Planet Bound: Venus
by Marj
Notes:
ohayo - good morning
Please e-mail your comments and constructive criticisms at
. Thanks!
Disclaimers: The characters of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon were created
by Naoko Takeuchi-san, its copyright owned by Toei Animation, Kodansha,
Nakayoshi, Sterling Animation Inc., and many other companies scattered
throughout the world. Meaning, I cannot claim the characters as my
own, and am mearly borrowing them. So please don't sue, as I don't
earn anything from this other than the satisfaction of making a story.
Chapter One: Overreacting
"MINAKO-CHAN!!!!!"
The scream pierced the stillness of the night, and to it was added a
loud thud, as if something has been dropped. Artemis looked up from
the carpeted floor to find himself sweating profusely, and taking down
fast gulps of air.
Minako, who had been sound asleep seconds ago, was now fully awake.
"Artemis! What's wrong?"
Artemis didn't answer. He didn't want her to find out and be upset
over his silly dream. "It's nothing, really. Go back to sleep."
Minako stared at him. "It's another nightmare, isn't it?"
Her cat still didn't answer. He just leapt back up onto the foot of
her bed and tried to forget about his dream.
Minako sensed that whatever his dream was, it was bothering him an
awful lot, so she reached out and took the white cat in her arms. She
started to rub her hand gently on Artemis' back, and stroke his neck.
Artemis purred in satisfaction. "It feels great . . ." he murmured.
She continued doing this until she saw his bright blue eyes close and
he dozed off into sleep. Smiling fondly at her pet, she laid him down
beside her and tried to get some sleep herself.
The night went by, and soon morning came. Minako woke up earlier than
usual, and saw Artemis curled up in a tiny white ball beside her
pillow. She didn't bother waking him up - she knew that the cat needed
the sleep since his nightmares had kept him awake for several days now.
It worried her that he wouldn't talk to her about it, but she wasn't
about to go down on her knees and beg.
After all, she had a secret to keep, too.
She was tying her red ribbon in place when she heard Artemis yawn. Out
of the corner of her eye, she saw him stretch. "Ohayo, Artemis!" she
greeted him sunnily.
"What's so good about this morning?" the cat grumbled silently to
himself. Then, he walked over to her side. "'Ohayo."
Minako looked at him, her face filled with concern. "Did you have
another nightmare? You had one last night, and you didn't want to talk
about it."
"No, no, I had a nice, dreamless sleep."
"Are you sure?"
Artemis looked irritated. "I'm fine! Don't worry about it!"
Minako decided not to push any further. They were silent for a while.
Then she took a deep breath, coughed slightly - the remains of a
previous sickness, and said, "You'll be going to Usagi's house again
after school."
"Again?!?" Artemis practically screamed. Minako quickly hushed him.
"Keep it down, will you? I don't know what I'll tell my parents if
they heard someone shouting in my room!" she whispered. "In a boy's
voice for that matter!"
"I'm sorry, but don't you think I've been going to that house long
enough? What's so special about that place you're going that I can't
come with you?"
"It's none of your business," Minako sighed. "And it doesn't have anything to do with boys either," she
added, seeing Artemis' dubious face.
"I'm just worried about you, Minako-chan," Artemis said, rubbing his
soft fur against her leg.
Minako sat on the carpet next to him and picked her pet up. "I know,
Artemis. But sometimes there are things that a girl has to keep a
secret, okay? Besides, I'm just as worried about you and your dreams."
"Minako-chan! Breakfast!" her mother announced from the kitchen.
"Coming!" she shouted. She stood up and grabbed her school bag. "Now
come along, Artemis. You wouldn't want me to be late for school."
"Yeah, yeah . . . " he grumbled.
*****
True to her word, Minako asked Usagi to watch over Artemis again.
Although Usagi was starting to wonder why she always had to take care
of him, she didn't raise any questions. All of Minako’s mumbling
whenever she handed Artemis over, about her mother being pregnant, her
parents’ worries that Artemis may wander around the house when she’s
not around, and the dangers of having a cat beside a pregnant woman,
was enough to satisfy her curiosity. Besides, she felt that Luna
enjoyed Artemis' company whenever he was at her house.
If Minako had asked Usagi to take care of Artemis earlier than two
weeks before, Usagi probably would have refused. Just previously, she
and her boyfriend Mamoru had made up from their first real fight that
had left both of them feel very terrible and depressed for more than a
week. She could barely watch over Luna - what happened was the other
way around. Luna cared for Usagi until the day when she and her
boyfriend made up again. Minako would had might as well left Artemis
in the streets.
After Usagi and Mamoru made up, however, her usual giddiness returned,
and she felt like she could do anything. She even offered Artemis to
stay at her place until Minako’s mother gives birth so that Minako
didn't have to bother dropping him off at her house every now and then
whenever she goes off somewhere. Both him and Minako refused, though -
for some reason, both can’t seem to stay far apart from each other for
long.
Even for just a moment, however, Artemis did not appreciate being left
behind. He did not like the fact that his charge was going someplace
he doesn’t know. It also didn’t help that she was being secretive
about it, either. That was why he settled in one corner as soon as
Usagi and the two cats were inside Usagi's bedroom.
Usagi and Luna looked at each other.
"What's with you, Artemis? I thought you like visiting here," Usagi
said.
The white cat shook his head. "Didn't you notice anything peculiar
about Minako-chan?" he asked.
Usagi pretended to think about it for a minute. "Ummm . . . no, I
don't think so. Except that she was able to ace that quiz we had today
. . ."
"And how did you do, Usagi-chan?" Luna asked.
Usagi blushed. "Hey, I tried my best too, you know!" Luna
sweatdropped.
"How about her behavior? Didn't you notice that she's being very quiet
lately? As if she has been keeping something from us that she has no
intention of letting us know?" Artemis asked.
"Now that you've mentioned it, she had been more serious lately . . ."
Luna started.
"Aw, come on, you guys. Minako-chan is more mature than we once
thought she was, remember?" Usagi reasoned. "Maybe she was just
thinking about You-Know-Who again . . ."
"For two weeks?!" Artemis exclaimed. "And how do you explain her
dropping me off here almost every single day??? Where is she going???
And why isn't she taking me along? This isn't like her. We always go
places together!"
"No need to get all hysterical, Artemis. Maybe her friend has returned
from London and she just wants to have time alone with her," Luna
calmly said.
But that didn't satisfy Artemis. He continued to sulk in the corner.
Usagi walked over and picked him up. "We know that you care for
Minako-chan an awful lot. But you're just overreacting, that's all.
Just because she is keeping a secret from you doesn't mean that she's
betraying you. She'll tell you - and all of us - when she feels like
it."
Artemis sighed in her arms. Maybe Usagi was right. Maybe his
nightmares were making him jump to conclusions and overreact to
ordinary situations happening in real life. He only hoped that
wherever Minako was, she wasn't anywhere near tall buildings. (
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