Strut Your Stuff, Trowa!
Author's Note: Yay! I finally got the name straightened out, AND I got over my writer's block! (does insane little victory dance) Anyhoo, I wrote this story in green pen. Green pen does something odd to my head. Me llliiikkkeee green pen, heh heh heh. Anyhoo, all the talents were suggested by Tsuki Yuuki. Thanks Tsuki-chan!!!! Tsuki: You're very welcome. Ekaurii: And so as a thank you, here's some pocky... Tsuki: (eyes light up) Pocky... Ekaurii: AND I'm making you an honourary member of the GGG! Tsuki: BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! It's glomping time!!!! (does insane little victory dance) G-Boys: (screams) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ekaurii: ON WITH THE FIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was 3:00 in the afternoon, an hour before the talent show part of the competition was about to start. Each of the Gundam pilots were preparing
Heero rechecked his gun. Ammocheck, he thought. Heero swung it up and shot a practice shot at the wall. Wonderful Heero grinned inwardly
Duo strutted up and down his room, flashing smiles at an invisible audience. This is going to be great
Trowa finished stretching, mentally running over the routine in his head. It was going to be perfect
Quatre ran the bow over each of the strings, checking to see which ones were in tune. He hummed to himself as he worked. Finally he set the violin against his chin and started to play
Wufei oiled the rag well. He ran it up and down the blade, making it so shiny he could see his face reflected in the blade. Assured that it was clean, Wufei took out a small whet stone and began sharpening his katana
Just like the first night they had been there, backstage was chaos. People were trying to organize things, no one knew where to go. The five Gundam pilots grouped together near the back of the backstage area. Duo and Trowa carried nothing with them, Heero's pocket bulged with something that looked suspiciously like a gun, Quatre carried a violin case, and Wufei had a bag full of - well, no one quite knew. He also had his sword sheathed at his side. (A/N: Here's what's in the bag: two of those portobello mushrooms - the huge ones, a big red apple, a little stool, a small bouquet of flowers, and a tape deck)
Finally the organizer guy stood up.
We'll do this in alphabetical order by last name! Line up here please, in order!
Wufei managed to sneak a glance at the list of names. Yuy, Heero was the last one. Wufei sidled up to Heero. Heero, would you mind trading places? Heero looked somewhat puzzled, but agreed. Wufei grinned and went to the back of the line. (A/N: You'll find out why he did that, wait and see)
"Listen, Trowa, I need your help." Heero looked up at the tall pilot. His one visible eye widened. Heero? Asking for help? Scary.
"What do you need help with?"
"Uh, for my talent. I need a target." Trowa started backing away very quickly. "I mean, Catherine's been throwing knives at you for a while. It's the same thing, but I shoot at you instead." Trowa's eye still looked a little wild, but he nodded all the same, then quickly backed away from Heero, in case he wanted to start practising right away.
Before Heero could find anyone else to practise on, the talent show got underway. There were the usually musical instruments, etc. talents, so I'll cut right to Trowa's bit (Think. Barton is first in alphabetical order). The tall pilot went center stage. He stood still for a moment, gazing out into the audience. Then he started on an amazing display of acrobatics. He did flips, turns, sumersaults, ariels, for almost ten minutes to an awestruck audience. When he finished his routine, Trowa turned to the audience and bowed. He got a very loud round of applause, much louder than those of the acts before him, and a lot of glares from the BBB, and a lot of glomps from the GGG. (Let's rename them them the GGGG - the Giggling Glomping Girlfriend Game. Excellent.) His fellow Gundam pilots gave him a few thumps on the back, as well.
Next Gundam pilot up was Heero. (Remember he switched places with Wuffy) Heero stalked onstage in silence, dragging a very reluctent Trowa with him.
"Stand right there," Heero ordered, pointing to a large plywood wall that had been wheeled onstage. Trowa, extremely reluctently, stood against it, eyes closed and hands at his sides, balled into fists. The audience held its breath as Heero raised his gun.
Offstage, Duo whispered to a very nervous Quatre, "Hey, isn't this when Heero's supposed to ask Trowa if he wants a blindfold?" Quatre raised a hand to whack Duo upside the head, but before the action could be carried out, shots rang out in the quiet auditorium, making the audience gasp. When Quatre managed to pry his eyes open, all he saw was a halo of bullet holes outlining Trowa's head, bangs and all. Trowa's one visible eye was wide open with shock.
As everyone realized that Trowa WASN'T dead, there was a great wave of applause, and the deleglation from OZ muttering together, casting appraising glances at Heero.
The contest quickly settled into mundania (is that actually a word? Do I give a damn?), as the BBB performed perscription 'talents.' In no time at all, it was Duo's turn.
The Deathscythe pilot strutted out on stage...
The audience sat in awed silence. (Amazing talent, eh? He can completely disappear from a fan fic when he wants to), but quickly sunk into a stupor as the mundane antics of the BBB returned.
Now of the Gundam pilots, only Quatre and Wufei were left to perform. Quatre performed first, for those of you too lazy to say your alphabet.
What Quatre's talent would be is rather obvious. So none of the pilots were surprised when he took out his violin and set it under his chin. The lovely, yet haunting, melody filled the air. The audience sat in rapt silence as the music wafted over them. Other BBB had played instruments, but none so beautiful as this. When Quatre finished and set down his violin, he got a partial standing O, and many cries of "encore, encore!" Smiling in response, Quatre once again lifted the violin, but instead of another piece like the one before, he struck up a lively fiddle piece. (Woo-hoo, go fiddle music!) A violin and a fiddle are the same instrument, after all. Just depends on how you play it. Another standing O, and Quatre backed offstage.
The following BBB must have lost heart, because the acts were all carried out half-heartedly, so Wufei's act came as a welcome change.
Wufei set the stage. He placed the apple on the stool and set up the tape deck next to it. Duo and Heero sat cross-legged at one side of the stage. Wufei placed a mushroom on each of their heads and made Duo hold out two flowers, one in each hand. He turned on the tape deck. It gave out a drumming sound like rain hitting a slate roof. Tock tokkatokka tock tokka tokka. Wufei began moving slowly to the beat, whirling his blade in all directions. Underhand and overhand, round both shoulders and overhead, the sword moved in a slow flashing pattern, humming and whirring, the stage lights playing along its blade. Everyone stared in silent fascination at the display. Wufei skiphopped, his keen blade tip missing both feet by a fraction, then he gave a piercing yell.
The tape speeded up the rhythm, with Wufei keeping perfect time, eyes half-closed in concentration. His katana became a blur of liquid light, travelling so fast it left patterns in the air, figures of eight, circles, crescents, even shapes like flowers.
Toktokkatokkatocktokkatokkatocktokkatokka
Faster and faster the music went. The audience held their breath as the blade sand within a whisker of their faces. Wufei let out a roar and whirled upon the terrified Heero and Duo, the blade striking down on their heads. Once! Twice! Both mushrooms fell apart sliced from cap to base. Like a living thing the sword hummed and flicked round Duo's hands, lopping off the flower heads so that they curled lazily up in twin arcs, landing neatly between the cut mushrooms on Heero and Duo's heads. With a leap and a bound, Wufei was at the big red apple, his lethal blade appearing to be six swords at once, chopping like lightning at the apple. Never once was the blade edge heard to strike the stool, on which 12 perfect apple slices lay. Sweeping the flat blade to and fro, Wufei sent apple slices spinning into the audience. Tossing the sword in the air so that it turned on its own length, Wufei took a half step backwards. With an audible thud the sword came down point first to stand quivering in the floor. Wufei placed both hands on the hilt and bowed. (You have to admit, that would be pretty cool)
The crowd went crazy. Wufei gave a little half smile, and went to clear up the stage. He gave a hand up to the still-terrified Duo and Heero and collected mushrooms, flowers, the stool, and his tape deck before leaving the stage.
Of course, Wufei and Quatre were mobbed by GGG as soon as they showed their faces. But with a little misdirection, the other three pilots managed to save them from the horror of stalkers. Heero was VERY glad to help, as he knows how it feels.
Author's Note: Please vote.