"Behind you!" Duo yelled as he dashed toward Wufei, just before Zechs whirled around and snatched the orange globe out of Wufei's hands. Zechs raced foreword, dribbling the ball to the other side of the goal. He crouched slightly, bouncing the ball a few more times before shooting up, throwing the ball over towards his teams goal. But not before Heero jumped up in the air and slapped the ball down, making it bounce just beside Zechs.
Duo launched foreword, slapping the ball down with the palm of his own hand. Just as the ball bounced back up duo took control of it, dribbling the badly beaten ball to his teams own goal post. Duo knocked shoulders with Quatre as he swept by, making both boys trip, but not before he shot the ball to Wufie, who ducked to the side to catch the ball before Trowa.
Attempting to move on either side of Trowa, Wufei pivoted, throwing the ball back to Heero, who in turn shot it up into the air and to the goal post. Where it circled the rim a few times before falling through, despite Trowa and Zechs' attempts to reach of it knock it from its course.
"Well. I believe that's game." Duo said, grinning, while stretching his arms over his head.
"Hm. You're right there, Duo. But you must admit it was close." Quatre beamed, slightly out of breath, wiping a few beads of sweat from his brow.
"Yeah, But we still won. Hey Hee-chan, what's wrong?" Duo quirked an eyebrow, and turned to his companion who had stopped in the middle of the court to stare at something that no one else could see.
"Hn. Nothing." Heero turned back around to the other ex-pilots, waving the matter off as if it never happened. Duo leaned over to Trowa and whispered out of the side of his mouth. "He's been acting really strange lately. Having weird dreams, saying he's feeling something pull at him. Think it's from the Mariemaya incident 3 years ago?"
"No, can't be. Signs would have shown up sooner. Besides, Heero's probly got the strongest reserve of any of us here."
"Unless...You count the zombie." Duo said a bit too loud, earning a well deserved elbow in the ribs from Quatre, and a short yet knowing glare from Zechs.
Duo yawned and stretched, closing his eyes as his arms reached up over his head. Only a second later he felt something heavy hit his chest, and reached down to grab the thing before it got to far away. Looking down he saw the basket-ball in his hands, and looked in the direction it had came from to find the person who had thrown it.
"You were all supposed to be at the Preventer meeting 2 hours ago. Especially you, Head of defense, Mr. Maxwell." Came that all too fake-innocent voice that made Duo shudder with discontent.
"Yeah, well,...Um...You didn't come to my birthday party?" Duo said sarcastically, forcefully sticking the basketball under his arm against his side.
Relena opened her mouth to give a well thought out comeback, but could find none. She and Duo had gotten along fine for the first year after the X18999 incident. She and Heero had dated for a while, and were even engaged at one point. It was the day that Heero had walked 4 miles from his and Relena's house, to Duo's apartment in 20 degree weather, not to mention snow and sleet, to tell Duo that he walked in on Relena having sex with a co-worker, that Duo and Relena's friendship disappeared. Not only disappeared, but turned to near hatred. Heero was living with Duo now, and had been ever since Relena's little fling. That was 2 years ago, and still Duo had not forgiven her for what she had done to his Heero.
"I just thought I would let you know that the governing board decided to let the six of you have 2 weeks vacation. Since you have been working so hard since the war."
"Two weeks? I thought it was going to be 3 months?" Quatre questioned. It wasn't unlike the Proventer Governing Board to shorten the requests given. Though they had thought that surely this one would at least fall through.
"I'm sorry Quatre. But you know I had no say in it."
"Yes, Ms. Relena. I know." Quatre sighed.
"They're taking advantage of the situation." Zechs said.
"They have booked a flight to the colonies for all of you. It leaves in 2 hours."
"Same plane or different ones?" Duo said, attempting to hold back all the pretty little things he wish he could say to Relena this moment. Holding back any further statements he turned his head to look at Heero, who stood within arms reach of him. Duo reached his hand up, and brushed the back of his fingers against Heero's arm. Which received a questioning look at first, but then his features softened, and he would have smiled had Relena not been there. Heero's smiles had been rare since 2 years ago, and Duo treasured each and every smile he was able to bring forth from Heero. Duo nearly cursed out loud the fact that Relena was standing before him, but he could do nothing about it for the time being. Though they had done nothing about it, both Heero and Duo knew the feelings each held for each other. Why they held back those feelings, neither of them fully understood, but perhaps...
"Yes. One plane. L5, L3, and L2, then the Preventer resource station, is the destination route." Came the voice that interrupted Duo's thoughts. It seemed to be one of Relena's favorite pass-times as of late. Pissing Duo off in any way she could find possible.
"And Noine?" Zechs broke the silence after a moment.
"Your wife is on the resource station already, Dear brother. I do hope you enjoy your flight."
"Yes, Thank you Relena."
With an apologetic glance toward Heero, who seemed to be staring off into nothing, Relena turned on her heel and walked away from the basketball court. She waved to them all before stepping in the back off her limo, then rolling up the back window as the car drove away.
"Still mad at Relena I see." Trowa said, throwing his arm around Quatre's shoulder.
"Hnphm. Don't know what you're talkin about." Duo said, raising his nose up in the air, which received a hearty laugh from everyone, and even a small snicker from Heero.
"I guess we better get going on our way to the air-port. I'd hate to hear what they'd say if we were late." Quatre said, receiving a nod from the other, former pilots.
Duo, with the basketball still in hand, picked up the shirt that he had earlier tossed off, as had Zechs and Wufei. Quatre of course wasn't comfortable with revealing his body to any of them except his lover, Trowa had simply worn a light-weight semi baggy muscle shirt, in his fashionable green color, and Heero had just stuck with his normal attire. Spandex shorts, and a tank-top. Not that Duo was complaining of course, or anyone else for that matter.
Two and a half hours later they arrived at the airport. The cabby they had chosen to drive them there insisted on going 20 mph under the speed-limit, thus causing great delay. Especially when he got pulled over and arrested for drug possession, and smuggling of illegal persons from country to country, so they had to walk the rest of the way.
Finally seated on the plane, Quatre was the first to break the exhausted silence. "If only I had known better. If I hadn't have picked that driver we could have been here by now."
-Here he goes again- Duo thought, "Well, it's not like you knew or anything, And besides, The pilot was nice enough to wait for us anyways. We're not in any hurry to get anywhere are we? Maybe except Zechs over there," Duo had stretched his arms up then behind his head while he talked, but flicked a thumb over in Zech's direction as he said his name. "I would hate to see the look on Une and Noin's faces when he arrives late."
Giving a small chuckle he reclined his seat back, his arms still folded back behind his head, a pair of darkly tinted sunglasses adorning his face so he could watch others but make it look like he was sleeping. Even though it was only one other he wanted to watch. -Damnit, Why wont he just admit what's fully out there in the open. Is he the only one that doesn't see it? That doesn't see that I Lo..-
Duo's thoughts were interrupted yet again at an immense amount of turbulence. It felt like something had hit the plane but he couldn't be sure...That is until he looked out the window and saw that the entire nose of the plane had been blown from the body. Including the pilot, who was lucky enough to eject himself from the burning mass before it exploded.
"Duo, what's going on?" Quatre, Wufei, and Heero all said at once, Who luckily had been sitting in windowless seats.
"We're going to die like this? No way...How uncool.."
"Duo. Tell us what's... Eragh!" Wufei grunted out in pain on the last part, the plane body giving a sudden jolt. It was then the others were able to feel, and now see, the explosion from the other part of the plane. "What the hell is going on?!"
"The plane hasn't blown up yet...Why?" Heero asked.
"Neither is it falling. Look at the clouds." Trowa replied.
"That's very unusu....."Zechs was never able to finish his sentence, for a blinding blue light, and an ear piercing whistle invaded the area, leaving no thoughts to be spoken.
"Keiko, hold on... please...you know how Koenma can get...hey, what do you plan to do with that?!" Yusuke said helplessly as Keiko picked up a chair, full intent on throwing it at him.
"This is the third time this week that you've skipped out on our dates Urameshi Yusuke!" Keiko told him. She was fuming, "This isn't like school that you can just ditch!"
"Keiko, I know that. You gotta understand, the toddler's been going crazy, like something bads gonna happen, but the paranoid little freak wont tell us what it is!" Yusuke told her trying to calm her nerves. Keiko didn't have spirit energy and wasn't tough, but she sure could slap.
Keiko blew her bangs out of her face in a frustrated manner, and looked at her watch. "I don't have time for this Yusuke, I promised my mother I would take her to a foreign arts film, and at least I keep my promises." She told him giving him a pointed glare and walked away.
-Man why she gotta be like that?-
Because you're a fool a voice in his mind said.
"Stay out of my head Hiei, or I'll tear that third eye out of yours." Yusuke told him. "Now show yourself so I don't feel like I'm talking to a wall."
A moment later a black blur slid by and stopped in front of him, as Hiei materialized, he gave his trademark "Hn."
"So you three-eyed freak, where's Kurama? Isn't he always with you?"
"Hn."
"That's not an answer"
"I don't have to answer to human idiots." The hybrid told him.
"You think you're better than me?"
"Hn."
Yusuke was getting frustrated and was about to show the apparition what a blast of spirit energy felt like, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He huffed. "Always spoiling my fun aren't you Kurama?"
Kurama just shook his head, "It will not do well to harm innocent bystanders because of your petty rivalry." He shook his head again as he felt a mental argument coming on.
Though I would like to see Hiei in action, though I prefer for him to be in a different type of action that involves me, like sprawled out...Youko purred.
-Finish that thought and I wont go to Makai this month so you can play in the woods.- Kurama told him.
You won't do that to me!
-Try me-
You know as well as I do that he would be absolutely delicious unde...
Keep me out of your sick fantasies fox Hiei put in.
So that means you wont take up my offer?
Hn.
You hear that Kurama? That wasn't a no, wasn't a yes either, but it wasn't a no. I want him. Who are you to deny me what I want?
Yusuke watched Kurama spacing out, his eyes changing from their normal green to where Yellow started to seep out.
-Enough.-
Oh come on now, you're just as frustrated as I am, I can feel it, we need something to satisfy us and I'm thinking black is my new lucky color.
-Not now Youko.-
When?
-Will you just shut up already?-
Only when you admit how good it'll be when we finally lay our hands on him... Youko purred, sending graphic images of Hiei.
Yusuke waved his hand in front of Kurama's reddening face. Kurama mentally shook himself and looked at Yusuke. Kurama wished that the kitsune avatar could just split from his body. Kitsunes were known to want anything beautiful and enjoyable, male or female didn't matter. Kurama on the other hand wanted a female so that he could have kits so his mother could be happy. "I'm sorry, what was that you were saying?"
"I was asking why girls put people on guilt trips, it's not my fault the toddler has me running all over the three worlds doing errands for him, and then there's Genkai and her training! Then I have Keiko giving me a guilt trip. Don't I have enough to deal with?" Yusuke huffed, talking more to himself than anybody else.
"It appears as though Keiko merely worries about your well being and replaces it with anger and resentment. She truly cares deeply for you, it would take a blind man not to see that." Kurama explained, while walking to a park close by.
"Yeah I suppose so, doesn't mean she's gotta be so bitchy though." He said situating himself on a park bench. Hiei jumped into a tree with a "Hn." and Kurama sat down in the grass gently caressing the few flowers he found.
They were drawn out of their peaceful state when a bright blue light shocked their senses and covered everything around them for a brief moment before it dissipated leaving the spirit dectective, hybrid, and kitsune avatar shocked and confused, before a beeping sound went off. Yusuke opened his communicator to see Koenma's face. Yusuke opened his mouth to say something sarcastic when Koenma cut him off.
"This isn't the time for you're remarks right now Yusuke"
"What is it?" Kurama asked.
"We have a serious problem. Botan will be opening a portal I need you here NOW."