Chapter 18 – Let's Make A Deal
Some time later Makoto found herself on a sofa, awkwardly trying to feed herself while not disturbing a sleeping Rin, whose small head rested in Makoto's lap. She wished she could sleep as soundly as the girl. That however, did not seem likely, even though she was exhausted, feeling like she'd been dragged through a wringer backward.
The little girl had evidently felt that way too, falling into a deep slumber almost as soon as Makoto had fed her, only picking at the simple egg and fried rice dish she'd cobbled together from assorted odds and ends she'd found…and Rin had only done that much because Makoto had insisted she eat something. Makoto couldn't be offended. Not everyone's idea of comfort food was the same, and although the girl hadn't been physically hurt, it was emotionally exhausting to get involved in battles, even for a senshi. She could only imagine how traumatic it had to be for a child who couldn't defend herself to wind up at the heart of such an incident. Hera knew it was enough to put a crimp in anyone's appetite.
Although she'd been in a towering fury at having been dragged away from her princess (not that she'd divulged that little tidbit to either male, for Usagi's own protection), Makoto had been forced to bite her tongue, practically to the point of drawing blood, when she realized that her own expression of temper was scaring the poor child further.
Therefore she'd forced herself to calm down and simply prayed with all her considerable might and main to every deity she could think of that the others and Mamoru would arrive to protect Usagi, since she hadn't been given the opportunity.
Surprisingly, Makoto found that the act of pretending to be calm for Rin's sake had a very real calming effect on her. After all, Rei would walk through fire to get to Usagi's side, she knew. Surely she would come. Usagi would be safe. She had to be. And so was Rin.
Glancing down at Rin, Makoto sighed and stroked the girl's hair. Enduring a little discomfort for her was also the least she could do since the little girl was probably the sole reason that she was no longer handcuffed to Neil's wrist. For almost as soon as they'd arrived at their current location (a large and elegant home on the outskirts of the city that evidently was the ancestral home of the Kazuhiko clan, though only Kane, aka Kunzite, lived there now) the girl had, in the manner of young children everywhere, whined that she needed to go to the bathroom. Like now!
Makoto chuckled softly to herself. The expressions on Nephrite's, and particularly Kunzite's, faces had been priceless. They clearly weren't used to having small girls in the house. Being the only woman around, they'd immediately ceded care of Rin to her, and her freedom had come with it.
Well, she thought, giving a slight scrunching of her nose that made her resemble a testy shar-pei, except for the fact that Kane had informed her that the whole house was extensively security wired so they'd know if she attempted to, as he genteelly phrased it, "leave unescorted." Thus it was effectively a very gilded cage and she felt as if she was stuck in it with two very wild big cats, one of which was stalking her far too effectively and who knew it too. She had to figure a way out before she got eaten alive.
"Mmmm…that smells tasty, angel."
Speak of the devil!
An encroaching of a pair of chopsticks that weren't hers had her using her own as a weapon. Twin sticks of carmine lacquered bamboo smacked smartly across the back of the hand that was going for her rice stuffed omelet, making her smile when she heard the male squawk. "Get your own, thief."
"Mako-chan…" The wheedling tone had her rolling her eyes. "I said I was sorry."
"And I said no. This kitchen is closed. If you're hungry, go fix something for yourself. I said I'd cook for Rin and made enough for me. No one said I had to feed both of you too. I may be married to you…for now, but that doesn't mean I'm your cook or your servant."
"Well, if you won't share I'll find something else." Neil mused aloud, evidently not taking offense, or at least trying not to. "Maybe a sweet."
"The kitchen is thataway," Makoto directed helpfully, gesturing airily with her chopsticks. "I'm sure there's something sweet. Help yourself, but stay away from my dinner."
"You know, Princess, you're being petty," Kane said disgustedly from across the room.
Makoto shot him an evil look, wagging her chopsticks at him rudely. "I have every right to be unhappy about being treated like this. I believe kidnapping is still against the law in this country, officer. And he let it happen without a single word of protest." She could feel her appetite going, rapidly.
"We all have loyalties to which we must stay true, Princess. You know better than most that he has to obey his commanding officer. So if you're going to be mad at someone, be mad at me. And," the police officer cum head of the Shitennou informed her, "I told you, it's not kidnapping."
There was a snort from Makoto, who glanced down at the child in her lap. "Feels like it from where I'm sittin…" She broke off with a squeak and nearly upset her plate onto Rin as a kiss was pressed to the unsuspecting and vulnerable nape of her neck and she felt a large hand toying with her now blessedly (once again) auburn curls as warm lips trailed upward toward her ear.
Turning her head, she scowled up at Neil, who flashed his flustered spouse a heartbreaker grin. "Stop that, you letch."
He chuckled. "Now I just taking your suggestion honey, and being affectionate to my sweet wife. What's wrong with that?"
What was wrong was that it made delicious little shivers run up and down her spine, but she couldn't, wouldn't tell him that. Though she suspected he knew anyway. Why else would he do it?
"Here," she said, shoving her plate into his hands. "Keep your hands and lips busy elsewhere."
He merely chuckled again and accepted the plate with an appreciative smile. "Thank you, sweetheart." Before Makoto knew what was about, he brushed a fleeting kiss on the top of her head before withdrawing, omerice in hand. He scooped up a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "Delicious," Neil finally pronounced, his husky voice making her feel like it was wrapping her in warmth. It dropped lower, for her ears only, and she felt his warm breath ruffling the delicate tendrils of hair nearest her ear. "But I prefer my sweet angel."
Gritting her teeth, Makoto shifted Rin in her lap, scooped her up, and carted the child out of the room. "Sweet Vesta, deliver me from all men!"
"You can put her to bed in the fifth room down the hall on the left," Kane called after her, intentionally keeping his voice low enough that he wouldn't awaken the sleeping girl.
Having seen the flaring of her nostrils and how tensely Makoto's jaw had worked, Kane frowned at his second in command, his brow furrowing. "Is she always so…so…"
"No," answered Neil before Kane could finish the question, flashing a wide, forced grin. "Usually her temper's like her element, one quick explosive flash and then it's over and done with. But she's more than a mite upset with me."
Although his memories had only recently been awakened, Kane, who was master at hiding his own emotions, also excelled at reading them in his men. He saw the pain lingering in Neil's eyes. "Why don't you tell me everything?"
Neil's face fell. "Shall I start with the prophesy," he said heavily, "or the part where Mars and she apparently hold Jadeite and me responsible for their deaths during the Moon Kingdom's fall?"
At the mention of a prophesy, Kane's eyebrow had arched speculatively, however, Neil's final words made both brows shoot up so far they practically disappeared behind Kane's silver bangs.
"I think you'd better start at the beginning."
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Makoto woke with a start, unsure of what had yanked her from the unintentional slumber into which she'd fallen. Then it occurred to her to wonder what time it was. Night had fallen.
While putting Rin to bed, she'd accidentally awakened the girl, who had begged her to lie down beside her and tell her stories. To reassure the child and get her to sleep again, Makoto had acquiesced, stretching out on the bed next to Rin and giving her the shortened, sanitized and much romanticized version of the story of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. It had worked like a charm, lulling the little girl into happy dreams, but the siren song of the soft pillows and a softer blanket had also drawn in Makoto. She dropped off just after Rin.
Unsure of how long she'd slept, Makoto rubbed her eyes and looked around. There was no clock, so she couldn't begin to hazard a guess at the time. Slipping from the room with stealthy grace, she left the slumbering child and shut the door, making her way back down toward the main portion of the house. Her ears perked up at the sound of voices. She could identify them both: the heart-rendingly familiar voice of Neil, and the vexingly familiar new one of Kane. Both men were deep in conversation.
Makoto froze outside the door, eavesdropping unashamedly when she realized Neil was talking about her.
"I didn't realize it until I met her again, but I've been waiting for her, only her, for years. If something were to happen to Makoto…" He let the sentence trail off unfinished, but the naked emotion in his voice couldn't help but touch Makoto's heart. She pressed a hand to her breast, feeling the organ flutter unsteadily in her chest.
"So I guess I just…sort of reacted," Neil was now admitting, sounding slightly sheepish. "Maybe overreacted."
"Yes, well, you always have had to rein in a tendency toward that, as I recall," Kane admonished gruffly, but not unkindly. "However, given the threat that the red witch represented, I can somewhat understand your feelings in the matter."
Flattening herself against the wall, Makoto strained to hear more. She winced as the floorboards gave a squeak underfoot, but when the men continued to talk, she heaved a silent sigh and pressed her ear closer to the wall. 'Who is the red witch? They'd better not be referring to Rei-chan?'
"She's the least of my concerns now," Neil was saying. "That damnable demon, on the other hand… Just the thought of Makoto offering herself up to that repulsive thing to save that little girl makes me want to retch, even though I know why she did it. She'd never have forgiven herself if a child had been hurt and she could have stopped it. Still, she's far too cavalier with her own safety. I should have taken him out when I had the chance, dammit! Now she's still at risk and could strike any time. Yes, she's under the same roof at night now so I can protect her, but how in the hell am I supposed to make sure she's safe when she's swanning around that campus all day long? I have classes to attend too."
"We could find her a safe house and perhaps she could quit her classes," Kane mused.
Makoto's mouth dropped open. 'He did NOT just say that, did he?'
"I don't see her liking that much," Neil sounded dubious, as well he might. "She's talked about her classes to me. She was almost giddy talking about it. It was clear that, even though it's still a bit of an old boys club, she loves being there. She loves what she's doing."
'Dang straight!' Makoto agreed with a brisk nod.
"Still…you might have a point, Kazuhiko-san. I mean, most women don't work in this country after they marry anyway, right?"
Evidently Kane had nodded, although Makoto did not see it since she was standing in the hall shell-shocked, because a second later Neil spoke again. "She'll give me one hell of a fight over it, though, if…when I tell her."
"Well, it's clear from what you told me," Kane said, "that the princesses will have to be protected, whether they wish it or not."
"How dare you?! Both of you!" Makoto leapt into the room and stalked toward them, bristling like a junkyard dog. Her mood had gone from zero to explosive in two point five seconds, possibly a new record. Standing there, arms akimbo, she could hear the blood pounding in her ears and a thin veil of red across her vision filmed both men in a ruddy glow. Had either man touched her then, they would have gotten a shock, as she literally crackled with furious energy. "Where do you get off making decisions about my future without asking me first?!"
Neil's head jerked up and a decidedly guilty look crossed his face. "Now Mako-chan. Be reasonable."
"Reasonable? Reasonable?! If I have to give up my classes, I might never have a shot again at a great culinary arts school. I'm late starting training as it is, because I couldn't apprentice while the government required me to finish high school! Plus, if I quit now I'll lose my scholarship, which, combined with my job is the only way I can afford to go at all. Nope! I am not going to give up my dream of being a chef, so you can just forget about me quitting my culinary classes! Not gonna happen!"
"Dammit, Makoto! You don't need to work! I can find a way to support us both. And as for your classes…that demon is after you and you seriously pissed him off last time. He got away and you can't honestly think he won't come after you again. He very nearly killed Kane. Hell, he's bullet proof. Giving up your classes isn't much of a sacrifice compared to your life."
"And just who says I'm going to die? Him? You? Just because my hair was green for a little while doesn't mean that I am. Look, I have fought aliens, the Black Moon, The Deathbusters, The Dead Moon Circus, the Animates and Galaxia and the Wraith Lord! Oh…and went head to head with Neherenia. I've even got a black belt in karate. I know what I'm doing!" Seething, Makoto ticked each one off on her fingers, then crossed her arms over her chest and tossed her head, flicking her ponytail angrily. She conveniently omitted all mention of death earlier. She was no fool.
Neil's face had been growing steadily more wan as she recited her litany of former foes, color draining away from him like water from a leaky dishpan. His lips thinned angrily as she continued.
"I know how to fight and I'm not about to flunk or drop out of my classes because you've got a bee in your bonnet about that freak with the two tone face and the chartreuse up-do. I've looked after myself since I was thirteen and I can still manage to do so. Especially since my power-up." She glared at him defiantly. "Anyway, it's none of your business."
"The hell it's not!" Neil glared back at her. "A powerful and experienced fighter you may be, Makoto…Hell, I know you are. But you're also my wife," he grabbed her left hand and held it up before her face so that she could focus on the ring she wore there, "and I'm damn well taking no chances with your safety. In fact, after that laundry list of foes you just rattled off, you're lucky I'm not packing your sweet ass off on the next plane to Canada to stay with my folks and out of harm's way. Gods! It makes my blood run cold."
"Don't you even say that!" The prospect of any sort of overseas travel, or at least the kind requiring a plane ride, made Makoto shudder as she yanked her hand back. "Not happening! Ever!"
"Unbelievable! You're shaking at the prospect of a little plane ride to a place you'd be safer, but a demon that guts people who get in his way…no problem!" In a moment of extreme frustration, Neil raked a hand through his hair, churning it into a wild coffee-colored storm cloud. "I swear, you're going to turn me grey before my time, woman!"
Without thinking, Makoto grabbed the tip of her ponytail and tugged hard, scrunching the ends of her hair until her knuckles went white. "It's mutual!"
"Princess," Kane cut in, trying to smooth over the troubled waters. "I know it is upsetting to have your liberty curtailed, but…"
"But what?!" Makoto rounded on him, her green eyes snapping with rage. "You just encouraged him in his chauvinistic attempts to control me! You gave him ideas. I heard you! I swear to Hera, when I talk to Endymion, I am having him bust every last one of you down to garbage picker or bottlewasher! Especially you, Kunzite."
A sudden, horrible silence fell over the room and Makoto blanched, clapping her hands over her mouth, realizing far too late her mistake. Kane jerked to his feet, looking more than a bit irate with her, whereas Neil just looked shocked. Makoto began backing away, casting longing looks at the hallway which was out of reach.
Kane glared accusingly at Neil. "She knows where Endymion is. How is it that the senshi know the location of our prince and we, his own men, do not?"
Neil held up his hands. "The stars said nothing of this. I swear I had no idea. Otherwise I would have asked Makoto." He sidled forward, placing himself protectively between Makoto and Kane. "I'm sure she would have told me if she'd known I wanted to know. Right, sweetheart?"
The backward glance the man tossed her over his shoulder indicated quite clearly that Makoto had better agree with him, or else. The chill glitter of his eyes, however, also telegraphed that he wasn't exactly pleased with her either, as she had to have known that he would be interested in such information.
Stubbornly Makoto crossed her arms over her chest and admitted nothing.
Kane flung open a set of double doors which opened off the living room and stalked into his adjacent library. He slammed the old-fashioned style telephone smack in the center of his desk, jarring its bell loudly. Then cold silver eyes locked with Makoto's. Without further preamble he ordered, "Call him, Princess."
The demand made Makoto's chin jut out in a most defiant fashion. It was the same look Rin had given her earlier. The one that said, 'don't think you can push me around just because you're bigger'.
"What'll you give me if I do? You don't expect me to do it just because you ordered me to, do you? Hah!" She gave a sniff and drew herself up haughtily. "A princess does not take orders from the likes of you, you bombastic bleached blond."
"Makoto," Neil tried to reason with her, though his tone was fast becoming more irate than inviting. "This is Shitennou business. He's our prince and we have to know where he is. You need to call him."
"You can't make me." Though, her tone was uncompromising, Makoto had been thinking fast. "Unless…"
"Unless what?" However angry he was, and the answer to that was very since he disliked immensely having the 'royal' card being thrown in his face earlier, Kane was willing to deal. The prospect of finding the prince was worth it. "What do you want?"
"Oh, world peace, my parents to be alive, and Chef Nobiyura Masuhiro's top secret recipe for Egg Custard Soup," Makoto answered in the flippant tones of an experienced smart ass.
"What do you want that we can actually provide?" Kane said with a slight growl at her delaying tactic.
He didn't have to wait long.
"First, Rin goes back to the children's home tomorrow. She's not a prisoner, she didn't do anything wrong, and I won't have her being intimidated by either one of you." Makoto paused for the barest of seconds before making her most important demand, "Second, and this is not negotiable…in consideration for all we've done for this planet, I demand the unfettered ability to go to school and to work and to otherwise go about daily life without undue interference or hindrance from any of you…for ALL the senshi."
"Done."
Makoto nodded in satisfaction.
"Kunzite!" Neil snapped in ringing, outraged tones as he addressed his commander in the manner he was most familiar with. "Are you TRYING to get her killed? How can you promi…"
"Sit down, Sterne-san," ordered Kane with a motion for silence from his man. "Finding the prince is our priority, even trumping your marital woes. But I'm sure we Shitennou can find a means to protect your lady wife, even while meeting her requirements for freedom."
"But…"
"Neil," interjected his wife, silencing him by the simple yet effective means of placing a hand over his mouth and giving him a pleading glance. "Please be quiet. I have a phone call to make." She wasn't about to let that promise slip through her fingers.
With a jerky motion, Makoto sat down in front of the desk and picked up the telephone, dialing a familiar number and then drumming her nails on the desktop nervously while the call went through. There was an outside chance that no one would be there at all since it was already late, but she decided to go with the most anonymous choice first, Usagi's favorite home away from home. There was no point in letting anyone know about the Moon Princess' existence before it was absolutely necessary.
Kane jabbed the button marked speaker, and took the handset from her, hanging it up before settling himself in one of the club chairs next to the desk. Neil sat rigidly in the other. A buzzing sound filled the air.
When the call was picked up, Makoto realized that the Furuhata who had answered was not the one she'd been expecting. "Motoki-kun?" she blurted out in surprise, shocked that he was at the Fruit Parlor and not the arcade. Usually that was strictly Unazuki's domain. "What are you doing upstairs?"
"Oh, Mako-chan, is that you?! Oh thank goodness. Are you okay? The girls have been going nuts, but I hadn't been able to get out exactly why, except that they were scared for you. And that worried me."
Makoto felt a surge warmth fill her chest and smiled, although Neil frowned faintly at her actions. "I'm fine, Motoki-kun, honestly. Is the Odango there?"
There was a pause from Motoki's end of the line. Finally he replied, "Er…no. She was in even worse shape than the others. So Mam…"
Makoto cut him off in an instant, barking harshly, "No names, Motoki-kun!" A bit more softly she added, "Please. Just don't ask me why."
Back at the café, Motoki's face twisted in an unhappy grimace. Something was definitely not right. Makoto never referred to Usagi as 'Odango', and she had never, ever used that tone of voice with him. Now this? Something was definitely amiss. "Are you sure you're okay, Mako-chan?"
"Yes," she replied, shooting a cautious look at Kane. "Just tell me. Where'd she go? Is she safe?"
"The Odango," he answered carefully, "had to go home and rest, but…um…the doctor thinks she'll be fine. Her significant other took her. But I'm sure someone can get a message to her. Or him." Motoki waved frantically at Minako, who was busy pacing on the other side of the room and looking like a caged golden lioness with a missing cub.
The blonde paused, her eyes widening as she watched him windmill his free arm. She slipped to his side and whispered, "What is it?"
He covered the receiver with his hand. "It's Mako-chan."
"Oh sweet Aphrodite," gasped Minako, snatching at the phone. "Give me that!"
Motoki held the handset out of reach and hissed. "Wait, Minako-chan. Something's wrong with Makoto. I know it. And someone's listening in on the call. I think you need to take this in the office. I'll hang up as soon as you pick up."
A look of pure gratitude flowed over Minako's face and she gave him a split-second, rib-cracking hug before bolting through the 'Employees Only' door and pouncing on the telephone which rested on a battered oak desk.
"Motoki-kun… Motoki-kun? Are you there?" she heard Makoto calling, as Motoki still had his hand over the receiver. She knew an instant of pure, unadulterated relief. That was, unmistakably, Makoto…and she was alive.
"I'VE GOT IT," Minako bellowed into the receiver, so that Motoki could hear. In Kane's house, three people jerked as the high-pitched yell painfully broadsided their unsuspecting eardrums.
When she heard the click of Motoki's handset being replaced, Minako yelped frantically, "Venus here! Oh my stars and garters, Jupiter, I am so glad to hear your voice! You have no idea! We must have missed you by just minutes, but when Sailor Moon said you'd been attacked and then taken by those Shitennou, along with that little girl, well, we feared the worst! Especially when Mars didn't show and we couldn't reach her at all. Poor Mercury's been running probables ever since, trying to figure out where you might be, but…"
"Whoa Venus! Slow down." Makoto interjected, knowing she had to stem Minako's nervous verbal tide, or they'd never get anywhere. She was already alarmed to hear that Mars hadn't shown up, which was completely unlike her. "I'm alright and so is Rin. How is the Odango? Is she really safe? Motoki-kun said so, but I wanted to hear it from one of you. And what's this about Mars?"
Minako took a deep breath. "The Odango was really worried, not to mention exhausted. So she was given an escort home. Mercury, though, says she'll recover. As for Mars…I just don't know." She paused, letting out a hopeful breathy sigh. "Where are you, Jup-chan? Please tell me."
"I'm not sure exactly," Makoto answered truthfully. "And you don't have to keep calling me Jupiter, Venus. They already know who I am." Makoto huffed slightly, reminded once again that the fault for that lay at Minako's door. The words, 'And Rei-chan too' hung unspoken in the air.
Minako sighed again. "I know… I know…"
There was a momentary pause, then Makoto, her voice tentative, asked, "Were all the children at the orphanage alright after I left so…ahem…suddenly? And after the fighting?"
At that, had they been present, the others would have seen a watery smile spread across Minako's face. "They were fine, Mako-chan. A bit scared, though, and slightly disappointed. There was a little one who said something about playing a game, but I didn't get all of that. Of course, after Sailor Venus explained to them that you had to leave to go help the Sailor Senshi, you were officially voted the coolest orphan ever. Well, maybe tied with your little friend…Rin was it? Fortunately Sailor Mercury was able to convince the head nun in charge that she didn't need to call in the police and the pope and report a kidnapping…though it certainly took some talking on her part."
"Told 'ya so," Makoto mouthed to Kane, shooting a disgruntled look at him. He merely gave an enigmatic shrug and stared back implacably. "Get on with it."
Makoto's offended glare could have peeled paint. "Look...the Shitennou are here and have a message and they made me call. They want to see Prince Endymion."
There was a loud sucking sound as Minako drew in a ragged breath. "The nerve!" she finally exploded, her already high pitched voice going shrill. "You rotten, scheming so and so's are trying to blackmail us by holding kidnapping Makoto and holding her hostage for Endymion-sama?! You can't DO that! How dare you?!"
Neil pinched the bridge of his nose, with a pained expression. "It's not like that, Senshi Venus."
"Then just exactly what would you call it?!" ranted the Senshi of the Morning Star into the receiver. "I heard about the handcuffs! And you two even took that poor little girl as well!" The slight hypocrisy of her accusing tirade never caused Minako to so much as turn a golden hair. "I don't know who you think you are…"
"Ahem," Kane cut in smoothly, his silver-grey eyes glittering. "As we explained to Princess Jupiter at the time, it is merely a case of protective custody until the threat against her is eliminated. That is all. Both she and the girl are well. I can personally vouch for Lord Nephrite that he would never hurt her." He pointedly ignored Makoto's derisive snort and the glower that passed between wife and husband.
"However," continued Kane gruffly, "the matter of Lord Endymion is another situation altogether. It is our sworn duty to protect him, and we cannot do that without knowing where he is. Understand, I cannot and will not allow the senshi to interfere in this."
Now Minako knew quite a lot about duty and sworn oaths. She thought hard for a long moment, then inquired suspiciously. "What if he doesn't want to see you?"
"Then he can tell us so himself. With all due respect, Senshi Venus, it's really none of your business. He is not your sovereign…and this is not your planet." Kane's tone was ice cold, though a funny, very nearly pained expression had crossed his face for the barest instant before it was banished behind a stony facade.
Minako was offended. She hopped up on the edge of the desk, kicking one stylish booted foot at the already battered filing cabinet nearby.
"Well, with all due respect, we've been the only thing saving this planet's keister for years. Then you suddenly show up and try to shove your way in? We don't know you from Adam or Eve!" She punctuated the sentence with a sharp bang of her foot on the metal cabinet. "So why should I trust any of you any further than I can hammer throw you? For all I know, you're just trying to set a trap so that you can draw us or Endymion in and kill us all in one fell sloop." Her tone turned scathing. "Heck, if I hadn't heard her myself I wouldn't even know that Jupiter was safe. For now."
"Oh for heaven's sake," Nephrite cut in with a snarl that could rival Makoto's best. "Why in the hell does everyone think that?! I'm hardly going to hurt my own wife!"
"Your wife…what the hell? Ack!" There was an audible crash as Minako, who was absolutely NOT expecting that, toppled right off the edge of Motoki's desk, upset a pencil cup, kicked over a waste basket and landed on the floor, her golden hair fanning out around her in a sunburst. Pencils and pens rolled off the desktop, pelting her like hard raindrops.
"Ow…" she whined, rubbing her bruised posterior. In that moment no one would have recognized her as either the tough senshi or the coordinated volleyball player she was.
"Venus, are you okay? Talk to me!" demanded an alarmed Makoto, who'd bolted upright when she heard the bang. "What happened?"
"I fell." The Venusian woman inspected her skinned elbow, another casualty of the fall. What did he mean 'wife', Mako-chan?! You'd better have a good explanation for this!"
"Can we discuss this later? Please? You can ream me out in private, V-chan," Makoto answered, astonished that Usagi had managed to keep that juicy tidbit of information to herself…maybe she'd been too tired to talk that much. Of course it was a moot point, what with Neil broadcasting it to kingdom come.
"No, she can't," Neil interjected firmly, warmly squeezing Makoto's waist, making her gasp audibly as his touch tingled across her senses. "You've done nothing wrong."
"You keep out of this," both Makoto and Minako chimed in together, a duet of disagreeability. The symmetry of the action, obviously the mark of much time together, made Kane chuckle softly. His chuckle deepened when Minako, with a Venusian's instinctive understanding, on hearing Makoto's indrawn breath, hissed suspiciously. "What'd he touch?! What'd he touch?!"
"Nothing I haven't touched before."
Neil's tone fairly dripped with insinuation, a childish…well, not exactly childish, act of revenge against the Venusian, whom he still bore a bit of a grudge against for her actions on Valentine's night.
Minako snarled out an audible growl. "MAKO-CHAAAAN!!!"
"NEIL!" A mortified Makoto stomped on Neil's foot in response, grinding her heel down on his big toe to get him to stop. She gasped again when he merely splayed his hand possessively over her flat belly. She grabbed his palm. However, the diamonds on their hands winked up at her with lightning bug flashes of pink and green as if to underscore his point.
"You stop that, this minute!" Her voice came out in a nearly inaudible hiss. The air suddenly crackled with a static charge.
"Yes, do," Kane finally cut in, tiring of being a spectator (or was it the referee?) to the three way game. "You're giving me a headache."
As if to underscore his point, he dug into one of the desk drawers, removed a bottle of aspirin and popped two tablets in his mouth, swallowing hard, then began rubbing his temple. Now pink with embarrassment, Makoto turned away while Neil slunk back to his chair. Minako merely sniffed, "Sooooo sorry. We wouldn't want the oversensitive Shitennou…or maybe I should say the Guardian Knights?…to get a headache. Except I think maybe I do. Then at least he'll stop touching Mako-chan!"
"What did you call us?" Kane exchanged blank looks with Neil, who shrugged. Makoto too looked slightly baffled.
"Never mind. It's not important."
"Well then why bring it up at all?" Kane asked a bit brusquely, irritated at feeling like he was missing a piece of a puzzle. Clearly the words meant something, but he didn't know what, which was maddening.
Minako's grip on the telephone receiver was almost a stranglehold, but she managed to check her irritation and focus. "I'll get word to Endymion immediately. However, he's a free agent. I can't make him show up, you know."
"We know," Makoto said, tapping her fingers restlessly on the desktop. "And all I promised was that I'd call. But they want to meet him, so maybe we can arrange something…"
There was a pause for a moment while she thought it over, then Minako said decisively. "Starlight Tower. Midnight. I make no promises on Endymion's presence, but I'll try. All three of you are to come." Minako's chirpy voice became a throaty mama-grizzly growl. "If Mako-chan isn't there safe, sound, unmolested AND uncuffed, don't even bother showing up, Shitennou, unless you're interested in revisiting the afterlife sooner rather than later."
"Understood, Senshi Venus. We'll be there," Kane replied crisply before disconnecting the call.
Left listening to the taunting buzz of the telephone, Minako swore an oath that would have turned Artemis's fuzzy face purple and slammed the handset back in the cradle. She raced out of the office, only to plow headlong into Motoki, who had taken her place pacing back and forth along with Ami in the now otherwise empty restaurant, waiting for Minako's word.
"Ooph…" Minako barely managed to keep herself upright, clutching at his apron. "Sorry Motoki-kun."
The arcade keeper staggered as well, but managed to hold his own. "Well?" he finally prodded, when Minako failed to answer. A manicured fingertip pressed over his lips stifled any further questions as Minako looked him up and down, as if he was a prize horse about to go to market. Briefly, Motoki had the scary feeling she'd be checking his teeth any moment.
Finally she nodded approvingly. "You'll do."
"Huh?"
Minako opened her shining blue eyes their widest, batted her lashes artfully and clutched her hands pleadingly together over her breast. "You're good friends with Mako-chan, aren't you, Motoki-kun?"
"Ye…es…" he answered slowly, wondering nervously where this was heading. "Of course. She's like a little sister to me. You all are."
"And you'd do anything to help bring her home to us, wouldn't you?" There was more eyelash batting.
"Well, yes. I guess so." Motoki wondered if she was hinting at illegal action being necessary. He hoped not, but with Minako one never knew.
"And Mamoru-kun's your best friend and you'd always want to help him and keep his secrets, right?" Long feminine eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a whole cloud of butterflies.
"Yes. Absolutely."
"I DO LOVE YOU!" she squealed. To reward his right answer, Minako threw herself at him, caught his face between her palms and smacked a kiss squarely on the startled man's lips. Now Motoki honestly loved his fiancée, Reika, but even a stone statue would have been hard pressed not to at least somewhat respond when kissed by the avatar of Venus, and Motoki was no statue. Yet while he was dazzled by the unexpected kiss, Minako struck, snaking a hand into his apron pocket, snatching the heavy ring of keys from within and hurling them toward Ami, who caught them midair. She also palmed his car keys.
Abruptly breaking the lip lock and grabbing his hand, Minako shot out the door, dragging a dazed Motoki after her. Ami, rather more sedately, followed in their wake, more than used to her friend's theatrics. The little bluenette even managed to lock up and switch off the lights as she went.
"Wait!" protested the blond man vigorously when he nearly face-planted after stumbling on an uneven section of sidewalk. "Where're we going?"
"Don't ask silly questions," Minako insisted, towing him toward the tiny ultra-compact car she knew to be his, having memorized that fact when she was young and had a hopeless schoolgirl crush on him. "We've got a very little time to work with and a lot to do!"
When she, the hapless Motoki, and Ami were crammed into the two-seater vehicle, Ami practically sitting on his lap, Minako gunned the engine, which buzzed like an angry mosquito, and peeled out from the curb, nearly wiping out some unlucky motorcyclists who happened to be in the maniacal blonde's way. "Hang on," she ordered. "It's going to be a bumpy ride."
Motoki moaned as she swerved erratically, splitting through traffic and traveling on the centerline. "Oh God! She thinks she's Speed Racer. We're gonna die."
"I've learned it's better not to look," Ami assured him calmly, keeping her eyes firmly off the road and possible death. "All I can say is that Haruka-san taught her. And we haven't died yet."
Oddly enough, that wasn't exactly comforting. The news that Minako had been taught all she knew about driving by the thrill-to-speed-happy racer, Tenoh Haruka, brought forth another moan from Motoki. "We're really going to die."
"Oh no we're not," Minako insisted, stomping the gas pedal flat against the floorboards. The car gave a leap as the straining engine whined. "Cause we don't even have the time." Minako banged wildly on the horn and pedestrians scattered like so many ninepins. "But while I concentrate on driving, Ami-chan's gonna tell you the new and improved and one hundred percent unedited story of the Sailor Senshi and then she'll answer any questions you may have. Next stop Mamoru-kun's place!"
"The senshi?" Motoki pressed back in his seat by the rapid acceleration of his vehicle. He shot a quick sidelong glance at Minako's determined face and the set of her jaw. And suddenly a light bulb went on. He could almost see a topaz studded tiara riding low on her brow. In the dull gleam of the streetlights, she appeared to radiate a sunny golden light all her own. And then there was the crimson bow…
"Oh no, it can't be. It just can't be."
He shot an incredulous look at Ami of the rare intellect and even rarer blue hair. Suddenly he thought about the girls, and it was as if scales blinding him from the obvious had fallen from his eyes. Ultra-strong Makoto with her energetic mien and bouncy ponytail. The ebon-haired Rei, who could and did read fire at the temple. Usagi with her gentle klutziness and singular…oh yeah it was singular all right…hairstyle.
"Holy heck!"
Ami could see the blocks all falling neatly into place for him and smiled sympathetically by way of apology as she hung on for dear life while Minako cut in and out of traffic like a mad woman.
"Fraid so, Motoki-kun. Surprise."
(Author's Note: I'm ba-ack! Between getting sick and going to Anime Expo 2007 and my poor dog getting sick, it's been a while. AX 2007 was lots of fun. I'm poor again because of it…too much good stuff to buy makes micatite a poor girl…, but at least my cold FINALLY went away and so did Paddington's seizures...knock wood...and I have lots of new goodies to watch. Guess my timing could have been better, though. Anyway, enjoy!)