A/N: I'm here! I live! I wrote! ;) Please visit my deviantart account for Loyalty and Love ficart! .com
Chapter 12: A Soldier's Tears
Anubis sat silently in one of the kitchen chairs at the Ronin's headquarters. He tried to snub out his interest at the various gadgets in the room but he found it to be quite difficult. Being over 300 years of age, and only being cooped up in an ancient fortress will give you a fair amount of curiousity.
His arms were folded over his uniformed chest, his eyes cast down at the cup of tea that Mia had placed in front of him. Everyone was lost in their own conversations about the battle that had just taken place, or what they should do with the three remaining Warlords. His mind was based solely on one thing. The very quiet blond that sat across the room from him in another chair.
Anubis cut his icy blue eyes over to where the small figure sat sipping from her own cup of tea, her eyes on the floor. She had transformed out of her Sailor fuku and sat huddled in an enormous blanket. Ami's insistance on checking Minako for poison burns, due to Sekhmet's swords, had found that she did indeed have a few mild burns. They weren't very serious, but one of the side effects was cold chills. Anubis remembered not so very fondly when he became victim to some of Sekhmet's poison burns. He recalled his being not quite as mild.
He watched as she shivered in her seat, her cup shaking slightly in her two small hands. He fought the nearly unbearable urge to get up from his seat and place his arms around her and share his warmth. But he refused to follow this silly notion and merely watched.
He was curious as to why he had somehow managed to gain back his subarmor, but he was even more perplexed at why he had nearly cost himself his life by protecting Minako. He couldn't explain the feeling that had overtaken him at the thought of watching her die, nor the sense of peace he felt at offering his own life to Sekhmet in exchange for hers. Anubis closed his eyes, trying to think clearly and block out some of the noise around him.
He had never once thought of anyone but himself and the safety of his own skin. Years had gone by without a shred of compassion for another filling his thoughts. Why had he done so so selflessly for this woman who had brought him such fits of rage and contempt?
He opened his eyes to meet Minako's gaze. She stared at him for a few seconds, a secret moment between the two of them, and she offered him a tiny smile. Then she flicked her gaze back to her drink.
Anubis couldn't help himself and smiled to himself, shaking his head.
He didn't know what possessed him to do what he did, but he was grateful to whatever it was, and knew that given the chance he would have done it again.
Minako shivered in her seat, grateful for the blanket that Mia had fetched for her. She wanted to participate in the Ronin's conversation about their plans of counterattack on the Dynasty, but her mind was too full of Anubis.
She could not believe that the creep she had just pretty much told off moments before, threw himself in front of her to save her.
Minako took a deep breath. God she was grateful his subarmor had returned to him. He may be a pain in the ass, but she wanted him around. Dear God she wanted him near her! Anubis. That demon Warlord. What was wrong with her?
What was worse was that she wasn't merely thinking of the selfless act of humanity he had just bestowed upon her, she was thinking about much more devious things. Oh was she grateful that Anubis didn't possess mind reading capabilities with those powers of his. She would have fled the country.
Her cheeks grew hot as she remembered how wonderful it felt with his head buried in her neck, his silky hair touching her skin. His arms had enveloped her, drawing her so close to him that she could feel his thundering heart against her breast. He may have been protecting her, but oh had he left her with such longing for him.
Minako bit her lip and berated herself for what she was doing. 'I can't believe it. I am actually lusting after him now. Okay, a crush was fine, but this is way beyond bad.' She thought to herself.
She chanced a look in Anubis' direction to find him already looking at her. 'Oh God can he read minds too? He should have told us if he could!' She tried to keep him from noticing the blush across her cheeks by giving him a small smile and then turning to look at the floor again.
'Oh man this is not good. This is really bad.'
"Okay, so when is the Ancient gonna show up? I'm hungry, I'm tired, and I'm just sick of talking about this. So Anubis got his subarmor back. Big woop de doo. That just means he's one step closer to going postal on us all." Kento muttered.
Ryo smacked Kento in the back of the head with a frown.
"Can it Kento. You know that isn't true. He wouldn't have protected Venus if he wanted us all dead. The Ancient trusts him so I do too."
Anubis lifted both eyebrows at Ryo's comment.
"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Wildfire. I never thought I would hear such things for you."
Ryo looked uncomfortable, and leaned against the fridge.
"Yeah, don't mention it."
Anubis smirked at Ryo's uncomfortable stance. He would admit, he was a bit uncomfortable receiving words of encouragement from a former enemy. It would take some time to establish a sense of normalcy between them.
"I appreciate your faith in me and your faith in your new teammate Ryo."
They all looked up to see the Ancient standing in the doorway, sans hat and staff. He looked at them all with his cool grey eyes and came into the center of the room.
"What's up Ancient? What has changed that is so important?" Rowen asked, taking a bite of the banana he had just peeled.
"The Dynasty does not appear to be after Anubis as I originally thought they would be. They are merely after his armor now, as it is the most powerful out of the four suits of Warlord armor. We must all protect him until he regains full use of his armor. It is vital that Talpa does not get their hands on him or they will torture him until they get what they want. Considering Anubis' armor is not currently his to give, he will die should such a thing transpire."
Anubis scoffed at this. "I do not need protection. I need a weapon and some space to do what I have been trained to do."
The Ancient shook his head. "You cannot go into this spontaneously Anubis. It may have worked for you as a Warlord but they all know how you fight. They will be expecting it. We cannot lose you my friend."
Anubis knew he was right, but he did not have to agree aloud.
"Ok, Anubis is their target, got it. Anything else?" Kento asked, yawning.
The Ancient nodded, and turned to look at Minako.
"Under any circumstances, do not allow Minako out on the grounds unchaperoned."
Minako looked up at that with a questioning gaze.
"Huh? Why? What did I do?" She asked.
"You did not do anything my dear, your safety is vital. You must also not go outside of this house in civilian clothing. You must be Sailor Venus at all times if you are to go anywhere. This is imperative."
Everyone gave the Ancient an odd look at this remark.
"Why can't she just be Minako, Ancient?" Makoto asked.
The Ancient turned to look at the blonde in question.
"Talpa cannot find out that you are the reincarnation of Princess Venus. You risk revealing your previous existance should you walk outdoors out of your transformation. Your Sailor fuku hides the marks that clearly shine from you even now." He said quietly.
"Marks? What are you talking about?" She asked, confused. She glanced down at herself, looking for any form of said marks. Ami rolled her eyes at Minako's futile attempt to see something that was obviously not visible to the naked eye.
"Ancient, do you mean Minako's planet symbol is visable at all times just as the Ronin's virtues are?"
The Ancient nodded. "Yes. If Talpa sees Minako out of transformation in his viewing screen, he will know she is one of the Moon Kingdom princesses. He cannot know this."
"Does that mean we can't go out either?" Ami asked.
The Ancient shook his head. "No, it will not be you that Talpa will be after should he discover your previous identities."
Silence filled the room as they all tried to decipher what the Ancient was telling them.
"Talpa has unfinished business with the Princess of Venus." He said quietly.
Minako's jaw dropped and she fought to look a little more graceful.
"Me? What did I do to him?"
The Ancient smiled sadly at her. "This is yet another thing I cannot tell you my dear Princess."
Minako wandered out of the meeting, more confused coming out than she had been going in. What had she done to Talpa in her previous existance? Man, if she had a way, she would have gone in the past and kicked her own ass. You either finish what you start or don't start it at all or you end up in a situation like the one she was in – a situation in which she didn't even know what she had done!
She found herself with her hand on the knob to go outside and cursed when she realized that exiting the house, even for a moment of fresh air, was one of the very things she had been told not to do. Bowing her head, she stepped away from the door and gathered her blanket more closely around herself. She sighed and decided to seek solace somewhere indoors.
Anubis had managed to take his leave a few moments after Minako, trying to not be so conspicious. He looked around the vast living room, but did not see her. He silently cursed her if she was foolish enough to venture outside after what she had just been told and he strode swiftly to the windows. He used a gloved hand to part the blinds and scanned the front yard quickly. He sighed in relief when he had come to the conclusion that she was still indoors and he decided to go exploring. If this were to be his new headquarters, he thought he should get a feel for it.
Anubis ascended the tall staircase and paused to think of which way to go once he reached the landing. Where had she gone to? And why on earth was he suddenly standing here like an idiot trying to find her? For a second he mentally scolded himself for allowing himself to lose track of what he was doing and almost turned around to go back downstairs and join the group. This notion was halted when he heard a soft sound coming from a nearby room. Quietly, Anubis crept to the doorway, peering in through the gap that had been left in the door. He realized that the sound he had heard was quiet singing, and his eyes searched with interest for the owner of the voice. He found himself to be somewhat surprised, but pleased that the voice belonged to Minako. He slowly pushed the door open just wide enough that his lithe form could slip through the doorway.
The room appeared to belong to the four Sailor Senshi, he could tell from various items among the room – including Sailor Neptune's Aqua Mirror that she had sticking out from beneath a pillow. He fought the urge to laugh at the childish gesture of hiding an item beneath ones pillow, and stood back against the closet door.
Minako was at the far end of the room, kneeling on the floor and with arms crossed over the edge of the open window. Her back was to Anubis, and she still had not acknowledged his presence. He knew he was probably intruding onto something private, but he just could not bring himself to leave. Afterall, she had left the door ajar. That was his excuse anyway.
He made a soft intake of breath when she began to sing again.
"Can I ask you a question please
Promise you won't laugh at me
Honestly I'm standing here, afraid I'll be betrayed
As twisted as it seems
I only fear love when it's in my dreams
So let in the morning light
Let the darkness fade away
Can you turn my black roses red?"
Minako allowed a tear to escape the corner of her eye as she sang to the moon in the night sky. Why did she always end up this way? Scared, alone, and pretending that she could handle it. She envied Usagi. She envied that everyone expected her to cave when times got bad. Sometimes, she just wanted to be the one who got to cry, not the one who had to fix it.
She was honestly afraid. She was without five of her team, one member being the most powerful, and three being the nearly unstopable outer senshi. She had done something in her past life to royally piss off Talpa. The Warlords were after Anubis. Oh God Anubis.
What would she do about him? He was hundreds of years older than she, much more mature and wise. She was just out of high school, rejected from college, and could barely keep from embarassing herself for five minutes. Why would he see anything in her anyway? She was like a dumb kid in his eyes. And why did it matter?
A few more tears fell and she hugged her arms around herself as she continued to curse herself for her stupidity and for the fruitless longing she had for the Demon Warlord.
Anubis' heart softened another degree for the blond that sat across the room from where he stood. More and more he found himself letting his guard down and allowing him to feel something for the infernal woman. She grated on his last nerve at times, but occupied his mind more often than not. He knew that he was a bully, it was a hard habit to break, one that took hundreds of years to develop – but he found himself warming up to her more and more.
Anubis was never a compassionate person, his training as samurai and as a Warlord had crushed that notion from his psyche; but he felt a knot form in his stomach when he realized that he could hear her crying. He discovered that he had taken a few steps towards her before he had realized what he was doing. He paused and stood there for a moment. What should he do? This was madness and he should leave before she discovered him but he just couldn't bring himself to.
Artemis stood in the cracked doorway surveying the situation he had just stumbled upon when he came to check up on Minako. He was alarmed that Anubis was in the room with his Minako, and had almost struck him when he noticed the way that he was looking at her. He could not describe the look that was on the Warlord's face but he knew that he meant her no ill will. He almost looked...adoring.
Artemis smiled to himself as he backed out of the doorway and into the hall. Perhaps Minako wasn't the only one longing for someone.
Anubis thought for a moment on what to do – and decided that there was no right move to make. The only wrong one was one he didn't take. He crept forward softly and allowed his boots to make noise on the hardwood floor to finally announce his presence.
Minako started at the sound and whirled around, shocked to find Anubis standing just behind her. Her heart jumped up in her throat and her cheeks flushed. Oh God could he read minds? Had heard her singing?
"What are you doing here?" She asked in a small voice, one not becoming of the leader of the Sailor Senshi, she thought.
"I heard singing, and I couldn't help but come in. I apologize for the intrusion." He replied softly.
Minako's stomach grew sick – he had heard her – again.
"I, I'm sorry I didn't mean to bother anyone with it..." she began, as she started to get to her feet to flee.
Anubis could tell she was embarrassed, and he found the notion endearing. He didn't know why, but he wanted to make her confident again. He liked that about her.
"I thought you sounded lovely, that's why I came to listen." He said.
Minako stood stock still, stunned by the compliment.
"You, you liked it?" She asked.
"Very much. I did not know that you could sing."
Minako blushed, and gripped the blanket around her shoulders tightly. Anubis grinned when he saw her blushing. He had never made a woman blush before. He found that he liked it.
"Thank you." She managed, and looked down at the floor. 'Oh my gosh he's standing here in my bedroom, and he is being nice to me. Oh God thank you!' She thought.
Anubis thought the he better not stay much longer, lest Makoto discover him and assume that he was up to no good.
"I apologize again for the intrusion. I will take my leave now. It is late and you should get some rest. After all, tomorrow it is your turn with my training, is it not?" He asked, his voice teasing.
Was he flirting with her? Oh man was she dreaming? No, he didn't mean it that way. Did he?
"Yes, yes I suppose it is. Goodnight then." She offered.
"Goodnight." He replied. He stood there for a moment before doing something he could not believe he was doing. He stepped forward and very gently brushed one of her forgotten tears away with his gloved thumb. She stood dumbstruck at the gentle touch to her cheek, her heart nearly stopping.
"Don't cry, it makes me want to fix whatever is wrong and that frightens me." He whispered. He paused for a moment, thumb still resting on her cheek, before turning and striding out the door and shutting it softly behind him.
Minako stood motionless, barely remembering to breathe. Her skin tingled from his feather light touch, and she brought a trembling hand up to her cheek.
'It makes me want to fix whatever is wrong and that frightens me.' She repeated over and over in her mind.
"You're the only one who can fix it." She whispered.
TBC. Oh Anubis is starting to lighten up, eh? ;)