Chapter 7: So much stress
Hey, I'm back again early this week. That tiny writer's block just needed a good night's sleep, I guess. Well, here you go!
Wufei's P.O.V.
Wufei suppressed a growl as he blocked his cousin's thrust and suddenly pictured him as a certain raven-haired girl who was most certainly up to something. Wufei hit him with a roundhouse kick and sent him sprawling.
"Ah, Wufei. You seem upset." Grandfather Chang almost laughed as he walked up silently behind Wufei and put his hand of Wufei's shoulder. "Come. Tell me about it."
Wufei glanced at his uncles helping his fallen cousin and followed his grandfather.
They walked for a few moments in silence, and stopped at the fish pond near the small forest that bordered their home. Grandfather Chang sighed in slight annoyance and looked over at Wufei. "You are dissatisfied with your bride." He stated and Wufei looked up.
"Not...dissatisfied, Grandfather. Simply..." Wufei searched his mind for the right word. "Irritated." He spat.
"She does not please you?" He asked calmly.
"It's not that..." Wufei almost growled, losing his control for a moment.
"Then what is it?" Grandfather pressed.
"Nothing, Grandfather." Wufei looked down into the sun reflecting on the smooth pond water. "It is nothing."
"It is not nothing, Wufei. There is something wrong." Grandfather Chang looked over at Wufei and seemed to glare in the sunlight.
Wufei shifted and ran over possibilities. "I have thought, perhaps, she is not the one for me to be with."
Grandfather's eyes flashed as he stared Wufei down. "You will marry the girl, Wufei. Hino and I have already arranged the whole thing. It will take place as planned in three weeks, and you make no further complaints."
Wufei shifted again and looked away; suddenly angry he had said anything. "I was making no complaint, Grandfather. It was nothing."
"And it will stay nothing. Go to her." Grandfather turned and walked away towards the shade of the courtyard.
Wufei stood next to the pond, staring into its short depth and the soft glitters as the small goldfish swam their endless laps around the rocks that littered the bottom. He could have kicked the water to dirty the endless shimmers. (How could I act with such insolence? How could she?!) Wufei straightened. (That onna is keeping something from me.) He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. (She will not keep secrets from me.)
Rei's P.O.V.
Rei slumped down on her bed. After going at it with her grandfather about the marriage, Rei was about done with the whole thing. (Maybe I could run away...) Rei shook her head. (No, the other girls need me here. They wouldn't be able to protect the city if the youmas figure out they just have to bring more than four of them when they decide to attack.)
Rei dropped her head into her hands. "How am I going to do this?" She asked the empty room.
"Do what?" Someone answered.
Rei didn't bother to look up. "What are you doing here, Wufei?"
"To see my bride. What else would I be doing?"
Rei looked up to see him standing over her in his ever-irritating arrogance. Rei, not willing to keep up the fight, dropped her head back into her hands. "I'm not your bride, yet." She balled her hands into fists to keep from yelling. Suddenly a thought came to her mind. Rei fixed a sly smile on her face and slid off her bed to the floor by Wufei's feet. "You know, I've been thinking..." She glanced up at his half-concealed surprise before continuing. "About you and me..." Rei slipped her arms around his leg and leaned into him.
Wufei let out an annoyed growl and rolled his eyes. "They aren't going to cancel it on my side either, so stop trying to make me disgusted with you."
Rei pursed her lips and dropped her arms. "Was I that obvious?"
He crossed his arms. "Very obvious."
Rei sighed and stood up. She walked to the other side of the room. "So what did you really come here for?"
Suddenly reminded of his mission, Wufei stepped around her bed and grasped her arm tightly. (You won't be running off this time, onna.) "You are keeping something from me."
Rei kept her back to him and tried not to tense as the silence in the room pushed in on her. She tried to form a response in her mind but came up with nothing believable. "I'm not keeping anything."
Wufei, angered yet again, gripped her arm tighter and twisted her around to face him. "Yes you are." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't lie to me, onna."
Rei felt herself trying to back away, away from his piecing onyx eyes that drilled into her. Feeling the dresser push against her, Rei stopped backing up and turned her eyes to try and stare him down. She tried to steady her breath and jerked her arm out of his grip.
They locked eyes for at least a minute, and just then, the door burst open. Neither of them looked over as Minako, Ami and Makoto stepped in and stopped as they saw Wufei.
"Hey Rei..." Minako said softly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rei saw Minako grimace and held up her hands as claws. Rei twisted her face and Wufei frowned and couldn't help but look towards the door at Minako. Rei slipped out from his grip and stepped over next to Makoto.
Minako pulled her hands to her head quickly and smiled brightly at Wufei. He didn't return the smile, but was quickly at Rei's side with his hand firmly gripped on her arm. She pulled away for a moment, but he held fast.
"You are hiding something, Rei, and I will discover it before we are wed." He hissed in her ear and left without another word, with the heated stared of the other girls practically burning into his back.
Once he was safely down the stairs, and double checked by Ami, Minako sighed dramatically and crossed her arms. "Is it just me, or is he getting meaner?"
"It's not just you." Makoto said flatly.
"He knows I'm keeping something from him." Rei pursed her lips.
"That is not good." Ami frowned.
"Definitely." Minako rolled her eyes.
Rei lifted her head. "You said there was an enemy..."
Ami took out her computer and opened it. "Three youmas, downtown. We came a little earlier, in case we had to ditch you-know-who again."
"Well, looks like we don't have to, so let's get going." Makoto said with a smile.
An hour later~~~~~
Makoto dusted off her jeans as they sat down in the café. "So what did you guys do last night?"
Minako smiled mischievously. "Well, Duo and I went out again..."
Rei looked up. "And?"
Minako grinned wider. "Guess. Come on, guess."
Rei rolled her eyes. "I think I'm afraid to."
Ami giggled and took a slurp of her milkshake.
Makoto shook her head and smiled. "You are impossible, Minako."
"I try."
Suddenly, Rei slapped her forehead against the table. "Incoming..." She groaned.
Minako looked around and saw Wufei and his companions stroll into the café, Duo still chatting happily, Heero still hardly listening, Quatre listening quietly behind, and Wufei still almost seething, but hiding it well.
Minako held up a hand and yelled out. "Hey, guys!"
Duo smiled over at her and walked over. "Hey babe. What's up?" He dropped down next to her, and the others sat down as well, but at the adjacent table.
"Oh, Ami did you see that new Treson book..." Quatre leaned over and Ami and he conversed quietly between the two tables.
Rei watched the mostly one-sided conversation between Makoto and Heero, and kept her eyes away from the piercing, black eyes that Wufei kept trained on her.
Rei felt her breath quicken as Wufei refused to lift his eyes and Rei finally stood up quickly. "Excuse me." She almost growled and made her way around the table towards the bathrooms.
Wufei jumped up after her and the others looked after him as he caught up with her outside of the bathrooms.
"Wufei..." Rei looked away as he took his arm.
"Onna, why are you running from me? In a few weeks you won't be able to run. Why are you starting now?"
"Why are you doing this?!" Rei hissed, verging on despair.
"Because you-" Wufei stopped, suddenly without anything to say.
Rei waited, trying to get a hold on herself, staring him down as he did her, glaring hatred into him.
Wufei looked back up at her and felt himself check and take a step backwards. Anger and masked fury stared back at him. He felt something strike inside of him and he took another step back. Wufei shifted and suddenly felt ridiculous, awkward and cruel at the same time. His breathing came out broken and he took another step back. (What are you doing?!) His mind screamed at him. (This is just some weak onna! Why am I backing away?!)
Rei felt the anger drain out of her as Wufei suddenly appeared lost and troubled. He took a few steps back and suddenly turned from her. "Onna, you..." He closed his eyes in unsteady defeat. "You have me."
"Wufei." Rei said firmly. "I do not want to marry you, and while I see that I won't have much of a choice in three weeks," Wufei looked at her, trying to hide the faint hope he suddenly felt. "You will never have me." Rei crossed her arms and tried not to watch as the little hope drained out of him.
Rei looked away and brushed past him out of the café.
Back at the shrine, Rei went straight to her room and dropped, face first, into her bed. (This is for the best.) Her mind tried to rationalize. (You know you wouldn't be able to fight with him looking over your shoulder. Being a Scout means some sacrifices, you know that.) She sighed heavily and buried her head in the pillow. (Then why do I suddenly feel like dirt?)
Hey... This chap was a little heavy, yeah, but it sets everything up I wanted to do in the next one. Well, not many notes for you today... review me 'kay!!!
Hey, I'm back again early this week. That tiny writer's block just needed a good night's sleep, I guess. Well, here you go!
Wufei's P.O.V.
Wufei suppressed a growl as he blocked his cousin's thrust and suddenly pictured him as a certain raven-haired girl who was most certainly up to something. Wufei hit him with a roundhouse kick and sent him sprawling.
"Ah, Wufei. You seem upset." Grandfather Chang almost laughed as he walked up silently behind Wufei and put his hand of Wufei's shoulder. "Come. Tell me about it."
Wufei glanced at his uncles helping his fallen cousin and followed his grandfather.
They walked for a few moments in silence, and stopped at the fish pond near the small forest that bordered their home. Grandfather Chang sighed in slight annoyance and looked over at Wufei. "You are dissatisfied with your bride." He stated and Wufei looked up.
"Not...dissatisfied, Grandfather. Simply..." Wufei searched his mind for the right word. "Irritated." He spat.
"She does not please you?" He asked calmly.
"It's not that..." Wufei almost growled, losing his control for a moment.
"Then what is it?" Grandfather pressed.
"Nothing, Grandfather." Wufei looked down into the sun reflecting on the smooth pond water. "It is nothing."
"It is not nothing, Wufei. There is something wrong." Grandfather Chang looked over at Wufei and seemed to glare in the sunlight.
Wufei shifted and ran over possibilities. "I have thought, perhaps, she is not the one for me to be with."
Grandfather's eyes flashed as he stared Wufei down. "You will marry the girl, Wufei. Hino and I have already arranged the whole thing. It will take place as planned in three weeks, and you make no further complaints."
Wufei shifted again and looked away; suddenly angry he had said anything. "I was making no complaint, Grandfather. It was nothing."
"And it will stay nothing. Go to her." Grandfather turned and walked away towards the shade of the courtyard.
Wufei stood next to the pond, staring into its short depth and the soft glitters as the small goldfish swam their endless laps around the rocks that littered the bottom. He could have kicked the water to dirty the endless shimmers. (How could I act with such insolence? How could she?!) Wufei straightened. (That onna is keeping something from me.) He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. (She will not keep secrets from me.)
Rei's P.O.V.
Rei slumped down on her bed. After going at it with her grandfather about the marriage, Rei was about done with the whole thing. (Maybe I could run away...) Rei shook her head. (No, the other girls need me here. They wouldn't be able to protect the city if the youmas figure out they just have to bring more than four of them when they decide to attack.)
Rei dropped her head into her hands. "How am I going to do this?" She asked the empty room.
"Do what?" Someone answered.
Rei didn't bother to look up. "What are you doing here, Wufei?"
"To see my bride. What else would I be doing?"
Rei looked up to see him standing over her in his ever-irritating arrogance. Rei, not willing to keep up the fight, dropped her head back into her hands. "I'm not your bride, yet." She balled her hands into fists to keep from yelling. Suddenly a thought came to her mind. Rei fixed a sly smile on her face and slid off her bed to the floor by Wufei's feet. "You know, I've been thinking..." She glanced up at his half-concealed surprise before continuing. "About you and me..." Rei slipped her arms around his leg and leaned into him.
Wufei let out an annoyed growl and rolled his eyes. "They aren't going to cancel it on my side either, so stop trying to make me disgusted with you."
Rei pursed her lips and dropped her arms. "Was I that obvious?"
He crossed his arms. "Very obvious."
Rei sighed and stood up. She walked to the other side of the room. "So what did you really come here for?"
Suddenly reminded of his mission, Wufei stepped around her bed and grasped her arm tightly. (You won't be running off this time, onna.) "You are keeping something from me."
Rei kept her back to him and tried not to tense as the silence in the room pushed in on her. She tried to form a response in her mind but came up with nothing believable. "I'm not keeping anything."
Wufei, angered yet again, gripped her arm tighter and twisted her around to face him. "Yes you are." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't lie to me, onna."
Rei felt herself trying to back away, away from his piecing onyx eyes that drilled into her. Feeling the dresser push against her, Rei stopped backing up and turned her eyes to try and stare him down. She tried to steady her breath and jerked her arm out of his grip.
They locked eyes for at least a minute, and just then, the door burst open. Neither of them looked over as Minako, Ami and Makoto stepped in and stopped as they saw Wufei.
"Hey Rei..." Minako said softly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rei saw Minako grimace and held up her hands as claws. Rei twisted her face and Wufei frowned and couldn't help but look towards the door at Minako. Rei slipped out from his grip and stepped over next to Makoto.
Minako pulled her hands to her head quickly and smiled brightly at Wufei. He didn't return the smile, but was quickly at Rei's side with his hand firmly gripped on her arm. She pulled away for a moment, but he held fast.
"You are hiding something, Rei, and I will discover it before we are wed." He hissed in her ear and left without another word, with the heated stared of the other girls practically burning into his back.
Once he was safely down the stairs, and double checked by Ami, Minako sighed dramatically and crossed her arms. "Is it just me, or is he getting meaner?"
"It's not just you." Makoto said flatly.
"He knows I'm keeping something from him." Rei pursed her lips.
"That is not good." Ami frowned.
"Definitely." Minako rolled her eyes.
Rei lifted her head. "You said there was an enemy..."
Ami took out her computer and opened it. "Three youmas, downtown. We came a little earlier, in case we had to ditch you-know-who again."
"Well, looks like we don't have to, so let's get going." Makoto said with a smile.
An hour later~~~~~
Makoto dusted off her jeans as they sat down in the café. "So what did you guys do last night?"
Minako smiled mischievously. "Well, Duo and I went out again..."
Rei looked up. "And?"
Minako grinned wider. "Guess. Come on, guess."
Rei rolled her eyes. "I think I'm afraid to."
Ami giggled and took a slurp of her milkshake.
Makoto shook her head and smiled. "You are impossible, Minako."
"I try."
Suddenly, Rei slapped her forehead against the table. "Incoming..." She groaned.
Minako looked around and saw Wufei and his companions stroll into the café, Duo still chatting happily, Heero still hardly listening, Quatre listening quietly behind, and Wufei still almost seething, but hiding it well.
Minako held up a hand and yelled out. "Hey, guys!"
Duo smiled over at her and walked over. "Hey babe. What's up?" He dropped down next to her, and the others sat down as well, but at the adjacent table.
"Oh, Ami did you see that new Treson book..." Quatre leaned over and Ami and he conversed quietly between the two tables.
Rei watched the mostly one-sided conversation between Makoto and Heero, and kept her eyes away from the piercing, black eyes that Wufei kept trained on her.
Rei felt her breath quicken as Wufei refused to lift his eyes and Rei finally stood up quickly. "Excuse me." She almost growled and made her way around the table towards the bathrooms.
Wufei jumped up after her and the others looked after him as he caught up with her outside of the bathrooms.
"Wufei..." Rei looked away as he took his arm.
"Onna, why are you running from me? In a few weeks you won't be able to run. Why are you starting now?"
"Why are you doing this?!" Rei hissed, verging on despair.
"Because you-" Wufei stopped, suddenly without anything to say.
Rei waited, trying to get a hold on herself, staring him down as he did her, glaring hatred into him.
Wufei looked back up at her and felt himself check and take a step backwards. Anger and masked fury stared back at him. He felt something strike inside of him and he took another step back. Wufei shifted and suddenly felt ridiculous, awkward and cruel at the same time. His breathing came out broken and he took another step back. (What are you doing?!) His mind screamed at him. (This is just some weak onna! Why am I backing away?!)
Rei felt the anger drain out of her as Wufei suddenly appeared lost and troubled. He took a few steps back and suddenly turned from her. "Onna, you..." He closed his eyes in unsteady defeat. "You have me."
"Wufei." Rei said firmly. "I do not want to marry you, and while I see that I won't have much of a choice in three weeks," Wufei looked at her, trying to hide the faint hope he suddenly felt. "You will never have me." Rei crossed her arms and tried not to watch as the little hope drained out of him.
Rei looked away and brushed past him out of the café.
Back at the shrine, Rei went straight to her room and dropped, face first, into her bed. (This is for the best.) Her mind tried to rationalize. (You know you wouldn't be able to fight with him looking over your shoulder. Being a Scout means some sacrifices, you know that.) She sighed heavily and buried her head in the pillow. (Then why do I suddenly feel like dirt?)
Hey... This chap was a little heavy, yeah, but it sets everything up I wanted to do in the next one. Well, not many notes for you today... review me 'kay!!!