Disclaimer: I own neither GW nor SM.
July 29, 2002: Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday, dear… eh, Gota de Mar. Happy birthday to me!! ^_^
Author's Notes: Just a little something so you don't forget – too much :: blushes ^_^ :: - about this story.
Chapter Three"They are near her… I can feel it, Jupiter. They are going to find her soon…" – Demeter said with apprehension clearly showing on her face.
Jupiter frowned, trying to look serious as the King of the Higher Gods should look on situations like this one, but his façade flickered. He can't deny he's worried.
"Hope the girls can keep her safe as they said." – he stated, deep in thought. His mind was running wild with memories of the inevitable effects his daughter's capture would have on the world.
It happened once…
He certainly doesn't want it to happen again.
"What I do hope is that their plan work, really work." – Aphrodite said disdainfully, lounging in her divan and combing her golden curls lazily.
Selene, who was looking at the fountain in the middle of the Observatory Chamber, frowned and turned to look at her.
"They won't fail." – Selene said. –"They have never done it."
Aphrodite snorted and glanced at her sister, smirking.
"Sure," – she purred sarcastically. –"Tell me, how many Crystal Kingdoms, Tokyo's or whatever you call it, they failed to erect? I just forgot."
Selene scowled and clenched her tiny fists.
"They are young…!" – she started with firmness and dignity.
Aphrodite snarled. "And aren't perfect, sis." – she said, smirking self-righteously.
Selene growled and was about to retort when Jupiter shouted.
"That's enough, you two!" – he said, raising a hand at them. – "Sometimes, you are worst than Juno and Demeter." – he muttered miserably.
Selene sighed and turned her back on everybody, her clear violet eyes landing on the crystalline waters of the fountain… I still believe she has something to do with the last time the Messengers nearly got Lita – Selene thought, frowning once more.
She's no fool. She knows Aphrodite has something to do with it, and her deviant manners were confirming Selene's suspicions.
Still, she hadn't found the right moment to corner her younger sister. Time moves at a different pace in the Astral Dimension. For the people on the Mortal World, it's been years since "Lita" died – the young Lita who was trying to help that younger child who now holds Shinigami's soul.
In the Astral Dimension, however, it's been only a couple of minutes since the girls finally left, just after they explained their plans to the Higher God's.
A very risky plan, Selene thought.
In the beginning, the Queen of the Moon wasn't too thrilled with the Princesses' plans to protect the young Princess of Jupiter. She found it too risky. But if the formerly know goddess Athena found it a good idea, then who's she to say something against it? Athena – or Haruka, as she's known now – always excelled on planning strategies for battle. And if her wits were combined with Ami's to smooth the plan even more, then there wasn't a real, reasonable, reason to disregard their work.
Still, she can't shake the feeling… something bad was about to happen.
Selene felt tired and a little dizzy. She had to place her hand on the border of the fountain to keep from falling. The feeling that washed over her was unpleasant… her heart fluttered in her chest with apprehension.
Maybe it was her maternal instincts kicking in, since her child was down there, playing a very risky role on the girl's plans. She was too near the Messenger's target… and they can confuse her with Lita… although, that's the plan. It would buy them some time to take the Jupitarian Princess and move her out of the Messenger's reach.
It's too risky – Selene thought, feeling dizzy once more.
Ever since she learned Hades was stranded on the Mortal World with his Messengers, the whole situation became downright dangerous since the Underworld God must be rightfully pissed. The failure of Shinigami must have brought him out of the Underworld to try and finish his younger Messenger's task. That in it must have angered him, but to find himself trapped in the Mortal World…
Selene opened her eyes and looked down at the image the fountain was displaying…
Everything seems calm down there…- Selene thought, but she winced. No, nothing is calm down there; she knows it. She can feel the tension building up in the air; the color of the image was turning red… There's problem around the corner.
Why the girl's find it right to have that boy near them? - she thought, half angry and half worried while she looked at the scene in the park. – It's dangerous! What would happen once he remembers who he is?!
Do they know who he is?
Oh, she definitely can't understand the girl's plans!
And remember… Ares can break free without Hades on the Underworld… - that thought made her tremble. What would happen if Ares break free, it's something she dare not think about. Just the mention of his name makes a cold shudder run down her spine.
A deep frown creased her serene features… she can feel trouble galloping right where the girl's are.
"Selene, you are going to wear yourself off if you continue to stand there" – Jupiter said, sounding worried.
Selene smiled and turned to look at him. "My child is down there, too." – she said.
"I know, Selene." – Jupiter said, sighing.
"I wish I could keep on looking like you do, Selene." – Demeter said, sitting on the edge of the fountain, her back facing the waters. –"But it makes me too anxious." – she added, wringing her hands nervously.
Selene smiled fondly at the Nature's Goddess. "Well, then. Someone had to do it since Setsuna is keeping the Time Gates."
Aphrodite snorted. "This is useless, sis." – she said, and her eyes got a far off look on them. – "We could end up loosing them to the Messengers…" – she said softly. –"… As we did our sons…" – she ended in a sad whisper.
"That's the reason why you are so mad…" – Selene stated.
Aphrodite snapped out of her sad reverie and looked at her older sister. Oh, did she know what was the real intention behind Selene's words! She was trying to bring up her suspicions on who told the Messengers Lita was going to be in the Mortal World… and she won't have Selene accusing her. Not now, though.
"Well, and Juno, too. Volcano is down there with Eros and Apollo…!" – Aphrodite said.
"That's true." – Jupiter said.
Selene huffed and turned her eyes to the fountain… Her violet eyes landed on a disturbing scene…
I knew it! – She thought, gasping loudly and bringing a hand to her opened mouth.
"What it is, Selene?" – Demeter and Jupiter jumped at her reaction.
Selene backed a few steps, catching Aphrodite's attention. The golden goddess looked at her, raising an eyebrow at her.
"… Shinigami… and Apollo…" – Selene whispered, white as a paper sheet.
Apollo was the youngest of the Higher Gods.
Born from the Older Goddess Themis – the ruler of law and order, mother of the hours and the fates – and the Elemental God Chaos, one of the oldest gods that survived the war between the Higher ones and the Titans.
The young god was born with highly peculiar abilities. He seemed to have inherited her mother's ability to read the minds of those weaker than him and to foreseeing the future. Very dangerous abilities if you use them wrong. And if we combine that with the ability he inherited from his father, to spread plagues and diseases, the young Higher God was definitely one of the most deadly and dangerous, second to Ares.
He had one cold and analytical mind… and was very difficult to educate. The young god was very intelligent, brighter than any other, which made him extremely hot headed.
He used to be a renegade god, siding with Ares constant quest for control. He used to be his right hand then. And was feared and revered by many.
But all of that changed when, curiously, he had a glimpse of the future… His future.
Usually, those who can foresee the future can't see anything about themselves – it's kind of a rule Uranus made – because, even when many of your visions may be right, there are still a lot of things that can change in the last minute. People's choices are the ones who really reign the way their future was going to be and there was no amount of god's influence that could change that. So when Apollo saw a glimpse of his future, he was downright confused… and a little bit afraid.
It all happened the day Persephone, the youngest of all the Planet Princesses, was born.
He was in the Sun, his home planet, meditating to clear his mind and try and come up with one good plan to take over Jupiter's kingdom, when he saw… He saw himself falling a long, dark tunnel. And though he knows he should've been worried, he knew he wasn't because he was falling because he wanted. He was heading towards something deep down that tunnel; he was searching, quite frantically. And then he saw… a pale green light… and it was ebbing. He heard someone crying… a girl crying.
Save me… save me…- the girl said, sobbing – Don't leave me here…
His eyes opened and he straightened himself, as if he had springs underneath him. He walked down to a window near him and looked down to Earth. Something odd was going on down at that planet… a flash of light – dark green and pale green enveloped in silver – was shutting outside of it while another – dark violet - was entering.
It all happened so fast… but he knew… he knew what that meant.
So he went to Planet Jupiter…
There, things seemed normal, but he could sense something funny in the air. People were confused and murmuring…
Queen Juno just gave birth to a little girl…?
And Queen Juno's sister, Ares lover, is here, in Jupiter. Can you believe it? The nerve!
Yes! She's a traitor!
That's true!
Apollo paid close attention to the murmurs that surrounded him.
True, Demeter used to be Ares' lover – but she was forced to. Though it didn't matter since only Apollo knew it, so it was reasonable that people looked at her as a traitor. What he couldn't understand was, why she was on Planet Jupiter…
The light coming out of Planet Earth… it was… it was dark green, Demeter's color. And it had silver on it…that's Jupiter's color. But the pale green? – he thought.
Without knowing, his steps took him to the Jupitarian Palace, where everything was a fuss. Maidens were running up and down the long corridors of the palace, wide beams of happiness in their faces. The atmosphere there was completely different from the one he perceived in the streets of Jupiter. People inside the palace were happy, excited.
She's here! She's here!
Isn't she lovely?
Oh! She looks a lot like your Highness, don't you think?
He saw Athena come running down the corridor and from the way she was looking at him, she wasn't pleased to see him there.
"What are you doing here?!" – she thundered, stopping just a few feet from him.
He looked coolly at her, his face expressionless. He was good at concealing his emotions and he surely wasn't pleased to see her, too.
"Just visiting." – he said, calmly.
He liked to see her loose her temper, because the more calm he acted, the more vexed she looked.
"Just visiting?! That's bullshit!" – she spat.
He raised his eyebrow in fake shock. "Watch you mouth, little Athena. You don't want 'Mommy' admonishing you for your foul language."
She pressed her white and trembling fists to her sides while fire seemed to shot out of her nostrils.
"Tell me what are you doing here." – she demanded. –"You're not one to come visiting. You want something, I know it."
He gave her a nearly imperceptible smile. "I told you, I'm just visiting. I can't do that?"
"Apollo… " – Athena said, trembling with anger.
"Besides," – and he openly smiled at her –"I just want to see the youngest daughter of King Jupiter…"
Athena's mouth hanged open for a second. Not only did he smiled at her – that in itself was wicked, utterly unusual - but he knew, oh gods, he knew …
"How do you know…?"
"About the girl?" – he interrupted and shrugged. –"I have my ways."
"Who's there, Athena dear?" – Juno asked, coming out from one long corridor.
Apollo looked at the Queen of the Higher Gods and smirked.
She definitely didn't look like a woman who just gave birth.
Everything was clear now… the slip that could bring Jupiter's reign down. Oh, he couldn't be happier!
Queen Juno looked at him and paled.
"Mother, get out of here!" – Athena hissed.
"What is he doing here?" – Juno whispered, becoming paler.
Athena took the opportunity to shove Apollo to a wall. Her dagger materialized in her hand and she certainly looked dangerous when she yelled at the young god…
"GET OUT OF HERE!!"
"NO!" – someone said, gaining everyone's attention.
Just behind Juno, the young Goddess of Nature appeared, holding a bundle to her chest. She was pale and looked tired, just like a woman who just gave birth. She was disheveled and looked scared, while the little package pressed to her chest moved and a tiny cry came out of it.
"Demeter, you are not supposed to be here. You are still too weak." – Juno sighed, exasperated.
"No." – she said. – "The Parcae told me, Juno… they told me he would take care of her…"
"Now you are delirious, Demeter. What are you babbling about?!"
"He would protect her… I know." – Demeter said and her eyes closed, her body slumped forward.
"DEMETER!"
Again, things happened too fast. And Apollo certainly doesn't know how he managed to be the one who caught the little bundle on Demeter's arms. The Nature's Goddess fainted and Juno and Athena's attention went directly to her. He had more than enough time to turn and escape with the little girl… but damn Parcae if they weren't right!
The little bundle in his arms moved and he looked down. Somehow, in the commotion, the blanket fell and draped his arm, revealing a small face with a fuzz of reddish hair and wide, brilliant green eyes that were looking at him with confusion. She started sucking her thumb and blinked, sleepily at him, falling asleep with a contented smile on her face and sighing deeply.
And he knew, right then, that he couldn't take her to her doom as he was planning. He wanted to see her as happy and secure as she looked right then.
He didn't know the other part of the prophecy… the part that says that he was going to fall in love with her.
The nerve! She couldn't believe him!
After the shock of finding him spying on her, his words slowly downed on her.
"So you wanna go out with my girl…my girl …"
Darn him!
She was furious now that she shock subsided… and she doesn't know why! She should be happy. Wasn't this what she wanted?
But not like this! – she thought, furiously.
"Your girl? YOUR GIRL?!" – she screamed.
Trowa stood beside her, disturbingly calm. He didn't seem fazed by Duo's menacing outburst.
"This is rich!" – Makoto continued, catching a lot of attention.
Duo still scowled at them… Makoto was too near Trowa.
"I didn't know you knew each other" – Duo spat, his indigo eyes blazing with jealousy.
"And since when do you mind who I know?" – Makoto counteracted.
Duo's jaw nearly reached the ground. But just as soon as he showed his surprise, he regained his scowl and growled, looking at Trowa.
"What are you doing?!" – he asked the silent young man beside Makoto. –"Why don't you say something?!"
If he was hoping Trowa would back down and say something between the lines of "I'm sorry", he was about to receive the shock of his life.
"I was just asking her out, Duo. Is there something wrong with it?" – he said, calmly.
Duo's blood boiled.
"Oh, hell yeah! There's something wrong with it!" – Duo yelled, swinging his arms and nearly stomping like a little kid.
Lita, who was nervous with the whole display her sister and two young men were giving, looked around and saw a little audience gathering around them. The little girl scowled and hid behind one of Makoto's legs.
"GO AWAY!" – she said at the audience, her small face all scrunched up in a cute scowl.
But people didn't pay attention to her. Their eyes were fixed on the older guys and girl. Especially now, when the braided one was about to snap!
Duo was trembling, trying to keep cool, but he was loosing his inner battle. There he was, furious – about to become his destructive, Shinigami self – and that damned Trowa were so calm! Why don't he moves out of Makoto's side? Why don't he disappears from the face of the Earth? Don't he sees that Makoto is his?
Damn him! – Duo thought, moving towards them with determined strides while he extended an arm towards Makoto. When he was just a couple of feet away from her, he took her arm and yanked her out of Trowa's reach.
The sudden movement made Lita fall on her side. The little girl screamed and started crying.
"You IDIOT!" –Makoto said, turning and punching him in the face.
Lita threw her head back and…
"Waaaaaaah! Waaaaaaa! MOMMY!"
Trowa bent and picked the crying little girl.
People around them were murmuring.
How rude! – they were saying, referring to Duo.
And to make matters worse, Makoto went to Trowa's side to pick her little sister from his arms. She cooed the little girl and held her tight to her chest. Lita's face was red and tear streak, and she kept on crying loudly. Then she seemed to loose her breath and stayed quiet, her face still scrunched up. Makoto panicked and even Trowa tried to calm the little girl, placing a hand on her back.
"I'm… I'm sorry, Mako. I wasn't…" – Duo tried to say.
Lita, who seemed to have regained her breath, started to wail once more, which made Makoto look at Duo with one fierce scowl on her face that succeeded on making the Shinigami shake.
Duo looked sincerely ashamed.
Little Lita was sniffing, lips trembling, between Trowa and Makoto. And Duo couldn't help but notice just how much they looked like the perfect family. They even looked so alike…!
It hurt Duo's heart.
The happy-go-lucky pilot's expression went from fierce jealousy to sad, miserable uncertainty. His shoulders slumped and he looked down to the ground, feeling awful.
"Really, Mako. I didn't mean to hurt Lita…"
"But you did!"
"Duo baaaaaaad! Duo baaaaaad!" – Lita wailed with a fresh supply of tears breaking free and rolling down her cheeks.
The moment of jealousy quickly passed away, leaving the Shinigami ashamed. He could feel the stares of the people around them land directly on him, accusing him of being rude. And those stares made him feel so small…
"I'm sorry…" – he nearly whispered, looking at Makoto right in the eyes.
There was no anger or jealousy on his eyes when he looked at her. Just his sincere desire to have her forgiveness. There was such openness in his eyes that it was like looking inside his soul… and she couldn't stay angry with him.
For some reason, she couldn't look at him any longer. Her verdant eyes were swimming in tears and she didn't know why she was about to cry. It hurt her to see him like that, so sad and afraid. But… how he dares hurt Lita while he's arguing with me?!
She knows it was an accident. But she couldn't stand the idea of someone hurting Lita. That made her mad at him. Then, she remembers that they must clear things out, that he needs to explain that 'my girl' part to her.
But Lita was crying… She was excited to a point where she doesn't know whether she's angry with him or just deeply embarrassed now that she noticed the little show they were giving. And to top things off, she found out she couldn't talk… Damnit, she was crying!
She couldn't take it any longer…
She turned and left as fast as her legs and Lita's weight permitted her.
She headed off … but her tears didn't go unnoticed to both Duo and Trowa.
"Mako…"
"Makoto…"
Both men whispered, looking at her departing figure.
Duo whipped his head and his indigo eyes landed on the tall, silent man in front of him. His eyes narrowed and he growled striding towards Trowa…
"This is all your fault!" – he spat, poking Trowa painfully with his index finger on his shoulder.
Trowa didn't flinch. He just turned his head and looked from Duo's offending finger on his shoulder, and then up to the young man's fierce eyes.
"Don't do that." – he said, calmly. His voice didn't even sound menacing.
"Oh, yeah!?" – Duo said, intentionally, hammering his finger on Trowa's shoulder. –"What would you do, huh?"
Again, Trowa looked from Duo's finger up to his face.
"I'm warning you…" – he said.
"Yeah? You do? I'm not afraid of you, Silly Clown!"
Their audience became quite interested in their little exchange.
There's going to be a fight! – a young man said excitedly.
Oh, dear! Please, no! - a young woman said.
Once again, Trowa and Duo were oblivious of the people around them.
"Duo, I don't want to fight with you…" – Trowa said.
"What were you doing with Makoto? How do you know her? From where? When did you meet her?"
Trowa's eyebrows became one long line while his eyes narrowed at Duo. His lips tightened in a pissed off expression. Duo still drilled his finger onto his shoulder.
"Duo…" – he warned, taking the young man's hand by the wrist and yanking it away from himself.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" – Duo hollered.
Now that really pissed off Trowa…
"Who are you to ask me that? Her boyfriend?"
Duo couldn't come up with something good to retort. He just growled, frustrated, and fisted his hands.
"Stay away from her." – he whispered like an echo of his last statement.
Trowa crossed his arms about his chest and looked down at Duo.
"You can't ask me that."- he said and turned to leave.
Duo growled again and went after Trowa. When he was behind the taller young man, he pushed him.
"I'm warning you, Trowa!" – he said. –"You don't want me as your enemy!"
Trowa swirled on the balls of his feet and clenched his fists.
"I'm not afraid of you!" – the silent clown said, lunging his body towards Duo in a rather warning way. He didn't want to fight the braided young man. Duo didn't stand a chance against him. Trowa knows his weakest point.
But Duo wasn't thinking and saw Trowa's gesture as an open challenge. He lunged forward, too. He just wanted to punch some sense into the taller man's brain. Makoto is his!
A tightly clenched fist went flying. Destination: Trowa's face.
But the fist never reached his destination.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Duo!"
Duo's fist was painfully stopped in mid air.
The Shinigami growled like a wounded animal and pulled his fist from the hand that was stopping him from kicking some sense into Trowa's brain. Before him, Trowa stood, with a calm face that flooded his stomach with bile.
Duo just hated him!
Still, the one stopping him, didn't let go of his hand.
"Let go!!" – Duo hollered, struggling blindly against the person stopping him. His eyes were fixed on Trowa and how freaking calmed he looked. It was as if he was mocking him.
"DAMN IT! LET GO!"
Suddenly, a pair of arms enveloped him by his shoulders, then, slid down and pinned his arms with surprising strength.
"LET GO! GODDAMNIT!"- he screamed with his face red, full of anger.
"Duo! Calm down! Calm down!"
Michelle's face hovered above him. "What's wrong?"- she asked him.
Surprisingly, the one stopping him from smashing Trowa's face was another woman: Amara.
"Who are you?" – the taller woman asked Trowa, her eyes narrowed at him.
Trowa just turned and left.
"Hey! HEY!" – Amara called.
"TROWA!" – Duo called back, fighting Amara's hold on him.
Hell! What the fuck does she eat?! I can't break free, damn it! – Duo thought.
Trowa continued walking to where he was seated with Makoto and Lita just a couple of minutes earlier. He seemed completely oblivious to Duo's calls.
"Damn you, Trowa! Come back here, Idiot! Are you afraid!?! Come back here!"
"What's going on?" – Michelle asked again. –"Who's he?"
Finally, Duo managed to break free. He huffed and left in the opposite direction Trowa took, leaving behind two confused young women and a disappointed audience.
"THERE'S NOTHING HERE TO SEE!" – Amara hollered those still present at the site. -"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"
The people gathered around them, dispersed. Soon the two women were left alone.
"I don't like this one bit, Amara" – Michelle said, worried.
"I don't like it either" – Amara said, looking down to where Trowa left. –"Did you feel the same thing I felt?" – she asked, looking directly at Michelle's eyes.
Michelle nodded slightly.
"Then, you know, that if the fight between them..." – Amara said.
"They can trigger each other's memories." – Michelle ended Amara's statement and she nodded. Still, a worried – and a little afraid – expression creased her elegant features. – "We don't want that to happen."
"Definitively." – Amara said, placing her hands on her hips. –"I didn't know Makoto and Lita were so near to two Messengers..." – she raked her hands through her short, sandy blonde hair in frustration. –"I couldn't feel his energy up until he became angry..."
"That's because this one is, or was, on a mission here. He's disguised. And, unlike Shinigami, who had to posses a body to survive, this one is living a normal life."
"Which worries me, Michelle." – Amara said, exhaling kind of exasperated. –"If we can't sense them, unless they are angry, as this new Messenger was, then there's no way for us to know where they are and if they are near the girls. We won't be able to spot them until it's too late..."
"That's true." – Michelle said, pondering on the matter. –"And this is really serious, Amara." – she looked up to her friend and lover – "This new Messenger is one of the most dangerous of all..."
Amara nodded in understanding. "This one is Febus, isn't it?"
Michelle nodded. "The Messenger of Plagues and Confusion, indeed." – she said.
Trowa returned to the bench were he was sitting with Makoto and Lita just a couple of minutes earlier.
He was angry – though, he didn't show it. His face was lax, but the way his eyes were narrowing ever so slightly, the way a muscle in his jaw kept playing hide and seek, and the way his fists were clenching and unclenching were telling just how angry he was.
How dare he acts as if Makoto was his sole property?! – he thought, seating heavily on the bench. For once in his lifetime, he really disliked someone to the point where all he wanted to do was to punch him. But the more rational part of his brain stopped him and told him that it was ridiculous and that he should control his impulses. Hitting Duo won't make things better – although he really wanted to ignore his rational part and follow his instincts.
But Makoto's sad face did what his mind couldn't. Her expression stopped him from hurting Duo. Her eyes, their sadness, did the magic and it kept flashing in his eyes.
She was so sad... – he thought, frowning ever so slightly. – She was crying.
Trowa's heart went down to his stomach.
She cares for him...
His shoulders slumped and he hunched his torso forward, placing his elbows on his knees and crossing arms one over the other. His head moved lazily to his left and his eyes landed on a thick, heavy looking book he recognized... It was the book Makoto was studying.
A small smile crept to his lips.
Everything is not over. - he thought, picking the book and standing up. He now has a good excuse to see her again.
Makoto couldn't put a name to what she was feeling right at that moment. Too many feelings were stirring inside of her, each and everyone seeming to take turns to control her mood for a couple of seconds before another would overpower the former.
She was angry, upset, confused, excited, sad…
Chaos, isn't it?
But that's how she was feeling; though now a confusing mixture of sadness and anger were overwhelming her.
She turned and left the park, crying. She was so… confused she didn't notice that her crying was affecting someone else.
Lita…
The little girl looked scared. "Mommy, why you cryyyyyiiiiingg, huh? Whyyyyyyyy?" – she cried.
Makoto had to force her tears to stop and put on a fake mask of a smile on her lips.
"Don't cry, Sweetie. Nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong" – she cooed.
Kind of ironic, huh? She was saying there was nothing wrong, when, in fact, everything felt wrong to her. She was feeling strange, as if she was having a dream. Everything felt oddly familiar to her – the whole situation, that is. And she wanted to know why. Something, at the back of her brain knew she wasn't new to this kind of situations.
But she didn't have the time to ponder on it…
"Duo baaaaad, Mommy! Duo baaaaad!" – Lita said, wailing openly.
Makoto pressed the little girl to her chest and tried to calm her with sweet words while she opened the door to her café. The welcoming tinkling of the bell perched high over the door suddenly died when Lita's sobs overpowered it's merry sound.
And if things weren't bad enough, destiny probed they could get worse.
Soon Mina and Amy appeared, followed by Raye.
Damnit, I forgot they were still here! – Makoto thought trying desperately to calm the crying Lita.
The three young women were using aprons and – especially, Mina – had flour on their faces. (Although, Mina also had flour on her hair, shirts, shoes…). Suddenly, their expressions showed worry and confusion…
"What happened?" – Amy asked, alarmed when she saw Lita crying so bitterly.
Raye was the first one to come out completely from the kitchen threshold and take the wailing Lita in her arms. She started to look in the little girl's knees and elbows for some scratch or major injury…
"Are you hurt, Lita? – Raye was asking. –"Did you fell from a swing?"
Mina scowled and crossed her arms over her chest – causing a thick cloud of flour to come out of her shirt. "Did that Billy boy hurt you?" – she asked.
"Mina, don't start with that, please." – Amy admonished.
"That boy is a pest, Amy!" – Mina said, stomping.
"She's not hurt." – Raye said calmly, throwing a rather menacing glance towards Mina. –"She's fine."
The young blonde woman shut her mouth, but scowled angrily while Raye looked up to Makoto.
"What happened?" – Raye asked Makoto.
Makoto blinked and was about to answer when Lita filled them in.
"Duo bad! Duo baaaad!"
Now it was Amy, Raye and Mina's turn to blinked.
Makoto couldn't feel more uncomfortable. "Eh…" – she babbled.
"Duo made me fall!" – Lita explained.
"Oh." – Amy said, her features softening. –"Probably he didn't mean that, honey…"
"But he was fighting with Trowa and there were many, many people and he made Mako cryyyyy… waaaaaaahhhh…"
Ok, so Makoto can feel more uncomfortable. She smiled stupidly at her friends while they looked at her with confusion clearly stated on their faces.
"Fighting?" – Raye asked, a finely shaped brow arching.
"He made you cry, Makoto?!" – Mina asked, looking furious. –"And who the hell is Trowa?!"
Amy cleared her throat, gaining the attention of her friends. "I believe the question we should be asking you right now is what_ happened, Makoto?"
Makoto opened her mouth, to answer the many questions she was bombarded with. But she didn't make out one syllable when the bell perched high above the door tinkled. Everybody's attention went to the door.
Mina smiled flirtatiously and threw her long, heavy hair over her shoulder.
Amy blushed and smiled timidly.
Raye raised one eyebrow, sizing up the newcomer with suspicion. She wrinkled her nose when she saw that Makoto's eyes grew wider.
DUN, DUN, DUUUUUUUNNNNN!
Who just got to Makoto's café? Who's Febus? Stay tuned for the next episode – er …
Anyway, do you want to see some of my drawings? I'll be posting some of them on Media Miner in the next couple of days so, if you want to see them, go look for Gota de Mar and tell me what you think of them!
Bye, Bye!