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


World 2 World
Chapter IV: The Calm

"May I sit here?"

He thought about denying her request, as he wasn't in the mood for talking. He was here to relax and enjoy the sunset, so he didn't want to ruin his own mood by being rude. But he also didn't want her to think that he was being friendly or anything, so he merely shrugged.

Smiling, Umi sat down next to him, also gazing out into the darkening waters and the orange sun. They sat in peaceful silence, taking pleasure in the last of the sun's warm rays as the first stars blinked into the night.

Looking out of the corner of his eyes, Heero observed her profile, taking in the way her fingers cupped her cheek and the content sparkle in her blue eyes, and how her long blue hair tucked behind her ear only to fall across her shoulders like a waterfall. He subconsciously turned his head toward her, taking in how she propped her elbows on her knees, the light smile gracing her lips, and the tiny movement of her upper body as she breathed.

"What is it?"

Heero jerked from his thoughts although he responded by catching her eye. He hadn't noticed he was staring openly at her, and fought the urge to blush as she smiled lazily at him. What was wrong with her, smiling at him like that? What was wrong with him, staring at her like that?

"Nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing'? You were staring at me."

"Was not." Talk about immature. It seemed like being around her for extended periods of time had an unusual, and degrading, effect on his brain.

"Was too."

"It's nothing."

"No, really, is there something on my face?" she queried as she caressed her cheeks with her fingers, a few strands of blue hair falling from behind her ear as she turned her head down.

Not knowing what possessed him, Heero reached out and brushed her cheek, tucking the stray strands buck behind the ear. Umi froze as his fingers grazed the side of her face, still staring at the sand and not sure of how to react. However, he quickly removed his hand and pulled them into his lap, gazing back at the horizon and pretending as if nothing unusual had just passed between them.

Heero didn't know why he did that, except he couldn't resist the urge to want to brush the hair back. Actually, his hand wanted to linger on her face longer, but he realized how strange his actions were already and didn't want to scare her, or himself. And now, he had a desire to start talking to fill in the tense silence, and try as he might to defy it, he found himself opening his mouth before his mind could process his body's actions.

"In the colonies, one never has the chance to enjoy a sunset."

That was not a bad topic of conversation—if he was even trying to start a conversation. Why was he trying to start a conversation? Wasn't he the one who wanted peace and quiet? He must be the most hypocritical person to ever exist. She must think he was weird trying to talk with her after—

"That's such a shame. As spoiled and vain as I am, I would still miss the natural beauty of the earth—especially the ocean."

"There aren't even any synthetic beaches on the colonies."

"Really? Then I feel sorry for the people who live their whole lives having never seen the sea. Perhaps that's what I should have wished for—that everyone could have the chance to see and appreciate the beauty of the earth."

Heero wasn't sure what she meant by "should have," but the question dissipated from his brain the moment she turned and smiled beatifically at him. He found the corners of his own mouth twitching and quickly turned away. He was quite surprised that corny replies like "But the ocean is not as beautiful as you" passed through his mind, but quelled such thoughts before they had a chance to voice themselves. He'd only ever been so clichéd in his thinking once, and that was so long ago that it seemed like another life.

"It's getting dark." Another stupid, and obvious, comment.

"Mm. Would you like to head back, then?" Umi stood up and brushed off her bottom. Then she turned and offered a hand to him.

For whatever reason, Heero nodded and took the hand, but did not let go once he was up. Strangely, she did not seem to mind either and so they walked back the path they came, hands clasped together. Somehow, this girl who he barely knew anything about was slowly chipping away at the wall he had built around his heart, all in a matter of one day, and she was further along than even Relena. Or maybe he was just getting soft.


"Eh? I wonder where Heero and Umi have disappeared off to for so long," Duo pondered while munching on a tuna sandwich.

Hilde stared at him in utter confusion. "Where in the world did you get that?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean the sandwich? It was in my pocket."

"Ugh, Duo. We're going to the circus soon and having dinner there," Hilde informed him.

"I know."

"Then why are you eating?"

"I need to have a snack before the meal. Duh."

Hilde sighed. "You sure are one a kind."

"Of course. How many other Gods of Death are out there?"

"Umi-chan! There you are!" Hikaru exclaimed as she jumped up and waved to her friend. "Heero-kun is with you too! Now we can go to the circus and see Trowa-kun in his clown suit!"

Heero and Umi had released each other's hand when they came within view of the group, but still walked together, trying to enjoy the last ounce of silence. But Umi didn't mind Hikaru's excited exclamation. After all, no one could pull down the redhead's spirits, and her happiness was very contagious.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Umi apologized. "But let's go to the circus now. I'm kind of hungry."

"Me too!" Hikaru said.

"Me three!" Duo added.

"So how are we leaving to the circus?" Fuu asked as she helped Hilde fold up the blankets.

"Quatre said he would send cars for us at 6," Hilde replied, grabbing Duo's braid and depositing several lawn chairs in his arms.

"That's very kind of him," Fuu replied, smiling kindly. "We must thank him when we see him."

"Always so polite, Fuu," Umi teased, taking some blankets and heading to the parking lot.

"You should follow her example," Heero suggested, throwing her small smirk.

Umi merely stuck her tongue out. Turning her head to hide a smile, she found herself staring into a pair of angry cerulean orbs. Gulping, she turned again to stare down at the sand beneath her sandals, still wondering why the young blonde official was always glaring at her. She didn't want to seem conceited, but surely Relena couldn't be jealous of Umi's superior strength and beauty?

"So, how'd the two of you end up coming back together?" Duo asked, nudging Heero despite the heavy load in his arms.

Heero glared at him, debating on whether or not to add the chairs in his hand to Duo's collection. But if he did that, Duo would probably just whine and gripe even more. What a difficult decision.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Heero-chan? I'll forgive you if you provide me with the details of your little rendezvous," the American whispered, eyes glinting with glee.

Dilemma solved. Dump the chairs on the braided idiot's head, which will effectively knock the annoying apparition out and discontinue any further irritating noises. Wait, that would also mean his incapability to carry any items at all, which would result in adding to his own load. Or worse, he'd have to carry the braided idiot. Damn. Dilemma not solved.

"Duo, stop pestering the poor man and come help me load the things into the car," Hilde called.

"Coming," Duo replied grudgingly, but not before grinning at Heero. "I expect a full detailed account later."

Hn. And Lady Une would be receiving a full detailed account tomorrow morning on the death of a part-time Preventer. Imagine the headlines: "Ex-Gundam pilot strangled by his own braid in his sleep."

Heero smirked.


A loud, piercing scream tore through the tent as a large lion leapt towards the clown in the middle of the arena.

"Wah! It's going to eat him!"

"Hikaru, he's a professional tamer, so he's more than capable of handling himself," Noin explained. "Besides, those are tame lions."

"Yeah, only around him," Duo muttered, but Hikaru heard.

"Oh no! Then what happens if it runs loose and tries to eat everyone else?"

"You ran in front of a giant, rampaging mutated fox and let yourself get tossed around, but you're afraid of a tame lion?" Umi whispered fervently so only the other two knights could hear her.

"But that was Hikari!"

"So!"

"Wah! The poor cat's going to get burnt!" Hikaru cried, leaning forward as Trowa cracked his whip and the lion obediently jumped through the ring of fire.

"First you're worried about Trowa, and now you're worried about the lion. I'll never understand you, Hikaru," Umi surrendered, leaning back on the bench with her hands to support her weight. Sighing, she turned her neck to loosen the muscles—continuously staring down was a strain on her fragile neck. As she tipped herself back a little more in an effort to stretch her cramped legs, the back of her neck came in contact with something, or rather somebody, else. Turning around quickly, she prepared to apologize to the person sitting in back of her, only to shy slightly when she noticed who it was.

Heero sat with his right leg resting on his left thigh, right elbow propped on the lifted leg and his right hand supporting his chin. His left hand hung loosely on his right foot, fingers quietly drumming the rubber of the shoe. He glanced down at the blue head that had bumped his right shin, lifting an elegant eyebrow as the young woman turned her blue eyes up at him. In his state of calm boredom, he absently realized how familiar those orbs seemed—an experienced child behind innocent eyes, an open and stubborn mind shying away at the thought of disapproval and rejection.

Heero blinked out of his reminiscence as the crowd around him stood up and cheered loudly. As he also stood up, he looked down again and caught her eyes, only for her to turn away and stand up as well, cheeringly loudly along with her friends. Heero shook his head to clear his mind. This suspicious girl was reviving old memories and stirring unwanted emotions, and he didn't even know anything about her besides her name and age. And for that matter, she was barely legal. Wait, why was he thinking? Half a year stuck in an office with nothing but paperwork must have fried his brain. Yes—that's it. He just needed to get out and blow some stuff up. Or maybe his operation tonight will do the trick—after all, without that braided idiot around, his mind would finally be at peace. Except for that little factor called Relena. She can be dealt with too.

"Yo! Heero!" Duo smacked his friend roughly on the shoulder, earning him a glare.

"What."

"Man, you spaced out for awhile there," Duo replied, unaffected by the deadly look. "I've never seen you so disengaged. So what were you thinking about, huh?"

Heero ignored the suggestive smile and instead opted to pull the American's braid, eliciting a squeal of surprise and pain from him. Finally, after another glare, Heero replied, "How to murder you while making it look like an accident."

"Huh." Duo stopped and seemed to think about it. "Wait, since when did you think about making things look like an accident? You usually just go in and start shooting at everyone and blowing up everything."

"Would you prefer I blow you up?"

"Well, not really. Actually, if I had to be murdered, I prefer it to be painless. Hm. Then again, I wouldn't really care how I die as long as you give me an enormous feast beforehand."

"Noted."

"Preferably a feast that involves many types of dessert. I like chocolate. Especially anything with 'triple fudge chocolate.' Man, now I'm really hungry."

"I hope you like Japanese, Duo," Quatre announced as he joined them. "We're going to Tsunami."

"I love Japanese!" Umi piped in, clasping her hands together in delight. "Especially—"

"Sushi!" Hikaru finished, jumping up and down in excitement. "I love sushi!"

"As long as it's not raw," Umi said, making a disgusted face at the thought of eating uncooked fish.

"What? But sashimi's the best!" Hikaru pouted.

"Do not worry, Hikaru-san," Quatre soothed the young girl, "for Tsunami is known for having the best of all Japanese food in this country. And as Relena-sama and myself personally funded the owner in establishing the restaurant several years back, we eat for free."

"Wow! You're so lucky!" Hikaru squealed. "I would eat sushi and sashimi everyday if I could!"

"Is that healthy?" Duo wondered. "I much prefer their tastier teriyaki anything. Now that's what I call good Japanese food."

"Salmon teriyaki," Hilde sighed as she licked her lips.

"All this talk of food is making me hungry," Duo grumbled.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a blue-eyed redhead apologized as she and Trowa walked up to the group. "It always takes forever to wash the makeup off."

"Do not worry, Catherine-san," Quatre said as he smiled. "Your performances tonight were wonderful, as always."

"Yes, they were absolutely spectacular!" Fuu added as she bowed. "I'm Fuu. Hououji Fuu."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Fuu," Catherine replied. "I'm Catherine Bloom, Trowa's brother. He told me about you three beautiful ladies."

"Hikaru. Shidou Hikaru," the short redehad introduced, blushing slightly.

"Umi. Ryuuzaki Umi," the tallest knight said, beaming at the compliment. She liked Trowa's sister already.

"Duo Maxwell. Now can we please go eat?" Duo whined, holding his stomach. "I'm literally starved!"

"Yes, Duo, we can go now," Dorothy said, rolling her eyes. "Just try not to put Naru-san out of business."

"I'll try. But no promises."


"That was the best Japanese food I've ever had!" Hikaru sighed as walked outside. "Even better than the authentic Japanese food back home."

"Naru-san hires authentic Japanese chefs, and he personally supervises them most of the time," Quatre explained to her. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"I feel a little guilty," Fuu admitted, blushing. "We ate so much and didn't pay for anything."

Dorothy waved her off. "Naru gets enough publicity with Quatre and Relena promoting his restaurant everywhere they go. The customers they bring in are more than what we could ever eat here. Except maybe Duo."

"If Duo had it his way, Naru would be bankrupt within a week," Hilde laughed, kissing her boyfriend's nose.

"I don't eat that much," Duo defended, pouting.

"We know, but it's so easy to tease you," Hilde retorted, slipping out of his grasp as he tried to kiss her.

"Ugh, save it for when we head back," Dorothy muttered.

"Jealous, Catalonia?"

"Of you, Maxwell? Never."

"We need to get back now," Catherine interrupted. "We're leaving for Italy tomorrow."

"Wow! Fun!" Hikaru commented.

"When will you be going to space?"

"After our Italy tour. Maybe in a week," Catherine answered Noin. "We'll let you know."

Catherine, Trowa, and Midii parted with the rest of the group, who returned to Quatre's mansion upon his insistence that since the three girls were guests at his house, they would feel better if the others were there as well. Although Heero initially objected, he immediately agreed after hearing of Duo's plans to stay. Tonight, Heero would commence Operation Braid.


Quatre opened his bedroom door to see Umi smiling hesitantly at him. "Good evening, Umi-san. May I help you?"

"I'm so sorry to bother you so late, but I was walking around this morning and noticed that you had an indoor pool. Would you mind if I took a swim?"

"Of course not, Umi-san! You don't need to ask me for permission. Feel free to do as you like."

"Thanks, Quatre! I appreciate it!"

Entering the swimming room, she smiled to see steam rising from the surface of the water. She thought it might be heated. Even if it weren't, she could take a little cold—okay, that was a lie. But with a mansion this size, Quatre couldn't possibly have a non-heated indoor pool. Seeing no one else around, she removed her robe, revealing a dark blue one-piece underneath.

"Planning to strip for me?"

"Kyaaa!" Umi jumped in shock at seeing a head emerge from the pool, calming down once she realized it was only Heero. "What are you trying to do, scare the hell out of me?"

"You are invading my sanctuary."

"Your sanctuary? If I recall correctly, this is Quatre's pool. And his house."

Heero shrugged. "I'm the only one who uses the pool at midnight."

"Why would you be taking a swim at such a late hour?"

"I could ask the same of you."

"Well, I like to swim at night when I can't sleep. Or if I feel a little fat," Umi admitted, blushing a little.

"As do I."

"Oh." They lapsed into silence, Umi staring at the ground and Heero wading in the pool.

"Are you just going to stand there all night?"

"No," Umi snapped. Scrunching up her face at him, she sat at the edge of the pool, allowing her legs to dangle in the water. "Mmm. Warm."

"Hn."

Ignoring the other occupant of the pool, Umi slipped in, sighing loudly as she dunked her head in as well. Surfacing again, she prepared to kick off, only to find herself staring into dark eyes. Losing herself in their intensity, Umi managed to stutter, "Uh, I…"

Heero just stared straight back into the crystal blue eyes of the girl in front of him. He forgot why he was here and what he wanted to say, but he suddenly found that it didn't really matter. He eyes traveled down her long and elegant nose to her slightly parted lips. Not knowing what possessed him with an urge to kiss her, he decided to abandon all logic and leaned closer to her face, his hands coming to rest on the pool's edge on either side of her face.

Umi felt her breath quicken as he leaned in, but also pushed herself forward to meet his inclosing head. However, when her fingers released the edge of the pool, she realized too late that her legs and other arm were not doing anything to keep her afloat. And thus, her head momentarily plunged into the water.

Heero's arm reflexively reached out, encircling her waist and pulling her out of the water, allowing her to gasp as she gripped onto his shoulders. He was surprised she had forgotten to keep her legs kicking to stay floating and had to fight the urge to laugh at her stupidity. Nevertheless, he found her to be quite adorable clutching to him and panting heavily in shock, cheeks tinged with embarrassment.

"Thanks," Umi finally said, her breathing returning to normal.

Noticing that she was holding on to him and her face was a mere inches from his, Umi felt another blush creeping onto her face. Quickly looking down, she found herself staring at a well-toned chest—neither buff nor scrawny, but slim yet strong. It seemed he was not just handsome, but had the body to go with it too.

"Sorry, I—"

The warm sensation of his lips on hers cut her off. As Heero was about to pull away,Heero respond shyly, her hands sliding up to intertwine behind his neck. Taking that as permission to continue, he slipped his right hand to rest lightly on her waist, the other still supproting them by holding onto the edge. His kiss was light, but still sending warmth through her body, adding to the already heated water. Then Heero lightly traced her lips with his tongue, causing her togasp and part her lips to allow his tongue to enter. Heero put his right hand on her lower back andpulled her against him, causing her arms to wrap themselves tighter around his neck, one hand running up the spine of his neck and into his hair. Then they slowly parted, resting against one another's foreheads, breath coming out in short pants.

Umi kept her eyes closed, afraid to look at the young man in still holding her. She'd been kissed before, but never with such depth and intensity. She'd had hersuitors, some were rather persistent, but she never took to anyone as much as she did him,although she onlymet hima day ago.She was actinglike some stupid girl with a stupidcrush on some stupid jock just because he washot and charming. Not that she minded, because that was one mind-blowing kiss,but she didn'thave much to compare with asthe other guys who'd kissed her she only allowed themat mosta few seconds of contact.

Suddenly, Heero pulled away, slightly disheveled. He couldn't believe he'd just done that. Well, he couldn't believe he kissed that girl at the club either, but that was just to prove something to Duo and Relena. This time, the kiss was unprovoked and unexplainable. He had promised himself to never get attached again, but this girl just comes and completely turns his life upside down. But he could only blame himself for allowing her to affect him in such a way.

Heero moved away and pulled himself out of the water, shaking water out of his head. Grabbing a tower on the nearby chair, he glanced back at Umi to see her staring at the water in front of her. Slightly guilty, he searched his brain for something to say.

"Good night."

Well, it wasn't the worst thing he could have said. He quickly made his way out of the room, ignoring the fact that he was dripping water onto Quatre's marble floors, needing his space to think things through. After that incident, there was no way he would be sleeping for another hour or so.

After he'd left the room, Umi finally glanced up and looked at the closed door. She placed two fingers on her lips, still a little surprised and confused as to what has just transpired. She couldn't understand him—he was absolutely unreadable. It seemed that sometimes he had a kind heart, and other times, he could care less what happened to those around him. She understood him less than she understood Hikaru! That was understandable as she'd only known him for a day. But he was affecting her more than anyone she had ever met, rousing strange emotions within her. And she liked it.

"Baka."


Author's Notes:

I apologize for updating so slowly. I only just finished my AP testings on Monday—oh, that was yesterday. Haha. I'm tired, sorry. Too much last minute cramming. I spent too much time online reading fanfics that I didn't start studying until a week before the test. Huh.Well, some advice: never try to cram for an AP test. Especially if you're to taking three of them. It's not very pleasant.

Ah, finally some Heero and Umi interaction. Aren't they adorable together? After much revising, this chapter turned out quite nicely. Well, better than how it was originally, but stillnot as great as my favorite chapter. But you might notice I've been instilling some more hints in regards to Heero's past in these chapters. They'll come into play later, hopefully. If I remember about them. I'm fairly forgetful, so don't expect everything to be used. Heh.

Changed this chapter title as well. Some of you probably didn't notice, as I know I completely skip chapter titles all the time. But this is a foreshadowing of what's to come (quite fitting too, since nothing happened in this chapter). So don't expect everything to be all calm and quiet. Heheheh.

Anyways, thanks to all my reviewers! I love you all so much for your support! You actually give me the inspiration, and definitely ideas, to keep writing. But constructive criticism is also very helpful sometimes. So if you would like to flame me—constructively, of course—please feel free to do so! And now,to thank all those that have reviewed so far. Love you lots!

As for all you readers that don't review, no harm done. I'm just glad you're reading and following this story. Strange, aren't I? Well, I understand because I myself, sadly, don't review unless I'm in the mood (quite rare, I assure you). I'm so lazy. Blah.


Neo Juste Belmont: I like your idea of Relena being the bad person—but then some of my Relena-supporting friends would kill me. But believe me, I played with that idea a lot because I love it. Thanks!

Araiey: Heero is yummy. I'd keep him for myself if I could.

Karbini27: I love Duo's braid. It's a shame that so many wish for its destruction. Hehe.

Amara (Amaroq) of the Wolves: I'm working on it! )

Chemu Chomores: No! You must be alive to continue reading! And I'm starting to soak up some ideas now. Yay!

Kyen's Angel: Odd pairing, I know. But it just popped into my head randomly. Strange, huh?

Darkstar51: I'm not a patient person, either. I'm sorry to keep you waiting!

Mangafreak: No other non-canon pairings besides HeeroxUmi—sorry.I personally like stories with narration, so I find it interesting that you don't. But I'm just a stickler for details. Hehe.

Kaiya: For second chapter, Dorothynow saysthose "famous last words" instead,although I think it was better when Noin said it. Anyways, thanks for all your ideas! I used the Umi being calm at the beach one—poor confused Heero. And I'll have to watch The Wedding Planner again because I don't remember a taxi driver and ice cream. As for warping the two worlds together, I had that thought but it was Gundam Wing with Yu-Gi-Oh. I'm just full of strange ideas.

Mistress of Ice: Thanks for all your ideas too! I tried to use Heero playing on Relena's jealousy, but then I felt guilty for doing that to her (even though I don't like her). But as for Heero getting jealous of Umi and another guy—well, you'll see. Hehe.

Sippio: Thanks for your support!

Somnus: Virtual Heero and Umi plushie to you! The fat guy with the ice cream is from Lilo and Stitch. And you're more of a stickler for details than me—so I went back and added those small details just for you. Hehe.

Timeless Shadow: Thanks for all seven of your reviews. Hehe.

Shirahima-syo: Actually, Gundam Wing is the anime that got me into anime! But I still love Rayearth. And there are lots of HeeroxRelena pairings. But I'm starting to become averse to the pairing for no reason at all. I'm strange like that.

Mainey: Other Magic Knight Rayearth characters will come in—much later. But I don't want to give anything away.