Over the next week the boys were given the luxury of resting up for the
next set of tournaments. The girls, on the other hand, were ordered to
practice harder. Evidently, they were lagging in their skills and almost
lost several times and if it were to happen once more time they would all
be whipped hide less. P
Of course, the girls would use some of their time in practicing to rest
outside of the Rat House. On the courts was sufficient enough for
sleeping. It wasn't until Wufei came walking by one day to find them
completely exhausted and practically passed out on the ground of the
courts. All of them were pretty much asleep. He quietly made his way over
to one of the sleeping forms and stared down at her. Finally, he knelt
down next to her and nudged her in the shoulder, but she did not respond.
It was then that a group of girls came walking up the sidewalk. They were
all giggling amongst themselves and whispering. They were from that all-
girls high school further up the road. Wufei knew that must have been the
same school these Lost Girls attended. P
Wufei did not move as they came closer. One of the girls spotted him and fluttered her eyelashes at him flirtatiously and tried to give him a smile. It quickly faded when Wufei expressed no interest in her. She sniffed, but the other girls had noticed him as well at this point. They walked up a little ways, but stayed an acceptable distance away from the other sleeping girls, leaning up on fences and benches. Natria lay on her side leaning her back against the fence. P "Well, hello there," said one with a giggle. Wufei killed the urge to roll his eyes. "My name is Felicity. What's yours." He did not respond. P "My, aren't we talkative. Would you like to join us for a shake down at the corner? We would love your company." Still no response. P "You know, it's hard to have a conversation with you if you're on that side of the fence." For emphasis, she kicked Natria's back through the fence. Natria did not move. Wufei felt a little bit of heat creep up his neck at the girl's actions. P "Besides, I don't think you'd want to hang around these girls. I heard they're orphans. No one wants to hang out with an orphan." P "And no one wants to hang out with a snobbish brat like you Felicity," said Natria as she sat up and looked very much awake. "Are you messing with my guy here?" Felicity's eyes widened in shock then faded into disgust. P "I find it rather hard to believe that a little rat like you could possibly find someone for yourself. Especially quite a good looker. Come on, why don't you join us for that shake. It's on me," she said to Wufei once again. Natria sat up, one knee up and an elbow resting on it as she placed an arm around Wufei's shoulders, giving a message of possessiveness. P "I do believe that you have been looking for a beating for quite some time now Felicity. Maybe it's payday?" Felicity snickered. P "Anyone ever tell you you're a bitch, Natria?" Natria smiled darkly. P "Oh yes, several times. They don't talk much anymore. Especially after I scarred up their faces a bit. Probably don't want to see any of that perfect skin marred now do we?" Felicity glanced over at her friends and gave a nervous scoff. P "You can't do anything to me. Especially in front of that gorgeous guy there." Wufei felt Natria's grip tighten on him, but she never faltered. She turned and placed an endearing kiss on Wufei's lips, shocking him as she smiled falsely. P "You wouldn't mind if I had a little fun, would you, baby?" her voice held a hidden poison. P "Uh. of course not," he stuttered and their gazes turned back to Felicity who was backing up a step. P "Maybe I should wake the others and we can all have a little carving party." Right on cue, Hilde, Relena, Cathy, and Dorothy sat up and gave the other girls on the other side of the fence smug looks. P "I think that would be an excellent idea," said Relena with a mischievous smile. The girls backed up another step. P "You wouldn't dare," cried one of the girls on the other side of the fence. Hilde was up before anyone could say anything and vaulting over the fence. She landed in front of the girl with an evil grin on her face. She was spinning a knife in her hand. P "Would you like to bet on that? You owe me five bucks every cut I give you." The girl ran in terror as the other girls followed. Felicity hesitated, but when Hilde turned her attentions to her she too ran. P She stopped when she was a safe distance away. P "I'm going to get you one of these days Natria!" she yelled. P "Yeah? Well I think you'll be dragging your entrails behind you before you ever get to me!" Felicity ran. P All of the girls dropped their predatorial attitudes and returned to their exhausted state. Hilde made a halfhearted attempt in climbing over the fence, but found she didn't want to waste the energy so she made a short walk of going around it instead. P Natria turned to look at Wufei and quickly put distance between the two of them. Wufei was rather shocked at her sudden change in manner towards him. P "So, what do you want, Wufei?" she asked with a hard voice. P "Your name is Natria," he said. She rolled her eyes. P "Yeah, so? Big deal!" P "Consider me not a stranger at this point." She grumbled something and stood up and dusted her bottom off. The other girls followed suit and prepared to play again. Wufei got up and asked if he could even out the five-person team. The girls glanced at one another and finally agreed. Wufei was on Dorothy and Relena's team and Natria, Cathy, and Hilde were on the other. The game began and Wufei quickly found out that these girls held nothing back. They were brutal, even to each other. Wufei was not spared either. The air was filled with a tenseness that seemed to want to smother him. It was the same air that he felt when he was on the court in the tournaments. Never while he was practicing with the others though. That must have been why the girls were so good. They were used to the desperation, the feeling of near annihilation. They incorporated these into their moves. Doing things that weren't expected. Wufei seemed nearly overwhelmed by it. He hadn't expected such a charge of feelings in the air. This was their turf and anyone who stepped on it would get quite a jolt. Due to his lack of concentration, Natria, Hilde, and Cathy scored several points right away. Relena and Dorothy sent him annoyed looks. All right, time to pull yourself together Wufei. Show 'em what you can do. P The game continued and he too began to pull up some of his own moves he used on the courts. This was surprising to the girls on the other team, swaying the winning streak on the other side. P By the time the game was finished they were all out of breath and panting on the ground. Wufei was just recovering from his ordeal, which was the only word that would come close to describe what he had just gone through, when he saw his teammates walking up from down the block. He looked around frantically, looking for a way out of this situation and realized that was not an option. Finally, Heero stopped on the other side of the fence, hands in his pockets and giving him a curious look. Trowa, Duo, and Quatre were all giving him peculiar looks as well. P "Wufei! Hey man, what are you doing here?" asked Duo with a strange smile. It was sly and held a hidden amusement. His sly attitude reminded Wufei that his friend needed a good butt whooping and was now due for one. P "I, uhm, I was just watching the girls practice, that's all." P "Might as well introduce us to your friends then," said Trowa with narrowed eyes centered on Cathy. One of her elegant eyebrows raised up in amusement and she smiled slightly and stepped forward. P "We are the future championship winners. My name is Catherine Bloom. If you have to call me anything, call me Cathy. That over there is Natria de Lowen, Relena Peacecraft, Dorothy Catalonia, and that devil there is Hilde Scheibeiker." Each of the girls bobbed her head slightly or just glared at Cathy. They normally did not tell many people who they were and Cathy certainly could have left out that beginning phrase of the future championship winners. They didn't need any more trouble than specified. The guys stood there, finally realizing that they were going to learn these players' names and decided to give theirs in return. P "Heero Yuy." Heero stepped forward and looked over to his teammates. P "Wufei Chang." P "Quatre Winner." P "Duo Maxwell, don't wear the name out!" They all rolled their eyes. "What?" P "Trowa Barton." P "Well, this was all nice and dandy, but I think that the girls and I have to be leaving now. We don't want to be blate/b. We just might get into a little trouble," said Relena with emphasis on late. The girls took the cue and all turned to gather up their items. P "We'll see you at the games," said Heero. The girls ignored him and kept on going. Heero stared after them, but was finally shaken from his trance when Trowa walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. They slowly headed back down the block from where they came from. Heero threw another glance over his shoulder and went to follow. P P P
Wufei did not move as they came closer. One of the girls spotted him and fluttered her eyelashes at him flirtatiously and tried to give him a smile. It quickly faded when Wufei expressed no interest in her. She sniffed, but the other girls had noticed him as well at this point. They walked up a little ways, but stayed an acceptable distance away from the other sleeping girls, leaning up on fences and benches. Natria lay on her side leaning her back against the fence. P "Well, hello there," said one with a giggle. Wufei killed the urge to roll his eyes. "My name is Felicity. What's yours." He did not respond. P "My, aren't we talkative. Would you like to join us for a shake down at the corner? We would love your company." Still no response. P "You know, it's hard to have a conversation with you if you're on that side of the fence." For emphasis, she kicked Natria's back through the fence. Natria did not move. Wufei felt a little bit of heat creep up his neck at the girl's actions. P "Besides, I don't think you'd want to hang around these girls. I heard they're orphans. No one wants to hang out with an orphan." P "And no one wants to hang out with a snobbish brat like you Felicity," said Natria as she sat up and looked very much awake. "Are you messing with my guy here?" Felicity's eyes widened in shock then faded into disgust. P "I find it rather hard to believe that a little rat like you could possibly find someone for yourself. Especially quite a good looker. Come on, why don't you join us for that shake. It's on me," she said to Wufei once again. Natria sat up, one knee up and an elbow resting on it as she placed an arm around Wufei's shoulders, giving a message of possessiveness. P "I do believe that you have been looking for a beating for quite some time now Felicity. Maybe it's payday?" Felicity snickered. P "Anyone ever tell you you're a bitch, Natria?" Natria smiled darkly. P "Oh yes, several times. They don't talk much anymore. Especially after I scarred up their faces a bit. Probably don't want to see any of that perfect skin marred now do we?" Felicity glanced over at her friends and gave a nervous scoff. P "You can't do anything to me. Especially in front of that gorgeous guy there." Wufei felt Natria's grip tighten on him, but she never faltered. She turned and placed an endearing kiss on Wufei's lips, shocking him as she smiled falsely. P "You wouldn't mind if I had a little fun, would you, baby?" her voice held a hidden poison. P "Uh. of course not," he stuttered and their gazes turned back to Felicity who was backing up a step. P "Maybe I should wake the others and we can all have a little carving party." Right on cue, Hilde, Relena, Cathy, and Dorothy sat up and gave the other girls on the other side of the fence smug looks. P "I think that would be an excellent idea," said Relena with a mischievous smile. The girls backed up another step. P "You wouldn't dare," cried one of the girls on the other side of the fence. Hilde was up before anyone could say anything and vaulting over the fence. She landed in front of the girl with an evil grin on her face. She was spinning a knife in her hand. P "Would you like to bet on that? You owe me five bucks every cut I give you." The girl ran in terror as the other girls followed. Felicity hesitated, but when Hilde turned her attentions to her she too ran. P She stopped when she was a safe distance away. P "I'm going to get you one of these days Natria!" she yelled. P "Yeah? Well I think you'll be dragging your entrails behind you before you ever get to me!" Felicity ran. P All of the girls dropped their predatorial attitudes and returned to their exhausted state. Hilde made a halfhearted attempt in climbing over the fence, but found she didn't want to waste the energy so she made a short walk of going around it instead. P Natria turned to look at Wufei and quickly put distance between the two of them. Wufei was rather shocked at her sudden change in manner towards him. P "So, what do you want, Wufei?" she asked with a hard voice. P "Your name is Natria," he said. She rolled her eyes. P "Yeah, so? Big deal!" P "Consider me not a stranger at this point." She grumbled something and stood up and dusted her bottom off. The other girls followed suit and prepared to play again. Wufei got up and asked if he could even out the five-person team. The girls glanced at one another and finally agreed. Wufei was on Dorothy and Relena's team and Natria, Cathy, and Hilde were on the other. The game began and Wufei quickly found out that these girls held nothing back. They were brutal, even to each other. Wufei was not spared either. The air was filled with a tenseness that seemed to want to smother him. It was the same air that he felt when he was on the court in the tournaments. Never while he was practicing with the others though. That must have been why the girls were so good. They were used to the desperation, the feeling of near annihilation. They incorporated these into their moves. Doing things that weren't expected. Wufei seemed nearly overwhelmed by it. He hadn't expected such a charge of feelings in the air. This was their turf and anyone who stepped on it would get quite a jolt. Due to his lack of concentration, Natria, Hilde, and Cathy scored several points right away. Relena and Dorothy sent him annoyed looks. All right, time to pull yourself together Wufei. Show 'em what you can do. P The game continued and he too began to pull up some of his own moves he used on the courts. This was surprising to the girls on the other team, swaying the winning streak on the other side. P By the time the game was finished they were all out of breath and panting on the ground. Wufei was just recovering from his ordeal, which was the only word that would come close to describe what he had just gone through, when he saw his teammates walking up from down the block. He looked around frantically, looking for a way out of this situation and realized that was not an option. Finally, Heero stopped on the other side of the fence, hands in his pockets and giving him a curious look. Trowa, Duo, and Quatre were all giving him peculiar looks as well. P "Wufei! Hey man, what are you doing here?" asked Duo with a strange smile. It was sly and held a hidden amusement. His sly attitude reminded Wufei that his friend needed a good butt whooping and was now due for one. P "I, uhm, I was just watching the girls practice, that's all." P "Might as well introduce us to your friends then," said Trowa with narrowed eyes centered on Cathy. One of her elegant eyebrows raised up in amusement and she smiled slightly and stepped forward. P "We are the future championship winners. My name is Catherine Bloom. If you have to call me anything, call me Cathy. That over there is Natria de Lowen, Relena Peacecraft, Dorothy Catalonia, and that devil there is Hilde Scheibeiker." Each of the girls bobbed her head slightly or just glared at Cathy. They normally did not tell many people who they were and Cathy certainly could have left out that beginning phrase of the future championship winners. They didn't need any more trouble than specified. The guys stood there, finally realizing that they were going to learn these players' names and decided to give theirs in return. P "Heero Yuy." Heero stepped forward and looked over to his teammates. P "Wufei Chang." P "Quatre Winner." P "Duo Maxwell, don't wear the name out!" They all rolled their eyes. "What?" P "Trowa Barton." P "Well, this was all nice and dandy, but I think that the girls and I have to be leaving now. We don't want to be blate/b. We just might get into a little trouble," said Relena with emphasis on late. The girls took the cue and all turned to gather up their items. P "We'll see you at the games," said Heero. The girls ignored him and kept on going. Heero stared after them, but was finally shaken from his trance when Trowa walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. They slowly headed back down the block from where they came from. Heero threw another glance over his shoulder and went to follow. P P P