Replies to reviews:
Amanda: Rain hovers hesitantly over a puddle of Amanda fluff-goo Uh,. . .Thanks!
ssteph: Thank you. ;) Kinda felt guilty for taking so long to update. Hope you'll like the following chapters.
girl of darkness: Whoa, girl, looks like you liked ALL of the characters. ;) Hehe, don't worry, Ami's gonna get her MAN! Damn right she would. ;) Lita and Mina's chaps are up!
chintamani: Mwahahaha! Damn right! The dialogue between Rae and Jadeite WAS inspired by the one in Beauty and the Beast. Mwahahaha! I was watching a VCD of that film a few days ago, hence, the similarities. ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Kaze no beru: Believe me, in order for you to put in a lot of humor in your fics, you ought to be a bit crazy in real life too! You gotta be a LOONY like myself. Thanks again! ;) Ohhh, now I know its ZoiSite and NOT ZoiCite.
Isis Aurora Tomoe: Thanks! You've been such a good follower of this fic! ;)
bura400/Selenity07: Thanks! ;) Kewl, you got to see the pic that started all this madness. Would you believe that the one who made that pic, had also read and reviewed this fic? Rain whips out a Mickey Mouse hat and a Disney flaglette, and started bawling her lungs out, "It's a small world after all! It's a small world after all!"
wyannick54: Okidoki! Thanks for reading and reviewing. ;)
Alias: Rain stumbles out from the boxing ring, sporting a wicked-looking black eye C'mon, put 'er der! And promptly fainted in utter exhaustion *_* Thanks for readin'!
Blue Quartz: Ohohoho! Rain wears a naughty grin Be prepared for the following chapters then. ;) Thanks!
IcePrincess: Thank you. ;)
NOTE TO 'OL:
I know this might sound absolutely pathetic considering that I've been posting this fanfic for quite sometime now, but can anyone give me the correct spelling of the senshi and shittenou's full names? Silly me. THANKS!!!
ALSO, I'm afraid there isn't much of a plot here, nor much of a senshi-shittenou encounter. Sorry about that. :( I'll try REAL hard next time. ;)
Chapter 13: Love's First Encounter II
Mina was bawling her poor little lungs out. . .and almost lost a kidney or two in the process.
Artemis on the other hand, rolled his feline-looking eyes upwards and shook his head in utter exasperation as he comfortingly held a lovely, and VERY much hysterical - and not to mention overly dramatic and looking adorable despite of it all - Venusian princess in his strong arms. . .
. . .who was, at the moment, clad only in a fluffy towel.
Oh boy.
"There, there, Mina. . .don't despair. I mean, it was JUST a silly old thing –"
Suddenly, with a swiftness that could compete with the world record speed of one former meatball-head blonde, the fair-haired woman straightened herself up and glared dangerously at the young man, in spite of the fact that he was easily topping her slender form with a couple more inches of his impressive height.
Artemis could have sworn he heard a sharp whip-lashing on the background. . .and was that a menacing growl he just heard?
Uh-oh. The white-haired man tried desperately to rectify his humongous mistake,
"Ah, ehehehe, well,. . .what I ACTUALLY meant, was that. . .um, i-it's just absolutely SILLY for little OLD you to cry over such a um, little THING when, when. . .when I-I'll be out looking for it anyway!"
The blonde before him suddenly brightened up, eyes twinkling like a million tiny stars. She immediately launched herself at the taller man and hugged him for all her worth, not minding the choking sound emitted by the latter who was desperately clawing himself away from her clutching hands,
"Oh, thank you so, so much, Artemis! You're so kind I could just kiss you! You're such an angel!"
The young blonde would have put her promise of kissing the young man into action, when suddenly, a husky contralto voice spoke in a dangerously hushed tone,
"Well, I wouldn't go that far and say he's an angel,. . .ESPECIALLY if he's fooling around behind my back – and with a scantily clad woman at that."
The hugging couple – well, actually, it's more of a lovely blonde girl having a death grip on a strikingly handsome guy – spun around in surprise at the sudden intrusion.
Artemis practically yelped.
Mina, on the other hand, squealed in delight.
The young blonde immediately released her small but evidently well-built arms from around the staggering young man, only to launch herself on the figure standing a few feet away, enveloping her in an affectionate tender embrace, as the other returned her hug in kind.
"Luna!"
"Hey, Mina. How are you, dear?"
"Oh, just dandy, Luna. Just dandy. Oh my, you look absolutely ravishing today!"
"And you're not so bad yourself, though I would have preferred that if you decided to dally with my husband only for me to find out, that you would dress appropriately for the occasion. I dare say it's quite unfair to me to confront you and you looking absolutely divine in a towel while I look wretched with a huge bulge in my tummy."
Mina giggled naughtily at the grinning dark-haired beauty before her, and then slowly leaned down just enough for her head to rest gently on Luna's swollen abdomen,
"G'morning, baby."
Upon hearing Mina's gentle voice and sensing the aura that was Love's, the baby lurched in its safe haven within Luna's womb – obviously overjoyed by the presence of the princess of love.
Luna gasped in quiet delight as she sensed her baby's happiness. The raven-haired beauty then felt another presence beside her as she looked up and gave her beaming husband a smile.
"Hey you," Artemis greeted his beautiful wife affectionately, his hand reaching out to tenderly pat her stomach, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Hey yourself stranger," Luna, her hand reaching out to cover his, answered in kind.
Mina grinned at the lovely couple. If she were to leave abruptly, she could bet all ten of her painted toenails that the two wouldn't even notice her slight departure.
Artemis then steadily leaned forward to rest his lips on his wife's dainty neck, nuzzling the column of flesh lovingly – an act of affection manifested by their feline nature.
Mina's grin grew.
Luna instinctively stretched her long neck in response to her husband's sensual touch, and upon doing so, her gaze fell upon the lovely blonde before her. As if suddenly embarrassed at their *quite* public display of affection, the raven-haired woman swiftly grazed her lips at her husband's cheek one last time before stepping back.
Mina spoke teasingly, "Oh please, don't stop on my account! Do go on! I never knew feline mating rituals can be oh so interesting."
"Mina!" Artemis cried appallingly.
Luna merely smiled in quiet contentment innate to all expectant mothers.
"Oh Artemis, you're such a prude!" Mina admonished jokingly. "It's obvious that you're both SO in love! There's no need – "
"Mina –"
" – for you to hide that. The whole world knows! Besides, – "
"Mina will you –"
" – it's not as if it's the first time I saw you with Luna doing anything carnal –"
"MINA!!!" Artemis flushed in absolute mortification.
Luna burst in laughter, "Oh Mina, you ARE precious."
"Thank you." The Venusian princess smiled mischievously at her dark-haired friend, but then sniffed indignantly upon looking at her companion, "Well, at least SOME of us are taking my precious feelings into account more seriously."
Artemis shifted uncomfortably in his place, "Mina. . .I told you I'll take care of it, okay?"
"Take care of what, love?" Luna asked inquiringly.
The white-haired man sighed but rolled his eyes upward, "She lost her stupid Keith."
"Artemis, you're so mean! Keith is not stupid! He's adorable." Mina dramatically laid a hand on her chest. "He's the love of my life!"
Luna, her eyes wide in bewilderment, spoke in astonishment, "You got dumped by a guy?"
"Oh Luna," Mina continued as if nothing disrupted her tirade, "He's lost to me now. I would never EVER sleep peacefully now that he's no longer beside me in bed at night."
Luna's jaw dropped in shock. Her husband oh-so-kindly closed it for her.
"Y-you slept with him?! Already?! You've already slept with, with. . .a guy?!"
"A doll, sweetheart." Artemis murmured.
Luna facevaulted.
"A what?!"
"Keith's a – "
" – my doll, Luna. With the cutest little nose and beautiful long silver hair. . .sigh I always sleep with him."
For one mind-numbing moment, Luna stood speechless, eyes blinking in stupefaction and her mouth slightly open. Then a sudden spark of realization dawned into her eyes, and with a sudden switch in mood, that even Mina found mind-blowing, the raven-haired woman looked knowingly at her dear husband.
Artemis's lips twitched but merely nodded his assent, before turning to look at his blonde princess, his eyes hiding a particular slip of knowledge only known to him, his wife. . .and a certain general in mind.
"Mina dear, I do think that a change in wardrobe is necessary at this moment. As much as I find you attractive wearing a slip of cloth, I'm quite taken now."
Mina rose a delicate eyebrow at her Guardian for the sudden turn of events, then narrowed her gaze at the seemingly peculiar couple, "You're hiding something from me."
"Naturally." Luna added smilingly. "We're felines in nature after all, stealth is inherent to us."
Mina growled. The blonde hated to be left out on a secret. ESPECIALLY, if it concerns her.
With all the grace one such a small feminine body can muster, the young blonde turned around and with an enticing movement of her hips, walked deftly towards her bathroom,
"You two better be in a VERY talkative mood when I return!" Mina cried as she closed her bathroom door to dress.
The remaining couple merely grinned.
* * * * *
"And then what happened?" a deep voice asked.
"Are you kidding? We rushed out of there as soon as she closed the bathroom door. Mina can be so cruel when she wants to."
You have no idea. Kunzite thought, as he remembered that night a few weeks ago when his beloved almost drove him insane with yearning with her seemingly ardent 'sleeping behavior'.
"Besides," Artemis continued as both men walked towards the living room of the house that Kunzite was currently residing in, "you were just outside the house at that time. A moment longer and you would have been found out. Ever seen - as my wife oh-so-bluntly put it - a 'half-naked drop-dead gorgeous piece of ass' loitering around so early in the morning in this quiet, boring neighborhood before? You're damn lucky noone saw you!"
Kunzite amazingly, found himself feeling a bit warm on his cheeks, an indication of an oncoming blush, and tried to suppress it. Although he knew of his good looks, he was still a bit embarrassed whenever someone pointed it out to him – crudely.
"So does that mean that Mina still doesn't know about me?"
"Er, yes and no."
"What?!"
"Eventually, we had to return to her after we took care of your er, situation. We told her Luna had a sudden jolt of discomfort and had to look into it. Being the motherly hen she was, she immediately bought it and fussed over Luna. After a while however, she remembered the promise I told her to look for her doll – for you."
The two men stopped walking upon arriving at the living room and both sat down, Kunzite in a soft-leather recliner, Artemis on a corresponding couch.
Immediately, several tiny steps were heard before the door to the kitchen burst to reveal newly-cleaned giggling twins carrying two cups of jello's each. One of the Thompson twins rushed forward to settle herself on Kunzite's lap, handing him one cup of jello and giving him a toothy grin. The other twin, shyly at first, sat near Artemis and silently offered him a cup, to which Artemis received with a smile. Seeing that, the child scooted closer to the white-haired man and with a tiny elbow resting on his knee, started gulping down her jello.
Artemis was bewitched.
Deep in his heart, he yearned for the day when his wife would finally bear his child into the world so that he could spoil the kid rotten. . .and feed him/her all the jello's in the world.
After Kunzite 'escaped' from Mina's room, Artemis and Luna decided to aid the tall general, ergo, the former was now residing in a quaint comfy house next door to the Thompson twins, which in turn, was but a few steps away from Mina's home. Seeing that the silver-haired shittenou have yet to adjust to his environment as well as the way of living in the 21st century, Artemis have seen to the former's education – as well as basic needs.
A few weeks or so, Kunzite, with the help of Luna, got a job as an administrative staff in an advertising conglomerate where Luna was working as a copy writer and an account officer. Unsurprisingly, the seemingly quiet general was able to adjust admirably with life in modern day Tokyo.
Artemis winced.
Well, not really ALL that admirably. For one thing, the guy still has the severe austerity of an iceberg. Quiet, aloof and brusque. IF it weren't for his amazing learning curve at work, management would have thrown him out weeks ago.
Artemis grunted.
Add that to the fact that half of the female population in the firm would have thrown a fit if it so happened that their favorite 'stalking material' has been pulled out from under their noses. The guy was a walking popularity poll, for crying out loud. He just got to continue in fending off those loony, suddenly silverhair-crazed girls, and keep them WAY out of arm's length.
But then first things first. . .how to cover up the abrupt disappearance of 'Keith' and the sudden appearance of Kunzite in Mina's life.
"You look troubled. What's on your mind?" Kunzite asked quietly, his arms around the little girl on his lap.
Artemis sighed, "We need to figure out how to explain to Mina about your presence, as well as the absence of her doll. It's not going to be pretty when she finds out I can't actually return her 'Keith' to her in its original form."
"Let me."
"Huh?"
"Let me do it."
"Do what? Come up to her and say, 'Hey, you gorgeous you, it's me, your once-cute-little-doll, we wanted to inform you of our promo to avail us in life-size figures, just sign on the dotted line and I'm yours for life!'" Artemis ranted sarcastically.
"Yes." Kunzite replied smartly, wiping off a dollop of jello from his pants that fell from the little girl's platter.
Artemis studied the man before him, and then groaned in utter frustration, "You're not gonna tell me, are you?"
The silver-haired man merely shifted the kid on his lap on a more comfortable position. He then gently accepted the offered spoonful of jello by the giggling freckled-face girl.
Artemis growled, "Damn you, Kunzite."
"Hush Artemis,. . .there ARE young minds about." Kunzite answered in kind. "Don't want them having such colorful language now do we."
Artemis bristled.
* * * * *
Lita was having a blast.
Oh, yes siree, she's having a damn wonderful bloody time.
The tall dark haired woman groaned in dissatisfaction. Wearing her new emerald suit and sporting trendy jade-tinted glasses, Lita was currently lounging at the garden pool of one of the more posh hotels in Tokyo called the Sakura Garden Hotel, where she had just landed a job as an assistant head chef a few days ago. As an occupational incentive, all members of the hotel staff were privileged with the use of the hotel's facilities and equipment for a certain amount of time during their day-offs.
"Lita honey, want some of my delectable piña-coco vodka cruiser? It's absolutely thirst-quenching and oh-so delish!"
Lita groaned.
Day-off, indeed.
"Err, no thanks, er, Harold. Um, I don't think I'm quite up with the uh, heavy drinking stuff yet."
And the fact that the combination of pineapple and coconut is making my poor little tummy churn upside down has EVERYTHING to do with it.
"Nonsense, honey -"
Lita cringed at the endearment.
" – a beautiful sophisticated girl like you can handle your alcohol real fine."
The burly bald man then reached out a huge beefy arm and circled the cringing Lita in a half embrace. The young brunette almost puked in repugnance as she felt some of the putrid sweat from Harold, the hotel's assistant sales manager, on her bare arms.
Oh God,. . .please have mercy and simply just kill me right now! ARGH!!!
Lita then turned to give a stern, deadly look at the huge man, who since day one, had made it his agenda to make certain passes to the young 'pretty brunette', saying that 'all staff members of tis here's great hotel must build good camaraderie with each other'.
Camaraderie, my foot. Lita bristled.
"Honey, what do you say you and me go find a. . .quiet cozy place to get to, you know, know each other? I can TREAT you real fine, girl." Harold's reeking breath whispered in her ears, his hand of the arm around her body caressing the sides of her breast.
Lita was furious.
For weeks she had been busting herself out just to get this job, and now some low-life loser was about to ruin it all for her. The brunette heard the underlying tone to Harold's 'suggestion' and the implications it carried - 'you make me happy, or else'.
"So, what do you think, Lita-honey? C'mon now, let's have some fun with Harold-babe."
Another hand. This time, on her bare thigh.
Lita was livid, and she felt tears in her eyes at the unfairness of it all.
Oh God,. . .I'm sorry Serena, I guess you have to wait another more year before I could treat you out. Enough IS enough!
"I think not." Lita suddenly lifted the arm around her shoulders and stood up, looking down at the shocked, and slowly fuming burly man.
"Excuse me?!" The huge man stood up to face the enraged beauty before him.
Lita merely raised an eyebrow.
"Are you deaf? I said, I THINK NOT. You see, I am not overly fond of those 'cozy places', especially when most of the air will be dead due to your stench."
Harold's face turned red at the insult, and if not for the seriousness of the situation, she would have laughed out loud at the hilarious sight.
The beefy bald man then scowled at Lita.
"You better be watchin what you're saying, slut. Or else. . ."
Lita can't help it. She striked. It was purely instinct.
Noone. . .absolutely NOONE EVER dared call her a slut. Especially not some asshole pot-bellied balding jerk with a big 'L' for loser on his frigging oily forehead!
The next thing she knew, the scum she gave an upper punch to was found sitting on the ground with a hand holding to his face as blood flowed freely from his pug nose. The people around the pool gasped at the sight, and one of them, probably a staff, went inside of the hotel talking rapidly regarding the incident on a hand radio.
Lita cursed.
Now she's in deep shit.
Oh what the heck! The brunette shrugged, then put up a defensive pose. I'm in dire need of an exercise anyway.
"Y-you bitch! You fucking bitch! YOU'RE FIRED! You hear? You're fucking outta here!" Harold shouted through muffled speech considering that he still had his hand over the front of his swollen face.
Lita, despite her strong stance, was crestfallen. She had just lost her first job.
She then raised her chin higher and smiled smugly.
Oh well, at least I get to loose my job with a bang. This is really gonna hurt my credentials. But what the heck, I get to punch the jerk, anyway.
The portly man, who had by now stood up from his fallen position, got more maddened at the sight of the smiling girl.
"Bitch! GET OUT!!! Get out before I throw your ass out! You -"
"Tsk tsk, is that the way a high level hotel staff member supposed to act towards his colleagues?" a smooth voice suddenly came out of nowhere.
Harold immediately spun around at the sound of the condescending voice and scowled at the tall ruggedly handsome man standing behind him.
Lita gasped, eyes widened and glazed – dumbstruck to the core.
Dear lord. . .it - it couldn't be. . .but - it's impossible. . .
The tall dark-haired man turned to bestow a gaze on Lita - his emerald eyes staking out a claim for his mate – and gave her one tiny but devastating smile.
A few girls from the crowd gasped at the wondrous sight.
Lita was numb.
Then the handsome stranger, who was not a stranger at all to one Jupiterian princess spoke in a deep voice,
"Hello, love. . .by the way, loved the suit."
It was then that Lita fell into a dead faint.