Note: For those out there, that do not know what the Gunslinger Girl
series is about, here’s a small explanation. Gunslinger Girl is an anime
and manga series that delves into the lives of young girls. Traumatized
emotionally by their past and scarred physically, these young girls are
taken into the Social Welfare Agency, who wipes their memory from the
past and helps them begin new ones as young assassins. Trained to kill,
these girls have not entirely forgotten how to love and it is this that
begins the series of Gunslinger Girl.
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“Ne…Henrietta…”
“Nani?”
Rico, a young blonde girl with light blue eyes, was talking with
her friend while sitting on the lower part of a bunk bed, wearing a
black sweatshirt and tan pants. She was taking apart her M92 pistol to
oil it up and clean it a little. The parts were lying, scattered, next
to her on the bed sheet. Her friend was finishing sewing up a torn
collar in one of her white dress shirts. Henrietta was sitting at the
desk in front of Rico in a gray school jacket and skirt with another of
her white dress shirts. Rico thought for a moment before answering…
“Is difficult to play the violin?”
“Eh?” What brought this up?” Henrietta was puzzled.
“Well…”
Rico told Henrietta about how she had gone to check out the site
for the next day’s operation and had bumped into a boy. Henrietta
listened carefully while Rico talked about this boy, Emilio. Finally
after a pause…
“Well, he thought I had a violin in my case,” Rico managed to get out.
“He wanted me to play for him sometime…”
“Well…I can only play Etudes right now,” answered Henrietta. “But I
think it’s fairly hard to learn quickly.”
“I thought so,” replied Rico still polishing her gun.
Henrietta paused in her talk for a moment to cut the string to the
shirt she was mending with her teeth before she stood up from the desk…
“In any case, I think that boy might like you,” said Henrietta.
Rico paused in wiping her gun, now reassembled. Somehow it didn’t
sound right to her…to have a boy like her…then again, she never
considered the possibility of liking someone in return…
“I don’t really understand those type of things,” answered Rico,
finally. “But it would nice to have someone like me.”
Henrietta smiled gently. That’s what she liked about Rico. Always
thinking about other people…
“Ne, Rico…do you want to play the violin?” asked Henrietta.
That comment made Rico look up from her position…
“Is it okay?” asked Rico.
“Sure,” replied Henrietta.
Rico nodded and stood up as well, laying her gun down on the bed
for the time being. Henrietta grabbed her violin case in the corner of
the room and placed it down on the table she was just working at, after
putting away her shirt. Unsnapping the hinges that held the case closed,
Henrietta opened the case to reveal a violin, just the right size for
her…or Rico. Rico watched as she stood next to Henrietta. Henrietta
silently picked up the violin and made sure it was comfortable in her
hands. Resting her cheek against the small platform of the violin,
Henrietta used the bow to play a small quick scale before she began to
play a gentle melody. Rico watched intently, trying to see how Henrietta
moved the bow and played. After only a few notes, Henrietta stopped and
offered her violin to Rico…
“Here you go,” said Henrietta with a smile.
Rico carefully took the violin in her hands. Trying to mimic what
Henrietta did, Rico tried a couple notes by herself. Smiling in mirth,
Henrietta walked over to where Rico stood and positioned herself on
Rico’s left side, using her hands to help correct Rico’s posture and
hand position. Rico responded to Henrietta’s light touches and guidance…
“That’s right,” whispered Henrietta gently. “Relax your right arm a
bit…”
Rico did so and for a moment, she could not find words. Henrietta
positioned her left hand on Rico’s to help her find the right notes and
her right hand, tugged on Rico’s elbow just a little bit to help her
draw the bow the correct length. Rico suddenly found herself playing the
tune that Henrietta was playing just a short time ago. A gentle breeze
floated into the room by the open window behind them and the sun was
warm on their shoulders, but the two girls took no notice…
“See?” whispered Henrietta again. “You’re playing beautiful notes
already…”
Rico was entranced by her words and continued to play for a while,
feeling Henrietta’s guidance every now and then. The beautiful tune of
Etudes carried out over the dormitory and was heard next door by Triela
and Claes. Down over the office building of Section 2, Giuseppe and
Jean, who were talking about things heard the melody and paused to
listen before they went on with their business. Even the mentally
handicapped Angelica heard it while running laps and she smiled. Rico
had her eyes closed and was leaning into violin with the last notes.
Henrietta smiled and kept her hands on Rico’s arms to help her play to
the end…
“That was wonderfully done,” said Henrietta suddenly from Rico’s side.
“Oh…”
Rico’s cheeks suddenly flushed pink. She may not have been trained
or raised that way, but she was still a girl at heart. Rico pulled away
from her best friend and handed the violin back to her…
“Thank you,” said Rico, softly. “It was wonderful.”
Henrietta merely smiled and began to put her violin away. Just
then there came a tapping on the door. Rico and Henrietta looked at each
other for a minute before Henrietta called out…
“Please…come in…”
The doorknob turned and in walked Giuseppe. He was a nice young
man with short black hair and almost always was in a suit. Henrietta
quickly shut her violin case and stood at attention, waiting for
Giuseppe, her handler to speak…
“No need for that,” said Giuseppe with a small smile. “I merely came by
to see if you and Rico would like to go see a movie.”
Now Henrietta was startled even though she did not show it. Her
eyes connected to Rico’s for a brief moment and nodded slightly from
where she stood. Henrietta was still unsure…
“What about Jean-san?” Henrietta asked.
“Well, I talked him into it,” said Giuseppe. “And he’s allowing Rico to
come with us.”
“Oh…” Rico was a little embarrassed. “Are you sure it’ll be okay?”
“It will be fine,” said Giuseppe. “And fun for all of us too. Neither of
you have seen a movie before, right?”
Rico and Henrietta both shook their heads. No, they had not…
“Then get your coats,” said Giuseppe with a smile. “I’ll meet you
outside the front of the agency.”
“Hai,” the two chimed together.
Giuseppe chuckled to himself and left, closing the door behind
him. Henrietta and Rico looked at each other before smiling and walking
to their respective closets and taking out some clothes to wear. While
Rico only wore her tan overcoat, Henrietta grabbed a dark reddish coat
from her hanger and slipped it on. After that, a small white headband to
hold her hair in place and Henrietta was ready to go. Rico and Henrietta
quickly exited the room while Rico made sure it was closed firmly.
Scampering their way down through the agency, the two finally saw
Giuseppe waiting beside a nice car that he was borrowing from the
agency…
“Get in you two,” said Giuseppe, cheerfully.
Henrietta quietly got into the front passenger seat while Rico sat
behind her while Giuseppe went around to the driver’s side and climbed
inside. Revving the engine up, they perused the local streets going at a
nice pace. Henrietta and Rico leaned to the windows to catch glimpses of
the beautiful city as they passed. Giuseppe watched as the girls made
some small talk about the scenery. They were only young girls, but
Giuseppe regarded Henrietta as a sister and Rico as a good friend. Not
long after, Giuseppe pulled up to a curb and parked…
“We’re here,” said Giuseppe.
Henrietta and Rico both unbuckled their seatbelts and climbed out.
Even on outings such as this, both of them wore guns, hidden, of course,
in their coats. The three walked up the ticket booth and Giuseppe told
the vendor which movie they wanted to see while Rico and Henrietta just
stood patiently waiting. Soon Giuseppe turned back to the two waiting
girls…
“I’m sorry,” apologized Giuseppe. “They sold out of the action one that
I wanted, so I switched to a romantic one instead.”
“Whatever you want is fine Giuseppe-san,” chorused Henrietta and Rico
together.
Giuseppe nodded and led the two girls into the small theatre.
Finding their movie section, they made their way to their seats.
Henrietta sat between Rico and Giuseppe. Giuseppe left his jacket on his
seat and told them to wait for him while he went to the bathroom for a
bit. While he was gone, there was a silence between the two girls…
“Ne…Henrietta-chan?” Rico was reading her program.
“Hai?”
“Have you ever been to a movie?” Rico was curious.
There was a pause, while Henrietta thought that one over…
“Not that I can recall,” answered Henrietta finally. “I don’t remember
any thing from my past…”
There was another lull in the conversation and finally Henrietta
decided to ask something…
“Rico-chan, do you like your handler?” asked Henrietta quietly, as if
she were hesitant about bringing up the subject.
The question caught Rico off guard and she glanced at Henrietta,
who was still reading her program…
“As long as I do as I’m told, Jean’s not too mean to me,” replied Rico.
Henrietta looked over at Rico, almost as if peering into her soul
with those soft brown eyes of hers, and Rico found herself getting lost
in those eyes. She blushed a little and had to look away. Henrietta
gazed at Rico a little more before she turned back and folded the
program in her lap. It was a good thing that conversation stopped when
it did, for Giuseppe came back in that minute…
“Sorry, there was a line,” apologized Giuseppe. “I hope you girls didn’t
wait long.”
Rico shook her head and Henrietta said it was no problem. The
movie began a few minutes later and the lights dimmed. Rico relaxed
herself, but was wary. In the darkness of the theatre, neither she nor
Henrietta would be able to see that well, if Giuseppe was attacked.
Apparently Henrietta was thinking the same thing for, every now and
then, she would glance around just a little. Rico sighed and tried to
watch the movie and found herself being fascinated by what was going on
in the movie. It was a romantic movie and it depicted the typical man
and woman being close and the problems they had to deal with before
getting together. Rico found herself curious and wanting to experience
what the movie actors were experiencing. Rico glanced over to her left
where Henrietta sat. Rico’s hand quivered and she wanted to see what it
was like to hold hands like the couple did, but Rico did not move. She
was nervous and didn’t know how Henrietta would respond. Through out the
reminder of the movie, Rico attempted several times to try and hold
Henrietta’s hand, but for some reason, she could not bring herself to do
so. Finally after a seventh time to try and hold her hand, Rico felt a
soft touch on her hand. Looking down, Rico saw that Henrietta had placed
her hand on hers. Rico blushed slightly and glanced over at Henrietta
who gently smiled back before continuing watching the movie. They held
hands throughout the rest of the movie and Rico felt a stirring in her
heart…
‘What’s this feeling?’ thought Rico. ‘It’s like nothing I’ve felt
before…’
At the end of the movie, Rico did not want to let go of
Henrietta’s hand, but she reluctantly did so when Henrietta moved her
hand off. Making their way out of the theatre, Rico felt Henrietta clasp
her hand again. Rico smiled shyly and continued to walk and hold hands
with Henrietta while they walked with Giuseppe out to the car and they
let go when they climbed in. The group was unusually silent as they
drove back to the agency. Rico wanted to ask Giuseppe about what she saw
and how people felt about things like that, but she remained silent.
When they finally arrived back at the agency, Giuseppe went to park the
car while Rico and Henrietta walked back first to the agency’s
dormitory. Henrietta opened the door up and the two of them walked
inside and set down their coats. Rico sat down upon her bunk and tried
to figure out what had happened a few moments go.
“Ne…Henrietta-chan…”
“Nani?”
Rico was trying to find the right words while Henrietta stood
before her, just waiting…
“What does a kiss feel like?” asked Rico, curiously.
“You mean when those two people touched their lips together?” asked
Henrietta.
Rico nodded and Henrietta thought about it for a moment…
“Do…do you want to try it?” asked Henrietta finally.
“Eh?” Rico was startled. “But…we’re both girls…”
“I don’t think it matters,” replied Henrietta, sitting down.
Rico was torn between her emotions and thoughts. One part of her
wanted to try and experience it for herself, and yet one part of her
wanted to hold back, thinking that it possibly would be wrong. In the
end, her feelings won out and Rico nodded. She wanted to experience it…
“I…I want to try it,” Rico managed to stammer out.
Henrietta nodded and leaned closer to Rico, as she leaned back a
bit. Rico found herself looking into those beautiful brown eyes of
Henrietta’s and she could feel her cheeks flush pink. Their eyes closed
partially as they closed the gap between them, little by little. Rico
could see Henrietta’s beautiful face as she leaned in closer and closer
and Rico’s breath came in small short pants. Her lips trembled as
Henrietta gently put a hand on her cheek. Rico finally felt the warm,
soft lips as Henrietta finally kissed her and it felt wonderful to Rico.
They held the kiss for a minute or so, but in doing so, they missed
Triela as she passed by their window. Triela peered in for a brief
moment, but could only make out Henrietta’s back as she was doing
something. Triela shrugged and went on her way. Finally Henrietta broke
the kiss and the two gasped for air, their hot breath mingling with each
other as they stilled stayed relatively close to each other and there
was a silence that the two welcomed…
“Well…” said Henrietta quietly.
“It was…new,” said Rico, licking her lips. “I probably need to do it
again sometime to figure out if I like it or not.”
“Then…why not now?” asked Henrietta in soft tones.
Rico blushed again for some reason she didn’t understand and this
time, she leaned up to kiss Henrietta. Henrietta was still kneeling on
Rico’s bed, but she sat back a little bit on her heels as Rico drew
closer. They kissed again and this time Rico could taste Henrietta on
her lips. Drawing back, Rico blinked and found that she rather enjoyed
the experience. Henrietta was smiling gently and she sat down properly
and let her legs dangle over the bedside…
“It…it was enjoyable,” whispered Rico so softly as if she was scared
that Henrietta would refute her statement.
Henrietta nodded and smiled again…
“I wonder why Giuseppe never mentioned this to us,” Henrietta thought
out loud. “Or any of the handlers…”
Rico did not answer. How could she? She didn’t know the answer nor
would Jean tell her even if she asked. Rico bit her lip. Why didn’t any
of the handlers tell them about emotions and feelings? It was puzzling
to her. Rico shook her head and did not give any more thought to it. If
Jean did not want her learn to about it from him, she would find another
way to learn. Looking at Henrietta, who was busy with tidying up the
place, Rico blushed and hoped that she would continue to learn with
Henrietta…
* The next day… *
“Mission complete,” said Rico, holding her smoking pistol.
“Roger that,” answered Jean over the radio. “Get out. We’re sending the
clean-up crew in.”
Rico caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and whirled on
the unfortunate secretary that happened to be with the politician that
Rico had just assassinated. She quickly emptied a few more shots into
his head using her silenced pistol…
“Rico? Respond,” ordered Jean through the radio.
“Oh…hai,” answered Rico, quickly heading for the door.
Rico quickly pushed the door open to make a quick escape, her
pistol clutched tightly in her hand. She was so occupied by trying to
escape that she did not notice a hotel porter coming along the hall.
Rico turned her head, too late. It was Emilio, the boy that she had met
earlier the day before. Rico simply stood there, not knowing what to say
or even do…
“Rico,” said Emilio, stunned. “What are you doing here? That’s a hotel’s
uniform you’re wearing.”
“Uh…ano…” Rico stammered.
Rico swallowed nervously, her cheeks feeling hot…
‘Um…what do I do now?’ thought Rico desperately. Suddenly Rico remember
Jean’s instructions from the day before, ‘Oh…I know!’
Rico turned slowly to Emilio and raised her gun at him. She smiled
sadly at him and she felt a little guilty for doing so…
“I’m sorry,” said Rico, softly.
“Eh?” Emilio was startled.
* Days later… *
Rico was sitting on her bunk, cleaning her gun again, but she had
an unreadable expression on her face. Something about Elsa’s death
really bothered her. The fact that she loved her handler was one of the
things that most bothered Rico. If that emotion was so strong as to make
Elsa die for it, then what did that say for her and Henrietta? Rico
could not bear to lose Henrietta no matter what the circumstances. Rico
stopped polishing her gun and looked down at the piece. There was no
doubt about it. Rico felt that familiar stirring in her heart. Lately it
had been getting more and more frequent whenever she thought about or
even was around Henrietta. She dared not say a word to Jean about it for
fear of it might her in trouble and even worse, possibly might get
Henrietta in trouble as well. Lost in thought, she was not even aware
that Triela stood by silently from the open doorway. Triela looked sad,
but she did not disturb Rico. She turned and walked away as silently as
she had come. For Triela also had the same person on her mind that Rico
did: Henrietta. Lately, Triela knew the two of them had been getting
closer. And she could have sworn that they had been holding hands at
certain intervals. Triela wasn’t jealous, far from it, but she knew that
Henrietta would probably go for Rico first ever since they became close…
‘Whatever happens, I shall be happy for you Henrietta-chan,’ thought
Triela as she disappeared into her room.
Henrietta missed Triela by just a few minutes for when Triela went
into her room, Henrietta walked down the corridor slowly. Her footsteps
echoed down the small corridor each time she put her foot down.
Henrietta paused in front of her dormitory room door, having just gotten
back from a mission, paused for a brief moment before she grasped the
knob and turned it, entering the room itself. The instant that Rico
heard the door open, she stood up and put her gun away in the back of
her pants, tugging down her black sweatshirt to cover over her gun. Rico
saw that Henrietta was wearing a nice white blouse and black skirt to
match. Rico blushed a little and smiled at Henrietta who returned it.
The two stepped close to each other and hugged gently. Rico ran her
fingers through Henrietta’s silky, brown hair and let the strands flow
through her fingertips. Cupping Rico’s cheeks, Henrietta leaned up close
and kissed Rico passionately. Rico responded by closing her eyes and
allowing herself to bask Henrietta’s presence and the kiss. She pulled
Henrietta closer by placing her hands on the small of her back. After a
minute of kissing, Rico and Henrietta pulled apart and simply smiled
gently at each other…
“I’ve missed you,” said Rico softly.
“I couldn’t help it,” replied Henrietta, with a smile. “It was a
mission. I had to go. We can’t disobey them…right?”
“Hai,” answered Rico.
The two girls were so engrossed with each other and their own
thoughts that they had not seen Jean enter the room. Jean had seen the
door to Henrietta and Rico’s room left open and decided to step in for a
look. The sight had Jean stunned beyond belief. He was speechless, but
then his anger took over when he saw them embrace and talk quietly
amongst themselves with blushes and smiles…
“Rico!”
The two were startled out of the moment. Both Rico and Henrietta
snapped to attention, as surprised as they were…
“Jean-san,” said Rico panic finding its way into her voice. “I’m sorry.”
Jean crossed the small room in two strides and shoved Rico roughly
out of the way. Rico crashed hard through the white table that they kept
in the middle of the room and she lay there, trying to find her
bearings. Jean advanced on Henrietta and almost without warning,
backhanded her hard on her right cheek. Henrietta staggered back,
holding her cheek and stumbled against the wall…
“You may be Giuseppe’s choice, but you will not do anything to Rico
without my permission,” said Jean with a hint of venom in his voice.
Rico tried to get her body to respond as she tried to will her
arms to help her get up off the floor. She had watched the whole
exchange in anger and fright. Even though she did not know how to
express her emotions, Rico could certainly feel them. Her heart hurt to
see Henrietta be blamed for no reason. She crawled on her arms until she
could find her legs and try to stand. Rico watched with a heavy heart as
Jean kept on beating Henrietta. Henrietta only gasped with each hit as
she was pinned up against the far wall of the room. Jean suddenly dealt
a hard kick to Henrietta, which made her double up in pain and collapse
to the floor, gasping…
“If you were conditioned like you were supposed to, you wouldn’t have
any reason to have these feelings!”
Rico’s eyes widened and tears brimmed her eyes as she watched
Henrietta get hurt yet again. Something within her snapped and although
she did not know Henrietta’s past, Rico could not bear to see her dear
friend get hurt again. Henrietta, on the other hand, was seeing her
nightmares coming true. Though it was not Jean that was hitting her,
Henrietta could not remember being more frightened in her life. She knew
that she wasn’t supposed to be afraid, but it was Jean that was hitting
her. She knew Jean for quite a while now and for him to be hitting her
scared her immensely. Rico staggered to her feet, feeling waves of pain,
anger, fright and heartache wash over her being. Henrietta was sitting
on the floor, backed up against the wall, holding one arm out as if
pleading for Jean to stop. Her cheeks were red and bruised from the hits
to her face and a trickle of blood ran from the side of her lips. Jean
did not stop however and lashed out once more, this time drawing blood
from a cut just above Henrietta’s right eye. Henrietta moaned under the
impact of the blow. Rico saw red, reached behind her back and brought
her silenced pistol out. Her hand quivered, her aim was unsteady and
Rico felt like she was betraying the person that had brought her up, but
she also felt that she could not stand to see her friend hurt any
longer…
“Jean!”
Rico didn’t know how she really felt about Henrietta, but she knew
that she cared about her enough to do something. Rico’s yell had its
desired affect and Jean was starting to turn toward her when Rico fired.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Rico knew she was probably making a
big mistake, but her senses had pushed away all her doubts and
reasoning. Tears streamed down Rico’s cheeks as she fired again and
again, convulsing Jean’s body like an epileptic seizure, her teeth
clenched tightly in her anger and fright. Finally her ammunition was
exhausted and Rico panted as Jean’s body flopped to the ground not two
feet from the rather dizzy Henrietta. Rico flopped to her knees and
hands as her automatic dropped to the ground, just beside her. Rico felt
herself shaking for some unexplained reason. She also felt like her
stomach had turned inside out and she felt like throwing up, but she
didn’t. Henrietta moaned and looked up at Rico who was on her hands and
knees, shaking terribly. Henrietta’s right eye was half shut as blood
ran down the side of her face. Shaking, Henrietta crawled on her hands
and arms, dragging herself over to Rico. Rico looked up at Henrietta and
Henrietta was shocked by the look in her eyes. Rico looked like she was
upset and yet almost happy at the same time. Henrietta cupped Rico’s
chin with her hand and made Rico look directly at her. There was a
silence and finally Rico sat back on her haunches…
“Are…are you okay, Henrietta-chan?” asked Rico, softly, not facing
Henrietta.
“I’m okay, but…what about you?” Henrietta asked back.
“I don’t know…I don’t know,” stammered Rico. “What do I do? Jean-san’s
dead…and it was me who brought it about…”
“Rico-chan,” murmured Henrietta softly.
Rico looked up at Henrietta with tears in her eyes. The young girl
had a worried look on her face. Rico shook her head…
“I can’t stay here any longer,” said Rico.
“I…I understand,” replied Henrietta, sadly.
“No matter what, I’ll always be with you,” promised Rico, touching
Henrietta’s hand.
Henrietta took Rico’s hand in her own and nodded slowly. Finally
finding the strength to stand, Rico stood, but shakily. Henrietta tried
to stand, but wobbled a bit and finally leaned against Rico a bit for
support. Rico held her and helped Henrietta steady herself. Picking up
her pistol, she tucked it back behind in her back holster. Grabbing her
tan overcoat, Rico slipped it on. Rico was a little weary from her
sudden conflict internally and from what had just happened. Henrietta
stood silently and watched Rico ready herself to leave. Her heart ached
and she clutched her blouse a little. She raised her hand, but then let
it fall back to her side. She knew that if Rico stayed, the rest of the
handlers would react badly and so, Henrietta stayed silent. Rico grabbed
a few more clips for her gun and stuffed them into her pocket before
grabbing the small money that she had with her as well. Rico slipped her
shoes on and walked with a heavy heart to the window. Her shoes seemed
like lead weights because she did not want to leave Henrietta behind.
Rico paused next to the window and leaned against the window sill and
sighed heavily and sadly…
“Henrietta-chan,” said Rico, softly. “I don’t want to leave you, but…”
Henrietta crossed the room, slowly and placed a hand on Rico’s
cheek. Rico took Henrietta’s hand and put it to her lips. Henrietta, as
injured as she was, blushed slightly. Rico pulled Henrietta close and
hugged her, taking in her scent perhaps one last time. Leaning down,
Rico gave Henrietta a kiss on the cheek…
“I’ll miss you,” said Rico, softly as she slipped away.
Henrietta watched as Rico slipped away into the night. The young
girl put her handkerchief to the cut above her eye. Rico was soon
swallowed up by the darkness and Henrietta lost sight of her. Knowing
what she had to do, Henrietta turned away from the window, closed it and
made her way out of her room…
* * *
“This is odd,” said the director.
“What is?” asked Giuseppe warily.
“That this happened,” answered the director.
Giuseppe and Henrietta and the other handlers were in the director
of section 2’s personal room of the agency. The director took a puff of
his cigar before turning back to the people standing before him…
“I thought conditioning made them loyal,” said the director.
“Yes…it should have,” said one of the doctors.
There was a silence before the director of section 2 spoke again…
“This is another opportunity for Section 1 to close us down,” said the
director. “We need to do something about this. What was Jean and Rico’s
relationship like?”
There was another silence…
“Giuseppe, you knew Jean the best,” said the director. “What is your
opinion?”
“Jean…wasn’t the best handler I’ve seen, but he’s not the worst either,”
said Giuseppe, speaking up. “He was…orderly in the way he and Rico
worked together.”
Everyone in the room remained silent, waiting for Giuseppe to
continue…
“He was your friend, wasn’t he?” asked the director.
“Yes…he was,” answered Giuseppe.
Henrietta remained silent. She knew what Rico had done. Rico had
saved her from the beating that Jean gave her. She had mentioned this to
the doctor and Giuseppe when she got a medical check-up, but she wasn’t
sure what was going to happen…
“We’d better get rid of her,” said the director. “Make it like the
Elsa-Lauro case. If this leaked out, we might get shut down.”
“But sir,” protested Giuseppe. “Rico’s just a child.”
“That ‘child’ as you put it, killed your friend,” said the director
turning in his chair.
Giuseppe remained silent and listened, the words cutting through
his protest…
“Take care of her,” said the director. “I’m assigning you and Henrietta
along with the Hillshire-Triela team. That’s all.”
“Yes, sir,” said Giuseppe quietly.
The meeting broke up and Henrietta was ushered out with Giuseppe.
The two waited in the corridor and they did not have to wait long as
Hillshire and Triela walked up to them. Henrietta and Triela’s eyes
locked and in that instant, they knew what was going to happen…
“How are we going to find her?” asked Giuseppe. “We can’t exactly track
her.”
“We can’t, can we?” said Hillshire.
Hillshire motioned for the three of them to follow him. The four
of them walked along the corridor until they came upon a door, which was
the only one connected to the room. It was a communications room, where
a huge map and mass computers were all set up. There were several
Section 2 agents working in there. Hillshire approached one of the
agents and spoke to him…
“Track Rico using the bug that’s in her gun,” said Hillshire.
Now Giuseppe did a double take as Hillshire came back to him,
looking serious as he always did…
“Have we always done that?” asked Giuseppe. “Keep bugs in their guns?”
“Yes,” answered Hillshire before lowering his voice. “Even Triela and
Henrietta have it in their weapons.”
“Got it, sir,” said the agent.
On the map, there came a beeping red dot and it was continuing to
move slowly across the map of Italy…
“Got her,” said Hillshire. “It would probably better to wait until she
stopped so we can just get her when she’s unaware.”
Giuseppe stayed silent, lost in his own thoughts. Hillshire must
have sensed his uneasiness for he placed a hand on his shoulder…
“Get some rest,” said Hillshire. “Triela and I will take this.”
“And if you don’t succeed?” asked Giuseppe, speaking finally. “Do we
take the next time?”
“If you wish,” answered Hillshire. “But…I’m sure we won’t miss her.”
Giuseppe nodded solemnly and left, taking Henrietta with him.
Triela watched as Henrietta moved off. Henrietta glanced back at Triela
and Triela caught the look in her eyes at once. It was a pleading look
and Triela looked down as Henrietta disappeared into the corridor. There
was a silence, the only sounds were the typing from the agent computers
and the beeping that was tracking Rico. Hillshire was standing and
watching the blinking red light. Triela looked down for a minute,
struggling with an internal conflict. Finally after a few minutes,
Triela looked up and walked over to where Hillshire stood and watched as
Rico moved…
“Are you ready?” asked Hillshire suddenly.
“Hai,” replied Triela quietly.
Hillshire looked at Triela curiously before turning back to
watching the map…
“I know you want to say something,” said Hillshire after a minute. “What
do you want to say?”
“I…I want to take the mission…by myself, no help,” said Triela. And
after a minute, she added, “If you’ll let me…”
Hillshire almost frowned, but composed himself and thought about
what Triela had said. Triela was thinking herself. She loved Henrietta
herself, but she knew also that Henrietta loved Rico and Rico loved
Henrietta. Hillshire looked again at Triela, who was still staring
stoically at the map, monitoring Rico’s movements. Hillshire nodded
after a few minutes of thought…
“All right,” replied Hillshire. “The mission is yours, but I’ll be
monitoring.”
“Hai,” answered Triela.
* * *
Rico panted, having just ran from one of her hiding places.
Glancing around quickly, Rico slipped into down into one of the many
alleyways in Italy. She was getting closer to one of the parks and it
was not too safe there, but around the nighttime she could get to one of
the snack stands that were usually there. Rico was about slip out from
the alley when a dark figure descended upon her from behind. Sensing
impending danger, Rico whipped around, brought her pistol out and
pointed at…
“Tri…Triela,” said Rico.
Triela was wearing her dark overcoat and neat clothes that she
usually wore since it was the way she liked it. Rico had the pistol
pointing at her head, but Triela had her shotgun complete with bayonet,
aimed at Rico’s body. The two held their ground for about a minute
before Rico put her gun away and held her hands up, showing that she
meant no harm…
“Rico…why did you do it?” asked Triela quietly.
Before Triela had gone off on her own, Hillshire gave her a set of
instructions to follow and she was going to follow it, but Triela also
had questions of her own…
“I…I don’t know,” said Rico admittedly.
Triela’s eyes flashed and she raised the shotgun…
“I don’t know,” Rico said in a panicked voice. “I couldn’t let him hurt
Henrietta-chan any longer.”
Triela’s eyes softened at this and she lowered her rifle slightly.
Rico lowered her hands slightly as Triela looked away…
“After all now, you have time to win Henrietta-chan, now that I’m out of
the picture,” said Rico, sullenly.
At that comment, Triela snapped her head up in anger. Rico tensed,
sensing that she most likely said the wrong thing. She did for Triela
thrust at Rico with her bayonet, almost impaling her, but Rico
sidestepped at the last second, grabbing Triela’s shotgun by the barrel
and swung her. Triela crashed against the wall, but immediately got back
up to resume the fight. Rico threw a quick punch, but Triela moved past
it and hooked her right arm into the crook of Rico’s right arm. Not
wasting any time, Triela grabbed Rico’s left arm and then shoved forward
toward the wall. Rico’s head impacted the wall and as Triela released
her arms, Rico slumped to the ground, almost knocked unconscious by the
grab. Triela waits, panting a little from the exertion. After a few
minutes, Rico turns her head just a little to look at Triela weakly…
“Why…why don’t you finish me?” asked Rico softly.
“Because…I know that Henrietta-chan would never forgive me if I did,”
answered Triela, simply.
There was another silence as the two girls stared up at each
other. Rico moaned and tried to stand up. Triela fetched her shotgun and
then paused. Triela shouldered her shotgun with the strap before she dug
into her pocket and brought out a small device that had a button that
flashed red on it. Triela looked at it before she tossed it to the side
into the alleyway…
* * *
“I’m sorry, sir, she’s not transmitting any more,” said one of the
agents. “But we still have a lock on her location.”
Hillshire almost frowned, but maintained his calm. If Triela
wasn’t transmitting any more what was being said, at least they knew she
wasn’t helping Rico because her icon just stood stock still on the map…
* * *
Triela sighed and sat down on one of the crates that were stacked
there. Rico, by now, had also gotten up and was holding her arm as she
waited for Triela to talk…
“Rico-chan, this will not get any easier,” said Triela, quietly. “Look
what happened to Elsa-chan when she fell in love.”
“But it was her handler, it’s different,” said Rico.
“Is it?” asked Triela gazing at Rico with solemn black eyes. “It’s the
same, but nothing good will come of this.”
Rico remained silent and looked away…
“You’re being constantly monitored,” continued Triela. “I overheard
Hillshire-san saying something about it Giuseppe. The device is in your
gun.”
Rico looked like as if she didn’t believe Triela, but she knew
that it was most likely true…
“Section 2 wants you dead,” said Triela, almost as if she was trying to
warn Rico. “It was because you shot Jean.”
“And what was I suppose to do?” asked Rico, almost angrily. “Let him
continue to hurt Henrietta-chan?”
Triela shook her head, smiling to herself. Rico was in love with
Henrietta, that much she could see, even if Rico had still not figured
out her feelings…
“I will not steal Henrietta from you,” said Triela. “Your heart is hers
and if I do, then there will be more trouble.”
Rico started to turn away…
“But…call Henrietta-chan sometimes,” bade Triela. “I bet she misses
you…”
Triela then turned and picking up her transmitter, walked down the
alleyway and disappeared into the darkness. Rico was left standing in
the dim alleyway…
‘Why did she tell me all that?’ wondered Rico to herself. ‘Could it be
that she doesn’t want to see me or Henrietta-chan hurt?’
Rico glanced down the alley where Triela had disappeared before
she pulled out her gun and looked at it…
‘If it’s true, then I must abandon my only protection,’ thought Rico.
‘If I must, only to make sure I make it back to Henrietta-chan again…’
With that resolution, Rico took out the clip to the gun and left
the pistol hidden underneath some of the crates and she made sure to
toss the clips into a rather full trash can where she knew it would be
picked up the next day. Rico finally made her way out to one of the food
stands, bought something and slipped away again into the night…
* * *
“You let Rico get away Triela,” said Hillshire almost with scorn.
Triela looked down and did not speak. Giuseppe and Henrietta were
also within the small interrogation room, but it was more like a meeting
than an interrogation…
“Can’t we still track her?” asked Giuseppe.
“No,” grumbled Hillshire. “When Rico’s icon simply stayed in one spot,
our agents in the field reported that she was not there and only her gun
was found.”
Henrietta almost frowned, but composed herself. Triela’s head was
bowed, but Henrietta silently thanked her. Triela had given Rico a
chance and for that, she was ever grateful. She sat quietly, listening
to what was about to happen…
“Did you forget about our mission?” asked Hillshire, quietly.
“No, sir,” responded Triela softly.
“Then why did you let her go?” asked Hillshire.
Triela simply smiled and shook her head. She knew why she had let
Rico go, but if she said anything then both she and Henrietta would get
into trouble. So Triela just shook her head and remained silent…
“Giuseppe, Henrietta, this is now your mission,” said Hillshire as he
looked at Triela almost in puzzlement and questioning.
“Aye, sir,” answered Giuseppe.
Henrietta glanced up at Giuseppe. The older man seemed lost in his
own thoughts and was not as talkative as he used to be. As the two made
their way out of the room, Hillshire placed a hand on Triela’s head
gently…
“Triela, is there something you want to tell me?” asked Hillshire.
Triela stayed silent although she had a rather guilty look on her
face…
“Is it personal?” asked Hillshire suddenly.
“Yes, sir,” replied Triela finally.
“I don’t blame you for that,” said Hillshire quietly. “If there is one
thing, I want you to learn and grow, that perhaps one day you can make
your own decisions.”
Triela looked up at Hillshire with a new respect. Her cheeks felt
hot and she looked away, but with a small smile…
“Thank you, sir,” said Triela.
* * *
Henrietta sighed. It was late in the night, but she was not
feeling too well. Her heart ached and she longed for some company in her
now empty room. There wasn’t much to remind her of Rico except for some
of her clothes that were still there and at times Henrietta would
snuggle up with one of them and inhale Rico’s sweet scent, taking in her
fragrance. Triela stood at the door as Henrietta cleans her gun at the
desk just watching her. Finally Henrietta stops cleaning the gun and
picks up her violin case and opens it after setting it down on the desk.
Taking up the violin with care, Henrietta tucked it under her chin
before she began to play a slow song. The slow, soft sad notes even made
Triela’s heart ache and she longed to say something, but she didn’t and
just continued to watch and listen while Henrietta played. After a few
notes, Henrietta started to shake and the notes faltered and died down
as Henrietta fell to her knees and sobbed. Triela sighed softly and
entered the room. Kneeling down, she gathered the young girl in her
arms. Triela felt a strange mixture of heartache, relief and guilt all
at the same time…
“There, there,” said Triela softly. “Rico will come back.”
“But when?” asked Henrietta, her voice muffled by Triela’s blouse and
jacket.
“You’ll find out soon,” answered Triela.
Inwardly, Triela knew that Rico wouldn’t ever come back for the
risk of her being discovered. Henrietta sniffled and Triela handed her
one of her pocket- handkerchiefs. Triela felt guilty for the simple fact
that perhaps Rico was right in saying that she had time now to win
Henrietta’s heart. Triela shoved the feeling away back into the recess
of her mind as Henrietta stirred and moved away…
“Arigato Triela-chan,” said Henrietta, softly.
Triela nodded and stood up from where she was kneeling. Henrietta
did not have a phone in her room. None of the girls had one, so if Rico
was to call, Triela suddenly realized it would have to go through the
main office. Thinking quickly, Triela rushed past Henrietta swiftly to
head to the Section 2 office. What she didn’t know was that Henrietta
was following her. Triela marched into the empty office; luckily it was
empty of any one for it was late at night. Triela had not taken more
than a few steps toward one of the desks when the phone started to ring.
Triela quickly grabbed it when it occurred to her that she did not know
how to answer. Apparently the person on the other end did not know
either for the question that Triela heard next identified the person…
“Is…Henrietta-chan there?” asked the quiet voice.
“…Rico?” asked Triela softly.
At this Henrietta stiffened, as she was hiding behind one of the
desks. She peeked out to watch and listen to Triela…
“Rico-chan, how in the world did you get this number?” hissed Triela
into the phone piece.
“Well, I remembered seeing the number a while back,” answered Rico on
the other side of the phone line. “I just remembered it, that’s all.”
“In any case, just wait, I’m going to get Henrietta-chan,” said Triela,
softly. “I know she’s probably dying to hear your voice.”
Rico swallowed nervously. She had longed to hear Henrietta’s voice
again and now she was getting a chance to. Although, the one thought
that kept running through her head was why Triela kept helping her. Rico
was a little suspicious, but calmed herself. Soon a new voice popped
into the phone…
“Rico-chan?”
“Henrietta-chan…I…I really miss you,” said Rico over the phone.
“And I, you,” replied Henrietta, softly. “I can understand where
Giuseppe is coming from, but this is too much.”
“…I wish I could see you again,” said Rico.
“It’ll probably happen,” said Henrietta, almost choking with emotion. “I
think they want me to find you…”
There was a silence. Henrietta listened as hard as she could. She
could tell that Rico was still there because of her breathing. Rico
could not find the words to say after hearing that Henrietta was going
to be sent after her. She felt she could not bring herself to harm her
if the occasion arose. Having made her decision, Rico put it away and
did not dwell on it further…
“Henrietta-chan, if you are being sent after me, then…” Rico trailed
off; she could not easily voice her fears.
“But what can I do?” asked Henrietta, feeling like crying. “I can’t
disobey Giuseppe.”
Henrietta fell to her knees, unsure of what to do. Triela managed
to grab the phone and rub Henrietta’s back gently…
“Rico-chan, where are you?” asked Triela into the phone.
Rico remained silent for a minute. Finally she came to a decision
and decided that she wanted to see Henrietta once again…
“Meet me in the park tomorrow night,” said Rico, softly. “Just
Henrietta-chan…”
Rico then quickly hung up and ran off into the night, leaving
Triela with the phone in her hands…
“Rico…Rico-chan,” called Triela into the mouthpiece.
Finally, Triela put the receiver back into its rest. Henrietta was
kneeling on the ground, looking up at Triela with soft, sad eyes. Triela
smiled gently down at Henrietta and knelt down next to her…
“Henrietta-chan, you want to see Rico-chan again, don’t you?” asked
Triela.
Henrietta nodded, wondering where this was leading…
“Well, tomorrow night, the park, okay?” said Triela with a wink. “You’ll
get to see her again.”
Henrietta smiled and flung herself into Triela’s arms in a big
hug. Triela was startled, but hugged Henrietta back nonetheless. Triela
then took her arms off and looked at Henrietta seriously…
“You must be ready,” said Triela. “The last time Rico and I got into a
scuffle. I’m sure that Giuseppe and Hillshire want you armed, just in
case.”
“Hai…”
* * *
“Are you sure you’ll be ok?” asked Giuseppe over the radio.
“Hai, I’ll be fine,” answered Henrietta.
Henrietta was walking along the road opposite to that of the park.
The park had lights shining dimly and palely under the night sky. She
looked into the park, using her enhanced vision to see much better in
the dark than a normal person. She thought she could make out Rico’s
form in the there, but she wasn’t sure…
“Keep me informed,” said Giuseppe. “Out…”
Henrietta put down her radio and crossed the street into the park.
There was not much light as she got further into it. She suddenly
whirled around, brought her gun out and pointed at nothing. Henrietta
was wary. She did not like the feel of this place and decided to be on
guard…
“Henrietta-chan,” called a soft voice.
Henrietta whirled around again; this time in front and aimed her
gun at…
“Rico-chan…”
Rico was standing in front of Henrietta her arms outspread as if
to say that she meant no harm and that she wanted a hug. Henrietta held
her ground for the moment, but she lowered her gun. Rico walked slowly
toward Henrietta, who began to run over to Rico to get swept into a hug.
Triela watched all this, hidden behind one of the large trees in the
park. Rico and Henrietta held the hug tightly for a few moments.
Henrietta broke finally and stepped back…
“We need to do something,” said Henrietta. “What’s going to happen to
you?”
“I don’t know,” Rico replied, shaking her head. “But if this continues,
the situation might get worse.”
“But what will you do?” asked Henrietta, nervously. “Where will you go?”
“I suppose I could leave Italy,” said Rico. “I don’t want to be hunted
for the rest of my life.”
“But if you leave, then I won’t be able to see you any more,” said
Henrietta, tearfully.
Rico hung her head; it felt even harder to say things now since
the person she wanted in her life was saying all this…
“Why don’t you come with me?” asked Rico at last.
At that Henrietta looked at Rico sharply…
“And disobey Giuseppe-san? I…I can’t,” replied Henrietta.
“And I can’t show up back at the agency because of what I did,” said
Rico.
Rico then took a step forward. She had to get what she wanted to
say off her chest…
“Henrietta-chan, you know,” started Rico, softly. “I’m sorry that I
didn’t figure my feelings out sooner.”
“Eh?”
“Henrietta-chan, I…I ‘love’ you,” finished Rico.
For some reason, Henrietta could not explain, the instant she
heard those words, she started to feel dizzy. She could not focus her
eyes and she wobbled. She could only vaguely hear Rico calling if she
was all right. Henrietta’s head hurt and she held a hand to her head,
trying to stop the aching. Her gun hand floundered, finding it pointing
in almost all directions. There seemed to be a ringing in her ears and
is why she never heard the gun go off as she gripped the pistol too
tightly. Triela heard the gun go off and her eyes widened as she thought
of the various implications. Rico only wondered what was wrong with
Henrietta when she heard the gun’s explosion. There was a sharp pain in
her abdomen and she felt some warm flowing down her belly. Rico looked
down to see the blood stain spreading fast. For some reason, this time
it actually hurt a lot and Rico doubled over, hugging the wound as she
tried to will it to stop. Henrietta finally seemed to get her bearings
and looked around…
“Oh my…Rico-chan…”
Rico was trembling, clutching her stomach and abdomen. Henrietta
was in shock of what she did. She glanced at her gun, smelt the acidic
tinge. Had she really shot Rico when she didn’t know? Rico’s voice
brought her back to focus on her…
“Henrietta-chan…” mumbled Rico. “Finish it…”
“No, I can’t!” cried Henrietta, who was starting to tremble herself.
“Henrietta-chan, if you truly love me,” said Rico, looking up with a
smile. “Then, do it.”
Henrietta’s lower lip trembled even as she bit it a little. She
raised her gun to point it at Rico. But her aim was unsteady and her
eyes did not seem to want to focus on Rico. Finally after a few minutes,
Henrietta sighted down the barrel into Rico’s soft pale blue eyes…
“Do it Henrietta-chan,” implored Rico.
Henrietta shut her eyes and looked away as the gun sounded for a
second time that night. Triela, who was still hidden, stood stunned at
the turn of events. Rico felt the white hot kiss of the bullet as it
entered her eye. She was vaguely aware of the sensation as she fell
backward. Rico could see bright lights as it streaked overhead and
confusing flashes of light, as her eyes could not focus. Her eyes could
not maintain focus; she closed them and knew nothing more.
* * *
“Henrietta-chan, can I come in?” Triela knocked on the door to
Henrietta’s room.
There was no answer, but Triela knew that Henrietta was in there.
She had seen this happen only once before and it was with her friend
Claes when her handler had died in action. Triela opened the door softly
and walked into the room. The room was dark and stuffy. Looking around,
Triela spotted Henrietta lying on her bunk, her face buried in her soft
pillow…
“Henrietta-chan,” said Triela softly.
There was a silence and then Henrietta responded…
“What is it, Triela-chan?” her voice muffled by the pillow.
“Are you okay?” asked Triela. “You’re going to be sick at this rate.”
“I don’t care,” came the muffled response.
Triela climbed up the bunk and sat down next to Henrietta. She
laid a warm hand on the young girl’s back…
“Ne, Henrietta-chan, I overhead this from Giuseppe and Hillshire,” said
Triela, softly.
Henrietta then lifted her head a little from the pillow,
listening…
“The reason you shot Rico was because…” started Triela.
Triela then proceeded to explain why. Henrietta listened as Triela
said something about a ‘trigger word’, a failsafe that was programmed
into all of the girl’s minds when they first came to the agency…
“Is…is that why Giuseppe or the others never say it?” asked Henrietta.
“Because of what would happen to us?”
“Hai…”
There was a pause before Triela went on…
“Rico died for your sake,” explained Triela quietly. “She did it so you
wouldn’t have to worry about her.”
“But now she’s lonely in that cold place,” cried out Henrietta. “How can
it be that that was the only way?!”
Henrietta had looked up for a brief moment before she flopped back
into her pillow again. Triela’s eyes grew sad for a moment and she did
not answer, but continued to rub Henrietta’s back gently…
“But she’s not alone,” answered Triela finally.
“Eh?” This caused Henrietta to look up for a bit.
“She’ll never be alone as long as you’re here to remember her,” said
Triela. “She’ll feel the warmth and light as long as you keep her in
your heart.”
Henrietta lay back on her pillow again, this time looking
thoughtful. At length, Triela got up and left the room, leaving
Henrietta alone again. In the darkness, Henrietta finally slipped off to
sleep…
* * *
“Henrietta-chan…Henrietta-chan,” called a voice.
Henrietta looked around. She was puzzled. She had never seen this
place before and looked for the source of the voice. Tiny sparkles flew
past her field of vision and she waited as a whole lot of them finally
drew together to form a solid form. Henrietta recognized it instantly…
“Rico-chan!”
Henrietta ran up and flung herself into Rico’s arms. There was the
warmth and a soft touch that she had forgotten and that she longed for.
The two young girls remained that way for a while until they finally
broke apart sufficiently enough to talk…
“Henrietta-chan, please don’t do this to yourself,” said Rico with a
soft voice.
“I know, I know,” replied Henrietta, upset. “But I couldn’t take it that
you had left me forever.”
“But I’m never far from you,” said Rico, gently. “It’s like Triela said.
Please keep my memory in your heart…”
At this, Rico touched Henrietta’s heart and for some reason
Henrietta almost felt better as if a heavy burden was lifted from her
heart…
“And I will always be there in your dreams,” said Rico.
Henrietta nodded and she had time enough to embrace Rico again as
she began to fade away in a swirl of light colorful sparkles. The
sparkles continued to dance around Henrietta as she closed her eyes and
felt their warmth and light. She would never be alone any more…
OWARI
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