*coughs* all right, this has taken AGES to come out. Sorry! To anyone who's
actually read it. ^_^;; So sorry!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or 3x3 Eyes.
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Heero ducked underneath a rather sloppy left hook and came up with a quick jab. A low hiss of pain was his reward and he followed through with a powerful cross, catching the bent over brunette across the face and sent him reeling backwards. He shifted his shoulders slightly to loosen his shirt around his torso. Around them tiny snow flakes fell giving the pavement and buildings a light covering of white and making the scenery quite peaceful and calm looking. The irony was not lost on Heero and he smirked slightly, his lips twitching up in a cold smile as he regarded the wheezing boy.
"Give up?" He asked coldly.
"Never." Daisuke spat out hatefully, his emerald eyes spitting fire. Heero didn't mind really, it would give him more time to pound on the annoying, stuck up, egotistical, obsessive psychopath.
"Hn." Heero grunted and put his fists back up. The circle of students surrounding the pair started to roar in encouragement. Ever since Heero had beaten Daisuke in that first fight, his social status had gone up, not only because they feared his fighting prowess, but because he actually stood up to Daisuke.
"Ah!" Heero brushed aside the cross to his face and elbowed Daisuke in his already injured side. Daisuke grunted but caught Heero off guard with a head butt, slamming his forehead into Heero's. Heero blinked back the stars the clouded his vision and instinctively brought his hands up to ward off the weak punch aimed at his head. Daisuke lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Heero, pinning his arms to his side. Heero winced and grunted as Daisuke squeezed tightly. He could hear the other students screaming in encouragement for both him and Daisuke. He struggled but lacked the leverage to get Daisuke's arms out from around him. He did one of the only things he knew to do in a situation like this. He brought his knee up. Hard.
"Oomph!" Heero was disappointed that he hadn't gotten the blow in properly but at least Daisuke let him go in order to prevent any other attempts. He shoved Heero away and glared furiously at him as he gingerly shifted his weight from his left leg to his right leg. Instead of hitting his... target, Heero had managed to get in a pretty damn painful strike to his inner thigh, making it quite hard to stand properly.
"That was a cheap shot Yuy!" Daisuke spat out.
"Hn. Knives[1]." Heero shot back in his usual monotone voice. Daisuke flushed. He swore angrily, his lips twisting into an ugly snarl as he regarded the defiant boy. He really, really hated Heero. He could feel the emotion simmering beneath his skin, eating away at him. He wanted to see the boy bleed. He licked his lips as he imagined his bloodstained face. A feral smile curved his lips and a disturbing light came into his eyes.
"Hn." Heero felt the hairs stand up at the back of his neck as he watched Daisuke smile, the bloodthirsty gleam sending shivers down his spine. Suddenly, the screams stopped and he turned his head slightly to see a small, feminine figure break through the circle of students and regard him and Daisuke with a small frown.
"What's going on here?" Her soft voice cut through the tense air clearly. Her large crimson eyes swung from him to Daisuke, the piercing orbs missing nothing.
"Hn." Heero straightened, tossing his head slightly as his bangs fell to cover his eyes in shadow. It was the end of the fight, Li Mei's presence effectively killing the mood.
"Li Mei." There was a slightly savage tone to Daisuke's voice as he eyed his object of affection with hungry eyes. Li Mei shrank away from him wearily, her sense screaming at her to get back.
"Daisuke." She said politely. She turned to Heero and regarded him quietly. She knew that Heero hadn't started the fight but she knew he did nothing to stop it. Daisuke on the other hand... Daisuke and Heero's dislike for each other had sky rocketed since Daisuke's defeat. At every opportunity that he got, Daisuke was determined to either humiliate Heero or beat him into the ground. Heero usually refused to respond to his taunting and Li Mei's quiet presence made it all the more harder for Daisuke to do anything. But that didn't mean that they didn't fight. They did. A lot. Li Mei usually ended up prying them apart, her small frame surprisingly strong. It also helped that they would always stop when she came anywhere near their fight.
She tilted her head slightly to watch Daisuke for a moment. The disturbing light had faded from his eyes and he looked a little worse for wear. She mentally sighed, her large eyes narrowing slightly as she regarded him.
"Perhaps you should go to the nurse's office Daisuke. That cut looks like it needs to be cleaned." Daisuke reached up and brushed a hand against his forehead where he'd split the skin. He frowned and then glared hatefully at Heero.
"Yes. I'll see you later then, my dear." He reached out and grabbed onto Li Mei's hand before she could move away. He leant down and kissed it lightly before turning around on his heel, jerking his head as he did so, and one of his many lackeys followed after him with his bag and jacket. Li Mei wiped her hand against her skirt and shivered. Daisuke scared her.
"Hn." She heard Heero growling behind her and sighed softly. She turned back to him and reached up, gently brushing his bangs out of his eyes.
"You have a bump on your head." She said lightly. Heero grunted but didn't move away from her touch. She turned to one of the students that hovered by their side. The boy, blushing as she gave him a warm smile, held out Heero's bag and jacket.
"Thank you, Hiroshi." He blushed deeper.
"She remembered my name." He whispered softly. A soft growl from Heero broke him out of his daydreaming and he quickly retreated but not before he cast a wistful glance back at the short beauty.
"What was the fight about this time?" She asked as she took Heero's arm and led him over to one of the benches underneath the shading cloth. She sat down and laid their bags and his jacket next to her. Heero sat down silently by her side and allowed her to pick up his hand and examine it carefully. He looked down and noticed that the skin over his knuckles was bruised quite badly and he flexed his fingers to assess if they would impair his writing abilities. Li Mei shook her head and sighed as she rubbed her hand slightly over his hand, her cool skin rubbing against his.
"Heero, I know that you don't start these fights, but maybe you should try to stop them." Heero looked at her as if to say 'are you kidding?' and she blinked and then tilted her head. "You're right. It wouldn't work. He'll just keep trying to hurt you."
"Hn."
"Honestly, you'd think he was trying to kill you the way he goes at you." Heero snorted. Trust her to miss out the fact that Daisuke did want him dead. She thought it was only petty rivalry. She was just too naive.
"Hn." She kept rubbing his hand, enjoying the sensation. As he watched her, he thought back on the past few months that he had known the smaller girl.
A softly spoken, polite, gentle, trusting and friendly girl, she as an enigma to him. He could never quite tell what was on her mind, what made her tick. She was far more than what she showed to the world. She wasn't just an innocent young girl. There was fire in her, passion and power, and he could feel it simmering just beneath the surface. Sometimes, he could swear he saw flickers of blue around her, but he brushed it off as a trick of the light. He felt it every time he touched her, when they were sitting next to each other and their hands or knees would brush against it each other.
He couldn't believe how much she had wormed her way into his life in the short time he had known her. They spent almost every moment at school together. She sat next to him in every period they had together and then lunchtime and recess, they sat together in the library. She was pleasant to be around and he quite liked her, though he never showed it. He felt protective whenever she was near. He continuously resisted the urge to wrap himself around her and protect her from everything bad in the world. He always felt warm and tingly deep inside whenever she was near. He felt... content, happy maybe.
"There. Does your hand feel any better?" Heero quickly looked down at her and then at his hand. Though it looked no worse from when she had started rubbing it, it really didn't hurt half as much as before. He flexed his fingers again. It still ached slightly, but nothing that he couldn't live with. He looked down at her for a moment, admiring her beauty, before nodding.
"Hn." She smiled and hugged his arm. He watched as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder like a cat.
"So what did you do last night?" She asked lightly. He shrugged.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Are you serious? Nothing?" She clucked her tongue and gave him a mock reproving look. "Well, we'll just see about that! You need to get out more!"
"Hn." Heero didn't really have anything to say about that. Where would he go? What would he do?
"Well, I'm going to make sure you do something exciting at least once a week! Starting... now!" She smiled and looked up at him. "Wanna go to the movies sometime?"
"Hn." Heero considered it. He didn't have any homework to do. He'd already finished what he was supposed to do for the week over the weekend.
"Come on! I promise that it'll be fun!" Heero looked down at her face, an adorable puppy-dog look on her face.
"Hn." He sighed and gave in.
"Yay! We'll have lots of fun!" Li Mei smiled happily and hugged his arm. In the silence that followed, she was quite content to sit with the brunette boy with dark blue eyes that haunted her dreams.
Despite his outwardly cold and harsh attitude, Li Mei had grown quite fond of the boy. Heero Yuy wasn't like anyone she had ever met before.
He was beyond quiet. He didn't really talk. He grunted, he answered in the shortest sentences possible and he didn't like any kinds of physical contact with people. Except for her. It puzzled her but she didn't say anything about it. After all, why should she complain? It gave her an excuse to touch him.
The main reason she liked to touch him was his aura; it drew her like a moth to a flame. It was incredible! Power, control, danger, passion... She could feel it all around him. For some reason, she couldn't stop herself from trying to get within his personal space, holding his arm, touching his knee in passing, anything to feel that aura. It comforted her beyond anything she'd ever felt before. And she had no idea why. Everyone had an aura but she wasn't attracted to him or her like she was to Heero. Her mother had a warm, loving and powerful aura. Her father had an aura that just screamed power and control. And Shing, his aura was of control and danger. It must have been the combination of things she felt in Heero's aura that called to her. She could have been considered obsessed but she had a feeling that he felt something similar to her. She wasn't blind to his warm glances or tiny smiles. She cherished them. But it wasn't just his aura that drew her to him; it was his personality, or the side that he didn't show to many people, if anyone. He wasn't nearly as tough as he tried to make people believe he was. He was a kind, judging from the way he had looked after her on her first day. He was strong and he was confident. He stood up for himself and he wasn't afraid of what other people thought. He could be so gentle, so very sweet and warm when he let down his guard. She had seen him smile at her slightly, warmly, when he thought she wasn't looking and he was always helping her without her having to ask. His attentive nature was very cute and always made her smile. He had an excellent sense of humour and he was very witty. He didn't say his comments out loud much, but sometimes, she'd hear him say something under his breath and she would burst out laughing. He was very observant and he was always in control.
And he was also lonely.
Li Mei's heart went out to him sometimes. She had talked about the close relationship she and her parents had and had seen the wistful and longing look in his eyes. She had wanted to hug him, in fact, she had. Heero had stiffened in surprise but she had refused to let go and slowly, Heero had relaxed in her embrace. He hadn't returned it, but he hadn't pushed her away. After that, Heero hadn't seemed to mind when she hugged him. She had even gotten him to open up a little. He had told her about his parents and his relationship, or lack thereof, with them. He told her about what he wanted to do in College and what his childhood was like and everything! Of course, it had all been stilted, chopped up and patched together. He would talk quietly about it for a moment and then suddenly ask her about her family. She was happy to tell him about them, of course, she'd omit a few details, but she would tell him about what they did. She promised herself that she'd invite him over one day and then he could share in her family's happiness as well.
If living with so many people had taught her anything, the emotions that Heero brought out in her were quickly approaching love. She felt her cheeks flush slightly just thinking about what she felt. It made her tingle all over.
Heero felt her shiver but misinterpreted the action, thinking she was cold.
"Hn. Let's go to the library." Heero got up and picked up his bag and jacket from beside Li Mei. She followed, hooking her arm through his again and they started off towards the large building on their right. They hadn't gotten very far when a voice interrupted them.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the hottest little couple in school." Li Mei blinked and turned around. She smiled cheerfully and waved her hand.
"Juni! Good morning. How was gym practice?" The bigger girl had sort of given up on her after Heero had not so subtly staked his claim on Li Mei, even though the said girl wasn't actually aware of it. Though, Juni did like to tease Li Mei and Heero.
"Morning kid, Heero. Gym was fine, as always." Juni said with a smile as she walked up to them. Her hair was a little damp from the shower she had just taken in the girl's change rooms. She brushed it back from her face.
"Hn." Heero nodded grudgingly. Juni rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"Heero, lighten up. As tempting as you girl friend is, I'm not going to jump her, okay?" Heero glared. Juni smirked and ran a hand through her hair again. She frowned as through she was just remembering something.
"I forgot. Daisuke's skulking around here." She watched as Li Mei grimaced slightly and Heero's dark eyes blazed angrily. "Ah. I see you already met up with him."
"Mm." Li Mei said. Heero glared straight ahead.
"Sorry about him. He's always been a little obsessive."
"And you aren't?" Heero muttered under his breath. Li Mei bit back a giggle and fought down the smile that followed. Luckily, Juni didn't hear him.
"Saa, it's okay. He'll get over it." Li Mei paused and looked up at Juni uncertainly. "Won't he?"
"Don't know. He's never been this bad before." Juni shrugged apologetically.
"He'd better." Heero ground out angrily. Juni raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, and what do you plan on doing to him, Heero dear?" She purred dangerously. Sure, Daisuke was a psycho, but he was her brother none the less.
"Hn." Heero glared at her in response.
"Heero's not going to do anything to him, Juni." Li Mei said quickly, tightening her hand around Heero's slightly. Heero instinctively calmed down. Juni's eyes narrowed slightly and then she smiled. They were so cute! Damn, if only Li Mei wasn't taken... oh well, there were other fish in the sea, as the saying goes.
"I hope not. He is my brother after all. Despite his psychotic behaviour, I do have to stand up for him. Don't worry. I'll make sure he stays in line." Juni winked at Heero. "But I'm pretty sure your knight in shining armour here is going to keep you safe kid." Li Mei blushed.
"Juni! And I'm not a kid." Juni laughed, a throaty, sensual sound. She stepped forward and brought her hand down gently on the shorter girl's head, which barely even reached her chin. She rubbed the soft curls lightly.
"Li Mei, you're way too short to be anything else." Li Mei pouted cutely. Juni sighed deeply. Damn! Heero would kill her, maybe even literally, if she even considered trying to take Li Mei away.
"I'm not short. Just vertically challenged." She replied with a small huff.
"Sure kid." Juni turned her head as though she could hear something. Sure enough, a moment later, a darkly glaring Daisuke walked out of the building sporting a bandage on his forehead. It was almost possible to see the storm clouds gathering over his head. Juni snorted.
"Hey, you two get out of here. I'll keep him occupied." She made a shooing motion but it wasn't needed. Li Mei and Heero were already walking away. Li Mei cast a thankful look over her shoulder and Juni winked before she turned to face her enraged brother.
"Hey there Daisuke. What's got you in such a hurry?"
"Daisuke scares me." She said softly as she leant her head against his arm as they walked up the stairs towards the library.
"Hn." Heero grunted and looked down at her. She tilted her head up to look at him when she felt his gaze on her.
"Mm?"
"Hn." Heero turned his eyes back to the front and he reached out to open the door of the library, hauling the heavy oak door open. He nudged Li Mei ahead of him and then followed behind her as they walked past the front desk.
"Good morning Mrs. Furikawa!" Li Mei said brightly as they passed the middle-aged woman who sat behind the desk. Mrs. Furikawa blinked and then smiled, returning Li Mei's wave with a small one of her own.
"Good morning Li Mei, Heero." Heero nodded politely at the greeting. Li Mei walked down to a table at the back corner and sat down, carefully putting down her laptop and books on the desk in front of her. Heero sat down next to her and put his things next to hers. "So what do you wanna do now?" She asked him.
"Hn."
"Saa..." Li Mei blew a curl of hair away from her eyes. She covered her mouth as she yawned loudly.
"Get enough sleep?" Heero asked as he glanced at her as he took out his books from his bag. She nodded and stretched her arms above her head. Heero's gaze flitted down to her chest, watching as the material of her shirt stretched over her bosom. He felt a flush rising on his face and averted his eyes quickly.
"Mm. I stayed up too late reading." She winced and rubbed her neck. She jumped slightly in surprise when she felt strong hands against her neck. She turned her head slightly to meet Heero's eyes. Nervousness and self-consciousness flitter across his face before it settled back into the normal blank mask that he wore.
"Massage." He muttered as he looked away and started kneading the tense muscles of her neck she was about to tell him not to bother himself when his fingers dug into a particularly sore spot. She melted like butter on a pan.
Heero heard her soft sigh of pleasure as he gently but firmly massaged her neck muscles. He watched as her eyes half closed from his position behind her. He felt something twist inside him when she started to purr, a soft rumbling sound that was not quite unlike that of a cat. He shivered slightly. He felt her relax completely, her small frame leaning back into him as she did.
"Nice..." She purred, her eyes mere slits.
"Hn." Heero continued his ministrations. He felt something wash over him and grunted in surprise. It was like someone has just dumped a bucket of hot water over him, soaking him to the bone. His hands stopped moving as he revelled in the feeling. He didn't know how long they sat like that but he would have gladly had stayed like this forever. Alas, some things just weren't meant to be.
"Yuy." Heero looked to his right and growled angrily. Daisuke was standing there, his hands clenched in fists as he looked between Li Mei and Heero angrily.
"What?" Heero growled out coldly.
"What do you think you're doing?" Daisuke fairly exploded with rage. Li Mei jerked out of her stupor at the sound of Daisuke's yell. She let out a startled squeak and instinctively pressed back against Heero, burying her face against the comforting warmth. He wrapped his arms around her instinctively and glared angrily at Daisuke who only seemed to get angrier at Li Mei's reaction.
"What do you want Kudou?" Daisuke opened his mouth and was about to yell a reply when Heero cut him off coldly.
"Shout and I'll shut you up." Daisuke blinked in surprise at the blatantly threatening tone in the smaller boy's voice. Li Mei blinked and straightened, all signs of her previous relaxation gone in an instant.
"Saa... Heero, Daisuke, this is a library." Li Mei said trying to calm them down. She didn't want them to start fighting again, especially in the library. It was bad enough when they came close to blows in the corridors or open areas between classes and break times but to have them at each other's throats in the library was a different thing altogether. After all, you're supposed to be quiet in the library. She needed to get Heero away from Daisuke before they started fighting again. The loud chime of the first bell sounded throughout the silent library, marking the start of the school day. She sighed in relief.
"I'm sorry Daisuke, Heero and I have to go to class now." Li Mei got up and started picking up her things quickly. The faster they got out of there, the better. She nudged Heero with her hip and he stood silently and picked up his things as well.
Daisuke watched with a sour expression on his face as he thought of horrible things he could do to Heero.
"Saa, Daisuke, could you please move?" Li Mei's quiet voice broke his line of thought. He looked down to see her looking up at him expectantly, her large eyes patient. He stepped to the side out of reflex and she walked past him. He watched her swaying hips as she walked past and would have whistled if he hadn't been yanked violently around. He gulped reflexively as he stared in burning Prussian blue eyes. It took him a moment to get his fear under control and when he did, he roughly shoved Heero away.
"Don't touch me." He sneered. Heero's glare intensified. The smaller boy opened his mouth to say something, but a voice stopped him.
"Heero." Li Mei's soft voice carried out across the library and Daisuke turned. She was watching them with large, unreadable crimson eyes. There was a small frown on her face as she turned her eyes to him. He noted, with extreme annoyance, that they softened when she turned them to Heero. He looked back and saw Heero was already walking around the tables to join her. They left without another word, but not before Heero sent another burning glare his way. Daisuke felt a shiver run down his spine.
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It was the last period of the day and everyone was feeling a little lazy. It didn't help that it was so very warm in the classroom because it had only stopped snowing a few minutes ago. The room was all sleepy and it was obvious from the yawns and stretching going on that no one was really in the mood to do any work.
Heero took a sheet of paper from the bundle that was being passed around and handed the rest to Li Mei who took one and passed it on. He looked down at the piece of paper. It was another assignment based on the play 'Romeo and Juliet' that they had been reading for class. He read the assignment sheet thoroughly from top to bottom. It consisted of two parts. One part was a written report of no more than four pages on three themes in the book and how they are shown. The second part was a reading of an extract from the play that supported one theme that was being reported on.
"All right class. I'm handing out your next assignment." There was a collective groan throughout the class. The English teacher, Miss Chisakawa, frowned. "Now, now. None of that. It's a group project. In pairs. I'm going to let you choose who you're going with." There was a soft cheer. The teacher frowned. "However." She paused and looked around intently. "I don't want you mucking about. You had better give me a good assignment or I'll never let you work in pairs of your own choosing again. Do I make myself clear?" There was a general groan from the most of the class.
"Yes Miss Chisakawa."
"Good. I'm going to assume that you know who you want to be paired up with so just raise your hands and I'll take the names down." Heero didn't even look her way as Li Mei raised her hand.
"Yes Miss Zhang? Who's your partner?"
"Heero." Miss Chisakawa raised an eyebrow at Heero who only stared back coldly. She shrugged to herself and noted it down.
"All right. Who else has their partner organised?"
"Saa, Heero. Which ones do you want to do?" Li Mei leant over and poked Heero's shoulder lightly.
"Hn."
"Themes." Heero shrugged. He didn't really care.
"Hn."
"All right. What about love, hate and family loyalty?" Heero looked at her, a strange look in his eyes. She blinked back at him. "What?"
"Hn."
"So you wanna do those themes?"
"Hn."
"All right! Hey, want to come over to my place today? We can start on it this afternoon. You can stay over for dinner!" Heero opened his mouth to refuse but looking at Li Mei's hopeful and happy face, he sighed and accepted, resigned to his fate.
"Fine." She smiled happily.
"Yay!" Heero felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. Her happiness was a nice thing to see.
"Heero, we have to wait for a Shing to pick us up. He's a family friend and he said he'd pick me up after school so we have to wait for him. I tried to call him, but he already left and he turned off his phone." Li Mei was standing next to him as he leant against the wall of the car park. She hugged his arm and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.
"Hn."
"Say Heero, how far do you live from school?"
"I live on West Street[2]."
"Uh... where's that?"
"Twenty five minutes from school."
"Oh. Does it bother you to walk so far?"
"Hn."
"Oh. I've never really liked walking myself. I'm a little lazy."
"Hn."
"Yeah. Seriously. I never walk if I don't have to. But I don't really like driving around in cars so I usually just stay at home. I read. Or something. I usually read."
"What do you read?"
"Um... Mostly fantasy. Sci-fi is good too. So is occult."
"You read occult?" Heero couldn't say that he was exactly surprised. She just didn't look the type but he had a feeling that she did a lot of things people would never expect from her.
"Yeah. Sure. Why not? It's all pretty interesting. Ever read any?" Heero shook his head slightly.
"No."
"Really? You should try reading one. I mean you have to try everything at least once. That's what I think."
"Hn."
"I've got some really good vampire ones if you want. I've read them dozens of times. I wouldn't miss them."
"I don't know." Heero looked pretty doubtful.
"They're good. Really. They've actually got a plot and stuff. It's interesting. Just try one."
"Hn."
"Mm kay... but if you ever change your mind, all you have to do is ask."
"Hn." Heero's eyes turned towards the entrance of the parking lot as a long, sleek black car entered through the gates. Heero narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Shing's here. Come on." She pulled him along behind her gently and Heero followed after her a little reluctantly. The passenger seat window opened slowly and Heero looked at the man who looked out unemotionally.
Prussian blue met glinting gold that chilled over as they assessed Heero, the handsome face turning cold as he noticed how closely Heero stood to Li Mei.
"Hello." The voice was cold and smooth.
"Hi Shing. This is Heero. He's really nice and smart." She turned to Heero and smiled at him. "Heero, this is Shing. He's a family friend and he's nice too." Turning back to Shing, she continued. "Heero's coming over. We got an English assignment today and he's my partner. I was hoping we could start early on it so that we could get it all good and organised before it's due so we won't have any problems later." Li Mei said brightly. Shing nodded and opened the door. He slid over on the seat and Li Mei sat down next to him. Heero slid down next to her and they pulled out of the parking lot a moment later.
"So what's this assignment about?" Shing politely questioned, his eyes never leaving Heero.
"Oh. You know how we've been studying 'Romeo and Juliet' by Shakespeare?"
"Yes."
"Well, we're supposed to identify some themes and write about them. Then we're supposed to act out one of the scenes to emphasise one of the themes."
"What themes are you doing?"
"Love, hate and family loyalty." Shing raised an eyebrow at Heero. Heero stared back blankly.
"Who chose the themes?"
"Oh, I did."
"I see." There was silence in the car for a while, Shing stewing in dark thoughts, casting glares at Heero, who returned them.
"So how was your meeting?" Li Mei asked Shing.
"Meeting? Oh. It was all right. Just the usual boring things. I was hoping I could have gotten off earlier but they wanted me to look over and review some things."
"Oh." Li Mei really didn't understand what it was exactly that Shing did, she just asked to be polite. And it seemed to make Shing happy, so hey, why not?
"I'm a lawyer." Shing said, in a way of explanation when Heero looked at him blankly.
"Hn." He didn't seem very impressed. Shing grit his teeth together. Snotty brat.
"He's one of the best. He was practically attacked from all sides by different firms who wanted to get him to work for them when we all moved here."
"You give me too much praise." Shing said warmly and he reached out to stroke a curl from Li Mei's face. Li Mei stiffened slightly but didn't pull away, not wanting to offend him. Heero seemed to sense her discomfort and frowned at Shing. Li Mei immediately hugged Heero's arm when Shing moved his hand away.
"What area of law?" Heero asked. Perhaps if he talked, Shing wouldn't make Li Mei uncomfortable.
"Corporate." Shing replied.
"Hn." Well, that attempt at conversation died quickly. Heero briefly wondered if he should start another conversations.
"I never really understood what you meant by corporate law." Li Mei said thoughtfully.
"Well,
"Ah..." Li Mei nodded with a blank look on her face. Heero smirked slightly.
"It seems like a very important job." Li Mei said.
"It is." Shing replied.
"Hn." Shing looked at Heero sharply at his lack of reply and frowned.
"So how did you meet Li Mei?" Shing asked. Li Mei blinked at the almost challenging note in Shing's voice. She got a sinking feeling in her stomach...
"She's in my class." Heero replied.
"Really now. What class would that be?"
"SDD, English and maths."
"I see." Shing said softly, all the while watching him with hard eyes. They all settled into a tense silence with Li Mei looking worriedly between the two of them, her large eyes darkening slightly.
"Heero, when is that SDD assignment due in?" Li Mei asked in the silence.
"Two weeks Tuesday."
"Good. That means I'll have enough time to get it done." She smiled cheerfully in an attempt to calm them both down. It seemed to work. Shing sat back in his seat and Heero turned his eyes back to the front.
"Hn." He grunted and Li Mei smiled.
"So what did you do this morning Li Mei? I heard that you went to school a little earlier than usual today."
"Oh, that's right. I had to ask one of my teachers about something."
"Ah. What did you do then?"
"Heero and I went up to the library."
"I see."
"Hn." Heero's eyes hardened at the silky tone of Shing's voice.
"So you go to the library before school? What did you do there?"
"Work." Heero really didn't like Shing. There was something about the older man that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Heero works very hard and studies a lot. I don't see why though. He's smarter than a lot of people at school." Li Mei still had his hands trapped in her own and her fingers tightened around his. She leant slightly towards him, comforted by his warm aura. Before long, she was snuggling up against his side, well, as much as the seat belt would allow. It was like she was sinking into a steaming hot bath. She felt his aura wash over her and her eyes half closed in bliss. He was so warm...
Heero looked down at her head and a warm smile flitted over his face before he became aware of the harsh glare being sent his way. He returned Shing's blazing look with one of his own.
"Li Mei, perhaps you should leave Heero a little room." Shing said softly. Li Mei blinked but didn't straighten away from Heero. Shing frowned darkly. She blinked again as though she was waking up from sleep and straightened but she didn't let go of Heero's arm.
"Saa, am I bothering you Heero?" She asked, almost sleepily. Shing's face darkened further as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. He didn't like what was happening here.
"Hn." Heero grunted in reply as he glared at Shing.
"See? Heero doesn't mind." She said, in the same sleepy tone she had used before. She settled down and hugged his arm to herself again. A moment later, she sat up straight and away from Heero, a look of embarrassment on her face.
"Oh Heero! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!" She blushed deeply and looked down. Heero fought down the disappointment that crept up as he felt her warmth move away from him. But at least she was still holding onto his arm.
"Hn." Li Mei looked at him shyly and settled back down against the seat. She hadn't realised it, but she was still holding onto his arm.
"Li Mei." She winced at the sharp tone from Shing, surprise in her eyes. He'd never spoken to her like that before. She turned to face him, a guarded look in her eyes. Shing must have noticed it because she felt him force himself to calm down. His features softened and he tilted the corners of his lips upwards in a small smile.
"Li Mei," He repeated in a softer tone, "we're almost home now."
"Thank you." She murmured. She turned back to Heero, much to Shing's displeasure, and started to lean against him again, seeking the comfort of his aura. Shing's hands balled up into fists from where they lay on his knees and he grit his teeth. Li Mei belonged to him!
Heero's eyes turned to him in that moment and he glared, his eyes flaring slightly with power. Surprise lit up the younger boy's face but then it was replaced with a glare of his own. Shing was taken aback by the power the boy suddenly seemed to radiate. He hadn't felt it before, but now it hit him like a wave. Heero's eyes glowed slightly, dark blue sparking from them. Li Mei's ears twitched, a sure sign that she could sense something and Shing forced himself to calm down. It wouldn't be a good thing if Li Mei caught him fighting with her friend. If there was one thing he knew about her, she was fiercely loyal and protective of those she considered friends.
"Heero?" There was worry in her voice.
"Hn." Heero gave one last look at Shing before casting his gaze out the window. Shing felt all evidence of his power wink out in that moment and he shivered slightly. He had a feeling that the boy was quite unconscious of the power that he had. But whether he actually knew of his powers or not, he was not someone to mess with.
Li Mei shifted against Heero, her ears tingling. She could FEEL the power radiating off both males and it was enough to make her grit her teeth. It burned away at her senses and made her incredibly edgy. She could feel Shirin pressing against her consciousness.
-- She could feel Shirin's amusement and groaned inwardly. The older soul would love to watch the two males fight, preferably to the death.
--
--
-- Li Mei said irritably.
-- Shirin purred hungrily. Her love of pain and violence was disconcerting and Li Mei frowned inwardly.
--
--
-- Li Mei muttered in annoyance. This tension was really starting to get at her.
--
--
--
-- Li Mei asked suspiciously. She felt Shirin fumbling for an answer.
--
-- Li Mei felt dread wash through her. Shirin was quick to comfort her.
--
-- There was a pause.
-- Shirin replied guiltily.
-- Li Mei sighed deeply and she felt Heero's arm muscles jump as she moved restlessly against his side.
-- Shirin said with a touch of distaste. -- Shirin's laugh trilled out as she mocked romance.
-- Li Mei returned sarcastically. Shirin grinned in her mind.
-- She paused. --
Li Mei agreed with Shirin. Something would happen soon, and she couldn't help be feel as though Heero would play a pivotal role.
--------------------------------------------------- [1] Remember? Daisuke decided to bring out a pair of butterfly knives when he was fighting with Heero in the first History chapter! [2] Okay, so I don't know any street names in Japan. So sue me. No, don't. I have no money. I don't even have a job T_T() Oh well. Um, yeah, that's a totally bogus name as you may have guessed.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or 3x3 Eyes.
---------------------------
Heero ducked underneath a rather sloppy left hook and came up with a quick jab. A low hiss of pain was his reward and he followed through with a powerful cross, catching the bent over brunette across the face and sent him reeling backwards. He shifted his shoulders slightly to loosen his shirt around his torso. Around them tiny snow flakes fell giving the pavement and buildings a light covering of white and making the scenery quite peaceful and calm looking. The irony was not lost on Heero and he smirked slightly, his lips twitching up in a cold smile as he regarded the wheezing boy.
"Give up?" He asked coldly.
"Never." Daisuke spat out hatefully, his emerald eyes spitting fire. Heero didn't mind really, it would give him more time to pound on the annoying, stuck up, egotistical, obsessive psychopath.
"Hn." Heero grunted and put his fists back up. The circle of students surrounding the pair started to roar in encouragement. Ever since Heero had beaten Daisuke in that first fight, his social status had gone up, not only because they feared his fighting prowess, but because he actually stood up to Daisuke.
"Ah!" Heero brushed aside the cross to his face and elbowed Daisuke in his already injured side. Daisuke grunted but caught Heero off guard with a head butt, slamming his forehead into Heero's. Heero blinked back the stars the clouded his vision and instinctively brought his hands up to ward off the weak punch aimed at his head. Daisuke lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Heero, pinning his arms to his side. Heero winced and grunted as Daisuke squeezed tightly. He could hear the other students screaming in encouragement for both him and Daisuke. He struggled but lacked the leverage to get Daisuke's arms out from around him. He did one of the only things he knew to do in a situation like this. He brought his knee up. Hard.
"Oomph!" Heero was disappointed that he hadn't gotten the blow in properly but at least Daisuke let him go in order to prevent any other attempts. He shoved Heero away and glared furiously at him as he gingerly shifted his weight from his left leg to his right leg. Instead of hitting his... target, Heero had managed to get in a pretty damn painful strike to his inner thigh, making it quite hard to stand properly.
"That was a cheap shot Yuy!" Daisuke spat out.
"Hn. Knives[1]." Heero shot back in his usual monotone voice. Daisuke flushed. He swore angrily, his lips twisting into an ugly snarl as he regarded the defiant boy. He really, really hated Heero. He could feel the emotion simmering beneath his skin, eating away at him. He wanted to see the boy bleed. He licked his lips as he imagined his bloodstained face. A feral smile curved his lips and a disturbing light came into his eyes.
"Hn." Heero felt the hairs stand up at the back of his neck as he watched Daisuke smile, the bloodthirsty gleam sending shivers down his spine. Suddenly, the screams stopped and he turned his head slightly to see a small, feminine figure break through the circle of students and regard him and Daisuke with a small frown.
"What's going on here?" Her soft voice cut through the tense air clearly. Her large crimson eyes swung from him to Daisuke, the piercing orbs missing nothing.
"Hn." Heero straightened, tossing his head slightly as his bangs fell to cover his eyes in shadow. It was the end of the fight, Li Mei's presence effectively killing the mood.
"Li Mei." There was a slightly savage tone to Daisuke's voice as he eyed his object of affection with hungry eyes. Li Mei shrank away from him wearily, her sense screaming at her to get back.
"Daisuke." She said politely. She turned to Heero and regarded him quietly. She knew that Heero hadn't started the fight but she knew he did nothing to stop it. Daisuke on the other hand... Daisuke and Heero's dislike for each other had sky rocketed since Daisuke's defeat. At every opportunity that he got, Daisuke was determined to either humiliate Heero or beat him into the ground. Heero usually refused to respond to his taunting and Li Mei's quiet presence made it all the more harder for Daisuke to do anything. But that didn't mean that they didn't fight. They did. A lot. Li Mei usually ended up prying them apart, her small frame surprisingly strong. It also helped that they would always stop when she came anywhere near their fight.
She tilted her head slightly to watch Daisuke for a moment. The disturbing light had faded from his eyes and he looked a little worse for wear. She mentally sighed, her large eyes narrowing slightly as she regarded him.
"Perhaps you should go to the nurse's office Daisuke. That cut looks like it needs to be cleaned." Daisuke reached up and brushed a hand against his forehead where he'd split the skin. He frowned and then glared hatefully at Heero.
"Yes. I'll see you later then, my dear." He reached out and grabbed onto Li Mei's hand before she could move away. He leant down and kissed it lightly before turning around on his heel, jerking his head as he did so, and one of his many lackeys followed after him with his bag and jacket. Li Mei wiped her hand against her skirt and shivered. Daisuke scared her.
"Hn." She heard Heero growling behind her and sighed softly. She turned back to him and reached up, gently brushing his bangs out of his eyes.
"You have a bump on your head." She said lightly. Heero grunted but didn't move away from her touch. She turned to one of the students that hovered by their side. The boy, blushing as she gave him a warm smile, held out Heero's bag and jacket.
"Thank you, Hiroshi." He blushed deeper.
"She remembered my name." He whispered softly. A soft growl from Heero broke him out of his daydreaming and he quickly retreated but not before he cast a wistful glance back at the short beauty.
"What was the fight about this time?" She asked as she took Heero's arm and led him over to one of the benches underneath the shading cloth. She sat down and laid their bags and his jacket next to her. Heero sat down silently by her side and allowed her to pick up his hand and examine it carefully. He looked down and noticed that the skin over his knuckles was bruised quite badly and he flexed his fingers to assess if they would impair his writing abilities. Li Mei shook her head and sighed as she rubbed her hand slightly over his hand, her cool skin rubbing against his.
"Heero, I know that you don't start these fights, but maybe you should try to stop them." Heero looked at her as if to say 'are you kidding?' and she blinked and then tilted her head. "You're right. It wouldn't work. He'll just keep trying to hurt you."
"Hn."
"Honestly, you'd think he was trying to kill you the way he goes at you." Heero snorted. Trust her to miss out the fact that Daisuke did want him dead. She thought it was only petty rivalry. She was just too naive.
"Hn." She kept rubbing his hand, enjoying the sensation. As he watched her, he thought back on the past few months that he had known the smaller girl.
A softly spoken, polite, gentle, trusting and friendly girl, she as an enigma to him. He could never quite tell what was on her mind, what made her tick. She was far more than what she showed to the world. She wasn't just an innocent young girl. There was fire in her, passion and power, and he could feel it simmering just beneath the surface. Sometimes, he could swear he saw flickers of blue around her, but he brushed it off as a trick of the light. He felt it every time he touched her, when they were sitting next to each other and their hands or knees would brush against it each other.
He couldn't believe how much she had wormed her way into his life in the short time he had known her. They spent almost every moment at school together. She sat next to him in every period they had together and then lunchtime and recess, they sat together in the library. She was pleasant to be around and he quite liked her, though he never showed it. He felt protective whenever she was near. He continuously resisted the urge to wrap himself around her and protect her from everything bad in the world. He always felt warm and tingly deep inside whenever she was near. He felt... content, happy maybe.
"There. Does your hand feel any better?" Heero quickly looked down at her and then at his hand. Though it looked no worse from when she had started rubbing it, it really didn't hurt half as much as before. He flexed his fingers again. It still ached slightly, but nothing that he couldn't live with. He looked down at her for a moment, admiring her beauty, before nodding.
"Hn." She smiled and hugged his arm. He watched as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder like a cat.
"So what did you do last night?" She asked lightly. He shrugged.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Are you serious? Nothing?" She clucked her tongue and gave him a mock reproving look. "Well, we'll just see about that! You need to get out more!"
"Hn." Heero didn't really have anything to say about that. Where would he go? What would he do?
"Well, I'm going to make sure you do something exciting at least once a week! Starting... now!" She smiled and looked up at him. "Wanna go to the movies sometime?"
"Hn." Heero considered it. He didn't have any homework to do. He'd already finished what he was supposed to do for the week over the weekend.
"Come on! I promise that it'll be fun!" Heero looked down at her face, an adorable puppy-dog look on her face.
"Hn." He sighed and gave in.
"Yay! We'll have lots of fun!" Li Mei smiled happily and hugged his arm. In the silence that followed, she was quite content to sit with the brunette boy with dark blue eyes that haunted her dreams.
Despite his outwardly cold and harsh attitude, Li Mei had grown quite fond of the boy. Heero Yuy wasn't like anyone she had ever met before.
He was beyond quiet. He didn't really talk. He grunted, he answered in the shortest sentences possible and he didn't like any kinds of physical contact with people. Except for her. It puzzled her but she didn't say anything about it. After all, why should she complain? It gave her an excuse to touch him.
The main reason she liked to touch him was his aura; it drew her like a moth to a flame. It was incredible! Power, control, danger, passion... She could feel it all around him. For some reason, she couldn't stop herself from trying to get within his personal space, holding his arm, touching his knee in passing, anything to feel that aura. It comforted her beyond anything she'd ever felt before. And she had no idea why. Everyone had an aura but she wasn't attracted to him or her like she was to Heero. Her mother had a warm, loving and powerful aura. Her father had an aura that just screamed power and control. And Shing, his aura was of control and danger. It must have been the combination of things she felt in Heero's aura that called to her. She could have been considered obsessed but she had a feeling that he felt something similar to her. She wasn't blind to his warm glances or tiny smiles. She cherished them. But it wasn't just his aura that drew her to him; it was his personality, or the side that he didn't show to many people, if anyone. He wasn't nearly as tough as he tried to make people believe he was. He was a kind, judging from the way he had looked after her on her first day. He was strong and he was confident. He stood up for himself and he wasn't afraid of what other people thought. He could be so gentle, so very sweet and warm when he let down his guard. She had seen him smile at her slightly, warmly, when he thought she wasn't looking and he was always helping her without her having to ask. His attentive nature was very cute and always made her smile. He had an excellent sense of humour and he was very witty. He didn't say his comments out loud much, but sometimes, she'd hear him say something under his breath and she would burst out laughing. He was very observant and he was always in control.
And he was also lonely.
Li Mei's heart went out to him sometimes. She had talked about the close relationship she and her parents had and had seen the wistful and longing look in his eyes. She had wanted to hug him, in fact, she had. Heero had stiffened in surprise but she had refused to let go and slowly, Heero had relaxed in her embrace. He hadn't returned it, but he hadn't pushed her away. After that, Heero hadn't seemed to mind when she hugged him. She had even gotten him to open up a little. He had told her about his parents and his relationship, or lack thereof, with them. He told her about what he wanted to do in College and what his childhood was like and everything! Of course, it had all been stilted, chopped up and patched together. He would talk quietly about it for a moment and then suddenly ask her about her family. She was happy to tell him about them, of course, she'd omit a few details, but she would tell him about what they did. She promised herself that she'd invite him over one day and then he could share in her family's happiness as well.
If living with so many people had taught her anything, the emotions that Heero brought out in her were quickly approaching love. She felt her cheeks flush slightly just thinking about what she felt. It made her tingle all over.
Heero felt her shiver but misinterpreted the action, thinking she was cold.
"Hn. Let's go to the library." Heero got up and picked up his bag and jacket from beside Li Mei. She followed, hooking her arm through his again and they started off towards the large building on their right. They hadn't gotten very far when a voice interrupted them.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the hottest little couple in school." Li Mei blinked and turned around. She smiled cheerfully and waved her hand.
"Juni! Good morning. How was gym practice?" The bigger girl had sort of given up on her after Heero had not so subtly staked his claim on Li Mei, even though the said girl wasn't actually aware of it. Though, Juni did like to tease Li Mei and Heero.
"Morning kid, Heero. Gym was fine, as always." Juni said with a smile as she walked up to them. Her hair was a little damp from the shower she had just taken in the girl's change rooms. She brushed it back from her face.
"Hn." Heero nodded grudgingly. Juni rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"Heero, lighten up. As tempting as you girl friend is, I'm not going to jump her, okay?" Heero glared. Juni smirked and ran a hand through her hair again. She frowned as through she was just remembering something.
"I forgot. Daisuke's skulking around here." She watched as Li Mei grimaced slightly and Heero's dark eyes blazed angrily. "Ah. I see you already met up with him."
"Mm." Li Mei said. Heero glared straight ahead.
"Sorry about him. He's always been a little obsessive."
"And you aren't?" Heero muttered under his breath. Li Mei bit back a giggle and fought down the smile that followed. Luckily, Juni didn't hear him.
"Saa, it's okay. He'll get over it." Li Mei paused and looked up at Juni uncertainly. "Won't he?"
"Don't know. He's never been this bad before." Juni shrugged apologetically.
"He'd better." Heero ground out angrily. Juni raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, and what do you plan on doing to him, Heero dear?" She purred dangerously. Sure, Daisuke was a psycho, but he was her brother none the less.
"Hn." Heero glared at her in response.
"Heero's not going to do anything to him, Juni." Li Mei said quickly, tightening her hand around Heero's slightly. Heero instinctively calmed down. Juni's eyes narrowed slightly and then she smiled. They were so cute! Damn, if only Li Mei wasn't taken... oh well, there were other fish in the sea, as the saying goes.
"I hope not. He is my brother after all. Despite his psychotic behaviour, I do have to stand up for him. Don't worry. I'll make sure he stays in line." Juni winked at Heero. "But I'm pretty sure your knight in shining armour here is going to keep you safe kid." Li Mei blushed.
"Juni! And I'm not a kid." Juni laughed, a throaty, sensual sound. She stepped forward and brought her hand down gently on the shorter girl's head, which barely even reached her chin. She rubbed the soft curls lightly.
"Li Mei, you're way too short to be anything else." Li Mei pouted cutely. Juni sighed deeply. Damn! Heero would kill her, maybe even literally, if she even considered trying to take Li Mei away.
"I'm not short. Just vertically challenged." She replied with a small huff.
"Sure kid." Juni turned her head as though she could hear something. Sure enough, a moment later, a darkly glaring Daisuke walked out of the building sporting a bandage on his forehead. It was almost possible to see the storm clouds gathering over his head. Juni snorted.
"Hey, you two get out of here. I'll keep him occupied." She made a shooing motion but it wasn't needed. Li Mei and Heero were already walking away. Li Mei cast a thankful look over her shoulder and Juni winked before she turned to face her enraged brother.
"Hey there Daisuke. What's got you in such a hurry?"
"Daisuke scares me." She said softly as she leant her head against his arm as they walked up the stairs towards the library.
"Hn." Heero grunted and looked down at her. She tilted her head up to look at him when she felt his gaze on her.
"Mm?"
"Hn." Heero turned his eyes back to the front and he reached out to open the door of the library, hauling the heavy oak door open. He nudged Li Mei ahead of him and then followed behind her as they walked past the front desk.
"Good morning Mrs. Furikawa!" Li Mei said brightly as they passed the middle-aged woman who sat behind the desk. Mrs. Furikawa blinked and then smiled, returning Li Mei's wave with a small one of her own.
"Good morning Li Mei, Heero." Heero nodded politely at the greeting. Li Mei walked down to a table at the back corner and sat down, carefully putting down her laptop and books on the desk in front of her. Heero sat down next to her and put his things next to hers. "So what do you wanna do now?" She asked him.
"Hn."
"Saa..." Li Mei blew a curl of hair away from her eyes. She covered her mouth as she yawned loudly.
"Get enough sleep?" Heero asked as he glanced at her as he took out his books from his bag. She nodded and stretched her arms above her head. Heero's gaze flitted down to her chest, watching as the material of her shirt stretched over her bosom. He felt a flush rising on his face and averted his eyes quickly.
"Mm. I stayed up too late reading." She winced and rubbed her neck. She jumped slightly in surprise when she felt strong hands against her neck. She turned her head slightly to meet Heero's eyes. Nervousness and self-consciousness flitter across his face before it settled back into the normal blank mask that he wore.
"Massage." He muttered as he looked away and started kneading the tense muscles of her neck she was about to tell him not to bother himself when his fingers dug into a particularly sore spot. She melted like butter on a pan.
Heero heard her soft sigh of pleasure as he gently but firmly massaged her neck muscles. He watched as her eyes half closed from his position behind her. He felt something twist inside him when she started to purr, a soft rumbling sound that was not quite unlike that of a cat. He shivered slightly. He felt her relax completely, her small frame leaning back into him as she did.
"Nice..." She purred, her eyes mere slits.
"Hn." Heero continued his ministrations. He felt something wash over him and grunted in surprise. It was like someone has just dumped a bucket of hot water over him, soaking him to the bone. His hands stopped moving as he revelled in the feeling. He didn't know how long they sat like that but he would have gladly had stayed like this forever. Alas, some things just weren't meant to be.
"Yuy." Heero looked to his right and growled angrily. Daisuke was standing there, his hands clenched in fists as he looked between Li Mei and Heero angrily.
"What?" Heero growled out coldly.
"What do you think you're doing?" Daisuke fairly exploded with rage. Li Mei jerked out of her stupor at the sound of Daisuke's yell. She let out a startled squeak and instinctively pressed back against Heero, burying her face against the comforting warmth. He wrapped his arms around her instinctively and glared angrily at Daisuke who only seemed to get angrier at Li Mei's reaction.
"What do you want Kudou?" Daisuke opened his mouth and was about to yell a reply when Heero cut him off coldly.
"Shout and I'll shut you up." Daisuke blinked in surprise at the blatantly threatening tone in the smaller boy's voice. Li Mei blinked and straightened, all signs of her previous relaxation gone in an instant.
"Saa... Heero, Daisuke, this is a library." Li Mei said trying to calm them down. She didn't want them to start fighting again, especially in the library. It was bad enough when they came close to blows in the corridors or open areas between classes and break times but to have them at each other's throats in the library was a different thing altogether. After all, you're supposed to be quiet in the library. She needed to get Heero away from Daisuke before they started fighting again. The loud chime of the first bell sounded throughout the silent library, marking the start of the school day. She sighed in relief.
"I'm sorry Daisuke, Heero and I have to go to class now." Li Mei got up and started picking up her things quickly. The faster they got out of there, the better. She nudged Heero with her hip and he stood silently and picked up his things as well.
Daisuke watched with a sour expression on his face as he thought of horrible things he could do to Heero.
"Saa, Daisuke, could you please move?" Li Mei's quiet voice broke his line of thought. He looked down to see her looking up at him expectantly, her large eyes patient. He stepped to the side out of reflex and she walked past him. He watched her swaying hips as she walked past and would have whistled if he hadn't been yanked violently around. He gulped reflexively as he stared in burning Prussian blue eyes. It took him a moment to get his fear under control and when he did, he roughly shoved Heero away.
"Don't touch me." He sneered. Heero's glare intensified. The smaller boy opened his mouth to say something, but a voice stopped him.
"Heero." Li Mei's soft voice carried out across the library and Daisuke turned. She was watching them with large, unreadable crimson eyes. There was a small frown on her face as she turned her eyes to him. He noted, with extreme annoyance, that they softened when she turned them to Heero. He looked back and saw Heero was already walking around the tables to join her. They left without another word, but not before Heero sent another burning glare his way. Daisuke felt a shiver run down his spine.
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It was the last period of the day and everyone was feeling a little lazy. It didn't help that it was so very warm in the classroom because it had only stopped snowing a few minutes ago. The room was all sleepy and it was obvious from the yawns and stretching going on that no one was really in the mood to do any work.
Heero took a sheet of paper from the bundle that was being passed around and handed the rest to Li Mei who took one and passed it on. He looked down at the piece of paper. It was another assignment based on the play 'Romeo and Juliet' that they had been reading for class. He read the assignment sheet thoroughly from top to bottom. It consisted of two parts. One part was a written report of no more than four pages on three themes in the book and how they are shown. The second part was a reading of an extract from the play that supported one theme that was being reported on.
"All right class. I'm handing out your next assignment." There was a collective groan throughout the class. The English teacher, Miss Chisakawa, frowned. "Now, now. None of that. It's a group project. In pairs. I'm going to let you choose who you're going with." There was a soft cheer. The teacher frowned. "However." She paused and looked around intently. "I don't want you mucking about. You had better give me a good assignment or I'll never let you work in pairs of your own choosing again. Do I make myself clear?" There was a general groan from the most of the class.
"Yes Miss Chisakawa."
"Good. I'm going to assume that you know who you want to be paired up with so just raise your hands and I'll take the names down." Heero didn't even look her way as Li Mei raised her hand.
"Yes Miss Zhang? Who's your partner?"
"Heero." Miss Chisakawa raised an eyebrow at Heero who only stared back coldly. She shrugged to herself and noted it down.
"All right. Who else has their partner organised?"
"Saa, Heero. Which ones do you want to do?" Li Mei leant over and poked Heero's shoulder lightly.
"Hn."
"Themes." Heero shrugged. He didn't really care.
"Hn."
"All right. What about love, hate and family loyalty?" Heero looked at her, a strange look in his eyes. She blinked back at him. "What?"
"Hn."
"So you wanna do those themes?"
"Hn."
"All right! Hey, want to come over to my place today? We can start on it this afternoon. You can stay over for dinner!" Heero opened his mouth to refuse but looking at Li Mei's hopeful and happy face, he sighed and accepted, resigned to his fate.
"Fine." She smiled happily.
"Yay!" Heero felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. Her happiness was a nice thing to see.
"Heero, we have to wait for a Shing to pick us up. He's a family friend and he said he'd pick me up after school so we have to wait for him. I tried to call him, but he already left and he turned off his phone." Li Mei was standing next to him as he leant against the wall of the car park. She hugged his arm and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.
"Hn."
"Say Heero, how far do you live from school?"
"I live on West Street[2]."
"Uh... where's that?"
"Twenty five minutes from school."
"Oh. Does it bother you to walk so far?"
"Hn."
"Oh. I've never really liked walking myself. I'm a little lazy."
"Hn."
"Yeah. Seriously. I never walk if I don't have to. But I don't really like driving around in cars so I usually just stay at home. I read. Or something. I usually read."
"What do you read?"
"Um... Mostly fantasy. Sci-fi is good too. So is occult."
"You read occult?" Heero couldn't say that he was exactly surprised. She just didn't look the type but he had a feeling that she did a lot of things people would never expect from her.
"Yeah. Sure. Why not? It's all pretty interesting. Ever read any?" Heero shook his head slightly.
"No."
"Really? You should try reading one. I mean you have to try everything at least once. That's what I think."
"Hn."
"I've got some really good vampire ones if you want. I've read them dozens of times. I wouldn't miss them."
"I don't know." Heero looked pretty doubtful.
"They're good. Really. They've actually got a plot and stuff. It's interesting. Just try one."
"Hn."
"Mm kay... but if you ever change your mind, all you have to do is ask."
"Hn." Heero's eyes turned towards the entrance of the parking lot as a long, sleek black car entered through the gates. Heero narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Shing's here. Come on." She pulled him along behind her gently and Heero followed after her a little reluctantly. The passenger seat window opened slowly and Heero looked at the man who looked out unemotionally.
Prussian blue met glinting gold that chilled over as they assessed Heero, the handsome face turning cold as he noticed how closely Heero stood to Li Mei.
"Hello." The voice was cold and smooth.
"Hi Shing. This is Heero. He's really nice and smart." She turned to Heero and smiled at him. "Heero, this is Shing. He's a family friend and he's nice too." Turning back to Shing, she continued. "Heero's coming over. We got an English assignment today and he's my partner. I was hoping we could start early on it so that we could get it all good and organised before it's due so we won't have any problems later." Li Mei said brightly. Shing nodded and opened the door. He slid over on the seat and Li Mei sat down next to him. Heero slid down next to her and they pulled out of the parking lot a moment later.
"So what's this assignment about?" Shing politely questioned, his eyes never leaving Heero.
"Oh. You know how we've been studying 'Romeo and Juliet' by Shakespeare?"
"Yes."
"Well, we're supposed to identify some themes and write about them. Then we're supposed to act out one of the scenes to emphasise one of the themes."
"What themes are you doing?"
"Love, hate and family loyalty." Shing raised an eyebrow at Heero. Heero stared back blankly.
"Who chose the themes?"
"Oh, I did."
"I see." There was silence in the car for a while, Shing stewing in dark thoughts, casting glares at Heero, who returned them.
"So how was your meeting?" Li Mei asked Shing.
"Meeting? Oh. It was all right. Just the usual boring things. I was hoping I could have gotten off earlier but they wanted me to look over and review some things."
"Oh." Li Mei really didn't understand what it was exactly that Shing did, she just asked to be polite. And it seemed to make Shing happy, so hey, why not?
"I'm a lawyer." Shing said, in a way of explanation when Heero looked at him blankly.
"Hn." He didn't seem very impressed. Shing grit his teeth together. Snotty brat.
"He's one of the best. He was practically attacked from all sides by different firms who wanted to get him to work for them when we all moved here."
"You give me too much praise." Shing said warmly and he reached out to stroke a curl from Li Mei's face. Li Mei stiffened slightly but didn't pull away, not wanting to offend him. Heero seemed to sense her discomfort and frowned at Shing. Li Mei immediately hugged Heero's arm when Shing moved his hand away.
"What area of law?" Heero asked. Perhaps if he talked, Shing wouldn't make Li Mei uncomfortable.
"Corporate." Shing replied.
"Hn." Well, that attempt at conversation died quickly. Heero briefly wondered if he should start another conversations.
"I never really understood what you meant by corporate law." Li Mei said thoughtfully.
"Well,
"Ah..." Li Mei nodded with a blank look on her face. Heero smirked slightly.
"It seems like a very important job." Li Mei said.
"It is." Shing replied.
"Hn." Shing looked at Heero sharply at his lack of reply and frowned.
"So how did you meet Li Mei?" Shing asked. Li Mei blinked at the almost challenging note in Shing's voice. She got a sinking feeling in her stomach...
"She's in my class." Heero replied.
"Really now. What class would that be?"
"SDD, English and maths."
"I see." Shing said softly, all the while watching him with hard eyes. They all settled into a tense silence with Li Mei looking worriedly between the two of them, her large eyes darkening slightly.
"Heero, when is that SDD assignment due in?" Li Mei asked in the silence.
"Two weeks Tuesday."
"Good. That means I'll have enough time to get it done." She smiled cheerfully in an attempt to calm them both down. It seemed to work. Shing sat back in his seat and Heero turned his eyes back to the front.
"Hn." He grunted and Li Mei smiled.
"So what did you do this morning Li Mei? I heard that you went to school a little earlier than usual today."
"Oh, that's right. I had to ask one of my teachers about something."
"Ah. What did you do then?"
"Heero and I went up to the library."
"I see."
"Hn." Heero's eyes hardened at the silky tone of Shing's voice.
"So you go to the library before school? What did you do there?"
"Work." Heero really didn't like Shing. There was something about the older man that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Heero works very hard and studies a lot. I don't see why though. He's smarter than a lot of people at school." Li Mei still had his hands trapped in her own and her fingers tightened around his. She leant slightly towards him, comforted by his warm aura. Before long, she was snuggling up against his side, well, as much as the seat belt would allow. It was like she was sinking into a steaming hot bath. She felt his aura wash over her and her eyes half closed in bliss. He was so warm...
Heero looked down at her head and a warm smile flitted over his face before he became aware of the harsh glare being sent his way. He returned Shing's blazing look with one of his own.
"Li Mei, perhaps you should leave Heero a little room." Shing said softly. Li Mei blinked but didn't straighten away from Heero. Shing frowned darkly. She blinked again as though she was waking up from sleep and straightened but she didn't let go of Heero's arm.
"Saa, am I bothering you Heero?" She asked, almost sleepily. Shing's face darkened further as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. He didn't like what was happening here.
"Hn." Heero grunted in reply as he glared at Shing.
"See? Heero doesn't mind." She said, in the same sleepy tone she had used before. She settled down and hugged his arm to herself again. A moment later, she sat up straight and away from Heero, a look of embarrassment on her face.
"Oh Heero! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!" She blushed deeply and looked down. Heero fought down the disappointment that crept up as he felt her warmth move away from him. But at least she was still holding onto his arm.
"Hn." Li Mei looked at him shyly and settled back down against the seat. She hadn't realised it, but she was still holding onto his arm.
"Li Mei." She winced at the sharp tone from Shing, surprise in her eyes. He'd never spoken to her like that before. She turned to face him, a guarded look in her eyes. Shing must have noticed it because she felt him force himself to calm down. His features softened and he tilted the corners of his lips upwards in a small smile.
"Li Mei," He repeated in a softer tone, "we're almost home now."
"Thank you." She murmured. She turned back to Heero, much to Shing's displeasure, and started to lean against him again, seeking the comfort of his aura. Shing's hands balled up into fists from where they lay on his knees and he grit his teeth. Li Mei belonged to him!
Heero's eyes turned to him in that moment and he glared, his eyes flaring slightly with power. Surprise lit up the younger boy's face but then it was replaced with a glare of his own. Shing was taken aback by the power the boy suddenly seemed to radiate. He hadn't felt it before, but now it hit him like a wave. Heero's eyes glowed slightly, dark blue sparking from them. Li Mei's ears twitched, a sure sign that she could sense something and Shing forced himself to calm down. It wouldn't be a good thing if Li Mei caught him fighting with her friend. If there was one thing he knew about her, she was fiercely loyal and protective of those she considered friends.
"Heero?" There was worry in her voice.
"Hn." Heero gave one last look at Shing before casting his gaze out the window. Shing felt all evidence of his power wink out in that moment and he shivered slightly. He had a feeling that the boy was quite unconscious of the power that he had. But whether he actually knew of his powers or not, he was not someone to mess with.
Li Mei shifted against Heero, her ears tingling. She could FEEL the power radiating off both males and it was enough to make her grit her teeth. It burned away at her senses and made her incredibly edgy. She could feel Shirin pressing against her consciousness.
-- She could feel Shirin's amusement and groaned inwardly. The older soul would love to watch the two males fight, preferably to the death.
--
--
-- Li Mei said irritably.
-- Shirin purred hungrily. Her love of pain and violence was disconcerting and Li Mei frowned inwardly.
--
--
-- Li Mei muttered in annoyance. This tension was really starting to get at her.
--
--
--
-- Li Mei asked suspiciously. She felt Shirin fumbling for an answer.
--
-- Li Mei felt dread wash through her. Shirin was quick to comfort her.
--
-- There was a pause.
-- Shirin replied guiltily.
-- Li Mei sighed deeply and she felt Heero's arm muscles jump as she moved restlessly against his side.
-- Shirin said with a touch of distaste. -- Shirin's laugh trilled out as she mocked romance.
-- Li Mei returned sarcastically. Shirin grinned in her mind.
-- She paused. --
Li Mei agreed with Shirin. Something would happen soon, and she couldn't help be feel as though Heero would play a pivotal role.
--------------------------------------------------- [1] Remember? Daisuke decided to bring out a pair of butterfly knives when he was fighting with Heero in the first History chapter! [2] Okay, so I don't know any street names in Japan. So sue me. No, don't. I have no money. I don't even have a job T_T() Oh well. Um, yeah, that's a totally bogus name as you may have guessed.
