Heat

Okay! Chapter Eight is here! Please R+R!

And thank you to all my reviewers. Let's see if I can remember you all
by name...

Moon-Daisuke, NightSkyLight, Seera Sutaa Meikaa, Deep Serenity, Naru-
chan, Anon, Tenshisailor, and Millicent (Yes, I am. And if you're going to
comment on something, can you please tell me how I'm supposed to fix it?
Thank you! ^^)

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~*Heat*~

~Chapter Eight: Trouble in Paradise

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Starlights froze. All three of them. Not just because of the scream.
Their Senshi senses spiked, but not much else happened. What made them
freeze was that they recognized that scream. They'd know it anywhere.

Quickly, the three thawed themselves and ran for the large circle of
people. Edging through the crowd, they moved as fast as they could.

They came out in the centre of the circle to a sight that turned their
blood cold. Kakyuu was backed up against a tree, looking terrified.
One hand covered a nasty-looking slash on her cheek. Seiya thanked the
gods that her Queen had been smart enough to back away. If she hadn't,
she'd probably be dead or dying.

Her assailant was a few feet away from her, held back by Sailors Phi
and Chi(*). In one hand, he clutched a wickedly sharp-looking knife,
dripping with blood. He struggled away from his captors, turning to
find himself face-to-face with his target's Senshi guardians.

*Damn it, she warned me this would happen if I missed!* Yaten caught
a single thought from the older man before he scrambled them, glaring
at her. The man's eyes were a black so dark they looked like holes.
His deep purple hair, darker and duller than Taiki's eyes, was
unruly, as if he hadn't brushed it in a few days. Yaten matched his
stare, her green eyes furious. She immediately felt them tear up, as if
she were staring at the sun, but found she couldn't look away.

Seiya was at Kakyuu's side. After getting her breath back, the redhead
nodded at her guardian. "I'm fine. Go help your fellow Senshi."

Taiki took the lead, considering Seiya was busy, and Yaten seemed to be
having a staring contest with the assailant. "Why are you here?"

His eyes flicked to her for a moment, then returned to pin Yaten. "I'm
here to rid the galaxy of the Senshi plague!" He cried dramatically.

Everyone within earshot froze, staring at this mystery man. He was here
to do what?!

He grinned wickedly, obviously enjoying the attention. "Yes!" He cried,
then spat in the brunette's face. "I'm here to eradicate your kind, all
of it! The Sailor Senshi are useless, illogical and violent! We don't
need protectors! We can handle ourselves!"

"Ugh!" Taiki shrieked, stumbling back from the man. Whatever he had
spat at her had suddenly begun to burn like fire. She fell back and
began to scrub at her face violently, but the burning sensation only
spread to her bare hands and arms. She shrieked again, but this was
more from pain than from disgust.

The man suddenly lunged at Yaten, the only one he could count on to
stand still. Her green eyes were blank, but snapped back to normal when
she felt the cold steel press into her neck.

*He must have realized I'm pregnant.* Yaten thought dizzily as he spun
her around to show to her fellow Senshi that she was a captive. She
had heard everything, of course. His idiotic quest to destroy the
galaxy's Senshi. What a moron.

He was even more of a moron for turning his back on such a large group
of Senshi. A handful advanced on him, one taking ahold of his wrist and,
with a single twist, relieving him of his knife. The rest dragged him
off towards the guards, who brought the man to the dungeons. Yaten
stumbled forward, kneeling in front of Taiki and reaching out to comfort
her.

The brunette sensed what her lover was doing. "Don't!" She cried, her
hands still over her face. "Don't touch me, it'll affect you too!"

Taiki's pale white skin was splotched with bright pink from all the
rubbing. Her hair was mussed, all over the place. Her eyes were red
from crying. She looked so terrible that Yaten didn't care if her hands
started burning too. She had to get some of this off of the brunette.

She reached out again, pulling Taiki's hands away from her face and
holding them in her own. The burning sensation reached to about her
nail beds before it was stopped somehow, maybe by some sort of healing
magic she didn't know she had. She took that barrier and pushed it out
through the contact into Taiki's hands, then up her arms, finally
eradicating whatever it was from her friend's body. The brunette looked
up, into Yaten's eyes, and smiled. "Thanks...Y-Yaten-chan..."

"Don't ask me how I did it, because I honestly don't know." She
admitted, grinning sheepishly. "I'm just glad it worked."

"I wonder what that guy was on." Seiya muttered. "And wherever
he got it, I want to know, so we can stop it. Eradicating the Sailor
Senshi...honestly...what kind of moronic quest is that?"

"Sounds like something Chaos would do." Kakyuu came over and kneeled
beside them. Yaten's eyes widened at the possibility. "But Chaos is
gone! Sailor Moon banished it!"

"Not quite." Kakyuu shook her head sadly. "Chaos was put back where it
belonged: in the hearts of the people. If enough people got together
with not-so-good intentions..." She let it hang there.

Everyone shivered. They all knew what Chaos could do. And none of it
would be good, if any of this was Chaos's doing.

~*A few days later*~

Yaten woke, the morning sun on her face. She just lay there for a few
moments, relishing the warmth of the light and of her boyfriend's arms.

Taiki went back to being male again. It was a little easier to be
openly affectionate that way, what with the prejudice against
homosexual couples in the galaxy. The three had also been moved back
into their apartments in the palace, just in case. With that scare a few
days back, everyone was a little on edge.

She opened her eyes and looked around the room. Everything glowed
golden yellow from the early morning sunlight. Very pretty.

Taiki stirred beside her, gently shifting in his sleep. She turned
over to look at him. He always looked so peaceful while he was asleep.
She gently stroked his cheek, smiling softly as he stirred again and
woke.

"Yaten-chan?" He whispered sleepily. She kissed him gently. "Who else
sleeps with you?" She replied teasingly. He smiled. "No one. I'm all
yours, Yaten-chan." He blinked slowly, still a little dazed by the
bright light.

"You'd better be." She poked his nose. "Considering I'm carrying your
child."

He laughed. Humming softly to himself, he reached up to ruffle Yaten's
silver hair before sitting up. He stretched, reaching for the ceiling.

"Taiki?"

He stopped. He brought his arms down slowly and settled them over
Yaten's suddenly hunched shoulders. "What is it, Yaten-chan?"

"What if that thing....that incident a few days ago...what if it really
was Chaos?" She sounded meek, as if she were really frightened.

"Yaten, I think we all would have felt it if that man was Chaos
in disguise." He sounded doubtful. She felt herself tighten defensively.
He of all people should know that wasn't what she was trying to
say!

"That's not what I meant, Taiki." She sounded rather
miffed. Sighing, she continued. "What if Chaos has been working under
our noses to turn the people of Kinmoku against us? Against the Sailor
Senshi?"

"Chaos gets enough ideas on its own, it doesn't need us to muse for it."
Despite the fact that he still sounded doubtful, she felt the shiver go
down his spine. The mere idea creeped him out. She didn't blame him, of
course. When it was really determined, Chaos could do almost anything.

"Maybe it's been doing the same thing to the rest of the galaxy's
peoples..." Yaten murmured, completely ignoring her boyfriend. He
sighed. "I suppose you're not even going to try to lighten up?"

"Taiki..." How could she try to lighten up? She was worried, damn
it! She opened her mouth to continue, but was interrupted by a beeping
noise coming from the small communicator on the bedside table.

Taiki reached over to pick it up and turn it on. Seiya's voice came
through, sounding rather annoyed. "You guys finally up?"

"Yes, what is it, Seiya?" Taiki ignored the annoyance in the black-haired
teen's voice. They heard a sigh, then their friend's voice came through
the device again. "The guy we captured at the conference...he's escaped.
Everything okay there?"

Taiki blinked once or twice, then leaned closer to the communicator.
"Seiya, did you just say the would-be assassin from a few days
ago escaped? You're kidding!"

"No, Taiki, I'm not. One of the guards checked in on him this morning and
he wasn't there. We've done a search of the palace, but we wanted to make
sure you two are okay, just in case."

"Thanks for telling us, Seiya. We'll be on alert." Taiki ended the
conversation there, put down the communicator, and hugged his girlfriend
gently. "It's okay. Everything will be fine."

"I...I know...it's just..." She was nervous, just like he knew she would
be. He gently put a hand over her belly, where the tiny body of their
child lay cradled inside her. The embryo stirred, disturbing the fluid
around it enough that mother and father could both feel it. Yaten smiled.
If she didn't know better, she would think that her child was trying to
comfort her.

"You hungry?" Taiki asked her. "I can grab something from the kitchens,
if you want."

She laughed. "Change subjects much?" She questioned teasingly. He smiled,
gently kissing her. "It's better than worrying about things that might
not exist." He tapped her nose after pulling away. "You want to come
with, or no?"

"Nah, I'll stay here." She nuzzled his cheek. "Go go. I'll be fine."

He stood up, leaning over to kiss her again and whisper "I love you." in
her ear before going to get something to eat for the both of them.

~*~*~*~

"Shall we take her now?" Moreas whispered excitedly to his mistress, a
figure in a deep black cloak. His deep purple hair bounced as he
trembled with eagerness. He could soon be starting to eliminate the
Senshi plague once and for all!

A deep, cold female voice answered him. "No. Not yet. She needs to be
around her fellow Senshi. It will be much more entertaining to kill
her and the child inside her if her friends are panicking over her."

Moreas nodded, bowing. "You are wise and powerful, my Lady. It shall be
done."

"Good." The female voice sounded pleased. "You have done much for me,
Moreas. Soon you will be rewarded."

The black-cloaked figure turned and disappeared into the darkness,
leaving Moreas to think over the coming kill. Before leaving completely,
however, she raised a single dead-white hand and chanted something.
The entertainment would be even greater to see the boyfriend panicking
before they had even done a thing.

~*~*~*~

Taiki slipped into the kitchens and sighed. He had always liked the
hustle and bustle of the kitchens. He didn't know why, but he did.

He gave a short wave and a grin to the maids picking up trays for the
officials and courtiers. They giggled and waved back, chattering amongst
themselves.

He went in to the central kitchen, where the biggest meals were prepared.
The head cook, Jaisla, a shorter, pleasantly plump woman, greeted him
with a handshake and a smile. "You lookin' for some food to bring to Miss
Yaten, I believe?"

"What else would I be doing?" Taiki smiled. Jaisla pointed to a tray on
the nearest counter. "You take that up t' her, and make sure she eats
enough. She eats like a bird, that one, and that's not healthy at the
moment." The cook gave the young man a wink and shooed him off.

Taiki gave Jaisla a grateful smile, walking over to the counter and
inspecting the contents of the tray. But before he could lift it and even
start to take it upstairs, an intense feeling of dread welled up in the
pit of his stomach. It was icy cold and heavy, as if he'd swallowed a
large lump of ice. He did not like this feeling.

He completely forgot about the tray as he hurried back up to the
apartments he shared with Yaten. Twisting the doorknob fiercely, he
was shocked to discover it was locked. He hadn't locked the door behind
him when he went downstairs. Pulling out his key, he shoved it into the
lock and twisted, feeling the click as the door unlocked.

He opened the door and shut it behind him, quickly heading for the
bedroom, even though he dreaded to see what had happened.

He opened the door and looked around. Yaten lay on the bed, dozing. The
sharp bang of the door woke her, and she looked around blearily.
"Taiki?" She muttered. "What is it?"

"Are you okay?" He came over, gently cupping her face with one hand.
The concern in his eyes was unmistakable, but Yaten didn't know why it
was there. "Taiki, I'm fine. Where's the food?"

"Are you sure? Nothing happened while I was gone?" His heart gradually
slowed until it beat at a normal pace again. She was okay. Nothing had
happened to her. She was safe.

She shook her head. "Nothing. I was just dozing...I felt a little
sleepy, that's all. Are you okay? You look like you've been
spooked."

"I...I don't know..." He murmured, leaning forward until his head
touched the cool wood of the headboard. "While I was downstairs I got
this feeling...like you were in danger...it felt so real that I couldn't
just dismiss it as nerves. It was cold and heavy, it...it just..."

"Hey, hey..." She sat up and put her arms around her boyfriend. "It's
okay. I'm fine. Nothing happened to me." She could tell he was more than
just unnerved. He had been absolutely terrified that something
had happened to her. "Why don't we go downstairs and see if the Princess
and Seiya want to go for a walk in the gardens? I think I need the fresh
air."

He smiled at her attempt to take his mind off things. "Sure." He agreed,
wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you, Yaten-chan."

"No problem, Taiki-chan." She cuddled into him, smiling. She would make
sure that nothing happened today. Nothing.

~*~*~*~*~

I'm SO sorry, guys. I have NOT had any inspiration for this story, or
any of my stories for that matter, for a long while. I'll try to get
the next chapter up quickly, but on Thursday I'll be leaving for a
wedding and won't be back to my wonderful compy until the following
Tuesday. So don't expect anything too quickly.

So! Yaten's only about three and a half months pregnant at this point,
and this is Chapter 8. Wow. I wonder how long this story will be? o_o
Oh well, I'm enjoying it anyway! ^_^

(*) - Think of Sailor Phi and Sailor Chi's roles in the StarS manga.
^.~