Thanks for Cher Chan, the best beta ever! I think so broke all records by giving feedback on three chapters in only one day! *claps* Thank you girl!!
Thanks to Dez-chan, my pal! One of the parts with Duo's 'artistic streak' really happened actually. ^^; Dez-chan being the one who played Duo's part. It was hilarious! Of course, I had to be the one keeping quiet because the person taking Wufei's role just happened to be my boyfriend. She dyed his hair pink and lavender. Just hope he doesn't read this or he'll kill me!
Comet~Princess - As much as I would LOVE it that someone kill Mamoru off...I can't do that! I need a *really evil* character and he's the only one available.
Chika - Oh of course Wufei wouldn't forget his beloved katana...*evil grin* But of course, there are certain cases where people can just 'borrow' his katana. Like in this chapter for example! ^_^
Minna, there's some real picking on Wufei in this chapter, although most of that would continue on to the next chapter. Wufei fans, let me tell you this: I Love Fei-chan, OK? Despite the fact that he can be somewhat (understatement...^^;) of a male chauvinist, I think he's a sweetie.
Wufei: SWEETIE? Oi! No one calls me a 'sweetie' onna!
*blinks* How on earth did you get here?
Wufei: *shrugs* I have ways. *takes out katana* This is twice you made someone take my beloved katana away from me! *whips katana around*
*gulps* Um...Fei-kun, isn't that a little dangerous? *inches away*
Wufei: *evil smile* That's the idea.
OK, enough with this already, here comes the story minna! Don't forget to review. Eeeek! *runs for dear life*
Wufei: SHINE!!!!
The Missing Soldier
Chapter 5 - Out of reach
Story by: Lady of Earth
Disclaimer: All characters mentioned here are owned by their authors respectively.
The blonde revved up the engine of the motorcycle, motioning woman with sea-green hair to come forward. The concert ran later then they had anticipated. But thankfully, the audience had been satisfied, like any other time. Putting on the helmet, the woman smiled and then wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. Seconds later, they were heading home.
Where the two were heading, the house was quiet, as the people inside were asleep. The senshi was hidden in a private hangar owned by one of Usagi's closest friends. The tracking devices long since destroyed by the pilots, finding them easily, despite the hard work the mechanics had obviously put in by trying to hide them. Usagi's friends, Haruka and Michiru are the ones that are supposed to take care of her house as of now. But so far, the two hadn't yet come back. Most likely they went to another town. Michiru must have had another concert or something. They had been discussing until very late and had finally turned in.
She fell asleep almost immediately. That was really because of Heero's presence beside her more than anything else. She woke up suddenly, from a mild nightmare, bathed with sweat. But as she trembled into the cold night, she felt arms wrapped protectively around her waist. As if a lifeline...
She smiled softly, looking at his sleeping form. His slumber must have been irregular for the weeks he was taken captive. But with her presence beside him, knowing that she was safe and with him, he had one less thing to worry about. Unable to resist the temptation, she brushed a lock of hair away from his face. Gently touching his cheek.
"Aren't you suppose to be asleep?" Asked the 'sleeping' Heero. He hadn't even opened his eyes. She giggled softly.
"Can't really sleep." She told him. This caused him to open his eyes and look at her.
"What's wrong?" He asked. She gave a small sigh.
"A bad dream, that's all." He sat up and looked at her with concern, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Want to talk about it?" He asked carefully. She shook her head.
"Just of the past again. One of my recurring dreams." He nodded in understanding, having some of those himself. Luckily, they were rare nowadays and hardly the same magnitude they used to be. With Usagi's appearance in his life, the gaps were filled and his fears were starting to drift away.
"Try to go back to sleep." He said, touching her forehead. She smiled and nodded, lowering her head back down to the pillow. This time however, she snuggled close to his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Aishiteru." She whispered, before drifting back to sleep.
She sat down in the corner of the dark room, her dark purple hair falling below her eye level, covering her eyes from view. She looked at her hands, sighing softly as she hummed a tune under her breath. After the escape of the pilots, things have tensed up in the base. The commanding officers were more 'snappy' than usual and had shouted at her for being in their way.
Accounting to how difficult it was to move in a wheelchair, she didn't say a word as she struggled to get away from them. She soon found, however, that getting away from them was harder than she thought. That was why she decided to retire to her room instead.
Usually, there would be two or three girls around to tend to her, due to her immobility. But she had snuck into her room on her own, no one knew of her whereabouts. But she found it best, as she really was seeking for tranquility.
"What are you thinking about, Nataku?" A soft voice asked. She looked up, seeing the towering form of Helios. He had the tendency to do that, not letting his presence known until he feels it's appropriate. Despite her good spying skills, not even she can sense Helios' presence in a room.
"Helios-sama." She whispered softly. The man smiled and shook his head.
"You know I've told you not to call me that." He chided, sitting down beside her. "What are you doing here in the dark, all by yourself?"
"I...am merely contemplating." She replied. She hated lying to him, especially for all that he had done to her. But she really couldn't tell him that she was thinking of Wufei. If she did, then he would be suspicious to why she would be thinking of him. And there was no way she could tell anyone of her relationship to Wufei.
Helios, however, had always been one to detect lies. No matter how small or how big. He nodded, then looked at her again. "You are thinking of Wufei Chang, am I correct?"
She didn't gasp. She resisted the urge to. If she was good in one thing, besides her knowledge of the mobile suits, that would be the art of drama, she can easily fool anyone with her excellence in acting. That had been how she survived in the past. Although there were still blanks in her mind as to how she ended up in the base in the first place. But she does remember all the good things Helios had done to her, however.
"What makes you say that, Helios?"
"Nataku, do you really think that you can lie to me?" He paused, seeing her turn away shamefully. "Both of us are here unwillingly. We don't want to be here because we know we don't belong here."
"After my father's death people expected a lot of things for me. And no matter what I think of my father or his ideology, I have no way of accepting. I hated this whole ordeal and I still do, but I have no choice but to accept what has been decided as my fate. Honor above all."
"Demo, Helios...Doushite? If you hate this so much...Honor isn't everything. There are things far better than honor, things that-that you never experienced before." She said, the urgency tugging on every word she said.
"And, what is that?" He asked.
"Love." She replied softly. "Everything I remember of my family, it was of love. My sister died for what she believed in, for her own honor. But that does not mean I agreed with her. I too wanted peace, but not the way she was willing to achieve it. I love my sister but that doesn't mean I will finish what she started."
He looked at her in wonder, before smiling once more. "How is it that one so young as you, can speak of things so wise?" He asked. She blushed.
"I-I merely speak of what I think."
"I am enchanted with your words, little one." And before she knew it, he had leaned closer to her, covering her lips with his own. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before she closed them slowly and surrendered into his embrace.
Outside of the room, peeking from the small crack of the door, one man with midnight hair and dark blue eyes snarled in anger, "Fool." And he walked away from the room. Before even reaching the next corridor, a plan has formed itself in his head. For surely the weak Helios would never proceed with the invasion of the other colonies and of Earth. With a wicked smile on his face, Mamoru walked to the barracks where his own little army was waiting for him.
She parked the motorcycle in the garage, as the aquamarine haired woman stood waiting. Suddenly, the blonde tensed. Even though there was no sign of life from the house or even a light turned on, she could feel the presence inside the house. Always the protective one, she motioned her lover to step aside.
With a loaded gun in her hand, she carefully entered the house. Sure enough, her eyes narrowed at the sight of the kitchen and living room. There were clean dishes near the sink and the fridge was stocked with food. The covers on the furniture on the living room were taken away and it was clear that there were people around. But what made her put the gun away was the gold bracelet on the table. the crescent moon bracelet she gave to Usagi when the younger woman had turned fourteen.
She went back to the garage, motioning the other woman to step inside. With a questioning look, her partner stepped inside the house. The aqua-haired woman smiled and nodded when she realized who was home once again.
"Let's hope she didn't take our room." The blonde whispered. The aqua-haired woman laughed softly and the two of them proceeded to walk upstairs and headed to their room. When they stepped inside the room and closed the door, Wufei woke up from his slumber. Though he fell asleep once more, thinking that it had been a dream. Another had awoken as well. Heero, who had been woken by the soft steps on the carpeted floor, drifted off to sleep again. Although in his case, it was because he knew who had come.
A very loud cry of horror woke the entire household the next morning. It sounded distinctively female and had come from downstairs. The pilots bolted out of their rooms, expressions varied from bewilderment, fatigue, curiosity and an expressionless face. It was then that they turned at the sound of another door opening and a woman with long aquamarine hair stepped out. She was dressed in a long T-shirt and shorts and her eyes widened at the sight of the four men. The three pilots, not having seen her before, stood wide-eyed at the beautiful woman.
It was Usagi who realized it first. Four men?
"Where's Wufei?" She asked. Kaioh Michiru frowned and then pointed to the direction of the living room. Immediately the blonde rushed downstairs, followed by the woman and the pilots. Usagi's jaw dropped as she saw the overturned cushions on the sofa, the scattered magazines on the floor and various other items that originally had been on the shelf or the table, being found on the floor.
And then she saw a frantic looking Wufei, looking from left to right and then rushing over to one corner of the room. Trying desperately to keep her calm and failing, Usagi marched over to where the Chinese pilot was standing. Gritting her teeth to try and keep calm, she finally asked, "What are you doing?"
"My katana! Where did I put my katana?" He frantically replied. Usagi clenched her fist.
"Didn't you bring it with you to the room last night, like you always do?" She asked, looking ready to slug Wufei. Luckily, Heero noticed the look and quickly stepped in before anything could happen. Not the he really cared if Wufei would get hurt, but the house looked messed up as it already is. If hurricane Usagi was to suddenly appear in the living room, it just might bring the whole house crumbling down.
"It wasn't there." Muttered Wufei.
"Did you double check?" Heero asked. Wufei nodded, then suddenly rushed into the kitchen. Duo was trying hard to contain his laughter, seeing the short-tempered, sometimes cocky Chinese pilot looking so...desperate. Michiru, on the other hand frowned and then her eyes narrowed.
"Usagi," she began, causing the blonde to look at her in surprise. "Why don't you try searching the hangar or the garage for his katana?"
Usagi frowned immediately, she was about to open her mouth and ask why would she want to search for Wufei's katana in the hangar or garage, when realization suddenly sink in. She grinned and nodded her head. "Don't worry Wufei, your katana just decided to take a little stroll, that's all." She said with a smirk.
"Nani?" Came the collective shout from the pilots.
"A stroll?" Duo asked. Usagi grinned and nodded, beckoning them to follow her.
"You'll see."
Sure enough, when they entered the garage, a shorthaired blonde was examining it carefully. She had a scowl on her face as she looked at the katana. Wufei, however, reacted quickly and seized the katana out of her hand. After making sure his katana was undamaged, he whirled around to face the blonde.
"Baka deshi! I'll teach you to steal my katana!" Wufei shouted. A hand rested on his shoulder before yanking him back forcefully. Luckily, he found his balance and didn't fall back. He looked at the perpetrator and his eyes widened as he saw Heero scowling at him.
"Yuy! What the hell are you trying to pull?" He demanded. Heero's reply was cocking his head to Haruka's direction.
"Haruka, why did you have to take his katana anyway?" Usagi asked. The older blonde shrugged.
"It was lying around downstairs. I thought it was either yours or Yuy's so I took it." Replied Haruka.
"I don't work with a katana." Heero said flatly. Usagi shook her head at her friend.
"Honestly." She muttered.
"Well, since everyone is awake," Michiru said, "I might as well make breakfast." The thought of breakfast seem to have pleased everyone there. Although Quatre spoke up suddenly,
"Usagi, if you don't mind telling us, who are your two friends?"
"Oh! Gomen, I completely forgot. Guys, meet Michiru Kaioh and Haruka Tenou. They're the ones who take care of this house for me." Usagi explained. "And Haruka-"
"I know who they are Usagi." The blonde said, cutting Usagi off. She received a glare from Heero as she did that. She quickly added, "Gomen for interrupting, Usagi."
"Well, I suppose you don't really have the care for such formalities, ne?" Usagi said, her tone was light but Haruka could tell she was annoyed. No matter how like sisters the two are, they can't exactly erase the fact that they were once rivals.
When Usagi was training to become a soldier, Haruka had trained to be one too. They were the top students, despite the age difference. But Haruka was never one to follow the rules and that was a big downside for their commanding officer. Not to mention the fact that Meiou-san was never one to appreciate rude comebacks. A waste really, when Haruka dropped out of the academy for reasons unknown.
Just a year after Haruka dropped out, she met with Usagi again. This time however, they were in friendlier terms. That was how they both found out that when not competing, the other is actually not bad at all. As time went on, they actually became friends. And now, nine years after they first met, they're like sisters.
"Easy does it, you two." Michiru said, stepping in before anything could happen. Michiru had always been the peacemaker between the two. No matter how small the argument. That was probably why Usagi approved of her relationship with Haruka. After all, despite the younger blonde's somewhat indifferent attitude, she actually cared for the two.
"Well, tell Haruka to get whatever it is she has stuck up her ass out before she really pisses me off." Muttered Usagi. Haruka threw her a glare, but didn't say anything. Instead, they all walked to the kitchen.
"Are they always like this?" Asked Quatre.
"Not really, might be because Haruka hasn't been sleeping too well lately." Michiru said softly, keeping her eyes on the slightly evil tempered blonde.
"How come?" Heero asked.
"Well, we received information from Meiou-san that both you and Usagi went missing after one mission. And she even said that there was a possibility that you were either captured or dead." Michiru explained. She then noticed the cuts on Heero's face. "From the looks of things, one of you did."
"I still can't believe the Perfect Soldier got himself captured." Duo said with a grin. The reply he received was, unsurprisingly, a gun aimed to his forehead. Too used to this, he kept on babbling.
"Duo, it's far too early. Please shut up." Usagi said, as she went to help Michiru with breakfast. The pilots sat around the living room, Trowa, Quatre and Duo claiming the couch, while Heero sat on the armchair. Haruka preferred one corner of the room, where all the pillows were stacked. That way, she could watch all of them. Wufei sat on the floor, near Quatre's feet, sending venomous glares at Haruka while holding his katana protectively.
Usagi took a look at their seating arrangements and sighed softly. Michiru giggled, looking at the younger woman. "I swear, if Haruka starts anything..." Usagi trailed off.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Heero can take care of things." Michiru said reassuringly.
"It's not Hii-chan that I'm worried about, though." Confessed Usagi, she then nodded at Wufei, who was having a glaring competition with Haruka. Michiru followed her gaze and sighed as well.
"I can't believe that anyone would dare have a stare down with Haruka." She commented.
"I think Wufei is capable of a glaring competition with even Heero himself."
"Now that's something I have to see." Michiru said pointedly. The two women grinned and then giggled, resumed their work.
"Haruka, can I borrow your bike?" Usagi asked Haruka, after they finished eating breakfast. The older woman raised an eyebrow.
"What for, dare I ask?"
"Just to run some errands, that's all." Replied Usagi, shrugging. Haruka scowled at her answer, not feeling satisfied at all.
"Usagi, the last time you decided to 'run some errands' using my motorcycle, you ended up blowing three military bases in one go. I really would appreciate it if you would tell me where exactly you're going." By this time, the men at the table (minus one) had fallen silent, each wide-eyed at this revelation. The petite blonde hardly seemed the type to blow up military bases, let alone three, in a single night- despite what she had proved to them the other night.
"Look, it's strictly non-mission related, OK? I'm not going to blow anything up." She said, feeling just the slightest bit annoyed that Haruka had to reveal that at the table. "Besides, I'm not driving."
"Then who is driving my precious motorcycle?" Haruka asked with suspicion. Usagi rolled her eyes, stating the all-too-obvious answer.
"Hii-chan is."
"NANI??" Chorused the rest of the pilots and Haruka.
"Baka." Muttered Heero under his breath, before resuming what he had been doing...typing at his laptop. Usagi had it brought along. Trowa had used the laptop to tap into the secret base's system to cut the power supply.
"Haruka, if you don't want to lend your motorcycle, then just say so." Michiru said lightly, while putting the dishes into the dishwasher. From the corner of her eye, she could see her partner thinking about the idea. But before Haruka could make up her mind, Usagi tossed something her way.
Haruka caught it with ease and looked at it. Her eyes widened for a moment and she looked at Usagi questioningly. Usagi smiled and then nodded. A grin spread on Haruka's lips, closing her fingers over the object, then she looked at Michiru.
"Sure, Usagi. You can use my bike."
Downtown, Usagi was sitting down on a park bench, patiently waiting for her boyfriend to come back. She sighed softly, looking at her watch. He had been gone for almost half an hour, not that she was worried, but she was getting bored. Watching the people walking by wasn't really something interesting.
Even if she did have to duck twice because she had seen two of her ex-boyfriends. Well, one really wasn't her ex-boyfriend because she had considered him as a very close friend rather than a boyfriend...At least, he was a close friend until she found out she had a crush on him. It was then that she decided to avoid him.
Her first boyfriend, unlike her current one, was a cheerful guy. Not the most cheerful in the colony, but he always had a great outlook in life. Too bad that he didn't have a clue of what she did for a living. At that time, however, she was training to be a soldier. She broke up with him after the two of them argued on the importance of the ideology of fighting for what you believe in.
It was for the best really, because he would be an innocent when she became a soldier and she couldn't afford to have him hurt because of her. The second was a different story, being one of her partners for her start-out missions. The compatibility between the two was great and they worked together nicely. How unfortunate that she had to find out she actually liked him more than a friend. Straight away, she asked for a transfer. She left without a word to him, just so he wouldn't find her. That was probably why she had been quite reluctant to be in a relationship with Heero at first, denying her feelings for him completely. She still remembered her last boyfriend, with his shoulder-length dark hair and piercing dark eyes and one heck of a killer instinct. He was a warrior alright.
Her train of thoughts were broken when she looked up to see Heero approaching. He was carrying a couple of bags with him. "You took your time, ne, Hii-chan?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She stood up immediately, looking slightly annoyed. Opening her mouth to complain again, she was quickly silenced as he pressed his lips to hers.
Although her cheeks were starting to change into a deeper shade of red, she made no motion of breaking away. Well, if that was his way of making it up...why not? They broke the kiss a few moments later, having run out of air. She eyed the bags he carried with curiosity, cocking her head to one side.
"What were you doing anyway?" She asked. He didn't reply. Perhaps he did grunt a bit, but she couldn't quite hear him. She sighed and then shrugged. She couldn't really be bothered to complain to him about his communications skills again. He walked over to a trashcan and threw the bags into it. Apparently, whatever it was that he bought, he had already put in to the rucksack he was carrying.
The two of them walked to where they parked the motorcycle. He handed her, her helmet and he put his on. After she had put on the helmet and got on safely, arms around his waist, he revved the engine and headed back to her house. The whole ride, there was only one thing nagging in her mind...what was it that he bought?
"We're back." Usagi said, as she walked into the house. Her eyes narrowed at the silence. There was something fishy going on...That was the exact same thing on Heero's mind as he entered the quiet house. The first thing on Usagi's mind was that they were kidnapped, but she quickly pushed that thought away. There was no time to jump into conclusions.
"I'll check Haruka and Michiru's room." Usagi said, heading upstairs. Heero decided to check downstairs, the back garden in particular. Sure enough, when he opened the back door, shouts of bodily harm could be heard along with the loud hyena-like laughter that was unmistakably Duo's. Usagi rushed downstairs moments later, but the worried look on her face was quickly replaced with one of curiosity as she heard the shouts.
"What are they doing?" She asked to Heero, walking over to where he was standing. Hands automatically wrapping themselves around her waist, the pilot 01 was smirking as he watched one blue-haired Wufei chasing around a hysterical Duo. An orange-haired Quatre, looking none-too-pleased was simply watching the scene along with a silent Trowa. Haruka too was watching, but she was laughing loudly, while sitting down on one of the lawn chairs. Michiru silently looked away, although she was hiding a smile. It looked as if Trowa and the two women were the ones left untouched from Duo's 'artistic streak'.
Watching the scene, Usagi's lips curled to a smile and not long, she began to laugh. She shook her head, as once more Wufei shouted for Duo to hold still so he could take a whack out of the American. Turning to look at Heero, her laughter died down slightly. There was a look of peace on his face, as he held the woman he loves in his arms and watch the antics of his friends.
Usagi smiled softly, knowing that this was probably the only time she had seen him look so peaceful. But he had a good reason to, even though perhaps, this moment of peace would be short-lived. The battle has yet begun.
"N-Nani?" Stuttered the Chinese pilot. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. But the blonde shook her head, the devilish smile on her face proved his fears that she indeed was not joking. He muttered curses under his breath while Duo tried to maintain his composure...and failing.
"Wu-man, there's NO way you can back out now!" He exclaimed, then laughed so hard, he fell out of his chair.
"This is injustice onna!" Shouted Wufei. Usagi shrugged and raised an eyebrow pointedly at him.
"A deal's a deal. My plan worked so all I have to say is that your performance better be good Wufei Chang." Usagi said with amusement.
"Oh, it's going to be good all right!" Howled Duo as he held his stomach. How anyone can laugh so much in one day no one knew.
"Your deadline is nine o'clock tonight." Usagi said, getting to her feet. But she suddenly turned around, facing them all. Haruka knew what she was about to say and waited, with a grin, for the Chinese pilot's reaction. "By the way, we're all going out tonight, you included. I'd say that we'd be back here around eleven or so. We leave in half an hour, so you all better get ready."
At the utter shock mixed with horror on Wufei's face, everyone scrambled out of their seats and rushed upstairs. A moment later, a burst laughter from the group could be heard from upstairs. Wufei cursed again, muttering silent vows of deaths to certain people. Although, surprisingly, this time it wasn't only Duo's name that he mentioned.
"Are you sure about this, Usagi?" Asked Duo. Usagi nodded, grinning from ear to ear.
"I've already said before, a deal is a deal. There is no way he's going to back out of this one." She said smugly. Michiru giggled softly while Haruka shook her head.
"Shinigami-sama, you're as sneaky as I am!" Exclaimed Duo.
"I hardly think so, Duo. I have a brain to begin with," She began, causing the American pilot to cry out in protest. "And I have a much higher survival level than you have."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Duo asked with a scowl.
"Well, I don't need anyone's help to take care of myself in cases like this one."
"Are you sure?" Duo asked, rolling his eyes. A distinctive snort came from Heero's direction, causing all attention to be focused on the normally grunting Perfect Soldier.
"She'll be all right. If not, she'd end up kicking Wufei's ass." He told them. Usagi might be a girl but she's also the best soldier in her Preventers base. Even though that doesn't necessarily mean that she's a match for the Perfect Soldier himself. To tell the truth, her level is around from slightly lower than that of the pilots' to the same level as them. Although when the occasion calls for it, she can easily surpass the level of the other pilots.
But not the same level as the Perfect Soldier.
"That's true." Haruka spoke up, nodding her head. "I should know, because I used to train with her."
"But how would you know Wufei's level?" Challenged Duo.
"Haruka has a special advantage in the area of combat because of her ability to judge exactly how high or low her opponent's level really is." Usagi said.
"Amazing." Whispered Quatre, as he looked at the tall blonde for a moment. All of a sudden, her presence seem to be intimidating to him. He gulped slightly. Gundam pilot or not, there was something about Haruka that would make anyone shrink back in fear.
"Even our friend the Perfect Soldier here can't do that." Duo said, hitting Heero on the back. He realized his mistake however, when a growl came from Heero and the Perfect Soldier pulled out his gun. Backing away slowly from the promises of death in Heero's eyes, Duo was looking for an escape.
"Um, nice Heero...good Heero..." He said, as if to tame a wild animal. "Don't kill Duo, Heero?" He added weakly. Usagi clasped her hand over her mouth as not to giggle. Trowa, finding this scene highly amusing, was smiling for once and in fact, so did Quatre. So maybe they've seen scenes of Heero trying to kill Duo before...but he never looked this determined before.
And Duo had never looked this scared of him either.
They ended up leaving the house an hour and a half later, mostly because of the little game of hide and seek Heero and Duo played for about an hour. Or maybe it's more appropriate to name it hide and kill?
Haruka had picked the restaurant for them, something not too fancy but where they can find good food. Good food in great amount and a cheap price. Despite Usagi's somewhat 'perfect' or 'spotless' reputation, there was a bad habit the blonde had. Her appetite.
She hadn't shown her true colors at Quatre's home, mostly because she really had no real appetite after Heero's capture. But now that Heero was back, Haruka knew the blonde would look forward to eating food, lots of food. And let's not forget the second big eater of the group, Duo.
A woman called Makoto Kino owns the restaurant. Despite being a high school drop out, Makoto knew a lot of the running and management of a restaurant. Not to mention she was one terrific cook as well. Makoto knew Usagi since she was young, being three years her senior. However, Makoto was the good friend of Usagi's cousin, who had died in Usagi's place during the Tsukino Massacre.
"Konban wa, Makoto-san." Michiru said, when they stepped into the restaurant and spotted the woman. Wavy dark brown hair and shining brown eyes, not to mention a brilliant smile, that was the first someone would notice of Makoto. She wore a dark gray blazer and equally colored pants and a white blouse underneath. On her ears were her rose earrings, that soon became her trademark and caused her to name her restaurant "Yume no bara".
"Konban wa, Michiru and Haruka..." She paused for a moment, looking at the pilots. "Usagi-chan? Is that you?" She asked. Usagi nodded and braced herself as the older woman rushed over and hugged the living daylights out of the younger blonde.
"How are you Makoto-san?"
"Fine. Wait, is that Heero I see?" Makoto said, pointing to Heero. He gave a light snort and the woman walked towards him and whacked him hard on the back. If it hadn't been Heero that she whacked, the person would probably have been winded. But the Perfect Soldier was used to it, so he was unscathed.
"It is you! How are you Heero?" She asked, but she waited for no answer as she ushered them all to a table. Usagi looked around the restaurant, which looked pretty crowded that night.
"Business doing well, Makoto-san?" She asked. Makoto grinned and nodded.
"It's been great actually." She said. After taking their orders and promising to make it quick, Makoto left the bunch of them alone. It was then that Usagi turned and looked at Wufei.
"Well, where's the performance that you promised, Wufei?" She asked with a wide grin. The pilot cursed and glared at her, only to be met with a glare from Heero. Never mind how harmless, there was no way he would let anyone give his girlfriend a glare.
"It'll come, onna." He muttered, directing his glare to Duo instead, who was looking all-too-pleased with the coming events.
"Who is Makoto anyway?" Trowa asked suddenly.
"She's the owner of this restaurant and a great friend of ours." Explained Haruka.
"Makoto-san cooks the best food around." Usagi said. "We're in for a treat."
"With your appetite Usagi, it's more than just a treat." Muttered Haruka. Usagi narrowed her eyes and shook her head.
"Unsolicited comments about my appetite will be ignored." She growled. Wufei took this moment to stand up, out of his seat.
"Where are you going?" Asked Quatre.
"Bathroom." He replied and then headed to the toilet. They all watched him leave and then Usagi looked at the others.
"He's not trying to escape through the window or something, is he?" She asked.
"What, Wufei? No way, his honor is number one. Besides, he wouldn't do something like that." Duo said, waving it off. "Who do you think he is, me?"
The American paused, realizing what he just said. Six pair of eyebrows rose up and six pairs of eyes were looking at him, waiting for him to say something.
"That didn't come out right...I, just insulted myself, didn't I?" He asked. Looks were exchanged before six heads nodded in unison. Duo groaned. "I've been hanging around all of you too long that I'm actually insulting myself!"
"Well, I'll check up on Wufei, just in case." Quatre said.
Imagine the blonde pilot's surprise when he entered the nearly empty bathroom to find out a certain Chinese pilot attempting to make a getaway. He was halfway out of the window. If he had a leg up, he'd have easily crawled out of the window and would have been well on his way back to the house. Unfortunately, fate had decided to play a little game with him that day...he was stuck.
"Wufei!" Exclaimed Quatre. "What are you trying to do?" If the dark haired pilot had not been so miffed, maybe he wouldn't have reacted the way he did...who knows...
"What does it look like I'm doing, baka deshi?" He snapped, looking back to glare at the blonde. "I'm stuck!" Quatre's eyes looked on with amazement, before a loud shout from Wufei woke him from his shocked trance.
"WINNER! Give me a hand over here!" Quatre's eyes widened and he nodded.
"Wait a minute." Quatre said, as he rushed to the window, helping the Chinese pilot to crawl back out of the window and into the bathroom. Finally on solid ground, Wufei growled and dusted off his clothes.
"Baka onna." He muttered.
"Why did you decide to-to..." Quatre's voice trailed off.
"A moment of weakness." Muttered Wufei, cheeks glowing slightly red with embarrassment. It seemed that everything was going against his wishes that day. Perhaps fate was pissed off at him, who knew?
"Winner, can you keep this incident a secret? If Maxwell finds out what I was about to do, he'd be laughing his head off till the end of time." Wufei said.
"Don't worry Wufei, there's no way-" Quatre was cut off when he saw who was standing by the doorway of the toilet, his braid stuffed to his mouth to keep himself silent. Trowa's eyes had widened for a moment, before he regained his composure.
It seems that Duo was about to laugh, but Trowa had stuffed Duo's braid into the hyena's mouth to keep him quiet. They had seen and heard everything. The two had followed Quatre into the bathroom.
Finally, hurricane Maxwell hit. The braid fell out as he opened his mouth wide and laughed so loud, he was rolling on the floor in tears. It took Trowa and Quatre to restrain Wufei from killing Duo, plus Heero and a waiter as well. The laughing pilot managed to choke out words in lines of, "Wufei", "Window" and "stuck".
"What the heck happened?" Asked a bewildered Usagi as the five men stepped out of the bathroom. Wufei looked much more calm, as Heero had doused him with cold water from the tap moments before.
"A Chinese panda was stuck by the toilet window." Duo said, before he burst out laughing yet again. Usagi looked at Heero but the only answer she got was,
"Don't ask." Any other comments or questions were put to hold when Usagi's cell phone rang. She sighed softly.
"Moshi moshi?" Her eyes widened for a moment. "How did you get this number?" She asked, surprised. She gave a look at Haruka, who was looking a little too innocent at the moment. With death glares to the other blonde, she said to the phone on the other line, "Never mind, I think I just found out." The table had fallen silent by this time and were trying to listen in to her conversation. There was a long pause, only with Usagi to say, "Uh-huh" or "Yes." until finally...
"NANI?" She shrieked loudly, causing every single person on the table to cover their ears.
"Kisama! Your onna is LOUD Yuy!" Exclaimed Wufei. Heero managed a slight glare, after all, Wufei had called her "your onna" instead of his usual "onna". That made a slight difference.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Exclaimed Usagi, oblivious to what was going on around her. "No, I've never met-" She paused, then let out an exasperated sigh. "I know that!" Then she stole a glance at Heero, who gave her a questioning look. She winced in turn. "But he's going to kill me!" She paused again, a thought coming to mind. "Ok then, I'll tell him it's your idea so he'll kill you instead!" Then without as much as a goodbye, Usagi hung up.
"What's that all about?" Asked Heero. Usagi brushed a strand of golden hair away from her face.
"Minako." She replied, then threw Haruka a look. "Haruka, I gave Minako's number to you to give to Michiru, not for you to call up Mina and tell her my number!"
"She's one of your best friends, Usagi, besides being Michiru's sister." Haruka pointed out. Michiru sighed softly and shook her head at her lover. She didn't want to be a part of this. If Usagi gets angry...she gets angry. And an angry Usagi is something no one would want to have.
"What did she want?" Heero asked, distracting her from her homicidal thoughts on Haruka.
"Um, actually..." Her voice trailed off, the anger gone by this time and replaced by anxiety instead. "Minako has a plan. She's found a place for us to hide for a while." Usagi said.
"That's great news!" Exclaimed Quatre. Usagi shook her head.
"No it isn't. You don't know where we're heading." She muttered. Heero narrowed his eyes and eyed her carefully. She looked up at him, half-frightened at his reaction. That was all he needed, his eyes widened and then he shook his head.
"Iie." He said firmly.
"Hii-chan, we don't exactly have a choice." She said.
"Iie."
"Look, I don't want to go either, OK but we have to. Where else can we go?" Usagi asked.
"Alaska, Siberia, Sahara, anywhere else but there!" He shouted.
"Hii-chan, stop being such a baby!"
"I'm not going back there!"
"You told me before she wasn't that bad." Usagi pointed out.
"That was before, I was young and very stupid before."
"And what are you now, old and very stubborn? And not to mention stupid too?" Usagi shot.
"Look, there must be another way!"
"There isn't! You know there isn't!"
"Iie!"
"Heero Yuy, you're making this more difficult than it already is!" Uh-oh. Haruka and Michiru inched away from the table. There was a slight flash of fear in Heero's eyes that went unnoticed, as it was gone in a blink. Usagi calling him by his full name instead of "Heero" or "Hii-chan" was a bad sign indeed.
"Iie, I'm not going." At his defiant reply, Usagi threw her hands up in exasperation. Seeing her distressed look, Duo decided that maybe she needed a hand in this.
"Heero, Usagi has stated the mission, should you choose to accept. Do you accept?" Duo asked, in a serious, Dr. J-ish voice.
"Mission accepted." The words came out automatically, before he could even stop himself. His eyes widened at what he said and then he groaned, knowing there was no backing away from this. Usagi smiled at Duo and gave the braided one a hug and a kiss on the cheek, adding to Duo's death list, at the rate Heero was glaring at the American.
"Err, Usagi, you might want to let go of me now." Duo said nervously, eyeing the death-defying look from Heero. Usagi quickly made her way back to her seat, planting a soft kiss on her boyfriend's lips.
"Arigatou, Hii-chan."
"Hn." He took a hold of Usagi's hand but glared at Duo. "I'd like you to know, that you have just handed our fates to Satan Herself."
"Nani? What did I do?" Duo asked.
"Duo, as of tomorrow, we're going back to Earth."
"Sugoi! What's so bad about that?"
"We're going to have to stay with Relena." Heero said grimly.
Did you or did you not see that one coming? *smirks* Don't forget to review!