AN: Um… don't kill me? ^^;; Sorry it's been so long since my last update but life has been busy and I had a little problem after writing the first half of this chapter. I have to tell you the truth that I've lost interest in GW/SM fics. I will finish this story and Love and Hate. It'll be only a few more chapters before I finish this story. Before everyone read on I want to say something. I haven't been to the GW/SM section for more than one year. When I was rereading this story the other day I realized how cliché the plot of 'An Unusual Mission' is. I want to apologize for the typical 'betrayal' idea, hopefully when I finish this story I'll have time to go back and rewrite and edit everything, I cringed at the amount of spelling and grammar errors there are, so please bear with me for a few more chapters, I promise to deliver you guys from this misery soon ^^;;

For those of you wondering whey Usagi is a shinimegami I suggest you to find out a little more about Yami no Matsuei. The series is about a group of gods of death who are responsible for bring back souls to the underworld. No one has to be born into a shinigami, they are just given the decision if they want the position or not, consider it as a job in the afterlife.

For those of you who are not familiar with Yami no Matsuei, check out:   this site is very informative. Hopefully you'll all fall in love with the gorgeous art and the wonderful story like me ^_~

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Thanks to: Foxxy Chick, Chibi-Chan (love the name Wuffers ^_^), Sailor Twilight Star, anime4ever, Bunny, Kawayur Nananshi Ikkitousen (I loved your review but I have to admit that I didn't understand any of the Japanese), DragonGirl12, Kolinshar Jackie-chan Benito (thanks for your support), Kelsee, Tigerz Angel, Glawless Princess, TA, Chibi-Tenshi6, [email protected], Celestial DreamBlaze (yeah, I love a Wufei with real looking boobs too, he should know better than to insult us all the time ^_~), watergoddess, SakuraMaxwellPotterLegolas, Angel Requal Aeolus (I love you for being so truthful, I would never can anything I do near perfect ^^;;), Chibi Shi-chan1, [email protected], Kore-reborn, Faith, Angel-Hikari (obviously you haven't seen Yami no Matsuei, I would suggest you reading a little more about that series before you complain that I made Usagi into a god of death.), rain and leena, Sailor Nova (Hehe I love making people laugh ^_^), Bluejello, Alilacia (you'll find out what happens with Mamoru soon enough ^_~), Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, The Kuro no Tenshi, Dream wind, Crazygurl70, Fate's Child (Akiko Do I want them to remember?), Silver punk, MarsMoonStar, Kikoio, Li-chan,, solarmistress17, Prophetess of Hearts, Aroden, Silver-tiger11, Uranus2000 (you'll find out what Rei does very soon), Solus Nox, Callie-chan1, lilsaturnprincess, Sailorartemis2000, Zetes, Sailor Cardcaptor Ryoko, Alexandrea Orozco, Tenshi Cat, Nueva Yui Maxwell (long time no see! I'm going to Toronto for university next year though), Chibi Chibi GW, Angel123292, Usagi Asia Maxwell (sorry for leaving like that, you know 5 minutes after you told me about thee blackout, power went out at my house ^^;;), SOMEONE, and Kuroi Atropos

Chapter 10

"Omae o koruso Duo."

Everyone in the limo except for the Perfect Soldier and the God of Death sweat-dropped.

"Baka! Why can't you keep your shameless hands to yourself for a few minutes and give the rest of us some please and quiet?!" a frustrated Wufei yelled out rubbing his temples, trying very hard to prevent himself from strangling the braided pilot to death. How did he ever allow this situation to grow so out of hand… being threatened to come with the onna to her uncle's country party, wearing an uncomfortable tuxedo, letting his hair out of its ponytail, and worst of all sitting in a limo and watch the braided baka stare drooling at the blonde onna. Even a highly disciplined warrior like himself had limits, and the braided baka was going to find out the extent of his wrath very soon.

It was bad enough that Hiiro had to make seating arrangements and sit himself between his imouto and her very amorous boyfriend. But apparently the new seating arrangement didn't change things at all, when sneaky hands were slapped at thirty seconds intervals whenever Duo tried to reach across Hiiro for his bunny.

"You're a GUNDAM pilot Maxwell! For Heaven's sake, try to show some self control before you ruin all of our reputation for good!" Wufei screamed out, the vein on his forehead throbbing noticeably.

"What reputation? Didn't think that you would have any left after the drama class," the words were barely out of Duo's mouth before all Hell broke loose inside the limited space of the limo…

~*~*~*~

"Next time you want to drag me down with the five of you, I'll make sure that the magic stays permanent." A pissed off shinimegami stared down at the five boys who was magically dressed up as Relena, Hilde, Catherine, Sally, and Dorothy. The five pilots who were glaring murderously at the girl all nodded, having the same thoughts in mind. This was even more humiliating than drama classes. At least there was no one to see them like this or else… let's just say that whoever had the misfortune will never ever wake up to see the dawn of another day.

Smiling in satisfaction, Usagi concentrated on her power to create a protective shield around herself, after all it wouldn't be polite to show up at Tatsumi's house wearing the blood of the five person she's trying to protect. With the shield in place the blonde snapped her fingers grinning as the bond holding the five pilots broke and as she predicted, all five lunged at her only to slam into an invisible wall.

"Usagi!!"

"Onna!!"

Five cries destroyed the serene environment as the pilots surrounded Usagi's shield waiting for the shinimegami to drop it.

"Onna! How dare you shame us! In the name of justice I will kill you!"

"Now, now Wu-man, didn't anyone tell you how adorable you look with your hair in curls?" the bunny taunted enjoying the looks of rage, if only she had a camera with her… then again, she was a goddess…

"Usa-chan, stop this nonsense right now if you know what's good for you," the bunny cringed a little when she heard the quiet threat from Hiiro. If there was a time that she was afraid, now would be a good time. Even she had to admit that dressing up in Relena's customary pink suite with tights went a little too far… and judging from the way the Perfect Soldier was taking deep breaths and counting to ten, even a shinimegami had a good reason to be scared, but secretly she still couldn't help but snicker, who would've thought that Hiiro would look so good in pink? But she did go a little too far, not only did she make Hiiro wear the pink suite, but also underneath she made sure that the pilots wore the feminine under things that girls wore. And considering what Relena proudly showed the class, lets just say that poor Hiiro had a lot of reasons to want to hurt something or rather someone VERY badly, even if that someone was his imouto.

"Uuuuuuuuusssssssssaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggiiiiiiiiii!!!!! Mmmmmmmmyyyyyyy bbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiidddddddddd!!!!!!!!!!"

She didn't have to guess to whom the howl belonged too. Seriously couldn't they take a joke? Even the normally calm Quatre was giving her the glare of death, but then again who would be happy with forked eyebrows? But Trowa and Quatre had disappointed her when they jumped into stop the three brawling idiots from tearing down the limo. They should know that she would be able to prevent any danger to their chauffer and their ride but alas they had so little faith in her…

Sighing Usagi concentrated, but just before she could tap into her power she heard a strangely familiar voice calling her name.

"Hime-chan!" the blonde girl barely had time to turn towards the voice before she found herself enveloped in a bear hug.

"Ho… Hota-chan?!" Usagi stared in shock at her only senshi who stayed by her side all these years. The dark haired girl easily penetrated her shield without causing any damage. "When did you get here? Why are you here?! And why didn't Tatumi tell me about this before?"

"You know Tatsumi, when did he ever share information for free?" the sentence was more of a statement than a question. Both girls paused and giggled at the thought of the famous Enma-ho secretary doing volunteer work. Hell would freeze over before Tatsumi stopped being money obsessed. "I'm on vacation and I got permission to pay you a visit after I heard that you were given a new…"

The bunny quickly put her hand on the other girl's mouth, giving Hotaru a meaningful look. "A new car? Ah yeah! I'll show you next time." Usagi giggled nervously.

"And I also heard that you snatched yourself quite a cutie while I let you out of my sight. Is he here? I want to meet him," the firefly looked around, still not letting her princess out of her possessive hug. "Don't tell me you turned them into…" the dark haired girl laughed as the five girls she say in front of her blushed bright red.

Usagi sweat-dropped. "Long story Hota-chan. I was just about to turn them back before you showed up."

"You know Hime-chan, you are probably the only person in the entire underworld who would dare to turn the people you are suppose to protect into their stalkers," Hotaru whispered amusingly next to Usagi's ear. "And I think that you should stop wasting time or else that girl with the short purple hair will die of lack of air," Hotaru gestured to 'Hilde'. By the look in those dark eyes, it wasn't hard to tell that 'Hilde' wasn't happy at the intimacy between the hugging goddesses.

Two seconds and a bright flash of light later, five boys stood at the place of the five girls. Immediately they ran a through check to see that they have all their proper body parts while all glared at Wufei and Duo, but mainly at Usagi… not that the shinimegami cared.

After making sure that he was no longer wearing a bra and that his beautiful braid was back, he glared at the smirking Hotaru who still had Usagi in her arms. He never knew that he was capable of being jealous of a girl, but one look at Hotaru's pretty and smug face was enough to turn him as green as a lime. As if she could sense his discomfort, the dark haired girl tightened her arms around Usagi and actually kissed the bunny on the cheek.

For the first time, Duo understood what Wufei felt when he provoked the Chinese boy. The God of Death was practically fuming when Usagi didn't even seem mind when she just got kissed by one of the same sex as her, and to make the matter even worse the blonde girl even smiled!

"I'd be careful if I were you Maxwell," Wufei whispered, all animosity forgotten as he and the rest of the pilots sensed the hostility from 02. "Looks like your girlfriend will be stolen away under you very nose if you don't do something."

"I'm not jealous! What are you talking about Wu-man?!" Despite his words, the worry on Duo's face was as plain as the day. "They're just friends! And plus, Hotaru is a girl!"

"Duo buddy," the Chinese boy grinned as the braided pilot started to twist his own braid. This was his chance for revenge for all the numerous times the American baka tormented him in the past. What was that phase? Revenge is sweet. "Let me give you some advice man to man. D-e-n-i-a-l is not just a river in Egypt. Even though Usagi is going out with you doesn't mean other people can't try to take her away. And let me tell you something from my own past experience." Here pilot 05 pulled the God of Death closer. "You especially have to watch out for those of the same sex. They can pretend to be friends and just when you aren't suspecting anything, they snatch your girlfriend right from your nose."

A look of horror appeared on the braided one's face. "Are you sure Wu-man? Is that what happened to your wife?"

"Duo, would I lie to you?" It took all his training to keep a stern face. The Chinese boy quietly thanked Nataku for giving him this chance. "I just want to help you, that's what friends are for isn't it?"

"Thanks Wu-man, I don't know what I'll do without you," a very emotional and tearful Duo cried, squeezing Wufei in a tight hug. It was pitiful what love could do to a man.

"You're welcome, just do what I tell you and everything will be fine…" Wufei choked out trying desperately to out of the braided boy's hold before anymore tears and snot could get on his clothes.

"What are you guys doing?" Usagi's voice stopped the little tête-à- tête between the two pilots. "The party is inside you know." The blonde observed good-naturedly still holding Hotaru's hand. "Guys, I want you to meet Hotaru Tomoe. She's one of my oldest friends. All of you better behave yourselves around her. If any of you pick on her, then I won't be held responsible for the consequences." The bunny gave the Gundam pilots a glare and five head nodded simultaneously.

"Nice to me you Tomoe-san. I'm Quatre Rebabara Winner," the ever so polite blonde bowed and introduced the rest of the boys, who all nodded in greeting. Hotaru smiled at herself as she saw the hostile look Duo gave her and winked back.

Feeling eyes on her, the shorthaired girl turned to stare into cold Prussian eyes and couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spin. For a few seconds it felt as if the eyes could see right through her before Hiiro nodded and turned away.

"Hota-chan!" Usagi gave a tug on her friend's hand. "Where's Uncle Tatsumi?" she stressed the word 'uncle'.

A rueful look on her face, the Firefly couldn't help but pity her princess. "He's still inside preparing for the party."

"Preparing?" Already a nasty feeling began to spread in her stomach as Usagi looked at her senshi suspiciously. "Isn't it just a small country part… what's there to prepare for?"

"Um…"

"Hota-chan… are you hiding something from me?"

The dark haired girl looked at the blonde nervously. Why did she let herself get caught in a situation like this? "You'll see, Tatsumi is preparing a small surprise for you hat's all." Before Usagi could start questioning her again, Hotaru pulled her princess inside the gates.

The Gundam pilots shook their heads as the followed the girls inside, all were thinking about the same there. Were all of Usagi's friends as strange as her?

~*~*~*~

"Let me get this straight Tatsumi! You want me to what?!?!?!"

The Enma-ho secretary winced and prayed that his eardrums were still intact. "Please understand the situation Usagi. You know that our department has always had a low budget and this mission of yours is more costly than the department's expenses for an entire year. So unless you can conjure up a money tree to pay for all the damages and food bills during your mission, you better do what I tell you to do!"

The blonde opened her mouth but the glare from the older man made her swallow any complaints she had. No wonder the man was a shadow user, he was just as sneaky and manipulative as the shadows he controlled. And did she mention evil? Deciding that any reasoning wouldn't get her far, the bunny tried a different approach. The sapphire eyes lost their angry look in a blink of any eye and was immediately replaced by tears. "But Tatsumi, you know that I'm still underage. It's impossible for me to be part of your plan. Just imagine all the money you… err… the department will lose if someone sues you for child abuse," she grinned secretly when Tatsumi winced at the mention of losing money… but her victory was short lived.

"Good try Usagi. You know as well as I that you're the oldest member of Enma-ho department. Even if we add up the ages of everyone here with the exception of Hotaru, you would still be older. I doubt any authorities will question me, after all, I'm just helping my old maid of a niece in a chance to meet the opposite sex." With that, the brown haired man quickly fled the small office before he could be torn from limb to limb.

He was brave but not brave enough to face that particular shinimegami. It was a good thing that he was able to hold his tongue. He serious doubt that even Hotaru could prevent Usagi from destroying the mansion  (with him in it) if he called her 'antique'. It was tempting though. Rubbing a tiger in the wrong direction was dangerous but fun… in a thrilling way under certain safety precautions. And even though shinigami couldn't die, they were still very sensitive to pain.

Chuckling out loud as he heard a particularly loud insult from Usagi, Tatsumi walked to the gardens where a few of the guests had already arrived. Ah, he was going to enjoy this stay on Earth. It was worth all the trouble just to see for once an enraged Usagi unable to extract revenge. Smiling to himself, the secretary of Enma-ho nodded in greeting to Relena, his good spirits unhampered by the fact that the Queen of the Worlds came to his party dressed up in something resembled more to a shredded bikini than a kimono.

"Tatsumi-san."

The dark haired man turned towards the voice. "Dr. Muraki, how nice of you to come."

The platinum haired doctored smiled warmly and shook hands with his host. "Of course I had to come, I wouldn't miss this for the world."

~*~*~*~

In the safety of the shadows of a large palm tree, where he could observe the party without being threatened by a certain Queen of the World, Hiiro watched the scene unfold before his very eyes with an amused frown… if you could call that the expression on his face. It was amusing to see Duo and Wufei sworn enemies of each other whispering as if they were the best of friends. Even though it was interesting to watch those two in peace… god knows that he has had enough of their bickering, but what he saw from lip reading their conversation made him want to kill both. For once it was difficult to tell who was the bigger idiot, Wufei or Duo.

A polite cough ended his eavesdrop session, and just when he got to the part where Wufei said " Women like to play hard to get." Turning around with a silent growl he met with the quiet laughing eyes of his fellow pilot.

"Amazing isn't it. Revenge can be a sweet and amazing thing if it's powerful enough for those two to be talking together for this long without someone getting hurt." Trowa said in his quiet polite manner. "So have you decided who to kill first?"

Letting his eyes to go back at glaring at other two pilots. Hiiro answered with his customary "Hn."

"I see. Just keep in mind that no matter how stupid Duo is acting at this moment, he's doing it because he cares about Usagi-san. When people are fearful of losing something important to them, they would do anything to prevent that. Love make fools of even the most intelligent person."

The Perfect Soldier didn't reply but kept staring at his next targets.

"What are you guys up to?"

Both of the silent ones turned to see Quatre walking up to them. "Have you guys seen Usagi-chan yet? I want to thank her uncle for inviting us to this party today."

No sooner had the words left his mouth before the crowd parted like the Red Sea and quiet murmurs spread through the guests like fire. Quatre ever the polite one turned to see what had caused the disturbance while Trowa watched Hiiro who continued in his seething glare at Wufei and Duo.

Feeling a tug at his sleeve, the tall Pilot 03 turned to look at Quatre in question. The blond young man pointed towards a familiar figure in a playboy bunny suite carrying a tray of champagne. "Do something to distract Hiiro and Duo fast!" the Arabian pilot whispered to Trowa. But unfortunately the Perfect Soldier also heard him.

Pilots 03 and 04 backed away as discreetly as possible from Hiiro as they sensed the 'Aura of Death" rolling off in palpable waves from the Japanese soldier as the cold Prussian blue eyes saw what other lecherous males were staring with unabashed lust: his imouto parading around in that… that… that…

Quatre was seriously considering praying for help when thankfully Allah heard him. Just when Hiiro was about to make his walk of doom towards the unfortunate souls who had the misfortune to look at Usagi like that, across the room their two fellow pilots finally finished their conversation and joined the rest of the guests in staring. Wufei after looking at the white fluffy tail for less than five seconds felt back with a thump from a massive nosebleed. On the other hand, Duo positively saw red and Quatre was even more afraid of the happy-go-lucky pilot's reaction than Hiiro's.

For the few rare moments in history, Hiiro was able to forget his own anger for now as he sensed an even greater rage than his. Quatre and Trowa visibly breathed in relief as Hiiro intercepted Duo just before the Shinigami reached out for the first drooling man. And thank god since both knew that even though Duo almost never let his temper get the better of him, when he did lose his rational mind, he could be almost if not more dangerous than their infamous Perfect Soldier. Indeed it was no joke messing with Death.

Even from their viewpoint from across the room Trowa and Quatre could see the beads of sweat on Hiiro's forehead as he dragged Duo out of the garden. It wasn't an easy feat considering that the Perfect Soldier had to keep the shinigami as silent as possible and escape without gaining any unwanted attention. As soon as Hiiro and Duo were safely out of sight, Trowa made his way to where Wufei laid still out cold while Quatre squeezed his way between all the admirers surrounding a certain blonde girl.

"Usagi-chan!" The Arabian whispered urgently.

The girl almost jumped a mile high when she felt a hand on her arm. Thinking that it was another unwelcome gesture of affection from all the men around her, she would've used her powers to break a few bones before she realized whom the voice belonged to. A relieved sigh left her. "Quarter-chan don't scare me like that ever again!"

"Sorry," the pilot apologized blushing madly when he realized how close he was to her. "I really need to talk to you."

"Can it wait Quatre? I'm sort of in the middle of my job right now." Usagi gritted out through a forced smile as another middle-aged man took a flute of champagne from her tray and stared at her bosom over the alcohol.

"A job? But isn't this your uncle's country party?"

"Yeah and the cheapo is too stingy to hire a proper catering service so Hotaru and I are stuck helping out. She's the lucky one, all she has to do is hid behind the bar and mix drinks, not degrading herself wearing this piece of lingerie."

If it was possible Quatre became even redder. "I'm sure that both Duo and Hiiro will be relieved when they here about this."

"They saw me like this?!" A few men backed away from the pretty blonde as the shriek shattered a few glasses… but the more enthusiastic ones held firm to their ground.

"Yeah… you were kind of hard to miss and I think that you're actually very popular," Quatre said carefully after a pause looking pointedly at the long white rabbit ears on Usagi's head. "But don't worry Hiiro stopped Duo before he could do anything."

The bunny groaned. "Where are they right now?"

"I think that they went back into the house." The pilot pointed out the direction.

"Thanks Quatre," Usagi said and a puppy dog expression appeared on her face. "Can you do me a big favour please? Pretty please with a cherry on top with sugar and cream?"

The blond boy blushed at the adoring look and could barely nod.

"Here take this." Taking off her bunny ears and replacing them on top of Quatre's head, Usagi then proceeded to hand the tray of drinks to the unsuspecting Arabian. "Can you take my place serving out the drinks while I look for Duo and Hiiro?" and without waiting for an answer she made a mad dash away from Tatsumi's guests, leaving poor Quatre to the mercy of menacing men who endured his brief exchange with the pretty girl with many a jealous looks.

~*~*~*~

His breath left him in a gasp as a sharp elbow drove painfully into his stomach.

"Dammit Hiiro let me go!"

That only made the Perfect Soldier hang onto Duo harder as the braided youth doubled his efforts. "How can you stay so calm?! Aren't you at all worried about Usagi?"

"It's because I care and worry about her that I'm stopping you," the Japanese pilot admitted gruffly. "Stop fighting or else I'll be forced to knock you out Duo no baka."

Sensing that his partner was serious about the threat the Shinigami stopped his struggles. "What do you mean that you stopped me because you care about her?"

Duo, Duo, Hiiro wanted to scream and shake the dense American. The Perfect Soldier secretly counted to ten and pictured himself strangling Relena. The image of the Queen of the World turning blue from the lack of oxygen always helped in relaxing him no matter how stressed or angry he was. And in this situation he needed all the patience he had. "First tell me, do you care for Usagi? Or are you just flirting with her like you do with all the other girls?"

The braided pilot gave a strange look at his best friend. "Why are you suddenly so curious about my love life?" A hint of humor returned to his voice. "Are you in love with Usagi-chan too Hiiro?"

"Stop joking around Duo. I love Usagi but not in that way."

"I'm not joking with you Hiiro and to answer your question. Yes I do care for her very much."

"Do you love her?

For the second time the shinigami was thrown off course. Trust Hiiro to be the most unpredictable and blunt of all of them. Most people thought that with his more outgoing and playful nature that he was the most spontaneous out of all the pilots, but Hiiro took the cake by far. Everyone was so use to his silence that no one knew how impulsive he could be. Take Relena for example, who would've expected Hiiro to save the girl he hated so many times? But back to the situation at hand, this conversation seemed extremely important to the Japanese pilot, he could tell just from the fact that this was the first time that Hiiro spoke so much without being provoked. "If you had asked me this question before or during the war then my answer would be no. I always thought that no one could love people like us. We have too much blood on our hands to deserve anything than hatred from others. But it's different with Usagi. I'm sure that you've noticed too. She never asked us anything yet it seems like she knows everything about us. It's scary to think that she's not afraid of what she sees inside. I'm glad that she doesn't shy away from us and she doesn't judge us for our past. I think that just based on that alone I can say that I love her." Duo said and stared back at Hiiro challenging the other pilot with his own sincere violet eyes.

Hiiro nodded satisfied with the answer. "I'll be frank with you then. I saw your conversation with Wufei." He paused waiting for Duo cried out. But instead of his expected reaction, the Japanese youth was surprised to see a grin on his friend's face.

"Hiiro! Shame on you. Who would've known that the Perfect Soldier would stoop so low as to eavesdrop on his best friend's conversation."

"I was not eavesdropping! It wasn't my fault that you and Wufei decided to talk where everyone could lip-read."

"Excuses, excuses." The braided wanted to tease some more but seeing the glare of death he quieted.

"Has Usagi told you anything about her past yet?"

Duo's smile froze on his happy go lucky face. "No… why?"

"I see. I don't know what kind of advice Wufei gave you. But let me tell you that from what I understand Usagi had a very bad past that involved a jealous boyfriend that was the reason why she disliked men so much. Do what you have to do but if I find her crying because of you, let me warn you now that it doesn't matter to me that you're one of the pilots, I will destroy you."

~*~*~*~

"Damn you Tatsumi," the bunny growled under her breath as she searched through the numerous hallways for her boyfriend and onii-chan. "When I get back to Enma-ho I swear the first thing I'll do is to get you fired and make sure that you'll never receive one employment insurance check ever." So intent in cursing her bad luck that the blonde had no time to stop herself when she collided with a hard body. She wasn't walking fast but the fact that she was never very graceful in stilettos (or anything with heels) made her hang on to the jacket of her victim for dear life.

"I'm so sorry sir!" Usagi straightened hastily blushing at her own clumsiness. Too bad balance didn't come with the shinimegami package. She looked up at the man she walked into and gasped. Looking into those crystal like pupils had the same effect of being plunged into the Arctic Ocean. Fine shivers ran down her spin uncontrollably from where the man's strong fingers held her naked arms. Suddenly she was very conscious of her state of clothing. Her dislike in men that died in her during the days spent with Duo and Hiiro roared back to life with the force of a volcano. She quickly bowed and fled before the man could say anything.

Muraki smiled as he turned to look at the young girl running away from him. When she disappeared from his view he held up his hands. There was definitely something special about this girl. His skin still burned where it rubbed against her skin. Her powers were not like anything he had seen in the past yet she was so young…  He would have to ask Mamoru about her when he got back.

~*~*~*~

"There you are! Where have the two of you been?" She couldn't help the relief from her voice when she spotted Duo and Hiiro talking together inside a large room full of old leather books. She unconsciously wiped her forehead where cold beads of sweat were gathered despite the warmness inside the mansion.

"Usagi!" Both boys jumped back in surprise at hearing her. She smiled in spite of herself. The two acted like they were caught in the middle of a mischief. It was easy to believe that Duo was up to something naughty but it was impossible that Hiiro would do anything… shall we say… crazy.

"What are you doing dressed up like that?!"

The blond blinked as a jacket was draped across her shoulders. It was too short to cover anything below her waist, but right now it was the best they had. " What are you thinking?! Do you have any idea how many men were devouring you with their eyes? Just waiting for the moment to pounce on you?"

Hiiro sat down on the sofa and watched the little soap opera with an amused look. Guess he didn't need to give his imouto his practiced lecture after all. Who knew that Duo could sound so responsible?

"It's not my fault that I'm dressed like this!"

"Then who's fault is it then? Tell me so I can go and toast that idiot right now."

"Uncle Tatsumi."

Both pilots got a funny look on the face. "Your uncle put you in a playboy bunny suit…" It was hard to decide whether they wanted to laugh or scream. "Your uncle?!"

"Yeah, he said something about earning back the money I used. And get this, not only do I have to parade around serving drinks to those so called business men, I also have to deal cards are the poker table tonight. He's not even giving me a break so I can spend some time with Hota-chan."

"And don't you want to spend some time with me?" the braided pilot asked with a pout but was ignored by his girlfriend.

"You know that you can file this as child abuse imouto? If you want, I'll be more than welling to take over as your legal guardian." Hiiro offered with a serious tone.

"Thanks onii-chan, but I doubt you'll win in court. You are just a few months older than me."

"If you want to I can make it happen."

"Yeah what are you going to do? Seduce Relena and ask the so called Queen of the World to hand over the guardianship?" Duo taunted smirking. It was too good of a chance to miss.

"Omae o koruso Duo."

"I love you too my future brother in law." The shinigami fearless blew a kiss at the perfect soldier.

"Will the two of you grow up?" Usagi said with a frown that was all but ruined with the smile at the antics of the two. "Anyways I have to go back now. I have no idea how poor Quatre is holding out with the drinks. Maybe I'll see you two again before we go back to the school."

~*~*~*~

"I am so going to fray that baka alive for this." Was what Wufei was murmuring to himself as he stepped on the toes of another admirer. "I'm going to bury him alive in the desert, then pour some honey over his head and just sit there as the ants eat him alive. Yes that's what I'm going to do" Everyone within his vicinity jumped back as the Chinese boy threw back his head and laughed like a manic. Quite a few people shook their head in pity. What a handsome young man he was, but too bad that he's lost a few marbles up in his head.

It wasn't hard to see why Wufei was so mentally instable right now. When he finally woke up from his nosebleed earlier, he was most unfortunate to discover that instead of his uncomfortable tuxedo, he was clad in the same get up that he saw Usagi earlier… the same one that caused his nosebleed. In other words, he was now walking around in high heels serving drinks wearing a playboy bunny costume.

And the other pilots you ask? They were all wearing happy smiles (except for Hiiro and Trowa) and still kept their original clothes except for the fact that they were shirtless and wore their neckties around their bare necks. The lack of covering allowed several female guests to grab them enthusiastically and add their lipstick to their necks. Besides Hiiro who only sported Relena's bubblegum pink lipstick, the other four pilots were covered in different shades of red. In the case of Wufei however, not only did he receive the attention of the women, quite a few men were bold enough to walk up to the Dragon to whisper offers as hands sneaked back to pinch the tidy backside.

"Whose idea was this that we serve drinks?! We're guests, we're not suppose to be working!" Wufei continued to talk, but by this time everyone who was smart learnt that it was better not to answer him.

To make matters worse he could see not one but three people from the school waving back at him and taking pictures. Haruka gave him a mocking thumbs up sign as the gym teacher's camera flashed again for the hundredth time. She was sitting on a piano bench, playing a soft duet with Michiru on the violin. The music was lovely and Wufei wished that the damn teacher would just keep on playing and leave him alone but every time when a song ended, the blond would pretend to rest her hands while following Wufei with a digital camera, clicking the shutter wildly. And the third teacher, Makoto or whatever the woman' name was, was responsible for the snack bar. The brunette beckoned to him every few minutes to make him refresh the tray he was carrying around. He could swear that she didn't make the other pilots change drinks and food that often. She made sure that he was always the first one to be swarmed by the mob when a new snack was made. There was nothing more he wanted now than to leave this hellish nightmare.

~*~*~*~

"How are you enjoying the party Hime-chan?" Hotaru asked with a forced giggle as Usagi glared at her over the drinks. The blond was leaning over the bar as she waited for the senshi of death to fill up the champagne flutes again.

"Oh lots of fun. So fun that I'm making plans on how to shorten Tatsumi's lifespan by a couple thousand years."

"Haha…" the dark haired girl laughed nervously, she didn't know if Usagi was joking or serious. Usually when her princess got that dangerous gleam in her eye… but then again the blonde normally adored Tatsumi like a father, she wouldn't really hurt the Enma-ho secretary… right?  It wasn't a topic she wanted to drill on and hastened to change the subject. "At least you got all of them to help you."

"Yes, it was very sweet of Duo to offer to help." Usagi smiled as she followed her boyfriend cutting his way across the crowded garden the heavy tray balanced above his head expertly. At first he and Hiiro had been following Usagi around glaring at the offending hands that reached to touch the girl anywhere else but on the tray. It took a little screaming from Usagi to get them to not follow her and really work. It was very nice of them to protect her like that, but she wasn't a little girl, she could watch out for herself, and plus the sooner these people were drunk the sooner they would be able to go home.

"How long have you guys been going out?"

"Not very long why?"

"Well he's very cute."

"I know but what's that got to do with anything?" Usagi frowned. "Don't tell me that you're interested in him too Hota-chan. He's mine."

The smaller girl smirked. "Getting a little possessive are we? Don't worry I have my sight set on someone else. I'm just hoping that you're not only falling for his pretty face and that yummy body." Hotaru said just when Duo turned to look in there direction. A wicked idea formed in her head, a test to see how true the Gundam pilot was to her Hime-chan. Before Usagi could reply she was pulled forward by her senshi and was French kissed sensually by someone she had always treated like a sister.

"Wh…Wh…What the Hell was that for?!?!" The blonde cried out when she was finally released from the kiss. Hotaru only grinned and turned to give Duo a challenging smirk. The poor pilot managed to drop his tray of drinks when he saw his girlfriend kissing another girl, and now he was suffering the consequences as a wet Relena started to strip in front of him… the Queen of the World was doing what she was considering to be a striptease in the hopes of catching a certain Perfect Soldier's eyes, but her efforts only made several guests turn into an interesting shade of green before puking sounds were heard.

"I just want to see how he would react and see if he's of the same ilk as…" Hotaru didn't have time to finish as Tatsumi suddenly appeared next to the two girls with another man.

Feeling as if her back has suddenly became a pincushion, Usagi turned and stared up at the smiling face of the silver haired man she bumped into earlier in the hall and this time she took the time to look at him carefully. Soft silver hair framed his face and covered his right eye, there was no doubt in her mind that it was natural. Instead of making him look old, the color merely gave him an ageless appearance. But it was his eyes that froze her inside. Eyes the color of ice, suddenly she understood why she felt so felt so strange, his right eye. At first nothing seemed wrong with it until she noticed the slightly sagging eyelids, Usagi almost jumped back in shock as the eye rotated in a way that any normal eyeball couldn't do and regarded her with a glowing green light. A feeling of dead filled her stomach, it was a feeling she hadn't felt in more than a thousand years… ever since the night when she skilled Mamoru. Call it intuition or whatever, but she knew somehow that this man was not normal.

"Hotaru, Usagi, I would like the two of you two meet Dr. Muraki. He's very interested in signing a contract with us in upgrading all the computer systems in his hospital with our products. He has taken a special interest in you Usagi and has asked if you will be interested in a game of poker later on?" It sounded like an innocent enough question, but after knowing the money loving Tatsumi, the bunny read could read the little frown that translated into 'squeeze every penny out of the rich bastard'.

"It would be a pleasure Doctor."  The shinimegami nodded glaring at her colleague before leaving the garden to the poker table that she knew was already set up in Tatsumi's private study, a quiet place to 'shake the money tree' so to speak.

The room was empty as she suspected. Heavy velvet curtains blocked the last rays of the sun and also served as an excellent sound absorbing material. A low chandelier dimly let the room and on the card table a heavy silver candelabra stood next to the dealer's place right next to a deck of new cards. Usagi beckoned to one of the cushioned chair and settled into one herself trying to be as comfortable as possible while her hands were slippery with sweat. "Ready when you are doctor."

~*~*~*~

Hotaru was busy mixing a Long Island when a tray full of broken wine glasses were slammed in front of her face. "What is that for?!?

"I should be the one asking that question!" A livid Duo almost screamed out. The God of Death didn't hurt girls… the poor boy repeated uselessly to himself. But it wasn't working. One look at the girl's grinning face made him want to shake her till the brink of death. "What do you think you were doing with MY GIRLFRIEND?!"

"Just a friendly kiss."

"A friendly kiss?! I don't know which closet you came out from but I don't call anything that involves tongue playing FRIENDLY! How dare you touch Usagi like that! I can't believe that she treats you as a best friend! How can you betray her trust like this!"

"Because I love her and because I know that she enjoyed it too," the dark haired girl lied. "Tell me Duo, what will you do if my Hime-chan prefers me over you?"

"I…" He wanted to say that he would never let her go that she belonged to him now, but his earlier conversation with Hiiro chose to pop out in that precise moment. "I…"

"Until you can answer my question truthfully, I'll do everything I can to take her away from you," Hotaru stated staring up at Duo. "I've known her forever what makes you think that she'll stay with you just after a short couple of weeks?"

For once he was wordless. Never in his life did he think that the person who would threaten his happiness the most would be a girl… a girl who was interested in his girlfriend. It sounded like a freaking soap opera. He would've laughed if it happened to any other man but him, but life was a bitch. "Where is Usagi now? I want to talk to her."

"She just went to play poker with a Dr. Muraki inside the house."

"Dr. Muraki?"

"Apparently a rich doctor who Tatsumi is in the process of making a contract with," Hotaru shrugged. "If you want to find her they'll be in one of Tatsumi's studies on the second floor. But I wouldn't go if I were you. If you mess up Tatsumi's deal, he'll feed you to the sharks. That man loves money even more than his own soul."

Duo didn't answer as he left his tray and went back to the house as inconspicuous as possible, especially trying to avoid the host of the party and his fellow pilots. In his state of mind right now, he didn't want to talk to anyone except for Usagi. He wanted desperately to find out if she cared for him, or else was he just something she was using to get rid of her hate for men. He didn't know how, but he suddenly found himself in front of a heavy oak door. The door was unlocked and it made no sound as he pushed it open. Once inside he noticed that both Usagi and a silver haired man looking at each other intently. Neither noticed him moving.

"I have a four of a kind."

"I'm sorry Dr. Muraki, but the dealer has a queen full house." The blonde girl smiled in relief as she laid down her hand and scarped the last of the doctor's chips in front of her. "I assume that this is the end for tonight." She asked seeing that the man had nothing left that he could bet on, Tatsumi would be very proud, and to think that she didn't even had to cheat using her powers… And everybody dared to tell her that she was the worst poker player in all of Enma-ho.

"Not so fast Usagi-san. Let's play one more game before we call it a night." The good doctor reached out to stop the blonde girl from leaving. "Betting money is getting old. How do you feel about some more exciting."

Duo held his breath as Usagi took her time to answer, slowly she asked. "What do you mean by 'exciting'?"

"I was thinking about instead of using chips, we might play for your body."

"And what do I get if I win?" The bunny asked, was this guy insane? She didn't want to seem to confident but so far she was the one who won all the games.

"I'll sign the contract with your Uncle and I will also give you anything you want."

"You do know that I'm still a minor right Dr. Muraki?"

The man smirked. "Appearances can be deceiving Usagi-san. Shall we start?"

The next five minutes were the longest five minutes in all of Duo's life. He didn't know how good of a poker player his girlfriend was, but she sure didn't have a good poker face. Even in the dim light he could see the glee on her face. He groaned to himself… and with good reasons too as Usagi threw down her cards with a triumphant smile that soon turned into disbelief as she stared at the Doctor's cards.

"My hand is a King Full House," Muraki said. "You have a Heart flush, the end. Come Usagi-san."

"Not so fast!"

Both players turned to see Duo walking towards the table. "What do you say to a game with me Dr. Muraki? If I win, you take back your dual with the dealer."

"Okay, I agree to that, after all, they say that the anticipation is half the pleasure." The older man said as Usagi got up from the dealer's chair to make room for the pilot.

Both men stared at each other as the girl dealt out the cards. "Place your bets gentlemen."

"I bet ten," Duo said as he pushed a stack of chips into the center.

"Raise."

"Call." The God of Death glared at the other man.

"Ready gentlemen?" Usagi asked a hint of nervousness in her voice. Both players nodded and Muraki was the first to show.

"I have four 2s."

"I suppose you'll have no complaints about my hand, Doctor." Duo said voice not betraying anything as he flipped his own cards over.

"Unbelievable!" it was Usagi who breathed in awe. "Duo! That's a royal straight flush!" Before the braided boy could even nod he suddenly found himself with his arms full of his girl friend, who was all too happy kissing every inch of his face.

"I understand," the two teenager's moment of joy was interrupted at the sound of the doctor's voice, the chair made an ugly squeeze as it was pushed back on the marble floor. "I take back our dual Usagi-san." He said before closing the door behind his back, leaving the bunny alone with her savior.

"Thank you Duo-chan! Have I mentioned how much I love you?" Usagi immediately returned to kissing her boyfriend the minute the door was closed.

"Actually no," the braided one grinned fully taking advantage of the situation. "If this is what I get for saving you, then I wish to shinigami that you would get into these kind of situations more often so I'll always be able to hold and kiss you."

"Ecchi!" Usagi said but she didn't resist when Duo hugged her closer.

"Usa-chan? Can I ask you something?" the pilot asked after a few moments of silence, remembering the reason he was looking for her in the first place. "Do you like me?"

"No of course not," the blonde girl replied. "That's why I'm sitting in your lap and letting you kiss me baka." Usagi giggled at her own little joke but stopped when she realize that Duo wasn't laughing with her.

"I'm serious Usagi. I saw you kissing Hotaru back there," he silenced her by holding a finger to her lips. "I don't know anything of your past and why you don't like men. But if you feel happier with Hotaru then I won't hold you back. I'll always be there if you need me."

The shinimegami stared at her boyfriend as if trying to determine if he was joking or serious, before throwing back her head and started to laugh… in fact she was laughing so hard that without Duo's arms to support her, she fell onto the floor. "Duo you baka! Don't tell me that you didn't figure out that it was just Hotaru's way of testing you to see if you're sincere?!"

"What do you mean?" the braided boy had an adorable frown on his face.

"She's not that kind of person Duo. I know her, she's just worried about me that's all. I didn't exactly have a great history with my last boyfriend so she just wanted to make sure that I'm not going out with another bastard," she explained.

"So it was just a show?" Duo asked with a sigh of relief.

"Of course, what else do you think it was?" the bunny said and pulled her boyfriend up from the chair and towards the table. "I can't hear the music anymore so maybe the party is finished. Thank god all I want to do is go home and make my dear Uncle Tatsumi pay for everything he has done today."

"Can I just ask one more question Usa-chan?"

"Sure."

"Who was the better kisser? Hotaru or me?"

Usagi stopped in midstrid and turned around to look at Duo with the most serious look she could master. A slender finger tapped her chin as she pretended to ponder on the question. "I think it's by far Hotaru." She laughed and ran down the hallway shrieking madly as Duo chased after her screaming of the things he would do when he caught her.

~*~*~*~

The windowless room was damp and dark but the occupants seemed not to mind as the huddled around the candle on the center of the table, which was the only furniture in the little room that resembled more like a medieval dungeon than a school classroom.

"I'm very disappointed in you Mamoru-san for not telling me all the details regarding your Princess Serenity," one of the men said in a cool voice. "I assume that you still remember the pact we made?"

"Wait! I told you everything that you asked. You never asked me about her appearances or power, you were just interested in her immortality!" Mamoru stood up suddenly, his rackety chair flipping over.

"I've changed my mind after seeing her, I have to admit I finally understand your obsession with her," he said. "She has a very intriguing personality. I wouldn't mind getting to know her a little better."

Mamoru looked at his guest suspiciously. "What are you planning? You promised when you brought me back to life that…"

"I promised and I did bring you back to life haven't I? I've fulfilled my part of he bargain already Mamoru-san but it appears as if you've cheated me of my information… ," the words trailed off.

The dark haired man backed away from his companion. "Wait! Listen! I'll tell you everything you want to know! Please don't kill me again! I promise that I won't hold anything back from you!"

"Too late Mamoru-san, I have no need of you anymore."

The weak candle extinguished as the table was knocked over.

~*~*~*~

"You're doing a great job Usagi-san, just don't push your paint brush too hard when you're painting the flower petals. Flower petals are soft and velvety, you want to retain that quality when you capture it on canvas," the art teacher Michiru advised gently as she walked around the classroom looking over her students and encouraging and pointing out mistakes.

Usagi smiled and thanked her but as soon as Michiru turned her back the blonde couldn't help but roll her eyes as she heard half the class sigh as the teacher gracefully walked to the next student. Nothing really changed much with the senshi of the water, she was still as beautiful as ever and apparently she lost none of her charms either as more than half the class was using Michiru as their model. Only a selected few chose to paint other things. And it made Usagi want kiss Duo in happiness when he asked if he could have the honor to paint her.

Of course the Queen of the World had made it know to the whole class that she wouldn't mind at all if anyone would want to beg for her to sit for a portrait… and she had the guts to blatantly wink at Hiiro. The sandy haired girl had slide up to the Perfect Soldier and had apparently suggesting something quietly in his ear that made him 'accidentally' spill his painting oils on her face… and no one wanted to tell her the bad news that the oil was permanent.

Speaking of Duo, the shinimegami grinned, maybe it was time to see how her boyfriend was getting along with his painting. She wouldn't mind seeing his rendition of her. Her mind made up, she sneaked up behind the unsuspecting pilot and grinned mischievously over the easel at Hiiro and waved for him not to give her away.

"What the hell is that?!"

Duo screamed and dropped the palate when a shrill voice yelled in his ear. He spun around only to face Usagi's red face. "Oh it's you. Don't scare me like that Usa-chan. I can't concentrate when there's too much noise."

"What is that.. that.. that…" apparently she couldn't find a world in her vocabulary to describe the mixture of colors on Duo's canvas.

"You mean you can't tell? It's suppose to be you," the Gundam pilot looked a little disappointed. "I thought that I did a good job and the teacher did too."

"I do not look like that! My face is not that bloated! And I have much better fashion taste than a pink poodle skirt! And I definitely DO NOT look like RELENA!!!!" She was having a hard time breathing by the time she finished.

"You know Duo, now that she pointed it out, it does look a little like Ms. Relena from where Usagi-chan is standing," a helpful Quatre decided to put in his two cent. Wufei smirked from the side knowing that the braided baka was going to get it now and he wasn't disappointed.

A wail sounded from the bunny, it was hard to make out what she was crying about since everyone was holding their ears and trying to block the horrible sound.

"IS A MISS USAGI TUSKINO HERE ???" If it was possible a shout even louder than Usagi's wail cut across the sunlit studio.

The blonde girl closed her mouth and sniffed sadly. "I'm here."

"You have a package," the school staff said with frown and handed a large square box and a plain envelop at the curious girl. "It was deliver this morning to your dorm but since you were already in class and it was urgent so I brought it up to you."

Hiiro took the box before it could touch Usagi's hand and inspected it in minute detail. After a full five minutes he deemed that it was safe and handed it back to his imouto with a frown.

Setting the box on one of the big working tables. Quickly murmuring a protection spell under her breath and felt the invisible barrier surround all the students and pilots, she slowly undid the bow. The box fell apart effortlessly… and Usagi's hands covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

Mamoru's head sat in the middle of the box, crusted blood covering the entire thing. The skull was completely smashed in the back until it was impossible to distinguish the white bone from the mashed gray matter of the brain. The beautiful blue eyes that she had once loved to look into were nothing but two empty holes, the eyeballs rolled around the head, the nerves and veins still attached to the bloody things. The overpowering smell from the dried blood and rotten flesh made many of the student's regurgitate their breakfast.

"To my sweet Princess Serenity, I'm the only one who truly loves you. For you, I sacrificed a soul upon the alter," Hiiro read from the message inside the envelop as a tarot card fell out. "Ace of wands?" he looked around in question. "That must be a clue to the killer's identity. Do you know who it is?'

"The beginning," Everyone looked towards the door. "That card means the beginning." Rei repeated as she walked into the classroom.