Notes and disclaimers: I don't own GW, but I own the Saisos.

LAST CHAPTER!

Chapter 11

Three months passed (it was now February) and found Rose pulling her karate gi on. Her class would start in thirty minutes. Tying the black belt around her tiny waist she finished and began on her hair. It had grown about an inch while she recuperated and braided it tightly. But as she was walking out of her room, ready to walk to the karate gym on the other side of the house, her brother, who had just turned thirteen three weeks ago rushed up to her and nearly crashed into her little body.

"Tesuki! What's wrong! Why aren't you dressed for lessons?" Rose exclaimed, steadying the boy with her hands on his shoulders.

Tesuki took deep breaths and then managed to say, "We have guests. They said they wanted to watch today's lesson." He looked hopeful, but there was a touch of wariness in his brown eyes.

Rose looked puzzled at his expression. But instead she asked, "Who are they? Did they tell you their names?"

"They said that if the Sensei wanted to find that out she must go to the lesson room herself." Tesuki replied.

"Do we know these people?" Tesuki only nodded and then dashed upstairs to his room to change into his own gi.

Rose was confused and puzzled at who would come to watch, and even more when they told her brother that if she had wanted to know whom they were to go there herself. But before she could enter the lesson room, she needed to set her tea on the stove in the kitchen.

After each karate lesson she remembered when her father had been the Sensei, her mother would have hot tea waiting for the students. It helped calm them down to wait for their own parents. Rose kept that tradition going and took pleasure in it. She enjoyed teaching her students and was proud of them and proud that she could also keep her mother's herbal shop going all on her own with just the help that her brother provided.

When she finished putting the water on the stove and readied the cups they would all use, she remained barefoot and quietly walked to the lesson room where she found five men waiting patiently at the back of the large room. She locked down her emotions and strove to keep a neutral expression. The floor was padded as Rose walked around it and opened the windows to let the sunshine in, carefully avoiding the Gundam Pilots.

Just as the last window allowed the sun to flow into the room, children and even teenagers of various ages came streaming through the open double doors into the room. Tesuki ran in from the direction of the rest of the house and skidded to a halt with the other children his age. He immediately started a lively conversation, his English slipping into Japanese. Rose smiled and took her place at the front of the room. When there was twenty-one children, including Tesuki, ranging in the ages of five years old to twenty Rose clapped her hands for attention. The students formed their four lines of five with one extra in the middle row and faced their Sensei.

"Okay everybody, time to bow in." she first in English and then again in Japanese. A couple of their guests in the back raised eyebrows at her language usage, but remained quiet. She watched as the students bowed and then she did. They bowed again at a large picture of the late Saiso's and then waited for Rose's next words. "Today we are honored with guests to watch our lesson. Please let us show our gratitude." Then repeated it in Japanese.

Together, class and teacher, bowed to the men sitting at the back of the room. Then the Sensei began the lesson. At a couple of intervals in the hour and a half of class, Rose had one of her pupils check the tea water and return with a few quick words. Usually she sent one of her Japanese children, but she was always fair and sent one of the English speaking ones at another time.

When the lesson period was up, she sparred with the only other black belt as the other students knelt around the main practice mat. Rose had her partner yield a few minutes later; she was a second degree black belt and her partner one degree lower.

"Thank you Mika." She told her partner and then helped him from the floor.

"Okay, you can all go and drink your well earned tea. Then it will almost be time for your parents to arrive." Rose announced, but instead of repeating it in the other language, her brother took over that one. She smiled warmly at him and then walked to stand ten feet in front of their guests. The students poured out of the practice room and headed to the kitchen, noisy with the two languages colliding and conversations going.

Rose slightly bowed to them before saying, "We are greatly honored of you coming. But may I ask why?" she asked with a politeness she really didn't feel like using. She wondered deeply why they had come and she wanted to be blunt about it, but she could not. They had avoided her for three months, so why come to her now? She wondered.

They looked at each other before turning their gazes back to the girl.

"How about we were bored and decided to come watch your class?" Quatre smiled at her.

Rose smiled back and replied, "I guess I can give you that one. But all of you?" she pointed asked.

"Sure, why not?" Duo retorted. He grinned, but it didn't exactly reach his eyes.

Rose now realized that after all this time, she still deeply loved him and nothing in the world would ever change that. But why did he come here? If he didn't come to taunt or re-establish their relationship, why did he come? She wondered. She looked at him but realized he was pointedly avoiding her as if he didn't really want to look at her. So she looked away and bit her lip and then knew that her brother was in the room once again.

"Quatre! Duo!" he exclaimed as he came to stand by his sister. He then just grinned since it had only been a few minutes since he saw them.

"Hi Tesuki." Quatre replied warmly.

Rose turned her thoughts away as she turned to fully face the Chinese man. There was another thing on her mind that had been eating at her since the night she captured them. "Wufei?" she said.

"Yes?" he replied, giving her his attention.

"My offer still stands. The one I made all those months ago." She said. The other four looked somewhat puzzled at the meaning of Rose's words. "I still would like someone for critique that is not of my family or that I have learned with."

Wufei studied her for a few moments and then said, "Very well. I will help you."

"Thank you." She said.

"Will you be opposed of a spar here and now?" he asked suddenly.

"No, actually I would much like that." She replied, mildly surprised. She was only vaguely aware of her students returning as she and the Chinese martial arts master settled themselves on the practice mat and then set to their sparring.

It wasn't until Rose said, "I yield," that she noticed that her entire class had been watching. Wufei helped her off the floor and they gave a slight bow to each other.

The students looked at her in awe and then gave the same expression to the man who had just sparred with their Sensei.

"Sensei Suzumi, we left you a cup on the counter next to the stove." One of the little Japanese children told her.

"Arigato, Mako." She told the boy. "I will drink it later." She patted his shoulder and then clapped her hands to gather their attention. "I hear cars arriving so now it's time for you to wait outside. And don't forget that you are all sparring next time." She first said in Japanese and then repeated it in English.

They all happily left, waving and calling their good-byes as they passed her. She returned them with a warm smile on her face. When they were gone she turned back to the men. Tesuki hung around by the door, to watch the others and to keep an eye on his sister. He had a feeling that if this turned out badly she would be crying her heart out later. So for his sister's sake he remained in the building rather than spending time outside with his numerous friends.

"I fear you are their new idol Wufei." Rose said with a chuckle. "It has been too long since they've seen me yield."

"How long has it been?" Wufei asked.

Rose turned thoughtful and then replied, "Let's see, the last time I yielded was…that last time I sparred against my father, the late Sensei." She said in a slightly lowered tone of voice.

"It was actually last August Suzumi." Tesuki called from the doorway. "I remember that one. Mom was watching too, along with everybody from class. Dad used one of his special moves and then threw you to the floor."

"Thank you for reminding me little brother." She said in an instantly sarcastic tone. "I had much wanted to forget that embarrassing incident." Then she sighed. "Oh well, that was the last time I had to cry yield."

She looked at the men and found the majority of them smirking at her, all except for Duo. She didn't know why he didn't find that funny. For he had been there, too on that day and laughed up a storm after it was done with. Rose felt tears start to form in her eyes and had to turn away from them. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tesuki come closer to her. He saw and knew what she was going through. She had such a caring brother.

"Excuse me, I must see to something." She hurriedly said, hoping the others didn't hear the tears in her voice. And then she all but ran from the room. Out of their sight she ran to the other practice room, where her father had once taught the karate classes and nearly threw herself down on the mat and sobbed.

Tesuki came to stand before the men, a hard look in his eyes. He turned his gaze to Duo and said, "I hope you're happy. She ran because of you." He said.

Duo looked astonished as he stared down at the boy, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ever since we came back home, sometimes she had to cry herself to sleep. And when she did that, she would talk in her sleep saying that you don't love her, that you won't forgive her. But she still loves you and that she's sorry for what she had done to you all. I bet my short life on that." Tesuki said firmly, behaving as an already grown adult instead of the thirteen-year-old boy he was.

"And why did we come Duo?" Quatre softly asked rhetorically. "To see Rose. You wanted to come see her and we made you since you wouldn't go on your own. We brought you to make you see that you two belong to each other." He answered himself.

"So stop being a damn baka and go to her." Heero nearly growled at his friend.

"We've already forgiven her, but you haven't yet fully." Trowa said. "She hurts as much as you do over the betrayal and even more on her part. Now go before you make us do it at gunpoint." He added.

Duo looked around at them and then gulped. He knew he still loved Rose; that's why they came. But he didn't know how to tell her that. She had been acting so formally with them for the most part, but now he knew it was because she didn't know the reasons why they had come. So he ran after the girl and found her kneeling on the floor in another practice room. She was crying as if her heart was taken from her and broken in two.

Indeed she had given him her heart and because she desperately wanted to save her precious family she had to do the unthinkable and betray his love and trust. But he became beyond angered and he did break her heart.

He reached out and touched her shoulder, but the instant he did that, she went totally defensive.

TBC

Note: Sorry, I feel kinda sadistic right now….This is gonna be drawn out for ONE more chapter!

5