Disclaimer: I would never own SM or Gundam Wing… Why must we bother with disclaimers!
Chapter 4
Rei rang the doorbell of the regal manor; after a few minutes, the massive mahogany door opened and there stood a smiling, aquamarine-haired woman. "Rei! I wasn't expecting you! You got into trouble again, didn't you?" She asked with mirth and a raised brow. It was the only possible explanation for her presence in their house.
Rei pouted but eventually smiled, "Inadvertently." Her voice as lighthearted as the other woman. "Can I crash in your couch?" It was a ridiculous question given that the mansion had more than thirty rooms.
"Of course! Let me help you with that," She said, reaching for Rei's laptop's carrying case, "Come on in. I'm sure Ruka and Hotaru will be very happy to see you."
"Thanks, Michi. Where's Setsuna?"
"We have no idea. Besides, when is she ever here?"
Rei nodded. Good point.
"Have you eaten?"
"No, but it's fine. I'm not hungry."
"Okay. Let's get you in a room or would you prefer a couch?"
"Haha, very funny. Oh, and, thanks again." She said appreciatively.
"It's nothing. Now lets go." Michiru walked up the flight of stairs with Rei following close behind. Rei looked at the woman's back and smiled. Ayame introduced her to them a very long time ago and they proved to be very good friends, always hospitable, caring, trustworthy and amiable. They were the only people, other than herself, Ayame trusted with her secrets. Naturally, she trusted them too.
"Rei-chan?" a little voice called from behind. Rei turned around and found a girl who could have passed for her daughter or younger sister standing at the foot of the stairs; her hair was black and her eyes were the same shade as hers "Rei-chan!" The girl frantically ran up the stairs to her. "Rei-chan, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to visit you guys 'cause I miss you." With her free hand, she ruffled the girl's hair and gave her a playful smile.
"How long are you staying?" the young girl asked, tugging at her sweatpants.
"Not very long. Don't worry, we'll have lots of fun while I'm here, okay?" Hotaru emphatically nodded, "You've grown so much, Hota."
The young girl blushed and looked down at her shoes.
"Hotaru, go to the garage and call Ruka-papa. Tell him Rei is here, okay?
The young girl nodded and gave Rei a smile before going downstairs to look for her 'father'.
In the hallway, Rei couldn't help but wonder why Haruka and Michiru built the house so big. There were doors left and right; she wondered why they would need so many rooms. There were only four residents in the mansion: Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru and on several occasions, Setsuna. But hey, it was their money and if they decided to blow it on a house, who could stop them? Her courteous hostess opened one of the many doors and motioned for Rei to enter. Rei put her backpack down on the bed and put her hid her briefcase under the bed. Michiru raised an eyebrow at that, "Sorry. Old habit."
You are so much like her.
A seascape painting above the headboard caught Rei's eye. It was one of Michiru's many works of art. "Wow…"
"You like it?"
"It should be hanging in a museum." Rei said, admiration and mock in her voice.
"Tease." She accused. "You already know where everything is right?"
"Yes. Thank you again, Michiru. I promise I'll be staying only for a day… or two…"
"We love having you around. You can stay as long as you like, don't worry. So what happened?" She asked with concern. Her presence in their house meant something had gone wrong. Horribly wrong. They did get used to all the clandestine stuff but the killings were a different story. They were a little hard to swallow. It was risky, not to mention wrong, and she knew Ayame would never approve of Rei doing such things, but Rei was stubborn. She never listened to reason. They gave up trying after her third kill and decided that if they couldn't stop her, they would at least keep her safe for Ayame.
"The Alliance dropped by tonight."
"Oh my…" The concerned woman looked her over, looking for wounds, bruises or anything that would signify that she was hurt, "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head in response. "I'm fine. Not injured and not hurt either."
We just kissed and almost got it on… She thought mischievously.
At hearing those words, Michiru sighed in relief, "Rei, we told you so many times, stop this dangerous nonsense." she whispered. She knew Rei would never listen, but it never hurt to try.
Her violet eyes locked with Michiru's azure ones. She could tell Michiru was concerned, she always has been. "This isn't nonsense to me, Michiru."
"I know it's not. Just don't get yourself killed, okay?"
"I wont."
"You never learn."
Rei beamed at Michiru and laughed, "I know."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A very aggravated Heero parked his motorcycle in the seemingly empty basement parking of his shabby apartment building. His metal bonds clinked as he walked, reminding him of what had happened earlier that night. He jabbed the elevator button furiously, taking out his repressed anger on the defenseless, red button. How could he have let that happen? He was supposed to be infallible, but the cuff latched at his wrist was proof that he was not. But looking back, how could he have possibly resisted her? How could anyone resist her? Those luscious lips, beguiling smile and her hot body… He was so close--
Snap out of it, Yuy!
He kicked open the old oak door of his apartment and went directly to his desk. His new 'bracelet' had to go. After a couple of minutes of slaving over it with a bobby pin, he was finally free from his restraints. He affectionately stroked his left wrist and took in deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He couldn't stop thinking about how he had been had… by a woman no less. Opening a drawer, he stashed the cuffs away. Later, he'd make sure to return the favor.
Stripping down to his boxers, he made himself comfortable in his bed. He crossed his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He could still remember how her body felt against him, soft and warm. Then came a sudden vision of him and her in the very same bed, her bare form, writhing and moaning beneath him… her husky voice, begging, pleading…
What the hell am I thinking!
He quickly got out of bed and sat back on his desk. How could he think of such things? For all he knows, she was their enemy. Hell, she could even be the 'Casablanca Killer'. Tomorrow, he'd have to inform the Alliance about Rei 'Megumi'.
She will kill me tomorrow.
"Rei 'Megumi'… Damn it," He cursed, "I didn't even get her real name." The only thing he found out was that there is no Rei Megumi, she knew about them and Oz and that she is masquerading as Makoto Kino. But even with that information, he still had practically nothing. So she knew about Oz and the Alliance… but how and why? Those were the questions that mattered. And what of Makoto Kino?
He got up again, this time he walked over to where a punching bag was suspended from the ceiling. Not bothering with wraps or boxing gloves, he cracked his knuckles and punished the bag with unrelenting blows. The bag swayed back and forth from the force of his punches. Although his knuckles were starting to hurt, he didn't stop. It was nothing compared to the severe blow to his ego. "Beaten by an onna…" He murmured after delivering a very powerful right hook; the punching bag hit the opposing wall and his knuckles started to bleed.
Chang must be rubbing off on me.
Heero hissed as he recklessly poured alcohol to his wound. He blew on it, waiting for the stinging sensation to ebb. It was all her fault. He wrapped his now sterile knuckles with a clean gauze.
Rei… I'll catch you if it's the last thing I'll do.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"What the hell were you thinking, Yuy?" A very irate, blonde woman asked, her clenched fist soundly striking the top of her desk. Heero remained silent and continued to listen to his handler's incessant reprimanding, not that he had much of a choice. What could he say in his defense? He did break protocol by doing an off-the-record investigation, she had every right to be mad. "You're lucky you're one of my best agents, Yuy. If you weren't, you'd be looking at a four month suspension for breaking protocol." She said while massaging her temples. "Damn it…"
The reproaching finally stopped, much to Heero's relief. She glared at Heero one last time before pressing the button of the intercom. "Aki, get me Barton, Chang, Maxwell and Winner in here pronto."
"Is there anything else you'd like to add?" She asked, her voice calm but stern.
Leaning back against the plush seat, he crossed his arms and looked outside the window. "She knows about us." He simply stated, as if it was just an insignificant piece of information.
Her azure eyes visibly grew large at this shocking revelation. Shock, doubt and anger played across her face. "What? How does she know?"
Heero shook his head, a blank expression in his face.
I wish I knew.
"She knows about Oz and the Alliance? Where does she get her information?" Pressing the intercom's button again, she asked irritably, "Aki, where are those four? I told you I need them pronto."
"I'm sorry, Miss Po," A shaky voice answered, "Mr. Barton, Chang and Winner are already on their way to your office. Mr. Maxwell is coming, but he is stuck in traffic."
Today is just one of those days.
"Okay, thank you. Tell Maxwell to hurry."
"Yes, ma'am."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Rei picked up a crouton with her fork, looked at it for a moment and set it back down. For some reason, the Caesar salad did not seem all that appetizing anymore; the romaine lettuce tasted bitter, the dressing seemed too oily and the croutons were getting soggy. She had lost her appetite. She picked up a white teacup, sipped some of its contents and sighed. Even the chamomile tea tasted bland.
This is all Romeo's fault. Damn him. Damn Alliance… Good kisser though…
She brought her elbow to rest on the tabletop and rested her chin in an open palm, it was against etiquette, but she didn't care. She was too preoccupied to care. Her mind was too busy plotting and planning her next move. She had to be extra careful; there was absolutely no room for error.
Since yesterday's incident, an overwhelming sense of paranoia overtook her. She had been lucky that he fell for her trap, but what about next time? Would he possibly fall for the same thing twice? And what if it won't be him the second time around? How will she handle that? If the Alliance caught her she could probably wind up dead, and she did not want that. Twenty- two seemed much too early to go to the great beyond. Extra precautions had to be taken to ensure her safety, hence the inappropriate baseball cap and the dark- tinted sunglasses she wore despite the gloomy weather.
Damn it… I'm in deep shit.
Rei looked across the table to the many shopping bags she brought along with her and frowned at the sight. There were just too many bags and while most of them were stuff she needed like new clothes, shoes and bags for her new profession and basic day-to-day stuff, some were things she'd never have a use for.
Stupid impulse buying.
Earlier that day, Mr. Miyamoto called to inform her that will start working in three days. Relief washed over her as she heard the news. Though she did seem pretty smug about getting the job, she would have thought someone would have tried to sleep with him just to land the job. Apparently, no one was that desperate and she was thankful for that- or maybe someone did, but her attempts were futile.
The only thing left for her to do, since she already has a more or less, acceptable office chic wardrobe, was to find a new place for her to stay. Even though she loved to stay with Michiru and Haruka, she could not involve them any more than she already has. Plus Michiru was right, it was a dangerous little game, and she could not risk any casualties. But it wasn't nonsense. Not to her, it was far from it… So very, very far from it. It was business… Very serious business…
TBC…
AN
I changed Noin to Sally because I thought about what trp0522 said in the reivew and well... Noin and Zech's 'relationship' would complicate things... so there... sorry i'm so fickle...
Not much happened in this chapter and it's unbelievably short. Sorry. Think of this as a prologue to the next chapter… because technically, that's what it is.
Please review!
(o) This is the last chapter in my unfinished draft… So the next chapters, I don't really know what will happen but I really, really want a scene with Rei and Heero in a very small closet… I don't know… it just sounds fun…
A very big thank you to all my readers… Thank you so very much!
Ja!