Minako jumped in surprise at someone calling her
name, but relaxed when she saw it was Dunican.  "Hey
Dunican," she said smiling, "I'm... really bored.
Anyway, did I just see you walk out of that music
store?"

   "Yup. I needed some new strings for my cello and
some new sheet music of some music I have been wanting
to buy for awhile," he said as he opened the bag.

   "You play the cello?" Minako asked, peering into
the bag.  "You never told me that."

   "Yup.  But I don't think I am that good. That's why
I never told anyone," he said and then seemed a bit
nervous.  "Would you like to come over and listen
anyway?" he asked with hope in his eyes.

   "Sure," Minako said smiling.  "I'm sure it can't be
all that bad anyway," she added.

   "Ok.  Let's go," he said and Dunican lead her to
the dojo.  They went in to find the owner. "Master
Kane?  Are you here?"

   An old man appeared from the back room and smiled.
"Dunican.  You're home," he said and then looked at
Minako.  "I see you brought a girl here.  So how long
have you two been dating?" he asked.

   Minako blushed, laughing uneasily.  "Oh, we're not
together Master Kane.  We're just friends," she
explained.

   "That is good," he said and turned around.
"Friendship does lead to other things," he said and
returned to the back room.

   Dunican took Minako by the hand and lead her to his
apartment above the dojo.  When they were in front of
his door Dunican realized he had a hold of Minako's
hand he let go.  He blushed a bit.  "Sorry about
Master Kane," he said.  "He does that a lot."  Dunican
then opened the door to his place.

   Minako grinned.  "So you bring girls home a lot?"
she asked jokingly, stepping into his apartment.  The
bedroom was to the right, with the right kitchen next
to it.  The bathroom was next to the ktichen and
living room next to that.  Glancing around, Minako
caught sight of the cello in the corner of the
bedroom.

   Dunican blushed again.  "Master Kane just likes to
tease me, that's all," he said.  He walked over to the
cello and took the things out of the bag.  "Make
yourself at home," he said and started to replace the
strings on his cello.

   Minako sat on the couch, peering around the room.
*Pretty cool place he's got here...* she thought,
humming to herself.  "How long have you lived with
Master Kane?" Minako asked.

   "Well I moved here with Master Kane when I was 12
but he found me when I was 10.  He is a nice guy.  I
owe him my life," he said and set up some music.

   Minako nodded, deciding not to dig deep into the
subject.  "So what piece are you going to play?" she
asked quickly, noticing Dunican was almost ready.

   Dunican looked up from the music; he was ready.
"It's called 'Memorizes from the Past'," he said and
placed the music on the music stand.  Taking his bow
in hand he closed his eyes and started to play.  The
sound started off lively.  Full of power and an upbeat
speed.  But when he got closer to the end it started
to slow down and the sound coming from the cello was
more sad.  As if the song was telling a love story.
Slowly he drew the last note from the cello and opened
his eyes to Minako.

   Minako stared at him for a few seconds in silence,
her eyes wide.  "THAT WAS GREAT!" she blurted out,
nearly falling off her seat, "And you said you can't
play.... how did you get that good?"

   "Well," said Dunican.  His face a bit red.  "I
started playing when I was 5 and enjoyed it.  So I
kept playing.  You are the first person I have ever
played in front of," he said looking at Minako.

   Minako smiled. "Not even Master Kane?  You should
really consider joining an orchestra or something,"
she said, leaning back agenst the couch.

   Dunican shook his head no.  "He doesn't like this
kind of music.  He said it doesn't go well for
meditation," he said and looked at his cello.  "I
never thought about joining an orchestra," said
Dunican.  "I don't think I would get in."

   "Yeah right! You'd be like first chair," Minako
said, laughing.  "You should believe in your talent
more."

   Dunican nodded with a smile. "Yeah I guess you are
right," he said and looked down to the ground.  A
small blush appeared on his face.  "Minako," he
paused, as if trying to find the words.  "Would you
like to go out to dinner tonight?" he asked and looked
at her.

   Minako smiled, giggling a bit. "Are you asking me
out on a date, Dunican?" she asked teasingly, seeing
Dunican's obvious discomfort.  "Yeah, sure, I'm free,"
she added casually, grinning.

   Dunican's face light up with a bright smile.
"Great.  There is a restruant around the corner from
here.  It just opened.  How about I met you there in
an hour?" asked Duncican.

   Minako nodded, smiling. "Yeah sure, I'll go get
ready and see you there," she said, almost skipping
out of Dunican's apartment towards her own.

   Dunican watched Minako and then walked over to his
bathroom.  A half hour later he emerged in a pair of
dress pants and silk navy blue shirt.  Waking over to
his mirror he fixed his hair.  Walking over to his
cello he sat down and played for a half hour.  Looking
over at the clock Dunican could see it was almost 7.
Getting up he grabbed his leather jacket and then out
the door he went.  He looked up and noticed it was
pouring rain.  He grabbed his umbrella.  Dunican
frowned.  He hoped there would be better weather on
his first date with Minako.

   Minako pranced through the rain, avoiding the
puddles as best she could.  Quickly she made it under
the canopy of the restuarant.  Smoothing out her black
skirt the best she could, Minako glanced into the
small building, checking to see if Dunican was in
there yet.

   Dunican rounded the corner and spotted Minako
walked at the door. Walking over to her he bowed
slightly. "Good evening Minako," he said and looked at
her. "I hope I am not late."

   Minako smiled, shaking her head.  "Of course not, I
just got here," she said, looking him up and down.
"You look very nice."

   Dunican blushed a little. He also checked out
Minako.  "You look beautiful too," he said and gave
her his arm.  "Shall we?"

   Minako grinned, taking his arm. "We shall," she
laughed, and the pair entered the restaraunt.  They
were promptly seated and given menus.  Minako scanned
through hers, looking up at Dunican after a minute or
two.  "So tell me, what do you remember about the Moon
Kingdom?" she asked.

   Dunican looked at his water that sat in front of
him.  He then looked at Minako and gave her a small
smile.  "I remember quit a bit," he said softly.  "My
training on Venus, the day I was told I was to protect
the Princess of Venus, and the day I finally met you,"
he said and smiled to her.

   Minako blushed a little, flattered.  "Is that all?
I mean, do you remember the Moon Kingdom on the Moon.
That's one of the things I miss the most. It was such
a beautiful and peaceful place," she said, pausing as
the waiter brought out there food.  Minako picked up
her fork and looked at Dunican.

   Dunican looked down at his food as Minako asked him
about the Moon Kingdom.  "Yeah.  I miss it too," he
said softly.  "Things were peaceful and fun back
then," he said his face saddened.  "But I also
remember my failure," he said trailing off at the end
of his sentence.

   Minako looked up from her food, chewing her first
forkfull.  She quickly swallowed the spaghetti and
dabbed with a napkin.  "That wasn't your fault, there
really wasn't anything you could have done different
to change the outcome," she pointed out.

   "I know there was nothing I could have done, but I
wasn't by your side like I was supposed to be." He
took some spaghetti on to his fork and ate it.  "I was
thinking of what I was going to say to you that
night," he said softly and trailed off again.

   Minako sipped from her glass of water, keeping her
eyes on Dunican.  She smiled and placed her elbows on
the table, leaning on her hands.  "What were you going
to tell me?" she asked, curious.

   Dunican's eyes looked at Minako. *Oh no!  Did I say
that last sentence out loud?* he thought to himself.
He noticed she was waiting for to tell her.  *I guess
I have no choice.  I am going to have to tell her.*
Dunican closed his eyes and looked at Minako square in
the eyes.  "On that day the Moon Kingdom was attacked,
I wanted to tell you that," he paused and looked down
at his food.  "I love you," he said softly.

   Minako stared at Dunican, her mouth opened in a
soft o.  She dropped her fork into the big plate of
spaghetti.  "Well.... errrrrr.... I.... ummmm......
that wasn't expected...." she stuttered, turning a
deep shade of red.

   Dunican was still looking down.  "I'm sorry
Minako," he said softly and got up from the table and
ran out of the door, tears streaming down his face.
He could feel the cold rain hitting him but he didn't
care.  *She is mad at me.  I bet she doesn't want to
talk to me anymore,* he thought as he headed into the
park across the street.

   Minako blinked surprised for a couple seconds, then
realized what had happened.  Cursing to herself, she
threw the money for the dinner on the table and flew
after Dunican.  "Dunican!" she called, chasing him
into the park.  The rain fell so hard, that it knocked
Minako's hair out of it's place, sending if flying
about her.

   Dunican stopped at the fountain.  Breathing hard
from the run, he looked into the broken reflection of
the water as run drops broke the surface of the water.
 Hearing his name he looked at Minako who was coming
towards him.

   Minako reached Dunican, sucking in the wet air,
catching her breath.  She looked up into his eyes,
trying to think of what she was going to say.  Her
chest ached for some reason, and she was having
trouble regaining her breath.  "I'm sorry..... I was
just surprised...." she panted.

   Dunican's gaze softened.  "No, I'm sorry.  I should
have waited to tell you what I said to you before," he
said and noticed a vacant gazebo.  "Lets get some
cover so we can talk," he said and started his way
over to the gazebo.  When he got there he turned back
to Minako.  "During the last day of the Moon Kingdom I
was going to come out and tell you how I felt about
you.  But when we were attack and I was wounded, I lay
there and thought about you, wondering if you were
safe and I wanted to tell you everything.  The last
words that I spoke where, 'I love you Minako' and I
died," he said and sat down on a bench.  "And I guess
I still love you even until this day," he said softly.
 

   Minako sat down next to Dunican, sighing. She just
sat there for a few seconds, with her eyes closed,
thinking.  Then she opened her tear-filled eyes and
looked to Dunican.  "I.... I never knew how you
felt... about me..." she said, choking up at the end.
 
   Dunican looked at her for a few moments.  "I
couldn't tell you right away.  I was afraid of being
laughed at or something.  But I had to tell you that
day or I was going to go insane and I wanted to find
out how you felt about me too," he said softly.

   Minako looked down at her hands for a second. "I...
I...." she stuttered, shaking her head a little.  She
was tearing herself up inside, frantically thinking of
an answer.  *Come on Minako....* she thought to
herself, mustering up courage.  Quickly, she grabbed
Dunican by the shoulders and pressed her lips against
his.

   It took Dunican several moments to realize what was
going on. He could feel Minako's lips on his.  So many
emotions where going through him at once but one he
could feel the most was love and happiness.  Dunican
slowly put his hands on Minako's waist and realized he
was staring at her and her eyes were closed.  He
closed his eyes and enjoyed this moment.

   Minako pulled away, looking into Dunican's eyes for
a second.  Then she turned bright red again and looked
down.  "Ehehe... I'm sorry, don't know what came over
me...." she said, laughing nervously.

   Dunican smiled. "You don't need to be sorry," he
said softly.  "I think it was nice," he said and
looked into Minako's eyes.  "I enjoy being with you
Minako and I think you enjoy being with me," he said.
 

   Minako smiled back, placing her head on his
shoulder, sighing.  "Why didn't you tell me before
hand, back on the Moon Kingdom?" she asked, looking up
and the rain flying off the roof of the gazebo.

   Dunican looked at Minako.  "I guess I was afraid to
tell you.  I mean what would I do if you laughed at me
or you were seeing someone already?  How could I have
lived after that?" he said.  "But that day I had to
tell you the Negaverse stopped that plan," he said
softly.

   "Me? Laugh at you? Hardly, I would have probably
done the same thing I did now..." she said, giggling,
"Besides, you never know until you ask," Minako added,
smiling.

   A smile came to Dunican's face and he hugged Minako
tightly.  Tears were coming down his face and a smile
was on his face.  "I love you Mina-chan," he said
softly into her ear.

   "I love you too, Dunican," Minako whispered,
hugging back.  She smiled, wiping the tears from his
face.  The rain sputtered down to a drizzle and then
stopped, revealing a sky covered in twinkling little
stars.

   Dunican smiled and released her from the hug.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked.

   Minako grinned and jumped up from the bench. "Sure,
I'd love to," she said, pulling Dunican off the bench
by his arm.

   Dunican took Minako by the hand they started to
walk through the park.  As they walked hand in hand,
Dunican remembered something he wanted to give Minako.
Going into his pocket and pulled out a necklace with a
locket.  "Minako, I want you to have this," he said
and smiled to her.

   Minako gasped and looked at the locket, carefully
picking it from Dunican's hands.  "This is so
beautiful, where did you get it?"  she asked,
examining the locket and chain.

   Dunican looked at the locket and then to Minako.
"It was my mother's locket," he said softly.  "But I
want you to have it because I love you and I know she
would want me to give it to the person I love the
most," he said.

   Minako put it around her neck, being very careful
with the clasp.  She held the locket in her fingers,
admiring it some more.  Then she looked up to Dunican
and smiled, hugging him tightly.  "Thank you so
much..." she said laughing.

   Dunican hugged her back and smiled.  "Open the
locket," he said with a smile and stood back to let
her open it.

   Minako quickly fumbled with the tiny lock, having a
little bit of trouble.  Finally she got it open,
smiling at what was inside.  On one side of the locket
was a picture of herself, and on the other side was a
picture of Dunican.  "You did this? Where did you get
the pictures?" she asked, admiring the locket.

   Dunican smiled and stretched the back of his head.
"Well some guy got a picture of you somehow and when I
saw it I had to have it.  Lucky for me the guy was
drunk and so I took it with him knowing it," he said
and smiled.  "And the picture of myself I had Master
Kane take it," he explained.

   Minako examined the pictures a couple more seconds
before looking up into Dunican's eyes.  "I wish I had
something to give you in return..." she said, smiling
a little.

   Dunican slowly leaned over and kissed Minako on the
lips.  He smiled to her and said, "You have given me
something.  Your love and friendship," he said softly
and smiled.

   "Wait a sec..." Minako said, quickly undoing the
bracelet around her wrist.  It was a simple silver
linked chain, with a small gold clasp. She held it up
to her eyes, smiling.  "You gave me a material thing
to remind me of you, so you can have this to remind
you of me."

   Dunican looked at the bracelet and smiled.  Taking
it he placed it in his right wrist and looked at it
for a moment, then he looked at Minako and kissed her
gently.  "You are the first person in my life to give
me a gift like this," he said softly.

   Minako smiled, relishing all of the kisses.
"Really?  Well, I'm sure you'll be getting a lot more
down the line," she said teasingly, starting to walk
again.

   Dunican smiled to Minako as they continued to walk.
 They walked past the lake that was nearby.  Ducks
swam slowly in the water and a small row boat sailed
by slowly.  Dunican sighed happily.

   Minako looked out onto the lake also, take her eyes
off the path.  She tripped over a root sticking up out
the ground, knocking Dunican over.  She rolled over
onto her back and started to laugh, lifting her head
to apologize to Dunican.  To her surprise, he fell in
the water!  "I'm... sorry..." she got in between
giggles, sitting up on her knees.

   Dunican shook the water from his hair and he looked
at Minako, blinking.  Suddenly started laughing.
After a few seconds of laughing he stopped and smiled
to Minako.  "Its ok. No need to apologize," he said,
getting out of the water.  He was soaked from head to
toe.

   Minako stifled her giggles, standing back on her
feet.  She looked Dunican up and down, grinning.
"Well, I think we should get you in a dry pair of
clothes...." she said, giggling.

   Dunican chuckled. "I guess so," he said smiling to
her.  The two walked back to Dunican's apartment.  He
unlocked the door with his wet keys.  "Would you like
to come in?" he asked.

   "Sure," Minako said, walking into his apartment.
She smiled at the sight of the cello, propped up
against the chair Dunican had played on.  Dunican
walked over the bedroom and opened a drawer and took
some of his clothes.  "Make yourself at home.  I'll be
right back," he said and went into the bathroom to
change.

   Minako sat down in the chair she had before,
looking around the room idly.  It felt different then
from earlier in the night.  Smiling, she balanced on
the two back legs of the chair and looked up at the
ceiling.

   Dunican finished putting on his pants and throw the
muscle shirt on.  Grabbing a towel he walked out of
the bathroom with his shirt over one shoulder and
drying his hair with the towel.

   Tottering dangerously on the chair, Minako turned
her gaze towards Dunican and smiled.  "Feeling
better?" she asked.

   Dunican looked at Minako as he finished with his
hair.  He noticed what she was doing and became
worried.  "Are you sure you want to do that?  If you
fall you will get hurt," he said and to slowly walked
over.

   Minako leaned forward, sending the front to legs of
the chair crashing back to the ground.  She smiled
sheepishly up and Dunican, leaning back against the
chair.  "Sorry, didn't mean to worry you," she said
grinning.

   Dunican smiled and put his shirt on.  After that he
looked at Minako and smiled.  "So what would you like
to do now?" he asked.

   Minako seemed to be in a little trance, staring at
Dunican putting his shirt on.  She snapped out of it
when he asked his question, and rubbed the back of her
head.  "Ehehehehe... sure, let's go," she said,
quickly getting up and out the door.

   Dunican smiled to himself and followed Minako out
the door.  Catching up to her he wrapped an arm around
her shoulder.  "Would you like to go get some ice
cream?" he asked.

   Minako looked up at Dunican and smiled. "Sure;
you're paying though, I had to pay for the dinner,"
she said teasingly, referring to when he ran out of
the restaurant.

   Dunican stretched the back of his head.  "Sure," he
said and smiled.  "Sorry about that," he said and they
entered the ice cream shop.  Dunican looked over the
flavors.  He couldn't remember the last time he had
ice cream.

   Minako wasted no time ordering her favorite flavor.
 "I'll have a waffle cone with two scoops of Peanut
Butter Ripple," she said, grinning.  She took her ice
cream from the scooper, taking a big lick.

   Dunican ordered after her. "I will have two
chocolate scoops," he said said and was given his ice
cream.  He paid and the two walked out of the ice
cream shop.  "Minako?  What do you think of the
Benefactor?"

   Minako looked up from her ice cream, shuddering.
"That man gives me the creeps.  I don't know whether
to trust him or if he's just doing all of this to
strike us when we won't expect it," she said in a
monotone.

   Dunican thought for a moment. "But what the power
he has he could have done that by now," he said. "I
mean he has the power to teleport us to his chambers.
So why hasn't he done so and taken us out?" he pointed
out and took a bit of his ice cream and cone.

   "Well, that's true," Minako said inbetween her
bites of ice cream.  "But still... I'm going to keep
my guard up.  Just in case..." She grinned a little,
munching happily on part of her waffle cone.

   Dunican agreed.  "Yeah.  I think we are all doing
that," he said and looked around.  He then started to
eat his cone.

   "But enough about Senshi business, it's not one of
my favorite topics of discussion," Minako said,
quickly finishing the last of her cone.  "Besides, he
would just ruin a perfect night."

   Dunican nodded.  "I'm sorry I brought it up," he
said and finished off his cone. "So what would you
like to do now?" he asked.

   Minako looked at her watch, making a face.  "It's
12:30 A.M., and I have a biology test tomorrow.  I
guess I should be heading home..." she said quietly,
looking up at Dunican.  "You can walk me home if you
want," she added, smiling.

   Dunican smiled. "It will be my pleasure," he said
with a soft smile.  Dunican took Minako by the arm and
he kept track of where they were going so he could
come over to see Minako.  They went up to the fourth
floor and they walked over to Minako's front door.
Dunican stood in front of Minako and smiled to her.
"Well, tonight was a eventful evening," he said with a
smile.

   "Yeah, it was perfect too," Minako said, kissing
Dunican gently on the lips.  She quickly dug out her
key and opened her door, turning to face Dunican
again.  "You going to be around tomorrow?" she asked.

   Dunican smiled. "Yup, I should be around tomorrow.
Was there something you wanted to do?" he asked.

   Minako shrugged.  "I dunno, we could just hang out
or something..." she said, smiling.

   "Sounds like a plan," he said softly and kissed her
on the lips.  Turning around he started to walk away.
He turned his head back to Minako and smiled.  "See
you tomorrow princess," he said and the continued to
watch her as the elevators door closed.

   Minako watched as the elevator doors closed,
smiling.  She walked into her room, reminiscing the
night already.  She closed the door quietly, locking
it from the inside.