Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Shounen Kakumei Duo ❯ The Black Rose Seed ( Chapter 1 )

((I do not own Gundam Wing, blah blah blah. I posted this on ff.net, and I'm unsure about rewriting it. Please leave some feedback...?))

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"The Black Rose Seed"

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"So where are we going today, sexy?"

Duo grunted and turned his face away. Trowa and Quatre began to walk away from the group of Gundam pilots, hand in hand. The mere site of the two together disgusted him.

"Don't tell me you're gonna start bitchin' again, Maxwell," said Wufei, grumpily. Duo gave Wufei a sharp glare, and then took a big bite of his cheeseburger. Heero sat across from him at the small table outside at a diner, a look of disagreement upon his face. He grumbled and shook his head.

"Duo, drop it. We know what you're going to start complaining about. It's getting old," said Heero coldly, without lifting his head up from his drink. Duo chewed on his cheeseburger, then swallowed. His stomach began to feel sick suddenly with the entrance of food, so he wrapped up the rest of his cheeseburger and casually tossed it to the nearest trash can, making it in. He took a deep breath and stretched.

"Doesn't bug me. Those two could go and have kids 'far as I care," he replied. Wufei narrowed his eyes at the braided pilot.

"Bull."

Duo shrugged his shoulder, then backed up his chair and stood up slowly. He rested his hands on the back of the chair and held onto it tightly, pausing for a brief moment. There was a really deep sinking feeling in his stomach, and pressure applied to his chest. He bit his lip slightly and closed his eyes, gripping onto the chair tighter, the pain seeming to grow with every breath he took. God it hurt.

"Look, why don'cha just go home, cry like a woman, then come back when you're feeling all better, 'kay?" suggested Wufei, not making the situation any better. Duo took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and released the chair. His palms were clammy. Heero looked up at him finally, piercing into his gaze with his ice-cold, cobalt eyes.

"I hope you're not going to stay in this state during our next mission," he said. Duo shook his head, folding his arms over his aching chest.

"Fine. I'll leave. Wouldn't wanna spoil yer day," he said as he turned and began to walk out. He unfolded his arms and pushed open the gate casually, before letting it slam shut behind him. He didn't notice his hands had turned into fists and he was grinding his teeth- not in anger, but because of seeing Quatre and Trowa... together... The image of them kept flashing over and over again in his mind, torturing him all the more; tearing his heart to pieces.

"Duo."

Duo turned around and came face-to-face with Heero. He didn't even hear the gate open or shut. Heero still had that ice-cold stare in his eyes, almost sending a chill down Duo's spine, but he was too hurt to care.

"What? I don't need any of your shit right now, Heero. Y'know how I feel alrea-"

Heero grabbed Duo by his upper arm and squeezed it tightly. He yanked him towards him, until their faces were only inches apart.

"I know. It's old. And annoying," he said, coldly. Duo's eyes widened.

"Heero, let me go."

Heero applied more pressure onto Duo's arm, swung him into the side of the diner building, and then placed his mouth over his forcefully. Duo grunted lightly, and then struggled against Heero's grip, but it was in vain. Heero had a tight grip on his arm and practically had him pinned against the side of the building.

After what felt like an entire minute, Heero finally pulled back from Duo's face. He still had his tight grip on his arm. It was beginning to hurt Duo. Duo looked into Heero's fierce stare with widened eyes.

"Hee-"

"Duo, shut up," Heero placed his fingertips over Duo's mouth, applying pressure to them also, "Just shut up."

Duo felt Heero free his arm, and then took a step back. He felt his face growing a bright pink. There was a small, burning like feeling in his chest that made him feel like punching Heero across the face, but he knew better then that. Heero would just punch him right back, and harder, at that.

"Go home and take some rest. Get your mind off of things. I don't want you screwing up our next mission with all this shit in that small brain of yours," Heero said, coldly. Duo challenged his fierce gaze for a moment, before quickly turning away and casting his gaze to the ground. His hands formed into fists again. That's all Heero cared about- the mission. He didn't care about Duo's feelings. He just wanted to present his 'team' in a well organized manner and complete whatever missions had come to face them. Duo hated that about him.

Without another word to the heartless pilot, Duo began to walk away from him, quickly. His hands were still in fists, his teeth clenched together again, and his heart in pain. 'I'll just go home and bleed for a few hours,' he thought to himself. Go home, go into his room, and lay down in his bed.

And think about Quatre.

The mere thought of that sent a shock of pain up his chest again. Every time he thought about Quatre, he thought about -him-; the silent Gundam pilot whose hair was an annoyance to Duo, only showing half of his face. Trowa, the one who stood in the shadows, it seemed, and only came out for Quatre...wrapping his arms around the blonde pilot, holding him closer...placing his lips over his...

Duo stopped in a park that he was walking through to get home and sat down on a bench. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, burying his face into his hands. With his fingertips, he gripped onto his bangs, tightening his hands into fists with his hair in them. He bit his lip as he resisted the urge to cry out in pain. His entire body was so tense.

Suddenly, he felt something brush by his cheek. He instantly lifted his head and looked about the park. There was nobody, or nothing. He sat up and looked behind him. Still, nothing. Thinking it was just a stray strand of hair, Duo leaned back onto his knees and rested his chin upon the palms of his hands. He started down at the ground, blankly. At least it distracted his mind for a momen-

It brushed by his cheek again. As if by reaction, Duo shot upwards and lifted his head up. In front of him, landing quietly on his nose, was a tiny, black rose petal. Focusing his eyes a bit, he saw that it wasn't black, but instead, a really, really deep crimson rose petal. He slowly lifted a hand to remove the rose petal, before the slightest gust of wind blew the petal away. Turning towards it, Duo quickly lifted himself from the bench and glanced around the park again, not having recall seeing any dark red colored roses on any rose bushes. Just as he looked upwards, he saw two more rose petals fly above him...then another two...then four...then eight...

Soon, Duo noticed that there gradually began a storm of rose petals. He looked behind himself, but there was soon so many, that he couldn't see where they were coming from. This was odd. Was the city under attack? With that thought, Duo began to make a quick rush to the base hidden underground not too far from his house.

As he ran against the roses petals, he noticed that it seemed like they were clearing a path for him, as if allowing him to reach the base. There was a heavy scent of roses that blocked out any other smell in the world. Once again, highly unusual.

Suddenly, the rose petals cleared, or at least slowed down. There were still tons of them, so many that the sky turned into a light magenta color. Duo looked about a high bridge that he was standing on. Traffic seemed to stop, as cars were parked in place on the roadway. People stopped in their tracks, freezing as if time had stopped. Even birds in the sky stopped in mid-air. 'What the hell...?'

Peering over the bridge into the water, even the water turned into a dark magenta color. It was flooded with dark red rose petals, except for that little area where Duo saw his reflection. It looked like a crystal clear mirror. He waves his right hand to test his reflection, and then saw that his reflection, instead of waving its left hand, also waved its right hand. This caused him to take a step back, astonished at the odd reflection. If this was an enemy attack, then why was his reflection acting this way?

Gradually, the water in the river began to rise. Duo instantly noticed this, as it was rising pretty quickly, but strangely calmly. Up close, it now began to look more like red wine rather then water. Perhaps it was just a reflection of the sky upon it?

To the right side of his reflection, Duo saw Quatre and Trowa walking arm-in-arm towards him, conversing with each other. He felt that deep, sinking feeling in his chest again, making him want to vomit. They walked closer and closer, until they were right behind his reflection. Disallowing curiosity to get the best of him, he didn't turn around, but instead kept his gaze onto their reflections. They walked on by, ignoring him looking down at the river. Trowa wrapped his arm around Quatre, pulling him closer, and then continued walking. Finally, Duo lifted his head up and looked to his right, where they would be by now. All he saw was the silent streets and the storm of rose petals, still falling from the sky. The people, vehicles, and all life were still frozen in time.

"The hell's going on here...?" Duo asked himself, out loud. He looked back down to the river, which had risen up to just below Duo's feet. He leaned over the railing, looking for Quatre and Trowa in the water's reflection. When he couldn't find them, he sighed deeply and rested his head against the rail. It was warm, for some reason...and wet. Instantly, he shot back up and looked down at it, but there was nothing. He looked down at his reflection, and saw that there was blood all over the rail underneath him...and it was all coming from his wrists. He lifted them both up to his face. They were clean and un-scratched, but his reflection showed otherwise. Blood trickled down his arms at an alarming rate, staining his white undershirt. He could feel the thick wetness of the blood, but why was his reflection showing this, if he wasn't even harmed?

Suddenly, he began to feel dizzy. His blood continued to drain out of his body, leaving him light-headed. He leaned over the rail for support. Questioning whether or not the blood was real, Duo leaned over the rail more so to touch the water. Just as he felt the strange warmness of the water run over his fingertips, he saw another person standing behind his reflection, holding up a bloodied knife. The stranger's dark, tanned face was covered by his short, lilac colored wavy hair. He seemed to smirk at Duo. Before Duo could lift himself back up from the rail, his reflection reached out of the water and grabbed onto his wrist, the reflection's hand covered in blood. Taken off guard, Duo struggled briefly, before the strength of his reflection outdid him and yanked him into the river, which was awfully warm and tasted like blood.

That sure as hell wasn't a daydream.

The smell of roses...the chirping of birds...the voices of strangers...

Duo almost leaped out of the small, firm bed that he was laying in. He had bandages on each of his wrists, bandages around his chest, and even around his head . His suddenly action sent a sharp, physical pain down his chest. His head throbbed with pain, something similar to a migraine. With a groan, he laid back down onto the firm bed, looking upwards at the white ceiling.

"Are you awake now, Mr. Maxwell?" asked a familiar voice. Duo rolled his head to the side, seeing the fame of a short woman with short, dark blue hair, having long bangs in the front. She looked awfully familiar...

"Hilde?" asked Duo as he forced himself to sit upwards, despite the stinging pain in his chest. The woman's eyebrows rose, a bit astonished.

"Wow... I knew your name, but how did you know mine?" she asked. Duo ran a hand through his hair, only to find that it was out of its usual braid.

"Where am I and how did I get here?" he asked her. Hilde grinned, placing her hands into her lap, very lady-like. This action alone astonished Duo. He turned fully towards her, getting a better look. She wore a white and light, pale blue-green sailor school girl uniform, complete with a tie and mini-skit. She looked... so different from what Duo was used to seeing.

"About three days ago, the school chairmen, Zechs Merquise, found you in the river inside the school grounds. You were unconscious and had various wounds to your chest and your head. The most serious were the ones on your wrists; which brings me to ask..." Hilde leaned forward and took Duo's hand, turned it over, and ran her fingers lightly over the bandages.

"Were these intentional?" she asked, keeping her gaze onto his bandages. Duo looked down at them, and then paused for a moment, thinking of the vents that lead up to this. He saw his reflection, with bloodied wrists... after seeing Quatre and Trowa together.

And that strange tanned man with the lilac colored hair.

"I... don't know," he replied, honestly. Hilde stopped running her fingers over the bandages.

"Can you tell me where I am now?" he asked. Hilde sat back into her chair and replaced her hands into her lap.

"Ohtori Academy," she replied. Duo raised an eyebrow, and then placed one of his hands behind him, supporting him.

"Where?" he asked, dumbly. Hilde grinned. Before she could repeat herself, Duo spoke again.

"And what the hell was Zechs doing around here? And where's Quatre? Heero? The others?" he asked, half to himself.

"Zechs is a chairman at this school. He was on his way to a meeting when he happened to spot you in the river. And if you are speaking of Quatre Winner, Heero Yuy, and the rest of the student council, I believe that they are in class," she informed him, calmly. Duo blinked in reaction. Zechs was a chairman at this place? And Quatre and the rest were in student council here? Since when did they all attend the same school? Where the hell -was- he?

Suddenly, the entrance to the small room opened and in walked another women, who wore a white suit and also had short blue hair, her long bangs pushed over to one side of her face, her blue eyes darting to Duo, then to Hilde.

"He woke up, Noin," said Hilde, indicating to Duo. Noin looked back to Duo, studying him for a moment. Duo felt himself tense up under her stare, though it wasn't intense.

"I'm glad he's well. We have the arrangements prepared for him," she said. Duo blinked, confused, then looked to Hilde.

"Arrangements? For what?" he asked her. Hilde grinned again.

"When Zechs brought you in, he was curious about whether or not you would have amnesia. He found out who you were, because of your identification card inside your wallet. According to school records, you were enrolled here at this school some time ago, but never showed up. Now that you've finally arrived, you can catch up on your schoolwork and whatnot, right?" said Hilde, the grin still upon her face. Duo looked down at himself. He was wearing a white tank top and white pants that definitely weren't his. He guessed that they had his priest attire elsewhere.

"I was... enrolled here?" he repeated. Noin nodded, and then placed a hand onto Hilde's shoulder.

"You're to return to class now, Miss Schibecker," she said. Hilde looked up at her, and then nodded. She looked over at Duo, meeting him with a grin, and then slowly stood up from the chair that she was sitting in. She gathered her small book bag that rested next to her chair, and then proceeded out the room, turning to Duo with one last grin. That girly grin of Hilde's sent a quick chill down his back. He -never- knew that she could grin that way.

"Now, Mr. Maxwell, if you are well enough to walk, I shall accompany to your dorm," Noin said, her voice in a slight monotone. Duo looked up at Noin, and then shrugged lightly, that shrug alone causing another wave of pain down his chest. 'I'mma Gundam pilot; this should be nothin',' he thought to himself. With that though, Duo tossed aside the thin blanket that cover him, and then proceeded to literally hop off of the firm bed. He didn't make it.

"Are you all right, Mr. Maxwell?" asked Noin as she leaned over him. Duo grunted in pain, having landed on his chest and his legs up in the air, against the hard railing of the bed. His face was just about smashed up against the floor.

"Does it look that way?" he asked, annoyed. Noin sighed, then took Duo's legs off of the bed and set them down on the floor. Duo grunted painfully again, and then lifted his body off the floor in a push-up position. Oh yeah, his body was quite sore.

"Please follow me, Mr. Maxwell," said Noin as she began to head towards the door. Duo began to follow her, and then realized something.

"Where's my clothes?" he asked. Noin kept silent as she led him out of the small room and into a hallway. She stopped at a door, and then stood aside.

"Right in here, Mr. Maxwell. I shall wait for you while you change your attire," she said. Duo nodded, then placed his hand on the doorknob and turned slowly, still in the confusion of this new place.

As Duo walked into the room, he noticed that it was yet another small room for patients. In front of him on an empty bed was a long sleeved black shirt, complete with golden yellow trimmings, and black slacks. 'Huh, these aren't my clothes,' thought Duo. With that thought, he peeked out of the door to Noin.

"Hey, these aren't my clothes," he said. Noin, leaning against the wall with her arms folded patiently over her chest, stared at him, blankly.

"Yes, they are. That is your Ohtori Academy uniform," she said. Duo blinked a couple of times, before shaking his head quickly.

"Y'mean I gotta wear a uniform to school?" he asked. Noin kept her blank expression as she nodded her head, slowly.

"Of course, Mr. Maxwell. Now, if you would please, change your attire so we may be on our way," she said. Releasing a quick sigh of defeat, Duo slipped back into the room and closed the door behind him.

Duo walked out of the room in his new Ohtori Academy school uniform, complete with his boots, his watch, and his hair back into its trademark braid. He turned to Noin and nodded for her to continue. She sharply turned and proceeded to lead him to his dorm, which Duo was also dreading to see.

"You've never been here at the Ohtori Academy, have you, Mr. Maxwell?" she asked as they walked outside. Duo's jaw dropped as he saw the school before him. There were different buildings, all with complex and puzzling marble stairs leading up to them. There were students everywhere, going to and from class. The female students wearing the same sailor school girl uniform that Hilde was wearing, while most of the male student body was wearing the same attire as Duo, except for one, little feature. The color of their uniform was a navy blue, while his was black... odd. One thing that stood out from all the other details about the school though, was that there was a heavy scent of roses. And red rose petals floated about the campus, and they all seemed to be coming from the highest flight of stairs at the school, which supported a large pillar. Duo decided that there must've been a garden of red rose bushes up there.

"No... no I haven't," he replied, after finding his voice again.

"Ah. So where've you been all this time, Mr. Maxwell?" she asked, her back to him as she continued on walking. Duo continued to look about the school in awe.

"Call me Duo," was all he said, as he looked at the various students, attempting to spot anyone familiar. He heard Noin respond with a "Yes Duo", and continued on walking. He saw a crowd of students huddled over in one corner of the school, and two points going up and down from the middle of the crowd of students. 'What the hell's that?' he wondered. He stopped and squinted to try and figure out what -was- going on. The two points turned out to be... swords? Fencing swords, at that; foils, to be more specific.

"Uhh... Noin? What's going on over there?" Duo asked, pointing to the crowd of students. Noin stopped and turned around, casually looking over.

"Oh, the student council seems to be in a practice spar," she said, calmly. Duo's ear perked up at 'student council'. Isn't that what Hilde said about Quatre and the rest being a part of? He quickly began to make his way towards that crowd.

"I'll be right back!" he shouted to Noin. Noin sighed as she folded her arms and waited.

Duo ran up and pushed his way through the crowd of cheering students. He heard them shout very familiar names.

"Get 'em, Wufei!!"

"You can win, Trowa!!"

Duo figured out that that must be who was sparring. As he finally pushed his way to the front of the crowd, he saw two figures, both in fencing attire, both donning fencing masks, and both using foils in their spar. They both actually seemed pretty good. Duo waited anxiously to see who would be the victor- and to see if the fighting pair really was Wufei and Trowa.

Looming over to the side, on a higher level then the crowd of students, Duo felt his heart jump at who he saw. Standing on a balcony not that higher, was Quatre. His brilliant, baby blue eyes were wide and locked onto the spar, his bright, blonde hair waving ever so slightly with the slightest hint of wind, and his hands clung onto the marble rail of the balcony. He wore a uniform that was different than all the other students; it consisted of a pink, gold trimmed long sleeved coat that reached his waist. He couldn't tell the color of his pants, due to him standing behind the rail. At the moment, he didn't care. He could see Quatre's innocent- looking face, and that was enough for him.

Suddenly, he glanced a bit behind Quatre and saw Heero standing right beside him, looking down onto the spar below also, though not looking as anxious. He wore a coat like Quatre's, but his was a bright red instead, and had black sleeves. He had that ice-cold stare in his eyes, once again, totally unaware of Duo's presence. Standing closely behind him was Relena Darlian. She wore the same school uniform as Hilde. She also kept her eyes locked onto the spar below, standing so close to Heero that her arm practically brushed against his.

Hearing the crowd give a sudden cheer, Duo turned his attention back to the spar. One of the fencers had his foil at the other fencer's throat. He heard the losing fencer growl something at the winner, then take a step back and take his fencing mask off. It was Wufei.

The other fencer pulled back his foil, and then also removed his mask. As Duo suspected, it was Trowa. The one he was gradually beginning to hate, even though he never did anything to him. That hair...GOD it annoyed Duo.

"Troooowa!"

Duo looked upwards at the balcony and saw Quatre waving to Trowa, such a happy smile on his face. Trowa looked up and smiled that smile he'd only give Quatre. Duo felt his stomach begin to grow upset again.

Quickly, he looked over and saw Noin, still standing in the same spot with her arms folded, waiting patiently. She must've been really patient to have just been waiting there calmly. Best not get on her bad side at such an early 'acquaintance'.

Looking back towards the two fencers, he saw both Trowa and Wufei begin to make their way to the balcony stairs. He made another quick glace up the balcony to where Quatre, Heero, and Relena were standing, but they weren't there anymore. The crowd began to clear up; no more spar to see. Duo turned around and began to depart also, back to where Noin stood; to where he would be lead to his chambers of this strange yet intriguing school.

The question was: how did Duo end up there, and how would he leave? Perhaps maybe one of the other pilots knew. Perhaps Quatre knew.