Tengoko: Speedy update. Hope this is the beginning of a new trend for me. Well, there is finally a little action in the chapter, which actually makes me a little nervous. I get more worried about writing battle scenes than I do about any thing else. Also, for those craving a little more Kunzite, Merry Christmas. :) Well, enjoy the chapter and please review. I'd really love to hear your feedback on this chapter.

Rated M

Chapter 11: Don't Speak

--

Three nights in a row he had dreamed of her. Slowly, he opened his crystal green eyes and stared up at the ceiling. The air was cool yet his body seemed drenched. He threw his sheets off to try to let the cold hit his skin because the heat on his body was becoming too much to bear. He closed his eyes and put a hand to his forehead. The images flooded his mind. The dreams he'd had over and over again. Her cornflower eyes, hair that reminded him of spun gold, the way she felt in his arms. She always looked at him with an expression of innocence. But his dreams were far from innocent.

He sat up and looked at his clock: 4 a.m. He had to wake up in three hours. So much for getting a good night's rest. Standing up, he slowly walked to the bathroom and flipped on the bright light. He looked at himself in the mirror. "Come on, Kenji, get a hold of yourself," he said. What had come over him? He was the leader of the Shitennou. Self-control was something he always prided himself on. But that day that she'd grabbed his hand he couldn't get her off of his mind. "Jesus! She just grabbed your hand! It's not like she made out with you. Get over it!"

So, yes. It annoyed him that he didn't know why he had developed this infatuation with his least favorite student. Well, it was a stretch to call her that. He never really disliked Minako. It just annoyed him to see somebody like her take for granted that she could pass a class without putting forth an effort. She slept in his class for God's sake! What did she expect him to do? Pat her on the back and give her a passing grade?

Turning from the mirror, he reached into his shower and turned on the hot water. Okay… it was only an infatuation. It would pass. It had to pass. He wasn't going to be like Zen and move in on his own student. Well, technically, she wasn't his student. And Zen and Ami seemed to be getting along pretty well. Maybe it wasn't such a bad… Yes! Yes it was. "She doesn't even like me," he reasoned with himself. That much was true. Yet, he couldn't help but smile when he pictured the petite woman throwing papers at him and pounding on his desk.

He stepped into the shower and let the warm water soak his hair and run down the front of his body. He rubbed his face and then looked up at the showerhead. One of his dreams had taken place right here. He groaned. He really needed to stop thinking about her. Minako was going to be the end of him.

That might not be far from the truth. The attack by Virgo and Pisces and disturbed him more than it should have. And the disturbing part occurred only after the two Zodiacs had fled. It was when he'd gone to check on Minako. At first he thought she would answer him and would tell him indignantly that she was fine before pushing him away. But all she did was look at him. The mark on her neck and the cut on her face had made his blood boil with fury. He wanted to kill who had done that to her. But his heart had started to pound wildly. She hadn't answered him. It wasn't until he asked if she was all right again that she did.

What disturbed him was how worried he had been. He had never felt so scared for a person in his life. And then when she just walked away, he'd never felt so rejected.

"Damn it," he said. Not even the shower was calming him down. He turned off the water and reached out to grab his towel, wrapping it around his waist as he stepped out. Walking back to his bed, he sat and looked down at the floor. His thoughts were on what Sailor Mars had told him. That she usually was never so moody… or sad. Was it his fault? Was it because he showed up one day and suddenly she has to share this position with him? The more he thought about it, the more he decided that was the reason. And knowing that she was no longer smiling because of him made him feel more miserable than he would care to admit.

--

"Slow down, Hotaru-chan. There's no need to hurry." Setsuna looked over her brown paper bag that was filled with an array of foods. The plan was to cook Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten a thank you dinner for all that they had done for them. After all, the Outer Senshi would be dead if not for the intervention of the newest Terran Warriors. It had actually been Hotaru's idea to cook for them and after she got Michiru on her side, there was no denying the girl. "Are we going to stop by the bakery or do you want to bake the cake yourself?"

Hotaru stopped and turned around excitedly, the smile on her face the biggest Setsuna had ever seen it. "I think it'd mean more if we made it ourselves, don't you think so?" She laughed at the look on Setsuna's face. "I know, I know. You're thinking about the mess we're going to make. But it's okay. It's not like Usagi-chan's going to help us cook. And we can clean up as we go. Come on Setsuna-chan! Please!"

Setsuna chuckled and shook her head. "Fine. What shall it be then? Chocolate or white?"

"Chibi-Usa-chan!" Hotaru shouted. Well, that hadn't been what Setsuna had been expecting, but it was a pleasant surprise. Hotaru ran passed Setsuna to engulf her best friend in a hug. Perhaps that explained the over-exuberance of the usually pensive girl. Hotaru was always happiest when Chibi-Usa was near. "What are you doing here? Oh, it doesn't matter. You can help us shop. We're going to cook a dinner for—"

"I know," she said. She waved at Setsuna as the two girls returned to join her. "Seiya-san told me about that because I'd asked him what the plans were for the night. I figured I could help you guys. I mean, I should say I'm entitled to take part in the festivities. I helped, too."

Setsuna chuckled. "Always so modest, Small Lady."

"You and Seiya have been getting close," Hotaru mused. "Is there something going on there that we should be aware of?"

Chibi-Usa actually stopped smiling. "If by 'close' you mean that I try to have a word with him and he jumps as though he'd seen a ghost and comes up with excuses why he doesn't have time to have a word with me, then yeah… we're getting close. But nothing to dwell on, Hotaru-chan. I think he's still in love with my mother."

Hotaru laughed. "Oh wouldn't that be famous? If Seiya-san liked you! Can you imagine introducing him to your friends?" She cleared her throat and changed her voice to do her best imitation of Chibi-Usa's. "Hey guys, this is my boyfriend, Seiya-san. How did we meet? Oh, well he used to be completely in love with my mother. Yeah. Like… obsessed!"

Chibi-Usa dead panned. "I am far from amused."

"Not even a little smile? Come on, Chibi-Usa-chan, it was just a jo—" Saturn gasped when a passerby slammed into her shoulder. She reached out to try to regain her balance, catching on to Chibi-Usa's outstretched hand. The force of the blow had knocked the wind out of her, but her pride was what was wounded more than anything. She stood up and straightened up her jacket before turning to see who had knocked her down.

Chibi-Usa was pissed. The person had done that deliberately. Nobody just threw their shoulder into a person on accident. After making sure that Hotaru wasn't going to fall, she started walking after the woman who had tried to unbalance her. "Hey! What where you're going you stupid—!"

Setsuna dropped the bag of groceries and lunged forward, grabbing Chibi-Usa by both shoulders and pulling her back. "Stop, Small Lady. Get behind me." The genial look that Setsuna had been wearing before was replaced by one of malice. Her garnet eyes were set, her lips clenched tightly together. She stood rigid, unmoving save for her velvet, green hair that blew in the wind. "I was wondering when we'd be seeing you again… Scorpio."

The woman had made no attempt to hide her intention. She'd been told to get their attention. She had it now. She was waiting for one of them to charge at her and almost had her wish with the little pink-haired one, but Setsuna had stopped her. No matter. Fun was still to be had. Her black eyes focused on the oldest of the three and she smirked at her. "I had no idea you missed me so much… Pluto."

"Yes… I missed you. But from this distance, I would think even you wouldn't need your tarot cards to foresee that my aim is about to improve."

Hotaru stepped up in front of Chibi-Usa. "You will sink to any low, wouldn't you? Forcing our hand in broad daylight in front of innocent people. I knew the Zodiacs were guilty of many things… but cowardice… that's a surprise."

That seemed to strike a nerve with Scorpio, and with a terrifying glare, she stepped back and transformed. The people around them, upon seeing this, all began to flee, terrified of yet another monster attack. "Disgusting people," Scorpio said. "See how they run? See how the take flight? Yet, they take the senshi for granted. Week after week, year after year, you risk your lives to protect them from evil like me… and after you've succeeded, they go on as though nothing had ever happened? Does that not strike you as odd? As stupid? How many more attacks? How many more deaths before these people realize that this is never going to end? That with or without the Sailor Senshi, they'll never live in peace?"

"Are you finished?" Chibi-Usa yelled, grabbing her broach. Together, the three of them transformed. "You think you can just come to Earth and manipulate the people here just because of some centuries old grudge? I will not allow you to cause suffering or chaos any longer. You may fight for the wrong reasons, but I fight for love and justice. I'm Sailor Chibi-Moon, and in the name of the moon, I shall punish you!"

Scorpio laughed and reached into her robe. Ripping it off, she pulled out a long whip, still wrapped. She grabbed the handle and let it uncurl itself. Chibi Moon only got a glimpse of it to know that there were rather dangerous looking spikes on it before the loud crack split the air and the whip was around her neck. She grabbed it and tried to pull herself free, but the more she moved, the more the spikes poked into her skin.

"Pluto Dead Scream!" Pluto whispered, shooting a large globe of energy at Scorpio. She was hit by the attack, but unfortunately had not released the whip like Pluto had hoped. As she flew back, Chibi-Usa came with her. Scorpio landed on her feet but had obviously felt some pain from the attack given how she was nursing her stomach. She yanked the whip in retaliation, pulling Chibi Moon closer. Holding a Tarot Card up, she smirked at Pluto before throwing it in front of Chibi Moon's face. It released a green smoke and even though the senshi tried to struggle against the whip and held her breath against the attack, she inhaled some of the smoke and was immediately knocked out.

"Check on her," Saturn whispered, readying her glaive and charging at Scorpio. The Zodiac pulled her whip back, finally releasing Chibi Moon, and cracked it at Saturn. She stopped and held up her glaive, forcing the whip to wrap around the metal rod. It was then that Saturn tugged hard, this time pulling the Zodiac away from Chibi Moon. She had gotten her close enough that with a swing of her glaive, she cut Scorpio's stomach, spilling blood onto the pavement. She screamed in anger and threw a tarot card at Saturn.

Saturn dodged only in time to avoid the full impact, but the card sliced her arm quite deep. She turned to see Scorpio grabbing more cards and swung her glaive again. Scorpio jumped back and pulled out the entire deck. Poising for an attack, she shuffled through and then lifted what seemed like a random card out of the deck. "Scorpio… Three of Swords!" The card seemed to gain a red energy before it was thrown.

"Silence Wall!" Saturn shouted. But the card broke through. Saturn only had enough time to think that perhaps she should have just dodged it instead of trying to block it before the card hit her stomach. Well, it wasn't so bad. It hadn't gone deep. But then she felt a warm liquid gush into the laceration and she reached down to pull it out. That was when she discovered that her hand would not move. In fact, nothing was moving.

Pluto had determined that Chibi Moon was going to be all right. She was still breathing and after a minute she even shook her head and muttered as though sleeping. Rising to her feet, she turned her attention back to Scorpio who had just used what seemed to be an attack on Saturn. She jumped over Chibi Moon and ran forward. Scorpio was approaching Saturn, reading her whip. There was no way she'd make it to Saturn in time.

She bent down and picked up a rock or large chunk of gravel. She didn't really care what it was. All she needed was something to throw. She let it fly at Scorpio and continued to run after her. The rock hit the mark, and Scorpio, slightly confused by what had just happened, turned right into Pluto's fist.

Saturn watched helplessly, willing her body to move. Nothing was working. All she could do was blink. Pluto punched her again, and again. She was actually doing well. Maybe they might actually beat her. Another punch, a kick. And then she finally brought her garnet rod into play, hitting Scorpio across the face with it.

That was what really set Scorpio off. When the garnet rod came at her again, she jumped back, avoiding the hit, and then grabbed it, pulling it towards her and catching Pluto by the throat. "I don't like when people hit my face," she said as though giving her advice. She tore the garnet rod out of her hands and then slammed Pluto into a shop window. The glass broke and she fell through, tumbling over and out of sight.

"Now… where was I?" She straightened herself up and wiped off a bit of blood from her lip. "Ah yes. I was about to kill you, wasn't I?"

Whatever the attack did to Saturn, the effects were beginning to wear off. She felt her fingers twitch. But a little finger wiggle wasn't going to be good enough to stop Scorpio. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. What a cowardly way to kill somebody.

As Scorpio neared, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself. She had just taken on two of the strongest Senshi and had emerged victorious. Leo would be pleased by this. She would be even happier when Scorpio presented the heads of Pluto and Saturn to the Zodiac clan. That thought thrilled her to her very core, and she pulled out another Tarot Card, the Hanged Man, and prepared to take Saturn's life.

And just as she lifted it, a sliver of light flew down in front of her. She stopped and looked down at it. It was a dagger. Somebody had thrown a dagger at her… and had missed. Or maybe their intention was not to hit her, but to stop her. She looked up in the direction the dagger had come from but nobody was there. She turned, looking all around for anybody who might have thrown it. Nobody. She bent down to pull the dagger from the ground. As she stood up, she felt something sharp on her back, and it suddenly became clear. Dropping the dagger, she said, "Reinforcements."

"I should say so," Taiki confirmed, pushing his dagger against her back and pulling her closer. "Are you going to run again, or can I look forward to a fight? Why should you have all the fun?"

"Because," she answered, turning her head to look at her new opponent. He was much taller than she would have liked, but it was no matter. "I'm better than you." Lifting her leg high, she managed to hit his face causing him to stumble back. But, by the time she had both feet on the ground and was about to put some distance between them, he had his hand on her shoulder and wrenched her towards him. His hands caught her wrist before she could reach in for another Tarot card. "Let me go!" she shouted, kicking his knee and trying to tug free.

Saturn could move her left arm now and could turn her head. Turning her head to the left, she caught sight of Yaten walking forward, as casual as could be, as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Bending over slowly, he picked up the dagger, polished it on his uniform, looked at his reflection for a moment, and then walked up behind Scorpio. "You annoy me," he said, hitting the back of her head with the handle and knocking her out. Taiki let go of her and Yaten stepped back to let her fall on the ground hard.

"You make it look so easy," Saturn grumbled. "Oh! I can talk!"

"I'm happy for you," Yaten said. "Now be a dear and don't talk for a moment. I don't think she came alone." He turned at the sound of broken glass and was actually surprised to see Pluto getting to her feet.

She climbed back over the window, staggering slightly. Taiki grabbed her by the shoulder to steady her. "Are you okay?" he asked. She only nodded her answer. "Good. Go check on Chibi Moon. Yaten-san and I will take care of this." Pluto nodded again and then ran over to the senshi who seemed to be coming to her senses on her own.

Saturn was pretty much able to move now. Some limbs felt like they were reacting a little slow, but she was able to move them all. Bending down, she grabbed her glaive and stood next to Yaten, looking around warily. "What are we going to do with her?" she asked, nudging Scorpio's body with her toe. "I'd imagine she has a lot of information that could be useful."

"Yes… but do you really think, even with coercion, she's the type to give us what we want?" Taiki asked, looking down at her. His knee was still smarting from the kick and he had to fight back the urge to kick the woman. "Maybe with one of a lesser rank, but not her. Still, that's a good question. What are we going to do with her?"

Yaten shrugged. "We could tie her in a burlap sack, weight it down with rocks, and through her into the ocean." He heard Saturn choke on a laugh and smiled smugly. Taiki, however, didn't find it funny. "I don't know. But, if we wait a moment longer, Sailor Moon is going to arrive and knowing her, she's going to suggest we let her go for some silly reason. We have to act quickly. Are we going to leave her alive or not? Though, if I can put my two cents in, leaving her alive would be a very big mistake."

"Well, obviously, but there is much more to consider than just—"

"Behind you!" Saturn shouted.

Taiki spun around to see Sailor Taurus charging at the three of them, her halberd ready to strike. Taiki was not looking forward to fighting this one. "Make sure that Scorpio is defended. She is not getting away this time," he said to Yaten. He unsheathed his sword and readied for the impact… but it never came.

Jumping out of nowhere, Seiya tackled Taurus, grabbing her around the waist and wrestling her to the ground. Taurus dropped her halberd and slammed a hard elbow into Seiya's face, smiling when she heard the all too familiar crack that told her she'd broken his nose. His eyes watered but he did not loosen his hold on her. She elbowed him again, pleased that this time, he let her go.

She scrambled to her feet and punched him. "Seiya!" Taiki shouted, running forward to help him. But Seiya proved in less than three seconds that he was more than capable of handling her. One hit was all it took. One well aimed punch to her temple and Taurus was out. "Well then," Taiki said, finally approaching him and clapping a hand on his shoulder. "I can see I wasn't needed here."

Seiya laughed. "I appreciate the attempt. Actually, I was lucky. If I hadn't managed to hit her just right, I would have needed your help. The woman is stronger than she looks," he said, pointing to his nose. "Now… if you'll excuse me," he said, grabbing it and popping it back into place with a groan, "Oh God, that never gets any less painful."

"Seiya," Taiki whispered, looking down the road. Seiya followed his gaze to a woman in a red cloak just standing as though waiting for something. "I believe Aries has decided to have a go."

"Stupid really," Yaten said, walking up to them. "Why didn't they just fight us all at once? Would have saved them a lot of trouble."

"They aren't used to fighting together," Saturn explained.

"So… it's something they should learn if they hope to win, don't you think?"

"Let's not give them ideas," Taiki said. "What is she doing?"

"Maybe the new strategy is to wait until we grow too old to be able to fight, and then they'll try to fight us. That seems to be what's going on here."

"Be serious, Yaten-san," Saturn scolded.

They watched as she pulled something from her cloak. She threw it down on the ground right in front of her. "She missed," Yaten said drolly. But as soon as he'd uttered the words, a thick fog began to cover the ground, concealing her completely. The fog stretched towards them. Saturn reached out to grab Yaten's arm before visibility was totally taken from them. She felt Yaten step closer to her and pull her against him as though trying to protect her from anything that might happen now.

"What's going on?" she shouted.

"Shh… don't talk," he said. It seemed their only defense right now was not giving away their position. He led her blindly, holding his hand out to make sure he wasn't going to run into anything. After a minute or so, the fog cleared and they all looked around. Aries was gone. And it appeared as though she'd taken Scorpio and Taurus with her. "Great," Yaten said, releasing Saturn and walking back towards the group. "They got away… again."

"Well, to be fair, we weren't exactly trying our best to keep them here," Taiki said. "We should have tied them to the bench."

"Yeah… with that awful woman's own whip," Chibi-Usa said, walking up behind them. "See how she likes hundreds of little spikes digging into her skin."

Saturn pushed through Seiya and Taiki and hugged her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I think I'll be fine," she said, looking up at Seiya. "But… the good news is… we know that they can be defeated now. They don't work together. That will be their downfall. We should probably tell Usagi-chan and Mamo-chan all of this. I think we could all use a little good news right now."

Pluto nodded and looked towards the side walk where her bag of groceries had been dropped. The food was everywhere. Saturn seemed to have just thought about that too, because she gave Pluto a look of despair. "Famous! We beat them but they still manage to ruin the evening."

Yaten looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"We were going to cook dinner for you, remember?"

It seemed that Yaten hadn't remembered. He looked at Seiya who chuckled and Taiki who just seemed baffled that he could forget something he'd been reminded about just that morning. "Well shit!" he shouted. "Damn those Zodiacs! Next time I see them, I'm going to choke the crap out of them!"

"Yaten," Saturn began, shaking her head. "Be a dear and don't talk for a moment."