Dreams are for Remembering
Pt. 1
Gundam Wing
Author's note: HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! BTW, all their names are in Japanese because... it sounds much nicer., and it assists in the meanings of the names. *sobs* I KNOW!! I'm to lame to create names that fit their nationality. Oh, and uhm... I refused to edit this. I wrote it and posted it. I did not proofread it in anyway. You have been warned.
The year, A.C.498, over 300 hundred years since Gundams have been last seen, since the wars had come to an end, since the Earth Sphere Unified Nation really became a truly peacful world. But, what ever happened to the stories left by the Gundams? The fighters? Operation Meteor? They live long, in books, in texts, in school classrooms. They have become a part of history, during the unimaginable time when war plauged the people.
"So, even though the infamous pilots of Operation M are long gone, we still remember them. Wufei Chang, Chinese pilot of Nataku, Quatre Raberba Winner, Arabian pilot of Sandrock, Trowa Barton, the pilot of Heavyarms, Duo Maxwell, American pilot of Deathscythe and finally Heero Yuy, Japanese pilot of Wing Zero." The book was slammed shut with a loud sigh and pressed against a black shirted chest.
His mother leaned over towards him, bobbing him lightly on the head.
"Shin!" she scolded gently, "we're arriving soon and you're falling asleep!"
He opened one violet eye, partly hidden by his long unruly brown hair.
"I am totally prepared for history. I have read this book on the Gundam wars a hundred times over!" He sat up and tucked the book into his duffel infront of him, before reaching down his high collared shirt to pull out his necklace. A cross, it was a present from his uncle, a minister. Although he was very excitable, energetic and a big joker, Shin Kougai was a very religious person. Even his formal clothes were reminicent to that of a priest's(much to his parents' disapproval). His mother had braided his long brown hair for this day, he was going off to a high prestige boarding school, and she wanted him to look his best.
The shuttle screamed as it reached the large, gated, campus of Heiwakokka Univerity. It was built on Earth, and founded over 200 years ago by a collection of famous proffessors. It's name, meaning the Peace-Loving Nation Univeristy, was dedicated to the long, outstanding peace of the unified nations. Shin jumped off the shuttle, duffle in hand, looking at the large expanse of land which was to be his new home. His mother kissed him on the cheek, bidding her farewell before joining the other parents. He rubbed at his cheek angerily, 16 years old and she still treated him like a 4 year old.
"Anki Hall," he read from his information sheet, refreshing in his mind the name of his dorm. As he began to walk about absent mindedly he continued to read, "Rooms: D-1 and D-2." Shin paused at that and pondered, "2 rooms?" His answer was quickly found, right underneath the room number, "To share with 4 others."
He dropped his bag at that. Shin had one problem, he had never gotten further than the Dorm name... the 100 times that he read the sheet. The newfound information sent chills up his spine, his mother swore that he was getting a very expensive and very comfortable living space. Now he was stuch with 4 roommates? Shin looked up with a sigh, only to find himself conviently infront of Anki Hall. He hoisted up his bag, slung it over his shoulders and pulled out his new card-key. The dorm was large and expansive, with three floors. The first floor had the recreation room, an office, and the check-in counter. This floor was magnicently presented, richly decorated with intricate carvings, gold, silver and an assortment of fine things. Shin was taken aback by the magnificence of the dorm, only to be distracted by a tacky neon cardboard sign which said, "Hall meeting in Rec. at 8:00 tonight! Be prompt or you'll never get to know your dorm mates!"
Shin made a salute towards the sign and ran into the elevator just as the doors began to close. Inside with him were two girls, and one boy. The girls were around his age and very talkative and loud. As the doors opened, Shin took a step, only to be held back by the small blond boy. "You shouldn't get off here," he said quietly, "These are dorm rooms A and B. This is the girls' floor."
The girls giggled and waved a shy goodbye to them before clammoring out of the elevator. Blood rushed to Shin's face in embarrasment, and as the doors closed he turned to the boy with much gratitde. It was then he noticed his appearance. According to his history books, this blond boy had an Arabian face.. yes his ancestors must have been from Arabia. His was rather dignified looking, his slighly unruly bangs and his height were the only things that made Shin look like his senior. His eyes were a misty blue, seeming to go quite well with his blond hair. He was wearing tan slacks, a pink shirt and a purple tie. Shin couldn't help but stare at his oddly colored attire.
The boy noticed this and touched his collared shirt. "I live with 29 sisters, It's a wonder I still have brown pants!" he said announced with a chuckle as the doors opened.
Shin, pursed his lips together trying not to laugh and cry at the same time. After the two got off the elevator, he wiped at his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. I find that both very horrible and very funny," he said, his voice on the verge of laughing.
The boy shook his head, "Go ahead and laugh, go ahead and cry. I do it all the time myself." He set down his large duffel and pulled out his card-key. "Now, either we live next to each other, or we share the same room. Which one's yours?" he asked, rather bluntly.
Shin gestured to the two doors, one labed "1", the other labeled "2", and in between was a large, gold plated, "D".
At this point the boy was laughing, as he began to open both doors. As they swung open, the boy announced, "My name's Kasei Tenkei, and I'm guessing we're going to be living together for some time."
"Of all the possible predica--" Shin shook his head and proceeded through one door, followed by his newly discovered roommate. He looked over his shoulder and introduced himself, "I'm Shin Kogai, my ancenstors are from America, but I'm actually from the Colonly X78-453. I run, I hide b--" Before he could contiune, he found himself on his back, staring at the ceiling.
Kasei was staring down on him, looking rather sheepish. He poked his fingers together in mock innocence and mumbled, "I tried to warn you about the boxes."
Shin leapt up and looked around. The room was not as elegant as the first floor, in fact it was rather plain and screaming for decoration. The room had two beds, and two desks, and another door, obviously connecting to the other room. He stepped around the boxes, and trunks, and opened the other door. He found a very...VERY nice bathroom. This made him quite happy, walking through the bathroom he opened the other door, finding what was apparently A-2. It was identical to A-1 except for there were three beds and three desks. He walked back to the first room, only to find Kasei, brooding over a whole collection of expensive looking trunks.
"Whoa, some rich kid rooming with us," Shin noted, examining the trunks.
Kasei turned red as he mumbled, "Acutally... those are mine."
The hardwood floor never saw it coming, as Shin's jaw dropped in surprise. He began stuttering and finally managed, "You have 14 sisters... and you still have the money to go to this school AND afford rich things? Man, can I be your best friend?"
Kasei laughed, opening a truck. "Sure, we can be friends," he said with a smile, pulling out an armload of pale yellow bedsheets. He began to make the nearest bed, with much ease. Shin guessed this was from growing up with many, many sisters.
The Arabian looked up at him, and raised and eyebrow. "Aren't you going to unpack?" he asked.
Shin turned red, and beagn fumbling through the boxes. After easily tagging three of them he looked up and said, "They're not all here."
Kasei looked around and counted his trunks. "Hmm.. seems to my I'm missing 2 trunks..."
"Tried looking in the other rooms?" At that, both boys looked up towards the door, there stood a tall, rather muscular peer. He wasn't dressed rather fancily, just a simple green turtle neck and jeans. His hair was another thing, his bangs were immensly long, and were swept in such a way that it covered one eye, causing his other emerald green orb to stand out. His face wasn't much for emotion, in fact he hand an almost silent aura about him. Also, Shin couldn't quite place his origin. He was debating somewhere in Europe or another American like himself... but definately of Latin origin.
Kasei strode over to the new comer and questioned, "Are you one of our room mates?"
The boy nodded rather curtly. Shin jumped up, dropping his own bedsheets onto the other unoccupied mattress. He stuck out his hand in greeting and announced, "The name's Shin Kogai."
The blond patted himself on the chest and added, "I am Kasei Tenkei."
The boy grasped Shin's hand tightly and gave it a swift shake. To Kasei he bowed, deeply. As he rose, he spoke again, "Call me Naibun Ukiyo." He pulled the duffel off his back onto the floor with ease. He did a quick survey of the room and picked up his bag again. He then vanished silently through the other door.
Shin scratched his head and mumbled, "Not much of a talker, is he?"
Kasei shook his head in response. "I hope our other room mates aren't gonna be like him... I'm not so used to quiet rooms."
Shin grunted trying to tuck the sheet under the mattress with much difficulty. After a moment he looked up and replied, "Quiet? I'll bet that's from all your sisters, huh?"
His roomate shook his head, while flattening out the pillows. "Actually, it's from all the servants. I love them dearly, so they're always around."
The American took a deep breath, and mumbled, "Servants too?"
"Uh..." Kasei had begun to turn bright red. His hand went up to his head and sheepishly he nodded. Shin just nodded, rather jealously. True his parents were well off, how else could the send him to this school... but still. He stared at his rather crookedly made bed and sighed. The Arabian neared the bed and tugged on the corner, easily fixing the problem. He wiped off his hands and said, with a smile,
"There, all better Shin."
Suddenly Naibun appeared at the bathroom door. With his serious, monotone voice he said, "I'm guessing some of these boxes here are mine, while some of the others on this side are yours."
Shin grumbled staring at the mess around him, "What a mess! It's going to take hours to sort out!"
Kasei shook his head, nearing the other boy. "Not so. It'll just take a little work, that's all. Besides, once everyone gets here it'll be much faster." He looked up to Naibun and asked, "Which ones are yours? I'll help you."
Shin nodded, hands on his hips. "Hell ya! Me too!"
A faint smile graced Naibun's lips as he nodded, more than happy for the help. It didn't take long for them to arrange a productive way of action, and soon boxes and trunks were being carted from one room to the other. Shin soon discovered that Naibun was a gymnast and part-time clown, which seemed to give a logical reason for his strength. He also found out that Kasei was a musician, and, which he thought was rather personal, that he was a test tube baby. It didn't take long at all for Shin to open up, revealing his passion for Catholisism. As different as the three were, it was obvious that they were going to get along just fine.
Some time during their work, another boy appeared in their room. The three stopped what they were doing to stare at the newcomer. Shin quickly recoginzed his origin, China. His hair was black and slick, pulled back into a pigtail. His eyes were the same color as his hair, but they seemed to be filled with a fierce emotion. His aura was not quite the nicest Shin had ever sensed, and he backed off slightly. Of course, his outfit was reminicent of his origin, white silk kung-fu garb.
Kasei, being his happy warm self quickly bowed in greeting and introduced himself. Shin could have sword he heard the boy mumble, "Weak" but shook off the feeling. Naibun's eyes... er... eye narrowed at the sight of the Chinese boy, but he didn't hesisate to introduce himself next. Shin, plastered a smile onto his face, acting as cool as ever during his own introduction.
The Chinese boy seemed unfazed by their introductions, and with a voice as cold as ice he said, "Wonderful to meet you all. I am PaoTzu Long, but for ears more accustomed to a far more simple language, call me Urufu."
Shin's eyebrows raised at the boy's introduction. PaoTzu's... or rather, Urufu's gaze was definately differnt from Naibun's, but they both shared a similar coldness. The Chinese boy went about his own buisness, impressing Kasei when he managed to tow boxes without help. It was a shared fact however that both Shin and Naibun could manage on their own as well.
So, Urufu, working alone, and Shin, Kasei and Naibun working together, they managed to move all the boxes around. The American and the Arabian in one room, Naibun and Urufu in the other. However, they did notice one other set of boxes and proceeded to move those to the larger of the rooms. They didn't really notice that the final room mate didn't arrive yet, it wasn't very important. Instead boxes were being stomped on, as clothing and belongings found their new homes. Kasei and Shin didn't have a problem with their closet at all, and neither did Naibun and Urufu. Barely 3 hours into the unpacking, the clock striking 2:00, all the empty boxes were either stored under the beds are tossed out into the hall with the other collection of trash.
Shin dusted off his hands, a job well done. A smile was on his face, a pain was in his back but the job was satisfying. "Although, this room is a little plain," he noted with a frown.
Kasei was arranging his computer and other desk items when he replied, "The rooms are plain so that they can be decorated to fit the ideas of the boarders."
Clapping his hands together, Shin dragged his duffel onto his bed. His roomate peered over his shoulder to see its contents. Books, posters, pictures, and other colorful things filled the bag. As he pulled out a poster, unrolling it, he told Kasei of his admiration towards the gundams. This was an elaborate painting, a rendition of a gundam. It was large, equipped with guns, and the gundam's "face" wore half of a clown mask. Bright, colorful and painted with fluid water colors. "This picture is based on actual footage of the Operation Meteor Gundams. There are many pictures of gundams, accurate and imaginary, but there is very little on the pilots"
Kasei read the small print in the corner, "Gundam: Heavyarms, Pilot: Trowa Barton."
At that moment, Naibun appeared at the other door. He walked gracefully towards them, staring at the picture. "Some painting... Heavyarms, right?"
Shin, jumped on a chair, and started taping the poster on his side of the room. "Yeah, Heavyarms. The pilot was Trowa Barton." He jumped down, admiring his handiwork. "Diddya know that Trowa Barton wasn't the real name of the pilot?"
"Really?" Kasei was shocked, from his voice to his face.
Naibun nodded, agreeing with Shin, "That's right. Trowa Barton was originally the "brother-in-law" of Treiz Kushernada, or rather the uncle to Mariemaia Barton Kushrenada. He was killed and replaced by a boy called... Nanashi."
"No name?"
"Yep," Shin added. "However, "Nanashi" was the biggest specualtion for historians, and they soon discovered the truth. For the most part, only the 5 Operation M pilots knew the truth. That is until just recently. They discovered the truth behind Trowa Barton... both of them. And the pilot of Heavyarms is actually someone named Nanashi. His real name is still under wraps. It's pretty amazing."
Naibun's hands crossed across his chest, admiring the picture.
"Heavyarms is possibly my favorite of the Gundams."
"Really? I like Sandrock," Kasei said with a smile. "It had those giant weapons meant for hand to hand combat. Also, it was a Gundam originally prepared for sand battles until it was upgraded for space."
Shin stared at his blond room mate, mouth open. "You seemed to know so little... but when it comes to Sandrock..."
A hand went up to Kasei's head sheepishly. "Heh," he laughed.
The American's hands went into his duffel again and pulled out another poster, he handed it to Kasei. "Here, my favorite Sandrock poster."
His hands went up in protest, but Shin and Naibun together managed to force the poster into his hands. The American sat down on the nearby chair waiting. Kasei finally gave in and unraveled the poster. It was, apparently, by the same artist who made the Heavyarms poster. Again in the corner was a little piece of information. "Gundam: Sandrock, Pilot: Quatre Rebaraba Winner," he read, a smile growing on his face.
Shin laughed, falling backwards on his bed. "Hang it up--Quatre! Yeah! I'll call you Quatre!"
Kasei, who was holding a roll of masking tape, proceeded to chuck it at Shin, once he had a decent amount to hang up the poster. He stuck out his tounge and retorted, "I outta go around calling you... uh... Duo!"
Naibun caught the roll of masking tape, which had completely missed its target and flew towards him instead. "Nice aim," he said quietly with a vague smile.
The Arabian laughed, lossing his balance and falling off the chair, the poster floating down with him. He sighed, lifting up the fallen picture. "Never could hang a picture for my life," he murmmered sadly.
Shin stood up, another poster in hand. He took the one from Kasei and instantly taped it to the wall. He handed the boy the other rolled up picture. "Don't know how you knew... but Duo Maxwell's my favorite pilot."
Naibun neared then silently as Kasei unrolled the picture. It was, again, a Gundam. This was done not with bright fluid water colors, but with deep dark computer coloring. Two large wings, one large scythe, the deathly image of the gundam, Deathscythe. Also, there was a portrait. A portrait of the pilot, sitting happily. It made sense, the gundam was the background while the boy was colored brightly, also colored via computer.
Shin pointed to the boy. "See that? That's supposed to be Duo Maxwell. But since no one really knows what any of the pilots look like, this is the closest thing based on the vague descriptions... at least compared to the many renditions."
The boy was an American boy. He had a large smile, eyes big and bright. His hair was long and brown, pulled back into a thick ponytail. The picture itself looked very real, so real that the boy looked like it would reach out and start jumping around.
Kasei looked seriously disapointed. "I never imagined he looked like that."
Shin laughed, taking back the poster. Rolling it up, he pulled out another picture. Opening it up, it revealed another image of Deathscythe. Only far more elaborate and painted brightly. It was wide to give room for the large wings of the gundam. Standing carefully atop a chair, Shin managed to hang the thing just behind his desk... before falling backwards onto the carpeted floor.
Naibun helped the American off the floor. Shin was laughing, which happened to be contagious enough that Kasei was joining him. Naibun peered cautiously into Shin's duffel. "Whatcha lookin' for?" the long haired boy asked, looking over the boy's shoulder.
He took a step back and mumbled, "Nothing."
Shin thrust his hand into the sak and pulled out a folder. Kasei, eagerly looking over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the contents. The American pulled out a picture and tossed it towards Naibun. The boy caught it and stared at the picture. It was another portrait of a Gundam Pilot. The title, "Trowa Barton." The picture itself featured a boy of Latin origin, with brown hair. What was odd about the hair was that it looked purposly combed over his head like long bangs, and what made it stranger was the odd way they were split. They were moved slightly away from his face, but only enough to see only a part of both eyes.
Kasei started gagging at the picture. The boy, as cute as he was, looked horrible with his hair like that. Naibun dropped the picture in surprise. Shin picked it off the floor and stored it back in the folder.
"It's a pity, really it is. According to the data, the pilots had requested their faces be stricken from any records. It was almost as if they wanted to visual recognitionm," Shin began, "but it didn't work. There were many historians who gave very vague descriptions in their papers. Artists, authors, movie people, everyone got their hands on any kind of description. Before anyone knew it, there were images filtering out everywhere."
Kaisei raised an eyebrow and interrupted Shin's informative story. "Didn't the pilots find out?"
The American laughed, "They were dead by then."
Naibun raised an eyebrow at that. "I don't find that very funny."
Shin coughed, and nodded. "Neither do I. Anyway, there have been some crazy images of these pilots. People are even trying to make a movie out of it. I think, that they just outta let sleeping dogs lie. If they didn't want they faces out, they shouldn't make any movies. Oh, but I do have pictures of the actual battles and gundams."
"A Gundam fanatic? Damn, what the hell's wrong with you people?"
The three turned towards the bathroom, there stood Urufu in all his horrible glory. He was looking at them haughtilly, as if he was better than them all. His nose was turned up, his eyes staring down at them.
Shin walked over to him, noticing then that the Chinese boy was just a few inchest taller than himself. Still, he gathered his courage and looked the boy in the eye. "You got a problem?"
He only replied with a grunt and left the room. A heavy, uncomfortable silence lingered in the air. Shin harrumphed and stuck his tounge out towards Urufu. "What the hell's his problem?"
Naibun shrugged stiffly. "He seems to have a rather negative view of the world."
The door opened again, driving their conversation to a halt. Shin whirled around to face the door demanding, "You come back to apolog--" He lost his tounge suddenly. No... Urufu hadn't sliced it off with a sword. In fact, it wasn't the Chinese boy at all. It was their last and final room mate.
Oriental origin, Shin noted without a hitch. He quickly corrected himself and noted that he was of Japanese origin. His hair was brown, and messy, the bangs falling in front of his dark, colbalt blue eyes. His well defined muscles were obvious due to the loose green tank top and jeans her wore. Shin was thoroughly amazed with him. Like Urufu his face was cold, quiet and emotionless. Yet, like Naibun, there seemed to be warmer side to him. There was a look in the boy's eyes, as if he had a secret, on that had been with him for many years.
Kasei took initiative once more, with his almost parental aura about him. He bowed in classic greeting. "My name's Kasei. It's good to meet you!" Naibun placed a hand to his chest and bent stiffly at the waist, whispering his name.
Shin rubbed his hand on his pants and extended it in greeting. A large smile crossed his lips. "Hey, the name's Shin Kogai. I run, I hide, but I never tell a lie, that's my motto!"
Kasei raised an eyebrow in skeptisism. "That's... Duo's motto..."
The American shrugged. "Same thing." He turned to their new room mate and asked, "So, what do people call you in these parts?"
"Zekkou Gunjin," the Japanese boy replied, his voice as cold as ice.
Shin couldn't help but shudder at his speech. He watched as the boy swept pass them, to the other room. An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air, as they stared at the door. Kasei sighed deeply, "First Urufu and now him..."
Shin thumbed Naibun jokingly and added, "He ain't no flower himself, ya know."
"Flower?"
Kasei nodded slowly thinking about the term, "flower". After a moment he said, "I think it means that you aren't very colorful, cheerful and bright like a flower!"
The American's face contorted into a question mark. "You got that from 'flower'? I just made that up on the spot. Couldn't think of anything."
"Well, heh... yeah... I dunno," Kasei murmurred, a hand going up to his head, blood rushing to his face in a fierce blush. Realizing the heat in his face, the Arabian, buried his face in his hands. "Thanks alot Kogai, you have to go and embarass me."
Naibun's arms uncrossed themselves slowly, and he patted the smaller boy gently on the back. In his soft voice he said, "Don't worry." The other boy looked up at him cautiously before nodding.
Shin watched this exchange carefully. For that moment, he saw actual warmth and compassion from Naibun. He crossed his arms in thought, this very moment seeming all to familiar. Suddenly he noticed Zekkou standing at the bathroom door, a large black leather bound book in his hand.
"Does this book belong to someone?" he asked, holding up the expensive book.
Kasei shook his head, and glanced at Naibun. The other boy also replied with a quiet shrug. Shin took a couple steps near the Japanese boy, taking care not to be sucked into his icy aura. His eyes narrowed, squinting at the book. He sucked in his breath and grumbled, "That's mine."
Zekkou held the book closer to him, examining the cover. His fingers traced the delicate pressed silver design. Shin was still, afraid to ask for the book, but afraid the boy would ruin it. The Japanese boy looked at the braided American, eyes narrow.
"What a very intricate cover. A cross?"
Shin nodded slowly, with extreme caution. "Yes, it's my bible."
"A bible?" Kasei spoke up.
Zekkou, Shin and Naibun looked at Kasei sharply. The Arabian boy, slunked away into the corner of the room, red faced and embarrassed. Shin neared the other boy carefully, head bowed. "May... I have it back please?"
A small, faint smirk appeared on the tight lips of Zekkou, as he held the book out. "Take it. I have no use for it."
Quickly and swiftly, Shin snatched the book from his grasp, and at that moment, there was a breeze, and Urufu appeared by the room entrance. Clutching the bible to his chest, Shin began to observe the entire of all his roommates. He couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity and deja vu. It was almost as if he knew these people already. And, what was odd, was the fact it was almost comforting for all of them to be together.
Shin shook his head fiercely. Alone, each one made him feel differnt. Kasei had a brotherly, almost parental feel. He felt comfortable with him, like they were cousins. Naibun, at first, was cold and unyielding, but he quickly warmed up. To Shin, he was almost like a companion, someone he could work with. Then there was Urufu and Zekkou. Two of the coldest people he'd ever encountered. But they had very differnt auras. Urufu, or rather PaoTzu, was angry, and carried a personal burden. Zekkou was in a world of his own, it was as if he would rather remain apart from everyone else.
A faint smile crossed his lips, he felt that this was going to be one hell of a school, and there was definately some fun in store.
Author's note2: Oh good grief. So, I have WuFei's name in Chinese. I forgot where it came from... *shrugs* Oh, and if you can't tell who they are, you're totally clueless. O.o; As for the origin of this story? I was bored, tired, had a cough, lost my voice, been watching Endless Waltz 10 times over(the OVA AND the movie), been watching MKR 100 times over, and studying for tests. I was sick with the world and wanted to get away. I was bored. I wanted to write about the future. Oh, and did I mention I was bored? Oh, yeah... I THINK there's alot of bad grammer in there... but I wouldn't really know. I haven't read it since I wrote it. O.o;
Pt. 1
Gundam Wing
Author's note: HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! BTW, all their names are in Japanese because... it sounds much nicer., and it assists in the meanings of the names. *sobs* I KNOW!! I'm to lame to create names that fit their nationality. Oh, and uhm... I refused to edit this. I wrote it and posted it. I did not proofread it in anyway. You have been warned.
The year, A.C.498, over 300 hundred years since Gundams have been last seen, since the wars had come to an end, since the Earth Sphere Unified Nation really became a truly peacful world. But, what ever happened to the stories left by the Gundams? The fighters? Operation Meteor? They live long, in books, in texts, in school classrooms. They have become a part of history, during the unimaginable time when war plauged the people.
"So, even though the infamous pilots of Operation M are long gone, we still remember them. Wufei Chang, Chinese pilot of Nataku, Quatre Raberba Winner, Arabian pilot of Sandrock, Trowa Barton, the pilot of Heavyarms, Duo Maxwell, American pilot of Deathscythe and finally Heero Yuy, Japanese pilot of Wing Zero." The book was slammed shut with a loud sigh and pressed against a black shirted chest.
His mother leaned over towards him, bobbing him lightly on the head.
"Shin!" she scolded gently, "we're arriving soon and you're falling asleep!"
He opened one violet eye, partly hidden by his long unruly brown hair.
"I am totally prepared for history. I have read this book on the Gundam wars a hundred times over!" He sat up and tucked the book into his duffel infront of him, before reaching down his high collared shirt to pull out his necklace. A cross, it was a present from his uncle, a minister. Although he was very excitable, energetic and a big joker, Shin Kougai was a very religious person. Even his formal clothes were reminicent to that of a priest's(much to his parents' disapproval). His mother had braided his long brown hair for this day, he was going off to a high prestige boarding school, and she wanted him to look his best.
The shuttle screamed as it reached the large, gated, campus of Heiwakokka Univerity. It was built on Earth, and founded over 200 years ago by a collection of famous proffessors. It's name, meaning the Peace-Loving Nation Univeristy, was dedicated to the long, outstanding peace of the unified nations. Shin jumped off the shuttle, duffle in hand, looking at the large expanse of land which was to be his new home. His mother kissed him on the cheek, bidding her farewell before joining the other parents. He rubbed at his cheek angerily, 16 years old and she still treated him like a 4 year old.
"Anki Hall," he read from his information sheet, refreshing in his mind the name of his dorm. As he began to walk about absent mindedly he continued to read, "Rooms: D-1 and D-2." Shin paused at that and pondered, "2 rooms?" His answer was quickly found, right underneath the room number, "To share with 4 others."
He dropped his bag at that. Shin had one problem, he had never gotten further than the Dorm name... the 100 times that he read the sheet. The newfound information sent chills up his spine, his mother swore that he was getting a very expensive and very comfortable living space. Now he was stuch with 4 roommates? Shin looked up with a sigh, only to find himself conviently infront of Anki Hall. He hoisted up his bag, slung it over his shoulders and pulled out his new card-key. The dorm was large and expansive, with three floors. The first floor had the recreation room, an office, and the check-in counter. This floor was magnicently presented, richly decorated with intricate carvings, gold, silver and an assortment of fine things. Shin was taken aback by the magnificence of the dorm, only to be distracted by a tacky neon cardboard sign which said, "Hall meeting in Rec. at 8:00 tonight! Be prompt or you'll never get to know your dorm mates!"
Shin made a salute towards the sign and ran into the elevator just as the doors began to close. Inside with him were two girls, and one boy. The girls were around his age and very talkative and loud. As the doors opened, Shin took a step, only to be held back by the small blond boy. "You shouldn't get off here," he said quietly, "These are dorm rooms A and B. This is the girls' floor."
The girls giggled and waved a shy goodbye to them before clammoring out of the elevator. Blood rushed to Shin's face in embarrasment, and as the doors closed he turned to the boy with much gratitde. It was then he noticed his appearance. According to his history books, this blond boy had an Arabian face.. yes his ancestors must have been from Arabia. His was rather dignified looking, his slighly unruly bangs and his height were the only things that made Shin look like his senior. His eyes were a misty blue, seeming to go quite well with his blond hair. He was wearing tan slacks, a pink shirt and a purple tie. Shin couldn't help but stare at his oddly colored attire.
The boy noticed this and touched his collared shirt. "I live with 29 sisters, It's a wonder I still have brown pants!" he said announced with a chuckle as the doors opened.
Shin, pursed his lips together trying not to laugh and cry at the same time. After the two got off the elevator, he wiped at his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. I find that both very horrible and very funny," he said, his voice on the verge of laughing.
The boy shook his head, "Go ahead and laugh, go ahead and cry. I do it all the time myself." He set down his large duffel and pulled out his card-key. "Now, either we live next to each other, or we share the same room. Which one's yours?" he asked, rather bluntly.
Shin gestured to the two doors, one labed "1", the other labeled "2", and in between was a large, gold plated, "D".
At this point the boy was laughing, as he began to open both doors. As they swung open, the boy announced, "My name's Kasei Tenkei, and I'm guessing we're going to be living together for some time."
"Of all the possible predica--" Shin shook his head and proceeded through one door, followed by his newly discovered roommate. He looked over his shoulder and introduced himself, "I'm Shin Kogai, my ancenstors are from America, but I'm actually from the Colonly X78-453. I run, I hide b--" Before he could contiune, he found himself on his back, staring at the ceiling.
Kasei was staring down on him, looking rather sheepish. He poked his fingers together in mock innocence and mumbled, "I tried to warn you about the boxes."
Shin leapt up and looked around. The room was not as elegant as the first floor, in fact it was rather plain and screaming for decoration. The room had two beds, and two desks, and another door, obviously connecting to the other room. He stepped around the boxes, and trunks, and opened the other door. He found a very...VERY nice bathroom. This made him quite happy, walking through the bathroom he opened the other door, finding what was apparently A-2. It was identical to A-1 except for there were three beds and three desks. He walked back to the first room, only to find Kasei, brooding over a whole collection of expensive looking trunks.
"Whoa, some rich kid rooming with us," Shin noted, examining the trunks.
Kasei turned red as he mumbled, "Acutally... those are mine."
The hardwood floor never saw it coming, as Shin's jaw dropped in surprise. He began stuttering and finally managed, "You have 14 sisters... and you still have the money to go to this school AND afford rich things? Man, can I be your best friend?"
Kasei laughed, opening a truck. "Sure, we can be friends," he said with a smile, pulling out an armload of pale yellow bedsheets. He began to make the nearest bed, with much ease. Shin guessed this was from growing up with many, many sisters.
The Arabian looked up at him, and raised and eyebrow. "Aren't you going to unpack?" he asked.
Shin turned red, and beagn fumbling through the boxes. After easily tagging three of them he looked up and said, "They're not all here."
Kasei looked around and counted his trunks. "Hmm.. seems to my I'm missing 2 trunks..."
"Tried looking in the other rooms?" At that, both boys looked up towards the door, there stood a tall, rather muscular peer. He wasn't dressed rather fancily, just a simple green turtle neck and jeans. His hair was another thing, his bangs were immensly long, and were swept in such a way that it covered one eye, causing his other emerald green orb to stand out. His face wasn't much for emotion, in fact he hand an almost silent aura about him. Also, Shin couldn't quite place his origin. He was debating somewhere in Europe or another American like himself... but definately of Latin origin.
Kasei strode over to the new comer and questioned, "Are you one of our room mates?"
The boy nodded rather curtly. Shin jumped up, dropping his own bedsheets onto the other unoccupied mattress. He stuck out his hand in greeting and announced, "The name's Shin Kogai."
The blond patted himself on the chest and added, "I am Kasei Tenkei."
The boy grasped Shin's hand tightly and gave it a swift shake. To Kasei he bowed, deeply. As he rose, he spoke again, "Call me Naibun Ukiyo." He pulled the duffel off his back onto the floor with ease. He did a quick survey of the room and picked up his bag again. He then vanished silently through the other door.
Shin scratched his head and mumbled, "Not much of a talker, is he?"
Kasei shook his head in response. "I hope our other room mates aren't gonna be like him... I'm not so used to quiet rooms."
Shin grunted trying to tuck the sheet under the mattress with much difficulty. After a moment he looked up and replied, "Quiet? I'll bet that's from all your sisters, huh?"
His roomate shook his head, while flattening out the pillows. "Actually, it's from all the servants. I love them dearly, so they're always around."
The American took a deep breath, and mumbled, "Servants too?"
"Uh..." Kasei had begun to turn bright red. His hand went up to his head and sheepishly he nodded. Shin just nodded, rather jealously. True his parents were well off, how else could the send him to this school... but still. He stared at his rather crookedly made bed and sighed. The Arabian neared the bed and tugged on the corner, easily fixing the problem. He wiped off his hands and said, with a smile,
"There, all better Shin."
Suddenly Naibun appeared at the bathroom door. With his serious, monotone voice he said, "I'm guessing some of these boxes here are mine, while some of the others on this side are yours."
Shin grumbled staring at the mess around him, "What a mess! It's going to take hours to sort out!"
Kasei shook his head, nearing the other boy. "Not so. It'll just take a little work, that's all. Besides, once everyone gets here it'll be much faster." He looked up to Naibun and asked, "Which ones are yours? I'll help you."
Shin nodded, hands on his hips. "Hell ya! Me too!"
A faint smile graced Naibun's lips as he nodded, more than happy for the help. It didn't take long for them to arrange a productive way of action, and soon boxes and trunks were being carted from one room to the other. Shin soon discovered that Naibun was a gymnast and part-time clown, which seemed to give a logical reason for his strength. He also found out that Kasei was a musician, and, which he thought was rather personal, that he was a test tube baby. It didn't take long at all for Shin to open up, revealing his passion for Catholisism. As different as the three were, it was obvious that they were going to get along just fine.
Some time during their work, another boy appeared in their room. The three stopped what they were doing to stare at the newcomer. Shin quickly recoginzed his origin, China. His hair was black and slick, pulled back into a pigtail. His eyes were the same color as his hair, but they seemed to be filled with a fierce emotion. His aura was not quite the nicest Shin had ever sensed, and he backed off slightly. Of course, his outfit was reminicent of his origin, white silk kung-fu garb.
Kasei, being his happy warm self quickly bowed in greeting and introduced himself. Shin could have sword he heard the boy mumble, "Weak" but shook off the feeling. Naibun's eyes... er... eye narrowed at the sight of the Chinese boy, but he didn't hesisate to introduce himself next. Shin, plastered a smile onto his face, acting as cool as ever during his own introduction.
The Chinese boy seemed unfazed by their introductions, and with a voice as cold as ice he said, "Wonderful to meet you all. I am PaoTzu Long, but for ears more accustomed to a far more simple language, call me Urufu."
Shin's eyebrows raised at the boy's introduction. PaoTzu's... or rather, Urufu's gaze was definately differnt from Naibun's, but they both shared a similar coldness. The Chinese boy went about his own buisness, impressing Kasei when he managed to tow boxes without help. It was a shared fact however that both Shin and Naibun could manage on their own as well.
So, Urufu, working alone, and Shin, Kasei and Naibun working together, they managed to move all the boxes around. The American and the Arabian in one room, Naibun and Urufu in the other. However, they did notice one other set of boxes and proceeded to move those to the larger of the rooms. They didn't really notice that the final room mate didn't arrive yet, it wasn't very important. Instead boxes were being stomped on, as clothing and belongings found their new homes. Kasei and Shin didn't have a problem with their closet at all, and neither did Naibun and Urufu. Barely 3 hours into the unpacking, the clock striking 2:00, all the empty boxes were either stored under the beds are tossed out into the hall with the other collection of trash.
Shin dusted off his hands, a job well done. A smile was on his face, a pain was in his back but the job was satisfying. "Although, this room is a little plain," he noted with a frown.
Kasei was arranging his computer and other desk items when he replied, "The rooms are plain so that they can be decorated to fit the ideas of the boarders."
Clapping his hands together, Shin dragged his duffel onto his bed. His roomate peered over his shoulder to see its contents. Books, posters, pictures, and other colorful things filled the bag. As he pulled out a poster, unrolling it, he told Kasei of his admiration towards the gundams. This was an elaborate painting, a rendition of a gundam. It was large, equipped with guns, and the gundam's "face" wore half of a clown mask. Bright, colorful and painted with fluid water colors. "This picture is based on actual footage of the Operation Meteor Gundams. There are many pictures of gundams, accurate and imaginary, but there is very little on the pilots"
Kasei read the small print in the corner, "Gundam: Heavyarms, Pilot: Trowa Barton."
At that moment, Naibun appeared at the other door. He walked gracefully towards them, staring at the picture. "Some painting... Heavyarms, right?"
Shin, jumped on a chair, and started taping the poster on his side of the room. "Yeah, Heavyarms. The pilot was Trowa Barton." He jumped down, admiring his handiwork. "Diddya know that Trowa Barton wasn't the real name of the pilot?"
"Really?" Kasei was shocked, from his voice to his face.
Naibun nodded, agreeing with Shin, "That's right. Trowa Barton was originally the "brother-in-law" of Treiz Kushernada, or rather the uncle to Mariemaia Barton Kushrenada. He was killed and replaced by a boy called... Nanashi."
"No name?"
"Yep," Shin added. "However, "Nanashi" was the biggest specualtion for historians, and they soon discovered the truth. For the most part, only the 5 Operation M pilots knew the truth. That is until just recently. They discovered the truth behind Trowa Barton... both of them. And the pilot of Heavyarms is actually someone named Nanashi. His real name is still under wraps. It's pretty amazing."
Naibun's hands crossed across his chest, admiring the picture.
"Heavyarms is possibly my favorite of the Gundams."
"Really? I like Sandrock," Kasei said with a smile. "It had those giant weapons meant for hand to hand combat. Also, it was a Gundam originally prepared for sand battles until it was upgraded for space."
Shin stared at his blond room mate, mouth open. "You seemed to know so little... but when it comes to Sandrock..."
A hand went up to Kasei's head sheepishly. "Heh," he laughed.
The American's hands went into his duffel again and pulled out another poster, he handed it to Kasei. "Here, my favorite Sandrock poster."
His hands went up in protest, but Shin and Naibun together managed to force the poster into his hands. The American sat down on the nearby chair waiting. Kasei finally gave in and unraveled the poster. It was, apparently, by the same artist who made the Heavyarms poster. Again in the corner was a little piece of information. "Gundam: Sandrock, Pilot: Quatre Rebaraba Winner," he read, a smile growing on his face.
Shin laughed, falling backwards on his bed. "Hang it up--Quatre! Yeah! I'll call you Quatre!"
Kasei, who was holding a roll of masking tape, proceeded to chuck it at Shin, once he had a decent amount to hang up the poster. He stuck out his tounge and retorted, "I outta go around calling you... uh... Duo!"
Naibun caught the roll of masking tape, which had completely missed its target and flew towards him instead. "Nice aim," he said quietly with a vague smile.
The Arabian laughed, lossing his balance and falling off the chair, the poster floating down with him. He sighed, lifting up the fallen picture. "Never could hang a picture for my life," he murmmered sadly.
Shin stood up, another poster in hand. He took the one from Kasei and instantly taped it to the wall. He handed the boy the other rolled up picture. "Don't know how you knew... but Duo Maxwell's my favorite pilot."
Naibun neared then silently as Kasei unrolled the picture. It was, again, a Gundam. This was done not with bright fluid water colors, but with deep dark computer coloring. Two large wings, one large scythe, the deathly image of the gundam, Deathscythe. Also, there was a portrait. A portrait of the pilot, sitting happily. It made sense, the gundam was the background while the boy was colored brightly, also colored via computer.
Shin pointed to the boy. "See that? That's supposed to be Duo Maxwell. But since no one really knows what any of the pilots look like, this is the closest thing based on the vague descriptions... at least compared to the many renditions."
The boy was an American boy. He had a large smile, eyes big and bright. His hair was long and brown, pulled back into a thick ponytail. The picture itself looked very real, so real that the boy looked like it would reach out and start jumping around.
Kasei looked seriously disapointed. "I never imagined he looked like that."
Shin laughed, taking back the poster. Rolling it up, he pulled out another picture. Opening it up, it revealed another image of Deathscythe. Only far more elaborate and painted brightly. It was wide to give room for the large wings of the gundam. Standing carefully atop a chair, Shin managed to hang the thing just behind his desk... before falling backwards onto the carpeted floor.
Naibun helped the American off the floor. Shin was laughing, which happened to be contagious enough that Kasei was joining him. Naibun peered cautiously into Shin's duffel. "Whatcha lookin' for?" the long haired boy asked, looking over the boy's shoulder.
He took a step back and mumbled, "Nothing."
Shin thrust his hand into the sak and pulled out a folder. Kasei, eagerly looking over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the contents. The American pulled out a picture and tossed it towards Naibun. The boy caught it and stared at the picture. It was another portrait of a Gundam Pilot. The title, "Trowa Barton." The picture itself featured a boy of Latin origin, with brown hair. What was odd about the hair was that it looked purposly combed over his head like long bangs, and what made it stranger was the odd way they were split. They were moved slightly away from his face, but only enough to see only a part of both eyes.
Kasei started gagging at the picture. The boy, as cute as he was, looked horrible with his hair like that. Naibun dropped the picture in surprise. Shin picked it off the floor and stored it back in the folder.
"It's a pity, really it is. According to the data, the pilots had requested their faces be stricken from any records. It was almost as if they wanted to visual recognitionm," Shin began, "but it didn't work. There were many historians who gave very vague descriptions in their papers. Artists, authors, movie people, everyone got their hands on any kind of description. Before anyone knew it, there were images filtering out everywhere."
Kaisei raised an eyebrow and interrupted Shin's informative story. "Didn't the pilots find out?"
The American laughed, "They were dead by then."
Naibun raised an eyebrow at that. "I don't find that very funny."
Shin coughed, and nodded. "Neither do I. Anyway, there have been some crazy images of these pilots. People are even trying to make a movie out of it. I think, that they just outta let sleeping dogs lie. If they didn't want they faces out, they shouldn't make any movies. Oh, but I do have pictures of the actual battles and gundams."
"A Gundam fanatic? Damn, what the hell's wrong with you people?"
The three turned towards the bathroom, there stood Urufu in all his horrible glory. He was looking at them haughtilly, as if he was better than them all. His nose was turned up, his eyes staring down at them.
Shin walked over to him, noticing then that the Chinese boy was just a few inchest taller than himself. Still, he gathered his courage and looked the boy in the eye. "You got a problem?"
He only replied with a grunt and left the room. A heavy, uncomfortable silence lingered in the air. Shin harrumphed and stuck his tounge out towards Urufu. "What the hell's his problem?"
Naibun shrugged stiffly. "He seems to have a rather negative view of the world."
The door opened again, driving their conversation to a halt. Shin whirled around to face the door demanding, "You come back to apolog--" He lost his tounge suddenly. No... Urufu hadn't sliced it off with a sword. In fact, it wasn't the Chinese boy at all. It was their last and final room mate.
Oriental origin, Shin noted without a hitch. He quickly corrected himself and noted that he was of Japanese origin. His hair was brown, and messy, the bangs falling in front of his dark, colbalt blue eyes. His well defined muscles were obvious due to the loose green tank top and jeans her wore. Shin was thoroughly amazed with him. Like Urufu his face was cold, quiet and emotionless. Yet, like Naibun, there seemed to be warmer side to him. There was a look in the boy's eyes, as if he had a secret, on that had been with him for many years.
Kasei took initiative once more, with his almost parental aura about him. He bowed in classic greeting. "My name's Kasei. It's good to meet you!" Naibun placed a hand to his chest and bent stiffly at the waist, whispering his name.
Shin rubbed his hand on his pants and extended it in greeting. A large smile crossed his lips. "Hey, the name's Shin Kogai. I run, I hide, but I never tell a lie, that's my motto!"
Kasei raised an eyebrow in skeptisism. "That's... Duo's motto..."
The American shrugged. "Same thing." He turned to their new room mate and asked, "So, what do people call you in these parts?"
"Zekkou Gunjin," the Japanese boy replied, his voice as cold as ice.
Shin couldn't help but shudder at his speech. He watched as the boy swept pass them, to the other room. An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air, as they stared at the door. Kasei sighed deeply, "First Urufu and now him..."
Shin thumbed Naibun jokingly and added, "He ain't no flower himself, ya know."
"Flower?"
Kasei nodded slowly thinking about the term, "flower". After a moment he said, "I think it means that you aren't very colorful, cheerful and bright like a flower!"
The American's face contorted into a question mark. "You got that from 'flower'? I just made that up on the spot. Couldn't think of anything."
"Well, heh... yeah... I dunno," Kasei murmurred, a hand going up to his head, blood rushing to his face in a fierce blush. Realizing the heat in his face, the Arabian, buried his face in his hands. "Thanks alot Kogai, you have to go and embarass me."
Naibun's arms uncrossed themselves slowly, and he patted the smaller boy gently on the back. In his soft voice he said, "Don't worry." The other boy looked up at him cautiously before nodding.
Shin watched this exchange carefully. For that moment, he saw actual warmth and compassion from Naibun. He crossed his arms in thought, this very moment seeming all to familiar. Suddenly he noticed Zekkou standing at the bathroom door, a large black leather bound book in his hand.
"Does this book belong to someone?" he asked, holding up the expensive book.
Kasei shook his head, and glanced at Naibun. The other boy also replied with a quiet shrug. Shin took a couple steps near the Japanese boy, taking care not to be sucked into his icy aura. His eyes narrowed, squinting at the book. He sucked in his breath and grumbled, "That's mine."
Zekkou held the book closer to him, examining the cover. His fingers traced the delicate pressed silver design. Shin was still, afraid to ask for the book, but afraid the boy would ruin it. The Japanese boy looked at the braided American, eyes narrow.
"What a very intricate cover. A cross?"
Shin nodded slowly, with extreme caution. "Yes, it's my bible."
"A bible?" Kasei spoke up.
Zekkou, Shin and Naibun looked at Kasei sharply. The Arabian boy, slunked away into the corner of the room, red faced and embarrassed. Shin neared the other boy carefully, head bowed. "May... I have it back please?"
A small, faint smirk appeared on the tight lips of Zekkou, as he held the book out. "Take it. I have no use for it."
Quickly and swiftly, Shin snatched the book from his grasp, and at that moment, there was a breeze, and Urufu appeared by the room entrance. Clutching the bible to his chest, Shin began to observe the entire of all his roommates. He couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity and deja vu. It was almost as if he knew these people already. And, what was odd, was the fact it was almost comforting for all of them to be together.
Shin shook his head fiercely. Alone, each one made him feel differnt. Kasei had a brotherly, almost parental feel. He felt comfortable with him, like they were cousins. Naibun, at first, was cold and unyielding, but he quickly warmed up. To Shin, he was almost like a companion, someone he could work with. Then there was Urufu and Zekkou. Two of the coldest people he'd ever encountered. But they had very differnt auras. Urufu, or rather PaoTzu, was angry, and carried a personal burden. Zekkou was in a world of his own, it was as if he would rather remain apart from everyone else.
A faint smile crossed his lips, he felt that this was going to be one hell of a school, and there was definately some fun in store.
Author's note2: Oh good grief. So, I have WuFei's name in Chinese. I forgot where it came from... *shrugs* Oh, and if you can't tell who they are, you're totally clueless. O.o; As for the origin of this story? I was bored, tired, had a cough, lost my voice, been watching Endless Waltz 10 times over(the OVA AND the movie), been watching MKR 100 times over, and studying for tests. I was sick with the world and wanted to get away. I was bored. I wanted to write about the future. Oh, and did I mention I was bored? Oh, yeah... I THINK there's alot of bad grammer in there... but I wouldn't really know. I haven't read it since I wrote it. O.o;