(D2 Entry) Butterflies of the Night, ch. 8

[Fallen Angel]

Title: Butterflies of the Night
Author: Fallen Angel fallen_angel_2012@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13 for now, but LEMON in ch. 13
Categories: Alternate Universe, series, romance
Disclaimer: i do not own Gundam Wing

Chapter 8: Fire

{


Elsewhere in the Ichikoko, unbeknownst to Heero or Relena, another charged conversation was taking place. This one not between lovers, but between enemies.

“What are you doing here?” snapped Dorothy, the moment her guest entered the room where she was dining.

“No hello for your cousin, I see,” said Lord Trieze Kushrenada. “A pity. I thought you’d buried the past.”

“If there’s anything I’d like to bury, dear cousin,” said Dorothy, “it would be you. How did you get in here?”

“The maid was kind enough to show me in when she heard I was family. She said she didn’t know you had any. It’s a good thing for me you’ve never been very open with your past, have you Dorothy?”

“That would be your fault, Trieze. You have no idea what I’ve been through since you sold me into this life.”

“Dorothy,” Trieze began gently. “I’ve told you I’m sorry about what happened. But after your father died and you were left in our care, we simply couldn’t afford to take care of you.”

“What you really mean is that you couldn’t afford to ignore how much money I could bring you as a geisha. What is it you always say? ‘One can’t ignore opportunity’?”

Trieze nodded as he took a seat opposite her, much to Dorothy’s dislike. “I’ll admit there were times when your…profession…came in handy.”

“You mean there were times when using me as a spy within the circles of the rich and powerful was helpful for your business,” she said, raising her head high. “But I’m no longer within your control, cousin, and I no longer believe in your empty promises to bring me home if I did what you want. I have my own life here now. I don’t need you anymore.”

“But cousin,” Trieze reached out a hand to her but when she refused to take it, he lowered it back to the table. “I need your help.”

Dorothy laughed. “Ha! I’d rather die than help you. Give it up: you have nothing to offer that would make me help you.”

“What about Mr Winner?”

It was a credit to her training as a geisha that Dorothy was able to keep her face calm at the mention of that name. “You’ve arranged a marriage between Mr Winner and your daughter, Mariemaia, haven’t you? What does he have to do with me?”

“You’re good, Dorothy, but not that good. I know how you feel about him, I can see it even now. You don’t think I’d miss that Mariemaia’s soon-to-be-husband visits this teahouse at least 3 times a week to see you, do you?”

“He comes for music lessons.”

“Sure. And I’m the Emperor. In any case, Dorothy, I’d hate to have to let slip to him any horrible facts about your past.”

Dorothy smiled. “Your attempt at blackmail is doomed to fail, Trieze. Mr Winner knows I was a geisha; he can imagine the things I’ve done.”

“Including murder?”

A sudden urge to retch overcame Dorothy and she had to support herself on the table for fear of passing out. Her heart was jumping around in her chest and she felt like she couldn’t get any air.

“How…” she gasped out. “How…did you find out?”

“You didn’t think you were the only spy I had in Kyoto, did you? More people know than you’d care to think, Dorothy, it’s just that they have no reason to use it against you. And I really hate to do this too, but it’s for the sake of all of Japan that I must. You understand that, don’t you? In fact, if you weren’t so stubborn and didn’t have such a grudge against me, I would’ve considered reasoning with you, but as it is, you’ve forced me to do this. So basically, do what I want and I might consider bringing the plans for Mr Winner to marry Mariemaia to a halt and you will be free to have him. Cause trouble for me, and I will let slip what you’ve done to him and he will never come here ever again, even for music lessons.”

Dorothy put a hand to her throat: she felt like she was choking. How could this have happened? She thought she was free of the cousin who’d sold her into this life, only to discover that she was living in his trap all along. And Mr Winner…she knew she could live without him if she had to, but to live with his hate and disdain all because of a crime she’d had to commit? It was a fate she couldn’t bear. Whatever Trieze wanted of her had to be easier than that.

“What…” she whispered, “do you want me to do?”

Trieze smiled in satisfaction. “I’m glad you’ve finally seen it my way, Dorothy.”


{ { {


“That’s it, woman, I can’t take it anymore.”

Sally barely looked up from where she was squeezing out towels she’d been using to help Wufei bathe. She was quite used to his rants by now. It had been four days and if anything, his temper and stubbornness were a good contrast to the calm agreement everyone else in the house gave her. Which is probably why no one had come to her about the sound of a man’s voice in her room. As head of the household, Sally had privilege over everyone - whether she wanted it or not.

“What is it, Wufei?”

“I can’t stand being inside anymore!” he said, his frustration evident. “I’m strong enough to walk again, you said so yourself. So that’s it: I’m getting out of here.”

“Where will you go, then?” asked Sally calmly. “How will you find this person you’re looking for, this person you’re meant to protect who - by the way - would be so much easier to find if you’d only tell me and let me help you.”

Wufei sighed. He was done trying to pretend that he couldn’t tell her because she was a woman and after 4 days of her care and help he certainly couldn’t pretend she hadn’t earned his trust. “It’s simply not safe for you to know the things I know.”

Sally raised her head. He’d never said that before. “Are you in danger, Wufei?”

That was unexpected. Wufei was sure she would argue with him or be worried for her own safety. But instead her first concern was him. It built a warmth in his stomach he wasn’t sure he was comfortable with at the moment. “No,” he answered finally. “At least, I don’t think so. I’m fairly sure no one besides yourself knows I’m here and if they did, I don’t think they’d be able to guess at my mission. But I’ve been wrong about people before.”

Sally’s expression brightened and her eyes fairly glowed. “Is that your way of apologising, Wufei?”

“Interpret it however you want, woman. But don’t think I haven’t noticed how you’ve managed to move the conversation from its starting point.”

“Which was?”

“That I want to get out of here,” he said. Then it occurred to him that he really had nowhere else to go at the moment and maybe it would be beneficial for him to stay here just for a little longer. “I mean, perhaps just for a little while…to gain my bearings.”

“Very well,” agreed Sally. “It can’t have been fun for you to be cooped up here all day. Wait until I make sure the maids are asleep and then we can go.”


{ { {


The cool air flowing up from the Kamo river brushed across Sally’s cheeks and played with the few loose strands of hair around her face. She smiled contentedly. True, this wasn’t the home she’d dreamed of, but walking here with Wufei, like this, was the closest she’d felt to home in years. Subconsciously, she linked her arm with his as they walked. He stiffened for a brief second before relaxed and placing his other hand on her own.

“You’re looking much better,” Sally said, leaning against his shoulder.

“I feel it,” he acknowledged, looking at the verandas that backed on to the opposite side of the river where multicoloured lanterns hung and the sound of laughing men and geisha could be heard. “Your city also looks much better now. I didn’t appreciate it’s beauty before.”

“Well, you were sick before, so that’s understandable.”

Wufei was silent for so long that Sally was a little startled when he spoke again. “I don’t think it’s that for some reason.”

Sally went to speak, tried to find words, but when she looked up at Wufei, he was watching her so intently that she couldn’t even think. It was if he were seeing her for the first time and she wondered if the moonlight were making her eyes shine as brightly as his were right now.

“Wufei…” she whispered as he leaned towards her, his hand securing itself behind her neck, pulling her towards him. Sally closed her eyes and waited.

The initial feel of his lips on hers surprised him. They were soft, inquisitive, questioning, asking her silently if it was okay. She responded the same way, kissing him back gently and moving her hands from where they rested at his arms to his shoulders, grasping at the material of his white jacket.

Wufei felt like he was falling. The scent of her, the feel of her skin, the tiny motions of her lips - things he could only imagine at while she nursed him back to health - were now, as he expected, driving him wild. But what did he have to offer her in return? He could see no further into his future than this night, and Sally deserved more than that.

“Sally,” he groaned, kissing her neck along the line of her kimono. “I’m sorry…”

“Nothing…” she gasped out as he held her hips, pulling her against him. Through the layers of her kimono, she could swear she felt the warmth of his body enflaming hers. “Nothing…to be sorry…for…”

But there was. Wufei wanted her. More than life itself. But his own life didn’t even belong to him: how could he offer it to her?

“Sally,” he pulled away from the kiss, but quickly pulled her body against him in a tight embrace. “I think…I think I l-”

“No,” Sally said quickly, raising her face to his. “Don’t say it when you and I both know you can’t stay.”

“I’m sorry.”

She smiled sadly. “Stop saying that. There’s nothing to be sorry for. Wufei…”

Whatever Sally would have said next was lost in the sound of an explosion. Further up the river, fire was rising up from one of the houses.

“Oh, no.”

Sally ran forward, cursing the kimono skirts that slowed her down, trying to catch a glimpse of where the fire was. She didn’t want to think the worst, but as she got closer, she couldn’t help it.

“Sally, what is it?” Wufei asked, catching up with her.

“Oh, gods,” Sally cried, grasping Wufei’s arm for support as she realised where the smoke and flames were rising from. “That’s my house. Come on, we have to get the others out…”


{ { {


A small crowd had already gathered at the Po okiya when Sally and Wufei got there. From what Sally could see, the fire had started in one of the upper bedrooms, but was spreading quickly through the upper floor. Already, people - geisha, mothers, young men - were hauling buckets of water up from the river in an attempt to put out the fire, but without much effect. The most they could hope for at the moment was to protect the houses on either side.

Of all the things in Japan, fire and earthquake were the most feared. Fire, possibly, most of all since houses were all made of wood and in the summer fire could spread quickly, and with indiscriminating deadliness.

Which is why Sally was more distressed about those inside than the property. Everyone knew fire was a killer. She could already see all the maids standing outside in their sleeping robes, watching in horror or trying to help put out the fire. Noin was one of them but when she saw Sally she came running over straightaway.

“Sally, I can’t find Hilde or Relena!”

“What?” Sally’s heart stopped beating for a full second.

“Hilde wasn’t in her room,” said Noin, almost hysterically. “And I couldn’t get to Relena’s for the smoke.”

“Oh my god,” Sally said, looking up at the house. The top floor was already engulfed in flames - anyone still up there couldn’t still be alive. “Oh, no, Relena. Hilde…”

She was distracted from her thoughts by the sight of someone pushing through the crowd and into the house. He didn’t seem to care about the fire, or about the clouds of smoke pouring out the windows.

“Noin, did you see that?”

“I did. It looked like…but it couldn’t be…”

“Who?”

“I could swear that was Heero Yuy.”


{ { {


As Wufei and Sally were walking by the river, Heero was walking up the street from the Ichikoko Teahouse, replaying the nights incidents in his mind. He’d done the right thing, he was sure of it. But if so, why did he feel so terrible? How could he have hurt Relena so badly, said such awful things, even as he could still taste her lips on his own? What kind of man did that make him?

A coward, a part of his mind hissed at him. You’re nothing but a coward. You were afraid of how strongly you felt for Relena and afraid of how you’d hurt her so you ran away.

Speaking of running, though, at that moment Heero noticed that quite a few people were running past him, obviously in a hurry to get somewhere.

“Wait,” Heero said to one passing girl, a young maiko. “What’s going on?”

“Fire, mister,” she said, gasping for breath. “Please, let me go. I should go help. My house is next door…”

“Where is it?”

“The Po house. Please, mister…”

He nodded and she continued running. Po. That name…he knew that name…

Dear gods in heaven, he thought as he remembered. Po. Relena’s house.

Relena.


{ { {


Relena couldn’t breathe.

Each time she went to take in air, all she could inhale was smoke. It filled her lungs and clouded her vision. She tried to move, but her body wouldn’t respond. She was going to die here, she realised, collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, suffocated by the smoke.

Still, it was possibly better than being burnt alive, which is what would have happened if she hadn’t been lying in her bed awake when the fire started. She supposed, in a way, she had Heero to thank for that. Because of him, she couldn’t sleep and when she first smelt smoke, had been able to leave her room.

But the fire had spread quickly. And the smoke had clouded her vision so badly that when she’d tried to climb down the stairs she’d fallen and sprained her ankle at the bottom. By then the smoke was everywhere and she couldn’t even stop coughing long enough to get to her feet.

Milliardo, Noin, Hilde…I’m sorry. We were so close to being a family again.

Heero…

“Relena!”

The desperate cry cut through Relena’s thoughts like a knife through butter. Was she imagining things? No. The cry had been too clear, too tinged with emotion to be her imagination.

“I’m here…” she tried to cry out but she could barely speak. And her voice could barely be heard over the roar of the fire consuming the roof above her head. She tried to take in more air, to call out a little louder this time.

It turned out she didn’t need to. Suddenly a figure emerged from the smoke, his clothes covered in soot and by his arm across his face. Not that that mattered. Relena would have recognised the figure anyway.

“Heero…”

“Relena.” He bent down to pick her up and Relena could swear he was smiling in relief. Had he been afraid he would find her dead? Had he cared for her more than he’d said? “Come on, I’ll get you out of here. Then I have to come back for your sister.”

“Hilde? She’s not here,” Relena croaked out. “She went to…to…” her words were lost in a fit of coughs and Heero shook his head.

“Don’t talk,” he told her as he carried her outside. “You’ve inhaled a lot of smoke and I don’t want you passing out.”

Relena smiled, despite her condition. “I was right,” she whispered close to his ear as Sally and Noin ran towards them. “You do care.”

“Relena, I…” It was too late. She’d lost consciousness, a smile still on her face. It was then that he realised how close he’d come to losing her. A few minutes more and she would have died from the smoke.

He smiled down at her. Even covered in smoke and with the edge of her kimono slightly singed, she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead just as Noin reached him.

“I do care,” he whispered. “Relena.”

“General Yuy!” cried Noin. “Is she okay? What about Hilde?”

“She’s fine. Just passed out. She will need to rest though. As for Hilde, Relena says she wasn’t in there, that she’d gone somewhere else.”

“Where could she be?” Noin asked, her eyes wide with fear for her little sister. Heero instantly felt guilty. He had a good idea about where Hilde was - Duo’s. But saying so wouldn’t just hurt his friend but Relena’s sister as well.

“General Yuy, is there something you know that I should? About Hilde?”

How he felt must have been written on his face and he turned away from her. “It’s really not my place to say. She is safe, though.”

Noin frowned. “Very well. I’ll speak to Hilde later. For now, could you come with me? I want to take Relena someplace to lie down. Sally will take care of things here…”


{ { {


As the fire burned, though with a little less ferocity now, Sally bit back tears. It was true that as long as she hadn’t lost anyone she cared about, material possessions could be replaced, and buildings rebuilt. But that didn’t make the hurt of losing them any less sharp. Her room seemed to have taken the most damage and with it, the few remaining memoirs Sally had of her home.

The first few tears were building in her eyes when a voice called out from the alley behind her.

“Sally!”

She turned and could just spot Wufei in the shadows. “Wufei?” she asked, walking towards him. “What is it with you and alleyways?”

“Sally, listen, I don’t have time. I’ve been thinking - that fire, it started just too quickly. It spread too quickly. And from your room.”

“I must have left a lantern burning,” Sally mused sadly.

“But you didn’t. I remember checking before we left. And I’ve known you for enough time now to know you’re especially careful about those things.”

Sally didn’t have time to reflect on his complement in light of what he was implying. “Are you saying someone lit that fire on purpose?”

“I think that whoever caused that fire knew I was staying with you. Or at least suspected it. Sally, I’ve put you in danger. But that ends now - I’m going to leave.”

“What? No,” said Sally, grabbing his arm. “You can’t. If I’m in danger, then you are too. Look what they did. If we’d been in my room at the time, we’d be dead right now. I don’t know what it is you’re doing here, but if it’s enough for people to want to kill you then the last thing you need is to be alone in this city right now.”

His face softened. “I’m sorry. But I won’t let you get hurt for my sake.” He touched her cheek with his hand and Sally turned into his palm. He could feel the moisture of her tears and the thought that she was crying for him made his throat constrict painfully. “I…I’m sorry.”

Sally nodded. “I’m sorry too. Please, be safe.”

He wanted to tell her he’d be back. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, and that he would survive this mission. But he couldn’t lie to her. No more lying.

So he kissed her. Not gently, the way he had before, but passionately, almost painfully, crushing her lips to his. He tried to ignore the taste of her tears and the way she dug her fingers into his collar, pulling him against her. All he wanted to do was imprint this moment on his mind. To be able to imprint this woman on his mind. This woman who’d brought him back from death in more ways than one. He wanted this moment to last forever.

Because it couldn’t. Finally he pulled away.

“I’ll find my way back to you,” he whispered. “One way or another, I’ll find my way back.”

And then he was gone.


Translations:

Maiko: a geisha in training