Silhouettes

Chapter 3

Authors Notes: I'm going to have to say...you guys are sneaky. Evening up the reviews. I do understand that each story appeals to a different crowd, because The Catch is Rei centered, and Silhouettes is Ami centered. So my compromise is, to be fair to Switch and Beauty's Beast (And The Phoenix and the Raven) I won't update these two, until I have a chapter for both...So they will be updated at the same time, you know? You guys often get more frequent updates than my other genres...Just because I'm more familiar with GWSM. ALSO: If anyone knows any of the gwsm sites that post challenges for fics, please PM or Review with links. I'm interested in them.

Silhouettes-Sailor Moon doesn't exist, sorry. It's solely the GW universe. As it stands, it's a triangle. Quatre/Ami/???. I'll let you all sway me by last chapter to who I want Ami to end up with. I'll reveal the last leg of the triangle this chapter.

"Are the other students here right now?" Duo asked Ami. Ami nodded. "Miss Aino, Miss Tomoe and Miss Tsukino were in ground seating, near the stage," she clarified.

He glanced to Wufei, "Did you secure the crowd?" he asked suddenly. Wufei shook his head, "Too much panic. We didn't get to the exits in time."

"We'll have to return to the Hino residence," Duo said finally. Inwardly, he was ashamed of the teams mistake.

Ami nodded,her composure breaking as Michiru placed an arm around her shoulder, whispering an audible "okay," in her ear.

She let herself be led away by her older sister as Wufei held the door open for them, watching until they reached their designated car, and safety.

Duo sighed, as he glanced to Quatre, "Think it's got anything to do with the Ten'ou disappearance?" Quatre bit his lip. He wasn't sure. Their team had been searching for Ten'ou a little over a week. Relena's cousin going missing had gone a bit under the radar due to her estranged status with the Peacecraft family.

Later that night...

Duo fumbled with the broken black pen in his hand. His cobalt eyes blinked in compliance as the light was turned on.

"Miss Hino's room" Hotaru Tomoe said quietly, extending her hand to gesture to the contents. It was a rather bare room, considering the Hino's wealth. There was a vanity, beside the entrance to the bathroom, a decent sized bed, and a dresser. A small vase of flowers sat on an end table beside the window sill.

Duo nodded, glancing around and frowning. They probably weren't going to find out much in this room.

Heero stood with his arms crossed as Duo and Hotaru entered the room. He remained in the doorway, his eyes flickering over the humble contents.

Downstairs...

"Mr. Hino," Trowa nodded, shaking the mans hand. Mr. Hino's eyes were hollowed and red, his skin pale. He was obviously distraught over his daughters disappearance.

"We work for Relena Peacecraft, and she has sent us with her regards for your family. We are here to assist you in getting your daughter back," Trowa explained quietly. He shifted in his shoes. He wasn't used to doing most of the talking.

Mr. Hino nodded from behind his hands.

"It's quite a nice place," Quatre said. He was sinking into the deep red cushions of the chairs in the practice room. Michiru's fingers nimbly moved the bow, the violins melody wafting through.

Ami nodded. She didn't look well herself. Being Rei's best friend, she'd been up nearly the whole night, sick to her stomach with worry.

"You live here?" Quatre asked, as he glanced up to the marble ceilings, the artwork resembling Da Vinci's style. Ami nodded, her small pink lips forcing themselves into a smile.

"My parents died when I was three, and Michiru was five. Mr. Hino is my godfather," she explained. Her delicate hands squeezed the wadded tissue in her hands.

Deciding against asking, and struggling to keep is curiosity at bay Quatre nodded, a polite "I'm sorry," escaping his mouth.

Ami nodded, her eyes vacant except for the tears that had begun to build up as Minako entered the room. The blond offered a comforting smile, although Ami's muscles were still tensed.

"The mail came ames, you got a letter. And Rei got a package. From the same place,I guess. Did you guys apply for that music school?" Minako asked, her words broken. Anything to turn the conversation to a happy side.

Wufei glanced to Quatre raising an eyebrow. "Do you recognize the address?" Quatre asked Ami. The package and the letter now rested on her lap, and she stared down at them, her hands shaking.

She shook her head. She didn't. There was no address or name. There was a red waxed M seal upon the letter, sealing it. The same symbol on the package.

Ami's eyebrows raised, as she bit her lower lip, opening Rei's package first. Her fingers peeled at the tape that sealed the brown cardboard, picking it. It was on tight, and hard to pull.

Watching her, Wufei's eyes widened, freezing, "Don't!" he yelled. He grabbed Ami, toppling over the chairs and the package flew from her lands, landing near the center of the room.

The box hit the floor, sliding a bit. It stopped though, a split second before it exploded. It was a small explosion, limited to the center of the room. If someone had been holding it though, it would have injured them badly.

The smoke flooded the room, rising to the ceiling. Minako choked on her breath as she scrambled for the door to release the smoke. Michiru and Quatre hit the floor, both glancing for Ami.

She lay like a broken doll on the floor under the protection of Wufei's chest. She lay shocked and gasping, as Wufei's strong arms cradled her, moving swiftly through the smoke.

It was as if she was weightless, as he navigated his way over to a couch in the parlor, lying her atop it. Ami still coughed from the smoke, her lungs expanding for clean air.

Sitting on the couch, Wufei rose her to a sitting position so she could breathe better, still cradling her. Her head collapsed against his chest after letting out a round of hardening coughs.

She stopped quietly against his blue tanktop.