7 Years Later…
A girl was walking in the sidewalk. She had short brown hair that touched her shoulders, and she was fairly tall for her age. She heard a branch snap, but she ignored it. She just took her next step, when…
"AHA!" someone yelled and jumped on her.
"EEP!!!" she screamed as she fell to the ground. She looked to see who it was. Heero was there, holding her down, smiling. "Heero!!!! I'm going to school! Can't you test me later?!?!?!" she yelled in his ear before pushing him off her.
"Charlene, you're being trained to be a perfect soldier just in case I can't come and help."
"Boy, then this proves you can't do everything on your own," she commented with no expression on her face before leaving. "You're just turning into that Maxwell guy."
"Whatever," he shrugged before he left the other direction.
Ms. Minako looked at her attendance. "Class, we have a new student. Meet Charlene," she said, as she opened the door to reveal the expressionless girl. She pointed to a boy. "Sit next to him. Rikko, show her around the school, please."
"Yes ma'am," he replied.
She sat in her chair, and unpacked.
"Hi, my name's Rikko."
"I already know that," she said, yet again with no expression.
Now he gave up hope trying to make a conversation with her.
Lunchtime…
Rikko came up to Charlene when she was eating lunch. He crept up slowly, slowly, slowly, trying not to make a sound. He soon failed when he moved some pebbles on the ground with his foot.
Charlene heard this, quickly turned around, and the whole thing ended up with a headlock on Rikko. She finally let go when she found out who it was. "Rikko! Don't do that!" she yelled as she let him go.
"About time you let me go," he said trying to catch his breath.
"What do you want this time?"
"To show you around the school. I couldn't find you at recess."
"Oh, that's right."
"RIKKO! I was looking all over for you!" yelled someone. He had brown hair, brown eyes, braces, a red jacket and khaki pants on. The boy started running towards Rikko. "WHERE WERE YOU???" he yelled, shaking him violently.
"How can you be Quatre when you shout too much?" Rikko told him.
"Well…uh…"
"Him? Quatre?" Charlene pointed. "Uh, no, that's not Quatre."
"You watch Gundam Wing, too?"
"Huh?? What's that? Is that a new show?" She paused a moment, then knew what he was talking about. "Oh, that! No, I don't watch Gundam Wing. I'll never have the time to watch anything except the war in one of the colonies. It's too horrible."
"Oh, duh! That colony."
"How do you know about this?"
"The show."
"Weird…" She looked at him. He looks familiar… "Do I know you?"
"No. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jason. I'm also called Quatre in the Gundam Wing club Rikko, or should I say Heero Yuy, started. We're going outside to play with the other pilots today. Ya wanna come?"
"Do I even know where you live?"
"Across the street from your house. I've seen you from there."
"Ok…Sure."
After School…
Charlene started to follow them. Both of them led her to a park not far from the houses. Jason saw another boy waiting for him and Rikko to come. "Hey, Alex! We got a new kid. Meet Charlene."
She examined him. "This guy can really put up for Wufei, if he is…"
"He is."
"Hmm. My thoughts exactly…" Now she heard another branch snap. She had her gun ready aimed at the bush behind her, and all this was done in two seconds. "I know you're here, Heero Yuy. Freeze."
Rikko was confused about her gun, AND about why her gun was facing the opposite direction of him. "Huh? I AM here."
She had her face still on the bush. "Not you. The real one."
Now everyone was confused. "Huh? The real one?"
Heero chuckled, as he got out of the bush, and tried to get leaves and branches out of his thick hair. "Now you know how to use your senses."
"You never learn, Heero," Charlene complimented in a mean way, still having the gun faced at his chest.
"Humph. You were the one who needed to learn." Now his face went back to normal: expressionless. "Listen, I'm here, because you need to leave."
"It's my right to know why." She never lost grip of the gun faced at Heero. Her body was totally stiff, and the gun was still in her hands.
"We need to go out and battle and rip Treize to pieces. Everyone's waiting for us."
"And if I don't wanna go?" She still didn't put it down.
"Then be sure Kenji will be out here to slap you again like he always does for your laziness."
"Me? Lazy?" She pulled the trigger, but Heero quickly moved out of the way before she shot. "Shimatta yo! [1]"
"You still need practice. We need to go."
"I'm not going to."
"Don't be stubborn." He went up, and packed a punch so hard, Charlene went flying backwards into the street.
She tried her best to get up. Now she was mad. She stood, trying to stay up, and ran to give him her punch.
It hurt Heero, but not enough to make him fall back. "You useless little orphan. I just could've let you stayed where you were when your parents died. Heck, Charlene isn't even your real name, and neither is your birthday. I'll just tell everyone you can't make it. I'm sure Maxwell will be excited to use his Deathscythe for once, after three years of staying with Hilde at the L2 Colony." And with that, he walked away.
Charlene fell to her knees. He has to use that word… orphan. I wonder how his parents were like. I wonder what it's like to have a family. I don't even know the meaning of "family!" "He's right. That's all I ever am. Those stupid Pilots just take me for granted! They probably wondered where I came from after being a brat to them…" She stood up. "I…I have to go, guys. I have to go fight Oz, and that weirdo Treize."
Jason felt a bit sorry for her. She looks a bit familiar… "Where are you going?"
"You really wanna know? Then you'll just have to find out for yourself."
Charlene's House…
"Well, if you really know what I'm gonna do now, you're gonna have to leave home to really find out," Charlene told them.
"Why?" all three boys asked.
"This isn't my real house. I really live up near the Sank Kingdom. With Heero."
Alex started to stutter. "Y-y-you mean, Relena Peacecraft?"
"What? Is there another Relena here?" she asked, as she ran into her room.
Jason followed her. "I thought it's only a show!"
"You're wrong. This war's been going on before I was born. Heero said my parents got shot by the enemy, and I'm the only family left. I don't trust him, though." She took out a suitcase, and packed some clothes from her drawer. "I'm a gundam pilot."
"But you're just a girl."
"The rules don't say anything about not being a girl just to join."
"But-"
"Look, just hurry up, pack, if you wanna follow me like I'm Ash Ketchum and you're Pikachu!"
"But-"
"Well, are you coming with me or no-" her computer cut her off. "An email massage?" She opened it. It was a video mail of the pilots.
Heero was talking. "Charlene! You need to go get some back ups, and defeat Treize, before they reach Earth!"
Duo was in back of Heero. "Take the Deathscythe Hell. Deathscythe is already destroyed!" Then the mail stopped.
Charlene rushed back to her room to pack. "Now they need me? Gosh, they could've said that so much earlier…Fine! Leave it up to me!"
Jason, knowing that his decision would be insane to make, decided to go with her. "I'm going with you."
"Any experience, Mr. Winner?"
"Uh, a little...I think…"
"Which gundam?"
"Sandrock. And maybe HeavyArms."
"Fine. Pack up."
Jason went to her door, and went outside, when…
"Where are you going, Jason?" asked Rikko.
"Packing up."
"For?"
"To leave to the Sank Kingdom to help out in the war."
"What!?!?! You just wanna follow her, I know it."
"No. I really wanna see everything up close instead of having to look closely at the TV screen. This is also serious. We thought it was just a show, but we were wrong. I'm gonna help her." So he left her house, and went straight for his.
Rikko sighed. "What's his mom gonna say about this?" he asked himself, as he went to follow him.
Translations:
[1] Damn it!