Title: Five-Alarm Fire - Chapter 2
Author: Viper Inferno
E-mail: viperdvman@gmail.com
Genre: Action Drama
Rated: PG

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                           Five-Alarm Fire
                          By Viper Inferno

                              Chapter 2

	2:01pm, at the Hikawa Jinja...

	The senshi arrived at the steps of the Hikawa Jinja after their 
battle with the Dark Kingdom's soldiers. They had already transformed 
back into their civilian forms long before their arrival, not wanting to 
attract any unwanted attention from the many fans of the legendary 
Sailor Team. Usagi was nowhere to be found amongst the group for reasons 
known only to the others, and Minako had returned to her date with 
Kyodai at the mall. Once Rei had gathered them, she led the way as they 
ascended the shrine steps. Once on the grounds they made their way to 
the living area, without so much as a word uttered to one another. 
However, once they went inside and removed their shoes at the front 
door, the girls immediately noticed the large and well-stocked trophy 
case. It wasn't any specific trophies that had the girls gazing at them 
in awe, but rather the sheer number of different gold and silver 
trophies of different sizes.

	"Wow," Makoto commented in amazement, "Rei-chan wasn't kidding 
about her brother winning so many trophies." 'And Minako's with him, 
damn it.'

	"How did he get so many?" Ami inquired, amazed yet a little 
envious at the size of his collection.

	"These are all the ones he's won since he was 7 years old," Rei 
explained, "It took me some effort to put this display together, but it 
was worth it. We're all so proud of him."

	Ami and Makoto continued gazing at the trophies, taking in their 
sheer numbers, their beauty, and Rei's explanation behind them. Just as 
Ami's eyes had begun examining the individual trophies, Rei marched 
around behind her and Makoto, placed her hands on the small of their 
backs, and proceeded to lead them away from the trophy case and toward 
Rei's room. Just as she had let them to the threshold of the hallway, a 
girl's voice calling out to her stopped her dead in her tracks. She 
turned her head to find Usagi hurrying inside and slipping her shoes off 
at the door, with Luna and Artemis following close behind.

	"Sorry I'm late. I had to get Luna," said Usagi as she trotted 
up to Rei and the others, "And Artemis begged to come along too when I 
contacted Luna."

	"Don't sweat it, Odango," said Rei, "I was late only that one 
time. However, you're always late."

	"I also said you couldn't jump me for being late," Usagi argued.

	"That was for a casual meeting, not a senshi meeting," Rei 
argued back.

	Rei and Usagi continued on with their argument, glaring at each 
other, and sticking their tongues out at one another. Makoto cleared her 
throat to get their attention, reminding them of why they had gathered 
there in the first place. So they quickly ended their quarrel and 
continued their trip to Rei's room. Once inside, Minako, Makoto, and 
Usagi sat in the middle of the floor, Ami sat on a chair at Rei's desk, 
and Rei sat on the edge of her bed. Once seated, Luna hopped onto Ami's 
lap while and Artemis curled up in front of Minako.

	"What we witnessed today was pretty unusual," said Rei, opening 
the discussion.

	"Tell me about it," said Usagi, "We defeat one Dark Kingdom 
soldier and another one shows up."

	"We've had things like that happen before," said Rei, "But 
that's not all. The first one seemed to concentrate on one of us at a 
time. The second actually spread his attack a little."

	"And then Tuxedo Inferno shows up again," Makoto added, "He's 
been doing that a lot lately. And this time, that soldier seemed to have 
been waiting for him"

	"I must agree with Makoto on this one," said Ami, "That soldier 
said 'Good, you're here' when Tuxedo Inferno showed up. That must mean 
something."

	"The Dark Kingdom seems to have some sort of plot against us in 
the works," said Makoto, "Those soldiers and what they said to Tuxedo 
Inferno, it's all too suspicious for Tuxedo Inferno to be our ally."

	"He did help us defeat the Dark Kingdom's minions every time 
he's shown up," said Rei.

	"Speaking of showing up, my Tuxedo Mask didn't even show up," 
said Usagi.

	"That's because you were never in any real danger," said Rei.

	"The only ones who had any real trouble were you and Makoto," 
Ami said to Rei.

	Luna cleared her throat to get the girls' attention, "I know it 
is all too coincidental that he seems to show up just at the right 
moment, but there must be some way Tuxedo Inferno knows when to help you 
out. Remember Tuxedo Mask?"

	All five nodded in response as Luna continued on, "He too showed 
up at just the right moment and saved Sailor Moon and every one of you 
from certain defeat. Tuxedo Inferno's connection with you could be 
similar to Tuxedo Mask's."

	"Couldn't you try one of your fire readings tonight since Kyodai 
isn't around?" Usagi asked.

	"Oh, Kyodai doesn't mind," Rei explained, "He just sees it as 
another one of my religious practices. Besides, as I told you before, I 
found nothing on Tuxedo Inferno. But, I'll see what I can find out about 
the Dark Kingdom and the reason why that soldier made that quote."

	"Then it's settled," said Luna as she stood, her tail standing 
straight up, "Rei, find out what you can about what the Dark Kingdom is 
up to. As for the rest of you, keep your communicators with you at all 
times. I'll fill Minako in on the details of our meeting later."


	Dark Kingdom headquarters...

	Although it had only been a couple hours since the results of 
the battle at Juuban Park, Queen Beryl had much on her mind as she sat 
at her throne, gently running her hands over and around her crystal 
ball. The Mars Prince had been on her mind since his first appearance, 
but since he had been fighting side-by-side with the Sailor Team, his 
heightened threat to the Dark Kingdom weighed even heavier on her mind. 
Not only did she have the appearance of all 5 sailor senshi and the loss 
of Prince Endymion as her pawn for gathering the Rainbow Crystals to 
deal with, but she had the Mars Prince causing her soldiers and youma a 
great deal of problems, both as a lone wolf and alongside the Sailor 
Team.

	'So that fire senshi is his connection to him,' Beryl thought to 
herself, 'So when we get her in a bind, we attract him. But how were we 
crossing paths with him while he was still a lone wolf? And how the hell 
did we get him and not those sailor senshi this morning when we attacked 
in the middle of Tokyo's Juuban District?"

	"Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite's voice resonated about the throne 
room, breaking her from her trance. 

	"You're back already?" Beryl snarled as she stared back up from 
her crystal ball. Jadeite had just entered the throne room, accompanied 
by a man with long, jet black hair, and wearing red crystal earrings. He 
also wore black full-body armor with red designs on the breast plate, 
covering most of the man's body, except for his forearms and shins, on 
which he wore black leather gloves and shiny black leather riding boots. 
The edges of his collar, shoulder plates, and skirt pieces were red, and 
the elbow and knee pieces were also red. And to complete his combat 
uniform, he wore a fine-made scarlet cape.

	"Yes, Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite replied as he kneeled before 
her, "I've completed my mission and found us a bounty hunter to rid us 
of the Mars Prince and the Sailor Team."

	"What, only one?" Beryl commented, "I set that bounty so we 
could have an aggressive band of bounty hunters taking that Mars Prince 
and those meddling sailor senshi on."

	"I understand, Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite replied, "I found the 
best, just like you wanted me to. And he was even one of our own, so you 
can bet he's good."

"A Dark Kingdom bounty hunter?" said Beryl, "Then he should be of good 
use."

	"Queen Beryl-sama, this is Titanius, a former champion of the 
Dark Kingdom," Jadeite explained, waving his hand toward Titanius, "He 
became a bounty hunter a long time ago, before we even attacked the Moon 
Kingdom. He owed me a favor and jumped at the great pay we offered for 
the Mars Prince. He even offered to rid us of those pesky senshi as 
well."

	"The Mars Prince will make a good notch on my gun belt," said 
Titanius, kneeling before Queen Beryl, "If it's an army of bounty 
hunters you wanted, I have a few of my own soldiers who can be a great 
addition to your army as well. Whatever it is you demand, Queen 
Beryl-sama, I'm at your service."

	Beryl only smiled at his words before she began cackling, 
"Perfect! With a bounty hunter like him, we'll rid ourselves of the Mars 
Prince and the Sailor Team, revive our Great Leader, and take back Earth 
in no time."


	Mall...

	After a strenuous journey across multiple wards in Tokyo, even 
as Tuxedo Inferno, Kyodai arrived back at the mall and hid at an 
unloading dock for one of the department stores to hide from any 
inquisitive onlookers. It was there that he rested against the wall for 
a minute to catch his breath before finally removing his transformation. 
Once back in his civilian form, he emerged from the unloading dock and 
walked toward the main entrance of the department store, the very one 
he had earlier transformed into Tuxedo Inferno. Once inside, the same 
thought he had since the end of the battle and throughout his journey 
back to the mall struck him again. 'Oh my God, Minako's going to be so 
pissed off at me for leaving her,' Kyodai thought to himself as he began 
to jog through the department store, catching a few odd looks from a few 
of the customers, 'She'll leave me for sure, the first girl I've dated 
since I started college at Azabu Tech.'

	In short order, Kyodai arrived back inside the mall itself and 
quickly ducked around and dodged the crowds of people walking up and 
down the mall. Thoughts of a crying Minako began weighing on his mind as 
he continued to hastily swim through the crowds, breaking around some of 
the people as if they were soccer opponents. Worse than that, for all he 
knew, Minako might have already left the mall and taken either a bus or 
train back to the Juuban district, leaving him with only his car, and 
possibly Obake if he was still somewhere in this mall. 

	Finally, he had made it to the center of the mall where the 
large water fountain stood. He figured this part of the mall would've 
made a great central meeting place, and a possible place for Minako to 
be waiting for him, if she still was. Once at the fountain, he stopped, 
quickly caught his breath, and began to scan about the fountain area and 
the rest of the mall. Sadly, Minako's bow-adorned blonde head and face 
were nowhere to be found. Defeated, he sat at a bench in front of the 
fountain and decided to wait on her, figuring she would find him here if 
she was still here. 'God, I hope I didn't make her upset and leave 
here,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'I know damn well she's going to be 
pissed at me for leaving her to do... well, I'd better not let her know 
about the Tuxedo Inferno thing.'



	Meanwhile, Minako arrived at the same the department store that 
Kyodai had earlier arrived at and began her search for Kyodai. 'God, 
he's gonna leave me for running out on him like that,' Minako thought to 
herself as she entered. She figured that she could probably find Kyodai 
more easily from the higher vantage point of the second floor of the 
mall rather than the first. So immediately, she dashed at high speed 
toward an escalator, also catching a few stares from some of the same 
customers who had given Kyodai some odd looks. Once on the second floor, 
she immediately dashed toward the mall itself, ignoring the bewildered 
glances from the customers, and quickly began looking for a store to 
browse in, finding an impromptu way to cover up her little Sailor Venus 
secret. In a split second, she spied a make-up store and quickly began 
to browse through various blush and lipsticks. Quickly unsatisfied, she 
left the store in near terror, 'God, I hope he didn't leave me here,' 
she thought to herself, 'He's the first boyfriend I had since losing 
Allan, and the Dark Kingdom just had to show up and ruin it for me.'

	Unsatisfied with her attempt at covering up her Sailor Venus 
episode, Minako bravely swam through the crowds toward the mall's 
second-floor railing and began walking alongside it, searching all 
around both the first and second floors for Kyodai. Her trip along the 
railing proved much easier than her previous trip though the first floor 
when she had to leave in response to the Dark Kingdom's attack. Much 
fewer people were standing along or over the railing than were walking 
about the halls. Although it made Minako's search much easier, how could 
one pick out Kyodai out of a crowd of literally thousands of noisy 
people? 'God, please let Kyodai be here,' she prayed as she continued 
her valiant search while walking along the railing.

	Moments later, Minako arrived at the fountain in the center of 
the mall; a place where she figured would be an excellent central 
meeting place. She leaned over the balcony and began scanning all the 
people on the first floor, searching for any black-haired male wearing 
clothing that came anything close to resembling Kyodai's. After only a 
moment of searching, the long, black hair of a gentleman caught Minako's 
attention from the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to his 
direction, finding none other than Kyodai sitting on a bench next to the 
fountain. With her heart racing like she had just run the Tokyo 
Marathon, mostly from anxiety from thoughts of Kyodai being upset at her 
for leaving him, she decided to take the bold approach. So she leaned 
over the railing and called out to him loud enough for all the thousands 
of people on the first and second floors in the center of the mall to 
easily hear her, "Kyodai-kun?"

	Kyodai glanced up and turned toward the direction of the girl's 
voice calling out his name for all to hear. There he saw Minako up on 
the second floor, leaning over the railing, waving at him. And 
instantly, hints of relief began invading his mind and body as he saw 
Minako's bright smile accompanying her wave. And as he quickly stood up 
upon seeing Minako, she quickly pushed herself off the railing and began 
dashing toward a nearby escalator like an Olympic sprinter, not even 
caring who she was bumping into. 

	Kyodai too began running toward the same escalator, breaking and 
running around people along the way, yet more carefully than Minako was 
on her journey. He quickly made it to the escalator and began running up 
it, squeezing by a few people on his way up. Minako too had reached the 
top of the escalator and began running down, trying desperately to 
squeeze around a couple snuggling up on the escalator. Once they neared 
each other toward the middle of the escalator, Minako grabbed the moving 
handrail and vaulted herself over the dividers and onto the other 
escalator with such athleticism, landing in Kyodai's open arms and 
nearly knocking the star soccer player into the people behind him.

	On their way up, Minako wrapped her arms tightly around Kyodai's 
waist, squeezing him with every bit of love, regret, and anxiety that 
had weighed heavily on her mind since even before her battle with the 
youmas and soldiers. She then buried her face into his chest, with tears 
coming to her eyes, 'Oh my God, Kyodai-kun. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry 
for running out on you. Please forgive…"


	"...Shhhh," Kyodai interrupted as they reached the top of the 
escalator and stepped off, with his finger over his lips before gently 
placing it over hers, "I should be the one to apologize. I was just as 
guilty." Minako looked up at him from his chest, showing him her tear-
filled blue eyes. And just as quickly, they softly kissed one another as 
a small crowd of nearby onlookers cheered for them, whistled at them, 
and even applauded their overly dramatic display of affection. After a 
short, gentle, and blissful kiss, Kyodai broke, "I forgive you Minako-
chan."

	"I forgive you too," said Minako, releasing Kyodai's waist and 
throwing her arms over his shoulders and pulling him into another kiss. 
Again, this rather affectionate display of forgiveness drew out a number 
of cheers and applause from even more onlookers. After another short and 
blissful moment, they break their kiss as the onlookers continued to 
cheer. Kyodai turned to them and took his bow before taking Minako by 
the hand and leading her back down the escalator. "So where next, 
Minako-chan?" Kyodai asked.

	"Weren't we supposed to go to the department store to look at 
men's coats and women's dresses?" Minako replied, reminding Kyodai of 
their earlier plans.

	"Yes," Kyodai replied, "But what about after that?"

	Minako took a quick glance at her watch, which read 2:45, "We 
still have plenty of time. So anywhere you want, Kyodai-kun."

	Once at the bottom of the escalator, the couple walked more 
casually in the direction of the department store, carefully blending 
with the crowds of people. Minako wrapped one arm around Kyodai's while 
her free hand grabbed onto Kyodai's as the couple made their way through 
the crowd. Along the way, Kyodai thought felt a massive wave of relief 
take him over, as if Minako throwing herself into his arms and their 
passionate kisses weren't enough. All his worries about Minako being 
upset at him for leaving her had been completely washed away, making him
 feel so much more at ease about what lied ahead on their date. Thoughts 
about his big surprise for tonight once again seeped into his mind, 
which made him decide that the department store was to be their last 
stop for the day, albeit while taking their time there.

	Once inside, Kyodai remembered what exactly he was doing in the 
moments before he sensed the danger that had prompted him to transform 
into Tuxedo Inferno. So he casually led Minako through the first floor 
of the department store and up and escalator. Few words were spoken 
between them during their entire trip through the mall and into the 
store. Instead, they enjoyed each other's company in silence, letting 
their love for one another speak for itself. Once on the second floor, 
Kyodai led Minako to the men's department and to the coats that he had 
earlier browsed. 

	He let Minako go and went straight for the maroon blazer and 
maroon double-breasted coat. Minako watched as Kyodai removed his sport 
coat, showing his white long-sleeve button-up, and slid into the Maroon 
blazer. He buttoned it up and made minor adjustments to its fit and 
finish before he turned to Minako to show it off, "What do you think, 
Minako-chan?"

	"It looks great on you, Kyodai-kun," said Minako.

	"Thank you," he replied as he unbuttoned it and took it off. He 
placed it back on its hanger, set it aside, and grabbed the 
double-breasted coat. He then slid into that coat in the same manner as 
he had slid into the blazer. He carefully buttoned it and wiggled his 
shoulders and arms inside it, testing out and making minor adjustments 
to its fit. Once comfortable in it and satisfied with its finish, he 
turned back to Minako, "How about this one?"

	Minako only giggled at his attempt at showing everything off 
like a male fashion model, "Kyodai-kun, they both look great on you."

	Kyodai let a sweat drop hang from his head in response more to 
his showing off rather than Minako's giggling at it. So, completely 
satisfied with his selections, he took the double-breasted coat off and 
placed it back on its hanger. He then selected a few ties to go with 
them, mostly red, lavender, and purple ones. He showed each of them to 
Minako, pairing them with one of his coats by laying the ties on them. 
And Minako responded to how each looked with the maroon coats by either 
nodding or shaking her head. Once he had selected a fair number of ties 
with Minako's help, Kyodai took them to the clerk and paid for them. 
Once he backed the, Minako took his hand into hers and led him to the 
women's section. Minako had to put up with looking at men's clothes, 
even if it was with Kyodai. It was only fair that he put up with looking 
at women's clothes.

	So Minako let go of his hand and jogged over to one of the racks 
displaying some fine-made summer dresses. Minako always enjoyed looking 
at all the dresses, and even trying most of them on and showing them off 
to the girls like she was a fashion model on the runway. However, Minako 
had already spent some of her allowance on her CD's and had only enough 
left for one dress. On top of that, she wasn't showing the dresses off 
to the other girls this time, but rather a handsome college student who 
seemed to have more sophisticated tastes than her friends did. So Minako 
decided to compromise between trendy fashion and sophistication and 
grabbed a few dresses to try on. 

	"Come on, Kyodai-kun," she said, taking his hand and leading him 
toward one of the fitting rooms where he could wait. Once there, she 
walked inside with the dresses, while Kyodai patiently waited. Moments 
later, Minako emerged, wearing a darling little orange and yellow print 
dress with capped sleeves and an empire waist. This dress was more of a 
daytime dress, one she could wear just to look very lady-like on get-
togethers with friends and even casual dates. Kyodai examined her from 
head to toe, noting its fit and finish and how the dress brought out her 
features, especially when she was wearing her trademark red bow. "It 
looks beautiful on you," he commented.

	Minako only twirled, letting he skirt spread out as she spun 
around, then winked at Kyodai before she walked back to the fitting 
room. When at the door, she peeked over her shoulder back at Kyodai, 
"You'll love this next one."  Moments later, Minako emerged from the 
fitting room, and Kyodai's eyes popped wide open, his jaw dropped, and 
his heart palpitated at what he saw. Minako had emerged wearing a 
beautiful pleated ivory halter dress, with an empire waist and a 
rhinestone buckle, and the skirt cut just slightly above her knees. 
Even with her red bow, Kyodai was totally mesmerized by just how perfect 
that dress looked on her and how pleasantly attractive it made her, so 
much that he could do little but stare at her.

	"See, I told you so," Minako replied, giggling as she walked up 
to him. She gently laid her arms over his shoulders and gave him a 
gentle kiss on the lips, thanking him for such an overwhelmingly 
delightful response to her choice of dress.

	"You're welcome, beautiful," Kyodai replied after they broke her 
kiss. It wasn't until she had let him go and made her way back into the 
fitting room that he had begun examining her dress, showing much of her 
bare back above the small of her back. Even though he was examining only 
the back of her dress before she had went inside, he had also taken note 
of what he had seen when she emerged. The dress fit her body perfectly, 
bringing out her adolescent yet well-defined curves. It was perfect for 
a more romantic date with a guy, and was probably what Minako had in 
mind for a future date.

	After trying on numerous dresses and showing them off to Kyodai, 
Minako had a more casual daytime dress picked out and led Kyodai to the 
clerk where she spent nearly the last of her allowance on it. After 
placing her nicely folded new dress in a bag, Minako looked up at 
Kyodai, "I'm ready to go now. How about you?"

	"I'm ready if you are," Kyodai replied as he held arm out for 
Minako. She wrapped her free arm around his waist in response and laid 
her head on his shoulder as Kyodai wrapped his arm around Minako's. They 
then began to make their way out of the department store, again with few 
words spoken between them. Once outside, Kyodai gazed at his watch, 
5:01p.m. 'Wow, we've been shopping this long?' he thought to himself, 
'I'd better begin letting her in on my surprise.' 

	As they started down the parking lot and toward his car, Kyodai 
turned to Minako, "You know, Minako-chan, I haven't forgotten about my 
surprise."

	"Oh, I can't wait," she replied, "What is it?"

	"You'll see," Kyodai replied, smiling at the beautiful blonde.

	As they continued walking down the parking lot toward Kyodai's 
car, curiosity struck Kyodai as they were nearing the place where Obake 
had earlier parked. So Kyodai caught a quick peek to see if his brand 
new Civic was still there. However, as he quickly scanned about the 
cars, none of them resembled Obake's. 'I guess he must've left sometime 
while I was out fighting that soldier alongside the Sailor Team,' Kyodai 
thought to himself as he turned his attention back to Minako and their 
walk toward his own car. 

Once they spotted his old coupe, Kyodai led Minako to the passenger 
side, where he slid his key into the lock and opened the door for 
Minako. He took Minako's bags off of her hands as she let go of him and 
climbed inside. Kyodai then walked around to the rear hatch, and saw 
Minako unlocking his door for him from the inside. He then opened the 
hatchback and placed his and Minako's bags inside, yet hanging on to the 
bag with his new CD's. Once he shut the hatchback, he walked to the 
driver's side and merely opened the door and climbed inside, "Thank you, 
Minako-chan?"

	"You're welcome, Kyodai-kun," Minako replied, "It's the least I 
can do for you opening the door for me so many times."

	Once inside, Kyodai quickly scanned through his new CD's and 
chose as Minako was buckling her seat belt. In no time at all, he chose 
one to listen to on his trip to his surprise for Minako and hastily 
removed the wrapping from it. He then opened his portable CD player, 
removed his R&B CD from it and placed his new CD inside. Once he closed 
the CD player, he took his CD case from under his seat and slid it back 
inside. He then buckled up and slid the key into the ignition to start 
the engine. Once started, he turned the stereo on and turned his CD 
player on. Once he shifted into reverse and began backing out, some 
light melodic music enveloped began playing, filling the car with 
beautiful ambient music accompanied by the sounds of the ocean.

	"Wow, this is beautiful music," Minako commented as she closed 
her eyes and let the music flood her conscious.

	"Yes, I think so too," Kyodai replied as she shifted into first 
and began to make his way out of the crowded parking lot. Such a task 
proved much easier than finding a place to park, not having to fight 
other drivers quite as much. So Kyodai sat back and let the new oceanic 
music soothe him as he continued on his more leisurely drive. He had 
plenty of time to cruise about on his way to his surprise Minako.

	"What kind of music is this?" Minako asked, "I've never heard 
this kind of music before."

	"This is a type of ambient music, more like ocean-inspired space 
music," Kyodai explained, "Something had gotten me into various kinds of 
world-inspired and nature-inspired ambient music."

	"Oh? Like what?" said Minako, still with her eyes closed and 
letting both the music and Kyodai's explanation flow into her mind.

	"I don't know, "Kyodai replied, "It's like something from my 
past, or rather a distant past of sorts, that got me interested in 
ambient music. I don't remember where, but it's like it was from a dream 
or something."

	"Hmmm... sounds like it might've been something your mother 
might have listened to when you were a baby," Minako guessed.

	"I'm not sure," said Kyodai, "I know Rei sometimes listens to 
ambient music as well, but as for me, I just don't remember very well 
where my appreciation for ambient music came from, nor can I really 
explain it very well either.

	"Either way, it's beautiful music," said Minako, her eyes not 
once opening. Kyodai took his time driving to his destination, wanting 
to let the music soothe both him and Minako during their trip. After his 
explanation of the music, Minako sat completely silent throughout the 
remainder of the trip, letting the music and Kyodai's presence 
completely relax her body and mind and fill her with a feeling of great 
warmth. Although it didn't look like it to Kyodai, his sixth sense could 
easily pick up the aura of Minako's curiosity and anxiety. And with the 
clock in his car reading 6:00p.m., Kyodai turned at an intersection near 
his destination and decided to end their leisurely cruise.

	"Hey Minako-chan," said Kyodai as he reached his destination and 
entered its parking lot.

	"Yes, Kyodai-kun?" Minako replied, not even opening her eyes as 
another track began playing.

	"You can open your eyes now. We're here," said Kyodai.

	When Minako opened her eyes and glanced through the windshield, 
she immediately noticed that they had arrived at the same movie theater 
they had visited on their first date. "Wow, a movie," Minako said 
gleefully.

	"Remember that movie I told you about last week?" said Kyodai.

	"'The Starlight Warrior'?" Minako remembered.

	"Exactly," Kyodai replied, trying to let Minako guess his 
surprise for herself.

	"But, the theaters have been flooded all day," said Minako, 
"There's no way you're going to get tickets. They've all been sold out 
all day."

	"Look in the glove box," said Kyodai, pointing to it.

	Almost as quickly as he had said it, Minako opened the glove 
box. And immediately, her eyes opened wide and she nearly swooned when 
she discovered two tickets for 'The Starlight Warrior' 7:30 show. She took 
the tickets into her hands and held them to her chest. 

	"Oh Kyodai-kun," she said, becoming completely speechless.

	Kyodai quickly found an open parking spot and slid his car into 
it. As he turned the engine off, Minako unbuckled her seatbelt and she 
threw her arms tightly around him and kissed him deeply and 
passionately. 

	"You're welcome," said Kyodai, getting her message. Minako let 
go of him and quickly opened her door to let herself out, her excitement 
over the movie driving her. Once Kyodai stepped out, Minako once again 
threw herself on him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. After 
another brief embrace, the couple began making their trek toward the 
theater with Minako's arms wrapped tightly around his one arm. "How on 
Earth did you get your hands on those tickets?" she asked.

	"I had to stand in line for over an hour after soccer practice 
yesterday to get a hold of these," said Kyodai.

	"You did that for me?" she said as she gave him a quick kiss on 
the cheek, "That was really sweet of you."

	Once they arrived in front of the theater, they discovered a 
very long line as hundreds, possibly even thousands, of people had also 
gathered to see this highly-acclaimed movie. This long line came as no 
surprise to either of them, so they merely took their places in line and 
waited patiently, even though the movie wasn't going to start for 
another hour. Minako wrapped her arms around Kyodai's waist and holds 
him close to her as the line moved along at a snail's pace.

	"Hey Kyodai, did you know Makoto likes you too," said Minako, 
remembering her competition with Makoto.

	"Really now?" Kyodai replied, wondering why she was bringing up 
the subject, "Come to think of it, she sure does act like it whenever 
you're with me."

	"And Usagi seems to like you a little as an acquaintance," 
Minako added, "It might have to do with your friendship with Mamoru and 
your relation to Rei."

	"Usagi seems like a nice young lady. Yet, I still can't believe 
some jock just ditched her like that," Kyodai said, remembering about 
the guy who dumped Usagi before his and Minako's first date, then going 
back to Minako's statement, "I thought she didn't like Mamoru."

	"Well, it may not look like it, but I think she has a thing for 
him, even though he calls her 'Odango Atama'," Minako explained, "She 
just doesn't like to show it in front of very many people."

	"Yeah, Mamoru never told me much about her until Rei brought her 
up in front of him and me," said Kyodai, "Even though he and I have been 
best friends since high school, that man still has plenty of mysteries." 

	"So what we're you like in high school?" Minako asked, curious.

	"Well, like I said last week, I was the star player on Juuban's 
soccer team. I was also the class Salutatorian," Kyodai replied.

	"Smart and athletic? That's something I don't see much of that, 
not even at my school," Minako commented.

	"I was what most people would call a 'Scholar Athlete'. I was on 
the Emperor's Honor Roll for 3 consecutive years. I was the Class 
President for my Junior and Senior years. I also received a full 
scholarship to Azabu Tech," Kyodai explained, "They offered me both 
academic and soccer scholarships."

	"So you were more of a prep than a jock," said Minako.

	"I was certainly no jock, although wasn't really a nerd either," 
said Kyodai.

	"So why don't you live at the college anymore?" Minako asked.

	"Well, dorm life at the college was interesting, to say the 
least," Kyodai explained, "Some of the students there liked to party and 
go on dates with girls. I didn't participate in that too much, though, 
as I had spent most of my time either studying or at soccer practice. I 
did enjoy college life for a short time, though. However, so much of my 
time was spent at the college that I didn't get to see Rei that much. I 
haven't lived with her since I graduated from Juuban Junior High and 
moved in with our Aunt Ryeka and Uncle Saki. I missed her... and Grandpa 
too."

	"It's great that you're close to your sister," said Minako. "You 
know, it would be a pain in the butt if I had younger brother around, 
always bothering me, teasing me about boyfriends, complaining about 
being on the phone..."

	Kyodai only heard half of Minako's explanation as those very 
same thoughts about Rei began flooding his mind. He thought about all 
the times he and Rei had their arguments over Rei bothering him while he 
was studying, Rei teasing him about bringing home a girl from school 
even though he wasn't dating her, and Rei bring a pain in the ass. It 
was something that only those with younger siblings, be they a brother 
or sister, could truly identify with. Although there were the many times 
that Rei pestered him, there were also the tender moments they shared. 
Thoughts about Rei crying over some girl bullying her at school and 
coming to him for comfort, times when she just wanted someone to hug her 
tightly, and most of all the memories they both shared of their mother 
and their mutual dislike of their father also weighed on his mind. Even 
funnier moments like the pranks they played on one another, times they 
wrestled, and times they ganged up on Grandpa made Kyodai smile. "Yeah, 
I can't imagine not having a sister like Rei," said Kyodai.

	After a nearly half-hour wait, they finally made it into the 
vast theater and handed the doorman their tickets. "Theater 7, enjoy the 
movie," he said, pointing in the direction of Theater 7 and handing the 
couple their ticket stubs.

	"Thank you sir," Kyodai replied as he quickly swam through the 
crowd toward theater 7, with Minako hanging on to his arm. Although the 
theater was crowded, they merely just moved along with the flow of other 
people also heading to theater 7. Once inside, they slowly walked down 
one of the aisles, looking for not only some empty seats, but ones 
perfect for them to enjoy the movie whilst in each other's company. And 
nearly as quickly as they had begun their search, they found those 
perfect seats in one of the rows further back. So they quickly slid by 
some of the people already sitting in their seats and took those empty 
seats. Once they settled in, Kyodai laid his arm over Minako's shoulders 
as she leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder as the 
theater quickly filled to capacity. And there, they waited for the movie 
to start.


	Meanwhile, back at the Hikawa Jinja...

	Rei had just finished her fire reading sweating very heavily. 
What she had seen provoked a great anxiety; causing her to breathe 
heavily and her heart beat at the inside of her chest. With the 
revelation from her fire reading fresh on her mind, she ran out of the 
worship room and through the shrine's halls, nearly running into Romano 
along the way. Romano's eye's popped wide open at the site of the 
speedy miko and quickly jumped out of her way as if she was one of his 
soccer opponents, "Hey Rei-san, watch where you're running."

	"Sorry, Romano," she called out behind her as she ran into her 
room and shut the door. She then scurried to her desk and grabbed her 
communicator and attempted to call all the senshi, but hesitated. She 
had just realized that Minako was still on her date with Kyodai. Ripping 
Minako away would not only have made Minako very upset with her for 
interrupting her date, but also break her brother's heart from his date 
being cut short. So instead, she decided to contact Luna and have her 
deal with the senshi. She pressed the button to open a channel to her, 
prompting the crescent-headed cat's face to appear on the screen.

	"Luna, call emergency senshi meeting," she said, "Minako-chan's 
with Kyodai right now and I suggest that she not be bothered. We've 
already cut her date short once today, and I'd feel bad for both her and 
my brother if we did it again."

	"At the shrine?" Luna asked, puzzled as to why she's calling a 
meeting so suddenly.

	"Yes, at the shrine," Rei responded.

	"Okay, Rei-chan. I'll make sure the others show up," said Luna.

	"Please don't cut my brother's bate with her short," Rei 
reminded, still sweating profusely with her heart beating at her chest, 
"We can fill her in later."

	"I understand," said Luna before her face disappeared from Rei's 
communicator. With the meeting set and the others on their way, Rei 
placed her communicator back in her desk, walked over to her bed, and 
lied down. There, she closed her eyes and tried to collect her thoughts. 
She certainly didn't like what she had seen, enough to the point that 
the others had to know immediately. It was already 7:30 in the evening, 
as shown by her alarm clock, with the sun barely hovering above the 
western horizon. So she began wondering if perhaps it was not such a 
good idea to call an emergency senshi meeting so late in the evening, 
when most day people like her and her friends would be setting down. 
Nevertheless, she had seen something potentially dangerous not only to 
those in Tokyo, but more so the sailor senshi themselves. 

	Within 15 minutes of her call to Luna, there was a knock at her 
door, "It's open."

	The door slid open and Romano's face peeked inside, "Rei-san, 
you have visitors."

	Immediately, Rei threw her legs over the side of the bed and 
stood. "Good, they're here," she said as she walked to her door, "Thank 
you, Romano."

	"You're welcome, Rei-san," he replied as he stepped out of her 
way.

	"We'll be busy, so please don't bother us," she said as she left 
her room and made her way toward the living room.

	"Yes, Rei-san, I know the drill," Romano replied as he turned 
and headed back to his own room. Although he was oblivious to the true 
content of these meetings, Romano had grown accustomed to meetings where 
Rei and her friends had some kind of important matters to discuss, as 
have Gabianni and Yuuichirou. So Romano often stayed in his room and 
turned on his television to tune out their girl talk when Rei held 
senshi meetings at the shrine.

	When Rei walked into the living room, she discovered that all 
but Usagi and Minako had shown up at the temple. She only hung her head, 
trembling slightly in frustration. 'Damn her, she's late again,' she 
thought to herself, referring to Usagi.

	"What is it Rei-chan?" Ami asked, quickly breaking Rei from her 
frustration. But before Rei could answer her question, Usagi suddenly 
dashed into the living room from outside, sweating profusely and panting 
heavily like she had just run at a track meet. Once she caught her 
breath, she gently removed her shoes at the door and walked toward the 
middle of the room to join Ami and Makoto.

	"Usagi, late as usual," Rei commented, looking up at Usagi, 
"Don't you understand the meaning of 'emergency meeting'?"

	"Sorry, Rei-chan, I ran into Mamoru on my way here and..." said 
Usagi.

	"I don't want to hear about it," Rei interrupted.

	"But he's such a bully. Why doesn't he just remember that we 
were made for each other," she said. 

	"Enough!" Luna hollered, getting their attention before they 
could begin sticking their tongues out at each other. With the bickering 
swiftly quelled, all 4 girls then sat around the small coffee table in 
the middle of the room in the traditional Japanese fashion.

	"So what was the emergency?" Makoto asked.

	"What did you find?" Ami also asked.

	"The Dark Kingdom has sent someone after us. I don't know 
who..." Rei replied.

	"I bet it's that Tuxedo Inferno," Makoto interrupted, her 
suspicions getting the best of her, as usual.

	"Maybe not," said Ami, "The Dark Kingdom activity explains why 
they've been sending soldiers as well as their youmas in the past couple 
of weeks."

	"Tuxedo Inferno did help us the past three times he's crossed 
our paths," said Usagi.

	"Maybe he is on our side," suggested Ami.

	"Or maybe he's an agent of the Dark Kingdom trying to trick us," 
Makoto added.

	"I don't know what is going on, but I do believe they have 
placed a price on our heads, or on someone else's," said Rei.

	"So they're probably sending someone like a bounty hunter," said 
Ami.

	"Maybe they're after Tuxedo Mask again like they were last 
time," said Usagi.

	"Or one of us, or all of us, or maybe even someone close to us," 
said Makoto.

	"The only one I know who is close to us is Kyodai," said Rei.

	"Not true," Ami disagreed, "There's Naru, Umino, our 
families..."

	"What would they want with Kyodai?" said Usagi, cutting Ami off, 
"He's not even a senshi."

	"But he is Rei-chan's brother," said Ami, "And sending someone 
after him could make a great lure."

	"They'll most likely make a direct attack," said Luna, "If that 
person they're sending wants to find us, then he'll attack the people 
and lure us to him."

	"Mako-chan, I still have nothing on Tuxedo Inferno, so he's 
probably not an enemy," said Rei, "But the fact that I'm getting nothing 
on him is what's making Tuxedo Inferno such a mystery to us."

	"Is that all Rei-chan?" Luna asked.

	"That's all," Rei responded.

	"Keep your communicators and pins handy," said Usagi, "I hope 
they don't attack tonight. We're short one senshi until Minako-chan 
calls us from her date with Kyodai." 

	Rei merely hung her head, sweat drop hanging, "Wow, Usagi 
actually said something useful for a change."

	Usagi only glared at her in response before turning toward the 
front door to leave, followed by Ami and Makoto.

	"Usagi?" Rei called, stopping Usagi in her tracks as she turned 
to her, "Please fill Minako in on our meeting when she calls from her 
date with Kyodai."

	Usagi smiled, "Of course, Rei-chan." With that, she and the 
others left the shrine, leaving Rei with a few worries off of her mind, 
yet her worries over the possible bounty hunter still weighing heavily. 
She let out a discontented sigh before she turned and walked back to her 
room.


	Back at the Theater...

	Minako and Kyodai sat in the crowded movie theater, with 
Kyodai's arm wrapped around the back of her shoulders and Minako lying 
her head on his shoulder and her arm lying across his chest. And just as 
the couple had begun to get cozy, the lights in the theater slowly 
dimmed as the movie began. Over the next two hours, the couple sat 
together silently, cuddled together as the movie transpired. It was a 
movie with action, adventure, and romance, just as it was advertised on 
TV and in the theaters. During a romance scene involving the main 
character and his love, Minako pulled herself even closer to Kyodai and 
nestled her head against the crook of his neck. Kyodai turned his face 
to hers and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead in response, and gave 
her a gentle and affectionate squeeze before turning back to the movie.

	"Great Movie," Minako whispers to Kyodai, careful as not to 
disturb the other viewers.

	"Tell me about it," Kyodai whispered back.

	During an intense action scene involving the main character and 
the central villain, Minako tightly clutched on to Kyodai in near fear, 
as did most of the couples in the theater. Such a scary scene not only 
made Minako clutch Kyodai tightly, her nails digging into his coat, but 
also made her bury her face into his shoulder to hide from the scary 
scene. As the movie neared its climax, Minako began to really squeeze 
Kyodai, both arms wrapped tightly around his waist, as a battle raged on 
between the main character and the central villain. 

	She once again buried her face into Kyodai's shoulder, not even 
bearing to see the horror of the good guy losing the battle. It was 
something that she had always feared as both Sailor V and Sailor Venus, 
the day that she would lose the battle. In fact, she had suffered that 
defeat once, as Sailor V. And it was the event occurring after the 
battle, involving her former love Allan and her surrogate sister 
Katarina, that had forced her to retire from fighting as Sailor V. So 
she easily identified with the main character losing the battle, as she 
too had lost in battle and lost her love along with it. 

	"Minako-chan, look," said Kyodai. Minako looked back up at the 
screen as the battle was coming to its conclusion. It ended with the bad 
guy defeated and the good guy badly wounded, with his love by his side. 
As with most of the girls in the theater, Minako's eyes began to fill 
with tears as the good guy died and his love gave him her parting 
speech. It was indeed the saddest scene of the movie; the Starlight 
Warrior dying for his love, and doing what he had always done best, 
fighting for what was right. It reminded her of the reasons she returned 
to fighting for love and justice as Sailor Venus. It wasn't only because 
a talking white cat named Artemis had convinced her to, but also because 
it was who she was and it was the right thing to do. And at the end of 
the movie, everybody stood up from their seats and began their struggle 
to exit the theater. 

	After a few moments of struggling through the crowds, Kyodai and 
Minako finally make it out of the theater and begin their trip toward 
his car, with few words spoken between them. However, once they arrived 
at the passenger side of his car, she quickly turned to Kyodai, threw 
her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, and pulled him close, 
"That was such a great movie."

	"It was just as they said it was gonna be, wasn't it? said 
Kyodai. "It kinda reminds me of those Sailor V stories I've heard so 
much about, fighting for what is right, kind of like the knights during 
the times of chivalry."

	Those kind words about Sailor V made Minako smile. Although some 
of the movie's scenes did remind her of her tougher and more tragic 
trials as Sailor V, it also reminded her of all the good she had done 
and the impact she had on the people. And it was those thoughts that 
made her pull Kyodai's lips to hers as she softly kissed him. And 
moments later, she deepened it with much love and passion, silently 
showing Kyodai her appreciation for his kind remarks, and for showing 
her such a great movie. After a passionate moment with him, she broke 
their kiss let him go as Kyodai opened the door for her. Minako climbed 
inside, buckled up, and closed her eyes, letting the warm feelings from 
the night completely overtake her as Kyodai climbed inside the driver's 
seat.

	He started his engine and pressed the play button on his 
portable CD player, resuming the ocean-inspired ambient music. With the 
music creating a relaxing atmosphere inside his car, Kyodai pulled out 
and took his place in line to leave the theater's parking lot. The 
traffic in the parking lot was quite heavy, with crowds of people and 
cars leaving and even more filing in, most of them coming to see 'The 
Starlight Warrior.' 

	Minutes later, Kyodai makes it out of the theater and begins his 
leisurely trip back toward Minako's house. Few words were spoken between 
them throughout their trip, letting the ambient music soothe their 
souls. In addition, they were both quite tired from such an eventful 
day, with their time at the park, their time at the mall, their battle 
as Sailor Venus and Tuxedo Inferno, their department store shopping, and 
finally the movie taking a lot out of the couple. Although they were 
quite relaxed, they were also too tired to say much to each other. Only 
Minako gently caressing Kyodai's left arm was what she had thought he 
needed to let him know that few words were needed to make his trip back 
to Minako's with the beautiful blonde quite enjoyable. As for Kyodai, 
just having her there was enough for him as he smiled at her gesture.

	After a long trip through town, they make it to Minako's house 
just as the clock in his car read 10:30pm. He pulled up into Minako's 
driveway and shut off his engine. Minako unbuckled her seatbelt and 
merely sat there, totally relaxed, as Kyodai walked around the front of 
his car to her side. He then opened the passenger door to let her out. 
And like a true gentleman, he walked her all the way to the front door. 
Once there, she turned to Kyodai, her beautiful blue eyes meeting 
Kyodai's.

	"Thank you Kyodai-kun, for everything," Minako said as she 
placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him. She then wrapped her arms 
around his waist and pulled him close as they kissed again with much 
deeper emotion. With that passionate French kiss, they sealed the ending 
their night together. They then break their kiss, and Minako turned and 
opened her front door. 

	"Good night Minako-chan," said Kyodai, stopping Minako at the 
threshold of her door.

	"Good night Kyodai-kun," said Minako, smiling and winking, as 
she closed the door. 

	Kyodai smiled as he turned around and walked back to his car. 
And on his way, he winced at the joyful squeals and cheers that filled 
the house and yard, obviously coming from Minako. He let out a heavy 
sigh at that sound and smiled, thinking to himself, 'Well, at least she 
enjoyed our date too.' With such a wonderful night fresh on his mind, 
aside from that soldier's interruption, he hopped back into his car. He 
turned his engine on, and then his portable CD player, filling the 
inside of his car with the beautiful sounds and music of the ocean. The 
then pulled out of Minako's driveway and drove off, back toward the 
Hikawa Jinja.


--------------------------------end of chapter 2-----------------------

...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't 
mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for 
creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time 
on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and 
Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' 
more. But Russell Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and 
Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, 
please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but 
his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,
Viper Inferno
   (Y2V)