1998
The ball teetered on the rim of the basket, circumnavigating it several times before finally falling through the hoop.
"Yes!" Duo whooped, jumping ecstatically as he caught the bouncing basketball with one hand. He threw the ball at one of the five boys who'd invited him for a game and took his position for a three-on-three. It wasn't often that he had a chance to forget that he wasn't a normal schoolboy, and he'd be damned if he didn't get the most out of it now.
Wufei had disappeared early that morning without waking him. He had woken up to an empty room and had spent most of the morning in bed, preparing for what promised to be a long and sleepless night. He had contemplated staying in the room for the rest of the day, but his rumbling stomach got the best of him and he roused himself just in time for a late lunch.
Which was good in a way, as there weren't many students in the school's dining hall, thus allowing him to keep to himself. Even then, he could see that he attracted some attention from the few students that were there. But no one approached him, preferring to keep a respectable distance from the 'new student' even as they scoped him out.
After lunch, he'd retired back to his room, intending to sleep some more but by then, word had spread and several knocks on his door had revealed a very eager student population hoping to make his acquaintance. The first few had been small groups of boys whose expressions ranged from disbelief/disappointment ('I told you he's a guy!') to open welcome ('The game's at five. See you there!'), much to Duo's amusement.
After that, the knocks had been more frequent and, over the next few hours, Duo felt like he'd met the entire female population of the school. Not that he was complaining, Duo thought as he flopped bonelessly on the bed. He enjoyed chatting with girls as much as the next guy, but Wufei had missed all the fun. But then again, the longhaired boy mused, Wufei probably couldn't handle it.
Duo lolled on the bed, thankful that no more knocks resounded from the other side of the door. He probably had met the entire student population that was in school at the moment. After all, the weekend wasn't over and many of the students were still on home leave. One of the perks of having a home to go to.
Duo sighed, not liking the turn his train of thought had taken. The silence of the room roared in his ears, even as the bright late afternoon sun pierced his eyes, making him squint as he gazed towards the window. This was the reason he didn't like - never liked - being alone. It made his mind wander. And when it did, it always went in the wrong direction and took the paths to the memories he didn't like. He'd never really been alone, come to think of it, Duo thought as he turned to lie on his stomach, propping his chin on the back of his hands as he watched the dust motes dance in the air, limned by the sunlight.
Not physically, anyway.
As a child, he'd had his gang, then he'd had Father Maxwell and the church. After that, the sweepers and later Dr. G had taken him under his wing. The times that he had been alone he couldn't really remember clearly. And those memories, from before he knew Solo and after Father Maxwell and Sister Helen died, were not ones that he'd particularly savored. They were best forgotten.
Loneliness only really made itself felt when he was with Dr. G. When he had to undergo the scientist's training to pilot Deathscythe, and to be L2's agent for Operation Meteor. When he had to forget that he was human and an individual. When he had to learn to trust no one. Duo smiled, somewhat ruefully.
I guess Dr. G's training failed, he thought.
"Now, Heero, on the other hand..."
Duo flipped over on his back and stared unseeing at the ceiling. Heero was so different from him. When he'd first met the darkhaired boy, Heero had been so quiet, but the flashing blue eyes had spoken volumes. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that Heero wanted to kill him. At this, the longhaired boy smirked. Heero probably did. But he didn't... Duo frowned slightly, wondering why. Heero had had a lot of chances to do it, if he really wanted to. And Duo knew he got on the shorthaired boy's nerves enough -no, more than enough - to warrant Heero shooting him in the head. But...
"But I'm still breathing," Duo whispered with a soft huff.
Sighing, Duo picked himself up off the bed, sauntering over to stand by the window. Outside, there were a few - very few, he noted - students walking, enjoying the fine weather. Duo continued gazing, not really seeing anything but just skimming over whatever his eyes lit on. He wondered whether he had ever missed growing up normally. Or just plain growing up. Wrinkling his face into a small moue of mock disgust, Duo stuck his tongue out at his reflection in the glass. "You, my dear Duo Maxwell," the boy smirked at the faint reflection, "were born grown up." And that was true, he felt as he turned abruptly, tugging at his clothes. He couldn't remember ever being a child. Even with Solo, he'd never really thought of playing or other things children his age then should be doing. Then, it was a question of survival. There was no time for games. Until the orphanage, of course. That had been his first real chance at a normal childhood - as normal as a fatherless and motherless child could have, anyway. But it had gone too soon...
Duo stiffened slightly, remembering. "Oh stop it, Maxwell. Stop all this self-pity shit," he scolded himself. "Nobody wants to listen to that. Not even yourself, so just shut up." Then, giving a small, agitated shake of the head, the longhaired boy pulled at a white T-shirt and a pair of dark biker shorts. If being alone made him remember, then he bloody well refused to be alone, the boy grumbled to himself as he walked out of the room.
"I got it! I got it!" Duo cried, reaching for the ball as it bounced off the hoop. And he would have, as he jumped to intercept the incoming ball, if one of the boys from the opposite team did not choose that very moment to jump right in front of him.
"Oof!" he cried, crashing into the bigger boy's body and falling flat to the ground. "Aiyah! Watch where you're jumpin', ne?" Duo groaned, sitting up slowly. Strange, the world seemed to be dancing...
"Oi," a gruff voice asked in a worried tone.
"Huh?" Duo looked up into the speaker's - the boy he crashed into, he recalled - face, slightly dazed.
"You okay?" The speaker's face moved in and out of focus as Duo blinked several times until the boy's image finally decided to stand still. "You okay?" the boy repeated, sounding a little more than slightly worried.
"Uh..yeah," Duo grunted, struggling to stand.
"Here," the other boy said, extending an arm. Duo gripped the offered forearm and promptly pulled himself up, briefly remembering a similar action in an entirely different situation.
"Thanks...uh...what was your name again?" the longhaired boy asked somewhat sheepishly.
"Kenichi - just call me Ken," the boy grinned brightly.
Great! He just had to have a Japanese name...
The solidly-built blonde stood several inches taller than him, Duo realised as he steadied himself. But he seemed like a nice enough guy...
"Damn! Ow..Oh shit!" Duo muttered, as a shooting pain suddenly lanced up his right leg. Of all the bloody times to get a sprained ankle...
"Why? What's wrong?" Ken asked, worry once more edging his voice. The other boys had stopped their game and began to mill around the two of them.
"I think I twisted something," Duo winced as another sharp pain shot up his leg when he tried putting weight on his right foot. "Heh!" he grinned crookedly at the other boys, "guess I have to sit the game out, ne?"
"Ah," Ken nodded. "Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary," he offered. "Can't have a proper game with five people, anyway," he chuckled as he waved the other boys off. Putting his arm around Duo's slight waist, he made to support the longhaired boy when he realised that the other had stiffened noticeably.
"Hey, anything wrong, Solo?"
Duo started at the question, slightly off-balanced by the name he'd assumed for this particular mission. "Uh..no. Let's go," he muttered, trying to relax as he leaned slightly on Ken's stolid frame but hating every minute of it. Come on, Duo. This is nothing, nothing, nothing. Stop being so paranoid, he thought to himself. He hadn't realised that he'd been holding his breath when he felt the other boy's arm go around him. It's been so long, he thought bitterly as they made their way slowly through empty school corridors. He shouldn't even remember it anymore, much less react to an innocent touch like that. Damn! He should have paid more attention to Dr. G's sessions on self-hypnotism...
"Okay...That should do it," the nurse smiled as she put the finishing touches to the elastic bandage. "Just don't put too much weight on that for a few days."
"Hai," Duo grinned back. "Anything you say, ma'm."
The nurse chuckled before continuing. "If it starts to swell too much, come back and I'll see what I can do, Mr. Maxwell."
"Ano...Just...just Solo, if you don't mind, ojousan," Duo blushed. "The mister tag makes me feel so old," he whispered exaggeratedly, winking at a grinning Ken.
"Oh? And I suppose that's supposed to make me feel younger?" the nurse retorted with a mock glare.
"Eh..eh...Iie, iie!" Duo sweatdropped, waving his hands before him. "Ish..I'm losing my touch," he muttered to himself.
"No, Solo-kun," the nurse smiled. "You flirt well. Just pick someone your own age, ne?" she laughed, swatting a sheepish Duo lightly on the head. "Go get some rest," she motioned towards the door.
"Hai," Duo grinned back. "Domo arigatou, ojousan," he bowed slightly before Ken helped him out. "And you do look my age!" he sang out as he disappeared out of the door.
The nurse shook her head slightly, amused and, strangely enough, flattered. "Youngsters nowadays," she clucked as she sat at the terminal to type in her report. After a few minutes of browsing through the student records, she frowned.
"Strange..." she muttered softly. Glancing back at the clipboard, she entered the name into the computer again. Again, the databank gave the same answer it did several times before.
Solo Maxwell did not exist.
End Part Three
Shirin
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