Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Magic Knight Rayearth. They belong to Bandai and CLAMP, respectively.


World 2 World
Chapter I: The Crushes

"No."

"Oh, don't be such a party-pooper! The point of clubbing is to dance—and drink, but that's all you've been doing. Now get out on the dance floor and dance!"

"No."

"You're no fun!"

"Hn." Heero downed his third round of Around the World, B54, and Long Island as Duo walked off to dance with Hilde. Everyone else was on the dance floor as well, even the silent Trowa and spiteful Wufei, who were both dancing witha triumphant Midii and smug Sally. Quatre looked quite embarrassed as Dorothy freaked on him, but Milliardo was more than satisfied with Noin's bold moves.

"Heero, why aren't you dancing?"

Heero chose to ignore the blonde and nodded at the waiter, who brought him three more glasses.

"Heero!" Relena whined—rather, screamed—over the blasting music. "Dancing's not that difficult! All you have to do is move to the music! Like everyone else down there." She pointed to the people dancing below them before turning back to him. "Just one dance!"

Heero mentally growled at her for assuming he was stupid.Wanting to prove her wrong and to stop her from pestering him, he sighed heavily, but the sound went unnoticed underneath all the noise. He leaned towards her, causing her to blush, and answered, "Fine. One dance."

Before Relena could process his reply, he stood up and walked down to the dance floor.Relena blinked andg rinned, quickly following Heero's disappearing form amidst the crowd of dancers on the floor.


The last of the sun's warm rays splashed over the lake, the yellow and orange reflection off the water's surface. A soft cool breeze rippled over the lake's surface and whispered over the grass. However, the tranquility was broken but a loud and piercing scream.

"KYAAA!"

A splash followed the shriek, and the once-calm waters swelled from the impact. A blue head popped out of the water, spluttering and growling obscenities. The young woman glared at her attacker, who was kneeling on the pier—behind where she was seated before she fell—and clutching his stomach in laughter. However, his laughter was cut short as a water dragon crashed down on him, sending him and pieces of wood into the lake.

Ferio popped out of the water after a few minutes and coughed, glaring back at the water knight. "That was so not fair."

Umi stuck up her nose and swam for shore. "Serves you right."

"Brat."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

"Shut up, bastard."

"I'm legitimate, you old hag."

"Old hag? Why you—"

"Want to take a walk, Umi?" Ascot suggested as he helped the young woman out of the water, keeping a firm grip on her arm to prevent her from lunging at his king.

Umi snarled at Ferio as Fuu helped him out of the water as well, the blonde blushing as she stripped off his wet shirt. Smiling at Ascot,Umi allowed him to lead her away from the others, but not before stating loudly, "Let's go before I decide to do something I definitely will not regret later." Umi threw a nasty look at Ferio—who simply grinned and waved back—before snorting and tuning into her companion's conversation.


Heero put both hands on her hips and moved a leg between her thighs, pulling her closer to him as they grinded their hips to the rhythm. She smiled seductively at him and moved a hand further down his back, the other finding itself tangled in his hair, rubbing his scalp with her fingernails. Sensing no objection from her partner, she moved her lips across the skin at the base of his neck, tongue darting out to taste the saltiness.

"I never thought that Heero had it in him," Duo finally told his girlfriend while still staring at his friend. Hilde simply nodded mutely.

The two elapsed into silence again, still staring.

"He sure looks like he's enjoying himself," Duo commented.

Hilde finally broke her gaze away, shaking her head slightly as her eyes landed on another figure. "I don't think Relena's enjoying it."

"She would be if she was the one dancing with him right now," Duo muttered as he followed his girlfriend's gaze, watching a surprised and frowning Relena stare daggers at Heero's dancing partner.

Heero caught Relena's eyes on him and his partner, and seeing her more than displeased face, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity to convince her to leave him alone. Lifting his partner's head up from its trail along his neck, he brought her lips to his own, brushing her lips lightly with his, then sliding his tongue out to lick her bottom lip. He gently took the bottom lip into his mouth, sucking as she moaned softly, closing her eyes andtilting her head up to him. He caught a glimpse of the now red-faced Relena—from anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure—as well as Duo and Hilde's gaping faces. Heero smirked smugly and proceeded to fully kiss the girl in his arms, tilting his own head a little more so that he could deepen the kiss, his tongue prying her mouth open, sliding his tongue into explorethe newly found territory. Out of breath, the girl pulled her head back, gasping for air, hercheeks flushed and eyes sparkling with pleasure. He pulled away from her and headed back to the bar, leaving the disappointed girl to find another source of fun.

Heero ordered a tequila mix from the bartender, hiding his small smirk behind the glassas Duo moved towards him. He glancedbeyond his friend's form to seeHildetalkingto a still red Relena.

"Manhattan," Duo ordered and the bartender prepared his drink. "That was an interesting demonstration of your knowledge on mouth-to-mouth. Although, I'm surprised as to whom you decided to display such—talent." Duo grinned at his friend humorously.

Heero snorted and took a sip from his drink.

"Never expected that from you, though. Actually, I didn't even expect you to come here in the first place. But we're all having fun," Duo added quickly at the murderous look from Heero. "Although Relena sure doesn't look like she's having any fun."

Heero shrugged.

Duo sighed. "Have some heart. I think—but don't listen to me, I'm not really sure—but I think,that when she suggested you dance, she wanted you to dance with her, not make-out with some random girl. But that sure was one hot girl."

"Hn."

"Come on! Just ask her to dance one time! We all know she likes you! And that you most likely, probably, definitely reciprocate her feelings."

"Stop using big words that you don't understand."

Duo ignored the jab. "Stop playing Mr. Emotions-Are-A-Weakness—we get enough of that from Wufei. Besides, we all know you like her too."

"Hn."

"So ask her to dance!"

"Give me another triple."

"No! Not get yourself drunk! A club is for dancing! Well, I guess for drinking too. But that's after the dancing!"

Heero answered with a cold look, then finished all three glasses quickly.

Duo smacked his forehead. "How do you stay sober with all that you've had to drink? What is that, like your fifth or sixth round? You'd probably still be able to shoot a fly at the other end of the room. How do you do it?"

"Talent."

Duo blinked in surprise before grinning widely. "Oh, so our perfect soldier does have a sense of humor."

"Hn."

"Fine. Be that way. I thought your sense of humor was quite a nice change from your usualboring self. Of course, no one is as funny as me.Especially notyou. That's why everyone loves me so much.

"Shouldn't you be with Hilde?"

"Shouldn't you be with Relena?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"She should be."

"She isn't and won't be."

"Why not? She's smart, funny, famous, rich, and definitely hot."

"Of course, Hilde is much hotter."

"Of course Hilde's—hey! That's my girl!"

Heero shook his head. "Well, that guy doesn't know that," he said, nodding his head at the table Relena and Hilde were sitting.

Duo looked over and his eyes narrowed as he saw two buff, blonde guys hitting on the girls. "Why those—let's go, Heero! Teach them not to mess with our girls!"

Heero growled as Duo grabbed his arm in a death grip, angrily dragging the reluctantyoung manto the table.

"—and we've got this really nice beach house a few blocks from here," one of the guys said, trying to impress the girls.

"It's right next to the beach," the other guy explained.

Heero rolled his eyes and Duo snorted in disbelief.

"Excuse me." Duo tapped the first guy on the shoulder.

"What do you want, mutt?" the guy sneered.

Duo's eye twitched. "I don't think these beautiful ladies appreciate your attention."

"And what makes you think they would appreciate yours?"

"That wasn't my question. And I'm warning you now, get your dirty hands off of them."

"And if I don't, braid boy? Is your boyfriend here going to beat me up for you?" he laughed.

"Haha! Your boyfriend!" his friend, a less-intelligent version of the first, snickered and pointed at Heero. "He sure does look like a girl!"

Heero growled angrily. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and slowly released it, counting to ten in an attempt to calm himself. He would not stoop down to their level and start a brawl with them.

"What? You've got nothing to say?" the first scoffed, shoving Heero back a step.

Screw degradation—no one touched him. In the blink of an eye, Heero had the first guy on the ground, twisting one of the arms back at a painful angle. As the other guy tried to jump him, Heero used his free hand to the attacker's fist, squeezing enough to have his attacker on the knees crying in pain. By now, the music had died down as everyone crowded around to watch, the other pilots and their girls pushing through the crowd to get to the center of the commotion. Duo thought smartly to stay away from the angered Heero and instead stood protectively in front of Relena and Hilde.

"No, wait! I'm sorry, man! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make fun of you or your friend, man! Please! Let me go!" the first guy gasped.

"I want my mommy!"

Narrowing his eyes, Heero shoved them away from him, stepping back to glare coldly at them. The two men immediately fled, nursing their injured arms.

"Heero! You could have killed them!" Quatre exclaimed as he emerged from the dispersing crowd.

"Would have served them right," Wufei scoffed.

"Wufei," Sally warned, and Wufei snorted but made no further comments.

"Heero! Thank you for trying not to hurt them too much," Relena said gratefully as she moved to his side, placing her hand softly on his shoulder.

"Yes, thank you, considering Duo wasn't much help," Hilde teased her boyfriend.

"I knew Heero could handle those stupid guys. And I'm smart enough to stay out of his way when he's that pissed," Duo retorted, giving Heero and Relena a meaningful look.

Relena blushed while Heero stared him down before brushing off Relena's hand from his shoulder, ignoring the hurt in her eyes and the confusion in the others' as he walked away from the group. He needed to get out of here.


"Umi…" Ascot started shyly, blushing and staring at his feet as he shuffled them around nervously.

"Yes?" Umi glanced up from herseat on the grass and paused her activity. She smiled brightly at him, causing him to blush even more.

"Um, I…well, uh…that is…" he stuttered uncontrollably, trying to find the right words.

Umi giggled and stood up, holding out the two flower necklaces she made. "Do you like them?"

Ascot could only nod dumbly.

"That's good. Hikaru makes these much better, but if you like them, then I'm sure Hikaru and Fuu will too."

Ascot just nodded dumbly again as Umi started to hum and walk back down the path they came. She stopped as she noticed Ascot hadn't moved from his place.

"Ascot?"

He finally raised his eyes to look at her, but immediately looked down again, face completely red.

"You want to head back now?"

A nod.

"All right, let's go."

No movement.

"I think we should start walking."

Another nod.

"All right, let's go."

Still no movement.

Umi sighed and walked back, grabbed Ascot's hand and dragged him along with her, annoyed that he was still acting so shy and flustered around her. And if possible, Ascot reddened even more as he stared at their linked hands.

"Are you feeling okay, Ascot? Your face is really red. Maybe you're getting sick?"She placed the back of herother hand on his forehead. "Well, your forehead is a little warm."

"I just, um, don't feel like heading back yet," Ascot whispered.

Umi frowned inwardly at lame excuse, but not really wanting to break the poor boy's heart andnot wanting to lead him on either. "But it's getting dark and monsters always come out when it's dark! And it's a full moon—there might be werewolves!I'm so scared."

Ascot quickly nodded. "Oh, then let's head back now. I don't want you to be scared or anything."

Umi smiled at his kindness. She was glad he cared enough about her to ignore the stupidity of her statements. Honestly, the magic knight of water afraid of the dark, and werewolves? Actually, come to think of it, she was afraid of the dark, and especially scared of werewolves. Umi picked up their pace and nearly ran across the meadow, oblivious to Ascot stumbling over his long legs.

When they finally flew into the castle courtyard, Umi collapsed on the ground with her legs sprawled out beneath her and panting to catch her breath. "I refuse to ever stay out that late again."

Ascot pat her back comfortingly albeit awkwardly. "Don't worry. We're at the castle now."

Ascot helped her up, to which she smiled gratefully.

"Umi-san! We were getting worried!" Fuu exclaimed as she ran out to greet them, Ferio close on her heels.

"I was not getting worried over that little brat," Ferio sniffed indignantly.

"Then why did you keep pacing around the room and mumbling, 'What if bandits kidnapped them? What if a monster ate them? What if they fell down a cliff?'" Hikaru inquired as she and Lantis came out as well.

"Aw. Were you getting worried? I didn't know you cared!" Umi said, her voice dripping with sweetness.

Ferio glared at her. "I wasn't worried about you. I was worried about poor little Ascot!"

"I'm not little!"

"And I wouldn't want to have one of our magic knights to be kidnapped or eaten or injured in any way—who else would protect the king of this castle?"

Umi huffed. "Why would I want to protect you?"

Ferio crossed his arms. "True, I wouldn't want an old hag like you to protect me either."

Umi's eyebrow twitched. "Ferio…"

"Umi-san, I'm sure Ferio was just kidding," Fuu interjected.

"He had better be."

"Besides, he was definitely more than concerned about your safety as well as Ascot's," Fuu finished, warning Ferio with a look. The young king clucked his tongue and turned his head away, refusing to acknowledge the statement.

"What's that in your pocket?" Hikaru asked, bending down to look at the mysterious glow. Umi glanced down and gasped in surprise. She reached in and removed the Heaven's Tear.

"You made a wish?" Ascot questioned, staring at the jewel in surprise and fascination.

"A wish?" Umi repeated, confused.

"The Heaven's Tear will glow when the bearer makes a wish and will stop glowing once the wish has been fulfilled," Ascot explained. "So, what did you wish for?"

"If I told you, then my wish won't come true," Umi answered, teasing him with a smile. Besides, she couldn't even remember that she had made a wish. Hopefully it wasn't something stupid.

"It's getting late, so I think we should head home now!" Hikaru said, glancing up at the darkening sky. "We'll come back tomorrow," she assured them as she jumped up to kiss Lantis on the cheek.

Fuu smiled as Mokona jumped into her open arms, only to be squashed as Ferio wrapped the blonde into his embrace and kissed her fully. He pulled away after awhile, a startled blush gracing Fuu's cheeks and an irritated look on Mokona's features.

Umi sighed inwardly as Ascot came up to her shyly. "I'll see you tomorrow," she told him, giving him a friendly hug. He nodded and hesitantly hugged her back. Umi moved to Fuu's side and grinned at Mokona. "We're ready to go now, marshmallow."

"Puu!"

"Just kidding."

"Puu!"

But instead ofthe familiarwhite beam from Mokona's jewel, a bright blue light engulfed the knights and threw Mokona out.

"What the—"

A fierce wind knocked Ferio back into Ascot, throwing the two of them onto the ground next to Lantis. Once the light faded, Ferio and Ascot stared at the emptiness in front of them, confused and shocked. Lantis blinked slowly, face etched in concern as he tried to wake a dazed Mokona moaning in his arms. They needed to find Clef.


Author's Notes:

Not much action in this chapter—more like an extended introduction continued from the prologue. After all, we must not rush into anything. Heero acted weird, and I didn't even plan for it to be like that. You know how sometimes stories just write themselves? This is a very good example. Well, not so much with the Rayearth section, but the Gundam Wing section just came out. Anyhow, don't know where this is going, so I'm hoping more things will just pop out and turn themselves into plots! Hehe.

Hm. Went back and revised that to be a little more IC, but I think some characters still ended up OOC. But I stick to my explanation that they are no longer fighting and so are more relaxed. Besides, where would the fun be if Duo and Ferio weren't there to wear on Heero and Umi's nerves?