Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Cousin of the Dragon ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
CHAPTER 2: COUSIN OF THE DRAGON

Space - colony A0206
Wufei-


Chang Wufei, heir and only son of the Chang clan, ran a hand over his face and back over his hair. He felt like he looked harried and he hated looking anything less than perfect. Image was important and one must always look in control. Even if one just wanted to crawl under the desk and cry.

Tax requirement for funeral expenses.

The bold print lettering at the top of the paper made Wufei bite the inside of his cheek. He did that more than he liked, but at least no one else could tell he was doing it. Why tax the dead? It just didn’t make any sense, but there it was. He went on reading the most recent bill. The funeral had been costly, but how could he have spent less and dishonored his father’s memory? Everything had to be done correctly, every rite observed. Now, all of it had to be paid for and Wufei was having a hard time figuring out just where the money would come from. He would have to keep the business running or fall into debt, something his father would have hated. He was going to have a hard enough time paying off his father’s funeral and now he was being taxed because of it. More accurately, his mother was being taxed.

Slamming the paper down on the desk, Wufei let out a snort of frustration. His mother didn’t know how deeply in debt they were. Thinking of that made Wufei look around the room that used to be his father’s office. The rugs were gone, those were among the first things that had been sold. The walls were empty with squares of different colored paint on the walls that showed where the paintings had once hung. They hadn’t been very expensive paintings, but Wufei missed them. There had been one in particular that had hung in the corner near the large potted plant, that Wufei had especially liked. It had been a single tree in the dead of winter covered in snow. The frame had been worth more than the painting, but Wufei still missed it.

The worst part of it was the it wasn’t just the office. The whole house was like this. Empty. Depressing. Since his father had died, it was like the whole house had died, also.

Like this is going to help at all. Wufei sat up and deliberately straightened his back, as if that would clear his mind. Sitting here doing nothing. The house isn’t important. The things aren’t important. The medicine IS important. Mother is important. It was the medicine that was the trouble, though. It was experimental, but the best chance of saving his mother.

The books would have to be sold, no matter how much it hurt. He’d already had to sell off most of the family’s business, not that it had been a huge business. They were book sellers. The only books sellers on the colony, they’d been responsible for supplying all the books to school as well as research material and just books for pleasure. Their store had been more a combination of store and library. The elder Chang had always been so proud of the store, Fox Tales, and only a few weeks after his death Wufei had gone and lost it. Now, Wufei had only one room of the house where he kept the most treasured books. Those were the antiques, the ones that were nearly impossible to find and the ones that were worth a great deal of money to collectors.

I’ll have to sell those off, too. There was a sharp pain in his chest when he thought about the loss of those books. They were some of his favorites. His eyes fell on the tax paper again and went down to the bottom line that told the amount that his family owed to the government. As soon as mother died, he’d owe double that amount plus the funeral expenses. The books would definitely have to be sold.

It was charity that killed Wufei’s father. Chang Li had been giving books to the school on L2. There was only one school on the little colony and it had very few resources. When he’d heard this, Wufei’s father had taken hundreds of books to the school and returned not knowing that he’d been tainted with the plague.

‘He can’t have known. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have come home and risked us. I can’t believe he’d have done that.’

Why Wufei wasn’t affected by the plague when he’d been exposed just as much as his mother, Wufei had no idea. He hadn’t even caught so much as the sniffles from the disease that killed his father and that made Wufei feel illogically guilty. L2 was on the edge of ruin , nearly everyone there dying from a plague there was no cure for. However, it seemed that some doctors on Earth had recently developed a cure, but the price was steep. Far too steep for anyone on L2 to afford and it looked nearly too steep for Wufei.

Wufei wasn’t even sure that the last books of his father’s collection would be enough to buy enough medicine to save his mother. Just the first few treatments were enough to make Wufei ready to sell off everything they had. It wasn’t even as if he were working alone on this. For the first time, Wufei had swallowed his pride and asked for help with the money.

“Young master,” It was Dai, the only remaining servant, who stood in the doorway. He’d been old for as long as Wufei could remember, though now the man was starting to look frail. It was hard to see him like this. Dai had been the one who’d taught Wufei the fighting arts, a second father, really. “We’ve just received word from the elder of the Long clan.”

Wufei smiled with relief, but it faded when he saw that Dai didn’t look at all happy. “What’s wrong? It’s good news, isn’t it?”

“Lady Long sends word that the medication has been delivered to her estate. She is sending a courtier over immediately and he will arrive in just a few hours. I think it will arrive too late, though.”

Wufei could feel the blood draining from his face and it must have been too obvious because Dai was at his said, pressing a cup of something hot to his lips and forcing Wufei’s head to tilt back, the drink sliding down his throat and burning all the way. “Young master, breathe deeply. You will faint if you don’t control yourself.”

Whatever it was that Dai fed him worked and Wufei revived. “You paid mother a visit on your way here, I take it.”

“You should go to her.”

“Father lasted for months before he died.” Wufei protested. “If we’d known about the medication when he first became ill, we could have saved him. She’s only been sick a few weeks.”

Dai looked at him from watery eyes under his heavy, white eyebrows. “Please, go to her. She’s been asking for you.”

Reluctantly, Wufei stood. His hands were shaking and he couldn’t seem to stop. Putting the palms of his hands on the desk, Wufei paused to control himself. His father would be shamed if he saw how little self-control Wufei had. “You’re sure?”

“I am. I don’t want to give you anymore pain than you are already suffering, master, but you must see her. Now.” Dai looked tired. More than tired. He looked world weary. Defeated. It wasn’t fair to him. Dai had served the Chang family his whole life and now it was going to end. Wufei wouldn’t be able to afford to pay him, shortly. In fact, he was the only servant who hadn’t already left. It wasn’t just because of the lack of pay, but they were all afraid of the plague. Only Dai had been brave enough to stay.

Wufei did as he was told and wordlessly walked away from the desk, now that he felt he could walk without falling, and left Dai behind in the office. The house was quiet, lately. It hadn’t been so long ago that the Chang house had been filled with visiting friends and people stopping by on business. The servants had all left, except for Dai. Now, the empty halls echoed Wufei’s footsteps, no matter how quietly he walked, and the air was cold. It shouldn’t be. All atmosphere was the same on the colonies, even on a decrepit colony like this one. Maybe it was just him.

The bedchambers of Chang Yaun were near the garden. She liked it there because she could smell the flowers, even if she could no longer leave her bed. He knocked politely before opening the door. “Mother? May I come in?” The only room that had remained mostly untouched was the room where Wufei’s mother lay dying. He couldn’t bring himself to sell her blankets or the music box that gave her such pleasure. That one room was exactly like it had been before everything changed.

“Ah, my little one.” Her voice was thin and reedy, not at all like it should have been. His mother was a strong woman, capable of anything. The fact that a disease was able to lay her so low hurt Wufei. “Where are you? Come closer.” She looked terrible, even worse than she had the day before. Her hands were skeletal claws, her skin so pale that Wufei could see the blue blood veins just under the surface. Her hair had nearly all fallen out and her face…

“Hello, mother.”

“Wufei, come hold my hand a while.” She reached out with one hand for him and Wufei took the hand with only a moment’s hesitation. She smiled at his touch and that made it worthwhile. She had once been the most beautiful woman on the colony. Now the disease had eaten away at her, causing ugly boils and blisters to cover her white face. Her lips were cracked and bleeding. Thankfully, the disease had also blinded her. She couldn’t see her face of which she’d once been so proud.

“How do you feel, mother?”

The smile dimmed slightly. “Like I am dying. Did you see to your father’s arrangements? Dai said he would help you.”

“He did. Everything’s taken care of. The vaccine is still en route. It will be here soon. Lady Long just sent a message.” He couldn’t bring himself to lie to her and tell her everything would be alright. A glance at the life signs monitor on the other side of the bed showed Wufei that Dai had been right. She was failing, quickly. Lady Long had given them the medical equipment when Wufei’s mother and father had refused to leave their home. They’d been living there too long to give it up. A stupid decision. Wufei thought, bitterly. They all knew Lady Long could have kept his parents in greater comfort than he could alone. He hated asking for help even more than his parents did, but this wasn’t for something petty, it was for their lives. They should have accepted Lady Long’s offer. ‘It wouldn’t have gotten the medicine here any sooner, though. They don’t have anymore money than our clan does.’

“Ah. She‘s a good woman. A person you can respect.” She didn’t believe it and Wufei couldn’t bring himself to push her. “You are the last of our clan, Wufei. I must ask you to keep to the agreement that was made with the Long clan. I know this is hard for you, your father’s death and now my own, will hurt for a long time. Don’t do anything foolish after my death, no matter how much you hurt.”

“Meiran and I will marry, I give you my word. You have nothing to worry about.”

His mother’s smile would have been radiant if she hadn’t lost most of her teeth already. “Good, good. I love you, Wufei. You were always my pride. No matter what happens, your father and I will always be proud of you.” She sighed and coughed. She kept coughing until blood splattered out of her mother and onto the back of Wufei’s hand.

“Mother? Let me call the doctor.” He tried to get up, but she wouldn’t let go of his hand.

“Stay with me, just a little while. There’s nothing that can be done, now. Fate will not be denied. Sit and see me to the end. This isn’t something to be afraid of. I will be with your father and that pleases me very much.”

She died shortly after that with blood running down the sides of her mouth and her sightless eyes staring into emptiness. Her hand grew cold in Wufei’s, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. The unnatural buzz of the life monitor filled the room.

Wufei sat there for a long time until Dai put a hand on his shoulder. “Master Chang, you must come away, now.”

“I know.”

When Wufei didn’t make any move to stand, Dai stepped to the other side of the bed and disconnected all the little wires that had monitored Lady Chang’s life in its final moments. The terrible buzzing sound stopped and the room was too quiet. “I could hate the quiet.” Wufei said, suddenly.

Dai pulled the blankets up to cover Wufei’s mother’s face. “Then let’s go somewhere with more noise. Lady Long and Meiran will…”

“No. I have arrangements to make.” Wufei stood up and wrenched his eyes away from his mother’s shroud. “Mother and father wanted this to be done without interference from outside, they made that pretty clear.”

“I’m sure they didn’t mean for you to do this alone.”

“I can’t be sure of that, can I?” There was so much to do. The physician would have to be called in to document the time of death. The coffin maker would need to be called back and a site would need to be dug. Wufei swallowed hard and tried to blink away the burning in his eyes. “Dai, please close this room until the physician is able to complete the necessary paperwork.” He turned to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“I need…there are things to do. I will inform Lady Long of…what has happened.” He should be crying, shouldn’t he? When his father had died, Wufei hadn’t cried because he was too worried about his mother. He’d had to be strong for her. Now there was no one he had to be strong for, no one he had to protect. Shouldn’t he cry? They were his parents. He loved them.

Dai followed him out of the room. “The other clans will wish to visit and pay their respects.”

“I understand.”


Days later Wufei was summoned to the estate of the Long clan to meet with Lady Long Huan. He didn’t really have any choice in the matter considering the circumstances. He was still a minor and was very fortunate that Lady Long had declared temporary guardianship over him. She let him keep his freedom and it kept the authorities off his back.

Naturally, Wufei had asked Dai to come along with him. He couldn’t leave the old gentleman at home all alone, that just wouldn’t be right. Besides, Wufei could count on one hand the number of times he’d gone anywhere without Dai. However, when they reached the Long estate, they were greeted by a servant almost as old as Dai.

“Greetings, Master Chang. You are expected in the back garden. Lady Meiran has asked that you forgive her for not greeting you properly, but her studies keep her busy today.”

“Of course.” Wufei started around the large house to the back garden, but stopped when he heard the servant speak to Dai.

“Will you join me for tea, Mr. Dai? I’m sure you’re tired from your journey.”

Obviously, Lady Long wanted to speak with Wufei in private. Wufei nodded to Dai and watched as the two gentleman walk off together. Must be serious if Lady Long felt the need for privacy. He found her sitting on one of the stone benches and bowed respectfully. Very soon, he would be part of her clan and under her rule.

“Wufei,” Lady Long greeted in her thin voice. “You honor me with your presence. You are well? I had expected you to come live in my home after your mother’s passing.”

“There is no need for me to disrupt your home, Lady Long. There is still paperwork to finish and bills that need paying.”

“My people will take care of the last of your paperwork and your bills.” Her face was just as kind and genial as it had ever been. “You will be going to Earth to live with family there.”

For a moment, Wufei was sure he’d heard wrong. He’d had always had a terrible temper, even if he did like to pretend otherwise. If it had been anyone else, Wufei might have exploded like a firecracker. Lady Long was one to be respected, though. For her, he held his tongue for as long as he could. It didn’t last long. Wufei glared angrily, his hands bunched into fists at his sides. He knew that he probably looked ridiculous, nothing but a child having a temper tantrum, but he just couldn’t help himself. This was just…just unfair! "I want to stay here!"

“What you want is of no importance, my child.” She was ancient, at least that was how she looked. A tiny woman, Lady Long was pale and wrinkled with age. Her eyes, however, were sharp and no one could help but feel uncomfortable when she turned her gaze on them. She was a very clever woman, always planning something. She sat on a stone bench in the garden with both of her hands on the top of her wooden cane as she watched Wufei. “You will go and you will be thankful to your aunt. To do otherwise would be to bring dishonor to both the Long clan and the Chang clan.”

Wufei bit his tongue, again. It was unfair to bring that into the situation. He already knew what he had to do to uphold honor. What made him angry was that no one had bothered to ask him in the first place. Damn it! He wasn’t a child! Lady Long had always treated him with utmost respect in all matters before this. What had changed? Or was it that she’d just been humoring him all this time? “I have not seen or spoken to my aunt in many years. It would be discourteous to simply expect her to take me in. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.”


“My little one, aren’t you tired? Please, put down your studies and go to bed.” Mother had laughed when she thought Wufei acted too grown-up. “You’ll get wrinkles if you frown like that. Give me a kiss then hop to bed, my scholar. You make me so proud.”


The back garden of the Long Clan's main home was quiet in the late afternoon, with only Wufei and the eldest member of the Long clan in it. It was rarely so quiet and Wufei had a dreadful feeling that he knew why the gardens were deserted. Lady Long had wanted to have privacy when she broke the news to Wufei which meant that she’d known that Wufei wouldn’t react well. She should know it. Everyone had been walking on eggshells around him since his parents had died, even Dai.

It had been three days since Wufei's parents had died, and in those three days Wufei had shed not one tear for them. He didn’t have time for it, there was just too much to do with selling of his father's company, seeing to the funeral arrangements, his martial arts training, preparing for his upcoming wedding, and all the other little things that just had to be done. Wufei was mature for his age, everyone said so. He knew, no matter what Lady Long’s opinion was, that he was making his parents proud by taking charge of his life and not letting his emotions destroy him.


Lady Long-


"It is for the best if you go to stay with your family for a while, Wufei. Your aunt won't mind you staying with her, so you do not have to worry about any discourtesy." Lady Long told Wufei, trying to sound unconcerned. In truth, she was very fond of serious, scholarly Wufei, but she was not there to coddle him. She needed to do what was best for the boy who would one day be married to the next head of the Long Clan, Long Meiran. What was best for Wufei was what was best for the clan. Though Wufei would not be the head of the clan, he would be a powerful influence on Meiran. She looked up to him a great deal and respected him. Meiran was no simpleton, but even the elder, Meiran’s own grandmother, had to admit that Wufei was the more intelligent of the pair. Intelligence and strength, a perfect combination. Together, they would bring greatness to the clan.

Wufei's eyes widened at the implications of the remark. "You’ve already contacted my aunt? Without asking me!" His face looked betrayed and horrified that someone would go begging his aunt to take him in. The Chang clan, though they’d always been smaller and less wealthy than the Long family, were a proud people and Wufei was the culmination of all that pride.

‘Smaller than ever, now. A clan on one.’

It saddened her to know that after Wufei married into the Long clan, the Chang clan would be no more. His family’s line ended with him. Lady Long nodded calmly, not bothering to acknowledge Wufei's anger. Wufei was usually angry, lately. It was understandable and survivable. It wasn‘t like Wufei thought, though. She wasn’t begging his aunt to take him in, his aunt had asked for Wufei to come live with her family. She didn’t try to explain that to Wufei, he wouldn’t have cared at that point. He was too caught up in being angry. Wufei’s aunt’s family weren‘t Changs or Longs, but related to Wufei through marriage on his mother’s side. "Your aunt said that she would be very pleased to have you. She was most saddened by the loss of your parents and surprised that you did not contact her yourself."


Wufei-


Wufei slammed his hand into on of the stone walls that surrounded the garden. "I am not some infant that needs minding, nor am I a stray puppy that needs a home! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" He was only fourteen, granted, but Wufei was intelligent.

"Perhaps," Lady Long agreed. "But you have no family here. Not anymore."

Wufei was brought up short by the cold remark. A pain in his chest throbbed. He’d always known that he would marry Meiran, it had been arranged. Therefore, he’d always been welcomed in the Long clan and he’d even gotten used to thinking of Lady Long as a sort of grandmother.

"Your family is now on Earth and you must go to them."

Wufei's eyes narrowed. "I have Meiran." He reminded Lady Long. "We are to marry in four months and I will have the Long clan to care for. I will have family here very soon. If nothing else, I have Dai to provide for. He‘s as much family as anyone by blood."

“Your loyalty to your servant is commendable, but it has nothing to do with this situation. I will take Dai into my own household, you have no need to worry for him. I think we can agree that at his time of life a journey to Earth would be too much stress for him. Your bills and debts have already been paid. This morning my family‘s accountant took care of them and transferred all your assets to the Long clan. Your mother gave me such authority when she realized she‘d become ill. She told you, I believe.” Lady Long smiled. "As for the marriage, I have not forgotten. Do not think that I wish to change the agreement in anyway. You bring great honor to my clan by choosing to join it. Until then, you must be with your family. My granddaughter will still be here in four months and you may, of course, write to her." The old woman suddenly looked tired and sighed. "Wufei, you are like my own family, you know that, but the council is agreed. You need to go to Earth and spend time with your family."


Lady Long-


They stayed like that, staring at each other for a long time, until Wufei bowed curtly and walked away without another word. The elder shook his head sadly. It really did hurt to do that to the young man, but Wufei was a headstrong boy, determined to do things his way instead of thinking out the most sensible route. This time, the sensible route had been decided by Meiran, Wufei's betrothed. It was she who'd encouraged her grandmother to do this.

‘As his future wife, it’s only right that Meiran make such a decision for him. It’s her place to protect him.’

Wufei needed time to heal. Time to be a child instead of the adult he'd been while his parents sickened and grew weak with disease. Wufei needed time to mourn and he wouldn't do that here worrying about Meiran and paying the bills. If Wufei could go to school with ordinary kids and have someone take care of him for a while, perhaps he would let himself grieve. Perhaps he would still be able to marry Meiran and take over the Long clan as Lady Long was hoping for.

Only when Wufei was over his loss would Meiran agree to marry Chang Wufei and bring his strong personality into their clan. Wufei would be great one day, the elder knew. He was strong and intelligent, and a very, very good person. But he didn't give himself time to play as a child should and no matter what Wufei wanted to think, he was still a child.

Lady Long sat on one of the stone benches in her clan's garden, very aware of her granddaughter walking up behind her. "Did your talk go well?" Meiran asked, sitting beside her grandmother. "I saw Wufei stomping out of here with a face like a thunder cloud."

Lady Long laughed softly. "You know the boy better than anyone, child. I think you can judge how it went."

Meiran, a strong willed girl who could easily matched Wufei in almost anything, sat next to her grandmother, her own face as serious as Lady Long’s. "Yes, but you know I'm right about this, don't you? Wufei won't let himself get better if he stays here and I won't marry him unless he can mourn his parents properly. On Earth he can do it better. I have heard his aunt is a very kind, gentle soul. I believe he needs to be away from life here." They also both knew Wufei wouldn't have listened if Meiran had tried to tell him. She was his own age. The order had to come from an older person he respected.

"Yes, I understand your reasoning and I think you're right. Still, it does seem almost cruel. He may be worried you won't be here when he gets back. That you will find another to take his place." Lady Long took a fond look at her tomboy granddaughter. She still wore her hair in pigtails, despite the efforts of her mother and aunt to turn her into a proper lady. Even now, she wore her training gi, the white outfit she wore when training in her fighting skills.

Meiran laughed, a sweet sound quite contrary to her rough appearance. "Grandmother, you're talking nonsense! There is no one quite like Wufei and no one else is good enough for me. You know that!"


Meiran-


But in her mind, Meiran was worried. Wufei was the greatest of all men, in her opinion, and she was only an ordinary, rather plain looking girl. How could she possibly expect him to come back to her? There were many, many girls on Earth. What if Wufei found another who stole his heart? Meiran didn’t think she could bear it.

With a sigh, Meiran stood. "I need to talk to Wufei, grandmother. He's probably looking for me by now." She kissed her grandmother on the cheek before heading to the field where she and Wufei usually met. Well, if Wufei did find another girl to love, it would be all right. So long as he was happy.

Three days later Wufei and Meiran parted ways at the shuttle he would take to Earth with a chaste kiss. He obviously wasn’t at all happy about the turn his life had taken, but he was good enough not to take out his unhappiness on her. He‘d said his goodbye’s to everyone with a promise to write regularly to Dai. "I won't forget you." Meiran said softly. "Be sure you don't forget me."

"How could I possibly? I will write as often as I can. Four months isn't such a long time. I'll be home in no time..." He stopped talking as Meiran suddenly held out a tiny white box. "What's this?"

"Just a gift. Open it."

Wufei did as he was told, surprised to find a tiny gold dragon on a gold necklace chain inside. Wufei carefully took it out. "It's beautiful." He told her honestly, admiring it. Wufei slipped it over his head, letting it fall onto his chest. "Beautiful and very familiar." He added, pulling an identical box out of his pocket.

Meiran smiled and opened it to find the same dragon she'd just given him, but in silver with a silver chain. "Great minds think alike." She whispered, putting on her necklace. "I'll wear it always."


Wufei-
On Earth-


It was days later when Wufei stood on the busy China Town street in Japan with his small bag in one hand and a piece of paper in the other hand. He looked at a small, homey looking family restaurant and then looked back down at the paper in his hand. The address was quite correct. Wonderful smells wafted out of the restaurant and Wufei almost smiled. He wasn't happy at being sent here, but if he had to stay, at least it looked like a nice enough place. Vastly different from home, though.

Walking in, Wufei was not very surprised at the large crowd, with such good smells filling the streets, people must be greatly attracted to this place. Nearly every table was filled, the atmosphere was pleasantly busy, but not overly boisterous. This was probably due to the waiter, a very large young man, built, not like a weight lifter with a sculpted body, but more like someone who spent his life at hard physical labor. He looked like the sort who could easily stop any trouble before it got out of hand. The boy looked about Wufei's age and was Chinese.

The waiter balanced several trays on his arms, navigating through the crowds while delivering orders and taking them with a sunny smile and a deep laugh. Wufei suddenly recognized the laugh and the wide smile as his cousin, Xiulei. Xiulei had only been about six when Wufei had last seen him, and he had grown much in the intervening years.

At the counter, was a large woman in an apron and her hair tied back was cooking with her back to the crowd in the open kitchen. Wufei sat at the counter, setting his bag down on the floor and waited.

Finally turning to yell at the waiter, the woman noticed Wufei sitting there. Her mouth fell open with surprised happiness. "Wufei-chan! Come give auntie a hug!"

Anyone else would have gotten a disdainful sneer, but auntie Faun was another matter entirely. No one refused her. Wufei made his way around the counter and gave his aunt a warm hug, feeling almost buried in her large arms. Truthfully, he did love her dearly and the wonderfully casual manners that were a stark contrast to the other side of his family. He'd missed this side of his family when they'd decided to move away from the colonies to settle on Earth. It was good to have familiar faces here, even if he hadn't seen them in years.

"It's nice to see you again, auntie." Wufei said once she'd released him from the bear hug. Auntie was not a woman to take lightly, Wufei would admit to anyone. She may look fat, but she was strong as an ox and had earned respect from anyone who knew her. She was compassionate and, at the same time, hard as nails, she couldn't be any other way and raise her huge brood of children. In fact, it was auntie who'd gotten Wufei interested in martial arts in the first place.

Auntie Fan ran her fingers through his immaculate hair, ruffling it nicely. "Good to see you, too, sweetie. Your cousin is busy right now, but he'll be so pleased to see you. You must be exhausted from your trip, would you like to rest? I thought they said you'd be here tomorrow."

"No, thank you." Wufei answered her first question. "I was intending to be here tomorrow, but there was no room at the hotel I was going to stay at tonight. I decided to walk here. I hope you don't mind me being early."

Auntie Fan laughed happily. "Mind? What are you thinking, boy? Of course I don't mind! Xiulei! Xiu."

The waiter turned at the sound of his name and came trotting over obediently. "Yes, mama?" He asked, casting a curious look at Wufei who still had his aunt's arm around his shoulders.

"Xiu, you remember your cousin, Chang Wufei. He's going to be staying with us for a while. That means he's bunking with you. After the lunch crowd leaves, go to your pigsty and clean it. I mean it this time, Xiu." She gave him a hard look. "At least give your poor cousin a place to sleep. Half of your junk can go in the garbage."

Xiu's shoulders sagged. "Oh, all right, mama. Noodles and chicken for table six." Xiu announced before wading back into the crowd with his tray of food. Auntie Fan turned back to her cooking, but didn't stop talking to Wufei.

"Stir that pot, dear." She handed Wufei a large wooden spoon, indicating the black pot with a soup simmering in it. Wufei, although a bit surprised, did as she told him. Wufei had never before been asked to do any kind of manual labor that he didn't want to do. Well, apparently things were going to be different with auntie. Xiu looks so different, he's huge! I can’t believe we’re the same age. Wufei thought. I didn't recognize him at first, but it has been a long time.

"I'm sorry I didn't call, auntie, but it was rather sudden." Wufei's thoughts went back to the disease that had taken the lives of both his mother and father. He had to be strong! How could anyone respect him if he couldn't even control himself? Wasn't that what father always said?

Auntie Fan's face fell, looking at him and suddenly leaving her cooking. She drew him in for another, gentler hug. "I heard all about it, sweetie. The elder of the Long clan told me when she called several days ago. Don't you worry. Your home is here, now. You're part of my family."

Wufei was quietly grateful and gave her a squeeze in return. Not that there was any real doubt. Auntie Fan was well known for her big heart and the fact that she'd probably have taken him in if he'd been a complete stranger.


Xiu-


Xiu led his cousin up the narrow, dark stairs to where the family lived above the restaurant. "So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Xiu asked, more for something to say than out of real curiosity. Xiu's mama had told him all about his family on the colony, even though they hadn't visited in years. Xiu knew that Wufei had just lost his mom and dad and that he was an only child. His cousin was so quiet that Xiu was dying from the silence.

“No. Why do you ask?”

Wufei was so formal that it was almost funny. Xiu liked this cousin he hadn't seen since he was a child and barely remembered him. There was something about Wufei that felt very right and Xiu trusted him. Paused dramatically at the door to their home, Xiu smiled at Wufei. "You are in for a lesson in children, my dear cousin." He swung the door open and was sadistically pleased to see Wufei's eyes bulge at the normal, everyday scene of his family.

One of Xiu's little brothers had a face covered in chocolate he got from God knows where. Two other brothers were brawling over the remote for the TV. The smallest sister was wailing at the top of her lungs for her bottle, which another brother had taken and was hitting his older sister over the head with. Said sister was crying, but was also six, so she could yell much louder than the little one. The television was blaring at full volume with character from some cartoon fighting. All in all, eight children under the age of seven were making as much noise and chaos as they possibly could.

"Welcome to my world." Xiu tried not to laugh at Wufei’s expression. "Come on in, they don't bite much. Except for Mei Lin." He pointed to a three-year-old with a pacifier in her mouth. "Mama doesn't like the pacifier, but it keeps her mouth away from the others. Don't step on anyone, they move fast. Lock the door behind you, Chung likes to sneak out."

Wufei hastily did as Xiu instructed. He'd never had to deal with anyone younger than himself! The children were acting insanely, but the lock clicked into place nicely and Xiu was making his way through the mess of children. "Chung! Wing!" Xiu pulled the two fighting boys apart, holding them both up off the ground, one in each hand. "Knock it off!"

"But, Xiu!" Chung whined. "He..."

"No!" Wing interrupted. "He..."

"Don't want to hear it!" Xiu told them sternly. "We have a guest, stop the fighting or I'll go get mama's Bad Ass from the kitchen and your butt will get a warming. Got it?"

Wufei couldn't help but ask, "Bad Ass? You shouldn’t curse in front of children."

"Mama's big wooden spoon." Xiu answered. "She's quick as lightening with it, so don't cross her in the kitchen. Trust me, I know from experience."

The two brothers, obviously twins, quieted down instantly and Xiu set them on the couch to quietly watch the cartoon again. Then he moved to another brother, Fai, who'd taken the baby's bottle and gave him a sharp tap on the top of his head. "Aren't you ashamed? Making little Lai cry?" Xiu snatched the bottle back, gave it to the baby and handed the tiny baby to Wufei. "Just put her in the playpen, will you? It's safer there."

Wufei held the baby as if it were a venomous snake instead of a happily drinking baby. Xiu would bet money Wufei had never held a baby, either. Xiu had no time to waste and moved to the crying six-year-old who had been getting her head whacked by the bottle. "Stop crying, Kwan. You're not hurt."

"I'm not?" Her tears instantly dried up as she looked up at her big brother.

"Nope."

"Oh. Okay." With that, she wandered off to watch the TV with her other brothers.

Xiu counted the children, including the one Wufei was still gingerly holding as he couldn't seem to figure out how to put her down without dropping the bottle. Yep, for once, everyone was where they were supposed to be.

"Um," Wufei said, sounding desperate. "Can I have a little help, Xiu? I can't...ahhh!" Wufei nearly panicked when Lai burped, spitting up on Wufei's fine new black suit he'd bought just to make a good impression on his everyone. The suit looked ridiculously expensive, but it was Wufei's money so he could waste it anyway he pleased. Xiu wordlessly took baby Lai and put her in her playpen, and turned to see Wufei trying to clean his shirt.

"Don't bother, maybe we can get it out in the wash in the morning. It's only spit up, after all." Xiu pointed to several faded stains on his own shirt, evidence of his work with the baby. Xiu took a deep breath. This was looking to be an easy afternoon. "Well, how to you like your new home?" Xiu asked, gesturing grandly to the room around him, very proud.

Wufei's face darkened. "This is not my home. My home is A0206, this is just a place I'm staying for a few months."

Xiu glared at him. And I was just getting to like this jerk, too! "Well, if we're not good enough for you, I suppose you'll just have to slum for the next four months, won't you! Sorry, the mansion's being fumigated!" Xiu turned on his heel and stalked into his room, slamming the door behind him.


Wufei-


Wufei sighed and winced when the door slammed behind Xiu. That was not the way he'd intended to act. He hadn't really meant to be insulting, but it had been an overwhelming welcome into the household. A tiny hand tugged on his pant leg and Wufei looked down at...which one was this?

"Are you gonna live with us?" The boy asked.

Wufei nodded slowly. "For a little while anyway."

"Good. I gotta pee."

Wufei's eyes widened with horror. "What?"

The boy held his crotch and started hopping from foot to foot. "I gotta go now! I'm gonna have an accident!"

Wufei looked over to the door where Xiu had vanished, but firmly told himself that he could handle this situation. He wouldn’t ask for help. "Well," He looked back at the boy. "Where's the bathroom?"

The boy shook his head sadly and sighed, "Too late." It was true. The blue jeans the child was wearing were already darkening and yellowish liquid was forming a puddle at the boy's feet.

Wufei's eye twitched and he, for once, gave up his pride. "Xiu! Help me!"


Xiu-


That night, Xiu was trying to get to sleep, but Wufei kept tossing and turning on the floor, muttering to himself in his sleep. Since the bed was so small, Wufei had elected, for a while, to sleep on the floor. Mama had promised to find a better place for Wufei to sleep, but for now it was the floor with a spare futon. "Mother...father...come back...I...I..."

Xiu looked down at Wufei's face twisted with whatever nightmare was causing the mumbling and Xiu felt pity. Mama had told Xiu why Wufei was staying with them, so he knew he should be more understanding when Wufei was being nasty. Besides, Wufei had apologized for his rudeness as Xiu was changing his little brother's pants. None of this could have been easy on Wufei and Xiu was pretty sure that the nightmares plaguing Wufei were about his now dead parents. That was something Xiu couldn’t help but sympathize with. Papa Faun had died not three months ago when some idiot drunk driver hit him. Papa Faun had been walking to pick up Kwan at Kindergarten when the catastrophe had struck. His own family was just getting over the loss of his father when they'd got news of Wufei's tragedy. This was why Xiu worked in the restaurant now, instead of playing like other kids. He had to help mama or they might lose the restaurant.

Wufei began to thrash, bringing Xiu back out of his memories. "Don't leave me...mommy...daddy...please, don't leave me..."

The soft whimpering was too much for Xiu to bear. He crawled out of his bed and lay down at Wufei's side, touching his cousin gently on the forehead before starting to rub Wufei's arm softly. "Shhh. Don't worry, cuz. I'm right here."

Wufei quickly started to quiet, though he was still breathing hard. "I don't want to be alone." He mumbled in his sleep.

"I won't leave you alone. Just go to sleep and get some rest."

Wufei settled with Xiu's hand on his chest, and soon fell back asleep.




The next morning, as Xiu was showing Wufei how to fight for his breakfast amongst the younger children, he asked, "So, how did you sleep last night?"

Wufei answered. "Fine."

The answer was so abrupt that Xiu naturally didn't believe it. "Really? Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

Wufei snorted, "Don't be absurd! I've never talked in my sleep in my life!"

"Sure." Xiu wasn't sure what to do about all this. He knew that Wufei was hurting from his parent's deaths, but why wouldn't Wufei let it out? Xiu was no therapist, but he was pretty sure the nightmare from last night had something to do with Wufei holding in his sadness.


Two weeks later-


Xiu and Wufei had both enrolled in high school, though Wufei said this was a first for him. He'd always had tutors before and had never actually been to school. He didn't seem real fond of the idea, either. He didn’t say anything in front of mama, though, and Xiu thought that maybe it was because she’d spent a good deal of their money getting Wufei a uniform that fit properly and a new book bag. Wufei had seemed embarrassed when mama had worked so hard to fix the hem on his trousers. Maybe it was the money. Xiu knew a lot of people didn’t like borrowing money, but that seemed silly considering they were family. It wasn’t like taking money from a stranger, after all.

They were walking to school, as the restaurant wasn't too far away, when Wufei told Xiu what he thought of the idea of school in general. "Get used to it." Xiu told him morosely. "School's gonna be a awful! Same old people, same old homework." He hung his head, depressed. The streets were, as usual, crowded, with many other students in uniform walking to school.

It was at about this time that something caught Xiu's attention. Two boys walking on the opposite side of the street from them, one with bright blonde hair and another, taller boy with blue hair. They were talking pleasantly, though the blue haired guy was smiling way too much for the first day of school in Xiu's opinion. It was as if he enjoyed school or something weird like that.

"Come on, it can't be all that bad. You can introduce me to all your friends." Wufei encouraged, taking Xiu's attention away from the two strangers. The blonde was no big deal, but Xiu was sure he had seen the blue haired kid somewhere before. He seemed so familiar. Oh well.

"I don't really have all that many friends." Xiu told Wufei. "Most folks think because I'm strong, I'm also dumb. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. Who am I to say? I tend to break up fights more than I start and the tough guys don't like me, but they can't do anything about it because they know I'll break them in half if they try anything. My best friend works in a circus, so he's out traveling and isn't around much. We're expecting him and his sister to come for a visit sometime, though, so you can meet them then. You'll like him, he's the greatest guy and a fantastic cook!"


Wufei-


His first day of school went about as Wufei had expected. He was bored out of his mind. The tutors his father had hired had been very demanding with his lessons so he already knew half the lessons. He had to wake Xiu up in two different classes, but the worst part was the other students. They were noisy and disrespectful to the teachers. Wufei was so irritated that by the third class he just wanted to run screaming from the room.

Lunch, which he also shared with Xiu, was a bit better. They managed to find a shady tree to eat under and auntie Faun packed a VERY healthy meal. Wufei wondered if they could finish it by themselves until Xiu dug in. He knew then that there would be no leftovers with that kind of appetite.

"What the Hell?" Both boys looked up from their lunch. There, not five feet away from them, the blue haired guy from their morning walk to school standing slightly to their left, glaring at something in the distance.

"Is there a problem?" Wufei asked, politely.

"My brother." The blue haired guy's voice was angry enough that Wufei stood up to look in the direction he‘d indicated. "Just 'cause he's smaller than them they think they can pick on my brother! I don't think so!" The blue haired guy fumed angrily before starting forward at a determined pace with Xiu, curiously, staring after him.

On the other side of the yard, Wufei could see the blonde guy from this morning, surrounded by five larger boys. The blonde looked afraid and it was quite easy to tell what was going on. "Trouble. Do you think we should join him?" Wufei asked, looking down at Xiu.

Xiu stood up and looked at Wufei with a smile. "Well, I do have a reputation to maintain as a peacekeeper. I'd hate to have that kid hurt on the first day of school, wouldn't you?"

"It's not right to fight like that. Five to one is not fair odds."

"Good. Let's go play." Xiu smiled like a small child being let into a candy store.

This was one thing they'd discovered that they both had in common. Xiu and Wufei both loved to fight. Though Xiu preferred to use one of the weapons his mama was training him in, like the tsubo or the nunchucks, and Wufei used his scimitar, fighting just seemed to come naturally to them. In situations like this, though, they both knew bare hands were all that was needed.

They caught up with the blue haired guy and Wufei spoke softly. "We'll take care of them if you get your brother out of the middle quickly. I would hate for him to get hurt without reason."

The boy looked at them in surprise and distrust, though he didn't stop walking. Then he met Xiu's eyes and nodded. "No problem. I just want Kitty out of there. You can have the others."

Wufei watched the smaller boy try to back away, but the attackers weren't letting him get out of the situation. Then, to Wufei’s surprise, the smaller boy started to crouch down into a fighting position. He wouldn't have thought of the boy as being a fighter. The boy was even subtle and it was very doubtful that his attackers even knew that he was getting ready to defend himself.

As soon as the blue haired boy had circled around to get closer to his brother, Wufei spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "How about picking on someone a little bigger?"

That drew their attention away from their target and the blonde was pulled out of the middle of everything by his brother. The blue haired boy smiled at his brother and put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet as they snuck away.

Wufei found himself examining the two as Xiu spoke. The blonde was shorter, but not weak looking, exactly. He looked...delicate. The other was taller, but thinner and had a hard edge around his eyes. He'd seen too much out of life and was determined to protect his brother from whatever he'd seen.

"Man, I hate cowards!" Xiu was saying. "Picking on someone half your size and ganging up on him? What a bunch of losers!" He snorted at the absurdity of the whole situation.

"I agree completely, for once." Wufei said, brining his mind back to his responsibility at hand. He just couldn't allow this sort of thing to happen. "It's a crime to see this happen at a school, also. Perhaps you should just leave. I'm sure no one would miss you. This is a center for learning, after all and you don't look like you do much of that!" Wufei knew he was speaking very arrogantly, but that was the best way to handle this sort of thing, in his experience. You had to sound far more confident than your opponent or you might have to actually fight. It was, of course, better not to fight at all, but if you had to you might as well enjoy it. Wufei wished he had his dagger with him, but his hands would be more than enough.

Xiu punched Wufei lightly in the arm. "It's high school, Wufei. Loosen up. If they want a fight so bad, I think we can oblige them. Don't you?" Then he looked at the blonde. "Hey, you don't mind if we take your place, do you?"

Kitty (what sort of name was that for a boy?) numbly shook his head.

"Who do you think you are?" The spokesman of the bullies asked nastily. "Xiu the brainless ox now has a sidekick of his own when his circus freak friend isn't here. What does this freak do?" Then something seemed to catch his eye. "That's a pretty necklace." The boy grinned at the dragon necklace Meiran had given Wufei. Wufei, proud of the gift, always wore it in plain sight. "Very pretty. Maybe we should take that instead of rich boy's watch."

Wufei nodded, trying not to explode at the thought of this idiot touching Meiran's gift. "Then it is agreed." He allowed himself a smirk and narrowed his eyes at the five bullies. "We know you tried to steal from that boy and we believe you would have beaten him if he tried to resist you. Therefore, I have no hesitation in giving you justice. Xiu?" This might just be fun.

"Oh," Xiu said as they started to advance on the five targets. "You know I'm with you on this one." Xiu cracked his knuckles menacingly and the two separated, to give each other room while fighting. "Who do you want?"

Wufei considered the stunned speechless boys. "I'll take him." He pointed to the one who'd originally demanded the watch and had dared to hint that he would touch Meiran’s necklace. "He is the ringleader. I will break his left arm above and below the elbow."

Xiu frowned. "You always take the top dog for yourself.” He spoke as if they got themselves into fights daily. With luck, this would be the first and only one. If they made an example of these lowlifes, then no one else would stand against them. “All right, but I want the leader next time. I think I'm just gonna put the other's knees out of action for a few weeks. Nothing to permanent, maybe just a limp."

"You are too soft, Xiu. Still, it is your own style, I suppose."

It must have been the methodical speech of how they were going to attack that scared the gang off. Either that or how Xiu suddenly pulled the stop sign for the bus out of the ground with one hand and started swinging it like a baseball bat. "Come on, who's first?"

The gang took off running.

The two strangers looked at each other and the one with blue hair said, "I think I'm gonna like them, Quatre."

Quatre smiled and nodded in agreement before stepping forward. "Hello. I'm Quatre Winner, this is my brother Hashiba Touma. Thank you so much for the help."

Wufei shook Quatre's hand. Ah, that explained it. Kitty was a nickname for Quatre. "A pleasure. I am Chang Wufei, this is my cousin, Fan Xiulei."

Touma shook Xiu's hand. The four were firm friends after that moment.