Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4, 5xD
Warnings: AU, Heero POV, angst, humor, sap, fluff, shounen-ai/yaoi,
Rating: R (for language)

Chapter 39:

Cram School Session:

My Apartment
Friday, 8.30pm:

“Cram School?”

“Yes father, I was just thinking…”

“Why do you have to attend cram school? Are your grades slipping?”

I can sense the growing irritation in my father’s voice and I struggle not to raise mine as well. The last thing I need is to get into a fighting match with him over the phone. My mother’s on another phone in the house and this conference call is something I have to deal with each time I decide to call them.

“No father, my grades aren’t slipping. I just want to take them for extra…”

“It’s that boy, isn’t it? That Maxwell fellow. He’s making you lack concentration in class and now you have to attend cram school to catch up, right?”

Oh God. Not now.

“Honey,” my mother (God bless her) jumps in quickly. “I think he’s trying to say that he just wants to take it for extra credit, right, Heero?”

“Right mother. We, and this includes Relena, all plan to take it…”

“It’s a waste of time and my money,” my father barks. I think he’s forgotten that I earn my keep these days. “I won’t allow it! You’re smart enough and you don’t need to pay these teachers any extra money for something you can study on your own. Unless that boy…”

“Dad! Duo’s got nothing to do with it!” Control gradually slipping. Stay calm, Heero. Stay calm.

“Honey…”

“Oh really? I think I ought to come down to that school and pay a visit with your teachers to find out exactly what’s going on with your grades, Heero. I can’t believe…”

He goes on and on as I notice movement from the corner of my eye. Duo’s hobbling to the bed, clad in only a towel. I mouth a ‘what’s wrong?’ and he mouths back a ‘stubbed my toe against the wall’. I nod and sigh, trying hard to focus on the conversation between my parents. I think they’ve already forgotten I’m on the phone with them.

“…don’t try to appease me, Miyabi,” Father’s bellowing. “I have no idea why you even endorse their relationship…”

“He’s our only son, Odin! For crying out loud don’t you think we should support him…?”

“…if it was a female I would have no problem endorsing anything, but with that boy…”

“What’s going on?” Duo asks softly as I lower the phone waiting for them to finish arguing. “Doesn’t sound like things are going well with them. Are they still pissed off with me?”

He laughs but it’s an uneasy one. He definitely still has his doubts about my parents’ consent. Not that I blame him. I’m beginning to doubt it myself.

“It’s my father,” I reply with a shrug, watching as Duo slips into his pj bottoms. He was finally released from the hospital a week ago and although there are still bandages around his waist, he’s considerably better than before. He also told me about his make-up with Saito and I’ve got to say that it was damn brave of Duo to take that step. I kidded him about it for a while (calling Saito ‘Daddy’ and all of that) but Duo took it in good stride and even played along with me. He rolls his eyes and plops to the bed, already picking up his Biology textbook to study. He’s got a lot of catching up to do and for the past day or so, I’ve been doing my best to tutor him. No hanky panky friends. We’ve got to keep the sex to a bare minimum…

“…listening to me, Heero?!”

“Yes, father,” I reply quickly, having not heard a single thing he’s said in the last minute or so.

“No cram school for you, got it?”

“Right. No cram school for me.”

“…are you patronizing me, son? You’re suddenly so eager to obey. What happened to that fighting spirit of yours?”

Damned if I do. Damned if I don’t. What does he want from me? “I said I won’t go just as you want father,” I reply as patiently as I can. “I’ve got go. I have tests on Monday. Goodbye Mom. Dad.”

“Be good now, Heero,” my mom says quickly. “And don’t hesitate to visit us whenever you can, okay?”

“Sure.”

My father gives me only a grunt in departure and as I hang up the phone slowly, I feel as if I’ve just survived a nuclear explosion…or something worse.

“Parents can be such a pain in the ass, eh?” Duo mumbles behind the book. I crawl into bed beside him, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face against his bare chest. I can feel his steady heartbeat and it makes me feel better again. It’s amazing how such a simple act can mean so much.

“If I were a girl, I’d be crying like a baby right about now.”

His soft laughter makes his chest rise and I hear his heartbeat quickening. “You don’t have to be a girl to cry to me, Heero,” he replies, sinking his hands into my hair to massage it gently. “Now help me figure out the anatomy of mitochondria, why don’t you?”

To cry before Duo. I’ve done that before, haven’t I? It’s something I rarely do and yet with him…it’s really nothing to be ashamed of. We work together for some time, until I feel his gaze on me. I tear my eyes away from the text book (we have longed moved from the bed and are now sitting around the coffee table) to meet that piercing look. “What?” I ask curtly.

He twirls the pen in his hand absently. “Are you really not going to cram school with us?”

I shrug and force myself to look at the book again. “To be honest, I don’t really need to go,” I mutter. “I’ve got good enough grades…”

“And I don’t?”

“Duo,” I begin patiently. “You’ve missed classes so many times this year already. It’s a miracle if they don’t make you stay back.”

I watch his features tighten, but it’s the truth and I know that he knows it’s the truth. “Like it’s my fault,” he mutters and turns the pages of the textbook with more force than necessary. “I have so much shit going on…”

“Sure you do, but you’ve pulled through it beautifully.” I lean over the table to kiss him softly, and laugh as he begins to wipe his mouth in retaliation. But when he says he’s bound to get some kind of disease from my kiss, I chuck my notebook at him and well…one thing leads to another….

Let’s just say school work will be the least of our worries for at least an hour.

---

Fujisaki High School
Monday, 3.15pm

I’m envious. No, I’m more than envious. I watch them all chattering away in excitement as they get ready to leave for cram school and here I am still stuck back here with student council meetings.

“You sure you don’t want to see us off, Heero?” Relena says with a wink.

“He says he’ll stop by on his way home, right?” Duo says with a grin. “Get to see the dumb ones slaving away at work while he’s chilling, huh?”

“It’s not like that,” I begin in my defense, but their laughter drowns out any other words I could have said.

“We’ll miss you,” Wufei says with a smirk as he pats my shoulder on the way to his car. Dorothy’s already waiting for him in there. Hilde will be riding with Relena in her convertible, Duo’s on his bike while Trowa will be taking Quatre with him. Man, this isn’t fair.

“You sure you know the location?” Trowa asks for the one-millionth time.

“I think he does,” Quatre mutters as his cell phone rings. I’ll bet it’s his father or one of his many sisters calling him. I’ve had the fortune of meeting some of them and they’re pretty nice in their own right.

“Off Guan street, can’t miss it,” Duo chimes in, while putting on his helmet. His voice sounds muffled within it. “It’s gonna be the…”

“…tall, narrow building that looks abandoned but isn’t,” I finish with him. “I know that already. How the hell did you find this school anyway?” I ask with a wary look. In fact, we all look at him that way. He was the one to suggest the school to us, saying that the professor in charge worked with the exam council and had access to the questions that would be asked on this year’s entrance examinations. It sounded too good to be true, but we were all willing to give to a shot.

“I told you,” Duo explains slowly as if talking to a bunch of five-year olds. “This guy’s legit. He’s a professor at Ken-sing-ton.” I know Duo’s deliberately saying that to whet my appetite and make me even more jealous. After all, Kensington is my number one choice for colleges when I graduate.

“Is that allowed though?” Hilde asks quizzically. “I mean are college professors allowed to run cram schools? That would be like…illegal, right?”

We all look at Duo again and he only snorts. “Why don’t you go ask half of the seniors here, huh? Unlike you guys, I’ve been doing my research and I asked some students that graduated from here last year and they told me that he’s the one to go to if you want to pass the entrance exams. You don’t have to come with me you know,” he adds with a raised brow. “You’re free to go to your more expensive cram schools…”

“I’ll bite,” Trowa interrupts calmly. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Yeah, like we get caught in some illegal school and get sent to prison,” Hilde mumbles. I can sense the growing discord between them already. This isn’t good.

“We’re not going to get caught,” Duo retorts sharply and I think Hilde even jumps at the tone. “Geez, you don’t have to come! The guy’s been around for years! Don’t you think if he was illegal, he’d be caught by now?”

“Besides, he’s bound to have other teachers,” Dorothy speaks up. “Other teachers who aren’t a part of the Kensington staff. So that makes him perfectly legal.”

“What she said,” Duo says with a final nod and revs up the engine of his bike. “Gotta split, Heero. Don’t have time to sit here and argue with some scaredy…”

“I’m not scared!” Hilde yells, giving Duo the finger to loud laughter from the unapologetic boy.

Soon enough, they’re all saying their goodbyes and I’m left standing in the parking lot in a wake of smoke and lonely silence. I sink my hands into the pockets of my pants and take a deep breath before heading back to the building. I have a feeling it’s going to be one long afternoon.

---

4.35pm:

I look at the rough sketch in my hand and look up again, blinking rapidly as the smoke from a passing truck almost blinds me. Coughing lightly, I take another good at infamous Guan. If you ever need to get electronics at really cheap prices, this is the section of town to come to. Every other shop on this long strip either sells computer, TV, stereo or video game components. Rumor has it that you can get the latest video or pc games, mangas, books, movies and music CDs here before they are released to the mainstream. I can see a lot of students from my school wandering around the street, exchanging the latest cell phone accessories or phones themselves. I walk past a comic book store and even more young people are crowding the shelves, not surprising are the girls who keep giggling over doujinshis or yaoi books. Trust me, I have suffered enough of that with Relena and Hilde.

“Two blocks down…” I mutter as the delicious smell of smoked fish suddenly assails my senses. My stomach growls and I remember I haven’t had anything to eat since lunch time. I look across the street at the culprit and salivate at the old woman waving a fan over the delicacies. It takes me back to my memories as a child playing in my native home town. I can still remember the old lady who lived across our home. She could make the meanest roast potatoes and fish and…

“Yuy?”

I spin around quickly, staring blankly at the blond grinning at me. For a moment, his face doesn’t ring any bells in my mind until it suddenly hits me like a ton of bricks. “Wolfram,” I begin incredulously. I wouldn’t have expected a prim and proper boy like him to be around here. But then again, he isn’t in his school uniform and is dressed rather casually. There’s a black bag slung over his shoulder which rests against his right hip and bounces a little with each step he takes. He takes off his ear phones and tucks them into his pocket, briefly giving me a glimpse of a cool looking state-of-the-art music player. Wow. He definitely reeks of money.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, still smiling at me. “Didn’t think I’d be seeing you in a place like Guan. Just coming back from school, are you?”

“Ah…yeah,” I mutter. “What about you? What are you doing here?”

“Just came to get this fixed.” He points to the music player. “Wanna listen? I got the latest Stoners CD. It’s awesome!”

I’m not sure when I became such good friends with Wolfram, but he seems to think we are. “Listen,” I begin quickly. I have to get to the cram school before the others wonder where I am. “I have to go…”

“Dumplings!” Wolfram suddenly cries out and before I can stop him, he’s already dragging me towards the restaurant I had been drooling over. “Wow, they’ve got everything here. Pick what you want, Heero. My treat.”

I bow quickly to the woman, who smiles at us and continues to wave away the smoke from the sizzling dish before her. I lick my lips and think of telling Wolfram to let go of me, but damn, I am hungry and I think I’m beginning to feel faint.

“I’ll have two dango…and uum…one serving of danburi please!” Wolfram says and nudges me gently. “Order,” he commands gently and all too soon, I find myself rattling, “One serving of anago-don and some Yaki manjuu please.”

We are made to sit on narrow benches and a girl, dressed in traditional Japanese kimono, serves us in no time at all. I stare at the bowl of rice with the barbequed conger eel and I’m back in Okinawa again. I feel ridiculously close to tears and swallow tightly, wondering if my parents ever feel this homesick. I can’t remember the last time I had authentic Japanese food – even the one at Gyukaku hadn’t smelled this good.

“Itadakimasu!” I say and clap my hands together, only to suffer Wolfram chuckling at me.

“What’s that for?” he asks.

“Uuum…I always say that before eating,” I explain quickly, feeling my cheeks grow dark with embarrassment.

“Ah, in that case…itadakimasu!” Wolfram says and I can’t help laughing at how ridiculous it sounds coming from him.

We eat in blissful silence, the bustling sounds of Guan a dull hum in the background as I’m lost in the wonder of good food and drink. The rice is well-cooked and soft as a cloud, almost melting on my tongue once placed on it. The eel is out of this world. It’s rich and slightly spicy. Just the way I like it. However, my happiness is short-lived as Wolfram brings me back to earth with a resounding crash.

“So, how’s the investigation going? Any leads yet?”

The rice goes down the wrong way and I begin to choke as he pounds my back quickly. “You okay?”

I nod and try to stall for time by drinking as slowly as I can. What the hell am I supposed to say? ‘Oh, it’s okay. It was actually my boyfriend’s idea to have our schools all messed up. He was only doing it to play a prank on us. Isn’t that wild?’ Yeah, right. If I said that, I’d be slaughtered.

“I spoke to Tazuna yesterday and he said his guys are getting some ideas on who the culprits might be. They’re narrowing it down to…”

“To who?” I ask more sharply than I would have liked. Wolfram, smart guy, notices and watches me carefully.

“They say it might be some gang,” he begins slowly. “Local ones.”

I try to imagine Sid and his friends as a local gang and almost burst out laughing. Duo had reassured me that the guys at the mechanic shop wouldn’t tell a soul about what they had done and besides, why should those grown men fear a bunch of high school kids anyway? They could use us for punching bags anytime they wanted.

“So you sure you’ve gotten no leads yet?”

“No, nothing,” I reply and finish up my dumplings. I’m beginning to feel drowsy and the quicker I get to the cram school, the better. Maybe I can catch a nap while waiting for them to be finished for the day.

“Too bad,” Wolfram mumbles. He glances at his watch. “Oops! Gotta start going anyway. I’ve got to wait for my sister at her cram school.”

“Eh? Cram school?”

“Yup. There’s one right here in Guan. In some old building that looks abandoned but isn’t.” He laughs and then stops as he notices my (probably) stricken expression. “What?”

“Nothing,” I say quickly as I rise to my feet. “I was just about to head there myself.”

“Well, great!” the boy says with a wide grin. “We can go there together. Hold on, let me pay.”

“I’ll pay half…”

“No, it’s my treat. Consider it my thanks for stopping what would have been a bloodbath on that day.” He winks and I shudder, trying hard to think of some way to lose him. If I can get to the school on time and somehow get Duo to –

“Let’s go, Yuy!” Wolfram soon announces with a firm slap on my shoulders. “We’re not too far from the place.”

---

He wasn’t kidding when he said that. We only had to walk about a mile down the busy street and we soon found ourselves standing before the tall building which really looked in need of a paint job. I couldn’t believe someone would have a school in here. Whatever happened to safety first?

“Heh, don’t be fooled by outside appearances,” Wolfram says as we walk up to the glass doors that slide open. “The outside looks like crap, but inside…much better.”

We enter a clean and quiet lobby and I’ve got to say that it’s not too shabby. There’s a reception desk at the end of the large room and a young woman sits behind it, reading a magazine. She barely acknowledges us as we walk past. I guess she assumes we’re latecomers or something. There’s a huge pin up board with schedules, announcements and upcoming events for the students and teachers. Two vending machines with a variety of beverages have been placed beside several round tables and chairs, for thirsty students or visitors. Wolfram begins to hum to a song and I realize he’s got his earphones on again. He gives me a thumbs up sign as he presses the button on the elevator. The ride is a short one as we get off on the second floor. Except I’m not really sure if this is the one for Duo and the others.

“Uum…” I tap his shoulders. He’s lost in his own world.

“What?” He takes off the earphones to look at me in bemusement.

“I’m looking for the senior classes? They’re not all on the same floor, are they?”

“I’m heading there too,” he says with a nod. “My sister’s in a senior class.” He notices my blank look and laughs. “I don’t need to go to cram school. I’m smarter than she is.”

What a prick. The doors open and I’m spared the chance to tell him that. This lobby is a bit noisier, thanks to several students talking around the chairs and tables that have been set up in the waiting room. The classrooms are lined up on the other side of the waiting room and through the windows, one can see teachers and students working within. It’s like being in school…only in a more casual atmosphere. Some of the students are still in their school uniforms, obviously coming straight from their school. I try to see where Duo and the others are, but Wolfram’s tapping my shoulder again.

“We wait here.” He points to two empty chairs. “No loitering around the hallways.” He chuckles and wags his finger as if admonishing a naughty child. Rolling my eyes, I open my book bag to get started on one of my assignments, while he, mercifully, goes back to listening to his music.

---

7.59pm:

The first stream of students begins to leave their classrooms, causing me to lift my tired gaze from my Calculus textbook.

“Looks like they’re done,” I say to Wolfram and turn to him. But he’s fast asleep in his position, mouth slightly ajar and ear phones still stuck in his ears. I guess the Stoners aren’t as interesting as he claims them to be.

“Heero!”

I look up quickly, smiling as I notice Hilde walking towards me. “Hey, Hilde.”

“You didn’t get lost after all,” she says, hugging me gently. She notices Wolfram and looks at me with a raised brow. “Who’s the bish?”

“Bish? Oh.” I should be used to their lingo by now. “He’s Wolfram Crowley. From Livingstone.”

“Wow. If he wasn’t drooling so much, I’d say he’s a total hottie. Who’s he here for?”

“His sister.” I’m already looking over her shoulder for any sign of Duo. The sooner I get home, the better. I’m dead on my feet. However, it’s Relena and Dorothy that show up next, both arguing over something in their math books. “Where’s Duo?” I finally ask.

“Uum…probably still with Trowa. They were in the same Biology class. It’s great here, Heero. Really! I…”

“Wolfram!” comes the sudden shrill cry that has us jumping in surprise. An exact copy of Wolfram walks towards us with a thunderous look on her features. I swear if it isn’t for the pink tank top that shows off her rather well-endowed bosom, I would think Wolfram was performing a trick on me. However, one look at the boy who’s now waking up slowly, proves otherwise. This is his sister - his ‘twin’ sister apparently. The dumb one.

She proceeds to kick him in the shin, just in case he isn’t fully awake yet and his resounding ‘yow!’ of pain is my cue to make myself scarce. I do not want to be in the middle of a sibling argument.

“I’m going to look for Duo,” I begin, but to my chagrin, there’s the boy approaching me now, waving both arms wildly. Trowa, Quatre and Wufei flank him and soon everyone’s talking at once.

“Bottom line, I rule,” Duo says loudly. “Didn’t I tell you this was going to be great?”

“Well, I will admit I was wary about the place when we came in,” Quatre says with a laugh. “But the teachers are ten times better than the ones at Fujisaki. They make you understand and are willing to go over any problems you might have. They’re college professors and only do this for part time, I hear.”

“Whatever they are, they’re geniuses,” Wufei adds with a nod. “It’s a relaxed atmosphere and no pressure at all.”

“Yeah! And remember when he began to talk about…”

I grit my teeth as they begin to share stories about their lessons and I don’t think I’ve ever felt this left out in my life. It’s aggravating.

“Who are these, Heero? Your friends?”

Oh, shit. Wolfram. Almost forgot about him.

“Ah, guys…this is Wolfram Crowley from Livingstone,” I introduce, watching them carefully to see how they’d react. Especially Duo. He gives me a quick look and I nod softly, reminding him that this is the same guy that wants his head on a platter.

“Hi everyone,” Wolfram greets cheerfully. He reaches out to shake each hand firmly. Must be a Livingstone thing. “This is my sister, Anna. Twin sister obviously.”

“Wow. You two look exactly alike besides the boo…” Duo ends his sentence with a wince as Relena nudges him rather sharply. She seems enthralled with Wolfram. Who wouldn’t be? The guy can exude charm when he sets his mind to it.

“Hi,” Anna says quickly with as much disinterest as possible, and tugs her brother’s sleeve. “Let’s go, Wolf.”

“What’s the rush? Sorry, guys,” he says apologetically. “The Queen demands it.” He laughs but ends up crying out in pain as Anna cuffs him in retaliation. What a loving relationship those two must have.

“Strange pair,” Trowa says and we all nod solemnly. “All right, who’s up for burgers? I’m starved.”

Many hands go up except mine. I’m still recovering from the meal I ate earlier.

“Not hungry, Heero?” Duo asks as we make our way downstairs.

“I’m just tired I guess,” I say. “Besides I ate something on the way here.”

“Figured,” Duo snickers and then blinks as his cell phone rings. He raises a brow at the name on the caller ID and holds up a hand to excuse himself. I lean against a wall and watch his back – since he’s turned away from me – wandering who could be calling him now. Maybe it’s his mom or –

“WHAT?!” he suddenly bellows and I push myself away from the wall, now more alert than ever. Several students look at us as they pass by, but I’m soon standing beside Duo, watching the look of anger and shock dancing across his face.

“All right…all right…I’ll be right over…yeah…I know the place. I’ll see you in a few.” He hangs up, his hand clenching and unclenching as his body trembles with the force of his rage.

“What’s wrong, Duo?” I finally ask.

“Sid,” he says tightly, looking at me and right through me at the same time. “They’ve torched his shop, Heero. Fucking bastards burned down his shop and he’s in the hospital now. Fuck!” He kicks at the wall furiously and begins to stomp away. I have to jog to catch up to him, looking at the others with a motion that I’d explain things later.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I yell over the sound of his engine. “You can’t do anything in your state, Duo! You’re just coming back from the hospital yourself! Do you want to get beat up again?!”

He glares at me and I get chills down my spine. “It’s my fault he’s there, Heero! Don’t you see? I’ve gotta see what they did to the place!”

“And then you’ll fight again, right?! Right?! Jesus, Duo!”

“You coming or not?!”

I look at him and see the determination in those eyes. Nothing I can say now is going to change his mind. I can only hope that things don’t get ugly. Why can’t we just have a week of little to no excitement, huh?

I shake my head and reach for the helmet, and hardly waiting for me to be settled in properly, Duo roars off into the night like the very hound of hell.


~End Period Thirty-Nine~


Translations:

Dango – Dumpling snacks
Yaki Manjuu – Roasted/Grilled yeast buns with filling
Danburi – bowl of rice with food on top
Anago-don – Barbecue conger eel on rice