Midnight Rose

[Belle]

The pitter patter of rain had stopped by the time Belle opened her eyes. Artificial sunlight streamed in through the shutters, gleaming like bright swords against the wall across from her bed. The blades were high on the wall - still morning.

She shifted, turning over and sliding an arm around the form next to her. Nalia was still asleep, her naked body half-tangled in a mess of sheets. Belle lay there for a while, her mind groggily slipping half in and half out of slumber, before finally pulling herself reluctantly from the comforting embrace of oblivion to confront reality.

She sat upright, stifling a yawn and brushing hair out of her eyes. She'd been taking the night shift so long that she'd expected to feel dead tired while the sun was up, but she was surprised to find that that wasn't the case. If anything, she felt invigorated, her head clearing as she rose from the bed, stretching her arms upward and basking them in the warm light.

She glanced down, catching a pair of golden eyes watching her from beneath half lids. She felt her cheeks darken. "Hi."

Nalia mumbled in acknowledgment, her arms and legs tensing as she arched her back, her striped tail flicking before she flopped back down. Eyes lazily closed, then opened again, a faint smile curling the corners of her lips.

Belle bent over, retrieving some clothes. She sat on the edge of the bed, clutching her garments to her with one arm, the other reaching out to stroke the woman's hair. "Thank you. For, uhm... you know," she mumbled.

Nalia giggled. " 'You know'? " she teased, then let out a small yawn, turning over onto her back. "You're funny. And sweet. I can see why..." she trailed off. "You're going?" she went on after a moment, "I thought your shift was tonight."

Belle nodded, starting to get dressed. "It is, but there's something I want to do."

Nalia's hand shot out, grabbing her by the wrist. "You're not going to go out looking for them, are you?"

Belle stopped, looking over. Nalia's eyes had that same look Jack's had - concern, tinged with fear. Whoever had hurt Lily, no one seemed to want to cross them. "No," she answered, putting her other hand over Nalia's and gently prising it off her's. "I promise."

She stood, finishing getting dressed, pulling on her jeans and T-shirt. When she wasn't working, she preferred to keep things simple. Slinging her arms into a jacket, she flicked the shoulders, then turned to the still nude woman in her bed. She wasn't sure what she should say.

Nalia spoke instead. "Have a good day," she purred with a vague smile, stretching out again with a sigh. "If it's okay with you, I'm going to sleep a few more hours."

Belle blinked. She exhaled with a grin. "Yeah, it's cool." It's not like she had anything valuable that could be stolen, anyway. "See you."

The walk back up the lane was strange. She was unaccustomed to seeing Tier Four in anything but shadows. The light was such a rarity, in fact, she deliberately took her time walking down her usual route, retracing her steps. It was a while before she was able to find the street she was looking for, and her feet were starting to ache, though admittedly not as much as when she was wearing heels.

Yuki's home was surrounded by a low wall, an iron barred gate opening onto a small, short path that led up to the front door. Even if it was situated in a more residential area, the incongruity of its oriental design stood out even more in the light than before. It was as if someone had carved a piece of land and transported it, building and all, and plopped it straight in the middle of this futuristic city-scape.

The gate was locked. To its side was a button, and just above it a small screen, the only piece of modern technology visible. Belle pressed the button, heard a buzzer. She waited. When no one responded, she pressed it again. On the third press, the screen flickered, but no image coalesced.

"Whoever you are, go away," Yuki's voice growled from a hidden speaker. "Whatever it is you're selling, I'm not interested."

Belle took a deep breath. "Miss Yuki? It's me."

"'Me'? Me who? Wait." A pause. "That girl? What do you want? I'm busy."

Belle licked her lips. "I want you to train me."

Silence. A full minute passed. Belle pressed the buzzer again, long and hard. The speaker crackled. "Are you deaf?" Yuki's voice hissed. "I told you-"

"I know you said no! Just please, hear me out!"

"I don't care what your reason is. Do you think if you badger me, I'll just give in? If you want power so badly, go get it for yourself. I won't have any part in it." A crackle, the sound of movement. "Now go away."

"It's not for me! Miss Yuki-"

There was another crackle, and all sound suddenly went dead. Belled pressed the button, but there was no buzzer. The swore under her breath. Fine; if she wasn't going to let her in, Belle would just come back later. There were plenty of hours left in the day. She could walk all the way to the hospital and back in that time ...

The hospital. Lily. Belle gritted her teeth and turned back to the gate. She didn't bother with the buzzer this time. Instead she jumped, reaching up, and grabbed the edge of the wall. She squirmed, pulled. Her fingers came loose and she fell to the ground with a yelp. She bit her lip and tried again, worming against the stone. She dug her toes against the wall, grunting and straining. She managed to pull herself up enough to shift her grip to the other side, hauling. With a mighty heave, she swung her leg up, catching the top, and with another, finally pulled herself over. She paused, perching on the edge to catch her breath.

"You really don't know how to listen."

Yuki was there before the realized it, the old woman's foot slamming against her sternum. Belle's breath wheezed out of her as she was sent flying, flipping back over the wall and landing with a crash on the sidewalk. Pain wracked her body, her vision swimming as she tried to take a breath. Above her, standing on the wall, the small figure stood, Yuki's traditional garb and hair fluttering briefly as the air pressure of the Tier shifted, her hard eyes glaring down, disdain etched in every tired feature. "Go. Home."

Belled turned over onto her stomach, coughing as she pushed herself onto her knees. Every part of her chest felt like it was bruised. "No." She breathed. It hurt. "I won't."

Somehow she managed to get one leg up, her hand resting on her knee. She pushed herself onto her feet. Her head swam and she wobbled, almost toppling over before she caught her balanced, spinning around to face the wall again. "I can't... Until you agree!"

She took a running start and jumped, her hands slapping the edge again. Yuki's foot immediately came down, slamming into her digits. Belle howled, her feet kicking against the wall as she writhed, trying to pull them free. She felt some of them crack. "Stupid," Yuki said, her tone even and uncaring. Abruptly the foot lifted, releasing Belle's hand. It hung to her side, the other still clasped to the wall's edge.

Yuki's foot slowly rested upon it. "I can break these, too. Is that what you want?" she asked, then pressed. It felt like a hundred pound weight smushing against her knuckles.

She should let go. That's what every instinct in her body, every bit of common sense in her brain was screaming at her to do. She could let go, go back, visit Lily and get her hand healed. Eventually her friend would walk out of the bacta tank, Jack would hand her her papers, and things would settle back down to normal.

Fuck that.

Normal was being weak. Normal was being protected. Normal meant other people getting hurt or having to rescue her. Normal could kiss her ass.

Her broken hand grabbed the edge of the wall. Excruciating pain seared like a hot needles stabbing through her fingers. Her eyes watered as she looked up.

Yuki stared down, her expression immobile and unchanging. The pressure on Belle's other hand increased. Her bones creaked. "Why?" she asked.

"They hurt someone I care about!"

Yuki tsk'ed. "Revenge," she muttered. "I told you."

"I don't want revenge! I want-..." Another finger cracked and Belle swore, tears starting to run down her cheeks from the sheer pain of it. "-Agh! You stupid old hag! I want to protect her! I want to protect them! And you!"

The pressure eased. "Me?" Yuki asked, her tone different, amused. "You, protect me?"

Belle glared up, her jaw tight, holding Yuki's gaze.

"You are kind of an idiot, aren't you?" She stepped off Belle's hand. "Oh well. You'd better come inside and get those treated. I guess morons can't help themselves, so it would be wrong of me to leave you like this."

She lightly tapped Belle's fingers with the toe of her shoe, sending her back down with another slam. "I'll be waiting inside."

"Thank you," Belle managed to gurgle.