Midnight's Shadow awoke with a loud, irritated groan as a sudden onslaught of light was released into the room. She squeezed her eyes firmly shut and rolled over, pulling a pillow over her head as she did so. She heard Scarlett utter a breathy laugh. "Time to get up, Shadow," she said, a smile evident in her voice.
"It most certainly is not," the dark haired woman retorted, her response muffled from beneath the pillow.
"Well, whether you want it or not, it is." When she still didn't move, Scarlett sighed. Kate heard her walking towards her. When the footsteps stopped, Midnight's Shadow tensed, fearing what the red head might do. She got her answer when Scarlett swiftly pulled the blanket from her body.
Instantly, the dark haired woman curled into a ball as the sudden cold struck her bare legs. Still, out of sheer stubbornness, Midnight's Shadow refused to get up. She heard Scarlett utter a sigh. "C'mon, Shadow. I'm not going to ask again," she said wearily, making Kate wonder how much sleep she had gotten last night. The dark haired woman heard her footsteps walking away from her until they stopped somewhere on the other side of the room. She could only guess that the other woman had gone into the bathroom area.
With one last defiant groan, Midnight's Shadow removed the pillow from over her head and raised herself into a sitting position. She squinted her blue eyes against the light that poured through the newly opened curtains. Reaching up a pale hand, Midnight's Shadow swept waves of messy black hair from her face, tucking what she could behind her ears. Kate suppressed a yawn as she looked towards the now open window and into the city beyond. There were large gray clouds dotting the sky today. She wondered if it might rain later.
"By the way," Katherine's head turned in the direction of the bathroom, out of which drifted Scarlett's voice, "Heavy Duty dropped off some breakfast. It's sitting on the desk. It's kind of his way of saying sorry," she laughed lightly. The dark haired woman turned her attention now to the desk just to her left and glimpsed a white paper bag. As the smell of its contents reached her, she could feel her stomach rumble hungrily. "I've already eaten so everything that's left is yours," she called out.
With a bit of effort, Midnight's Shadow rose to her feet. Instantly, she found herself regretting the action as her back and neck muscles screamed in protest. She stretched uncomfortably. She knew that sleeping on the floor wouldn't end well. But she felt bad that Snake-
She immediately found herself stopping as the events of the previous night came rushing back to her-confessing to Snake about Storm Shadow, his absolutely livid demeanor, and him storming out of the hotel room. She had stayed up to wait for him, more out of guilt than anything. But he never came back. Part of her was glad because she wasn't sure what she would have said to him if he had come back. Something told her "sorry" wouldn't be enough.
Midnight's Shadow moved over to the desk, taking a seat in the chair, and began digging through the bag as she started eating her breakfast. Her brows furrowed as she continued her train of thought. All through the previous night, she had laid awake, wondering why it was that something held her back from telling Snake about Storm. It didn't make any sense. Sure, there were similarities between the two of them to suggest a connection but that didn't explain why she was so worried about telling him-not to mention Snake's reaction making her fears valid. How could she know that he would react badly to the mention of the white ninja? Like she had been saying over and over to herself, it simply didn't make sense. Did she feel some sort of connection to the white ninja that would make her protect him? No. That made even less sense. Why would she protect someone who had held her prisoner from someone who had helped to save her life? No sense at all. Something told her she wasn't going to get the answers she was seeking anytime soon, especially when the black clad ninja was so angry at the present moment.
Kate cast a look around the room, to the rumpled sheets and blankets on the beds and floor-evidence that they had all had a restless sleep last night.
"Hey, Scarlett?" she called as a thought popped into her head.
"Yeah?" was the answer.
"Did Breaker head back to his room?"
"Yeah. He went back there earlier this morning. Had to step over you to do it," the red head answered, a smile evident in her voice.
Kate bit her lip a little nervously. "Snake, too?" She didn't realize it but she held her breath. There was a tension in the air that she was sure Scarlett wasn't aware of.
"I think so. Didn't see him this morning. Probably went out to have a look around. He's a cautious one, that ninja," she laughed.
Shadow released her captive breath from behind her teeth slowly, eliciting a barely audible hiss as she did so. She continued eating, devouring her breakfast. Kate was nearly done when she noticed a flash of red of the corner of her eye and saw Scarlett emerge from the bathroom. She was wearing a green button up shirt with a light brown leather jacket, dark brown jeans, and boots. Her hand held crossbow was secured to her side in its holster. Her wild red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. All in all, she looked very professional-not really like the experienced soldier that she was.
"You look nice," Shadow commented, looking her up and down. "What's the occasion? I thought we were just going to go to my old home?"
Scarlett stopped just in front of her, crossing her arms across her chest. Her blue eyes regarded her silently for a brief instant before answering. "Actually, General Hawk pulled some strings and got us a meeting with the CEO of Moon Industries-the guy who took over after your father left. We figured it was worth a shot. Maybe he could tell us a little about your father and what was going on in the days up until he took you and left. He could provide some insight on your past if he was close enough with him but we can't be certain. It's worth a shot though."
Midnight Shadow's eyes widened significantly. She had to actively restrain her jaw from dropping open which was mostly successful, seeing as how her lips ended up parting slightly anyway. She blinked several times, the new information not registering for some reason. "So," she cleared her throat to clear any tremors. "What's this guy's name?"
"Warren LeMonferet."
Kate looked away from the other woman, instead focusing on what remained of her breakfast-namely wrappers and such. Her hands clasped each other tightly in her lap to stop the shaking. Why the hell were they shaking?
"What makes you think he can tell us anything," she asked finally after a long silence.
"It's worth a shot. It's more than we had a few days ago. Just keep an open mind, okay? We'll find something." Scarlett took a few steps towards her, closing the distance between them and clapped a hand down on her shoulder. She offered her a supportive smile and a pat on her back before moving past her to head to her bag. "You should go get ready. The boys will be heading over here in about twenty minutes and then we're heading out."
Kate nodded stiffly at the mention of "the boys." Her thoughts immediately went to Snake Eyes once again. Had he come back last night and simply stayed in Heavy Duty's room or had he stayed out all night. What if he hadn't even come back yet? Or what if he had and he had told the others about her withholding information about her captors. No. That didn't seem likely. Scarlett hadn't said anything to her. Unless she knew and she simply hadn't said anything to her yet. She could be hiding it. Great, now she was being paranoid.
The dark haired woman raised herself out of her seat at the desk and headed over to her duffel bag. When she reached it, she knelt down onto the ground and began to rummage through its contents, pushing aside a variety of different clothes. Some she had been given from Scarlett and others she had gotten online through the requisitions officer. Finally, she just pulled out some black pants, a thin blue sweater with a scoop neck, and a black tank top. Fresh clothes in hand, Midnight's Shadow headed into the bathroom to begin the morning routine. It started with a shower, which helped to fully awaken her. The heat also aided in soothing sore muscles from the previous night's sleeping arrangements. Using some of the shampoo that Scarlett had kindly left her, she proceeded to scrub it into her dark, flowing locks, enjoying the feeling of massaging her scalp as she did so. After thoroughly rinsing out all the shampoo, which smelled quite nice by the way, she turned off the water and stepped out. She grabbed a nearby towel of a rack and wrapped it tightly around her damp body. She could already feel the goose bumps appearing on her skin as she exited the warm water and into the lower temperature of the rest of the room.
Bringing up a hand, Kate wiped away the steam from the mirror in quick even strokes until a blurry version of herself had appeared in front of her. Not taking too long to stare at herself, Shadow continued with her routine. Using the hotel hair dryer that was mounted to the wall, she dried her hair. Through the heat and her running her fingers through her long tresses to reduce knots and tangles, her hair was soon dry with a beautiful sheen to her obsidian black hair. Her hair was naturally messy and always seemed to have some curl to it, even when she didn't create them intentionally.
Brushing what strands she could behind her ear, Kate removed her towel, making sure that all stray droplets of water were removed from her body first. She set the now wet towel on the same rack from which she had grabbed it and turned back around. She proceeded to grab her clothes from the counter in front of her and pull them on one by one until they formed a complete outfit. Midnight's Shadow looked at herself in the still steamy mirror, straightening her clothes up as necessary. Not the most stylist outfit but at least it was comfortable. Continuing, she quickly brushed her teeth, ran a brush through her hair, and put on makeup as needed. After a few minutes, she cast her bright blue eyes up at her reflection, determining this was as good as it was going to get after the night she had.
She cringed as the memory of an absolutely livid Snake Eyes storming out of the hotel room with his fists clenched into fists tightly. Kate squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, banishing the memory from her mind, before opening them.
With a tired sigh, she bent down and scooped up her discarded pajamas from the floor and tucked them under her arm. Taking a few steps toward the door, she extended her hand, her pale fingers wrapping around the silver handle, with a tug down the door opened and Kate walked out into the rest of the room that she shared with Scarlett. As she walked out, she saw the red head standing by the dresser preoccupied with something in front of her. But Scarlett wasn't the only one in the room anymore. Midnight's Shadow stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Heavy Duty and Breaker standing in the middle of the room.
Heavy's large head swung in her direction when he heard the door open. "It's about time. We should have been on the road ten minutes ago but we had to wait on you," he declared in a gruff tone. Her blue eyes skimmed him up and down, taking note of his dark tight fitting muscles shirt-which was fast becoming aware was the only type of shirt he wore. He also wore a black leather jacket and nicely pressed black pants.
"Well, you sound nice and well rested," was her response as she gave him unamused look. Her eyes looked him up and down once more. "Why do you look like you're going to a funeral?"
That earned a snort from Breaker, who was standing just to the large British man's right. The Moroccan jerked his head in his direction. "He thinks that black makes him look cool. He's not capable of wearing anything else," he said with a smirk. As for him, he wore a maroon patterned shirt with some words on it she couldn't read with a gray zip up hoodie over it and a tan corduroy jacket over that. He wore plain blue jeans with a few nicks and tears in them and classic converse shoes.
Heavy gave his comrade a sideways glance. It was probably a warning because as soon as his eyes met Breaker's, the smile was instantly gone. "I don't think you should be talking, mate," was his response after an intense brief moment.
As the large British man started to lean away to look back to Midnight's Shadow, she saw Breaker mouth "wow" in a dramatic fashion. Kate bit her lip to keep from laughing. Heavy instantly turned to look at the Moroccan but he looked in the opposite direction innocently.
Kate let her lower lip slide through her teeth as she allowed a smile to grace her features in response to their antics. She began to walk past them, still gripping her pajamas under her arm but she almost dropped them when she saw who was standing in the middle of the room: Snake Eyes. He was dressed in black, as per the usual, but this time it was slightly different. He wore a black button up shirt with a long black coat that reach down to the middle of his thighs, black dress pants, and nicely shined shoes. He wore his usual black mask and gloves, ensuring that not even a bit of skin had a chance of being seen. His visor was facing away from her, looking out the window towards the rest of London. If he noticed or even cared that her gaze was upon him, he gave no indication of it. He was stone still and almost didn't seem to be moving.
Midnight's Shadow felt a pang deep in her heart as her eyes fell upon him. She felt like she had betrayed him and wondered if he was still angry with her. Her eyes instantly downcast, shifting away from him, her face twisting into one of sadness. Luckily, her bag was by the desk near the window and not on the bed next to Snake Eyes. That's one awkward situation averted but she was sure she had a full day of them to come. She stiffly strode towards her duffel bag, kneeling down and shoving her pajamas roughly into it once she reached it. After that was done, she pushed her hand deep inside, feeling around, searching for something in particular. When her hand touches something somewhat stiff and hard, she took ahold of it and pulled it out. What emerged was a pair of ankle high black boots. Sitting flat on the ground now, Midnight's Shadow swung her legs out from under her and began to pull them on. She could hear Heavy Duty, Breaker, and Scarlett talking behind her but she wasn't paying attention to that. All she could focus on was watching a certain black clad ninja out of the corner of her eye. He still didn't acknowledge her presence, his head not shifting even an inch in her direction. Was he ignoring her? That was certainly a possibility. But to her, it looked like he was perhaps lost in thought, too wrapped up in it to notice anything around him, let alone her. Perhaps this was a good thing. It was better than him drawing attention to it while everyone else was there. She just hoped it would stay that way for at least today. Shadow had to make it her goal to at some point get him alone and at least attempt to talk about what happened the night before. The only problem was, she was sure she would lose her nerve. Especially as scenes of an enraged Snake Eyes entered her mind once more. She never wanted to see him like that again. She didn't want to fear him. They were supposed to be friends, right? Maybe they weren't anymore. Maybe withholding that information was like a betrayal to him. Maybe this was something that wouldn't be fixed by a simple talking to. Maybe it's already doomed. With the way she was feeling now, she started to feel as if she didn't want to work with the Joes anymore, even if they were protecting her and trying to help her find her lost memories. But, it was also possible that because of her stressed state that she was simply being a bit dramatic. Only time would tell.
Finishing pulling on her boots, Kate rose to her full height. Heavy Duty glanced in her direction. He briefly looked her up and down. "You ready?" he inquired.
Midnight's Shadow answered with a nod, grabbing her shoulder bag off the nearby desk and slinging it over her should.
"Alright," the British man announced, now speaking to the whole group, "off we go to Moon Industries." He turned and headed for the door, opened it, and disappeared through the threshold, Scarlett and Breaker following close behind.
Snake Eyes, having snapped out of his statuesque state turned and walked right past her, still not even acknowledging her presence. With his long strides, he was out the door in seconds, leaving Kate behind with a sick feeling in her gut and an ache in her heart. Her hands were clenched into fists at her side as she silently began to curse herself for hiding the information about Storm Shadow in the first place. Then with a shaky steadying breath, Kate steeled herself and followed the others out the door to begin a day that she hoped would be filled with many revelations about her life, her father, and just who she truly is.
A/N: HOLY CRAP! It has been sooooooo long since I updated this story-well, any of my stories in fact and I must apologize. Life has been EXTREMELY busy! We have moved since the last update and then my grandparents went downhill and now I have a full time job so it was VERY hard to find the time to write. And when I did, I really lacked any motivation to write. I wanted to but I couldn't. It also didn't help that this chapter was a little boring. But all the people who sent me PMs and reviews to encourage me to keep writing really contributed to keeping this going. Always after I got one of those, I would write a little bit more of this chapter, even if it was just a sentence or two. So you should give yourselves a nice pat on the back. Thank you for the constant and continued support! I really appreciate it. I still can't believe it's been over a year since I last updated. It honestly feels like it has been only like two months. Haha. That's just how hectic it has been. I can't tell you for sure when I will update next, but I will try to do it soon. Welcome to all the new followers and favorites and welcome back to the ones I already had! Please review!