Disclaimer: ...what? You think I have time to write a new disclaimer every week? Do you have any idea how busy I am!? =P Fuggedaboudit.

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Episode Sixty-Three: School Days

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." ~Mahatma Gandhi

October 25th, 1902

As instructed, the Amazon trio showed up in the basement of the pub at 9:00am precisely, dressed in whatever they could find that was appropriate for exercise in mixed company. Heero was quite satisfied with the girls' intelligence, but feared what would happen if any of them were placed in a situation they had to fight their way out of, and couldn't. He decided, executively, to offer all three of them combat lessons, for beginners. Duo eagerly tagged along, happy to be utilized in the demonstration process. Wufei turned up as well, for his own reasons.

While they waited for their teachers to arrive and start the lesson, Sally wandered around the workout room, idly glancing at this and that. She had managed to scrape up an old, stretchy rugby shirt with thick horizontal stripes of red and black, and a pair of beige knickerbockers that fit her curves reasonably well. As she stooped to adjust her matching striped socks, she casually commented on the state of the floor and walls. "Flood damage...you see it? There's a faint line about three feet up, all the way around the room."

Lucrezia strolled over, wearing the gentleman's gray trousers and white business shirt that she had found in a second-hand shop. "Looks as if it was a long time ago. Wonder when this place was built..."

"I wonder when it was decorated last," said Hilde, looking criminally sweet in a short-sleeved, puffy-legged bathing costume in navy blue with white stripes. "This lady splashed out all that money upstairs, and she couldn't pop for a few nice pictures to put on the walls down here?"

"It's supposed to be a gym, not a parlour," Sally said.

Hilde wrinkled her nose at the friendly mockery.

At long last, their instructor arrived, padding nobly down the stairs with Duo and Wufei in tow. The girls noticed that the first two were wearing nearly identical white two-piece outfits, but that Heero's belt was of a dark gray rather than pure white. Duo's outfit also showed signs of wear, but not nearly as much. Wufei wore his favourite blue sleeveless top and free-flowing white pants, grounded by black slipper-like shoes.

As soon as Heero was out of the stairwell, all three women stood together in a row and bowed at the waist. "Onegai shimasu, Heero-sensei!" they chimed as one.

Heero stopped in his tracks with something resembling a whimsical little smile. Duo elbowed him right away, grinning madly. "I told them to say that. Aren't they cute?"

"Adorable," Heero said with good-natured sarcasm. He rubbed his hands together and addressed the trio. "I'm not going to demand strict protocol from you for this first lesson, I think it's more important that we evaluate your individual strengths and weaknesses, and start planning a program around them. Time is important, and I will expect you to work hard over the next few weeks, but you'll be leaving this room stronger than when you came in, and stronger individuals make stronger teams."

Wufei snorted and wandered off into a corner. "This oughta be good..."

"You're here to make up the numbers for sparring practice, not to make snide remarks," Heero reminded him.

"Oh, I just can't wait until you start spouting off about 'refraining from violent action' in between teaching them how to kick people's teeth out," the Chinese boy scoffed.

Heero got some practice at refraining from violent action that very moment, as he looked skyward and took a deep breath. "Perhaps if you understood the entire philosophy behind this art, you wouldn't be so quick to disagree with it."

"Philosophy," Wufei chuckled. "Not only is karate hypocritical, but the excess complexity that's put into offensive techniques is easily defeated by a well-thought out and low-energy defence."

The temperature in the basement instantly dropped about ten degrees. Heero slowly turned and glared intensely at the insult. "Would you like a chance to rephrase that comment?"

Wufei turned and stepped closer. "I would, but there are ladies present."

Heero stepped closer. "Maybe you'd like to go join them."

Wufei stepped even closer. "Maybe you'd like a severe back injury so you can sit out the lesson with dignity."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Duo had to step between them before it came to blows. They had been that way ever since Wufei was revealed to be the group's information leak, for it wasn't the final outcome of his loose lips that Heero objected to, but rather the principle. Wufei kept insisting that it wasn't his fault and took great exception to being blamed for something that turned out alright in the end anyway. "Could we think about why we're here? Please?"

"We're here to demonstrate combat techniques to the ladies," Heero growled, keeping his red-hot gaze trained on Wufei the entire time.

"And if we have time, how to set broken bones with tablecloths," Wufei growled back. Tiny lightning bolts were now physically crossing the space between their snarling faces, and they soon squeezed Duo clear out of the way.

"That would be difficult to accomplish face-down on the mat."

"I could tie you in a square knot before you even knew what happened."

"And you'd be quick to tell the whole town about it, too."

Again, Duo tried to intervene. "Now, Heero, that wasn't very ni--"

"I'm glad I came to see your little show now," Wufei barrelled on. "This is the perfect place to take you down a peg."

"Just try it."

In a flash, they were in the middle of the mat, facing each other with venomous stares, and Duo tossed his hands up in frustration. "Dammit, you promised you'd behave!"

Heero held a hand up in Duo's direction, already crouching into a battle stance. "This won't take long."

Hilde jumped to her feet and folded her arms, scowling at the other little boy having his temper tantrum. "And you said you weren't holding a grudge! Were you lying to me!?"

Wufei waved the girl off in a similar fashion. "In a minute, Peach Blossom..."

They seemed intent on going through with their juvenile duelling match, so Duo and Hilde gave up and retreated to a safe distance, throwing glances of despair at each other. Hilde felt bad enough for getting Wufei into trouble, but now his and Heero's clashing egos were out of her hands, and Duo quickly and quietly reassured her that any mischief they got up to was their own fault, not hers. Sally and Lucrezia just sighed and rolled their eyes as the boys squared off against each other.

First, Wufei deflected Heero's first kick with a flashy circular motion, but Heero reset quickly to land a punch right through the centre of the circle and flatten Wufei with one blow. Heero smirked and mentally recorded a match point while Wufei scraped himself off the mat. Almost immediately, he retaliated, coming at Heero with a claw hand aimed at his throat. Heero thought he was ready for it, and prepared to deliver another kick, but Wufei swept the foot up and out of his way while he planted a hand in the middle of Heero's chest, then pushed down hard and drove him into the floor. A match point went to Wufei, and he smirked as well. They went on like this for quite a long time, forsaking proper form and concentration for good old one-upmanship, and it didn't appear as though they would give it up until they were thoroughly exhausted. It was at about this time that the girls began discussing their lunch order.

**********

Money was getting awfully tight for Dorothy. Without Treize around to treat her to all the pretty trinkets her little heart desired, she had to make do with wearing the same clothes and jewels over and over again, until the other young ladies in the neighbourhood, peasants though they were in comparison to the Baroness, were putting her to shame. In her official position as lady's maid, a title which she performed very few traditional duties to deserve, she couldn't possibly ask Relena for an allowance without looking foolish, therefore, she was scuppered.

Drastic measures had to be taken if she was to avoid looking dated and tawdry in town. Up in her suite, filled with lavender things from corner to corner, she laid several of her belongings out on the bed, preparing to make some tough decisions. Anna Maria was curled up on a lacy purple pillow, watching her with mild interest.

"What do you think?" Dorothy asked the cat, holding up two dissimilar sets of ear bobs in either hand. "Suppose the jewellery store would take a trade-in...which ones could I get the most for?"

Anna Maria licked her chops and flicked her eyes from one dangly, sparkly thing to another, but offered no input.

"I'm not lowering myself to going to a pawn shop, if that's what you're thinking!" the girl whined. "I wouldn't be caught dead in such a common establishment."

That emotional state of partial desperation and total indignance was just the cue someone was waiting for, someone listening just outside her door. With a friendly, beguiling smile at the ready, that someone casually pushed the door open with his foot and leaned against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets.

Startled, Dorothy turned toward the noise and nearly dropped her earrings in surprise. It was Quatre. He was probably the very last person she ever expected to see standing at her bedroom door and smiling. She was immediately suspicious. "Come to gloat, have you?"

"Not at all," Quatre assured her in a sugary voice. "I think it's just awful that you've been left here on your own with no money and no prospects."

Dorothy squinted. She felt sure she hadn't told anyone about her money woes, but perhaps hearing her speak of trade-ins and pawn shops was enough information to lead to that inevitable conclusion anyway. "Don't worry yourself," she spat. "If worse comes to worse, selling off even one of my best dresses would bring enough for a one-way ticket back to Italy, and then I'd be out of your hair for good."

Quatre's eyes glossed over with a thin window shade the colour of sympathy. "Why be in such a hurry to get away? I never pictured you giving up on me so easily."

"I haven't much of a choice anymore, have I!? You and your simpering siblings have one less menace to worry about, thanks to those scheming, conniving..."

"Oh dear, as bad as that, is it?" the gardener cooed.

Dorothy sniffed bitterly at him, and began packing the gems and dresses back into the wardrobe and jewellery box. "You should be thrilled. I thought those wretched snakes were my friends, and I've got two vicious stab wounds in the middle of my back to show for it! I've got nothing now!"

Quatre pushed off the door frame and sauntered slowly around the room, knitting his brows and going 'tch tch tch' as he made a great play of considering her situation. "That is a problem...hmm...sure wish I could think of a way to help." He paused dramatically, then looked up and smiled at her in a way that made Anna Maria jump down off the bed and then hide under it. "Wait a moment...I think I can help you."

The Baroness stared. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm very good at being serious," he said, reaching into his inside waistcoat pocket and extracting a tri-folded piece of paper. "Seems to me your problem is a total lack of power and influence where the Count and Lady Une are concerned, and I don't just mean with petty things like stopping the wedding." He pleasantly ignored the way the girl's eyes gradually widened during the second part of his speech, gesturing with the paper all the while. "See, I know Lady Une must have told Treize about my family's secret, because you've been more upset since their engagement than at any other time while I've known you, and I can't think of anything that would upset you more than the thought of losing a potential fortune."

This was Dorothy's most closely-guarded secret, and she could hardly believe the boy had figured all that out solely on the basis of her being upset. Indeed, he had needed more clues than that, and got extra tips from his sixth sense. That and a little covert surveillance with Trowa's help cemented it, but of course, Dorothy knew none of this, and was still struggling to figure it out.

"You'd love to stop them for getting even a single coin of my family's money, wouldn't you?"

"...uh..." Dorothy was taken aback, but had to agree. Her gaping mouth was indecisive, but her eyes screamed 'Yes!'

"I could help you with that," Quatre said teasingly, and he tapped the folded paper with a single finger of his free hand. "Right here are the tools you need to start paying them back for their treachery." He watched with tightly restrained exhilaration as the girl broadcasted an aura of frightful delight. When Quatre had taken his master plan to Heero and secured its approval, he knew it would be interesting to implement, but it was even more fun than he imagined.

"Wait a minute," Dorothy said, slowly and cautiously," why on earth would you help me?"

Quatre shrugged in an exaggerated fashion. "I'm not suggesting a one-sided agreement, by any means...more along the lines of a symbiotic partnership."

Curiosity trampled the girl's sense of prudence. "Go on."

He handed over the paper, and waited as she opened it, glanced at it, and scrunched up her face in confusion. What she had actually been given, thought she might never know it, was a page from the files of Professor Giorgenson, a full profile on one of his fell Cinq Association cohorts.

"His name is Hassan. He is also seeking control of my family fortune. Now you know something Treize and Lady Une don't."

Dorothy crinkled her forked eyebrows and shook her head slightly. "But...how's this supposed to hel--" Quatre felt the light bulb flip on in Dorothy's mind milliseconds before he saw it on her face, and then he was sure she understood. "They don't know about this man...and he doesn't know about them, either! Am I right?"

Quatre nodded. "All three of them think they'll be undisputed winners of the tontine, and now you have the advantage of knowing that's not necessarily likely. If, for example, you wanted back in on the deal, now you have something to offer them. They can't collect the winnings if there's another competitor, and based on my own information, it would have been awfully easy for this Hassan to nab one of my sisters and melt into the shadows. One is all it would take to pose a threat to Treize's position, and as long as he lives, your former friends don't stand a chance."

Dorothy's eyes glittered as she looked over the page in greater detail. "Ohhhh....." It felt like she had been given a gilded sword to hold over the bent necks of the two traitors, and it was undoubtedly wonderful, but when one stepped back to look at the whole picture, it didn't make perfect sense. "I don't understand...it shouldn't matter to you who wins, you should just want it to stop."

Quatre clasped his hands behind him and appeared to ponder some more. "And now we come to the expected question, 'What's in it for you?' Well..." He paced, and paced, and stopped, glancing sideways at her. "I would, of course, be very grateful if you could provide me with Treize's plans on a regular basis...for my personal use."

"You want me to tip Treize off to this fellow's existence, and then spy on him for you?"

"It doesn't have to sound logical, it just has to be done," said Quatre, "and if it's done well, there could be some nice bonuses in it for you."

"...such as?"

"Oh, I don't know...whatever you like. A new dress, or some satin shoes, perhaps some velvet evening gloves..."

The Baroness let out a hyena-like laugh. "That's absurd! If I couldn't find enough money for so much as a pot of rouge, you certainly couldn't!"

Quatre lifted his eyebrows, then looked slightly down as he rubbed the top of his left shoe against the back of his right pant leg. He wasn't wearing his old, scruffy gardening boots, but an apparently brand-new pair of black leather pointed shoes, neatly laced and polished to a sparkling shine. Dorothy didn't know where he was getting it, but it was obvious that he had easy access to plenty of money, and that in itself was just about enough to blow her tiny mind. She stared at the shoes in disbelief, mumbling and stuttering as she fought her own state of shock to form a coherent sentence.

"You don't need to know where the money comes from," said Quatre, "only that you don't get your share unless you come up with some privileged information on Treize. How and when, I'll leave up to you, but you'd better start soon, or you won't make it to the stores until after the Christmas sales." He winked, smiled, and left, walking on air all the way out the bedroom door.

Poor Dorothy wasn't sure what to think. Obviously, the knowledge of Hassan's plans would make her an attractive addition to Treize's new team, if she could get close enough to present the information, and at some point during the re-endearing process, if it looked as if she was going to be shoved out again, it might actually be possible to rat them out to Hassan, thereby pitting them against each other. There were a lot of gaps in the plan, but it was the best plan she had, and she could look sharp in new clothes while she carried it out.

**********

Even after splitting a pot of coffee and a giant platter of sandwiches between them, the girls were still yawning, not that anyone particularly noticed. The duel between Heero and Wufei was getting silly, as neither one wanted to give up even though they were both dead tired after being at it for a solid hour. It said marvellous things about their stamina, but very little about their sense of futility, and absolutely nothing good about their hard-headed rivalry.

The trio was piled on a bench against one wall, underneath a dartboard, all leaning against each other as they struggled to stay awake during the dying moments of the battle. Duo sat cross-legged on the floor and also looked a little peeved at the pair of them, leaning his head on the end of the bench and sighing every once in a while. Four times now he had suggested that the combatants had reached a stalemate, and four times he had either been ignored or yelled at.

On the large square of mats laid out on the floor, Heero and Wufei were both crumpled in pathetic little heaps, using the last dregs of their energy to keep their heads up and avoid signalling defeat. Heero's forehead was plastered against one bent knee, his opposite arm shakily propping him upright as he glared at Wufei, who was sort of lying on his side with his legs tangled up somewhere to his left. They were both panting and sweating and just generally worn out, but neither would admit that they had been beaten.

For his last blow, Heero summoned up a few tiny bits of strength in his arms, enough to lift up one of the square mats and detach it from the whole, lifting it over his head and bringing it down on Wufei's head with a less-than-mighty 'splat'. Wufei retaliated by grabbing the mat and tugging on it, and they both tried to wrestle it away from each other, growling like angry puppies fighting over a new toy. Duo rolled his eyes and got up. "That's it, you two, knock it off," he said, walking up and kicking the mat out of their hands. "It's a flippin' draw, okay!? Give it a rest!"

The pair flopped over backwards on the remaining mats and groaned.

"Well, that was educational," Lucrezia drawled, swirling the last few drops of coffee around in her cup before gulping them down. "We learned about the self-defeating power of the male ego, and how to defend ourselves with a gym mat."

Sally yawned. "I don't feel any stronger, how 'bout you?"

Defying the laws of physics and pain, Wufei began crawling unsteadily to his feet, pointing weakly at Heero as Duo knelt behind him to help him up into a sitting position. "I thought...this might...be futile.......so I...brought backup." He stumbled up the stairs, clutching his bruised ribs while Hilde folded her arms and shook her head.

Curled up on the mat, Duo resisted the urge to smack Heero for his obstinacy, for he had witnessed with gritted teeth each of the throws, blows, and fierce blocks that left the boy weak and wobbly like a tenderized piece of veal. "Geez, Heero...you couldn't check your sense of superiority at the door for once? Now look at you! I hope it was worth it."

Heero pulled a hand up to nurse his split lip and tried not to let it show that he was indeed a bit ashamed of himself. "I got tired of his attitude, that's all."

"Yeah, well...I hope you can keep telling yourself that tomorrow morning when you're too stiff to move," Duo said, curled up behind him. A smile tickled his face, and he slowly brought both hands up to Heero's overworked shoulders, leaning close to whisper at a level the others couldn't detect. "Unless, of course, you can find a bottle of liniment and a pair of willing hands..."

That brought a small, tired smile to Heero's face, and he was lost enough in pleasant thoughts not to notice right away when Wufei staggered back down the stairs with a stranger. It was a shortish man of Asian descent, much closer to Wufei in appearance than Heero. His rounded olive face bore a blank but confident expression, suggesting that he didn't care what life threw at him because it was all meaningless or easily conquered. His jet black hair hung just below ear level and was cropped closely in the front, and he wore a long black overcoat, which he tossed aside to reveal a two-piece white suit similar in style to Duo's. His narrow eyes swung around the room, scanning for targets.

"This is Dong Sun Kwan," said Wufei. "He speaks no English, and has a full schedule, but I persuaded him to spare some time for our 'class,' if you can call it that."

They all looked at Kwan with apprehension. Heero squinted suspiciously. "How exactly do you know this man?"

Wufei looked to either side, then stared straight ahead. "You have contacts. I have contacts."

"Well...he doesn't really look like he's in teaching mode," Sally observed, glancing dubiously at the severe slant of Kwan's bushy black eyebrows.

All eyes slowly latched onto Wufei as he stood in meek and guilty silence. "...strictly speaking...he's not...actually a teacher. He only speaks a little Chinese, and I'm not sure he fully understood the purpose of our...little get-together."

Heero sighed. "Meaning?"

"Meaning..." Wufei looked over at Kwan, who looked icily back at him, and wondered if he hadn't been a trifle hasty in lining up help to show Heero up in front of the girls. "I may have indirectly promised him a blood match."

The girls all scooted down to the far end of the bench. Heero tried to get up, stumbled a little on his aggravated ankle, and was quickly propped up by Duo as he scowled at his rival. "And who do you think is going to fight him, now that we're both on the injured list?"

Duo's eyes lit up. "Let me do it!"

"Absolutely not," Heero said, shaking his head immediately.

"Aw, come on! He's here, so why waste him? We could finally start learning something!"

"You're not fighting a stranger just to validate Wufei's disrespect in bringing him here uninvited."

Wufei looked angrily upwards after prodding a deep bruise on his shin. "I was just trying to offer the ladies some choice in what they learn instead of just accepting whatever you decide to feed them! If they want to learn karate, fine, they can go to you. If they want to learn kung fu, they can come to me."

"What does this guy do?" Duo asked.

Wufei looked at Kwan again, this time with slightly fearful uncertainty. "I'm not completely sure. I tried to ask him, but I don't think he understood."

"Where's he from?"

"Korea."

At the mention of his homeland, Kwan bowed deeply at the waist, though Duo was the only one standing who was healthy enough to return the gesture. He turned back to Heero right away and gripped him lightly by the shoulder. "Look at that guy. He's barely taller than me! Let me take a crack at him, I know I can do it! I'm ready, coach, send me in!!"

Heero looked doubtful, but knew that in his present condition, there was no possibility of stopping Duo from doing anything. If things got out of hand, there were still six of them and only one of Kwan, and brute force transcended all language barriers. The hopeful, energetic look on Duo's face tugged at him terribly, and he just didn't have the heart to crush his enthusiasm. "Alright, but be careful. If it gets too--"

"Thank you!" Duo carelessly gave Heero a bear hug that made him squeak in slight pain, then helped him to an empty spot on the bench. Wufei took the last vacant place next to Heero, with reluctance, while Duo warmed up by bouncing around on the balls of his feet and throwing practice blows into the air in front of him. Kwan looked at the selection that had been made and smirked, already forming several nasty opinions in his head about any boy who could mock himself with such outrageous hair. He stepped on the mat, tossed his overcoat aside, and bowed.

Duo bowed as well and immediately turned sideways, planting his right foot behind him and raising his arms defensively. Kwan stood in a half-crouch, resting most of his weight on his out-turned back foot and the rest on just the tip of his raised right foot. His fists were brought together in front of his chin, and he peered over them, catlike, waiting for Duo to strike first. As Duo quickly brought his right knee up for an apparent front snap kick, Heero cringed for a split second, knowing it was the wrong move to make against Kwan's cat stance, but Duo twisted at the waist and turned it into a roundhouse kick that not only made Kwan duck but brushed unexpectedly at his ear just as his arms dropped into an ineffective block. Kwan stepped back, impressed, and re-evaluated his opponent's skill level.

So began a smoother and more enthralling battle than the previous one, where Heero and Wufei continually paused after each blow to judge their net advantage. Kwan had clearly been perfecting himself for many years, and no rookie should have lasted more than five minutes against him, but Duo was no ordinary rookie. It seemed that each of Kwan's kicks came a split second too late, and each of Duo's blocks was a heartbeat earlier than it needed to be. "He's fast," Wufei whispered, in shock at the sight before him.

"He's been even faster," Heero answered at the same volume level.

On the mat, Kwan struck Duo in the side of the head with a ridge hand, but Duo concentrated on wrapping his right leg around Kwan's extended left, and pulled it right out from under him. Everyone gasped as Kwan landed splayed out on the mat and then somersaulted back on his feet within a second of falling. Duo's unconventional fighting style that combined traditional karate with the science of street punks was an unusual exercise for the Korean.

"How long have you been training him?" Wufei asked quietly.

"Nearly eleven months," Heero answered, emitting a note of surprise at how short the period actually was.

Wufei's eyes bulged. Amazing, he thought.

As Duo lunged forward with a back punch, Kwan smacked the fist off to the side and attacked Duo's neck with a palm heel, which Duo barely had time to duck. He stepped back and aimed a hook kick at Kwan's head, but Kwan grappled with the flying leg and shoved Duo backwards into the mat. Before he was even down, he swept his other leg out in a wide arc and hit Kwan's left knee hard enough to make it buckle slightly, long enough for Duo to get back to his feet and into another stance. He didn't look fazed in the slightest.

"It took me years to develop reflexes like that," Heero told Wufei, watching the scene tensely and squeezing his fists tighter as he worried involuntarily. He knew his student was a top-notch fighter, but it was still gut-wrenching to watch him finally pitted against an opponent who cared nothing for his safety.

"To achieve results like that...even I have to admit, you must be a highly skilled teacher."

The shock at hearing such an admission was enough to make Heero actually pry his eyes away from the fight. "Do you mean that?"

Wufei half-shrugged and looked away, trying to keep up his bravado. "It would be foolish of me to deny the obvious." As they both gazed back at the battle, he found it easier to mutter something else without Heero's eyes drilling two holes in the side of his head. "Maybe.....maybe I could practice a little more...discretion...when discussing my affairs with outsiders."

Heero half-shrugged as well, at half the speed, and looked down at the floor occasionally. "Well.....maybe I could be a little more...forgiving...especially in situations where there's no real harm done..." They glanced at each other in quick spurts, until they took turns giving up tiny little grunts of apology. It was enough.

Out on the mat, things were starting to get desperate. Kwan was pulling out more and more advanced moves, and Duo had to be even quicker devising original defences to keep from losing his footing for good. One particularly dazzling display of kicks and punches sent Duo sprawling, and Heero nearly leaped off the bench to help, but Wufei restrained him with a quiet reminder that it was now a matter of honour that Duo finish the fight on his own. As he got up, Duo promised himself he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice, and was expecting Kwan to do something else devious. Kwan let fly with a barrage of blows, all of which were expertly blocked, and in what looked like slow motion to the spectators, he simultaneously leapt up in the air and twirled around with his right leg extended, planning to take the braided boy out for good. While Kwan was still in the air, Duo fell to the mat, rolled underneath him, curled up swiftly into a crouching position, and launched himself with all his might at the spot where he expected Kwan's turned back to be. His calculation was dead-on, and Kwan was fiercely laid flat on his stomach with an ear-cracking slam.

A collective gasp arose from the bench as Duo rolled harmlessly to the side and got up for another swing at his attacker, but Kwan only curled up on his elbows and knees, coughing violently. Duo, panting from exertion and still in an attack stance, stared wide-eyed and started to worry. "What'd I do!? What'd I do!?"

Sally got up and padded over in her striped rugby shirt, kneeling down next to Kwan. In lieu of verbal communication, she flipped him over on his back, made him sit up, and forced his head between his knees, after a brief examination that greatly took into account the angle at which he hit the floor. "You just knocked the wind out of him, that's all. It's not fatal."

"So, what does that mean?" Duo gasped. "Can't he fight anymore?"

Struggling for breath, Kwan clambered to his feet, all weak and wobbly from lack of oxygen, and turned to face Duo. He held a hand against his chest as he continued to cough and wheeze, held up the other hand, and bowed deferentially. Then, without asking anyone's help, he gathered up his overcoat and dragged himself up the stairs. Wufei felt dizzy. "Incredible..."

Suddenly, it sunk in. "...you mean.....I won?" Duo asked, an ecstatic smile creeping across his face.

Heero stood and walked unsteadily over to him. "He left of his own volition...it wasn't a knockout, but...I think it counts!"

Duo bounced. "I won? I won!!" The pair grabbed hold of each other, ignoring their mutual aches and pains, and celebrated Duo's first official victory. Everyone crowded around all at once to congratulate him, and the day finally started looking up.

**********

Trowa was getting a lot of practice lately with regards to standing outside peoples' doors and eavesdropping on the conversations within. First it was Quatre and Dorothy, as he was on covert security detail in case Dorothy became violent, and now it was the Peacecraft siblings. The elder instructed him to ready the carriage and horses immediately, but was very hush-hush about where he wanted to go. He also informed the boy that there was no need to suit up for the journey, for Pegan would be driving the carriage this time.

He did as he was told, bringing the carriage and horses to the front of the house and leaving it there with Arthur, asking him to watch over it all for just a few minutes. Then he went straight back inside to look for Quatre, but the boy was suddenly elusive. Deciding not to wait for him, he skulked around the first floor looking for the pair, but couldn't find them. He then made a methodical search travelling upwards until he reached the south wing of the second floor and heard their voices, very faintly. They seemed to be going over arrangements for a holiday, but they didn't sound at all cheerful about it. It was also terribly difficult making out the actual words because even though they believed there was no one around, they were whispering.

"...catch the train.....about seven...late for.....otherwise..."

"...packed...don't tell.....see us later..."

The voices got even fainter after that, so there was little point in staying there when he could post himself by a window and get a perfectly clear view of them getting into the carriage. It was all very mysterious, though, and he desperately needed a second opinion. He crept downstairs knowing that wherever Quatre had gotten to, he had to show up in the kitchen sooner or later, and sure enough, he did. Better yet, he was coming in through the back door with the entire rest of the team.

"...and no matter what she chooses, we'll come out ahead," Quatre was telling Heero excitedly. "If she tells Treize about Hassan, he'll be spreading himself pretty thin to cope with it, and if she tells Hassan about Treize, he'll be eliminated without leaving any evidence behind."

Heero nodded tiredly. "I just hope you know what's best, unleashing them all on each other at once."

"Quat! You'll never believe what I did!" Duo crowed, jumping out at the gardener and clamping onto him. "I fought this big huge guy about six feet tall and I won!"

"Is that what took you so long? It's past dinnertime!"

"Don't worry about us, we ate already," Hilde pointed out, reaching out to pinch Duo's cheek affectionately. "It was worth it to see that performance!"

"Well, gee, I didn't plan on forgetting to make dinner for the family...are they upset?"

Trowa stepped into the centre of the group with his hands in his pockets, looking dreadfully serious. "I wouldn't worry about them. They seem to have bigger things to think about than missing a meal." Seven pairs of eyes asked the same question at once. Trowa briefly told them what little he had seen and heard, and no sooner had he finished speaking than a bell rang, signifying that assistance was needed on the third floor.

The band of eight snuck up the stairs with Heero in the lead, put back into his black suit but hardly in any shape to be of service. They let him make the trip to the third floor alone while the rest of them followed Trowa's hand gestures towards the front room, where they huddled around the two picture windows and saw the carriage and horses sitting out front with Pegan at the reins. Otto emerged from the house, and showed a slight figure with a black cowl over her head into the carriage. He then put a few bags on top of the carriage and joined her, and they could only wonder if it was Relena.

Next came Milliardo, and then Heero, carrying another set of luggage between them. They were loaded up and ready to go within minutes, and as Heero was sent back into the house with a sweep of the elder Peacecraft's hand, the four of them rode off into the darkness, bound for some unknown location. None of them could fathom the reason for all the secrecy, and they were filled with a small amount of panic as they realised they had been left at home unsupervised. It didn't make sense. The family never left the house without leaving behind at least a set of instructions, and the luggage suggested so much that they couldn't take it all in. They turned away from the windows and looked at each other, dumbfounded. When Heero found them in the front room, he didn't have anything to say. Apparently, after telling him to bring down the luggage, Milliardo hadn't said one syllable to him, and he felt just as lost and confused as the rest of them. Then, when three housemaids wandered in and joined them, their confusion grew exponentially.

The only one who didn't take part in all the conjecture was Lucrezia, who remained at the window long after the others began drifting off to their own little corners to think. Milliardo hadn't even hinted that he was going away, never even mentioned the possibility of travel, and she thought surely that he would have asked her to come along, even if it was just for one night. Judging by the luggage, it would be several nights.

Hours later, when the rest of the house had gone to bed, she was still sitting by the window, waiting in vain for her love's carriage to return.


~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry AGAIN for the delay! =@_@= I had the kind of headache that made it impossible to look at a screen. I'm fine now, though. =^_^= I'm gonna keep this short, because I'm getting straight to work on ep. 64 this afternoon, so I'll leave you with November 3rd to think about, and I hope everybody has a fun & safe Halloween! Baibai! =D (*updates Duo's official scoreboard to 1-0, gives Wu and Hee-chan five demerit points each* Tsk, tsk, tsk.)