Warning: This chapter is PG-13 for language and is a bit raunchy.

Disclaimer: I don't own SM or GW.

The barracks were harshly informative. Makoto learned a number of things, most of which were crucial to her chance of survival as the rest were over enthused sex stories she wished she had never heard. She admittedly considered herself a helpless romantic, so being constantly bombarded by lewd stories of sexual encounters and crude language made her dreams of an innocent love so much more impossible. Luckily, however, the same men and women of her platoon that felt the need to divulge their explicit stories had made it a goal to avoid offending her as her display of power a week prior left a lasting impression on each of them.

She couldn't remember even a glimpse of what she had done, but the unfair obstacles General "I-Don't-Give-a-Shit" kept forcing on her and the secretive hurrahs she received for visibly bruising the Warehouse's most established general were so overwhelming she nearly begged her so called peers to tell her exactly what happened. It was a high-nosed female soldier that actually took her plea into consideration as the others assumed Makoto was just fishing for a reenactment that would bolster her ego. They were confident enough men to congratulate her for her feat but they weren't so enthused about the idea that she might actually start to think she was one of the top prospects and possibly even better than they were. Her hand-to-hand skills may have been exceptional but her mental capabilities were another story.

According to Mia Haineko, the platoon's highly esteemed spy, Makoto had attacked the General almost immediately after she was shot. Originally, he commended her fight spirit and entertained her by fighting back but when she failed to desist after his frequent orders to withdraw, he was much less enthused. Men and women of the platoon flocked to ward her off but she seemed bent on vengeance and managed a long resistance which hadn't gone unnoticed by anyone in the Warehouse. A Hiei with no last name was the one to stop her, a cold-eyed soldier that was famed for his unmatched skill. After that, Makoto had finally understood why the General had taken such a high distaste for her and she wished she could take that moment back. There went her plan to sneak out once she had the chance. With all the buzz and attention she brought to herself, there was practically no chance in escaping.

Of course, that wasn't her only problem. Along with admirers, she had gained quite a number of enemies, dangerous enemies. The veteran soldiers who were the cream of the crop before she came were now alert and every time she passed any of them, she could feel their eyes burning into her back as if calculating her physical prowess and yearning to challenge her. Sometimes she wished they would to save her from the discomfort of having to endure their piercing stares, but when she was stuck in her unfair training simulations that she suspected were made with the intent to completely annihilate her, she felt her doubts bubble without hindrance.

She was slow. Her body didn't move with the same ease she once had almost five years ago and she nearly despised the fact that she had gone so long without training. Generally her health was well above average, but it was nowhere near the peak it once stood at. After Chaos, the need for consistent practice and rigorous training became less of a must and more of an optional activity. Sure, Makoto would from time to time have to handle the late night thugs that might've intercepted her on one of her walks home but they had never really been a problem. A quick jab, a swift sweep and a sharp heel digging into their gut was enough to discourage them whereas here her opponents actually had counter-attacks. It was true she managed to fight off a horde of people on her first day, but she accounted that to her rare blackout and from experience she knew that when she was caught in something like that, the best thing for anyone around her to do was get away. They were dangerous, uncontrolled and hard to trigger. None of her blackouts had ever resulted in something good and she considered herself lucky that blackout number three didn't lead her to a casket. Supposedly these people were much more interested in keeping her alive than dead. This in itself was both comforting and equally unsettling.

Exhausted, Makoto collapsed, her body heavy as her lungs threatened to burst. Sweat streamed from her pores, her hair limply clinging to the curves of her neck and now flushed face. She reached the end of her current obstacle course but with the General who was full of surprises, she couldn't quite allow herself to completely give into rest. For the others, they'd be allowed a shower and released for dinner in the cafeteria but not with Makoto who had given him a black eye and supposedly twisted his ankle. The latter was still unconfirmed since he seemed to be walking without a limp but the others insisted that he wore an expensive brace that helped keep his strut smooth. But, for her own sake, she hoped it was a lie.

Feebly, she forced herself to her feet, wiping the sweat from her head with a weak hand. If he saw her lying down in exhaustion she was certain her circumstances would only worsen. But still, with his tactic, he'd probably just throw in a surprise fighting tournament anyways, which was rumored to be coming up fairly soon.

She straightened herself into an acceptable position when she noticed the elevator doors beginning to open and with a scoff she had to force down her newly acquired distaste for elevator compartments. As always, he stood broad-shouldered and unimpressed, his boots pounding against the floor as he moved towards her.

"Five minutes and 47 seconds. Ya call that stealth?"

Makoto frowned, choosing not to respond from prior experience.

"I distinc'ly recall tellin ya that I wanted it dunn in less tha' three minutes."

Makoto had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. The requirement was eight minutes and to finish in less than six minutes was considered an amazing feat to her peers. Only a handful of people had completed that particular course below six minutes and two of that handful had tied for the record time of two minutes and 50 seconds which was considered inhuman.

"Well?"

Makoto's jade eyes darted to his, her gaze settling on the fading bruise that consistently reminded her of the unfairness of the situation. Still, she bit her tongue, not wanting to provoke an even more vengeance-filled stipulation to add to her already fatigued body.

"I'll work harder and try again," she managed through grit teeth. She looked away quickly, feeling her limbs tremble with aching from her statement.

He scoffed.

"An' waste more of my time? Bah!"

She gulped, waiting for his response which would decide what she did next.

"Git-outta here."

She almost let out a sigh of relief, holding it back just long enough to get out of his hearing range. She nearly ripped off her drenched shirt on her way but refrained when seeing the number of people still vacating the halls. It looked as though dinner was still in full throttle so she rushed straight to the cafeteria and ignored her need to shower. Besides, the other soldiers were always so insufferably smelly that showering beforehand would've been useless.

After collecting her food, Makoto found herself being flagged down by the platoon clown, his playful cobalt blue eyes shining too brightly for such a serious place. Makoto couldn't help but smirk, feeling slightly eased by his easy going personality. She often wondered how it was he ended up in an organization preparing for war but was stopped when discovering he held the Warehouse record below three minutes. He didn't look harmful but she knew that with a record like that, it couldn't have been a fluke.

"Hey babe!" He greeted. "You actually made it to dinner!"

Makoto smiled.

"Got lucky, I guess."

"I'll say!" he replied, a sheepish grin covering his face as his eyes trailed undoubtedly towards her chest.

"Don't even think about it," Makoto snapped, flicking his nose in reprimand before his eyes could reach their destination.

At times she was proud of her gifted chest but these days, she wished it were just a tad bit smaller. They earned her too much attention and with the number of crude, unromantic stories she had been hearing lately, she wanted nothing to do with sexual activity of any sort.

"Aww com'on babe!" He whined, making her laugh despite herself, though she stifled it quickly. "How am I supposed to let those go by without noticing?"

She unconsciously put an arm across her chest as if to block people from looking, her shoulders shrugging as she graciously ate her food. It wasn't the best, but her body craved some kind of substance after the day long battle of training sessions.

"I don't know," she said. "But if you value your life, you should find a way."

"Tch," he frowned, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. "Or you could just invest in a t-shirt and stop torturing me with these low-cut tank-tops and that black lace bra…"

Makoto's eyes jutted towards him, his hands flying up in protest soon after.

"Not that I was really looking!" He defended himself. "And I know it's not lace I was just –er, thinking out loud. Can't blame a guy for fantasizing, can you?"

She shook her head.

"Bob, you're digging yourself a really deep hole," Makoto warned, taking a sip of her milk and accidentally spilling some out of the corner of her mouth. Without thinking she licked up the spilt milk, her tongue sliding across her lips in an innocent reaction but viewed quite raunchily by her chestnut haired peer.

"God dammit, Mako," he cursed, nearly falling from his seat. "Torture must be your favorite hobby!"

"Uh, what?" She queried in surprise. It was clear she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Nothing," he said, scoffing to himself. He ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath and grabbing his jacket which he tossed over to her. "For the sake of mankind and all these depraved soldiers, myself included, could you please cover those up."

Makoto blinked, taking the jacket and shrugging it on.

"There," she smirked, "happy now?"

"Not exactly," Bob answered, brushing his braid over his shoulder. "But it'll do…for now."

She ignored the last part of his statement, recalling the many instances beforehand where he had attempted to lure her into the showers or even into his sleeping quarters. She could tell he had been successful many times just from his looks, that carefree charm, those broad shoulders and that devious smile of his which were enough to swoon the heart of any girl. Had he caught her around her home under normal circumstances, then she was certain she would've fallen into him without a chance of escape. But given their current situation, she had absolutely no intention to fall victim to anyone else's selfish wishes. It was enough that she had to go along with this whole operation she didn't agree with so she didn't need to add regretted sleep overs to the mix.

"And try not to spill your milk again."

"Huh?" She questioned, snapping quickly from her moment of reverie.

He scoffed. "Daydreaming again?" He noticed, ignoring her inquisitive stare.

She blushed, a charming reaction that made her seem so sweet and pure. Bob, or so he was named here, felt a slight pang in his chest, one he didn't like to feel and one that came often when she was involved. She didn't belong here, something that was blatantly clear to him since day one, but her talent with fighting was undeniable and he had trouble believing that it was a trait she acquired from instructional videos. That type of prowess was earned through experience.

"I was not," she muttered, taking a hasty bite of her chicken.

"You know," he started teasingly, his cobalt eyes glowing with amusement "For such a manly fighter, you are pretty girly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She spat back, not too enthused about being called a manly fighter or even girly. Both descriptions she could do well without, especially now.

"It's not a bad thing!" He assured. "It's kind of like having the best of both worlds."

"Pft," Makoto scoffed, unconvinced that either of those descriptions were meant as compliments. "Just do me a favor and stop talking," she requested, burying her eyes into her food.

"Aww com'on babe," he chimed. "You can tease me but I can't tease you? How is that fair?"

"I never teased you," She indignantly shot back, not liking the accusation that made her feel like a bully.

He laughed, leaning forward and partially unzipping his jacket around her shoulders until the zipper was just below her bust. She blushed when he was so close, but as her eyes followed his to look downward, the blush quickly faded.

"You bastard," she cursed, pushing him back and zipping the jacket back up. She was never one for such foul language, but it was a bad habit she was starting to pick up in the Warehouse.

"What?" He replied.

"That doesn't count as teasing," she quipped. "It's not like I can help it anyways, these shirts are part of the uniform and I didn't have a say in how large I wanted my chest to be."

"That might be true," he nodded in agreement. "But it isn't like they don't give us jackets to wear with the uniform. Some of us could construe your refusal to wear it as a method of cruel punishment."

She rolled her eyes, no longer interested in keeping up this debate.

"Whatever," she exasperated, grabbing her empty tray and heading for the trash.

"You're leaving me now?" Bob quizzed after her, his eyes unconsciously hypnotized by the smooth sway of her hips. "Why?"

"You know," she started without a single look over shoulder, "for a supposedly smart guy, you can be pretty stupid."

He laughed at her statement. Though he was disappointed that their conversation was cut short, he was still amused. From the table he watched as she slammed her tray onto the flat surface of the wooden receptacle and marched off. She didn't always lose her cool but since the General had started putting her through hell, her patience had taken a severe shot. Nevertheless, Bob found it fun being able to toy with her and even a bit intrigued by the mystery behind her skill and her perceived innocence. It was a perplexing thing, really, and it only made him more invested.

His smile dimmed when he locked eyes with an unruly haired Hiei and he sighed. Reality had a funny way of killing his mood. He nearly forgot where he was. Looking back to the tabletop, he grabbed his own tray and instinctively reached to his side for his loose items.

"My jacket." A smirk spread through his features, his eyes trailing to the exit where his newest brunette "friend" had heatedly stomped out of. If he was lucky, maybe she'd return it to him during the night…

He laughed. Nah, with the note she left on, he'd be lucky if he got it back in one piece.

Sorry so short! I was actually a bit surprised. Originally I intended on making this a Mako/Heero story but after this I'm seriously considering a Mako/Duo pairing which is rare for me ^^; There's an extremely small chance of a triangle but I hate triangles so...I don't know. Anyhow, I hope this wasn't a complete waste! And thank you for reading and of course for the reviews!

Aquatonic: Thank you for your review! I wish my sister would join in but she keeps telling me its not likely lol. I was so bummed but I can't force her I guess ^^; Anyhow, hope this chapter was okay!

l-annethunder: Thank you for your review! I'm pretty bad at reviewing too XD I read often but comment late or never ^^; It's a bad habit. But I'm glad you're reading this one and I'm so glad Mako's character hasn't been butchered. I struggle with that quite a bit so its good to hear that she comes out clearly so far. I hope that is still the case!

delvida: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you like Makoto's portrayal! And I'm excited that it is believeable! That is probably one of my biggest goals when writing. I hope it continues to be a true to character story and of course believable and thank you so much for reading!

SmileysBasis: Thank you for your review! I am so happy you like this! Ah yes the couple, they are definitely guessable lol I tried to make it hard but really I couldn't find a way. I hope this chapter was okay and thank you so much for reading!

reded: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you like Makoto's characterization. She's my favorite and I think this is probably the closest I've ever been to getting her character right. I hope you continue to like it and thank you so much for reading!

Iron-Mantis: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you like it and hope this chapter was good!

nadeshiko-yuna: I agree it is pretty dark. I was a bit uncomfortable with the previous chapter since I'm unfamiliar with writing such dark themed things ^^; but so far it has been well received. I hope this chapter was okay though and doesn't make this fic seem completely bipolar since the mood is slightly lighter than the previous chapter. But of course, thank you so much for reading and for your review!

ShadowShikome: Thank you for your review! They're always so big and I always feel so cool when I get them ^^ I hope the confusion about Makoto's riot was cleared in this chapter. If it wasn't then I'll be more than happy to improve my explanation! The parents of the Fire Lotus are in deed a crucial pair and I will certainly clear up all their relations in time though I imagine they are pretty easy to assume XD And the blood! That too will return...if I can keep going with my updates that is...lol. We'll see. Again, thank you for your review and for reading!

JPandS