Life... Really Part 10
Sitting at the dining room table, Duo's tail swished gracefully behind him as he worked intently on his math test. His violet eyes trained on the paper before him, he wrote out his solutions and filled in the final answers. Across from him, Noin glanced up from her book, smiling to herself as she watched her 'son' so intent on his exam.
After figuring out the last problem, the braided teenager sat up and grinned at his work. As he lowered his pencil and looked up, he announced cheerfully, "Finished."
Noin lowered her book and took up the test with a smile on her own face. Over the last four months, Duo had excelled in all of the lessons he had been taught. Once the last half of Heero's junior year started, the violet-eyed youth went right to his own schooling. He put in a full day's word of lessons, from the time that Heero left in the morning until he returned home in the mid afternoon.
The violet-eyed youth had picked up quickly on what Noin had taught him. His intelligence level started him off at a sophomore high school level. Noin placed the test in its envelope, along with his other exams from that day, to be sent off and evaluated by a national professor to be processed into Duo's records.
Now that the braided teen had a last name, taken from the name of the park near where they lived, Duo Maxwell was enrolled as a student, taught from home. For her part, Noin could not have been more proud of how well the boy was doing in his classes. As she stamped the envelope, she smiled and asked, "How do you think you did?"
With a shrug, the teenager replied, "I think I did all right. The history test was a bit harder than I thought it'd be, but I think I scored okay."
Chuckling deeply, his 'mother' reassured him, "Whenever you talk like that, you end up performing better than you thought. Zechs and I will go drop this off at the post office." As she gathered the thick envelope, she rose from her seat and grinned, "That concludes this day of school."
Duo let out an excited cheer as he jumped from his chair. Running into the living room, he checked the clock. 2:35pm. He still had time. "Mom," he called, "can I meet Heero at his school to walk home with him?"
As she stepped out into the room with the now stamped envelope in hand, Noin smiled, "I don't see why not. It is Friday, after all, so I'm sure that he and the others would be disappointed if you weren't there to greet them."
Grinning from ear-to-ear, Duo sprang to the closet to remove one of his many baseball caps. Placing it on backwards, he lifted the back of his loose, black T-shirt to tuck his long tail inside. Quick as a flash, he ran to the young woman and kissed her cheek as he said, "Thanks, Mom. See you later."
As the braided youth ran out the door, Noin called, "Be careful, Duo!" Before the door closed, she heard him yell back an 'I will.' With a sigh of content, the young maid smiled warmly to herself as she shook her head in amusement.
* * * * * *
The school was a good twenty-minute walk from the Yuy household. On a lovely, warm, late-April day like this was, it was a pleasant excursion after being inside most of the day. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Duo sighed deeply to himself.
Once the weather became pleasant, Heero had taken the time to show his braided friend around the city. Since the spring began, every Friday, Duo took the route that the Japanese youth and their friends took to school and back again. It became routine for them to meet up in case they wanted to make a detour before heading back home.
Before Duo came into the picture, his friends normally always went right from school to one of their houses. Now, the braided creature had managed to talk them into doing other things that they never thought of indulging in before. Whether it was going to the movie theatre or stopping at the local ice cream shop, Fridays were now a treat for all of them.
As he neared the school, Duo spotted the high gates surrounding the football field just beside the large institution. Now that Wufei was the star quarterback for their school team and Relena was the head of the cheerleading squad, Duo had been to several games at that field at Heero's invitation. It was just one of the many things that just made the cat-eared boy feel even more like a normal human.
Still smiling to himself at the relief of being free to walk about, Duo turned around the corner of the high fence surrounding the secluded football field to round the parameter. Taking the shortcut around the field would lead him to the front of the high school, where he would wait for the others to step out.
When he passed some of the bleachers on the other side of the gate, the sound of a deep voice reached Duo's ears as it asked, "I wouldn't make much of a commotion, if you don't want someone to get hurt."
His violet eyes widening, Duo froze in his tracks. The source of the voice was a good number of feet away, his sensitive hearing picking up on it easily. Quickly, he pinpointed that the voice came from underneath a tall set of bleachers several yards ahead.
"You know the others will be looking for me soon," a familiar voice growled. Duo gasped sharply in recognition. "School was let out a couple minutes ago."
The other voice chuckled deeply, "And that's all part of the plan. We'll be right here, waiting for them."
Panic filled, Duo looked around for any signs of life from the large park. Finding none, he quickly, easily, climbed the tall gate. Once he was on the other side, the braided teenager jumped and landed gracefully on his feet. Quietly, he snuck behind the bleachers leading to the one where the voices were coming from.
The deep voice spoke up again as it hissed, "What does that Winner kid have over me, anyway? I know that little wimp couldn't possibly be able to offer you more than what I have."
Relena's voice snapped, "First off, if you ever refer to Quatre as that again-"
"Then what?" the other voice interrupted in a sharp laugh. "You're not in the position to be making any threats right now, sweetie." The last word was snarled out in a way that it made the fur on Duo's tail stand on end.
When he was close enough, Duo assessed the situation made in the shadows the bleachers across from where he hid. Relena was still dressed in her gym uniform, a simple, white T-shirt and light blue, mesh shorts. Surrounding her were five young boys, all of whom Duo quickly recognized from the school football team.
The tallest, bulkiest one of the group was standing at the head of the group. His blue eyes narrowed fiercely, Relena warned, "Muller, have you forgotten that I'm the daughter of a politician? If you and your goons, here, don't let me go, I'll see to it that you regret it. So if you were wise, you would back off." Keeping her voice as steady as she could, she ordered firmly, "Now."
Muller just smirked darkly as he folded his arms and replied, "Not until you answer my question. I want to know why you see it necessary to ignore me while you go off and play with that little-"
"Gentleman," the blonde girl now interrupted, a pleased grin on her face despite the fear that she was keeping back. "Quatre's a gentleman, Muller. And that's something you could never hope to ever be."
The moment the words passed her lips, Relena reeled back as she was backhanded across the right side of her face. Duo sprang up, glaring fiercely at the group of teenagers as he shouted, "That's enough!"
All eyes turned quickly to face the braided teenager. The muscle-bound thugs glared heatedly at the intruder and Duo swallowed hard. As she finally snapped from her stunned state, her hand on her cheek where she had been smacked, Relena's blue eyes widened in terror on her friend. With a sharp gasp, she yelled, "Duo! Get out of here! There are too many of them!"
His eyebrow rising as he continued to watch the braided teenager, Muller repeated, "Duo?" a smirk slowly tugged at his lips as he chuckled deeply, "Oh I recognize you now. You've been to several of our games. You follow Yuy like some lost puppy." Despite his shaking knees, Duo stood his ground.
"Don't," Relena hissed under her breath as she glared anew at her captor.
Glancing at his team out of the corner of his eye, Muller sneered, "We may as well have some fun with this one before the others get here." Quickly, smirking at the suggestion, three of the teenagers dashed toward the braided teenager.
Everything happened so quickly that Duo was only able to dodge a few of the first blows. When Muller joined the attack, he took advantage of the boy's confused state and landed a hard punch in his face. A loud crack from the force of the blow filled the air.
With a loud yell of pain, Duo fell as a multitude of punches and kicks took him down. Instinctively, knowing that he couldn't fend for himself when being so outnumbered, he lied on his side and covered his hat with both arms.
"No! Stop it!" Relena shrieked as she ran to the fight. Looking back to the school, she screamed, "Help! Somebody, please hurry-!" A hand quickly fell over her mouth as one of the brutes held her back with his free arm.
Tears filled the girl's eyes as she was helpless to watch her braided friend being brutally beaten into the ground by the remaining four brutes. She couldn't even see Duo past the huddle of bodies around him, hammering their fists and feet into the center where her friend was lying. Whimpering and crying behind the hand covering her mouth, Relena struggled to get free.
After shaking her head enough, she opened her mouth and took in the first two fingers, biting down as hard as she could. Crying out in pain, the boy holding her pulled his hand back as she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Help! They're going to kill him! Somebody please help us!"
The tall youth holding her growled deeply as he quickly changed arms to cover her mouth with his other hand as he yelled, "Shut up!"
* * * * * *
Back at the nearly empty school, Quatre joined up with his friends, a concerned look on his face as he asked, "Has anyone seen Relena? She should have been back from gym by now."
Shaking his head, Trowa frowned, "We didn't run into her after our last class. Maybe she's still changing."
Wufei shrugged, "We could always check back at the field. Maybe her last class ended late." Beside the Chinese student, Heero frowned a bit, not so sure that they were such reasonable suggestions. Still, he knew the others were trying to reassure the concerned Arab.
Suddenly, one of the girls from the cheerleading squad, Hilde, ran up. Panting heavily, she cried, "Guys, Relena's screaming for help from the football field! I came as soon as I heard!"
Instantly, the four teenagers bolted to the front doors. As he looked back over his shoulder, Heero shouted, "Hilde, get Principal Une!"
"Right!" the breathless girl called after him. Gathering her breath, she darted to the main office as fast as her feet could carry her.
* * * * * *
His violet eyes widening, Duo felt his left shoulder separate from its socket with a sharp kick. As it snapped back in place on its own accord, he screamed in agony. All the while, he kept his cap in place as he tried to curl himself, only to be unsuccessful due to the continuous rain of blows falling upon him.
Relena continued to try her best to struggle free as she whimpered from her terror and efforts. Tears continued to course down her face as her muffled voice cried her friend's name. She had no way of knowing how long Duo had been down, left to be cruelly pounded into the ground. It could have been minutes, but it felt like an eternity as she had to watch helplessly.
Suddenly, the hand holding Relena's mouth fell away as the teenager holding her cried out in what sounded like pain. The hand over her mouth dropped as she found her self free. The wide, brown eyes of the boy who had captured her looked back into the fierce dark eyes of his team captain. "Wufei," he whispered, still in pain as his arm was firmly twisted behind his back.
The Chinese youth growled deeply, "Johnson." With that, he swung his free right arm to knock out the other teenager in one punch to the face, breaking his nose in the process.
Relena collapsed to her knees as they finally gave way. In a flash, Heero, Trowa and Quatre all made the scene as they fell upon the four brutes that were still attacking Duo. Wufei quickly joined them, satisfied that Johnson would not be a problem for them, sprawled out and unconscious on the ground.
Muller was about to land another punch, laughing madly as he pulled back to deliver a forceful hit. Just as he was sending his arm forward again, someone from behind grasped his arm firmly and held it in place. With rage in his eyes, he spun back to meet fiery cobalt. His own heat faded into shock and fear as he gasped, "Yuy."
Not bothering to allow the other boy a chance to get his bearings, Heero grunted as he landed a swift punch into his ribs. Meanwhile, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei busied themselves with the remainder of the thugs. The air was filled with the sound of sharp cries and loud bone cracking as the fight escalated.
Finally, several minutes later, Muller and the others pulled back when the sound of more voices approached the field along with the sound of sirens. Each beaten badly and bleeding in different places, the four young men decided better to flee the scene before more people got involved.
Panting heavily and his face covered in sweat, Heero looked to the curled up figure on the ground. His cobalt eyes widening, he gasped, "Duo!" Quickly, he fell to his knees beside him. Quatre, Trowa and Wufei looked in shock at the sight of their braided friend.
Reviving Johnson, they aided him in their retreat, the five brutes climbed the fence to run in the opposite direction of the school. As they ran off, Trowa's heated gaze followed them as he shouted, "You fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us!" A couple police cars pulled into the scene, one chasing after the fleeing youths and the other moving to park at the school entrance.
As he placed a gentle hand on Duo's side, Heero winced when the injured boy whimpered and tried to retreat back. Biting his lip, the Japanese teenager whispered, "Duo, it's me."
The fallen body stiffened as the braided youth's arms lowered from the front of his face. "H-Heero?" Duo whispered as his violet eyes slightly widened on the other teenager.
At the sight of the blood running from his best friend's bottom lip and the large bruise at the side of his face, Heero whimpered as he fought the tears from filling his eyes. Forcing a small smile of reassurance, he said quietly, "Yea, it's me, Duo."
With a muffled sob, the braided teenager wrapped his arms around Heero's neck as they held onto each other. Careful not to agitate any wounds his friend may have had, the unruly-haired youth gently rubbed his back soothingly as he held him close while Duo cried into his shoulder. "Shh. It's all right," he whispered into his partner's ear. "I've got you."
Relena was clinging to Quatre in a similar manner as her boyfriend hugged her tightly. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly. As Relena nodded against his shoulder, Hilde, Principal Une and a tall, male police officer ran into the scene.
Her brown eyes fide in concern, the school Principal frowned deeply, "My God, what happened here?" Recognizing those students present to be some of her school's best seeds, she already knew that they were not the ones responsible for whatever happened.
As she wiped her wet face, Relena stepped forward as she replied, "Muller and some of his friends stopped me from going back into school after gym class. They were harassing me and Duo," she gestured to the injured boy cradled in the Japanese youth's lap, "stepped in after Muller hit me." The angry mark on the side of her face was proof enough of that.
More tears filled her eyes as she continued, "They ganged up on him and I tried to call for help I thought they were going to kill him before the others got here."
Principal Une's eyes narrowed, knowing fully well the trouble that Muller and his friends were. The officer stepped in as he nodded kindly to the young woman and asked, "Would you be able to make a statement against them while I ask a few other questions?"
Without hesitating, Relena answered, "Of course." Hilde, joined her side as she hugged her quad captain.
The young officer turned to face the injured braided teenager as he commented, "As for trespassing..." He smirked, "Given the circumstances, we can overlook that part of it." Duo sighed deeply in relief as he sagged deeper into Heero's arms.
A deep frown fell on the Principal's face as she looked over to the beaten hero. Kneeling before him, the woman who preferred to be referred to as Lady Une placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for your help here, young man. You're to be commended for your courage."
Duo gave her a small smile as he shrugged, "Just looking out for my friend." Heero smiled in pride behind him as he chuckled deeply.
Lady Une smiled back, "Well, even if you're not a student here, I won't let you leave before I know you're all right." Meeting the cobalt gaze watching her, she suggested, "Heero, why don't you take Duo, here, to the nurse's office? I had asked her to stay there when Hilde found me."
With a nod of relief, Heero replied, "Yes, maam." Carefully scooping Duo into his arms, he rose to his feet. Trowa and Wufei flanked him as they began to walk back to the school.
Smiling at Relena, Lady Une ran a hand down the back of her blonde head as she said, "As for the interview with Officer Gracin, we can hold that in my office." The shaken girl smiled back as she nodded. Both Quatre and Hilde offered to go with her for support.
Before she was led away, Relena ran up to Heero and Duo. Stifling a sob, she kissed her braided friend's forehead as she whispered, "Thank you, Duo."
With a wink and a reassuring smile, he replied quietly, "Don't mention it, Lena. I'm glad you're all right." As the girl ran a hand over the top of his capped head, he purred quietly.
Relena smiled in relief at the sound as she said, "I'm going to come see you as soon as I can."
Quatre came up beside his girlfriend. Placing a hand on her shoulder as he met the injured teenager's gaze, he added, "We all will." He looked up to Heero and asked, "Please let us know as soon as he's up to some visitors."
"I'll do that," Heero nodded, tightening his grip on the boy in his arms when he felt him shaking a bit. With that, the two groups split ways.
* * * * * *
Heero stayed by Duo's side, soothingly rubbing his friend's arm as the nurse examined the large bruise on his face. Frowning sadly, the blonde woman sighed, "They certainly did a number on you."
When the nurse moved to remove Duo's cap, the braided boy gasped and placed both hands atop it. Smirking slightly, Nurse Po commented, "Too shy to let me lift your shirt and now your cap?" Duo nodded fervently. "Well, there's no bleeding from what I can tell, so I suppose I don't need to have a look there."
Both Heero and Duo shared a silent sigh of relief. As she placed some disinfectant on Duo's bruise, the braided nurse diagnosed aloud, "A couple cracked ribs and some internal bruising, but nothing that needs emergency care. The shoulder that was separated and replaced will need to be bandaged and iced when you get home.
"I suggest that you stay in bed for the rest of today and tomorrow. Take it easy for about a week after that, and you should be good as new. Considering the damage that you could have been faced, you're very lucky."
Duo gave her a small smile as he nodded, "Thank you." Heero relied in kind as he helped his friend to his feet.
"I'll be right back with some pills to help with the pain. They'll make you drowsy, but they do the trick in numbing the sting from your injuries," Nurse Po commented as she moved to the front door.
When the braided nurse quickly stepped out her office, Wufei's dark eyes widened. "Who's that?" he whispered to his tall friend standing beside him in the hallway.
Trowa smirked, "New intern. Her name's Sally Po. You like?"
With a nudge into the smug teenager's ribs, the raven-haired youth growled, "Shut up." Together, they moved into the office to find their friends. When the others looked up, Wufei advised them, "We called Zechs and Noin. They're should be here soon."
Heero nodded, "Good. Thank you." With a small smile to his braided partner, he rubbed his back again as he said, "I think we've all had enough excitement for one day to worry about walking home on top of it." With a small sigh, Duo nodded, leaning his head on Heero's shoulder.
Sally returned with a handful of enclosed pills. Handing them to Heero, she stated, "He should have one every four hours tomorrow. From there, he should only need one when he wakes up and one before he goes to sleep." As he accepted the pills, Heero expressed his appreciation again.
As the four teenagers stepped outside, they found a very concerned Noin and Zechs. Their eyes widened in fear at the sight of their injured 'son' as they ran up. "What happened?" the tall blonde growled deeply.
"We'll tell you on the way home," Heero replied gently, his eyes still on his braided friend as he had his arm wrapped around his shoulder.
It was pretty evident that Duo was still in a stunned state after his ordeal. Along with the pills he had just taken, it wouldn't be long before he was asleep. "Right now, we should really get him home and in bed to rest." Satisfied with that, Noin and Zechs led them to the car.
* * * * * *
When they arrived to the house, Heero carefully carried Duo upstairs to his room. With Duo in his current state, it was easy for the Japanese teenager to convince his guardians that Duo should stay with him so that he could keep an eye on him.
Gently, Heero lowered the braided friend onto the bed and tucked him under the covers. As he mumbled something that could not be made out, Duo's violet eyes blinked open. A tired smile fell on his face as he whispered, "Heero."
Smiling warmly, the Japanese teenager whispered back, "Hey, there.... I'm proud of you, you know?"
"Yea?" Duo asked as he yawned widely. His eyes began to drift shut again as he mumbled, "M' real tired."
Heero ran a hand through his friend's long bangs as he said quietly, "Get some sleep, Duo. I'll be right here when you wake up." With a murmured ''kay,' Duo drifted off.
With the weight of his emotions from the event that took place finally catching up, Heero sat back in his seat beside the bed. Despite the terrible bruising and markings on his friend, Sally had been right, he was very lucky it wasn't worse. Biting his lip, he felt a few tears prickling his eyes. If he and the others didn't get there when they did...
Shaking his head against those thoughts, Heero cleared his throat of the lump forming there. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the sleeping teenager's forehead as he whispered, "Don't ever leave me."
A small smile tugged at Duo's lips in his sleep in response. In seeing that, Heero couldn't help but smile, himself. Lying his head on the mattress, he wrapped an arm around his friend's chest. Sighing deeply, he took his friend's hand and squeezed it. As promised, he never left the other boy's side.
TBC...
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