip of his water. "I said, he's not that bad."

"He's an idiot." Yaten countered.

"He's incompetent." That was Taiki. Seiya deflated at being outnumbered by his two friends. Taiki chuckled. "Since we're done for the day, let's go get breakfast, okay?" The dark haired Starlight perked up immediately at the thought of food. Taiki and Yaten shared an eye roll.

The door behind them opened, suddenly, and Yaten craned his neck to see who it was that had entered. A blonde head peaked through, and blue eyes focused on them. It was Minako, probably there to let them know that they were set to head out. She wasn't that bad of an assistant, considering the fact that she was a fangirl. He kind of liked her, although he'd die before admitting it. Seiya grinned like and idiot and Taiki smiled.

"Oi, Aino-san!" Seiya greeted warming. Taiki murmured a greeting as well.

Minako paid them no mind, mumbling incoherently under her breath in response. Her eyes, instead, focused on the shortest 'Light. He blinked. And then realized that she wasn't looking at him, but rather, his shoes. He was somewhat disturbed by her intense gaze. He chuckled nervously. "Aino-san...?"

That was all he got out before Minako marched up to him determinedly and, without a word, yanked his pants down and clear off of him, sending him sprawling onto the ground in nothing but his boxers in shock. Seiya and Taiki watched in a dumbfounded silence, wide-eyed, as she gathered up the article of clothing in her arms and walked out. Still on the floor, Yaten gaped and sat up in shock. "HEY! Get back here!" And then he stood up and took off after her.

Seiya coughed, and turned to Taiki. "So... breakfast?"

In the hallway, several people stopped to stare and gape as Yaten, the most private of the Three Lights, came running down the hall in his shirt and boxers, chasing after a blonde girl holding his pants. Several girls had stars in there eyes, and a few men did as well. Some were drooling. Yaten ignored them, moving as quickly as he could to catch up to Minako. She was rather fast, to his surprise.

Finally he caught up with her. "Hey!"

She ignored him and kept walking. He caught her by the arm, demanding, "Give those back!"

Minako shrugged him off. "No way. They're mine!"

"WHAT?!" He choked, stopping in mild shock. "They are not!" He caught the fabric in one hand and pulled. She yanked back. This began a tug of war. He growled at her. "What on Earth do you need them for, anyway?" He demanded.

She looked at him like he was stupid. "For my shrine to the Three Lights in my closet, duh."

He stopped and gaped at her again. "Really?"

She rolled her eyes and yanked the pants out of his hands. "No, baka. It's called a distraction."

"AINO-SAN!"

"Finders keepers!" She chanted in a singsong voice, happily.

"You didn't find them! You stole them!"

That caused her to pause. She thought about it, and then pouted and shoved his pants back into his arms dejectedly. "Fine." She grumbled with a sigh. Yaten took them and slipped them back on quickly, shaking his head. Minako was crazy. He was sure of it. Completely out of her mind. And... she was staring as his pants again. He groaned.

Suddenly, her head snapped up and she stared at him, her eyes twinkling. "Yaten-kun, you were wearing Sailor V boxers!" She cried happily, looking triumphant for some reason he couldn't understand. He blinked, and forced back a blush, nodding slowly. She beamed at him and latched onto his arm.

"Well then," she announced happily. "Yaten-kun will treat me to breakfast." And then she began to drag him off by the arm, leaving him mildly stunned.

"I will?"

"Yep." She nodded. "It's the least you can do after you stole my pants."

"They weren't yours!" He cried. It was hard to have a sensible conversation with a nutcase. It really was. But he'd had plenty of experience since coming to Earth. Especially with Minako. She gave him a shrug and tightened her hold on his arm. He sighed in defeat. "Pancakes okay with you?" It was an olive branch; a peace offering. He was willing to forgive her theft of pants. If possible, she began to shine even brighter.

"Sounds good!" And with that, she began to pull him towards the door. He let her, not willing to admit that it was kind of nice to have her hanging off his arm like that. They began to make their way after Seiya and Taiki, who had apparently already left. And then a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, Minako?" He didn't even notice that he'd switched to her first name. She did, but chose not to comment, instead grinning up at him. "Why'd you want my pants, anyway?"

Her grin suddenly turned mischievous. "You really want to know?"

He paused in midstep, and then sweatdropped. "On second thought, I really don't."

She beamed again, and tugged on his arm. "Come on, Yaten-kun! After breakfast, we can go play the new Sailor V video game at Crown!" Yaten shook his head, once again reflecting on just how crazy Earthlings were. But, then again... he thought as he absently pulled his arm from her grip and wrapped it around her shoulders while she chattered on. Maybe crazy isn't so bad...

Later, Artemis would ask Minako why she smelled like lilacs.

Author's Notes: To those of you who either didn't understand, or didn't catch that last line there, it's a reference to the manga. In the MIXX translation of Sailor Stars, the Starlights are characterized by the scent of lilacs (in the original, it was olive blossoms, but I figured more people would be familiar with the MIXX version). The last line implies that Minako ended spending a lot more time with Yaten and the others, likely in close contact.

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