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The Gods Affair

Chapter 12

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"Not even death could keep me from your side, Love,"

"Aphrodite!"

"Venus..."

"Love and Beauty"

"Goddess"

"Minako"

"Minako!"

Minako dimly heard her name being called. It sounded so far away... but also...

Usagi?

Minako slowly opened her eyes, cringing as the overly bright light filled her gaze, momentarily blinding her.

"Finally! You slept for hours." Usagi said brightly.

"And you couldn't have let me sleep for longer, I suppose," Minako replied dryly, "me being injured and all."

"That," Rei pointed out from beside her, "is your own fault. What were you thinking, leaving the house like that! And in the dead of night no less!"

"I couldn't help it." Minako moaned pitiously, "and stop yelling."

"Oh no, I know your injuries aren't that bad anymore, you've been healing twice as fast as a normal human."

That caught Minako's attention.

"I have?"

They both nodded.

"But... I've only been asleep for..." she looked to Usagi for help.

"Eight hours," Usagi murmured.

"Exactly," Minako looked up at her friends, "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you. You're as healthy as they come." Rei retorted.

"No," Minako shook her head in confusion, "something is wrong... and I know you've seen it. I think you've been hiding something from me."

"Minako..." Usagi began.

"We're not hiding anything from you." Rei said suddenly.

"You're telling me," Minako said in a low voice, "that what happened to me, was normal?" she motioned to her body, "I randomly recieve these cuts and bruises from a dream and all you can tell me is that nothing is going on? I can't believe you."

"Minako, nothing--" Rei paused as Usagi shook her head.

"We don't know what's happening any more then you do. Of course we're worried, but I don't think that by telling you that, in your current condition we would be doing you any good. I'm sorry for not saying anything, but we didn't want you to worry about it until you were better."

Minako fell silent for a moment, before nodding, "I just--" she paused, "nevermind, may I have a bath?"

Usagi looked at her curiously, but nodded anyway as she stood, "Of course. We'll be in the kitchen if you need us."

"Yes, if anyone else tries to drown me, I promise I will call for help." Minako grinned as she slowly rose from her bed.

While Rei was right about her injuries, it certainly didn't stop her body from aching.

When she entered the bathroom, Minako quickly stripped down and looked at the mirror. Her once serious injuries were no more than thin pink scars. Odd.

Once in the bath, Minako allowed for more reflection on the previous days.

And yet, the moment her eyes closed, she saw Duo's face. Who was he? Was he linked to all of this?

Why did she react so strongly to him?

Frustration tore at her. This whole incident wanted to make her scream and pull at her hair. What was going on, and why wouldn't anyone tell her!

"Duo, Duo, Duo," Minako murmured, as she slowly submerged her head in the water, "what is your role."

Aphrodite emerged from the water in a graceful arc, showering water around her. The tiny rivelettes of water glittered off her perfect skin. She wore only her favorite diamond crown and a thin sheer robe that resembled a glittery second skin.

She basked in the moment, tilting her head towards the sun, allowing its fresh rays to cover her.

There was little better then swimming in her favorite pool on a warm day. Besides, she had much to think about, and no place was better to reflect.

Shinigami.

She felt the familiar giddiness vibrate through her body when she thought of him. And the same sense of unease. Was it possible to be so happy... and yet so afraid. The illicet love affair between them could be their ruin... and yet, how could she put an end to it?

And thereon laid another question. Why could she not put an end to the affair. She was the goddess of love and beauty. Mere mortals both adored and feared her. Gods respected her and... wanted to be with her. It had been that way for how many eras?

And yet, this one god had changed all that. And to make matters worse, he wasn't even from heaven. He was from hell. He liked destruction, mayhem, death, killing and all those dark nasty things that she condoned. He was her opposite in many and almost all ways, and yet... he fasinated her.

Perhaps that was it. The reason she couldn't stop seeing him was because he was different. Like a breath of fresh air, as the mortals said.

Aphrodite smiled to herself, allowing herself to remember all the times they had spent together. So lost in memory was she, that she didn't realize someone was behind her until he spoke.

"Aphrodite."

No one snuck up on gods, so, despite her initial jump, Aphrodite turned around slowly, as though she knew he had been there the whole time. And froze.

A devil stood in front of her, at the foot of the pond, staring at her so intensly, she felt oddly uncomfortable.

Why was a devil in heaven? And better yet, how did he get here?

She took in his large black wings, the erie black glow around him, and the slanted, mean looking eyes and knew him almost immediatly.

Shinigami's right hand man.

In hell, you trusted few to none. Even your own family was fair game for decite and betrayal. To the best of her knowledge, the only person Shinigami trusted above this devil, was his sister, Hotaru.

"My, my," Aphrodite drawled, "this certainly is unexpected. May I be of service?"

"I'm certain you could be," he returned evenly, "but not today. I have something for you."

"For me?"

He nodded and reached into his coat, pulling out something that shone like the sun. Aphrodite couldn't help it, she gazed avidly at the bright object. It was her curse, unfortunatly, to be so enthralled with shiny objects.

"My master wanted you to have this."

That caught her attention.

"Shinigami? He sent this for me?" Her amazement must have shown because Heero quickly explained.

"He explained to me that you had previously expressed your delight over mortal courtship. This gift, I believe is in regards to that." Heero shifted slightly.

Aphrodite was beyond delighted. Oh, many had given her gifts before, but those had all been so... expected. This gift was because Shinigami had listened to her when she admitted she enjoyed the way mortal men courted mortal women. And it had only been in passing. She herself had forgotten about it until then.

"I dont know what to say." She murmured, looking at the concealed gift.

"I believe a thank you would be in order, but perhaps you would like to see it yourself."

He stood at the edge of the pond holding it out to her.

Aphrodite hesitated, "Perhaps you could leave it on the bank, and I shall retreive it when i'm done."

He shook his head, "I won't leave until this gift is passed from my hands to yours."

Odd wording, that. Slowly Aphrodite began walking towards him.

Heero's intense gaze never lessened as he admired her sleek, wet body. But oddly, he didn't exactly react to it. Most could barely form sentences in her presence, and that was when she was fully clothed. But this devil did little more then stare, then look straight back into her eyes, as if to tell her...

That she was...

nothing new.

Stunned into silence, Aphrodite only reached out to take the object.

And then, he pulled back.

Aphrodite blinked at the empty area where his hand used to be, before her eyes darted back up to his.

"It's a broach." He explained holding it up for her to admired.

It was beautiful, she admitted as she gazed longingly at it. It was oval shaped with small encrusted topaz along the edges. Inside there was a large enscription she was oddly unable to read.

"Devilish," Heero said, as if reading her mind, "the writen language of condemed world."

"Which, I assume, Shinigami knew I would be unable to read." she replied dryly.

"Of course. I believe his exact words were, 'Knowing her level of curiosity, she'll be here before the day is out. All the better for me.'"

Aphrodite laughed. She couldn't help it. He would say that, she thought to herself, small curls of pleasure uncurling in her body as she thought of him as he said it. It was silly, really, the way she reacted to him.

As she looked up though, she noticed Heero looking at her oddly, but before she could question him, he held the broach out.

She took it slowly, enjoying the smooth warm feel of the golden broach on her hand. It was heavy, which she found oddly comforting. And best of all, it had been held by him.

"It's lovely," She told Heero, "I believe it's the most amazing gift i've ever recieved."

"I will tell him."

"Please do. And... tell him... thank you." those softly uttered words had never held so much meaning, and yet again she found herself oddly giddy.

Heero looked as though he was going to say something, but shook his head and dissapeared into the trees.

Aphrodite sighed as she fell back gracefully into the water, her hand still clutching the golden broach.

Minako broke through the water, sputtering and gasping, each breath painful and greedy. She hunched over panting, as she tried to calm her thunderous heart. The memories ran through her head in no particular oder.

What, what was that.

"Minako?" came a worried voice through the door, "are you alright?"

"I-" Minako paused, "I'm fine." she said. If Usagi didn't want to tell her anything, then that was just fine. The same applied to her.

"I thought I heard-- nevermind. I wanted to tell you Duo called, but you were in there so long... anyways, he said he wanted to meet you at the gazebow in an hour."

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Well!

This chapter was dedicated to the people who wanted to see a bit more of Minako and Heero together! I finally decided to make use of the program Fanfiction was offering, so no more excuses regarding updates! At least I hope ;D

I want to thank everyone who reviewed and e-mailed me! I really appreciate it!

Review Responses:

Transcendent – It's so great to hear from you! And how could I forget about you O I hope you start writing on here again, it seems like all the stories I see on here these days are from new writers, and while thats of course a positive thing, I can't help but miss all those wonderful people from... how long ago was it? A year give or take? How depressing! Anyways, I'll talk to you soon! (I'm trying to finish the majority of my stories lol) Tons of love!

JovianShe-Wolf – No, unfortunatly, I haven't seen it. Makoto and the others are goddesses, I just... kind of messed up that area. I promise to make it more clear in coming chapters though! Thanks so much for reviewing!

AznxAngel – I promise i'll send Heero your way once I've finished with him! Story-wise I mean ;D It's great hearing from you again! I've missed your reviews D thanks!

Nyx Nox Night – I'm glad you didn't give up on me! Thanks for the review!

Fallenmad – Minako really should just fry Hilde and be done with it ;D but then i'd have no story! And besides, it's more fun to slowly torture her! Hehe Thanks for the review!

Angel Dream Aino – Oh dear, here comes a confession. I really dont know what happens next lol. I never really know what to do until I sit down and start typing! I'll try and hurry with the next chapter though! Thanks for the review!

Kolinshar Benito – Your review almost made me cry! I think I adore you! XD thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate them!