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[Kunzite Blackwell]

A pair of brown eyes carefully observed the festive display on the streets of Crystal Tokyo. Having assumed his completely inconspicuous identity and appearance of Shin, Kunzite had mingled himself among the people who were attending the Blue Moon festival. Dressed in a navy blue short-sleeved shirt, which brought attention to his well-built body, and a pair of black pants, his hair rather unkempt despite his efforts, Kunzite seemed, in his desguise, like nothing more than the average citizen enjoying a pleasant festival. Officially, Kunzite wasn't there for the mere entertainment factor. Having intuited the fact that such an occasion would be very likely to draw the attention and gather the presence of the other three Shitennou, he invoked his self-assumed duty to keep a close eye on them as an excuse to justify his own presence there. In all truth, keeping an eye on the other men, taking care that nothing would happen to them and their existence wouldn't be discovered until the proper moment, was just part of the reason he was there.

Kunzite enjoyed all the time he could spend outside the realms of Beryl. He had too many things to think of and he didn't feel safe to let his thoughts flow freely while he was close to her, for fear that a word or a reaction would betray him and seal his fate again. And this time he couldn't afford losing his life, not so early. He needed to keep Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoisite safe from Beryl and also protect Endymion against the woman and drive him away from her. When he was in the city, Kunzite felt that it was safer to allow his mind to wander freely, trying to come up with strategies against Beryl and in favor of the plans Chaos had to drive Serenity and the senshi away. That is why he chose as a mission for himself to surveill the other three shitennou in their fake everyday lives, it gave him the perfect excuse not to be around Beryl too much, specially since he didn't find any suitable “normal job” for himself.

As he walked casually along the streets, Kunzite's eyes fell upon familiar faces: Jadeite, who seemed to be up to no good, close to none other than Serenity and the princess of Jupiter, and the princess of Mercury as well. He briefly wondered how would Zoisite react if he saw her, but he shrugged the thought away quickly. He had also noticed Endymion earlier but, although intrigued by his choice to mask himself, he avoided him, thinking that it would be better if he didn't draw too much attention upon the King since it was obvious that he desired to avoid it. For now, Kunzite was content with just strolling in an area which allowed him to observe Jadeite from a safe distance, glancing at the merchandise the different vendors displayed in order to justify his slowness.

Kunzite frowned slightly, wondering if she, Aphrodite, would be close by as well. How would it be like to see her after all that time, to talk her? There was no doubt that she wouldn't recognize him like this, but even still, he didn't want to approach her. For the sake of everything that had been between them in the distant past he refused to put her in danger just yet, although he knew it was inevitable, the senshi were their enemies. Besides, there was something else, something he needed to clear up with himself. Kunzite needed to understand why, sometimes, another feeling was burning inside his heart with an equal flare like his love for Aphrodite, why did he want her as well to pay for Zoisite's death. He frowned again, observing how, lately, the younger man seemed to be on his mind more than he should have been. True, Kunzite wanted the senshi to pay for the deaths of the other Shitennou as well, but when it came to Zoisite, his wish to seek vengeance against Aphrodite and Beryl was far greater.

The desert prince mentally scolded himself for allowing his mind to wander to such things when he needed a clear mind to focus on their mission. He stopped from his walk, diverting his attention to a craftsman's booth. Something drew his attention on the small display counter, a decorative crystal globe. He had seen many in his youth as Shin, but all of them imitated snow and winter sceneries. This one was so much different. Instead of white flakes, it contained golden ones, the mass of shimmering gold reminding him of the desert he grew up in once, many centuries ago. Kunzite gently shook the globe, gazing at the flakes which so well resembled a sand storm, memories of his childhood in Dakri slowly rewinding themselves into his head. Forgotten was his mission and lost was his attention to his surroundings.

[Zoisite Grey]

Zoisite peered at a few of the trinkets at a booth he was currently leaning over, only mild interest visible in his dark brown eyes. He brushed a stray black curl away from his face as he examined the jewelry. It was interesting, a nice little turquoise teardrop on a thick black chord. Turning it over he saw the engraving for the planet Mercury and sighed, letting it hit the table and turning away. "Figures," he murmured softly to himself. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his black pants, tucked craftily into a pair of black laced boots. To complete his ensemble in honor of the festival, he also wore a salmon colored short sleeved shirt over a similar white one. Unlike say Endymion, he did not have to rely on masks or clothes to keep himself disguised. He and the other shitennou had their physical disguises on their side.

No sooner had thoughts of the others trickled into his brain then he noticed one of them. He spotted Jadeite up ahead with his art stand set up and his plans being set into motion. He smiled at the thought, something of his actually seeming to work? Now that had to be a first. If he actually succeeded, Zoisite made a mental note to bring his thoughts up when they were out at the bar. Turning away from the now currently brunette shitennou, his eyes came to rest upon another familiar face: Kunzite --or rather Shin as he was called in his current form. He stared at the man who so often filled his thoughts as of late for a few moments, making up his mind to approach him.

He felt a smile playing at his lips as he watched the older man pick up something from the nearby stand. From the way the light caught it: he guessed it was a snow globe, or something similar. Though he could not see the importance of the thing himself, Kunzite seemed to find it very interesting. He casually closed the distance between them, standing at his side and eying the other items on display. After a moment or two he turned his attention to the small spherical object in Kunzite's hands. It was different from others he'd seen: the flecks of gold floating in the liquid were unlike the white so often found in these sorts of things. "Thinking about making a purchase?" he asked simply. "Though I can't imagine where you'd put it." A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth at the thought of something like that back in his quarters.

[Kunzite Blackwell]

Each golden flake falling into the globe seemed to add yet another memory into Kunzite's mind. It was strange what kind of effect such a simple thing was having on him. He briefly wondered what would the other Shitennou think of him if they saw him like that, so completely captivated by a mere decorative object. It would have been no wonder if they would have thought he had finally gone mad. Thankfully, Jadeite was too caught up into his own plans to be aware of his presence, as for Nephrite and Zoisite, he wasn't even sure that they were around. However barely did Kunzite finish the thought that he realized he was no longer alone and a familiar figure was standing by his side: Zach, Zoisite in his human disguise.

Without turning towards the younger Shitennou, his features turned serious, with a slight hint of sadness at his innocent questions. After giving the globe another shake to stir up another golden storm inside, he gave the object one last glance before returning it to the place he had picked it up from. ”No, just watching. It's the first one I see which doesn't imitate snow” Kunzite replied. He felt slightly ashamed having been spotted into his small moment of weakness, specially by Zoisite, for whom he wanted to be an example of strength. He decided not to give the other man more details about the way the golden flakes reminded him of the desert sand among which he grew, although many times he had wished that he could talk more freely with Zoisite and trust him with more of what was going on through his head.

Turning towards Zoisite, Kunzite took a few moments to examine his appearance before offering him a small smile. You have a point, there is no room for such things in the middle of darkness he replied in a voice low enough to be heard only by Zoisite. It was probably silly coming from his part, but in fact he would have wanted to purchase the object of his fascination, even if he really couldn't think of a place where he could put such a thing. Besides, it would have been granted to earn him a fair amount of teasing from the other two Shitennou as well. And he knew too well that teasing lead to disrespect and insubordination.

”So, Zach, what brings you here? Business or just enjoying the festival? Kunzite asked, trying to create a bit of conversation. Maybe it was a good occasion to try and create a little more conversation than the usual things related to their plans after all. He hoped Zoisite had no real plan, so he could enjoy his company while he was keeping an eye from afar on Jadeite. He eyed a free bench close by and glancing towards it and then towards Zoisite, he addressed him an unspoken invitation to join him and sit down.

[Zoisite Grey]

The slight sadness in the other man's expression was not lost on Zoisite, the reason behind the sadness however was. Even as he put down the non-snow globe, Zoisite picked it up, examining it curiously and running his thumb over the smooth exterior. He turned it over to look at the bottom for a price. At the other man's words he smiled. "I've never seen one like it before," he agreed. "But I've never been one for snow globes."

He returned the smile at the softer tones, knowing that he did not want anyone to overhear about their home. If that place they currently lived could be called that. To him it was just a temporary base of operation until Endymion's throne was returned to him and they reclaimed property that was long overdue to them. It was true, though, that the trinket would be very out of place back at their base, and yet. . .Kunzite had seemed to like it. It had seemed almost soothing to him. His fingers slipped into a smallish black pouch tied to a belt loop, procuring a few coins as inconspicuously as he could.

He almost didn't respond to the question, he was still getting used to hearing the name Zach in reference to himself. He had only recently adopted the persona as a musician to gather intelligence, but it seemed more strange to him to hear it from one of his fellow shitennou. "Well, Shin," he said, unable to hide a smirk at the name. "Mostly just for the sake of the festival. I had a feeling the rest of you would be here." As Kunzite turned his head to look at a nearby bench, he handed the vendor the coins and stuffed the ball into his pouch in two swift motions. He wasn't exactly sure what had possessed him to do it, or even what he would do now that he had the little globe. He couldn't just give it to him --Kunzite would think he'd lost his mind-- or could he? Well, what was done was done and he could deal with all that later. He quickly turned back and continued his reply as though nothing had happened. "I wasn't going to let you have all the fun without me," he said with a smirk. "Besides, Endymion mentioned something about a ball in his plans: I wouldn't want to miss that."

He saw the silent invitation to join him on the bench and nodded his approval, feeling another grin spread across his face as he lead the way over to the bench. He flopped himself down onto it, resting his right ankle on his left knee comfortably before shooting a sidelong glance at the man beside him. "What brings you out today?" he asked curiously. "Come to see what Jade's up to?" It was almost refreshing to have such relaxed conversation like this.

[Kunzite Blackwell]

Kunzite was relieved to hear that, unlike Jadeite, Zoisite had no devious plan to put into practice and he was merely trying to enjoy the festival. That meant that he wouldn't have to worry about something bad happening to his younger friend but also that he could keep him company, at least for a while. ”I'm afraid you won't find too much fun in my company, Jade might be a better option for that" Kunzite replied with a rather serious look on his face. Despite the fact that he wanted Zoisite's company, he had to remind him that he was there with a serious objective, not just for the entertainment factor.

”Planning to attend? I guess I have a ball to add to my agenda then.” His serious expression softened a bit when he realized that he might end up ruining Zoisite's mood for good. However the prospect of the young Shitennou attending the ball worried him very much. From what he had heard about it, the event was going to take place in the Crystal Palace itself and that only meant one thing: Queen Serenity and all the senshi would be there. Even if they had their human disguises on their side, Kunzite couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy at the thought that the senshi might feel who really lied beneath them. If Zoisite was going to the ball, then he had to go as well. He would have done it had it been the case for any other of the Shitennou as well, but his motivation was even more powerful when it came to Zoisite.

Kunzite remembered the last time he had been to a ball. The memory was still very vivid, probably far too vivid for his liking. It was during a time when the Terran Kingdom was still glorious and peaceful, before Beryl started manipulating everyone. And he had not attended the ball alone, but accompanied by the most beautiful princess of the sol system, Aphrodite. Now, should she be present as well, he would probably just have to observe her from a safe difference and try to avoid being seen by her. Aside from that, Zoisite would be needing even a closer watching should Aphrodite cross his line of sight. He hoped that all of his teachings would have taught Zoisite better than trying to attack her in the open like that, but he could never be too sure if reason would stand a chance against the powerful desire of revenge that lied, without a doubt, into the younger man's heart. Kunzite couldn't help but observe what an odd situation he was in: trying to protect the woman for which the flame of a past love still burned inside of him from being killed by the man he... Well, as much as Kunzite tried to avoid thinking of his feelings in these terms, Zoisite was the man he loved. How he could love both, he didn't know. He just knew he had to think of a way of protecting both of them from one another until he figured out his feelings better.

Before following Zoisite's lead towards the bench, Kunzite quickly glanced towards the vendor's booth to steal a final look of the object which had caught so much of his attention, but, much to his dismay, it seemed that some other citizen of Crystal Tokyo had taken a liking to the unusual globe as well and had purchased it. He mentally scolded himself for thinking so much about an insignificant object like that and joined Zoisite on the bench, taking a seat relatively close to him. He casually leaned his back against the bench, running a hand through his hair before crossing his arms over his chest and turning his head slightly, so he could look at Zoisite. At the sound of his question, Kunzite nodded and replied: ”It wasn't hard to guess that at least one of you would come to the festival so it was natural that I came to make sure nothing happened. Jade seems to be up to no good, I hope he stays out of trouble. After all, orders are not to cause any trouble tonight... Kunzite stopped mid-sentence, slightly taken aback by the fact that his idea of a casual conversation turned back towards missions and plans in only a few sentences. He shook his head and smiled: ”It seems that I was right when I warned you that I'd be no fun.”

[Zoisite Grey]

Zoisite spared a glance over at the young man in question. "I highly doubt that" he said, turning back to Kunzite. "Jade wouldn't be any fun: he's working. He'd get short with me if I teased him while he was trying to paint." Judging by the look on his face, Kunzite was obviously here for more than just casual conversations with himself. He knew that being the oldest and highest ranking of them, Kunzite felt somewhat responsible for them. He liked to keep an eye on them while they were out "working" or on Chaos's orders. He found it both slightly annoying and comforting at the same time.

He couldn't help but smile after he decided to also go to the ball. Zoisite just wanted to stop in and see what was going on. It had been so long since he'd been at one of these events: over a thousand years to be sure. He could barely remember the last one he'd gone to. It was all a blur of flowing gowns and couples twirling in time to a tune long since forgotten. "You don't have to go," he said, knowing that it would likely be pointless for him to argue with him. "I wasn't planning on getting into trouble. I just wanted to have a look around, you know, keep an eye on Endymion." He smirked at that thought. He doubted he would be of much use to the King in convincing the princess of Mercury that Endymion was not under Chaos's control.

He hadn't really thought about the possibility of seeing the senshi now as the princesses they once were and had now become. He hadn't bothered to think about what it would be like to see. . .her. Not Athene, his feelings for her had dulled considerably since his reincarnations, though there was a strange feeling of comfort when he thought about her as opposed to the desire to destroy he so often felt when thinking about the others: especially Aphrodite. His reasons for despising the blond woman were many, not the least of which being their last encounter. When she'd essentially wiped him out of existence. True, she hadn't quite finished him off, but she'd come close and left what remained of him helpless at Beryl's mercy. His eyes closed and his fists clenched at the memory, his knuckles going white.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Kunzite glance back at the vendor's table. He ran a hand subconsciously over the pouch at his hip. Perhaps later he would. . . For now he just enjoyed himself as Kunzite took a seat next to him. He found himself watching the other man's movements. From the fingers funning through his hair to the casual way in which he stretched himself out on the bench. He was distracted by Kunzite's voice. As he had thought, he'd come to keep an eye on them and make sure they stayed out of trouble. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing," he said with more certainty than he felt. He wasn't entirely sure the other shitennou was capable of staying out of trouble. He grinned at Kunzite as he apologized. "You're plenty fun," Zoisite assured him, pushing his hair behind his ear, his tone teasing. "When you're not talking about official business."

[Kunzite Blackwell]

Kunzite shook his head slightly, somewhat surprised that Zoisite suggested that he didn't have to go to the ball. He would have thought that, by now, it had become more than obvious that he was determined to keep a close eye on them. If he did it during normal circumstances, when the other Shitennou carried out the tasks given by Chaos or Beryl or when they led their supposedly normal lives, such an event certainly called for all of his attention. He was actually slightly irritated that the other three men couldn't have just decided to go to the festival and ball together because, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't be in more than one place at once and make sure none was in danger.

”You know better than that, Zach, I have to go. One doesn't need to look for trouble, trouble finds them” he replied to Zoisite, unable to find a small proud smile. Kunzite was feeling proud that Zoisite had taken the initiative to keep an eye on Endymion at the ball. He originally wanted to do that himself, but eventually decided against it, telling himself that Endymion would be safe and that he needed to be alone to carry out with the plan Chaos had entrusted him with, but hoping deep inside that at least one of the other three guardians would follow the King. But that wasn't all there was to it. Ever since he had returned to life and was serving Endymion again, Kunzite had pretty much avoided talking to him more than it was necessary for their different plans and missions. He felt that he had failed his master, his friend, and he was afraid of the moment in which avoidance would become impossible and he would have to account for all of his past mistakes. By no means was the King a vengeful man, yet Kunzite felt that he deserved the worst that Endymion should have been capable of showing. At least if Zoisite would be there as well, Kunzite would be able to have an excuse not to engage in any casual conversations with Endymion, while keeping a close eye on both men.

As he was sitting on the bench with Zoisite, although his head was turned to face the younger man, Kunzite tried not fix his gaze upon him for too long. Despite his efforts though, he slowly found himself unable to look elsewhere. He could only hope that Zoisite would attribute the prolonged eye contact to his position on the bench and wouldn't think of something else. Kunzite couldn't supres a small chuckle when he heard what Zoisite thought about him. ”That confirms it then, I am almost never fun to be around, after all, I rarely talk about anything other than official business.” The tone of his voice was light and friendly, granting Zoisite the rare privilege of teasing him. ”I don't think anyone has ever said that about me” he continued with a smile, briefly fighting the sudden urge to voice another thought which had just appeared into his mind. But since Kunzite had wished to have a more casual friend to friend conversation, and not a leader to general one, what harm could it do? ”What other surprising things do you think about me?” he added almost immediately, his lips arched into a playful smile, his brow slightly quirked in an inquisitive manner. Kunzite wasn't sure what he was expecting to hear, but he hoped that Zoisite didn't just think of him as a cold-hearted leader.

[Zoisite Grey]

He offered Kunzite a mischievous smile as he suggested that trouble had a way of finding them despite their not looking for any. "What can I say, trouble seems to have a knack for finding us,[/b]" he said with a chuckle. "Well good then, if you're going to go, you can keep me company," he said decisively. He didn't want Kunzite to just stand off by himself the whole night, keeping an eye on himself and Endymion -- Jadeite and Nephrite too, he supposed, if they decided to crash the party.

Though he had caught Kunzite's eyes finally on them, the logical part of his brain didn't think for a moment there was any meaning behind the glance. The more active part of his imagination had already begun to run away with the idea though, and he had to force those thoughts into the far recesses of his mind. He curled a black lock of hair around his finger self consciously as Kunzite went on. He was somewhat surprised to hear the change in his tone. It was often the older man allowed himself to simply tease one of them as he was now doing. He chuckled and shook his head at his words. Even though he denied it, Zoisite found him enjoyable, yes even fun to be around. Though not for the same reason he found Jadeite fun to be around, or even Nephrite: he found each one of them fun in their own way. Though he'd be damned if he was going to admit that to the other two.

He smiled before commenting on what had been said. "Well someone had to be first," he said, folding his arms across his chest. He found it hard to believe that he had never been told that before, not even in his silver millennium incarnation, though, to be fair people were not as free with their thoughts and emotions then as they seemed to be now, so perhaps he really hadn't. When the next question was posed, Zoisite's eyes flickered to Kunzite's face, well to be technical it was Shin's face he was looking at. What other surprising things did he think about him? He could think of a few things that might surprise him, but none of which he wanted to just throw out there in the open for the whole world to see.

"Oh I think all kinds of surprising things," he said, attempting to keep his voice and tone as light as the question had been. He turned his head away as he noticed the playful way he asked. The question hadn't been loaded for him, but the answer was for Zoisite. "I think it's sweet that you keep an eye on us even though we're all big boys now," he said. He tilted his head, as if conceding to an unvoiced point. "Well most of us are." He supposed it could be argued that he still needed looking after, being the youngest, but he was still higher ranked than Jadeite and that had to count for something in a capacity of being able to look after himself, didn't it. Not that he minded knowing that Kunzite would have his back if he ever needed him. "And I think that. . ." I might be harboring feelings of love for you? --Stop that, Zoisite! He mentally scolded himself. "that. . .you don't give yourself enough credit: see? We've been talking about non 'business' things for almost five minutes now."

[Kunzite Blackwell]

Kunzite smiled and nodded at Zoisite's suggestion to keep him company at the ball. He was finding the idea far more pleasant than he should, or better said, than he wanted to. But, all in all, it seemed that it was the last night of peace so it was probably the last chance he would have at being close to Zoisite in a friendlier manner. As soon as the evil plans of Chaos would be put into motion, Kunzite would have to forget about displays of friendship and focus only on his duties as leader of the Shitennou, giving orders and ensuring the success of their missions, while also trying to make sure that nothing happens to Endymion and the other three men. Truly Zoisite couldn't even imagine how much his simple offer meant to him.

Trying to look as natural as possible, Kunzite kept analyzing every little expression or gesture coming from Zoisite. He briefly observed how adorable the younger man looked when he played with his hair like that, though the gesture didn't really have the same charm when Zoisite was in his disguise than it did when he displayed his normal appearance.

The older general listened with attention when Zoisite started to reveal the surprising things he thought about him. In fact, he really was surprised to hear that his excessive protection was described as “sweet”. Kunzite shared his surprise with the youngest of the Shitennou: ”It really is surprising to hear that you think of that as being sweet. I was thinking that, by now, I drove you all crazy because of it. It's not that I don't trust your abilities to look after yourselves, but...” He paused, his brown eyes reflecting a mixture of remorse, regret, sadness and concern, not realizing that even though his position on his bench had not shifted an inch, it was clearly reflecting that he was more tense. ”It's just something I want to do”, Kunzite added eventually, in a very serious tone.

Zoisite's slight hesitation when he spoke again intrigued him. Kunzite wasn't sure why he had the odd feeling that the words he heard were not what the other man had meant to say in the first place. He didn't comment anything about it, though, as he realized that he got so distracted with gazing at Zoisite that he forgot all about Jadeite. Kunzite quickly shifted his gaze to look in the direction of the other general and make sure that everything was fine. Once he realized that nothing bad had happened, his eyes slipped towards the vendor's stand for a few seconds before returning over to Zoisite. Even though he was beginning to be slightly irritated by the fact that he seemed rather unable to get that unusual globe out of his head, Kunzite smiled as he replied: ”I guess you are right. But I must confess that I'm beginning to run out of “casual” conversation topics.”

[Zoisite Grey]

He smiled and let out a soft chuckle as Kunzite voiced his suspicions about their feelings on being looked after. "Well yes, at times you do drive me crazy with it," he conceded. "But the thought of it is nice." He knew the words were true even as he said them. He had already died alone twice, and it was nice to know that with Kunzite always looking after them, if the time did come again at least he wouldn't be alone. Though he didn't intend on dying any time soon, so that thought was irrelevant.

The playful look slipped off his face at the sudden change in the other man. Zoisite knew him well enough to pick up on his mood changes. It had once been necessary to know, and now it was merely his observance that clued him in. Kunzite's voice had taken a more serious tone, and even his body seemed to tense up slightly as he spoke. He hesitantly held out his hand, drawing it back and away slightly before placing it on his shoulder, patting it lightly before quickly letting it fall back into his lap. "Well whatever makes you happy," he said with a shrug, a smile playing at his lips as he tried to lighten the other man's mood a little.

He followed Kunzite's line of site with his own gaze as he shifted his attention towards Jadeite. He really did worry about them too much for his own good, and yet he said nothing. Trying to convince him of that would be pointless anyway. His eyebrows knitted together as Kunzite said he was running out of conversation pieces. Was he growing bored with him already? he found himself wondering. He refused to accept that they couldn't have a perfectly normal conversation that didn't have to revolve around their work for Beryl or Chaos. He wanted to believe they weren't only connected on that level. "Well let's see, what else can we talk about?" he asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "There's always the weather, or sports, or current events."

Though his tone was light, suggesting he was merely joking, he couldn't help but realize he didn't know where to go from here either. He forced his face to remain impassive, not wanting to display his feeling of frustration at the situation. He glanced around at the vendors and events of the festival, casting his eyes around for something they could talk about to pass the time. "So what do you think of all. . .this?" he gestured vaguely at the festival as a whole. He rested his head carelessly on his hand, his elbow resting on the bench's back. "I can't help but feel nostalgic here."

[Kunzite Blackwell]

The light pat on the shoulder surprised Kunzite. He was aware that Zoisite probably didn't fully understand his sudden change of mood, nor how much keeping them safe - or better said keeping him safe - meant to him, but his small display of friendship really did comfort him a little. Kunzite felt the urge to extend his hand and touch Zosite's, take his palm into his own and just hold it like that. Before he had the time to even process the thought too much, the younger man had already removed his hand. It was probably for the better, Kunzite reassured himself, after all, Zoisite would have considered him mad if he would have done such an affectionate gesture all of the sudden.

Trying to shrug off all the pessimistic thoughts and focus only on the casual moments he had chosen to spend with Zoisite, Kunzite shifted his position on the bench, leaning his side against its back, so that his body would be fully turned towards the younger shitennou. Running his hand through his rebellious hair, he chuckled softly when Zoisite joked about those very trivial subjects to discuss about. True, they were casual, but they were Shitennou after all and Kunzite couldn't really picture himself discussing the weather, unless it involved its implications into one of their plans. Maybe all hope was lost for him, he really was far too dedicated to his work. ”It would be odd, but I think we could try those if anything else fails” Kunzite replied, his lips curled into a playful smile. He was really hoping that his lack of proper socialising skills wouldn't make Zoisite believe it was something personal and he didn't enjoy his company.

Kunzite frowned slightly and his gaze followed Zoisite's gesture as he listened to his question. ”Nostalgic?” his voice lightly echoed Zoisite's, merely trying to figure out if that word could be used to describe his feelings as well. He could have answered so many things to that question. He could have told Zoisite how much he wished that they could have attended that festival as normal people, with no dark pasts or evil missions, just as plain ordinary Shin and Zach; that he wished he didn't know that this would be the last peaceful festival the city would enjoy until Chaos would help Endymion recover his rightful throne; that he felt sorry for the innocent people that would have to die before they could achieve the goal to destroy Serenity and the senshi. Kunzite really wished he could say all of these things, but he couldn't. He trusted Zoisite and he knew he wouldn't betray him if he knew what he really thought and felt, but he feared showing those things for fear of the past repeating itself. Not that he imagined Zoisite would run off to tell Beryl, but he could never be too careful when it came to the possibility of her or Chaos keeping a close eye on him.

”It's an interesting event, very well-organized” he finally replied with a smile, gazing involuntarily into Zoisite's – well, Zach's – eyes. ”I'm not sure why but it managed to make me rather nostalgic as well” he added. Well, Kunzite knew why and it had to do with a certain decorative object, but there was no use thinking about that any more. ”The vendors seem to have interesting merchandise as well. Have you found anything to your liking?” Kunzite inquired, smiling, wishing to take advantage of that line of though to dwell further into the casual conversation.

[Zoisite Grey]

Zoisite glanced over at Kunzite as he adjusted himself to be more fully turned towards him. He attempted to subtly shift the angle of his own body so that he would be ever so slightly turned towards him as well, not fully though that would be too conspicuous of him. He followed the movement of Kunzite's hand though quickly cast his eyes to the ground, a grin replacing his previous expression. "We can keep those on the back burner, in case of emergencies," he said trying to actually imagine them discussing something as mundane as the weather.

He thought back to the Silver Millennium, wondering if even then he had been one to discuss things like that. He supposed it was probable if he'd been talking about conditions for a fight or an outing or anything similarly related. He was drawn out of his musings of the past by the sound of Kunzite's voice echoing his own words. The brief silence that followed the world peaked the young shitennou's curiosity. As often was the case he felt, it seemed there was much more going on inside their leader's head than he was sharing. He sometimes wished they were free to talk about their real thoughts and even suspicions, but present circumstances being what they were: that option was not available to them.

"It is," he said in agreement to it being well organized. He was more amused by the idiocy it portrayed on the senshi and Serenity's part in planning the thing so carefully. Perhaps it was there idea of one final hurrah before things spiraled out of control. Not that they could know what lay in store for them. Mentally he sighed at himself. Here he had been teasing Kunzite for always talking about their work for Chaos and he seemed unable to go too long without his thoughts returning to them: he was being a hypocrite. At least Kunzite wouldn't know he was being one at any rate. He did want to know if he'd found anything he liked among the vendors. He was again made aware of the recent addition of weight to the pouch at his side. Later, he promised himself. At the ball. True he could not convince himself to give it to Kunzite now, but perhaps if he gave himself until then he would be able to then.

"I found a few things," he said with a light shrug of his shoulders. "Nothing I couldn't live without. . .although there was a necklace" He paused, thinking back to the teardrop necklace with the black cord. It had been nice, but it had also reminded him of a confusing time for himself -- besides which he had been more intrigued by spotting the man who now sat beside him. "It was Mercurial," he said, making a face at the word. The expression was not one of contempt, but almost mocking disgust. He knew the senshi were a strange and sensitive subject for most of them. Of the inner group of guardians that protected the queen, they had each been interested in one in their past lives. Even if they wouldn't all admit to it, he was almost positive. His love for the princess of Mercury had seemed to grow weaker with each time he had been reincarnated. It might have been more accurate to say it changed a little more each time. He didn't want her dead, but he didn't think of her the same way he did the man sitting there beside him. It wasn't her he thought about when he had time to himself in the darkness. Sometimes it just made his head hurt to think about.

[Kunzite Blackwell]

Kunzite really hoped that the topics of weather, sports or current events would really stay on the back burner for the rest of the day, but all of the sudden it seemed that they were the only ones who might have been able to save their conversation. He had really thought that the inquiry about interesting merchandise would be good enough to create a light and entertaining conversation, but it seemed that the prospect of such a thing happening had been shattered the moment when the word “Mercurial” had been spoken. Despite his best efforts to look indifferent, Kunzite was pretty sure that he frowned when he heard it. He could only hope that Zoisite would attribute his expression to his aversion towards the senshi and not to... it was silly. Kunzite, Shitennou of the Middle East was jealous of Princess Athene of Mercury.

Oh... was all that he could reply to Zoisite's words. The prince of the desert carefully observed every detail of Zoisite's face, of his disguise, trying to figure out exactly what the younger man felt for her. Sure, he looked slightly disgusted when he mentioned the name of the planet, as disgusted as he looked when any other senshi or their planet was mentioned. And still he wished he could know if that was a genuine expression or merely a faked one. Kunzite realized he was probably staring at Zoisite too intently and became aware that his face had a rather stern look, so he turned his head away slightly, staring absently at the sidewalk as he reflected. Unlike himself, Zoisite couldn't remember absolutely everything about the past. Or could he? No, he would have realized if he did. Kunzite had managed to become pretty sure of the fact that he was the only one of the four that remembered things in detail. The others just had fragments of the past into their minds. What could explain his attraction to the necklace better: did he remember Athene and the love they had shared, or was it just some vague feeling still lingering in his heart? He really wished he could know exactly what was going on in Zoisite's heart, but to ask was impossible. He would have betrayed himself.

Kunzite wondered if he wasn't just being a hypocrite in feeling jealous. After all, somewhere deep inside his heart, his love for a Princess was still present. Its flame wasn't anywhere as powerful as it used to be, but it was there, burning slowly in the shadow of the feelings he now nurtured for Zoisite. If he, that cared about the other man, couldn't forget his past love, how could he feel jealousy over the fact that the other man - for whom he was nothing more than a leader, instructor and hopefully friend – still thought about, and maybe even loved, Athene?

With a frown, he sighed, discontent at himself, turning his head to face Zoisite again, trying to smile. Not that he was the very talkative type, but now Kunzite was slightly lost for words. He couldn't even think of an “official” topic to talk about to save the moment. Surely by now Zoisite was convinced that he was mad. Though, taking into account his feelings for the younger man, maybe he was. ”Like I said, very interesting merchandise...” He knew that repeating his earlier words was more than a lame attempt at breaking the rather awkward silence he had caused, but at least he tried his best. If only he could be as confident when he was around Zoisite like he was in a battle...

[Zoisite Grey]

If Zoisite had been looking for a response from the other man, he hadn't gotten much of one. He wasn't really certain he had expected anything from Kunzite in the first place. He received a frown and a simple "oh" in reply and couldn't help but feel a slight sense of deflation. The frown could have meant any number of things: from an aversion to Mercurial jewelery to a disdain for being reminded of the senshi inadvertently. Perhaps, subconsciously he had been trying to see if maybe Kunzite would be jealous wen he mentioned the princess of Mercury. He knew the reverse was true for him. Any time the senshi/ princess of Venus was brought up, he felt jealous pumping through his veins like blood. He couldn't help it though: he knew Kunzite had a much better grasp of what had once been in their past lives and he knew that the Venusian princess had been a part of his.

He sighed moreso to himself at the other man's words. It seemed that their words had run their course: he was repeating himself now. Or perhaps, his mind made an irrational jump, he had made him uncomfortable by mentioning Mercury. His inner thoughts, though pleased by the idea, reassured him that this was not the case. He nodded his head in agreement. "It is pretty interesting," he said shifting his leg awkwardly and planting both feet on the ground.

He stood up, stretching out his right arm behind his neck briefly and turning back around to face Kunzite. "Well I think I'm going to go see if [insert Nephrite's false name here] decided to drag himself to the festival," he said with an easy grin. He would have much rather spent the day with Kunzite, walking around and seeing the festivities before they would have to buckle down and do their duties, but not only was he worried about making Kunzite uncomfortable but himself as well. He didn't know if he could spend a whole day of freedom from plans with Kunzite without blurting out something he'd regret later: such as his feelings. He offered Kunzite a casual wave, turning as if to walk away but stopping himself mid-motion. "I'll see you at the ball," he said, trying to mask the excitement in his voice. "Don't forget you agreed to keep me company."

With those departing words, he strolled off into the crowds, losing himself among the many people going to and from such an such a table or event. He smiled to himself as he ran his fingers over the pouch at his side. Well, he'd managed to have an entire conversation with Kunzite that had nothing to do with Beryl or Chaos, and he had to say he was exceedingly proud of himself.

[Kunzite Blackwell]

Just as he had feared, their chances of resuming their conversation on a light note had definitely been ruined once the word “Mercury” had been mentioned. Kunzite watched with unhidden disappointment as Zoisite got up from the bench and announced his intention to go find Nephrite. ”I haven't seen him just yet, but good luck finding him.” He really hoped he would manage to find the other man, because he always felt more relieved to know that none of the other three were in the city all by themselves. So, if he was keeping an eye on Jadeite from afar, it was good if Zoisite would be in Nephrite's company.

Kunzite offered a small wave in return to the other man's gesture, his lips curling into a smile when the invitation to the ball was renewed. For a few moments Kunzite had actually doubted that Zoisite would still want him to keep him company at the event, given the way in which he had proven that he was rather incapable of keeping casual conversation going. Granted, he might have had more success at it, had his jealousy not gotten into the way. ”I won't, I'll be there. See you later” he assured Zoisite, smiling.

The leader of the Shitennou watched as the youngest one disappeared among the crowd, thinking about everything that had just happened. Until now he didn't really have too many occasions to just sit and casually talk to Zoisite and he was pleasantly surprised to realize exactly just how much he enjoyed his company. Despite the thousands of things that could go wrong at the ball, Kunzite was really looking forward to it. In the eve of war, he was willing to forget about his warrior spirit and leave plans aside just to spend some nice moments in the company of the man for which he held such warm feelings. A thought briefly occurred to Kunzite: what if he told Zoisite what he really felt about him? The ball would be a nice setting for it. He shrugged off the thought quite quickly, a sad look taking over his features. Odds were great that telling Zoisite that he loved him would scare the other man – to say the least – and he didn't really want him to start avoiding him just when he would need all the protection and attention he could offer him. What if he felt the same though? Zoisite had always been closer to him than the others, what if he had deeper reasons than just friendship? But if shared his feelings, wouldn't he just be putting him in danger if Beryl found out what the two of them felt for each other?

Sighing, Kunzite got off the bench and ran a hand through his hair. In the end, he would just see how things would go like at the ball and just decide what to do accordingly. Slowly he walked back towards the various vendors, again entering his role of a normal citizen enjoying the Blue Moon festival.