Chapter Four: Reputations

Chapter Four: Reputations


Morning came and Naryn found herself in strange surroundings. She was cleaned up and her ribs had been taped for support. They still felt like they were burning when she breathed though. Despite the pain, she rose and found a robe before wandering down the hall.

She heard voices downstairs and went to the staircase. In the door opposite the top, she could make out the sound effects of airplanes. Peering in, she saw a small boy at play in a disaster of a bedroom. Dark hair with a baby face, he wasn't very old. She smiled and left him be to investigate further. Going down, she came to a double doorway entering a dining room. There, five young men sat eating their breakfast meals.

"Good morning, beautiful," Duo noticed her first and greeted her with a suave smile. The others turned to look at their guest.
"Excuse me," she lifted an eyebrow in confusion, questioning his choice of words.
"Please, come sit down. How are you feeling," Quatre intervened and ushered her to a chair on Heero's left.
"I've been better. Every breath is like inhaling fire," she sighed as she sat slowly. They all felt her pain.
"It will heal when ready. You bruised your lungs pretty good, from what we heard. What exactly hit you?"
"A piece of iron pipe."
"Tough lady," Duo winced at the mental thought.
"I went down so fast, its kinda a blur."
"Its better sometimes to not remember," Heero finally spoke up and she gazed at him.
"Trust him. He's been hit lots of times," Duo cracked.
"Someone's going to get hit himself if he isn't quiet," Wufei furrowed his brow as Duo shrugged. Naryn laughed and then winced when it hurt.
"I take he's the comic relief," she grinned.
"Well, we get him to be quiet when he's piloting at least."
"Then you must be the other pilots Miss Noin spoke of."
"It appears we have reputations on Sierra 4," Duo forgot to be quiet.
"Well, not really reputations. More like impressions."
"Oh, she's got you there, Duo," Quatre laughed.
"Duo Maxwell, the God of Death. The pilot of Deathscythe Hell. Also recognizable for his long braid and cheerful attitude."
"No reputations, huh? I like what I hear so far!"
"You must be Chang Wufei of the prestigious Chang Clan. Pilot of the Altron Gundam, named Nataku."
"You have studied your history well," he gracefully bowed his head in greeting.
"That makes you Trowa Barton who pilots HeavyArms. Also works for a circus as an acrobat," she pointed to him and he silently nodded back.
"I'm Quatre Reberba Winner. Welcome to Earth," he took her hand and kissed the back in true gentlemanly fashion, eyes shining.
"The pilot of Sandrock. of course. Then, that leaves you. Heero Yuy," she turned to look at him and his expression was cold.
"How do you know so much about all of us?"
"Someone in the Sanc Kingdom keeps very good records. Miss Noin allowed me to read them during my training."
"You don't think it was..." Trowa asked.
"Relena," was the reply.
"There was little personal information about you, Mister Yuy. Sort of a mystery, you seem to be," she said quietly.
"It was safer back then for her to not know. She obviously knew too much for her own good anyway."
"So, you like to mysterious then? Goes along with the perfect soldier identity."
"A soldier reveals little about himself until his work is done."
"Here we go again," Duo sighed and Wufei elbowed him. He jumped back in his chair.
"No matter. I'm a quick learner. I'll figure you out soon enough," she grew bolder, toying with him.
"I look forward to the challenge," Heero countered back with a small grin escaping.
"And I the chase. Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I think I'd like to clean up now."

She stood and left the room, leaving them all in wonder. They had never met any woman quite like Naryn before. She was as much a mystery to them as they were to her.

"What just transpired between you two," Duo asked with a big mischievous grin, knowing exactly what was going on.
"She'll be a handful," Heero replied as the others laughed at the comment.

* * *

Naryn sat out on the back porch later in the day, enjoying the fall sunshine. Mrs. Laning had managed to find her some clothes out of Relena's wardrobe. She was very happy with the jeans and sweater, finding them more comfortable than her usual jumpsuits.

Earth was a beautiful planet, so much more so than Sierra 4. Her homeworld was dry and dusty, all water sources coming from well below in a frozen crust beneath. They had a sun that was going nova and helmets with visors had to be worn outside on cloudless days. Here though, she could go out and warm herself without any of the cumbersome gear. It was a great feeling on her skin. She had even trompted barefoot in the grass earlier just to feel the sensation she had heard about so many times before. A door behind her opened and she looked to see Quatre walk out.

"Hello! May I join you," he asked and she gestured to an empty chair next to her. He sat and leaned back.
"This is a great planet. I feel like I've missed so much on Sierra 4."
"I was born on the L4 colony, so I know how you feel. At least I had Earth to look at outside my window though."
"You seem like a peaceful soul, Quatre. How did you become a Gundam pilot?"
"I realized that in order to protect peace and my family, I had to fight."
"That's a very noble cause."
"Thank you. I've heard that you did the same for those you didn't even know. I just did it for 30, well 29 in the end after I lost my father."
"You have 29 relatives! My goodness," she laughed.
"All sisters too! Yeah, we are a very big family," he laughed with her at the thought.
"I never knew my family. I was left on a woman's doorstep and she raised me until her death. Then I became a ward of the state."
"Your story is much like the other guys'. They are all orphans too."
"What's the deal with Heero? He's so serious, its amazing he comes off as human at all!"
"That's just the way he is, a product of his upbringing. He was raised to be focused and in control at all times. He's a good guy though."
"Miss Noin said that same thing, but I always had this idea that she was wrong. Zechs recounted their duels though and my thoughts changed again. I now know that they were both right."
"Well, he's not the same as then. Marriage and his son have mellowed him a bit."
"A son? The boy I saw playing this morning is his," Naryn seemed surprised.
"Yes. His wife Relena died about a year after Keno was born. I'm not sure he's gotten over her really. Maybe someone will come along one of these days though."

She nodded. So, Heero was a widower. She had been told there was a relationship between him and the former Sanc Kingdom's heir, but what came of it was unknown to Miss Noin. So, they both knew the pain of to have loved and lost. She felt sorry for him. It explained some of his cold exterior, and perhaps Quatre's suggestion was a way to breakthrough it.