Hi hi all! This is Kalanoa and I'm very glad to be posting my first Gundam Wing fic! Now, I don't own any of it, but I love it all to death. I'll probably mess up some vaguely important stuff, forgive me. Anyway – summery of the plot: The boys meet my original character, Ternash – a boy with cat ears and a tail. This is all about him and trying to deal with life when you're so different. It's going to end up being kind of long, I think, but I hope you all like it. ^_^ Enough of my talking (can you really call it that?). On with the fic. Oh, I almost forgot! There will be a fair amount of YAOI in this. Pairings: 3x4 of course, and 2x5 the best pairing out there ^_^ Also, my character gets some action, but I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Warnings: these will come at the beginning of each chapter that applies (except the yaoi warning which is throughout). This chapter-some gay bashing, but it's by antagonists and thus, a pointless and stupid opinion. Also deals with family abuse and general discrimination briefly.

**

Ternash stood in front of the mirror, glaring at his reflection. He was trim, definitely in good condition, but that seemed the only good thing about him. His hand went to his unruly mane of black hair and ran the length, which was well below his shoulders. Maybe I should cut it. Blend in more. But that was silly, if he cut it, it would be harder to hide his ears.

Self-consciously, Ternash tightened the bandanna over those hated ears. You couldn't really see them. He eyed the slight bulge around his waist and tried to pretend it wasn't there either. He let out a deep sigh as the bell signaled the end of break. It was impossible. He scurried out of the bathroom and to his next class. It would be a long day.

**

WuFei sat quietly under a tree, waiting for the others to find their way out of classes for the day. The school was noisy and crowded, next too impossible to find any peace to meditate. Even now, he couldn't focus and his attention was drawn to a small group some twenty feet away. Three boys that Fei had seen get into numerous fights were surrounding a smaller boy. No justice he thought as he climbed to his feet. He couldn't let the strong bully the weak. He would never allow that.

"I don't want to fight you." Ternash backed into a wall, arms raised protectively.

"You don't have to, just take the punches, fag." One of the boys roughly grabbed Ternash's wrist, wrenching him around into the center of their small group.

Ternash landed hard against another of the boys. "Woah, I don't swing that way, freak." He shoved the smaller boy again, this time sending him to the ground.

Ternash scrambled to get his legs under him again and once more backed against the wall. The largest and dumbest boy, obviously the leader, stepped forward and readied a punch. "Your kind aren't welcome here, fag." Ternash ducked the punch and threw an open handed attack into the boy's face. He stumbled back, deep cuts appearing on his jaw line. "What the hell? Kill the fucking tweak!"

Ternash leapt up, planting his feet against the wall behind him, and flipped over his attackers. He landed and immediately broke into a run, but didn't get far. One of the boys reached out, catching the back of Ternash's loose T-shirt. The small boy coughed as his air was cut off momentarily and braced as a fist contacted his jaw and he fell back to land hard on his back. Another of the boys kicked him hard in the ribs eliciting a sharp yelp of pain.

Ternash curled his arms around himself to protect from the blows, but no more came. Looking up, Ternash saw a muscular Chinese boy standing above him keeping the boys at bay. They ran off from the new threat and WuFei turned to the fallen boy. "You all right?"

Hesitantly, Ternash moved to take the offered hand. WuFei however, was staring wide eyed at the boy. Ternash slowly reached up to his hair where the bandanna had been dislodged to reveal a small, fuzzy, triangle shaped ear. He moved his lips, trying to explain, but no words came, while tears threatened his eyes.

WuFei pulled back and pulled a sword seeming from nowhere and leveled it at the boy. "What are you?" The two stared in silence for endless seconds before . . .

"Wu-man! Watcha doin' to this guy?" The Chinese boy was tackled by a certain braided baka.

"Damned American, ruining my dramatic pose . . ."

Duo ignored his friend's grumbling and bent to help Ternash off the ground. His eyes played over the small ear, nearly invisible flattened against his dark hair. Duo's eyes widened. Wow! A neko? But he thought those only existed in stories and TV shows. He reached out to touch the little triangle only to have his hand batted away.

"Thank you for your help. I'll be leaving now." Ternash pulled the bandanna around his head once more and tried to get away from the two pilots.

"Woah, hey, wait!" Duo scrambled after the other boy. "Where are you going? Shouldn't we take you to the nurse or something? Are you all right?"

"I'll heal."

Duo darted in front of the boy, forcing him to stop. "I absolutely insist you let us get you some help. You're hurt, after all." Ternash frowned but immediately stopped as it hurt his already swelling jaw. He nodded, not having any other choice for medical care and allowed the extremely bouncy brunette to lead him and a much more subdued WuFei off school campus.

**

Duo stood over a huge, overstuffed chair where Ternash sat, completely lost in the giant cushions. He dabbed the smaller boy's ribs, wiping the blood gently away. It had been quite a struggle to get the shirt off of Ternash, but Duo had eventually won given the fact that the neko had been bleeding pretty badly. Duo couldn't understand what the problem was, until he saw that the ratty, torn shirt was all that hid the fluffy black tail wrapped around his waist.

Said tail was now shoved into a corner of the chair, hidden from view. Ternash was trying very hard to sink into the fabric around him. And doing a fairly good job of it too. He yelped and jerked away as Duo pressed against the rib that had received the kick earlier. "Stupid idiots."

Duo put away the first aid kit and sat on the floor. "All done." He smiled ear to ear. "So, how'd you get involved with the 'stupid idiots' anyway?"

"The usual. They think I'm gay, they throw a punch, I leave claw marks and it escalates from there." He was staring at his fingers in disgust.

Duo joined the study of his hands, not seeing any claws. "Are you? Gay I mean, I don't care either way. Just curious."

Ternash reached over and snatched up his shirt. "Geez, just because I got long hair and I'm pretty, everyone automatically assumes I'm gay!" Duo nodded, noting that he hadn't actually answered the question. Duo was certainly used to those stereotypes. They could be very hurtful, never mind that in his case they were true. Ternash stood, wrapping his tail around his waist again. "I have to go. Thank you."

Duo stood beside him. "Come on, you should stay a while. Where are you staying anyway?" He eyed the duffle bag that Ternash had brought with him. It looked like luggage.

His suspicion was confirmed as the neko blushed deeply. "I'm staying in a hotel near school." He didn't meet the American's eyes.

Duo frowned, suspecting that it couldn't be a very good hotel, if he was really staying in one at all. "Look, why don't you stay here. Quatre wouldn't mind, he loves guests. I'm sure it would be better than what you've got. Certainly cheaper than a hotel."

Ternash paused, clearly considering it. He shook his head, "No, I have to go. Start on transfer records, see if Grandpa can get me out before Monday."

"Transfer? Didn't you just transfer in? Why leave so soon?"

"Look at me! I'm a freak and by tomorrow the entire school is going to know that. You don't seem the type to tell, neither do your friends, but those bullies got a pretty good look at me too. Besides, two of your 'friends' have already tried to kill me."

Duo grasped Ternash's hands and gave them a shake that sent tremors through all his body. "Come on, I already explained that. Wu-man wasn't actually going to hurt you, he just thought you were an oni or something. He's just over cautious. And Heero," Duo paused. "Well, he tries to kill everyone. He's tried to kill me a couple times. I'd be worried if he didn't try to kill you. Personally, I'm glad to meet a real live neko. It must be so cool to have ears. And I would love to have a fluffy tail!"

Ternash pulled away from the bouncing and rambling boy. "You can only say that because you don't know what it's really like. You would hate it, walking around like a freak, separate from all of society."

"I'm already separate from society. Ears and a tail would just be cool!"

Ternash looked more than angry now. "Don't be an idiot! Those creeps at school tried to turn me to mush because they assumed I was gay. Imagine what they would have done if they knew I was a monster. My own parents tried to drown me when I was born. They never even named me. They kept me around for some reason and called me Neko until I was sent away. Even my sensei refused to teach me, punched me through a wall first time we met! It's hell, and people who think 'it would be cool' are just jackasses that make my existence that much worse!"

The vague insult bounced right off Duo's hide and he saw the genuine hurt in Ternash's eyes. "Hey, calm down. It can't be all that bad. I bet there are lots of people out there who wouldn't care whether or not you were furry."

The raven-haired boy took a few more steps toward the door. "You're being stupid. You just don't know what it's like." His shoulders were shaking with unshed emotions now and Duo wrapped him in a hesitant hug. "Baka."

Duo smiled slightly and pulled the smaller boy more tightly into the hug. "Yup, that's me, the braided baka. Stay here for at least the night. You can meet Quatre and Trowa when they get back in the morning. They won't judge you. I don't"

Ternash leaned into him and nodded slightly. He had nowhere else to go. He stalked away to the indicated guest room, small tears trailing down his cheeks. "I wish my parents had drowned me."

**

Well, that seems like a good place to end the chapter. This is basically finished, I have to rewrite the rest of it, but I should be able to post it pretty fast. Tell me what you think, or my standard threat applies. No reveiws means this goes into my private collection. ^_^ Flames are welcome, but not particularly appreciated – I might flame back. Hope to read your thoughts soon.