HOME | DD

Description
Breaking Free

Chapter 17: Eye of the Beholder

By

Middlen
The door to a bed room opens up and a tall man walks out of it with a small bag held to his side. He closes the door before turning to face the small gathering that is either pacing the floor or sitting against the way with their eyes closed.

A tall man with severely short hair walks over to the other man and shakes his hand. “Thank you for coming Doctor Haruki. How is she doing?” The man questions in a worried and fatigued sounding voice while raking his fingers through his hair.

Dr. Haruki heaves a sigh before allowing his eyes to roam around the hallway. “She’s lost a significant amount of blood, but not enough for her to be hospitalized. She’s also dislocated her left shoulder which I’ve reset for her and placed in a sling. Other then being extremely exhausted, she’ll be fine.”

Sighs of relief can be heard throughout the hallway at the relief at hearing that Usagi will be alright while Haruka, who had been pacing the floor, sags to the floor next to Michiru while they listen to Usagi’s father and doctor talk about her condition.

“She needs to be careful to not ripe out her stitches and if she feels any pain at all then just have her take some aspirins to dull the pain. There’s nothing else to be done, except for her to rest and to take it easy. She’ll be up and running within a couple of days, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s not walking around by tomorrow,” Haruki voices with a slight smirk on his face before he shakes Hero’s hand once again then is shown out of the house by Luna.

The hallway is silent while everyone thinks about the episode that happened earlier that night, but the silence doesn’t last for long when Haruka jumps to her feet and begins to pace once again.

“What the hell was she thinking, going up against Mamoru like that? Was she trying to get herself killed? She nearly was!” Haruka spits out while she paces the floor only stopping after Michiru had gotten up from the floor and places a cautious hand on the other woman’s shoulder.

“I think that she was thinking that it was the right thing to do at the time. She had something to prove to that man. It was her that they were after. She needed to prove to them that she wasn’t some docile woman that was going to do their bidding, that she’s the master of her own life and there isn’t anyone that’s going to tell her what to do,” Michiru answers in a low voice while she pulls the other woman into her arms and holds her against her body only to tighten her hold when she feels the other woman take a shuddering breath.

“Besides, it’s not like we could’ve helped her if we wanted to, Matsuka had a gun trained on all of us. If we had moved to intervene he would’ve shot one of us and he wouldn’t have even batted an eye,” Makoto speaks up from her position on the floor next to Ami who is currently asleep on her shoulder. “They had this all planned from the start. Mamoru showed up at the school yesterday and goaded Usagi with the knowledge that he has all of her records. He threatened to release them to the school and tell everyone there who Usagi really is.”

Hero tilts his head to the side, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Did he tell you how he acquired Usagi’s records?” He queries while stroking his chin.

Makoto waggles her head from side to the side. “No, he didn’t say how he got them, just that he has them. Though I’m starting to think that, that boy isn’t smart enough to find his way out of wet paper bag even if it has a large hole at the end with markers the indicates where to go and a large pink neon sign at the end stating that it’s the exit,” she seethes while her eyes narrow at the thought of the dark haired youth.

Hero places a hand on the agitated girls shoulder before looking above the heads of the teens on the floor to his father who lifts an eyebrow in a questioning gesture.

“Maybe Mamoru isn’t smart enough to figure out how to acquire such information, but his father is,” Tatsuo mumbles to himself while the cogs in his mind begins to whirl at the thought that someone has proof of Usagi’s true identity.

Hero walks over to his father and places a hand on the older man’s shoulder before looking over his shoulder for a moment then back at his father.

“I think that maybe we should increase our efforts to bring down Matsuka while we still have the upper hand. After tonight there’s no telling what he’ll try next and I really don’t want Usagi in anymore danger then she’s already been in. She’s been shot and almost hacked to pieces by those lunatics,” Hero growls out under his breath while looking his father straight in the eye.

Tatsuo nods his head before the two men turn towards those that are in the hallway with them and comes to a quick decision when they notice some of the teens that are present dozing either against the wall or with their heads against someone’s shoulder.

“Please, call your parents and allow them to know that you’ll be staying here because it’s so late. We will continue our conversation tomorrow, but for right now I believe that the best remedy for everything that has happened tonight. I’ll have Luna show you to the spare rooms once you have called your parents,” Tatsuo states in a voice that bodes for no argument and everyone nods their heads in agreement before moving off with Luna, who had just come back from showing the doctor out, to where the phone is so that they can call their parents.

Hero and Tatsuo watch the kids leave after rousing those that are asleep. Michiru and Haruka bid them good night before going off to Haruka’s old room.

When everyone is gone, Hero turns to his father and notices a thoughtful expression on the older man’s face once again.

“What’s on your mind, father? You have a look of deep concentration on your face,” Hero states before his father gestures to him to follow before he walks down the hallway and down the stairs to the parlor next to his office.

After they’ve entered the room Hero shuts the door behind him then walks over to a chair and sits down in it before resting his head in his hands. “There has to be something we can do, dad, because if we don’t then I fear that Usagi might be killed the next time she has to go up against, those two.”

Tatsuo nods his head while looking out the window at the night sky before exhaling softly. “I know your fears, Hero and they aren’t unwarranted. What you have to understand is that, these things take a little time. Usa is very strong and can handle anything those two throw at her, but I agree with what you said before. We have to act in haste, but with finesse if we are going to bring down that man. Wait here while I make some arrangements.”

Tatsuo turns away from the window and heads out of the room leaving a distress Hero behind. Though the older man doesn’t show it, he is very worried for his granddaughter as well. He knows that she is strong, but it only takes one lucky swing to bring down even the strongest tree in the forest.
Haruka lies within her head bed staring up at the ceiling while a million thoughts race through her mind. She’s so absorbed in her thoughts that she doesn’t even feel the bed sink when Michiru sits down on the edge of the bed.

The aqua haired woman is about to say something, but is cut off when the door to the room is thrown open and Nanami stalks into the room, an outrage look on her face.

“Those two are nothing, but bastards. We have to do something about them and now, Haruka,” Nanami hisses out while pacing the room after throwing the door shut behind her.

Haruka lets out a sigh before rolling over onto her side and stares at the pacing Nanami. “What can we do, Nana? Seiya hasn’t even talked to Juri yet nor any of the clans that she’s in contact with. There’s not much we can do except wait for her to get the confirmation from both Juri and the other clans.”

Nanami shakes her head and punches a fist into her palm. “That’s not good enough. We need to strike and we need to do it quickly. Otherwise those two are going to come after Usa again and then she might be killed.”

Haruka goes stiff at the thought of Usagi dying at the hands of those two and grits her teeth, but doesn’t say anything while Nanami continues to pace around the room.

After a couple of passes, the blonde haired woman stops and punches her fist into her palm once again. “I’ve got it! I know what we can do. We can send them a live chicken!” She exclaims with her fist raised in the air making Haruka and Michiru sweat drop.

“Okay, why a chicken? How is that going to help, Nanami?” Haruka demands before sitting up on the bed and stares at the insane blonde woman in front of her.

“No, really this will work. We take a live chicken; we take fishing hooks and super glue the hooks to the chicken. After we’ve done that, we stalk outside of the Chiba’s house and when one of them comes outside we throw the chicken at them. The chicken starts flapping its wings and the hooks become imbedded into their skin on their face which makes it impossible for them to see. While they try to get the chicken off their face, they wander into the middle of the road and get ran over by the speeding traffic!” Nanami exclaims with a peculiar light radiating from her eyes.

Haruka and Michiru look at one another before they turn their heads to look at the still posing woman in front of them. Haruka raises a finger and is about to say something when Nanami starts jumping up and down.

“Oh, I’ve got one even better! We get a wind up rubber ducky that plays the song “Pop Goes the Weasel,” then we rig it up so that after the song plays once it explodes!” Nanami cackles in glee at her plan while her eyes become glazed over at the thought of seeing the Chiba’s blow up because of a harmless rubber ducky.

“NO, that’s still not good enough! Alright, here’s a better one yet. We get bouncy balls and sling shots. We make it so that the bouncy balls will emit poisonous gas. Then we take the sling shots and shoot the bouncy balls through a window. When the bouncy balls bounce for the third time the gas will explode from the balls and kill everyone in the room!”

Haruka and Michiru sweat drop once more before edging slowly from the ranting blonde in order to get out of the room before she notices, but they stop when she slams her hands together clapping them gleefully. They look at each other and raise an eyebrow before looking back at the still clapping and jumping woman.

“I’ve figured it out and it’s the best way to kill them, I swear it! It’ll go down into the history books as the best murder ever! Okay, what we do is, we send them the wind up rubber ducky as a gift, Mamoru’s birthday is coming up and it’ll be the prefect time. Anyway, so we send them the gift. He takes it into the bathroom, because well it’s a rubber ducky. Who wouldn’t want it in the bathtub with them? Okay, we wait until he’s filled up the tub and has wound up the ducky. While he’s distracted, we throw the live chicken with the super glued fish hooks into the bathroom. He runs around trying to get the chicken and once he’s caught it, the fish hooks will imbed into his flesh. He’s screams of pain will bring his father into the bathroom where he will try to help his son get the chicken’s fish hooks out of his skin. Now, all the while the rubber ducky is still playing the song. Then once they are in the room we stand away from the bathroom window and shoot the poisonous bouncy balls into the room with our sling shots. Then the bouncy balls will explode, killing the two men with the poisonous gas while the rubber ducky blows up the bathroom to hide the evidence! It’s brilliant I tell you!” Nanami exclaims to a now empty room.

She looks around for Haruka and Michiru then lets her shoulders drop when she notices that they aren’t in the room anymore. “Now, I’m gonna have to tell them all over again. I knew I should’ve brought some paper with me tonight,” she mumbles before heading out of the room in search of the couple.
Ami looks up from her book when she hears a knock on the door. Heaving a sigh, she marks her place before getting up from her bed and goes over to the door to answer it. When she opens it she is surprised to see Makoto standing in the door way with her head slightly bowed.

“Did I wake you up?” Makoto questions softly before raising her head to meet the other girl’s eyes.

Ami shakes her head before moving away from the door to allow Makoto entry. “No, after you and Hotaru helped me to my room I couldn’t get to sleep so I decided to read a book. Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Ever since Usagi’s encounter with Mamoru, my mind has been racing, trying to come up with a way to help her out of the situation that she’s in. So far all I’ve come up with is unleashing stampeding elephants onto him for some reason,” Makoto mumbles before letting a smile come to her lips when Ami chuckles softly.

“I think even stampeding elephants are too good for him. He’s hurt my cousin twice now. The first time it could’ve been lethal. Though I’m not saying that this time couldn’t be lethal as well, but she knows how to use a sword pretty well,” Ami stutters out to amend what she had said then looks over at Makoto who’s smirking at the frustrated bluenette and blushes slightly.

“You know, you’re really cute when you blush,” Makoto mumbles under her breath, but the other girl hears her anyway and her blush becomes deeper.

“Makoto, why are you really here?” Ami questions while looking away from the taller woman standing next to her.

Makoto toes the carpet with her big toe then heaves a sigh before looking up at the other girl. “I like you a lot, Ami and I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. After what happened tonight it sort of made me come to terms that I don’t want to get into a fight with the Chiba’s in order to help out Usagi before I tell you how I really feel. What I’m trying to ask is will you go out with me Mizuno Ami?” Makoto whispers out the question while wringing her hands in front of her only to be stopped by a gentle touch.

She looks up from the floor and notices Ami looking back at her with a bashful expression on her face.

“I would love to go out with you Kino Makoto,” Ami breaths out before all of her breath is let out in a whoosh when the taller girl picks her up and swings her around then places her carefully.

“Sorry, about that, you just made me really happy. I was really nervous and turned back three times before working up the courage to knock on your door,” Makoto explains in a rush while a blush covers her face in embarrassment.

Ami smiles before bringing their hands closer to her chest. “Would you like to sleep here with me tonight?” She queries before rushing on when she notices a look of panic flare up on Makoto’s face. “Just to sleep that is. I don’t want to be alone.”

Makoto smiles then nods her head. “I would love to then,” she answers before they walk over to the bluenette’s bed then turn down the covers before sliding underneath them.

“Good night, Ami-chan,” Makoto whispers before yawning.

“Good night, Mako,” Ami whispers out then closes her eyes and drifts off into Morpheus's grasp.
Usagi stands in front of her floor to ceiling windows watching the snow fall gently to the ground, blanketing the ground in a layer of pristine white that seems to be untouched by the rest of the world. She holds her injured arm with her good one while staring out the window. She should be asleep, but was hard to come by due to the dull throb in her injured shoulder and the thoughts that are swirling around in her mind, like the snow outside when the wind catches it.

She exhales soundlessly, causing the window in front of her to fog over from her breath before she leans her forehead against the icy cold glass. Tears come to the blonde’s eyes and they slowly slip down her cheek before falling onto the glass. They roll slowly down the glass before crystallizing due to the cold.

“Why?” She whispers the question out to the window as if the window can give her the answer.

Her mind wanders off to a day when she had walked Rei home from school and the two of them had sat in the dark haired girl’s back yard on a swing. They talked about everything that had gone on while they were apart and it had somehow turned into a make out session with Rei leaving a small hickey on the other girl’s neck.

Her mind shifts from that memory to another one of Usagi telling Rei what she had done with all the letters that she gets from girls at school. When the girl didn’t believe how many letters she had gotten over the years, Usagi invites her to come over to her house. When they get to her home she leads Rei to her room and shows her the rather large chest that was half full of letters from over the years. Rei had looked at the blonde with her mouth open and her eyes wide in shock.

Usagi lets out a sight before she turns away from the window not noticing a shadowy figure standing out side of her window, their long black hair speckled with white while they watch the girl walk away from the window, their own eyes sparkle with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry, Usako,” Rei mumbles to herself before turning around and trudges through the snow to the comfort of her home.

“What am I going to do now?” She questions the wind that sweeps by her and her question is lost in the swirling snow.
On the other side of town Seiya paces the floor in her office waiting for someone to show up. She stops her pacing when the door to the office opens and a figure cloaked in shadows slips into the room.

“Well it’s about time you got here,” Seiya mumbles before leaning back against her desk and stares at the figure while they walk into the room.

“Bite me, Seiya. You’re the one that woke me up from a dead sleep and told me to get to your office because it was urgent,” a feminine voice answers before a slick sound of metal against metal is heard then the glow of a lighter being lit is seen, throwing the person’s face in bright light before it’s extinguished.

“Don’t give me that. We both know that you hardly sleep as it is. It’s not like I was disturbing your beauty sleep or anything,” Seiya answers sharply, taking on a no nonsense tone of voice.

There’s a gruff laugh before the figure comes into the light of the desk lamp. A woman stands in front of Seiya with short light brown hair; hazel colored eyes, and slightly rumpled cloths. Their face has a slight smirk on it while the hazel eyes roll.

“Yeah, you got a point there. I don’t sleep much, but that doesn’t mean I like being called out at this time of night, especially with the weather the way it is right now. It’s quite cold riding a motorcycle through that, you know,” the woman mumbles the last bit before taking a drag from a cigarette that dangles from their lips.

“Alright, I’ll give you that. Now, can we get down to the reason why I called you here?” Seiya asks while crossing her arms over her chest.

The woman shrugs her shoulder’s and flops down into a chair in front of the desk then waves a hand. “By all means, please get on with it. I want to know what has the great Seiya’s shorts in a bunch.”

Seiya scoffs before rolling her eyes and goes around the desk to sit at it. “I’ve got a problem that I need to be handled and I know that you are the best at what you do, so I’m asking you to do it.”

“Hmm, interesting, who do you want me to off?” The woman asks while stretching her legs out in front of her in a relaxed pose.

“I don’t want you to off anyone. What I want you to do is to use your powers of persuasion and get someone to agree to help me out with my little problem,” Seiya answers before tossing a folder onto the desk with enough force to make it slide across the desk.

The woman catches the folder before it can fall onto the floor then flips it open and scans the contents. “Hmm, well you don’t ask for something light do you? Juri might not want to help you out. The last time I heard she just wants to run her club with out any problems from the local clan. I heard that she had a bunch of volunteers take on a clan that was stopping the construction of her club before she opened it. She’s not one to trifle with, but I think I might be able to talk her into it,” the woman states before tossing the folder back onto the desk then steeples her fingers under her chin. “So the rumors that I’ve heard are true. You are trying to recruit everyone that you know to help you. Now why exactly are you exhausting your resources for, Seiya? That’s so unlike you.”

Seiya rotates her chair away from her visitor and stares at a picture that rests on the wall behind her. “Personal reasons that is of no concern of yours.”

“Mm, maybe it is, Seiya, but then again I know you. You won’t tell me, so there’s no point of trying to drag it out of you. Then again, you aren’t the only one with connections. Now, as I’ve heard it. You are trying to help a certain someone that’s having problems with the Chiba’s. There have been two attempts on her life as of right now. So that would explain why you called me in at this hour because the second one just happened seven hours ago. Am I hitting the nail on the head so far?” The woman asks while raising a light brown eyebrow in a questioning gesture.

Seiya swivels around in her chair quickly and rises from the chair so fast that the back of it slams against the wall. She places her hands on the desk top then leans forward staring at the other woman with a hard glare.

“Where did you get this information?” Seiya hisses out with a deadly look crossing her face.

The woman holds up her hands and lets out a soft chuckle. “I have my contacts like I said, but if you must know then I’ll tell you. Nanami called me earlier tonight to let me know what was going on and to ask me for my help. I told her that I would help, because despite the fact that everyone thinks that I’m a heartless bitch, I’m really not. No one should have to go through what Usagi is going through,” the woman states through clenched teeth while meeting Seiya’s glare head on.

Seiya relaxes her glare before sitting back down into her chair calmly. “I’m actually sorta glad that Nanami called you. It sort of makes me rethink my previous thoughts that she’s insane,” Seiya chuckles before looking at the woman in front of her who’s shaking her head.

“No, Nanami’s nuts, but that doesn’t mean she’s not smart. It’s that fine line between insanity and genius coming into play with her,” the woman answers with a slight smirk on her face.

Seiya’s eyebrow twitches before letting out another chuckle. “You might have something there. So when will you be able to talk to Juri?”

The woman looks down at her watch before answering the dark haired woman. “I should head out now. I can probably catch her closing up the club.”

The woman gets up from the chair and stubs out her cigarette in the ashtray that Seiya provided for her before turning away from the desk. “I’ll be in contact when I get the answer that you desire.”

“Wait, before you go, there’s one more thing that you should know about the Chiba’s,” Seiya supplies which causes the other woman to stop in her tracks.

“What’s that?” The woman asks before turning around to meet Seiya’s tired eyes with her own.

“Matsuka and Mamoru have kidnapped a child. Its Rei’s sister. They’re using her sister as leverage against her so that she’ll work against Usagi,” Seiya answers; her voice cracking slightly from the anger that she feels radiating through her body.

The woman in front of her stiffens before her eyes narrow slightly while a vein pops out on the side of her neck. “I’ll be back with or without Juri. Get as much information as you can. No one messes with my cousins!”

“Just be careful, Natasuki. Don’t do anything that you’re going to regret,” Seiya smirks and rolls her eyes when the other woman smiles at her lopsidedly.

“Hey, it’s me. I’ll be fine,” Natasuki states with a wink before heading out the door.

Seiya leans back in her chair before closing her eyes for a brief moment. ‘You’ve got a noose around your neck, Chiba. Can you feel us yanking on it? You’ve got a war on your hands now that Hino Natasuki is involved.’ The woman thinks to herself before chuckling then pulls out her cell phone and dials a number by memory alone.

“It’s me. I need the information about where Chiba is holding Rei’s sister.”

Pause.

“No, it’s not for me. It’s for someone else. You remember me telling you about Natasuki right? Well, Rei’s her cousin.”

There’s another pause while the other person on the end rambles off something.

“Yeah, that’s right. He is in for a war. I can’t wait to see how he’ll try to weasel his way out of this one,” Seiya answers before closing the cell phone with a click and a smile on her face.

To Be Continued…

Description
Breaking Free

Chapter 17: Eye of the Beholder

By

Middlen
The door to a bed room opens up and a tall man walks out of it with a small bag held to his side. He closes the door before turning to face the small gathering that is either pacing the floor or sitting against the way with their eyes closed.

A tall man with severely short hair walks over to the other man and shakes his hand. “Thank you for coming Doctor Haruki. How is she doing?” The man questions in a worried and fatigued sounding voice while raking his fingers through his hair.

Dr. Haruki heaves a sigh before allowing his eyes to roam around the hallway. “She’s lost a significant amount of blood, but not enough for her to be hospitalized. She’s also dislocated her left shoulder which I’ve reset for her and placed in a sling. Other then being extremely exhausted, she’ll be fine.”

Sighs of relief can be heard throughout the hallway at the relief at hearing that Usagi will be alright while Haruka, who had been pacing the floor, sags to the floor next to Michiru while they listen to Usagi’s father and doctor talk about her condition.

“She needs to be careful to not ripe out her stitches and if she feels any pain at all then just have her take some aspirins to dull the pain. There’s nothing else to be done, except for her to rest and to take it easy. She’ll be up and running within a couple of days, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s not walking around by tomorrow,” Haruki voices with a slight smirk on his face before he shakes Hero’s hand once again then is shown out of the house by Luna.

The hallway is silent while everyone thinks about the episode that happened earlier that night, but the silence doesn’t last for long when Haruka jumps to her feet and begins to pace once again.

“What the hell was she thinking, going up against Mamoru like that? Was she trying to get herself killed? She nearly was!” Haruka spits out while she paces the floor only stopping after Michiru had gotten up from the floor and places a cautious hand on the other woman’s shoulder.

“I think that she was thinking that it was the right thing to do at the time. She had something to prove to that man. It was her that they were after. She needed to prove to them that she wasn’t some docile woman that was going to do their bidding, that she’s the master of her own life and there isn’t anyone that’s going to tell her what to do,” Michiru answers in a low voice while she pulls the other woman into her arms and holds her against her body only to tighten her hold when she feels the other woman take a shuddering breath.

“Besides, it’s not like we could’ve helped her if we wanted to, Matsuka had a gun trained on all of us. If we had moved to intervene he would’ve shot one of us and he wouldn’t have even batted an eye,” Makoto speaks up from her position on the floor next to Ami who is currently asleep on her shoulder. “They had this all planned from the start. Mamoru showed up at the school yesterday and goaded Usagi with the knowledge that he has all of her records. He threatened to release them to the school and tell everyone there who Usagi really is.”

Hero tilts his head to the side, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Did he tell you how he acquired Usagi’s records?” He queries while stroking his chin.

Makoto waggles her head from side to the side. “No, he didn’t say how he got them, just that he has them. Though I’m starting to think that, that boy isn’t smart enough to find his way out of wet paper bag even if it has a large hole at the end with markers the indicates where to go and a large pink neon sign at the end stating that it’s the exit,” she seethes while her eyes narrow at the thought of the dark haired youth.

Hero places a hand on the agitated girls shoulder before looking above the heads of the teens on the floor to his father who lifts an eyebrow in a questioning gesture.

“Maybe Mamoru isn’t smart enough to figure out how to acquire such information, but his father is,” Tatsuo mumbles to himself while the cogs in his mind begins to whirl at the thought that someone has proof of Usagi’s true identity.

Hero walks over to his father and places a hand on the older man’s shoulder before looking over his shoulder for a moment then back at his father.

“I think that maybe we should increase our efforts to bring down Matsuka while we still have the upper hand. After tonight there’s no telling what he’ll try next and I really don’t want Usagi in anymore danger then she’s already been in. She’s been shot and almost hacked to pieces by those lunatics,” Hero growls out under his breath while looking his father straight in the eye.

Tatsuo nods his head before the two men turn towards those that are in the hallway with them and comes to a quick decision when they notice some of the teens that are present dozing either against the wall or with their heads against someone’s shoulder.

“Please, call your parents and allow them to know that you’ll be staying here because it’s so late. We will continue our conversation tomorrow, but for right now I believe that the best remedy for everything that has happened tonight. I’ll have Luna show you to the spare rooms once you have called your parents,” Tatsuo states in a voice that bodes for no argument and everyone nods their heads in agreement before moving off with Luna, who had just come back from showing the doctor out, to where the phone is so that they can call their parents.

Hero and Tatsuo watch the kids leave after rousing those that are asleep. Michiru and Haruka bid them good night before going off to Haruka’s old room.

When everyone is gone, Hero turns to his father and notices a thoughtful expression on the older man’s face once again.

“What’s on your mind, father? You have a look of deep concentration on your face,” Hero states before his father gestures to him to follow before he walks down the hallway and down the stairs to the parlor next to his office.

After they’ve entered the room Hero shuts the door behind him then walks over to a chair and sits down in it before resting his head in his hands. “There has to be something we can do, dad, because if we don’t then I fear that Usagi might be killed the next time she has to go up against, those two.”

Tatsuo nods his head while looking out the window at the night sky before exhaling softly. “I know your fears, Hero and they aren’t unwarranted. What you have to understand is that, these things take a little time. Usa is very strong and can handle anything those two throw at her, but I agree with what you said before. We have to act in haste, but with finesse if we are going to bring down that man. Wait here while I make some arrangements.”

Tatsuo turns away from the window and heads out of the room leaving a distress Hero behind. Though the older man doesn’t show it, he is very worried for his granddaughter as well. He knows that she is strong, but it only takes one lucky swing to bring down even the strongest tree in the forest.
Haruka lies within her head bed staring up at the ceiling while a million thoughts race through her mind. She’s so absorbed in her thoughts that she doesn’t even feel the bed sink when Michiru sits down on the edge of the bed.

The aqua haired woman is about to say something, but is cut off when the door to the room is thrown open and Nanami stalks into the room, an outrage look on her face.

“Those two are nothing, but bastards. We have to do something about them and now, Haruka,” Nanami hisses out while pacing the room after throwing the door shut behind her.

Haruka lets out a sigh before rolling over onto her side and stares at the pacing Nanami. “What can we do, Nana? Seiya hasn’t even talked to Juri yet nor any of the clans that she’s in contact with. There’s not much we can do except wait for her to get the confirmation from both Juri and the other clans.”

Nanami shakes her head and punches a fist into her palm. “That’s not good enough. We need to strike and we need to do it quickly. Otherwise those two are going to come after Usa again and then she might be killed.”

Haruka goes stiff at the thought of Usagi dying at the hands of those two and grits her teeth, but doesn’t say anything while Nanami continues to pace around the room.

After a couple of passes, the blonde haired woman stops and punches her fist into her palm once again. “I’ve got it! I know what we can do. We can send them a live chicken!” She exclaims with her fist raised in the air making Haruka and Michiru sweat drop.

“Okay, why a chicken? How is that going to help, Nanami?” Haruka demands before sitting up on the bed and stares at the insane blonde woman in front of her.

“No, really this will work. We take a live chicken; we take fishing hooks and super glue the hooks to the chicken. After we’ve done that, we stalk outside of the Chiba’s house and when one of them comes outside we throw the chicken at them. The chicken starts flapping its wings and the hooks become imbedded into their skin on their face which makes it impossible for them to see. While they try to get the chicken off their face, they wander into the middle of the road and get ran over by the speeding traffic!” Nanami exclaims with a peculiar light radiating from her eyes.

Haruka and Michiru look at one another before they turn their heads to look at the still posing woman in front of them. Haruka raises a finger and is about to say something when Nanami starts jumping up and down.

“Oh, I’ve got one even better! We get a wind up rubber ducky that plays the song “Pop Goes the Weasel,” then we rig it up so that after the song plays once it explodes!” Nanami cackles in glee at her plan while her eyes become glazed over at the thought of seeing the Chiba’s blow up because of a harmless rubber ducky.

“NO, that’s still not good enough! Alright, here’s a better one yet. We get bouncy balls and sling shots. We make it so that the bouncy balls will emit poisonous gas. Then we take the sling shots and shoot the bouncy balls through a window. When the bouncy balls bounce for the third time the gas will explode from the balls and kill everyone in the room!”

Haruka and Michiru sweat drop once more before edging slowly from the ranting blonde in order to get out of the room before she notices, but they stop when she slams her hands together clapping them gleefully. They look at each other and raise an eyebrow before looking back at the still clapping and jumping woman.

“I’ve figured it out and it’s the best way to kill them, I swear it! It’ll go down into the history books as the best murder ever! Okay, what we do is, we send them the wind up rubber ducky as a gift, Mamoru’s birthday is coming up and it’ll be the prefect time. Anyway, so we send them the gift. He takes it into the bathroom, because well it’s a rubber ducky. Who wouldn’t want it in the bathtub with them? Okay, we wait until he’s filled up the tub and has wound up the ducky. While he’s distracted, we throw the live chicken with the super glued fish hooks into the bathroom. He runs around trying to get the chicken and once he’s caught it, the fish hooks will imbed into his flesh. He’s screams of pain will bring his father into the bathroom where he will try to help his son get the chicken’s fish hooks out of his skin. Now, all the while the rubber ducky is still playing the song. Then once they are in the room we stand away from the bathroom window and shoot the poisonous bouncy balls into the room with our sling shots. Then the bouncy balls will explode, killing the two men with the poisonous gas while the rubber ducky blows up the bathroom to hide the evidence! It’s brilliant I tell you!” Nanami exclaims to a now empty room.

She looks around for Haruka and Michiru then lets her shoulders drop when she notices that they aren’t in the room anymore. “Now, I’m gonna have to tell them all over again. I knew I should’ve brought some paper with me tonight,” she mumbles before heading out of the room in search of the couple.
Ami looks up from her book when she hears a knock on the door. Heaving a sigh, she marks her place before getting up from her bed and goes over to the door to answer it. When she opens it she is surprised to see Makoto standing in the door way with her head slightly bowed.

“Did I wake you up?” Makoto questions softly before raising her head to meet the other girl’s eyes.

Ami shakes her head before moving away from the door to allow Makoto entry. “No, after you and Hotaru helped me to my room I couldn’t get to sleep so I decided to read a book. Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Ever since Usagi’s encounter with Mamoru, my mind has been racing, trying to come up with a way to help her out of the situation that she’s in. So far all I’ve come up with is unleashing stampeding elephants onto him for some reason,” Makoto mumbles before letting a smile come to her lips when Ami chuckles softly.

“I think even stampeding elephants are too good for him. He’s hurt my cousin twice now. The first time it could’ve been lethal. Though I’m not saying that this time couldn’t be lethal as well, but she knows how to use a sword pretty well,” Ami stutters out to amend what she had said then looks over at Makoto who’s smirking at the frustrated bluenette and blushes slightly.

“You know, you’re really cute when you blush,” Makoto mumbles under her breath, but the other girl hears her anyway and her blush becomes deeper.

“Makoto, why are you really here?” Ami questions while looking away from the taller woman standing next to her.

Makoto toes the carpet with her big toe then heaves a sigh before looking up at the other girl. “I like you a lot, Ami and I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. After what happened tonight it sort of made me come to terms that I don’t want to get into a fight with the Chiba’s in order to help out Usagi before I tell you how I really feel. What I’m trying to ask is will you go out with me Mizuno Ami?” Makoto whispers out the question while wringing her hands in front of her only to be stopped by a gentle touch.

She looks up from the floor and notices Ami looking back at her with a bashful expression on her face.

“I would love to go out with you Kino Makoto,” Ami breaths out before all of her breath is let out in a whoosh when the taller girl picks her up and swings her around then places her carefully.

“Sorry, about that, you just made me really happy. I was really nervous and turned back three times before working up the courage to knock on your door,” Makoto explains in a rush while a blush covers her face in embarrassment.

Ami smiles before bringing their hands closer to her chest. “Would you like to sleep here with me tonight?” She queries before rushing on when she notices a look of panic flare up on Makoto’s face. “Just to sleep that is. I don’t want to be alone.”

Makoto smiles then nods her head. “I would love to then,” she answers before they walk over to the bluenette’s bed then turn down the covers before sliding underneath them.

“Good night, Ami-chan,” Makoto whispers before yawning.

“Good night, Mako,” Ami whispers out then closes her eyes and drifts off into Morpheus's grasp.
Usagi stands in front of her floor to ceiling windows watching the snow fall gently to the ground, blanketing the ground in a layer of pristine white that seems to be untouched by the rest of the world. She holds her injured arm with her good one while staring out the window. She should be asleep, but was hard to come by due to the dull throb in her injured shoulder and the thoughts that are swirling around in her mind, like the snow outside when the wind catches it.

She exhales soundlessly, causing the window in front of her to fog over from her breath before she leans her forehead against the icy cold glass. Tears come to the blonde’s eyes and they slowly slip down her cheek before falling onto the glass. They roll slowly down the glass before crystallizing due to the cold.

“Why?” She whispers the question out to the window as if the window can give her the answer.

Her mind wanders off to a day when she had walked Rei home from school and the two of them had sat in the dark haired girl’s back yard on a swing. They talked about everything that had gone on while they were apart and it had somehow turned into a make out session with Rei leaving a small hickey on the other girl’s neck.

Her mind shifts from that memory to another one of Usagi telling Rei what she had done with all the letters that she gets from girls at school. When the girl didn’t believe how many letters she had gotten over the years, Usagi invites her to come over to her house. When they get to her home she leads Rei to her room and shows her the rather large chest that was half full of letters from over the years. Rei had looked at the blonde with her mouth open and her eyes wide in shock.

Usagi lets out a sight before she turns away from the window not noticing a shadowy figure standing out side of her window, their long black hair speckled with white while they watch the girl walk away from the window, their own eyes sparkle with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry, Usako,” Rei mumbles to herself before turning around and trudges through the snow to the comfort of her home.

“What am I going to do now?” She questions the wind that sweeps by her and her question is lost in the swirling snow.
On the other side of town Seiya paces the floor in her office waiting for someone to show up. She stops her pacing when the door to the office opens and a figure cloaked in shadows slips into the room.

“Well it’s about time you got here,” Seiya mumbles before leaning back against her desk and stares at the figure while they walk into the room.

“Bite me, Seiya. You’re the one that woke me up from a dead sleep and told me to get to your office because it was urgent,” a feminine voice answers before a slick sound of metal against metal is heard then the glow of a lighter being lit is seen, throwing the person’s face in bright light before it’s extinguished.

“Don’t give me that. We both know that you hardly sleep as it is. It’s not like I was disturbing your beauty sleep or anything,” Seiya answers sharply, taking on a no nonsense tone of voice.

There’s a gruff laugh before the figure comes into the light of the desk lamp. A woman stands in front of Seiya with short light brown hair; hazel colored eyes, and slightly rumpled cloths. Their face has a slight smirk on it while the hazel eyes roll.

“Yeah, you got a point there. I don’t sleep much, but that doesn’t mean I like being called out at this time of night, especially with the weather the way it is right now. It’s quite cold riding a motorcycle through that, you know,” the woman mumbles the last bit before taking a drag from a cigarette that dangles from their lips.

“Alright, I’ll give you that. Now, can we get down to the reason why I called you here?” Seiya asks while crossing her arms over her chest.

The woman shrugs her shoulder’s and flops down into a chair in front of the desk then waves a hand. “By all means, please get on with it. I want to know what has the great Seiya’s shorts in a bunch.”

Seiya scoffs before rolling her eyes and goes around the desk to sit at it. “I’ve got a problem that I need to be handled and I know that you are the best at what you do, so I’m asking you to do it.”

“Hmm, interesting, who do you want me to off?” The woman asks while stretching her legs out in front of her in a relaxed pose.

“I don’t want you to off anyone. What I want you to do is to use your powers of persuasion and get someone to agree to help me out with my little problem,” Seiya answers before tossing a folder onto the desk with enough force to make it slide across the desk.

The woman catches the folder before it can fall onto the floor then flips it open and scans the contents. “Hmm, well you don’t ask for something light do you? Juri might not want to help you out. The last time I heard she just wants to run her club with out any problems from the local clan. I heard that she had a bunch of volunteers take on a clan that was stopping the construction of her club before she opened it. She’s not one to trifle with, but I think I might be able to talk her into it,” the woman states before tossing the folder back onto the desk then steeples her fingers under her chin. “So the rumors that I’ve heard are true. You are trying to recruit everyone that you know to help you. Now why exactly are you exhausting your resources for, Seiya? That’s so unlike you.”

Seiya rotates her chair away from her visitor and stares at a picture that rests on the wall behind her. “Personal reasons that is of no concern of yours.”

“Mm, maybe it is, Seiya, but then again I know you. You won’t tell me, so there’s no point of trying to drag it out of you. Then again, you aren’t the only one with connections. Now, as I’ve heard it. You are trying to help a certain someone that’s having problems with the Chiba’s. There have been two attempts on her life as of right now. So that would explain why you called me in at this hour because the second one just happened seven hours ago. Am I hitting the nail on the head so far?” The woman asks while raising a light brown eyebrow in a questioning gesture.

Seiya swivels around in her chair quickly and rises from the chair so fast that the back of it slams against the wall. She places her hands on the desk top then leans forward staring at the other woman with a hard glare.

“Where did you get this information?” Seiya hisses out with a deadly look crossing her face.

The woman holds up her hands and lets out a soft chuckle. “I have my contacts like I said, but if you must know then I’ll tell you. Nanami called me earlier tonight to let me know what was going on and to ask me for my help. I told her that I would help, because despite the fact that everyone thinks that I’m a heartless bitch, I’m really not. No one should have to go through what Usagi is going through,” the woman states through clenched teeth while meeting Seiya’s glare head on.

Seiya relaxes her glare before sitting back down into her chair calmly. “I’m actually sorta glad that Nanami called you. It sort of makes me rethink my previous thoughts that she’s insane,” Seiya chuckles before looking at the woman in front of her who’s shaking her head.

“No, Nanami’s nuts, but that doesn’t mean she’s not smart. It’s that fine line between insanity and genius coming into play with her,” the woman answers with a slight smirk on her face.

Seiya’s eyebrow twitches before letting out another chuckle. “You might have something there. So when will you be able to talk to Juri?”

The woman looks down at her watch before answering the dark haired woman. “I should head out now. I can probably catch her closing up the club.”

The woman gets up from the chair and stubs out her cigarette in the ashtray that Seiya provided for her before turning away from the desk. “I’ll be in contact when I get the answer that you desire.”

“Wait, before you go, there’s one more thing that you should know about the Chiba’s,” Seiya supplies which causes the other woman to stop in her tracks.

“What’s that?” The woman asks before turning around to meet Seiya’s tired eyes with her own.

“Matsuka and Mamoru have kidnapped a child. Its Rei’s sister. They’re using her sister as leverage against her so that she’ll work against Usagi,” Seiya answers; her voice cracking slightly from the anger that she feels radiating through her body.

The woman in front of her stiffens before her eyes narrow slightly while a vein pops out on the side of her neck. “I’ll be back with or without Juri. Get as much information as you can. No one messes with my cousins!”

“Just be careful, Natasuki. Don’t do anything that you’re going to regret,” Seiya smirks and rolls her eyes when the other woman smiles at her lopsidedly.

“Hey, it’s me. I’ll be fine,” Natasuki states with a wink before heading out the door.

Seiya leans back in her chair before closing her eyes for a brief moment. ‘You’ve got a noose around your neck, Chiba. Can you feel us yanking on it? You’ve got a war on your hands now that Hino Natasuki is involved.’ The woman thinks to herself before chuckling then pulls out her cell phone and dials a number by memory alone.

“It’s me. I need the information about where Chiba is holding Rei’s sister.”

Pause.

“No, it’s not for me. It’s for someone else. You remember me telling you about Natasuki right? Well, Rei’s her cousin.”

There’s another pause while the other person on the end rambles off something.

“Yeah, that’s right. He is in for a war. I can’t wait to see how he’ll try to weasel his way out of this one,” Seiya answers before closing the cell phone with a click and a smile on her face.

To Be Continued…