Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates? ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

Title: Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates? (10 of ?)

Archived at fanfiction.net, mediaminer.org, and at Cali0cat's site, http://calic0cat.freeservers.com/ as Nightseer

Category: Romance, Fusion -Tenchi Universe

Pairings: Just friends for now, eventually 1x2x1, maybe 3+4

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: A few swear words, maybe a bit of sap and fluff here and there, the occasional drop of angst, my weird attempts at humor, and for just for the next few chapters if you are a die hard Relena fan, I guess some of what is in here could count as Relena bashing, but it's not meant to be taken that way.

Spoilers: For Gundam Wing, not a one. For Tenchi Universe, probably

Feedback: Suggestions, comments, ideas, and even grammar and spelling corrections are all welcome.

"speech"

'thought'

*** *** location change

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)-rare but Duo will occasionally speak telepathically to her.

Chapter Ten

***Yagami***

A quiet, persistent beeping could be heard throughout the ship. After slapping his hand on the alarm clock a few times Trowa realized the sound wasn't going away. When he opened his eyes he saw the orange light on his view screen was blinking. Stumbling out of bed, he made his way over to the desk. Sitting down, Trowa slapped the connect button. Trowa yawned, giving his assistant a sleepy glare.

Sam snickered at his superior. "You know, you're not too scary when you first wake up."

Trowa yawned again. "Huh?"

"You have bed hair sir. It kind of makes your glare less frightening." Sam was still snickering.

Trowa ran a hand through his hair, shrugging. "What do you want? It's the middle of Yagami's night cycle."

"Maybe you could brush your hair." Sam said, smirking at the sleepy man.

Trowa sighed in exasperation. "I meant why you called Sam."

"Oh that." Sam shuffled the papers in his hands. "Detective Winner's report came in a few hours ago. And before *you* start yelling, *I* just received it from the commander's secretary."

Trowa blinked a few times, confused. "Quatre sent it directly to Kushrenada?"

"Yes sir. I've sent a copy to you plus the coordinates of the planet Detective Winner is on to Yagami's main computer."

Trowa sat up straighter, waking up a bit. 'Can you give me the highlights?"

"Yes sir. Detective Winner and Outlaw Class A Duo Maxwell [1] crash landed on the third planet in the Sol system. They made contact with a local family who has allowed them to stay in their home." Sam paused, shuffling through a stack of papers. "Because Maxwell plans to stay on the planet and because no one has ever *successfully* arrested him, Detective Winner has requested a permanent reassignment to the area."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

Sam glanced at the papers in his hands and back to the view screen, wincing. "You're not going to like this."

Trowa completely woke up upon hearing that. "What is it?"

"Commander Kushrenada is considering assigning you there as well. He believes having two officers in the area will prevent further accidental contact with the locals."

"They crashed on a *restricted* planet?!"

"Apparently so."

"What the *bloody* hell were those two doing?" Trowa snapped.

"Hey don't yell at me. I'm just the messenger. As to why they were there or why they crashed, I really don't know. That part of the report is vague."

Trowa pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He was tempted to let his anger out on Sam but he decided it could wait until he could get his hands on the real culprit.

"Has anyone contacted Lady Iria to inform her of her brother's welfare?"

"Detective Winner's report states that he would contact her. Would you like me to inform her that you are on your way to the planet sir?"

"Yes I would." Trowa stood up from the desk. "Thank you for contacting me. Goodnight Sam."

"Goodnight sir."

Trowa hit the disconnect button as he walked out the door, fuming. 'This is wonderful, absolutely, freaking wonderful. Quatre managed to crash my ship and I'm most likely to be reassigned to some back water, third rate planet in the middle of nowhere.' Trowa threw himself into the chair in front of Yagami's main terminal to enter in the new course. Sighing, he realized how far out this planet actually was. Entering the commands for Yagami to drop a few signal booster satellites he went over his current situation. He decided the only way to save his career and to get revenge for his totaled ship, which he was sure was the braided idiot's fault, he needed to arrest Maxwell. 'After all,' he thought to himself, 'he's just some kid. How hard could it be to arrest one stupid teenager?'

***Earth***

Katsuhito and the girls came into the kitchen as the boys were putting the food on the table. Seeing Quatre Hilde squealed as she took a flying leap at the blonde. Duo pulled Heero out of her way, laughing at the young girl's exuberance. Quatre grabbed the little girl, swinging her in a circle before putting her back down. Relena watched the scene from the doorway, mortified at her sister's improper behavior.

Looking away from Quatre and Hilde's reunion, Duo noticed Relena's unease. 'Someone needs to get her to relax.' he thought. He walked over to Relena and held out his arm to escort her to the table. "Ready for dinner Your Highness?"

Relena, surprised by the gesture, looked at Duo in disbelief. Duo rolled his eyes, smiling. "Don't worry Princess, no pranks or jokes tonight. Cat and I are on our best behavior."

Relena took the boy's arm with a murmured "Thank you." When Duo finished escorting her, she couldn't help put feel somewhat reassured as he took a seat on the opposite side of the table with Heero, Hilde, and Ryo-Ohki. She starred at the small brown animal. Startled, she looked up at Katsuhito as he placed a glass of iced tea in front of her.

"Are you alright? You looked a little out of it Miss." The old man sat down next to Quatre.

"I'm fine, thank you." Relena looked back to the cabbit, who currently pulling lettuce out of a small bowl of salad. "Should that animal be eating at the table?" she asked Quatre quietly.

Quatre snorted as he put some fries on his and Relena's plates. "Two things you need to know Relena. One, never refer to Ryo-Ohki as an animal or a thing. She is as smart as you or I. Two, if you tried to feed her on the floor she'd bite you." He passed the fries to Katsuhito. "She doesn't like being treated like a lesser being."

"But...It's…it's unsanitary." Relena stammered.

Duo looked at the blonde girl, smirking. "She can hear you, ya know. If you want to know something about her just ask her and I'll tell you what she says." He turned away from the blondes' conversation and looked over to Ryo-Ohki. "How's the salad?"

/Not bad. Could I try some those potato things?/

"You won't like them. They've been fried."

/I like other things besides just fresh stuff./ Ryo-Ohki lifted a small bowl of water she was using as a cup, taking a sip. /I like some cooked veggies and chocolate too, you know./

"Yes I know. But this isn't some chocolate desert dish." He handed a few fries over to Ryo-Ohki. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He smirked at Relena's puzzled face as he cut into his steak. After swallowing a piece, he turned to Heero. "Do you still want a ride to school in the morning?"

Heero nodded. "Yes, if you don't mind doing it. It would be nice to get a little extra sleep."

His grandfather snorted. "You wouldn't need the extra sleep if you didn't stay up all night messing with that laptop."

He gave his grandfather a small glare. "Actually, I spent most of last night with you explaining *them* to Dad." He motioned to Duo and Quatre with his fork.

Quatre, who had been telling the girls how Ryo-Ohki and Duo communicated, looked up at the Japanese boy. "How was your Dad this morning? I didn't see him when I came down."

When Heero shrugged Katsuhito answered. "He was fine; a little confused still but alright." He chuckled. "I can't wait to see his response to our new guests."

Duo snickered. "Anyone want to take bets on if he'll pass out at the idea of hosting royalty?" He smirked at the blonde boy across the table. "Think we could catch it on film if he does?"

Everyone but Relena and Katsuhito snickered. Rolling his eyes Katsuhito shook his head and continued with his meal. Relena glared at her sister. "It's not funny Hilde." As Relena turned to face Quatre, who was asking Heero if he had a camera they could set up for when Odin came home, her voice took on a haughty tone as began speaking.

"Lord Quatre," Relena gave her cousin a reproving look, "that kind of behavior is not appropriate for someone of your lineage. I would have thought that you would know that by now." Ignoring Hilde's shocked gasp she continued. "Members of the Jurai royal family do not act so undignified."

Quatre stiffened as he put his fork down. As he turned to face Relena his eyes had an odd glint in them. "Oh shit" Duo whispered. He scooted closer to Heero and Ryo-Ohki jumped into Hilde's lap to get a little farther away from the blonde's target.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked softly.

Duo, chewing his lip, nodded his head towards his friend. "Just wait."

Quatre's face was blank as he began speaking to Relena. "Lady Relena, I have never been a part of the Jurai royal *family*. Since I was a child you and parents made it quite clear to my clan that we were not welcome in the inner circle. In fact, the only time your family has had contact with mine is when you needed our *financial* backing for some event." The blonde's expression looked pained and his voice had turned bitter. "Not only that but you have made my career life hell. Because of your constant disapproval of my career choice to become a Galaxy police officer I have had to always prove my self. You made it quite clear to my superiors that you believed me to be an inferior officer. Your repeated reports and snide remarks to Kushrenada have followed me for the past two years. He only recently began trusting my abilities as an officer." Quatre took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down before continuing. "The rumors caused by your allegations have also caused me to have problems with my partner on the force." The blonde stood up from the table. Looking down at Relena he continued. "I have tried to be polite to you for the sake of our hosts but because of your treatment of my family, my friends, and myself I will *not* conform to your ideas of *proper* behavior for Jurai royalty or nobles." He violently pushed his chair under the table. He made a small bow to Katsuhito. "If you'll excuse me sir, I no longer have an appetite." He quickly walked out of the kitchen.

Duo winced as he heard the front door slam. He turned to the shocked princess, intending to chew her out for her treatment of his friend. Hilde, however, beat him to it.

"That was a stupid thing to do Relena." The girl's blue eyes were practically shooting sparks at the blonde girl. "We haven't seen him for months and now you finally had a chance to learn to get along with him and you manage to piss him off in less than a day." She tossed her fork on to her plate, ignoring it as it bounced off and on to the floor. "You always manage to let your foolish *damn* pride get in the way of everything. You never, ever can admit *you're* in the wrong, can you?" Hilde shot up from her chair, dumping Ryo-Ohki on the floor and ran out of the kitchen. "I'm going to find Quatre" she yelled before slamming the front door of the house.

Katsuhito had watched the whole scene with a troubled look on his face. 'I knew there might be problems but I never predicted this.' Sighing, he ran a hand over his face. "Miss, why don't I escort you to the room you and your sister will be staying in?"

Relena, embarrassed being dressed down by her sister in front of so many people, was grateful for the escape. She nodded, standing up. "I think I'd like that sir."

As Katsuhito was escorting the young woman out of the kitchen he asked Heero and Duo to clean up. They began picking up plates and dumping the uneaten food in the trash. When Duo went to grab Ryo-Ohki's bowl he realized she was missing. He looked around the kitchen but couldn't find the cabbit.

Heero quirked an eyebrow as Duo bent down to look under the table. "Loose something?"

Startled, Duo banged his head on the table. Rubbing the back of his head he weakly glared at the other boy. "Did you see where Ryo-Ohki went?"

"No, I didn't." Heero began pilling dishes into the dishwasher. As he loaded up the plates he thought about the scene a few minutes ago. Something about it didn't make sense to him. When Duo dropped his load of plates on the counter Heero grabbed his arm as he moved to walk off.

Duo looked up at the other boy's puzzled face. "Whatcha need?"

Heero crossed his arms as he tried to figure out what was bothering him about Quatre's reaction. "What set him off? I know what she said was rude but it hardly seemed like something to cause a rant like Quatre's."

Duo ran a hand through his bangs. Looking away from Heero he tried to think of a way to explain. "Quatre…Well shit, how *do* I explain this?"

"You could start at the beginning." Heero shut the door to the dishwasher and turned it on.

Duo snorted as he put the rest of the salad and fries in the fridge. "If I started there we would be here all night. The beginning of the feud between the Winners and the Peacecrafts began five hundred years ago 'Ro."

Done wiping off the table Heero pulled out two bowls, spoons and a carton of chocolate ice cream. "Okay give me the abbreviated version."

As Duo sat down at the table, Heero slid a bowl over to him. Duo picked up a spoon and began poking at the ice cream. "Okay, here goes nothing; Jurai Politics for Beginners 101. Five hundred years ago the royal line of Jurai died out. Two houses, the Peacecrafts and the Winners, were both next in line to become the main blood line. After deciding on the Peacecrafts, to prevent any future conflict, the council made the Winners a minor house. So the Winners became merchants to support their clan." Duo paused to take a bite of his ice cream.

"They really didn't have a choice. The Winner clan has always been huge. Anyways, the Peacecrafts were shocked at…how did the Emperor at the time put it, oh yeah... 'Their mercenary behavior.'" Duo shook his head in amusement. "Colin Peacecraft thought that Abdul Winner had done it to shame the royal line. Colin has always sounded like an arrogant little shit to me." Looking up from his ice cream, he smiled gently. "I lived with the Winners for most of my childhood. The whole clan is way too kind to ever do something like that deliberately."

Heero took a bite of the ice cream thinking. "Okay that might explain some small tension between the families but not Quatre's outburst."

"Yeah, I'm getting to that." Duo stirred his ice cream around. "Occasionally over the past five hundred years the clans would attempt to make peace with each other but something always happened to stop it; a duel over some girl or guy's hand in marriage, the Winners being invited to some wedding when the Peacecrafts weren't or the Peacecrafts being invited to some major event when the Winners weren't. Stupid little things when you think about it. But roughly sixty years ago it came to a head." Duo sighed, tapping his spoon against the rim of the bowl.

"What happened?"

"A knight of the Peacecraft house, Yosho, was courting Anita Winner. They were actually engaged, but two months before the wedding Anita was assassinated. The story goes that Yosho was heart broken that his family would kill his fiancée because of the feud and left Jurai. The Peacecrafts, not knowing where Yosho had gone, accused the Winners of killing Yosho, which is utter bullshit. Amin Winner had already accepted Yosho as his son. Jarrett Peacecraft refused to listen and let the accusation stand. After his death ten years ago the Winners and Emperor Jabir were finally able to open an investigation into the murder. They found out one of the other minor families which was benefiting from the feud had hired the assassin and proved Yosho *had* left Jurai."

Duo finished off the last of his ice cream. "But by that time it was too late to undo the damage. Jarrett Peace-crap's irrational hatred had warped Relena's attitude towards the Winner family."

Heero put his spoon down. Still confused, he asked "But what exactly did she do to set him off?"

"Well, Quatre and I were raised to be, I don't know, I guess more relaxed than Relena. Titles, formal manners, and court behaviors were only saved for those rare occasions when they were called to court or for major public parties and balls. Relena, however, was raised to use titles and court formal behavior to keep people in their place or at a distance." Duo rolled his eyes. "It's supposedly some big honor if she grants you the *privilege* of calling her Lady instead of Princess, let alone be allowed to use her given name."

Heero rested his head on his hand, watching Duo turn the spoon in his hands. "So when she called him 'Lord Quatre' he took it as an insult?"

Duo shook his head vehemently, causing his braid swing. "No, it's more than that. When she called him that she was implying that Quatre was lesser in rank than her. No, that's not really a good way to put it." Duo dropped the spoon into the bowl. "She implied that in the grand scheme of things that she is more important than him, that her life is more valuable." Duo shrugged slightly. "It's hard to explain but to someone like Quatre, who values all life, placing one life before another just because of what family they were born into pisses him off."

Heero sensed there was something Duo was leaving out but decided to let it go for now. Looking at the braided boy's subdued demeanor he decided it was time for a small distraction to take his mind off his friend's problems. He grabbed Duo's hand and pulled him up from the chair. "I developed the pictures we took this morning at school. You want to come upstairs to look them over?"

Duo looked at the bowls on the table. "Sure but what about the..?

Heero shrugged, pulling Duo out the door. "We'll get to them later. I want your opinion on the photos. And after that I'll show you how to get past the area that stumped you last night in Dragon Quarter."

TBC…

[1] The GP's top 100 criminals are divided into 5 different classes. A being the most wanted and E being the least wanted. Outlaw is a type of criminal, more commonly known as a pirate or thief.

Author's note: If you're interested in the names meanings are Jarrett, French, one who rules; Amin, Arabic, trustworthy, and Jabir, Arabic, comforter or one who gives comfort. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon but RL is being a pain right now. I hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you think.

Kel