Hehehehe…Sorry for leaving it off in such a cliffhanger…Wow…this has really gotten long.

IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!

This is what happens when you inflate a poor author's head to such a height. It's rather hard to reach the keyboard when you're floating three feet above it……Man, I was expecting at least ONE complaint about the centaur….But onto the length…..

My mind's exploding. I've got the entire thing worked out, then this AMAZING scene appears in my head, and I HAVE to add it….and another…and another……I promise this isn't going to be an epic, and I WILL finish this…..but I'm clueless as to when. I'm down to typing a chapter a week, short chapters, since I have maybe an hour of free time a day, and I DO have homework….

Oh well. To make that short. Sorry this took so long. I have reasons.

I can't remember if I've put in disclaimers, I always forget. So I don't own Gundam or Sailor Moon. Happy now? If I did, I'd SO have a crossover movie with all of them. Man, THAT would be cool. And DUBBED PROPERLY! So all younger fans can watch it and enjoy the sheer beauty of crossovers! Oh well, I can dream, can't I?

Oh yeah. To clear up any confusion on appearance, Hotaru looks like she did in S. Duo looks like he did in the Endless Waltz OAV/Movie. If you want to figure out what they're wearing, well, Hotaru's still in normal teen clothes in dark colors, and Duo's in the Preventor uniform. (Preventor jacket {Which was burned to badly for use, so it's technically gone} a white t-shirt and green army-style pants.) Any questions? E-mail me or review!!!

Please R&R!

Peace, Love and Anarchy!

-The Elemental

Walk Through the Fire

Chapter Seven:

Building a Fire and Trust

A shudder coursed through her body and an instant later the centaur collapsed, her upper body falling to the floor with a very audible thump. Hotaru grimaced.

"I bet that hurt."

"DUO!"

"What?"

Hotaru knelt by the girl's side, trying to figure what was wrong… "She's hurt Duo. Look." Hotaru pointed out the many gashes and scrapes that covered the girl's body, practically all over. Stopping to examine the girl's wrists, she pointed to the pink, shiny circle of flesh that ringed them. "These are infected. That's why she's so sick. I can't figure out what caused them though….."
"Restraints."

"What?"

"It's from restraints. Handcuffs of some kind…"

"How could you…? Nevermind. Let's get her to the fire."

"What fire?"

"The one you're about to build."

"Um…'Taru? I think you should know I'm not much of the 'fire by hand' kind of guy…that's always Heero or Trowa, heck even WuFei is a better camper…"

"Who are they?"

"Oh…Friends…we got split up…." I hope they're alright…

The darkness hiding the look in Duo's eyes, Hotaru continued, oblivious.

"I'll teach you. It won't be too hard, here *Humph* help me move her…careful of her wrists now…*ugh* ok, set her down, gently…*Thud* I said GENTLY!! Sheesh!"

"Wow…She was light! How is going to build a fire be easy? You've got 'magic pyro skills' or something?"

"No that's Rei… And she's battling an infection, it's taking a lot out of her. I'd bet she hasn't eaten in days…And that silvery-grey rock at the mouth of the cave? Yeah, there. Break off a piece? That's flint. Now watch. If you hit it against another piece, like this one here…*Spark* see? You try."

*Spark* *Spark*

"Ouch!"

"Careful! Ok, now, strike it over the tinder, it's dry, so it'll catch quick…now blow it slowly, you want to create a vacuum…there you go!"

"Hey! I've made a fire! How cool is that?! I wish Heero was here!" Shit…Damnit, I wish I could just forget them for a while…I'm probably never going to see them again….Happy thoughts Duo, happy thoughts….

"Duo? Hey Duo?! I asked if everything is all right? Heero was a friend of yours?"

"Yeah…I'm fine, just…fine…"

"..Ok…Listen Duo, she's dying.

"What? How do you know!?"

"I was-I'm studying to be a nurse." Don't talk like you're dead and gone. You didn't die, so you have to return. You have to protect Usagi. "I can tell. Her infection is quite bad, it's spread through her whole body. I don't think she'll pull through, unless…"

"Unless what? We can't just let her die! We've got to do something!"

Why does he care? He doesn't even know her, yet he's acting like he'll walk through fire to save her…Just like Usagi… Hotaru didn't know what was more disturbing, the fact that this seemingly happy-go-lucky guy reminded her of her princess, or the fact that she agreed with him.

"Duo, I think I can heal her, like I did your wounds, but…I'm going to need your help." Hotaru hated to ask for help. It always made her feel weakened in some way. I probably got that from Haruka… She plunged ahead, setting aside her pride in the hopes of saving this girl. "It's going to take a lot out of me. I'm going to pass out from the effort, and I may not regain consciousness for a few hours, maybe even a day. And there's no guarantee that it'll work…I'd need you to stay here. You'd have to keep an eye on us both. You couldn't leave…" She looked into his face, wondering if he fully understood what she was asking. You'd have to protect us…But why am I asking you? And why do I feel like I could trust you? We know nothing about each other…

"Hotaru?" His voice interrupted her train of thought.

"..What?" She realized his hands were on her shoulders, his face a few inches from hers. He smiled and asked solemnly;

"Do you want to help her?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll do whatever you need me to. I don't want her to die, she's too young, it's wrong…" His eyes clouded over for a brief second.

"Duo?"

"Don't worry, I'll stay!" All smiles again, he released his grip of Hotaru's shoulders and sat back. "Do you need anything else?"

"No…But when I wake up, and if she wakes up, we're both going to need some food and water. She's got some supplies in a brown bag I saw at the back of the cave, check those first. And thanks."

"What for? We're just rescuing a damsel in distress. A rather peculiar damsel I know, but a damsel nonetheless." He bowed comically and Hotaru chuckled, before placing her hands on the girl's shoulders. I'll have to go deep…I'm really low on energy as well…This would be so much easier as Saturn, but…Not with Duo around…I hope this works. She could sense the energies in the cave. The pulsing of the earth below, the many small creatures that were hiding from the centaur and her strange humans…Duo, his aura purple, colored red from injuries, and black for…Why is there so much black in his aura?…I'll have to leave that to another day…She focused in on the faint golden aura in front of her, nearly smothered in a sickly red swirling mass of sickness. I don't know if I can bring her back, she's so far gone…but I'll have to try. Her mind flowed through her contact to the girl, racing to her heart, burning out every iota of infection she found on the way. Finding the girl's heart, she was pleasantly surprised to find it was more human than horse, which made Hotaru's job a little easier. Pausing at her heart for a moment, Hotaru strengthened every passage and vein, then burst down, letting the blood flow take her to the worst injuries.

Seven broken bones, a punctured lung, numerous burns and half a dozen gashes later, Hotaru was exhausted. She'd burnt out the infection, and had healed everything in her power and was left without enough energy to manually come back into her own body. Letting the blood flow of the centaur gradually circulate her back to her contact, she climbed back into her body, cramped and exhausted. She stood carefully, and looked at Duo, who was sitting cross-legged no far from her, staring avidly.

"H-How long…was I…?"

"About an hour…. Did you know you were glowing? And—Hotaru!" He rushed forward to catch the girl as she collapsed. Cradling her in his arms, he realized she was sound asleep.

"I guess it's my turn to look after you."

*****************

Please R&R! I know it seems to be getting a little mushy, but it's really not. I simply can't write them in a romantic relationship for the simple fact that in my mind, once you're in a romantic relationship that works, you'll eventually end up sleeping together, or, if you're deeply religious (or practical), getting married then sleeping together. Simply put, I can't see Duo and Hotaru in a chapel, and really can't see them in bed together, no matter how well you write it, or how perfect they are together….

Besides. I'm a firm believer that Heero and Duo make one CUTE couple….though don't worry, I'm not going any further than I've already gone in this fic. (Translation for you H&R lovers and Non-Shounen-ai fans: It's not going past Duo's mentioning of Heero, and his rather constant worry as to whether he/they got out alright.) He IS on another planet with a strange girl who seems to have magic powers and he's just met a centaur. I think he's got other things to worry about.

Shameless self plug #1 Why don't you check out my Twisted Anime Christmas Carols? You can find them if you check out my profile. (I can't find a way to get links working. I know nothing about HTML…) I'm also doing requests. Just name a carol (Give me a character or series to work with) and I'll do my best. I'll also just do one to any character or series if you don't have any specific song in mind.

Please R&R!

I am the Breeze of Wisdom and the Wind of Insanity

~The Elemental.