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Suzumeno Himitsu
Forest, May 24, XA0029
"Are we there
yet?"
The question came from Minako, who was clinging rather limpily behind
her tall friend. She had her arms slinging carelessly about Makoto's
shoulders as she was being carried, and her thighs were wrapped around
the strong girl's waist.
"No," Makoto answered shortly. "And be quiet. You're
getting heavier by the second." She continued to trudge along the
muddy path, sweat and mud outlining her pale, exhausted face. She was
trailing behind Rei and Ami, with Minako riding her back. They had come
a long way from the village they had stopped by earlier during the day,
and even then, they didn't have the time to take a quick soak in the
tub. She was tired, starving, and was stinking like hell.
"Mako-chan," Rei called out. "Is she rambling again?"
She wore a weary expression, and like the rest of them, she was covered
mostly with mud. She stopped, waiting for her friends to catch up.
Ami stopped in her tracks and waited with Rei. Her stomach was growling
fiercely, and she could only hope she wouldn't be doing the same thing
some time soon. She sighed. "Maybe we ought to stop for a moment
to wash and rest."
Rei shook her head slowly. "I hope we could," she said, biting
her lower lip. "But doing that would mean taking time to retrace
our steps back to the village, not to mention we'll probably be knocked
out cold with exhaustion before we even get there." She turned
to Makoto, and
frowned slightly at her friend's facial expression. "I'll carry
her," she offered.
Makoto managed to smile in spite of herself, making the hardened mud
on her cheeks crack. "Don't worry, I can manage. The camp is not
too far, anyway."
Rei eyed her friend, doubtful of her reply. "You sure?"
Makoto nodded. Once
again, she felt Minako stir slowly from her position. She peeked from
behind, an indignant expression on her face as she addressed both Makoto
and Rei. "I can walk, you know." Rei shook her head, but she
grinned before continuing on their way. Displays like these wasn't usual
between all of them, but it was amusing whenever it made an
appearance every once in a while.
"Don't be silly, Minako-chan. I can carry you," Makoto replied,
once again trudging behind Rei and Ami. "Besides, I won't have
you slip and sprain your ankle to match the other one you already have."
Minako snorted,
an unladylike habit which her guardian, Artemis, constantly disapproved
of. She rubbed her cheeks to peel off the caked mud with the back of
her hand. "It wasn't entirely my fault, you know. It was better
than shaving my hair off and selling it to the Coiwaneans." She
shuddered, not liking to remember the way the Coiwaneans scurried after
her, waving their blades dangerously in the air. She and the others
ran madly for cover, not wanting to create more chaos by defending themselves
in the way they knew best. It was wiser that way, and they had managed
to escape, after all.
"And you," Minako said, jabbing at Makoto's side lightly.
"You actually thought it was okay for them to have my hair. MY
hair!" She huffed in feigned anger. "Yes, it's your fault.
And I don't wish to walk anymore. I'll let you suffer by bearing my
unbearable weight, and torture you ceaslessly with my talk. So there!"
Makoto laughed out loud, her eyes twinkling at Minako's outburst. "Careful,"
she warned teasingly. "I'll drop you if you do!" She glanced
at Minako who was grinning back at her. "Besides, I don't think
it was such a bad idea. We needed the mon--owww!" She rubbed her
shoulder which Minako had just pinched.
"Ha!" Minako laughed. "It's you who should be more careful.
I'll bite off your ears next time, see if I don't!"
* * * * * * * * * *
Kunzite frowned slightly, comfortably absorbed with the papers he was
reading. He was drowned, lost in his deep pool of thoughts. He burrowed
deeper into thought, his thumb resting at the base of his chin as he
brushed absently at his locks whenever they got in the way of his
reading.
Aehibio. Cowain. Illandre. He could go on and on with ghost towns, hopeless
and uninhibited cities...
But he had other things in mind. His eyes searched further down page,
after page, hoping to find more reports on Mamoru. Dammit, everything
was happening at the wrong place and at the wrong time. This shouldn't
have happened. It was a nightmare.
He looked at the lantern which was providing him the small amount of
light he needed. He watched as the flames flickered and danced, realized
that in his own world, it was just as wild and turbulent.
He shook his head. Everything was a nightmare. He took off his reading
glasses and rested his head on the soft cushions. He let out a frustrated
sigh, wanting to pull his hair out. It has been the same for the past
months, and he didn't know how much of his hope and energy were
left. He felt so drained, so damnably tired...
"Kunzite!"
Not moving from his position, Kunzite's eyes fell upon the source of
the voice who called out to him. Nephrite. Kunzite knew it was him the
moment he heard his friend's bellow.
Nephrite strode accross the room and took a seat directly in front of
Kunzite. He noticed Kunzite's grim expression, but decided not to mention
it. It had been another grueling day, and he understood how his friend
felt. Jadeite entered moments later, wearing the same expression.
He remained silent, lost in thought.
Kunzite looked at Nephrite, his expression weary. "They have arrived?"
Nephrite shook his head. "Not yet." His gaze turned to the
papers Kunzite was holding. "Any news?"
Kunzite sighed. "Nothing about Mamoru-kun."
Jadeite looked at them both, his look inquiring. "Do you think
they can help us?"
"I hope so," Kunzite replied.
At this, Nephrite frowned slightly. "They better be useful,"
he grumbled. "I don't want to waste time protecting useless court
peacocks with peas for brains."
Jadeite laughed at Nephrite's expression. "Haughty peacocks...hmmm,"
he mused. "Why do you think they're not here yet?"
"Who knows? Maybe the ladies decided against 'roughing it' and
tucked their tails and went home running. They're not our responsibility."
Nephrite had mixed feelings regarding this particular duty. Not only
were their lives in danger since they had to tangle with the women's
web, he also predicted that they would have a hard time handling weak
and fragile women who were not accustomed with the rough way of living.
Why should they be? He assumed they were all brought up the same way,
leading and living a comfortable life full of luxury in their pleasant,
well-guarded kingdom. How should they know what kind of life the people
on Earth led? They were not from this place, they were foreigners.
But they had something to offer that he could not refuse. When one looked
at it, considering all odds, there was no real risk for him and the
others if they accepted. So they did.
"Yet." Kunzite looked at them both with a stern look on his
face. "We agreed to take on this assignment, remeber? They'll be
our responsibility."
"Anything to find Mamoru." Nephrite's face hardened. "Dead
or alive, we have to find him." He grimaced at the thought. Mamoru,
dead. He shook his head. 'Kami-sama, don't let it be.'
"These women may be our only hope."
"Yes."
"Yes..."
Kunzite looked outside, his eyes searching. "Where is Zoicite?"
He had noticed Zoicite's absence since late afternoon, when he decided
to drown himself with the reports.
"He's been outside, or perhaps sleeping inside his tent, waiting
for the arrival of the court ladies," Jadeite answered. He smiled,
remembering Zoicite's assurances of the women's physical appearances.
"He's convinced that he may enjoy this particular duty after all."
Nephrite groaned and Kunzite shook his head. So like Zoicite.
Just then, the guard posted at the camp's front came running towards
them. "Sir," he said, bowing low to Kunzite. "They have
arrived."
Hearing the guard's report, Nephrite and Jadeite immediately stood up
and took after Kunzite. As they neared the destination, they noticed
Zoicite was
already there. All three generals stopped in their tracks, their mouth
agape at the astonishing picture before them.
The women were here all right, but they did not look at all prim and
proper, no frilly bows nor lace, not even a hint of silk clothing. In
fact, they hardly resembled the haughty, highly-pampered court ladies
Nephrite and Jadeite had so pictured. There they were, the lot of them,
wearing leathered suits and breast plates, as if armored for battle.
They were bruised, and were caked with mud all over.
One of them stepped forward, with an exhausted expression on her face.
She was fair-skinned, Zoicite noted. She couldn't be older than nineteen
or twenty summers. He could not properly discern her features, despite
the flaming torch the guard beside them was carrying, for she was
covered with mud all over. But she looked up and held his gaze directly.
Zoicite caught his breath. He was surprised, found himself gazing at
the most exquisite pair of brilliant, sapphire-blue eyes.
The woman spoke. "I am Mizuno Ami." Then she nodded towards
her friends. "My comrades and I are here by orders of her royal
highness Selene. I assume you all know why we are here?" She looked
expectantly at all the generals' blank faces. When no one spoke, she
frowned slightly and turned her gaze to Zoicite, the general who was
standing closer than the rest.
Jadeite shook himself mentally, and turned towards Ami. He was about
to say something when a woman stepped out behind Ami and interrupted.
While Mizuno Ami wore an exhausted expression, she wore an irritated
one. The woman had magnificent violet eyes, which had a fascinating
fiery glow while it reflected irritation. "I am Hino Rei,"
she introduced. "And I would appreciate it if all of you were to
stop gawking, and start straightening matters out." She eyed each
and every one of them, her angered expression fading away to reveal
an identical one to that of Ami's. "I am sincerely sorry we couldn't
be more"-- slight pause--"presentable, but I assure you that
in this case, we could not have stopped it from occuring. It was entirely
beyond our control.
"If you would like to discuss our circumstances tomorrow, after
everyone has had their rest, we respect your decision. We would rather
have ourselves full and cleaned as well, if you don't mind, so we would
also appreciate if you were to make your decisions immediately."
She nodded, noting the astonished look on the generals' faces. "It
would all save us precious time and effort, so if you would please?"
Zoicite stepped forward with a look of concern. He nodded, "I understand."
Then stopped abruptly. His eyes searched far back, but he could see
no more than the women before them. "Actually, I don't. Where are
your escorts?", he asked, bewildered.
"Escorts?" echoed Ami.
"We have no need for escorts," Rei replied shortly.
Jadeite was about to question them further, but one look from the woman's
face told him that it was the end of discussion. So he nodded, motioning
at the farther end of the camp. "There is a brook back there that
would serve you well. The guards can lead you women there."
"Is your friend all right?" This, coming from Kunzite, who
had not spoken since the women's arrival. He had discerened two heads
way back, swathed heavily with the darkness and the mist to his naked
eye. When it seemed that the figures stepped forward, he realized that
there were two of them all right, but one was being carried by the other.
As if on cue, the woman who was being carried lifted her head and squinted
her eyes, as if she was trying to focus on her view. "Mako-chan,"
she whispered. "We can finally bathe?"
The tall woman, whom the other one had called 'Mako-chan', shook her
head and whispered back, "Not yet. We have to attend to your ankle
first." She then, turned towards Kunzite, giving him an inquiring
look. "Can you...?"
Kunzite heard their brief conversation, and was fast to catch up. "Understood,
m'lady. This way." He gestured for them to follow him towards his
tent.
The woman nodded before saying, "Just a moment, please. I wish
to have a few words with my friends."
Kunzite nodded back, motioning to his tent due east of the camp. "I
shall prepare the necessary aids. You can go inside whenever you are
ready." He turned back to the other women. "Excuse me,"
he said, and with that, he left. Nephrite nodded his head slightly,
before doing the same.
Only Jadeite and Zoicite remained. The tall woman's eyes followed General
Nephrite's retreating back before turning towards Rei.
"You fellows go ahead. I'll be with Minako, and have her ankle
bandaged."
"Mako-chan, I think it would be better if we had Minako cleaned
up first, so she wouldn't have to soil her bandages."
At that, the woman agreed. "You are right." She was about
to say something more, but she stopped abruptly and shifted Minako on
her back, turned towards the generals and looked at them as if she had
forgotten they were present.
"I am Kino Makoto," she said. "We thank you for offering
us assistance to the brook, but I believe we can find our own way. Just
point to us the direction."
Zoicite was again caught by surprise, as the third woman locked gazes
with him. He masked his surprise as quickly as it came and looked back.
The woman had emerald-green eyes which seemed to sparkle even when her
mood was apparently not as lively. It was amazing. He wondered if their
people were truly gifted with that certain facial feature, or was it
merely coincidence that these women possessed such striking ones? He
shook himself mentally, and concentrated back on Makoto's words. "Are
you sure you can find your way?"
Makoto nodded , albeit impatiently. "Then by all means," Jadeite
said. "The brook is just a little north from the end of the camp."
He understood the women's wish for privacy. This was an all-men camp
after all, and he understood any feeling of uneasiness or uncomfort.
He would just as well apprise the soldiers for any possible intrusion,
to at least keep the women's mind at ease.
"Thank you."
* * * * * * * * * *
"This feels good," Rei remarked with her eyes closed, savoring
each splash of cold, fresh water, streaming by her feet. She leaned
closer, dipping her long, raven mane, scrubbing it good and clean.
The brook was much better than expected. The running water was fresh,
and sparkling clean. It was slightly hidden behind a grove of Kuorac
trees and an impressive spray of wild flowers, but it wasn't too hard
to find. The delicate moonlight touched the fragile surface of the area,
and
the beautiful gray-blue nightsky had its own spread magnificently starlit.
The place had a charm; it was not too bold in its beauty, neither was
it simple, but it had a certain quality that made it so inviting.
"Heavens, it feels like scratching a long-time itch," Minako
sighed. She grinned, then wrinkled her nose. "Come to think of
it, not being able to bathe the past few days certainly, literally,
gave us quite an itch!" She laughed, as she playfully splashed
water at her friends with her feet. Makoto smiled, as she splashed water
right back. "Stop it," she warned in a teasing manner. "You'll
get our only clean clothes soaked." Then she shook her head and
sighed. "It was a good thing not everything in our sackcloth got
muddied." She reached for the sackcloth they had emptied earlier,
and proceeded to wash it clean.
Rei had just finished cleaning up, and reached for the white, terry
cloth to dry herself. "Do you think it wise to go along with the
sleeping arrangements?" she asked, to no one in particular. Ami,
who was busy scrubbing her clothes clean, looked away from her task
for a moment. "Yes," she answered. "We have no other
choice, if we want everything to work out fine." Again, she bent
her head down back to her work, and began scrubbing vigorously.
"After all," Minako quipped in, "It's not as if we haven't
done it before. We always sleep with the ones under our custody, except
for Usagi, that is. We can be sure of their safety, that way."
"Yes, but that was different. We were the ones who were standing
guard, and the ones in our charge knew it. And besides, back
there, everyone knew who we were. They know better than to fool around
with us." She shook her head, a frown marring the exotic features.
" And I can't
bring myself to trust them so easily."
"You don't have to," Makoto cut in, her expression grim. "Like
Ami-chan said, we have no other choice. We have to see to their safety."
She too, stood up, and began drying herself. "There are four of
them, and four of us. Likely, each of us gets one. It doesn't really
matter to me." She quickly donned a pair of loose trousers and
a snug, cotton blouse. She left her hair loose, decided on waiting for
it to dry.
"We must be careful of everything we say to them in conversation,"
Minako said, looking thoughtful. "The best way to protect them,
is having them close by all the time, but then we must be cautious of
every word and action." There was silence for a moment. Then, Minako's
mouth formed into a wide grin, as she began eyeing Makoto's choice of
clothes. "We should also seriously consider wearing more, uh, feminine
garb if we're to carry on this pretense..."
* * * * * * * * * *
"So they weren't the haughty court ladies I've expected. But they
don't appear to be what Jadeite said you expected them to be as well,
Zoicite."
Zoicite was smiling at his friend Nephrite, also shaking his head as
if he was pitying a confused simpleton for a knowledge he couldn't share.
His friend was terribly mistaken, as far as he was concerned. He could
sense natural, physical beauty on women--he was familiar with physical
beauty, for he was gifted with one, after all--even if... "They
were layered with mud and dust." He smiled knowingly. "You
can never know for sure."
Jadeite groaned. Of all the things to discuss. He didn't understand
why the two of them were squabbling so much. Nephrite was being a pain
in the neck, but he understood how much his friend loathed the duty
he had to carry. It was only natural for him to carry out his anxiety
to the women. But Jadeite also had a feeling...that there was something
in Zoicite's arguements. His friend may be right.
He shook himself mentally. What the hell was he thinking? He did some
head-shaking of his own, convinced that his friends' squabble had gotten
into him.
Nephrite scoffed. "As far as I'm concerned, they resemble urchins."
At that moment,
the tent's entrance-flap was brushed open. A tall, purposeful figure
stepped inside.
'As far as I'm
concerned, they resemble urchins.'
Both of them only caught the last statement.
Makoto was seething. She knew who spoke the words, and she knew who
he was talking about. Minako barely had time to convince her friend
to let it go, when Makoto swiped open the flap. Minako groaned inwardly.
It was inevitable. In all those years they've been together, Minako
knew for a fact that this particular friend of hers had an intense problem
regarding her temper. She didn't deal well with strangers. And had the
tendency to attack at their slightest provocation.
Nephrite had been standing near the entrance. Makoto stepped inside,
openly glaring at him with intense hostility. If it hadn't been for
Kunzite clearing his throat...
Nephrite was clearly astonished, even when he did make an attempt to
mask it. Zoicite took note of it, amused, and Makoto had noticed as
well, but thought it was her sudden entrance that caused the slightly
startled look. She had made quite an appearance after all. The woman
was
statuesque, the top of her head almost reaching his eye level. And he,
Nephrite, was a tall man. She stepped forward in his direction, fixing
him with an icy look that could only mean she had heard his concluding
remarks in his discussion with Zoicite. He caught his breath, unbeknownst
to everyone else in the room, dumbfound at the brilliant flash of emerald
hue that met his eyes.
Kunzite cleared his throat, in an attempt to break the tension, but
not before Nephrite had noticed the flawless, golden skin of her face,
the perfectly shaped brows that was burrowed slightly in obvious irritation,
the fine nose, and the pursed, yet noticeably full lips...
So the woman had remarkably beautiful features. That didn't mean anything
at all; a Frankenstein was the same. After all, it was apparent that
the woman did no efforts to make herself attractive. She kept her hair
in a simple style, and she was dressed in loose, mannish attire. Everything
she wore was plain and practical. She did not wear face paint or cosmetics,
not even jewelry, except for the tiny pair of rose earrings which was
barely noticeable.
Makoto snapped back to realization, and calmed herself. The man's tone
was positively condescending, and his remarks were no doubt highly-insulting.
She could care less what he thought of her appearance, but she simply
wanted to make it clear that no one was going to get away with such
contemptuous remarks. She looked him over coolly, in such a manner that
would've usually effected uncomfort, even embarassment, a mild enough
retaliation for her. It irritated her that he stared back in a lazy
manner reeking of nonchalance. Arrogant bastard.
Kunzite shook his head, and heaved a sigh of relief that was barely
audible. He cast a brief glance at his friend Nephrite before turning
his gaze towards the two women. The tall one supported her injured friend
by the waist, and allowed her sholders be grasped for a more solid support.
"I believe we haven't been introduced." he said started. Then
he began to introduce himself and the other generals as well, pausing
slightly, as if hesitantly when he gestured towards Nephrite. Makoto
acknowledged their presence with curt nods, and returned to Kunzite
with a half-smile.
"I am Kino Makoto," she replied, deliberately disposing the
title attesting to her noble birth, as what Rei and Ami did before,
when they introduced themselves to the generals. "I have introduced
myself before to the other two generals." She glanced briefly at
Minako whose expression was inscrutable. "This here is Aino Minako."
"A pleasure to meet both of you," he returned. When both women
turned expectantly at the soldier standing beside Kunzite, he apologized
and introduced him as well. "This is Miyamoto Kenji. I have little
knowledge regarding medics and first aids, so I have called upon him
for
his assistance." He added briefly for assurance, "He is very
much skilled."
Miyamoto Kenji was a boyishly handsome fellow, with amber eyes and ash-blonde
hair. He bowed low, and smiled good-naturedly at the two women.
Kunzite turned to the other generals. "The tent is too crowded
for comfort. Would you mind?" he questioned meaningfully. "Lady
Mizuno and Lady Hino may need your assistance," he added.
"Please," Minako said, speaking for the first time since they
came in. "We don't care for formalities. We prefer to be called
by our first names, otherwise, we won't know who you're referring to."
Kunzite took a moment to study the woman who was introduced as Aino
Minako. He never noticed until now that she had fine, flaxen hair, for
it really was difficult to discern, covered in mud, dirt, and bruises
as she was. She was fine-boned, and had an undeniably lovely face, which
fairly bubbled of charm and exuberance. And she had eyes to match, a
pretty shade of light blue, which flickered in an interesting manner
whenever she conveyed emotion.
"I understand," he replied, when Makoto nodded her agreement,
in support to her friend's statement. "Our preferences are the
same, after all. Please call us by our first names as well." He
gestured to himself and to the rest of the generals who were already
filing outside.
Once outside, Zoicite
did not waste time throwing his barb. "Sleep well, my friend,"
he said, his tone mockingly exuberant. "Who knows, you might even
end up assigned with the pretty little urchin!" Nephrite glowered
at his remark before finally stalking off.
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