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Chapter 4: Sneak Attacks

He leaped through the treetops, slipping slightly on the branches. Sai Sachi liked being in the treetops, it gave him an advantage over everyone, even his own teammates, who were all older and taller than he was. They always treated him like a kid. Everyone did, even his crew members. Everyone except one person- Cecile.

Though they were both young, Cecile seemed to understand Sai Sachi so much better than anyone else did. Because of her compassion and her innocence, Sai Sachi had completely fallen for the young girl. The wager was his idea because he knew when they won, he would be able to have some alone time with Cecile without anyone there to interrupt them- namely the other members of the Shuffle Alliance who always found a way to interfere.

He stopped jumping for a moment and sat down on the high branch. Sighing lightly he looked down at the enormous garden. Yes, being higher than everyone else definitely had its advantages. He had seen Domon sneak up on Rain by a rose wall where the two had gotten quite close. The situation seemed to heat up quickly and he was just waiting for the fireworks to begin when he saw Rain push Domon and run away. He snickered lightly.

Domon and Rain definitely belonged together. That much was certain to everyone. It was easy. However bringing them together was an entirely different thing. It was always Domon that seemed to push Rain away from him throughout the gundam fight. Sai Sachi looked far away at the moon as he thought of Domon and Rain's worst fight.

The Neo-Sweden gundam fighter, Allenby Beardsley, had been kidnapped and Domon had blamed Rain for letting her out of her sight. Of course Domon was upset about Allenby, his friend, who had just vanished it seemed and was under stress from the anticipation of his fight with the mysterious Schwarz Bruder of Neo-Germany. But taking his frustrations out on Rain again was too much. After he had yelled at Rain and mocked her by saying she wasn't really a doctor, he had told her he didn't want her on the crew anymore and had pushed her away from him. Everyone knew Domon didn't mean for Rain to fall back. But of course, one thing lead to another and Rain disappeared and resigned from the Neo-Japan crew, only to reappear as part of the Neo-Germany team. During Domon's fight with Schwarz, he was finally able to realize how much he truly needed Rain.

Sai Sachi sighed. Seeing those two make up after the fight was definitely worth all of the heartache.

Suddenly a flash of blue glimmered in the moonlight. Sai Sachi straightened up to look carefully through the leaves.

Cecile was walking around slowly, looking over her shoulder every couple of steps. Luckily for him, she was close. All he would have to do was jump down from the tree and sneak up on her.

Standing carefully on the branch, Sai Sachi braced himself and jumped down through the mess of green leaves and branches, landing silently.

Cecile didn't seem to hear him and he crouched down into the bushes, eyeing his prey.

When she walked past the bush he was hiding in, he sprang up and grabbed her wrist.

"Get away from me, creep!" Cecile shrieked loudly and immediately pulled one of the self-defense attacks her brother had taught her from her head. She grasped the attacker's arm and shoved her body under it, flipping the person over on their back.

"Ughh." Sai Sachi rubbed his head gingerly as he lay on his back.

"Oops. Sorry Sai! I didn't know it was you!" Cecile rushed over to the young fighter's side, blushing lightly. She put his arm over her shoulder and tried to hoist him up onto his feet.

Once on his feet, Sai Sachi tightened his arm around Cecile's waist and pulled her to his side. "Maybe you shouldn't apologize to me just yet, Cecile." With a wicked gleam in his eye, Sai Sachi jumped lightly into the air and landed on a low branch of the nearby tree before continuing upwards until they were on the highest branch.

"Sai Sachi! What are you doing?" Once she was on her feet again, Cecile pulled away from Sai Sachi's arm and crossed her arms. That's when she realized where they were standing. And how high they were from the ground.

She gasped and jumped back into the safety of Sai Sachi's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his chest.

He snickered quietly. "Cecile, don't be scared. It's not that high. Take a look at the view!"

"No, no! Let's go! I don't care if you even take me to the 'prison' area, just get us down from here and fast!" Her voice came out muffled since she kept her face in Sai Sachi's chest.

Rolling his eyes slightly, he pulled her away from his body, but kept his hands firmly on her waist. "Cecile, I won't let anything happen to you. Just look, please."

Cecile opened her eyes slowly and looked at Sai Sachi. He was completely serious and she knew he wouldn't let her get hurt. Keeping her one arm safety on his shoulder, she turned slightly to look around.

The view was spectacular! From on top of the high branch they could see the entire garden. Cecile could hardly pull her eyes away from the beautiful flowers that sparkled underneath the moonlight but something caught her eye. More like someone.

"Who's that over there Sai?" She twisted in Sai Sachi's arms to peer far into the distance at a figure that was walking swiftly towards a lighted area.

"Well, would you look at that? That's Nastasha and it looks like she has something for the water! Did I ever tell you about the time she nearly shot my head off when I caught her bathing? Yeah, well, it wasn't pretty!" He grinned at the small girl in his arms who glared at him.

"You are such a pervert! Let me go!"

"If that's what you want." His arms dropped from around her and she suddenly didn't feel the safety she felt before when Sai Sachi's hands had been steadying her. With a yelp she jumped back into his arms.

He smiled to himself as she pushed her face into his chest. He would never really let anything happen to her. Sai Sachi bend down and scooped up Cecile's legs, carrying her gently as he jumped from the branches once again.

- - - - - -

Nastasha knew all the war techniques there was to know. She also knew that in this game, to keep safe, it was important to keep moving. Standing in one spot wasn't going to help anyone and she was determined to win. The wager was too important. Losers do whatever the winners want for a day.

There were a billion things she wanted to do with Argo. She wanted to dress him up and go out to dinner with him. She wanted to dance with him. She wanted to stay at home and watch movies with him. She just wanted to be with him.

But if the boys won, Argo would probably do nothing out of the ordinary. He might even let her go and tell her to enjoy the day. She shuddered. Yes, that was truly in his character, to keep to himself and ask her to have fun without him. But what kind of fun would that be?

Walking as quietly as possible on the plush green grass, Nastasha noticed some light being throw on the nearby hedges. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she walked towards the light.

Pushing past the hedges she stopped. There in front of her was an enormous pool. The lights that illuminated the bottom seemed to be casting the water's reflection on the hedges. Fragments of roses floated on the surface of the pool and it was very obvious that they were placed in the pool on purpose because the rest of the water was spotless and gleaming.

Nastasha couldn't help herself as she inched towards the waters surface. She loved to go swimming and it had been such a long time since she had last went. Maybe a quick dip? Then I'll go look for the ribbon. Plus there are plenty of us girls who can search for the ribbon anyway.

But wait. What if some of the other girls were caught and in prison? There was no time to swim, not right now. After they won, she could come back here and swim.

Just jump in fast. No one will notice. Her desires began speaking to her persuasively but her mind still held control.

Carefully looking over her shoulder, Nastasha walked to the pool's edge and leaned over it, gliding her hand across the smooth water that immediately swirled around her fingers. All she wanted to do was feel the water. She was careful to keep her balance by the pavement.

Suddenly she felt herself being gently nudged and with a gasp she fell in. The water was ice cold and the rose petals quickly made room for her body as it tore through the water's surface, disrupting the peace. Spitting out water, Nastasha tore her head up to look at her intruder.

Argo Gulski stood smiling at her, his frame silently shaking with laughter. He was amazing to her. So strong, yet so gentle. The softness in his eyes always made her melt and she remembered all the times she had to order him to fight because the officials higher up made them. Her heart wanted to order him to stop, to stay safe with her but she knew that wasn't possible for him. Argo was a prisoner and with his pirate crew held as captives, he was forced to fight for their freedom. He would do anything for his friends. That's why she loved him. He was so completely self-less.

Argo gazed at the woman in the water. Her dark green hair swirled around in the water, making her look like a mermaid. She always had a thing for water. Looking at her now, he could see why. Even while she was glaring at him, she still looked pretty. She elegantly held herself up in the water, with a softness that wasn't present while she was on land. He knew Nastasha well enough to know that she liked to be portrayed as a strong woman. However, their year together as part of Neo-Russia's gundam team proved that there was much more to the haughty woman with the whip in her hands that was so used to barking orders at everyone. She had gone against orders and released Argo, going as far as telling him that she would gladly join him as a pirate.

Argo smiled, the idea was very appealing. He had loved his days as a pirate. His crew and him went wherever they wanted, whenever. But with a bunch of men around all the time, he was bored easily and desired a chance to begin a life, with a special woman. After his year with her, Argo knew that Nastasha was that special woman. And he would do anything to have her with him always.

"Argo! How dare you!" She sputtered out the last of the water from her mouth and angrily looked at the man standing over her. Argo kneeled down to the water's edge. Slowly, he reached out his hands and dripped them into the water before closing them over the top of Nastasha's arms. Carefully he straightened up, pulling Nastasha's body out of the water.

His arms kept the distance between their bodies but their faces was another thing. Argo was still leaning his body over the water and held Nastasha firmly in his hands. Her arms were clamped against her body as he continued to lift her until her toes gently skimmed the surface. His face was mere inches away from hers and she felt the surprised expression on her face.

Leaning his face into hers, his breathe touched her cheeks, instantly warming her after her icy dip in the pool.

"Nastasha… the rose petals look lovely in your hair." He gently pushed his face into her hair, smelling her heavenly scent combined with the roses.

Nastasha's eyes nearly popped out. He held her so close to him, yet not close enough. She wanted to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders and pull herself against his body but his arms kept her dripping wet body away from his dry clothes.

Slowly she let her eyes droop shut and enjoy his warm hands on her.

And just as quickly the warmth was gone and she felt her lungs close up as the water rushed around her. Her eyes flew open and she found herself under water… again. With a kick at the bottom of the pool, Nastasha broke through the surface of the pool.

Argo stood there, this time, laughing openly as he saw Nastasha's look of surprise. He had waited until she had closed her eyes before he had released her arms, letting her body become saturated with water once again. When he had pulled her out of the water, he could see her drenched black clothes clung to her frame. And he liked what he saw. Nastasha's eyes were wide as he leaned close to her face. When he felt her relax, he couldn't help himself and dumped her back into the water. After he was sure she was fine, he started laughing at her expression. She looked like a drenched cat.

"Now, come out of the water Nastasha. This time it will be you who will go to prison and be the prisoner. Oh and don't even think about running away." Argo smirked at Nastasha as she eyed the ladder on the far end of the pool, contemplating whether or not to run for it. His threat seemed to stop her though and she grudgingly pulled herself out of the pool.

Argo tossed his arm casually over her wet shoulder, towing her along with him as he lead her towards the 'prison.'

Even though she was caught, Nastasha couldn't help but smile as Argo's arm rested on her shoulder.

Awww, isn't that sweet? Next chapter we look into how George and Marie Louise are making out... hehe not literally! ... not yet at least ;)

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