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For the Sake of Maron 10/10
by Elysia
rated PG-13
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By most accounts, Minazuki was not the bravest of people around. Sure, he had his certain moments of courage--and those he could count on one hand. Now, Minazuki was torn between two paths as he hid behind a large rock at the edge of the forest. Part of him wanted nothing more to run in after Maron--no, she was Kaitou Jeanne now--and protect her from whatever it was she was reluctant to face. He hadn't needed words to know she was afraid. For a split second before she entered the building, the look on her face had given her away.

He had never known Maron to be afraid. Of course, he was never looking for that sort of emotion in her. When he would gaze in Maron's direction, he longed to see some sort of admiration and devotion in her actions and words, the same that he had for her.

But things had changed recently. Even though Minazuki felt stronger, bolder in Maron's presence, it was not her presence alone that made him feel that way. No, as he had come to understand his true intentions and feelings lately, he realized that it was also Miyako that gave him courage. In fact, Miyako was more opinionated than Maron, sometimes too opinionated, really. But he still felt drawn to that sort of power, probably because he lacked it himself.

So if it wasn't Maron he cared for, had he been attracted to Miyako because of her strength all this time? The thought scared him. She was always out running after Jeanne, thinking up a new plan nearly everyday to catch the witty thief. Minazuki laughed to himself, knowing what he did now. If only Miyako knew...

That thought stopped him short. If Maron was right and Miyako was being held prisoner somewhere in the museum, then she would most certain find out the truth--if nothing happened to her first.

Interesting thoughts came to mind as he contemplated his decision. He used to think he would do anything for her, even catch that blasted Sindbad for her. But since she was Jeanne and she was good, did that make the other kaitou good or bad? Even if he no longer sought Maron's approval, he figured he could at least honor his promise to her by catching the other kaitou.

Minazuki suddenly froze. He heard a rustling in the woods behind him, and it wasn't the wind. He started to panic and shut his eyes as he slowly turned around from his hiding place. Would he fight? Could he?

He wasn't so sure he wanted to find out.

When Minazuki was almost certain that someone would take him as they had taken Miyako, he heard the steps move away from him as quickly as they had come. He hadn't been noticed. As he opened his eyes to see who had passed him, his eyes widened in shock.

Sindbad was here, and he was heading for the museum.

Headed for Jeanne.

But not if Minazuki could help it.

Chiaki instinctively followed the path Maron had taken through the woods to get to the museum. It was like a sixth sense to him now, following her wherever she went. He couldn't help it; he had to protect her from the evils she was about to face whether she liked it or not. That girl could be so stubborn, he thought to himself for the umpteenth time.

But stubbornness would not keep her alive. Not this time. It might prolong the inevitable, but it could not stop the hand of death. Not when that hand belonged to Fin Fish.

The love and sense of duty he felt for Maron was almost overwhelming for Chiaki. Not since the death of his mother had he felt so strongly towards anyone or anything. All along, he had been telling Maron the truth when he said he would do anything to protect her. This was his whole reason for becoming Sindbad. When Access chose him, the tiny angel knew something like this would happen all along.

Now, after all the mistakes, it was time to prove Access right. Not that Chiaki would ever admit it, of course.

"Sindbad!" A voice suddenly shouted out from behind. Chiaki whirled around, surprised to find Iinchou standing there. What was he doing here? Did he follow him to the museum? Saying anything more to Iinchou might give Chiaki away, so he chose his words carefully. "You shouldn't be here. Someone might get hurt."

With a look of determination on his face, Minazuki approached Chiaki. "You're not going any further," he told the kaitou. "I won't let you lay a finger on her."

Chiaki was confused. Did he mean Miyako? Of course he wouldn't harm her; he was going in to help save her. Iinchou was obviously mixed up. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Sindbad! You're only going in there to find M--Jeanne." Iinchou caught himself before he could reveal Maron's identity. "I won't let you harm her. I once promised someone that I would catch you before you could do any more wrong, and now I have. You're not going anywhere."

Chiaki held back a laugh. Iinchou was partly right and partly off his rocker. "I really don't have time for this," the kaitou responded. "I've got to get in there before something goes wrong. Don't you want your friends to be saved?"

"Of course I do!" Minazuki burst out. "But having you go in there will only do more harm. I've seen how Jeanne acts around you. She hates you. She tries to avoid you at all costs. Why don't you get a clue and leave her alone?"

Chiaki was so surprised at Iinchou's outburst that he started to laugh. The kid had more guts than he thought. "Because if I leave her alone, she will die. Same with Miyako. Is that what you want?" When Iinchou didn't answer, Chiaki turned to leave, but Iinchou grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from doing so.

"All my life, people have laughed at me. I always took it because I couldn't think of anything better to say. But this time, I won't let you laugh at me. I won't let you leave. And I certainly won't let you go in there and harm Jeanne!" Years of pent-up frustration in Minazuki came roaring out as his fist flew back and slammed into the side of Chiaki's face.

Chiaki saw stars amid his shock from being punched. Normally he was able to dodge such a move, but this time was different. No one, especially him, expected Iinchou to hit anyone. And what a hit! He could already feel his cheek and lips starting to swell up. The bitter taste of blood was on the tip of his tongue. This would definitely sting for a while.

He brought a hand to the side of his face and rubbed the affected area tenderly. "Man, Iinchou, I never knew you had it in you." From the look on Minazuki's face, he wasn't sure if Iinchou was more surprised that he had actually hit someone or that his punch had connected.

But Minazuki wasn't looking at his hand. Instead, he stared directly into Chiaki's eyes, the shock of the whole incident evident on his face. But the words that came out of his mouth surprised Chiaki almost as much as the initial punch.

"Chiaki-san? You're Kaitou Sindbad?"

Chiaki moved his hand to his mouth, where the cloth that previously covered half of his face now hung limply to one side of his face, stained with his blood from Iinchou's punch. Damn. There went another one. He lost more of those masks in one week than...

"Why you? I thought you loved Maron! Does she know? Why do you torture her?" Minazuki interrupted the unmasked kaitou's thoughts.

Chiaki let out an exasperated sigh, wincing at the pain that made in his face. "Look, Iinchou, I know there's a lot you don't understand. And as for hurting Maron, none of it was done intentionally. You just happened to see some of the rough spots." He scoffed. "Okay, a lot of the rough spots."

"That still doesn't explain why you did it!" Minazuki retorted.

"Iinchou, I know you want the truth!" Chiaki exclaimed, rubbing his bruised jaw. "Think about it this way. Every minute I spend out here telling you the truth, that's one less minute I have to get inside and help Maron fight off the very evil that is going to kill her. I'm losing time out here trying to explain stuff to you that will take longer than days for you to understand! I know you want to know everything that's been going on. Hell, there's stuff that I don't even understand yet. But let me ask you this. Do you want Maron to die? Do you want Miyako to die?"

"No," Minazuki choked out.

"Then let me go to her. Once this is all over, then we can explain things to you."

But before Minazuki could say anything in return, the two heard an ear-piercing scream coming from the direction of the museum.

Chiaki's blood froze. He knew that voice all too well.

"MARON!!"

"Miyako... please be safe. I'll be there soon." Jeanne called out lowly, not wanting to give away her presence to anything lurking within the shadows of the dark interior. Knowing Noin had a part in all of this, it was probably all a trap--more than likely, really--but she couldn't risk the safety of her best friend. If she couldn't save Miyako... who could?

"You were never good at concealing yourself, Jeanne. It's a good thing I'm here, close to you."

Jeanne whirled around quickly, startled by the break in the silence she had been trying so hard to create. She raised her hand to strike away anything in close proximity.

From behind, Noin caught her right fist easily, as if she had been moving in slow motion. "I never expected you to be so weak, Jeanne. But then, you aren't the real Jeanne anyway. You're just a fake, a fraud. Pretending to be Jeanne is only a facade to keep people from seeing how weak you really are."

She nodded. "You're right, I am weak. But there's something you've forgotten. You don't know me as well as you knew the first Jeanne, Noin."

Noin raised an eyebrow. "And what do you mean by that?" he asked skeptically.

Jeanne smirked. "Unlike the original Jeanne d'Arc, I'm left-handed." Before he could comprehend that, she drove her left fist deep into Noin's solar plexus, literally knocking the breath out of him. He collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

Jeanne placed her boot on Noin's neck. "I could crush you and put an end to your miserable life right now, Noin. But I won't. And it's not because of any weakness, either. When it comes to protecting those dear to me, I'm stronger than you'll ever know."

His eyes closed as if to admit his defeat. "Go ahead," Noin whispered hoarsely. "Make it a swift blow. I only wish to leave this cursed existence. My death at your hand would be an honorable one."

She grimaced. "No, I will not kill you, Noin. After all, you made a deal with me to give me back Miyako. But now that I have defeated you, you must keep your word."

Noin stood up slowly, breathing in deeply while recovering from the blow Jeanne had given him. "I will take you to her, but I cannot give her back to you. My wretched master has your friend in her power now. You must defeat her to get Miyako back."

"'Her'? It seems you have a soft spot for women after all, Noin," Jeanne replied playfully.

He didn't smile. "Once you see her, you will know why I wished you to grant me a swift death. This time, I will not follow." He pointed towards the darkened archway at the other end of the room. "Go. She is waiting for you."

She began her journey down the dark corridor, using a hand against the wall to guide herself. Suddenly, a hand landed on Jeanne's shoulder. She instinctively whirled around, grabbing the stranger's wrist and flipping backwards, pinning the stranger against the wall. "I should have known you wouldn't keep your word about following me. You will not touch me again, Noin! If you leave yourself open, do not think that I will hesitate to kill you this time!"

The offender let out a fierce cry of pain. "Dammit, Jeanne! You just never give up, do you?"

Even though the stranger revealed himself not to be Noin as he spoke, Jeanne did not relent. "And you never learn, Sindbad. Stop sneaking up behind me, and maybe for once I won't attack you!"

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

Jeanne rolled her eyes and let go of Sindbad's wrist. "Shut up."

He then took hold of her wrist before she could move away. "All right then, I'll promise you one thing."

She looked skeptically at him. "And that would be what?"

Sindbad smirked. "Next time I get to pin you to the wall."

"Oooh!" Jeanne whirled out of his grip, giving him one of her steady glares, but he brushed it aside like it was nothing. "Can't you be a little more serious at a time like this? Noin said 'she' was waiting for me, and I don't need you messing with my head right now!"

Sindbad nodded soberly. "I didn't think Fin had it in her to meet with you so soon. I figured we'd meet up with several of her minions first, in order to wear you down."

Jeanne stopped, feeling as if she was frozen in her tracks. "Fin? Is she really responsible for taking Miyako? No, it cannot be true! Not my Fin Fish!"

"Think about it, Jeanne. Remember what Access told you. The Fin Fish you knew is gone. She is a Fallen Angel, and will do anything to stop the Maiden of Light. That's you. Don't you see? She will kill you if that's what it takes."

All of the pieces of the puzzle came together in Jeanne's mind at that moment, and she failed to suppress the pain in her heart. A painstaking sob escaped from her lips, and she laid a hand against the stone wall to brace herself. "Oh, Fin... what have you done?"