Just want to give a quick thanks to LoveInTheBattleField, luckyduck8801, Bin82501 and moonie for the reviews. I hope everyone enjoys the next chapter!

Artemis watched with concern as the grateful blonde sunk into the soft cushions of her couch, her arms strewn across her face. She looked awful. Like being a dummy for a sumo wrestler while trying to put out a kitchen fire awful.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked heedful of her current state. He nodded in understanding when she only replied with a groan.

She was so tired. She had never felt this tired before. Not even after staying up three days straight studying for college entrance exams nor when she first became Sailor V, battling all alone. And she still had to go to the grocery store. Could her life get any worse?

"Hey Art?" she mumbled from under her arm.

"Yes Minako?"

"How does anchovy pizza sound?"

Artemis blinked a few times before giving a slight chuckle. "I'll go order some now. I take it anchovies for me, cheese lovers, bread sticks and extra dipping sauce for you?"

"Don't forget the 2-liter coke." She grunted.

"Yes ma'am!" He replied in as soldier like a voice he could manage, his paw held in a salute, earning a chuckle from his weary ward. He padded over to her open laptop, extending his claws so he could type the letters easier. It wasn't difficult, but he hated to type long things. Luckily Minako's information was all saved so all he had to do was select the items. It wasn't long before they were leaning back, satisfied expressions on both of their faces.

"Sooo," he drawled out. "Are you going to tell me what happened?" He frowned when she just continued to nibble on the end of a breadstick completely dazed. "Minako?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." She sighed. Gods it had been a long day. "Well you know I have the weekly meeting and training session with the girls right?"

"They did this to you?" He asked alarmed. What the hell had happened?

"Do you want to hear the story?" she demanded.

"Yes, but Mi—"

"Look, I handled it ok?" Minako gave a smug smile; at least she could still take down the Inner Scouts. She sighed once more rubbing her face in her hands. "It all started after running into Kunzite—"

"Wait. You ran into Kunzite?" Minako shot an annoyed glare at him causing his shoulders to slump in response. "Sorry." He grumbled along with something that sounded like 'no good bastard.' She chose to ignore it.

"Hmph. Well, where was I? Right. It all started after I ran into Kunzite…"

Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus

She had been late. Granted, through no fault of her own. After taking a quick shower and slipping on a simple blue summer dress, Minako had been on course to arrive fifteen minutes early. She had wanted the extra time to talk to Rei privately about her earlier concerns. If she could recall all of her memories, then maybe she would be able to reach that level of strength she had felt. It was these thoughts that occupied her as she continued her way to Rei's. Then she heard the screams.

Instantly she was in and out of the closest alleyway, then soaring across building tops as Sailor Venus. It hadn't taken her long to spot the trouble, a pair of thugs was holding up a middle age couple. The man lay crumpled on the ground, blood leaking from behind his head. His wife looked ready to join him. She hadn't stopped screaming and the lack of oxygen seemed to finally be taking effect. Dropping down silently from behind them, she made short work of the villains by clunking their heads together.

After assuring the woman she was the good guy, she bent down to check on her husband. Ami was the medical expert but she had learned a few basics running with cops back as Sailor V. From what she could tell, the crooks had bashed his head with the butt of the gun leaving a gash. He'd probably have a hell of a headache when he woke up, but he'd be fine otherwise. It was then that she discovered a third crook, most likely the lookout, as his makeshift bat connected with her head sending her flying against the wall.

"Damn it." She mumbled as she wearily pushed herself off the ground, "I'm gonna have a killer headache now. "

She looked around; her surroundings were empty except for the once again screaming woman and her husband. Venus allowed herself one more choice curse word before jumping to the roof. Up high, she spotted the bad guys in seconds and sent her chain flying out to trip and tangle between their legs knocking them to the ground. Rounding them together quickly, this time she made sure they were tied up. Basic one-oh-one Venus. She thought grimly.

It wasn't long before the cops showed up and then she was once more ducking into an alleyway. She hadn't come straight out though. Being sent flying into a brick wall, Minako's hair was a mess and she was having trouble taming it with the mini brush she kept in her purse. It took another 10 minutes and a few more curses before she was finally on her way again. By the point she had actually arrived, Rei was furious.

"Where the hell have you been? Even Usagi got here before you." Rei's eyes flared dangerously, she had better things to do, like organizing the inventory or preparing for her finals, than waiting around all day.

"Relax Rei. I got tied up for a bit on my way here." She replied with a pleasant smile. "I came across a couple getting mugged and lost track of the time. Don't worry though, because Sailor Venus was there to save the day!" she finished her speech with her standard V fingered victory pose and a wink.

"Oh. Sorry." Rei blushed before looking at her curiously. "It took you that long to handle a mugging?"

"Uh, well, you know." She stammered as she remembered how long it took to brush her hair, "The man was knocked out and I had to calm the screaming woman down. Anyways, how was everyone's week? Is there anything to report?"

The raven hair woman frowned; she sensed Minako wasn't quite telling the truth but let it slide. At least she was finally here now.

"Nothin' out of the ordinary on my end," Makoto announced, "though I have noticed an increase of men showing up outside my cooking class." She observed, her finger tapping her chin softly. Minako and Usagi gave each other sly grins. Maybe one of those boys would be worthy of their friend.

"I've noticed a similar problem." Ami added looking completely affronted. "More and more seem to show up at the library I frequent after class. It's getting nearly impossible to study with all the noise they make. I'll have to change my study location at this rate." She frowned, "It was such a nice library too." At Ami's statement, Minako again turned to Usagi, this time with one eyebrow raised in question. Usagi, eyes wide, shook her head. Minako turned to Rei.

"Rei, have you noticed anything of the sort?"

"You mean more boys? Not really. There have always been lots of guys who hang around here." She stated, her hand flipping back her hair. It was true Rei had always been a beauty with her long dark locks and pale skin, if there was an increase of boys, would she notice? Probably not Minako decided. Still that didn't mean there couldn't have been an increase.

Had there been more guys around her? Minako frowned; she couldn't really recall if there had been an increase around her. After the incident with Galaxia and Chaos, she had pretty much focused on improving her studies and working out drilling maneuvers to improve her and the scouts. Boys only hit her radar when mixed among everyone else as potential threats or innocents to protect, not potential love interests. This thought only made her frown harder.

"I suppose I haven't really noticed anything either. Maybe you two are just getting popular." She gave them a grin that spread from ear to ear causing Ami to splutter in the negative and Makoto to take on a hopeful blush.

"Hey!"

Everyone turned to look at Usagi who was furiously pressing down on the table in an attempt to look intimidating. At their blank stares she continued.

"Why aren't you asking if there has been an increase of guys around me?" she demanded pointing at herself. Obviously she had some appeal; she had a boyfriend after all!

"Usagi," Minako murmured in her most loving tone, "it's not that I don't think you can get a guy. It's just you're so dedicated to Mamoru, that you probably wouldn't notice if there were more men around. Remember the guy at the movies or the waiter last week?" she absolutely refused to mention a certain Sailor Starlight. Mamoru was still furious over him…or was it her…what were they again? "You're completely oblivious because you already have a great guy."

"Yeah, Mamo-chan is really great," Usagi sighed dreamily. "Which reminds me, if there's nothing urgent, can I skip practice this week? Mamoru got us tickets to a show tonight." Her face was beaming with excitement.

Rei sighed as she propped her head against her hand, "Figures." She complained, though a small smile graced her face.

"How are your studies going? Is there anything you need help with?" Ami questioned.

"No, Mamo-chan has been making me study every night," Usagi said with a pout, "so it's not too bad. Thank god college is easier than high school."

"I know, right? Can you imagine if our colleges were like America's? We'd never sleep." retorted Makoto.

"It's because we have a stronger base education that Japanese colleges can afford to ease up slightly." Ami noted, clearly irritated. She couldn't let them get the wrong idea that college was easy. Who knows what would happen then.

Makoto shrugged, "Either way, I'm glad for it. We still on for our lesson tomorrow Usagi?"

"Yes!"

"Has she really gotten any better?" Rei asked. Minako eyed the tall brunette as well. Rei wasn't the only one who wanted to know.

"Of course I have! You'll be blown away by how good I've gotten." Usagi assured them.

Now all eyes were on Makoto.

"It's true, she's gotten pretty good. It doesn't always come out pretty but it's always taste good."
At this all the girls uttered their astonishment. Only last year she had caught her kitchen on fire, which they were kind enough to remind her of. They teased her about it for a little longer, while insisting she was responsible for baking cookies for the next meeting to which she promised she would, before finally sending her on her way.

"See you bright and early for our run!" Minako shouted at her shrinking form.

"'Kay!"

She turned towards the other girls with a devilish grin. "Shall we get this show up and going then?"

"It's on the road!" they groaned.

Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus

"Minako, as much as I love hearing what all the girls are up to…that doesn't explain why you look like something the cat dragged in." Artemis complained. They both paused at his choice of words before he added, "It's not like Ami's and Makoto's fans showed up and did this to you."

"Like they could!" she huffed, "And I was getting to it. I was explaining why Usagi wasn't there."

"All you had to do was say she was on a date." He countered; earning him a pillow chucked his way.

"I'm telling a story Artemis. Now do you want to hear it or not?"

"Yes, yes. Please continue."

She finished off another slice of pizza and emptied her glass before she spoke again. "Right, well. So Usagi had left and we had headed off to practice…"

Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus

There practice place was out of the city, up in the mountains near a small clearing with a lake. She had chosen the location due to its diverse settings. They could train in water, amongst the trees or even over rocks. Villains wouldn't always attack in open areas after all…at least the smart ones wouldn't. Plus the area was remote and there were few who could reach the area safely without Sailor abilities, as it was tucked in a large crevice on the side of the mountain.

They had worked on combo attacks for a while. Working on the ways their powers could combine with each other and be used most effectively. Next they had worked on long distance attacks, making sure their aims were still up to par. To give them a break, she had worked them through recon strategies, and tested them on their hearing by blindfolding them one at a time. It was during the hand-to-hand combat when all the trouble started.

Venus had had Jupiter pair up with Mercury. While Jupiter was the strongest and very good at martial arts, Mercury was fast and clever. They would often face off against each other, though she made sure to switch it up often. Couldn't have them get too familiar with each other's fighting, though it couldn't be helped in the end.

With them teamed up, that left Mars to her. Their abilities and techniques being closely matched, they often used the time to catch up with one another. Venus loved to save the juicier gossip for these fights; distractions were fair game after all.

"So how are classes? I thought you'd be walking around like a zombie with that workload." Mars chuckled as she flipped backwards to avoid Venus's incoming kick.

"I'm managing. Luckily the break is soon so I'll be able to officially breathe again after the finals but I managed to work myself a free day today." Their fists collided and both jumped back to circle each other.

"Oh? What did you do all day then?"

"The usual," she said while ducking, "shopping, eating etc. It was going great until I ran into Kunzite."

"WHAT?" Mars screamed so frighteningly that Venus paused; giving Mars time to land the kick that had already been in motion. Venus twisted around to blast the tree she was flying towards, preventing their collision, before hitting the ground in a tumble. She picked herself up, dusting herself off as she headed back towards Mars.

"Would you mind not screaming? I still have a bit of a headache."

"What do you mean you 'ran into Kunzite,'" Mars demanded.

"I mean exactly that. I ran into him…or more like he into me. I was enjoying my ice cream in the park when he came across me. What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal? Are you kidding me? Did you forget the guy tried to kill all of us?" she shrieked.

"Ow, Rei, remember? The screaming?" she whined as she rubbed her temples.

"You like him."

Venus' head snapped up. "What?"

"You heard me." Mars hissed, "You like him, and the others. That's why you're so nice to them."

"Is that true?" Jupiter shouted. Apparently she and Mercury had noticed their…conversation.

She eyed them wearily, "Did you both forget that we were ordered to get along with them?"

"You're a little too friendly with them." Mars countered.

"Yeah, even Ami keeps her distance." Jupiter added.

Venus turned to Mercury, "Ami?"

"Oh no, I don't want to get involved in this. If you're comfortable trusting them that's your business." She uttered hastily.

Venus nodded glad to have her remain neutral, though she hadn't missed the implication in her words. Fighting against two was bad enough. "So what's this about? You think I'm too nice to them?" she huffed, clearly irritated.

"Or you're foolish and naïve. Either way, it means you're soft." Mars seethed.

"Maybe she's just weak for a pretty face," Jupiter stated cockily. She stood arms crossed, her weight shifted to one leg. Mars inched closer.

Venus' eyes turned to steel at their words. "Really Jupiter?" her voice was bitter as she arched her brows in disbelief. "And you Mars" she spat, "are the truly foolish one if you think I've gone soft."

"Prove it."

Venus stretched her arms for a long moment, her head twisting to stretch her neck as well, before shifting into a fighting stance. "With pleasure," she murmured.

During their normal bouts, Venus refused to use the intent to kill mindset while fighting. They were there to train, not beat the crap out of each other. Now that she was up against two pissed off Scouts though, she was going to have to fight a little more seriously. She wouldn't use her powers, but she wasn't going to wait for them to use theirs. As their fists flew at each other, she slowly backed her way towards the woods, knowing as a gymnast that the trees would aid her.

Jupiter moved to use a double kick which she deftly dodge as she jumped and swung herself on to a branch. Jupiter was quick to join her and leaped forward intent on landing a hit, but Venus grabbed her arm, using the momentum to throw her against a nearby tree. Venus' eyes darted the area, Mars was missing. Where was she?

She heard the snap and dodged just as Mars' fist hit the space where her head had been. Her elbow flew back, hitting directly in Mars' solar plexus. Then Jupiter was there, aiming for another kick. Venus jumped to the side as Jupiter hit a bent over Mars, sending both stumbling to the ground.

Worried that they had been seriously hurt, Venus jumped down to check on them. It was then that Mars' and Jupiter's combo attack hit her, sending her flying down a rocky hill. Blood trickled down the side of her mouth as she lifted herself up. "So they're gonna play it that way eh?"

Furious that they had used their powers, she still refused to do the same. That wouldn't stop her from teaching them a lesson for using theirs though. Cleaning herself off a little, she started to get an idea. She'd have to be careful though, their last attack had hit her pretty hard and she didn't think she could take another. Swiftly she moved, jumping back in front of them.

"Is that seriously all you've got?" she taunted, "even if you hit me with your full power, you wouldn't be able to beat me." She raised one eyebrow haughtily, "I'm the leader after all. I'm better than you."

"In your dreams," Mars cried.

"We'll see about that," Jupiter roared.

Both fired attacks that decimated the tree behind where Venus had been standing. Like hell she would stay still for that. Pleased they were taking the bait, she led them around, running this way and that, Mars and Jupiter vainly trying to hit her. When she managed to get far enough ahead of them, Venus swung around and sent out her energy in a blinding flash.

Mars and Jupiter stumbled out of the bushes and Venus moved to stand between them, brushing their arms slightly. They felt her energy signature, and though still blinded, lashed out with furious attacks hitting each other in place of Venus. Cries of pain died on their lips as they crumbled to the ground.

Mercury chose that moment to appear. "I, um, I" she stuttered, unsure of what to do after seeing her friends attack each other so seriously.

Venus patted her shoulder, "Take care of them."

"Yes." Her fingers flew across her computer and she pulled out the medical kit from their space pocket.

"Will you need any extra energy to speed up the healing process?"

Mercury frowned, it would be helpful yes, but she could hardly ask that of Venus, who looked ready to collapse as well.

"Just take it Ami." She muttered wearily as she stuck out her hand.

Mercury hesitated before nodding and taking the extended hand. With that little boost, both Jupiter and Mars regained consciousness and Mercury helped them sit up against the large roots of the closest tree. Venus caught eyes with both of them, assessing their conditions, before turning away.

"You have to know I don't trust them." She whispered, "Serenity ordered us to get along, so that's what I'm doing but have you ever stopped to think about the advantages? As long as they think we like them, they'll be more lax around us. If they do start up something evil, who do you think is more likely to catch them at it? Someone who they're defensive against? Or someone who they see as a friend?"

Venus turned to make eye contact with Mars, "I would have thought that at least you would know me better than that." She turned away again, "I'm disappointed with each of you. That includes you Mercury." Mercury dipped her head, her ears red.

"I'm leaving. Ami, make sure they get home." With that, Venus took off running, her legs on the verge of collapsing but she couldn't and wouldn't stop until she hit the city limit. She had no idea how Ami was going to get the two home by herself, but at the moment she didn't care. She'd text one of the Outers to go help, probably Setsuna since Haruka and Michiru were out of town.

When she hit the edge of town she forced herself to keep going, knowing that as soon as she let her transformation drop, she wouldn't be capable of making it home. It wasn't until she slipped in through her window that she felt it safe to do so.

Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus Sailor Venus

Artemis frowned in concern. Scouts' fighting each other was serious business. Damn those Shitennou, why did they have to come back and mess everything up? He eyed Minako knowing full well that she was probably reeling in self-loathing from having such a thing happen under her command.

"Minako," he started.

"Don't." she cut him off, eyes focused on the coffee table in front of her. "Just don't. I get it. I get why they're frustrated and what they're thinking. I just thought…I hoped that they knew me better than that." She dropped her head in her hands, "I'll talk with them individually tomorrow but they needed this."

"What do you mean?"

She bit her lip as she focused on the right words, "Multiple things really. They needed to fight. They needed to vent, to let out their frustrations. They can't do that with Usagi. She's the princess. However, they also needed to be reminded that I am the leader and I'm going to start taking charge more. We need to be ready for Crystal Tokyo."

Artemis nodded in agreement as he watched her drag herself towards her shower. He was pleased Minako was starting to step up and take command; he just hoped it didn't ruin her connection with the girls in the process. It looks like he was going to have a long conversation with Luna tomorrow.

I hoped you liked it! It would have been up sooner but my husband got his tooth pulled and needs attention like an adorable but overgrown child...In any case, next chapter I plan to start showing things from the other Scouts' perspectives. Minako will still be there though! Alrighty, well, again, thanks for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it and please review!