Hey ppl! Sorry this took so long! My excuse is POTC came out ^____^ hehe I love Orli!!
On with the story!
~*~
She sat there, in all her glory and perfection, staring out at the pond. Her pond. The pond was filled with love and beauty, along with everything she made, and for that reason, it seemed to comfort her.
The swans that swam so contently in the pond, were now disturbed, occasionally opening their wings, as if to embrace the goddess, trying to comfort her.
But not even the swans she loved so much could comfort her. There was too much pain and sorrow in her perfect body.
Aphrodite sat on the grassy banks overlooking her pond. She couldn't stop thinking of him. It wasn't as though he was any different than any other man she had been with. In fact, he was different, but not in a good way! Everyone else had been so kind, did whatever she wanted with no question and … well… predictable.
On the other hand, Shinigami was bad tempered, loved destruction, killed for fun, hurt people just to hear them scream… well and loved her. Not in the fake way everyone else did either. He had saw past her beauty and perfection and into her very soul.
Aphrodite sighed loudly. Every time she stopped to think, she could see Shinigami and that woman together. Did he hold that woman like he held her? Did he kiss her with the same passion he kissed Aphrodite with?
"Aphrodite?"
Aphrodite looked up at the sound of the soft voice behind her.
Usagi walked to her side, then sat down, tucking her silky white dress underneath her, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, why do you ask?" Aphrodite asked, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.
Giving her a worried look, Usagi responded, "Because you only come here to think."
"Yes…" Aphrodite replied softly, "That's true isn't it?"
"Aphrodite?"
"Sorry," She smiled, forcing back her depressed emotions, "I'm done now, shall we go?"
"Aphrodite… you know you can always tell me…" Usagi began, but Aphrodite quickly cut in.
"I know. But now isn't the time. Don't we have a conference to go to?" Aphrodite reminded her lightly.
"Oh I forgot!" Usagi gasped as she jumped up, "Why don't they schedule these things at more flexible times?"
Aphrodite gave her a small grin, "Some things never change."
"I do hope your not mocking my tradition?"
"Tradition?"
"Of course," Usagi chuckled, as they walked, "You see if I showed up on time, people will expect it. But if I just 'show up' whenever, they'll always be on their toes."
"My my, you are shrewd." Aphrodite muttered sarcastically, "did you make that up yourself?"
"You're so cruel."
~*~
Minako slept soundly, turning in her sleep every few minutes. Her facial features changed every so often, first from upset, then to more calm, relaxed.
Heero couldn't help but stare at her, even though he knew in a few moments he would be the one to plunge a dagger into her chest.
Even though he beauty and perfect had been reduced when she was born mortal, she was still the most beautiful human he had ever seen. Something he had kept from his comrades for a long time.
Minako turned suddenly, lying on her back, with her hands resting on her stomach. Heero heard his comrades stop breathing, lest they woke her from her sleep. But her breath regulated again, telling them she was still asleep.
There had been a time, long ago, when he had dreamed of the goddess of love and beauty. And now he would have to kill her.
Trowa raised his hand, motioning them forward.
Heero's black wings folded, allowing him entrance into the small bedroom. Heero pulled the black velvet bag off the dagger, and stepped forward.
Suddenly, the silver gleam of a blade, mere inches from his face, forced him to stop.
"Leave." The voice commanded.
All five men froze, afraid that Minako might wake. But she didn't even move.
"Leave." The voice echoed again, this time moving the blade forward.
Whoever it was, was hidden by the shadows.
"We will not leave!" Quatre said quickly, his voice very low.
Suddenly the shadow moved forward, to reveal a woman. The woman was very familiar, with her shoulder length black hair, and purple eyes.
"Hotaru…" Wufei gasped, surprised by her appearance, "Why are you here? You should be in hell!"
"I will not let you pass." She told them, ignoring Wufei's comment.
"Hotaru," Trowa warned, "Your brother is going to be very angry with you for disrupting our mission. If you leave now, we'll pretend we never saw you."
"No," Hotaru responded, her face calm and passive, "I will not leave. I will not allow you to kill her."
"Hotaru, stop! We're on the same side." Quatre whispered.
Hotaru gave him a weary look, "We were on the same side, but now our paths have separated. I will not allow you to destroy my brothers happiness, nor do I fear my brother's wraith."
"Hotaru… you don't understand what your doing!" Wufei protested, keeping his voice low. They would have to leave soon, as all this noise was bound to wake up the goddess.
"I understand perfectly. Now leave."
Heero said nothing as he stepped backwards and out the window. His friends followed. They had no choice. Hotaru may be the youngest child, but she was still their princess and they were expected to obey her.
For some reason though, Heero found himself relieved she had shown up.
~*~
"This is ridiculous!"
"Preposterous!"
"Absolutely absurd!"
"It'll never work!"
Shinigami said nothing as the complaints from either side rattled off. He really didn't care. Did it matter to him if a bunch of Angels didn't want to work alongside his people? Of course not.
Usagi was the one who pointed out the good points to an alliance, and calmed the hot headed down. She was the one who seemed to be leading the whole conference. When Shinigami's people looked to him for support to say 'no' to the whole alliance, he said nothing.
How could he explain to them how much he wanted this alliance to work out. If it did he could work along side her.
At the thought of her, which seemed to be constant these days, Shinigami turned his head slightly in her direction.
As his eyes rested on her, it seemed like all time had stopped. Whenever she was around, it felt like that. His cold heart melted, warmed by her radiance. It killed him to think that he had made her cry.
"What is your opinion in this matter?"
Shinigami blinked, suddenly aware everyone was staring at him, even Aphrodite, who had so kindly asked the question with as much venom as she could muster.
He leaned back, keeping his gruff posture as his cold eyes searched the room, before landing on Aphrodite. He decided to direct his answer at her, since she had asked it.
"You want my opinion? Well the thought of standing side by side a bunch of wimpy angels never really appealed to me. I'd hate to think of them dirtying their pretty silk robes." He sneered. It was almost immediately he regretted what he had said. The dark look on Aphrodite's face, as each word hit her increased.
Shinigami had hoped she would simply take it as him being himself, but obviously she had taken it to heart, because at that moment she had stood up to face him head on, despite Usagi's protests. Damn.
"I know realize why you're here." Aphrodite retaliated, "It's been a sore spot for you and your little clan for quiet some time now, hasn't it? Heaven conquering hell in the last battle certainly has taken an effect on all of you, hasn't it? Is that why you feel you need to insult us to regain at least some face?"
Shinigami could feel the hatred of his people directed at her. Had anyone else said something like that, they would have been headless before they finished their sentence. But then again, this was Aphrodite, and for some reason, Shinigami couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pride for his goddess. But he had to remember just who he was.
"Is that what you think? We've seen your lot when the apocalypse comes around, you run hiding, hoping it won't damage your complexions. You honestly think that if you fought this one on your own, you would win? It would take more than the likes of a bunch of pretty angels to beat them." Shinigami finished.
His people stared at him in disbelief.
They were stunned, that their own master had been so leint with her. What she had just said…
Shinigami hadn't yelled.
Shinigami hadn't destroyed.
Shinigami hadn't Killed.
Shinigami had just… talked.
"R-right!" Usagi quickly cut in, before Aphrodite could respond, before any of her people could get yell insults and before those devils broke loose, "That's why we should all work together. Together we are strong!"
"How was he right?" Aphrodite asked furiously under her breath.
"Never mind," Usagi told her, as she continued her speech. It didn't matter, she just needed them to work together.
Shinigami looked into Aphrodite's eyes, and despite everything, felt himself want her more than anything.
~*~
Duo suddenly woke, cold sweat dripping from him face. Those faces in his dream… they had looked so familiar, but had been blurred out.
He groaned, lying back against the pillows. These dreams where becoming more frequent and each time, it seemed like the dreams got more familiar.
It seemed as though suddenly his desires had become more and more crazy. Some desire's like destroying, and death where almost frightening when they suddenly came upon him, and others… others that Hilde was once able to quench, became unquenchable.
As he thought of this, suddenly someone came to mind. And it wasn't Hilde.
~*~
Well now, that wasn't a bad chapter. I decided to put more flashbacks in this chapter ^-^ hope you enjoyed it!
Review Responses –
Shadow fox – Sorry this took so long! Thanks for the review ^-^
Angelicmayuka – lol, I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the review!
Vega03 – I'm glad you thought it was interesting! Thanks for the review, sorry it took so long, lol.
Kazzeh Sodapop – See, if I told you that, then you would know the rest of my story! No! What are you talking about? I know exactly whats going to happen in my story! **Shifty eyes** lol, thanks for the review!
AznxAngel – Wait a second… If I updated right after I updated this, then wouldn't that mean I'd have to update again? And again? That's a lot of typing @_@ lol. That was probably the scariest thing that's ever happened to me, the 'I will be back' hehe. Don't make me get Heero after you!
Jupiterlover – I was planning on them trying to steal Minako's number from Duo, but I wasn't sure about him getting mad. But it sounds like a great idea! Thanks for the review!
Tenshi-Hotaru – Okay! First question, when is Hotaru entering the story? Well I was thinking… This chapter ^-^ lol, I decided I would stop torturing you and put her in -_^ and no.. er… wait… okay, I haven't decided yet whether they know about Hotaru being Duo's sister or not. I think they shouldn't know, but then, their gods right? They know all! Hmm I'll try and make up my mind.
Transcendent – Wow, I really like your 'Quick' reviews! I think you should try it more often! Lol. So anyways, you want them to all die in the end? Okay ^-^ suuuure why not, lets kill everyone off. Hehe just kidding. I'm not that terrible. I'm not sure about the whole other pairings thing. Don't worry! I haven't forgotten about Heero and Minako! ^-^ I probably will end up pairing everyone off anyways. I'm so glad I'm 'Worthy'! This is like the happiest day of my life. lol, Thanks for the long review, I think my response covered everything…
Airlady – Hotaru made her appearance in this chapter! I'm glad your enjoying the story. Sorry about the spaces, I find my writing to be messy if it isn't spaced out like this. Sorry! Thanks for the review!
Lady-sess – It's beautiful??? That is so nice! Thank you so much ^-^ I'm glad you like the Mina and Duo parts, they were fun to write! Thanks for the review!
Venus fan – Lol, thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Tenshi no Hikari * Ai – okay, I think I spelt that right **Crosses fingers** Thanks for the review!
SVZ – lol, I think my English teacher would have a heart attack if I handed him in an essay in purple. He's very old fashioned like that. He'd probably look at the paper over his overly large glasses, then look at me with that "What the hell is wrong with you' kind of look. Lol, you've got to love English teachers. In fact, I think I might just hand in an essay in coloured writing -_^ hehe. If it makes you feel any better, I'm such a simple person, with an even simpler sense of humor. Thank you so much for reviewing! I loved your story, it was amazing! You should defiantly write more Minako/Duo fics **Hint hint** lol, I was reading your profile (Most of it ^-^;;) and noticed what you said about pointless flames. They are so annoying! I just got one a few days ago saying "Insert self, you suck' I actually started to laugh. First of all, the flame was so stupid and it was pointless! Hehe, okay, I'm done. I just needed someone to rant to ^-^ this is getting really long, lol. I'm going to stop now, I have to think of other people! Hehe thanks for the great review!
Crystalgem2003 – Lol, thank you for the review! I'm glad my stories developing well! My biggest fear is that it isn't developing or its boring ^-^ Thanks!
Venus-love – Lol, its all good. After much persuasion I have decided to make Heero fall in love with Minako (As shown in this chapter) hehe I'm so glad you found this interesting! Thanks for the review!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed or read and didn't review!!
~Ceso