Chapter 4
The alarm clock blared in his ears and he poked his head up before swiping a paw at the stop button. It had taken him a while to figure out the human contraption, and it had caused Artemis endless headaches trying to figure out all the various options on the damned thing. Minako had claimed it was easy and useful, as it doubled as a radio, a CD player, and even a night light of dubious quality.
Although as badly as he might badmouth it, Artemis would admit that it did manage to get Minako up every morning without fail. He curled up comfortably in front of the clock, letting his thoughts lazily drift across a multitude of topics. He idly wondered where Luna was then, what he might be eating for lunch, if the inner senshi's sleepover had gone well. He hoped it had, although he thought the act of staying up all night talking about absolutely pointless things was absurd at best. As a cat, he valued the importance of constant and copious amounts of sleep.
But the cat welcomed the sleepover, as a chance to take Minako's mind off the dreams which had haunted her night after night. He figured that it was some sort of delayed post traumatic stress disorder that would eventually fade with time and attention. He could only hope.
He also hoped that they would not be too tired after the night. Artemis had taken the liberty of calling together a meeting of the inner senshi at the Hikawa Jinja, to talk about the issue of readiness. He wanted aggressive patrols over the city, to be prepared for battle on full war footing. Regular meetings to discuss possible incursion routes and ways to founder them. To Artemis, they were still embroiled in a war and could ill afford to let their guard down now. He still did not trust Luna's instincts that there were simply no enemies left and wanted to maintain full senshi readiness until such time that he could be absolutely certain.
It was a character trait inherited from his long list of close calls with Sailor V, when the fate of the world rested squarely on her hands, a tall order for any thirteen year old. Caution had proven necessary, as the defeat of the Dark Kingdom had only been the very beginning of a long line of attacks and enemy incursions. Experience told him that any lull was too good to be true.
He yawned again and blearily looked around before burrowing his head into his paws. Artemis very nearly fell asleep before the timer on the sleep button ran out and the alarm shattered any hopeshe had of sleep.
"Stupid human technology." He grumbled as he dropped to the floor and directly unplugged it from the wall socket. He carefully groomed himself, wondering if Luna had to deal with an alarm clock, and if he might catch a few winks before his meeting later in the day.
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Kevin groomed himself carefully, making sure that no stray pieces of lint clung to his jacket or carefully pressed black pants. Normally, such concerns were somewhat secondary, but he was visiting a Shinto shrine that day and he had been warned that certain precautions needed to be taken.
Like when receiving a dignitary or preparing for an important event, visiting a shrine necessitated certain actions. Shinto placed emphasis on cleanliness and respect, a factual kinship between man, nature, and celestial body. He smirked darkly. 'An exceedingly practical religion, because their gods almost always deliver.'
Making sure that he had his wallet and keys, Kevin left the building, visibly excited about visiting a genuine Shinto jinja. As he descended the steps, his eyes caught the first hints of the mid morning sun, heating up the land with its gentle rays.
However, those rays would turn harsh soon enough, evidenced by the sweat which began to accumulate on his brow upon touching the air outside. Luckily, the Jinja was only a couple of blocks away. He hoped he could make it without perspiring too much.
It was a vain hope, for by the time he had caught a glimpse of the famous torii gates, sweat had built up in the small of his back.
He was tempted to touch them, to feel the cyprus wood under his fingers. But he could not profane the Shrine with human touch, not without looking like a pointlessly out of place tourist. His was never a particularly religious family, and Kevin had always felt a little uneasy such places.
But still he bowed before the gates and then moved to the absolution fountain so integral to any jinja. He ceremonially lifted the ladle out of the water and washed his hands, before filling his mouth and then spitting it back out onto the stone base.
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Five senshi and two cats walked along a little used side path through the gardens of Hikawa Jinja. The day was a little warm, but terribly beautiful as the sun streamed through the trees and neatly trimmed hedges of the Shinto shrine.
Usagi Tsukino rubbed her eyes in the bright morning sun, and whined softly, "I can't believe you woke me up for this."
Mock seriously, Rei muttered, "It had to be done, Odango Atama. For the sake of the world. Or at least according to Artemis. Of course, if he's wrong you'll have to get a new cat, Minako-chan."
The blonde pulled a stray bang out of her eyes and blinked a couple of times. "Fine by me. Just don't leave too much cat hair around when you do it. It's a pain to get out of the clothes you know."
Artemis shrugged off the implied threats with a shake of his head. "Be serious. We have an important matter to discuss."
Luna nodded in agreement. "Artemis is right. We are in a somewhat peculiar situation and we need to deal with it. That is why we had to have this meeting."
Mako cracked a smile. "Besides, I think that an early Sunday morning is a small price to pay for truly going back to a normal life. No more skirts and heels for us."
Ami giggled. "They're not that bad. Think of them as an enlightened and vocal affirmation of femininity. Although I'd much rather not fight in them."
"It's sentiment we all share," Artemis spoke dryly. "But we have to really evaluate whether or not laying down the henshin sticks is prudent. Admittedly, I would like that day to come. And soon. But the real question is can we afford to do it? Rei?"
Sailor Mars grinned. "The fire doesn't say anything about it. I also talked to Michiru earlier. She sees nothing in her mirror."
A smile crept over Minako's tired features. "Does that mean we're in the clear?"
Artemis frowned. "It's a little early to make such assumptions."
They rounded a bend, coming up behind the central altar area. Usagi pensively scratched at her forearm. "We're all a bit ragged from the fight against Galaxia. Too many sleepless nights, too many close calls. I think that we all need a well-deserved rest.
"We are denying ourselves a normal life. Moon Princess I may be, but I cannot ask my friends to sacrifice more than is necessary. Artemis, do you anticipate any problems?"
He scrunched up his whiskers, "I do not pretend to know the future, Serenity-sama. I am simply wary of it."
Rei spoke softly. "Artemis, no one is suggesting that we put away our henshin sticks forever. If there is a youma or cardian attacking, we will respond with force. But I tend to agree with Usagi in this. Any assumptions of danger are more likely to wear us out than anything else."
Minako giggled softly. "Come on Artemis, that's the best you're going to get." She scooped the cat off the ground and hugged him close. "You gotta believe."
Artemis wriggled in her arms until she dropped him to the ground. "Fine, fine." He moodily stalked off, disappearing around the altar building.
Ami stared after him and spoke quietly. "Should we go after him?"
Luna chuckled. "No, he'll be alright. He just a little emotional when he doesn't get his way."
Makoto poked fun at her. "Personal experiences?"
Luna rolled her eyes and trotted out in front of them. "Many. Too many if you ask me."
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Artemis rounded the building quickly, fuming at the inability of his friends to understand. He knew something would happen, just had no idea when or where. 'Shimatta!'
It was at that point he collided with an inconveniently placed human leg. He rubbed his nose with a paw before he heard a voice speaking down to him. "Sorry, cat."
Artemis almost answered, before looking up to see a strangely familiar face staring down at him. Something about it piqued his curiosity, in a way he had not felt for many, many years.
Or would have, had his own human not come scampering around the building to retrieve him.
"Artemis! Where are you?" Minako skidded to a halt, nearly colliding with the man staring down at her cat. She would have smashed into him full force had he not stepped aside, completely dodging her pell-mell advance. "Oh, gomen nasai! I'm such a klutz!"
Dryly, Kevin replied. "This seems rather familiar, does it not?"
Minako looked up. "Oh! I remember you! This does seem rather familiar. I am so sorry."
He chuckled. "Once again, no harm done. And I didn't even have to pick myself off the floor this time," Kevin knelt quickly and scooped up Artemis with a single hand. "I believe that this is Artemis?"
Minako giggled and took him out of his hands. "Yes, that's him. Thank you very much. He gets into so much trouble sometimes."
He could have sworn that the cat gave her a dirty look, before she suddenly stuck her hand out. "Since we run into each other so much, introductions are necessary. Hi! I'm Minako Aino."
Kevin grinned and took it easily. "Kevin Zhi. A pleasure, as always."
She peered at him for a moment, then hazarded a guess, "American?"
He nodded sheepishly. "That's right. Am I that obvious?"
Minako easily switched to accented, but easily understandable English. "Just the clothing. But welcome to Tokyo, Kevin!" She didn't even mix up the letters 'v' and 'b', something Kevin was quickly growing accustomed to in Japan.
Kevin inclined his head. "Thanks. Perhaps I'll catch you some time?"
Minako grinned and flashed him a V for victory sign. "You can bet on it."
He grinned back. "Excellent. Now that we are acquainted, would it be terribly forward of me to ask you a question?"
"Not at all. Fire away!"
"You seem to know your way around here. I wish to purchase an omamori."
Minako chuckled. "A good luck charm? What, do you have a test coming up?"
"Actually, I have a research project that I'll be working on for the next couple of months. I thought it better to solicit the aid of the Kami earlier rather than later."
She giggled. "You seemed like a sensible guy. The gift shop is over there."
Kevin looked to where her finger was pointing then nodded appreciatively. "Many thanks. I'll leave you to deal with your...cat."
She waved good bye and he returned the gesture easily before disappearing into the shop. Minako stared after him again, if only for a moment, then laughed to herself before returning to her friends.