Part XI

"So where is he taking you?" Makoto asked as she sat on Minako's bed.

Minako was getting ready to go out on her date with Seiya that night. "No he didn't say where we were going, and that's why I'm having such a hard time finding something to wear. If he's going to make it in this dating world he's going to have to learn how to let a girl know how to be prepared!" Minako was becoming aggravated as she hunted through her closet for that perfect outfit.

Makoto sighed as she lay back on the bed. "I wish I had that problem. Every girl in Japan wanted to date me and all I had to do was choose which one I wanted to date."

Minako stood up straight from her messy pile of laundry. "You want to date girls now?"

Makoto sat up shaking her head. "No dumb ass, I was just using it as an analogy!" Makoto became a little red in the face as she saw Minako laughing at her.

"Well that's not what you said. So what do you think? Is this alright?" Minako began doing poses for Makoto to judge her outfit.

"Minako, that's the one you started off wearing!" Makoto got up to walk over to the pile of magazines that sat on top of Minako's dresser. "What about Yaten? Are you saying you officially gave up on him? Inquiring minds want to know!"

Makoto had one of the magazines rolled up and placed it in front of Minako's face as a microphone. "Come on, get that thing out of my face." Makoto sat back down and began flipping through the pages. "I didn't say I gave up. Remember my original mission is to get all three of them, although I don't think that Taiki is really my style now that I get to know him."

Makoto chuckled at her friend as continued to flip through the pages. "You're just mad that Yaten doesn't pay attention to you, or at least not as much as you'd like. I would almost be inclined to think that you were doing this to get Yaten, not Seiya." She looked up to see Minako's reaction. "I mean come on, do you really think that you and Seiya are going to hook up? Do you really want to be the one that he settled for?"

Minako pondered the thought for a moment. "Hmm. let me see.uh YEAH!!" She quickly spun back around to the closet and began her search anew again.



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Yaten sat on the couch in the living room waiting to use the bathroom. "Oh come on you've been in there for almost a half an hour now!" He yelled at the door with a disgruntled look on his face.

Seiya and Taiki looked on from the doorway to the kitchen. "I don't think he's used to some one taking more time in the bathroom than him." Seiya smirked.

"You know she's just doing this to get him fumed." Taiki sighed as he began to think about Kakyuu. "You know, she's really changed since we came to Earth. Not in a bad way, but a good one."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Now she can just let loose and be normal. I hate to admit it but I like her better this way. Sarcastic little brat that she's become, she's definitely competition for Yaten now!" Seiya turned to finish up what he was doing in the kitchen.

The bathroom door opened to reveal a primped up version of Kakyuu. "You know Yaten, you could show a little more courtesy to a lady."

"You're not a lady any more! You've become as much as a pig as the rest of us, well maybe not Seiya but still!" Yaten pushed his way past her and into the bathroom.

The door slammed shut in Kakyuu's face and in a few seconds they heard a very relieved sigh come from the room. "You're not all that and a bag of chips either you know!!" Kakyuu said when the door opened again to show a much more pleasant Yaten.

Yaten gave her a little 'whatever' sign and walked back to his seat on the couch. "Queen." Kakyuu muttered under her breath and sat down next to him. (If you don't know why she called him a queen then consider yourself fortunate.)

Seiya and Taiki soon joined the other two in the living room. Seiya was finishing off the rest of his burger when he sat down between Kakyuu and Yaten on the couch. "So I take it you're not taking Minako some place to eat tonight." Yaten snorted.

Seiya just gave him a side-glance. "What are you talking about?"

The three's eyes went wide as they looked at Seiya. "Your date with Minako tonight, remember?" Taiki informed the clueless man of his plans.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I should probably get going to go and get her huh?" Seiya got up off the couch and headed to his room. He was soon back with his keys in hand.

"What?! You're not going to even change and look nice for her?" Yaten asked. He seemed a little disgruntled about the whole situation.

"Unlike you I always look good. Hey if you want to go in my place be my guest, I can always call Odango up and do something." Seiya offered his keys to Yaten as though he was handing over his date.

Kakyuu stood up between the two. "You know Seiya, this date is never going to work out if you just think of it as something you had to do instead of spending time with Usagi."

"Who said I wanted it to work out?" Seiya asked as he shoved the keys in his pocket. "I'm just doing this to be nice to Minako."

"You'd better be nice to Minako!" Yaten snorted out.

"Wow, where did that come from?" Taiki turned to look down at Yaten who had his arms folded across his chest trying to make himself look a little bigger than he was. "What are you going to do if he isn't nice to her?" He was finding amusement in this whole situation.

"I'm gonna. Nothing, leave me alone!" Yaten shouted back as the others had to stifle a laugh.

Kakyuu, taking a serious tone, approached Seiya and put her hands on his shoulders. "Sweet heart, you know that she already has some one right? Why do you want to waste your life chasing after some one you can never be with?"

Seiya had no answer just looked at Kakyuu like this was the first time he had heard this news. What? He could never be with his Odango, he already knew that but it still felt like she had just slapped him in the face. Taiki decided to add his two cents. "She's right. We just wanted you to start dating other people, who knows, maybe you'll find some one you like even more than Usagi."

That was it, that was all Seiya could listen to then decided to turn and walk out the door.



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"Thanks for agreeing to come out with me tonight." Minako said as the two walked from her house towards Seiya's bike.

"Minako, we're friends, I'd do anything for my friends." Seiya handed her a helmet.

Minako looked down at the helmet and fumbled around with the strap. She had spent a while doing her hair and now he expected her to wear this? That was rude. She saw no need in arguing the issue though, it's not like she wanted to fall off and crack her head open, she didn't want to fall off at all come to think of it. Minako began to take her red bow out of her hair and put it in her bag. "So where are we going?" She asked ignoring the 'friend' comment.

Seiya glanced over at her once he had his helmet on to see if she needed any help with hers. He found himself staring at Minako for more than a short period of time. "Umm. we're. " He was at a loss for words as he admired Minako with her hair down. "going to see a movie, if that's alright with you?"

"What?" Minako was beginning to become uncomfortable with him staring at her like that.

"I said I wanted to."

Minako cut him off. "No, I mean what are you staring at, I heard you."

Seiya felt himself blush a bit as he realized that Minako had noticed. Come on, how could she not have noticed, he was staring at her for almost ever! "You know, you look a bit like Odango when you don't have your hair pulled back."

Minako face faulted. She thought that he was staring at her amazing goddess of love and beauty face not thinking about how she looked just a little bit like Usagi. "Let's go." 'This is going to be a long night.' She thought to herself as she mounted the bike.

Seiya had figured that they would go to a movie. Some place dark and some place where they wouldn't have to talk to each other too much. Perfect. This is why he chose to ride his bike there too, he didn't have to make conversation with her.

They had arrived a little late and missed the opening credits of the movie. They didn't get a chance to talk before the movie started either. Minako, being as sly as she was looked over at Seiya throughout the movie to see what he was paying attention to, her or the movie. She was sadly disappointed when she realized he was content with the movie. 'Maybe he just needs some motivation!' She thought to herself with a smile.

Seiya felt Minako's hand make it's way onto his and quickly looked down at it and then at Minako. "Goober?" He asked her while freeing his hand to offer her the snack.

Minako took the candy and huffed while she slumped back down in her seat. Seiya smiled at the fact that he had discouraged her, but then again he didn't really know Minako that well!

After the movie was over the two exited the theatre and made their way to the coffee shop on the corner. "That was such a great movie, I could definitely watch that again." Minako skipped along on their way. "What do you think? Did you like it?" She glanced over at Seiya who was looking straight ahead with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Yeah, it was pretty funny." He chuckled to himself as he continued his thought. "I bet Odango would be rolling on the floor after watching that one!" He continued to laugh and didn't notice the displeased look he was getting from Minako.

Minako passed it off, she was going to have to work pretty hard to try and find things to do and talk about that didn't remind him of Usagi. When they were finally seated in their booth the waitress came over to take their orders. They weren't ordering food just a little nightcap before he dropped her back off. "Can I take you order?"

"Sure we'll have two hot chocolates with extra whipped cream." Seiya said smiling at the waitress.

"Wait a minute, I hate whipped cream!" Minako voiced in before the waitress wrote the order down wrong. "I'll have a hot tea with lemon." She corrected.

When the waitress walked away Seiya looked down at the tabletop. "Sorry, it's just that whenever Odango and I go out we always order two hot chocolates with extra whipped cream."

Minako began to wave her hand in front of Seiya's face. "Earth to Seiya. Hello!. I'm not Usagi, or haven't you noticed?" Minako couldn't take it any more, she had to let him know how much this was bugging the living daylights out of her.

Seiya looked up at her like he hadn't done anything wrong. "I know that."

"Well it's not exactly polite to go out on a date a girl and talk constantly about another girl. That's why guys end up getting slapped so much!" Minako tried her best to look threatening but failed when she started to giggle.

He had to laugh back at her and their drinks came. "I don't know why everyone is so worried about me finding a girl friend." Seiya commented as he stirred his drink.

After placing her cup down Minako reached across the table and put her hand on top of his, this time not to come on to him but to comfort him. "Can you just humor us? Please? You never know, if you let loose a little you might actually have fun. Next time we'll try to hook you up with some one who looks absolutely nothing like Usagi, OK?"

Seiya looked up at her. 'Next time?' What was this girl thinking? "Well are you ready to get going?"

Minako grabbed her bag and got up to and waited for Seiya to do the same. He left the bill on the table with his tip and they left the restaurant. They had a bit of a walk ahead of them to get back to his bike. "You know, I'm going to walk into a whole bunch of questions when I get home. Yaten will be all over me." Seiya laughed at himself when he thought of the little midget badgering him with his silly inquiries.

"Good, let him suffer!" Minako huffed. "Maybe now he'll see that I'm not to be taken for granted and that I can have any man I want and he'd better get his ass in gear and ask me out!"

Seiya couldn't help but laugh, he didn't know that Minako knew that Yaten liked her, but this made it all the more amusing. They proceeded to put their helmets on and get on the bike.

They soon pulled up in front of Minako's house and Seiya turned the bike off as he helped Minako off. "I had fun with you tonight." He said, and he actually wasn't lying, it just wasn't the kind of fun that everyone hoped he would have.

"Seiya, I hope you get through this. I know you don't want my advice or suggestions but I do think this is best for you. Usagi loves Mamoru and the sooner you face that the better." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "And I don't mind if you exaggerate that kiss to Yaten when you tell him about it either." Minako walked off ranting and raving under her breath about the hostile little midget that she has grown to love.

"Goodnight Minako." Seiya said behind her and started back up his bike to go home.

The lights to Seiya's apartment were still on when he approached the building. He fumbled a bit putting his key in the door but finally got it as he swung the door open to see a very wide eyed Yaten sitting on the couch.

"So how did it go?" He asked anxiously.

Taiki and Kakyuu weren't around. Seiya made his way to the couch and plopped down next to Yaten taking the remote. "I think I'm in love!" He exclaimed.

"WHAT!!!" Yaten screamed and stood up straight sneering down at Seiya. "I let you go out on one date with MY Minako and you think you're in love? Well you'd better forget about it Mister cause it ain't gonna happen!!"

Seiya started rolling on the floor laughing while Yaten continued to shake his finger at him. "I'm just kidding, boy you're gullible!" Seiya stopped laughing and sat up on the floor. "And by the way, since when did she become YOUR Minako? I don't remember that."

Yaten got red in the face and refused to answer Seiya's prying question. He turned quickly and stormed off to bed leaving Seiya pleasantly amused in the living room.