Forgiving Vengeance
Chapter 6: Oaths and Traitors
The transport ship rumbled to a stop. Hiro and Heero helped carry Max's now unconscious body out. Shouting orders to get a doctor they carried him out to an underground building that was the closest thing to a hospital they had. The only problem was there weren't enough doctors to tend to the wounded. Hiro paced furiously when twenty minutes later there still was no doctor, angrily he grabbed the next one that past by. "If don't mind, " He bit out sarcastically. "I have a friend that I don't want to watch die slowly. So, if you could possibly fit it in you schedule I'd like to you look at him."
Irritably the doctor looked at him and snapped, "What's wrong with him?"
"A bullet wound to the shoulder, above the heart."
"I'm afraid that will have to wait."
"The hell it will!" Hiro bit out grabbing his sleeve, intending to drag him to Max.
"Your Highness, " The doctor spat. "I realize that you may still be accustomed to people doing your every bidding, but you must look at the situation I have here." He paused to give him a look of unending scorn. "I have people here whose arms are hanging out of their sockets, who legs are severed in half, I have people whose lives have ending on my operating table! Now I understand your concern for your friend, but as he is in no immanent danger, I repeat, he will have to wait!" With that, he turned and left in a flash of a white doctors coat. Hiro sank down heavily in a chair.
Two things happened in that moment with the Gundam pilots, one; The grim reality of day-to-day life and surroundings for these people sunk in, and two; they all silently made up their minds to stay. They had all stayed pasted the five days Hiro had first asked from them, but that had been because they had needed to travel to a second lab some distance away, but now, now it was because they had to. They could not let these people, their own race of people be exterminated.
Their minds made up to help, they could do nothing at this moment however, but continue to stand in helpless silence as they watched Max fall in and out of consciousness. Quatre was the only one who tried to lure Hiro into a conversation so he might forget about the dim situation at hand. "I heard him call you 'Your Highness'," he started cautiously.
"So he did."
"Are you royalty?"
"Apparently."
"Were you a prince?"
Quatre's innocent remark caused Hiro to think of the way Relena had teased Hiro when they had first met by calling him her 'prince in tarnished armor'. "Once. A long time ago." He said flatly.
"Are you still a prince?"
"No."
"If you're not a prince anymore but your still royalty, that would mean you're a…" Quatre trailed off.
"A king!" Duo finished. "A real life king!"
Trowa, who was at the moment, the only one who knew Hiro had been married put it together that he had been married to a queen, and the curiosity about the scar on his face grew.
In his world, the boundaries of royalty were clearly defined. Royalty did not fight in bloody battles, but rather stayed on the sidelines of the battlefield and surveyed their troops, they were never to be left open for attack when traveling places since they always had an armed guard, and they rarely, if ever married for love. But as Trowa looked at Hiro, who was at this very moment covered in blood, from a very bloody battle, a battle which he had led his troops too and who, in Trowa's opinion, had loved his wife very much, he wondered if the pain he obviously felt now was the pain of being betrayed. He had seen that look that night he had seen him looking up at the stars, and he saw it now. If that was the case then Hiro was in great danger, they all were, but it would be Hiro who suffered the most.
Just then Max slowly opened his eyes, and reached out his hand. Hiro was out of his chair instantly. "Do I look that bad?" Max managed to gasp out, seeing the dread in Hiro's eyes.
"No. You look fine."
"Hiro, you always sucked at lying."
Hiro smiled, "The doctor said you're going to be alright." Just then Yassa came to stand beside Hiro.
"Look at you, one little scratch and you faint like a girl." He teased.
Max smiled, "Fuck you."
"I'd rather not." Yassa replied grinning.
Max glanced uneasily around the room. He did not recognize the pale blue walls or the plain concrete floor. "Where are we?"
"At a hospital." Yassa answered.
Max clenched his eyes shut as if trying to focus, "Water…" The room started to sway and darken. Hiro left to get the water but when he had returned a minute later Max had slid back to unconsciousness.
Hiro was suddenly furious. His friend had waited long enough. Stalking out into the hallway he yanked the next doctor who walked past in the room. Pointing to Max he ground out between his teeth. "He's waited long enough!" The doctor who saw there was no point in arguing with Hiro, obediently turned and started to examine the bleeding man. Frowning his turned towards the door but Heero blocked his path.
"Help him." He said flatly.
"Young man, I was merely intending to call a nurse in here." Fixing him with a hard stare Heero moved aside. A short time later, he retuned with a nurse and together they worked on Max. At first it looked as if it would be a somewhat simple procedure, but as the doctor's further examination found, it was not simple at all. In fact, when the doctor and nurse were completed, Hiro was informed that Max would be fortunate if he regained all his shoulder mobility, and it was highly doubtful that he would.
As Wufei continued to stand silently in a corner, his arms crossed over his chest, he thought to himself that Hiro had handled the news well. He did not weep, or sob, or give any other foolish display of emotion. He stood staring at Max and then had solemnly nodded at the doctor.
Hiro turned to the pilots "Please excuse us." All but Trowa left.
"Hiro, " He did not answer, but Trowa continued. "It's not your fault. No matter what the circumstances were."
"He's a solider under my responsibility. How is that 'not my fault'?"
"For the exact same reason you just said. He is a solider."
Hiro gave a bitter laugh, "Commanding officers are supposed to be able to keep their soldiers safe, on and off the battlefield. I couldn't do that."
Trowa took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to say. "Was it the same way with your wife?"
Hiro's head swung toward Trowa, his eyes boring into the other man's. "I warned you once that the subject of my wife was off limits."
"There's another one here isn't there? Another traitor that you're not telling us about?" Hiro remained silent. "You can't find him alone. Let me help you. Tell me who you think it is."
Hiro turned his back on him. "Get out Trowa." He said softly. "There is nothing you can do."
"Then you let your wife die for nothing!"
Hiro acted so swiftly that even Trowa was shocked; he grasped the sides of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. "Don't you ever say that to me again!"
"So tell me how you would feel if you lost someone you loved again. Tell me, what if it was Johanna on that table." Trowa had fired his final verbal shot, and it had been a lethal one. In truth Hiro would never be able to forgive himself if it indeed had been Johanna on that table. He knew he had to trust Trowa then, it wasn't a matter of wants. He had not choice. He could not risk losing Johanna. He let Trowa go, then swung and hit the wall right beside Trowa's head, barely grazing his ear, furious with fate for putting him in this situation. "Remember this Trowa, because I am going to hold you to it. If I find that you have betrayed me in any way, I will personally rip the lying heart out of your chest. Do you understand?"
Trowa nodded, not at all angry with Hiro for threatening him, he would feel the same way if he had a daughter.
Without a word Hiro walked back to where Max lay peacefully sleeping and removed the pin that signified the rank of second in command off Max's uniform. Walking back, he wordlessly placed it on the lapel of Trowa's jacket. "Remember your oath Trowa."
Again Trowa nodded, "Now let me find the man for you. Who do you think it is?"
Hiro hesitated, then looked him straight in the eye.
When Trowa emerged from the room a short time later, Yassa noticed the small insignia on the lapel of his jacket and his jaw tensed. He was supposed to be wearing that, not this nobody, newcomer. This was not at all what he had wanted.
When Trowa was about to walk past Yassa, he stopped and turned. Looking him directly in the eye he smiled but Yassa had a feeling that it belied a threat. "I look forward to serving on the battleground with you, Yassa. I'm sure it will be most rewarding." Then turning on his heel he left to join the other pilots.
No, Yassa thought again, this was most definitely not what he had wanted.