THE OUTLAW

Chapter 11: "Who Do You Love?"

By Bill K.

Quadrel feinted left with the sword, then twirled around to deliver a cross stroke he hoped would catch his opponent across the throat. If he could hit one of the major blood vessels in the neck or upper chest, the match would be his. But the samurai he faced was quick. His sword came up and Quadrel felt his blade slide down along his opponent's. Dipping one shoulder, he tried to alter the course of his sword so it would slide off the sword that blocked it and leave him a horizontal stroke that might hit the other swordsman's face or neck. However, his crafty opponent had the same idea. His shoulder dipped as well, while his elbows pulled into his side. This left his sword in perfect thrusting position.

The sword shot forward and caught Quadrel with a fatal wound to the abdomen. His opponent posed for a moment, then jerked his sword back. A smirk of triumph grew on his face amid the stubble of his beard.

"Game over," prodded the holographic simulation.

Quadrel removed the sensory helmet. Scowling, he replaced it on its hook. Without a word, the youth turned and headed for the door, ignoring the other gamers. Several calls acknowledging his departure were not returned.

Outside, the youth wandered over to his air-car. Sliding onto the hood, he leaned back against the windscreen and looked up into the darkening evening sky. His hand gently brushed the black hair from his eyes. The scowl remained on his handsome face.

"Hey, Quad," an approaching girl ventured. She was nineteen, with close-cropped black hair, form-fitting speeder pants and tunic of black trimmed with gold, and possessed a mature form to fit. Her face was pleasant rather than striking, and revealed a mood to play. "You look lonely."

"Buzz off," he murmured.

The girl put up her hands, seeking no confrontation while at the same time establishing that she was backing down out of disdain for a fight rather than fear. The girl backed two steps, then turned elsewhere for the thrills she sought. Quadrel resumed staring at the heavens.

It never felt like this before. He'd had girls fawning all over him since he'd been fifteen. Each one was just like the one before her and the one after. They'd cuddle up to him and together they'd have fun. Then she'd try to change him or demand more and more intimacy from him than just sex. They were never satisfied. Eventually they'd grow tiresome and either leave on their own or at his contemptuous behest. He never gave them a second thought. And there was always another waiting to take his mind off of the last.

Why was Jun-Jun different? Sure, she was a different girl from all the others. She was a warrior of some prowess and before that a fearsome adversary for the royals. That alone commanded his respect where no mere female could. But it was more. He found himself remembering the deep, rich green of her eyes. He recalled the granite line of her jaw when she scowled at him and the way he could feel her heart thundering in her chest when she clutched him during a power dive. And even though she'd tried to change him just like all the others, she didn't nag or whine like the others did. Their conversation on Mt. Fuji about why the world was the way it was inspired as much excitement in him as their kissing session earlier. She told him where he was wrong, but she didn't berate him. She demanded she be equal to him, but didn't try to be superior. And she was crafty - - some of what she said kind of actually made sense.

After they were released from detention, Quadrel had expected her to look him up. A day passed and he attributed it to the shock of arrest. It was something new for her, something to be adjusted to. Two days passed and he figured she was under pressure from the royals and couldn't slip away. When three days passed, he began to feel disappointed. Maybe she wasn't as brave as her warrior status led him to believe.

On the fourth day he contemplated flying directly up to the palace and calling her out. His father would probably have a stroke. That benefit aside, the youth rejected the idea. He wouldn't pursue her. If she still wanted him, she would come to him.

Day seven had taken on a dreary sameness to the previous six. Quadrel couldn't understand why. Nothing had changed in his world except for the absence of Jun-Jun. Why should it matter? He'd broken up with dozens of girls. Why was this one different? Why did the sun seem to shine just a little brighter when she was around?

Something made him turn his head to the sound of an approaching person. He didn't care what anyone else did right now. Something was missing from his life and that was all that mattered. But something made him turn and he saw Jun-Jun walking up. She wore a short black skirt and a gray sleeveless top that bared her midriff, and black spike-heel boots, all of which made her compact little body that much more alluring. And all of a sudden his day seemed just a little less dreary. He smiled at the sight of her, that confident smile that acknowledged good fortune as his due.

Until he saw the sober look in Jun-Jun's deep green eyes.

"Quad," she said, a flat, emotionless word that spoke of the turmoil beneath, "we need to talk"
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"The Princess Usagi desires entry."

Ves-Ves looked up from her portable workstation with some surprise. The Princess was known to visit them, but rarely this late in the evening. Palla-Palla was already bedded down for the night and Jun and Cere were in their rooms. The girl waited a few moments to see if one of the others would answer the page, because there was still an uneasy distance between Ves and The Princess. When no one came, Ves-Ves sighed with frustration.

"Let her in," Ves-Ves told the room's computer controls. She got up from the sofa she was draped across and moved toward the door as it slid open. To her pleasant surprise, Hotaru was with Usa.

"Hi," Usa ventured, conspicuously trying to be her most charming. It made Ves-Ves feel a little self-conscious, because she understood why Usa was turning up the charm. "Hotaru and I were wondering if you and Cere and Jun would like to go out - - have a little fun. We figured it might be good for Jun. Maybe help lift her spirits some."

"She sure needs something," Ves nodded grimly. "And I never turn down a chance to party. Uh, but I thought you were on house arrest or something?"

"Well," Usa grinned a guilty grin, "I told Mom I wanted to take Jun out to cheer her up. She thought it was a good idea and caved on grounding me. She was going to do it anyway. I've never seen her make a punishment stick yet."

"Sounds great," Cere-Cere said. The three found her eased against the door to her room. "I've got an outfit I'm just dying to show off. But what about Hino-sama's homework?"

"Done," Usa shrugged. "It wasn't that hard."

"Yes, I got the test done hours ago," Hotaru added. "Were you still taking it?"

"Just finished," sighed Cere-Cere. "Numbers don't agree with me." Then her eyebrow raised. "Ves?"

"I'll finish it later," the girl shrugged.

"Ves," Cere-Cere scowled.

"Hey, what's more important: My grades or Jun's mental health?"

"If only I could be sure you didn't have an ulterior motive," Cere-Cere frowned as Ves knocked on Jun-Jun's door.

There was no answer.

"Jun, come on," Ves-Ves called. She rapped on the door again. "The Princess is here! Come on!"

There was still no answer.

"Jun, don't do this to me!" bellowed Ves-Ves as she pounded harder.

"Computer, security override," Usa spoke up. "Authorization voice code Princess Usagi. Location of Jun-Jun in the palace?"

"Jun-Jun is not in the palace," the computer responded. Cere-Cere sagged against her door.

"Maybe it's something else," Hotaru offered weakly.

"Oh, Jun," groaned Cere-Cere. "And you were doing so well, too!"

"This is it," Ves exclaimed, scowling and shaking her head. "This ends."

The girl pushed past Usa and Hotaru and out the door.

"You think we better stop her?" Hotaru asked Usa.

"Come on," Usa nodded. She hurried out the door in pursuit of Ves-Ves, with Hotaru and Cere-Cere hot on her heels.
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"So," Quadrel shrugged, masking his elation at seeing her, "talk."

Jun-Jun's eyes hit the ground. He didn't care. He wasn't the least bit upset by what happened, by their separation or by her reappearance. Her eyes began to sting.

"I just came from Kaoru's side," she said, not meeting his gaze.

"What's she want?" Quadrel scowled. "She and me are so history."

"Do you know she tried to kill herself last week?"

"Dumb thing to do," he snorted. "She never was very strong."

"That's it?" Jun-Jun asked incredulously.

"I didn't tell her to do it," Quadrel replied. "She runs her own life. If she wants to do something stupid with it, it's her call."

"She loved you!"

I love you, too.

"That was her call, too. I didn't make any promises. She made that choice on her own. What, did she think I'd come running and marry her, like some weepy holo-vid?"

"That's all she meant to you?"

"I don't run anybody's life but mine and I'm not responsible for anybody's choices but mine."

"And that goes for me, too?"

Oh, he's so beautiful.

"What, that dust-up with the security dogs? Is that what this is all about? Were you hiding from me all week or something?"

"Did you miss me at all?" she asked.

Please say yes.

"I'm glad you're back," he offered casually, perplexed by her attitude. "We had fun together. You're all right. We could have more fun together if you want. Nothing's shaking around here . . ."

He thinks I'm all right!

"What kind of fun?" Jun-Jun demanded. "The kind that thumbs its nose at everybody? Do you know what I've been through the past week? Do you care?"

"Royals been rough on you?" he asked flippantly. "Don't worry about it."

"Do you even know what you're talking about?"

Quadrel's expression soured. Jun-Jun felt herself freezing up, wanting, needing to back down and mollify him.

"Do you know what it's like having people look at you out of the corner of their eye, just waiting for you to do something bad?" she forced herself to ask. "Do you know what it's like knowing nobody in the world will trust you?"

"I don't care what people think," Quad muttered.

"Well I do!" Jun-Jun barked. "I've worked hard the last couple of years to try to redeem myself, to try to make up for all the wrong I did earlier in my life! To try to make it so people will trust me again! Queen Serenity gave me that chance - - and how do I pay her back?"

"That's your problem," Quadrel commented. Leisurely, while Jun-Jun stared at him with shock and mounting anger, he swung his legs down from the hood of the air-car. Sliding off, he stood before Jun-Jun as she glared up at him. "You care about what other people think. Why?"

"Why?" Jun-Jun goggled.

"It's not their life. It's yours. You call the shots, not them. You've earned it. You cater to the Princess. You risk your life with courage and honor, like the great warrior you are, to protect all this. Doesn't that entitle you to live your life your own way? Doesn't that mean you don't have to worry about what people who haven't done a tenth of what you've done think about you? I don't, and I haven't lived half of what you've lived."

Why do I have to love him? Why can't he love me enough to change for me?

"You can't live your life like that, Quad," pleaded Jun-Jun. "Everything we do affects everyone else, just like everything they do affects us. We don't live in a vacuum, we live in a society. We have to look out for each other."

"That's the queen talking."

"Well, she's right! And even if she wasn't - - I owe her. Don't you understand obligation?"

Quadrel moved closer to her, looking her in the eye the entire time. Jun-Jun felt her heart seize up.

"And what about your obligation to yourself? Nobody's going to give me anything in this world, so I have to take it. Nobody's going to look out for me, so I look out for myself. I can depend on me more than I can others."

"Quad, you have to trust people," Jun-Jun told him, "and you have to care about them. Otherwise - - you're all alone."

"Trusting people is for suckers. And I don't have to be alone. All I have to do is reach out." Quad eased up against Jun-Jun. His hands gently grasped her around her upper arms. "You're always worrying about what other people want. What do you want?"

Jun-Jun sighed. "Too many things that are mutually exclusive. I can't have them all. It's impossible."

"Then choose," Quad told her. "What do you want most?" He stared down into her eyes and she felt the yearning building.

"Do you love me?" she asked.

"Do I have to love you to be with you?" he asked back. "Can't we just have fun?"

"Fun doesn't last. Fun isn't permanent. When it's not fun anymore, are you just going to toss me away like you tossed Kaoru away?"

"I don't think that far ahead," Quad frowned and looked away.

"Try," Jun-Jun retorted. "If you're asking me to choose, then you're asking me to give something up. Is it worth it?"

"That's your call," he shrugged. "Don't expect me to beg you."

"That's it, isn't it?" she asked. "That's the answer. Would you change your ways to be with me?"

"Look, I told you before, don't try to change me," he fumed. "I am who I am and that's not going to change. If you want to hang with that, fine. If you don't, see you."

"You won't change, but you expect me to. Because if I choose you, then I'm changing back into what I was - - someone who doesn't care about anybody but herself."

"Enough of this, OK!" he huffed, throwing up his hands. "This is a drag. I'm not going to decide for you, because I don't run other people's lives for them. What's it going to be, Jun? Is it going to be that?" He pointed to the Crystal Palace off in the distance. "Or is it going to be this?"

Quadrel leaned in, his hands holding her by the shoulders. Jun-Jun realized he was going to kiss her, but didn't realize he had the audacity until his lips brushed hers. Instantly the spark returned, the spark she had denied herself for a week. His scent filled her nostrils, his presence surrounded her and she arched up against him, kissing back with the hunger of a starving woman. An eternity passed while their passions locked and yet it seemed like a mere moment before need for oxygen forced them apart. Her mouth tingling and his breath heavy and besotted with arousal, the two parted just enough for air to slip in. One taste, Jun-Jun thought vacantly, and she was addicted all over again.

"I never met anyone like you," Quadrel admitted hoarsely. "Never."

"Yeah," she breathed back, senses swimming.

"So," he whispered, "baby's all juiced up and ready to fly. Wanna go somewhere - - nice and private?"

The words registered dimly to the teen amid the roar of her pulse in her ears.
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Ves-Ves struggled as she stormed down the street to control her rapidly welling temper. She knew deep down that she couldn't lose control, no matter how much she wanted to. Her sisters depended on her and she could do them no good if she were exiled from the palace and the senshi. But the logic kept getting shouted down by the tantalizing mental image of her pounding the smug, self-satisfied face of Quadrel Nakamura until it was so much hamburger.

Jun-Jun she would force to listen to reason, even if it meant being physical with her as well. Quadrel was no good for her. She had seen his type a hundred times back on the streets of Sao Paolo and she would save Jun-Jun from herself by force if necessary, though she wouldn't like it. Beating on Quadrel, though, she would like - - a lot.

But where to find them? He wasn't at the gaming center, though one person had confirmed that he had been. No one had seen or heard an air car leave, so he wasn't menacing sky traffic. That's why she headed for the beach, the cove where this mess first started. If he wasn't there, Ves-Ves would try his home. But she wouldn't stop until she found Jun-Jun and put a stop to this before Quadrel's collision course with oblivion dragged her sister amazon down with him.

"He's not going to do to you what my Dad did to my Mom," Ves-Ves muttered, nearly blind with rage.

Just then an air car engine's whine appeared suddenly in the sky. Ves-Ves had just enough time to look to her right before the craft zoomed over her. The backwash from the craft, buzzing the street just ten meters off the ground, nearly bowled Ves-Ves and other pedestrians over. She turned in time to see it fly under a elevated people-mover platform and arc up into the sky.

"That was Quadrel's craft!" fumed Ves-Ves. "Get back here, you cowardly . . .!"

Then, before the horrified eyes of Ves-Ves and the other pedestrians watching, the vehicle crossed paths with a personal air car in an assigned flight lane. The two ships collided and exploded in a gigantic fireball above the section of the city. Fiery debris rained down on the elevated platform and the sidewalks, while people scattered for cover. Ves-Ves stared up in numb shock.

No one could have survived the crash.

Was Jun-Jun with Quadrel on that craft?

Concluded in Chapter 12