Disclaimer: Don't own anything except the comp I'm using right now - if I did, I'd have killed certain characters I don't like. As it is, I'll try not to let my bias get in the way. :)

Warnings: One original character, eventual shounen ai, swearing, some OOC

Notes: Thanks to Weirdo_189 for the review; I hope I get more! Even if you just tell me it was really bad. Oh, and by the way, telepathic speech is done in brackets.

Part II: Examination

Duo perched on the edge the bench, his expression unusually grim as he watched his cousin concentrate. Being a Light-worker himself, he understood the balance required for manipulating elements. It was difficult enough with a single element, but to have to juggle three at once... the very thought made him shudder. Hell, how does he do it? I mean, the youngest person to pass the Master exam before was *fifteen*. He's two years younger, for god's sake! I swear, if he gets blown apart...

"Duo?"

The braided boy turned quickly, his grin snapping back on as he waved at the trio entering the grounds. "Hey! Took you long enough to arrive - Heero's warming up."

"They realised that, baka." Unseen by his cousin, Heero had walked over to nod his greeting to the threesome. "You know there's another hour before it starts?"

Smirking, Duo mimicked, "They realised that, baka."

The blonde who had spoken before smiled - he was used to the cousins' daily bickering, having been subject to it for years. According to their nurses, Heero and Duo had had yelling matches ever since they were infants, and Quatre was inclined to believe it, especially since it still happened quite frequently - no screaming, of course, but definitely quite a few sarcastic remarks. Turning to the Japanese, he said, "Hi, Heero. We know the timetable, but decided to watch you warm up - do you mind?"

Giving him a slight smile, Heero shook his head, gesturing to the bench Duo was sitting on. "This row is reserved for all of you. Their majesties and my parents are going to be in the wings with the judges."

Another member of the trio - an Asian youth - raised his eyebrows at the Quatre. "Your parents are coming?"

The Arabian nodded. "Their Majesties wanted to see the most potentially powerful Elementalist of the century. In action, I mean."

"And come on, Wufei," Duo added, "don't you *ever* keep track of what goes on in court? People do talk when the King and Queen decide to visit the grounds, you know."

The Asian scowled at him. "Is it *my* fault that, unlike some people, I actually have duties to perform?"

Duo opened his mouth to reply, but a tap from the third person stopped him. Instead, he frowned and asked, "Trowa?"

The other boy shook his head, long bangs tumbling over his eyes, and gestured at the figure concentrating on the grounds. Duo smacked himself mentally. Shit, I *always* get carried away. Maybe one day, I'll actually remember to shut up once my "patient" relaxes enough. He shuffled over, allowing his companions room to sit. Silently, they watched their friend as he assumed control over the elements once more.

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Suriku followed her companion as he wove his way confidently through the streets, wincing as she realised that, were he not beside her, she would be totally and utterly lost. As though he sensed her thoughts, Mili grinned, saying, "Don't worry - I know the way. And I'll take you back to the inn afterwards."

She sent him a grateful smile, but it dimmed as she remembered she had been fired. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she asked, "Mili... who pays to train the Elementalists?"

Mili's eyes searched hers for a moment, then cleared as he recalled the innkeeper's words of dismissal. She's concerned she won't be able to pay! Like she has to worry - her power is the strongest I've seen in an untrained person. Even some Journeyman Elementalists aren't able to attack so accurately - especially with fire, which is the hardest to control. She's lucky she didn't get scorched herself. He face, however betrayed nothing of his thoughts as he replied, "Don't worry, the collegiums are funded by the crown - in return, though, you must take an oath not to use your powers against Sanq. Since the parents of most of the trainees served the crown in their time, the oath doesn't pose much of a problem. Some people still prefer to pay for private tuition though - in those cases, they don't need to swear the oath, but have to pay for the training and examinations."

Suri nodded, relief evident on her features. They walked in silence for a while, then Mili paused, pointing at a building to their north. "That area is called the grounds - it's basically a stone clearing with stands for the people and judges. Protective spells are placed between the stands and clearing - they stop spectators from getting injured, and make sure no outside help can be given to the person being tested."

"Why would anyone try to help... oh. Is that to make sure nobody starts learning stuff they aren't ready for?"

"Primarily. Some of the more advanced techniques, especially the ones dealing with nodes, can literally blow you up from the inside." The youth hesitated, then closed his mouth. Instead, he took her by the arm and led her past several guards, who bowed slightly as they passed.

Suri's frowned slightly. You're not telling me everything, are you? Hmm... "primarily", hey? So there's another reason. And I'm not an idiot - I *saw* those guards bowing to you. They know who you are. Which means you're not a commoner. She said nothing though, keeping her thoughts to herself as she had done for years.

Mili watched the girl out of the corner of his eye, and gave a mental sigh as he caught the frown. She's sharp - guess you have to be, to work at her age... I'll bet she's as old as Quatre. Dammit, I'll have to tell her who I am soon, or someone will give it away and she'll bolt. But it isn't every day that I find a commoner who treats me normally. But he, too, said nothing as they walked along the half-filled stands. Suri tensed; scarce as her education was, she knew nobles when she saw them. And most of the people around her definitely fit into that category. Her companion, though, was undeterred - he merely tightened his grip on her arm and strode towards the front row. In fact, the people in the row of reserved seats were turning around...

"Mili!"

"Hello to you, Duo. And to all the rest of you - how do you always manage to get to places earlier than I do?" Mili took the last few steps, taking a seat next to the speaker.

Suri bit her lips - her companion was definitely *not* a commoner. Neither was that braided boy who just called Mili's name, or that blonde sitting next to him, or the... Her thoughts were interrupted as her companion grinned, and pulled her down onto another seat - on the reserved row. "I-uh, Mili? Shouldn't I..." There was no denying it, she was stammering. For the first time in her life as well. And a red flush was creeping up her cheeks...

Pretend nothing is out of normal, guys. Mili sent quickly to his companions. She's a rogue elementalist - just flamed a man earlier. Lucky I noticed her before any of the OZ spies did. I told her about Elementalists, and she's here to see Heero... but she doesn't know who I am. Don't tell her.

Right. The four youths all sent affirmative replies, and Duo leaned over to offer his hand to the blushing girl. "Hey, I'm Duo. You must have done something pretty amazing to get Mili's attention - I was starting to think he didn't like girls."

"Duo!" Mili nudged him teasingly. "She's a friend, for God's sake. I'd swear, if I went and bought a cow one day, you'd still say I had my eyes on her." Inwardly, though, he was grateful - Duo's teasing was usually extremely effective at calming people down. But of course, he knows that, doesn't he? And he'll probably claim I owe him a favor later. Oh well - one step at a time.

Sure enough, Suri found her tongue again, and shook Duo's hand. "Um... I'm Suriko. Suri for short. And Mili was only..."

Duo laughed and winked at her. "Don't worry, he *is* kinda attractive. But won't you say that I'm more your type?"

The blonde, catching on, gave Duo a mock slap. "Quit teasing her, you baka. You have three more years to wait before you're allowed to court girls anyway. Or boys, since you seem to like the idea so much."

"More's the pity - but you have to wait just as long. And as for the last part... humph. Who would I try for - you?"

Shaking his head, the Arabian turned to the girl. "Hi, I'm Quatre. Don't mind Duo - he's just an overgrown hormone." He shook her hand, before gesturing to the other two youths sitting on the row, an Asian and a boy whose brown bangs practically covered his eyes. "These two are Wufei and Trowa - they're slightly more normal. Only slightly, mind you."

Suri smiled at the three of them, easing up minutely. "Nice to meet you."

Wufei and Trowa returned her greeting, and Mili relaxed into his seat. Thanks, guys. he sent, and received mental nods in reply. It's lucky they all understand the danger of untrained Elementalists on the loose, especially since...

"Hey guys, I think it's starting." Duo pointed at the lone figure in the clearing. Sure enough, silence quickly filled the stands.

For the girl's benefit, Mili whispered, "The exam starts once Heero - that's my friend - officially declares to the main judge that he's ready. After that, we're utterly forbidden to speak."

Nodding, Suri turned her full attention to the figure who was walking towards an old man - the main judge, she assumed - standing at the northern end of the clearing.

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Heero strode towards the judge, carefully keeping his nervousness under reign. Sparing a glance at the stands, he smiled slightly to himself as he saw the supportive faces of his friends - he had known they would be here. There was a strange girl sitting with them though - a commoner, as far as he could tell. He would have to ask about her later. For now, there was a more important task at hand...

"Kneel." The judge commanded, his aged voice carrying easily to the audience.

The Japanese knelt, his hands clasped at his knees as custom demanded.

"Heero Yuy, do you swear by your life never to use your control over the elements against the Sanq kingdom and the crown?"

"I do so swear." Heero raised his arm, curling his fingers in the sign of the oath.

"Do you swear never to use that control against the faithful citizens of Sanq?"

"I do so swear." The boy repeated the sign.

"Heero Yuy, you may stand. The blessing of the crown is upon you."

Heero rose, locking his arms at his side, and bowed three times, first to the main judge, then to the judges and teachers gathered in the wing, and lastly to the audience. His face was expressionless - only those who knew him well could have recognised the signs of tension in his posture. As it was, the judge nodded, satisfied, and began the examination ceremony.

"Heero Yuy, Journeyman Elementalist, do you willingly undertake the Master Elementalist examination?"

"I do."

"Do you believe you can - without outside influence - manipulate three different elements to the level required to pass the Master examination?"

"I do."

"Is your body cleared of all energies that can affect your performance?"

"It is."

"Then you may begin."

The Japanese youth bowed once more, then strode to the centre of the clearing, gathering his concentration as he prepared to gather the scattered elemental energies - the judges always made sure the power level of the clearing was as it had been before the examinee warmed up. His body, too, had been cleansed of all residue energies; that was the tradition, and ensured that no cheating would occur. Taking a deep breath, Heero began summoning the forces of energy.

Forces of chill: come hard, come cold -
Mask my body in shields of ice,
Within your crust the powers run bold
And souls through you shall death entice.

A chill swept over the stands as the summons were sent, and a few shivered involuntarily. In the clearing, ice began to form on the stones. Small crystals crept over the stone, slowly spreading and merging to form a whole. Heero ignored the scene, however, and concentrated on the next element.

Forces of heat: burn wild, burn fair,
My heart and courage do enflame,
Within your blaze the powers do flare
And spirited lives your fire shall tame.

Almost immediately, sparks licked across the ice, leaving trails of water in its wake. The ice-energies, sensing invasion, reformed and grew in clusters, mounting barriers to counter the flame. For a moment, Heero paused in his summoning, but after checking that the balance between the two elements was perfect, he continued to summon his final element.

Forces of air: blow strong, blow deep,
My skills your winds and gales do try,
Within your form a blade does sleep
And on hearing your breath do people die.

For a tense moment, Heero concentrated even more intensely, fighting to make sure his weakest element balanced with the others. Gently reining back both ice and fire, he released the wind, breathing a small sigh of relief as it soared past, engaging in battle with the other elemental forces. Inwardly, he steadied the flow of energy, distributing and controlling the powers with an unfeigned familiarity. Then, he paused, raising his arm to signal to the judges that he was ready to be judged on the first part of the examination: summoning any three elements and allowing them to mix within the grounds, ensuring they were balanced and that none of the elements overpowered the other.

There was a long pause as the judges conferred and calculated the score, and Heero suddenly felt grateful to the person who designed the Elementalist exams - at least he would know whether he passed each section before going on to the next. He had confidence in most of the sections, but the last two... Stop it, he chided himself. You have no time for this - and concentration is everything, you know it. That's what all that training was for. Shaking himself slightly, he looked towards the wing just in time to see the main judge step out and announce, "Section one passed. You may begin the next section."

Heero nodded and walked to the wing, knowing and sensing his connection to the energies was being cut. "I am ready."

"The time starts... now."

Sitting on a small stool, the Japanese waited. Since when did ten minutes last this long? Oh hell... I'm talking to myself again. Section two of the exam tested the Elementalist's balance of the energies he summoned - that's why he had to withdraw into the shielded room, and relinquish his control over the power. If the distribution had been done correctly, the energies would mix and battle for ten minutes without any one element overpowering the others. At the moment, the battle was working perfectly - the time was almost over. Three minutes left. Two. One...

Suddenly, an explosion sounded outside the chamber. Startled, Heero looked out, worried that somehow, he had upset the balance. What he saw - or sensed - was even more shocking: the elements were being fed, so much so that his gift would soon be unable to control them. Quickly retaking control, he battled the forces in an attempt to drain off the excess energies. Filter, pass, filter, pass... no!! Trying to hide his fear, he shouted, "Evacuate! I can't hold them - they're being fed..." His speech broke off as he concentrated all his talent on stalling for time.

Notes:

Sorry - I've changed the authors notes at the end of this chapter because I suddenly realised I had given away too much... gomen. For those who've read this chapter before it was changed - this happened because this chapter wasn't meant to be a cliffhanger, but it was really late, so I decided to post what I had written. The notes from before was meant to be included after the *whole* chapter was finished. Sorry again :)

And thanks to Duo's ONLY Chick for reviewing the un-updated version of this chapter... because I have a feeling that once a chapter is edited, the reviews are deleted or something. Correct me if I'm wrong :P

Please, please R&R! Even one word will be good... *puppy dog eyes*