"Baka!" A boy with dark brown hair snarled. The boy stayed at his desk and turned on his laptop.

"Heero!" A braided boy whined. "Come to dinner with me,Quatre,Trowa, and Wufei! We have been so caught up in our missions that we all haven't had the chance to talk or hang out together."

"Duo..I refuse!" Heero growled.

"Tsk,Tsk,Tsk..you are to busy to go to dinner with your friends." Duo shrugged and sprawled out on his bed. "Even Wufei and Trowa said that we haven't spent enough time together. Of course,the Perfect Soldier doesn't bother pulling away from his damn computer just to go out for a couple of hours and get some food in his stomach."

"Shut up,I am working." Heero muttered.

"Shut up,I am working." Duo mimicked Heero.

Heero turned his head and gave Duo a death glare. Duo just sat there, looking at Heero.

"I've learned to accept your little glare,Heero." Duo sighed. "I'll call the others and tell them you refuse to go." Duo picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers.

"Hello?" A soft voice on the other end picked up.

"Quatre? Hey..bad news,Heero 'refuses' to go." Duo said.

"Oh?" Quatre let out a long,depressed sigh. "Well,I was hoping he would come..but,if he doesn't want to,then ok."

"Yeah, I was hoping he'd come also.." Duo grinned, "..maybe we should cancel and have dinner some other time."

"Oh god, Duo!" Heero spun around to face Duo. "Fine, I'll come.."

"He'll come,Quatre!" Duo cheered.

"Great! I will see you later, then!" Quatre said,and Duo could tell he was smiling.

Duo hung the phone up and looked at Heero with a broad smile on his face.

"Quatre is happy." Duo said.

Heero rolled his eyes.

"I am going to take a shower." Duo mumbled cheerfully. He stood and walked into the small bathroom. "Cold water..Ahh.." Duo turned the water so it was slightly chilly,took out his braid,and then got out of his clothes. Duo let the water run down his body for a few minutes before washing his hair.

Heero sat at his computer but stopped typing when he heard the braided pilot start singing.

"Oh..man.." Heero groaned and shut his laptop. "Why do I always room together with him?"

The hissing of the shower stopped a while after and Duo stepped out with a towel around his waist. Duo was still humming as he got dressed in his usualy black clothes.

"We haven't seen Trowa,Quatre,or Wufei for quite some time!" Duo said.

"Quatre and Trowa live down the hall,and Wufei lives upstairs." Heero said.

"So? Wufei and Trowa have been off on a mission for three days and Quatre has been talking to his other friends." Duo said. "And i've seen to much of you,Heero." Duo grinned at the Wing pilot but only got a cold stare in return.

***

An hour passed. Heero and Duo left the room that they shared.

"Where are we going?" Heero asked when they left the school.

"A house.." Duo said.

"A house?" Heero asked.

"Yeah,one of Quatre's sisters owns it..she is the one cooking for us." Duo smiled. "Nice family."

A house came into view. It was yellow with a white roof.

"Cheerful." Duo grinned at the sight of the house.

On the porch was a boy standing,looking out at the sky.

"Oi! Quatre!" Duo called out. The blonde boy on the porch turned his head,smiled,then quickly waved at the two approaching.

"Duo! Heero!" Quatre jumped off the porch and ran to the others. "Hi!"

"Hey,Quatre!" Duo said.

Heero looked at the blonde boy,who smiled at the two other pilots.

"Come on. We can go inside." Quatre walked to the house and went inside. Duo and Heero followed. The inside of the house was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside. It was neatly organized and very unique.

"How are you two doing?" Quatre asked,leading boys into a living room area.

"Very good,Quatre,and you?" Duo asked.

"I have been rather stressed. I have to go on a big mission tomorrow. I just wanted to have dinner with my friends before I went..I will be gone for a few days." Quatre smiled slightly but he lowered his head and looked at the floor.

"Are you worried?" Duo asked.

"Er..well..sort of..but,I have to do it,so.." Quatre sighed. "Have a seat, you two..I have to go look out for Trowa and Wufei." He walked off and Duo and Heero heard the front door open then close quietly.

"Wonder what kind of mission he has to go on." Duo asked,taking a seat on the couch.

"He probably has to destroy a base.." Heero said then sat down on a chair, across from Duo. "He does hate that."

Minutes later,Quatre returned with a brown haired boy.

"Welcome,Trowa!" Duo said.

Trowa shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Oh boy,I wish he and Heero would talk more." Duo's thought accidentally came out loud.

Trowa looked at the braided pilot.

"I talk." Trowa said.

"Not really,Trowa." Duo said.

Trowa stared at Duo for a few minutes before grinning.

"Ok,ok,I don't talk much." Trowa said,leaning back against the couch.

In the doorway,Quatre smiled,happy that Trowa and Duo didn't start to argue.

Wufei walked into the house and straight into the living room,ignoring all the other pilots.

"You found your way!" Quatre smiled at Wufei.

"Indeed." Wufei said.

"Great." Quatre smiled. A young female walked into the doorway and stood next to Quatre.

"You must be..Miss Winner." Duo stood and shook the female's hand. "I am Duo..Duo Maxwell." He smiled at the female then looked at the other pilots and noticed that they weren't going to introduce themselves. Duo sighed. "Heero Yuy,Trowa Barton,Chang Wufei."

Quatre smiled at Duo's friendliness and his sister did also.

"Nice to meet you all." The female said but she sounded like she was shy. The female muttered something about checking on the food,then walked off.

"That was very rude!" Duo said,turning to look at Heero,Trowa,and Wufei.

"Duo,it's ok." Quatre said.

"That was rude!" Duo repeated.

Heero was very shocked to see how mad the braided boy looked.

"Quatre and his sister are being very nice to us and you three just sit there and act like you don't give a fuck!" Duo growled. "You are supposed to be nice to your friends and their families."

The pilots stared at Duo,shocked,even Quatre.

"Duo,it doesn't matter." Quatre whispered softly.

"It does matter! You and your sister are taking time off from you lives to cook for us. They are being disrespectful and rude..I.." Duo paused and took a deep breath,controlling the urge to scream, "I am going for a walk." He stormed out of the room and went directly outside.

Quatre put a hand on his forhead then leaned against the wall.

"This is not going at all like I wanted.." Quatre whispered.

Heero sighed then said, "I'll go get him." then he stood and walked out of the room. As he was outside,Heero didn't know where Duo went.

"Shimatta! Where did he go?" Heero asked himself. He suddenly spotted Duo sitting on the ground by a tree. He walked over and kneeled by Duo.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Duo growled when he saw Heero.

Heero punched Duo once and then grabbed the braided pilot's upper arm.

"I was going to ask you the same thing.." Heero snapped.

Duo wiped a little blood away from his lip and then tried to struggle as Heero started to drag him back to the house.

"Leave me alone!" Duo yelled but he got punched again.

"Calm down.." Heero hissed. Duo continued to struggle so Heero turned and picked him up. Duo tried even harder but knew he couldn't win. Heero took Duo into the house and Duo still refused to stop struggling. They entered the living room. Trowa,Quatre,and Wufei looked up. Duo tried even harder to get away but Heero growled and dropped him on the floor.

"Don't walk away from your problems,face them." Heero kicked Duo.

Duo tried to stand but Heero shoved him back down.

"Fine,I will face my problems." Duo forced himself to his feet and dodged Heero trying to push him down again. Duo walked up to Heero and stared him straight in the eye. "What do I do now?"

Heero stared at the braided boy and opened his mouth to speak but,he couldn't get his voice to work. A soft growl escaped his lips and he shoved Duo back,using great force. Quatre caught Duo just as he was about to hit the ground.

"So,I am the one giving you problems,huh?" Heero walked forward,took Duo from Quatre's safety,and slammed him hard against the wall.

The fight started.

Duo punched Heero once and got two even harder punches in the face.

"Stop it,guys!" Quatre yelled.

Heero ignored the blonde and threw Duo against the wall,then punching him a few times in the stomach. Duo punched Heero a few times but then grew weak. Heero pulled Duo away from the wall and yanked the boy's braid so hard,it made him drop to his knees.

Trowa and Wufei grabbed Heero and threw him away from Duo. Quatre kneeled next to Duo and noticed how much damage Heero did. Duo's face was completely covered in blood and sweat. There was blood dripping from Duo's scalp and he was breathing very hard. When Duo felt a hand on his shoulder,he flinched and started shivering.

"It's ok." Quatre whispered to Duo. The braided boy wiped his face with the sleeve of his black sweater. Quatre,Trowa,and Wufei glared at Heero.

Quatre's sister popped her head around the corner and started to say, "Dinner's re-" she noticed Duo and gasped.

"Where's the bathroom?" Duo asked,his voice trembling.

"D-Down the..hall." Quatre's sister said. Duo stood and staggered out of the room and to the bathroom.

"What has gotten into you Heero?" Wufei asked,madly.

"I-I..I..Uh..Well.." Heero stuttered.

"Just forget it!" Quatre yelled.

The four reluctantly headed into the dining area and sat down at a table. Quatre waited for Duo a minute,but he didn't come.

"Excuse me." Quatre said. He stood,headed down the hall,and knocked on the bathroom door. "Duo?"

"Y-Yeah,Quatre?" Duo's voice shook.

"Won't you come out?" Quatre asked.

"Um..ok.." Duo slowly opened the door and walked out. There was water on his face from where he had washed the blood away.

"Are you ok?" Quatre asked.

"Yeah." Duo said and he forced himself to smile. He and Duo walked into the dining area and Quatre took the seat next to Heero so Duo didn't have to sit next to him. Duo sat next to Trowa.

"Duo?" Wufei asked.

"Yes?" Duo replied,keeping his fake smile on his face.

"Oh..never mind." Wufei mumbled.

Duo poked at his food with the fork then took a bite of some corn. He covered his mouth with his hand then his face looked like he was having some trouble swallowing. The braided boy put his hand down after he finally got the corn down.

"Open your mouth,Duo." Trowa demanded,staring at him.

"Mm?" Duo made that noise but didn't open his mouth.

"Open your mouth!" Trowa demanded using a stern voice.

Duo reluctantly opened his mouth as he looked at Trowa.

"Duo,your mouth is bleeding." Trowa said.

"I-I'm fine.." Duo put more food in his mouth and shut his eyes tightly as he tried to swallow.

As Duo put some corn on his fork and raised it to his mouth,Trowa slapped his hand down.

"Duo,stop!" Trowa said. "You can't eat with your mouth bleeding like it is,hear me?"

"I'm fine,Trowa..really..it's only bleeding a little.." Duo accidentally coughed and blood covered his hand. "Oops.." He forced a little chuckle.

Quatre and Wufei stared at Duo,both shocked.

Trowa stared at Duo then,without warning,he opened Duo's mouth and ran a finger on the top and bottom of Duo's mouth.

"Where the hell is the blood coming from? I can't feel a cut." Trowa said. Duo coughed as Trowa continued to run his fingers across the inside of his mouth.

Trowa pulled his finger out and then noticed how much blood was on it.

"Where did it come from? Maybe there is a cut lower down in your throat." Trowa mumbled,making Duo drink some water.

"Heero,what is your problem?" Wufei asked.

The Wing pilot only shrugged.

Trowa opened Duo's mouth and looked in it,seeing nothing but blood and teeth.

"Hmmm.." Trowa said. "You seem to be ok,Duo..but,your mouth is full of blood..I can't see the source."

The Deathscythe pilot suddenly jerked his head away from Trowa and had a coughing attack. Blood filled his hands as he coughed into them.

'Why did I attack him?' Heero asked himself.

Duo looked around the table at his friends,then stood and ran from the room. Quatre heard the front door slam then he stood and ran from the room and outside.

"Duo!!" Quatre called out.

"Quatre? Where is he going?" Wufei called from inside.

"I think.." Quatre walked back inside. "I think he is heading back to school."

"..." Heero looked up at the blonde.

"Just let him go.." Trowa said.

"..Ok." Quatre said. "Actually,I think I might leave you guys here and go back to school..I am not feeling to well." The blonde smiled and then walked out of the room. The other boys listened as the front door opened and closed then they heard Quatre start running.

"Having a crisis?" Quatre's sister walked into the room and sat down at the table with Heero,Trowa,and Wufei.

"It's nothing." Trowa said.

"Really,I do not believe you at all. I am older than all of you so I can say I know what you are talking about. Did you have a fight?" The female asked.

"Everything is fine,Woman!" Wufei snapped.

"I will take that as a yes. You should go see how your friends are.. I know for a fact that Quatre can get quite emotional when he is upset." The female stood and left the room.

"We should return to school..I,for one,have a lot of homework to finsih." Trowa said.

Heero,Trowa,and Wufei left the house and headed for school. When they got there,Trowa and Wufei left Heero at his room and headed to their's. Heero walked into his room to see Duo face down on his bed,his shoulders trembling. The Wing pilot tried to ignore him,and he headed to his own bed.

Heero and Duo both lay on their separate beds,and Heero thought he heard Duo crying.

"Duo?" Heero asked,trying to get Duo's attention.

Duo made a few muffled sounds as a reply.

"Shut up,I am trying to get some rest." Heero said coldly.

The braided boy lifted his head and he and Heero's eyes met for a minute.

'He is crying." Heero thought to himself as he stared at Duo's tear- streaked face.

Duo pushed himself off of his bed and walked out of the room before Heero could stop. The American walked down the hall and knocked on Trowa and Quatre's room. He tried to wipe his tears away but Quatre opened the door and saw Duo's tears.

"Duo.." Quatre said softly.

"I am NOT sleeping in the same room as that guy.." Duo growled.

"You can sleep in here,Duo." Quatre said and he let Duo on.

Trowa was laying on his back,staring at the ceiling. Duo sat on the floor by the wall and ignored Quatre trying to get his attention.

"Duo?" Quatre repeated for the fifth time.

"Huh? Oh..Oi,Quatre." Duo said.

"You ok?" Quatre asked.

Duo stood. Big Mistake. The braided boy felt very dizzy and as he looked at Quatre,the blonde boy became blurry. Duo eyes rolled to the back of his head and all he saw after that was darkness.

"Trowa! Duo fainted!" Quatre said and he kneeled next to the boy crumpled on the floor.

The unibanged boy rolled off of the bed and was next to Quatre in a few seconds.

***

Duo opened his eyes to see Quatre standing above him with Trowa,Wufei, and Heero standing behind him.

"You're awake!" Quatre said.

Duo moved his head and noticed that they were in the school's medical ward.

"Why am I here?" Duo asked then waves of pain passed through his body and he groaned.

"You have been passed out for almost a week,Duo." Quatre said gently.

"Have I?" Duo tried to grin but he only caused himself more pain.

"Yeah.." Quatre said.

"Why are ALL of you here?" Duo asked,quickly glancing at Heero.

"We had to check up on you. The doctor said that she saw signs of you waking up.." Quatre said.

The braided pilot tried to sit up but Quatre gently pushed him back down.

"You need your rest." Quatre whispered.

"Rest?!? I do not need rest!" Duo tried to sit up again but Quatre forced him down again.

"Duo,rest." Wufei growled impatiently from where he was standing.

"Wu-man?" Duo whined. "Everyone is against me."

***

In a week,Duo was back to his cocky-self. He was running from his and Heero's room,to Trowa and Quatre's room,and to Wufei's room,doing nothing but bothering the other pilots.

Duo made his way back to his room and layed on his bed. Heero was typing on his computer. Just as the Perfect Soldier decided to turn towards Duo,a bunch of green writing sprawled across the screen.

"Mission?" Duo asked.

"Hn. They need us all." Heero said.

"All of us? What is it?" Duo was standing behind Heero,peering at the computer screen and reading through the orders. "Steal files from OZ Base."

"Typical." Heero growled,slamming his laptop shut.

Wufei was the first to enter the room Duo and Heero shared. He sat on the edge of Duo's bed and waited for the other two pilots to come. Quatre and Trowa finally made there way to the room.

"I am starting to get made doing this missions..stealing files??? A simple spy could do that! Why would they need all of us to do a simple thing like that?" Wufei started mumbling to himself.

"Distraction." Trowa muttered.

"Exactly." Heero said.

"Huh?" Duo asked.

"Clearly you can see that these files must be heavily guarded by OZ officers..meaning,some will have to blow up the thing farthest away so all the guards will leave their posts to go directly to the attack. The others can go in search of the files..they are probably hiden." Wufei said.

"Who's going with who,then?" Quatre spoke up.

"Quatre,Duo,and myself will make an attack as far away from the files as we can while Wufei and Trowa go an get the files." Heero said.

The pilots nodded.

***

"Come and get me,suckers!!!" Duo yelled as he attacked some of the enemy mobile suits.

"Trowa,Wufei,depart now..we will hold them off until we hear word from you." Heero growled as he took a heavy blow to the side,causing Wing to shake.

"We'll be sure to hurry!" Wufei said and he and Trowa flew away from the battle.

"Heero,there is more than we thought! How long can we hold them off?" Quatre said.

"I don't know! We can take them,though." Heero said then he glanced at the small image of Quatre and noticed how worried he looked. "We'll be fine."

Heero closed the image of Quatre and continued to fight.

"I am Shinigami!" Duo yelled as he sliced an enemy in half.

---

Trowa and Wufei worked there way quickly to the other side of the base.

"Trowa?" Wufei asked.

"Yeah?" Trowa replied.

"I have a bad feeling.." Wufei said.

"You too,huh?" Trowa said. "It is way to quiet."

Suddenly the two Gundams were surrounded by enemy mobile suits. At the front of the enemies was Tallgeese.

Trowa pressed a few buttons so he could speak with Heero,Duo,and Quatre.

"It was a trap,I repeat,it was a TRAP!" Trowa yelled. "Enemies have surrounded us,Tallgeese at the front. We will fight as well as we can,but we are greatly outnumbered."

"A trap? Oh shit!" Duo screamed.

"Trowa,Wufei..we have been cornered also. Seems like they have been waiting for our surprise attack." Heero said.

The connection between the Gundams was cut off for a moment. Heero was thinking.

Trowa,Wufei,Duo,and Quatre all stopped when they heard a voice.

"Surrender! Put your weapons down!" A male's voice called out to the 4 gundam pilots. They gasped when they heard a voice-Heero's voice,and it sounded like he was struggling.

"Don't surrender! You are smarter than-" Heero's voice started to yell but a sound of a gunshot and a moan told the other pilots that Heero was not alone.

"Shut up,kid." The male voice said to Heero.

The other pilots got the message from Wing and they each accepted it. Heero was staring straight ahead,face covered in blood. There was a gun pointed at the Wing pilot's head.

"Heero.." Duo whispered.

"Get out of here! You can make it!" Heero screamed but then he got hit with the gun and punched a few times.

"Now!" The male's voice screamed at Heero. "Don't try anything funny. Do as I told you."

"Pilot's name--Heero Yuy. Captured by--OZ Personnel. Gundam pilots who are listening,don't try anything stupid or I will get killed." Heero turned his head to the side to look at the male that was stil hiden in the cockpit. "That was stupid. They already know that and they aren't going to take this-"

BANG!

Heero groaned as the man shot his shoulder. The Japenese pilot turned back to face the screen and mouthed the words, "Mission failed. Run.."

"What the hell are you telling them boy??" The man asked angrily.

Heero stayed silent.

"I will have my men attack your friends if you don't talk." the man said.

"Your men will only be killed." Heero snapped.

Trowa,Duo,Quatre,and Wufei watched as Heero was shoved out of the seat and a man sat down.

"Mykael reporting. I request permission to kill the prisoner." The man said.

Another voice broke into the conversation.

"Request....." The other man's voice trailed off,as if he was thinking. "..Accepted. Let his little friends see."

The man in Wing moved out of the seat and pulled Heero back into a sitting position,then strapping Heero in with the safety harness.

"Say goodbye to your fellow Gundam pilot." The man said,aiming his gun at Heero's head and putting his finger on the trigger.

"No.." Quatre said quietly. "Please,don't.."

There was laughter then the image of Heero turned completely white.

"I'm not picking it up anymore." Trowa said,looking at the screen.

"Listen,listen there is noise!!!" Duo yelled.

The evil laughter continued for a moment,next thing the pilots heard was a groan,something smashing,a gunshot,a gasping noise,and finished with a thud.

Tears were welling up in the blonde's eyes after hearing this and he simply whispered, "No!"

Trowa and Wufei remained quiet,hoping to hear more noise..any sign that their friend was still alive-nothing.

Duo was staring at the screen.

'He-He's dead..they killed him..Heero..' Duo thought to himself.

Static came from the screen for a minute then it suddenly turned on. The pilots couldn't see anything. A figure sat down and looked forward.

"Heero!" Duo said happily.

"Oh my.." Quatre smiled.

"Pilot's name--Heero Yuy. Escaped from--OZ Personnel." Heero held up his hand to reveal a bunch of papers and computer disks. "Mission accomplished."

Hidden under his bangs,Trowa grinned.

"Lets get going now!" Wufei said.

The five pilots flew into the air and they disappeared from the base. Soon after,the base blew up.

"Who set the bombs?" Trowa asked.

"Duo,Heero,and myself." Quatre said.

***

The pilots got to where they were staying the night and walked inside one of Quatre's many mansions.

Heero hadn't spoken,and no one spoke to him. The pilots sat down to eat some dinner that Trowa and Quatre made as soon as they got home.

Duo was mumbling to himself and he wasn't touching his food,which was so unlike him.

"Duo?" Quatre asked.

"Yes?" Duo looked up from his plate.

"Are you alright?" Quatre asked. "You're acting strange."

Duo looked like he hadn't heard a word Quatre just said, "Huh? W-What did you say? I was uh,not paying attention."

"You were looking right at me,how could you not hear what I said?" The blonde asked,shocked at Duo.

"Uh..sorry,Quatre." Duo said and he looked down at his plate again,pocking at the food with the fork.

Quatre looked at Trowa,who was looking at Duo.

"Strange." Wufei muttered.

"Be ready to return to school tomorrow. We can't be gone from our dorms to long or it'll be very suspicious." Heero said.

"Right." Wufei said.

"We should get some sleep then." Duo mumbled.

***

The boys returned to the school before anyone knowing,and slipped into their rooms without anyone knowing.

Duo got on his bed and under the covers as soon as he opened the door.

"Duo?" Heero asked but Duo was sleeping already. Heero layed himself down on the other bed and then went to sleep shortly after.