Subject: Lai
File #2
It sat huddled against the backdrop of a cloud-ridden sky, a small building that looked like as if some greater building had gotten drunk one night and lost its dinner. It had been there for some years, but never on days like this, blanketed in a grey so dark it seemed endless. Some said the grey was smoke – others, it was merely rain. Regardless, it had hung over the crouched building for some days now, as if reflecting the somber mood inside. It was almost impossible to be happy in a school that looked so sad itself…
The class was full of students who all seemed to come from the same mold – clean cut, conservative boys and girls, blonde and blue eyed, perfections in Aryan breeding. There were exceptions, of course, a few international students from various countries further south that this Northern snowfield, and a few who were local, but whose parents were not. One of these, at least in name, was Duo. Another was Nashi, his sister… supposedly. The two of them always sat in the center of the class, Nashi sitting closer to her brother than was probably socially acceptable, quiet and almost skittish, and Duo, brash and brilliant, her contrast in almost everyway. Both were on the small side, with hair so red it was almost brown, but while his eyes sparkled like fresh cut gems, hers hung as blue-grey as the clouds outside the windows.
"Did you finish that assignment last night?" Duo looked up from where he was a having a quiet conversation with his sister and grinned warmly at the girl, who blushed slightly and shakily held out a pen and a piece of paper. "Will you… help me with mine?"
"Ask Nashi – she helped me with mine." Did Duo knows this girl's name? He thought maybe he did – Alana, Anika, Brandee…? They all looked the same, it was almost ridiculous. In any case, this one took a crestfallen look onto her pretty heart-shaped face and lowered her gaze.
"All… right," she said quietly. "Will you help me, Nashi-sama?" Nashi lifted her head from where she was staring at the floor and gave a slow, almost uncertain nod. The girl – Anne? Maybe her name was Anne. Sure, Anne worked – walked around the front of the table and pulled up a chair so that she was sitting next to Nashi. Duo let them go, which was a surprise. His usual way was to watch Nashi like a hawk, though no one knew quite why. They assumed it had something to do with her quiet nature, or maybe the look in her eyes that made her seem hunted.
"All right, class, let's rein it in." Anne moved her chair slightly over from Nashi and all eyes turned to the young man who had just entered the class. He was dressed almost as they were, in black slacks and white dress shirt, but the clothes were clearly his own and not school issued, like those of the students. He smiled warmly. "I hope everyone's break period was productive – today we're starting right in with Shakespeare and "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Did everyone remember to stop by and pick up their books?" No one raised their hand, but Duo moved his chair slightly closer to his sister, who's book was already out on the table before. She glanced over at him, but only raised an eyebrow. "Good. Let's get right into it – do we have an volunteers?" Duo took the book from in front of Nashi and opened it to some place in the middle – he didn't really care where, so long as it looked like he was paying attention. Nashi, in turn, reached out and grabbed the book. The sleeve of her white blouse hitched up slightly on her arm, revealing a small line of green that she quickly covered up when she pulled her book back. Duo heaved a dramatic sigh and leaned over so that he could read over her shoulder. She moved slightly, as well, so that he wasn't truly reading over her shoulder.
Class passed by quickly, with Duo nodding off against his sister's shoulder, snoring in a way that brought grins to the faces of the people nearby, but that didn't disrupt the class. Nashi only rolled her eyes, and let him sleep. At the sound of the bell, however, she shoved him off of her and reached under her desk for her book bag. Duo, caught unawares by both the bell and Nashi's violence, proceeded to fall off his chair. He scrambled up and glared at her from underneath an arrangement of sleep-tousled bangs. All she did was stick out her tongue in return. The class emptied, save for the two of them and, as if he hadn't noticed they were still present, the teacher shut the door, leaving them completely alone.
"How much longer?" she inquired abruptly, slinging the bag over his shoulder. Duo rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"I really don't know, Laicei," he answered. "I talked with Heero this morning and only one was accounted for. Jeiu." His tongue tripped over the name and he swore. "Jay-u," he repeated, taking his time. All she did was nod. "Meia was located, but she's currently employed in the Hill Organ-"
"She's what?" Nashi lunged at the braided boy, grabbing his shirt in both of her hands and hauling him off his feet. The sleeve of her blouse fell away, revealing the intricate tracing of the tattoo that had, so far, only caused trouble.
"They don't know," answered Duo calmly, despite the fact that his life was in her hands – literally. "Or, if they do, they haven't made any kind of insinuation to it. She's safe, for now." Lai glowered up at him, but set him down, if reluctantly.
"And our fifth?" she inquired, leaning her weight against one of the desks. Duo could only shrug.
"No one knows," he answered. "Every one of the files we have mentions her, repeatedly, but never by name. She's just called "the last one"." Lai frowned and heaved a sigh, shaking her head.
"Things were easier when all I had to do was order people to blow shit up," she muttered, straightening and brushing her hair from her face. Duo just grimaced. This whole mission hadn't been his idea, and he hadn't really had a choice in the matter – "find the girls with the ivy tattoos," Noin had told him, and then Sally, and then Miliardo. And then Heero, and then Relina, and then – the list was never ending. However, finding them all was proving to be hard. There were two who had been easy – they had put themselves in the public eye once or twice before, and their names were listed in "the files", a chaotic jumble of paper and computer disks containing all of the research surrounding them. Lai had been, and still was, a military general; Jeiu was an expert rock climber, as well as accomplished martial artist; and Meia… well, Meia had been found through some amazing effort of Trowa's, but he wouldn't say what, or who. She hadn't been enlisted by the Preventers, however, unlike Lai and Jeiu. She was still more useful to them under the watchful eye of the enemy.
"Another week in this snow hole and we can go home," commented Duo, attempting to fill the awkward, sullen silence that had over taken his companion. Lai lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at him.
"I want to see those files," she stated flatly, "all of them. Not just the ones your Preventers deem fit for me to see." Involuntarily, Duo felt the blood drain from his face. Those files… he had seen them all. And he wasn't sure Lai was ready for what they said. She was more than what she thought – she had only been told the basics of Project Intelligence. There was a lot more to it, and all of it, all of it, made Duo sick in his stomach.
"You'll have to talk to Noin," he said finally, attempting to control his voice. "You know I don't have that authorization."
"Maxwell, you're useless," stated Lai with a disgusted sigh. "Utterly useless."
"Well, excuse me," snapped Duo, his shoulders going tense with his flare of temper. "I can't help it if I'm not some fucking perfect soldier-"
"No, but you're a perfect fucking moron!" snarled Lai. "A great big moron! You can't even help some teenager with her math homework!"
"I'm the one who needs to work on her interpersonal skills, you fucking sociopath!" Duo shouted. He heaved a frustrated sigh and threw his hands up in the air. "This is why I hate working with military personnel – you're all about death and violence and blowing up shit and people and everything that you can't even have a proper conversation-"
"Not that anybody could have a conversation with you, since you never shut the fuck up," retorted Lai sullenly, crossing her arms over her chest. He glared at her.
"One of us has to talk, otherwise no one would fucking know why we're fucking here!" he hollered, rounding on her. "You're so fucking – agh! You know what you are? You're a fucking freak of nature!"
"And you're dumb as a fucking brick!"
"Sociopath!"
"Git!"
"Great big fucking-"
"ARE YOU BOTH ABOUT DONE?!" Both of them jumped, Duo straight up and Lai backwards. They whirled on a figure that was perched on the dais, glaring hard up at them. "For pity's sake – I come here to bring you home and I find you bickering like fucking children."
"Who the hell are you?!" cried Duo, somewhat indignantly at being snuck up on. His eyes darted to Lai, who was standing with a suddenly stupid smile on her face.
"Jeiu," she breathed lightly, tension seeping from her shoulders. The girl on the dais grinned broadly, tossing her dishwater blonde ponytail over her shoulder. One small curl proceeded to fall back and, when she reached up to brush it away, the ivy tattoo on her arm stood out against her tan skin, in a completely different way than it stood out against Lai's pale version.
"Noin says you all have been sequestered up here for far too long," she said, her voice losing the angry edge it had possessed a moment before. "I've come to bring you home."