~~~
"Should we go to school?" I asked anxiously, shifting from foot to foot that Monday morning. "I would like to-"
"It would be too suspicious if we didn't," Shin explained abruptly. "We have to." I let out a sigh of relief and began to pull on my jacket. I wanted to go. Tari gave a firm tug on my hood, choking me in the process.
"Siri, there is no way you're going to wear that stupid thing today," she scowled at me. "Today, you wear it off."
"But Tari...my face-"
"-looks fine," Telex finished. "Rem did one good thing; you don't have even a bruise on your face from that punch your father dealt you."
"Yeah," Raine chipped in, but I could tell she was worried. She wasn't talking nearly as much as she usually did (which still wasn't much, but still).
Telex was silent, but she wasn't nervous. For some reason, she seemed almost like Trowa; silent, but still putting in her two cents when she felt like it.
It was Quatre and Duo that really got people, though. Both of them were so silent, it was as though they weren't even there. (AN-No, I did not forget them.) The Arabian and American boys were neither their chipper, joking selves, nor were they brooding and thoughtful. Just simply...quiet and unresponsive.
Oh, well, it was their choice, really. Heero made everyone wear bullet-proof vests under their clothes, just as a precaution. But it was one I gladly followed.
Since we were living so far away from the school (well, three miles, a short walk for me), the boys decided to drive us. Heero made me leave early, to get a small exercise before school in the gym. He intensified my "training" due to the circumstances. At least I was in good enough shape that I didn't lose my breath after the first ten sit-ups now.
He was just now teaching me how to "spar". It was a great deal more than just fighting an opponent, I had soon found out. You can't aim to demobilize; only to stun. You had to make sure that your strikes did not harm the other. Most of the time, if not all, you had to be either offense or defense. If you were offense, you had to make sure that you struck slowly enough that the other saw it. In defense, you had to make sure you caught the strike.
Basic things like that, really. It was this "fine" morning that I got my bright idea. What if you put a spar to dance? Wasn't dance sometimes considered a kata, if used properly? I presented my idea in between blocking (I was defense) Heero's attacks.
"Break," he muttered after I'd made my proposal. "It may work."
"So could we do it?"
"May work."
"Yeah, I heard. Could we do it, then?"
"Um..."
Heero's face had suddenly gone pink. Not cherry red or plum, just pink. But it was the most embarrassed I'd ever seen the Perfect Soldier be.
"W-What's wrong?" I asked him. "Are you all right? Do you have a fever or something?"
He mumbled something inaudible.
"What's that? I can't hear you."
"I-can't-dance," he said very, very, very quickly, and very softly. I blinked. I did not laugh, which was probably what he was expecting. I don't know why I didn't. Usually, I would have laughed at something so simple.
"That's easily solved. I can teach you. I'm not exactly the best, but I'm decent."
His face still flushed, he gave a single curt nod and we returned to our spar, this time with me on offense.
***
"...and that's how Marimeia Khushrenada was defeated by the Gundam Pilots and Ms. Releena Peacecraft," "Harding" finished his lecture. I took notes over the entire thing, secretly marveling over the fact that he spoke of himself while he was doing this, and yet managed not to gloat over it or anything. Only a man with great pride in himself, not his achievements, could do such a thing. The bell rang suddenly and I began packing up.
"An essay is due at the beginning of class tomorrow over our lecture today," he informed the class. Tari and I exchanged a look and waited until the rest of the class filed out before approaching Heero.
"Do you think we're being tabbed?" Tari asked anxiously. I knew she didn't want to head to her meeting with Shin alone, but she would have to.
"It's not necessary," Heero stated.
"Shin said this morning that they had no need to. Though why, I dunno," I shrugged. "I'll see you in Shin's class in an hour and a half. See ya later." Tari left, still stiffly walking away. I watched her go, then pulled out a boom box out of my book bag. Heero tried to stifle a moan as he saw it was much the same as the one he walked in on every morning.
"Oh, quit your griping," I snapped. "I don't listen to rap or hip-hop. I like pop/rock." (AN-I know people say it's stupid, but I like the lyrics to a lot pop/rock songs. I'm an eclectic; I'll listen to anything with a good beat or lyrics, or both. Just don't try and hand me country!)
Heero did stop complaining about it, but that did not mean he relaxed. Far from it. He was so stiff as my music began to play that he looked like a robot. Stiffer than gundamium alloy, even, which I knew was what the Gundams were made from.
"You keep me from going crazy..."
The music had a simple beat, a one-two-three-four. It was titled Going Crazy, by a semi-new group called Plus One. One of my favorites, one of the few CDs I owned, in all reality. Perfect for a beginner in dance.
"All right, Heero, loosen up," I soothed him gently. He relaxed noticeably, but no where near enough to dance properly. Leaving him be, I began instructing, hoping the music would loosen his tense muscles.
"Okay, pay attention to the music," I told him. "Move your feet. Just back and forth, step from side to side, loosely." He tried what I was telling him, but failed miserably. A simple back and forth step, too. We had a lot of work to do.
"Stop, stop, stop," I ordered him. He froze instantly, his back stiffer than ever before. "Heero, you've got to relax. The music isn't gonna hurt you."
He nodded.
"Okay, let's try sitting down instead," I sighed. I pulled out his chair and set it up, sitting down. He watched like the falcons on the street as I slouched thoughtfully. My back against the black back; one leg stretched, the other barely holding me into the seat.
"See that?" he nodded. "Now you try it." He nodded and sat down as I stood. He sat straight up, firm and proper.
"No, no, slouch, Heero...like those guys in class. You've seen them..."
***
"...hop, hop, back right, spin, fake left, right, point left," I finished with a point out. Heero watched me, then stood as the track restarted. (Another Earthquake by Aaron Carter.)
...All the things in my room
I break break break
All the people around
They shout
Not another earthquake!
He still couldn't do it. Poor guy was such a furious shade of magenta, I couldn't help but worry about the Perfect-not-perfect Soldier.
"Heero, if it's too much, we can try another song," I said gently.
"..."
"Are you gonna answer me?" I scowled.
"I left you no mercy. It is my turn."
My eyes widened. You had to hand it to the guy; when he found something to do, he didn't let it go.
"All right," I threw up my hands and sat him down quickly. "Watch me for a whole song. See if you can find what you're doing wrong."
"Hn."
I give my life away
Now it's time to play
I live by the choice I made
This is what I choose
I don't wanna lose
And it's time...make my move
'Cause you know better than I
I can, ya know, try to
Never do without you
You know more than I could
I can never run deaf
You wanna give me
I go crazy
I can't pretend that I need you
With all the stuff in my life
I just dunno what to do
Every time I'm afraid
Of what's in front of me
You keep me from going crazy
Show's done, but the
Tape keeps rolling
Can't push stop
'Cause my life is recording
All this pressure
Keeps on pressing
You keep me from
Going crazy
I got through the first verse and chorus before it began to happen. My foot-stamps were matched by another's. Perfectly. Absolutely, blessedly, unbelievably perfectly. I looked up to see Heero, the one I had first thought might be an escaped angel, matching every step, every movement like a fluid mirror, every move perfection.
I stopped abruptly, as did Heero.
"H-How...H-Heero...h-how di-did that just...happen?" I asked, my eyes narrowed at him in pure confusion, but still purposefully. How had he just done that? A few moments ago, he was absolutely wretched at any move I gave him, only just mastering two-stepping. He gave a very small, but very clear smile and said something most peculiar.
"I don't know, Capri. But I know one thing; I like it."
***
"And he just stood there like that?" Telex asked, an eyebrow raised. I was speaking with my four friends, Trowa, and Wufei. Both boys' eyebrows (yes, even Trowa) had shot to their hairline in shock.
"Let me get this straight," Toraneko stated bewilderedly. "You were trying to teach him how to dance, and he wasn't doing very well. One minute he can barely two-step and the next he's matching your moves stride for stride? Then he just stands there smiling?"
"Heero Yuy, smiling?" Wufei and Trowa exchanged a look.
"What, I know he doesn't actually smile all that often, but surely in all the time you've known him, he's smiled at least once before?" Raine asked, absolutely beyond baffled. The grave looks on the two boys' faces told otherwise. "That's impossible!"
"The only time he's ever truly smiled was right before a fight," Wufei shook his head. "And he's more scary when he gets like that than a thousand mobile suits."
"I thought the governments all agreed not to manufacture any more mobile suits," Tari chose her words carefully.
"They did. It's one of the job of the Preventers to destroy any that are created," Trowa explained.
"It's Winner and Maxwell I'm worried about," Wufei muttered. "It's not like either of them to be this quiet. And Peacecraft as well."
"Yeah, I'm worried about Releena, too," Telex looked back toward the living room, where our teacher and friend was watching the news like an eagle. "She seems quieter after being attacked. As though she were trying to hide something."
"But what?" I asked. "What could Releena possibly want to hide from us? She already told us one of her greater secrets; that she knew the Gundam pilots."
"Actually, that was Heero's doing," Tari said, thinking hard. "If you think about it, she has hidden a lot from us and only told us things when they could no longer be left unexplained."
"You're right..." Toraneko scowled. "But you guys, why would Releena want to hide something from us?"
"I dunno," I shrugged. "This whole thing is confusing me."
"Me too," Tari sighed, sinking back into a chair. Heero passed by us and I pulled him over by his shirt sleeve.
"Hey, Heero, why don't we show the others what you learned today?" I asked.
"W-What?" he stammered. There was no doubt about it; the Perfect Soldier was shaken.
"Come on," I pulled his arm and plugged in the boom box again. The others turned to watch and I smirked. This was going to be a riot.
...
I can't pretend that I need you
With all the stuff in my life
I just dunno what to do
Every time I'm afraid
Of what's in front of me
You keep me from going crazy
Show's done, but the
Tape keeps rolling
Can't push stop
'Cause my life is recording
Step, step, back, forward, spin, punch, swing, wave, he matched each move to each beat with a perfection seen only in rock videos. The others were applauding by the time the music stopped.
"You go, guys!" Tari flashed us both thumbs-up. "Wow, that was so awesome, I can't believe anyone can do that to pop anymore."
***