Chapter 05: Well Met, the Thieves
Mint was shaking her head in annoyance as she walked up to her companion. "No, Rue. It's too weird. The whole thing is just too weird." She stomped her foot and refused to go back up the trap door without his answer. "Haven't you noticed it yet?!"
It was Rue's turn to get annoyed. "All I know is, we got what we came for, and it's now time to go back and take these relics to Klaus."
She heard the hint of anger in his tone—no, it wasn't anger—and for once decided not to push it. Judging from his reaction to her question earlier, there was no way she could breach the subject to him, at least not yet. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again. Rue had already climbed up the passage back to the warehouse.
Oh, you and your single-minded determination. For someone supposed to be so smart, you're being utterly foolish for letting it blind you this way, Rue. You've been to too many of these 'missions' to notice it. And to think you're doing this for a girl who might have been dead five years gone.
She had approached him as nonchalantly about it as she could. "Say, Rue… Didn't this adventure strike you as… different? I think that there's something Klaus isn't telling us—"
"How can you say that!" he suddenly snapped at her, and it had taken all her audacity not to cringe in shock at the emotion she heard in his voice. "He took you in when you had nowhere to go, didn't he?!" Apparently, trust was a very sensitive topic with the white-haired boy.
It's not that she didn't trust the professor. It's just that there was something about the whole setup that simply didn't feel right…
"Mint?" Rue was peering down the trap door. "Come on, I'll help you up," he reached his good hand towards her.
She had half a mind to slap his hand away. But, as she was already starting to get dizzy from fatigue, she was actually grateful as she reached for it (though she'd walk barefoot to hell and back three times over before ever admitting that aloud). You know, it'd be a lot easier to stay upset at you if you'd forget to be oh-so-[expletive] polite once in a while. In another half-second she was up the trap door, and Rue sealed it shut behind her.
Except for the legendary sword which the girl carried, the relics they found were in a small canvas bag Rue had tied to his belt. He headed to the door where he had left his violin case, Mint following close behind.
He stopped short when he saw the wooden crate, and Mint almost bumped into him. Rue was positively, absolutely, a hundred percent sure it wasn't there before they went down the underground tunnels. "Umm, remember the gut feeling you had earlier, when you said that this adventure isn't over yet?"
"What about it?"
"Remind me next time to believe you." Without further warning, he turned and tackled the red-haired girl to the floor as the crate blew up in front of them.
"KYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
When the dust had settled from the explosion, they could see a big hole where the floor of Elroy's Library used to be. Rising from that hole was something that Mint could only describe as a huge, ugly, metallic-green painted mechanical toad. And on top of the said toad was a woman laughing her head off.
She was a woman in her late twenties, with straight, shoulder-length white-blonde hair and emerald-green eyes. She had on thick make-up that in the dim light made her look more menacing than she probably really was. Coupled with her outfit of a black leather-jacket, white tank-top, miniskirt, knee-high boots and fishnet stockings, she looked like an overage street punk from the late 1980s era.
Not that her companion minded. Duke Radii couldn't care less if she wore a chicken suit with purple-and-orange stripes—he'd still find her beautiful. He was standing behind her with his quarterstaff at the ready, just in case the two kids brought unexpected trouble. Then again, he had full confidence that his lady would be able to handle them.
"You!" Mint shouted, her fists clenched. "You old bag!"
The woman turned towards her with amused surprise. "Oh, it's the little prat! Didn't think I'd meet you again. I see you finally got out of that dirty kitchen only to become assistant to an errand boy. Poor wittle you," she pursed her lips, taunting the red-haired girl.
"I see you finally got out of that garbage dump only to become an even bigger balloon," Mint spat back. "The [expletive] you want with us, Belle?!"
Belle's face was flushed at being called a balloon by the two-bit high school kid she was looking down upon. Even in the past, Mint always had a way of provoking her. Don't mind it, rubber and glue, they're just words… "We want the tiara! If you know what's good for you, you'd better hand it over quick!"
"You want it, you'll have to take it!" She spoke sideways to Rue, "This old witch is mine."
He put a hand on her arm to stop her. "You can't fight," he whispered urgently. "You're hurt."
"I don't care," she whispered back, shrugging him off. Wielding her rings, she ran towards the mechavehicle, Belle jumping down to meet her.
Rue readied the Arc Edge, preparing to run after the girl. Before he could get far, he was stopped by the head thief's self-proclaimed bodyguard. "Sorry, I can't let you interrupt them." Duke readied his own weapon to fight. "Mint and Milady share a long history, and it wouldn't be wise for us to spoil their reunion."
Mint cursed mentally. She was already too fatigued to attack in earnest. Belle was fast—and after a few moments the younger girl found she could do no more than block and dodge.
Belle didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong with her adversary. One thing about her was that she liked to talk during a fight. "Aww, how sweet, the little servant girl thinks to protect the errand boy."
"Hmph. At least I treat him better than you do your boyfriend."
The blonde seemed taken aback by that comment. "Wh-wha-what?! Are you implying… me and D-Duke?!" Her face flushed even more. "Why, you!" She jump-twirled, punching into the air where Mint was a split-second ago. But missing didn't faze her—she kicked twice, which Mint easily sidestepped, and punched again, this time hitting the redhead squarely on the shoulder.
Mint screamed. She fell on her knees, gasping for breath. The metal rings dropped to the floor with one clang after the other, and she clutched at her shoulder in pain.
"The hell?!" Belle hadn't hit her that hard. She leaned over Mint and tore off the girl's left sleeve. The binding had come undone and the cut was bleeding profusely. "You were fighting me wounded?!!"
Mint could only narrow her eyes at the older woman. Try as she might, she couldn't find the strength to reply anymore. Belle stood, looming over her fallen enemy.
"I'll only say this once, but you've got spunk, brat. It's time to finish this."
Rue had heard the scream. "Mint!!"
"Stop right there, kid," Duke said as he blocked Rue's way. "Remember, I am your opponent. You can't help your friend if you get hurt as well." The two of them had been fighting seriously for the past few minutes. Duke was enjoying it, glad to finally have found someone who could match him in skill with two-handed weapons. Still, he knew that he should finish this battle quickly, or Milady would be angry at him again.
Rue blocked another blow from the dark-haired fighter before slashing once more with his Arc Edge. He gritted his teeth in exasperation. Mint was hurt, and he couldn't get to her because was stuck battling some petty thief's side-kick.
Suddenly he felt a strong pressure slide behind his back. He dared not turn or Duke might see an opening, and instead jumped sideways away from his opponent. He clasped his canvas bag to find that its flap was open.
"Come on, Duke." Belle was brandishing the tiara. "Let's leave the children to clean up, eh?"
"Coming, Milady." Duke tipped his weapon at Rue before leaping inside the mechavehicle after Belle. And with the squeal of fusion-propulsion drive engines, they were gone.
"Mint!"
Rue ran towards the red-haired girl. He found her curled up in a fetal position, still clutching her shoulder. There were tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop them."
"It's alright," he whispered soothingly as he helped her straighten. He rebound her shoulder carefully and Mint had to bite her lip hard to keep from crying out. They had lost the tiara, they were both wounded, and the girl had lost too much blood. Mira was certainly going to have a field day when they get back.
As expected, Rue bore the brunt of Mira's anger. This time around the lecture lasted no less than four hours and eighteen minutes. Mint was as good as her word. She blamed everything on Rue.
Mira had sent the girl off to the hospital, accompanied by Elena in a cab, the moment the two high school kids got back, and Mint was therefore spared the agony of being scolded. But she didn't escape the gymnastics coach's wrath unscathed—she was forbidden to attend gym class and to go out (especially to Rod's arcade) for the next two weeks or until her shoulder healed, whichever came later. Rue's cut wasn't as bad as hers, so his gym class suspension would only be for a couple of days.
Oh, won't Kirielle be pleased to know that. She frowned at having been made to wear a sling. Not only that, but she had to stay with the Klauses (in Elena's room, no less) for the time being. The doctor insisted, knowing that as high-minded and hyperactive as Mint was, she was bound to reopen her wound due to carelessness unless she had constant supervision.
Elena was glad at having to share her room with her 'older sister'. The adopted older sister smiled, but inwardly was infuriated. The thought alone of spending two weeks with Elena the Blabbermouth was torture enough. Maybe she could haggle it down with Mira to a week, or maybe even three days.
She was met with absolute refusal. And Mint knew, whenever Coach Mira got in one of those moods, the best thing to do would be to shut up.
The pink-haired girl clapped her hands at the news. "Oh, it's going to be so, so cool, Mint! I can show you all my pictures… I still have my pictures from the grade school fair, and every year in summer we'd have field demonstrations with costumes and everything…" Mint sighed. The next two weeks were looking out to be the longest in her life.
But at least Mira agreed to let her spend Saturday night in her dorm room, provided she'd allow Mrs. Cartha to keep an extra vigilant eye on her. It was agreed upon that Klaus would pick her up tomorrow afternoon with her things.
She locked the door, opened her cabinet, and took out a clean change of clothes. After a warm shower, being careful not to wet her bandages, she felt much better. She had left Rue to explain all about the stolen tiara to Mira and Klaus. Personally, she wasn't sorry at all to have missed it.
Suddenly her vision turned double, and the red-haired girl was forced to sit down.
Apparently she was still tired from her ordeal. She cursed, thinking that she could have won against that, that banshee if she hadn't injured herself on the Arc Edge, and if she hadn't sapped her stamina in melting the ice wall…
Belle… what is she doing here?
Mint had met Belle a couple of towns before she met Klaus and came to Carona. Belle was the owner of a small-time electronics repair shop near the restaurant where Mint had worked part time. It was actually Belle who got her fired from her dishwashing job and forced her to skip that town.
Still, she couldn't see Belle working as a petty thief. The woman had too much dignity (not referring to her dress sense, of course) to simply turn on the wrong side of the law without adequate cause. Treasure-hunters? That sounded more like the Belle she knew, but what treasure could possibly be down in the old library? And why would she steal that tiara which, Mint thought, looked more like a kindergarten stage prop than a relic in particular? Belle wasn't the type to work for anyone, no questions asked.
Aagh, I hope I never see that annoying woman again. Fat chance of that, though. Belle had humiliated her, and she knew that she herself would never let it go at that. Come to think of it, she had lost to Belle the last time, too.
Besides, Belle had the tiara. Chances were, sometime in the near future either she or Rue would be tasked with retrieving it from the pair of thieves. If the story she had heard from him was accurate, there was no way they could open the [expletive] Elroy's box without all three relics, and even then they weren't sure if the relics they found would be enough.
She frowned. There was still the question of the skull beast and the mechanical critters, and Rue's strange reaction to them. No, it wasn't his reaction, but rather his non-reaction that puzzled her…
Suddenly she didn't want to think anymore. She plopped down on the bed, grateful that tomorrow was a Sunday and there was no school.
Author's Notes
Thank you for reading, thank you more for reviewing!
07 September 2002 This episode, just a few more things I'd like to clarify:
1. If anyone chops my head off, I REEEEEEAAAAAAAAALLY won't be able to continue this.
2. Some say this is original, but personally I don't think it is — considering I'm just rewriting the entire game with several new twists, and the "Video Game Charas in a High School" is probably one of the most-used concepts out there (see other fandoms ^_~). But thank you, I'm flattered you guys think so.
3. Don't worry about sounding critical in your reviews. I _like_ it when you 'babble', so long as you're saying something even remotely significant, and I _like_ it when you critique so long as the aim is not to offend, because that's how I see my mistakes and can therefore improve upon them, right?
4. I keep insisting this is NOT a Rue/Mint Romance fic. I also keep insisting I'm a Rue/Mint fan. After several chapters like this, does it really matter? :P (Sorry, I know it's an old topic, but most of the feedback I get is related to the question of whether this is going to be a Rue/Mint romance.)
5. The gaiden that I posted is not actually a gaiden. It's part of the Mint vs. Rue chapter, one of the ending chapters of Carona High. I posted it as sort of a movie teaser, if you know what I mean. It's down right now, but those who saw it will see it again someday (although not in that form). Err, no, I'm not holding out on ye— I post the chapters as soon as I finish them.
6. I know I said I'd be gone a couple of weeks, but found I couldn't concentrate on my studies — I can't just leave the story hanging there without putting in Belle & Duke first. That's how much I love you all. ^_~.
7. Okay, I'll admit it— the "kyahaha" was from Ff7.