Chapter 8

Five motorbikes turned into the parking spaces with a roar. Shutting off the engines, the gundam pilots dismounted and mad their way back to their room. Sitting on their beds, they mulled over the fight they had just witnessed. Trowa was the first to break the silence.

"We don't know-"

"It's them." Heero cut across him. "I know it's them."

"They're good." Duo stated. No-one disagreed.

Lady Une stepped into her quarters and sighed. They had passed the first test, with flying colours. She had never been prouder of any new recruits. Smiling to herself, she unbound her hair and headed for a nice long bath.

Ten minutes later, she sighed as the bubbles floated around her. leaning her head back, she closed her eyes in relaxation and revelled in the release that the hot water gave her muscles. A loud beep from the vidphone rudely interrupted her reverie. Resolving to ignore it, she stubbornly stayed still, but the incessant beeping wore on her nerves for another five minutes, refusing to be silent. Heaving a great sigh, she hauled herself from the haven of her bath and wrapped herself in a towel. Frustratedly, she jabbed her finger at the answer record button and moved off to dry herself. The appearance of a certain young man's face on the screen stopped her in her tracks.

"We need to talk." Heero Yuy stated before ending it abruptly. Lady Une sat down hard, and stared at the blank screen, her mind working furiously, until dawn lit the sky.

Miss Kinhouse straightened her skirt and shuffled her feet. She was not looking forward to this. The five boys were different than the others, they were so, well, intense, and they unnerved her. she waited, working up the courage to knock. Then squaring her shoulders, she raised her hand and cleared her throat with a tiny 'hem hem'. The door opened immediately without her knock, and she found herself staring at Chang Wufei.

"Oh, um, hello." She squeaked, her voice breathy and thin. She tried desperately to control herself and failed. "I have a message from the headmaster for you." The Chinese boy raised his eyebrow in response. Taking this as a good sign, Miss Kinhouse ploughed on. "Well, the headmaster would like to see you all at ten o'clock sharp in his office tomorrow morning." She rushed, almost tripping over the words. "Is that alright with you?" Her voice wavered slightly as she asked the question, unsure of whether or not she had been rude. The boy nodded curtly.

"Very well."

"Good. Ok, well, see you tomorrow then." Miss Kinhouse realised she was talking to a plain door and fled, her nerves jangling.

For the fourth time, Hilde opened her eyes. They had chatted and relaxed until two in the morning and had turned in when their eyelids began to droop. But for some reason, Hilde was having a bad night's sleep. The best she could do was doze, and she woke at the slightest sound. Her constant tossing and turning was beginning to disturb the peaceful slumber of the other girls, and so she slipped out of bed and silently left the room, then headed for the quiet misty grounds of the college.

On the other side of the campus, Duo was also leaving his room. He made his way to the small pond at the west end of the college, and began to slowly saunter around the edge, his hands in his pockets. The rising sun was not at full strength yet, and cast a warm golden glow over the mist that clung to the waters surface. The dark green fir trees that bordered the east side of the water stood straight as pokers, the mist clinging to their roots like cobwebs. Lost in his thoughts, Duo almost fell over the girl sitting by the waters edge.

"Hilde?" The girl stood up suddenly, brushing her blue black bangs out of her eyes.

"D-d-duo?" She stammered, looking terrified. "F-fancy seeing you around here! Well, gotta run!" She cried, and pushed past him, intent on getting away. But a vice like grip closed on her arm, and she stopped short.

"Hilde! Talk to me." Duo commanded.

"I can't!" Hilde tried to pull away again, but Duo whirled her round to face him and grabbed her other arm. Her hands came into sharp contact with his solid chest, and she felt her heart rate quicken. She marvelled at how sculpted his muscles were under his black jacket and red top, and flexed her fingers experimentally.

Duo felt his body flush with heat as soon as her hands connected with him. Her fingers danced, and he drew a sharp breath. She looked up at the noise, and found herself locked in his gaze. His eyes burned into hers like fire, filled with a longing and passion she had never seen before, and even though her mind screamed at her to run, her body seemed rooted to the spot. Her mouth went completely dry, and she flicked her tongue along her lower lip in an unconscious effort to try and maintain some control. Duo's eyes watched the small movement hungrily, and he was seized by a sudden desire to see how that those lips would feel against his.

"Damn Hil." Duo murmured huskily. He pulled her closer, and Hilde could feel the heat from his body. Her own traitorous skin shivered in anticipation, making her step closer to him, and her arms drifted around his back, snuggling her closer to him. Locked in his gaze, she realised somewhere in the back of her mind that he had released her arms and was now gently holding her to him, one of his hands stroking her back. Her mind screamed at her to run again, but she shoved it away, instead relaxing into his embrace. Tucking his finger under her chin, Duo raised her head a little higher, and Hilde's eyes briefly widened in surprise before she felt his mouth on hers in the gentlest kiss she had ever had. White hot flames licked through her body, making her tingle all over, and then pooled somewhere in the region of her lower belly. Her knees turned to jelly, and her face flushed with heat that was nothing to do with the new sun. Her arms moved and caressed his shoulders, her hands tangling in his braid and her body pressed against his, crushing her breasts against his chiselled chest.

Drawing back, Duo stared down into Hilde's eyes, breathing heavily. Her lidded dark eyes gazed back at him, and unbridled passion filled them. A sleeping dragon in his belly unfurled, and his clothes all of a sudden felt too tight. The dragon growled, and Duo obeyed, bending his head to capture those sweet lips once more. With agonizing slowness, he gently pressed against her lips, then flicked his tongue across them. Hilde's chest began to heave slowly, and Duo doubled his efforts. Nibbling gently at her lower lip, Hilde gasped at the sensations that flooded her body, and Duo took his advantage. Gently sliding his tongue into her mouth, he languidly licked her tongue, and felt hers flick in answer. The dragon growled again, and Duo growled along with it. Hilde moaned into his mouth, and Duo crushed her to him, deepening the kiss. Hungrily, he devoured her mouth, the kiss becoming more and more passionate, and Hilde responded in kind, clutching onto Duo as if he were the only thing in the universe. A loud cough brought her back to earth with a bump, and she and Duo drew away from each other, breathing heavily, their faces flushed. The cough sounded again, and Hilde sprang away from Duo as though she had been burned. Duo turned to see his roommates staring at him. Heero looked annoyed, Trowa's visible eye was sparkling with merriment, Quatre was smiling behind his hand, and Wufei just smirked. Duo glared at them.

"What?" He demanded. Wufei's eyes flickered to behind Duo, where Hilde was stood. Turning, Duo was just in time to receive a solid punch to his jaw that sent him sprawling backwards. The other pilots started forward, but Hilde had drawn her gun and had it levelled at them.

"No-one follows me." She warned. Slowly, they nodded. As Duo sat up, she spared a quick glance in his direction and then ran from them back to the college. Quatre bent to help Duo up, who was rubbing his jaw.

"You OK?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah I'm good. Damn, that girl's got a mean right hook!" Duo said, stretching his jaw.

"You get anything from her?" Trowa murmured as he watched her retreating back.

"No, things got kinda heated kinda fast." Duo grinned, and turned to watch as Hilde gained the west wing and entered. Her eyes flickered to Duo briefly, and he saw the unspoken plea in her eyes before she turned and ran. "I forgive you." He whispered.