"Heero-sama! Heero-sama!" Hekate purred. Rather catlike, she butted her head gently against Heero's chin. Then she planted a very un-catlike kiss on him. "Heero-sama, my love!"

Quatre cleared his throat, and she sent him a warning glance, since it felt too heartless even for her to glare at him. "Usagi-san, Hekate, what are you doing to Heero?" The next look she gave him told him he should know exactly what she was doing to Heero. "I thought you and Duo -"

Oh yeah, she thought to herself, that is why I'm here. Thanks, Quatre. "Shinigami!" She disattached herself from her dear Heero-sama and went on the attack again. "I'm going to kill you, kisama!"

When she swung her sword at him this time, it released a shockwave that cut through the pavement and took off the tip of Duo's braid before he dodged it. Hekate was fast, faster than Selene had ever been, Duo dimly noted; he was very hard-pressed to keep dodging, let alone even consider a plan of attack. That long auburn hair of hers, which should have been providing him with a slight advantage while it got in her face or something, seemed to behaving almost sentiently, winding itself up into a tight curl, like Sally Po's, down the length of the back length of her kimono and staying there.

Each swing of that sword was slicing at some part of his clothing or his braid without ever touching them; just that mysterious wind it created was doing the damage. And it wasn't like she was whacking off chunks of hair or even breaking the skin. By the time she stopped a moment later, his clothes were in tatters and his braid was completely undone; that was all the damage she had done.

She sneered at the sword she held then at him. "Why can't I kill you?" she muttered under her breath.

"Maybe because there's still a bit of Selene left in you."

"Shut up!" She punctuated each sentence with a swing of the sword; this time it drew blood. "I am not Selene! I don't want to be Selene! And even if I wanted to, I couldn't go bck to being her again anyway; it's been too long!"

"It's only been four hours and twenty-two minutes, Usagi-san," Heero returned.

She twisted slightly to look at him without taking her focus off Shinigami. "Are you saying you liked Selene better than you like me, Heero-sama?" she asked pitifully, the beginnings of tears appearing in her eyes.

"No, I liked plain Usagi best." Her eyes glinted as she apparently stored away that tidbit of information. "But Selene at least never attacked her allies."

She blinked and straightened up. "Okay." She tucked the sword somewhere out of view within the kimono. "Is that better? Do you like me better now, Heero-sama?"

Heero's her weak point, Quatre's analytical mind noted, while the rest of him was just glad she'd put the sword up. She seems to be more than willing to go along with whatever he says to her. This could be -

"You're being too soft on them, Hekate," a too-familiar voice stated from high above them. Looking up, it was easy to spot Relena where she sat on her precarious perch atop a streetlight.

Hekate blanched white as a sheet and bowed deeply to the demon. "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai, Relena-sama! Please forgive me!"

"Of course I will. Just finish the task Thanatos gave you: kill Shinigami with Kuzanagi."

"Hai!" She drew the weapon back out, much to everyone but hers and Relena's dismay, and shifted it thoughtfully from one hand to the other. Trying hard to ignore the regret building inside him, Duo prepared himself for another of those weird energy waves. With a final nod, she settled the sword into a two-handed grip - and vanished. . .

. . . only to reappear directly in front of him, faster than even Thanatos, and she shoved the sword through his stomach. Pain radiated out from it, and he felt himself sagging against her. He felt his cheek brush along hers, her mouth right at his ear, and then she whispered something in a voice that sent shivers down his spine. "Stop me, Shin-kun." Her voiced lacked the harshness he'd already come to associate with Hekate; the voice she used was Usagi's - and Selene's.

Keeping her body in front of his, blocking everyone else's view, she opened her hands slightly so that they no longer touched the sword's hilt. It vanished from sight, but he could feel it diffusing throughout his body, helping him heal quicker. "Selene," he whispered.

He wasn't prepared for the hard backhand she dealt him, throwing him back into Quatre and Trowa. A ball of fire formed in her hand, and she tossed it in their direction as well, aiming it so that it landed at their feet. "That is not my name!"

"We have to go," Relena cut in easily. "Where is Kuzanagi?"

"Shinigami stole it right out of my hand!" Hekate returned.

"Damn it. Thanatos will not like this." She climbed to her feet, still on top of the streetlight. She smiled wickedly down at Hekate. "It seem you are the victor here today, my dear Hekate. And to the victor," she smiled predatorily at Heero now, "go the spoils of war."

Hekate grinned fiercly back then floated up to where her controller was waiting. Before they disappeared from sight, though, she glanced back over her shoulder and called out, "I'll be seeing you, Heero-sama!"

25 January 2001

Well, is Hekate as sufficiently mean bitch? (To be blunt.)

There should be a side-story coming up next (should be out in a few days). However, it won't be necessary to read the side-story in order to understand the next chapter. The side-story is going to be (maybe, if I get up the nerve to write it) a little lemony type ficlet called "Spoils of War." ^_~

Here's a little note to leave you guys with:
Just where does Hekate's loyalty lie? With Relena and Thanatos? Or with the two men she's loved?

Bai-bai!!