Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Shounen Kakumei Duo ❯ The Rose Council ( Chapter 5 )

((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 Rose Council"

~*~

"Can't believe you actually lost to him."

"Hn."

"... That was pitiful."

"...Hn..."

"Quite unexpected of you, Heero..."

"...Shut up."

All four Student Council members sat at a little white painted, round table on a large balcony, the entire school campus in their view, drinking tea. Heero leaned against the balcony, tea cup in hand, not looking at anyone in the eye. The Duel for him yesterday was humiliating, taking into consideration that he was supposed to be the most skillful out of all four Student Council members.

". What about the Rose Bride?" asked Trowa, setting his tea cup down and looking over at Heero. Heero didn't even cast him a glance as he took another drink, purposely taking his time.

"What about her?" he asked, his voice in a small growl.

"Are you gonna try to get her back?" asked Wufei as he stood up and faced Heero. There was a pause, as a slight gust of wind picked up on the balcony. Heero's hair blew in his face, which made his expression unreadable.

"...Of course. The Rose Bride belongs to me, and me only," said Heero, stubbornly. Quatre also set down his tea cup and turned to Heero.

"Why hasn't the Sword of Dios reacted when it was in your possession, if the Rose Bride truly does belong to you?" he asked. Heero instantly shot the blonde a glare. Before the Japanese boy could open his mouth to say something, Trowa stepped in to defend his lover.

"He's right, Heero. Perhaps Duo shall be the one to-"

"The Sword of Dios will NOT react in that boy's possession!" said Heero, sharply. Trowa narrowed his eyes.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked. Heero threw down the tea cup, which caused it to shatter as it hit the marble floor and spill its contents at Heero's feet.

"Because the Rose Bride belongs to ME and so does the castle!" he yelled. Trowa sighed and cast his gaze back to his tea cup. Wufei walked over to the balcony entrance and folded his arms, leaning his back against it.

"Who says that she belongs to you?" he asked. Heero shot him another glare as he began to make his way towards Wufei, his eyes narrowed sharply as if he intended to harm him. Quickly, Quatre stood up.

"The Rose Bride belongs to the carrier of the Sword of Dios; how about we leave it at that?" asked Quatre, walking in between Wufei and Heero. Heero stopped in his tracks and shot Quatre another glare. Wufei unfolded his arms, yet continued to lean against the entrance to the balcony.

"He's right, Heero. Get over it," said Wufei. Heero growled at Wufei as his hands tightened into fists.

"Perhaps I should challenge you to a Duel, Wufei." said Heero. Trowa stood up and walked behind Quatre.

"You know that that's against the rules. Duels are not allowed to take place if the Rose Bride or the Sword of Dios is not present," he said. Heero shot his glare to Trowa.

"You know what I mean, Barton," he growled. Quickly, Quatre spoke up again.

"Heero, why don't you practice sparring for a bit? It could relieve some tension from you," he said. Heero shook his head and violently turned around and walked up to the balcony rail, looking down at the campus.

"You know... Duo doesn't seem like that bad of a target," he mumbled. At that, the rest of the Student Council members lifted their gazes up to the Student Council president.

"You're not gonna seduce him too, are you?" asked Wufei, half annoyed. Heero smirked in response. Not only did the Student Council members know, but practically the whole school knew what a playboy Heero was. Almost every week he either had someone new or was busy teasing another. Because of this, many girls, and even guys through out the Ohtori Academy had their eyes set on Heero. Why shouldn't they? He was the president of the famous Student Council, head of the fencing team, and was probably the only one who had real authority through out the academy. Not to mention that he was highly handsome and well mannered- when he wanted to be.

"Why do you say that?" Heero asked, the smirk still upon his face. Wufei shook his head.

"Need I explain?" he asked back. Heero silently chuckled to himself. Quatre shook his head disapprovingly as he sat back down at the table and picked up his tea cup again, finishing the last of what was in it. Trowa shook his head also as he took a seat next to Quatre and folded his arms across his chest calmly.

"Anyways, I don't think Duo is fit for possessing the Rose Bride," said Heero in his monotone sort of voice. Quatre set his tea cup down and looked up at him.

"Why do you say that?" he asked. Heero turned around on the balcony rail and folded his arms, looking at the blonde.

"Not only are his fencing skills worse than a novice's, but I don't think he'll be able to grasp the concept of what the Rose Bride is actually used for," he said.

"Are you saying that the Rose Bride is only to be used?!" asked Quatre, setting both his delicate hands down onto the table. Heero smirked once again.

"What else is she good for? Incase you've forgotten, she's only a puppet in this play. She's incapable of making any friends, incapable of her own independence, and incapable of anything else that life requires," he said. Quatre's eyes narrowed slightly. Trowa sensed his lover's annoyance with the Student Council president and rested his hand on Quatre's.

"Relena is a person, Heero! You can't just use her for whatever needs you have! Even if she is destined to be the Rose Bride, I won't stand here and allow you to use her as if she were just some lifeless puppet!" he exclaimed. Heero chuckled, sadistically.

"That's exactly what she is, Quatre," he said. Quatre bit his lip and looked at the green uniformed student, asking for back up with his gaze. Trowa's hand tightened around his, as he looked him in the eyes and shook his head, telling him without words that it was useless to argue against the Japanese student. The tension at the Student Council meeting was beginning to grow heavier and heavier.

The door to the balcony opened slowly, and all four students quickly turned their gaze to the sudden intruder. Walking in with her head lowered and her gaze to the floor, Dorothy walked in with a hand held broom and a small dust pan. She silently walked up to the mess in front of Heero, the one he made with the tea cup, and kneeled down silently and began to clean it up. The silence on the balcony ensued while she cleaned, the only noise being that of the tea cup pieces being swept into the small dust pan.

"I'm going to go and warn Duo," said Quatre as he stood up from the table. Trowa and Wufei looked at him and nodded, while Heero once again glared at him.

"Warn him about what?" he asked, coldly. Quatre turned and walked up to the door, turning around to smile at Heero.

"About you, Mr. President," he said as he turned the knob of the door and opened it. Before Heero could remark, Dorothy stood up in front of him, shook her head, and then followed Quatre out the door quietly, closing it behind them.

Heero growled and turned back towards the campus, his hands clenched into fists.

"A warning... Useless," he muttered under his breath.

~*~

Duo noticed that Dorothy wasn't in class. At first, he thought that she was going to be late, but he figured that it was a bit too late for that by the time the last bell of school rang.

Waiting outside the class door was Relena, holding her black book bag with her smile upon her face once again. Duo walked ahead of her and quickly began to make his way to his dormitory.

"Are you all right, Lord Duo? You seemed to have rushed to the bathroom awfully quick after lunch. Are you sure that you're stomach isn't upset anymore? Do you need to vomit agai-"

"Woman, hush," he said quickly, not in a mood to discuss the events of earlier that day. Relena nodded quickly, and then quickened her pace to match Duo's.

"What would you like to eat for dinner this evening, Lord Duo?" she asked. Duo kept walking ahead of her.

"Whatever's ebidle," he said, lamely. Relena blinked.

"Don't you mean 'edible', Lord Duo?" she asked. Duo shrugged, but kept his walking pace.

"Whatever! Means the same thing, right?" he asked, not looking at Relena.

"Actually, Duo, 'ebidle' isn't even a word."

In his tracks, Duo stopped instantly and turned around. Relena stumbled, but quickly caught her balance again, turning around also.

"Quatre," Duo mumbled out. Quatre grinned.

"Am I interrupting anything?" he asked politely, just as before. Duo quickly shook his head.

"Good. Duo, may I take a walk with you," he glanced at Relena, "alone?"

It felt as if Duo's heart skipped a beat, or he suddenly lost his breath.

"I'll be cleaning up your dorm, Lord Duo," said Relena. Duo nodded without saying a word.

"May I take your school bag, Lord Duo?" she asked. Duo nodded dumbly, as Relena reached over and took his book bag. He wasn't really paying any attention as to what she was doing, but instead focusing most of his attention to Quatre- even though he was merely waiting for Relena to leave so they could be left alone. He began to wonder why Quatre would like to take a private walk with him. It's much too early for them to-

Duo mentally kicked himself as his mind began to gutter onto subjects that Quatre'd probably seclude himself if he ever knew what they were.

"Dinner will be ready when you return, Lord Duo," said Relena as she turned her back and began to head back towards the dormitory.

Quatre turned to Duo and smiled at him as he turned back towards the academy, motioning Duo to follow him. Duo nodded silently, and then walked up to walk side-by-side next to the blonde.

"So how is she?" he asked, first of all.

"You mean Relena?" Duo asked, as Quatre nodded his head.

"Yes. According to Heero, he couldn't stand being around her, and yet, his actions show that he can't stand being without her; emotionally, of course," he said as they calmly made their way back to the academy.

"Whaddya mean he wants her around emotionally?" asked Duo. Quatre sighed lightly as they walked into the main building of the academy, Duo quickly stepping in front of Quatre and opening the door for him. Quatre thanked him, and then proceeded inside with Duo rushing inside and quickly meeting back up beside him. There, Quatre continued.

"He wants her by his side only because she is the Rose Bride, and she is needed in order for Heero to obtain the 'power'," he explained. Duo turned to him as they walked through the now emptying halls of the Ohtori Academy.

"What's with this 'power' thing? Wuffles was talking about it earlier," he said. Quatre continued walking.

"Wuffles?" he asked, his eyes darting to Duo. Duo nodded.

"Wufei, that is," he said. Quatre chuckled lightly.

"That's cute... Wuffles," he said as he chuckled again. Duo grinned lightly. Hearing Quatre made him feel uplifted in his heart, a feeling that he wanted more of.

"Anyways, what we mean by the 'power' is the power to revolutionize the world," Quatre added. Duo tilted his head, dumbly. Those words practically flew over his head.

"What's that mean?" he asked as they began to approach another door. Quickly, once again, Duo ran ahead of Quatre and opened that door, allowing the Student Council member access first, then himself soon after. They were now outside the academy in the middle of campus were many mazes of stairways towered to and above them.

"It means that whoever possesses the Rose Bride and the sword of Dios has access to the castle in the sky, which hovers above the dueling grounds," he said. Duo blinked slightly as Quatre chose to walk up a flight of stairs, then he resumed following him.

"Sword of what? Castle?" Duo asked, not quite finishing his sentences as he spoke. Quatre grinned to himself as they walked up the flight of white painted stairs, the scent of roses growing heavier as they climbed higher and higher. Duo also noticed that there tended to be quite a lot of rose petals falling from a pillar above. 'That's probably here we're going to,' he thought. He noticed the large pillar when he first laid eyes upon the Ohtori Academy. It seemed that tons upon tons of rose petals were fluttering down from the top of that pillar, like small feathers that carried the sweet scent of roses within them.

"Incase you didn't notice in your Duel, Duo, there is a rather large castle hanging up in the sky. I guess it wouldn't really be noticeable as much in the daytime as it is at night," he grinned again, "it's beautiful at night. The towers and windows of that castle glow and shimmer with lights that can only be viewed at the dueling grounds."

"Hmm. Guess I hav'ta pay more attention next time I go over there, huh?" replied Duo. Quatre nodded as they continued their way up the steps.

"The Sword of Dios, it's the reason why many of the students are fighting for the Rose Bride. We're not the only people allowed to Duel, you know," said the blonde. Duo raised an eyebrow.

"But I was told that only the Student Council was allowed to Duel," he said. The other boy shook his head.

"That's what a majority of people believe, but I'm afraid that that's not true. If one bares the Rose Seal, then they are eligible to Duel," he said, holding up his right arm, looking at his own ring, which bore a pink rose on it. Duo nodded, paying attention to every word that came out of the Arab's mouth.

"The Sword of Dios," Quatre began, lowering his arm to his hip as he looked upwards, trying to find the right words to explain with. As he grew silent for a brief moment, Duo cast his gaze upwards also to see if there was anything interesting that Quatre was gazing at. He noticed that they had been walking up the stairs for quite some time now, and only seemed halfway. The rose petals became more frequent in number the higher they climbed; the fragrance of roses growing heavier.

"The Sword of Dios is the key to opening the castle in the sky. I don't know exactly how it works, because as far as my knowledge extends, that hasn't been accomplished yet. From what I do know, though, whoever reaches the castle in the sky will be able to obtain the power to 'revolutionize' the world," he explained as best as he could. Duo looked back at him, and then nodded slowly, letting Quatre's words seep into his head.

"What if the Rose Bride died or something?" the American asked. Quatre's expression faulted a bit. He folded his arms and thought about it for another brief moment. He didn't expect that sort of question from Duo.

"From my understanding, I believe that there would be an immediate replace of the Rose Bride. I don't know why and who would ever become the next Rose Bride. I hope that fate never befalls onto anyone else; poor Relena's got it rough as it is," he said, half to himself. Duo nodded slowly, and then looked ahead of himself. Finally, they reached the top of the pillar.