Cocky smile firmly in place, Ranma stared at the chalkboard in Yomo-sensei's calculus class. It was only the third class of the day and already he had a raging headache. Stress pulled at his temples and throbbed behind his eyes.

"Well, Saotome-san, can you tell us what's wrong with question two?" Internally he snarled at the sweet voice of his least favorite sensei. He was so far behind in calculus that it was almost hopeless and being humiliated almost daily in class didn't help any. His smile stiffened as the sensei's voice continued, "It shouldn't be hard, just this morning one of the new transfer students, Yuy-san, solved it without any problems. If someone who's been in my class for less than a day can answer it, surely you can."

Forcing himself to breathe evenly, he answered. "I don't know the answer to the question, Yomo-sensei."

"Didn't you do your homework, Saotome-san?"

"No. I didn't."

"Why not? Surely you know you're not going to pass unless you do the work."

Ranma swallowed down several hostile and even obscene answers to that sweetly reasonable question. He gave the sensei his own version of a gentle smile and answered slowly and precisely. "I just didn't."

Something in his smile must have warned Yomo-sensei that she had pushed her least favorite student as far as she could without repercussions, because she turned her attention to another hapless boy.

Ranma sat silently working on keeping his indifferent expression intact while internally he was fuming. When did he have time to study? Between fights, training, stupid girls, stupid boys, his father, and Akane he had to hide just to get some decent sleep. However, something was going to have to change soon, only two months into the year and already his grades were low enough that he was in danger of failing the majority of his classes. He couldn't overuse his new hiding place in the attic or he would be found. Maybe he could find several places to hide and rotate among them?

He almost moaned as he realized how far he had sunk. A martial artist of the Saotome School of Anything Goes, 'a man among men' as his father put it, the most sought after person in town, and he was reduced to finding places to hide. Was this really his life? Wasn't there anything else he could do to get a little peace?

He barely heard the bell ring for the next period and still sunk in depression he mumbled an abstracted apology as he bumped into someone at the door. Looking up, he figured it was one of the new transfer students because he didn't recognize the frowning face. The boy was Chinese with sleek black hair pulled into a tight tail at the nape of the neck. The fact that the boy was speaking to him didn't register at first and when it did, he stared in disbelief at the words he heard.

"You were very rude to the sensei, where I come from we have more respect for those of learning. She was trying to help you become a better person."

What? How many pompous jerks were there in this town? And why did he have to meet all of them? Ranma fought a very stiff battle with himself to keep from exploding. He really didn't need anyone else in this cursed town mad at him. And with his luck, this idiot had friends who would take up his feuds.

Very calmly, Ranma bared his teeth in what could have been mistaken for a smile and gritted out, "I'd be very grateful if you'd mind your own business." With that, he brushed past the frowning boy, and stepped around another student with brown hair and slanted bangs.

Stomping out into the hallway, he repeated to himself, 'I am calm, I am calm, I am calm'. He ignored the sound of cracking tiles under his feet and the fact that most of the students were flattening against the walls of the hallway to get out of his way. He reached the doorway of his next class, and took several deep breaths, forcing his breathing into a steady pace until the blood wasn't pounding in his ears any longer. Then he walked in and slumped down into his seat, he shifted until he could find a comfortable position and then couldn't suppress an amused snort that suddenly escaped his control. Maybe he was under more than one curse? Or perhaps he was an idiot magnet? Or maybe Furinkan wasn't really a town, maybe it was an insane asylum and he was there by accident. Although if he wasn't careful, the inmates were going to drive him as crazy as they were. He couldn't really think up any other logical reasons why he attracted so many strange people.

Giving up trying to make any sense of his life, he opened his history book and tried to skim over yesterday's reading assignment so he wouldn't make a fool of himself again. Not that Mitsuri-sensei would humiliate him, but he hated to disappoint her. She was the only sensei he had that made an effort to help. Fortunately, he had a great deal of practice in quickly skimming information, he was almost to the end of the chapter on 16th century politics when Mitsuri-sensei cleared her throat and began speaking.

Looking up, he saw that there were three more new male transfer students at the front of the room. His eyes quickly scanned over a small blond with gentle eyes, a bouncing brunette with a manic smile and stopped at a serious raven-haired boy with piercing blue eyes. Ranma's attention was so focused on the attractive stranger that he almost missed the sensei's introductions. The blond's name was Winner Quatre, the brunette was Maxwell Duo, and the raven-haired boy was Yuy Heero. Ranma flushed slightly as he realized that the boy, Heero, was looking straight at him with a slight smile hovering around delicious lips.

He quickly returned his attention back to his book, only to realize that the name Yuy was familiar for some reason. After a few seconds of thought, he realized it was the name of Yomo-sensei's new pet calculus genius. His tentative attraction was suddenly buried under memories of his earlier humiliation. Dispiritedly, he began reading again and the class went by in a haze. He was gathering up his books to leave for lunch when Mitsuri-sensei spoke.

"Ranma-san, could you stay after class for a few minutes?"

Sighing, he waited as everyone else filed out before approaching his sensei.

"I'm sorry I failed the last test, Mitsuri-sensei, and I should have been paying attention-"

The history sensei interrupted him before he could say any more. "You look tired and depressed, Ranma-san. Is something wrong?"

Blinking, he looked up into caring dark eyes and answered quietly. "No more than usual, sensei."

"I'd like to help if I can. Perhaps if I stayed after school with you, and helped with your homework? My math isn't the best, but between us we could probably figure it out."

Ranma firmly swallowed down tears and graced Mitsuri-sensei with a blinding smile that was as genuine as it was rare.

"Thanks, but I don't want to be a trouble to you. Actually-" Ranma continued slowly, "what I really need is a quiet place to study where I won't be found. All evidence to the contrary, I'm not really stupid."

"I never thought you were," the sensei interjected quietly.

"If I could study in the school library after hours, it would be an enormous help. No one would ever think to look for me there."

Dark eyes studied him for a moment before the small woman walked back to her desk and opened a drawer. When she returned she held out a key to Ranma. "Remember to lock up securely when you leave and my offer to help still stands if you ever need it."

Mitsuri-sensei spent the rest of the day with the image of tired eyes lit with gratitude and a sweet smile upon a usually cocky face burned into her memory.

o00o

Heero and the other four ex-Gundam pilots stared into the chaos that was lunchtime at Furinkan High. All five boys had laughed in the face of danger many times. They had challenged the grim reaper and came out victorious. They had walked the thin line between bravery and suicide. They had valiantly fought outnumbered and hurting when the situation was deemed hopeless. And not one of them was making a single move to enter the high school cafeteria.

Heero stared about him with the sick fascination one would give to a car accident strewn with bleeding bodies. The utter, rampant chaos was mind bending in an almost surrealistic fashion. Maybe they had stepped into an even stranger dimension without knowing it? After studying the swirling activity for a moment, he discarded that theory. Unfortunately, he recognized some of the players upon this stage of unreality.

Dazedly his eyes followed the trajectory of a piece of bread that was being tossed through the air. Or was it being dive-bombed? More bread followed while hungry teens twisted and turned, angling to be the first to snatch the food in mid-flight. Fights broke out and loud curses filled the air.

Suddenly the building shook and part of the side wall collapsed inward with a rumbling roar. When the dust cleared, there was a tiny Chinese girl standing with a bike amid the rubble. She had flowers in her hair and a lunch basket in her hand. What stunned him most of all, was that everyone acted as if this were normal. No one was yelling, or panicking, or asking how that tiny girl had broken down a wall. Everyone just shifted out of her way and went back to what they had been doing.

The girl on the bike yelled out. "Nihao. Where husband? I bring him lunch."

Heero turned back to his companions and without a word between them they all turned away from the cafeteria and quickly made their way outside. Even Duo, the most chaos minded of the group looked stunned. Settling under a quiet tree in the courtyard, they unpacked the lunches they had brought with them.

Quatre summed up all of their feelings very well. "I think this would be a perfect place to eat lunch. Every day."

The little blond's voice was perfectly solemn. He received four quickly nodded heads in response. The group slowly ate, avoiding each other's eyes. It was Duo who finally broke, a muffled snigger emerged to be buried under a cough, and then another, until giggles were shaking his body. Quatre couldn't help sharing his lover's joy and joined into the merriment. Soon all of them were laughing almost hysterically with tears running down their faces. Their snorts of laughter were punctuated with hiccupped comments.

"... awesome food fight."

"could have sworn... duck with glasses..."

"... see the guy... underwear?"

"... the poor husband."

"... girl... taking pictures"

They slowly calmed down and Heero held his aching sides as he caught his breath. Lying on his back on the green grass, he stared at the azure sky radiating gentle warmth. The happy voices of his friends swirled around him and faded into the background.

His thoughts went to Ranma and his disturbing behavior. Heero had been pleased with the stare of the raven-haired boy, and the light flush that stained beautiful features. But then, a frown had marred the boy's face, as he dropped his eyes to his books and slipped into a world of his own. Heero had intercepted a fleeting look of concern from the sensei directed at the distracted boy and had not been surprised when she had asked Ranma to stay after class. He only hoped Ranma had not gotten into trouble, he had a feeling there were enough burdens already on the slim shoulders.

o00o