A Man's World

Chapter 8: A "Perfect" Struggle

by terre nymphe

as aforementioned in the summary, this piece borrows both characters and storylines from Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, and Dark Angel. I do not own, nor have any claim to, any of these shows and/or comics. I apologize for any perceived plagiarism and assure readers that it is not intentional.

"Trowa! Trowa! You're back!"

With a sense of foreboding, the subject of the exclamation turned to see a bubbly, brunette running toward him. She enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Catherine," he replied quietly.

"Trowa, you've been gone for a week, and that's all you have to say for yourself? Well, I certainly hope you have a better explanation for my father. He was so upset when you left."

"This isn't the first time I've left though."

"Ah, a multi-word answer," she laughed, grabbing his arm.

Together, they headed toward the big top. Once inside, she tossed him some water and motioned for him to sit down.

"Yes, you leave a lot, but you've always let someone know that you were leaving. And, you've always been back within two days."

"I'm sor . . ."

"No, don't worry about it. Daddy will get over it. He was only upset because he had to hire a new performer to take your place . . ."

"Hmmm."

" . . . very good performances . . . done wonders with the lions . . ."

That got Trowa's attention. His head jerked up, and he scowled at her. The smile on her face was infuriating; she was having fun needling him.

"I thought that might get your attention," she told him as stood and walked toward the tent flap. "Wait, where are you going?"

"To warn that guy away from my lions," he replied as he disappeared into the daylight.

"He's in for a big surprise," she giggled.

Trowa thundered off toward the cages. He didn't mind that his performance had been replaced, but he was indignant about the lions. They had never allowed anyone else near them; for a while, he'd been important– special. Now, he was back to being a nobody. He shook these thoughts away; he wasn't a nobody. He was perfection embodied. As he neared the cages, movement caught his attention. A slim, feminine figure was picking the lock on the lioness cage. She opened the gate and stepped inside. Trowa panicked; he knew what was about to happen to her.

'Freeze," he shouted as he rushed toward her.

The girl tensed; then, extended her hand to touch the nearest lion– the alpha female.

"I'm coming in to get you. Those cats will rip you to shreds if they feel threatened, so don't move!"

A sound erupted from the lioness, and Trowa panicked. Ripping the door open, he grabbed the girl's hand. She pulled her arm away violently. Shocked by her reaction, Trowa finally realized that the lioness had not been growling; she'd been purring. Trowa began to put two and two together.

"You're the new performer," he said almost accusingly.

She nodded her head in affirmation. Together, they finished feeding the lions, though Trowa was once again surprised that the male lion made no protest to the girl's intrusion on his turf. She exited the cage first, followed closely by the confused "perfect." He turned to lock the gate, but when he turned back, she was gone. The woman intrigued Trowa. Her short, red hair and emerald green eyes were too vibrant to be natural, though he didn't know why she would be wearing a disguise.

"Is she hiding something?" he wondered aloud.

He searched the compound for an hour before resigning himself to not finding her. He decided that if she didn't want to be found, he'd leave her alone– for now. Giving up his search, he headed back to the big top to brush up on his acts. He spotted her as soon as he lifted the tent flap; she was on the high wire. Her bright red hair stood out against the dark canopy. Trowa watched her, impressed; she was as good as he was. Her balance was amazing. He watched her as she pranced, flipped, cart wheeled, and twisted her way from one side of the high wire to the other. Suddenly, the woman stopped. She dove head first from the fifty-foot platform. Trowa's eyes widened; there was no net! Seconds before she hit the ground, the woman twisted into a back flip and landed safely on the ground– crouched much like the lions.

"Isn't she amazing?"

Trowa turned to face Catherine, "Yes, she's good."

Catherine giggled and called to the woman. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the woman approached the pair. The three stood in an uncomfortable silence until Catherine piped up.

"Well, introduce yourselves," she commanded, and used to following orders, they complied.

"Trowa."

"Sera."

Catherine was becoming impatient, "oh, come on! You both have so much in common; you can find something to talk about."

Neither spoke.

"Well, I have to go help Daddy. You two play nice."

Catherine took one last look at the pair and walked away. Without her bubbly conversation, the remaining two sized each other up. Trowa noticed the suspicion in her emerald orbs.

"I didn't come back to replace you. I'll share."

She didn't reply. Trowa, though not usually one for conversation, tried another angle.

"That dismount was very good, thought you were going to hit the floor. Where did you learn to do that kind of thing?"

Sera stared at him as if she was trying to decide something. Trowa wondered about her big secret; it couldn't be any stranger than his. She flashed him an empty smile and walked away.

"You wouldn't believe me anyway," she whispered, unaware that he could hear her.

Usagi left the man, hopefully confused. That was the elusive Trowa? He was probably only a year older than she; too young to be a Society trainer or lab tech. Maybe he wasn't even part of the Society. She already knew that he wasn't the mole; what proof did she have that he was anything other than an often-absent circus star? Still . . . there was something about him.

Why hadn't she heard him approaching the lion cages earlier? No matter how engrossed she may have been in the felines, she should have heard Trowa's approach as soon as he arrived on the compound. A realization hit her like an atomic bomb; he was the other "perfect!" That's explained his frequent disappearances. That explained how he was able to sneak up on her at the cages. That explained why he was only mildly impressed by her performance. She was finally in the presence of an equal, even though he couldn't know– not yet anyway.

Now, Usagi was going to have to be even more careful. She'd have to dial it back with her amazing acrobatics and amp up the giggly act. Trowa would be aware of G0-0630's presence at the circus, and she had to make sure that he never found out whom G0-0630 really was. She was going to have to disappear soon, and she knew that he would connect the mole's elimination and the exit of G0-0630 to the quick departure of Sera. The shit was about to hit the proverbial fan, but Usagi was ready. This was what she'd been trained for; this was the type of thing she had been created to do.

Practically glowing, she headed to Benedict's trailer. She just wanted to apologize for standing him up the night before– really, just an apology. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. Brows furrowed, she went on a search for him. She went, first, to his popcorn machine but another man was there– making the day's popcorn.

"Where's Eddie?"

"You mean Benedict?"

"Yeah, Eddie Benedict."

"He took a few days off. Should be back sometime next week. Why?"

"He was supposed to have something for me."

The new vendor leered at her, "Well, if you think you can handle it, I've got something I'd like to give you."

"I'll bet you do. Tell you what, I'll give that some serious thought and get back to you."

Despite the caustic tone, Usagi was serious; he was cute, and she was bored. The man, Alex, was a little taken aback. He hadn't expected her to react like that. Usually, hot girls like her laughed at him or slapped him. He hadn't really been serious about his proposal, but hell, if she was game . . . He'd watched her show the night before and knew how flexible she was.

Though only semi-seriously considering Alex's proposal, Usagi was seriously considering putting her fist through something– living or not. Her target was gone, and she had no idea where to find him. He hadn't been called back to the Society; Director A would have told her about it. And it wasn't possible to go after Benedict now or she would risk exposing her identity. So, for now, she was stuck at the circus. Getting more worked up by the second, Usagi decided she needed to vent her frustration without killing anyone– once again, she couldn't risk the exposure. She turned back to Alex.

"You think Bloom would throw a hissy if you took a break?"

Usagi grabbed him by the collar and took him back to her trailer. They barely got the door closed before Alex's pants were around his ankles. She allowed him to pin her to the wall and claim her mouth with his. His hands went to the waistband of her pants and started pulling them down. Suddenly, the trailer door swung open; Trowa stood in the doorway looking at them.

Usagi huffed and batted Alex's hands away from her pants.

"Get dressed," Trowa told Alex gruffly.

"Look man, she came on to me. She wanted it. I can't help it if I'm irresistible!'

Usagi pushed him away and pulled up her pants, hoping Trowa had not seen her tattoo, "This . . . was never about you."

She grabbed his shirt from the floor, threw it at him, and practically heaved him outside. Alex was confused by her quick turn around and made one last play for some . . . play.

"I don't have a roommate. We could go back to my trailer and . . ."

Usagi slammed the door in his face and lay down on her bed. Trowa watched her for a while. Catherine had told him that Sera was staying in his trailer, and he'd expected to see pink curtains on the windows or her clothes on the floor. He had not; however, expected to see her screwing the popcorn guy. She offered no explanation, and he didn't ask for one. Nor did he say anything when she rose abruptly and left the trailer. He hoped that she was going to the lion cages or the big top, anywhere but that man's trailer. Though he was slightly thrown off by the strange attachment he felt toward the girl with whom he'd spent no more than ten minutes, he couldn't deny that he felt something for her. He thought back to what he'd seen when he entered the trailer. The other man had been practically clawing at her; Trowa had even seen a bruise, or at least some discoloration, on her right hip– not that he'd been looking that closely.

Sera fascinated him; he couldn't help it. She was so similar to him; he could see through the façade she put on for everyone else. Like him, she was tough and talented. Some primal instinct was compelling him. He had to talk to her; he had to know her.

Meanwhile, Usagi was at the cages. Sitting in the larger cage, she was caught in an overwhelming spiral of insecurity. Could she trust herself to be near Trowa and not reveal her secret? Did she have any choice? One by one, the lionesses lay down beside her. She felt safe, and soon allowed herself to fall asleep; the first sound sleep she'd had in days.

Two hours later, Usagi woke, refreshed. She stretched her limbs gracefully and arched her back. The lionesses purred around her. This was as close to content as she had ever been, and she wanted it to last as long as it could. And it was because she was at peace that she was able to hear Trowa's silent advance.

"Catherine sent me to find you. Your show starts in twenty minutes."

And in her first attempt at kindness, Usagi said something she'd never said sincerely before, "thank you."

It was a special moment for Trowa as well. No one had ever thanked him– for anything, ever. Usagi left the cage, and, together, they walked to the big top. The walk was silent but relaxed. Though neither could explain it, they felt . . . comfortable around each other. It just felt right.