The Seed  (Part 2)

The orange noonday sun shone with a warm brilliance, sending shafts of multi-coloured lights dancing on the surface of a nearby lake. The creatures in the forest had begun their symphony, welcoming any human to the wonderful sights and smells of nature. It was a most beautiful day to be outdoors and stay outdoors.

Meanwhile, back in their secret hideout, Duo was trying hard to stifle a yawn. One does not reveal one's palate to a superior, no matter how much his voice sounds like a lullaby. Of course, he could always switch off the image transmitter and be spared from uncomfortable scrutiny, but that act alone could slight the person at the other end of the line. And getting your commanding officer cross with you is not considered a very smart thing to do, to put it mildly. Besides, even though Duo appeared frivolous in whatever situation most of the time, he knew where to draw the line.

But this briefing on my next mission is anything but brief! Duo sighed inwardly. The woods outside beckoned to him.

".... do you understand, Duo Maxwell?" The tone of that last sentence sounded louder than usual. Duo hastily snapped back to full attention, his glazed eyes suddenly filled with intensity and concentration.

"Yes, sir." The face of the person on the screen mirrored skepticism. Doubting my word, is he? "With all due respect, sir, this is not the first time that I get a mission that involves infiltrating a school. I can pass off as a student with no problems at all....". His thoughts finished the sentence for him : So I just don't see the point of listening to all that standard procedure and precaution thing all over again.

"You are to investigate on the reported sightings of mobile suits around that school...." Duo's eyes threatened to glaze over again. "... and there is one small problem."

"Problem?" Something about the way the word was uttered unsettled Duo.

"The school has a strict hair code."

* * * * * *

Heero stood alone at the beach, seawater lapping at his toes. It was one of his rare visits to the normal world outside. A world where peace reigned, a world without blood and destruction. Or seemed to be, for the time being. Heero did not want to dwell too deeply on that matter.

It had been a week since his rendezvous with Relena in the forest. She had been either avoiding or ignoring him ever since and he was unsure of his feelings regarding her behaviour. Relief? Sorrow? Why should he feel relieved or sad at all? His eyes took on a distant look as he stared at the horizon where the sun hovered above it. Finding no answers there, he closed his eyes. Maybe it was a good thing that his mission would bring him far away from this place for a while. He just received the coordinates of an OZ military base which was detected by the Colony's artificial satellites. More blood and destruction.

"I said .... Let go!" The near-shriek jolted Heero out of his stupor. Turning around, he saw four shabbily-dressed hoodlums harassing a young girl no further than ten feet away. They had her surrounded and were playfully taking turns to tug her hair and flip her skirt, causing their victim undue distress.

Heero was never the type who rescued damsels in distress but he found their actions both disgusting and intolerable. He flexed his fingers. He needed something to distract himself anyway. And the exercise would do him some good.

* * * * * *

Wearing vice-like shoes with two-inch high heels was not enough! Wearing a skirt and a ... uurgh .... petticoat was not enough! Wearing that degrading thing at his torso for curves-enhancement purposes was not enough! His humiliation had yet to reach its peak!

That afternoon, Duo had feverishly argued with his commanding officer that he, Duo Maxwell, would NEVER sacrifice his braid for ANY reason. What kind of a stupid and conservative school is that anyway? With its unreasonable and ridiculous hair codes, dress codes and God knows what other equally idiotic and unnecessary codes. After his outburst, Duo had sat down and fumed silently. His commanding officer was sympathetic enough - he suggested a scalp operation which could allow Duo to have his hair attached back on his head after he completed his mission. And he did not appear to be joking when he said that.

The thought of having his hair literally ripped off his head forced Duo to reconsider his options - which were disturbingly few. Why couldn't they send Heero or Quatre on this mission? There won't be any big sacrifice on their part. Duo had thought of that but questioning your superior's decision was another not-so-smart thing to do. When it seemed that Duo would have no choice but to face either a barber or a surgeon, a third option popped up in his brain at that moment.....

Which was why he was presently busy fending off these.... hooligans who had nothing better to do with their free time than pestering every innocent, docile-looking girl they encounter. Walking around the town in a cross-dressed condition was part of his self-imposed crash course to feminize himself before his entry application into the school was accepted. He had not expected that boys nowadays could be so lecherous, shameless and aggressive.

There is a limit to a person's patience and Duo's present situation was bringing him  dangerously close to his. A palm on his rump made him decide that his tormentors no longer deserved to live. Before he could execute his crippling chops and kicks, a voice which made his blood run cold cut through the air.

"I think you all better stop right now, if you know what's good for you." That icy voice sounded TOO familiar for comfort. Heero? Duo craned his head and confirmed his dread. What is he doing here?! Panic, shame, embarrassment and a dozen other highly uncomfortable feelings washed over Duo like ice-cold water, making him shiver like a nearly-drowned rat. I'm gonna kill myself first before I let him see me like this! He saw a life of being branded with the nickname 'lady' and 'sissy' stretch out before him until the day of his death. An image of Wufei refusing a duel with him and muttering the words ‘I don't fight with girls’ flashed in his mind. Not a pleasant thought indeed.

"And who's gonna stop us? You? You little ...." The speaker did not have the chance to finish his sentence as Heero's fist had shot out and connected with his left cheek. Before the other three realized what was happening, Heero had sent another crumpling into a heap with a knee-jam. While Heero was busy taking on the third, the other remaining boy grabbed a handful of sand and flung it at Heero's face. The sand hit Heero's eyes, just as the third boy went down, and temporarily blinded him. The last boy took this opportunity to pull out a pocket knife and charge at Heero. The sunlight reflecting off the sharp edge of the knife brought Duo back to his senses.

The knife sliced through Heero's forearm but fortunately the cut was shallow. Before it could do anymore damage, Duo had reached the knife-wielder and with trained precision, slammed him to the ground with his elbow. Heero was still busy rubbing grains of sand off his face, his eyes watering. Seeing Heero's condition, Duo was torn between staying to tend Heero's wound and running away in search of a hiding place.

But you need not reveal your real identity to him. The voice in his mind spoke. If you can hide your identity from Heero, then no stranger can possibly see through your disguise. Just treat it as a test. The words made sense. Duo stayed.

* * * * * *

Warm blood was running down his right arm in a steady rivulet. Heero silently cursed himself for being so careless. He should not have let his guard down, even if his attackers were merely juveniles and not trained OZ troopers. A thud alerted him to the fact that the last of the hoodlums had been taken care of ... by the girl? And he had thought that she was weak and helpless.

Lifting his head, Heero took a closer look at the female he had rescued. He forgot to breathe for five seconds. She was beautiful – not 'pretty' or 'cute' like a magazine cover girl – just beautiful. Wavy, chestnut-brown hair crowned a worried-looking delicate face, tied with a silky, pink ribbon. But it was not the hair that took his breath away. Her eyes.... They were pools of liquid violet with depths that threatened to swallow him whole. Eyes that seemed as if they could see into his soul. And those eyes were looking at him with..... disgust?

The girl made a disgusted sound. "Look, buddy, I could have handled those four easily myself. You just had to butt in and get yourself knifed in the process, don't you?" Heero stared at her stupidly. This was definitely not the type of reaction he was expecting from her.

The girl approached him purposefully, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that he was largely responsible for the bodies sprawled on the sand. She gruffly grabbed his bleeding arm, making him wince inwardly. On the surface, he was still looking at the girl with a placidity he did not feel. While he was debating whether to snatch his arm back or not, the girl suddenly stood up and dragged him in the direction of the sea. The strength of her grip was uncannily strong for a girl.

What the... Her face held such a ferocious and determined expression that Heero kept his mouth shut. When both of them were knee-deep in seawater, the girl plunged his wounded arm into the crystal-clear salt water. The biting pain that shot up his arm was so immense that it threatened to shatter the impassive mask he was wearing. He tried to jerk his arm free but any resistance on his part only seemed to strengthen the girl's grip on his arm.

"Quit fidgeting!" Her no-nonsense tone made Heero obey her immediately without thinking. "The salt can stop the bleeding. If you hate pain so much, then use your brain before you charge like a crazed bull into some affair that is totally none of your business!" She gazed at him with such rebuke in her eyes that he dropped his eyes like a chastised child. Who was this female, who dared to bully him and make him feel like a complete idiot during their first encounter? He had attempted to kill Relena in the past for much less. The thought of Relena gave rose to an entirely different kind of pain in his chest.

By now, the pain in his forearm had numbed to a dull throb. The girl untied the pink ribbon securing her hair and proceeded to wrap the injured site. Her working hands were now surprisingly gentle and the acute contrast brought an unbidden smile to Heero's lips.

The smile abruptly vanished when the girl tied the knot tight enough to cut off the blood supply to his forearm. "As compensation for the trouble you have caused me, I suggest you buy my dinner."

Heero was dumbfounded. This is what I get in return for being helpful? Not a thanks but a scolding and an extortion? The girl was insane! And he was insane too, for allowing her to do this to him!

Before Heero could open his mouth, the girl had resumed her hold on his arm and was pulling him along. "I know a nice Chinese noodle house at the town centre. Hope you have at least fifty credits with you."

Heero quickly tried to recall the amount of money he had in his wallet. I should have around a hundred credits on me. That should be enough to..... Hey! What am I thinking? Looking at the mysterious girl walking in front of him, Heero made a mental note to keep his distance from her. She was doing strange things to his psyche.

                                                                                                                             < To Part 3 >