Broken Wing
A Sailor Moon / Gundam Wing crossover
Part 6
By Sailorcelestial
Authors Note: Lookie lookie! Didn�t I do good? Not a long wait this time! Teehee! Anyways, no, there isn�t a lot of action yet . . . sorry to those of you who are waiting for it. Don�t worry, it WILL come. There are just some other things that I have to take care of before the action can start. It should be another chapter or two at most. If not, feel free to beat me to a bloody pulp! Just save my hands� otherwise I won�t be able to type.
Disclaimer: I don�t own Sailormoon. I don�t own Gundam Wing either. Dangit, I just don�t own anything, do I? ::sighs::
"Thank you, Quatre," the woman called Setsuna murmured to him as he handed her a cup of tea. The boy nodded quietly and straightened to look for what had to be the millionth time towards the girl Setsuna had brought to them.
She sat beside Duo on the living room couch, straight and proper, as if some cultural sense of morality drove her to act such in the presence of these young men. Quatre found himself staring at her. True, her long hair was sunlight gold and not the soft silver of moonbeams. But her eyes . . . her eyes were the same clear, iridescent blue of the sad princess of his dream. If he gazed at her long enough, he could almost see the touch of royalty to her features, a hint of sorrow in her kind gaze. Could it be? Could she truly be . . .
Her eyes swung to him.
She�d felt him watching her. Her head tilted ever so slightly to the side as she looked on him curiously. Quatre gulped and blushed, embarrassed at having been caught being so rude. Quickly he looked downwards and moved to the other side of Duo, setting his own cup of tea on the coffee table that waited before them.
Across the way Setsuna had settled herself comfortably on the small loveseat and sipped her tea delicately. To her right, in a plush chair sat Wufei, his blade resting in his lap as a warning to Duo against any sudden or suspicious movement. To Quatre�s right in a matching chair sat Hiiro, calmly drinking a steaming mug of coffee, eyes downcast as usual. And behind them, standing away from the rest of the group, Trowa stood with his back to them, gazing out at the drizzling rain that had begun only a few moments before. Quatre hazarded a glance over his shoulder at the lone boy, and wished that Trowa would join them. At his left Duo shifted and sighed, no doubt so bored with the quiet he could barely stand it.
"You�re all wondering why I�ve gone through all of this trouble," Setsuna finally said, carefully placing her cup on its saucer. She leaned forward and set the cup down, a sorrowful sigh escaping her lips. Quatre felt, not for the first time, the aura of age and sadness that enveloped her. If not written in her appearance, it was certainly written in her eyes.
"Yeah," Duo was saying in response, "Who are you and why have you turned our lives upside down?"
"Have I upset your life anymore than the scientists who turned you into what you are?"
The five blinked, while their blonde guest looked on in blatant curiosity.
"How�"
"How do I know about that?" Setsuna turned to Wufei, who had been the one to ask the doomed question. The smallest of smiles graced her lips, "There is no way that I can explain my knowledge to you that you will believe. I am . . . very old."
"Yes," murmured Quatre from across the way, "I know. You�re much older than you appear to be."
"And how the hell do you know that?" Duo exclaimed, settling down again when Wufei glared at him menacingly.
"I just . . . I feel it."
Setsuna nodded.
"You feel much, don�t you, Quatre?" Her eyes fell on him, their maroon depths swirling in his vision, and Quatre felt that this woman saw deep into his very soul, "Your empathy is a gift, it tells you more about those around you than you are willing to accept." Then her gaze moved to the girl, Usagi-chan, and Quatre felt the golden-haired one gulp under the pressure of those eyes. Setsuna seemed to be silently telling them that they shared something in this gift . . . that the two of them were alike in this way.
"You were about to explain to us who you are," Hiiro said quietly, never lifting his eyes from his cup. Setsuna glanced to him, that small smile back to dangle at her lips.
"Yes, I was."
"Setsuna-san . . ." spoke the girl for the first time since she first arrived. Her entire slender frame was leaned forward, her eyes filled with apprehension. Whatever it was that Setsuna was going to tell them, Usagi-chan did not seem to feel as confident as the tall woman.
"Daijoubu, Usagi-chan. They have a right to know who I am. After all, I have disrupted the true course of their futures."
"What?" Duo�s voice rose a bit in pitch with the force of his incredulity. Quatre was certain that behind him Trowa�s gaze had left the falling rain and landed on this mysterious woman. Hiiro certainly looked up from his coffee, and Wufei almost dropped his katana. The claim she was making . . . disrupting their futures . . . it sounded as if she were implying that she had actually known their futures.
Setsuna merely sat there waiting for the five of them to calm before continuing.
"I am a warrior," she began, "one of many who protect this planet. However I have another duty as well. I am the Guardian of Time, my obligation being to safeguard the Gate of Time and observe, ensuring that Time flows naturally. I am . . . not supposed to interfere with anything, no matter how much I am tempted to do so." At this point Setsuna trailed off into silence, staring at the floor. Quatre turned slightly to see Usagi-chan gazing at the taller woman in kind understanding. Had Setsuna once violated this rule to help the girl?
"Setsuna-san . . ." This time Usagi-chan�s voice was softer, with an edge of compassion to it that Quatre heard very little in his time. The woman shook her head as if to clear it and waved a hand at the girl.
"No, Usagi-chan, it�s not necessary. I know." A smile, then: "However, when I saw what was about to happen to the five of you, I knew that I had to disobey that law once more."
"What was going to happen?" Duo asked with a dark sort of interest, the kind one has when offered the chance to know one�s own date of death. If only Quatre knew how close his analogy was to the truth.
"Duo, it . . ." The pause in Setsuna�s voice was laced with so much that Quatre could almost hear the words:
Terrible things . . . death . . . murder . . . betrayal . . . too much for your souls to bear I think . . .
"It is not important," were the words that finally spilled from her crimson mouth, "what is important is that I will not allow that future to exist. I have already changed it now, simply by intervening and bringing you here."
"Well, that�s it then," Duo jumped up with a large smile, "We can go now, if you�ve already changed it, then we�re all fine and�"
"It�s not that simple," Usagi-chan murmured from her perch on Duo�s left. She said it with such confidence that Quatre was certain she had been through something like this before.
"Usagi-chan is right," Setsuna said with a frown, "it�s not that easy. I�ve changed your futures, but that does not necessarily mean for the better. My judgement could have been completely wrong. That is why I�ve brought Usagi-chan here to help you. I . . . there are certain things that I cannot do. . ."
I cannot be with you always, Quatre heard beneath the pauses, I cannot change your minds; I cannot change your hearts. I cannot be the friend that she can be to you . . .
The young boy�s eyes widened as he looked from Setsuna to Usagi-chan. Who was this girl that Setsuna had such faith in her? Who was she that this aged creature, this woman who had seen more years than the Earth, trusted the teenager with the fate of five lives? She must have been a goddess.
Selene . . .
Quatre shook his head, not believing that he had come up with such a ridiculous comparison. She could not be the goddess Selene. Not only was this girl achingly mortal, but she also was real, while the goddess was mere myth. Wasn�t she?
"What are you babbling on about, Onna?"
"Destiny," Setsuna replied, never skipping a beat at Wufei�s arrogant tone, "I�m speaking of destiny, both yours and Usagi-chan�s." Her eyes grew hard with a certain sternness that, like her age, had always hung about her like a loose robe that she now pulled about her tightly. What came with it was an air of command that no doubt was a result of seeing the millennia pass like moments. "This is something that must happen, not only for you five, but also for her. Usagi-chan has a great destiny that she has only just begun to understand. There is a price and a responsibility that comes with it . . ." Setsuna trailed into silence once more, this time under a fog of having said much more than she had planned. Quatre saw the lips press together tightly, and knew that they would get no more information from her this day. His eyes moved again to Usagi-chan and saw that she had paled by several shades . . . she was not in a mood to be asked questions, which Duo would no doubt do once Setsuna was gone.
"Well," the boy said quietly as he rose, "Usagi-chan is no doubt very tired from her journey; I believe it would be a nice gesture for you to show her to her room, Wufei."
"Me?" Wufei sniffed, glancing the girl up and down, sizing her up, no doubt coming to the conclusion that she was just another unworthy woman. Quatre sighed inwardly.
"Yes, Wufei, you," he said with just the tiniest hint of impatience behind the words. Wufei grumbled to himself, but rose and motioned for the girl to follow him. Quatre allowed his sigh to pass from him as one of relief.
"Thank you, Quatre," Setsuna said in an echo of the words she spoke before. This time, he could see in her eyes, she was thanking him for much more than just a cup of tea. He nodded to her, a small smile of him own on his lips.
"Is that it?" Duo shrieked, hands flying into the air in an exasperated gesture, "Is that ALL you have to tell us?"
"No," she replied, a bit of steel returning to her tone, "that isn�t all. But I�m not prepared to tell you the rest of it yet. Usagi-chan needs to be here to hear it, but she is, as Quatre observed, exhausted." Setsuna rose from her seat, slowly, as if the weight of her duty pressed her downwards even now. "I�ll return at a later time to tell you the rest," her eyes closed with her weariness, "Please, PLEASE, behave until then, Duo?" It was a plea, her way of begging.
"Sure," Duo replied cheerfully, "I�ll behave. I promise."
Usagi sighed as she followed the black haired one called Wufei. He wasn�t very friendly. Not at all. In fact, he seemed to be grumbling grumpily to himself as he led her along. She made a face, and finally her overwhelming sense of having been insulted overcame her fear of saying something stupid.
"If you didn�t want to show me to my room, you could fought a little harder."
"What?" the boy turned and glared at her with hard black eyes that made Usagi wonder if she had been wise to speak.
"I said," she began to repeat, forcing the nervous shake from her voice, "that if you didn�t want to be my guide, you should have fought harder. I could have found my way by myself." She was rewarded with a derogatory snort from her guide and a roll of his eyes.
"We�d have been searching for you in this place for weeks. It�s not that easy to navigate, especially for airheaded teenage girls."
"I�m not the only teenager around here," she exclaimed indignantly, eyeing him pointedly, "How old ARE you anyway?"
"I�m fifteen," he answered, arrogance practically dripping from every word, "No doubt several years older than you." He crossed his arms, obviously prepared for profuse apologies.
That was something he was not going to be getting from Tsukino Usagi.
"I�m sixteen," she said with a particular glee, crossing her own arms, "a year older than you, so HAH!"
"You don�t act like it," he mumbled, turning away and continuing on his trek down the hallway. Usagi took this as a personal victory and followed him, skipping happily.
Only a few more moments passed before Wufei stopped, and Usagi nearly slammed into him from behind. Luckily for her, he hadn�t noticed her screeching to a halt. The boy motioned to a door and grumbled something that sounded like "Here."
Usagi, in a characteristic display of immaturity, stuck her tongue out at him before opening the door and stepping through.
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.
"It�s just like home," she breathed, her gaze travelling from one item to the next. She couldn�t believe the accuracy with which her bedroom home in twentieth century Tokyo had been recreated. The sheets, the pajamas that waited for her . . . everything down to the number of stuffed rabbits sitting on her dresser was perfect, down to the last detail of their whiskers. Mr. Floppy even had a tea stain, although this rabbit did look a bit more time worn than the one that sat on her own dresser. In fact, even the dresser was perfect. It even had a sticker of a winged horse stuck to the side, like the one she had stuck there when she was seven years old . . .
It IS mine! She realized with sudden clarity, NeoQueen Serenity must have had this place built! She must have put all of my old furniture here, knowing that I would feel more comfortable if it looked like home.
Tiny tears of gratitude filled her eyes. Serenity may have been her future self, but the woman was much more thoughtful than she had ever been. Usagi felt honored to know that one day she would be that woman.
A sigh from behind her broke into her private reverie.
"You take one look at stuffed rabbits and already you�re sobbing. How are you ever supposed to help us with our war?"
"I�ve seen war," she answered quietly, and by the expression on his face she could tell that her words had taken Wufei by surprise, "Maybe not the same kind of war as you . . . but I�ve seen war."
"I�m surprised you�re still alive, then," he replied, and turned away, leaving Usagi alone in her room.
Wufei scowled as he stalked down the hallway. That girl . . . she was weak, he could tell. She was like all of the other women in that way. They all cried so easily, letting their emotions get in the way of duty, of what they knew had to be done.
Yet . . . when she had uttered those words . . . I�ve seen war . . . something that rose from the depths of those blue eyes had almost forced him to respect her right then and there. A deep sorrow, a sense of wisdom that shouldn�t hang on a girl so young.
No, he thought to himself with a shake of his head, she�s only a girl, like any other.
Quatre turned back into the room after Setsuna left, and his eyes rested on those of his fellow pilots who remained. Hiiro still sat in his chair, still staring at his coffee. There was, however, a glint of extra hardness to his gaze that worried Quatre. The stoic pilot was taking Setsuna�s words very seriously. Behind the couch, Trowa stood with arms crossed and looked at Quatre, his eyes begging for some sort of guidance. Quatre gazed back helplessly, as unsure of what to do as any of the others. Duo, surprisingly, was sitting on the couch quietly, eyes glazed over with the signs of being lost in thought. What went on in the braided ones head when he was serious like this?
"So," came Wufei�s voice from the doorway, "what are we supposed to do now?"
"I don�t like this," Hiiro said, finally taking his eyes from his coffee to look towards Quatre, "She�s still keeping us in the dark. There�s information that she�s hiding from us."
"She�ll tell us in her own time," Quatre replied, a plea lacing his voice. He trusted Setsuna, and wanted the other pilots to trust her as well. Trowa, Hiiro, and Wufei glared at him, not even the tall, quiet boy seeming to agree with him. "Please, Trowa," he begged, reassured somewhat when Trowa merely sighed and shrugged.
"I say we wait and see."
The four turned to Duo, who had spoken quietly, but it was amazing that he had spoken on this subject at all. He sat there, elbow resting on the couch�s armrest, indigo eyes narrow in serious thought. Why, he looks almost . . . like a leader. Quatre blinked at the errant thought, forcing it back into the depths of his mind. Duo, a leader? He would never be able to muster the sobriety for more than a few moments at most.
"But," the braided one chirped on cue, "until then I say we enjoy the company! It�ll be nice to have companionship other than your grave faces all the time!" With that he slapped the armrest and pushed himself up, pushing past Wufei as if nothing in the world mattered to him, as if they were not in the middle of a war.
Quatre sighed.
Duo marched down the hallways, braid swinging behind him as he made his way in the direction of the girl�s room. He knew it was down here somewhere . . .
Ah, yes, there.
He stopped before the plain door, fist raised in preparation to knock. But he didn�t. Instead he stood there, indulging in his short memories of her sun-gold hair and iridescent blue eyes. From the moment he had calmed enough to look into the face of the person he had slammed into, Duo had not been able to look away from her, or keep the vision of her celestial countenance from his mind. She was an absolute angel, why couldn�t the others see that? One would think that even stern Wufei or stoic Hiiro would have noticed her.
I�d have killed them if they did . . .
Duo blinked, surprised at his own vehemence. Where had that come from? He hadn�t known this girl more than five minutes, and had spoken only a word or two of apology to her. She had, and rightfully so, not uttered a single word of reply to him. She had been too busy dusting off her skirt and shirt.
He took a deep breath and steeled himself to knock once more when his eyes caught a glimpse of color under the grime that marked the door. Curiosity momentarily overriding his desire to see her again, Duo leaned forward and brushed away the dirt with one hand. After a few swipes he began to uncover the bright pink of very old painted lettering. It had been painted by an expert hand, and the letters were in ornately curly-qed cursive. Only one word graced that door.
Usagi.
It seemed that Usagi-chan�s destiny truly did lead here. Otherwise her name would not have been scrawled on the door when the building was first built, so many years ago. Duo smiled, for some reason relieved greatly that Setsuna had not made a mistake in bringing the girl here.
The door swung open suddenly.
Duo, hand still raised, was caught standing out in the hallway, mouth open dumbly. The girl stood just inside, hand still on the inside doorknob, one golden eyebrow raised.
"Hai?" she asked him, "Can I help you?"
"I . . . uh . . . well . . ." he stopped. She still stared at him expectantly, her free hand resting on a hip. Duo realized that he must look very stupid. There was nothing to be done about it now, however, and the boy stood there silently, blinking.
"Well, since you seem to have nothing better to do, would you mind showing me to the kitchen? I�m STARVING!" The words cut through the air and slapped Duo, waking him from his trance. Something about the idea of eating appealed to him at that moment . . . as opposed to any moments where it didn�t, and the boy immediately grinned ear-to-ear.
"Sure! Follow me!"
Duo swung about, flinging a quick motion at her to follow and started down the hallway. It wasn�t very long before he was babbling on about something so completely inane that it isn�t even worth mentioning. However, his babblings ceased when he felt a tug at his braid. He stopped and spun to gaze on the girl with narrowed eyes. She stood with her hands behind her back, the most innocent of expressions on her angelic face. He glared at her a few seconds longer before turning around and hesitantly continuing his walk. A moment or so passed in silence when he again felt the tug, a bit harder. This time when he turned he caught Usagi-chan with the tip of his braid in her hands, playing with it like a five year old child.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat and was rewarded when her head jerked upwards. She knew she was caught red-handed. He expected an apology, but got something completely different.
"How come your hair is so long?"
"What?!?"
"The only other guy I�ve ever known who had such long hair was Fish-Eye," she paused, and then added, "but he dressed like a girl a lot anyway . . ."
"Huh? Who�s Fish-Eye? What kind of name is that? And why my hair is so long is none of your business anyway!"
"Gomen," she said, never releasing his braid as her hands flew about in the air, gesturing wildly, "but it was just a simple question. I�m allowed to ask questions you know. And it�s not THAT much of a personal question, it�s only about your hair! But I can understand if you find your hair very important to you. I know several people back home who would die if anything happen to their hair, but most of them are girls�"
"My hair," he growled, snatching his braid back from her possession, "is none. Of. Your. Business." He emphasized each word so that she would not miss his point.
"Okay," she said quietly, subdued by his evident anger, the poor girl not understanding why this was such a sensitive subject. Duo stood there a moment and finally decided that an apology from him was unnecessary. SHE was the one who needed to apologize. Yes. Definitely her.
Once more headed in the direction of the kitchen, silence following behind him like a heavy shadow, Duo considered telling her everything about Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. If he told her about his life as an orphan, then his part in the deaths of those two kind-hearted individuals, what would she say? Would those blue eyes turn from him in shock and shame? He didn�t want to find out.
"I�m sorry," he offered through a cough, his fist balled before his mouth. He stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and waited for her to catch up. "I shouldn�t have . . . I mean, it�s really nothing . . . there are just certain things�"
"It�s okay," he heard her say, and her voice was devoid of any anger or hurt. He looked up and into her face. She was smiling at him. He knew that his outburst, seemingly from nowhere, had hurt her feelings, but she didn�t show it. She merely smiled. "You don�t have to explain. We all have things that we don�t want to talk about."
"Not you," he heard himself say before he could stop himself, "I can�t imagine anything you could have done that you wouldn�t want to talk about."
Usagi-chan gave a small smile, a gift that Duo treasured in his deepest heart, unknowingly. But the smile had such a tinge of sorrow to it that he felt something catch in his chest, an urge to hug her in assurance that everything would be alright.
Stop it! You�re being stupid!
"I have my share of things I�ve done, both recent and . . . very old . . . that I�m not proud of. One day, if we become friends like Setsuna-san wants, maybe I�ll tell you about some of them." With that said she turned and walked through the kitchen door, leaving Duo standing in the hallway alone.
I�d be happy to listen . . . if only to hear your voice.
Quatre stood just outside the hallway. He hadn�t meant to overhear the conversation between Duo and Usagi-chan, but on his way to the kitchen it had been inevitable.
I have my share of things I�ve done, both recent and . . . very old . . .
"The suicide . . ." the boy murmured to himself. He was quite certain now that this girl and the princess from his dream were one and the same. The facts just didn�t make sense, though. If she had committed suicide, how could she be standing her now, not only much younger than his dream princess, but also with a different hair color all together. The blonde was not the product of dye. It was too much like spun gold, too much a natural blonde to be dye. But the princess�s hair had been moonlight silver.
He shook his head, not understanding what he was supposed to do about this. Even if the two were the same, of what importance could that possibly be to them?
A sound behind him caused Quatre to turn and look up into the questioning face of Trowa. He opened his mouth, then caught himself before letting the words tumble from his lips. If he wasn�t sure, then it wouldn�t do Trowa any good to worry about it as well. The tall boy had enough to worry about as it was, with lost memories and all. Quatre shrugged and gave a gentle smile.
"I think Duo has a crush on our guest."
"Ah," Trowa replied in his usual brief manner. A glint from his one visible emerald eye made Quatre think that perhaps the circus boy wasn�t completely convinced his gentle companion was telling the entire truth. He didn�t wait around for a longer explanation, though, assuming that there must be a reason for Quatre�s resistance to share his true thoughts. Instead Trowa merely turned and returned to the living room, where Hiiro and Wufei were still discussing what must be done about the mysterious and non-talkative Setsuna. Quatre followed him. Listening to the end of the conversation, the two seemed to have decided that the woman would share all of her knowledge the next time she appeared, or else.
"I hope you two are certain that you would be doing the right thing." Quatre peered at them hesitantly.
"We are," Hiiro replied, eyes steely, "It�s right. If she doesn�t tell us her entire plan, we will kill her."
Quatre stared at Hiiro, and then at the nodding Wufei and Trowa.
What are we? He wondered incredulously, What are we that killing has become the answer to all of our problems?
End Chapter Six.
Broken Wing
A Sailor Moon / Gundam Wing crossover
Part 7
By Sailorcelestial
Authors Note: Here you are, chapter seven! Well, as a sort of side note: I�ve been sending out emails to people every time I update Broken Wing. If you want to be added to this list of people, then make sure that you tell me in your review, and PLEASE be sure that your email address is included! Putting me on author alert would be easier, though, IF you have an account at ff.net. However, if you aren�t an author at ff.net, I�ll be happy to add you to my list. Anyways: I�m fudging a little bit of Sailormoon fact in this chapter. Anyone who has ever seen the subtitled S season knows that our dear Usagi-chan can�t speak English worth beans. Well, in Broken Wing, she is older, and I�m going to say that she learns quickly when she puts her mind to it. So THERE! And yes, I stole the market place scene idea from Aladdin. It was just TOO good to resist! As always, even though I don�t always say it, I give oodles and oodles of thanks to Marika Webster. Hey, she�s an author who�s Voyager and Sentinel fics are simply AWESOME! Go read her fics after you read mine. And also a HUGE, absolutely HUGE thanks to Trenchcoat Man. You know who you are. ::winks::
Disclaimer: Takeuchi Naoko-sama owns Sailormoon, not me. And I don�t own Gundam Wing either, although I wish I did. Plft. And neither do I own Aladdin, which gave me a bit of inspiration in this chapter.
Four weeks passed. Four weeks in which Duo and Usagi both drove the other pilots insane by simply being bored and having no outlet for which to alleviate that boredom. Even Trowa had nearly cracked, once barely holding back from grabbing Hiiro�s gun in order to put Duo out of his misery.
On this particular day, Duo was once more confined to his room. He sat at the window, chin rested in one hand, annoyed indigo eyes gazing out at the landscape. The only thing that made him feel any better at all was the fact that Usagi, who had quickly corrected him on what she was to be called, was also locked in her own room. No doubt she was creating more of a ruckus than he ever had.
His mind wandered briefly, back to the scene enacted not too many days after she had first arrived . . .
"Hey, Usagi-chan!"
Usagi whirled on the braided one, who waved at her with the most idiotic of grins plastered on his face.
"Don�t call me that! You don�t have the right to call me that!"
"Huh?" Duo asked, plain confusion written on his features, "Why not? Isn�t that what Setsuna called you? I thought it was your name."
"My name is Tsukino Usagi, and only my friends and family call me Usagi-chan!" Her voice was flooded with indignance, even as she left out some of the more complicated details of the suffixes that followed all Japanese names. "You are younger than I am, and not only that, but you barely know me!"
"Er . . ." he wasn�t sure if this was important or just the rambling of an insane teenager, "So . . . what DO I call you?"
"Since I�m older, and you don�t know me well, you should call me Usagi-san!"
"Usagi . . . �san . . ." Duo tried out the new sound, and he wasn�t so sure about it. Somehow it didn�t seem to fit this bubbly, cheerful girl. But by the look in her determined blue eyes he knew that any attempt to call her anything else would result in him having a black eyes, or worse. "Okay, I�ll call you Usagi-san."
"Arigatou," she replied, and Duo gave her the purest look of confusion.
"It means �thank you,�" she informed him.
"Oh . . ."
It was the sudden sight of a figure darting out over the green grass of the valley that broke Duo out of his memories. There was no mistaking those twin rivers of sun-gold; it was Usagi. He sighed. Where did she think she was going? If the guys found out they�d be absolutely livid!
Now, Duo had no reason to help her. In the past four weeks the two of them had played more practical jokes on each other than Duo had EVER played in his entire life. And that was quite an accomplishment. He learned that Usagi had quite a malicious streak in her when the situation allowed, and his trust of her had plummeted considerably since that first day. Anyone who brought scissors within a foot of his braid was an evil, evil person who didn�t deserve his trust.
But . . . if he sneaked out of his window now to bring her back, that was ten minutes of freedom. And ten minutes of freedom in this prison was nothing to throw away.
In moments the braided one had climbed out of the window and was darting across the valley after the golden girl, Usagi.
It didn�t take him very long to realize that her steps were too sure, her path too certain, for this to have been her first secret trek. Duo�s eyes narrowed as he decided simply to follow her at first to see where it was she was lurking off to. Through the trees she traveled, and Duo had to hide several times while Usagi stopped to untangle her hair from various low growing bushes. He snickered under his breath; that was a good reason to wear one�s hair in a braid, and she deserved the trouble and pain this was causing her, he was sure of it.
Perhaps fifteen, or maybe twenty, minutes after the journey had begun, Duo blinked to find that somehow Usagi had managed to locate the nearest small town. From what Setsuna had told him of the base�s location, he knew that the girl had led him into the Sanch Kingdom, for that was where the only town within walking distance lie.
"Hello, Usagi-san!" shouted a little girl, who ran up to Usagi, brown pigtails bobbing in the wind.
"Konnichiwa, Terry-chan!" the older girl replied in that odd language that somehow the other pilots understood. He was going eventually have to ask them what it was, so that he could learn it as well. Obviously Usagi had been spreading the knowledge around, or else the little girl would not have known to call her "Usagi-san." More proof that this was only the latest in a string of secret excursions.
Duo slipped from his hiding place out into the crowd in order to continue following her as she walked along with the little pig-tailed girl. Every so often he ducked into a new hiding spot, if they seemed to turn his way. The two seemed to be involved in some serious conversation, about food no doubt, knowing Usagi. And all along the way people would nod and smile at Usagi as if she were the dearest of old friends, and some of them even offered her fresh baked buns or pastries. None of them seemed at all worried about the fact that until a little while ago this girl had been a complete stranger to them, perhaps even an OZ spy.
Either the people of the Sanch Kingdom are crazy, Duo thought to himself, or there is much more to Usagi than I thought . . .
"Hey, you! Yeah, you with the braid."
Duo gulped at the harsh tone in that voice. He turned slowly, looking up into the black-bearded face of the shop owner behind whose barrels he had chosen as his most recent hiding place.
"What do you think you�re doing?" the less than happy looking man demanded, shaking a spatula in Duo�s face, "Did you think you could sneak a loaf or two from that barrel without me noticing, eh?"
"No! I�"
"I haven�t seen you around here before. You must be a foreigner. Well then, the guards will be only too happy to hand you over to OZ so they can take you home!"
OZ?!?
Duo�s eyes widened as he thought about what OZ would do if they got their hands on him again. He couldn�t let that happen. He scowled and prepared to run, maybe even slap the shop owner around a bit if it was necessary for his escape.
"Shingo!" came a familiar voice from the crowd, and Duo blinked, looking that way. There stood Usagi, her hands on her hips, an expression of pure annoyance on her face.
"You know this boy, Usagi-chan?" the owner asked, still wielding the spatula as if ready to smack Duo at any moment.
"Yes, George-san," she answered with a respectful bow, "He�s my little brother, Shingo-kun." She turned her eyes to him and shouted, wagging a finger in his face, "What have I told you about following me? Mama and Papa will be furious with you! I�ll take you home, but then you have to stay there, understand?"
Duo opened and closed his mouth silently for a moment, not quite sure what to make of this situation. Then, looking into her face, he realized what it was she was doing. His mind scrambled for the proper word, and came up with the only one he�d heard her speak that he thought might fit.
"Hai," slipped from his lips, and he saw her relax ever so slightly. Apparently he�d chosen correctly, and she�d taught these people enough of her language that they would know the difference. If he was to play her little brother, it was important that they hear him speaking the same as she did.
"I don�t know, Usagi-chan," rumbled Spatula Man, doubt swimming in his eyes, dark with suspicion, "He looks a little old to be your younger brother."
"He�s tall for his age," she replied with a laugh, wrapping the slender fingers of one hand around his arm as she pulled him to his feet, "And he looks like our Papa, while I look like our Mama." Duo nodded dumbly in agreement. "He was probably just spying on me," she went on, and bopped him on the head in what he felt certain was not false annoyance, "you know little brothers!"
Spatula Man peered at them for a moment longer, then sighed and waved them away with his flat weapon, "Fine then, go on. And I�d better not see you hanging around my bread barrels again, got it?"
"Hai!" Duo offered with more confidence than before, even managing an innocent looking smile. Spatula Man scowled and turned back into his small shop.
Usagi released his arm and smacked him upside the head.
"What are you DOING?!?" she hissed at him under her breath as the crowd began to disperse.
"HEY!" he gripped his head and glared at her with confused and angry indigo eyes.
"You know better than that!" she continued in a subdued whisper, "Setsuna-san told me enough about this . . . about what�s going on for me to know that you�d be in VERY deep trouble if OZ ever found you!"
"Yeah," he admitted, somewhat guiltily, "but that doesn�t give you the right to hit me!"
"It was for your own good," she shot back at him with a mischievous grin, "After all, someone�s got to beat some sense into that thick skull of yours, ne?" Duo scowled as Usagi popped one of the buns she�d gotten as a free gift into her mouth and started once more down the street to where the little girl waited for her.
"Hey, Usagi-san," Duo called to her, and she turn to look at him expectantly, "Uh . . . thanks. You know . . . for helping me."
She offered a blazing smile and a giggle.
"It�s my job, remember? I�m here to help you guys!"
"Right," he laughed a bit, then ran up beside her, "Hey, and next time, bring me along with you, okay? It�s not fair for you to have all the fun!"
After that, Usagi and Duo got along much better than they had before. The practical jokes stopped . . . well, mostly anyway, and Duo became Usagi�s closest friend at the base. She still insisted that he call her Usagi-san, however.
Quatre, unlike even laid back Duo, had trusted her from they very first moment he met her, knowing what he did. But he had yet to really approached her and try to create a friendship. He wasn�t certain why it seemed to be so difficult. Perhaps it was because he knew what he did about her, and still hadn�t shared with the others: she was a princess.
Then, one day, just before dinner, the opportunity to interact with her was thrust into his lap and Quatre couldn�t avoid it any longer.
He was walking down the hallway with Trowa, both on their way to the dining room, when his eyes landed on the figure of Usagi walking ahead of them. She went along at a lazy pace, and he saw one of her hands rise to stifle the yawn that issued from her mouth. He sighed; for a princess she was very idle, and slept more often than she did anything else, save for eat. Yet for all of the things about her that could be annoying, she somehow became more endearing than anything else. Even Hiiro and Wufei seemed to be enjoying her company more, as much as either of them could enjoy anything. Quatre did, however, get the feeling that Hiiro was around her more often to observe her carefully than try and earn her friendship.
He was certain that neither he nor Trowa made a sound, or called out to her. But Usagi turned and greeted them both with a bright smile, as if she wasn�t surprised at all to find them behind her. In fact, her entire reason in turning seemed to be in order to talk to them.
"Quatre-kun, Trowa-kun! Konbanwa!"
"Konbanwa to you, Usagi-san," Quatre replied with a small smile. Being the heir to a large fortune had its pros, one being a very thorough education, including foreign languages. Japanese was only one of the many languages that Quatre knew, so he was able to converse with Usagi, when he did, in her native tongue. It was odd, however, because there were certain words or phrases that he understood, but were somewhat off, as if she spoke a different dialect of Japanese than that he had learned. And he had learned all current dialects of that language.
"I�m glad to see you here," she continued, speaking Japanese, "because I knew that if you were here, Trowa-kun would be as well."
Trowa, who also spoke the language, though he couldn�t recall where he had learned it, blinked in surprise. Quatre was quite astonished himself.
"What do you want with me?" Trowa asked, never uncrossing his arms, and never giving more than a raised eyebrow in expression.
"Well . . ." she paused, and even cast a glance about, as if afraid that someone might be listening in, "I think . . . I might be able to help you."
"Help me? With what?" Trowa tossed a glance at Quatre, who merely shrugged. Neither of them could dare guess at what she might mean.
"With your memories."
"Nani?!?" This shocked Trowa so much that he actually took a step backwards. Quatre stared at the girl, who only looked back at them with a calm, serene expression.
Serene . . . Serenity . . .
The blonde stepped forward and grasped Usagi�s hand tightly, looking at her with eyes he was certain held his plea in them.
"If you can help Trowa regain his memories, we both will owe you a debt we could never repay."
She smiled at him and shook her hand from his grasp.
"Don�t be silly," she giggled, "You won�t owe me anything! I�m here to help you, that�s why Setsuna-san brought me here, ne?"
Quatre nodded silently, watching as she stepped forward to place a hand on Trowa�s forehead. Her iridescent blue eyes narrowed in concentration and her cheerful face hardened into a mask of perfect command. There was no doubt that she was indeed royalty.
"It�s alright," she murmured to Trowa, "this shouldn�t hurt. Just open your mind, alright?"
Trowa, who had tensed when her fingers touched his skin, relaxed at the sound of her voice. His visible emerald eye locked onto her gaze, and there passed between them a spark of something Quatre couldn�t quite understand, even with his abilities. For a moment he felt a blaze of jealousy flare up in his gut, to know that Usagi and Trowa would forever share a bond because of this experience that he would never know. He quickly quelled the feeling, however, knowing that it wasn�t fair to either of the two. Quatre did not know what the tall boy�s feelings towards him were, but he did know that Usagi could love only one man. If Endymion were alive again, as she was, her heart belonged to him and him alone.
At least, Quatre hoped so.
In the moments while he had been lost in his own thoughts, Usagi and Trowa had not moved a muscle. Now, though, now Usagi pulled her hand away, gazing at Trowa with hope shining in her eyes. Ah, thought Quatre, even she doesn�t know whether it was successful or not.
Trowa stared into her eyes, his own wide and disbelieving. He seemed unable to do such a simple thing as break eye contact with the girl of sun-gold hair. And then the most unbelievable thing happened.
A single tear slipped down his face.
Usagi smiled, knowing at that sign that she had succeeded. Quatre looked on as the girl flung her arms tightly around the tall boy, and Trowa raised his own arms stiffly to return the embrace. The brilliant green eyes lifted to gaze at the blonde, and Trowa�s lips sounded out two very important, miraculous words.
I remember . . .
Quatre smiled, his heart filled with a joy that he�d never known before. Such a simple happiness it was, to be so glad over the return of a friend�s memories. To him, however, Trowa was much more than a friend, even if the tall one never knew.
Duo insisted that they throw a party in Trowa�s honor, now that the silent pilot was complete. The others, however, while happy for Trowa, did not agree. They were too close, Hiiro said, to the border of Sanch and the village where Duo had nearly been caught, to risk their safety now by making too much noise. Oh yes, they�d found out about Usagi and Duo�s jaunt into that village, and both were supposed to be strictly confined to the base. Of course, there was little that could actually be done to keep the two of them locked in if they were really determined to get out.
The day after Usagi�s Miracle, as Duo only half-jokingly called it, he was waiting in the forest for her to arrive. They had chosen a specific tree to meet at on days when they were going to the village, and Usagi was invariably late each time. This day was no different.
At long last he saw her golden tresses through the tree branches and leaped down from his perch to land before her. He was disappointed when she didn�t scream in surprise, but merely told him to hurry up. Then again, he HAD done that every single time. Duo did realize that after so many times, Usagi was bound to begin expecting it. He sighed, and followed her.
They chatted about various things along the way, from their shared continued annoyance at Wufei and his arrogance, to their concerns about Hiiro�s quiet nature, and round three of "Can Usagi catch the braid before Duo notices?" She taught him a bit more of her language, which he learned was Japanese. It was no wonder Hiiro knew it, for the stoic boy was himself Japanese and had been taught English as a small child. Quatre, of course, would have been taught languages, and Trowa had mentioned something in passing the day before about remembering traveling a lot as a child. No doubt he�d picked it up somewhere along the way. Wufei informed them that before he became a Gundam pilot he had been a scholar, and it was only natural for a scholar to learn languages other than his own, for uses in translation. Duo, it seemed, was the only pilot who spoke only one language and that was something he intended to rectify before this ordeal was over and Usagi was sent back to whatever mysterious place Setsuna had plucked her from.
They were nearly to the village when Duo�s sensitive ears picked up the sound of a struggle. He frowned, thrusting a strong arm in front of Usagi to stop her from proceeding.
"What?" she asked, and he shushed her with a quick motion of his other arm. Usagi quieted, somehow knowing that when Duo was serious it was best to listen to him. After a moment he cursed under his breath and rushed forward, leaving behind a confused Usagi.
"Hey," he shouted to the two OZ soldiers who were in the middle of harassing a village girl, "I thought Sanch was a peaceful kingdom. What are you idiots doing in a place for peace, eh?"
The two looked at him, ugly scowls breaking across their faces as they pushed the girl to the ground. One of them pulled his gun and pointed it in her face to keep her still, while the other turned fully to Duo. The braided pilot saw that this soldier was at least twice his size, if not more so. He gave an impish grin, knowing that the soldier thought he had the upper hand against such a small boy.
"This isn�t any business of yours, boy," the man spoke with surprising clarity, obviously educated despite his large, dumb appearance, "I suggest you take your girlfriend and leave us to our own affairs."
"Girlfriend, what?" Duo turned to see Usagi standing behind him, glaring at the two men in anger. Apparently she hadn�t understood that she was supposed to remain hidden. Ah well, too late to do anything about it now. Duo looked back towards his two foes, the larger of which now looking towards Usagi with more than a passing interest. The grey eyes that sat in his face narrowed as he looked at her.
"You . . ."
"Uh oh." Usagi murmured, and Duo wanted to turn and ask her what was wrong. There was no time, however, as the large soldier shouted at his companion.
"That�s the girl! The one all OZ personnel are ordered to capture on sight!" He pulled his own gun from its holster, "Forget the villager! Seize that one!"
This is bad . . . this is VERY bad!
The situation began to look worse as the leader pulled out a transmitter and shouted orders into it for the rest of his company to converge immediately on the spot.
"Damn!" Duo pushed Usagi back into the foliage, hoping that she would take the message and run as far away as possible. He could only wish that she would escape, for he knew he wouldn�t. He took a flying leap at the large soldier, jaw and fist clenched in determination.
"Get her!" the man yelled at his subordinate seconds before Duo�s fist collided with his cheek. He sputtered, blood and even a couple of teeth shooting from his mouth. Duo nursed his hand for a moment, forever surprised at how much that always hurt. Cursing between blood soaked spits, the soldier raised his gun to aim it at the boy. Duo was no fool, no matter how many times Hiiro or Usagi called him "baka," and he knew better than to stand still and wait for a bullet to hit him. Moments later the gun clattered to the packed dirt road as a result of his swift kick. Now it was the soldier who cursed and grasped his injured hand.
Behind him, Duo heard Usagi shouting indignantly, and he turned to see the first subordinate soldier and another who had appeared on the scene. Each of them had the girl by an arm, and she was kicking and screaming, putting up a rather good fight if Duo did say so himself. But more soldiers were coming, and one they arrived neither of them would have any chance. Duo took a step forward.
Bright red burst across his field of vision at the same instant a blunt pain struck him at the base of the neck. Duo fell, pushing himself up in order to see the large soldier had retrieved his gun. He�d hit Duo with the hard butt of the weapon, and Duo heard Usagi scream his name before the gun came down again and this time he blacked out.
A soft murmuring filled the air, the words dancing just outside the realm of his consciousness. The atmosphere smelled of cooked meat and fire. Behind the layer of human voices he heard the clank and clatter of dishes, and the splash of water. Where was he? Who was he? Why did his head ache so?
A moan was heard, and it took him a second to realize that it was his own. In the next moment a soft hand came to rest on his forehead, and a voice just as gentle reached his ears.
"Don�t move, Shingo-kun," said the voice, "you took two hard blows. Your head will be hurting you for several days."
At long last he was able to open his eyes, and the blurred form that hovered over him slowly took a clearer shape. It was a woman, and she looked somewhat familiar, though he couldn�t recall ever having met her before. He stared at her, then tried to push himself up and was rewarded when a bolt of electric hot pain shot from the back of his head down his neck and back. A cry escaped from his chapped lips and he fell back against the bed once more.
What happened? He thought even as the woman began speaking again, why does my head hurt? Who is this woman? What . . .
Usagi!
Duo remembered suddenly, the soldiers, the fight, and Usagi being taken from right under his nose. He clenched a fist, the one that had struck the soldier, and cursed in his own mind. Damn it, he�d been incredibly stupid. How could he turn his back on an enemy who wasn�t dead or unconscious? He�d been worried about Usagi, heard her screaming, but that was no excuse for that level of idiocy.
"Oh, and your friend is here."
What? Friend?
Duo carefully turned his head to look past the woman and his eyes widened when he saw Hiiro leaning against the wall, arms crossed in usual fashion.
"Hiiro!" he croaked, trying urgently once more to sit up, but was pushed back down.
"Shingo-kun! I told you to be still!"
Duo finally took a longer glance at the woman and recognized her as the older sister of Usagi�s young friend, Terry. He assumed that she had seen the fight, or found him afterwards, and brought him to her home. She called him Shingo-kun as taught by Usagi, believing as the rest of the village did that he was her little brother.
"I can�t," he tried to tell her, "I have to . . . I have to find her!"
"I know," her eyes became sad then, and she sighed, "I know you tried to protect your sister, but when OZ wants something, they get it. And they wanted her. Personally . . ." she sighed again and looked at him with intense brown eyes, "I say you go home and forget about it. Whatever Usagi-chan did to call OZ�s attention to herself . . . well, it�s just not worth you getting involved. I�m sure your parents would rather have one child safe at home than to lose both of them to OZ�s wrath. Just go home, Shingo-kun, please?" Her eyes begged him, and Duo found himself agreeing with her pleading gaze, although he knew it was all a lie. He would go after Usagi, and OZ wouldn�t stand a chance.
"Let me take him," came Hiiro�s calm voice, and the next thing Duo knew he was being hefted up by the boy�s thin but strong arms, despite the woman�s protestations. Pain seared through his head, blocking out any further thought, but Duo clenched his teeth and didn�t complain. He vaguely heard Hiiro assure the woman in his frank way that he would take good care of Shingo-kun, and not to worry. Then the cool air of night hit his face and the sounds of the village drifted into the background as Hiiro led him further into the forest, towards the base.
Several minutes passed in silence, while Duo tried to regain his thought and push back the pain. At last, though, Hiiro�s voice cut through the hush.
"What happened?"
"OZ," Duo replied, wincing, "Two soldiers at first, attacking a village girl. I tried to stop them, they recognized Usagi-san." He paused, pained more now by the memory than his head, "They took her."
"They didn�t recognize you?" Duo thought there might be a tint of surprise in the icy boy�s tone.
"I don�t know. I don�t think so. They were lesser soldiers, probably never saw OZ�s intelligence reports on us."
"Still . . ." Hiiro paused in thought, helping Duo over a fallen tree trunk, "you would think that they would still be interested in someone who attacked an OZ soldier so recklessly."
"Yeah," the braided one admitted, feeling a surge of shame.
"So why," Hiiro continued, "did they drop all interest in you in favor of Usagi-san?"
Duo raised an eyebrow. Apparently Usagi had terrorized even Hiiro into adding the �san after her name.
Stop it, that�s not important. What�s important is finding Usagi and getting her back.
"They said that all OZ soldiers were ordered to capture her on sight." Duo sighed, "When we get back, you tell the others and I�ll go on ahead�"
"No."
"What?!?"
"She�s just a girl. She�s not important. We can�t risk getting captured trying to save her."
"Hiiro!" Duo latched a hand into Hiiro�s shirt, his voice rising despite the pain in desperate pleadings, "What are you saying? That we just LEAVE her to OZ?!?"
"Yes."
End Chapter Seven.
Broken Wing
A Sailor Moon / Gundam Wing crossover
Part 8
By Sailorcelestial
Authors Notes: I want to make it very clear that any increase in writing productivity you guys may have noticed is a direct result of waves of wonderful reviews I receive every time I post a new chapter of Broken Wing. If you want more, review! If you review, I know that you guy like BW and want more. If I know you want more, I�ll write more! Now that THAT�S out of the way: Thankies to Marika Webster, as always, and the ever awe inspiring genius of Trenchcoat Man. And thankies to VeeBees, who got jealous when she wasn�t mentioned before. ::winks:: But she knows I luvs her, and she gives me LOTS of support by reading every chapter! Also, I know that everyone is waiting for updates on Broken Wing, but I would really appreciate it if you guys would read and review my new fanfic, Dream Infinity as well. It�s a Sailormoon crossover with Rurouni Kenshin, and I hope that it will be of the same quality as BW.
Disclaimer: Do I really haveta say it AGAIN? ::gets prodded by some lawyers:: Okies, okies: I don�t own Sailormoon or Gundam Wing. There, ya happy?!?
In the quiet that followed Duo�s retelling of his story, no one dared to look at him. Hiiro noticed this, as he noticed most things, even if he didn�t offer this knowledge. He saw Quatre lower his blonde head to place his face in waiting hands. Trowa stared into the white paint of a far wall as if Usagi was lingering there to jump out at them and say it was all a very cruel and distasteful joke. Wufei sat with his arms crossed, glancing with dark eyes between his four companions, waiting to see what they would say. They all knew that he would be the strongest advocate for Hiiro�s point: they should leave the girl.
"Come on!" Duo growled with a special vehemence that shocked them all into looking up into his face. The features that normally looked so childish were twisted into a pained expression of desperation. "We CAN�T leave her! You all know it as well as I do! She�s an innocent who got caught up in our fight, and we can�t just let OZ have her!" He paused to look at them each in turn, asking silently if he had gotten through to them.
Hiiro sighed inwardly. Yes, she was an innocent, and it wasn�t fair that she had to be sacrificed for their safety. But the fact remained that they were Gundam pilots: wanted, and destined to be executed if OZ were to find them. Usagi would most likely merely be interrogated and then released. He couldn�t think of a single reason for OZ to want her, though they obviously did, let alone a reason for them to want her dead. Yes, it was better for them to leave Usagi to Oz, and save themselves.
"I can�t believe you guys!"
Duo�s anger was so intense that he stood to his feet in a shot without a wince although his head must have been causing him agony.
"We don�t know if we can trust her�" Hiiro began, only to be interrupted.
"God damn you, Hiiro!" the braided one spat in a display of near hatred, "If there is a God, he�d damn all of you for this! SHE�S AN INNOCENT!" He stumbled a bit at his own shout, gripping his head. But he gave no cry of pain, and in a moment his steely indigo eyes had landed on Trowa. "She gave you back your memories. She helped you be a complete person again and you�re going to let her be taken prisoner? Are you?!?"
Trowa blinked and looked at the floor in shame.
"We don�t know if we can trust her?" Duo went on, just as fiery, "QUATRE!"
The blonde jumped to hear his name spoken so harshly.
"Y-yes?"
"What do you feel from her? Any malice? Any darkness at all? If she had any plans to harm us in any way, if we couldn�t trust her, you would have told us, right? Right??"
"Duo�"
"Answer me! Is she a danger to us?"
A pause. Then, looking even more shameful than Trowa, Quatre opened his shaking lips and replied.
"No. I feel nothing but compassion, kindness, and love from her."
"Alright then," Duo seemed to calm at that, more from his own pain that Quatre�s words. Just when Hiiro thought that he was done, the braided boy turned on Wufei. "You."
Even Wufei was taken off guard by that.
"What about me? I agree with Hiiro, she�s a liability, nothing more. Not only that, but she is weak to have allowed herself to be caught. She should have known better than to get herself involved in a situation that she obviously couldn�t handle." Wufei smirked, certain that there was no way Duo could circumvent that logic.
"She�s weak, a weak woman, that�s all?" Duo seethed when the black-eyed boy nodded arrogantly, "Where in your damned code of honor does it allow you to leave the weak at the mercy of the strong? Instead of abandoning an innocent person weaker than you, shouldn�t you be fighting to protect her? I thought THAT was honor."
Wufei paled by several shades.
Duo spun to glare at last at Hiiro. Stoically, the pilot of Wing stared back at the braided one, who seemed finally at a loss for words. Hiiro knew what was going on in his head: What now? What possible words could he say to Hiiro Yui to make him cave in? At long last, those lips opened once more, and the words that exited were a mere whisper.
"She . . . she�s an innocent, Hiiro. We protect the innocent, we don�t abandon them. Is there nothing in your past that you regret enough to want to repent for it?"
A flash of memory burst into Hiiro�s mind.
A girl . . . a puppy . . . a flower . . . the base burning, the mobile suits falling . . . if only he�d been more careful . . .
"Please . . ." he heard Duo beg him once more. Then the braided one said haltingly, in Hiiro�s own language, "Onegai, Hiiro."
No . . . we can�t. It�s too dangerous for us, and we are the last hope for peace. She�s just a girl . .. a girl . . . an innocent girl . . .
Not trusting his voice to speak, Hiiro gave a brief nod and a grunt as his reply. With a relieved sigh Duo sank onto the loveseat and promptly passed out.
Damn him! Damn that braided idiot and damn the girl too!
Two hours after Duo�s scene in the living area, Wufei, was in the Gundam hanger as he always was when upset. Facing Shenlong, his Nataku, he suddenly spun in fury and slammed a fist into the nearest wall. The pain that resulted did little to quell his rising anger, however. How dare Duo speak to him like that? As if the American knew anything of honor! He placed both hands on the assaulted wall and hung his head between his arms, eyes blazing as they stared at the floor.
He had a point, a deeper part of the Chinese boy murmured to himself, honor means protecting the weak . . . and you were going to leave her to OZ. You know they have no honor.
A sigh, ever so slight, escaped from his lips.
"Thank you."
Wufei spun, hand ready to clutch his katana if necessary. He saw no one, and didn�t recognize the voice. He stood in silence, dark eyes narrowed as he searched the hanger for sign of the hidden speaker. At last, from the darkness shrouding Deathscythe, stepped Duo, head wrapped in a bandage that needed changing more as the seconds slipped by. For a soundless second indigo eyes stared into black. Wufei relaxed. Despite his general dislike for Duo, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the boy was trustworthy. He piloted a Gundam, and fought against OZ, didn�t he?
"Why thank me, Maxwell? You got the better of me in there. Shouldn�t you be gloating?" Wufei stood tall, prepared for the snickers and the snide comments he knew were coming.
"I�m thanking you . . ." Duo paused, and Wufei suddenly understood why he had at first not recognized the boy�s voice. It was deeper than before, weighted down by solemnity and dignity. "I�m thanking you for understanding," he concluded at last, sad eyes straying from Wufei�s face to gaze on Deathscythe. If any of the pilots were as connected to their Gundams as Wufei, it was Duo. "You would have agreed eventually. You know much more about honor than I do," he sighed, placing a hand on the black, shiny surface of his mobile suit, halfway, it seemed to Wufei, for support, "I just had to remind you."
"No, Maxwell," Wufei replied in his usual harsh tone, for that was something he couldn�t help, "I was completely in agreement with Hiiro. I would have left her." He hesitated, knowing what he had to say next, but not liking it, "If anyone should be giving thanks, I should be thanking you. For reminding me."
Duo blinked, and looked at Wufei in nothing less than shock. The black-haired boy felt his lips tilt upwards in an unwilling smile. He knew more than anyone how surprising his offered thanks had been. It surprised him as well.
"Don�t look at me like that, Maxwell," he said, turning his back to walk out, "This doesn�t mean that we are friends."
But the smile didn�t leave his face until he was well away from the hanger.
Usagi sat in the dank cell, arms handcuffed together by the odd cuffs that certainly did look like something from the far future. She heaved a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping forward with the effort. Eyes having adjusted to the dark, she spotted the place on the nearest wall were she had been marking the hours, or at least the closest approximation she could get without a watch. Carefully she counted them. When she came up with the number thirty-five, Usagi made a face. It surely hadn�t been that long. The guys wouldn�t leave her here for longer than a day, she was sure of it. Most likely her impatience and discomfort made her imprisonment seem lengthier.
"Alright, minna-san," she grumbled to herself in Japanese, picturing the five boys at the base, "where are you? I think I�ve been waiting long enough."
"Saying your prayers, Little One?" came the sneering voice of her guard from outside. It was the same one that she had knocked unconscious with the Silver Crystal when she first appeared in this time.
"Hai," she answered, "I�m praying for you that when my friends come to rescue me, they won�t hurt you TOO badly. You are, after all, just human." She heard his arrogant humph and was distinctly reminded of Wufei.
No, even Wufei is better than this baka. At least Wufei is fighting for peace. If I can believe Setsuna-san.
"I�d be praying for myself, if I were you. At least if you continue to refuse to tell use what weapon you used against me and my soldier." His callous speech chilled her even though there was a steel door between them, "My superiors won�t keep you alive as long as you refuse, if that�s what you�re thinking. After a while they�ll get so tired of your insolence that they�ll have you executed just to be rid of you."
Usagi shivered, not because the cell was cold, but because his words cast an iciness over her heart.
Minna-san . . . Duo-kun . . . what�s taking you so long?
It was then that she remembered Setsuna�s words to her regarding the Gundam pilots:
They are kind underneath, but all are very dangerous. Until you know for certain that you have gained their trust, and that they deserve yours, never turn you back on them.
Despite herself and her vow to remain strong in the hands of the enemy, Usagi felt renegade tears spilling from her eyes. She closed them tight, trying to close back both the tears and the thoughts that caused them. Could the pilots have abandoned her? Would they? She couldn�t believe it. She rejected the very idea that any of the boys would desert her, especially to OZ. There was too much kindness in them for that. She trusted them, Kami-sama help her, she trusted them.
Duo-kun . . . I trust you!
She took a deep breath and released it as a sigh. Yes, she trusted them all.
Well . . . maybe not Wufei.
All of them wanted to go immediately after Usagi, but it quickly became evident that Duo was in no condition to go anywhere outside of the base, let alone into the heart of battle. Hiiro, in his quiet way, backed by Trowa and surprisingly Wufei, ordered the braided one to his room for two days of bed rest.
"We need the time anyway," Hiiro had said, "to find out which base they�re keeping her at."
"And you�d be no use to her like you are," Trowa added quietly.
"So you might as well just lie down, be quiet, and leave all of the work to us until you can stand without swaying." Wufei growled, arms crossed, no trace of the friendly smile left on his face.
So Duo lie in bed, arms folded gingerly behind his head, indigo eyes staring upwards at the ceiling. His mind rolled back a day. He saw only Usagi�s face, twisted in fear as it had been the moment before he had blacked out. A large, poisonous ball of guilt rolled up in his chest and began to eat away at him from the inside out. Over and over Duo cursed himself for being stupid, for turning too soon, for getting involved in the fight in the first place, for not taking the large soldier out completely. This was all he had to do all day.
Without warning Trowa�s face appeared in his line of vision.
"AAHH!" Duo jumped and whacked his head on the headboard, "OOWW!!" His howl of pain was enough to make Trowa wince.
"Sorry."
"Yeah, right! Sure, I know that this is what you all do for fun! Go on, surprise Duo, make him blackout from pain! It�ll be a riot!"
Trowa stared at him in silence. He waited until the braided one calmed down before he handed forth a sheet of paper, freshly printed from Hiiro�s computer screen.
"We found her."
Duo snatched the paper away from Trowa�s outstretched hand. It was a map, showing the two closest OZ bases. One of them had been circled in red, no doubt by Hiiro�s precise hand.
"You sure this is the right one?"
Trowa nodded.
"Absolutely sure?"
Trowa nodded.
"Beyond a shadow of a doubt?"
Trowa nodded. Again. And something sparking in his emerald eye made Duo shut up.
"It�s the closest. From your story it�s the only place they could have taken her, because they weren�t in Sanch for military reasons. They probably were only looking for supplies and to make trouble. Therefore they wouldn�t have had the manpower or the equipment to travel from any of the other two bases." Trowa tossed him a glance, "That is, if your story checks out."
"Why wouldn�t it?" Duo asked furiously through clenched teeth.
"You took two blows to the head, Duo," Trowa replied, "It�s enough to cause anyone to forget details. It wouldn�t be your fault if you were wrong about something."
Duo crossed his arms and sat back, his ire assuaged by Trowa�s explanation, although he still felt a bit as if it had been meant as an insult. The tall boy stood by quietly, as if knowing somehow that Duo was far from finished. At long last the braided one looked up with one eye and pursed his lips in seeming thought. When he spoke again his voice had returned to normal. Or what was normal for Duo.
"So, when are we going? It�ll be good to pilot Deathscythe again, it�s been way too long!"
"We�ll leave as soon as you seem to be ready�"
"Ready? I�m ready! I�ve been ready ever since that OZ bastard hit me and took Usagi-san!"
"�and we won�t be taking the Gundams. At least not all of them."
"WHAT?!? What do you mean �not all of them�? How�"
This time, however, was Trowa�s turn to interrupt.
"Hiiro will be the only one piloting a suit," he said in his monotone, "he will go first, as a diversion. Wufei and I will fight on the ground while you and Quatre infiltrate in the ensuing panic and find Usagi-san." He handed Duo another sheet, this one a schematic of the interior of the OZ base. "You�ll see that the prisoners wing has been marked. That is your destination."
Duo shook his head, impressed.
"Is there anything that guy can�t do?" he muttered to himself, thinking of Hiiro and his amazing laptop.
"I doubt it," Trowa replied, completely serious. The he turned and walked out in order to leave Duo to his thoughts.
"Well," Duo spoke aloud, not wishing just yet to go back into complete silence, "seems like they�ve got this all worked out. Without me." He gave a sigh and gazed on the floor plans before him, memorizing it with his sharp, trained mind, "Looks like I�m the useless one. They worked out a perfect plan without my help, and could probably pull it off without me too." It crossed his mind for the briefest of seconds that perhaps if he were expendable, he should just leave and let the others continue on without him.
No, was his next, immediate thought, I want to see Usagi-san freed. Then a wicked grin spread over his childish features, And kicking a little OZ ass while I at it would certainly be an added bonus.
"What was the weapon?!?"
Usagi�s head jerked to the side with the force of the officer�s backhanded slap. Vaguely, through a haze, she felt the chair she was tied to begin to topple over sideways, and she wondered if they would return her to her cell if she fell over. The soldier behind her caught the chair, however, and she was returned to the safety of a straight sitting position.
"You�re starting to annoy me, girl," the officer growled. He was quite strong and intimidating despite a small and wiry build. Usagi managed a pained smile through her busted lip as she thought that he must have looked something like Umino when he was younger. She was rewarded with another furious backhand. She felt her face swelling on either side due to the numerous hits and slaps she�d taken in the past hour. "Tell me what weapon you used!"
"Weapon?" she murmured groggily, "You must have the wrong girl, I don�t have a weapon. I�m just a normal girl . . . normal . . ." a sob shook from her chest at the utterance of her most cherished dream: to be a normal teenager.
"Normal," he scoffed, picking up a vicious looking stick from the desk behind him, "You�re about as normal as the freaks that sit in circus tents and expect to be paid for their abnormalities. You�re disgusting. But OZ is determined to know the nature of that weapon you used against our soldiers, or see you dead if you don�t tell us." He slapped the carefully carved and treated wooden stick against his hand, beady eyes glinting maliciously from behind oval-shaped glasses, "So start talking. Or I can beat you to death right here."
She coughed. Then, ever so slowly, Usagi lifted her face to gaze serenely at this monster of a man and smiled as well as she could.
"Could I have something to eat? I�m starving."
She saw his mouth twist in rage, and his arm flew up, prepared to bring his shiny baton down on her head and end her existence. Usagi sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for the blow that never came. When again she opened her eyes, the officer was paused in position, gaze thoughtful. Finally he slammed the stick back down on the desk and waved at the two soldiers flanking her to take her away.
"I�ll try again in a few hours," he said, "One more time. Only once more."
Usagi felt herself being untied, then lifted from the seat and carried by her elbows down one of the many identical corridors that made this place a maze. Her head fell forward, chin resting on her chest as she let them carry her.
What had this been? Number three? Since her arrival she had been interrogated a questionable number of times, each one more violent than the last. Judging from the level of suffering she felt now, Usagi knew that the next time likely would be the last, as the officer had asserted. He would kill her next time for certain, whether on purpose or simply from the sheer intensity of his attack.
She heard the hiss of a cell door sliding open and in the next second was being dumped carelessly on the hard floor, left to her own agony.
Minutes passed, and once she was certain that neither of her escorts still waited outside, she allowed all of her pain out in the form of tears. The moisture dripped from her eyes down her cheeks, cleansing away the dirt and blood in their path. This was not her usual crying; this was the soul-tearing sobs of a person in deep misery physically, mentally, and emotionally. Ribbons of torment slid through her body as it shook with the strength of her sorrow, pain from each and every cut, bruise, or possibly broken rib.
Her thoughts wandered to her home, her friends, and Mamoru. What were they doing now? Did they even miss her? Were they alive to miss her? These thoughts only made her sobs harder, and the pain became so intense that she barely even felt it anymore.
Kami-sama, w-what have I done to deserve this? Who are these horrible people? I don�t think I can take much more! Oh please . . . let them kill me next time.
"We can�t wait much longer," Quatre told the assemble pilots, voice cracking as he closed his eyes, "I feel it, she�s in pain. Who knows what they�re doing to her."
Hiiro felt a brief, weak pang of guilt at the blonde�s words. He had thought for certain that Usagi would be released. Obviously he, Hiiro Yui, the Perfect Soldier, had been gravely wrong. So mistaken that if Duo had not convinced them to rescue her, it might have cost her life. Who knows, their necessary delay might already be enough to sign her death warrant. She might be dying even as they sat there speaking.
"Quatre�s right," Duo said, unwrapping his bandages, "We have to go now, no more waiting."
"But Duo�"
"But nothing, Quatre. I�m fine. I�m not going to die any time soon. She might, if we wait any longer." He stood, dropping the gauze strips to the ground with careless abandon. "I suggest Hiiro take Wing up, �cause I�m leaving now and not one of you can stop me. I�d like to see you try."
None of them did as he turned and walked away, no doubt to get his silver pistol and a few other essential items he would need. They passed a glance amongst themselves and Quatre was the first to get up and go after Duo. Trowa rose and left to gather his own supplies, while Wufei went to sharpen his katana one last time before leaving.
Hiiro stayed behind a few more moments, a frown weighing the corners of his mouth downwards.
That baka is going to get us all killed one of these days, he thought, His courage borders too much on stupidity.
Then Hiiro pushed himself from the chair and headed towards the hanger and Wing.
End Chapter Eight