|
"Honor Betrayed"Written By: Yanagi Disclaimer: I do not own or hold any rights to
[Gundam Wing]. Those rights belong to Bandai, Sunrise, and the Sotsu
Agency. These fan fictions were written for fun, not profit. However,
this story does belong to me. Please don’t snitch it. Warnings: the usual Pairings: 1x2 But it's Wufei centric [very] Beta note: I think the days in the trip to Shanghai
are messed up. They fly east so they'd arrive in late
afternoon/early evening and Yet another note: There are a lot of FAQ at the
end of the epilogue.
"Honor Betrayed " Chapter 9 They were half way through their pizza when two policemen came in, walked straight to the table and told Wufei to put down his pizza and turn around. He just looked at them for a moment then turned to Duo. Duo didn't even bother to get up. He just pulled his badge wallet out and flipped it open. They stared. Then one of the officers said, “We need to talk to you. Something's going on. We were told that there was a war criminal here, Chinese guy. So we came over to the only Chinese guy in the place. But, now that I look at you, you're way too young. So ... someone's going to jail and it ain't you.” Duo finished his piece of pizza, offered the officers a seat and waited until they found chairs and sat down. He included Joe, Adam and Olaf in one glance then faced the officers. “This goes no farther than this table without consulting either me or Chang.” All heads nodded in agreement. “There's actually two war criminals at this table. Me and Chang. But that's neither here nor there as I received a pardon and Chang served his time. I'm a Preventer and he's on reserve. Do not ask what that means.” He gave a very pointed look to the officer who'd opened his mouth to do just that. “So ... what the deal is, is this. That guy...” Duo nodded his head in the direction of the offending server. “has some kind of bone to pick, but he's to chicken to just up and deal with it. Go talk to him, and deliver a message.” One officer nodded, the other just glowered at their suspect. “If he causes anymore trouble for either one of us, he'll answer to Preventers ... in the person of either of the three of us that gets to him first. And he'd better hope it's not me. Got that?” “Yes, I got it. Excuse us, we have an idiot to talk to.” Both officers got up and cornered the man, arrested him, spoke to the manager then dragged their prisoner out the door. The whole arcade broke into whispers and stares. Duo sighed, “We need to leave?” Joe shook his head. “No. They're all probably glad that Creepy Pete got fired at last. He bothers the girls and insults people all the time. I just want to know who he was fucking or blackmailing to stay here. I bet someone comes over to find out what happened. What do we say?” Wufei just shrugged, then calmly said, “Nothing. If they ask me I'll tell them the truth. Duo will too. You guys just say that you don't gossip. It'll make things easier in the long run.” Adam grinned, “Ok. That's fine with me.” He looked at his watch. “Shit! I'm gonna be late to work.” He glanced at Wufei. “I got a job with the Geek Squad, day after I got my drivers license. Gotta go.” with that he left for his job. The other two hung around, finishing up the pizza and their drinks. They were finally rewarded when a group of about six kids came over. They pushed one girl toward them and someone hissed, “You got the short straw, we agreed ... so ask.” Duo just smiled at the girl, who looked to be about fourteen or so. “What's the question?” “Um ... Creepy Pete. Is he gonna come back? Cause if he is, our dad's ain't gonna let us come back. He's a jerk.” Duo snickered a bit at that. “Oh, shit! Not my dad, Pete.” The girl turned bright red. Duo considered for a moment. “Probably not. Here's an idea. Why don't you tell your dad that Pete got arrested right in the arcade and ask him why he doesn't complain to the owner about it. That ought to get him fired. Especially if a bunch of dads call. Ya think?” The girl nodded, wide eyed and blushed even more when Duo winked at her. She whirled around and scurried back to her friends exclaiming, “There! I did it ... and he winked at me!” all the other girls squealed then they all rushed off, some of them already reaching for their phones. Wufei sighed, “And that's all I can stand. We'll come back some other time. Right, Duo?” Duo nodded. “I'll mail you all and we'll decide on some day when we can all get together, Yuy too. Ok?” There was general agreement that this was a good idea. As they separated to go their different ways, Joe caught Wufei's eye. He just looked at Wufei for a moment then ducked his head. Wufei put a hand on his shoulder, “Thank you. You were more help than I think you'll ever really know. You're a good friend. Especially to someone you barely know.” Joe nodded, met Wufei's eye again and whispered, “Don't mention it. I really mean that. What I saw gave me the willies. Never want to think about it again. What kind of men are they?” “Animals. Not men. And they're going to be removed from society permanently. By Preventers. Now ... I've got to go.” With that they all left, heading to their various homes and concerns. Wufei got into the drivers seat of the Hummer and held out his hand for the keys. Duo just handed them over without comment and enjoyed the drive. Wufei drove without comment for a while then said, “I've been asked to teach an evening class. I agreed then realized that I should have checked with you and Heero first.” “Don't worry. As soon as you see that shrink for the first time, I'm sure Une will loosen up a bit.” “That's good, but ... um ... I also offered your services as assistants ... to me. You or Heero that is, who ever accompanied me.” “'Fei, don't sweat it. That's just about the most incoherent sentence I've ever heard out of you. It'll be fine. I like teaching and so does Heero. We're always having to take on a class or two. Advanced students, true, but still. I wonder what it'll be like teaching a different class of student.” “Well, as you'll only be my assistant, not that hard. And this bunch is supposed to be junior students. But, as it's the Yang dojo, I have no idea what he considers junior. I'd really like it to be a class of absolute beginners. I've always wanted to teach one.” “Well, hope springs eternal, ya know.” And with that Duo leaned back in the seat and just closed his eyes. They got home just in time to see Heero drag a ladder out of the back of a huge truck. He looked up, grinned like mad and motioned them over. They hurried to get out of the Hummer and get to Heero. “What's up?” Duo gave Heero a quick hug. “I just dropped the word around that I was going to be so broke this month...just like you suggested. Daniels asked why, so I just told the truth. Une heard, somehow ...” Heero grinned at Duo's snicker. “So, she said that I could have some of the outdated stuff that was just going for parts anyway. And then Michaels heard and wanted his newbie crew to get some experience so they're going to do the actual installation, I have to approve everything before they'll pass the course. So, we've got it made. And not a penny out of anyone's pocket.” “Sweet! Man, I told you ... all you gotta do is tell the truth and look hopeful.” Duo went to check the contents of the truck. “This is excellent. I'll admit that I'll sleep better. Not that I haven't been sleeping exceptionally well recently. I've slept better with you two in the house than I have in three years. And I have something to tell ... or ask you.” Heero just started pulling papers out of his pockets and handing them to people. “I'm listening.” So Wufei explained what he'd done just like he had with Duo. Heero simply nodded his head. “That sounds like a good idea. One or the other of us will be glad to be available unless we have a mission. Now, I want you to go inside and decide where you want the control panel. I'd suggest one on the wall on the ground floor right by the elevator inside and out and the master on the fourth floor somewhere.” Wufei agreed with him and went to do as he asked. They spent the rest of the evening installing sensors on the doors and the few windows in the building. When the work was done, Wufei asked Daniels, the instructor for the group, to gather the class in the garage. He did and Wufei got up on the loading dock so everyone could see him. “Thank you all for doing this. Please, come up for some coffee.” He smiled at them. “I made it already and sneaked down to the bakery for doughnuts.” There was a general cheer from the class of ten and a surge towards the elevator. Daniels got to the elevator before the class and had them all take off their footwear, explaining that the house went by the Japanese system. No one seemed to mind, although one man remarked that he was glad he'd put on new socks. There was some laughter and they all crowded into the elevator to go up. Heero blocked Wufei from the rest of the group without making a big deal of it. Wufei offered him a somewhat sheepish grimace and leaned into the corner. They all got off at the third floor to see that Wufei had set everything up on the dinning room table there. Duo had laughed himself silly when he'd first seen it. It was nearly ten feet long and four and a half wide. Wufei had laughed back and said that it made a good war table for planning big projects. Now It was covered with doughnuts, coffee cups, cream and sugar bowls, plates and utensils. A huge coffee pot sat at one end, steaming gently. Wufei whispered to Heero, “I borrowed the pot from the bakery too. We need to get it back tonight.” Heero just nodded and reached for a lemon curd filled Bismarck. The small group lined up politely and helped themselves to coffee and doughnuts. Wufei settled between the open display and the wall near the table with Duo right beside him. He was having a bit of trouble with so many strange men in his 'space' but he was dealing with it well enough. “Hi! I'm Jason. Great place. How'd you find it?” Wufei looked at the friendly smile and forced himself to smile back. “In a mess. It was a warehouse. But I like the neighborhood and it was cheap, especially for the size. The floors are original.” “Wow! You hire people in or do it yourself?” “I hired in. Really made some friends for myself. This area is really depressed and they can use all the income they can get. More coffee?” Wufei offered, he'd noticed that Jason was looking into his cup. “I'm trying to decide. It's really good, but it's late enough at night that I might be up all night.” “Well, feel free to help yourself.” Jason wandered away and Wufei realized that he had ten more conversations to get through. Every one of these men and women was going to stop to speak to him. He found that it wasn't as dismaying as he'd though it might be. Everything went well until the fourth or fifth person. This guy, the over achieving dunderheaded type, finally got a good look at Wufei and yelped, “You're him, that Chang guy! Freeze, you're under arrest.” He grabbed for Wufei, who pulled away instinctively. Then all hell broke loose. Duo shouted at the newbie to shut up. Wufei backed into another man who jumped out of the way, not about to even try to grab a gundam pilot. Heero grabbed the newbie and dragged him off Wufei. Daniels charged into the middle of all this and shouted, “Shut up! All of you pipe down!” Everyone quieted at once. Daniels had his people line up at parade rest by simply snapping, “Pa-raid! Hut!” He eyed the people then looked at Heero. “Ok, Yuy, what the hell?” Heero, who'd been halfway across the room, replied, “I have no idea. That guy grabbed Chang so I got involved.” “I see. Ok, you, ..” He got in the man's face and read his name tag. “Oswald. What the hell is going on? We come here to help out a guy and you attack him and try to arrest him? Are you nuts? And you don't have the authority to make an arrest yet. Maybe never at this rate. Talk!” Oswald stuttered and stammered and finally managed to tell Daniels that he had studied old arrest warrants and Chang was on several. Daniels just swore for a moment. Then announced to the whole room, “And that's why we discourage that particular pass time. If you'd done research ... that you'll learn how to do next year ... you'd have found out that Chang is absolved of all past charges due to serving out his sentence. And, if some people have their way, his record will be expunged.” He eyed Oswald for a moment. “You're on report. Apologize to Chang and get out.” Oswald mumbled something, nodded in Wufei's general direction and scrambled for the elevator. Wufei just glowered at the elevator door until a woman exclaimed, “Damn him! Talk about a buzz kill.” Wufei shook himself and turned to Duo to whisper, “Work some of your social magic. There's no reason for everyone else's good time to be spoiled. I'll go fiddle with the table.” He moved to the middle of the dining area and started checking the coffee pot, which still had plenty in it, re-arranging the doughnuts, and making sure that there was still creamer and sugar. He re-stacked the napkins then nearly jumped out of his skin when a motherly voice asked, “You ok, honey? That ass is in for it big time. We'll all shun him now. He's caused enough trouble with his jumping to conclusions” Wufei eyed the napkin he held for a moment, then said, “I'm fine, I think. He really just startled me. Under arrest with two Preventers Special Agents standing right there? What was he thinking?” A deep voice said, from over his head, “That he'd make a name for himself. Idiot.” Duo's cheerful voice announced from Wufei's other side. “He did make a name for himself. And you just said it. I'd have liked to see him really try to arrest Wufei.” Wufei shook his head and said in an amused voice that he didn't have to force. “No, you wouldn't. You're the one who'd have to get the blood out of the flooring.” Duo moaned dramatically, “Heero would help. Right?” He turned a sparkling look on Heero who snorted, “Don't think so. Wufei can make a real mess when he's pissed enough.” Wufei laughed softly, “Well, I'm not pissed so, I'd probably just have broken a finger. I hate being touched by strangers.” The woman, who'd been about to hug him, backed off, exclaiming, “Oh, shit! Sorry.” Wufei turned to her, bowed, held out a hand and announced, “I am Chang Wufei, pleased to make your acquaintance Miss Jones.” and, making an effort that no one but Duo and Heero recognized, hugged her. It was a bit awkward but Jones didn't mind, she just hugged him letting go quickly enough that he didn't feel trapped. “Well, after that, you should call me Maggie. Now, one more doughnut to totally spoil my diet and I have to get home to study for that wiring test tomorrow.” So everything settled down and they all went back to socializing. Wufei realized something, most of these people knew who he was and couldn't have cared less. It made him feel ... safe was the only word he could think of. Safe and free. He glanced at the clock and realized that it was nearly 10:30. He stationed himself by the elevator door, a subtile hint that people should start going home. This was when he was treated to the Western tradition of 'helping out'. He was astonished when Daniels shook his hand, announced that he'd better get home to the wife and kiddies before he had to sleep on the couch and casually mentioned that Helen, Maggie and David were going to stay to help clean up. Wufei glanced at Duo who just nodded at him. He thanked Daniels for his help and said goodnight. This process was repeated for all the other guests except for Helen and Maggie, who asked where the kitchen was. Wufei glanced at their hands, which were full of plates and sliver ware. “Next floor up.” Duo shouted, “Hold the elevator. I've got the pot and David is coming with all the cups.” Wufei obeyed him and waited to pull the gate down until they were all on board. He pushed the button that closed the outer doors and they glided up to the next floor smoothly. Duo put the pot in the sink, then turned to the two ladies. “Here, give me that. You helped now shoo. It's getting late and you ... you do have a ride, right?” Heero turned from setting the alarm. “They're leaving already? I'll have to shut off the alarm.” Maggie laughed, “No, we're not leaving. We're helping. And I drove. I'll be taking Helen home with me. We live in the same building.” Helen, meanwhile, had been busily putting left over doughnuts in an airtight container. She turned a bit and asked, “Where do you want these? There's only a dozen left.” Heero pointed to the spot where the breakfast bar met the wall. “Right there. No sense putting them anywhere else.” They got all the cups, plates and silverware into the dish washer and the pot cleaned up. Heero started to carry it to the elevator but David stopped him. “Here, let me. I know the bakery you got this from. It's only a block out of my way.” Heero started to object but David said, “Look, dude, I have to get out anyway. No sense in you having to mess with it.” Wufei nodded, said, “I would be very grateful. Thank you so much.” with that, he bowed then turned to finish wiping down the counters. David took the pot, Heero took him down in the elevator to shut the doors after him and thanked him. He shut the door when David finally drove his car out. After locking up, Heero went back up, checked that everything was active and followed Duo to bed. Wufei laughed softly. He was very glad that he'd insisted on internal insulation and some sound proofing. . Wufei woke with a sigh, today was Tuesday and his first appointment with Dr. Havram. He was sure that Une would check to see that he kept all his appointments. He didn't plan on skipping any either. He showered and combed his hair carefully. He parted it into three and braided it. He put the elastic around the end then clicked his tongue with annoyance. The braid was just as bad as he'd feared. He wandered out into the kitchen and saw that Duo was making coffee with a doughnut hanging from his mouth. “Maxwell, eat that and let me.” He took the coffee from Duo, dumped some into the brewing basket and turned on the pot. “After you're done with that, will you fix my braid for me. I'd really like it straight. No sense in letting the doctor think I'm not taking proper care of myself.” “Sure. When's your appointment?” “10:30. I'm just going to have breakfast then sit around and read until it's time to go. You taking me?” Duo made a face. “Can't. Heero just got a call, we've got a mission. You'll be driving yourself.” Wufei couldn't help the little smile. He liked driving himself, but was well aware that he was still on a tight leash. “I'll go to my appointment then the store, after that I'll come back here and work on one of the swords. I'm just about done with the tsuka I'm working on. All I have to do is finish the tsukamaki and put the kashiri on. I'll let it rest before I put the blade on.” “That's great. I know you felt bad about not getting those done when you said you would, but I think the old guy understands.” “That old guy is one of the best martial artists I've ever met. Be more respectful.” Duo laughed. “Or he'll kick my ass. Ok. Shigung? But I'm not one of his students.” Wufei considered that for a moment. “I think so. You're going to be helping me so it's appropriate.” Just then Heero came out of their room with both their war bags in his hand. “We need to go. Contact in 30.” Duo just nodded, took the thermal cups of coffee Wufei had fixed and headed for the elevator. Wufei watched them go, scowling. He didn't want to go with them and he wished they didn't have to go. But they'd chosen this way of life so who was he to argue? But he did feel a slight pang. What if...what if something went wrong? He shook this away and went to find a book. . “Welcome, Mr. Wufei.” The doctor stood and held out his hand to shake. Wufei, offended already by the misused of his name, bowed deeply and settled in the chair across the desk from the doctor. “Dr. Havram, a pleasure. I am, however, not Mr. Wufei, but Mr. Chang. My people always put the family name first. Have I filled out some form wrong?” Dr. Havram looked a bit put out, examined his form then said, “I think my secretary did it wrong. I beg your pardon.” Wufei just said, “Ah.” and sat waiting for the doctor to do something. “Mr Chang, you're not being very cooperative.” Dr. Havram seemed to think that Wufei should know what was going on. “I'm waiting for you to start ... something. I have no idea.” Wufei settled back more comfortably. “And this chair is very hard.” “Is this the way you acted in therapy at Alcatraz? You ...” He stopped speaking when Wufei just shook his head. “You didn't get any concealing or therapy?” Wufei's face hardened into a stony expression. “If being fucked by the social worker is therapy, I did.” Dr. Havram looked horrified. “Nowhere near. So, you have no idea what to do, say or feel?” Wufei just shrugged. And with that, Dr Havram began explaining what the process was and what he hoped to accomplish. Wufei listened calmly, holding onto this calmness with grim determination. The doctor finished by saying, “This is going to be a long drawn out process, but I have high hopes that we'll manage. You're a very strong young man. I could give you an antidepressant but I don't feel that, with the history of forced drug abuse, that would be advisable. There's a tea that works quite well.” Wufei brightened, “That would be acceptable. And there's a tea, Chinese Herbology is one of the things I was trained in, that is considered to be efficacious. And I liked the taste.” “Excellent. I'm sorry we got off to a bad start, but I do think we will work well together. What I'd like you to do before the next session is write down what you hope to accomplish. Now, our hour is up. But do send me the recipe for that tea. I need to write it in your record and I do want to make sure that it's not ... er ... granny medicine.” He wrote on a plain piece of paper. “And here's the scrip for the tea I mentioned. You can get it filled at the same Chinese Herbologist that you get your preferred tea from. Try either one for a week, then the other. We'll see which one works best for you.” Wufei nodded, stood and bowed. “I'll send you the scrip as soon as I get home. And I'll start on the ... what could we call it. An essay?” The doctor just laughed softly. “Perhaps a dream list? Good day.” Wufei bowed again and left, feeling as if this was really going to work.
Wufei got home, dropped his truck in the garage then walked to the Herbologist. He preferred waking in the neighborhood, it made him feel better. He realized that the Herbologist was just across the street from the front of the dojo when he walked around the corner onto the street. He ambled down the block, admiring the garden and the store fronts. This area wasn't called Little Shanghai for nothing. He blessed his ancestors again for leading him to the warehouse. This was a perfect place for him to build a life. He blinked for a moment. Where had that come from? He entered the shop, smiling a bit at the bright jingle of the bell over the door. The shopkeeper called, “Be right there.” Wufei chuckled a bit, wondering if he even realized that he'd spoken in Mandarin. Not that it bothered Wufei, he spoke Mandarin, Cantonese and Taiwanese. “Hello. Take your time. I'm in no hurry.” Wufei drew in a deep breath and sighed, he'd always loved the smell of such a place. It was a mixture of herbs, spices, and incense. He decided to buy some incense to help his meditations. The shopkeeper came out of the back, wiping his hands on a damp cloth. “Well, now, what can I do for you.” Wufei handed over his scrips. Reading the kanji on the clerks jacket he said, “Wu-boshi, I need these filled please.” “Ah! Yes, let me see.” He took the scrips and examined them. He raised worried eyes to Wufei's face. “These shouldn't be taken together. Also, I'd like to know why you have a Western scrip and a Chinese one. Very unusual.” “I'm undergoing therapy for ... things I'd rather not tell you about. The Chinese prescription is an old family one and my therapist likes the Western prescription. We decided that I should take one for a week then switch to the other, to see which one is more helpful to me. Do you have any preferences or advice?” Wu-boshi looked at the scrips and made that noise between a hum and a groan that meant he was thinking. “Well, I need to ask you some questions and examine you before I can give advice on a proper medicine. Would it be rude to ask if I could call your therapist?” Wufei didn't see any reason to refuse so he gave the phone number and name of Dr Havram readily. He wandered the store, gathering the incense he wanted and a tin of Tiger Balm. He sniffed at a bottle of lotion but the hot smell told him it wasn't for him. “Young Chang, come be examined.” The Boshi's laughing voice called him from his contemplation of a tin of green tea. “Yes, I'm here.” He followed the doctor when he gestured toward the back of the shop. When he ducked under the half curtain, Wufei realized that the back was half examination room and half storage. The whole area was excruciatingly clean so he felt no reluctance to be examined here, but he felt it necessary to warn the doctor. “I will warn you that I'm rather badly scared.” The doctor just waved a hand and said, “Please.” So Wufei took off his shirt and started to drop his pants but the doctor said, “That won't be necessary everything I need to see is above the waist. So ... umm ... yes ... humm.” Wufei endured the poking and prodding with stoic patience, even though he wanted to squirm. “Well, that's an impressive collection of scars. And I think ... yes ... apply this cream to each scar twice a day. Most of them will fade within the year. This tea that the Western doctor has prescribed isn't the right one for you. Your humors are cool, the tea is hot. In your condition, you need to match your tea to your humor. So ... I'm going to call him back and speak to him. Excuse me. Oh ... you may get dressed.” Wufei had finished buttoning up his shirt and tucking it back into his jeans when Wu-boshi returned. He led Wufei back out into the shop. Wufei returned to the other side of the counter to watch as the doctor measured herbs, roots, spices and something that looked like caterpillars onto a piece of paper. While he did this, he explained that between his examination and his discussion with Dr. Havram, he'd adjusted the recipe a bit. He ended by saying, “Now, this is fairly strong tasting so if you can't stand the taste, put a little honey in it. Do not put refined sugar in, please. We agreed that you need not take it unless you are feeling down, or your apatite fails. You are much too thin, eat more. So, any questions?” Wufei thought about it. “My apatite is good. I find that I'm more hungry than I can remember being in a while. Are there any foods that I should be sure to eat?” “No, just eat what you have a craving for. But do not fill up on rice. You need more meat in your diet, and fat. Be sure to balance your diet. Other than that, the only thing I can think of to say is, don't fill up on junk foods. Now, here's your medicine. Do you have a steeper? No? Then you'll want one. Making this in a pot will ruin the pot.” He walked around the counter and reached up, getting down one of the ceramic three part drip steepers that were preferred for medicinal tea. He wrapped it carefully and put it in a box then added the medicine and the things Wufei had put on the counter. He told Wufei the price and took his debit card, swiped it and handed Wufei the register slip to sign. Wufei signed and got a bit of a shock as the doctor blinked at his signature then said, “You are that Chang Wufei. I wasn't sure. I'm honored indeed.” Wufei blinked at him totally befuddled. He didn't recover himself until he had walked half way home. When he got there he carefully washed the steeper and set some water to boil. He was going to make enough doses of the medicine to take it for three days. If he didn't notice a difference in his mood, he'd stop taking it. He jumped a bit when the kettle whistled, he'd almost dropped into a meditative state. This was good, as it was the first time he'd done that since before the One Year War. He was beginning to feel human again. He poured the water into the steeper and set the kettle back on it's base. He set the timer and cleaned a bit until it beeped that the tea was steeped. He poured the tea into a covered container and put it in the fridge. It would spoil if left out. He picked up the cup he'd reserved and sipped. He grimaced a bit at the taste as it was heavy with star anise, which he wasn't that fond of. He knew that the anise was there to hide the bitter taste of another ingredient so he was glad for it. His phone rang so he got up and answered it, pinning it between his ear and shoulder so he could put his cup in the dish washer. The voice on the other end of the line said, “Wufei, it's Duo. Please come. I've left a badge for you at the desk.” Heero sounded stressed so Wufei didn't bother to ask questions, he'd get all his answers at Preventers HQ Med Center. ~ * ~ tbc... |
