Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sanctuary : Haven ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

For my Allure-nee-chan who went on a updating craze and made me feel guilty for not doing the same.

Chapter Three

Index:
Haruka = Sailor's Uranus' janpanease name
Amara = Sailor Uranus' english dub name

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Their world was teetering.

As they stared at each other around the table, the reality they had worked so hard to achieve was slowly falling apart. And there was no way for them to stop it. As each wall and roof fell apart, as each minute and second ticked by, the world as they knew it was collapsing unto itself.

Again.

It was always again.

Change came upon the humans far more times then they could accommodate to. In the end, they could only adapt to it as much as they possibly could and hope the rest would come out okay.

Pillars were crumbling, buildings were falling down, windows were shattering like the glass they were, and the foundation that had took so much time and effort to construct, was slowly destroying itself.

Their world was being torn to pieces. Again, for the same reason as last time.

She looked round the table with sad dim eyes that fell down to her plate as they touch Prussian blue and she felt Haruka squeeze her hand gently in comfort. She could only smile at her plate and hope their world would last just a bit longer, because this reality might very soon turn into a nightmare.

And again they were standing in the middle of ruins.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

" Hiiro!" Duo cried and launched himself to his feet.

Hiiro ignored him and side stepping the tackle, pulling out the closest chair for Ririna to sit while the others either rolled their eyes or sweatdropped at Maxwell.

" So nice of you to join us Mr. Yui." Dorothy said in a -almost- purr when Hiiro finally took a seat for himself.

" Yeah Hiiro ol'buddy!" Duo exclaimed from his place at the floor. " Haven't seen you for such a long time, what have ya been up to? Where ya been? How are ya?"

" Fine." He grunted and ignored the rest of Duo's questions.

" Ah, Hiiro." Quatre said smiling.

" Yui." Wufei nodded curtly.

" Hiiro." Trowa said in greeting.

He only nodded back in reply. And then everything clicked into place.

" It's been so long Hiiro." Quatre repeated Duo's words, " It's nice to see you again, you haven't been keeping in contact."

" It's Yui." Wufei said dryly, " What did you expect?"

" Wishful thinking that's what." Duo half-joked, " That's all we can ever do concerning Mr. Perfect Soldier here ain't it?"

Trowa gave a half-smile and Quatre cheeks acquired a faint pink. " Duo!"

Dorothy smirked at Hiiro, but something caught her attention from the corner of her eyes and turned it into a real smile.

" Amara!" Quatre called out, jumping to his feet. " You made it!"

The others turned around at the commotion and watched as a blond couple made their way over to them. They both wore white, one had incredibly long golden hair tied to the two sides of her head with streamers flowing out and she wore a beautifully stylish dress. The other wore a white tux almost like that of Quatre's and had short sandy hair that was cut into a coup. They both smiled at the blond ex-gundam pilot's outburst and two shades of blue lighted up on him.

" Why yes," Haruka, the one in the white tuxedo with the coup cut and sky blue eyes said, voice think with sarcasm. " I actually have time for my family after all in my busy busy schedule of fame."

Quatre smiled, but then locking eyes with the female by his older sister's side, his blue orbs widened. Seeing his reaction Haruka smiled and nudged the other blonde up front, " You remember her don't you Quatre-dear? Our shy, small,"

" Selenity." Quatre breathed. " Is that really you?"

" It is." She replied in a small voice then smiled, silver blue eyes shining on him once more since so long ago. " Long time no see brother Quatre."

Quatre couldn't control himself; he rushed past the table of friends and engulfed the tiny girl in his arms. " Selenity! Selenity! You're really here!" He held her back at a small distance so he could look her over and the girl took this opportunity to gasp for breath before she was once again held tightly against his body. " You've grown so much! When I couldn't find the papers that Dad had prepared for you and when I couldn't locate you anywhere, I was so scared and I looked and looked but I still couldn't find you and-"

" Mr. Winner," A purr came floating behind them, " you're blabbing."

The Winner Heir flushed and turned his head around to look towards the table and was meet with mirth-filled eyes. Those blue-jade eyes twinkled up at him behind playful lashes, " You're choking her too I think."

" Oh!" He let her drop to the ground harmlessly and turned totally around and flushed under those mocking jade eyes.

" Hey, why don't you introduce us brother?" Haruka jabbed him in the ribs lightly.

" Oh yeah!" Flushing even more he gave out introductions, " Guys these are my two sisters, Amara and Selenity. Selenity, Amara these are my friends, Duo Maxwell, Wufei Chang, Trowa Barton, Hiiro Yui, Miss Dorothy Catalonia and Miss Ririna Peacecraft." Each person nodded and smiled-gave some confirmation- to their names as they were introduced.

" Sister?" Duo gawked at the short hair, tall framed and dressed in a tux sister.

" Maxwell!" Wufei humphed annoyed, " It's impolite to stare."

" Ah I'm used to it." Haruka said, " and Yes Mr. Maxwell, I am his sister."

" I didn't mean no offense or nothing," Duo said nervously, " it's just that you look, I mean your dress, tux-"

" None taken." She reassured him, " Like I said, I used to it."

Quatre literally beamed, " Sit, sit! Here let me go pull up some more chairs and inform the servant that there will be more additions to our table. Sit and let's talk. I'll be right back."

The newly introduced people smiled at each other with polite smiles and smothered laughter at the over eager Quatre who nearly tripped over his own two feet trying to get chairs from one table to the other. The table of old friends and new acquaintances settled themselves down for the night on this busy round table. No intimate conversations or deep revelations were going to be revealed, not with strangers across the table from them.

Polite conversation and appropriate carefree smile along with safe subjects was the menu of chitchat for this meal. A breath of fresh air and a sigh of relief to tense minds who had all come prepared for mind games and a battle of wills.

" It's been a while since I've last seen you Dorothy, how have things been for you?" Ririna asked the long hair pale blond.

" Just a bit of this and that," she answered, " nothing special really. I've been on…vacation for the last while."

" Vacation's good." Duo chirped and turned towards his black haired friend, " You hear that Wu-man? I think that's a new word for your vocabulary."

As always, the Chinese ex-gundam pilot rose to the bait from the sound of his unwanted nickname. " I simply enjoy my work Maxwell. Why don't you try actually working once in a while instead of trying to get out of it? You're too much of a loose cannon Maxwell."

" Ah come on Wu-man," the happy lad chided, " I'm just having fun."

" How is the scrap yard doing Duo?" Quatre asked, intervening before an argument took place. " Business is going successful?"

" Of course Q-man!" the braided boy answered, " It's booming!"

" That's good to hear." The silent Trowa spoke for the first time.

" Yeah well, I don't doubt the Winner Corporation is doing well either. I swear, you're a trillionaire Quatre!"

The blond blushed, " W-well business has been going quite well."

" You mean it's TRUE?" the cross wearing ex-pilot exclaimed bug eyed, " I was just shooting in the dark at that one, but TRILLIONaire?"

" But of course Mr. Maxwell." Came Dorothy's amused voice, " Did you ever doubt the Winner wealth?"

" It's 2.53 trillions in total wasn't it, in the last counting?" Wufei spoke up, " There was a report on the Preventors office, for soldiers to recruit to protect your companies."

The blonde boy blushed at the attention. " Ah-no, I mean that's not it-the amount is-I mean-"

The silvery blond girl next to look down at her plate, eyes dim and voice low, " I didn't know." It was another factor that proved her how distant she was with her family once more. " I guess I haven't been keeping track."

" Ah!" the brother looked over to her, " There are some reports you could read. It'll get you back up to date. I get a new one every month and it summarizes the developments quite well. Although they try to keep the reports short as possible, reading through it all takes about 5 hours or so."

Haruka stared, " You mean you actually read it all? Every month?"

" Well as the Winner Heir-"

" 5 hours?"

The brother turned into beet and some could even say his platinum hair was turning red at the root too.

" Every month, Mr. Winners?" Dorothy added in her share, eyes twinkling.

He willed himself not to give into the impulse of ducking and hiding somewhere.

" It is his duty as the head of the Corporation to know what is going on in his company." Trowa came to his friends distress call and received a grateful smile for his efforts.

" But every month for 5 hours? Bit too much free time on your hands Quatre?" Duo joked.

" Maxwell, reports are reports. They need to be read sooner or later." Wufei the Chinese ex-pilot retorted in an annoyed tone.

" Hn."

" What! No fair, Hiiro's siding with Wu-man!"

" Don't call me that!"

And thus, the evening was passed by on the wings of light small talk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They were the last to leave, or more precise they were the ones that couldn't leave yet. The scattered group walked around the now empty room waited for the host to finish saying goodbye to all the guests before he turned and walked backed to them.

" Ah, sorry for the wait you guys." The Winner Heir apologized to his awaiting two sisters who stood by his side.

" It's alright little brother." Haruka replied, " Now what was it you wanted to talk to us about?"

" Well, I was wondering where you two were staying?" he branched out timidly, " I haven't seen you two for two years," words directed at the older of the two sisters, " or more." Words directed at the long silvery blond girl who smiled shyly at him. " I was wondering if you guys could possibly stay at the mansion...?"

" Hmmmm?" the short haired blond scratched the back of her head, " I don't know Quatre, I'm staying with my f-friends." The last word changed hastily in order not to hurt the boy, " A sudden change of plans might not be good."

" Oh," disappointment was lightly detected, " and...?"

The silvery blond bit her inner lip at the hopeful eyes turned her way, not sure how to decline but not wanting to hurt him either.

" I...I'm kind of booked at a hotel..."

Blue eyes light up.

" But...it's deposit only..."

He looked so crestfallen she had to hold herself back from changing her mind and agreeing.

" Well I guess it can't be helped." He said defeated and Haruka hid a smirk.

" Well I got to go now." The elder sister said and wave them good-bye starting out the door.

" You'll come see me again before you leave right?" the young boy yelled after the disappearing form.

The only answer he got was another wave that signaled she heard and the younger of the two older sisters giggled, typical Haruka.

" Typical Amara." The brother remarked.

The sister stopped laughing and the light in her eyes dimmed once more. She hadn't noticed it at first, but now she did. Amara...? She hadn't heard that name since so long ago, and had never called her Uranus protector anything else but Haruka in her civilian form. She had never thought of Haruka as anyone but Haruka either, even in her thoughts, even when she found out she was her sister. She had never felt the distance between her and the rest her family more clearly ever than now.

" You'll be coming over again before you leave also, right...?"

It took her a few seconds to recognize that she was being talked to, and she smiled at her brother. " Of course."

" Ah good." There was such relief in those words that she did not know what to think of them. " I missed you Selenity. Ever so much."

She felt the lump in her throat choke her, and she buried her face in her hands to stifle that sobs that she knew were coming. The arms that came around her trembling shoulders did not surprise her, yet she wondered why.

Why did she not take comfort upon the action so sincerely offered by her only brother, one of the first few man she had ever learned to truly love?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They stood at odds with each other, not knowing where to start, where to begin, for they were not sure where they had ended.

Or at least the girl was.

At least Ririna was.

" Hiiro..." came the first shyly voiced approach, but then stopped, not knowing how to continue.

The male mentioned simply looked upon the unsure girl and waited. Azure eyes stared up at him, confused, questioning, saying things she wanted to ask but not knowing how to phrase them. Hesitantly, a gloved hand reached out towards him as if he were glass that would shatter at any given time. " How have you been?" soft words and dainty hand reached over to him, the hand landing tentatively on tuxedo-sleeved cover his arm, " How have things been?"

He didn't answer, didn't move, just stared at her. Aquamarine eyes the color of the deepest sea but with readable depths as shallow as a drying brook. Staring into those eyes, her hand started to tremble in the place of her lips, which she would not allow them to do, she felt like she was being hollowed out. Empty and bare, as more of a fleeting hope left her.

" Ms. Ririna." A docile voice spoke to her from her left, and the last remaining Peacecraft left on this Earth turned around to the speaker, letting her hand drop from the unresponsive man in the process.

" Yes?" Her lips trembling as she said the word, but stopped when the acknowledgement was spoken. " Dorothy."

The lips on the cat like face curled up in some sort of contentness. You've gotten stronger while I was away Ririna, she thought. " I wanted to congratulate you on achieving and maintaining world peace."

The princess of Sanq blinked, " Oh thank you, but it wasn't me who achieved it. Everyone had wanted it, and together we triumphed over the war."

" You're still as poetic as you were then." The holder of the Dermail-but-now-Catalonia fortune of millions murmured to herself.

The princess of Sanq blinked, unsure of what she heard.

" Hey Hiiro buddy." Duo said throwing an arm around his comrade, seeing his chance to talk to the ex-pilot as the Perfect Solider took a few steps away from their girl companions. " Haven't spoke, blabbered or annoyed you for the longest time. So why don't we talk?"

Hiiro warily noticed that the ex-Deathsythe's pilot's smile showed lots of pretty white teeth.

" What do we have to talk about?" he questioned in monotone.

And maybe the smile faltered for a single moment before it came back, brighter than ever, but with less teeth. Did the hunter suddenly realize that there was no prey?

" Like, how you've been? What you been doing, how things been going for you, if there's a girl in your life and if none of those suffice how about that Une lady would like to recruit us to be Preventors since Wu-man has set such a nice example of how useful we could be?" Duo made sure he loaded that last bit with a ton of sarcasm and then continued on half joking. " I'd pity the soldiers with us though. Five different personalities each with our own personality problems."

" I've been fine." He replied uninterested.

Indigo eyes locked onto him, and Hiiro wasn't sure what to make of his old war comrade. Was that exasperation in his eyes or something else...? He wasn't sure, and that bothered him to some point.

" What you been up to, we looked everywhere for you but we couldn't even find a trace. But we can't expect any less from the Perfect Soldier now can we?" Duo attempted to keep the conversation alive; " Still I wish you made a mistake like us normal people once in a while."

I make a lot of mistakes, Hiiro thought, too many.

" So how does it feel to be back with us, after so long from where ever you had been hiding?"

" I was on Earth." He said and shrugged.

Duo looked at him expectantly, and he was a bit unnerved, not knowing what the happy-go-lucky boy was waiting for. For a few seconds there was silence between the two old war comrades, before the cross wearing boy got fed up with the quiet and blew up at his own bangs in annoyance.

" So long of a time and you still haven't learned how to speak more than one sentence at a time?"

Hiiro glared at Maxwell, the boy who still didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. " So long of a time and you still haven't grown up one bit." Urg, Hiiro thought, great, just two minutes in his company and I'm already infected by his immaturity.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something that made him instantly stiffen. Maxwell spoke once more to him, but he heard not once word that came out of the lad's mouth. His hand curled and uncurled into a fist in alternation as he tried to calm the rising anger within him.

He is her brother, he thought to himself, it's only naturally they do that.

Another surge of heated rising emotions and another voice within him snapped.

One who hasn't seen her for 10 years.

One who has no right to touch her like that.

One who had no right to touch her.

Dorothy felt the subtle change in atmosphere almost immediately and she knew it was due to the man behind her. Hearing the silence at her back, she turned around giving no thought if Ririna thought she was rude or not and stared at the man who was her housemate, slowly sinking into a brooding haze.

That was dangerous.

She could see the ex-gundam pilot 02 looking at him, confusion in the purple eyes wondering what made his friend so pre-occupied so suddenly. She followed Yui's line of sight and knew instantly what was going to happen. She could almost see the horrifying event that would once happen as soon whatever word Mr. Maxwell was intending to say as he opened his mouth, and she quickly covered the distance between her and the two of them.

" Yui." She blurted out as soon as she came within stepping distance between the two men, ignoring the surprised face Mr. Maxwell gave her.

As the slowly darkening aquamarine eyes belonging to former gundam pilot 01 looked at her, she fought the urge to swallow and wondered if she was the only one who could read the words written so plainly in the orbs.

No one has the right to touch her.

Of course she was the only one who could read him like that here, or at least she hoped so, cause she'd be damned if anyone could read this and if someone said something foolish. Shit, shit, shit, she thought.

This was going to be bad.

More than bad, if she didn't get them out of here soon.

She is mine!

She wondered if he had really growled that out loud or if it was just in her head, because she saw Mr. Maxwell jump in startlement by her side. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she gave an inward sigh of relief as her friend stepped away from her brother and she relaxed just a bit more when the ever darkening eyes of her male housemate finally stopped finding new depths.

" Ah Ms. Ririna," She said twirling around, " I've seen to have forgotten the time and now it seems it is time for me to go."

Beside her, Yui muttered several stings of words incomprehensibly.

" Hiiro?" Ms. Peacecraft asked, blinking.

Please, please, please don't do anything, she prayed to whatever god that would listen.

" I better be going as well." Yui repeated, and she knew it was a hard battle to keep his voice from disregarding the monotone.

Ririna's azure blue eyes dimmed in sadness, but Yui wasn't even looking at her. He just stepped past all of them and watched his lover walk out the sliding electric doors with dark eyes.

Tonight was going to be one of those nights.

She fought the thirst from her suddenly dry throat and smiled at the Vice Foreign Minister once more before she quickly nodded and walked off. She was going to have to stop off at the closest wine store and before they got back to the hotel. Or maybe she'll just call room service when she got back, didn't matter, as long as she got drunk tonight.

Staring at the rigid stone back of her friend's lover as he breezed out the front doors and right past Mr. Winner without giving him a second glance, she swallowed. She corrected herself. She was going to have to get really drunk tonight. And really fast.

" Ms Dorothy." His voice stopped her.

Turning to him and giving him the brightest smile she pushed down all those troubling emotions and watched those confused eyes of his. " It is late Mr. Winner, I thought it would be best if I left now than wait till even more later." There might have been something wrong with her grammar right there but she really didn't care, she was in a hurry and she needed to get out of here fast. " I'll come calling another time if I may be so bold. But right now, I think I have an urgent meeting I had forgotten that was booked tonight. If you may, fare well."

And she was out of there. She rushed past several people who had been waiting for the door and murmured apologies under her breath as she slipped past the whole lot of them.

Quatre watched her exit and followed her disappearing back with his eyes until she was so far gone into the dark night he couldn't see her anymore. There was something about her and Hiiro's exit. And if he didn't know better, he would have said that Hiiro was mad at him -for what?- for touching someone -Selenity?- and had gone to chase them down -Why was his empathy picking up-. And if he didn't know better he would have said Dorothy's hasty exit -all these- had been to chase Hiiro down. -untrue feelings?-

If he didn't know better.

And maybe he didn't, because something in his gut had wretched at the sequence of their speeding footsteps. Calling out to each other.

***Owari No Shou***

Hiasobi: End of Chapter, Please Review! Heh, and yes I do know this chapter took forever and that some of you want to do me bodily harm. Hopefully the next chapter won't take me as long -an eternity? ;p!- and will up be not so far after this one.
Well, that's it for this update! More to come soon.