Green Tea with Pain:
Evening fell swiftly around
the breathtaking landscapes of
Within the large Hayakawa
residence sat a breathtaking garden. With a rather large koi pond where the
dull ‘thonk’ sound of the shishi-odoshi could be heard as it filled up
with water every other minute, large rocks and mock waterfalls completed the
beautiful scenery.
However, despite all of this,
within the main house, the occupants in the simple living room knelt as still
as death on their tatami, politely watching the mesmerizing actions of
the elder woman whisking the green tea in the small black container before her.
Once it had gotten rich and frothy, she poured it out carefully into a smaller
china bowl and handed it gently to her husband with a light bow. Takeshi
accepted the offer, turning the bowl around gently three times before taking a
long sip from it. He watched his wife hand over two more bowls to her oldest
sons before settling for one herself.
Suoh and Iruka were his first
and second sons respectively and many of the daily business activities had been
left in their care. They did not live in the countryside, although they did
visit as often as possible, as they had to deal with most of the financial
aspects of their father’s business endeavors in
Iruka, who was in his early
forties, with dark hair that fell over matching colored eyes, placed his bowl
down gently. “Father, do you still insist on having Yoh’s son here with us?” he
asked quietly. He had been opposed to the suggestion from the beginning. He
knew all about Heero’s escapades as a gundam pilot and had been amongst the few
people who had opposed the use of the mecchas for peace. To him, the gundams
had been nothing more than mere tools of war.
Takeshi remained silent as he
continued to sip his beverage quietly. He had heard this argument before.
However, Suoh, who was never one to back down from one, spoke up quickly. He
was the oldest son and at fifty-five, with several grandchildren under his
wing, he knew that pacifying his younger brother was a responsibility he had
had to deal with over the years.
“I am sure father has a
reason for this, Iruka. We can hardly blame him if he wishes to meet with his
grandson…”
“And he sent Rei of all
people?” came the haughty scoff from the younger one. “Surely you could have
sent anyone else, father. Why him? He is…
“I only sent him to get back
his cousin or rather to keep an eye on him,” Takeshi interrupted calmly. “Rei
is a good boy, Iruka. He has done nothing more than try to live up to your
expectations. The least you can do is give him some credit.”
The younger son fell silent,
although he still looked sulky. Suoh gave an apologetic bow on his behalf,
smiling warmly at his parents. “So, when can we expect to see Miwa again? You
hardly allowed us to see him the last time he was here…”
The sound of a bowl crashing
to the floor had them all stunned into silence. Akane Hayakawa, who had been
silent all this time, reached for a piece of cloth to dab at the stain quickly.
Her thin lips were set in a firm line, her features tightened with barely
concealed anger and pain. Suoh and Iruka lowered their gazes in shame, knowing
that they had done something they shouldn’t have.
“Forgive my careless,
Takeshi,” she muttered softly as she rose to her feet. “I will take my leave
now.”
A thick silence fell in the
room once the shoji screen was closed behind her and lifting the cup of tea to
his lips again, Takeshi commented dryly. “Ah…it looks like your mother still
has her issues to deal with.” He did not wait for their responses, as he placed
his bowl back to the floor. “Rei is getting some pictures of Relena Peacecraft
for me. She is to be the future bride to my grandson. Preparations for their
wedding should being soon. Do I make myself clear?”
And as both exchanged quick
but bemused looks in their eyes with each other, they could only give a silent
bow of acceptance.
After all, no one dared to
refuse the head’s orders.
__
Heero padded into the kitchen
dressed in only a pair of black track pants. His hair was still wet from the
quick shower he had taken. He eyed the small clock on the wall and nodded to
himself. They had about an hour before their rendezvous with Relena.
“Hey, girl. Hungry?” he asked
softly as he reached for the medium-sized bag of cat food that was usually kept
in a cupboard underneath the sink. Noticing that his partner had forgotten to
seal the bag properly…again, Heero groaned and stuck a hand into the bag to see
if the biscuit-like meal had gotten soft.
“I know, I know,” Heero
murmured as he kicked the bowl closer and stooped to his haunches. Pouring a
generous amount into it, he eyed the feline pounce on the food with a zest that
never ceased to amaze him. But this was no time to sit around to marvel at the
cat’s dog-like capabilities. They had something important to do tonight and the
sooner they got this over and done with the better.
He washed his hands quickly,
dark blue eyes glancing over their stark but functional kitchen with a dull
sense of pride. It felt a little ridiculous to be thinking of the simple beauty
of the small room instead of worrying about their stake-out duties tonight. But
Heero was proud of it. It was the one place in the apartment that he had had
complete control over. Every appliance in here was top of the line, as Heero
would have had it no other way. It had nearly cost them an arm and a leg, but
it was worth it. From the microwave to the coffeemaker, Heero had only gotten
the best for themselves.
Heh…who would have ever
thought the pilot of a gundam was a cook at heart?
He pulled out two mugs from a
cupboard and automatically reached out for the can of coffee beans. However,
his hands stilled as he eyed the still unopened bag of green tea that he had
bought on a whim over a month ago. For some reason, the strong urge to taste
the Japanese specialty hit him like a ton of bricks and he stood immobile for
several long minutes. What was wrong with him? It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had
green tea before. Well, he hadn’t had it in such a long time, so it couldn’t
hurt to want to taste it again, could it?
In mere minutes, the sharp
smell of the delicate beverage filled the kitchen and as a half-naked Duo
stepped into the room, he closed his eyes and sniffed the air in appreciation.
“Wow, what kind of coffee is
that, Heero?” He walked up to the boy that was still stirring the green liquid
in the mugs and leaned over his shoulder to peer at them. “Green…coffee? Oh! I
know what those are!” he cried out with excitement as he reached for his mug.
“Green tea, right?”
Violet eyes sparkled with
pleasure as he held the cup to his nose to inhale the sweet fragrance. “What
made you want to make this today?”
“Hey, what’s wrong with
appreciating the finer things in life, eh?”
He leaned over to place a
quick kiss on Heero’s pouting lips before pulling out a chair to make himself
comfortable.
“Alright, Captain Heero,” he
teased with a faint light of seriousness filling his eyes. “What have we got
here?”
Ignoring the name, Heero
picked up a pen and drew a line across the paper. “These are possible spots
where one can spy on an unsuspecting individual…”
“Christ! That’s practically
the entire perimeter, Heero. There’s no way I can cover that while you are in
there with…”
“Which is why Wufei will be
with you.”
Duo blinked at his mate in
surprise, more so at the deadpan answer he had just received. Since when did…
“Since when did Wufei become
a part of this?” Duo asked a bit angrily. It wasn’t like Heero to go
ahead and make plans without letting him know ahead of time.
The same way he forgot to tell you all about Rei, right?
Heero met the bemused
amethyst depths before him with a small smile. “He had called earlier and I
couldn’t resist letting him know about this. He’ll be of great help to you,
Duo, wouldn’t you agree?”
The American gave only a
light snort of derision, refusing to say anything else. It was true that Wufei
being there would make the job of scouting the large Peacecraft residence a
breeze, but having to deal with the Chinese boy who had a considerably short
fuse was something Duo was not looking forward to tonight.
“Well?”
He eyed the Japanese boy.
“Well, what?”
“Are we in agreement? Wufei
will assist you, ne?”
“Doesn’t look like I have a
choice in this, does it?” He leaned back on his chair and placed hands behind
his head. His eyes took on a faraway look as he stared out into the darkening
evening sky.
Heero sighed and took another
sip of his tea, before continuing quietly. “As planned, Relena and I will leave
for the opera at
Duo frowned, his gaze still
trained outside the window. “I thought you said it was nine.”
“We both decided to leave a
bit earlier, Duo, that way if Rei does stop by you can both catch him while we
are gone.” He stopped and eyed his partner. “Is that okay?”
The Deathscythe pilot gave an
inward sigh and nodded again. “Yeah, that’s cool with me.”
Heero stared into the pale
green liquid in his white mug, noticing the dull ripple that ran through it
with each tap of his pen upon the table. “Do you want to do this at all, Duo?”
he finally asked softly. “You don’t have to, you know. I can handle Rei on my
own…”
A hand upon his stalled his
words and he lifted his gaze to stare into the warm ones of his lover and best
friend. “Duo…”
“Shssh. I told you I’d take
care of it, right?” The long-haired boy enthused with a bright smile. “Don’t
worry about a thing. Wufei and I have it covered, okay?”
Heero could only give a weak
nod, knowing full well that Duo was doing yet another fine job of covering up
his real feelings from him. He opened up his mouth to try again, but was beaten
to the punch by his mate.
“Where’s Wufei to meet us?”
came the quick question as Duo rose to his feet to stretch aching muscles.
Heero eyed the taut muscles
expand and contract on the toned abdomen with a dull feeling of need searing
through his body at the sinful and delectable sight his lover made. For one
wild moment, the urge to take the American right here and now on the kitchen
table overwhelmed him. But even weirder still, Heero found himself seeking
solace from his fevered hormones by staring into the soothing liquid of his tea.
“He’ll meet us in front of
Relena’s home by seven-thirty…which means that we have…”
They both eyed the clock.
“Less than twenty minutes,”
Duo finished with a curt nod. “Let’s jet, Heero.”
And with a playful wink, he
left the kitchen, humming some popular pop tune beneath his breath.
Heero remained sitting for a
moment longer as he stared at the black mug in front of him.
Duo had not drank any of the
tea at all.
__
The trio stood within the
shadows that had fallen across the lawn as they stared at the large house
several feet away. Duo tried hard to suppress a weary yawn as he watched Wufei
fidget with the camera he had gotten. Heero looked resplendent in a black
tuxedo, but he looked clearly uncomfortable with it as, for the one-millionth
time, he adjusted the small black bow tie around his neck again.
“So do you two understand
what you are to do?” he asked flatly.
Duo nodded while pulling the
black wool hat over his hair firmly. “We creep up and nab the bast…your
cousin,” he corrected himself quickly with a sheepish smile on his face.
“Just get him for
questioning, Duo,” Heero said with a small smile. “You don’t need to torture
him or anything.”
Finally done with the camera,
Wufei eyed the couple with a slight shake of his head. “And we are doing all of
this for what again?”
“Just to find out why Rei’s
following Relena.”
“You don’t think he’s trying
to harm her or anything now, do you?” came the concerned question from the
Chinese boy.
Heero shook his head slowly.
“No…no, I don’t think so. I just think…”
“Must be some weird family
thing that’s going on here,” Duo mumbled to himself as he made a show of
adjusting the black pants he had on. He failed to notice the tight clench of
Heero’s fists at the comment or the dark look that had flickered across the
Japanese boy’s eyes for an instant.
Heero chose to ignore it.
“Whatever the case may be, please try to be cordial with him, okay? I will be
sure to meet you all at the parking lot once the opera is over.”
Duo lifted his gaze to stare
at his partner in surprise. “You are staying for the entire thing? I thought…”
“I have to Duo. I…I promised
her I would.”
A tense silence fell as both
boys stared at each other as if daring the other to refute the statement each
had made. Seeing that Heero had gotten that look of stubbornness in his eyes again,
Duo gave a tight shrug and turned away to reach for his binoculars.
“Do whatever you want,
Heero,” he muttered thickly. “Wufei and I will wait for you. But if you don’t
show up on time, you had better pray I allow him to live.”
Heero cursed softly beneath
his breath and placed a hand on his lover’s shoulder to spin him around
quickly. Hardly caring that they were in public or that Wufei was right next to
them, he closed the distance between their lips, seizing Duo’s surprised ones
in a firm kiss that left no room for compromise.
Too stunned by the sudden
action, Duo could only close his eyes, parting his lips a bit wider to accept
his lover’s tongue within. Heero complied willingly enough, a low thick moan
escaping from the depths of his throat as he savored the heady taste that was
Duo Maxwell. Tongues teased each other for several long seconds, hearts
beginning to race a bit faster, and groins beginning to tighten with…
“I think we should stop now,”
Duo gasped out weakly as he pushed away the other boy from him as firmly as we
could. He turned his face away and tried to compose himself quickly. “You need
to go meet Relena.”
Heero stared at the strong
back that was clothed with a matching black turtleneck sweater for a minute
longer, before giving a soft ‘hn’ and nodding curtly to the gawking Chinese
boy. He left without another word, after all everything that needed to be said
had been done.
Once he was sure Heero was
out of hearing range, Duo made a fist and punched the rough trunk of the tree
before him with a loud expletive erupting from his lips in anger. Wufei watched
the thin trail of blood that had begun to trickle from the wounds he had
inflicted on his knuckles with a light frown. Obviously this wasn’t just some
ordinary stakeout. He was quite aware of why Heero had ‘begged’ him to join Duo
tonight.
The look in the Deathscythe’s
pilot’s eyes spoke of murder…literally and that for some reason had Wufei
feeling extremely chilled to the bone.
He refused to say anything as
he watched Duo pack up their equipment in the small backpack quickly.
“You ready, Wufei?” he asked
softly. Duo had not bothered to wipe away the blood that was now thickening
rapidly in his hands.
And nodding in response, both
boys began the quick climb up the large sturdy tree to begin their watch for
the night.
__
Relena looked beautiful. But
then again, she always did look that way. Her white evening gown complimented
Heero’s darker look as they walked down the large stone steps towards the waiting
limousine. Heero, trying to maintain a non-chalant look, found himself staring
towards the many trees that lined up the vicinity, knowing that his partner and
Wufei were up there somewhere watching them.
“You aren’t still worried
about the person stalking me, are you Heero?” Relena asked softly. “I have
stationed bodyguards around the house and they will be watching out for any
strange person.”
The Wing pilot nodded.
“That’s good to hear, Relena. I am sure they will handle him if he does show
up.” And stopping beside the opened door with a polite bow, he ushered the
smiling young lady in. He closed the door firmly and took another surreptitious
glance towards the trees again.
Be careful Duo…
But what was even more
surprising was that Heero found that he was even more worried about what could
happen to his cousin. But with a rapid shake of his head, he decided not to
give it another thought.
Whatever happens…happens.
__
Rei Hayakawa was beginning to
think that he was getting too old for this kind of thing. He had a wife and
daughter back in
He shifted the weight of the
bag from his right to left shoulder as he continued the long walk up the
sidewalk that led to the Peacecraft mansion. He had had to pack his car that
far away or he was sure the guards would begin to take notice of the small white
vehicle that seemed to show up every other night.
He pulled out the small
digital camera with a heavy sigh as he approached the rather intimidating
looking gates. His secret passage was somewhere on the right, through a thick
clump of bushes. Surprisingly the first few times had been quite easy and he
had been pleased to find that the security was so lax. Things might have
changed now. Who knew what booby traps lay in store for him…?
Eh? What was this? He fell to
his knees and pushed a bit harder at the small wooden board he had set up
earlier to make his pathway easier. It was firmly boarded. It was as if someone
or something was holding it at the other end and entry was now impossible. He
got to his feet, breathing now ragged as he ran trembling fingers through his
hair. This was not good at all. He would have to find another entrance into the
house quickly.
With harried steps he walked
around the high brick walls, only to find himself suddenly being grabbed in a
choke hold that had the camera slipping from his hands and clattering to the
floor in his panic.
Caught! I’ve been caught!
He could feel his vision
getting blurry as he tried to reach out for his attacker, but whoever it was,
was quite strong and before long, Rei’s only thought was on how disappointed
Takeshi was going to be with his performance tonight.
__
“Geez, Wufei, you didn’t have
to choke him that hard,” Duo tried to scold although there was a trace of a
smile in the words.
The Chinese boy snickered and
stepped away from the man he had just tied up. “I thought you said you wanted a
swift way to end this, Duo. What swifter way did you want?”
The American refused to say
anything as he watched the older man groan thickly. Rei was coming around much
quicker than they had expected, but it was all good. That meant more time to
ask him the pressing questions.
The parking lot Heero had
chosen was a deserted strip of land that had once housed a major shopping
center. But thanks to bankruptcy and corrupt local officials, things had taken
a bad turn, hence the abandonment of a perfectly fine piece of real estate. Duo
thought it was a sad state of affairs indeed.
Rei groaned a bit louder and
tried to open up his eyes. For a second, he could make out nothing except what
seemed to be two people or things in front of him. He felt the cold nip of the
night air and knew that he was still outside, but the quiet had him thinking
that his captors had probably taken him far away from the city.
They will kill me quietly and leave my carcass on the ground for the
vultures to…
“You awake now, Rei?”
That voice!
He struggled upright
clumsily, his body throbbing with pain as he tried to move around quickly. It
was then that he noticed that his wrists had been bound tightly. The rough
cords of the rope dug into his skin with each movement causing him to wince.
Curse him!
“I see you are now,” Duo
continued amiably. “Can we talk now, Rei? Man to man and all that good stuff?
You didn’t want to speak to me at the apartment, so I figured what better way
to get to know my boyfriend’s family than to capture him like the stalker he
is.”
Rei, whose vision had cleared
considerably, eyed the American with a cold look of derision in his eyes. Hell
would freeze over before he answered him.
Duo held up the camera and
waved it in front of the man’s face. “What were you doing with this?”
Rei continued to pin his cold
gaze on the smiling boy, refusing to say anything.
Duo’s smile tightened. “No
answer, hmm? You do know that around here, stalking and taking illegal pictures
of others is a crime punishable by law, right? You could be facing oh…six years
in prison for this…”
“It’s for Takeshi Hayakawa,”
Rei finally bit back in an icy tone. “Miwa’s grandfather,” he explained at the
blank look Duo gave him.
“And what about him?”
Rei gave a dramatic sigh and
turned his face away. “You wouldn’t understand the need for tradition in a
Japanese household so why should I explain it to you?”
Duo’s fingers tightened
around the camera. A light crack was heard as the object wilted a little under
the pressure. “Oh…is that so?” came the deceptively calm reply from the pilot.
“And why is that?”
Rei gave another light snort
and turned to face Duo. This time there was a small and almost triumphant smile
on his visage.
“It is so, Mr. Maxwell. You
can go ahead and flaunt your relationship with Miwa over here, but you and I
both know that you will never be welcomed into the Hayakawa household. Do you think
tying me up and holding me prisoner will make me succumb to your will? Hardly.
My loyalties lie with my grandfather, the head of the Hayakawa clan and his
will is what we all follow until the day we die. So go ahead and flaunt
yourself as Miwa’s boyfriend here, but back at home, you do not even exist. Do
you hear me, Duo Maxwell?”
His voice had begun to gather
momentum, a fevered look of giddy pleasure at his taunts growing in his dark
eyes.
“Because once Miwa returns
home to where he belongs, you will no longer be needed in his life, Duo
Maxwell. You are nothing but a weak, intrusive and an unwanted part of…”
The Japanese man never got to
finish his words as the loud sound of a gun being fired suddenly filled the
thick silence.
TBC…
Resources:
Japanese Tea Making: http://www.stashtea.com/ceremony.htm
Tea Muse: http://www.teamuse.com/article_001001.html
Japanese Tea: http://www.japancorner.com/japanese-tea.asp