Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing and the Knights of the Round Table ❯ Little Boy Found ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13: Little Boy Found

Roku dashed ahead of the five pilots, raced backed to them, and then dashed ahead again, causing consternation among the gathering crowds.

“Shouldn't you carry him, Quatre?” Trowa asked.

“You carry him!” Quatre replied. “He weighs a ton. Anyway, he's too excited. Remember, he's never been out of the castle before.”

“True.”

Roku dashed back to them. “Mama! Look at all the people!”

“Yes, dear. Try not to scare them.”

“I won't!” Roku bounded off, causing three ladies to faint and a gaggle of geese to scatter.

“Perhaps we need to define `scare' for him,” Heero said dryly.

“He'll calm down eventually.”

“When do you come up in the joust, Heero?” Wu-Fei asked.

“I'm in the second flight.”

“There are just two flights, right?”

“Yup.”

“How long before you get to impale Jean-Pierre?” Duo asked cheerfully. He was munching on an apple and juggling two more.

“Most likely we won't meet until the final round.” Heero looked aggrieved. “But I promised Arthur I wouldn't kill him.”

“Well, damn!” Duo exclaimed. “I was looking forward to all the blood spurting and stuff.”

“Is Lancelot competing?” asked Wu-Fei.

“No,” Heero said. “He chose not to compete against his countrymen. That's why he wasn't with us in London, either.” He stuck some fingers under the shoulder buckle of his armor and scratched. “Seems foolish to me. If he's part of Arthur's court, he should ride for England. I'm not English, but you don't see that stopping me.”

“Oh, sure! Like you'd pass up a chance to poke holes in people with a sharp stick, whatever the reason!” snorted Duo.

Heero glared at him.

There was a sudden outburst of shrieking and people began scattering from the entrance to the lists. Trowa glanced at Quatre and lifted an eyebrow. Quatre rolled his eyes.

“Roku!” Quatre called.

Roku appeared from out of the confusion and raced toward them.

“Yes, Mama?”

“You seem to be causing a commotion.”

Roku hung his head. “I'm sorry.”

“Hey, that's all right.” Duo rubbed Roku's ears. “I see a booth selling meat sticks. Let's get some food.”

Roku immediately perked up. “Ok!”

Duo and Roku trotted off.

“No wonder he's so heavy,” Quatre grumbled.

“He's not fat, though,” said Wu-Fei. “And he's really well coordinated. I caught him walking on just his front paws the other day.”

“Was that before or after he walked on the railing around the practice yard?” asked Heero.

“During.”

Heero, Quatre and Wu-Fei looked at Trowa.

Trowa held up his hands defensively. “I didn't teach him that,” he said.

“He's picking it up somewhere, Papa Trowa,” Quatre said.

Trowa looked guilty. “Well, I might have done some tightrope walking in front of him.”

“Sheesh!”

“It's not my fault!”

Duo and Roku returned with several meat sticks. Roku was licking his chops. He rubbed against Quatre's legs.

“Yummy!” Roku said.

“And it's not all over your face, for a change,” Quatre laughed.

Roku huffed.

“We'd better get seats,” Wu-Fei said. “I think the first flight is about to start.”

The first flight went off with only a few injuries and no casualties. Then the second flight started and it was Heero's turn.

“Apparently, Arthur's failure to prohibit maiming left Heero with too much latitude,” surmised Wu-Fei.

“I don't know,” said Duo, “I don't think that knight will lose that arm.”

“It's broken in at least three places.”

“Looks like four to me,” said Trowa.

“Yes, it does,” agreed Quatre.

“Papa Heero is good at jousting!” Roku said excitedly.

“Papa Heero is good at everything,” Duo assured him.

“Even at being naughty?” Roku asked slyly.

“Especially at being naughty.”

“Duo!” Quatre exclaimed. “I will thank you not to corrupt my innocent child.”

Duo grinned. “Yes, Mama.”

Roku chuckled. “When will it be Papa Heero's turn again?”

“After they complete this flight. Then they'll start a new round.”

“Oh, look. It's Jean-Pierre's turn.” Wu-Fei pointed at the knight taking position at the right hand side of the course.

“Shouldn't his standard be a rabbit instead of a unicorn?” Trowa asked with a straight face.

Quatre flushed and the others laughed.

Jean-Pierre made quick work of his opponent, unhorsing him in the first pass. He lifted his visor so everyone could see his arrogant smile.

“Well done, Monsieur Lapin!” someone shouted.

Jean-Pierre slammed his visor shut, but not before everyone saw his face flush with anger and humiliation. The crowd roared with laughter.

The match continued to its inevitable conclusion of a final round between Heero and Jean-Pierre. Betting was intense and diverse. Duo hurried off to place a few bets of his own.

“I assume you bet on Heero to win,” Wu-Fei asked when Duo returned.

“Of course,” Duo assured him. “I placed several, because the odds were too good to pass up. Some fool was offering 5-to-1 that Heero wouldn't unhorse him on the first pass. Another idiot was offering 3-to-1 that no blood would be drawn.” Duo rubbed his hands together and chuckled gleefully. “I just hope Heero comes through for me.”

Jean-Pierre and Heero lined up in the lists. The start was called and they spurred their horses forward. Their lances dropped down like falling trees, aimed across the fence at each other.

“Doesn't it look like Jean-Pierre is holding his elbow a little low?” asked Wu-Fei.

“It certainly does,” Trowa agreed.

“He's aiming at Heero's head!” Quatre declared angrily.

Roku growled.

Heero held his elbow high, his lance tip aimed squarely at the center of Jean-Pierre's shield. At the last instant, he thrust his arm forward, raised his shield and twisted to the side. Jean-Pierre's lance glanced off Heero's shield and slid harmlessly past him. Heero's lance landed squarely in the center of Jean-Pierre's shield. The force of the blow cracked the shield in two and lifted Jean-Pierre right out of his stirrups, clear over the rump of his horse. He landed flat on his back with a piece of Heero's broken lance jabbed through his left forearm.

The crowd erupted into cheers, with none as loud as Duo.

“Oh, that man's getting lucky tonight!” Duo crowed. “Money! Money! Here I come!” He dashed off to collect his winnings.

Roku was bouncing up and down. “Mama, I want to go congratulate Papa Heero!”

“All right.” Quatre picked Roku up with a grunt and set off down the steps. Trowa and Wu-Fei followed him.

Jean-Pierre was just being carried off the field when they reached Heero.

“He's not dead is he?” asked Trowa.

“No,” Heero growled, “even though the bastard tried to kill me.”

“We saw that,” said Wu-Fei. “We admire your restraint.”

Duo appeared, gleefully dangling a well-stuffed purse. “Heero, my friend, choose your reward! I have gold in here with your name on it.”

Heero looked thoughtful. “There is this sword I've had my eye on.”

“It's yours!” Duo declared. “We'll go shopping tomorrow. Now, let's go eat. I'm starved!”

There was a banquet scheduled for after the joust, followed by dancing. As the tournament champion, Heero was expected to attend, but he clearly wasn't happy about it. He was surrounded by court ladies, who ooh'd and aah'd and fawned all over him.

“Heero's missing an opportunity there,” Trowa remarked. “I don't think those ladies could make their offers any more plain.”

“They better not wear him out,” Duo grumbled. “He owes me.”

“I don't think you need to worry about that,” said Trowa. “It doesn't look like he's planning on accepting.”

“It looks more like he's planning to strangle someone,” Quatre said.

“I think the ladies look pretty,” said Roku. “Like flowers! And their dresses make ruffly noises.”

Duo grinned suddenly. “Roku, why don't you go over there and pay the ladies a compliment?”

“Ok!” Roku hopped off the bench and trotted over to Heero.

“That was unkind, Duo,” Wu-Fei said.

Several of the ladies backed away with startled cries as Roku shoved his way between their legs.

“Heero doesn't think so,” Duo replied archly.

Heero hauled Roku up into his lap. Most of the ladies kept their distance, but a few brave souls offered Roku pats on the head, which he cheerfully accepted. Then Roku said something and they all backed away. A few looked as if they might faint. With a grin, Heero rose and carried Roku back to the others.

“Thank you, whoever's idea it was to send Roku over,” Heero said.

“You're welcome!” Duo replied with a grin. “Those ladies will just have to accept that I thought of being naughty with you first!”

Quatre frowned at Duo and shook his head. “Roku, whatever did you say to those ladies to make them scatter like that?”

“I said they smelled good enough to eat.”

Quatre groaned and put a hand over his face.

Roku looked confused. “Was that bad? The knights say it to the ladies all the time.”

Duo laughed and Quatre glared at him.

“As if your influence wasn't bad enough!” Quatre complained.

“It sounds a little different coming from a tiger than from a grown man, Roku,” Wu-Fei said. “But don't worry about it. We know you didn't mean any harm.”

The musicians started warming up and servants began moving some of the tables out of the way.

“It looks like the dancing is about to start,” Trowa said.

Heero groaned.

“No, you do not get to leave,” Quatre ordered.

“I'm not dancing!” Heero growled and he settled back with Roku still in his lap. “Look menacing, Roku.”

“Frankly,” said Wu-Fei, “I don't think it's possible for Roku to look more dangerous than you do right now.”

“Well, I'm going to dance!” Duo announced. “You guys should, too.”

“I think I'd rather not,” said Wu-Fei.

“I'll dance,” said Trowa.

“Me too,” added Quatre.

Roku stood up on his hind legs in Heero's lap and put a paw on Heero's shoulder to get a better view. “That looks like fun!”

“Dancing can be quite enjoyable,” Wu-Fei agreed.

The dancing went quite late, but long before it was over, Duo, Quatre and Trowa returned to the others.

“Time for bed!” Duo said brightly.

“I don't want to go to bed!” Roku complained. He yawned hugely. “I'm not tired!”

“I can see that,” said Quatre. He took Roku out of Heero's lap. “How about if Papa Trowa tells you a story?”

“Ok,” Roku agreed sleepily.

Duo pulled Heero to his feet. “I'm still in a celebratory mood.” He winked at Wu-Fei “Care to join us?”

“Don't mind if I do.”

After breakfast in the morning, Duo and Heero left for the market to check out the sword that interested Heero. Quatre went to look for Merlin and Trowa went out to practice with his troupe. Wu-Fei returned to the suite with Roku to resume their lessons.

“You're reading very well, Roku,” Wu-Fei said approvingly.

“Thank you, Papa Wu-Fei.”

“Those paws of yours are going to make writing difficult, though, and we should really be starting that.”

Roku looked down at his paws.

“I got a slate and some chalk, but I'm not sure how you're going to hold it,” Wu-Fei continued. He went to the bookshelf that was holding their ever-growing supply of school materials to retrieve the slate and chalk.

He nearly dropped them when he turned around.

“Wha…?” Wu-Fei stared in consternation.

Seated on the floor where Roku had been was a naked little boy with Quatre's blue eyes. He had black hair, like Wu-Fei and Heero, but it was very long and thick, like Duo's. His mouth and chin also had something of Duo's impish look about them, but his nose might as well have come off Trowa's face. His body had a compact, muscular build, like Heero's, but he was slimmer, more like Trowa. And he had graceful, long-fingered hands like Wu-Fei's. His little bare feet looked like Quatre's.

Wu-Fei closed his mouth, licked his lips, and tried again. “Wha…?”

The little boy grinned and held up his hands. “Will these work?” he said in Roku's voice.

“Roku?” Wu-Fei managed faintly.

Roku nodded, still grinning. He was a very cute little boy.

Wu-Fei drew in a long, ragged breath. “O…k…” He stumbled over and sank down next to Roku. “I'm… a little… surprised.”

Roku looked at himself. “Do I look funny?”

“No, not at all,” Wu-Fei shook his head. “I guess Merlin was right. But why haven't you changed before?”

“I didn't need to. Besides, I like being a tiger.”

“I see.” Wu-Fei made an effort to pull himself together. “Well, first of all, we need to get you some clothes. You're a little too old to be running around in the buff. We can use some of my things for now. If we roll up the pant legs and sleeves and tie a rope around the waist, they should fit well enough.”

“Ok.”

After Roku was dressed, they settled back down to commence a writing lesson.

“Let's start by writing letters,” said Wu-Fei. “I'll draw a letter and then you practice it.”

Wu-Fei drew an `A' and handed Roku the chalk. Roku gripped it carefully in his right hand, the way Wu-Fei had held it, and slowly copied the `A'.

“That looks good,” Wu-Fei said. “Why don't you try a few more in different sizes?”

“Ok.” Roku leaned over the slate, diligently drawing `A's. “This is fun,” he said, but his little face was serious as he concentrated. He filled up the entire slate.

“All right, let's try some `B's.” Wu-Fei erased the slate with a piece of cloth and drew a `B'.

And so it went as they worked their way through the alphabet.

Heero and Duo ran into Trowa in the courtyard on their way back from town.

“Did you buy that sword?” Trowa asked.

“Yes,” Heero said, “but I wanted it sharpened and the handle re-wrapped. We'll pick it up tomorrow.”

“I'm hungry,” Duo announced. “Let's pick up Fei and Roku and get something to eat.”

“Sounds good,” agreed Trowa.

The three entered the castle. They ran into Quatre in the passageway to their suite.

“Good timing, Quatre,” Duo said. “It's lunch time.”

“I know. That's why I came down.”

“How's Merlin?” Heero asked. “He's not still asking questions about our past is he?”

“He is, but I don't answer them. Whenever he tries, I just start asking him questions about Roku. That usually shuts him up.” Quatre grinned. “He really is afraid of my little baby.”

“That's funny,” said Duo. “When you first found out you were pregnant, you didn't want the baby and Merlin did. Now it's just the opposite.”

“Well, who knew my little Roku would be such a sweetie.”

Quatre opened the door to the suite and stopped dead in his tracks. The other three collided with him. They peered past him to see what had stopped him.

“Who the hell is that?” Duo exclaimed.

“It's me!” Roku cried, and he held up the slate with `ROKU' printed on it in big neat letters. “I wrote my name!”

“I'll be damned!” Duo said.

Heero, who was in back, shoved the other three into the suite and shut the door. “So you are human after all.”

“Yup!” Roku jumped up with a wide grin and flung his arms around Quatre's waist. “Mama!”

Quatre, still looking stunned, put his arms around his little boy.

“That is one cute kid,” Duo remarked.

“I'll say,” Trowa agreed.

Quatre finally pushed Roku back a little bit so he could get a good look at him. He dropped down onto his knees. “You know what? You look exactly like I thought you would.”

Roku smiled happily. “But I like being a tiger,” he said.

“You can be a tiger if you want to, but I wouldn't mind seeing you like this every now and then.”

“I need to for lessons,” Roku explained. He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. “I couldn't hold the chalk.”

“That makes sense.”

Quatre studied Roku carefully. Then he looked at each of the others. “Well, Papas, it looks like we still may have to wait for that DNA test.”

There were nods all around.

“No matter,” Duo said finally. “It's lunch time. You going like that Roku?”

For answer, Roku shimmered back into a tiger. “I don't want to confuse people.”

“You're very thoughtful, Roku,” Wu-Fei said.

“Hah!” Duo said. “He just likes it when they faint.”

Roku chuckled.