Merci mucho (to use my old French/Spanish teacher's phrase) to sparda219 and Shichan Goddess for reviewing not only this but The Black Book as well! (sparda--hmm, Stalking 101, I'll have to think about that...) I feel so loved! ::hugs:: Oh, and glad you both appreciated Ryouga's cameo. :) Hope you enjoy this part, too! (And Shichan--fic is always more fun than studying, ne? Don't let me be the reason for you not doing well, though!)

Kazoku
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

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Chapter 8 (In which Heero kicks butt and Duo gets his butt kicked)
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Duo awoke to a sudden pain in his stomach as a foot connected with it. "Wake up," a harsh voice commanded, and the foot lashed out again.

He groaned, rolling over on the hard floor to protect himself from the cruel kicks.

"Good, you're finally up," the voice spoke, and Duo's head spun as rough hands grabbed him by his shirt and hauled up him up to a standing position.

Finally opening his eyes, Duo glared at the man before him. "Who are you to interrupt my beauty sleep?" he complained. Looking the man up and down, he added, "Actually, you look you could use some yourself, maybe a few years' worth…"

The man's face turned bright red, and brought a fist up into Duo's already-bruising stomach. The braided man would have fallen if he wasn't still held up by the shirt.

Mental note, Duo thought. Don't piss off the captor when you already feel like you're about to throw up. I wonder how upset he'd get if I got sick all over him… He decided he didn't want to test it.

The man glared at him as if daring him to make another smart remark, then warned, "Now, you're getting off easy this time. Try escaping again, and your punishment won't be nearly as pleasant—for you." He grinned, and Duo really didn't like the look in his eyes, but he remained silent. "Just remember—the kid is the important one here. You act up too much, we can just kill you and go grab your lover or another of your kids to use as motivation. Understand?"

Duo was starting to think they just were trying to wound his ego, with all the "you're not important, you're pond scum, only your son is worth anything" crap. However, the threat that the rest of his family might be in danger if he didn't cooperate certainly dampened some of his drive to attempt another escape. It wasn't that he didn't trust Heero to take care of Ven and Juuni; indeed, he knew his partner would take extra measures to ensure their safety after Duo and Sifir vanished. Still, he knew this organization was a group of professionals, and they could very well carry through on that threat.

Upon seeing Duo's resigned nod, the man seemed to be appeased. "Good." Without another word, the man released Duo and left the room, followed by two other guards who'd apparently been in the cell as well.

Catching himself so he at least had a controlled descent to the floor, Duo groaned. Holding his arms around his aching abdomen, he hoped Sifir was having a better day than he was.

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Dr. White watched as Sifir sat at the controls of a simulator, seemingly piloting a mobile suit admirably through an asteroid field while simultaneously destroying dozens of enemy suits. She almost wished they could have set up a more realistic exercise with real MS, but that would have drawn far too much unwanted attention.

Her admiration of the boy was continuing to grow throughout every test. The endurance test had revealed that he could run five miles in under half an hour. He'd also been tested in martial arts and other hand-to-hand fighting. He hadn't won every match, but he had held his own sparring against some of their best fighters, ones she was sure weren't holding anything back just because they were fighting a kid. Now, after hours of strenuous activity, with only two short breaks for meals, he was showing practically no signs of fatigue, other than a slight strain in his eyes.

When the last image of an enemy blew up on the screen, Dr. White turned the machine off. "Well, Sifir, that was your last test. You've done remarkably well on everything today; I guess you'll get to start your actual training tomorrow." She couldn't keep a small amount of pride out of her voice; she knew his abilities had nothing to do with her, but just working with this amazing boy made her feel slightly higher than her peers in this organization. Remembering her superior's warning about getting too attached to the boy, however, she tried to suppress such feelings of pride.

Sifir looked up at her, and she could tell there was a question in his eyes. "What is it, Sifir?" she prompted.

"What—what exactly is the 'training' going to be?" he asked hesitantly.

Dr. White felt somewhat negligent as she realized she never had told the boy what to expect when his testing was complete. She began to explain. "Well, some of what you'll be doing is just improving your abilities that we've tested yesterday and today. Yes, you're doing quite well for your age, but you have the potential to become even more skilled in those areas. Then we'll go more into things we haven't done: infiltrating secure areas, more specific weapons training—"

"I'm not going to kill anyone," he interrupted, the look in his eyes challenging.

She took a deep breath. "Not yet, no."

Sifir shook his head. "No. I'm not going to kill for you. Ever."

"Sifir…" she began.

"If I'm done for today, can I go back to my dad now?" The look in his eyes was colder than any he'd given her since when they'd first met and she'd threatened his father. The glare was so intense she backed up a step without even realizing it.

Sighing, Dr. White nodded, and wordlessly ushered him back to the cell.

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Pushing himself up off the ground, Heero looked at the flaming pile of metal that had once been a truck. There was no chance either of the men inside had survived. He quickly examined himself and found no injuries worse than a light road burn on one arm and some possible areas of bruising.

"TOUSAN!"

Hearing Juuni's scream, he adjusted his focus to his children, who were racing toward him.

"I thought I told you two to stay in the car," Heero chastised gently, putting an arm around his daughter who was hugging his legs tightly.

"We heard an explosion from where you'd been seconds earlier; what did you expect us to do?" Ven asked, looking at the blazing truck with wide eyes.

Nodding, Heero gestured for them to head back to the car. "Understandable, but remember that you two are staying with me under the condition that you obey my commands."

"We know," the kids replied in unison, their voices penitent. "We can still stay with you, though, right?" Juuni asked hesitantly.

He sighed. "It's gotten more dangerous now, so I wish you weren't along, but there aren't really any other options at this point. Just promise me you won't disobey me again."

The children promised, then Juuni asked, "Are you okay, Tousan?"

Heero nodded. "I'm fine, Juuni."

"Did they tell you anything before they… blew up?" Ven inquired as the three settled back in to the undamaged vehicle. His eyes were still focused on the fire.

"I acquired the location of the building where your dad and brother are being held, but nothing about security. I'm fairly certain the man was telling the truth. However, we have no way of knowing if those men were supposed to report in at any given time, so we should get moving," Heero realized. He turned to look at his oldest son. "Those men died protecting the information. I wanted to get the others back without any deaths, but that is apparently no longer an option." He met Juuni's eyes, making sure she was listening as well. "The search is also much more dangerous now, so keep your minds focused on what we have to do here. Understood?"

They nodded with wide eyes, and Heero started the car in the direction he'd been instructed. Finally, he had a definite direction and time for when they'd reach his missing family members. If the man wasn't lying. If they weren't moved before he could get there. If they were even still…

Heero had no time for Ifs.

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As Dr. White and Sifir approached the cell, the doctor noticed the guards outside were not the ones usually on duty at the time. Not one to socialize with those under her, she didn't bother to question them.

When the door to the cell opened, she saw the American prisoner lying on the floor, arms draped over his stomach. As he looked up and noticed his son entering, he moved to stand, but moaned and paused on his knees before making it the rest of the way upright.

Sifir's eyes widened as he saw this. "Dad!" he shouted, and rushed to his father's side.

"I'm okay, Sifir," Duo assured his son, his pained voice belying his words. "How was your day? They still haven't hurt you, have they?"

"No," came the short reply. The boy hesitantly reached out his hand, holding it a few centimeters away from Duo's stomach, as if afraid to touch him. "What happened? What did they do to you?" The voice was quiet and calm, but the underlying concern in it was obvious.

There was a pause as Duo debated how to answer. Dr. White remained in the room, watching silently, curious as well. Finally, the braided man just gave in. "I tried to escape; they weren't too happy with me," he stated sardonically.

Frowning but not replying, Sifir turned to the watching doctor. "He needs medical attention again, and not that jerk who came earlier."

The woman looked at the boy, wanting to appease him but unable to do so. "Dr. Wong is the only—"

"Look, it's not that bad," Duo interrupted, holding out a hand. He then brought the hand back to his abdomen with a grimace. "Well, some more painkillers would be nice, but I can tell I don't have broken ribs or anything."

Sifir looked at his father appraisingly, then turned back to Dr. White. "Get him painkillers, and more blankets so he can sleep more comfortably, or I'm not starting training tomorrow."

Dr. White nodded, but Duo interjected again, "No. You're not doing training anyway."

"Dad, I don't have a choice," Sifir stated softly.

Duo stared back at his son, sighing with resignation.

"I'll see that you get painkillers and blankets," the doctor promised, exiting the room.

Slowly and cautiously, Duo moved to his knees, and wrapped his arms around Sifir. The boy tenderly returned the hug, not wanting to hurt his father any more than he already was.

Neither was certain who had needed the comfort more, but both felt somewhat better.

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TBC
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Footnote:

Anyone notice the accidental pun I made in this part that Tori made me leave in? Kudos to those who found it!

Co-author Rant: What up peeps? It's Tori again, you're friendly neighborhood co-author...who can kick some serious ass! Whoo hoo! Martial arts testing went great! Rey did her form and sparring combos no trouble and I didn't screw up either! Eleven forms, five rounds of sparring including two two-against-one rounds, and broke all my boards (side kick, elbow smash, and jump side kick). Yay! Pretty good for not having tested in seven years. :) But we'll know for sure if we passed some time next week...

In other news, no progress on the colored pic...sorry guys, I spent all last week cramming for testing...and writing fic. Coming soon from Birdfish Publications: Nexus, a new fic from the twisted imagination of Tori Sakana. Word of warning, it's very different from the other stuff I've done, but Rey likes it.... *End Shameless Plug*

Wow, this is probably the longest rant yet...and I'm still not done! A word to the wise: if you room with a psych major, be prepared to be analyzed. After analyzing my self-handicapping defense mechanisms all weekend, Rey moved on to bigger and better things...for example, Dr. White is exhibiting a textbook case of Basking in Reflected Glory. *sigh* why can't people just be crazy any more?

Anyhoo, that's all on the Tori front...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.