Ryoko-onee: ok, so you're like the best reader/reviewer ever! I'm so glad that I keep you interested in my stuff. Believe it or not, I'm very apprehensive about posting most of my things, so hearing from you each time really gives me what I need to keep posting. I'll continue on with this story for your sake, and I happen to think its one of my best ones so far. Too bad no one else reads it, ne? Thanks :) jin
Chapter Two
"Where were you?"
The soft voice came from the darkness of his apartment when he walked in. He knew it was his father without having to see the source of the voice. His father had waited up.
"I went for a walk," Hayden said, knowing that he wasn't completely lying. He'd never been one to lie. His brother, on the other hand, could make up a story to rival the best of fibbers when the occasion called for it. Hayden had always been a sucker for telling the truth.
"Where?" His father came forward from the small den. His hair was down and combed and he wore sweatpants, showing that he was ready to go to sleep but waiting up just for Hayden to come home.
He walked closer to his father, seeing for the first time his father's haggard appearance, which told him Duo was truly worried about him. Maybe he should try talking to his father, rather than treating him coldly and going straight to his room. Hayden decided to talk. "I just wandered through the building for a while, looking around. I ended up outside by the lake. Met Kaori out there."
"Really?" his father seemed pleasantly surprised to hear him talk so much.
"Yes."
"What is she like?"
"Nice," he answered. "I'm going to bed now."
His father nodded. "Goodnight, Son."
"'Night, Dad."
Duo smiled as Hayden left the den and walked back to his bedroom. That was the first time Hayden had called him 'Dad' since Hilde had become sick over six months ago.
* * * * * * *
Hayden woke up with a person lying halfway on top of him, stealing the covers.
"Uh, Luke," he moaned, pushing his little brother away from him. Little was a relative term. When referring to age, then Luke was the "little" brother, but as far as size went, Luke was at least four inches taller and a good 20 pounds heavier than Hayden. Not that Hayden was a small boy, reaching about six feet in height. His brother just happened to be a giant freak of nature.
Luke moaned a little and then realized he'd been so close to his brother. They had to share a bed, but share a pillow? That was a little much. Hastily, he recoiled from his brother's side and sat up in bed. "Sorry Hade," he growled sleepily. "Your hair is all over me." Luke was busy brushing off his arms and chest, getting Hayden's hair off of his skin.
Hayden undid the loose, falling-apart braid and combed through his hair with his fingers before rebraiding it.
"Why do you keep your hair so long?" Luke asked him. He always asked him that.
"Cause Dad would rather me be normal looking and have short hair like you," Hayden answered with a smirk. He reached over and ruffled his hand through Luke's tresses. "I get the shower first," he called as he left their bedroom.
His father had breakfast waiting for them by the time he'd washed and dried his hair. Luke, of course, took a shower, got completely dressed, and helped Duo cook in the time it took Hayden to dry his waist-length hair. He left his hair down today. His father noticed.
"Where are you going today?" Duo asked him.
"I was planning on seeing Kaori this morning. Maybe she could show me more about joining the Preventors. But I didn't want to get down there too early. I don't want to wake her," Hayden said truthfully.
"If she's anything like Heero used to be," his father said with a reminiscent smile, "you don't have to worry about waking her up. She never sleeps."
"I want to go," Luke piped up between mouthfuls. "I want to know about joining the Preventors, too."
Luke had always done everything Hayden had. One brother couldn't do anything without the other getting jealous and demanding to be able to do the same. "Why do you want to join?" Hayden asked, an edge of anger in his voice.
"I'm seventeen, Hades," he said, using Hayden's real name. Hayden always hated it when Luke used his real name. "I can make my own decisions on what to do."
"Sure you can, Lucifer," Hayden said sarcastically, using his brother's real name just to aggravate him.
"Now boys," Duo warned. He could tell when his sons were about to get angry at each other. Now was one of those times. "Settle."
"Yes, Father," Luke said submissively.
Hayden glared at him. Luke always had to be the good son first, just to make him look bad in front of their dad. "Well, I'm ready to go," he announced, getting up from the table. "If the jolly green giant wants to come, then get moving." He waited by the door for Luke to finish some breakfast and join him.
The brothers talked absently about the color of the hallways and the design of the building as they walked down the hall of the fourth floor. Hayden stopped in front of room 437 and knocked softly.
No answer.
He knocked a little louder.
No answer.
"Kaori?" he called as he gripped the doorknob, turning slightly. He didn't expect the door to be unlocked, but it opened slowly in front of him, revealing her room. It was a bare dorm room, with bunk beds, two desks, and a small closet. The bottom bed was perfectly made and the top didn't even have sheets on it. Hayden figured that her roommate hadn't arrived yet. He wandered around the room, looking it over.
"Hade," his brother called. Hayden walked over to where he stood in front of a desk. A small piece of paper was on the desk, and the words "Gym Three" were printed in block letters on the paper.
"I guess she's in Gym 3," Hayden said to Luke. They shrugged at each other and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.
* * * * * * *
Hayden watched with wide eyes as Kaori sparred with the Chinese girl in Gym 3. They had similar outfits on, basic silk pants and matching silk robed tunics. But they had obviously been practicing for some time, for the tunics had been flung on the floor and each girl remained in her sports bra. Kaori was wearing a blue uniform that matched the color of her father's eyes, while the Chinese girl looked stunning in blood-red silk. Both of them had long onyx or dark brown hair that was braided into a rope which swung around them as they tumbled and fought. They glistened with sweat, and from the doorway, Hayden and Luke could hear them breathe loudly.
He had been right. Even though she was tired and spent, the girl he thought had been beautiful inside was even more beautiful outside. He couldn't tear his eyes off of the lithe figure that flexed and moved gracefully before him. But her grace couldn't compare to her Chinese counterpart's, he noticed. The Chinese girl had a smaller frame and not as much muscle, but she moved quickly and nimbly, reminding the Maxwell brothers more of a cat than a person.
They were so enthralled in their observations that they didn't notice the father coming up from behind them.
"Entertaining, aren't they?" a deep voice said, making the boys jump in surprise.
"Yes sir," Hayden said, the first to recover from the scare. "Is that your daughter, Mr. Chang?" he asked the Chinese man with the short ponytail who stood beside him inside the doorway.
"She is," he replied softly. "I think you've met her once." Wufei didn't mention that the 'once' he was referring to was Hilde's funeral. "I'm sorry Sally could not have been there with her. She and Heero had their hands full with Kaori."
"No need to apologize, sir," Luke said with a little smile. "We understand. And what was wrong with Kaori?" Luke correctly assumed that the Chinese girl was Wufei's daughter and the other girl was this Kaori person his brother had been with all night last night.
"She simply gets sick sometimes." Wufei offered no other explanation and the boys decided it was best not to inquire further.
Changing the subject, Hayden asked, "Did you teach them?"
"Yes," Wufei answered with a smile. "Since they could first walk." He glanced aside at the similar looking brothers. They could be twins, he decided, if one wasn't a few inches taller and the other didn't have hair like his daughter's. If he hadn't already known, he would have assumed the taller one was a year older than the long-haired one, instead of the other way around. "Would you like to learn?"
Luke shook his head no. "Father taught us a little when we were younger," he explained. "Much to our mother's displeasure."
Wufei laughed. "You trust Duo to teach you about martial arts? That is the funniest thing I think I've heard all week." He stopped talking to laugh some more, holding his sides.
"If we join the Academy," Hayden said after Wufei's laughing fit died down, "then you can teach us everything Father did wrong."
"Join the Academy?" Wufei repeated, not believing his ears. "Duo would let you?"
Hayden only nodded slowly, not taking his eyes from the girls in front of him.
"Kaori," Wufei called. She didn't break her concentration from the Chinese girl in front of her, but Hayden saw her head perk a little in Wufei's direction, showing that she was paying attention. Kaori landed a kick to the side of the Chinese girl's head, making her fall to the mat. The girl hopped up quickly and tried to return the blow, but Kaori blocked with her forearm. "You never told me they wanted to join the ranks here," Wufei accused.
"They haven't decided, yet," she yelled at him, still not stopping her current fighting.
"You should have told me," Wufei scolded, his eyes narrowing at her.
"Forgive my intrusion," Hayden said politely, thinking that this Chinese man was not one to interrupt, "but I came here today to talk to Kaori about it, before I make up my mind."
Wufei shook his head slightly. "Kaori may not be the best person to ask," he said softly with a certain growl in his voice. He directed his attention to the girls again. "Mei, Kaori!" he called. "Stop and come here to meet the Maxwell boys."
The Chinese girl's face brightened a little as she smiled devilishly in their direction. "Boys?" she repeated with a grin. "Oh goody."
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Your father's here, child," he said with an exasperated tone. "Try to behave at least until I leave."
"Of course, Daddy," she said, walking over and planting a kiss on his cheek, careful not to touch his uniform and get it sweaty. "I always behave." Kaori came behind her, giving Wufei a similar kiss on the cheek, but she remained much more reserved and seemed almost bashful.
"Mei," Wufei said with a little smile, "meet Maxwell's boys." He gestured to the two young men in front of him.
"Nice to meet you," she said holding out her hand in an American greeting. "I'm Chang Po Mei, Wufei and Sally's daughter."
Hayden took her hand first, shaking it and then slightly bowing in a Chinese greeting. His father hadn't neglected to teach him a little bit of culture. "The pleasure is mine," he said. "Call me Hayden, please." He ignored the surprised glance he received from his brother when he mentioned that name instead of his real name. Kaori, he was sure, hadn't missed that glance.
"And I'm Lucifer Maxwell," Luke said, taking her hand next and repeating his brother's bow. "Please call me Luke." The other girl hadn't introduced herself to his brother, but Luke saw them smile and nod at each other in greeting. So they had met before, he thought. He took her hand next, shaking it firmly. "And you must be Kaori Yuy."
"Yes," she said softly. She seemed awfully distant for Luke's tastes.
But Mei was much more friendly and inviting, so he turned to talk to her. "Are you joining the Academy this year?"
"That I am," she said with a bright smile. "This is the first year I'm eligible. I only barely missed the deadline last year, so they wouldn't let me join early. Despite the influence of my father," she said with a sideways glance at Wufei.
Wufei smiled and blushed a little. "Well, I merely came down to check on you girls," he said, excusing himself. "Your mother will expect you for dinner," he said to Mei before giving her another kiss on the cheek and leaving.
"And what about you," Luke said, turning to Kaori. "Is this the first year you were eligible?"
"I've attended before," she said softly. "When I was seventeen."
Hayden looked up with confused eyes. She'd attended the Academy before?!
Mei cleared her throat and brought the attention back to her. "Would you like to go to the Cafeteria and get some breakfast?"
"We've already eaten," Luke said, "but I wouldn't mind keeping you company."
Together they left Kaori and Hayden in the gym.
Kaori walked across the floor, picking up her discarded robe and putting it on. She untied her hair and rebraided it, looking very similar to Hayden when she did so. Some time passed before Hayden could bring himself to speak.
"You didn't tell me that you'd done this before," he accused, more than a little confused.
"You didn't ask."
Hayden didn't ask her to explain what happened, he just followed her as she walked out of the gym and made for the stairs at the end of the hallway. When they reached the stair well, the girl turned around and looked him in the eye. Being a few stairs above him, she was eye-level with him.
She sighed. "You knew I was nineteen," she said with her own accusing tone. "You could have figured out that something went wrong before." Kaori turned around and started up the stairs again. Hayden followed.
"But there could be many reasons to why you didn't start in the Academy before," he insisted. "Your parents could have thought you weren't ready and made you wait until you were a little older. You could have only recently decided to join. You could…"
"I know." Her soft voice automatically commanded he stop explaining. He couldn't tell how, but her voice always seemed wise and demanding of respect. It was a little scary.
They reached the fourth floor and she held the door open for him. He walked through reluctantly, feeling odd at having a girl hold open a door. In silence, they walked side by side down the hallway. Kaori stopped in front of the girls' community bathroom.
Hayden nodded, showing that he understood she meant to take a shower before continuing talking to him. "Can I meet you in your room?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded.
* * * * * * *
Mei laughed again for the hundredth time since she met Luke. They meshed perfectly together, both loving a good time and enjoying talking to each other about anything and everything. He had recently made a good cafeteria food joke.
And he looked good too, she thought. Luke looked more like his father than Hayden did, with dark chestnut colored hair and a cute heart-shaped face. She assumed that Hilde must have had light blue eyes, for Luke's eyes were a beautiful ice blue color that she had only seen in Aunt Cathy before now. His short hair was shaggy and messy, reminding her of Uncle Heero's hair that seemed to never tame or behave. She liked Luke immediately.
And she loved his personality. Living around Kaori made a kind of fog fall over her joyful spirit. Of course, she loved her "cousin" like a sister and wouldn't trade all the fun they'd had together and their relationship for anything in the world, but Kaori had a way of seeing the dark side of things. Kaori could look into people's hearts and see the evil that lurked inside, and all that knowledge let the darkness in Kaori's soul grow and grow until it consumed her. And two years ago, the bad things in her had consumed her spirit, leaving nothing but a mangled shell of a girl behind. Kaori worked hard to restore her previous personality, but nothing seemed to expel that gloomy feeling which laced through every fiber of Kaori's being. Even now, Kaori fought the demons she concealed inside. That Hayden fellow reminded Mei of Kaori, as if he had some secrets hidden deep inside, too. Maybe the two of them could work it out together, she mused. But right now, she was more than thrilled to be spending her time with the more carefree and joyful of the two brothers. Luke's happy-go-lucky attitude made Mei's similar personality blossom.
"Where are we going now?" Luke asked as they headed toward the elevator.
"To see my mother. She's on level seven today."
Luke cocked his head to the side and knitted his brows together in a comical representation of confusion. "There's a level seven?" he asked.
Mei couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, silly. There's a lot of levels that students can't go to. I only have pass codes for levels seven and eight, since that's where my parents can be found most of the time." She entered the elevator and pulled an id card out of her pants pocket. Inserting the card into the slot, she proceeded to punch in a seven-digit code on the keypad and then press the "7" button on the elevator. The button lit up and the elevator started moving. Her card was spit out of the reader.
"Wow," Luke said with wide eyes. "I feel so much like a secret agent being able to go up to a security coded level seven."
Mei laughed again. "It's not that big of a deal," she tried to explain. "Just the medic level."
The elevator dinged. They walked out of the large steel doors, and Luke followed Mei down the hallways to a door on their left. She knocked on the closed door.
Shuffling was heard inside, and Mei could make out both a male and female voice inside. "Oh no," she moaned.
Luke was about to ask why she said that when Wufei opened the door, his hair down and falling to his shoulders in a very messy way. He smiled and blushed embarrassingly in front of his daughter and her friend before excusing himself and hurrying off.
"Mom!" Mei complained. "Do you have to do that all the time?" She walked through the doorway to see her mother combing out her hair with her fingers.
"That's one of the perks of working in the same building, dear," the woman said, turning around and smiling at her daughter. "Hello again, Luke. It's nice to see you comfortable here in the Academy."
Luke recognized her as one of the women he'd seen hug his father, the woman who'd met them downstairs yesterday when they'd arrived at the Academy.
