Part 17

SPECIAL WARNING : Violence. Loads of people ending up dead. This was my first real fight scene and I did my best with the little vocabulary I have to express things.

The man just stared back. Duo let out a loud sigh. It was good enough that they were trapped but now those two were just looking at each other, and from the way it was goin' on, they were waiting for one of them to drop dead. Which was very unlikely, although Duo was ready to bet on Heero's victory if the ability to kill with a glare had been human.

Wufei was looking around, evaluating the danger. Those men were here to kill. Wufei could feel it, and it didn't help him in the least. He was a martial arts teacher, not a street fighter. Even if it was true that he had already killed people. You couldn't get out on the streets during the gang war on L5 without trying to keep yourself alive, but that didn't mean you had to like it. Wufei took a deep breath and relaxed his body. He knew he could defend himself, and Heero was armed, but what about Duo now ?

It appeared that no one had to be worried about Duo. A flick of his wrists, and the young American was suddenly holding two long knives made of a strange metal that glinted dark. A ferocious grin appeared on his face.

"Now come on, guys, are you goin' to look at each other all night ? I know I really need to beat someone to pulp to calm down, so how 'bout we get started before dawn ?"

Unsurprisingly, this upset and unnerved one of the men in the circle. Apparently, they were used to targets who cowered in fear just at the look of them, which was far from being Duo's case. The man launched himself on Duo, weapon raised. Duo blocked the gun between his two knives. There was a clattering sound as the end of it was suddenly severed by the blades and fell on the floor. Without leaving his opponent time to react, Duo spun and sent a flying kick to his head, effectively breaking the man's neck. The man fell limply on the floor, his head bent at an unnatural angle.

Heero took some steps back and fired his two guns at the same time while dodging another bullet. The shots were meant to kill rather than incapacitate, and kill they did. Total chaos issued as the twelve remaining men launched themselves on their targets.

O.O.O.O.O

If Heero had been worried about Wufei and Duo, he wasn't anymore. Duo's little show at the beginning of the fight had been enough to prove that the young American was more than able to take care of himself. Heero should have known, of course. L2 street children didn't reach 18 without some first-hand experience at killing people. Some part of Heero's mind was wondering what Duo's knives were made of, as it appeared they could cut through metal.

Concentrating a bit more, Heero put his mind back on the fight. The twelve yakuzas had used a classical technique, and there were four of them attacking each one of the boys. It was difficult to use guns at this distance, but Heero demonstrated quite efficiently that there were many ways to use a gun as one of his Glock crashed again one of the men's temple, knocking him out. Heero's body was almost moving of its own accord as he was trying to get to the leader of the small group. He knew him by name. One of the leader of the yakuzas' assassin bands. The man was hovering at the edge of the fight, waiting for an opening. Heero took a violent blow to the ribcage and felt a knife slashing his right thigh, but didn't even slow down.

All he could think about was Une getting after Quatre, and that put him in a state of rage he had rarely known before, and at the same time it freaked him out beyond belief. That was without any pity that he discharged one of his Glocks into an opponent's head, plastering the nearby wall with his brain . The second one was taken at unawares. Heero hurtled him into the wall, sent his knee to the man's stomach, and when he doubled over in pain, aimed a sharp blow at the back of his neck, breaking the spinal chord.

Heero was left to face the leader of the group as his comrades kept on fighting. Toshiko was his name, if he remembered well. Not even turning around to see if Duo and Wufei were doing okay, Heero just asked "Keep one of them alive !"

Toshiko was still only looking at him, his gun in his hand. Heero holstered the Glock he had discharged, armed the other one and shot the man he had previously only knocked out in the head. Toshiko raised his own gun, but took a bullet in the shoulder before it was pointed at Heero.

"I'd stay calm if I were you", Heero said very coldly. "My finger is kind of itchy lately, nothing good steel can't cure, but I'd like to ask a few questions to you, Toshiko-san."

Toshiko was left to stand, his left hand pressed on the wound in his shoulder as Heero patiently waited for Duo and Wufei to be done.

O.O.O.O.O

Duo was done pretty soon, actually. After his first show, he was dealing with his own four, but soon reduced that number to two, thus proving that he could wield his blades lethally at the same time, and aim for the heart without even looking at what he was doing. He vaguely heard Heero asking for one of the men to be kept alive, but he unconsciously decided to leave that part to Wufei. Quatre was in danger, and they had been attacked : that was far enough for Shinigami. He wanted blood, and he wanted it now.

Apparently, the two yakuzas had understood that, because they prudently backed off to try and shoot the frail-looking teenager. Duo launched himself on the closest one, knives raised. The blades penetrated the man's neck, one from the left, one from the right. With a sharp gesture, Duo pulled the knives back to himself, tearing up the man's throat and splashing himself with blood in the process. He made such a grim picture, with eyes turned completely blue and his face stained by dripping blood, that his last opponent was left petrified. After a few seconds, he seemed to realize that his only chance to stay alive was to run. Which would have been a smart move, except for the fact that Duo could also throw his knives with dead accuracy and unexpected strength. The black blade flew in the air and pierced the man's skull at the back of his head, lodging itself deep in the brain.

Duo slowly calmed down, his breath coming out in short gasps. He saw Wufei forcing one of the men down on his knees. He shook his head to regain some focus, went to pick up his knife and sheathed both of them.

O.O.O.O.O

Wufei braced himself for the shock. But honestly, these men were no match for him, and he found himself a bit frustrated to have to put up with the likes of them. Quickly shutting up the part of his mind that told him he was killing people in cold-blood ('It's me or them'), he concentrated on disabling the men in front of him.

The first one ran to him to have his chin caught by the heel of Wufei's hand. His jaw cracked. Instinctively feeling someone moving behind, The Chinese man threw a round kick that sent one of the men flying into the wall. The third one took Wufei's feet in the side of the head and knocked himself on a garbage container so violently that his head thrashed and his skull broke. Turning again to his first opponent, Wufei sent a kick in his head. He heard the cartilage of the nose creaking, and the man fell as splinters penetrated his brain.

There was only one man left when Wufei heard Heero asking for one of them to stay alive. Wufei dazed him with a punch to the side of the head and forced him on his knees. He held him firmly his place with one of his legs and placed one of his hand under the man's chin and the other behind his head.

"Move a hair and you can say goodbye to your life", he growled.

The man didn't struggle. Now they were left standing in the middle of a bloody mess. Thirteen corpses on the street, they were all scratched and bleeding somewhere. Wufei turned his gaze to Heero, who was still glaring at the leader, holding him at gunpoint.

"What do we do with those two now ?", Duo asked. "You think they know anything ?"

"Only one way to know", Heero answered dryly. "On your knees, Toshiko-san", he ordered.

When the man only glared back with contempt, Heero shot him in the right kneecap, and he fell on his good leg.

"Good, Toshiko-san. Answer my questions and I may consider leaving you two alive. Why did Une hire you ?"

"She told us that we would be able to bring you down", Toshiko spat. "You are a dishonor to your name."

"Because I don't kill people for fun ? We clearly don't have the same conception of honor, Toshiko-san. But you knew that already. I bet you were more than happy to take the job. I bet Une didn't tell you what it would imply. I told the Doctors that anyone crossing my path and trying to prevent me from protecting Quatre Winner would end up dead. You just did that."

Toshiko gulped, his cheek leaving rapidly. Yuy was clearly furious, and he was alone and injured, his only accomplice kept in a headlock by one of his enemies.

"Now tell me, Toshiko-san, is there anything I should know about Une right now ? Do you know exactly why she hired you."

"She wanted us to slow you down while she went after the Winner boy, that's all I know", Toshiko said.

Heero shot a look at Wufei. The Chinese young man hardened his resolve, fighting against the disgust of killing someone who couldn't defend himself. He knew that they couldn't risk people telling about them to the killer community, or things would get worse. He moved his hands swiftly. There was a sickening sound in the now silent alley as the man's neck gave way. Wufei let the corpse fall on the floor and clenched his fists to prevent his hands from shaking.

"Anything else ?", Heero asked Toshiko.

"No."

Heero raised his gun to point it at Toshiko's forehead. The man paled visibly.

"Yuy-san, you said …"

"I remember what I said. I lied", Heero said coldly.

And he fired. Even Duo jumped as the shock registered.

"Man, remind me to always be on your side if things go wrong", he said.

Wufei didn't say anything, but there was a haunted look in his black eyes. He was looking down and his shoulders were tense.

"Wu, you okay ?", Duo asked.

Wufei's head shot up. He frowned, as if trying to decide if he was alright or not and couldn't find the answer. Eventually, he shook his head.

"No, but I will be. Don't worry. We must go find Quatre. The park."

"Okay", Duo said. "Just … don't overdo it."

Duo's tone was a bit worried, not his usual teasing tone when talking to Wufei.

"I don't need you to watch over me, Maxwell", Wufei snapped before he could help himself. "I said I would be fine, I will be."

"Hey, as you wish, man, no need to get all started like this !"

Wufei closed his eyes briefly.

"Sorry", he said slowly, "I didn't mean that. I … I don't wanna talk about it now, okay ? Let's go find Quatre. I'll feel better once we know where he is."

Heero watched the exchange in silence. He couldn't help noticing just how tired and young Wufei looked, but he lacked info on the man's background. Then, again, something in the back of his mind told him that he didn't lack info, he had just forgotten it. That little something that had told him that the Chinese man's face was familiar, just as his name.

O.O.O.O.O

AC 198, August 17th, L3 Colony cluster, 8:30 AM

Of course, now that Trowa had the picture right under his nose, he knew where he had seen Quatre before. He had woken up early and gone to buy some coffee and bread for breakfast, and he had bought the newspaper in the same time. On the front page was a picture of the Winners in front of the L4 embassy, and the young man beside Mr Winner was unmistakably Quatre.

Okay, so that explained some things, like why Quatre hadn't wanted to tell them his family name. It didn't explain why he had been alone in the circus tent crying his eyes out without any kind of protection, though. Trowa was still pensively looking at the picture as he came in view of the trailer. Catherine was sitting on the stairs outside with two steaming mugs, waiting for him as she usually did every morning. Trowa sat down beside her and took the mug she offered, his eyes still fixed on the picture.

"What is so interesting in the paper that you are glued to it this morning, Trowa ?", Catherine asked mockingly. "You don't usually care that much about what happens around."

Without a word, Trowa handed her the newspaper. She shot a look at the picture, but apparently didn't take the hint.

"So what ?"

"Look at the boy just there. Doesn't he remind you of … someone ?"

Catherine looked at the pic more closely and gasped. She frantically searched for the article and read it quickly. Once she was done, she looked positively thunderstruck.

"Oh my god, Trowa ! Are you telling me that Quatre Raberba Winner is currently sleeping on our couch in your old jeans and that turtleneck you've been keeping for years ?"

Trowa smiled. Said that way, it sounded weird. And really, the whole situation was weird. How did one end up sleeping on the couch of a trailer with circus people when one was the heir of the richest man of the universe ?

Neither Trowa nor Catherine had the leisure to think too much about it, since Quatre appeared on the doorstep of the trailer, eyes still sleepy and golden hair tousled. He yawned and smiled to them both, apparently not noticing the strange looks he got back.

"Good morning", he said.

"Good morning", Catherine stuttered. "Did you sleep well ?"

"Amazingly well, thank you", Quatre answered. "Is there something wrong ?", he added, finally feeling the slight tension in the air.

"Everything's fine", Catherine a bit too quickly. "Your clothes are dry if you want them back. You can use the bathroom. Breakfast will be ready soon."

"Is there anything I can help with ? Because you did so much for me, I … I would like to say thank you in something else than … well, just saying thank you doesn't seem like enough."

Catherine was so taken by surprise that she gaped. She didn't expect Quatre to offer to do anything actually. Trowa saved her from the embarrassment by agreeing to Quatre's request. It was obvious to him that Quatre was serious.

"I have to take care of the animals after breakfast. If you are not afraid to go near a lion, you can help me with them."

Quatre's face glowed with innocent joy.

"I'd love to !"

"Then, just go take a shower, then we'll eat and go there."

Quatre dashed back into the trailer. Trowa pushed Catherine jaw closed as she seemed to have troubles to stop gaping by herself. She finally found her voice back.

"Oh my, I can't believe it's really him ! I mean, can you remember how I talked to him last night ? What if …"

"He didn't seem to mind last night, I don't see why he would mind this morning, Cathy. He is quite nice, don't you think ?"

"Well … yeah, he is very nice, but still …"

Trowa smiled.

"I'll see if I can get him to tell me why he just ran away from home while we take care of the lions. But then, he should probably call someone to come and fetch him."

O.O.O.O.O

Quatre was more than delighted to be introduced to the circus' lions. His face was glowing with such genuine happiness that Trowa wasn't really sure that it was the same boy he had found crying desperately last night. Quatre carried buckets of food and helped Trowa cleaning the cages without as much as a complaint. He was really enjoying himself.

Eventually, Trowa introduced him to his favorite animal, a young lion named Pablo that was being trained to join the group. Quatre held out his hand for the lion to smell as he was asked. When the big cat finally allowed him to scratch his ears, though, his expression became thoughtful and his eyes misted a little, losing focus and turning a little green at the edge.

"He's sad", he said, looking at the lion. "It must be awful to live in a cage and know that you're never going to get out."

"Probably, but he is not able to live without humans", Trowa said softly. "He was born in captivity, he has never been wild. He would be lost if he was left on his own. He wouldn't be able to survive."

"I see. But … those animals love you, so I suppose they are happy with you."

"I love them too. They are much more easy to get along than human beings, most of the time", Trowa said. "They give their affection unconditionally, and once it's given, they never take it back."

Quatre's head shot up at those words.

"Never ?"

"Never. They respect strength and courage. If you show them that you are here to lead them, they will follow you anywhere."

Something strange and barely identifiable passed in the huge green-blue eyes : some kind of recognition. The truth was, the more Trowa was watching Quatre watching the lion, the more he had the impression that the young man was looking at himself and trying to decide if everything was okay or not. Which, according to his background, was understandable. Being in his position was not really that different from being in a cage. A cage with golden bars maybe, but a cage nonetheless.

Trowa was so lost in his thoughts and contemplation that he was taken at unawares by Quatre's abrupt change of conversation.

"I know you must hear that all the time, but why do you and your sister have different family names ?"

"Uh … well, it's kind of a long story, but … to make it short, our parents died when I was one year old and we were separated. Cathy was adopted by the circus people and took their name. I was taken in by another family and lost all contact with her. Then, my adopted family died when I was child and I don't really know how, I ended up being taken in by soldiers in a training camp on Earth. They took care of me until I was old enough to do this for myself. They told me I had a sister, apparently I was carrying some letter around that mentioned it. So I began to look for her, and I found her when I was around sixteen. I enrolled in the circus with her, and there we are."

"That's a sad story", Quatre said. "I'm sorry."

"Do you always do that ?", Trowa suddenly asked.

"Do what ?", Quatre asked, puzzled.

"Being sorry for things that aren't you fault."

Quatre winced.

"One of my big flaws, I guess. I always drive people crazy with that. If Duo learns I did it yet again, he's going to skin me alive."

"Well, you don't have to be sorry. I don't feel sorry for myself, so why should you ? It all turned out kinda well for me in the end, so … why linger on the past ? Oh, and if I ever get to meet this Duo, I shall be sure to tell him what you did", Trowa added, deadpan. "I have never seen anyone being skinned alive yet, but it must be entertaining."

Quatre smiled broadly.

"Well, if you meet Duo, you two are sure to get along. And that's saying something."

O.O.O.O.O

AC 198, August 17th, L3 Colony cluster, 4:30 AM

Heero, Duo and Wufei split up to search the park. They were pretty certain that no one else was on their trail anymore. Une had seemed to think that fifteen yakuzas for three boys was a bit of an overkill. In a way, it had been, although not in the way she had hoped. But she probably hadn't hired anyone else to stop them. After making sure they would stay in contact through cell phones, the three young men took each a different way.

Which left Heero alone with thoughts he had tried to avoid all night.

For a long time, he had ignored the little voice who asked him what the hell he thought he was doing exactly. Not the same little voice he usually heard. That one was reminding him that twenty-six days ago, he had been hired to kill Quatre Raberba Winner, and that everything had gone incredibly wrong … or incredibly right, it all depended on how you looked at it.

Since he had met the young man and talked to him, Heero felt … complete. It was oddly disturbing and soothing at the same time. New. But then, before he had met Quatre, Heero had not even realized that there was something missing in his life. Because all the persons who had trained him, no matter how much they cared for him, had put their efforts into transforming him into a perfect killing machine that didn't need emotions.

And now that Quatre had disappeared, Heero was scared. Scared to lose him. Scared to think that he may never see that blond head and those green-blue eyes, and that smile, and hear that voice again. And he was scared because that was a first for him : to miss someone as you would miss a part of your own soul. The strange bond he shared with Quatre told him the young man was okay. He was not afraid, he was not under attack, just sad, and upset and tired. Alive. And that was one of the thing that scared Heero too, that he could lose that little thing in his head and in his heart, that constant presence. Two weeks of that and he was addicted already.

'You know what it means, right ?', his usual little voice began to say.

Yes, Heero knew what it meant, although he didn't dare say it out loud. He, the Perfect soldier, the best killer of the galaxy, was in love. And he was as helpless in front of that as a child. It seemed crazy, and yet it felt so right. So natural. Like he and Quatre were two halves of a circle who had finally found each other.

And yet, Heero doubted. Because something told him 'Why me ?'. And as much as he tried to hush that voice, it was nagging him more and more. What could he, a cold-blooded murderer who killed people for money, possibly be in the life of that wonderful young man ? What could he bring to Quatre that the young man couldn't find in someone else ?

Quatre had already answered those questions, honestly. Saying he didn't know what had driven him to Heero, but also that he didn't care. But the word love had not been uttered once. Neither by Quatre nor by Heero.

'Stop that Yuy', Heero snapped at himself. 'If you can feel it inside what does it matter he didn't say it ?'

'Well, it could be that you are so insecure about feelings, considering the fact that you are a whole new one in that field, that you need to hear the words to be sure', the little voice said. 'Which is totally understandable if you look back at your emotional background, buddy. Background which actually prevents you from asking him to say the words, because you're afraid he's not going to say them. Gee, do you do anything but being afraid lately ?'

Heero sighed. He was not used to be put so off-balance by his emotions. That had been easy to act on his emotions as Odin had taught him, as long as the emotions were fairly simple. He didn't have close friends, he had lost his father figure and pretty much closed himself to everyone else. And the wave that had hit him had the power of a tsunami.

Shaking himself out of his trance, Heero resumed looking for Quatre in the dark park. Trying very hard to ignore the voice that told him that he would not be able to hide his doubts from Quatre once he would find him again. One problem at a time. Focus.

In a minute, Heero had cut himself off of his emotions again, concentrating on his task.

O.O.O.O.O

Four hours later, the three hunters gathered near the far edge of the park, where a circus displayed its colorful tent.

"Anythin'?", Duo asked Wufei as he joined Heero and him.

Wufei shook his head. He was completely exhausted, he was feeling nauseous, and he was angry with himself.

"Holy Crap ! Where could he have gone ?", Duo mumbled.

And then it happened. Something tugged at Heero's consciousness, the familiar presence, the little trace that was unmistakable Quatre. A bit disoriented at first, Heero looked around, trying to locate where it came from. He had absolutely no idea of what he was doing and was acting on pure instinct. And his gaze fell on the circus tent.

"I think he is here", he said very quietly.

Duo gaped.

"How do you …"

"I don't know … I just … feel it."

Wufei raised his eyebrows, but didn't make any comment.

"Let's go an see", he said. "We have nothing to lose at this point."

They reached the trailers near the tent and looked around for a moment for someone they could ask about Quatre. They all tensed a bit when a young woman with curly auburn hair came forward to them.

"Can I help you ?", she called. "You lookin' for someone ?"

Duo appointed himself spokeperson of the group.

"Yeah, we're lookin' for a friend of ours who kinda sneaked out on us last night. Approximately that height, very light blond hair, green-blue eyes, the look of an angel …"

"Oh my god thank you ! You are Quatre's friends, right ?"

Three sets of eyes suddenly concentrated very hard on the young woman.

"You saw him ?", Heero asked, unable to hide the tension in his voice.

"He slept in my trailer last night", the young woman said. "It's kind of a complicated story, but he intended to call you, I swear ! It's just he wanted to thank us for takin' him in, so he's helping my brother with the lions right now."

"He's WHAT ?", Duo asked, not sure he should believe his ears. "Oh, leave it, that's all KittyCat", he added, shaking his head and smiling slightly.

"I'll call them", the young woman said. "TROOOOWAAAA ! QUATRE'S FRIENDS ARE HERE !"

"Do you really have to do that ?", Wufei asked, wincing at the volume of her voice.

"Uh, sorry. I'm Catherine Bloom, by the way."

"Nice to meet ya", Duo said. "I'm Duo Maxwell, this is Heero Yuy, and Chang Wufei."

The conversation stopped as a high young man with bangs obscuring half of his face approached, followed by Quatre. The blond young man had the decency to blush in embarrassment when he saw his disheveled friends. He ran the last meters, throwing himself in Heero's arms, who was far from suspecting the move and reacted as much as a stone statue.

"Allah, I am so sorry guys, I really didn't mean to worry you", Quatre said, pressing himself against Heero's chest. "Did you look for me all night ?"

"Kinda", Duo said. "You okay ?"

"I'm fine … No, not fine, but I'm okay. I wasn't harmed."

"Good", Wufei said, his face a little cold.

Quatre blushed again.

"I am really really sorry, Wufei. I just needed time on my own and I couldn't just stay there when you were hovering behind the doors. I needed to be away from …"

Quatre stopped, realizing that Trowa and Catherine didn't know his name, but to his surprise, Trowa smiled.

"It's okay", he said. "I think I have a pretty good idea of what you were trying to escape, Quatre Winner."

"How did you learn my name ?", Quatre asked, his eyes widening.

"You were in the paper this morning", Trowa just said.

"Oh."

There was a moment of tense silence, during which no one really knew what to say.

"Well, no one's dead", Duo finally said, stretching and yawning. "But don't do that again, Cat, or next time, leave a note ! You have no idea how worried we all were", he added with a little sideways glance to Heero, who was holding Quatre a bit stiffly.

The blond young man suddenly noticed that his friends were scratched and that they were bleeding in several places.

"What happened ? Were you attacked ? Who did that to you ? Oh, I can't believe this, it is all my fault, if I had not run away, you wouldn't have had to go out to look for me and …"

"Quatre!", Wufei interrupted. "It is, partly, your fault, but I think what happened tonight would have happened anyway. In fact, it is quite fortunate that you left, or you could be dead by now."

Heero confirmed with a nod. Being away had probably saved Quatre's life. But there was no way Heero was going to encourage him to do it again. He had been far too scared.

Quatre was shaking inside. He had really not thought of all the consequences this little escapade would have. He had acted childishly, and his friends were hurt because of him. The guilt was hitting him in waves, but his empathy perceived something else. There was a strange tension between Heero and Duo. A tension that had been underlying from the first time they had met, but who was now surfacing and taking a form that Quatre knew only too well.

Pushing away from Heero's embrace, Quatre shot an accusatory look to the man he loved and to his best friend.

"Did you two fight ?"

Duo blushed, and Heero paled. Quatre pushed himself a bit further, and almost gasped when he understood what had happened.

"Did you two fight over me ?"