Many many thanks and hugs to the people who took the time to leave a reply to the first chapter.
***
It was nearly nightfall before the Peacekatch siblings returned to their home. Relena skipped up the driveway, Hiro perched on her shoulder, and smiled at the old man who opened the door for her. Pargan gave a gentle smile back as he watched the girl disappear into the spacious house - a smile that turned into a worried gape as he watched his young master stagger in with all the packages his younger sister had missed - such as the three trigonometry-textbook-thick manuals and the solid steel cage Relena refused to put Hiro into.
***
After Pargan helped Zechs store away all the Gundamon paraphernalia, the blond teenage had sat down at the kitchen table for a drink (nothing alcoholic, he was still underage) He smiled as he watched his sister chase Hiro around the house, the little cat-tailed Gundamon scampering away on all fours just a little too fast for Relena to catch him. (if you've seen Merle of Tenku no Escaflowne run, that's the way Hiro moved)
Zechs looked a bit inquisitively at the Gundamon. Relena was a good runner, was in fact already being scouted out by the track-and-field coach at Zechs' high school. And Hiro was able to avoid her. Considering his size, that little sucker was fast.
Zechs was very protective of his little sister. Their parents had died when both were very young, leaving the two all alone in the world except for Pargan. Their family had been, and still was, wealthy, and had prudently-invested assets all over as safeguards; Pargan was a kind, almost grandfatherly, caregiver - but that hadn't stopped Zechs from feeling like he was wholly responsible for his sister's welfare. Even from a young age, Relena seemed to sense her brother's concern and responded accordingly. Though arguments between the two were common and sometimes fooled acquaintances as to the exact nature of their bond, the two Peacekatch siblings adored each other. Most probably, Zechs thought in amusement, they only argued so much because they both liked debate. Relena would be hell on wheels when she joined the high school debate team.
Zechs was jolted from his thoughts as his sister sat heavily down beside him. He glanced at her fondly. "Problem with your new Gundamon?"
Relena sighed, a response more eloquent than words. Zechs thought, 'Perhaps sending her on a Gundamon journey isn't such a good idea, not if the Gundamon distrusts her that much.' Zechs remembered his own Gundamon from his journey nearly five years back, a sturdy creature named Otto. Theirs had been a fun journey; Otto wasn't an exceptionally brave or talented Gundamon, but he had been intensely loyal?
A pained yowl echoed through the house. Zechs and Relena sat up in surprise just as something moving so fast it was only a blur streaked through the kitchen to land in Relena's arms. They blinked in unison, both looking at the Gundamon on Relena's lap. Hiro's tail hung limply behind him, and he glared at Pargan as the old man came in, apologizing profusely for having stepped on Hiro's tail.
The story now apparent, Relena patted Hiro's head comfortingly as she glanced over at her chuckling brother. "What's so funny?"
Zechs shook his head. "Oh, nothing. It just seems that Gundamon is fonder of you than he admits."
***
After a delicious dinner during which Zechs scolded Relena for letting Hiro have some of her steak, Relena was about to head upstairs for a shower when Zechs grabbed her arm. "Uh-uh. Not yet, Relena," he chided her. "You've got to complete Hiro's registration first." He pointed to several sheets of paper on a desk.
Relena sighed, and nodded her acquiescence. She sat down at the desk, picked up a pen, and set to.
Name of trainer: Relena Peacekatch
Age of trainer: 12 years
Place of residence: Pallet Town
Legal guardian: Dieter Pargan
But when she got to the part about her Gundamon, she was stumped. "Zechs!" she called to her brother, who lounging in a nearby armchair and awaiting this very question. "Help me with this?" she asked him. Grinning, her brother hurried over, and Relena repressed the urge to roll her eyes. Zechs was an excellent Gundamon trainer; but this was the first chance he had to show off his knowledge to his younger sister.
"It's actually fairly simple," he assured Relena. "If it's so simple," Relena responded dryly, "then why do you need a whiteboard to diagram it?" Zechs did not look at her as he continued to wheel in the large whiteboard.
He picked up a blue marker and started scribbling. "There are four general criteria that the League uses to classify Gundamons," he explained as the blue marker flew over the white surface. Hiro had been napping all curled up on a sofa cushion. He now sat up, after going through a series of stretching very much like that of a new-awakened tabby. With a smooth leap, he bounded onto the tabletop, right next to the stack of papers that would make him officially known to the Gundamon League. Relena reached over to ruffle his head fondly.
Zechs cleared his throat importantly, drawing both Relena and Hiro's attention to the whiteboard. "These four criteria, which are used to cross-index the Gundamon, are: physical appearance; bloodline; attack type; and affinity." Zechs wrote each on the board as he rattled them off. Taking out a laser pointer Relena hadn't even known he'd had, he tapped 'Physical Appearance' and 'Bloodline'.
"These two are just what they sound like. Now, the Appearance is easy to fill in; just look at your Gundamon."
Hair/fur color: brown
Eye color: dark blue
Armor: tanktop and cycling shorts (type: clothing)
Distinguishing features (if applicable): tail (catlike)
Okay, next is Bloodline. This one is as often as not unfilled. Just as many Gundamon come from the wild as from labs, and of course you can't track bloodline then. But anyway, we do happen to have this little guy's bloodline on file. Relena, point your ESA at Hiro and press the red button on the right."
Relena did so, and a screenful of data popped onto the screen. She pressed the small yellow tab button next to Bloodline: Yui Strain and the screen was replaced by a list of Gundamon of the Yui line and their achievements.
Yui Strain
Place of origin: believed to be Eurasia point J
Characteristics of the line
Single-minded determination to complete their tasks
Absolute loyalty to their chosen
Inclined more to silence (this does not hold true for all of them)
Incredibly violent tendencies (sometimes suppressed, but always there)
Famous Members
Ayanami: nicknamed Rei, winner of the Neon Cup
Kaoru: member of the team who won the Ura Butou Satsujin
Glace: famous hunter with infamous shapeshifting abilities
Marron: Glace's brother, a multi-affinity Gundamon
Hiei: member of the team who won the Ankoku Bujutsukai; aka the Black Dragon
Zechs continued. "As you can see, Hiro has got a rather illustrious background. Now we move on to Attack Type. This is determined according to what the attack of the Gundamon usually is."
"There's Straight, wherein they use conventional means to inflict purely physical harm. There's Psychic, where the attack affects not the body but the mind of the Gundamon. And lastly there's Status Effect, which does little to no actual damage but impairs the Gundamon's ability to fight until it can be treated."
"Some attacks are a mix of two types, or some Gundamons can have an array of attacks that come from different types. On the whole, though, Gundamons tend to stick to mostly one type. Yours is a Straight attack Gundamon - Gun Shot and Sword Fight both deal with physical harm." Hiro's tail twitched, and just as if he understood they were discussing his attacks, he let the outline of the saber he used in Sword Fight shimmer in the air for a brief moment. He let it disappear, looking smug.
"The last, and most mysterious, is Affinity. Gundamons can somehow tap into raw forces that flow, unnoticed by us, through the earth. These forces manifest as, for lack of a better word, elemental powers. Gundamons are able to tap into one of seven of these forces: fire, earth, water, wind, ice, rock, or metal. The Affinity determines what type of Gundamons they'd be strong or weak against and predict some abilities the Gundamon might be able to learn. For example, my Gundamon, Otto, was a Metal Affinity. He was strong against Wind, Rock, and Earth; weak against Fire, Water, and Ice; and was able to learn how to project a magnetic field."
"Wow! Really?" asked Relena, aquamarine eyes shining. "Cool! So, which kind is he? Huh?"
Zechs shrugged. "We won't know till we test him."
***
The two siblings, with Hiro carried along in Relena's arms, stood in the garage. In front of them was a bowl of soil, a bowl of water, a small candle burning steadily, a large metal wrench, a glass full of ice cubes, a small heap of stones, and an empty bowl.
Zechs gestured at the odd assortment. "Each is supposed to represent one of the Affinities. Now, we?" he was interrupted by his younger sister.
"So, where's the one supposed to represent Wind?"
Zechs pointed to the empty bowl.
"But that's empty!"
"Noooo, it's actually filled with air, right? And wind is moving air, so?."
"Alright, alright. Let's get on with it!"
Relena bent down, letting Hiro leap out of her arms. He turned his tousled head to look at Relena curiously. Relena made shooing motions with her hands. "Go on, go on!"
Hiro padded forward, stopping just before the row of Affinity representatives. He looked from one to the other, his tail whisking slowly from side to side.
Zechs and Relena waited with bated breath.
Hiro yawned widely, wrapped his tail around himself as he curled up on the floor, and resumed his interrupted nap.
Sweatdrops all around - even the row of items got them.
"Hey! Wake up you arrogant little sucker! And pick!" Zechs yelled. He started forward, slowed by Relena's hanging onto his shirttail, yelling.
Hiro, started out of his nap, glared at Zechs. A slight breeze started, ruffling everyone's hair. Zechs didn't notice, too busy trying to untangle Relena's hands from his shirt. At least, he didn't notice until the wind was strong enough to whip his hair around so hard it stung. Just like in a storm?
Relena and Zechs turned, slowly, to see Hiro glaring at them - well, more at Zechs. The air around him glowed softly, making it easy to see the tornado it was forming into around him.
"Oooh-kaaay," Zechs said, slowly. "So I guess his Affinity is Wind?" He then started sprinting out as fast as he could, leaving a dust cloud in his wake. Hiro followed, looking evilly smug, the mini-tornado still glowing about him. Relena tore after the two of them, alternating between yelling at her Gundamon and at her brother.
In the garage, the water's surface stilled, the wind-born ripples fading away. The ice stopped clinking against the glass, and the soil, stones and metal wrench remained as still as ever.
***
Elyn Yuy
Heero sure does make a cute Gundamon. 