so, this has been sitting on the computer for a few days now. ive been waiting for something to happen with the other chapter...cause for the past three of them, its ben kinda stunted...anyways...read onwards...

Disclaimer: i dont own em. they don't belong to me. wish they did.

across town

"Heero! Heero, I'll find you somewhere. Come out of those trees. Right now damnit!"

The two boys had run to the edge of town. Heero had eluded Duo for the most part, but Duo was still able to keep up with the sure-footed boy. Heero had jumped into a tree and was currently hiding in one. Which one he was hiding in, Duo did not know. So he stood under each tree in the immediate area and looked up through the branches, hoping to catch blue through the green foliage.

Suddenly, the trees rustled and a twig snapped. Faster then the blink of an eye, Duo was off and running towards an oak tree. He leaped up, catching the branches easily, spotted a yellow work boot, grabbed the ankle it was tied on, and yanked down, sending the body connected to the ankle crashing to the ground where he leaped on Heero and wrestled the boy to the ground.

When everything was calm again, he looked Heero in the eyes, "Why? Why didn't you tell us that you knew what she looked like?"

Heero's expression was that of a dull one, "Do you remember when Alex told us she would be a hard person to find if we tried to find her?"

"Stop answering questions with questions! Why didn't you tell us for two years?"

"She said she would be different as a human. When I saw her, I was seven as well as Alex. For all we know, she could be mascarading as a man."

"You didn't answer my question Heero. Why didn't you tell us you knew what she looked look for two years?"

"Because I knew it would be of no help. She knew that I knew what she looked like as a human and she remembered that and probably chose a disguise that was completely different from what I knew."

Duo was silent, his anger only becoming more resolute. Energy began to sift through his body, unbeknownst to him. He stood up and walked away from Heero, turning his back and silently thinking about what Heero had said to him. Heero was right, but he had no right to withhold that information when it could've been useful. He could've shaved at least a year off of their search had he told anyone.

Heero watched as Duo thought over his anger. It wasn't until he actually started paying attention to the air AROUND Duo that he noticed anything peculiar. It took him a moment to figure out if what he was seeing was real or an illusion, but after staring at it for nearly a moment, Duo being secluded in an area of his mind as he puzzled, that he came to the conclusion that what he was seeing was real.

"Duo, the air around you is simmering."

Duo, who'd been caught off guard by the random comment, looked at Heero with an odd expression on his face. "What…?"

"The air, around you…it's simmering."

"How can it be simmering? It's not hot out…at least not hot enough to simmer…I think."

"It stopped…"

"So maybe it wasn't there at all, Heero."

"It was there."

"Are you sure about that, Heero?"

"Positive."

"Its not hot enough to-'

"I'm telling you, the air around you was simmering."

"Heero, have you forgotten the fact that I'm human and I can't simmer?"

"No, I havent forgotten."

They were both silent for a few minutes, the two regarding each other. Both were quietly thinking about the reason why the air around Duo had been simmering, much like it did around Vicky, Kaori, and even Alex as they powered up.

They had been quietly contemplating the answer to the current problem when Duo's cell phone rang. He picked it up. "What?"

"We found her. Come back to the apartment." Kaori's voice held nothing but seriousness. Before he could ask which apartment she meant, she had hung up and he was left listening to a dial tone.

"Who was it?" Heero asked, walking over to Duo.

"Kaori. She said to go back to the apartment. Which apartment though?"

"The one you three chased me out of." Heero started walking away, back in the direction they had ran from.

"Hey!" Duo exclaimed, before running up beside Heero and walking in step with him, "This doesn't mean that your off the hook. You know that right?"

"Hn…"

-end 4 now-

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