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.