Half:: by Qtchan
Chapter 7
Ornate pieces of Chinese furniture littered the one-floor house, each piece placed in a strategic position that only Rei could make sense of. The floor, beautifully paneled with honey toned wood, met with whitewashed stucco walls. The space seemed wholesome enough for his sister... Heero shook his head, "You're enchanted Rei."
Rei shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, "…you know, I hated Wufei too when I first met him; he drove me insane." She dripped a pool of pancake batter onto the skillet, "but he still took care of me, healed me despite our differences. That's just Wufei though, he does things even when he doesn't want to because he knows it's what's right." Rei rested a hand on her stomach, "and for you to have the balls to come out and tell me that Wufei's a stubborn idiot makes me want to laugh." She turned and shot a glare at Heero, "You two are exactly alike, just for your information."
Heero's mouth pulled into a thin line, "I would never side with Treize…what has Wufei told you of Kushrenada's plans?"
Rei grinned, she dumped the pancake onto a plate and drizzled syrup over it, "Here, eat it." She slid the plate across the kitchen island to Heero. His eyebrows raised, Rei stood poised at the skillet, watching him intently. He neatly sliced the pancake and took a bite, deliberating over it. "…now I know you're enchanted, you couldn't cook to save your life when I last saw you." Heero murmured, slicing another piece.
Rei tried to keep her face from pulling into a grin but couldn't stop herself, she snorted and then broke down into gleeful giggles. "Wufei couldn't handle my cooking either," she turned back to the skillet, smirking uncontrollably, "he asked me if he could just enchant me to cook food well." She began to make another pancake, "and I said yes." She laughed again, "I mean, no one's complaining, right?"
Heero shrugged, "I'm not surprised."
Rei stuck her tongue out, "Yeah, whatever. You're not any better than me so don't start, jerkules." She smiled, her affection warming him. It had been a long time since they had been together like this.
After a beat of silence Heero continued his interrogation, "So you're happy?"
"Yes." Rei sang cheerily.
"Has he asked to marry you?" Heero waited for the answer.
"No."
"What are you doing? Sleeping over here every night with him when you're not even sure of your standing with him, it sounds dangerous."
"You know Heero," Rei said, she was beating the batter with extra vigor, "you can be really annoying sometimes. Of course I know what relationship standing I have with Wufei, I'm his girlfriend. And as for marriage, we might as well be with things being the way they are now…" she glanced at him, her sharp violet eyes watching Heero closely.
"So you consider Wufei your mate?"
Rei's hands grew quiet, she turned and pinned Heero with her eyes. She saw the same stonewalling technique on Heero's face that had been there when they were just kids. It made her sad, she drew in a breath, "what're you implying Heero? That I'm breaking some kind of lycan law by dating him? That I'm changing my alliances around?" Her eyes began to glitter, "He's my boyfriend. I love Wufei, there's nothing else to say about it." Heero felt the edge in her voice against his throat, sharp as a razor. He had forgotten how defensive his sister was.
"You're telling me that in just two months you've fallen in love with him?"
"So what Heero!" Rei's jaws clenched, "you and Usagi fell in love after the first time you met!" She slammed the bowl of batter down onto the countertop as Heero opened his mouth to speak, "don't say a word Heero!" she hissed, "I know what you're going to say," her face was flushed with emotion, "that you didn't fall in love with Usagi; but you wouldn't have brought back Miliardo if she hadn't had some kind of effect on you!"
"He's my brother." Heero's voice didn't lift above a whisper, "you expect me to just leave him there?" His insides began to churn, his head started to buzz with half-restrained thoughts that were just now taking flight. His eyes snapped shut and, 'thank god,' everything began to fall chill again inside of him.
"Bullshit! You had no trouble leaving the entire family to be a slayer!" Rei was glad that the long-piled words were spilling from her, "you abandoned us!" She bit her lip, in pain from the memory, "and you think that you can just come back into my house and tell me how to live my life after that! Where do you get the idea that you can even," Rei punched the table, "god! I hate you! You hated dad and the best way you could deal with it is by leaving me and the others for your own selfish reasons! Do you have any idea what," Heero cut in, "that's not true," his face was a mask, "you're the only one that,"
"Oh shut up Heero," Rei knocked the bowl from the table sending the batter flying, "what makes me really sick is that you're a coward! You can't even admit to yourself that you love Usagi which means that you'd be following our father's prophecy! But who cares if dad predicted that you'd fall for the Half and it actually came true!" She hissed in frustration, "I hate the fact that you always think you're right and that you're alone in all of this! Haven't you ever thought of anyone besides yourself Heero!" Rei's heart beat rapidly as her last words flew out, she had finally done it. She had told him everything, accused him of everything.
The silence drilled into her ears.
Heero stood, the chair groaning against the floorboards.
"Poetic," His face was cold, "you and Wufei think alike." Rei felt her words crumbling away beneath her. She looked away from him, his face had been devoid of any emotion, it made Rei's throat clench.
"You're right Rei," Heero's tone was flat, "I've always been selfish." He turned to leave.
Re instantly felt guilty, "Heero, I didn't mean it like that." He didn't turn back, Rei grit her teeth, "Heero!" Again, there was no response from him as he continued to walk away. 'I'm doomed for life to have stubborn brothers.' She looked at the mess of batter and held in her sigh of pain. Rei could smell the muted frustration that Heero was keeping inside of himself. She looked up when his door clicked close behind him, soft as a whisper. 'I just want him to talk…give me reasons.' Rei sucked in a deep breath, 'why can't he ever just be angry?' She took another deep breath, 'I just want him to understand what's at stake…' She let loose her breath, 'it's gotta be some kind of broken psychological trigger…he should be screaming angry.' Her fingers began to drum aginst the countertop. The minutes ticked by on the clock, Rei wished that she could have taken back a few of her words. 'Maybe I was a little too harsh…' Finally she straightened, 'alright Heero, you're in my house, you're gonna live with my rules…hopefully.' Rei nodded her head, encouraging herself to take that step towards Heero's room. It took her awhile, she had never been good at winning arguments, just starting them.
She crossed the distance slowly and knocked on Heero's door, her ear already planted to it. "Hey baby hero…we need to talk." She said, her voice almost a whisper. Rei paused a moment, there wasn't a sound from the other side of the door. She tried knocking gently on the door once more, again there was no response. Rolling her eyes, Rei turned the knob and boldly stormed into Heero's room. A gust of cold air struck her in the face as greeting. Rei's face paled, 'he didn't!' But her eyes told her otherwise, the window stood wide open. "Shit!" She ran towards the window, "Heero! Heero you better come back!" She screamed his name out the window over and over again. Her blood started to boil, 'of course you'd leave when everything's a mess!' She wanted to yell her accusations out the window, 'all you know how to do is leave people!' She rubbed at her eyes, blinking back her slips of pain, 'why do you have to make things so difficult?'
There was nothing for her to do now but go after him. Her eyes lifted, 'I wish I could just leave you out there…' She leaned her head against the window frame, 'I wish…'
Her home had been created like the living quarters in Sunset, a tree house of sorts. Making the drop from window to ground was at least forty feet, something that Rei eyed with aversion. She hadn't Changed in over two months, and now that she was…her hand went to her belly again. Biting her lip she looked up at the sky, it was already bruising for the night. "Shit…" her palms were sweating, she had promised Wufei she wouldn't change in her condition. …But Heero was out there somewhere, thinking he was alone in the world, once again. She sighed, her family had a habit of being morbid. It was something that Rei didn't want Heero to think any longer though; something that her little brother had suffered under for long enough.
"Sorry Wu-babe," she whispered, 'but I've got to do this for Heero.'
Releasing a breath, she unleashed her lycan. The Change took over in the space of a second. It was a sigh of relief for her body, like slipping into a warm bath. She had had to hold in the change for too long, an uncomfortable itch. As her body elongated and sharpened, her eyes slid closed in bliss.
When her eyes opened again they glowed gold, the strength of her family's blood roaring through her. Without fear, Rei leapt through the open window and into the velvety night space. A thrill ran up her spine, this was what she had missed all those weeks of lonely nights. The wind rushed past her as she fell, her legs splayed stiffly below her like stilts. Seconds before impact her legs bent just slightly and then she hit the ground. Immediately, inside her body, joints crunched together and then muscles sprang forwards. Tripping forwards in her excitement to be on the run, she howled with joy. Lifting her snout into the air she breathed in deep, sticky pine rushing into her lungs. She shut her eyes, this was a paradise of senses. Heero's scent was still fresh on the air, the moon gave a clean light, the thirsty night had just begun. Bounding and leaping through the snow like a colt she raced after Heero.
It took her, at most, three hours to catch up with Heero. As soon as she saw his black coat ahead of her, she called out to him. 'Heero!' Her gait became brisk, this was all business now.
Heero slowed to a stop and turned, surprise in his eyes. 'She followed me…' He waited for Rei, something he wondered at. Only a week before he would have kept running; running at a pace that he knew Rei could never catch him at. It brought back Rei's words, " 'Usagi is responsible…' "
He watched her plow through the snow towards him. '…so much time has passed...' He felt tired all of a sudden, older than he should have felt. So many years had passed him by, and he'd lost track of all of them. And now, looking at Rei, the numbers flew to his mind. Sixty-four, no, sixty-six …maybe seventy years…she looked like a pup to him, untouched by time, by war, by their father…
Rei yipped with glee when she came up to him and bowled into him like a two year old. They rolled around together, nipping and butting at each other, just like when they were children. When the two pulled away from each other it was with mutual good feeling. Rei shook her head, fluffing her coat and prancing around. 'You have to admit, I haven't lost my touch, have I?' She pounced in the snow and caught the drifts in her mouth, her wandering attention catching on Heero's solemn form. She thought back to when the family had been together, happy.
When they were little she had never noticed the differences between them all, but that was before her father became involved. Then it became all too obvious that Heero was different from the rest of the family. They all had different mothers with their only link being their father but Heero was still far different. In his lycan skin he had, what she later came to realize, vampire features. His body was lither, a human-like abdomen still visible, a smaller snout, and two long, vicious-looking fangs. He had always been the One, or so their father had thought. Rei shuddered at the memory, there had been times where Heero and her father would go missing for weeks on 'training' assignments. Outings where Heero would come back drained, of blood. Her little brother would be sent out to slaughter nearby vampire clans at the age of twelve. Rei wanted to shake the memories free, but they held her tighter. Miliardo had hated Heero with a passion for his inexplicable strength. And Duo, Rei snorted, Duo had absolutely hated Heero for shunting him from the spotlight-Duo wanted to be the pack leader. And, as for herself, she'd never really understood the situation. She had thought that her little brother had been happy…but how could he have been in that family?
Her tongue lolled out of her jaws, 'you look terrible you know,' She licked her paws clean of the snow and edged closer to him. Eyeing him warily before she moved, she gave his shoulder a delicate lick. She could sense his discomfort at the action but gave his shoulder another lick anyways. He didn't budge, his muscles locking him in place.
'I wanted to apologize.' Rei said as she began to vigorously clean Heero's coat, 'for what I said earlier.' Her wide gold eyes turned to Heero, 'I shouldn't have said those things…I don't know, I shouldn't be so harsh on you.' She thought that he was beginning to relax, 'You are the youngest of us after all.' She could see his muscles sliding under his coat which was finer than hers. 'And don't forget that you are my special little brother.' She said, smirking at his reaction-she could see his emotions much easier in her lycan form. Her tongue rolled over hundreds of scar lines laying at the top of his coat, she wanted to wash each one of them away. They were silent for a long while, enjoying the dusky night peace. Rei stepped back, 'well…my work is done, you look like a normal lycan now.' She nudged him playfully.
'You really want me to follow the prophecy…don't you?' Heero met her eyes for the first time.
'Yes, I do. It's wrong of me, I know…I just…everything seems so simple if you just fall in love with Usagi.' Rei's ears drooped, 'do you understand?'
'I'm not surprised. …you're right.' Heero's eyes turned to the stars, Rei's gaze following. 'Hm? About which part?' She said, amused at the turn of events.
'I don't want to follow this prophecy no matter the consequences.'
'Then don't!' Rei nudged her brother in an attempt to reassure him, 'you're right, nobody should force you to do anything that you don't want to…Wufei told me about it more than dad ever did.'
Heero stood and began to move about, smelling things as he went. 'What did he tell you?'
'You know that the prophecy has to do with the Half and you falling in love right?' Rei batted at the snow as she spoke, 'well it's more complicated than that…or more ambiguous,' she said with a barking laugh, 'I can't give you the exact verse like Wufei can but it goes something like the half is guided by the lover's hand and bla, bla, bla, the war ends.'
'It sounds the same to me. …What about Usagi dying? Does the prophecy say anything about that?'
'No!' Rei's spine shot straight in rigid shock, "What are you talking about?' Rei's voice struck desperate tones, 'Usagi isn't supposed to die! What're you talking about? You can't let that happen Heero, you can't!'
Heero's lips curled back to show his fangs in a snarl and then he promptly closed his jaws, 'I came under the impression that the war would end through her death.'
Rei shifted uneasily, 'I never heard anything like that.'
'Treize and Cidney both made it seem like she was going to die in order for this prophecy to pass, and if you want this prophecy to pass so badly then you might as well get used to the idea.' Heero stated coldly.
Rei's nose crinkled, 'god, give me a break Heero! Seriously! Usagi is not going to die, you're just saying that to psyche me out. How would her death help anything?'
'I don't know how my falling in love with her would help anything either.' Heero retorted easily, his eyes meeting and matching Rei's intensity.
'It's not going to happen Heero.' Rei stood, her bottlebrush tail spiked with anger, 'and you wanna know why? Because you aren't going to let it happen, I'm not going to let it happen.'
Heero snorted, 'I'm glad to see you care so much for her.'
Rei paced for a moment, unsure whether or not she should pursue the argument any further. Heero continued, 'anything that Treize touches dies. This prophecy, you have to find out the full truth for me as much as for you.' Heero got off of his haunches.
Rei whined, 'where are you going? I thought you were going to stay. You know this is vampire territory, it's dangerous!'
Heero's eyes cut her to the soul, 'You told me I was afraid,' he said, 'I always confront my fears.'
Rei wanted to smile, 'aww,' was the poignant word she came up with to sum up the situation. She loved Heero's aversion to her response, 'that's soooo cute,' she murmured. Heero pulled a face. 'You love Usagi, you know it, just say it.' Rei bounded forwards and tackled him. Heero shook her off and bared his teeth, 'quiet. Don't get your hopes up, she's impossible to deal with, stupid, belligerent, young,'
'and beautiful and she loves you.' Rei finished, catwalking before him. She stepped forwards and nudged Heero, 'alright, I'll stop giving you a hard time. Go do whatever it is that you feel like you have to do. I'll see to Wufei.'
Heero was about to leave when his nose finally solved a hanging puzzle. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Rei, 'you're pregnant.'
Rei nodded, 'I'm surprised you didn't notice earlier.' She grinned as only a werewolf could grin, jaws pulled back, tongue pulling in and out. Heero glanced at her belly, 'and Wufei is the father?'
'Of course.' Rei watched Heero, he didn't have the overjoyed expression she had wanted him to have.
'I suppose that means you'll be well protected.' Heero snuffed at her belly and then turned to lick her cheek, 'go back home where you'll be safe. Usagi and I will come back as soon as we can.'
Her ears pricked, 'You and Usagi? …you'd better hurry then. My cooking enchantment might leave at any moment.'
'Where's Wufei been?' Heero knew he was being irritating, but he had to know.
Rei wanted to hit Heero, he could never enjoy himself. 'Wufei and Cidney are doing some of Treize's work together.'
'Cidney?' Heero felt the revulsion in his belly, 'what's she doing?'
'I don't know, it seemed important though because the two left almost immediately after Cidney came. Don't worry about it Heero, it was just a mission for them to complete. Nobody's friends with her.' Rei pushed her body against Heero's to try and give him comfort…something he ignored.
'I'm not worried about myself, you need to watch yourself Rei. I know Cidney, she has a one track mind and she'll do anything to get me back.'
Rei buried her face under her paws, 'yeah…that doesn't sound arrogant.'
'It's not like I want her.' Heero shuddered, 'I was caged for long enough. Rei, watch her.' She nodded her head, 'I got it. Get outta here! Your lover waits!' She received a sharp nip on the throat as Heero passed, loping off into the night.
Standing in the shadowed corner of the room, Treize watched silently as Usagi's two halves joined back together. The process was throwing an aurora of colors onto the surrounding walls. It was a scene that went unappreciated. There were other, more important, things on his mind. Darjeeling materialized out of the shadows beside him, 'How much longer until she's joined?' Darjeeling grumbled.
Treize could feel her impatience, 'Just a few more moments and then the two will be fully joined. What news of Mamoru?'
Darjeeling thrust back the folds of her black cloak, 'Cidney has notified Wufei of Mamoru's actions.'
'He is against us?'
Darjeeling smiled, 'what do you think? Once he heard the true prophecy he wanted no part in this. He was on his way here to inform Usagi.' Darjeeling laughed, her mouth opening unnaturally far, 'as if he could have stopped us.' Abruptly she fell silent, her gaze turned to Treize, 'we have both come too far.'
The general frowned at her reaction, 'are you sure that Mamoru didn't summon her magical form before she joined?'
'We can never be sure until Usagi wakes, then we can deal with it simply by wiping her memory. Everything is on track Treize.' Darjeeling folded her arms across her chest, watching Usagi's selves rejoining. All at once the light show stopped and Usagi lay before them, whole once again. Darjeeling made a movement with her hand and Usagi's breathing began to slow and become heavier. "You can come in now." she said out loud to the three who waited behind the door. The lights snapped on. They were standing in a room that looked like a sickbay. A row of scalpels and various other tools stood on a tray by Usagi's bed. The door to the room opened and three silent figures glided in. Darjeeling nodded to them, "begin the extraction triangle," she commanded. Treize smirked, 'as the strongest witch known to man, Darjeeling, I must say that you have a way with words."
Darjeeling snickered, "I know, it's a skill that I've perfected over the years." They watched as the gliders moved to the three corners of the bed and outstretched their bony arms until they formed a triangle. A bar of purple light joined them together, Usagi's body convulsed and then grew deathly still. Darjeeling stepped inside the triangle of light, throwing Treize a smile. He stepped in behind her. "I suppose this means that you found a proper vessel for the Half then." He said, eyes falling to the sleeping Usagi.
Darjeeling's grin widened, her eyes sparking with mischief, "of sorts." She snapped her fingers and a perfectly cut, glittering diamond nestled in the middle of petal shards appeared hovering in the air before her. "Isn't it beautiful?" Darjeeling crooned, "The perfect vessel. I made it myself." She looked over her shoulder at Treize and winked, "This vessel will be much easier to handle, I can assure you of that." Darjeeling stared in open admiration at her creation, it sparkled like no other gem. The witch grinned, "just one more part of Usagi and it will be radiant beyond comparison."
Treize crossed his arms across his chest, "I trust I can leave you with this matter Darjeeling. As for Mamoru…" his hawkish profile grew grim, "have Wufei and Cidney take care of him." Darjeeling shrugged, "If it has not been done by now, it will be in a matter of moments." She brushed back her silver locks, her maroon streak gleaming in the purple light. She eyed the tray of scalpels thoughtfully.
"My son won't stay put for long. Quatre knows only the partial truths of the prophecy, but it is enough. He will try and stop me…father against son as always." Treize sighed.
Darjeeling frowned, she was reaching for a blade on the tray by Usagi, "you must not allow your feelings to turn this Treize. I sided with you because I thought you would be the only man cold enough to reach for this ultimate prize. If you,"
"I will do what must be done for the greater good, the losses otherwise are far greater." His smile was faint, he brushed back his honey-brown hair, "Darjeeling, I wonder if you ever realize how cold-hearted you really are." The witch made her first incision into Usagi's shoulder, the blade slicing downwards towards her heart. "I would laugh Treize, but then my hand might just slip." Darjeeling glanced up, "you should see to Wufei and Cidney. Don't harm the little witch though." Darjeeling wiped the rising blood from Usagi's skin, "she is an essential player in this game that we've created."
Ami didn't know how she had gotten herself into this situation. She didn't really want to think about it though. Not while she was lying in bed next to the most powerful vampire in existence anyway. She scrubbed at her blue hair and yawned.
"Already up?" Quatre mumbled, rolling over onto his side to watch her. She sank back under the sheets and kissed him, "the sort of awake that means I'm going to go back to sleep soon." He grinned, "That's the best sort of awake."
Ami rolled onto her stomach and hugged the pillow, "I know." She giggled, "I'm in that mood twenty-four seven."
"Hm," Quatre trailed a finger down her spine, "like when you're working?" His mind was intently watching Ami's as he spoke, his finger feeling every muscle in her back tighten.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She murmured, drowsing under his touch.
"You know, Ami, you're very talented at keeping your mind closed. Freakishly talented, if you really want to know." His hand slid up her back and came to a rest at her neck, "and if I remember correctly, Hotaru used to have a young protégé…" his fingers tightened around her neck, "wasn't that you?"
His mind tested Ami's again, there was nothing but static. He frowned, "Look at me." She opened her eyes, they were glassy.
"I was her pupil once." Ami said softly, "for only a short time however." Ami's forehead was wrinkling with concentration.
"Didn't she find you unreasonable, disillusioned were the words she used when she spoke to me."
Ami remained still and silent as a mouse. Quatre applied more pressure to her neck, "What did the two of you speak of? I'm sure you two spoke together." Quatre urged her.
She took a shaky breath, "nothing interesting." It was beyond her how Quatre had found out about her little secret, but it scared her. His power obviously dipped well down into all ranks and aspects of vampire life.
Quatre grinned, 'I love it when you girls play your little games.' His hand was wrapped around her neck. He yanked her from the sheets and threw her onto the ground. Ami screamed, scrambling to regain her footing as Quatre calmly walked toward his wardrobe. "Your little mental block weakens a little every time you get startled Ms. Mizuno." He began to dress, eyeing her with his scathing, glittering blue-eyes. Ami reached forwards and ripped the sheet away from the bed to cover herself. Quatre calmly buckled a belt over his jeans, "You mind telling me now?"
She glared at him, their eyes matching in intensity, "I said no, or are you deaf."
He smirked, fangs growing. He threw his hand out and Ami was flung against the wall as if she were a doll. Ami gasped, shock rocking her. The sheet that she had wrapped around her began to coil tighter and tighter like a constrictor. Quatre stood in front of her, thoughtfully stroking his chin. Ami cried out in pain, all of Hotaru's warnings ringing in her head.
The door was thrust open at that moment and suited guards rushed into the room with guns raised. Quatre dropped his hand and Ami instantly fell to the floor limp with agony. 'Thank god,' Ami thought, she was sure that her lungs had been tickling her spine just moments ago. The guards hardly looked at Ami, their eyes instead scanning the room and then coming to a rest on their leader. Quatre's eyes were quick to pick out the leader of the group, "what's going on?"
"My lord," an armored guard with a red badge came forward, saluting, "we heard a disturbance and thought that you were in need of assistance." Quatre gestured towards Ami, "Things are under control, I'm taking care of some business here, that's all."
" My apologies, my lord."
Ami's heart began to race, she had thought that she was saved.
Quatre shrugged, "I'd rather have these sorts of mistakes than others. Has someone picked up Miliardo from outside, or has he finally rolled over into his grave yet?" Ami struggled with her body, trying to make it move. Her muscles ignored her, Ami looked to Quatre who caught her eyes and smirked. 'That's right Mizuno. Sit there and squirm because I have you right where I want you,' he told her with his mind; Ami wanted to scream in fury but all that she could do was moan through gritted teeth.
"Yes he was picked up, yesterday evening, by the slayer Heero Yuy." The guard responded promptly.
Quatre's eyes narrowed, "strange," he sighed, "I had been planning on it being Wufei…" he pinched the bridge of his nose in the moment of stress, "this will be a slight setback on my part." He went to his cocktail table and poured water into his glass, "And what of Hotaru?" He sipped at his drink, eyes brewing with thoughts.
"Hotaru's watching the Wufei residence at the moment, my lord."
The vampire ruler nodded his head, "good. Leave." He waved a lazy hand. The guard bowed along with the rest of the crew, backing out of the room as he did so. Ami whimpered. The doors shut softly behind them. Quatre turned back to Ami slowly, laughing a little, "What did you expect? …Hotaru was a traitor. You were her pupil, her one trusted clan sister. It's in your best interest to confide in me, vampire to vampire."
"You're not a vampire." Ami hissed through her teeth, the sheets that had been binding her tight at Quatre's command had fallen away. Brilliant red marks crisscrossed her skin where the bindings had been, they flared red and Ami fell silent with pain.
"I'm glad you're so quick at catching on." Quatre said sarcastically, he balanced on the balls of his toes as he sank down in front of her, "I don't understand why it's so hard for people like you to understand though. You of all people should understand that."
"Understand what!" Ami spat, "you're a murdering sneak Winner!"
Quatre reached forwards and held her chin in his hand, "Who told you that? Did you come to that self-assessment by yourself? Was it with the aid of Hotaru?"
"Self-observation." Ami's expression could have cut stone, "you are the slime of the earth Winner. Go ahead and try to defend yourself in front of me but Hotaru told me everything about you! About how all you live for is your own self-indulgence." Her hands flew to Quatre's one, trying to wrestle it away. His eyes glowed like coals, "I…live for self-indulgence." His grip on her throat had tightened like a noose, "If you haven't realized you fool, my life has been spent doing nothing but trying to save this pathetic empire of mine from complete destruction. This war started centuries ago and I have slaved to end it. When Usagi dies, when, not if, this war will come to an end."
Ami bared her fangs, "lies!" she gasped for air, "by killing the Half you'll only take out the single person capable of ending this war!"
"Would you listen to yourself!" Quatre released his hold on her, grimacing at the sight of her bruising neck, "you make me sick. All of you working, slogging, under Treize Kushrenada like he's some kind of heroine in this story." He waved a hand at Ami when he noticed her trying to speak, she fell mute. "Treize Kushrenada is my kin and I know better than anyone else that he has the capacity for more evil than any other creature I know," Quatre stood up, Ami could feel his mind roiling with emotions, "…I would have to be a simple minded fool to think that just by killing Usagi Tsukino the war is going to end. You're the idiot for thinking that one person can save this war! This war has killed millions, has lasted for centuries and you think that one person can end it!" Quatre leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest, "I am no fool Mizuno. My master plan," Quatre's face smoothed, "…my master plan…is this, once Hotaru kills Usagi Tsukino, there won't be any unfair advantages for the vampires or the lycan. All there will be left is the one who was strong enough to kill the Half, Hotaru Tomoe, your former teacher. The werewolves will form an alliance with us and we with them. There would be no other way to defeat such an adversary…they would unite with us to destroy her. Naturally, the war will no longer be against each other but against a common cause…the end of the vampire lycan war."
Ami gaped, she struggled to speak but Quatre still held her voice silent with his magic.
"I know what you're going to say, I say it every time. But there is no choice but to hope that this will work." Quatre made a motion with his hand at the end.
"You're crazy." Ami touched her throat, surprised at the sound of her voice, she turned back to him, "the lycan would never side with us."
"A few lycan sided with Treize when he offered them the end of the war. You sided with those few. Treize Kushrenada, my father, has given me this knowledge, if nothing else, vampires and lycan can work together." Ami stared at Quatre, his face was suffused with glowing hope, laughter strangled in her throat. She shook her head, "you're insane, this would never work, not even, not…not even in a perfect world Quatre, you have to realize that," she wanted to ridicule him, slap some sense into him, but there he was…standing there as if…Ami fell silent, 'as if his crazy plan is going to work...'
"The lycan will follow Duo and Duo will agree to my terms." Quatre said quietly.
She shook her head, "you underestimate the lycan. All they want is,"
"war and bloodshed?" Quatre snorted, "that's exactly what they think of us." He kneeled down in front of Ami again, "do you understand now?"
She pressed herself against the wall, "you're supposed to be evil Quatre. I know it."
"'Evil draws men together,' quoted by Aristotle." Quatre's eyes softened, "all I want is the end of this war Ami. To be able to rest at night, for no plots of assassination, to have vampire-kind be able to rest. Our people grow used to bloodshed so that what? We can kill more lycan, grow closer to our demon side, forget the joys of living? Ami, listen," Quatre drew closer, Ami unconsciously leaning forwards as he spoke, "I want this to end Mizuno. I want peace. …and this is the only way that I can see to get it."
Her face was drawn tight, "I guess I understand…but," she massaged her neck, "how do you know that this is going to work? It just doesn't seem like a reliable plan, Treize's plan is so much,"
"Easier,
is that what you were going to say?" Quatre interrupted. Ami
smiled, "No, I was going to say that it makes so much more sense.
Usagi is the most powerful person out there…but she is just one
person." She finished quietly.
"Treize said he would bring
the end of the war, but has he ever told you how he plans to do
this?" Quatre began to grow distant.
"With the help of the Half."
"All you know is that everyone wants the Half, what's he going to do with her once he has her? He's had her in his vicinity several times, it seems to me that he doesn't really need the Half, verbatim, but other services that she may provide."
Ami frowned, "why doesn't anyone know about this?" she whispered, "someone needs to know, everyone needs to know. Otherwise they're bumbling around in the dark like me and…" she twisted the sheet in her hands, "I just don't know about all of this Quatre. You seem so sure and Hotaru seemed so sure that Treize was the right way to go, following Treize all the way to the end…but all of these questions..."
"It's your decision in the end Ami, I gave you my case." Quatre put his hands on her shoulders, she flinched. He gentled his touch, "calm down. I'm only going to heal you." His hands glowed, "you know," his eyes caught hers, a smile in his eyes, "if you tell anyone about this I'm going to have to kill you."
Ami stared up at him, "I won't tell," she murmured, she could feel Quatre's magic starting to seep into her body. "…you really are Kushrenada's son," she said. 'How ironic.' Ami thought groggily. The magic, or whatever it was, fogged her mind, running it into blank walls in mid-thought. 'Vampires obsessed with pure blood…and their strongest leader yet was both vampire and magic-wielder…' The bruises branching across her body began to erase, she closed her eyes. The feeling of the magic passing through her body was like feeling the sun on her skin. Quatre's body began to slow as he pushed more of his energy into Ami's body, his skin paling.
"Quatre," Ami's eyes snapped open, she had just remembered what she was trying to say, "the prophecy isn't true then, it's all a lie, isn't it?" The moment seemed too brilliant for Ami, "because then that would mean that there wouldn't be a big battle, that Usagi has no special part in any of this, and that,"
"The prophecy is true." Quatre cut her off. He looked grim as he lifted his hands from Ami, trace bruises still there. "I would finish," he explained, tracing a mark on her arm, "but I forgot how much healing takes out of me." He sat down next to Ami with a sigh, "it's a lot harder for me to heal then it is to fight using magic."
"All this time I thought you were using vampire strength," Ami snorted, "shows how much I know…about all of this really…I didn't really believe Hotaru about all of this, until now." Ami looked at Quatre as if for the first time, "I don't understand you, Quatre Winner. How can you do so many things horrible things and yet be…be you? It's illogical."
"Is that what you have to say?" he smiled, "I guess I should have expected this from Hotaru's pupil; coldly logical, like a scientist."
Ami frowned, "that is not true," she tapped Quatre on the shoulder, "but you did fail to tell me about the prophecy."
"You mean the true prophecy." Quatre looked up at the ceiling, "let me just assure you Mizuno,"
"Just say Ami."
"Ami, I will kill you if you tell anyone this." His eyes glittered like blades, "no one in the vampire clan would understand my plan, much less my perverse bloodline. So if you speak so much as a word of this to them know that I won't hesitate to fulfill my threat." Quatre said, eyes boring into Ami. She came to an immediate understanding as to how Quatre came to the position that he was in. It was always kill or be killed in Quatre's world, nothing less and nothing more. She shivered, 'you're pitiless Quatre.'
His pupils disappeared in the light of his magic so that he looked ethereal and demonic all at once. "What're you doing?" Her voice was a whisper in the expanse of Quatre's expanding magic.
The vampire lord turned his sightless eyes onto Ami. She fidgeted a little when she felt the touch of his mind. She tried to shy away as he broke through but he held her mind as if she were nothing more than a child. Quatre proceeded to tear through her thoughts and barriers, shredding through them as if they were tissue paper until he came to the very core of her thoughts. Ami struggled to hold him back, to give herself some closure, but he bulled through all of her attempts. It was worse than being naked because your body didn't tell people who had touched it, what it had been doing, why it was the way it was, what it wanted to do… That was all in the mind, and Quatre could see everything. She could feel how detached he was from the whole process, digging through her life as if she were nothing important. Ami physically tried to twist away but it only accelerated Quatre's violent quest through her thoughts. When he finally pulled away and met her twin blue eyes, she was hardly coherent. '…why'd you do that?' She lay slumped against the wall, every muscle a loose string in her body.
'Ami.'
She whimpered, 'I can't even speak, why the hell did you do that!' She abruptly snapped.
'Listen, Mizuno,' Quatre leaned forwards to whisper in her ear, his glowing hand taking hers, 'every word is a trick Ami, remember that…'
"She will take the fall for the raving jaws of war to close. None can stop the Half. The lovers' hands alone, not mine, will guide her fate, their fate. None can stop the Half. The heart, the bone, the muscle, make the gourd that must be draught. What is she, but a body gifted? What is bone, but a frame for the soul? If lain to rest the era of the Half will dawn though much will be suffered for it."
Rei stared at Wufei who had just recited the full prophecy to her for the first time, "So? Does that mean that Usagi is going to die? I'm not a riddle master you idiot, explain it to me." She burst, anxiety riddling her face.
Wufei groaned, "I'm exhausted Rei. I need sleep." He moved around her and went to the sink. Rei's eyes narrowed, "excuse me Wufei! But I need some answers, now! You can't expect me to just agree with your little," her voice trailed away, her eyes were glued on Wufei's hands as they washed clean of rusty blood. "What've you done?" She whispered, "what did you and Cidney do?" Her eyes flashed up to his.
He was quite for a long moment, drying his hands, before he responded, "Business."
"What're you, in the mafia? Give me a real answer." Rei grabbed his wrists in her hands before he could move, "If you want honesty I'll tell you this, I didn't tell you earlier that Heero was here and that he brought Miliardo. Heero told me that he found Miliardo on vampire territory, just thrown out like he was garbage. I know something is going on now and you have to tell me! I've been stuck in here this whole time so I don't have any idea. What's going on? Things are changing and you aren't telling me about them, I thought that we were a team Wufei."
Wufei stared at her tiny hands holding his tightly, she was so defenseless against him and she didn't have the slightest clue to it. Rei just acted, no matter the consequence to her little life. He sighed. "I can't tell you." Wufei met her eyes, they were frowning back at him.
"Wufei, I can't," she took a settling breath. In some ways, Wufei and Heero really were just alike, "I can't love half of someone, because that's all that you're giving me right now. So, tell me…" She glared at Wufei, "Tell me!" she shouted, her fingernails were digging into his hands.
"This isn't good for the baby."
"Stop trying to change the subject Wufei."
"I thought we both agreed that the baby was our first priority."
"It is but god! …Wufei, you're not good for either of us." Rei dropped her hands away. She rubbed at her forehead in frustration, "I can't believe this." She paced away from Wufei, she had never been so trapped. "I love you Wu." She swung around, watching him carefully. His face lifted and he met her bold stare, "I love you." He replied softly after a beat of silence.
Rei swallowed, her teeth clenching, "then tell me. Is it Heero or Usagi? What've you been up to Wufei?"
The sorcerer's fingers flinched, he could just cast a spell and everything would be solved. Rei saw the movement, she took a step back. As if distance could have stopped the spell. "Wufei, if you do that, I will never forgive you. You can't silence the soul, you told me yourself."
Wufei's fingers curled into fists, "give me time to think things over."
Rei's laugh curdled, shaking her head, "I won't give you anything Wufei." She pointed at Miliardo's door, "go heal my brother now. I need to think on things."
The tension in the room rose as Wufei remained where he was, Rei stood her ground, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. She could feel the lycan in her beginning to rise to the surface. "Do it now," she snapped, Rei's lips were pinched together. A slow minute ticked by. Wufei abruptly threw the towel down and stalked towards Miliardo's room, eyes narrowed into slits. Rei waited for him to leave the room before she suddenly slammed her fist down onto the countertop, 'what is he hiding from me? How can he do this to me!'
She wanted Heero to hold her and tell her that this was the right thing to do. The only thing floating around in her head though was what Heero had told her. They weren't meant to be, Wufei was a horrible person, Treize was leading them all to the wrong path. She held her head in her hands and stuffed the tears back down. Rei clenched her teeth, striding up and down the small apartment in her annoyance. 'Heero was right…Wufei's a bad idea.' She came to a rest beside the window, the moon just a slender crescent in the sky. "I want him to like me!" She glared at the moon, "love me…like any normal boyfriend...I'm so stupid...why did I think this would work?" She rested her chin on her palm, "thanks a lot, fate. Hook me up with the murdering psycho…" she groaned, "this would happen to me." Her face sank into grief along with her, "where is family when you need it."
Wufei, who had been hiding in the shadows of the bedroom hall listened, his fists tightening. '…I had thought it would be easy to keep her entertained.' His mind wrestled with its ducking fears; Treize and Darjeeling had turned over their hopes to him with this mission. He turned and slipped into Miliardo's room without so much as a creak from the door. Darjeeling had just wagged her finger, "keeping a woman's heart is liking trying to keep a cobra from biting; they're always ready to strike, able to see things that you didn't think to hide."
'What else does she want from me?' His mind questioned in frustration, 'I didn't want this burden in the first place.' He stood against the door for a moment, contemplating his choices, 'I cannot fail at this simple task…not when I'm so close.' He glanced up, the room was set with a dusty quiet, nightlight filtering through the room. Wufei examined Miliardo and his poorly bandaged hand, his lips pursing. 'One problem after another…why would Quatre release Miliardo? Miliardo shares blood with Maxwell, a bargaining tool worth its weight in gold.' He sent a thread of his magic out, tasting Miliardo's multiple wounds as his magic knit through the lycan body. 'Why is it that the closer things come to an end the closer they come to breaking apart?' Wufei placed his hand against Miliardo's icy one, sending his magic into the unconscious werewolf. 'Why would Quatre do this?' Wufei's eyes narrowed, 'Mamoru knew the full impact of the prophecy, who else does? …Quatre must be close to the truth if he is willing to just drop a card like this.' Wufei lifted his hand from Miliardo's, the bandages on Miliardo's wrist fell away. "Miliardo," Wufei's voice was infused with magic, "wake up."
The werewolf's eyes snapped open, they were as clear as glass. It was freezing cold…no, it wasn't. It was warm and dusty where he was now, nothing like the blizzard he had been in before. Miliardo tried to think of where he could be now. His mind somersaulted at the possibilities, he was no longer in the frozen forest about to die and knowing it. He was alive, his heart beat more fiercely in his chest to attest to it. Miliardo's eyes focused on the figure standing beside him. His eyes widened their beam like headlights, "Wufei!" Miliardo sat up, thunderstruck, "what's happened to cause this?" He said levelly, had his ruthless, power-hungry brother Duo actually summoned Wufei here to heal him?
The magic-wielder shrugged his shoulders, slow to answer him, "you were released from the Winner house and now you are here."
Miliardo raised his healed hand up to his eyes to look over it. "I had thought that I was no better than dead in the Coliseum ring when I lost to that bitch…but Winner released me…" Miliardo's elegant brows bent in thought, 'things have gone wild out here…the end of this chapter must be drawing near then…'
"I owe you a favor Wufei Chang, for this." Miliardo flexed his now flawless hand, "how did I get here?" It was strange to suddenly wake up and find himself talking to one of the strongest warlock slayer's in history. But who cared, he was out of the Winner dungeons and could now carry on with his own plans. He glanced up to meet the magician's eyes. His sister's scent wreathed Wufei, he pulled the scent in like a fish on the line. His eyes slid closed, so his sister had fucked around with Wufei…he knew that he was safe. The end of Miliardo's lips twisted, as sad as it was, Rei had probably just saved his life. His little sister…He grinned, feral fangs poking out. Rei would never betray family, even if the man she was sleeping with was a slayer.
"Your brother, if you remember Heero Yuy, he brought you here." Wufei said, watching Miliardo closely for his reaction.
Miliardo's sharp gaze clamped onto Wufei like a vise, "the slayer?" his eyes flashed, "I had thought he had forgotten what family was. Heero has obviously changed…what has caused this?"
Wufei shrugged, "I prefer to let Rei tell you the story, I have business to attend to."
Miliardo nodded his head, "so she and I are safe for the moment?"
Wufei smirked, "for the moment. You are in my house, and because of this Miliardo, you have to watch every word and thought because I am watching you. I will not let you push this war farther than it has already gone. Do not think that I am an idiot, I realize what you are trying to do with the Maxwell pack and this is not the time to pull your tricks." He hissed. The magic-wielder's words were like stones falling, their impact striking Miliardo deep. Miliardo massaged his wrist, staring at the unmarred skin, "has the war even started yet?"
"Like I said, Rei will tell her part."
Miliardo nodded, "I understand…one last thing," he pinned Wufei with that same icy gaze, obstinacy ran in Maxwell blood, "is the Half still alive?"
At this, Wufei closed his eyes so that Miliardo couldn't see the expression resting there. Wufei never knew how to control that sudden flare of emotion in his onyx orbs, "if Heero permits."
Thak's tail thumped against the bed in anxiety, he licked Usagi's open palm again. 'Usagi?' He waited for a moment, whining at her lack of response. He lay his head down on her chest, listening to her heart beat. It seemed too slow. He stared at the IV that Treize had set up for Usagi. He didn't believe Treize anymore, the IV didn't smell right, it smelled like poison to him. But what could he do? He was just a dog. He whined again, the wrinkled skin around his eyes creasing with worry. 'Usagi?' She had been lying silent in this bed for more than a week or so. She might as well have been dead, she no longer gave off the same scent as she used to. Ever since Usagi's magicked remains had rejoined with body, Thak had been sure she'd come to in a day or so. It had been two weeks. This couldn't be right, that's what every part of Thak told him, but he couldn't do anything. Treize had grown silent at his questions, Mugen had ignored him, Darjeeling...she was beyond him now. Things had gone funny and he had no idea when or how. Thak closed his eyes and sank back into sleep, his thoughts racing towards the day when Usagi would wake up.
When he woke again he found the hairs on the back of his neck rising, his ears pricked. 'Who's there?' He rose up, whuffling through the maelstrom of scents that were coming in through the open window. There was one in all of those scents that made him worry, he growled. His hackles rose, he crouched close over Usagi's body. Thak snarled, 'Yuy…what right have you to be here? Get out!'
Heero stepped forwards, a ripple of the shadows. 'What does it matter to you?' He approached the bedside, eyes not leaving Usagi's prone body, 'You're a dog, you can't even understand humans and their actions if you tried to.' Thak's canines gleamed, 'just try me.' Heero ignored Thak, staring instead at Usagi's slumbering body, sifting through his emotions. "Usagi," he whispered, he wanted to see her bright eyes. They were so bright, like lightning against a dark sky. He frowned, was he really in love with the stumbling idiot? She was a baby to his hundred years of slayer existence. He drew in all of his thoughts like a sieve, trying to clear himself. Usagi slept on, unaware to his brewing conflicts.
'What're you doing here Yuy? You have no love for anything living, just love of the kill. You're the dumb dog in this room.'
'I'm here for her.'
Thak stared at Heero for a long moment, observing that fierce human mask that Heero wore. Thak sat, he couldn't fight this thing, human confusion…it bungled them up all the time, and usually he would laugh about it. But not now. 'I'm going with you two.' The canine wrinkled his nose, 'and, you smell like fresh lycan blood, just so you're aware.'
Heero yanked the IV from Usagi's arm, 'It's Mamoru's blood, if you're asking.'
Thak bared his teeth, at a stand now, 'How could you! All Treize wants is the end of this war and you go around killing his men, what does that say? Are you some sort of bloodthirsty monster that you can't even realize the harm that you're causing thousands of lives?' He growled in outrage, so Heero hadn't changed then.
'Mamoru didn't die by my hands.' Heero grinned, it was a smile full of teeth, 'It was Treize's soldiers that did the dirty work.' Heero wrapped Usagi in the blanket, lifting her easily into his arms, 'I don't have time for this Thak.'
'Treize would never kill Mamoru, all Mamoru wanted is the end of the war, like the rest of us.' Thak yelled into Heero's mind, 'I can't trust anyone anymore, put her down Heero!'
'Think of all the things that are going on around you Thak.' Heero held Usagi's near lifeless body to his. 'What's right and wrong, it's all changed.' His eyes fell to Usagi's pale face, 'The prophecy that you blindly follow has been our downfall all this time.' His hold on Usagi tightened.
'You can't take her!' Thak rose in alarm, anxiety rising tenfold, 'she's safest here! The vampires want her, the lycan will kill her, and you, you'll destroy her Heero.'
'Why would you say that?' Heero stared into Thak's deep brown eyes, 'she'll remember what I said last, and hate me, but I remember what she said to me.'
'Oh, and what was that?' Thak sneered, 'that you're a cold heartless beast of burden? That you have no soul worth accounting for?' Thak snarled.
"No," His voice seemed magnified in the dark, "that she loves me."
Thak froze, 'impossible. And what's more is, Treize and I both know that you would never bend yourself to the prophecy to give her any 'love' back, if that's what you can call it. You were supposed to fall in love with her and you would never dare because it is written, because you refuse to bow to fate. This is not happening.' Thak roared.
Heero shrugged, he opened the door softly, 'either way she's in danger here, she needs to be saved.'
Thak leapt from the bed, 'at least let me know why the sudden change of heart?'
'…There never was a change…'
Heero hardly had to work to stay in the shadows of the hallway, they clung to him of their own accord. Thak boldly trotted down the middle of the hall, his senses on full alert. Heero came to an abrupt stop, Thak slowed to a halt in confusion, 'what's going on?' Heero didn't respond, every muscle in his body was as tense as spring, he stared into the space at the end of the hall. He was sure there was something there. He took another soft step forwards. A pair of eyes flashed open, hovering in the dark.
"Who's there?"
Heero pressed himself against the wall, silent. Mugen stepped out from the shadows, his sword already drawn. "I know you're there you creeper." His sword pointed from one side of the hall to the other and came back again to point straight at Heero. "If you don't show yourself I'm going to have to take a stab and just say you're right about," Mugen darted forwards, fast as a bird and struck, "there."
Heero grimaced as the blade bit into his shoulder, the blood streaming down his back. He managed to dodge the next thrust and Changed in the same instant. The light from an open window struck him and Heero lost his anonymity. Mugen grinned devilishly, "so it's Heero Yuy. Finally come to try and steal the goods away." Mugen's sword whistled through space as he lashed it through the air. Heero deftly slung Usagi over his shoulder and swiped at Mugen with a clawed hand. Mugen turned the blade of his sword just slightly in an attempt to cut the offending limb but Heero withdrew. Thak circled the parrying two, waiting for a chance to dodge in and bite at the ankles.
"C'mon Yuy, you're supposed to be the best there is out there and this is all you can show me?" Mugen teased, letting his sword swipe through the air.
Heero's eyes narrowed. Mugen swiped his sword again, only to come to a ringing stop millimeters from Usagi's exposed back. "What the hell do you think you're doing Yuy!" Mugen's hand muscles were clenched around the sword handle. Heero had pulled Usagi to his front as a defense, Heero smirked, "touch her with that sword and Treize will punish you more severely than I have the power to."
Mugen drew back his blade and thrust it forwards again like a whip. The air rippled away from the cold metal as it drew close to Heero. But again, Mugen had to come to a unexpected stop, his strike just piercing through the blankets surrounding Usagi. A bead of sweat collected on Mugen's brow, "you bastard," he hissed. Mugen pulled out all of his stops and hacked his sword through the air as if it were nothing more than a feather. At the end of each promising strike his blade would come within millimeters of Usagi's skin. Heero pressed forwards, careful to keep Usagi's body as his shield. Mugen knew what Heero was doing and it enraged him, his arms moved faster, his wrists twisting like mad as the sword flashed in glittering arcs through the air. "You bastard," Mugen leapt into the air above Heero and lifted his sword in preparation. Heero maneuvered Usagi in his arms, Mugen would slice right through Usagi if he continued on with his downward stroke right now. Mugen grinned, he had expected this. Mugen flicked his wrist and what was a downward stroke of the sword turned into a movement meant to bite into Heero's side as Mugen landed.
Heero's eyes narrowed, 'think you're so smart Mugen,' like a juggler he moved Usagi's body to protect his side. Heero ignored the little voice in his head that said that Mugen would strike her deep this time. Mugen's heart skipped a beat as his sword continued its stroke, it was too late to stop the blade. Both Slayers heard the whisper of cloth being cut and flesh being slit open. Red dotted Usagi's belly. Thread by thread the blood soaked through her shirt and the blanket. Heero's eyes lit like a hellfire, "you call yourself a swordsman?" Heero's clawed hand struck forwards like lightning, raking a path of red down Mugen's chest. "Shit…" Mugen stumbled back, raising his sword in protection. Heero's hand moved towards Usagi's stomach, his hands soft against her wound, it looked like it was just a nick. Heero bared his fangs, "bastard," and then the two were charging at each other, Usagi still slumped over Heero's back. The blade cut glittering arcs in the moonlight as the two dodged and parried. "Stop hiding Yuy and show me the real stuff." Mugen snapped, his shirt was turning rusty, his chest was heaving.
Despite his flagging strength Mugen was the one making the strikes. His sword could reach longer, bite faster, move swifter. Heero's arm was scored with nicks from Mugen's blade. The two were sweating now, their breaths running ragged. Mugen abruptly changed tack and sank down onto his heels while thrusting his sword forwards. He struck home. Usagi tumbled from Heero's arms, his hands wrapping around Mugen's blade which lay buried in his side. His lungs jerked, Heero always forgot how painful life was. Pain. His hands were clenched around the sword as if it were a lifeline, it paralyzed him. Mugen smirked, "that's right Yuy, I am a good swordsman, the best warrior that Treize has." He yanked the blade from Heero, splattering his blood against the wall. Heero sank to his knees, his hands cut with Mugen's last action.
"That's right, just kneel right there before me so I can chop your ugly face off."
Heero shuddered. Mugen laughed, "and you thought that that was the best I had."
Heero closed his eyes, 'it's been a long time since I've had to do this...'
"You thought that you were just gonna slink out of here, you actually thought you were just gonna walk out of here with Usagi? She's the link to the end of the war, Treize wouldn't just put her under the protection of just anyone." Mugen had crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes were glittering with malice.
Heero realized that it was finally time to let it out. It was a burning of the muscles, a pit in his gut opening its jaws, a cracking of the bones, it was the Change.
Mugen paused in his rant, "what?" he returned his attention to Heero's slumped body. The hairs on the back of Mugen's neck prickled when he heard the sound again. It was a low growl. Mugen's sword lifted, "so you got some more in you Yuy?" Mugen took a step back, "c'mon, bring it you half vampire-lycan freak of nature!"
When Heero looked up to meet Mugen's gaze his eyes were blistering orbs of gold. With both bloods running through him, vampire and lycan blood, he more or less kept his human body frame. It was his eyes that really branded him a hybrid, they molted heat. Mugen took another step back, he had never seen anything like it before. Treize had once told him that Heero was the strongest slayer, but he had never believed until now. "You thought this was over?" Heero's voice was like the grating of metal. He rose, his life still streaming out of his wound. Heero crouched for a split second and then leapt forwards with a howl. Mugen's face was set, here was his real competition.
Heero snarled in frustration as he struggled to get within striking distance of Mugen who kept warding him back. Mugen's sword dipped and sank into Heero's side. Heero grimaced, his arm shot forwards and grabbed Mugen's extended arm as if it were nothing more than a twig. Like a doll, Heero lifted Mugen and threw him against the wall. Mugen had time to think, 'fuck,' before the wall reached forwards and struck him down. Heero didn't wait for Mugen to rise, he bundled Usagi up into his arms and leapt through the window, Thak behind him.
I could be really sarcastic here about a couple of things but all I'm gonna say is I'm SOOOOOO sorry that the chapters are coming out slower and slower…it's just that a new school semester started up and whine whine bla whine bla bla bla whine. Thanks for the reviews! They were so sweet and keep me going! Qtchan
