The ugly brute drew back his fist and let fly, smashing it into my jaw and
sending my body slamming back against the wall. It hurt, of course, so I
screamed, and I also felt dizzy, as if I were on the verge of passing out,
and things suddenly seemed so much more distant...
He said something - he grabbed me and kissed me and held me still as he pulled back his hand to hit me again. However, as I lay limp and feebly struggling in his grasp, the door flew open and a massive figure stood silhouetted there, looking ready to burst in and do some damage.
It was the Bulldozer AKA Desma and he flew into a rage when he observed what was going on. "Get your hands off her!" he screamed, and leapt into action. My attacker was already backing off, but that didn't stop Desma from grabbing him and beating him viciously into a bloody pulp with his fists. Once that task was accomplished, he rose disgustedly from the cowering man lying there, gave him one last kick and a few obscene titles, and turned to me, face softening. "You ok?" he asked.
Shakily, I tried to rise, murmuring, "Yeah, fine," but I choked on the last word as I put too much weight on my left foot and felt my hip shift almost, as if the bone was out of place, and a jagged pain knifed through my side. Crashing down the ground again, I swallowed rapidly and felt a few waves of nausea wash over me. My head throbbed and my chin ached from where he had landed a hit to my face. My wrist (I was sure it was sprained) throbbed steadily.
Desma walked over and asked gently, "Can you walk?"
"I think so."
Taking my hand, he heaved me up, wrapped an arm around my waist, and demanded that I drape an arm across his shoulder. Together we hobbled in silence back to Vicious' room, where we paused outside the door so I could gain breath.
"Please don't tell him," I begged softly, still feeling a little sick to my stomach. "I don't want him to know."
Desma's eyes narrowed. "I have to tell him. Why are you ashamed?"
I honestly didn't know, but I said, "It'd just be embarrassing, ok? And he'd probably blame it on me."
My companion shook his head back and forth thoughtfully, sadly, and then sighed deeply. His black hair, gelled up into spikes, waved with his movements and his pale blue eyes seemed sincere as he promised, "Alright. I won't then."
I felt vaguely relieved, but it didn't last long. Next thing I knew, the world as spiraling and my feet had flown up underneath me and Desma was hefting my wriggling form into his arms and bursting into the room, bellowing for Vicious. There was no need to shout, seeing as he had been sitting at his desk and working on a black laptop, but when we came in, he looked so startled and pushed out his chair so quickly with wide eyes, he seemed human again.
"What's the meaning of this?" he demanded coldly, getting up and glaring for all he was worth.
Desma strode across the room and deposited me on the bed, exclaiming, "Faye was almost raped! How could you allow this to happen?"
I groaned loudly, making a mental note to never trust Desma with a secret.
Vicious's dull expression returned as he droned, "It's MY fault?"
"Yes! It was Keith Bays again! Claire has been complaining about him aggressively coming onto her and occasionally seeming as if he was going to strike her and you did nothing! I told you this would happen, and you said you'd taken care of it!"
Vicious blinked. A rare sight indeed.
I lay on the bed, numb from all the pain and trembling as realization washed over me. At the time, the situation had not seemed so perilous, but when Desma said the word 'raped', it sounded as if it was the end of the world.
I could've been raped.
And Vicious didn't care.
"Fine," he sniffed arrogantly, and that was only because it was clear Desma was not leaving until justified, "have him punished however you like. I'll leave it to you. Dismiss him, if you see fit. Since the crime was obviously committed against YOU, Desma, I will leave it up to you what the sufficient disciplinary actions might be."
Desma grimaced as if to say, 'point taken', but his words were, "Claire could've been seriously hurt and Faye was put in a lot of danger. How can you take it so lightly? That could've been my sister!"
Ah, so that's it. Good to know you care, Desma. The witch doesn't deserve you for a brother.
Vicious flipped his hand in Desma's direction and airily dismissed him, rolling his eyes in a bored fashion. Desma grudgingly said he'd be back to examine me later after dealing with Keith and to not move too much until then.
Vicious went back to his work, completely ignoring me, and I chose that moment to give up the struggle and pass out.
~~~~~
It was sometime in the early night when I came back to the world, and Vicious had left the room. Surprisingly, in his place was Shin, dressed in a neatly pressed syndicate uniform and looking slightly more robust and healthier than when I'd seen him last.
He strode over to the bed, smiled reassuringly, and achingly lowered himself to his knees, whispering, "I came as soon as I heard. How are you? Did he hurt you? He's being treated like a regular traitor now."
"Just sprained my wrist and pulled a few muscles," I murmured, and averted my gaze, not wanting to feel so comfortable with Shin, not wanting to enjoy his being so near. Whenever he was around I lapsed into a state of relaxation with all fear exiled.
He touched my hand gently, sympathetically. "I can't believe Vicious let this happen," he seethed. "His skills as a leader are deteriorating more and more everyday."
I said nothing.
Shin leaned in and tenderly pressed his lips to the dark bruise on my chin, murmuring, "I wish I'd been there... From now on, if you are going somewhere, tell me so I can escort you and prevent this from happening again." Before I could protest that request, he kissed me again, this time on the mouth, and with great emotion.
I tried not to respond, but that was doomed to fail. Shin was kind and handsome and at least someone felt sorry about my pitiful condition.
When he pulled away, he lingered near, smiling, eyes full of happiness. "I'm going to leave before he comes back," he whispered. "I've been watching over you as you slept for quite a while - couldn't leave before you woke. I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Shin."
"Goodbye, Faye."
As it happened, he passed Vicious on the way out, the man having just walked in right before Shin exited. They passed with barely perceptible nods and looks of mutual contempt, but no questions were asked. The moment the door was shut though, Vicious casually began to strip, starting with unbuttoning his shirt and letting it slide off his arms to pool in a puddle of cloth on the ground.
I sat up a little and began to form a question, but he stopped me immediately with, "This is my bedroom and that's my bed and I WILL sleep there tonight. Desma said not to move you. He can't see you tonight, but he doesn't want you to hurt yourself anymore."
So, remaining silent, I watched him and then, out of embarrassment, looked away and focused on the wall. The bed dipped down and a quiet groan of exhaustion penetrated the air as he rolled over towards me, laying on his side to stare unashamedly into my face. He was now clothed just in a pair of boxers. "I didn't notice he'd punched you in the face," he remarked.
"Yeah."
"Does it hurt?" He reached out and testingly touched the bruise, white hair splashed out on the pillow beneath his head and face keenly interested. It was hard to see in the dark, the shadows muting his features and making them soft.
"A little," I admitted, wincing as he applied some pressure to his touch before withdrawing. He moved a little closer, body inching towards mine until our foreheads touched and his breath was warm and humid on my face. "Vicious...can I ask you something?"
"Hm?" He laid a hand gently to my hip, eyes locking expectantly with mine.
"Do you love Claire?"
"Would you be jealous?"
In a low voice, I admitted, "I can't see how you could despise me and love her, especially after what we had..."
"What we had was a lie," he returned bitterly. A pause and then, "Besides, I thought you didn't love me anymore."
I colored furiously - in my state of steadily growing rage I couldn't fathom how he could say those things to me, no matter how true they were, and still touch me as if he did love me. Such a stupid man, I decided - did he think I was that easy? "Hmm. If that's how you want, get your hand off my waist and BACK OFF!" As he removed his touch and scooted away, I looked in a different direction again, and then tried to roll over onto my other side so I would not be under his accusing stare, but my hip violently protested and I sucked in a deep, pained breath. "Let's just go to sleep. I don't want to argue you with you anymore."
Vicious said nothing so I assumed he agreed. We lay in silence for some time before he fell asleep and I followed nearly ten minutes after.
~~~~~
A few hours later, I woke up again for no reason other than Vicious was shivering in the bed beside me and choking on a word that never seemed able to leave his mouth. Don't ask what it was - I was destined to never find out.
Since I was still turned on my side, facing him, I remembered how Claire had come in earlier to comfort him and didn't know whether that would annoy or please me if she did so again, considering I didn't want to see her, yet having her witness that Vicious had crawled into bed beside me was a strangely nice concept.
"Hey, Vicious," I whispered, shaking his shoulder a little, and when that only threw him into a deeper panic, I drew him to me and leaned his head to my chest as if he were a child, murmuring, "Hush...it's ok."
He pressed his face against me and clutched at my back with shaking hands, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath as he slowly came to his senses and woke. Then, he was very still, and his muffled voice questioned tentatively, "Faye...?"
"Bet you were expecting Claire."
He didn't respond, save his hands twisting the fabric of my shirt in his fists. Then, raising his tear-stained face, he looked up sincerely into my eyes and pleaded, "Tell me I was happy with you...when I called myself Benjamin."
"We were very happy, if only for such a short time," I replied, surprised. To myself, I added silently, 'I just didn't realize it.'
"I remember everything," he whispered, and settled down against me again, now holding me in a loose embrace. "When I believed you and you told me we were married and you loved me and I would look at those pictures of Spike and I would think to myself...who is this man? Was he my friend? Were we happy together? How did he die? And in those last few days, when you warmed up to me and I was so excited until things began to come back...and I just caught snatches of the past. I saw Spike and Julia and even the war on Titan. I kept remembering names without faces - like Lin. I kept asking myself, "Who is Lin?" and then I began to remember him but all I saw was his dead body lying on top of a building in the cold where I left it..."
I had begun to unconsciously stroke his head, listening with a compassionate expression.
"When I woke up that one morning, I remembered everything. Do you know how betrayed I felt? The second I opened my eyes and looked over at you lying beside me in the bed, it all came back to me - Julia seeing Spike behind my back and then he leaving and you staying with him. I ran out to the living room, I saw that all those pictures were up because you had feelings for Spike, and doing this to me...it was only for revenge. It's true, isn't it? You took me and you lied to me because all the while you were preparing to hurt me."
How was I supposed to answer that? Vicious was angry, he was hurt, and it sounded like he was likening me to Julia. "It started that way, Vicious, but I began to really care about you. I changed my mind - if you had never gotten your memory back, I would've told you the truth and asked for your forgiveness because I'm not Julia... I do love you." All this was said in such a low whisper, I wondered if he'd heard.
There was a pause, a silence between us, and then he demanded, "What about Shin?"
"What about...Shin?"
"I saw you kiss him in the infirmary."
"It was a mistake." Then, with conviction, "I love YOU."
He lifted his head and searched my eyes with a look that was the closest to confusion I'd seen him wear since he was amnesiac. "I missed you," he whispered gruffly, and pulled me close in such a rough way it almost hurt. "No more Shin."
"No more Shin," I agreed a bit guiltily, but it was never like I'd told Shin I loved him, right? And I had never made a commitment to him. Sure, I'd let him kiss me, but I had never made the first move or even acted as if I wanted him...had I? Surely Shin deserved an explanation.
Vicious pressed his mouth firmly to mine, hard and demanding.
I'd figure out what to tell Shin in the morning.
~~~~~~
"Are you ok?"
Shin looked over at the dark-haired woman sitting beside him in the surveillance room, at her hazel eyes and shoulder-length hair and short, thin frame clothed in a knee-length skirt and black blazer with a red dragon emblazoned on the breast pocket. He swallowed a lump in his throat and tried not to let her see how hard he was shaking as his heart slowly sunk into his stomach. She looked so sympathetic and eager to help, but how could he explain this?
He looked back to one of the many screens on the panel before him and felt a few tears trickling down his cheeks. Hurriedly, he took his sleeve and wiped them away, not wanting to let his partner on guard duty see him in his emotional turmoil. Unaware of the drama enfolding around them, the people of the syndicate continued to wander the halls on their way to perform various duties, each and every one captured in the security cameras Shin had been ordered to watch.
She peeked over his shoulder and gasped when she saw what he was looking at. "Who's that?" she asked in surprise, and then, with a bit of an embarrassed smile, "Looks like Master Vicious might actually be in love. I can't believe he didn't turn off the security camera in his room!" A few moments later, "Oh, well, they're going back to sleep. Guess they didn't plan on doing anything. But don't they look so happy together? Oh, it's the new girl! What's her name?"
Shin stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair. The black and white screen still depicted Vicious in dreamland with a dark-haired woman in his arms. "Her name is Faye," he choked out, and turned to walk stiffly from the room.
~~~~~
Lady Ethreal: But cliffhangers are my favorite! I'm so sorry if that upsets you! Review again though, ^_^
Mange: Thanks for the compliment!
Kaelin77: I know; I don't like Claire either. -___- I'll work out something for her. *plots evilly*
Black*Lightning: Sorry...another cliffhanger! *looks guilty*
Zithromax: Thanks for the huge compliment!! I hope you liked this chapter too. ^_^
Light-of-halo: Oooh! You write V/F? I should read one!
Jdchs: Wow! I'm glad you like it! Don't worry - I wouldn't do something as terrible as give Shin to Claire! She doesn't deserve it!
Bebop-angel1: YES! I can't wait to see your picture!! *jumps up and down in excitement* Give me the URL as soon as possible!
Dazma: I'm just so evil with the cliffhangers ^_^ Hehe
Hydrokitty: I know - you don't realize how important your wrist is until you sprain it! I like Shin a lot, but I'd have to say Faye belongs with Vicious. *nods head* Keep on reviewing!
AnimeAngel707: I hope this chapter is good too! ^.^ Tell me what you think!
Hikari88: Thanks for all your reviews and such! I really appreciate it! Shin and Faye would be a cute couple, so I just had to toy with the idea. lol
Fei4: Jet and Ed will return when the time is proper! And poor Shin is just a complication... Review again!
Volk Zyta: I thought the idea of a battered Shin kissing Faye was cute too! lol Thanks for your review!
ClassicElfRyoko: I'm sorry, but I tend to make these chapters short. ^_^;; It's just the way this story wants to be written - that's right, I don't control the story; it controls me! haha
A-chan5: Horses are great, but the injuries you acquire from them can be awful. lol *remembers evil horse that bucked her off* I still like to ride 'em though. I'm sorry that you broke your wrist though - mine was only sprained so I feel lucky! The girl who I was riding with says it should've been worse, from the way I landed. ^_^;;
LadySilverDragon2: I know, I know! You're so wonderful to be patient with me! *rolls eyes* lol Thanks for reviewing, though. Keep it up!
Alright! REVIEW!
He said something - he grabbed me and kissed me and held me still as he pulled back his hand to hit me again. However, as I lay limp and feebly struggling in his grasp, the door flew open and a massive figure stood silhouetted there, looking ready to burst in and do some damage.
It was the Bulldozer AKA Desma and he flew into a rage when he observed what was going on. "Get your hands off her!" he screamed, and leapt into action. My attacker was already backing off, but that didn't stop Desma from grabbing him and beating him viciously into a bloody pulp with his fists. Once that task was accomplished, he rose disgustedly from the cowering man lying there, gave him one last kick and a few obscene titles, and turned to me, face softening. "You ok?" he asked.
Shakily, I tried to rise, murmuring, "Yeah, fine," but I choked on the last word as I put too much weight on my left foot and felt my hip shift almost, as if the bone was out of place, and a jagged pain knifed through my side. Crashing down the ground again, I swallowed rapidly and felt a few waves of nausea wash over me. My head throbbed and my chin ached from where he had landed a hit to my face. My wrist (I was sure it was sprained) throbbed steadily.
Desma walked over and asked gently, "Can you walk?"
"I think so."
Taking my hand, he heaved me up, wrapped an arm around my waist, and demanded that I drape an arm across his shoulder. Together we hobbled in silence back to Vicious' room, where we paused outside the door so I could gain breath.
"Please don't tell him," I begged softly, still feeling a little sick to my stomach. "I don't want him to know."
Desma's eyes narrowed. "I have to tell him. Why are you ashamed?"
I honestly didn't know, but I said, "It'd just be embarrassing, ok? And he'd probably blame it on me."
My companion shook his head back and forth thoughtfully, sadly, and then sighed deeply. His black hair, gelled up into spikes, waved with his movements and his pale blue eyes seemed sincere as he promised, "Alright. I won't then."
I felt vaguely relieved, but it didn't last long. Next thing I knew, the world as spiraling and my feet had flown up underneath me and Desma was hefting my wriggling form into his arms and bursting into the room, bellowing for Vicious. There was no need to shout, seeing as he had been sitting at his desk and working on a black laptop, but when we came in, he looked so startled and pushed out his chair so quickly with wide eyes, he seemed human again.
"What's the meaning of this?" he demanded coldly, getting up and glaring for all he was worth.
Desma strode across the room and deposited me on the bed, exclaiming, "Faye was almost raped! How could you allow this to happen?"
I groaned loudly, making a mental note to never trust Desma with a secret.
Vicious's dull expression returned as he droned, "It's MY fault?"
"Yes! It was Keith Bays again! Claire has been complaining about him aggressively coming onto her and occasionally seeming as if he was going to strike her and you did nothing! I told you this would happen, and you said you'd taken care of it!"
Vicious blinked. A rare sight indeed.
I lay on the bed, numb from all the pain and trembling as realization washed over me. At the time, the situation had not seemed so perilous, but when Desma said the word 'raped', it sounded as if it was the end of the world.
I could've been raped.
And Vicious didn't care.
"Fine," he sniffed arrogantly, and that was only because it was clear Desma was not leaving until justified, "have him punished however you like. I'll leave it to you. Dismiss him, if you see fit. Since the crime was obviously committed against YOU, Desma, I will leave it up to you what the sufficient disciplinary actions might be."
Desma grimaced as if to say, 'point taken', but his words were, "Claire could've been seriously hurt and Faye was put in a lot of danger. How can you take it so lightly? That could've been my sister!"
Ah, so that's it. Good to know you care, Desma. The witch doesn't deserve you for a brother.
Vicious flipped his hand in Desma's direction and airily dismissed him, rolling his eyes in a bored fashion. Desma grudgingly said he'd be back to examine me later after dealing with Keith and to not move too much until then.
Vicious went back to his work, completely ignoring me, and I chose that moment to give up the struggle and pass out.
~~~~~
It was sometime in the early night when I came back to the world, and Vicious had left the room. Surprisingly, in his place was Shin, dressed in a neatly pressed syndicate uniform and looking slightly more robust and healthier than when I'd seen him last.
He strode over to the bed, smiled reassuringly, and achingly lowered himself to his knees, whispering, "I came as soon as I heard. How are you? Did he hurt you? He's being treated like a regular traitor now."
"Just sprained my wrist and pulled a few muscles," I murmured, and averted my gaze, not wanting to feel so comfortable with Shin, not wanting to enjoy his being so near. Whenever he was around I lapsed into a state of relaxation with all fear exiled.
He touched my hand gently, sympathetically. "I can't believe Vicious let this happen," he seethed. "His skills as a leader are deteriorating more and more everyday."
I said nothing.
Shin leaned in and tenderly pressed his lips to the dark bruise on my chin, murmuring, "I wish I'd been there... From now on, if you are going somewhere, tell me so I can escort you and prevent this from happening again." Before I could protest that request, he kissed me again, this time on the mouth, and with great emotion.
I tried not to respond, but that was doomed to fail. Shin was kind and handsome and at least someone felt sorry about my pitiful condition.
When he pulled away, he lingered near, smiling, eyes full of happiness. "I'm going to leave before he comes back," he whispered. "I've been watching over you as you slept for quite a while - couldn't leave before you woke. I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Shin."
"Goodbye, Faye."
As it happened, he passed Vicious on the way out, the man having just walked in right before Shin exited. They passed with barely perceptible nods and looks of mutual contempt, but no questions were asked. The moment the door was shut though, Vicious casually began to strip, starting with unbuttoning his shirt and letting it slide off his arms to pool in a puddle of cloth on the ground.
I sat up a little and began to form a question, but he stopped me immediately with, "This is my bedroom and that's my bed and I WILL sleep there tonight. Desma said not to move you. He can't see you tonight, but he doesn't want you to hurt yourself anymore."
So, remaining silent, I watched him and then, out of embarrassment, looked away and focused on the wall. The bed dipped down and a quiet groan of exhaustion penetrated the air as he rolled over towards me, laying on his side to stare unashamedly into my face. He was now clothed just in a pair of boxers. "I didn't notice he'd punched you in the face," he remarked.
"Yeah."
"Does it hurt?" He reached out and testingly touched the bruise, white hair splashed out on the pillow beneath his head and face keenly interested. It was hard to see in the dark, the shadows muting his features and making them soft.
"A little," I admitted, wincing as he applied some pressure to his touch before withdrawing. He moved a little closer, body inching towards mine until our foreheads touched and his breath was warm and humid on my face. "Vicious...can I ask you something?"
"Hm?" He laid a hand gently to my hip, eyes locking expectantly with mine.
"Do you love Claire?"
"Would you be jealous?"
In a low voice, I admitted, "I can't see how you could despise me and love her, especially after what we had..."
"What we had was a lie," he returned bitterly. A pause and then, "Besides, I thought you didn't love me anymore."
I colored furiously - in my state of steadily growing rage I couldn't fathom how he could say those things to me, no matter how true they were, and still touch me as if he did love me. Such a stupid man, I decided - did he think I was that easy? "Hmm. If that's how you want, get your hand off my waist and BACK OFF!" As he removed his touch and scooted away, I looked in a different direction again, and then tried to roll over onto my other side so I would not be under his accusing stare, but my hip violently protested and I sucked in a deep, pained breath. "Let's just go to sleep. I don't want to argue you with you anymore."
Vicious said nothing so I assumed he agreed. We lay in silence for some time before he fell asleep and I followed nearly ten minutes after.
~~~~~
A few hours later, I woke up again for no reason other than Vicious was shivering in the bed beside me and choking on a word that never seemed able to leave his mouth. Don't ask what it was - I was destined to never find out.
Since I was still turned on my side, facing him, I remembered how Claire had come in earlier to comfort him and didn't know whether that would annoy or please me if she did so again, considering I didn't want to see her, yet having her witness that Vicious had crawled into bed beside me was a strangely nice concept.
"Hey, Vicious," I whispered, shaking his shoulder a little, and when that only threw him into a deeper panic, I drew him to me and leaned his head to my chest as if he were a child, murmuring, "Hush...it's ok."
He pressed his face against me and clutched at my back with shaking hands, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath as he slowly came to his senses and woke. Then, he was very still, and his muffled voice questioned tentatively, "Faye...?"
"Bet you were expecting Claire."
He didn't respond, save his hands twisting the fabric of my shirt in his fists. Then, raising his tear-stained face, he looked up sincerely into my eyes and pleaded, "Tell me I was happy with you...when I called myself Benjamin."
"We were very happy, if only for such a short time," I replied, surprised. To myself, I added silently, 'I just didn't realize it.'
"I remember everything," he whispered, and settled down against me again, now holding me in a loose embrace. "When I believed you and you told me we were married and you loved me and I would look at those pictures of Spike and I would think to myself...who is this man? Was he my friend? Were we happy together? How did he die? And in those last few days, when you warmed up to me and I was so excited until things began to come back...and I just caught snatches of the past. I saw Spike and Julia and even the war on Titan. I kept remembering names without faces - like Lin. I kept asking myself, "Who is Lin?" and then I began to remember him but all I saw was his dead body lying on top of a building in the cold where I left it..."
I had begun to unconsciously stroke his head, listening with a compassionate expression.
"When I woke up that one morning, I remembered everything. Do you know how betrayed I felt? The second I opened my eyes and looked over at you lying beside me in the bed, it all came back to me - Julia seeing Spike behind my back and then he leaving and you staying with him. I ran out to the living room, I saw that all those pictures were up because you had feelings for Spike, and doing this to me...it was only for revenge. It's true, isn't it? You took me and you lied to me because all the while you were preparing to hurt me."
How was I supposed to answer that? Vicious was angry, he was hurt, and it sounded like he was likening me to Julia. "It started that way, Vicious, but I began to really care about you. I changed my mind - if you had never gotten your memory back, I would've told you the truth and asked for your forgiveness because I'm not Julia... I do love you." All this was said in such a low whisper, I wondered if he'd heard.
There was a pause, a silence between us, and then he demanded, "What about Shin?"
"What about...Shin?"
"I saw you kiss him in the infirmary."
"It was a mistake." Then, with conviction, "I love YOU."
He lifted his head and searched my eyes with a look that was the closest to confusion I'd seen him wear since he was amnesiac. "I missed you," he whispered gruffly, and pulled me close in such a rough way it almost hurt. "No more Shin."
"No more Shin," I agreed a bit guiltily, but it was never like I'd told Shin I loved him, right? And I had never made a commitment to him. Sure, I'd let him kiss me, but I had never made the first move or even acted as if I wanted him...had I? Surely Shin deserved an explanation.
Vicious pressed his mouth firmly to mine, hard and demanding.
I'd figure out what to tell Shin in the morning.
~~~~~~
"Are you ok?"
Shin looked over at the dark-haired woman sitting beside him in the surveillance room, at her hazel eyes and shoulder-length hair and short, thin frame clothed in a knee-length skirt and black blazer with a red dragon emblazoned on the breast pocket. He swallowed a lump in his throat and tried not to let her see how hard he was shaking as his heart slowly sunk into his stomach. She looked so sympathetic and eager to help, but how could he explain this?
He looked back to one of the many screens on the panel before him and felt a few tears trickling down his cheeks. Hurriedly, he took his sleeve and wiped them away, not wanting to let his partner on guard duty see him in his emotional turmoil. Unaware of the drama enfolding around them, the people of the syndicate continued to wander the halls on their way to perform various duties, each and every one captured in the security cameras Shin had been ordered to watch.
She peeked over his shoulder and gasped when she saw what he was looking at. "Who's that?" she asked in surprise, and then, with a bit of an embarrassed smile, "Looks like Master Vicious might actually be in love. I can't believe he didn't turn off the security camera in his room!" A few moments later, "Oh, well, they're going back to sleep. Guess they didn't plan on doing anything. But don't they look so happy together? Oh, it's the new girl! What's her name?"
Shin stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair. The black and white screen still depicted Vicious in dreamland with a dark-haired woman in his arms. "Her name is Faye," he choked out, and turned to walk stiffly from the room.
~~~~~
Lady Ethreal: But cliffhangers are my favorite! I'm so sorry if that upsets you! Review again though, ^_^
Mange: Thanks for the compliment!
Kaelin77: I know; I don't like Claire either. -___- I'll work out something for her. *plots evilly*
Black*Lightning: Sorry...another cliffhanger! *looks guilty*
Zithromax: Thanks for the huge compliment!! I hope you liked this chapter too. ^_^
Light-of-halo: Oooh! You write V/F? I should read one!
Jdchs: Wow! I'm glad you like it! Don't worry - I wouldn't do something as terrible as give Shin to Claire! She doesn't deserve it!
Bebop-angel1: YES! I can't wait to see your picture!! *jumps up and down in excitement* Give me the URL as soon as possible!
Dazma: I'm just so evil with the cliffhangers ^_^ Hehe
Hydrokitty: I know - you don't realize how important your wrist is until you sprain it! I like Shin a lot, but I'd have to say Faye belongs with Vicious. *nods head* Keep on reviewing!
AnimeAngel707: I hope this chapter is good too! ^.^ Tell me what you think!
Hikari88: Thanks for all your reviews and such! I really appreciate it! Shin and Faye would be a cute couple, so I just had to toy with the idea. lol
Fei4: Jet and Ed will return when the time is proper! And poor Shin is just a complication... Review again!
Volk Zyta: I thought the idea of a battered Shin kissing Faye was cute too! lol Thanks for your review!
ClassicElfRyoko: I'm sorry, but I tend to make these chapters short. ^_^;; It's just the way this story wants to be written - that's right, I don't control the story; it controls me! haha
A-chan5: Horses are great, but the injuries you acquire from them can be awful. lol *remembers evil horse that bucked her off* I still like to ride 'em though. I'm sorry that you broke your wrist though - mine was only sprained so I feel lucky! The girl who I was riding with says it should've been worse, from the way I landed. ^_^;;
LadySilverDragon2: I know, I know! You're so wonderful to be patient with me! *rolls eyes* lol Thanks for reviewing, though. Keep it up!
Alright! REVIEW!