Bred for Destiny
A Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl
This fanfic is dedicated to Archsage Soren, with much thanks. God bless. :)
Summary: On the first day of school, Duo, Quatre, & Wufei are recruited by two mysterious classmates, Hiiro & Trowa. Their mission is to use secret "Gundam" technology to fight a group of destructive rebels, but things are not as they first seem. Permanently incomplete.
Act 1 - Identifying
"Duo!" The pretty nun's enraged shout rang out over the courtyard. "You will report to the breakfast hall this instant!"
The fifteen-year-old grinned and nestled more comfortably in his hiding place. Sister Helen wasn't going to succeed in sending him to a new school this time - he was perfectly content to get his education at the church and occasionally shock the nuns with his sacrilegious statements, thank you very much.
He rummaged through the bag of supplies he had brought up, enough sandwiches, apples, and water to last him through the day. It would be boring, though. He had brought his Bible, with the vague idea of actually memorizing his assigned verses for once. It was part of his master plan to pacify Sister Helen for giving her the slip this morning.
But...he could memorize verses later. Duo turned to the broken radio he had brought up as well, more interested in taking this thing apart so he could see how it worked. Maybe he could even give it to Father Maxwell as a present for his birthday in a week-
"DUO!"
He jumped and dropped the radio with a clatter. "How did you find me?" he gasped, looking down into Sister Helen's glaring face. She was standing high enough on the attic stairs for her head and shoulders to be visible, staring straight at him even though he had thought he was well-hidden among the shadows in the roof beams.
"You underestimate me, sir." She suddenly cocked her head at him, and Duo, with some relief, caught the twinkle in her eye despite the deep frown. "Young man, don't you ever again claim to be unable to wake up before noon. You must have snuck out before the sun even rose, am I right?"
Duo grinned beguilingly at her. "Aw come on, Sister Helen, I was just lookin' for a quiet place to study my Bible verses before school today. I was gonna surprise you."
Her eyebrow arched. "Oh, really. Let's hear it, then."
"Hear what?" he asked innocently.
"How far you've gotten. Romans 5:1-5 it was, I believe?"
"Um...you know, I just started looking at them, surely you can't expect me too-" He broke off when he saw the change in her expression. She sighed and shook her head, a sad look passing over her face. He watched in silence (and some admiration) as she managed to climb up to where he was perched.
"Hey, that's pretty impressive for an old lady," he teased, in an effort to forestall whatever talking-to she meant to give him. "I bet you've been hiding all these hidden talents, like break-dancing or playing hockey-"
"Duo, honey," she said. He winced at the gentleness of her voice. "I know this is hard for you. I don't think it's fair, either, that the sponsorship changed and they're making you kids go to yet another new school." She cupped his cheek in one hand, but he pulled away and glared at the ground to disguise how guilty he felt for worrying her. "Sweetheart, can't you do you best anyway? For me and Father Maxwell, if not for yourself?"
"They say I smell bad," he mumbled, then wished he'd kept his mouth shut.
This time it was Sister Helen's turn to wince. He was too old now to be taken in by the old line, "You don't smell bad at all." The water rations the orphanage received were barely enough to keep the kids properly hydrated, much less clean.
"I will pray that you have a wonderful, blessed day," she finally offered, smiling a little as she realized how that must sound to him.
"No," he snapped. Then he relented and pasted on one of the charming smiles that came so easily to him. "I'll be fine, Sister Helen. I'm not a kid, I can handle this." His grin grew a bit mischievous. "Besides, once you knock down a couple of guys, the rest leave you alone."
She gave him a Look. He laughed and handed her one of the apples before climbing down.
0-0-0-0-0
"Rashid, tell me honestly, how do I look?" the boy asked nervously. He was a sweet-faced, good-looking fifteen-year-old with fair hair, about to start his first day at a new school.
"You always look your best, Quatre-sama," the tall, broad-shouldered captain answered fondly.
Quatre glanced down at the pink shirt, purple vest, and khaki trousers he was wearing. "I don't know, Rashid, sometimes I don't trust you guys' fashion sense..."
"Quatre-sama!" a voice called from downstairs, and Abdul pounded up to where Quatre and Rashid stood in the doorway of Quatre's apartment. "The car's been brought around. You have your lunch, your schedule, pencils and paper...?"
"Stop fussing, Abdul, he's fine," Rashid said dismissively. "Have a good day, Quatre-sama. I will look after things here."
Quatre waved and followed Abdul down.
As the car pulled away, Quatre could not resist looking back at the apartment complex that, over time, had come to house all forty of the loyal men who took care of him, plus their families. It was a loud, warm, strange sort of family, and Quatre had never wished for any other. He took a deep breath and faced forward again.
They had not gone far down the road when Quatre suddenly sat up alertly. There appeared to be some sort of scuffle on the sidewalk - three boys had shoved a fourth against the wall.
"Ahmad, slow down," Quatre ordered with uncharacteristic sharpness.
"Quatre-sama," Abdul murmured from beside him, "should we really get involved...?"
The apparent victim, a scruffy boy with black clothes and unusually long brown hair, had lashed out and apparently hurt one of his attackers, who howled with rage and pain.
Before Quatre knew what he was doing, the car door was open and he had one foot on the sidewalk. All four boys glared suspiciously at the car, and the three - what, antagonists? Quatre wasn't sure - where already loping quickly away. The long-haired boy stood with both feet firmly planted, breathing heavily as he clutched at his injured arm and glared straight into Quatre's eyes. Quatre was startled to see the marks of what would be a black eye blooming on the boy's face.
"Um...are you all right?" Quatre asked awkwardly, suddenly aware that Abdul was looming behind him. Quatre often appreciated the concern of the Maganacs, but at times (like now) they felt overprotective.
"Are you all right?" the boy shot back, his voice a whiny imitation of Quatre's own. He continued scoffing in a normal voice, "Walk around in that getup much longer and you won't be, fruit." As he whirled to stalk away, Quatre quickly stepped back from the sour, unwashed smell caught from the other boy.
For a long moment, Quatre watched him walk away, fists clenched, wanting nothing more than to climb back into the car and not spare another thought on some rude, ungrateful kid who needed a bath. However, Quatre was a soft-hearted person, and after that one long moment he drew in a deep breath, released it, and deliberately uncurled his fists.
"My name is Quatre," he called out. "If you're going anywhere near Winner Academy, we can give you a ride."
At the name of the school, the boy's pace paused, perhaps in surprise. Then he walked on with no other hint of a response.
Quatre closed his eyes, nodded, then opened his eyes again and grinned at the worried-looking Abdul before climbing back into the car.
0-0-0-0-0
Wufei, still invigorated from his morning practice, stepped into the kitchen. His grandmother was sitting at the table, sipping tea and listening to the news on the radio. That was not surprising; what caused Wufei to halt and stare was the sight of his girlfriend cheerfully humming as she labored over a pan of eggs at the stove.
"Meilan, what are you doing here?" Wufei asked, his annoyed tone masking the pleasure he felt at seeing her so unexpectedly.
At the sound of his voice, the pretty Chinese girl turned and smiled brightly enough to rival the early morning sun shining through the windows.
"Fei!" She came over to him, purring as she did so, "Oooh, I love it when your hair's all wet from the shower."
"Meilan," he started, casting an embarrassed glance at his grandmother, but Meilan was kissing him before he could protest further.
"Child, the eggs are burning," Mistress Chang said serenely after a moment, her heavily-lined face betraying nothing of her thoughts.
Meilan squealed and dashed back to the stove. Red-faced, Wufei pulled the towel off his shoulders to rub at his damp hair.
"What are you doing here?" he asked again.
"It's the first day of school! I wanted to do something special," she explained, getting out two plates. "You should leave your hair down, Wufei. It looks better like that; how come you always tie it up all the time?"
Wufei grunted, not bothering to answer something so obvious. He did, however, decide that perhaps he didn't have to put his hair up just this minute.
The three of them ate companionably, Meilan chatting and teasing, Wufei mostly grunting in reply or shooting nervous glances at his grandmother, who finally looked up and smiled at him.
"What a kind girl Meilan is," she said in her unhurried way. "Though it is you who should have thought of visiting her this morning."
"It's the same school we've been going to for ten years," Wufei pointed out. "What's so great about the first day?"
"It's the first day of school that we've been together," Meilan countered. She grinned. "You remember last year? When we first met?"
"Oh, I remember all right, Nataku," Wufei said, with such a smug smirk that she shrieked and flung a napkin at him.
"The time," Mistress Chang said conversationally, "is eight-thirty, in case you were unaware of it."
Immediately the two teenagers leaped up, Meilan dumping dirty plates in the sink and running for her backpack, while Wufei cursed as he clutched a hair-tie in his teeth and simultaneously attempted to pull his socks on with one hand and shove books into his schoolbag with the other.
"Good-bye, my grandson," Mistress Chang said very pointedly when they were halfway out the door. The kids froze, torn. Then Meilan, despite hopping up and down with impatience, gave her boyfriend a curt nod; Wufei hissed through his teeth, whirled back around, planted a kiss on his grandmother's soft, wrinkly forehead, and then they were gone.
0-0-0-0-0
The Japanese boy's nose wrinkled in distaste as he surveyed the courtyard of noisy students, engaging in uselessly exuberant activity. Throwing things, chatting about mindless topics, shrieking with laughter at not-funny jokes, chasing each other around...
"Were schools always like this?" he asked his companion in a low voice.
The other boy, one piercing green eye showing through the long hair that obscured part of his face, shrugged disinterestedly. "For all we know, they're still like this."
01 turned to look 03 fully in the face, his eyes narrowed. "Still?"
03 frowned in response. "You know what I meant. I didn't forget."
"Remember the mission," 01 said, his voice a very low warning.
"Hiiro," 03 said deliberately, and watched as the other boy flinched a little. "I've never failed before. Have I ever given you any reason to distrust me?"
"I don't trust anyone," 01 said shortly. "And neither should you."
As if it was a signal, they parted ways.
0-0-0-0-0
Maybe he should have gotten a ride from that rich kid after all. His arm was hurting badly enough to make it extremely uncomfortable carrying a book bag. Disgusted, Duo kicked his feet as he walked, going slower and slower as he approached the sounds of a noisy school courtyard.
Why, why, why did it have to be yet another new school, yet another round of stares, hostile looks, fights...
"Duo!"
His head jerked up in surprise at the familiar voice. Meilan came flying down the sidewalk to meet him, her face shining with surprise. "Hey, don't tell me you're going to our school now!"
Duo tried to stop himself from gaping. He had never seen Meilan outside of the orphanage, where she volunteered a few times a month. "I...well...you go here?"
Meilan was laughing. "Oh, this is great! I know it sucks to be the new kid; you can hang out with me and Fei."
Duo looked over her shoulder to find Wufei approaching at a more dignified pace. He didn't know the other boy very well at all, had just seen him a couple of times when Meilan dragged him with her to the orphanage, but Duo grinned anyway. "Hi, Wuffie."
"That's 'Chang' to you," the Chinese boy responded coldly. He hated being called by stupid nicknames. Only Meilan could get away with it.
"What happened to your face?" Meilan was saying indignantly. "You look like-" she broke off.
"Like the Transfiguration?" Duo supplied brightly. "Yeah I know, dazzling. Might need your help keepin' the girls off me." He winked.
After a moment, she nodded. "Well, hey, we better go. Wufei and I left late, and," she paused only a second, for a knowing grin, "looks like you had a good excuse to be late, too. You know where your first class is, right?"
"Um..."
Wufei sighed. "I'll find a computer and check. Meilan, you go take care of him." He walked away.
Duo glared after him until Meilan punched him playfully in the shoulder. Unfortunately, it was the wrong shoulder, and he yelped.
"Oh, don't tell me your arm's messed up, too!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Come on, I'll take you to the nurse. And you know, Duo," she added as they began walking again, "Wufei wasn't being mean or anything. It's obvious you...well, had a little run-in on the way here. He was just acknowledging the facts."
"Should be grateful, I guess," Duo muttered in a voice that didn't sound grateful at all. But he liked Meilan, so he smiled at her. "Hey...you know, well...thanks."
She smiled back. "No problem."
0-0-0-0-0
Was that the bell ringing already? Hiiro cursed and exited the computer programs as quickly as he could. Most of his and 03's - that is, Trowa's - files were in order, but he had not yet managed to alter their tuition status. Oh well. Hopefully it wouldn't cause problems until lunch, when he could come back and finish up.
Leaving the office exactly as he had found it, Hiiro climbed back out through the window and navigated down the ground, where his backpack was waiting. Just as he was bending to scoop it up, a voice suddenly cut through his preoccupation.
"Hello."
In an instant, Hiiro's gun was in his hand, pointed at the offender. And when he saw her, an ordinary student, Hiiro's thoughts went wild.
'No! No! No! Idiot! Why did you take out the gun?! Now you'll have to kill her and our cover is ruined and I'll have blown the mission and it'll be my fault, not 03's-'
"Oh. You must be in ROTC, right?" Her blue eyes had been wide with shock, but now she was smiling at him.
Hiiro stared at her. 'She can't be that stupid, can she? ROTC students don't carry handguns.' Then his brain calmed enough to take in the details of her expression. Her mouth was smiling, but the rest of her face was frightened, anxious...pleading. She wanted him to say the right thing, to take the escape she offered, to prove that her world had not just changed in an instant.
Hiiro tried what he thought was a nonchalant shrug and slipped the gun back into its hidden holster. "Yeah. ROTC."
Her grin widened in relief. "Oh. That's nice. My name is Relena Darlian, by the way. What's yours?"
He did not have time for this. He pushed past her without a word, heading for his first class.
0-0-0-0-0
'Duo Maxwell, you are a chicken, that's what you are,' he told himself. Hiding out in the bathroom because he didn't want to walk in late, the center of attention, all eyes fixed on him, knowing from his face and bandaged arm that he was either a loser or a thug, knowing from his clothes that he was an orphanage brat, and not a rich kid like them with all of life's perks.
'I'll go to second period,' he told himself firmly. 'As soon as the bell rings, I'm out of here. No one will notice me in the crowd.'
It was really boring hanging out in the bathroom. No one was there in the middle of class. He had only been here for ten minutes or so; there was at least half an hour until the bell rang...
0-0-0-0-0
It had been terrible trying to get out of the car that morning, anxiousness pressing on him so that he could hardly breathe, but once Quatre was caught up in the activity of finding his classes, it was all right. His first period was advanced mathematics, which he enjoyed.
He had tried smiling at some of his classmates, but they either looked through him as if he did not exist or returned his friendly smile with mocking smirks.
It was the clothes, Quatre knew. He really should not have trusted a bunch of well-meaning foreigners to pick out his clothes, especially for his first day at a new school...
"Winner," the teacher called out, in some surprise.
"Oh! Present," Quatre answered, startled.
"What an interesting name," the teacher remarked. "You don't happen to be connected to the Winners who founded this Academy, are you?"
"No, no," Quatre laughed. He was used to this; Winner Academy and its founding organization, Winner Corporation, were big names in the country. "It's just a coincidence. Winner is not that uncommon a name in some areas of the world, you know."
"I see," the teacher answered in mild disappointment. She continued on with the roll call.
Quatre, looking idly around the classroom, was suddenly caught by the gaze of another student. It was a boy in the back row, his face half-covered by long brown hair, but his visible green eye fixed unwaveringly on Quatre.
For a moment, Quatre stared back in surprise at the intensity of the other boy's attention. Then he smiled, a little nervously.
After a second, the boy looked away, his expression unchanging.
0-0-0-0-0
'Made it,' Duo thought with satisfaction. It was the passing period just before his second class, and he had managed to find his classroom and claim a seat in the back corner before many other people had entered the room. Even the teacher was busy at his computer and paid no attention to the smelly injured kid slinking into the back row.
The noise increased as more and more students came in and found either seats to settle themselves in or friends to talk to. Just when the din became almost unbearable, the bell rang, and the teacher reluctantly rose to call order.
Duo observed that there was a sort of ring of empty seats around him. Most kids didn't even look at him when they chose other desks, but a few had glared his way, one even holding his nose briefly in an unmistakable gesture.
'I don't care,' Duo thought at them. 'I don't care what you think of me. I wanna be here even less than you want me to.'
There was one girl, a pretty blue-eyed blonde who actually tried to smile at him after a wary moment, but then her attention was absorbed by the flock of high-pitched girls that surrounded her.
Class had already commenced when a student walked in late. He was a hard-faced, blue eyed, Asian-looking boy with tangled, untidy hair. Duo almost liked him for that, and for the unselfconscious way he walked, as if he did not even notice that he looked strange wearing spandex and a tank top in this fancy school full of rich kids.
"Had a schedule change," the boy said brusquely to the teacher.
"I see," the man responded. "Let me see your schedule, please."
The boy handed it over, then turned and faced the class. There was a deep, nervous silence as those rocky, dark blue eyes passed over their faces. The eyes even landed briefly on Duo, who shivered a little. He had a feeling that this boy could be more dangerous than typical school bullies, yet there was nothing "bully" about him. More like..."assassin."
As Duo was scoffing at himself for these thoughts, the boy suddenly opened his mouth. "Hiiro Yui. It's a pleasure," he introduced himself, though his tone indicated it was anything but a pleasure.
"All right then Mr., ah, Yui, go ahead and take a seat," the teacher said. "And let me remind you that new students have a week's grace period before they are required to have obtained the school uniform. That goes for everyone here, not just Mr. Yui," he added, with a slightly distasteful glance in Duo's direction.
For a moment, Hiiro turned his scorching glance on the teacher, who actually gulped. Then, without changing expression, he strode between the desks and sat down right in the one next to Duo. Duo stared at him in amazement, but Hiiro did not turn to look at him.
After a confused moment, the lesson resumed.
0-0-0-0-0
At lunch, Relena ate her meal and listened to the other girls complaining.
"What is this school coming to? Did you see the riffraff we've been landed with this year?"
"I know what you mean," another girl answered in disgust. "First that filthy orphanage kid, then that creepy guy who looks like he's never seen a comb in his life before-"
"Listen to yourselves," Relena interjected quietly. As usual, her friends stopped talking immediately and gave all their attention to her. "Those poor kids at the orphanage don't have anyone else to take care of them. The orphanage runs almost solely on donations; I'd be surprised if they can afford to feed the kids enough, much less send them to good schools. I think this government program is wonderful if it means some kid gets a chance to make a better life for himself."
"And the creepy guy?" the girls started asking eagerly. "What do you think of him, Relena-sama?"
Relena didn't answer for a minute. There was no way she could tell her friends about what she had seen that morning, Hiiro sneaking out of an office - out the window, from the third floor! - and pulling a gun on her when she startled him. He was so young; he couldn't be a terrorist or something, could he?
"I think he is a very interesting person," she said finally. "I'd like to get to know him better."
The girls all shrieked with laughter.
0-0-0-0-0
"You're eating lunch?"
Trowa looked up at his partner, who was staring at him in disbelief. Trowa shrugged. "It's called blending in."
"Yes, you blend in perfectly, sitting in a corner all by yourself," Hiiro said sarcastically.
Trowa frowned. "Not everyone is the Perfect Soldier, 01. We can't all keep going at full capacity if we're underfed. Speaking of which, sit down, I've got an extra sandwich you can have."
Hiiro stared at him.
"Hiiro," Trowa said again, more quietly than usual. "Sit down. Eating a sandwich will not interfere with the mission. We can talk about our findings so far."
"Are there findings?" Hiiro edged. "We haven't had gym yet."
Trowa smiled a little. "What would you say if I told you that there is a student in my advanced math class named Winner?"
After a moment, Hiiro picked up the sandwich and sat down. "Make your report," he said curtly, taking a bite.
0-0-0-0-0
Gym that day was held outside, on the basketball courts. While the coach took care of first day necessities, some of the unoccupied students went at it with basketballs.
Duo soon proved to be a terror on the court, from his quick, aggressive moves to his frequent yelling of abuse, bragging, and challenges. The game had started with nearly fifteen players - surprisingly soon, only a handful were left.
The coach's cell phone suddenly went off. He pulled it out, then hissed in irritation when he saw the number. "I gotta take this," he muttered to no one in particular, and hurried, rather guiltily, into the building.
Duo shouted in disgust as his last opponents walked off the court, sweating profusely and swearing in frustration.
"What's the matter, you can't take it?" he yelled after them. "Can't handle a Maxwell, that's what it is, yah!" All the while secretly pleased by his obvious superiority, despite the fact that his injured arm was freely bleeding from the exertion. In this place, at least, he didn't feel like a filthy orphan whom nobody but the church wanted. Here, he felt like he could actually be somebody-
His thoughts broke off when two boys approached, apparently taking up his challenge. The sight of them made Duo fall silent for a minute - it was Yui, from earlier, and an almost equally scary-looking companion. Neither spoke; both were concentrated on him with cold, cold eyes.
"Heh," he finally laughed, hiding his nervousness behind bravado. "I'll take you both on at once, you creepy-" He never got farther than that, because at that point both sprang into action. Yui had brushed past him quick as lightning and apparently snagged the ball, because Duo saw that it was no longer in his hands. The other guy just disappeared.
Shocked and disoriented, Duo whirled around to find them both scoring baskets, then turning to look at him dispassionately.
"HEY!" he shouted, and flung himself after them.
It took a minute for him to adjust, to realize that he wasn't playing against easy opponents, to start pushing his body to the max. But once Duo was revved, there was no stopping him. No longer did he have time or energy to spare for shouts and goading; the game, if that's what it still was, was performed in verbal silence. Even the spectators didn't say much, so intensely were they watching.
Yui and the other guy were good. Their speed and reflexes seemed superhuman; Duo was actually surprised he was managing to keep the score so close. But it was fast becoming clear that he would never be able to beat these guys on his own - they made it look so easy, it was almost as if they were playing with him, and here he was drenched with sweat and already tiring.
The ball fumbled loose from his hands, and Duo fell to his knees. Roaring with frustration, he surged back to his feet and whirled to face the watching crowd. "Someone help me!" he shouted, cursing. He could not let these two punks win, not now, after all his boasting and gloating.
But the spectators were uneasy. Everyone Duo cast his eye on flinched or looked away or even drew back. It dawned on Duo that none of them wanted to face the two Unbeatable Freaks...if they would even have been willing to ally with the Smelly Orphan Freak to do so in the first place.
Furious, Duo's eyes finally fell on a couple of boys who did not look away, one who was watching the game with detached curiosity, the other - Wufei, he noted distractedly - so absorbed in a book that he had not been looking up to begin with.
Duo marched over, grabbed the collar of the fancy-pants pretty boy (he looked vaguely familiar) and dragged him to his feet. "Let's go," he snarled into the boy's startled face. "Even a girl like you is better than nothing."
"What did you say?" Quatre gasped in shock, one hand flying self-consciously to his hair.
Duo was already dragging him over to Wufei, who was all nerded up in a pair of glasses and probably had no clue what was going on. Duo snatched the book and flung it away, which he might not have done if his mind was less clouded by a competitive haze. "And you! Get up, let's go!"
Wufei's outraged, icy glare was enough to clear Duo's head for just a moment, making him wonder if perhaps this had not been the wisest move. The Chinese boy rose majestically to his feet and was about to say something no doubt deeply cutting, when a girl's voice suddenly rang out over the court.
All heads turned to see Meilan, already in the school-issued gym shorts and shirt, practically posing against the fence of the adjacent girls' basketball court as she grinned invitingly at her boyfriend. "Come on, Wufei," she called again. "Show 'em who's the best."
Without a word, Wufei took off his glasses and stalked onto the court.
"B-But I don't know how to play," Quatre protested as Duo's violent eyes turned back to him.
"What's not to get?" Duo spat recklessly. "You bounce the ball and throw it in the net down there. Come on!" He yanked Quatre back onto the court with him, where Hiiro and Trowa waited. Trowa was dribbling the ball slowly, almost tauntingly; Hiiro stood with crossed arms, observing everything in silence.
There was a moment of hesitation, and then the five boys blasted into motion. No longer was there any semblance to a game - it was a war. Hiiro and Trowa were ruthless, Duo and Wufei drove themselves hard. Quatre seemed to wander after them helplessly at first, but eventually it seemed like he got the hang of it, trying for the ball every time he got a chance, bouncing it as he ran, and throwing it into nets. Once or twice Duo raged at him when he scored in the wrong goal or forgot to dribble the ball as he ran. But the Freaks said nothing, and Duo suddenly understood that this was no longer a game with nice little rules. To Hiiro and Trowa, it was something else, though none of their opponents could have said what.
It happened when Trowa was apparently trying for a lay-up. The only problem was, he never came down. The ball bounced and rolled off-court, forgotten, as everyone stared gaping up at Trowa, who stood balanced as confidently as a cat on the goal's backboard.
"Wh-What...?" Quatre stammered.
"Did you see..?!" Duo started to say, whirled around to find Hiiro, and stopped. The Japanese boy was somehow now atop the other goal, sitting with apparent ease as he stared down at the three below.
The arrogance Duo perceived in his face was too much. "That does it!" Duo shouted, and ran at Hiiro's goal. He meant to climb up the pole, but it seemed like he only touched the thing once with hands and feet before he found himself, very surprised, perched next to Hiiro, wobbling only a little. He was startled to hear Hiiro suddenly chuckle, low and triumphant.
Quatre, staring at them, turned helplessly to face Trowa again. The green-eyed boy tilted his head invitingly. Quatre swallowed. "I can't," he whispered.
Trowa spoke. "Come on, Quatre." It was so quiet, but there was such a note in his voice, expectant and calm, that Quatre suddenly ran and jumped and there he was, huddled next to Trowa, somehow balancing on the edge of the backboard without falling.
Wufei knew it was his turn, and he wasn't having any of it. He made to walk off the court, but then Hiiro was on him. A leap and the Japanese boy was on the ground; a flash of orange as he hurled the basketball; Wufei deflected it, but not in time to escape as Hiiro came attacking in its wake. Wufei reacted instinctively with martial arts moves, surprised that he would need to use them at school. How on earth had this kid learned so much of fighting that he was able to keep Wufei dancing, unable to land a blow, blocking attacks only with the greatest concentration and effort? Wufei had to use the wall, leaping up, kicking off it, practically flying through the air in an attempt to break free of his opponent. And then, when Hiiro finally paused, finally just stood there and looked at him appraisingly, Wufei went hot with anger as he realized he had been somehow tested, and passed.
"I don't know what you're looking for," he growled at Hiiro, "but I am having no part of it." This time, Hiiro let him go.
Hiiro went up to where Duo still teetered, looking confused and frustrated, and called up to him flatly. "Aren't you coming down?"
"Yeah, when I'm good and ready," Duo shouted back. To tell the truth, he had no idea how to get down. It was too far to jump, and sliding down looked tricky, requiring mental preparation.
Hiiro's eyes narrowed. He was back up beside Duo in a flash, and without a word of warning, gave him a shove.
Duo had not finished yelling and cursing when he found himself back on the floor, miraculously in a protective crouch and not, for example, splayed out with a smashed face and dislocated limbs. Cautiously, he stood up, took a few steps, and he felt - fine. "What...?" he gasped, barely able to speak from tension.
Quatre, watching all this in increasing amazement, was a little startled when he heard Trowa's quiet voice in his ear.
"Are you going down, or do I have to push you?"
Quatre gulped. Realizing he was going to end up in the air one way or another, he closed his eyes, put his life in Trowa's hands, and let himself fall over.
There was a thump. After a long, long moment, Quatre nervously opened his eyes and found himself in a similar crouch, unscathed. In relief, he promptly collapsed.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" The coach came charging out of his office, slipping his cell phone into his pocket and vowing never, ever to leave his class unattended again.
0-0-0-0-0
Trowa was unhappy afterwards. "I think we went too far. There were three of them, not two. What if we'd guessed wrong?"
Hiiro merely grunted, unconcerned. "We didn't."
"But if we had. We could have killed one of them." The thought disturbed Trowa a little, so he pushed it down, somewhere else in his mind where he put all the other thoughts that would torment him if he didn't keep them suppressed.
Hiiro glanced sideways at him, annoyed. "You were the one who pushed the least likely candidate."
"Least likely?" Trowa exclaimed, too quickly. "Did you see him?" At a narrow-eyed look from Hiiro, Trowa forced himself to calm down and speak more methodically. "Winner had obviously never played basketball in his life before. Yet he picked up the basic rules in less than an hour of observation, and matched the others in speed once he was finally on the court. His form was atrocious, yet his first few shots were close, and after that he made every goal he attempted. Note that this was all in unsuitable shoes."
Hiiro shrugged. "You think we should eliminate Chang, then?"
Trowa frowned. "Eliminate?"
"The mission." Hiiro was glaring again, angry that Trowa seemed so off-task to him. "Two candidates."
Trowa was not much for glaring, but he faced the other boy squarely in the eye. "You're going to leave one unreported?"
"OZ sent us to find two," Hiiro continued stubbornly.
"Does OZ know everything?" Trowa countered. "And believe it or not, the mission isn't everything, 01."
Hiiro drew his gun and pointed it at him.
Trowa's expression did not change. After a moment, he said, "Make the report however you want. I'm going to the computer lab to look up three addresses." He walked away.
Hiiro slowly lowered the gun, then took out his communicator to contact his superiors.
0-0-0-0-0
Looking up the addresses of the three candidates was not the first thing Trowa did when he left.
"Mother."
"Barton. Why must you always take so long to call?"
"I report information when I have it."
"And what have you found?"
"There are three candidates, not two."
A low chuckle. "Of course there are three."
Trowa paused. "Why were we sent to only find two?"
"Because OZ and the Alliance are idiots," was the snapped reply. "They apparently can't think of other...possibilities."
Trowa was quiet for a long time. "You mean, on the enemy's side."
Again, a laugh. "Exactly."
To be continued...
Author's Notes: I started this fic after realizing that all my Gundam Wing stories were really old and somewhat OOC. I wanted to write about the GW characters in a more mature way. Brainstorming ideas for a new story, I realized that many of my fics have some kind of AU element to them, so I worked out the rough outline of an alternate universe Gundam Wing story.