Hey - This is Follow Chapter 4 part Deux, I guess, because this is a
revised edition...so re-read if you'd like, and then proceed to Chapter
5! 

Disclaimer/Thanks: I don't own Sailor Moon. Duh. If you 
thought that I did, or you thought that by writing this, I was 
claiming to own it, then you don't deserve to read it, so 
leave now. Assuming you aren't a total moron and weren't 
thinking that, by all means, proceed. Thank you, as always, 
to everyone who's been emailing me and encouraging me. 
And to VO1, also, for keeping me going on this. One day, 
we'll have to combine our powers :0P. And DON'T GRAB 
THAT CIGARETTE! Anyway, I'm done. Enjoy it. Ciao!

*	*	*



	They stayed there like that for quite some time, 
holding each other loosely. It was an odd scene, what with 
the two dead bodies laying on either side of them, and 
Minako and Kunzite taking in each other's presence, each 
overcome by a feeling of gratitude and calm as they realized 
the fact that they had literally saved each other's lives. They 
were also pausing for a moment as the extent of their 
injuries set in. Minako's consisted of what felt like broken or 
bruised ribs, along with a screaming headache, while 
Kunzite's were slightly more pressing, considering there was 
a bullet happily embedded in his leg. It was located on the 
outside of his left thigh, and had fortunately been fired rather 
carelessly. For while Usagi's thugs were trying to completely 
impair movement by a swift shattering of the kneecap, they 
only managed to shoot him in a dense patch of muscle. This 
didn't  completely destroy his ability to walk, while it did 
manage to slow him down a good bit. Strangely, Kunzite 
found that the feeling in his leg was somewhat deadened as 
he stared into Minako's red rimmed eyes; but nonetheless 
he forced himself to dislodge from her shoulders as he 
looked at his injured leg. Minako was noticing the same thing 
at that point, how the pounding of her head was gradually 
subsiding, until the screeching of sirens halted their reverie.
	"Oh god," Minako said, standing up quickly, "Are they 
coming?"
	She let out a groan as her ribs reminded her that 
quick movement wasn't smart.
	"They sound far off, actually…I think we're safe for 
now. But we need to go. If the cops don't find us, Usagi will," 
he replied, joining her on his feet. The blood from the bullet 
wound on his thigh was beginning to solidify on the outside 
of his jeans, and he looked a little shaky.
	"I think I know where they're going, actually," Minako 
said, holding her ribs. 
	"Oh?" Kunzite asked, his voice a mixture of pain and 
curiosity, as he hobbled over to shut the front door of the 
massive house. Minako, seeing the difficulty he was having, 
moved to do it for him.
	"Thanks," he said, "Grab that duffel bag by the door, 
would you?"
	"No problem," she replied, "Want me to lock it?"
	"Yea, not that it'll stop the cops, but what the hell. 
Now where were the sirens going?"
	"Oh, yeah," she said softly, turning the lock and 
shutting the door. She hoisted the huge, heavy bag up on 
her shoulder. "I, um, had a run in with a couple of Usagi's 
Escalades on the way over. There are some bullet holes in 
my car now."
	"Did you make sure they stopped following you?" 
Kunzite asked as he hobbled over to Minako. He took the 
bag from her and lurched slowly over to his Porsche.
	"Well, yes…I mean, I think I shot the tire off of one, I 
didn't exactly see, but anyway, it crashed, and then I, um…I 
kind of shot the driver and passenger in the other one." A 
blush was creeping to Minako's cheeks and a bitter taste 
filled her mouth. The aforementioned guilt that had been 
masked by the rush of adrenaline was back…with a 
vengeance. For the first time since it happened, she noticed 
the two bodies in the snow.
-I've killed…two in the first SUV, two in the second, 
and one in the yard…five? I killed five people in a matter of 
20 minutes…oh my God.-
	Kunzite tossed the bag into his car. He paused and 
dug around the bag, producing a bottle of pills. He opened it 
and poured some into his hand. Without water, he swallowed 
them down.
	"What did you just take?" she asked, resuming her 
concentrated stare at the blood-soaked snow.
	"Something for the pain," he replied curtly, and she 
heard the sound of a zipper as the bag was closed again. 
"Minako, stop."
"What?" she snapped, shocked out of her thoughts. 
"Stop what?"
	"Stop counting the bodies. It's not worth it."
	-How…- "How did you know?" she asked softly.
	"It was pretty obvious. You were standing there, 
staring at them. I used to do it, too."	
	Minako scoffed and walked over to his car, leaning 
back on the hood.
	"But –" Minako was about to argue her case, when 
she thought better of it.
	-Why should he care? He's an assassin, for Christ's 
sake!- she reminded herself. She sneered bitterly.
	"I guess people like you get used to it. Forgive me," 
she said, and started to walk away, "I'm just not very 
accustomed to killing five people in one night. You'll have to 
excuse me."
	-How could he understand? He's trained to kill…God, 
I feel dirty. I wish I could just go home and go to sleep, and 
when I wake up – none of this will have happened. I want my 
life back,- she thought as she wandered further out into the 
yard, intending on walking to her car and driving…where? 
She didn't know. Away. Far away. Somewhere where she 
wasn't involved in this mess, somewhere where she could 
live and not worry about people killing her, or her having to 
kill people. It was silent behind her.
	-And it looks like Mr. Personality doesn't care. The 
man who was once my captor, once my savior, and 
consistently my adversary. And now, my ally. My only ally. 
He's the only one who thought to call me…if not for him, I 
would be dead twice. And he's an asshole.-
	She heard his car start and choked back the tears 
which threatened to come up again.
	-What do I care if he leaves? He'll go his way, you'll 
go yours,- she told herself, ignoring her tears along with the 
dull, throbbing pain in her ribs and jaw.
	-Who else can you trust?-  a small voice said. -You 
don't know where any of the others are, and you don't even 
know if they're going to help you. He said it himself, if the 
cops don't find you, Usagi will. At this point, I'd rather be 
found by the cops.-
	"Shit," she muttered out loud when she approached 
her car, first taking notice of the driver's side mirror, which 
was hanging on by a bare thread. Her internal turmoil was 
beginning to show on the outside, as the first tears fell down 
her face. She took one look at her bullet-ridden car and 
couldn't stop her crying any longer. She leaned her head on 
her side of her beloved vehicle and raked her hands through 
her hair, which was now wet and dirty from falling in the 
dingy old snow.
	"Stop crying, Minako," she heard him say as he shut 
his car off beside her. 	-I didn't even hear his car come 
up,- she thought. -Damn him.-
	She made no effort to lift her head.
	"Come on," he said gently as he got out of his car. He 
limped over to her side and placed a hand on her back, "We 
can talk about this in the car, but we have to go. We don't 
have much time."
	"I'll take my car, thank you," Minako choked out as 
she lifted her head. She didn't look at him, she merely kept 
her head down and opened the door, putting an effective 
barrier between them as she climbed in.
	"Yeah, because it'll run so well with the speed holes 
shot in it. Plus, the cops are looking for you, and you can't 
tell me there are enough Lotuses on the road to make you 
blend in," he said to her.
	"I don't care," came her muffled reply as she dug 
around on the floorboard for her purse.
	Kunzite had finally had enough.
	"Come on, Princess," he said, coming around to the 
other side of her door. He snatched the keys out of the 
ignition and grabbed her free arm. "You're coming with me."
	At that point, Minako was hardly in a state to object. 
She only fought it for a moment before she allowed herself to 
be led back to his Porsche, pausing only for a moment to 
look back longingly at her own car.
	"It'll be fine," he said impatiently before helping her in 
the passenger's side.
	She had a strange feeling that it wouldn't.
	She leaned her head on the window weakly as 
Kunzite started the car again and drove off. Her body was 
combating the events of the past few minutes by trying to 
shut down, thus making her very, very tired. That, and the 
fact that she had been woken up from a deep sleep made it 
very hard for Minako to keep her eyes open. And then, she 
remembered, was that horrible punch in the head she had 
received. That may be the cause for her drowsiness, too.
	A yawn escaped her lips. "Do I have a concussion?"
	"I don't know," Kunzite replied. Minako, seeing that 
she didn't recognize any of the roads they were turning 
down, gave up on watching the scenery and shut her eyes.
	"I think I do…" she muttered.
	"Then don't fall asleep," he replied simply.
	"Mmkay," she said through a yawn. Her 
consciousness was slipping, and it felt wonderful. Minako 
wanted nothing more than to fall into the oblivion it was 
offering, concussion or not.
	"HEY!" he yelled, and grabbed her shoulder, shaking 
it.
	Minako's eyes popped open and she sat up with a 
gasp.
	"Jesus Christ, what was that for?!" she yelled.
	"You were falling asleep," Kunzite informed her, the 
tone of his voice back to normal, his hands back on the 
wheel.
	"Well, shit," she grumbled, fighting back another 
yawn, "You could have tried just talking to me to keep me 
awake, oh Exciting Conversationalist."
	"Keep yourself awake," he muttered as he turned the 
car into a cheap gas station. "Or go get some coffee while I 
figure out where the hell we're going."
	"Fine," she muttered, and fumbled for her purse. He 
handed her a fifty.
	"Here. Hurry," he said.
"Don't you have anything smaller?" He merely looked 
at her. "Okay, I'll be right back."
	She got out of the car and headed up to the grimy 
store.
	"Are we going to find somewhere to stay?" she asked 
as she got back in the car a couple minutes later. She 
handed him his change, and tried to sip the coffee. It burned 
her mouth, causing her to yelp slightly. The thought had 
occurred to her to get some Ibuprofen while she was in the 
store, so she swallowed down six of the small pills she had 
bought without the aid of the scalding coffee. She coughed a 
bit, trying to force the pills down. Kunzite started the car and 
pulled back out onto the road.
	"I've got a bullet in my leg, and you've possibly got 
broken ribs and a concussion" he said dryly, "Where do you 
think we're going?"
	"The zoo?" she replied, blowing on the overheated 
cup in her hands.
	"Wrong, Alex," he bit back.
	"Alright then, I'll take the hospital for 500 then, 
Jackass. Seriously, where are we going?"
	"That's what I've been driving around trying to 
decide."
	"So you've just been driving around, not trying to get 
anywhere? While you're losing blood and I'm almost passing 
out?"
	"Trust me, I'll lose a lot more blood if we go to the 
wrong place. Usagi's on high alert right now, and she 
controls a lot of places around town. Even what she doesn't 
control will at least be watched tonight. We don't have a 
whole lot of options."
	Minako didn't even bother asking why Usagi was 
suddenly on the rampage. She knew she'd get no response.
	"So have you decided?" she asked.
	"Yea…" he said. His voice sounded slightly tinged 
with uncertainty, "He's a family friend."
	"A family friend," Minako repeated softly.  She had 
heard too much about "families" in the past day to wonder if 
it was his that he spoke of. "A friend…of what family?"
	"The Chibas."
	-Oh, great. Looks like this night isn't over yet.-
	"The…Mamoru Chibas?"
	"Yeah. This is going to be tricky."
	"Why?"
	"Because we need to find a way to keep this doctor 
quiet. Rei managed to alert one boss tonight, we really don't 
need to alert the other one, or this could ruin everything."
	"What are you talking-" Minako began, but silenced 
herself.  "Never mind."
	-I don't think I really want to know what's going on, 
anyway,- she thought with a sigh.
"So…" Minako thought carefully about what questions 
she could ask that would receive a clear answer. She took 
another sip of coffee before continuing. "What's going to 
happen if this doctor talks?"
"It's going to raise questions. Why I was shot, for one. 
Who you are. Why the entire thing has to be done fast, and 
why we can't stick around to chat and answer questions," 
Kunzite replied, before turning down a dark street.
	"Oh, I see. So how do we do it?"
	"I think I have a plan…but –" he paused, turning the 
thought around in his head before he continued. "You 
obviously don't have a concussion, but how are your ribs?"
	Minako was apprehensive to answer.
	"They're bruised, definitely." She paused to put a 
hand to her abdomen, pressing in the areas that it hurt. She 
drew in a sharp breath. "I think a couple may be broken, but 
I'm alright. I'm not dying. Just don't ask me to run a mile or 
anything."
	It was a blatant lie, but she decided that the less 
injuries that had to be taken care of, the less time it would 
take. Fortunately, he believed her.
	"Okay then, here's what we're going to do. The most 
critical injury at this point is my leg. If you can hold off on 
getting your ribs checked out, there's a way to get this taken 
care of. Do you still have that gun Usagi gave you?" At this 
point, Kunzite had turned into the parking lot of a small strip 
of businesses. The  only sign lit read, 'Animal Clinic', in huge 
red letters.
	-Oh you've got to be kidding me,- she thought as she 
felt in her jacket pocket for her gun.
	"Yeah, I've got it."
	"Good. Here's the story. You shot me-"
	"What?!"
	"Listen. The gun was a Christmas gift. I promised you 
I'd show you how to shoot it the next day, because you'd 
never shot a gun before. I forgot it was loaded. You were 
messing with it, though, and accidentally shot me in the leg. 
We came here because we're going to visit your family 
tomorrow morning and didn't want to be in the E.R. all night. 
Got it?"
	"Right," Minako said skeptically. "This doctor's 
actually going to believe us, right? Because, you know, they 
hand out diplomas to any brain-dead sap…"
	"We're going to make him believe us. Can you do 
this?" Kunzite asked, staring at her. His face was deadly 
serious, and squelched the sarcasm out of Minako.
	"Yeah, I'm cool," she said softly, "If I shot you in the 
leg, then I'd have to be pretty fucking ditsy. Are we a couple, 
or just two friends?"
	"We should be together. This doctor is used to seeing 
me with, well, never mind," he informed. "Just act casually, 
and make sure it seems like you don't have a clue of what's 
going on. Be unassuming and stupid. Act blonde."
	"OK, I'll act a hair color. You'd better be nice to me," 
she threatened, "I can fuck this whole thing up if you make 
me mad. Now let's go."
	To Minako's relief, they didn't go to the animal clinic. 
That may have been the only place with the lights on, but it 
wasn't the only place open. After a few knocks at the door 
marked 'Dr. Nakamura, Surgical Outpatient', the tinted glass 
door opened and a middle aged man with graying hair poked 
his head out.
	"What?" he said grumpily before he caught a good 
sight of the tall man standing at his door. "Kei!!" he 
proclaimed excitedly, his face lighting up.
	He swung the door open wider and ushered the two 
of them in. 
	"Oh, Kei, it's so great to see you!" he exclaimed, 
bustling around his small office.
	"You, too, Izumo!" Kunzite replied, a smile twisted on 
his lips. Minako wondered if he was acting or not. 
	"So what brings you here?" the small doctor asked as 
he fumbled around behind his desk. 
	"There's a bullet in my leg," Kunzite said, hobbling 
over to stand in front of the desk. Dr. Nakamura immediately 
stopped his search to throw Kunzite a concerned and 
suspicious glance. He looked at his leg briefly, seeing the 
blood that covered his jeans, and met his eyes again.
	"Not during a…" he stopped himself and glanced at 
Minako. She put on her look of troubled concern, glancing up 
at her "boyfriend" and taking his arm in hers. Kunzite didn't 
flinch. 
	-At least he can act, too,- Minako thought. -Well, you 
already knew that, though.-
"Who's your hooker?" Dr. Nakamura asked.
The comment snapped Minako back into reality. 
"PARDON?"
	"No, no," Kunzite assured the doctor. "We," he said, 
wrapping an arm around Minako and laughing, "Had a little 
accident."
	Minako allowed tears to well up in her eyes as she 
looked up at Kunzite.
	"I'm so sorry!" she gasped before burying her head 
into his shoulder, gripping him around the waist.
	-I hope I'm making him squirm,- she thought 
mischievously, -If I'm not, then I plan on it. This is the least I 
can do for him dragging me into this mess.-
	The stakes were suddenly upped.
	"It's okay, sweetie!" Kunzite assured her, not batting 
an eye at her display of affection. He turned his attention 
back to the doctor. "I told her it was okay. See, I got her a 
gun for Christmas, and she figured out how to get the safety 
off-"
	"I didn't even know what a safety was! I swear!" 
Minako blurted out desperately to the doctor, allowing a 
crystalline tear to slide down her face. Kunzite paused to 
give his "girlfriend" a reassuring kiss on the forehead, and 
wiped the tear gently from her eye. She silently dared him 
with her eyes as he went on with the story. Dr. Nakamura 
smiled at her as Kunzite continued on.
	"Anyway, long story short, she managed to shoot me 
in the leg. I'm glad it's the left leg, or else I couldn't have 
driven here. I took enough pills to be able to operate the 
clutch, but I don't think I could have handled the gas and 
brake with it." 
She looked up to him with pleading eyes.
	"Could the girl not have driven?" Dr. Nakamura asked 
suspiciously, his eyes darting between Kunzite and Minako.
	-Oh shit,- Minako thought, her heart rate increasing 
slightly, -He's not buying it.-
	"Not this one! She's scared to drive anything that'll go 
over a hundred miles an hour. But that's okay," he said, 
turning Minako so that their faces were inches apart, 
"Because I don't want you getting hurt!"
	-Eat this,- she thought, and stood on her toes to kiss 
him square on the lips. She pulled away and giggled. He 
never missed a beat. He just hugged her to him before 
looking back at the skeptical doctor.
	"Anyway," he continued, "We were planning on 
leaving tomorrow to go see her people upstate, and we 
didn't want to be stuck in the E.R. for the rest of the night. 
My leg's really not that bad, so I figured you could just fix me 
up. Can you?"
	Minako wrapped her arms around Kunzite while the 
doctor eyed them suspiciously.
	-God, he's built,- she thought. -Wait, where the hell 
did THAT come from?-
	"I'll do it," the doctor said after a moment, giving the 
couple a pinched smile. "Come with me to the back, Kei," he 
said as Kunzite detached himself from Minako. The doctor 
paused a moment in the doorway to the back of the office. 
He gave Minako a wink. "I'll have him as good as new for 
you in no time."
	"Thank you, doctor," she said with a fake smile and a 
sigh. -I can't believe he thought I was a hooker! It must be 
the titty sweater I'm wearing…I knew I should have grabbed 
something else to put on.-
	After the doctor left with Kunzite, Minako sat down on 
one of the many plush chairs that lined the walls, dropping 
her ditz act. A small groan escaped her lips as she recalled 
her lie about her ribs. In reality, they hurt like hell. She hadn't 
spoken up because it seemed a bit weak when Kunzite was 
getting around fine with a bullet in his leg. Then again, 
Kunzite had popped those pills back at the house, and 
Minako had the suspicion that they weren't just some 
everyday Advil.
	-He must have been fortunate enough to have not 
been hit on any major nerves, though, or else he'd barely be 
moving his leg at all,- she thought as she leaned back in the 
seat, trying to find a position that would stop the screaming 
pain in her abdomen. She lifted up her multiple layers of 
sweaters, shirts, and undershirts to expose her flesh, and for 
the first time, she looked at the injuries the Irish brute had 
inflicted on her. A huge bruise had splayed itself across the 
far left side of her torso, as had another smaller one closer to 
the center of her chest. She could tell where the majority of 
the boot had impacted; it was indicated by the areas where 
the bruise had turned an odd greenish gray color. The rest of 
the injured space was colored in deep purples and reds. 
	-There has got to be something broken in there,- she 
thought as she pulled her shirt back down.
	She yawned suddenly.
	-Fuck concussions,- Minako thought as she closed 
her eyes, -I'm going to sleep.-


*	*	*

	She was awakened by something warm, wet, and 
very inviting on her lips.
	-A kiss,- she thought dreamily, not quite registering 
what was going on.
	-Wait. A kiss. I'm in a doctor's office. It's the middle of 
the night. I'm kissing…Kunzite.-
	Her first impulse was to smack him in the face, but 
then she remembered their little predicament. She had to 
act, lest she screw anything up. He was testing her; he 
wanted to see how far she would go to preserve their lie. It 
was a dare, silent and threatening.
	-Fine, Kunzite, you want to up the stakes, that's cool 
with me,- she said to herself. -You want a bimbo? You got 
it.-
	With that thought in mind, she wound her hands 
around the back of Kunzite's neck, racing her fingers through 
his silken hair, keeping her eyes closed as she deepened 
the kiss, coming very close to liking the feeling the hardened 
muscle in his neck and his soft lips as they danced with hers. 
Moving towards his ear, she whispered softly, "You are 
going to pay for this."
	"You started it," he replied equally softly.
	"Did not…I'm going to kick your ass," she said, and 
slipped back into her character.
	"Kunzie!!!" she squealed as she pushed him away, 
allowing a blush to creep on her cheeks. She hit him in the 
chest playfully and looked sheepishly for the doctor, who 
was leaning on the desk. "He always does that," she said to 
him with a pout.
	Kunzite laughed and pulled her up to him, jarring her 
ribs. She masked her yelp of pain with an annoyed squeal, 
and gave him a "playful" punch, hard in the abdomen. She 
felt him flinch slightly.
	"I fixed him for ya, sweetie," Dr. Nakamura said, 
smiling at the adorable antics of the couple before him, his 
eyes glued to Minako's chest.
	-Yep. It's definitely the sweater.-
	"Thank you doctor," Minako said. "I'll be more careful 
next time, I promise."
	"I hope so!" Kunzite interjected with a laugh. "Izumo, I 
would love to catch up, but we've got to be going. The drive 
upstate is going to be long."
	"I understand, Kei. Try to get by and see me 
sometime, though," the portly doctor replied, ushering the 
pair to the door. Kunzite's limp was gone, Minako noticed. 
As Nakamura opened the door for the couple, the cold air of 
the early morning slapped them in the face.
	"I'll be in touch. Thanks again, Izumo," Kunzite said as 
he led Minako out the door.
	"No problem. Merry Christmas to both of you! It was 
nice meeting you, Blanche," the doctor replied as Kunzite 
followed Minako out, taking her hand.
	-Blanche?-
	"Merry Christmas to you, too!" Kunzite called before 
Minako could say anything. The doctor shut the door and the 
couple walked back to the car.
	Minako dropped his hand immediately. "That's 
enough of that," she said.
	"You started it," he replied simply, unlocking his door.
	"I did not!" Minako replied angrily, but Kunzite had 
already ducked into his car. "Unlock my door!" she ordered, 
pulling on the handle.
	A soft click was her reply, and she huffed as she 
plopped down in the seat. He wasn't getting away without 
being ragged out by her first.
	"What the hell was that?" she demanded.
	"What was what?" he replied nonchalantly.
	"That kiss, asshole. Slightly excessive, don't you 
think?"
	"If I'm not mistaken, you actually kissed me first. Am I 
not right?" he asked, maintaining his air of arrogant 
indifference.
	"Actually, no. You started it. And besides, that was a 
peck, 'Kunzie'. Normal couples do that. It's really different 
than waking me up with your fucking tongue rammed down 
your throat," she spat.
	"Oh, it's not like you didn't enjoy it, Blanche," he 
replied, blowing her off as he put the keys in the ignition.
	Minako snatched them out, just as fast. "We are not 
through!" she yelled.
	"Tell me you didn't enjoy it."
	"I didn't enjoy it."
	"You're lying."
	-Was that amusement in his voice? I am going to 
draw blood.-
	"Do you want another bullet in your leg?" Minako 
asked threateningly, meeting his blue steel gaze sharply. His 
stare caught her off guard. It was unnerving. The ocean 
colored pools that were his eyes looked at her with 
something more than mild amusement. A sexy smirk was 
dancing on his lips.
	-Sexy? No! I do NOT think that this man is sexy!-
	-Yeah, you do,- another voice invaded her thoughts.
	-Shut up.-
	No words would come out of her mouth as he 
watched her, and she found her eyes unable to pull away. 
	-Is he leaning in toward me?- she thought, fixated on 
his face.
	-No, idiot, you're leaning in toward him,- she 
contradicted herself.
	"Tell me," he said, his voice low, "That you didn't 
enjoy it."
	Minako had barely found her voice. 
	"I…" she began unsurely, wondering how on Earth 
they had just gotten to the point they were at. They were a 
bare breath apart, so close that they could feel the heat in 
what was spoken, and Minako was powerless to do a thing 
about it. The depths in his eyes were enough to make her 
lose all thoughts, and she was sure that her legs were too 
weak to support her.
	-Glad I'm sitting,- she thought as she continued to try 
to find the words to say.
	"I enjoyed it," she finally breathed, and was surprised 
by a pair of warm lips that came as her response. 
Apprehensive for a short moment, she quickly gave into the 
kiss. The feeling left her fingers and toes as she returned the 
kiss, and was pleasantly surprised when his hand came up 
to cup her cheek. It deepened as he gently separated her 
lips, allowing him access inside her mouth. Minako's hands 
got a mind of their own and began snaking up his chest, 
finding each other as they wrapped around the back of his 
neck, pulling him in closer to her. His hair felt like satin, so 
smooth it was almost slippery under her fingers. Their 
embrace was nothing like it was in the doctor's office, not at 
all competitive, harsh, or fake. Now, it was raw and sexy, as 
their bodies gravitated more towards each other.
	Then finally, as slowly as it had began, it trailed off. 
She released her hands from his neck, and his hands 
followed suit, sliding off her face and down her shoulders 
before leaving her body completely. Their lips separated and 
they pulled back, each breathless and equally astounded. It 
was silent as they looked at each other. Minako's eyes were 
wide with surprise.
	-Whoa,- she thought.
	Kunzite cleared his throat, breaking the silence. His 
eyes reflected more shock than she had ever seen in them, 
and for once, he looked dumbfounded. Neither could speak.
	After a few more moments of residual silence, Minako 
found her voice.	"Yeah," she said softly, "I enjoyed it."
	He let out a soft laugh and plucked the keys out of her 
lap.
	"Can we leave now?" he said, his voice hoarse as it 
recovered from its previous state of shock.
	"Yeah," she said dreamily, sitting back in the seat and 
pulling her seatbelt across her lap. "Where to?"
	"Zane's casino – The Crystal Palace," he replied, 
starting the car again.
	"Why are we going to a casino?"
	The car lurched slightly on its way out of the dimly lit 
parking lot, further proof that Minako's nerves weren't the 
only ones jarred by their kiss.
	"We need a place to stay for the night, and Zane will 
be able to hook us up. Besides, I need some things 
explained to me."
	Minako scoffed. "Yeah, YOU need some things 
explained."
	"You know as much as you need to. It's better that 
you stay uninformed," he bit out dryly, the air stiffening. The 
hairs on Minako's back pricked at his sudden coldness.
	-That was the wrong thing to say, sweetie,- she 
thought, and the dazed, romantic mood she had been in 
melted away quickly.
	"Uninformed, is that it? You think it's better that this 
entire thing, whatever it is, goes on around me without my 
having any knowledge of the whole thing?" 
	No response came.
	"Listen, I've spent my last few hours as someone's 
fucking handbag, and I've come to a few conclusions: first, 
that I'm not sure I really care about what's going on, second, 
that my knowing this information would, in fact, make me 
less of a burden to you all, and third, the more uninformed 
you keep me, the more chance I have of flat out walking on 
this whole thing. If I have no personal connection in this, 
what's it to me to just turn the whole lot of you in? You don't 
know how appealing going to the cops is sounding, the more 
time I spend in this mess," she informed him. Her voice was 
cool and comfortable, and her temper was in check. Kunzite 
seemed to be considering her proposal and threat. Or 
maybe, Minako thought, he was just paying attention to his 
driving as they delved down into the red light district.
	"How much do you know?" he finally asked. At that 
point, Minako had almost forgotten she had said anything. 
	Minako scoffed. "First of all, let's recap on what's 
happened here," she began. "Not even eight hours ago, I 
learned that the woman I've been working for is a mafia 
overlord. She decided for some reason that she wanted me 
to do her dirty work, so I was held at gunpoint and sent on a 
mission to kill you. Your death, supposedly to be carried out 
by me, was going to be a retaliation against another rival 
mafia overlord, who I know jack shit about. 
	"Of course, upon arriving at your house, or the house 
you're staying at, or whatever it is, with my new 'partner', 
who, by the way, is a two timing asshole, I find that instead 
of killing you, we're going to sit down and eat a happy 
Christmas dinner like the fuckin' Brady Bunch. Only, the 
Brady's didn't invite me, because apparently no one knew 
that I was even going to be in the picture. So, while you, 
Jadeite, and Marsha, Peter, and Greg were eating away and 
arguing over what to do with me, I was trying to save you all 
the trouble and eliminate myself from the situation. Needless 
to say, I was slightly fed up. But you, in all your gentlemanly 
glory, kindly insisted on escorting me home, where I 
promptly got drunk and fell asleep. You called me a few 
hours later, and I think you know the rest." 
	She paused to take a breath, and continued before 
Kunzite could butt in.
	"So how much do I know? I know that my seemingly 
mild mannered boss is pulling a Clark Kent on me by 
surprising me with the fact that she's the head of the fucking 
Keishi mafia, and I have managed to unwittingly turn against 
her mere hours after finding this information. I know that you 
are an assassin. I know that a man named Yuuchiro is dead. 
I know that Jadeite is an asshole, and somehow is trying to 
screw around behind Usagi's back. I know that I've managed 
to kill five people, but none of them were you, and you are 
the only person I was supposed to be killing in the first place. 
I know I've managed to put bullet holes in my car, break 
some ribs, and narrowly avoid being raped and killed by a 
man twice my size. But, more than anything, I know that this 
all started when you kidnapped me on Christmas Eve, and I 
know that I've not had a flying fuck of a clue about what is 
going on ever since."
	Minako's tirade came out in one long, angry stretch, 
and when she was done, she felt oddly relieved. Kunzite, 
after a moment of tense silence, laughed.
	"I don't find any of it funny," she said dryly, looking 
over at her driver.
	"You've had one hell of a Christmas, haven't you?" he 
asked, still chuckling softly.
	"Yeah, you're telling me," she huffed, crossing her 
arms across her chest.
	As she expected, she was returned with Kunzite's 
trademark silence, but the smirk remained on his face. She 
stared out the side window, watching the neon lights drift by 
at about 20 miles an hour in the surprisingly crowded early 
morning traffic. Hookers stared longingly, drunks pointed, 
and still others paid them no mind as Kunzite and Minako 
made their way toward the source of a large part of the 
noise, light, and people.
	The words "Crystal Palace" flashed in sparkling lights 
along the scrolling marquee at the entrance of the sprawling 
building. It took up half of a city block, and towered about ten 
stories above the crowds. Minako had heard of this place a 
few times, mainly on television commercials. Kunzite pulled 
the Porsche up under the covered entrance and waited for 
the valet. He turned to Minako.
	"Listen. If you can handle sitting through maybe one 
more hour of not knowing what's going on, I promise you I'll 
explain everything when we get somewhere to stay. Is that 
okay?" he asked, his voice sounding surprisingly reassuring.
	Minako faced him and sighed. "Alright," she agreed.
	-If nothing else, I'll at least get a place to sleep,- she 
admitted in her head.
	"Good," Kunzite replied, and kissed her on the cheek. 
Before she could say anything, he got out of the car and 
greeted the valet. To her own dismay, she smiled.
	Forcing her lips back down into a straight line, she 
stepped out of the car in time to see the valet, a young boy 
with shaggy brown hair, take the key nervously from 
Kunzite's extended fingers. Kunzite reached behind the 
driver's seat and grabbed the duffel bag. He swung it over 
his shoulder and patted the boy on the back.
	"Don't scratch it up, alright?" he said to the valet, who 
was already climbing eagerly into the driver's seat.
	"Yes, sir, right," he agreed, and shut the door.
	"Did you get your purse?" Kunzite asked Minako over 
the top of the car.
	Before she could answer, though, the car lurched out 
from between them and sped off a bit faster than necessary. 
Minako couldn't help but smile.
	"Fortunately, yes," she laughed, and indicated to the 
bag on her shoulder. "And didn't we pass the parking garage 
going the other way?"
	"Yeah, I think so," he replied, and ran his free hand 
through his hair. 
	"Well, you can't blame the kid. Just as long as he 
doesn't screw it up."
	"Who knows, maybe he'll fill the tank, too," he said, 
his face caught in a surprisingly honest smile. "But he'd 
better put Premium in it."
	"Anyway, let's go," Kunzite said. He placed a hand 
around her waist and led her in the direction of the building. 
"This will all start making sense soon enough."
	-And yet, somehow,- Minako thought as they walked 
through the glass doors at the entrance of the casino, -I just 
don't think that's true.-