Chapter Seven: The Lost Found

*“I’m sorry?” Serena asked confused by her friend’s behaviors. They were acting more unusual than normal. And how had Trowa known Hiiro’s name.

“Serena. You were on a date with Hiiro?” Quatre asked her.

“Yeah.” She replied slowly.

“Serena. Hiiro Yui?” Wufei pressed.

“Yes. What’s the big deal? Heard of him?”

“Serena! He’s the guy we’ve been looking for!” Duo cried out.

“Shh! Duo, you’ll wake the kids.” Quatre warned him.

“I’m sorry guys. What are you talking about?” Serena asked in frustration.

“Serena. Remember how we told you we were here in the city to find a old war friend? Hiiro Yui is the friend we’ve been searching for.” Trowa replied calmly. Serena gasped.

“You’re serious? You knew him during the war? He mentioned he had been in it this evening, but I never made the connection…”

“Do you know where he’s going?” Duo asked her quietly.

“No. I have no idea where he lives. But you guys…” She was cut off.

“We have to track him.”

“Agreed. Winner, Barton, take the roofs. Maxwell and I will take the streets rendezvous in…”

“Guys!” Serena had to shout quite loudly before they listened to her. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to try to track him. Apparently he’s very good at hiding, and if you couldn’t find him all these three years, maybe he doesn’t want to be found.” She told them quietly.

“Serena. Of course he wants to be found. We’re his friends.” Duo told her.

“No. I’m serious. I don’t think you should see him.” Serena told them quietly.

“Why not Serena?” Quatre asked.

“Wait. Earlier you said the guy you were going to go out with had a bad lifestyle.” Duo reasoned out. “If that guy was Hiiro, then Hiiro had a bad lifestyle.”

“And I don’t think he would appreciate his friends seeing him the way he is now.” She finished.

“Why not? What does he do?” Wufei asked.

“I’m not saying.” She refused.

“Is he a killer? I mean, like an assassin or mercenary? That’s not so bad. I can see him doing that.” Trowa thought.

“What!” Serena gasped. These were her friends! The guys she thought she knew! Yet here they were, saying it would be alright for one of their friends to be a for hire murderer. At least Hiiro’s ‘clients’ stayed alive.

“Is he a killer? Or part of a gang?” Duo asked Serena.

“No! I cannot believe you’re asking me this! And I thought I knew you all. You should be ashamed of yourselves to be prying at his life like this. Leave Hiiro alone! Honestly. He may be into an immoral lifestyle, but he’s not a murderer! That’s worse than what he does by far! Now look. If you want to try to follow him, go ahead. I have full confidence you won’t find him. And while you’re out searching for him, you think about how embarrassed he would be if he heard you speaking about him in such a manner. He may have a corrupt lifestyle, but at least his heart is in the right place! Good night!” Serena lectured them, inching them closer to the door. When they were close enough to it and she had finished her speech, she simply pushed on them and they all tumbled out onto the porch, leaving Serena to shut the door behind them.

“Great. Now what do we do?” Wufei grumbled.

“Well, you know what they say: ‘hell hath no fury like a women’s scorn’. I say we cut our losses and see if we can’t try to find Hiiro.” Duo said cheerfully. He was so happy to have finally found his best friend he didn’t care what kind of a career Hiiro had picked up.

“I agree with Duo. Let’s see if we can’t find Hiiro. We’ll deal with Serena tomorrow when she’s in a better mood.” Quatre added.

“Agreed.” Trowa nodded. “But where do we begin?”

>>>)(<<<

Hiiro stood on the edge of road. Trying to look nonchalant, he leaned against a lamp post and closed his eyes. Allowing his thoughts to take over, his memories seeped through. Flashes of an unrecognizable face came and went. Then, slowly, the picture cleared. The face became more defined. Serena. She had a small quirked smile on her lips, and her eyes held mirth and contentment. This was a wonderful change from his usual daydreams. A honking car stopped him from thinking any further.

“Hey.” The woman smiled.

“Hey.” Hiiro responded, turning on his cold charm.

“Get in.” The woman was still smiling. Hiiro nodded briefly, then went around to the other side of the car and got in the passenger seat. The woman gunned the engine, then raced off, splashing snowy slush over a few figures walking on the sidewalk.

“Christ! You’d think drivers would be a little more careful!” Duo yelled. He, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei were now sopping wet with brownish black slush and ice.

“We’ve lost Hiiro’s trail, this is where it ends.” Trowa commented, trying to cage his slight anger at the driver who had just splashed them.

“It’s getting pretty late. Maybe we should continue this tomorrow?” Quatre suggested.

“I agree with Winner. Being out in the cold all wet won’t help. Better to begin afresh tomorrow.” Wufei nodded.

“Fine with me.” Trowa added.

“Guys! We were so close to finding him! Can’t we just…”

“No.” Three simultaneous voices overruled him.

“Fine.” Duo sighed. “Bunch of wimps…” He muttered under his breath as they turned around to leave.

“Maxwell!” Wufei had obviously overheard him. Trowa and Quatre sighed as Duo and Wufei went at it again. All they needed was Hiiro, their missing link, and then they would be complete again. Just Hiiro.

>>>)(<<<

“Coming, coming!” Serena called through the door. She was just grabbing her coat to leave when she heard a knock at the door. Opening the door, a tall dark figure was framed by the bright sun.

“Ready?” He asked her. Shivers ran down her spine. His voice was so low and cold, even when he seemed to be in a happy mood.

“I’m waiting for my babysitters. Would you like to come in?”

“There’s more than one sitter?” He asked as he stepped inside.

“My friends come in pack. You get two pairs, or all four of them at any given time of the day.” She laughed slightly at her joke. Then she straightened up and remembered a few things she probably should not have forgotten.

“Hiiro, my friends saw us on the porch last time.”

“Oh? Were they upset?” He smirked.

“Well, they were surprised. But not because of our, well, my, actions. They were surprised because of who you were.”

“They knew Cin?” Hiiro narrowed his eyes.

“No, actually. They knew Hiiro. They claimed to have gotten to know you in the Eve Wars. They wanted to track you, but I told them it wasn’t a good night. I think they tried anyway, but they must have failed, or else you would have already known what I’m talking about.” She babbled on. He grabbed her shoulders and lightly pressed her against him.

“What were their names Serena?”

“Oh. Duo, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei.” She answered, slightly flustered. She found it amusing that he was all of a sudden so animated over the thought of his friends in town.

Hiiro, on the other hand, didn’t find it amusing at all. In fact, he found it incredibly worrisome. If his friends were in town, they would hear about his reputation as Cin. Not that he cared. Still.

“Hiiro? Are you alright?” Serena asked with concern.

“Fine. Just fine.” He muttered. He looked down at her worried expression. Then he took notice of their proximity. So close… his heart rate increased. His blood pressure rose. It was hard to breath, and his senses were completely lost in the scent of her hair, the touch of her warm hand, the very sight of her.

“You’re sure?” She asked. His eyes had suddenly glazed over with an unreadable expression. He was looking at her, yet looking past her. She felt his grip tighten and pull her in closer. With her body pressed against his full length, she could no feel the difference as well. His strong arms enclosing around her, his dark hair wildly falling into place over his blackened eyes. He was so dangerous looking, yet so sane and calm at the same time. Such an ironic juxtaposition was this man.

“I’m not alright.” He spoke in a dark, yet almost humorous tone.

“Oh?” She breathed slightly. It was getting to hot in the room for her to breath, to even concentrate.

“No. I’m experiencing a loss of feeling. I’m numb.” He mumbled. He was beyond the logic that told him to ignore his emotions. Just living in the moment was all he cared to do, all he wanted to think about.

“What a shame. Where are you numb?” Serena played along.

“Everywhere.” He whispered.

“Well then. I can’t do much for that.” She giggled.

“Too bad.” He murmured. Bending his neck he kissed her jaw line. Serena stay perfectly still, afraid to break the spell. He kissed her neck, then he pulled her shirt away and kissed her shoulder. Lifting his head, he closed the distance towards her lips. Softly at first, then adding more pressure, he eased himself upon her, hungrily ravishing her lips. Serena moaned under his actions, and he pushed her against the wall, deepening the kiss. Her arms came up and encircled his neck, pulling him in closer to her.

“Yui! If you don’t take your hands off her, I’m going to kill you.” A familiar justice ridden voice broke the heavy mood. Hiiro and Serena ripped apart and, blushing furiously, tried to collect themselves in front of the their four friends.

“Hiiro!” Duo cried after Hiiro had given them his trademark greeting grunt. “Man, we’ve been looking for you everywhere! Where’ve you been buddy?”

“Around.” Hiiro spat.

“Some welcome we get.” Duo pouted.

“Hiiro. It’s nice to see you again. We’ve been looking for you for a while.” Quatre beamed at him.

“Yeah, well.” Hiiro said, shrugging off any emotion he had previously acted with.

“Yui. How dare you take advantage of Serena in a such a fashion. It was an improper action for you to take.”

“Wufei.” They all turned to pay attention to Serena. “It’s my fault. Really.” She insisted. Hiiro smirked.

“It was not her fault.” He spoke up. His words earned him a glare from Serena, a whistle from Duo, and a gasp from Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei.

“Since when did you become such a ladies man Hiiro?” Duo taunted him. Hiiro’s eyes darkened and his demeanor changed. Serena guessed why, and she felt bad that he now had to face his friends with the news of his job. Well. At least she could stall for him a little longer.

“Hiiro. We should go. Otherwise we’ll be late.”

“Hnn.” He grunted, grabbing both his and her jackets and opening the door.

“Now guys. All three of the kids are still asleep. When they get up… well, just don’t let them blow up the house. Quatre, Trowa, please try to keep it relatively sane in here, and guys, don’t try to follow us, huh?” With that last remark, Serena slammed the door and jogged to catch up to Hiiro.

“So Hiiro. How come you weren’t happier to see your friends? I mean, hasn’t it been three years? And they’ve always been so close. I assume you were close to them as well.” Serena began quietly.

“I was happy. For them, that was a warm welcome.” He smirked, trying to hide behind lies he knew she could see right through.

“Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging on a telephone wire!” She snickered. “Seriously though. What happened? They’ve been looking for you for three years Hiiro. Why didn’t you look for them?”

“Look. The wars are over. I don’t need to be dragged to a reunion of soldiers. I remember the wars in explicit detail every night when I try to sleep. I have no use in returning to the past. I have to make up for the past destruction I’ve caused, not reminisce over it.” He answered her calmly. She could still detect a sense that there was more to the situation, but she certainly wasn’t going to push it.

“Alright then. They really are nice guys though. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

“They good babysitters?” Hiiro asked her.

“The best. They keep the kids entertained as well as are able to handle any situation. It’s perfect.”

“Good. We’re here.”

“We’re where?” Serena asked confused. They were staring up at a four story apartment building that was out in the middle of nowhere.

“Home. Come on.” He said as he led her in through the maze of hallways. Suddenly the hall opened up into a grand room. “This used to be a hotel. It was abandon six years ago. A few years after it had been abandoned, I suppose they changed it into an orphanage. It’s been set up for war orphans, but there are children here with very diverse backgrounds.”

“But why bring me here?” Serena asked again.

“This is where I sleep if I can’t get a job. I wanted you to help me. Today I’ve brought a few things for the kids.”

“What sorts of things?” She asked. Hiiro brought out a bag and she recognized it immediately.

“That’s the bag you bought from Jerry! The night he hit on me in the bar!”

“Yeah.”

“You mean it’s full of toys?” She asked in wonderment.

“What did you think it was full of? Stolen goods? Drugs even? I don’t think so.”

“ And your going to give them to the kids here? Hiiro, that’s so sweet! Are you friends with all of the kids?”

“I know most all of them.:”

“You’re amazing Hiiro, honestly amazing.”*