A Bunny In Glass Slippers
Chapter 5: To Sea To Sympathy Blooms
Disclaimer: Hahaha…I'm baack!
AN: Long time, no see, eh? Thought I had abandoned you guys? I apologize for the long wait (yea, two years…who's counting?) Anyway, hope you guys remember this old one, and hope you enjoy the chapter.
Warnings: None
Pairings: Who knows?
Quote of the Update: Guess who's back?
The panic that seized the kingdom had been astonishing, if not devastating. Doctors had been rushed to the kingdom to observe, to try and come up with some sort antidote to the venom that was slowly killing the prince and his new young servant girl. Some speculated that it was the girl that had poisoned the prince with an aphrodisiac, and in some love (possibly drug) induced fantasy poisoned herself as well, joining her prince in a deep, fevered sleep. These theories were quickly thwarted, as Crawford snapped that it had been the infamous and infuriating Bandit Trio that had poisoned the prince and his guest.
Out of all the doctors, only one was truly allowed to stay with the prince and his guest 24 hours a day for the past 3 days. That doctor was Chang Wufei, the most excellent doctor in the country and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was winner of the Young Entrepreneurs Award for the past 3 years, and even owned his own hospital—and even that was quite esteemed, honored as 'Cleanest, Safest, and Best Hospital for Special Injury, Acupuncture, Poison-Control and Emergency' that past year.
Probably the biggest thing about Chang Wufei was that he accomplished all of this all by the age of 13. And now, here he was, at the age of 16, servicing the prince and his special guest. Wufei supposed he should've felt privileged, being the only doctor allowed watching over the prince for the past 3 days was very, very honoring, but the truth was, Wufei couldn't had been more irritated and stressed. Being forced out of your own home in the dead of the night while you're asleep did that to people sometimes. It was bad enough that his hospital was packed with snobby, rich, sick people demanding their own personal time to be pampered, but when he was called upon by the prince's most trusted advisor, Brad Crawford, he was forced to leave all his paperwork behind (all 10 eight-foot piles of paperwork) to tend to his precious prince.
Wufei scowled. He couldn't even identify the stupid poison—much less did he feel that he wanted to. Here he was, treating some probably bratty, rumored promiscuous prince and his silly twit blonde harlot. Even his fellow colleagues were baffled—what would some thieves gain from poisoning the prince and his prostitute?
This was a hand-crafted poison—custom made. Wufei frowned, recognizing a key ingredient. Arsenic. So expensive. Where could they have gotten Arsenic from? No store could sell it—it was forbidden and prohibited, and the law was well enforced. Barely any street dealer underground had it—it much too risky to be caught with Arsenic that was unauthorized. Plus, it was extremely costly on the black-market. Why would petty thieves even bother?
Wufei had to smirk. Well, they weren't just petty thieves—they were the infamous Bandit Trio. Everyone knew who the Bandit Trio was—if not by reputation and name, then by being victimized them. Even Wufei had had the pleasure (or was it pain?) of treating one of the notorious Bandit Trio. His name had been Duo Maxwell (Wufei had threatened that if Duo didn't give his real name he wouldn't treat him) and he had been a complete annoyance. If his battle and security intellect hadn't impressed Wufei on his first impression, Wufei would've thrown Duo out and into jail on his first wise-crack.
Something was holding the Arsenic. Wufei looked more into the poison. Something was definitely holding the Arsenic, because if it had gone all the way through, with the amount of it, it would've killed the prince and the girl. It seemed to be something organic. Herbs? Plants?
Wufei's eye widened behind the telescope. Cherry Blossoms?
No…not just regular Cherry Blossoms. He recognized that DNA biological pattern. Sympathy Blooms. Both came from Japan, but Sympathy Blooms were much more rare and beautiful.
Who would've thought plants had the power to hold back Arsenic? Wufei wanted to laugh. It had been so simple figuring out.
It wouldn't be so simple obtaining the plant, and making a solution to fight the rest of the poison. He probably had 48 hours left before the Arsenic took full affect and killed both his patients.
With a sense of impending doom, he called in a messenger to send Mr. Crawford a ghastly message: Find a good amount of Sympathy Blooms immediately, or face the graves of your prince and his beloved whore.
Mr. Crawford was, of course, very unhappy with news.
"There isn't any other way?" asked Crawford, lenses glinting from the ray sunlight from room's only window. To prevent any more breeches of security, Crawford found it necessary to barricade and simplify the entire room, providing the room with three beds (Wufei had to stay with his patients), some expensive medical equipment, and a bathroom with a shower and bath. All food was provided by the kingdom's paramount chefs, and was thoroughly inspected by the kingdom's well-trained guards. The only thing that wasn't checked was the air, and even Wufei suspected that if Crawford had found a way to do it, he would've.
"Not that I've found. In less than 48 hours, the prince and his guest will be completely vulnerable to the poison, and the only thing that's holding back the Arsenic is the Sympathy Bloom. So therefore, the Sympathy Bloom is what we need as of right now to prolong their lives."
"The Sympathy Bloom is an extremely rare plant found on the other side of the world. Do you really expect us to find it in less than 48 hours?" grounded Crawford, annoyance obvious in an uncommon show of emotion. "It's impossible!"
"Difficult, but definitely not impossible," corrected Wufei. "With a capable team and the kingdom's magical resources, surely you can get it within 36 hours. Sympathy Blooms blossom during this season in Japan and their trees are actually found by springs in Kyoto farmlands. Kyoto," Wufei added on, before Crawford could say anything, "Isn't a large area to cover. Don't you have contacts in Japan, anyway?" A smirk crawled onto Wufei's face, in spite of the severity of the situation. "A Prince Yuy, perhaps?"
"How would you know about any magic in this kingdom?" demanded Crawford, crossing his arms, annoyed. This doctor knew far too much about the mysteries of the kingdom; mysteries that had been under lock and key for centuries. How had a kid discovered them?
Wufei haughtily chortled, his smirk full of secrets.
"I have my sources, and you have yours. This is beside the point; fire-call Yuy at once and tell him to obtain some Sympathy Blooms, requested by Chang Wufei himself. Tell him we will have someone retrieve them within 24 hours. They will bring I here, and then and only then can I do anything for your prized prince and his…woman. As for me right now…" Wufei plopped down onto a cushioned chair and grabbed himself some biology books from on top of the desk, another few 'gifts' Crawford had treated him with. "I shall be looking for ways to make the potion necessary to cure them."
"You want us to what?" Ken Hideka yelped, shackled by handcuffs on his wrists and ankles. All four of them had been caught attempting to escape from the castle when they had been discovered by several guards. It had alarmed him when Crawford showed up without his legendary whip.
"You have much experience with the sea," commented Crawford, who was admiring his nails. "And so does Tsukinyo. The kingdom needs you to travel to Japan to retrieve an important package that will save the prince. You will be accompanied by Fujimiya Aya, a trusted guard who has also had intense experience with the sea." Crawford gestured to the red-haired man behind him, who had no emotion displayed on his face. "Should you decline this mission, you will be killed. Should you fail this mission, you will be killed. Is this understood?"
"What about Quatre-san and Trowa-san? What about Usagi-san?" asked Omi, worried about his new friends. After all, Usagi was the sweetest girl in the world and Quatre had saved him. It would only be proper if he returned the favor.
"The girl is still in critical condition, and can only be saved by the plant that you are delivering. As for your companions, they will be accompanying you as well, seeing as they have no use here."
"Okay then," Ken said, and Aya moved to unshackle all four prisoners, two of who were unconscious. "I agree. When do we leave?"
Crawford's smirk was chilling. "Right now."
Heero Yuy was not in the greatest of moods when he was fire-called by Crawford at 2 o'clock in the morning. Each castle was hooked and interconnected by the fire-call system—established more than two centuries ago by great magicians. Merlin himself was one of the magicians, along with his French cousin, Jean-Claude. Fire-calls were usually placed in the rooms of the king and prince, the former of who was on a peace mission in America. King Treize was quite the negotiator, and was a lot better at it than his antisocial son.
But this was no time for a history lesson. Heero gave Crawford his scariest glare. Crawford, of course, was not effected in any way, having known the boy as long as he had known .
"Prince Yuy, you're looking quite fine this morning," greeted Crawford.
"Cut the crap, Crawford. What the hell do you want?"
"Chang Wufei has requested your assistance in an imperative matter, dealing with our prince's life."
Heero's eyes narrowed. "Something is wrong with Kudou?"
Crawford gravely nodded through the fire. "He has been poisoned."
Heero scowled. "How did the idiot manage that?" Heero demanded. "No, wait; let me guess. One of his harem women, right?"
Crawford had a slightly poignant smirk on his face. "As much as you have predicted it, no. She is actually quite innocent in this case—at least, that is what my visions are telling me. She has also been poisoned."
"Do you know by whom?"
Crawford's face became so dark that even Heero almost became startled. "The Bandit Trio."
Heero's eyes widened, and then narrowed once more. "Them? What could they gain?"
"They're after the girl, that's much is obvious. My visions aren't telling me why. However, I believe that if I can hold her hostage for a while…" Crawford's smirk grew. "I can successfully lure them into their own dungeon."
"Of course," Heero nearly rolled his eyes, but instead just settled on a slight glare. "What is the girl's name, anyway?"
"Tsukino. Usagi Tsukino," Crawford recalled.
Heero had an intake of breath. "Usagi, you say?"
Crawford raised his eyebrow; that was one of the biggest reactions he had ever gotten from Prince Yuy during his time of knowing him. "Yes, you know of her?"
"Through the Peacecraft House," Heero clarified. "I used to visit every so often, and would see her constantly. Extremely clumsy, couldn't cook, always had two stooges looking out for her…very hard to not to notice. Sir Milliardo has been looking for her, coincidentally. His mother had sold her without any consent from him, when originally, Usagi had had been his servant in the first place."
Crawford was suspicious. "I see. Could he have sent the Bandit Trio after Kudou to retrieve the girl?"
"I sincerely doubt it. Sir Milliardo is far too honorable to steeping so low as to contract with petty criminals."
"I see." Crawford didn't seem too convinced. "However, back to the matter at hand…The kingdom needs you to provide Sympathy Blooms so that Chang can create a formula to battle the poison in the prince's system."
Heero's eyebrow rose. "They're rare. Do your visions tell you anything? Will it be too late?"
"My visions are telling me nothing as of right now. However, I'm sending a party over as we speak to pick up the Sympathy Blooms. Can the kingdom count on you to contribute? Prince Kudou's life is in your hands."
Heero hesitated, and then sighed. "Of course. The idiot doesn't deserve to die. I'll get some men on it right away."
Crawford's face almost looked appreciative. "The kingdom thanks you."
'No, Crawford,' Heero thought as Crawford ended the fire-call. 'You thank me.'
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