ZAFT Academy

The Hooker War

Chapter 1: From Yzak With Love

Yzak Joule's blue eyes were burning a hole in his nemesis's back. He did not blink, nor did he move, except for the slight grinding of his teeth. A soft breeze came meandering through the nearby open window, and ruffled his hair, blowing a few stray silver strands into his eyes, and ruining—absolutely ruining—his concentration.

"Damn it!!!" Yzak Joule shot to his feet, his fist slamming against the desk. Several other students started in surprise, and one dropped her book. She hastily recovered it, setting it upside-down in her lap. Yzak continued. "Damnit! Damnit! Damnit damnit!!!" With each expletive, his fist slammed into the desk, making his pencil jump into the air and tap back down when he took another breath.

Of course, his nemesis remained calm.

Dark, shoulder-length hair swung slightly as he turned his head to the side. He looked so damn...serene. Yzak wanted to kill him on the spot.

"If you don't mind, Cadet Joule, I'd like to remind you that this is a study area, not a boxing ring. And your desk shouldn't be an opponent anyway. Save that for the Naturals." Nothing else in all the universe grated on Yzak's nerves like the cool voice of his only rival.

Athrun Zala.

It was only April, two months after the tragedy of Bloody Valentine, and two months since both had joined ZAFT. Due to the war, the training program was accelerated, and the two had already been selected for special mobile suit training. It was there, in the world of the simulations, that they had first clashed. Then, they both had been placed in the same group for emergency medic training. It had been a close call, but fortunately they hadn't been paired for resuscitation practice. Yzak probably would have strangled the other boy, and was preparing to do so at the moment.

"Give me one good reason, Zala, one good reason, and I swear you'll find this pen in your throat!" Yzak shouted, raising his red pen in his fist. After the echo of his voice in the small room faded, it seemed unbearably quiet. Cadet Zala took his time, and Yzak hated him for it.

"Please calm down," he said demurely, turning to face his ready opponent. He paused, allowing his pained expression to show clearly that he viewed Yzak as an unfortunate child who could not control his actions, and then continued. "I honestly don't know why you want to pick fights with me, and I'm honestly not interested." He then had the audacity to calmly turn his back to Yzak, close his books, and pack away his things.

"Fuck you, Zala. You know this isn't over. And you can't fool me with your 'I don't care' attitude!" Yzak strode from behind his desk and stood in front of Athrun as he got up from his seat, blocking his path to the exit. Finally, Zala's eyes narrowed. "Heh," Yzak smirked, finally feeling as if he were gaining the upper hand. Yzak leaned forward and hissed so only the other boy could hear. "I know that you're the one who set the sprinklers on in the West Hall yesterday morning, and I know you did it so you could have some extra time to sneak into Commander Kent's office and steal the stats for the next simulation." Zala's eyes widened, and so did Yzak's smile. Yes, today he was going to win. "So," he continued, his voice becoming a sneer, "if you don't want Daddy to find out, you'll stop pissing me off, and you'll play the game my way." Yzak looked triumphant and felt superior, but something about his rival's expression wasn't right.

He was sure that Zala should look more...more scared. Or just more upset.

But Athrun Zala smiled.

"Oh, if that's the case," Zala whispered, making sure that only Yzak could hear, "let me first inform you that not only do I know that you were the one who mixed up the officer's mail, but I have evidence. And I know that you did it to hide the fact that your paper on the new Zaku was half a day late because you took the morning off to go duke it out on the practice simulations with Elsman." Yzak took a sudden breath. How did Zala know everything? "So," Zala continued, his voice beginning to mock Yzak's earlier tone, "if you don't want Mommy to find out, you'll stop following me around and you'll realize that I simply play the game better." Zala smiled, knowing he had won, again. He stepped past Yzak and walked briskly out the door.

"DAMNIT!!"

By the next morning, Yzak was feeling remarkably better. Everyone who walked past him did so with a queer feeling sinking into their guts, because never, ever had they seen Yzak Joule look quite so smug. He was almost smiling.

The rest of the mass of self-righteous, Natural-hating cadets continued on with their boring lives, turning in research papers, studying for tests, and practicing drills. Yzak Joule was, at least for this day, different. Rather than study for his Strategy test to take place at 900h, Yzak had spent the previous night calculating the best way to take down the only enemy that really mattered: Athrun Zala.

Not surprisingly, he had come up with a number of ideas that had to be instantly rejected. However much he wanted to, Yzak could not kill the other cadet. That would mean a blow to his reputation, expulsion from ZAFT, and probably jail time. And Yzak Joule was smarter than that. Nor could Yzak maim or otherwise injure his rival. So he had discovered that he had to fight back not physically, but mentally. Psychologically.

Yzak decided that he needed to get revenge in a way that hurt what he hated most about the other boy. After his roommate went to sleep, he made a list of what exactly it was about Zala that pissed him off. Slowly, he modified this list so he could clearly identify the piece of Zala that would get attacked, and then he decided on how to go about with the attacking.

Perhaps Zala didn't know that war had begun, but in Yzak's vengeful mind, it had. And this time, for sure, Yzak knew he was going to win.

His feeling of smug victory lasted through his Strategy test, and was beginning to downright frighten many of his classmates. When he saw Zala, instead of the usual fiery glare, Yzak did smile...evilly. And the action had a bonus side effect: Zala looked worried.

Yzak's plan became reality as the final bell tolled and the students were free until the next morning. Yzak was the first to exit the Geography classroom, a horribly stuffy room (not because of the ventilation, but because of the combined presences of Zala and his cutesy green-haired friend). Young cadets were just beginning to spill out of the classrooms up and down either side of the hall. Perfect. Yzak moved to get a better vantage point, but remain inconspicuous. He checked his watch.

1700h.

Right on time, she turned down the hallway, and they clumsily made way for her. They had probably never seen the likes of her in their lives, for only someone with money could meet someone like her.

She strode down the hall like she owned the Academy, and her tall red heels clicked in a rhythm that undoubtedly matched the heartbeats of all the males in her vicinity. The high slit in her dress stretched brazenly across her thigh when she thrust her left leg forward. The crimson satin was cut low across the front, hardly leaving anything to the imagination, and was cut even lower across the back. No one doubted that the diamonds draped around her neck or clinging to her ears were genuine. Her lips were lush and pouty. Her eyes teased emerald mischief veiled beneath dark lashes. Her hair was nothing but dark curls coiled on her head and sensuous locks hanging down around her neck. She noticed the attention, and loved it, but it was clear that she had another objective.

She moved toward the Geography room, and then caught sight of her target.

"Ah, there you are, you little devil," she purred, her dangerous eyes lingering on the form of Athrun Zala. And they did linger.

Yzak smiled, because he knew that Zala was squirming.

"Excuse me, but um, er, may I," Zala began awkwardly. He coughed, attempting to buy himself some time to think. He looked down, and then looked up in surprise as his face flushed dramatically. She had taken several quick steps towards him, and now the slit in her dress was nearly brushing his own thigh. "May I ask," he began and then his voice shifted into a very embarrassed squeak, "why you are here?"

Yzak fought the urge to burst out into laughter. He knew that if he remained silent, Zala could only dig himself into a deeper hole.

"But, didn't you..." the woman began in a tone of mock surprise. Her hand lifted to cover the "O" her glossy red lips formed. Then she shifted both her tone and her bosom into a more teasing pose. "You little trickster. Don't pretend you didn't call me." She tossed her dark locks seductively over her nude shoulder and put on a show of pouting. "Don't you like me, Mr. Athrun Zala?"

Zala's face sped past pink and was firmly in the red. He waved his hands between their two bodies, and looked desperately to the side. "It's not that I, I, I don't like you," Zala stammered weakly, "it's just that—"

The woman smiled as if the cadet had just proclaimed his love for her and pressed herself against him, ending any of Zala's further attempts to speak. Several other students gasped, and a few laughed to see the usually composed cadet so flustered.

"Oh, you tease," the woman breathed, pressing her cheek against the top of his head. Of course, the height difference meant that Zala's cheek was pressed firmly against her smooth collarbone. "I can't wait to see where you're taking me." She drew back slightly and then her warm breath tickled his earlobe as she spoke in a low tone that every ear strained to hear. "I have a bottle of champagne, and now that's school's out..." she trailed off meaningfully. Zala stared back into her green eyes like a frightened mouse stares into the eyes of a large, hungry cat.

She tugged on his arm, and then began to lead him away. At first it seemed like Zala tried to resist, but then it became apparent to everyone that Zala found resistance quite futile. The cadet's eyes darted this way and that, but he was trapped. When the duo passed him, Yzak could see perspiration on his nemesis's brow.

Just as she turned down the hallway from whence she came, new life seemed to spring into Zala and he broke free. Breathing with difficulty, he took several timid steps backwards and then swallowed nervously.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled as his head hung in an embarrassed bow, his hands clenched at his sides. She looked at him, confused, and then took a step in his direction.

At the hint of movement toward him, Zala took off down the opposite hallway at full speed, shouting apologies until the door swung shut behind him.

The hallways, still filled with students, immediately filled with sound. Everyone in the building seemed to be laughing, many so hard that they had tears streaming from their eyes. The perfect Cadet Zala had been knocked off his pedestal of serenity by nothing more than a hooker. The laughter bounced off the ceilings and walls, emptied onto the lawns and pathways outside, and rebounded into every nook and cranny of ZAFT Academy.

To Yzak, it was the sound of victory.

Please review! If you like the sound of ZAFT Academy shorts, let me know. And there is a second chapter to this! Thanks and I hope you enjoyed it!