Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Daughter of the Soldier and the Princess ❯ Lil' Duo to the Rescue ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I won't say it! I won't say it! Oh all right, I'll say it. *grumbles* I don't own Gundam Wing. Humph. However, I do own the plot of this story and the characters I made up. *Author shoots the Death Glare that she inherited from her father* Don't even think about stealing my characters :p

A/N: Ummm, sorry it took me so long to update. *dodges rotten fruit thrown at her* I wrote the next chapter a while back but I'm taking a typing class so I type so much at school that when I get home I don't wanna type my stories. Sorry. I promise I won't do it again. I've already started writing the next chapter after this. I promise I'll post sooner next time. Thanks to all of you who reviewed my last chapter! And thanks to my new bets reader, Angel of Death! Anyway, Please R&R. Thanx.

Daughter of the Soldier and the Princess

Part 3- Lil' Duo to the Rescue

Madori turned to look at Lil' Duo when she saw a flicker of moment out of the corner of her eye. As soon as she turned to see what it was a man dressed in black jumped out of the tree beside her and knocked her to the ground.

Madori had only enough time to let out a surprised gasp before she hit the ground, the breath knocked out of her. Two other men jumped down beside the first. She turned her head to the side and saw Duo running towards her. Then a sharp pain bit into her arm as one of the men stabbed her with a needle.

"Have a nice nap, princess." The man sneered at her. He started to say something else but was cut short by Duo delivering a flying kick to his head. The next man tried to punch Duo in the face but he ducked and punched him in the stomach. The last man turned to run but Duo slammed him to the ground. He took a moment to look at the three unconscious men, then knelt beside Madori.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine. You saved…me…again." Her voice weakened as she passed out. Duo scooped her up in his arms and started to carry her home.

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Duo reached into Madori's pocket and pulled out her house key to unlock the door. He walked in and gently placed her on the sofa.

"Hey, wake up." He whispered.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Came a booming voice from behind him. Duo spun around and saw Greg Sanderson standing there.

"Hey Mr. Greg. You remember me, right?" He asked nervously.

"Lil' Duo…" Greg said, recognizing the young man standing before him.

"That's me."

"What are you doing here? What's the matter with Madori?" Concern filled his voice when he noticed Madori lying on the couch.

"Well, three guys attacked her on the way home from school. One guy pulled out a needle. I couldn't get there in time to keep him from injecting her."

"Injecting her with what?"

"Beats me. I guess something to make her sleep so she wouldn't struggle." Duo answered, gesturing towards the sleeping Madori.

"Duo." A whisper came from behind him. Duo spun around and saw Madori staring up at him.

"Hey babe, you feeling all right?" He asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"Yeah, but my head hurts a little. What did those guys want?" She asked, starting to sit up a little.

"Whoa, you need to lie down for a little longer." Duo said, trying to push her back down.

"I'm fine. Now what did those guys want?"

Duo knew exactly what they wanted, but he couldn't tell Madori. "I dunno, I guess to rob you. Or maybe they thought you were rich and wanted to kidnap you and hold you for ransom."

Madori chuckled, then noticed her father standing behind the couch. "What are you doing home so early daddy?"

"The boss said I looked over worked and stressed. He made me take the rest of the day off. This is your new best friend? Lil' Duo?"

"Yeah, how do you know him? Why do you call him Lil' Duo?"

Greg gave a look that said 'uh-oh' to Duo. "Well, ummm, I knew his father when he was little."

"Oh." Madori shot Duo a 'why-didn't-you-tell-me-you-knew-my -father' look.

"Guess it's a small world." Duo said, laughing nervously. "Well, I guess I should be heading home now. Umm, I'll tell my dad you said hi, Mr. Greg."

"Plain ole Greg is just fine Lil' Duo. Why don't you stay for dinner? I'm sure Amanda would like to see you again."

"Must be a very small world." Madori mumbled. Duo just gave his sweetest smile.

"So what do you say?" Greg asked again.

"Sure. Why not." He said, still smiling at Madori.

"C'mon, I'll show you around the house." Madori got up off the couch and grabbed Duo's hand.

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**The Next Day**

Once again Madori was walking home from school alone. Duo had some kind of meeting so she got stuck walking by herself, again. She made sure to Pay attention to her surroundings, especially the trees. Right when she was walking under the same tree from the day before she heard footsteps behind her. She spun around, hoping to see Duo. Instead, she saw Lane. 'Oh great.'

"Hey Madori! Watcha doing? I saw Duo take off somewhere else so I thought you might need someone to walk ya home."

"No thanks." Her voice was flat, much like her father Heero's.

"What do you mean by 'no thanks'?" He asked almost angrily.

"I'd rather walk alone."

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"Hey Greg! Hey Amanda! Where's Madori? She make it home from school safe?" Duo asked when Greg answered the door. He had just got done with the Preventer's meeting and decided to check on Madori.

"Yeah, she's here. She made it home from school safe, though she seemed upset." Greg answered.

"What do you mean?" Duo asked, growing concerned.

"When she gets upset she puts on that emotionless mask. I've never seen her cry, except for the night she came here." Greg lowered his voice a little. "At first I thought it was strange, but then again, considering her father…"

"Can I try and talk to her?"

"You can try, but it probably won't do any good."

Duo made his way up the stairs and saw Madori's bedroom door open. He crept towards it quietly and peeked in. Madori was sitting on the side of her bed with her back to the door. She just stared at the ground blankly.

"You okay Madori?" Duo asked, walking into her room.

She gave a surprised gasp. "I'm fine." Her voice was monotone and emotionless, like Heero's.

"You sure don't look fine. You seem kind of upset, almost sad. What's the matter? You can tell ole Duo. I won't make fun of you." He sat down next to her on the bed.

"It's nothing, really." She looked up at him. For a second, sadness crossed her eyes. Then she put a blank expression back on.

"You look sad, like you want to cry."

"I don't cry. Crying makes you weak. Wouldn't you think I was weak if I cried?"

"Look at my face. Do I look like I would think you're weak?" Madori looked into his eyes and saw that they were filled with concern. 'Why do I feel so much like I can trust him? He always seems so worried about me. Can't I trust him? I mean, I'm human, I need to cry too.' She felt her eyes filling with tears. She bowed her head and stuck her wrist out for Duo to see. Duo took her hand and examined her wrist. There were five small bruises on it. He looked at them more closely and noticed that they were the size of fingertips. He reached over and grabbed her other hand. The same bruises were in the same spots on her other wrist. Then it hit him like a brick. Someone had squeezed her wrists so hard that it had left bruises.

"Who did this?!" He demanded as the concern in his eyes mixed with blazing anger.

**Flashback**

"Hey Madori! Watcha doing? I saw Duo take off somewhere else so I thought you might need someone to walk home with."

"No thanks." Her voice was flat, much like her father Heero's.

"What do you mean no thanks?" He asked almost angrily.

"I'd rather walk alone."

"Maybe I should walk with you as protection. I heard you were attacked yesterday."

"News travels fast." She said, acting bored.

"So, you know about that school dance coming up?" He said, changing the subject.

"Yeah."

"Well, you want to go with me?"

"No thanks Lane."

"What is it with you and saying 'no thanks' to me. I mean, don't you like me?!"

"Actually Lane, I don't. No offense but you're not my type."

They stopped walking

"Not your type?! Listen to me little girl! No girl has ever turned me down and you're not going to be the first!!!" He now had a hold of her wrists and was squeezing them.

"Ouch! Lane, you're hurting me."

He ignored her. "Well, what do you say about the dance? Yes or no?"

"No." She said sternly. Lane pushed her up against the fence beside them. Her shoulder hit one of the fence posts hard.

"Ouch!" She said, starting to get worried.

"You gonna cry now? Huh? Big tuff girl gonna cry?"

"No, I'm not." She said, forcing her voice to sound strong. At that moment a group of elementary school kids walked by and started looking at them. Lane let go of Madori and stomped off.

**End of flashback**

"Lane did this?!" Duo asked, still angry. She nodded and then turned a little and pointed at her back. Duo pushed her long hair to the side and pushed down the back of her shirt. There, on the back of her shoulder, was a small bruise from were her shoulder hit the fence post. Duo turned her towards him again and grabbed her face. He turned her head side ways and upwards like he was looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" She asked, the tears almost spilling from her eyes.

"Did he hit you?" Duo asked, answering her question.

"No." One tear found its way down her cheek.

"I swear I'll kill him."

"Don't do that. Then everyone will be mad at you." Madori tried to joke. Duo looked down at her and saw the tear trail on her cheek.

"Madori, I'm so sorry I wasn't there." He said, pulling her into a hug. Madori started to cry more.

"It's not your fault." She replied, her head buried in his chest. Duo just pulled her closer and gently rocked her back and forth. They sat like that for a while before Madori broke the silence.

"Duo, why do you always act so concerned about me?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Because I am."

"But why?"

"Because you're my best friend. You're the only one who would've given me a chance at school. What about you? Why am I the only one you've ever cried to?"

"Because I trust you."

"Don't you trust your parents?"

"Yeah, but there is something missing between us. I don't know what, but it's something. Don't get me wrong. I love my parents more than anyone else."

"Madori! Dinner is ready!" Her mom called from down stairs.

"Okay mom!" She called back.

"You love them even more than me?" Duo said, giving her a fake hurt face.

"No Duo, how could I ever love anyone more than you." She said in a sarcastic voice while reaching up and kissing him on the cheek. "C'mon, lets go eat dinner."

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**One week later**

Madori checked the door to make sure it was locked and then left for school. Duo hadn't shown up to walk her to school. Madori just guessed he was running late like he did at least once a week. She hoped he would catch up with her like usual. As she walked she thought of everything that had been happening lately. After the three men attacked her, she had the same car obviously follow her on two different days. Once while she was walking to the store and once when she was walking to the park. At first, she thought she was being paranoid, but after a while she realized that they were definitely following her. 'Oh well, I'll just have to be extra careful.' She thought, but now she had made herself nervous. She turned and looked over her shoulder. Instead of seeing a car, she saw someone running towards her. 'Not Lane, please not Lane.'

"Hey Madori!" He said as he caught up with her.

"What do you want Lane?" She asked in a monotone voice.

"I just wanted to apologize for the other day. I don't usually go off like that. I guess I was just stressed about everything. I'm sorry." He gave her his most sincere look, but it didn't do very much good.

"I accept your apology." She said, knowing what was coming next.

"So what do you say about that dance?"

"No offense Lane, but my answer is still no."

"What?! Why?"

"Because I don't want to be around someone who loses his temper so easily."

"I told you I don't usually do that. It won't happen again."

"Once is enough. Look at my wrists." She said, holding out one wrist. "You left bruises on them and my shoulder."

"Yeah and I'll do it again if you don't give me a chance." He sneered, his tone changing drastically.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me right."

"Lane, don't mess with me. Look, I told Duo what you did last time and he's not very happy about it. If you hurt me again…he'll hurt you."

"Duo?!" He snorted. "Duo?! Duo this, Duo that. What does Duo have that I don't." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Everything." She said, glaring at him.

"Oh really, well he won't have you." Lane said, raising a hand. Madori squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the blow. It never came. She looked up and saw Lil' Duo holding Lane's hand a few inches away from her face.

"What…do you…think…you're doing?" Duo growled through gritted teeth.

"Well, I think I was teaching a lesson." Lane sneered.

"You're sick." Duo said in a disgusted voice.

"Let go of me." Lane said, ignoring Duo's comment.

"No. You hurt Madori, now I hurt you." Anger blazed up in Duo's eyes once again.

"Yeah...haha...right." Lane replied, laughing. Then he suddenly stopped and threw a punch at Duo. Duo ducked and punched Lane in the stomach. Lane doubled over, gasping for air.

"You little punk. I'll get you." He wheezed.

"Wrong." Was Duo's answer. He roughly grabbed Lane's collar and shoved him up against a tree. Then pulled him back and shoved him up against it again, only harder.

"Listen to me you son of a-." He stopped when he saw Madori and finished with "sick jerk. You're very lucky. Very lucky that Madori has pity on you. If it were up to me, I'd kill you. But Madori won't let me. So, I'm just going to make sure you remember not to hurt her again. I see the fear in your eyes, don't think I don't. Don't ever come near her again. Because if you hurt her again, nothing she can say will keep me from killing you." With that he let Lane go. "Remember what I said." He finished. Then he put an arm around Madori and walked away.

"You alright?" Duo asked. She just nodded.

"What's wrong?" He tried to get her to talk.

"I can't even defend myself. I mean, I didn't even try." She finally answered.

"I got an idea."

"What?"

"I'll teach you to fight."

"Teach me to fight?"

"Yep."

"Okay." She said, smiling.

"Alright, now let's get to school."

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Madori sat in her last class of the day. She was doodling a picture on her paper, not noticing what it was she was drawing.

"Madori, would you like to join us now?" Mrs. Owens asked. Madori heard her and looked up, jolted out of her thoughts. "May I have that?" Mrs. Owens asked, pointing at the picture Madori had been drawing. Madori looked down at the picture and froze. It was the man from the picture that she kept hidden.

"I promise I'll stop." Madori said, trying to keep the picture she had drawn. Mrs. Owens shook her head. Madori turned pale and handed her the picture.

"Let me see you after class." Mrs. Owens said with a worried look on her face.

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**After Class**

"Why weren't you paying attention in class?" Mrs. Owens asked.

"Ummmmmm, truthfully?" Madori asked nervously. Mrs. Owens nodded. "Well, I didn't find today's lesson very, ummmmm, interesting."

"That's okay, neither did I." Mrs. Owens replied with a smile on her face. Madori gave her a surprised look and then smiled back. Mrs. Owens was her favorite teacher. She was very understanding and always tried to help Madori out through rough times.

"Now, who is this?" She asked, holding up the picture Madori had sketched.

Madori gulped. 'How could I screw up so easily? I've kept my picture a secret for years and now I've slipped up! Maybe this happened for a reason.'

"It's, um, a guy."

"Well, I can see that. But who is it? It's not any of the boys that go here."

Madori bowed her head in defeat. "It's a man from a picture I have."

"Who is the man?"

"I don't know. I've never known. See, it's very confusing. I've had a picture for as long as I can remember. And I've kept it hidden from everyone, even my parents. I don't know who it is in the picture. I just feel like I have a connection to them." Madori finished with a confused look; she had never actually tried to explain it before.

"Let me get this straight. You've kept a picture of people you don't even know hidden from everyone?"

Madori nodded. "You make it sound like a really bad, crazy thing."

"Can I see the picture?"

Madori hesitated and then dug the picture out and handed it over. 'What am I doing?' She thought. Mrs. Owens took the picture from her hand and studied it.

"You don't know any of these people?" She asked.

"Nope."

"I recognize a few of them."

"You do?!" Madori exclaimed, excitement in her voice.

Mrs. Owens nodded. "Well, this girl is Vice Foreign Minister Relena Yuy. The boy standing next to her is her husband, the Preventer Heero Yuy. He used to pilot a Gundam too, back in the Eve Wars and the Mariemaia Incident. The blonde-headed boy is Quatre Raberba Winter, head of the Winter Corporation. He also piloted a Gundam. The boy with the long braid is Duo Maxwell, he's the new kid's dad. He piloted a Gundam too. So did the mad looking Chinese boy. He's a Preventer too but I don't know his name. Wufee? Wufei? Wumei? I dunno, something like that. This last boy over here is a Preventer and old Gundam pilot. I think he used to perform in the circus that cam here. Basically, this is a picture of all the old Gundam Pilots and the Vice Foreign Minister. Only, this is a long time ago, back when they were teenagers. I'd say it was taken after the Mariemaia Incident, before the Vice Foreign Minister and Heero Yuy were married. How long have you had this?"

"For as long as I can remember."

"How far back does your memory go?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess my four-year-old birthday party. Sometimes I think I have memories before that, but that guy and girl from the picture are in them, so I think I'm just imagining them."

"What if you're not imagining them?"

"What do you mean?" Madori gave her a curious look.

"Well, when I was about sixteen, peace was still new to us. There were still many threats to it. The Yuy's had a daughter who was constantly threatened, even more than her mother. Groups were constantly trying to kidnap her to use her to gain control of The Earth's Sphere. One time there was an unusually serious threat in which a kidnap attempt was made. Their daughter was lost and never found again." Mrs. Owens finished, hoping she wasn't to confusing.

"How sad." Madori said. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"Never mind." Mrs. Owens handed the picture back to Madori. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow. Bye." She watched Madori walk out the door. 'Something is wrong here. Why does Madori have that picture? And why does she have those memories? She looks so much like Heero and Relena Yuy. Her hair, those eyes, the emotionless face she gets when she's upset, and most of all, the glare. And why does her name suddenly seem so familiar? What if she is their daughter? I guess I'll be doing some research.'

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"Wake up sleepy head." Madori heard a voice. Slowly, she stretched and opened her eyes.

"Duo? What're you doing here?" She asked, seeing Duo's face hovering over her.

"I just thought you might want to go swimming."

"Swimming? No thanks." She rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head."

"Awwww, c'mon Madori. It's Saturday."

"Exactly, it's Saturday, and I'm sleepy. Besides, I'm not that great of a swimmer." The pillow muffled her voice.

"How can anyone not be that good of a swimmer?" Duo asked sarcastically.

"I'm just not. I can swim good under water but, on top of water, I'm not so hot. I can't swim long distances either."

Duo yanked the pillow off her head and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her out of bed. "C'mon young lady, you're going swimming."

Madori groaned. "Fine then. I'm up." She walked over to her dresser and started searching for a swimsuit.

Duo watched her with a satisfied smile. Madori found the swimsuit and went into the bathroom to change. When she came out she looked at Duo for the first time that morning, not to mention, for the first time in a swimsuit. 'Wow! He has some muscles. He doesn't look half-bad. Heck, he doesn't look bad at all!' Duo was standing with a towel draped over his arm. He looked up at her. 'Man, she looks great! She's beautiful. Whoa! Hold up, what am I thinking? She's totally off limits. Remember, messing with Heero's daughter equals death. And knowing Heero, a very painful death.' He walked over to her.

"Wake up!" He said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Wow, you're cold! You feel like ice!"

"My ceiling fan is on. I always have it on when I sleep."

"Well, you're not sleeping now silly!" He said, pulling her up against him and wrapping his arms around her. She stood there for a minute with her head on his warm chest before looking up at him. To her surprise, he was already looking down at her. Their eyes met and they stood there for a minute looking at each other. Then Duo started to lean in towards Madori.

~*To be continued*~

A/N: So, how'd ya like it? Please review and tell me if I should continue. I'm not sure if I should or not. Oh yeah, and a big thanks to Sparkle! Thanks for showing me the mistake I made in Chapter 2. If any of ya'll were wondering about Chapter 2 where I put 3 years later it was meant to be 13 years later. Okay. Hope that wasn't confusing. Just go look at Chapter 2, near the beginning, then you'll see what I'm talking about. I've corrected it already. I seriously need ya'll's help telling me if this story sucks or not and if I should continue. Thanks again to my new beta reader, Angel of Death! Please review, I need my reviewers! Thanx!

~*Vega Starr*~

AKA

~*Madori Yuy*~