CHAPTER FIVE:

Somewhere off the coast of the Islands, on an exotic and not to mention exclusive golf-club, the great David Maxwell could be seen sending his golf ball straight into another bunker, hence creating another string of colorful words to erupt from his mouth. His score was now a whopping twelve over par and he hadn’t even gotten to the back nine yet. Grumbling beneath his breath, he stomped off in search of his golf ball, never minding that his caddy was huffing for breath behind him.

“Any word from my son, yet?” he asked, his voice sounding muffled as he was currently stuck somewhere within some nearby bushes. Apparently, his ball wasn’t in the bunker after all.

The caddy (aka his trusty old secretary) wiped the sweat from his brow and fixed his glasses back upon his nose. “Uh…no sir, no word from Master Duo, yet.”

Another muttered curse and a ‘goddammit’ erupted from the shrubs, before the agitated voice continued. “Shouldn’t he be in school by now? How come he hasn’t called me, yet?”

“I don’t know…”

David stuck his head out of the bushes, his golf hat now askew on his head coupled with several twigs and leaves stuck within his brown locks. His face was now reddened either in exertion or anger, the secretary could not tell. “You don’t think he has been defeated by the enemy now, do you?” He asked with a sense of panic.

The caddy looked blank for several minutes, before it slowly dawned on him. “Oh…the enemy…I strongly doubt that, sir. Master Duo can handle anything that comes his way…”

“Damn straight he can!” David bellowed out in agreement, before giving a loud whoop of excitement. He had found his ball! Jumping out of the bushes, he carefully fixed his ball on the green and got ready to make the crucial putt. Just as he was about to hit the white ball into the hole, the shrill ring of his cell phone caused him to stamp his feet in anger.

“Answer the damn thing! And if it is someone from the office, fire his ass! I told no one to disturb me in the middle of my golf game!!”

“Yes…yes, sir.”

David got back to concentrating, his handsome face furrowed in a frown. He had to make this putt. Everything was riding on this…

“Sir, it is the vice-president of the Oil division…he wants to know if he should go ahead and finalize the deal for the takeover of the Moldova Corporation.”

David hit the ball and watched as it slowly trickled to about five feet past its intended target. Growling in frustration, he snapped his putter in two and began making his way to the next hole.

“Let him go ahead and buy the entire damn business!” he bit out angrily. “And if anyone dares protest…FIRE THEM!!”

~&~&~&~&~&~

Odin Yuy was faring no better. He loved golf as well, but instead of playing it in the great outdoors, he preferred to do his scoring virtually.

And right now, he was losing pretty badly.

He punched the buttons on the control panel with more force than necessary and had to watch in dismay as his ball flew into another lake.

“Damn stupid game! Who needs golf anyways?! I hate golf!!! I hate the whole stinking business! Okay, let’s try this one more time…”

The door to his game room opened to reveal the face of his assistant (he didn’t like to call them secretaries…he considered that too old fashioned). And without turning his eyes away from the gigantic screen in front of him, Odin asked curtly, “Has my son called yet?”

“No, sir. We have not received any phone calls from Master Heero.”

Odin frowned. That was unlike his son. Ever since he had begun sending the boy to boarding schools, he had drilled the lesson of ‘make sure you give your daddy a call to let him know of your progress on the first day of school’ routine. He snorted. Maybe this whole college thing was getting to his head. Maybe he felt he was too big to give daddy a call anymore. Or maybe…

“You don’t suppose the enemy has silenced him now, do you?” He asked, his dark eyes glinting with a hint of worry.

“Silenced him, sir?” The assistant asked in bemusement as he walked into the room. “I don’t think that killing is allowed in colleges, sir.”

Odin made a sound of exasperation, before the flash of ‘YOUR BALL IS IN THE DINK…TOTAL SCORE…20 OVER PAR…GAME OVER’, glared at him. In another second, the control panel was flung across the room, and a very angry Yuy was storming over to the bar to fix himself a strong drink.

The assistant swallowed tightly as the apparatus almost took his head off. “Umm…sir, I actually came to ask you if you wanted me to go ahead in the finalization of the takeover.”

Odin downed his scotch and stared at the man as if he had asked the most ridiculous question in the world. “Of course! What the hell was that meeting for yesterday?! I want all their stocks and portfolios under the Yuy Corporation by tomorrow morning, is that understood?!”

“Yes, sir. Understood, sir.”

Odin watched with furious eyes as the man shut the door softly behind him, before turning those same eyes towards the large screen. “All right…let’s try this one more time, shall we?”

~&~&~&~&~~

HOSTILE TAKEOVERS:

Professor Treize Khushrenada dropped his piece of chalk and turned around to stare at his new crop of students for the semester. A leading expert in The Economies of Interplanetary Alliances, he was quick to spot out the potential business entrepreneurs in each of his classes. He had only ten students and that was enough for him. In fact, he would take no more than ten. He was that meticulous. He believed in one-on-one association and interaction. He did not tolerate slouches and he expected the best from each of them. Most of his students were made up of boys. In fact, he could count the number of females that he had taught over the past fifteen years on one hand. This semester was no exception. Out of the ten students, he had only one girl. And naturally, she had chosen the front desk for herself.

His classroom (if you would call it a classroom) was designed to look like several offices placed into the large room. Each student was outfitted with large solid oak desks, complete with laptops, the latest edition of the business papers from each colony, textbooks, stationary, paper shredders and of course their own leather swivel chairs. These were arranged in such a way that there were two rows of five desks each, leaving enough space between students to prevent private interactions. He loved this room.

He eyed the seating arrangements. He hadn’t assigned any to the students. He believed in that age-old motto, first come, first serve. Occupying the two front desks were the girl…Julie Wood, he believed…yes, that was her name, and then next to her was Duo Maxwell. (He had been a bit surprised to see the boy arrive that early to his class). Right behind them, Quatre R. Winner and Wufei Chang and behind them…Heero Yuy and Rahim Ahmed. He knew that having children from wealthy families was to be expected, but to have this much power in one room, he almost felt giddy with excitement.

“I believe that many of you are aware of the topic for today,” he began quietly, his ice blue eyes taking in each curious look on their faces. “Hostile takeovers…something many of our fathers or mothers can be accused of, correct?”

He received only blank looks in return.

Shrugging good-naturedly, he picked up one of the business papers. “I would like you all to open up the L1 Colony Cluster Economic Times, please, to section 2A.” He waited for the class to settle down as the noise of papers rustling filled his ears. “Good. Now as you can see, the news for today says that…would you do the honors, Master Ahmed?”

Duo’s eyes blurred at the news in front of him as Ahmed read out the story. It was the same damn thing again. Apparently, Maxwell Oil Industries had just taken over several other smaller businesses in the area.

“….all stocks and shares have now been seized by David Maxwell, who in a press statement argued that he had done it as a merciful obligation. He had done it to rescue the workers from their horrendous working conditions.”

“Did he also forget to mention that he would be laying off over a thousand of those workers, only to get his money back?”

All eyes snapped up to stare at the coldly spoken words from the only female in the class. “Why, whatever do you mean, Miss Wood?” Treize asked with frank curiosity. This was what he liked. Dialogue and in some cases…a good debate.

“I mean look at it!” The dark-haired girl argued, her green eyes flashing with derision towards Duo, who at this point was trying very hard to ignore her. “That is all they do! They just buy and buy and buy and not give a damn about anyone else! They are just capitalist pigs!”

“Excuse me, Miss. Prissy!” Duo finally replied. He had had about enough drama for one morning and some self-righteous being wasn’t going to call his father a pig. “For your information, my father has done nothing more than help these companies! He has rescued them from their worthless position and made them commercial worthy again!”

“In what way?! Huh?! Tell me one way that David Maxwell has helped?!”

Duo was just about to open his mouth to retort again, when a flat, steady voice interrupted him. “The Maxwell Corporation does not just buy out companies for the sake of it. These places they do take over are either willing to be taken over or are ready for a change. And in the words of the great philosophers, change is good. So don’t try to blame them for doing what they can to help. If it means that some people would have to lose their jobs in the process, then so be it. That is the way of the economy. It is the way of life. It cannot be helped.”

All eyes were now fixed in awe on the stoic-faced Heero. Duo’s jaw had practically dropped; his mind refusing to acknowledge that Heero Yuy had actually stood up for him…actually supported him. There was something seriously wrong with this picture.

“Well said, Master Yuy,” Treize replied, his head nodding in acceptance. “And how would you go about getting these workers laid off? Would you go for the kill? Or give it to them subtly?”

“I believe in going for the kill. Why put off the inevitable longer than necessary?” Heero replied in a bored tone.

“That sounds kind of callous and cold-hearted,” Quatre barged in, his eyes looking a bit worried at the flippant tone. “I mean…shouldn’t you at least give them a warning or something?”

Heero frowned. “I don’t think so. They should be expecting it. At least, they ought to be.”

“You see! That is exactly what I mean! They are all ruthless business men that have no care for anyone else’s feelings!” Julie snapped.

Duo allowed a small smirk to come unto his face. At that moment, one could see the exact resemblance to his father and a potential deadly CEO.

 “Sweetheart,” He said softly, as his eyes darted across the room to meet Prussian blue depths. “The world of business is cruel and harsh. You will have to deal with it or you are in the wrong line of work.”

~&~&~&~&~&~

“Deal with it or you are in the wrong line of work?! Duo, that was cold!”

Duo smiled grimly as he eyed his schedule. He had Psychology next. “Q-man, my friend. Life is cold. Someone had to stick it to Miss. Know-it-all. Heck! Did you see the way she was acting? You would think I had killed her family member or something.”

“Well, you just might have,” the blond argued as they began making their way towards their next class. “What do you have next?”

“Psych.”

“Oh. I have Geology.”

Duo stuck a finger into his mouth and made gagging noises, earning a playful shove from his companion. Laughing lightly, he tried to ignore the slight tingle of anticipation. He knew that Heero was going to be in all of his classes and he found himself eagerly waiting for each one.

Two down and more to go.

What puzzled him the most was Heero sticking up for him. Why the hell had he done that? Everyone knew that they did not get along…so why would he…

Aahh…maybe he wants to kiss and make-up and maybe I just might give him his computer back. Well, that trick isn’t going to work on me. It is going to take a whole lot more than sucking up to get me to give it up.

Although a part of him thought that the argument was pretty weak.

 “Alright, Duo. This is where I leave you. See you at lunch!”

“You too, Q-man! Have fun studying rocks and crap like that.”

Quatre snorted and waved goodbye…but not before bumping into their resident adviser. Duo bit back a sharp bark of laughter as the two boys were now engaged in a battle of profuse apologies to each other…along with lots of paperwork floating around them. Shaking his head at the sight, he spun around to continue his journey, when he stopped short at the sight before him.

Well, I will be a monkey’s uncle.

Seemed like Miss Know-it-all and Mr. Smart-Ass had hit it off. Well, actually the girl was doing most of the talking, while her companion seemed more interested in…nothing in particular. Suddenly feeling very mischievous (these tended to come in sporadic bursts), he walked up to the couple and immediately threw an arm across Heero’s shoulders, causing the brown-haired boy to stiffen in either shock or anger.

“Hi there! I see you two are still engaged in that oh so wonderful topic concerning my father’s trials and tribulations.”

Waiting for Heero to throw his arm off or to say something in return to his actions, he was honestly surprised at the lack of reaction from the stoic-faced boy. If anything, Heero seemed to have relaxed a little and those blue eyes seemed to sparkle with something that Duo was going to have a tough time explaining to himself.

“Actually,” Julie said with exasperated calmness, as she hoisted her backpack to her shoulders. “I was just asking Heero if he wanted to study with me later on. We are going to work on the paper that Professor Khushrenada gave us earlier.”

“Oh?” Duo replied and then pursing his lips into a mock pout, he turned to face his new buddy. “How come you didn’t tell me about this, Heero? I thought you and I were getting all chummy and all. I feel so hurt…”

Heero struggled hard to ignore those purple orbs that he knew were mocking him. It was bad enough to have Duo’s hands across his shoulders and to experience that unwelcome warmth flow through him and now…

Two can play that game.

“I am sorry, Duo. I should have told you. Would you like to study with us, then?”

Duo blinked at the small smile on Heero’s face, although his eyes spoke volumes.

/Leave well, the fuck, alone!/

However, he allowed a bright grin to come onto his visage. “Sure, Heero! I would just love to spend the rest of my afternoon sitting in a large library, having pleasant conversation with you both. Just make sure you give me a call, so we can hash out the details, ne? Oops! Look at the time! Don’t wanna be late for Psychology…which you are having by the way, right?”

And not giving the brown-haired boy a moment to think, he yanked on his arm and waved a quick goodbye to a puzzled-looking Julie.

When they were out of hearing range from the girl, Heero took over and Duo suddenly found himself pushed against a tiny space between two classrooms, safely away from anyone walking down the hallways. He swallowed tightly at the cold look that had come onto Heero’s face, although he did nothing to show his worry. The boy looked homicidal.

“Listen to me, Maxwell,” Heero bit out sternly, albeit softly, since he didn’t want the entire student body hearing his speech. “I know what you are up to and I am on to you, you hear me? If you think you are going to keep playing childish games around me, then you are sadly mistaken.”

“You mean aside from that little stunt you pulled this morning,” Duo whispered back in anger. “It’s a two way thing, Heero. You want to play dirty, then we play dirty! Or we could just ignore each other for the rest of the school year, that is just peachy with me!”

“I intend to beat you at everything you do, Maxwell. Every single thing you do.”

Duo grit his teeth, but it wasn’t just because of the threat, but due to the painful fact that his pants were getting incredibly tight and uncomfortable. It wasn’t his fault, after all just a few inches separated them and he would have been made out of stone not to realize how good-looking the boy in front of him was. Coupled with the idea that he just might be…

I like girls. I like girls. I like girls! I have to like girls!

He shifted slightly, which turned out to be a bad idea, as his hips made contact with the compact ones before him. Twin gasps of surprise were quickly followed by widened eyes as they gaped at each other in disbelief.

Duo would have laughed at the soft hue of red that was splashed across Heero’s face, if it wasn’t for the realization that his own face felt hot all of a sudden. Was it his imagination or was Heero coming closer to him… or was it the other way around? He could feel his breath coming in short pants now, his hands were getting clammy with sweat, his heart racing a mile a minute.

I cannot do this, now! I cannot!

“Ow! Hey! What did you do that for?!” he cried out in pain, as he found himself rubbing the back of his skull. But, to his amazement, he found himself talking to no one, for Heero had taken off, like the devil was on his tail.

~&~&~&~&~

“I want you all to select partners for the rest of the semester. We are going to concentrate on getting to know one another on a more personal level. This will count as seventy-five percent of your grade, so there will be no chickening out or anything from anyone, okay?”

The students in Miss. Noin’s Psychology class nodded in acceptance.

“And to make it fair,” the purple-haired woman continued as she went around the classroom handing out questionnaires for them to fill. “I have put all your names in a box so you get to pick out your partners. Seems fair enough, right? I know some of you are already friends with one another, so that isn’t going to count.”

Duo frowned at his questionnaire. The personality quiz. Hmm…he had enough personality for the entire school in his opinion. Flicking his pen open, he began answering the questions, his tongue now out of his lips in its usual position.

Heero found himself staring and he hated himself for it.

Never in his life had he been more distracted by anything or anyone before. His eyes flew to his own questions and he answered the first ten automatically. As soon as that was done, he found himself eyeing Duo again. Duo had made himself comfortable in the front seat again and from Heero’s vantage point, he was only graced with his side profile.

He could clearly see the pink tip of Duo’s tongue lick across his lips in concentration again and unable to stop himself, he groaned softly at the sight. What the hell was wrong with him? He pinched himself angrily, welcoming the sharp pain as he forced his mind to concentrate on the work before him. So what if he had almost kissed Duo? So what if he had so badly wanted to see what that felt like? So what if…

“Gah…”  Focus, for Christ sakes!!

Question Twenty: How would you describe yourself?

Duo’s answer (done with a smile on his face): A great guy, who is more than willing to make friends with anyone and everyone. Is not averse to good food and drink and would love nothing more than to be in a rock band.

Heero’s answer: Practical.

Well, at least he was honest.

“Alright, you can turn in your papers and we will begin the selection process. Each of you has been assigned a number. Now here’s how this will work. I will call out your number, you step up to the box in front of the class and pick out another number from the box, think of it as a lottery kind of thing. You will call out the number you have and if that is your number, for those of you sitting, please raise up your hand and make yourself heard, okay? Right, first up…Relena Peacecraft!”

The blue-eyed girl smiled and made her way up to the box, not forgetting to stick her tongue out to her best friend. Reaching into the box, she moved and shifted and moved and shifted, till someone muttered out a curt, ‘Hurry up already.” (sounding eerily like Duo’s voice). Finally lifting out her piece of paper, she announced loudly.

“Number Ten!”

Several seconds passed before the calm voice responded.

“Number Ten…Heero Yuy.”

Relena shrugged and nodded before going back to her seat, although she noticed that her best friend’s face was furrowed in a frown. “What’s the matter, Duo?” she asked softly, as Miss Noin announced the next person up. “Don’t worry, he won’t bite me or anything.”

Duo stole a glance at the boy he had almost…

Grrr…snap out of it, Maxwell! He already thinks you are…you are…

“Duo?”

He spun around to place a fake smile upon his face. “Nah, Lena. I am not worried. He won’t do anything to you. As long as Big Brother Duo is here to protect you, I will keep big bad Heero monster away from you.”

Relena snickered and playfully punched his arm. “Yeah, well don’t kill him yet. I need him to pass this class, okay? Hmm…he is kinda hot, though. Never really noticed before…”

Duo nodded absentmindedly, although his hands had tightened into fists upon his lap. He didn’t want to admit it, but he suddenly felt a well of jealousy and hate rise up like acid in his throat. And for the first time in his life, he wished Relena would just disappear.