Author's Note: Ho-hum, school is in and free time is out, but I always find time to write! It can be sporadic, but I'm a busy gal. PLEASE R+R! Thank-you to those who have!
To avoid paranoia, Washu asked Wufei if she could scan his own memories. Naturally he resisted, but Washu wasn't used to listening to the word "no." After a short bout with some metallic arms, Wufei succumbed to the scan and Washu gathered what common information she could. She also included all the information about Wufei's dimension in a file on her computer. Then there were some brief memories of Manrui, Master Long, and training on the colony. It was years worth of work compressed into a single day.
When Wufei returned to the lab the next morning, Washu was waiting. The scientific genius held out a disk and said, "This is specially encrypted data on Ayeka and Jurai. Only you can access it, and part of it will be instructions on how to contact me if there's trouble. Her mind wasn't blank as a clean disk, mind you. There are remnants of memories, but it's like she's got amnesia all over again."
Wufei sighed. "We dealt with t once, we'll do it again."
Washu pointed to a wall and a black rectangle formed. "That's a gate back to your world, should be your house." Wufei picked up Ayeka from the bed and started for the door. "Oh, wait!" Washu called. He turned around again and she ran over with a small packet. "This is all the identification stuff she'll need, and keep me updated on how she does, Okay?"
Wufei nodded and marched through the gate and into the garden. He took a deep breath and smiled a bit. He was home. Ayeka was still fast asleep, and he needed to get her to her room for things to seem normal. Thankfully it was still night time, and the colony's lighting was reduced to a faint glow. "Welcome home, Ayeka."
Ayeka spent the next few days sleeping. Wufei studied the disk Washu had given him and marveled at its secrets. He had taken a look through the package Washu gave him and found everything he'd need to establish Ayeka in the colony. A search proved she even had a file with the Peventers. Her occupation was left blank, as was her current residence. Wufei took the liberty of filling that all in, and listed her occupation as 'student.'
When she finally did wake up, Manrui sent for Wufei immediately. "What is it?" he demanded as he came in. Manrui got to her feet and had a strange look on her face. Ayeka was facing Manrui, but turned as Wufei came in. A smile leapt to her face and she suddenly appeared in front of him and threw her arms around his neck.
"Wufei!" she whispered against his chest, her voice full of heartfelt relief.
"She woke up an asked for you," Manrui said with a shrug. Then she plastered a big smile on her face and slunk out the door. "Bye," she shut the door leaving Wufei alone with Ayeka.
He reached up and detached Ayeka's arms from around his neck and she looked up at him with shining red eyes. "I woke up and the first thing I thought of was you! It's strange, there's all these people and places and names in my head, but I'm not sure which is mine."
Wufei smirked. "You are Ayeka Jurai, a student of Master Long. Right now, we should be thinking about getting some exercise, that concussion knocked you out for a while."
She blinked and backed up a few steps. "Yes, that sounds right. Oh dear, I don't remember very much. Everything is a bit confusing." Ayeka left the room and started to walk down the hall.
"Ayeka, where are you going?"
She turned around and looked back down the hall. "Um…"
Wufei pointed in the opposite direction. "This way." She nodded and joined him. From that moment on, Wufei and Manrui practically walked Ayeka through the next couple of weeks. Finally Ayeka seemed to get a routine down and things acquired an air of normalcy. The exception to the norm was that Ayeka and Wufei continued to spend a lot of time together practicing. She had maintained her mastery of fighting, and the matches between her and Wufei acquired an audience. She also taught Wufei some of the Juraian sword style.
One day, they were inside alone practicing sword work. Wufei jumped up and brought his sword across his body and down as he fell. Ayeka sighed. "No, your sword is supposed to be up more." She walked over and repositioned the sword in Wufei's hands. He swung it tried returning to that position. It was an awkward one, and he tipped it slightly. Ayeka reached around and put her hands over his. "The problem is your hands. Try keeping this one a bit higher…yeah. Now do it."
Wufei tried it again and kept the angle. "Got it," he said in triumph. Ayeka looked at the ceiling and golf clapped. He glared at her and she sighed.
"That look of yours doesn't work on me. Maybe if your eyes were red like mine it would help, but I'd get used to it eventually." She picked up her own sword. "Now try that move against me."
Wufei backed up a few steps, and jumped. Ayeka watched and it was like he was moving in slow motion, giving her plenty of time to move out of the way and face him anew. He stood up and swung wide. Ayeka frowned. Usually she had a problem keeping up, but suddenly it seemed all too easy. Wufei turned and tried to strike at her again.
"How do you move so fast!" he said. Ayeka shrugged.
"Maybe you're being a little slower today. You're getting old, Wufei!" He attacked in earnest and the surreal slowness of the fight dropped away. Ayeka rushed to keep up her defense. He knocked the sword from her hand and pointed the tip at her throat.
"You were saying?" he said. Ayeka looked him right in the eye.
"I said you're getting old. How old are you now, Wufei? Twenty? Isn't it about time you went out, got a job, and stopped wasting time with this hobby." She flicked the point of his sword away and picked up hers.
Wufei didn't move. "This isn't a hobby. A warrior must stay strong."
Ayeka clutched the sword hilt and said quietly, "To fight? Who will you fight? There's peace, remember?" She spun around and Wufei saw hatred in her eyes. "No more battles, Wufei!"
He slid his sword into its scabbard. "No, there won't be any more battles." As he headed for the door, Wufei noticed that Ayeka hadn't budged from her spot in the room. "Ayeka?"
She didn't answer for a moment, then she said quietly, "I have this hazy memory of a battle, a fierce one. Maybe it was the one I lost my family in, I don't know, but the thought of another war scares me." She started to tremble. "It scares me to death, and I'm not sure why!"
Wufei wasn't really conscious of his actions as he walked across the floor, because it seemed to him that one minute they were across the room and the next he was holding Ayeka in his arms. "There won't be any more wars, or battles. No weapons exist on Earth or in the colonies, we're perfectly safe." He said it quietly, but firmly, into her ear. Ayeka stopped shaking and leaned against him. For a moment they just stood there, enjoying each other's strength and the simple pleasure of human contact.
Then someone at the door cleared his throat and they jumped apart as if someone had pricked them with needles. A young man with blond hair stood in the doorway. His kind, blue-green eyes shimmered. "Excuse me, but could I speak to you, Wufei?"
Ayeka slid her sword into its sheath and headed for the door. The stranger didn't just let her by, though. He smiled and said, "I'm Quatre Raberba Winner, it's a pleasure to meet you miss…?"
She smiled back and bowed slightly. "Ayeka Jurai. I will take my leave now, Mr. Winner." With that, she turned down the hall and out of sight.
Quatre waited for Wufei and they started to walk down the hall. "Is she a student here?" the blond asked.
Wufei knew Quatre wouldn't let this matter just drop. "You could say that, but right now she's busy educating the rest of us in her particular style of sword fighting. She can put me in the dirt in three out of five bouts." Quatre blinked.
"Really? I never thought I'd hear you admit that."
"Why?"
Quatre smiled. "It's just the way you act, and you're always referring to women as weak by nature." They got to Wufei's rooms and closed the door for privacy. "I found the place you wanted, it's on a colony in the L1 colony cluster. There's no martial arts schools on the whole colony, and the building itself is big enough without the added grounds." He took some pictures out of a pocket and handed them to Wufei.
Wufei sat down and set the pictures out on the table. They were of a moderately sized building, about six stories, with a large garden area around it. It was rather plain, but perfect otherwise. Quatre took out a miniature computer and called up some blue prints. "There's plenty of large rooms that can be turned into studios. The window lighting is pretty good, but some rooms could use new lighting."
It was better than Wufei had hoped for, but he should have known that Quatre would bring him only the best. "This is perfect, thanks," Wufei said. Quatre smiled.
"No problem! I just don't know how you can plan to pay for this, it's what you asked me to find, but… It's prime real-estate and that stuff costs." Wufei looked at Quatre. In other words, Quatre wanted to help out.
Wufei looked at the pictures again. "I can take care of it, where's the contact information?" He could have held out and asked about a cheaper option, but that comment Ayeka made about getting older had actually scared him. He wasn't just some straight-shooter teen anymore. Wufei had to make his own way, he had no plans of hanging around this place like some of Master Long's other students.
Then Quatre took out some other pictures and held them out. Wufei looked at them and frowned. "What's all this?" he asked.
Quatre smiled. "They're houses nearby that are available. You can't plan to live in that place, can you?" He left, but Wufei understood what his friend had really meant. "No self-respecting woman would marry a guy who lived in a martial arts school. She would need a home to raise the kids in without bumping into students all the time." The Wu-man considered himself warned, but her had no plans for a family. Unlike Quatre with his big family, Wufei felt no inclination whatsoever to marry. A picture of Ayeka formed in his mind.
Wufei tossed the house pictures onto the table and left for dinner. He hoped the thought of Ayeka had been a momentary thing, just a fleeting possibility. After supper her went to bed, his mind still trying to ignore the picture of Ayeka he'd drawn. It was Ayeka standing in a simply furnished living room, correcting a little Wufei's stance as he tried a guard position. He fell asleep with a hint of a smile on his lips.