Chapter Fifty-six: Ashes to Ashes, and From the Dust They Rise
Quatre looked up from where the group had gathered in the hospital room, waiting to hear on Chase's condition. His aquamarine eyes flashed. "She's coming."
Duo nodded grimly.
"What are you two talking about?" Heero growled. He had refused to go back to his hospital bed until they told him that Chase would be all right.
"Anna." Quatre answered. "And she's not happy."
Odin shut his eyes. "I don't suppose her opinion of me changed over the years…"
Duo smirked. "Don't count on it."
"Great."
Not five seconds later a flash of red satin and fire whirled into the waiting room. "Where is she?" Anna demanded, eyes nearly glowing with fury and concern. "They've got a crime scene set up outside and there's blood everywhere."
Wufei walked calmly in behind her, brushing snow off his sleeves. "I think that settles the matter of whose side Ryuujin is on, at any rate." He said.
"The doctors are still in with her. They haven't said anything yet." Quatre told Anna.
"And you're right. He's with them." Heero said darkly, acknowledging Wufei's comment.
"What are you both dressed up for?" Duo asked.
"We had a meeting." Anna said.
"With who?" Heero asked.
"Trinity Barton, leader of OWN and her lap dog, Drizzik." Wufei said.
"He's a lap dog with teeth and claws, Fei-chan." Anna said. "The only reason he's not running the show is because she did something for him and he owes her. Men like him are loyal to no one but themselves by choice."
"You met the leader of OWN?" Duo asked incredulously.
"Yes. She's not going to be easy to beat. She has no moral goals for the universe, she has no prior loyalties that can be used against her. She's smart, young, attractive, charming, and persuasive. What Relena could have been if she wanted to remain Queen of the World with an evil slant." Anna said.
"Speaking of, where is Relena? I thought you rushed off to save her." Wufei said.
"I sent her to be with Dorothy." Quatre said. "She'll be safer there."
Anna nodded. "Have you tried getting any news on Chase?"
"Every five minutes." Heero said seriously.
Anna sat next to Duo. "Great." Her gaze fell on the older man in their midst.
Odin smiled as best he could, hoping that maybe she wouldn't recognize him. Anna had hated him since the instant they met, and due to certain events that occurred while she and Chase were with at one point during the war, she hated him even more. He was hoping that ten years and a supposed memory wipe had made her forget. Or at least tolerate him.
Quatre, however, knew differently. He could sense the instant Anna recognized him and tried to waylay the indefinite verbal onslaught.
"Anna, I'm concerned about…"
"Odin Lowe." Anna snarled.
Duo caught Quatre's eye and shrugged. "You tried." He muttered.
"What is he doing here?" the young woman demanded.
"You don't have to treat me like I'm not here…" Odin mumbled.
Anna stood, and Duo caught her arm. "Hey, A-chan…" he pleaded quietly.
"He's helping." Heero said flatly.
"With what?"
"He helped us escape from capture earlier." Heero answered. "He's on our side."
"I know that." Anna said witheringly.
"Then why…" Odin started.
"You know perfectly well why." Anna replied dangerously. Her eyes narrowed. "Did anyone see the fight?"
"We all did." Quatre said.
"And nobody helped her?" Anna exclaimed, furious. She stood again, hands on her hips.
"It wasn't the type of situation where she could be helped." Odin said, standing to challenge her.
"Oh, really. She's just a pilot who hasn't exercised a whole lot of her training in the last ten years fighting a genetically mutated being a whole lot stronger than her whom she is also emotionally attached too. No, not a whole lot of help needed there." Anna said, sarcasm ringing through every word.
"Genetically mutated?" Duo, Wufei and Quatre asked together.
Anna waved them off. "He's not totally human. Why didn't you help her?!"
The other men had stood, perfectly prepared to hold back a fight. It had happened once before, Odin finding that Anna, when angry, was a formidable hand-to-hand opponent.
The entrance of the doctor saved him.
"Relatives of Chase Yuy?" a man called, almost bored sounding.
Heero stepped forward. "I'm her husband."
The doctor nodded. "She'll be all right. She's in a drug induced coma right now, just so she doesn't move around in her sleep. She broke a rib, and while it didn't pierce a lung, it'll need some time to heal. She should be awake in the morning."
Sighs of relief echoed around the room.
"Can I sit with her now?" Heero asked, shooting a backwards glance at Anna, who nodded.
The doctor nodded. "Yes, but only one of you."
"Go, Heero. I'll see her in the morning." She said quietly.
The Japanese man nodded and followed the doctor into the hallway.
Odin let his lip curl. "For being so angry you don't seem to vigilant to go see her."
Stormy ocean eyes rested on him icily. "I would expect that kind of comment from you. You've obviously never been married. And I don't wonder why. If you'll excuse me." She said brusquely.
The former pilots and Odin watched her go.
"Where's she off too?" Wufei mumbled.
Duo shrugged. "She needs time to cool off and de-stress."
"The roof." Quatre said softly. "She went to the roof."
Sure enough, five minutes later found Anna leaning against the railing on the roof, glaring over the rooftops of downtown Tokyo. Odin Lowe was the least of her worries, she kept telling herself. They had to figure out a solution to the problem of not having gundams, they had to figure out a solution to the fact that the were short a pilot and two more were severely injured, figure out how to deal with Ryuujin, figure out what happened to Trowa, how to get Zechs back… It never ended. Anna grumbled as the 'Clowns' ring on her phone went off.
She flipped it open with a terse, "Maxwell."
"I thought you were supposed to be the cheerful one, Anna."
"Trowa! Oh my gosh! Where are you? Daijoubu desu ka? How?"
The man on the other end of the line actually chuckled. "So many questions, Anna. I'm closer than you think, I'm fine, and modern medicine works wonders."
"It must. I've never heard you say a sentence that long before."
He laughed again. He sighed, and his tone became it's usual, serious, baritone. "Anna, I have a mission for you."
She blinked. "A mission?"
"Yes. It would be as a gundam pilot, only sans the gundam. I can pay you two million."
Anna felt her jaw hit the floor. "Two million?! Where in the world did you get two million dollars?!?"
"Sources, sources everywhere. The mission is this: Seek out Ryuujin the Half-Dragon, and kill him."
Anna sat on the ledge, the railing against her back. "Kill Ryuujin." She echoed.
"Yes. I understand if you don't want to take it. It could damage your relationship with Chase."
"I'll do it."
"Are you sure?"
"Trowa, he attacked her tonight. I don't have a choice. I'd rather her be alive and never forgive me, than her be dead and me guilty for all of eternity." She felt him stiffen as she talked.
"How bad?"
"Bad enough. Broke a rib, bruises, cuts. She won't be awake until morning, but she'll live. Trowa, I'm sorry. About everything before."
Trowa smiled softly. "Yeah. Me too. More than you can imagine." He paused. "Anna, about Jack…"
"He's perfectly okay. He's extremely devoted to you. He got your message, though. I assume you found out he was alive through Meg."
"No, by prying through files trying to get info on Ryuujin. Jack came up as a patient of Meg's, though, before his files switched to you. I'm grateful, to you both."
"Thank Meg, she's the one who smuggled the drug in from L2. He's a great kid. He's got a lot of potential."
"That he does."
"When do you want me to execute the mission?"
"As soon as possible. I don't know the details, but I do know he was assigned a mission earlier this evening. I don't know if he accepted it before or after he attacked Chase. I'd like you to stop him before he gets his claws in anyone else."
"I'll get on it right away. I can have him by sunrise."
"Are you sure?"
"Have I ever been wrong?"
"No, not in matters like these."
"I didn't think so."
"All right. I'll pick you up once you've completed this mission. We have other things to discuss. That is, if you'll have me back as a comrade and pilot in arms."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Thanks."
"You got it."
"I'll see you soon, then."
"Yeah. Bye."
"Good luck."
There was a click, and Anna hung up her phone. She forced a dark grin onto her face. This wasn't going to be easy. It wouldn't be easy to kill him, or deal with the consequences after. Ryuujin's death would anger Drizzik, sadden Chase, and throw a definite loop in Trinity's plan. But Trowa was right. He was a threat, and he had to be dealt with. She planned to change quickly inside, and then head out. She had a lot of ground to cover if she was to find him by dawn.
Anna went back to the waiting area before she left, this time wearing the trademark black outfit of her piloting days. Odin Lowe had left, she noted, not terribly disappointed.
Duo stood when he saw her. "What's up?"
"I have an…errand to run. I'll be back in the morning." She said softly.
"It's dangerous." Duo said grimly.
Anna smirked. "Of course. But don't worry."
Duo kissed her softly. "Be careful." He said quietly.
"Always." She whispered. "You boys take care. I'll see you in the morning." She said to Wufei and Quatre, who had politely ignored the exchange between husband and wife.
Wufei nodded.
Quatre smiled. "See you."
Anna headed out into the night.
She stood on the nearest street corner, eyes closed, breathing even. She had to sense him, feel out a direction, a motion, anything. Otherwise, this was a hopeless undertaking. She didn't time to track him down electronically, so she had to do it by intuition.
/Where are you?/
Here…
Anna opened her eyes, startled, before she realized what happened. He knew she was hunting him. He wanted her to come.
/There./
Come on…
She started running.
/What am I going to tell Chase?/
Chase won't need to be told…
/What about your brother?/
Not my problem…
"Typical." Anna muttered.
She felt the air change, as she got closer. They were near the water, close to the docks. He was there, in the shadows, just watching. She would have to make the challenge.
"You know why I'm here." She called.
"I do." Ryuujin said, his voice distorted so she couldn't place him.
"I challenge you, Ryuujin, in a duel to the death." She said firmly.
"I'll kill you." He said, and she could hear the grin in his voice.
"Yeah, you can try." Anna called back, grinning herself.
"But, dost thou have the weaponry to fight me, fair Anna, friend of my heart's betrayer?"
"You know perfectly well I lost the sword when we got sent back." Anna said, ignoring his dramatics.
"Well then. We'll have to fix that, won't we?" Ryuujin shifted in the darkness.
Anna heard the scrape of metal against metal and whirled just in time to catch the hilt of the sword that was thrown to her. She twirled it to get her grip and nodded. "You found it."
"Wufei gave it to me. He found it in your things after they sent you back."
"You know I won't decapitate you. That's beyond my ability to quench my sense of human decency." Anna warned.
"But can you kill me any other way?"
"You know I can."
"But not with a sword."
"Not with a sword. But we're too good of friends for me to make this quick, even if that's what you deserve for attack her."
"She deserved to be attacked. I have no heart for her now. She made a fool out of me."
"That doesn't mean you betray all of us."
"Blood is thicker than water, if you hadn't heard."
"Whose blood, Ryuu?"
He laughed, soft and dark. "Touché."
The first slice was not entirely unexpected, and she blocked it with little difficulty. She backed up until they were both in the light. Ryuujin, like her, was donned in black, his blue hair loose and wild, his eyes a pale red.
"You're fighting it." Anna murmured.
"I have no honest desire for your blood."
"It would hurt her."
"Yes. It will."
Anna knew he wasn't talking about her. She parried the next attack, and the next before she had to move again.
"It's over, Anna. I have no heart."
"I see." She nodded. "So be it." She attacked.
I found out on a late night drive
In my winter coat, with my blood shot eyes
"It doesn't have to be this way." She murmured, leaping back as the swings became angrier.
"Yes. It does."
Anna bit her lip as his eyes got darker. She hardly noticed when they hit the actual docks, the concrete becoming wooden slats, and the noise of the water lapping reached them. She swung forward and turned, hoping to catch him in the arm, only to find that he had anticipated the move and instead caught her across the shoulder. She stumbled and fell.
"You don't fight the same." Ryuujin growled, lunging after her.
Anna rolled swiftly, grabbing her sword as she went, catching him in mid lunge. The sword pierced through his chest, on the opposite side of his heart, halting his attack.
"I'm not the same woman, now am I?" Anna replied, ripping the sword back.
Ryuujin staggered, blood spilling onto his clothes and onto the docks. "No. Neither am I the same man."
Anna shook her head. "No, you're not."
Ryuujin hefted his sword and they circled each other carefully.
"It's sad, really. Some people choose to be alone. Some of us don't want it, but life deals it to us anyway. But maybe I deserve it. So much blood…" He said, eyes hollow, but full of red.
"Then I deserve it. We all do." Anna said, frowning. "Everyone who fought in a war. Anyone who draws breath. Nobody's perfect, but that doesn't mean anyone deserves that. You still have a chance."
"Quit trying, Anna. I've chosen my fate."
"I have to try. She'll be upset, and you're my friend too."
My faith ain't been no friend to me
And the way I sin is hanging off of me
Anna cried out as rage flooded him and he forced his attacks again. She blocked from the left, the right, front, left…It was a never ending barrage off attacks. He finally struck her again and sent her flying.
"I don't give a damn if she's upset!" he cried. "What did she ever do for me? What? She never really loved me. Cared about me as a friend, maybe, but she didn't love me. Used me like the fool I was. Just like Barton. I only killed him because he got in the way of my revenge. Loyalty is overrated, Anna. You don't do anyone any good if you're dead, whether you're dead because of loyalty, stupidity, or love."
"She tired, Ryuu. You don't choose who you love. She let you go…"
"That's a lie and you know it. Chase never lets go. She didn't let me go, and she didn't let Barton go. It never ends."
"Ryuu…"
"Get up."
"Ryuu…"
"Get up or I end it now!"
Anna snarled something under her breath and stood, sword glinting in the moonlight.
Ryuujin laughed. "There she is. There's the fighter I remember. Come on, you can do better than this. We'll be here for the next hundred years if you don't speed things up."
"Shut up." Anna spat. "This isn't easy, Ryuu. I can't let you live because you're a threat to her and to everyone now. You hurt her. But for the love, Ryuu, I cared about you too."
Ryuujin lifted an eyebrow.
"You know perfectly well I mean that in the most platonic way possible…"
He grinned before shrugging. "Sorry, Anna. I have no regrets about it. I can't have regrets about it."
Anna grit her teeth and gathered her energy before springing to the side and lunging the sword at him from the left.
He blocked, and leapt back onto a higher platform, Anna hot on his heels. She swung again and again, forcing him further and further back until came back with equal strength fueled by his fury.
And I'm sorry you can't take me anywhere
Pretty soon we're almost there, baby one more night
It's been a long, long drive
And I'm way, way tired
I don't need no back-up plan
All across the docks they fought, from the south end up to the north, neither relenting nor backing down. Ryuujin was slowly letting go of the reason he had left, and Anna knew she was quickly running out of time. She had been taught well how to handle a sword, but she was no match for Ryuujin when he was like that. Ryuujin laughed as she hit him, and swung back as if she hadn't ever touched him.
"Do you think I'll be missed?" He asked, leering at her.
"I don't know. You want to be missed?" Anna shot back, blocking him.
"Doesn't everyone? Maybe a part of me did. I don't know if he exists any more." Ryuujin said. "Not that I'd miss him."
"Well then, maybe a part of you'd be missed. I can't speak for anyone else."
"You could speak for her. You do often enough, like she does for you." He sneered.
"Maybe you wouldn't like the answer."
"Maybe I don't care."
"You hate her?"
"No. I loathe you both."
I don't want nobody
Nobody don't want me
I'm so sad, so lonely
But I'm always landing on my feet
"Why do you loathe me? I never did anything to you." Anna said, clashing together with him as they struggled for dominance.
"That's why I loathe you. You could have convinced her."
Anna half laughed. "To what? Love you? Hardly. Chase is extremely stubborn, which is something I think you well know. Besides, I would never convince her to do something that wouldn't make her happy. Some things just can't be, Ryuujin. Everyone has to make sacrifices."
"What happens when you sacrifice everything and get nothing? You're left hollow." Ryuujin growled, winning the struggle and shoving her back.
Anna regained her footing and brushed her bangs off her forehead. "Then you find something to fill it. You keep looking."
"So positive. It might be an admirable trait if it wasn't fatal. Your friend Barton was positive, too. Positive that what he was doing would make a difference. Look what it got him. He's dead, and before he died his little pet died too."
Anna smirked. "Jack's alive."
Ryuujin raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Your doctor friend started meddling with things, did she?"
"Oh yes. Meg's very forward thinking. She's positive too. Positive that both Jack and Trowa will make full recoveries."
The red eyes narrowed at her. "What?"
"You heard me."
"How?" he hissed.
"The drug that brought Duo and Heero back."
"And you helped with it."
"Yes."
Ryuujin gave an outcry and viciously attacked her. Anna was thrown off guard and her sword was knocked out of her hand as Ryuujin forced her to the ground. She had no choice but to grab the blade to keep it away from her throat.
"Then I guess I'll have to settle with your blood for my revenge." Ryuujin snarled.
"I can't die. Not here." Anna gasped.
"Why not?"
"I'm not the only one whose life is on the line." She cried out and shoved him up far enough to roll out of the way as his sword came crashing back down.
She desperately grabbed the hilt of her sword and drove it upwards behind her. She heard Ryuujin gasp and turned so she was facing him. She'd caught him in the chest, almost perpendicular to the wound she'd inflicted earlier.
One more time, with a sad, sad smile
And your white bread friends
In the circus life
She ripped it back and forced herself not to grimace at the sight of all the blood. "You're slipping, Ryuu."
He laughed darkly. "Remember when I first started teaching you. Didn't think you'd last the week. You were hysterical trying to fight with this type of sword like you would fight with a katana or a French blade. But you learned. You might survive against my brother if he decides to come after you."
"He's all ready promised me a fight on the battlefield, so I guess we'll find out." Anna said.
"She was so sweet…strong and vulnerable all at the same time. Made me want to give up everything to protect her. Turns out I needed the protection. She can take care of herself after all." Ryuujin said, eyes becoming distant.
"She did love you."
Ryuujin smiled momentarily before it became a dark smirk. "I know. It doesn't matter now, does it? Thought she could fix everything if she smiled long enough. Thought she could love everybody equally. Doesn't happen."
"No, it doesn't always. But people aren't born knowing that life's unfair. We have to learn by experience. Some of us never stop trying to make life equal for everyone."
"Well she's happy now. That's all that matters, isn't it?"
All the one way rides
The sweet beginners
Passing on the left-hand side
With a sideways smile
"Yeah. That's all that matters."
They were moving faster, almost a blur to anyone who might have seen them. Back and forth, block and parry, until Anna thought neither one of them would get the advantage. She wished with all her heart that there was something she could say; something she could do or tell him that would make things different. He had chosen his path, though, and she had chosen hers. There wasn't anything else to be done.
Ryuujin gained the upper hand and Anna felt the sword tear through the flesh on her shoulder. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and fell back into a defensive stance.
They eyed each other warily, each knowing that one false step could be their undoing.
"Would you really kill me, Ryuujin?" Anna asked.
"Yes. With relish."
She nodded.
They were moving again, faster and faster along the dock. Anna moved back half a step, switching the sword from her right hand to her left as she went and pulling out her fan in the same fluid motion. In the next breath she'd flung it open and sent the darts plunging into Ryuujin's skin, causing him to falter, which gave her the opening that she needed to turn the fan in her hand and fling the dagger side of it at him. It caught him in the hand, making him drop his sword.
Ryuujin cringed and Anna attacked with her sword again, making sure he didn't have room to reach his.
And I'm always one step from stalling
Bad trips can make great stories
Dance all night, with your ass on fire
And your hands up high, feel me one more time
Anna made the mistake of thinking she finally had him cornered as she pinned him to the ground in a position not unlike the one he'd had her in moments before. She had her sword against his throat and for a brief second he quit struggling against her, went limp, and shut his eyes.
She firmed her grip, not quite sure what he was doing. "Ryuujin?" She asked. She moved one hand around to her waistband to pull out her magnum.
Blood red eyes opened and he smiled coolly at her. "Yes?" He pulled his arms up, blue energy balled in his hands and shoved his attack against her chest.
I don't want nobody
Nobody don't want me
I'm so sad, so lonely
But I'm always landing on me feet
Anna fought to gasp as the wind was knocked out of her when she hit the wall behind her. "Crap…" She managed, trying to pull herself together.
"Careless, careless, Anna-chan. You know I'm not everything that I appear to be. I'm not like Victor. You can't just straddle me and blow my brains out. Thought it'd be that easy, eh?"
"Nothing about you was ever easy. If you weren't trying to jump me because of one personality, you were trying to kill me with this one. Or if you were normal you were brooding. Trying to kill you is not defined by easy in my book."
"Good. Then you won't make that mistake again."
Anna grinned. "No. I won't."
"No wonder you were picked to pilot a gundam. You're a fast learner."
"Yes I am."
"You're a good assassin."
"Damn straight."
Ryuujin laughed. "Too bad I couldn't learn that fast. I might have lived longer."
I learn to love myself
And I don't need no one else
And when a love moves on 'cause it gets cold
Then another moves in and it can fill the hole
"So Anna, tell me," Ryuujin said, gathering energy in his palms again, "What are you going to tell Chase? Because if what you say is true, and she loves me, she's not going to be too happy with you. I mean, history has shown that girls who kill their best friends ex-lovers usually don't wind up with a fantastic relationship on their hands."
"I somehow think that's the last of my problems right now." Anna grumbled, trying to figure out how she was going to distract him long enough to get her sword back.
"But you are concerned about it, aren't you? It could end your friendship." He pressed, wanting her reaction.
Anna sighed. "Look you, like I told Trowa, I would rather her hate me than be dead. And if you live any longer, you won't be able to stop yourself the next time. I can't let you hurt her."
"I didn't realize you'd kill for her."
"I've done it before. Hell, I gave up my son for her once. I'm not sure it gets more loyal than that."
"It was a waste, too. You should have stayed. Both of you. I could have had her, married her, long before Heero Yuy showed up again. Just think, you'd be happily wed to Wufei with a house, a dog in the yard, a white picket fence and two point five children by now." Ryuujin said with a sneer.
She rolled her eyes and rolled as he released the attack. Anna grabbed the hilt and landed back on her feet, deflecting a second release with the blade. She brushed her bangs back.
"I don't like white picket fences." She deadpanned.
"You could always change it. You've got the laptop. You could go back and change the whole thing, Anna. Save them the first time, save your son. You could go back further, too. Maybe not come at all." He said darkly.
"Then I'd be no better than Trinity and her plans. You don't fight the past, Ryuujin, you plan for the future, no matter what that holds."
"I'll never…"
"No."
I'm one more hopeful lying on the bedroom floor
Anna blocked another throw and Ryuujin jumped back to keep from being impaled again, grabbing his sword as he went. His eyes were still red, but Anna could tell he had lost his enthusiasm. He was hardly even trying to block her, he was hardly trying to keep her from hitting him.
"You giving up?" She challenged, pushing him back.
"What can I say?" He whispered.
No sense trying when the whole thing drops
She gained momentum as he fought less and less until she finally knocked his sword away. Anna fought to keep her nerves steady and she had just let go of her sword to reach for her magnum when he fell forward, gripping her shoulders with both hands, dragging them close together. Anna gasped, and he brought their faces close together.
"Promise me something."
"Eh?"
"Take care of her."
"I promise."
"Take care of my sword."
She sweatdropped. "I promise."
"Oh, and one more thing."
"What's that?"
He brought his lips close to her ear. "Take care of yourself." He whispered. Blue light coursed through him and enveloped him, and Anna gasped as he suddenly transfused his energy into her. Then he shoved her away and built up a destructive force in a last ditch effort to kill her.
You lose your nerve
Anna hesitated for only a second, but in the end was faster, and had her magnum in her hand in a split second. Six shots rang out, sending him staggering back, grinning like a maniac.
"What were you supposed to do after this?" She demanded softly.
"Why does that matter?" he asked raggedly.
"Because what you don't finish, your brother will."
He laughed, blood spilling from his lips. "Poor Zechs. Loosing his little kiddos. But maybe…you'll find them…in time…"
Anna nodded, and rage flooded his eyes for the last time. Her final shot, the seventh, rang out, piercing his skull and he froze, still grinning. The grin faded, as did the red from his eyes. Slowly his gaze became emptier, and emptier, but for the briefest of moments Anna saw the clear blue gaze of the man she had been a friend with. He smiled and nodded as he hit his knees, before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the dock, dead.
I hope you get what you deserve…
She knelt by him and for a second touched his forehead. "I will mourn you later, tamadachi. For now, all I can do is keep my promises as I make them."
Anna stood and gathered both swords. A sigh escaped from between her lips as the promise of sunlight began to filter over the horizon. She forced herself to steel her heart against the ache that threatened to take her over. Ryuujin's death would be something that would lay heavy on her heart for a long time.
"Say goodbye." She whispered. She started walking.
Yeah, I don't want nobody
And nobody don't want me
I'm so sad, so lonely
A limo pulled up at the end of the dock and Anna headed for it, knowing who would be there. She opened the back door and slid into the seat, pulling the door shut behind her. She smiled warmly.
"Trowa-kun."
"Thanks seems rather inappropriate, Anna-chan."
She shrugged. "We'll deal with it later. It's good to see you."
Trowa nodded as they drove away. "It's good to see you, too. After I show you the safe house that Lady Une's set up for us, I do have a one more favor to ask of you…"
"Name it."
"Tomorrow afternoon, would you bring Jack to me? I need to see Quatre first, but it would be easier…"
Anna cut him off. "Not a problem." She smiled. "He'll be glad to see you."
Trowa smiled at her. There was a long moment, and Trowa squeezed her shoulder. She squeezed his hand in return, and the rest of the trip was rode in silence. Tomorrow would bring its own troubles.
But I'm always landing on my feet.
Author's Notes: Hiya, ya'll!! Yes, gasp, shock, the death of Ryuujin, and by Anna's hand no less. (And no, we won't be resurrecting everyone in this fic…give us a break.) The song is "So Sad, So Lonely" and is a bonus track on the Matchbox Twenty album "More Than You Think You Are". I'm plugging it, yes. Go buy it. Now. ^^ At any rate, feel free to let us know what you think! Email us, review it, whatever makes you happy! Hope you enjoyed! Ja for now!
