Standard disclaimer applies: I swear under oath that I don't own any of
these characters that appear in the story, except for any I might make up
along the way.
Well, here it is much, MUCH later then I wanted to be updating. After my last post before my spring break in March (when FFNet was going haywire, so some of you might not have seen that update.if not, check it out!), I thought I could get on a regular updating schedule after I got out of school.only it didn't happen. As a recent college grad, I am now working full time and due to family illness I have spent much of my free time doing household chores and such. (It's incredible how much laundry my family of four goes through in just one day). But now that things have settled down a little and I have time to think about my writing again, I hope to get on a somewhat regular schedule of updating. I can't promise certain times, but I will do my best to post more often then once every 3 months. (Such poor showings.I'm embarrassed.) So, that's something to look forward too for you all anyway. Also, look for one supernatural phenom to make an appearance in a couple of chapters. No more hints though, I don't want to give it away! A further note, this chapter for sure will be more angsty then usual and there will be a slight carryover to the upcoming two chapters or so. (Sorry.got move the plot along sometime though! ^_^) Oh, and no offense is intended to any and all fans of Chibi-Usa, aka Rini (since I'm using half Japanese and half English names) but I do kind of poke fun at her in this chapter...just a little.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE WONDERUFL PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ AND REVIEWED THIS STORY. I hope my tardiness doesn't stop you from continuing to enjoy it. But anyway, I'm just happy if I've even made one person laugh.because that means I've been able to share my love of writing and enjoyment of this story in particular with someone else. Thank you for all your support, new and continued, and I look forward to your comments!
Enjoy!
"IT'S ABOUT TIME!" Rei huffed, walking up behind the silent pair sitting under the tree in the park. We've been looking for you two everywhere!"
"We've been here the whole time," Heero responded in typical monotone fashion.
"Well, I see that now," she said, coming around in front of them. "Now do you mind telling me why you ran off?"
"Because we could."
"Gee, and here I thought Heero had changed," Duo said, stepping up next to Rei.
"Just how many of you are here?" Lita asked.
"Only us," he replied. "There would have been three, if Wufei had come with us."
"Serves him right having to go with Setsuna.we didn't have time for a rematch because we had to locate a couple strays," Rei said.
Lita flushed guiltily. "Sorry.guess we should have said something, but you know how it is.."
"Yeah, I know.. Besides, it's probably good we didn't have a rematch.we might have been kicked out of Crown."
"What?" Lita cried. "How did you manage that?"
"I'll give you one guess," Duo said.
"Wufei," Heero said.
"Bingo."
"What did he do this time?" Lita asked.
"It's a long story," Rei sighed, shaking her head. "Haruka for some unknown reason decided to challenge Wufei to a game of Sailor Smash. Not wanting to look like a chicken in front of a girl he agreed, on the condition they both play random characters to make it fair. Since you know Haruka's probably played as Uranus like 50 bazillion times, but anyway.. She wound up playing as Saturn. That set Wufei off in fits of laughter because Saturn is well, you know.."
"I know," Lita said.
"I don't," Duo said.
"You're not supposed to," Heero suddenly spoke up. "I told you before.keep your nose out of places it doesn't belong."
"I'm sorry.geez.." Duo waved his hands in the air. "No need to go ballistic on me."
"Hn."
"Anyway," Lita said, "What happened?"
"Anyway, Wufei stopped laughing when he wound up with the baby of the group," Rei continued.
"Oh god, you don't mean.."
"I do."
"I can already see that being a disaster," Lita said. "She's the weakest he could have gotten. Her magic attack always fails and her only other attack is to basically overwhelm her opponent with a stream of tears and sonic screaming."
"Very true.except Wufei managed to beat Haruka."
Lita's jaw dropped. "Please tell me you're joking. There's no way! Haruka should have wiped the floor with Wufei, just on experience alone. I mean, playing as 'The Spore Queen'.. Beating Haruka with her is like seeing hell freeze over!"
"I know, I know!" Rei exclaimed. "Haruka was seriously ticked when she got beat by that pink haired freak of nature; and Wufei didn't make it any better. He just had to rub it in that he'd trashed her. So Haruka decided to get revenge.she told Wufei she'd believe his victory wasn't an accident if he could be beat somebody else using 'The Spore Queen'. So naturally, Wufei picked Duo as his opponent. Well, Duo went through the random selection process only something was different. Somehow, Wufei's victory had unlocked a secret character and that's who Duo landed on. Well, the character's identity wasn't revealed until they started the match; and it turned out to be a little back cat."
Lita hit her forehead with the palm of her hand, knowing very well Rei meant Luna. "That's even worse! That cat has one attack.the Scratch of Death and it's totally useless! Well, ok.it's useless on everyone except Sailor Moon.."
"Umhmm," Rei agreed. "That's what I thought.until the cat beat the crap out of 'The Spore Queen'. Wufei was downright furious. He'd lost to a cat, and he didn't like it one bit."
"Now it makes sense," Lita said. "Wufei was so mad he was probably throwing one of his famous tantrums of injustice and demanding a rematch.and that in itself would be enough to get you kicked out of Crown."
"Good thing we left before it got that far," Duo said.
"I'll say," Rei responded. "Setsuna would have given us a killer lecture for that."
Lita laughed, standing up and brushing some grass off. "Come on guys.we'd better be getting back so the other's know we aren't dead."
Rei nodded. "Yeah, we told Setsuna we'd meet back at Crown in an hour to report and that hour is almost up, so we better hurry."
"Why bother? I'm not going to kill myself to let everyone know I'm alive."
Duo laughed, then suddenly stopped, gasping dramatically. "My god.Heero's made another joke.... Could it be he actually has a sense of humor?"
"Very funny Duo. Just for that, I propose a little motivation to see just how much of a hurry you're in."
"Oh?"
"First one back to Crown has to buy ice-cream.for Serena."
"OH MY GOD!" Rei screeched.
"She eats enough for ten people!" Duo cried.
"Then I guess you better get started."
Nodding vigorously, Duo took off, at a very fast run, in the direction of the Crown arcade, Rei close on his heels. Meanwhile, Heero made no visible effort to try and exert much energy.
"Uh, Heero.isn't the whole point to be first so you don't have to spend a million dollars on ice cream?" Lita asked, walking beside him.
"Not really. If either of them had really been paying attention, they would have noticed I said first one back.not last. They just assumed that last is what I meant. So actually, they're racing each other to see who buys Serena's ice cream."
Lita started at him, then burst into laughter. "Heero Yuy, you never cease to amaze me."
His only reply was a slight smirk.
A couple of moths passed uneventfully in the world of Juuban. The weekends were usually spent as one large group doing something. Some days it was the movies, other times the park or the arcade. Oh sure, there were the "sporadic" arguments between Wufei and the poor soul who set him off, but that wasn't so unusual really; especially considering the large quantity of people staying at the Hikawa Shrine and all the people in the weekend outings. However, this time wasn't all flowers and sunshine.
Heero had been kind of distant those days, spending much of his time hunting for Zechs or any leads on his whereabouts. And as if Wufei's almost constant bickering hadn't been enough to make things a little hairy, the secret Quatre was keeping wasn't helping matters any. He'd agreed not to say a word, and it was probably just as well. Everyone seemed to be reacting negatively to Heero's acquired unease and Quatre wasn't sure that everyone would be too pleased to know what he did.
In any case, it was a situation that everyone was playing by ear. With nothing to go on, the pilots had to sit and wait and hope that worse didn't come to worse. Unfortunately for them, such wishes were not to be fulfilled and it wasn't long before things got worse.much, much worse.
Lita stood waiting at the bus stop, hoping the bus would be on time for once. She had gone to the grocery store and picked up a few items, much to the dismay of the other pilots. They hadn't exactly been keen on the idea of her going out by herself, since they didn't know where Zechs was. So they deferred to Heero and asked him; but he was so engrossed in his work that he agreed to the errand not really knowing what he'd agreed too. This is how Lita had wound up standing at the bus stop with a bag of groceries. Though, to be perfectly honest, she hadn't gone out just to get milk and bread. She knew how diligent Heero had been in his search for Zechs, and so she thought by going out maybe she would be able to see something of use. Then again, she really wasn't sure what she was looking for. If Zechs was disguised, he could be practically anybody.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.
Shaking her thoughts clear, she turned to see a man standing next to her. But this wasn't just any man.he fit the exact description Heero had given her of Zechs Marquise. He had the long platinum blonde hair, sky colored eyes, the height, and the overall aura of someone in a position of power. Lita's breath caught in her throat for a split second, but it returned upon the logical thought that if Zechs were here, he'd most likely be in disguise so as to avoid detection. Therefore, he wouldn't look like this so the only natural conclusion would be that this was indeed not Zechs. This being the case, she thought surely it would be alright just to see if she could be of assistance. "Can I help you?"
"I was wondering if this bus goes to the Hikawa Shrine," he replied.
"Yeah it does. Well, close anyway. It isn't far from the stop to the shrine."
The man smiled. "Thank you."
Lita smiled back. "Not at all. In fact, I'm on my way to Hikawa Shrine myself. Maybe I could be of help, 'cause the bus does stop a couple of times before it gets there."
"That would be nice, if it is not any trouble. I am not familiar with Juuban so I am sure to get lost getting around."
Just as Lita was about to respond, she spotted the bus heading toward them. "Hey, there's our ride," she said, pointing. The man followed her onto the bus and after paying their fare, they sat down.
"I noticed you had a bag with you. Do you normally take things to the shrine?" the man asked, motioning to the sack.
"Hmm? Oh, no," Lita laughed. "I'm staying at the shrine with a friend of mine. Her grandfather runs the place, so she said I could stay with her while I was in town. Because of that, I've been helping out, kind of earning my keep I guess."
"I see." Then man than proceeded to ask her some questions about Juuban, all which Lita answered. Being a visitor, it was only naturally that he had questions about the town so she saw no harm in telling him.
After a few minutes, the bus finally pulled up to the stop near Hikawa Shrine, and the two people get off. They continued their friendly conversation as they walked to the shrine. When they got up the steps, Lita saw Rei and Heero sweeping some leaves in the courtyard. "Rei, Heero!" she called, waving as she ran over to them, her bus companion following along behind a bit slower. She stopped and turned to the visitor, about to introduce him to her friends when he made the first move.
"Heero.a pleasant surprise seeing you here."
"Too bad I can't say the same," Heero glared back.
"You know him?" Lita asked the newcomer.
"Oh yes, we are old friends Heero and I," the man answered.
"Only someone like you would say something like that."
"Heero, I am offended."
"Offensive.isn't that what you meant?"
"Heero!" Lita exclaimed. "Stop being rude to him."
"Why should I?"
"Because he's a guest. He just wanted to see the shrine and you're making a big deal out of it."
"Of course I am! Do you have any idea who this is?"
"Well, no.," Lita admitted.
"This is Zechs Marquise."
Lita's face went white and suddenly she was no longer strong enough to hold the bag of groceries, letting them hit the ground with a thud. "Zechs.oh, no.what have I done?" she whispered.
Heero gave Zechs a look that could kill twenty times over. "You don't have any business here Zechs. Now get the hell out and don't come back."
"Alright. I will leave, but first answer this question. I noticed this young lady," he said, motioning to Lita, "is wearing a ring. And since she seems to know you, I can only assume that you two have some sort of relationship. Am I right?"
"That isn't any of your business."
"Very well," Zechs shrugged. "But just know that I will be coming back because I know you had something to do with my sister's death Heero. And I am going to prove it."
Rei stared at Zechs' back as he left the shrine. When he was gone, she turned back to Heero and Lita. "What the hell is he talking about Heero? Did you kill somebody?" Rei waved her broom in threatening manner. "Have I been harboring a murderer all this time?"
"Rei, Rei.settle down," Lita said, grabbing the broom. "Heero didn't kill anybody...I did."
Rei stared at her blankly, and then started laughing. "Good joke Lita. Now be serious."
"I am serious. I killed Zechs' sister Relena Peacecraft."
"But.but." Rei stuttered. "I saw that on the news a couple months ago and they said that was a suicide!"
"We'll explain inside," Heero said, herding the two girls toward the shrine.
"You better explain!" Rei exclaimed.
"Don't worry Rei, we will. No more secrets. you'll find out everything starting from the very beginning," Lita said. Well, almost everything she told herself. There were just some things that weren't meant to be told.
An hour later, all Rei could say was, well.nothing. She was speechless.
Duo scratched the back of his head. "A little more involved then you thought huh?"
"Just a little," Rei replied. "Lita never mentioned Relena.. I guess I can see why she didn't."
"I know I should have told you, but after the shooting, I just couldn't Rei. I didn't know what you'd do if you thought you were friends with a murderer," Lita said.
"Well, I admit I was surprised, but I'm not going to stop being your friend just because you made a mistake," Rei said. "I know there's no way you would intentionally kill anyone.it's just not you. But what are you gonna do now? I mean, now that Zechs is here snooping around, shouldn't you come clean? He's probably gonna find out anyway. Besides, I'd think they'd let you off easy with it being self defense and all."
"Just a couple problems with that," Duo said. "First off, if she confesses now, the cops will know she lied earlier about 'finding' Relena's body and that won't sit well. Secondly, Relena was at one time the holder of the title 'Queen of the World' and she's been very prominent in world politics.not to mention all the meddling she's done in the colonies too. If Lita were to confess to this, there's no doubt she'd be found guilty of murder."
Rei looked horrified. "Are you sure?"
Quatre nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. Relena carried a lot of weight with many governing factions, especially in her efforts to promote peace through pacifism. Though not all agreed with her ideas, many admired and still do admire her for all the time and energy she poured into promoting peace."
"So.what you're saying is basically Lita is as good as imprisoned for life if she turns herself in."
"Not quite. You see, when found guilty.they will spare no mercy for Relena's killer. If Lita does come forward, she's as good as dead."
"Don't you ever say that again Quatre," Heero glared. "She's not going to die and I'm going to make sure of that."
"But Heero.."
"No buts Duo. I've got everything under control."
Lita frowned to herself. Something about that line just didn't sit well with her. But she was feeling kind of tired and decided she'd get farther taking a nap then trying to argue with Heero. So deciding, she stood up. "Well, since you obviously have things under control, you don't need me so I'm going to my room." Turning, she left the group.
"Is it just me, or has Lita been looking a little sick lately?" Rei asked.
"So you noticed it too," Duo said. "I don't think it's anything to worry about though. Anybody in this situation is bound to get worked up and stressed out and stress can make you sick."
"Hmmm.... Well anyway, I think I'll go see if she needs anything. If you'll excuse me," Rei said, standing up and heading for Lita's room. Once there, she knocked on the door. "Lita, can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure," the muffled voice answered.
Rei slid the door open, entering the room and shutting the door behind her. "Lita are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. "Just a little tired."
Rei frowned. "Somehow I think you're not telling the whole truth."
Lita cringed inwardly.now wasn't the time to be found out. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know.you've just looked sick lately. Duo thinks it's because of the whole Relena mess."
Thank god for Duo, Lita thought to herself, sitting up. "Ok, ok.you got me... I'm not alright. I've been living with the guilt of Relena's death for a couple months and now Zechs is involved. He's going to get the police to re-evaluate the case and once they're persuaded it wasn't a suicide they'll reopen the investigation, starting with me...that is if Heero doesn't do something stupid in the mean time."
"Something stupid? Like what?"
Lita shrugged. "I don't have any idea. But I can tell that he's up to something.and I don't think I'm going to like it."
"I wouldn't worry about it. I don't see what he could possibly do that would get him into trouble unless he did something like kill Zechs."
"Rei, you don't know them like I do. They may be soldiers, but they're their own army; they follow a different set of leaders and fight for themselves, not for a side and they're not above breaking the laws to comply with their orders. Normally I wouldn't worry about them a whole lot; I know they can take care of themselves. But this time I think it's going to be different. This time, I'm scared."
Meanwhile back in the study room, the pilots were busily staring blankly at Heero and his seeming ridiculous plan. "Are you out of your mind?" Duo cried.
"No."
"I think you are," Wufei mumbled to himself.
"You are of course entitled to your opinion Wufei," Heero answered. "But I'm perfectly sane."
"Then may I ask why in hell you even suggested this ludicrous plan?"
Heero shrugged. "You come up with something better."
Wufei stuttered, glaring darkly when he couldn't produce an idea.
"As I thought."
"But surely there's another way," Quatre said. "There has to be.."
"I don't see anyway around it. They won't do anything to me.you know how everyone feels about us. We are renegades to be feared. Even if it isn't necessarily true, it's the image people have of us."
"Yeah," Duo agreed. "But what's that got to do with anything? I would think that would only hurt you."
"In most circumstances yes, it would," Trowa affirmed. "But in this case, I think it would help. There would be a widespread concern that we would retaliate if something were to happen to Heero."
"I get it," Duo said. "We're like the trump card.if they make one wrong move then we go in and pay them a little visit."
"Exactly. That's why I'm not worried," Heero said. "Everything will go alright as long as Duo holds up his end."
"Roger that. Mission accepted by 02," Duo grinned, saluting.
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Somebody get me out of here please.."
His prayer was answered, for that moment Rei walked into the room. "Hey Wufei, I need your help. Lita's not feeling well, so I'm shorthanded on kitchen help for making dinner. She says you can make meatloaf, though now that I think about it she didn't say whether it was edible or not.."
"Of course it's edible! How dare you insult my ability to make meatloaf!" Wufei glared, standing up and storming off to the kitchen, mumbling rather loudly. "I'll show you onna.thinks I can't make a simple thing like meatloaf.."
Rei laughed. "I knew that'd work," she said before following him out.
"Well, it looks like the meeting's been adjourned," Quatre said.
Heero nodded. "It starts tomorrow," he said as the pilots went their separate ways.
The next day found Lita spending the afternoon by watching some television. She was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. Looking back, she found Duo standing there. "Hey Duo. Something wrong?"
"Not really, but could you come back to my room for a minute? There's something I need to tell you."
"Um, ok," she said, getting off the couch and following him. Once they were inside, she looked at Duo. "What is it?"
"Well, Heero kind of got a mission and the scientists are coming here to brief him on it. They're due any minute, so you have to stay in here because, well.they kinda don't know about you."
Lita frowned. "Heero didn't tell me about any mission."
"Well, he probably didn't want to worry you anymore.you know how he is."
"Yeah," she said slowly. "I do." Frowning, she sat down. Something wasn't right here. Heero would have told her if he was leaving, so they must be doing something else.something they were trying to hide from her. After a few minutes, she decided she had to know what was going on. "Really Duo, is it necessary to keep me in here? I mean.I'm kinda thirsty."
"Well why didn't you say so? I'll get you some water." No sooner had he opened the door then Lita had made her way through. "HEY!" Duo cried, chasing her. He knew things would fall apart if he didn't catch her.
She made it the study room, the room she decided was most likely to be occupied, briefing or not. Blinking, she looked at the group of people assembled. Lita may not have been a genius, but she did know for sure that none of these people had even the slightest chance of being one of the scientists. "Heero Yuy, what on earth is going on here?"
Well, here it is much, MUCH later then I wanted to be updating. After my last post before my spring break in March (when FFNet was going haywire, so some of you might not have seen that update.if not, check it out!), I thought I could get on a regular updating schedule after I got out of school.only it didn't happen. As a recent college grad, I am now working full time and due to family illness I have spent much of my free time doing household chores and such. (It's incredible how much laundry my family of four goes through in just one day). But now that things have settled down a little and I have time to think about my writing again, I hope to get on a somewhat regular schedule of updating. I can't promise certain times, but I will do my best to post more often then once every 3 months. (Such poor showings.I'm embarrassed.) So, that's something to look forward too for you all anyway. Also, look for one supernatural phenom to make an appearance in a couple of chapters. No more hints though, I don't want to give it away! A further note, this chapter for sure will be more angsty then usual and there will be a slight carryover to the upcoming two chapters or so. (Sorry.got move the plot along sometime though! ^_^) Oh, and no offense is intended to any and all fans of Chibi-Usa, aka Rini (since I'm using half Japanese and half English names) but I do kind of poke fun at her in this chapter...just a little.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE WONDERUFL PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ AND REVIEWED THIS STORY. I hope my tardiness doesn't stop you from continuing to enjoy it. But anyway, I'm just happy if I've even made one person laugh.because that means I've been able to share my love of writing and enjoyment of this story in particular with someone else. Thank you for all your support, new and continued, and I look forward to your comments!
Enjoy!
"IT'S ABOUT TIME!" Rei huffed, walking up behind the silent pair sitting under the tree in the park. We've been looking for you two everywhere!"
"We've been here the whole time," Heero responded in typical monotone fashion.
"Well, I see that now," she said, coming around in front of them. "Now do you mind telling me why you ran off?"
"Because we could."
"Gee, and here I thought Heero had changed," Duo said, stepping up next to Rei.
"Just how many of you are here?" Lita asked.
"Only us," he replied. "There would have been three, if Wufei had come with us."
"Serves him right having to go with Setsuna.we didn't have time for a rematch because we had to locate a couple strays," Rei said.
Lita flushed guiltily. "Sorry.guess we should have said something, but you know how it is.."
"Yeah, I know.. Besides, it's probably good we didn't have a rematch.we might have been kicked out of Crown."
"What?" Lita cried. "How did you manage that?"
"I'll give you one guess," Duo said.
"Wufei," Heero said.
"Bingo."
"What did he do this time?" Lita asked.
"It's a long story," Rei sighed, shaking her head. "Haruka for some unknown reason decided to challenge Wufei to a game of Sailor Smash. Not wanting to look like a chicken in front of a girl he agreed, on the condition they both play random characters to make it fair. Since you know Haruka's probably played as Uranus like 50 bazillion times, but anyway.. She wound up playing as Saturn. That set Wufei off in fits of laughter because Saturn is well, you know.."
"I know," Lita said.
"I don't," Duo said.
"You're not supposed to," Heero suddenly spoke up. "I told you before.keep your nose out of places it doesn't belong."
"I'm sorry.geez.." Duo waved his hands in the air. "No need to go ballistic on me."
"Hn."
"Anyway," Lita said, "What happened?"
"Anyway, Wufei stopped laughing when he wound up with the baby of the group," Rei continued.
"Oh god, you don't mean.."
"I do."
"I can already see that being a disaster," Lita said. "She's the weakest he could have gotten. Her magic attack always fails and her only other attack is to basically overwhelm her opponent with a stream of tears and sonic screaming."
"Very true.except Wufei managed to beat Haruka."
Lita's jaw dropped. "Please tell me you're joking. There's no way! Haruka should have wiped the floor with Wufei, just on experience alone. I mean, playing as 'The Spore Queen'.. Beating Haruka with her is like seeing hell freeze over!"
"I know, I know!" Rei exclaimed. "Haruka was seriously ticked when she got beat by that pink haired freak of nature; and Wufei didn't make it any better. He just had to rub it in that he'd trashed her. So Haruka decided to get revenge.she told Wufei she'd believe his victory wasn't an accident if he could be beat somebody else using 'The Spore Queen'. So naturally, Wufei picked Duo as his opponent. Well, Duo went through the random selection process only something was different. Somehow, Wufei's victory had unlocked a secret character and that's who Duo landed on. Well, the character's identity wasn't revealed until they started the match; and it turned out to be a little back cat."
Lita hit her forehead with the palm of her hand, knowing very well Rei meant Luna. "That's even worse! That cat has one attack.the Scratch of Death and it's totally useless! Well, ok.it's useless on everyone except Sailor Moon.."
"Umhmm," Rei agreed. "That's what I thought.until the cat beat the crap out of 'The Spore Queen'. Wufei was downright furious. He'd lost to a cat, and he didn't like it one bit."
"Now it makes sense," Lita said. "Wufei was so mad he was probably throwing one of his famous tantrums of injustice and demanding a rematch.and that in itself would be enough to get you kicked out of Crown."
"Good thing we left before it got that far," Duo said.
"I'll say," Rei responded. "Setsuna would have given us a killer lecture for that."
Lita laughed, standing up and brushing some grass off. "Come on guys.we'd better be getting back so the other's know we aren't dead."
Rei nodded. "Yeah, we told Setsuna we'd meet back at Crown in an hour to report and that hour is almost up, so we better hurry."
"Why bother? I'm not going to kill myself to let everyone know I'm alive."
Duo laughed, then suddenly stopped, gasping dramatically. "My god.Heero's made another joke.... Could it be he actually has a sense of humor?"
"Very funny Duo. Just for that, I propose a little motivation to see just how much of a hurry you're in."
"Oh?"
"First one back to Crown has to buy ice-cream.for Serena."
"OH MY GOD!" Rei screeched.
"She eats enough for ten people!" Duo cried.
"Then I guess you better get started."
Nodding vigorously, Duo took off, at a very fast run, in the direction of the Crown arcade, Rei close on his heels. Meanwhile, Heero made no visible effort to try and exert much energy.
"Uh, Heero.isn't the whole point to be first so you don't have to spend a million dollars on ice cream?" Lita asked, walking beside him.
"Not really. If either of them had really been paying attention, they would have noticed I said first one back.not last. They just assumed that last is what I meant. So actually, they're racing each other to see who buys Serena's ice cream."
Lita started at him, then burst into laughter. "Heero Yuy, you never cease to amaze me."
His only reply was a slight smirk.
A couple of moths passed uneventfully in the world of Juuban. The weekends were usually spent as one large group doing something. Some days it was the movies, other times the park or the arcade. Oh sure, there were the "sporadic" arguments between Wufei and the poor soul who set him off, but that wasn't so unusual really; especially considering the large quantity of people staying at the Hikawa Shrine and all the people in the weekend outings. However, this time wasn't all flowers and sunshine.
Heero had been kind of distant those days, spending much of his time hunting for Zechs or any leads on his whereabouts. And as if Wufei's almost constant bickering hadn't been enough to make things a little hairy, the secret Quatre was keeping wasn't helping matters any. He'd agreed not to say a word, and it was probably just as well. Everyone seemed to be reacting negatively to Heero's acquired unease and Quatre wasn't sure that everyone would be too pleased to know what he did.
In any case, it was a situation that everyone was playing by ear. With nothing to go on, the pilots had to sit and wait and hope that worse didn't come to worse. Unfortunately for them, such wishes were not to be fulfilled and it wasn't long before things got worse.much, much worse.
Lita stood waiting at the bus stop, hoping the bus would be on time for once. She had gone to the grocery store and picked up a few items, much to the dismay of the other pilots. They hadn't exactly been keen on the idea of her going out by herself, since they didn't know where Zechs was. So they deferred to Heero and asked him; but he was so engrossed in his work that he agreed to the errand not really knowing what he'd agreed too. This is how Lita had wound up standing at the bus stop with a bag of groceries. Though, to be perfectly honest, she hadn't gone out just to get milk and bread. She knew how diligent Heero had been in his search for Zechs, and so she thought by going out maybe she would be able to see something of use. Then again, she really wasn't sure what she was looking for. If Zechs was disguised, he could be practically anybody.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.
Shaking her thoughts clear, she turned to see a man standing next to her. But this wasn't just any man.he fit the exact description Heero had given her of Zechs Marquise. He had the long platinum blonde hair, sky colored eyes, the height, and the overall aura of someone in a position of power. Lita's breath caught in her throat for a split second, but it returned upon the logical thought that if Zechs were here, he'd most likely be in disguise so as to avoid detection. Therefore, he wouldn't look like this so the only natural conclusion would be that this was indeed not Zechs. This being the case, she thought surely it would be alright just to see if she could be of assistance. "Can I help you?"
"I was wondering if this bus goes to the Hikawa Shrine," he replied.
"Yeah it does. Well, close anyway. It isn't far from the stop to the shrine."
The man smiled. "Thank you."
Lita smiled back. "Not at all. In fact, I'm on my way to Hikawa Shrine myself. Maybe I could be of help, 'cause the bus does stop a couple of times before it gets there."
"That would be nice, if it is not any trouble. I am not familiar with Juuban so I am sure to get lost getting around."
Just as Lita was about to respond, she spotted the bus heading toward them. "Hey, there's our ride," she said, pointing. The man followed her onto the bus and after paying their fare, they sat down.
"I noticed you had a bag with you. Do you normally take things to the shrine?" the man asked, motioning to the sack.
"Hmm? Oh, no," Lita laughed. "I'm staying at the shrine with a friend of mine. Her grandfather runs the place, so she said I could stay with her while I was in town. Because of that, I've been helping out, kind of earning my keep I guess."
"I see." Then man than proceeded to ask her some questions about Juuban, all which Lita answered. Being a visitor, it was only naturally that he had questions about the town so she saw no harm in telling him.
After a few minutes, the bus finally pulled up to the stop near Hikawa Shrine, and the two people get off. They continued their friendly conversation as they walked to the shrine. When they got up the steps, Lita saw Rei and Heero sweeping some leaves in the courtyard. "Rei, Heero!" she called, waving as she ran over to them, her bus companion following along behind a bit slower. She stopped and turned to the visitor, about to introduce him to her friends when he made the first move.
"Heero.a pleasant surprise seeing you here."
"Too bad I can't say the same," Heero glared back.
"You know him?" Lita asked the newcomer.
"Oh yes, we are old friends Heero and I," the man answered.
"Only someone like you would say something like that."
"Heero, I am offended."
"Offensive.isn't that what you meant?"
"Heero!" Lita exclaimed. "Stop being rude to him."
"Why should I?"
"Because he's a guest. He just wanted to see the shrine and you're making a big deal out of it."
"Of course I am! Do you have any idea who this is?"
"Well, no.," Lita admitted.
"This is Zechs Marquise."
Lita's face went white and suddenly she was no longer strong enough to hold the bag of groceries, letting them hit the ground with a thud. "Zechs.oh, no.what have I done?" she whispered.
Heero gave Zechs a look that could kill twenty times over. "You don't have any business here Zechs. Now get the hell out and don't come back."
"Alright. I will leave, but first answer this question. I noticed this young lady," he said, motioning to Lita, "is wearing a ring. And since she seems to know you, I can only assume that you two have some sort of relationship. Am I right?"
"That isn't any of your business."
"Very well," Zechs shrugged. "But just know that I will be coming back because I know you had something to do with my sister's death Heero. And I am going to prove it."
Rei stared at Zechs' back as he left the shrine. When he was gone, she turned back to Heero and Lita. "What the hell is he talking about Heero? Did you kill somebody?" Rei waved her broom in threatening manner. "Have I been harboring a murderer all this time?"
"Rei, Rei.settle down," Lita said, grabbing the broom. "Heero didn't kill anybody...I did."
Rei stared at her blankly, and then started laughing. "Good joke Lita. Now be serious."
"I am serious. I killed Zechs' sister Relena Peacecraft."
"But.but." Rei stuttered. "I saw that on the news a couple months ago and they said that was a suicide!"
"We'll explain inside," Heero said, herding the two girls toward the shrine.
"You better explain!" Rei exclaimed.
"Don't worry Rei, we will. No more secrets. you'll find out everything starting from the very beginning," Lita said. Well, almost everything she told herself. There were just some things that weren't meant to be told.
An hour later, all Rei could say was, well.nothing. She was speechless.
Duo scratched the back of his head. "A little more involved then you thought huh?"
"Just a little," Rei replied. "Lita never mentioned Relena.. I guess I can see why she didn't."
"I know I should have told you, but after the shooting, I just couldn't Rei. I didn't know what you'd do if you thought you were friends with a murderer," Lita said.
"Well, I admit I was surprised, but I'm not going to stop being your friend just because you made a mistake," Rei said. "I know there's no way you would intentionally kill anyone.it's just not you. But what are you gonna do now? I mean, now that Zechs is here snooping around, shouldn't you come clean? He's probably gonna find out anyway. Besides, I'd think they'd let you off easy with it being self defense and all."
"Just a couple problems with that," Duo said. "First off, if she confesses now, the cops will know she lied earlier about 'finding' Relena's body and that won't sit well. Secondly, Relena was at one time the holder of the title 'Queen of the World' and she's been very prominent in world politics.not to mention all the meddling she's done in the colonies too. If Lita were to confess to this, there's no doubt she'd be found guilty of murder."
Rei looked horrified. "Are you sure?"
Quatre nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. Relena carried a lot of weight with many governing factions, especially in her efforts to promote peace through pacifism. Though not all agreed with her ideas, many admired and still do admire her for all the time and energy she poured into promoting peace."
"So.what you're saying is basically Lita is as good as imprisoned for life if she turns herself in."
"Not quite. You see, when found guilty.they will spare no mercy for Relena's killer. If Lita does come forward, she's as good as dead."
"Don't you ever say that again Quatre," Heero glared. "She's not going to die and I'm going to make sure of that."
"But Heero.."
"No buts Duo. I've got everything under control."
Lita frowned to herself. Something about that line just didn't sit well with her. But she was feeling kind of tired and decided she'd get farther taking a nap then trying to argue with Heero. So deciding, she stood up. "Well, since you obviously have things under control, you don't need me so I'm going to my room." Turning, she left the group.
"Is it just me, or has Lita been looking a little sick lately?" Rei asked.
"So you noticed it too," Duo said. "I don't think it's anything to worry about though. Anybody in this situation is bound to get worked up and stressed out and stress can make you sick."
"Hmmm.... Well anyway, I think I'll go see if she needs anything. If you'll excuse me," Rei said, standing up and heading for Lita's room. Once there, she knocked on the door. "Lita, can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure," the muffled voice answered.
Rei slid the door open, entering the room and shutting the door behind her. "Lita are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. "Just a little tired."
Rei frowned. "Somehow I think you're not telling the whole truth."
Lita cringed inwardly.now wasn't the time to be found out. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know.you've just looked sick lately. Duo thinks it's because of the whole Relena mess."
Thank god for Duo, Lita thought to herself, sitting up. "Ok, ok.you got me... I'm not alright. I've been living with the guilt of Relena's death for a couple months and now Zechs is involved. He's going to get the police to re-evaluate the case and once they're persuaded it wasn't a suicide they'll reopen the investigation, starting with me...that is if Heero doesn't do something stupid in the mean time."
"Something stupid? Like what?"
Lita shrugged. "I don't have any idea. But I can tell that he's up to something.and I don't think I'm going to like it."
"I wouldn't worry about it. I don't see what he could possibly do that would get him into trouble unless he did something like kill Zechs."
"Rei, you don't know them like I do. They may be soldiers, but they're their own army; they follow a different set of leaders and fight for themselves, not for a side and they're not above breaking the laws to comply with their orders. Normally I wouldn't worry about them a whole lot; I know they can take care of themselves. But this time I think it's going to be different. This time, I'm scared."
Meanwhile back in the study room, the pilots were busily staring blankly at Heero and his seeming ridiculous plan. "Are you out of your mind?" Duo cried.
"No."
"I think you are," Wufei mumbled to himself.
"You are of course entitled to your opinion Wufei," Heero answered. "But I'm perfectly sane."
"Then may I ask why in hell you even suggested this ludicrous plan?"
Heero shrugged. "You come up with something better."
Wufei stuttered, glaring darkly when he couldn't produce an idea.
"As I thought."
"But surely there's another way," Quatre said. "There has to be.."
"I don't see anyway around it. They won't do anything to me.you know how everyone feels about us. We are renegades to be feared. Even if it isn't necessarily true, it's the image people have of us."
"Yeah," Duo agreed. "But what's that got to do with anything? I would think that would only hurt you."
"In most circumstances yes, it would," Trowa affirmed. "But in this case, I think it would help. There would be a widespread concern that we would retaliate if something were to happen to Heero."
"I get it," Duo said. "We're like the trump card.if they make one wrong move then we go in and pay them a little visit."
"Exactly. That's why I'm not worried," Heero said. "Everything will go alright as long as Duo holds up his end."
"Roger that. Mission accepted by 02," Duo grinned, saluting.
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Somebody get me out of here please.."
His prayer was answered, for that moment Rei walked into the room. "Hey Wufei, I need your help. Lita's not feeling well, so I'm shorthanded on kitchen help for making dinner. She says you can make meatloaf, though now that I think about it she didn't say whether it was edible or not.."
"Of course it's edible! How dare you insult my ability to make meatloaf!" Wufei glared, standing up and storming off to the kitchen, mumbling rather loudly. "I'll show you onna.thinks I can't make a simple thing like meatloaf.."
Rei laughed. "I knew that'd work," she said before following him out.
"Well, it looks like the meeting's been adjourned," Quatre said.
Heero nodded. "It starts tomorrow," he said as the pilots went their separate ways.
The next day found Lita spending the afternoon by watching some television. She was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. Looking back, she found Duo standing there. "Hey Duo. Something wrong?"
"Not really, but could you come back to my room for a minute? There's something I need to tell you."
"Um, ok," she said, getting off the couch and following him. Once they were inside, she looked at Duo. "What is it?"
"Well, Heero kind of got a mission and the scientists are coming here to brief him on it. They're due any minute, so you have to stay in here because, well.they kinda don't know about you."
Lita frowned. "Heero didn't tell me about any mission."
"Well, he probably didn't want to worry you anymore.you know how he is."
"Yeah," she said slowly. "I do." Frowning, she sat down. Something wasn't right here. Heero would have told her if he was leaving, so they must be doing something else.something they were trying to hide from her. After a few minutes, she decided she had to know what was going on. "Really Duo, is it necessary to keep me in here? I mean.I'm kinda thirsty."
"Well why didn't you say so? I'll get you some water." No sooner had he opened the door then Lita had made her way through. "HEY!" Duo cried, chasing her. He knew things would fall apart if he didn't catch her.
She made it the study room, the room she decided was most likely to be occupied, briefing or not. Blinking, she looked at the group of people assembled. Lita may not have been a genius, but she did know for sure that none of these people had even the slightest chance of being one of the scientists. "Heero Yuy, what on earth is going on here?"