Hello, all! Just a small warning for the stuff up ahead. Majour **normal** teenage sitations here. No scary monsters, no blood, no violence. I'm very ashamed of myself. Anyhoo, it'll only take a while and then I'll be back to my normal humorous-angsty self. Don't worry, it should be painless. ;p --Lady PhoenixDagger *//.^*
Despite my best efforts, I still do not own Gundam Wing.
*****
"Forget it, Trowa. I already told you a hundred times I don't want to go." Quatre sighed, running his fingers through his hair. It had taken about six hours of washing the night after the Black Hood raid, but it had come out eventually. Presently, he and Trowa were shoving their way through the crowds of students clogging the halls of St. Mark's school, trying to get to the drink machine at lunch. "Just go without me and have a good time. I'd just get in the way"
Trowa rolled his eyes. Again with the fifth wheel argument. The October semi-formal dance was in less than two weeks and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get Quatre to agree to going. For the first time in longer than he could remember, Trowa was actually excited about something. After what seemed like about seven straight hours of Relena and Cathy bugging him, he had asked Kari to go with him. She had said she needed to think about it and after a nerve-wracking hour, Kari had come shyly to him and said "yes". This had led to him walking out into the forest, turning cartwheels and backflips for the better part of a half-hour and then walking sedately back into the house for dinner. And now the only thing that would make the whole thing complete was if Quatre went as well. Pausing in front of the machine to dig out some change, Trowa suddenly wondered when he had begun thinking like a normal teenager.
"Why don't you want to go?" Trowa asked as they made their way outside. The days are getting shorter, he noted, pulling up the collar of his uniform sweatshirt. Cheap though they were, they still managed at times to be almost warm.
Quatre sipped at his bottled water. "I'd need a date."
Trowa laughed. "In other words, you're shy."
The Gentle Noble paused in mid step a moment. "Yeah. Guess so."
"Well…" Trowa sipped his Coke. "Just go with Cathy. I'm sure she won't mind.'
"What!?"
"Why not?" Trowa caught Quatre's look. "Come on, it's not slow torture. Besides, there's no rule saying you need to bring a date in the first place."
"I just don't want to go. I'm too shy to ask a girl I don't know out and I'd feel stupid hanging around all by myself." The wind ruffled his straw-blond hair. "Are you giving this same treatment to Wufei?"
BBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNGGGGGG!!!!
First bell.
"Tried it. He says it's not right to dishonor Meiran's name by going out with another girl."
"Ahh," was all Quatre could say as they made their way back into the school.
Having only about thirty seconds before having to break off and go to Religion class, Trowa felt he had no choice but to pull his trump card: shameless guilt-tripping. "Please come, Quatre. It'd be nothing without you there. You're my best friend and I'd love to see you there."
Quatre seemed to wrestle within himself. It was guilt versus loyalty and judging by the look on the shorter boy's face, Trowa knew immediately that he had won. "Okay," Quatre said at length. "I'll go."
Trowa grinned. "Great! We'll have fun, I promise."
"Okay. See you on the bus. Trowa."
"See you, Quatre."
*****
"…and the typical Athenian education was based on studies of the arts and philosophy, while the Spartan education was based on…anybody?"
Misty raised her hand. "Tactics and warfare?"
"That is correct Miss Broman."
Misty smiled. Out of the entire semester so far, Civil History had quickly become her favorite class. She peeked over at Duo, who sat beside her. He grinned back and gave her the thumbs up. Then he nodded at her desk. Misty looked down. On it was a neatly folded scrap of lined paper, probably tossed there while she was answering Mr. O'Flaherty's question. Furtively, she picked up the note and read it:
Hey, are you going to the semi-formal? –Duo
Misty jotted down "maybe" on it and handed it back when Mr. O'Flaherty's back was turned. Duo scribbled something and resumed looking totally innocent as Mr. O'Flaherty strode by before handing it back over to Misty.
Got a date?
"…so naturally, the Spartan's looked down on the Athenians with contempt and vice versa…"
Misty shook her head no.
This made Duo grin. He poked himself in the chest and then pointed at her in a sort of "you and me?" gesture.
Misty smiled and nodded. Well, why not? After all Kari and Trowa were going, so maybe they could make it a double date or something. And it would make those Federation for Human Purity girls who were mooning over Duo simply livid with envy. "Okay," she whispered.
Another note hit her desk then, but from another direction. Confused, Misty opened it and read:
You and Mr. Maxwell see me after class. Love, Mr. O'Flaherty.
Misty looked slowly up to see Mr. O'Flaherty, and the rest of the Civil History class staring at her and Duo. A deep rosy blush lit up her face as Mr. O'Flaherty said something about love connections being appropriate outside of class time and went on with the lesson. Groaning softly, Misty put her head on her desk.
Dammit…
*****
When everyone came home from school that day, they arrived to find Belle and Cathy in jeans and a pair of Gil's old shirts, kneeling in front of the woodstove in the kitchen. There was a poker in Cathy's hand and both of them were covered in soot. Sensing the group behind her, Belle stood, smiling cheerfully. Cathy followed, idly fingering the pointed end of the poker.
"With the cool weather coming we decided it would be a good idea to fire up the woodstove," she explained, catching the round of bewildered looks. "But I heard something, probably a bird, fluttering around in the pipe. So we're trying to get it out." Belle touched her cheek, an act that ended up smearing it more with soot. "Poor thing is completely terrified and keeps sticking itself further up the pipe."
Cathy patted Trowa on the back, stamping a black handprint onto his sweatshirt. "You try getting it out, Trowa. You've always had a good rapport with animals."
Trowa shrugged and got down on one knee in front of the cold iron stove. Carefully, he opened the grate and reached his hand in, motioning with the other for silence from the group standing behind him trying better to see. Slowly, he reached up, making whatever it was flutter all the more in terror. A look of concentration crossed his face and his shoulder jerked suddenly as he shot his hand up the stovepipe and grabbed the thing inside, making it squeal. Carefully, he pulled his hand out and cupped the other one over it, smiling faintly all the while.
"I got i-GAAH!" Trowa's hand jerked and something small and black and chittering zipped from them, whipping around the kitchen far faster than any mere bird.
"What the hell is that!?" Duo shouted as it shot past his face, the wind of its close passing making his bangs flutter.
"I don't know," Trowa admitted, clutching his hand. "But it managed to cut me."
Like the crack of a whip, Wufei's hand shot out and he grabbed a flyswatter from atop the fridge, wound up, and….
SMACK!!!
"Yeeeeeeek!!!!" the thing shrieked and dropped onto the table. Immediately, Relena dropped a nearby spaghetti strainer over it, creating a makeshift prison.
As one body, they all stared into the strainer.
The thing inside stared back, its face screwed up into a tiny scowl. The tiny creature was about two inches tall, humanoid and, judging by its appearance, male. He had stubby limbs and big feet, which were shaking with pent-up adrenaline. Tiny bat wings sprouted from his back and he wore a miniscule suit of black clothing, complete with a black baseball cap. But it was the minute –no pun intended- details that caught the group's attention; namely the sooty clergical collar around his neck, the tiny scythe now stained lightly with Trowa's blood clutched in its diminutive fists and the long brown hair gathered into a tight braid. The effect was of a travel-size version of Duo Maxwell.
Wufei backed away in what almost looked like fear. "No…. Oh, noooo…. Not another one!" He grabbed the flyswatter. "Just let me stun it and we can dump it off somewhere in the woods."
"Wufei!" Relena admonished him. She took the flyswatter and handed it to Kari. "Look, you've scared the poor little guy." Indeed, the little Duo copy had dropped his scythe and was shaking like a leaf. He backed away from Wufei's hard gaze and looked around the spaghetti strainer for a place to hide. Relena pulled it off and carefully picked up the tiny Duo copy, cradling the quaking body close. "Hello there, little one," she said softly, running a calming finger up and down his back. "What's you're name?"
"Shi-Shinigami-kun." The voice was like a young child's falsetto version of Duo's. "I'm a reaper."
"Oooh, shit." Wufei lowered himself into a chair. "It even speaks."
Shinigami-kun stuck his tongue out at the Solitary Dragon and blew a high-pitched raspberry at him. "Jerk!"
Gently Belle took the tiny reaper from Relena and with a fingertip began to stroke his head. Shinigami-kun grinned and leaned into it. "I have heard of this kind of thing before, though I've never seen it before today," she murmured. "A bundle of magical fallout created by a large group of people –in this case, you- coming through the Bond."
"So, this is a magical mistake, then," Cathy surmised, tapping her chin.
"Am not!"
"Well, I for one think this little guy is cool." Duo grinned. "Wait until Misty sees him!"
Shinigami-kun peered up at his full-sized counterpart through chocolate coloured bangs. "Who's Misty?"
"My…uhm…." Duo's face turned deep crimson. "My…friend."
Quatre approached the table with a piece of peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his hand. Careful not to scare him, he presented it to Shinigami-kun. "Are you hungry?" the Gentle Noble asked.
Shinigami-kun answered by grabbing the sandwich hunk and gobbling it down, getting more than enough PB and J on himself in the process. He smacked his lips appreciatively and rubbed his tiny belly. "Ummmm, that was good!"
Relena smiled and pulled a Wet Nap from her bag. "You're all sticky now." Here," she ripped open the package and handed the moist towellette to Shinigami-kun, who simply stared at it in bewilderment. "You wipe your face and fingers with it to get them clean."
"But, lady," Shinigami-kun said sadly, "I don't have fingers. I only have mittens." He held up his hands, which were indeed mitten shaped. He pouted at Relena. "Now what?"
Relena smiled gently at him. "Just try your best, okay?"
The pout melted and Shinigami-kun grabbed the towellette –which was more like a beach towel to him- and vigorously began to scrub his hands and face, smearing soot all over the previously white Wet Nap.
"I believe that will be enough for now," Belle said firmly. "Duo, will you please give our sooty guest a bath?" It was a firm request rather than a question. "The rest of you go change and get a start on your homework before dinner." She held up a soot-stained hand to fend off the sudden onslaught of complaints. "Enough. Now scoot!"
*****
Hey, just a couple of words about the latest addition to the group, Shinigami-kun. Shinigami-kun was created by a doujinshi artist named Mato, so needless to say, he's not mine. Also, you might want to look around the net to find some pics of him, or better yet, scans of the original doujinshi. Personally, I think it's well worth the looking; Shi-kun is hilarious and just so damn kawaii!
Ja ne!
--L.P.D. *//.^*