Other Worlds
Chapter 4
I was wrong. Chapter 4 didn't turn out any better than 3. This chapter was a total pain in the ass too. There's a lot of fluff in this chapter and Heero OOCness. I'll try to make chapter 5 better. There'll be more action in it. Anyway, I hope this chapter doesn't totally bore you. Special thanks to miaka79 and hypergirl for all their encouragement! Arigato! ^_^
Disclaimer: See the first few chapters.
…. = denotes thought
Heero stumbled aimlessly through the darkness. Everywhere he looked all he could see was black empty space. The air was hot and suffocating. Beads of sweat rolled down his body making his shirt stick uncomfortably to his skin. He thought he could hear a strange sound coming from somewhere. Heero strained his ears and could soon make out the sound of someone's ragged breathing. He found himself being pulled in the direction of the noise that cut through the silent empty space. It was not long before he saw Nikita, standing poised for battle with her longsword held out in front of her. Blood covered the long silver blade and dripped off in ruby drops, landing with a soft plop on the hard dirt floor. A dark, shadowy figure emerged from the empty space with a crossbow cocked and ready. Heero tried to call out to Nikita and warn her, but his voice was lost to him. The figure took aim and fired.
Nikita let out a pained cry as the crossbow bolt pierced her back and broke through her chest. Her longsword fell from her dying hands and clattered to the ground. She slowly dropped to her knees clutching at the wound. She landed with a dull thud on the floor; gasping and choking on the blood that poured from her mouth. Heero finally found his voice and cried out as he ran to Nikita's side. He turned her over and cradled her in his arms, the look of pain in her endless aqua-green eyes cutting deep into his heart. Her body felt cold against his burning skin and was rapidly becoming cooler. Heero felt something warm and wet run down his face and watched in surprise as a clear drop landed on Nikita's cheek. He was crying. Why was he crying over someone he barely knew? Why did he feel this way about someone he barely knew? He lifted his hand and saw it was covered in blood. Her blood. It ran down his arm in tiny red rivulets, dripping off his elbow to land on Nikita's quickly paling face. Her mouth fluttered open and close with her struggled breaths. Her aqua-green eyes slowly slid shut. Heero reached down to gently stroke her pale face, leaving behind a streak of ruby red that stood out starkly against the white of her face. His bloody fingers gently traced her lips coating them with crimson. He bent down and pressed his lips to her soft cold ones, tasting the metallic tang of blood. His tears flowed faster now, mingling with the blood on her face.
"Nikita…"
Heero woke up, a sheen of sweat covering his body. His breathing was ragged and shallow as he sat up and looked at the sleeping figure to his right. Nikita was still there, curled up on her sleeping mat. Heero breathed a shaky sigh of relief and shivered as the night air cooled his damp skin. He looked at his hand, remembering the feel of the warm blood running down his arm. Why had he had such a weird dream? Did it mean something? Was Nikita in danger? He brought a trembling hand to his lips and remembered the feel of her cold mouth against his, the metallic sweet taste of her blood. He groaned exasperatedly and clutched his temples. This was becoming too much.
A sound suddenly startled Heero from his thoughts. His head shot up and he looked over to see Aldrich busily packing his things. Aldrich looked up from what he was doing when he felt Heero's cold blue eyes on him.
"Well, good evening Heero." he smiled, speaking softly so they wouldn't disturb Nikita from her sleep. "Trouble sleeping?"
"What are you doing?" asked Heero. He got up and walked over to Aldrich, suspicion of the taller man evident in his cobalt eyes. Aldrich finished packing and slung his bag over his shoulder.
"I'm low on some special supplies and I need to get some more. There's a village nearby that sells what I need." Aldrich made a gesture towards the north. "So I'm going there."
"Why didn't you wait until we left in the morning? Or wake up Nikita?" asked Heero.
"Well, no offense to my dear sister, but I do travel faster without her. Besides, I've left her to travel alone before. She doesn't really mind." he said nonchalantly. He looked over at Heero and grinned. "At least she's not alone this time." Heero said nothing.
Aldrich smiled and looked up at the dark blue sky. The stars twinkled in his laughing aqua-green eyes. The silver moonlight bathed his delicate features, giving him an ethereal glow. Heero studied his profile against the night sky. He was almost too pretty to be a man.
"Heero," he said, his voice soft and low. He looked over at his sleeping sibling. "How do you feel about my sister?"
"What?!" exclaimed Heero a little to loudly.
"Shhhhh!" scolded Aldrich with a long delicate finger to his lips.
"Sorry."
"I know she feels something for you." continued Aldrich, "She doesn't act the same way around other men as she does you. I've never seen her get so flustered before." Aldrich looked back to Nikita. "And unless I'm very mistaken, you feel something for her too. Am I wrong?"
For once, Heero didn't have an answer. He looked back at Nikita's sleeping figure. The moonlight's soft glow made her hair shimmer like gold. She looked so at ease in her slumber, like a child with no worries in the world. Her soft, pink lips were parted slightly. Her chest rose and fell with each whispered breath, her exposed skin glowing in the silver moonlight. Heero found himself mesmerized by the sight. He had never seen anyone more beautiful.
How do I feel about her?… He turned back to Aldrich.
"I don't know." he answered honestly. Aldrich chuckled softly.
"Well, at least your honest." He looked down at Heero's injured ankle. "I see your ankle's better now."
"I heal quickly."
"Ah. Well, would you mind if I took my staff back? I need to have some protection while walking through these woods." said Aldrich. Heero shook his head. "Great." Aldrich walked over and picked up his staff. Then he walked back to Heero.
"Well, I guess I'll see you later." he said. "When my sister wakes up, tell her I said that I'd meet you both in Canderis, will you?" Heero nodded and Aldrich started walking away.
"Take good care of Nikki for me, Heero." Aldrich called softly as he waved goodbye to Heero over his shoulder. He hummed a cheerful tune as he walked away and disappeared into the darkness of the night forest.
Heero woke again as the warm sunlight caressed his face and roused him from the peaceful oblivion of sleep. He, much to his relief, had fallen asleep without having any disturbing dreams. He looked over at Nikita, who was also waking. She slowly sat up, rubbing at her oceanic eyes in a childish manner. She stretched and yawned broadly, rubbing out the kinks in her neck. She blinked sleepily a few times before looking groggily over to Heero.
"Good morning Heero." she said with a sleepy smile that Heero found to be incredibly sexy, despite himself. Nikita looked past him a look of confusion quickly taking its place on her features. "Where did my brother go?"
"He left in the middle of the night. He said he needed some supplies and that he would meet us in Canderis." said Heero. Nikita's look of confusion quickly changed to one of rage.
"That good-for-nothing jerk! How dare he go by himself and leave me behind again!" fumed the blonde elf. She slammed a fist into the ground. "I swear by the gods, he's gonna get it the next time I lay eyes on him!"
Nikita stood up and angrily pulled on her boots. She grumbled and stomped around as she re-packed her things. She looked over at Heero, who was still sitting there watching her.
"Well, are you going to help me or just sit there all day?!"
"Heero got up and helped Nikita get everything together. Then, after a quick breakfast of slightly stale bread and dried fruit, the two headed off to Canderis.
They walked in silence for a long time. Heero off in his own thoughts, wondering what was happening with the other pilots, Nikita getting more uncomfortable with silence as they walked. She was too used to having her brother there to talk her ear off.
"So…I see your ankle's feeling better. You don't even limp anymore." said Nikita, trying to break the silence.
"I heal quickly." replied Heero.
"Ah. I see." The uncomfortable silence fell between the two travelers once more.
"Would you like to talk about anything?" asked Nikita hopefully.
"Like what?" asked Heero.
"Anything. I just can't stand this silence anymore. I'd almost welcome my brother's mindless chatter about now." said Nikita exasperatedly, waving her arms for emphasis.
"Why are your ears long and pointed like that?" asked Heero. Nikita turned around and gave him an odd look.
"What do you mean "why are my ears pointed"? They're supposed to be that way. I'm an elf." she said as she fingered one of the small silver hoops that hung from her ear.
"An elf?"
"Yes, an elf. Don't you have any where your from?" asked Nikita.
"Not to my knowledge." replied Heero.
"What kind of strange world are you from? Not having any elves, that's ridiculous. That's almost as sill as there not being any mages…" she trailed off suddenly, looking tense.
"What's wrong?" asked Heero, his senses instantly on full alert. He stopped and listened but he could hear nothing. He scanned the woods around them for the threat, but found none. Nikita drew her sword and fell into a fighting stance. Heero drew his gun and prepared himself for a possible attack as well.
"Bandits." Nikita spat. "We're surrounded."
There it is! Hope you enjoyed! I have a question for all of you. What do you think of me adding another g-boy to the mix? My friend Kousei (she writes great sailormoon fics; go check her out! Darkslayer too! His fic is really cool!) suggested adding Duo. Review or e-mail me at onichan01@yahoo.com and tell me what you think. If enough say they would like to see him, I'll find a way to work him into the plot.