Title: Honor Betrayed

Chapter: 1/13 + E

Rating: Mature

Parings: 1x2

Warnings: the usual

Beta: none {cause I wanted to start posting today}

Disclaimer: I do not own or hold any rights to [Gundam Wing]. Those rights belong to Bandai, Sunrise, and the Sotsu Agency. These fan fictions were written for fun, not profit. However, this story does belong to me. Please don't snitch it.

Authors notes: Most of my stories ignore Endless Waltz as the waste it is, but in this case, I'm using it. Instead of dancing right into a cushy job with Preventers, Wufei is sentenced to three years in prison for 'rehabilitation'. Needless to say, our Chang Wufei is not a happy camper.

Beta note: I think the days in the trip to Shanghai are messed up. They fly east so they'd arrive in late afternoon/early evening and leave the day after. So they leave wed noonish, get in wed evening spent one night and leave late thursday. ??

Yet another note: There are a lot of FAQ at the end of the epilogue.

.

Chang Wufei tucked the last of his possessions into a duffle bag and picked it up. He realized that the sum total of the possessions he'd accumulated in his 20 years of life fit into a small bag, a very small one. He deeply regretted the loss of his family sword and a few books that were gifts from his mother, but what hurt the worst was the loss of his friends.

He turned his head when someone rapped on the door of his cell.

"Ready?"

The guard was very careful to be polite to this slender young man. He'd seen him working out in the exercise yard and knew that most of the other convicts were afraid of him.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Are you going to restrain me?"

"Yeah, sorry, rules. Hold still."

The guard approached Wufei with a handful of chains. Wufei just raised one eyebrow and stood still, his little bag still in his hand.

The young guard fumbled and fiddled until Wufei wanted to smack him, but one thing he'd learned here was patience. The kind of patience that waited as long as it took to get the desired results.

So he stood and waited while the young man, he wondered why he though of someone at least six years older than he as young, fumbled with the transport shackles. When the guard had finally sorted things out, Wufei shifted just enough to make him drop them on the floor, re-tangling the whole mess. He shifted again and said, "Oh, sorry. Why don't you get some help?"

"If I can't do a simple thing like getting you ready for transport, my boss is going to have my job. I just don't get it."

"Get what?" Wufei knew exactly what the man didn't get and that was why he was after his job. The idiot shouldn't be guarding a cross walk. He was one of Wufei's last targets here and Chang Wufei intended to have him.

Just as Wufei shifted slightly for the third time a senior guard stuck his head in the door.

"What's the hold up? He's going to miss the shuttle if you don't get a move on." Wufei just sighed a bit loudly. "Chang, I know you're not causing this guy any trouble. You want off this place just as much as we want you off, so what's going on?"

"He doesn't seem to be able to untangle the chains and get them on me. As if I'd cause any trouble on a shuttle anyway." Wufei managed to contain his smirk. "And he hasn't checked my bag yet either. I'd really rather have the bag checked first so I could repack it properly but ..." He let his sentence trail off, watching the supervisor from under his eyelashes.

The supervisor was completely taken in by Wufei's show of humility so he came in, took Wufei's bag and searched it carefully. He was careful to check every item for contraband without disarranging anything. It didn't do to insult the prisoners, they'd found that out the hard way. Several riots had taught the administration not to push their luck too much. After checking the bag, he placed it on the floor at Wufei's feet and checked his man's progress in getting the prisoner ready for transport

What he saw was a mess. His subordinate had gotten the leg irons on Wufei's wrists and the handcuffs on his ankles, with a little subtle misdirection on Wufei's part. And he had the belly chain on wrong too.

"Jesus, I swear, you're on report. I've never seen anyone fuck that up that bad before. You're just useless. I've got to take those off, put them back on and get him to the air lock on time. Get out!"

The junior guard sputtered several excuses, including blaming Wufei for his troubles. Wufei kept a bland, blank expression on his face. The senior guard asked how the hell someone who was standing perfectly still could have done anything at all to cause such a mess. The target mumbled that he didn't know but that it was true. He got an earful and another black mark, one that guaranteed he'd lose his job. Wufei hid his smirk.

"Well, let's get this over with. We'd like you off the station asap. Here."

The senior man efficiently shackled Wufei and nearly carried him to the air lock that led to his transport. Wufei bore all this with a stoic expression and a sigh. He was glad to be off this station prison. He hated everything about it with a passion that was as hot as the center of a star.

After he was belted into his seat, Wufei leaned his head back against the head rest and contemplated his next move. He ignored the horrible launch and miserable flight with as much dignity as possible, which was quite a bit.

.

Duo looked at his watch and sighed. It was taking a lot longer than he'd expected for Wufei to be cleared through administration at the port. Une was going to throw a fit.

"We should have gone up and gotten him. This is bad."

Heero stared at the gate for a moment then agreed, "It is. I don't know what the hold up is but Une was very specific that we not get mixed up in his release."

Duo shifted from one foot to the other. "I don't like any of this. Not at all."

Heero was worried too but he managed to stifle his urge to do something. He didn't know what to do, so nothing seemed like the best bet. He glanced at Duo and noticed that he'd bitten his lips until they were chapped.

"Duo, calm down."

Duo nearly wrung his hands. "I can't. We let him down. We both promised to write to him and visit. We didn't do either one."

"Not for lack of trying. I don't understand how he was placed on SID the second he entered the facility."

"I don't either. But we should have ... done something. I know he never got a single letter, they were all returned."

A voice from beside them said softly, "I wasn't notified either. Do you still have them?"

Duo jumped a foot and Heero flinched. Wufei was even more silent than ever.

Heero just nodded and handed Wufei a small hand held reader. "They're all in here. We scanned them and put the hard copies in a file. It's waiting at Preventers HQ. We're to take you there to meet with Lady Une."

Wufei accepted the reader with a small bow. "Thank you."

Duo opened the door of the Hummer and reached for Wufei's bag. Wufei held it neatly out of reach.

"I'll keep my hand on this, thank you."

Heero shot Wufei a quick, measuring look. This did not bode well at all. Duo just dropped his hand and got into the passenger seat.

Heero climbed into the drivers seat and started the engine. "Unless you'd like to drive?" Heero looked at Wufei in the rearview mirror.

"No. I don't have a license. Nor do I feel equipped to deal with traffic. Yet." Wufei settled back in his seat without comment.

He didn't like the clothing he'd been given at release. It was old, worn, frayed and not quite clean. The jeans were out at the cuffs and the seat and knees were thin. The t-shirt was stretched out at the neck and fell nearly to his knees, the flannel over shirt was torn and missing a button. His boots were the same one's he'd worn on his arrest which meant that they'd been sitting in some storage for the three years he'd been incarcerated. They were stiff and the soles were thin. He looked scruffy and tough, his eyes cold and distant.

" 'Fei?" Duo stopped talking shifted uncomfortably then resolutely continued. "What are your plans? You have a place to stay?"

"I have no plans, I have been given plans. There's a difference. I have to meet with Une, then report to the halfway house. I'll be in contact when the time is appropriate."

Heero sighed. "Chang Wufei, we're trying. Throw Duo a bone, will you?"

Wufei considered this for a moment, said "No." then leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. He didn't open them until they pulled into the garage at Preventers HQ.

" 'Fei? You awake?" Duo refrained from touching Wufei. It hadn't been a good idea before he'd gone to prison, it was a sure bet to be an even worse idea now.

"Yes." That was when Wufei opened his eyes.

"We're here."

Wufei sat up, picked up his bag, on which he'd been resting his feet and got out of the Hummer.

Heero touched Wufei's arm. "We really did try. I swear."

Wufei met Heero's eyes for a second. The concern there lightened his mood. "I believe you. But things are ... difficult just now. Patience will be rewarded."

Heero held Wufei's gaze for a moment. "Duo's never been known to be patient. I am. Remember that."

Wufei just bowed and walked toward the entry.

He was stopped at the door by security who demanded to see his ID.

Wufei just looked at the man, a cold expression flitting across his face before it was replaced by a carefully blank one. "I have no ID. Contact Une."

Heero stepped up behind Wufei but refrained from interfering. Wufei wouldn't appreciate it. Duo flanked Heero with a scowl on his face. This was not going to turn out well.

Security looked at the grim faced trio and called Une. He listened to her calm, "Did you check the list?"

When he said that the individual in question was so obviously homeless and destitute that he hadn't bothered, Une politely asked him if he liked his job. He said he did and she snarled, "Then let Chang Wufei in." added a few choice words and hung up.

"Well, shit. Ok, kid, you can go in."

Wufei just curled his lip in scorn. "I am Chang Wufei, not kid. Disgraceful lack of manners. You're not making a good impression." He walked to the entry and waited until the man buzzed him in. He was followed by Heero then Duo, who just showed their badges and followed him.

Duo cleared his throat. "Sorry about that. We both have trouble with the new guys."

Wufei just stated flatly, "Inefficient." and headed for the elevator.

Duo gave his back a sad look and followed. Heero scowled, things were much worse than Une had predicted.

Wufei entered the elevator and said, "Floor."

Duo just stuck a key card into the slot at the side of the controls then punched a button. "It's twenty floors up. It'll take a while."

"Lock it." Wufei glanced at Duo who just locked the elevator controls so that it wouldn't stop at any other floors.

It didn't take them long to make the twenty floor trip, not stopping at other floors speeded their trip considerably.

Heero let Duo go first, then Wufei and he followed. He was disgusted that Wufei had been given such worn clothing and would have taken him to get something better but Une's orders had been clear. 'Bring him right to me, no stopping over anywhere, for any reason. Then straight to the halfway house.' So that was what they would do and let the devil take the hindmost.

Duo stopped just outside Une's door and turned to speak to Wufei. "Look, if this doesn't work out ... well, this time, no one's going to stop us from helping. See?"

Wufei bowed slightly. "I do. Thank you. Excuse me." He nodded to Heero then opened the door to Une's office.

Une looked up from her paper work and sighed. She hadn't expected this.

"You were expecting them to give me a suit and tie?" Wufei's sarcasm made Une blink. She would have flinched but Treize would not have approved.

"Actually, I was. Please sit down."

Wufei just said, "I'll stand. This won't take long." His tone of voice implied that it had better not.

"Very well. I want you to work for Preventers. You've been grandfathered in, pending your release. You'll have to do some retraining."

"No."

Une didn't allow herself to get upset. Wufei was a valuable asset and she intended to add him to her arsenal.

"No to what? The job? Or the retraining?"

Wufei just watched her for a moment. She didn't squirm nor shift nor look away.

"I have to report to the halfway house and begin reintegration into society." His expression never changed but the look in his eye was scornful and distant.

"You'll find that the first thing they tell you to do is get a job. I'm offering you one that they'll be very pleased with."

Wufei hunched one shoulder. "Then the answer is a tentative yes. My release officer will have to approve it."

Une struck while the iron was hot. "I'm your release officer and I have approved it."

Wufei stiffened, "I see." He stood and waited to see if Une had anything else to say. Une waited to see if Wufei had anything to say.

The stare down lasted until Une's phone rang. She broke their stare to answer it. Wufei just stood gazing at her mildly until she was done. He didn't even bother to listen to the conversation.

Une's face took on a stony look and she bowed her head slightly in capitulation. "I have an idea that you're not going to cooperate in any way with me, are you?"

"If you make it worth my while, I might. But ... I have ... justice to inflict."

Une got the unhappy feeling that inflict was the proper word in this case. "I see. Will you work with me until the proper opportunities arise?"

Wufei licked his lower lip, pink tongue flicking between his lips. "We can discuss it." he started to turn away then he turned back. "Those reports you're waiting on, multiply them by a factor of at least five. Good day." with that he opened the door and walked out.

Une sat with a stunned expression on her face. She couldn't have seen what she thought she'd seen; but, Chang's tongue had been ... forked? She shook her head and turned to her files.

.

Heero nodded to Wufei when he left the office then started for the elevator.

"Where's Maxwell?"

"Mission." Heero stifled yet another sigh. Wufei was unresponsive in the extreme. Heero silently compared Wufei's attitude to his own during the war and didn't like it much.

"You're not with him?" Wufei's face showed no expression at all.

"I am with him, so we're not partners. That was one of the things we wrote to you about."

"I see." And Wufei did. He wondered if that gave him hope or just annoyed him. "Will you take me to the halfway house now?"

"Yes."

Heero wasn't about to try to carry on a conversation with Wufei when he so obviously didn't want to talk. It was annoying in the extreme and only Duo seemed to have the knack of forcing conversation without getting punched.

"Do you want me to come in with you?"

Wufei considered this as he leaned against the wall of the elevator. "No, I don't think so."

"Very well. But Duo and I have agreed that you're to have this." He handed Wufei a cell phone. It wasn't the most expensive phone, nor did it have a ton of features, all it did was text, email and make calls. "And don't argue." Heero glowered at Wufei until he took the phone. "We'll only pay the bill until you can afford to do it yourself."

Wufei tucked the phone into his pocket, checking to make sure that there wasn't a hole it could fall through. He didn't say thank you but he didn't reject it either. Heero decided to be satisfied with that.

They remained silent until Heero pulled up in front of the halfway house. He sat in the car and watched as Wufei took his bag and walked up the front steps of the homey looking halfway house and entered the place without looking back.

He didn't know what had happened to his friend on the prison station and he wasn't sure he wanted to. He did know that he had to find out.

.

Wufei didn't knock, he knew the door would be open so he just pushed it open and walked in.

A sharp voice from the side snapped, "We knock here."

Wufei just turned to see who was speaking to him. "Chang Wufei. Here are my papers." He extended his release package to the sharp faced woman and waited.

She examined the papers quickly then looked Wufei up and down. "Skinny little thing, aren't you?" Wufei refrained from answering. "Kitchen is open from 5:30am to 9:30pm. You make a mess, you clean it up. I keep fixings for anyone who wants to cook for themselves. Nothing fancy but take what you want, just eat it all or put it in a container with your name on it. Anything without a name is fair game. You're expected to pay 50€ a week, once you get a job payment arrangements will be made. Keep your nose and your quarters clean and we'll get along. You'll have to submit evidence that you're seeking a job. I expect to see you fill out at least three applications a week. And have proof of at least one interview. Got me?"

Wufei just nodded. The woman hadn't bothered to introduce herself and Wufei didn't care enough to ask, he just followed her to his room.

There was no lock on the door and the bathroom was down the hall but Wufei didn't care. A chair under the door knob would keep intruders out when he was in his room and he wasn't leaving anything valuable there when he left. It would do.

"If you need shampoo, soap or what not, just ask. I'll tack the price onto your rent. If you want to lock something up, buy yourself a foot locker. I get a key so I can check for contraband at any time. Questions?"

Wufei just eyed her for a moment then said, "No."

The woman turned to leave, saying over her shoulder. "I'll expect the key within twelve hours of you acquiring a locker."

Wufei just shut the door on her with a soft grunt.

He turned and examined the room. It was small, not very clean and contained two beds. He checked both beds and realized that he had a room mate. There was a small foot locker shoved under the bed nearest the wall. He moved it to the bed nearest the door and checked the sheets. They were clean, stiff and rough. He checked the other bed but the sheets were the same.

He unzipped his bag enough to examine the contents. All he had was the clothing on his back, three changes of underwear; briefs, t-shirts and socks. He also had a nondescript jumpsuit and another pair of boots, old boots which needed resoled. He also had a debit chip which contained 300€.

That was all he had to show for three years of his life, spent in penal servitude, for a mistake he'd made when he was too young to drink. He shook his head. It wasn't the time served, but the conditions that made it so bad.

He also had the reader with all the letters in it and the cell phone. He wondered how many minutes he had.

It didn't take him long to check his minutes then make a very quick call to a voice activated bank account. After checking to be sure that all his arrangements were still in place, he transferred some money to his debit chip then hung up.

He stretched, he'd slept on the shuttle so he was wide awake and ready for the first step in his plan. This happened to be shopping.

He didn't need much, just a few more articles of clothing and a new computer. He changed his boots to the sound of stitching popping. And, maybe, a new pair of boots. Neither of the pairs he had now were very good.

He pattered down the stairs, not bothering to be quiet. After checking to see if there was a sign out sheet, he left a note on the kitchen table, he didn't want to be accused of running at this late date.

He started his shopping by finding the nearest military surplus store and getting two full BDU uniforms in urban camo, and a good all purpose knife. He picked one of those folding things with several blades and a screwdriver and so on. He had no idea what Swiss had to do with it, as Switzerland didn't have an army and hadn't for more than two centuries. He also bought a good mid-sized backpack into which he stuffed his duffel and purchases.

After that he found a good used clothing store and picked up three pairs of jeans, several t-shirts with slogans on them and more underwear.

He paid for his things, then re-entered a dressing room, changed into jeans and a t-shirt that said, "Kill 'em all, fuck sorting 'em out" and packed everything else into his new backpack. He then ripped the jeans, t-shirt and flannel into small pieces and shoved them into the sack that had contained his purchases along with all the wrapping. He handed that to the clerk and snapped, 'Burn it." then left.

His next stop was at an electronics store where he bought the best, top of the line, game capable laptop he could find. Then he went to the service window and had them install all the memory the motherboard could handle.

His conversation with the tech was the first one he'd had with a civilian, outside of a mission, since the age of fourteen.

It was interesting.

"Hey, man, those jeans are pretty worn. Comfortable?"

Wufei eyed the brand new, stiff jeans the tech was wearing and nodded. "Yeah. How much?"

"Should spend some money on new stuff, now that things are really getting back to normal."

Wufei turned up his nose. "I have better things to spend my money on."

His final purchases were a heavy duty all metal case, an external 100 exabyte hard drive and some cables. He packed everything to suit him, paid and left, calmly pocketing a track ball, several USB drives and some gum. Interesting the things you could learn in prison, and the attitudes you could shed.

.

His last stop was to a coffee bar with wi-fi. He settled into a seat with a good cup of coffee and booted up his brand new computer. He had had the tech register all his soft ware to his name, using the address of Preventer HQ and a phony apartment number. Now he had some research to do.

It took him over an hour to find the information he wanted without leaving tracks all over. His hacking software was out of date; but, for now, that was an advantage. It didn't hurt that he was using a public IP. He finished his coffee, shut his computer and ambled out.

On his way out, he managed to bump into a man in a business suit who sneered at him and said meanly, "Why don't you get a damn job, instead of loitering about all day?"

"Because I just got out of prison? You want to offer me something?"

The man's eyes bugged out and he stammered a bit. Wufei snorted at him and shouldered his way by, pocketing the man's wallet as he did so.

He used the cash from the man's wallet to buy cleaning supplies and toiletries. He also bought a hair brush, ties and a pocket comb. He'd had his first fight in prison over his hair. They'd wanted it cut, he'd pleaded religious reasons and the administration had let it go. Other prisoners had objected and the fight was on. It had led to six prisoners in the infirmary, including Wufei. He still didn't regret it.

When he returned to the residence the first thing he did was clean the room. He took the sheets off the bed and put them in the washer in the basement then returned to the room. The blanket he took into the back yard and shook thoroughly. He hunted for a supply closet and found one on the same floor as his room. He took the broom and dust mop, swept and mopped the floor then used the dust mop to clean the walls and ceiling. After binning the sweepings he dusted everything on his side of the room and he was done except for the sheets.

When he went into the basement to check on his sheets he ran into the Onna. She demanded to know what he was doing and he told her. "I'm cleaning my room. I wouldn't want you to think I was breaching the agreement forced on me by the state."

She clearly didn't understand sarcasm as she just nodded and grumbled her way back up the stairs.

While Wufei had been speaking with his keeper the sheets had finished washing so Wufei put them in the dryer and went back up stairs.

When he reached the room he shared he finally met his room mate.

"Hey! How come you moved the beds. I was all set up." His roomie seemed more curious than angry.

"I can't sleep if I can't get my back to a wall. Is that a problem?" Wufei implied that it better not be.

"No, not really. I was just a bit surprised. Most guys try not to hack off the settled residents."

"I'm not most guys." Wufei turned to his bed and dropped his pack on it. He had taken it with him every time he'd left his room.

"Um ... ok. What's with the hostility? Did I do something?" the boy looked so genuinely confused that Wufei took pity on him, just a little

"I'm a singularly unfriendly person. I don't do ... buddies. Excuse me." And with that, he turned to sit on his bed.

"Um ... don't kill me, ok? But we're not supposed to sit on the bed if it doesn't have sheets on."

Wufei looked at the fidgeting boy then just stood up. "What's your name?"

"Roy, you laugh ... never mind, I guess you won't. Roy Rogers." At Wufei's raised eye brow, he shrugged and grumbled, "Ok, my dad had a thing for really old western movies."

Wufei just said, "I see." He really didn't but it wasn't worth any kind of discussion. "I'm going to get a locker soon. It will be big enough to sit at the foot of my bed. And objections?"

Roy shook his head but remarked, "No, but the Hag will want a key. She never gets into anything but she leaves the keys sitting around. So don't count on it actually keeping your stuff safe."

Wufei just grunted, "Thanks." and modified his plans a bit. This modification allowed him some more latitude in his purchases which pleased him. It just annoyed him that his things still weren't safe from prying fingers. He shrugged off his irritation and told his room mate that he was going out to purchase a paper. He didn't tell him what else he was going to buy.

He left another note on the table and left again. This time he walked directly to the coffee bar, bought a coffee and sat down to read his letters. He found that Duo had written him every other day for the first month, then, when he found out that none of the letters had been delivered, he started a journal to which he posted every day. Heero had written a long letter every Monday for the first month, then, like Duo, he started a journal. Quatre and Trowa hadn't written at all for over two months, then he got a letter once a month from them. They were all in the ereader with apologies that they hadn't managed to get them delivered as written. Wufei found the letters informative but they failed to ease the ache of loneliness their lack had created over the years.

He tucked the precious letters in to a padded pocket in his pack and opened his computer. He called up a map of the area and a news paper that specialized in job adverts. He used a program Duo had written during the war to create a data base from the advertisements and then eliminated anything he wasn't qualified for, or interested in. This left about two dozen jobs, some of which he knew he wouldn't get hired for. He removed those from his data base and found that he had seven jobs he might get and only three he was really interested in.

He decided to send in resumés for all of them. He immediately received three rejections as too young, he was sure that was not the reason but it was a good excuse for not hiring a 20 year old ex-con with an attitude problem.

After another hour, he had six rejections and one offer of an interview. He had to smile a bit. It was as a dojo assistant. A dojo assistant was usually a very junior student who was working for his lessons. They polished the floors, cleaned the baths and generally helped out around the dojo. It was demeaning for someone of Wufei's skills but the pay was excellent and the hours flexible. He wondered what was wrong at the dojo that they had to hire an assistant.

He emailed back to the dojo and asked if they could interview him soon as he needed a job quickly. He got a mail back in minutes saying he could come right now if it was convenient. He replied that he was on his way and packed his stuff up.

It was only a short walk to the dojo where he was met by a middle aged man who showed him into the back office of the dojo then left him to the tender mercies of a woman who reminded him of his grandmother.

"So, you're Chang Wufei? Here, fill this out. Do you write kanji?"

Wufei called on his lifetime of training and bowed to the woman. "Yes, I am Chang Wufei. Yes, I write kanji. Would you like me to fill out the forms in kanji?"

The woman shook her head. "No, thank you for asking. Most everyone here can't read it. Only my son, the master and a few of the older students can. But it's one of the requirements for the post. Be seated here. Would you like tea?"

Wufei bowed again, took the offered seat and said. "I would, please."

He began filling out the forms and realized that they were tax papers and the few other forms he needed to accept the job. He hoped he wasn't wasting his time and theirs. He needed a job, a smoke screen, and this was perfect.

He looked up for a moment as the woman put a cup of tea at his elbow. "Thank you. Would it be impertinent to ask your name?"

The woman sighed. "No, it would not. This is the reason we need you. My name is Yang Huiqing. I take care of everything in the dojo. Students just can't be trusted to do it right. So ... but I'm getting old and it's getting to be too much for me. We hired a cleaning service for a lot of the work but they don't do the dojo properly. You'll be taking care of most of the cleaning in the dojo and some simple repair work. You are not a servant to the students. Do you understand?"

Wufei viewed her stern face with some amusement, which he carefully hid. "Yes, ma'am, I understand. May I ask a question?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you have a junior student do the chores in exchange for lessons?"

"There aren't any. Sensei only takes senior students now days."

Wufei just said, "Ah." drank some tea and went back to his forms without further questions. This was going to work out better than he'd hoped.

He approached Yang Huiqing with his papers and handed them to her. She glanced at them then pointed to a door in the wall to her left. "Through there and take a seat. He'll call you when it's time."

"May I ask who 'he' is?"

"Ah! Where is my head? 'He' is Yang-Shigung the owner and Grandmaster. There are three Sifu who help him, but he is hiring you and is your direct superior. He will assign you duties or tell you to come to me. You do not bring towels or fetch and carry even for the Sihing. Now shoo."

Wufei bowed, "Thank you, Yang-Lao Shi."

Yang Huiqing looked pleased but flapped her hand at him. "Go, go. You'll keep Yang-Shigung waiting."

Wufei slipped through the door just as the door on the other side of the room opened, admitting a man in late middle age. Wufei wondered if this was the 'elder teacher'. He found out that he wasn't .

"Please come this way, Shigung is waiting for you."

"Thank you, Sifu."

The man just said, "Huh!" opened a door and walked off, he didn't even nod his head and Wufei chose to be insulted.

A cheerful voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Well, well. You're a Chang? Come in, come in. Sit." the man motioned to a small cushion facing him where he knelt on the floor near a window.

"Sir." Wufei bowed then sat.

What followed was an exhaustive bout of questioning on everything from how to polish a floor to how to clean mats. And just about everything in between. The old man even asked to see Wufei's 'brush'.

He handed Wufei a bit of paper, brush and some ink in a small dish. Wufei eyed the ink with genuine disfavor. It was old, badly ground and from a cheap stick. He used it anyway. With quick strokes he wrote several characters. The ones he thought displayed his skill to the best advantage.

When he handed the paper over Yang-Shigung exclaimed, "Ah! A scholar I see. Excellent, excellent. I'll be having you do some of the signing and such. You're hired. I'll expect to see you here every morning from 9am til noon. Longer if needed; but, if you need to leave, we'll just make arrangements for you to do the work at another time. Acceptable?"

Wufei felt a bit stunned, they were actually going to hire him with his record? He nodded his head quickly, before the Shigung changed his mind. "Yes, more than. Thank you for this opportunity."

"And, should you want a few lessons, something could be arranged. Now, I have a class. See my wife, she'll give you a gi. Keep it clean. You'll be given a rope belt, do not wear a colored belt ... unless you are entitled to one."

Wufei just stood. "Thank you. I won't wear a rank belt. Rope is fine. I should go now. It won't do for the teacher to be late. I have some things I need to do." He bowed. "I'll see you in the morning. Thank you again for hiring me."

He made his way to the door, spoke to Huiqing, got his gi and left, tucking it into his ever present backpack. He knew that Une was going to get an email from them, telling her that he had a job. He hoped she choked on it.

His next stop was at a storage for hire warehouse. He rented a small storage for a minimal fee. He gave the same address he'd given on all his resumes, took the key and checked the storage. He now had a place to put some of the things he was going to purchase. Things he really didn't want anyone knowing he had.

Next he found the store he wanted. It was one of those back door arms stores that sold every thing from explosives to throwing knives. He checked it out carefully and smirked to himself. He was going to be able to get everything he wanted. He entered, shopped around, bought a pocket knife and left. He'd return later to get what he really wanted.

He decided that he had more than enough time to visit the local branch of the library and see what it was like. He gritted his teeth at the knowledge that he had a curfew. He knew he was more than capable of sneaking out but it was the principle of the thing.