Chapter 16

"This close, Artemis!" Minako fell back onto the bed, tossing her henshin stick onto the desk carelessly.

The cat cocked his head slightly. "Do you know who he was?"

"No clue." She made a curious noise of displeasure, then sighed. "Whoever he is, he's a fast one."

"In what way?" Artemis inquired softly.

"In every way. He's nearly lost me several times, before I cornered him and he teleported out. Enhanced speed, high jumper, and has an artist's talent for evasion. Creative bastard."

The cat pawed at his whiskers questioningly. "Perhaps I can help you identify him. You mentioned that he might be Silver Millenium in origin."

"Yeah, dark blue uniform, a little bit like the Dark General's one, but softer lines. Cape, and I think there is a crescent sigil on his arm. Powerful spells too. Energy shields, teleportation, telekinesis. From what I saw, he's working pretty much on instinct. I saw him hesitate in battle a little while back. I think that might be a sign of inexperience. I'm not too sure."

Artemis said nothing and began to groom his paws carefully. It was a pensive gesture and Minako took the time to take off her jacket and begin to dress for bed.

It was a while before he spoke again. "I can only assume that he was a military man of some sort. The outfit you describe is very close to the uniform of the Moon Guard, an defense force of sorts under Serenity. If he has powers, then he was probably a mage of some sort, maybe attached to the army as an advisor or something. Other than that, I am as clueless as you."

The cat was aghast at how much she had already figured out. Through simple assumption and logical conclusion, she had deduced a lot about his charge and would no doubt find out more with time.

Artemis supposed it was inevitable. Minako had not been assigned leadership of the senshi because of a pretty face. Serenity had seen the leadership potential in the young girl and forced her to take on more and more responsibilities. There was still a hint of the old Venus in Minako, an active and unrelenting problem solver. It manifested itself less and less these days, but had come to a happy equilibrium with the other personality which inhabited her body.

He hated to deceive her, but occasionally he needed to take matters into his own paws. He could not risk Minako getting too close to Kevin. To know him as an ally and a friend would wreck all of Artemis's delicately laid plans. It would cause the senshi to lapse back into the playful indolence that peacetime brought. It was a deadly behavior, at best.

He felt it in the deepest recesses of his bones. The visions he had seen were inauspicious ones. At times he imagined Tokyo set aflame by the breath of some omnipotent foe. Other times Artemis saw the evil growing organically from the heart of the city or descending from above. There were too many for it to be coincidental.

He could not know how or why the evil would come about. The cat only knew that it would be coming, and that he had to prepare for its eventuality. That would simply have to be enough.

Artemis half smiled. "Minako-chan, if I may, I have a suggestion."

"Shoot."

"Well, this man you speak of. You said that you detected no evil from him?"

The blond shook her head. "No, he seemed to be rather good in that regard. I am pretty certain we are on the same side. But I can't imagine why he would show up now. Of all times to get an ally, he chooses peace."

The cat shrugged. "You can't really choose when and where your allies arrive."

"I suppose not. It's just infuriating." Minako plopped down into her chair and propped her legs up on the desk.

In utterly reasonable tones, "Of course. But, Minako-chan, you must learn when and where to fight your battles. At this point, it might do you better to spend more time on life outside of Sailor Venus. There are more important things to attend to rather than mysterious strangers and all that."

She chuckled heavily. "But then where would all the spice in life be?"

The cat began to lick his paws pensively. "I am quite certain that the life of Minako holds enough excitement for both of us. You have serious school work these days, not to mention a certain social event to attend soon."

"Ah! The charity ball, I completely forgot! This thing has completely frazzled me Artemis."

"Perhaps you ought to concentrate on being a high schooler again. It isn't a sin, you know."

She giggled. "Weren't you the one who kept on telling us that we had to patrol the city every night, keeping an eye out for trouble?"

"Even an old feline like me can have a change of heart and opinion." The cat smiled. "Go to sleep, Minako-chan. I trust that the morning will bring slightly more clarity to your problems."

"One hot coffee." Motoki poured the cup in front of him and yawned. "You're up early."

Kevin coughed and stirred in a sugar cube. "To be honest, I didn't sleep too well. If I'm going to be up, I might as well be up and productive."

"I always thought you were a masochistic one." Motoki yawned again before pouring himself a cup of dark tea.

"And you. What are you doing up so early?"

"Just tending the shop. A poor med student who needs a bit more cash to support his lifestyle and girlfriend."

Kevin chuckled and reached for a milk. He would have preferred to take his coffee black, although he knew his stomach would rebel against that. It was still a little too queasy from the chase the previous night.

In the silence of that very early morning, he tried to understand what he had seen. Princess Venus had seen him, piercing his carefully laid stealth routines and Artemis's careful planning. She had found him, although he had no reason to suspect that she had even seen him before. So, he was up against somebody with deeper avenues of intelligence that he.

Oddly, it did not frighten him and he could not quite explain why.

"What are you up to today?" Motoki's question allowed Kevin to escape that worrying thought.

"Eh, your usual. Classes then teaching. Dinner, some black magic and hopefully a quick broomstick ride before dark."

Motoki couldn't suppress a smile. "Sounds like a terribly boring day."

Kevin nodded, "You're telling me. I get depressed thinking about it."

"Then why are you up so early? Sleep would certainly be a way to avoid thinking about it until you have to deal with it."

"Yes, well." Kevin yawned. "Call it force of habit. Gotta wake up and be productive. Even when being awake is a hazard to myself and those around me."

Motoki shook his head. "For such a smart guy, you have a noted lack of survival instinct."

"What can I say?" Kevin took another sip of coffee. "Darwin forgot."

The wind picked up for a bit, whipping into her like a cold knife. Her blue eyes shot to the sky for a moment in an annoyed glance. She shivered and clutched her jacket around her stiffly. It was unseasonably cold, even for Tokyo, and that annoyed her.

It had been a cold eternity since she last thought about it. But there it was, staring her in the face. Artemis's innocent comment had spawned a dozen divergent thoughts within her. She knew that part of it was a superficial want to have a partner for a simple dance, a urge driven by genetics and social mores. She smiled at the shallowness of that thought.

Her mind wandered back to other dances she had been to, the fun she had had with dates. An image of the Saijou Ace pushed its way to the top of her mind and her clear blue eyes closed in pain. She cursed softly and leaned against a nearby wall.

She idly considered punching it before a voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, you okay?"

Minako turned to see Kevin, looking concerned. "No, I'm fine."

"Uh huh." Kevin reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. She stared at it stupidly. "For your eyes."

"Oh!" Minako grabbed it and dried her tears. "Sorry."

Kevin smiled and spoke gently. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She essayed a beautiful smile that faltered underneath his stare. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay. Then, will you permit me to accompany you to school?"

"Aren't you going the opposite direction?"

Kevin raised one eyebrow. "Yes, but that way I can't harass you into telling me."

Minako laughed. He was charming in his own way. "Fine, fine. I deign you worthy to escort me to class."

He chuckled and they set out together.

By chance, Makoto glanced down the way. A sly smile crossed her face and she poked Usagi in the ribs. "Hey, check this out."

Usagi's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Who's the guy?"

Ami turned her attention at the pair. "That would be Kevin."

"You know him?"

"I know of him."

Usagi's blue eyes opened wider. "Then tell!"

Ami half smiled. "Why?"

"Because! We have an opportunity here and I don't think we ought to waste it."

The blue haired senshi cocked her head slightly. "And what, pray tell, would that opportunity be?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you see it too. Minako is lonely, terribly so. I am not sure why or how it came about, but I know it. I can see it as well as you can."

Ami hid a grimace. Sometimes she forgot that Usagi was more perceptive than the odangoes suggested. The major problem with her friend's perceptions was the fact that she liked to meddle in things and not leave well enough alone. It was the other side to Usagi's persistently caring personality, something to be tolerated and even welcomed.

Just not now. Ami was a firm believer in letting her friends find their own ways, without intervention or assistance from others. If asked an opinion, she would offer it. But to intentionally perturb a system as complicated as romance only invited trouble.

"He's a nice enough guy. What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." Usagi's innocent smile was returned with a raised eyebrow.

Ami hazarded a guess. "The charity ball?"

Usagi shrugged. "What better place? A beautiful ballroom, Minako in her finest dress. They can dance the night away and fall in love by morning!"

"You know Minako is going to hate us if we do it. Especially if it does not work."

"And if they get together, she'll thank us even more!"

Ami looked longingly at Makoto for support. "Mako-chan..."

Makoto thought for a moment, before declaring. "I think they would be rather cute together."

Usagi grinned. "You're outnumbered, Mizuno. Give up while you can."

Ami sighed loudly and shook her head.

Minako asked idly. "Have you met any of my friends aside from Ami?"

"Not that I can recall, no."

"Oh, I'll have to introduce you!" Minako grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards the group of girls standing outside the entrance to the school.

"Minako-chan, I'm not sure -" Kevin protested weakly as he was dragged towards Juuban. Her small frame was stronger than he expected and he was eventually forced to fall into step with her.

She cut him off cleanly. "Come on. You're just as much my friend as they are. Besides, it's about time you got to know some other people in Tokyo."

Minako stepped neatly behind him and gave him a push, ejecting him into the middle of the group of girls. "Everybody, this is Kevin. Kevin, everybody."

Kevin smiled sheepishly. "Hi, folks."

A blond, odangoed girl took the lead, reaching out in a most American manner to grab his hand. "Usagi."

"Nice to meet you. Minako has told me so much about you. With many curious comments about your hair."

"Oh really?" Usagi shot an evil look at Minako who shrugged innocently and smiled. Usagi laughed easily. "Well, I get a lot of hassle for my hair. It works for me."

Kevin laughed. "Which is truly the most important of things."

Makoto took a long stride forward and reached out to grip his hand. Kevin almost winced at her vise-like grip, but covered it easily with a smile. She flashed a wide grin. "Mako-chan."

"Kevin. Nice to meet you too." Kevin nodded politely, before turning to Minako. "Well, I ought to head off to class. I'll see you later."

Usagi's eyes darted to Makoto's quickly. The quarry was getting away. Before she could even tie him down with another question or statement, he was already walking quickly away. Her mouth creased into a thin, determined smile.

She turned to Minako. "He's cute."

Minako half smiled at her. "I didn't used to think so. But he's got a real presence about him. Some grounded, earthy power I can't describe or understand."

Makoto replied with a low chuckle. "Oh you like him, don't you?"

The blond looked shocked as if it were heresy that such a suggestion could be made. "No way! He's my friend and a fun guy to be with."

Usagi shrugged as if she was about to drop the topic. "At any rate, we have more pressing concerns to attend to."

Minako stared at her friend quizzically. "Such as?"

"Shopping for this Saturday's ball?"

Minako slapped her forehead. "Darn, I forgot again! Artemis reminded me this morning too. I'm convinced I'm losing my mind."

Makoto affected a look of dismay. "Do you even have a date for Saturday?"

"No, no. Shoot. I think I'll just stay home."

Usagi smiled slyly and gestured in the direction where Kevin had retreated. "What about him?"

Minako's face immediately shifted from despair to genuine discomfort. "I dunno, guys. I think that would be a little too weird, even for me."

Mako gave her a motherly glance. "Come on, you're a liberated girl. No one is going to think worse of you because you asked your tutor to a dance. I mean, it's just a ball. It's not like you're expecting him to fall in love with you."

Usagi nodded quickly and gave a reassuring smile. "It's just a date, right?"

"Just a date." The other blonde shivered slightly and spoke softly. "Are you guys sure?"

"Positive."

Minako glanced down the street, then flashed each of them a dazzling grin. "Okay! I bet I can still catch him!"

And before they could answer, she scampered away after the departed American.

Makoto and Usagi subsided into a fit of giggles. "Score one for the good guys!"

Ami merely stared.