While Washu worked on the signal, Kiyone desperately checked back into headquarters to ask someone to rummage through files. While they checked her clearance, Kiyone hoped they would find something. <If they didn't...> But Kiyone shook that thought out. At first, the search turned up empty. But Kiyone asked about the closed files, and was actually able to find something. The report dated back to four years ago. "The controller of the ship ID: Nazumo disappeared suddenly without a trace of a struggle. It has been brought to attention that a certain gang of terrorists called the 'Strikers' has been around near space kidnapping innocent victims from their ships, but no evidence (i.e. ransom note, forensics, clue) had been left at the crime scene. Ships attacked are left alone, but eventually run out of fuel and are unable to contact headquarters. This case has been closed because of lack of evidence. See file: Heero, Ayumi. Kiyone had the operator rummage through to find the file. Name: Heero, Ayumi Kin: Mother: Mayu Nagato Father: Akiro Heero Sister: Megumi Heero Age entered service: 25 Section: First-class detective Etc... Kiyone listened in when her operator read the words, "Missing in Action." "Does it have any information about it?" she asked. "Huh? Oh, no, none...it just says See: 'Strikers' would you like to see that also?" The operator asked. "Yes, please." "Okay...wow, its short. All it says is: under investigation, and then see File 38420, the one we saw first, and then Heero, Ayumi." "Ok, thanks..." Kiyone was about to stop transmission when the operator stopped her. "Wait, I've got something...at the bottom it says, Possible locations: SatelliteRD261, SatFE12 at SatXX34. All in Sector 251. Hope that helps." "That's great! Thanks for your help!" Kiyone sighed gratefully. She decided against reporting it. After all, wasn't she going to find Mihoshi? But the superior would find out soon enough... ~*~ Mihoshi was led out of something into a place with uneven footing. In fact, the new place smelled like damp rocks, and Mihoshi felt a slight drop in temperature. They also took off her red hair band, and threw it on the ground. <*Are we underground somewhere?*> She decided against asking her guards, they probably wouldn't tell her, and she wanted to maintain the image of a blonde bubble-head. Nonetheless, Mihoshi thought fast. <*They couldn't have put me somewhere near Yagami, maybe I could contact...*> But that thought raced out of her mind immediately. They had taken off her ankle ropes so she could walk, and they had taken out her gag, so Mihoshi could hear herself sigh in defeat. But she couldn't give up that easily. She had to have faith in Kiyone...<*because of all the times she had faith in me...hopefully...*> ~*~ "Washu?" Kiyone knocked softly. There was no answer. She nearly jumped when she heard Washu's voice behind her instead. "Yes?" "Oh, did you find anything yet? Washu nodded. "Come on in," and gestured towards her lab. Washu began right away when Kiyone sat down. "First of all, it was a radio signal. To whom, I'm not quite sure, but I am sure that it was to a distant satellite. Now, I can't exactly pinpoint what type of ship it was, since many types support the same technology, but I can tell you it was more advanced than the Yagami. That's why it couldn't detect it on its radar. No heat scanning, nothing. The kidnappers must have just been careless in leaving you with this small clue. Did you notice anything about the ship as it flew away?" "A symbol of a cobra, and on the GP HQ files it said that the group could possibly be the 'Strikers'." Kiyone answered. "Hmmm...the 'Strikers', eh?" Washu thought for a moment. "Nope, never heard of them. Must be new, considering their technology." "Well, the earliest I can date them back to is four years ago, when they kidnapped a first class detective." "Hmmm...another interesting aspect. Well, how are you going to start looking?" "Well, I found some leads. They could be on any of these moons." Kiyone handed her the list. Washu took a look at the list and typed in the names of the planets. "Just so I can remember what they are," and smiled. "I think I'll just check out these locations, ask around, stuff like that." Washu just nodded and continued to work on something. The next day, Kiyone went out to Yagami again. Before going to any of the satellites, Kiyone decided to stop over at the HQ and ask about them, and managed to retrieve some information. "Ok, so basically, the moons are sparsely populated. SatFE12 is mostly all caves, though. Maybe I should check out that place first." Without further ado, she took all her weapons with her and headed towards SatFE12. ~*~ It took her three days to get there. One night, Kiyone sat on her bed. She often found herself thinking about Mihoshi and their relationship. <Well, mostly, I just treated her like my partner. My ditzy, carefree, irresponsible partner. And then, when we got to Earth and took jobs...I would always quit after she got fired [author: thx Wimmers]. And yet, I would still always yell and scream at her, telling her how dumb I thought she was>. Her eyes dropped. <I feel like I'm being split into two. One side says, 'isn't this what you've wanted?' while the other side says, 'you don't want a fellow officer killed, do you? Even if it is Mihoshi...besides you care for her...' I have to admit, the latter side is right, I don't want her to just rot there, even if it is Mihoshi...still...> She sighed, drawing her knees up against her body and slowly putting her head between her knees. <Do I care for her? Like a friend? Or like something else?> ~*~ <*Does she actually care for me?*> Mihoshi whimpered inwardly. She sat on the cold ground of the cave with her knees also drawn up and shuddered. <*I care for you, Kiyone, so deeply and for so long. You yell at me, treat me like a child, but you're beautiful, and you would love me too, if you could just melt the coldness in your heart*>. A single tear down Mihoshi's left cheek, but she knew there would be more. She sniffed, and the sudden noise awoke the guard standing outside her "cell." He peeked into the dark enclosure, and made a nasty grin when he saw Mihoshi looking right at him. Mihoshi blinked another tear away and turned her head. "Don't worry, your time will soon..." Mihoshi could almost hear the grin in his voice, and decided not to think about what he might have meant. ~*~ Kiyone tried to land the smaller ship quietly, but it was hard work. When she finally landed it and got out, she looked around and saw nothing but rock. Wet, glistening rock. Kiyone tried to take in a deep breath. The oxygen level at SatFE12 was lower than Earth's, and she had to get used to it. But for now, her main concern was to find Mihoshi. If she was on this moon. Despite all her training, Kiyone had no idea where to start. She had only landed on this moon with the faintest inkling that Mihoshi could be here, she could barely breathe, and felt as if she was stuck in a museum showcasing Neanderthals and their way of life. <No wonder barely anyone lives on the friggin' moo-oo-nn>. She barely managed to gasp, because a gust of cold air had just brushed past her. Kiyone actually stood there for a while, staring into space. She was thinking of her feelings toward Mihoshi when they were first assigned together, Mihoshi's carelessness and how they always managed to make up in the end. Finally, Kiyone thought about the helpless and sad expression Mihoshi got whenever she knew she messed up. Kiyone managed to laugh and smile when she thought of the nights at the karaoke bar. Or maybe it was just the lack of oxygen. <Where are you Mihoshi?> She didn't realize her feelings until...until she tasted the first salty tear slide onto her lips. Instinctively, she reached up to brush away the wet trail on her cheek. With newfound determination, she set off to find Mihoshi. ~*~ The rusty door of the cell opened to reveal two hefty men grinning from ear to ear. Mihoshi managed to catch exactly eight minutes of sleep. She had been there for four days now, she had not eaten anything, had not drunken anything, and was so weak that she could not stand. "Tsk, tsk...we tried to convince you to eat...now come on," one of the men said. Both of them dragged her from her crouching position. Mihoshi failed to see the point of struggling, she was too tired at any rate. They led her to a sparsely lit chamber. They forced a tape onto her mouth. The man whom Mihoshi supposed was the "leader" stood from a rock and came from out of the shadows. He held a knife that gleamed in the light. He slowly approached Mihoshi, as his henchmen stood back for him. When he stood in front of her, he gave her the once over, smiled, and snapped his fingers. At this signal, his henchmen viciously tore the top half of Mihoshi's GP uniform to pieces. Mihoshi saw at once what was in the man's dark eyes and struggled to keep the tears back. <*Kiyone....*> But she had already lost all hope. ~*~ <Geez, these caves are like a maze!> Everything was shining, the walls, the ceiling, the ground...<Wait, what is that?> Kiyone bent to pick up Mihoshi's red hair band (see Chap. 4, I added it in). She continued to kneel there, trying to look for footprints in the soft mud and dirt. She squinted and bent down farther...<Yes, I see very faint footprints...heading that way...> Her eyes wandered ahead of her, following the footprints. Still kneeling, she allowed herself to move forward quietly. The footprints led her to a dark opening that she would have easily missed. Kiyone sighed in relief, clutching the red band close to her. Kiyone forced herself to brace against the wall, even though it was glistening from the moisture. She flinched as the wetness eventually soaked through her uniform and onto her skin. Kiyone refocused when she heard footsteps approach her. A small, muffled "armph..." sounded before she covered the mouth with her hand and cracked the neck of the sentry. Quickly she glanced around her to see if anyone else heard. No one came. She saw a faint light at the end of a turn and proceeded down. Kiyone gasped at the sight that met her eyes. A group of about five men surrounded Mihoshi. The sight almost brought tears to her eyes. It looked like a scene from a BDSM video, [the author would like to interject that she's not into that kind of stuff...anyway] chains hung from the ceiling and around Mihoshi's wrists. The men were standing around Mihoshi, and Mihoshi's mouth was taped shut. It was obvious what they were planning to do. Kiyone glanced around. Stalagmites had formed out of the ground and Kiyone quickly hid behind one, moving closer to Mihoshi. She continued this until she was a mere twelve feet from her. She breathed deeply and pulled out two guns, thankful that she had brought an extra. She was just about to get up and start shooting when she heard Mihoshi give a muffled scream and heard the tearing of clothes. Kiyone closed her eyes for a second, breathed deeply again and took a small peek. Once again, the scene almost drove her to tears. She blinked rapidly to dry her eyes. <It's now or never...> Kiyone's first two shots broke the chain, and killed one man. Her next two shots killed the leader and another man. The next two finished off the rest. Kiyone had to work quickly. She had no idea who else might have been in the caves, and Mihoshi looked cold and in desperate need of medical attention. Mihoshi could barely lift her head to acknowledge the presence of her partner. Kiyone barely thought as she scooped Mihoshi up. She had to throw her over one shoulder to keep one free in case someone came. But they made it through safely. Kiyone carried her to the ship, and headed toward Yagami. Once they were on board, Kiyone programmed Yagami to land back on Earth, where she hoped Washu could save Mihoshi. Kiyone had put Mihoshi in her bed and covered her in mounds of blankets, but she was still shivering. Kiyone closed her eyes and knew what she had to do. Immediately, to avoid the possible onset of pneumonia, Kiyone stripped and slid into bed with her partner. She stayed there until Mihoshi awoke, ten hours later. ~*~ "Ki-Kiyone!?" Mihoshi's eyes were wide. "Why...?" she looked at Kiyone's bare body and she began to understand. Before Kiyone could react, Mihoshi pulled her into a tight hug. Kiyone blushed ferociously but did not try to pull back. She heard Mihoshi whisper, "You saved my life..." and felt a tear drop onto her shoulder. Amazingly, Kiyone found herself putting a hand on Mihoshi's back and whispering, "It's ok...I'm here..." Mihoshi sniffed. "It was so cold, Kiyone. And they tried to...to..." Both detectives found themselves tearing up. At that moment, a huge growl came from Mihoshi's stomach. Kiyone tried to hold her laughter in, but they ended up laughing anyway. "So, I guess you're hungry...I'll get us something to eat." Kiyone stood up and put her clothes on. Not wanting to embarrass her, Mihoshi turned the other way, and said, "Let me help you." "No, stay in bed, you're still too weak." Kiyone placed a hand on Mihoshi's brow and stroked the bangs out of her eyes. "Oh, I almost forgot...here." Kiyone handed Mihoshi her red hair band and walked out of the bedroom. Mihoshi watched her leave and smiled for the first time in four days. ~*~ Two days later, they returned to Tenchi's house. With Kiyone's reassuring arm around her, Mihoshi headed to Washu's lab to make sure everything was all right. "Well, a couple of minor scrapes and bruises, nothing more. You're lucky Kiyone got to you in time." Mihoshi looked right into Kiyone's eyes and said, "Yes, I am." That warm afternoon after lunch, Mihoshi asked Kiyone if she would take a walk with her. At first, Kiyone looked confused and Mihoshi was afraid she would say no. But Kiyone smiled and nodded. They walked silently in the forest for a moment. Mihoshi decided to stop and they both sat down on a rock. "So, did you want to talk about something?" Kiyone asked. Mihoshi nodded, and tried to keep from blinking too much. "I-I just want to thank you for saving my life, Kiyone." Kiyone started to say something, but Mihoshi stopped her, "no, hear me out. In the middle of all this, I had actually lost hope. I thought you wouldn't come, Kiyone." Her tears started in earnest. "All those times you yelled at me, they all played in my mind, I thought I would never see you again. I mean..." Mihoshi laughed softly, and looked up, blinking again. "I actually thought that, Kiyone. I was so foolish." Kiyone gaped at her. <The all-optimistic Mihoshi had given up hope?!> She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She placed both hands on Mihoshi's shoulders and looked straight into her partner's eyes. Mihoshi's looked at her, blinked, and started to blush slightly. Kiyone was a little startled by this, but continued anyway. "Mihoshi, I'm sorry for every bad thing I said to you...I-I never meant any of those things. I only said those things because I was angry...at that moment. But I've forgiven you for everything, Mihoshi, please understand I..." "Kiyone, I love you." Four words...it was only four words, and that was all that was needed to render Kiyone's brain useless. Once again, all she could do was gape. Mihoshi brought a hand up to her cheek and brought her face closer to Kiyone's. Kiyone finally managed to close her mouth. But she could not close her eyes, which were staring right into those of Mihoshi's. Kiyone did not know exactly when their lips met, but a wave of warmness passed over her when they did. Her hand reached up to touch Mihoshi's cheek. When the kiss ended, Mihoshi became limp in her arms and her hand reached further up to stroke Mihoshi's hair. "I've loved you for so long..." Kiyone smiled, and they both stood up, still in each other's arms. "C'mon, let's go home..." *~*~* THE END
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