gmen-35

Author’s Note: Special thanks go out to Chrissy Sky for her lovely fanart of Kurama and Hiei from Part 32.
Vague fusion with the original X-men animated series.
This Part: Featured characters include Quatre, Hiei, and Kurama.
Awakening Arc: There are 10 parts to this arc, and then Gmen will end with Part 41 or 42. A sequel is likely, but I’m thinking connected one-shots rather than another multi-parter.
Category: Yaoi, Anime, Gundam Wing, Yu Yu Hakusho
Warnings: violence, blood, minor angst, shonen ai
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, Kurama-Hiei, reference to 13x6, will be 6x5
Author: Arigatomina
Email: arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com
Website: www . geocities . com / arigatomina

Gmen

Part 35: Rogue Mutant

The meeting turned out to be every bit as boring and quiet as Zechs had warned it might be, at least for the three mutants sitting in the waiting room. A few servants had passed through the room and offered refreshments to the little group, but aside from them, they’d been left to themselves since Zechs and Relena had joined the people filing into the meeting hall. It was, as Yusuke so eloquently put it, boring as hell.

Even the servants failed as a source of entertainment. They were obviously wary of the three teens, as if they knew they were mutants just by looking at them. But they were still rigidly polite and brisk.

They were sitting there, in the small half-circled waiting area a few yards from the main doors, when they saw him. The uniform immediately put Wufei on guard, but he was careful not to stare at it for long. They’d seen quite a few OZ officials so far, and not one had seemed to recognize him. He wasn’t going to draw attention to himself. They were there to protect Relena – and Zechs – not to cause trouble themselves.

The man crossed in front of them, clearly late for the meeting if his
quick pace said anything. But he caught himself a few steps past
them and glanced back with a flash of surprise. A slow smirk
spread over his face and he turned to them, gleaming brown eyes
caught on Kurama for a moment before shifting over to Wufei.

“How interesting,” he murmured, “to have mutants attend the
meeting.”

Wufei was on guard immediately, as was Kurama. They didn’t
recognize him since OZ kept no visual records of its officials, but
the emblem on his collar spoke of rank. Yusuke seemed a little
confused since he didn’t have any history with OZ, but the man’s smirk put him on edge. He scowled at the stranger.

“I knew you’d go to the Sanq Kingdom,” the man was saying to Wufei, “but you should have stayed there.”

The familiar tone struck sharper than the words. Wufei didn’t speak, his expression hostile and guarded. Maybe there really were pictures of the six of them from their time spent with Une, information available to identify him and his friends to any OZ officer who happened to spot them. But Wufei thought it was more than that. He had an idea he knew who the man was.

The man turned his taunting smirk on Kurama, not seeming to mind the dangerous golden sheen on those dark green eyes.

“But you, I didn’t think to see you here. I never expected you to leave your partner. It’s a shame. An acquaintance of mine was looking forward to meeting you. There are so few Quest class mutants these days. He’s going to be so disappointed...”

Kurama had gone rigid, and Yusuke scowled in utter confusion. He jumped to his feet and sent the bold man an exasperated look. “Who the hell are you?”

A disinterested look swept over Yusuke, sizing him up and finding him wanting. Then the man smiled at Kurama and Wufei and turned on his heel. He crossed to the wide doors and paused for a parting shot at Wufei.

“I’m disappointed,” he said, “that you don’t even know the face of your enemy.”

The moment he was gone, Yusuke rounded on his friends, particularly Wufei. “What was that all about?”

“I think,” Wufei said slowly, angrily, “that we’ve just met Treize Cushrenada.”

“Who?”

“The leader of OZ,” said Wufei. “There aren’t any pictures of him, but the way he acted I’m sure of it. He’d know as much about us as Zechs does.”

Kurama shook his head and stood up, his shoulders visibly tense. His voice was soft and eerily calm, compared to the shifting bits of gold that swam in his eyes. “You must realize the ones we’ve left behind are likely in danger.”

“From the OZ guy?” asked Yusuke. “But if he’s here, then-“

“The meeting is supposed to end soon,” Wufei frowned, shooting a dark look at the closed doors. “If that was a ploy to send us running back, it would leave Zechs and Relena alone here. We’d have to separate.”

“Wait just a second,” Yusuke said loudly. He scowled when Kurama and Wufei both turned to glare at him. “I’ll call them and give them a heads-up. Do you really think anyone could get past Hiei if he were ready for it? Just keep your shirts on while I look for a phone.”

Having the often flighty Yusuke given him cold calm reason was enough to knock Kurama out of his glare. He gave a sharp nod and took his seat again, dropping his eye without a word. Maybe he had been a little quick in wanting to run back to the Sanq Kingdom, but he couldn’t help his reaction.

Wufei was more open. He actually flushed a little when he broke off his glare. It wasn’t like him to forget the most obvious course of action, but Treize – if that man was Treize – had ruffled him more than he cared to admit. Zechs hadn’t talked much about the information he’d given during his time with OZ, but the idea of an enemy knowing all about his personal history was hard to swallow.

Yusuke waited long enough to give a smug smirk. Then he turned to find a telephone.

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

A light knock interrupted the quiet chat between Une and Yukina. Trowa answered it, leaving Quatre to his work. This little impromptu meeting was going well than they’d thought. Not only was the Lady talking with Yukina, but also Quatre. Une seemed to have decided to take the day off, offering only the slightest resistance before fading out.

A teenage girl was standing in the hall when Trowa opened the door, and he didn’t recognize her. She had short, dark blue hair and eyes of the same color. Her smile was just a tad shy when she looked up at him.

“There’s a call for you,” she said quickly. “He said it was an
urgent message from the Sanq envoy, so I looked through the
register to find out which room you were in. You are Trowa
Barton, aren’t you?”

Trowa nodded and glanced back into the room. He told Quatre
about the call and shut the door behind him. The girl motioned for
him to follow as she led the way to Relena’s office. Along the
way, she commented on how strange the caller had been. He
didn’t sound old enough to be a part of the envoy. From that
information, Trowa rightly decided it was Yusuke calling, and not
Kurama or Wufei.

A few minutes after Trowa left, Quatre’s door was thrown open. Yukina let out a little gasp and Une moved to shield the girl, surprising Quatre so much he nearly fell off his bed. Then his attention was drawn to the fast figure who flitted over to stand before them.

“Downstairs,” Hiei said sharply, being careful to look at Quatre and not Yukina. “Now. It isn’t safe here.”

A dozen questions sprung to mind, but Quatre didn’t stop to voice them. He nodded to Yukina and started to escort her out of the room. Hiei stopped him before he got very far.

“Take her, too,” he said, nodding to Une. The woman was frowning at him suspiciously, still seated on the bed. “She may be a target.”

“I don’t think anyone knows she’s here,” said Quatre.

He didn’t argue, though, and he was glad the Lady was still in control. She stood and followed Yukina as obediently as Yukina had followed him. Hiei trailed behind, his eyes darting around as if he expected someone to burst through the wall at them.

Despite the unknown threat that made Hiei want to relocate them, Quatre found himself hesitating over the Lady’s behavior. She’d moved with the quickness of a soldier when Hiei had burst into the room, instinctively trying to protect Yukina. As far as Quatre knew, the Lady didn’t have those sort of reflexes, Une did. It made him wonder if Une were as deep as he’d thought, or if she were merely biding her time. Bringing her along could be more dangerous than leaving her in the room.

These thoughts at the front of Quatre’s mind, so he stumbled when Hiei was suddenly in front of them again. He saw that they’d reached the door to the downstairs chamber and stood back so Hiei could open it. Then he prodded his two charges, since Hiei was still ignoring Yukina’s presence, and followed them in. Then he forgot them completely in favor of running to the body that lay near the glassed rest area.

“Duo!”

Quatre crouched beside his friend, sighing when he found the boy
asleep. He turned to look back at Hiei, who was now standing near
the door in sentry position. “What happened?”

Hiei glared at the door, his head ducking just a bit. “He teleported
us here. I didn’t know it would wear him out so much. There
wasn’t any time to waste.”

“You let him use his powers?” asked Quatre, more than a little
reproachful.

He regretted his tone when Hiei’s shoulders hunched. Duo was
lying on his side, head pillowed by a familiar black cloak. The boy
wasn’t in a coma state, so there was no reason to make Hiei feel
any worse than he already did. Quatre stood and crossed to Une
and Yukina, putting him closer to Hiei.

“What’s the danger?” he asked.

Hiei shot a sharp look at Une and shook his head. “Put her in the second room in the hall and keep her there. If you can’t put her to sleep, I’ll knock her out myself.”

No longer sympathetic to Hiei, Quatre scowled at the callousness of that order. He caught the Lady’s mind and sent her to the room without anything as violent as Hiei had in mind. Just that light bit of controlling left him tired afterward, but he didn’t mention that aloud. He was sure Hiei would carry out his threat if he couldn’t put the woman to sleep on his own.

“Now what is the danger,” Quatre repeated. “Why did you want us to move down here?”

“A mutant attacked us in the forest,” Hiei said, staring hard at the door. “I couldn’t follow him afterward. I don’t know what his target is, but it could be that woman. I want everyone in one place.”

“I’ll get Trowa,” said Quatre. “There was a phone call from the meeting. It may have something to do with this rogue mutant.”

Hiei’s eyes narrowed at that, but he couldn’t argue with the boy. While it would have been better for him to go, that would leave Yukina and Duo protected only by Quatre. He wasn’t about to stake his sister’s life on Quatre’s controlling abilities, especially when the boy looked pained just from making a woman fall asleep. Yes, he’d noticed the expression that had crossed Quatre’s face when he’d used his talent. It seemed Duo wasn’t the only one pushing his limits.

“Be quick about it,” said Hiei. “Don’t waste time looking for him, but if you see the...Kuwabara, bring him with you.”

Yukina beamed at that statement, and Quatre gave a faint smile at Hiei’s miserable scowl.

“I’ll do that,” Quatre said, as much for Yukina as Hiei.

The door was closed behind him, proof that Hiei was taking no chances. Quatre hesitated for a second as he found himself alone in the dark hall. He’d made a telepathic connection to Trowa that morning. If he could use it, he wouldn’t have to venture into the school and possibly endanger students. He waited till he was clear of the thick metal dampering the area below. Then he tried a search on Trowa, seeking the boy out.

Silence answered him as he headed to the next floor. He knew the boy was in Relena’s office – the only telephone he’d seen in the school was in her office – but he couldn’t feel his presence at all. It made a knot of worry spring into his throat.

Quatre pushed that down as firmly as he could. He’d never been able to sense Trowa before, so there was no reason to think that not being able to sense him now meant the boy was in trouble. After all, he’d only sensed him that morning because Trowa had chosen to drop his shields. And as worn as he felt from controlling Une, it was possible that he just wasn’t pushing hard enough to get Trowa’s attention.

Despite his reassurances, Quatre found himself almost running up the stairs. Hiei might as well have saved his order to be quick about it. The thought of Trowa being in danger, alone and unsuspecting, was enough to send him into a light panic.

He almost barreled into a student as he reached the door to the right floor and only his promise to Yukina stopped him. He paused long enough to throw a sharp look back to the boy, who was staring up at him in surprise.

“Go downstairs,” Quatre said quickly. “Yukina’s down there. Just
knock on the door or something and Hiei will let you in.”

Kuwabara opened his mouth to ask what he was talking about.
Then Yukina’s name reached his ears.

Quatre saw the goofy grin spread over Kuwabara’s face and he
gave the boy a quick nod. That done, he left the stairwell, certain
the lovesick teen would be downstairs as soon as he got past the
idea that Yukina was waiting for him. Focused on making up the
lost time, he was halfway down the hall before he realized he was
on the wrong floor.

‘I fall to pieces in a crisis...’

He groaned quietly, forcing his panic to die a fast and furious death. If anything happened to Trowa, he’d have no one to blame but himself. That cold logic calmed his nerves better than any reassurances had. He wheeled around and ran back toward the stairwell.

Six feet from the entrance, the air exploded. It caught him head-on, a searing coiled explosion that tore into his chest and knocked him back like a rifle blast.

Quatre lay where he’d landed, his lungs burning as he tried to gasp. The explosion had been green but his eyes were filled with dark red that shadowed the hall until he couldn’t tell if his eyes were open or closed. Then oxygen rushed back into his lungs and he coughed, forcing himself up onto his side so he could see what had hit him.

Dark violet eyes peered at him, framed by straight black hair and
silver below.

Quatre made a little meaningless sound and reeled back. Now he
could see that it was a man crouched in front of him, and that the
silver was a mask hiding the lower half of the stranger’s face.
Those eyes narrowed in what seemed to be a smile and the figure
flickered and disappeared.

His shoulders were caught from behind and Quatre stared down at
the man’s pale hands, his eyes caught on the red-tipped claws
where they dug into his shirt. He was pulled up, an arm moving around his waist and lifting him back against the rogue mutant. He was stunned, shaky, and bleeding, but he was not about to be taken.

Quatre struggled in the man’s arms, his eyes closed tight as he sought out the mind closest to him. It was a dark well unlike anything he’d sensed before, but he shoved into it, trying to latch on enough to control him. The physical pain he felt was replaced by a strange grating mental sensation. He forced an order for release and felt something in his mind flex. A twinge. Then a wash of pain as his newest wall crumbled. Not only didn’t he have the strength to control the mutant, he’d pushed so hard he couldn’t block out Heero anymore.

“You’re a regular dominatrix...I like that.”

The voice was dulled by the mask, but still managed to send shivers
over Quatre’s back. He could hear the real threat in the man’s
voice, and the promise of slow eager torture. Just that light dip into
the mutant’s mind had told him this one had a darkness that didn’t
end. And he was as good as helpless against it.

That hand shifted on his stomach and Quatre felt a ghost of those
claws before his flesh seemed to implode. Blood filled his mouth
and he choked on it, falling in a haze of mind-numbing pain. He
barely heard the window shatter across from them.

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

Trowa reeled at a sudden backlash of Quatre’s pain, one hand
jerking over his waist as if he were the one who’d been hit. He
dropped the telephone, mindless to the voice that sounded loudly
on the other end. He took off down the hall and nearly stumbled
when he tried to locate Quatre with his mind. The boy’s psyche
was almost unrecognizable, weak and mixed with something dark
and volatile.

He heard the window explode as he took the stairs, nearly loosing
his block. Quatre was still conscious. As faint as the boy was, he
was still sentient and in enough mental and physical pain. Trowa
didn’t dare drop his guard and add to that. The upheaval that
morning had left his lover weakened already. Quatre would never
be able to withstand his mind now.

That knowledge was just enough to keep him sane. He reached the hall where the explosion had sounded and didn’t pause for fury when he found it empty. The window was gone, open to the outdoors in a jagged and gaping hole. But he could almost see the trace of where Quatre had been, bits of pale blue spread into the green aftermath.

Another explosion reached his ears, this one quieter but so heavy it fairly shook the foundation of the school. Trowa locked onto the source by instinct and ran downstairs. He could feel Quatre now, even dimmer than before but still aware. And someone else, an inhuman maw sucking the life out of everything it touched.

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

Hiei was already in a defensive stance when the thick metal door shattered inward as if it were made of fiberglass.

His emotions were harnessed and crushed into a corner – fear for Yukina, guilt for putting Duo in danger, shame for letting Quatre go, determination to get the boy away from the mutant holding him like some trophy, fury at the one who dared to threaten those in his protection, unease at being confronted by something his subconscious recognized but wouldn’t tell him about.

The tall black-haired mutant stepped through the doorway disregarding Hiei’s presence. Quatre lay limp over his shoulder and might have been dead if not for the light tremors that shook his dangling hands. The man’s dark eyes darted to the sides, taking in Yukina on one side close to the wall, and Duo where he lay on the opposite end of the wide room. He barely blinked when Hiei took a step toward him.

Hiei stepped forward, judging the best angle to attack the man on without involving Quatre. He was about to make his move when something else hit the mutant from
behind. The unexpected help surprised him as much as it did the
black-haired man.

He stumbled forward, blood arcing out from the cut on his back,
and wheeled to face the one who’d cut him. Violet eyes narrowed
and he made a soft hissing sound of disgust. He flicked his right
hand at Kuwabara and turned back to look at Hiei, not even waiting
to see the results of his work.

Kuwabara was knocked off his feet as the bomb exploded in his
face, spraying blood in a wide arc and throwing him back against
the wall. Hiei made a small sound of disbelief, stunned at the
simple murder. And Yukina disappeared, proving she had speed Hiei could match but couldn’t surpass.

“Kazuma-san!”

His sister dove down over Kuwabara, her entire body glowing with
the same pale blue shade as her hands in a desperate intense
healing. Hiei could see spasms shaking the boy’s body, proof that
he was still alive, and he stopped himself from dragging her back to
safety.

He placed himself between Yukina and the rogue, drawing his
sword and rushing to attack. The man moved his hands, the same
graceful gesture he’d made at Kuwabara. The difference was that
Hiei saw what the man was doing. His jagan let him see the particles that appeared around the man’s pale fingers, coalescing and glistening with raw incendiary power that would explode at the will of the controller.

A quiet shuffling murmur of unease rose in Hiei’s mind and he shoved it down, blocking it out with the rest of his distracting emotions. He could see the ‘bombs’ and they would never reach their target, not while he still stood.

Hiei dodged the small glittering bursts the mutant sent at him, darting closer. The man edged back as he advanced, and the targets doubled - now the bombs he dodged would hit Yukina and Kuwabara. He understood the thinking behind that move, but the rogue didn’t know who his opponent was.

Hiei rushed through the bombs, twisting so they brushed his sides, arms, legs, nothing that would cause fatal damage, just enough to explode them. He reached the man with his sword blurred by speed and barely jerked it back in time.

The black-haired man let out a whispery laugh, pulling Quatre
higher against his chest. “What’s the matter? Can’t slice through
him so easily?”

Eyes narrow and cold, Hiei didn’t respond. He’d known the
man’s speed was nearly as fast as his own. That was why he
hadn’t been able to follow him in the forest, the mutant moved so
quickly only an afterimage of his power remained. But the boy,
Quatre’s body was a small shield for such a tall man. Hiei darted
forward again, feinting this time.

He cut a tiny, glancing blow on one black-clad arm. Then the air exploded around his sword, nearly knocking it from his grip. Hiei skidded back, twisting to keep himself from sliding right into an awaiting cloud of that energy. He only hesitated for a few seconds, but that was enough for the glinting bursts to surround him, closing in on all sides and leaving no way out except straight through. Hiei hissed through his teeth and went down on one knee, his other leg open to the bone.

With an arm still around Quatre, the man turned his attention to the boy across the room from Hiei. The wall crumbled, windows shattering outright, and Duo disappeared without a sound to show whether he’d been hit or not. Dark eyes narrowed into slits and darted around the seemingly empty mess, unsure if the boy was invisible or if he’d been buried in the rubble. Quiet movement from Hiei drew his attention away.

Hiei glared up at the rogue and pushed to his feet, leaning his full weight on his left leg. The man hadn’t seen his sword disappear, and if his jagan was right, he couldn’t see Duo when he was invisible. Unfortunately, the man could read energy.

The rogue turned around in time to change Trowa’s attack into a glancing blow at best. He jerked Quatre up, using him as a shield again, and exploded the air around Trowa with enough angry power to make a crater in the cement.

Trowa flew back just as quickly, so he didn’t take the full brunt of it. He barely noted the way Hiei jerked his head to the side as if to tell him which direction to move in. He merely obeyed, his entire focus on Quatre’s bowed head.

The tall green-eyed boy was not focused. Hiei glared, burning the band off his jagan in preparation for what was to come. Then he growled at Trowa.

“Now!” Hiei ordered.

The rogue turned, eyes narrow in suspicion. And something stabbed straight through his side, inches from where Quatre’s arm hung. He choked and dropped the boy, his hands falling to catch the invisible sword.

Trowa flinched and dove at Quatre. He snatched him up and was halfway across the room in seconds. The boy made no sound, but he could feel the blood soaking into his own clothing as surely as he could feel Quatre’s pulse - faint but sure.

Duo struggled to pull the sword free, his body fighting absolute shut-down. The explosions had woken him, but that teleportation earlier had taken more energy than he’d realized. Just holding his invisibility was sending shudders over his bloody arms, shaking the wounds. He was pulled forward along with the sword, a pale hand shooting out to catch the front of his shirt.

The black-haired mutant lunged forward, pushing the sword deeper into his body but also allowing him to catch Duo. He couldn’t see the boy, but now he knew where he was. A few concentrated explosions and he could see him as well.

Duo turned visible seconds before he collapsed, the pain and continued exhaustion taking its toll.

A shuddery breath from Quatre, and Trowa paused in midair. He’d almost set Quatre down and gone forward to try and get Duo, but now he was afraid to. If anything happened to him, Quatre wouldn’t be able to dodge. He’d be a stationary target. An angry growl caught his ear, and Trowa tensed.

Dark violet eyes glared at the teens, his low growl not even
beginning to express his anger. The pain in his back and side was
almost enough to make him crush Duo’s throat and simply kill the
boy right there. He could have, and there was nothing they could
do to stop him. That was the only reason he didn’t - because it
would be too easy, too...kind.

“I came for the dominatrix,” he murmured coldly, nodding his head
at Quatre. “But these two may serve even better.”

Trowa’s eyes narrowed. Duo and...?

The rogue answered his question by turning to Hiei with a raised hand. Trowa couldn’t see what the man did, but Hiei must have because the dark-haired mutant burst into black flames, explosions glinting on the edges as they were ignited on contact.

Dark energy crackled around him, and Hiei gave a sharp sneer. “Like I’d be killed that easily.”

A hidden smirk passed over the controller’s face, and he turned a few inches, redirecting his hand to the ones crouched behind Hiei. “I’ll just mutilate your dear sister, then.”

Hiei froze, a stark look passing over his face.

Trowa glared, supporting Quatre as the boy struggled to lift his head. Yukina was too preoccupied with Kuwabara to even realize she was now a target. He didn’t think she was even fully aware of what had been going on around her. Kuwabara’s face was looking more like, well, a face, and she’d been glowing nonstop since Trowa had come in. She probably wouldn’t move unless the boy died, and Hiei didn’t look like he’d be going anywhere with his right leg cut up the way it was. That only left him and Quatre.

Simple thought was difficult for Quatre, but faced with Yukina’s death, he had to try. He reached out for that dark mind he’d touched before, struggling to catch and control. The rogue seemed to feel his efforts, those dark violet eyes snapping over to him.

Trowa didn’t wait for the man to wave his hand. He was already in the air, dodging attacks he couldn’t see. If he’d had Hiei’s speed that might have saved him. As it was, he managed to keep Quatre from taking the brunt of the bombs that set up around him. And he didn’t land on the boy when he was thrown to the ground. That was something.

Willing Yukina to move without having any telepathic ability was a wasted effort. Hiei realized that after a few seconds of desperate mental pleading. He curled his right hand into a fist and sent a blaze of dark fire at the rogue mutant. It was a chancy move, and his throat closed on him even as he did it. Three possibilities - it would hit the man in the back since his attention was on Trowa, the man would feel it coming and dodge, or the man would feel it coming and use Duo as a shield the same way he had with Quatre.

The second proved to be accurate. The mutant whipped around
just as the fire reached him, dodging before it could so much as
singe his long black hair. He darted back at Hiei so fast that only
his target saw him move.

Hiei felt a vague twinge of shock at the direct attack, but his
reaction was steady. He burned with energy, black heat crackling
enough to send his shirt up in a wispy haze of melted fabric. And
he was turning before the mutant fully appeared behind him, his fist
charged to punch through the man if necessary. He misjudged the
outright sinisterness of the man who’d so far been playing with
them.

The bomb was unlike the others. It was a tiny charge that didn’t need to coalesce visibly. He sent it out the same way he’d have let out a deep breath, pure essence of destruction. And it hit Hiei in his most vulnerable spot, his jagan.

Hiei screamed, cringing down and curling over his knees. And another scream mimicked him, sounding at almost the exact same second.

Trowa, who was still lying where he’d fallen, swept Quatre closer to him at that chilling double scream.
Yukina’s color had changed. She was still crouched over
Kuwabara, but instead of that soft healing blue, she was
surrounded by an icy blue sheen that lifted her hair in ripples.
Her eyes, so sweet and expressive, were deadly white orbs with
the tiniest glint of burning yellow within. But it was her face that
made Trowa pull Quatre into a sheltered hold. Her face was
absolutely dead aside from her hateful eyes.

“Shimatta...”

Trowa flinched at the whispered curse, his eyes widening at the stark fear in the rogue mutant’s eyes. Considering the man had just taken down Hiei, it seemed absurd that he’d look so terrified of Yukina. But he was. And as cold as the air felt around him, Trowa thought he may have had good reason to fear.

The rogue sent one wary look at the glowing ice user. Then he grabbed Hiei, steadied his hold on Duo, and darted for the door seconds ahead of the attack.

Ice erupted over the floor where Hiei had been, but it came seconds too late. Something small and hollow fell to shatter on the ice, and Yukina burst into tears.

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

Kurama flinched, his eyes flashing gold though his hair remained red. He stood seconds before the door opened and people began filing out of the meeting room, so whatever he might have said was hidden by the general murmur.

Wufei sent him a worried look, but waited till Zechs and Relena reached them. “What is it?”

“We have to go back,” Kurama whispered, his voice faint. “Now. We have to go back right now.”

Wufei saw the color of Kurama’s eyes and paled considerably. He turned to Zechs to tell him what they suspected, but he stopped cold. That OZ official was standing a few feet from them and the way Zechs flinched away told him he’d been right. It was Treize.

Treize smiled at Kurama, his expression almost friendly as he took in the redhead’s golden eyes. “There’s no need to rush off. It’s a little too late to make a dashing rescue.”

Relena had been frowning unhappily since she came out of the meeting. Now she sent a confused look to Kurama and turned her frown on Treize. “What do you mean?”

“I apologize,” said Treize. “Princess, I’d like to speak in private with your friends for a moment. If you’d excuse us?”

The polite request made suspicion blaze over Relena’s face, but Zechs nodded and took her arm. With a few whispered words, he sent her off to wait across the room where, hopefully, she’d be out of the line of fire. The moment she was out of hearing range, Kurama turned deadly golden eyes on Treize.

“What have you done?”

A congenial smile spread over Treize’s face, and he glanced down
at his wrist. They had a brief glimpse of something that wasn’t a
watch. Then he dropped his arm and shrugged.

“I admit,” said Treize, “that things didn’t go quite as planned. But
this is a nice surprise. I didn’t expect to get that one out of the
Sanq Kingdom.”

He nodded to Kurama, his smile easing into a slow smirk. “I
promise we’ll take very good care of your lover, Shuuichi.”

Kurama trembled, blood dripping from his curled fists.

Zechs didn’t show nearly as much restraint. He grabbed Treize
by the collar and jerked him around, rewarded by the slight widening of the man’s brown eyes.

“Do you attack children now?” Zechs growled. “What’s to stop us from ridding the world of you right here?”

Wufei stared, startled by the sudden rage. But Trieze didn’t look the least bit bothered. He’d regained his smirk and almost looked pleased to have death threats hissed into his face.

“You’re so passionate when you’re angry,” Treize said admiringly. “I think I like you better this way. If you’re worried about the boy, you’re more than welcome to come back with me.”

He glanced to the side without turning his head, taking in Wufei’s wide eyes and Kurama’s rigidly cold mask. “You two are welcome as well. It would save you the trouble of searching for the right base to attack.”

“I got cut off and-“

Yusuke ground to a halt as two pairs of eyes turned to him - Wufei and Treize. He took in Kurama’s lack of expression and wrong-colored eyes, and the stand-off between Zechs and Trieze. And he glared at the OZ official, placing himself nearest to Kurama since he looked the most volatile.

Treize raised an eyebrow at the belligerent boy and sniffed at that threatening glare. “I’d forgotten that one.”

The boy didn’t react to being called a ‘that one,’ so Treize dismissed him, turning back to Zechs. He caught angry pale blue eyes and smiled into them. Then he reached a hand out to brush Zechs’ face.

Zechs released him and jump back as if burned, his eyes flashing in a hateful glare. Treize smirked in response and set to straightening his clothing.

“On second thought,” said Treize, “you can visit on your own time. La Guardia base.”

Yusuke sent a wild look at his friends when they made no move to keep the man from leaving. Then he jumped out to block his path, doing it himself. “You’re not going anywhere till I hear what’s going on!”

“He’s taken someone from the Sanq Kingdom,” Wufei said quietly, frowning at the boy.

“Hiei...”

Yusuke’s eyes widened, not just at the revelation but at Kurama’s emotionless tone. His confusion shifted into livid anger and he growled at the man responsible.

“Then you can just give the order to let him go or die here,” said Yusuke.

Treize sniffed in distaste and sidestepped the boy, not the least bit intimidated. “If I die, all of the mutants at that base will be executed immediately. Not one, all.”

“Duo...” Zechs breathed, his eyes wide.

Wufei flinched, and Yusuke sent a furious look at Kurama. He didn’t back down until the redhead gave a slow nod.

They watched silently as Treize left the room, pausing only long enough for a few words to the confused girl waiting near the exit. Relena turned to look after him as well. Then Kurama stalked forward.

“We go now,” said Kurama.

He held up a small gray pod of some kind, letting them see it before slipping it into his hair. His voice never shifted out of that cold emotionless tone. “I put a trace on him. We can follow so long as it remains alive. We have thirty-eight hours.”

- - -
TBC
--notes--
Next part will focus on Quatre, Hiei, Duo, and Zechs, with a new character added to the cast (can you guess who?). And yes, my rogue is Karasu from YYH, they just don't know his name yet since he didn't stop to introduce himself.