The Homepage of Duo and Quatre
Photo so generously donated by Star Crystal!! Thank you!
Haha, imagine that....
The G-Boys: Back to School Special!
Part 5: Shin
*Note: Well, Shini, this one's for you! Hope you like it!
*The original idea for "Shinigami" was from none other than Shinigami himself!
Quatre was working obediently in Universal Geography when Duo walked in. Quatre gaped. What was Duo doing here? He always skipped class, and when he did come, it was only on test dates that Quatre told him about!
Duo, if he actually had a “usual” seat, sat down next to him. “Quatre?” Duo asked.
“Yes?” Quatre looked up.
Duo smiled at him, then began taking out his own notebook. Quatre was about to offer him a collection of his own personal pens (since Duo never bought his own) but Duo POLITEFULLY declined and began taking out his own neat writing implements.
“Haha, I wonder who you stole those off of this time?” Quatre teased.
“Actually, they are my own,” Duo said. When the teacher came in, Duo obediently started jotting down notes.
Quatre gaped once again. Was it just him, or was Duo acting funny? Disturbed, Quatre tried to concentrate.
The teacher did a quick roll call, then did a double-take when she noticed Duo. “I see, you have finally decided to come to class, Mr. Maxwell?”
Duo answered, “Actually, it is my first time here.”
“Of course,” the teacher replied, non-plussed. Duo looked confused.
Quatre waited patiently for Duo to come up to him to ask the answers to last week’s homework. But Duo just sat there. When the teacher asked to collect the homework, Duo was about to hand his sheet in.
“Wait,” Quatre said. Duo paused. “Let’s compare answers first.”
Duo shrugged and gave him his paper. Quatre held his white-out ready, preparing to fix up any spelling errors or wrong answers that Duo might have scribbled down.
Quatre was surprised to see that Duo’s paper actually didn’t have a stain on it, for once. Quatre raised an eyebrow. His writing was neat, too. And, when he looked back and forth at the answers, they were EXACTLY the same!
Quatre’s white-out fell limply from his hands while Duo courteously took Quatre’s sheet and handed it in for him.
Quatre fell back in his seat in utter defeat. When the teacher wasn’t looking, he took his chance to speak. “All right, Duo. Fess up. What has gotten into you? Not that I am complaining, mind you.” Quatre was just feeling a tad creeped out.
“Duo?” Duo asked. “Duo’s asleep.”
Quatre rolled his eyes. “If Duo’s asleep, than who is sitting in front of me right now?” Quatre said, playing along.
“I am Shinigami.”
Right. He was sure the entire world was playing a trick on him right now. He just couldn’t get it. “Duo, now is not the time to play games!”
The teacher held a finger to her lips and Quatre, shocked that the teacher could be shushing HIM, of all people, immediately quieted down.
“I told you. I am not Duo. I am Shinigami Maxwell. Duo is asleep.”
Quatre was sure that it was all some kind of psychological persona that Duo was going through. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Duo to snap out of it or not. He was beginning to enjoy “Shinigami”’s pleasant company.
“Well, if you insist, Shinigami Maxwell, then I will let you be. By the way, what is the answer to this question?” Quatre was stumped.
“Shinigami” looked over and told him the answer, just like that. Quatre was rather enjoying this moment. He felt a burden beginning to lift from his shoulders.
Shinigami said, “I am going to visit Duo after class. Care to join me?”
Whatever uplifting moment of triumph Quatre had felt before, it had completely vanquished now. “S…sure,” he replied. “We’re REALLY in no hurry though.”
“Shinigami” smiled, and continued working. They both accomplished a lot in Universal Geography that day.
“Shinigami” and Quatre were wandering through the halls when they bumped into one of Quatre’s sisters. Quatre immediately became nervous. What would this “Shinigami” of Duo’s do?
Surprisingly enough, “Shinigami” didn’t do anything. He just stood there, looking around at people passing by. He didn’t even notice Quatre’s sister until she touched his arm and said “hi”.
“Hi,” “Shinigami” replied calmly back. Both Quatre and his sister gaped.
“He is undergoing some sort of mental illness,” Quatre whispered to his sister in hushed tones. “I think it would be safest not to provoke anything, just yet.”
“All right, Quatre,” his sister said, “but if you would like to join us, we’ll be at the pool.” They looked at Duo again.
Duo, if he even got it through to his mind that Quatre’s Sisters + Pool = Endless Bathing Suits didn’t say anything. “Sure. Let us be on our way then,” “Shinigami” said, nodding at Quatre and hauling him off. Quatre’s sister just stared after the two boys in wonder.
Quatre began to notice something wrong when Duo couldn’t find the way back to his own room. He had to ask Quatre where it was located. Quatre reluctantly agreed to take him there.
It wasn’t until he reached the door of Duo’s and Wufei’s dorm when he noticed something REALLY wrong.
Quatre glanced down at Duo’s shoes. Yes, they appeared to be the same. He frowned at Duo. “When did you become so tall?” Quatre asked, a look of horror coming over his face.
Duo frowned. “I have been this height as long as I could remember.” Duo waited patiently for Quatre to open the door.
Unless Duo had undergone some sort of radioactive growth spurt, he didn’t think this was normal at all. He was about to open the door when…
…from the other side of the bedroom, Duo opened it himself.
Duo (the shorter one) had his eyes still closed and was murmuring something about people being so noisy outside. He was still wearing his Darth Vader pajamas and his hair was all messed up. Quatre assumed that he had just woken up. Then who….
“Duo!” the taller Duo said, the first sign of excitement he had shown all day. The shorter Duo blinked.
“Quatre, why are you holding up a mirror in front of me?” he asked.
Quatre didn’t get to answer as both Duo’s careened into the room and Quatre began to wonder if now was not a good enough time to go for an eye checkup. Or if he was just going insane. “Duo!” he quickly called. This was not funny anymore!
“Yeah?” one of them answered.
Quatre rubbed his eyes. Both Duo’s were standing side by side. Quatre waited patiently for the double vision to meld back into one being. He began to bite his lip nervously when he still saw two Duo’s. At the back of his mind, he was thinking: Duo + Duo = Quadruo! Or simply just trouble.
“Good to see you, old buddy!” the shorter Duo said, slapping the other one on the arm. The taller Duo responded in kind, giving the shorter Duo a noogie. They both laughed.
Quatre was getting a headache. This day was slowly turning into a disaster.
“Hey, Quatre, I want you to meet my cousin.”
Quatre looked up. This might explain something.
The shorter Duo brought the taller Duo forward. “Quatre, meet Shinigami Maxwell.”
Shinigami nodded politely. “We’ve met before.”
Quatre’s mouth bobbed open and closed. “But…but…. I thought you said you were an orphan!”
Duo rolled his eyes. “Just because I don’t have parents doesn’t mean I can’t have relatives, you know.”
“But…,” Quatre began again. “Why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?”
Duo thought. “You didn’t ask,” he finally replied.
“But still!”
“Well, it’s not like you ever told us about your sisters!”
Quatre was about to rebuke, but couldn’t think of anything to say. Duo had a point there.
Just then, Wufei stepped into the room, on his break. He was toweling himself off from Physical Education class. “Hi, Duo. Hi, Quatre,” he said. He calmly walked into the bathroom.
Quatre silently counted off the seconds before Wufei slammed the door open again. A look of total bewilderment came over his face. “Who is THAT?” he pointed with his finger.
“Hey, Wu-wu, it’s my cousin, Shinigami.”
Wufei didn’t seem to hear as he began taking out his reading glasses. Looking back up, he gazed with owl eyes at all of them. Duo guffawed.
“Is this some sort of a joke, because I don’t seem to find this at all funny,” Wufei said, crossing his arms and glaring. He didn’t seem to know that Duo was laughing because of Wufei’s ridiculous reading glasses.
“Mmm...perhaps I should explain,” Shinigami himself said. “Well, Duo, after you left the colony, the junk salvaging company has become a success. I have calculated the figures and, with your ownership, you could chance to gain close to $10 million.”
“$10 million!” everyone said.
“Yes,” Shinigami replied. “I was so excited that I simply had to come down to Earth to tell you the good news.”
Duo had tears in his eyes. “Thank you, thank you,” he said, hugging his cousin.
“$10 million?” Wufei scoffed. “How in the colonies could that happen?”
“Well,” Duo said, “Since I was so busy salvaging stuff, SOMEONE had to be the money-manager in the family.”
They all looked at Shinigami with a new light in their eyes. Shinigami blushed. “Oh, it was nothing,” he replied bashfully. “I guess all those accounting lessons paid off.”
Quatre and Wufei wondered how in the world two people as different as these two could possibly be related.
“Yo, Quatre, where are your sisters?” Duo asked. Apparently, Duo still had a one-track mind.
Quatre was about to lie when Shinigami helpfully added, “Last I heard, the ladies whom you are referring to were off to the swimming pools.”
“Let’s go!” Duo cried, spinning off. Quatre barely had time to remind him to take his swim trunks with him before he bolted out the door.
“What about you?” Quatre asked Shinigami politely.
Just as politely, Shinigami said, “No, I think I would like to take a trip to the library instead. I need to catch up on the latest best-sellers.”
Both Quatre and Wufei gave each other meaningful looks. “I’ll go let the others know,” Wufei said, taking off his glasses.
Quatre looked back at Shinigami. “Well, I am on a reading break right now. Would you like I should show you the way?”
“I would be honoured,” Shinigami replied, smiling.
Quatre smiled back, and they both left for the library.
The first person they bumped into at the library was Trowa.
Trowa was holding a 10 feet pile of books in his arms. If he felt anything at all about the imbalance and the weight, he didn’t show it. He was standing at the counter, talking to the librarian.
“Hello, Trowa,” Quatre greeted his friend. Trowa didn’t seem to hear until Ms. Peacock, the pretty librarian, helpfully pointed out his friends. Trowa slowly shuffled around. “Where are they?” he asked. His pile of books were completely blocking his vision.
“Turn about 90º to the right,” Shinigami replied.
When Trowa again shuffled around, he greeted Quatre with a smile. When he looked at Shinigami, he said, “Nice to meet you. I am Trowa Barton,” and held out his hand.
Quatre rolled his eyes wide in surprise. How did Trowa know?
“Shinigami, Duo’s cousin from the colony,” Shinigami introduced himself, shaking Trowa’s hand. “You can call me Shin.”
Trowa smiled. Trowa and Shin were the same height. Trowa was secretly glad that there was finally someone for him to talk to without bending down his spine.
“Do you need help with that?” Shin asked courteously.
“No. I am fine,” Trowa replied, then hobbled on his way.
“That Trowa,” Ms. Peacock said, shaking her head. “He always tries so hard to help out at the library.” She pushed up her glasses.
Quatre smiled. Despite her thick-framed glasses, Quatre could tell that Ms. Peacock would look very nice without them. She was young, too. Behind her on the wall hung a banner with a pretty flower shape sewn in the middle. Quatre squinted. That workmanship looked very familiar….
He was interrupted in his thoughts when a loud crash! came from among the shelves. Shinigami and Quatre dashed over to see.
It was Trowa. He was sitting on the marble floor in a daze, books spread all about him on the floor. “What happened?” Quatre gasped.
Ms. Peacock ran over. “Are you alright, Trowa?” she asked concerned. She knelt down on the floor beside him and felt for any bumps on his head. Trowa blushed and tried to get up again but fell dizzily down.
“I…I’m not sure,” Trowa replied. Quatre began helping Trowa pick his books up while Shinigami speedily shelved them. “I think I slipped on something.”
As Quatre began picking up the books, something was ticking inside his head. Trowa wasn’t THAT clumsy. If anything, Trowa would probably be the last person on Earth to ever allow himself such a slip up, pardon the pun. Then what happened?
Shinigami gasped. “There’s a spot of blood on the bookshelf,” he said.
Everyone turned to look at the spot, then glanced back at Trowa.
Trowa chose just that moment to roll his eyes to the back of his head and fall over.
“He’s…he’s bleeding,” Ms. Peacock cried, panicked. Blood came out on her hand where she had contacted the back of Trowa’s head. “I will take him to the hospital. Will you boys stay here until I get back?”
Quatre and Shinigami nodded, and Ms. Peacock and another assistant helped to bring Trowa away.
“Whew, what a busy day,” Shinigami said, blowing his bangs out of his eyes.
Quatre nodded and looked down at the floor. Something caught his eye. Squinting, Quatre dropped down and bent over.
Tiny glass beads littered the floor where Trowa had been. There were about 30 of them scattered all over the floor.
Quatre frowned. Why wouldn’t anybody pick these up? It took him only another second to realize that the glass beads were only concentrated on a certain section of the floor, as if they had been spilled there…deliberately.
As if reading his mind, Shinigami said, “Who would play a nasty joke like that?”
“Yes, I wonder…,” Quatre pondered, eyebrows knitted together.
Duo was teaching Quatre’s sisters how to swim. It was hard, though, since they all came from deserts.
“So…does any of you have any experience with water?”
Quatre’s sisters looked at each other, confused. Despite the fact that they did not know how to swim, they sure knew how to pick out their bathing suits! All the males at the pool, not least of all Duo, certainly had an eyeful.
“Mmm…not really,” Wanda said. She stood in the water up to her waist. She was already the brave one. The rest of her sisters were standing behind her, water only up to their ankles.
“Oh, well, um….” Duo thought. How did he start out swimming? All he could remember was being thrown head-first into the water by Shinigami and taught to survive from there. “Well…we can start by putting our heads beneath the water!”
Quatre’s sisters all gazed and blinked at him. They looked at the chlorine water doubtfully. Quatrina curled a finger through her pigtail. That did it for him.
“Okay, well, let’s just bring out the pool toys then,” Duo sighed.
“Yay!” Quatre’s sisters all said. They dashed out of the pool and gathered up their floatation devices. They started unsuccessfully to blow the air into them.
“Here, lemme help ya,” Duo said, picking up one and giving it a big blow. 10 more of these deep breaths and he had blown up one.
“Thanks!” one of Quatre’s sisters said, and hopped in. Her pool toy was shaped like a giraffe.
The rest of Quatre’s sisters all gazed into the pool longingly.
As one, “Can you do mine?”
Duo looked at all the nozzles pointed like weapons towards him. “S…sure,” he said shakily.
Duo sat on a beach chair while all of Quatre’s sisters lined up to him. He was on his fifth one when an attractive blond with long hair came in. Duo didn’t notice as Quatre’s sisters were all in the way.
The girl looked back and forth from the pool to Duo. Then she came over.
Subtly shoving Quatre’s sisters out of the way, she came all the way up to Duo and stopped.
Duo looked up dizzily. Blowing up all those pool toys made him feel lightheaded. “Gah?” he asked, drool coming out of his mouth.
“You’re Duo, right? Nice to meetcha, I’m Summer (Re: Back to School Special Part 1).” She held out her hand.
Duo just looked at her hand dumbly, her action not registering. Mechanically taking up another pool toy, he started blowing again.
Summer Sanders looked incredulously at Duo, then indignantly at the rest of Quatre’s sisters. She “hmpf”ed and stomped off.
“What’s with her?” Wanda asked.
“Beats me,” Duo said, blowing again. He had about two
dozen more of these to do.
Somehow, Shinigami had obtained a copy of Duo’s school schedule, and was now attending all of Duo’s classes in place of Duo. The teachers didn’t appear to notice. If anything, they were just glad that “Duo” was there.
“Don’t you mind?” Quatre asked.
Shinigami shrugged. “Not really. Coming to Earth is all just a learning experience for me anyway. And I get to meet new people.”
Quatre nodded in understanding. Staying on a colony “can” be a little restrictive in the social department. No wonder Duo acted so crazy on Earth.
When Trowa had come back from the hospital, he had this HUGE bandage wrapped around his head. “Make sure he doesn’t do anything strenuous,” Mechs had instructed.
Naturally, when Trowa came back, he started shelving books twice as fast as before: to make up for the time he had lost. Ms. Peacock watched Trowa zipping and somersaulting away and got more than a little freaked out.
Meanwhile, Quatre was given the responsibility of showing Shin around the school and generally being a very good host. Shin appeared very perceptive and agreeable, and having Shin along made Quatre feel somewhat more secure. He wasn’t sure why.
Since Shin had nothing to do, Quatre invited him up to his room for some afternoon tea. When they reached Quatre’s expansive room, all of his sisters had left, of course, to go swimming with Duo. Quatre furrowed his brow. His sisters didn’t know how to swim. He hoped Duo was taking care of them well. Or not being bullied by them. Quatre shivered.
“So, Quatre, which door leads to your room?” Shinigami asked, curious.
“This is my room.”
Shinigami’s eyes goggled as he took in the entire suite. It covered almost an entire floor of the dorms. He whistled appreciatively. “I know Duo said you were rich, but he never said you were THAT wealthy.” Shin began poking around at Quatre’s stuff. Quatre wondered whether Shin was looking for something salvageable or not.
“Duo talks about me?” Quatre asked, flattered yet wondering exactly how much Duo had blabbed out.
“Uh, huh.” Shinigami seemed a little distracted as he began digging through the pillows. Quatre took this time to make some tea.
“And what does he say?” Quatre asked, coming back with a tray.
“Well, besides the fact that you’re a great cook and are really smart, he says you have 29 very attractive older sisters and you like something called a “woody-haired creature”.”
“I WHAT?!”
“I’m sorry, did I offend you?” Shinigami asked, quick to apology. One of the traits that he had inherited from the Maxwell family was, unfortunately, blabbing his mouth at the wrong time.
“No, I’m sorry,” Quatre said, heart pounding. “Let us have some tea, shall we?”
“Okay,” Shin said, sitting down. He let Quatre pour him his tea before he asked, “By the way, what’s this?”
Quatre looked over at the box that Shin was carrying. He gasped. That was…that was….
Shin looked at the box appreciatively. Salvaging junk for so long and separating the good stuff from the trash that Duo found immediately drew him to this ornate box in his hands. Shin opened it.
“No!” Quatre cried, jumping over and spilling the tea. They both fell to the ground as Shinigami got knocked over and the box opened, spilling its contents onto the floor. Shin rubbed the side of his head. “Ow….”
The box spilt was none other than…Quatre’s woody-haired creature box. In it was evidence of his woody-haired creature ex. Pictures, bits of hair, the comb that it supposedly used…. In other words, his most precious treasure.
Quatre quickly gathered up the photos and elastic-banded them together with an elastic that he had found conveniently close by. Then he dumped everything back into the box and went over to see if Shin was alright.
But Shin wasn’t there. Quatre gasped. All of a sudden, his woody-haired creature appeared right before his eyes!
Quatre bent down. “Are you okay?” he asked. He wondered where Shin was. Right when the woody-haired creature appears again, his only other witness disappears. How frustrating!
Shin rubbed his head. “I think you bumped my head a little too hard, Quatre.” Throughout that entire ordeal, he had somehow lost his hair tie. Shin began crawling on the floor, looking for it. His hair, by now, was completely loose from its braid.
“Oh, I am so sorry,” Quatre said, gently helping Shin up. Shin rocked back and forth for a moment and staggered over to the pillows, Quatre following closely behind. “Can I get you something? Some tea? Some biscuits maybe? Or how about a hot bath?”
“I’m alright, Quatre. Really, I am. Your hospitality to me already makes me feel very grateful.”
“Yes, but would you like a hot bath?”
Shin thought. “Well, now that you mention it, I haven’t been able to take a bath since landing on Earth the day before….”
Without word, Quatre immediately left and started pouring hot, steamy water into the bathtub. Boy, Shin thought. Duo had left out one thing while describing Quatre: he was a nice guy!
Duo was asleep on a beach chair. His lips were all parched and he curled up into a tiny ball. Quatre’s sisters were a little ways in the pool, floating around and having a complete blast. They splashed around in the shallow water and Summer Sanders, floating on her own seat a couple of meters away, got a sprinkle of water on her.
“Augh,” she said, a look of complete disgust on her face. “My perfect tan! Do you know how long it took me to apply that sunblock?!” she screeched.
Quatre’s sisters stopped in their game and stared at her.
“I’m sorry,” Quatrina said. “It was my fault. I have some more sunblock, if you wish….”
Summer “hmph”ed in indignation again and looked away. “Like I’d let your sunblock touch my sensitive skin,” she said.
“Hey…,” Quatrina began but Wanda hushed her. “Remember, we are guests here,” Wanda said. “We should act in dignity.”
Quatrina pouted and wandered away. Wanda turned back around and did a royal glare in Summer’s direction and followed after.
Summer’s yelling woke Duo up. He was half awake between dream and consciousness. “Another one? Sure, I’ll blow it up for you, hand it here,” Duo murmured, then slowly opened his eyes. Quatrina was standing right in front of him. She giggled.
“Hi, Duo, you want to play?”
Duo blinked several times. “You sure you don’t want a pool toy blown up?” he asked, licking his lips.
“No, silly. Come on,” she said, grabbing his hand. Duo let himself be dragged.
Duo stood at the edge of the pool and made a long, hard stretch. Then, without warning anybody, he canonballed into the pool. “Whoopeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”
The splash that Duo made reached so high that it landed on the building 10 floors up. People inside wondered if it was raining.
Of course, everyone at the pool became soaking wet. Least of all Summer.
“The nerve of you!” she screamed. “You should be banned from the pool! What right does a little slug like you deserve to be attending Relena’s Prestigious School of Pacifism?!”
Since Duo was underwater, he didn’t hear a thing that Summer said. After canonballing down, he realized that, underwater, he could catch a VERY good view of Quatre’s sisters’ legs. He held his nose and refused to surface. Summer’s voice bounced across the surface of the water, sounding like a warped toad.
Unfortunately, Wanda heard every word. “EXCUSE me,” she said, turning around and giving Summer ATTITUDE, “but I think that you should take a look at YOURSELF, before you start mouthing off my friends.” If Duo heard her words, he would have fainted with love right there. As he didn’t, Wanda just sounded like a warped frog.
“You call that THING a friend?” Summer rebutted. “Goes to show what taste in people YOU have.” Summer crossed her arms on her pool chair and sneered.
Wanda’s jaw dropped. She put her hands on her waist. “Well, at least I HAVE friends, unlike YOU.”
Quatre’s sisters all watched this elevating argument go back and forth. Once Wanda started, then, like a bull, she would go all the way. They climbed out of the pool. They had to get Trey. Only an authority figure could stop her now.
Duo looked at all the legs disappearing. Hey, no fun! Finally, he burst his head out of the water. If anyone was counting, Duo probably broke the world record for breath-holding. As it was, he was just really red. “Hey, babes, what’s up?” he asked.
Both Wanda and Summer glared at him, and their double force made him reconsider Heero’s glare and quickly decided that he would rather face Heero than them anytime. ANYTIME.
“Are you calling me a #@%*$?!”
“Yes, I am calling you a #@%*$, #@%*$!!!”
Duo watched frightened as the two females started tearing at each other’s hair. Summer had, by now, dropped into the pool. This was no fight for boys. Or anyone sane. Of course, Duo had never received an award for being sane.
Ducking himself below the water, Duo swam towards them like a submarine.
Quatre was waiting on Shinigami like, well, like a really close friend. Too close.
Shinigami was backed towards a bathroom wall as Quatre stood DIRECTLY in front of him, looking up prettily. He could practically smell the tea in Quatre’s breath.
Quatre’s long eyelashes fluttered as he blinked. “Well, are you ready for your bath?” he asked, smiling. He held a towel in his hands like a butler.
“Um…sure! You sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course I don’t!” Quatre answered immediately. He didn’t move.
Shinigami inched his way out from the wall. He swore he could hear a popping sound as he did. Quatre shuffled around and looked at him, much like a zombie. A smiling zombie with a head of blond hair and a vacant stare. Quatre was moving towards him again.
Shinigami began taking off his shirt. “Would you like me to put this somewhere?…”
“Oh, I’ll take it,” Quatre said quickly and snatched his shirt away. He stuffed it in his vest…to be put in a “special” box later.
Shinigami began taking off his pants, feeling Quatre’s stare on him the entire way. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Was it the Arabian way to be so attentive? Quatre snatched his pants away, too. “Um…thanks,” Shin said.
“You’re welcome,” Quatre replied. He tilted his head and smiled.
Seeing Quatre smile, Shin couldn’t help but smile back. Quatre smiled even wider.
Feeling as if his mouth was going to crack in two, Shin said, “Well, it looks like I’m going to be taking a bath now.”
“Yes, it does.” Quatre’s vest was practically bulging with the fabric of Shin’s clothing.
Shin shuffled out of his socks. Now, he was only in his underwear. Would he?…. Yes, Quatre indeed gathered up his socks. Wow. What a clean guy!
Shin was about to take off his underwear when he noticed Quatre still staring at him. He immediately snapped it back.
“Well, this is it,” Shin said.
Quatre nodded, happily agreeing with him.
“Mind if…mind if you turn around?” Shin asked, getting goosepimples.
Quatre blinked prettily. “Why?”
“Because…because I have real ugly scar on my butt and I don’t let anybody see it, not even Duo.” Shinigami mock laughed.
“Oh, really? Let me get you some ointment.” Quatre walked out of the room and Shin sighed, finally able to take off his underwear and slip into the tub. He began washing his hair.
Quatre came back, holding a tube of something. Watching Shin wash his hair, he immediately threw the tube over his shoulder and dashed over. “Oh, you musn’t.”
“Hmmm?”
Quatre kneeled down, placed Shin’s hands back in the tub, and started WASHING HIS HAIR FOR HIM.
“No, really, it’s okay,” Shin said, reaching his arms back up. Quatre slapped his hands away.
“Oh, I insist!” Quatre said excitedly, washing with emotion.
“Well…thank you,” Shin said, turning red.
“You’re welcome.”
Shin sank deeper into the tub and sighed. Quatre massaged his head gently, seeming to know exactly where to rub to bring the most relaxation. Shin had never experienced something so luxurious in a long time. He closed his eyes.
Quatre gazed down at his pretty woody-haired creature. He had never been so close to it before! Quatre’s innocent eyes took in the lustrous hair hanging softly in his hands, then at its face, its neck…. When Quatre reached its chest, he giggled. He continued washing.
The woody-haired creature appeared to have fallen asleep. Taking up his camera, Quatre snapped a quick picture (for proof), then took out a bar of soap. He was going to clean the woody-haired creature!
Duo had a couple of bruises on his face. He sat at a chair at the edge of the pool and sipped on a glass of lemonade. He gave up. Women were just too hard to handle.
Just then, the pool did lifeguard change. As the lifeguard climbed down from her chair, another took her place.
Duo’s eyes bugged. It can’t be….
The new lifeguard was wearing a rugged looking red tank top that rested comfortably on his well-maintained muscles. White shorts revealed long legs and a pair of shapely aquatic shoes. As the new lifeguard settled into his seat, his white hair blew gently in the wind.
“Pechs!”
The man who looked like Zechs looked up. Who was calling his name?
He looked down. A short boy with an incredibly long braid was jumping up and down like a Mexican bean, trying to reach up to him. Obviously, he couldn’t.
“Pechs, it’s me!” Duo said.
“Oh. Hi, Duo,” Pechs said. Pechs was pretty good with names. He never forgot anyone that he had met. Not even someone whom he had met at the beach last summer (Re: A Day At The Beach).
“What are you doing here?” Duo looked really happy.
At this, Pechs coughed uncomfortably. “Well, actually, my stint as a lifeguard back at the beach was going pretty well but, after rescuing…Relena, was it?…Relena invited me to become a part-time lifeguard at her school.”
“Pay well, huh?”
Pechs winced. “More than you’ll ever know.” Pechs looked around, scanning the premises. “Who are the ladies fighting?”
“Yeah, I was about to get to that part,” Duo said. “The better-looking one is Quatre’s older sister while the blond is some chick, I don’t remember her name.”
Pechs nodded. “Quatre’s sister know how to swim?”
At that, Duo looked over. He gasped. Wanda was being pushed by Summer steadily over to the deep end. Although Wanda thrashed, he could tell that she was visibly struggling. Wanda lost her footing.
In a flash, Pechs had dove into the pool and was now swimming in strong strokes towards Wanda. Wanda gasped, water bubbling from her mouth.
Pechs lifted Wanda out of the water, much like he did to Relena before. People at the edge of the pool clapped. Duo looked at Pechs in wonder. The man was incredible!
Pechs brought Wanda over to a pool chair and lay her down. Wanda coughed. “Wanda!” Duo cried.
“You alright?” Pechs asked gruffly.
Wanda nodded. She began to cry. “Oh, I thought I was going to be dead! Then, I’d never get to see my little brother get married!” She covered her face with her hands.
Duo patted Wanda on the head. “Don’t worry,” Duo blabbed. “Even if you did die, I doubt Quatre’ll ever get married anyway.” Realizing what he just said, Duo quickly clamped his hands above his mouth.
Too late. With one huge kick, Pechs sent Duo flying into the pool. He knocked into Summer, sending her tumbling back into the water again. They made a really loud splash.
Just then, Trey walked in, with all of Quatre’s sisters. Quatrina ran over to Wanda to see if she was all right.
Trey blinked, water splashed all over his nice clothes. The entire pool became silent.
Then Trey laughed. His jolly laughter filled his surroundings and people around him began to laugh along too. “Well, I’m glad everyone is all right,” Trey said, wiping his face with a kerchief.
“Sorry, my fault sir,” Pechs said, walking over.
“Mechs?” Trey asked, looking Pechs up and down. He raised an eyebrow.
“No, sir. My name is Pechs. I’m the new lifeguard.”
“Oh. Well, of course, of course,” Trey answered, smiling. The two adults shook hands. This didn’t last long as Trey looked around, then spotted Duo. “Duo,” he began.
“Yep?” Duo sputtered, climbing out of the pool.
“Shouldn’t you be in class?”
Duo’s eyes widened. Then he scampered away, hair still completely wet and in his trunks. He made wet smacking sounds as his feet smattered on the hallway.
Trey shook his head. Him and Pechs both laughed.
Shin could feel someone massaging him. He slowly peeled open his eyes.
Why did he have 4 arms? It took him only a second to realize that half the arms weren’t his.
Shinigami gasped and flung himself out of the tub. Quatre, with his arms reaching into the pool and sleeves rolled up, looked up at him innocently. A soap sud was stuck on the end of his nose.
“Aaah…,” Shinigami said, embarrassed. It wasn’t until Quatre started staring at his nether regions that Shinigami realized he was naked. He flung a towel over himself and shook out his head. “Wow, what a great bath!” he said, looking for his clothes.
“Really?” Quatre smiled, pleased. “Then why don’t you take another one?”
“Oh, I am just fine, for now. Sorry to have bothered you, but I think I will be going on my way.” He walked about the bathroom aimlessly, searching for his clothes. Where had Quatre put them?
Just then, Duo slammed open the door. “Ah, there you are, Shin! I’ve been looking all over for you….” Duo’s voice died down as he took in Quatre’s bedroom. Practically all of Shin’s clothes were flung onto the sofa while Shin himself was naked in Quatre’s bathroom…with Quatre. For the first time ever, Duo was speechless.
“Let me explain, cousin,” Shin said, quick mind figuring it out.
“You,” Duo said, pointing at Quatre, “are going to die!”
Quatre seemed absolutely delighted at seeing Duo. “Look, Duo!” he cried, pointing at Shinigami. “The woody-haired creature!”
Duo’s eyes wandered over to Shin’s. Shin shrugged. “I thought that it was just Arabian hospitality.” Shin screwed up his eyes. “What woody-haired creature?”
Duo, taking out his package of extra elastics, came up to Shin and started braiding his hair for him.
“Cousin. It’s still wet.”
“Hold still!”
Shin immediately obeyed. Although he was older than Duo by a few years, sometimes, when Duo was acting serious (for once), one should just listen.
When Shin’s hair was rebraided (Duo added about 5 extra elastics, just to make sure), he picked up Shin’s clothes and dragged Shin out of the room, regardless of Shin still wearing a towel. “I will deal with you later!” Duo screamed at the confused looking Quatre. Then they left.
Quatre sat alone in his bathroom. He began tidying up. Why was Duo mad at him? Hadn’t he seen the woody-haired creature with his own eyes, already? What more proof did he need?
Quatre sighed. He began draining the tub. Then he giggled. He still had a picture of the woody-haired creature in his bathtub.
The murderer cried in frustration. A member of the ex-gundam pilots had almost been killed today. So had another of their party, a female. If something didn’t happen soon, then the ex-gundam pilots would be leaving the school unscathed, and then the murderer’s great plan would be left unfinished. All that was left was to target either the one with black hair or the one with the braid. Either one would be enough.
The murderer was getting desperate. Something needed to happen soon, very soon….
=P
End Part 5