This is the last update for two weeks! I'm leaving for China... that means no Internet for two weeks... torture...
Oh well. If I can live, you can live.
Thanks to all of the reviewers, as usual. Not many questions... at least none that I can remember. -
I don't own GW or SM.
Enjoy!
Quote and commentary:
Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man.
– A Dictionary of American Proverbs
Comments:
How can a person argue with good reasoning like that? It's so utterly true that it depresses me...
Hope can raise even the darkest of spirits. But where can you find hope if you have none? For some reason or another, I have the word hope carved in capital letters on the side of my desk... I guess it's some sort of comfort to know that I can give others hope even when I have none myself. Call it some sort of twisted goal in life...
After a few more minutes of polite talk with Duo, Makoto asked him to go into the temple, figuring that Ami would have gotten Minako out by the time.
It didn't seem to her that it was all just a coincidence that Duo had managed to just 'show up' at the temple, looking for someone that he barely knew. The fact that he was very vague with his answers didn't help his case either. But she knew that she had to let him in... after all, the last thing she wanted to do was to raise suspicion.
Of course, Duo's easygoing nature made him very hard to suspect in the first place. She had liked his personality the first time she saw him, helping them raise money for Usagi. He had been very helpful at the time... they wouldn't have sold anything had it not been for him.
And she was grateful for that fact. In a way, she owed him... they all did. And for that reason, and that reason alone, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Please make yourself comfortable." She said, leading him to the living room, "I'll go get Ami." Makoto said, leaving Duo in the living room as she searched for the Mercurian.
He gave the room a quick once over. The T.V. was off, but the VCR was on, humming softly. There was a tape playing, and he briefly wondered what it was. Then he looked to the small table a little away from the messy couch. It was littered with teacups and stacks of papers... bills?
He felt his curiosity get the better of him, and he made his way to the table. On it was a laptop... a familiar laptop...
Heero's laptop.
What was it doing there? There was no way that he could mistake it... after all, how many times had he seen his roommate work on it for hours and hours at a time?
Makoto and Ami had Heero's laptop, which meant that he didn't have it. But try as he could, Duo couldn't see Heero giving up the laptop that he had worshiped. Come to think of it... he hadn't seen the laptop since yesterday. Yesterday night...
At the library. Heero had been working on it in the library, when they had joined him. When they had been attacked.
And Heero had left the laptop in the library, when they decided to run for it. And that meant...
Maybe this mission would be over sooner than he thought. But... Ami as a sailor senshi? That didn't seem possible... she was so sweet on the bus and in school...
But appearances were deceiving. How else could one explain Quatre, or even himself?
Did that mean that he would have to eventually face Ami, and fight her? He didn't think that he could... she had become a sort of a friend in such a short time. But what could he do?
There was the sound of the living room door sliding open, and Ami emerged, a soft smile on her face, and looking completely at ease.
"What a surprise, Duo. Is there something that you needed?" She asked, ever helpful. Duo gazed into her eyes, and tried to hide his discomfort. After all, what proof did he have, really? There were other ways that she could have gotten the laptop... he just couldn't think of anything now.
"I just wanted to see your schedule... if we have any classes together. I have a feeling that I'll be having a bit of trouble at Juuban... and I'd be nice to be able to get help from a friend." He said, not exactly lying. After all... academics were never his strong points.
"Oh... of course!" She rummaged through her backpack, and finally pulled out a sheet of folded up paper. "Here."
Taking it, he smiled. Maybe... he should keep a close eye on her for a while.
And hopefully, his doubts would be erased.
Rei and Minako stood nervously in front of the apartment door, occasionally fidgeting. They hadn't had much trouble finding out where Miss Relena lived, Mamoru's directions were impeccable. They also discovered that she was only staying in Tokyo for a short time, on business. In fact, it seemed that she rarely came to Tokyo at all.
She was also quite the figurehead in politics; although she had very little power she was respected and her opinions listened to. Briefly, Minako wondered how Mamoru had gotten to know her at all.
Timidly, Rei rang the doorbell. The fire-priestess had her doubts about coming here; living with a politician when they had reached such a stage in their careers. She doubted that this Relena would let them in, knowing what they did.
A few moments later, a blonde opened the door. "May I help you?" She asked after a few moments.
"Actually, we're here to see Miss Relena Peacecraft." Minako said, voice strong and confident.
"Oh! Please come in." The girl smiled opening the door. "Miss Relena really wasn't expecting any visitors today, but I'll go get her. My name's Dorothy, but the way." She spoke while ushering them into the living room, towards a large couch.
Relaxing slightly, Minako sat down. "Thank you, Dorothy. My name is Minako, and this is Rei. It's nice to meet you."
"Please make yourselves comfortable. Miss Relena will be out in a second." Dorothy said, disappearing into a room.
Rei let out a small breath of relief. "Well, she seems nice enough."
"Yes, but don't get too comfortable. We have no idea how Miss Relena is going to receive us..." Minako cautioned.
"But she can't be all that bad if she's a friend of Mamoru's." Rei reasoned.
Minako had a quiet second of consideration. "I guess you're right. Maybe I'm just too tense. She could turn out to be as nice as Dorothy was..."
"We're all tense, Minako. No one's blaming you."
Minako sunk deeper into the couch, and Rei sat down next to her. A few blond strands of hair fell in front of her eyes, and she brushed them away, annoyed. After having both of her favorite ribbons ruined with bloodstains, she had just given up on them. Now her hair was down, much like Rei's. She briefly wondered how the fire-priestess managed her hair... it was already annoying the heck out of her, and it hadn't even been a day yet!
Looking at the Goddess of Fire out of the corner of her eye, Minako had to smile. Rei was giving up the temple for her sake... Minako knew how hard that must be for her. Ever since Rei's grandfather had died, the dark-haired girl had cherished the temple like it was her very life. She had kept it meticulously clean, and never shunned her duties. It must be hard for her to leave the temple now, but Minako was grateful for it.
After all, it was the only reasonable thing to do. None of the others had been very comfortable with Minako going to live on her own, and it was understood that she had to leave. It was too risky having them all in the same place, especially if she had already been targeted. Neither Makoto nor Ami could go, seeing as how the laptop was found in the school library. There was a risk that they had already found as well, so it would have been unsafe to have them in the same place as Minako for any longer.
Rei, however, did not seem to have been targeted at all. She had sensed no danger around herself for a while, most likely because she did not go to Juuban like the rest of them. That made her the perfect choice to go with Minako.
When Ami had earlier ushered them out of the temple, both of them knew subconsciously that they would be leaving for a long time. It had been hurriedly agreed that Rei would go back for some possessions later, and Minako to stay in hiding for a while.
Gods, how Minako wished they had never been caught up in all of this business. Ami and Makoto wouldn't be safe in the temple for much longer either... now that the outers were enemies.
The outers... another conflict with seemingly no peaceful resolution. After all, what could they possibly do? A confrontation was inevitable in the long run... the outers were professionals. They would succeed in finding the inners, not that the inners had much heart to hide in the first place. And knowing the outers... they would show no mercy. Not even to those they previously considered friends... family.
And if it came down to a fight, Minako feared that they would loose. The outers worked as a perfect team, seamlessly predicting each other's moves and building on the unique teamwork that only they possessed. It was as if they could read each other's minds. The only chance the inners had was to fight them all together, combining their strength.
But if they hid together, wouldn't that just make them easier to find? And then the battle would commence even sooner... this was all too much. It was giving her a headache... why did life have to be so difficult?
The turning of the doorknob caused Minako to snap out of her thoughts. Both she and Rei stood up respectfully as a woman entered. The woman, or girl rather, had a warm smile on her face and dirty blonde hair. Her eyes were a grayish sort of blue, and she seemed to posses an ethereal sense of grace.
"Hello. I am Relena Peacecraft. Is there something I can help you with?" She asked, voice polite.
"Yes." Minako found herself saying, "My name is Minako. This is my friend Rei. We are friends of Mamoru... he said to come to you for help."
"It's nice to meet you. How is Mamoru doing?" Relena asked.
Reflecting back on Mamoru's current state with Usagi, Rei felt saddened. "He's not doing as well as he could be."
There was a real glint of worry in Relena's eyes. "What's wrong? Is he sick?"
"No..." Minako said quietly. "Usagi, his girlfriend, is in a coma." She felt a twang in her heart as she said it out loud.
"Oh... I'm so sorry." Relena's eyes were instantly full of sadness. "It's hard to have a loved one in danger. Was she close to you?"
"Yes... like a sister." Rei just whispered, so that only Minako heard.
"Yes." Minako said louder, trying to ignore the pain in her chest.
There was a moment of consideration, as finally Relena brought up the original subject. "What can I help you with, Minako? Rei?"
"We... need a place to stay for a while. I know it's very short notice, and we barely know you, but it's urgent." Minako said, sounding pitiful.
"But of course! After all, you are friends with Mamoru, and any friend of his is welcome in times of need."
"Thank you."
Dorothy entered, causing all three of them to look up. "Miss Relena? Wufei (1) just called... he seemed to be angry. He's going to coming over soon, in about an hour."
"Is he coming alone?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Rei, Minako," Relena said, turning to the pair, "please make yourself comfortable. It seems an old friend will be dropping by for lunch. Feel free to join us at lunch, it will be served as soon as Mr. Wufei arrives."
"Thank you." Minako repeated.
"I think I'll go and pick up some of our stuff, Miss Relena." Rei said, causing the Peacecraft to look at her.
"Just Relena's fine. Be back in time for lunch. While you're away, I'll show you and Minako your room." Relena said with a gracious smile.
Nodding, Rei left the apartment. Well... that had gone better than she hoped.
(1) Keep in mind that Rei has no idea who 'Wufei' is. She only knows him as 'Faye', the bitchy new girl at school. This will cause for some... complications later.
Well... I finished a chapter! Aren't you proud? Well... I'm leaving for China now! That means no updates for another two weeks, I'm afraid.
I'm sure you'll live.
Please review! This story seems to have dropped in popularity recently... I hope that the chapters are written well enough.
I love you all!
Inverse-chan.