'Tis me again! 'Lo! This is the second in my six story series where all the Gundam pilots get girls their own ages. (yay!)

Nothing bad or naughty... just my odd sense of humor. (Their IM screen names...)

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Katie (Part 2)

The next day being Saturday, most people didn't bother getting up early. However, strict church rules and orphanage habit driven into Duo's blood, found the lanky teen up with the sun and working on his Gundam. He took a break for lunch and did his homework, grudgingly, before returning to his friend. As he worked, he talked to DeathScythe, though no one else could hear him, Duo could, a lasting bond that had developed over time.

"Man, girl problems are the worst, of course, it's not like you have to worry about that, heh heh."

A bolt thumped onto Duo's head, "Ow!"

The braided boy looked up at the open hatch where he'd left the tools, "Hey that wasn't nice."

DeathScythe's eyes glowed to life, a brilliant red before going back to the dormant gray.

"Okay, fair enough, I'm sorry," Duo said, patting the big Gundanium Alloy foot, "Hey, I better get going, that dance is tonight, huh?"

The eyes glowed again, for longer this time, as Duo climbed up to retrieve the tools, for fear of anything else falling by "accident".

"I know it's a long shot, but she might be there, the Headmaster always is to supervise, and she wouldn't want to stay home and sew…"

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Duo scanned the makeshift dance floor in the gym from the side. It was probably the five millionth time his eyes had traveled along the scene, but he was determined to find her.

A bit of orange caught his eye as he scanned the tables in the back. She wouldn't. It was a dance. A celebration. A party.

She would, and she did. Sitting all alone at a table in the farthest corner was Katie, and she was writing in her notebook, as always. And to his surprise, she wore a pale blue dress, scoop neck with tank straps and no sleeves, which fell to her ankles.

Duo made his way between the dancing couples toward the tables. As he got closer, he noticed that she wasn't writing for once, she was looking in a compact. 'I didn't think she was the type to wear makeup…'

"Hi," he chirped.

She snapped her compact shut quickly and tucked it into her notebook, "Don't ever sneak up on me like that!"

He recoiled, "I'm sorry… I was just wondering if you'd like to dance…"

She glared at him, "No, now go away."

He shrugged, "Okay, but you needn't get all pissed at me, a lot of girls wear makeup."

She blinked at him for a moment, "Well, makeup is a private thing, you should never sneak up on a girl when she's putting on makeup… the contents of a compact are personal…"

Duo raised his eyebrows, "Geez, fine, but you were staring at it like it held the secrets of the universe, how could I get your attention?"

She placed a possessive hand over her notebook, "Not the secrets of the universe, the Gundams are the secrets of the universe, and I could hardly fit one in my compact."

Duo's eyebrows rose even higher at her mention of the Gundams, "You got a thing for Gundams? Or merely the pilots?"

She glared even harder, "That is none of your business. And if you raise your eyebrows any higher, they'll be likely to fall off."

He stared blankly at her before laughing, "Come on, I insist upon at least one dance."

He had her hand before she could blink and pulled her after him, "What, no! Duo!"

She tensed up at once when his arms went around her, setting her hands timidly on his shoulders, "One dance, then I'm going home."

Duo smiled, "Deal. I'll walk you."

"No, you won't."

He stared at her, "You're this mad just because I startled you while you were checking your makeup?"

She refused to look him in the eye, "Just stop mentioning my damn compact!"

Duo shrugged, "Maybe I don't want to, maybe I've seen that compact somewhere before… in fact, it looks almost exactly like the one Lieutenant Colonel Lady Une always has…"

Katie tensed immediately in his arms, "Where have you heard that name before?"

Duo's eyes widened, other then the fact that she wanted him dead… "Um… the news, she's Treize Khushrenada's personal assistant too, right?"

"I… I… I wouldn't know, excuse me!" she stuttered, pulling away from him and running from the room.

"Damnit!"

"Language, Maxwell," a passing teacher reminded him.

Duo slowly dragged himself from the dance floor back to the table and sat down. He banged his head against the table a few times, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

He slammed his hand down on the table, "Stupid!"

His hand brushed something bright and he looked down, it was her notebook, she'd forgotten it. That was a first.

He picked it up and stood, as he did so, a folded piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Duo leaned down, retrieving it, noticing the dark pen writing that was noticeable through the paper. Should he? No. Definitely not. Well, maybe. Sure. He unfolded the paper and scanned the lines. It was a poem, free verse. Kind of creepy. In her elegantly scrawled handwriting it said:

You must understand.

Understand that in just a matter of time.

A great power will find you.

It is an unholy being and will make you what it will.

You will follow, but only if you believe.

Those who do not believe can not follow.

Those who do not believe merely exist.

Watch out, he's coming on his deadly flight.

So I suggest.

Beware.

Take care.

Death flies on silent wings for you tonight.

Duo shuddered impulsively. That was too close to his job description not to be a little creeped out. But did she know he was a Gundam pilot? No, she would have asked to see the Gundam, or something. In spite of the intense curiosity that was burning now, Duo didn't open the notebook, mainly from fear of her creepy poem. He refolded it and slipped it inside as he headed down the deserted hall toward the lockers.

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Katie's eyes were red and puffy the next morning as she walked into the school. She'd torn up the room she'd been given looking for her notebook, until Mrs. Leilan had made her go to bed. She'd tossed and turned all night, she knew Duo had it. He was probably reading it, every little thing she'd written in it about… all of it.

She trudged over to her locker and opened the combination lock without even looking at it. She flipped open the door and her orange folder landed on the floor at her feet. She stared at it as if she'd never seen it before. Duo leaned against the locker near hers, "Hi ya."

She picked up her notebook and stared at him, "How did this end up in there?"

He grinned, "I've watched you do that combination how many times? You don't think I can memorize three little numbers?"

"And in order, I'm impressed," she snapped, glaring at him.

Duos stood smiling at her until her fierce expression made it slip then disappear, "What?"

"Did you read anything in my notebook?"

He shook his head, "No, of course not… except…"

"What!"

He held his hands up in defense, "I'm sorry, but that poem that you had folded up inside fell out and I didn't mean to, I swear, I didn't open your notebook, not a crack. It was an interesting poem though."

She slammed her locker shut and ran from him, toward her homeroom.

Which, incidentally, was his homeroom.

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Duo stepped into the class just before the bell rang and looked around for her. She was no where to be seen.

"Ms. Daniel, where is Katie?"

The teacher looked up from the papers on her desk, "Hmm? Oh, she asked to go see the Headmaster."

Duo shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "Ma'am, may I go get a drink of water?"

The young woman nodded and waved for him to go. He ran from the room, toward the Headmaster's office.

"Slow down Maxwell, you know better then to run in the halls."

Duo stopped short at the sound of the Headmaster's voice, "Sir? What are you doing here?"

The Headmaster smiled, "I work here, why are you out of class?"

Duo shook his head to clear it, "Um… I just came out for a drink of water."

"Very good, get it and return to class promptly," the Headmaster said, continuing on his way, in the opposite direction of his office.

"Something's not right," Duo muttered to himself, stopping in front of the Headmaster's door. He pressed his ear to it; someone within was typing furiously. He knocked softly, "Katie, are you in there?"

The typing stopped abruptly and he didn't hear anything for a moment. Duo opened the door slowly and found the room empty. The window was open, the curtain blowing in the wind. Duo went to the window and looked out, no one was around. Damnit. He turned to the computer, the screen was blank, but the computer itself was on. He flipped the screen on and stepped back in shock as his personal file popped up on the monitor.

Footsteps sounded outside the hall and Duo quickly exited his file, turned off the computer, and hopped out the window just before the door opened, "Funny, I could have sworn I locked my office…"

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Duo sat in front of DeathScythe later that day, his back to the open hanger door. It was a beautiful afternoon, but he hardly noticed it, he instead, was trying furiously at his computer.

HotDuoMan: Heero, could you perhaps search the databanks of your school and do a check on this girl? Please, old buddy, old pal?

Death2Relena: I'm doing just that at the moment. Don't call me that.

HotDuoMan: Thanks man, this is beginning to creep me out, she was in my personal file. She broke the codes!

Death2Relena: School codes are simple to crack. Child's play in fact.

HotDuoMan: I know that, but still, do you think she could be an assassin here for me?

Death2Relena: If she were an assassin, she would have tried to kill you already. Or she could be very stupid… or very good.

HotDuoMan: Maybe, I don't know, I wish I'd read her notebook now, but I didn't want to snoop in her stuff.

Death2Relena: Idiot, take every opportunity to gather information.

HotDuoMan: Well excuse me! I didn't realize she was gathering information on me till this morning!

Death2Relena: Always assume everyone around you could be a spy, trust no one.

HotDuoMan: What about Lily?

Death2Relena: Lily's… Lily's different, she has nothing to do with this.

HotDuoMan: How is she anyway?

Death2Relena: Hi Duo! I'm doing great! ß(Lily)

HotDuoMan: Hey Lily! Tell Heero to stop badgering me!

Death2Relena: Wuss, tell me yourself.

HotDuoMan: Hey, I just thought she could help cause she's got you whipped and all…

Death2Relena: I am not whipped. I don't have to help you, you know.

HotDuoMan: I'm sorry man, this is just bothering me so bad, what does the school file say about her?

Death2Relena: Nothing.

HotDuoman: What do you mean nothing?

Death2Relena: Meaning she doesn't have a school file, she never went here. She lied. I figured as much.

HotDuoMan: Shit.

Death2Relena: Precisely.

HotDuoMan: I'm in trouble, aren't I?

Death2Relena: I would suggest you relocate somewhere else, NOW.

HotDuoMan: Why? She doesn't know where I am.

Death2Relena: I'm sure she can find out easily enough if she really is after you.

Duo sat back, popping his fingers. She might be able to find him… He was about to type a response, except a noise overhead caught his attention, a cracking noise. Followed by a crash, a scream, then something landed in his lap, hard.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

"Damnit!"

"Damnit!"

"Stupid roof, you should get it fixed!"

"The roof is fine as long as no one crashes through it!"

Katie stared down at Duo from her place, pinning him down.

Duo stared up at Katie from his place, being pinned down.

Neither one spoke for a moment. Duo raised one hand to rub the back of his head, "Nice of you to drop in, I do have a front door."

She glared at him, "Shut up."

He smiled and turned his head to the side to study his laptop, "Hey, could you tell Heero I'm okay, he's typed my name about a million times, he might call someone to come out here if he thinks I've been killed."

She side glanced at the screen before standing, pulling a gun out of the back of her jeans as she did so, "Tell him everything is fine and you have to go."

Duo sat up, the world spinning as his head began to throb, "Ow… my head hit the floor hard."

"Shut up," she said, her voice level, gun still pointed at him.

Duo turned the screen to him, meaning she had to move around behind him if she wanted to monitor his typing.

Death2Relena: Duo. Duo. Duo. Duo. Duo.

HotDuoMan: Hey man, sorry about that, a friend of mine… dropped in. You typed my name enough times Heero, were you worried about me?

Death2Relena: You wish.

HotDuoMan: Aww… you don't love me anymore…

Death2Relena: Never did to begin with, Lily says be careful, I would tell you to also, but I could care less. Signing off.

Duo signed off and closed his laptop, "Happy?"

"No, turn around, I make it a point not to shoot people in the back."

He didn't turn around, "Can I ask you where you came from?"

She sighed, "Sure, why not? I work for Lieutenant Colonel Lady Une, as you may have guessed. My compact is my communication link to her, I thought you'd found out, that's why I checked your file. I wanted to see if you were whom you said you were, or if maybe you were the one I've been searching for. Lucky me, you are the one I've been searching for."

"Aww… I feel so special…"

"Shut up, put your hands on the Gundam and don't make any sudden movements."

Duo raised his hands slowly, placed them flat against DeathScythe and spread his feet, shoulder width apart, "Yes, Ma'am."

She kicked his feet farther apart and frisked him quickly and efficiently, "You can turn around now."

"I don't want to."

"I said I made it a point not to shoot people in the back, I may make an exception."

He still didn't turn around, "Why are you here?"

"To kill you."

"Then why haven't you?"

"Are you that eager to die?"

"I'm the God of Death, I'm not afraid of it, if that's what you mean."

"That isn't what I meant."

"Well then what did you mean?"

"Does it matter?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Duo, you're making me lose my patience."

"Trying to."

She let silence fall over the hanger before she let out a shaky breath, "I shouldn't say this, I mean, you aren't going to live long enough to care… but I really don't want to do this to you."

Duo looked back over his shoulder. She was standing a few feet behind him, still pointing the gun, but her face was softer, less ferocious, "Really?"

She nodded, "Yeah, in spite of how annoying you are, I kind of like you. You never gave up on me, no matter how rude I was, why?"

Duo shrugged, "I like you, you're attractive, smart, and very courageous. I can now add incredibly dangerous and a little scary to that list."

There was a beeping sound and Katie fumbled around in her pockets, "Katie here."

There was a soft voice coming from her compact, but Duo couldn't make out what it was saying.

"Yes, I am in the hanger where he stored the Gundam, but he must have gotten wind of my motives, he cleared out. pause Yeah, I'm sure he hasn't been here for a while, probably left early this morning… pause Yes Ma'am… I know you're disappointed and… pause Yes, I am aware that it is not good for my health to disappoint you… pause I will take full responsibility for my failure in front of Khushrenada… pause Yes, yes I will, thank you…"

She closed her compact with a click.

Duo looked over his shoulder again, "Can I turn around now?"

Katie put her gun away, "Yeah, sure."

He did so, and still making no sudden movements, crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against DeathScythe, "So what happens now?"

She looked up at his Gundam, her expression clearly said that she was impressed, "Well, I've bought you time, they have no idea as to where you could be headed, and after I leave, I won't be able to find out. I've been given new mission orders, so you needn't worry about me following you. We may bump into each other later, but not soon."

"New mission orders?"

"Yes," Katie said, "I am now ordered to track down Quatre Reberba Winner. Don't worry, this one is only information, I'm not supposed to kill anyone, merely spy a little."

Duo raised his eyebrows, "You're lying, you'd never tell me your orders, what if I told Quatre?"

Katie shrugged, "I could very well be lying, then again, I may not be. And if you do tell Quatre, he'll triple the guards, but that just makes it more fun for me."

She turned and walked out the open hanger door without so much as a second glance, "Can't believe it, the pilot of DeathScythe, God of Death. He's killed hundreds of people and he got squeamish about dissecting a frog. Unbelievable!"

Duo ran out of the hanger, but she had disappeared. She couldn't have gone far, she'd still hear him, "The spleen spit juice at me!"

Her laughter rang out, echoing through the forest making it impossible to tell where she was, but she was heading away, and that was what was important.

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Far out in space on one of the many colonies, Heero Yuy was stretched out on his bed in a room that had once been a guestroom, staring at his computer screen. Lily stood in the doorway, watching him. He knew she was there and motioned her over, his eyes never leaving the screen.

She sat on the edge of the bed next to him, "Did Duo sign back on and tell you what happened with that Katie girl?"

He nodded, scrolling down, "Yes, she actually lied to her commanding officer and let him get away, he was lucky."

"That's good," Lily murmured, studying Heero's deadpan profile closely.

Heero made an, "Mmmmhmmm," noise.

"Then why don't you sound like it's a good thing?"

"I'm rereading the conversation, there's something I really don't like about it."

Lily rested her chin on his shoulder to read the screen, "What part, maybe I can help."

Heero scrolled down quickly, "The last part."

Lily's eyes narrowed in concentration as she scanned the last few lines.

HotDuoMan: First time I've ever had a gun pointed at me and I was actually sure I'd die… then nothing happened.

Death2Relena: Well, I'm sure Lily will be happy you're not severely maimed or dead.

HotDuoMan: What about you, you don't care? *Pouts*

Death2Relena: You know that I don't.

HotDuoMan: Oh, well fine… By the way, next time you talk to Quatre, tell him to beef up security a bit around his place, k? Signing off. *Snickers* I pulled a Heero! Signing off, look at me, I'm the Perfect Soldier, signing off! LOL! HAHAHAHAAHAHAH!!

"Hmm… Other then being over dramatic, and making fun of how serious you are," Lily observed, "which is normal for Duo… nothing is weird. But what did he mean about Quatre beefing up security?"

"That's what I don't like about the conversation."

"Lily, Heero, dinner's ready!"

"Coming Mom!" Lily stood up and stretched, "Coming Heero?"

"In a minute," he told her, closing his laptop.

She smiled and nodded, leaving the room.

Heero stared at the empty doorway for a moment before leaning over to pick up the phone. He told the galaxy operator to connect him to Earth and rattled off the number from memory. As he waited for the connection to be completed, he glanced over at his laptop, "Damnit Duo."

THE END…??

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Thanks for reading, Dark Mistress Ivy