Innocence Taken

Disclaimer: I don't own a single Gundam Wing character.

Note: I don't agree to any type of abuse and hope that people who are dealing with this sort of thing know that it's not their fault at all. Nothing is wrong with you, and you need to get help. No one should have to put up with something like that that they don't deserve. Angels watch over you. Red Tail

Chapter One:

Heero looked out the star filled sky. The stars still didn't shine quite as bright as they used to. Was he that far from space he couldn't see them glow? Yes, he was. Nothing seemed to shine in his life anymore.

He couldn't do anything to stop how his life was unraveling. First, he was a Gundam pilot, trained to be the 'perfect soldier' and then he became a preventer, now he was a 'normal' high school student.

At least he wasn't the only one though; Relena and the other ex-Gundam pilots were attending the same school as him. They all had classes together, but he still tried to distance himself from them.

The sound of the door opening caught his ears. Une had sent them to live in foster families that were willing to take the boys in. They had no weapons or anything that judged them higher than normal civilians. Heero didn't even turn his head as the lights to the kitchen flickered on.

This was his least favorite time of the day. In fact, any time he was stuck in this house he felt sick. He had to though, his foster parents told him to stay home right after school; no friends over and had very strict rules. Their house wasn't lovely and fantastic, but they were in the middle class of the social ladder and status. He hated them so much.

"Where are you?" A slurred voice came from the kitchen, filling the stale air with the heavy scent of whiskey and all sorts of alcohol mixed in.

His body tensed. He stood rigid by the window, fearing to move and fearing not to move. A strong hand gripped his shoulder tightly, twisting him around as he fell on the floor.

"You worthless piece of crap! I asked you a question!" The muscular drunkard yelled between hits on the young boy.

Heero could only take the beating...the words his foster father spoke seemed to fill his hollow body, making him believe them, repeating them over and over again. Without them, he really was nothing. 'Useless, worthless, dirty, stupid...' He, in time, after he moved in with them found that he heard them repeated in his mind, over and over again. Relentlessly, even in the pitch darkness of the night.

Heero knew not to fight back, he learned that the first time. He had only gotten hurt more. Only time would stop the abuse he endured.

After the beating, he was left on the floor, broken and aching though he let out only a few grunts of pain. Each night formed bruises over bruises, making the pain even harder to bear. Sometimes it hurt even to walk. He began to wonder how long it would be until the other former Gundam pilots knew something was wrong. When his short thoughts stopped, the abuse was over, for now. Currently, the man was towering over him with a malicious glare on his face.

"Y-yes?" He questioned the towering figure when he didn't move. He felt a trickle of blood come from his lips. He had bruises on his arms, legs, hips, abdomen, chest, and a couple on his face.

His foster father made sure that no one suspected anything, making none of the bruises that noticeable to the human eye, well...nothing that could be covered up. Heero always wore a jacket. Not on the foster fathers terms, but by his own. He didn't want anyone else to know. He couldn't.

"Get to your room, boy." He made his point clear with another strike. Heero staggered off to his sanctuary. So far, as of yet, they hadn't entered his room.

He fell into a restless and horror filled sleep, trying not to aggravate his bruises and wounds anymore than he already had with the painful walk.

The next morning, the sun shone through the windows. His room was practically bare, he had a bed with a thin and worn comforter, he had clothing of his choice, thank god for that, but he was loosing weight from lack of food. And what he did eat, he used on energy for at school and to try and heal his wounded form.

He had taken it to himself to get a job, working at a department store in town. It was pretty big, in a mall where a lot of kids went to have fun. He used his paycheck to get clothing and bandages to hide some of the things that scarred him.

"Heero!" The woman's call woke him from his thoughts and he quickly dressed, grabbing his jean jacket to throw over the black T-shirt that would hide last night's beating.

"Yes, mother?" They made him call them mother and father, who knew what went on in their demented minds. He walked into the kitchen where his mother was standing there, looking at him with a scowl.

"I thought that you were suppose to do breakfast?!" She yelled. "I'm already going to be late for work now because of you and all the worthless crap I have to put up with from you!" She snarled lowly at him as she stomped over to him.

She threw a heavy punch onto his shoulder, leaving an almost instant bruise because she sported a stainless steel spatula, making more pain made from the heavy metal. Heero was shoved heavily against the wall, a picture slamming into his back, making his gasp in pain at the engravings in the woodwork that seemed to tear his muscles.

He fell to the floor, his black backpack spilling also. "Why do we even bother giving you lunch money when you can't even make breakfast for me and your father?!" She shouted at him, though he was so numb he couldn't hear her.

"I have to go to school." He told her quietly. She shoved two one-dollar bills into his face for lunch and threw him practically out the back door, making him walk the two-mile stretch to school. He didn't get a bus since his mother said to the school that she would drive him. Lies.

He took off, the electronic watch on his wrist ticking time off. He made his way to the city nearby and walked on the sidewalks, jacket over him to hide the bruises that marred his body.

Some people glanced at him oddly, noticing how he seemed to stagger a bit and seemed in pain. He kept his head down when he noticed some peoples stares, rushing painfully by them, trying to keep an emotionless expression. He couldn't let anyone find out, who would know how his foster parent's would react? For certain, he wasn't one who was willing to find out, that much was for sure.

"Hey Heero!" Duo shouted, running up to his buddy. "Heero! Heero!" He chanted all the way there, people rushing to get out of the way from the rapidly approaching teenager. "Heero!" He called one last time before catching up with his friend.

As always, Heero was dressed as usual, a jean jacket despite the hot weather of summer, a dark or black T-shirt with something written on it, and baggy jeans like what a skater would wear. "What's up man?" He shouted, knowing Heero would rarely answer back.

He hit Heero playfully, but strong enough for the perfect soldier to feel slight pain with, on the shoulder. Heero couldn't help it but let out a hiss of pain from his clenched teeth. His shoulder ached, and no wonder. That spatula could kill him if it wanted too!

"Heero?" Duo asked with a curious expression written on his face. "What's wrong?" He knew something was up, he had let out a hiss of pain, but they weren't allowed on missions, so why would he be injured?

"It's nothing." Heero answered back, fighting off the pain. 'I can't let Duo find out...' He chided himself, pushing back the pain.

"What did you do to your shoulder?" Duo questioned with concern. For the 'perfect soldier' to wince and let out a hiss of pain, it must be something.

'Come to think of it, Heero's always wearing a jacket or something with long sleeves, even in the summer. He never wears shorts anymore and—' Duo's thoughts were stopped there. Then they started again. 'He does seem thinner and less energetic. Not that he ever was, but he seems so pale and jumpy...'

"I walked into a sign yesterday." Heero told him, making it sound like the truth even though it obviously wasn't. Like he, Heero Yuy, would walk into a sign.

"Dummy!" He patted Heero hard on the back, not noticing the new look on pain on the young teenager's face. "That's something I've never heard! You, walking into a sign? That would be a Kodak moment!" He laughed loudly trying to conquer the suspicion he had and fear for his best buddy.

He glanced at his watch and then followed after Heero who had left during Duo's annoying joke. "We had better get to school, we might be late, y'know!"

"Yeah..." Heero said in his monotone voice. He would rather stay at school for ages than go back to his home. On the other hand, Duo hated school, but to Heero it was another sanctuary until the last bell rang.

Heero and Duo walked into the school building where Heero's friends and girls greeted him and Duo. The girls loved to have two cute new guys at their school, they thought it was wonderful!

Duo loved all the attention he was getting from the girls, while on the other hand, Heero hated it. Swarms of annoying dolls rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off.

"Hey!" Quatre said cheerily, dragging the two boys away. A seemingly now relieved Heero and a depressed Duo. "How are you today?"

"Fine." Heero said. 'I feel like crap though...' He mumbled under his breath, looking at the group of girls that Wufei looked like he was going to murder with his katana.

"What was that, Heero?" Quatre questioned. He felt a pain in his chest, almost constricting. He heard a little bit of what the boy said, but he wasn't sure.

Heero's head jerked back to Quatre, shocked at his mistake. "Nothing." He said in a cold voice, his emotionless mask on again as he began walking away to sit in his first classroom alone. Or someplace where he could be alone.

When he was gone, Quatre turned to Duo Maxwell. "Something is wrong with him...whenever I'm around him I get a tight pain in my chest and sometimes my whole body aches." He told the braided boy in an almost hushed voice.

Trowa, who had been trying to defend Wufei gave up and dragged the Chinese man over to the other two. "Where's Heero?" He questioned.

"He went to his first class, I think." Quatre told him.

"I'll bet anything that that guy is on the roof." Duo told them with a wicked grin. The other's smiled, placing their bets on where they thought the other teenager would be.

"Hello," Relena smiled at them; a group of guys with their mouths open drooling behind her. She turned around and sent a deadly glare and they scampered off. "Can you tell me where Heero is?"

"Roof." Duo told her curtly, looking up at the ceiling.

"First class." Quatre told her, smiling a bit at the young politician.

"In the Gymnasium training." Wufei snorted.

"Outside on the school grounds somewhere." Trowa replied last.

"Which is it?" Relena sighed. 'This is going to be another long day...'

"We don't know, we are going to check the roof first since Duo started this." Quatre told her sweetly.

"Would you mind if I were to come along?" Relena smiled softly at them, wanting to see Heero today. Not that she didn't see him everyday as it was. She was worried about him deep down, he hadn't seemed himself lately.

"No prob princess!" Duo told her cheerfully, patting her on the shoulder. She didn't even wince. Duo knew something was up. Relena was weaker than Heero, yet it seemed like...

"Duo, let's get going!" Quatre told the boy cheerfully, heading off to the roof stairs.

He sat there, looking out into the distance, he sighed, slipping his jacket off. 'No one will come here,' He told himself silently, looking at the bruises with disgust.

He felt chills run down his spine and he stared at the wound on his shoulder He managed to stop the bleeding. He always took a few bandages with him—

"Heero!" The call of Relena echoed the roof. Heero's eyes widened as he lunged for his jacket, despite the pain he had when moving his body so suddenly.

The door leading back into the building opened and Heero jerked the sleeve back onto his shoulder, grabbing his backpack while he was at it.

Relena and the other four Gundam pilots stood there. "Heero, what are you doing up here all alone?" Relena asked with concern. It was against her to ask such a personal question to him, but she was concerned.

"Nothing." Heero told them curtly, noting that the others were also waiting for his explanation.

"Well," Trowa looked from Heero down to his watch. "Social Studies is about to begin. We should get going, Heero." Trowa had Heero in his social studies class. Dorothy was there also. 'Fun, fun....' He thought grudgingly.

The platinum blonde was always talking about two people. One, Heero, and then...the other blonde. Quatre. Heero always ignored her, but her stares and demented at times mind could get annoying.

"Alright." Heero said, walking off with Trowa silently when the bell rang five seconds later.

Duo looked at Heero with a raised eyebrow. 'Did I imagine that?' He thought curiously and a little afraid.

FLASHBACK

Duo slammed the door open with his foot, getting a look from Quatre showing he was displeased with his action. Duo grinned wickedly. Relena looked around before calling the other way Heero's name. Trowa and the other's, except the braided teenager of course, looked her way also. Relena was pretty good when it came to finding Heero at times.

Duo caught a sudden movement in the corner of his eyes and looked to see Heero jerk his jean jacket sleeve up. The odd thing was, his arm was bruised and had some cuts on it.

The others, when hearing Heero shuffle for his backpack turned to see Relena greet him also happily, though Duo could tell up close that her eyes held concern.

'Why is she concerned?'

END FLASHBACK

"Well, fine then! See y'all in science!" Duo called out to the other dispatching figures that shuffled down the stairs. Relena and Quatre were heading off to music class and Wufei off to English class, muttering something about the 'injustices of grammar'. Duo himself headed off to his foreign language class, Japanese where he hoped he could, in time, speak with the quiet Wing pilot. Or former Wing pilot. The Gundams had long since been destoryed and now they could live peacefully.

He skipped merrily down the stairs, trying to quell his emotions hopelessly.