Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan


Aino Residence


19:00

Dusk falls over Tokyo as another day comes to an end. Fathers and mothers return home from work, while children enjoy the final day before the weekend comes to an end and school begins again. But while this is generally a happy time for most families, one particular soul isn't having a very good day...

Minako Aino's room is generally neat and orderly, typical for a teenage girl. A variety of stuffed animals cover the ground, collected from her youth. A small vanity sits the the corner, full of makeup and exotic perfume she has begged her father for. A closet full of a wide variety of fashion from the subdued to the outlandish, as well as volleyball implements is on one side, while the other features a unorganized desk filled with half-finished schoolwork, knitting projects, and albums by popular Japanese musicians, as well as a bookshelf full of manga, light novels, and some of the sappiest romantic fiction one could possible ever read. And also, a full-sized bed, accented with hearts and bright pink bedding, on which sits a white cat. But while most cats would be napping or perhaps enjoying a treat at a time like this, this one is having nothing short of a complete mental breakdown.

 Artemis

"ARTEMIS! SHOW YOUR INTEGRITY AS A MALE!!!"

Artemis sat on the bed on the verge of tears. After the turmoil of the day and the battle with the latest of the Dead Moon Circus' villains where the feline had gotten a bit too close to the combat than he usually liked to be, he had almost completely forgotten about Minako's seething rage. But upon taking his usual place on her bed and surrounded by silence as night fell, the thoughts and memories of the day began to finally unravel. On the one hand, he was overjoyed! A daughter! Diana's love, while certainly confusing at first, had been some of the first unconditional love he had felt in the longest time as the small purple kitten nuzzled up to him. But that love couldn't replace the bitterness he felt simultaneously. One by one, his friends and partners abandoned him, first thanks to the misunderstanding at the church, and later due to Diana's appearance. Ami, Rei, Makoto, Mamoru, Chibi-Usa, Usagi...even Luna. He had been hurt both physically and mentally, all because they refused to even listen to or trust him. Luna's had hurt most of all, as despite everyone being shocked and appalled by his love for a human, it was just a few months ago that she herself had fallen for a young human astronomer, to the point where the Guardians had used the very power of the Silver Crystal itself for her to experience that love for one night.

And then, there was Minako. His partner, the one person he felt would never betray him. The girl he had met in that gymnastics class and awakened as a Sailor Guardian, and traveled with around the world. She too had lost all faith in him, chasing him out of her house and leading him to his mission to clear his name. And while the misunderstanding had been resolved, the pain in his heart still hadn't faded.

Artemis burrowed his head into the blanket as his mind then turned towards what was to come. The revelation that Diana was his future daughter with Luna had removed all mystery or choice from his life, his path had now been set in stone. Artemis certainly adored Luna - the two had been partners for literally thousands of years, but she had always seen the relationship as just that - a partnership. But there was another that he adored, another who was his closest partner. And while he had always dreamed that one day cats could get married in a church, part of him thought that for his wedding, he would be the only cat...

Aino Minako

"Thanks for the meal," Minako said politely as she pushed her chair away from the table. Her father muttered something about her homework and her mother chimed in noisily. Minako simply nodded, waving her hand in their direction as if to say it was already on her mind. She was almost looking forward to settling into her workbooks.

Almost.

The day had been a little crazy and she knew that *someone* had skipped his dinner just to lie on her bed and pout. Normally, Minako would have somewhat understood his feelings after the day's events. However, since her feline comrade happened to choose today to reveal that he not only ate the last of her cake saved from when she splurged at the Fruit Parlor Crown, but also broke her favorite teacup and was responsible for the stains on her spare hair ribbon, she was feeling a little less sympathetic.

She trudged up the stairs to her room, already feeling the waves of self-pity emanating from the second floor. Oh, honestly... she sighed to herself. Opening her door, she walked into the room. His back was turned to her. She just stood for a moment, frowning at his small form before sitting down at her desk and opening her book bag. Hopefully this would all blow over in a few weeks once the group had adjusted to Diana's presence. The tiny purple kitten was at Usagi's house with Chibiusa of course, whom she had originally come to meet. Remembering the moments after their battle that afternoon, Minako realized Luna was definitely going to need some time to adjust as well.

Minako clicked her pencil lead out, wondering how many problems she'd be able to get through before the poor white cat needed to talk. She didn't want to start the conversation herself. Part of it was stubbornness, but a small part was a guilt that she was doing her very best - in her very usual way - to ignore.

Artemis

Artemis felt Minako's judgmental eyes upon him as he entered the room. He understood how he must have looked in that moment - sulking, morose, downright pathetic. But, paralyzed by fear and regret, he couldn't move. As she turned to do her homework, he was able to slightly rotate his head to bear witness to her.

It was impossible to avert one's gaze as she silently floated towards her desk. Minako's long flowing pale pink skirt rippled around her legs like water, and the frilled shirt and cardigan gave an impression of both classic elegance and youthful exuberance. Her face was prim and playful, highlighted by two beautiful baby blue eyes that only further promoted her natural kindness. And crowning her head was the piece du resistance, a torrent of seemingly endless golden blonde hair so lustrous it seemed to be spun from the very metal itself, topped off by her perfectly tied red ribbon that kept every strand in place. "Pretty" was a borderline insult to describe her, Artemis thought, and "gorgeous" only scratched the bare minimum of the surface. Only one word dare approached how to aptly depict the angelic figure that stood before him - Perfection.

Artemis shook his head. He really had to stop reading Minako's romance novels. But when her mother armed with a broom was seemingly always in his future when he sneaked downstairs for some more varied entertainment, he took what he could get.

The girl took a seat and began to work on her homework, something Artemis hated to interrupt as he much preferred Minako's studies came first. And besides, he was mad, damn it! She had unfairly judged an innocent cat!

Although, it actually had been COMPLETELY fair, Artemis thought.

He couldn't help but notice her demeanor, almost verbalizing to him "Well? Say something!". Although he was upset about everyone's failure in trusting him earlier, he knew she was on the nose regarding one thing earlier. Working up his courage, he began to speak...

"Minako...", he said, speaking deliberately and being sure to choose his words carefully. "You're right. I haven't been very honest with you. We've been partners for so long that I had hoped..." He stopped briefly as memories of every chokehold, bearhug, and face-muffle came roaring back. Minako had been a wonderful partner, but that didn't mean she hadn't been violent in her frustration from time to time, so perhaps he should be a bit less condescending.

"...I'm...I'm sorry," he stuttered slightly, trying to keep his composure when faced with her reverence. "I'm sorry about the cake...and the teacup...and the ribbon." He stopped again, wondering if he should go on regarding his other past transgressions, but figured it would be best kept for another time. "I promise that I'll replace them. But most of all, I'm sorry if I've failed you and the others. You had no reason to trust me with regards to Diana, and I...I completely understand that..."

As he spoke, tears began to stream from his eyes despite his best efforts to keep them concealed. He knew that he looked absolutely pitiful at the moment, but had no choice but to press on. "You deserve better, and I will be better. As a servant of the Silver Millenium, the Moon Kingdom, and you, the Princess of the planet Venus, you deserve nothing less." Dipping his head in her honor, he hoped that his words did something, anything, to quell her indignation.

Aino Minako

Barely one problem into her workbook, her ward spoke, the tides of emotions he was experiencing rising and falling in his voice. She faced him as he began to turn apologetic. When he was done speaking and dissolved into blubbery sobs, Minako sighed and put down her pencil. Artemis always did wear his heart on his sleeve. She was lucky he was mostly a happy cat because comforting him was not her forte. Though she did try at least. How could she not?

As much as his current state made her roll her eyes a little, he was, as he said, her partner. They had not exactly been fast friends, but once she had found her groove as Sailor V, she had relied on him for support and guidance as a soldier for love and justice. She wasn't one to always share her feelings, but she came to sometimes rely on him for emotional support as well. His being a cat living in her room gave him opportunities to help quell her fears and cheer her up after tough battles that other individuals didn't get. So when he had his first little bad day way back when, she did her best to get him back on his four paws. They were definitely very close during their time in London. It was a strange place for both of them, after all.

The two had become much less dependant on each other for company and support once they had finally reunited with the other girls and Luna. The cats had worked seamlessly together from day one to provide the Senshi team with critical analyses of the enemy’s tactics, battleground conditions, and other background on what and who they were up against. More importantly perhaps was that Luna and Artemis had now bore witness to the Senshi’s many heart-wrenching defeats and successes together, not able to join them in most battles. So, as much as Artemis and Minako still regarded each other as partners, in truth it was the two cats that had developed the real partnership.

Come to think of it, the last time he was this far beside himself, it also had to do with Luna. She was visiting that wannabe astronaut and coming home with a distant look in her eyes. It just about tore him apart. At first he had only moped around, saying nothing. But one afternoon, as soon as the other girls all confirmed his suspicions, he broke down into uncontrollable sobbing. It had taken days for Minako to cheer him up properly, and even then he was really only stable once it was clear that Luna had given up pining for the clueless human. She had even begun to accept some affection from Artemis. But recently she had started to tease him a bit more than usual and Minako couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was something that had caused it.

“Well, dear partner of mine. It's a little tough to replace a hand-crafted mug from my best friend from kindergarten,” she scolded. “But, you can help me cheer you up by telling me a bit about why you think Luna’s been such a stick in the mud in the last few weeks instead of keeping all your secrets to yourself... Y’know, since I deserve better and all.” She stuck out her tongue playfully at the pitiful cat. “You two are obviously made for each other and the fact that you’re having a rough time getting onto a 100% lovey-dovey road is just a tragedy! Is she trying to hold herself back because of Usagi? Was there another misunderstanding that has wedged you two apart and you didn't tell me? As the goddess of love and beauty, I cannot stand for it! ‘Operation: Purr-fect Ending’, commence!” By the end of her little speech, she was standing with one foot up on her chair. She looked into his little furry face and gave him her best wink, trying to instill in him any confidence she could.

Artemis

Artemis looked towards Minako's playful wink and couldn't help but find all of his melancholy removed as he smiled brightly, wiping his tears away. She certainly wasn't the best at assisting someone in pain, a fact she herself would readily admit, usually preferring to instill confidence in others rather than provide a shoulder to cry on. But, one couldn't help but smile when she did so, and certainly when it came to the subject of love and romance, she couldn't help but step in herself.

Though that was perhaps the ultimate irony. While Minako had always been ready and willing to assist with matters of intimacy and affection, she had never been successful in courting someone of her own. Certainly there had been interest - while on their trip to London to battle a detachment of the Dark Kingdom, Minako had fallen for an older gentleman named Alan, and more recently there was Tsutomo Asai, a boy in her class who was manager of the school's volleyball team, of which she had once been the star striker. Both relationships, unfortunately, had been relatively one-sided, with extenuating circumstances preventing them from being requited. But other than that, nothing. No love letters or valentines, nor any boys asking her to dance. As long as he had known her, she had always been solitary.

And it just wasn't fair! - Artemis thought to himself. Minako seemed to have all the attributes that would make any girl jealous and make any man swoon. She was elegant and athletic, graceful and agile. She had an incredible singing voice that rivaled many of today's popstars and idols. And what's more, she was absolutely, positively, almost ethereally beautiful. How, for the love of all things good and holy, did she not have prospective suitors knocking at her door all day and night, begging for a date? It almost felt like a fault in the universe itself that, so far as he knew, her lips had never felt the touch of passionate kiss.

After another round of daydreaming, Artemis snapped back as he contemplated Minako's question. "L..Luna?" Well yes, he supposed that he did, in fact, love her very much, and that love had often been romantic at times. And yes, the day had come with the revelation that the two would one day have a daughter together. But was it truly obvious that they were made for each other? At the moment, all he could think of her was as his partner. Besides, the future had been changed by their own hands before! Crystal Tokyo had been annihilated by the Black Moon clan before the Sailor Senshi had intervened, defeating them in the present to return the city on its proper path.

But he knew it wasn't right. Any prospective relationship with Minako would write Diana out of existence, and Artemis couldn't come to terms with re-writing the very fabric of reality for such incredibly selfish reasons, especially when it had come to the accusations of just a few hours ago. But maybe, just maybe, he could convince her to show him a little affection herself! "Just one kiss...", Artemis thought to himself. It was a fool-proof plan! Minako would finally get the love she most rightfully deserved, and he would finally get all of these feelings out of his system.

...Of course, exactly HOW this plan would work had yet to be determined, but these were just simple semantics. That said, considering the day's allegations of possibly wooing a human woman, he figured it was best to keep this plan coy for now, but there was no reason to not drop some subtle hints. To that end, Artemis figured it was best to get Minako talking about one of her favorite topics: herself.

"I don't know what's been going on with her lately..." spoke Artemis as he sat up on Minako's bed, assuming a more relaxed position from the forlorn posture he had assumed earlier. "There's been so much going on lately - the new enemy, Pegasus, and now Diana, she's probably completely overwhelmed." The feline gave a sly smirk. "Y'know what? Maybe I should change who I am. Change my personality. Become the cat Luna wants me to be!" 

The smirk briefly turned to exasperation. "Except...I have no idea what Luna wants me to be. I'm...kind of new at this, Mina." He then looked up with his eyes brightened. "Hey, Mina? What do you look for in a boyfriend? Maybe I can use that and sweep her off of her feet!" He gave his typical obnoxious grin, which he could never tell was endearing or ridiculous, but did it really matter which?

Aino Minako

Minako brought her leg back down to the floor and basked in Artemis’ cheerful grin. She was relieved to see her companion’s face brighten so quickly.

Almost too quickly, perhaps.

A tiny corner of her mind remained suspicious. It was probably just from that niggling guilt she was suppressing. After all, leaving the issue of her sullied belongings aside, Artemis really had nothing to hide when all was said and done today. Yet Minako had been so quick to conclude that with his recent scarcity, the mysterious kitten was a sign of some kind of bawdy tryst. It wasn't like she had really thought it through in detail. Maybe she was just sick of surprises with all the recent flurry of enemy activity and took it out on her poor friend who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, her words had been harsh considering the truth that was revealed.

And she hadn't even paused to give him a scrap of good faith. So, there was a bit of guilt which probably made it seem like an easy forgiveness was out of place.

His apology had started with a bit of a different tone, though…

All of these thoughts passed through the back of Minako's mind faster than she was able to grasp them, however and only left her with a small, vague feeling of unease. She wasn't the most analytical person, after all. Not only that but Minako also wasn't one to dwell on such feelings. So, she pushed it aside. Artemis was looking relaxed now and obviously willing to talk about what she suspected was the crux of the issue in the long run. There wasn't any point in being concerned further.

Minako sat down as her partner sat up, putting the two of them more at eye level. Still smiling, she nodded her head in understanding as he described Luna's recent behavior. It didn't seem like he had any insight, though. And what followed from his mouth was not exactly what she expected.

"Y'know what? Maybe I should change who I am. Change my personality. Become the cat Luna wants me to be!”
…
“Hey Mina? What do you look for in a boyfriend? Maybe I can use that and sweep her off of her feet!"

Minako's face fell into a frown. Her lips twitched to one side and she made a little tsk sound before leaning back in her chair a bit.

“ArteMIS! What are you thinking?” she scolded gently. “You know love doesn't work by trying to change who you ARE. What will you do if she falls in love with that? You're going to act unlike yourself from then on? Please! It wouldn't last,” she stated and shook her head firmly. “Besides, she knows you too well at this point. What do you think will happen if you try to pretend?”

She felt sorry for the poor bugger but when it came down to it, she liked Artemis just the way he was. Despite the black cat’s careless words, she knew that Luna did too. She made a mental note to casually call that queen out the next time she had a chance, for making him feel otherwise.

Artemis 

Artemis tilted his head to the side as Minako, again, gently chided him for his lack of prudence. While it had little effect on him when done in such a loving manner - far less severe than having his tiny skull mashed into the carpet - it still stung a bit.

"Mina, the problem is...it's like she doesn't even notice me sometimes. She just thinks of me as a partner. I guess that's all I am to her..." It seemed like a poor move to go back to the pity party so quickly, but Artemis' ulterior motive still was the ultimate goal. Maybe it was time to turn on the charm a bit.

Artemis looked back at Minako with a playful smirk. "That said...you didn't answer my question..." And in one quick motion, he leaped from the edge of the bed into her lap, keeping sure his claws were retracted upon landing to ensure her gauzy skirt wasn't torn to shreds. Standing up on all four legs with a regal pose, he looked up at her endearingly, yet with a caring gaze.

"Come on Mina, there's gotta be a guy you're looking for!" he nodded matter-of-factly. "We never intended the Sailor Guardians to be without love their entire lives, and to only be dedicated to their mission. You deserve to be loved just like everyone else! So come on, SOMETHING has to catch your eye!" He closed by giving a bright, obnoxious smile, just relaxed enough to not instill rage in his companion. He knew he was tempting fate, remembering the old saying about "curiousity" and "cats", but didn't think much of it - Minako would probably botch saying it anyway.

Aino Minako

By the time the lithe cat had pounced into her lap, Minako was already thoroughly convinced that Artemis' troubles of the heart were on Luna's shoulders. So, she barely even heard him talking at first.

But, looking into his round blue eyes, she was surprised at the next words out of his mouth:
"...We never intended the Sailor Guardians to be without love their entire lives, and to only be dedicated to their mission. You deserve to be loved just like everyone else!"

At first blush, the statement seemed suspicious. But Minako was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Her eyes immediately began to twinkle with a mischievousness only rivaled by her body-double Princess. Completely ignoring his question that followed, she cupped his small, whiskery cheeks in her slender hands and planted a kiss firmly onto his furry face.

"I'm going out!" she proclaimed excitedly, and stood up only just slow enough to allow Artemis time to jump off instead of being unceremoniously dumped on the floor.