Yo people! This chapter is pretty short compared to a few of the others. My amount of time assigned to writing is dropping dramatically so … watch out, I guess. But since the ones who are still reading have been waiting for a few months for that last chapter three or something, you guys are probably used to it. I'm so cruel to you! ^^'''
Editors: I love you guys! How do you have time for this? Thanks to DevilsDarling, SerenityMoon, UsagiAsiaMaxwell, and AutumnHime. ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own it, in normal literary terms. Mathematically, the formula is "ownership=0%" which by the way is copied from some other poor author's disclaimer. (claim it if you will) If you want the artistic version, too bad for you.
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Dawn didn't wait for Usagi to wake up and neither did Hiiro. He had decided to shake her awake and then glare to get his point across. It worked effectively, really, but she knew she was going to have nightmares for at least a month. It wasn't natural to wake up to a face that impassive...
And so ... she had screamed. And glared. And than glared some more. But all of her glares tallied up together didn't even amount to a quarter of Hiiro's "super glare". Stupid character.
"I created you, you know! You would still be ink and paper without me!" she snapped in as resentful of a voice as she could muster.
"That remains untrue until proven," he stated minimally, and she was at a loss for words. His five words had robbed her of millions.
"You're in denial," she had resorted to taunting, but he just stared at her as if she wasn't worth speaking to and walked out, shaking his head enough to allow her to see but not enough to squander energy.
She jumped up, staggered a bit from almost completely skipping a night of sleep and rushed to the door. "You're in denial that you're in denial!" she shouted at his diminishing form. His lack of response angered her beyond words.
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Okay, if Shingo had been correct, she should be able to wish herself out of this situation, right? Attempts at this were currently being made, with eyes squeezed shut tightly and thoughts converged on her freedom. Eyes cracked open to see that she was still confined in the same room and facing several perplexed and bizarre looks.
"Are you okay, Usagi?" Duo piped up, violet eyes widening and then blinking.
She let out a groan and cradled her head in her hands.
"We have reached a verdict," Trowa stated softly, staring at her piercingly.
Her exaggerated sobbing wavered, and she peeked upwards. "And?"
"You're free," Hiiro muttered grudgingly. He narrowed his eyes at her as she jumped from her chair and performed a warped little dance number. "But!"
"But?" Usagi immediately stopped and blanched.
"You're under probation," he declared smugly, looking right through the quizzical looks of his companions.
"Probation schmation! At least I don't have to live in that cell day in and day out!" she cheered, skipping from one pilot to the next and hugging each fiercely.
"It worked! It worked!" she giggled, disregarding funny glances and linking arms with the baffled Duo and dancing. In a flash of a second her expression morphed to a reproachful one, and Duo fell from his position in mid-skip.
"Of course, you know that now I officially hate you all. How could you? Against your own maker! Beware, because from now on, your lives are going to get a whole lot more complicated!" Cackling, she exited the room, humming a dirge
And now all five pilots underwent that same plummeting feeling Usagi formerly complained about. Oh God...
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"Yo, Q-man, what's for dinner?" Duo asked, swinging an arm around the flustered blonde and flashing him a sloppy grin.
"Yeah, what is for dinner?" a higher-pitched voice echoed before another arm was slung over his shoulder.
Quatre ducked out of both half-embraces and stared at the two. Fraternal twins? "Did you invite Usagi to stay without telling me, Duo?" he accused, incensed countenance at hand and hands on hips.
"I don't remember," the braided pilot pondered, looking up at the portrait of Quatre's great-great-great aunt, Hermelda. "Did I invite you to stay, Usagi?"
"Hmmm..." was all the blonde managed before she too was lost in thought.
The teenage billionaire moaned significantly. "You two amaze me..."
"Compliments later. What's for dinner?"
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"Those two are going to be a problem, huh?" Quatre laughed apprehensively as he stared at two parallel images of gobbling down food via Duo and Usagi.
Wufei overtly groaned. Give the braided baka an accomplice? What were they thinking? But he can handle those two. He smirked at the thought.
Trowa nodded his head broodingly, a slow smile forming almost imperceptibly, curling his lips up gently. This should be amusing.
The only pessimistic response was from Hiiro. He narrowed his eyes at the food aimed into the two's mouths and thought unhappy thoughts. Very unhappy thoughts.
"What made us conclude with that verdict?" he demanded quietly, not bothering to face the people he meant the question for.
A long, drawn-out pause followed. "Come to think of it, I don't really know," the initiator of the conversation, Quatre, murmured, befuddled. "Gut instinct?"
"And how often have our gut instincts been wrong?" Wufei supplied, eyeing Hiiro sideways with intent.
"My gut instinct didn't tell me to rule that verdict," he lied and turned away, overlooking Quatre's hidden smile.
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She gazed at the buttons fretfully, concentrating with such vigor that her brow puckered and tongue peeked out at the side of her mouth. How to get this started…
A strand of blonde hair fell into her face, and she batted it away hastily. With a short burst of energy, she straightened and grinned, pressing down a single electric blue square. A faint purring followed, and she was on her way.
This should be fun, her mind reassured, and her hand moved to grab the control device and twist it. Not long later, she was looking out at bewildered birds and looking down on trees. Doing this had been an almost lifelong dream. She's not letting this opportunity go no matter what.
So the design wasn't as she had predicted. No biggy. This should be fine, still. Haphazardly pushing down other buttons, her lips curved up at the sensation of movement.
A sudden lurch made her gasp, and after she straightened, her jaw fell. Yes, she knew it was capable of doing this, but of all the buttons her fingers aimed at, her luck would land her on this one?
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"We have another mission," he told them while running. Of course, none of them knew why they were running until then.
"So? We don't have to leave now, do we?" Duo whined childishly, keeping up with the group but not liking it one bit.
"Short notice. We leave now," Hiiro replied briskly.
"What about Usagi?" Trowa prompted, still running but glancing at his comrades. Quatre skidded to a stop along with Duo. The rest followed suit though Hiiro did so with more than a little bit of displeasure.
Fuming blue eyes flashed hazardously with impatience. "What about her?"
"We can't just leave her here!" the owner of the house pointed out, eyes wavering with indecisiveness.
"Yes we can, and we have to. You have the Maguanacs."
After a passing pause to think, the blonde nodded abruptly, and the group pushed onwards.
Reaching the concealed chamber, Trowa punched the code into the wall, and the panel slid open, presenting them a stunning sight. Four metallic giants, luminous from the little light that shone through blinded windows, stood with majestic tranquillity.
Hold on … four?
"Duo…" the pilot of Wing growled expressively.
The braided boy turned around from his position of five meters from his own Gundam and blinked. "What?"
"What'd you do with Wing?" Hiiro challenged before four heads snapped to the vacant spot of the silvery Gundam.
"Uh-oh…"
"What?" he demanded.
Duo had already rushed to the window, eyes wide, gazing at something through lifted blinds.
"What?" he demanded again as all other pilots flocked him and proceeded to drop their jaws.
After getting no answer whatsoever, he moved to the window personally and looked through. There, flying through the sky, doing acrobatic maneuvers that put Trowa to shame was a Gundam. His Gundam. And that could only be one person piloting it…
"What the hell is that girl doing in my Wing?!"
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Yay! Another chapter! Short, yes. This chapter was fun for me though. ^^ Anyhow, review please!