Well, well, Jeminie Yuy has done it again! But in a totally new way. This one was kinda inspired by Save the Last Dance, The Substitute, Yu Yu Hahuksho, and my own warped imagination! Oh, and my school has opened an Anime club, thanks to really cool  sophomore. We're doing a Manga Compilation!

And my first original story, Angelwing, has made it to publication! I am also the Treasurer of said Anime Club, so I will be a little busy. But as I've already completely written this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, Save the Last Dance, Yu Yu Hakusho, or The Substitute. Shin is a cameo for Kaioshin from Dragonball Z, a request from Toraneko. Neither do I own Siri, Telex, Tari, Toraneko, or Raine, as they are all my friends, not made-up characters. Also, the names have been changed or altered to protect the people, hence the asterisks (*) beside the first appearance of the name.

Other than that, welcome to my second fan fiction of all time, Holder of Power!

Holder of Power

Chapter 1: Siri Capri; Average Loner

You know those things that just get way out of hand way too fast? This is one of those things. Hi. My name is Siri Capri and I go to Northeast High School. I always thought it was your average, big-city, mainly-black school. You know, you had the metal detectors first way in, about a thousand kids per class, you had boom boxes in every classroom, the usual.

We also had our fair share of gangs. The Dragons are our main one, I never really thought much of them, though. They were just the type you avoided at all costs, which I was pretty good at. I had a much better time with the teachers than I did most of the kids.

My homeroom and history teacher, Releena Peacecraft, was once considered the Queen of the World. I mean, wow, what tops that, you know? But the war was finally over and we could get back to studying the usual way. That didn't mean things got better at NEHS. No, they got worse, like most post-war schools did.

I really never thought much about my school, really. Just that I had to avoid certain people and try my best in all the classes. No big, right?

How about if I told you that was wrong?

"Miss Capri, are you paying attention?" Ms. Peacecraft tapped her ruler on my desk sharply, only once. It was all I needed, though. I turned my attention back to full throttle. I had been doodling on my notes again, as well as turning my silver pendant over in my hands. Smacking myself in the head, I apologized and returned my rapt attention to her lecture, trying to ignore the girl and boy making out in the back row and the personal CD players playing rather loudly about the room.

Ms. Peacecraft really didn't try to make people pay attention unless they asked her to. I'd told her at the beginning of the year that if she caught me off task to remind me, ever so gently, that I was here to learn.
Boy, I'd be doing that this year.

"So, what's been up with you lately?" Hawatari, Tari* for short, asked as we exited the room on the way to Computer. She had dusty blond hair that extended just a bit below her shoulders, highlighted with platinum blond and darker brown streaks. Her blue eyes were what really captured me, though. She looked so innocent, like me. But, as we had both learned slowly as we got to know each other, things went a lot further than that angel-like exterior.

"Nothing," I shook my head with a huge, fake smile. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I was lying again. I know it's dumb to lie like that, but I didn't like burdening people with my problems, especially without hard facts. And that smile...nobody in this school has seen me smile with the exception of six people.

The first, of course, was Tari. The second was Raine*, another good friend who I'll introduce in a bit. The third was Telex*, another. The fourth and fifth had been my two favorite teachers; Ms. Peacecraft and Mr. Shin*. The final person was Toraneko*, a great friend of ours.

Tari gave me a sideways glance as we walked, but said nothing more on the subject. She knew when I was lying by now, but also knew when I didn't want to talk about it.

We reached class and sat down. I brought out my things, trying to find out what was wrong with poor Tari. She wasn't talking as much, and that was a sign that she was worried. She passed me a piece of paper (she was in front of me). It read as thus:

Siri-

It happened. The dream. Just like you said it would.

I sighed and looked at her. She stared straight back, her blue eyes truthful. I pulled a pen from my pocket and wrote back.

You may be a psychic, Tari, I'm not sure. I'm no expert, after all.

Giving it back to her, I recalled her telling me about the dream, only a few days before.

**FLASH**

"Siri, I had a really weird dream last night," Tari stated, biting her lower lip as she looked over her shoulder. Probably making sure no one was listening.

"Really? What about?"

"Jim*."

Uh-oh. Jim was Tari's boyfriend.

"What happened?" I waited with baited breath for her to continue, my pendant going over and over in my hands.

"I was sitting on the couch at home, you know, just chilling," she started slowly. "Then everything spun around and around and around, like a kid gone nuts with finger paints. I started getting dizzy, then....it just...stopped. All of the sudden. And I was caught in this sort of, what do you call it, a cross between reality and the dream world."
"A time vortex," I supplied.

"Yeah, whatever," she waved it off. "Anyway, Jim appeared in front of me and said he loved me. But right after he did it, he said he wasn't sure if it was going to work out. Then there was this dark, dark blank and suddenly we're sitting under a tree."
"What kind?" I asked, curious. I think I knew where this was going.

"I think it was a cherry tree," she shrugged. "It had pink blossoms, anyways, we were sitting there and then he said he was moving away. He said he was going away and he might never come back."
"Then what?" I asked, holding my breath.

"Another black blank and then....I saw him. We were a few years older, but it was weird. He was wearing a military uniform and he said that he wanted to marry me. I hugged him really tight...and then I heard a bang."
I gulped. "What happened?"

"Don't know," she sighed. "I woke up."

"Maybe you're a psychic and you can predict stuff," I tried. "But don't forget. You make your own destiny. Maybe it'll happen and he'll come back and you guys'll get married."

"I hope so..." Tari smiled dreamily at the thought.

**FLASH**

We were under the cherry tree. He said he was going to join the military academy and that he'd come back for me if he could. He said he wasn't sure. Especially with how unstable the peace is right now.

I grimaced as I read it. That was what I was worried about. See, all my life, I'd had repeating dreams that came true after a while. But, since I knew about them, I could sometimes alter them to a better ending. Like the time my dog fell over the pier. In the dream, he'd died from drowning. In real life, I'd saved him by his leash and collar. He was a little winded, but otherwise fine.

I could sit here and reminisce my dreams and their actual occurrences all day long, but that's not a good idea because none of us have time.

But that's what I'm worried about, that and the bruises that I covered with heavy make-up. The peace is unstable, as are the dreams I've been having. Some of them have this strange boy in spandex teaching three-year-olds how to pilot those Gundam thingies (even though they've been destroyed, is the rumor) and others have this strange man with long, long blond hair shooting at demons and still more have Ms. Peacecraft dead in my arms. It was a strange mixture that sometimes intertwined with the others, making it even harder to interpret.

"All right, class, that's enough," said the teacher, Mr. Fawkes*, as he entered the room. "Put away everything you'll not be using during class and get out a pen and some paper." I did as he said, but wrote Tari a quick note back.

Don't worry about it. Choose your own destiny.

She threw a smile back as class began. I smiled too as I pulled my blue hood around my head to cover myself more.

***

"Fawkes really needs to get a life," Tari iterated as we headed to our next class, English. Mr. Shin was our teacher, and Raine and Telex and Toraneko were in this class with us. I laughed, but it was fake and forced. Tari knew it, but what was the point in telling me not to laugh unless it was for real if I did it anyway?

"Hey, Tari, Siri!" called a voice.

"Raine, hey!" I yelled, waving maniacally as she joined us. The girl raced up to us, her mid-back-length blond hair bouncing lightly in the wind. Her blue eyes glittered brightly, with a mischievous gleam that was hard to resist.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Raine asked, smiling.

"Not much, headed for class, you?" Tari answered for the both of us.

"Same here."
"Hey!"

"Hey!"

We turned and greeted the final additions to our small group, Telex and Toraneko. They smiled and dashed to our side. Telex, with her straight, darker dusty-blond hair that flew up around her in grace as she ran. Toraneko, whose dark brown hair was also very graceful, shared Telex's steps almost equally. Blue and brown eyes glittered jovially as they stopped at the closing of the circle of our group.

"Hey, Telex, hey, Toraneko," I smiled, my emerald eyes closing happily. It was one of my genuine smiles. All of my friends were together in one place, all healthy, all happy, for the most part, and all safe. That was one of the few things that truly gave me pleasure.

"Hey, it's my favorite girls!" Mr. Shin greeted us as we came through the door. Toraneko blushed at his words. The dark-blue-eyed man (more like boy, he was only twenty) had been her crush since she first entered the school as a freshman. His white mohawk gave him a very delicate look, not in age, but I knew from watching him ward off fights that he was quite formidable.

"Good morning, Mr. Shin, how is your day so far?" I asked pleasantly. It had become a custom since the first day of our junior year to greet our English teacher with proper English.

"Quite good, actually," he grinned. "Hasn't been a fight all morning."
"Wow, all morning?" Telex gaped. "That's like a new record for this school, isn't it?"
"If it lasts all day, yes," he answered with a chuckle. "Get on to your seats, the bell's about to ring."
"All right."
We sat down in our normal five seats in the front row, where the five of us could talk all we wanted as long as we did not disrupt Mr. Shin's teachings. Right. As though we'd really disrupt the classroom with Toraneko over there. She may not have been the best candidate for a straight "A" perfect student, but she certainly was going to give it her all when it came to her crush's class.

"All right, class," Mr. Shin began as the bell rang. You could see that Toraneko was sitting up straight in her seat, at rapt attention, hanging on his every word. "Today, we will begin our study of the classic book, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, by Jules Verne. Has anyone ever read the book before?"

A few rose their hands. Among them were myself and Tari.

"Okay, good. Who can tell me what great thing Verne did for the world of writing?" Instantly, only one hand rose. It was mine. "Okay, Siri, what did he do?"

"He invented, with a little help, fiction based on science," I answered meticulously. "What we know today to be science fiction."
"Great, great, Siri, have you studied this book before?" he asked me.

"No, sir," I shook my head quickly. "I read it on my own. First as a Wishbone book, then the real deal."

"Well, even better," Mr. Shin nodded. "What other interesting facts do you know about Verne and his works?" Growing nervous, I clutched my silver pendant.
"Well...I know his first actual book was called Five Weeks in a Balloon, and most of his works have been translated from French into one hundred four different languages, and he also was an inspiration to several dozen different true scientific discoveries, though I'm not sure what some of them are."

"Very nice, Siri, very nice," Mr. Shin nodded, smiling.

***

"Wow, Siri, I didn't know you knew all that stuff!" Telex gawked as we finally pulled out of Mr. Shin's room, each carrying a battered copy of A Journey to the Center of the Earth.

"What?" I asked at their intriguing looks. "It's all inside the Wishbone book, guys!"

"You still like Wishbone?" asked a voice. We stopped short and turned about to be confronted by Frank Ichinoku. Or, basically, the leader of the Dragons.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" I growled, clearly not happy. He'd never bothered me before, why start now?

"Nothing much," he shrugged. "Hey, I was wondering, would you girls like to go out sometime this weekend? Go to the docks, the club, a movie, dinner, what do you say?" He flashed a winning smile that looked like it could have been plastered in every darned magazine that ever walked the face of the earth. But I knew better than to trust that stupid grin.

"Sorry, we're booked," Tari smiled sweetly. "And mostly taken."

"Oh, come on, girls," he threw his arms over Telex's right shoulder and my left shoulder, his leather jacket pressing tightly against the back of my neck. I inwardly seethed, but did not attempt to remove him. He was much too strong for any of us, even all together, to handle.

"Just one night."

"No, thanks," Toraneko said, grabbing my arm. Tari got the picture and grabbed Telex's and we waved to him quickly.
"Sorry," Raine explained. "We've gotta get to Chem. Important and all, you know." We raced off, all four headed toward the Chem class, even though Toraneko, Telex, and I all had Drawing after English. This was going to be a long week, I could tell.

~~~

Releena quickly packed up, glad that the school day was finally over. She had been looking forward to going home all day. Heero Yuy, her love, had promised that he would come see her today. There were no major Preventers jobs going on, so he actually had time for once.

As she locked her door, she almost ran straight into the school principal, Kyle Rem. His long red hair fleetingly reminded her of a falcon, but she quickly brushed that thought from her mind. Rem had once been an honorable soldier, among the Earth Unified Nation's top twenty at the end of the war.

"Kyle, hi," she stated with baited breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you-"

"Releena, calm down," Rem chuckled lightly as she finally settled down. "It's all right, it was an accident. Go on home, it's not safe to be here after hours for very long."
"Yes, sir," Releena sighed and walked past him.

As Releena Peacecraft left, Rem watched her go. A small smile played across his dark face as he watched her proceed out the door. He pulled a small black device from his pocket and spoke.

"Get 'er."

~~~

Heero Yuy frowned as he waited. Releena wasn't often late, but when she was, he worried. She may be annoying, but he did care enough to make sure she was left alive. Running a hand through his umber-brown hair, he glanced at the Felix clock on the wall with deep blue eyes. It was 1830 hours. Where was she?

A sound outside made him aware of a commotion below. He rushed to the window. Although the scene below startled him, he did not shout out, instead, he calmly yet urgently leaped from the two-story-high window and landed with great care behind Releena.

"Whoa, did you see that, man?" cried out the American Indian Heero now faced. There was just him and a black-haired Italian, but anyone could see that they had been clearly shocked by the sudden appearance of Heero.

"Yeah, he just jumped out the freaking window!" the Italian yelled. "Let's get outta here!"

"We did our part," the Indian agreed as they rushed in the opposite direction. Heero did not go after them, but was more worried about the dusty-blond girl behind him who had been struck several times across the face and limbs.

Heero turned back to the onlookers. Spotting one elder woman with a cell phone, he turned to her very calmly.

"Call an ambulance."

Perfect Soldier in all situations, all battles, and always speak briefly and to-the-point. Heero Yuy, Perfect Soldier, mercenary, cop, and bodyguard. Too bad he wasn't very good at guarding Releena.

~~~

I would like to have it known that I have a very strict honor code that I follow in everything I do. Curse words greater than hell do not exit my mouth, nor be written in typing or on paper. There, I said it. Yes, the names of the people have been changed to protect them.

Why does Siri have bruises? Why does she wear her hood up all the time? Who were these mysterious men who attacked Releena? Why did they attack her? What's with the silver pendant around Siri's neck? Why did Siri never have any friends before she met Tari? These and other questions will be answered in later chapters. Ja matte ne!