Artemis's jaw pummeled to the ground. His eyes bulged out of his head as he swung up, down, left and right, basking in his surroundings in utter shock.
"No way..." He whispered. The entire apartment was sprinkled with decorations. The TV was gigantic. The vases and picture frames were splashed with what appeared to be a dozen variations of black and white. Artemis then ambled to the kitchen. Within every drawer he pulled, a plethora of pots, pans, and utensils sat innocently in perfect rows of three. He drew open the pantry doors. The shelves were filled with a vast variety of seasoning and canned goods. Of course, the refrigerator just had to come next. And, of course, it didn't disappoint, as it was packed with everything but the kitchen sink (which seemed to sparkle in the light with its clean silver finish). Finally, Artemis ran to the only bedroom that resided in the apartment. The room, although not as highly detailed as the entrance, was still magnificently trimmed with a queen sized bed, an empty picture frame, and a lamp in the shape of the moon.
Artemis bent down and peered at the lamp in curiosity.
Or is that Venus?
"We meet again." A sudden disembodied voice greeted.
"Wha-" Artemis fell forward, banging his head on the nightstand. He then plopped to the ground and held his head in considerable pain before the Venus lamp rolled off of its stand and fell right onto his lap.
"Oh...its-its you isn't it?" Artemis stammered as he shakily placed the lamp back in its place. "How have you been?"
"I've been meaning to ask you the same question."
Artemis grinned, hopping back to his feet in exuberance.
"If I wasn't good before, I definitely am now." He slowly spun around, taking one last long look at his living space with genuine joy. "This place...I don't know how you did it, but it's everything I've ever dreamed of!"
Artemis turned to the window, assuming the figure was hanging out by the edge of the building, and bowed deeply.
"Thank you."
There was a brief silence before the voice heaved a sigh.
"Don't take my kindness for granted, Artemis."
Artemis, still bowing, frowned in confusion.
"What? Wh-why would I do that?"
"Well, for one..."
Artemis felt a presence behind him and subconsciously turned around.
"You already broke two of my rules."
Suddenly, a dark hood was hanging right over his face.
Artemis let out a panicked scream as he jerked backwards onto the bed.
"Oh, my apologies. I forgot you were a scaredy-cat." Remarked the hooded man.
"I don't think that term applies to me anymore." Artemis pushed himself up, smiling innocently at the brooding figure in front of him. "And, about those rules...In all due respect, they were rather impossible not to break." Artemis scooted himself to the edge of the bed and pointed to his crescent moon spot. "You see this? Whether I'm a cat or a human, this always stays. There was no way she, or anyone who knows me, wouldn't be able to figure out who I was."
The man stood silently. Artemis took it as a cue to continue.
"As for exposing myself to the general public...Well, I didn't really do it on purpose. Minako was in danger, so I did what I had to do. I saved her." Artemis shrugged sheepishly. "A news truck just happened to be passing by...So, it wasn't something I could help."
The man proceeded to stand without saying a word. Beads of sweat trickled down Artemis's cheeks.
"...Is that so?" He finally said.
Artemis slowly nodded, taking a long, hard swallow to bury away the risky promise he made with Minako.
"Perhaps you make an interesting argument." The man slowly began pacing the room. The baggy trail from his hood made it appear as if he was hovering from the ground. Artemis observed the odd sight and grew even more wary. "But I can't help but wonder if there's something you're not telling me."
Artemis couldn't hold it in.
"Okay, maybe it's important to mention that Minako is a national teen idol. I tried telling you before, but you kept cutting me off!"
The man stopped in his tracks to face Artemis.
"Oh, I know."
Artemis's eyebrow twitched.
"Then-then why did you give me such an impossible rule?! You knew that it was likely I would be caught seen with her, whether it was intentional or not!" Artemis jumped to his feet and stared him down, finally finding the courage to stand up to the intimidating guy.
"...You're right." He plainly admitted.
"...R-really?" This threw Artemis off. He definitely thought he would receive backlash for questioning his orders.
"Yes. Maybe I got a little carried away with those rules." The figure charged towards Artemis, practically floating over his face as he bent forward. "But one rule remains. And that is one you shall never trespass."
Artemis waved his hands in a frantic protest.
"Of-of course not! Why would I? I mean, fall in love? This is Minako we're talking about, why would I-"
"Good. As long as we somewhat see eye to eye."
Artemis bent lower to meet the figure's face, only to be met with more dark clothing.
Yeah. Somewhat. He mused.
The hood steadily inched away, finally giving Artemis some space to breathe.
"As for the other two rules...Perhaps we can consider them void." The man resumed pacing with his seemingly floating feet. "I just didn't want to grant you permission to do anything that might lead to Minako getting hurt. I had her best interests at heart."
Artemis's eyes grew. Then, they squinted in suspicion.
"...Why? What's your relationship with her?"
The figure paused, unresponsive once again.
"Enjoy your stay, Artemis." He brushed off the inquiries before traveling toward the window. "Your money should be sitting on the kitchen counter by now. Also, don't feel the need to go shopping for clothes. Your walk-in closet should have you covered."
He unwound the lever and pushed open the window pane. The winter breeze filled the room with a chilly wind.
"Wait!" Artemis ran towards the man of mystery.
Even with such a harsh draft blowing through the air, the black, droopy hood revealed not one inch of his body.
"You've done such nice things for me. And we've kind of gotten acquainted with each other...Can't you at least tell me your name?"
Again, the man stood in silence. He rose his arms out of the window as if preparing for departure before slowly turning his head back to Artemis.
"...No."
And with that, the guy leaped out of sight.
Now, it was Artemis's turn to stand in silence.
And there he stood, gazing out into the distance with a blank stare as the wind tossed his hair to and fro.
After a minute or so, with the same expressionless face, Artemis slowly closed the window and walked away.
"The square root of 1254, blah blah blah. Again, in order to solve this, the formula is blah blah parentheses blah." Lectured the teacher.
At least, that's what Minako heard.
But with Minako's logic, it doesn't make sense paying attention to the teacher when you can think about Katsuo now and get notes later.
And with that, Minako sat at her desk, deep, deep in thought.
I'll just ask one of the girls for notes later.
She then glanced down at her blank notebook.
Might as well at least act like I'm tuned in.
Oh, she was tuned in alright. The tune of one of her favorite hit love songs was ringing through her head as her pencil gracefully swept across the paper. After a few minutes, she sighed dreamily, admiring the finished product.
If only he'd look at me this way... She thought as she stared at her marvelous drawing of Katsuo.
Little did Minako know that a certain someone with similar feelings for the boy was glaring holes through her the entire period.
After the class bell chimed, that certain someone made a b-line towards Minako's desk.
"Hello, Ms. Aino."
Minako clenched her pencil, quickly flipping the notebook closed before slowly looking up with a forced smile.
"Why, hello there Aimi. How are you doing on this wonderful day?"
Aimi pouted, bending down to lean her elbows on the desk. Minako recoiled at the sight.
"Hm, not so good. I kind of blanked out during that lecture, and I forgot to write half of the lesson down."
Minako clenched the pencil harder.
"Poor you." She uttered through her teeth.
Don't do it.
"So, I was just wondering..."
I swear, if you do it...
"...If I could copy some of your notes?"
Minako's tightened grip on the pencil finally caused it to snap in half.
I knew it. She's pure evil.
Minako breathed heavily before forcing her fake smile further.
That's okay. I'll just tell her I didn't write notes either.
"I know you wrote some things down, because I happened to see your pencil moving from the corner of my eye."
Minako's face dropped. She couldn't fake her friendly disposition any longer.
"So? Why are you asking me?" She spat. "Aren't you friends with practically everyone else in this room? Go ask one of them."
Suddenly, Aimi's eyes started to water. A drop of sweat dripped from Minako's forehead.
"Fine. Be that way." She rose from her kneeling position, dramatically wiping away the false tears she created. "You know, Katsuo was asking about you. I guess I'll have to tell him you're not as nice as I thought..."
As Aimi began to walk away, Minako aggressively seized her arm, her eyes twitching in aggravation.
"...Fine. Take it." Minako muttered.
"Sorry, I couldn't hear you!" Aimi intentionally raised her voice, causing all pairs of eyes in the room to lock on the two girls.
Usagi and Makoto, who were silently observing from the corner, both shuttered.
"Oh no. There she goes again." Makoto whispered.
Usagi looked at the two girls in concern.
"We have to do something." She whispered back. "We can't just let her torment Minako like that!"
Usagi attempted to rush towards Aimi before Makoto casually grabbed her collar to pull her back, eyes glued to the scene as a struggling Usagi kicked and pumped her fists.
Minako refused to look at the staring crowd and raised the notebook towards Aimi, her hand trembling.
"...H-here."
Aimi snatched the notebook, her teary expression gone in a flash as she gleefully flipped through the pages.
"Let's see...Ah, here we are." Aimi put on a confused look, her fingers grazing her chin. "Wait a minute...This isn't today's notes..."
Her face quickly shifted back into smirk before she slowly turned the notebook towards Minako's face, conveniently holding it upwards for the rest of the class to see.
"It's a drawing of Katsuo!"
The crowd of students snickered.
Then, some giggled.
Then, some cackled.
Soon enough, the entire class broke into laughter.
All but two, of course.
"That's it." Usagi huffed. She charged towards Aimi with wrath. "You! Give that notebook back to Minako this instant!"
Aimi stared at Usagi unamused.
"Of course. After all..." Suddenly, she ripped the drawing out, folding it up and placing in in her shirt before tossing the notebook on the floor. "...I only needed one page."
Usagi was now fuming. Her heart was filled with so much anger that she wanted to transform and use her tiare just to expel whatever miserable spirit resided in this girl.
"Don't you have a heart? A soul?" Usagi's eyes swelled as she glimpsed at Minako, who's head was lowered in shame. "So what if she was doodling a picture of her crush? As if not one of you has done this before?"
"Yeah. In middle school." One girl remarked while another giggled.
Usagi stomped to turn to the direction of the comment.
"So what? That just comes to show how pure Minako's heart is!"
Minako rose her head, her face beat-red with embarrassment as she glared at her best friend.
"U-sa-gi..."
"I do it too! And I'm not a middle schooler!"
Aimi shook her head and mockingly clicked her teeth at Usagi.
"That's no surprise coming from you." She rose her hand to taughtingly pat Usagi's hair. "Bun-head."
Usagi swiftly placed her hands on her hair, smoke practically shooting out of her nose in rage. "Hey! Don't touch my buns!"
The class was now roaring in hysterics.
Minako covered her face with her hands in ultimate humiliation.
Oh, Usagi...
Usagi swiveled back and forth at the students with a troubled look.
"What's so funny?" She murmured.
Usagi whipped her head towards her tall friend, her eyes filled with desperation.
"Makoto!" She pleaded.
Makoto's eyes narrowed. Her fists were shaking as she clenched her knuckles in seething fury.
"What's Ms. Giantess gonna do? Hit me?" Aimi goaded. "Please. One little scratch on my arm and she's expelled."
Makoto, her blood boiling, glared Aimi down.
Aimi stared back for quite some time before Makoto's intimidation caused her to finally break contact.
She gave one more tormenting look at Minako before cheerfully picking up her bag.
"Well, I better give these notes to Katsuo. I bet it'll come in handy for him." She blew the three girls a kiss with her two fingers, identical to Sailor V's trademark move, before sauntering out of the classroom.
As soon as she was out of sight, Makoto and Usagi rushed to Minako's side.
All three sat without saying a word.
"...Minako? You okay?" Makoto finally broke the silence.
Minako slowly raised her head, her face bearing such a chilling expression that it caused her two friends to flinch.
"Evil..." Minako's voice seemingly deepened four octaves. "She's pure evil."
"I don't get it, Minako." Makoto said as Minako angrily tore through the tough sandwich meat with her teeth.
"Aimi is obviously very, very envious of you. Someone as boy-crazy as her is bound to see someone like you as a threat."
Usagi nodded while biting into her rice ball.
"Right, right! With your beauty and cheerful spirit, why wouldn't she be jealous?"
Minako sighed as she proceeded to silently chew her sandwich.
"But you choose to do nothing. You allow her to leave you feeling defeated over and over again." Makoto bent forward, her face only inches away from Minako's. "All you have to do is tell the world who you really are, and she'll grovel at your feet."
Minako giggled. "I know, Makoto. You basically say it everyday."
Makoto threw her arms up, accidentally knocking Usagi onto Ami's lap.
"Why don't you?!" Makoto shouted. "Just rip off your mask on stage at one of your concerts and scream out your name. That way, nobody would ever mess with you ever again."
Ami nodded, solemnly pushing her glasses up.
"That's right. Especially Aimi. She is registered as fan number one in the Sailor V organization, after all."
"Oh-ho-ho!" Usagi lifted her head from Ami's lap and chuckled mischievously.
"Just think about it. You take that mask off, and Aimi'll take that same drawing she stole from you today and put it in a shrine." Makoto nudged Minako repeatedly. "Eh? Doesn't that sound good?"
Minako gave a small smile before lifting her head to the clouds. "Of course it does. I think about it everyday." She confessed. "But...I have my reasons."
"Like what?" Usagi quizzed.
"...Guys..." Minako began, sighing heavily as she lowered her head to her friends. "Remember how I acted around the Three Lights back in freshmen year?"
All three girls winced.
"Y-yeah..."
"Eheheh..."
"How could we forget?"
Minako giggled at her friends' justifiable reactions.
"Well, I certainly don't want people doing that to me. Especially in school." Minako's expression softened. "And especially Katsuo. Even if he isn't a fan of mine, I know he'll treat me differently. And I don't want that." Minako looked at the three with passion. "I don't want him, or any guy I meet throughout my life, to treat me differently just because of my status."
Usagi, Makoto, and Ami all hummed in acknowledgment.
"Minako..." Ami reached out for her hand. "I just want to say...You've matured so much since we've met you."
Makoto and Usagi chimed in with comments of agreement.
"Oh-r-really?" Minako giggled bashfully.
"Really." Usagi folded her arms with a frown. "Man, sometimes, I still feel like a complete baby compared to you guys."
"Well, you'll always be a baby to us." Makoto teased, patting Usagi's head.
"Hey! Don't touch my buns!"
Makoto sighed in exasperation. "Please stop saying that..."
"Anyway, that's not the only reason." Minako continued.
"Really? There's another?" Ami asked, her hands still subconsciously laying on Minako's.
"Yeah...You see, we actually haven't fought anyone since Sailor Galaxia, and...Well..."
"Yes?"
"...You know that feeling you get when you transform? And the energy that pumps through your veins whenever you fight?"
"You mean adrenaline?" Ami clarified.
"Yeah, that." Minako proceeded. "And the rush you get when you finally defeat someone, and people are staring at you with stars in their eyes, and you know who you are, but you can't tell them because it'll blow your cover?"
"...You mean a double-life?" Makoto clarified.
"Yeah, that." Minako continued. "That's it. The feeling of having a double-life." She fell backward, leaning on the tree with her eyes fixated on the sky. "I miss the rush."
The wind began to blow its chills throughout the air once again. Minako's hair gracefully undulated with waves like an ocean of gold.
Artemis stood, hidden behind the bushes, branches prickling his legs and bugs crawling on his back.
But he didn't care.
He was too entranced by the blossoming beauty in front of him.
A/N: Aghhh I forgot how fun this was. Back in the day, these chapters usually took me a few days to finish. But I completed this in like three hours. I guess that comes to show how much my writing has improved. I hope the actual content of the chapter shows that too! I'm sorry, I know its super long, but I just needed to let it all out after years of this story marinating in my head. I hope y'all enjoy!
Also, feel free to comment anything you'd like! Seeing all of your opinions about my story used to make my heart swell. I'm sure it'll still have the same effect!