Uhh, hehe, I have the feeling that this chapter will be getting some very diverse reviews... If you all remember correctly, this is the chapter where Relena comes in! Now, I won't tell you my views on Relena because I have a lot of stuff in store for her and everyone else... Besides, it's much more fun to leave you guessing! Anyway, without further ado, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Oh, I wanted to throw in a (sadly) conspicuous little plugin for my newest x-over fic, Not Even A Goodbye. I just posted it a few days ago, and the response has been excellent! For those of you that have read it, many thanks go in your direction! For those of you that haven't read it, please go check it out. I think you'll be quite surprised by it.
Sorry about that. Anyway, now on with the fic!
Usagi groaned as she was gently shaken from her slumber. Eyes opening
groggily, she blinked several times as the world came into focus. She immediately
recognized Wufei's face so close to hers.
"Time to wake up, Usagi," he told her softly, staring at the girl who still rested on
his shoulder. "The plane just landed."
At the mention of the plane, she bolted straight up and looked out the window.
Sure enough, they were once again on solid ground. Grabbing her overnight bag, she
followed Wufei off the plane and into the airport terminal, where they met up with the
others.
Each was scanning the crowd. "Any sign of Relena?" Duo asked. Relena was
supposed to be meeting them at the airport to take them back to the academy.
Suddenly Milliardo stepped forward, a half-smile adorning his face. He greeted the
approaching man with a handshake. "Paegan."
Paegan had been with Relena's adoptive family for years. He was a trusted advisor
as well as a loyal friend, and he always watched out for Relena.
"Milliardo," he greeted the man with a warm smile. "It's been a long time."
"That it has." He turned to the others. "You remember Relena's friends."
"Of course." Paegan gave them a short bow. When he stood, his eyes landed on
Usagi. He stared at her for a full minute before saying, "I don't believe we've met."
Stepping forward, she introduced herself. "I am Usagi Tsukino. Nice to meet you."
She shook his hand, meeting his strong grip with one of her own.
"Likewise. Now, let us get your luggage so we can return to the academy. Relena
is anxiously awaiting your arrival. She should be finishing up a business meeting at
this very moment."
They made their way to the baggage claim, taking their suitcases as they rounded
the conveyor belt. Then they headed outside, where Relena's famous all-pink limousine
had been replaced by a sleek black one. Piling in, Paegan set about driving them to
Peacecraft Academy, once known as Saint Gabriel's.
Usagi kept her eyes glued to the window. The Cinq Kingdom was so beautiful.
Everything was green and vibrant, the sky a dazzling blue. It looked like a wonderful
place to live.
Eventually they pulled to a stop in front of a large concrete stairway that led up to a
massive redbrick building.
"Peacecraft Academy," Duo stated. "The place looks the same."
They stood on the sidewalk at the bottom of the stairway, looking up at the
academy where Heero, Duo, and Quatre once posed as students.
Their gazes were averted to someone descending the stairs. The new person
stopped directly in front of them, beaming in delight.
All she received were confused glances. Who was this person?
"They are all safe and accounted for, Miss Relena," Paegan spoke up, breaking the
silence that had befallen them.
"Relena?" Milliardo finally stepped forward.
Upon further scrutiny, they saw that it was indeed Relena, although she had
changed. A lot. She had the same strikingly blue eyes and honey-blonde hair,
although now her bangs were cropped shorter, while her hair fell straight down her back
and to her waist. She no longer adorned the Peacecraft Academy uniform she had
sworn by a few years ago, but now upgraded her outfit to a stylish, short midnight blue
skirt and matching tailored jacket. To put it simply, she looked absolutely stunning.
"Brother!" she cried delightedly, rushing forward to hug him, which he avidly
returned.
"You really grew up," he whispered in her ear.
She stepped back, obviously pleased at the remark. "Hey, guys, it's been a
while," she greeted the other men. To their surprise, she gave each of them a hug.
She went up to Heero last. "It's good to see you, Heero," she murmured.
Duo waited for the deathgrip of a hug she would bestow upon poor Heero, but he
was kept waiting. He almost keeled over in shock at the simple embrace that his friend
received.
Relena stopped in front of Usagi. Neither one spoke, only stared, crystal blue
meeting bright azure. "You are Usagi, I presume?"
"Yes, Usagi Tsukino,"" Usagi answered, then blurted out, "I expected you to be
older." Before she could confuse anyone, she continued. "I mean, you run an entire
kingdom! That is very surprising for someone so young. You look to be our age!"
"That's because I am," Relena giggled, amused at Usagi's astonishment. "It's a
very long story. Perhaps we can get into it later. For now, though, we should get you
settled into your rooms." She led them up the tall flight of stairs and into the building's
main hall. "Our guest quarters are under renovation at the moment," she explained
apologetically. "I hope you won't mind staying in the dorms?"
Usagi shook her head in answer for everyone. "Dorms would be great. We're
thankful you can accommodate us."
"Think nothing of it," Relena smiled at the group before leading them to the dorms.
"I am just happy to have guests. It's been quite a long while since I've taken time off."
They slowed to a stop at the end of a long hallway with many doors. "I have a
couple of single rooms available, but some of you will have to double."
"We can all share," Trowa spoke up. He glanced at Usagi, who nodded her
consent.
"Great!" Relena clapped her hands together. She handed Heero four sets of keys.
"The first four rooms on the left are empty. I'll leave it to you to pick rooms. Your
luggage will be sent up shortly." She pulled a business card out of her jacket pocket
and handed it to Usagi. "My office's phone line," she explained. "When you're settled
in, just give me a call, and we'll go out to dinner."
They all watched as she left. Then they turned to Heero.
"I'll room by myself," Milliardo spoke up, taking a set of keys from Heero and
disappearing into the last of the four rooms. None of the men were going to argue with
that decision. They weren't exactly ready to jump at the opportunity to room with him.
"Duo and Quatre take the first room," Heero instructed, handing them each a key.
"Trowa and Wufei take the third room. Usagi is with me." He glanced at her.
Usagi almost smiled. Even on vacation, he thought of protecting her. She gave a
slight nod.
Heero passed out the rest of the keys, and everyone went to their respective
rooms.
Ok, because I know you guys all too well, I am fully aware that we all have different opinions of our favorite pacifist princess. However, I am really not prepared to read a thousand flames as to how I make her act in this fic. So please, if you do not agree with her character, feel free to tell me; in fact, please do tell me, but please don't scream at me. But you guys have been awesome so far, and I've received minimal flaming in the last 35 chapters, so I have faith that you will keep on being the wonderful reviewers that I love. So please tell me what you think! And BTW, the next chapter is gonna have a nice piece of info in there, so the more you review, the faster I post. Thanks! Love ya!
Oh, I wanted to throw in a (sadly) conspicuous little plugin for my newest x-over fic, Not Even A Goodbye. I just posted it a few days ago, and the response has been excellent! For those of you that have read it, many thanks go in your direction! For those of you that haven't read it, please go check it out. I think you'll be quite surprised by it.
Sorry about that. Anyway, now on with the fic!
Usagi groaned as she was gently shaken from her slumber. Eyes opening
groggily, she blinked several times as the world came into focus. She immediately
recognized Wufei's face so close to hers.
"Time to wake up, Usagi," he told her softly, staring at the girl who still rested on
his shoulder. "The plane just landed."
At the mention of the plane, she bolted straight up and looked out the window.
Sure enough, they were once again on solid ground. Grabbing her overnight bag, she
followed Wufei off the plane and into the airport terminal, where they met up with the
others.
Each was scanning the crowd. "Any sign of Relena?" Duo asked. Relena was
supposed to be meeting them at the airport to take them back to the academy.
Suddenly Milliardo stepped forward, a half-smile adorning his face. He greeted the
approaching man with a handshake. "Paegan."
Paegan had been with Relena's adoptive family for years. He was a trusted advisor
as well as a loyal friend, and he always watched out for Relena.
"Milliardo," he greeted the man with a warm smile. "It's been a long time."
"That it has." He turned to the others. "You remember Relena's friends."
"Of course." Paegan gave them a short bow. When he stood, his eyes landed on
Usagi. He stared at her for a full minute before saying, "I don't believe we've met."
Stepping forward, she introduced herself. "I am Usagi Tsukino. Nice to meet you."
She shook his hand, meeting his strong grip with one of her own.
"Likewise. Now, let us get your luggage so we can return to the academy. Relena
is anxiously awaiting your arrival. She should be finishing up a business meeting at
this very moment."
They made their way to the baggage claim, taking their suitcases as they rounded
the conveyor belt. Then they headed outside, where Relena's famous all-pink limousine
had been replaced by a sleek black one. Piling in, Paegan set about driving them to
Peacecraft Academy, once known as Saint Gabriel's.
Usagi kept her eyes glued to the window. The Cinq Kingdom was so beautiful.
Everything was green and vibrant, the sky a dazzling blue. It looked like a wonderful
place to live.
Eventually they pulled to a stop in front of a large concrete stairway that led up to a
massive redbrick building.
"Peacecraft Academy," Duo stated. "The place looks the same."
They stood on the sidewalk at the bottom of the stairway, looking up at the
academy where Heero, Duo, and Quatre once posed as students.
Their gazes were averted to someone descending the stairs. The new person
stopped directly in front of them, beaming in delight.
All she received were confused glances. Who was this person?
"They are all safe and accounted for, Miss Relena," Paegan spoke up, breaking the
silence that had befallen them.
"Relena?" Milliardo finally stepped forward.
Upon further scrutiny, they saw that it was indeed Relena, although she had
changed. A lot. She had the same strikingly blue eyes and honey-blonde hair,
although now her bangs were cropped shorter, while her hair fell straight down her back
and to her waist. She no longer adorned the Peacecraft Academy uniform she had
sworn by a few years ago, but now upgraded her outfit to a stylish, short midnight blue
skirt and matching tailored jacket. To put it simply, she looked absolutely stunning.
"Brother!" she cried delightedly, rushing forward to hug him, which he avidly
returned.
"You really grew up," he whispered in her ear.
She stepped back, obviously pleased at the remark. "Hey, guys, it's been a
while," she greeted the other men. To their surprise, she gave each of them a hug.
She went up to Heero last. "It's good to see you, Heero," she murmured.
Duo waited for the deathgrip of a hug she would bestow upon poor Heero, but he
was kept waiting. He almost keeled over in shock at the simple embrace that his friend
received.
Relena stopped in front of Usagi. Neither one spoke, only stared, crystal blue
meeting bright azure. "You are Usagi, I presume?"
"Yes, Usagi Tsukino,"" Usagi answered, then blurted out, "I expected you to be
older." Before she could confuse anyone, she continued. "I mean, you run an entire
kingdom! That is very surprising for someone so young. You look to be our age!"
"That's because I am," Relena giggled, amused at Usagi's astonishment. "It's a
very long story. Perhaps we can get into it later. For now, though, we should get you
settled into your rooms." She led them up the tall flight of stairs and into the building's
main hall. "Our guest quarters are under renovation at the moment," she explained
apologetically. "I hope you won't mind staying in the dorms?"
Usagi shook her head in answer for everyone. "Dorms would be great. We're
thankful you can accommodate us."
"Think nothing of it," Relena smiled at the group before leading them to the dorms.
"I am just happy to have guests. It's been quite a long while since I've taken time off."
They slowed to a stop at the end of a long hallway with many doors. "I have a
couple of single rooms available, but some of you will have to double."
"We can all share," Trowa spoke up. He glanced at Usagi, who nodded her
consent.
"Great!" Relena clapped her hands together. She handed Heero four sets of keys.
"The first four rooms on the left are empty. I'll leave it to you to pick rooms. Your
luggage will be sent up shortly." She pulled a business card out of her jacket pocket
and handed it to Usagi. "My office's phone line," she explained. "When you're settled
in, just give me a call, and we'll go out to dinner."
They all watched as she left. Then they turned to Heero.
"I'll room by myself," Milliardo spoke up, taking a set of keys from Heero and
disappearing into the last of the four rooms. None of the men were going to argue with
that decision. They weren't exactly ready to jump at the opportunity to room with him.
"Duo and Quatre take the first room," Heero instructed, handing them each a key.
"Trowa and Wufei take the third room. Usagi is with me." He glanced at her.
Usagi almost smiled. Even on vacation, he thought of protecting her. She gave a
slight nod.
Heero passed out the rest of the keys, and everyone went to their respective
rooms.
Ok, because I know you guys all too well, I am fully aware that we all have different opinions of our favorite pacifist princess. However, I am really not prepared to read a thousand flames as to how I make her act in this fic. So please, if you do not agree with her character, feel free to tell me; in fact, please do tell me, but please don't scream at me. But you guys have been awesome so far, and I've received minimal flaming in the last 35 chapters, so I have faith that you will keep on being the wonderful reviewers that I love. So please tell me what you think! And BTW, the next chapter is gonna have a nice piece of info in there, so the more you review, the faster I post. Thanks! Love ya!