Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Psionic Saga ❯ Chapter Twelve ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter Twelve.

Trowa waited another hour in the very empty cafeteria and finally stood. Lunch had finished two hours ago. Even the stragglers had long since left him to his solitude, which was certainly not what was worrying the slender French boy. His green eyes narrowed on the door and he frowned. Not a rare feat when no emotion at all is usually the course of the day.

Neither Heero or Duo had come through that door all day.

Trowa knew something had happened. Had known since he went to find Heero before class that morning and found him still in his pyjamas, Duo still curled up against the wall in bed. Neither looked very happy. Trowa had not said anything, simply backing away from the room and going to class, but now...Duo never missed lunch!

Stalking through the halls, Trowa adeptly avoided the places he knew teachers were hiding, waiting to catch people avoiding class. It was a simple task. Having grown up in a travelling circus, Trowa knew how to move and used that knowledge to his best advantage. The only person who could best him was Duo, and that was only when it came to sneaking around in places Trowa really would rather not go. Who wanted to know what was in an old janitor's closet anyway?

Moving quickly along the south school halls, Trowa escaped through a random open window and spirited across the lawns in the shadows, disappearing into the tree-line. He knew he was a little to the west of his target, but that didn't matter. He didn't want to go in the usual way.

When he reached Duo's favourite clearing it was abandoned. Trowa waited several minutes in perfect silence, observing everything, almost begging someone to leap out of the hole in the rock, but it didn't happen.

Satisfied he was alone, Trowa slipped across the clearing and climbed the rock. The walls of the small ditch were scuffed from a struggle and there were small pieces of wire and plastic that could only have come from one person. Trowa thought he recognised them as pieces from a phone and almost grinned. He had a feeling there would be a black bunny soon.

He followed the scuff marks down one side of the rock to where a person had landed roughly in the grass below.

`One guess who that was,' Trowa thought darkly, getting a rather explicit picture of what had taken place.

Everything in the clearing looked slightly wilted, as if all the energy had been sucked from it. Trowa knew that was exactly what had happened, but as everything looked to be recovering perfectly well he had no complaints.

Something in the corner of the clearing caught his attention and Trowa turned in time to see two familiarly robed figures enter the clearing. Sighing heavily, Trowa wondered why he had come alone when he had already known what had happened. Nothing else could have made Duo miss lunch. Well, except for maybe an extra five minutes with Heero, but Trowa was not going to go there.

"Alone little rabbit?"

Trowa wondered when it became public decision to refer to him as a little feral creature that hops around all day eating grass and carrots...He wished someone would call him a lion, or a tiger....or something with some style!

"He doesn't talk much, does he?"

Trowa suddenly knew why he always thought girl's talk too much. The male figure had barely moved since entering the clearing. The one speaking, the female one, did not look ready to shut up and was running around like her skirt was on fire.

Moving with a feline grace he had always admired in himself, Trowa backed away from the pair, manoeuvring himself into a place where he knew someone fleeing would have the advantage over those pursuing.

"You can't run!" The male figure yelled across the clearing and one of his hands rose.

Trowa felt glued to the spot. It was the strangest sensation he had ever felt and he suddenly knew how the Psionicists kept besting them. Wishing he had Duo's Psion-bands was pointless, so Trowa focussed on breaking loose. He had seen Heero do it once, but it looked a time-consuming process and Trowa knew he didn't have much time.

Once shot Trowa thought idly to himself. He spiralled into himself and detached completely from the physical world, drawing so far within the `self' that Trowa Barton was non-existent. He had done it many times before when he was younger and found it oddly comforting to do so now.

They were approaching slowly. Trowa surfaced from his trance only slightly, waking his awareness only enough to realise their positions. His body was currently free of the electric hold because he had drawn all his bio-electricity into a small ball in his centre but as soon as he released it he needed to be ready to run.

They were there, one on either side, the female's hand reaching out to touch him, fill his skin with an ice that makes your blood boil.

Trowa rose and he was no rabbit. A sound escaped him he had never heard before and a second before the hand reached his skin he struck out at the man, knocking him down with an easy push and pivoting quickly to similarly knock to the girl aside before sprinting into the trees.

He was not sure how quickly a Psionicist could recover so he took the time to cover his tracks as best as he could, swinging on branches occasionally and using every trick the circus had ever taught him and a few of Duo's as well.

He broke into the school yard at a run, only to come face to face with two very sharp swords he only vaguely managed to avoid. Wufei's stunned face looked down at him where he lay on the ground and Trowa grinned. Two against two was not bad odds.

"Expecting company Barton?"

Trowa stood, dusted himself off and nodded, turning to scan the tree-line. He couldn't see anything odd, but he could feel it. Wufei apparently felt the same thing because he was backing away, swords drawn before him, fingers relaxing and ki extending...

"Is it really such a good idea to do that?" Trowa asked curiously, amazed that he could actually sense Wufei's energy the boy was concentrating so completely.

"No choice."

Nodding to one another, they faced the trees.

And waited.

Waited some more.

"I thought you said we were expecting company," Wufei hissed from the corner of his mouth.

"I did not say that."

Wufei grimaced and continued to wait.

Eight figures stepped from the trees. Each was robed but it was easy to see five were female and three male. Trowa waited calmly, wishing he had some kind of weapon but not dallying on the point. He needed to remain focussed, like Wufei, who was eyeing off the corner group, eyes plotting a way to take on eight people at once.

The air seemed to be moving, so much electricity was gathering between them. Trowa wondered for a brief second if it was all just a mirage. Quatre would like that...

There was a loud crack followed by a strange whirring and the eight figures were suddenly thrown back into the tree-line as if swatted by a large hand.

Trowa and Wufei turned to see Heero and Quatre, side by side in their Psion-bands, swaying a little but still conscious. Heero seemed to be telling Quatre how to direct the energy he was sending, something Trowa doubt Duo had ever thought of doing.

"Nice timing Yuy," Wufei said as he finally lowered his swords and walked to meet the pair.

"Hn."

"Well, we thought the police might have something to say about eight student bodies with fatal sword wounds..." Quatre said sarcastically, looking from the weapons to Wufei's scandalised face.

"Thank you Quat," Trowa gave the small blonde a quick kiss on the cheek before turning casually to Heero. "Duo?"

"Asleep."

Of course, there was no other way the braided baka would have allowed Heero to `borrow' his bands.

"I think we should find out who they all are," Quatre suggested, already moving to the first figure who was tangled oddly around a branch.

They moved quickly. The first hood Trowa removed revealed Hilde, the second Treize. Wufei uncovered Relena and Milliard. Quatre found Noin and her best friend Sally Po, while Heero revealed Une and none other than Professor J, the head of the science department. A lot of things were starting to make sense.

Trowa followed the others back to their dorms silently. No one argued when Wufei followed them, turning away from his own. Heero went back to the fifth floor to be near Duo. Trowa smiled as the Japanese boy left, very much aware of Heero's feelings. Each knew they needed to discuss the day's events and decide, once and for all, what they were going to do about it, but right now they needed to clear their heads, calm down and catch up on homework.

Wufei, amazingly, followed him and Quatre to their own room on the third floor. A plan formed in Trowa's mind as he glanced at the raven-haired swordsman...

Trowa thought Wufei needed a nosebleed to clam him down...

End Chapter Twelve.