AN: Finally! Updated this series! It took me a very long time, I realized that and I apologize. Life got a little too hectic for comfort, I'm afraid. Not to mention the fact that I sort of lost interest in anime for a while. But before you all cry "Sacrilege", I assure you that I'm back and loving anime again. ^-^
I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope that you'll review!
Title: The Missing Soldier
Chapter 9 – Ambush
By: Lady of Earth (gaiaya@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer applies
Hotaru murmured softly in her sleep, tossing and turning as the dream shifted into a nightmare. The young woman dreamt that she was in a long hallway, her hand not even touching the control of her wheelchair. But just as suddenly as the wheelchair moved, it jerked to a stop.
A door appeared to her right and someone stepped out from it. She gasped softly, eyes watering immediately as she recognized the man. Her hand flew to her mouth.
"Helios." She whispered softly. The tall male smiled, moving towards her and not once breaking eye contact.
The helpless girl could only watch as he stooped down in front of her, the smile never leaving his face. And it was in that moment that she realized that she was in a dream, but she couldn't help herself, even as she reached out to touch his cheek.
His eyes closed slowly and as her fingertips touched cold skin, she felt the tears beginning to fall. She knew that she wouldn't feel the warmth under her fingertips, yet a part of her had been hoping—praying—that she would feel that warmth once more.
The sob escaped her lips before she could stop herself. And even as her mind screamed that it wasn't real, she couldn't help herself as she leaned forward to meet his lips in a kiss.
Haunting purple eyes opened with a start, her breathing uneven as she struggled to control her emotions. But just as in her dream, she couldn't prevent the tears from falling. Her soft sobs all but echoed inside the empty room.
It was about five minutes later when the door opened, but Hotaru didn't even notice it. Didn't notice it at all until the mattress of the bed sagged under the weight of one Gundam Pilot.
"Bad dream?" Wufei's voice was uncharacteristically soft and his black eyes were a softer shade, almost a dark gray.
The young woman blinked a couple of times before she finally recognized him. Her voice was hesitant and soft when she whispered his name, "Wufei?"
The Shenlong pilot sighed, watching her through keen eyes. "Xiao Jie1, death is not something you should think about for too long. It makes your heart dark inside." For a moment his tone sounded wistful, as he no longer looked at her. "You are too young to have a dark heart."
"Gege2, Fei-fei..." He turned his gaze towards her once more, a small, amused smile on his lips.
"Fei-fei?" He raised an eyebrow, which made her promptly blush, though it was difficult to see in the dim light. Yet, Wufei knew her too well, so it didn't matter whether or not he saw it or not, he knew she was blushing.
"You are the only person able to call me that name and still live to tell the tale, xiao jie." He said, tapping her slightly on the forehead. Her hand flew to her forehead straight away, as she stared bewildered at him.
It was simply so out of character for him to be acting this way...and yet...
~~~~~Flash back~~~~~
Her jiejie3 was prompt, as usual, and was scowling at her. Emi tried hard not to shake in fear, but it was a little hard to do in front of Meiran. Meiran wasn't as strict as their father or mother, but she was in every way an enforcer. Meiran will simply not tolerate tardiness, no matter what excuse she had.
But she didn't have an excuse this time. It hadn't been her fault! How was she to know that Master Lao would take so long to grade her calligraphy? And he had been severe in his grading again, criticizing every single stroke that she had painstakingly took to finish the characters.
"Disgraceful!" He exclaimed, frowning down at her. "How is it that you are Ron Meiran's sister? Meiran's strokes are graceful and controlled while yours are sloppy and...and...this is not a word, Emi! I can't even read what this is!"
She had bitten her lip in order not to cry. She had been tempted to say that Meiran was the one who had mastered the swordsmanship under Master Cho, therefore she would have no trouble mastering the art of calligraphy. While she, Hotaru, had been utterly dreadful. Master Cho had all but told her that she was a danger to society when she held a sword.
"You better have a good reason as to why you are late!" Growled Meiran, her eyes as fearful as ever.
"Duibuqi4, Master Lao-"
"No excuses, Emi." Her sister said sharply. The young girl winced, fearing this young heiress of the dragon clan.
"Leave the girl alone, Meiran." A familiar voice spoke up. Emi looked up suddenly, surprised to see Wufei there.
"This isn't any of your concern, Wufei."
"Maybe not," The scholar said, dispassionately, but his gaze held more fervor than his tone of voice did. "But I know for a fact that Master Lao was having a field day with that girl again."
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Demanded Meiran, who then turned to look at Emi expectantly.
"I-I..." The young girl couldn't say a word.
"He was criticizing her again. He measured her up to you, as usual." Meiran stood a little stiffly when she heard this, but some of the hardness in her eyes dissipated as she looked at Emi.
"Stupid girl!" She snapped. "Why didn't you tell me this before? I should have that man fired for his idiocy! Who is he to measure the likes of a sniveling eight year old to my standards!" And she walked away in a huff, to the direction of Master Lao's house.
"J-jiejie!" Stammered Emi, she was about to follow her, but a firm hand gripped her shoulder and she looked at Wufei, who shook his head.
"Leave her alone. I think Meiran can handle this by herself." Wufei said, laughter dancing in his eyes.
"B-but-"
"Listen to me, Emi." He said sternly. "You should never let anyone make you feel bad about yourself. Meiran is Meiran and you are you, never let anyone think otherwise. You are fine just the way you are. Understood?"
Emi nodded, slightly puzzled that her brother-in-law would act so nice towards her.
~~~~End Flashback~~~~~
But even as those memories flitted away, she suddenly realized that that wasn't the first time that Wufei had stood up for her. He had stood by her side many times, but he masked these good intentions with the harshness of his voice or by his indifferent attitude.
In the end, however, it was obvious that Wufei cared for her the way her sister did. And perhaps, he had a better way of showing this than Meiran did. Meiran never did help her with her homework and she could remember all the times that Wufei did.
"Stupid girl." He said, shaking his head, as he entered the study. She was looking down at her paper, trying not to cry as she stared at the math problem. She didn't know what to do!
"I have better things to do than waste my time with you!" He grumbled, yet he sat down beside her anyway and began to explain.
He had always been there, in all her times of need. And she realized then, guiltily, that she hadn't been there for him when he needed someone the most. When Meiran and their whole clan died.
All this time, Wufei was left to believe that there was no survivor in that tragedy that claimed every single person Wufei had ever truly cared about. Her purple eyes were starting to mist over again, but this time she didn't cry for Helios. She was crying for a brother she had nearly forgotten, a brother that clearly still cared for her. One who believed that she had died, along with the rest or else, he would not have forgotten her. He would have saved her...wouldn't he?
"Gege?"
"What is it?"
"Would you have come for me?" She asked softly, head bowed. Wufei blinked for a moment, staring at the younger girl.
"Of course." He said, incredulously. "If I had known you were alive, I'd look everywhere for you. I'd search through all the colonies." There was a small smile on her lips as she looked up and stared straight into his eyes.
"Xiexie." She whispered. He couldn't help but smile at her reaction, before leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
"Go to sleep, xiao jie. I'll stay here to watch over you." He gestured towards the armchair in the corner of the room.
"Xiexie...gege."
The longhaired swordsman stared at the cigarette dangling between his fingers and let out a sigh. It was the one vice he simply couldn't resist. Even though he heard all those horror stories about what a cigarette can do to your body...
Ruins your lungs, makes your teeth turn yellow, emphysema and might cause your penis to shrink....
Sai shuddered at the thought of the last. Damn that stupid rogue for even mentioning that! And he had been the avid smoker out of their gang of soldiers. But he adorned a smile when he thought of one fire-haired soldier from the bunch.
After all, Genrou Tasuki was the least professional out of their gang of seven. The group he had left Usagi for. Well, it was justifiable, since in reality, Usagi had been the one to leave him and not the other way around. Of course, if word got out, his reputation as the ladies' man would be down in the gutters.
He tossed his long dark locks behind him, huffing silently. "There's no way I'm going to let that happen!"
"Let what happen?" A quiet voice asked, causing the trained assassin to jump out of his chair and promptly dropping the cigarette he had been smoking. Blue eyes blinked a couple of times, before it registered the fallen cigarette. Sai grabbed it quickly, hiding it behind his back.
"Hotohori-san, you should know better!" Chastised the blonde. "Don't you know smoking is bad for you?"
"What in Suzaku's name did you think you were doing, Aino-san!" Exclaimed Sai, one hand clutching his chest. "And don't call me Hotohori!" He hissed.
"Oh. Sorry." The girl, however, did not sound the least bit sorry. "Setsuna-sama told me to check up on you. And to deliver a message."
"What message?" Sai asked irritably, he was starting to resent this blonde cousin of the beautiful sea siren, Michiru.
"You've done an excellent job, as usual. But she wants you to pull another job."
"Another job?" Sai frowned. "She wants me out of here so soon?"
"She gave the orders. Don't shoot the messenger, lovely." Mina winked at him, lightening his mood a little.
"You know very well I'm more than just 'lovely' Minako." Sai said, smiling. "But just as well, I'll go report. Rendezvous?" The blonde pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to the older man. "Thank you, dearest. Will you inform Usagi?"
"I'm sure you can do that when you return from your debriefing, Sai-san."
"I'll do that." Sai said with a sigh, recalling the picture of Usagi with Heero. To say he was displeased would be an understatement, but Usagi seemed perfectly happy exactly where she is. There was no use in trying to disturb the balance. Sai knew she held feelings for him year ago, but...
'I guess some things just can't stand the trials of time.' He thought quietly, even as he headed out of the home of Vice-Minister Darlian.
Movement within the proximity.
"Confirm identity." Static filled the communication system as he waited for an answer.
Negative. He growled under his breath, ready to curse.
Wait... He paused. Could it be? Did they finally stumble upon the right link for once?
'Did I finally hire idiots with some form of intelligence, this time?' He thought, humorlessly.
Assassin. There was a pause. It's the infiltrator from two nights ago, sir. It seems that we've found their hideout.
"Do not assume anything before you have hard evidence." He said, voice calm and demanding, yet in the inside he knew that they had found the hideout. They finally found the group that was becoming a thorn in his backside. Finally....they've found her.
Permission to scout the area, sir?
"Granted. Make it snappy. And for heaven's sakes, don't get caught."
Understood.
A cold smirk marked his lips as he leaned back against his chair, midnight black hair caressed by the soft winds that entered through the slightly open window of his office. Chiba Mamoru was not a patient man, but it seemed as if his patience has paid off this time.
She awoke slowly, blinking a couple of times to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. A soft smile graced her features and her eyes softened as she looked at the man lying beside her. His arms wrapped possessively around her waist, his breathing softly on the side of her face, causing strands of her hair to dance merrily to his sleeping tune.
She reached out a hand to softly brush at unruly bangs. He stirred, but didn't wake up, murmuring something unintelligible. She giggled softly, the sound barely audible.
"I love you." She whispered softly, leaning forward to brush her lips on his forehead. And carefully, she extracted herself from his arms, feeling the stiffness settling in her muscles. She grimaced softly, as she picked up her clothes from the floor and headed to the bathroom.
She had to speak to Sai today. Plans must be discussed and most importantly, they have to decide when to commence an attack. They must strike before Mamoru does. If not...all will be lost.
The fact that they were staying in one of the most obvious of hiding spots only seem to heighten her worry, but she had faith in her friends, old and new. She smiled softly, as she opened the bathroom door soundlessly.
They were all in on this together. And even though the others did not know all the details as to the how and why, they were determined to follow her anyway. It was nice to have people who had so much faith in her again.
Not that she didn't have them by her side before, she mused, looking back at the figure on the bed. Heero trusted her more than anything in the world, after all. It was so strange, to know that someone who used to be so untrusting could entrust his own heart to someone else.
Heero's priceless possession is, after all, his heart and not his life. Goodness knows how many times the Perfect Soldier had tried to end his in the past. But no more. He knew he had responsibilities nowadays. He had someone who loved him. Someone who would wait for him. Someone who would go through hell and back for him if something were to befall him. And that, by far, was more than enough reason for Heero Yuy to stay alive as long as he saw fit. And that could possibly mean as long as Usagi lives.
Her blue eyes darkened slightly with sadness as she thought of this. She hoped with all she had that Heero would never try to do anything drastic if something were to happen to her. She knew that if she would die, she would want Heero to live. At least that way, one of them could live for both of them.
She shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. "Stupid." She muttered to herself. "Don't think that way!" Her voice was soft, chastising herself for thinking such morbid thoughts. But she knew, something could happen and she didn't want Heero to do anything stupid.
But first...she needs to change.
Duo was wandering the hallway aimlessly. It was too late to do anything too loud and too early to sleep. Well....in Duo's opinion anyway. At first he had looked into Wufei's room, trying to bug the Chinese in order to pass the time, but the pilot from L5 was nowhere to be found.
It had taken him half an hour to finally find the man. And when he entered Hotaru's room—hesitant at first and ready to apologize if he wasn't in sight—he was startled to find that Wufei had fallen asleep in the armchair, seemingly after watching over the sleeping girl. Duo smiled, not the cheeky grin that he often adorned, but a warm and wistful smile.
"Guess he's got some of that protectiveness streak going on after all." He whispered softly, closing the door soundlessly.
That had been over an hour ago and Duo was still bored. Damn it....Soft footsteps caught his attention however and he walked down one of the wings of the large mansion to find one blonde girl still walking the hallways.
An electric smile lit up his features and his footsteps quickened as he rushed over to the girl. Minako turned before Duo reached her, a smile adorning her face as well as she blushed slightly.
"Maxwell-kun, what are you doing here this late?"
"That's what I should be asking you, Minako-chan!" Exclaimed Duo. "And did you forget again? My name's Duo, you know!" Minako giggled.
"Apologies, Duo. I'm too used to this. Darlian-san will be most angry if I didn't address her guests politely, after all." Duo made a face.
"Oh please, we're more like a pain in the ass than guests to Relena right now. Besides, I bet she just wants us out of her hair. Usagi especially." Minako tried to muffle her laugh by placing a hand over her mouth.
"So I heard! Usagi is something, isn't she?" Her eyes were dancing with merriment as she said this, drawing Duo to her. In the end, they found themselves staring at each other, no word spoken.
Mina blinked after a while and her pinks cheeks turned a deeper shade as she nodded her head suddenly. "I better get going. It's late." But before she could say anything else, warm lips descended on her own.
Blue eyes widened with shock, but quickly closed as she responded to the soft caress. She parted her lips for Duo's insistent tongue and as the kiss deepened, Mina felt her mind shut down. Not even her powers seem to be able to reach her at this point as she surrendered herself completely to the pilot.
They broke apart, breathless, though hold that Duo had around her waist tightened slightly as he drew her closer to him. Her head nestled on his shoulder as she sighed happily, feeling happier than she ever had.
But a soft clearing of throat disrupted this quiet moment and they both looked up to see a grinning Usagi.
"It's about time." She said, simply.
Duo rolled his eyes before retorting, "You should seriously consider telling Relena to make the walls thicker, Mina. It seems that screams do carry rather well around here." It drew a blush from both blondes. Mina smacked the grinning pilot's arm lightly, trying hard not to laugh while Usagi stayed a brilliant pink.
"One of these days Wufei's gonna kick your ass and I'm not going to be around to save it." Muttered Usagi as she walked away, leaving them both in peace.
Duo chuckled softly, watching her go, before returning his gaze to his new object of affection. "Now," He said slowly. "Where were we?"
Target confirmed.
"Commence the plan."
Understood.
Usagi shook her head, willing herself to calm down and frowning as she felt the heat on her cheeks. Damn that Duo....
She paused suddenly, feeling a sense of dread wash over her. Something wasn't right....
Minako smiled up at the charming pilot, her lips tingling in anticipation of another kiss. But it seemed fate had other plans in store for them. Her eyes glazed over suddenly as a vision took her.
//A familiar dark room...Wufei standing up suddenly from his slumber, fighting away the two assailants dressed in black. Hotaru waking up at the commotion, shouting.
Usagi, pulling out her gun and aiming at her aggressors, face devoid of emotion. The soldier mode.
Heero, face blank as he shot with dead-on precision at the men dressed in black.
The five pilots, Usagi and Mina, standing in the middle of the hallway, glaring at the group that was closing in on them. But not before....//
"Mina?" Duo asked in alarm, after he felt the girl stiffen in his hold.
"A vision." She whispered, leaning heavily against Duo, her breathing labored.
"What is it?"
"Wake the others. They're going to attack." Duo's eyes widened suddenly.
The window was opened in the small room and it was bringing in the cold night wind. Wufei stirred in his sleep, feeling the cold prickle his skin. Dark eyes opened, slowly adjusting to the darkness. But the two men who had stealthily entered the room did not realize that the Chinese was roused, nor did they see his eyes widen.
The first of them didn't realize what happened as a swift kick was delivered to his jaw. A sickening crack was heard even before he hit the ground next to the window. His companion growled, his weapon ready, but Wufei was so much faster.
The Chinese dimly heard a shriek issuing from the girl on the bed, but he ignored it.
Trained skills and instincts took over as he grabbed at one of the soldier's hand, pulling him and the weapon he held, towards the lithe pilot. The gun was out of his grip before he even knew it. Time seemed to slow down and he could only watch in slow motion as things unfolded.
He felt sudden heat in his stomach and abdomen before searing pain took over and he doubled over, falling on the ground with a thud. The next thing he knew, the pilot was looming over him, hissing.
"How many of you are there?" He demanded. The soldier's eyes widened, but suddenly turned cold. He knew his instructions and he knew his loyalty.
"Fuck you." The very last thing he saw was the barrel of the gun, then a loud sound before his world became black.
The girl was crying on the bed, unwanted memories resurfacing. Wufei rushed towards her, taking her in his arms and carrying her out of the bed.
"Xiao jie, I need you to keep quiet, alright?" He whispered to her. She hiccupped, but nodded. Walking over to the closet, he opened it and placed her inside. "Stay here, I doubt that they'll find you here." He said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead protectively.
"Be careful!"
"I will, little one."
Usagi heard Hotaru's cry and undoubtedly, so did the other four trained pilots. She immediately rushed over to where she saw Duo and Minako last. The other two were looking at her with wariness and fear, respectively.
"Mina saw this." Duo explained as they rushed over to the other wing, where Hotaru's room was.
"What did you see Mina?"
"Soldiers, everywhere. I saw Wufei, you and Heero fighting them. And then we were all surrounded."
"Damn it." Cursed Usagi.
"The others will gather here soon, we have to check on Wu-man first though." Muttered Duo.
But before they could reach Hotaru's room, they saw Wufei rushing towards them, his face grim.
"Where's Hotaru?" Asked Usagi.
"Safe." The Shenlong pilot replied. "Barton, Winner and Yuy?"
"Should be heading this way soon."
"What the hell is going on?" Demanded Wufei.
"We took too long. He got to us first." Whispered Usagi.
There we go....Chapter 9. It's not as long as I hoped nor is it on time...but it's here isn't it? Don't you just hate me for the ending, though? ^-^; Sorry! Remember, reviews keep the writer writing!
Translations:
1. Xiao Jie – Little sister (Or so I'm told)
2. Gege – Older brother
3. Jiejie – Elder sister
4. Duibuqi – I'm sorry (romanization might be incorrect)