Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Shounen Kakumei Duo ❯ The Black Rose Duties ( Chapter 4 )

((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...?))

"The Black Rose Duties"

~*~

Duo twisted and turned in his bed, the sheets flapping about and over his body in an almost tight strangle. He was quite restless; the day's events were much more than what he expected. So much had happened in his first day. He became a Duelist, learned about the sacred Duels, and now had 'won' Relena in a recent Duel with Heero.

Duo lazily lifted his eyes up to the alarm clock. It read 2:14. Shit. At this hour of the morning, he was still awake and doubted that he'd be getting any sleep. The day's events kept playing themselves over and over again in his head.

"Lord Duo?!!"

"Yes, Lord Duo. I am now your bride," said Relena as she clasped her hands over Duo's. Heero narrowed his eyes at Duo, the red rose petals falling from his chest.

"Relena, WHY did you distract me?" he asked, coldly. Relena turned around and faced Heero, her hands still clasped around Duo's.

"It wasn't fair, the way you were fighting. You should know how much I disapprove of-"

"You DON'T think for yourself!" Heero snapped. Relena flinched lightly, her grasp on Duo's hand tightening. Heero began to make a fast pace towards Relena, his hand raised as if to strike her.

Quickly, Duo pushed Relena behind him. Heero stopped and glared into Duo's eyes, piercing his gaze once more that sent that chill down Duo's spine. Quickly, Duo cast his sight down to the ground.

"She's mine now, Heero. You stay away from her," he said in a quiet voice, afraid to look into Heero's glare. Relena peeked out from behind Duo.

"Lord Duo's correct, Heero."

Heero cast his glare to the Rose Bride, as if daring her to say that again. Relena cowered underneath his glare and hide behind Duo once again.

Without a word, Heero turned around sharply and left the dueling grounds. As he began to make his way down the massive spiral steps down back to the campus, Duo lifted his gaze back up from the ground and turned to face Relena. Her soft blue eyes showed him what looked like emptiness. Like that of a puppet. That was quite strange. The Relena that Duo knew didn't look as lifeless; instead, she looked vibrant, strong, like nothing could ever strike her down. She -had-avoided death by the Perfect Soldier God only knows how many times.

"So, uh. Now what?" asked Duo, dumbly, taking his hand away from Relena's grasp. Relena took a few steps back in front of him, a soft smile upon her face.

"We're engaged, Lord Duo," she said.

'Engaged. What the hell? I don't even KNOW Relena!' Duo thought to himself in frustration as he rolled over again in the bed sheets.

"Lord Duo! Don't forget your book bag!" said Relena as she knelt beside entrance to the dueling grounds and picked up his book bag, dusting it off carefully. Duo kept a quick pace in front of her, acting as if he didn't hear her.

"Lord Duo!"

He kept walking faster and faster. Perhaps she'll go away if he kept ignoring her.

"Lord Duo!"

Heh. If that didn't work for Heero, it sure as hell wasn't going to work for Duo.

"Lord Du-"

"Stop following me already!" Duo called, turning around sharply. Relena held his book bag out in front of her, waiting for him to get it. Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape. Duo quickly took his book bag from her and continued his pace back to his dorm.

"But, Lord Duo-"

"And stop calling me that! It's just Duo, OK? Duo! D-U-O!!"

"I'm sorry, Lord Duo, but I have to treat you with this courtesy. You're the victor of the Duel and now posses me and the Sword of Dios," she said, keeping up her pace behind him.

"I don't give a damn 'bout all that! Just... Go back to your dorm or whatever. You don't have to take all that abuse from Heero anymore," he said. Relena kept silent for the next few moments, which really amazed Duo. Suddenly, he heard her footsteps stop.

"Well, I part this way. Good night, Lord Duo," she said, bowing politely. Duo turned around and nodded to her. 'Maybe she'll stop bugging me now,' he thought to himself as the girl turned away and began to walk into the direction of her dorm.

'Will she stop bugging me?' Duo thought to himself as he stopped rolling about in his bed for a moment and looked up at the ceiling. The moon reflected from the window shown upon it. His dorm was quiet. There was no sound, coming from anywhere, even outside. The sound of him breathing lightly was the only thing heard in the dorm room. Perhaps if there were other occupants within the dorm building, it would've been more exciting for the sociable pilot? If some were up at this time, that is, he would at least have some form of company.

It would have been even better if Quatre was in that lonely dorm room with Duo. He'd rather have him than any other person in the world with him right now, even if he was sleeping peacefully next to him. Duo glanced down to his right side and imagined Quatre sleeping next to him, leaning his head on his shoulder and clinging onto his arm, his angelic face shone in the moonlight. Duo felt his heart began to ache with pain as he thought about it. He cast his gaze back up to the ceiling. He wanted Quatre so badly, he'd do just about anything to have him with him. Willingly, of course. It'd only present more pain to the chestnut haired boy to have Quatre be his and not have Quatre return his feelings back to him.

Duo closed his eyes lightly, still imagining Quatre lying next to him. He wondered how it felt, to have someone completely in love with you by your side, never wanting to let go. Your arms around that person, protecting him or her from whatever atrocities threatened your loved one. To have someone greet you with a special smile or to be embraced in their arms.

Those thoughts began to make Duo's heart hurt more. He just wanted Quatre to love him back, and nothing else. He'd give his own life for that blonde Arabian, if needed. He'd do anything Quatre requested of him, even if it was the impossible, he'd still make the effort.

Was this love? Or was Duo on the verge of obsession?

He never got to answer himself. Sleep came and drifted him away in his own pool of tears.

"Time to wake up, Lord Duo!"

At the sound of that voice, Duo shot up from bed. In front of him, and in an almost see-through, short, pink nightgown, was Relena. She greeted him with a smile.

"W-What are you doing here?!" Duo asked, standing up from the bed. He looked around his room frantically and noticed that it seemed cleaner, like all the dust that had accompanied it earlier had dispersed.

"We're engaged, Lord Duo," reminded Relena.

"How did you get here?" Duo asked, finding the belongings of Relena's in the room. She sat back onto the edge of the bed.

"The water is warm enough for your shower, Lord Duo," she said, obviously changing the subject. Duo looked at the open door and back to her.

"I'll have breakfast waiting by the time you get out. Now hurry, you don't wish to be late for class," she said as she stood up, some of her hair falling over her shoulder. She walked behind Duo and began to urge him into the bathroom. Duo, still in the midst of confusion, could do nothing but practically be shoved into the bathroom, Relena shutting the door after him.

After his shower, Duo walked out and saw Relena sitting at a small table with breakfast waiting. She sat at one side, fully dressed in her school uniform, and with a smile upon her face again.

"Take your time, Lord Duo. We've still got an hour," she said. Duo looked over at the clock.

'An hour? Damn. That means I only got three or four hours of sleep last night,' Duo thought to himself, a yawn escaping him as he sat down opposite of Relena at the table.

"So, she resides with him now."

"You don't sound so pleased, Noin."

"It's not that, Zechs. I'm worried about the boy."

"Oh? Enlighten me."

"It appears that things are happening too fast for him. His first day of school has past, and he's already defeated the Student Council president and obtained the Rose Bride. One can already tell of his confused state. What if that state were to grow, Zechs? What would he do?"

"Is that any of our concern, Noin?"

Duo and Relena began to walk their way to class. As they did, they obtained a few occasional odd glances in their direction. Even though he was used to attention, those glances began to make Duo uneasy, like everyone was judging him. Just like his first day in class that previous day.

"Is something the matter, Lord Duo? I've noticed how quiet you've been."

"Eh, I haven't been myself in a while, 'Lena. Don't mind me," he said. Relena nodded slowly, casting her gaze down to her book bag.

"DU-OH!!!"

In less than a second, Duo felt a sudden force run and jump onto his back; he stumbled forward to catch his balance. He felt a slim pair of arms warp around his shoulders and a pair of legs around his waist.

"Hilde?!" Duo asked, stunned. He caught his balance fully and placed his hands underneath Hilde's legs instantly, supporting her. Hilde grinned.

"Good morning, Duo!" she said, cheerfully. Duo had dropped his book bag in the process of supporting Hilde, so Relena kneeled down to retrieve it.

"Good morning to you too," said Duo as he sighed lightly, hoping his arms wouldn't suddenly give out due to the lack of sleep. Relena stood up fully and waited in silence, holding both hers and Duo's book bags. Hilde looked over at Relena and tilted her head somewhat, leaning in towards Duo and whispering into his ear.

"Why's she following you?" she asked. Duo blinked, and then cast a glance to Relena. She flashed him another smile as she stood in front of him, holding both their book bags in hand, patiently waiting for whatever he asked her to do.

"Because," Duo said, stopping in his sentence. Why exactly was Relena following him? He knew that they were 'engaged', but was it really necessary to have her follow him everywhere he went? And move in with him, nonetheless?

"Did you know that nobody likes her? She's so weird, Duo! Make her go away," said Hilde as she wrapped her arms tighter around Duo. Duo grunted slightly as he fought with his sleepy, troubling balance.

"Why do you say that, Hilde?" he asked, catching his balance again.

"She has poor grades, she -always- follows the Student Council president around, and she hardly ever speaks! Rumor has it that she can also talk to animals, but I don't know how true that is [1]."

Duo quickly began to wonder why Hilde was being so rude in front of Relena, and why wasn't Relena doing anything about it? She just continued to stand in front of him, holding their book bags, waiting.

"Hilde, we've got to get to class," said Duo as he gently let Hilde down from him. With a pout, she stepped to the ground and then gave Relena a glare.

"Don't you try to pull anything on him, you witch!" she said as she quickly turned around and ran, just as she had run past Duo yesterday before the Duel. Relena blinked at Hilde's words in response, then turned to Duo and smiled, holding his book bag out to him.

"Your book bag, Lord Duo," she said. Duo slowly took his book bag and looked at her, puzzled.

"'Lena, she just called you a witch." he said. Relena nodded, her smile still present on her face.

"I've been called worse. It's no bother, Lord Duo," she said. Duo shook his head. 'No one should put up with that,' he thought.

"Well, we must be getting to class, Lord Duo. I'll meet you at lunch," she said as she bowed to him politely again. Duo nodded, not really sure of how to make things. He looked at his wrist watch and began to make his way towards his first hour class.

"Chang!"

Wufei glanced up from his textbook at an angry Duo, standing in front of him.

"Yes?" he asked as he adjusted his reading glasses.

"You didn't tell me that the winner of the Duel gets engaged to Relena!" he said, angrily. Wufei shrugged and went back to his textbook.

"You didn't ask," he said, calmly. Duo growled lightly.

"All you said is that the Rose Bride is the key to obtaining the 'power'! What does THAT have to do with being engaged to Relena?!" he asked the Chinese. Wufei calmly lifted his eyes from the text pages to meet Duo's glare with a stoic expression.

"The engagement is only the beginning," he said.

"Beginning? To what?" asked Duo as he slumped down in his desk. Sally didn't arrive to class yet, so the day's lesson hadn't begun.

"To obtaining the 'power'," Wufei said, casting his gaze back down to his text book. Duo's patience was wearing thin with the Student Council member.

"So what the hell is THAT supposed to mean?!" Duo practically shouted. Wufei quickly looked about the room and back to Duo.

"You're going to create a scene, baka!" Wufei stated. Duo sighed and shook his head.

"All right, what you mean with 'only the beginning'?" asked Duo. Finally, Wufei closed his textbook with a book mark in it and set it onto his desk. He reached up and removed his reading glasses from his face.

"Now that the Rose Bride is in your possession, various Duelists from the Student Council are going to be challenging you to Duels so they can try to obtain her," he said. Duo tilted his head.

"So I take it that everyone in the Student Council wants this 'power'?" Duo asked. Wufei shook his head in response.

"Everyone has their own reasons for wanting the 'power'," he said.

"Are you going to be challenging me anytime soon for the Rose Bride?" Duo asked the black haired boy with a slight smirk upon his face. Wufei picked up his textbook again as Sally entered the classroom.

"What would I do with a stupid onna?" he asked. Oh, right. Duo had almost forgotten about Wufei's sexist attitude towards women.

"Besides, I don't have any reason to challenge you," he added. Duo shrugged, guessing that the 'power' wasn't the only thing some of the Student Council members were after. Smirking to himself, he turned his attention to the front of the class for the day's lesson.

Lunch came quickly, and soon, Duo found himself walking out of his fourth hour class, meeting Relena beside the doorway. She carried a small, pink colored bag in front of her, greeting him with that smile of hers.

"Let's go, Lord Duo," she said as she began to lead him away from the traffic flow of students and outside the academy.

Relena chose a nice spot to have lunch in. They sat at a small hill with a pretty tall tree with lots of leaves that gave them shadow from the bright sun, and they could see fields of either green grass or roses about the campus. Behind them, other students were also having lunch on such a peaceful, sunny day. Duo wondered if it was like this everyday.

"Excuse me, Mr. Duo?"

Duo had barely lifted his sandwich that Relena made him to his mouth when he heard the sweet, soft voice of Quatre. He moved the sandwich down to his lap and slowly turned around, looking up at the blonde, who smiled down at him. He was alone.

"I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?" asked the Student Council member. Duo shook his head quickly and gestured him to sit down. Quatre took the invitation and sat down across from him.

"My name's Quatre Winner, of the Student Council. Just call me Quatre," he said. Duo nodded his head slowly. Even though he already knew of that information, he just enjoyed the sudden company of his beloved.

"I heard that you defeated Heero in a Duel yesterday, and seeing that the Rose Bride is eating with you, I'm glad to see that it's true. The Rose Bride shouldn't have to stand for that kind of abuse," said Quatre. Duo nodded in response.

"Where did you obtain a Rose Seal?" he asked. Duo cleared his throat. He noticed that ever since Quatre arrived, he hadn't even done as much as greet him.

"It was. Given to me, anonymously," he said. Quatre nodded and brought one of his knees up to him and wrapped an arm around it. God, he looked perfect.

"Ah. How were you able to defeat Heero? I don't think any of us Student Council members are capable of such a thing," he said. Duo grinned lightly.

"It was by luck," he said bluntly. Quatre chuckled lightly.

"That's what they usually say. How long have you been sparring, Mr. Duo?" he asked, a gentle smile across his lips.

"Just call me Duo," he said. Quatre nodded in response.

"Well, I actually don't. Uh, fight. Fencing wise, y'know? I guess you could say yesterday was my first time," he said. Quatre's eyes widen ever so slightly.

"Your first time? And you defeated the strongest out of all the Duelists here at the Academy?" asked Quatre, startled. Duo shook his head, that small grin still on his face.

"Like I said, I beat 'em by luck, not skill," he said. Quatre paused and cast a glance at Relena, then sat upright and brought a hand to his face, chuckling lightly again. He sounded so cute; so innocent.

"It's not good to be so modest, Duo," he said. Duo opened his mouth again to respond, before he saw a tall, emerald eyed brunette walk up to them from behind Quatre. He felt a giant knot tie in his throat. Not now. Not when he's talking to Quatre.

"Trowa!" said Quatre cheerfully, quickly standing up and brushing himself off before giving Trowa a hug. Trowa nodded to him, then looked at Duo.

"Trowa, this is Duo; the one who defeated Heero yesterday," he said, wrapping an arm around Trowa's. Duo bit his bottom lip slightly, feeling his stomach turn. Please, not in front of him. Anywhere but in front of him.

"Congratulations, Duo," said Trowa in a quiet, yet stern voice. Duo forced a grin up at the brunette Student Council member. Quatre looked down at Duo, and as if sensing his uneasiness, asked him, "Are you feeling all right, Duo?"

"I'm OK. Just tired," Duo respond. True, he was tired, but Trowa was like an archenemy, and he was standing in Duo's territory. Duo knew he had no right what-so-ever to call Trowa an enemy when the two hardly even knew each other. Then again, what gave him the right to call Quatre his one, true love?

"Well, I hope you feel better, Duo," said Quatre as he and Trowa turned around to depart. Duo nodded slowly, his expression turning into that of hurt. Quatre must have sensed this also.

"Duo, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to find me," said Quatre as he began walking away with Trowa, arm in arm. Duo lifted his head up and felt something uplifting from him. Quatre just offered a friendship to him.!

"They've been together for as long as anyone can remember," said Relena. As if violently jerking Duo out of a nice dream, he bit his lower lip again and looked down at the ground.

"Just thought I'd inform you, Lord Duo," she said. Suddenly, punching Relena in the face didn't sound like such a bad idea.

Suddenly, the school bell rang. Thank God. If it hadn't, Duo probably would've performed his atrocious thoughts upon Relena.

"Lord Duo, you didn't finish your lunch!" said Relena as Duo stood up and grabbed his book bag.

"I'm not hungry. See you after school," he said angrily as he made his way towards his next class.

[1] The reason why Hilde mentions the rumors of Relena talking to animals is because in Shoujo Kakumei Utena, the TV series, rumor has it that Anthy Himemiya, the Rose Bride, can talk to animals.