Hello again, from the author of Perfect Warrior and its sequel Perfect No More. Well, I was reading the book "Gundam Wing Episode Zero" and I got to thinking, why not do a short past episode for Leah. And this is what my messed up imagination came up with.

A/N: This takes place right after Trowa's past story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing characters or Middie Une. But I do own Leah, she is all mine! And Trowa belongs with Leah now that I think of it.

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First Love

White Spirit Angel

A.C. 190:

A young girl of twelve ran down the long dark hall, which was hidden deep underneath the ground. As she ran, she couldn't see where she was going and ran into a tall and equally dark figure. Looking up from the floor where she fell back on, the girl looked up from rubbing her sore bottom to see a tall man with short slick black hair. He looked down at her with a stern look on his pale face, which showed no emotions.

"Middie Une, how good of you to come back so quickly from your mission."

The man said this as he reached down and helped the twelve-year-old to her feet. She nonchalantly brushed off the dirt and dust stuck to her extra long cotton turtleneck sweater. Then she looked back to stare into his coal black eyes, and spoke softly yet firmly.

"You said you had an important job for me, Michael. I am, of course ready for anything."

"That's very good, my little spy." Michael spoke, chuckling to himself. "You know that you are one of my best agents. Well I have been training another, and I want to know how she does in the field. You are to show her around and teach her all you know."

Middie narrowed her brow in a confused manner; "Why are you training another agent?"

Michael again, chuckled. "To be precise, I am now training an assassin, one who is as ruthless a soldier going into battle, but 10 times more stealthy and 50 times more deadly."

Middie nodded in confirmation that she would do as she was told and he pressed a slip of white paper into her palm. However, as the dark man coldly walked past her, laughing to himself, she couldn't help but frown thinking about how someone could be forced to kill. She shook the thought out of her mind. Surely, he had a good reason to do what he did. She kept reminding herself of that, as she read the instructions on the small slip of paper. She reached the thick metal door, where the note had indicated, and she griped the door handle with her hand. Middie poked her long blonde head through the crack in the door, and stepped through her bright blue eyes peering into the utter darkness.

Suddenly, Middie silently gasped as her eyes fell upon a young girl, looking as if she was ten years old or maybe even younger. The girl sat, motionless, looking like a statue upon a small bed covered in white satin sheets, her feet dangled off the side. Her long blonde hair fell down her back in a small tight braid. Her eyes were closed so Middie could not see what she was feeling. She was clad in a tight black tank top and black caprice pants, which extremely contrasted her pale skin. Middie guessed Michael did this to make sure the young girl blended into the background.

Middie was about to turn and leave when a small voice spoke up, small yet somewhat tentatively cold and toneless.

"Are you the one sent by my master, Michael?"

The older girl faced the other again, and approached slowly and sat down next to her, not receiving any retaliation back.

"I am, but how is it you are the one who is to be an assassin? You are just a child." Middie spoke calmly, placing her hand and stroking the young girl's bangs, which had fallen in her big innocent looking red eyes. The girl seemed to relax with the soft touches and leaned against Middie's hand. As if she did not want to answer, Middie could see sparkled drops of tears forming in her half-opened red eyes.

"Ssh... you don't have to answer. I'm sorry if I upset you. I was just surprised by what I saw. Now, are you feeling better now?"

The girl looked into the older girl's blue eyes and smiled slightly, but it was awkward, almost as if she had never smiled in her life.

"My name is Middie Une, what is your name?" the older girl stated, then gesturing to the other young girl.

"They call me...Leah." she replied softly, as if afraid to speak as well.

Middie smiled back at Leah and pulled her into a tight yet gentle hug.

"I know you will be a fine person, it is sad Michael has to ruin such a pretty face and personality."

Just then, Middie pulled away and stood up from the bed looking into deep red orbs, with her normal serious expression. "Now, I will teach you everything I know, and maybe even more, if you're good." As Middie started to leave the room, she noticed the younger girl didn't move from her spot. Middie went up to her and kneeled down in front the girl gripped her small pale hands, and whispered soothingly.

"It'll be all right. I promise I will protect you, no one will be able to harm you."

From that day on, Middie was true to her word. She taught Leah everything from stealth to manipulating people, making them believe exactly what she told them. For the next three years, the girls became close friends, almost like sisters. They were able to predict each other's moves before the other said it aloud. For the first time in her life Leah had never felt happier, not only to be outside in the light instead the darkness of the underground base, but to have a real friend, one who actually cares for her not as a weapon for massacre but as a real person.

However, nothing and no one ever lasts forever, that is the first lesson Leah learns which changes her life, and the worst part of it is that she has to learn it alone.

A.C.: 192

Middie had just received an assignment from Michael to do some more uncovering work in a rebel camp. She had pleaded with him for her to bring Leah along as well, and he agreed. Leah was just happy to be outside in the daylight again; she didn't care what was happening.

As the pair of girls approached a wide-open field, they quickly ducked behind some thick brush of the green forest near to the meadow. The two hid until the exchange of fire had died for at least a moment. It did and Middie and Leah ran beneath the cover of the thick shade of the trees. Thinking they were safe, they slowed their speed to a fast jog. However, they calculated the bullets wrong, for one had strayed off course through the meadow, and zoomed among the trees and straight, deep into Middie's right shoulder blade, causing her to fall forward yelling out in pain. Leah heard her friend's high pitched scream, turned around with a start and gasped in fright. She ran toward Middie, catching her in her arms just before the injured girl hit the moss-covered forest floor.

There the two girls lay, Leah cradling Middie's head against her chest. Two tears fell from her dark red eyes, as she cried for her friend's safety.

"Please, Middie, please stay alive. You mean the world to me. I don't want you to go away now. I need you."

The tears touched Middie's cheek and she fluttered her blue orbs open. She reached up and weakly with her left hand wiped away the girl's tears, thus making Leah look up in surprise and happiness. Then Middie spoke softly as if on her last breath. "Whatever you do don't cry for me, you can't cry it will only show people that you are weak and that you can be so easily. Crying only leads to more pain. Just remember, that I will always be with you."

Leah tried to stop more tears from appearing by wiping them away quickly with her light blue sweater sleeve. Middie smiled at the young girl's attempts, and reached up to take Leah's pale hand in her own, grasping it tightly.

"Leah, no matter where you go I want you to remember this. If you ever find yourself alone and scared, stay on the road where your heart takes you and only then will you be able to find a place to call home."

With those last words, Middie's grip became loose and soon her hand fell out of Leah's palm to the ground. Leah cried again, but soon stood up wiping the tears from her eyes. She pulled out the braid that was behind her, and let her long smooth blonde strands flow gently behind her back in the breeze.

No one ever told her, but Leah had grown into a beautiful young girl, just like Middie was. In fact, Leah looks exactly like Middie. Just then, Leah came up with a plan.

After giving Middie a proper farewell, laying her against the base of a large willow tree, draping a white wool blanket, from her shoulder pack, around the body. Leah turned and ran through the dense forest never once looking back, remembering what Middie told her a long time, "never make eye contact with your enemy, and never look back. You will never be able to stop looking."

Leah ran for what seemed like forever, even if she was too tired she still pushed herself to get as far away from the memories of her past as she could. Her home wasn't with Michael. She was going to keep running until she found someone, someplace she could call home.

Eventually Leah's legs began to grow weak and in need of rest, but she refused, wanting to keep Middie's promise. However, as she reached the edge of the forest, her feet collapsed, thus throwing her to a giant meadow overgrown with tall strands of dried grass. Unable to sleep, she lay there flat on her stomach too tired to even move, and sobbed for what she lost.

Also, there in the meadow, a young boy stood looking up at the stars, as if he wanted to be apart of them. His emerald eyes showed no emotion and were covered by his long auburn brown strands, however, they did react when he heard the sound of sobs behind him. Turning around, he faced a young girl about the same age as himself. He calmly walked over to the face down girl, and lightly tapped her on the shoulder making her jump up in shock, not expecting the sudden intrusion.

"Who are you?" she asked quickly, still a little startled.

However, the boy came back, "My business is my own. Tell me who you are first."

Leah didn't move, nor could she move. She had looked up and was soon lost with dazzling emerald green orbs, and also realized he too was staring into her red eyes. Finally, after a brief moment of silence they pulled away from contact as Leah turned abruptly on her heel and started to walk away. However, her feet stopped in place, as she heard the smooth sound of the boy's voice call after her.

"What is your name?" the boy asked, running over to catch up to her, and laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Leah stiffened slightly at the young touch, and for some reason she had to see those dazzling eyes again. Slowly, she turned around to face the slightly taller boy, but he seemed the same age as her. Again they bore into each other's eyes, almost as if searching for what made them so attracted to the other. Leah then remembered what the boy said early. It had been an innocent question, but she couldn't just leave it unanswered.

"My name is Leah, I'm sorry I was rude before. My best friend just died and she made me promise to never look back."

The boy smiled slightly, not removing his hand from her shoulder, but reaching up to stroke her cold cheek, "Sometimes it's good to look back. It helps you remember the past. If you don't have a past, you won't be able to live a good future. You do have a beautiful name by the way."

Leah smiled a little at his compliment but then her smile turned to confusion, "And everyone has a past though, but then, where is yours? Why are you running from your past? And what is your name, now that I told you mine?"

The boy stared her, and she could see it in his emerald eyes, for the first time. A small sparkled teardrop formed in his eyes. "Unlike you, I do not have a past or a home. Everything was taken from me. I am now and forever only a traveler searching for a place to call home." He released his hand from its unconscious stroking of the girl's soft long hair, turned around and started to leave, leaving behind an even more confused Leah. She couldn't understand his words after what he said before, 'How could he contradict himself like that? Who is this boy?'

Just then Leah's eyes widened, and she looked up from her thoughts to see the boy getting further away. She did not want to lose him, like she lost Middie. Leah called out to him with one thing.

"Wait! I don't even know your name."

That made the boy stopped but he did not turn around. His hair covered his emerald eyes, for he could not look upon her face, for fear of causing such a beautiful creature pain. However, he couldn't just leave her unanswered so he shouted out with the one name he had known.

"I have no name, but if you must call me something. Call me Nanashi[1]."

Leah took a step toward, and asked, "Why is it you are so different Nanashi? Maybe you do have a name just like everyone else, and if so then you do have a past. I hope you find it. I wish you good luck in searching."

The boy couldn't bear to look at her now after she said that, but he also couldn't take another step away. It was almost as if she had paralyzed him with her sweet voice.

They stood in silence, contemplating the other, so deep in thought that neither of them could see the dark men staring at them through safety of the thick forest. Finally they moved from their hiding spots, and ran toward the girl. Grabbed her by the waist and held on tightly, while she kicked and screamed to let her go. The dark man, of whom she could not see his face for it was covered by an even darker mask, covered her nose and mouth with a damp cloth, leaving her no choice but to breath in the fumes. She looked up one last time through her blurred vision to see that the boy did turn around, and she smiled seeing his dazzling emeralds one last time. Now, she saw only blackness.

The boy was able to sense something was happening and despite his mind's protest, he turned around and stared in shock at the man roughly holding Leah, who was thrashing wildly. Not wanting any harm to come to her, he began to run toward the man, just as he saw Leah fall unconscious. This only increased his speed. He jumped up to kick at the man's stomach but before he could reach his target something sideswiped him across the head, making the boy fall hard to the ground headfirst. With the remaining energy he had, the boy looked up but could only see the man that hit him standing at his head smirking and holding what looked to be long rifle, with a trickle of blood running down the side. The boy reached up with his hand and felt his left temple to see that it too was bleeding. He looked around again, but saw no sign of the girl or the man who kidnapped her. He felt he would never see her again. However, as he started to fall unconscious and the other man was leaving him alone, Nanashi looked to the black sky, full of stars. Closing his eyes, he made a silent wish on the brightest star he could find.

"Let me live, so I can see her again. Please let her be the home I am searching for."

After that day he never saw her again, but he would always remember the wish he made, and every night as he watched the small twinkling stars. He knew that she was watching those same stars. He would always remember her, and she would remember him. One day, they would find each other again.

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[1] Nanashi- Japanese word literally meaning "no-name".

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I hope you enjoyed this little prequel, now I REALLY have to get back to writing my other story "Humans and Beasts"

Until next time!