Crumbling Rose...Petals of Love
Started By: Beryl 2/11/00
Players: Guardian, Queen Beryl, Zoisite, Tashande, Duncian, Darien, Kunzite, Riona, Michiru, Nephrite, and Minako

Sandra Tenson smiled coyly at the young man sitting across the cafeteria, he was older than she was 'supposedly' and she could feel the energy in him. With the dance approaching she could almost invasion the feast of sexual energy she'd be able to drain from any men she felt like sleeping with, or if they felt like paying her. She smiled, *At this rate, with the energy I'm gathering I'll be able to free my Queen in no time.*

Jeremy sat silently in the courtyard. Valentine's Day. It was Jeremy's curse. Out of the four gyms in the school, the only one open during his lunch hour was the one being decorated for the dance that night, and the weight room was being painted. For the first time since he had arrived at the school instead of merely scarifying down his lunch and then working out he was sitting, alone as normal, but for once for the entire lunch hour. He stared as one of the students tried to fumble the words she was looking for to ask out a guy she liked, *Dating. Typically it is the guys who ask the girls, but when they reverse the rules and the girls must ask the guys it produces interesting results. Of course it is always a comfort to know that with the scars raking my face I'm safe from being asked myself.*

Tashande sat quietly, scarfing his lunch away from all the others. He didn't like being around other people. He looked around for a moment. It wasn't because he was naturally antisocial or anything... he just felt like a little bit of an outsider. The reason why, of course, was that he was a walking nuclear bomb. He'd been told about how some of the other senshi used fire or ice or whatever... but Tashande got the short straw. All he had to do was think about it and everybody in the room would be irradiated. That was the worst part of it all, he didn't just set people on fire or something... he boiled their skin off, blinded them, and made their guts come out their mouths. With that last thought, his appetite went out the window. He glanced up, and saw Tenson on the other side of the room.

Riona walked across the courtyard bouncing her head in time with the music coming from her discman. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jeremy sitting alone. She detoured over to where he was sitting and sat next to him. "How you doing? Why so glum?"

Perched within the crook of one of the trees, Zoisite leaned back against the trunk, rather liking high places like his namesake of koneko. Emerald eyes bore a daydreaming quality to them, most likely lost in pleasant visions of the only teacher that he bothered coming to class on time for. In his opinion, it was a hopeless one, but it didn't stop him any. Machavelli's "The Prince" lay in his lap, going unread for the moment until voice below pulled him out of his fantasy of Kitsune. Scowling darkly, his attention slipped to those below him. Gods of Darkness how he hated mortals.

Jeremy glanced at Riona, recognizing her from a couple weeks before, *Funny how the Senshi don't even know who I truly am. To them I'm merely some teenager who likes to fight, they don't even know I am Guardian.* He glanced about the courtyard, "Gym's closed."

Michiru sat down beside Tashande with a smile. "Penny for your thoughts." she said cheerfully. She was dressed in a white low cut shirt and black tight pants.

"Oh..." Riona looked across the courtyard. "I didn't thank you for helping me find my class. So, thanks." She glanced around then back to Jeremy. "Well, I've got to be going now." She grinned and got up, dusting her pants off. "Later." Riona waved a little then headed back towards the school.

Kitsune brought his car to a screeching halt in the parking lot, barely missing the showy bright red sports car of the Star King's. Shaking his head silently-- doesn't that man realize that show doesn't replace skill?-- he grabbed his books and coat from the seat next to him and vaulted over the door. Kitsune's car was a convertible and very, very subdued... or at least as subdued as a black convertible 448 Sting Ray could be. He laid his books onto the hood of the car, got the top up, rolled up the windows and locked everything up. Then struggling into his jacket, he wandered towards the school.

*Oh great* Tashande thought, *The green-haired freak* "Nothing," he mumbled, and looked down at his meal.

Zoisite scowled as he stalked through the empty hallway. He swore that if he saw another sappy couple or a heart pasted on the wall, he'd slap a real one up there. Snatching open his locker, he threw his copy of "The Prince" in and started pulling out his books for the afternoon classes. Shutting the metal door, he was as surprised as anyone as his forehead impacted with it.

Stumbling backwards, he was barely aware of being pushed by someone, getting a close up view of what he would have termed a one of the ugliest males he'd ever had the displeasure of encountering. Raising one delicate hand to his forehead, he was nearly in shock over the smear of reddish pink blood dotting his fingertips. These... mortals... had actually made the mistake of shedding his blood. Nephrite and his warnings be damned, someone was going to hurt if he could just get his body to react.

Not having time to register this fact through his ill working mind as he was lifted off of his feet with his back thumped into the locker once more, he barely caught the stream of obscenities rolling off the bully's tongue. As his chin was seized in one rough hand, he did understand something about scars and his all too pretty face.

The bully's words ended in a high-pitched squeak, his eyes crossing while his face turned an interesting shade of purple. His hands lost their strength and he staggered back a step, head turning to look behind him. With a casual shrug, Kitsune followed up his kick to the student's groin by whacking him across the head with his heavy history book. The bully went down, and Kitsune stepped over his prone form to take Zoisite by the elbow and lead him away from the gathering crowd. "There goes my teaching license," he said with a sigh.

Dunican finally made it to his class. Right when he got to school several girls tired to ask him to that dance Valentine's Day dance. The girls seemed to know that he was going out with Minako. But they didn't seem to care. All he did was ignore them as he walked to home room. *I wonder where Minako is?* he asked himself. Sitting there he noticed a lot of the girls in his class looking his way. *Oh brother.*

Zoisite shook his head, trying to clear the last of the cobwebs from it due to the sudden impact with his locker. Rubbing the back of his hand across his forehead, not wanting the odd shading of his blood seen, his jade gaze leapt upwards to Kitsune's face. Shock flooded back over his delicately sculpted features once more, not understanding why a teacher chose to interfere in a fight. Pitching his voice to low tones, he inquired softly, "Why?"

Minako walked into her class from lunch, getting done early. She'd been looking for Dunican all day, and grinned when she saw him in the classroom. Wordlessly she sat down in front of him and pinned a large heart pin on his shirt that said "Taken". Almost instantly the girls turned back to their books, muttering under their breath. Minako smirked, turning her attention back to Dunican. " Wanna go to the V-Day dance with me?"

Dunican looked at Minako. A smile appeared on his face and he leaned in close to Minako. "I would love to go," he said with shining eyes and a smile.

Kitsune blinked in confusion and shrugged in a manner that suggested that he never really thought about it. "Can't let anyone pick on someone just because of a bully feels like it," he finally said. He had Zoisite sit down at an unoccupied spot and pulled out a snowy white handkerchief. He didn't seem too shocked at the youth's injury or pink blood. "Here, use this," Kitsune said, sitting back a little and assessing Zoisite with oppose eyes.

Nephrite walked up behind the two. *Oh please, don't tell me those two are going to go at it AGAIN!* he thought. Its bad enough I have to watch the students, but not these two as well!* he thought and walked up, breaking up the crowd. "I saw the entire thing, don't worry I'll clear it by the principle." He muttered to the two and continued on his way.

Michiru smiled softly. "Oh now, I'm sure there's got to be something going on in that mind of yours." she insisted. Jeremy watched as Riona left and shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and leaned back, staring up at the sky and finally getting up and heading to his class.

Riona entered the cafeteria. All around her were giggling girls, blushing girls, or smiling-stupidly girls. *What air heads...* She walked up to the counter and paid for a bottle of fruit juice. She popped open her drink and took a gulp down. Shaking her head she left the caff and headed to her next class.

Tashande looked at Michiru with deadly seriousness. "I'm counting how many kinds of cancer you're getting just sitting next to me

Slipping the cloth from Kitsune's fingers, Zoisite's brushed against them softly. A gasp escaped from his lips at the moment of contact, the faint shock of touching the raw power of the Dark Kingdom that Kitsune carried in him dwarfing that of Zoisite's own. Nephrite made him look like a beginner, but this... this was enough to make Zoisite want to slink away, quickly. Beryl was a female, that was for sure, and the Demon Queen was still imprisoned. That left only... "Kunzite..." he whispered in soft tones of disbelief, emerald eyes going wide with surprise.

Had he been capable of it, Zoisite would have most likely suffered a heart attack at that moment. He and Nephrite had been ordered together as teacher and student, something he bore but usually didn't like given the elder's superior attitude. This was something completely different. One like him only heard stories of the famed ice king, not the best of people to upset or give him a reason to take notice of you in the Dark Kingdom. Trying to draw back against the wall, his eyes never left those of Kitsune's, fear snapping at their edges.

Kitsune's face remained passive, though an eyebrow did jump at Zoisite's sudden fear. Of course he had heard the rumors about himself. How could he not when people whisper them behind his back? But he was a little disappointed in the young man's response towards him. He folded his arms across his chest and frowned slightly. "Took you long enough," he said. "And stop acting like a frightened girl. You are a warrior of Dark Kingdom, not a mortal. If I was here to discipline you, I wouldn't have to pretend to be a student teacher."

Zoisite blinked, all the color dropping from his face as if Kunzite had physically struck him. A girl? A girl! How dare even Kunzite compare him to a girl? Those silly, empty headed females? The dull roar of anger in his ears drowned out anything else beyond that. Flashing from fear to anger with a speed that spoke of the mentally unbalanced, the sakura's pale lips pulled back from his small milk white teeth. "I am not a girl!" he hissed in a low tone, hands snapping into fists at the very thought. Ignoring the flecks of odd colored blood spotting his forehead, blazing eyes of jade met Kunzite's platinum ones in a defiant glare. The ice king might have over towered Zoisite by nearly a foot, but he would be damned if he was going to let anyone compare him to a female, even as his nearly feminine fragile features twisted in a scowl.

Michiru looked a bit worried. "No wonder you're always free on Friday night. Anyone try's to be nice you push them away." She muttered. "You need a life... other than what you got now. Tonight, you and me, on the town, my treat." she said with a smile.

Tashande stared at her a moment. "Fine."

Minako grinned, quirking an eyebrow. "Your not planning anything are you?" she asked Dunican

Riona opened the door to her next class and heard someone yell "I am not a girl!" She smiled and stepped in. "And just what is wrong with b-" It was the guy she had seen sitting on the wall outside. Her smile vanished at the sight of the pink blood dotting his for head and cloth beside him. His eyes looked off too, the normal jade green seemed to shine a little more than it should have. The formally gentle feminine features now took on a look of complete hate. Riona sucked in a breath and swallowed. *This isn't right...* She took a step back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to... uh... Interrupt..." She spun on her heel and hurried down the hall.

Dunican smiled to Minako. Leaning in closer to Minako. "Oh I have some plans," he said with a smile. "But you will have to wait until the dance to find out," he said and winked to her.

Minako blinked, then pouted. "Awwww Dunican! You know how much I hate waiting!" she whined.

Jeremy felt the impact and glanced at Riona as she collided exiting the history room. He held his ground and instinctively reached out to keep her from falling, rather the help was needed or not. He glared at the doorway, his even voice showing none of the emotion he felt, "Kitsune going berserk on a student or something?"

He hid his feelings well, and was quite shocked that any female would flee Kitsune or the gym instructor's presence. Among the student and faculty populations they were both among the most lusted for.

Sandra watched Michiru and Tashande and smiled, she had already arranged her plans for the night. The football team's quarterback was her date, and after the dance if things worked as planned the entire football team and the cheerleaders' energy would be hers. She got up from her table and started down the hall.

Hearing the footsteps nearing the doorway, he didn't wait to hear the girl's reply. Fingertips wound upwards, meaning to bury themselves in the locks of Kitsune's hair and drag his lips down to meet Zoisite's. Turning his head from the doorway, his features and the wound across his forehead were hidden from anyone's curious view, yet a good reason for the girl's upset could be clearly seen. All he hoped was that whoever Riona had ran into out in the hall believed it instead of seeking the truth.

Riona gasped and looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She stumbled backwards a little but stayed on her feet with the help of Jeremy. "Huh?" She looked back and shook her head. "Uh... I'm not sure..." She studied Jeremy for a second. "Why don't you tell me? What does it mean when someone's blood is light pink?"

Kitsune chuckled softly and took the move one step further, closing the gap between them and lowering his head. But instead of kissing him, he whispered softly, "And what makes you think that I meant what I said? Women are okay for some things but they have their weaknesses. None of which you have."

Darien wandered down the hall, hands stuffed into the pockets of his leather jacket, and an absentminded look on his face. He shook his head slightly at the couples, a sappy grin on his face. Spotting his quarry, his grin turned wicked and he started his stalk.

A slim brow arched upwards at Kitsune's words. Fear nipped at the back of Zoisite's mind, just wanting whoever was out in the hall to go away as quickly as possible. A splintering headache was spreading outwards from where he'd struck the locker like cracks spiderwebbing out from a break in glass. Finding himself pressed against Kitsune wasn't a bad thing, per se, but it was enough to shake even the sakura's limited self confidence.

A relaxation spread with exquisite slowness throughout Zoisite's system, his grip of fear and surprise gradually loosening as he allowed his frame to lean more against Kitsune's. Twisting a lock of the other's hair through his fingertips, Zoisite murmured softly, "Then perhaps you should make clear what you mean instead of trying to upset me?"

"Ah, but maybe I upset you to see your eyes light up oh-so beautifully," Kitsune replied softly, one hand reaching upwards too lightly touch the cut on Zoisite's forehead. "Let's take care of that, hmmm? We can't have anyone else noticing it." He pressed the palm of his hand against it, and using some carefully hoarded energy to coax it closed and to deaden the pain. He didn't completely heal it, knowing how odd it would look if Zoisite didn't even had a scratch from his encounter, but he did healed it until all it looked like a nasty bruise.

At Kitsune's compliment, a heated blush flowed over Zoisite's cheeks like a fever, eyes sparking as they turned downwards to the floor. Unable to either control the blushing, he shivered softly, feeling that weak kneed sensation sweeping over his lithe form. Had he known what Beryl-hime's victim's felt like when drained of their energy and why they continued even when they realized that something was wrong, he would have understood.

Closing his eyes as Kunzite's cool fingertips brushed his heated flesh, Zoisite could have died happy at that moment. Blinking his eyes open, delicate fingertips touched his forehead with a faint smile outlining his rosebud lips. Stuttering out his thanks, Zoisite blinked back up to Kitsune's gaze, reminded all too readily of Jeremy and Riona outside the door.

"Welcome," Kintsune murmurred, a smile spreading across his face despite trying to keep it in check. What would others from their dark homeland say, to see the Ice King suddenly thaw towards the vicious Little Rat? Kunzite could guess but he didn't care at that moment, preferring to gaze steadily into those dazzling eyes, his one hand smoothing back the loose strands of hair, the other rising to caress his cheek. "I almost wish..." he sighed than stopped, biting back the rest of his words.

Jeremy's face remained emotionless as he lied, "Probably just a trick of the light." Silently he figured what it could be, but his secret identity would remain at least for now. Suddenly he became aware his hands were still on her waist from the impact. With lightning fast reflexes he removed them, fighting back the very mild blush forming on his hideously scarred face.

"Almost wish what?" Zoisite questioned softly, evidentially forgetting the danger of exposure from Riona or Jeremy. Resting the satiny texture of his cheek against Kitsune. Resting his slim fingers against the other man's chest, his gaze never wavered from the other man's. Lifting a fingertip to brush along Kitsune's lower lip tenderly, he wouldn't have paid much attention to Beryl-hime herself if she'd strutted in. "You wish what?"

Riona noticed Jeremy's sudden movement and a small smile crept over her lips. "No it wasn't the light, the light's were on and I know what I saw. The blood was pink. Not light red, not dark pink, light bright day-glow-pink." She started walking down the hall, following Jeremy. "And human features shouldn't be able to look that way either..."

Jeremy leaned against the wall across the hall, it was evident something was going on, something he wanted to investigate, but didn't want anyone to get involved. He glanced at the door down the hall, his voice remaining calm, "Perhaps it's some rare disease we know nothing of. In all honesty I can not be certain what it would be. If I was a joking man I'd say he was an alien."

Riona shrugged. "I don't know but..." She frowned and shook her head and leaned against the wall opposite to Jeremy; clearly deciding not to think about it anymore. She looked up a Jeremy and thoughtfully studied his face. *They look like acid burns... But they couldn't be...* Her face softened and sunk to the floor sitting looking up at him with her knees pulled up to her chest. "So... If you don't mind me asking; how'd you get the scars?"

Jeremy's mind raced at the question, he had been in the school since the beginning of the term and for the first time someone was actually questioning him on his past. His mind raced back, recalling the day decades ago when the undead fiend had taken him prisoner and ravaged his bodies. That was decades ago though, back during the planet's second world war. He recalled the burning sensation across his skin and the feel of the blood on his face, the pain of his eye being removed. That was nothing though to the torture that he had inflicted on his comrades, none of them had made it out besides him. He closed his eye as he pictured the horrible mess his left arm had been left in, the reason he never removed the elbow-length glove on it. He opened his eye and focused on Riona, "It's a long, fairly gruesome story. You could probably sum it up as I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." He felt his voice start to venture from its even, controlled tone, "It was an accident of sorts involving me and five of my friends, I'm the only one who survived." He kept his gaze level and reached for his center of control, it was close to the truth. They stumbled across Ithil by accident. Ithil...the name echoed through his mind. That thing was out there somewhere, and someday he knew that he'd have to face it again.

Michiru smiled. "All right then. I'll pick you up around 8-ish then." she said and winked. "And don't worry, it'll be fun!"

Darien sprang forward and wrapped one hand around Michiru's waist and clamped the other over her eyes. He pulled her close and whispered into her ear, "Hello, beautiful. Guess what I've got for you."

Kitsune sighed softly, taking Zoisite's hand in his and placing a kiss in its palm before letting it go. In a heartfelt voice, he said, "I almost wished we can blow the last half of the school day for some R & R. It's a shame that we can't, unless we're willing to face Beryl-hi.. Our Queen's temper for disobeying orders."

Dunican looked over to Minako as the bell rung. He grinned to her. "So what time would you like me to come and pick you up?" he asked as he turned in his desk towards her.

Minako frowned, seeing she wasn't going to pry the secret out of him. "7:30 I guess," she said, smiling slightly at the end.

Riona frowned. "I'm sorry..." She whispered. She heard the crack in Jeremy's voice and sighed. "If it's hard to talk about it, you don't have to... I don't need to know today."

At the mention of Beryl, Zoisite's features turned to a scowl, his battles with the legendary Queen all too well known. He was the rebel of the four and perhaps the worst at blatantly disregarding what she told him. It had to make one wonder how he got away with flat out arguing with her on occasion. She did always win in the end, and it could have been that she enjoyed the challenge of making the koneko obey... then again, there were always interesting repercussions for him such as having to be Nephrite's student.

Enjoying one last moment in Kitsune's arms, he started to draw back, too wild to be held by anything or anyone for too long. "Well, if you're willing to stay here, I'm not. There are too many preparations for tonight."

"Stay here?" Kitsune replied with a laugh, letting his normal mask fall back into place. He took a step back, giving Zoisite his freedom, shoving his left hand into his jacket pocket. "I wasn't even suggesting it. I was thinking of some place tropic.. I've heard that those places are prefect for vacations-" he shrugged, putting the idea to the side. "Though you're right. There's too much to do and not enough time to do it in. But before you leave, I..." he hesitated.

"Tropic?" Zoisite asked, his interest instantly peaked. He could easily see escaping this place for a weekend in the sun and surf. Blinking out of his all too perfect fantasy, he shifted his gaze upwards to Kitsune once more, "I'm sure Beryl-hime wouldn't notice if we slipped away for a bit..." he murmured, giving the ice king his most sweetly seductive smile.

Michiru turned and faced Darien. "Hi sweetie!" she said and gave him a hug. "I need to talk with you for a moment." she said. She had completely forgotten that Darien would more than likely want to spend the evening with her, but she wasn't going to go back on her word to Tashande. *Oh there has to be a way!* she thought.

Jeremy nodded, but his mask had already faltered. Even for the briefest of moments he had lost his emotional control, and what was worse was that he was actually somewhat glad he did. He composed himself though, he had a mission to defend the Senshi, and even he didn't know who each of the Senshi were.

He couldn't risk them finding out who he was and he couldn't risk possibly becoming involved with one. He met Riona's eyes, and spoke, letting his voice slip into a soft thankful tone, "Thank you."

Darien gave her a quick kiss before tilting his head to the side and shrugging. "Sure. No prob."

Kitsune smiled back. "As if she knows where we are half the time anyway, so long as she get her energy," he said, making a face. He held up his right hand, a silvery rose glimmering in it as he held it out stiffly towards Zoisite. "This is for you."

A scowl traced over Zoisite's delicate features at Kitsune's words. At that moment and time, he would have gladly destroyed Beryl-hime if it would have made the other man happy. He had no real love for his Queen. It was more a case of if he didn't listen to her, then he'd end up one of her statues encased in crystal. Not exactly the best of ways to spend eternity.

At the sight of the rose, Zoisite blinked in surprise, jaden eyes disbelieving. No one had ever given him something... well, Nephrite had once, but he doubted a snake in his bed was exactly a gift. Slipping his slender fingertips about the stem, he examined the bloom closely, never having seen a silver one before. Unfortunately, the last bell of the day braying overhead reminded him even more of the star king. Lifting it to his lips, Zoisite smiled briefly over the petals, "I have to go. Nephrite is going to wonder what happened to me, and I doubt he'd like the answer overly." *Not to mention that I already have to explain the scratch on the Ferrari* Zoisite added mentally.

Kitsune sighed as the bell went off. "So do I. But, maybe we can meet later, when neither of us are busy and discuss stuff."

Riona smiled up at Jeremy questioningly. "For what?" She studied Jeremy's face for a second and even through the scars she could see that he needed someone to talk to. She listened to the last bell of the day go off and looked down the hall at the clock on the wall and saw that it was after 3:15. "I guess we can go home..."

Michiru smiled. "Well, dear heart. There's a friend of mine in Science who is very lonely. And watching him is almost depressing. I told him I would take him out tonight, I know you wanted to go out as well, but...well...maybe there is a way I can cheer him up, and he won't be so gloomy. Besides, I did promise I would come over later." she said slyly.

Jeremy nodded, his voice having yet to return to its normal, collected tone, "Home." His voice even cracked a bit as he remembered the Silver Millennium, the joy of the time before Beryl had destroyed it, before she had succeeded in killing the Moon Princess.

He pulled himself to his feet and softly let his head bang back against the wall, before reaching out with his gloved left hand to help Riona up, "Thank you for not prying; for actually caring about what happened to me."

On to Part Two