My Lord Kunzite, what brings you here?

Kunzite scowled fiercely, turning rudely away from the fawning woman who had been attempting to flirt with him. It was not that she wasn't lovely, but when one had held the goddess of love and beauty herself, all others could only suffer in comparison.

It was not the first such annoyance today while he waited and watched. He wondered again if this was the proper tact to take, but Zoisite had seemed so certain.

As he'd said, "Nephrite's powers have failed us, so have to use our common sense and skill instead. He was lucky and has only to wait to ensure that his lady comes to him. But we must seek out our quarry where they are most likely to be since the city is far too large to hope that the rest of us might be as lucky. We used to hunt. Let's do so again." With that the wily and wiry Shitennou had set out to search every library and scholarly place until he found the Mercurian princess, whose intellect would demand such stimulation. Jadeite had leapt at the plan as well; he hadn't seen any of his men since, though it had been days.

It had seemed an excellent idea at the time, which was why Kunzite was at yet another shopping establishment seeking his lady, who was, as he recalled, remarkably fond of fashion. A pity, he thought, his eyes glazing over in memory, as she looked so much more stunning sans any clothing at all…but he'd never been able to convince her to stay that way.

In any case, for want of any other plan, here he was at the fifth such marketplace. A department store, they called them. After some consideration he had decided to do his watching and waiting in the area between shoes and cosmetics. He had briefly considered ladies apparel, but rethought the matter realizing he would be far less noticeable elsewhere. Not that, with his unique silver coloring, he had gone particularly unnoticed.

Aside from the salespersons who had attempted to charm him into buying items and the security staff who had, at least for a while, watched him as if he was a common thief, he had also drawn a more than welcome amount of notice from women passing through the two departments. And a few foolhardy men. Offers of both romantic and prurient natures had been forthcoming. Indeed, he'd gotten one offer that he didn't even understand. He had dealt with them all by the same method…ignoring them. It usually didn't take long for even the boldest flirt to wither under his chill stare. Only she never had.

He sighed dispiritedly, rubbing his stiff shoulder and leaning against a column. It was getting late. The store was almost deserted and would close shortly. Perhaps he should go. If he could track down any of his men, they could come up with a new plan. For if they could not find the women, perhaps they could find the prince.

That sound notion was dropped moments later when a ravishing woman rounded the far end of the perfume counter, sample in hand, trying to get the salesclerk's attention.

"Minya," he breathed in disbelief, drinking in the sight of rounded curves, pouting ruby-glossed lips, the studiedly messy topknot of gold that screamed for a man to take it down before taking her to bed.

By gods, the stupid idea worked!

The faint sound turned her head.

An amber bottle of Aphrodite's Kiss dropped from nerveless fingers to the glass counter with a splintering crack. Azure eyes rounded in sudden horror, then flashed with righteous fury as her spine stiffened.

Haltingly he moved toward her, but she gave a short, sharp shake of her head and moved toward the exit, refusing to risk innocents. Her eyes narrowed as he made to hold the door for her, but then he realized that she was keeping her back to the wall and so he turned, exposing his to her, and never looked back. Only the soft tap of her shoes behind him let him know she still followed. He sensed rather than saw the moment she henshined and dropped his own glamour at the same moment, exposing his uniform proclaiming him a protector of Elysion.

He heard her muffled curse.

When they were finally alone, deep in the cavernous darkness of the alley, they faced off. To put her at ease he set aside his visible weapons, sword and boomerangs, coming toward her barehanded. The attempt was well meaning, but ultimately useless. She wasn't feeling either trusting or forgiving.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't Crescent Beam you straight to Hell!" she demanded in honey sweet tones which belied her caustic intent. Her beautiful face was porcelain brittle, taut with strain.

Well, that was blunt. The challenge reminded him that she was no longer a girl, in spite of her youthful façade, but a woman grown and a commander born and bred.

"Because Sailor Senshi don't harm the innocent."

Her face contorted in sudden rage and a wash of gold flared up in the blue of her eyes. With a sharp flick of her wrist, his weapons sailed across the alley and landed in a heap of refuse, making him wince at the thought of how the sword's edge would suffer. The gleaming chain, freed of its burden, snapped back, recoiling around her waist with a quietly lethal hiss.

She was not inclined toward sympathy. "No. But whatever else you may be, you're NOT innocent, Kunzite. You never were. And you certainly cannot claim to be so now."

The look of pain brought by seeing too much settled onto his face, deepening the lines here and there. He could not deny the truth of her words. "No."

She raised her hand, forefinger extended menacingly. "Care to try again?"

"I'm no threat to you, Minya," he murmured low. His silver grey eyes glittered in shadow like moonlight on a dagger's edge.

That was a bald-faced lie, they both knew. He was a threat to her just by the very fact of his breathing, but they both chose to ignore the obvious. After all, equally unspoken was the knowledge that she was as much a threat to him.

"Why are you here?" she hissed, tossing her head, making the gold strands of her hair spray out in a glittering fan. Had she been feline like her guardian, her ears would have been flattened out angrily along her skull. He almost smiled at the idea of a spitting, clawing, golden-eyed she-cat. It was…stimulating.

"To thank you and to ask for your help."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Thank me? For what?"

"Freeing me from Beryl. Death was infinitely preferable to playing her puppet. I just was too far gone to know it at the time."

She rolled her eyes and her voice was saccharine. "Pleased to be of service. Just say the word and I'm sure I can summon the others for another Sailor Planet Attack since we obviously didn't kill you nearly enough last time." She flashed him a death's-head grin. "We're stronger now."

He rubbed his chest as if still feeling the pain of his own weapon embedded there. One of the boomerangs pulsed sluggishly with a flicker of light in response. Wryly, he replied, "Thank you, no. Once was enough to do the trick."

"Indeed?" Sailor Venus sniffed, nostrils flaring as if scenting a lie. "Can I assume your presence here means that the…others…are here as well?" She arched one brow in query and tapped a toe impatiently. At his nod, she bared her teeth in a feral expression that was most definitely not a smile. "You do know, I will not hesitate to kill them in an instant if they so much as glance the wrong way at my senshi."

"You remember, then?" Kunzite's eyes darkened and she stepped back quickly as he took a step toward her. He froze when she danced nervously backward, her hand going to her waist, fingering her chain.

"Yes, of course I do." Her tone was flat, barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?! SORRY?!" She glared at him, one trembling hand bunching into a fist at her side as her sigil flickered faintly on her forehead. "I…We deserve more than that, Kunzite. They DIED! Were murdered by the loves of their lives!" Deliberately she excluded herself and he absorbed the rejection quietly, though it wrenched at his heart. She paused no more than a heartbeat before continuing on.

"If the Shitennou," –she practically spat the word as an oath– "think that they get second chan…"

He held up his hand, placing it to her lips. "I can assure you that they would sooner kill themselves than cause the princesses further pain. If the ladies do not wish their presence, Venus, my men will accept it." He knew as he said it, that he was, at least for himself, lying at the last, and he betrayed himself, brushing his finger over rose petal lips. He couldn't help giving into the urge to touch some part of her. "All they want is a chance to test the waters. Is that too really much to ask?"

She abruptly snapped at him, pearl teeth clicking as they nearly took off the wayward digit. He jerked his hand back, eying her warily, as he would a wildcat.

"You're right," he said suddenly, as if deciding something. "You do deserve more." In one smooth motion that had her tensing to spring, he palmed a gleaming stiletto from his boot, swiftly reversing it so that it was extended to her, hilt first, in an unmistakably symbolic fashion. He hissed and a bead of liquid scarlet welled up between his fingers as the razor-sharp edge bit into his hand.

"Will you do the honors, Lady Venus, or shall I?"

She eyed the deadly tip of the blade which pointed firmly in the direction of his heart. "Don't tempt me," she muttered softly. "Put that away this instant!"

"Then you don't want your pound of flesh?" he asked, his brows lifting in curiosity. At her fulminating glare, he shrugged, wordlessly replacing the blade in his ankle sheath. She missed the smile that flickered ever so faintly around his lips, for when he rose again, he was his usual stoic self.

"We shall see," she retorted acidly, sliding into the darkness. Her skin gleamed golden in the faint, dying light of the moon as clouds rolled in and thunder rumbled. "Keep your men far, far away from my senshi. If and when I want to see you, I'll let you know. And if that day comes, then maybe…just maybe, you can ask me for a favor." He heard the soft grunt of breath and the click of her heels as she took to the rooftops. "Goodbye, Kunzite."

As the heavens opened up around him, rapidly drenching him to the skin, he called quietly, "For now, Venus…Goodnight. But never goodbye."

(Author's Note: What can I say? Minako-chan's a little too late with her demands…)