Chapter 7
Remember Me?
"Heero...you don't need to come with me to the colony," she attempted a smile as she fastened her safety belt.
"I'm not going there for you. I need to see the doctor," he folded his arms and stared out the window.
"Oh...never mind then..." she sighed, resting her head on her hand.
Scanning the outside of the shuttle, she noticed another passenger boarding. He had shoulder length black hair that had been pulled back into a simple pony-tail. She couldn't see the rest of his face, but she guessed that he was quite handsome. Her eyes lowered. She hoped he wasn't like the noble she had just dealt with.
As he entered the shuttle, she took note of his navy blue tank top. Her favorite mythical animal twisted it's way across his chest. Silently, she wondered where she could get a similar shirt. He turned, his black eyes staring at her in return. 'Isn't that the guy that kicked me out of Duo's safe house? What was his name? Wufei? Yeah, I think that was it,' She thought to herself as he scowled at her.
"What are you staring at woman?" Her eyes widened at the cynical fluctuation in his voice when he said the word 'woman'. It was rather insulting, but, seeing the slight bulge of a dagger through his clothing, she decided not to say anything about it.
"Your shirt...I like it. I'm fascinated by dragons and the legends that surround them. I like doing research on stuff like that," she smiled.
He attempted to glare at her, but didn't succeed as well as he had liked. Obviously, he hadn't been expecting that kind of answer. Cecilia smiled at the thought that she had thrown him off a little. Then, quickly continued to look out the window. All she wanted was a long shower...a very long shower.
"Heero...how did the mission go?" he whispered in the pilot's ear. Sending a wary eye to the extra passenger, he reverted his attention back to the Japanese.
"It succeeded and it failed..." Heero watched the brunette stare out the window. He noticed that her expression was distant, if not empty.
"How can it be both...and why are you talking out loud. There's some one else on board," the Chinese pressed as he followed the gaze of the cobalt eyes.
"The noble is dead..."
"Then you completed the mission."
"The informant was forced to pay a large price," his expression
softened a smidgen as he witnessed the girls eyes drop and her lips quiver at the mention of her involvement.
Wufei stared at the obvious 'informant' for a long while. His eyes grazed over every inch of her person. She still wore her gown, which had signs of a struggle etched over its wrinkles. Her hair was a mess, tangled with splintered wood. Her make-up had been smeared, especially her red lipstick. He took a wild guess at what Heero meant by his saying she had to pay a price.
"She was..."
"The guy didn't get too far to cause any permanent physical damage, but still..."
"Right..."
"I would appreciate it if you two wouldn't talk about me in third person when I'm right across from you," her voice was cold, completely void of all emotion.
"Yes...he raped me and I managed to kick him in the balls before he removed any major articles of clothing from my body," she didn't even bother to look up from the window as she spoke. She could still feel the two men staring at her ragged form, her eyes didn't feel like seeing it for themselves.
"It wasn't your fault," Heero's gaze never wavered as she stiffened at his response.
"Of course it wasn't...I was merely following orders and he was a pervert," for all she knew she could have been giving a speech instead of discussing her emotional well-being.
With a growl, she whipped her head around to glare at the Chinese's judgmental eyes, "Stop staring at me Wufei! I'm not in the mood for it!"
"How do you know my name?"
"You don't remember me...do you...You walked in on me when I was getting out of the shower and kicked me out of the safe house," she was amused to see a hint of reddened shock fold its way across the young man's face. If he didn't recognize her earlier, he sure as hell recognized her now.
"How did you...Why are you...?"
"Spit it out Wufei. My patience is dwindling pretty fast too, or should I guess at what you're trying to ask," her eyes flashed gold as she stared down the future head of the Chang clan.
"Guess away..." Heero finished Wufei's thought for him seeing as 05's pilot was speechless.
"I was recruited and convinced, shortly after you kicked me out, by Doctor's J. and G. Seeing how you're here right now, I'm thinking my next mission will be with you. I have a feeling that I'm going to be having an assignment with each of you before the end of the month. I just hope they don't end up following a pattern of child pornography and promiscuity, but I have a strong feeling that they are," she turned to face the window again, trying to hide the excess moisture in her eyes. She had hoped to keep her virginity until she found love and got married, but she doubted that would happen with the missions she figured she would be getting regularly. She just prayed her innocence wouldn't be lost due to rape.
"Well, since you seem to have it all figured out, what do you think they'll have us do next?" Wufei's scrutinizing attitude had returned.
"I don't know. Mo..."
"Most likely another assassination job," Heero butted in.
"What he said..." she cast a glance at her last mission partner.
* * *
"Wufei, good to see you," the bald scientist smiled as the widower exited the shuttle.
"Cut the crap. Why did you ask me to be here?" He hoped the "good" doctor didn't crack any comments about his dead wife. He didn't feel like fighting.
"Always willing to get down to business as soon as possible. Come with me...You too miss.," he said turning around.
* * *
"You want me to what?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"I know you don't want to do this, but it's the perfect cover...and you do like to dance...don't you?" Dr. J prodded.
"Well, yeah, but not this kind of dancing!" she stared at the mound of leather in front of her with disgust. "Besides, I was never a good dancer. I don't even know how to be sexy! I can't do this! I told you what happened during the last mission. What if the same thing happens at this one?! I do not want to lose my virginity to rape!"
"I understand that. That's why Wufei is here, to protect you. He will go as your body guard. All these dancers have someone to keep the men in line, so I've been told."
"I feel so cheap...This is so degrading! Gah!" she screamed as she slammed her fist into the wall.
"One dance and, I guarantee, you're out of there. Maybe, you won't even have to do a whole dance," he almost pleaded.
With two fingers, she picked up the black article of clothing. She admitted, she had always wondered what black leather would look like on her, but she never imagined it would be in this kind of situation. Inspecting the garments, if you could call them that, further, she nearly fainted at how small they were.
"Alright, I'll do it, but I gotta get new clothes. You guys gotta check up on what size I am or something. I'm no where near this small. Remember, I have those thick, Eastern-European bones. I couldn't get down to a single digit size if I tried to go anorexic," she threw the lump of soft, fake, cow flesh on the table before her.
"Sounds good...Wufei, you go with her. You two need to talk out some details together," Dr. J. stared at the disgusted, Chinese youth with a large, toothy grin. "Here is the file with all the information you need."
Chapter 8
Gender Wars
He tried to remain indifferent as she whispered for him to come into the dressing room. She was right, she had no idea what was sexy. They had spent the last fifteen minutes walking through the lingerie department trying to find something comfortable and tempting for her to strip down to. Of course, it didn't help that she hated shopping almost as much as any male did. Ten minutes in a store was her limit, most of the time.
"Buy it...It looks...okay..." he just wanted to get out of there.
"I feel so vulnerable and gross..." she scratched at her skin. "Are you sure it's okay?"
"Look...if the situation were different, I'd be jumping you. Does that make you feel better? Can we go now?" he sighed in exasperation and turned toward the mirror, but decided against it and exited the changing cubical.
Stepping from it, he reached into his inside pocket and picked out a lock of black hair. He stroked it gently and whispered to himself, "I'm sorry Nataku..."
* * *
"You keep eating like that and you're never gonna be able to fit into that underwear," he criticized.
"Hey, give me a break. I'm depressed. Besides, this is fat free ice cream," she pointed the spoon at him as she spoke.
"I don't like doing this either, but it's not like we have a choice. Come on, we still have to get the actual clothing," he grabbed her wrist, but she didn't move.
"Wait, shouldn't we go over some of this stuff?" she fought to regain control of her arm.
"I don't want to risk it till we get back to the lab."
"Well then, can we just talk for a little bit?"
"What is there to talk about?"
"I don't know. I'd just like to know who I'm working with."
"Woman..." he growled.
"I don't need to be reminded of my gender, Wufei," she finished off her ice cream.
Rubbing his temples, he continued to growl, "we'll talk when we get back to the lab. Right now, let's just get your dancing gear...woman," he threatened.
"Don't test me China boy," she stood from her seat and brushed past him, entering the nearest "anorexia nervosa" store, as she liked to call it.
* * *
Stepping from the dressing room, she examined herself in the mirror. She wore a bright, red, top that tied at the bottom. Her black, leather, wrap-around, mini skirt would be equally easy to remove during a dance. 'I can't believe I'm thinking about stuff like this,' she thought to herself as she turned to see how the too high skirt reacted to her, in her opinion, enlarged ass. She had long ago decided not to wear shoes. Decorating her feet would be kinda fun. She always did like the accessories more then the clothing. She could spend hours in a trinket shop, which was almost as much time as she'd spend in a nature or museum store.
"It looks fine. Let's go," came a familiar voice behind her.
Turning to approach the voice, she stared down at him, "does it really look alright, or are you just trying to leave?"
"If Winner saw you in this, he'd jump you. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes...thank you," she sighed as she returned to the dressing room to change back into her comfortable clothing. One more store and she'd be done. It was time to look for trinkets. A smile spread across her face as she envisioned her mission partner dragging her out of the store by a belt loop.
* * *
"Are you ready to go yet?" he closed his eyes and breathed a long sigh.
"Almost...Does this match, do you think?" she held the fashionable, ankle ring and bracelet combo up to her foot.
"It's fine...Come on."
She eyed him spread out on the floor with his eyes shut, "you're not even looking. How do you know if it looks okay?"
"I don't give a damn. Let's just go. I'm tired," he whined.
"Hey, I'm the one that has to look good. Humor me man!" she glared at him with her hands on her hips.
"What did you just say?" he looked as if he were about to kick the living shit out of her, but she didn't care.
"If you get to call me woman, I get to call you man in the same
condescending tone," she stood her ground.
A flash of red surged through his eyes, but it quickly vanished. He couldn't do anything to her. She was too valuable to the Mad Five at the moment. He would just have to find some other way to teach her a lesson in manners.
Remember Me?
"Heero...you don't need to come with me to the colony," she attempted a smile as she fastened her safety belt.
"I'm not going there for you. I need to see the doctor," he folded his arms and stared out the window.
"Oh...never mind then..." she sighed, resting her head on her hand.
Scanning the outside of the shuttle, she noticed another passenger boarding. He had shoulder length black hair that had been pulled back into a simple pony-tail. She couldn't see the rest of his face, but she guessed that he was quite handsome. Her eyes lowered. She hoped he wasn't like the noble she had just dealt with.
As he entered the shuttle, she took note of his navy blue tank top. Her favorite mythical animal twisted it's way across his chest. Silently, she wondered where she could get a similar shirt. He turned, his black eyes staring at her in return. 'Isn't that the guy that kicked me out of Duo's safe house? What was his name? Wufei? Yeah, I think that was it,' She thought to herself as he scowled at her.
"What are you staring at woman?" Her eyes widened at the cynical fluctuation in his voice when he said the word 'woman'. It was rather insulting, but, seeing the slight bulge of a dagger through his clothing, she decided not to say anything about it.
"Your shirt...I like it. I'm fascinated by dragons and the legends that surround them. I like doing research on stuff like that," she smiled.
He attempted to glare at her, but didn't succeed as well as he had liked. Obviously, he hadn't been expecting that kind of answer. Cecilia smiled at the thought that she had thrown him off a little. Then, quickly continued to look out the window. All she wanted was a long shower...a very long shower.
"Heero...how did the mission go?" he whispered in the pilot's ear. Sending a wary eye to the extra passenger, he reverted his attention back to the Japanese.
"It succeeded and it failed..." Heero watched the brunette stare out the window. He noticed that her expression was distant, if not empty.
"How can it be both...and why are you talking out loud. There's some one else on board," the Chinese pressed as he followed the gaze of the cobalt eyes.
"The noble is dead..."
"Then you completed the mission."
"The informant was forced to pay a large price," his expression
softened a smidgen as he witnessed the girls eyes drop and her lips quiver at the mention of her involvement.
Wufei stared at the obvious 'informant' for a long while. His eyes grazed over every inch of her person. She still wore her gown, which had signs of a struggle etched over its wrinkles. Her hair was a mess, tangled with splintered wood. Her make-up had been smeared, especially her red lipstick. He took a wild guess at what Heero meant by his saying she had to pay a price.
"She was..."
"The guy didn't get too far to cause any permanent physical damage, but still..."
"Right..."
"I would appreciate it if you two wouldn't talk about me in third person when I'm right across from you," her voice was cold, completely void of all emotion.
"Yes...he raped me and I managed to kick him in the balls before he removed any major articles of clothing from my body," she didn't even bother to look up from the window as she spoke. She could still feel the two men staring at her ragged form, her eyes didn't feel like seeing it for themselves.
"It wasn't your fault," Heero's gaze never wavered as she stiffened at his response.
"Of course it wasn't...I was merely following orders and he was a pervert," for all she knew she could have been giving a speech instead of discussing her emotional well-being.
With a growl, she whipped her head around to glare at the Chinese's judgmental eyes, "Stop staring at me Wufei! I'm not in the mood for it!"
"How do you know my name?"
"You don't remember me...do you...You walked in on me when I was getting out of the shower and kicked me out of the safe house," she was amused to see a hint of reddened shock fold its way across the young man's face. If he didn't recognize her earlier, he sure as hell recognized her now.
"How did you...Why are you...?"
"Spit it out Wufei. My patience is dwindling pretty fast too, or should I guess at what you're trying to ask," her eyes flashed gold as she stared down the future head of the Chang clan.
"Guess away..." Heero finished Wufei's thought for him seeing as 05's pilot was speechless.
"I was recruited and convinced, shortly after you kicked me out, by Doctor's J. and G. Seeing how you're here right now, I'm thinking my next mission will be with you. I have a feeling that I'm going to be having an assignment with each of you before the end of the month. I just hope they don't end up following a pattern of child pornography and promiscuity, but I have a strong feeling that they are," she turned to face the window again, trying to hide the excess moisture in her eyes. She had hoped to keep her virginity until she found love and got married, but she doubted that would happen with the missions she figured she would be getting regularly. She just prayed her innocence wouldn't be lost due to rape.
"Well, since you seem to have it all figured out, what do you think they'll have us do next?" Wufei's scrutinizing attitude had returned.
"I don't know. Mo..."
"Most likely another assassination job," Heero butted in.
"What he said..." she cast a glance at her last mission partner.
* * *
"Wufei, good to see you," the bald scientist smiled as the widower exited the shuttle.
"Cut the crap. Why did you ask me to be here?" He hoped the "good" doctor didn't crack any comments about his dead wife. He didn't feel like fighting.
"Always willing to get down to business as soon as possible. Come with me...You too miss.," he said turning around.
* * *
"You want me to what?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"I know you don't want to do this, but it's the perfect cover...and you do like to dance...don't you?" Dr. J prodded.
"Well, yeah, but not this kind of dancing!" she stared at the mound of leather in front of her with disgust. "Besides, I was never a good dancer. I don't even know how to be sexy! I can't do this! I told you what happened during the last mission. What if the same thing happens at this one?! I do not want to lose my virginity to rape!"
"I understand that. That's why Wufei is here, to protect you. He will go as your body guard. All these dancers have someone to keep the men in line, so I've been told."
"I feel so cheap...This is so degrading! Gah!" she screamed as she slammed her fist into the wall.
"One dance and, I guarantee, you're out of there. Maybe, you won't even have to do a whole dance," he almost pleaded.
With two fingers, she picked up the black article of clothing. She admitted, she had always wondered what black leather would look like on her, but she never imagined it would be in this kind of situation. Inspecting the garments, if you could call them that, further, she nearly fainted at how small they were.
"Alright, I'll do it, but I gotta get new clothes. You guys gotta check up on what size I am or something. I'm no where near this small. Remember, I have those thick, Eastern-European bones. I couldn't get down to a single digit size if I tried to go anorexic," she threw the lump of soft, fake, cow flesh on the table before her.
"Sounds good...Wufei, you go with her. You two need to talk out some details together," Dr. J. stared at the disgusted, Chinese youth with a large, toothy grin. "Here is the file with all the information you need."
Chapter 8
Gender Wars
He tried to remain indifferent as she whispered for him to come into the dressing room. She was right, she had no idea what was sexy. They had spent the last fifteen minutes walking through the lingerie department trying to find something comfortable and tempting for her to strip down to. Of course, it didn't help that she hated shopping almost as much as any male did. Ten minutes in a store was her limit, most of the time.
"Buy it...It looks...okay..." he just wanted to get out of there.
"I feel so vulnerable and gross..." she scratched at her skin. "Are you sure it's okay?"
"Look...if the situation were different, I'd be jumping you. Does that make you feel better? Can we go now?" he sighed in exasperation and turned toward the mirror, but decided against it and exited the changing cubical.
Stepping from it, he reached into his inside pocket and picked out a lock of black hair. He stroked it gently and whispered to himself, "I'm sorry Nataku..."
* * *
"You keep eating like that and you're never gonna be able to fit into that underwear," he criticized.
"Hey, give me a break. I'm depressed. Besides, this is fat free ice cream," she pointed the spoon at him as she spoke.
"I don't like doing this either, but it's not like we have a choice. Come on, we still have to get the actual clothing," he grabbed her wrist, but she didn't move.
"Wait, shouldn't we go over some of this stuff?" she fought to regain control of her arm.
"I don't want to risk it till we get back to the lab."
"Well then, can we just talk for a little bit?"
"What is there to talk about?"
"I don't know. I'd just like to know who I'm working with."
"Woman..." he growled.
"I don't need to be reminded of my gender, Wufei," she finished off her ice cream.
Rubbing his temples, he continued to growl, "we'll talk when we get back to the lab. Right now, let's just get your dancing gear...woman," he threatened.
"Don't test me China boy," she stood from her seat and brushed past him, entering the nearest "anorexia nervosa" store, as she liked to call it.
* * *
Stepping from the dressing room, she examined herself in the mirror. She wore a bright, red, top that tied at the bottom. Her black, leather, wrap-around, mini skirt would be equally easy to remove during a dance. 'I can't believe I'm thinking about stuff like this,' she thought to herself as she turned to see how the too high skirt reacted to her, in her opinion, enlarged ass. She had long ago decided not to wear shoes. Decorating her feet would be kinda fun. She always did like the accessories more then the clothing. She could spend hours in a trinket shop, which was almost as much time as she'd spend in a nature or museum store.
"It looks fine. Let's go," came a familiar voice behind her.
Turning to approach the voice, she stared down at him, "does it really look alright, or are you just trying to leave?"
"If Winner saw you in this, he'd jump you. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes...thank you," she sighed as she returned to the dressing room to change back into her comfortable clothing. One more store and she'd be done. It was time to look for trinkets. A smile spread across her face as she envisioned her mission partner dragging her out of the store by a belt loop.
* * *
"Are you ready to go yet?" he closed his eyes and breathed a long sigh.
"Almost...Does this match, do you think?" she held the fashionable, ankle ring and bracelet combo up to her foot.
"It's fine...Come on."
She eyed him spread out on the floor with his eyes shut, "you're not even looking. How do you know if it looks okay?"
"I don't give a damn. Let's just go. I'm tired," he whined.
"Hey, I'm the one that has to look good. Humor me man!" she glared at him with her hands on her hips.
"What did you just say?" he looked as if he were about to kick the living shit out of her, but she didn't care.
"If you get to call me woman, I get to call you man in the same
condescending tone," she stood her ground.
A flash of red surged through his eyes, but it quickly vanished. He couldn't do anything to her. She was too valuable to the Mad Five at the moment. He would just have to find some other way to teach her a lesson in manners.