A/N: Thanks so much for your comments on the last chapter! You guys really motivate me to write and get my muse working! I do appreciate it. So, as you can see Anubis and Minako are beginning to notice the attraction they have for one another. Will they fight it? Guess you'll have to wait and see!
Chapter Ten: Can You Turn My Black Roses Red?
The hot springs situated at the rear of the temple grounds reflected the full moon that shown down onto the sleeping town of Toyama. Steam rose off of the pool in thin wisps that disappeared with the faint wind. Small ripples were the only thing that broke the water's stillness. The small waves came from the tired body that had partially submerged himself into the welcoming warmth.
Anubis leaned against a smooth rock and sighed as his shoulders settled down further in the water. He never was a man of vanity, and his loose red locks cascaded down his shoulders and into the water, fanning out into the rippling surface. His brow glistened from the temperature of the springs but it was of little concern to the warrior. It had been ages since he had enjoyed a good hot spring, and now he was needing the comforting notion more than ever.
He allowed his arms to rest along the side of the rock behind him and he leaned his head back against the towel he had brought out to the springs with him. Tiny droplets of water slid down his bare chest and disappeared into the depths below.
What had happened that afternoon? Why had he wanted so very badly to gain Minako's attention? She was infuriating and yet, he had suddenly found himself not minding being in her presence. But why? Why didn't it make any sense to him?
Anubis growled as he fought with his debacle in his head. He had always been a man of logic and reason and this was not something that he could make heads or tails of. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples as if to briefly erase his mind of the whole ordeal.
No matter how hard he tried, a certain blond kept prodding her way back into his consciousness every time.
"Damn her." He muttered. He refused to allow her to distract him from the rock and very hard place he had gotten himself wedged between.
He was torn between the life he had lived for centuries and the destiny he knew to be facing him. How could he just up and change? He knew he did not wish to follow the ways of the Dynasty any longer, but how could he simply decide to take up in the ranks of the Ronin Warriors? All of this was running amock in his head and he was worried about a woman of all things.
Anubis grunted and grabbed the towel that lay near the edge of the springs. He stood up quickly to avoid being seen and wrapped the item around his waist. No, this would not bring him much comfort tonight. He doubted that sleep would either.
~*~
"Michiru, why didn't you wake me up?!" Minako sputtered as she thundered dpwn the stairs haphazardly dressed behind the impeccable Michiru.
The emerald haired girl smiled as she placed her violin case on the floor next to the staircase. She surveyed her exasperated leader's appearance and raised an eyebrow. Minako's hair was still down, her white t-shirt hanging off of one shoulder, and she wore jeans that were obviously much too long for her.
"I didn't know I was supposed to. My understanding was that you couldn't stand Anubis." Michiru stated.
Minako quickly threw up a front and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I couldn't care care less about that creep. I just want to make sure that my senshi are safe, that's all." She said gruffly, and prayed that Michiru bought it.
The older girl didn't, but she didn't say so.
"Very well. I suggest you go and change while I go and get Mia's violin for Anubis. Even though you apparently dislike him, I doubt you would be able to get over the teasing that would ensue once he sees you in Mako's clothes."
Minako looked down at herself and groaned before rushing back up the stairs. Michiru laughed.
"And she thinks I believe that she dislikes him so much."
~*~
Minako looked down at the cracked pavement as she walked alongside Michiru's straight form to the temple. She had quickly changed into a pair of her own jeans and a yellow fitted short sleeved shirt. Thank goodness for the disguise pen, it did wonders for summoning one's personal apparel when the user has left home abruptly without it. Her signature red ribbon was back in her hair and she felt better looking like herself rather than the mess she looked like before.
Rather than have Michiru carry both violin cases while she wandered along like a useless fool, Minako carried the instrument meant for Anubis clasped in her right hand. She knew that Michiru had to have seen right through her when she said she couldn't care less about Anubis, but she didn't know what else to do. She was upset with herself for falling so hard and so fast for a man that had clearly been her enemy and obviously wanted nothing to do with her.
She kicked a pebble as she walked along mentally berating herself. Why was she doing this to herself? It made no sense yet she couldn't help but want to go to him. She sighed and gripped the violin case tighter.
Michiru looked at Minako out of the corner of her eye and smiled. "Thank you for coming with me Mina. I do appreciate the company." She offered.
Minako perked up at the comment and smiled up at the older girl.
"You know, the best way to get over being so nervous around someone you are uncomfortable with is to treat them as you would the rest of your friends. If you can treat Anubis the same as you do the rest of us, you may find yourself being more at ease with him."
Minako pondered the statement for a moment before nodding. "That's true, I guess that could be a good way to go about things." She replied.
After a few moments Minako gasped and her hand flew to her mouth as she looked up at Michiru, horrified that she had revealed that she was nervous about seeing Anubis.
Michiru laughed and patted Minako's shoulder.
"Mina, you cannot fool me. I know these things. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that in secret you don't hate Anubis alright? You can count on me." She said with a wink.
Minako's cheeks burned but she nodded, praying that Michiru couldn't tell just how much she didn't hate him.
~*~
Anubis was waiting at the entrance to the temple when Michiru and Minako emerged over the top of the stairs. Anubis' stomach formed a knot the moment the top of Minako's blond head came into view. He closed his eyes and quickly squashed the ridiculous feeling before opening them and forcing his usual cool expression.
"Good morning." He offered as the two women stopped in front of him. Minako swallowed hard as she felt Michiru's eyes staring down at her pushing her to do something, and felt his burn into her as he waited for her to answer his greeting or to say something hateful.
Anubis wondered how he always prompted this woman to spout a slew of insults at him or to not say anything at all. It was rather disconcerting when she didn't talk but at least he could expect it. She would be cursing at him soon enough.
Then Minako did something that shook Anubis' calm exterior from the inside out, affecting him more than he thought a simple gesture ever could. She put on a bright smile, one that had never been openly granted to him, and stepped forward. Minako felt her heart go into her throat but she completed the task she had set out to do. She raised her arms and slipped them around Anubis' waist in a hug.
She never thought it would feel so good to hug someone, let alone that Anubis would be the person that would spark this sort of response from her. She knew she had better say something witty before he knew something was up, if he didn't throw her arms away from him before she had a chance to.
"This is how I say good morning." She said softly.
Anubis was dumbfounded at the small blond with her arms wrapped around him. Before he remembered that the friendly gesture should generally be returned by hugging her back she had released him and stood back beside Michiru.
He blinked at her a couple of times in shock before he managed to get some semblence of his previous demeanor back together. He nodded quickly when he remembered what he had been standing there in the first place for.
"Come, we'll have our lesson inside today." He said quickly before turning on his heel and storming off towards one of the temple buildings in a flurry of monk robes.
Minako looked up at Michiru with a questioning look.
"Do you think the hug was over the top?" She asked.
Michiru laughed and tugged on Minako's hand to gesture for her to follow Anubis.
"I don't think he minded." She whispered so that he couldn't hear.
Anubis walked along ahead of them trying to shake himself out of his stupor. Why was it that this woman could unnerve him like this? Why had she hugged him? And then a thought occurred to him.
He had liked it. He hadn't hugged her back, but the feeling of her small form pressed against him for the far too brief encounter was definitely welcome. What was wrong with him?
He groaned as quietly as he could as he slid the door open to the building that he and Michiru would be working in today. He stared blankly ahead as the two girls slid past him and into the room.
This was going to be a long day.
~*~
An hour or so later, Minako quietly excused herself from Michiru's music lesson and walked out into the courtyard where she had sat with Ami and Anubis the day before. Anubis was taking to the violin quickly but she got this strange feeling from him that he was uncomfortable with her presence today. It made her sad, but it wasn't as if she were his favorite person in the world in the first place. She would just wait for Michiru out here. No sense in distracting those two while they worked.
Minako sat down beside a small patch of lilies that had been planted there and she inhaled their scent deeply. She smiled as the simple notion helped to calm her nerves. It was almost amusing that she felt like she was thirteen years old again with a grade school crush whenever she was around Anubis. She knew it was in vain, but she couldn't help but be attracted to him.
Her smile turned into a sad one and her heart grew heavy. Just once she wished that she was destined to have the fairy tale ending that Usagi had. She couldn't help but be jealous of her Queen. The girl had found the most perfect love in two different lifetimes with the same man and had married him in this one. It almost wasn't fair. Usagi had faced her share of hardships, but she always had Mamoru to support her and guide her.
Minako wrapped her arms around her legs and drew them close to her chest. She was the Senshi of Love, but what a joke that was. She had never had any suitors during her reign as the Princess of Venus, but then again when had she ever been on her own planet to see what her chances were? She was constantly on the moon, standing guard over the Royal Family. She was not bitter, but deep down she wished for her future to have a prince that would find her as well.
"Who am I kidding. All I'll ever be is Sailor Venus. The leader of the Sailor Senshi. Destined to protect the galaxy for all time." She grew angry with herself as a tear slipped down her cheek. She harshly wiped it away before anyone could see.
"I want someone to protect me for once." She whispered.
The Ancient's lips formed a soft smile as he watched Minako from the koi bridge.
"Soon my child. Soon you will have that which you are longing for. He whispered. He looked up at the dark castle that loomed in the distance and his smile grew determined.
"You will learn that where there is Love, Loyalty is not far behind."
~*~
Anubis genuinely enjoyed learning the violin with Michiru. She was an excellent teacher and patient with him as he learned the basic chords and finger placements today. He found himself to be increasingly distracted after Minako had excused herself. Where had she gone? He had begun to worry about her when she didn't come back and his performance with the instrument suffered for it. Michiru took note of this and placed her own instrument into her lap.
"You've done very well today Anubis, why don't we continue our lesson next week?" She asked.
Anubis nodded, relieved that he could let his mind wander and not feel guilty for it. He reached for the violin case beside him and tucked the instrument back inside before securing the three clasps that held it closed. He picked the case up and held it out to Michiru and she waved him off with a polite smile.
"Mia said that you could keep it for as long as you like. She hasn't the faintest idea how to play it so keep it to practice on." She said.
Anubis was secretly thrilled that he was going to be able to keep the instrument, but he said a simple "thank you" and placed it in the corner of the room. He stood up from his place on the floor and slid the door open so that Michiru could exit. He followed behind her and shut the door back.
"Thank you for the lesson today Michiru." He said politely.
She smiled at him and nodded her head in reply. They walked along in silence for a few minutes as they made their way back up to the front gates of the temple. Anubis assumed that Minako must be waiting there. He hoped she hadn't walked back to the Ronin headquarters by herself. He groaned after that thought occurred to him. Why did that matter?!
When they reached the front of the temple, they found the Ancient standing there waiting for them. The older man smiled gently to them when they made it close enough to him.
"How were your lessons today Princess Neptune?" He asked.
Michiru smiled, remembering her old title fondly. "They went well Ancient One. Anubis is taking to the violin rather quickly. I left him Mia's violin today to practice on in between lessons." She answered.
The Ancient nodded his head. "While you were practicing, you had a visitor come to see you. She seemed rather anxious to see you." He said to Michiru.
"For me? Is it Mako or Ami?" She asked, curious.
"No, it wasn't either of them." He said as he turned to walk inside the main shrine.
Michiru and Anubis looked at him curiously as he ascended the stairs. He gripped the door and turned to smile at her over his shoulder.
"You should follow me. Princess Uranus is rather impatient I have discovered."
Anubis watched as the normally serene woman that stood beside him grew excited and ran up the stairs behind the Ancient. He raised an eyebrow when he heard her yell, "Haruka!" once she had made it inside the building. The Ancient looked to Anubis and offered him a small grin.
"That which you seek is in the courtyard Anubis." He said before going inside.
Anubis stared after him for a moment, wondering how he always knew exactly what he was thinking. He then gruffly turned and headed towards the courtyard. He was interested in meeting whom he presumed was yet another of Minako's Sailor Senshi, but as of now he was too interested in finding their leader.
He made his way into the courtyard and stopped abruptly when he noticed Minako sitting down by a patch of flowers. She was staring into space and the wind fanned her blond hair in the breeze. He suddenly felt the urge to go back. What was he going to say to her anyway? He didn't really have anything to say, he just felt compelled to go to her. He looked at the ground for a moment as he contemplated his course of action. As he did so, he watched a familiar mist assemble around his feet.
Anubis quickly looked up to see that the area around them and the sky had grown much darker. His senses were instantly alerted to the fact that they were not alone. Without hesitation, Anubis ran out into the clearing.
"Minako, on your guard! There are Dynasty soldiers here!" He shouted.
Minako, startled by Anubis' sudden appearance, stumbled to her feet and instinctively pulled her transformation wand from her jeans pocket.
"How many are there?" She asked, when Anubis reached her side.
"Enough to pose a problem. I would summon your battle attire if I were you." Anubis said in a hushed tone.
Minako didn't respond but shouted her transformation and in a stream of orange light and stars she stood beside him as Sailor Venus. Just as her feet hit the ground, instinct told her to duck and she did so as a kusari-gama similar to the one Anubis carried sliced into a tree directly where she had been standing.
"Woah they don't screw around do they?" Minako shouted as several soldiers eased their way into the clearing.
Anubis slid into a low crouch as he prepared himself to fight the soldiers he had previously commanded. Had they come back for him?
Minako eyed him carefully. "You need to find some place to hide. You've got no means of protecting yourself against these rust buckets."
Anubis was about to hurl an insult at her about her being an waspish sort of woman when he reached into his pocket to withdraw his armor orb. Then his heart stopped as he remembered.
He couldn't summon his armor anymore. He was completely defenseless.
In anger, Anubis slid down into a practiced battle stance as the soldiers prepared to attack.
Minako's eyes grew wide when she saw that he obviously was not listening to her.
"Are you crazy? Get behind me!" Minako shouted. Anubis' eyes flashed in anger and she found herself flinching back from him a bit.
"I can take care of my own hide." He said through gritted teeth.
At that moment the soldiers attacked. One rushed at Minako with his weapon drawn and began swinging it over his head. Minako reacted quickly and summoned her Crescent Beam, blasting the soldier backwards.
Anubis brutally jerked the previously thrown kusari gama from the tree and attacked another soldier, smoke billowing from it's chest as it fell. His anger at not having access to his armor fueled his desire to fight and he held his own against heavily armed beings.
He groaned as sinister laughter filled the courtyard. He looked up to find Dais glaring down at him in disdain as he floated in the air above the battle.
"Well, if we haven't got ourselves a deserter. You dare to fight against your own?" Dais hissed.
Anubis narrowed his eyes and brought his weapon up, prepared to launch it at his former comrade.
"I have no Master and I definitely do not answer to the likes of you, Dais!" He yelled.
The Warlord of Illusion's lips curled into a wicked grin that made Anubis pause for a moment.
'What in the hell is he up to. I know that smile.' Anubis thought for a moment. In the next second Anubis found himself forcefully pinned against a tree, six swords piercing the sides of his robes and holding him there.
Anubis growled as he realized he had been careless and allowed Sekhmet a moment to use his Snake Fang Strike against him. The Warlord of Venom appeared in the clearing, swinging his blades at lightning speed above his head.
"You should have listened to that wench, Venus. You can't fight us, not without your armor. You're nothing, and I will prove it to you!" He bellowed.
Anubis would not flinch. He was a samurai, and a damn good one at that. If he should die, he would die with honor.
Minako looked up from her battle with the soldiers in time to see Sekhmet launch his swords at Anubis.
"Snake Fang Strike!" The Warlord bellowed as the swords flew from his hand.
"No!" Minako screamed.
"Uranus World Shaking!"
A burst of energy exploding in bright blue and yellow against Sekhmet launched him backwards with a howl of pain. Anubis looked up in surprise as a woman appeared at his side dressed in a blue and gold uniform very similar to Sailor Venus'. Anubis raised his eyebrow at the fact that she was as tall as he was and she granted him a smirk. She pulled one of Sekhmet's swords from where it held Anubis' shirt sleeve to the tree.
"I think you can get the rest of those out yourself unless you'd rather remain that way." She stated.
Anubis was about to retort with something nasty when his unlikely rescuer was nearly knocked over by a blur of yellow and orange that could only be Sailor Venus.
"Uranus!! What are you doing here?!" Minako cried.
Haruka laughed and peeled the younger woman off of her.
"I'll explain later. For now, I suggest we take care of these creeps." She said as she began to slowly close in on Sekhmet.
"So what's your story man? What's with trying to turn your pal here into a pin cushion?" She taunted, cocking an eyebrow at the obviously angry Warlord.
Sekhmet sneered at her and held his gauntled hand out before him, summoning his six swords back into two blades and into his hands.
"That so-called pal you spoke of is no more than a traitor and a worthless commoner. I desire nothing but to rid Lord Talpa of the thorn in his side that is Anubis." He spat.
Anubis felt the anger bubbling up inside of him. How dare he refer to him as worthless. He would prove that he had worth.
Sekhmet bellowed his sure-kill and launched his swords at the new Sailor Senshi. Haruka stretched her gloved hand out in front of her and in a shimmer of light her Space Sword materialized in her palm.
"Space Sword Blaster!" She yelled, sending Sekmet's swords hurtling back towards their master at top speed.
"Venus, take him and head to the Ronin headquarters. I sent Michiru along ahead of me. Go and get the rest of the Senshi!"
Minako narrowed her eyes at Uranus.
"I will not leave you here to fight all of these freaks off! You can't do it alone!" She yelled, dodging a kusari gama that found it's way near her scalp.
Uranus glared at her. "The hell I can't! He's unarmed so get him out of here!" She growled before returning to the duel she was currently engaged in.
Minako scowled at Uranus' back but knew better than to trifle with the older Senshi. She turned on her heel and grabbed one of Anubis' shirt sleeves.
"What are you doing?" He yelled as Minako tried unsuccesfully to make Anubis leave the scene of the battle. He did not move an inch.
"You heard her, I've got to get you out of here and get the others! Now come on!" She yelled Anubis narrowed his eyes at her smaller form.
"And here I thought that you were supposed to be the one giving the Senshi orders. Some great leader you are." He said acidly. He honestly did not mean to be so rude, but he was livid to be in the current situation he was in.
Minako glared at him and released his shirt sleeve.
"Fine, stay here and get killed. See if I care." She yelled, turning and running off at break neck speed to fetch the rest of her team.
Anubis would have sworn he saw tears filling her eyes when she left. He instantly felt guilty about it, yet he didn't know why. He leaned down and picked up a sword that a Dynasty soldier had dropped when it fell, ready to resume this battle he was currently engaged in.
"Do you have a death wish? I told you to get out of here. Go with Venus!" Uranus bellowed in between slicing two Dynasty soldiers down the middle with her Space Sword.
Anubis cut his eyes at her, but continued to advance forward. "I take orders from no one." He spat.
Within a few seconds, Anubis found himself staring down the end of a very ornate jeweled sword with a very angry Sailor Senshi glaring at him.
"Go or I will attack you myself." She growled.
Anubis stared Uranus down for a few moments, before relenting and dropping the sword.
"Now go after Minako, and I swear to God above if something happens to her while she's protecting your stubborn ass you WILL be sorry." She spat.
Anubis swallowed his wounded pride and turned to run after Sailor Venus.
TBC