Disclaimer: You all know by now that I don't own the following characters right?

Matsuri: I know! I know! It's been a while, but I have not had that much time to type lately. I'm trying, though. I managed to get this chapter posted. Thank you all so much for reviewing. Me like reviews! So now without further ado chapter seven…

7 Chapter Seven

Thunder cracked overhead as Duo stared at his reflection in a puddle of water. He had calmed down quite a bit, but he was still angry and hurt.

"What am I becoming?" he asked himself. "I'm the god of death. Nothing should faze me! You hear me, Hilde! I don't need you! I have Deathscythe!"

"Duo?" Duo turned and saw Makoto, a worried expression on her face.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Duo mumbled. "I just need to be alone."

"You were yelling," Makoto said, taking a step closer. "Who's Hilde?"

"She's nobody," Duo said. "Nobody important."

"She must be important if you'd get all upset about her."

"I'm not upset," Duo objected, looking away. Makoto sighed.

"Duo, you can talk to me," Makoto said, stepping closer. "I won't think any less of you." Duo stared at the ground as if contemplating whether he should talk or not. He backed up until his back was against the brick wall. Then, he spoke.

"We were together for…so long," he said. "She was always there…always there to lend a helping hand. We always had fun. Where ever she was, you'd find me near and where ever I was, you'd see her. We were inseparable. She was the best friend I ever had. We were dedicated to one another. I was hers. She claimed me…forever. And I…I thought we were happy, but…I don't know. She just didn't want me anymore. She left me for some other guy." Makoto didn't know what to say. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"She didn't tell me anything," Duo continued. "Didn't warn me. She just left! And I loved her! I loved her, Makoto!! But I guess it didn't matter to her. I guess she didn't…see it…or…she didn't care." Duo looked up to see Makoto closer now, staring up at his face. Although, it seemed that she was tall, Duo towered over her by a few inches. Her face was wet with fresh tears. 'Tears!?' Duo thought. 'Why? For me?'

"Gomen ne," Makoto whispered. "I didn't know. I guess…I guess we're like." She gave him a weak smile. Duo moved a little of her hair from her eyes so that he could return her stare. Their noses were so close, they could touch. Then…it began to rain.



"These damn mobile dolls!" Hiro hissed, dodging a blow. "Somehow they're stronger!" He had fixed Wing Zero's arm somewhat so he was lucky to have stopped that doll from crashing into the others at that carnival. Wing Zero raised its beam cannon and blew off an arm of one of the two mobile dolls that were left. He finished it by forcing it under water and then blowing it away.

"One left," Hiro mumbled. The mobile doll quickly flew to land and Wing Zero followed.

"Tell me where your space colony is and save yourself some trouble," Hiro said.

"Your gundams are useless! I'm not telling you anything! Treiz is making an even better mobile suite! Your gundams will be overpowered!" the mobile doll pilot yelled. Hiro's eyes went wide. 'Better mobile suites?' he wondered. They took to the air. Energy was clashing between the two and they were attacking with fierceness. It was a hard battle, but Hiro ended up being the winner. Pieces of the mobile doll flew everywhere.



Darkness. Nothing but darkness, and it was a comforting darkness. It was a warm darkness which Makoto gladly took in. What's this? A Streak of light? Cold light! Evil light! Makoto stared, shivering from the coldness. Someone's there…three someones. Rei, Ami, and Minako! Makoto reached out to them, toward her friends, but they were not in reach.

"Look what has happened," Rei's voice echoed. "We are no longer with you and Usagi."

"I know," Makoto whispered.

"Do you know why?" Ami asked.

"V-Visus…he…"

"Because you weren't there for us!" Ami cut Makoto off.

"What are you talking about?" Makoto cried. Her heart began to race. This wasn't good.

"You let us die!" Minako yelled. "You could have risked your life for us too!"

"But now we're gone! It's too late!" Rei yelled. "And it's all your fault!"

"Iie!" Makoto cried. "It was too late to save you!"

"But you saved Usagi!" Ami cried. "Aren't we your friends too?"

"Hai, but…"

"It's your fault!" Minako yelled, cutting her off. All three began to chant.

"It's your fault! It's your fault!" It played over and over in Makoto's head until she herself began to chant.

"It's my fault. It's…it's my fault." The light, the cold light, the evil light engulfed her, freezing her. Freezing. Below zero until she was covered in ice! Frozen!!



"AH!!" Makoto jumped up in bed. She clung to her throat, gasping for air. A cold sweat rolled down her face. When she calmed down she looked around.

"A…*cough*…a dream," she managed to choke out. "Just a dream." Makoto climbed out of bed meaning to get some water. She spotted Usagi on the couch.

"What are you doing up?" Usagi asked her.

"I need some water. What about you?" Makoto said and Usagi sighed.

"Hiro hasn't come back yet. I'm getting worried."

"What time is it?" Makoto asked. Usagi shrugged.

"One I guess." After getting water, Makoto sat next to Usagi.

"I have a feeling," she said. "I have a feeling that you like Hiro." Usagi smiled.

"Although he acts like tough guy, he's actually really nice. But it's hard to get anything out of him. It's like he has a shield up, blocking anyone who comes close." Usagi seemed to space out for a while, and then she said, "Do you think that Mamoru's alright?" The question caught Makoto by surprise.

"Um…maybe?" Makoto said and then she corrected herself. "I'm sure he's ok." Usagi nodded her head in agreement.

"You and Duo seem to be getting along," Usagi said. Makoto nodded, not knowing what to say. After it had started to rain that night, Makoto had walked in silence with Duo back to the mansion. Both of them were soaking wet when they got back, but still, they talked on into the night. Makoto wanted to sit there with Usagi because she was afraid to go to sleep. Flashes of her dream went through her mind and she groaned.

"What's wrong?" Usagi asked.

"Ugh, memories," Makoto said. She stood up. "Try to get some sleep." Usagi nodded and Makoto went back to bed only to be attacked by another dream.



That afternoon, Makoto and Usagi met up with Michiru, Haruka, and Hotaru at the nearby park. Hotaru had arranged it saying, "When we talk it's so gloomy. Let's go somewhere that is cheerful!" By then, Makoto was a wreck. The dreams tortured her all night until she got to the point that she couldn't sleep.

"Come on Usagi," Makoto said impatiently. "We were supposed to meet the girls half an hour ago."

"Ok, ok," Usagi said, walking up to Makoto. "Ikemasho." They left. The sun outside shone brightly as Usagi and Makoto made their way to the park. Soon they arrived. Michiru and Haruka were sitting on a blanket and Hotaru was on the swings.

"Any news from Setsuna?" Makoto asked, coming up to Michiru and Haruka.

"Iie," Michiru sighed. "It seems as though we won't know when we do."

"But that's not fair," Usagi said. "What if we're not ready?"

"No matter when or how we leave we have to be ready for combat," Haruka said.

"That's why it's vital that we figure out a way to defeat Visus," Michiru said. "Any suggestions?" No one said anything.

"Let's consider the facts," Hotaru said. She was now standing behind Usagi and Makoto. "Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it just moves from object to object, the law of conservation of energy."

"How are we supposed to destroy Visus then?" Usagi asked.

"Hm…maybe if we had something to absorb the energy," Michiru said. "You know like to trap him."

"But where would we go to get an energy absorbing machine?" Makoto asked. There was silence.

"Well that plan is a dud," Haruka said.

"Matte," Hotaru said. "We're in the future so you never know! By now they could've invented a way to do things like absorb energy." The girls nodded.

"True," Makoto said. "But do you really think we could go up to someone and ask for an energy absorbing machine without being eyed suspiciously?"

"Probably not," Michiru said. "But we're getting desperate now and we're running out of time."

"That's it? Find out if they've created energy absorbing machines?" Usagi asked.

"Just don't make it so obvious," Michiru said.

"So we're done?" Hotaru asked. Haruka nodded.

"Great! Let's have some fun!" Hotaru cried running back to the swings.

"It's been a while since we could relax," Michiru said, leaning back on her hands and taking in the sun. The day was perfect for having a picnic or going swimming. Makoto walked by herself next to a pond. She stood under a willow tree.

"It's so peaceful here," she whispered, sitting in front of the tree. "Besides those attacks, I almost don't want to leave and go back to the past."

"So stay," Duo came up out of nowhere, startling her.

"You baka!" Makoto cried. She punched him playfully. "You're always sneaking up on me!" Duo sat next to her, his eyes trained on her.

"How're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm doing ok," Makoto answered. She scanned the pond. Lily pads floated nearby. Flowers bloomed and dragonflies flew around them. "At the moment for once I feel…content." She smiled and Duo grinned weakly. It seemed that he couldn't take his eyes off of her, yet, he forced himself to look away.

"Makoto I…I want to thank you," Duo said. "You know, for…for being there for me last night and listening to me." Makoto nodded.

"Everyone needs someone to talk to," she said, her smile was gone, but she still looked out over the pond. "So I guess…I kind of needed someone to talk to also." Duo stood up and ran a hand through the hair that wasn't in a braid. In his hand he held some pebbles. With one swift movement, he threw a pebble into the pond. It hit a lily pad. Duo smiled to himself. Makoto made a sound of disgust and stood up, her hand also holding a few pebbles. She tossed a pebble and landed a lily pad a little farther than Duo's. She cast a glance in Duo's direction, a smile on her face as if to say 'beat that'.



'I'll protect you,' Hiro's words echoed in Usagi's head and she sighed. Hiro was so charming even when he wasn't trying to be. He just had a knack for being so and anyone would feel safe when he was around. Usagi walked, her mind filled with images of Hiro.

"Usagi, watch out!" Hotaru cried, but it was too late. Hotaru swung back on the swings and collided with Usagi causing her to stumble backwards. Luckily, Hiro was there to catch her before she fell.

"Oh! Gomen ne! Gomen ne!" Hotaru cried, jumping off of the swings and running to Usagi's side. "I couldn't stop myself!"

"It's ok," Usagi said, blushing in Hiro's arms. "I'm fine." Usagi turned to look at Hiro, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. Hiro couldn't help but notice her beauty. Her hair blew gently in the wind, the smile she had on her lips…her beautiful lips… Hiro couldn't believe he was thinking this and he lowered his eyes in discomfort.

"What are you doing here?" Usagi asked, taunting Hiro with her blue eyes. "Where are the others?" Hiro looked beyond Usagi and she followed his gaze. She spotted Quatre and Trowa getting acquainted to Michiru and Haruka. Soon they also sat on the blanket, engaging in conversation. Usagi turned back to Hiro and was trapped in his stare and they stared at each other not knowing what to say next.

"Sumimasen," Hotaru broke in. "You two are blocking me and I can't swing."

"Gomen ne, Hotaru," Usagi said quickly and she turned to get out of the way, but there was some commotion coming from the pond.

"What's going on?" Usagi asked, looking in that direction. Then she could see Makoto coming out of the pond followed by Duo. Both were drenched and both were laughing.

"What happened?" Hotaru asked, after Makoto finally made her way towards them.

"Duo's a sore loser," Makoto laughed, watching Duo wring out his braid. "Aww. It'll be alright." Makoto pinched his cheek, and grinning, Duo caught her hand.

"If you ever need to talk, I'll always be here," he said, his eyes locking with hers. Her smile faded and then reappeared.

"Arigatou," she said softly. Then she began to walk back to Quatre's mansion. Duo watched after her and he didn't know it, but… he was falling for Makoto.



Matsuri: So did you like it? I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but here it is! Hope you enjoyed it!