It wasn't really any surprise that Trunks-kun was waiting just outside Tenchi-san's building. It wasn't like he really needed to worry about the Carrions, not now. He probably hadn't needed to worry about them before he got his powers back either; she had been able to see from a few moments after he first woke up just how strong Trunks-kun was.
He was a lot stronger now, she was willing to bet. So far, the Reapers had yet to pay any mind to him or his training outside their building, but they were probably preoccupied, either with Raitei or with preparing their new world. Or maybe they didn't know about people's new abilities until those new abilities were used against them. If Raitei was known for attacking regular people invading his territory, after all, she couldn't imagine him being more discriminating with using them against the Reapers.
And after having seen the Reapers a day and a half ago now, she could safely say that she would like to see someone attack them. Something about those creatures she had seen flying through the air before delivering Duo-kun and Heero-kun made her skin crawl.
No, maybe she would prefer not to see a Reaper get attacked, if only because that would mean she would have to actually see a Reaper again. She was pretty sure she didn't actually want that. She would have to see another one again if they did take them on head to head, yes, but that didn't mean that she was looking forward to it. She wasn't that crazy, at least not yet.
"Usagi-san!" he greeted, jogging quickly over to them. She couldn't say that she blamed him for not going with the flying right now. In front of Duo-kun and Heero-kun, eventually, might not be the worst idea, but until they knew how some of the other people around here came down on the decision of fighting the Reapers, it might be best to keep it a secret. He frowned when he stopped, seeing how heavily she was still leaning on Duo-kun. "Are you all right?"
She opened her mouth to respond, to reassure him that she was fine and would be even better in a little while, once she had rested some. Unfortunately, Duo-kun managed to get a word in first; why she was surprised by that, she didn't know. "Someone here managed to seriously overdo it giving Sylphiel back her powers and has been on the verge of collapse ever since."
"Duo-kun..." she complained, pouting a bit more than was probably attractive.
"You almost fell down the stairs, Usagi-san. There's no way in hell we're writing that off so easily," he returned.
Trunks-kun continued to stare at her while she and Duo-kun were talking, but once Duo-kun finished and she was glaring at the longhaired man, he nodded, as if coming to a decision with himself and stepped forward. "Pardon me, Duo-san, Usagi-san."
Before she could even ask what it was that he was apologizing for, she found herself swept up, being held in Trunks-kun's arms... and as far as she was concerned, she could hardly be blamed for blushing as red as Mars' fuku.
Duo-kun snickered, and she shot him a nasty look, one that, come to think of it, she had probably learned from Rei-chan, while she was on the subject of the Senshi of Fire. She crossed her arms over her chest, and okay, yeah, maybe she was pouting pretty bad, but that was no reason for Duo-kun to be laughing at her.
And okay, maybe if she were looking at this from the outside, she would find it at least as hilarious as Duo-kun clearly did. From this side of things, though, it wasn't too funny.
"So were you able to get everything you needed from Sylphiel-san?" Trunks-kun asked, turning to start walking towards their building, Duo-kun walking apace beside him.
Duo-kun held up the bag containing the blankets and clothes Sylphiel-san had given them. "We did. Well, we got some of it. She wants to measure all of us for better clothes at some point in the near future. She also gave Usagi some new shoes."
"And Usagi-san managed to give her back her powers, I'm taking it?"
Duo-kun nodded, a serious expression falling over his face. "She did. As weird as it is to me to say this, apparently Sylphiel has some kind of magic. She can use it for healing and defense. It's definitely working now, so if we do end up against the Reapers, I think it would be good to have her on our side, running behind the scenes."
That made a lot of sense, but she wasn't really surprised by it. Duo-kun and Heero-kun were soldiers; they knew something about strategy. It was a bit of relief, since it very much was not her strong suit. Maybe the two of them could even help get any of the other fighters--if they picked up any--into some sort of order. Barring that, maybe they could find someone among the people brought here who was an even better strategist.
She nodded her agreement with Duo-kun, temporarily setting aside her embarrassment with her situation. "It's not the same kind of magic I've used, but I could tell she's very good at what she does. She's very strong. Sylphiel-san would be a real asset, even if she won't fight." She paused, considering every conclusion she had drawn about the older woman. "Or can't fight. I'm not sure if she's much of the fighting type."
Trunks-kun sighed. "That's a good step, if nothing else. Nothing kills a fight faster than having half the fighters too injured to participate."
That sounded like experience talking and it sounded none too pleasant, so she wasn't going to ask about it. Instead she launched into another thought she had had since she first heard Sylphiel-san say what it was she could do. "Do you think she could heal your leg?"
And whoops, based on the look on Duo-kun's face, that was something that they had forgotten to mention before. "What happened to your leg?" he asked almost quietly.
"The time machine landed on it. When I got here, I guess I was ejected from the time machine, and it rolled over onto it. It didn't heal well," Trunks-kun briefly explained to the other man before then addressing her. "I'm not sure. I guess it's worth a try."
He didn't sound like he believed it was going to work. She could deal with that. She would just have to hope for it to do so for both of them. After all, she could tell that it hurt him. It was hurting him now, but it didn't seem too likely he was going to put her back down just yet. Not until they either got home or he collapsed himself. If that happened, they were just going to have to sit in the middle of the path until he got better, because she had found out the hard way that there was no moving Trunks-kun unless he was willing and able to help.
"Any other secrets you two might care to share with me?" And that was deceptively mild for Duo-kun to say. The calm tone of his voice certainly didn't match the fire in his eyes, like he was just barely holding a rather voluminous explosion in.
She and Trunks-kun exchanged a glance, each silently asking the other how much they were willing to say out loud just yet. She shrugged, more or less volunteering to go first. "I'm one of the few fighters on my own world. I used to transform into Sailor Moon. I've been bringing people's powers back with a magic jewel called the Ginzuishou." That was a huge oversimplification, but she wasn't sure what else to say. "We were at peace for the two years when I was snatched, but before that, our world was nearly destroyed by... I'm not sure what to call her... it... Chaos." She paused, considering, before finishing up with, "And apparently I'm the reincarnation of the princess of the White Moon Kingdom, Serenity. That bit is still a little beyond me."
"Beyond you?" Duo-kun repeated a little weakly.
Trunks-kun was quiet for a few more steps before speaking up, seemingly a bit reluctantly. "My father was the prince of an alien warrior race called the Saiyajin. You already know my mother is a genius. In my time, I'm the only fighter left alive. All the rest of the fighters were killed by the Jinzouningen, artificial humans. My mother sent me back in time to save the life of the greatest fighter. It didn't change my time, but it did save that one. I fought with them, including my father, and when I was on my way back to my own time, that's when the Reapers must have grabbed me."
Well, that was more about Trunks-kun that she had known. No, she had known most of that, barring the darker details about Trunks-kun's own time and that his father was apparently a prince. That wasn't a detail she cared too much about, though, no more than she cared overly about being Princess Serenity and--maybe--eventually becoming Neo Queen Serenity.
More and more, she was hoping that time never came. It would mean not ever having her boys again and being stuck with Mamo-chan for the rest of her life. She might have loved him once--and wasn't this a revelation?--but she was starting to wonder if that was Serenity's love for Endymion, if she had ever really loved Mamo-chan for himself... like she could admit, to herself at least, that she loved Trunks-kun. Had she ever liked Mamo-chan like she was starting to like Duo-kun and Heero-kun?
"Well..." Duo-kun trailed off. "That's certainly a lot more than I was expecting. I don't know what I was expecting, but that was certainly more than it."
Trunks-kun stiffened slightly. She might have not even noticed if she wasn't held so tight against his chest. "Does that mean you've rescinded your offer?"
Oh? she thought to herself. He's actually been considering Duo-kun's offer?
Duo-kun paused for a split second, falling out of step with Trunks-kun before catching back up quickly. "Actually... no, it doesn't mean that. It's still on the table. Even with all of this," he put in before either of them could ask about it, "and even with Usagi reading me the riot act earlier." The grin on his face was ridiculously hopeful if you knew how to look... and she was starting to figure out how to look. "Dare I hope that means you're considering it?"
It was absolutely cute to her how pink Trunks-kun could blush, all of it confined to his cheekbones, she had discovered. "If you're willing to Usagi-san's terms: both of us or neither of us," he got out, and it was even fairly steady, "then I might be willing. I do have a question for you first, though, Duo-san."
"What's that?"
"What about Heero-san?" Well, that was fairly blunt. "A blind man can tell you're in love with him. Are the two of us replacements for him?" Actually that was really very blunt.
Duo-kun slowed down, and Trunks-kun reduced his pace in response. The longhaired man's gaze and full attention was locked on the ground in front of him. "Harsh, Trunks, very harsh. Yeah, I love him. Yeah, I would be with him if he was interested at all in me."
"If Heero-kun decided tomorrow he was interested...?" she asked softly.
"I... don't know. I can't imagine it ever happening." And that was the most heartbreaking thing she could ever think of hearing. "I guess at that point, if it ever happened, I'd have to choose, though I also can't say I've ever left a lover less than amicably." He paused for a second, obviously considering something. "Asking him to join in is out of the question, right?"
She couldn't help the tiny laugh that escaped her: the last bit there sounded so hopeful. "I don't see any problem with it. Trunks-kun?" He shook his head, looking a bit torn between the same sorrow and the same amusement she felt. "Sure. It would just be rude otherwise, leaving him out."
Duo-kun snickered and maybe it sounded a little wet, but that was certainly understandable, given the circumstances. "Well, we certainly can't have that: being rude and all."
And then they were in front of their building. There was an odd silence to it: she wasn't sure if it was because they had been talking so long or because she wasn't used to being outside the building. Either way, it was unnerving. Glancing at the two men with her, she was willing to bet they both felt the same way at this moment.
From inside the building, somewhere around their floor even, there was a loud popping sound, followed by a long hiss. She might have compared to air being let out of a balloon, but it was more like air being pulled forcibly into it. Not like an explosion, then... More like whatever the opposite of it was. An implosion maybe?
The whole world seemed to hold completely still for a long, breathless second--
--and then their building seemed to fold in on itself, collapsing inward impossibly towards the third floor on the back side. The training room, her mind provided.
"Heero!" Duo yelled, already running towards the building. Trunks-kun grabbed at his jacket, but he easily slid out of it, barely slowing down. "Heero!"
Faster than she could blink, Trunks-kun set her down. "Stay close, all right?" She nodded, and he took to the air, circling as close to the building as was safe. A wind current, the same that seemed to be dragging the building inwards, pulled at him. Maybe he was already closer than was safe, but that didn't seem to be slowing him down in the least. "Heero-san!"
Please let Heero-kun be safe, she prayed silently, her eyes slipping closed. Unconsciously, she pulled the Ginzuishou in its brooch from her pocket, wrapping her hands tightly around it. Please let Heero-kun be all right. Please!
22 October 2012
Whoops, cliffhanger. At least you don't have to wait too long for the next chapter?
And I hate Monday mornings. 530 comes so early, but I'm up, showered, and in the process of having breakfast (miso soup) so you guys get a chapter.
See everyone next chapter!
Apollymi