The Complications of Emotions
By: OniiStar
Chapter 4

Author's Notes: Alright people.. I have finally completed.. And the next chapter will probably not come out in a while because…. I have the flu!!!! WAAAAAAHH!! I've been working 2 whole days in a row.. And I finished this thing at like 10:54 at night… I'm really tired and exhausted.. And I'm never making a deal again…soon anyways. Well..read and enjoy.

BY THE WAY, I THANK SAILOR JANUS FOR GIVING ME THIS IDEA FOR THE DUEL!!! I LOVE YOUR FICS SAILOR JANUS!!!!!! ^.~

Dedicated to:

piscesangel
Because she needs to be dedicated to for being so nice and stuff! ^^ I LOVE YOUR FICS GURL!!

*~~~~~* Training Room *~~~~~*

Hotaru faced Heero, her eyes lit up with pure excitement, as she waited for her opponent to make the first move. Her hair was loose around her, and her sword was being held by her right hand next to her side. With a nod of his head, the two instantly brought their swords up and began to circle each other.

They watched each other carefully, each wondering who will make the first move. Heero feinted at Hotaru several times, never intending to strike, instead trying to draw her into an attack. Hotaru just smiled slightly, and knew what he was trying to do.

'I'm more experienced than that Heero,' she thought.

Heero attacked again swinging his sword, but the Princess of Saturn blocked it and dodged to the side. He pursued the attack again, searching for a weak spot in her stance. Hotaru tried to dodge more and block less to spare herself, but the perfect soldier was too quick.

Heero smirked as he moved the sword between his two hands, Hotaru blinking trying to figure out what was going on.

'Hm.. Is this duel also one using powers? If so…,' Hotaru thought, and smiled slightly.

He lunged forward, and she took a few steps to the side, then realizing her mistake. He swung his sword to the side, and she immediately ducked, her waist length getting chopped in the action.

His eyes widened as her hair was now many different lengths, one side shorter than the other. Half of her hair was shoulder length, and the other half was about mid-back. Piles of hair lay clustered on the floor, as Hotaru's eyes seemed to flare up in rage.

She lunged her forward, Heero was nearly impaled by the sword if he hadn't blocked like he did. All of her anger came bubbling forth, and she felt pure hate for this.. this .. this .. this man! She brought her sword up and around in a wide butterfly-sweep that nearly slicked off some of Heero's hair.

All Heero could do was block clumsily, one after the other the attacks came, each stronger than the last. She switched her sword to her left hand, and did the same butterfly-sweep, this one mirroring the last. It missed its prime target, but she came around with a back-handed slash that ripped open Heero's shirt.

The Prince of the Andromeda Galaxy was forced down, blocking tiredly as she came down on him, a grim vision of death. She raised her sword to bring it down on his neck, her face showing complete anger and hatred, her eyes the very burning flames of hell, as she brought it down.

Suddenly, it was blocked by another and Heero turned to see Duo gripping a sword tightly. Hotaru stumbled back, and charged towards Duo, still feeling complete and utter misery. She attacked him again and again, each time he merely blocked until he finally blocked for the last time and thrust back.

The great destroyer forced his weight on Hotaru, as she tried to put as much strength as possible into her pushing. But, alas, Hotaru was no match for Duo, since he had the upper hand of weight and strength.

He brought the sword in a circle, bringing hers with his, and with a simple flick of his wrist, sent the sword flying in the air away from the scout of Saturn. She stood there, her hands clenched into tight fists, as she stomped away.

Heero stood up, and looked at Hotaru's retreating form, and looked at Duo. Duo's face had a small grin, as he dropped the sword and rubbed his wrist.

"She has some skill in swordsmanship Heero," Duo said, the two friends standing in the training room.

"Well, she was mad since I cut her hair on accident," Heero answered, his voice in monotone.

"You cut her hair?! No wonder she was mad!" Duo said incredulously.

"We better explain to her brother, Wufei," Heero said, his voice unvarying in tone.

"We? Uhn uh. I don't think so pal," Duo said, and disappeared quickly.

Heero walked out of the training room, still sweaty from the fight that had recently occurred. He found Wufei in his room, sitting on the bed reading calmly. When Heero entered, Wufei looked up from his book and quirked an eyebrow, wondering why Heero was here.

"Yes?" Wufei asked, closing the book and laying it on the bed beside him.

"Wufei, to be straight to the point, I accidentally cut Hotaru's hair during our duel," Heero bluntly stated, his voice holding no emotions.

"You what?!" Wufei asked angrily, and jumped up, facing Heero.

"I would like to pay her back by escorting her to the dinner party tonight, if she wants to come," Heero said, never faltering under Wufei's angry glare.

"Yuy, you do know you have lost whatever respect she held for you," Wufei pointed out matter of factly.

"Yes, I do know. I have just come to do the honorable thing Wufei, and you know that," Heero said, and with that he left the room.

"He cut her hair… this will not be pretty," Wufei muttered.

Although he was angry at Heero for doing so, he knew Hotaru would have to get over it and stop acting like a child. He walked out of his room, and down the corridor to Hotaru's room, which unsurprisingly was locked and closed. He saw Cera come rushing over to him, and after a worried glance, she knocked on the door.

"Hotaru, dear, let me in. It's Cera," the old maid said softly, her voice laced with concern.

The door unlocked, and Cera opened it slightly, then slid in, a soft click telling him the door was locked again. He went over to his room, snatched a writing utensil from off his desk, and scribbled a reminder to go to the party on a sheet of paper. Folding it up neatly, he went over to the locked door that was the entrance to Hotaru's room, and slid the paper underneath.

Wufei walked away, thinking of whether he should attend the dinner party or not. If he was, then what was he to wear, and what was Rei going to wear?

*~~~~* Hotaru's Room *~~~~*

Hotaru sat on her bed, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably as she looked at her hair. She has spent years trying to grow it out as long as most of the other scouts, but thanks to Heero Yuy that dream was lost. When she woke up this morning it was waist length, and now it was many different lengths.

Cera had sat next to her for 30 minutes now, keeping silent as she let her princess cry. She now placed a gentle hand on Hotaru's shoulder and squeezed it in reassurance.

"We can fix your hair Hotaru. It may not ever be as long as it was before, but we can make it look better than it does now," Cera warmly said, and took Hotaru's hand.

"I'll go get the other princesses, they will help you little one," Cera said, and letting Hotaru's hand rest on the bed, she stood up and left the room.

Soon, Hotaru heard the voices of her friends at the door, sounding concerned and worried for their friend. The door opened revealing the faces of all the Inners and Serenity, everyone looking at her with concern.

"Can you fix it?" Hotaru asked, looking at them with sad violet eyes.

"Of course we can. Just a few snips here, and you'll look like the beautiful firefly that we know and love," Princess Minako of Venus said, trying to cheer her friend up.

"I can't believe he could do such a thing!" Serenity said, as she watched Mina cut Hotaru's hair.

"No girl deserves to get a cut in that way," Princess Ami of Mercury softly said.

Hotaru softly smiled, enjoying the threats Rei, Mina, and Lita made to Heero, and laughed mentally sometimes when Mina said a joke or threat in a funny type of way.

"All done!" Mina exclaimed, and Hotaru turned in her seat to look in the mirror.

Her hair was shoulder length, and it framed her pale face nicely, also the weight of long hair gone. Mina grinned cheerfully, her eyes all aglow as she looked at her master cutting skills shining in Hotaru's neat hair.

"Oh Hotaru! You look absolute beautiful!" Serenity exclaimed, her hands clasped in front of her as she looked at her counter part.

"Just keep this to yourself. I want to surprise everyone when I go to the dinner party, I especially want to surprise Heero Yuy," Hotaru said, her eyes taking a serious glint.

"I pity the guy, but then he deserves whatever he gets, everything except death though!" Mina said, and soon everyone left Hotaru alone to change.

Hotaru stood up after examining herself once more, and opened her wardrobe, searching for the best dress. She found a pale purple one, which hugged all the right curves on her petite yet goddess-like figure, and had a bit of fashion to it. A small dark purple sash was draped around the waist, and cloth parted like a curtain on each side in the front, the pale purple fabric appearing in the center of the dark purple curtain design.

It was spaghetti strap, and the collar dipped down into a V-neck, the back low cut, revealing the soft and pale bare skin of her back. She wore her usual Saturn earrings, the diamond shape dangling from the planet of Saturn, as she slipped some gloves that reached her elbows on, finishing her outfit.

Sliding on some high heels that laced up in the front, she looked herself over in the mirror. Satisfied with her appearance, she picked up some very light pink lip gloss, and applied some to her lips, making sure not to put too much.

She picked up a perfume bottle, and looking at the label in script writing, it read "Whispering Lavender Mists". Pulling off a glove, she unscrewed the cap, and placed the opening on the tip of her index finger, completely covering the hole to the perfume bottle. She tipped the bottle upside down, and some of the fragrant liquid wet her finger before she turned it right side up and placed her index finger on each side of her neck.

Rubbing the fragrance into her skin, she smiled to herself, and screwed the top back onto the bottle, then slid her glove back on. Closing her eyes, she teleported to the Sol Castle, and opened her eyes to see the girls welcoming her.

*~~~~* Girls' Waiting Room *~~~~*

"Hey Hotaru! You're looking beautiful!" Mina exclaimed, clearly very excited.

The Princess of Venus was wearing a light orange dress that went to her ankles, she had a slit on her right side of the dress that stopped at her knee. There was a yellow sash that hung around her waist, and tied into a bow at the side. It was a very simple and casual dress, yet it looked formal and elegant on the Goddess of Love and Beauty. A simple necklace with a star laying flat on her chest was the only jewelry she wore besides earrings.

Ami was wearing a baby blue dress that had no straps, it sleeves was just a baby cloth that hung loosely on her arms. The dress came up to her knees, and was even simpler than Minako's. She wore a gold charm bracelet with the symbol of Mercury dangling on a small ring hook.

Rei was wearing a velvet red dress, she wore a ribbon tied in her hair that matched her dress perfectly. She knew it was just a simple party, so she figured, 'Why get so dressed up?'. Her shoes were red high heels that laced up to her ankle.

Lita's dress was a black one with a rose right on the top of her round low collar. She wore a black choker and her rose earrings, which were her favorite ones. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a bun, wisps of hair on either side of her head, framed her delicate face.

Serenity, the Princess of the Moon, wore her royal white dress that clung to her body in a loose type of manner, but not too loose so as to not show her curvaceous (AN: Uhm…is that a word? If it isn't..it should be!) body.

Minako had received an invitation to be escorted into the ball room by Quatre, and she was really eager to start. Serenity was being escorted by her fiance and soon-to-be husband, Endymion, from the Earth. She was excited just like Mina, who kept moving around and talking.

"So Rei, did my brother offer to escort you?" Hotaru asked slyly, trying to forget about her hair.

Rei blushed a deep red, and nodded slowly, suddenly finding interest in the patterns on the floor. To the Princess of Mars's relief, Haruka and Michiru walked in at that moment, Haruka wearing her usual formal guy outfit, and Michiru wearing a new sea green dress that matched her hair.

The Princess of Neptune's eyes widened, as did her smile, as she looked at her close friend, and occasional charge, in surprise and approval. Haruka's eyes merely sparkled with approval as well, as she nodded her head slightly to Hotaru, whom understood the silent gestures.

"Do any of the guys know about Hotaru's new style?" Haruka asked, keeping her voice low just in case.

"Only we girls," Mina said, a silly grin on her usual cheerful face.

"This will be interesting then," Michiru said, expressing her interest in this whole situation.

"It better be worth it," Hotaru muttered, still not forgiving Heero.

"Hotaru, is Heero escorting you?" Rei asked, trying to get back at Hotaru.

"Yes, but that's fine with me, that way I can get back at him for causing this," Hotaru said, her voice low like the others.

*~~~~* Meanwhile, In the Ballroom *~~~~*

"So, Heero, who are you escorting, hm?" Duo asked, looking at Heero.

"Hotaru Tomoe," Heero said, the name making him wince slightly in remembrance of earlier on that day.

"Don't worry, my sister doesn't hold grudges for little things like that," Wufei said, straightening his tie.

"For too long," Duo added in, trying to imitate a suspenseful voice.

"Baka," Wufei muttered.

"Do you think this is okay for the ballroom?" Quatre asked, looking the ballroom over.

It was mostly white, and beautifully decorated with some pink and white roses in marble vases in the garden, and some lights that dimly lit up to give the garden some light. The large glass doors that led to the gardens were open, and soft breezes blew in, filling the room with the night air, and the soft fragrance of flowers. A stage was set up for the orchestra to play, and there were 2 food tables in the ballroom, one in one corner, and the second in the other corner.

All that was left was for the guys to get the girls, then the dinner party would begin. It was suppose to be just a small dinner party/ball, but Quatre insisted on it being one of the best the girls have attended.

The guys left the ballroom, and started to walk down the corridor to the waiting room which the girls were in. Duo constantly kept asking if his hair was alright, while Wufei muttered about Duo being a strange baka.

*~~~~* Girls' Waiting Room *~~~~*

"Anyways, that's how I met up with Quatre," Minako finished, she had been explaining how she met Quatre to the girls.

"So, Hotaru, now about your hair….," Serenity said, looking at her counterpart.

"Well, I was having a duel with Heero, and he accidentally sliced some of my hair," Hotaru said, her hands clenching into tight fists again.

"Accidentally? Let me guess, you got so angry you didn't stop to think about how could have just accidentally cut it," Haruka said, her voice showing slight amusement.

The dark soldier looked at the marble floor, her hands relaxing slowly, as she felt embarrassed.

"I think you owe him an apology, Hotaru," Michiru kindly said.

The rest of the princesses nodded in agreement slowly, and Hotaru let out a soft sigh.

"I don't see why! I mean he was the one that cut my hair!" Hotaru said, her hands returning into balled fists.

"Hotaru, he did it on accident. I'm sure he didn't mean to," Ami said gently, placing a hand on Hotaru's shoulder.

Hotaru moved away from it, and turned towards the door, stomping down the corridor. She looked up and saw the guys walking towards the waiting room, but her eyes weren't on the others, just one in particular…Heero Yuy.

She knew exactly how much he dressed into formal wear, and how much he preferred a white shirt and some regular black pants. But she had never exactly got a chance to examine him in a tuxedo, and now that she thought about it, he actually looked a bit handsome.

*~~~~* Heero's POV *~~~~*

He wasn't really listening to his friends' constant questions about their looks, since he really didn't care. Heero knew that he looked neat and exceptional in looks and appearance in his traditional black tuxedo. Hands in his pockets, he looked up wondering what Hotaru did to her hair and if she was even going to attend the party.

His eyes landed on a goddess with a pale purple and dark purple spaghetti strap dress that was walking down the hall with her gloved hands clenched into tight fists.

*~~~~* Author's POV *~~~~*

Huge dark violet eyes met with Prussian blue ones, and the owner of the violet orbs stopped her angry walk down the corridor.

"Oh no," Hotaru gasped softly for only her to hear.

The very last person she wanted to see right now was him, her soul rival, the one she wouldn't even be caught dead with. But now here she was, standing in the corridor staring at the elegant form of the perfect soldier.. Of Heero Yuy.

'What's happening to me? Am I just sorry for being so mean to him? Is that why I have this..this..this fluttering feeling in my stomach?' she thought, standing completely still like a statue.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the voices of her friends behind her, and she finally realized she had been staring at Heero.

Heero looked at Hotaru's face which had been flooded with passing emotions that he had a hard time identifying. At that moment, she looked a bit embarrassed and somewhat shy, but looks can be deceiving.

He noticed Hotaru's shoulder length hair finally, and his steps faltered as his eyes narrowed. He didn't think it was really Hotaru because he had his doubts that she was going to come to the party. Instead, he thought it was someone else…someone that seemed familiar to him

'She seems so familiar…but where have I met her before?' he thought, not realizing that he was staring.

"Hey guys!" Mina exclaimed, stepping next to Hotaru.

"Hey Mina, who is your friend?" Quatre asked, smiling gently at everyone.

"Friend?" Serenity questioned, looking at the guys with a quizzical look on her face.

Michiru looked at the others, then at Hotaru and realized what Quatre was talking about. She laughed lightly, covering her mouth with one hand, as she tried to stop herself.


The five princes looked at the 'water goddess' in slight confusion, as Lita smirked.

"You all know her! That's Hotaru!" Lita exclaimed, smirking still.

After a moment of brief silence, Duo exclaimed with perfect casualty, "I like your hair Hotaru. It suits you."

"Thanks Duo," Hotaru coolly replied.

"Well, are we going to have a party or what?" Mina asked, winking at Quatre once.

Quatre nodded, and the guys stepped up to the person they were to escort. At that moment, Endymion came walking down the corridor, a small smile on his face as he spotted Serenity. His step quickened as he stepped beside her and she smiled warmly at him.

Soon, everyone was with their escort, and the order went as such: Mina and Quatre, Ami and Trowa, Lita and Duo, Rei and Wufei, Serenity and Endymion, Michiru and Haruka, Hotaru and Heero. Heero couldn't help but keep glancing at Hotaru from the corner of his eye, which was the same problem most of the guys had.

As they approached the ballroom, they heard the orchestra beginning to play, and Michiru and Haruka smiled slightly.

::Tonight is going to be quite interesting, ne?:: Haruka asked Michiru in telepathy.

::I agree, Haruka.:: Michiru simply replied in telepathy.

*~~~~~~* To be continued…. *~~~~~~*

Author's Notes: Well, I am really mad right now.. Because I'm sick again. Anyhow, I am now going to make my threat. IF YOU ALL DON'T REVIEW RIGHT NOW I WILL TAKE SWEET TIME TO POST!! THAT'S RIGHT!!! ONIISTAR IS STANDING UP!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *ahem* 'scuse me. The flu flew to my head. Hehe. ^^()