Warnings: There will be some language, and vampire like themes (drinking blood, and what not).
Author's notes: I wanted to be posting chapters rather quickly, but unfortunately I have hardly any free time anymore. I guess that's what I get for going to college while working two jobs. I've got to pay for it somehow (not to mention my car which just got wrecked). So I'm sorry for the slow updates. The good news is this chapter is fairly long! I'll get the next chapter out faster if I get more reviews! So review!
Chapter 3Mako's heart hammered uncontrollably inside her ribcage. What should she do? Attack him before he attacked her? She could feel herself start to tremble, her eyes wide with fear as she watched Wufei sink slowly to his knees. Her mind numb, Mako lost all sense of herself. The click of Wufei's companion's impatient tongue only increased the madness building within her.
Just as Wufei was eye-level with Mako, something large fluffy and blue collided with his head. The force of the object caused Wufei to lose his balance and he landed on his side looking extremely irate. His companion began to laugh uncontrollably, and had to steady herself on a nearby tree. Mako turned her attention to the object that had collided with Wufei's head, and found it to be a Trithalee. A Trithalee was a large bird. They were valued mostly because of their feathers that had medicinal purposes. They were also kept as pets because they were beautiful creatures with their amazingly blue feathers that looked like they were made of water. Their long necks and slim bodies enabled them to be graceful flyers. Unfortunately they were quite goofy birds on land. This Trithalee looked quite ruffled as it waddled away from Wufei.
The girl with Wufei continued to laugh, "see Wufei! All you heard was that bird crashing into things."
Mako saw Wufei's eye start to twitch, "shut up Dorothy." Wufei picked himself up off of the ground, "damn bird."
"Can we go now? We have other things to do tonight."
"Fine." Mako heard them begin to walk away, and she felt herself start to breathe normally. Silently she thanked the uncoordinated Trithalee. She waited until she was sure that Wufei and Dorothy were long gone before climbing out from under the bush she was hiding in. She stood up carefully trying to avoid the pain she felt in every muscle in her body. Mako sighed, now she had to find Duo.
At that moment Duo's familiar presence got Mako's attention. He emerged out from behind a tree looking sheepish. "I'm so sorry Mako! I got all panicked at the thought of being seen." He hung his head in such shame that Mako could hardly hold on to her anger. As long as Mako had known Duo he had always had the ability to force anger and hostility away from him. That ability had saved her and Trowa in ways Duo would probably never know.
Sighing Mako smiled at Duo, "even when you almost get me killed I can never stay mad at you Duo."
He smiled half-heartedly, "you may not be mad at me, but I am."
Chuckling, "oh Duo shut up. I'm fine. That clumsy Trithalee was in the right place at the right time."
"Actually I sort of chucked it at Wufei's head."
Mako laughed, "I thought its feathers looked out of place."
"Well, how about I get us something to eat, and then we get the hell back in bed."
"Alright. Let's get this done fast."
"Uh, Mako I think I should hunt and you…you should just wait here."
Mako looked at Duo quizzically, "what? Why?"
"To put it bluntly, you look awful."
"I…" Mako knew she probably wouldn't be much help. She felt awful, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't want Duo to do all the hunting without her.
"No buts Mako. Trowa will have my head for not taking you back right now. Hell! He'll have my head for even being out here. Now hang out here, and I'll be back very soon."
Mako glared at Duo as he ran off. She knew he was serious, and that he was right, but that didn't mean she wasn't annoyed. Sitting down at the base of a tree trunk, Mako leaned her head back against it. Her head was starting to hurt and she was dizzy. Placing her hand on her shoulder she could still feel the blood running. It wasn't flowing like it had been, but it was still bleeding. She hoped Duo would be back soon. Closing her eyes she felt herself start to drift in and out of sleep. She didn't want to go to sleep, but the rhythmic pounding of her heart mixed with the blood running down her back made it hard for her to keep her eyes open.
Crying, a four-year old girl sought out her mother. Finding her at the back of the cave they now called home she launched herself at her mother's legs and held onto them for dear life. She heard her mother sigh as she was lifted up off the ground into her mother's arms. She heard her soft voice caress the back of her neck, "is your brother pulling your hair again?" She nodded into her neck. Her mother sighed again before carrying her over to the small area on the floor where she and her brother shared a makeshift bed. "It's time for you to go to bed."
"But Mom!"
Her mother sighed again, and looked more tired than the girl had ever seen her look before, "please pretty girl try to sleep."
"I'm hungry though."
Her mother closed her eyes and pressed her thin fingers against her eyelids, "I know. Your father isn't back yet."
"What if he comes back while I'm sleeping?"
At that moment her older brother jumped on the pile of blankets that was their bed. Her mother flinched, "careful!"
"Sorry Mom, but I had to tell you that I saw Dad! He's almost here!"
She watched her mother and brother hurry to the entrance of the cave. She followed as fast as she could, but unfortunately the girl's small legs did not carry her very fast. By the time she reached the end of the cave her father was handing her mother a bag.
"Daddy!"
Her father's smile was somewhat forced as he picked her up, "you should be in bed."
She pouted, "I didn't see you all day."
"Well now you have, so let's get you in bed."
He placed her back on the bed, and had her brother curl up next to her. He then made his way over to where her mother was checking the contents of the bag. She heard her mother whisper, "this isn't enough for all of us."
"I know. There isn't anything to hunt here. It's too cold."
"We aren't going to survive like this."
"We'll make it. We have to."
"The kids don't understand. They don't understand why it's so dangerous back home."
Her parents stopped whispering, and she was even more confused about the whole situation. Nothing had been this hard for her family before, but a while ago they had to leave the only home she'd ever known because people were trying to hurt them. It was all so confusing, and her young brain could not understand what was happening with her family. She turned over and found herself face to face with her brother. Their gazes locked and somehow she knew that something was wrong. She felt her brother's small hand grip her even smaller one.
A hand gently shook her shoulder, "hey pretty girl I've got something for you to eat before you go to bed."
She sat up and took the cup her mother offered her. She put the cup to her lips, and let the warm liquid slide down her throat. When she was half way done she held the cup up to her mother, "you have some mommy."
Her mother's eyes filled with tears, "no no pretty girl. I already had some you drink all of it." Looking at how thin her mother was the girl knew she was lying.
Jerking awake, Mako hugged herself. She began to sob into her knees as her earliest memories came flooding back. Squeezing her eyes shut as tight as she could, Mako tried to push out the thoughts of them dying so she could eat. She had never come to terms with that, and Trowa never talked with her about anything that had to do with their parents. She had never even told Duo or Rei how they died. Gripping her shins tightly, she tried to get a hold of her emotions.
Mako heard a twig snap behind her, and she turned her tear-streaked face to find Duo looking at her concerned. She realized then that she was still outside. Duo knelt down next to her, and pulled her into a gentle hug. He was careful to not touch her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"
She latched onto Duo like it was the last time she would ever see him, and started to cry even harder. "I can't be strong anymore Duo."
He was silent, and she felt him curl his fingers in her hair. His smell surrounded her, and Mako felt suddenly calm. There was Duo's ability to get rid of all the anger and pain around him. After she had finished crying, Duo pulled back from her so he could look at her, and said, "Here I brought you something to drink. Drink it, and then I'll take you up to your room and we can talk. Okay?"
Mako nodded as Duo handed her an unconscious animal Mako didn't even bother to identify. She turned away from Duo because she didn't like to drink while anyone was watching. She was ashamed of how she had to nourish herself. There wasn't a definite reason Mako could pinpoint for this, but as far back as she could remember if she were drinking straight from the animal she wouldn't let anyone watch. She sunk her teeth into the soft flesh of the neck, and sucked as much blood as she could from the small animal. Turning back to Duo she handed him the limp body. Taking it from her, she watched him dig a small hole and bury the animal. They both said a small prayer of thanks before Duo helped her to the edge of the forest.
"Any chance you can fly?"
"No. You know that."
Nodding Duo put down the bag that must have contained food for Rei and Trowa. "I'll fly you up to the tower, and then come back for this," he said motioning to the bag.
"You sure you can carry me?"
"Yeah. I'm not ten anymore, my wings have fully developed."
Mako smiled at the memory of the last time Duo had tried to carry her. He had ended up breaking his ankle, and Mako had to help him limp back to Duo's grandfather's house. "Alright then."
Mako slung her good arm around Duo's neck as Duo put one arm around her back and the other around the back of her knees. Making sure he had a good grip on her he spread his wings and took flight. He made it to the window without any problems, which surprised Mako a little. He had grown up. Setting her down on the windowsill, he took flight again. She pulled her sweater and shoes out from the dark corner and put them on as she waited for Duo to go get the bag.
He returned in record time. Gently helping her up again they walked as quickly and quietly as they could back to Mako's dorm. Duo led Mako to the large couch upon entering her dorm, "I'll go get Ami."
Mako felt sick, and extremely tired. She was physically and emotionally drained. The blood had helped a little bit, but the throbbing in her shoulder reminded her she was far from okay. She jumped when a gentle hand touched her forehead, "Duo! She's got a fever!"
"I know Ami! Fix her!"
She heard Ami click her tongue at Duo, "Mako I need you to take off your sweater okay."
Nodding Mako sat up and pulled off her sweater as carefully as she could, and sunk back down on the couch on her stomach.
She heard Ami gasp as she asked Duo what happened. Duo launched into a very dramatic tale of the nights events, but Mako didn't have any energy to listen. Duo talked for a while until Ami told him to go get her first aid kit, and some hot water. When Duo returned, she felt Ami start to poke at her shoulder. It hurt, but her body was too tired to protest.
This continued for a while, as Mako felt herself go in and out of sleep. About the fourth time she felt herself come out of a hazy sleep, she heard Trowa's quiet voice, "Trowa?" Mako wasn't sure anyone would even hear her she said Trowa's name so quietly.
Trowa's warm hand slid into her cold one, "I'm here."
"Don't leave okay."
"I promise."
His presence was enough to make Mako comfortable enough to fall asleep for real.
Duo had his head in his hands as he waited for Ami to finish stitching up Mako's shoulder. How could he be so stupid to go out tonight? He had known Mako was hurt. Grinding his teeth, he gripped his hair tightly, and tried to force back tears. He looked up to find Rei was curled up on the loveseat chewing on her lip.
Trowa and Rei had returned half an hour ago. They had entered the room happily asking Duo if he and Mako were successful in bringing them back food. Duo hadn't been able to look at them as he handed over the bag he had brought back with him. Rei took the bag hesitantly before she had noticed Mako on the couch, Ami bent over her cleaning out her shoulder. Trowa hadn't wasted any time in crossing the room and kneeling beside Ami, and asking Ami if she was all right. Rei had just stood by the door looking absolutely horrified. It wasn't until Ami had assured Rei that Mako would be fine that they could get her to sit down.
After Ami had stitched Mako's shoulder up, Duo had helped Trowa move Mako into her room. After they had made her comfortable Duo had told Trowa in more detail about what had happened while he and Mako had been hunting. More importantly he told Trowa how upset Mako had been. Duo had never really seen Mako cry so much before.
Trowa had told Duo not to worry too much about it, and that he would talk to her when she was feeling better. Duo had been about to protest, but Mako had called to Trowa, and any conversation Duo was going to have with Trowa would have to wait. Now he was waiting out in the living room, and wishing the whole night had never happened. Duo stood up and crossed the room to stand in front of Rei, "you haven't even touched what I brought you."
Rei looked up at him her eyes wide with worry, "I can't eat right now."
Duo sighed. He knew his sister was blaming herself for what happened to Mako. He and Rei always had a tendency to blame themselves for what ever went wrong. It was one of the only things they had in common with each other. "Rei, Mako risked a lot going out tonight. You know that she would want you to eat what we brought back."
Rei stared at Duo, and then nodded, "you are right." She got up and pulled an animal from the bag, and Duo watched as she sunk her teeth into it. When she was finished she placed it back in the bag, "who's going to bury the bodies?"
"I figured I would tomorrow morning. It is the first day of the weekend after all."
Rei nodded, and Ami picked that moment to emerge from her room. "You both should go to bed. Mako will be fine after she gets some rest, and you two will be worse off than she is if you don't sleep."
Duo smiled at Ami, "you sure she'll be alright?"
"Of course I am. She just needs rest." She then threw an extra blanket at Duo, "sleep on the couch." Duo watched Ami shuffle back into her room.
"I guess she's right Rei."
"Yeah." Rei gave Duo a hug and a kiss on the cheek goodnight before she disappeared into her own room. Duo watched her go, and pulled the blanket that Ami had thrown at him over his shoulders.
Mina threw little pieces of paper at the back of Heero's head while she waited for him to finish what ever he was doing on his laptop. Usagi giggled every time a piece of paper bounced off Heero's head, and the rapid clicks of his keys stopped for a second. After five minutes of flicking paper, Mina finally got Heero's attention. He turned around to face her, "what the hell do you want?"
"It's the weekend Heero, and Usagi and I want to go DO something."
"So go do something."
Usagi sighed, "Heero! You don't want to work all weekend do you?"
He glared at the both of them, "why do you need me to be entertained?"
Mina laughed, "Come on Heero! You seriously don't want to stay here all day. We want to go into the city today. If you come with us we'll be sure to stop at the weapons shop, and computer store."
Heero's eye twitched, "and if I say no?"
Mina grinned, "Usagi and I stay here all day. I'm sure there is plenty of paper around here."
Heero grumbled, "Fine, but Wufei has to come with us."
Mina grinned even more, and Usagi clapped. Mina turned to Usagi, "I'll convince Wufei, and you make sure Heero doesn't make a run for it." Usagi nodded and Mina sauntered into Wufei's room. Upon entering she found him sitting cross-legged on the floor meditating. Grinning she walked over to him and knelt down beside him, "HEY! Wufei!"
Wufei opened one eye to look at Mina, "I'm busy."
"No you're not because you have plans."
"Go away."
She pushed Wufei gently, "you know I won't go away."
Growling he pushed himself up off of the floor, and pulled on his shirt. "I'm not going shopping Mina."
Mina sighed as she got up off of the floor, and repositioned herself on the bed. Heero was easy to manipulate, but Wufei seemed impervious to anything she threw at him. Half the time she felt like Wufei hated her, and half the time she didn't understand why she even bothered to try and be his friend. She twisted the edge of her skirt, and tried not to let her thoughts about Wufei get her down. Today was supposed to be fun, but somehow she knew that if Wufei didn't come she'd feel bad for the rest of the day.
Wufei growled again, "if I come will you stop looking so sad?"
Mina flashed him one of her gorgeous smiles, "you know it. We leave in ten minutes!" Mina bounced out of Wufei's room and back into the living room. "He's going Heero."
Usagi laughed, "Only you could get both of these guys to go."
Heero grunted, "I'm surprised he didn't bite your head off after what happened last night."
Usagi looked confused, "what happened last night?"
"Yeah what happened?"
Heero leaned back in his chair, "Dorothy was giving him shit last night while they were on patrol."
Mina snorted, "Dorothy is so annoying."
Usagi's nose wrinkled in disgust, "she creeps me out."
Shrugging, Heero shut his laptop, "Wufei thought he heard something last night, but when he went to check it out all he found was a Trithalee. Dorothy wouldn't leave him alone about it."
Mina's eyes flared, "she's such a bitch."
"Mina!" Usagi flinched.
"What! She is!"
"You don't have to say it like that!"
Heero sighed, "she may be a bitch, but she's proving to be a good student."
"That's only because she's cruel, and completely insensitive." Usagi said, distain dripping off of every word.
Mina eyed Usagi. She was the best judge of character Mina had ever known, and she had come to trust her judgment. If Usagi was so worked up about Dorothy, Mina knew to steer clear of her. "Did you ever find out why she transferred here Heero?"
"All the records said was that her family wasn't happy with the training she was receiving from the School of Antigone."
"Why! That school is ranked in the top best five schools in the world. This school is too, but this isn't a private academy."
"Yeah if my parents could have afforded it, I would have been going there." Usagi said tapping her lip with her finger.
Wufei cut off Heero's reply, "they started requiring students to take courses that present the LFCP's arguments for stopping the unnecessary killing of creatures."
Mina turned to face Wufei leaning on the doorframe of his room, "I didn't realize the League for Creature Protection had such a wide base of support. I mean they were just a small organization a little while back."
Wufei rolled his eyes, "if you watched the news Mina you'd know they've been gaining more and more support, but the School of Antigone is the first top ranking school to allow someone from the LFCP to teach a class. It's a big deal, and some parents, mainly those who support the extermination of most creatures, are against the whole idea."
Heero nodded, "and it's obvious that Dorothy's family is against the LFCP."
Yawning, Usagi said, "I hate politics. Can we forget about it?"
Mina nodded, "we should go. I'm sure Wufei and Heero have already beaten this issue to death with a stick. Hey! You know what I just remembered? Mako said she would go shopping with us the next time we went!"
Wufei snorted, "so?"
"We should go see if she wants to come."
"Gah. I think two women shopping is two too many, we don't need another tagging along."
"Wufei!" Mina said crossing the room and punching Wufei's arm slightly, "you don't have a say in the matter."
Heero knocked on Makoto's door, ignoring Wufei's attempts to talk the girls out of making him come. Wufei had argued with them the entire way to Makoto's dorm, and Heero was beginning to get annoyed. Hadn't Wufei figured out that Usagi and Mina would be even more annoying if they didn't go? The door opened, and Heero came face to face with Makoto's friend Duo.
Duo looked like he had just woken up. Hair that had escaped his braid was sticking out at odd angles, and his clothes were extremely rumpled. He yawned and said, "what's up?"
Heero stared at him. What the hell was he doing sleeping in a girl's dorm?
"Okay then if everyone is going to just stand there and stare at me, I'm gonna go back to sleep."
Mina stepped forward before anyone else did, "did you just wake up?"
Duo nodded yawning again, "yeah why?"
"Duo…this is a girl's dorm room. You aren't allowed to stay the night in a girl's dorm room."
Duo looked at Mina like he had no idea what she was talking about, "I stay the night here all the time."
Heero heard Wufei mutter, "injustice," and saw Usagi blush. Mina giggled, "Duo…I don't think you should talk about spending the night in a girl's dorm so casually."
"What? Why not?" Duo's eye's widened as he realized what Mina was implying, "oh…Oh!" He laughed nervously, "Come on you guys! My sister stays in this dorm."
"You have a sister?" Usagi said.
Duo nodded, "yeah I do. She's a year older, but wait! Why are you four here?"
Heero growled, "We're here to see Makoto."
"Oh…well…you see…"
"Mako is sick." Heero watched the door swing open even more to reveal a girl with long black hair and violet eyes. She was still wearing what looked like pajamas, and was obviously not very happy with the people standing outside the door.
Duo laughed nervously again, "Uh…this is my sister, Rei."
Rei ignored Duo, "I said Mako is sick, so you can leave."
"Is she alright?" Heero found the words were out of his mouth before he could check himself. Heero's face remained indifferent, but inside he was in turmoil. Why was he so quick to find out if she was okay? He must be getting soft. Already he held small emotional attachments to Wufei and the two bubbly blondes to his left, and now he was concerned for a girl he'd only known for a few days. Follow your emotions. That was something that he firmly believed in, but, and he'd only admit this to himself, these new attachments scared him.
"She's fine. She just needs to rest."
"Is there anything we can do?" Usagi's voice held so much concern that Heero noticed Rei's whole demeanor relaxed.
"No, but thank you."
"Well tell her we stopped by to see if she wanted to go shopping, and we'll stop by to see her when she's feeling better." Mina waved good-bye and grabbed Wufei by the arm to lead him down the hall. Usagi said her good-byes also and followed Wufei and Mina. Heero began to follow, but turned at the sound of Rei's voice.
"Stay away from Mako." Duo looked nervous at his sister's bold statement, but judging by the way he avoided eye contact, he felt the same way.
Heero gave Rei a look that could kill. There was no way she was going to tell him what to do. Makoto's friends were so damn protective! He left before they could say anything else that would get under his skin. He knew he wasn't exactly everyone's favorite person, but it seemed ridiculous that Makoto and her friends had no room to include anyone else in their little group. Wait. What did he care? He wasn't exactly a social butterfly either.
Mako woke up to the sunlight streaming in through her window, and the birds chirping. That would have been all great and fairytale like except for the pounding in her head, and the dull burning of her shoulder. Turning over onto her side she found Trowa asleep in a chair he had pulled up next to her bed. He was slumped over with half of his body on her bed. She laughed softly knowing there was no way he could be comfortable sleeping like that.
She lay there watching Trowa's back rise and fall rhythmically with his breathing. He looked so peaceful. Mako sighed, she couldn't remember the last time Trowa had looked worry free. He had taken on the responsibility of taking care of her after their parents died, and he had taken that job very seriously. So seriously in fact Mako worried that he would never enjoy his life. Sighing again, she carefully sat up, and waited for the sudden pain in her head to subside. Gently shaking Trowa's shoulder, Mako tried to wake him, "Trowa. It's time to get up."
Trowa groaned softly, and sat up slowly. Mako watched him blink a couple times before he realized where he was, "how are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. I hurt all over, but I expect you do too from sleeping like that."
"I'm fine, Mako." He put a hand to her forehead, "you're fever has gone down, and you're pulse is strong." Trowa gently pushed her forward, and started looking at her shoulder.
"Hey! I'm fine."
"Mako be quiet."
"Trowa? Could you just…ow! Knock it off!" Mako quickly got off the bed, and ignored the screaming protest of all the muscles in her body. "Would you just chill out for a second?"
Trowa stared at her, "I just want to make sure you're okay Mako."
"I know. Couldn't you just let Ami do that? I mean it would be nice if you were just glad to see me awake."
He raised an eyebrow, and laughed. Which surprised Mako because Trowa rarely laughed. In fact it was creepy. "Okay, okay. I'm glad you're awake."
"Okay are you sure you aren't sick?" She climbed back on the bed and placed a hand to Trowa's forehead, "you don't have a fever, but then how do you explain the laughing."
"Mako stop it." He pushed her hand away, and smiled the smile he saved only for his sister.
"Oh my God! A smile! You must be dying."
Trowa's smile turned into a glare, "now you're just being annoying, but if you're joking you must be feeling better. I'll go see if Ami is up." He got up, and stretched while walking to the door.
"Hey Trowa?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." Even though Trowa and her hadn't been getting along well lately, he had stayed with her all night. Mako knew that it was Trowa's way of being there for her.
He smiled at her again as he opened the door, and left. Humming to herself, Mako climbed off her bed once more, and changed into new clothes. She had still been wearing the clothing she had been wearing the night before. They had been completely ruined. The dirt and mud wouldn't have been so bad, but she knew the blood was not going to completely come out. Sighing, she tossed them into her garbage can, and took a mental note to go buy new clothes for flying.
"Mako!"
Mako jumped at the sound of Ami's voice, "you scared me!"
"You should be in bed."
"I couldn't stay in those clothes all day could I?" Ami's silence told Mako that she wasn't going to fight back on the issue. "So how bad was I last night?" Mako said, as she turned away from Ami again.
"Well you're shoulder got slightly infected. That's why you had a fever, and were feeling sick. Crashing into a tree only made it worse."
"Infected? That's surprising."
Mako felt Ami's small hand on her shoulder, "are you feeling okay? I mean…uh…mentally and emotionally." Mako could tell by the nervousness in Ami's voice that she wasn't exactly sure if it was appropriate for her to be asking something like that.
"Why?"
"Duo said you were really upset last night, and if you need to talk I'll listen."
"Thanks Ami, but I was probably just upset because of the fever." Ami was one of her best friends, but somehow Mako found it hard to talk to anyone about the things that were bothering her. Mako wasn't exactly sure herself what was bothering her. Besides she felt like this every once and awhile, and so far she had always pulled herself out of it.
"Oh…well let me look at your shoulder." Mako nodded, but immediately felt bad. She had hurt Ami's feelings, she could tell by the tone of her voice.
"So uh…how's it look?"
"Better, but you won't be able to do much in your classes that require anything physical for awhile."
"How long is awhile? More than half my subjects require me using my arm and shoulder."
"I'd say a couple weeks."
"What!" Mako clenched her fists, "I can't get away with being lazy in class for a couple weeks, and I definitely can't go get a doctor's note from the medical wing!"
"I know. I've been thinking about that, and I think I have a solution."
Mako sat down on her bed, "spill!"
"I had a conversation with Quatre a while back about a new kind of healing practice. He and I had watched a story about it on the news. It's a long shot, but lately there have been many people who say they can heal or speed up the healing process by just touching you. The government has been trying to hush it up, and disprove these people. They're trying to make them look like they have mental problems. Mostly I think it's because the government is scared they'll find out there are more people like you out there."
"What do you mean like me?"
"Well you look human, what if there are other people out there that look human, but have not so human abilities. It could mean people might have to start accepting you and your kind. The government has based its power on telling people they need them to protect them from scary creatures. If the public starts finding out that people they have known all their lives aren't exactly human…well it could reduce the need for a government that fully supports the extermination of all creatures that they say pose a threat. I mean look at how many friends you have that already accept what you are!"
"Uh…that number would be two, Ami. Two." Mako said, waving two fingers in Ami's face.
"You could have zero. I mean it's a start."
Mako shifted uncomfortably on the bed. Even if Ami were right about people becoming more tolerant towards her kind, it probably wouldn't happen in her lifetime. Too many people were prejudice about her kind. Mostly because of Treize Khushrenada, the government's leading man for the promotion of destroying or containment of all creatures. It was too much to think about right now. Especially when she had a headache, "I think we've gotten a little off track."
Ami wrinkled her forehead. She had been so excited about the subject that Mako could tell she had completely forgotten the whole reason she had brought it up. Mako smiled at that. Ever since they had been friends Ami had been looking for ways to liberate her race in a sense. Political activist you might say, but Ami wanted to look for a genetic link between Mako and humans. Already she was training to be a doctor, and she had plans to move into genetics also. Yeah, she was ambitious. "Oh! We were trying to figure out how to keep your wound a secret."
"Yes. Yes we were. You had an idea."
Ami looked slightly embarrassed, but continued. "After Quatre and I saw the story on the news about people claiming they could heal by touch, we decided to research the subject. Apparently there are quite a few people who have come forward claiming they have this ability. Originally they came forward to offer their services to the public, but the government quickly shut down most of them. The government made statements claiming that they were looking out for the public's best interests. Now they are trying to round all these people up under the pretense that they are looking for some sort of mental disorder."
"But you believe that these people don't have any mental disorder."
"Right. I mean the government just happens to leave out the fact that your kind has never once been reported for hurting a human. I wouldn't put it past them to allege that these people have mental disorders."
"So if these people can heal by touch you think they can help me?"
"Yes. I do."
"But if the government is rounding these people up how do you plan on finding one?"
"I already have." Ami pulled a folded piece of paper out of the back pocket of her jeans, and handed it to Mako, "the girl's legal guardian opened a new age healing clinic in town a couple months ago. The advertisements for the clinic say that she has developed charms that can speed up the healing process. It got my attention because you described to me about the way you place a charm over your wings to shrink the size of them. The way you described it made me realize that something like that would take a lot of time and research."
"Of course. Magic is a lost art. It took a long time for my people to remember how to shrink their wings."
"Shrinking your wings is one thing, a simple form of magic, but think of the time and energy it would take to learn how to use healing charms or spells." Ami was right. It would take decades; maybe generations to figure out complicated healing charms. Especially when the government had destroyed all the records they could find on magic. "Not to mention the fact that this girl's legal guardian is a musical genius, and artist. She has spent her life devoted to those arts, and has no connection with magic at all."
"So she couldn't be using magic."
"No. Not as far as I can see."
"Then you think this girl is one of these people with healing abilities?" Mako stared down at the paper Ami had handed to her. Staring up at her was a picture of a girl that looked about fourteen. She had shoulder length black hair, and violet eyes that reminded Mako of Rei and Duo. Even in the picture she seemed small and fragile. Bold letters next to the photo read "Hotaru Tomoe". "It says she died Ami."
"If you read a little further Mako you'll see that a year ago the government was investigating her because a child that attended the same school as her reported to a teacher that she had healed a scratch he had received in weapons training just by touching him. I came across her profile while I was researching…"
"You mean you were hacking."
Ami gave Mako a look, "if you want to get all technical about it, then yes. Anyway, shortly after the accusation her guardian reported that she had died. Of what, I'm not sure. She's not dead Mako. I saw her guardian in town just a week ago, and this girl was with her."
"And her guardian has set up this healing clinic, but has no previous experience in the field of medicine or magic."
"Right."
"But what makes you think she'll help me? What if she has to directly touch the wound on my shoulder? She would find out what I am."
"She's hiding from the same thing you are. I believe she'll be sympathetic, and if not she won't turn you in because you know her secret."
Mako sighed; her head was hurting even more now. "You're sure about this Ami?"
Ami nodded, her blue hair moving with the motion of her head, "I'll go with you, and Quatre said he would too."
"Okay."
Ami smiled reassuringly, "you know I wouldn't have brought this up if I thought that you could be found out."
"I know Ami. I trust you. It's these people that I don't trust," Mako waved the profile Ami had given her in Ami's direction.
"Let's go this afternoon. The sooner we try for this the better. You think you're up for a trip into town?"
"Hell why not?"
Mako stood in front of the school with Ami and Quatre waiting for the car Quatre had secured to arrive. The school loomed behind her almost threatening to consume her. The school's main building resembled that of a high gothic cathedral. Two twin towers over looked the hillside on which the building resided on, and the elaborate flying buttresses made the school seem even more formidable. The large rose window settled in between the two towers, with its bright cheery colors, calmed the fright the school inspired. Behind the main building stretched several other buildings varying in sizes. The two larger buildings housed the schools dorms, and all the rest contained classrooms and the teacher's offices.
Mako tried to keep her attention focused on the way the sunlight caused the patterns on the rose window to shift, but her gaze kept shifting downward to the school's portico. Above the school's large doors imbedded in the tympanum were carvings of man and beast. The images were terrifying to Mako. All of the sculptures depicted man's domination over the creatures that also shared this world. Even the archivolts that lined the tympanum were threatening. The building seemed to scream to Mako that her only fate was to die by human hands.
Sighing, she turned her back to the school hoping to take her mind off of it by focusing on Ami and Quatre. Unfortunately they seemed to be having a private conversation of sorts. They must have been discussing something that had to do with their relationship because they were both blushing. Although Mako was happy for her friends that they cared so much for each other, but it didn't stop Mako from feeling slightly jealous.
All thought and conversation stopped when a sleek black car pulled up the road. Quatre being the gentleman that he was opened the door for both Ami and Mako. Ami was thoroughly charmed by the gesture, but Mako had to roll her eyes at her enthusiasm. It was a known fact Quatre would open any door for any girl, and it was not the first time Quatre had done it for Ami. Deciding that she really didn't want to engage in any conversation with Ami and Quatre, Mako put her chin in her hand, and focused her attention out the window. As the car lurched foreword Mako wrinkled her nose in disgust. She hated cars. They were so small and confined. She much preferred the open sky.
The drive was about fifteen minutes, as the car carefully made its way down the mountain. The road was narrow and curvy, and the only thing to look at was the forest that covered the entire mountain. It was actually a beautiful place. The trees were tall, healthy, and abundant. Unfortunately because of the speed of the car Mako couldn't distinguish individual trees, and she only saw a blur of many different shades of green. Grumbling to herself she closed her eyes, giving up on trying to look at the trees.
Mako kept her eyes closed as they entered the city that started on the lower benches of the mountain, and extended far into the valley below. She hated looking at it. A city was just another show of man's dominance over nature. It was a rather large city compared to the others in the area. In the center of the city was a large building that was the government's stronghold for the surrounding areas. Stretching out around the government building were all the buildings of the city's shopping district. The shopping district was crammed with buildings of all shapes, colors, and sizes. After the parade of shops was the housing district. Most of the houses were simple, but a few were enormous and greatly embellished. These mansions housed important government and military figures. The most impressive of these houses was the one that was the farthest up the mountain. The building had a very regal appearance, and because of its position on the mountain, it seemed to be watching over city. Mako cringed slightly as the car rolled past the house. It's clean appearance and white paint seemed only to mock Mako because she knew that the owner of the house was anything but saintly. Treize Khushrenada had the house built when his military influence had grown so big that he had been able to appoint one of his little sidekicks to the head position at a top ranking school. Unfortunately it had happened to be the school Mako was attending.
Shaking her head in attempt to clear it, Mako noticed Quatre was staring at her. "You okay Mako?"
Now Mako noticed Ami was also staring at her, "yeah. I'm fine."
"You've been making weird noises the whole time we've been in the car."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
Ami patted Mako's hand, "are you nervous?"
Mako laughed lightly, "no no. I just don't like cars or cities."
"Don't worry we are almost there."
The car continued its way through the city into a nice housing area. White condos with green doors lined the streets. The small yards that extended out from the tiny porches had very neat and green grass. Mako was surprised when the car stopped in front of one of the picture perfect condos. Turing to Quatre Mako asked, "She lives in one of these?"
Quatre nodded, "not the first place you'd imagine someone setting up a new age healing clinic in is it?"
"No. It looks like a normal house. I was expecting dark and gloomy with a cloud of mystery around it." Mako climbed out of the car, and carefully stepped over the gutter onto the sidewalk. Quatre and Ami followed shortly after Mako.
"Do you want us to come with you Mako?"
Turning to Ami, Mako shook her head, "no. I think this will work better if I go alone."
Ami looked like she was about to protest, but Quatre stopped her, "I have things to see to. We can meet you in the shopping district in two hours Mako."
Mako smiled at Quatre, "that would be great. Thank you Quatre."
Quatre took Ami by the arm and lead her back to the car. Mako watched the car pull away before she climbed the three steps up to the green door. Hesitantly, Mako raised her hand and pressed her pointer finger onto the small white doorbell. Mako could hear the soft tinkling of a bell echo through the house beyond the door. Keeping her eyes trained on the door Mako could not help but begin to get nervous. Suppressing the urge to run, Mako watched the green door swing open to reveal a woman. Mako's eyes widen slightly at the sight of the woman. She had wavy aquamarine hair that fell past her shoulders, and dark blue eyes. Mako had never seen the ocean, but she felt like she could see it in this woman's eyes. The woman gracefully moved to stand fully in between Mako and the doorway. Even the way the woman raised an eyebrow was done with such grace that Mako couldn't find any words.
Her rosebud lips parted slightly, "yes?"
Mako realized she had been staring, and looked down at the concrete landing she was standing on. She felt the blush creep up her cheeks as she pulled out the flyer Ami had given her out of her back pocket. Presenting it to the woman in front of her, "I was hoping you could help me."
The woman took the flyer, and her eyes focused on it for a second before returning to Mako, "of course. Come in." She stepped back and held the door open wide for Mako. Stepping inside the house the first thing Mako noticed was that the house was decorated in blues, greens, and purples. The woman led her into a small living room, and offered her a seat. Mako settled herself into a large cream-colored couch.
"My name is Michiru," the woman said offering Mako a small slender hand.
Mako took the hand, "I'm Makoto."
"Nice to meet you Mako. What can I help you with today?"
"I hurt my shoulder, and I need a quick fix I guess you could say."
Michiru nodded, "alright. I'll try and help you out as best I can. Do you mind waiting here while I get things set up?"
"I don't mind." Mako watched Michiru disappear down a hallway. Mako took the chance to look around the living room. The large couch she was sitting on was accompanied by a loveseat and armchair that matched. The walls were painted to match the cream color of the couches. Expertly placed around the room were flower arrangements and other decorations that followed the color scheme of blue, green, and purple. There were paintings too. Brilliantly painted underwater scenes with fantastic creatures Mako had only ever seen in books. Getting up off the couch Mako moved to stand in front of one of the paintings that was centered above a small fireplace at the end of the room. It was a large oil painting of a creature Mako had never seen before. The creature was human like with skin that was a mix between a dark blue and green. It had long stringy green hair, large webbed hands and feet, and large gills that fanned out from behind the ears and neck. The face was small with sharp pointy features, but the eyes of the creature were so captivating that it's terrifying appearance could be over looked. Reaching up to run her fingers over the brilliant colors of the painting, Mako was startled when Michiru's musical voice reached her ears.
"Do you like it?"
Mako turned around blushing like a child who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar, "yes. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before."
Michiru smiled softly, and moved to stand in front of the painting with Mako, "I don't think anyone has seen anything like it."
"What do you mean?" Mako watched her turn to face the painting completely, and her features soften slightly. An air of calmness surrounded Michiru, as she seemed to travel far away and into another world. Mako studied the painting again trying to figure out if she could identify the creature, but unfortunately she knew that she hadn't researched a creature before that was so human like. "Is it a creature they don't let you study until you reach advanced courses?"
Michiru blinked, and laughed softly. "Oh no. It is a creature of legend. No one is sure it even exists."
Something tugged in the back of Mako's mind. Who else had told her of a creature of legend? "Creature of legend? What does that mean?"
"It's a fairy tale creature. No one has ever reported seeing one, but people still tell stories about them." She smirked slightly as she said this, almost as if she knew something that everyone else didn't.
"I've never heard a story about anything like this." It wasn't a lie. Mako remembered something about a creature of legend, but the sight of the unusual creature before her did nothing to spark her memory.
"Most of the stories about this particular creature were told around places where an ocean was near-by. Unfortunately the government has slowly been discouraging these stories. Not many people know them now."
"This artist does. How did you come across a painting like this if the government doesn't like people talking about these so called stories?"
Smirking again, "I'm the artist."
Mako could have hit herself. Ami had told her that Michiru was a gifted artist. "I guess that would explain why you have it. It's amazing!"
"Thank you. It's great to have someone else see it besides myself." She stared at the painting a little bit longer before turning away from it, and motioned toward the hallway she had disappeared down earlier, "if you will come this way I can try and fix up that shoulder of yours."
"Oh. Okay."
Following Michiru down a hallway, and down stairs into what seemed to the basement of the condo. It wasn't a very large basement, but it was large enough to hold a small bed and a tall set of drawers. "I know it doesn't really look like somewhere you'd go to get healed, but my techniques don't require all the high tech gear you see in a normal doctors office."
"Any expectations I had about what I would find disappeared when I actually saw where you lived."
Michiru's tinkling laughter filled the room, "I guess this neighborhood isn't the exact place you'd expect to find a business like this." Pausing she collected herself, "I need to let you know that before I can do anything I have to put you to sleep. The healing procedures I use can be somewhat shocking to your system, and if you are asleep there is less of a chance that you might…um…freak out."
So that was how Michiru avoided people finding out about the girl Hotaru. There was no way in hell Mako was going to let Michiru put her to sleep. It looked like she had to let her secret out of the bag. Carefully Mako pulled her oversized cream sweater over her shoulders, while Michiru had busied herself in the set of drawers. The tank top Mako had underneath her sweater was low enough in the back that it sat just below her wings. Keeping the charm on her wings she turned slowly so that when Michiru turned around she wouldn't be able to see Mako's wings until Mako decided she wanted her to. "I know about Hotaru."
Michiru froze, and turned slowly to face Mako, "what are you talking about?"
"I need Hotaru's help, but I can't let you put me to sleep to get it."
"How do you know about Hotaru?" Mako saw something flicker in Michiru's eyes, and something silver flash in her left hand. Mako's eyes narrowed. Was this girl stupid enough to try and pull a knife on her? "ANSWER ME!"
A silver flash caught Mako's eye again as Michiru lunged at her. Reacting with the knowledge of years of training, Mako grabbed Michiru's wrist, and twisted. The small silver dagger in Michiru's hand clattered to the floor. Michiru cried out, and stared up at Mako fearfully. "Listen to me. I'm not here to hurt you or take Hotaru away from you. I need your help, and I can promise you I will keep your secret if you keep mine." Muttering under her breath, Mako lifted the charm off of her wings. They grew to their normal size, and Mako let go of Michiru's wrist.
Michiru's eyes widened, her mouth opened, and she took a step back. "Oh…God! The unknown!"
Mako cringed at the name humans had given her, but did not back down. "Please Michiru!"
Stepping even further back Michiru's back came in contact with the wall, "you…you…you…oh God!"
Mako stood motionless, and unsure of what to do. Maybe this had been the wrong thing to do. The creaking of a door opening grabbed both Mako and Michiru's attention. Both heads snapped in the direction of the unexpected noise to find a small pale girl with luminescent violet eyes. Her straight black hair hung down around her face, and cast eerie shadows on her face as she surveyed the scene before her. Her eyes flickered to Mako, and she took a step toward her. Her soft whisper of a voice carried through the room like silk on skin, "I will help you."
A sigh of relief escaped between Mako's lips. Relaxing her shoulders she turned back to Michiru, "I promise I will not tell a soul if you don't tell anyone about me." Michiru nodded, and Mako saw something flicker behind Michiru's eyes that weren't fear or the idea of betrayal, but excitement. Deciding to disregard it, Mako turned to Hotaru. "Can you heal this?" Turning, Mako showed her shoulder to Hotaru.
Small fingers gently ran along the wound, and Mako shuddered at the slight pain. Before long the pain turned into a warm tingling that slowly spread from her shoulder down along her spine, and then into her head and limbs. It consumed her entire body, and all Mako could see was bright white light. The warmth pulsed a couple times before Mako felt like it was slowly dripping off of her like water running down the body while taking a shower. Then her vision slowly started to come back as the white light became only small pinpricks in her line of sight. Blinking, Mako found herself sitting on the bed, and staring into the wide violet eyes that belonged to Hotaru. "It's quite the odd feeling isn't it?"
Mako raised her arm, and brought it to her shoulder. There was nothing there, not even a scar. "Wow…"
Hotaru smiled, "I'm glad I could help."
"I feel better everywhere. My muscles don't hurt, and my mind feels clearer."
"Yes. My healing abilities are hard to concentrate on just one part of the body." The three of them sat there in silence as Mako continued to run her fingers over her shoulder. It was quite amazing, and Mako couldn't believe how easily this girl had done it.
Michiru suddenly made her way to the door, "I need some tea. Would you both like some?"
Both Hotaru and Mako nodded at the suggestion, and listened to Michiru slowly climb the stairs. "Um…you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I was kind of wondering what your name was."
Mako smiled, "well I guess it's only fair since I know your name. I'm Makoto."
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
Confused, Mako made direct eye contact with the waif of a girl, "why would I be afraid of you? Shouldn't you be afraid of me?"
"It's just that when I've used my ability in the past people were scared of me after. That's why I had to go into hiding."
"You and me both kid."
Hotaru suddenly looked up at Mako surprised, but smiled. Mako sat in a comfortable silence with Hotaru after that. It was obvious to Mako that Hotaru was glad to have found someone she could relate to. Mako smiled inwardly at that thought also. Here was someone else other than her kind who had to run. Maybe Trowa, Rei, Duo, and herself weren't so alone in this world after all.
Michiru came back with tea, and they all made small talk mostly about what Mako was doing up at school. Hotaru was especially interested in what school was like, and Mako couldn't help feeling sorry for the girl. Having to stay inside and limit social contact had to be hard on Hotaru. They finished their tea, and Mako promised Hotaru that she would come back next weekend. She also promised to bring some friends. Mako had a feeling Hotaru would really enjoy the company of other people.
Mako said her goodbyes to Michiru at the door. As she walked down the front walkway she heard Michiru call to her, "I promise Makoto."
Turning, Mako grinned, "I promise too."
A tall woman's red eyes narrowed in frustration as she slowly sipped her tea. "I hope you have a good reason for calling me over in the middle of the night."
Another woman sitting across from the one that spoke nodded solemnly. "I think once I tell you what has happened today, you'll be glad you made the trip."
"You couldn't tell me over the phone?"
Shaking her head the other woman sighed, "I figured this was a matter that all of us should discuss at the same time." She motioned to what appeared to be a rather tall man lounging on a loveseat.
"Alright let's hear it."
The woman launched into a story of the days events. After she stopped talking the three in the room remained silent. The figure on the loveseat shifted uncomfortably, "if what your saying is true that means the unknown are starting to chance coming out of hiding."
"Right, but what do we do with this information?"
The woman with red eyes smirked, "you say this girl is a student?"
"Yes."
"Then we notify the Long clan. They have always dealt with the unknown. Did the girl give you her name?"
"Yes she did. She said it was Makoto."