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


World 2 World
Chapter X: The Lost

Experienced fingers danced across the keyboard, never once slowing down their quick pace. Prussian blue eyes focused intently on the screen as windows opened, words and numbers formed, and images appeared. A mug of coffee sat next to the laptop, still full.

Letting out a deep breath, Heero finally stopped typing and leaned back into the chair, stretching his fingers out in front of him. Suppressing a yawn, he picked up the mug and sipped, only to find that it was now cool. Blinking, he looked at the drinking and took a few minutes to process the coldness of the container in his hand. Apparently caffeine did help to keep his mind more aware.

Finally Heero decided to leave his sanctuary to get himself a fresh drink. The second he stepped out of his darkened room, something ran into his side. Looking down to his left, he found a blue-haired girl sitting on the floor with a surprised look on her face. Heero tried to clear his mind, wondering why he had not sense her out here or even heard her next to him.

Reaching his free hand down, Heero asked with a tired and worn voice, "You okay?"

Umi glared up, ready to bite his head off, but noticing his tired face, her irritation dissipated. Taking his hand, she instead replied, "Yes, thanks."

Nodding, he released her hand and turned around. After two steps, he turned back with a quizzical look.

"Why are you up so late?"

"Excuse me?"

Too tired to repeat himself, Heero continued to stare at her, expecting an answer to his question. He wanted to know why she was lurking around the hallway in the middle of the night.

Sensing his aversion to speaking again, Umi shrugged and said, "It's actually fairly early."

Heero continued to stare. Early in the morning, late at night—what's the difference? That didn't answer his question as to why she was sneaking through the house while it was still dark out.

"In fact, I believe it's around six in the morning."

Heero's face maintained a blank expression, yet his eyes expressed his surprise and confusion.

Seeing the sparkle in his eyes, Umi sighed in annoyance.

"Yes, I realize that I don't usually wake up this early. In fact, I don't think I've ever woken up this early, unless it's because of a nightmare or Hikaru…"

Ignoring the rest of her rant, Heero tried to process the time of day. Either she was just stupid or he was more disoriented than he had previously thought.

"It's six in the morning?"

"…dumping cold water onto—what?" Umi stopped talking to look at the young man in front of her suspiciously. Producing a watch on her wrist, she pointed and reiterated, "Yes. See? Little hand on the six and big hand near the twelve equals six. And the light coming from outside equals morning. Therefore, six in the morning."

Apparently, he'd been working for longer than he thought. Staring down at the mug in his hand, Heero sighed. This was going to be a long day.

"Heero?"

He spared her a quick glance.

"Are you okay?"

After a few seconds' thought, he shrugged tiredly.

"Okay. Should I make some coffee for you?" Umi asked, catching sight of his full but cool mug of dark liquid. Obviously he had failed to put his supply of caffeine to good use. The last time she pulled an all-nighter without any caffeine—well, the results could be seen on her test the next day, in the form of saliva.

Too tired to argue or complain, Heero complied with a nod. At least he did not have to take the energy to make the coffee—not that it was a difficult task in the first place.

"Here, give me the mug," Umi said as she pried the container out of his hands, afraid he'd spill it on the way. "As long as they have a coffee-maker here, we'll be fine."

If she was referring to those old-fashioned machines with the pot and all—Heero let out a deep breath. Maybe it was too much for him to hope for someone else making something as simple as coffee for him.

Realizing that Heero had not moved, Umi turned back around and rolled her eyes. Grabbing his hand, she proceeded to lead him like a little child.

'How degrading,' Heero thought as she dragged him down the stairs. Nevertheless, he didn't complain—he rather liked the feel of his hand in hers.


"Wow. If I went 3 nights without sleep, well, I wouldn't be here right now." Umi held the coffee to her lips, letting her breath skim the surface of the liquid. "And you definitely need to sleep. Or at least have some caffeine with you if you're not going to sleep. You look…no, you are very disoriented."

Heero grunted and simply downed his tenth mug of coffee in one gulp. Sighing loudly, he poured himself another cup, but this time, holding it up to his face with both hands, relishing the warmth in his hands and taking a deep, silent breath of the strong aroma.

"What were you doing up all night anyways? Staring at your laptop?"

"…more or less."

"Huh. You're such a dork."

He growled in response.

"Honestly though, you're not acting very healthy."

He muttered incoherently before taking a small sip of the drink in his hands.

"I'm serious. You look like you need a massage too."

"Are you offering?"

"Hah! You wish."

"I do."

Umi blinked, taken off guard. "You are definitely in dire need of caffeine and sleep."

"Are you going with to the New Year's Ball?"

"Maybe. Why, are you asking?"

"Maybe," he echoed.

Umi raised an eyebrow. "Okay, you've either had too little sleep or too much coffee. Either way, it's disrupting your thought process."

Heero rolled his eyes. "And the consequences of my trying to be nice."

"Now that's definite proof of your loss of sanity…not that you were any more sane before."

Heero growled again.

"And why are you asking anyways? It's not for another week, right?"

He shrugged. "It's a topic of conversation."

Umi grinned, looking at him in satisfaction. "No. I think you're worried."

The ex-pilot scoffed.

"You're afraid someone like Taylor will try to ask me out again."

Heero's eyes narrowed, but then he relaxed. "Hn. Didn't realize you knew he was asking you out."

She shrugged. "I didn't want to hurt him."

He snorted. "With the way he was acting, I doubt he would be hurt if you rejected him. More like mad."

"More of a reason not to reject him."

Heero shrugged in consent.

"Besides, it's not like I could tell he was like that just by talking to him for a few minutes."

"He was pretty shallow to be attracted to a pretty woman in the first place."

"Most people judge a person by their looks first," Umi countered, but then smirked. "Did you just call me pretty?"

"Did you hear me say 'you' and 'pretty' in the same sentence?"

"Don't deny it—you implied it!"

"Are you trying to rhyme?"

"Stop changing the subject!"

Heero tried to ignore her and simply sipped his drink.

"Aw, admit it!"

Heero's lips did not leave the mug.

"You think I'm gorgeous. You want to kiss me…you want to hug me…you want to love me…you want to smooch me…you want to hug me."

"Shut up."

Umi giggled. "Lighten up," she said, swatting him playfully in the arm. Smirking, she began in her singsong voice again, "You think I'm gorgeous…you want to kiss me…you want to date me…"

A hand at the back of her head suddenly pulled her face forward, her lips meeting another's. Eyes widening in surprise, Umi then quickly closed them in content, leaning forward to caress his lips better.

After a few moments, the two parted, slightly out of breath despite the shortness of the kiss. The two different hues of blue met, clashing and whirling in a fight to understand and grasp the other.

"You had too much coffee."

Heero raised one eyebrow at this unexpected comment.

"Not only do you have coffee-breath, but you taste—"

The young girl was cut off as a braided man burst into the kitchen, collapsing onto the counter in feigned exhaustion. The couple suddenly noticed their proximity and immediately backed away. Umi looked down, her cheeks tinted red, and Heero glared at the disruption.

"I…need…coffee…" Duo dramatically pulled his head over the counter and reached for the coffee, his fingers flexing just a few inches away.

"Stop being so dramatic, Maxwell," Wufei said as he entered the kitchen, swatting Duo's hands away from the coffee, only to reach for a mug and place it under the dispenser for himself.

The self-claimed Shinigami huffed, lifting himself up onto a stool next to Umi and defended, "I was not being dramatic. I only had two hours of sleep last night."

Duo reached over and took the filled mug from under the dispenser, taking a long drink.

"Maxwell! Get your own damn coffee!"

"Looks like someone didn't get much sleep last night either and is very grumpy without their caffeine," Duo said childishly while nodding in rhythm.

"I'm warning you, Maxwell…"

"Both of you, shut up."

The two arguers looked at their commander in surprise. However, his cold stare made them back down immediately.

"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Duo ventured after a few seconds of silence.

"I did not have any sleep at all last night, mainly due to the ruckus that you and your girlfriend was making for nearly half the night," Heero snarled, venting his frustration and fatigue.

"I understand, Yuy," Wufei agreed, nodding his head. "I wouldn't sleep at all either if I was roomed right next to those two."

"Hey! We weren't that loud!"

He received two disbelieving stares.

"Well, it's not my fault Quatre doesn't make his rooms soundproof! Surprising considering how loud they are..."

"I think I've heard enough," Umi interrupted, standing up.

Duo glanced at her sheepishly and pat her arm, "Sorry, babe."

Umi rolled her eyes but Heero gave him a dark glare that went unnoticed—or ignored.

"You're forgiven. Just watch your mouth the next time you're in the presence of a lady." Heero snorted at her response, causing her to turn and stick out her tongue at him. He simply rolled his eyes to which she elegantly twirled her back to him and flipped her hair over her shoulders, strutting extravagantly out of the kitchen.

"How long have you guys been down here anyways? What were you doing down here, and all alone too?" Duo raised his eyebrows suggestively, his smile ever widening.

Heero continued to leave the room, but not without turning over his shoulder and replying, "Fortunately, nothing that involves you."

Duo's mouth dropped and he glanced at Wufei, who simply shrugged and shook his head, preferring to stay out of other people's personal issues.


Heero moved the mint around his mouth, savoring its fresh and enticing taste. After a few more minutes, he put his hand to his mouth and let out a breath. Satisfied he no longer had coffee-smelling breath, he turned his attention back to the screen.

But as the data continued to process, Heero frowned. It shouldn't be difficult, especially for him, to find even a thread of information on a single person. However, there were no files whatesoever, which is impossible because he knew for a fact this person existed. Unless, of course, someone had decided to erase this person from existence, then that would explain the lack of data.

Heero growled, wondering why anyone would want to erase these files. No one knew of their connection, except Dr. J who might have had a slight hint—but the man was dead. Annoyed, he crunched down hard on the candy in his mouth and smirked in satisfaction as it shattered into many pieces and dissolved on his tongue.

Hearing loud laughter and screaming from outside, Heero stood up from his seat, hearing a few bones groan in protest. Stretching to release the tension in his msucles and joints, he then made his way to the window and pulled back the heavy curtains. Blinking his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness, he squinted down towards the grounds.

Apparently, the group outside had moved their snowfight to right below his window. At the moment, Hikaru and Umi were running have Duo, whose braid was now filled with melting snow. Duo ran to hide behind Hilde, who simply smiled evilly and slammed a fistful of snow into his face. With a loud warcry, Duo grabbed Hilde and threw her into the snow.

Umi laughed and dropped her snowball in the process, allowing Duo the chance to knock her and Hikaru down, and he promptly ran away again. Hilde and Hikaru immediately gave chase, but Umi glanced up to catch Heero's eye, waving at him and throwing him a bright smile.

Resisting the urge to smile back, Heero merely nodded in acknowledgement, watching as her smile widened and she waved for him to come down. With a firm shake of his head, he saw her pout, but she darted off again at a call from her friend. As they disappeared from sight, Heero allowed a small smile to appear on his lips before letting the curtains fall back into place.

Below, a small dark figure dropped onto the snow-covered ground and glanced up at the curtained window. Moving red eyes in the direction the blue-haired girl had disappeared, the black cat laid its ears back and opened its mouth to reveal long sharp canines, releasing an angry hiss.


Author's Notes:

And the black cat returns! We have learned that it has…red eyes! Significance? I don't know. But it makes the cat all that cooler. Or, at least in my mind's eye. I'd make a skecth for you all, if I could draw properly. Well, if I could draw, then I wouldn't be writing stories but I'd be creating mangas!

Anyways, thank you all for bearing with me through my laziness and impatience. I have been reading more frequently now, but not writing as much. Haven't exactly lost interest in this story, just that other things have caught my attention. For example, Bleach. Which has been slightly satiated once I spit out some stories. But let's not go into that.

Don't know what I revised in this chapter, exactly. I wonder if I left out any important details. Well, not too important, since this chapter more of emphasizes the developing "relationship" between Heero and Umi. And Heero's suspicions and the fact that his instincts might be right (who is the mysterious person who has been "erased"?).

Trivia: Anybody know where the little "song" by Umi ("You want to kiss me…") came from? Virtual Heero or Umi plushie to those who can guess correctly!