Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ White Roses ❯ Ignition ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Utena. There, I said it.

Warnings: Shonen ai, yaoi, violence, slight angst, fusion, possible implied lime/lemon, OOC, AU, weirdness, what could be considered Dorothy bashing. That's about it…for now.

Pairings: 1+2/2+1, maybe 2x1, 3+4/4+3, H+6…hm, many more will come along as the story continues.

A/N: Okay, so my last note wasn't so short, but this one is! …. Nobody cares, so let's move on! Like I said before, this is a GW/Utena fusion, so be wary… (hehe, just kidding) This chapter is nearly identical to the original plot, but don't necessarily expect it of everything else. Anyway, I nicer version of this might be posted later (once my editor gets back to me), so you could see some revisions later. That's it! Onto the first chapter! (Looks like my note wasn't so short after all..)

White Roses

Part I - Ignition

The path was covered with golden specks from where the sun shone through the leaves of the trees overhead. It was a fresh and clear morning, nippy, but not unpleasantly so. New flowers were poking out their heads for the first rays of spring, littering the campus lawns with dots of color. Dew from the early morning still glistened on the many plants surrounding the academy's buildings, appearing to be almost a sea of jewels.

Duo inhaled some of the fresh air with a content smile. Things had been so chaotic lately that it was difficult to find any time to appreciate the beauty around him. Changing schools had been stressful enough, but with new classes, introductions, activities and homework, it was practically impossible to find time for ones se--

His thought was cut short as he felt a sudden weight collide with his back, causing him to loose his balance and nearly topple face first into the pavement. He barely had time to plant his feet before legs wrapped around his waist and arms grasped his shoulders and a voice rang loudly in his ear…

"DUO! I've been looking everywhere for you!! Whatever were you thinking, leaving for class without me?!"

Turning his head slowly, Duo gave the girl on his back a small smile. "Good morning to you too, Hilde."

Feigning an upset look, the dark haired girl leaned back and replied in a careless voice. "Good morning yourself. I can't believe you would go without me! I might just have to be angry with you." She flashed him a mischievous grin. "But I won't. Luckily for you I'm a forgiving person."

Laughing good-naturedly, Duo rolled Hilde off his back who landed lightly on the path beside him. Her eyes sparkled with the excited energy that she carried, her posture open as she stood in her seafoam and white uniform. A beret that seemed to be the girl's trademark adorned her head, and she linked her arm companionably with Duo's as they continued onto class.

~~*~~

"This is great, just great," Duo muttered as he found himself lost yet again while wandering the academy's massive campus. Though he had been here for a month, it was still easy to get turned around. Pushing aside a heavy tree branch, the braided young man sighed in relief at the discovery of a path. He reminded himself to next time NOT take any 'shortcuts'.

A white sign caught his attention as he began towards where he hoped his dormitory was. Printed in neat capital black letters were the words 'Student Council Private Garden'. Curiosity, as it usually got the better of him, made Duo turn down the less used gravel path and approach a large greenhouse.

Through the perfectly transparent glass walls he was able to see one of the most incredible collection of roses. Romefellar Academy (1) was famous for it's rose gardens, but Duo had yet to find so many different kinds in one area. Red seemed to be the favorable color, but there were varying shades of pink to yellow with the occasional deeper purple. The only thing that was missing was white, which surprised him slightly since there had been so much in his dream…

It was then that the young man noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Inside stood a boy around his age facing a girl with long blonde hair and a white uniform, the girl apparently shouting something at the other. As he watched, a hand abruptly lashed out and struck the boy across the face in harsh slap, knocking him to the ground with its force. The boy held his reddened cheek carefully in his hand and tensed as the blonde moved to hit him once again. Duo was just ready to sprint inside when somebody clasped the angry girl's wrist firmly, preventing any more harm to fall upon the other boy. It was a young man, who also had cascading golden locks, standing there calmly, holding the fuming girl's wrist and staring her down.

"DUO!!!"

A familiar form latched itself onto his back and successfully drew him from his shock and attention on the greenhouse. "Hilde…you're heavy."

Ignoring his comment, the energetic girl turned her attention to whatever Duo had been staring at. "Hey, isn't that Dorothy Catalonia? She's so cool!"

"Catalonia…?"

"My god Duo, you don't even know who Dorothy is?! You are so out of it." Stepping away, Hilde shook her head mock shame, waving her finger at him in a 'tsk tsk' manner.

"Hey, give me a break, I just transferred here. You can't expect me to know every person in the frikin' school."

"I know, I know, I just wanted to give you a hard time." Playfully winking, she continued, "Dorothy Catalonia is the Student Council Vice President and captain of the kendo team. She's quite a celebrity around here."

"And, that's Milliardo Peacecraft (2), right? Student Council President?"

"Well, at least you know who Milliardo is," she replied, letting out a sigh.

"What about the other guy?"

"Oh, him." Hilde's voice suddenly became uninterested. "That's Heero Yuy.

"Heero…"

"He's pretty gloomy guy, doesn't really hang around with people too much. He's part of the Student Council too, though all he ever does is tend to the rose garden. Now c'mon, let's get something to eat."

But Duo was too caught up in watching Heero as he retrieved his dropped watering can to hear the last of her words. The boy had thick chocolate brown locks and wore the issued pale-green uniform that majority of the student body had. All of this was pretty average, but what truly caught the braided young man's attention was the aura of sorrow that the mysterious boy radiated, and the deep emotion that Duo was sure those deep blue eyes possessed. He continued to look back, even as Hilde dragged him down the path.

~~*~~

"I realize that I called this meeting rather suddenly, but I feel that there is an important issue at hand that we must discuss."

Around a rather plush room stood the five members of the Student Council. Milliardo's silhouette, the President and the one who had spoken, was before a giant and intricately designed stained glass window, his tall form appearing as almost nothing but a shadow. To his left by the fireplace was a girl with deep purple hair and eyes, her thin body languidly leaning against the mantle. Beside her was a rather small young man who was probably much older then he appeared to be, his short hair matching Milliardo's in shade. Lastly, in front of the door was none other than Dorothy Catalonia with Heero standing behind her, his head bowed humbly.

"Noin…" the President nodded towards the dark girl. "…and Quatre. I've called you all here so that I may express my opinion as Student Council President. Dorothy and her bride, step forward."

Rolling her eyes at the formalities, the said girl complied, Heero only a step behind her. As she stood, a hand on her hip and deformed eyebrows raised, did Milliardo go on.

"We were chosen by His Excellency (3) to live and abide by the laws of the Rose Seal, and our sole purpose as members of the class Council is to protect those laws. Your violent treatment of Yuy goes against those very rules, and must stop immediately."

"Ridiculous! Heero is my bride and I do with him as I wish. There is no law that commands me otherwise." Crossing her arms, Dorothy scowled at the President who was momentarily left speechless. //How can Dorothy be so blind?!//

"I agree with President Milliardo," Noin cut in. "Though it is not written, the Rose Bride was not created as some sort of plaything, and by treating her this way you render the duels as simply a game."

Heero suddenly spoke as the Vice President opened her mouth to retort in outrage. "For now, I belong Lady Dorothy and must follow her every command. That is all know, as the Rose Bride."

The rest of the council was shocked into silence as the boy bowed and walked out the door with a smirking Catalonia. Unable to hold it in any longer, Quatre slammed his stopwatch (4) onto the table and angrily turned to his fellow council members. "Are we just going to let her keep hurting Heero?! Rose Seal or not, Dorothy is breaking every kind of moral code! I can't believe we can just sit here and let this continue."

The air was tense inside the noiseless room as Milliardo paused to contemplate his answer. Noin remained silent and Quatre took deep breaths in an effort to calm himself to his regular demeanor. It was with an almost regretful sigh that the blonde haired man turned was and spoke again. "There is nothing we can do, for the rose Seal does not forbade this sort of thing. We will just have to wait until the next duelist…" He held up an envelope, "…challenges her."

There was a collective understanding as Milliardo slipped the paper object into his pocket.

~~*~~

Duo noticed a large crowd had gathered as the walked by one of the school bulletins. Curious, he pulled Hilde along and approached the group who all seemed to be staring at something at had been posted. Snickering and bursts of laughter we emanated from the students and the violet-eyed boy was suddenly felt angry as he heard the words somebody was reading out loud.

"…You took me into your arms and we danced gracefully together in my dream last night, dear Milliardo. Your face was so kind and open that I couldn't help feeling like I was in heaven…"

Before the rude boy could read any more, Duo marched forward and ripped the piece of paper from the bulletin, affectively quieting the crowd as he waved it in the air. "What are you all DOING?! How can you read somebody's personal business and then laugh and make fun of it!? Don't any of you have a basic sense of decency?!?"

"Well, it's not our fault, it was posted for us to read," another snobby boy replied, his comment followed by several agreements. But as Duo saw Hilde running away, face buried in her hands he then knew that the love letter was hers, and no longer cared for the stupid kids' excuses. Outrage ran hot in his veins as he looked to the bulletin and saw that the letter had been posted under the 'Student Council VP' section, and knew immediately what needed to be done.

~~*~~

"Dorothy!"

The blonde haired girl turned her attention to the black clad figure in the doorway.

"Dorothy Catalonia?" The figure asked after they were sure that they had her attention.

"Yes?" she replied impatiently. Very few were brave enough to interrupt her kendo practice, most smart enough to wait unless it was of extreme importance. Dorothy racked her eyes over the stranger. They were definitely male, despite the long braid that hung against their back. He was not wearing the usual uniform, she observed, but more of something suited for a priest. Violet eyes glared at her with anger, glowing brightly against the shadows.

//Very nice// she thought, allowing a small smile to come to her lips.

"You are Dorothy Catalonia? The Kendo Team Captain and Student Council Vice President?"

The oddly eyebrowed girl sighed. //But no brains to him// "Yes, that is correct."

Taking a breath as if to calm himself, the boy began, "Did you receive a letter addressed to the Student Council President?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Turning back to her practice, she answered, "The president receives a great deal of letters. Unfortunately, he is sometimes too busy to go through them so I am left with the job." Swinging her wooden sword in a graceful swoop, she continued. "Most of them are silly love letter sent by admirers. The President has no time for such petty things. So of course, I throw those away."

The boy barely managed his next words through clenched teeth. "Would you be throwing these away where people might find them?"

Smirking slightly, the Student Council Vice President pivoted to face him. "As I said, I simply throw them away, they are not my concern after that. Oh yes…except for that one." She chuckled, only feeding to the braided boy's agitation. "There was that hilariously pitiful excuse for a letter. I posted it since I figured the other students could use a good laugh."

Finally, the boy's composure shattered, is fist shaking violently as a result. Dorothy began to laugh hysterically. It was funny, the lovesick girl and her idiot friend who now stood before her. However, the young student's hot rage suddenly became terrifyingly cold as he swiftly drew a sword from that nearby box, pointing it directly at Dorothy.

"I challenge you to a duel. I will not allow anyone, even members of the class council, to humiliate my friends!"

Raising a forked eyebrow in amusement, the long haired girl asked, "Who are you anyway?"

"Duo Maxwell," he stated coolly.

Thinking that…Duo was nothing more than some egotistical fool, Dorothy almost declined the challenge. That is, until she remembered His Excellency's latest message. //The new duelist…//

A fiendish grin crept to her lips. "Very well, I except your challenge. Meet after classes in the Dueling Forest."

"Dueling Forest? Isn't that off limits?" He was obviously surprised by the location.

The upper classmen nodded. "Yes, if you are to fight me, it must be there."

Walking across the room, she placed her sword carefully on its rack. 'I'll be looking forward to it," Dorothy added before exiting the door opposite of Duo.

//Perhaps things will finally liven up.//

*****

(1) Hm, really couldn't come up with a better name. I wanted it to have a connection to GW so Ohotori didn't work. I think it works fine though, and maybe has a bit of hintage…?

(2) ::snickers:: Zechs didn't quite sound…regal enough.

(3) We can only wonder… ::grins::

(4) ::falls on the ground laughing:: Come on, guys, how could I resist! Quatre would look so cute, clicking that thing all the time, ne? ::huggles Miki plushie::

A/N: Finally, the first chapter is COMPLETE!! ::sighs in relief:: It took me forever to get my butt going on this one. So, did you all enjoy? The next part should be up within the week, I figure I should keep all my readers (if there are any) interested. Please review with any comments or suggestions you have, I'd love to here them! Until next time.