Took me a little longer than anticipated to get this chapter out. I was shooting for the weekend, but since ff was being extremely stupid, I didn't get to. So I apologize! I also want to say that the next chap may take a little while in getting out too. I have much going on right now. I'm going to summer school, and I'm working, and the homework is atrocious. Not to mention I'm going out of town to see Sugar Ray and Matchbox 20 this Thursday. And on Saturday the fifth HP book comes out, so I'll be spending all of my free time reading. So I apologize. But I'll work on it when I can, I promise! I know, long a/n. I'll shut up now. Read on and enjoy!
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Sitting in the shade of a large cherry blossom tree, Usagi breathed slowly in an attempt to calm herself down. She really wasn't one for having hysterical outbursts like that, especially twice in one day, especially in front of total strangers! Then again, she'd never quite been in a situation like this before.
Had they been tailing her ever since Miss Peacecraft had left the bar that evening? She wouldn't be surprised if they had. After all, they did have the safety of their charge on their minds. But honestly! Did Usagi really look like the kind of person who would hurt another?
Well, there went another winning argument. Usagi had done a lot of things that hadn't been characteristic of herself, and she wasn't quite thinking of her accidental run-in with Miss Peacecraft. She had brought this long spiral of chaos on herself, and it all started at that damned club that night. Ever since then, she had been changed.
Of course, who wouldn't be after something like that? It wasn't every day that someone met their soulmate. And it wasn't every day that someone was left by said soulmate, either. Usagi laughed bitterly. She wondered why she even referred to Quatre as her soulmate, after what he had done. Soulmates don't up and go, do they? They aren't the love-em-and-leave-em types. So obviously Quatre wasn't her soulmate.
Even so much time later, it was hard for Usagi to admit that. She hadn't even said the words aloud. She couldn't bring herself to.
Heaving a frustrated sigh, she closed her eyes and waited patiently for some kind of sense to come to her life.
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.
It was quite hilarious, really. A woman was getting the better of the Gundam pilots. Quatre couldn't help but chuckle. He had never met the woman, and he already liked her. Cutting off the chuckle abruptly, a wave of guilt washed over him. When they had had the meeting over Relena's safety last night, he hadn't been paying as close attention as he should have. In all reality, he had been paying almost none, he forced himself to admit.
Letting his constant bad mood get the better of him, Quatre had only pretended to be listening as the others went on about their plan to follow the bartender. The only thing he remembered hearing was beautiful, blonde, and suspicious, which was hardly enough information to go on.
Making his way past a group of laughing kids, Quatre wondered when was the last time he had laughed, truly laughed. It had been a while. It had been a long while, and he was pretty sure he could pinpoint the day it all stopped. Ironically, it was the best day of his life.
But he had promised himself long ago that he wouldn't linger on thoughts of the golden-haired goddess that had stolen his heart, his happiness, his sanity. No, he could function without her. He could get on with his life.
Except that he couldn't. And he hadn't. Who was he trying to fool, anyway? He missed her. She had disappeared without a trace, without so much as a reason, and he still longed to see her beautiful face, to hear her melodic voice again.
Crossing the street, Quatre entered through the large iron gates of the park, where he was meeting his three friends. After receiving a phone call from an exasperated Duo with Trowa and Hiiro arguing in the background, Quatre had decided that maybe it was time he stepped up and continued on with their mission. By the sound of it, the other three were having no luck at all.
He spotted the trio standing near a water fountain. As he approached, Duo gave him a massive grin. "I never thought I could be so happy to see you!" he exclaimed.
"Gee, what a heartfelt compliment," Quatre replied dryly. "So, any progress?" he asked the other two.
"None," Trowa shook his head as Hiiro didn't offer an answer. "Although, if I may put in, she doesn't quite strike me as a vindictive, petty person."
"Well, we're not going on your gut feelings," Hiiro growled impatiently. "We're going to go on his." He jerked his thumb at Quatre, who stared at him in puzzlement for a moment before a wave of clarity hit him.
"You want me to use my empathic skills when I talk to her, to see if she's a threat?" he observed, to which he received a nod. Of course. Why didn't he think of that? Oh, that's right. He wasn't focused on the mission last night. Well, it was a pretty good idea. "All right. Where is she?"
"Behind that tree, over there," Trowa pointed across a large grassy field where one lone cherry tree was planted.
"Here I go, then."
"Good luck, man," Duo called out as Quatre began his trek across the field.
For some reason, those words felt like a weight on Quatre's shoulders. He knew this was a mission, but there were very few times when his empathic abilities ever failed him. He was like a walking lie detector. What he once considered a burden was now one of his strengths. Or, at least, it used to be. He wasn't so sure anymore.
But that wasn't the issue at hand. He needed to concentrate on the mission, which was the protection of Miss Relena. What excuse could he use to talk to this woman? He could ask her for the time. No, too clichéd. The weather? That would be enough to put him to sleep, so he thought not. So what could be a good icebreaker?
Gold.
He saw a long stream of golden hair as he got closer to the tree. It was a brilliant color, like it was soaking up the sunrays. The color reminded him of... no, he wouldn't start thinking about that now.
From his vantage point, he could see that the woman not only had beautiful hair, but it was also long, so long that it pooled on the ground beside her. Her frame was tiny, and he briefly wondered how she could possibly hold so much hair without toppling over. Well, that would be an interesting icebreaker.
The closer he got, the more she reminded him of the woman whom had turned his life upside down. There were so many resemblances that it was uncanny. He wondered if she were perhaps a relative, or maybe that she had a double running around Tokyo somewhere. He absolutely refused to allow himself to hope that it was her.
But as he closed in on her, he couldn't push the thoughts out of his mind. He was even starting to grow a bit nervous, which was ridiculous since he'd never met this woman. And he even forgot to ask the guys her name!
But he didn't need to. Standing ten feet off to her right, he knew it.
Usagi.
Of all the cruel jokes that could be played on him, this was the worst. For a second he thought he was hallucinating, but a hallucination could never look that good. It was her, in the flesh, in front of him. She was sitting with her eyes closed, very much unaware of his presence.
He took a few steps forward, then stopped again, biting his lip. Could he do this? Could he go talk to her, especially after what had happened between them, and how she had just left him? His heart was pounding wildly in his chest as a pang of fear mingled with his nervousness. He knew he had to talk to her.
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.
Usagi didn't know how long she had been sitting there. It could have been minutes, hours, days, for all she knew. She was just trying to block out the rampant thoughts that refused to leave her head.
As a shadow passed over her, she inwardly groaned. Wasn't it enough that she had been stalked since last night? And now those damned guys wanted to interrupt her when she was trying to calm down? "Will you please just leave me alone!" she growled.
Looking up at the person standing next to her, Usagi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Quatre?" she croaked out.
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How's that for a mean place to end it? Technically, I did say that they would meet again in this chapter, and they did! I didn't say I would give you more than that. I'm still working on that part. It's slowly but surely coming along. I just wanted to give some more insight as to how each was feeling. Next chapter's gonna be interesting... Please review! I love hearing from you guys, I absolutely do. And I appreciate it more than you know. Thanks!
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.
.
Sitting in the shade of a large cherry blossom tree, Usagi breathed slowly in an attempt to calm herself down. She really wasn't one for having hysterical outbursts like that, especially twice in one day, especially in front of total strangers! Then again, she'd never quite been in a situation like this before.
Had they been tailing her ever since Miss Peacecraft had left the bar that evening? She wouldn't be surprised if they had. After all, they did have the safety of their charge on their minds. But honestly! Did Usagi really look like the kind of person who would hurt another?
Well, there went another winning argument. Usagi had done a lot of things that hadn't been characteristic of herself, and she wasn't quite thinking of her accidental run-in with Miss Peacecraft. She had brought this long spiral of chaos on herself, and it all started at that damned club that night. Ever since then, she had been changed.
Of course, who wouldn't be after something like that? It wasn't every day that someone met their soulmate. And it wasn't every day that someone was left by said soulmate, either. Usagi laughed bitterly. She wondered why she even referred to Quatre as her soulmate, after what he had done. Soulmates don't up and go, do they? They aren't the love-em-and-leave-em types. So obviously Quatre wasn't her soulmate.
Even so much time later, it was hard for Usagi to admit that. She hadn't even said the words aloud. She couldn't bring herself to.
Heaving a frustrated sigh, she closed her eyes and waited patiently for some kind of sense to come to her life.
.
.
It was quite hilarious, really. A woman was getting the better of the Gundam pilots. Quatre couldn't help but chuckle. He had never met the woman, and he already liked her. Cutting off the chuckle abruptly, a wave of guilt washed over him. When they had had the meeting over Relena's safety last night, he hadn't been paying as close attention as he should have. In all reality, he had been paying almost none, he forced himself to admit.
Letting his constant bad mood get the better of him, Quatre had only pretended to be listening as the others went on about their plan to follow the bartender. The only thing he remembered hearing was beautiful, blonde, and suspicious, which was hardly enough information to go on.
Making his way past a group of laughing kids, Quatre wondered when was the last time he had laughed, truly laughed. It had been a while. It had been a long while, and he was pretty sure he could pinpoint the day it all stopped. Ironically, it was the best day of his life.
But he had promised himself long ago that he wouldn't linger on thoughts of the golden-haired goddess that had stolen his heart, his happiness, his sanity. No, he could function without her. He could get on with his life.
Except that he couldn't. And he hadn't. Who was he trying to fool, anyway? He missed her. She had disappeared without a trace, without so much as a reason, and he still longed to see her beautiful face, to hear her melodic voice again.
Crossing the street, Quatre entered through the large iron gates of the park, where he was meeting his three friends. After receiving a phone call from an exasperated Duo with Trowa and Hiiro arguing in the background, Quatre had decided that maybe it was time he stepped up and continued on with their mission. By the sound of it, the other three were having no luck at all.
He spotted the trio standing near a water fountain. As he approached, Duo gave him a massive grin. "I never thought I could be so happy to see you!" he exclaimed.
"Gee, what a heartfelt compliment," Quatre replied dryly. "So, any progress?" he asked the other two.
"None," Trowa shook his head as Hiiro didn't offer an answer. "Although, if I may put in, she doesn't quite strike me as a vindictive, petty person."
"Well, we're not going on your gut feelings," Hiiro growled impatiently. "We're going to go on his." He jerked his thumb at Quatre, who stared at him in puzzlement for a moment before a wave of clarity hit him.
"You want me to use my empathic skills when I talk to her, to see if she's a threat?" he observed, to which he received a nod. Of course. Why didn't he think of that? Oh, that's right. He wasn't focused on the mission last night. Well, it was a pretty good idea. "All right. Where is she?"
"Behind that tree, over there," Trowa pointed across a large grassy field where one lone cherry tree was planted.
"Here I go, then."
"Good luck, man," Duo called out as Quatre began his trek across the field.
For some reason, those words felt like a weight on Quatre's shoulders. He knew this was a mission, but there were very few times when his empathic abilities ever failed him. He was like a walking lie detector. What he once considered a burden was now one of his strengths. Or, at least, it used to be. He wasn't so sure anymore.
But that wasn't the issue at hand. He needed to concentrate on the mission, which was the protection of Miss Relena. What excuse could he use to talk to this woman? He could ask her for the time. No, too clichéd. The weather? That would be enough to put him to sleep, so he thought not. So what could be a good icebreaker?
Gold.
He saw a long stream of golden hair as he got closer to the tree. It was a brilliant color, like it was soaking up the sunrays. The color reminded him of... no, he wouldn't start thinking about that now.
From his vantage point, he could see that the woman not only had beautiful hair, but it was also long, so long that it pooled on the ground beside her. Her frame was tiny, and he briefly wondered how she could possibly hold so much hair without toppling over. Well, that would be an interesting icebreaker.
The closer he got, the more she reminded him of the woman whom had turned his life upside down. There were so many resemblances that it was uncanny. He wondered if she were perhaps a relative, or maybe that she had a double running around Tokyo somewhere. He absolutely refused to allow himself to hope that it was her.
But as he closed in on her, he couldn't push the thoughts out of his mind. He was even starting to grow a bit nervous, which was ridiculous since he'd never met this woman. And he even forgot to ask the guys her name!
But he didn't need to. Standing ten feet off to her right, he knew it.
Usagi.
Of all the cruel jokes that could be played on him, this was the worst. For a second he thought he was hallucinating, but a hallucination could never look that good. It was her, in the flesh, in front of him. She was sitting with her eyes closed, very much unaware of his presence.
He took a few steps forward, then stopped again, biting his lip. Could he do this? Could he go talk to her, especially after what had happened between them, and how she had just left him? His heart was pounding wildly in his chest as a pang of fear mingled with his nervousness. He knew he had to talk to her.
.
.
Usagi didn't know how long she had been sitting there. It could have been minutes, hours, days, for all she knew. She was just trying to block out the rampant thoughts that refused to leave her head.
As a shadow passed over her, she inwardly groaned. Wasn't it enough that she had been stalked since last night? And now those damned guys wanted to interrupt her when she was trying to calm down? "Will you please just leave me alone!" she growled.
Looking up at the person standing next to her, Usagi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Quatre?" she croaked out.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
How's that for a mean place to end it? Technically, I did say that they would meet again in this chapter, and they did! I didn't say I would give you more than that. I'm still working on that part. It's slowly but surely coming along. I just wanted to give some more insight as to how each was feeling. Next chapter's gonna be interesting... Please review! I love hearing from you guys, I absolutely do. And I appreciate it more than you know. Thanks!