The area was stale, people still flocking to try and decipher the mysterious totem symbols. No progress was made and Milliardo was slowly losing his cool, every minute mistake causing him to revile with harsh lashings. His patience had nearly diminished, Noin herself almost unable to calm him from his riled up feelings. She understood his emotions, but she knew as he did somewhere beneath all his anxieties that getting impatient was the worst thing to do. So, with much effort, he did his best to remain calm.
Quatre, always so easy to stay neutral, suggested an old friend should be added to the team to which Milliardo was hesitant. However, Quatre was a trustworthy man, one whose instincts and recommendations never disappointed so Milliardo approved his suggestion. So far, the Gundam pilots were devastatingly close to being useless, no leads or hints about the kidnapping surfacing in their grueling attempt to find Relena but a certain local mystery had gained much attention, Milliardo nearly grimacing each time he had stopped to ponder on the subject. There seemed to be a hidden story behind one Tenou Haruka and her speaking cats, one that he most certainly ruled as pointless to his current investigation but still could not keep from being curious about. Ever since he had released her from incarceration, she had been very cautious, never speaking too much when not being addressed and never even taking a single step out of line. She knew the rules well and she followed them perfectly.
Her history was very plain. She had no real guardians as a child, transferring from orphanages and foster homes throughout her youth until she was finally emancipated by court law. Then she took residence in Juuban district where she attended school, roomed with another girl with similar circumstances named Kaioh Michiru, had a full time job at a small repair shop and was rumored to have participated in street races but never pinned on those charges since she was never caught. Her record really was not something much different from the average person and still, Milliardo found himself wondering how exactly she came to be so proficient in her current occupation.
True, she was a soldier in his platoon for about five years now, her natural talent at hand-to-hand combat the most impressive he had seen apart from the five pilots. She fought like a veteran as though she had been doing it for a long time, something that really shouldn't have surprised him since he knew orphanages were sometimes rough. But he just could not escape the feeling that there was something…different about her. Before now, he had regarded her as just a simple talented soldier with no real reason to pay any mind to other than she could be a great asset to the Sanq kingdom when needed but the discovery of two talking cats in her relation drew him to believe that perhaps he was wrong about her. After all, though orphanages often did breed self-efficient and sometimes physically apt teenagers like Haruka, she was still too wise about the heat of battle than was explicable especially since she was never transferred to a care facility within the bounds of war. The pilots also seemed to think there was something about her, something foreign and possibly untrustworthy but again they were met with another investigation to which they could harvest no leads.
"Milliardo."
The platinum blond turned gracefully to acknowledge the person who had addressed him, spotting a rather gorgeous woman beside him. Her lilac eyes were intriguing, silk black hair framing her flawless cream skin softly as it traveled down almost reaching near her waist. Had he not already been a committed man, he would have more than likely started a pursuit for this ravenous woman as she stood confidently before him.
"This is Dr. Hino," Quatre introduced. "She's a very talented historian and even more gifted archaeologist. I believe she will be a great aid to us in this investigation."
Dr. Hino bowed respectfully, Milliardo mimicking her same movement.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Hino," Milliardo cordially replied. "Quatre has said a lot of good things about you; I hope that it was not too much to request your services so abruptly."
"It was no trouble at all," she said, inwardly thanking her luck at the timely call from Quatre. She had been trying to formulate a way to get into this secret ordinance without having to admit her third eye or seeming suspicious and it appeared that fate had taken the initiative for her, Quatre suddenly remembering her useful services from an old job that he had hired her for, years ago.
"I'm glad," Milliardo nodded and started leading her away to a back room. "I assume you're curious to see what it is that needs analyzing…"
He looked discretely over his shoulder catching her slight nod as they pressed forward.
"We have yet to actually determine the origins of the inscriptions or even a time frame," he explained as he now turned the totem gingerly in his hands. Rei's eyes were transfixed already, an aura all too familiar to her seeping from the small crevices within the object. It wasn't dark, nor was it even threatening, but the quiet hum of ancient magic rung clearly in her senses, her palms getting sweaty as she contemplated the inevitable. "Perhaps you'll have more luck than the rest of us."
He extended his arm out to her, beckoning her to take it. Some inhibited notion brought her to believe that if she was to touch it, she might evoke some extreme display of supernatural force, something she wanted desperately to avoid.
"I have no gloves," she mumbled half-heartedly, running a hand casually through her hair. "I try to handle artifacts carefully and as a practiced archaeologist, I can't with good conscience touch that without taking the necessary precautions to preserve it as best as possible."
Milliardo momentarily raised an eyebrow, Quatre too somewhat piqued about her refrain but he shrugged it off.
"Of course," Milliardo recovered, placing the totem back in its holding cell. "What will you need?"
Rei looked between the both of them relieved that she had not triggered some type of suspicion by her lame excuse and nodded.
"I prefer to work alone," she said. "If that will be allowed, I will be greatly appreciative. It would even be a great relief if I was allowed to take the totem—"
"The totem does not leave," Milliardo interrupted sternly.
Rei bobbed her head in understanding.
"Alright," she said slowly. "Then perhaps you can provide me with pictures of the inscriptions so that I may take them and research what I can with the help of some of my most trusted consultants."
"I would prefer that you not include more people on this investigation," Milliardo dead-panned. "It has been quite a strain already just allowing you to join."
Rei frowned, her fists clenching as she was reminded of why she hated dealing with men. It was much more peaceful studying dead people since they never seemed to give her as much trouble as the living, Quatre and a few others being the exception of course.
"Well then I'm nearly cleaned out of my resources," she replied. "I don't see how much help I'll be able to give if you don't at least give me permission to consult one friend of mine."
Milliardo's jaw was clenched, his reluctant waiver holding firmly as he mulled over his options. Already he could tell that she was a driven woman, one that did not take kindly to restrictions or imposed upon conditions so she would not rest until one compromise was met. Unfortunately for her, Milliardo himself was quite stubborn too and could not in good mind accept any one of her propositions.
"You will work under the conditions I have provided," he spoke decisively. "No outside contacts are to be made about the inscriptions and you are to stay under the supervision of either Mr. Winner or one of his peers that he deems worthy whenever viewing the totem directly, like all our other researchers. If you find you need some type of consultant to aid you with your study, make friends with one of the people already assigned to this case and pictures are strictly held within the confidence of these headquarters. You'll need to speak with Yuy or Chang to get access."
He exited the room before she could even speak, her lips finely pressed into a thin line. She was not happy about these conditions but took a deep breath before allowing herself to get any angrier.
"Please forgive him," Quatre frowned sympathetically. "This investigation hasn't exactly been the easiest for him to handle so he's been rather unmoving when it comes to protocol."
Rei sighed, feeling a bit guilty about her actions. Perhaps she should have been a bit more compliant. After all this was his sister that was missing not just some random girl.
"I understand," she said taking a last glance at the small totem before they too left the room.
Quatre was now directing her to the main study where most the historians, anthropologists, and various other doctors congregated to labor over the miniscule clues left at the crime scene. From speaking with a few of them she could see that they had no idea what they were looking for, further supporting her inclination that the totem indeed had origins similar to what she had witnessed before in her own life.
"There are specific sleeping quarters for everyone assigned to this case," Quatre informed. "I can show you to your room now if you'd like…"
"That would be—" Rei's heart caught in her chest as her eyes found themselves upon a prancing black kitten who in turn took notice of her. Time appeared to slow as they stared mindlessly at each other, the small crescent moon on the feline's forehead glimmering for one slight moment. Her little black legs continued to move until her body completely disappeared behind a blocking wall.
"Dr. Hino?"
Rei shook her head feverishly, returning her attention to Quatre.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, attempting to regain her composure. "What was that you were saying?"
"Sleeping quarters, would you like me to show you to them?"
"Oh, right," she said. "That would be great if you could."
Quatre smiled, nodding before he again led her to another vicinity of the Preventer's headquarters. Her eyes sauntered helplessly to the spot where she had spotted her old guide, her mind racing with reasons that could explain why she would even find her here. When security was low and she had a chance to speak with her, she would be sure to find out.
A young female typed vigorously away on her keyboard, big blue eyes glued faithfully to the screen as she scanned the characters hastily. It was a usual routine done daily for the past three years, her fair skin attesting to the fact that she spent most of her hours in doors. It was a trying task, the occupation she had chosen for a career, and she dedicated herself fully to doing the best she could. A deep sigh was released as she temporarily took her eyes from the screen, rubbing her forehead mildly while her eyes attempted to recover. The light from the screen was sometimes difficult to handle and so she was always sure to take a break when necessary.
She yawned, outstretching her arms in the process and pushed herself up from her swivel chair. The room was so quiet, quite contrary to how it often was in the daytime. The rows of empty desks earned a brief smile as the woman padded softly through the aisles to again inspect the floor for any trash she might have missed. She had just a few more papers to grade and then she would be ready to retire for the night. Determined, she marched back to her computer and again started clicking through her students' papers checking resources and making sure their citations were accurate. She was impressed, to say the least, by their vast improvement as she could distinctly remember how feeble their reports use to be when she first arrived. Oh how the tides had changed.
A smile crossed her pert lips as she read through yet another praiseworthy report and with an air of satisfaction, she shut off her computer. It brought her great joy to see her student's work so hard on their studies and tomorrow she would be sure to let them know just how happy she was with their efforts. After all, she herself had been working nonstop to try and inspire them to learn, a goal that she had acquired by surprise at the completion of medical school.
Being the top student at her university and even in the nation, the blue-haired doctor was asked to visit schools and speak to the students about the importance of education to which she humbly accepted. However, to her great horror, she found students to be rather indifferent about the topic altogether, hardly anyone actually committing themselves to initiate their own pursuits for knowledge. They were lazy, unenthused, and mindless and dare she say it plain stupid! When she tried to figure out why, she was terrified to discover that the teachers themselves had actually become much less dedicated to their work for reasons that she could not honestly deduce. So, to make a difference in these poor children's lives, she went back to school to get her teaching credentials and got a job at none other than her own high school.
The start was rocky, students unaccustomed to doing so much work but she held her ground, never compromising her ideal curriculum and eventually, her students realized she would not budge and started to listen. It was not easy, sleepless nights, tears and cries of frustration were plenty along the way, but she somehow managed. Content, she looked around the room once more to make sure she hadn't forgotten something only to find a single ungraded test atop her desk. Quickly she sought out a pen, feeling blindly for something to make markings with. By accident, she fumbled upon a sugar pink stick, a bright blue orb glistening even in the dim lighting on top. She paused.
She had to seat herself down as memories poured into her brain. It had been eight years. Eight years since that day she had finally been relieved of her duties, eight years since she had actually seen her closest group of friends in the same place at once, eight long, lonely, charismatic, adventurous and torturous years. She sighed. The last time she had seen any of her old time comrades was about a year and a half ago. She was rather surprised, but not really since her friend had been making visits quite often beforehand. However, she asked the strangest things never once truthfully, or at least the young teacher liked to believe so, admitting what it was she was up to. Why, her latest request was rather odd and the young woman couldn't seem to get it out of her head for the life of her.
"What exactly do you plan to do with this?" the blue-haired woman asked as she gazed skeptically at her blonde friend.
"Well what else does one do with one of these other than use them?" The blonde shrugged in a nonchalant matter.
"Minako," the teacher grumbled. "You're really starting to worry me with your round-about ways."
"Round-about?" Minako questioned. "Ami, I'm trying to be as non-round-about as I possibly can…I think."
Ami shook her head in dismay, Minako still buzzing lightly around the faceless creation as though there were nothing strange about the whole situation.
"Then why won't you tell me what you plan to do with this?" The blue-haired genius asked, her eyebrows scrunched with concern.
Minako paused for a moment, looking pointedly at Ami.
"You won't like this," she started.
"What won't I like?" Ami asked cautiously, anxiety growing.
Minako bit nervously on her bottom lip, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.
"You really want to know what I plan to do with this?" She asked hesitantly with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes," Ami replied. "I did after all create this so I think I deserve an explanation."
"Well, I guess," Minako mumbled. "But I really don't think you'll like it."
"Minako," Ami said placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Whatever it is you have to say, I'm sure I can handle it."
The blue-eyed senshi of Venus smiled meekly.
"Okay," she sighed hesitantly.
"Well…
to be honest…
I really have no clue what I'm gonna use it for."
Ami's eye twitched hazardously as she stood frozen in place. Was she serious? Ami labored so hard over this experiment counting nearly six mishaps, near expulsion from her classroom and countless failed trials only to find that Minako had no real plans for this? She knew she should have refused Minako's request the moment she heard it!
"Minako how could you?" Ami squeaked in a shaky high-pitched voice.
Minako started scratching the back of her head anxiously, laughing timidly to try and make up for her obviously offensive admission.
"I know, I know," she waved frantically. "But I really needed you to do this for me!"
Ami frowned, clearly upset and turned away in disappointment, head shaking as she replayed numerous precious hours wasted away in this pointless project. She was about ready to just storm out of the room but was stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Still angry she snapped back to look at the girl but felt her heart stop when she noticed the distressed look in her friend's usually playful blue eyes.
"You don't know how much this means to me," she muttered, her voice far more serious than Ami liked. "I'm sorry if it seems that it was all pointless.."
After that, Ami could do nothing but nod, still a bit weary about the troubling look in her friend's eyes. She would ask why Minako felt so uneasy but the woman herself couldn't even seem to understand why either. All she knew, was that she needed to do this for reasons that were not yet clear. Ami would expect this type of behavior from Rei or even Makoto, who had decided to move to Juuban district on a whim, but she couldn't really perceive it as natural for Minako especially since Artemis had not been around her for quite some time.
Warily, she shook off the recollection flicking her wrist in just the right movement to make her stick full of memories disappear. She had not heard from her friend since that time, everyday that passed without word from her worrying Ami without end. Though she could detect no suspicious waves of negative energy or surroundings that were out of the ordinary with her computer, she still felt as though something was coming. With that inclination alone, she would always see the burdened eyes of Venus' own soldier, always.
"Quatre."
The said blond turned swiftly on his heels surprised to see that it was Heero calling him.
"Yes?" He responded.
The stoic stare of Wing Zero's pilot was well accustomed, Quatre curious to see what Heero might have had to say.
"Who was that woman you were with today?"
Shocked, Quatre was a bit flabbergasted since Heero never was one to wonder about the identities of women. However, Rei was exceptionally beautiful easily ranking as one of the few that could manage without having to cover herself with makeup or provocative clothing. So it wasn't too astonishing that Heero, however cold, would take notice of her.
"A woman?" Came another voice, playful and prodding as he appeared around a corner. "He-man did I just hear you ask about a woman?"
The question was ignored as Heero stared blatantly in Quatre's direction.
"That was Dr. Hino," he answered. "She's an archaeologist I hired for an excavation a while back. Why do you ask?"
A high trilled swoon of a sound escaped from the American's amused face as he placed a congratulatory arm around Heero's shoulders.
"He-man's got the hots for an archaeologist?" He grinned. "Is she cute?"
Heero glared at him but the American would not stop.
"Ah, she gotta be if she got you to notice her!"
"Duo, must you always be so immature?" Quatre sighed rubbing his head in attempts to relieve the accumulating headache that always seemed to appear when Duo was around.
"Maxwell immature, sounds about right." Wufei walked leisurely in with his hands in his pockets, face molded in a look of disinterest.
"Wu-man!" Duo squealed. "I still can't get over the fact that you've married a complete babe! Geez, how come my love life's so damn barren? I'm a good looking guy aren't I?"
He pointed at himself as he awaited an answer but impatience led him to throw up his hands.
"Of course I am!" He reassured himself as the others tried their best to ignore him.
Trowa was not far behind, his tall frame almost appearing out of thin air as no one seemed to notice him approaching.
"What's going on?" He asked, Duo grinning sheepishly as he excitedly reverberated the brief words between Heero and Quatre while adding a few of his own embellished interpretations.
"You want Quatre to ask this Dr. Hino out for you?" Trowa questioned with the most movement in his voice than either of them could remember. Wufei too was curious as he never expected Heero to resort to this type of tactic to attract women.
"Duo was being a bit overzealous," Quatre intervened. "Heero never vocalized intentions of pursuing Dr. Hino. But I am curious, Heero, as to why you asked about her."
All eyes turned to the unruly haired pilot as he grunted.
"You didn't notice?" He said, peering expectantly at Quatre.
"Notice what?" he asked.
"She knows the cat."
Duo was immediately silenced, his interest on the cat subject superseding his former interest of Heero's supposed "attraction" to Dr. Hino. Wufei and Trowa both listened in for more details, Quatre a bit uncertain about the revelation.
"You mean Haruka's cats?"
Heero nodded.
Quatre scoffed in disbelief.
"And how, may I ask, did you find this out?"
Heero frowned, looking a little disappointed that Quatre himself was not able to spot the little giveaway from the archaeologist.
"She caught eyes with it as if she was surprised to see her there. The cat too looked like she knew who Dr. Hino was."
"I don't understand," Quatre frowned.
"You were looking away when it happened," Heero explained. "But it did happen."
"Well what're the odds of that," Duo smirked. "Another person recognized our little feline friends that were said to have been nabbed from a mad scientist…you don't suppose Dr. Hino is that same mad scientist do you?"
"Baka, she's an archaeologist, they're hardly even close to being considered mad scientists," Wufei scowled.
"Hey, I was just thinking out loud!" Duo said defensively. "It's not like I didn't know that myself!"
"So Haruka did lie," Trowa stated assuming a leaning position against the wall as he assumed they would be there for a while.
"Just because Dr. Hino may have recognized the cats doesn't mean she knows something. Perhaps she was old friends with Haruka and met them before."
"Haruka said she never told anyone about the cats," Duo reminded.
"It still doesn't mean anything," Quatre insisted. "I think maybe you guys are getting too consumed in figuring out what secret may or may not even lie behind Haruka and her pets."
"She had no cat food in her house or even cat hairs and not to be judgmental or anything but Haruka is hardly the type to clean up. I mean seriously! Cats shed, even if they can talk, they still shed and there's no way she has the patience to vacuum up their hairballs in her free time," Duo concluded.
"So," Quatre responded, stubbornly refusing to admit that he might have been leading up to something.
"So," Wufei stepped in. "These cats came from someplace else."
The ridiculous hype spreading about the case of Tenou Haruka and her talking felines was starting to unnerve Quatre as his faith in the other pilots was beginning to be challenged. Honestly, Relena was kidnapped and still missing but their minds were engulfed in unraveling Haruka's story.
"I don't see how this is relevant to our current mission," Quatre groaned.
"Do you not remember that they broke into the Preventer's headquarters using explosives and hacked the security mainframe?" Heero queried.
Quatre was taken aback by the reminder and surprised that he could so easily forget such an important detail. Ashamed, he remained quiet simply listening to hear what the others had to say.
"So the question of why they broke into headquarters is again brought up," Duo droned. "I don't think its coincidence."
"Hn coincidence is a fool's term," Wufei muttered obviously convinced as well that there was more to the attempted invasion of Preventer's territory than originally expected.
"And they now appear to be known not only by Haruka but by Dr. Hino as well," Trowa remarked.
"So what does it all mean?" Quatre finally spoke up again.
There was a moment of silence, the braided haired man smiling as he seemed to find the answer.
"We won't know until we look," he shrugged with a broad grin splayed across his features.
They each nodded. However childish he appeared, Duo was their best informant able to find the secrets of any person no matter their seclusion and the most savvy with the computer when it came to that type of business. Quietly they agreed to send him off to find out if there was indeed a connection between Haruka and Rei that could better aid them in discovering the true identities of the cats. Until he returned, they would be sure to keep a careful eye on Dr. Hino, Haruka and their feline friends. What was to be discovered would be mind-boggling but they awaited the revelation patiently as they continued in their search for the Sanq kingdom's missing royal lady.
So…thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Alycee Lanet: Thank you for your review. I'm glad you like the story ^^ Currently, I am planning to keep Usagi and Mamoru together in this fic. I'm pretty much 90% sure that it will remain that way. I apologize if this is a let down but I really do like them together =]
blackrider11: Nope you didn't miss who Wufei's wife is. I purposely avoided mentioning her name. I'm sorry you have to reread my fics because I lack discipline and patience enough to focus on one fic at a time. There's not much I can say other than sorry and hopefully I can do better about this bad habit of mine...
IkariPanda: I'm glad you liked this chapter! Usagi as a model/actress was something I thought would be interesting and yeah I hope to use Setsuna's profession as a bit of comic relief in the future if I can XD I can easily picture her sitting down and probing the mental state of some random person on her couch! lol As for Wufei's wife, I guess she does sound a lot like Makoto haha
Lita of Jupiter: Glad you found it interesting! And yes Wufei's wife is definitely quite similar to a certain character in the SM world ^^;
dimonyo-anghel: Sorry for confusing you ^^; I kept out the name on purpose so...I guess that's all I can say at the moment even though its not a very well kept secret on my part...XD
JPandS