Chapter 21

Artemis stalked his prey with the intensity and monomaniacal tendencies of a chess master at the board. He examined every avenue of approach, using his sharp eyes to analyze routes of approach. Yes, that would be excellent.

He crept from the dining room to the kitchen, darting quickly to the cover of the island in the middle. His padded feet made nary a sound on the waxed walnut floors, but, in his haste, he nearly lost control and almost careened into a cabinet. He flattened himself on the ground, listening for any signs that he had been spotted, then poked his head around the corner to catch another look.

The cat let out a quick sigh of relief. His prey hadn't moved, and just as well. Although beginning to get on in years, Artemis was an accomplished hunter, masterful in the approach and still quick on the pounce. His reflexes were not as fast as they used to be, but his experience in surprising the enemy almost always carried the day.

Artemis started the final leg of his stalk, slowing his pace, placing each paw deliberately in front of the other, feeling the ground before committing his weight. He began his climb up the sofa, positioning himself precariously on top before pouncing down on the yarn with all his might.

In an instant, he knew that he had over compensated. As he sank his claws into his foe, the cat went tumbling head over heels, his momentum carrying him. The yarn got the better of him for a moment, but Artemis committed to his attack, savagely tearing at it with his claws and teeth.

The ball came apart quickly enough, rolling around his feet in great clumps. Only a bit of yarn fluff ended up on the floor, but as the struggle ended, it was clear who was the victor. Artemis mewed ferociously over his vanquished foe, then stalked way to clean himself off.

His triumphant strut across the room hid a great deal from any who might have been watching. The cat's thoughts drifted back to the day he had seen Kevin and the opportunities that he offered. The boy was powerful and malleable, the perfect weapon for Artemis to hone to readiness. For the enemies he was sure were coming, the cat wanted someone who he could simply point in the right direction and unleash. A destroyer of sorts under his personal command.

But as Murphy and Von Moltke dictated, few things worked out as they had planned. Even when bombarded by Silver Millenium lore and memories of obligation and duty, Kevin still retained that annoyingly American trait of bull-headed independence. Not for the first time that day, Artemis cursed all Americans and whoever had decided to mint them out as stubborn, free natured, and determined to carve their own way.

And even as he had seen success in his efforts to break Kevin, his other charge had seen fit to fight her way into the picture. He could not hate Minako, even as she had foiled his plans, but he could despise her efforts to go over his head and figure out who Retainer was. He had witnessed her nighttime forays, her searches for the mysterious masked man.

It was a sign of ill portent. He had deliberately separated Kevin from the senshi to prevent their views from infecting his. The Retainer had to stay vigilant, and Artemis feared that Venus's influence would dull the edge which he had spent so much time refining.

That they had met and seen each other face to face was bad enough. That Sailor Venus had convinced him to stop running and talk was the worst thing he could have imagined happening. Minako had been so happy afterwards, and he had forced himself to be cheerful along with her. But few things could hide the deep dread which he faced each coming day.

He needed a warrior to prepare for the invasion, to carry the fight on by himself, to die if necessary in order to buy the senshi time to regroup and fight off the successively heavier waves of enemies to come.

Artemis supposed that it was a bit heartless for him to think of Kevin that way. He rather liked the kid. Other than his tendency to question everything around him, Kevin was a good listener, a decent pupil, and intelligent to boot. But, Artemis reflected with a grim smile, he couldn't let sentiment cloud his decisions like that. Not when the fate of the world was on the line.

Situations like the one he was contemplating required immediate and drastic actions to correct them. He needed something to distract the both of them. If they were going to be talking, he wanted them to be talking about something besides who the Retainer was and other senshi business. But what would they talk about?

'Personal issues, perhaps?'

For the first time that day, the cat felt a genuine smile. And the pieces of a solution began to fall into place.

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Minako rubbed her bare arms to impart some warmth into them. The choice of a tank top, even underneath a fall coat, hadn't been the most enlightened one to make. That the restaurant hadn't felt the need to turn up the heat even at the onset of winter did not help matters.

She checked her watch and wondered where Ami was. It was unlike her to be even a little bit late. That sort of behavior was more Usagi's thing than her more intellectual friend's. In fact, Minako could barely recall a time when Ami had actually been late for anything . Come wind, rain, tidal wave, whatever, Minako could always count on Ami to be there first, primly reading a book while waiting for her less schedule-bound friends.

The tardiness was distressing enough that Minako looked around, wondering if she was in the right restaurant. Her fears were allayed a few awkward moments later when Ami rushed in. Her cheeks were red from the cold and she was breathing heavily.

"Minako-chan, I'm so sorry for being late! I got very preoccupied at class and didn't notice the time."

"I should dock your report card for your tardiness." Minako spoke sternly, but softened the words with a smile. "What kept you?"

"A conversation with our favorite American, of course." Ami betrayed a slight grin. "He's a rather interesting guy."

"That he is. I like him a bunch."

"Yeah..." Ami fiddled with her napkin a bit before placing it on her lap and taking a sip of water. "So, about the ball a couple nights ago--"

Minako spoke sharply, more sharply than she intended. "I don't want to talk about it."

Ami continued smoothly. "They're very sorry for interfering. Mako and Usagi didn't think you'd have such a terrible time with Bin-kun. You guys get along so well otherwise. I suppose they thought it would transfer over pretty easily."

The blonde fumed for a moment, then laughed tiredly. "I suppose it's partly my own fault. I try to set up my friends with guys, and I guess turnabout is fair play."

"They're your friends, Minako-chan, and they worry about you sometimes."

Minako pretended to be shocked. "Me? How could anyone be worried about me?"

Ami sighed. "You'd be surprised. I think they were excited that you had finally found a guy that you could be friends with for more than a week or two. Perhaps they saw something that wasn't there."

"Why worry about my romantic life? I've never had trouble with that."

"Attracting them is your area of expertise." The girl allowed herself a tiny smile. "But, I have yet to see one which you could connect to emotionally and intellectually. And so, when you met Kevin, we had the highest hopes for you." Ami hesitated. "Are you two doing okay?"

Minako smiled. "Well, I'm not mad at him! We're doing just fine. I think we're good enough friends to just laugh about it. We just kept on waiting for something to happen that night and he finally got the guts to ask if he was supposed to be doing something. "

Ami giggled softly "Oh dear, that sounds exactly like something he'd say."

The blond smiled. "Yeah. We spent most of the evening trying to act like dates, and when he made that crack, it made everything better."

"Good." Ami smiled and eyed her friend. "I'd hate to see a good friendship go to pieces over something your other friends did."

"It won't. He'll be around for the long run, I think."

"That's good." Ami took another sip of water and studied her friend carefully. She quickly came to a conclusion, but refrained from saying anything. Ami simply nodded then motioned to the waiter to take their orders.

After the orders had been taken, the blue-haired girl settled for silence. She felt no need to make conversation.

Minako twisted her napkin around in her hands, a sure sign that something was vexing her. Ami's cool eyes, ever analytical, met Minako's. In an instant, Ami conveyed that she knew that something was not quite right.

The blonde smiled charmingly, but the smile faltered underneath Ami's penetrating stare. Minako sighed and giggled nervously. "So, how long did I manage to fool you?"

"Well, you had until just now." Ami steepled her fingers and smiled. "You're a very convincing liar. And I'm just skeptical by nature." They both chuckled at that little fiction. "So, everything is not going well between you two?"

Minako waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing."

"But it is vexing you, yes?" Ami took another tiny sip of water. "And what are friends for but to deal with annoying little problems?"

"Ha ha." Minako shook her head. "Just a lot of little things that are bugging me. Stuff which I know shouldn't but does."

"Like what?"

The blonde fumed for a moment. "Like how he won't even acknowledge that there's a problem between us. For example, he called last night to set up a tutoring date, and never spoke a word about it. It feels like he's dodging the problem and we can't confront it like adults."

"Perhaps he feels it's behind him."

Minako's expression turned mournful. "I want to believe that. I do. But he's too smart to think like that. I KNOW HIM. He's too intelligent and too perceptive to simply accept that nothing happened between us."

Ami shrugged. "It may be his way of trying to put things behind him. Sort of willing it out of existence."

"But I've hinted to him that that's not enough. I've tried to get him to talk, but he always glosses over the issue. It's just frustrating is all."

"Understandably."

Minako hesitated. "What would you do in this situation, Ami-chan?"

Ami stopped for a moment to think. She was not one to give advice lightly and, as a result, her friends took it as seriously as they were able. "The one thing I've learned about men, in my many years of dealing with them." The last phrase was spoken with a distinct touch of irony. "Is that I am better off throwing everything that I think I know out the window and starting from the basic assumption that they're as dense as bedrock and about as smart when it comes to dealing with emotions. He may genuinely feel that he doesn't need to deal with it. Until then, be forgiving. Be the friend you always have been.

"I'm sure everything will work out then."