Assassin's Tango

Chapter 14

Pain.

Soreness.

That's all you know once you slowly come to. You slowly open your eyes and a wave of nausea overwhelms you as your gaze meets a bright light. You manage to roll over, realizing dazedly that you are in a bed, before emptying the contents of your stomach. A warm hand suddenly presses against your back, rubbing in slow, soothing motions your tense muscles. Your whole body protests as you roll onto your back again once you're finished, eyes still tightly shut to keep the painful light away. A deliciously cold, wet cloth is lowered to your forehead, and the burning heat coming from inside your skull calms slightly.

"Can you…" you start, voice weak and mouth parched as if you'd spent years without tasting a drop of water. "Get rid of the light?" The bed shifts as the person who is helping you rises to their feet, the noise of closing curtains quickly reaching your ears, emerging you in comforting, calming darkness. "Thank you."

"How are you feeling, Haruka?" the mattress sinks as the person sits again.

"Bad." You husk out, the succinctness of your answer revealing how bad the situation really is. "I'm thirsty."

"Of course."

You open your eyes hesitantly, slowly focusing on the woman who is filling a glass with water on a nearby table. She reaches towards you, helping you sit up while pressing the cool glass against your lips. You raise a trembling hand and take hold of it, drinking slowly, savoring water like you had never before. The relief is instantaneous.

"What happened, Highness?" you ask, thoughts clearer, handing her the glass with a weak attempt of a smile in gratitude.

Serenity's brow furrows. "You do not remember?"

"I do." You say quickly, not wanting to worry her, though your memories are still fuzzy. "But I passed out so…"

"Ah." She nods. "Well, right after you fainted, Michiru too lost consciousness. I have actually just come from her room, arriving just in time to see you being sick." The Queen's expression shows her worry, not just for you, but for her too.

"Is she alright?" you can't help but ask, a certain coldness starting to sink in your gut.

"I honestly do not know." A sad smile curves her lips and her eyes grow darker. "She has yet to regain consciousness. It was expected of you, of course, considering the beating you took. But in her case… I do not know what she is seeing in her dreams, but she is very agitated. She shifts on the bed quite often and a few cries have escaped her. She is also running a fever. We cannot think of why she would be like this."

You blink one, two, three times, digesting the information. "And Setsuna? Is she alright?"

"Setsuna has been through much worse. She is a very resilient woman." The Queen raises her hands then, rubbing her fingers against her forehead in a frustrated manner. "She insists she has only a few scrapes and bruises, as she put it, and refuses to have anyone examine her."

A few moments pass by in silence; the quiet sound of Serenity's breathing oddly relaxing. "Highness..."

"You want to see her." She says, gaze knowing and boring into you like a dagger. "I am willing to wager that you are feeling halfway dead and yet you want to see her."

"Yes." It doesn't matter that the mere notion of having to move is the enough for you to grimace in anticipation. You know that you are still probably badly hurt, worse than ever before, even when you first started training with Kenichi, especially considering that you have yet to heal fully. None of it matters. You need to see Michiru. "I should be by her side when she wakes."

A strange light takes over Serenity's eyes. "You love her."

You frown. "Of course. She is a dear friend." If you didn't have feelings for her, she would have been lying dead and buried in Neptune.

"No." she smiles. "You love her."

You shift on the bed, propping yourself up further. "What?"

"You love her." She says a third time.

"I…" you start, lips moving soundlessly for a few moments, not knowing what to say. Could it be? Could it be that the attraction you feel for the former Princess is, is, is love? "I…" A knock keeps you from carrying on and having to analyze your feelings any further. You decide that you'll think about it later, not having the mind to do so objectively in the moment.

Setsuna's head appears on the doorway, being quickly followed by the rest of her body as her eyes widen when they land on you. "Haruka." She says, voice filled with relief and gaze shining with emotion, before she gathers herself. Perceptive as she is, she quickly picks up on the tense climate that permeates the room. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, Pluto. You need not worry." Serenity stands, smoothing her dress with her hands. "Haruka had simply just told me that she wishes to see Michiru and I was just about to satisfy her request."

"What?" Red eyes fix on you sharply. "Have you seen yourself, Haruka?" she gestures wildly at you and you wonder how bad you must look. She continues, not letting you answer her. "No, don't answer that. You look like shit, Tenoh."

"Pluto." The Queen says, eyebrow arched, disapproving of the used language. "Maybe you should not use such words."

"Forgive me, my Queen, you are absolutely right." She lowers her head and you have to hold back a laugh at her next words, especially once you take not of the look on the silver haired woman's face. "Shit doesn't begin to describe it. You look absolutely fucked up."

"Well, I don't feel fucked up so." That is a blatant lie and you can tell that she isn't fooled.

"Enough." Serenity says in a severe voice. "Let us take her to Michiru so that she may be able to rest after. I fear that if we keep her away she will only worry, preventing herself from fully recuperating."

"But…" Setsuna says, swallowing back her words as striking blue eyes fix on her own. The two women stay with locked gazes for a few long moments, before your friend's shoulders drop in acceptance. She moves towards you then, wrapping an arm around you to help you to your feet and supporting you once you sway slightly on your feet.

No words escape her but you can tell by the stiffness of her movements and lock of her jaw that she is anything but pleased with the situation. And just like that, you know you're going to get an earful later.

A pained groan escapes Michiru just as you enter the room, and she shifts violently on the mattress. Sweat mats her skin and she is extremely pale, instead of the flush you were expecting to see in her associated with the fever.

"She is getting worse." Setsuna says in a hushed voice to Queen Serenity.

"Yes." The Queen's forehead creases in worry. "She was not this agitated an hour ago."

"How long has she been like this?" you ask, shakily making your way towards the bed. "How long was I unconscious for?"

"You have been unconscious for nearly four days." Setsuna answers in a curt voice. "Both of you. She has been like this since the very beginning."

"Four days…?" you mumble, slowly lowering yourself until you're sitting by her side. The notion itself hardly makes sense. "Four days." You hesitantly reach a hand towards her forehead once she groans again. Her skin, despite the lack of color, is incredibly warm. "She's burning up!"

"I did tell you, Haruka." Serenity says, moving towards the bed and gazing down at the prone woman. "She has been running a fever since the very beginning."

"Is there nothing we can do to help her?" you question, mind focused on trying to make her feel better, trying to will whatever it is that is ailing her away.

"We've tried, Haruka. Nothing has worked." Setsuna murmurs, still standing by the door. You don't know what to make of her expression, never having seen her struggling so hard to maintain a guarded façade. "The fever refuses to break and nothing we've tried has been able to wake her."

"There has to be some way."

"There is none." The finality of her statement sends chills down your spine. "All we can do is wait."

Moments pass by unchecked while you try your hardest to think of something, anything, that they might have overlooked and may end up helping. But, thirteen years of work and train and experience are suddenly useless. Deep down, you know that whatever you think off, Setsuna has been there. After all, she was the one who was in charge of teaching you methods of healing and cures to whatever poison you might imagine; everything and anything that would help you as an assassin. You scoff unnoticeably – look at how good it's done for you when you actually need it.

"We should go, Haruka." Serenity says, one hand moving to rest on your shoulder. "You need to rest."

"No." you shake your head, taking hold of one of Michiru's hands. "I'm staying here with her.

Setsuna finally moves closer to where you are, looking down at you with cold, red eyes. "No, you're not. You're not doing anything here. You can't help her."

"I don't care. I don't want to leave."

"Haruka." The Queen says, gazing at you the same way she had earlier when you were talking. "I do understand your reaction and why you feel like you need to be here, but you need to rest. You need to eat something and then sleep for a while longer. Right now, you have to think of yourself, no her."

"With all due respect, Highness, I've slept enough these past four days." You say in a harsh voice, sending her a sideways glance. "And the mere thought of having to eat something is enough to make my stomach rebel against me."

"You have not eaten anything in four days. You must eat, even if just a light snack."

You grimace, already feeling nauseated. "I said I don't want anything. Please stop insisting."

A strange sound escapes Setsuna and she shifts closer to you, face contorted into a mask of cold fury. Her right hand clutches your forearm and pulls you onto your feet rapidly, not caring about being gentle. "You don't quite get it do you? These are not suggestions. You don't want to eat, fine! But you will at least drink a cup of tea, even if I have to force it down your fucking throat.! Either way, you are leaving this room. And don't even think that you will oppose me because if you believe that you will be able to keep me from dragging your ass out in your current state, you are delusional!"

Silence meets her practically growled words, while both you and the Queen stare at her in shock. You find yourself not knowing what to say in response to her tirade. It is unlike your friend to lose her so famous cool in such a way. All thoughts of protesting and objecting to her escape your mind immediately and all you are able to do is nod mutely. You will talk to her later, after she calms down and you have regained your strength, to see what is causing such a drastic change in mood.

You look down at the pale, cold hand held in your own and you squeeze it tightly as a way of saying goodbye. Everything in you is screaming at you to stay with her, to be near her, but you know that what the two women had said was true – that and the fact that you are absolutely certain that Setsuna was in no way joking with her warnings. You let go ever so slowly, hesitantly, nearly painfully, feeling her fingers twitch slightly at the slide of skin on skin while she shifts violently again, almost as if pleading for you to stay.

Queen Serenity passes a gentle hand against Michiru's forehead in a motherly fashion before she takes a hold of your other forearm and helping Setsuna lead you to the door. The sound of the bed creaking and the release of another pained groan from the unconscious woman stops you in your tracks, everything in you itching to shrug them off and go back.

"Don't even think about." The tall green haired woman says, pushing you out of the room and closing the door firmly behind you. You don't protest and comply to her directions.

You will come back as soon as possible, and not even she will keep you from doing so.

Despite your earlier words, the moment your head touched the pillow again you were out. You hadn't eaten a thing, which only served to anger Setsuna more since she apparently thought that you would, but you had drunk a cup of tea. The bad part was that you ended up throwing up again, stomach too weakened and sensitive to endure any sort of content – that and the mere thought of Michiru laying in a bed, in pain and alone, was enough to make you nauseous.

Upon waking up, you had immediately scavenged the room for any sort of clothing since the shift you were wearing made you feel anything but comfortable. A neat pile of tunics and pants had been put on a table by the door, and next to it were indications as to how you would be able to find a washroom. You had immediately left to wash the grime and filth of your body and had put on some of the neat, soft clothes, before wondering what your next course of action should be.

Surprisingly enough, you had woken up hungry. You consider for a few moments simply ignoring the grumbling of your stomach and simply going back to Michiru's side, but the ever present thought that you had spent the who knows how many days without food – considering that the last time you had eaten had been on Neptune – is enough to have you scrambling to the kitchen. It takes a while to remember it's exact location, feeling slightly light-headed, feeling even more dazed with the darkness on the Palace.

The smell of food still lingers in the air of the kitchen, making your mouth water and your stomach grumble in a louder way. It surprises you though, since you had assumed that night had fallen long ago considering how dark it was. You press a hand against your abdomen, but all you prepare to eat is a cup of tea and a piece of bread, knowing that you are still too sensitive to handle a substantial meal. You're hallway through the bread when you start feeling nauseous, so you drink the rest of the tea and wrap the leftovers on a piece of paper and bury it on your pocket, finally making your way to where you wanted to go.

You'd thought that the halls of the Palace had been dark, but they were perfectly illuminated once you compare them with the path that leads to Michiru's room. You find yourself thinking whether you had mistaken the way and had ended up lost, starting to consider turning around and demanding someone shows you the correct way. A few steps later though, the darkness is broken by the glow of one lonely candle hanging near the door you remember seeing earlier, and you sigh in relief.

You reach towards the thin stick of wax, thinking that Michiru's room might be as dark, especially considering that she's unconscious, when the sound of a conversation coming from inside freezes you in motion.

"What are your thoughts on this situation, Pluto?" Queen Serenity's voice passes effortlessly through the door.

"I think that we have been fooled, Highness." Setsuna's voice is cold when she answers, a concealed edge of violence hidden behind her words. "I think we should take care of the problem while we can."

A heavy sigh resounds loudly and you assume it comes from the Queen when she speaks. "Should we, I wonder? Does it not seem a bit precipitated?"

"If we do not, who knows what might end up happening in the future? The situation needs to be handled and I believe the easiest way to do so would be cutting the evil by the root." A chill runs down your spine at your friend's words. Could they possibly be talking about-?

"The girl is fighting, Setsuna."

"Is she, Serenity?" a scoff reaches your ears. "Or is this just another act? The situation we have recently become privy to has not been happening for days or even weeks. She has been this way for years!"

"My daughter thought that–"

"I am well aware what Usagi thought about it. After all, I did agree with her. But now, now I am forced to face the truth."

"Your pride has been injured, Setsuna, and you are allowing it to cloud your judgment and take control of your actions." Serenity's voice drops in tone and you wonder whether she's frowning or not.

"It has not!" The sudden exclamation makes you jump startled, unaccustomed to such a lack of control from your oldest friend.

"Ah." Queen Serenity scoffs in disbelief. "Such… vehemence is rare coming from you." Silence is the answer to her biting words. "We cannot take such drastic measures as you suggest. Haruka would most likely not react the best way."

The mention of your name makes you press closer to the door, curiosity and a small hint of anger itching at you. "It does not matter how she will react. This is for her safety."

"Pluto…" Serenity exhales loudly. "If what truly concerns you is her safety then you must know that doing anything of that nature will only serve to harm her."

"I…" Setsuna clears her throat. "Maybe there is still time. Maybe we can–"

"They have met." The Queen's voice rings with finality when she interrupts the other woman. "The clogs of fate are already at motion. Kill Michiru, with whatever good intention you might have, and you will kill Haruka."

And you have heard enough. You open the door in such a way that it bounces off the wall violently, startling the other two women into jumping.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Setsuna?" you spit out, voice dripping with venom, walking rapidly towards her, barely noticing the way she steps back as if in fear. "Have you lost your fucking mind?"

"Haruka, you don't understand!"

"Of course I don't understand!" you shake your head in angry disbelief and disappointment. "What could she possibly have done that would make you want her dead? And you!" you turn to the Queen and point an accusing finger at her. "What did you mean when you said that by killing her you'd kill me?"

A loud groan escapes Michiru's prone form and she shifts on the bed abruptly. Red eyes along with blue ones snap in her direction before turning to you again, and you realize that this was the first time she had made a sound since you started listening to their conversation.

"We will speak about this outside." Serenity says, rapidly moving to the door. "Us talking here will only serve to disturb her further."

"Disturb her? Don't tell me you're scared she'll awake?" you chuckle lowly, darkly, menacingly. "Would be harder to kill her that way, is that it?" you sway on your feet them, feeling short of breath as your heart hammers against your ribcage, starting to feel slightly dizzy.

"No one is going to be killed, Haruka." The Queen breathes out shakily. "No one in this room is dying. Please, let us speak outside and I will answer your questions."

You contemplate arguing more, demanding more, screaming more, hoping that maybe that would be enough to wake her, but the Serenity's honest expression allied with you swaying on your feet again is enough to drop the idea. The two women shoot towards you and grab your forearms, steadying you, and start walking towards the door. Maybe it would be better to speak outside, where you could more easily collect yourself.

The bed creaks again and you wait for another pained groan to escape Michiru, but there is only silence. That is, until the sound of hesitant steps reaches your ears, making you pause and turn around along with the other two women, gazing incredulously at the sight that meets your eyes.

Michiru, a rosy blush staining her cheeks, hair matted to her face, is standing and slowly making her way towards you. Her eyes, burning feverishly, are fixed on you dazedly and the simple clothes she's wearing, previously concealed by the bed sheets, are glued to her body due to sweat.

"Haruka…" she rasps out as she reaches towards you with one trembling hand. You gaze at her in surprise, not understanding how it's possible for her to be standing never mind talking, barely feeling the tightening of Setsuna's hand on your forearm as she pulls you back somewhat. A soft glow starts coming from Michiru's forehead the closer she gets to you and a strange symbol appears on her skin. That mark, new while yet eerily familiar, has something resonating deep inside you and, without quite knowing how, you're pulling away from the other woman and striding towards her confidently.

Michiru's eyes change, losing their confused shine and focusing sharply on you. A soft tingling in your forehead, the same tingling you had felt the day you had threatened Endymion, hits you suddenly, and her gaze is immediately diverted to where you are feeling it. "Uranus." She whispers warmly, almost relieved. You reach a hand towards her, tangling your fingers with her still spread ones, dazedly hearing Setsuna's far away voice as she tells you to stay away from her.

Fire shoots up your arm at the skin on skin contact. "Neptune." The word escapes your lips in a mumble without you knowing from where they come from. She smiles and squeezes your hand and suddenly images are rushing to your head so intensely that you sway slightly on your feet, stumbling back. A warm feeling of profound happiness bubbles deep in your chest and you feel as if you're about to burst with energy and you can only think of one logical way to let it out at the moment.

You tighten your grip on Michiru and pull her closer without a second thought, you lean down and press your lips against hers in a kiss fueled by emotions and desire and immediate relief – whole cocktail of feelings that leave you breathless and trembling against her, overwhelmed. Michiru seems to feel the same since she tries to push herself impossibly closer to you, so close that any space that could keep you apart is completely elapsed, no thought whatsoever to your audience.

Her lips are incredibly warm and her tongue is searing hot against your, taste utterly intoxicating. Her hands break the grip you had on her and move to tangle in your hair, kiss turning ever more demanding and consuming, borderline bruising, and you feel your knees weaken slightly. You stumble back a few steps, hands busy mapping her back while your mouth devours hers, hitting the cold, hard wall that stands behind you, so far gone that you barely feel it.

The passion inside you increases until you're fighting back the urge to push her away and throw her on the bed and have your way with her. The mere thought of it, of creating a deeper, heavier flush on her skin, of having her beneath you, back arched in ecstasy, your name tumbling uncontrollably from her lips as she pulls you closer, is utterly enticing and incredibly hard to ignore.

She breaks away brusquely then, leaving gasping and reaching out for her. A sudden feeling of weakness had you leaning back heavily, struggling to hold yourself upright. Your eyes meet hers noticing that she seems to be feeling the same way and, before you know it, she's falling against you, unconscious. You're barely able to catch her, gaze traveling to the other women in the room who you'd completely overlooked. You are hardly able to tip your chin in her direction, a burst of dizziness leaving your head and your world spinning.

"Catch her." You mumble.

And, when you feel her weight leave your arms, everything turns black.

AN

Hey guys!

Yay, didn't take me another 4 months to update! I'm sorry that I've been ending the chapters with cliffhangers but I think it's the best way to end them! xD Hm.. Wonder what's going on on Setsuna's head...

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading and reviewing, as always!

Until next time,

LostWyrda

Ps: One more review and its 100 reviews for Assassin's Tango!