Disclaimer: The fic is the only thing that's mine; characters aren't, unfortunately. All rights to these amazing ANIMEs belong to Clamp, Kodansha, Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, yadda yadda yadda, so don't waste your time suing me! Your 'corporate boogeyman' won't get anything valuable from me, anyway, except for a bunch of lousy grades, some leftover cookie crumbs, a Pentel point 5 ball pen, and some crumpled research papers.

Author's Notes: Just enjoy this chapter, you guys! Sorry if it took me a long time to update. I had a mild case of writer's block!
Natsu-chan: Wasn't Syaoran-kun saying something like Kasin Shorai in the second movie? What power is that? Fire? Wind? *scratches her head in confusion*
Hikari-angel: A mecha is a terminology commonly associated with robots and mobile suits. ^-^ Hope you've been enlightened!
Have fun reading this, people! I think I only have, like, uhm, three, four more chapters to go PLUS the epilogue. My pals have been trying to convince me to come up with a sequel to this, but I'll have to think about that one.

DESTINY by rei-chan

Chapter Nine: Start of Training

Two weeks later...

Heero sat alone on the sofa one Monday morning, absently jiggling his right leg as he stared at the telephone on the coffee table next to him. Since that day he and Duo heard of the bombings in Taiwan, Heero had completely forgotten all about his task of calling Ieran regarding their Gundams. It irritated the dark-haired boy greatly, since he NEVER forgets about important things such as this. But for the first time in his entire life, he apparently did.

And now the Perfect Soldier was eyeing the phone with furrowed brows, his mouth working soundlessly as he debated internally with himself.

'Pick up the phone, damnit, and just call her!' A niggling voice that sounded surprisingly like Duo told him impatiently as Heero made a grab for the telephone. 'Oz might be bombing the whole of Tokyo at this very moment!'

'But what do I call her?' he asked himself in slight panic as he jerked his hand back as if burned. 'Okasan or Ieran?' He stared hard at the black receiver as if it held all the answers to the questions of the universe.

'Ieran.' The logical part of his mind supplied for him. 'You haven't got a mother, remember?' It sounded suspisciously like Doctor J.

'Oh yes he does!' Duo's voice countered. 'Pick up the phone Yuy, and call her okasan.'

'No.'

'Yes! Go on!'

His hand reached for the receiver.

'NO!'

He pulled back suddenly as though the device had suddenly electrocuted him.

'Damnit, Yuy! Just call her and get on with it! Geeze!'

Heero growled to himself as he shook his head fiercely, trying to clear his thoughts off the two quarreling voices. Deciding to finally take matters in his own hands, the Prussian eyed boy squared his shoulders and reached for the receiver.

KKKKRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGGG...

He jumped and cursed loudly as the phone suddenly rang. Mumbling idle threats at his two muses, the Wing pilot leaned forward and picked up the receiver. "Hai. Raiu desu." he barked as he settled back on the couch.

A soft female voice spoke up. "How have you been, Raiu?" It was Ieran.

Heero almost dropped the phone in shock but managed to reply in his normal expressionless voice. "Fine."

"Good." Ieran commented, before her voice took on a more serious note. "Ano, Raiu," she began in a slightly nervous voice.

"Aa?"

"I conversed with the Elders last night."

"Aa."

She let out a stressed sigh. "They think that it's best if you start training as soon as possible. Pai Kwa has reasons to believe that it would only be a matter of weeks before the Tzes finally sense your power. The Elders want you and Xiao Lang to be prepared for anything that might happen." she informed him, sounding a little strangled as she spoke. Clearing her throat, Ieran continued. "I believe Syaoran has already communicated with the young Card Mistress. Eriol-sama is already in Nipon to foresee your training, and Wei-san can help you with your sword-wielding skills. Will that be all right?"

He did not answer for a few heartbeats as the sudden realization of what he had gotten himself into started sinking in. Licking his lips, the Wing pilot replied. "Hai."

"Good. How is Nipon?"

Pushing his thoughts regarding his upcoming training at the back of his mind, Heero sat up a little straighter on the sofa. "Fine." He hesitated slightly, "Ie-oka-san," he finally choked out, shifting a little uncomfortably in his seat as he heard Ieran's sudden sharp intake of breath.

"What is it, Raiu?" she heard him ask in a faint voice.

He forced himself to sound businesslike. "Have you heard of the string of unknown bombings in Taipei?" he flatly asked her.

"Yes, I think I have." Ieran slowly replied. "What about them?"

"Duo and I have reasons to believe that the bombings were caused by the Oz battalion that traveled through time with us."

"I see."

"We need our Gundams."

~ 0 ~

"Don't forget to do the homework I gave you." Mr. Terada reminded his sixth grade class as he started packing his briefcase.

"Hai, Terada-sensei!"

"Good. You are dismissed, then."

As the teacher made a move to the door, only to be intercepted by a blushing Rika who engaged him in a conversation, Syaoran slowly started packing his bag, pausing only now and then to sneak a glance at Sakura out of the corner of his eye.

"She has not admitted anything to you yet." A soft voice suddenly commented behind him. The amber-eyed boy need not turn around to find out who the speaker was.

"I'm afraid not, Eriol-san." He agreed as he heaved a defeated sigh. Picking up his knapsack and shrugging it on, he turned to meet Hiiragizawa Eriol's dark eyes. "I've been here for almost a month. It's not that I want to pressure her into answering, demo..." Another sigh. "I'm getting a little impatient with the wait." he confided his ancestor.

Eriol tilted his head to look at the Card Mistess, who was at the moment engaged in a lively conversation with Naoko and Tomoyo. "It is not her fault, Syaoran. Duo-san and Tomoyo-san make it a point to interrupt Sakura-san's moments of confession."

The corner of Syaoran's mouth quirked up into a small smile at the other's observation. "I've noticed." Putting his hat on, he turned to leave.

"Matte."

Syaoran stopped. "Hai?"

"He should start training."

There was no need to ask who Eriol was referring to. Nodding his head, Syaoran murmured his assent.

At this point Sakura and Tomoyo had approached the two boys and overheard their exchange. Biting her lips nervously, the auburn-haired Card Mistress wrung her hat in her hands. "Are your Elders positive about asking me to train your brother?" she asked the Chinese boy as soon as both girls were within earshot.

Syaoran nodded his head at her. "Yes."

"Eriol-kun is here, and his powers are stronger than mine. Why not ask for his help?" Sakura pointed out.

Eriol shook his dark head. "I have my own task to do." Was all he said.

~ 0 ~

Duo Maxwell was almost hyperventilating as he laughed his ass off, tears streaming down his cheeks. The Deathscythe pilot had arrived home almost two hours ago to find his partner in the middle of a katana session with their butler. Or at least, it LOOKED like a katana session at first. Heero merely waved a long samuri sword awkwardly at Wei as the patient butler tried to teach him the proper technique in swordsmanship.

"A sword is held like THIS, Raiu-sama." Wei had patiently instructed his master as he held up his sword to demonstrate the proper grip to the Perfect Soldier. Heero stonily observed the way the older man held his sword before copying it.

He had been holding his sword the same way that one would hold a shotgun.

Duo had burst into amused giggles at this, and his sniggers turned into full blown laughter as Wei taught the Wing pilot how to parry. After unsuccefully bringing his sword down to bear on an old mattress that served as the 'enemy' for the twelfth time, Heero growled savagely to himself and produced a gun from somewhere in his body, emptying an entire clip at the 'enemy'.

"Killing is killing, Wei-san." he had pointed out in a flat voice as his instructor nagged at him for using his weapon.

The braided pilot was just wiping tears off his cheeks when he heard Syaoran speak from behind him.

"Uh, what's going on?" The amber-eyed kid asked, his eyes fixed on the mangled mattress on the grass and the bullet clips scattered all around it.

Duo struggled to contain his laughter as he turned to the newcomer. "Your-brother--" he gasped, cradling his stomach tightly in both arms as Heero sent him a look of death. "Practicing sword--killed enemy--" He pointed at the mattress with shaking fingers. "used--GUN-" Unable control himself, the Deathscythe pilot sank down on the soft grass and laughed himself silly.

The corners of Syaoran's mouth kept on twitching as he listened to the older boy's broken narration. "I--see." He said slowly, his voice carefully neutral. Again his eyes strayed towards the mattress, then at Heero.

The amber-eyed boy's mouth twitched.

Heero glowered.

He couldn't take it anymore. Syaoran burst out laughing. He couldn't stop.

Wei started chuckling as he watched both Syaoran and Duo rolling around the patio as they laughed.

As Heero watched his three companions laugh, his eyes narrowed, he suddenly found himself seeing what the other three had found so funny. Holding his sword like a shotgun...shooting an old bed mattress when he couldn't strike it successfully with his sword...emptying an entire clip at it...

Soon, all four of them were laughing hysterically.

"Let us try again, Raiu-sama." Wei choked out as a still laughing Heero picked up his abandoned sword.

~ 0 ~

Syaoran awoke to the soft clanging sounds of swords clashing against each other and he smiled. Sitting up, he stretched both arms lazily over his head and slipped on his slippers, standing up and trudging towards the veranda. Resting his arms over the railing, he peered down at the front porch of their apartment, where he knew his brother and Wei were training.

Watching the older Li go through the series of drills that Syaoran himself could probably perform in his sleep, the brown-haired boy suddenly realized that, in the short span of five days since Heero started his training, the Wing pilot-turned-magician was doing quite well.

At that moment he and Wei were in the middle of a sparring session, and Syaoran watched with growing pride as his brother dodged and blocked each of his Wei's clever attacks.

"He's getting better, hasn't he?" A cheerful voice asked from the doorway. Footsteps padded across the amber-eyed boy's room and a moment later, Duo Maxwell was standing beside him, grinning. He peered down at his friend as Syaoran nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm a little surprised that he is able to hold up well, considering that he had never touched a sword in his entire life." the amber-eyed boy remarked as he and Duo both watched Heero strike down his 'opponent'. "I mean, it took me six years to learn this stuff. It only took him five days to get the hang of it."

"Well, that's Heero for you then." The long-haired boy replied in a voice that was brimming with pride. Turning to his companion, Duo leaned his elbow on the railing and rested his chin on his hand. "Always the perfectionist, that bastard. He wakes up everyday at three in the friggin morning to practice his sword, stopping only to prepare your breakfast and lunch. After that, he goes out with Wei and trains again. I practically have to drag those two inside the house to eat." Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to watching his comrade. "This is all just a freaking mission to him, this training and that destiny he has in this lifetime. I'm actually a little surprised that he hasn't tried to self-destruct yet."

Syaoran grinned at his companion's last statement. "He better not." he commented, and they laughed.

But as he turned his attention back to watching his brother, Syaoran could not help but wonder. 'He might be getting better at the physical attributes of this training, but the magical ones...'

~ 0 ~

After dinner that night, the three adoloscent boys were watching a news report in the living room when Wei stuck his head from the kitchen.

"Syaoran-sama, Kinomoto-san's on the phone for you."

Duo snorted at this, and began waggling his eyebrows comically at the younger boy as Syaoran took the cordless phone from Wei. "Arigato, Wei." he thanked the old man. "Sakura-chan?"

"Li-kun!"

"What's up?"

He could hear the girl laugh a little on the other end. "Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun and I were talking a while ago about going out to have some ice cream tomorrow, and I--er, WE--were wondering if you, Duo-kun, and Raiu-san can come."

"You better not come kid!" A high, tinny voice snarled as Sakura shushed.

Syaoran's eyes narrowed at the taunt. He knew that voice too well. "Omae.."

"The brat's a big pain in the wings, Sakura!"

"Sshh. Gomen ne, Syaoran-kun. Ker--"

"Priest brat priest brat priest brat!"

"KERO-CHAN!"

"We'll come, Sakura-chan."

"Iya! No! Stay home, kid, and eat your sword!"

"KERO-CHAN! Shoo! Go away! Syaoran-kun..."

"Is there anything else?"

He could hear the Guardian Beast's fading mutters in the background as Kinomoto Sakura heaved a nervous sigh.

"I-I wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Atashi wa--"

Beep.

Syaoran shut his eyes in frustration at the interruption. He curse slightly under his breath. "Gomen, Sakura-chan. There's call waiting."

He could have sword the girl sounded relieved at his announcement. "Oh! That's ok." she squeaked, her voice much higher than usual. "I still have to call Eriol-kun for the final plans. Matta ashita, Syaoran-kun."(1)

"Hai. See you tomorrow."

She hung up. Sighing, he pushed the plunger button. "Hai. Syaoran desu." he said shortly. 'This better be good.'

"Hello? Is Ikari there? This is Hellan."

Syaoran gritted his teeth angrily. "Wrong number." he snarled, before forcefully clicking the off button on the cordless phone and stalking back to sit between Heero and Duo.

"Interrupted again?" His brother asked him softly as Syaoran crossed his arms over his chest and glared angrily at the television. He nodded curtly.

Duo went on singing happily with the Frutella comercial jingle.

~ 0 ~

The amber-eyed boy was still moping in his room when a knock sounded on his door. A moment later, Heero stuck his head inside. "Syaoran?"

He looked up from polishing his sword. "Aa?"

"I have a favor to ask." His brother said tonelessly as he closed the door behind him and walked over to stand at the foot of the younger boy's bed.

Syaoran eyed him curiously. "What is it?" he inquired as he motioned for Heero to take a seat. The older boy complied silently.

He jerked his head stiffly at the half polished sword on Syaoran's lap. "I have not been able to turn my jade orbs into that."

"Oh."

"Can you help me?"

The amber-eyed boy was taken aback by the question. The past month that they have been together, the older boy had never asked him for help. Ever. He was a little surprised that he decided to ask him NOW.

"Sure." Scooting forward, he indicated Heero's tasseled orb, which the older boy promptly slipped off his neck. "Hold it in front of your head." he instructed.

Heero did.

"Now close your eyes, and concentrate. Feel the power flowing within you. Then will it to flow through your hand."

Heero closed his own eyes and tried to follow the instructions being issued to him. He had been hesitant to approach the younger boy with his problem at first for two reasons. One was because his Perfect Soldier's 'I-can-do-anything-without-your-help' pride could not accept the assistance of an eleven-year-old boy. The second one was, he was painfully shy to ask for his brother's help.

He felt a hand slap him across the head. "Omae--" Heero growled as he grabbed his gun from the waistband of his Spandex, Prussian blue eyes blazing.

Syaoran eyed him sternly. "You're not concentrating hard enough." the younger boy admonished.

"That's no excuse to hit me on the head."

"It is, too! You won't be able to harness the full power of your magic if you're distracted! Now focus!"

Heero gave the boy a final, voltage-charged glare, which Syaoran returned full measure, before once again closing his eyes and feeling for the magic he knew he had within.

There it was. A huge bright ball of light glowing in his mind's eye. Willing himself to focus completely on his power, he concetrated on nudging the ball of light awake, and willing it to pass through the arm holding his tasseled orb. Heat spread through his body and the strength of the power coursing through his veins almost made him lose control, but he held on firmly, his concentration unwavering.

A white-hot bolt of pain suddenly travelled through his right arm and spread to all his fingers.

"Good." Syaoran said simply.

Opening his eyes Heero found himself staring at the huge blade of his sword.

~ 0 ~

KKKRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG.

Duo wiped the last of the breakfast plates that he had been drying and picked up the cordless phone beside him. "Hai! Li Residence!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Hello, Duo-san."

"Oi, Ieran-san! What a surprise!"

"How have you been?" Li Ieran asked him brightly, quickly picking up the braided boy's infectious cheer.

"Just peachy, mi'lady. Peachy indeed." He replied in a phony British accent. As he listened to Ieran's soft laugh, he added. "I'm having the time of my short, fucked-up life here, Ieran-san. It's great."

"I am very glad to here that."

Duo smiled as he picked up the plates and started placing them back in the cupboard. "So, you want to talk to anyone in particular?"

"Raiu, if you please."

"Sorry, Ieran-san. He's out with Wei, training at the park. Syaoran helped him harness his sword last night, and Hee-chan's running a test on it. As with Syaoran, he's over at Yamazaki's place working on a project. Do you want me to take a message?"

"Oh." Ieran fell silent as the Deathscythe pilot happily hummed to himself as he stacked the plates neatly. "Ne, Duo-san. I will tell you. The Elders have just sent your Gundams over through magic. Have Syaoran accompany you and Raiu to the forests. Your mechas will be there tonight."

TBC

==Gomen ne, minna, if this chapter took longer than the others! Chapter ten will be uploaded in two days time.

FOOTNOTES:

1. "See you tomorrow, Syaoran-kun."--or something like that.

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