Silent Waltz      by Comet~Princess

Disclaimer: The mission, should you choose to accept, is not to sue the author since she doesn´t own anything except the story. She is poor and has nothing to give you anyway.

AN: Thank the break. ^^ We really should get breaks more often. I benefit, and you benefit too since I write during my breaks. I developed an obsession over manga. O.o I somehow read the entire CCS manga, the Vampire Princess Miyu manga, and half of the SM manga in a matter of days. Too bad the break is over now. Anywho, just the latest update on my life. =P

Warnings: Mamoru is still OOC. He doesn´t appear in the chapter, but just so you know.

Purr-chan: =P I thought I already said that Duo-kun escaped my harem. He´s not here anymore, though I´m thinking of making Hee-chan find him. ^_~ Besides, Kenji´s only after Duo because he doesn´t know about Heero. =D

Midnight Lady: *nods* Mamoru is OOC. =D *points to warning* No disagreement there. But at least he´s still intelligent and a good fighter.

Sailor Grape: No pieces? Oh darn. *tosses Wufei-steak ideas aside*

Thanks goes to Mei-chan (Mingming) and Chibi Tenshi-chan for pre-reading. *glomp* Not one of my best, kind of a transition chapter, but they liked, so I posted. Here you go!

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Chapter 8 - Mission Briefing

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Silence filled the room. No one made any sound as each person pondered what Une had just proposed. Quatre was the first to come to a decision.

"We can´t do that!" he cried out. "Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino would be so upset! I. . .I can´t bring myself to just leave Usagi to die."

Duo nodded his agreement. "Minako was already distressed enough that Usagi was kidnapped, and it was our mission to make sure she didn´t come to any harm. We failed," he said in a whisper. "And now, you want us to just destroy the base? How can we do that?"

Une looked at them regretfully. "If I could do anything different, I would," she replied quietly.

"But we´re choosing between the fate of the world and one person´s life," Wufei finished for her. "It´s like when we risked our lives to save the innocent during the Eve Wars."

"Risking your own life is different from risking someone else´s life!" Quatre argued, a sudden gleam of determination in his eyes. "I would willingly die for the world, but I can´t ask someone else to die in my place!"

Trowa placed a calming hand on the blonde´s shoulder. "Don´t you think Usagi would be willing to die if she knew that our choices are between her and the world´s population?" he asked. He didn´t know all the details about Usagi, nor would he claim to, but Trowa knew that Usagi could at least fight. She would fight to protect the people she love. This much, Trowa sensed from the girl.

Quatre frowned. But before he could speak, Une interrupted their previous fight. "So you are not willing to go through with the mission?" she questioned.

"I will, if it will preserve what we fought for," Trowa stated quietly.

"Me too," Wufei announced, crossing his arms. It was cruel, he knew, but as far as he could see, they could do nothing else. Usagi´s life had no guarantee, unless they handed over the ticket to world domination, and he couldn´t do that.

"I disagree," Quatre spoke up. "I say we find another way to do this."

"I´m with Quatre," Duo added. Just picturing the way Minako had cried moments earlier tore at his heart. In addition, Usagi had become his friend, and no matter what, he couldn´t send a friend to their death.

It was a standoff. Everyone in the meeting room knew it, and there was only one person who hasn´t spoken since Une had suggested the battle plan. Everyone turned expectantly at the Perfect Soldier. As always, it seemed like he would get the last say.

Heero continued to stare at the tabletop, as though if he stared long enough, the unusual patterns imprinted in the wood would give him the answer. Why couldn´t someone else make the decision for once? He clenched his fists underneath the table. What kind of decision were they asking him to make, choosing between the safety of the Earth and the life of the only person he´s ever loved? It was a death sentence. Either way, he lost.

*Flashback*

He couldn´t work the keys on his laptop fast enough. He really wished there was another way to do this, but. . . .

Why must he do this? Why did he always hurt people, no matter how hard he tried not to?

The coding on the information was done. There was no way anyone could crack it, not even her. There would be no way to track him down, just the way he wanted it to be. He bit his lip, debating how to tell her he was leaving.

Scratch that, he already told her he was leaving. She had been upset, to say the least. He knew he had asked the impossible of her. She wouldn´t forget him, just as he knew that he would never forget her, even if he never saw her again. He looked up at the silver picture frame sitting on his desk. There, she beamed at him, her smile carrying so much joy that he felt his heart melt at the sight of her happiness.

The person she was smiling at was the other person in the picture, him. She was hugging him from behind, both of her arms around his waist, her head resting on his shoulder. The wind that day blew gently, sending her hair flying around her, giving her an almost surreal look.

He let out a sigh. He had decided. He wouldn´t tell her when he was leaving. Goodbyes weren´t his style. He wouldn´t know what to say, how to act.

Picking up the picture, and hesitating only for a moment, he smashed the glass against the corner of his desk, cutting his fingers on the broken shards. It was done half in anger, half as a reminder. He was angry that, of all the people he could hurt in the world, he ended up having to harm the one he least wanted to hurt. It was also a way to remind himself that he could never bring her the happiness she deserved. His past haunted him to no end, and being with her would endanger her. That was something he was not willing to do. Ignoring the pain caused by the cuts on his fingers, he gingerly picked out the picture inside.

He stared at it some more. He couldn´t bring himself to do it, to destroy the only tangible evidence of their love, to rip it to shreds.

When did he become so soft? It seemed like whenever he thought of her, he would turn into someone else, someone who hadn´t killed thousands of people, someone who wasn´t trained as a soldier since birth, someone whose heart and soul still existed. Shaking his head, he scanned the picture into his laptop. He quickly scribbled a note, tucked it and the picture into the envelope, and left it on the desk.

Standing up, he put on his coat, picked up his laptop and duffel bag, and left the room.

*End Flashback*

Heero´s eyes misted over. He hadn´t left, at least, not yet. His shuttle left in the evening, so he had opted to see her face one more time. The heartbroken look, the pain in her eyes, the tears that spilled unchecked down her face had made him feel a hundred times guiltier than when he had accidentally killed that little girl and her dog. All he had wanted was to rush back in there, hold her, and tell her he would never leave her. But just as he was about to, Mamoru´s face had appeared in his mind´s eye, his "suggestion" ringing in his ears. The resolve had hardened, his own tears hiding behind his mask of coldness, the broken pieces of his heart once again behind the wall of ice he had built. He had been really careful about not leaving traces of himself afterwards, knowing she´d want to find him. But as months passed, and she still hadn´t looked for him, he had become less careful. Of course, that´s when she had decided to find him.

"Heero?" Duo asked, waving his hands between Heero´s eyes and the surface of the table, effectively bringing the Perfect Soldier back to the present.

Heero looked up at his comrades from the war, who were waiting for his word. Then, he met Une´s eyes, which were filled with remorse. She didn´t want to do this, but as the leader of the Preventers, she couldn´t put Usagi´s life ahead of the Earth´s safety. Her outlook was purely professional. Then, for him. . . .

"Mission accepted," Heero stated emotionlessly, standing up from his seat.

"Heero, you can´t be serious!" Quatre spoke up.

"Yea, Heero," Duo piped up. "How can you send the girl you love to her death?"

The room was suddenly so silent you can hear a pin drop. Une, Quatre, and Wufei were alternating between staring in shock at Heero, and then, gaping at Duo. Trowa remained impassive. He had guessed as much. Meanwhile, the glare Heero was sending Duo would be enough to kill a normal man.

"Excuse me?" Une finally choked out. "Heero, if you-"

"The mission is to rescue her unless we can´t do so without handing over the cannon plans, correct?" Heero interrupted. When he got a nod from Une, he continued, "Then it doesn´t mean she will die for sure."

He turned to leave the room, but just before he opened the door, he turned around and faced the self-proclaimed Shinigami. "Duo, when we´re done with this mission, your braid is coming off," he promised, slamming the door shut behind him.

Duo´s whimpers were the only sounds in the room for a full minute. Wufei, having finally gotten over what Duo had said before, soon became annoyed though.

"Shut up, Maxwell!" he snapped.

"But Wu-man, he wanted to cut off my braid," Duo whined, clutching his most prized possession tightly.

"Don´t call me Wu-man, Maxwell!" Wufei yelled. "Or Yuy won´t be the only one after your damn braid!"

Une cleared her throat to stop any potential fights from happening. "Duo," she addressed, "could you elaborate on what you said?"

"Does it look like I want to die?" Duo asked.

However, it was too late to turn back. All the occupants in the room were now looking curiously at the braided boy, waiting for the rest of the story. Duo sighed, and silently prayed to the God of Death that he wouldn´t take his soul so soon.

"I don´t know," Duo began with a shrug. "I mean, like Minako said, he was just unusually mad when he found out that Usagi was kidnapped. I just thought, considering Heero, that that was enough evidence to show that he cared for her, and not only as a friend. He wouldn´t be so mad if he lost one of us, and we´re his friends, as close as it´ll get anyway."

"Yuy could just be mad because he failed the first mission," Wufei pointed out, referring to the fact that they were supposed to protect Usagi.

"Wufei, you didn´t see the look in his eyes when he first finished reading that letter," Duo stated, using the Chinese boy´s actual name for once. "I tease him a lot, you all know that, and I swear that he´s never ever looked so mad in all the time I´ve known him."

"Duo´s right," Une interjected, nodding her head. "I remember how he looked at me when he told us Usagi was kidnapped."

"But," Quatre spoke up, "he hasn´t shown any signs of being attracted to Usagi in the time we´ve stayed together."

"Wrong," Duo commented. "He admitted he liked her, well, kind of. Besides, didn´t you guys notice that he didn´t even deny my accusation just now?"

The room went silent again. It was true. It wasn´t his words that pointed the boys to what should have been obvious from the beginning though. It was his actions. From the first time in the Preventers´ office when the two had engaged in their staring contest to what had happened just now, everything pointed to the same conclusion. Heero was in love with Usagi.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi stared up at the ceiling of the room she was in, silently counting the tiles. At first, she had refused to fall asleep in this unknown location, but weariness had finally gotten a hold of her, and she had slept for God knows how long. The room didn´t have a clock, so she wouldn´t know the difference between an hour and five hours. The window in the room was allowing sunlight to shine through though, which meant that it was currently daytime.

She had first tried to find a way out of the place, but when she had seen guards, armed with guns, outside her room door, she knew that she couldn´t get out. At least, not without injuring herself. If that man named Mamoru hadn´t unloaded her gun, then maybe she´d consider it.

She rolled over and sighed into the sheet on her temporary bed. Maybe she´d consider it, but she wouldn´t do it. She promised never to kill when he said he´d teach her. She groaned as her thoughts returned to Heero again.

*Flashback*

The letter he left her was unbelievably short. He just told her not to look for him, and that he had to leave because he didn´t want to endanger her. She clutched the paper between her fingers, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. She never noticed the tears that slipped through her eyelids, nor the presence of a figure watching her from the window, a sorrowful look in his eyes.

As she picked up the envelope the letter was in, she realized that there was something else inside. Gingerly, she lifted out the only picture she had taken with him. Suddenly, instead of sorrow, she didn´t know what she was feeling anymore. He had left this behind too? Did this mean he wanted to forget her? To forget them? It was then that she noticed pieces of shattered glass on the floor next to the desk.

Her heart stopped. She swore it did. The frame she had given him, he had broken it? Was it on purpose or by accident? But no matter which one it was, he still hadn´t want the picture of them. Why? Was it because he thought he was unworthy of her, due to his past and the danger he thought he put her in? Of course it was, he kept saying that whenever they´re together, after all.

"Heero, you baka," she whispered, so softly that only she could hear it. "Don´t you know by now that I don´t care about your past? I don´t care about the danger. I love you. . . . and you didn´t even say goodbye."

She looked around the room once more. She wouldn´t come back here after today. It would bring back too many memories. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She considered trying to find him, but she knew him well enough to know that he didn´t want her to find him. Turning, she left the house and headed home.

She couldn´t stop her sniffling. So one can imagine Minako´s surprise when her cousin and best friend walked into the house, her eyes red from crying.

"Usagi?" Minako asked. "Are you okay?"

Her question went unanswered as the bunny threw herself into Minako´s arms and cried. The other girl was surprised at first. Volleyball practice had been cancelled due to the coach being sick, so she had come home, wanting to drag Usagi with her to the arcade, considering Usagi hadn´t gone in awhile. She had found an empty house, and was about to leave in panic to find her missing cousin when Usagi came home, crying.

Minako wrapped her arms around Usagi, muttering soothing words. She wondered what had happened to her. Usually, Usagi was the stronger of the two. Minako´s first thought was a guy, but Usagi hadn´t dated for the past year and a half, right? She opened her mouth to ask, but then, she remembered what she had promised herself when she first came to live with the Tsukinos.

"Usagi," Minako began, sounding older than she really was at the moment. "I have no idea what happened, and I won´t pry."

"Thank you," Usagi replied in a whisper. She knew how curious her cousin was, and she really should explain, but she couldn´t bring herself to.

"But I´ll tell you something that you told me the last time I cried," Minako stated, remembering how she had cried her eyes out after her break-up with her last boyfriend. "No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is won´t make you cry."

She was pretty sure that Usagi wasn´t crying over a guy, but still, whoever made her cry wasn´t worth the tears.

Usagi was too upset to note that her cousin had actually gotten a saying right, though she did give a mental smile. She was being hypocritical. She had told Minako not to cry over a guy, and here she was, crying over Heero. Still. . . .

She slowly looked up at Minako, and her cousin realized just how upset she was. "Minako," she began, "you´re right. But what do you do when the only person who can make you stop crying is the one who makes you cry?"

*End Flashback*

Usagi sighed again. Frustrated with her own sulking, she jumped up from the bed and started to pace around the room. If only she could figure out what that mysterious man wanted with her.

Wait, scratch that. He didn´t want her. He wanted something from Heero, and apparently, she was bait. She rolled her eyes at the irony of it all. Here the Perfect Soldier was, thinking he´d endanger her life, but she was actually the one luring him into danger. Suddenly she stopped pacing as the full effect of that thought hit her. She was putting his life in danger? Pictures of Heero being killed flashed through her head, as different possibilities reached her mind. She slumped to the floor in a heap, clutching her head.

No! She can´t allow that to happen. She wouldn´t let him die because of her. She could warn him somehow, couldn´t she? She´d do anything, as long as he lived. She´d rather die herself than watch him die.

Her eyes suddenly widened in shock as she retraced her train of thought. She didn´t want to endanger him. She didn´t want him to die because of her. She´d rather torture herself than put his life on the line.

"This is how you felt, isn´t it, Heero?" she whispered to no one in particular.

And she didn´t even have a past like Heero´s. She had no enemy she knew of, who wanted to kill her, or torture her. She hadn´t killed people whose friends and family might or might not want to come looking for her. She didn´t have a secret identity in the war. This is what Heero must have felt, not just once, like she was feeling now, but every time they were together. He had been afraid for her life, and he had chosen to keep her safe.

Usagi stared aimlessly at the wall. She finally understood his reasoning. "I´m so sorry, Heero," she stated. She would tell him she understood once he got here, and she would tell him her side. They could still be together, she knew it, but he had to be willing to give it a try. He had to realize that sometimes, you can be selfish.

Standing up, she decided that she would do some investigating. Even if it was only getting something about her location out of the guards, she´ll have to find some information. Whatever she could get, it was going to be useful to Heero when he got here. She had no doubt he would come. They did, as she had discovered, love each other enough to give up their lives for one another.

~*~*~*~*~

"You found it?!" Duo stated in disbelief as he stared at the screen of Heero´s laptop. "It´s been two hours since we were told to find it, and you already found it?!"

"Hn," Heero grunted as he checked his weaponry. He could yell at Duo and say that he had been searching for the enemy base for the past day and a half, but then, he´d have a lot of explaining to do, such as why and how he had found the base. And he wasn´t willing to sit for hours to tell them all about it.

"You do work fast, Heero," Quatre answered quietly. He was still a little upset about having to go through with this mission, but after hearing Duo´s outburst, he was confident that Heero wouldn´t just let Usagi die, that is, if what Duo said was true. He tried to sense with his heart what Heero was feeling at the moment, but the only thing he got was determination. All of a sudden, the connection was cut off. He looked up in surprise to find Heero glaring at him. Quatre blushed. He hadn´t known that Heero could sense his empathetic powers, nor had he known that the Perfect Soldier knew how to block him off.

"Sorry, Heero," the Arabian apologized.

Heero grunted in reply. He looked around the meeting room. Duo had run off to tell Minako that they were ready to go rescue Usagi. Trowa was studying the map that was being displayed on his laptop, while Wufei was checking his own armament, like Heero himself had done moments earlier.

The four boys were mildly surprised when Duo came back in with both Minako and Kenji in tow. For once, it seemed like the middle-aged man didn´t want to have Duo´s head on a platter like the last few time the guys had seen the two in each other´s presence.

"I´m coming too," Kenji stated before the guys could say anything.

"No," was Heero´s calm reply. "We have no idea what will happen."

Kenji glared at the Perfect Soldier. "I am coming too," he repeated in a firm voice. "I don´t trust you."

Quatre and Trowa exchanged a glance. If Kenji came too, then they wouldn´t be able to carry out the mission properly.

"Me too!" Minako piped up. "I´m going!"

"No way!" Duo protested. "I refuse to put you in this kind of danger, Minako. Do you realize that there are people at this base that will be armed? They wouldn´t care if they shot you, and frankly, I´d be damned if I let them anywhere near you."

"I agree with the boy. You´re not going, Minako," Kenji stated. Then, he realized what he had just said, and scowled. Did he just agree with that good for nothing boy who kept hitting on his niece? He looked around the room to see the looks on the other boys´ faces. By the looks of it, yes, he did just agree with Duo.

Meanwhile, the braided boy blinked a few times and shook his head in wonder. The man who wanted to kill him agreed with him? He was then tackled by his girlfriend, who almost hugged the life out of him, not that he minded too much.

"Then you have to be careful!" she told him.

"I promise to come back in one piece," Duo said somewhat jokingly.

"I´m serious, Duo," Minako reprimanded, giving him a glare.

"Okay, okay," Duo answered with a smile. "I mean it too. Don´t worry. We promised to be there for each other, right?"

Minako nodded happily and hugged him again.

Kenji watched the scene unfold, this time with interest instead of fury. He had wanted to strangle the braided boy when they had first met, especially when he had found out that the boy was after his niece. But watching them for the past day, and especially now, Kenji was starting to realize that this man wasn´t after his niece for her body, like he had thought. He seemed to really care for her, as he could see when Duo had refused to let her follow them because it would be unsafe for her. They also drew strength from each other, and as much as he hated to admit it, Duo´s upbeat and cheery personality would match Minako´s wild and bubbly one very well. Kenji sighed mentally in defeat. As long as Duo truly cared and loved Minako, he couldn´t stop them from seeing each other, nor should he. It was hard to find someone who truly loved you. He knew that. He had been young once upon a time. While she was away from home, his niece had grown up.

Well, I still have Usagi, he couldn´t help thinking with a little relief. (AN: Sorry to butt in here, but. . . . *tries not to laugh out loud*)

"Are you still going, Uncle Kenji?" Minako asked suddenly, half in Duo´s arms.

"No," came Heero´s monotonous answer as he typed something into his computer.

"YES!" Kenji bellowed, shooting daggers with his eyes at Heero. "I´m going to go rescue my daughter whether you like it or not!"

Other than the Perfect Soldier, all the guys shifted uncomfortably. What would they say if they had to go through with the second part of the plan?

"Fine, suit yourself," Heero suddenly stated. He stood up from the chair, checked his gun again, and started to leave. Trowa and Wufei both followed him quickly. Kenji, half surprised and half satisfied, smiled to himself. Minako quickly gave her uncle a hug.

"Be careful," she said.

Kenji nodded. "You too. Don´t wander off the property," he instructed her.

She nodded and watched him leave the room. She turned to Duo. "I think Uncle decided to accept you," she told him with a grin.

"That´s good," Duo replied with relief. "I was starting to think I´d have to run from him for the rest of my life."

Minako laughed. She pecked Duo quickly on the lips. "Good luck then, Duo," she said, referring to the mission. She smiled and headed towards the sitting room, where she knew her aunt was currently worrying about Usagi. At least she could comfort Ikuko a bit. She would help where she could.

As soon as Minako left, Quatre turned worriedly to Duo. "Why in the world did Heero let Mr. Tsukino come?" he asked quietly.

Duo sighed. "I don´t know. But maybe Heero´s sure that we can rescue Usagi," he answered with a shrug.

Or Heero has already promised himself that he wouldn´t let Usagi die, they both thought at the same time as they left to join the rest of their group.

~*~*~*~*~

How Heero had managed to find such a well-hidden base in such a short amount of time would baffle the guys and Kenji until they were old, wrinkled, and sitting around in wheelchairs. Duo could now swear that he was lost in this maze-like wood. The trees were thick and tall, the leaves on them covering most of the sunlight. There was no path leading them to their destination, except for a soft beeping coming from Heero´s laptop. In addition, Heero seemed to be walking in curves, winding in and out of trees and other things in their path.

Finally, Duo blurted out, "Heero, why don´t we just walk in a straight line? Wouldn´t that be faster?"

"Shut up," Heero hissed back in monotone, ducking behind a bush. He gave Duo a glare.

"It´d be nice to know why we´re walking in a winding path," Quatre added in a whisper, noticing that they had tried to make as little sound as possible.

"Cameras and microphones," Heero muttered, looking at the screen of his laptop again.

"In trees?" Duo asked.

Heero nodded. He had tried to be as discreet as possible, but he was almost certain that Mamoru already knew they were there. A group of six was kind of hard to miss with all those cameras he had managed to detect with his laptop. Plus, even if they had been really quiet thus far, Duo had no doubt just given them away to the microphones.

The rest of the trip into the center of the woods was very quiet. None of them spoke, and even Kenji decided that it was best to follow Heero´s instructions, at least for now. When Heero finally stopped walking and went to check his gun, again, they knew that they had reached the base.

Kenji, along with everyone else, except for Heero, peered over the bush to find, much to their surprise, a single level bungalow surrounded by an iron fence. It was probably the last thing they were expecting when they were told to "rescue" Usagi from the kidnappers´ base.

"Are you sure this is right, Yuy?" Wufei asked skeptically. "This looks like some vacation house Sally was showing me a month back in that real estate magazine."

"There are ten levels underground," Heero informed them, ignoring the funny looks he had gotten. "The ground level is most likely their living quarters."

"Oh," came from various members of the group.

Heero glared down at the bungalow. No wonder he had never been able to find Mamoru before. He had tried after he decided to leave Usagi, but to no avail. The place was very well-hidden, though he shouldn´t have expected anything less. Heero wondered briefly if Mamoru had let himself be found this time, considering he had tried for much longer than a day before, and had found no trace.

"Any plan at all?" Duo asked, turning serious, since he realized that their mission had officially started.

"Let´s split into two groups," Trowa suggested. "One will keep guard around this area, and the other will infiltrate the base."

Heero reached down to copy something from his hard drive onto a disc. "I´ll go into the base," he volunteered.

"So will I," Kenji spoke up. "I want to rescue my daughter." He noted the guys´ use of words and suddenly wondered about their pasts. They talked like soldiers, and even acted like a troop, one that had worked together before, and had never forgotten each other´s strengths and weaknesses.

"Mr. Tsukino, I think it´d be better if you stayed here. I mean, we really don´t know what will happen inside, and it´s very dangerous," Quatre reasoned.

Kenji stubbornly refused. They may act like soldiers, but he still wouldn´t put his daughter´s life into their hands. The ex-Gundam pilots looked at each other and silence ensued for a few minutes before Heero came to a decision.

"Duo, Trowa, with me. Wufei, Quatre, guard out here," he commanded. He tucked the disc into the back pocket of his jeans and gave the blond haired boy the laptop he had been carrying. "Red dots are cameras. Blue ones are microphones. Try not to be detected."

Quatre nodded and signaled to Wufei, both leaving the area. Heero gave a low grunt and signaled the remaining members of the group to follow him.

Wait for me, Usagi. I won´t let you die, I promise.

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End of Chapter 8.

AN: REVIEW!!! More reviews = happy Comet-chan = more writing. I appreciate all your comments.