Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing.
Chapter 9
Haruka had kept up her part of the bargain, more or less. After Usagi had vanished into the night, Hiiro had found himself in a state between reality and dreaming. All the questions he had meticulously drawn up to cross-examine Haruka with had retreated to some inaccessible alcove in his brain. The harder he tried to recall them, the further they sank away from his near-desperate scope. They lingered around the edge of his consciousness like pale ghosts. It would have driven him insane if he hadn't been thinking so hard about the elusive Usagi at the same time—who threatened his good judgment just as much.
Mulling over one would easily send him to madness. Mulling over two would allow him to alternate the burdens and give him leverage over his sanity. That was how he dealt with his problems and that would continue to be the method he would use to deal with them.
He had walked to the race track where Haruka had been blowing off some steam and apprehension by taking a few laps around the slick roads. The woman was incredibly fast. She held the reflexes of a fearless cat, swinging around and around the ring, gaining speed each second. She rode like the wind.
He had planned to deliver the information last, after Haruka paid her due, but the situation had spun out of his capable hands. As much as she needed this information, she could—and would—compromise it if she did not get her part of the bargain first. She would turn her back on him and leave him with nothing. Hiiro, on the other hand, knew there was no where else he could turn to except for her to complete his part of his mission. He had his assignment to fulfill and his parameters to maintain.
Sometimes, he had to remind him that the world he lived in now was not the way it had been nearly three years ago. Sometimes, he had to remind himself that he could not employ the brutal methods he was so accustomed to.
There were two people left who came anything close to suspects or clues. The priestess was one, but her lips were sealed and seamless. Usagi was the other, except—
He could not reach Usagi.
As many times as he had touched her, he was unable to contain her. She filled his hands so much that she overflowed out of them, left him with nothing.
He had handed over the documents. Haruka hadn't been too worried about the sopping condition of his research. He had watched her face for any acute signs of incredulity or recognition—anything to give himself something to call her out on. The first time he read through the results, even he had trouble comprehending the extent of the implications.
There had been a fleeting expression of surprise, but it had dissipated as quickly as the sun had this morning. He had to give her credit for maintaining a businesslike transaction. Then she had asked him something exceedingly bizarre.
"Do you believe in magic?"
Kaiou Michiru and her peculiar inquiry about superstitions had come to mind. No, he did not believe in magic, but he did believe there were things that could not be explained by conventional terms.
She had said that she couldn't tell him directly what he wanted to know, that she hadn't the privilege of it. She would give him clues and he had to figure them out himself. He hadn't necessarily agreed to it, but before he could express his disapproval, Haruka had given him an ominous excuse.
She had secrets, like everyone else—like himself, but she would take her secrets to the grave. They were that important, that serious. The penalty for giving them out was death on the terms of highest treason, and even by giving him these hints, she would be punished.
Punished by who, he didn't know, but from the humorless stare, he knew she had not been lying. And a part of him had understood her position, even sympathized with her if only just a little, because he had secrets, too, secrets he would take into death and not let go of them even then.
Hiiro had paid close attention to what she was willing to reveal. To his chagrin, they all involved in one way or another the child-woman who had walked out of his life not an hour ago. Yes, Usagi played an imperative role in all of this, a role he believed to have to do with her regal title, her reluctance in speaking of it, and the woman who assailed her. The first was to take into account the number of close friends Usagi had. The second one, which was about their last names, he had already reflected on. The final clue was the most important, and it was to give special consideration to her jewelry and the accessories she wore daily.
Haruka had left him with that. If ever he needed her aid, he knew where to reach her. It would, however, come at a price.
Before she had departed completely, she had let him know one thing. She was permitting both his proximity and his disputed relationship to Usagi for the time being, because she had learned from her various mistakes in the past. She would not divulge what mistakes, but if he were to hurt Usagi in any sort of way, she would personally hunt him down and skin him alive. No, she would not kill him, she had said. Killing was too kind.
It was the first time Hiiro had ever heard such a thing.
- - - - - - - - - -
Quatre wiped his sweaty brow and paused to take a quick sip of water. The assembling of the humanoid machines was coming along rather quickly with the indispensable help of his Magnuac team. The hardest part in the process had been obtaining the hard-to-come-by gundanium alloy. Information on where it could be found was classified to the Preventers, so it was a great help when Lady Une revealed to him the location of a quarry for the metal.
He did have to wonder about Lady Une's special consideration to his plans. As hard as he had tried to keep the new diversion under wraps, the Preventers were quick to find out and report him. Strangely enough, after being called to the headquarters to make his statement, the once terrible colonel had acquiesced. Quatre had graciously accepted as he was not one to question in the face of benevolence.
He skimmed through the plans again, marveling out how precise they were. They were, in fact, perfect replicas of the originals. Everything, down to the last detail, had been on the old gundams before they were destroyed. It was astonishing when he had first laid eyes on them, and now, they were nothing short of a miracle. No one should have had access to these designs, because these designs should have been nonexistent. It was assumed they were destroyed along with their old gundams.
Quatre himself wasn't sure why he had given in to the letter. Perhaps it had been a response to the way the dire petition had been written. His heart had remained unfulfilled until he had made the resolution to carry out the anonymous sender's wishes. He trusted his intuition; it had never failed him.
They had been working since the wee hours of the morning and it was now close to high noon. Everyone had long since deserved a respite for their hard work.
Quatre smiled wearily and called for a lunch break. Only when all of his crew had shuffled out of his hangar did he turn back to the one-third finished Sandrock to make some fine adjustments.
He just hoped now that whoever this Serenity the Third was, would be worth all the trouble.
- - - - - - - - - -
When the door opened and Hiiro brushed past him without even glancing up, Duo absolved him grudgingly. He had just received a transmission from one of the higher-ups that he would waste no time in sharing, even in the sudden uncomfortable atmosphere.
"Well, sorry to ruin your terrific mood," he started sarcastically, "but we have a problem. It seems that our good friend Mr. Winner has decided to rebuild our gundams." Duo crossed his arms over his chest in a futile gesture to suppress his inner turmoil and gave Hiiro one good once-over. His eyebrows rose in surprise.
Hiiro was standing at the foot of his bed, and although he upheld the same aloof posture he had grown into, there was a weariness to his shoulders that would have been invisible to someone who didn't know him as well as Duo did. His face was impassive, his unruly hair matted to his head, but his eyes were withdrawn in preoccupied thought.
Duo dropped his arms to his sides. "Hiiro?"
"What?"
"Did you hear what I said?"
There was a short strained silence. Duo squirmed disconcertedly.
"Hiiro, why don't you just talk to me?"
"Why?"
The easy-going pilot breathed deeply. "Because obviously something is bother you. Whether or not you consider me a friend, I consider you my friend. If you want to get something off your chest, I'll listen."
Hiiro turned, seemed to grapple for the right words in his preoccupation. Duo waited patiently for him to open up.
"Usagi—it has to do with her."
The name came like a veritable shock to Duo; all this to do with a strange girl? This entire week of substandard work, the moodiness, the lack of already lacking cooperation—out of all the answers Hiiro could have given, he had never expected any involvement with the girl he had met in this nerve-rackingly deferred stay.
"What about Bunny?" he asked, unable to prevent the urgency from seeping into his voice. It was a mistake, and he regretted it instantly when the lid snapped down on that small, vulnerable frame of light Hiiro had released.
"Nothing."
"Dammit, Hiiro—"
"What did you say earlier?"
Duo gazed at him in defeat. "Quatre is building our beloved machines of mass destruction as we speak, Lady Une is letting him, and she is in the process of preparing for our trip to L4. We leave in a week."
There had been no room for miscommunication. Duo watched passively as Hiiro digested the information, and then strode right past him.
The door slammed. The sound of its finality rang infinitely loud in his ears. Duo slumped against the wall.
The world was going back to hell.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Maybe Rei had been a little too harsh on the physically-recovering blonde, and maybe she hadn't been. After the emotional tumult the other day, Usagi had returned to her normal self. No one had been sure what had happened to her once she ran out of the assembly, and no one dared to ask. Usagi herself had never mentioned it. The topic of doubt remained untouched.
And although her friends worried about her, Usagi persisted in assuaging their concerns.
They had more important things to think about, she had said, like saving the world the way they were meant to.
That was why she had offered to act as bait on this dreary day. It was the best idea any of them had to suggest. Even Ami had admitted so.
Usagi shrieked, kicking her legs as the bony fingers that dug into her upper arms tightened. "That was your cue!"
"Venus Love Me Chain!"
The remaining four ex-Inner Senshi gawked as Minako threw a heavy-duty twine rope into the air and swung it around like the cowboys did in old Westerns. The wide, spinning loop landed dead on mark. The young man, lassoed around the torso, dropped the struggling blonde as his arms snapped to his sides. Minako, more than pleased with her accomplishment, gave one steady jerk, and he fell into the dirt.
Usagi paused to find her breath. Her friends were busy binding their most recent catch, giving her a moment to rub the sore marks on her arms.
"Usagi!" Rei glared. "Mind giving us a hand?"
"Okay, okay!" she sighed, mood dampening. She tromped over to the fallen boy of whom Makoto and Rei had bound tightly in some intricate knots with the remainder of the rope. When the two blondes finally approached him, he was lying on his back, eyes closed, and as still as death. "Y-You didn't KILL him, did you?"
The priestess frowned at the panicked whine. "No! I think he passed out." The perturbed scowl deepened when she inched her senses towards his aura and came away with nothing. "It's gone. Whatever had him is gone!"
Ami let her hand slip away from his wrist and leaned back onto her heels, an expression of worry carved deeply on her face. His pulse and body temperature were a little low, meaning he had somewhat of an energy drain. On closer inspection, his body was in a fairly malnourished shape. The fine bones of his cheeks jutted out sharply from his ashen face, as did his Adam's apple from his wiry neck. He was utterly sickly-looking, and Ami had reason to believe that he was in fact plagued by disease. Whether it was physical or mental, however, was debatable.
It made little sense to her. Whatever this demonic creature was, was choosing some of the poorest hosts. The last one had been mentally ill, and the one before that had been Chisa Maruko. Physically, the woman had been fine, but her status of mind had been in the most erroneous direction until her contact with Usagi.
Perhaps that was what the demon fed on. Weak mental conditions, conditions where the victim was vulnerable and became easy prey were easy to penetrate and manipulate. Ami shuddered at the notion. Where could this creature had come from? How was it possible that it had been created of Usagi's love?
"Let's get him to a hospital. I have a feeling he won't remember anything, just like the last one," Makoto suggested quietly, eyes vigilant on the more introverted of the group. She had noticed the shiver and it frightened her. Ami, the most level-headed of them, disturbed by such a thing—what did it mean for the rest of them?
Minako nodded, lending a hand to Makoto as she adjusted his weight across her shoulders, but one of his hands ended up tangling in her hair. She shrieked in dismay and swung her head back and forth in a lousy attempt to unsnarl his cold fingers from her head.
"Minako-chan, hold still!" yelped Usagi.
"Get it out, get it out, get it out!"
"Ami-chan, can you hold her head?"
With a strength that belied her image, Ami grasped Minako's thrashing head between her two hands and froze it in place. Usagi smiled gratefully and carefully tugged out the final strands from his ring finger.
It was a little creepy, she thought as she adjusted Minako's bow, but she felt immensely sorry for the nameless young man. She, too, had noticed his ailing appearance and the hollowness in his sunken eyes. He had come after her as if he was an empty puppet pulled by strings, a cheerless marionette with no purpose and no reason.
Usagi sighed, pressing her hand to his briefly in a simple expression of sympathy.
She didn't notice the pale glow that collected in the space of skin she touched. Neither Rei, Minako, or Makoto had either.
Which left Ami wondering just what exactly Usagi had done.
- - - - - - - - - -
Absently, Usagi wiped off the muggy bathroom mirror with one end of her bath towel. Her reflection, in the seashell-pink frilly pajamas, stared curiously back at her. She smiled at the mirror girl, but the mirror girl did not smile back. Her eyes dimmed. Hiiro never smiled, either.
The thought came unbidden, shocking her into a cry of disbelief. Usagi shook her head from side to side to clear her fogged up mind. She took a breath, and the stuffy air choked her.
"No time to be thinking about that, baka," she berated herself with a sigh. Her gaze strayed back to the mirror, and she leaned in closer to the murky surface, a scant frown on her lips.
Maybe it was the remaining smears of steam obscuring her vision, but her hair looked much lighter in her reflection than it did hanging from her head. She picked up a handful of it and dangled it inquisitively before her eyes, just to make sure.
It was still blond—a darker, heavier shade than Minako's own. Her mother had hailed the color gold ever since she was a little girl, because gold was precious and she was precious to her mother.
The memory made her comfortable and cozy, drove away the chill of loneliness if even it did so for a little while. There were very little things her parents knew about her since the fateful day she had saved the tormented black cat, and if she would continue to get her way, they would remain ignorant. They knew of Mamoru and they knew of his passing, and they had even known of their promising relationship from the few times her mother had made passing comments on the pretty ring she used to wear. Her father had never been too fond of him, so it was a bitter irony that he came to respect Mamoru when Mamoru no longer belonged on the same plane of existence.
Whether it was because Mamoru himself had gained his respect or because he had seen how much it had affected her, she didn't know. She had never been able to ask her father or hold a grudge against him and his fiercely overprotective ways. Her father was her father and she loved him as much as she loved her mother. Both her mothers.
If nothing else, she would always have her parents. That was the strength of a blood kinship. That was the strength of love.
She pulled the memory around her like a blanket and wallowed in its warmth, inspiring her internalized promise to resurface. She would protect her family and friends by protecting the Earth. She would crush this new threat with her hands if she had to.
Usagi discarded her towel into the hamper and gave her reflection a firm nod as she sauntered out of the stifling room.
The mirror girl watched her leave, and smiled sadly.AN: I apologize for grammar/spelling. I took five generous seconds to skim through this. x.x I wonder, too, how long this fic is gonna take. ^^; Um, nothing much happened. ;_; I'm squashed under a huge writer's block. No interesting facts this time. I highly suggest a song, though, off the Chrno Crusade soundtrack. Chiba Saeko - Sayonara Solitaire. It sounds awesome. :D And watch 'Law and Order: SVU.' I'm addicted to the show. Sorry about the short thank you's this time. . .it doesn't mean I don't love all of you guys!
ProjectGenesis: Lol, yeah! :D And they're both so cute. rofl, I wanna re-watch Fumoffu now. X_X
themoonmaiden: Augh, tmm-chan, I feel you! I feel like I'm on FFN's review hitlist. I have to "save" every long review I make, just in case they decide to shoot my review down. ;-; Noo, I like your stories! Fast romances are fun, too, like in the movies. :D But yeah, Setsuna will be found, though I was tempted to have her vanish altogether. ^^;
twiggirl06: Lol, thank you. ^^; I know it's confusing XD I've even confused myself a bunch of times! I'll look forward to your reviews!
Himeno Midori: Aww, it's okay! I'm glad that at least people are reading it. ^_^ Darn resource satellites. I think I'm going to avoid writing about it because I feel, um, lacking in creativeness. x_x
Erinamation-limited2-nothing: Lol, thanks. . .I think. XD
Black Aura-Sama: Q-ball is here!! NOW LET'S ALL WORSHIP HIM!! ^___^
Sailor Grape: HE'S BACK!! Lol, and I promise he'll play a larger role later on. . .much, much later on. ^^;; I'm sorry~ . . .Those are very good points you have brought up. *comes up with some lame excuse* They'll be explained in the next chapter. Yep, uh huh. ^^;;;;
JeRee: Thank you ^^;; I wish I could update faster, too. -_- But the usual stuff, i.e., school, midterms, papers, dwindling inspiration, is making this a more difficult project. Support is always a great help, though! ^_^ Thanks!
Liquid Ice: Gosh, what to say? Kindred souls, YES! *dies in fulfillment. . .or something close to it* They understand each other, but they don't understand each other. . .and I guess that's where my title comes in? o_o Lol, I honestly haven't really thought about the title that much. Hm! I'll figure something out. I miss our little chats. School sucks. I need more threesome drabble! *sobs*
Bright-Anarchy: Ah, thank you, thank you! @_@ And although I still debate with myself the way I present Hiiro, I really liked the way you described him in general: harsh but never intentionally cruel. It just really stuck out to me. ^_^
Usagi Asia Maxwell: Aw, you're always so sweet! It was just proper to separate Hiiro and Usagi on a rainy day and let them reflect on what they really want. o.o Not as fun when you just throw them together. . .hmm, well, actually. . . XD Uh oh, plot bunny!
Tenshi-Chikyuu: @_@ Wai, thank you. . .lol, you flatter me! XD Happy Holidays! Even though they're over! ^^;
John Steppenwolf: Thanks for pointing that out ^^; but Meiou in the context of kanji means Hades. Meiou-sei is actually the planet Pluto. . .I didn't add '-sei' 'cause then I'd have to go on with a long explanation of stuff I don't understand. XD Yah, mecha-technical. . .I never really did absorb all the details of the mobile suits. Thanks for the websites, too! ^^ I think I went to gundamproject.com before. The name sounds familiar. . .
datajana: Thankies ^^;
LunarPrincess: Ahh, thank you. . .ack, I don't know what to say to all these. . .compliments! ^^; *bows humbly*
Heero's Bunny: I WANT AN X-BOX! Lol, actually, I want a GameCube more. ^^ I still haven't played the Legend of Zelda game. ;-;
Dark Universe: Thanks! I can't wait for more, either. Writer's block is evil!
Kail Ceannai: Thank you ^_^ I try very hard to keep them in some semblance of the character they were originally given. . .and it's very hard. :D
Tiger Tiger2: DUO AS PICCOLO AND VEGETA?! Now every time that I watch DBZ, I HAVE to laugh! Lol!!
Angelight: You're so lucky to be able to watch anime with people! XD Most of my friends aren't really into anime. What's wrong with them?! Lol, evil twins. :D Brings back memories of the Simpsons. Evil Bart, evil! I'm really thinking about buying the first and second season DVD sets, actually. o.o But then I remember that I barely have the money to buy enough to eat. ^^;;
yami-chan: Wow. . . inspirational?! Yami-chan, I think you're exaggerating! ^^ That did make me feel really nice for a while, though! I was on cloud nine. . . And I realize that I didn't give Ghandi credit for the quote! Ack, sorry!