Disclaimer: Ten more days until the end of school! And I promise – by the end of these days, I will own Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon … and if not … well, there's always summer.

Chapter 13: Bare Innocence

Usagi blinked blearily up at the ceiling, trying to sort through the mess in her mind before gasping and sitting up quickly.

Ami glanced over at her. "Oh good. You're up."

"What happened? How's Hiiro? Where are Art and Rel?"

Ami shook her head. "Hiiro is doing fine. He's in the bedroom closest to the bathroom and I've almost just completed sewing him up. Keep him on the antibiotics for as long as they last. It's the part I'm worried about – more people than you think die from the infections after the operations and especially in these conditions without an operation room or anything … I'm just happy he was unconscious during it or he would have been in a whole lot of pain."

"And Art and Rel?"

The brunette looked aside, troubled. "And Art and Rel…"

"Yes?"

"An hour ago, Preventers barged in and took them away."

Usagi's eyes widened. "…What?"

Ami nodded miserably. "The bail will probably be in the millions."

"Innocence can take care of it," Usagi argued.

"Yes, but it will burn a large hole in our pockets." Ami sighed and reached for her. "Are you okay?"

Usagi brushed her off. "I'm fine, I'm fine. But what do we do?"

"We don't do anything. I will go follow him and you will stay here to tend to Hiiro." At every emphasized word, Ami jabbed her pointer finger at Usagi.

"I know, I know. Are you going back to HQ?"

"Yeah. The pilot is still waiting by the helicopter."

"Good, good."

Silence resumed as minutes ticked by and Ami checked on Hiiro once more.

"There's a list of things that you need to do to take care of him on the kitchen counter along with enough antibiotics and other supplies to last for more than two weeks. I've gotta run." Ami grinned back at her, grabbed her jacket and rushed towards the door.

"Be careful!"

"I'm tired of being careful!" she yelled back and slammed the door after her.

…………………

Five minutes later, they were assembled in Conference Room 4B. Relena and Artemis sat across from Quatre while Trowa and Wufei stood to the side. The handcuffs had been removed due to Quatre's urging but the air was still thick with tension.

Artemis glared at the blonde across from him and then Trowa and Wufei respectively. Informal court commenced with a smart, resounding snap of the gavel.

"Tell me about Innocence. Remember, you're under oath," Quatre started.

Artemis snorted but Relena shot him a warning glance.

"Innocence is a top-secret organization that specializes in returning lost goods to their original owners," he muttered sulkily.

"Returning lost goods?"

"If somebody steals something valuable – papers, jewelry, whatever – the owner gives us a call and we go out and steal it back."

Quatre raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Very productive, isn't it?"

"Say what you will but it works."

"And what might your usual customers be?"

"Rich, powerful people who wish to remain anonymous," Artemis bit back. Relena, Trowa, and Wufei silently watched the battle of words, marking score.

"And how often do these people come to you?"

"As often as they need us to return something to them."

"A number, please."

"Averaging about three hundred a year."

"And how much do they pay you?"

"Minimum is two mil. It depends on the difficulty of the mission."

"Mr. Danilo, how many wives have you had?"

"How many have you had?" Artemis bit back, surprised at first but recovering quickly.

Quatre folded his hands calmly and stared at the silver-haired man. "Look, Mr. Danilo, I'm judging here, not you, okay?"

Artemis nodded sarcastically.

"That means I ask the questions and you answer them, all right?"

He nodded again.

"Which means you don't ask any questions and I don't give any answers, got it?"

"Got it."

Quatre ignored his ugly tone and continued. "Are we completely clear on that?"

"Yeah."

"Now, Mr. Danilo. How many wives have you had?"

"None."

"How many girlfriends?"

"I don't know."

"Ballpark figure, please."

"Twenty or so."

"How many people have you told about Innocence's true motives?"

"The people with Innocence … that's about it."

"I see." Quatre turned to Relena while Artemis glared daggers at him. "Miss Relena … why are you involved with Innocence?"

She stared boldly back. "I believe it has a just cause and am willing to support it."

"With your money?"

"That's the only way I can."

"Do you influence government decisions for Innocence?"

"Only once."

"And that was when?"

"The debate a week ago."

Quatre nodded. "All right then. If this is all true, which it should be since you both are sworn to the truth, there isn't going to be any punishment. Miss Relena, I will let you go with a warning, but I strongly suggest you terminate all connections with Innocence."

Relena didn't signal her understanding.

"And Mr. Danilo, I suggest you end this organization or gang or whatever Innocence is right now. If you do, I will personally see that Tsukino Usagi is released and that nobody else would bother about Innocence from now on."

"Yeah, right."

"Is that a refusal, Mr. Danilo?"

Artemis bowed mockingly. "Yes."

Quatre nodded sadly. "Then I promise nothing. My last favor to you will be to let you head back to Innocence headquarters without hindrance."

"I don't need any favors, thanks," Artemis bit back and strode out of the room.

Relena followed but hesitated at the door. "Thank you, Quatre."

He smiled. "No problem. And I'll make sure this Innocence affair is investigated more … if Innocence really does what you two proclaim it does … we've got a headline story here."

Relena smiled and bowed herself out.

Quatre turned back to Trowa and Wufei. "Well, gentlemen. Go tell Colonel Une that until more decisive paperwork is found regarding Innocence, there will be no actions against it. Please also remind her to research thoroughly before she decides to issue an arrest warrant."

Trowa grinned. "She's not going to like this."

Quatre shrugged. "She wouldn't have liked having lawsuits thrown at her when she arrests people without enough evidence either."

…………………

Usagi stared at his face sadly. He was still deathly pale but the blood had been cleaned up and the situation didn't look as bad. His breathing had resumed to a fairly normal rate and the color was returning to his face even as she noted that it was ashen.

She started as his eyelids fluttered and leaned closer to the bed. "Hiiro?"

He moaned and tried to prop himself up. She stood and tried to hold him down.

"Hiiro, you must stay lying down for about two to three days," she instructed sternly.

He continued to struggle stubbornly. Only after he was leaning against the headboard, face beaded with sweat, did he open his eyes.

"Usagi?" His voice came out hoarse from disuse.

He started to get out of the bed.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't move, Hiiro."

He ignored her. "I need to go file a report on-"

"No you don't. The man that shot you…"

"What happened to him?"

"He was an FBI agent."

"What?!" Hiiro launched himself up and teetered shakily before regaining his balance and heading towards the door, fists clenched to his sides in pain.

"Hiiro! Get back in bed! Doctor's orders," she pleaded.

"Who was that man?"

"I don't know but he was part of the FBI."

"What did you do to him?"

She gulped and looked away.

"You killed him?" he asked incredulously.

"It was simply self defen- Hiiro!" Her eyes widened as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell. She rushed forward and caught him before he hit the ground. "Oh Lord, Hiiro … I told you not to move…" She hugged his unconscious form to her and cried.

Cried for the trials they'd been through.

For the trials yet to come.

…………………

What a weird ending … melodrama is not my thing. Lol. Mmmm … still obsessed with Furuba and YYH … hahaha. Youko finally showed up! I was so happy … lol. (I like the little announcer girl – very interesting). I missed Friday's episode so I'm not positive whether or not Genkai died but … sigh. Happy that Yuuske got the power … his spirit animal is simply adorable. ^^ And now I'm babbling … I feel so sorry for Kyo! And … Ayame … hahaha. Thanks for reading, guys! Yours, Angel.

Jemjols: Lol … I don't mind so much about the reviewing but you haven't updated in a long time either! ^^;;; Hurry up! Go write! We're all waiting here at the sidelines.

Sakura Kinomoto: Ahh … kill Duo? Heh heh heh … I'm flattered that though you typically read "pure" fanfiction you are reading this! ^^

Sailor Fantasy: Ahh .. thank you so much! And as for Leirbag … I'd like to see you try and phrase it. Lol … well anyhow. ~ahem~.

Naiad: Wow! You've had a chest tube before? Wait … was my description of what had to happen accurate? I was so worried that it would all be false and somebody who had experienced it (like you) would laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Lol.

Serena Yuy: Aww … poor Wufei. ^^;;; Hmm … you'll see, I think … Wufei is actually quite nice. ^^;;; Sad chapter? Ahh … I'm not sure there are any more happy ones until … (possibly) the end. Heh heh.

Firefly Princess: You're too sweet! All of you comments make me want to hug you … lol. ^^;;; Ah! And thank you so much for the websites … I started reading right away! ^^

Mogui: Thanks for your compliments but, in my honest opinion, this is really nothing compared to your writing! (I still need to review, by the way). But … ah … thanks for your support anyhow! ^^

Princess2000204: Yeah … it did seem a bit too simple of an idea and really gets one to wonder why they hadn't thought of it earlier … well … umm … call it coincidence, okay? Lol.

Thank you everybody for your thoughtful reviews!