A/N: Thanks so much for all of your reviews on chapter 8. That one was more of a fun, light hearted chapter but now we're getting down to business. Anubis is reluctantly completing the training that the senshi have to offer to him and Minako is struggling with trying to come up with something for her to teach him. The story is going to start to pick up some speed so if you have any questions or comments I don't mind answering emails. I hope you all enjoy and please leave me some reviews! You know I love them!

Chapter 9: Break Me Shake Me

Minako was stewing over the thought of training Anubis while she sat at Mia's kitchen table later that evening. She stared absently out of the bay window next to her and munched on an eggroll that Mia had served with her uneaten plate of chicken teriyaki in front of her. What on earth was she going to do? She didn't possess any real skills or qualities that could be of use to the recovering Warlord. Anything that she could teach him would be trivial and he would only laugh at her. She didn't know why she cared if he laughed at her, but for some reason it just mattered.

"What's with the long face?"

Mina broke from her trance to look at Sage who sat directly next to her.

"Hmm? Sorry?" She asked.

Sage clinked his chopsticks against her plate with a slight grin.

"You've barely touched your food. Got a lot on your mind?" He asked his one visible eye quirking up.

Mina sighed and placed the uneaten portion of her eggroll back down on her plate. Everyone else was in the living room, having long finished their dinner. Sage had stayed behind, interested to see what was keeping her from enjoying her dinner.

"It's this whole training deal. I don't know why it bothers me so much, but I just don't know about it." She said, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration.

She was also annoyed at the reaction of the others. Both Ami and Michiru were interested in training Anubis and had no objection to the idea. Was she the only one that remembered that only days ago he was trying to kill them all? Now they all wanted to teach him the ways of the world. What in the heck was up with that?!

Sage seemed to have read her mind and he placed an elbow on the table, leaning his chin into his hand.

"You're stressed because Ami and Michiru have something in mind to teach him, you don't, and you think it's a bad idea?" He asked.

Mina nodded, leaning back in her chair.

"Well yeah. Ami is brilliant. She's already commenced looking for textbooks so she can bring him up to speed on history leading from the time he entered the Dynasty until now. Michiru is a talented musician and is going to teach him how to play the violin. What can I teach him?! All I know how to do is be a Senshi!" She huffed.

She really was frustrated, but she wasn't going to say anything to anyone about it if Sage hadn't asked. She was grateful to vent, though. Sage eyed her with speculation.

"I don't think that's true. What else are you good at? It doesn't have to be some soul empowering skill Minako. You're making things too hard for yourself. Just tell me what you're good at." Sage stated.

Mina thought for a moment before reluctantly listing trivial things off on her fingers.

"Well, I'm good at volleyball. I'm unbeatable at video games. I love yoga. I've been told I'm a good friend…but that's nothing to teach someone!" She whined.

Sage clicked his tongue and shook his head at her.

"That's a place to start." He said.

Mina frowned at him.

"Yeah, like I can see the Warlord of Cruelty battling me at the Sailor V game, Sage."

"Hey, you sell yourself short. While the others are teaching him how to do things a certain way, you'll be teaching him how enjoy life in general."

Mina paused for a moment while her brain processed Sage's words.

"You know, you're right. I can just teach him how to have fun!" She said with a grin.

Sage nodded.

"Now while I can't see him actually having fun, it's worth a try." He added.

Mina nodded and picked up her chopsticks.

"Thanks Sage! I think you've perked me up enough for me to regain my appetite!" She said with a laugh and began devouring her dinner.

Sage chuckled and rumpled her hair.

"You crazy girl."

~ * ~

Anubis grumbled as he finally exited the kitchen that evening. How many dishes did it take to brew such a concoction?! He was grouchy and irritated with Mako for pushing him to remake the dish he had been making several times. With a huff he pulled the door closed behind him and sat down on the steps leading down from the kitchen. He took a deep breath and leaned against the closed door, looking up into the night sky. It had been a very long time since he had actually seen what the stars looked like from Earth's point of view. He smirked as he remembered a time long ago when he would spend hours laying on the grass just taking in the view from outside his army's camp.

A breeze blew through the temple grounds and Anubis' fiery hair floated in silken strands in front of him and danced in the wind. He looked up as he sensed the presence he was becoming increasingly attuned to.

The Ancient's lips drew into a smile as he took in the carefree and weightless expression of the recovering demon general. He knew that it had been centuries since Anubis had been able to let his guard down.

"I am most pleased that you did not attack the princess of Jupiter during your endeavors this afternoon." He said with a hint of laughter in his voice.

Anubis granted him a rare grin.

"I assume it would not be in good manners to attack one's teacher. Would it?" He asked, his blue eyes glittering in the moonlight.

The Ancient shook his head but said nothing. After a few moments Anubis laughed.

"It wasn't all that bad actually. She is a nice girl when she isn't threatening to beat me to a pulp and calling me ridiculous nicknames."

The Ancient smiled and turned to walk toward the sleeping quarters that he would direct Anubis to.

"Come young one. You need your strength for tomorrow you shall train with the princess of Mercury. You must be sharp of mind with her for she is very thorough in her teachings." He said softly.

Anubis raised an eyebrow but stood to follow the older man.

"Young one is hardly a term that fits me I'm afraid."

~*~

Minako sat in the tire swing that she had now deemed as her own in the front yard. She chewed on her bottom lip as she stared towards the direction of the temple. Ami had left only twenty minutes before with an arm load of history books and a determined smile on her face.

Minako frowned and placed her chin in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. Why did she want to know what was happening so badly? Did it really matter? She stared at the grass beneath her white tennis shoes trying to come up with something else to get her mind off of what was going on at the temple.

She could go for a walk, but then she would probably be tempted to go to the temple and snoop around. She could go to talk to Michiru, but she was more than likely absorbed in Mia's music room. The boys were at the dojo in the back doing some Ronin training. Artemis was napping on the back porch with White Blaze. Mako was probably sitting in on the Ronin training. What was she going to do then?

Mina got up from the swing and walked over to a very inviting looking hammock strung between two oak trees close to the driveway. She carefully climbed up into the woven object and decided to relax and take a nap. What better way to get her mind off of matters than to just sleep it off?

For about five minutes she waited for sleep to come. A few more minutes passed by and then she was groaning and swinging her legs off of the hammock. Without another thought she began speed walking towards the temple.

Mako laughed as she watched her leader's retreating figure and licked the spoon she had been eating ice cream with.

"Knew she couldn't stand it."

Michiru nodded and took another bite out of the pint they had been sharing.

"Nope. Didn't even last thirty minutes."

~*~

Why she was sneaking around, she didn't know, but it seemed appropriate at the time for Mina. She crept around the side of the main shrine, not knowing where they may be at.

It was too nice of a day to be studying, that was for sure. Well, if you could get past the Dynasty castle looming in the sky in the distance. Mina shook her head at the thought of fighting those Warlords again. It was only a matter of time before they came back for Anubis. Would he be converted to their side in time? Or would he willingly go back to Talpa?

She brushed that burden from her shoulders for the time being as she went back to searching for her most intelligent senshi and her pupil.

As she peered around the corner of the building, she found Ami and Anubis sitting beneath a cherry blossom tree in the small garden based in the center of the temple grounds. Ami's books were strewn in front of them and she held a heavy brown covered volume in her hand as she read aloud to Anubis. Minako half expected to see the ex-Warlord asleep but instead she found him visibly engaged and interested in what Ami had to say.

Minako bit her lip as she watched how at ease their captive was. His normally stern appearance had softened a bit and he leaned back against the tree with his full attention on Ami and what she had to say.

A terrible feeling gathered in the pit of Minako's stomach as she surveyed the two of them together. She bit the inside of her lip as she tried to distinguish what she was feeling. She couldn't possibly be jealous. He was a creep through and through, there was no question about that in her book. But for some reason, it really made her upset that he was giving so much attention to what Ami had to say.

"Anubis has always been a scholar and very interested in academics."

The soft voice behind her made Minako jump and she spun around to glare at the Ancient.

"Why are you always sneaking up on me like that?" She said in a harsh whisper.

The Ancient looked down at her from beneath the wide brim of his hat, his silver eyes glinting with mischief.

"If I can recall correctly, I believe you were the one sneaking around Princess."

Minako narrowed her eyes at him and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

"Who says I'm sneaking around?" She whispered.

The Ancient chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at her.

"You are whispering for one, and most people that do not wish to be seen lurk around corners and spy on people as I do believe you were doing."

"You think you know everything!" She said, exasperated.

She cringed as she heard a light giggle and a very distinct throat clear his voice. Minako muttered a curse under her breath as she turned to see Ami and Anubis looking at her curiously.

One silky red eyebrow slid up as Anubis looked at Minako's disgruntled form.

"It is not polite to come upon people unannounced." He said in a voice that was not angry but laced with sarcasm.

Minako scoffed at him. "What would you know about being polite?" She huffed.

Both of Anubis' eyebrows went up at that comment. Ami shook her head at her leader and gestured for her to come closer.

"You are silly Mina, come and sit with us. I'm teaching Anubis about the rise of Japanese industry."

Minako rolled her eyes. "Are you going to make me study against my will?"

Ami's bright smile indicated as much, and Minako skulked out of the shadows and sat on the opposite side of Ami. She pulled her legs in Indian style and rested an elbow on her knee, propping her chin up on her arm.

Anubis and Ami both studied her for a moment before Minako waved them off.

"Continue Sensei." She said sarcastically.

~*~

"Minako, would you please wake up? If I didn't know you as well as I do I would be offended."

Minako felt herself being shaken and she opened her eyes to find Ami looking at her with furrowed eyebrows.

The blond haired girl sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Did I fall asleep?" She asked, yawning.

Ami rolled her eyes at her leader and nodded in response.

"You most certainly did. I swear you're going to turn into Usagi."

Mina stretched and grinned at Ami.

"Hey, Usagi is the Queen of Crystal Tokyo and married to a super handsome guy. If it worked for her maybe it will work for me." She laughed.

"Not likely."

Minako groaned. She forgot about Anubis. How long had she been asleep? Her hand suddenly went to her mouth to check to make sure she hadn't been drooling.

Anubis took in the half-asleep blond with curious eyes. While she was aggravating when she was awake, she really was quite pleasant when she was asleep. She was not bad to look at either.

"Are you still here? Sheesh, I was hoping you would be gone when I woke up." She said sarcastically.

"Be nice Mina. Here, stay here for a moment. I'm going to go and get us some tea from the kitchen. I'll be right back." Ami said, sliding her book from her lap and standing up.

She raised an eyebrow at her leader.

"Be good." She said and walked off towards the kitchen.

Minako sighed and looked over at Anubis. To her surprise he was studying her, and closely at that. Minako looked away and blushed when she realized that he was still surveying her. It was as if he didn't care if she caught him staring. Oh he was irritating! She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and her heart skipped a beat when a smile crept to his lips.

"Why are you blushing?" He teased.

Was he flirting with her? No way! This had to be his own perverse way of being a jerk to her.

"I most certainly am not." She snorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

He leaned back on his elbow and chuckled.

"Oh, my mistake then. It is a shame really that I am incorrect. I found you to be rather pretty." He said silkily.

She started and looked at him with wide eyes. He, he thought she was pretty? He heart pounded in her chest as she replayed the statement he had just made in her head.

Ami returned with a tray of tea and looked on with curiosity at the two people in front of her whom had obviously just shared something of extreme interest to her.

"Did I miss something?" She asked with a giggle.

Anubis sat up and took a cup of tea from the tray Ami held out to him. He politely took a sip and nodded his head to her. His lips curled into a smile around the lip of his cup as he glanced at Minako.

"I do believe I unnerved your friend and she is denying it." He said.

Minako's cheeks burned red and she glared at Anubis.

"Who cursed me with you?" She asked, exasperated and grabbed her cup of tea, gulping it down.

~*~

Minako lay in her bed later that evening and stared at the ceiling. Artemis slept soundlessly on the pillow next to her and she was honestly grateful for the silence.

This afternoon had been, interesting to say the least. That man was so infuriating but now she just could not get him out of her head. She liked him better when he was mean to her. When he was…like he was today…she didn't know what to do with him. She could shoot back a mean comment when he was being horrible to her, but she was at a loss for words when he talked to her the way he had.

"It is a shame really that I am incorrect. I found you to be rather pretty."

His statement replayed in her mind over and over. Did he really mean it? Or was that just some other way of being rude to her? Minako hugged her pillow close to her chest and closed her eyes.

She saw the rare and dazzling smile that he had given her. His hair had blown lightly in the breeze and his blue eyes glittered at her mischievously.

She groaned and stuffed the pillow over her face.

This was unacceptable. She could not possibly be falling for stupid Anubis. He was an ass and he had tried to kill her. No way. That could never happen. She was smarter than that. He was just part of her duties as a Senshi.

Oh dear God give her strength. She was falling for Anubis; an attraction she knew was strange and would never be reciprocated. She did not know why she felt such a strong attraction to the Warlord but she knew it was going to complicate things.

So, she made the same comment aloud for the second time that day. This time, he could not hear it but it was still directed at him none the less.

"Who cursed me with you?!" She groaned.

TBC

Hmm, things are starting to heat up and get interesting for our favorite Venus Princess.  Please Review!