I don't know what to say, I really don't. I never imagined that so many
really enjoyed my story and weren't simply reviewing to be nice. I've
decided to not rewrite the beginning, but from this point on I'm going to
be taking more time and care in what I write, that will mean I won't be
posting as fast as before. Thank you all SO much for telling me your
opinion. I have no intentions in stop writing this fic till it's done and
I hope this is all up to your standards. Please tell me what you think! I
LOVE hearing from you all SO much!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rei sighed contently as she rested her head on the strong, masculine back of her koi, enjoying the feeling of the wind playing with her two braids. She didn't know where the gentle dragon was taking her, for he said it to be a surprise, but she didn't really care. They had never been able to do this before, go and spend the day just being together, he had always had something he was forced to do. Being the heir to the Dragon Clan was hard work and he had to spend most of his time with the elders going over what was in the best interests of the whole family. "Family," that was something she never really believed she had. Yes, the senshi were her sisters, they meant so much to her, Grandpa was the kindest old man you could ever meet even if he was a little strange at times, even Yuchiro, her closest guy friend meant a great deal to her but none had filled that gaping hole in her heart that only her soul mate could enter. For once, she really felt like she was home. She had never felt comfortable in the other dimension, even though she knew that was her true home, not even when she had been able to visit Mars which was where she had lived during the Silver Millennium none of it had felt as right as when she was here. Her heart throbbed at the thought, not being able to see any of them again, not even Phobos or Demos, but she stubbornly shoved the feeling away. She knew the other would not want her to be depressed about their deaths, they would want her to move on…so that was what she was going to do. If not for herself, then for them and Wufei.
The raven haired princess smiled to herself as she remembered what had happened in the training room. She hadn't even known they had such a room in the mansion, but when she had stumbled across it it had been the perfect way to release some of the pent up anger. She had gotten so mad at Wufei for helping her she thought she would have to get away from him for a couple of hours just so she wouldn't unleash her fury on him but he had calmed her down. No, correction, she had completely forgotten why she had been mad in the first place. She still couldn't quite figure out how he had done it, it usually took all of the Inners put together just to deal with her raging outbursts, but all he had had to do was give her that kawaii little smile and she just couldn't help but smile back, he was contagious.
A smirk played across Wufei's lips as he felt his wife's heartbeat against his back and her arms wrapped gently around his waist. Kami, he was lucky. How had he managed to find such a perfect onna? No, she wasn't perfect, she had her temper, she had her stubborn attitude, she had her strong will, but those things which others saw as flaws were the reasons he loved her. He had loved her before, when she had still been Meiren, but he had been a baka and not told her so. Not once had he told her how much she had meant to him and that was why it had been such a devastating blow when he thought she had died. The grief of her leaving and him never telling her just how he felt had almost killed him. But that wasn't going to happen this time around. This time there was no war, there was nothing that could tear them apart. He was going to wake up from now on with her by his side and cherish her forever. He was a LITTLE agitated that the others were able to see how much she meant to him, but it was only because he was now officially paranoid about her safety. Plus the fact that he had never shone many emotions in front of them before besides anger and hate made it kind of ackward, but it didn't really bother him too much. If they had a problem with him loving his wife then that was just that…their problem. The onyx eyed boy watched ahead as freshly blooming sakura trees lined the sides of the road and caused a shower of petals to rain down on them as the wind danced playfully through their branches. They were almost to the park. He planned on the two of them spending most of their day there then spend a couple hours roaming around the city, then return to the same place and having dinner before heading back to Winner's mansion. Hm…he would have to see about getting himself and Rei a nice place somewhere, he did, after all, now have sole ownership of the Dragon Clan fortune seeing as he and his wife were the only ones left alive and he definitely didn't want to live with Maxwell forever. The only reason really why he had excepted the invitation from the blonde Arabian about living with them was because he hadn't wanted to live alone, although he would never admit it. With Meiren gone he hadn't wanted to deal with the loneliness and the other pilots helped with that even if they didn't know. But now he had her back and that meant a few changes.
Wufei almost missed the turn because of his drifting thoughts but he snapped out of it just in time. He carefully let go of the handles with one hand and rubbed Rei's arm gently in reassurance, feeling her tighten her hold on him at the slightly sharp turn. Slowly pulling into one of the many parking places, the black haired pilot held up the motorcycle while she climbed off. She smoothed out her skirt that she had tucked around her legs so she wouldn't accidentally flash someone because of the wind while he shut down the machine and set the stand.
He let out a soft chuckle as he watched her try to deal with one certain crinkle that refused to smooth out. Taking her hands gently he began to lead her toward the entrance to the large park.
"Your dress is fine, if anything I shouldn't be taking you out somewhere so open or someone just might try and steal you from me because of your looks." He playfully smirked.
One of Rei's eyebrows quirked, "I highly doubt that." She said before kissing him lightly on the lips and allowing him to guide her through the "dangerous forest."
The amethyst eyed priestess couldn't believe what she was seeing. The place where he had taken her looked EXACTLY like the park back in the other dimension that had been the battlefield for so many youma attacks. She had to slow her heart so that it wouldn't beat itself out of her chest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Venus Love Me Chain!"
~
"We won't let you win!"
~
"Flame Sniper!"
~
"Mercury! Look out!"
~
"In the name of the Moon!"
"Mars"
"Venus"
"Jupiter"
"Mercury"
"Uranus"
"Neptune"
"Pluto"
"Saturn"
"Earth"
"We will punish you!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The bombard of memories flickered through her mind as her mind mentally screamed out "NO! Not here!" But her heart told her otherwise. For a moment all she could think about were the bad times they had had together, but then she caught glimpses of memories that were joyful and carefree.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hurry up Odango! We're going to be late for the festival!"
"Rei-chan! You're so MEAN!"
~
"Alright! Minako-chan! You won! You won!"
~
"Hurry up Odango! You're making us late for the picnic!"
"Rei-chan! Stop picking on me!"
~
"Wow! Look at the Eclipse! It's as beautiful as Ami-chan said it would be!"
~
"Odango! Would you move it! We're going to be LATE!"
"Why do you always have to pick on me Rei-chan!?"
~
"Hey Koneko, it's good to see you guys again."
~
"Don't worry Odango, everything will work out, I promise."
"Arigato, Rei-chan. I really needed that. You're my best friend."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
No matter where she went the memory of her friends followed. Her eyes glazed over as a sad smile washed across her face. She had paused when she had seen the park and Wufei felt it. He watched her as she seemed far away, not there with him at the moment. A frown appeared on his features as a single tear worked it's way down her cheek, he hated not being able to completely destroy what was hurting her. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms tenderly around her and kissed the solitary tear away, effectively bringing her out of the dazed mode.
"What's wrong, koi?" He asked, lifting her chin up so he could look into her eyes.
She only smiled, her eyes sad but also filled with laughter.
"It's nothing, the others and I just used to go to this one park a lot and it resembles this one. I was just thinking of all the great times we had together." Was her answer, her voice wistful and soft.
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" He asked, not wanting her to have to relive more memories that might hurt her.
But she shook her head. She glanced over the park grounds, almost being able to picture the figures of her friends playing frisbee, or picnicking. The trees danced in the wind as many different types of small birds wove in and out of the branches looking for food or simply serenading any whom came near. The breeze was cool on her skin giving off the feeling of summer.
"No, I like it here. It reminds me of all the good times, they out weigh the bad. They always were ones to joke and play around." She replied the last part so soft he almost didn't hear it.
The ebony haired dragon smiled softly at his koishii, maybe she would be able to heal after all.
"I have an idea. Why don't we sit under that tree over there and you can tell me all about those good times." He said, nodding towards a tree that was on the opposite side of the small pond.
Rei giggled lightly as they walked across the bridge, she could just imagine what the others would say if they saw this…
"Way to go REI-CHAN!"
"OOO! He looks like my old sempai!"
"He's so kawaii!"
"It makes me glad to see you are happy Rei-chan."
Yep, they could be so predictable! They had always been like that, even during the Silver Millennium when they were alone and not being forced to be proper. None of them knew how to grow up…well, except Ami-chan but she was always that way. But she really didn't want them too. They were who they were, and their bubbly personality could rub off easily on any near.
When they were finally to the tree Wufei took a blanket from the big basket Quatre had let them use and spread it out on the ground. Sitting down on it he leaned he back against the tree while Rei sat in his lap, on leg on either side of her and she leaned back into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, laying his chin on her shoulder. There was the smell of jasmine just as strong as before.
"So…are you going to tell me about these "good memories" you've been giggling about?" He asked, making her laugh softly.
"Which ones do you want to hear?"
"All of them."
The amethyst eyed warrior smiled and moved slightly so she was more reclined and the back of her neck was on his shoulder, making herself more comfortable and relaxed.
"Alright, but I warn you, this may take a while."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And that it did. It had been about ten o'clock when they had first arrived and by the time Rei had talked herself out, laughed and giggled till she couldn't breathe, it was already five in the afternoon. They had skipped lunch all together and not even realized it, she had been too caught up in telling her husband about her beloved friends while he had just been satisfied with holding her there and listening to her cheerful laughter. But now she was officially exhausted and dozing gently against his chest.
"I'm sorry I never got a chance to meet your friends." He said quietly, glancing at an old couple who were walking by and smiling at him and his koi.
A soft sigh was his response.
"Yes, they would have loved you and you them. Well…they may not have LOVED you but they would definitely have liked you because it would have made me happy and I know that's all they wanted for me and each other."
The two sat in comfortable silence, neither caring what was going on out side of the other's arms. The Chinese pilot took in the fresh smell of the tenshi, now sleeping in his arms after drifting off, and felt his eyes become heavy. Surely a small nap wouldn't hurt anything...
It felt like it had only been a couple of minutes, but Wufei opened his eyes to see a deep purple and pink sunset painted across the sky.
"Hm…guess I slept longer than I thought." He said absently to himself, not that it was a real big surprise after last night's events.
Looking down at the sleeping megami in his arms half of him said that he needed to wake her so they could go back to the mansion and let her sleep in a real bed while the other half insisted that waking up such a peaceful and serene creature as the one curled up in his lap would be an unforgivable sin. She had her knees pulled up slightly and her hand was resting contently on his chest. Her eyes were calmly closed, thick, soft lashes resting on her cheeks. Lips parted ever so slightly, her light, even breaths tickling his skin since his shirt had remained open due to the summer temperature. All in all, only a cold hearted person would arouse such a lovely maiden from such a serene sleep…slag.
Tilting her head gently he kissed her softly, not being able to think of any other way of awakening her delicately. And it worked. Rei's eyes fluttered open and a light blush colored her cheeks.
"Well, I wouldn't mind waking up to that more often." She smiled as he pulled back, causing him to chuckle.
She yawned slightly, scooting back from him so the boy would have room to get up, she was still a bit tired from the rather large flashback sequence she had gone through the entire day. But she didn't regret it, her heart was lighter than it had been for a long time after reliving all the fun moments she had had with the senshi.
"Anything for you pyro." He said as he reached out his hand to help her to her feet.
The title in which he had deemed her so long ago in order to tease her about of her immunity against fire had turned more into a loving pet name. Hm, he wondered if she was still able to do that. He'd have to ask her about it later, right now she was still half asleep.
"Let's go back, the others might be getting worried." She said, her eyes droopy as she slipping her hand into his.
He mearly nodded as they made their way across the park and to where his motorcycle was currently stationed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Heero's brow furrowed as he scanned a certain web site he had stumbled across. He had originally been hacking into any and every data bade he could think of on the subject of the mysterious groups, but could find nothing of the Inners or Outers. He had then come across a page that was dedicated to myths and folklore. It wouldn't have made him look twice had it not been for the "newest addition" about a legend of celestial warriors with planetary powers.
Upon searching deeper he pulled up information on the background story, a Moon Kingdom falling at the hands of evil, the ten warriors sent into the future to be reborn and fight if needed…interesting. The legend also told of the powers of each soldier. Mercury of Ice and Knowledge. Venus of Love and Beauty. Moon of Crystal and Light. Mars of Fire and Soul. Jupiter or Lightning and Strength. Saturn of Death and Silence. Uranus of Wind and Courage. Neptune of the Oceans and Wisdom. Pluto of Time and Void. And finally the fiancé of the Moon, Earth with no powers except oneness with the planet.
Very interesting.
Of course there were no pictures, it was only a legend after all, but it was said to have originated from around the time of the twentieth century. He searched through all the files he could find from that time period, but nothing pointed to the legend being true. Nothing strange had happened back then so it must have been just a wild story cooked up by some school kids. But it was too much of a coincidence not to notice. The names were the same as their code names, they had the same basic types of attitude that would be expected from the elements. Definitely WAY too many coincidences.
It didn't make sense, though, there was no way the legend could be true, it was too outrageous. Had it been more realistic he would have insisted already that that was what was behind the girl's explanation…but this? It simply WASN'T possible. Sighing silently to himself, the perfect soldier closed his laptop. This was just not his day…but then again he never really had a "good" day. Picking himself out of his chair he slipped out into the hall to get himself something to eat. He had been locked in his room the entire day and not eaten, not that he couldn't go without food for long periods of time, it was just the fact that nobody WANTED to go without food, not even him. So he made his way towards the kitchen.
He quickly put together a sandwich and grabbed a coke, ready to return to his room and continue his search when he heard someone drive up into the garage. Since he had stayed locked in his room he had not had the chance to hear form the braided nuisance about the couple's whereabouts, not that he cared, it was just the fact that he didn't know of anyone who would be out this late and had assumed the two had already gone to bed like the other who had long since returned home from their regular work day at the Preventors. Setting down his plate and can he pulling out his gun from the waist band of his pants and stealthily made his way towards where the sound had came from.
Putting his ear to the door, the soldier boy listened to faint sounds coming from the other side…enemy breaking in. Stepping back slightly he cocked his gun readily. He was itching for something to take his anger out on, and that's why he wasn't exactly thinking straight or other wise he would have already figured out that someone who was trying to kill them wouldn't ride up to the house in a automobile. But Heero didn't care at the moment, he just wanted to hurt something.
Swinging the door open suddenly he pointed his gun at the figure who had been walking towards his position.
"Who are you and who do you work for." He demanded, okay, old habits die hard.
"Yuy, put the gun away, it's me." Came the familiar whisper of Chang, but he still refused to put down the gun.
The blue eyed pilot had noticed his comrade holding his wife in his arms, her sleeping peacefully against his chest.
"What did you do to her?" He asked in his oh so usual monotone, mistaking her calm sleep for unconsciousness.
The solitary dragon glared coldly at the boy standing in front of him.
"I didn't DO anything! She fell asleep and I'm taking her up to bed. Now put the damn gun down!" He whispered forcefully, not wanting to wake up the sleeping girl but not liking the idea of having a gun pointed at him while he was holding his koi.
With a low grunt he placed the firearm back into its place. But he didn't move from in front of the door as the black haired pilot stepped forward. For a moment the two had a fierce staring contest, neither backing down. After a few minutes of complete silence Wufei was beginning to get ticked off.
"Move out of the way, Yuy. I don't have time to deal with you."
"Hn."
The heir to the Dragon Clan growled under his breath as he glared at the slightly taller boy.
"I don't know what you problem is Yuy, but leave Rei out of it. I just got her back and I'm not going to lose her again. Now get out of my way!" He demanded, bearly holding himself back from yelling and waking her up by mistake.
"Do you think you deserve her?" He asked suddenly, startling the Chinese boy.
"W-what?" He asked, confused at why Yuy had asked such a question.
"Do you think you deserve her?"
"No," He replied truthfully.
"Then why do you stay with her?"
"Because she is my wife and I love her, but I don't see how any of that is your business." He replied stiffly, not liking the way the usually stotic soldier was acting around his love.
"She'll be taken away you know. Eventually you will lose her again to war. Peace cannot last forever and we are gundam pilots and she a soldier. There will be those who will target her simply because you two are together. That is why weapons of destruction like ourselves are not allowed to fall in love."
An eerie shadow took filled the place where his former comrade had been standing Chang was suddenly alone in the garage, holding his still sleeping koishii. What the jigoku was he talking about!? There were not going to be any more wars. He was going to live his life for the rest of his days peacefully with Rei by his side. Nothing was going to take her away again. The dazed pilot was brought back to earth as the sleeping form in his arms snuggled deeper into his embrace. He began making his way up to their room. Winner had finally caved about the sharing of rooms when he had pulled out his katana on him. He would never actually hurt the small blonde, but the sharp weapon got his point across.
When he finally reached the door he pushed it open gently with his foot and walked to the bed where he laid the raven haired girl down on the sheets. Carefully unbuckling her sandals he put them on the floor before shutting the door again and changing out of his clothes and into his boxers. He tiredly crawled in beside her, wrapping his arms around her like the night before, relaxing as he felt her against him. Her soft skin rubbed against his as she pulled herself closer to him unconsciously seeking his warmth and he complied whole heartedly, resting his head by hers so their foreheads were touching. He watched her for a moment, soaking in her fragrance and image before kissing her lightly on the nose and slipping himself into a dreamless sleep.
He would never lose her…not again…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A chilling wind whipped around a small youma as he faced his dark mistress.
"What do you have to report?" The cold voice rang through the endless void that was the dark realm.
The voice wasn't very loud but the sting of it pierced the youma's courage, making him cower back into the shadows.
"M-Mistress, th-the demons are b-being gathered as-as we speak. T- they shall b-be ready soon." He stammered, hoping the ex-princess wouldn't vent her impatience on him. He winced as a cruel, high pitched laugh echoed around him.
"Very well, soon I will have the power to fulfill my vengeance. I will make the little princess of fire pay for daring to think she could go up against me." The woman seethed, a wicked smile playing across her lips as she scrapped her nails over the floating orb in front of her, the only light source present in the entire chamber.
The tiny animal youma nodded vigorously, not wanting to oppose the dark queen,
"You may leave, I have no further use for you." She said calmly, keeping her gaze on the orb, the image of the sleeping couple glowing brightly.
But not even the bright energy given off from the child of fire could penetrate the complete and utter void that filled the woman's kingdom.
The terrified cat man scampered off as fast as his four legs could carry him, not wanting to be in his mistress's presence any longer than necessary. Seeing that she was once again alone, the evil queen, ever so gently, stroked the image of the sleeping boy snuggled up to the fire witch. His face now filling the entire picture.
"Dear little dragoness, you should have known not to cross me…and now you will pay for your treachery. Even if it costs me my life I will make you feel the scorn and abandonment that you have made me feel. Sleep well, little dragon princess, for soon I will take everything you hold dear away."
With that her hand tightened around the orb, breaking it into a million shattered pieces it sent the entire room into darkness.
"Soon…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I know that the part of Heero's research makes it seem as if it was the same dimension but it's not. Just hang with me and you'll understand soon enough. I hope this chapter is better than the others and please review. Ja ne.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rei sighed contently as she rested her head on the strong, masculine back of her koi, enjoying the feeling of the wind playing with her two braids. She didn't know where the gentle dragon was taking her, for he said it to be a surprise, but she didn't really care. They had never been able to do this before, go and spend the day just being together, he had always had something he was forced to do. Being the heir to the Dragon Clan was hard work and he had to spend most of his time with the elders going over what was in the best interests of the whole family. "Family," that was something she never really believed she had. Yes, the senshi were her sisters, they meant so much to her, Grandpa was the kindest old man you could ever meet even if he was a little strange at times, even Yuchiro, her closest guy friend meant a great deal to her but none had filled that gaping hole in her heart that only her soul mate could enter. For once, she really felt like she was home. She had never felt comfortable in the other dimension, even though she knew that was her true home, not even when she had been able to visit Mars which was where she had lived during the Silver Millennium none of it had felt as right as when she was here. Her heart throbbed at the thought, not being able to see any of them again, not even Phobos or Demos, but she stubbornly shoved the feeling away. She knew the other would not want her to be depressed about their deaths, they would want her to move on…so that was what she was going to do. If not for herself, then for them and Wufei.
The raven haired princess smiled to herself as she remembered what had happened in the training room. She hadn't even known they had such a room in the mansion, but when she had stumbled across it it had been the perfect way to release some of the pent up anger. She had gotten so mad at Wufei for helping her she thought she would have to get away from him for a couple of hours just so she wouldn't unleash her fury on him but he had calmed her down. No, correction, she had completely forgotten why she had been mad in the first place. She still couldn't quite figure out how he had done it, it usually took all of the Inners put together just to deal with her raging outbursts, but all he had had to do was give her that kawaii little smile and she just couldn't help but smile back, he was contagious.
A smirk played across Wufei's lips as he felt his wife's heartbeat against his back and her arms wrapped gently around his waist. Kami, he was lucky. How had he managed to find such a perfect onna? No, she wasn't perfect, she had her temper, she had her stubborn attitude, she had her strong will, but those things which others saw as flaws were the reasons he loved her. He had loved her before, when she had still been Meiren, but he had been a baka and not told her so. Not once had he told her how much she had meant to him and that was why it had been such a devastating blow when he thought she had died. The grief of her leaving and him never telling her just how he felt had almost killed him. But that wasn't going to happen this time around. This time there was no war, there was nothing that could tear them apart. He was going to wake up from now on with her by his side and cherish her forever. He was a LITTLE agitated that the others were able to see how much she meant to him, but it was only because he was now officially paranoid about her safety. Plus the fact that he had never shone many emotions in front of them before besides anger and hate made it kind of ackward, but it didn't really bother him too much. If they had a problem with him loving his wife then that was just that…their problem. The onyx eyed boy watched ahead as freshly blooming sakura trees lined the sides of the road and caused a shower of petals to rain down on them as the wind danced playfully through their branches. They were almost to the park. He planned on the two of them spending most of their day there then spend a couple hours roaming around the city, then return to the same place and having dinner before heading back to Winner's mansion. Hm…he would have to see about getting himself and Rei a nice place somewhere, he did, after all, now have sole ownership of the Dragon Clan fortune seeing as he and his wife were the only ones left alive and he definitely didn't want to live with Maxwell forever. The only reason really why he had excepted the invitation from the blonde Arabian about living with them was because he hadn't wanted to live alone, although he would never admit it. With Meiren gone he hadn't wanted to deal with the loneliness and the other pilots helped with that even if they didn't know. But now he had her back and that meant a few changes.
Wufei almost missed the turn because of his drifting thoughts but he snapped out of it just in time. He carefully let go of the handles with one hand and rubbed Rei's arm gently in reassurance, feeling her tighten her hold on him at the slightly sharp turn. Slowly pulling into one of the many parking places, the black haired pilot held up the motorcycle while she climbed off. She smoothed out her skirt that she had tucked around her legs so she wouldn't accidentally flash someone because of the wind while he shut down the machine and set the stand.
He let out a soft chuckle as he watched her try to deal with one certain crinkle that refused to smooth out. Taking her hands gently he began to lead her toward the entrance to the large park.
"Your dress is fine, if anything I shouldn't be taking you out somewhere so open or someone just might try and steal you from me because of your looks." He playfully smirked.
One of Rei's eyebrows quirked, "I highly doubt that." She said before kissing him lightly on the lips and allowing him to guide her through the "dangerous forest."
The amethyst eyed priestess couldn't believe what she was seeing. The place where he had taken her looked EXACTLY like the park back in the other dimension that had been the battlefield for so many youma attacks. She had to slow her heart so that it wouldn't beat itself out of her chest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Venus Love Me Chain!"
~
"We won't let you win!"
~
"Flame Sniper!"
~
"Mercury! Look out!"
~
"In the name of the Moon!"
"Mars"
"Venus"
"Jupiter"
"Mercury"
"Uranus"
"Neptune"
"Pluto"
"Saturn"
"Earth"
"We will punish you!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The bombard of memories flickered through her mind as her mind mentally screamed out "NO! Not here!" But her heart told her otherwise. For a moment all she could think about were the bad times they had had together, but then she caught glimpses of memories that were joyful and carefree.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hurry up Odango! We're going to be late for the festival!"
"Rei-chan! You're so MEAN!"
~
"Alright! Minako-chan! You won! You won!"
~
"Hurry up Odango! You're making us late for the picnic!"
"Rei-chan! Stop picking on me!"
~
"Wow! Look at the Eclipse! It's as beautiful as Ami-chan said it would be!"
~
"Odango! Would you move it! We're going to be LATE!"
"Why do you always have to pick on me Rei-chan!?"
~
"Hey Koneko, it's good to see you guys again."
~
"Don't worry Odango, everything will work out, I promise."
"Arigato, Rei-chan. I really needed that. You're my best friend."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
No matter where she went the memory of her friends followed. Her eyes glazed over as a sad smile washed across her face. She had paused when she had seen the park and Wufei felt it. He watched her as she seemed far away, not there with him at the moment. A frown appeared on his features as a single tear worked it's way down her cheek, he hated not being able to completely destroy what was hurting her. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms tenderly around her and kissed the solitary tear away, effectively bringing her out of the dazed mode.
"What's wrong, koi?" He asked, lifting her chin up so he could look into her eyes.
She only smiled, her eyes sad but also filled with laughter.
"It's nothing, the others and I just used to go to this one park a lot and it resembles this one. I was just thinking of all the great times we had together." Was her answer, her voice wistful and soft.
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" He asked, not wanting her to have to relive more memories that might hurt her.
But she shook her head. She glanced over the park grounds, almost being able to picture the figures of her friends playing frisbee, or picnicking. The trees danced in the wind as many different types of small birds wove in and out of the branches looking for food or simply serenading any whom came near. The breeze was cool on her skin giving off the feeling of summer.
"No, I like it here. It reminds me of all the good times, they out weigh the bad. They always were ones to joke and play around." She replied the last part so soft he almost didn't hear it.
The ebony haired dragon smiled softly at his koishii, maybe she would be able to heal after all.
"I have an idea. Why don't we sit under that tree over there and you can tell me all about those good times." He said, nodding towards a tree that was on the opposite side of the small pond.
Rei giggled lightly as they walked across the bridge, she could just imagine what the others would say if they saw this…
"Way to go REI-CHAN!"
"OOO! He looks like my old sempai!"
"He's so kawaii!"
"It makes me glad to see you are happy Rei-chan."
Yep, they could be so predictable! They had always been like that, even during the Silver Millennium when they were alone and not being forced to be proper. None of them knew how to grow up…well, except Ami-chan but she was always that way. But she really didn't want them too. They were who they were, and their bubbly personality could rub off easily on any near.
When they were finally to the tree Wufei took a blanket from the big basket Quatre had let them use and spread it out on the ground. Sitting down on it he leaned he back against the tree while Rei sat in his lap, on leg on either side of her and she leaned back into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, laying his chin on her shoulder. There was the smell of jasmine just as strong as before.
"So…are you going to tell me about these "good memories" you've been giggling about?" He asked, making her laugh softly.
"Which ones do you want to hear?"
"All of them."
The amethyst eyed warrior smiled and moved slightly so she was more reclined and the back of her neck was on his shoulder, making herself more comfortable and relaxed.
"Alright, but I warn you, this may take a while."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And that it did. It had been about ten o'clock when they had first arrived and by the time Rei had talked herself out, laughed and giggled till she couldn't breathe, it was already five in the afternoon. They had skipped lunch all together and not even realized it, she had been too caught up in telling her husband about her beloved friends while he had just been satisfied with holding her there and listening to her cheerful laughter. But now she was officially exhausted and dozing gently against his chest.
"I'm sorry I never got a chance to meet your friends." He said quietly, glancing at an old couple who were walking by and smiling at him and his koi.
A soft sigh was his response.
"Yes, they would have loved you and you them. Well…they may not have LOVED you but they would definitely have liked you because it would have made me happy and I know that's all they wanted for me and each other."
The two sat in comfortable silence, neither caring what was going on out side of the other's arms. The Chinese pilot took in the fresh smell of the tenshi, now sleeping in his arms after drifting off, and felt his eyes become heavy. Surely a small nap wouldn't hurt anything...
It felt like it had only been a couple of minutes, but Wufei opened his eyes to see a deep purple and pink sunset painted across the sky.
"Hm…guess I slept longer than I thought." He said absently to himself, not that it was a real big surprise after last night's events.
Looking down at the sleeping megami in his arms half of him said that he needed to wake her so they could go back to the mansion and let her sleep in a real bed while the other half insisted that waking up such a peaceful and serene creature as the one curled up in his lap would be an unforgivable sin. She had her knees pulled up slightly and her hand was resting contently on his chest. Her eyes were calmly closed, thick, soft lashes resting on her cheeks. Lips parted ever so slightly, her light, even breaths tickling his skin since his shirt had remained open due to the summer temperature. All in all, only a cold hearted person would arouse such a lovely maiden from such a serene sleep…slag.
Tilting her head gently he kissed her softly, not being able to think of any other way of awakening her delicately. And it worked. Rei's eyes fluttered open and a light blush colored her cheeks.
"Well, I wouldn't mind waking up to that more often." She smiled as he pulled back, causing him to chuckle.
She yawned slightly, scooting back from him so the boy would have room to get up, she was still a bit tired from the rather large flashback sequence she had gone through the entire day. But she didn't regret it, her heart was lighter than it had been for a long time after reliving all the fun moments she had had with the senshi.
"Anything for you pyro." He said as he reached out his hand to help her to her feet.
The title in which he had deemed her so long ago in order to tease her about of her immunity against fire had turned more into a loving pet name. Hm, he wondered if she was still able to do that. He'd have to ask her about it later, right now she was still half asleep.
"Let's go back, the others might be getting worried." She said, her eyes droopy as she slipping her hand into his.
He mearly nodded as they made their way across the park and to where his motorcycle was currently stationed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Heero's brow furrowed as he scanned a certain web site he had stumbled across. He had originally been hacking into any and every data bade he could think of on the subject of the mysterious groups, but could find nothing of the Inners or Outers. He had then come across a page that was dedicated to myths and folklore. It wouldn't have made him look twice had it not been for the "newest addition" about a legend of celestial warriors with planetary powers.
Upon searching deeper he pulled up information on the background story, a Moon Kingdom falling at the hands of evil, the ten warriors sent into the future to be reborn and fight if needed…interesting. The legend also told of the powers of each soldier. Mercury of Ice and Knowledge. Venus of Love and Beauty. Moon of Crystal and Light. Mars of Fire and Soul. Jupiter or Lightning and Strength. Saturn of Death and Silence. Uranus of Wind and Courage. Neptune of the Oceans and Wisdom. Pluto of Time and Void. And finally the fiancé of the Moon, Earth with no powers except oneness with the planet.
Very interesting.
Of course there were no pictures, it was only a legend after all, but it was said to have originated from around the time of the twentieth century. He searched through all the files he could find from that time period, but nothing pointed to the legend being true. Nothing strange had happened back then so it must have been just a wild story cooked up by some school kids. But it was too much of a coincidence not to notice. The names were the same as their code names, they had the same basic types of attitude that would be expected from the elements. Definitely WAY too many coincidences.
It didn't make sense, though, there was no way the legend could be true, it was too outrageous. Had it been more realistic he would have insisted already that that was what was behind the girl's explanation…but this? It simply WASN'T possible. Sighing silently to himself, the perfect soldier closed his laptop. This was just not his day…but then again he never really had a "good" day. Picking himself out of his chair he slipped out into the hall to get himself something to eat. He had been locked in his room the entire day and not eaten, not that he couldn't go without food for long periods of time, it was just the fact that nobody WANTED to go without food, not even him. So he made his way towards the kitchen.
He quickly put together a sandwich and grabbed a coke, ready to return to his room and continue his search when he heard someone drive up into the garage. Since he had stayed locked in his room he had not had the chance to hear form the braided nuisance about the couple's whereabouts, not that he cared, it was just the fact that he didn't know of anyone who would be out this late and had assumed the two had already gone to bed like the other who had long since returned home from their regular work day at the Preventors. Setting down his plate and can he pulling out his gun from the waist band of his pants and stealthily made his way towards where the sound had came from.
Putting his ear to the door, the soldier boy listened to faint sounds coming from the other side…enemy breaking in. Stepping back slightly he cocked his gun readily. He was itching for something to take his anger out on, and that's why he wasn't exactly thinking straight or other wise he would have already figured out that someone who was trying to kill them wouldn't ride up to the house in a automobile. But Heero didn't care at the moment, he just wanted to hurt something.
Swinging the door open suddenly he pointed his gun at the figure who had been walking towards his position.
"Who are you and who do you work for." He demanded, okay, old habits die hard.
"Yuy, put the gun away, it's me." Came the familiar whisper of Chang, but he still refused to put down the gun.
The blue eyed pilot had noticed his comrade holding his wife in his arms, her sleeping peacefully against his chest.
"What did you do to her?" He asked in his oh so usual monotone, mistaking her calm sleep for unconsciousness.
The solitary dragon glared coldly at the boy standing in front of him.
"I didn't DO anything! She fell asleep and I'm taking her up to bed. Now put the damn gun down!" He whispered forcefully, not wanting to wake up the sleeping girl but not liking the idea of having a gun pointed at him while he was holding his koi.
With a low grunt he placed the firearm back into its place. But he didn't move from in front of the door as the black haired pilot stepped forward. For a moment the two had a fierce staring contest, neither backing down. After a few minutes of complete silence Wufei was beginning to get ticked off.
"Move out of the way, Yuy. I don't have time to deal with you."
"Hn."
The heir to the Dragon Clan growled under his breath as he glared at the slightly taller boy.
"I don't know what you problem is Yuy, but leave Rei out of it. I just got her back and I'm not going to lose her again. Now get out of my way!" He demanded, bearly holding himself back from yelling and waking her up by mistake.
"Do you think you deserve her?" He asked suddenly, startling the Chinese boy.
"W-what?" He asked, confused at why Yuy had asked such a question.
"Do you think you deserve her?"
"No," He replied truthfully.
"Then why do you stay with her?"
"Because she is my wife and I love her, but I don't see how any of that is your business." He replied stiffly, not liking the way the usually stotic soldier was acting around his love.
"She'll be taken away you know. Eventually you will lose her again to war. Peace cannot last forever and we are gundam pilots and she a soldier. There will be those who will target her simply because you two are together. That is why weapons of destruction like ourselves are not allowed to fall in love."
An eerie shadow took filled the place where his former comrade had been standing Chang was suddenly alone in the garage, holding his still sleeping koishii. What the jigoku was he talking about!? There were not going to be any more wars. He was going to live his life for the rest of his days peacefully with Rei by his side. Nothing was going to take her away again. The dazed pilot was brought back to earth as the sleeping form in his arms snuggled deeper into his embrace. He began making his way up to their room. Winner had finally caved about the sharing of rooms when he had pulled out his katana on him. He would never actually hurt the small blonde, but the sharp weapon got his point across.
When he finally reached the door he pushed it open gently with his foot and walked to the bed where he laid the raven haired girl down on the sheets. Carefully unbuckling her sandals he put them on the floor before shutting the door again and changing out of his clothes and into his boxers. He tiredly crawled in beside her, wrapping his arms around her like the night before, relaxing as he felt her against him. Her soft skin rubbed against his as she pulled herself closer to him unconsciously seeking his warmth and he complied whole heartedly, resting his head by hers so their foreheads were touching. He watched her for a moment, soaking in her fragrance and image before kissing her lightly on the nose and slipping himself into a dreamless sleep.
He would never lose her…not again…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A chilling wind whipped around a small youma as he faced his dark mistress.
"What do you have to report?" The cold voice rang through the endless void that was the dark realm.
The voice wasn't very loud but the sting of it pierced the youma's courage, making him cower back into the shadows.
"M-Mistress, th-the demons are b-being gathered as-as we speak. T- they shall b-be ready soon." He stammered, hoping the ex-princess wouldn't vent her impatience on him. He winced as a cruel, high pitched laugh echoed around him.
"Very well, soon I will have the power to fulfill my vengeance. I will make the little princess of fire pay for daring to think she could go up against me." The woman seethed, a wicked smile playing across her lips as she scrapped her nails over the floating orb in front of her, the only light source present in the entire chamber.
The tiny animal youma nodded vigorously, not wanting to oppose the dark queen,
"You may leave, I have no further use for you." She said calmly, keeping her gaze on the orb, the image of the sleeping couple glowing brightly.
But not even the bright energy given off from the child of fire could penetrate the complete and utter void that filled the woman's kingdom.
The terrified cat man scampered off as fast as his four legs could carry him, not wanting to be in his mistress's presence any longer than necessary. Seeing that she was once again alone, the evil queen, ever so gently, stroked the image of the sleeping boy snuggled up to the fire witch. His face now filling the entire picture.
"Dear little dragoness, you should have known not to cross me…and now you will pay for your treachery. Even if it costs me my life I will make you feel the scorn and abandonment that you have made me feel. Sleep well, little dragon princess, for soon I will take everything you hold dear away."
With that her hand tightened around the orb, breaking it into a million shattered pieces it sent the entire room into darkness.
"Soon…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I know that the part of Heero's research makes it seem as if it was the same dimension but it's not. Just hang with me and you'll understand soon enough. I hope this chapter is better than the others and please review. Ja ne.