It was a fairly nice day. The sky was crystal blue, clouds scattered across the sky, the sun shining brightly. No tests that day, birds were singing, no monsters, and lots of time to relax, and be happy, right?
Wrong.
It had only been two days with everyone staying at Hikawa Shrine, and already no one could stand anyone else. Seiya was hiding from Haruka's advances out in the shrubs around the temple, Michiru was politely ignoring everyone, as was Makoto, Usagi and Rei were at each others throats, Haruka and Yaten were having a fist fight, and Minako was chasing Luna and Artemis around the temple. Hotaru, surprisingly, was sleeping soundly through the whole event, in Michiru's arms. The only ones who weren't going absolutely crazy were Taiki and Ami.
They sat in one of the spare rooms, working at two laptops together. The doors were closed, and still they could hear every single little thing that went on. They sweat dropped.
"Some things never change..." Taiki mumbled.
"Yes. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Ami said. Taiki looked at her.
"I don't know. I'm kind of enjoying myself." Ami looked up at
Taiki and blushed. Taiki moved his face a little closer to hers, when suddenly
Haruka and Yaten came crashing through the wall, knocking over several
chairs and the table.
"Shimatta! You hentai, punk-haired, egotistical, ugly..."
"Damn it! You brash, over-excited, hardheaded, unfashionable..." And the insults went on and on. Taiki and Ami face vaulted. Haruka punched Yaten in the face, and Yaten jumped on Haruka again, sending them crashing to the floor, rolling around, trying to beat each other to a bloody pulp. Through the hole in the wall, they could see Rei pulling at Usagi's pigtails, yanking them so she had to go where Rei pulled her. Minako was strangling Artemis, and Michiru was glaring at an even angrier looking Luna.
"Maa! Rei-chan! Let go of my hair!" Usagi screamed.
"Nyah nyah! You can't do anything about it! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!" Rei snickered, pulling harder.
"Itai! REI-CHAAAANNNNNN!!!!!" Taiki and Ami quietly stood up,
and left the temple.
They walked under a few trees, enjoying the near-quiet of outside.
Taiki spotted Seiya sitting by himself in some bushes by a pond. Taiki
and Ami walked over to him.
"Ara... escaping the horror of all of us living under the same roof, ne, Seiya?" Taiki joked. Seiya frowned.
"I'm not escaping from that..." Seiya trailed off, sighing.
"What are you escaping from then, Seiya-kun?" Ami asked gently.
"Nothing, it's nothing really." Seiya looked away from the two
and went back to looking at nothing. Taiki and Ami decided to leave Seiya
alone. They walked away.
Seiya sighed again. What was he supposed to do? 'I can't avoid the Shrine forever...'
"Shi ne, Haruka!" Seiya heard Yaten yell in full battle fury.
"In your dreams, midget!" Haruka yelled back, and Seiya could hear a loud crash. Some thing flew out one of the Shrine's windows, and Seiya closed his eyes. 'Not that I want to go back in there... its suicide...' He heard a few more screams. 'And we have to stay here for an entire week?? Maa...' Seiya suddenly jerked his head up to see...
Haruka. Holding a screaming Yaten over her head.
"You'd better not, or I'll..."
"You'll what?!" Haruka scoffed, and chucked Yaten as hard as she could into the pond beside Seiya.
"Ahhh!" Yaten screamed.
SPLASH!!!
On impact with the water, Yaten sent a huge wave splashing onto Seiya. Haruka was laughing her head off. Seiya looked at Yaten, who was drenched, sitting in the middle of the pond with water in his mouth. Yaten looked at Seiya, who was also drenched from the wave. They nodded to each other. Seiya and Yaten got up, and started advancing to Haruka who was on the ground shaking with laughter.
By then, everyone one else in the shrine came to see who was causing all the commotion. Seiya and Yaten grabbed Haruka forcefully.
"Hey! Don't! Shimatta! NO!" Haruka yelled.
"Oh yes..." Yaten growled.
"Yurusenai!" Seiya half-joked. Seiya had Haruka's arms, Yaten her feet. They swung her back and forth, gathering up momentum, which was difficult because she was struggling.
"One..." Seiya laughed evilly.
"Two..." Yaten grinned.
"THREE!!!" They yelled together, chucking Haruka into the pond.
SPLASH!!!
Haruka landed on her butt in the water, choking on what she swallowed.
She looked up menacingly at Seiya and Yaten, and launched herself out of
the water. This started a full out, no rules, no holding back, WATER/FIST
fight. The three wrestled in the water, as the rest, excluding Hotaru,
Taiki and Ami, cheered them on. Ami and Taiki sweat dropped, and took Hotaru
back inside.
Four hours later, just after the quarreling trio woke up after having knocked each other unconscious, everyone sat around Rei's extra large table sipping tea quietly. No one really talked, and everyone was kind of happy about it. After an afternoon of nearly killing each other, everyone was back to normal. Well, with the exception that Yaten was grinning from ear to ear, as was Seiya and Haruka. There was a first-aid kit opened in the middle of the table, which Michiru, Usagi, and Minako were taking items out of, so they could patch up the... uh... guys.
"Itai!" yelped Haruka, as Michiru was applying some peroxide to her wounded arm.
"Hold still, Ruka-chan." Michiru said as Haruka flinched.
"Well that hurts!" Haruka whined.
"If you hadn't have been fighting, this never would have happened." Michiru scolded.
"You should talk. You were cheering me on." Michiru reddened. And was silent. Haruka grinned, looking at Seiya and Yaten. They smiled back. Minako was applying peroxide to Yaten's nose, and Usagi was putting a bandage on Seiya's forehead.
"That was fun." Yaten said aloud what the three were all thinking.
"Yeah." Seiya said, and the three started laughing. Everyone face
vaulted. Yaten thought fighting was... fun?! It was the end of the world...
Later that night, Makoto couldn't sleep. It wasn't just because of the fact that Usagi was snoring, and saying "Mamo-chan... ai shiteru...." very loudly in her sleep, but the fact that she felt like someone was watching her. Well, not just her, but the entire temple. She turned over in her bed, and looked out the window. The night was kind of cloudy. Like her thoughts. 'At least Haruka managed to relax today... I still can't seem to calm my nerves. Every noise that I hear I have to look and make sure that nothing is wrong.' Makoto sighed. 'I don't like this one bit. I wasn't there when Ami-chan could've used my help, and what do I do if it happens again? I want to be there for my friends... Sometimes I feel so useless.'
Restless, Makoto turned over again, and looked at the six other people in the room. 'Wait...' Makoto counted the sleeping forms. 'That's Usagi, there's Rei, Ami, Michiru, Luna... where's Minako?' Makoto sat up, to see the door slightly ajar. 'Weird. Why would she take off in the middle of the night? Minako never loses any sleep if she doesn't have too...' Makoto got up and crept quietly towards the door. She opened it slowly, and looked up and down the halls. She turned and started down the hall, looking for Minako.
Taiki stirred slightly, and opened his eyes. He could hear footsteps
in the hallway. He sat up quietly, rubbing his eyes. His eyes adjusted
to the darkness, and he looked around the room. He saw Haruka sleeping
near the door, Seiya curled in a ball beside him, and Artemis sleeping
on Yaten's vacant pillow. 'Strange. Where is he?' Taiki asked himself.
Makoto gave up looking for Minako, and returned to the room, only to have Minako sneak back in too, giggling quietly. 'What? What is she so happy about?' Makoto watched as Minako took something in her hands, and brought it up to her nose. She smelled it tenderly and sighed. 'A yellow rose? From who... YATEN?! It couldn't be... but yellow are his favorite... there's no way...' Makoto closed her eyes. 'I'll talk to one of the guys tomorrow... maybe they know what is going on...' Makoto quickly fell asleep.
***
The next day was relatively calmer, and after the fights, which had relieved everyone's tension, everyone felt much better and calmer. They all went to their respective schools in a calm walk, expecting the day to be just the same. When everyone was gone, Minako and Yaten emerged from the bushes where they'd been hiding. Yaten looked at Minako and grinned. He grabbed her hand, and they rushed back into the temple.
"Do you think anyone will suspect?" Minako asked cutely, smiling at Yaten.
"Iie. They won't. Not until we want them too..." Yaten looked back at her with a playful grin.
"This is going to be great. Imagine the looks on their faces?" Yaten and Minako laughed.
"They'll be shocked all right. Now, ikimashou!" Yaten took Minako's
hand again, and led her into the bedroom he'd been sleeping in...
"Oi!" Usagi said suddenly, stopping just before her classroom. She looked at Makoto and Seiya, who were in her homeroom.
"What is it, Odango?" Seiya asked. Usagi shook her head.
"Where's Minako-chan?" Usagi asked. The three looked around.
"Hey, and Yaten too?" The three were puzzled. Makoto looked at the others.
"I guess I'll tell you then..."
"Tell us what, Mako-chan" Usagi asked.
"Yesterday, or should I say last night, Minako snuck out of the room while everyone was sleeping!" Makoto whispered to them fiercely so no one would hear but them.
"Nani?" Usagi whispered back. "What's so important about that?
She may have just went to go to the washroom you know..."
"Well, I went to look for her, and I didn't find her! So I came
back to the room, and just as I laid down, Minako came in! She was carrying
a yellow rose, and giggling!!!" Seiya and Usagi looked at her in disbelief.
"A yellow rose?! Masaka!" Seiya said. Makoto stared at the two.
"That's what I thought! But, otherwise, where was she, and why
would she hold a yellow rose so lovingly?!" The three stood there pondering
the fact, until the bells started ringing, and they went into their class.
Usagi sat through her first period class, and when break came around, she saw Minako, coming hurriedly up a flight of stairs.
"Minako-chan!" Usagi called. Minako ran up to Usagi, breathing heavily.
"Ohaiyo Usagi-chan!" Minako smiled.
"Where were you, Minako-chan? You missed first class!"
"Ah, gomen nasai! I didn't mean too!"
"Where were you though?" Usagi asked. Minako flushed.
"I... I uh... it's a secret, Usagi-chan! I'm sorry, but I can't tell!" Minako gushed, and smiled, then took off. Usagi stared in shock, as Minako dropped a yellow rose while running away from her.
"No way..."
"Your kidding, Usagi-chan!" Ami said.
"Iie! It fell right out of her pocket! See," Usagi pulled a yellow rose out of her pocket to show Ami, Taiki, Seiya, Makoto and Rei. They all gasped.
"And she wouldn't say where she was going?" Makoto said.
"No." Usagi shook her head.
"And in case no one noticed, they aren't around right now, either. I only hope they are smart enough to not go off alone or anything..." Taiki said quietly. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"What should we do? Should we confront them, or not say anything?" Rei said quietly.
"Iie, I don't think we should do anything. It's their business, ne?" Ami said.
"Hmm... " Seiya said quietly. Everyone looked at him.
"What is it?" Makoto asked.
"Well, thing is strange. The last person I'd ever think Yaten would fall for is Minako…"
"HEY!" The girls yelled.
"Ara... I mean, he didn't seem to like her, in fact, I thought he disliked her a lot. Plus, I always figured Yaten for a neuter." Taiki slapped Seiya over the head.
"Baka! He's practically your brother!" Everyone sweat dropped.
"What a rude thing to say..." Usagi said angrily.
"Boku... I didn't mean it like that!" Seiya spat. "I meant, that he never seemed to like anyone before... of either sex..." Taiki nodded.
"I especially didn't think he liked women." Everyone but Taiki and Seiya face vaulted.
"Why would you think he liked men?!" Usagi yelled. The others were fuming too. Taiki and Seiya exchanged weird looks, then Seiya bent his head close to Usagi's, so no passers-by would hear him.
"Because we're women, Odango." All the girls had shock written all over their faces. Seiya looked at them. "Minna, you all knew that already..."
"A ha ha ha ha!" Makoto laughed nervously.
"I guess we kind of... forgot. You are male right now, like most of the time." Rei said.
"We see you as guys... because you act like men, and you look like men." Ami said. She received evil glares from Seiya and Taiki.
"Are you saying we look like men when we transform?" Seiya asked. Ami flinched at the glare.
"Gomen nasai! I didn't mean it that way!" Ami spluttered.
"Oh, sure you didn't..." Seiya said.
"Aww... you're just upset because we look so much more feminine
in our fuku's than you three do in hot pants." Makoto laughed. Seiya and
Taiki fumed.
"You're only jealous because men pay more attention to us when
we show up for a fight!" Seiya retorted.
"Its only because you don't leave anything to the imagination..." Rei growled.
"You should talk, in your stiletto heels." Taiki told Rei. Rei narrowed her eyes.
"Whatever. I'd pick stiletto heels over S&M black leather thigh-highs any day..." Makoto snorted.
"S&M?!" Seiya yelled. "At least we fight people, rather than thinking big breasts and kawaii little speeches will make the enemy go away!"
"Oh? And what about you little miss I-have-a-rack-and-EVERYBODY-is-going-to-know-it- because-I-have-the-most-hentai-revealing-fuku-in-the-entire-universe?!" Makoto yelled at Seiya. Usagi could've sworn she saw steam coming out of the heads of those two...
"Think whatever you want Sailor Busty, but I'm sure all the youmas get wonderful views of under your skirt with all the unnecessary jumping and falling you do!" Seiya said the Sailor part quietly. Makoto fumed.
"Unnecessary?! Excuuuse me for being a good senshi and actually
doing something, rather than coming at the last second, and attacking after
we've already weakened it to the point of defeat!" Makoto glared at Seiya,
and Seiya glared back. Only after five minutes of this did they notice
that the others had already walked away, heading back to the temple.
When the group arrived at the temple, they met up with Haruka and Michiru, who had picked up Hotaru from school. They entered the shrine to find Minako and Yaten sitting in the kitchen sipping tea.
"Minna, what took you so long to get back?" Minako asked innocently. Yaten looked up from a newspaper he was reading. Everyone stared at them blankly.
"Nani?" Yaten asked sarcastically. "What's wrong?" Everyone blinked.
"What, what?! Do you want tea or something??" Everyone left the kitchen,
and as soon as they were out of hearing range...
"See?! I told you!" Usagi whispered harshly at the others. Everyone except Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru nodded.
"Told them about what?" Haruka said normally. Seiya clamped a hand over her mouth quickly, as the others put their fingers up to their mouths, in a silencing motion. Haruka looked at Seiya, who, blushing, took his hand away from her mouth when she kissed it lightly.
"What is going on, minna?" Michiru asked quietly. Usagi put her head close to the outers'.
"Yaten-kun and Minako-chan are going behind everybody's backs!!!" She whispered loudly.
"They are involved, and didn't tell us!!!" Makoto whispered. Michiru and Haruka looked at each other.
"So?" Haruka asked. Everyone sweat dropped.
"What do you mean, 'so'?" Usagi asked. "They've been sneaking around, and wouldn't tell us!!!"
"And Yaten?! With... someone?!" Seiya whispered. Haruka and Michiru laughed quietly. Everyone stared at them.
"What is so funny?" Rei asked.
"Well, you're angry over nothing! Who cares? And besides, if I
was dating Yaten, I wouldn't say anything either..." Haruka said quietly,
and was then elbowed in the ribs by Michiru, as everyone gave her dirty
looks. "Nani? What did I say?" Everyone sweat dropped, and turned around,
leaving Haruka alone in the temple. "They just can't take a joke..." Haruka
sighed, and walked after them.
"Aww..." Haruka whined playfully, that night. "Why can't we all sleep in the same room?" This of course, got a whole bunch of pillows thrown at her.
"You little hentai you!" Michiru teased back playfully. "You're just as bad as a guy! I won't have you in here, with your eyes popping out of your head!" Haruka made a grab for Michiru, but she dodged it, and managed to get Haruka in front of the door to the bedroom that the girls were sharing.
"Now!" squealed Usagi, and Haruka was bombarded with every pillow in the room, causing her to fall into the hallway. The girls quickly gathered the pillows back and closed the door, locking Haruka outside. They could hear Haruka laughing as she left to her own room, and even after she closed the door.
"Haruka, Haruka...." Michiru sighed. Everyone was smiling from what they had just done, and they looked at Michiru.
"Michiru, I don't know how you put up with that..." Makoto giggled.
"I know, she can be such a flirt..." Michiru sighed, giggling too.
"She must do it to make you mad, because I can't imagine her going off with anyone else..." Ami said. They all looked at her. "What?"
Suddenly, Minako got up. "Excuse me minna, I have to go to the washroom. I'll be back in a few minutes." She said sleepily, and trudged out of the room. The others looked at one another.
"Where do you suppose she's really going..." Makoto asked.
"Probably a midnight rendezvous... how sweet..." Michiru and Makoto sighed. Rei turned off the light.
"Ne, Michiru-san? Didn't Haruka-san ever have any midnight rendezvous'
with you?" Usagi asked slyly. Michiru didn't respond, and was glad the
lights were out, because a dark blush was crossing her face. Everyone giggled.
"What was that all about, Haruka-kun?" Seiya asked, making himself
comfortable on the futon he occupied, as Haruka walked into the room, clutching
her sides laughing. Seiya rolled his eyes, and looked at Taiki, who had
watched the whole fiasco.
"I think Haruka-san just figured out, the hard way, that she
is too much of a boy to sleep with the girls..." Taiki and Seiya laughed,
as Haruka calmed down, and sat cross legged on her futon, wiping a tear
from her eye.
"I don't see what the problem is..." Haruka said sweetly, feigning
innocence. "Who would be afraid of little old me?" Seiya and Taiki looked
at Haruka for a second, before bursting out laughing. Haruka tried to hold
the sincere face, but failed miserably and started laughing too.
Minako made sure nobody was anywhere near the kitchen before she entered. Yaten sat in a kitchen chair, and looked quite anxious. "Yaten-kun?" Minako said quietly. His face broke into a smile. 'I'm glad we're doing this... even though everyone will probably get mad at me for the secrecy.... Its good to see such a grouch smile for once... and kami-san, what a smile...' Minako smiled back, and taking his hand, led him back to the hallway, right between the two rooms that the other senshi occupied.
"Ready?" He asked. She nodded. He reached for the door of his
room, while she reached for the door of hers...
Makoto was just falling asleep, when she noticed something shine on the ceiling, reflecting the moonlight outside. 'Hmm? What's that?' Makoto was about to get up, when the door suddenly flew open, and revealed Minako, holding what looked like a rope. She pulled it. Makoto looked back up at the ceiling, just in time to have-
A torrent of ice cold water rush down on top of her. Haruka was frozen in the middle of a laugh, and when she saw Yaten, standing at the door, rope in hand, she launched herself out of bed.
"MINAKO!!!" She heard come from the other room, and a flash of yellow and silver, as Yaten and Minako took off down the hallway.
"YATEN!!!" She screamed, and ran down the hall, after the snickering
teenagers. Seiya and Taiki were close behind, as were a very wet Michiru,
Usagi, Makoto, Ami, Rei, Luna and Artemis. They all ran out of the temple,
and stopped. Minako and Yaten were gone.
"Yes! Hee hee hee..." Minako giggled quietly, and she and Yaten shared a high-five. They were huddled on the roof, hiding from a group of very, very angry senshi, who couldn't find them.
"That was priceless..." Yaten snickered. "Hope you liked that one, Haruka!" Minako and Yaten laughed even more, stifling their laughs with their hands.
Once they had finished, they lay down on the roof, pulling some blankets over themselves. They had made a pack of blankets, pillows and clean clothing, and stashed it on the roof of Hikawa Shrine after rigging the water buckets earlier that day. They figured they would need a place to hide until the others got over their anger. It's a good thing they did, because they could hear Haruka kicking over a tree, which they could also hear splintering. Minako sighed.
"That was fun..." Yaten said, snickering again. "Good idea, Minako-chan! I didn't know you could be so... so..."
"Devious?"
"Yes!"
"Yeah well, I've never had anyone fun to play my tricks on other people with. You need two people to rig the water trap, and I'm glad you could help." She got a wicked look on her face. "And I know a lot more tricks..." Yaten smiled evilly, and they laughed again. Yaten sighed as he settled into his... almost comfortable bed. 'Sleeping on the roof is definitely worth it!' He thought. 'Revenge is sweet... Well, maybe Minako-chan isn't as bad as I thought. Now that she isn't clinging to me, and is actually talking too me, instead of at me, she is a lot more interesting to be around. Kami-sama, if I had known she had this in her, I would've even considered dating her so we could do this type of thing together...' He felt a smile creep across his face. 'And if she has some things in mind that are even better than this...'
***
The next day, everyone but Minako and Yaten woke up grumpy. Since
they had already left for school, the others were left to swear and curse
over the past night.
"If I ever get my hands on that little..."
"I'm going to crush her throat with my bare hands..."
"He doesn't deserve to live..."
"She's going to pay for this!"
"My hair... look at my hair!"
"We should make him stay male for the rest of his life..."
"Aa-choo! ~sniff~ I'll never feel dry..."
"So that's what they were up too..."
"Is death too easy a punishment?"
"What an evil-minded..."
And they went on and on... The senshi all grumbled their way
through school, as Yaten and Minako successfully avoided everyone.
***
Later that week, everyone decided that maybe staying together at the
temple wasn't necessary... The dark knights hadn't returned after a week's
absence, so they decided to go back to their own homes, with the exception
that everyone went somewhere with someone else, and no one was alone at
any time. Either that or they were very, very careful, and made sure to
run if they confronted a new knight.
Everyone went home, happy to be away from Minako and Yaten, who
had been playing awful tricks the entire week.
Usagi sighed. She was very tired, and hadn't gotten much sleep
the night before, because of a trick of Minako's that involved feathers
and sticks... she decided not to think about it... 'How do I become a loving
and compassionate Queen when I have someone like Minako-chan running around?'
Usagi giggled slightly. 'Well, its almost too bad she isn't going out with
Yaten-kun... it would have been cute, seeing those two together... Also,
I've never seen Yaten-kun smile as much as when he is with Minako-chan.
She's doing well, and she knows it too... At the least of our problems,
anyway... Ami-chan is all right, but Setsuna is missing... why couldn't
she let us help? We may have been able too... And, what happens if there
are many more of these... Senshi of Corruption? What then? We couldn't
beat even one, and Ami-chan and Taiki-kun barely escaped with their lives...
What if.. what if something happens to one of my friends? Permanently.
No! I mustn't think of such things... if I do, I'll lose hope... and I
can't do that...'
Luna, who was walking beside Usagi, looked up at her. "Ne, Usagi-chan?"
Luna purred, and jumped on Usagi's shoulder. Usagi rubbed her head against
Luna's.
"Ara... Luna... there is something very wrong, isn't there?"
"How do you mean, Usagi-chan?" Luna asked. Usagi shrugged.
"Atashi... Luna, I can feel it... I don't know how... I feel
as if... as if a dark shadow is passing over everything, preparing everything
for something much worse..." Usagi trailed off.
"Usagi-chan, you must learn to trust your instincts... and all
the senshi, including the starlights... they will protect this planet,
you, and the solar system, my princess. Daijobu!" Usagi looked at Luna,
tears in her eyes.
"Luna... I... I can't watch them die again..." Luna looked at
Usagi wide-eyed. "No matter what happens Luna, I have to tell you that
I won't let any harm come to them, even if it means my own life..." Usagi
sniffled, as a few tears escaped her eyes. "I won't let it happen again...
ever..." Usagi looked at Luna, who nodded in silent agreement. They continued
to Usagi's house, and didn't speak again.