Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mistaken Words ❯ Caught! ( Chapter 57 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Mistaken Words

AN: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter!

Again my thanks to morgansgirl!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Gundam Wing

Caught!

Jay stepped out of the bathroom after his shower, and walked into his living room where he saw Odin quietly sitting. It was early evening and their class hadn't even been over for an hour yet. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask him but he doubted he'd receive answers to any of them, even breaking the silence was difficult with so quiet a guest. There was one place Jay thought he might be able to get some answers, but considering the info Wufei had given him the first time around, the sensei wasn't about to hold his breath. Though he was determined to find out why Wufei had failed to mention the fact that Odin was hurt, that pissed him off Wufei knew Jay's polices, he should have said something.

“You hungry?” Jay asked as he leaned in the doorway.

Odin's looked up mutely and shook his head, his face a mask of what he was actually thinking.

Jay had never met anyone like him before, though there was something about Odin that made him think of Wufei, something in the young man's eyes. “Well I have to make a phone call, I thought I'd order pizza. In case you change your mind, what do you like on your pizza?”

“Doesn't matter,” Odin replied with a shrug.

Suppressing a sigh Jay simply nodded his head and moved into his room taking a seat on the edge of his bed he reached for the phone. Dialing Wufei's number Jay waited a moment for his friend to pick up, it was lucky the Chinese man being present for the calls. Jay knew how varied Wufei's schedule could be guarding Relena Peacecraft.

“Wufei here.”

“You know you could have told me he was hurt,” Jay ground out making sure to keep his voice down, with the door closed he doubted Odin would be able to hear, but he wanted to be sure.

“Hello to you too Jay,” Wufei returned dryly.

“Why didn't you?”

“I didn't think about it,” it sounded like he was shrugging the matter aside.

“Really convenient don't you think?” he wasn't sure why he was so sure it had been a purposeful omission but that's exactly how it felt to him.

“You're way too suspicious,” Wufei countered, “It was an honest mistake, it happened over six months ago.”

“What happened to him?”

There was a pause, and Jay's fist clenched Caught you! he thought oddly triumphant, “He was in a fight--”

“That's funny, he told me it was a car accident,” Jay cut through.

Another pause, and Wufei chuckled, “I'm not really surprised he called it that.”

“It must have been one hell of a fight,” the sensei shifted on his bed remembering his match against Odin. “I've seen him fight Wufei he's good, how'd it happen?”

“It wasn't exactly a fair fight,” Wufei told him rather vaguely.

Jay had sudden visions of a gang beating, how else could it have happened? “What happened?” he asked not wanting to jump to conclusions about everything involving Odin.

“He didn't tell you for a reason Jay, I'm going to have to respect that, and just leave it at what I've already said.” For his part at least Wufei actually sounded apologetic, “How exactly did you find out?” he inquired after a second of silence.

“It was odd,” Jay began rubbing at his still damp hair, “He let a punch in, purposely left himself open.”

Wufei was silent, and Jay wished he could see his friends face, not that he actually thought he'd see what the Chinese man was thinking. But there was always a chance—however slight—that he'd let something slip. Jay's eyes turned towards the door, “Do you know why he'd do something like that?” he wasn't expecting an answer.

“No idea, maybe he just wanted to find out how his ribs would take it?” the suggestion seemed sound enough though odd, which Jay had to admit fit with what he knew about Odin.

“Anything else you think I should know?”

“Not that I can think of,” Wufei drawled, “But feel free to call anytime, I'm more than willing to answer questions.”

“Ha!” Jay barked his voice raising briefly, “All you offer is more questions, never answers.”

“It's not my fault you ask hard to answer questions,” his friend defended, “I have to let you go Jay, but call again if you need anything.”

“I will, but hopefully I won't be met with any more surprises,” though he would like to learn more about his quiet guest. Hanging up the phone Jay turned it on again quickly and ordered his pizza.

WMWMWMW

Heero woke, his mind sliding from sleep to wakefulness almost instantly and he pushed himself to a sitting position a soft groan escaping his lips as he did. His right side ached from the sparring match the day before along with other parts of him, he moved slowly stretching his muscles out before coming to his feet. He had gone to bed early the night before, not feeling like eating a lot and even less like dealing with conversation. Jay had handled his silence very well simply reiterating that he should make himself at home. The man was intriguing to say the least and Heero found himself watching Jay trying to understand him with little success.

Dropping back onto the edge of his bed Heero dropped his head into his hands locking his fingers into his hair, he felt a little off, his movements shaky his headache stronger than it had been the day before. Breathing slowly he forced the feelings aside and got back to his feet. Grabbing his supplies he left his room and crossed the hall to the bathroom hoping a shower would fully waken him. He had just stepped out of the shower when he head a knock on the door.

“Odin,” Jay's voice called to him through the wood.

“Yeah?”

“I'm making breakfast, you want anything?”

Heero briefly debated his answers as he dried himself and began dressing, he was feeling better after his shower, and decided it might be a good idea, “Sure.”

“Great,” he was sure he heard a smile in Jay's voice.

Pulling a long sleeved shirt over his head Heero raked both hands quickly through his hair before walking from the bathroom. Glancing down the hall he saw Jay standing in the kitchen working near the stove, he walked towards the counter seating himself on one of the stools. The only sounds that broke the silence between them was the sizzling of the bacon, and the news speaking softly in the background. He watched the news idly, feeling Jay's eyes flickered to him, and he knew as the silence dragged on that questions were coming. But he wasn't going to run from it this time, not yet at least, perhaps he could come to understand this man a little better.

“Did you sleep well?” Jay asked finally.

Heero didn't even bother to turn his head, he just nodded, any night without nightmares was a good one.

The silence returned for a moment or two before Jay tried again, “So tell me where did you live before you moved here?”

“Colonies,” he answered calmly watching Jay through the corner of one eye.

“More than one?” the sensei chuckled, “You've moved around a lot?”

“A fair deal,” so far he was able to answer honestly.

“No family with you?”

Heero shook his head, “I don't have any family,” not so true now he supposed though the word still felt unfamiliar to him.

“What about school?” Jay continued his eyes focused on the eggs he was scrambling.

He felt like asking `What about it?' he hadn't really attended any normal school at least not for an extended period of time. Everything he knew had been taught one on one. Somehow they had found the time between his more `important' lessons to teach him the common things all children learned. “I was privately taught,” he responded finally.

“Where were you during the war?” he passed a plate across the counter along with a knife and fork.

It was an innocent enough question, the war had been a major point in everyone's life and it was no secret that many of the soldiers had been young. But did he want to admit to having fought? Could that not cause him more problems? Or might it explain away some of his skills? “I fought,” he said simply beginning to eat some of what he had been given.

For what had to be the seventh time Jay's eyes looked Heero over as though seeing him for the first time, “Weren't you a little young Odin?”

“The Alliance didn't discriminate neither did OZ for that matter,” he shrugged the matter aside, and for Jay's part he just nodded his head leaning against the counter as he began eating his own meal.

“I was forced to teach new recruits CQC,” Jay spoke up after a short time, perhaps feeling the need to offer something of himself instead of just asking question after question. “I enjoyed learning back when I was younger but hadn't wanted any part in the war. So when it had ended I went back to teaching karate, the students learn how to defend himself but are also taught to be peaceful.”

It was Heero's turn to look at Jay as though for the first time, this information made him re-evaluate the sparring match he had had with him yesterday. And he wondered what it would be like to go all out as he did with the pilots, he felt pretty sure from what he had seen and now heard that Jay could well give him a good fight. “Do you teach any of what you know?”

“Some, in conjunction with the karate lessons, a lot of it works both ways,” he nodded, and once again they lapsed into silence. By this point Heero had had his fill and quietly pushed his plate back across the counter. His cobalt eyes returned to the news, but they wouldn't remain there for long, “Can I ask you a question?” Jay asked.

“Isn't that what you've been doing?” Heero deflected looking to Jay through the corner of one eye.

The sensei chuckled, “Yeah, but I was wondering about that chain you're always wearing, I've heard it, I was just wondering what was on it.”

Heero reached for the chain that ran beneath his shirt and drew out the dog tags, lifting the chain from around his head he passed it across to Jay. Who looked over the dates on it, when his head came up there was more questions in his eyes, “You survived?” he asked looking directly into Heero's eyes.

He shrugged not wanting to get into the significance of that engraving, not wanting to think about his friend and what had happened to get him here. “It was a gift,” he accepted it back and quickly put it on.

“You had strong ties to the men you fought with during the war,” it was more a statement that Jay made as he took both their plates and began cleaning up. Heero wasn't at all surprised Jay had come to that conclusion, the dates were easy to understand.

“Yeah…” he nodded looking back towards the TV, “At times…” he mumbled that to himself.

WMWMWMW

Heero stepped down into the large open dojo Jay's class having just come to an end, but the sensei was engrossed in excited conversations with several of his pupils he didn't even seem to notice Heero's presence. This suited the former pilot just fine, after their conversation over breakfast Heero had tried to keep to himself not really wanting to discuss more of his past. He wouldn't be open and forthcoming with Jay even if it were possible so why sit down and cause more questions to turn around in Jay's mind. But by the same token he couldn't remain entirely silent shying away from any form of conversation between himself and Jay, that too would cause unnecessary questions.

Pulling his attention away from the center of the room Heero looked towards the shorter staircase that lead down into the basement just beside the stairs to Jay's apartment. He had noticed it back on his first day but hadn't thought much of it as the lights down there had been off. Now seeing that they were on Heero went down to take a closer look. At the bottom of the small flight Heero found a medium sized room filled with strength training equipment, much like what he could find back at the agency. It all looked a little more well worn, the white paint chipped in more than one place.

A soft foot upon the stairs alerted Heero before Jay even spoke, “I was lucky a small gym in town was going out of business and I was able to snatch up their equipment really cheap.” He took a couple of steps closer to Heero, his right hand reaching out to take hold on one of the bars, “Sometimes the classes want to work down here as a change of pace, not as popular as the karate perhaps but worth it nonetheless.”

Heero just nodded his head not having anything to say in response to that.

“Oh, Odin your coat is still wet,” Jay said as though the thought had just occurred to him, “Sorry I kind of forgot about it yesterday.”

“No problem…” Heero responded after a moment having forgotten that he had even given the gi jacket to Jay for cleaning. He thought about it for a moment he didn't want Jay to think it was an issue, but he usually wore a t-shirt under his coat, that was out of the question. He couldn't risk exposing any of the numerous scars that he had recently acquired, they'd just cause too many questions. He supposed the long sleeved shirt he was wearing at the moment could work, it wasn't as thick as the gi, but the sleeves wouldn't roll up. It would have to do; walking back towards the stairs Jay turned to follow him.

“Going to change?” he asked, and Heero mutely nodded, it wouldn't be too much longer before the students began arriving.

It took him less time to get changed than normal and he tied his belt securely over the black shirt not wanting the material to ride up when he was being thrown. He turned away from his locker just as the door was opening, Alan walking through. The tall young man looked surprised and a smile broke out on his face as he nodded a greeting to Heero, “I was wondering if you were coming tonight when I didn't see you out there.”

Heero's lips twitched a little at that as he walked past not knowing how to respond he just walked back out into the dojo and bowed himself onto the mat. “I hope you don't mind if I use you to demonstrate the throws,” Jay spoke while stretching his left arm behind his back, Heero shook his head, that worked just as well for him. “Good,” the sensei smiled clapping his hands together, “I want to teach them a new one today, the axe throw, are you familiar with it?”

“Yeah,” Heero knew a bunch of different throws, he never really cared which one he used it all came down to whatever the situation required.

WMWMWMW

“Alright,” Jay looked out over his class, sweaty yet determined faces stared back at him, an eager light in all of their eyes. He had drilled them on curriculum for the first hour and a half, pushing them for endurance, keeping the up coming grading fully in mind, they were going to have to work for this. “Grab the mats we're going to work on some throws,” an eager eruption of conversation broke out as the students began dragging the mats that rested against the wall out onto the floor.

Not everyone was as eager for this part of the lesson, some students didn't like to be thrown despite their best efforts they fought against it, others hated doing the throwing. Still for the vast majority it went over well, and even those who were less eager enjoyed themselves. Once everything was set up Jay stepped onto the edge of the mat, “Odin,” he motioned for the young man to come stand with him, which Odin did, and Jay turned his attention to the class, “Alright you all know the hip throw but I'm just going to demonstrate it again, it's been a while.”

Positioning himself so he was facing Odin, he explained what he wanted him to do, “Come at me with a roundhouse.” Odin nodded and did as he had been told, Jay caught his arm and paused reminding his students as he positioned himself for the throw. This was the stage were most students made their mistakes, they didn't keep their feet together forcing them to work far harder to throw their opponent. Jay lifted Odin for the throw surprised—despite having known the young man would be light—at just how light he actually was. Dropping Odin down gently to the padding Jay maintained a solid grip of his right wrist.

“Do not let your partner go when you have them down,” he instructed lowering his stance he pressed the outside of Odin's elbow to his knee. Odin's body twisted away exposing his side, “Always remember to finish your opponent off.” As he spoke Jay's hand adjusted on Odin's wrist and he noted an odd roughness there glancing down he saw what he was feeling looked like a band of callous. His mind didn't even have time to process what he thought had caused the callous before he had to let Odin up or have questions asked.

“Okay here's what we're going to do, everyone's going to get a chance to throw everyone else, starting with Odin.” He pulled the young man to his feet, “Everyone line up.” Jay walked to the edge of the mat and watched as Odin systematically went from one student to the next, throwing each of them like he had done it a million times before. Even those who hated being thrown were done before they even knew it, he finished each throw differently, alternating from arm bars and punched to the side, to choke holds and strikes to the carotid.

When Odin had finished his round things began to slow down as Jay had to correct the mistakes he saw, and work with students who were less sure of themselves. Not only had Odin made throwing the students easy he also made himself easy to throw, not resisting, his light weight also helped. But Jay noted as the class progressed and each time Odin cycled through another student, he got to his feet a little slower, it took him a little longer to breathe normally. He didn't complain, didn't even hiss in pain, just climbed to his feet and moved back to the line waiting for the next one.

A part of Jay wanted to pull the young man out, but he knew immediately that Odin wouldn't appreciate the attention, or concern so he let it be. When everyone had had their turn Jay drew Odin back to the front of the class and decided that he would verbally explain what they were going to do next, give his guest a chance to let the pain subside. “Okay that was great you're all getting a lot better at this, still a few things we need to hammer out but we're getting there.” He stood on Odin's right as he spoke dividing his attention between the class and watching through the corner of his eye as Odin began to breathe easier.

“Next I'd like to show you an axe throw. It's a little more complicated but I think you're all up for the challenge,” Jay stepped around behind Odin as he explained the throw and how it differed from the hip throw they were more accustomed too. As he spoke Jay absently rested a hand on Odin's back near his shoulder blade, his palm pressing against an odd roughness and he felt the quiet man tense.

WMWMWMW

Heero bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from reacting, he had seen it coming from the edge of his eye but had been able to do nothing to stop it. He wanted to pull away to remove the pressure that was holding the material of his shirt securely against the scar tissue, he didn't want to feel it, didn't want to remember. His every muscle was tensed both against the unwanted contact and to keep himself rooted in place. He knew it would seem odd to Jay but the reaction had been instantaneous there was nothing he could do, he could not stand anything touching it!

WMWMWMW

Odin's reaction caught Jay off guard and he immediately pulled his hand away, thankfully his memory had kicked in, and he didn't loose track of what he had been saying. Now in a position to demonstrate the throw Jay turned to Odin trying to look the young man in the eyes. But Odin was having none of it, his face—a stony mask—was tilted down ever so slightly but just enough to shield his eyes from view. Jay wondered why he had reacted so harshly, he doubted Odin's response had been visible to the students watching. But to Jay it had felt like Odin had jumped away from him as though burned. He had shifted away only a fraction before he had stopped himself, and Jay felt positive he had stumbled upon something he shouldn't have.

He wondered if Odin would let him touch him now as he had too to demonstrate the throw. What had he found? Jay couldn't help but wonder though he tried to keep his focus on the task at hand, he could try and ask Odin when class was finished. Already Jay knew such a question wouldn't go over well, but he'd want to ask it nonetheless. Reaching out for Odin Jay found himself feeling like he was split in too, as much as he simply wanted to forget the mystery he had uncovered until after class, his mind was not about to let go of it. He continued to be aware enough to lower Odin gently to the mats where he held him as he reminded his class not to let their opponent up but to finish the move with a final strike.

The young man was a real puzzle, all the children he had taken in over years had had their problems, why else would they have run away. Some carried physical scars, others mental, and though it had never been Jay's intention to do anything for them beyond offering them a safe place to sleep and the discipline karate could teach them. Somehow they had all opened up to him, to varying degrees and he had learned some terrible things. He couldn't help but wonder what was in Odin's past. He had been a part of the war, that much the young man had admitted to, but he would have been only around fifteen at the time. Jay found it hard to believe, but looking into Odin's eyes he knew his guest wasn't lying.

“Does anyone want me to show them again?” he asked briefly snapping back to total clarity as he looked around at the faces watching him, the entire class nodded their heads. Jay shifted his grip without thinking on Odin's wrist stepping back so he could help his partner to his feet. Again he felt the rough callous that surrounded Odin's wrist, and wondered why Odin didn't react to it being touched, he also wouldn't have minded knowing what had caused it. Yet another question to ask Odin when the class was over.

Demonstrating the throw one more time nice and slow, this time forcing a little more of his attention on instructing and not wondering, Jay lowered Odin to the floor. “Alright now pair up,” he told them pulling Odin back to his feet, the young man was still avoiding eye contact, and Jay would have given anything to know what he was thinking. “Do you mind helping them?” he asked, figuring Odin could do more good helping the entire class than just one student. His guest nodded mutely and walked towards the first group he saw attempting the throw. Jay continued to watch him for a moment before he finally shook his head and moved off the opposite way.

Class ended up running a little longer than Jay had intended it to, and it felt like every time he turned around to see where Odin was someone else wanted his attention. He had tried—for the rest of the class—to act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, so he didn't want to brush off his students in an effort to find Odin. Jay had had a hard time keeping his mind on track while teaching, his thoughts kept replaying Odin's reaction, he looked down at his hand, his thumb running lightly across his fingers, what had he felt there?

“Sensei?” a voice asked curiously.

Jay looked up, his intense expression falling into an easy smile, “Sorry, got a little distracted,” his students smiled and the conversation was on again, he tried a little harder to partake this time but found his eyes constantly wandering around the room unable to catch sight of Odin. That was odd, his guest never went into the change rooms until everyone had already left, had he changed his mind this time?

When finally the sensei waved goodbye to the last of his class, he turned and quickly walked into the locker room, “Odin?” he called glancing around but not seeing the young man. He turned quickly and went upstairs to his apartment again calling out for his guest. There was no response making a quick sweep of the rooms Jay returned to the stairs, Odin was nowhere to be found. He noted then that Odin's shoes and coat were missing from the mat and peg by the archway, When did he get those? Jay wondered. He felt a spark of concern then, and raked a hand through his short reddish hair, “What now?” he asked the empty apartment.

It didn't take him long to think of an answer, sitting down in front of his vid phone Jay dialed a number that hadn't received this much use in a long time. He wasn't all that surprised when he received no answer, he had been lucky the first two times to catch Wufei on the first try. Leaving a message on his friend`s voicemail Jay got to his feet and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Hopefully by the time he came out Wufei would return from wherever he had gone and call him back. That wasn't to be his luck though, and when he stepped from the bathroom dressed in a comfy pair of pants and a sweater not even Odin had returned.

WMWMWMW

Wufei walked into his apartment shrugging out of his coat as he did, “You want a drink?” he asked Trowa who followed in quietly behind, the taller man nodded quietly and hung his coat up beside Wufei's.

They had just got in from taking Relena home for the night, it was an early night for all of them as Relena had a meeting in the morning and she wanted to get a decent nights sleep. But Wufei wasn't ready to turn in just yet, and neither was Trowa, “Do you want something cold or hot?” he looked back over his shoulder watching his friend take a seat in the small living room.

“Beer?” Trowa looked back.

“Uh…” he glanced in the frig, “No beer, will sake do?” Trowa nodded in response and Wufei reached in to remove the bottle. After retrieving two glasses from the cupboard he walking into his living room and sat down across from Trowa.

“So have you heard anything new from Jay?” accepting his glass Trowa settled back in his armchair.

“Nothing significant no,” Wufei sipped at his own drink, “He called yesterday but only to berate me for not telling him that Heero was hurt.”

An eyebrow raised, “I wouldn't have thought that'd be an issue…”

“Heero let the punch in,” Wufei didn't need to say much beyond that, they all understood what Heero had been trying to do in the fight before he left. It didn't really surprise Wufei that he had done it at Jay's dojo, he had to find out for himself what would happen. And now he knew, that gave Wufei a small sense of self satisfaction, sure they had made a mistake, but their intentions were right, and now Heero knew that.

Trowa drained the last of his sake, and gestures with the empty glass, “Looks like you've got a message.”

Twisting in his chair Wufei looked to his vid-phone seeing that a red light was blinking on it, “Hmmm, I wonder if it's Jay…” he poured himself and Trowa another round before getting up to check the messages. Pressing a button on the side of the phone, the screen lit up and Jay appeared.

“Hey Wufei, this isn't about anything serious, I just have a curiosity question, if you could call me when you get the chance that'd be great.”

“Curiosity?” Trowa asked deadpan, “That make you as nervous as it does me?”

“Heh,” Wufei chuckled dryly, “Odin is a mystery to Jay, no matter how unassuming he tries to be there's always questions.” He sat down in front of the phone, “I just hope this time his question is something I can answer, he's already suspicious enough.”

“I'm sure Heero was positive we'd never find him in that small dojo,” he shook his head, “Who knew it could cause you so many headaches.”

“He hasn't been that bad yet,” he defended searching through the phone's memory for Jay's number, “But I'd better see what he wants to know.”

The phone didn't ring long before Jay answered it, “Evening,” he greeted immediately before the screen had fully turned on, “Sorry to bother you again so soon.”

“Not a problem,” His eyes glanced around Jay, he didn't think his friend would call in the open if Heero was around, but he wanted to be sure.

“Odin took off after class, he hasn't come back yet,” Jay assured his usual expression sliding into one of concern.

“What happened?” Wufei was beginning to think this was more than just a curiosity question.

“I'm not actually sure,” Jay began adjusting his thin framed glasses, “I was wondering if you might know anything about a scar that might be on Odin's back…”

Wufei heard Trowa quietly snort behind him, for his part he merely raised an eyebrow, “Maybe?” it was an odd way to phrase it.

“Well I don't actually know if it is a scar, that's just what I thought it felt like,” he clarified.

“Why don't you tell me what happened,” he already had a fair idea, but needed to hear it from Jay.

“I was teaching the class a new throw, and touched Odin's back while I was explaining,” as he spoke Trowa got up from his seat and moved a little closer. He remained outside of the vid phone's view but entered into Wufei's peripheral. “I don't know if I would have thought anything of it if Odin hadn't reacted the way he did.”

Wufei could only imagine how Heero would react to someone touching the brand, the Japanese man had been all but completely silent on the matter after he had found out. In fact it had been a little disturbing, especially when they all found out how he had reacted in the first place. None of them were about to try and approach the subject with Heero, so it remained an awkward piece of knowledge. “How'd he react,” he asked after a moment knowing it was expected.

“He stiffened, almost jerked away from me, but after he wouldn't look at me, hardly said a word,” he chuckled a little then, “Though that's not so unusual for him.”

Through the corner of one eye Wufei saw Trowa nod his head in agreement, before downing the last of his drink, “Odin's never been particularly chatty,” he returned.

Jay leaned on the table before him, his expression becoming serious, “So do you know anything about this? He's really got me wondering, I wanted to ask him about it as soon as class ended but he disappeared before I could say a word.” He glanced back over his shoulder as though expecting to see Heero, Wufei hoped that wasn't the case the last thing he wanted was to drive Heero deeper underground. “I have no idea when he's coming back.”

Wufei had to make a decision in only a matter of seconds, what was he to tell Jay? Was there anything he could say in this situation, or would he be better off to claim ignorance? That, Jay might find that all too convenient, but he hadn't told the sensei anything that would lead him to believe Wufei and Heero were close enough to know such personal details. However on the other hand if he didn't give Jay something to satisfy his curiosity he could well approach Heero about it, with consequences much worse than Jay had seen by just touching it. Trowa's thoughts seemed to be running along the same line as he stepped a little closer and mouthed the words `You'd better tell him.'

“Look Jay, what you found isn't something Odin likes to talk about,” Wufei began slowly choosing his words carefully, not at all sure how much he wanted to give to Jay, enough to make him leave it alone. “It's a brand.”

“Brand?” Jay asked back in surprise, and Wufei could see on his face as understanding and more questions formed in his mind, Jay's eyes were very expressive. “I've heard a little about it in the past, I wouldn't have…” he trailed off, perhaps realizing he just didn't know Heero well enough to finish that statement. Instead he said, “I don't understand why people do it.”

“Neither do I,” he agreed to move the matter along, “It's a touchy subject for him Jay, I'd just let it be if I were you.”

Then came the inevitable question, “Why?”

What to say? Wufei thought hurriedly, If I tell him it was done against his will, that'll only raise more red flags… there had to be an answer that could let Jay drop it. “I told you before he's been an informant for us in the past. That's required him to run with some bad crowds, and prove his loyalty to them, the brand was one of those proofs.”

A low whistle escaped Jay's lips, “What sort of group was it?”

“I don't know,” he answered immediately, “I wasn't Odin's handler, I only learned what was relevant for guarding Relena.” It was amazing how close to the truth he could actually get while still leaving Jay completely oblivious to what was actually happening.

“I see…” Jay sighed, “Well thanks for the info, say I don't suppose you'd know anything about the callous' on Odin's wrists?”

Damn Jay was an observant man, “Haven't a clue,” he answered in an honest voice, “You could ask Odin but I wouldn't count on getting an answer.”

“Hmmm…” Jay looked thoughtful, and for a moment Wufei wondered if the sensei would demand to know more that he had been told. “Well thanks Wufei, I'd better go before Odin comes back,” nodding Wufei watched the screen go black before he shut off his end and turned to face Trowa.

“He's an observant man,” Trowa commented stepping away from the wall.

Wufei massaged the back of his neck, “Unfortunately…”

“More sake?”

“Please.”

Thanks for Reading!

The Brand of the Phoenix:

Jay felt stunned again, what Odin had just said didn't seem to fit with what Wufei had told him, “How could you not know it happened?” the words slipped out before he could stop himself. The glare Odin directed his way went right through him and he shivered, that wasn't a question he was going to be getting an answer to anytime soon, but that didn't deter him immediately. It was becoming increasingly clear to him that Odin had been avoiding this for a while now, perhaps this was why he only ever seemed to shrug his right shoulder. “Why'd they do it to you?” he tried, it was an effort to keep his voice calm, but he managed it.

Odin's eyes narrowed further, “Because they could!” it didn't sound to Jay like he had really given it much thought.

Drawing in a calming breath Jay thought quickly, this wasn't getting him anywhere and he didn't want to drive Odin off before he had managed to understand a little more, so he quickly switched gears. “What does it mean?” he hoped at least Odin would offer him something.

“It means I betrayed my friends,” he flared though his voice never raised.

Alarms went off in Jay's head, “Do they see it that way?” he couldn't see how that would be the case, if Wufei was a friend of his—which he certainly seemed to be—he definitely didn't act betrayed.

“That's not the point!”

“Is it why you ran away from them?” again before he could think better of it. Jay regretted that immediately, it was getting to close to revealing that he had made contact with someone who might be looking for Odin.

“Back off!” Odin warned darkly, thankfully appearing to have not noticed Jay's near slip.

Jay put out his hands in a sign of peace, “Look Odin, I'm not trying to judge you here, but it's obvious this bothers you and ignoring it isn't going to make it go away.”

“Neither is talking about it,” he fired back.

It was true and Jay nodded his head, a tattoo could be removed, but nothing not even time was going to lesson the appearance of that brand. “I just think it would be better for you if you tired to accept it,” he doubted that would go over well, and wasn't disappointed.

“What the hell do you know about me!”

“Not much I'll admit,” Jay shrugged, “It's only a suggestion, but if there's one thing I've learned since the war, it's that scars can be seen as a mark of survival.” Odin's eyes narrowed dangerously, “I know this is not exactly like that, but there has to be a different way for you to look at this…”

Odin turned from him then, opening the locker door wider, nothing about him relaxed but at least he hadn't flared up again. Jay wasn't about to let himself hope that he was getting through to him.

“Are you going to come back out?” he asked then after a moments silence, and watched as Odin began removing his things from the locker, “What are you doing?”

“Leaving.”

“Running from me too?” it was a careful line to walk but he kept his tone light hoping not to provoke.

“I almost killed you,” there was no heat behind it, it was just a statement.

Morganeth Taren'drel