Half A Chance – At Innocence

Minako: Hey there! I'm bored. It's Saturday morning… WAAAAAAAY morning. I mean, for me, it's Saturday Midnight morning, but I can't sleep, and won't until I'm done!

Hiiro: Lack of sleep is bad for your health

Minako: You don't say… well, every morning I've woken up this week I've had bloodshot eyes, and I'm starting to get circles… methinks I'm ill

Leita: Ya told me you had the Chicken Pox

Minako: I might have had the Chicken Pox, that's right. You know, Chicken Pox can scar me… darn! I'm gonna have little Chicken Scars on my back! Anyway, maybe you've been wondering about how OOC Hiiro is acting? And in fact, will be acting? It wont last long. Wait till the next few chapters… *snickers* Oh yeah, and this isn't Hiiro's dream he's having, or anyone else's for that matter, it's just… D/O residue… as for Keika, she acts like Rel-chan, wouldn't you say? And I'd like to say a BIG thankyou to all of you who reviewed! It means so much to me! I haven't read them yet, I'm only allowed on the internet at the weekend, and it's only just coming up for 1am on Saturday morning, so I haven't read them yet, but I will, and THANKYOU OH SO VERY MUCH YOU'LL MAKE ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT NOT SLEEPING! Anyone think the last chapter was cute at the end? I did!

Leita: That's because you can't write angst too well, and you can't do sap, so there was an odd moment in between…

Minako: Too right it was odd! Leita, did you see the look on Hiiro's face when we did that?

Hiiro: *Flashes to end of last chapter* O_^*

Minako: *Back to now* Creepy… winking, googly-eying, and sweatdropping at the same time! How about the rest?

*Back to last chapter*

Minako & Quatre: ;_;

Leita: ^_^*****

*Back to now*

Minako: On with the chapter!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't have enough money to claim ownership of either anime in this story in a courtroom. I don't wanna get sued, my money is reserved for manga and DVD!

Dedication: Hey reviewers? The ones with no names because I can't edit? This is for you! This is also Leita, kind enough to let me watch her GUNDAM WING videos with her! You rule!

(AN: I can't really start this one off too well)

Though Hiiro hadn't mentioned exactly why he was compelled to walk into the Ocean, Kari knew all too well that the fact there had been hardly any activity from the area, followed by none, followed by everything, had to have something to do with the two newcomers. She also didn't like how her contact with Hiiro made her feel a fleeting glimpse of what he had been going through. It felt like the powers of the Ocean concentrated into one spot, and it almost overwhelmed her. But she knew too well that Hiiro would not tell her, or anyone for that matter, what was happening willingly, even if he could comprehend it. She was usually so good at this kind of thing, but right now she had hit some kind of wall, the kind reinforced with steel. That had her slightly annoyed to say the least. Oh well, she could try giving Mr. Personality a try.

Now that they were back in the restaurant, they thought carefully about what to do. Even Gennai, supposedly the great guardian of dimensions, was at a loss for what had happened. But, the look on Hiiro's face surprised her and told her he did. The only thing that could of surprised her more was if he asked if he could explain. And that's exactly what he did next.

"What I was doing was not following my own actions, but the pull of the… power of that place. I was not receiving what a 'normal dose' would have been, but all of it concentrated. Basically this is because the oppressive atmosphere and the power was being deflected, and concentrated. I was just unlucky enough to come into contact with the concentration, but after being brought out of the trace-like state, the place became about as normal as it gets."

The slight glimmer in Hiiro's eyes that went unnoticed by the rest told her that there was more to this, such as WHY there was a concentration, exactly HOW the powers were blocked. There was also something that even Izzy, the least skilled of all people at detecting emotions, could see, and that was anxiousness, worry, and guilt. It seemed to her that this was all new for him in a way, like riding a bicycle for the first time, and just adjusting to it. Or maybe… maybe it was more like doing something you've always been good at, but haven't done for years; shaky at first, but gradually falling back into your own reactions. It seemed strange though, like it was supposed to be long gone. His explanation finished, Hiiro had once again turned his attention to Quatre, who was sleeping. I wonder why he apologized, and then fell asleep? It's more like when people sleep because they've run out of energy… hey…

*~*~*

"I'm cold," she said quietly, "It makes me feel cold to be here, a little… but, it's not as cold as it used to be. No one else seems cold, they don't even seem bothered…" The spiral in the sand abruptly stopped, and Quatre looked at Kari. "You're cold?"

"Yeah… but then, I'm always cold when I come here, because I guess I come here far too much. I don't mean to though, I just keep ending up here… but are you cold? You haven't been here before, so you might be… but then, most of the others haven't been here before either…" Kari laid her hand on his, and drew back quickly. "You're freezing… are you alright?"

*~*~*

That's right… Kari thought, slowly bringing pieces together. I told Quatre I was cold… and then I asked him if he was… and then I touched his hand… and then it was all gone, everything! So that means that-

"He did it!" Kari was talking before she noticed at all. The group looked at her with a collective look that said 'Wha-?' and she smiled knowingly. "Hiiro, you came to speak to us, and you thought that something was wrong! Then you touched Quatre's arm and felt the concentration, right? But, that was because you felt it through him, because for some reason someone or something managed to concentrate all the Oceans' power on him somehow, and he knew you got all of it from him because he was apologizing!"

The rest looked at her like she was crazy, but something in Hiiro's eyes told her that he was nodding. She smiled, as if knowing it was some kind of secret. "But, of course, that would be impossible, because no one can concentrate all of the Oceans' power onto one person, and of course no one can pass emotions on to other people. Right Hiiro?" Hiiro nodded a lot more visibly this time "And as for apologizing… I guess that Quatre just tends to apologize for everything like it's his fault."

Taichi smiled, totally missing the cover-up. "Bearing the weight of the world on ones shoulders? Sounds like someone I know, Sora!" Some kind of private joke ensued as the others spread themselves around the restaurant. Kari went to talk to Hiiro, who was sitting with the sleeping Quatre again.

"Hiiro… I was right, somewhere along the line, wasn't I?"

Hiiro smirked like he was having his own private joke, and spoke. "I knew someone would see the pieces and put them together," his smirk grew wider, "but I didn't think I'd see such a good cover-up. Nor did I think anyone would be as close as you were."

"So, Hiiro, what exactly happened? You act like you know…"

"I do. Touch Quatre's hand."

"Wha-?"

"It'll be a lot easier to explain if you do."

Kari reluctantly locked fingers with the blonde boy and felt something fleeing across her mindscape, at which she let go. Lights seemed to flicker across her eyes, the same way they do if you stare at a lamp and then look back.

"Wha-?"

"Simple really. Have you ever heard of something called empathy?" Kari shook her head absently, "Well, it's when you can tell what other people are feeling. For any normal person it would just give them higher awareness of what is happening. But, Quatre is far from normal."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, instead of the emotions of others being like background noise, always there, it's… I dunno, sometimes there and sometimes not. You'd have to ask Quatre about that, I don't really understand that well. Anyway, from what I can tell, it sometimes makes him feel exactly what someone else is feeling, sometimes even at a higher degree, who knows why."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"We were all brought to that place, the Dark Ocean, and the oppressive atmosphere was something all of you dreaded. Quatre knew this, and through guilt, decided to harbor all the effects for everyone. There was 15 of us, and I'm guessing that place likes to give everyone an equal amount of its power, at the same magnitude, every time. He was trying to protect the rest of us from that place, but it meant that physical contact would result in passing on everything to whoever made contact."

"And that's what happened to you… but why didn't it send him into the same trance it did you?"

"ZERO." Though only hearing about it for one day, Kari was beginning to hate this word without much reason. "The power from the Ocean was being kept at bay by the residual effects of the system."

"Did you use the system at any point?"

"OZ, the enemy, used me as a test pilot for Wing ZERO, so of course I used the system."

"So why did you go into a trance state so quickly? Surely the residual effects would be with you as well,"

"I explained to you about empathy because I knew we would be coming to this. When Quatre used the system, it kept his empathy at bay; using the Wing ZERO Quatre destroyed two or three colonies. This would probably total roughly a million casualties. When Quatre was brought out of the system, I suppose that his empathy returned, and he felt the death of those on the colonies he destroyed, mixed with his own pain for destroying Trowa, but the system probably still had some control over him, and now I have figured that unless Quatre were to master the system, any emotional strain could cause a relapse."

"And that would be a very bad thing."

"Indeed. But, you cannot tell anyone else. They should try and figure it out on their own."

*~*~*

Hiiro felt strangely tired when he finally got home again, and opted that sleep would be the best option (unlike me) He was not, however, expecting the strange dream he did have…

…Hiiro found himself in his normal clothes drifting around in the void of space. His mind absently noted that he should be dead because he wasn't wearing a suit, but he ignored that voice. It suddenly felt cold, and he attempted to cover himself a little, only to fin new appendages wrapping around him. There were silver wings, which seemed to fade in and out of existence, but none the less kept the cold of the void away. He watched in fascination as a star exploded in a beautiful lightshow, but the wings seemed to turn dull and slack, and seemed to flicker like a bad transmission, until the faded into the void, but it wasn't cold anymore. He closed his eyes…

…When he opened them again, he was underwater, in clear crystal water. He was reminded briefly of the Ocean, and noted dimly once more that he should be dead, drowned by now, until he noticed the faint gold sphere that surrounded him. He recognized the colour, it seemed that of the glow of the system. There was another bubble, a silver one, and a bubble that was gold, but a different one, also familiar. He left the safety of the 'ZERO bubble' for the other gold one, and found he was drifting to the surface…

…Where suddenly he was standing on a hill, looking over a massive battleground, with a strange sense of calm, as he felt tears streaming down his face. Something had happened, some brave act… he knew what had happened, but could put it into words. He found himself sliding down the hill, towards people he knew. A girl with purple hair he didn't recognize turned to talk to him, and he could hear her loud and clear.

"That was truly brave… now, we return home, I suppose…"

…Now he was surrounded by the same group of people, all celebrating in an odd way, like there was something completely wrong with celebrating when they were. The mind that was not his but was noted that some people were missing, but many were there. He could see the people standing in small alliances, like couples or something, and noticed that two people he knew from the place he was in now were on the stage, and the woman was talking. He couldn't really catch what was being said.

"…I suppose we should have waited until our angel could join us, but unfortunately we don't have nearly as much time as we'd like… everyone is happy, at least some good came from this… but we should be very thankful for small miracles, one did save all our lives, and the lives of everyone else… so lets give a toast, to life!"

The words were chanted, and it was strange, because Hiiro felt as if this was real, as if it were the future almost…

…He was back on that same hill, but somehow knew it was before the other time. He was crying again, but it was against his will, like some great sadness tore at his very soul…

…Back further, and he was talking to Relena. "I know you miss him… but you like me too, don't you? How would that work? Hehe… I kinda like him too… while you were away, we got to know each other a little better…

…Back further, and now standing by a wall, staring at someone he couldn't recognize, who looked at him in shock. "Who… Who are you?"

Hiiro woke up with a jolt.

TO BE CONTINUED

Yes, some of those scenes have relevance… Leita would know… It's 2:42am, I think I'll get some shut-eye… later days!