Chapter
3
Heero and Trowa watched through
the mirrored window as the interrogation of Shinji and Asuka dragged on in to
the early hours of the morning.
"How much longer are they going
to keep torturing those poor kids…?" Trowa muttered, shaking his head in
distaste.
"They have to make sure that all
the facts are straight." Heero stated, his voice dull.
"Look at them, Heero." Trowa
said, gesturing towards the viewing window, "They're miserable…they just want
some rest and a chance to recuperate."
The two survivors did indeed
look awful. Shinji had his arm plastered and in a sling around his neck.
Asuka's shoulder blade was wrapped in gaze and tape, and her wrist was also
wrapped in an ace bandage from a sprain she'd received attempting to pick up Duo.
Her eyes were red and puffy from crying over the fact that Duo had been injured
on her account, trying to remember what exactly happened during the third
impact, and various other things that were plaguing her young mind. Shinji
looked as though he were about ready to fall asleep right there, not to mention
the pain killers for his arm had long since worn off.
Heero frowned deeply and grabbed
a microphone that had been placed on the table in front of them.
"I think they've had enough,
Miss Noin." He informed the room, causing Asuka and Shinji to jump and look
around. Asuka spotted the mirror on the left side of the wall and narrowed her
eyes.
"A two way mirror…" she
muttered, looking back at Noin with contempt, "Can we go now?"
Noin sighed deeply and ran her
hands through her dark hair.
"Yeah…" she muttered, "Yeah I
guess you can."
"Thank you very much." Shinji
said politely, standing up and pushing his chair in. He helped Asuka to her
feet and walked with the girl out of the room.
Heero watched them leave and
looked to Trowa, saying, "This better have been worth it…" before walking out
the viewing room himself. Trowa shook his head again.
"When will you ever start being
human, Heero?"
In
the infirmary waiting room
Heero, being the natural insomniac
that he was, remained awake long after everyone else had retired to his or her
respective places. He wandered down the halls of the infirmary, which was
pretty much empty except for the presence of the still unconscious Duo. A tiny
square of light reflected on the tile floor ahead. Heero's expertly trained
ears soon picked up the sound of muffled crying coming from the area.
Hn…I thought I was the only
one awake at this hour. He pondered as he quietly walked forward. He
silently slipped in to the shadows of the area outside Duo's room, only to find
Asuka sitting on the bench, her face in her hands. Instead of interrupting her
quiet time he ducked in to the shadows around the room and watched the girl
silently from the sidelines.
Asuka ran her hands through her
shoulder length auburn hair and looked in to the darkened room across from her.
The dim light from the outside showed that her eyes were red and puffy.
"I should have done more…I just
got in the way…I'm no better than Shinji." She said with thick sorrow in her
voice. A silent tear fell down her gaunt cheeks, and she swallowed down another
sob, "You didn't have to save me, Duo…"
"But he chose to." Heero finally
spoke up, causing Asuka to jump and squeal a little. Heero removed himself from
his hiding place, and Asuka instantly relaxed.
"I didn't know anyone else was
up…" she muttered, looking down at her feet.
"Neither did I. I'm normally up
at this time." Heero confessed, standing over the girl who refused to meet his
gaze.
A tiny bit of red crept in to
her cheeks when she asked Heero, "You heard what I said, didn't you?"
Heero paused for a moment, and
then finally answered, "Hai."
"Why….why did he do that?"
"Do what?"
"Risk his life for me? He pushed
me out of the way of the shockwave and held me down so I wouldn't get hurt…The
guy doesn't even know me, and he put his life on the line for me."
Heero sucked in a deep breath
and took a seat next to Asuka.
"Duo…feels a connection to you
two. He'll slit my throat if he ever finds out I told you this but…" Heero
looked across the hall in to the room where Duo, hooked up to a million tubes,
cords, and wires, lay still unconscious and in critical condition. When they
had returned from the reality Duo had lost so much blood that he had to have an
immediate transfusion, and his wounds were all ready starting to get infected
from how much time he'd spent rolling around in dirt and dust.
"Duo is an orphan. He has been
since before he can remember. When he was living on L2, he was running with a
group of orphans and his entire colony got infected with a plague and it wiped
them all out. Duo's been abandoned again and again in his life, and when he
heard about you two being the only survivors…"
"I see…" Asuka said when Heero
trailed off, unsure as to how to finish that sentence. Asuka raised her head,
looking to Heero with watery blue eyes, "He's either the bravest and kindest
guy I've ever met, or the stupidest…"
A
few rooms down the hall…
Shinji listened to the
conversation down the hallway in silent musing. He was lying on an
uncomfortable hospital bed, the only place in the Preventers HQ that he and
Asuka could stay for the time being. Asuka had left the other bed about an hour
before, complaining of a leg cramp that needed to be walked off, and had spent
the time sitting in the waiting room outside Duo's hospital room.
When Shinji had heard Heero's
voice it both surprised him and comforted him at the same time. He had been
debating for about a half an hour whether or not he should have gone out there
and talked to Asuka, but he knew it would just earn him a whole lot of yelling
and violent cursing in German. Asuka, even in a time when she needed a human
companion, refused moral support from Shinji. It had been that way since they'd
met, and Shinji felt it would be that way 'til the two of them went their
separate ways.
She was one tough bitch when
I met her…full of pride and arrogance. She was sure that she could save the
world from the Angels and become famous. Then the Third Impact happened and we
were left on that planet to die alone and scared. And for the first time in
Asuka's life I think she lost confidence in herself…her emotions became even
harder to find and her heart was like a thin glass plate, ready to shatter at a
moment's notice. Now this whole thing with Duo has made her even more
vulnerable. She's never had anyone risk their life for her, and Duo did just
that. She doesn't know what to think or how to take it…
"He's either the bravest and
kindest guy I've ever met, or the stupidest…" Asuka said outside to Heero, her voice choked with obvious tears.
"Normally I'd call him pretty
damn stupid…but this time I think he was actually being pretty brave." Was
Heero's rather monotone response.
"I wish he hadn't." Asuka muttered
so quietly Shinji barely heard the girl.
"Why? You're alive now. Isn't
that what matters?" Heero wondered.
"Sometimes I wonder why the two
of us are even still alive, Heero…"
Shinji sighed deeply upon
hearing those heart felt words.
So do I Asuka…so do I…
About
three days later
His mind was swimming in a black
abyss. His body felt weightless and heavy at the same time. Warning lights were
flashing all over the place, and he couldn't make heads or tails of what was
happening to him.
Am I dead?
Was Duo Maxwell's first
conscious thought.
"He's starting to come around."
A distance voice said from somewhere in the darkness. It was a familiar voice,
a strange comfort to the boy whose mind was spinning in darkness.
"Duo!" Another voice screamed at
him. This one was distinctively female, very excited and worried.
"Shh! Don't yell! He's probably
got a headache the size of and EVA unit." A calm male voice of reason
interrupted.
"Anta baka? He's on morphine!"
the female snapped.
"I am not stupid! Stop saying
that, Asuka!"
Asuka? Asuka Langley
Soryu…I'm not dead…I remember now. The battle with the EVAs, saving that
girl…Asuka…
Duo slowly willed his eyes
to open and was instantly blinded by a bright white ceiling.
"Ow…some one turn the neon glow
down…" he muttered, throwing his rather sore arm over his eyes. All at once the
pain came crashing down on top of him. It was like every single nerve ending in
his body was on fire.
"DUO!" Asuka shrieked out,
wrapping her arms around his neck happily. Duo let out a rather loud protest
and Asuka instantly backed off.
"Gomen nasai!" Asuka exclaimed
loudly, her eyes wide and her face suddenly pale.
"It's fine, Asuka…I'm just in so
much pain right now…" he muttered tiredly, rubbing the bridge of his nose with
his thumb and index finger.
"See…" the boy, Shinji, snapped
at Asuka. Asuka in turn pulled down her left eyelid and stuck his tongue out at
him. Duo took his first moment to look around the sterile white hospital room
and was rather surprised to see all the pilots, Noin, Sally, Asuka and Shinji
all standing around him. Quatre, Sally, Noin, and Asuka looked incredibly
relieved. Heero looked expressionless as usual. Shinji looked rather unsure of
himself. Trowa and Wufei appeared to be rather indifferent in the situation.
At least they showed up to
show their support, Duo. Can't be too choosy when it comes to these guys…
"I'll go get another
morphine drip for you, Duo." Sally said, "I'm glad to see that you're awake,
though."
"I wish I wasn't…" Duo muttered,
grasping his tightly bandaged but still throbbing side as Sally walked out the
door, closely followed by Noin.
"Glad to see you're okay, Duo."
Heero said in his usual unenthusiastic tone.
"Thanks, Heero." Duo responded,
adding something in under his breath. Heero pretended not to notice and left
the room, Trowa and Wufei leaving with him. Quatre grimaced a little and gave
Duo an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about them, Duo. Things
have been a little tense, you know." He told the boy lying on the hospital bed.
Duo shrugged as much as the pain in his shoulders would allow him to.
"Yeah I know."
"Um…Quatre, Shinji." Asuka
started very softly, "Can I talk to Duo alone for a few minutes?"
Quatre gave an interested look
to Shinji, who in turn gestured for the door with his head.
"Sure, Asuka. Just don't be too
long. Duo needs some rest." Quatre agreed, heading out the door with Shinji.
Asuka grabbed a seat and sat down beside the bed, refusing to meet Duo's
curious violet-eyed gaze.
"I…never got a chance to thank
you, Duo." She confessed softly.
"For what?"
"For…saving me like you did. No
one has ever done something like that for me." Asuka admitted, twiddling her
fingers around and barely glancing at him through her messy auburn bangs. Duo
gave a sweet smile to the girl, honestly flattered that the girl was thanking
him for saving her life.
"Do you have any place to stay?"
he asked her. Asuka shook her head.
"Quatre offered to take Shinji
for a while but he said that was really all he could do for now. Something
about him still being a minor."
"That's right…" Duo muttered in
thought, "Shinji would just be living there. Come the start of the school year
we'd have to find some one to give you guys over to…"
Wait a second, Duo! You're eighteen!
You're a legal adult, plus your place is in the district of one of the best
schools in the state! Stop being an idiot and tell her!
"My place is kinda small,
but would you and Shinji mind staying with me? I'm eighteen now and can be a
legal guardian."
Asuka's head shot up and she
smiled brightly.
"Really?! You would do that for
us?!" Asuka nearly shrieked. Duo grinned even wider.
"Why not? It gets a little
lonely around my place, and besides, if you're gonna be stranded in this
God-forsaken reality might as well be with some one who will show you a good
time!"
Asuka actually felt her self
laughing, and realized that maybe being in this reality wasn't going to be so
bad after all.
But that's only providing
that we're safe…