Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Shounen Kakumei Duo ❯ The Black Rose Struggle ( Chapter 7 )

((I do not own Gundam Wing or Shoujo Kakumei Utena, blah blah blah. I'm thinking of re-writing this fic, but still unsure. Please leave some feedback.))

"The Black Rose Struggle"

~*~

"Lord Duo!"

Relena rushed quickly into the room, her pink towel around her shoulders; protecting her uniform from her wet hair. Duo was sitting up calmly on the top bunk, head hung low and his fingers fumbling idly with his braid. He glanced down at Relena; a tired look in his eyes.

"Lord Duo! I've been worried about you! You were twisting and turning and sweating in your sleep like you were having a terrible nightmare, and I tried over and over again to wake you up but you didn't so then I thought that you'd be awake after I took my shower so then you could take yours-"

Duo raised a hand from his braid, and instantly, Relena stopped talking. She took a step back.

"Will you be all right, Lord Duo?" she asked, calmly. Duo nodded, silently. His faced looked pale, and his eyelids hung low. Physically, he didn't look well at all, but Relena knew better than to ask any further questions; no thanks to Heero.

"Will you be going to class today?" she asked. Duo nodded his head once again.

". . . Very well, Lord Duo. I'll have breakfast waiting when you get out of the shower," she said slowly, as she turned around slowly. Though she couldn't see him, Duo nodded again. Relena made her exit from his room.

***

"Lord Duo!"

"'Lena, I'm fine," said Duo as he sat at the small table. He was still pale; his skin almost white, and his eyes looked empty. He was dragging his feet when he walked to the table. Relena bit her lip slightly.

"Lord Duo, your Rose Seal," she began. Duo looked down at it. It was black. Of course, he didn't forget how that came to be. How would Relena understand?

"Ignore it, 'Lena," he said. Relena once again bit her lip as she looked down at the table.

"Are you going to eat, Lord Duo?" she asked. Duo stared at his plate for a moment, before shaking his head slowly.

"Very well," she said as she stood up from the table. Duo leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. It was a bright morning, but dark clouds were making their way to the academy.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right, Lord Duo?" asked Relena again. Duo nodded his head silently as he stood up from the chair, walking over to the corner of the room to grab his book bag.

"I'm worried, Lord Duo. Perhaps you should-"

"'Lena, I told you, I'm fine!" repeated Duo as he bent over to grab his book bag.

"I could pick up your homework for you . . ."

"I'm going to class. I'll live," he said, half sarcastically as he stood back up, his black book bag in hand. He tossed his braid over his shoulder and began to walk towards the door. He heard Relena fumbling about behind him, putting away the leftover dishes from breakfast, then grabbing her own book bag and quickly running up behind him. As they left their dorm, Relena closed the door behind them.

"If you begin to feel any worse, Lord Duo, I'd suggest you make your way back here," she said. Duo nodded slowly once more.

***

"DU-OH!!!"

Before Duo had any time to respond, Hilde jumped onto his back, wrapping her legs and arms around his body. He surprisingly caught his balance quickly, dropping his book bag and bringing his arms up behind him, gripping onto Hilde's legs and holding her up as he sluggishly made his way to the academy; Relena not far behind.

"Good morning, Hilde," said Duo, in a dull monotone. Hilde lifted her head and leaned it against his shoulder.

"Are you OK, Duo? You don't sound too good," she asked as Relena stepped behind Duo and picked up his book bag.

"I'm OK. Don't worry 'bout it," he said. Hilde hugged her arms tightly around his shoulders, cuddling against his shoulder.

"Can't help but worry, Duo!" with that, she leapt down from his back and stepped up in front of him. Her face faulted as she saw how pale he was.

"Maybe you shouldn't be in class today, Duo . . ."

"I'm all right, Hilde. I'll be OK," he replied, quickly. Hilde sighed just as Relena caught up to them. As soon as she realized her presence, Hilde sharply turned to her and stared fiercely at the Rose Bride. Relena held both hers and Duo's book bags in her hands. She smiled at Hilde. Suddenly, Hilde returned her smile with a powerful slap to her face, which caused her to fall to her knees, dropping both book bags. Students who happened to be about the area suddenly stopped their tasks and cast their gazes to the scene. Relena slowly lifted a delicate hand to her reddened cheek.

"Listen bitch," Hilde began. Duo quickly stepped in front of Hilde and grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Stop!" he commanded her. Hilde's eyes grew wide at his actions.

"She didn't DO anything!" he added, his voice raised. Behind him, Relena slowly brought herself up, calmly dusting off her skirt. Now, the three were surrounded by a small crowd, waiting anxiously to see their next actions. Relena ignored the crowd as she bent back down again and picked up both hers and Duo's book bags.

Hilde pulled back from Duo, wiggling out of his grip. She stared at him for a moment longer, her eyes beginning to water up. She cast a quick glance to Relena, then back to Duo, before turning around quickly and exiting the scene. Duo stared at the path where she exit, the ring of students all gazing at him. He quickly turned around and took his book bag from Relena.

"You OK?" he asked. Relena smiled at him, her cheek a bright red where Hilde had slapped her. The clouds that Duo noticed earlier were becoming more numerous, but were sluggishly making their way across the sky to reach the academy.

"No need to worry about me, Lord Duo," she said. The crowd around them began to disappear. A familiar figure made his way from the dispersing gathering and walked up to Duo and Relena, a smirk upon his Asian features.

"Nice going, Maxwell," he said.

"Great. You gonna criticize me now, Chang?" asked Duo sarcastically. Wufei shook his head as he nodded to Relena.

"No. I was going to give you a message from Quatre, but-"

"We saw that you were preoccupied with other things," said Trowa, behind Wufei. If Duo's face wasn't pale enough, he swore that it could've been just about now.

"What did Quatre say, then?" asked Duo as he turned his back to all three students and began to make his way into the main academy building. Relena hurried behind him.

"Well, we all know that you suck at fencing," Wufei began. Duo grumbled as he continued to walk, grouchily.

"And we know that if Heero were to challenge you to another Duel, you'd lose right away, sooo," Wufei continued. Duo kept his gaze ahead as he continued strolling to his first hour class.

"So . . .?" he asked.

"So Quatre requested us to sharpen your skills in fencing," concluded Trowa. Duo stopped in his tracks and turned sharply to the two Student Council members.

"He WHAT?!" he shouted out. Wufei and Trowa stared at him, their faces calm, and Trowa's half hidden behind that mask of brunette hair.

"Basically, you suck and we have to train you," said Wufei. Duo shook his head quickly.

"Why?" he asked. Wufei shook his head.

"I just told you-"

"No! I mean, I know I suck and Quatre wants you two to train me, but what for?" Duo asked. Wufei folded his arms over his chest.

"We all want you to keep Relena from Heero," he said. At that, Relena raised her head up to the three of them. Duo glanced at Relena, then to Wufei, and finally to Trowa.

"Eh . . . All right?" he replied, not quite knowing what to respond to that with. Abruptly, the first hour bell rang. Students who happened to be standing about quickly began to assemble to their first classes.

"We'll get you outta first hour," Wufei said as he turned to head to their class, Trowa walking beside him. Relena bowed politely as she stopped walking with them.

"Have fun," she said to Duo, smiling once again. Her cheek was still slightly red. Duo nodded slightly as he turned to Wufei and Trowa, walking along with them to his first class.

~*~

"Oh look, he's finally getting trained!"

"Yes, he'll need it."

"Don't you think it's wrong for them to train him -just- to keep the Rose Bride away from Heero?"

"It's their decision. There's nothing I can do to change that."

"There's something different about him, Zechs."

"He bares the Black Rose Seal."

"Should we take caution with him?"

"Yes. The Black Rose Seal symbolizes death; it means he's been appointed to take someone's life."

"You're right, Zechs."

"I'm always right, Noin."

~*~

Duo, Wufei, and Trowa stood in a vacant fencing class room, all three with foils drawn and donning proper equipment, including masks; expect Trowa, who stood against a wall to the side. Duo stood across from Wufei.

"All right Maxwell, come at me," he said. Duo hesitated for a moment, feeling Trowa's eyes upon him. His gut began to turn upside down. They knew he couldn't fence; they knew he couldn't fight, and yet, they insisted on a spar. Wufei claimed that it was to see where Duo stood in actual fencing stands, yet Duo's insecurities told him that it was to humiliate him in front of his rival.

"Well?" asked Wufei impatiently. Duo noticed that ever since he came to this academy, no, this 'world', his insecurities grew along with his self confidence; both in which seemed indestructible before he arrived. No, before he realized his feelings for Quatre.

"Hey, Duo!" Wufei snapped at him. This wasn't like him. This wasn't like the Duo that everyone knew.

"Maxwell!" This wasn't the Duo who could kick just about anyone's ass.

"Dammit, pay attention!!" This wasn't the Duo who was worthy of Quatre's heart.

Duo charged at Wufei, foil first, and aimed for his chest. Quickly, Wufei raised the handle of his foil to meet with Duo's, barely throwing his weapon off track. Taking a step back, Wufei smirked behind the mask.

"'Bout time," he remarked. Quickly, Wufei began to bring his foil's blade to Duo's neck. Swiftly, Duo read his actions and drew himself back, and then quickly thrust forward his foil at Wufei's chest. Caught off guard, Wufei clumsily brought down his foil, brushing away the blade of Duo's foil with his arm. He growled silently to himself.

"C'mon, Wuffles! Where's those ancient Chinese techniques of yours?" asked Duo, himself smirking behind his mask. Wufei felt his blood begin to boil.

"KISAMA!" Wufei yelled, charging his foil at Duo. Duo quickly spun to the side, lifting up his arm and bringing down his elbow to the back of Wufei's head, both making contact. Quickly, Wufei fell to the floor onto his stomach with a loud grunt, arm still aimed forward with the foil. Duo chuckled and placed his foot on Wufei's back, then drew back his mask.

"It ain't good to let anger control ya, y'know," he said, with a smirk on his face. Wufei growled dangerously and bounced back up instantly, almost throwing Duo off, and then jerked off his mask.

"What's with the sudden change of attitude, baka?" he asked the American, angrily. Trowa was watching them both with an amused expression shown on his face. Duo folded his arms, still holding the foil.

"Just remembered your weakness. Does it bother you, Wuffers?" he asked, tauntingly. Wufei narrowed his eyes and quickly donned his mask again, taking a step back and aiming his foil at Duo.

"Again!" he yelled. Trowa then walked in between the two, calmly facing towards Wufei.

"Give me a turn," he said in his monotone. Wufei stood still for a moment, before standing up straight and removing his mask. He shot Duo a glare, before he took Trowa's spot and leaned against the wall, bending his knees and slumping against it, letting his foil fall to the floor in front of him, and then folding his arms across his chest stubbornly.

Silently, Trowa donned his mask and drew his foil, standing up straight with both feet facing apart and his arm in front of him, holding the foil firmly by its handle with a gloved hand. Duo then took his mask and pulled it over his face, himself still satisfied at almost pushing Wufei over the edge. He faced Trowa, his legs apart and bent one arm behind him and the other straight in front, aiming the foil at his opponent, his rival, his enemy.

". . . Now," said Trowa, in a voice barely above a whisper. Eyes widening, Duo bent an elbow and pushed his foil forward, pushing away the protected tip of Trowa's foil aimed at his chest with its handle. Damn, Trowa was <i>fast</i>!

Swiftly, Trowa turned around to his right and elbowed Duo in the ribs. With a loud grunt, Duo stumbled back and held both his arms in front of himself clumsily, protecting himself.

As soon as Duo moved his arms from himself, Trowa's mask was up to Duo's; so close that he could see the uni-banged boy's emerald eyes and his mouth curled into a satisfied smirk. As Duo attempted to pull back, he felt the tip of Trowa's foil rested firmly up on the bottom of his chin.

"Done," said Trowa, his voice barely above a whisper once again. Duo gritted his teeth. Soon, Trowa pulled back and removed his foil. Duo grumbled and took a step back, removing his mask. His face was no longer pale.

"I let you do that," he said, quickly. Trowa drew off his mask with ease, his hair falling over the side of his face again.

"Suuuure," he said, sarcastically. Duo glanced over to Wufei, who had an amused grin on his face, his arms still folded. He shook his head and looked back to Trowa.

"You'd be a better fencer if you kept your guard up," said Trowa, holding his mask at his side. Wufei stood up and walked over to the two.

"Being over-confident with yourself doesn't help any, either," said Wufei. Duo shrugged lightly.

"So I leave myself open a lot and I think I'm all that. Now where do we start working on this?" he asked, sarcastically. Wufei smirked.

"It's not as simple as you think," he said. Duo shook his head.

"That's why I was able to beat you so easily, huh?" he asked. Wufei bit his lip, stopping himself from replying. Trowa sighed and placed his free hand at his hip.

"Seriously, Duo," he began. Duo grumbled and folded his arms. 'Great, a lecture,' he thought to himself. As Trowa began to explain about the rules of fencing, Duo tuned his voice out and began to let his mind wonder onto other things; such as his rumbling stomach, how much he wanted to get over with the rules and spar Trowa again, and even to what Quatre was doing at the moment. Wufei noticed Duo's straying eyes and nudged him lightly. Snapping back into reality, Duo grumbled and stared at the tall brunette, his stomach twisting once again at the sight of the boy. Strange, he was feeling just fine a while ago . . . Perhaps he was just hungry, or something. With that thought, Duo began to wonder what Relena was going to make for lunch. He didn't get a chance to finish his lunch yesterday, because Quatre distracted him. Not that he mind, of course. Surprisingly, Relena was a pretty good cook. Had Duo been at the academy by himself, he doubt that his hunger would ever be satisfied; and the structure of the dormitory building would be no more. He was one of the worst cooks ever, so he knew his place wasn't the kitchen. Reminding him of the dormitory, Duo began to notice that the appearance of the building began to look more vibrant; more alive, ever since Relena moved in with him . . . Which wasn't all that long ago, yet Duo was able to notice the differences. Then he began to wonder how long had Relena been the Rose Bride. Was she forced into it, or did she become the Rose Bride on her own? Perhaps it had something to do with Zechs . . . It had to be! When he first arrived, Noin mentioned something about Zechs being the chairmen of the Ohtori Academy. Perhaps Zechs knew how to get Duo out of that place and back to his base . . . Back into the 'real world'. Well, then again, Duo really hadn't had the chance to ask Quatre himself; or Relena at that. Perhaps he should try asking Relena first, and then-

"MAXWELL!!"

Shaking his head violently, Duo looked up at Trowa and forced a grin.

"And that's the basic rules, right?" he asked. Wufei shrugged.

"Guess you were listening, huh?" he asked, half to himself. Duo grinned. Wide.

~*~

"They haven't noticed."

"They will."

"When?"

"In due time, Noin. In due time."