Follow, Chapter 3 - The Chase 

 
 
GASP! IT'S HERE! Hey everyone, here it is! Chapter 3! PLEASE PLEASE
PLEASE tell me what you think, I'm dying to know! And I apologize over
and over for the wait - I've been so busy!
 
Thanks- VO1 for getting on my case and helping me sort this shit out!
        Everyone who wrote to me and encouraged me. I love you all, 
        keep writing!
Disclaimer- I don't own it. Duh. 
 
That said, enjoy!
 
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        Kill. The word had never really entered Minako's vocabulary 
as something she was capable of, unless it was a roach or ant at 
the receiving end. That was, until now. She sat now, dumbfounded, 
with Ms. Tsukino's words still echoing in her head, even after the 
woman continued on with the details of the assignment.
        "…kill him," was all she could hear. She picked up only 
tidbits of what was said after that.
        "…at his house; you can be waiting for him. Between you 
and Jade, I'm confident that you can find a way in. You found a way 
out with relative ease…" she said, her voice fading out as Minako 
again heard the echoes of her boss's earlier order in her head.
        -She's probably used to it,- she reminded herself. –But I'm 
not. Maybe I won't have to do the killing…surely Jadeite is more 
experienced in this. He can do it-
        "Why do we have to kill him?" she finally got up enough 
nerve to ask.
        "Do you remember me talking about the two major families in 
Keishi?" Ms. Tsukino replied.
        "Yes."
        "Well this man that you're going to kill is closely associated 
with our rival family. It is a demonstration to the Chiba family as well 
as to everyone concerned with the Yakuza that meaningless 
retaliations will not be tolerated."
        -Wait…we're retaliating against a retaliation? Seems like it's 
defeating the point…- Minako thought. -And why does this guy 
have to die?-
        "But what did he do to deserve this?" she voiced her thought.
        "He killed one of our own."
        "Who?" When Minako asked this, Rei closed her eyes tightly 
and dropped her steadfast gaze slightly, biting her lip gently. 
        Minako wondered if she had hit a nerve. Ms. Tsukino looked over at 
her ebony-haired companion before turning her gaze back to 
Minako, her eyes dark and clouded.
        "A man by the name of Yuuchiro. His death was sent as a 
punishment to Rei…a reminder that family betrayals will not be 
tolerated."
        "Family?" Minako asked. –I thought Rei was one of Ms. 
Tsukino's associates…-
        "Rei is a cousin of Mamoru Chiba, the head of the Chiba 
family. When she became aware of the foul business the Chiba's 
were conducting, she switched sides and became my concigliere. 
She was involved with Yuuchiro at the time, however, an employee 
of Mamoru, completely outside of Yakuza affiliations, but Mamoru 
had him killed as a punishment for what he took to be betrayal on 
Rei's part. However, Rei a Tsukino now. Here, we do not hurt our 
family," Ms. Tsukino replied, her eyes darting sharply back to Rei, 
whose head was still down, as her words stayed directed on 
Minako. Her voice lowered into dead seriousness.
        "So this man we have to kill…" Minako began.
        "Is the man that killed Yuuchiro," Ms. Tsukino finished. 
        "Think of it as an eye for an eye, Minako. This is strictly business. 
We are giving back to Rei what was taken from her."
        At this point, the progression of thoughts passing through 
Minako's head were scaling from a sense of desperate acceptance 
of the events to dumbfounded disbelief and moral turmoil. 
Presently, she was in a moment of moral turmoil, thinking about the 
few times she had been to church in the past few years. She didn't 
go often, but she went enough to remind herself that killing was 
definitely a sin.
        "That's just…wrong!" It was about the lamest thing she could 
say, but it was currently the only thing she was thinking.
        "There are thousands of things that are wrong in the world 
today. We in the Tsukino family are not trying to be right, we are 
trying to be just. Like I said before, an eye for an eye."
        Minako was silent, again feeling backed into a state of 
acceptance. Ms. Tsukino sat quietly, waiting for some kind of 
response. 
        "Who is the guy we have to kill, anyway?" she finally asked.
        -Does this mean I'm accepting this job?- Her mind was really 
starting to grasp the futility of opposition this time.
        "We're not sure of his real name, but he's been under the 
alias of Kunzite since he arrived in the states. He's from Paris, is 
French with some Japanese in his background, and basically works 
as a very high class assassin. He's generally associated with the 
Chiba family, and helps them on occasion with large jobs, though 
we aren't sure what he does to make a living. He's managed to stay 
pretty well secretive and undercover."
        "You haven't been able to track his info?" Minako asked.
        "Surprisingly, no, thought we just started trying about two 
weeks ago. Up until the death of Yuuchiro, we've had no need to. 
He's never made a direct strike against the family, and it's odd that 
a man of his caliber was called in for a simple hit like that of 
Yuuchiro…" she looked over to Jadeite and Rei, trailing her 
sentence off as if she was leaving something unsaid. Jadeite raised 
his eyebrows and nodded, but said nothing in response. Rei kept 
her head down, looking oddly guilty.
        "Anyway," she continued, "Thanks to you, we know where 
he's staying. So now, as your first official job assignment as an 
investigative agent, you will assist Jade in the murder of Kunzite 
Ishi."
        "Again," Jade added, "We sincerely hope you accept."
        With that, he reached in his coat pocket, pulling out the 
same gun he had pointed at Minako minutes ago, this time holding 
the barrel firmly, facing the handle her way. Initially she was 
confused by this, but after a moment realized that instead of 
threatening her with it, he was offering it to her. She looked at it 
with her eyes raised, noting the gleam of the twilight off it's chrome 
barrel. It shimmered like a tempting jewel as she pondered what 
she was being offered. 
        "You- you're giving this to me?" she asked, eyes darting 
between Ms. Tsukino and Jadeite.
        Ms. Tsukino answered. "If you accept, it's yours. We like our 
employees to be well equipped."
        "What guarantee do you have that I won't just turn it on 
you?" Minako asked, hoping her question didn't sound like a threat. 
She was just wondering why they were trusting her with a gun. 
        Ms. Tsukino laughed at her. "You wouldn't be that stupid," 
she stated simply. "Not to mention, it isn't loaded, anyway."
        Minako felt as if her life was flashing before her eyes, as all 
her questions and speculations came to dance at once in her head. 
Her three interrogators looked at her expectantly, and Minako felt 
the words slip out of her mouth before she even realized she had 
said them: "I'll do it."
        Immediately the tension in the air dropped, and her two new 
co-workers, as well as her boss, all exhaled deeply and smiled. 
Minako smiled, too, though a bit nervously, looking hesitantly at the 
gun she was offered. 
        "Take it," Jadeite offered, "It's a nice 9 millimeter. You do 
know how to shoot a gun, don't you?"
        "Yea, yea, I do," Minako replied truthfully, looking up from 
her study of the weapon to give Jadeite a convincing look. She had 
been shooting guns since she was twelve years old. It was one of 
her Uncle Art's passions. She reached a timid hand out and 
grasped the gun, turning it over in her hand as she studied it. She 
briefly thought of how expensive it was; it was a good model, it 
would be very nice to shoot.
        -Don't think that way!- her mind told her harshly. -How dare 
you!-
        "Well," Ms. Tsukino announced suddenly, standing up from 
her spot on the loveseat. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a 
family to get home to. It is Christmas, you know."
        "Yes, yes, I understand," Minako said, pocketing the gun and 
standing to see Ms. Tsukino out. "I'm sorry to make you come on 
Christmas Day in the first place."
        "It's no problem," she replied as the two walked toward the 
front door, "Some business can't wait."
        Rei and Jadeite stood a moment later and followed their 
boss. Rei kept her head down  and Jadeite looked at her almost 
painfully, his eyebrows furrowing in concern as he placed his hand 
on her shoulder comfortingly.  Her face softened and she 
straightened a bit. Ms. Tsukino and Rei moved into the open 
doorframe, Ms. Tsukino holding out her hand. Minako took it almost 
apprehensively and shook it, but managed to smile as perkily as 
she could. 
        "You took this information well, Minako; I know it's a lot," Ms. 
Tsukino said as she squeezed her hand in return, "And I sincerely 
look forward to working with you. Jadeite will be staying behind and 
you two can go take care of our little job. After that, take Monday off 
and consider it my Christmas gift. I'll see you Tuesday, right?" 
        "Right," Minako replied, "Tuesday. Goodbye Rei, it was nice 
meeting you," she added, turning to the raven haired woman and 
shaking her hand.
        "You too, Minako, and I also look forward to doing business 
with you." She gave Minako a more friendly look than she had been 
giving her during the conversation in the living room, and returned 
her handshake. Minako watched them as they headed down the 
hallway, calling out another Merry Christmas before they 
disappeared into the elevator. She turned back to Jadeite and 
sighed, walking past him back into the flat.
        "I don't know about you," she said as she turned the kitchen 
light on. "But I need a drink."
 
***
        With the combination of Scotch and Jadeite's cool, 
comforting disposition, Minako was soon a bit more at ease. He 
was extremely nice, and through calming reassurances coupled 
with the alcohol, lulled Minako into feeling a bit more comfortable 
with the "kill" concept. After the glasses were put away, she retired 
to her bedroom momentarily to don a set of warmer clothes. She 
returned to find him waiting at the front door, putting his leather 
jacket on over his dark blue sweater.
        "You ready?" he asked as he buttoned the jacket up.
        "Yeah," she replied, grabbing her keys off the counter. "Did 
you drive yourself or ride with Ms. Tsukino?"
        "I drove, and we're taking my car." He opened the door, 
waiting for her to make it across the room.
        "Well, you know, I just barely know where the place is, it'd 
probably be easier if I could just-"
        Jadeite cut her off. "I'm driving, and we're taking my car. I 
know where it is."
        "You do?" Minako was surprised. –But I thought…- her 
thoughts trailed off as a new wave of confusion hit her. She 
inwardly groaned. –Again? Does this ever end?-
        "Yes, I do," he replied curtly, ushering Minako out the door. 
She quickly turned the lock just before he shut it behind them, 
grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the elevator, a small smile 
still on his face but his voice suddenly more intimidating. "Just stay 
quiet," he said as the doors slid open.
        Minako couldn't quell her doubts, however.
        "What is going on?" she asked harshly as they stepped into 
the empty elevator. Jadeite remained silent as he hit the button to 
the lobby. They rode for 6 floors like that, with Jadeite looking 
ahead calmly and Minako glaring at him, before he finally spoke.
        "You'll find out eventually. Until we get there, just stay quiet."
        Minako crossed her arms across her chest and let out a 
small "humph," but didn't speak. She was silent all through the 
lobby and out into the street, and managed to resist comment when 
she saw the '91 Mustang that Jadeite was headed towards.
        -Obviously we won't be getting there quickly,- Minako 
thought, but was contradicted when he passed right by it. The sleek 
midnight blue of an older Mustang (-67?- Minako guessed at the 
sight of it.) wasn't detectable behind the stark white of the new one, 
and she let out a barely audible gasp at the sight of it's immaculate 
body work, noting the near perfection in its condition. As she led 
herself around to the passenger side, she traced her fingers along 
the silver letters that spelled Shelby across the hood.
        -Nice,- she thought to herself, -Very nice. Maybe we'll be 
getting there quicker than I thought.-
        The ride was spent in a daunting silence, Minako alternating 
between loving the feeling of riding in the classic car, which ran as 
beautifully as it looked, and speculating. She had been doing a lot 
of that in the past day in a half, speculating, mainly on exactly how 
and why her life had been turned upside-down in an instant, and 
exactly where she was fitting in with this oddly complex grand 
scheme of things.
        -Every time I think that I've got it figured out enough to just 
go along and deal with it, everything changes and I'm stuck where I 
started. I feel like a piece of carry on luggage, I'm getting all tossed 
around, or a friggin' pawn or something. How does Jadeite know 
this Kunzite guy? This is so friggin' complicated,- she thought as 
the car squealed around the corner, taking them down yet another 
road in the maze that made up Kishi's downtown.
        -He's driving like a maniac,- Minako thought as her body 
lurched into the window, managing to make her lose sight of the 
street sign before she could get a clear look at it, trying to 
determine where they were. -A controlled maniac, but I still hope 
there are no cops out.-
        Eventually she quit trying to figure out if she recognized 
where she was, and paid attention to memorizing scenery and what 
road names she could catch. She chalked up her previous escape 
to sheer luck, and her lack of recollection of directions from the 
night before to simple shock and the fact that it was nighttime. It 
was somewhat of a condolence to realize that in fact, the route to 
the secluded neighborhood was pretty complicated, seeing as how 
it was a solid fifteen minutes later when they finally pulled into 
Auroure Blvd. Jadeite hadn't spoken a word the entire time, so 
Minako jumped slightly when he did, his voice tinged with the tone 
of slight annoyance.
        "Just come in and stay quiet. We weren't counting on you 
being here in the first place, and it would be entirely too easy to say 
that you simply got caught in the crossfire that Usagi thinks is about 
to ensue," he said as he shut the car off. 
        "Who's Usagi?"
        "Sorry, I meant Serena. Her real name is Usagi."
        "Oh…ok. Are you gonna kill me?" She felt as if it were a 
logical question to ask, considering how many times she had been 
threatened with it in the past day and a half.
        "Not if you just come in and shut up. Oh, and another thing, 
you aren't allowed to say a damn word about anything, I repeat, 
ANYTHING, that you hear in here. This is much more than you've 
been led to believe it is, and you'll be better off just doing as you're 
told and following along. Okay?" he asked, gazing at her with an 
almost mischievous smile.
        "Yeah," she complied, brushing her hair out of her face as 
she opened the car door. She had a feeling that Kunzite was not 
about to die. "Just follow along."
        Entering into the house was a slightly frightening experience; 
it was really not a place she had planned on returning to. She 
couldn't quite figure out if it was a bit more or less foreboding now 
that Jadeite was there to accompany her, since all of a sudden it 
was in question as to whether he was a friend of enemy. It was 
impossible to determine if anyone was a friend or an enemy yet, or 
even what her friends and enemies would be, she realized as 
Jadeite jiggled expertly with the lock. The door swung open about 
thirty seconds later, and despite the voice in her head telling her not 
to go back in, she followed Jadeite into the now well lit corridor.
        -This house isn't half as scary when it isn't covered in 
shadows,- she noted. In fact, it almost looked friendly. The sound of 
laughter radiated in the distance, and Minako heard the slight clang 
of glasses coming from somewhere in the house.
        -I'm here for a dinner party?- she thought as she followed 
Jadeite down a hallway to the back of the house. Strains of voices, 
male and female, emanated from the dining room, which Jadeite 
entered.
        A dinner party seemed to be exactly what Minako had 
entered in upon, though she stood timidly a little outside the 
doorframe, allowing the shadows to conceal her.  The table full of 
people were talking and laughing happily, eating what must have 
been their Christmas dinner. She recognized Kunzite immediately, 
looking surprisingly happy as opposed to how Minako had seen him 
previously that day.
        -Okay, so are all mafia people extremely capricious? Is it a 
natural thing to be able to switch your emotions and dispositions at 
the drop of a hat?- she thought as she scanned the other people in 
the room, thinking of how Ms. Tsukino, Kunzite, and Jadeite had all 
managed to turn their emotions on and off like light switches. The 
people in the room hadn't taken note of Jadeite's presence yet, but 
considering the spaciousness of the room and the liveliness of the 
conversation, Minako wasn't surprised. He stood quietly, leaning 
against the wall with his hands crossed across his chest and a 
smirk on his face. While he waited for someone to notice him, 
Minako took to studying everyone else. There were an additional 
three people at the overly large mahogany table, two men and one 
woman. A handsome, lanky man with long blonde hair was seated 
next to Kunzite, and the other man, equally handsome, sat across 
from him. His wavy brown hair was cut to the top of his back and 
secured back in a small ponytail at the nape, a few stray strands 
framing the strong line of his jaw and the deep brown of his eyes. 
He was sitting next to a woman with long auburn hair, curled into 
long, natural-looking ringlets. She looked elegant and strong, with a 
soft looking smile and electric green eyes. Minako stayed in the 
shadows as Kunzite finally looked in their direction. At first, he 
stopped mid-sentence to stare dumbfounded at the man, before 
standing up to greet Jadeite. Large smiles lit up both of the men's 
faces as they embraced in an warm, friendly hug. They laughed 
and pulled away after a brief moment.
        "It's good to see you, Kei!" Jadeite said happily as the other 
members of the dinner party stood to join them.
        "You motherfucker!" Kunzite said in an excited return, "How 
long have you been standing there?"
        "Not long, but you did take a minute for you to notice me 
over here," he replied, laughing. "This house has the shittiest locks 
on it. It took me less than a minute to get in!"
        "Hey, don't look at me," Kunzite replied with a smile, "It's not 
like I built the thing. Anyway, I figure that if anyone breaks in, I'll just 
bust their ass with a bat."
        Everyone laughed at that, especially Jadeite. "Right, 
Kei…always one for brute strength, huh? Hey, Mako," he said as 
the auburn-headed woman approached him. He hugged her 
warmly and she returned his greeting with a kiss on the cheek. She 
saw to his eye level, a good 5'11" or so.
        "Hey Jade," she said, "How've you been?"
        "I'm good. How are you?"
        "Great. Neph and I got married over in Venice last summer," 
she replied, showing off the gold band that resided in front of a 
large diamond ring that almost caused Minako to gasp out loud.
        "Good for you!" Jadeite said excitedly, "Nephrite, that's 
great!"
        "Thanks!" the brown haired man replied as he snaked his 
arm around her waist. "We would've sent invitations, but it was a 
sudden thing. We figured everyone would understand."
Minako found herself sinking further back into the recesses 
of the dark hallway, still unnoticed by the guests in the house. For 
the moment, she would have liked to keep it that way; she wasn't 
interested in disturbing the greetings. Apparently they hadn't seen 
each other in a while.
        The blonde was the last to greet Jadeite, but with a small 
smile, gave him a warm hug and friendly "Merry Christmas." Jadeite 
returned it and the two chatted jokingly about the weather "down 
south". They didn't specify where in the south they were talking 
about, but apparently the blonde, whom Jadeite called Zane, had 
just returned from there. The party, now consisting of 5 members 
since Jadeite had joined them, all wandered back to the table, 
talking happily about what had been going on since they were last 
assembled. Minako didn't follow him in, rather, she just stayed 
where she was, pressed in the doorway. So far no one still had 
noticed her, and since Jadeite had seemingly forgotten that she 
existed, the feeling of awkwardness and misplacement had 
increased tenfold. She didn't want to say anything, even though 
Jadeite had blown her off and started filling up a plate with the 
culturally diverse Christmas dinner that was residing on the end of 
the table.
        -I feel so…special,- she thought, -Uh…I'm not standing here 
this whole time while Jadeite eats his damn Christmas Dinner. 
What am I supposed to do now?-
        As if on cue, the woman, whom Minako had heard referred 
to as Mako, looked her way as she was re-seating herself at the 
table, stopping before she reached the padded chair. Neph noticed 
his fiancé's alert expression, and stopped and checked the 
direction in which she was staring.
        -Great,- Minako thought. –So much for not being noticed.-
         Both Zane and Kunzite, whose nickname she discovered to be 
Kei, both stopped their actions to look at Minako, who was presently 
standing in the shadows of the hallway with a deer-in-the-headlights 
look. Only Jadeite paid no mind, and simply continued in loading up 
his plate with the odd combination of turkey stuffing, mashed 
potatoes, and fried rice. Suddenly, three guns were pointed her way, 
drawn at virtually the same time by Mako, Kunzite, and the brown 
haired man, whose Minako hadn't caught. This got Jadeite's attention, 
and he looked up from his plate nonchalantly. Zane simply sat back 
in his chair, an intrigued expression on his face as he tried to 
make out the figure in the shadows.
        "Show yourself," Mako barked at her.  Minako stepped out 
into the room a little ways, timidly.
        -Aren't you going to say something, asshole?- she silently 
thought to Jadeite as she locked eyes with him. He stood up after a 
moment, sighing deeply.
        "This is Minako Aino. Sorry guys, I guess I should have 
introduced her," he said as he walked in front of her. The guns 
dropped and were put back wherever they came from.
        "That's okay, we've already met," Kunzite said bitterly, 
staring at Minako. He muttered something under his breath, and 
Minako said nothing. The past few hours she had spent as carry on 
luggage had quelled her snappy nature considerably, so she settled 
for shooting a nasty look at Kunzite, who returned it tenfold.
        "How have you met?" Mako asked Kunzite. "What's she 
doing here?" she added, directed at Jade.
        Kunzite jumped to respond first. "Mamoru asked me to get 
some information out of her, and the little bitch snuck out of the 
house."
        "The locks are shitty, Kei. It's not surprising. Anyway, Usagi 
gave the damn girl a promotion and stuck her with me. It seems 
she's got some computer skills, that I don't have," Jadeite said, 
returning to his seat at the table.
        "Well nobody told me she actually had skills as a spy. The 
way I saw it, Usagi would be sending along you, Jade, or some 
other dumb grunt. When I saw her, I assumed she had traded in a 
moron for a dumb blonde. It was all the same to me, until she got 
out right under my fucking nose," Kunzite retorted. They had both 
begun referring to her as if she wasn't standing ten feet away, 
Minako noticed. The carry-on luggage feeling returned.
        "Quit bitching, you two. Whatever happened, she's here 
now, so shut up," the brown haired man said, turning to Minako. 
        -Well I'll be god damned. Someone's actually going to 
defend me,- she thought, astounded.
"If Usagi's promoted her that fast, she's got to be good at 
something. Maybe we can use her for our cause," he snapped at 
them. Turning to Minako, he said, "You'll have to excuse these two. 
They're not the best welcoming committee."
        Jadeite and Kunzite both opened their mouths to say 
something in their own defense, but the brown haired woman cut 
them off.
        "Minako, I'm Makoto. Excuse the assholes," she greeted her. 
Her green eyes shone with a smile, and for the first time since she 
entered the house, Minako felt at ease enough to speak.
        "Hey, it's nice to meet you," she said quietly.
        "Since Jade is too big of a prick to do it, let me introduce you 
to everyone. I see you've already met Kunzite," Makoto said, 
smirking at the platinum-haired man. "This is Zoicite," she said, 
indicating to the blonde man sitting across from her. "And this is my 
husband, Nephlyte. How long have you been working for Usagi?"
        Zoicite gave Minako a nod and a smile, and Nephlyte 
extended his hand to her. She walked over and shook it, muttering 
a greeting under her breath. 
        "About 2 years," she answered Makoto, "But I've only known 
about this part for a few hours."
        Makoto gave a soft chuckle, and Minako noticed her eyes 
dart over to Jadeite's direction. At his indifference, she spoke again. 
        "Well, I guess I can just say welcome, and I'm sorry. I'm sure this 
isn't quite what you expected."
        "Heh, no," she replied.
        "Trust me, Mako," Jadeite finally chimed in, "She doesn't 
know the half of it."
        "Oh?" Makoto replied, but made no move to say anything 
else. "Is that so…"
        Minako stepped back as an odd silence drifted over the 
room. The multi-cultural Christmas dinner was sitting on the table, 
uneaten, and everyone was casting odd glances at each other. 
Minako's obvious lack of information about the "situation" was 
definitely an unwelcome impediment.
        -Aah, awkward silence. And I'm the cause of it. Lovely. 
Apparently you don't get asked to sit down unless you know ALL of 
what's going on, and as if I hadn't figured it out before, I definitely 
don't know what's going on here. God, I hate this. Screw it,- she 
thought resolutely, and turned to Jadeite.
        "I'm obviously holding things up. Can I leave? Usagi won't 
hear a word of this, and you can just brief me tomorrow evening on 
how it is that we're going to pretend that we actually killed Kunzite. 
Really, I'm tired, though, and I seem to be a hindrance," she bit at 
him, angered by his indifference. Even the courtesy of Makoto and 
Nephlyte hadn't broken the odd air very well, and while that was 
probably Jadeite's job, he ignored it. Blatantly. He looked up from 
his plate about halfway through her request and sat there quietly for 
sometime after, turning the idea over in his head, wondering about 
what Minako had asked for. When he didn't answer, she spoke 
again, this time to Makoto.
        "Makoto, it's been nice meeting you. You, too, Nephlyte and 
Zoicite. And Kunzite, it's always a pleasure. But, since my superior 
can't seem to make a decision, I must retire. Jadeite, I'm calling a 
taxi to take me to my apartment. It's been fun. Call me if you need 
something else."
        With that, she turned and walked out of the dining room.
        She was making her way back to the living room, listening to 
the muffled sounds of Makoto, Nephlyte, and Jadeite arguing as 
she searched for a phone.
        "How much does she know?" she heard Nephlyte's angry 
voice ask.
        She couldn't make out the reply.
        "Well what the hell was I supposed to do with her?" she 
picked up a few moments later, and identified the voice as 
Jadeite's.
        -Fuck this,- she thought as she heard the last comment, and 
stormed into the kitchen. She found a phone there, and picked it up 
off the receiver, hitting the 0 button.
"Don't bother," a familiar icy voice shot at her. She turned 
around to face Kunzite. "I'm taking you home."
        "No, you're not," Minako replied, and began speaking into 
the mouthpiece. "New York…Keishi…Yellow Cab-"
        "Yes," he cut her off, walking over to her. He snatched the 
phone out of her hand and slammed it back on the cradle, "I am."
        "Ugh!" she exclaimed as he pulled on her arm and dragged 
her out of the kitchen. "Why not someone who fucking LIKES me? 
Can't Makoto do it?"
        "No, she can't. She and Neph just got in; there's no way in 
hell I'm letting either of them drag your sorry ass back to your 
shithole apartment. I got you into this, and as of now, I'm getting 
you out of it. As of the moment we reach your apartment, you know 
nothing of any of this. You don't know me as more than someone 
you were assigned to track one night, and you sure as hell don't 
know Zoicite, Makoto, or Nephrite. Jadeite will see to it that Usagi 
thinks you're involved as much as you need to be, but from now on, 
stay the fuck away from all of us. You don't realize the capacity of 
what you've gotten involved in, and it's in everyone's best interest 
that it stays that way."
        At this point, Kunzite had dragged her all the way to the front 
door. He opened it and shoved her out into the cold, snatching his 
keys off a hook on the wall. He shut the door behind them and led 
her over to the garage adjoining the house. He ignored her protests 
as he punched in the numbers that raised one of the doors.
        "I fucking hate you! Let me drive myself home, I'll get out of 
your fucked up life that much quicker! It's not like I asked for 
Serena, or Usagi, or whatever the hell her name is to drag me into 
this mess!"