Water, it is all around you. It is not warm, but not cold either. It was very cold when you first got in, but you got used to it. You are kneeling, your right ankle attached to the bottom by a lock and chain, eyes closed, serene. Then, your body starts to struggle with the exercise. Your lungs burn, you want to open your mouth and breathe, but you cannot. You try to escape, but the chain holds you down. You open your eyes and see your group mates trying to open the lock and set you free but their attempts fail. Then, there is a muffled buzz, and you are released from your chain. As your head breaks the surface of the water, the Instructor yells and curses out the entire Group because you struggled. As you breathe again, you and your group glare at the Instructor, hating him to the core.
Sarian awoke with a jolt. She had not had that dream for a long time. She raised her arm to her head, and ran her fingers through her hair.
"So, you're awake," muttered a disgruntled looking Wufei, wearing a bright green and purple school uniform. "I had to stay here and watch you sleep all day. Thanks to you, I missed a history test and the start of an English project. I'm behind now!"
Sarian slowly sat up and became aware of her surroundings. She was in a bed, a queen-sized bed that was to the right of a big window overlooking the front lawn. A wardrobe stood to the right of the bed, a light oak color that matched the dresser by the door. The door to the closet was on the wall opposite the wardrobe. The bedspread was a pale blue color, and the sheets were different colors, varying from green to blue stripes on a white background. It was obvious no one had ever lived in here as the white walls were unmarked by the tiny holes caused by pushing pins into the wall to hold posters. Wufei sat upright in a wooden chair with his arms crossed by the door, eyes questioning the girl facing him.
"How long was I asleep?" Sarian swung her legs over the side of the bed, and noticed someone had removed her combat boots and utility belt.
"About fourteen hours. It's almost four in the afternoon," Wufei sifted a bit in his chair. "The others will be home from school soon." He peered at her closely, "How long and how far did you travel to get here?"
Sarian did not look at him, "About three days and eighty miles. I didn't eat or sleep at all."
"Hmph," Wufei sat straight up again. He was not about to start a conversation with this girl.
Turned out he did not have to. A few minutes later, Duo burst through the door wearing an identical outfit to Wufei's.
"You're awake!" Duo jumped onto the bed and sat down next to Sarian. "So, how was your day?"
"She slept through all of it," Wufei replied. "Just woke up."
"Must have been really tired," Duo gave Sarian a huge grin.
"She hadn't slept for seventy-two hours." Wufei stood up and went to lean on the wardrobe.
"Will you let her answer hr own questions?" Duo snapped. He turned to Sarian, "Are you hungry?"
***
Sarian sat at the kitchen table. Quatre was cooking something on the stovetop. He turned around and put a pan onto a hot pad on the table.
"Voila! Macaroni and cheese de Quatre!"
As he turned away, Duo (who was sitting next to Sarian) leaned over and whispered, "Watch out, Quatre's cooking is horrible. We used to brownies he made one time for paving the garden." He watched Sarian to see what her reaction to that bit of humor would be: nothing. Duo then took a deep breath and shouted, "Hey, everybody! Dinner!"
One by one, all the house's occupants took their places at the table. To Sarian's left it went Trowa, Heero, Heero's girlfriend Relena Peacecraft who had come home from school with him, Quatre, Fa Mika (a tall Chinese girl who lived in the house with the boys), Wufei, and then Duo. Everyone took equal shares of the macaroni and cheese, and began conversing with each other, with the exception of Trowa and Sarian. Wufei was arguing with Duo as to whether or not the dinner was edible, Quatre and Mika were talking about why the roses and tulips had not come up in the front garden yet, and Relena was talking to Heero intensely about a subject that interested her: Sarian.
"Who is that girl anyway? Where did you guys find her? Heero, don't chew with your mouth open! Why is she here? Where is she from?" Relena rambled on even with Heero trying to answer her.
Duo turned to Sarian, "What a relationship! It's amazing she even knows his first name! HA HA HA!"
"Take that back Duo Maxwell!" Relena leaned across the table and smacked Duo across the face. She sat down again, pushed her plate away from her, and folded her arms. "So, who are you?"
Sarian looked at the tall blonde, "You really want to know?"
"Yes," Wufei said. "We all do. If you're going to stay with us, you have to tell us."
"Alright," Sarian thought a bit, and then said, "I was born on September seventeenth into the X2 generation at the Delta Compound for Military Training. My father was X123H, or "Helix" as he was otherwise known. My mother was a fifteen-year-old prostitute named Theresa Mercedes. I was born, bred, and genetically engineered to be the perfect soldier. My training started at the age of three. I was trained in combat and field tactics, languages (we had to be fluent in nine), water skills, and weapons. I was named Captain of my group of ten other X2 when I was five. When I was ten, I was granted the freedom to choose. Up until that point, everything we did or looked like was standard, everyone was the same. But, when I was ten, I got to choose what specialty training I wanted (I chose espionage), how I wore my hair, what type of uniform I wore and when, everything was my choice. I even was assigned my own barracks, and got to choose my classes for the first time. From then, until recently, my memories have blended together. It was very easy to get bored. My training ended three weeks ago when the government pulled Delta Compound's funding. Everyone left except for the X1 and X2 generations; we didn't want to leave the only home we'd ever known. After two weeks, on Tuesday, I decided to leave and look for Heero. I had hacked into the Compound's computer server, and found out all about him. He became an obsession with me in my dull life at the compound, sort of a life's pursuit. I thought that, as another soldier, he'd help me out for a few weeks until I could go out on my own. Any questions?" Sarian looked around the room. Everyone's faces were in complete shock. Relena looked at her as if she was a snake, ready to strike at any given moment.
"How did you already know all our names?" Wufei asked staring at his food.
"There were bits and pieces about you in the files I read," Sarian was getting that churning feeling again.
"What do you mean by you were genetically engineered?" Duo gave her a confused look that any other girl would have found amazingly cute.
"They went in and messed around with her DNA when she was still in her mother's womb. Maxwell, get a damn clue," Wufei growled.
"What I want to know," said a female voice from the hallway leading to the livingroom " is why you guys never mentioned Sarian at all to me today. I am one of your legal guardians after all."
"Hey, Sally!" Duo cried. "Wassup?"
"I came to check up on you guys," Sally Po stepped into the kitchen and placed two brown bags on the counter by the stove. "And, brought you dinner, but you guys look full from Quatre's cooking. Maybe I'll just take this home with me."
"No!" Duo leapt up form his chair. "In the name of all that is holy, no!" He ran over to the counter, grabbed the bags, turned around, and placed them on the table. Duo looked into the bags, "Spicy egg rolls!!!!" Giving furtive glances around the room, Duo grabbed both bags, darted past Sally, and was heard running up the stairs.
"What a glutton," Heero remarked. "It's amazing he doesn't explode."
"Relena," Sally Po was suddenly serious. "You'll have to inform your brother he has another ward to watch after and pay for."
Relena stood up from her chair so abruptly it fell over, "I don't think that, Sarian is it, is worthy of that honor. My brother, after all, is one of the most prominent political officials in the galaxy."
It's time I used Relena's affection for me to my advantage, Heero thought. He stood up and put his arms around Relena. As he turned her to face him, he said, "Oh, Relena, don't tell me your jealous of Miss Sarian. Are you?" Hero leaned and kissed Relena on the lips. "I mean, she certainty can't wear that all the time." He gestured to Sarian's uniform that she'd been wearing constantly: camo pants and a white T-shirt with her number on it. "I would have suggested you take he shopping tomorrow as it's Saturday, but you don't want that…"
Relena looked Sarian up and down. "She does need it. Come on, Heero, we can discuss this more in depth in your room." She grabbed his collar and pulled him out of the room as Duo was coming in licking his fingers. He crumpled the two now empty bags and threw them away in the wastebasket.
"Maxwell, how did you eat all that that fast? Do you just absorb it? Digest it externally?" Wufei said.
"What now?" Duo looked confused.
"Forget it! I'm going to my floor." Wufei walked away, then turned around. "No wait, it's not mine anymore. I have to share with a woman." He stormed out of the kitchen.
"I could help Relena with your clothes!" Mika said happily. "Sally, you should come too! Oh my gosh, come on, Quatre! Let's go join Heero and Relena!"
"God, she's annoying," Trowa muttered as Mika and Quatre left the kitchen. "I'm going down to the workout room."
"Well," Sally was all business again, "I'll have to contact the school and have it arranged that you'll start classes there on Monday."
Sarian stood up and wiped her hands on her pants, "I wasn't planning on staying. I just wanted a roof over my head until I could find a home; a place for myself.'
"But," Duo said as he put his arm around her shoulders, "you do now, don't you?"
***
"I do," said Sarian as she got into her bed that night, "don't I?"
She curled up into a ball and tucked the soft bedspread around her, "It's nice belonging somewhere, really." She had not slept that good in days.
AUTOR'S NOTE—I would just like to take this time to say that Chang Wufei is a very evil, depressing young man. *dodges tomatoes thrown by all the Wufei fans* Hey, I'm an American, And I can say what I want! *gets spattered with a tomato in the face* Anyway, if y'all are worried about what happened to DAY, don't worry. She escaped from the whirlpool (eventually) with the help of her fav Yu-Yu Hakusho character, Kurama. You foxy boy, you!
But, don't think that just because I say that Wufei's evil doesn't mean I don't like him. He has a fantastic personality when you get past all the sexism.
Also, my girl, DAY, has a new fic out. It's a Yu-Yu Hakusho fic, but I can't remember the title. The plot has something to do with an OC named Sayuri and her relationship with Karasu. Whatever, I'm down. I've read it (and reviewed it), and it looks promising.
Remember, reviews are appreciated. Love yal!!! Konichiwa!
