CHAPTER IV- The Delivery of News in All Forms and Methods
A/N: All Hail Polka Dot! Thank you for you GOOD POINT!!! Sorry about the short chapters, guys, I've been busy lately and my writing hasn't been up to its usual standards. Thanks to Silver Wing, Polka Dot, Iria, mÛrlÌamh, Katie, mimi748, Ayanami-chan (hugs to you too), Sailor Event Horizon, and all those wonderfully consist readers (sorry if I forgot some names)!!!
There was an explosion. Ariel Yuy was in her breakfast nook, eating a bagel and basking in the morning sunlight when a violent rumble growled over the Earth.
Ariel's cook turned to her nervously, "Ma'am?"
She shook her head, "I was expecting him to do something like that." She spooned her cereal calmly, "I'll just have to move on to a different plan," she smiled at the confused cook, "Some people can be just so stubborn, you know? I mean, they get themselves stuck on one mindset and you can only pull them away from the ideals with a pry bar or a great deal of patience."
The cook smiled carefully at her mistress, "Well, if patience ever fails, I have a pry bar in the basement."
They both broke out into peals of laughter.
Ariels bedroom had blown up, as well as Ariel's blackmail.
The ringing of the vidcom confused Heero as he stumbled into his perch by Relena's mansion. He still stayed in his small hidey-hole, it had, after all, been his home for the past year- it was hard to discard things sometimes, and the endearing little tree house was one of them. Besides, it was comforting to know that Relena was nearby- she always got herself in so much trouble that it was just more convenient to stay near.
Even though she attending college regularly, she remained living in her house, seeing as she still needed constant protection from anyone left from the war that held a grudge against her.
Carefully, Heero looked up at the afternoon sun. She would be in her study now, reading mail. He shook his head at that. Even though she agreed to have her mail checked for bombs and poison, she still insisted upon reading the hate mail as well as the other letters.
He could see her clearly through the foliage of the tree Heero nested in, looking sadly over some letter. Stupid. She would probably want company. She didn't like to nurse sorrow alone. Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that he longed for company as well, or that it was easier to avoid thinking about his addiction with a loyal friend beside himor anything at all to do that special way her hair caught the sunlight and the warmth of her arm around his waist as she cried into his shoulder.
No, it was simply his duty as a friend (for he had begun to consider himself such) to comfort her in a time of need.
He climbed nimbly to the ground and to her window. There was a tap, a nod of consent, and he was beside her. No, they would not talk. He would simply bask in her presencegive silent support while she sat. Sometimes she would say what was bothering her, or she would just take strength from knowing he was there.
Occasionally, she would have a letter that was so tragic, she would simply stare desolately out the window, begging for the world to cheer her up. And perhaps it would be a selfish sadness, and she would feel a great depression about something that reminded her of Pegan, her foster parents, Mariemeia, or Lady Une. And sometimes she would sink into a sadness so deep that not even his comforting silence could penetrate it.
Heero wondered if his mother had worried over other people too. He had downloaded every picture he could of her and plastered them all on one wall of his tree house, right beside his computer, powered by electricity pirated from Relena. Hey, she never seemed to mind.
"This woman was the wife of one of the men from the Treiz faction who died protecting the Sanc Kingdom," she said softly, brushing away tears, "she wants to know what exactly he fought for that day. She wants me to make it right." She tossed the letter back on the desk and rubbed her face in frustration, "Will it ever stop?! Why can't they just understand what I said and push for peace themselves? They keep believing that I made the peace they created."
She looked out the window desperately, "Yesterday I got a call from a man with a bottle of sleeping pills. He said he would take all of them if I didn't go back to my job." She looked violent, "I mean, what is WRONG with people anyway?! Can't they just try and stop looking for some one to tell them what to do?!"
Heero looked at her impassively, "What happened to the man?"
Relena shrugged absently, "We talked it out and he ended up calming down and hanging up." She replied as if it were nothing, "The problem is that I can't do that with everyone, I can't talk it out and make them understand my reasons."
Heero sensed that her frustration had been vented and rose to leave. However, he paused at the window, "I told you once that you are a far better person than I. I was right then, and I still am now."
"What do you mean?"
"If I was in the same position as you, I would have let him kill himself." Heero left.
Relena sighed and reached for another piece of mail.
"Doctor J," the noble's clear baritone boomed across the vidcom link, his gentle brown eyes penetrating the reflective eyes of the aged man.
"Marquis de la Jour, how good to hear from you," came the reply.
"Former Marquis, Doctor J, I'm now head of the Preventers."
"I see." Doctor J coughed slightly, "Well? What is it you want?"
"I have a job proposition for you. Are you interested?"
"Why, yes. Of course I am."
Relena sighed and shut her textbook wearily. Three hours of studying had made her vision blur and zapped every pore of her body of energy. Yes, she decided, that was more than enough of that.
She arched her back, hearing the joints pop with satisfaction. She pulled herself up carefully, padding silently to the kitchen nursing a ravishing hunger. She needed something to eat. Desperately.
She winced slightly as she passed the door, where Pegan had fallen several months ago, dead. Sighing she looked around. She should have gone to the trouble of hiring someone else to cook or clean, but she couldn't summon the strength to do so. If she were to do that, it would mean that Pegan was never coming back again- and no one could really replace him.
She was, however, delayed from her mission by the ringing of the vidcom, and she paused to answer it. Please let it be shorttell me it's just someone asking about the homework
It was Hilde, her blue eyes and hair making that assumption evident in an instant.
"Relena, I'm sorry to be calling you like this-" she began.
"It's no bother, Hilde," Relena replied, with a hand over her potentially growling stomach, "What's wrong?"
"Relena, you need to turn on ESUN News right now. They're airing something that I think you will find rather disturbing."
Relena gave her a puzzled look, murmured an affirmative response, hung up, and turned on her television.
"Many people wonder what life as a hero would be like," the broadcaster said in a clear even voice, "Well, ESUN News as given ten minutes to give my report on the recent events of the life of a very modern hero, a man known to many of us as Gundam Pilot Heero Yuy. Ironically, this codename is far closer to the truth than any one of us ever realized.
"I recently got hold of a very intriguing report taken after Heero Yuy had been captured after his landing on Earth. The sequencing of his mitochondrial DNA confirmed a direct relation to the great peacekeeper of space: Heero Yuy. Other tests performed when Mr. Yuy was briefly hospitalized directly after the Barton coup d'état confirm this fact.
"This boy, raised as an assassin and later genetically modified for better fighting abilities, has led a harsh life. Fortunately, he has found some happiness. The pilot's relationship to the well-known Relena Darlian-Peacecraft has been a matter of much dispute lately, and it has come to be generally agreed upon as a close friendship. However, neither party has risen to confirm or disprove the hearsay about a romantic relationship between the two.
"We have also found managed to ask Senator Ariel Yuy about her feelings on this matter." A clip of Ariel's face took over the screen, and the background noise lead them to believe that she had been caught unaware, "Ms. Yuy, what is your opinion on this shocking revelation?"
She grinned softly, her eyes full of challenge, "I would love to finally meet my brother face to face again after all these years."
The camera switched back to the broadcaster, whose face was alight with happiness and joy at getting the story first of all his fellows in the media, "Well, there you have it, folks. This further proves that even those with bad pasts can embrace brighter futures."
Relena switched of the T.V. in despair and sighed. It seemed as though the world was destined to give her and those she loved a difficult time.
"What is the nature of this job you are offering?" Doctor J asked with avid interest.
"Keeping the peace, my good man, keeping the peace."
Heero had decided it was time to leave. The shuttle was crammed with occupants, and the high-pitched wail of the baby beside the retired pilot had not stopped since they had cleared lunar orbit. In other words, he was nursing one major headache. However, the constant hum of machinery, the taste of recycled air, even the scent of sterilized plastic stirred up a sense of nostalgia in the boy that was so moving, he wanted nothing more than to bask in the flow memories that the smells, sights, and sounds awakened in him.
The mother, a harassed woman with hair that was frizzy from neglect and a creased face from overwork, turned to the quiet man beside her as she quieted her child, "Is this your first trip to space?"
He shook his head.
"It's my first. I mean, the vids always show the colonies as Earth-like, but they're really just overgrown spaceships, aren't they? I mean, how do they stay in place?"
" They usually orbit a planet, with stabilizing thrusters keeping them in that set orbit. In some ways, they are far safer than Earth, with no unpredictable storms or droughts or weather patterns."
She smiled at him, "My, you're one smart boy. My name's Katie Peason, from Kansas. We're going to visit my husband on one of the mining colonies. He says they're going to be striking soon, and wants us to come back to him. What's your name?"
Heero let himself smirk slightly, "Mark Hiragi."
"Hiragi? Sounds Japanese. And you also have a bit of an accent."
"I was raised speaking Japanese, yes."
"Why are you going to the colonies, Mark Hiragi?"
He shrugged, "So that I won't be exploited."
She waited for him to elaborate but he continued to look ahead austerely.
Katie's baby finally quieted, and she felt an urge for human companionship, so she turned back to the boy. Besides, his silence was a painful sort, as if he had been in a great deal of trouble. "You're very clever, Mark. Is it natural, or did you study a lot in school?"
He grimaced slightly, "I was taught to be very observant. For instance, I know that whenever the left thruster is turned on, the high-pitched whine of the engine will awaken your baby. In fact, the next course change should happen right now."
There was a shift, and the infant began to scream again.
After Katie had calmed her child, she decided to suffer through boredom rather than speak again to the passenger sitting next to her- some people are just intimidating in that way.
Presently Heero leaned back and closed his eyes, dreaming of green grass, a girl with golden hair, and a exploiting demon with acid yellow eyes.
A/N: Next chapter is ::dum dum dum:: a new character introduction! AAAAAANNNNND we find out why Heero left (if that hasn't already been figured out) AND a TOUCH more about Doctor J's new job. And other stuff. Lots of other stuff.
~ML