gmen-33

Author’s Notes: This part contains a lot of background information, but it should not be considered filler. I’ve tried to present it in an interesting fashion, so if it gets boring at times, drop me a note on which parts are the worst, and I’ll see if I can spice them up some. The pace picks up drastically from here on out, so this part is necessary to explain some things.
Also, someone noted the new characters in Part 31 – yep, they’re from Rayearth. They actually have a cameo in the video, too, wearing ‘Sanq school’ uniforms and everything. They aren’t really important, but they will pop up from time to time (I have a female shortage in this fic, so having female students helps even things out). ;p
This Part: Featured characters include Duo, Wufei, and cameos.
Category: Anime, Yaoi, Gundam Wing, Yu Yu Hakusho
Warnings: extensive dialogue, possible humor, some action
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, KuramaxHiei, will be 6x5
Author: Arigatomina
Email: arigatoumina-hotmail . com
Website / Complete Archive: www . geocities . com / arigatomina

Gmen

Part 33: Past Precedence

There were already a few students dotting the small classroom, taking up the back two rows the way teenagers were prone to do if they arrived early. That didn’t leave many options for Duo, so he slunk into the seat closest to the door, but furthest from the front of the class.

To say he felt awkward would have been an understatement. He’d
half expected the students to stare at him when he entered, as if he
were wearing a neon sign that read ‘isn’t a real student.’ Since he
hadn’t bothered to pay attention to the various students he’d seen
in the school, he couldn’t tell if the ones behind him had seen him
around, if they would recognize him from the people he spent time
with. He just felt conspicuous, and insanely uncomfortable.

He watched the door, still feeling eyes on him from the people in
the back rows, and wondered if the air in the room was as stagnant
as it seemed to him. He wasn’t exactly claustrophobic, just nervous
about being shut into such a small room with so many strangers. But he’d been bored, and unwilling to go back to that lonely bedroom so early in the day.

After his rather enjoyable session with Wufei, they’d run across Yusuke on their way back to the school. Yusuke had filled them in on the little adventure they’d missed, along with a warning about a certain psychotic tree to watch out for. He’d also spent a good ten minutes making fun of the stains on Wufei’s normally pristine clothing. Duo had taken complete credit for that, and enjoyed watching his friend bluster and turn redder than Kurama’s hair.

Unfortunately, Duo had made such a game of splattering Wufei that the boy headed straight for his room when they got back. A very long shower was needed to get the brown gunk out of his hair, and his clothing. That had left Duo with nothing to do but waste time till dinner.

It had been Yusuke’s suggestion that he try sitting in on one of the classes. Duo still wasn’t sure how the boy had talked him into voluntary torture of the educational persuasion. He hadn’t even realized there were classes this late in the day.

Yusuke claimed this wasn’t a class so much as a lecture, and he’d promised it would be an interesting one. According to him, it was given mostly to new students. It was one of the only classes the boy had gone to, and the only one he’d sat in on more than once. He said the lecture, though keeping to the same topic, changed each time he’d listened to it. That made it more like a story and less like a teacher cramming information into a student’s head, to be drug back out later in the form of a test. So, in Yusuke’s definition, it wasn’t a class. It was a speaker who told an interesting story.

Duo didn’t know how interesting he’d find a lecture, but almost anything would be better than sitting alone and listening to his own thoughts. He just hoped the others would be around to eat together later. Quatre and Trowa probably wouldn’t be, from what Yusuke had told him, but there was still Wufei and Zechs, maybe even Kurama and Hiei. Just so long as he didn’t have to eat alone, he’d be happy.

A girl sat down in the empty seat beside him, and Duo glanced over at her with a wary expression. There were more than enough seats in the front row, and two other desks in his row. That left ten seats she could have chosen instead of the one right next to him. A moment later and two more students sat down in his row, girls, who immediately smiled at the one next to him.

He looked away, doing his best to act like he couldn’t have cared less if a strange girl decided to share his personal space. Her friends had taken the desk next to them, so he supposed it made sense that she sat where she had. There were only two chairs for each desk, after all. And it wasn’t like she was doing anything to him by sitting there.

Someone stopped in front of Duo’s desk, and he looked up with a resigned expression. The guy was frowning at him in a way that made him wonder if this weren’t a normal classroom after all. He had a feeling he was about to be asked to move to a different seat, even though he’d gotten there first.

Duo made up his mind with a snap of anger. It wasn’t worth so much trouble just to stay in a class when he really didn’t care about the lecture at all. He was just starting to rise when the boy spoke, not to him, but to the girl beside him. That was when he noticed the frown on the boy’s face wasn’t angry, but wary and almost hurt.

“I’m really sorry about earlier,” the boy said. “I promise I won’t argue in front of the teachers anymore.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” the girl answered, not looking up from the little notebook she’d opened in front of her. “We both know you’ll do it again the first chance you get.”

Duo glanced over, not caring if he stared a little. She’d sat beside him, so it wasn’t his fault if he was now privy to their discussion.

The girl was pretty, in a soft sort of way – not a childlike innocent the way Yukina looked, but more like the proper young lady Relena appeared to be. Her hair was light brown, curling to just below her shoulders. But her eyes were a wide vivid green that reminded Duo of Kurama. Her expression, though, that reminded him of the way Une had looked back when she was masquerading as Relena – prim, proper, putting on an air of disdain that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Duo had an idea she was actually very nice, but that she was affecting a proper distaste to keep the boy from sweet-talking her.

“Ah, don’t be mad at me, Fuu,” the boy sighed, a winsome smile
spreading over his face. “You’re too pretty to frown like that.”

The girl’s eyebrow twitched, and she sniffed in response,
straightening her notebook. “Who said I was angry? I simply
want to sit where I’ll be able to hear the teacher – without being
distracted by whatever bickering may arise elsewhere.”

“You can sit by me, Ferio,” another girl called out.

Duo leaned back so he could see the one who’d spoken, and found
himself looking over at the girl seated at the desk next to them.
She had long, straight, ash-blue hair and eyes of a similar color,
and she was giving a flirtatious smile. She noticed Duo’s attention
and blinked at him. Then her smile grew wider.

A very light flush rose over Duo’s face and he turned away quickly.
He had an idea he’d just been checked out by a pretty girl and found worthy. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened, if ever, but he definitely wasn’t interested.

The green-haired boy who was standing in front of his desk looked down at him, and Duo was surprised to see that he wore the same look of discomfort that Duo had.

“I don’t suppose you’d want to sit by her instead, would you...?” the boy asked, his voice hopeful.

“No!”

Duo regretted how quickly he’d said that, as he caught the
blue-haired girl scowling out of the corner of his eye. But the boy
shrugged, giving a dramatic sigh of resignation.

“Don’t blame you,” he muttered.

He straightened after a moment, and held out a tanned hand to Duo.
“The name’s Ferio. If you’re going to be sitting by the love of my life, we should probably be on a first name basis.”

The girl beside him scowled at her notebook, ducking her head with a dark blush. Duo shot her a look before giving the boy a slow smile and accepting the handshake.

“Duo.”

“Strange name,” Ferio smirked. “Just like us. This fetching lady is Fuu, known for her shy beauty, sharp intelligence, and stubborn ability to play hard-to-get.”

“Oh, really,” the blue-haired girl sniffed, tossing her head.

“Sit down, already,” the girl beside her frowned.

Duo took note of the boredom in this one’s voice and looked over at her. She was seated by the blue-haired girl, but looked nothing like her, or like Fuu, for that matter. If he didn’t know better, he’d have pegged her at thirteen at the oldest, while the other two girls looked closer to sixteen. She had dark reddish-pink hair that was fluffy around her head, but caught back in a very tight, and long, braid. Her dark pink eyes were reminiscent of Yukina, as was the childlike nature of her pout. She was fidgeting in her seat.

“I don’t want another teacher to think we’re all bad because of you,” the girl frowned unhappily.

Ferio caught Duo’s gaze and jerked his head toward the pink-haired girl. “That’s Hikaru, our resident spitfire. She’s my number one rival for attention in our little group.”

Duo gave a slow nod. The girl beside him let out a loud sigh, and he glanced over, blinking at how sharply she set down her pen. Fuu turned to give him a polite, if somewhat forced, smile.

“Since some people are too impolite to do so,” she said pointedly, “I’ll introduce you to Umi.”

The blue-haired girl lifted her nose in the air and disdained to look at him. Duo was pretty sure his quick ‘no’ earlier had ruined her interest in him, which was a good thing, as far as he was concerned.

“Nice to meet you all,” said Duo.

“And now that we know each other’s names,” Fuu drawled, still not looking at Ferio. “Maybe we can sit down before the teacher gets here, and avoid giving another bad first impression.”

The boy gave Duo a helpless shrug and turned away, trudging off to take the empty seat closest to Umi, who beamed at having him right next to her. He looked quite depressed, and though Duo had just met him, he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him. He didn’t know what the boy had done to make his girlfriend get angry with him, but he recognized Umi as the sort of girl few would want to be around for long. She was quite pretty, but seemed too sure of herself, possibly conceited.

Two more students came in a few minutes later, but the front row was still mostly empty when the teacher arrived. It seemed that even with voluntary attendance, no one wanted to sit too close to the front of the class.

The teacher was a young looking woman, possibly in her mid
twenties, with ash-brown hair twisted into two curls that fell
forward over her shoulders. She had bright brown eyes that
sparked in a friendly, and almost amused way as she smiled at
the class.

After introducing herself with a simple, “You can call me Sally,”
she turned her back to the class and wrote on the chalkboard.
Mutant Evolution.

“I’m sure most of you have attended public schools in the past,
though that may not be true for all of you. What I like to do is give
a rundown for new students, so they understand what we are, and why we’ve been ostracized from society.”

She went to the left side of the board and wrote a single name, Lucy, from which she drew a horizontal V to Humans at the top, and Primates at the bottom. There was a quiet murmur in the back of the class when she turned around.

“Who here knows who Lucy is?” asked Sally.

Fuu’s hand rose immediately, and Duo shot her a quick look, as did most of the students.

“She’s the missing link,” said Fuu.

“Exactly,” said Sally. “One of the biggest controversies since Darwin was the idea that humans evolved from apes. In 1974 we found evidence to the contrary, though it still remains a widespread misconception. Lucy is the earliest hominid we’ve studied, found in Ethiopia, and dating back some five million years. What we now know is that while primates – whether apes, orangutans, chimpanzees – are not our ancestors any more than I’m descended from my sister or cousin. Lucy is the common ancestor of both modern humans, and modern primates. Her line branched into at least two paths, one of which gave us the primates, and the other...humans.”

She pointed to the two categories as she spoke.

“Originally there may have been many offshoots, species that didn’t survive to the modern day, but which shared features of both groups – without fitting into either. This is the way evolution moves.”

Hikaru leaned forward, not bothering to raise her hand. “Bigfoot,” she said sharply. “They say that species doesn’t exist because it wouldn’t have lived so long if it were the link between us and apes. But if it came from the same place we did, there’s no reason it couldn’t have survived for just as long.”

“Without anyone finding so much as a hair from them,” Ferio scoffed loudly.

“And why not?” Hikaru glowered. “If I had people hunting me down, I wouldn’t leave hair lying around either. Not everything sheds all the time – how many human hairs do you find when you walk through the woods?”

Ferio snickered, not bothering to hid his grin. “Next you’ll say the Yetti exists, and that he wipes the snow after he walks so no one can track him.”

The girl blustered, fuming quietly, and a few tentative laughs broke out from the back. Duo looked at the teacher to see her take on the interruption and found her smiling pleasantly.

“That’s a good example,” said Sally, drawing the attention back to her. “The reason I start with Lucy is because humans have now begun to branch in the same way her descendants did.”

She turned back to the chalkboard and made a branch off Humans, where she wrote Mutants. When she turned back to the class, it was with sparkling eyes.

“Now, does anyone know what sympatric speciation is?”

Duo turned to look at Fuu, and smirked when her hand twitched, but didn’t rise.

“How about the word sympatric?” Sally prodded, still smiling.

Fuu’s hand shot up. “Same place.”

“Right. And speciation?”

“The spread of a species,” said Fuu. “But a species spreading in the same place...that doesn’t sound like a definition.”

“It’s a literal definition,” said Sally. She turned back and wrote (sympatric speciation) on the chalkboard, in small letters beneath Mutants.

“What this means,” she explained, “is slow changes throughout the entire population of a species, giving birth to a new species that replaces the original. This is what terrifies humans. Mutants are not an evolutionary offshoot, like your Bigfoot may be. We’re spread out everywhere there are members of the parent species, everywhere there are humans.”

Duo frowned at that, suddenly wishing he had Fuu’s confidence to just raise his hand with a question, or Hikaru’s flair to just blurt one out. What the teacher said didn’t fit with his mutant emergence. It hadn’t been slow at all. One day he’d been as normal as could be, and the next, he’d been a freak of nature.

“What you have to keep in mind,” Sally continued, “is that mutants have existed for as long as human records have.”

This brought a loud murmur of dissent from the class, Duo included as he scowled at that claim.

“Think for a moment,” Sally said patiently. “How many of you have heard of paranormal activity – not ghosts and goblins, but telekenisis, telepathy, pyrokenisis, poltergeist activity that always takes place near a teenager in distress, levitation, spontaneous combustion, remote viewing, out of body experiences, and the list goes on. These are just a few of the things we now refer to as mutant talents, but they’ve been reported since human beings learned to put down lasting records.

“For centuries certain Hindus have professed the ability to levitate, gained status for this seemingly religious power. People have glowed with an inner light and been accepted as blessed vessels of some holy power. The religious communities used these phenomena for centuries before humans decided it was all the product of overactive imaginations and con artists. Do any of you know what happened when the first ‘mutants’ emerged into the public eye?”

“Skeptics,” Hikaru blurted, “they were like people who claimed they saw UFOs. No one believed it.”

“Exactly,” said Sally. “Now that we know what types of ‘powers’ mutants have, we can recognize mutants in the histories of every single human civilization we know of. They may have only been accepted recently, but they’ve been showing up for centuries. That’s the way evolution works. It isn’t a quick change, but small shifts in dna over a long period of time.”

Someone in the back row raised a hand, and she nodded to him.

“So why are there so many mutants now? And more showing up every day?”

Sally gave a slow, wry smile. “Because we see them now. They’ve been suppressed for so long, some killed as heretics, others ignoring their abilities because they made them different. And because after a certain period of time, the new emerging species will increase to the point where it replaces the original. It may take another dozen centuries before that happens, but we’re well on our way toward it.”

“No wonder humans are afraid of us,” Hikaru sighed.

“That’s the crux,” said Sally. “Humans fear change. They’ve ignored the signs, or misrepresented them, anything so they can act like nothing is happening. Mutants might as well have arrived in spaceships, for all we’ve thrown the scientific experts on their ears.”

She continued, giving a brief list of various cultures, and the ‘gods’ and ‘holy rulers’ now believed to have been mutants. It was interesting to think that people that far back might have used their abilities in such an open fashion. Since people now knew about mutants, Duo was sure no one would be mistaken for a God, more like a devil. He didn’t know much about history, since he’d barely attended two years of school before he was left on the run, but he knew there were still religious leaders out there who condemned mutants as being possessed by evil spirits, if not outright demons.

The class ended soon after that, Sally inviting them to return if they chose, and promising that each of her lectures involved different material. A few of the students looked like they just might take her up on that, but Duo didn’t think he would. It was neat to hear about mutant origins. He just didn’t like being in a cramped room full of strangers.

Fuu took her notebook and caught him as he was about to exit the class, inviting him to eat lunch with her and her friends. It was an unexpected invitation, and Duo actually considered taking her up on it. He was about to say as much when the teacher approached them, looking down at Duo as if they knew each other.

“Could I speak to you for moment?” asked Sally.

Duo felt a wash of nervousness sweep over him, almost forgetting that he was friends with Relena’s brother, so there wasn’t much a teacher could do to him here. It wasn’t like a real school, after all. He gave the woman a nod a sighed with honest regret as he turned back to Fuu.

“Maybe a raincheck,” said Duo.

“It was nice meeting you,” Fuu nodded, smiling back at him as Hikaru caught her arm and pulled her out of the room. Ferio followed them, Umi hot on his heels.

Once he was alone with the teacher, Sally closed the door and – making Duo very nervous – locked it. She then gestured for him to have a seat and took a chair across from him.

“I wanted to talk with you,” Sally began, “because I recognize you.
I worked as a medical doctor for OZ, up until a few years ago, and
I still keep track of them. I’m glad to see you’ve put that behind
you and come here instead.”

Duo paled a bit as he returned her stare. The way she said it made
him think that she knew very well he was still a rebel. He didn’t
know what game she was playing at.

“How much do you know about OZ?” she prodded.

“Well,” Duo said slowly, hesitant to give her any admissions. “I
haven’t studied or researched them, if that’s what you mean.”

“Let me give you a little history lesson,” said Sally. “It’s the sort of thing you might not learn from just sitting in on classes here.”

There was a reason she wanted him to listen, so Duo nodded. He
kept his expression shuttered, but set his mind to remembering
everything she said.

“OZ,” she said, “is the brainchild of an old organization known as
the Romafeller Foundation. Don’t feel bad if the name isn’t
familiar. Few people know of it. It started in pre-war Germany,
about...ninety-five years ago. Since you’re an American, I assume
you know something about the war and the results it had on the
western part of the world.”

Duo gave a vague nod, his eyes narrowing. Why did he need to
know this?

“The United States withdrew from the United Nations after that first attack. Talk was that it had been a conspiracy of all the members, so the US couldn’t trust any of them. It was a month later that Japan was hit, then Russia, Germany... Before long, all allegiances were dropped and no country trusted another. I’m sure you can imagine that the poor countries, who relied on their allies for aid and trade, took the worst hit, with enormous deathrates. They appealed to anyone who would help.

“That’s when the Romafeller Foundation stepped up. By giving aid indiscriminately, they made friends behind the scenes with as many countries as they could get ties into. There were a few standouts, of course. As you might know, the Arabic nations abstained, and have been neutral since then. But they, and Switzerland, were the only real holdouts. In the meantime, the Foundation started branches of itself in each of the countries – to help keep the peace for their friends.”

Sally smirked wryly, her voice sarcastic. “They were welcomed with open arms. Eventually, their kind helping hand turned into a willing leadership. That’s where OZ was formed. Their superior technology allowed even the poor countries to keep the peace inside their borders, stamping down crime, eliminating hunger in the far east, and making a sort of utopia globally that no one every dreamed possible.”

Duo leaned back as a strange gleam flashed past the woman’s eyes, something that made him distinctly uneasy.

“Myself,” said Sally, “as a student of history as well as a medical doctor, I was impressed and appreciative, even in awe of them. That’s why I joined OZ. It wasn’t until the mutants started appearing that things broke down.”

Her tone shifted, more personal, and she leaned closer to Duo so her voice could drop to a quite murmur. Duo saw her send a glance toward the door, and he stopped fidgeting. If she were nervous about what she had to say, then it was probably worth hearing.

“There was speculation,” she said, “inside OZ, that Romafeller was the unknown enemy targeting other countries in the war. If so, then they turned the countries against each other, leaving themselves free to help out in the aftermath, to ingratiate themselves on people in need of allies and support. They wanted world-wide control, and the best way to get that isn’t to fight directly, it’s to make sure they’re the only ones the countries can depend on. That way, they come to them willingly, no battle necessary.

“Keep in mind that I haven’t found any proof of this, but I believe it’s true. And one thing Romefeller never counted on was for countries to find a way to overthrow them that didn’t require military power of their own. OZ holds the bar for technology, so there isn’t a military out there that could stand up to them. But mutants don’t need technology.”

That was it, Duo realized, the point of this. He was careful not to let any expression on his face.

“Mutants,” said Sally, “are found even in the poorest, most isolated countries. These people, if used as military advantages, could overthrow OZ in a heartbeat. The problem isn’t that they don’t have the ability, it’s that mutants are widespread and not united. That’s why OZ started their anti-mutant campaign the moment they discovered the emerging species.

“First they snuffed reports of mutants the same way the old skeptics passed off paranormal activity as hoaxes. When they couldn’t keep up fast enough to hide the rashes of mutants being discovered, they admitted their existence but made light of it. They said mutants were few and far between and that most of them were no where near as dangerous as the tabloids reported. That still didn’t keep mutants from hitting the spotlight, so finally OZ began to speculate – publicly – that mutants might be the emergence of a new type of human. It was true, but the way they let it slip, it caused a panic.

“They speculated that humanity was on the verge of being replaced by...mutant aberrations, diseased things that only looked human. It snowballed from there. The religious groups jumped on the bandwagon, condemning mutants, boycotting change, leaders of the former governments spoke of mutants as if they had some disease that needed to be cured, scientists worried that it might be catching, talk grew that maybe mutants should be rounded up and rendered sterile so they couldn’t reproduce to take over the world with a population of monsters.

“All of this hysteria made it easy for OZ to get their hands on mutants the moment the were discovered. They continued to downplay the revealed mutant talents and to make individuals disappear when they found them before the press did. They’ve kept regular humans afraid of mutants, while also convincing them that it isn’t a widespread problem yet – Oz was taking care of it. This let the humans rest more comfortably, and kept them wary of mutants – so they were likely to report them and turn them in if discovered.

“That’s where we are today,” said Sally. “The official registry of mutants is little more than a list of people to capture and ‘check off’ one by one.

“To date, there has never been an alliance of mutants in any one country. The Sanq Kingdom is the only one to do it, at least, the only public one. That’s why OZ hasn’t come in and interfered. The world is watching this country-”

She punctuated her words by slapping her palm on the desk in front of her, making Duo jump a little.

“-and any move by OZ against a pacifist nation – mutants or otherwise – would ruin their image and make them the ‘bad’ guys. So far, OZ hasn’t seen a way around that, so they’re pretending that they only worry for the safety of the country’s people. If it were any other country, that might work, but here the people support their royal leaders.”

She leaned back, holding Duo’s eyes with an almost accusatory look. “So OZ is at a stalemate and the Sanq Kingdom is free to have talks with any country they choose, all the while gathering more mutants into the safety of its borders. We have to be very careful not to show ourselves as a threat to anyone. That means any movement inside the country has to be peaceful.”

Duo realized she was saying not to base attacks from here, without coming out and admitting that he was one of the rebels. He gave a slow nod.

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” said Duo. “I’m sure no mutant would risk this country that way.”

Even as he said it, all he could think about was how Kurama had encouraged them to attack and then retreat here – as if he wanted the Sanq Kingdom to become a target. He didn’t know what to make of that.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Oi, Newbie!"

Yusuke raised an eyebrow when Wufei blinked over at him. They were seated outside under the tree on the lawn, having lunch with Hiei, Kurama, and Zechs.

"You spaced out on me," Yusuke sighed. "Am I really that boring?"

"No," Wufei said quickly. "I was just wondering what was keeping Duo, that’s all."

Wufei found himself looking at Kurama, and he frowned when the boy’s eyebrow rose. His gaze seemed to be directed at something behind him, and Hiei's gaze had shifted to the same thing.

Not sure what to expect, Wufei looked to his left, where Zechs was sitting. And he raised an eyebrow as well.

A blonde girl was standing a few feet away, something in her
expression making him decidedly wary. She wasn't looking at
their group so much as at Zechs in particular, and he couldn't tell
if her unusual eyes were what worried him, or her smile.

After a moment, she started toward them, and Wufei elbowed
Zechs to get the man's attention.

Zechs glanced over at Wufei just as something brushed his hair. A
shiver passed along the back of his neck and he whipped around.
He managed to catch her wrist before she could tug on his long
white hair, his eyes going from angry to shocked in a heartbeat.

"Still quick," the girl smirked. "But not quick to contact me when
you decided to drag yourself back here."

Zechs' mouth was open and he looked like he was going into shock,
or maybe suffocating.

Kurama turned curious eyes to him. "Zechs?"

"Sex?!” the girl spat. “What kind of name is that?"

She raised an eyebrow, glaring down at Kurama. "Would you mind telling me why you just called Milliardo sex?"

Yusuke choked, smothering a laugh at how peaked Kurama looked at that statement. But Zechs didn't blush at the mistake. In fact, he looked a little green around the edges.

"It's Zechs," Wufei corrected, stressing the 'z' sound. "Zechs Merquise. That's what he goes by now."

"Really,” the girl drawled. “Well, I certainly am not about to call you sex or Zechs, or anything of the sort, Milliardo. So you can stop staring and greet me properly."

Zechs flushed, color swamping back to his face as he nodded sharply. "I apologize."

He stood and introduced her to the others. "This is Dorothy Catalonia, Relena's breastmate."

This time it was Wufei who choked, his face turning pasty white. "Her what...?"

"Breastmate," Dorothy smirked. "I suppose that sounds as bad as Zechs does. It means my mother breast-fed her as a baby along with me. Milliardo's mother passed away shortly after Relena was born."

"Oh," said Wufei. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yes, well, it was some time ago." With a light smile to the teen, Dorothy turned away. "Milliardo, you have taken my honor, running away like you did. You have the nerve to come back without contacting me immediately?"

Her smile remained as she took a step closer to the taller man. "I demand retribution."

Zechs closed his eyes just as her hand struck his cheek, and he didn't look up after the slap.

"Meet me downstairs in five minutes."

She stepped back, turning her smile on the stunned boys who stared up at her.

"You're invited to witness if you like,” Dorothy said pleasantly.
“Any friends of Milliardo are more than welcome."

The blonde girl turned away in a swirl of long skirt and longer hair.
Silence held for a long moment after she’d disappeared into the
school. Then Yusuke let out a whoop that made Wufei flinch
away in surprise.

"I knew I knew her!" Jumping to his feet, Yusuke laughed at Zechs.
“She said your friends could witness, so can I go, too? Please?
I've always wanted to see one of these matches, and the two of you
are practically a legend around here."

Zechs still hadn't opened his eyes, his cheek starting to blossom red from the open-handed blow.
Wufei climbed to his feet, his voice soft. "Zechs? What's going on?"

"Old history," Zechs sighed.

He lifted his head, tossing a resigned look at Wufei. "Feel free to
witness if you want."

He gave a vague smile that was almost a wince. "It's not every day
I get my pride handed to me by a girl half my size. It's been years
since the last time she beat me."

He crouched to gather his lunch things, then crossed the lawn, fully
intent to do just as Dorothy had demanded.

Kurama turned to Yusuke after Zechs was gone, catching the boy's
attention. "Who is she? You said you knew her."

"Are you kidding?" Yusuke asked, his eyes wide. "I actually know
something you don’t know?”

Kurama gave him a sober look, and he grinned, waving a hand at
the redhead.

“They were engaged,” said Yusuke. “It was one of those ‘marry off your kids so you don’t have to worry about heirs when you die,’ type deals. But he left, and she was sent back home without so much as a parting gift. There were a lot of rumors about what might have happened. From what I hear, she was livid from all the talk. Word is that they used to duel all the time, and she always won. I can't wait to see what she can do now that she's really mad!"

"I see now,” said Kurama. “I’d heard he was engaged at one point, but Relena never mentioned the name of his fiancé. From what little she did say, it was a touchy subject.”

“She didn’t seem that angry,” said Wufei. “She was smiling the entire time.”

“Yeah,” Yusuke grinned, “but she’s supposed to be a little crazy. I wonder if she realizes they changed the downstairs into a gym. She’d probably challenge him to a fist fight if there aren’t any weapons down there. Zechs is screwed if that happens – I really doubt he’d hit a girl, even in self defense. And rumor has it, she’s pretty violent.”

“There’s a weapons room downstairs,” said Kurama.

“Great,” said Yusuke. “Let’s get down there, then, before we miss the match.”

Hiei snorted and started for the school, Yusuke right behind him and still beaming at the prospect of watching a real duel. Wufei hesitated a little longer, frowning over the yard that was spotted with students. He shook his head at Kurama, the redhead having glanced back at him.

“Duo should have been out by now,” said Wufei. “Unless he decided to eat lunch alone.”

“Did he say he’d meet you out here?”

“No,” Wufei admitted.

“Then he may not realize you were even expecting him,” said Kurama. “Come on. A little violent display will probably do you some good to get your mind off things. And besides, Dorothy was checking you out.”

Wufei sputtered, nearly dropping his lunch tray. “What?”

“Well, not really,” Kurama smiled. “I think she had eyes for Zechs mostly, but she did look you over more than the rest of us. A lovely young woman who can beat someone twice her size would be just the sort of person you’re interested in, right? She wasn’t the least bit passive, or pacifistic, for that matter.”

Eyebrow twitching, Wufei shot the redhead an unamused look. “I have nothing against pacifists, I just don’t think a person should be too passive. That doesn’t mean I’m going to fall for a woman, just because she’s antagonistic.”

“But she’s so confident,” Kurama teased, prodding Wufei toward the school. “You like people who are self-assured, right? And she’s bright and cheerful, like Duo. She certainly isn’t the type who’d blame herself if something went wrong. She’d challenge the guilty party to a duel, and keep her smile the entire time. Isn’t that just your idea of the perfect person?”

Wufei glowered at the teasing, but didn’t complain when Kurama as good as escorted him downstairs. While he did want to wait around in case Duo showed up, his main reason for not going down was that the girl, Dorothy, irked him. He thought it was her familiar yet haughty tone. Something about her smile and manner just rubbed him wrong, and he really didn’t want to see her fight Zechs. The last thing he wanted was to watch a grown man lose to a smirking female, no matter how good she was.

The match had already begun by the time Kurama and Wufei left the stairwell, crossing over to join Hiei where he was leaning against the wall a few yards from the duelists. Yusuke was sitting crosslegged on the floor beside Hiei, a wide grin on his face. He glanced up and laughed at Wufei’s puzzled look.

“Never seen a fencing match before?” asked Yusuke.

“I thought it was a duel,” Wufei said quietly, still frowning at the strange blade-less weapons Zechs and Dorothy were using. They looked more like long needles, with narrow arrow-shaped tips, than like any sword he’d ever used.

Kurama leaned closer to the Chinese boy, his voice soft enough that it wouldn’t disturb the two people currently circling each other. “Fencing is more about grace and speed, getting through defenses, than outright strength. In this sort of match, Dorothy’s lesser strength isn’t a disadvantage to her. Two people can stand on even grounds despite things like age or sex.”

“I see,” said Wufei.

He was rather disappointed that this wouldn’t be like sword matches he’d seen in the past. Compared to kendo, this fencing seemed more like an aristocrat’s game – playing at a fight without any real danger to either combatant. He sniffed in distaste.

“They’re pretty good,” Yusuke commented.

Wufei raised an eyebrow at him and looked back to where Zechs and Dorothy were. As far as he could tell, they were just dodging each other, sort of dancing forward and back with barely any sound from the clashing of those mock-blades. “How can you tell? What’s the point of the match?”

“If one of them touches the other with the tip, that person takes a hit,” Yusuke shrugged. “I don’t know if they count points or what, but if the blades aren’t tipped, a hit can be deadly – those things are really sharp.”

“You can tell they’re good,” Kurama added, smiling down at Wufei, “from their expressions. They know exactly what they’re doing, and whether it’s a deadly game or not, they’re taking it very seriously. Zechs is, of course, at a disadvantage. But he doesn’t look the least bit worried.”

“Disadvantage?”

“Honor,” Hiei snorted. He had his arms folded over his chest and looked more bored than anything.

“I told you,” Yusuke smirked. “He can’t hit a girl. I bet all the Peacecrafts were like that. See? His blade is tipped, hers isn’t. You missed it, but she had a fit when he refused to use a real one. Not too bright, if you ask me. She’s out for blood.”

Wufei took him at his word and went back to watching the match.
He still didn’t see the point, and except for a bit of a glint at the
edge of her weapon, he couldn’t catch what Yusuke had meant
about tipped points. The two duelists were moving a little too fast
for his eyes to lock onto such narrow silver blades. But he could
see what Kurama had meant about their expressions.

Dorothy was obviously an aggressor in the match. Most of the
movement was from her darting forward so their weapons clashed
and Zechs gave way, deflecting the attack but not countering it.
And all the while he kept the same cool, sober controlled look as he
dodged and blocked, as if he wasn’t the least bit worried about one
of the attacks making it past his defense. Dorothy, for all she kept
that sly smile on her face, had a gleam in her eyes that said she
knew her opponent, knew all of his weaknesses, and knew she was
going to win because she always won. It was a sort of confidence
ingrained after continual victories, with no room for self-doubt.

Wufei was concentrating on the movements, not following the blades so much as their arms. The actual moves, thrusts, blocks, twisting deflections, were identical to what real sword wielders would use. But the blades were much longer. He didn’t see why Zechs was letting her get so close to him when her weapon had such an extended reach. All he could think was that the man wasn’t letting her – that he was unable to stop her. But that didn’t fit with his calm expression.

Dorothy grinned as she found her opponent nearing the far wall, her eyes dancing at his seemingly confident look. He was playing the cool fighter, but she wasn’t fooled for a second. He’d worn that expression when they were children, yet he’d still fallen for her finishing move again and again. It was his unending flaw as a duelist, his unwillingness to risk hurting a member of the weaker sex. For all his skill at defense, there were some attacks that could only be met by attacking in return.

She darted forward, ducking low as if she were aiming at his side, but angling the blade upward. The sharp tip of her weapon met with no resistance, sliding through silky white hair. And she froze in simple shock at this change in a routine they’d repeated for as long as she’d been old enough to hold a blade.

Yusuke let out an oath at the sharp clash of metal, not sure what had just happened. And Hiei reached out a hand without so much as raising an eyebrow. The sharp tip went right through his palm, but better that than Yusuke’s forehead.

Hiei sniffed, pulling the narrow tip out of his hand and dropping the weapon with more distaste than outright pain on his face. He tossed his head and sent a glare over at Zechs.

“Watch where you knock things,” Hiei warned. “You almost killed the baka.”

“Oi! Kuwabara’s the baka,” Yusuke protested, “not me!”

Wufei blinked in surprise, looking over to where Zechs was. Their friend hadn’t so much as glanced up to see where the girl’s blade had flown. He was still standing over her, the tip of his weapon just brushing her throat. Dorothy looked as pale as Zechs’ hair.

“Where...”

Dorothy swallowed and abruptly flushed an angry pink as she jerked away. “Where the hell did you learn that?! You’ve never done anything like that!”

Zechs didn’t answer, a very small smirk curving his lips at her outrage.

Dorothy glared, folding her arms. “You found another partner, didn’t you. Picking up new tricks and not bothering to tell me about it!”

“You challenged me,” Zechs reminded her. “And I did give you a handicap.”

“Oi!” Yusuke called, glowering at the bloody blade still lying near his folded legs. “You nearly hit me, you know! And in case you didn’t notice, you skewered Hiei.”

Zechs turned to look back at them, his face paling when he saw the blood dripping from Hiei’s hand. He hurried over to heal the wound, apologizing the entire way and leaving a frustrated Dorothy behind. She growled something along the lines of men and their secrets before stalking after him.

The girl retrieved her weapon, cleaning it with a small white cloth from her breast pocket. And Wufei frowned at her furious expression.

He still wasn’t sure what had happened. He’d seen Zechs step to the side when she made her attack, and he’d turned, twisting his arm around and down. But her reaction to it made him wonder if she’d expected Zechs to just let her stab him.

“Why did that move surprise you?” asked Wufei.

Dorothy blinked, frowning at the boy. “Have you fenced? That sort of move only works with real blades. He could have easily snapped both of our weapons in our faces with that sort of thing. And besides that...”

She turned and shoved an accusatory finger at Zechs, who’d just finished healing Hiei’s hand. “Since when do you know how to use real sword moves? Where did you run off to when you left here? And who taught you that?!”

Her voice had risen as she spoke, and Zechs eased away from her warily, very conscious of his friends watching him.

“I haven’t fenced since I left this kingdom,” he said. “Real blades were used for duels, where I went.”

“And where was that?” Dorothy prodded.

A faint, teasing look passed over Zechs’ face, and he lifted his eyes to the ceiling as he shrugged. “Here and there.”

The girl fumed at that, but Wufei wasn’t paying her much attention. He was caught on the idea of Zechs dueling with real blades, something he was well acquainted with. Now he thought he knew why Zechs had looked so calm and controlled during the match – he’d had methods to use in a duel, but they would have been too dangerous with such thin, breakable blades. And that cool, knowing look he’d sent down at her when he’d stopped with his weapon at her throat...that was the look of someone who knew what it was like to lose to a worthy opponent.

It made Wufei wonder with whom Zechs had dueled in the past, and how the man would face up to a duel with him. Just days ago he’d been thinking that he wanted someone to spar with. Now, he found himself eyeing Zechs with an almost predatory smirk. He wanted to see how the former pacifist carried himself in a real fight.

“Are you up to another duel?” asked Wufei. “With real blades this time?”

Zechs turned in surprise, his expression thoughtful. Then he smiled. “Wufei, are you challenging me...?”

It was a sly, knowing smile. Wufei stared, part of him wanting to
glance back and ask one of the others if Zechs had just
propositioned him. There was something inherently...sexual about
the way those words had come out, nothing like any tone he
remembered having heard from Zechs. He was frankly nonplused.
All he could think was that fighting really brought out a different
side of Zechs.

Kurama caught both the innuendo, and Wufei’s startled reaction
to it. He hid a smirk behind his hand.

Dorothy didn’t notice a thing, still frustrated that she was being left
out of the loop. She glared at Zechs, demanding his attention.

“You can play with your friends later,” said Dorothy. “I haven’t
seen you in years and here you come back and beat me so I don’t
even get that satisfaction. Do you have any idea who they tried to
marry me off to after you left? It’s a good thing I’m not a mutant, or you’d be really hurting for what you did.”

Zechs closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It didn’t quite manage to calm the anger in his gaze when he frowned down at the girl. “Have you not spoken to Relena? I was disowned. Even if my father didn’t tell you, Relena should have when she told you I was back.”

“She didn’t tell me you were back,” Dorothy sniffed. “I haven’t seen her yet. And I don’t care if you were disowned, you still could have said something before you ran off. Not that I’m really angry, but I have a right to be. You could at least look guilty or contrite about it.”

“I am,” Zechs said, his expression tired.

“You don’t look it,” she said. “But anyway, I’m actually glad you left. I thought you’d be relieved to know that I didn’t pine over you or anything like that. I never really liked the idea of being stuck with you for the rest of my life, so after the initial humiliation, I didn’t care. It’s not like you’re the first friend to be inconsiderate to me.”

She waited for him to capitulate, for the guilty apology she’d expected the moment she cornered him on the front lawn. When he continued to give her that same, tired look, she glowered. “You’ve changed.”

“It’s been years,” Zechs reminded her.

“I know that,” Dorothy sniffed. “You fight better, but you’re not nearly as fun to pick on as you used to be. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were getting stodgy in your old age.”

“He is,” Yusuke said suddenly, hopping to his feet and beaming at the startled girl. “Very stodgy. He’s a stodgy old coot.”

Dorothy stared for a minute, not sure who the boy was. Then she smirked in return.

“Too bad,” she said to Zechs. “I guess I’ll just have to tell Relena about my girlfriend. And here I thought you’d want to hear about it.”

She turned with a wave of pale hair and flashed a wide smile back over her shoulder. “You would have liked her, Milliardo, if you were still you. Put this away for me.”

That last bit was given along with her weapon – both tossed at Yusuke rather carelessly. He caught the blade easily enough, though, and grinned at the way Dorothy’s skirt swayed as she walked away.

“Now that,” Yusuke drawled, “is one fun lady. I can’t believe they wanted to marry her to someone as boring as you.”

Zechs raised an eyebrow at the boy, quite aware of his active imagination. “Don’t finish that thought.”

“Eh?!” Yusuke rounded on him, his expression dramatically betrayed. “Are you reading my mind? What an invasion of privacy!”

“I don’t need to,” Zechs sniffed. “And besides, Dorothy never liked little boys. Even if she were interested in men, you’re not mature enough for her.”

Yusuke was bristling at the ‘little boy’ comment, but Kurama was still smirking at Dorothy’s parting words. He placed a hand on Yusuke’s shoulder, calmly pushing him back against the wall and avoiding any confrontation.

The girl was clearly in a relationship already, and a person would have to be blind not to realize Zechs was being protective of her the same way he would have been with Relena. As to Yusuke, Kurama already knew he wasn’t interested in girls that way. He was just trying to rile Zechs.

“Didn’t someone say something about a duel?” asked Kurama. “I’d be happy to show you to the weapons room if you’re still interested.”

Wufei sent a sharp look at Kurama. The redhead winked at him, and his eyebrow twitched in reaction.

He had a suspicion Kurama was playing matchmaker. He’d have to remember to tell him later that just because he wanted to duel with Zechs, that didn’t mean he was interested in the man. He just wanted a worthy opponent. The fact that Zechs had smoldering ice-blue eyes when he fought, and an arousing smirk when he won, had absolutely nothing to do with it.

- - -
TBC
-notes-
Next part will focus on Kurama, Quatre, and Duo.