Well hi there everyone! How are you guys? I'm pretty good, sitting here
listening to music to see what song I want for my song chapter. Oh, I have
to tell you this right now: THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY LONG CHAPTER!!!
::listens to the cheering::
Oh, there're gonna be 2 parts: Part 1 and Part 2. Original, huh?
Anyway, it's going to go like this: Day 001, Day 002, Day 003 and so on. Why? Because this chapter marks the start of Usagi's training [real training] with Hiiro. There'll be a lot of days passing in this chapter, so I hope I don't confuse you too much. If I do, leave a review!! [rhymes, rhymes, rhymes.]
I already know this really sweet song I wanna use for after everyone finds out Usa-er Shenji's a female!!! Hehe, but before I use it, I gotta pick the guy she's gonna end up with first. So keep voting, voting, voting; I'll be waiting, waiting, waiting!!!!
AN: Polls for voting are probably going to close by chapter 15. Why? It gives those who haven't voted time to vote!!! And make your choices, cuz I gotta start the romancin' soon, hehe.
11: Part 1
Usagi went back to her dorm room-although listening in on the guys' conversation would have been interesting-closed the door and hopped into bed, sighing. 'Tomorrow Hiiro's gonna train me till I die. Yee haw,' she thought, quite sarcastically. But her eyes darkened.
The Alliance.
Yes, the Alliance. The damned Alliance that stole her family and mostly all of her dearest friends. The Alliance that would see its day of death by her hands. The Alliance that would be defeated without anger, but with skill- determination. Dexterity with combat and weaponry was bound to happen sometime during her training with Hiiro. They'd pay. Thieves always did.
Usagi wiped away a tear that had pushed its way out of her eye and hurried down her cheek. She wouldn't cry for her losses-for those who died. For those the Alliance took. She couldn't. She had to be strong, had to learn how to deal with death. Had to become death.
She scowled. She didn't want to actually ~become~ Death; Hotaru seemed to be just fine with the title.
Hotaru.
This time, the little tear brought many more, determined to make their way down the sides of her face. Usagi brushed them off roughly, holding back a cry. Hotaru was with Michiru and Haruka and Setsuna-where? The hell if she knew. At least they all had one another.
Or did they?
Usagi's throat tightened. Could they be all alone? Makato didn't have anyone-she was just like Usagi, stuck in a Boot Camp, only, fighting for the wrong side. 'I bet they forced her to join the Alliance. Oh kami, they could be doing anything to her right now!'
Usagi bolted out of bed at the many dark thoughts that bombarded her head at one time, giving her a splitting headache. She touched her nose. Swelling had gone down. Only a few more days, now, and you wouldn't be able to tell it had ever been beaten as badly as it had.
She stood, walked to the door, locked it, and sat back down on the bed. She pulled her shirt off over her head and tossed it to the ground. Reaching around to her back, Usagi tugged on the bandages that had been tied in a knot, dropping the cloth to the ground.
Finally.
Sighing and laying back on her bed, she relished in the freedom of not having to deal with the pain of tightly wrapped breasts. She faced the wall, her thoughts traveling suddenly to Luna.
She sat up abruptly.
"Luna! Artemis!"
Rei and Rini hadn't even mentioned the cats. Did that mean they were in trouble? Hurt? Lost? Maybe even dead? She laughed nervously. 'Come on, Usa. They're cats! If there's one thing they know how to do, it's survive out in the real world.' But then again, the world had never been ~this~ real. Youma, real? Everyday? Please. Wars, real? Everyday? Now ~that~ was reality. It was ~her~ reality, now.
The Alliance.
Their fault; had to be. If they hadn't come to Tokyo and-She wiped her tears away angrily, grabbing the bandages and wrapping them around her chest even tighter, but only after noticing something: Her breasts had grown.
"Kuso." She hissed, completing the wrapping with a knot in the back and pulling her shirt on. This was just what she needed. She'd have to wear sweatshirts now. Good thing the weather always got colder in October.
Her mind kept wandering, thinking, contemplating and figuring little details of nothing out. Eventually, her mind led her to a blank place, shut down, and went to sleep.
~**~
Mikoshi frowned at the television for the umpteenth time. "Hey Sensitive, look at this."
"Ha ha, Miko." Kihono grumbled, joining Mikoshi and watching the television. "What do you want?"
Mikoshi's frown deepened at the television. "War."
Kihono raised his eyebrows. "You want war?"
"Jerk!"
He smirked. "You said it."
"You know what I meant. We're going to war." She turned up the volume on the small, portable television to hear Princess Relena speak:
"-do wish for your support and encouragement. It is difficult to deal with the many lives lost in the last bombing, but through it all, peace with prevail. It only pains me that we have to go through these drastic measures to get to it. My beliefs of war stand the same, although I am open to questions for the time being."
A reporter raised his voice over the many others: "Miss Peacecraft, how can we obtain peace through battles and destruction?"
"We can't," she regarded him softly. "We can't."
"What about the Military Training Camps? You say we can't obtain peace through war, yet you're training soldiers!" Another reporter piped up, scribbling furiously on his note pad.
Relena sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, then re-opened them. "I have been asked that question countless times. The soldiers are being trained because, although war is meaningless, it is just common sense to be prepared for it."
"So are you for or against your own soldiers?" And still they yelled at her.
Mikoshi's eyes were littered with sympathy when Relena, speechless, cast helpless eyes at her advisor.
Lieutenant Noin stepped forward to the podium. "There will be no more questions at this time; the princess must attend a private conference without the press. Thank you for your time."
An uproar of disagreement arose and Relena, with her advisor and current body guards, stepped off the stage and disappeared from the television. Mikoshi turned the TV off, rubbing her temples.
"What do we do?" She asked no one in particular.
"Train them even harder." Kihono answered for her, angry with the thought of war. He had fought in the old, old wars to obtain the peace they had, and now some screwball was going to mess it up for everyone just because they had their own views of the perfect life. Typical. All so typical.
"When should we announce the war?" Mikoshi rested her head in her hands. She, too, had fought in her share of wars-alongside Kihono. Shortly after peace had finally been won, they had met up again, dated, so to speak, gotten married and had a kid. So why were they here now? The former princess had wanted troops to be trained just in case.
"Tomorrow. In a week. Never. Damnit." Kihono was, for the first time in his life, confused.
Mikoshi's eyes softened toward her husband and she went to him, putting her head on his chest. "We'll announce it tomorrow."
Kihono grinned. "We're gonna have a helluva time training up ~more~ cocky- assed Alliance soldiers, huh?"
Mikoshi laughed. "Yeah."
*~*~
She stood on a high cliff, watching the water turn violently and settle, only to rise up and clash against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff loudly.
"Almost time," She spoke softly.
"Yes." A rougher, deeper voice than hers.
"The war will begin."
"Yes."
"Many will die."
"Yes."
She turned. "And her?"
Silence.
"And her?" she pressed.
"I don't know."
She looked back to the ocean. "Almost time," She stated again, her clothing fluttering lazily in the wind; hair curling around her face only to be blown off.
"For what?" A new, young voice.
She smiled, her back turned to the questioner. "For Fate to discard us, and Death to run havoc over the world we once knew."
The owner of the question gasped. "But I thought I was-"
"Let's go home, Little Mistress." She said, sadly.
The three turned from the ocean and walked, in silence, to the only sanctuary they would ever call home again:
The past.
*~*~--Next day-- Day 001
Usagi bolted upright in her bed. 'Strange dreams I'm having these days.' She foggily registered the sound of loud snoring. 'Heh, Duo's sleeping.'
Her feet hit the floor before she was completely awake and carried her to the dorm room door, out into the hall, and, shoeless, out into darkness. She walked, yawning and rubbing her eyes, to the tree she knew so well and sat at the trunk, absentmindedly scratching her foot.
"Why are you up so early?"
She jumped, surprised, and let her eyes wander up to the darkness of the tree's leaves. She spotted a familiar figure hiding among the foliage. "You know, you look like a cat. All you need are the glowing eyes."
"I didn't ask whether or not I looked like a cat."
Usagi grinned sleepily. "I know, but I told you. What time is it anyway?"
"Five-thirty." Then, at Shenji's confused face, he added, "In the morning."
"Oh. Ohh! I slept for-two, three, four, five-a looong time." She figured, stretching one last time and resting her head against the tree. "What can you see from up there?"
He lay back against the tree, lacing his fingers over his chest. "A lot."
"Wow, so descriptive aren't we?" she snorted sarcastically.
He ignored this remark. "Go back to sleep or you're going to be too tired to train tonight."
"Tomorrow."
He frowned. "What?"
"Tomorrow. Midnight marks the beginning of a new day." Usagi smiled proudly at her knowledge.
"Really?" He humored the boy.
Usagi nodded. "Yup."
"I'm afraid you're wrong. Go to bed."
"I am NOT wrong!"
"It's not the next day until 12 o' one. You're wrong."
"Am not!"
"I'm not going to argue back and forth about this."
"'Cause you know I'm right."
He snorted. "Because Duo would be dumb enough to keep arguing, and I'm not Duo. Now go-"
"You're not my mother!"
"Very perceptive, aren't we?" He shot the sarcasm back at Shenji.
Usagi stood. "You know what, Mr. Yui?"
Hiiro gazed down at Shenji, then closed his eyes. "What?"
"You're a prick!" She yelled loudly.
Hiiro almost fell out of the tree, caught himself, and glared full-force down at Shenji.
Usagi shrank back in fear. His gaze was so. . .heated.
"Do you know what that is?" He kept his voice tight.
She laughed. "Of course! A prick is something you get when you press your finger to a needle."
This time he ~did~ fall out of the tree. He landed on his feet, but glared down at Shenji. "Ask Quatre what it means before you use it anymore."
Usagi rolled her eyes. "I asked Duo a while ago. He told me what I told you. He even told me to use it on you."
Hiiro stored away a 'kill Duo Maxwell' in his mind before shaking his head. "Just ask Quatre what the ~other~ meaning is."
Usagi, willing to stall and annoy for however long she could, only cackled. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
Hiiro, taken aback, immediately turned a little red in his cheeks. "What? Why? Where did this come from? Go to bed!"
She giggled, eyes narrowed in suspicious fun. "So you ~have~ had a girlfriend, eh? C'mon tell me, you sly dog."
"Even if I haven't, the offer isn't presented to you, so stop asking! Now go to bed! Leave me alone!" Hiiro jumped back into the tree, still blushing a bit.
She looked up at him, winking. "Fine, I'll go. But now I know you've probably had about twenty girls, eh? Eh?"
"Leave me alone, Shenji."
Usagi laughed, turned, and went back inside. She was suddenly feeling less sleepy and happier than she had been yesterday. 'Awl, Hiiro's never had a girlfriend! How kawaii!'
Hiiro's eyes trailed Shenji. His blush had vanished and he sat, uncomfortably, with his arms crossed over his chest. Still, a tiny, almost microscopical part of him wanted to laugh just a little. The sheer madness of it all: Hiiro Yui ever having a girlfriend. [AN: Insert fangirls screaming the same thing: Hiiro Yui, marry me!!!!!!]
Twenty minutes later found Usagi alone in the shower-room. She never took showers with the other guys, claiming she had a foot-fungus that was easily spread. By the time the guys got out of the shower, it was well past lights out, so the showering time was very limited for her. Besides, the guys never left any hot water for her, either. Her showers were always cold.
"It's 6:20 now," she yawned, "so I'll have about ten minutes of pure bliss." Turning up the heat to full blast, she grinned evily. "No hot water for anyone but me." She giggled, stripped, and stepped into the spray.
She began to hum a merry little tune, scrubbing her hair madly with Duo's shampoo; the one with the cherry-colored top; and washing herself with Quatre's rose-smelling soap, then repeated the process six more times. 'Sorry guys, but hey, a girl's gotta smell good at least ~once~ in her life. Even if it ~is~ in a dern Boot Camp.'
She rinsed, ran her hands through her hair to get the last remnants of shampoo out, and turned off the water, grabbing a random towel that was strewn across the floor. Inspecting it, she found the cloth fairly clean and began to dry herself and her hair.
Slicking it all back into a long, tight ponytail, she squeezed out the end until her hair was considerably dryer, wrapped her bandages back around a less-wet chest, put on a black sweat-shirt she had stolen from Duo, and the murky green sweat-pants that everyone wore. She braided the end of her ponytail and tied it with a rubber band, throwing the now damp towel back onto the floor and smirking. She smelled clean, looked clean, finally ~felt~ clean, and---HAD USED ALL THE HOT WATER UP!
Usagi left the bathroom and went back to her dorm just as Trowa walked out of his. She smiled. "Hey sleepy-head. How ya doin?"
Trowa, blinking once to adjust to the morning, nodded to her and smiled sleepily. "Good morning," he glanced around, "Usagi."
She giggled. "Good sleep?"
"I've had better."
She nodded, suddenly at a loss for words. "So, um, what are you going to do now?"
"About something or this second?"
"This second."
He grinned. "Take a long, hot shower. I never have any time when I'm in there." He nodded to the bathroom.
Usagi blushed. "Uh, you might not want to go in there. I kind of used up all the hot water."
He blinked once. Again. And once more. His face broke out into a laugh and he patted her shoulder. "You deserved it. I don't mind taking cold showers."
"I also used Duo's shampoo and Quatre's soap. Think they'll be mad at me?"
Trowa titled his head to the side, as if in thought, then dipped his head down to her level, and sniffed.
Usagi, blushing fiercely, stiffened and held her breath. "Uh-Tro-"
"They won't be mad." He brought his head back up, opened his eyes, and smiled down at Usagi. "Besides, you smell good." He yawned, completely unaware of how nervous he had just made the poor girl, and walked past her to the bathroom.
Usagi's eyes grew ten times wider and she blushed, bringing her hands up to her face and giggling in a childish way. 'Does Trowa like me? Wow! And he's an OLDER guy, too! Then again, Mamoru was way older than me---but Trowa's MUCH better than Mamoru.' She was still in her thoughts when her dorm room door open and out bounded Duo.
"Hey man! Move it! You're blockin' the road to the bathroom!" And he was gone, followed closely by a maniacal Wufei screaming something along the lines of:
"Maxwell! Get your ass back here! I already TOLD you: My soap is OFF LIMITS!"
Usagi only snorted into a giggle when Wufei ran straight into her, sending her flying into the wall.
He growled down in disgust at Shenji. "Watch where you're going, baka!" And took off after Duo.
Usagi, lost in her thoughts and not in her right mind, waved at him through misty eyes. "You're looking swell this afternoon, Wufei."
And thus the morning commenced---as it did everyday in one queer way or another.
----
The day seemed to fly by for Usagi, as if it couldn't wait to get to her training session with Hiiro.
And it didn't have to wait very long.
Usagi found herself yawning and complaining outside in the dark with Hiiro a while later.
"So, yeah, what are we doing, now?"
"Training. Now, I'm pretty sure you've been brushing up on defenses in your class, right? Well, I'm going to attack you, and you're going to defend yourself. Understood?"
"Sir yes-" Snore.
Hiiro's jaw mentally fell. Shenji had just fallen asleep while saluting, and was snoring as loud as Duo. He smirked, reaching into the bag of 'goodies' he had brought just for this session. He pulled out a new, shiny red blow horn and---
BWAAAAAANG!!!!!
Usagi jumped at least six feet in the air, screaming and covering her ears. She came to Earth cursing and growling. Afterward, she marched straight up to Hiiro. "You do that ever again and see what happens, Yui!" She barked.
Hiiro only held the horn up to Shenji's face and---
BWAAAAAANG!!!!!
"ARGH!!!" she covered her ears and howled as if in pain. "Stop it!"
"As I was saying. I'm going to attack you, and you're going to defend yourself. Understood?" He held up the horn.
Usagi glared at him. "Ooooh, I hate you so much right now, Yui."
"Likewise, and my name is Sir." He smirked.
And thus the training commenced.
Usagi held her fists across her chest and defended while Hiiro restlessly attacked, stopping only to instruct her on stronger defenses.
An hour later and now it was Hiiro who defended while Usagi attacked. She would wheeze after five minutes, but kept on. Hiiro would shake his head at mostly all of her attacks, giving tips on how to hold her fists more properly, or how her kicks could be straighter.
::1 hour later::
Finally, after sweat, profanity, a blow horn and some death threats, Usagi was attacking Hiiro with minimum dexterity, her punches hitting the right marks.
"Good." Hiiro commented after receiving a punch to the head, but blocking it.
Usagi ignored his praise and only attacked, focusing her mind and body on becoming better than this.
Now 2:00 in the morning, Hiiro called a halt to their training.
"But we're. . .supposed to. . .train. . .three hours." Usagi panted, sweat pouring down her forehead and soaking into her sweatshirt.
Hiiro shook his head. "You've earned your rest. You're doing fairly well for your first session."
"But?" Usagi persisted.
"You can always be better. Good night, Shenji." He nodded to the boy and left, not turning back.
Usagi fell to the ground and let out a low sigh. "Shower, bed, here I come!" She hauled herself up to leave. 'Just a minute, moon face. Shouldn't you practice what you learned tonight? How are you ever going to get better if you don't? Come on, do some of those punches and blocks again.'
She groaned, knowing her head was right, but her body stronger. 'Fine. Blame yourself when you, too, die at the hands of the Alliance. Especially after the announcement of this new war.' [AN: This must have been confusing some of you to death. The Alliance is the good side, but since they took Usa's family to aid them in the war, Usagi thinks they're the bad side, and is determined to defeat them. She doesn't know she's actually fighting for them. If you're still confused, e-mail me and I'll send you one back explaining this.] Usagi let out a half growl and furiously punched and blocked at the air, her movements a bit slow and unsure, but with newfound hope in them.
At four-fifteen in the morning, Usagi went to bed.
Day 002
Usagi groaned and rolled over, soreness racking every inch of her body. 'What time is it?'
"TIME TO GET UP!!!"
'Thanks, Duo, you idiot.' She opened her eyes slowly just as Wufei walked into the room in the customary clothing.
"Still in bed?" Wufei snickered in disgust, still loathing Shenji. Now even more because the baka had lied about what he was-or wasn't---~and~ had a kid and wife waiting for him at home. What kind of man left their wife and kid without telling them? Dishonorable scum.
She frowned sleepily at his tone. "Leave me alone. I trained really hard last night, and I'm wiped." Her words were slurred.
"Everyone here trains ten times harder than you ever could, and you don't hear ~them~ complaining."
"Well, I'm sure they do. But I'm not everyone, I'm Shenji. And it wouldn't kill you to be a bit nicer to me."
"Yes it would!" Duo yelled from down the hall.
Usagi giggled.
Wufei scowled. "This is none of your business, baka!"
"And another thing!" Duo poked his head into the room with his toothbrush hanging out the side of his mouth, and foam all around his lips-and in his hair. "What's a baka?"
Usagi smiled. "An idiot." She supplied happily, sitting up in her bed and falling back down.
Duo frowned. "Well, if I'm an idiot, Wufei, then you're a major pain in the ass." And he was gone.
Wufei clenched his fists. "Maxwell!"
Usagi laughed.
"What are you laughing at, you weak excuse for a man? You can't even talk without sounding like a flute!"
She stopped laughing. "And?"
Wufei, at a loss for words, gave her a final glare and marched out of the room in a huff just as Duo skipped in.
"Hey Duo!"
"Hiya Shenji, man! How was Training Day?"
Usagi giggled. "Terrible. But if it'll help me, so be it."
*~*~*~*~*
I think that's a good place to end this part. I won't take long to talk because I know you want to get to the next chapter. See you then!
--azure_chan
Oh, there're gonna be 2 parts: Part 1 and Part 2. Original, huh?
Anyway, it's going to go like this: Day 001, Day 002, Day 003 and so on. Why? Because this chapter marks the start of Usagi's training [real training] with Hiiro. There'll be a lot of days passing in this chapter, so I hope I don't confuse you too much. If I do, leave a review!! [rhymes, rhymes, rhymes.]
I already know this really sweet song I wanna use for after everyone finds out Usa-er Shenji's a female!!! Hehe, but before I use it, I gotta pick the guy she's gonna end up with first. So keep voting, voting, voting; I'll be waiting, waiting, waiting!!!!
AN: Polls for voting are probably going to close by chapter 15. Why? It gives those who haven't voted time to vote!!! And make your choices, cuz I gotta start the romancin' soon, hehe.
11: Part 1
Usagi went back to her dorm room-although listening in on the guys' conversation would have been interesting-closed the door and hopped into bed, sighing. 'Tomorrow Hiiro's gonna train me till I die. Yee haw,' she thought, quite sarcastically. But her eyes darkened.
The Alliance.
Yes, the Alliance. The damned Alliance that stole her family and mostly all of her dearest friends. The Alliance that would see its day of death by her hands. The Alliance that would be defeated without anger, but with skill- determination. Dexterity with combat and weaponry was bound to happen sometime during her training with Hiiro. They'd pay. Thieves always did.
Usagi wiped away a tear that had pushed its way out of her eye and hurried down her cheek. She wouldn't cry for her losses-for those who died. For those the Alliance took. She couldn't. She had to be strong, had to learn how to deal with death. Had to become death.
She scowled. She didn't want to actually ~become~ Death; Hotaru seemed to be just fine with the title.
Hotaru.
This time, the little tear brought many more, determined to make their way down the sides of her face. Usagi brushed them off roughly, holding back a cry. Hotaru was with Michiru and Haruka and Setsuna-where? The hell if she knew. At least they all had one another.
Or did they?
Usagi's throat tightened. Could they be all alone? Makato didn't have anyone-she was just like Usagi, stuck in a Boot Camp, only, fighting for the wrong side. 'I bet they forced her to join the Alliance. Oh kami, they could be doing anything to her right now!'
Usagi bolted out of bed at the many dark thoughts that bombarded her head at one time, giving her a splitting headache. She touched her nose. Swelling had gone down. Only a few more days, now, and you wouldn't be able to tell it had ever been beaten as badly as it had.
She stood, walked to the door, locked it, and sat back down on the bed. She pulled her shirt off over her head and tossed it to the ground. Reaching around to her back, Usagi tugged on the bandages that had been tied in a knot, dropping the cloth to the ground.
Finally.
Sighing and laying back on her bed, she relished in the freedom of not having to deal with the pain of tightly wrapped breasts. She faced the wall, her thoughts traveling suddenly to Luna.
She sat up abruptly.
"Luna! Artemis!"
Rei and Rini hadn't even mentioned the cats. Did that mean they were in trouble? Hurt? Lost? Maybe even dead? She laughed nervously. 'Come on, Usa. They're cats! If there's one thing they know how to do, it's survive out in the real world.' But then again, the world had never been ~this~ real. Youma, real? Everyday? Please. Wars, real? Everyday? Now ~that~ was reality. It was ~her~ reality, now.
The Alliance.
Their fault; had to be. If they hadn't come to Tokyo and-She wiped her tears away angrily, grabbing the bandages and wrapping them around her chest even tighter, but only after noticing something: Her breasts had grown.
"Kuso." She hissed, completing the wrapping with a knot in the back and pulling her shirt on. This was just what she needed. She'd have to wear sweatshirts now. Good thing the weather always got colder in October.
Her mind kept wandering, thinking, contemplating and figuring little details of nothing out. Eventually, her mind led her to a blank place, shut down, and went to sleep.
~**~
Mikoshi frowned at the television for the umpteenth time. "Hey Sensitive, look at this."
"Ha ha, Miko." Kihono grumbled, joining Mikoshi and watching the television. "What do you want?"
Mikoshi's frown deepened at the television. "War."
Kihono raised his eyebrows. "You want war?"
"Jerk!"
He smirked. "You said it."
"You know what I meant. We're going to war." She turned up the volume on the small, portable television to hear Princess Relena speak:
"-do wish for your support and encouragement. It is difficult to deal with the many lives lost in the last bombing, but through it all, peace with prevail. It only pains me that we have to go through these drastic measures to get to it. My beliefs of war stand the same, although I am open to questions for the time being."
A reporter raised his voice over the many others: "Miss Peacecraft, how can we obtain peace through battles and destruction?"
"We can't," she regarded him softly. "We can't."
"What about the Military Training Camps? You say we can't obtain peace through war, yet you're training soldiers!" Another reporter piped up, scribbling furiously on his note pad.
Relena sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, then re-opened them. "I have been asked that question countless times. The soldiers are being trained because, although war is meaningless, it is just common sense to be prepared for it."
"So are you for or against your own soldiers?" And still they yelled at her.
Mikoshi's eyes were littered with sympathy when Relena, speechless, cast helpless eyes at her advisor.
Lieutenant Noin stepped forward to the podium. "There will be no more questions at this time; the princess must attend a private conference without the press. Thank you for your time."
An uproar of disagreement arose and Relena, with her advisor and current body guards, stepped off the stage and disappeared from the television. Mikoshi turned the TV off, rubbing her temples.
"What do we do?" She asked no one in particular.
"Train them even harder." Kihono answered for her, angry with the thought of war. He had fought in the old, old wars to obtain the peace they had, and now some screwball was going to mess it up for everyone just because they had their own views of the perfect life. Typical. All so typical.
"When should we announce the war?" Mikoshi rested her head in her hands. She, too, had fought in her share of wars-alongside Kihono. Shortly after peace had finally been won, they had met up again, dated, so to speak, gotten married and had a kid. So why were they here now? The former princess had wanted troops to be trained just in case.
"Tomorrow. In a week. Never. Damnit." Kihono was, for the first time in his life, confused.
Mikoshi's eyes softened toward her husband and she went to him, putting her head on his chest. "We'll announce it tomorrow."
Kihono grinned. "We're gonna have a helluva time training up ~more~ cocky- assed Alliance soldiers, huh?"
Mikoshi laughed. "Yeah."
*~*~
She stood on a high cliff, watching the water turn violently and settle, only to rise up and clash against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff loudly.
"Almost time," She spoke softly.
"Yes." A rougher, deeper voice than hers.
"The war will begin."
"Yes."
"Many will die."
"Yes."
She turned. "And her?"
Silence.
"And her?" she pressed.
"I don't know."
She looked back to the ocean. "Almost time," She stated again, her clothing fluttering lazily in the wind; hair curling around her face only to be blown off.
"For what?" A new, young voice.
She smiled, her back turned to the questioner. "For Fate to discard us, and Death to run havoc over the world we once knew."
The owner of the question gasped. "But I thought I was-"
"Let's go home, Little Mistress." She said, sadly.
The three turned from the ocean and walked, in silence, to the only sanctuary they would ever call home again:
The past.
*~*~--Next day-- Day 001
Usagi bolted upright in her bed. 'Strange dreams I'm having these days.' She foggily registered the sound of loud snoring. 'Heh, Duo's sleeping.'
Her feet hit the floor before she was completely awake and carried her to the dorm room door, out into the hall, and, shoeless, out into darkness. She walked, yawning and rubbing her eyes, to the tree she knew so well and sat at the trunk, absentmindedly scratching her foot.
"Why are you up so early?"
She jumped, surprised, and let her eyes wander up to the darkness of the tree's leaves. She spotted a familiar figure hiding among the foliage. "You know, you look like a cat. All you need are the glowing eyes."
"I didn't ask whether or not I looked like a cat."
Usagi grinned sleepily. "I know, but I told you. What time is it anyway?"
"Five-thirty." Then, at Shenji's confused face, he added, "In the morning."
"Oh. Ohh! I slept for-two, three, four, five-a looong time." She figured, stretching one last time and resting her head against the tree. "What can you see from up there?"
He lay back against the tree, lacing his fingers over his chest. "A lot."
"Wow, so descriptive aren't we?" she snorted sarcastically.
He ignored this remark. "Go back to sleep or you're going to be too tired to train tonight."
"Tomorrow."
He frowned. "What?"
"Tomorrow. Midnight marks the beginning of a new day." Usagi smiled proudly at her knowledge.
"Really?" He humored the boy.
Usagi nodded. "Yup."
"I'm afraid you're wrong. Go to bed."
"I am NOT wrong!"
"It's not the next day until 12 o' one. You're wrong."
"Am not!"
"I'm not going to argue back and forth about this."
"'Cause you know I'm right."
He snorted. "Because Duo would be dumb enough to keep arguing, and I'm not Duo. Now go-"
"You're not my mother!"
"Very perceptive, aren't we?" He shot the sarcasm back at Shenji.
Usagi stood. "You know what, Mr. Yui?"
Hiiro gazed down at Shenji, then closed his eyes. "What?"
"You're a prick!" She yelled loudly.
Hiiro almost fell out of the tree, caught himself, and glared full-force down at Shenji.
Usagi shrank back in fear. His gaze was so. . .heated.
"Do you know what that is?" He kept his voice tight.
She laughed. "Of course! A prick is something you get when you press your finger to a needle."
This time he ~did~ fall out of the tree. He landed on his feet, but glared down at Shenji. "Ask Quatre what it means before you use it anymore."
Usagi rolled her eyes. "I asked Duo a while ago. He told me what I told you. He even told me to use it on you."
Hiiro stored away a 'kill Duo Maxwell' in his mind before shaking his head. "Just ask Quatre what the ~other~ meaning is."
Usagi, willing to stall and annoy for however long she could, only cackled. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
Hiiro, taken aback, immediately turned a little red in his cheeks. "What? Why? Where did this come from? Go to bed!"
She giggled, eyes narrowed in suspicious fun. "So you ~have~ had a girlfriend, eh? C'mon tell me, you sly dog."
"Even if I haven't, the offer isn't presented to you, so stop asking! Now go to bed! Leave me alone!" Hiiro jumped back into the tree, still blushing a bit.
She looked up at him, winking. "Fine, I'll go. But now I know you've probably had about twenty girls, eh? Eh?"
"Leave me alone, Shenji."
Usagi laughed, turned, and went back inside. She was suddenly feeling less sleepy and happier than she had been yesterday. 'Awl, Hiiro's never had a girlfriend! How kawaii!'
Hiiro's eyes trailed Shenji. His blush had vanished and he sat, uncomfortably, with his arms crossed over his chest. Still, a tiny, almost microscopical part of him wanted to laugh just a little. The sheer madness of it all: Hiiro Yui ever having a girlfriend. [AN: Insert fangirls screaming the same thing: Hiiro Yui, marry me!!!!!!]
Twenty minutes later found Usagi alone in the shower-room. She never took showers with the other guys, claiming she had a foot-fungus that was easily spread. By the time the guys got out of the shower, it was well past lights out, so the showering time was very limited for her. Besides, the guys never left any hot water for her, either. Her showers were always cold.
"It's 6:20 now," she yawned, "so I'll have about ten minutes of pure bliss." Turning up the heat to full blast, she grinned evily. "No hot water for anyone but me." She giggled, stripped, and stepped into the spray.
She began to hum a merry little tune, scrubbing her hair madly with Duo's shampoo; the one with the cherry-colored top; and washing herself with Quatre's rose-smelling soap, then repeated the process six more times. 'Sorry guys, but hey, a girl's gotta smell good at least ~once~ in her life. Even if it ~is~ in a dern Boot Camp.'
She rinsed, ran her hands through her hair to get the last remnants of shampoo out, and turned off the water, grabbing a random towel that was strewn across the floor. Inspecting it, she found the cloth fairly clean and began to dry herself and her hair.
Slicking it all back into a long, tight ponytail, she squeezed out the end until her hair was considerably dryer, wrapped her bandages back around a less-wet chest, put on a black sweat-shirt she had stolen from Duo, and the murky green sweat-pants that everyone wore. She braided the end of her ponytail and tied it with a rubber band, throwing the now damp towel back onto the floor and smirking. She smelled clean, looked clean, finally ~felt~ clean, and---HAD USED ALL THE HOT WATER UP!
Usagi left the bathroom and went back to her dorm just as Trowa walked out of his. She smiled. "Hey sleepy-head. How ya doin?"
Trowa, blinking once to adjust to the morning, nodded to her and smiled sleepily. "Good morning," he glanced around, "Usagi."
She giggled. "Good sleep?"
"I've had better."
She nodded, suddenly at a loss for words. "So, um, what are you going to do now?"
"About something or this second?"
"This second."
He grinned. "Take a long, hot shower. I never have any time when I'm in there." He nodded to the bathroom.
Usagi blushed. "Uh, you might not want to go in there. I kind of used up all the hot water."
He blinked once. Again. And once more. His face broke out into a laugh and he patted her shoulder. "You deserved it. I don't mind taking cold showers."
"I also used Duo's shampoo and Quatre's soap. Think they'll be mad at me?"
Trowa titled his head to the side, as if in thought, then dipped his head down to her level, and sniffed.
Usagi, blushing fiercely, stiffened and held her breath. "Uh-Tro-"
"They won't be mad." He brought his head back up, opened his eyes, and smiled down at Usagi. "Besides, you smell good." He yawned, completely unaware of how nervous he had just made the poor girl, and walked past her to the bathroom.
Usagi's eyes grew ten times wider and she blushed, bringing her hands up to her face and giggling in a childish way. 'Does Trowa like me? Wow! And he's an OLDER guy, too! Then again, Mamoru was way older than me---but Trowa's MUCH better than Mamoru.' She was still in her thoughts when her dorm room door open and out bounded Duo.
"Hey man! Move it! You're blockin' the road to the bathroom!" And he was gone, followed closely by a maniacal Wufei screaming something along the lines of:
"Maxwell! Get your ass back here! I already TOLD you: My soap is OFF LIMITS!"
Usagi only snorted into a giggle when Wufei ran straight into her, sending her flying into the wall.
He growled down in disgust at Shenji. "Watch where you're going, baka!" And took off after Duo.
Usagi, lost in her thoughts and not in her right mind, waved at him through misty eyes. "You're looking swell this afternoon, Wufei."
And thus the morning commenced---as it did everyday in one queer way or another.
----
The day seemed to fly by for Usagi, as if it couldn't wait to get to her training session with Hiiro.
And it didn't have to wait very long.
Usagi found herself yawning and complaining outside in the dark with Hiiro a while later.
"So, yeah, what are we doing, now?"
"Training. Now, I'm pretty sure you've been brushing up on defenses in your class, right? Well, I'm going to attack you, and you're going to defend yourself. Understood?"
"Sir yes-" Snore.
Hiiro's jaw mentally fell. Shenji had just fallen asleep while saluting, and was snoring as loud as Duo. He smirked, reaching into the bag of 'goodies' he had brought just for this session. He pulled out a new, shiny red blow horn and---
BWAAAAAANG!!!!!
Usagi jumped at least six feet in the air, screaming and covering her ears. She came to Earth cursing and growling. Afterward, she marched straight up to Hiiro. "You do that ever again and see what happens, Yui!" She barked.
Hiiro only held the horn up to Shenji's face and---
BWAAAAAANG!!!!!
"ARGH!!!" she covered her ears and howled as if in pain. "Stop it!"
"As I was saying. I'm going to attack you, and you're going to defend yourself. Understood?" He held up the horn.
Usagi glared at him. "Ooooh, I hate you so much right now, Yui."
"Likewise, and my name is Sir." He smirked.
And thus the training commenced.
Usagi held her fists across her chest and defended while Hiiro restlessly attacked, stopping only to instruct her on stronger defenses.
An hour later and now it was Hiiro who defended while Usagi attacked. She would wheeze after five minutes, but kept on. Hiiro would shake his head at mostly all of her attacks, giving tips on how to hold her fists more properly, or how her kicks could be straighter.
::1 hour later::
Finally, after sweat, profanity, a blow horn and some death threats, Usagi was attacking Hiiro with minimum dexterity, her punches hitting the right marks.
"Good." Hiiro commented after receiving a punch to the head, but blocking it.
Usagi ignored his praise and only attacked, focusing her mind and body on becoming better than this.
Now 2:00 in the morning, Hiiro called a halt to their training.
"But we're. . .supposed to. . .train. . .three hours." Usagi panted, sweat pouring down her forehead and soaking into her sweatshirt.
Hiiro shook his head. "You've earned your rest. You're doing fairly well for your first session."
"But?" Usagi persisted.
"You can always be better. Good night, Shenji." He nodded to the boy and left, not turning back.
Usagi fell to the ground and let out a low sigh. "Shower, bed, here I come!" She hauled herself up to leave. 'Just a minute, moon face. Shouldn't you practice what you learned tonight? How are you ever going to get better if you don't? Come on, do some of those punches and blocks again.'
She groaned, knowing her head was right, but her body stronger. 'Fine. Blame yourself when you, too, die at the hands of the Alliance. Especially after the announcement of this new war.' [AN: This must have been confusing some of you to death. The Alliance is the good side, but since they took Usa's family to aid them in the war, Usagi thinks they're the bad side, and is determined to defeat them. She doesn't know she's actually fighting for them. If you're still confused, e-mail me and I'll send you one back explaining this.] Usagi let out a half growl and furiously punched and blocked at the air, her movements a bit slow and unsure, but with newfound hope in them.
At four-fifteen in the morning, Usagi went to bed.
Day 002
Usagi groaned and rolled over, soreness racking every inch of her body. 'What time is it?'
"TIME TO GET UP!!!"
'Thanks, Duo, you idiot.' She opened her eyes slowly just as Wufei walked into the room in the customary clothing.
"Still in bed?" Wufei snickered in disgust, still loathing Shenji. Now even more because the baka had lied about what he was-or wasn't---~and~ had a kid and wife waiting for him at home. What kind of man left their wife and kid without telling them? Dishonorable scum.
She frowned sleepily at his tone. "Leave me alone. I trained really hard last night, and I'm wiped." Her words were slurred.
"Everyone here trains ten times harder than you ever could, and you don't hear ~them~ complaining."
"Well, I'm sure they do. But I'm not everyone, I'm Shenji. And it wouldn't kill you to be a bit nicer to me."
"Yes it would!" Duo yelled from down the hall.
Usagi giggled.
Wufei scowled. "This is none of your business, baka!"
"And another thing!" Duo poked his head into the room with his toothbrush hanging out the side of his mouth, and foam all around his lips-and in his hair. "What's a baka?"
Usagi smiled. "An idiot." She supplied happily, sitting up in her bed and falling back down.
Duo frowned. "Well, if I'm an idiot, Wufei, then you're a major pain in the ass." And he was gone.
Wufei clenched his fists. "Maxwell!"
Usagi laughed.
"What are you laughing at, you weak excuse for a man? You can't even talk without sounding like a flute!"
She stopped laughing. "And?"
Wufei, at a loss for words, gave her a final glare and marched out of the room in a huff just as Duo skipped in.
"Hey Duo!"
"Hiya Shenji, man! How was Training Day?"
Usagi giggled. "Terrible. But if it'll help me, so be it."
*~*~*~*~*
I think that's a good place to end this part. I won't take long to talk because I know you want to get to the next chapter. See you then!
--azure_chan